#clamp paranormal investigations

[the-corvus-luna]

transparent image for fun!

Scanner testing time!

I've been wanting to get a good image of the paranormal group on the back of this book!

#clamp #clamp school detectives #clamp paranormal investigations #clamp trpg #ive got a scanner baby #mwhahaha!!

[houseofclamp]

#CLAMP #CLAMP School Paranormal Investigators

[matty-bear]

The Elevator Game Gone Wrong [M.S]

type: fic! 

pairing: matt sturniolo x fem!reader

warnings: long , sfw , fluffy , paranormal activity , hint of getting an attachment (wink wink) , elevators , ritual run through 

summary: as you and the triplets join sam and colby in investigating the most haunted hotel in texas , the two ghost hunters suggest that Matt participates in a ritual called The Elevator Game . little did everyone know that the ritual would actually work and your boyfriend would get stuck in another part of existence . 

notes: i HAD to write a fic based off the SnC x sturniolo collab . n when I found that the sam n colby made matt do this ritual , i knew i had to write a fic based off it :3 hope you guys enjoy reading part one ! be on the lookout for part two <3 

WC: 7098

PT2

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Is the red light really necessary?” Nick asks, a single eyebrow raising as he watches Sam turn on a large red light and set it behind the camera propped up in front of them. 

“It adds a more dramatic effect to the video.” Sam shrugs, taking a few steps back to check if the light is fine in the viewfinder. 

“Well it looks rather terrifying in here so good job guys.” You say, holding up two thumbs up as a small smile spreads across your lips. 

“We try.” Colby smiles, shrugging his shoulders a little before he leans back against his arms on his spot on the mattress. 

“You guys ready to start?” Sam asks as he adverts his gaze from the camera to you and the triplets. 

“We were born ready.” Chris replies, a determined expression clear on his face as he nods faintly. Sam takes a quick glance over at Colby and waits for the male to give him a thumbs up before turning back towards the camera. Without warning, a spew of random sounds spill out of Sam’s mouth as he waves his arms about. Colby follows suit with the random shenanigan and you and the triplets laugh softly at the two before their actions come to a quick halt. 

“It is ritual time.” Sam states as he clasps his hands together and glances over at all of you. 

“Yay.” Nick says, his voice monotone as he wipes his mouth with his hand. 

“Love the sound of that.” Matt comments, earning a small laugh from his two brothers. 

“We are going to do something that we’ve never done before on this channel.” Sam starts, his tone nothing but serious as Nick and Chris let out small shouts of excitement. “We are going to be doing something called The Elevator Game.” 

As Matt and Nick begin to clap softly, Chris speaks up. “That sounds like a very pleasing game to partake in.” The male jokes, earning a small snicker from you as you clamp a hand over your mouth to muffle your laughter. 

“You guys said you love elevators, right?” 

“Big fans.” Nick replies with a small smile. 

“I hate elevators.” Matt states, his comment drawing laughter from the four other boys in the room.  

“Perfect!” As you take a quick glance over at Matt, Sam clears his throat for a moment before he continues, “That is very interesting because for this ritual, we need a singular volunteer.” 

As Sam slowly looks over and locks eyes with Matt, the rest of the boys look over at the middle triplet with large smiles visible on their lips. 

“Yes Matt!” Nick exclaims as he lightly nudges the said male's leg with his knee. 

Chris reaches behind you to land a singular hand on the older’s shoulder. “Do you wanna volunteer or should we just rule you in?” The male asks as he pats his brother’s back a few times. 

As you lean forward and take in a proper look at your boyfriend, a nervous expression can be seen clear as day on his face as he looks between all the boys in the room. You've known about Matt’s fear of elevators for a little while now. You knew the male would avoid them at all costs unless it was absolutely necessary. In fact, the small mishap that occurred between him and Chris about a year or so ago was the reason why this fear of his became a thing. 

During the duration of filming the collaboration with Sam and Colby, yourself and the triplets often took the elevator to travel between the different floors of the hotel you guys were investigating in. Matt, not wanting to draw attention to himself, dragged himself to the elevator everytime you guys went to a different floor. He always stayed in the corner closest to the door, being ready to exit the moment anything suspicious started happening. 

Speaking of which, when the small malfunction in the elevator occurred when you guys and the tour guides went to go to a different floor and the elevator started acting up, you immediately picked up on Matt’s anxious behavior. When Sam mentioned that someone should step out to see if the same issue with the doors would happen, Matt immediately volunteered and practically ran out of the elevator and stayed outside for a little while until you guys sorted the situation out. 

You had a feeling that Sam and Colby would ask Matt to do this Elevator Ritual when he mentioned his strong dislike for elevators. You knew that your boyfriend would immediately decline because that’s one of his fears but you also knew that the male wouldn’t wanna pass this opportunity up and seem like a pussy. 

“I’ll go on the elevator.” Matt states, earning excited shouts from all the boys, more specifically Sam and Colby. You raise an eyebrow at your boyfriend when he looks over at you. The male subtly takes your hand in his and squeezes your hand three times, signifying that he’ll be alright. 

“Face that fear, Matt.” Chris says as he gently claps his hands together, a proud smile visible on his lips. 

“So that means that Matt and I are going to go into the elevator and go through all 13 floors.” Sam says, his voice low as he looks over at the said male who sends him a little smile. 

“That sounds wonderful.” Nick comments as he nods his head and gently pats Matt’s knee. 

“Then you guys can stay in the lobby and be with-“ 

“Samantha!” Colby shouts, accidentally cutting the blonde off. 

“Yes, Daddy Driskill and Samantha will be accompanying you guys while we do the ritual.” Sam nods, earning excited shouts from Nick and Chris. 

“Yes! The big D!” Nick exclaims, excitement running through his veins as he claps a few times. 

“I am going to explain the rules of The Elevator Game now.” Sam says as he looks straight into the camera. “Now, since the game is a summoning ritual, it is said to, if it works, take us to another plane of existence. I don’t exactly know if that will happen but it’s worth a shot.” 

“Oh my God… That’s not terrifying at all.” Chris jokes as he lands a few playful pokes on Matt’s back. “You better be ready, kid.” 

“Also very important note, there is a chance that we may never come back.” Sam adds, earning shocked exclamations from you and the triplets.

“Isn’t that lovely.” You say as you subconsciously begin to trace circles on the back of Matt’s hand with your thumb. 

“Right? We might never come back.” 

“Chris, I think that’s a sign that you and I should get our license. Who the hell is gonna drive us around if Matt doesn’t come back?” Nick asks, leaning forwards a little to lock eyes with Chris. 

“Shit, you're right.” Chris mumbles, a single hand coming up to rub the side of his face. “Matt, please come back after you do the ritual. I really dont wanna have the responsibility of doing all the laundry.” 

“As long as you guys don’t jinx me, I'm sure I’ll be perfectly fine.” Matt reassures as he lands a soft hit to Chris’ back. 

“I agree with Matt. You guys can’t jinx us.” Sam says as he points a single finger towards all of you, causing you guys to all stick y’all’s hands up in defense. “Anyways, onto the rules.” The blonde digs in his pocket to fish his phone out. After unlocking the device, he pulls up the rules and instructions of the ritual. “So. We are going to have to push a series of buttons and make sure that no one else gets onto the elevator. If the whole place has 13 floors, which this hotel does, then it will summon something on the final floor. We will start in the lobby and go to four, two, six, back to two, ten, and then five. Five is the most haunted floor and the final bit of the ritual.” 

“I love the sound of this guys. I’m so excited.” Matt says, sarcasm laced in his tone as looks down at his lap and uses his free hand to ruffle his hair.

“Are you regretting volunteering?” Chris asks, a small laugh escaping him as he takes in the older’s stressed state. 

“Umm..” Matt starts as he lifts his head back up and looks ahead of him. “I’d rather it be me than you to be honest.” A unison of ‘oh!’s fill the room as Chris narrows his eyes at Matt. “I feel like you would just be better in the elevator than Chris would.” Matt adverts his statement to Nick as he reaches over to his left and lightly hits the older’s arm. 

“Alrighty then. I guess that makes sense.” Chris says as he rubs the slight stubble forming on his chin. 

“You just seem to be the person that’s less fit and prepared to do this.” Nick adds, his head slightly tilting to the side as he looks over at the youngest triplet. As you stifle a laugh and cover your mouth, Chris’ jaw drops as a fake hurt expression spreads across his face. 

“We got some sibling banter over here.” Sam says to the camera as he juts his thumb towards the three brothers. “Anyways, back to the rules of the game. Once we reach the fifth floor, the door will obviously open and it is said that on this said floor, especially knowing that it's the most haunted floor, a female spirit will walk into the elevator with us. To end the ritual, we must press one and go back to where you guys are.” 

A few excited shouts fill the room as all the boys shake their fists. “However!” Sam exclaims, cutting off the shouting as he gently clasps his hands together. 

“Of course there’s a however.” Nick mumbles, earning a small laugh from Colby as the red-head crosses his arms over his abdomen. 

“Rituals can never be all cupcakes and rainbows, you know.” Sam says with a small smile before he diverts his attention back to the camera. “If the ritual is a success, the elevator won’t go to the lobby. It will go up and start ascending. If that happens, that means we’ve successfully summoned something into the elevator.” 

“Are you serious?” Colby asks, a small laugh escaping his lips as he sends the blonde a shocked expression. 

“Is that when the chance of you guys not coming back comes into play?” You ask, a worried expression spreading across your face as you look up at Sam. 

“Yes.” The blonde replies, softly nodding his head as he turns around and locks eyes with you.

“Some Willy Wonka shit is gonna happen then.” Nick jokes, trying to lighten the tense mood filling the room. It seems to work as soft laughter comes from you and the rest of the boys. “We’re just gonna hear a loud crash as the elevator flies out of the hotel.” 

“We’re just gonna be flying into the oblivion.” Sam adds as he shoots his arm up to mimic the action of the elevator flying. 

“Yeah, I will not be very happy if that happens.” Matt points a finger at Sam as the latter laughs softly. “If I get stuck in this elevator, I feel bad for Sam. That’s all ima say.” 

“Awh.” Sam chuckles lightly as he brings a hand up to his chest. “Considering the amount of mishaps we’ve had with the elevator earlier, I really hope nothing bad happens.” 

“If shit goes down after we’re done with the ritual, you guys are gonna be next.” Matt points both his pointer fingers towards Nick and Chris who hurriedly shake their heads. 

“Let’s just hope you come back first.” Nick says as he lands a hand on Matt’s shoulder. 

“They will come back, don’t worry.” Colby reassures as he looks over at Sam and gently nods his head. 

“Well, we’ll never find that out if we don’t do it. So shall we get this ritual started?” Sam asks he turns towards all you guys, a large smile visible on his lips as he rubs his hands together. 

“Hell yeah!” Chris exclaims as he slips off the mattress. 

“Let’s all head to the lobby then.” As Sam walks up to the camera to shut it off, Nick and Colby follow Chris in exiting the room. After ensuring that the males leave and that Sam is busy with the camera, you look over at Matt who’s began to fiddle with the horse chain on his neck. 

“You really wanna do this?” You whisper, your voice low as you lean in closer to your boyfriend. 

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. It’s just an elevator, right?” Matt replies as he looks over at you. As he sends you a small smile, you gently nod your head and slip off the bed. You stick your hand out to Matt, who quickly takes it and allows you to pull him up to his feet. Before following Sam out the door, you land a quick kiss on Matt’s temple before guiding him out of the room. 

༼ つ ╹ ╹ ༽つ༼ つ ╹ ╹ ༽つ༼ つ ╹ ╹ ༽つ

Upon arriving in the lobby, Sam and Colby begin to set up their equipment as you and the triplets patiently wait in front of the elevator. 

“Alright.” Sam begins as he adjusts his hold on the camera in his hand before turning it on. “Any thoughts before we start Matt?”

“Umm…” Matt starts as he begins to rock back and forth on his heels. “I have to say that the nausea I’ve been feeling for the past five minutes or so has increased significantly.” 

“You’ve been feeling nauseous?” Colby asks, adverting his focus from the camera in his hand to look over at Matt, a worried expression clear on his face as he glances over at Sam. The two ghost hunters share a worried look before Nick speaks up.

“We’ve all been feeling a little nauseous.” Nick begins as he crosses his arms over his chest. “I started feeling it when we sat down to eat, Matt started feeling it five minutes ago, y/n started feeling it when we were giving candy offerings to Samantha, and Chris felt it the second we got here.” 

“That doesn’t sound very good…” Sam says, his voice trailing off as he gestures Colby to grab something in the backpack. “Maybe we should sage you guys again before we start the ritual.” 

“Should we do it here or go outside?” Colby asks as he digs inside the backpack laying at his feet. 

“We can do it here.” Colby gently nods his head before bringing the sage out. He gestures you and the triplets to stand in a line before he quickly waves the sage around the four of you. “That should do it. If you guys keep feeling nauseous, we can take a break.” 

“We appreciate it guys.” You say with a small smile. 

“Of course. Safety comes first.” Sam says, earning a firm head nod from Colby. “Anyways, you ready to start?” Sam turns the camera to Matt and gently pats his shoulder a few times. 

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Matt replies with a gentle head nod. 

“Are you not gonna say goodbye to your siblings and girlfriend? You may never see them again if the ritual works.” Colby asks as he gestures towards you, Nick, and Chris. 

Matt turns around and sticks his arm out to Nick, who sends him a glare before hesitantly shaking his hand. 

“A hand shake?” Colby laughs softly as Nick wraps his arms around Matt and brings him in for a quick embrace. “See, that’s much better.” After pulling away, Chris and Matt share a firm handshake before also sharing a quick hug. 

“Okay, I’ll start googling places where we can get our licenses.” Nick says softly as he brings a hand up to rub his nape. 

“Dude, I’m not dead yet…” Matt says, a hurtful expression spreading across his face as he pulls away from Chris who smacks his chest a few times. 

“Yet.” Sam repeats, a small laugh escaping his lips as he watches Matt playfully shove Chris back. As the younger giggles softly, Matt turns to you, his gaze softening as he immediately brings you in for an embrace. Collective ‘awh’s come from all the boys when Matt lands a quick peck on your lips and forehead. 

“Leave your license behind before you go to another universe please.” Nick says, earning a rapid head nod from Chris. After pulling away from the hug, Matt shakes his head and digs in his pocket to pull out his wallet. As he wordlessly hands Nick his wallet, Chris comes up behind him and grabs both his shoulders. 

“I call dibs on that one jacket in your closet by the way.” Chris says, a large smile plastered on his lips as he massages the older’s shoulders. 

“Wonderful, alright. We’re all just claiming all my shit.” Matt says with a soft laugh. As the male turns to face you, he raises an eyebrow when he takes in your smiley face. “You too?” 

“I only want a few stuff.” You defend as you hold up your hand and pinch your pointer finger and thumb together. 

“Yeah, okay. Like that’s believable.” As Matt laughs and shakes his head gently, the sound of the elevator dinging causes all of you to quickly turn around. 

“What the fuck?” Colby mumbles, his face falling as he looks into the empty elevator. 

“Did you guys push anything?” Sam asks as he points a finger at you and the triplets. 

“No. Swear to God we didn’t.” Nick defends as he holds both his hands up. 

“It’s fucking midnight.” Colby states after his eyes scan over the numbers plastered on the top of his Lock Screen. He shows the camera his phone to ensure that he's telling the truth before turning the device to you and the rest of the boys. 

“I personally would not go in there.” Chris says as he wraps his arms around his torso, a nervous expression clear on his face. 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t either.” You add as you reach your hand out to grab Matt’s. 

“Well, we can’t back out now. It is twelve o’clock after all.” Sam says, a heavy exhale leaving his lips as he looks over at Colby, the two locking eyes for a moment. “I think that we should start this ritual before more weird shit happens.” 

“Please be careful.” You say, your voice firm as you look up at Matt. The male looks down at you and gently cups the side of your face with a single hand, the pad of his thumb gently caressing your cheek in hopes of calming your sudden anxiety spike. 

“We will, don’t worry.” Sam reassures as he begins to walk towards the elevator. He looks inside the small space for a moment, ensuring that nothing and no one is inside before he hesitantly steps in. “You coming?” 

Matt quickly shifts his gaze from you to Sam who’s standing at the back of the elevator. “Yeah, I'm coming.” Matt replies. Before the male enters the elevator, he bends down a little to capture his lips in yours. He pulls back after a few seconds and gently caresses your face before joining Sam in the elevator. 

“You two be safe.” Chris calls as he moves to take a stand in between you and Nick. 

“Yeah, come back please!” Nick adds as he subconsciously wraps an arm around your shoulder and pulls you closer to him. 

“We’ll be back, promise.” Sam reassures as he sets a small device in the middle of the elevator. 

“Wait, I need photos for the prayer cards.” Nick states, a hand quickly digging in his pocket to fish his phone out. As he opens his camera and faces it towards Matt, the male holds up a small v, practically posing for the camera. You can’t help but giggle at the sight before Nick smiles proudly and puts his phone away. 

“Alright, we’re gonna start now guys.” Sam states as he walks up a few steps, his frame being inches away from the entrance of the elevator. After looking over at Matt and gaining a firm head nod from him, the two begin the ritual. 

“Please take us to another world.” Matt and Sam say in unison. The blonde reaches over to push a button to close the elevator and takes a few steps back to stand next to Matt. At the sight of the door closing, the male shouts out a small ‘oh god!’, a mix of fear and anxiousness filling his body as he eyes the door. 

“Matt, I love you have fun.” Nick says as he makes a small heart with both his hands. Matt sends the red-head a small smile before the doors finally close. 

“I really hope nothing bad happens.” Chris mumbles as he shakes his head slightly, nervousness bubbling in him as he stares at the closed elevator doors. 

“Me too.” Colby agrees as he forces his lips together in a straight line. The male momentarily turns his back to you and the two brothers to dig inside his backpack. After a few moments of searching, he pulls out two EMF readers and holds them out in front of him. “Which one of you guys would like to have the honors in holding one?” 

“I would love to have one.” Nick says, a small smile appearing on his lips as he bounces on his heels a few times. 

“Me too.” You add, landing a hand on Nick’s shoulder as the two of you step closer to Colby. The latter gently nods his head and hands the two of you an EMF reader. 

“Okay, how should we start this?” Colby asks as he leans his backpack against the wall and focuses the camera on you three. 

“We can start walking around to see if we get anything on the EMF readers.” You suggest with a small shrug. Colby nods his head at your suggestion and gestures for you and Nick to begin walking around with his hand. 

“Wait, didn’t the tour guide say that-“ 

“Your reader is going off!” Chris exclaims, accidentally cutting his older brother off as he points to the said device with his pointer finger. The youngest triplet seems to be correct as Nick looks down at the EMF reader in his hand and sees the device light up the first three levels. 

“You got anything yet y/n?” Colby asks as he zooms the lenses into Nick’s EMF reader to capture the activity. 

“Nope. Nothing yet.” You reply softly as you begin to walk a bit further away from the group, your eyes being locked onto the device in your hand the entire time. 

“The tour guide said that the bathroom is one of the most haunted places.” Nick states as he begins to gently wave the EMF reader about, trying to get it to spike up any further. “I think we should go see if we get any activity over there.” 

“Great idea, let’s head over there. Lead the way.” Colby gently nods his head towards Nick to encourage the male to lead the group to the bathrooms. The red-head complies and begins to walk towards a hallway a little ways to the right, the three of you following close behind him. 

“Let’s see…” Nick mumbles, more to himself than to anyone else. While you and the male walk around and inside the bathrooms, ya’ll don’t get much activity apart from a few spikes that went to yellow. 

“Let’s go back to the elevator. We’re not getting much.” You say as you walk out of the women’s bathroom, the door shutting behind you and coming in contact with the heels of your shoes. 

Colby nods his head and waits for Nick to return from the male’s bathroom before you guys walk back to the elevator. The moment you stand next to the elevator, your EMF reader spikes all the way to red. 

“Mine just went to red.” You say, your voice a little louder than usual to gain the attraction of the three males in the room. 

“Holy shit.” Colby mumbles as he quickly makes his way over to you. As he zooms his lens into the device in your hand, Nick and Chris come up to the other side of you and look down at your EMF reader. “Nick, you getting anything?” 

“Mines still at yellow.” The red-head replies, momentarily turning the reader so it can face the camera before he turns it back to face him. 

“Maybe we should pull out the onvoy and see if we get anything. You know, considering how much activity we’ve been getting around here already.” Colby suggests as he walks back to his backpack and pulls it open. 

“What’s that?” Chris asks, his head tilting slightly as he watches the ghost hunger pull a device out of his bag. 

“It’s basically a device that gives us yes or no responses through questions we ask.” Colby explains as he crouches down and sets the device on the floor. After turning it on and waiting for it to light up, he looks up at the three of you who are already intently looking at him. “Something just has to physically tap it like so for us to get a response.” Colby sets his pointer finger on the device for a moment and awaits for it to beep a few times and light up yes before he pulls away.

“That doesn’t sound too difficult.” You ponder aloud as you take a momentarily glance towards the EMF reader in your hand. 

“It’s not difficult whatsoever. Would you guys like to start asking some questions?” 

“Absolutely.” Chris replies with a small smile as the three of you take a seat around the onvoy. 

“If there are any spirits that would like to communicate with us tonight, please make yourself known by using this device to answer our questions. All you have to do is come up and touch it to let us know what your thoughts are.” Colby calls out, his head turning around a few times before he turns his focus back to you and the two brothers. 

“What should we ask first?” Nick asks gently, his eyes staying fixed on the EMF reader in his hand. 

“Do you think that Sam and Matt are gonna make it back to us?” Chris asks, anxiousness laced in his tone as he practically stares down at the onvoy. A few beats of silence pass by before the device dings a few times. 

Colby lets out a small gasp of surprise at the sound and leans in close to the onvoy. “It says yes!” The male exclaims happily as he zooms the lens into the response. 

The moment the male reads that aloud, the sound of the elevator dinging alerts the four of you. Quickly, you all turn around and collectively let out sighs of relief as the doors open and reveal Sam and Matt. 

“You’re done already?” Nick asks, his mouth agape as he watches the two males step out of the elevator rather quickly. 

“Yeah, we practically flew through all the floors.” Matt replies, a small, proud smile visible on his lips as he approaches the four of you who are still sitting on the floor. When the male stands behind you, you quickly turn your body to face him, a large smile spreading across your lips, as you immediately reach for your boyfriend’s hand. As you caress it gently and bring his hand up to your lips to land a small kiss on his knuckles, Sam takes a stand next to him. 

“Did you guys get anything?” The blonde asks as he stashes the device him and Matt were using in the elevator in his pocket. 

“No.” Colby replies with a frown. “We literally asked a single question.” 

“Yeah, the one question I asked is ‘Do you think that Sam and Matt are gonna make it back to us?” Chris adds as he gets himself up from the floor and dusts his pants off a little. “The moment it said yes, the door opened.” 

“It was crazy timing.” Nick comments as he follows suit in getting up off the floor. 

“Really?” Sam asks, his jaw dropping slightly as he looks over at Colby with pure shock in his face. 

“Really.” Nick confirms with a firm head nod. “We didn’t have time to ask a bunch of questions. Chris was the only person that got to ask a question.”

“Well, Sam and I encountered no issues while we were doing the ritual. We went through all the floors with ease. However, we didn’t really get anything with the device we were using. I mean, we did get a few words but I found them to be more random than anything.” 

“Yeah, that has got to be the fastest ritual we’ve ever experienced.” Colby comments, his head gently nodding as he looks between Sam and Matt. 

“It was pretty easy, nothing too difficult.” Matt says, his gaze falling to yours and his intertwined fingers. 

“Would you like to do it again then? But by yourself this time?” Sam inquires, a single eyebrow raising as he looks over at the brunette. 

Silence fills the lobby as you all stare at Matt, awaiting for his response. You manage to catch your boyfriend’s face falling slightly as he looks over at Sam, his eyes slightly wide as he locks eyes with him. Sensing the male’s sudden anxiety spike, you begin to play with his fingers in hopes of grounding him a little. 

Matt blinks hardly a few times as he looks down at you, his eyes basically pleading for you to answer the question for him. At the brunette’s gaze, you pick your free hand up and land a soft poke on his chest, signaling that it’s his call. You watch as the male sighs before he picks his head back up and looks up at his two brothers who shrug at him. Matt forces his lips together and looks over at Sam, his right hand coming up to his nape as he locks eyes with the blonde. 

“I would- I don’t-“ Matt sputters, a heavy sigh escaping his lips as he digs in the pocket of his pants. “I’d have to write down the numbers…” 

“Is that a yes then?” Sam asks, excitement glossing over his eyes as he zooms the lens onto the male in front of him. After Matt gently nods his head in response, collective shouts of encouragement sounds from you and the boys. 

“You sure you wanna do it alone?” Chris asks as he walks up to the brunette, a single hand coming up to rest it on his brother's shoulder. “The chance of you never coming back is still there. You’ll be fully alone in another universe.” At the younger’s statement, Nick lands a harsh hit on Chris’s bicep, signaling him to shut up with an intense glare. 

“Well, you guys better start looking up ways to get me back if the ritual actually works.” Matt replies, a nervous smile overtaking his features as he begins to fiddle with the horse chain around his neck. 

Colby goes to add onto the conversation however, the sound of the elevator dinging alerts all six of you. You all turn around to face the elevator, fear running through y’all’s bodies at the sight of the doors opening more slower than usual. 

“I think that’s a sign, Matt.” Sam says as he lands a hand on the said male’s shoulder. 

“I guess I’ll go then. Could you text me the numbers?” Matt asks with a soft sigh. As Sam gently nods his head and fishes his phone out of his pocket, Colby walks up to the brunette. 

“You wanna take this camera?” The ghost hunter asks as he holds the said device out in front of him. 

“Sure.” Colby sends Matt a small smile when the male hesitantly takes the camera from him. 

“Matt, please be careful. Like I'm being so for real. I have no idea what we would do without you.” Nick says, a frown overtaking his features as he walks up the middle triplet and lands both his hands on his shoulders. 

“I will, don’t worry. If you guys focus on asking questions, I will be back in no time.” Matt reassures, a comforting smile spreading across his lips as he brings the red-head in for a quick embrace. 

“Wait, me too. I want a hug as well.” Chris whines as he quickly makes his way over to the three of you. Nick pulls away with a small eye roll and steps aside to allow the younger to get his hug. 

“I sent you the numbers. You can head in when you’re ready.” Sam says, his voice soft as he picks his head up and looks over at Matt, the hand that’s holding his phone digging inside his pocket to put the said device away. 

“Word.” Matt replies. After Chris breaks away from the hug and steps back, Matt looks over at you and takes in your worried features. “I promise I’ll be alright. I’ll be back in no time.” Your boyfriend gently cups your face with his free hand, the pad of his thumb gently caressing over your soft skin. 

You gently nod your head, the faint frown on your lips not faltering as you look deep into your boyfriend’s blue irises that hold a sense of anxiousness. Matt brings your face closer to his to bring you in for a quick kiss. Before pulling away, he nibbles on your bottom lip for a moment. 

The brunette removes his hand from your face and gives you a small smile before he turns around to face Sam. “I’m ready.” The male says. 

“Alright, go ahead and step in.” Sam instructs as he gestures towards the open and empty elevator. Matt immediately does as instructed and hesitantly steps inside the elevator, a heavy sigh escaping him as he raises the hand that’s holding the camera. “You know what to say.” The blonde says with a smile as he gives the younger male a thumbs up with his free hand.  

Matt looks straight at the camera, his tongue slipping out of his mouth to drag over his slightly chapped lips momentarily, before he begins the ritual. “Please take me to another world. I may regret saying that but hey, see you guys later.” Matt takes a final glance at all of you standing a few steps away from the doors of the elevator before he steps toward the panel full of bottoms. 

“We love you Matt!” Chris exclaims, both his hands coming up to cup over his mouth to get his voice to project more loudly. 

“Be safe!” You add, sliding over to Nick and wrapping an arm around his. You manage to catch Matt waving goodbye before the doors of the elevator finally shut. 

“Guys, go subscribe to the Sturniolos.” Sam states as he turns the camera in his hand and points at it. 

“And comment about how ballsy Matt is. I’m actually so shocked about how he’s been doing this whole investigation. He’s usually never this open and talkative during stuff like this.” Nick says as he crosses his arms over his chest. 

“Yeah, I'm actually really proud of him. He's doing phenomenal.” Colby compliments as he gently claps a few times. 

“Let’s just hope he hasn’t been too open today. We don’t want him to get any-“ Sam gets cut off by Colby harshly digging his elbow into his side. The blonde winces softly and flinches at the touch, his eyes narrowing as he sends a glare towards his friend. 

“Get any what?” You ask, panic flooding in you as you take in Colby’s serious expression. 

“Nothing. We should start asking some questions before Matt comes back.” Colby replies, a small smile appearing on his lips as he turns back around. You share a worried look with Nick and Chris before the three of you, including Sam, join Colby in sitting on the floor around the onvoy. “Who would like to ask the first question?” 

“I would.” Nick says, picking his head up to lock eyes with Colby. After gaining a small head nod from the male, he takes a deep inhale before speaking, “Was sending Matt alone a good decision?” A few beats of silence pass by before the onvoy dings. Nick bends down slightly to read the response. “Yes!” 

“Will Matt find more information regarding what happened at the hotel?” Chris asks as he brings his knees up to his chest and rests his chin on them. The onvoy dings seconds after the question. “No…” 

“Alright..” You mumble. You clear your throat before asking your question, “Will someone join Matt in the elevator when he reaches the fifth floor?” Like earlier, the onvoy immediately dings as it lights up a response. “Yes. Well isn’t that nice. Doesn’t make my anxiety worse at all.” 

The boys all giggle at your statement as you rub your face with both your hands. 

“Is Matt in any danger?” Sam asks, momentarily turning the camera around to put himself in the frame before he turns it back around. Again, the onvoy immediately dings a response. You and the boys take a moment to pause and exchange anxious looks before yall lean in and read the response. 

“Yes.” 

༼ つ ╹ ╹ ༽つ༼ つ ╹ ╹ ༽つ༼ つ ╹ ╹ ༽つ

20 minutes have gone by as you and the boys took turns asking questions to the spirits willing to communicate with you guys. Some of the questions have gotten rapid responses while others have taken a little longer to reply. As time slowly ticked away, you felt anxiety bubble inside of you. Matt should’ve been back by now considering how he and Sam returned in less than 10 minutes when they did the ritual. You found yourself continuously looking over at the closed elevator everytime someone else in the group spoke up to ask a question, hoping that the doors would open and reveal your boyfriend. Unfortunately it never happened and the doors remained shut. 

“Okay, I'm getting really worried. He should be back by now.” You say, your gaze on the closed elevator doors shifting up to the number 10 glowing brightly in large, bold lettering. 

“Well, he’s on the tenth floor right now. All he has to do is go to five and come back.” Sam says as he takes a seat against the wall facing the elevator, his arms coming up to cross over his chest. 

“Okay true but what’s taking him so long?” Nick asks, a single hand coming up to his mouth. As the red-head begins to bite on his polished nails, Chris takes a glance over at your focused state. He forces his lips into a straight line, worry and anxiety filling his veins at the thought of Matt not returning. 

“He’s at five.” Colby states as he points at the glowing number atop the elevator. The rest of the boys join you and the ghost hunter in looking over at the elevator. 

“Please come back.” You whisper under your breath, a sudden lump forming in your throat as you swallow dryly. As you shakily exhale, a sudden poke on your side causes you to jump rather harshly. “What the fuck?” You mumble as you quickly hug your torso and turn around.

“What happened?” Chris asks, his head whipping around to look over at you. 

“Did one of you guys poke me?” You ask as you lift your head up. 

“None of us touched you.” Colby says as he lifts both his hands up in the air. A wave of nausea suddenly hits you as you slowly turn around to look at Sam, the sight of him looking at you worriedly causing your stomach to churn. As you go to question the blonde, soft giggles bubble up your throat as you feel a series of rapid pokes travel down your other side. After the feeling vanishes, you stumble to your feet and run over to where Nick and Chris are, fear washing over you as you desperately rub your sides to try and get the ghostly feeling away. 

“Samantha.” Sam mumbles under his breath, his eyes slightly going wide as he looks over at your panicked state. 

“Samantha, if that's you, please leave her alone. You do not have permission to touch her.” Colby states, his tone holding a sense of authority as he takes a few quick glances around the room. 

At the mention of the child’s name, Nick’s eyes widen in a mix of terror and shock and he quickly looks down at you. Without a word, he wraps his arms around your slightly shorter frame and brings you flush against him. 

“Samantha, are you messing with y/n?” Chris asks as he wraps an arm around your shoulder, his gaze falling to the unused onvoy on the floor. 

The said device immediately beeps in response. 

Colby lifts himself up from the wall he’s leaning against and walks up to the onvoy. His tall frame bends down slightly before his eyes skim over the response. 

“It says yes.” Colby says, his gaze lifting up from the device and shifting over to Sam. The two share a frightened look as you feel your heart drop to your feet. You quickly turn around and bury your face in Nick’s clothed chest, your breath beginning to pick up as you clutch onto the male’s arms rather desperately.

“It’s okay.” Nick whispers as he rests his chin on the top of your head. As he begins to rub comforting circles on your back with his palm, the sound of the elevator dinging pierces your ears. You quickly lift your head and look over at the elevator, the rest of the boys soon doing the same. 

“Matt?” You call out, your voice cracking slightly as you slip out of Nick’s hold and run to the elevator. 

“y/n wait!” Chris exclaims, his arm extending out to go to grab you and pull you back. His attempt fails however as you slip through the opening of the elevator, not even waiting for the door to fully open. The moment you step inside, you feel your breath get caught in your throat .

Matt isn’t in the elevator. 

And the only thing inside is the camera and his horse necklace. 

·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:· TagList ·:¨༺ ♱✮♱ ༻¨:·

@freshloveforthefit @nickuniversity @patscorner @rootbeerworshiper

comment to be added to the taglist and click here to know more abt it!

#nick sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #chris sturniolo #matt sturniolo #matt x reader #nick x reader #chris x reader #matt sturniolo imagine #matt sturniolo x reader #matthew sturniolo #paranormal #sam golbach #colby brock #sam and colby #The elevator game

[miraculousalamode]

cake decorators, we need your help! our bakers (writers) have been working hard in the kitchen preparing something delicious, but now we need your help to make it look as good as it tastes!

throughout the week, we will be posting snippets and summaries from our bakers with a fic ID attached to them in order to keep the writer anonymous. please write down the fic IDs of the fics that you would be willing to work with, as well as the fic IDs of the fics you would absolutely not under any circumstance want to collaborate with.

at the end of all of these posts, we will post the artist applications for you to submit your answers!

FIC ID: S07

Parings(s): Ivan/Mylene, Rose/Julika, and possibly Luka/Kagami and Luka/Adrien,

Rating: Teen or GA right now. Depends on how spooky it gets I guess.

Archive Warnings: NA.

Trigger Warnings: Ghosts (if that counts), Death Mention/talked about (Adriens Mom theoretically.)

Summary: With Adrien being allowed to fully join Kitty Section, he learns that there is more to this band than friendship and music. Luka informs him that they double as a paranormal investigation team. Curious about what that entails, when Ivan invites him to do a test run, Adrien is more than willing to try it out. Luka shows Adrien the ropes and Mylene answers his questions. Except for one Adrien hasn't asked yet.

Snippet: "Hey, Adrien." Ivan smiled and nodded at Adrien. "Feel free to make yourself at home. You and Mylene will be watching the monitors when the rest of us are inside. That way we can try and investigate and debunk things in real time." Adrien nodded, absorbing all the new information.

"Cool! I'm super excited. Is there anything I can do right now?" He asked.

"Not to my knowledge." Mylene said, thinking as she looked around. "Ivan and Luka's already taken inventory twice each. Julika and Rose will be here any minute. Luka's finishing up talking with the electrician that came to check the house." Mylene explained, pointing in different directions when speaking about the different members.

"Ok, cool, cool. Let me know if you need me to do anything. I may not know what to do but I'm willing to learn." Adrien suggested, looking at the equipment behind Mylene and Ivan.

"Alright. Oh, well, Ivan, would you want to run the list by Adrien to get him at least started on learning the equipment?" Mylene suggested, resting a hand on his forearm. Ivan's face softened in that heartwarming way it always did when Mylene was involved in anything.

"Yeah, little bear." Bending down, they shared a sweet kiss before taking the paper from the desk and dropping down out of the van. It rose a little at the motion as Mylene went to continue the finishing touches on what Adrien assumed would be his and her position tonight. "Alright, Adrien." Ivan clamped a large hand on the back of Adriens shoulder. "This list," he passed it to him, "is the equipment we will be using for tonight's investigation."

"Ok, alright. I think I recognize some of the words."

"That's great. Better to start with something than nothing." Ivan patted his shoulder with a smile, going and leading towards the pile of equipment. "So, the first item on the list. It's an EMF detector. EMF stands for electromagnetic field."

#miraculous a la mode fics #ivan bruel #mylene haprele #rose lavillant #juleka couffaine #luka couffaine #kagami tsurugi

[hitsuzen-daijoubudayo]

CLAMP Works List

CLAMP works

20 Mensou ni Onegai!! (Man of Many Faces)

Angelic Layer

Ano Hi o Shiru Mono wa Saiwai Dearu

Card Captor Sakura

Chobits

CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan (Clamp School Detectives)

CLAMP no Kiseki

Clover

CLUSTER

Derayd

Fushigi no Kuni no Miyuki-chan (Miyuki-chan in Wonderland)

Gakuen Tokkei Duklyon (Duklyon: Clamp School Defender)

Gate 7

Gohou Drug

Hagun Seisenki (Like Stars Army War)

Hidarite (Left Hand)

Kobato.

Koi wa Tenka no Mawarimono

Magic Knight Rayearth

Miracle Yuu

Murikuri

RG Veda

Shiawase ni Naritai

Shin-Shunkaden (Legend of Chun Hyang)

Shirahime-Shou (Shirahime-Syo: Snow Goddess Tales)

Shiritsu Horitsuba Gakuen (Horitsuba Private Academy)

Suki, Dakara Suki

Tenkuu Senki Shurato Orijinaru Memory: Dreamer

Tenshi no Bodyguard

Tokyo Babylon

TSUBASA: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE

Washizu

Watashi no Suki na Hito (The One I Love)

Wish

X

xxxHOLiC

Yumegari

Collaborations

Blood-C

Bokusatsu tenshi dokurochan desu (Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan desu)

Clamp Gakuen Kaiki Genshō Kenkyūkai Jiken File (Clamp School Paranormal Investigators)

Code Geass

Contact circa Spirit Girl

HiGH&LOW g-sword

Haken Anime! (Anime Supremacy!)

Kabukibu!

Kamigami Series

KEY: Yoake no Vampire

Last Lost Juvenile Interlaced Parallel World

Logic Lock Festival: Paradox of Detective Killing

Maihime Utakata Noki

Majokan series

Mouryou no Hako

Night Head

Noroi no Kechimyaku

Oshiroi Chouchou

Peter and Wendy

Rex: A Dinosaur Story

Sansho Dayu Takasebune Abe Ichizoku

Suito no Yonkyōdai Sōryūden Gaiden (Sohryuden: Legend of The Dragon Kings)

Shu no Ketsumyaku

Sweet Valerian

Trick Trip Vacation Niji no Yakata Murder Party

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Anthology Comic STAR 2

#clamp #clamp artwork #list #clamp art

[toeydbootzandcatz]

I am re-reading Yona, and also trying to decide my reading order for the other books here! All of these would be new reads for me, though I am partially through the Realist Hero Light Novel as I read it on my bus to work sometimes.

#manga #akatsuki no yona #yona of the dawn #FFXV #demon slayer #clamp #clamp paranormal investigators #mermaid saga #the kings beast #light novel #novel #dawn of the future #how a realist hero rebuilt the kingdom

[morganthefae]

Femslash February Day 24: Steel

Fandom: CLAMP School Paranormal Investigators

Pairing: Mifuyu/Rion

#femslashfeb2022 #clamp school paranormal investigators #clamplove #mifuyu mizukagami #rion ibuki #mifuri

[completeoveranalysis]

Thought you'd appreciate this: a great, tiny small business opened up near me and they sell all kinds of rare and second hand anime merch, and I cleaned them out of their clamp. My haul: a magic knight rayearth poster, the first volume of clamp school paranormal investigators, the tsubasa/holic double feature, and a deck of rg veda themed playing cards. I am, SO hype

Incredible!

Honestly that's the dream scenario and I'm so happy you managed to get your hands on all those nice finds! The sacred CLAMP treasures!

#You just can't FIND that stuff most of the time #the few CLAMP things I have I HOARD #what a great score! #replies #star-shine #Oh I love this story #I'm sure I've had this EXACT dream at least once

[yaminerua]

Various sketches of the different types of clothes worn at CLAMP School, and featuring some familiar faces~

From the CLAMP School TRPG Guide Book

#clamp school detectives #clamp school defenders #duklyon #clamp school paranormal investigators #clamp

[the-corvus-luna]

In CLAMP Paranormal Investigations, what pronouns are used by Yuki Ajidou in the original Japanese ? Because the translation on Wayback Machine I found uses he/him, and also has several people refer to Yuki as “Chairman”.

Japan doesn't really have 'strict' pronouns like English does. There's "私" (Watashi= neutral), "あたし" (Atashi = Neutral/Fem), "僕" (Boku = Masc), "俺" (Ore = Masc), and plus many more variations.

Yuuki is described in the bio as being "Technically a male, but female at heart" using the currently 'very outdated and offensive' word ニューハーフ or New-Half which translates to English as.... "Shemale".

Please consider the age of of this book, as it was published in 1997.

Excerpts from "CLAMP School Detective Guidebook, Chapter 4: Paranormal Investigation Episode 0: "We are Here to Explore the "Mysteries""

~~~~ CLAMP学園高等部2年A組所属の16歳。いちお う男子。でも、心が女性のニューハーフ。強力なテ レポート能力を有する、女優志望の超常能力者。 能力値・「知力」A、「体力」F、「時の運」E 特殊技·<Sci-fi) テレポート 遊戲者・「熱血漫画家」岡崎武士

~

16 years old, belonging to Class A of the second year of CLAMP Academy High School. Technically a male, but has a female heart and is a new-half. Aspires to be an actress and possesses powerful teleportation abilities. Ability stats: Intelligence A, Physical Strength F, Luck with Time E. Special Technique: (Sci-fi) Teleportation. Roleplayer: "Passionate Manga Artist" Takeshi Okazaki.

~~~~

Though, Yuki prefers using 私(watashi) exclusively, instead of 僕 [boku] or 俺 [ore]. Other ways to determine gender is from the words used and how the sentence ends.

"Some linguistic features commonly associated with women include: omission of the copula "da", the use of first person pronouns such as "watashi" or "atashi" among others, use of feminine sentence-final particles such as "wa", "na" "no", "kashira", and "mashō", and the more frequent use of the honorific prefixes "o- "and "go-"."

Wikipedia source "Gender differences in Japanese"

~~~~

りおん 確かユウキちゃん――この場合は「先輩」と呼ばなければいけないのかな―ユウキ先輩は、 本当は男なんだけど、心が女だから女になりたくて、 普段の制服も女のを着てて、それを学校に無理矢理 押し通しちゃったんじゃなかったっけ?

ユウキ そうよ。

~

Rion Sure, Yuuki-chan—In this case, should I call you "senpai"? Yuuki-senpai, you see, is actually a boy, but because their heart is that of a girl, they wanted to become a girl. So, they wear girls' uniforms as usual, and didn't they forcefully push that through at school?

Yuki That's right.

~~~~

ユウキ 私はいつだってまともよ。いつも真面目にまじめ研究会のことだけを考えているわ。

~ Yūki watashi wa itsu datte matomo yo. Itsumo majime ni majime kenkyūkai no koto dake o kangaete iru wa.

~ Yuuki I'm always decent. I'm always seriously thinking about the study group.

~~~~

ユウキ それはないわ高雪さん。私、逆におごってもらえると思ってここへ来たのよ。

~

Yūki Sore wa nai wa Takayuki-san. Watashi, gyaku ni ogotte moraeru to omotte koko e kita no yo.

~

Yuuki That's not true, Takayuki-san. I came here thinking I could get a treat.

~~~~

If we consider the various uses of of gendered speech, usage of watashi, and the fact Yuuki is referred to as being described as "new-half", Yuuki could be female or at least gender non-conforming.

For more details of the term New-Half or ニューハーフ, I suggest reading this reddit post to understand the nuances a bit more since I am not a native speaker.

This is why machine translations of Revolutionary Girl Utena messes up Utena's gender as being male because she uses 僕 [boku] instead of the feminine あたし [atashi] or even the neutral 私 [watashi].

#clamp #clamp school detectives #clamp paranormal investigations

[houseofclamp]

#CLAMP #CLAMP School Paranormal Investigators

[myhauntedsalem]

Eastern State Penitentiary

Known as being the most expensive building built in the U.S. at the time, the Eastern State Penitentiary became a prototype in design to 300 prisons.

The facility was operated under the Pennsylvania System from 1829 to 1913. This system, used by the Quakers, was designed to force the incorrigibles sent there to look inside themselves and find God. In reality, the system which placed inmates in complete solitude, drove many a sane man to madness.

Prisoners at Eastern State had a toilet, table, bunk and Bible in their cells, in which they were locked all but one hour a day. When the prisoners did leave their cells, a black hood would be placed over their head so they could not see any other prisoners as they were guided through the halls of the prison. Interaction and any form of communication between inmates was forbidden.

Inmates lived a life in mundane solitude and would only get a glimpse of sunlight, known as The Eye of God which came through a slit in the prison ceiling. In desperate need of human interaction, prisoners would tap on pipes or whisper through vents to each other. If caught, the penalty was brutal.

Harsh Punishments

The Water Bath The inmates who broke the rules risked being dunked in a bath of ice-cold water then hung from a wall for the night. During the winter months, when this punishment was most popular, the water on the inmates skin would form into a layer of ice before morning.

The Mad Chair The Mad Chair was named such because it was not uncommon for an inmate to  go mad before his punishment ended. Inmates would be strapped into the      chair with leather strips, so tightly that it was impossible for them to  make the smallest of movements. They would sit for days, without food, until the circulation in their body almost stopped from the tightness of  the straps and the lack of movement.

Iron Gag The most deadly punishment was known as the Iron Gag and specifically designed for those inmates who refused to obey the no communication policies. An iron collar was clamped onto the tongue of the inmate, and then chained to his wrists which were strapped high behind their back. Any movement resulted in a tearing of the tongue and severe bleeding. Many inmates who suffered this torture died from loss of blood before their torment ended.

The Hole Dug under Block #14, the hole was nothing but a pit in the ground where incorrigible inmates would stay locked, sometimes for weeks. There was no light, little air, and those thrown into its tortuous grip would receive water and a slice of bread, if they got to it before the rats and roaches.

It has been reported that the Quakers were not responsible for the punishments the inmates were forced to endure. The extreme penitence was something the hired staff in the prison designed and enforced. Charles Dickens visited the prison in the 1840s and found the conditions appalling. He described the inmates at Eastern Penn as being buried alive and wrote about the psychological torture the inmates suffered at the hands of their captors.

Prior to its reform in 1913, the prison which was designed to house 250 inmates had over 1700 prisoners jammed into tiny makeshift cells where there was little light and even less ventilation. Finding the conditions of the prison unacceptable, the prison was taken over and reformed and the Pennsylvania System was abolished. Finally, in 1971, the sprawling monstrous prison was closed.

Today the penitentiary is opened to the public. In a typical year, maybe two dozen paranormal investigations take place in the cell blocks, and according to Assistant Program Director Brett Bertolino, they almost always find evidence of activity.

Tourists and employees have reported hearing weeping, giggling and whispering coming from inside the prison walls.

#Eastern State Penitentiary #haunted prison #haunted locations #paranormal #ghost and hauntings #ghost and spirits #haunted salem #myhauntedsalem

[vannahfanfics]

Before you read, here’s the previous chapter. New? Start from the beginning!

The Creepy Capers of U.A. Paranormal Investigation Society

Book 1: Poltergeist Panic!

Ao3

Chapter 2: Mysterious Happenings... Or A Lack Thereof

With a high-pitched screech, Hanta jumped into Denki’s arms, causing the blond to drop the flashlight. The light bounced across the floor and wall as it rolled across the floor, and as they caught across the pale girl’s face to throw spooky shadows across it. This just made Denki and Hanta scream louder. 

“OH MY GOD!” 

“I KNOW, MAN!” 

“IT’S A GHOST, MAN!” 

“I KNOW, MAN!”

“Excuse me,” the girl said suddenly, then flinched when they both screamed again at the tops of their lungs. She scrunched her eyebrows with a disdainful pout and continued, “Please stop screaming. It’s giving me quite the headache.” 

Denki and Hanta obediently clamped their mouths shut. Hanta continued to cling to Denki while being held in his arms, though he didn’t seem to mind the fact that Denki’s legs were quivering like egg pudding. 

“Can ghosts get headaches?” Hanta whispered in his ear. 

“I dunno, man, but I’m not gonna contradict her!” Denki hissed back. Apparently, their feverishly whispered conversation was not quiet enough, as the girl gave them a reproachful look. 

“I’m not a ghost,” she sighed. “I’m a telekinetic. You two have been indulging too much in that girl’s fantasies…” 

“You’re not a ghost?” Denki echoed, his body going slack with a mixture of disappointment and relief. Hanta yelped as his friend’s arms went lax underneath him, causing him to slip down his body. He grabbed onto the waistband of Denki’s pants as if that would stop his descent, but all he accomplished was pulling Denki’s pants down to his ankles. The girl raised her eyebrows at his duck-patterned underwear, and Denki hastily grabbed his pants to tug them back up, smiling sheepishly. 

“I just answered that,” the girl replied matter-of-factly. She looked down at the erasers and chalk bits littering the floor around her, then inhaled. Once again, that strange white aura began to emanate from her body. Denki’s eyes blew wide like golden moons when the erasers and chalk began to float up from the floor, wobbling a bit while they swirled around the girl. His body went slack again with his awe, causing his pants to drop back down and catch on Hanta’s head, and the girl smirked in amusement. 

“You sure are some funny boys.” 

“I’m told my sense of humor is attractive,” Denki grinned, then remembered that he was standing in front of her in his boxers and that wasn’t exactly charming. Cheeks a raging pink, he pulled them back up again and gave the girl a bashful smile. “A telekinetic, huh?” 

“That’s right. I come here sometimes to hone my abilities. It’s kind of hard to explain your belongings floating around your room to your parents.” 

“Yeah, man, ain’t it a drag when they just bust in on ya without asking?” Denki laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. He was surprised to find his fingertips coated in a thick layer of perspiration when he pulled his hand back. 

“He’s taking this awfully well,” the girl remarked to Hanta, who was still sitting on his rump hugging Denki’s legs. 

“Yeah, he uses humor as a defense mechanism,” Hanta shrugged. Denki’s blush deepened and he shoved Hanta in the side of the head, ignoring his pained yelp to flash the silver-haired girl a suave smile. Well, he thought it was suave, but in reality it was all wobbly and shaky and totally unimpressive.

“What’s your name?” 

“Reiko Yanagi.” 

“Cool! I’m Denki Kaminari and this is my best friend, Hanta Sero.” 

“‘Sup,” Hanta said from his spot on the floor, giving the girl a wave. She laughed, which Denki supposed was a good sign— girls laughed when they liked you, right? “So, you mentioned Kinoko earlier— do you not believe that the school is haunted?” 

“It’s not true that scary stories have filled the school with dark energy, no,” Reiko quipped. The white aura brightened as the objects began to float higher and spin slowly in a circle around her. “There is no dark energy, and therefore, there are no ghosts.” 

“But what about all the reported sightings?” Denki interjected. Reiko gave him a look that made him gulp; her eyes were piercing, so much so that it felt like she was staring straight down into his soul. It was kinda hot, honestly. 

“Have you actually seen any of these things happen?” 

“No,” he grumbled, clasping his hands behind his back and scuffing the tile floor with the toe of his sneaker. “But there’s no smoke without fire, right? Something’s going on.” 

“That is true,” she relented. She turned to face them fully, leaning back against the teacher’s desk while the objects continued to float around her in that creepy yet beautiful way. “Something is going on in this school, but I’m afraid that Kinoko is completely off the mark. She’s using it as an opportunity to call attention to herself.” 

“That’s a little mean,” Hanta frowned. When he pressed his cheek against Denki’s leg, Denki remembered that Hanta was literally still sitting there holding his legs— so he jerked his leg violently in an attempt to get his friend off. Hanta pouted— apparently he’d found it quite comfortable to cling to him like a koala bear— but obediently climbed to his feet. “Well, I guess we won’t be needing this tonight,” he sighed and powered off the camcorder. 

Denki poked his lips out in a pitiful pout. It felt wrong to just dismiss everything so suddenly. He could feel it deep in his gut— there was something spooky at this school. Or maybe he just had to take a shit. It had been a while. 

Focus, Denki. Pretty girl. Pretty girl with ESP powers, he reminded himself. 

Reiko suddenly staggered, causing the white light to fade from her body and the school supplies to drop back to the ground. Denki moved on instinct. He jumped forward to catch Reiko by the elbow as she slipped to the side, and then he looped an arm around her waist when it was clear that she couldn’t even support her own weight. He gently helped her into a sitting position on the ground, where she sat there panting and even paler than before. 

“Hey, hey, what happened?” 

“Ah, this is normal,” she puffed between quiet wheezes. “Using my powers is very taxing… I come here to try to increase my endurance. I kind of lost track of time talking to you.” 

“Oh… I’m sorry,” Denki mumbled, not really sure what to say. Reiko leaned back against the desk with a shaky sigh, using her hand to push her bangs out of her face. The moonlight filtering in through the window illuminated her pale skin, which shone with perspiration. 

“I’ll be all right in a few minutes,” she smiled. “So tell me, how did you two end up here?” 

“We were looking for the ghost, of course!” Denki declared. He sat back on his heels while he gestured wildly with his hands. “I want to establish a paranormal research society here at the school so we can help the community with paranormal cases that don’t necessarily get attention from bigger ones! Hauntings are way more common than people realize, and a lotta people don’t know what to do— so that’s where I wanna come in! I wanna help people with their ghost problems!” He grinned over his shoulder at Hanta, who just shrugged. 

“I’m just the cameraman,” he said with a look down at his camcorder. “And I kinda keep Denki out of trouble.” 

“It doesn’t sound like you’re doing a very good job, considering you let him break into the school in the middle of the night,” Reiko laughed. 

“Hey, bold words from somebody who broke into the school themselves!” Hanta retorted, which made Reiko shrug in surrender. “How did you even get in here?”

“The same as you. I’ve had a copy of the janitor’s key for months now.” 

“Wicked,” Denki grinned in admiration. He was liking this girl more and more. 

Reiko grabbed the edge of the desk to haul herself to her feet. As she wobbled a little, Denki’s hands fluttered around in front of her body, wanting to support her but not wanting to overstep her boundaries. He’d just met her, after all. Thankfully, Reiko gave him a grateful smile while she rested against the desk. After half a minute, she straightened up, and though she looked tired, she seemed to be able to walk just fine. 

“I should be getting home before I’m missed. You two had better clear out, too. You won’t find anything happening tonight,” she said, running her hand through her silvery hair again. 

“You seem awful sure of that,” Hanta said suspiciously. 

“That’s because this school’s not haunted, at least not by ghosts,” Reiko shrugged. As she walked past Hanta, his mouth fell open in confusion and he looked helplessly at Denki. 

“What does she mean? How can a school be haunted but not haunted?” 

“Think on it, Mr. Paranormal Research,” Reiko smirked over her shoulder at Denki, giving him a playful wink that made his heart play his ribs like a pair of bongo drums. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” It was a question, an invitation, and like hell Denki was gonna refuse a proposition with a cute girl who was into paranormal investigation!

“Absolutely! See you tomorrow, Reiko!” he chirped with a wave. 

As she turned the corner, Hanta sniffed disdainfully and gave Denki a chiding look. 

“Dude, you’re a total sap.” 

“Maybe I am, but the pretty girl said see you tomorrow,” Denki retorted with a cavalier waggle of his head. “You’re just jealous that she’s into me.” 

“Dude, she’s not into you!” 

“She totally is, and you’re jealous!” 

“Whatever! I wanna go home, it’s dark, I’m starving, and my dignity is a little damaged,” Hanta huffed with a look down at his camcorder. Hanta hadn’t been the one caught with his pants down, literally, but Denki decided not to comment on it. “I can’t believe you roped me into this… All this for nothing, the place isn’t even haunted.” 

“Ah, ah, ah,” Denki corrected, wagging his finger, “it is haunted. What Reiko meant is that the entity probably feeds off all the energy of people, and so the activity is going to be nonexistent when the school’s empty like this.” 

Hanta blinked at him, then whistled appreciatively. 

“Wow, really? How’d you get that?” 

“Because I am a paranormal whiz, that’s why. Now come on! Reiko got me thinking, so I’ve got research to do.” As he marched out the classroom, Hanta trudged behind, groaning. 

“Can we research some hamburgers and fries first?” 

“Of course! We need brain food!” 

“We?” Hanta whined, and Denki looked over his shoulder with his eyebrows raised. 

“Yes, we. I can’t do this by myself! Come on, I’ve roped you into worse.” 

“I dunno, man. You know what they say, ghost-hunting is the gateway to burglary and theft.” 

“I’ve literally never heard someone say that. You’re just being a stick in the mud,” Denki huffed, falling back so he could elbow Hanta in the ribs. Hanta hissed, looking offended, then elbowed him back. Denki elbowed him again, and they stopped in the hallway to get into a small scuffle that ended with Hanta in a headlock. 

“Okay, okay, I’ll help you hunt the stupid ghost! Now, please, can we go get some hamburgers? I’m so hungry I feel like I might die!” Hanta whined while he wiggled in Denki’s grasp. Grinning triumphantly, Denki released him. Hanta shuffled back to his feet, straightening his disarrayed hair, and then gave Denki a small grin. “I guess it does beat staying at home doing lame homework and stuff. It would be cool if we found something.” 

“Exactly. Now, let’s go acquire that brain food! And call your mom, you’re staying at my place tonight. We got lotsa work to do.” 

“Yeah, yeah, you got it, boss,” Hanta mumbled as he dialed his mom’s number. 

As they strutted out of the school, a bright smile played over Denki’s lips. Maybe the ghost-hunting tonight was a bust, but they’d still acquired some useful information— and maybe an ally, too. He snickered quietly to himself as the next phase of his plan hatched in his mind. He was closing in on the mysterious happenings occurring at the school, and one way or another, he was going to get to the bottom of it!

Enjoy this story? Here’s the next chapter! Please consider perusing my Table of Contents.

#kamireiko #kaminari x reiko #reiko x kaminari #my hero academia #mha #boku no hero academia #bnha

[thecleverdame]

Control and Release - 31

Series Masterlist

TEDTalk!Sam x Reader

Summary: After the rest of the staff is caught in a snowstorm, you find yourself acting as a personal assistant to the notorious Sam Winchester. As the arrangement becomes more defined, you and Sam begin a sexual adventure with dangerous consequences.  

Warnings: Dom/Sub, humiliation, embarrassment, sexual objectification, mutual masturbation, spanking, cum play, fingering, anal play, orgasm control, nipple clamps, dub-con, breath play.

Beta: @ilikaicalie

Parts 1-39 are currently available on Patreon for a monthly pledge of $2.50. This includes early access to all my stories, including Patreon exclusive content.  >> CLICK HERE <<

-

“These are all my dirty secrets?” You look in trepidation at the folder on the table in front of you.

 It’s thicker than anticipated. 

“Everyone one of them.” Charlie is a perky, energetic redhead that’s the exact opposite of what you expected. Sam’s talked about her like she’s Sherlock Holmes, and to be honest you assumed she was a man. “Or least what I could dig up. I can confidently say that if I couldn’t find it, no one else will either.” 

Glancing at Sam you open the cover and scan over the top page. It’s a basic list of your personal details, where you’ve lived, who you’ve dated. 

“Is there anything we should be concerned about?” Sam asks. He slides his arm over the back of the couch behind you. 

Charlie hesitates, looking at Sam and then speaks to you. 

“Are you comfortable doing this with him here? I mean, it can get real weird real quick for both of you.” 

“I can leave if you want,”  Sam offers. 

“No.” You swallow the urge to take him up on the offer. “No secrets, right? This is my life.”

“Okay.” Charlie opens her laptop. “There was a polaroid of you in your underwear at a party in your senior year of high school. But we had it taken off Facebook and I was able to purchase the original.”

“It was on Facebook?” You’re both horrified and impressed. You had no idea “How did you even find it?”

“It’s what I do,” she chirps, already moving on. “You’re pretty boring compared to the people I usually investigate. No DUIs or cheating. But you did date a man named Jasper.”

“Oh Jesus.” You want to crawl under the table. Your time with Jasper wasn’t as much a traditional relationship as a hook-up that lasted a year. He never came close to what you and Sam enjoy together, it was all about sex. “I’m sorry.” You turn to Sam who’s throwing you a terrifying, forced smile. 

“Don’t be sorry,” he murmurs, a hand slipping over your thigh and wedging between your legs. 

“Did you make a sex tape with him?” Charlie asks and you choke on your own spit. 

“No, I mean, I don’t think we ever…”

“Is there a chance he recorded you without your knowledge?”

“Maybe.” You search your memory. Everything from that time is hazy, the two of you drank a lot. “I mean, I don’t know. You think he recorded me?”

“I think he has something.” Charlie’s attention switches to Sam and she morphs into all-business mode. “He was interested in why I was asking questions. When I made an initial offer for any videos or pictures he might have he acted like he had something. But I think he realized it was valuable and kicked me out of his apartment.”

“You offered the maximum?” Sam asks. 

“Yeah, he didn’t go for it.”

“Double it and see what he does.”

“Got it.” She stops to make a note.

“He has a sex tape with me in it?” You’re not past this yet. You look to Sam who’s unreadable. “I had no idea. I mean I eventually realized he was a creep but I never thought he would do something like that. What if he posts it?”

“Don’t worry,” he nods, sliding a hand over your knee. “I’ll handle it.”

“Other than Jasper, you and Sam are actually the biggest potential issue. I read Cole’s report. It’s concerning despite your prior relationship. If the wrong person got a copy of his written complaint it would be damaging. I think you can expect the real story to revolve around the fact that Sam intervened when a mad man was shooting up the office. You can choose how you want to spin that. If you decide you want some heroic meet-cute to be the official story then I can erase any trace of your relationship before the shooting happened. If you want me to leave some crumbs confirming you were together prior, I can do that to. And if you want a lid on the whole thing, no problem.”

“People will care?” you ask. 

“Oh, for sure.” She chuckles, looking at you like you’re a moron. “Sam’s personal life has been a lockbox. You’re the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to him.”

“Wonderful.” This would all be so much easier if he wasn’t so well off. If he hadn’t been quite as successful all these precautions could be avoided. 

“Just tell me what kind of story you want out there and I’ll start planting the seeds.” She grins at Sam with a warm familiarity. Few people interact with him this easily. There must be quite a back story. 

“We’ll talk about it,” Sam answers for you, shifting in his seat. “Anything else?”

“That’s all for her.”

“You have my background as well?”

“I do.” She pulls a thinner file from her bag and you look at him in surprise. 

“She did one on you too?”

“Charlie has been the keeper of my secrets for a decade. She makes sure any possible indiscretions stayed buried,” Sam explains. 

Charlie is looking between you and Sam, asking a silent question. 

“You can say whatever you need to in front of her.” Sam turns to you. “You can leave if you feel uncomfortable.” 

You find yourself suddenly nervous. Sam’s past is largely a mystery and you’re not sure if you want to know. Were there others before you? 

“The woman you had a financial arrangement with is not a problem. It’s Madison I’m concerned about.”

Financial arrangement? That piques your interest but the conversation moves on. 

“It’s been years. You don’t think she’s gotten past it?” Sam shifts beside you, betraying his discomfort for the entire situation. He’s rarely visibly distressed but there’s no covering this up. His reaction may be subtle but it’s there. 

“She still Googles you once a week.” Charlie turns her computer toward Sam. You don’t understand you’re looking at, but he seems to. Sam takes interest in something on the screen and you feel him stiffen beside you. “She’s living in Boston again?”

“She moved back last year,” Charlie confirms. 

“You didn’t tell me.” Sam’s tone shifts to his trademark disapproval but it doesn’t seem to phase the perky redhead.

“I update when I think there’s a concern. This wasn’t a red flag for me. She’s from Boston. Her father is sick. She got a good job at a tech firm. It looks to me like she came home to be near her family...or...”

“Or?” Sam asks. 

“Or she came back to be close to you. It’s hard to tell with her. Madison has always been a wild card. You know how to pick ‘em.” Her eyes dart to you, offering an apologetic grin. “Present company excluded.”  

You just sit there taking in these new tidbits of information. A trail of breadcrumbs that lead to the story that was Sam’s life before you. 

“Do you think she would try to hurt Sam?” you ask and two pairs of eyes look at each other before turning to you. “Or me?”

“She’s not that kind of crazy,” Charlie assures you. “But she would love to embarrass Sam. Make things hard for him. She’s still pissed he cut her off.” 

“I see.” You sit back as they continue talking details. You’ll have questions for him later but right now your mind is swirling. Your ex hook-up has a possible homemade sex tape of you doing God knows what, and Sam apparently hired a hooker.

“And what about Dean and my father?” Sam squeezes your knee, bringing you to attention. 

“What about them?” You lean forward with interest. 

“They’re hard to track.” Charlie closes her computer and sits back. There’s no documentation of this inquiry. Nothing to tie either of them to the wanted Winchesters. 

“That can’t surprise you.” Sam nods. “But you’re good.”

“Yes, I am.” She offers a little bow of her head. “I had to track the weird to find them.”

“What do you mean?” you ask. 

“They like the crazy stuff, ghosts, and monsters. So I kept an eye out for any weird happenings. Some lady in New Jersey claimed a sewer monster stole her baby. And you’ll never guess who popped up in town at some shitty motel the next day.”

Taking out her phone she pulls up a photo and holds it out for you and Sam to see. It’s a grainy security camera shot of Dean with a baseball cap pulled over his face. 

“When was this?” Sam inquires. 

“Six weeks ago. Your brother is staying along the eastern seaboard. Investigating paranormal bullshit in Vermont, Maine, Connecticut. Occasionally he’ll pop up in the midwest, but for the most part, he’s staying close.” 

“To me.” Sam’s not asking, he already knows. 

“Yeah, that would be my guess. I did a sweep of your office buildings, homes and so on. I found a digital hole in your home security cameras. Someone created a backdoor into the system so they could have unfettered access.”

“He’s watching us?” Dean’s been on your mind ever since the encounter in the kitchen over a year ago. But now it seems your concerns were in fact warranted. 

“Maybe,” she continues. “It’s hard to tell with him. He might be watching. Maybe he’s visiting, editing the footage to cover his tracks. Or maybe it’s not Dean at all.”

“Who else would it be?” you ask, afraid of the answer. “FBI?”

“My father,” Sam sighs. 

“It’s a possibility.” Charlie shrugs. “Unfortunately it’s impossible to tell what they’re up to.”

“What’s your gut instinct?” Sam asks Charlie. 

“I think they’re keeping an eye on you...and her.” She looks you dead on. “If you want to know why your guess is as good as mine. They believe some insane stuff, Sam. End of the world, apocalypse wack-a-doo shit. They could just be trying to keep you safe. But there’s always the possibility of something else. Y/N was right to be concerned.”

“Perfect,” Sam laughs dryly, rolling his eyes. “This is the last thing I need right now.”

“I liaised with your new security guy.  He knows what’s going on with your family, Madison, the whole shebang. He’s working on Y/N’s apartment and your house to seal the leaks. I’ll schedule a meeting for the three of us when you get back to Boston.”

“Sounds good.” Sam stands as Charlie collects her things and you stay seated. “Thank you for everything. As always, you’re invaluable.” 

“That’s why you pay me the big bucks.” She laughs. “Nice to meet you, Y/N.”

“You too.” You wave her off, watching as Sam locks the door after her departure. He shoves a hand in his pocket, the two of you staring at each other in silence. 

“What are you thinking?” he asks.

“Oh, more than you wanna know.” Running a hand down your face you categorize the evening. Sex scandals, stalkers, fugitives from justice...where to start. “You paid for sex?”

“Technically, no.” Sam walks over to sit on the couch across the coffee table. 

“What does that mean?”

“It means I never fucked her.”

“Okay, but you hired a hooker?”

“Yes.”

“And didn’t have sex with her?”

“No.” His jaws ticks. He doesn’t want to answer these questions. “She sucked my dick. She allowed me to do things to her, but I never fucked her. Would you like the details?”

“Jesus,” you sigh. “No. God...fuck. And the other woman, Madison, she was your girlfriend?” 

“No. She and I had an arrangement. The same as you and I had when this started. She worked for W & S. It only lasted a few months. She became attached, somewhat obsessive. She believed we were more than our arrangement and I put an end to it.” He stares at you, still as a statue. 

“Okay.” You hate the very idea of him with someone else. The thought of another woman makes you angry, but he’s being honest, and honesty is everything so you swallow the urge to take it out on him. “What are we going to do about your family?”

“I’ll give you the details as soon as I have them,” he offers. “We’ll have increased security.”

“Good.” Racking your brain you try to make sure you’ve covered everything. “Oh! Jasper, are you sure Charlie will be able to get that video...if there is one, I mean.” 

“She has her ways and I have money. Everyone has a price. We just need to find his.”

You’re both quiet again. Things feel unsettled, awkward for the first time in a long time. And you only know one way to reset this feeling. There are times when having Sam in complete control makes you feel the safest. 

“Sam,” you start, watching him sigh in response. He’s expecting more questions. 

“Yes?” he asks, looking at you expectantly. 

“I’d like you to spank me now.” This request makes your cheeks hot with anticipation. His face morphs from controlled irritation to pure lust, eyes narrow, a grin pulling at his mouth. “With your belt.”

“Take off your clothes and lay across my lap,” he instructs, already working at his buckle. “Get the gag. We can’t have you making too much noise.” 

#sam winchester x reader #sam winchester fanfiction #sam winchester smut #Sam Winchester

[bytheangell]

Simon asks his boyfriend's brother to go ghost hunting with him for his youtube show after Clary ends up getting sick the day of the investigation. Cue non-believer Alec Lightwood and believer Simon Lewis going to a abandoned hospital to look for ghosts.

That’s the Spirit (Read on AO3)

Simon can’t believe it. “What am I doing to do?” He sighs, collapsing dramatically onto the sofa in Jace’s apartment. Jace lives with his brother, Alec, who is also home but pointedly ignoring Simon’s presence the way he usually does when Simon shows up, which is pretty often these days.

“Of all the days to get sick… and I know it isn’t her fault. Obviously, Clary doesn’t want to have the flu, but it took me ages to get the permit to go to this site. It was going to be my biggest episode yet, I know it!”

“Can’t you just do it alone?” Jace asks. “Or reschedule?”

Simon only shakes his head and sighs again, much more dramatically this time, as if the situation becomes more tragic by the second. “No, and no. There has to be a dynamic, a back-and-forth to the investigation. No one wants to just watch me wander around the dark and ramble for an hour,” Simon points out.

“He’s got a point there,” Alec chimes in, and Simon frowns.

“Harsh,” Simon says, but Alec doesn’t look particularly apologetic. “Plus, you don’t just show up to abandoned buildings alone at night, Jace. That’s how you get yourself killed.”

“Then you could be a ghost on someone else’s show,” Alec suggests.

Simon ignores him and continues. “Anyway, the construction on the building is set to start tomorrow night. This is the last chance to go. For anyone. Forever.”

Simon could cry if he weren’t sitting in Jace’s living room. Okay, maybe he has cried in Jace’s living room before, but for now, it’s enough of a deterrent to pretend to hold himself together.

“Sorry, Si,” Jace says. “If I could find someone to cover last-minute for me I’d do it, but…” he shrugs helplessly. Jace is a bartender, so weekend nights are too busy to bail on without notice.

“I know you would,” Simon reassures him, but the frown never leaves his face. There has to be something he can do, someone he can ask… Simon’s eyes drift to Alec, but he says nothing. Alec hates him. Alec hates everyone other than his siblings and Magnus, to be fair, but he especially doesn’t like Simon. There’s no way he can ask him.

Jace follows Simon’s gaze and gets a devious glint in his eyes.

“If only,” Jace says, looking very pointedly at Alec. “There was someone here, who didn’t have work tonight, or any assignments due tomorrow because it’s the weekend, and a boyfriend who is out of town so he definitely doesn’t have a date lined up, and no social life to speak of so he wouldn’t have any plans he’d have to cancel, and-”

It takes Alec an embarrassingly long time to pick up on the fact that Jace is speaking not only to him but about him.

“No,” Alec says, shaking his head.

“Why not?” Jace asks.

“Because it’s stupid. There’s no such thing as ghosts, and the whole thing is a waste of time,” Alec says.

“That’d be the perfect dynamic for the video! The grumpy skeptic and the excitable believer!” Simon points out. “I’ll even let you poke fun at it on camera if you want.”

“No,” Alec repeats.

“...not even if I take dish duty for the next week?” Jace offers. They split the chores in the apartment evenly and rotate, but Simon knows how much Alec complains because Jace makes 90% of the dishes with his shakes and smoothies.

Alec raises an eyebrow. “How about the next month?”

“Two and a half weeks,” Jace counters.

Alec looks at Simon, then back at Jace, and closes his book with a sigh. “Deal.”

---

“I can’t believe I let you two talk me into this,” Alec mutters, taking the gear Simon hands him.

“You won’t regret it,” Simon swears, beaming. “And seriously, I owe you one. Or two. Or twenty. I’ve been looking forward to this night for months, seriously, this means so-”

“Save the rambling for the camera,” Alec says, and Simon clamps his mouth shut.

The building they have access to is an abandoned hospital that has a ridiculously high amount of recorded paranormal encounters. The owner greets them a few hours before sunset to let them in and show them around, and Simon pulls out his camera to record some of the history the woman gives them.

“She’s not a ghost,” Alec says as if this is something Simon might not know. “Why are you recording her?”

“Because the people watching later will want to know some of the history,” Simon starts to explain, then frowns. “Have you never watched any of my videos?”

Alec shrugs. “I have to watch you get overexcited about things all the time in person. Why would I watch it online in my free time?”

Simon opens his mouth to say something but shuts it again, reminding himself that he needs Alec to at least humor him tonight, and he might not do that if Simon picks a fight.

“Right,” Simon says instead. “So it goes like this: we get some backstory from Ms. Loss, then we set up some equipment, we explore floor by floor the rest of the night until we go to sleep in room 502.”

Simon expects Alec to argue at least one part of that, but he just shrugs noncommittally. “Sure.”

“Anyway, Ms. Loss. Can you tell me more about the nurse people report seeing on the second floor...:”

---

“Okay,” Simon starts. “So I’m going to put the camera there, and we’re going to record a little opening bit. You don’t have to say anything.”

“Perfect,” Alec says. “I like this already.”

Simon clears his throat and looks into the camera. “This week, we’re exploring The Institute as part of my ongoing investigation to answer the question: are ghosts real?”

Simon sees movement from Alec and looks over to catch Alec mouthing the word ‘No’ exaggeratedly at the camera while shaking his head.

Simon sighs, wondering if he might not have been better off just going alone after all. By some small miracle, he manages to record the rest of the opening without distraction.

By the time they have the motion sensors set up with cameras on them and a few voice recorders placed around the rooms with the most reported activity, the sun is nearly set. Usually, Clary helps Simon with positioning the equipment, but since Alec doesn’t know what to do with any of it the process took a bit longer than expected.

“Ready?” Simon asks, taking a deep breath as he shuts the door to the van and turns to face the building.

“As I’ll ever be,” Alec confirms, following Simon inside.

“Alright. Tonight we’re inside The Institute for what will be the building’s final night before demolition begins tomorrow. I don’t know about you, but if I knew my home was about to be destroyed, I’d probably be pretty upset. Are there any spirits here who have anything to say about the construction?”

There’s a few seconds of silence, broken almost immediately by Alec.

“How long do we stand here listening to nothing?” Alec asks.

Simon sighs. “You don’t know if it’s nothing until we play the tapes back! You can’t always hear it in person. But generally speaking more than 2 seconds.”

Alec winces. “Sorry.”

“No, you know what, this is good. To any spirits who might be here, I’m Simon, and this is Alec. Alec doesn’t believe you exist, so any proof you can give us tonight to show him he’s wrong would be great. We have a few motion sensors you can set off, cameras you can manifest in front of, or you can make a noise, or touch us-” “Touch us?” Alec repeats.

“What? If you don’t believe in ghosts then nothing actually exists to touch you, right?” Simon says. He can’t help the hint of a challenge behind his words.

Alec clears his throat. “Right. I don’t, so whatever. Yeah, come at me, ghosts! Touch away!”

Simon hadn’t expected him to go that far with it. “Alright, tone it down Rocky, we don’t want to upset them.”

“But I thought you wanted-” “There has to be a balance. Encouraging, not antagonizing,” Simon clarifies.

“I didn’t realize there’d be so many rules,” Alec says, rolling his eyes. Simon can’t see the motion in the dark, but he can practically feel it.

“Don’t worry. You’ll learn,” Simon says, meaning to sound encouraging. “You’ll be a pro at this in no time.”

“I’d rather not,” Alec mumbles as they set off again.

They make it out of the main entryway and into the first hallway before Simon slows. His whole body is tense as he swings his light around to catch graffiti warning people away, dark corridors lined with cobwebs, and what looks like a noose hanging from a rafter in a bit of exposed ceiling.

“Fuck,” Simon says, and even that single word held a significant tremor.

“It looks like something out of The Conjuring,” Alec points out.

“I don’t like this at all,” Simon says. “I have a terrible feeling looking at this.”

Alec hums. “I have bad news for you then,” he says. “Because I’m pretty sure literally every part of the building is going to look like this.”

Simon watches a goddamn smirk tug at Alec’s lips. How is he so calm about this? How is he not even the least bit on edge?! Simon was counting on Alec getting at least a little freaked out once they were here so he could swoop in and be The Professional with all sorts of ‘it’s fine, I do this all the time’ and ‘this is business as usual, buddy’ comments to make himself look cool.

Instead, Alec looks worried, but not for himself - he looks worried for Simon.

“You okay over there?” Alec asks, as a gust of wind from outside makes something creak above them and sends Simon half a foot into the air in surprise.

“I’m fine,” Simon manages. “I’m the professional,” he mumbles to himself, starting off down the first dark hallway.

---

“So,” Simon says, regaining his composure enough to narrate for the camera again. “We’re inside a building adjacent to the main hospital where the ‘Body Chute’ is-”

“Sounds fun,” Alec mutters, not entirely under his breath.

“-which is a 500-foot long tunnel they used to dispose of the bodies where the other patients wouldn’t see.”

“I’m so glad we have a tuberculosis vaccine now,” Alec says, just as they get to a gated door that Simon pushes open and-

“Oh my god, this is awful,” Simon says the moment his light goes down the very long, very dark, very horrifying looking hallway.

“Now this looks like a nightmare,” Alec admits.

“No, no, no, no. No way...” Simon says but stops when Alec has the audacity to chuckle from behind him at Simon’s reaction.

“I don’t think I realized how long 500 feet is,” Alec says conversationally, stepping ahead of Simon to go down the tunnel. Simon knows going to the end of the tunnel is the plan - it’s where they brought every dead body, if there are spirits anywhere there are spirits at the end of this tunnel, but… man, he does not want to go down there.

It feels like they walk forever, eventually hitting stairs that go down even further until they reach a spot blocked off by some kind of hanging plastic sheet. Simon, in an effort to both save face and also regain control, peels back the corner only to scream like a small child and run backward when a ‘whoosh’ noise passes him.

“Was that wind?” Alec asks.

“I don’t know,” Simon says. “But I’m not doing that again.”

“Hey, I have an idea,” Alec says suddenly. “How about you stay down here, and I’ll go to the top of the stairs, and we can shut our lights off and sit in the dark and see if we get anything from either end of this death chute?”

“...how about you go fuck yourself,” Simon replies, a knee-jerk reaction he knows he’ll have to edit out later. “But that’s actually not a terrible idea,” he admits very, very grudgingly. Alec wastes no time going back the way they came, and once he’s in place they shut off both sets of flashlights.

 “I’m going to die here,” Simon laments to his camera in the dark, his voice echoing up to Alec who laughs again.

“Don’t worry, Jace would kill me if I let you die here,” Alec reassures him. “Now shut up.”

“You shut up,” Simon mumbles, but to himself this time. If it’s loud enough for Alec to pick up he doesn’t say anything back.

Simon holds his breath in the dark, listening for any sign that something might be down here with him when he hears Alec’s voice sound from the top of the stairs.

“Did you hear that?” Alec asks. Simon shouldn’t be as pleased as he is to hear an edge to the question, turning his light back on and taking the excuse to get the hell out of there and back up to where Alec is.

“No,” Simon admits. “What was it?”

Alec shrugs. “I dunno, just a… weird noise. Probably nothing, but I guess we’ll hear it on the tapes if it wasn’t.”

“That’s the spirit!” Simon says, thrilled to see Alec catching on to the routine. Then he pauses, and laughs. “Hah. That’s the spirit. Get it?”

Alec definitely gets it, but he doesn’t look particularly happy about it.

They head back up to the morgue. As one of the more active areas, Simon has pretty high hopes for it.

“Feel anything strange? Anything unsettling?” Simon asks Alec, turning the camera on him.

Alec looks around the room, tapping on an autopsy drawer and doing a full 360-degree turn. “I feel kinda cold? That’s a ghost thing, right? But it’s also just… cold in here in general, isn’t it? It isn’t like there’s heat, it’s pretty drafty.”

“How about you lay on the autopsy table?” Simon suggests.

Alec looks at it dubiously but agrees, shifting his gear in his hands so he can carefully lay on the metal table, his legs too long and dangling over the edge.

“If there’s anything in here, maybe someone who once laid where Alec is right now, can you talk to us? Tell us your name?” Simon asks into the room, then waits.

Alec moves his feet back and forth over the edge.

“Isn’t this the part in the horror movie where the demon reaches out from under me and grabs my foot? Anything out there want to grab my foot?” Alec asks, and Simon has to give him credit for at least trying with what little, clichéd knowledge he has.

“There aren’t demons here,” Simon tells him. “I don’t mess with demons.”

Alec swings his legs over the side of the table and gets down again.

“Pity. Now demon hunting is something I could get behind,” Alec says.

Simon furrows his brows and doesn’t bother hiding his exasperation as he says, “What is wrong with you?”

---

“Alright, so here is the elevator shaft where a homeless man and his dog reportedly fell down, or were pushed down, and died,” Simon explains as they get to the next active area. “People say they’ve seen both the man and the dog, separately, on multiple occasions.”

They reach the door to the elevator shaft which has a square hole where a window would probably be but isn’t anymore. Simon holds his voice recorder up to the window.

“If there’s an older man here who fell down this elevator shaft, please make a noise,” Simon says.

Silence.

“In a shocking turn of events, no noise,” Alec says. “Put your arm in more, it won’t record anything out here if he is in there.”

Simon moves his arm imperceptibly closer before immediately pulling it back. “No, nuh-uh, I do not like that. What if he grabs my hand while it’s in there?”

“...then you have proof of a ghost?” Alec asks. “Why is that a bad thing?”

“And if I say I feel something you aren’t going to believe me anyway,” Simon says.

“Sure I will,” Alec promises.

Simon hesitates, then puts his arm through the hole in the door to the middle of his forearm. Okay, he thinks, this is fine. This is-

Simon lets out a shrill noise and snaps his arm back within seconds.

“What?” Alec asks.

“It felt like something breathed on my hand,” Simon says, aware that his voice is shaking. In fact, now that he has his arm pulled back safe and sound against his chest, he’s vaguely aware that all of him is shaking.

“You mean like the wind?” Alec dismisses.

“See, I told you. I told you you’d do this and not believe me,” Simon glares at him. “Not like the wind. Like someone blew on my hand.”

Alec must decide to take pity on Simon and cut him a break before he has a meltdown because he drops the wind thing.

“Alright. The ghost of a homeless guy blew on your hand. So if he’s there we should ask him more questions, right?” Alec points out. Simon suddenly regrets wishing Alec would play along.

“Right,” Simon agrees, taking several deep breaths as he inches his way forward to put his arm through the window again, just not as far this time. His grip on the recorder is so tight his fingers start to go numb. Simon can’t bring himself to ask any more questions, still shaken up, so Alec takes the lead.

“So, if you’re the homeless guy who fell and died here… or were pushed… you must be pretty pissed, right? I mean, if someone pushed you, I bet you’d love to push someone back as revenge, wouldn’t you-”

Simon pulls his hand back immediately. “Are you trying to get us killed?” Simon whispers. “Alright, we’re done here. Goodbye, Mr. Homeless man. Please don’t follow us and push us.”

---

The fourth floor is the one that Simon is the most excited for. There are reports of multiple full-bodied apparitions, a little boy who likes to play with a ball, nurses, and just shadowy figures in general.

“Why are all of these hallways so long?” Simon asks. They stay at one end this time, lights trained down the hall, motion censors set up at the other end where the most movement is reported. They’ve been at this for about 20 minutes now, asking questions, trying to get flashlights to turn on and off, but so far all they got were a few inconclusive readings that leave Simon on edge and Alec consistently denying proof of anything.

That’s when Simon sees the shadow.

“Oh my god did you see that,” Simon says, his voice barely above a whisper, his body rigid.

Alec’s silence is answer enough.

“Of course you didn’t,” Simon mutters. “There, at the end of the hallway, there was a shadow…”

Simon watches Alec look more intently down the hallway. “Let’s go down there, then. Might as well throw a little shadow hunting in with the ghost hunting.”

They do, but nothing seems out of place and the motion sensor they set up hasn’t been activated.

“I think your eyes are just playing tricks on you. We’ve been staring into the dark for half an hour now. Eventually, you’re going to start seeing things. Your mind wants to see things.”

“I guess…” Simon agrees. “I’ll have to check the camera later, see if it picked anything up.”

“What if we throw the ball for the ghost kid?” Alec suggests. “That’s this hallway, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Simon acknowledges, reaching into his bag to pull out a blue ball. “Which doesn’t make me feel better about the shadow, to be honest.”

This hallway, much like all the others, has walls full of graffiti and chipping paint. Mentally, Simon reminds himself to look into some nice, modern haunted hotels or something for his next video. Clearing his throat he tries to focus back on the task at hand.

“I brought a blue bouncy ball with me,” Simon says into the darkness of the hallway. “We heard you like to play ball. We’d love it if you played with us!”

Simon gives it a gentle toss down the center of the hallway, listening as it bounces until the echoes fall silent. Simon frowns. Those bounces didn’t sound right. They were irregular, and-

“Did that sound like it… stopped, then started again?” Alec asks, sounding reluctant to admit he heard anything strange at all.

“Yes!” Simon exclaims, finally glad that Alec heard something he did. “Like someone stopped it, then dropped it again!”

“You’re not going to roll it back to Simon?” Alec asks into the darkness, but there’s nothing except still air and silence. Alec sighs. “Guess we should go find it, right?”

They both go down the hallway, flashlights trained on the ground in front of them, occasionally sweeping off to the side to glance down a few side hallways and empty rooms until Simon’s light lands on the blue ball. It’s resting on the floor down a small side hallway to the left of the main one.

“Found it, over--- no way. Oh no.” Simon’s light moves up to some graffiti on the wall directly in front of where the ball stopped - graffiti that says ‘Simon’. “What are the chances… how did it even roll this way? What the- no. No, no, no.”

“Simon… the ball did roll to you. They know you,” Alec says, clearly taking joy from the existential crisis Simon’s having and making sure to film every moment of it. His eyes are wide, heartbeat racing as he paces back and forth along the small, graffitied side hallway.

“Shut up, Alec. Just… you know this is weird. First the shadow, now this? You have to admit this is weird,” Simon practically begs, needing Alec to take this seriously for at least a second because he’s freaking the fuck out right now.

“You know you have to do it again, for comparison,” Alec says, and Simon wants to snap that of course he does, he’s the one who told Alec that if something strange happens you have to try and repeat it to see if it has a reasonable explanation. Like maybe there’s a dip in the floor and the ball always goes this way. Simon really hopes there’s a dip in the floor.

“Right. Yeah, okay,” Simon says, picking up the ball and heading back to the start of the hallway again. Simon repeats the action, careful to stand in the same place and throw it with the same force.

Instead of filming down the hallway, Alec’s camera is trained on him. “I’ve never seen anyone look so upset to throw a ball before,” Alec says, laughing lightly.

“Yeah, well, it isn’t your name the ball stopped at,” Simon points out.

“Maybe it will be this time!” Alec offers, but when they find the ball again it’s in the dead center of the main hallway.

“See, that’s where it should’ve landed the first time,” Simon insists.

“So you think it was pushed the other way last time?” Alec asks.

“Don’t you? First the shadow, then the ball moving, on the floor people repeatedly see a kid playing with a ball?” Simon can’t believe Alec is still denying this.

Alec shrugs. “I’m going to need a little more than some air in a drafty elevator shaft and a ball that rolled weird to believe ghosts are following us.”

Well, Simon thinks with another sigh, at least he’s honest.

They move on to one of the rooms a nurse is often seen in, each taking a chair in the center and putting motion sensors by the two doors into the room.

Simon asks a few standard questions, but he can’t keep his focus. His flashlight flits around the room unsteadily.

“You don’t like this room, do you?” Alec asks. For once he doesn’t sound like he’s making fun of Simon, but genuinely curious.

“No,” Simon admits. “I feel… off, in here. It’s unsettling. I’m not getting any responses, why don’t you try?”

“Alright,” Alec agrees. “Is there anyone in here with us? Or anyone nearby who would like to join us? We-”

“Alec,” Simon says, pointing behind where Alec’s sitting and Alec turns to see the light of the sensor going off.

“Looks like we got ourselves a ghost!” Alec exclaims. “Finally. Okay, uh, if you’re in the room with us, can you go to the other door and set off that sensor?”

Simon, surprised to find Alec taking charge while he freezes in his seat, holds his breath. The other sensor flickers, just barely, but it does.

“Thank you,” Alec says. “We have this… recorder if there’s anything you want to say. Maybe to the people you tried to save? Or to us? Do you like us here? Because we’re spending the night, so if you don’t like that, now’s the time to tell us to go.”

Alec seems properly energized by the sudden activity and Simon’s equal parts glad to see him finally getting a little more into it, and slightly horrified by the way he seems determined to turn any spirits in this building against them.

Unfortunately, the lights don’t go off again after that, and they don’t hear anything in the room.

“I wasn’t going to use the spirit box, but… now I kind of want to,” Simon admits.

“Spirit box?” Alec asks. “Is this like Ghostbusters where you try and trap the ghost in a box?”

“What? No,” Simon says, bringing out the small electronic device. “It searches through any nearby radio frequencies really fast, and spirits can tap into the white noise to form words for us, like a name, or to answer questions.”

“How scientifically accurate is this?” Alec asks skeptically.

“Debatable,” Simon says. “But I’ve gotten some cool results from it before, so… let’s give it a try. Oh, fair warning, it’s really loud.”

Simon turns the spirit box on and Alec visibly flinches back, covering both ears at the sudden noise in the otherwise silent room.

“You weren’t kidding,” Alec says after his ears adjust a bit to the loud static and shifting noises from the frequency changes, and he brings his hands back down.

“Alright. I’ll ask again - if you’re in here with us, and have anything you want to say, you can… use this box, I guess, to talk to us. Sorry, it seems a little gimmicky, but you weren’t talking before, so-”

“It isn’t a gimmick,” Simon cuts in, getting himself back in control enough to cut off Alec before he can antagonize the spirit further. “Can you tell us your name?”

The spirit box continues to make white noise until there’s a break, and he hears, very clearly, the word “spaghetti”.

They’re both silent for a moment, processing the word.

Then Alec bursts into laughter. “Maybe it’s hungry,” he says, barely managing the words between bursts of laughter.

Simon turns the box off. “Alright, let’s just move on.”

“Are you sure? We haven’t heard from Lasagna or Pizza yet,” Alec says.

Simon does his best to ignore him.

---

Upon reaching the balcony-esque landing of the roof attached to room 502, Simon leans over the ledge, just the tiniest bit to look down.

“Careful,” Alec says from behind him. “Wouldn’t want the homeless guy and his dog to push you now.”

Simon swears he feels a cold wisp of air at the nape of his neck that makes the hairs there stand on edge, but he refuses to admit that out loud.

“Ha-ha,” Simon says instead, though he does move back quickly. They have sleeping bags to set up to spend the rest of the night in the room behind them. Ms. Loss told them earlier that strange deaths occurred more than once in this room, and that others who stayed in it heard kids giggling and had things hit their tents throughout the night. The fact that they only have sleeping bags doesn’t make Simon feel great, but, as always, Alec hardly seems bothered.

“Goodnight, Spaghetti,” Alec calls into the dark once their flashlights are off.

At least he’s enjoying himself now, Simon thinks, which is a step up from the start of this whole thing. Simon doesn’t believe that Alec hates him half as much as he pretends to…

At least, that’s what Simon thinks until he wakes up an hour later to the feeling of something gently prodding his face. Only someone who hates you would wake you up in the middle of the night in a haunted hospital by touching you. Simon tries not to give him the satisfaction of reacting, attempting to pretend he’s still asleep, but after it happens a few more times Simon finally rolls over to tell him to stop.

“Seriously, dude, just-” Simon starts, except Alec isn’t anywhere near him. In fact, he’s several feet away, arms inside his sleeping bag, completely asleep.

Now Simon reacts, grabbing the flashlight next to him and spinning wildly in a circle, trying to catch sight of something, anything, that would explain what he just felt.

“What are you doing?” Alec grumbles, woken up by the sudden light that Simon accidentally shined in Alec’s face a few times during his repeated scans of the room.

“Something was touching my face. I thought it was you until I looked over and you were completely asleep. There’s nothing up here I can see, but I swear to God, something touched my face.”

“Go back to bed, Simon,” Alec mumbles, rolling over.

Simon could laugh at the suggestion, his heartbeat racing so fast he knows it’ll take at least an hour to calm down enough to consider sleeping again, not that Simon intends on even considering it.

Between the ghost touches and the fact that Alec’s snores fill the room within minutes, Simon knows he’s in for a long night.

---

Simon has never been more relieved to see the first rays of sunlight creep in through the window and immediately shakes Alec awake.

“We made it. We’re done. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Alec takes in the bags under Simon’s eyes. “...did you ever fall back asleep?”

“What do you think?” Simon replies with a yawn. “Also, you could’ve warned me that you snore.”

“I do not snore,” Alec insists.

“The video I set up in case that ghost came back says otherwise,” Simon smirks, and Alec just glares.

It doesn’t take long to gather the few things they have with them, but Simon keeps his camera out for the walk back down to his van.

“Last chance, ghosts! Any last words? This is your moment!” Simon calls into the halls, which are a lot less horrifying in the daylight.

“Last chance to shove Simon down the stairs, you wimps!” Alec adds, and Simon turns to level him with a glare that loses a lot of its fire when his eyes nearly close from exhaustion instead of narrowing menacingly.

“Simon Lewis 1, haunted hospital ghosts, 0!” Simon calls out triumphantly the moment he hits that final stair.

“So, Alec, before we leave, do you think this place is haunted?” Simon asks, shifting the camera over to Alec.

“No,” Alec says, and Simon’s face only falls for a second before he shifts the camera back to himself.

“Well, I think it is,” Simon says. “I guess our viewers will just have to make up their own minds.”

After one last sweep of the outside of the building, Simon shuts the camera off, and his entire body seems to relax.

“Congratulations, you survived!” Simon says, grinning at Alec. “I might have you do a few voice-over things, maybe a bit of commentary, if you don’t mind. But other than that, it’s just me and my editing now.”

“Cool,” Alec says, taking his bag and handing it back to Simon to put away in the van.

“Thanks again for doing this,” Simon tells him. “I know you were doing it for Jace, not for me, but I still appreciate it.”

“It ended up not being so bad,” Alec admits. “And I know I give you a hard time, but I don’t hate you. Anyone as good for Jace as you are is alright in my book.”

Simon beams. “Really?”

“Don’t tell Jace I said that, though. Then I won’t get two weeks of dishes out of him the next time you need a stand-in,” Alec says.

Simon only smiles wider at that. “Next time?!”

Alec seems to realize his mistake a moment too late. Simon takes the win and decides not to press his luck by pushing the subject.

“For now, how about breakfast on me? I’m starving,” Simon offers. After being stuck with him all night Simon isn’t sure Alec will agree. He’s pleasantly surprised to see Alec already nodding. “Taki’s? They have surprisingly good coffee.”

“Sure,” Alec agrees. “Think your spirit box can tell me if I should have pancakes or waffles? It’s a bit early for spaghetti…”

#simon lewis #alec lightwood #shadowhunters #jace herondale #silec brotp #LISTEN I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO BE SO LONG #but these two are just too much fun to write together in any scenario #so here we are and I hope you like it!! #elle writes a few deadbeat lines #long post #skylar102 #ask rune #elle talks too much

[imjeralee]

Comfort in Despair: Chapter 25 - The Exorcist

Leon x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary:

Galar is rich in folklore and tales of the supernatural.

As a Pokemon Researcher who specialises in ghost types, this is a great opportunity for you to investigate and learn more about the paranormal.

Along the way, you meet Leon (in the most awkward way possible) who becomes embroiled in your adventures.

^ Basically this story is about ghosts :/

NOTE: ok so Genshin Impact has consumed my soul and I updated this on Tumblr a bit late sorry!!! There’s several warnings here to be shared with you all:

WARNING 1 - this chapter contains a real exorcism prayer and you should not read this prayer out loud unless you are a catholic priest.

WARNING 2 - I've never used an ouija board and I don’t plan to. You’re welcome to share with me your ouija board stories if you have tried one before but I myself don't know if they're just board games or really a gateway to let things in. Anyway people say exercise with caution so please do so should you ever decide to use one for whatever reason.

WARNING 3 - there is mention of blood, I toned down the exorcism here

Rating: General/Teen

@marydragneell​ here is the latest update

The Exorcist

…

…

[Legend of the Void:

(Ezra's version, which introduces concepts such as the merging of two universes to explain the origins of man + pokemon subservience to humans)

Before the concept of time existed, before anything existed, there was Something, and you may as well say this 'something' was a god, a divine being or interdimensional entity, and this entity created a Universe under the right circumstances and conditions, and he would proceed to create humans.

And for a while, the Creator of Man was happy until he saw the evil ways of humanity and he saw this evil run rampant in his world. Regretful and upset, he decided to destroy the very thing he created with a flood.

However, the Creator of Man didn't choose to restore this world. After he destroyed it, he left and found another Universe - a Universe that was similar to his own, except it was inhabited by strange creatures which we know as pokemon. Now they already had a creator, and their creator was called Arceus, who emerged from a void after our Creator did. And our Creator saw that this Universe was just as peaceful and beautiful as his previous one.

He decided to give his creations a second chance so he made humans all over again and placed them in this world. But mankind are a destructive species, the human heart is filled with evil intention and it always will be, and the humans began creating devices to enslave the pokemon race in order to utilise them as tools.

My notes: According to the Church of Circhester, this 'version' is completely unorthodox. It is 'baseless fabrication and blasphemy' and Ezra was condemned as a misanthrope.

Sometimes I wonder where Ezra gets his theories from because this is highly controversial. It's fascinating that to this day and age, scientists are actually still trying to figure who caught the first pokemon, what was the first pokemon caught, and why (ie, how did early humans gain this knowledge, who told them and/or did anyone tell them, what prompted them to capture a pokemon?), and how did they manage to do so in the first place.

Could the discovery of catching pokemon be similar to coincidences that happened throughout history, such as how cavemen discovered fire, how Newton discovered gravity?

(edit: there is a myth that Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. For his transgression, he was to undergo eternal torment as punishment - ie, bound to a rock and have his liver eaten out everyday, only for it to re-grow hence an ongoing cycle. He was freed by the hero, Heracles).

Interestingly enough, flood myth also exists in many cultures albeit with different variations (pls refer to: The Epic of Gilgamesh).

Also, I'm pretty sure Team Plasma advocated that pokemon were oppressed and should be liberated from their trainers but then again they were also being led by a psychopath with his own selfish motives.]

…

…

A few years ago.

The weather is thunder and lightning, coupled with intense spitting rain.

And he was sure he locked the cemetery gates before he left but now they were hanging loosely from the chain.

Ezra grumbles to himself, eyes narrowing.

It can only mean one thing: an intruder.

The rickety gates squeal on their old hinges as he pushes them open and steps inside. His heavy footsteps plod through the old, withered path of Greyson’s cemetery as he heads for the mausoleum. That’s usually where they are.

Absol trots beside him, her jaws clamped over the tarnished iron handle of an old lantern; she keeps it dangling in front of her, lighting up the path though it’s not much use to him. He lives in a world of darkness, and he's used to it.

It should have been a normal night, which would have been nice because he wanted some peace and quiet for a change considering how busy he had been for the past few weeks. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts and he wanted to enjoy a pack of beer and cigarettes.

Not tonight, it seems.

He will tell those pesky young lads to go play elsewhere.

But wait, it’s something else.

Absol has been somewhat agitated the moment they approach the cemetery, but now she cannot stop growling.

“What is it?” he asks, but it doesn’t take too long to figure out what it is. “Goddamnit.”

This is just what he needed.

He delves a hand into his pocket and whips out a thin strip of paper covered in sprawling red symbols. Bringing it to his lips, he murmurs a quick enchantment under his breath before it bursts into flames and a smoky smell permeates the air. A bright, glowing light illuminates the symbols and he promptly tosses it high into the air.

Despite the wind, it flutters limply in the breeze for a second and then the impossible happens; the glowing symbols daintily lift themselves off the surface and float in the sky. They thoroughly increase in size, the symbols imprinting the air before they vanish into wisps of smoke.

The talisman proceeds to burn up and all that is left is a crinkly ball of fire which bursts into long and thin lines of flames that zips effortlessly through the air and stretches all the way past the graveyard’s borders.

“That should do it,” Ezra murmurs before he rubs at his aching hip. “C'mon, let’s go.”

He wanders further into the graveyard with his pokemon, pondering to himself what he might find though he is aware the answer to that is essentially nothing remotely good and along the way, a few ghost pokemon emerge from the tombstones and watch them worriedly.

They’re aware of the disturbance tonight but can do little to stop it, unfortunately as it requires human intervention, and is literally out of this world.

A few Haunters point him to the right direction but he doesn’t need their help because he can sense where this unwanted and hauntingly powerful presence is. He may have lived in darkness for a long time but he can see it as clear as day: a twisting, coiling mass filled with nothing but malice.

It is also not alone for Ezra can also sense another human being; a warm and kind but very tired and exasperated soul, about to be devoured.

He hopes they’re not too late and Absol leaves his side and he can hear her padded paws bounding away from him against the pebbly path; she leaps off the ground and snaps her jaws at this person.

There is a brief howl and something weighty slams over the ground.

Absol has subdued the culprit.

Ezra arrives and his hip is still acting up but nevertheless, he limps over and he sees this little warm and pure soul squirming helplessly on the ground as it is slowly being enveloped by the dark presence.

Whoever it is, they cannot even speak, reduced to a gurgling, rasping mess.

He uses his foot to nudge at this poor, unfortunate individual that is writhing helplessly on the floor of his cemetery though he knocks over this thick, wooden plate of some sorts at the same time and there is the sound of a glass rolling.

An Ouija board.

“Help!” a girl screams. “Oh god! Help- aaaghh!”

Morbid wailing follows as she’s forced to contort under the demon’s influence and a few bones snap and she begins crying but the sound lodges in her mouth and she emits a guttural rasp, her throat rattling violently.

The old ex-priest grabs a talisman from his pocket and smacks it over her forehead which ceases her violent fits for temporary.

“Hey, kid. Sit tight, I’m gonna get it out, you hear me?”

“O-okay!” she squeaks, and though he’s surprised she can even respond, she returns to the incoherent snarling and growling. As he tries to grab her, she makes several routine attempts to bite him.

Avoiding her as much as possible, Ezra bends down and lifts her into his arms with the help of his pokemon who helps nudge her into his arms.

“Steady now,” he says as he carries her into the mausoleum, which isn’t too far ahead.

He hears her croaking and choking, fighting the entity within as he settles her into the huge stone chair inside. Absol closes the door behind them and then trots over with a thick coil of rope which she collects from one corner.

He thanks her and begins strapping the girl carefully and securely into the chair with rope, keeping her wrists and ankles bound as she kicks and flails, hurling curses and obscenities at him, screaming and roaring and shrieking in a feral manner.

His pokemon stands watch as the girl starts slamming the back of her head against the stone, growling raucously.

But Ezra remains calm and lights various rows of candles that line the walls, pulls his silver cross out and clutches it tightly in his old hands and kneels in front of the altar, his weak knees hitting the dirt. Since his vision failed him, he hasn’t moved the statue or the water trough anywhere else.

He chants a prayer under his breath and dips his fingers into the water. God bless him. God save her soul. He does the sign of the cross and then heads over to the duo and blesses his pokemon as well, which she appreciates by purring affectionately.

Grabbing an old brush, he dips it into a bucket of old red paint in the corner and begins painting a sigil on the ground as quickly as he can around the chair.

Once he’s finished, he dumps the brush to the side. He moved to stand in front of the girl who has ceased her wild shrieking in favour of hissing spitefully at him.

“Be silent,” Ezra commands in a loud, booming voice, before he tosses some of the water over her.

And so it begins.

“In nómine Pátris, et Fílii, et Spirítus Sancti. Amen,” Ezra chants with his silver cross in hand which he proceeds to thrust in front of her face, “Exsúrgat Deus et dissipéntur inimíci ejus: et fúgiant qui odérunt eum a fácie ejus. Sicut déficit fumus defíciant; sicut fluit cera a fácie ígnis.”

Outside, the muffled clap of overhead thunder can be heard, the wind howling.

He continues, “Sic péreant peccatóres a fácie Dei-“

“If you think that will stop me, you’re wrong," says a deep voice.

Dabbing his entire hand into the trough of holy water, Ezra steps forward and smears it all over her forehead before he presses the rest of his palm firmly into her face. The demon shrieks and withdraws.

That’s what you get for interrupting me, Ezra thinks to himself but ultimately cannot say aloud: he must continue the exorcism prayer regardless of how long it could take.

“Júdica Dómine nocéntes me; expúgna impugnántes me. Confundántur et revereántur quaeréntes ánimam meam,” he murmurs, “Avertántur retrórsum et confundántur, cogitántes míhi mála. Fíant táamquam púlvis ante fáciem vénti: et Ángelus Dómini coárctans eos.”

The door suddenly flies open and the brutal, icy wind swirls inside, wiping out all the flames of the candles in a split second. Absol glances around in high alert but Ezra remains still. Raindrops batter his back as the door slams in its frame repeatedly.

The walls tremble from several wicked blows as though an unseen assailant is rampaging outside, circling the mausoleum whilst repeatedly slamming a hammer against the stone, yet Ezra remains calm.

“Fiat via illórum ténebrae, et lúbricum: et Ángelus Dómini pérsequens eos. Quóniam grátis abscondérunt míhi intéritum láquei sui: supervácue exprobravérunt ánimam meam.”

Realising the priest is undeterred, the monster unleashes an unearthly howl and a glass shatters somewhere. It’s bellows and roars reverberate throughout the walls and resonates thoroughly in Ezra’s ears.

Since he lost his sight, his hearing amplified; the shrill sounds of nails scraping against the stone and the chaotic tugging of the rope rises to inescapable volumes as the demon furiously struggles against its bonds.

Ezra continues his prayer, “Véniat illi láqueus quem ignórat; et cáptio quam abscóndit, aprehéndat eum: et in láqueum cádat in ipsum-”

He briefly picks up the coppery stench of blood and very soon, a wet substance splatters over his lips and cheeks and eyelids. It laughs, and another splodge hits the side of his ear.

Raising a hand, Ezra wordlessly smothers the blood away with the back of his hand. “Ánima áutem mea exsultábit in Dómino: et delectábitur super salutári suo. Glória Pátri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.”

Then he presses his cross over the demon’s head, forcing it to shriek uncontrollably. It kicks and screams, quaking fiercely against the restraints. He applies more pressure, the cross is warm under his grip and steadily growing hotter.

To his utmost surprise, the little warm light he had seen earlier is beginning to return and it is fighting back, growing larger and larger as the seconds pass.

“Come on, kid, I know you’re still in there. You can do it!” he yells.

She keeps growling and snarling, foaming at the mouth. Gnashing her teeth repeatedly, she emits a deranged howl, struggling viciously to reach him.

“Come on! Fight it!”

The walls of the mausoleum quake violently, the ground underneath his very feet trembles. Absol starts growling, leaping around in alarm.

Ezra listens to the excruciating sound of cords straining and eventually coming undone; her fist shoots out and her fingers, sharp as claws, stabs into his gut, and twists.

He grunts with pain, but does not let go.

Easing his other hand into his pockets, he pulls out another talisman; it glows faintly from the enchantment which he promptly slaps over her forehead and with a powerful bark of “Relinquo!", a dark shadow shoots out from her body and into the air with a bloodcurdling shriek.

Freed at last, the girl keels over, her head dipped low, blood gushing from her mouth.

And Ezra stumbles backwards, lifting a bleeding hand off his stomach. He sighs heavily before he feels his head growing light, his body weightless, and he promptly collapses over the floor.

…

When he wakes up, he can feel warmth all around.

He is lying on something soft.

A bed.

He has not slept in a bed for a long time.

It smells like lavender and jasmine.

He despises it.

"You're awake!" exclaims a voice.

It's the girl from the cemetery.

Purring sounds can be heard near his bed and he reaches over; a fluffy head affectionately plops itself under his palm and rubs itself against his callused skin. Ezra grunts under his breath, groaning as he shuffles around under the blanket and attempts to reach for her, though his limbs are weary.

“Cassie,” he utters, and Absol climbs onto the bed, sprawling over him. He gently pats her head and strokes her snowy white fur.

The room is silent until he hears the legs of a chair screeching against the floor and the girl does her best to quietly leave the room. She returns in roughly half an hour however, after he’s had a check-up.

By then, he’s exhausted and wants to rest.

He hears the door squeaking open and she pokes her head in, then steps inside the room and closes the door behind her.

“What are you doing here?" he asks tiredly.

"I needed to see that you'd be okay," she says, "I thought you were dead. I'm…I’m really sorry."

"It'll take more than that to kill me."

"Thank you for saving my life."

"As long as I'm around, nothing's gonna happen to you, kid."

"Thank you, sir. Um...Can I ask you a question?"

"About what?"

"About the...demon.”

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. I want to know if it was the one who took my sister and my father. And if it was, I want to know why it did it and I want to get them back."

“Listen, kid. Don't dabble in stuff you don't understand, especially this."

"I know and I'm so, so sorry. But…can you teach me?"

His unfazed expression doesn't change.

"Please teach me.”

He hears the chair legs squeaking again coupled with a lot of fumbling; she’s flat on the ground before him on her hands and knees. How troublesome, he thinks to himself with a sigh.

"You want to learn how to exorcise demons?" he grunts.

"Yes."

“You?”

“Yeah.”

Utterly astounded, he takes a while to reply and rubs the back of his neck. "Do you hear the kind of stuff that is coming out of your mouth right now?" he growls and she looks up, confused. "You're saying something along the lines of 'I want to destroy a creation of the universe'. Do you know how impossible and crazy that sounds? Do you?"

"A creation of the universe? Are you talking about Arceus? Why would Arceus create something like that…do you mean it’s an undiscovered pokemon of undiscovered type???”

“Hell no. Goddamnit, kid, I mean it came before Arceus.”

“What do you mean, ‘before Arceus’? Arceus came from an egg and before the egg, it was a void of nothingness-“

He sighs heavily. “There was something before Arceus, before the void. You always explain one event as being created by some earlier event, right? So before Arceus, there was some kind of infinite period where time did not exist but during this period, there was something there…do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“…Not really.”

“Exactly. You’re obviously still in shock and speaking nonsense. Go home, kid. Go back to your family.”

Yawning loudly, he pulls the blanket closer over his body and turns round in his warm and cosy bed, his back to her. He’s careful not to lie on his stomach though.

"But I'm serious," she says.

"So am I," he replies.

...

After he’s fully healed and discharged, he returns to the cemetery; the Corviknight taxi drops him off a few metres away and he taps his way across the Wild Area with Absol and his cane.

When he arrives, he realises the girl is also here.

At first, he ignored her and let her be. He did his daily caretaker duties, watering the plants, pulling weeds and sweeping the tombs.

He didn't know what she was doing here - she probably observed his daily regime - and one day she brought some cleaning supplies with her and began assisting him with the upkeep of the cemetery, especially with some of the heavy lifting.

Today, he’s forcibly awoken when he hears her sweeping the area around the mausoleum and shoving dust everywhere and he grumbles sourly under his breath. He had already told her a few times to go home but she keeps coming back. She keeps coming back to clean, to lurk around the graveyard, to help him.

“Stop that,” he snaps at her, “you’re disturbing them, and I already swept it yesterday.”

She stops dusting at some tombstones. “Sorry, I thought-”

Ezra grumbles, scrubbing at his mangy face with a dirty palm. Reaching for a beer by his calf, he grasps blindly for the can and lifts it to his mouth, downing a sip. “Get over here, kid.”

He hears her stepping towards him and he glances up, looking at this annoyingly bright light before him.

“You really wanna learn that badly, huh?”

“Yes, sir.”

“No need to be so formal, my name is Ezra.” With a heavy sigh, he dusts himself down and stands up, using his cane to support himself. “And I am…or was, the pastor of the Church of Circhester. I was also a member of the International Association of Exorcists. Do you understand who and what you’re dealing with?”

“Yes, sir – I mean, Ezra.”

“Now, tell me who you are and why I should teach you.”

He hears this little gasp of awe before she tells him her predicament. She tells him her name, who she is, where she came from, how old she is.

She rambles at some point and he has to occasionally steer her towards the focal details and periodically, she’ll become flustered, especially when speaking about the night when she saw her father and sister devoured by a Dusknoir. Once she’s finished recounting her tale, he nods.

“It was a demon, right?” she says, though she sounds unsure.

“Probably. Didn't your family have any pokemon?"

"...Sableye and Haunter went missing, and Cutiefly and Sinistea were in PC boxes," she says, "Please teach me. I want to learn."

He studies her quietly, then holds his index finger up in the air. “Fine, but I must warn you: my teachings are difficult and I’ve had several idiots coming up to me just like how you did and they’ve all failed-”

“I'm not an idiot and I won’t fail you.”

“-Yeah, let’s see about that, kid.” Holding up two fingers now, “Second, if I’m to teach you, I want you to swear to me you will take no retribution against Dusknoir. I don’t mind if you want to research one or whatever, but do not take your grudge with the pokemon. It’s nothing to do with it.”

“I understand.”

He moves on to hold up three fingers. “Third, that being said, you cannot use what you learned to harm humans or pokemon in any way. You must use it for good. I can tell you have a gift and under my guidance and training, I believe you will reach your full potential.”

“Okay.”

“Four, I will teach you with the utmost effort and I also expect to receive full commitment from yourself. I will not make do with time-wasters or mediocrity. Do you understand?”

“Yeah.”

“And lastly, promise me you will not in either way, attempt to summon entities for any reason. Do not use Ouija boards, do not dabble in sacrifice, do not try to open any portals. Hell, do not attempt any of those things.”

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.”

“Now, some of my teachings are limited. I can teach you how to protect yourself and protect others. Are you happy with this, knowing that there are limitations as to what I can teach you?”

“Yes, I am.”

Ezra studies her again before he nods to himself.

He’s said quite a lot but he knows she understands. “Good,” he murmurs.

“So…when do we start?”

“We start now.”

He disappears inside the mausoleum and re-emerges with a dirty rucksack; he pulls out a tattered old journal along with an old, portable cassette player which he hands to her.

“Your first task is to read this and listen to the tapes. Learn the symbols, learn the prayers. Come back whenever you’re ready and show me what you got.”

“Got it.”

She comes back in five days, which was a lot earlier than he had expected considering his previous ‘disciples’ either came back in a week or two, and some barely returned in person, opting to hand his book and tape back by leaving it at the gates.

He hears her approaching and sits up whilst Absol sleeps in a corner, and she says, “I finished it.”

“What did you think?”

“It was interesting.“

“...You didn’t think it was disturbing?”

“No.”

There is a brief silence.

“Hm…not sure if that’s a good or bad thing,” he murmurs under his breath.

The tapes were full of recorded exorcisms, consisting of unearthly screaming, howling and shrieking courtesy of the victims.

He says, “Recite Saint Michael’s prayer to me.”

She does so, with almost near-perfect pronunciation.

Ezra listens intently and nods when she’s finished. “Not bad. Now let’s hear Signum Crucis.”

“In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancta-“

“Sancti,” he corrects her.

“Sancti,” she repeats.

“Not bad. Again.”

She recites the short prayer once more, this time with no errors.

“Gloria Patri,” he grunts out next, grabbing his beer and flipping the lid off.

And they continue going through some prayers until it’s almost sunset and she’s a little exhausted and he’s finished his pack of beer.

“You did well, kid. Come back tomorrow.”

“Really???”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you!!”

“Don’t thank me yet. I’ll be testing you on the symbols and their meanings. Then there’s a final test.”

“Okay!” she exclaims excitedly, and after exchanging some short words, she bids him farewell and he hears her leaving, her footsteps echoing loudly in the quiet graveyard.

The next day, she returns and passes the symbols assessment with flying colours as he had expected considering how quickly she’d picked up the Latin prayers.

And the next day after that, he teaches her how to use talismans.

As the weeks roll by, he continuously subjects her to tests on latin prayers and symbology. Then he teaches her some blood magic.

Soon, weeks turns to months, and she’s picked up a lot of his teachings in a short period of time, which impresses him greatly.

She begins to accompany him on exorcisms which undoubtedly at the beginning, does disturb her a little but the more she sat in and watched (and sometimes assisted with), the more she began to see such things as a normality and he also allows her to work on her own cases albeit under some guidance.

Before he knows it, he has transformed this little girl into an exorcist.

“Well done, kid. You’ve exceeded all my expectations. I’m proud of you," he says with a nod of his head.

She cheers, but then remembering her tutelage, she bows deeply with gratitude, eyes closed. “Thank you, Ezra. I wouldn’t be where I am now if it weren’t for you,” she replies, “what’s the final test?”

“Final test?”

“Yeah, you mentioned it a while ago.”

“….Hm, so I did,” he says, before he gets off the steps, dusting at his palms and weak knees. “Let me show you something. Come on, Absol.”

He motions her to follow him and he heads to two marked graves near a statue of a weeping angel which is covered in a sparse layer of moss.

She joins his side and she scans the names etched on the stone. One name in particular stands out. “Cassie??” she murmurs, before she casts a glance to the pokemon that stands by his side.

Absol looks up, and regards her with its steely blue eyes.

“My wife and daughter,” Ezra murmurs, his white gaze staring emptily into space. “This is a dark path. There will always be death. This is my final warning to you: if you choose to walk this path, be prepared to lose everything. Is this something you can do?”

There is a brief silence until she says, “Yes.”

Ezra hesitates; she observes him for any noticeable reaction but he is immobile, standing stiffly with his hands clasped together in front of him.

“...Very well," he utters. "Come with me.”

“Where to?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

He hasn’t left the cemetery other for reasons than to go to the soup kitchen or to buy his beer and cigarettes, so he asks her to call for a Corviknight taxi since he doesn’t have a Rotom phone.

When the taxi arrives, he asks the driver to take them to the Dusty Bowl and they’re dropped off at the outskirts.

“Why are we here?” she asks, but he ignores her and begins to head for the desolate path.

She trails after him and despite being blind, she’s stunned to see that he seems to be aware a great deal of where he’s going. A sandstorm begins to rage but Ezra is unaffected and continues to wander down the plains, using his cane to avoid any obstacles such as rocks, trees or tall grass. Whilst she tries to cover her eyes, blinking through sand and grit, she helps him along the way of course, but he doesn’t seem to require her assistance at all.

Occasionally, wild pokemon will peek at them from behind the dry and crusty grass but they don’t dare to approach.

She glances around with much wariness as he leads her further and further away from the winding path, the barren wastelands, the dead trees and soon, he has led her into oblivion.

The sandstorm worsens and as she looks left, right and up, she cannot see a single damn thing in front of her; if she did not keep her gaze pinned on the ghostly silhouette of her mentor tottering in front of her a short feet away, she was certain she would have lost her way.

“Ezra, be careful!” she yells above the loud winds and the whirling sands.

“I’ll be fine,” he says, though his voice is hard to hear.

Her nerves begins to eat at her and they’ve been walking for seems like an eternity and she isn’t even sure if they’re still in the Dusty Bowl or the gym challenger’s path anymore, perhaps they’ve moved onto the Giant’s Mirror or the Stony Wilderness, but the sandstorm is endless and she calls after him once more.

“Ezra, where are you taking me?”

“Keep moving, we’re almost there,” he grunts at her in response.

Her question is finally answered when he stops in his path and grows still, holding out his arm.

“Wait.”

She watches him, listening, but nothing happens.

“Okay, come over here.”

There is a bad feeling in her gut as she sidles up to him and to her utmost surprise, the sandstorm begins to subside, revealing a large cenote before them.

Her eyes widen.

He’s standing at the very edge, his foot shoving some rocks and dust into the large pit before them; if he had taken one step further, he would’ve fallen inside. She looks around in shock. The sandstorm had disappeared in a blink of an eye, instead it had been replaced with a lingering misty fog that surrounded them. She knew the Wild Area was erratic but this weather was abnormal to the extreme.

Her shocked gaze strays to the blind man. His glazed eyes are focused in front of him, oblivious to the deep.

“I want you to go in there,” he says.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes,” he mutters. “You can take the stairs.”

He nudges his head to the right where a spiralling ‘staircase’ consisting of huge, mismatched slabs of rocks sticking out from the walls of the pit appear to offer a way down inside.

“Do you wish to turn back?” he asks, sensing her hesitation.

“No.”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

She nods and steps towards the first rock, which is dusty and covered with yellowing grass, and she uses one foot to test out the footing, giving it a few stern prods with her toes. The rock seems stubborn enough and once she deems it safe, she makes her way down.

It’s steep and she carefully tackles each step one by one, having to hold onto some dry vines that dangle and stick out of the edges of the wall until she arrives at the bottom of the pit.

Looking up and around, the sky is painted a strange and ethereal purplish, blue glow… perhaps from the aurora borealis, though she’s never seen it warp into this sort of shade before. Usually it is a streak of colours in the night sky…neither a star can be seen in sight either.

She also realises the pit isn’t as deep as she thought. She’s fairly certain gym challengers would never find this place nor would anyone in the right mind would even want to go in here.

She steps closer towards the middle of the pit, her feet crunching under gravel and stones, and stares at the walls of the pit.

There is an entrance, resembling a zigzagged slit in the wall. It’s big enough for a lone individual to slip inside but that’s just about it. She cannot see what’s inside; it is far too dark.

“Is this a pokemon den?” she asks, gesturing to the entrance.

“No.”

Her mentor’s voice sounded very close; she promptly turns to see Ezra hobbling behind her. “That was quick.”

“Give me a second,” he mutters as he brushes past her and steps towards the large and gaping hole in the wall, stopping just a foot or so away. “Stay there and don’t move, don’t make a sound.”

She goes silent, and she did not dare to peel her eyes away from the cave entrance where a figure is emerging from within.

A withered-looking Lucario with a greying muzzle and dirty golden fur steps outside and into the pit, wielding a wooden staff that is as tall as itself. It's what trainers coin as a 'shiny' pokemon, and these pokemon are extremely rare, especially in the wild. Puzzled, she watches as the pokemon greets her mentor.

Ezra's mouth moves but she cannot hear what he’s saying.

Then he stops and Lucario nods, and the man and pokemon turn to glance at her direction.

She strains to hear what they could possibly be conversing yet there is nothing, not even a pokemon cry, not the slightest rustle of the wind. Nothing.

It is silent.

The silence is suffocating to say the least and eventually, Lucario nods his head after the prolonged period of stillness. The pokemon turns and returns into the cave, disappearing into the darkness.

Placing his cane on the ground in front of him, he balances his palms over the handle. “Lucario has granted you entry.”

“…What?” she asks, a little anxiously.

Inhaling silently, Ezra replies, “There are greater things in our universe, greater than you and me. Even greater than pokemon.”

“What’s going on? What is a Lucario doing all the way out here? Where’s his trainer?”

“He doesn’t have one. This is his home,” Ezra mutters. “Now listen carefully. This is Gossamer Cave. A relic can be found here. A long time ago, I used it to destroy a demon that terrorised my wife and child. However, it is a highly dangerous weapon and you have to be ready to wield it, to understand its power and origins. If this is something you want, then you must go inside and fetch it.”

There are questions buzzing aplenty in her mind. “What does it look like?”

“You’ll know when you see it. My question for you is, do you wish to wield such a weapon? You might not like what you find out.” He mutters, before stepping aside, allowing her entry regardless of her response, regardless if she goes in or not.

She bites down on her lip anxiously but he does not offer any further words, no further advice or warning. She ponders to herself briefly, thinking about her parents, her sister and how they are all depending on her. Although she is nervous, she must cast aside these sinking feelings and surpass. She must be brave when no-one else is, when no-one else can. She must do it for them.

"I'm going in," she declares, and she passes him and enters the cave without further ado.

It’s dark.

She's greeted with the hypnotic splash of water dripping from the ceiling onto the floor and the marauding howl of the wind from outside that echoes and slips through the cave.

Lucario sits on a large rock to the left with the wooden staff balanced over its paws. It’s eyes are closed, deep in meditation. As she passes by, it does not acknowledge her presence.

Expecting Zubats or some other types of cave-dwelling pokemon, she’s stunned to see it is devoid of any other critter except from the aura pokemon.

A linear path lies ahead but she hits a dead-end.

Confused, she pats the wall in front of her, looking up and around. She checks for any cracks, any hidden passages. She checks every nook and cranny and leaves no stone upturned. She raps her knuckles over the walls, hoping for a hollow thud, a secret trap door perhaps?

There is nothing.

Disappointed and perplexed, she returns to the entrance.

“There’s nothing there," she says.

“I see. Then it’s not time yet. You still need more training, kid. You have a long way to go.” Ezra replies, unsurprised.

“I really don’t understand.”

“When you hear it, you will.”

“Hear what?”

“Tell me when you do, okay?”

Frustrated, she says, “Stop being so cryptic! What’s in the cave? What’s this relic?”

“You’ll find out when you’re ready. For now, forget what you saw and focus on your training. Focus on getting better, then you can come back.”

“Fine.”

Slipping his hands into the pockets of his withered coat, he begins to leave. She follows him with a sigh, mostly out of exasperation. Before she leaves however, she tosses a quick glance over her shoulder towards the abyss.

She was expecting to see something, maybe a shadow or a little flicker of light, maybe Lucario would come out again.

However, there is nothing.

...

Present.

You’ve grown quiet.

Leon watches as your brows scrunch with confusion, your expression souring. “What’s wrong?”

“Gossamer Cave,” you utter, before you grab his arm and exclaim loudly, “Gossamer Cave! That's it, Leon!"

Releasing him, you stand up, rush up the stairs and towards the bookshelves; he follows, watching you stop at a random shelf before you speedily skim through the books on the shelf, inspecting the titles quickly.

“Aha,” you murmur under your breath, pulling out a thick and burly red book from its place; it is an atlas of the Wild Area.

You beckon him over as you open the book, unfolding it to its full proportion over the floor. It’s not the most updated map but it’ll do for now.

Leon squats down beside you as you flip through the pages.

“Ezra took me to a place called Gossamer Cave ages ago. I can’t believe I forgot all about it. We took a Corviknight taxi, got off at the Dusty Bowl and we walked for a long time and there was a sandstorm, and then all of a sudden he stopped at a large pit. I’m supposed to tell Ezra when I start hearing things. He was so cryptic I didn’t understand what he meant back then but now I do. I can understand Gengar; I can hear what he says. That’s what Ezra meant. Leon, I’m ready.”

“Ready?” he murmurs, as you finally pinpoint the location on the map and begin scouring the page.

You nod. “I’m ready to face it -- whatever it was that took my family away. I can fight it now. I just need to find Gossamer Cave.”

Leon’s expression is a conflicted one. “When the officials mapped out the Wild Area for the gym challenge, they never found any place called Gossamer Cave.”

“It must be there, I saw it with my own eyes. It was a cenote, but there was this entrance that led to a cave and I went in. It was guarded by a Lucario, and a shiny one too,” you reply, “I need to find it. There’s something there, and it will help me.”

…

Meanwhile, in Greyson’s cemetery, Absol has been biting and tugging at his coat all night, in a vain effort to force him to get up and leave. She has sensed something. However, Ezra merely chills on the steps, drinking his beer and she gives up, having grown rather weary, and has settled to curl up next to him. It’s then his ears pick up the sounds of footsteps a distance away.

The footsteps stop; a lone individual stands a foot away from him.

“Hello, you must be the exorcist of Greyson’s cemetery,” says a distorted, muffled voice. "Remember me?"

The voice is unrecognisable. Ezra inhales deeply, scrunching the beer can under his fist. “…Something I can help you with?”

“Yes,” the voice leers. “You can die right here and now!”

A massive unseen force promptly smashes the steps of the mausoleum in half, sending stone and debris flying into the air; it stands, retracting its claws with a grin as the dust clears away, before peeking left and right.

Ezra has disappeared.

“Where are you,” it hisses with a chuckle as it lifts up rocks and debris, flinging them to the side and digging its claws into the earth, cackling with mirth, “Where are you, exorcist?? Come out, come out, wherever you are. I won't hurt you - much.”

A growl emits from behind and captures its attention; as it turns, it is swiftly knocked off its feet as a white and black blur slams into its body and sends it flying into a cluster of tombstones. Absol lands on her paws with a growl as Ezra appears from behind the fountain, unharmed.

“Good job, Absol,” he murmurs, his eyes narrowing at the entity that struggles to get up. “Percutiet.”

Sending a talisman at its direction, the little paper automatically attaches itself to the entity’s head and administers a painful shock. The entity roars with pain briefly before erupting into a fit of hoarse, mocking laughter.

“I know it’s you, Spiritomb,” Ezra says. "Use Slash.”

Absol’s attack connects with a loud thump and all goes still. Shortly, a harrowing shriek of pain shatters the silence. Ezra recalls the talisman; it disappears into thin air in little wisps and the man sprawled over the tombstones grunts and groans as he sits up, rubbing his injured chest in agony.

“Huh? What…? Where am I? What happened…? Um, what am I doing here…?” he mutters, disoriented.

...

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