Dark Mirror chapter 33

The two girls followed the dog – Alessa once referred to it as a 'Feral' – through the dead town. They passed between vacated buildings, ruined stalls and shattered windows. Thankfully, there were no corpses to see in this block. That made Misty confused. These things were marauders…why weren't more people killed? Of course she was glad that a lot of people had survived, but it seemed very odd that there wasn't as much death as she would've expected.

The Feral would bark every so often, informing the girls of it's presence and the fact it was on Ash's trail. Every time it barked, Alessa flinched. Misty shook her head in amusement. She found it quite funny that this murderous empress, who was responsible for countless abominations and horror of this town, was so nervous around this 'dog' of her own creation. Of course, a dog like this would make anyone scared, but hadn't she made it herself?

Then again, Ash had made those things…Misty shook her head clear and focused on getting to her friend.

The two girls barely spoke on the way to Ash's location. Misty still cast an occasional frosty glance at Alessa, but the girl in blue showed no sign that her opinion of her meant anything. Pikachu never stopped glaring at the girl.

After several minutes of walking through the town, the Feral they were following began to snarl and bark excitedly. Alessa and Misty saw the creature stop in the middle of the road, evidently to investigate something of interest. It was difficult to make out what the dog was sniffing at with the fog, so Misty quickly hurried ahead to get a better look. Alessa followed close behind.

Misty skidded to a halt almost a foot away from the demon dog. The scene was anything but pretty. At first glance, it looked like the corpses Misty had expected to see had all placed themselves here, with the tiny knives of the Cubone creatures imbedded in their flesh. However, a closer look revealed nonexistent faces and a conspicuous absence of blood. More monsters.

"Representations of the people who died here." Alessa remarked, making Misty conscious of the girl behind her. She quickly whirled around, not sure if she expected the girl to be carrying a knife.

She wasn't. Misty shook her head clear and responded curtly. "I wasn't asking."

Alessa shrugged slightly before turning her gaze to something behind Misty. The cerulean gym leader noticed her eye shift and became curious as to what the empress was looking at. However, she was still not sure about turning her back to this girl. With Pikachu keeping a careful eye on Alessa, Misty gradually turned to see what the empress was looking at.

She gasped.

The dog was licking a puddle of blood in the centre of the road. The puddle left a crimson stain on the pavement, a horrifically bright contrast to the dull greys of the town. And that blood hadn't come from the creatures.

Misty ran up to the puddle, heedless of the Feral close by. Alessa tentavely followed her. Completely ignoring the skinned hellhound nearby, Misty kneeled down and touched the puddle with her fingers. Pikachu looked down, a troubled expression on his face.

"Ash…" Misty gulped.

Alessa moved to another side of the puddle, only to bump into the hellhound. "GAH! Shoo, SHOO!" The Feral growled and slunk away, much to Alessa's relief.

Misty hadn't noticed her. "Does…does this mean…"

"No." Alessa interrupted. "There isn't enough here. Besides, if the one holding the power had died, Silent Hill would've reacted accordingly. We'd have noticed."

Misty blinked. "Reacted accordingly, what do you mean?"

"It would've died along with it's emperor."

Misty stared at Alessa hard.

Alessa, reading her mind, sighed. An expression of genuine sadness came over her face. "I know what you're thinking. Believe me, I tried. Several times. But…this body Dakos gave me won't die. Some sort of healing factor in the genes." The empress shook her head. "I still wonder how he got this body for me to inhabit, and how to make it so specific to his needs."

Misty thought back to Alessa's abrupt healing at the antique store. The empress had tried to kill herself right after she was born again, but failed. That made sense. But that raised another question in Misty's mind. She pointed to the bleeding eye socket in Alessa's face. "Then why hasn't that healed?"

All Alessa could do was shrug. "Why haven't I died of bleeding or an infection?" Clearly, she had no real answer herself.

Misty shook her head and focused on Ash. Her gaze returned to the small puddle. "What happened, then?"

"Here?"

"Yes." Misty said flatly.

Alessa looked over the dead faceless monsters.  "My guess? Ash came here and was beaten by these manifestations."

"Wait…" Misty interrupted. "Why? He knew what was going on, why would he will these things to attack him?"

"Penance." Alessa answered. Kneeling down near one of the creatures, Alessa pulled out a tiny knife. "However, he was saved from death by his…children."

"Don't call those things his children." Misty muttered.

Alessa smiled thinly. "What would you call them, then?"

"Freaks."

"You can't just go with that. And technically, that's incorrect."

"Monsters?"

"That's a blanket statement. I'm asking about specific creatures."

Misty groaned. "Okay. Umm…Cubone?"

"They're based on Cubone. They're not Cubone."

"Oh for…what would you call them then?!"

Alessa turned the knife over in her hands. "Things like those appeared during the first manifestation of my powers. My father simply called them 'Grey Children'. Not the most imaginative of names, but it suited them fine."

Misty shook her head. Why was she having this discussion? Time to end it and get back on track. "Ok, Skull Children. Now, where's Ash?!"

"Not sure about that name…" Alessa mumbled under her breath. "The 'skull children' saved him…and judging by that streak of blood, dragged or carried him away from here." Pointing to a trail of red, Alessa followed it with her finger until she was pointing at a nearby building. "He'll be in there."

Misty followed Alessa's pointing finger. The building that Ash was in was a large, single-story schoolhouse with a disused playground in front. The paint was ridiculously bright, a jarring difference from the rest of the fog-covered town. Obnoxious green and pink borders complete with smiley faces plastered over the windows announced that this was a happy place for children to learn and laugh and play. In bright daylight, maybe it was. Now, it just looked very off-putting. The front door had it's locks scratched off, with several dulled blades scattered nearby.

Misty didn't waste any time, and ran for the door. She had to get to Ash now. Running like a Rapidash, Misty burst through the door loudly and dramatically. "ASH?! ASH?"

"SHHHHH!" A hissing voice suddenly shushed her. Misty looked to her left and saw one of the Skull Children. "Daddy's resting." It whispered.

Misty was ready to hit the little creature, but stopped herself with a sigh. Alessa calmly walked in glancing at the creature. "Where is he?"

The Cubone monster's eye glared ferociously at the empress. However, it didn't attack. "Daddy's not talking to you." It hissed.

Alessa wasn't the least bit surprised by the news.

Misty looked around the area. The interior to the school was just as desperately cheerful as the exterior. Bright banners welcomed new students to Kalville elementary, with the classic motivational posters pasted on the walls to encourage them to learn. There was an 'art board', showcasing the art of some of the younger children. Misty took a closer look. She wasn't sure if these were childish drawings of Pokemon or childish drawings of Silent Hill monsters. That line seemed to blur more than she liked to admit.

Alessa sighed. "Sad."

Misty turned to look at Alessa. "Sad?"

"What? Are you surprised I actually have emotions?" Alessa remarked before turning to one of the posters. "I never cared much for school. But it's still sad what happened."

"What do you mean?"

Alessa turned to look at Misty, and the gym leader could see genuine emotion in her expression. "The people who built this place had nothing but bright hopes. A future for this town. The new…entertainment district of the country, or just a good place to raise families. And it all went to hell because they picked the wrong location. Because of the history of this town."

"Because of you." Misty retorted.

Alessa didn't deny that, but brought up something else. "From what I've learned, this town has had difficulties retaining visitors years before I was brought back. It's like I said before. Bad vibes. This damn place is cursed."

"Well, you're the empress."

Alessa blinked. "Do you honestly think I wanted to take over this town? I was resurrected months before you arrived. If I really wanted to take over, I would've done it then. It would've been easy for the eeeeevil empress of Silent Hill. Believe it or not, Misty, I DIDN'T want this to happen."

Misty had to admit Alessa had a point, and something told the gym leader that the empress was being sincere. She still wasn't certain how to feel about the girl, but eventually decided to worry about more important things. What she should be focusing on was how to end this nightmare, not how it started or who was to blame. Once they were out of this town and could have some semblance of normal life, they'd forget about this damned place and move on. There was no point in focusing on the past. Not here and not now.

Pikachu sniffed something that grabbed his attention. The Pokemon immediately hopped off Misty's shoulder and ran desperately through the deserted hallways of the school. Misty and Alessa quickly followed the yellow mouse even as it darted off faster than they could run after it. Misty knew exactly what Pikachu was after.

The two girls skidded to a halt at a classroom door, where Pikachu had stopped and was staring inside. Alessa and Misty looked inside to a very bizarre scene.

The entire classroom was crowded with the skull children, sitting on the desks, chairs and shelves like schoolchildren at storytime. They were all paying rapt attention to Ash Ketchum, who was sitting in a chair numbly reading aloud a children's fairy tale. He was sloppily bandaged in several places, and several red stains on those bandages told of deep cuts. There was no element of fear or apprehension in his voice…just a melancholy acceptance.

"Upon hearing this, the hunter armed himself with bows and arrows and said, 'I will slay the lizard'. But upon meeting his opponent, he held back, taunting. 'Who's afraid of a reptile?'"

Pikachu and Misty stood in the doorway, unsure what to make of the scene and too nervous to enter the room filled with the knife-wielding Cubone creatures.

Misty blinked. "Why is he…?"

"Shock." Alessa simply answered. When Misty was looking at her, the empress gestured towards a door across the hall. "Speak to him. I'll be in the other room." Before Misty could argue, Alessa had already walked away.

Misty looked back at Ash, who was still numbly narrating the story to his 'children'. The gym leader shook her head with pity and allowed Ash to finish the story before she moved.

"At this, the furious lizard hissed, 'I'll swallow you up in a single bite!' Then the creature attacked, jaws open wide. That was what the man wanted. Calmly drawing his bow, he shot into the lizard's gaping mouth. Effortlessly, the arrow flew, piercing the defenceless maw, and the lizard fell down dead. And everyone lived happily ever after."

Misty took Pikachu onto her shoulder and stepped into the classroom. The second she entered, every skull child present turned to look at her, causing her to pause in surprise. However, none of them moved, and Misty got the nerve to keep walking towards Ash.

The boy didn't look up, but Misty felt Ash had noticed her presence. He was just too ashamed to look her in the eye. Misty slowly stepped through the class of knife-wielders that never took their eyes off her. Pikachu sparked slightly, to keep the children from changing their minds and attacking. Luckily they never did.

Not saying a word, Misty sat beside the shell-shocked Ash Ketchum. The boy still didn't move and avoided her gaze.

"Hey." Misty greeted. Ash didn't respond. "Can we talk?"

Ash eventually sighed. "Daddy needs to be alone."

The skull children looked confused – or looked as confused as their skulls could show – and hesitated for a minute, but eventually shuffled out of the room. In a few minutes, it was only Ash, Misty and Pikachu in the quiet classroom. Once the skull children were out, Pikachu hopped off Misty's shoulder and landed on Ash's lap. The boy didn't respond.

Misty started to talk. "Ash, this isn't your fault. You know that."

Silence.

"There was no way you could've known about this. I mean, we know you Ash. You'd never mean to…"

"I did."

"What?"

"Do you know what I almost did? When I found out about the gas?" Ash stammered, trying to hold back a sob. "Do you know what I wanted to do? I nearly killed them...had them killed…"

Misty's eyes went wide, understanding what Ash was talking about. "Did you…"

"No but…" Ash gulped for air, tears appearing in his eyes. "I wanted to, I was willing to…Created a monster on purpose, willed it to…I almost…"

"You didn't, Ash. That's what's important." Misty gulped.

"No it isn't! I nearly murdered them! I nearly…" Ash's head fell into his hands. "I'm going nuts, aren't I? I'm turning into… her."

Misty didn't answer, not sure how to respond. What could she tell him? The two sat in silence for another few minutes.

Ash finally took a deep breath and raised his head. "You and the others shouldn't have followed me here. You don't have to stay. I'll get you a ride…"

"Ash…"

"Suh-seriously. I'll make something…I think there's a bus still in town…I can…"

"But…but what about you? What will you do?"

"I'm staying here."

Misty gasped. "No! You can't just do that?"

"Why not? I'm the emperor now. You know what'll happen if I leave…I need to stay here…"

"Ash, no! Alessa…"

"DON'T SAY HER NAME!" Ash snapped, immediately regretting it. "Misty…I – I belong here now, I can't…"

"ASH, SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!" Misty slapped Ash across the face, overcome with frustration. Ash clutched his cheek, staring at Misty with a shocked expression.

Misty started to rant, forcing Ash to look her in the eye. "Listen to me, Ash. You do NOT belong here. This is not your home. Is that what you want? Moping about in this demented rathole for the rest of your life? Ash, you have a life outside of here. Your friends. Your mother. The tournaments. Being a Pokemon master. You're really gonna give all that up because things got crazy here?"

Ash blinked. "But…how…"

"Al…she did this, she can fix it. Talk to her. Please, think about it. Don't you want to have a normal life? She can take back what's hers, and we can leave. Forget this place. Have our lives back." Misty clasped Ash's bandaged hands. "I'll stay with you, Ash. I am NOT leaving without you. We can end this nightmare. Please. Don't just give up."

Nobody moved for a moment, as Ash digested what Misty had said to him. Jessie's words to his creature came up in his head as well. Pikachu looked up at it's master, waiting for his reaction.

Tears sprung in Ash's eyes and he suddenly embraced Misty in a tight hug. The girl had the breath knocked out of her, but she didn't complain.

"Thank you…" Ash gulped, his breath still hoarse from the sob.

Misty patted her friend's back. "No problem. I'm not just gonna let you throw your life away."

Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief from where he was sitting. Things were beginning to look up again.

After a few minutes, Ash ended the embrace. The trainer wiped his tears away, and Misty saw the determination and conviction return to his eyes. The Ash she knew was finally starting to come back.

"Alright. I'll talk to her. Let's finish this."