Achluophobia

By WarriorLoverInc

Chapter Three: When Opens the Ground

"The lever you never pull,

The button you never press.

When opens the ground,

All one will dispossess."

"You know what to do Ash…"

Torpidly, his hand reached to press the panel.

Suddenly, the strobe lights flashed on, startling Ash out of the spell over him. As his eyes regained their brown color, he stared at his outstretched hand just inches away from the panel with a confused look on his face. Behind him, Professor Bael, Dawn, Brock, and a sleepy looking Ceymore stood in one of the numerous entryways to the central room. They all just stood and stared at him, all except Ceymore who was dangling a Teddiursa plushie by the arm, rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn, "What are you doing in here so late at night A—" he was interrupted by a yawn . But as soon as he opened his eyes and saw where Ash stood, he snapped wide awake and rushed over to him, snatching Ash by the shoulder and pulling him away quickly.

"Ash you know this wa—" he never finished his sentence because he suddenly doubled over and threw up on the floor.

"Idiot intern!" Professor Bael could be heard as she yelled at him from the doorway, "You're not wearing an energy cancelling bracelet! You're going to be sick for the next six hours which means you'll be late for work!"

Ceymore winced, still leaning over, "S-sorry Professor Bael."

The Professor stepped behind the wall in the hall and grabbed five bracelets that resembled Pikachu's energy cancelling collar. Speaking of Pikachu—

"Pikapi!" it rushed into the room and hopped onto Ash's head, "Pi?" Pikachu realized its trainer was staring dumbfounded at the wall in front of him. It waved a paw in his face, nothing. "Pikapii~i?"

Professor Bael handed a bracelet to Brock and Dawn, then snapped one on herself, "If you don't want to get sick like my ill-fated intern over there, I suggest you put these on." She then strode confidentially into the room, grabbed Ash and Ceymore's arms and snapped a bracelet on each of the boys. "Really, men now-a-days…" she muttered under her breath.

She turned to Ceymore and for once aimed a kind gesture at him. She stooped and rubbed his back as he squinted his eyes tightly closed and tried to fight the nausea. "You going to be okay?" she softly asked him.

Ceymore nodded slightly, "I—I think so Professor."

"That's good," she smiled, "THAT MEANS YOU'LL MAKE IT TO WORK!"

She startled him so badly he threw up again. She sighed and kept rubbing his back. Brock and Dawn rushed over to Ash, who was still staring at the wall, his countenance displayed intense concentration. "Ash what are you doing in here, it's past midnight." Dawn glanced at her watch which was right under her energy cancelling bracelet on her left arm.

He was startled out of his daze, "Hmm…" he thought for a minute, then it dawned on him, "what am I doing here? I don't ever remember waking up." He glanced around, "Where am I?"

Suddenly, the Professor popped up behind him and examined him while leaning over his shoulder. She got right in his shocked face, then backed away again, "Ash Ketchum, you are one strange boy. Your shadow—and only your shadow—pointed to ATROPOS AKANE DETTA, and just now, you were facing the ENYO wall without so much as looking sick."

Ash blinked, "You mean this… is the ENYO wall?" He remembered them claiming to take him and his friends there tomorrow last night by the fireside.

She nodded, still inspecting him, "This is the only known wall in the whole temple that releases energy that affects humans."

Ash turned back around and skimmed the wall with wonder-filled eyes. Then he spoke, and everyone was content to just listen, "I felt something. Something was coming, or maybe something was calling me. I couldn't tell if it was evil or not, but it felt familiar…" he rubbed his chin, "but I'd never felt anything like that before."

He could tell there was something about this wall that was trying to tell him a secret, or get his attention. And even after everyone had dragged him back to his tent, and he had fallen asleep with Pikachu on his face, he knew the wall wasn't done with him yet.

…..

The next day, Ceymore was out sick, and the Professor acted angry at him, but Dawn could tell it was only skin deep. Professor Bael re-introduced them to the ENYO wall, but made sure even the immune Ash was wearing an ECB (energy cancelling bracelet) and stood at least four feet away. Ash spent most of his time having a staring contest with the panel he had almost pressed, Brock spent his marveling at the fine craftsmanship, and Dawn spent hers trying to get an ECC (energy cancelling collar) on Piplup.

They were just about to leave Professor Bael's colleagues to their research when the equipment suddenly shorted out, shooting smoke and electricity around the room. Someone screamed as the lights went out and the sounds of people running, falling, and hyperventilating were clear on Ash's ears.

"Piplup, where are you?" That was Dawn.

"Woah, uhh. Professor? Professor Bael! Are you alright?" Definitely Brock.

There was the sound of scrambling feet, "Yes I'm okay you big weirdo, get away from me!" Anyone could guess who that was.

But there was once voice he heard that no-one else seemed to notice. He felt a presence wash over him, "Hello again Ash…"

He shivered and moved away from the wall, but that turned out harder than it seemed at first. It was as if the further away he got, the harder it was to move, and he soon found himself drawn back to the wall.

"Some business of ours is unfinished my dear boy."

Thoroughly spooked, Ash watched in horror as his hand involuntarily reached for the panel yet again. He shouldn't press it, he knew. But, but…

"You know what to do Ash."

He could have sworn he saw a huge ghostly grin next to the button before his hand reached the panel, and he felt himself falling fast.

…..

Authors Note: Hah! Lately I've been favoring cliff hangers for some reason… Hope you all like! Review please! :)