Chapter Text
“Please, will you marry me?!”
“Don’t bother lookin’ at any other guys. Marry me!”
“Would you give me your hand in marriage?”
“Mon trésor, I implore you to allow me to be your eternally devoted love.”
It was an ordinary day. It truly was just an ordinary day at Night Raven College. And yet, such an ordinary day held an experience no one was prepared for, especially the one who would unfortunately be caught in the storm.
~~
“This stinks! I don’t wanna do a buncha lousy cleanin’!” Grim complained as he wiped the floor.
Yuu stopped dusting the bookshelf and turned to him.
“We played Rock, Paper, Scissors and you lost fair and square. Meaning that you have to help me out with the cleaning. Come on, my Pokemon are helping too, so the faster you clean, the faster it will be done.”
Said Pokemon cried out their agreement from various areas of Ramshackle. Staraptor was carrying Kirlia around as she used Psychic on her cleaning tools. Empoleon and Ninetales were helping with cleaning the floors. Sylveon and Lampent were helping Yuu dust.
“C’mon, one more game double or nothing–”
“AH!”
Grim fell over as Yuu gasped loudly as she remembered something.
“I forgot to buy more cleaner and sponges from Sam-san! Sorry, everyone, but I’ll be right back!”
“Hey! You’re using that as an excuse to skip out, aren’t you?!”
Yuu frowned at him as she took off her apron. “Of course not, Grim. I’m just going to stop by the Mystery Shop really quick and come right back.”
She headed to the front door and opened it, looking over shoulder.
“Empoleon, make sure Grim doesn’t slack off while I’m gone, okay?”
Empoleon saluted. “Empol!”
“Hey!”
The door shut and Grim grumbled as he continued to wipe the floor, this time under Empoleon’s watchful eye. The other Pokemon continued to clean as they awaited their trainer’s swift return.
The floor was mopped.
The windows were cleaned.
The shelves were dusted.
The furniture was put back in place.
And Yuu still hadn’t returned.
“I knew it!” Grim exclaimed. “She’s playing hooky and left all the cleaning to us!”
“Nine!”
Ninetales whapped him on the head angrily. Yuu would never do that!
“Empol…”
Empoleon put a flipper on his chin in thought. Perhaps something came up and Yuu had to attend to it. Or perhaps she got dragged into something that didn’t involve her at all. He wouldn’t put it past Ace and Deuce to drag her into their latest shenanigans.
“Sylve, syl, sylveon?” Sylveon looked up at him questioningly. Should they go look for her?
“Staraptor, star.”
Staraptor offered to fly to the Mystery Shop to look for her. Empoleon considered this for a moment before nodding.
“Empol–”
“NOW SEE HERE!”
Everyone let out a startled cry and whirled around to see not Gus, Phineas, and Erza, but entirely different ghosts in white uniforms floating into the lounge.
“What are you filthy vermin doing here?” exclaimed one of them.
“Oh, it’s just the usual ghosts…not!” Grim cried. “Who are they? They’re wearing totally different getups!”
“This domicile is the princess’s guesthouse. Outsiders are strictly forbidden!”
“Kirli?!” Kirlia glared at them. What was this guy saying? This was their dorm!
“Princess? Guesthouse? I don’t know what you’re goin’ on about, but this is OUR dorm!” Grim exclaimed. “You guys are the outsiders!”
“La, lamp!” Lampent raised his arms in agreement, glowering at the unfamiliar ghosts.
“How dare you,” another huffed. “This manor has belonged to our nation LONG before you rapscallions were born. If you won’t leave of your own will, then we shall force you out!”
Empoleon narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, flippers glowing as he prepared his Metal Claw.
“Empoleon!”
These strange ghosts were not going to oust them out of their own home! He gestured for the others to get ready to battle and they all let out battle cries. The Pokemon and Grim and the strange ghosts clashed with each other. They had the advantage in numbers over the ghosts, but when they beat those ghosts more came in. When they beat them, even more came in and started overwhelming them until they were pushed to the front hall.
“Now I suggest you leave peaceably, lest I box your ears again!”
A ghost launched them out the door and all of them went flying, landing in a pile on the steps to Ramshackle. Empoleon groaned as everyone landed on top of him.
“E-Empol…”
Grim sat at the top of the pile, tearing up comically.
“We just got ousted from our own dorm,” he sobbed. “What in the name of tuna is going on?!”
“S-Sylve…”
Not only that, Yuu still wasn’t back. Did she get attacked by these ghosts too?
“Kirlia…!”
Kirlia looked down the stairs in concern. If that was the case, then they had to help her!
Everyone started to get out of the pile and Empoleon stood up once they were all detangled.
“Empol, pol, poleon.”
The first thing they should do is find Crowley. While he was about as reliable as a Magikarp in a desert, he should at least be able to do something about their missing trainer and the ghosts.
“Yeah! Let’s go find him and get those weirdos tossed out!” Grim agreed.
Off they went to the headmaster’s office. It must have been a sight to the boys of Night Raven college to see Yuu’s Pokemon all out and about without their trainer.
They burst into Crowley’s office, making the man jump.
“It is good manners to knock, you know!” he cried.
But when he realized who exactly barged into his office, he looked confused.
“Oh? Yuu-kun’s Pokemon…without Yuu-kun? What’s all this then?”
“We got problems, Headmaster! Big ones!” Grim said.
He explained what happened starting with Yuu not returning and ending with them getting kicked out of Ramshackle by the strange ghosts.
“Yuu-kun has disappeared and your dorm was taken over by a gaggle of ghosts in white hats?” Crowley asked.
“That’s right!” Grim said. “While Yuu was playing hooky, those guys just came outta nowhere and started acting like they owned the place! They were going on about some princess too!”
“A princess?” The Headmaster put a fist to his palm. “Ah, now I see! Your dorm was unoccupied until this year so I didn’t address the matter, but I suppose it’s that time of year again.”
“Empol?” Again?
“What do you mean?” Grim asked.
“The ghosts who so unceremoniously threw you out are the Ghost Bride’s retainers.
Grim put his paws on his hips. “Ghost Bride? The hell? Am I supposed to celebrate or be scared here?”
“Lamp?” Lampent tilted his head. More ghosts?
“They say that she was the princess of a country that was destroyed long ago,” Crowley explained. “Her greatest wish was to marry a handsome prince. But she tragically perished before that dream could be realized. To this day, her ghost clings to the idea of marrying the perfect prince.”
He looked out the window.
“She always comes to Twisted Wonderland around this time of year, searching for a groom. And when she does, she and her retainers use Ramshackle Dorm as their base of operations.”
He turned back to them with a smile.
“It’s a great honor to have it be picked among all the possible abandoned buildings they could have chosen,” he preened.
“We got kicked outta our own home and you’re BRAGGIN’ about it?” Grim cried in disbelief. “That ain’t right! Get those annoying ghosts the hell outta our dorm and find my henchman!”
“Nine, ninetales!” Ninetales growled. That’s right! Yuu came first!
“Kirl, kirlia!” Kirlia glared at him, demanding that he do something to find Yuu.
Crowley cleared his throat. “Ahem! Yes, Yuu-kun is more of a priority right now. Dealing with the Ghost Bride and her retainers will come after we find Yuu-kun. Besides, the ghosts will leave soon enough. After all, she is searching for a groom she’ll never find.”
They all blinked at that.
“Why not?” Grim asked.
“Because the ‘ideal prince’ she wishes to marry must be, and I quote: ‘At least 180 centimeters tall, with an air of nonchalance! Healthy, lustrous skin! Lidded eyes! A charming smile! Bright, shimmering hair! Lips so arresting that you just have to kiss them!”
He laughed airily, waving a hand as Grim and the Pokemon’s jaws dropped at the absurd standards of the Ghost Bride. Who would even fit those qualifications?!
“There’s more, but you get the gist,” Crowley said. “In summary: a preposterously prepossessing gentleman. She could scour the world for the rest of eternity, but she’ll never find a man to clear all those hurdles. Hahaha!”
He started making for the door and gestured for them to follow him.
“Ramshackle Dorm is the only thing that suffers from her annual flight of fancy. Give her a few days, and she’ll give up and leave. Come, come! Our priority is to find Yuu-kun. Once we find her, you should go find a friend to stay with for a few days.”
Grim grumbled as he followed Crowley. “Mrrrgh…pushing this off onto someone else…!”
Empoleon sighed and shook his head. Crowley can only be so free because Yuu wasn’t here to judge him. Staraptor stared at the Corviknight man’s back with the most disapproving stare possible.
But before they could even leave, the door to the office burst open once more.
“HEADMASTER!”
Night Raven College’s only technomantic humanoid flew into the room in a panic.
“Why if it isn’t Ortho Shroud of Ignihyde. Whatever seems to be the problem,” Crowley asked.
“It’s an emergency, sir!” Ortho cried. “About Yuu-san!”
The Pokemon perked up at the name of their trainer and Lampent flew forward.
“Lamp, lampent?!”
“About Yuu-kun? Do you happen to know where she is? Grim-kun and her Pokemon came to me because they say she has been gone for a while now…”
Ortho nodded his head frantically.
“I know what happened to her! Yuu-san got kidnapped by ghosts!”
“WHAAAT?!”
Everyone cried out in shock and surprise. Empoloen looked like he was about to faint and Staraptor and Kirlia had to keep him upright.
“Empol…”
“Star!/Kirli!”
Their trainer had been kidnapped by ghosts?! Without them to protect her?! What in Arceus’s name were those ghosts going to do to her?!