Sitting in a spooky mansion, in a blood red room, with a ghost hovering over her, dozens and dozens of kilometres from home, and all Hailey could think was how much she wished she could control herself.
Did Pomona care that she was crying right in front of her? Probably not, but she still wished she could hide. When you couldn't control where you lived, what you did each day, your emotions were one of the only things left to you, show people only what you wanted them to see.
It had always been a fiction, but a comforting one to tell herself.
But she couldn't stop herself, so she cried. Pomona floated nearby, never saying anything, simply resting one of her hands over hers.
Nothing lasts forever though, even sorrow… joy? Whatever she was feeling.
Eventually the tears end, the shaking stops, and you had to face what came next.
That was almost worse.
What did you even say after this? Say to the other person? She still didn't know if she should curse Pomona or thank her.
Still, there was only so long she could stare at her lap, however as soon as her head started to raise, her vision was replaced with dark purple. Was Pomona… rubbering her eyes? With her… skin? It felt like soft cotton, but still, Hailey didn't know if she should feel weird about it.
Finally clear though, she looked at the Ghost, and Pomona looked back, the same blank expression she seemed to always have. There were a hundred things she could have said then, instead she went with "So, what now?"
It was dumb, but it was also honest, because she didn't know. And that was kind of terrifying.
"Well, have you eaten today?"
The blunt simplicity of the question kind of bludgeoned her over the head. After passing through a lofty forest, into a mansion of madness, and finally an emotional breaking… well, it wasn't what she was expecting.
"I, uh, well I had breakfast at the lodge, it was… good."
Pomona clapped her hands together (which rather than a sharp crack made a rather cute pomf sound) and tilted her head. Was that… how she smiled?
"Oh, Delvey took care of you? I'm so glad. I spent last night wandering the forest, I was afraid you would try to sleep outside again."
Arceus, that was going to haunt her till the day she died wasn't it? There had to be some way to keep Carita from finding out about it, she'd never let her outside without 15 layers again if she did.
"Well, I suppose we can get you some lunch before we go to collect your friend. I have to admit, I was surprised to see you arrive with another Pokémon, but still, I'm glad. She seems like she's good for you."
A shudder ran down Hailey's back at that. "Gem! Fuck! I forgot about her! We were locked in this room and there was this platform that… launched…" Hailey found herself trailing off. Pomona hadn't interrupted her exactly, but she was laughing. It was a tinkling sound, a lot more reminiscent of bells than an actual voice.
"Oh, yes, that would be the sisters, they're always ones to play with their food. I'm sure I know exactly where they are, but first, lunch!" Apparently this was a order, not a decision, as the soft fabric hands found themselves on the wheelchairs handles and spun her around. Off they went.
The corridors still seemed exactly the same but Pomona seemed to have no issue navigating. Hailey found herself gripping the armrests a bit tighter than she was used to. The ghost was… surprisingly fast.
"T-there's really no need!" She had to shout, or as close as her throat ever got, over the breeze that seemed to surround Pomona all the time she was moving. "Besides, there's still some food left in the basket!"
"Oh, you kept my basket? That's good, but you're a guest, I'm not about to have you eat days old food, you're a growing girl after all."
She wasn't, that was kind of the whole deal, but it still made her blush a bit.
Hailey had two hopes for the dining room, well three actually, if you counted hoping that she wouldn't have to eat… ectoplasm or whatever ghosts did. The first was that there wouldn't be anyone there to see Pomona wheel her in. Failing that, they could at least try to get through this quickly and quietly.
Those hopes were dashed real quick.
Speeding through the corridors, they eventually came to a wider one, and at the end of it, a double set of heavy wooden doors, intricately carved with floral designs. Hailey braced, fully expecting to be slammed into them knee first. Instead, and somewhat predictably at this point, a wind whipped up behind them, surging forward to blow the doors open.
Blowing them open with a thunderous crash, so much for a subtle entrance.
The various red and yellow eyes that turns to face them at the impact shot the other wish down to. Hopefully there would be real food at least.
The overwhelming impression of the occupants was purple. Some lighter shades, almost blue, some darker, blacker than black, even with the myriad candles lighting the room, the overall tint was plum.
The place was also a mess. The doors had deposited them at the head of a frankly ridiculously long table. It had once been covered in a pristine white tablecloth, technically it still was, but it had clearly… changed over the years. The stains that covered it, one shuddered to think.
The revellers looked like they've been caught mid toast. Glasses were raised, from ornate chalices to cheap plastic cups. Some were so insubstantial that Hailey could see right through them, while others were more solid. Not a one was touching the ground though.
"Pomona! Something finally dragged you out of your room! Come on, we're pre-gaming before we hit Eterna tonight!" The voice came from one of the closer figures, though it was hard to tell them apart. Close together outlines became wavy and indistinct. The speaker had bright white, angular, pupil-less eyes. Her hands didn't seem connected to the rest of her body, and the lower half just… stopped part way down.
"A little busy right now Dorrit. I would be a terrible host if I didn't attend to our guest. Tell me, is the kitchen in use?"
Dorrit shrugged, a rather strange thing to witness on someone that didn't have shoulders, before tossing back her drink, literally. Half the liquid seemed to pass right through her and splatter on the ground. This place might be beyond even the power of Moves to clean.
"Pretty sure Rabab's still in there, doing her experimenting, but you know how she is. Making one of your recovery drinks for that Minun? I think the triplets still have her."
"I will have to collect her at some point, but they can have their fun for now. No I mean Hailey here clearly. She pushed all the way here from Floroma to visit us."
Dorrit just looked at them like Pomona was insane.
"Try looking on the 'other side' dear, I find it easier to focus on her that way."
Being stared down by a room full of ghosts wasn't a fun experience, even if they were basically looking past her. When almost all their eyes suddenly went a vivid, glowing, crimson red? It was probably a good thing she hadn't eaten that much today actually.
The brief silence stretched on entirely to long, before muttered conversation crashed back onto the scene. Hailey only caught snatches of it as Pomona wheeled her about halfway down the table, eventually stopping near a figure that looked a lot like the Drifloon, only wider, with shorter hair.
"Viola dear, would you keep Hailey company while I go to the kitchen?" Pomona didn't wait for an answer before she was off again, passing straight through some of the other revellers.
Hailey wasn't really sure what to do. Being wheeled into a noisy room full of raucous humans would have been strange enough, the fact that that they were all ghosts made it better and worse at the same time. She was quickly discovering she did not like being the centre of attention, as it turned out, not something she'd previously had to worry about. In fact, it was rapidly doing some very interesting things to her respiration. Her only saving grace was that focus didn't seem to be lingering on her long. Eyes flashed back from glowing red to their natural colours (which was still red in some cases) and hopefully her mojo would kick back in soon.
At the very least though, it wasn't working on the Drifloon sitting to her left.
Despite floating like the rest of them, her elbow was conspicuously resting on the table, and her head on the hand above that. She was locked right on to Hailey with her glowing eyes, and an expression that could only be described as 'shit-eating'.
"My my, so you're the one Sis has been hiding away then?" Her voice was nothing like Pomona's, more of a Orre twang to it, though she might have just been putting that on.
"Uh, no, no I just got here. I was, uh, following her though. After she, well, stole my camera."
Viola reared back at that, falling into almost maniacal laughter. Geez, she had sharp teeth. Such an expressive face, unlike her sister. Hailey had thought that was just how Drifloon were, evidently not.
"Wait, she really did? That's so unlike her, more like something I'd do! Well good for her, about time she did something besides float around, there's more to being a Ghost then just being mysterious!"
"It was a, a bit of a surprise for me, I'm not use to Pokémon, well, noticing me. I thought she hated me or something. "
More laughter, Viola seemed like someone who was always laughing, just had that kinda voice. "Hate? Nah, she was flirting with you!. I honestly thought she'd forgot how the old grab and run worked, it’s a pretty basic method, but it's a classic for a reason, really gets the blood pumping. Not surprised you have that issue though, never seen anything quite like it, I have to look at you sideways just to get a sense of ya, can't even really see any details, just your vibes. Sis sure reeled in a special one."
"S-sideways?" Was all Hailey could sputter out. Her brain told her to focus on the, you know, perceiving her stuff, but a different, and heretofore unknown part had grabbed onto the word flirt with a death grip and wasn't letting go. She might not know Pomona better than her self proclaimed sister (how did that even work?) but Viola had to be wrong there, had to be. The logic of the universe didn't allow for anything else.
"Oh, no not sideways like" The sudden twist of the head, literally sideways, was emphasis enough. The real freaky thing was it was completely silent as it slid into a 90 degree angle, Hailey felt like there should have been some serious bone cracking going there. "It's like… sorry, can't really explain it. Arceus gave us all little secrets, and we Ghosts have more than most."
The conversation went quiet after that, with Viola… straightening her head out with two hands, the grin never changing. Still, eventually the relative silence got to much for the ghost.
"So come on, you gotta tell me, how did you do it? I gotta get the deets before she drags you back off again."
"I didn't do anything! I wasn't even awake when she came by! Fell asleep in the meadows and nearly froze to death, it gets surprisingly cold there. Then woke up and she was just floating there." Hailey left out the part about her fits, wasn't really important, not was it any of her business.
Viola didn't exactly seem satisfied with that answer, but before she could open her mouth again, Pomona swept back in. It was kind of funny, seeing them next to each other, such different silhouettes despite being the same species, really showed the variety that Pokémon could have, and wasn't at all to avoid looking at whatever Pomona might have dragged out of the kitchens. If the dining room looked how it did, the kitchen was probably something beyond imagining.
…
Ham and Cheese on what looked like… whole wheat. Bit of mustard. That was it.
Wasn't bad, a bit dry, the off putting thing though was eating with a bunch of ghosts staring you down.
It wasn't exactly much of a meal, but then, Hailey didn't eat much either.
It really did make her feel better though, especially after the… emotional outburst earlier. She was so used to her meals being tightly scheduled that it was easy to forget that she actually needed to, you know, remember to feed herself now. Jeez, being independent had a lot of caveats.
Which also led to the next issue.
Here she was, seated between two plush purple ladies, one tall, one stout. They hadn't talked while she'd been eating, though she was pretty sure Viola had been making all manner of faces at Pomona just at the periphery of her vision. For her part, the calmer Drifloon didn't react. Now she was done though, and they were both looking at her, waiting for her to say something. No way to just quietly ride this out.
"So, what now?" Three little words, but they held such trepidation in them, because she didn't know. And honestly? The small seed of tension that had been building up since she started had grown quite large by now.
"Well, that really depends on what you want." Pomona's quiet voice nevertheless managed to make itself heard over the dining halls din. It only reinforced the anxiety though. Things had already spiralled far beyond the plan, from the moment Pomona sto- took her camera. It had taken months of planning and working up the nerve just to go the next town over. Now she was even further from home, dining with ghosts.
This hadn't come up in any of her daydreams.
"I… don't really know." The words came slowly, as if that would make them more convincing. "I never thought I'd get this far. Even if the hospital were glad I wasn't their problem anymore, I just know Carita isn't going to rest until I'm in her hands again. Even with a head start and the false trails I set down I half expected her to get me before I even reached Floroma."
"Ooooh, who's she? Your nurse?" Viola interjected. "And setting up tricks just to take a trip? You really are one of us. Who was your mom? A Banette? Oh, or maybe a Duskull? You've kinda got that look about you."
"No, no she… wasn't a ghost." Not exactly something she talked about a lot.
"Well, at least you're getting some now." Viola punctuated with a wink, "But you've got some nurse chasing you down eh?"
"Doctor actually, she never lets anyone forget it."
"Details, details. Does she wear a short skirt? I could be… persuaded to distract her, some light nibbling, some chomps maybe. I can do this thing where I stick a hand in…"
Waving a hand, Hailey dispelled both the sentence and the mental image it was forming. "No no no no no. For one, there's no distracting Carita, none, at all. For two, you'd break your teeth trying. She'd fold you up into a small purple ball."
"Ooooh, I dunno, you're kinda selling me on her."
Pokémon, was all Hailey could think.
"Listen, the point is, I know she's looking for me. I could roll into any place with a phone and, 30 minutes and a sonic boom later, I'd be back on my way to Jubilife."
"Oh, we have a phone here, if that's what you'd like." Pomona piped up. "At least I think we do, it's been a few decades since it was last used, around the same time the Eterna delivery places stopped sending girls out."
"Yeah, they got freaked out by this thing Sis did where her tongue comes ouAHHH" Viola jumped (floated?) several feet in the air, as if someone had stuck a tack in her butt. Hailey's brain raced trying to catch up. The best it could eventually tell her was that Pomona, without seemingly moving, or changing her demure posture, had vanished for a split second.
"Now now sister, there is dining appropriate conversation, and then there is what you were rambling on about. Besides, this is about Hailey. Now, as I said, we are perfectly capable of making the call here, if you would like."
"Well…, I mean, I have to, right?" The words that had been running through her mind since before she'd started. "I-I mean, I don't have any money, o-or supplies, even if Carita doesn't find me, and I wouldn't put a single Poké on that, I can't exactly live off the land. Arceus, you saw me that morning on the hill, I nearly didn't make it! So, I have to go back."
Pomona tilted her head. "But you did make it, it was quite a sight to behold.”
An under reported downside of a greyish pallor is that blush was especially vibrant on top of it. Yet again, not something she'd had to deal with much until recently. "Yeah, I mean, sorta, just barely really. I almost got stopped in Ravaged Path cause I couldn't get up a few stairs then passed out in a side tunnel! Was sheer luck that someone came along and found me!"
"So you just need a cute assistant to travel with eh?" Viola elbowed her.
"I mean, how could I afford to pay someone to constantly follow me a…"
"Just what I was thinking Sister, why I was just about to suggest accompanying our guest to the City, if not more. Been to long since I truly got out into the world."
Hailey wheezes at Pomona's straightforward suggestions, words caught in her throat. "I mean, I'm not, not a trainer, and…"
"Ooooh, good for you, I might have taken a bite if you didn't step up. Do you think you can rock the skimpy nurse uniform though? Certainly got the hips for it, but I've got you a bit outclassed when it comes to tits."
"Hadn't really thought about it, white isn't really my colour, or red. Do you suppose they make anything in purple, or black?"
They weren't listening to her at all now.
All Hailey could do was sputter, and wait to try and talk the ghost out of this when they were alone.
"Listen, I'm sure you have better things to be doing than pushing me…"
"No, not really."
After the other ghosts filtered out of the hall, off to finalize their preparations to descend on the city tonight, Pomona gripped the back of her chair and whisked her back off into the maze-like halls. To where, Hailey didn't know. She had bigger issues right now.
"I might have to step away briefly, sometimes if I'm close by to a patron, but I've done more than enough work to warrant a quite extended vacation." Pomona was proving to be unreasonably stubborn.
"Ok, maybe, but why would you want to spend time off… whatever you do, pushing me around. You could go and find an actual partner, or just a fling, have some actual fun."
"Why would I mind helping you travel Hailey? Do you dislike me?" The tone of her voice didn't change, but it didn't need to for all manner of imagined meanings to go through Hailey's head.
"No, no, I uhh, I thought you hated me, when you took… well, we went over that already, b-but!" Time to play the trump card. "Pokémon need bond energy right? I don't know how you handled things before, but you can't get any from me, they tested that years ago. Zero, caput, nothing, nothing that their instruments could detect! So you'd… go hungry? Is that how it works?"
Pomona went quiet for a moment and Hailey actually twisted around in the chair to get a look. At this critical moment she had to know. Was she angry? Suspicious? No, she just had that same strange head tilt that she seemed to default to.
"Hailey, I admit I'm not sure if this is a ploy of some kind, but I don't know what you are talking about. It is quite faint, though thanks to my work with our patrons though I am sensitive to that kind of thing, and I can distinctly feel the presence of Bond Energy on you. I'm sure a Binding Ball could magnify it even more."
Her mouth might have dropped open at that.
They'd checked, she knew they'd checked, she'd seen the results. Was it a lie? A mistake? Did Carita know? She couldn't have, Hailey would call the doctor a lot of things, but lier was not one of them. Devastatingly, bluntly honest was more in line.
Slumping back in the chair, she felt like her brain was going to collapse. Iron clad rules of the universe seemed to just be fluttering away the past few days, it was doing her head in. Mercifully, Pomona didn't press the issue, hopefully she was reconsidering her foolish offer.
Soon, they came to a stop in front of a doorway, but Hailey hadn't even attempted to keep track of all the turns they'd taken.
"Is this the exit?"
"No, I assumed you'd want to see Gem again before you left, since you two arrived together." Pomona said as she moved to open the door.
Hailey sat back up, a jolt of energy rushing through her. Gem! She'd nearly forgotten! She needed to apologize for not finding her sooner, and then there was figuring out how to diplomatically separate from the emotionally fragile Minun. It wouldn't be an easy thing to do without inuring her further…"
All thoughts crashed to a halt as Pomona pushed open the door and a loud, dusky scream of need rang through it.
"FUCK! I don't care, I don't care now! My cock, my ass, my mouth, just pick one and use me as a pint sized pocket pussy. Stop teasing me and FUCK ME!"
The scene beyond was like it was from one of those pay per view channels that sometimes ran promo's late at night, only without the censoring.
An ancient, gothic bedroom, four poster bed, ironically with four figures sprawling upon it. Three of them seemed quite at ease, languid even.
A large Gengar was acting as a pillow for the whole group, surprisingly robust for someone made mostly of gas. Was that… her tongue coming up from under Gem? On the right, a Haunter (Arceus, she'd gotten a crash course on Ghost types today), slowly stroking with her detached hands, laughing at every moan. While on the left, a Mon she didn't know, covered in zippers, had pulled a feather out of a pillow, gently stroking it across the trembling body in the middle, giggling at every plea.
And the centre of attention, propped up against the Gengar's belly, Gem. She didn't look exactly how Hailey remember her. For one, her fur was utterly messed up. Tousled, damp in places, no doubt from numerous licks, and without any of the strut or swagger she'd had before. The only movement left was a kind of exhausted shaking. It honestly reminded Hailey a bit of one of her fits, though she doubted it felt anything like one.
And then there was the… other parts. The parts Gem had kept hidden before.
Her tits weren't any bigger, still pert little handfuls, but now crowning each was an electric blue nipple, tall and straining. Every few seconds a little arc would jump from one to the other, usually accompanied by a whimper.
The real party was further down though. Objectively, it wasn't giant, certainly no Thảo. Five inches perhaps, though it was hard to estimate with how much it flopped around with every desperate thrust of the Minun's hips. Clear pre-cum constantly beaded at the tip, only to be flung off with each erratic movement. On her four foot nothing frame, it actually looked fairly sizable.
"Girls, are you almost done with our guest? I was wondering if might come with us." Pomona said, utterly unfazed.
"Oh hey Pommy!" The Gengar was the one to respond, somehow talking clearly in a deep, matronly voice even with her tongue far outside her mouth. "Sure you don't want to join us? Well, suit yourself."
Like an Arbok her tongue flicked up and struck, running itself from Gem's crotch all the way up to the tip of her cock, unfortunately, right as the Minun's head rolled around and she finally locked eyes with Hailey in the door.
The poor thing exploded, and Hailey felt like she could to.
And because it's ready, here's first sketch of Hailey. Not final, and it probably will be modified in the future, but it's a place to start. My friend Tobi threw her together for me