Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon, just my characters; Comet, Skye, Blake, the region of Rhoto, "Haunter Hill" and the lot. Ask permission and I shalt be glad to loan ^^ Rating: PG-13 for language, pokemon violence. A pokemon journey from a teenager's point of view. "Tales for the Road" by A.C Chapter Six The House on Haunter Hill / Part Two ~ ~ ~ The hallway I had chosen to head down wasn't quite as dark, but just like every other hallway in this house, it was lined with doors. How many rooms were IN this place, anyway? There was only so many bathrooms a person could have before it just started to confuse 'em. I began to wonder if this place had a library. If it did, it must've been huge... and full of answers. I began opening each door and poking my head in. The first room was - surprise surprise - a bathroom. Big and antique style, and very very old and rusted. The bath tub, wtih golden clawed feet and everything, was filled to the brim with cobwebs. Rolling my eyes at my just-proven point, I closed the door and tried the next. Some sort of storage room, with boxes left on the shelves; but filled with holes. The room had the terrible smell of rotten food, dulled by the usual dusty smell. I coughed, disgusted, and closed it again. Probably filled with Rattatas. I continued down the hall, poking my head in various rooms. To my surprise, most of them were empty, leaving me wonder what possibly could have filled them. There appeared to be one more bathroom, a couple of parlors, some secret staircases leading to parts unknown - but no library or answers. I was nearing the end of the hallway now, and it was becoming pitch black. Beginning to think I should head back, I tried just one more door. It looked like a closet, very small and confined. There were no clothes left hanging in it, save for an old cloak, but I did see the bright red stain against the opposite wall, leading downward. My stomach simply dissolved as I glanced down, and saw a skeleton grinning painfully up at me. Not a fake skeleton. A real, human one, missing an arm - and a knife still jutted between its rib bones. With a yell of disgust and terror, I slammed the door shut and backed away from it. What the hell had HAPPENED in this house!? But I was still backing away when the chill fell over my right side. An icy breeze tickled my cheek. I shivered, and looked in the direction. Three Haunter were hovered, leering at me. The closest was only two feet away. Now, I'm not afraid of ghosts. And I'm definitely not afraid of ghost pokemon. But I had just seen all that remained of a murder, and I was stuck in a hallway with three leering pokemon only a few feet away, and distinctly aware that my own pokemon still refused to come out of their pokeballs. I was just a bit shaky, that's all. "Get lost," I said weakly to them, "I'm not in the mood." The nearest Haunter - apparently the leader - cocked its head, that creepy leer never leaving its face. All three of them pressed forward, as if curious to see I was a real human, and wanting to touch me to see if I was real or not. I raised a hand to hold them off and took a step away. They bunched together - the other two behind the leader, who stared at my hand. After a long pause, it raised its own hand and swiped it through mine. A chill crept down my arm. "Geng....ar...." I whipped around. No - that Haunter wasn't the leader. THIS was. I realized it must have been Skye's Gengar that stood before me. But, unlike any ghost pokemon, it didn't have the air of mischievousness playfulness. Ghost pokemon are really harmless and aren't very scary - they just like to play and get into trouble. But the usual evil grin was absent from the Gengar's face... and it had no eyes. I'm dead serious - instead of the slitted red eyes, there were just glowing white sockets. I recoiled. Was this even a Gengar, or a demon? "Holy shit," I breathed, staring at it, "Um... hello..." "Gar," it replied simply. I was hoping that that was the equivalent of a 'hi'. The Haunter behind me were watching the Gengar respectfully and hadn't moved, save to spread out again. The Gengar looked me up and down, one of its eye ridges raised slightly, as if I was supposed to fit some criteria. It looked back at my face, stared at me for a long time - what am I saying? Of COURSE it was staring - those damn creepy eyes wouldn't blink... "Gengar!" it announced. It waved one of its hands and gave a curt nod. Behind me, the Haunter echoed with a chorus of "Haun-ter!" Then before I knew what was happening, the three had grabbed me from behind and began carrying me down the hall. "Hey! What's the big idea!? Look, a taxi ride is nice and everything, but I CAN WALK, you know..." I didn't quite like how they were carting me off to places unknown. The Gengar was also with us, leading the way. Now, I'm not the gentle trusting type. If I decide I don't like something, I'm not gonna convince myself it'll all work out in the end and sit back. I was NOT going to wait around and see where I was being abducted off to. "Put me down," I demanded of the Haunter holding my left arm. It shook its head - or, rather, its whole body. The shaking of the head was a rather difficult thing to perform if you didn't have a neck. I jerked my left arm - carrying the Haunter with it. It gave a yelp of surprise, as I raised my arm and swung it around - and finally shook off the startled ghost pokemon. The procession stopped and I slipped sideways - more or less dangling. The leader Gengar turned around, and its glowing white eyes widened. "Gar, gen gengar!" I ignored it, and turned to the other two Haunter. "You're lucky you're not solid!" I threatened, "Or I'd beat BOTH of your faces in! Put me down, damn you!" The Haunter holding my right arm looked at its companion with a scared look on its face - the Haunter I had shaken off was drifting away, a dazed look on its face. Hmm. Perhaps I shook harder than I thought. It let go almost instantly, but the third Haunter - the supposed leader - didn't. Yet it couldn't keep much of a grip, so I fell back to the floor. I did NOT want to wait around for the Gengar to intervene, so I leapt back to my feet and bolted down the hallway. Behind me, I heard the Gengar growling orders at the Haunter, but I kept running. The three Haunter soon caught up - I could feel them just above my head and behind me, gaining. They would have blocked me off... so I threw myself sideways, barreled right through a door... And fell with a yelp. My right arm shot out and just managed to grab the doorframe before I plunged into the pit of blackness behind me. I turned my head over my shoulder and stared. This door led nowhere! There was no opposite wall, no floor, no ceiling - just an empty black void, with the one door hovering in the center. I gulped and grabbed the frame with my other hand, praying I wouldn't fall. The Gengar and Haunter had vanished above me, and I could see nothing of the hallway beyond the door. Gritting my teeth and trying to keep a good grip on it, I called up weakly. "Hey! Nick! Skye! Thundari! HELP! Someone!" Nothing to greet me but the silence. "Dammit!" I bellowed, "SOMEONE COME HELP ME OUT HERE!" "No need to get so testy." I looked up in shock. I knew that voice... it was vaguely familiar, somehow... oh no. "Not you again," I growled. There, kneeling in the doorframe and looking down at me, was none other than Blake. Mr. Over-inflated ego who had saved our hides when the Rocket Elites attacked. HE was my only chance of survival? You've got to be kidding me. "Don't sound so pleased to see me," he remarked absently, surveying my predicament. "Well, well, well. How did we manage to get ourselves into this one?" "I felt your ego coming and had to get out of the way," I snapped. "Go get Skye or someone to get me out of here!" Blake blinked. "Skye? Oh yes, your little friend. She's here?" "Of course she's here - she's in the front room! Quit babbling and go get her - do I LOOK like I can hold on forever!?" Blake's face didn't change, as he continued looking down. "I came in through the front room. There's no one there." He leaned down and gripped my right arm, hoisting me up. He must have worked out or something, because he WAS pretty strong, and in a few moments had even lugged heavy old me up. I rolled away from the door, panting, and heard Blake slam it again. A few moments later, a shadow passed over my face. I peered up at him. "Uh... thanks, I guess," I grumbled reluctantly. Blake grunted in response, watching me. I was waiting for him to mock me or make me get up or something, when he finally asked; "Are you all right?" "I'm fine," I retorted quickly, sitting up. No way would I give him a chance to poke fun at me for being 'weak' or something. "Then let's go," he said smoothly, starting to head back down the hall. I blinked stupidly after him for a few minutes, and then climbed to my feet and hurried after. "Go where?" I asked blankly. "Get out of here," he replied impatiently, "The storm's letting up somewhat. Don't you want to get to Carnation as soon as you can? There's still a day's walking left to be had." "We gotta get Skye," I told him. We had come back out into the front room, and I remembered his other words as I looked around. Unfortunately, he was right. Skye, Nick and Thundari were gone. "Where are they...?" "Skye probably left," Blake yawned. "Remember the Pichu I had?" I snapped, "She was here too - and so was a guy named Nicholas Strand. They couldn't go anywhere... they wouldn't, not without me!" I looked around again, taking a few steps over so I could see up to the balcony that was the hallway of the second floor. Still no one. "You don't think something happened to them?" I asked, a little worriedly. Blake still appeared completely nonplused. "I doubt it. Well, if you REALLY want to find them... Veheer, let's go. Sense anything in this place?" I was still staring up at the balcony and looking around when I realized what I had just heard. As the muscled, lavender-furred Espeon appeared besides Blake in a flash of red and calmly responded with an "Esp," I looked down and stared at it stupidly. The psychic eevee evolution took no notice of me, but fanned its ears and closed its eyes, the tail straightening out behind it. Blake watched his pokemon with a similar calm look on his face. "How did...?" I began, gesturing to it. Blake looked up at me, annoyed. "How did what?" "How did you get your Espeon to come out?" I managed, blinking in confusion. There had been no problem with his Espeon, but my pokemon still refused. What the heck? Wondering if the presence of another pokemon might lure mine out, I said nothing more to Blake - who was beginning to look equally puzzled - and grabbed all three pokeballs still at my waist. "Sunflash, Whirlpool, Everglade, c'mon!" One by one, each pokeball struck the floor, shook slightly as the ball began to open, but there was a short flash of red light as it closed again. Growling, I scooped them up again and glared at Blake, as if he knew something he wasn't telling me, and this was all somehow his fault. I would have been very pleased to blame it on him, too. Blake looked back down at his Espeon, which had gone into some strange sort of trance and was utterly motionless. "Your pokemon won't come out?" he murmured, looking back at me. And then that familiar smug smirk re-appeared on his face. "Perhaps they just don't like you anymore." "Shut up," I retorted. He was probably as clueless as I was on the subject, and therefore wouldn't be of much help. But just then, my ears picked up something again. Ballroom music. MORE of that god-damned ballroom music. And the ballroom had burned down! At the same time, Blake's Espeon - Veheer, did he call it? - opened its eyes sharply. They were glowing a pale blue. Slowly, the great cup-like ears swivelled around, and the pokemon turned its head to stare at me. And then the ears turned again, as if listening to something, and it slowly directed its gaze upward, to gaze dreamily down the second floor hallway. I realized that was where the music was coming from. "C'mon!" I shouted, taking off towards the stairs. After a few surprised moments, I heard Blake running after me. "What!?" he shouted irritably. "Follow the music! Your Espeon hears it too!" "WHAT music?" I ignored him - useless moron - and continued to hurry down the hall. Blake's Espeon caught up with me very soon, loping along like a panther in the same direction, eyes still gleaming that eerie blue color. We rounded a corner and bolted down the hallway. All I could think of is that Skye and Thundari were somewhere around here, and hopefully I could find them... Just as we came 'round yet another corner, I skidded to an abrupt stop. Beside me, Blake's Espeon also froze and then lowered its shoulders, curling its lip, and growled. There, standing before us, looking not at all surprised to see me, was Nick. I glanced for a moment at Veheer - the Espeon was growling, its blue eyes gleaming even more brightly - and then back to Nick. "Thank God I found you - what happened to you guys? Where's Skye and Thundari?" Nick didn't answer - he was staring, wide-eyed, at Veheer. Not in fear, though. He looked as though he couldn't believe it was really an Espeon. After a long silence (save for the Espeon's growling) he asked slowly; "Where did that Espeon come from...?" "It's mine." I looked over my shoulder, and Nick tore his eyes from the pokemon to the trainer coming up behind me. So, Blake had finally joined us. I watched him distastefully, and then looked back to Nick as Blake came and stood beside his pokemon. Nick was now staring at Blake in the similar sense of disbelief. He looked from Blake to me back to Blake, and then his usually gentle dark eyes narrowed. "Do you know him?" he demanded of me harshly. I blinked, surprised. "Uh, yeah... unfortunately," I added with a glare in his direction. "Skye and I ran into him..." There was now a truly dirty look on Nick's face. He stared at Blake in that same cold manner, and then directed it to the Espeon, and then back to Blake. Before I could ask of what the heck was going on here, I noticed something slowly approaching us from behind Nick. And then I saw the familiar empty white eyes. "Nick, there's that Gengar behind you!!!" Nick, however, appeared perfectly calm. He raised his eyes to mine, and a small smile appeared on his face. The Gengar had reached us now and stood quietly by his side, fixing Veheer with its spooky white stare. "I know," Nick stated simply. I was starting to not quite like the calm look on his face. "Where's Skye and Thundari...?" I asked again. Nick chuckled, and took a step closer to me. "You know, Comet, they were only getting in the way. Skye doesn't belong in this house... she isn't welcome here. And your Pichu...? Well, you won't need any of your pokemon soon enough. The ghost pokemon can be your's, if you wish..." "What are you TALKING about?" I asked irritably. But suddenly, three shapes darted out from behind Nick and the Gengar. I only saw the Haunter for a brief moment before all three of them had surrounded Veheer and lashed out with triplet Nightshade attacks. I heard Blake's angry yell, but the Gengar raised a hand and knocked him back with a similar attack. "What are you doing!?" I shouted over the noise, looking back to Nick angrily. "You dare to bring in a boy?" Nick asked me in a similarly angry voice, "In MY house? Comet, I thought you knew... well, no matter. He isn't welcome here either, he and his pokemon - but my pokemon will take care of them soon enough. But you, however. You are more than welcome here." He had taken another step forward, and was now uncomfortably close. I stared distrustfully at him. What was that easy sneer on his face...? "What have you done with Skye?" I demanded. I was certain he was perfectly aware of what I meant, and therefore had no excuse to either a.) play dumb or b.) give me long, complicated answers that weren't really answers, just big useless phrases that were a waste of my time. So I wouldn't accept either. He must have seen this, too, because after a pause in which he carefully studied my face, he replied; "Both your friend and your Pichu have been cleanly disposed of - thanks to my ghost pokemon." " 'Cleanly disposed of' my ass!" I snarled, "You're bluffing, you liar!" The smirk on Nick's face broadened, as he reached out and gently touched my cheek. His fingers were icy cold, just as chilling as that look on his face, and for the first time I noticed how pale he really was. I was silent, staring at him. I heard a faint scuffle from behind me, but I didn't hear much else. After a while, I figured I'd ask another question. "My pokemon..." "Won't come out," he continued, as if reading my mind, "Because I refuse to allow them to. My ghosts saw you and your friend - Skye - come in and alerted me beforehand. I couldn't do anything about your Pichu, because it was already out, but I was able to order them to place curse on the pokemon still in their pokeballs; to prevent you from releasing them. I'm afraid I didn't know your OTHER friend here was coming, or I could have done the same for him..." A faint look of annoyance crossed his face. I glared up at him. "You're still bluffing," I growled. He threw his head back and laughed - in a very creepy way. Then he - rather quickly (and creepily) - lowered his chin again, met my eyes and began lowering his face to mine. "Does this seem like a bluff to you...?" he murmured softly, tilting his head and closing his eyes, just before... Something grabbed my wrist and wretched me back, and I yelped before I was being dragged down the hall again. Before I was able to right myself and spin around, I saw Nick staring after me with a look of mingled shock and fury on his face. And then I did turn - saw it was Blake who had pulled me back - and followed on my own. Now behind us, I heard Nick's orders to his ghosts. "GET THEM!" I quickened my pace to catch up to Blake. Holy SHIT he was a fast bugger. "Where's Veheer!?" I managed to yell out. Blake didn't answer, just ran faster. Annoyed, I struggled to keep up. We rounded another corner, booked down the hall, and came onto the balcony hallway just above the front room. We bolted past, continuing down the hall, and then Blake seized my arm again and suddenly barreled through a door on our left. Now, in this creepy house, I was under the impression that it was a very stupid move. But we lucked out - another broom closet. As Blake slammed the door and locked it, I checked the back wall. No blood stains, no rotten skeletons gracing the floor. I noticed I was breathing hard and shaking. To muffle my staggered breathing, I put a hand over my mouth. Blake didn't even look out of breath - he put his ear to the door and was absolutely still, listening intently. I didn't move, but I wished my legs would do the same. Then I heard a faint whoosh pass the door - three times. And the low, frustrated "Gen..." before that, too, passed. All was silent again. We sat there in the darkness for about ten minutes, as I tried to recollect my breath. The whole time, Blake remained pressed to the door without the slightest movement. I couldn't even tell if he was still breathing or not. I resisted the urge to poke him and, when I was breathing normally again, lowered my hand. Blake finally moved, leaning back from the door and watching it with a solemn look on his face. Finally, I spoke up. "You don't think what Nick said is true?" "About Skye and your Pichu?" Blake murmured. "I don't know. We have to get out of here." "No shit, sherlock," I hissed, "But there's four ghosts and a madman looking for us, we're in a creepy-ass haunted house, and we need to find Skye and Thundari - and don't you want to find Veheer?" "Veheer is fine," he replied simply. And then, as if that was the end of the conversation, he said no more - just sat and watched the door. I groaned and rolled my eyes, shoving a box away from where it had been poking into my back - painfully, I might add. I was feeling more frustrated by the movement. The only way I'd be able to get out of the house was to get rid of Nick and his ghostly henchmen. Easier said then done - without any of my pokemon, that was damn near impossible. Blake had Veheer, but he didn't seem too keen to go find his Espeon. There was Thundari, I thought, but she was somewhere in this house. And Skye was missing in action as well. Blake couldn't release any more pokemon. Now that Nick was aware of the Eevee trainer's presence, he had probably set the same 'curse' on him. I hoped this curse wouldn't stick around after we managed to escape. After another five minutes of sitting and thinking and developing a cramp in my left leg, I decided that we wouldn't get anything done hiding in a closet. If we could find Veheer first, we could use her to ward off the ghosts - which were also part poison, and therefore WEAK against pyschic types, I reminded myself - and maybe find the location of Thundari and Skye. And then we could get out of here. "C'mon," I muttered to Blake, grabbing a nearby box and staggering to my feet, ignoring the bite of pain that assaulted my leg, "Let's find Veheer, and then find Thundari and Skye." "And what, Comet, are you going to do if you run into Nick again?" Blake asked coolly. I scowled down at him, "Kick his punk-ass, that's what I'll do. So what are you going to do?" I sneered, "Cower here in the closet? All right then. If I find Veheer, I'll send her your way." I opened the door and marched out. Shortly afterwards, Blake followed, a dirty look reserved especially for me. How sweet of him. "I hope you have a plan," Blake murmured as he followed me - I was walking purposefully back in the direction we came. "Of course I do," I replied without looking back, "I always have a plan." "And yet, I'm not reassured," he chuckled slightly. His laughter and smiles were never normal, human laughs or grins. No, they resembled something more demonic. His laughter was dark, and his smiles were either sneers or smirks. Creepy boy.... "Shut up," I grumbled. "Can't you call Veheer or something!?" "Why are you so caught up in finding my Espeon?" he questioned innocently. "Because a.) She's a psychic type and strong against ghosts, b.) She's one of two pokemon out of their pokeballs and c.) THE OTHER ONE IS MISSING!" "If you yell, either Nick or his ghosts will find us." Damn him and his logic! I fell silent, scowling, and continued on my way. After a few more minutes, I caught sight of movement at the end of the hall. The shadows were shifting. I paused, staring. Blake came up alongside me, also staring into the corner. But he didn't look at all scared or apprehensive. His dark gaze was intense, and I glanced at him. Was that...? Two eyes opened in the shadows - glowing a piercing blue. Slowly, with the confidence of a panther, a pale violet Espeon emerged and walked towards her owner, eyes glowing. As she approached, the glow finally subsided and she sat on her haunches, looking plaintively up at him. "About time," I grumbled, "Can she sense Thundari or Skye or something?" Blake looked at me. "You know nothing of psychics, do you?" I looked back at him, affronted. "What's that supposed to mean!?" "They aren't all-powerful," he answered calmly, "They can use their psychic powers to lift small objects. More developed psychics can lift bigger objects. On rare occasions, they can sense out things with powerful auras. Supernatural things. But she couldn't just randomly pick out your weak Pichu and obnoxious little friend from all of the wavelengths in this house. And if she uses her powers too much, the local ghost pokemon will also pick up on it." I folded my arms. This about ruined a good half of my plans. "So what do YOU propose we do?" I snapped. Honestly, I didn't care what we did, as long as we got out of the stupid house. We were wasting time, here. Blake appeared to be in no kind of hurry, which only aggravated me further. "If Veheer conserves her energy, we can continue along and try and find Pichu - " "Her name's Thundari." " - Thundari and Skye on our own. If we do run into the ghosts, Veheer can ward them off. Or we could forget about them and leave while we can." I glared, and then headed off again, down the hall. "Easy for you to say. I would ask you to leave, then, but I need your Espeon. Unless you'd like to loan her to me..." Blake snickered, and continued after me. "Yeah right." ~ ~ ~ Whatever Nick had done with Skye and Thundari, he had done well. We had been searching for nearly an hour, and still no sign of them. We checked a good deal of the second floor, looking into all of the rooms. I found the library I was searching for earlier, but it didn't do me any good now. After rooting through the whole of the second floor, I led the way back down to the first and we began hunting again. Still no luck. "I already checked that hallway," I said to Blake, collapsing on one of the sofas in the main room. The hallway I was talking about was that dark one with the door that led nowhere and the closet that doubled as a tomb. Blake looked down it, and then back at me. "You haven't been in this hallway since I first found you." "That's what I mean - I already checked that hallway. Nothing but a bunch of doors that lead nowhere." Blake sighed - very faintly. I heard his footsteps fade slightly, and I realized he was heading down the hallway. "Don't you see?" his voice carried back to me, "This is probably where they are. Nick knew you'd already been here and assumed you wouldn't come back." I groaned, massaging my temples. Whyyyyyy did he aaaaaaaallways have to be riiiiiiiight...? I followed him and Veheer back down the hallway, checking every room again. There was that bathroom, with the dust-filled bathtub. I skirted past the closet, feeling my stomach turn slightly. Veheer set her eyes on the closet door and stared, and then nudged Blake and continued on. She must have seen it, too. Blake didn't ask as to why I passed that door. I opened another door that had previously led to an old servant's bedroom, and almost closed it again when I realized there was a lump on the bed. "Skye!" As I rushed inside, Blake poked his head in the door. Sure enough, lying unconscious - or asleep? - on the bed, was Skye, her long jade hair falling across her face. Curled up beside her was my faithful Pichu. Aside from the fact they weren't awake, they looked fine. Skye's hands were tied behind her back. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," I announced as I promptly rolled Skye onto her face and ripped the ropes from her hands. There was a start - a muffled groan of surprise - and then she twisted her head so she was laying on her cheek and looked blearily back at me. "Comet?" "The one and only," I grinned, as I turned to Thundari and nudged her. "You too, 'dari. We're OUT of this place." Skye managed to sit up and groaned again, brushing back her hair. Thundari uncurled and stretched like a cat with a small squeak. "What happened?" Skye mumbled, rubbing an eye and adjusting her shirt. Blake had entered the room. "Looks like he had his ghosts use a Hypnosis on the both of you," he murmured, looking at Skye, at Thundari and then at me. "Probably while you were roaming the hallway," he directed at me. "Bastard," I said lightly. "C'mon you two, hurry up. The sooner we get out of here, the better." "Why?" Skye blinked, looking puzzled. "What's the hurry? Who are you talking about? Why are you here?" she asked, staring at Blake. "I'm talking about Nick, who is actually one creepy psychotic guy who wants to kill you and Blake. That's also why I'm in a hurry, and because he seems to want to keep me for some perverted reason. Blake showed up for... unknown reasons..." I frowned at him. "Why are you here? Stalking us or what?" "Don't flatter yourself," he snorted, "I found this house while trying to get out of the storm. Any more questions?" he asked dryly, looking at Skye. She flushed pink, "No. Let's go." "About TIME," I grumbled, "C'mon, Thundari." She replied with a faint "Chu," and leapt onto my shoulder again. We hurried out of the bedroom and back into the front room. Aha! The front door! Only ten feet away... slow motion dramatic run to it... 'Aaadrrrriann....!' Sorry. Had a little moment, there... But just as we hurried to the door, four VERY unwelcome shapes floated through. There was the Haunter trio, leering at us and in formation - and below them, eyes still glowing that fearsome white, the Gengar also came. All four ghosts sneered, and then lunged. "Veheer! Psywave!" "ESPEON!" A blast, like some sort of sonic boom that actually sent ripples through the air, shot from the Espeon and engulfed the ghosts, knocking them back. I heard the furious snarl of the Gengar, and then echoing chants from the Haunter. They came around for another attack. "Get lost!" I bellowed at them, "Thundari, Thunderwave!" She catapulted herself from my shoulder at the ghost pokemon, and with a resonating growl of "Piiiiii... CHUUU!" sent her own blast of electricity. The three Haunter got the full blunt of the attack and cringed, twitching, as electricity tingled around them. A few moments later, they took off. I smirked - it seemed the Haunter trio had tired of me. The Gengar, however, had only shaken off the effects of its attack. It growled again and started to advance, but then I heard a voice from behind me. "Thank you, Gengar." We all turned as the ghost pokemon stopped, and saw that Nick was coming down the stairs behind us. He had his own smirk in place, which faded slightly when he realized Thundari (who had leapt onto my shoulder again) and Skye had rejoined the group. "So you found your friends," he murmured. "That we did," I retorted. "Now let us out of this creepy house." "Comet, haven't you realized by now; I - can't - do - that," he responded, raising his eyebrows. "Yes you can," I answered stubbornly, "What's stopping you?" There was a pause, as Nick's sneer only broadened, and then I muttered; "Don't answer that." "Psybeam!" Nick yelled out in surprise as Veheer obliged instantly and appeared in front of the group to let loose her attack. Simultaneously, I turned around and threw Thundari at the Gengar blocking our exit. Thank the heavens my Pichu thought along the same lines I did - just as Veheer's attack struck either Nick or the staircase (I wasn't watching) she let loose a powerful Thundershock right at the Gengar. There were two explosions, sending a blast of an echo throughout the room. The house shook on its foundations, and then there came a loud, horrible crack. Blake, Skye and I looked up as two boards dislodged themselves from the ceiling and came crashing down - one narrowly missing Skye as she leapt out of the way. "The house is collapsing!" Blake yelled out, "C'mon!" Without even thinking, I scooped up Thundari, turned and bolted. Right on my heels were Skye, Blake and Veheer. I heard Nick's furious yell, and then another groan and crack from the house. We stumbled past the unconscious Gengar and out of the two doors. The porch was swinging and whining dangerously. The three of us hurried down the steps and raced through the enormous yard. For the first time, I noticed that the rocks scattered about had markings on them. They weren't rocks. They were tombstones. And just as I passed a particularly big one, I caught a sight of the name on it and froze. "Comet!" Skye yelled, from further down the yard. "The house is gonna fall!" I snapped back to my senses and followed, but did turn to look over my shoulder as I ran. The gigantic house was shaking and trembling violently, still making those horrible groaning noises. I looked back ahead and sped up, trying to catch up with Blake and Skye. But just as we reached the bottom of the hill, a shrill, high-pitched squeal reached our ears. Slowly, we all turned and simultaneously watched as the house on Haunter Hill gave one last, furious shudder - angry we had escaped - and then slowly crumpled unto itself. We were silent, watching the dust as it slowly spread through the air. I was still feeling a sense of numb disbelief. Skye, however, had a slightly horrified look on her face. After a long pause, she finally spoke up. "Do you think Nick got out okay?" Another silence. I slowly looked at her, and then proceeded towards the forest. "Comet!" I paused. And then, without looking back, I said in a rather strangled, forced voice. "It doesn't matter." There was another awkward silence. Knowing I seemed rather heartless in saying so, I would have to explain. "You didn't see that tombstone, did you?" "What was on it?" Blake asked quietly. I was quiet for a few minutes, going over it in my mind. And then I answered softly of what had been inscribed in the bleak, gray surface, hundreds of years old. NICHOLAS STRAND 1820 - 1835 ~ ~ ~ How many of you knew it, hmm? ^^ Didja like that ending?