Type: Ghost

Shipping: FreneShipping

One-Shot 12/Final: Fan-Tease-ia

Snow on the ground. A glistening sight to step outside if not for one raven-haired boy in ragged clothes on the ground with a grave injury on its chest. It seemed the boy wasn't alive. He remained still while the snow, eyes shut. Snow began to blanket the lifeless body. Suddenly, a figure appeared from the veil of winter. Floating down, a violet-haired woman descended to the boy. Her hair reached her ankles covering her back as she wore a white cloak from neck to toe. On the ground, she knelt to the boy by the side and examined him, caressing his cold head. "Poor boy," she whispered with a slight French accent. She leaned down and kissed the deceased child. The meeting of lips seemed magical, if not bittersweet and tragic. The woman didn't want her lips to come apart from the demise of the boy.

"That's enough, Fantina!" someone warned. "Break it up!" The woman didn't listen, her lips stuck to the boy. "Cut!" The woman didn't hear the director's repeated calls to stop her act. Dawn and Candice, also wearing ragged clothing, came over to separate the two and help Ash back on his feet, finally awake from the director's call. The director sighed as Fantina finally broke away from Ash and got back on her heels. "Fantina, it's five seconds… not 15, not 25..."

"Excuse moi!" she apologized. "I've never tasted such soft and firm lips from someone zis young. I lost myself in za moment." The director groaned at her excuse. Dawn dusted the snow off Ash's backside while Candice brushed off the white powder from his shoulders.

"Fantina really gave you one heck of a kiss," the Snowpoint Gym Leader chuckled, her Abomasnow joining in. Dawn resurfaced and sneered at Ash about the scene.

"I bet you were enjoying every second she kissed you," she teased. Ash blinked, not sure how to respond to the blue-haired traveling partner while Pikachu and Piplup came by.

"Dawn, my instructions were to lie on the snow, let Fantina give me the 'Kiss to Revive me' and wait for you to call my name three times before waking up," he explained his role. To Dawn, Ash didn't register Fantina's kiss.

"I find that rather surprising," Candice huffed. "I get that you were following the script. At least have some sort of reaction to it." Ash shrugged his shoulders, not willing to break character. Once the director received Fantina's trust, her Gengar and Drifblim, covered in white, carried her back to the sky. Ash laid back down as Abomasnow blew a Blizzard attack in the air and Dawn and Candice dusted him up in the white powder. Ash closed his eyes, retaining his position on the ground.

"Camrea set?" the director called. A nod from the camera man told the director.

"Take Two!" called Barry, also working with the film. Once out of the way, the director signaled.

"Action!" Once again, Ash laid "unconscious" on the snow. Before long, Fantina slowly descended to Ash, her role reviewed and studied. Her face of sorrow as she discovered Ash "in dire straits." She knelt by his side and caressed his head.

"Poor boy," she recited as she leaned in and kissed Ash on the lips. 'Un… Deux… Trois… Quatre… Cinq!' After she counted, she removed her lips from his, Ash remaining perfectly still. Fantina's head turned to the side before her Ghost-Type Pokémon lifted Fantina through the fog created by Abomasnow's Blizzard. Once out of sight, calls to Ash, or rather his character's name, rang through the cold.

"Zack!" shouted Candice as she, Dawn, Piplup and Pikachu arrived on the scene. Pikachu got to Ash first and squeaked to bring the girls and Piplup along. Candice freaked at Ash's supposed lifeless body. "Oh no!" Dawn dove to Ash's side.

"Zack!" she pleaded as she lifted his head. "Zack! Please don't leave me! Zack!" Hearing his character's name three times, Ash opened his eyes to see Dawn and Candice. He coughed a groan, eyes slightly squinted to his revival.

"Wendy?" he weakly called Dawn. Overcome with seeing him alive, Dawn pulled his head up and hugged him. Ash's eyes turned to Candice, also happy to find him living. "Xenia?" Candice circled to also hug Ash.

"You had us worried, little brother!" she teared up. "We've been looking for you since you left the day before!" Ash closed his eyes, feeling apologetic to panicking Dawn and Candice.

"I'm sorry… Xenia..." Pikachu and Piplup wanted to see how Ash fared. "Pikachu… Piplup… Sorry to… make you worry." The two Pokémon tackled Ash while in tears themselves.

"Zack, I don't care what you're trying to do," Dawn whimpered. "I want you back home! I don't want to lose anymore of my family!" Ash wrapped his arms around the necks of the girls who came to save him.

"Wendy… Xenia… thank you." Dawn and Candice stood up and helped Ash on his feet before carrying him off the set as the camera turned to Fantina in the sky watching overhead.

"May ze blessings bring forgiveness to you," she prayed with her hands over her chest and her eyes closed. The sight became rather heartwarming, especially for the director.

"Cut!" he shouted. "Print it! That was beautiful!" Fantina and her Pokémon came back down and hugged the three others who helped. The director joined the group as he planned the next step. "I gotta admit, I was almost brought to tears myself in seeing those genuine emotions come out." The actors laughed. They realized they performed well beyond the director's wish. "Okay, let' get back in town to shoot the last scene." The cast left the area, but made sure to take the equipment along. Knowing the filming was almost done, the kids couldn't wait to see the finished product.

(2 Months Later)

After weeks of tweaks, cuts of some film time, countless takes and CGI animation, the movie was completed. Ash, Dawn, Brock, Fantina, Barry, Candice, Zoey, some of the Pokémon and other people from around Snowpoint gathered at a theater. "The Christmas Siblings" became the title of their project. Everyone wore their regular clothes and Fantina had her hair back in position. "I can't believe they finished the movie so quickly," Ash awed.

"Oui!" agreed Fantina. "Ze director said zat zey worked on ze special effects before zey started shooting." Hearing about the director's preparations, the Pallet Town trainer grew more admirable to the quick film making.

"Talk about planning ahead," Brock summed up. "So we'll see it first before the movie is aired on TV, right?"

"That's the plan," Dawn recalled. "I'm actually surprised the director invited everyone from Snowpoint City to see this." Fantina didn't think it was that much of a big deal.

"Well, ze movie we did took place in Snowpoint," she pointed out. "Ze director wanted to show ze residents how he treated zeir hometown." Ash looked at the clock, reading 10:50 AM. The movie's premiere started at 11:15 AM. The kids had 25 minutes before showtime.

"Let's get some snacks before the show starts," he suggested. Knowing the movie would take at least an hour and a half to play through, the kids strolled to the Concessions kiosk and got soda, popcorn and some Pokémon food before entering the movie room. Fantina sat by Ash while he had Pikachu in his lap. On the other side of Ash was Candice. Down the line of seats from Candice was Zoey, then Dawn with Piplup in her lap, then Barry and Brock at the end. The lights dimmed and the curtains broke towards the sides. Slowly, the silver screen had picture. The movie began. It showed a snowy mountainside.

"Let me tell you the story of what would be the best Christmas me and my siblings experienced in our lives," started Candice's voice as the picture spotted Ash in rags carrying firewood. "My name is Xenia. That's my little brother, Zack. Ever since our parents passed away during the Summer, he's worked his tail off to make sure we've had food on the table. I know what you're thinking: Why is the village not helping us? They know of our pain but they're forcing us to fend for ourselves. That's why Zack and I work to make up for their lack of support." The beginning had the setting of betrayal and sadness. Soon, they saw Candice on the big screen as Xenia and Dawn playing Wendy. The movie displayed the Pokémon as well who showed more support than the humans on multiple occasions as they scolded their creatures and a weary Ash playing Zack already dealing with loss. Many conflicts and cold receptions had bittersweet moments with Zoey and a few kids who didn't treat Xenia and her siblings with the same prejudice their adult counterparts acted down. Over an hour in the movie, Ash's scene arrived during the night. Pikachu shook in fear of this scene.

"I told you that I had padding on for this scene, Pikachu," Ash whispered. Pikachu still shook. The scene showed Zack (Ash) with an ax in the mountains.

"We got a few months of Winter to get through," Zack grumbled. "Piplup will be fine but Pikachu?" He found a tree to cut down for firewood in the falling snow. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes were two figures. The actors knew the figures were two Pokémon, Ash's Buizel and Barry's Empoleon. Zack gazed at the two shadows hidden by the veil of snow. "Who's there?" The two silhouettes stood their ground when a voice came over.

"Leave the mountains!" a deep voice warned. Zack slowly put the ax down.

"Please, I need firewood to keep my sisters warm. The town-"

"Leave the mountains!" The voice didn't care about Zack's reasons for being on the mountainside. That's when Barry's Empoleon fired Hydro Cannon at Zack but the boy sidestepped the attack, only to catch a frozen chunk beneath the snow and fell to a knee. Ash's Buizen attacked Zack with Water Pulse as he tried to recover from the slip. Not enough time. Zack took the Water Pulse in the chest and the force slammed him in a tree. Zack fell forward, reeling from the unprovoked attack. On one knee, Zack grasped his chest in pain. He couldn't defend himself, especially when another Hydro Cannon blasted him in the face. The shot propelled him from the two Water-Type Pokémon, skidding on the snow several yards before stopping. He lied on his back, the wound on his chest too great to bear.

"Wow, that looks more painful seeing it," Dawn winced as she watched Zack take those Water-Type attacks. Ash and the Pokémon would agree, cringing at the effective strikes. Zack's body lied motionless. His view pointed fading rapidly.

"Xenia… Wen… dy… I'm… ugh..." Zack's eyes closed. His body still. The next morning at a cabin in the nearby village, Wendy entered a room and found a bed empty.

"Zack?" she called. The bed vacant, she feared that he hadn't come back from his outing. Entering another room with a firepit, there was no wood to burn. Zack hadn't returned and she immediately ran into one more room where Candice's character slept. "Xenia! It's Zack! He's missing!" Xenia snapped awake from Wendy's panicked shrill. She sat up, wanting to be sure what she heard.

"He's not back?!" she asked as she crawled out of bed. Pikachu and Piplup also heard the panic. Everyone started to search for their missing brother. Seeing the two and disregarding what other town folks mentioned about the family, some of the children chose to help out. A few being character played by Barry and Zoey also wearing rags.

"Amber?" named Wendy to Zoey's character. "Yuri?"

"Something happen to Zack?" questioned Amber.

"He didn't come back from getting firewood from the mountains," Xenia explained. The two new characters knew Zack was an important member of the family.

"We'll help out," Yuri promised. "Our parents are mad at the parents and not at you three and yet we don't know why." Wendy and Xenia bowed nods, thanking the two for their support. Just then, even more children emerged to help the sisters. The parents watched rather helplessly, their emotions mixing in regard to their distaste of the siblings without their parents. Zack's body remained lifeless from the sudden attack. Above him, clouds blocking the sky except for one patch. The sun beamed on the body where someone came down to see the soul, the body of death. Fantina's character, the angel that would revive Zack, descended, her body transparent with the backdrop appearing. Wendy, Xenia and the Pokémon reached the mountains when Pikachu sensed something ahead. Xenia took notice.

"Pikachu, what is it?" Pikachu raced ahead and led the rest upward. The angel knelt to Zack's side, her body as a whole and, for the moment, no longer transparent. She nudged the head, tears streaking down her face.

"Poor boy," she muttered as she leaned in to kiss Zack. His body began glowing red, heat starting to affect the snow beneath him. The angel removed her lips before turning to the side. Wendy and Xenia were closing in. The angel flew up, vanishing from sight as Zack's sisters found him and raced to his side.

"Zack!" shrieked Xenia. The Pokémon tried to wake Ash. It looked hopeless. "Oh no!" Wendy dove to Zack's side.

"Zack!" she called his name as she cradled his head. "Zack! Please don't leave me! Zack!" His name being called, Zack slowly opened his eyes and found his sisters looking over him.

"Wendy?" he painfully groaned. Overcome with relief, Wendy hugged her brother by the head as he peered to the elder sister. "Xenia?" Also relieved, Xenia hugged Zack as well.

"You had us worried, little brother!" she teared. "We've been looking for you since you left the day before!" Zack didn't mean to concern his sisters, feeling apologetic to the only family members he had left.

"I'm sorry… Xenia…" The Pokémon were also grateful for Zack's health and he took notice. "Pikachu… Piplup… Sorry to… make you worry." They pounced on Zack in happiness.

"Zack, I don't care what you're trying to do," Wendy whimpered. "I want you back home! I don't wanna lose anymore of my family!" Overwhelm with love, Zack hugged Wendy, Xenia and the Pokémon.

"Wendy… Xenia… Thank you." The girls stood up and helped Zack to his feet before carrying him off the mountains with the angel watching over, her body transparent once again.

"May ze blessings bring forgiveness to you," she said before ascending to the sky in a ball of light. As soon as the siblings reached the foot of the mountains, the children greeted him with hugs of their own. The parents came forward, offering forgiveness of their own for their poor treatment of their family. The village hosted a Christmas banquet where all of the people gathered to have a feast. As the building hosting the banquet got covered in snow, one family received the greatest gift: love over the hatred they suffered from the past. The credits began to roll and the theater bursted with applause.

"That was beautiful!" cheered Dawn, Piplup agreeing.

"We all showed our kiai in that movie!" laughed Candice. As everyone settled, Dawn started to turn to Ash for his opinion.

"Don't you think so-" She stopped as she saw Fantina's lips once again smothering Ash's. Brock, Candice, Dawn and the Pokémon froze at the sight. Apparently, Fantina couldn't get enough of the Pallet Town trainer's lips. That's when she felt the shock from their friends, including Pikachu.

"What?!" she shrugged. "My favorite co-star so far." Barry slumped first, then the rest in disbelief.

"Fantina, he's way too young for you," he clarified. "You can stop being his angel." Ash had no explanation for why he allowed Fantina to kiss him. They say that art imitates life. From Ash and Fantina, those words may have true meaning.

END of GHOST, END of VOLUME 5

(Thank you everyone for your help in the latest volume of the 12 Elements. Throughout this, we've made Ash hook up with 60 girls from the Anime and the movies. That's quite an accomplishment in its own right. After two months of working the latest, I'm going to take a short holiday and will be back in 2016. I hope to see [and write] more unusual shippings involving everyone's favorite Pokémon Trainer, and with a whole host of other works on hand, 2016 will be my busiest writing year. So for all the readers and writers on the site and social media networks, this is Pete the Rock wishing all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!)