"I told you, I wasn't seeing things", Alain started, clutching the red hat, "Whatever that shadow thing is, it gets you lost in hallucinations; it manipulates you. But, somehow, it doesn't waste any time doing it"

"Well, how do you know that?", Clemont countered.

"I've been through it twice. The first time, I was in my room punching my wall, remembering how angry I was at Team Flare. Then something that sounded like the Professor started talking to me. Somehow, I ended up outside the lab and then I actually saw him. He took my hand and we started to go back inside, until he started acting strange again and we were back in my room. Then Bonnie came in and asked for the trophy, that's when I saw it was missing. But then Mairin was there and...and it all just started spinning. The next thing I knew, the Professor was there trying to calm me down"

 "The second time must've been what happened with me, too", Sawyer added, "We were in the Professor's office where I went to get my bag, and Bonnie was asking him about Ash. He started saying weird things...like Ash was going to come back...then something dark, it kinda just, escaped him. Like it was possessing him. It started talking about manipulating people. The last thing I remember it saying was that it had another lab in mind it wanted to go to. Then it all just disappeared, and we were back in the office when it all started. Like no time had passed at all"

"The only other lab in Kalos is Lysandre Labs", Clemont observed, holding his chin.

"But wouldn't it be shut down now that Lysandre is gone?", Shauna asked.

"Well, we have no way of finding out what's going on there, so I suggest we should do some research on whatever this thing is, so we can be prepared if there's a next time"

"Are you crazy?! Who cares about what it is? Right now we need to be doing whatever we can to survive!", Tierno argued.

"I know it sounds risky, but if we find any information, we could use it against the, uh, shadow"

"Wouldn't we just be provoking it like that?", Trevor reasoned.

"Well, we can't just stay here and hope it doesn't hurt us! We have to do something!", Clemont asserted, pausing for a moment before looking down, "It's...it's something Ash would say"

The room mourned for a few moments before collecting themselves. The Professor, being the oldest, took charge of the situation.

"Shauna, Trevor, Tierno and Sawyer, you stay here and use whatever resources you have in the lab for research. The rest of us are...going somewhere..."

----------

"When that...thing took control of me", Sycamore explained as he led the group down the street, "I know it sounds barbaric, but...I couldn't help but feel a little familiar. Like this personality that was taking over was something, or someone, that I know"

They had mixed reactions to what he was saying, and started to question whether or not they believed him, but continued to walk in silence.

"You may or may not understand what I'm trying to say. But I didn't come up with this only after the hat showed up. It could be some sick prank pulled by a ghost-type, but it's important that we see if it's something more"

Alain was the first to notice the graves.

"Professor...what exactly are we doing?"

"This is gonna be the worst thing I've ever done...but we don't have much of a choice"

They found themselves shoving spades into the ground, uncovering the casket beneath the soil. Clemont was already having a difficult time seeing the grave for the first time since the funeral, let alone having to dig it up. He stopped when he heard a clink.

"That's it"

With the help of their Pokemon, they lifted the coffin out from the ground, shaking off the earth covering it. Once they slowly placed it down, the lemon-haired boy was the only one really struggling to keep it together. Bonnie still had yet to grasp the concept of death, and Serena, through whatever fantasies she had, simply believed the boy lying behind the glass was nothing but alive.

His appearance was an exact replica of when they last saw him. Flesh paler than snow, and still clutching the flowers he was given. All noticed only one thing wrong with the image, but the scientist in Professor Sycamore noticed two.

"His body should've started to decay by now...", Sycamore mumbled, stepping closer to the coffin, "Not only that, but..."

He started to shake upon the realization that this was much more than just a prank.

"The hat. It's not there"

Bonnie hummed in confusion.

"Yeah, because it's in your hand"

"So if this is Ash's hat, that was with him in the coffin on his funeral, then that means..."

"...Someone else got to this coffin before us"

That was the most sensible theory at the time, simply vandalism? Especially since there was a carving on the side of the coffin that read, 'TALK TO ME HERE'.

They heard what sounded like a crowd of civilians screaming for their lives. Along the way, it was as if half of them were shot dead; some suddenly jerked and collapsed, blood seeping out from under their bodies or their mouths and noses. 

Once the Professor was able to get a closer look, they were a blur of orange.

"Please! Please help us!", he could barely make out from their desperate cries.

"Professor, look!"

His attention was brought back to the coffin. The barren, empty coffin.

They hardly had enough time to react as a group of familiar individuals dressed in orange approached them.

"Please! You have to help us!"

"Help you? Why would we help you?"

"Listen, we'll explain it when we get to somewhere safe, at least somewhere it isn't dark, please!"

They looked up to see night shrouding the city.

"When did it get dark..."

"We need to get back to the lab, now. Before that...thing kills anyone else!"

Sawyer flinched when the doors swung open, unable to keep his eyes off the crowd of Team Flare agents shivering behind the Professor.