Despite the touching reunion, Cassius was frowning at Nurse Joy's suggestion. Sure, it was possible, but the tower's residents didn't much like their home being used as a hospital. Still, he could probably convince them to make an exception, if Ginger was well enough to make the trip. It's the least I can do, after all he thought.

"Cleansing area?" Sidney had never heard of such a thing.

"Yes, a cleansing area," the nurse said again. "It supposedly heals all wounds instantly. I'm not sure if it's still there, but it's worth a shot." She held out the ultra ball Sidney had brought Ginger in.

"Well," Sidney sighed, taking the ball back, "considering the options, it looks like the most promising choice. Besides, we were supposed to leave tomorrow." But by the way things looked, they wouldn't be going anywhere soon with Ginger in her current condition, and the absol absolutely refused to go inside her ball. "But I doubt I have any energy left to climb a tower. Perhaps we should head back, and then go first thing in the morning..."

"(Back to the mansion?!)" Ginger seemed horrified by the idea. "(Back to all those ghosts?! With me looking like this?! I'll never hear the end of it!)"

"(It's getting pretty early, Ginger, they're probably mostly asleep)" offered Cassius. "The cleansing area's still there, although its powers are a little exaggerated. It will get Ginger back to her old self, though. The local ghosts... I can help you deal with them, if I may accompany you."

((Sorry for short-ness, KH2 calls ))

((It's fine. I'm in class now anyway.))

"(Accompany us? Haven't you done enough already?)" Ginger glared at Cassius, shooting daggers from her eyes. "(You were plotting to get rid of me all along, weren't you? So I was right, you are evil. And to think I thought you and Sidney would make a cute couple.)"

"We'd appreciate the help," Sidney answered, completely negating everything the absol had just said. She might as well give Cassius a chance to redeem himself.

"(If I'd wanted to get rid of you, Ginger, you'd be gone by now)" said Cassius. Not a threat, just a fact, one he'd sort of proven by hospitalizing her after one attack.

He glanced at Sidney for a moment, Ginger's matchmaking comments still made him feel a little strange around the trainer. "Ah, we can head there tomorrow, then, after we get some rest and explain this to Mike. He should be back at the mansion by now."

"Alright. I'll have Abina take Ginger back."

"(Nuh-uh.)" Ginger shook her head. "(I'm staying right--hey, put me down!)"

"(Come on, you,)" the flygon said, holding the struggling Ginger tightly in her claws.

"(Leggo! Can't you see I'm in a lot of pain and can't be handled in such a--ack, stop it!)"

"(We'll meet you guys there,)" Abina told the trainers before turning to leave through the automatic doors, taking the grumpy absol with her.

"I hope she doesn't hurt herself more on the way back" muttered Cassius, worried that the absol was more dangerous to herself than he was. He wondered if maybe Nurse Joy should have been a little more free with the sedatives.

She'll probably calm down once I'm gone he thought, then realized that he'd once again been placed alone with Sidney. Not awkward, not at all. She's just a friend, and a human friend at that.

"What a night," Sidney exhaled, rubbing her forehead. She felt so fatigued from lack of sleep and stress that she didn't even realize the awkwardness of the moment. In fact, the ninja had already forgotten about the little spat she had with Cassius' fan club earlier. "But I told you everything would turn out alright, and it did." She gave the ghost trainer a lopsided smile, blinking blearily at him, and then she noticed for the first time the two balls of fluff clinging to the sides of his head. "Cute earmuffs," she said, stiffling a laugh.

His earmuffs were dark lavender, with little fanged black faces to make them look like gastlys. "Ah, thanks" he said, self-consciously taking them off and turning a little red, although that might have been from overheating. He was feeling a little better, and a little warm, although being too hot still beat being too cold again.

The town was peaceful in the evening, still small enough that there weren't many lights, just a few in some second story windows, and decorative lanterns run down the main streets, lavender coloured and designed mostly for the tourists. The mansion was barely visible over the houses, built as it was on a hill, with a gently sloped path leading up to it.

Sidney was beginning to wish she had made Abina carry them, her feet scraping languidly along the ground and she walked alongside Cassius. She hadn't really said much to him, and she looked over, wondering what the ghost trainer was thinking about. In her own mind, she was recalling what Nurse Joy had said about the cleansing zone up in the tower. If they were successful, she and Ginger would be heading north with Michael by tomorrow afternoon. But if they weren't, they'd have to stay a little bit longer.

When Sidney found herself favoring the latter, she had to give herself a mental slap. Sacrifice her best friend's well being for a selfish wish? What was wrong with her? She looked over at the other trainer again. Well, maybe after they got through Rock Tunnel and reached Saffron City she could swing by Lavender and pay her ghostly friends a visit.

"Are you alright?" asked Cassius, glancing over at Sidney as they walked together. She looks tired he thought. Well, of course she does, she's not nocturnal. And then, of course, he felt strange again, because it seemed so odd for a good friend to prefer day over night.

His eyes were red, of course, and although it was quite dark, he had no trouble seeing the path as the lights from the town disappeared behind them as they walked. It got a little rough as the roads ended, but it didn't occur to him that Sidney might not be able to see the ground.

"A little sleepy, I guess," she responded quietly, rubbing her eye with her palm. She wasn't having too much trouble finding her way because she knew if she stuck close to Cassius he'd lead them safely to his home. "I'm just worried about tomorrow."

"The tower shouldn't be a problem. They know me, and they shouldn't mind one pokemon using their healing area." The mansion looked surprisingly close by, given how long they'd walked. Few visitors ever found out about the direct routes Cassius had long since discovered. "We're nearly there, just get a good night's rest and we'll have Ginger back to her old self before lunch tomorrow."

((Sorry for the delay. Kinda... fell asleep there. >> << >> ^^))

"Okay," the girl replied, nodding. They were so close now that Sidney could barely make out a green blob in the distance, waving at them. As they drew nearer, the dragon wandered out to meet them.

"(Ginger's already inside,)" she informed them, looking just as exhausted as her trainer.

"Thank you so much, Abina. You've been a big help," Sidney said. The flygon smiled, and the trainer retrieved her ball from her waist. "Return." After Abina had disappeared, Sidney turned to Cassius. "Wait. Are the ghosts in the tower...mean?" She clearly recalled their last run-in with violent spirits. They had stolen Michael's ampharos, Lighthouse, planning to use him as a sacrifice to keep the humans away. Sidney hoped these ghosts were nothing like those.

Mike had finally caught sight of Cassius and Sidney, and was waving to them while Circuit went up and down, apperently very happy and excited. Mike yawned a bit though, after all, it was early, and he did not get any sleep at all.

"Hey guys. So...mind explaining what in Blaziken happened to the both of you?"

((Get it, Blaziken, instead of blazes; I am so funny.))

"Ginger's probably waiting for me up in our room," Sidney yawned, covering her mouth with one hand. It had been a long day. "I'm going to go ahead and turn in. I'll see you two in the morning." She waved back to the them as she walked away, going along the same garden path that Michael took. A few of the plants were casting rather ominous shadows across the ground and walls, but Sidney was too out of it to notice. She had more important matters on her mind--like sleep.

All Mike could do was utter an "Oh...I hope she'll be ok."

"Yikes...I'd be mad at him too if he did that to one of my Pokemon, but still..."

Mike followed Sidney through the garden; he too, was pretty tired. He simply ignored the spooky scenry and took out a Pokeball. "In ya go Circuit, you need some rest too," he said as he returned Circuit into his ball.

Cassius let the two humans walk on ahead as he wandered for a few moments through the garden, making sure everything was in order. Young ghosts were playing about, tag or hide and seek in the thorns or versions of hopscotch altered for floating pokemon in the main flowerbeds. It was calming, for him, and by the time he returned to the mansion and ascended to his own bedroom, he was nearly as tired as the two humans.

((Someone else gets to do a time skip

Sidney lay curled up on one corner of the bed, Ginger sprawled out beside her. She had given the absol a bit more space than usual, mostly because the pokemon had to keep her leg straight for it to heal properly, and had barely gotten any sleep.

"(Sidney, rise and shine.)" But I don't want to go to school, Mom. Can't I just...play outside all day? I promise not to beat up the neighbors' kid. "(C'mon, Sidney! Wakey, wakey!)" The young woman opened her eyes only to find two very large pink pupils staring back at her. "(Ah, finally!)" Ginger sighed. "(Hey, listen. I was going to go jump on Cass' bed, but I can't seem to get off of this one. Think you could lend me a hand--be a friend?)"

"You need help getting down?" Sidney asked groggily, her hair sticking up in odd angles and she sat up. She lifted the absol up by the middle (she was incredibly light) and gently set her down on the floor. "Don't cause trouble," she said before falling back onto the sheets.

"(Oh, you know me--the little angel. Yep, yep.)" Ginger limped her way down the hall, pausing to look into Michael's room before stopping just outside that of the King of the Dead. "(Yo, Cass!)" she shouted, sticking her fluffy head inside. She thought it best she didn't go in more or the ghost might send a shadow ball her way. "(You in here?!)"

Cassius slept in the largest of the bedrooms on the floor, which wasn't otherwise much different from the other two. It had a larger dresser, complete with a dusty, tarnished mirror and peeling gold plating, and two paintings, one of a creepy looking pair of young twins with dark purple hair and dead looking black eyes, the other a landscape painting of the mansion its self. His bed was canopied in dark purple, but he hadn't bothered to close the curtains, although he had managed to add three or four extra layers of blanket.

"(Lock 'em in the dungeon 'til night, gym d'n't open 'tl ten)" muttered Cassius, turning over to avoid the light coming in from the hallway. Unfortunately, there was a window on the other side with open curtains. He hissed at the sunlight and pulled the blankets up over his head.

Ginger stuck out her bottom lip, faking a look of rejection--and then a grin spread across her face. One could almost see the evil cogs working within her mind. She hobbled into the room, taking a moment to absorb the details of her surroundings as she made her long journey towards the bed, eventually placing herself near Cassius' side. The absol then proceeded to slip her head under the layers upon layers of blankets, getting in the ghost's face the same way she had done to her own trainer.

The darkling couldn't help smiling to herself. The King of the Dead looked so innocent slumbering while in his element--almost cute. Too bad he was evil. "(Good morning, Sunshine,)" she said sweetly, placing a lick on the tip of his nose.

"(Gah!)" Cassius was quite startled by the sudden furry arrival. He jumped back a little, only just remembering not to push the intruder out because she was an invalid. When he stuck his head out from under the blankets, it was clear that the spiking of his hair really was natural; even after a night of tossing and turning it looked the same as always, barring a few stray strands that had made a bit of a mess.

He glared at Ginger with glowing red eyes, then flopped back onto his pillow, turning the other way again. "(Go 'way, it's too early.)" Even though he didn't need nearly as much sleep as a human would, he was making the shift from day to nighttime activity, so he was rather tired.

"(Oh, no you don't!)" Ginger hissed, glaring at the back of his head. "(You're supposed to take us to the tower today, remember? It's your own fault for screwing up, and now you have to keep your promise. Now get out of bed!)" Taking a mouthful of blankets, she pulled them off of Cassius, leaving him exposed, pajamas and all.

"(What in the...?)" The absol blinked several times to make sure she wasn't imagining things. "(What are you wearing? Are those...gastly PJs?!)" She burst out laughing, not seeming to care that her ribs were aching her. "(Oh, man! The others have got to see this!)" And she left the room, still cackling like a maniac. "(Hey, guys! Check out the dead dude's new getup!)"

With the blankets out of reach, Cassius was forced to sit up, and since Ginger had spilt them on the ground and was now laughing on her way out the door, he got to his feet and walked miserably over to the door. "(You're one to talk, you look like a walking undead table lamp)" he hissed after her, then closed the door and locked it. Shoulda done that last night, I don't think I've ever had anyone in the mansion who'd be stopped by a lock before.

He managed to get himself dressed, throwing on a plain purple kimono, less intricately decorated than the gastly one he wore for festivals. He found his incense burner in one of the dresser drawers, between about three identical grey shirts, and soon emerged from his room a little grumpy, but otherwise nearly ready to go, provided someone in the kitchen downstairs had thought to put on some water for tea.