Storm at the Vile Villa

Maya was gasping hard and coughing as Dororo frantically ran to her side.

"I'm fine, Oro" she coughed on her knees, Dororo supporting her as best he could. "You're a life saver."

"Froggaaa..." He said, warily. Maya looked up to see the flaming blue orb, a will-o-wisp it seemed, and carefully reached for a charm from the bag on the floor. Suddenly, the little orb gave a little pop and there was a very dizzy candle Pokemon. A Litwick.

"Liiiiiiiiiiii..." The Pokemon breathed dizzily as if it were spun too fast. Maya quickly stuck a paper charm to it and the Pokemon froze up.

"Liiiii! Wiiiii?!" The Litwick panicked, panicky cries ringing out from its immobile state.

"Serves you right for doing that," Maya said, rearranging the tags on her body back onto her arms. The pressure in her brain lessened significantly and she could breathe easier as she stuck a few more on.

"Liiiiii!"

"I don't care if you were just trying to have fun. How would you like it if I started controlling you against your will hmmm?" She said, pointing out the Litwick's immobile state.

"Wiiiiiiii!" She shrieked. "Wiiiiiii liiiiiiii!"

"...You're kidding... You want to come with me?" Maya stared at the pleading ghost. She could tell this ghost Pokemon wasn't malicious. Just mischievously dangerous. According to her claims... she just wanted to leave the mansion. "I don't think I can let you come with me... I'm sorry. However, I will remove this charm if your promise not to do anything to me okay?

"Liiiii~" It replied.

With a sigh Maya removed the tag and quick as a flash the Litwick dived at her bag. The Pokemon came back up with a Dusk Ball in its hands.

"Hey!" Maya called. The Litwick threw the Pokeball up in the air with a giggle and let the ball hit it right in the head. A red light surrounded the Pokemon and was pulled into the Pokeball. It shook once... twice... third time it went quiet. Maya gaped at the Pokeball and picked it up. She glanced at Dororo who just gaped back at her.

"Um...."

Ellylldan joined the party!

"You can't kill a spirit though, they can only pass on on their own," Astina murmured as Quartz rose from her lap to stand guard between her and the spirit that wished to attack her. Ruby slowly floated back to Astina before collapsing in her lap, having taken quite the hit from the aura. Astina looked at the spirit before her with determination in her innocent eyes, clearly believing what she was saying. "If you do not want to pass on, that is not something I can force. I only came here to see if there were any spirits that needed my help with their wishes."

Nicole nodded. "Right... Can't be worse than dealing with a Trapinch bite... Or getting the needles I just got out of Nero's fur stuck in my hand." She said trying to make light of the situation so that she wouldn't flinch. Noticing Nicole's discomfort, Phaedra had made her way down the Kangaskhan mother's back, thanking her and apologizing again for letting her climb on her as she did so, before making her way over and jumping into Nicole's lap. Nicole smiled at that and patted the Fennekin on the top of her head. "You did a great job Phaedra. Here, have a twig." She said carefully pulling a twig from her backpack. The Fennekin's eyes lit up and she gratefully took the twig and laid down in her lap to begin nibbling on it.

---

Nero bolted up the stairs as quickly as he could headed towards the last place he had seen Nicole...  Only to find out that she wasn't there.  Eyes widening, Nero whined before he began to move down the hall to see if he could find Nicole.  He really hoped she was okay.  Now he really regretted not coming back sooner.

Maya starred at the Pokeball for a moment, placed a cleanse tag on the seam of it before placing it in her bag next to Bo's Pokeball with a sigh. She looked to Dororo who seemed pleased that his trainer was now in control of her senses. He croaked happily.

"Thanks buddy," she smiles, as he hops up on top of her shoulder, a little bigger than he was as a Froakie, but still could manage. "We need to get out of here. Can I count on you to keep the rest of the ghost Pokemon away? They won't be able to sneak up on you if I materialize them."

"Froga!" He said confidently, giving a salute.

"All right lets go. We need to find Marcus first," she began walking and focused on Marcus's presence. Something was off... She picked up the pace and followed the direction as Dororo water pulsed a Gastly right through the wall.

See? She doesn't even understand you. She's too innocent. You aren't going to convince her. Please...just leave her alone.

A dense, dark growl came from Marcus' open mouth as his hands shakily closed slowly around Astina's neck. The voice that came from his mouth now sounded nothing like its host. "You're right. There is no point in talking." The spirit lifted Astina off the ground by the throat, ignoring her Pokemon and brought her face up to Marcus' height. "Now you'll learn how dangerous the world really is, child."

---

Sofa walked around looking for Marcus, when he smelled a familiar scent and followed it, moving around the mansion. He walked past ghosts left and right; but they all ignored him, thinking there was no fun in going after a normal type. Sofa did his best to keep Lex covered so they wouldn't see him and change their minds.

Sofa saw the edge of a coat as he turned a corner and was getting tired of chasing after her; so he just called out to Maya in a voice a bit too loud for the situation, "SLAAAAAAAAA-KING!"

Astina gasped for air as Marcus' hands circled around her neck and restricted her breathing. She wanted to remain calm like her teacher had taught her, but something about having very little air to survive on made it hard to remain calm. She also didn't want to attack the ghost to show that she really didn't mean it any harm, but she couldn't just let it kill her and cause trouble for her tribe when she didn't return like she promised. Quartz rose into the air and shot seeds at Marcus in an attempt to save her trainer.