Jared suddenly felt a chill down his spine breaking him from his thoughts. A police officer had once again tapped him on his shoulder for loitering suspiciously.

Opening his eyes wide, he turns around to find the exact same officer as the other day.

(Ergh, it's him again, doesn't he know loitering isn't a crime? I really did nothing wrong, there isn't even a no loitering sign, this is an outrage!)

Jared bowed his head anyway and apologized.

After the officer left, Jared fell to his knees with a sigh,

(Oh god, I did it again, there's no cure... I am a serial loiterer! Why can't a man have a life-changing event anymore without getting arrested?)

Jared stood back up and grinned, (Hmmhmm! if one day I become famous, I bet people will beg me to loiter outside their stores! Yep!)

Coming home, Jared met Kai once more in the alley, but even with a warm greeting, kai gave him the cold shoulder and walked off.

Jared continued home, and he went through the same painful memorization process as yesterday, until the night finally came.

"Gastly, are you there?"

As if by teleportation, congregations of darkness bubbled near the ceiling, and soon Gastly took shape. The creature watched without a work.

Clearing his throat, Jared asks, "Have you given any consideration to what I asked you last night?"

The Gastly said nothing and disappeared once more. It refused to show It's face again, no matter how much a certain foolish human pleaded.

Jared went to sleep and repeated a similar day, he once more asked if Gastly was there, and once more it appeared at its usual haunt, just under the ceiling.

This time Jared tried to make small talk,

"Say gastly, I couldn't help but notice you always appear in the same place, could it be that this is where you sleep?

"I don't sleep human"

"Maybe not sleep, but is that spot perhaps comfortable?"

Gastly just stared.

Coughing to change the subject, Jared speaks up, "What do you do for fun?"

"I eat emotions"

(Well... that doesn't sound like fun, but then again, I'm not a sentient ball of gas.)

"How do you do it? I don't think I once saw you while I was memorizing."

"I pull in the emotions of the humans within my influence."

Pretending to be very surprised, Jared playfully asks, "Ergh, so you're saying I was inside you?"

"Stupid human, why are you bothered by this now, it's always been this way, your stupid human brain just didn't realize it."

With that, Gastly was gone for the night.

A few more days pass, and each day a certain gastly spoke to a certain human, but unknowingly Gastly found himself staying a little longer to chat each time, before disappearing for the night.

"Say, Gastly, is it just me, or do you seem a lot bigger than before?"

"Dumb pathetic human, isn't it obvious? Humans eat and grow big and fat, so naturally, I grow too."

(I don't mind... but he's getting a lot less reserved with his insults... maybe he's starting to like me?)

"How old are you gastly?"

"How would I know that foolish human, only you humans would bother to track the passage of time."

"Gastly, before you disappear, there is something very important to me that I'd like your help with"

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"I don't want to human"

"Come on, I didn't even say what it was yet!"

"You think me ignorant human? I know you humans are gathering to fight using your pokemon slaves"

"You knew about the tournament?"

"How can I not, you humans talk so much. Even if I don't try, I can hear it from every corner of this place you call a city."

Gastly then glares, "Save your breath human, I won't be your slave"

"Oh, it must be because you are afraid, you once talked about killing a human that dared capture you, but it seems that you really are as you appear, just a big ball of hot air"

Gastlys body begins to expand and contract in apparent anger. Its voice booms in Jared's mind, "You think I can't win your little tournament stupid human?" Gastly then calms down after a moment, "You are trying to trick me human, don't think you can goad me so easily"

Jared watches as Gastly slowly begins to go invisible, then shouts, "You don't understand Gastly, I have to go no matter what, I have something I need to accomplish, and winning that tournament is a building block towards it!"

Gastly vanishes completely.

Jared continues shouting anyway, "Don't think I can't see how big you've gotten from devouring my pain gastly, you've been using me, didn't anyone tell you about give and take in a partnership?"

"If all you do is take, we can never stand as equals! I never wanted a slave, I wanted a partner, but the only one that sees the other as a slave here is you Gastly!

Holding a palm over his eye, Jared curses, "I swear you won't get any more of my emotions to eat... at least until you at least hear me out gastly!"

.

Jared never called for Gastly after that day, and Gastly likewise never appeared.

It was now five days before the tournament, and the days were passing quickly.

Jared had stopped using the masochistic method. After his impassioned speech to Gastly, he felt his learning speed plummet, but he was stubbornly keeping to his promise.

Finally, it was the last night before the tournament, and Jared was feeling anxious, he tossed and turned and found himself unable to sleep, "I need to relax, I can accomplish my dream even without the tournament, it's just a little loss in momentum... there's always time if I have the will and drive..."

After an hour, Jared finally felt himself slipping into unconsciousness, but he was awoken when he felt a familiar presence, one he had not felt for a few days.

The gastly was back, he looked angry and hungry, it's voice boomed In Jared's mind with venom, "Tell me human, what is your dream, I'll listen just this once"

Jared opened his eyes with expectation, but then sighs when he hears the question, "So you heard my mutterings earlier... Gastly, to understand my so-called *dream* I have to first talk about how I came to be here."

In great detail, Jared began explaining to the gastly about the world he came from, while it listened silently.

He told him about the paradise he thought this world was when he had first arrived on the cities warm shores, Gastly remained silent.

He told him about the rotten underbelly he discovered when he had moved into his new home, Gastly remained silent.

He told him about the deaths of the children, Gastly listened silently.

Finally, he told him about his dream to change the world and bring about peace. The gastly speaks, "This is why you harm yourself human? It's for this impossible nonsense?"

Jared smiled brightly, "Yes, you may think it impossible, but I thought you would know better than anyone else... yes... the lengths I am willing to go through to accomplish it, am I wrong?"

Gastly floated silently, its form pulsed as if he were in thought.

"I can promise you this Gastly, If you became my partner I will never mistreat you, I would even be willing to hold you above even my own life."

The gastly scoffs, "I've seen how you treat your own life, you may have wiped the blood off the floor, but it's still there, you think those words are enough to move me?"

Gastly then smirks, "Tell me this human, if you promise to value me even above this dream of yours, then maybe I will agree."

Jared stayed silent, for a long moment before speaking, "I won't lie to you gastly, and don't think I can't see that you are testing me"

Gastly narrows its eyes.

"You are right gastly, I am willing to lie about everything, but to lie about my own beliefs, and even put another above it... even as a lie?"

Tears start pouring from Jared's eyes, as he speaks with madness, "HAHAHAHA, Gastly, even the thought about putting my dream below someone else makes me sick, it makes me feel like I'm already dead."

"Say... Gastly, you may not think well of other humans, or even me, and yes, I know them better than anyone, they lie, they cheat they steal, even I would do the same, but there is one thing I can promise to you, and that is the tears I'm shedding now, are they lies?"

The gastly continues to listen with complicated eyes, as its form pulses thoughtfully.

"Gastly, I don't know about other people, but I can accomplish what others can't, I feel it strongly."

Jared looks away with a beaming smile, reminiscing,

"Looking back now, I felt that I lived worthlessly, and I would have probably died worthlessly, I don't care if you trust in me, in fact, I don't need it, but if you feel you can trust that I will greedily follow my ideals, then partner with me here and now, stand as equals with me in pursuit of the same impossible future... yes, the same bright future!"

Jared looks at the unmoving Gastly, while it stares into the distance.

"Say gastly, how about we make a bet? if I give up halfway, yes, if my will breaks and shatters halfway, no... what I mean is, if I give up my ideals, if really such a day comes to pass, I will willingly offer up my soul, yes, my very being for you to devour whole."

Gastly turns back with a slight smile, "Stupid ugly human, even if you offered up your soul, I wouldn't be able to eat it... You have a few screws loose... No, you are definitely the craziest human I've ever seen, but... I think it might be interesting to see how far you can go, at least... before reality forces you to bow your head."

Jared's mind roars with Gastlys laugh, "Fine human, I'll trust you this once, but if you give up, that will be the last time you'll ever see me, and don't bother tempting me back, for you will never again see my shadow!"

Jared then let out a radiant smile at the gastlys words, perhaps the most brilliant smile of his life, then utter's,

"Alright partner"