DRX.maliant
Legio nomen mihi est, quia multi sumus.
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2022
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initialising… ... ... https://youtu.be/eEMpCcLm6NI
initialisation complete. are we live? good, we are. lets go.
rated T for teen: contains mild sexual humour and emotional damage
Dawn sits up from bed and opens her eyes, only to have to shield them from the beam of light that is piercing through her window and curtains. I really do need new curtains, she thinks to herself as she grabs her phone and unplugs it from its charger. She has yet to press the lock button, as she is interrupted by the need to yawn. How much sleep did I even get, she wonders. Yesterday was so busy; I had so many photoshoots and challengers approach me for battles. Finally, she takes the time to check her phone, and sees that it’s 11:00. Huh? I slept that much? It’s been thirteen hours?! What ultimately grabs her attention, however, is the date.
“Oh, today’s Halloween,” she says to no one in particular. “Fun, fun. What should I-” She stops her thought there, as she finally remembers, and lets out a sorrowful sigh. “Right. I can’t do that anymore.” As she ponders what her schedule could possibly be, she sweeps her legs off of the bed, gets on her feet, and strolls towards her closet. She is still thinking as she opens the doors and scrolls through all the possible outfits in her wardrobe, before finally settling on a pair of black leggings, a grey v-neck T-shirt, and an almost salmon-coloured sweater. After going into the washroom, brushing her teeth, applying all her makeup, and getting herself set, she changes into her selected outfit, puts on a pair of socks, steps out of her room, and makes her way to the kitchen. Normally, her mother is already awake and making breakfast downstairs, but given her current situation now, she lives alone, therefore she has to take care of herself, which is alright by her. She needs to learn how to look after herself anyway, and thus she may as well start now. As she walks down the stairs and into the kitchen, her next thought is what her brunch will be.
“Hm, what do I even have in here?” she asks as she checks the refrigerator. What’s inside is mostly just leftovers from the night before, when she was out having dinner with the Elite Four, and some soda. Upon touching a tray of leftover Spanish tortilla - not even she knows why she has a tray of Spanish tortilla leftover - she gets a flashback to that night where Lucian and Bertha get drunk while absolutely flaming each other over how they both had gotten utterly obliterated by Dawn when she had challenged them, en route to her title. She can’t help but laugh at this, and decides that maybe she won’t have leftovers for brunch, so she leaves the tray alone and closes the door. What’s in the freezer, then, she wonders as she opens the freezer, only to see the dozens of boxes of frozen food piled up inside. Oh, Arceus, she thinks. Never mind. I’m for sure not having frozen pizza for the third day in a row. She closes the freezer door and lets out a sigh, which is compounded by the subsequent roar of her stomach signalling that she really needs a meal. I should ask Mom to teach me how to cook, she thinks as she heads back up to her room. Because this shouldn’t be how I properly take care of myself. She only briefly reenters her room to grab her handbag as well as the PokéBall with her trusty Empoleon inside, before heading back into the living room. As she does so, she checks to make sure that her handbag has everything she needs: wallet, moisturiser, hand sanitiser, all that stuff. Once she thinks she has everything, she puts on a pair of high-heeled boots, grabs her keys, and heads out the door. She takes the time to double-check that she has all that she needs, before… what on Earth is that supposed to be?
“Wait a second,” she exclaims, jaw practically dropped. “Is that… is that Lucas and Barry?! What are they doing here?! What is that behind them?! What are they wearing?!”
There stand two people, dressed in full-on business suits: white-collared, buttoned shirts accompanied by matte black ties and further melded with a matte black blazer, dress pants, dress shoes, accented by aviator sunglasses and… hold on a second. Are those white gloves? No businessman wears white gloves, at least, none that she’s seen.
“What is even going on here?” she mutters to herself, before deciding that it be best to not muck about and at least make an attempt to answer the question at hand. As she strolls over to the sidewalk, the image finally becomes clear to her eyes. The two people are indeed Lucas and Barry, and behind them is a giant black and white limousine-like SUV to match the two’s outfits. Why is there a limousine outside her house? What could’ve prompted this to happen? There’re so many questions racing in her mind, though oddly, the one that doesn’t come to mind is whether the scenario she is currently witnessing is an elaborate prank or not. Suddenly the two men perk up at the sight of her and stand to attention, which startles her for quite a bit. What is happening? As far as she can remember, Lucas and Barry are normally never like this.
“Madam Champion, it is an honour to serve you,” the two say and bow in unison, which only serves to frighten her even more.
“Lucas? Barry?” she asks the two. “What is this all about?”
“Why so surprised, Madam Champion?” Lucas asks back. “We were sent here as butlers to serve you.” Butlers?! What the heck?!
“B-b-butlers?! I… I was never informed about this! Who sent you here?”
“I do apologise, Madam Champion. We are not permitted to state its name,” Barry swiftly replies. It?! What’s that supposed to be?! At this point, waves of absolute terror rush through her, but what else can she do? She’s about to ask what that could possibly mean, before she is interrupted. Unfortunately, she's going to find out later on that this is going to happen all the time.
“It seems that we came at a very opportune time, Madam Champion. Is there someplace you need to go? Allow us to ferry you there,” Lucas tells her as he turns and walks over to open the rear passenger door of the limousine.
“Wait, what? I, uh… I was going to take the train! It’s okay!” Taken aback by such an offer, she can only stammer and try to deflect it, but such a poor attempt at a deflection is swiftly shut down.
“No, Madam Champion. Please.” Lucas motions for her to enter the limousine. Despite the long pause for her to think, she is unable to come up with anything, thus she sighs in defeat and climbs into the back. The door is then gently closed behind her, and after a short moment for her two new butlers to climb in themselves, the limousine starts, and they soon set off.
“Madam Champion, where would you like to go?” Lucas asks, which brings up a thought in her mind. I was so caught up in this mess that I didn’t even think about what I was going to eat today! What do I want to eat today? What the heck is even open today? Despite many attempts to try and come up with something, her train of thought, though quick and fleeting, is eventually interrupted by - again - a loud growl from her stomach, this time much, much louder than at home.
“I… I see. May I recommend the il’viorno amour, Madam Champion?” Barry asks after hearing her stomach growl. “I would go out of my way to state that they have the best Italian food in the region.” Dawn doesn’t even need to think about it; at this point, food is food. She’ll go for anything.
“Sure. We can do the il’viorno amour,” she replies. “And please stop calling me ‘Madam Champion.’”
“Understood, Madam Champion,” both Lucas and Barry say, which elicits an exasperated sigh from Dawn in response. Something is wrong here, she thinks. These two are never like this. What’s gotten into them? She doesn’t even have time to ponder any more, as the limo comes to a sudden halt, causing her to whip forward before lashing her back into the seat. She wants to ask what happened, but once again, she is interrupted and beaten to the chase.
“My apologies, Madam Champion,” Lucas, who’s driving, states. “There seems to have been an incident up ahead causing the sudden traffic halt.” Huh?! What in the name of Arceus is that supposed to mean?!
“What’s going on out there?” she asks, curious about the situation. Why does this have to happen today of all days? Like sure, today’s Halloween, but come on!
“I… I am unsure, Madam Champion,” Barry replies. “It seems that we are too far behind to be able to get a good look at the situation.”
“Is this the furthest we can go?”
“For now, unfortunately, yes. I am unable to decipher what could possibly be happening.” Dawn takes this as a sign that she should go out and investigate herself, but right as she is about to reach for the door, both of their voices stop her.
“Madam Champion, it is highly advised that you do not go out and investigate,” the two butlers say in unison, which causes her to internally freak out.
“U-understood.” She stays in her seat, relegated to just looking out the window. Every vehicle on the road starts to move again, albeit very, very slowly, which doesn’t do much for the three, who sit in silence as they wait for everything to clear up. Something slowly comes into view, and Dawn can’t help but be confused. It’s as if the day for her isn’t already bizarre enough as is with her two friends suddenly becoming her butlers and ferrying her around in a limousine, why not toss in… wait a second.
“Wait… what is that?!” Dawn can’t believe her eyes. Granted, however, today’s just been absolutely bizarre in general, there’s no way this could be worse, right? Upon further inspection, she sees four people… what are they doing, dancing? In the middle of the road? Can that even be considered dancing? Whoever these are, they have some place to call home, don’t they? As far as she can remember, everybody in the Sinnoh area has a residence… right? Right?! At least she is able to figure out something new every time their limo chugs along.
“Um… hold on,” she says after observing for a little longer. “That’s… that’s Lucian! Are those the Elite Four?! What are they doing here?!” Her voice now has little bits of fear and confusion melded together, yet what terrifies her most is her butlers’ lack of a seemingly normal reaction.
“I see, that’s who they are,” Lucas calmly remarks. “They seem to be having a fun time.”
“If only they used the sidewalk,” Barry sighs. “Unfortunate, though I guess it cannot be prevented.” Waves of confusion and fright come over her, and the cherry on top is when the Elite Four bend down - with perfect coordination - and pick something up. She is off her seat at this point and trying to jut her neck as far forward as possible to decipher just what in the name of Arceus they’re picking up… and it doesn’t take long for her to see what it is.
“Um… Lucas? Barry?” she asks, the terror in her voice now very much palpable.
“Yes, Madam Champion?” the two reply, monotone and in unison.
“T-th-They’re… a-a-are they carrying a coffin?!”
The Elite Four do indeed have a coffin atop their shoulders and are… oh, Arceus. They really are dancing with it. But… but why?!
“I see. They’re carrying somebody away. That really is a coffin,” remarks Barry, once again in a monotone voice. Dawn is speechless at the sight of the Elite Four parading down the middle of the road with a coffin on their shoulders, and simply cannot look any further out of fear of the simple thought that somebody is inside that coffin. She can't help but wonder how the Elite Four went from being drunk last night to coffin carriers today, despite the image of them dancing in the middle of the road with a coffin constantly playing in her mind. What’s worse is that traffic still has yet to clear up, which gives more time for her brain to completely absorb said image, making it so that she will never be unable to unsee it. Finally, the limousine gets moving again, telling her that they’ve finally cleared the traffic, and she can finally relax. Oh, if only she knew…
Once the limo arrives at the il’viorno amour restaurant, she sees Barry exit the limousine and make his way over to the door closest to her before opening it, allowing her to step out.
“T-Thank you, Lucas. Barry,” she can’t help but stammer. Since when did she ever have to talk to them so formally? Is it due to just how frightened she is from the car ride?
“Of course, Madam Champion,” Barry replies. “It is an honour to serve you. Do call us once you’ve finished enjoying your meal, we will arrive to pick you up.”
“Oh, there is no need. Thank you.” With that, she walks away from the limousine and into the restaurant, where the diners and staff are more than pleasantly surprised at her sudden appearance. The moment between her arriving at the restaurant and sitting down is spent saying hello to and taking snapshots with other patrons, who are appropriately dressed for the day’s occasion, but after what seems to be a long time, she is finally able to take a seat and peruse the menu. After a good long look, she decides what she wants to order. Right on time, too, as the waitress is walking over to her table.
“Good afternoon, ma’am. What may the Champion like to have today?” she bows and asks.
“Good afternoon,” Dawn replies. “I would like a bruschetta with cheese and prosciutto and a spaghetti carbonara.”
“Understood. Anything to drink, ma’am?”
“I would like a blood orange Italian soda, please.”
The waitress takes a moment to write down her order, before looking up from her notepad. “Alright, Champion Dawn. I have a bruschetta with cheese and prosciutto, a spaghetti carbonara, and a blood orange Italian soda. Is that all, ma’am?”
“Yes, that is all. Thank you.” She hands the menu to the waitress with a smile.
“No, thank you. It’s not every day that the Sinnoh champion comes here for a meal.”
The two laugh for a bit, before the waitress leaves her to her own devices. Everything in her immediate vicinity is calm, a stark contrast to all the other tables in the establishment, almost like where she is sitting is a calm within the storm. She takes this opportunity to reflect on all the sights and events that she has seen. I feel like today is worse than yesterday, she thinks. And yesterday was terrible. What did I do to cause all this? All she can do is lean back in her chair and close her eyes. Relax, Dawn. Keep it together. At least you’re outside for fun and not for business. Very quickly, however, those thoughts are drowned out by the image of the Elite Four dancing with a coffin. Gosh darn it, she thinks. What’s gotten into them? Are Lucian and Bertha still drunk from last night?! Questions flow through her mind like rivers through mountainous landscapes with seemingly no end. No, please, she thinks. I feel like I’m going to lose my mind if I keep thinking about that. Who could've been inside?
Her thoughts and questions, however, are finally disrupted by the waitress’s arrival with a tray of food. Phew, finally. She can eat now.
“Here you are, Champion Dawn,” the waitress says with a smile. “One bruschetta with cheese and prosciutto topping, a spaghetti carbonara, and a blood orange Italian soda. Enjoy your meal~!”
“Thank you very much,” she replies, and after the waitress bows and walks away with the tray, she dives right in. “Mmmm~!” As hungry as she is - and tempted to just wolf everything down - she decides to take it slow and savour everything. Easier said than done, though, as her plate of bruschetta is already wiped absolutely clean, so clean that one could easily believe that she washed the plate. Neither a speck of bread crumb nor piece of prosciutto is left. In no time, even the carbonara is gone. Man, she thinks. Was I really that hungry? A wave of insecurity flows into her mind, before it is quickly flushed away by - once again - the image of the Elite Four… dancing with a coffin on their shoulders. At least that image can be useful for something, she thinks as she takes a sip of her Italian soda. Mmmm~, this is good. After a good few moments of savouring her drink, she feels like she has a much better mental than when she was in the limousine. At least the Elite Four aren’t around to throw everything into absolute chaos, she thinks. She decides to finish up, and downs the rest of her drink before hailing a staff member for the check. Said staff member is quite confused, but walks over anyway.
“Hello, Champion Dawn,” he says. “Do you need something?”
“Yes, I would like the check?” she asks, to which he turns away for a little bit, as if to think. In reality, he's talking to someone.
“Management stated that your meal is on the house,” he finally replies. It is her turn to be confused now, though it’s not like it’s her first time being such.
“Huh?” She simply cannot fathom such a thought.
“Yeah,” is all he says in reply, before he bows and walks towards the kitchen. As she’s questioned a lot of things today, she decides that maybe it be best to not question this, thus she stands, grabs her handbag, thanks all the staff for the food and service, and tries to walk out. The amount of patrons still wanting a snapshot and saying hello are still very much numerous, and just like things were when she entered the restaurant, it takes quite a long while for her to leave. The sight that awaits her is enough for her heart to drop. Oh no, she thinks. It’s that darned limo again. I didn’t even call them. How are they always showing up right as I’m leaving? This time, though, only one person appears from inside the limousine. Huh? Something seems off this time, even more so than before, and though what she’s feeling isn’t the same as then, she can only continue to be hurt in her own confusion.
“Lucas?” she asks. “It’s just you. Where’s Barry?”
“Good question, Madam Champion,” he replies, voice still very much monotone. At least with Barry not here to join him, the atmosphere is much less tense and frightening to her, at least, that’s what she assumes. “I am unsure about him. He was not present when I had called for him to show up.”
Dawn raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t question it. Maybe it’s because her entire day has been her questioning everything she’s seen, maybe it’s something else; be that as it may, she doesn’t do it. It would be a waste of time to press on. “Understood. You’re here to ferry me home, yes?”
“Indeed I am, Madam Champion. Come.” Lucas moves to open the front passenger door, and Dawn climbs in. The process is quick and smooth, and in no time the two are headed off. As the vehicle zooms down the road, only one thought runs through her mind, and it’s not the Elite Four’s coffin dancing.
“Lucas?” For some reason, she’s starting to feel suspicious. About what, she doesn't know, but she’s just feeling it.
“Yea, Madam Champion.” It’s that same monotonous voice. Never has she been so tired of hearing the phrase ‘Madam Champion’ before as she is now.
“Arceus, for the last time, please stop calling me ‘Madam Champion.’” It kind of sounds like she’s begging him to stop calling her that, because… well, that's because she is begging him to stop calling her that. “Where was the last place you saw Barry?”
She sees him take a moment to ponder and recollect, before initially only giving a shrug in reply. Well, great. That definitely helps. Right as she is about to press him even more, he finally starts explaining.
“Last I saw him was when we were at the gas station, Madam Champion. He wandered into the little mart, I assume, to either use the restroom or buy snacks, but simply disappeared and did not return.” What sounds very suspicious is how his tone did not change one bit, but surely there's more to it, right? “He probably went to use the restroom, and just might be having a bad day, Madam Champion. Please excuse him.” What on Earth?!
“I… I-I see. That, I will.” Things are slowly returning to that of “what in Arceus is happening?” and she can only accept it. First, the two of them show up at her door, unannounced, and second, the Elite Four… Oh no, she thinks. Please don’t think of that again, not right when I was able to get it out of my head.
“Lucas. What’s all this about? What are you not telling me?” she asks, mostly to get her mind off a sight as unbearable as the Elite Four parading down a road with a coffin.
“Madam Champion, I am unsure of what you are referring to,” he simply replies. “I’ve told you everything within my bounds.” The feeling of confusion comes across her once again.
“Bounds?!” The word and tone come subconsciously; she doesn’t even need to think about it. “Are you a program or something?!”
“No, Madam Champion. I am simply doing what I am told. Is that not what butlers are inherently instructed to do?” Talking to him is quickly infuriating her, though in a sense it is also normalising the situation. She could use a lot more normal in her life, especially today. Today is just all sorts of weird.
“Then that makes you a program! Who programmed you?!”
“Madam Champion, a program is meant to be run with supervision. I am not being supervised at this moment in time.”
“For the last time! Please stop calling me ‘Madam Champion’!!”
The limousine reaches a stoplight at the intersection, and has to stop because of the red light being turned on. This allows Lucas to turn towards her, the first time he’s done so during both car rides. “But that is your title, is it not? A butler must always address the one he serves by their title.”
“My title never had the ‘Madam’ part in it!”
“I… I see.” It’s the first time that she hears him stutter, a far cry from earlier in the day. Seeing her butler try to come up with a response on the fly soothes her, in a way, as she can see that her butler is really human and not just a programmed machine. She leans back in the seat and looks out the window, only to be greeted by a sea of vehicles and buildings all decked out in Halloween decorations, and sighs. Finally, she can get some rest, though that same monotone voice interrupts her right as she is about to sleep.
“Madam Champion, if you need to take a good rest, feel free to,” Lucas tells her. “Traffic has seemed to pick up a bit. We will neither be moving very far nor quickly.”
“Thank you.” And thus, she closes her eyes and lets the purr of the limousine’s engine as well as the wind-like sounds of the other vehicles outside lull her to sleep. It’s quite a surprise just how quickly she falls asleep, because despite her sleeping thirteen hours the night before, she did go through quite a bit of shenanigans. Everybody needs to rest at some point, and even she is no exception.
...
It doesn’t take long for her to awake from her short slumber, and when she does, everything initially is perceived to be a blur. A loud ringing sound permeates her ears, the only sound that she hears for a lengthy amount of time. In the midst of all the sensory chaos, two words repeat in her mind: something’s wrong. What could possibly be wrong?
“Good afternoon, Madam Champion,” a male’s voice runs through her senses. It’s that monotone sound again. “You are awake, are you not?”
A few rapid blinks of the eyes lead to everything around her being much clearer than before, and when she turns to survey her surroundings, she sees that: she’s still in the limousine, her butler Lucas is still driving, and the most odd thing is that they still have not moved.
“Huh? Oh, good afternoon, Lucas.” The pitch of her voice is significantly lower than normal, which - according to many sources from those who work with her almost daily - occurs quite often. “Have we not moved?”
“Regrettably so, Madam Champion. The traffic has appeared to get even worse ahead of us.” The word “worse” trips a sensory switch and causes her to sit upright, alert, and attentive. Battle instinct starts to kick in, but even that is swept out of her mind by what she is about to see.
“Is… is that… don’t tell me that’s exactly what I think it is.” The fleeting seriousness of her voice is - once again - replaced by that same feeling of confusion.
“Madam Champion? Is something the matter?” Her butler, in reality, doesn’t even need to ask; he knows exactly what she’s talking about, even if they are much too far to see what is really happening. What doesn’t help is that the traffic is slower than a snail’s pace, leaving them with not many opportunities to clearly observe the reason behind the traffic blockage. Thankfully, though, she doesn’t need to think too much about when the traffic is going to pick up, because whatever sight has enchanted the other drivers is coming closer to them. The event only moves just a tad faster than the opposite-bound traffic, which doesn’t really help her in trying to decipher anything, but given time, she and her butler are able to connect two and two… and to say it’s not good is an understatement. It’s terrible.
“Oh, Arceus, not them again,” she sighs exasperatedly. In come the Elite Four, splitting a lane and dancing along it, This time, they have a different coffin, one more extravagant than most, especially more than the one they were carrying earlier in the day. Regardless, a wave of terror and déjà vu come over her, but she has yet to see the cherry on top of the current situation. She can only watch as the Elite Four stop next to the limousine, mess around with the coffin, and - with perfect coordination - sit down onto the asphalt. It’s like they’re doing a dance number… maybe because they are doing a dance number, but normally when she sees dance routines, the performers don’t have coffins as props. For this spectacle, the coffin is the main attraction, and the Elite Four are there to elevate its importance. Then a question arises, and it doesn’t come from her.
“What if Barry is in that coffin, Madam Champion?” Despite Lucas’s enthrallment by the coffin dance, his voice is still monotone and he’s still calling her ‘Madam Champion.’ She can only wonder just how many times she has to beg him to stop calling her that, before she realises what her butler has just asked her.
“Wait a second… what was that?” Fear now permeates her voice and thoughts; the despair is palpable. She definitely knows what he had just asked, but she also doesn’t want to believe it.
“Could it be that Barry is in that coffin?” Just like she doesn’t want to hear him repeat the question, he doesn’t even need to repeat it for her; the two already know that, after going through every possible scenario, this is the worst case. The two can only watch as the Elite Four stand back up and continue their little dance, and though it takes a long time for them to pass, once they do, the traffic starts to get going again. It’s almost like a certain vampire from a certain show had shouted “The World!” just for everybody to see such a spectacle. That’s how much attention everybody paid to the Elite Four.
“Turn us around,” Dawn orders after the limousine gets going.
“Madam Champion? Are you sure you would not like to go home?” Lucas asks. This time, the tone of his voice isn’t feigning surprise.
“You asked if it could be Barry in that coffin. We can only find out when we see who’s inside. Turn us around, follow them.”
“Understood.” It does take quite a bit for the limousine to reach the next intersection, but they are finally able to make the U-turn and go the opposite way in pursuit of the dancing coffin. Luckily for them, traffic going the opposite direction is just as bad, so it takes just as long for them to even get remotely close to the coffin. The two see that the Elite Four and coffin turn left and head down Route 211, which is known throughout the region as quite suspect due to certain activities that can occur there. As much as she doesn’t want to go down there, she doesn’t have a choice, and gives the order to turn towards Route 211. Even now, as the Champion of the Sinnoh region, she doesn’t venture down this route; this is the first time she’ll ever explore Route 211 in its entirety.
After another hour of painfully enduring snails-pace traffic, the limousine finally makes its turn onto Route 211. Dawn only vaguely recalls the road being lined on both sides with dead trees all the way down, so to see all of said trees littered with objects like fake spiders, fake spider silk, toilet paper, and paper cutouts of pumpkins is certainly enough to throw her off guard for a moment. Is there something here that she just doesn’t know about? Can it be because, even as a youngin learning to be a trainer, she never walked down this route that she’s so uncertain about the possible events that can occur? What doesn’t help is that Route 211 does not have any paved road; whatever path there is is all gravel, therefore they have to go slow so as to not cause any kind of possible damage to the limousine. It would make sense to park the limo and venture on foot, but then again, nothing makes sense here anyway.
“Madam Champion, I do not seem to understand the deal behind why nobody goes along this route,” Lucas remarks as the limo only trudges along the gravel. “Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary so far.” An immediate lie. She knows Lucas well enough to know such. There is no way that, from what she can remember, he’s explored this route to its entirety given the rumours, but she decides not to bite. Right as she is about to shift the topic to something else, a building comes into their view. Could this be one of those deserted homes that are populated to the brim by Haunters? Drifblims? Is it a witch’s mansion, and thus the source of all the suspect activities that run amok? Unfortunately, the only way to figure out the answers to those questions is to venture closer and find out from there. Though it takes just as long to go down the path as it did to manoeuvre through traffic on the main road, the two finally arrive at the building. It’s very stereotypically run-down, like those seen in many popular kids’ books. She sees Lucas step out of the vehicle first, and is about to follow, but not before he swiftly moves to open the passenger door for her.
“Thank you,” she says as she steps out of the limousine, with some assistance, of course.
“Of course, Madam Champion,” the butler replies, his voice monotone as usual. “I would advise staying behind, until I’ve checked that everything is clear. Then we can move in.” Something seems very off now, she thinks. Lucas is normally never this cautious.
“Alright. I’ll leave it to you.” With that, she stands by the parked limousine as her butler walks up the steps and approaches the door. Oddly, he doesn’t bring out his Torterra, instead choosing to check everything by himself. This gives her the time to really think about all the events leading up to the present. First thing is that both her friends showed up - unannounced - at her door, dressed all nice and with a limousine. Second is the Elite Four randomly making an appearance in the middle of the road, dancing about with a coffin. Even now, nobody knows whether there was somebody inside or not, which confuses and, in a way, almost scares her. Third is how only one of her friends came to pick her up from the restaurant. As she’s pondering everything, Lucas reappears from inside the building.
“Madam Champion, everything seems clear to me,” he states with a bow. “There is something, however, that you might want to see.”
“Oh? What may that possibly be?” Oddly, the question comes naturally out of her mouth; she didn’t even need to think about it.
“I regret to say that it is something that I simply cannot explain using words, Madam Champion. You will need to see it for yourself.”
“I… I-I see.” She follows Lucas into the building, which isn’t as rundown as she had initially assumed it to be, and is immediately greeted by a coffin at the far end of what seems to be the main hall. It’s a very familiar-looking coffin, and after some recollection, she realises that this is the same coffin that she and Lucas initially assume to contain Barry inside. The bigger question now comes, is it truly Barry who is inside?
“Good, shall we begin?” a voice asks, causing her to jump. She is so caught up in wanting to answer her own question that she completely misses the simple fact that there are other people in the main hall as well. Upon looking around, she becomes even more terrified at just how many people have shown up. Many are dressed for the event, though upon further survey, she can see the occasional Halloween costume standing around. The confusion at the sight renders her speechless.
“Madam Champion,” Lucas whispers into her ear. “It seems that this is actually his funeral. We should find a place to sit. May I suggest near the door?” The confusion on her face turns to shock, and Lucas ends up leading her to the row of chairs closest to the door. Once she is seated, as if on cue, the event begins. Emotions run rampant as more people talk about her friend, from shock to fear, then sorrow to pure despair. It is as if she is falling through the beginning stages of grief while hearing about others’ thoughts of poor Barry. After the talking is finished, people are invited to approach the coffin and say their last words. Though she insists on going up alone to say her final good-byes to Barry, Lucas insists on joining her. She fights off tears as she makes her way through the aisle while thinking about what to say, as she is still in shock, but whatever she could have possibly planned goes out the window once she reaches the coffin. Upon seeing her friend’s lifeless body laying inside, whatever facadę she had is completely wiped away as she breaks down into tears at the sight. Lucas sees the emotional damage that his master is suffering through, and, in his best judgement, steps in to provide any assistance that he can.
“Madam Champion, would you like someone to provide some sort of emotional assistance?” he asks, his voice - once again - calm and monotone. Dawn, on the other hand, is anything but.
“N-n-no. I-I’ll be okay,” she stutters as she tries to stifle back tears, but it’s just simply impossible. He sees this as the opposite of what he is just told, and complies as such.
“Understood. I will hurry out and bring Candice over.”
“H-h-huh?” As her emotions have complete control of her, she is still lamenting over poor Barry to pay attention. “C-Candice?” The Gym Leader Candice? What about her? Her head moves slightly towards the open part of the room, confused by the remark, and in that moment, she feels two points of contact: one on her left wrist, and another on her shoulder. “Aaah!!” She frantically turns to see what is grabbing her, and through her panic, she realises that it’s actually Lucas’s hand on her shoulder, and… hold on a second. That’s Barry grabbing her wrist.
“Candice dick fit in ya mouth, son?!” the two yell as loud as they possibly can, in unison, with the widest of smiles on their faces. It is at that moment where hilarity ensues, as a symphony of laughter roars across the entire hall. Dawn can only stand in front of the coffin, a look of shellshock across her face, an expression like that of a surprised Pikachu, as everyone around her drops like flies while wheezing from laughter.
“... what?” Most of her is still surprised and upset that Barry had passed away so soon, so much so that she is confused at why everybody is so jovial and, well, laid on the floor. She only feels confused as thoughts and questions rage through her mind. Isn’t my best friend supposed to be dead? Why are they all laughing? What did those two just say? What about Candice? Why did they mention her? What on Earth is even happening? Granted, tears are still flowing down her face, showing that she's still emotional, but the confusion is finally taking over her. All sorts of questions bounce back and forth in her mind, throwing her into all sorts of disarray, and the chorus of laughter doesn't help in trying to solve anything.
Nobody knows how long it takes for the chaos to subside, maybe because practically everybody is still laughing their butts off and Dawn cannot be more confused in her life. Despite having seen a lot of things today, she is still lost at the sight in front of her. Not everybody is up on their feet, but Barry is, and in the midst of the lull state, she trudges over, gives him a giant hug, and buries her face in his chest. She takes a moment to get out some muffled sniffles, before balling up one fist and lightly smacking his chest multiple times.
“Are… are you serious?” she finally asks. For the first time, almost all day, her voice doesn’t contain surprise, confusion, or fear. It’s learned something new: annoyance.
“Hm? What do you mean?” he asks in response.
“You’re… Is… is this a prank?” she asks as she pulls away, firmly grasps his shoulders, and looks around the hall. Emotions start to flare again, which become the spark that lights the anger in her voice. “You’re telling me that this entire day was nothing but a joke?! The whole butler thing you two had was an act?! This “funeral” thing was an act, too?! And here I was, standing here the whole time, thinking that one of my best friends was well and truly dead?!” It’s everybody else’s turn to be confused, as they turn to her, wondering if she’s finally lost it.
“Uh, Champion Dawn, surely you must be mistaken,” a fellow bystander-turned-prankster acknowledges. “Barry is right in front of you-” She turns towards the poor soul and gives the most deathly stare anyone will ever see, thereby silencing him from any further comment. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the Elite Four trying to high-tail it the hell out of Dodge.
“Hold on a second, you four,” she sternly orders. “We were literally just drinking last night. Don’t tell me you thought up of all this then. Were you all in on the entire act as well?!”
“Dawn, calm down,” Flint says with nervous laughter in an attempt to appease her. “We all saw a video of some compilations with the coffin dancing thing online and thought it was utterly hilarious.”
“So… were you in on their act as well?”
“No, ma’am. Admittedly, we’d plotted this for quite a while. None of us expected your two friends to pull something more… sensitive.”
She sighs at this. At least some steam is let loose, and that not all of the events that had transpired today were intentionally towards her. Then again…
“What about Barry being in the coffin?” At this point, it sounds like she’s interrogating everyone, and thus the Elite Four go to embrace, console, and assure their Champion that all of the acts were for fun.
“To be honest, someone had switched out our coffin for this one. Of course, as pallbearers at the time, we were forbidden to open the casket until we finished our number,” Aaron carefully explains. She’s finally calm now, no tears falling down her face, close to being her regular self.
“I… I see. I suppose today was just… quite the adventure.” As she looks around, she sees both Lucas and Barry chatting away and laughing, and makes her way over to them.
“Oh, hey Da-ow!!” the two try to say upon noticing her approaching, but are met with the hardest slaps on the back that anyone in the Sinnoh region have and will ever experience.
“Alright you two, what was all this about today?” she demands. She isn’t as stern as before, but she clearly still wants an explanation out of the two.
“Look, we know how tiring things get for you on a normal basis. We just wanted to spice it up a little bit,” Lucas protests. “It was all just for fun.”
“So you two chose to dress as butlers and come to my house as such?”
“Yeah,” Barry replies with a shrug.
“And… why?”
“Well, simply because we both thought it would be funny,” Lucas replies. “It was, wasn’t it?”
“Of course it wasn’t! I haven’t been more scared in my life! You both have no idea just how often I was thinking about whether I was being abducted or not!”
“Look, it’s alright. The facadę’s all gone now. It’s just us.” A brief moment of silence is soon followed by the next remark. “Oh, and before we forget, Happy Halloween.” Right. Today’s Halloween. So all of this really isn’t a coincidence.
“C’mon, Dawn. There’s no need to be so logical all the time,” Bertha remarks as the Elite Four walk up to the three friends. “You do know it’s Halloween today, right?”
“Well, maybe if I wasn’t so caught up in wondering what in Arceus you lot were plotting, I could’ve put two and two together,” she sighs in reply, eliciting laughter from the Elite Four member.
“Shoulda had another drink last night, then. We’re going to head off, probably have a bunch of kids waiting at our doors for candy and stuff.” She can’t help but smile at this.
“Of course. I’ll see you at Victory Road, when all the challengers come.” The Elite Four exchange embraces with their Champion, before saluting Lucas and Barry for a job very much well done and leaving the hall. Once they leave, the three burst out into laughter for some unknown reason.
“I hate you both,” Dawn tells the two, but they know that she doesn’t truly hate them, she’s just saying it to say it. “You two single-handedly almost gave me a heart attack.”
“At least it was fun, right?” Lucas shrugs, to which he is given another hard slap on the back. “Ow…”
“Yeah, for everybody else.” Speaking of which, others are filtering out of the hall, as their purposes have been fulfilled, and soon, only the three remain in the room. Dawn decides to take a seat, look at the coffin, and let her mind wander for the moment. Memories of Halloweens past pour into her mind, and every now and then she chuckles at something embarrassing that happened then. Occasionally, either Lucas or Barry ask her what has her cracking, to which she only simply responds, “nothing. Just a bygone memory.” She sees the costumes that her parents created for her to wear, the haunted houses with the Drifloons and Haunters, sidewalks lined with kids dressed in various Ghost-type Pokémon knocking on doors and saying “trick or treat!”. All good memories, and then there’s today. There’s no way she is ever going to live this Halloween down.
“Say, Barry, what should we do next year?” she hears Lucas ask, to which she can’t help but assume the worst.
“Both of you, don’t you dare!” she demands, but quickly starts laughing. “It’s too early to plan this stuff!”
“Huh, yeah. What should we do next year?” Barry wonders, completely ignoring her demand. Knowing that the two are just going to go on, she decides that she’s had enough. Perfect timing, too, as the moment she starts yawning - signalling that she’s tired - her stomach starts growling.
“I think that’s enough excitement for today. I’m going to go home and open a box of frozen pizza for dinner tonight or something,” she sighs as she makes her way out of the main hall. This grabs her two friends’ attention, and immediately an idea comes to their minds, and thus they turn towards her and bow.
“Allow us to ferry you home, Madam Champion.”
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