I said you'd all get a double update, right? Well here it is!

Thanks to all the lovely reviews and favorites, and look out for the next part of this series, The Awakening!

Amy47101 does not own pokémon or The Summoning. All rights go to their respective owners.

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The Summoning

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I woke to Mom shaking me.

"I know you're tired, hon." she said. "Just come on inside and you can go back to sleep."

I stumbled out of the car. She caught me, Agatha diving to help me. My vision swirled in front of me, not identifying who else was in helping me.

"She's exhausted." Mom said to whoever was helping me, both helping me stumble through the doors of wherever we were.

When the cold air hit, I yawned and gave my head a sharp shake. I could make out a building in front of me. I blinked hard and it came into focus. A yellow brick rectangle with a single, unmarked door.

"Is this the hospital?"

"No, it's a walk-in clinic. I called Twinleaf General and Mercy and their emergencies are packed. A typical Sunday morning. Between the Saturday night gunshot wounds and the drunk drivers, it's a zoo. I know a doctor here and we'll get you straight in."

She looked up as a red-headed woman rounded the corner.

"Oh, there's Mars. She's a nurse here."

I peered at the woman as I struggled to focus. She looked familiar. When she stopped to talk to Mom, I realized she must be her friend. But even after she walked away, it niggled at the back of my foggy brain, some connection I wasn't getting. Her voice was familiar… and that odd hair… something I should remember…

It wasn't until we were inside that I remembered where I'd seen her. Just last night, clutching the chain-link fence, calling my name.

I wheeled on Mom.

"That woman—"

"Mars, yes. She's a nurse here. She'll take good care of—"

"No! She… She's Mrs. Talbot! But different… I-I saw her last night with the man who shot at us!"

Mom's face crumpled and she put her arm around me.

"No, honey, that's not the same woman. You've been through a lot and you're confused—"

I pushed her away.

"I'm not. I saw her. Did you lie to me when you said Agatha said Lyle House was the way to go? We need to get out of here."

I ducked out of her grasp and raced back to the door. I grabbed the handle, but she caught up, holding it shut.

"Dawn, listen to me. You need to—"

"I need to get out." I pulled on the door with both hands, but she held it fast. "Please, Mom, you don't understand. We have to get out of here."

"Would someone please help Mrs. Hikari?" a voice echoed down the hall. I turned to see Dr. Pluto striding toward us. A man hurried past him, coming at me with a syringe.

"That won't be necessary, Saturn," Mom snapped. "I've already given her something."

"And I can see it's working very well." he responded sarcastically. "Bruce, sedate Dawn, please."

I looked up at Mom.

"Y-You drugged me?"

Her arms went around me.

"You'll be okay, hon. I promise."

I lashed out, hitting her so hard she stumbled back.

"You drugged me! Your own daughter! Where's the others? What have you done to them?!"

Then she turned on Dr. Pluto.

"I told you this wasn't the way to handle it. I told you to leave it to me."

"Leave what to you?" I said, taking a slow step back and hitting the door. She reached for me, but my hands flew up, warding her off.

"Leave what to you?"

The man with the syringe caught my arm. I tried to yank away, but the needle went in. Mom stepped toward me, mouth opening. Then a woman hurried down the hall, calling to Dr. Pluto.

"The team just called in a report, sir. We managed to get back Onyx, but there's no sign of the Jimmy or Paul."

"Surprise, surprise," a woman who sounded like Mrs. Van Curd approached Dr. Pluto, though she, too, sported a different face. "Reggie and James taught them well. Once they're gone, they'll keep running. I warned you."

"We'll find them."

"You'd better, and when you do, I expect that brute to be handled the way he should have been handled years ago." Agatha said. "Put down like a rabid dog. I told you what I thought about keep him around, but you never listen to me."

"P-Paul?" I struggled against the pull of the sedative. "Don't… Don't hurt him!"

Mom caught me as I slid down the wall. I tried to push her away, but my arms wouldn't respond. She shouted for them to hurry with the stretcher, then leaned over me, holding me steady.

"You don't need to cover for him, Dawn," she whispered. "We know what he is." A glare back at Dr. Pluto. "A monster. One that didn't belong in the…"

I didn't catch her next few words. The hall flickered, fading.

When I focused, I saw her face over mine.

"But we won't let him hurt Jimmy, Dawn. I promise you that. When you wake up, you're going to help us find Jimmy and bring him home. I know they're important to you, and we've got most of them here. They're important to all of us. You all are. You and Jade and Onyx and Jimmy and Marina and Ursula. Very special. You're—"

Everything went dark.

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I lay awake, staring at the wall. I couldn't bring myself to roll over and look around. Couldn't even bother lifting my head from the pillow. I could feel the pull of the sedative, luring me back into sleep, but I kept my eyes open, gaze fixed on the green painted wall.

My own mother had betrayed me.

When she'd thought I'd been fooling around with Paul, I'd felt betrayed. Now I looked back on how furious I'd been and my throat tightened as I prayed I could go back there, to where that was the worst thing I could ever imagine her doing.

It was all a lie.

She was a lie. Our relationship was a lie.

Even when I was a child seeing bogeymen in the basement, she'd known perfectly well I was seeing ghosts. My father knew it—that's why he'd insisted we move.

I fingered my necklace. Was this more than a silly talisman to convince me I was safe? Did my father really think it would protect me? Is that why my Mom had insisted I wear it at Lyle House? Jimmy said necromancy was hereditary. If both my father and my mother had known about the ghosts, it must run in their blood. Or at least one of them.

I thought about my father. About the accident. The hit-and-run driver had never been found. Had it really been an accident? Or had someone killed—?

No. I squeezed the thought from my brain as I clutched the pillow tighter. I couldn't let my mind start running away like that or I'd go crazy.

Crazy.

Mom knew I wasn't crazy, and she let me think I was. Shipped me off to a group home.

A group home filled with other supernatural kids.

When Mom said we were special, she'd included all of us. Meaning Jade and Onyx really were gijinka's. Jimmy really was a sorcerer. Marina really was a shaman, and Paul was really a shifter.

And I was really a necromancer.

So what about Ursula? What was she? Did her mother know? If her mother worked for them, she must know, and if she did, and blamed Ursula for not getting better…

What kind of parent would do that?

Idiot, your own mother.

That would've been Topaz's response. But Topaz wasn't here. She was dead. Murdered, most likely. Probably by these people. Like Zoey.

But hadn't my own mother done the same thing? Only she sweetened it with smiles and hugs and maybe that was worse. Right now, it felt worse.

I think the meds were blocking Topaz. As much as Topaz made fun of me and swore at me, she was my guide. She was my friend. She cared, even to the point of taking over my body to defend me.

…

Was Lyle House where they sent us when things went wrong? Put us there and medicated us and tried to tell us we had a mental illness? But why? Wouldn't the truth be easier? Why not tell us when we were young and prepare us, and teach us how to control it?

From what Jimmy said, that's the way it was supposed to work. You told your kids and you trained them how to use and hide their powers before they lost control.

What was Lyle House?

I remembered what Jimmy said about his dad. He worked for this research company, supernatural doctors and scientists trying to make things easier for other supernaturals.

Then I heard the ghost of the witch buried in the basement.

Sam Lyle promised us an easier life. That's what we all want, isn't it? Power without price… You see, little girl, all scientific advancement requires experimentation, and experimentation requires subjects, and that's what Michael and I were. Lab rats sacrificed to the vision of a madman.

I leaped up, heart thudding so hard I couldn't breathe.

Mom said we were special. All of us. Marina and Jimmy and Ursula and Jade and Onyx and me.

But not Paul.

I expect that brute to be handled the way he should have been handled years ago. Put down like a rabid dog.

I had to find Paul before they did. I couldn't let them hurt him, not after everything.

I turned around, seeing my surroundings. A double bed with big pillows and a thick comforter. Carpet on the floor. A desk. An armchair. A private bathroom through a half-open door. Like a fancy hotel room.

Across the room was a door, painted white. It looked like any interior door, but when I walked over and put my hands against it, it was cold steel. A thick steel door with no window, not even a peephole.

And no doorknob.

Wherever I was, it wasn't a fake group home where I had the run of the house and yard, had chores, classes, and field trips. I was in this room, and I wasn't getting out.

I didn't even have my pokémon. They took them. I left Hope at home with Agatha. What became of her?

I backed up to the bed.

I was trapped. I'd never escape, never—

"Oh, that's great."

I jumped at Topaz's voice, looking around, but not seeing her. Where…

"Fuck, Dawn, what the hell? You've been awake five minutes, taken a quick look around, and damn near given up. Why don't you just lie back and wait for them to come and fucking strap you to a table? What did that damned witch say? Something about being prodded with electrical wires until she bit off her tongue?"

I let out a whimper.

"And what about Paul? He got you out of Lyle House and now you aren't even going to try to warn him? Just let them catch him? Kill him?"

Paul wouldn't get caught. He was too smart for that. He got out of Lyle House—

"He got you out of Lyle House?" her voice was sarcastic and clipped. "He didn't plan to go. That was a total fluke. Remember when Dr. Pluto tried to call him back? He almost went. What happens if they do that again? Maybe he'll have had second thoughts, decide he really is better off locked away."

Not as long as he has to protect Jimmy.

"Ah, Jimmy. Paul will never turn in Jimmy. But what about distracting them so Jimmy can escape, like he did for you? If he thinks turning himself in will let Jimmy escape, he'll do it. You know he will. He almost did for you."

I had to warn him. But to warn him, I had to get out of here. This time, I couldn't just sit back and let someone else make the plans. I had to do it myself.

Maybe I was locked in here for now, but I'd be let out eventually. I wasn't exactly a high-risk prisoner. They'd take me out—for exercise, to eat, to experiment on me…

I tried not to think about the last.

Point was, I'd get out, and when I did, I needed to be ready to escape. First, though, I had to get a good look around and plan. But how was I going to do that locked in this room? Pray for a convenient blueprint stuffed under the mattress? Astral-project out the door and look around?

No, leave that to Marina. But would she be able to? I think the drugs are suppressing our powers, at least for now. Sooner or later they'd take us off them, no doubt, but how would my necromancy help?

I stopped and slowly glanced at the nightstand, seeing a pair of black, frameless sunglasses. Zoey's sunglasses. Like a bat out of hell I shot towards the them, holding them.

If she was dead, maybe I could summon her, get her to scout the building and—

If she's dead? So you're hoping she's dead now?

I clenched the comforter and took a deep breath. For weeks now, I'd refused to believe Zoey had died. No matter how much proof I had, I couldn't believe it because the very idea was insane.

But now, sitting here, locked in this room, betrayed by my Mom, waiting for them to track down and kill Paul like some kind of rabid pokémon…

Zoey was dead.

They'd killed her.

She'd been a supernatural of some kind, maybe a witch, maybe a gijinka… and her powers were out of control, so they executed her. They must have or they would have included her in that list. And what about Barry? Had his parents pretended to pick him up only to let these people kill him? Or maybe because he got better, he got out. Zoey didn't get better ... so she didn't get out.

Some tiny part of me still clung to the hope that I was wrong about Zoey. But I knew I wasn't.

I held the glasses in my hand. If they were keeping me in such a comfortable room, at least that meant they didn't plan to kill me yet.

I stared at the hoodie, thinking of Zoey and of dying. Of what it would be like to be dead at sixteen, the rest of your life gone—?

I squeezed my eyes shut.

"No time for that, princess."

Topaz…

I searched my room for cameras. I didn't find any, but that didn't mean there wasn't one. If they saw me talking to myself, they'd figure out what I was doing, maybe decide my powers were out of control, like Zoey's.

Either I did this or I didn't. My choice.

I sat cross-legged on the bed, holding Zoey's hoodie, and called her as I'd done the other ghosts. I didn't need to worry about overdoing it and raising the dead. There were no corpses here. Or so I hoped. But I had no idea what was outside my door, maybe a laboratory, maybe the bodies of other failures, like Zoey—

"No time for that, princess."

The ghost necromancer had said Lyle House was protected by a spell blocking ghosts. But guides overturned that rule, right? Zoey appeared clearly to me, and Topaz was talking to me right now… Whatever was going on, they seemed to override that rule. Regardless, that meant this place probably was, too, which meant I needed all that extra power he said I had.

I concentrated so hard my temples hurt, but nothing happened.

I felt as if someone had a hand over mine. Not threatening, but reassuring.

"Keep going, princess. You've got this, I'm here."

Topaz...

I closed my eyes to visualize better, but I kept peeking and breaking my focus. Finally I shut them and kept them shut, putting everything I had into imagining myself pulling Zoey out of the ether and—

"Whoa. Where am I?"

I opened my eyes and there she was, still wearing her white nightshirt and red flannel pants and chimchar socks.

Zoey.

No, Zoey's ghost.

"Hello?" She waved a hand in front of my eyes. "What's wrong, Dawn? There's nothing to be scared of. I know, Lyle House isn't exactly Nimbassa City Theme Park but—" She looked around, brow furrowing. "This isn't Lyle House, is it? Where—? Oh my Arceus. We're in the hospital. They put you in here, too. When?"

She blinked hard, shaking her head.

"They have some funky meds here. I keep sleeping and having these dreams, and when I wake up, I'm totally confused. Did they give you those, too?"

So where had Zoey been all this time? Stuck in limbo? If she was my guide, or one of my guides, shouldn't she be aware of what was going on, like Topaz? One thing was for sure. She didn't know she was dead.

Maybe because she doesn't know she was dead, and that's why she was 'stuck'.

"And now you had to tell her." I heard Topaz's voice again, her image now flickering.

Tell her? No way. She was happy. If she didn't know, that was better.

"And how long do you think it'll be before she figures it out? Shouldn't you be the one to tell her?"

"Oh hey!" Zoey turned, grinning at Topaz's flickering image. "I didn't know you share rooms here. You're the girl who was with Dawn in the attic, right? How's it goin'?"

I didn't want to. I really, really didn't want to. But I needed her to help me escape and rescue the others and warn Paul and Jimmy. Especially Paul. It was all on me this time, and to help them, I needed to do something awful.

Fingers trembling, I clutched her sunglasses and took a deep breath. I felt Topaz's grip again, the presence of her hand around my own shaking one.

"Go on, princess. You can do it. I'm here for you."

"Zoey? There's something I need to tell you."

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And thus, another story ends! Thanks again for the reviews, and be on the lookout for the next part of the now titled Supernatural's Saga.

Amy47101 signing off! ^.^