revivalproject | Ghosts of the Past

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Ghosts of the Past

WHO: Radley and anyone in his location
WHERE: Hotel
WHAT: Ghostly visit
WHEN: During the Storm
WARNINGS: CW: Mentions of torture and death by electrocution, suicidal thoughts

Radley was angry, frustrated, and worried about the sudden storm. At least he had supplies, so he wasn't so worried about himself, but he was definitely concerned for those who might not be in such a good situation. He was also really worried about Eddie, not sure if anyone was even at the hospital with him. He tried to get over there, but failed before the storm hit. Unable to leave, he went around checking on those who were in the building with him and was trying to adapt to dealing with the problem (hoping it wouldn't last long), when a sudden additional chill permeated the air. This one went right to his soul. He froze, turning to look to the source. As a ghostly vision began to take shape, all color drained from his face.

"Kalin?!"

The man who appeared was younger than Radley, but his golden eyes were emotionless and dead. Long, pale blue hair framed his face and fell around his shoulders and down his back, a sharp contrast to his dark coat. A jagged yellow mark went all the way down the right side of his face. He stood, just staring through Radley for an agonizingly long moment before raising a hand and pointing at him with a steady finger.

"You failed."

Radley went colder than even before. "Kalin, what ... why are you acting like this?! What happened to you?! Are you dead?!"

He did seem to remember hearing about apparitions that appeared during storms. Was this real? Was it just someone taking on Kalin's appearance? How would it know about Radley's past and what haunted him so?

Kalin ignored him and kept talking. "You failed the town. You failed everyone who cared about you. You couldn't protect them. Instead you were dragged to Malcolm's mine and tortured to death with an overloaded shock collar, just another victim of his cruelty! You gave up on life and let yourself die!"

Radley was shaking, but finally he found his voice. "What about you?!" he spat. "You gave up on life long before that! You wanted to go to the mine! You wanted to suffer and die! I wanted to live! I wanted to save everyone ... and I couldn't...."

"You weren't good enough. Everyone left you. Everything was taken from you. And you lost all hope, all desire to go on. And I ... I couldn't care less."

The phantom rippled and faded into the mist.

Radley sank to his knees, still shaking. He was angry, he was hurt, he was crushed to pieces. Kalin or whoever had laid bare everything still torturing Radley in his mind and in his heart, right down to his anguish that Kalin didn't care, or didn't seem to. They hadn't spoken since Radley's revival. He didn't know why Kalin had always treated him so poorly. He only knew how it had felt to him. Every time he had tried to reach out, he had been kicked away like an unwanted animal. As if that hadn't been bad enough, Kalin and his friend Yusei had abandoned Radley to the torture in the mine, where he had suffered and died. Now the scab had been ripped open anew and all of the pain he had been trying to push back and hide was coming out again. He sobbed bitterly, unaware that others had witnessed the spectacle and were probably still here now.

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"I thought so. I have some food in my room. You're welcome to come there, or I can bring it to you."

Radley was relieved he prepared for crises by having some supplies on hand.

"As long as you don't mind feeding us." Ash says sheepishly.

"Pi-ka..." Pikachu agrees. Ash is well aware no one can go anywhere during the storm so that's going to make getting food exceptionally difficult. Maybe once the storm stops he'll try to venture out into the snow replace whatever he and Pikachu eat. It'd be the least they could do.

"I'm happy to," Radley says. "I work at the diner, so I bring home a lot of excess ingredients and food in case there's trouble. Apparently storms happen semi-frequently." He's not sure they all cut off access, but the other storm he experienced was disturbing and unsafe too. He had thought this one would be more normal, until Kalin showed up.

He heads towards his room, trying not to think about that.

"Well, in that case. Thanks a lot!" Ash says happily as Pikachu cheers with the same level of enthusiasm. "Guess we'll just have to owe ya one."

Ash makes sure that Pikachu is secured on his shoulder and follows after Radley in the direction of the other's room.

"So, how long do you think the storm will last for anyway?" He chanced asking.

"There's no need for that," Radley smiles kindly. "We all have to help each other to get by in this place."

He frowns as he ponders this. "I'm not sure. The last one lasted several days, but it wasn't a snowstorm."

"What? Days!?"

"PI-KA!?"

Ash stops in his tracks as the word 'days' registers. He's never been one for staying still and the idea he might be in here for days was not his favorite thing. Sure, there have been times when he stayed in a certain location for a few extra days but there was always something to do that kept him and his Pokémon busy.

"Surely the blizzard won't last that long." Ash says hopefully as he starts to move again.

Radley winces. It's definitely a lot to process, and he imagines it sounds like torture to a young kid.

"Let's hope not," he says.

He reaches his room and pushes the door open. "Here we go."

It sounds especially bad to this kid as he's used to always being on the move. There's always his next gym battle or new Pokémon to meet. He lets out a despondent sigh and Pikachu offers him a small pat as it to say 'there, there.'

He shakes off his disappointment once they reach the door, offering a smile once again. "Thanks again, Radley. You're really helping us out."

"Sure," Radley smiles. He goes to the area he's set up as a kitchenette. "So, I can definitely make sandwiches or tortilla wraps. Or a salad." Or all of it.

"Hey, whatever you wanna make is fine with me." Ash states, unable to stop himself from glancing around the room.

"Pika!" Pikachu agrees.

"Wonder if there's anyway to get Pokémon food. Pikachu can eat berries and pretty much any human food but there are other nutrients an electric type needs."

"Okay." Radley quickly gets some stuff out of his fridge and closes it again, not wanting to leave it open too long and let the cold escape, since he doesn't know how long the power will be out. He makes some sandwiches and tortillas.

At the mention of electric type, his already light skin goes even paler. "Electric type? What does that mean?" He tries to keep his hands steady and not show any further alarm. The memories of the torture are stronger in his mind after Kalin's visit.

Ash instinctively pulls Pikachu closer to him at that weird reaction. "Uh huh. He knows electric attacks like Thunderbolt and Elctroball. He also knows Iron tail though, which is a steel type move but he's classified as an electric type since he stores electricity in his cheeks."

"Piiika pika." Pikachu squirmed in protest at how tight he was being held. Ash relinquishes the hold just a little.

"But something about the storm is messing with his electricity-not even a spark." Something Ash is far more worried about than he'll let on. If he stays calm then Pikachu will, too. Probably.

"Pikaaa." Pikachu says sadly.

Radley is even more alarmed to hear about electric attacks, and his hands noticeably shake. He hides them under the table for a moment.

Hearing that there isn't currently a danger of possibly being shocked makes him start to relax again. He smiles kindly, knowing Ash must be concerned about his animal friend for something usual about him to suddenly not be there. "Oh.... Well, I think that's normal for these storms. I've been told that humans with powers don't have them during the storms, but it all comes back fine when it's over. It's probably the same for Pikachu."

"That's really weird it'd effect Pikachu like that-I think as long as he's not showing in signs of electrical build up but I think he's okay.." He glances over at Pikachu who nods in agreement.

"I'll just have to keep an eye on him."

"Yeah, you do that," Radley agrees. He resumes making the food. "... If there's electrical build-up, won't he have to ... let it out somehow?"

He wonders if it could be put towards charging the fridge rather than sending it into the air.

"Yeah, Pikachu can get really sick if he can't discharge all that electricity but... he doesn't seem to have ANY electricity right now. A good bolt of lightening should give him a recharge, though."

"Pi-ka." Pikachu nodded, glancing at the window.

"As long as he doesn't get a fever though, I think he'll be fine." Is Ash trying to convince himself or state a fact? It's really hard to tell. He moves to card his hands through the yellow creatures fur who responds with a happy 'chaaa'.

"Lightning doesn't look too likely right now," Radley mused. "If there's no electricity at all, it's probably the same power-zapping thing the humans go through. I'm sure he'll be back to normal when the storm passes."

He presents them with the food. "Here you go!"

"I sure hope so." Ash comments, glancing at Pikachu before he accepts the food he's offered.

"This looks great! Thanks!" He says happily, setting some down for Pikachu to munch on. The Lightening mouse lets out a happy noise before digging in. Once Pikachu is eating, Ash is able to dig in too.

"Sure," Radley smiles. He starts making some for himself too.

"So, where are you guys from?" He likes learning about all the different and new places he had no idea existed before.

"I'm from Pallet Town in what's known as the Kanto Region back home. My Mom runs the only restaurant there and Professor Oak's Lab is world famous-that's where I got Pikachu." Ash explains excitedly, still chowing down. He is trying to eat slower than usual because he doesn't want to deplete the man's resources like that.

At least this time, trapped in a blizzard, there was even food to eat. Still, he'd give anything to have a full team again.

"I see," Radley muses. "It sounds like a nice place." He wonders if it's anything like home. "What other kinds of animals are there?" He imagines there must be other unique ones.

"You mean what other Pokémon?" Ash asks before plowing on ahead to that subject. "There's a bunch of different types-" He holds up his fingers to count. "Let's see, there's normal, grass, fire, ground, rock, water, ghost, psychic, bug, poison... uh..."

"Pika." Pikachu offers.

"Right, flying, steel, dark... um..." He starts to falter again.

"Pikachu." Pikachu says helpfully.

"Oh yeah, Fairy, dragon, electric of course and... I think there's two more..." He frowns in thought, trying to come up with last two types.

"Pika pikapika." Pikachu supplies.

"Oh yeah! Ice and fighting!" Ash nods. "And there's hundreds of different kinds of Pokémon. They're all over the place."

Radley is pretty lost, but he nods, trying to keep up. He figures out soon that Ash is naming categories rather than the animals themselves.

"That's ... pretty interesting," he says. "And say, do you understand what Pikachu is saying?" That intrigues him much more.

"Hm?" Ash and Pikachu look at each other a moment. "How do I explain it? It's.. not that I understand him as far as words go... it's more like I can sense what he means."

"Pikapi piKachu." Pikachu says happily, hopping up to rub affectionately against Ash's cheek.

"I can do it with all my Pokémon but with Pikachu it's a lot stronger." He pets the yellow mouse with the same affection.

"That's really cool," Radley smiles. "You guys have a special bond."

Ghosts of the Past

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