Elf: Rewriting the script, starting with Black Stocking Hanako

Jiang Chuan withdrew his gaze and continued running northeast. "Never mind, let's find the thing first."

He ran a few steps, then stopped and looked back at Nanami.

"Stay close to me. It's getting more and more chaotic over there; it's not safe for you to be alone."

Nanami nodded and gritted her teeth to follow.

The humming sound from the stone slab grew louder and louder. Jiang Chuan could feel the waveguide right in front of him, getting closer and stronger.

Then he saw the cave.

The entrance was narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk in side by side. The rock walls around the entrance were riddled with cracks, some propped up with wooden planks, looking as if they could collapse at any moment. Next to the entrance were several empty equipment boxes and a roll of unused support timber.

Nanami caught up, glanced at the cave entrance, and her expression changed.

"This...this cave is unexplored," she said, panting. "They said the cave's structure is problematic, and they need to come and provide support before they can begin further excavation. Is there something unusual about this cave?"

Jiang Chuan glanced at the supporting wooden beams at the cave entrance, then at the pitch-black interior of the cave.

"There seems to be something wrong."

He stepped inside.

The cave was dark and narrow. The rock walls were damp, dripping water. There was an earthy smell in the air, mixed with some ancient scent. Nanami followed behind, one hand gripping the rock wall, her steps unsteady.

"Jiang Chuan... I can't see..."

"Just stick close to me."

The stone slab hovered beside Jiang Chuan, its patterns emitting a faint blue light that barely illuminated an area within two steps. Pikachu's tail crackled with electricity, also providing a little light.

After walking for about several dozen meters, the cave came to an end.

A stone wall blocked the way. It looked no different from the surrounding rock walls, grayish and covered with tiny cracks. But the humming sound of the stone slabs reached its maximum here.

Jiang Chuan stared at the stone wall for two seconds.

"This is it."

His eyes lit up with blue light. Superpowers surged forth, like an invisible giant hand pressing against the stone wall.

The stone wall cracked.

Cracks spread from the middle to both sides, and pebbles fell down in a flurry. Then the entire stone wall shattered into dozens of pieces, breaking open to both sides and revealing a larger space inside.

Nanami covered her mouth.

Behind the stone wall was a naturally formed stone chamber, about the size of a room. In the very center, a huge chime bell was embedded in the stone wall, only half of it visible. The surface of the chime bell was covered with dense patterns, exactly the same as those on the stone slab. Those patterns shimmered slightly in the blue light, like some kind of response.

Jiang Chuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"This is it."

He stepped forward and placed his hands on the chime bells. Superpowers and aura energy surged forth simultaneously, flowing into the patterns on the surface of the bells. The patterns grew brighter and brighter, changing from dark blue to bright blue, and then from bright blue to dazzling white.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, and a burst of electricity erupted from its tail. Golden current surged from its body, striking the chimes and crackling loudly.

The chime bells shook.

Then it shook again.

Jiang Chuan increased his output. Blue light surged from his eyes, like two clusters of cold flames. Aura power flowed from his palms, like two invisible rivers. Pikachu's Thunderbolt continuously struck the chime bells.

The chime bells began to vibrate.

It slowly emerged from the embedded stone wall. Pebbles fell down, and the cracks in the stone wall grew wider and wider. Then, with a "bang," the chime bells completely detached from the stone wall and floated in mid-air.

It floated in front of Jiang Chuan and Nanami, slowly rotating. The patterns on its surface emitted a dazzling white light, and a buzzing sound filled the entire stone chamber.

Then it stopped.

The pattern suddenly lit up.

With a "whoosh," the chime bells rushed out of the stone chamber and the cave at great speed, heading towards the place where the three ancient Pokémon were fighting.

The moment the chime bells burst out of the cave, the entire quarry was illuminated.

Jiang Chuan pulled Nanami out of the cave and saw the chime bell floating in mid-air. The patterns on its surface had fully lit up, emitting a cold light between blue and white, which suppressed the twilight sky. The chime bell slowly rotated, and with each rotation, the surrounding space hummed, as if something was squeezing out from inside the chime bell.

Nanami tilted her head back, her mouth slightly open.

"Th-what is that...?"

Jiang Chuan squinted. The stone slab beside him trembled violently, the buzzing sounds intertwining with the chimes. He sensed a waveguide he had never perceived before surging from within the chimes. That waveguide was heavy and distant, like something that had slumbered for billions of years turning over.

Then, the chime bells suddenly flashed.

A burst of light shot out, so bright that Jiang Chuan had to raise his hand to shield his eyes. Nanami immediately turned her head away, using the back of her hand to block her vision.

When the light faded, a figure appeared next to the chime bells.

That's a chubby little thing.

But it was too big. So big that when Jiang Chuan first saw it, only one thought remained in his mind—how did this thing come out of that chime bell?

The ancient Jigglypuff has a round body like a small hill, with its pink skin covered in deep red spiral patterns.

The lines stretched from the top of his head to his toes, each one glowing faintly.

Its eyes were two enormous sapphires, half-open and half-closed, exuding a lazy weariness. Its two short arms hung down at its sides, with stubby fingers, making it look clumsy yet adorable.

The most striking feature is the huge "X" shaped mark in the center of its forehead—a unique pattern of the Jigglypuff family, but on this ancient Jigglypuff, the mark is enormous, almost covering the entire forehead.

It held the chime bell in its arms; the bell was just the right size in its hands, perfect as a trumpet.

Nanami's legs went weak.

"Another one..." Her voice trembled. "Another ancient Pokémon... The situation is completely out of control..."

Jiang Chuan grabbed her arm. Nanami's fingers were icy cold, and her whole hand was trembling slightly. She looked up at the ancient Jigglypuff, her blue eyes reflecting the huge pink figure, her lips pale.

"don’t worry."

Jiang Chuan's voice was steady. He helped Nanami take two steps back to a large rock. His gaze never left the ancient Jigglypuff, but his hand was already on the rock, his superpowers slowly circulating within him, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

"Things will be better soon."

Nanami turned to look at him, her face blank.

Jiang Chuan glanced down at her, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. "Right now, we need to find a good place."

"What?"

"Don't sleep on your back later."

Nanami was even more confused. "Sleep? Now?"

Before she could finish speaking, the ancient fat Ding slowly raised the chime bells, bringing them to his mouth with his two short arms.

The chime bells fit perfectly in front of its mouth, like a large trumpet.

The ancient chubby guy took a deep breath, his chest bulged, his pink skin tightened, and all the spiral patterns lit up for a moment.

Then it started singing.

There are no lyrics. Only a melody. An extremely simple, extremely ancient melody. Like a sound rising from the depths of the earth, like the echo left by the ancient wind as it passed through the canyon. The chime bells amplified the sound, the sound waves rippling outwards in concentric circles, visibly spreading in all directions.

The sound waves swept across the quarry.

Alakazam, who was wrestling, froze. Its spoon, held in mid-air, was half-formed, but suddenly it froze. In Alakazam's ever-calm eyes, the pupils dilated sharply, and then its eyelids began to droop.

The expanding Gengar's body froze. The dark purple vortex gradually slowed down, the black liquid on the surface stopped seeping out, and its entire body shrank back as if deflated. Gengar's large eyes blinked, then blinked again, and then slowly closed.

Dragonite stood between the two giant beasts, its left claw raised and its right claw outstretched. When it heard the melody, it tilted its head, like a large dog whose ear had been scratched. Then its eyes began to droop. Its wings folded, its thick legs slowly bent, and finally, with a loud thud, the entire dragon sat down on the ground.

The three ancient behemoths fell one after another amidst the ancient song.

Alakazam lay down first. It curled up on its side, clutching its spoon to its chest, like a child hugging a pillow. Gengar followed suit, its dark purple body sprawling on the ground like a melting shadow. Dragonite was the last to lie flat, sprawled out in the middle of the quarry, belly up, wings outstretched, tail swung to one side, a silly grin on its lips.

The archaeological team's camp at the edge of the quarry had long since fallen silent.

The researchers lay sprawled haphazardly beside the tent. Some were asleep leaning against equipment boxes, while others lay on the ground with their faces buried in the soil. Several Pokémon that had accompanied the archaeological team were also scattered around—Geomorph was slumped among the rocks, Bellsprout was lying by a flowerpot, and even the usually most alert Persian was lying on its back by the tent entrance, its tail drooping, snoring.

The sound waves continued to spread.

The birds in the woods have fallen silent. The insects in the grass have stopped chirping. Even the wind has stopped. The whole world seems to have been put on pause.

Jiang Chuan felt the sound waves pass through his body.

His superpowers instinctively resisted, and his mental barrier automatically rose, blocking the first wave of impact. But that sound wave was unlike any mental attack he had ever encountered before. It didn't force its way through, nor did it violently invade; it slipped in through the cracks, seeped into his skin, and seeped into his breath. It bypassed the mental barrier and acted directly on his body.

Jiang Chuan felt his muscles relaxing. His eyelids grew heavy, his breathing slowed, and his heartbeat calmed.

He turned his head and glanced at Nanami.

Nanami has already gone limp.

Her eyes were half-open, and her body was leaning to one side. Jiang Chuan reacted quickly and grabbed her waist.

Jiang Chuan helped her sit down slowly and let her lean against the big rock.

Nanami's head was tilted to one side, her long black hair cascading over her shoulder, a few stray strands clinging to her cheek. Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Her chest rose and fell gently with her breathing, and the collar of her work clothes opened slightly, revealing a small patch of fair skin below her collarbone.

Jiang Chuan glanced at it and then looked away.

He yawned as well.

Jiang Chuan frowned.

His mental strength has been specially enhanced, so hypnosis should be ineffective against him.

But this singing voice seems different.

It does not act on the mind. It acts on existence itself.

It essentially defines a state of "calm"—not putting you to sleep, but allowing your body to choose to quiet down. Just as a stone falls to the ground and water flows downhill, you rest when you're tired. This song is simply reminding your body: you're tired.

Jiang Chuan felt exhaustion seeping into his bones. The soreness from overloading his superpowers, the emptiness from depleting his aura, and the physical drain from a whole day of high-intensity running and fighting—his body was telling him: it was time to rest.

He glanced at the quarry in the distance.

The three ancient behemoths were now completely silent. Alakazam was curled up, Gengar was sprawled out, and Dragonite was sprawled out on its back. The three behemoths' breathing rose and fell, like three mountains snoring. The ancient Jigglypuff sat among them, with Chime on its lap, leaning against Chime itself, its eyes half-open, looking as if it were about to fall asleep.

Safe.

Jiang Chuan helped Nanami sit up straight, then glanced at Pikachu. Pikachu was lying on his lap, the electric current on its tail completely extinguished, its small body rising and falling with its breath, fast asleep.

Jiang Chuan's vision began to blur.

He glanced one last time in the direction of the quarry, confirming that the three ancient behemoths had fallen silent, and then a wave of exhaustion washed over him. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier until they finally closed slowly.

The sun rose slowly.

The golden afterglow bathed the quarry, casting a warm glow on the three sleeping giants, a Jigglypuff holding a chime bell, a young man leaning against a rock, a woman nestled in his arms, and a Pikachu perched on his lap.

The whole world fell silent.

…………

When Jiang Chuan opened his eyes again, only the last sliver of orange-red light remained on the horizon.

The sun is setting, and dusk is approaching.

He moved his neck, and his cervical spine made a slight cracking sound. His body was still a little sore, but the extreme exhaustion had subsided. His superpowers had mostly recovered, and his aura power had also been replenished. The stone slab floated beside him, its patterns faded, with only a faint blue light flowing across its surface.

Jiang Chuan looked down.

Nanami was still lying in his arms.

Her posture was almost the same as before she fell asleep, her head resting against his chest, one hand on his forearm, her fingertips slightly curled. Her breathing was steady, her chest rising and falling slowly and evenly. A few strands of hair clung to her cheek, her lips slightly pursed, as if she were having a dream.

Pikachu was still lying on his lap. The little creature was fast asleep, its ears drooping and its tail curled beside its body, occasionally twitching. Jiang Chuan stroked Pikachu's back; it was fluffy and warm.

Then he noticed that he seemed to be shrouded in shadow.

Jiang Chuan raised his head and looked up in the direction of the shadow...