The Story of Cubone II - Cries in the Night, Ch 13

Callahan struggled in his tethers. He'd long since stopped trying to scream for help. Unfortunately, the ropes wouldn't give. He certainly was no escape artist, either.

He had to think quickly. With Ulanda and Diane being brainwashed through a new stealth method and now working together to accomplish some kind of mission for Pokextinction, he had to do everything in his power to stop them.

But what COULD be done? He was trapped here. And the room was soundproof. No one could hear him outside of it.

...Or COULD they?

Callahan thought about it. It was a long shot, but he had to at least try it.

---

Matthew's ear twitched involuntarily as he hung upside-down in his room. He grumbled irritably and tried to continue to sleep. By this point he had become adapt at tuning out the cacophony of the world when he slept, but something was pulling at his attention suddenly. Something incredibly soft, but really insistent.

Finally he sighed and stopped trying to avoid the sound. Raising (or lowering, since he was upside-down) his ears, he concentrated on singling out the sound. It took him a long moment but...

"...thew! Matthew! Help me! Matthew! I need help!"

Matthew immediately took flight, startled. "Callahan!?" he cried out, then blushed a little realizing there was no way a voice that distant could hear him.

Sounding the door of his room to make sure it was still open, he flew out into the hallway in the direction of the sound.

Callahan shouted and screamed and cried out until his throat was hoarse and he coughed from the strain.

From outside the door, Matthew was flying about. He picked up on the sound of the coughing. A huge metal door barred his path. And jammed tightly under the door handle was a large plank of wood. Someone had thrown him into this room in such a hurry that they didn't have time to lock it, Matthew surmised.

He tried to call out to Callahan, but heard no reply. Callahan must have been unable to hear him. Sounding the plank of wood, Matthew attempted his first special move ever, using Wing Attack on the wood and shattering it to splinters with the dive bomb maneuver.

The door slid open and Callahan and Matthew saw and heard each other, respectively.

Matthew opened up his mouth, letting out that high pitched tone, pointed directly at Callahan. Callahan winced, but didn't move.

After sounding the man, he could tell that he was tied up. "What on earth happened? Why have you been locked up?"

"It was Nurse Diane..." Callahan said, hoping to convey his sincerity. The last thing he needed was for his rescuer to think this was some kind of trick.

"She threw you in here? I knew she hated people but-"

"Matthew, she's a traitor! She's trying to help Pokextinction because she's under some kind of delusion that she can destroy humanity! She's using one of their pistols, and shot me with it."

Matthew seemed to register this, then nodded. "Okay, what do we do?"

"I don't know... my hands and legs are-"

"-tied up. Right," Matthew finished for him. "I can hear it echoing all over the walls. Lean forward, will you?"

Callahan blinked, but sat up and did so, scooting forward from the back wall he'd been leaning against. "I just need... something to cut through these ropes..."

Matthew was flying in place, his expression hard to read. He looked studious. Finally he asked "I think I can do it. ...Do you trust me?"

Callahan genuinely gave the question some thought. Finally he nodded. "Yes, I trust you."

"Lay on your stomach.  And lay as still as possible, okay?"

Callahan did so, feeling very awkward with his wrists bound up behind him as they were.

Matthew flew up above him, simply flapping in place for a good thirty seconds. Finally he started letting out a series of virtually inaudible squeaks, sounding the ropes. "Okay. Here goes. Don't move," he added with extra emphasis.

Callahan obeyed as much as his painful, nervous, old body would allow. Matthew sounded one more time, then yelled "BITE!!!"

Callahan had to latch onto every instinct in his body not to jerk forward. He expected to be bitten painfully and maybe bleed out on the floor. What happened instead was he felt a slight tug and slip as a length of the rope snapped; the rest of the coils loosening and unraveling.

Callahan rolled over and sat back up, massaging his wrists and looking gratefully up at Matthew. "You've gotten so good at that."

"I have you to thank for it, too," he said. "C'mon, we've got to get going."

Callahan struggled and undid the ropes around his ankles, wishing he could remember something about knots from his Cub Scout days. He finally managed to extricate himself and stood shakily on his feet. "They're already way ahead of us. We have to warn the Pokeumans."

"Most of them are all together in some kind of big gymnasium," Matthew answered. "Those two are probably headed there, too, if they're carrying weapons."

"Then they'll get there before WE can do it, if they're not there already," Callahan added. "We've got to make up for lost time. We've got to stop them."

"But how? I don't know how to fight and you're... well... you know."

Callahan did know. And he also knew that there was only one way a human could take down a Pokeuman with relative ease and speed. "Come on. We've got a medical locker to break open."

---

Cubone and Misty circled one another. the crowd was absolutely, eerily silent. In the massive arena, you could hear a pin drop as the anticipation rose.

Misty seemed to burn with an energy that Cubone could almost feel coming off of her. He couldn't stop himself from shaking as he stood before her.

"Cubone," Misty said. Her voice seemed utterly exhausted, though her body was more alert and capable than ever. "Please... forgive me. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through. I don't want to do this anymore. I just want this madness to stop. I'm not going to betray you... I promise. I'm not going to leave here. I'm not going to sneak out. I'm tired, Cubone. Let's end this battle so I can go to my room and rest."

Cubone struggled to find his voice. It seemed her couldn't even begin to speak. Finally, in his quiet voice that nevertheless echoed throughout the arena, he answered. "I've never been a fighter. I've never been strong. I don't know what I'm doing here... But... Let's just fight this battle and be strong. Let's not worry about anything else and just fight."

Misty smiled and nodded. Then her expression dried and she lowered herself in a menacing pose. Cubone nodded back and drew his mother's heavy bone club in front of him. This was it.

It was now or never.

Cubone was slammed from the front with a Quick Attack and blasted from behind with an Ice Beam. It was just as before, only several times worse. She had grown so much more powerful in the intervening month of training.

Cubone coughed and sputtered, dropping to the ground. Already his body was feeling close to fainting. Instead, he threw his bone club, smashing Misty hard and sending her hurdling to the ground, knocked out.

Yet, no one in the crowd reacted, for they all knew what was sure to happen.

And it did. Misty flipped back on her feet, looking more angry and menacing than before. She was about to charge after Cubone, when she was struck from behind by the returning bone club.

Again, she was knocked out, and again she rose quickly to her feet.

Cubone didn't bother waiting for her to make her move. He launched the club again, and again it struck her down. She stood up and this time she dodged the club, loosing her Quick Attack/Ice Beam combination.

Cubone was smashed by the Quick Attack, but used the momentum of the attack to slide further backwards and taking a blind leap, he jumped over her Ice Beam, catching his bone club as he did so. He swung the club downward, knocking her out again.

This time, Misty didn't immediately rise to her feet. There was a little hesitation and struggled as she fought to stand up. Her skin was turning a pale greenish hue and her eyes looked grim and tired. "No... More..." she said in a rasping wheeze that didn't sound like her voice at all. "I will take no more... I won't let you hurt me again, Cubone. I'll finish you off once and for all..." Her expression turned malicious and cruel.

"Angela... Please... Let's just end this..." Cubone pleaded. To himself he was wondering, Why is no one stopping the fight? It's out of hand now! He felt scared, but not for his own sake. He didn't care about the danger he was in. He wanted to protect her. "You can be the winner. But please... we have to stop this now..."

He desperately hoped Mr. Steele, the referee, or SOMEONE would see the problem and step in, but no one did. Little did he know that no one was CAPABLE of doing so, as a sudden outbreak of panic in the crowd had pulled their attention to the stands, the officials trying to to apprehend the human who had burst in wielding a spray can.

"No," she said with a growl, "We stop this when I have won the battle again! Now... DIE, CUBONE!!!"

In the most horrific and terrifying sight Cubone had yet witnessed, Misty screamed an inhuman, blood-curdling scream, and from her body exploded massive shards of snow and ice in a dazzling explosion of light and cold.  From behind her the cold reached the stands, cracking the ground and rending the seated rows asunder. Pokeumans were frozen, flung, tossed about, and smashed by flying debris.

All around her it was a torrent of white light, ice, hail, and snow. No one could even approach her. The only one that was within the center of the frozen sphere was Cubone.

Cubone's body gave way again and again and he was smashed by ice shards and frozen by the snow. Yet he continued to jump and weave as best he could, trying to somehow make his way to the dying vaporeon in the center.

Finally, the ice and snow focused into one final, pushing force, and slammed into Cubone's skull, sending him to the ground, his head encased in ice.

Then Misty, too, collapsed on the ground. Her breathing was haggard and her eyes were blurred, looking up at the ceiling. "Finally..." she croaked out to no one. "I'm... finally... out of energy..." Then her face looked pained and guilt-stricken. "Cubone..." she mouthed, no voice to support her anymore. She lay her head down on the icy ground and was dead to the world.

---

"We're almost there!" Matthew shouted in front of Callahan as he darted down unfamiliar hallways toward the other Pokeumans.

Callahan sucked in breath as hard as he could as he ran harder than he'd ever run before, desperately trying to keep up with the zubat.

Finally they burst into the massive battle arena. Cubone was in clear view, battling with a vaporeon in an incredible test of skill. He looked to Matthew for help, but the zubat was shivering and shuddering, dropping to the ground in pain. "Th-the... light... Th-th-the NOISE..."

"Get back out of here, Matthew!" Callahan screamed over the commotion of the crown and the sudden bustle of Pokemon that were made aware of his presence.

Matthew looked up apologetically, but Callahan was already pushing through the crowd. He witnessed Diane, who carefully drew the pistol from her side, aiming it toward the battle grounds.

He had no choice. He had to stop her. He screamed out "STOP! THAT MEOWSTIC NEEDS TO BE STOPPED!!!" and as he did so, he reached into his pocket and grabbed what he swore he'd never use again, the silver spray can.

Over the noise of the crowd, his warnings could not be heard. As he ran in, what else could the crowd of Pokeumans see but a semi-disheveled middle-aged man brandishing a spray can? They dove after him, pulling the can away from him with ease and pinning him to the ground.

By this time the officials and all of the staff on hand were made aware of the commotion and went to help, not knowing that below, an Energy Channeling vaporeon was about to unleash all of her stored energy in a lethal blast of icy power.

Mr. Steele  was quickly on the scene and it wasn't until it was nearly too late that he recognized Callahan's face. He screamed out, "LET THAT MAN GO!" as he caught up with the scene.

Most of the Pokeumans obeyed. Mr. Steele saw the spray can which had rolled to the side, then looked back at the man for some kind of explanation.

"D-Diane..." Callahan managed in a croaking tone of voice.

Mr. Steele whipped around just in time to see the nurse take aim with a Pokextinction pistol at the battle grounds.

Making a snap judgment, the headmaster launched himself at the would-be assassin and before she could react, he had her encased in a Sand Tomb attack, unable to fire.

The meowstic dropped the gun and ducked away from the painful sand that was pelting her mercilessly.  The Pokemon nearby were about to grab her when pandemonium broke out from the battle grounds, when a sudden explosion of frozen energy burst forth. With that understanding, Mr. Steele had a sudden sick feeling in the pit of his stomach with the realization that Cubone and Misty had been continuing to battle all of this time, oblivious to what was taking place in the crowd.

It was at that moment that Cubone was struck down by a blast of frozen ice, encasing his entire head and pinning him, suffocating, to the floor.

---

Because it never removes its skull helmet, no one has ever seen this Pokémon's real face.

---

Courage.

---

Remember the word, Cass. Say it out loud if you have to. Say it when the pain and the heartache become too much to bear. Say it when everything in your body and soul makes you want to give up and give in. When you're lost and afraid and you don't know what is right or wrong.

---

Courage.

---

No. Not this time. Cubone thought this, the words clawing into the freezing, asphyxiated blackness around him. I'm no hero. I'm not strong. But I have to try...

Cubone wiggled his feet a little. It felt like trying to push a mountain, but he managed.

He moved his hands, then his arm. He felt nearly numb, but was just barely aware that he had continued to cling to his mother's club the whole time.

Good. I can do this.

Cubone felt more scared in that moment than he'd ever felt in his entire life. But it was the only possible way.

Raising his hand with the massive club in his clenched fist, Cubone struck the side of his face with incredible force. The ice chipped. He struck again and the ice cracked. He struck again and again until the ice finally loosened just enough.

This time... they will see my real face.

Cubone pulled the slab of ice off of his mask, laying back on the floor and gasping for air. He was aware of a commotion, and opened his eyes. His vision was blurred and he felt incredibly disoriented as he looked around.

Diane the meowstic was crawling through the stands away from Callahan, who was helped to his feet, the spray can recovered nearby. Mr. Steele had been running back to help Cubone when he saw the little Pokemon drop his club and slip free of the ice himself. He saw Cubone's unmasked face; a sight he'd never once witnessed before.

You are everything I believed you were and more, he thought. You are the greatest Pokeuman I've ever known...

He was then struck with terror as he saw Ulanda the houndour creeping onto the scene.

Ulanda was growling. She was filled with hatred and vengeance. Pokextinction had punished her for not appreciating Jason's efforts to destroy this base. She saw the truth now. They would reward her and love her and keep her safe if she made up for her past mistakes, though. She would capture the vaporeon. She would capture the super powered vaporeon and offer her for forgiveness of the wonderful Pokextinction. She would beg to be a part of their group and all would be well.

Cubone's eyes focused just enough to see the houndour creeping up to Misty, who had collapsed in exhaustion, her skin a sickly light green, looking like wax.

Cubone rolled onto his belly as Ulanda reached Misty. He grabbed his bone club - his OWN bone club this time; not his mother's - and he flung it at Ulanda as she leaned over Misty's muzzle, intending to grab it.

The bone club thudded off of Ulanda's head. There had been no superhuman force to the throw. It wasn't a special move. Cubone had no strength for that. It was barely anything at all. But it was enough to get her attention.

Just a little more. I just need to try.

Cubone got to his hands and knees and crawled over to Misty, feeling weak and tired, but determined.

Ulanda tried again to pull at Misty, but this time she was swatted on the side of her face by Cubone's hand. Again, there was no force behind it. He wasn't capable of battle. Yet it was enough again.

Cubone pulled himself on top of Misty's body, turning to face Ulanda.

"N-no..."

Ulanda looked incredulous. And something flickered in her eyes. A half-forgotten memory.

"Please... no..." Cubone begged. But he saw he needed one last push to get through to her. Grabbing his bone club, Cubone rose to his feet, shaking and weak, but looking at the houndour with determination in his eyes. He stood strong and ready to protect his former opponent. Even after everything, the Cubone stood up, determined to do what he believed in. Determined to protect her.

But... why protect her? She had tried to kill him.

Why protect...

...the...

...enemy...?

He had defended Jason before.

But why did he defend Jason? Why was he protecting Misty now? Why did he-

---

"Back when I was a human, I couldn't talk to anyone," Cubone began. "I still have trouble with it sometimes... I didn't know how to fit in. I still don't know how I'm managing to fit in now. Things are so different in this new life..."

"So?" she asked heatedly. "What's that got to do with him?"

"One day when I was out in the halls in school, I overheard some kids talking about me. One of them called me 'That weird kid,' while another of them said that I didn't like people and liked to be alone. I don't like being alone, and I DO like people. But... I was afraid. I didn't know how to say hello or hang out with anyone. I turned in on myself because I didn't know how to be friendly. I think..." and Cubone stroked the club at his side for reassurance, "..I think that he's scared too. I think that he wants to be friends with others, just like me, but doesn't know how."

"You're utterly naive, Cubone," she said. But he also heard a twinge of doubt in that statement. She picked up her book in her mouth and began to walk off.

"Was it him that made you cry that night?" Cubone asked.

She stopped. Placing the book on the ground, she gave Cubone a defiant look. "Of course it was him. Like I said, he always knows the exact wrong thing to say."

"What could he have said to make you so upset?"

She growled angrily. A tear was in her eye. "That is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS."

---

Ulanda opened her mouth. She had to obey. She had to OBEY. She...

---

"Oh, did your PRETTY LITTLE SISTER get taken by Pokextinction?" a brainwashed Jason had said earlier that night. "Awww... do you miss her? Well, I'm sure you're clumsy and stupid enough to get caught by them sometime and then you'll be reunited with her. Because that the kind of stupid person you are."

---

How right he'd been...

Ulanda's mouth trembled. "Sister..." she whimpered. Those pretty soothing lights Jason had left in her room... They had taken the memory of her sister's abduction from her mind. They felt so nice and wonderful. they were soothing. They made it so she didn't have to think for herself. She wanted to give everything to make Pokextinction's dream a reality. Her sister didn't matter when she felt those lights and listened to those soothing sounds...

"Juliet..." she cried. She dropped to the ground. "I've lost you so long ago... What was I thinking... Oh, Juliet... Please forgive me..."

She fainted, breaking free of the brainwashing in an exhaustive effort. Seeing this, Cubone too, closed his eyes and fell backwards into the darkness. His work was done and now he could rest.

Medical personnel all tended to the three of them as they were wheeled away in emergency gurneys.

---

Back in the stands, Mr. Steele, Trevor, Theo, Bosco, and Callahan were all conferring, with Callahan explaining to them what had happened. The crowd had begun to disperse, when out of the corner of his eye, Callahan saw Diane. She had somehow hidden from the fray long enough to recover her gun.

Crying out as she reached for it, Callahan dove for the spray can and ran towards the meowstic as she picked up the gun, aiming it at Misty, who was being wheeled away.

Callahan rammed into her and sprayed her right in the face, sending her coughing, sputtering, and eventually fainting from the can's effects.

...But it had been too late. Callahan had dove in front of the gunshot, spraying her without a thought. The lethal red blast fired through him, sending him sprawling backwards onto the floor.

Diane was unconscious by the time Mr. Steele and his companions reached them, her forepaw still clutched around the handle. She was immediately taken away by Trevor and Theo as Bosco and Mr. Steele frantically checked on Callahan.

"GET HELP!" Mr. Steele screamed, knowing it was too late. He'd seen powerful Pokeumans killed by those shots in a manner of minutes.

Callahan coughed and sputtered. He tried to speak, but couldn't. Though there were no visible injuries, there was irreparable internal damage.

"Callahan, please... stay with me. Oh, Callahan..."

But Callahan didn't answer.

"Someone needs to tell Cubone. Someone needs to inform him."

Opening his eyes again, Callahan shook his head from left to right. He tried to speak again, but simply couldn't form words. But his intention was clear. He can't know. Cubone can't be burdened with this, too. He can't know this happened. Not now.

Callahan wanted to put a brave face on, the way they did in the movies. He wanted to say some sagely final words. But he had no voice. Anytime he tried to speak he was racked by wheezing and dry heaving. And he couldn't hide the fact that he was scared. He knew he was going to die, and as much as he wanted to be brave, he was scared of death.

Mr. Steele looked at the man without judgment, weeping softly as he did so. "Your wish is my command..." he said in a quivering voice.

Finally, Callahan's head slumped to the side for the last time. His final thought before the darkness took him was that he was so happy to have died with his people... The people he truly loved. Cubone would live on. That's... that's what mattered.

---Epilogue---

Three months later, Jason came up to Cubone, who was chatting away with Misty. They were picnicking in the main hall, talking about their favorite movies and video games.

Ever since her explosion of energy, Misty had been unable and unwilling to channel energy anymore. She continued to fight, but now with a mixed win/loss record and a clean conscience. Cubone had helped her hone her natural abilities.
Neither of them ruled out the possibility that her power would return. But if and when it did, she would be ready for it, and would learn to control it.

Jason sat down wordlessly and picked up Cubone's uneaten sandwich, taking a bite of it with a grin. With his bone club, Cubone thwacked the top of his hand. But he didn't mind at all. Today was a fun day. A day to relax and be happy.

Off in the human world, Cubone knew his father would fit in. He had faith that his father would never be brainwashed again. He wished he'd gotten a chance to say goodbye, but he had dropped into a week-long coma after his battle with Misty, and Mr. Steele said that it was time for Callahan to go. Back into his old life in the human world.

Cubone didn't mind. He was absolutely certain he'd see Callahan again. He didn't know how or why, but he believed in the feeling deep down in his guts. And his mother? He would find her body. He would finally put it to rest.

"So, you're going to start training for the PRT?" Jason asked as he finished his filched sandwich.

Cubone nodded. He was almost 15. It was a year before PRT training was normally allowed in the base, but he had proven himself time and again, and a special exception was made for him.

Jason sighed theatrically. "Well, I suppose I'm going to have to join, too. After all, who else is going to keep an eye on you?"

"Don't forget us!" Priscilla and Kelly said, arriving on the scene. "We're tired of letting you have all the fun, Cubone!" Kelly continued. "From now on, we're going to get a piece of the action!"

Cubone smiled and laughed. He turned to Misty.

"Don't look at me!" she said, but not without a smile. "The last thing I want is excitement. I think I'd like to become a teacher."

Cubone nodded, opening his soda with his bone club just for the sake of doing it. He held up the can, "Then... here's to the future. Let's save the world, one person at a time!"

---

Callahan opened his eyes. His vision felt blurry. He felt lighter than air. He looked around in surprise. Nothing but darkness. Darkness all around. He began to feel a wordless, thoughtless despair when something seemed to guide his eyes. He saw a bright light.

He moved toward it, then paused. He started remembering all of the details of his death. How he'd been shot clean through. How he'd wanted to say something to Mr. Steele, but couldn't. How he finally had no choice but to let go.

"It's time, my beloved dear," Martha said.

Callahan looked around. Finally he sighed - or did some approximation of a sigh, having no lungs to breathe with - and looked down. "I failed you, Martha," he said without vocal cords.

"Really?" It was the voice of Martha, who seemed amused. "You gave yourself to save our son. I'd hardly call that a failure."

"That's just it..." Callahan said. "Cassidy was finally in my grasp... finally in my life... And I no longer have that. I can't protect him anymore. I can't embrace him or tell him how much I've always cared."

"He knows, dear. He's always known," Martha replied in a cajoling tone. She pointed toward the light. Sadly, Callahan followed, feeling burdened and defeated.

"I still want to tell him. To show him how proud I am of the way he's chosen to live his life."

"Callahan, darling," and the soothing voice of his loved one stung him deeply, "There will always be time for that later. Eternity awaits us all in the end." The light grew larger in Callahan's view.

In the end. That really drove the point home. As the light grew larger and larger in his vision, he finally felt the cold understanding. "I'm dead," he said, his voice that of the soul and not of the mouth. "I'm dead... I've died."

"That's one way of looking at it," Martha said. And there was again that tone of amusement that he'd heard so long into the past. The playful voice he loved that only she had.

"I know that I've died. I was shot. That happened. I'm SURE of it!"

"Yes," Martha's voice conceded, "It did. You were indeed killed. If you choose to look at it that way."

"Well... what other way IS there to look at it?" Callahan asked. Suddenly the light seemed to PULL at him. He tried to hold back, to stay and converse with Martha, but it was too strong. He was pulled forcefully into the brightness, the dazzling light.

Finally he heard Martha's voice as he was swallowed completely by the light. "You can look at it as the moment of your birth, my darling." He felt her smile warmly at him. "Until we meet again, my cherished husband."

"MARTHA! WAIT!!!" Callahan called, the light almost blinding him. It swallowed him whole, and then there was silence.

...Only... NOT silence. From far away, Callahan heard a bird tweeting. Nearer by, some crickets chirped in the tall grass.

The SCENT of the grass. He was aware of it, though he knew for a fact he hadn't taken a breath. How could he with no lungs?

He felt a breeze. Sunny, but cool and pleasant.

Finally, Callahan opened his eyes to the blinding light. And he saw...

A park. A lovely, beautiful park. He looked around. He saw trees, green grass, butterflies, squirrels...

He heard traffic. Distant, but audible. Was this... Heaven? Hell? Or was he...

Callahan sure didn't feel like himself. He felt exactly as he had before, when he was in the darkness. And... he wasn't standing on the grass at all. He was near it, but not ON it.

Finally, he looked down at his hands... and with a shock of surprise, he understood everything.

"This is... impossible," he said out loud, still no wind supplying the sound, yet it was fully audible regardless. the voice was different... not his own. It was echoey and somewhat melancholy in tone. "There's no way this can be real... I couldn't have... I don't understand..."

He moved his hands, though they were in no way connected. They floated out in front of him, obeying his mental commands as ever. But he didn't feel muscles move. He felt like he was moving with a totally different sort of energy.

He turned the hand palm-down and looked with stunned surprise at the deep purple hue of it. He clenched a fist and then released it again. This couldn't be real. But it was. "I'm... I'm..."

"You're one of them!!!" a voice cried out behind him. Callahan looked behind him and saw a man in a black tank top pulling out a spray can. And it was pointed at him! The spray can shot at him, and...

Nothing!

Of course nothing. Callahan didn't breathe, so there was nothing to inhale. He was lucky. But he couldn't count on his luck to hold out, that was certain. The way Pokextinction worked, the place would be swarming with members soon, and he didn't want to be shot again by those accursed guns of theirs. Twice was enough for one lifetime.

But then again, that lifetime WAS over, wasn't it?

Quickly taking flight with an ability he now felt naturally, Callahan flew off in search of a Pokeuman base. As a haunter, Callahan now had a place there. He just had to find one again... somehow.

                            THE END.