11 Grotesque Happenings

'Open the System Shop.' Gunne ordered in his head.

Visible to his eyes only, a digital screen popped up similar to that of a computer window.

Many items presented themselves.

[Evolutionary Items]

• Fire Stone... Water Stone... Thunder Stone...

[TMs]

• Slam... Wrap... Leer... Growl...

[Items of Various Effects]

• Float Stone... Assault Vest... Black Glasses...

[Dimensional Tickets]

• Unown Dimension Visitor Ticket... Interdream Zone Lucid Trip Ticket... Ghost World's Gate Entry Ticket... Time of Yore Excursion Ticket...

The list of items went on and on in the shop, leaving Gunne to read on in a fit of amazement.

'So many items, but how do I find what I need right now?'

Like the very definition of 'ask and you shall receive,' a small search icon popped up on the screen, prompting him to input what kind of item he desired.

'That's nifty. Looking at this endless list of items, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the time to check them one by one,' Gunne let out a sigh of relief, 'Input: ghost identification thing...?'

[Searching for appropriate items based on the search terms.]

[Two Items Found: Silph Scope, Unveiling Orb]

• Silph Scope: An ocular scope created by Silph Co. Looking through its lens makes the invisible visible. Price: 50 Poké Points.

• Unveiling Orb: When activated, the orb will create a domain in its surroundings, revealing the unseen within its borders. Price: 150 Poké Points.

* Considering their scarce uses, these items are listed cheaply in the system shop.

'So, it's either the silph scope or the unveiling orb? I can save a hundred points with the first option, but only one person can use it. On the other hand, the other option will allow everyone to see what's going on...'

Gunne felt it wasn't worth overthinking, ultimately deciding on purchasing the unveiling orb.

It would be easiest for everyone to see what was going on with their own eyes, rather than have him explain and possibly look crazy in the process. Not to mention, the 'domain' ability sounded pretty useful.

'Purchase the unveiling orb.'

[Confirm purchase?]

'Yes. Confirm purchase.'

[The purchase has been completed and the item has now been sent to your bag.]

[New Balance: 2,550 Poké Points.]

Gunne laid his bag onto the ground, rummaging through it as he pulled out a small transparent orb, its hue a purplish-grey. The interior of the orb held a peculiar fog; it cycled throughout at a leisurely pace.

'Um. Activate?'

Gunne held it in his hands, wondering if the method to activate it was as straightforward as everything else he received from the system.

Sure enough, the orb started to emanate a luminous light pink.

It didn't stop there as several beams of light shot outwards for a little over six meters before stopping; each beam formed into a radiant pillar of light. Then, each pillar fired beams to their left and right, connecting one another into an array of sorts.

As everything connected together into the array, it marked the completion of the domain.

"Wha—how did you do that? Did you get your hand on some kind of ancient artifact?" Jenny exclaimed in bewilderment.

"That's a bit of a secret at the moment." Gunne scratched the back of his head, refraining from divulging the existence of his system in the present moment.

The truth would come to light eventually as he certainly wouldn't be able to hide the strangeness of his existence and genetics for long. Regardless, now wasn't the time to get into all of that.

The high-pitched voice sounded once again in disbelief, "What is this thing? There's a strange sensation in my body all of a sudden."

Gunne and Jenny turned to face the voice, their eyes widening in shock.

There was a small child, or well, a ghost of a former child.

The child had black hair and green eyes. He appeared to be wearing a tan overshirt, a white underneath, a nice set of long pants, and a flat cap on his head.

Gunne almost blurted out his astonishment, catching himself in the nick of time.

He waited for his erratically beating heart to settle down, unsure of what to ask. He didn't want to say anything insensitive, but surely this ghost had some connection to what was going on.

Gunne bit his lips and asked bluntly, "For a ghost to be lingering around here, you must have some unfinished business around here or something, right?"

Jenny watched speechlessly from the side, feeling at a loss. Her experiences were nothing like Gunne's, and so this incredulous scene was far from plausible in her thoughts.

"Right to the point, aren't you?" the boy scratched his cheek awkwardly under Gunne's scrutiny, "Sadly, everything that happened here stemmed from a tiny accident which involved me...."

Gunne nodded, beckoning for him to continue.

The kid walked towards the desk, looking at the pile of drawings in regret.

Instead of explaining the situation, he asked a very simple question, "Have you ever tossed out an old toy, a plushie, anything of the sorts?"

"Huh?"

Gunne tilted his head in confusion, exchanging glances with Jenny who appeared to be just as lost.

"Un. Have you?" the kid repeated.

"Well, yeah. What does that have to do with any of this?"

The boy smirked, shaking his head while giving a bitter laugh, "Long ago, I had a doll, one that was very precious to me. You've already seen its appearance in the drawings."

He paused, a glint of melancholy in his eyes before he asked, "Tell me, do you believe objects can develop a spirit if given enough sentimental value?"

Gunne looked into the kid's lifeless eyes, nodding his head, "If you asked me before my recent experiences, I'd easily answer no. But now, I don't think that's out of the ordinary."

"It doesn't seem like you're lying, that makes everything easy."

Jenny looked on in bafflement, "The nightmare in this village is because you threw out a doll that was precious to you?"

"Un. My family was going through the average spring cleaning and as you can see from the many plushies in my room, I needed to cut down a bit."

Gunne asked doubtfully, "But you decided to get rid of the one doll that was very precious to you?"

"I decided to get rid of it purely because of that reason. Day after day, I felt this strange sensation, like I was being watched. Gradually, this feeling developed into something much worse."

"Every night when I closed my eyes, hoping to drift off to sleep, I felt an intense heat envelop me. It was like something was staring at me with a searing gaze, engraving its heated obsession into my mind."

"From there, even stranger things continued to happen. The doll which I had cherished dearly started to distort my dreams, twisting them into a nightmare where it would chant that its name was Banette and only it could be with me."

"Then, the nightmare devolved into Banette shredding any other plushies I owned. And it only got worse as eventually, the nightmares evolved from shredding plushies to ruthlessly slaughtering my family and all the people and pokémon in the village."

"It got so bad that I could hardly sleep, dark circles overcast on my face, my body growing weaker and weaker as I fell into a state of sleep deprivation. I was left with no choice but to get rid of the doll that was so precious to me. It was then that my world turned upside down."

Gunne listened in horror as the kid followed by describing a series of grotesque events.

The doll, Banette as it referred to itself, erupted into a grudgeful monster after feeling abandoned by its owner.

Under the shroud of night, it decided to first vent its anger on the residents and pokémon of the village. It broke into house after house, sometimes grabbing sharp knives from their kitchens to slaughter the residents.

In other homes, it would go outside, grabbing an axe as it entered with a malevolent cackle, splitting heads open with the splitter-splatter of blood.

Others were even more unfortunate; their bodies were surrounded by the ghastly fog and their vitality was rapidly sucked from their body as they watched in horror. With a light thud, their once lively bodies would collapse to the ground as nothing but an empty husk.

Screams echoed out, but the monstrous Banette's grudge was far too much for any normal being to handle. It was so strong that it took on the form of a ghastly fog, clouding the village and preventing anyone from escaping.

Banette then took pleasure in hunting slowly, terrorizing all who ended up in its clutches.

When the last cries echoed out, it arrived at the mansion of its owner, staring at it from afar.

The kid and his parents looked out the door, their bodies trembling in fear as Banette's eyes locked with theirs. Yet, it didn't take a single step closer to the mansion to their relief.

Their relief was short-lived when a week went by and Banette remained unmoving, its gaze as menacing as ever.

More time continued to pass, until the mansion finally ran out of its food supply. During this time, no help from outside the village appeared and being in the forest certainly didn't increase the chances of a savior passing by.

The parents thought for a moment, deciding to run in opposite directions to distract the being, giving their kid a chance to flee, not knowing there was no escape under Banette's fog.

Inevitably, the plan failed as the kid witnessed their demise right before his eyes almost instantly as the fog around Banette grew even thicker and it instantaneously appeared before each of his parents, devouring them whole and leaving not a single remain.

The kid looked into Banette's hate-filled eyes, his eyes shaking as a warm stream of tears erupted down his cheeks and he collapsed onto the ground.

With his body feeble from hunger and his heart weak from trauma, he couldn't feel even an ounce of strength in his body.

"What did I do to deserve this?" he cried out, feeling nothing but powerlessness as his vision gradually blacked out.

His eyes, once beaming with life, were now dim as his heart gave its final departing beat.