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Description
"So, this is the Sapling Village Barty's Bluff?" Aura said, looking up at the former establishment of transportation. Although she had seen the building on a few maps of the Village and knew many who made use of its services, the young Abra has never actually found use in it herself, as her Teleporting abilities were more than efficient enough to get her and her partner where they needed to go. Yes, she's visited Sapling Village on a few rare occasions, but hadn't paid any attention to this building. As such, it was like she was seeing it for the very first time; unfortunately, this first impression was pretty underwhelming. The board wasn't kidding when they requested this place to be fixed up. The main dome that made up the building seemed about to crumble, and the balloon mascot that was supposed to be on the roof was lying on the ground. How it got like this, she had no idea.

She glanced over to Hallow, who busied himself in keeping an eye on the rest of the village, no doubt on alert for the Drifloon. Taking note, she kept her mental sweep on an almost paranoid level even as she remained focus on the task at hand. They really oughta get started now...

Her feet refused to move her anywhere and she sighed a bit as her eyes began to feel heavy. Even her voice started to sound weary, as if all her previous energy was being sapped away. "I'm gonna be honest," Aura started, slumping noticeably. "The very thought of manual labor makes me sleepy."

"Everything makes you sleepy." Hallow reminded, ceasing his surveillance to look at her.

"Well, moreso than usual," Aura clarified. "Plus those kids really took it out of me..."

"You're just being lazy." Hallow stated, his tone suggesting that he would be smiling if he could.

"That too." The Abra admitted with a smile, holding her paws behind her head with a flick of her tail. "But unfortunately, this thing isn't gonna get done just by staring at it; my Psychic powers haven't developed that much yet. So," she drawled, holding back a yawn as she fought her tired mind. "Let's get this over with so I can sleep..."

Finally getting herself to move forward into the building, she surveyed the damage at a closer level, rummaging through some of the rubble. Looking up at the ceiling, she saw where the beams were once connected and she took a few steps back. The blue haze of psychic energy emanated from the little fox, the same glow coming from a large rafter. Shaking a bit, as if under strain, the support slowly lifted up into the air and positioned itself where it used to be.

Gritting her teeth with effort, she waved at Hallow, who made no hesitation in flying up to where the beam was hovering. Several tools given to them by the residents beforehand removed themselves from within his body in a purple haze and immediately set to work. He tried making this fast, as he knew that Aura couldn't maintain this for long. Even by Abra standards, her telekinesis was pretty underdeveloped. After a bit, he backed away with a signaling flash of his halo and Aura hastily cut off her psychic hold. Thankfully, the support held in place.

Rubbing her head a bit at the start of a migraine, she knew this was going to be a long night...

----------------------------------------------------------------

"And we're pretty much done..." Aura muttered, her tail dragging behind her. Unable to conjure up any more telekinetic energy, the Abra kneeled down to pick up a large bag of trash and heaved it into her arms with a strained grunt, heading towards their designated dumpster with haste. Seeing this, Hallow hesitated from reattaching the last of the mascot's roof fasteners as he watched the Abra with an air of confusion.

"You do know there's an easier way over there, right?" the insect pointed out, turning towards the shorter path towards the dumpster. However, Aura didn't even bother glancing over her shoulder as she continued walking her way with unfaltering purpose, only giving a single explanation.

"I'm too lazy to turn around…" she told him in a tired tone of voice. Again, the husk paused, trying to make some sense out of this logic.

"So... Out of sheer laziness... you're opting to go the longer, harder route? Simply because you can't get yourself to change course?" He got a nod in response, the little Psychic still not stopping. "How does that even work?"

"I have no ideaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHH!" The Abra screamed in horror as something wrapped around her waist and lifted her right into the air, the bag of trash falling out of her grip with a sound thud! onto the pathway. Looking up to see a Drifloon before turning her wide eyes to the ground below, Aura's combined fear of heights and ghosts took a firm hold on her body and she froze, tears of pure terror beginning to build up. She couldn't even get her voice to work enough to call for help, only soft whimpers escaping from her throat.

But a cry was not needed as an angry flash of white light signaled her rescue. Hallow flew up with an enraged shriek, a Shadow Claw rushing to slash into the offending Drifloon. The ghostly balloon cried out, almost losing its grip on Aura. It was about to retaliate, but the Shedinja was relentless in the protection of his friend as he lunged with another Shadow Claw. The Drifloon barely moved out of the way in time to dodge, launching a defensive Shadow Ball.

Only just managing to Endure in time, Hallow instantly used Spite, still growling even as he shouted out to his stunned companion. "Aura! Snap out of it and Teleport!"

But it seemed that the Abra didn't hear him, still staring at the ground far below. Cursing softly, Hallow lunged again with an X-Scissor, this time hitting home and the Drifloon was forced to release the young Pokemon. Falling towards the ground, Aura was still in a daze and Hallow dove for her, barely catching her in his telekinetic hold. He wasn't as strong with his mental capabilities as Aura, and he grunted with strain as he began easing her back to the ground. However, he was forced to drop her the last few feet as the weakened Drifloon launched an Ominous Wind at him, the Shedinja Enduring it once more.

The impact with the ground had snapped Aura out of her state of paralyzing fear, and she was beginning to stand, only getting as far as her hands and knees before another Drifloon loomed over her. Looking up, she froze as the Ghost-type used Hypnosis, its swaying motions blurring as its whispering voice sang out.

"Come, little children
I'll take thee away
Into a land of Enchantment

Come, little children
The time's come to play
Here in my garden of Magic..."

Unable to resist the hypnotism, Aura's eyes began glazing over as she crawled closer to the demonic balloon. It would seem like she no longer had any control over her actions, the Drifloon maintaining its grasp as it began leading her away.

"AURA, DON'T LISTEN TO IT!" Hallow shrieked as he finished off the distracting Drifloon before charging at full-force and slamming into the hypnotizer. Said balloon cried out, releasing its trance-inducing hold as it turned its attention to the Shedinja. It attempted to use Hypnosis again, but Hallow wasn't having it as he lashed out with an X-Scissor. Although it made contact, it came at a price as another Drifloon arrived at the scene and took advantage of the husk's distraction to launch a Shadow Ball.

Hallow had no time to put up an Endure and took the hit full-on. The ball disintegrating, everything was quiet as Hallow floated completely still, fresh burns visible on his shell. Although he tried his best to hang in there, he couldn't fight his weakness and with a shudder, he collapsed to the ground.

"HALLOW!" Aura screamed, the horror snapping her out of her hypnosis. Glaring heatedly at the ghosts, she gathered every bit of her Psychic power and unleashed it on the Drifloon. Cries of pain sounded from the Balloon Pokemon, and as the wave of blue energy faded, a good portion of them fainted whilst a few stronger ones held on.

Breathing heavily, Aura felt her headache increase to a nearly unbearable level and her body was beginning to shake. It took all her willpower to stay upright, wincing as she glared up at the remaining ghosts. "What's wrong with you guys...? The Bluff falls apart and you lose your minds... Stop using it as an excuse and get your act together!" She rubbed her head and she pointed to the Bluff. "It's fixed now... So stop it, before it gets out of hand."

She didn't even know if the Drifloon were listening as she felt a wave of dizziness and fell over, her vision slowly enveloping in blackness. The last thing she saw were the remaining Drifloon floating closer...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Abra's coming around."

"See? I told you she just needed rest."

"That's good."

Aura heard the voices first, before her mind's eye picked up her surroundings to see a bunch of little Shroomish gathered around her, along with an adult Shroomish that she recognized as Shroomsworth. And behind them was...

She jolted up with a cry, her eyes wide as she stared at the Drifloon behind them and Shroomsworth immediately spoke up. "It's alright! Everything's back to normal now."

It took a long moment as Aura stared at the balloon, taking note of the brown pilot hat on the ghost's head. The Drifloon's tiny mouth curled in a smile and the Abra forced herself to relax just a little bit. But that little bit didn't disguise her strong unease and the Balloon Pokemon spoke in a soft, reassuring voice.

"I humbly apologize on the behalf of the Drifleet," he started. "When the Bluff fell apart, we thought our jobs had come to an end and we decided to go back to our natural life-style. None of it was personal to you or your friend, child." The ghost twined its heart-tipped arms in appeasement and gratitude. "But now that you fixed it up, our jobs have been restored and no one need fear us anymore. Thank you."

"Er..." Aura stuttered, surprised that everything turned out for the best after all. "You're welcome, I guess..." She looked about her surroundings for the first time since waking, and found that she was on a bed in a warm and comforting room. Judging from the appearance, it's probably the room of one of the Shroomish kids. After orientating herself, her ears shot up as she remembered something important. "Where's Hallow?!"

"Relax, he's fine." Shroomsworth reassured. "After the Drifloon brought you two in, we wasted no time in treating your friend's injuries." The Grass-type offered a small smile. "And he's recovering very well. If you like, we can take you into the next room to see him."

"That would be good," Aura stated with little hesitation, sitting up even more. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." Helping the young Pokemon off the bed, they led her into the room across the hall and Aura was relieved to see Hallow still in one piece on the bed. She wasted no time hurrying to him, wondering if he was still unconscious. A quick glance at the halo above his head showed that he was just beginning to come to.

"Hallow? Hallow, can you hear me?" she asked, poking at the shell gently. She perked her ears when she saw the Shedinja's halo glow a bit brighter and she knew he finally woke up. The living husk didn't move for a moment as he focused his vision and gathered his strength. Then, he used his ghostly energy to prop himself up a bit, staring at the Abra.

"Aura? What's going on? Where are we?"

"Safe, buddy," the little Psychic reassured, the Shroomish and Drifloon behind her nodding. "You feeling alright?"

"Yes," Hallow answered, looking at the fellow ghost warily. The Drifloon lowered a bit in a nonthreatening gesture and with it, the Shedinja realized that everything must be back to normal now. And that was further confirmed when a grin spread on Aura's face.

"We completed another mission, buddy!" she exclaimed. "Sure, it could've been smoother, but it got done! When you get well enough, why don't we celebrate with the consumption of mochi of the Oran Berry variety!" Although the Shedinja couldn't eat such a thing, it didn't stop her from making the offer, finding herself very hungry after such a difficult night.

And it held the added benefit of lightening the insect's mood, Hallow giving a light chuckle as his empty body leaned forward a bit in a nod. "Sounds good to me."

END OF THE TASK 2

Description
"So, this is the Sapling Village Barty's Bluff?" Aura said, looking up at the former establishment of transportation. Although she had seen the building on a few maps of the Village and knew many who made use of its services, the young Abra has never actually found use in it herself, as her Teleporting abilities were more than efficient enough to get her and her partner where they needed to go. Yes, she's visited Sapling Village on a few rare occasions, but hadn't paid any attention to this building. As such, it was like she was seeing it for the very first time; unfortunately, this first impression was pretty underwhelming. The board wasn't kidding when they requested this place to be fixed up. The main dome that made up the building seemed about to crumble, and the balloon mascot that was supposed to be on the roof was lying on the ground. How it got like this, she had no idea.

She glanced over to Hallow, who busied himself in keeping an eye on the rest of the village, no doubt on alert for the Drifloon. Taking note, she kept her mental sweep on an almost paranoid level even as she remained focus on the task at hand. They really oughta get started now...

Her feet refused to move her anywhere and she sighed a bit as her eyes began to feel heavy. Even her voice started to sound weary, as if all her previous energy was being sapped away. "I'm gonna be honest," Aura started, slumping noticeably. "The very thought of manual labor makes me sleepy."

"Everything makes you sleepy." Hallow reminded, ceasing his surveillance to look at her.

"Well, moreso than usual," Aura clarified. "Plus those kids really took it out of me..."

"You're just being lazy." Hallow stated, his tone suggesting that he would be smiling if he could.

"That too." The Abra admitted with a smile, holding her paws behind her head with a flick of her tail. "But unfortunately, this thing isn't gonna get done just by staring at it; my Psychic powers haven't developed that much yet. So," she drawled, holding back a yawn as she fought her tired mind. "Let's get this over with so I can sleep..."

Finally getting herself to move forward into the building, she surveyed the damage at a closer level, rummaging through some of the rubble. Looking up at the ceiling, she saw where the beams were once connected and she took a few steps back. The blue haze of psychic energy emanated from the little fox, the same glow coming from a large rafter. Shaking a bit, as if under strain, the support slowly lifted up into the air and positioned itself where it used to be.

Gritting her teeth with effort, she waved at Hallow, who made no hesitation in flying up to where the beam was hovering. Several tools given to them by the residents beforehand removed themselves from within his body in a purple haze and immediately set to work. He tried making this fast, as he knew that Aura couldn't maintain this for long. Even by Abra standards, her telekinesis was pretty underdeveloped. After a bit, he backed away with a signaling flash of his halo and Aura hastily cut off her psychic hold. Thankfully, the support held in place.

Rubbing her head a bit at the start of a migraine, she knew this was going to be a long night...

----------------------------------------------------------------

"And we're pretty much done..." Aura muttered, her tail dragging behind her. Unable to conjure up any more telekinetic energy, the Abra kneeled down to pick up a large bag of trash and heaved it into her arms with a strained grunt, heading towards their designated dumpster with haste. Seeing this, Hallow hesitated from reattaching the last of the mascot's roof fasteners as he watched the Abra with an air of confusion.

"You do know there's an easier way over there, right?" the insect pointed out, turning towards the shorter path towards the dumpster. However, Aura didn't even bother glancing over her shoulder as she continued walking her way with unfaltering purpose, only giving a single explanation.

"I'm too lazy to turn around…" she told him in a tired tone of voice. Again, the husk paused, trying to make some sense out of this logic.

"So... Out of sheer laziness... you're opting to go the longer, harder route? Simply because you can't get yourself to change course?" He got a nod in response, the little Psychic still not stopping. "How does that even work?"

"I have no ideaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHH!" The Abra screamed in horror as something wrapped around her waist and lifted her right into the air, the bag of trash falling out of her grip with a sound thud! onto the pathway. Looking up to see a Drifloon before turning her wide eyes to the ground below, Aura's combined fear of heights and ghosts took a firm hold on her body and she froze, tears of pure terror beginning to build up. She couldn't even get her voice to work enough to call for help, only soft whimpers escaping from her throat.

But a cry was not needed as an angry flash of white light signaled her rescue. Hallow flew up with an enraged shriek, a Shadow Claw rushing to slash into the offending Drifloon. The ghostly balloon cried out, almost losing its grip on Aura. It was about to retaliate, but the Shedinja was relentless in the protection of his friend as he lunged with another Shadow Claw. The Drifloon barely moved out of the way in time to dodge, launching a defensive Shadow Ball.

Only just managing to Endure in time, Hallow instantly used Spite, still growling even as he shouted out to his stunned companion. "Aura! Snap out of it and Teleport!"

But it seemed that the Abra didn't hear him, still staring at the ground far below. Cursing softly, Hallow lunged again with an X-Scissor, this time hitting home and the Drifloon was forced to release the young Pokemon. Falling towards the ground, Aura was still in a daze and Hallow dove for her, barely catching her in his telekinetic hold. He wasn't as strong with his mental capabilities as Aura, and he grunted with strain as he began easing her back to the ground. However, he was forced to drop her the last few feet as the weakened Drifloon launched an Ominous Wind at him, the Shedinja Enduring it once more.

The impact with the ground had snapped Aura out of her state of paralyzing fear, and she was beginning to stand, only getting as far as her hands and knees before another Drifloon loomed over her. Looking up, she froze as the Ghost-type used Hypnosis, its swaying motions blurring as its whispering voice sang out.

"Come, little children
I'll take thee away
Into a land of Enchantment

Come, little children
The time's come to play
Here in my garden of Magic..."

Unable to resist the hypnotism, Aura's eyes began glazing over as she crawled closer to the demonic balloon. It would seem like she no longer had any control over her actions, the Drifloon maintaining its grasp as it began leading her away.

"AURA, DON'T LISTEN TO IT!" Hallow shrieked as he finished off the distracting Drifloon before charging at full-force and slamming into the hypnotizer. Said balloon cried out, releasing its trance-inducing hold as it turned its attention to the Shedinja. It attempted to use Hypnosis again, but Hallow wasn't having it as he lashed out with an X-Scissor. Although it made contact, it came at a price as another Drifloon arrived at the scene and took advantage of the husk's distraction to launch a Shadow Ball.

Hallow had no time to put up an Endure and took the hit full-on. The ball disintegrating, everything was quiet as Hallow floated completely still, fresh burns visible on his shell. Although he tried his best to hang in there, he couldn't fight his weakness and with a shudder, he collapsed to the ground.

"HALLOW!" Aura screamed, the horror snapping her out of her hypnosis. Glaring heatedly at the ghosts, she gathered every bit of her Psychic power and unleashed it on the Drifloon. Cries of pain sounded from the Balloon Pokemon, and as the wave of blue energy faded, a good portion of them fainted whilst a few stronger ones held on.

Breathing heavily, Aura felt her headache increase to a nearly unbearable level and her body was beginning to shake. It took all her willpower to stay upright, wincing as she glared up at the remaining ghosts. "What's wrong with you guys...? The Bluff falls apart and you lose your minds... Stop using it as an excuse and get your act together!" She rubbed her head and she pointed to the Bluff. "It's fixed now... So stop it, before it gets out of hand."

She didn't even know if the Drifloon were listening as she felt a wave of dizziness and fell over, her vision slowly enveloping in blackness. The last thing she saw were the remaining Drifloon floating closer...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Abra's coming around."

"See? I told you she just needed rest."

"That's good."

Aura heard the voices first, before her mind's eye picked up her surroundings to see a bunch of little Shroomish gathered around her, along with an adult Shroomish that she recognized as Shroomsworth. And behind them was...

She jolted up with a cry, her eyes wide as she stared at the Drifloon behind them and Shroomsworth immediately spoke up. "It's alright! Everything's back to normal now."

It took a long moment as Aura stared at the balloon, taking note of the brown pilot hat on the ghost's head. The Drifloon's tiny mouth curled in a smile and the Abra forced herself to relax just a little bit. But that little bit didn't disguise her strong unease and the Balloon Pokemon spoke in a soft, reassuring voice.

"I humbly apologize on the behalf of the Drifleet," he started. "When the Bluff fell apart, we thought our jobs had come to an end and we decided to go back to our natural life-style. None of it was personal to you or your friend, child." The ghost twined its heart-tipped arms in appeasement and gratitude. "But now that you fixed it up, our jobs have been restored and no one need fear us anymore. Thank you."

"Er..." Aura stuttered, surprised that everything turned out for the best after all. "You're welcome, I guess..." She looked about her surroundings for the first time since waking, and found that she was on a bed in a warm and comforting room. Judging from the appearance, it's probably the room of one of the Shroomish kids. After orientating herself, her ears shot up as she remembered something important. "Where's Hallow?!"

"Relax, he's fine." Shroomsworth reassured. "After the Drifloon brought you two in, we wasted no time in treating your friend's injuries." The Grass-type offered a small smile. "And he's recovering very well. If you like, we can take you into the next room to see him."

"That would be good," Aura stated with little hesitation, sitting up even more. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." Helping the young Pokemon off the bed, they led her into the room across the hall and Aura was relieved to see Hallow still in one piece on the bed. She wasted no time hurrying to him, wondering if he was still unconscious. A quick glance at the halo above his head showed that he was just beginning to come to.

"Hallow? Hallow, can you hear me?" she asked, poking at the shell gently. She perked her ears when she saw the Shedinja's halo glow a bit brighter and she knew he finally woke up. The living husk didn't move for a moment as he focused his vision and gathered his strength. Then, he used his ghostly energy to prop himself up a bit, staring at the Abra.

"Aura? What's going on? Where are we?"

"Safe, buddy," the little Psychic reassured, the Shroomish and Drifloon behind her nodding. "You feeling alright?"

"Yes," Hallow answered, looking at the fellow ghost warily. The Drifloon lowered a bit in a nonthreatening gesture and with it, the Shedinja realized that everything must be back to normal now. And that was further confirmed when a grin spread on Aura's face.

"We completed another mission, buddy!" she exclaimed. "Sure, it could've been smoother, but it got done! When you get well enough, why don't we celebrate with the consumption of mochi of the Oran Berry variety!" Although the Shedinja couldn't eat such a thing, it didn't stop her from making the offer, finding herself very hungry after such a difficult night.

And it held the added benefit of lightening the insect's mood, Hallow giving a light chuckle as his empty body leaned forward a bit in a nod. "Sounds good to me."

END OF THE TASK 2