Spirit of Mystery Part 10

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He sucked on the straw of his 40 oz. cup, the strawberry soda traveled all the way up to his mouth, and he sat there in that empty 24 hour speedy burger place that he forgot the name of. He thought it might be Bonko Burger or something, it didn't matter though. He didn't even think excerting the energy to turn his head toward the counter to look at the sign was worth it. He merely kept drinking, able to breathe and drink at the same time. His head was free, clear, and unhindered by pesky problems of the outside world. He was happy, in fact, all of the stuff that transpired worked out for the very best. Not only did he have a few answers to a few questions that had been burning in the back of his mind, but now he had two extra ghost-type pokemon to help him out along his way to where he was going.

That was when he heard the shaking of a cup on the other side of the table. He stayed like he was for the moment, but after a couple of minutes, it didn't go away. Even the teenager who was mopping the lobby floor looked over at the table to see what that noise was. He looked across the table to see that Jena was staring at him, a very blank, somber stare that apparently needed to be addressed. He looked down to see that she held onto her milkshake cup as hard as she could without crushing it, and her hand was shaking like a massage chair. He finally pulled the straw from his lips and smiled a big smile toward her, and her eyebrow went up a bit.

Jena: So... [She finally spoke at length.]

Rhys nodded, and took another tiny drink.

Jena: That... was very unexpected. I can honestly say that that was about the last thing I would ever dream would happen. In fact, I'm still a little foggy on what all did happen right then. I think I saw you with some kind of red cloak, or something. Then you pretty much slapped that Spiritomb into submission before it had a chance to kill us. I mean, stop me if I'm wrong.

Rhys: Nope [Shook his head, then took another sip.] You're pretty much on the money there.

Jena: Oh, well, that's a... well... relief is not the word I'm looking for. In fact, at the moment, words fail me. In fact, I'm a little surprised I'm still talking. That had to be the most horrific experience in my life. What *did*happen back there, Rhys? What in the world did you do, what did you become? Is that a normal thing for you?

Rhys: Whoa whoa whoa, again with the questions. Give me a moment, I'm still a little fuzzy myself. So, I'll start from the very beginning.

Jena leaned all the way toward him, her chin over the table now. She didn't care if her milkshake melted nor did she care if she looked weird to any of the employees who were working behind the counter. Surprisingly, she didn't even care that Duskull came down beside her, also looking toward Rhys with great intent.

Rhys: Alright, so it pretty much all began with a house. This house, it had a history of weird stuff happening inside of it. It pretty much began when a kid came up to me and started asking me if his friend was a chicken because he wouldn't go into that house. I told them no, everyone had their limits and everyone is afraid of something. I told them I was not afraid. This pretty much got out of hand quick. They started to double dog dare, triple dog dare me to go into that house. Well, after a while, I thought, why not. So to the house I went. Now, here's where it gets a little weirder than usual.

Jena's eyebrow lifted up, higher this time. She had no idea it had the capacity to get any weirder than what they just went through.

Rhys: Of course, that's the house where I met Duskull, but there's more to it than that. What we saw in that building we just went to... if memory serves me right, this house was a lot worse. There were... ridiculous amounts of Ghosts in there, and Duskull was their prisoner. She told me that she needed to stop them, and she needed my help. After that, I remember little bits and pieces. I remember some of the stuff she told me, and I remember images, some of them are not so good to discuss after we've just eaten.

Jena's eyes widened, and she nodded, agreeing whole-heartedly.

Rhys: Pretty much, I scattered them all from that house. There was a light... or something, and they were gone. As thanks, Duskull started to follow me around. She told me I didn't need to worry about them now that they're scattered all over the place, but more and more I'm seeing that she is wrong, and today I'm convinced, I need to keep doing this.

Jena finished her milkshake and slid it to the side of the table, and put her chin in both of her palms, eyeing him and seeing that he was, indeed, serious about that.

Jena: What does that mean? Where are you going from here?

Rhys: I remembered a lot of things, and when I had that one spirit in my hand, I saw quite a bit. Of all of those things I saw, I noticed a Region I've never heard of. Have you ever heard of the Alto Region?

Jena shook her head.

Rhys: It's a really long way away, and I'll need to take a plane to get there. From what I understand, the vast majority of the remaining ghosts are there. If that is correct, I can only assume they're regrouping. Now, I am not going to just assume that you will go with me.

Jena saw this coming, and she froze. Once again, she wouldn't have nearly enough money for a whole plane ticket, so she would be accepting more charity from him, since he seemed to have endless pockets. Still, he was a great battler, and since they pretty much saved one another already, they were about even when it came to debts. She could just accept this, and then pay him back in some way later. Still, another fight against ghosts, more battles such as the one they came from; did she really want that? Did she?

Ghost of the Core