Clistare's Notes: -None-
Chapter Rating: T.
Shipping: Pokeshipping. (Ash/Misty)
"Without mysteries, life would be very dull indeed. What would be left to strive for if everything were known?"
-Charles de Lint.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters that will be mentioned below. Nor do I own the quote you may read above.
It wasn't until he shook out of his daze that things cleared up in his mind. This girl had been much under child abuse, and was kept on the basement. What Ash didn't understand is why these people would do this to a girl. Had she done something wrong? Was she just a burden to her family?
"I really feel sorry for Arina," Misty sighed, turning the doll around and taking a closer observation. Her mind instantly clicked as she noticed the raggedy hands of the porcelain figure.
"Ash," she asked for his attention, as he turned around from his previous daze. "This doll…look at its fingers, two of them are missing…what could it mean? Do you think it's connected to Marina's murder? Or do you think it's connected to anything at all?"
Ash, for a moment, thought about what he and Misty are getting themselves into. What he didn't mention to the redhead was that dozens of people entered this place, in search of gold and riches which were left by the Graysons. More than half of them were never seen again.
"Ash, Ash! Hello, earth to Ash, can you hear me in your spacious brain?" Misty waved her free hand in front of his face, while clutching the doll to her heart.
Breaking free of his imagination, Ash cleared his throat. "Sorry, Myst. What were you saying?"
Misty looked exasperated at him.
"God, Ash! I told you to take a closer look at the doll's fingers. Look," She shoved the figure in his chest, as he took time into examining it. The smallish, roundish hand had three fingers – each in different sizes. Her other hand's fingers, however, was all crooked - but they were complete. As he took a closer examination at her dress, he concluded that the rips and holes around the doll were obviously not from any accident.
Misty looked down, somewhat ashamed from entering this girls room without permission – like she could ever ask for any. But somehow, deep inside her heart, she felt a tug – not the kind of tug she gets when Ash gets all sweet with her – but a different kind of tug. This one felt like it was telling her something, but she just couldn't reach it.
"I wonder…" Ash mumbled, placing a finger on his chin and twirling the doll around like a pokeball. Misty flamed at him.
"A-S-H! What the hell are you doing! This belonged to a precious young girl who was abused, don't go breaking her toys like…" something shiny fell into the carpeted floor of the room, taking in both their attention. "…that."
Smirking at the furious redhead, Ash bent over, placing the doll in Misty's hand, and picked it up.
It was a simple, yet elegant locket that was shaped like a diamond. Inside was a very old picture of a man and a woman with two little girls. The woman was completely dashing. She had brown shoulder-length hair, shaped into big curls with a blue headband atop. Her gorgeous blue eyes sparkled with diamonds and her bright smile seemed to brighten the picture up.
The man was not as breathtaking as the woman, but yet he was very much elegant. A fine nose, his cheekbones sharp and his hair disheveled. What was very much eye-catching about the hair was not to be noted, as the black locks were fixed in an orderly manner. His black eyes bore through the picture and his mustache covered his mouth. But anyone could tell that he was smiling.
The little girl, however, was unlike the two. She had eye-catching cerulean-colored hair and bright pink eyes. She was wearing a little blue dress, complete with different frills around. The little girl seemed to be sitting atop her parents' laps.
But what was so unusual about the picture, was that there was an identical girl, standing crossed-arms on the floor. She had neat, cropped nut brown hair, and bright, energetic orange eyes. Her dress was not comparable to the other little girl's, as it was very simple. Just a long-sleeved, plain blue dress that didn't even have sequins in it - an obvious contrast to the other outfit. Although she was out-of-place, she smiled as brightly as the sun.
"Hey Myst, take a look at this." Ash handed her the locket, opening it wide enough for her to see. Her blue eyes widened, as a confused face plastered on her own.
"Are these the Graysons?" she asked, looking up at Ash. He shrugged, taking the locket and shoving it into his pocket. Then, that's when things started to happen once more.
The bed rattled, moving around like it was being trampled on. The toys moved, releasing themselves from Azurill and Pikachu's grasps. The ground shook a little, causing Misty to almost tumble backwards.
"W-What's happening?" she toppled on both ways, almost failing to keep her balance. Ash was holding onto Pikachu - so did Misty, who held her Azurill for dear life - and used his other hand to hold onto something.
"Misty! Grab onto something, now!" he ordered in a worried tone. Nodding, Misty held the edge of a very small bookcase, hoping it wouldn't fall down on her. The ground's shaking subsided, and the bed stopped rattling. Sighing with relief, Ash and Misty took a look around them. All the toys had been scattered messily around the room, and the bed's covering had fallen off. It seemed like somebody was looking for something.
Misty, who hadn't released her grip from the bookcase, regretted it instantly as it automatically turned around. "What the…?"
Ash released his grip from the clothing handle, jumping over to Misty's side as the bookcase revolved around. As it stopped its rotation, Ash and Misty came face-to-face with a dusty, old ballroom, filled with much valuable antiques.
Azurill and Pikachu jumped down from their masters shoulder and instantly scented something. Azurill kept her ears wide open, trying to hear sounds as distant as the next town. Pikachu sniffed, smelling the ground while his ears perked up every now and then.
Suddenly, a sweet, luscious scent filled the whole room - evaporating all foul smells that were recently there. It smelled like flowers - lilies to be exact. Pikachu bounded off, Azurill hot on his heels as beads of sweat formed on the sides of her head. "Azu Azurill!"
"Pikachu, wait up!" Ash called, running towards Pikachu, accompanied by Misty.
;;;;;;
"Wow." was the only thing Misty Waterflower could say. Such an extravagant scene folded in front of her. Somehow, she could see hundreds of people, dancing and smiling while the children laughed and ran around. After finding Pikachu at the end of the ballroom, standing in front of the door, something vibrated in Ash's pocket and the locket glowed.
Instantly, after cowering back up from their backed-down positions, both Ash and Misty, along with their Pokemon, had seen the beautiful scenery. Many people, different races, all gathered up with their Pokemon to a dance - which was periodically observed by Misty.
"Another piece?" Ash wondered, picking the locket out and opened it. He was surprised to find the little girl, who was out-of-place, gone. Her part of the picture was slightly burnt. As he pointed it to Misty, she seemed utterly shocked.
"W-what happened? This wasn't like this earlier...was it?" she turned her eyes to look at Ash, who shook his head in astonishment.
"I don't think so."
The dancers unexpectedly disappeared in a thick cloud of smoke, causing both Ash and Misty to cover their eyes with their arm. As soon as the cloud disappeared, something, but Ash couldn't put what, was missing.
"Ash! The locket!" Misty cried, pointing to his empty hand. Then he realized that his hand felt lighter than it was before.
"Hmm..." he turned to Pikachu and Azurill, who shrugged their shoulders and shook their head in unison.
"I'm really confused now, Myst. Do you think we should find a way out? I think we've got ourselves tangled in a deep mess."
"No!" she said, almost instantly. She had yearned for another adventure with her best-friend and secret desire, and she had the opportunity in her hands. Shaking her head vigorously, she bore her eyes into his chocolate brown ones. "I meant that since we're already in this place, I suggest we just move along. I want to know what really happened to the Graysons and I have a good feeling something or someone out there is trying to tell us. But somehow, we can't see them."
Nodding in understanding, saying that Ash is grateful is a big understatement. He wanted adventure and he wanted it with Misty and Misty alone. No Brock, no May or Max and especially no perky, cheerleading Dawn.
"Well then let's move on!" he ventured closer, before grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the ballroom doors. It towered over them, almost three times their heights combined.
Ash first tried pushing the doors open, but they wouldn't budge. Pikachu then tried next, using one very powerful tackle attack, in which he fainted for a few seconds afterwards. Azurill gave it her strongest water gun until she couldn't take it anymore.
Misty was the only one left now, and Ash had certain doubts on her.
"Are you sure, Myst? You might break a nail or two." he mocked, chuckling as she cuffed her blue, long-sleeved shirt until her elbows.
"What, you don't think I could manage it?" she eyed him, narrowing one eye and huffing. Ash laughed, almost nervously, cowering down and trying to sympathize with a hotheaded tomboy. That was harder than waking up a Snorlax who had just finished eating.
"Well, you're pretty scrawny for your age so I gue-" WHACK!
"Don't you dare call me scrawny again, got that? Now, learn from the master."
Carefully, Misty placed her delicate hand over the knob and turned it slightly. Much to everyone's utter surprise, it opened widely. After recovering from his much painful faint, Ash gaped in shock. What hadn't he thought of that?
As if she read his mind, she simply answered, "It's because you're an idiot, Ash. And idiots like you don't think before they talk. Right?" The dangerous look she was giving him indicated that if he didn't follow her suit, she would kill him.
"Err...Yeah, Myst. Right."
;;;;;;
The door opened, revealing an antique dining room. In every corner, it was full of cobwebs and dust. On the long, probable 10 foot dining table, there was food - obviously rotten and untouched. Misty ran her hands along a painting of a handsome guy, about the same age as her, on the wall. He had raven-black hair, diamond-like blue eyes and a cute, boyish grin. She giggled. He reminded her somewhat of Ash.
Speaking of Ash, he was currently scowling, looking at Misty who was giggling and staring at the humongous painting hung on the wall. He leaned over one chair, crossing his arms, annoyed.
"Tssh. What's so great about a guy who doesn't exist anymore anyways?"
"Ash! Don't be so rude." Misty snapped, turning around and narrowing her eyes at him. Ash sweatdropped in response and inwardly decided that it would be best if he kept his big mouth shut. A moment of silence washed over the two, as they took time into examining the dining area. It was certainly spacious, more so that of the little girl's room.
"Hey Ash, c'mere." Misty waved her arm, signaling Ash to walk over. As soon as he did so, she pointed to a picture frame - a very old picture with a family painted in it. "How many children did the Graysons have?"
Ash pondered about it and looked up, trying to recall what his mother's story had contained. Three...four...five... he counted, as Misty waited impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground.
"Ten!"
"But look. There are only nine children here."
And he did notice that firsthand. It wasn't like he was good at math, or he counted fast, it was that he already knew one was missing.
"Arina..." he whispered, shaking his head. Misty confirmed his suspicions by nodding his head. "Let's take the picture with us. I think they'll help with the puzzle. So far, what clues do we have?" she asked, her tone lowering down to a level where she sounded like a real detective.
"Well, so far, we have that picture and the doll. The locket had somehow disappeared." Ash said, looking in Misty's knapsack.
Before Misty could utter a single word, the dining room door was shut, and somehow, the walls started to close in on them...
Clistare's Notes: Okay, truthfully, I don't know why I ended this chapter with a cliffy. I personally don't like them. Well anyways, I BARELY did any editing here. I didn't want to do any major changes. I would like it if you reviewed, I would dislike it if you flamed.
-Marie-
