II. Fear

"Nothing has scared me yet," Jinjira began, looking around. N shook his head in agrreement. She was right; the mansion wasn't decorated at all...actually...it didn't need to be. It had long, narrow, dark hallways with no light, so it amazed N they were able to find their way through the pitch black house. Jinjira stayed close to him, and even though he couldn't see her, he somehow knew she was there. The mansion was like a 16th-century labrynth, with seemingly endless hallways, no doors whatsoever (except the front door,) and the hallways seeming to lead them in circles.

"We need to find some light," Jinjira finally said, breaking the silence. N nodded and, staying close to Jinjira, felt the walls for something; a light swithe (very unlikely, but worth a shot,) or even a torch...

"Found something!" Jinjira yelped, followed by a sctratching sound, then a small light. She had found a box of matches, but this struck N as odd. Why would the woman leave a box of matches lying around?

In an instant, there was a screech, then the match went out, followed by a loud bang. "Jinjira?!" N yelped, trying to follow the sound. "I'm fine..I just..something crawled on my arm," she said, breathless. Whatever it was freaked her out. "What was it?" he asked, immediately regretting it. Stupid question, and he knew it.

"I don't know, it's pitch black in here, if you-!" Jinjira started, but then, light illuminated the hallways, but just enough for them to make out their surroundings. It was a victorian-style mansion, with ornate furniture and very elegant treasures displayed all around. Jinjira looked stunned. "But...how...did the lights just...turn on?" she stuttered. N slowly nodded. I assure you, this is no ordinary haunted house, the old woman's words echoed in his head. He shivered.

"Oooh, dear Arceus," he heard Jinjira say from a distance away, her voice echoing across the hallways. He walked over to her, and when he turned the corner, expecting a hallway, but he had to grab the angled walls to keep from falling into a deep ditch that was there instead of a hallway. Who had an endless ditch in their hallway?! N thought. He looked over to see Jinjira pressed against the wall, struggling to keep her balance. The only way across the chasm was a narrow, unsturdy suspension bridge that looked as if it'd collapse any moment. Jinjira didn't budge an inch, and it took N a second, but he soon figured out why.

"You're afraid of heights, aren't you?" N asked her. She looked over at him, the look in her eyes suggesting if she could, she'd smack him.

"No, I love the thrill plunging to my death into bottomless chasms, what the hell do you think?!" she snapped. N could see the fear in her eyes. He knew she'd only curse if she was really stressed, angry, of, in this case, afraid. (But her sarcasm was her trademark, there was nothing unusual about it.) He dared himself to look over, but quickly took a step back. "Is there any other way across?" N asked her. He knew she wouldn't go across the bridge. On the bridge, you basically had no choice but to look down so you can make sure you don't step on a spot where a board fell out. Jinjira looked N in the eye.

"I hope so," she said.. She carefully walked sideways over towards N, flinching when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to solid ground, several feet from the chasm.

"You alright?" he asked her. He could feel her pulse racing in her wrist. As he realized he could feel it, he let her hand go. She nodded, out of breath. "I'm fine...just a...little," she started. "Acrophobic?" N finished for her. She looked up at him. Jinjira shook her head, unwilling to admit it, but the look in her eyes told N he was right; she was afraid of heights.

"But...the thing I'm wondering is this: Who would have just a random bottomless chasm in the middle of their house?!" she yelped, looking back at it, but not daring to take another step closer. N stopped to think. She did have a point. N thought back to when the old woman answered Jinjira's question before she even asked, as if she'd read her mind.

He suddenly thought of something: What if this mansion was the same way? What if it somehow read your mind, found out your worst fears, and then brought them to life?

"N, do you feel like you're being watched?" Jinjira asked, snapping N out of his thoughts. He looked at Jinjira to see her hands balled into fists, ready to fight. He stopped and concentrated on the area around him. A chill shot up his spine. His blood ran cold. He quickle pressed himself against the wall, pulling Jinjira beside him.

Someone was watching them. N found himself breathing harder, as if whoever was watching them was someone whom N was sfraid of, or was someone who was very close by. N slowly looked around the corner, and his breath caught in his throat.

On the other side of the corner was a man with blonde hair, glowing orange eyes, and a futuristic lab outfit and a lab coat. The man was walking around the room, as if searching for something. N was frozen in place.

"Who is that?" Jinjira asked, keeping her voice down. N looked at her, glad to not be looking upon the strange man. "That's Colress. He's Team Plasma's scientist, and Ghetsis's assistant. He wanted to research the true way to bring out a Pokémon's inner strength. But in his research, he tortures and mistreats Pokémon," N growled, him, too, making sure to keep his voice down.

All at once, it clicked. This was N's fear.

When N was little, Colress always scared the hell out of him. There was just something about him that always made him uneasy. Even now, every time he even thinks of Colress, it sends a chill up his spine.

He started to take a step forwards, but Jinjira grabbed his shoulder ad pulled him back. "You can't just walk out ther, moron!" she hissed, looking around the corner to see him for herself. She suddenly retreated back around the corner, a devilish grin on her face. N held his breath. He knew that look. It was her look meaning she was going to try something stupid.

"Jinjira, what are you going to do?" N asked, ready to pull her back if she decided to try and ambush him, which was very likely. "Something incredibly stupid," she replied. She looked around the corner, took a deep breath, and the yelled at the top of her lungs:

"COLRESS!"

In an instant, Team Plasma's scientist whirled around, his amber eyes glowing with fury. "What the hell did you just do?!" N yelped. Jinjira looked back at him. "I said it was something stupid, did I not? Now, quit yelling at me and RUN!" she yelled, grabbing his wrist and, without giving him a chance to react, started running.

The two friends kept running, corner after corner, hallway after hallway, getting as gap bigger and bigger between them and Colress. A second later, Jinjira pulled him into what looked like a bedroom. She looked around, grabbed a trophy from the shelf, positioned herself at the doorway, and waited for Colress to try and run past.

"What are you doing now?!" N cried, walking towards Jinjira. She didn't take her eyes off the empty hallway.

"Ambush."

"An illusion?!"

"You want to go out there, see if he's an illusion?!"

That shut him up. Jinjira now hels the trophy like a bat over her shoulder. N listened as the footsteps came closer and closer until Jinjira suddenly turned and hit Colress's forehead with the trophy, making him stumble back.

"Oh, no!" she cried, dropping the trophy. Colress groaned in pain, rubbing his forehead, but was still standing. Jinjira balled her hand into a fist, dared to walk closer to the scientist, and sucker punched him square in the nose, knocking him to the ground. N looked at her in astonishment. "Did you just knock him out with a single punch?!" N cried, looking down at Colress, who was sprawled out on the ground. Jinjira knelt down and grabbed his wrist, checking his pulse. After a few seconds, she let his hand go and stood up.

"He'll be out for a while," she said, then cringing and shaking her hand. "What's wrong? Did the recoil hit harder than you expected?" N asked. She looked him in the eye. "I hit him right on the bridge of his nose," she said. N nodded. Not that she mentioned it, there was a loud CRACK, but he assumed it was Colress's nose being broken, not her hand. Without thinking, he took her hand. She cringed, but didn't resist. There was already a blue spot forming near her knuckled.

"You really need to start thinking before you start punching," N scolded her, letting her hand go. She shook her head. "I know, but that's my first instinct when I face one of my fears," she said. This made N straighten up. Does that mean Colress wasn't his fear?

"What was your fear?"

"He'd try and kill us," she admitted, avoiding his gaze.

N looked back at Colress, who hadn't moved an inch. Jinjira looked at N. "So...this place actually does bring our fears to life?" she asked, her voice shaking. N could tell she was frightened now. She had several other fears, he knew, and she was afraid they'd be brought to life. He didn't blame her; he had several fears he didn't want brought to life, too.

"We need to get out of here," N began. Jinjira nodded.

"Agreed."

As they both walked along the hallway Colress still lay unconscious. N, knowing his theory was correct, now was racing with several other fears, hoping to Arceus they'd make it out alive before they surfaced. He looked over at Jinjira, who was visibly trying to hide her fright, but she was trembling. He began to wonder about Jinjira's fears she hoped wouldn't come to lie. Everyone has a worst fear, and he couldn't help but wonder about hers. N desperately tried to push the thoughts out of his mind about their fears and focus on getting out.

He was just afraid as they were about to make it out of the house of hell, she'd somehow get trapped inside...or worse, she's see something that'd make her hate him from then on..