Okay, back to the normal script. Hope I managed to build some suspense and stuff with that last chapter, but even so, we will now be continuing with Cody and friends. This chapter is sort of a late Halloween treat, so enjoy.

By the way, a random note. Wolfdude asked me earlier where Skitrex is I comparison to the rest of the world. Again, this is a fictional region/country/whatever, but if I had to choose, Skitrex would be in North-Eastern America/South-Eastern Canada, mostly due to the weather. It's not the actual location in this world, but its closest comparison I can think of.

Also, if anybody can suggest a community that might add my story to their archive, let me know. I've already asked three times, but no response yet.

Thanks to Magikarp Master for editing.

Cody: Bastion(Squirtle), Mars (Diglett), Colossal (Larvitar), Antonia (Skarmory), Elesa (Zebstrika)

Heather: Somnos (Poliwhirl), Feathers (Pidgeotto), Nadine (Nidoran [F]), Bella (Oddish), Trapinch

Jared: Charmeleon, Servine, Croconaw, Fearow, Bagon, Onix

Chapter 21: The Brave and the Brash (Part 1)

The past ten days had been very stressful. The fear of the man in black was eminent, and seeing Frank at Grayson's Outpost days didn't help in any way. As far as they were concerned, they were always being watched. They had resorted to walking by night and sleeping by day near trainer campgrounds, but it wasn't enough to ease their nerves.

To make matters worse, the whole attack did nothing to help Cody's and Jared's relationship. In the last few months, they had been getting along better, but all of that went out the window after they were assaulted by the mysterious stranger. Since then, the two had been arguing nonstop, sometimes over the most trivial and pointless things. The only thing they didn't argue over was the excursion for Heather to catch her Trapinch, but that was expected. It wasn't likely that Jared would deny his girlfriend the opportunity to catch a new pokemon, even if it delayed their trip by a few days.

January proved to be even colder than the previous months. Even without wind or falling snow, the air was more frigid than anything Cody had ever experienced. Antonia didn't seem to mind though, now that the armor on her body was growing thicker and more wind resistant. Her trainer looked over enviously at Jared and Heather, who were huddled together as they walked next to Charmeleon. He wanted to walk near the flame lizard as well so he could warm up, but he really didn't want to do anything that might give Jared and him a reason to fight.

"I need a fire pokemon," he announced to his companions. This random statement caused Jared to groan.

"I don't think you can handle it, Cody," he stated in a tired voice. "Fire pokemon are difficult to raise since you have to teach them how to control their flames. You wouldn't believe how many clothes I've had to throw out because of Charmeleon here."

"You really underestimate me," Cody replied sourly. "I had to wrestle with Antonia everyday for an entire month. I think I could handle a fire pokemon."

"And you overestimate your abilities. Look at your Skarmory. She still doesn't recognize the difference between how she should act between hunting and pokemon battles, and you've had her for how long?"

"Hey, she'll learn," Cody insisted. "Now, what fire pokemon live around here?"

"Um…" Jared began to ponder as he scratched his head, "Houndour live around here, but they're pretty rare, and even more so in the winter. Besides, I doubt you'd want to go after one of those, since they're usually in packs with Houndoom, and nobody wants to get an entire pack of dogs on their case."

"True enough," Cody agreed as he shivered, partly from the cold and partly from the memory of almost getting mauled by a Houndoom.

"What about Growlithe?" Heather suggested as she cradled her Trapinch in her arms. The little pokemon did not like the cold, but keeping it out of its pokeball during the winter forced the little bugger to snuggle next to Heather for warmth, which was a good bond strengthening tactic. "Aren't they supposed to be more loyal and easier to train?" But Jared shook his head.

"Growlithe and Houndour typically don't share the same territory. Besides, the Growlithe line is more common in the north of Skitrex. I doubt we'll be heading into Growlithe territory until late spring at the earliest. But if you really wanted to get a fire pokemon, you could probably find a good one on the GTS or something if you look hard enough."

"Yeah, sure," he replied sullenly. He thought about the last resort option of using the GTS. Even though he was winning a lot of money as of late, he didn't want to spend a lot of it on a pokemon that he wouldn't meet until the transaction was made. The other option was trading, but that would require finding another pokemon worth trading since he didn't want to trade his own. However, even if he did find a pokemon worth trading, it would probably be difficult searching for a trainer who would trade a fire pokemon for his specifically. That, and the original problem of uncertainty with what he might get in return was a big risk.

"Besides, why would you want a fire pokemon right now? Just to keep you warm?" Jared asked. "Because really, that's kinda superficial. Especially since the next gym for you guys is an earth gym, so fire isn't going to help you. So going through all of that trouble-"

"Why are you always like this?" Cody groaned angrily. As he asked, he saw Heather shaking her head as if to tell him to stop talking, but he ignored her. "You turn down everything I have to say and you try and make me look like an idiot. What's with you, bro? I thought we were friends now!"

"Well 'bro,'" Jared stated sarcastically as he stopped walking and crossed his arms, "you are an idiot! Need I remind you about our little run-in with your friend's friend?"

"Oh Jesus H. Christ, you're pulling that card on me AGAIN!" Cody shouted back.

"Guys-" Heather tried to inject, but Cody ignored her for a second time.

"Look Jared, I tried to do what I thought was best, alright? And I was wrong! For once in my miserable life, I was wrong, so how about you just sue me! I can't stand your constant bitching about every little thing!"

"Oh, I wish I could sue you sometimes, given that one of us could have gotten killed!" Jared snapped back angrily. "You are such an arrogant little prick, Storm! If you weren't Heather's friend, I would have kicked your ass long ago!"

"Guys-"

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?" Cody taunted. "The choir boy wants to fight me?"

"Choir boy! Is that some sort of shot at my beliefs! What, you think that because you're an atheist, you're better than me! Well maybe it's the other way around!" At this point, the two were nose to nose, both of them ready to strike.

"Really now? Who's self-righteous now then?" Cody retorted. "At least I'm not constantly trying to push my opinions down your throat!" At this point in the argument, Charmeleon began to growl fiercely towards Cody, his eyes glowing with pent up rage. Antonia had returned to her trainer's side and let out a threatening screech, ready to fight the burning tale pokemon if he were to attack, though her efforts would be futile.

"Guys, will you please list-"

"Jared, how about you call back your pokemon, I'll call back mine, and we'll settle this like men," Cody suggested gravely.

"Cody, you can't beat me in a fight. I know how to box," Jared said, sure of himself, but the younger, blond haired trainer snickered.

"I had to beat this shit out of Antonia for countless weeks so that she would respect me," he chuckled. "I think I can get it out of you in three seconds."

"We'll see about-"

"GUYS!" Heather shrieked in an ear piercing voice, grabbing the attention of teens and their pokemon. Her Trapinch leapt out of her arms and began to make barking sounds in a startled fury.

"Heather, stay out of this-" Jared began, but she would have none of it.

"Listen to me! You two are acting like children, but more importantly, we're being watched!"

"What? What do you-" Cody stopped himself in his sentence when he looked back at the little purple bug pokemon staring at them with its huge red eyes. Venonat.

"Why is it even following us?" Cody whispered. "Why doesn't the lunatic just get us himself?"

"Venonat are quiet and have great eyesight," Jared answered, his voice filled with nervousness. "That guy probably trained it to follow people, like a scout."

"Then what do we do?" Heather asked, her eyes not drifting from the watching gnat.

"We run… run like hell and hope it can't catch up with us," Jared said, but Cody disagreed.

"Or you can have Charmeleon blast that thing, and then it won't follow us."

"If that guy is near though, he might just attack us directly if we provoke him. See, it's stuff like this which gives me even more reason to believe that you shouldn't have a fire pokemon if you're just going to be-"

"Just shut up," Cody interrupted. "Let's let Heather decide, since we aren't going to agree about anything. So what do you think? Fight back, or run?"

"Um… kinda putting me on the spot, don't you think?" she asked. "Well… I guess we should run… I mean, we don't kow what this guy has planned or-"

"Fine," Cody replied, slightly annoyed by her decision. What was I thinking? Of course she would side with her boyfriend.

"Okay then, when are we going to start running?" she asked in a voice that barely rose above the sound of the breeze.

"Right now." Immediately, all three teens began a mad sprint down the path, their pokemon following them once they realized what was happening. Cody looked over his shoulder while running to see that the Venonat wasn't following, but the group continued to run nonetheless.

"How long are we going to run for?" Heather asked after they had been running for a minute or so.

"Until we find a good place to stop, like a campground or a suburb or something. Cody, did you remember seeing anything like that on the map!"

"No, we're really out in the boonies!" he admitted. "But maybe we'll get lucky and find some trainers out here or something!" Seconds later, the trail that the teens were following crossed with an old road of dirt and gravel that looked wide enough for a car to drive on. "Let's follow this!" Cody exclaimed as he stopped in the middle of the dirt road. "It looks like it might lead somewhere!"

"How do you know that?" Jared asked, frustrated with the entire situation, which Cody could tell that the older boy was blaming him for. "It might just lead to nowhere!"

"Fine! Disagree AGAIN! I'm going with my gut on this one!" He split from the other two teens and their pokemon and sprinted down the old dirt while Antonia followed in her flight. He looked over his shoulder again to see that Jared and Heather were following him at a twenty foot distance. As he turned his head forward again, he noticed that the old road seemed to split off into more old roads, but he didn't follow them, since it would be easier for the others to follow him if he just kept running straight. After another minute of running, the old dirt road ended at a rusty iron gate of an old iron fence that encircled a large, ancient Victorian style house.

"Okay, where the hell are we?" Jared asked as Heather and him caught up, both of them having lost their breath.

"Hold on, I'll try and figure this out," Cody told him, trying carefully not to say anything that might set him off. He pulled out the map and walked over to Charmeleon so he could read it in the fire's light. "Honestly, I don't know right now, but I think we're here," he answered, pointing to a small square on the map. "It's a rural housing area by the looks of it. There are a few farms around here, but nothing much else. This must be some rich countryside estate or something." He pocketed the map and went up to the iron gate. Noticing the rusty old lock that held it together, he took off his pack and flung it over the fence. His bundled things made a crunching sound as it hit the snow covered earth on the other side.

"Um, Cody, what are you doing?" Heather asked as he grabbed the fence with his ungloved hand. The icy coldness of the metal made him cringe.

"Simple. I'm going to see if whoever lives here will let us stay the night, and since the gate is locked-"

"This is completely idiotic," Jared cut in.

"Why, oh wise one?" Cody asked, scowling. "Better than standing out here and being followed by some creepy stalker. I doubt he'd try to break into somebody's home."

"First of all," Jared began, "because hopping a fence is considered breaking in. Secondly, people are very reluctant to let trainers spend the night in their homes. You ever watch the news? People get robbed by trainers that they let in all the time. That stereotype isn't going to help us! And finally, that guy attacked us! Why wouldn't he try to break in to get to us if he had to?"

"Well, I'll try my luck," Cody said indifferently. "Enjoy standing out here in the cold, you two." Rubbing his hands together for a quick burst of warmth, he grabbed onto the fence and began to climb. Luckily, the bars didn't have a lot of ice on them, so it was easy to get over, though it took some doing. During this time, he could hear Heather and Jared squabbling about something. When he finally got to the other side, he saw that Jared's Fearow was out of her ball. The long beaked pokemon allowed Heather onto her back and she flew the brunette over the iron gates. Antonia followed the brown bird in suit.

"Changed your minds?" Cody asked as the brunette hopped off of the bird. The Fearow then flew back over the fence to pick up her trainer.

"Yeah, I convinced Jared to give you a chance on this one," she said solemnly. "You owe me."

"Yeah, thanks Heather," he said, but she didn't respond. She didn't seem too happy with either him or Jared at the moment. Seconds later, Jared joined the two, looking disgusted at what he had been talked into and the three walked up to the grand porch of the old house. Something about the old home seemed incredibly ominous. None of the lights inside were on, though that was expected, given that it was one in the morning. Even so, something about the old building made the stomachs of all three trainers flip. But Cody wouldn't let his nervousness show. This was his idea after all, and even though Jared didn't think so, he believed it was better than trying to outrun whatever maniac was after them. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited. No response.

"Nobody is here," Jared said.

"Or they haven't got out of their beds yet," Cody pointed out. He knocked again, but there was still no response.

"Well, nice try, but we aren't getting in. We better get back to the road-"

"Hey, the door's unlocked," Cody exclaimed after touching the old metal handle. He opened the door and walked in without hesitation, Antonia at his heels.

"Hey, no, no, no, no, no!" Jared shouted from the porch. "You can't just walk in! This is somebody's house! This is even more illegal than-"

"Check this out!" he interrupted. "This place looks like something out of the old world." Reluctantly, Jared and Heather followed him inside and both of them let out a small gasp of awe at what they saw. The interior of the home matched the exterior with beautifully crafted wooden furniture and floors, an elegant wooden staircase. After taking a few more steps, the candles in the chandelier and the wall burst into flames, allowing the finer details of the room to be revealed. There was a colorful ornate rug on the floor and portraits of 19th century looking figures. The modern day objects that were in the room were a telephone on a cord and few power outlets on the lower walls. However, the lighting of the candles made Jared flinch.

"Who turned on the lights?" he asked skeptically.

"Nobody," Cody answered as if the answer was obvious. "It's called motion-sensory lighting, Einstein."

"With candles?" Jared asked in the same tone that Cody had used.

"Hey, if they have the insurance to cover fire damage, I don't judge," Cody answered casually. His eyes followed the staircase to the balcony. Still no signs of life. "Hello! Is anybody here!" he called out. "We need a place to spend the night if you would allow it!" Again, there was no response whatsoever.

"Nobody is home," Jared stated. "We better get going."

"Are you kidding?" Cody asked, "this is perfect! We'll stay the night and then leave in the morning before anybody finds out. It'll be as if we were never here!"

"That's stupid! This isn't our house! We-"

"Actually Jared, I don't think anybody lives here," Heather interrupted. "Look at the furniture. Look at the floors. There's too much dust." She knelt down and dragged her index finger across the floor, piling dust on the digit. "If people lived here, there wouldn't be so much dust where they would be walking, right?"

"So what is this place? A summer home?" Cody asked, though the location didn't look very good for vacationing. "Maybe it belongs to nobody…"

"And all this furniture is just sitting here, huh?" Jared questioned suspiciously. "We should leave. Something about this place is really creepy."

"What, are you scared of the big bad house?" Cody teased. He wasn't feeling that comfortable either, but he felt the urge to push Jared's buttons again.

"No, I just-"

"Aww, is Jared afraid of ghosts? I bet there are a million ghosts in a creepy old house like-"

"Knock it off!" Jared shouted, his voice strained with anger. "I'm not afraid of ghosts, you asshole!" The overdramatic outburst shut Cody's laughter up immediately. It looked as though Jared was actually going to punch him this time, but his body relaxed when Heather touched his shoulder.

"Yeah… Antonia, go outside. You need to put in a few more hours," Cody said awkwardly to the Skarmory while giving her a gentle nudge. The young bird let out a small squawk and walked out the door as her trainer opened it. He closed it behind her and shrugged. "I'm going to go upstairs and find somewhere to sleep. I'll see you guys in the morning, assuming you do stay."

"Um, Cody, maybe we should stick together?" Heather suggested weakly. "You know… since this isn't our house-"

"No," Cody said as he felt Jared's eyes boring holes in his skull. "I think we all need some alone time. I'm going upstairs." He sidestepped away from the group and headed towards the stairs. He still needed some time to cool off, and it wasn't going to happen if Jared was in the same room. Slowly, he climbed the old staircase and took a left into the dust covered hallway, dimly lit by the torches on the wall. He opened the nearest door and peered into a poorly lit bedroom with a queen-sized four poster bed and exquisitely carved furniture. Well, this bed is as good as any, I guess. Still, the old house was making him feel uneasy, so he let Bastion, Mars, and Colossal out of their pokeballs. The three pokemon got settled on the bed as he set his pack and his coat on the floor next to the door. As he settled in on the top cover of the bed (he didn't want to mess up a bed that wasn't his,) he closed his eyes and tried to think of how he was going to get on good terms with Jared again, if that were even possible. If not, his days in the group were definitely numbered.

He was sitting next to the stream where he caught Bastion, except this time, Bastion was sitting by his side. They were both watching a cluster of baby Squirtle splashing and playing in the water as the setting sun shone on the crystal clear spring water.

It was obviously a dream. He had become quite good at telling the difference between dreams and reality after the repeated haunting of the dark voice. But why was he here? He hadn't thought of the place where he had met Bastion in such a long time. But then again, dreaming about it felt normal. It was the place where his adventure had started after all. But something felt off, and it only took him a few seconds to figure out what it was: the Venonat. The purple-haired gnat was staring at him from across the pond.

"Really? I can't even find peace in the nights when that damn voice doesn't torture me?" Cody asked Bastion. The little turtle tilted his head to his trainer, as if he had something to say. But when the Squirtle opened his mouth, the only sound that came out was the ringing of a telephone.

"What the-"

He groggily opened his eyes and scanned the room, though he knew that the ringing of his phone was the reason that he had come back to consciousness. What time is it? His pokemon were also awake now, looking slightly annoyed that they had been disturbed. Mars was scratching at Cody's pocket where his phone was. He pushed the Diglett away and pulled out the phone. The call was coming from home.

"Mom, you had to call me in the middle night?" he groaned. "What time is it anyway?"

"It's two in the morning. But you haven't called home in two weeks. Are you okay? Why didn't you answer the phone right away? Why did you-"

"I was asleep, that's what normal people do at night," he muttered into the receiver. In truth, he hadn't been sleeping at night since the night was now designated travel time, but she didn't know that. "Look, I've been okay. I'm getting better and everything. I could email you some videos if you want to see how I'm doing or-"

"Oh sweetie, I would love that, but you know I'm busy with work and everything. The hospital has been putting me on the graveyard shift, so I don't have a lot of time for anything. Send them to your father though. He's love that."

"Yeah… How is Dad?"

"He's… he's doing fine," she answered, though her voice sounded shaky. Cody wasn't good at lying, but his mother was even worse.

"Really now?" he asked doubtfully.

"Um… yes…"

"I'm not buying this," Cody told her. "Look, I understand that this is personal and everything, but I know you and Dad are fighting, and I feel like you're not taking me seriously when you lie like this."

"Cody, I'm your mother! Don't talk to me that way!" she shouted on the other end.

"What way!" he yelled back. "I'm being serious! I'm not some innocent little kid anymore!"

"Oh what, you think you're so mature now that you have pokemon and badges?" She let out an exasperated sigh. "This is how it all begins. Derrick was the same way when he-"

"Oh, not this again," Cody interrupted angrily.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking to you, young man!" she shot back shrilly. "And how did you ever get the belief that me and your father were fighting? Did he say that to you?"

"No, Mom, please, Dad didn't say anything, I just figured it out because of what you both have been saying over the phone, and I put two and two together. Please don't yell at Dad!" He waited for his mother to respond, but he heard nothing. The battery on his phone had died. "Dammit, she's going to kill me," he groaned as he sat in a slouch on the bed. "I better find an outlet so I can recharge this thing." But when he looked up, he saw Colossal leaving the room after pushing the door open.

Wow, that was rather bold of him. "Hey Colossal, come back!" The Larvitar either didn't hear or just ignored him. Letting out another sigh, Cody stood up, slipped on his shoes, picked up his things, and followed the little lizard out the door, Mars and Bastion at his tail. Once outside the room, he saw Colossal wandering into a room at the other end of the hall. Cody made his way down the hall, taking glances at the portraits on the wall. Again, he had the feeling that their eyes were following him. This place has got to be haunted.

The room that Colossal had stumbled into looked to be a private library. There looked to be over two hundred books lining the shelves, and a comfortable looking armchair next to a fireplace that was lit like the torches on the wall. It must had been automatic like the torches on the wall, though why anybody would put open flames in a room full of flammable books was beyond him. Colossal was sitting near the fireplace, staring at the collection of old books that sat before him. The little Larvitar finally felt the urge to take a book off the ground level shelving and open it. The lizard stared at the pages intently, but a frustrated appearance took over his face since he couldn't make sense of what he was looking at, given that he couldn't read.

"Rah!" Colossal cried out as he threw the book over his shoulder in anger.

"Hey, don't do that! It's not yours!" Cody snapped. He set his things down so he could pick up the book that Colossal had tossed aside. It was an ancient looking copy of Pride and Prejudice. "Eh, never mind. You did the right thing," Cody chuckled as he put the book back where it belonged on the shelf. Colossal had pulled a second book from the shelf and now, Bastion and Mars had joined him as he flipped through the pages. It was amusing watching them trying to read after all the times they had watched him do it, but they couldn't imitate the actual process.

Feeling another wave of sleepiness wash over him, Cody sat down in the armchair and watched his three smallest pokemon attempt to gain literacy. However, even that wasn't enough to distract him from the thoughts of his families, both at home and on the road with him. Obviously, the waters weren't settled among Jared and him, but the drama that existed between his parents wasn't pleasant either, especially since it was because of his journey that his parents were fighting. He could blame Derrick all he wanted for the problems that his family was facing, but was it just him? Cody knew that he hadn't been the best son, especially towards his mother. Sure, she could be unbearable, but it was only because she cared. But at this point, the tension may have reached an irreversible level. Maybe in time things will get better…

Whatever the case, at least he had his "pokemon family." Being animal minded pokemon, none of his five were able to communicate with him as he wished they could, but they made up for their silence with their unconditional loyalty and devotion towards their trainer. At the end of the day, if his friends abandoned him and the remainder of his family back home fell apart, at least his pokemon would be there at his side.

"Rah!" Colossal cried again as he threw the second book over his shoulder, this one titled Of Minun and Men. Cody was about to put this book back on the shelf, but he stopped himself. He was too tired to stand up, so he decided he'd let his pokemon have their fun. Tired of the books, Colossal walked over to the armchair to be near his trainer while Mars crawled under the big rug on the floor, giving into his burrowing tendencies. Bastion, however, was not finished with the books. The curious Squirtle leapt up onto a higher leveled bookshelf and began to browse through the titles.

"Hey, be careful," Cody said, "I don't want to have to reshelf the entire collection." He wasn't all that worried though, given that Bastion wasn't as destructive as some of his other pokemon, but a new source of worry was ready to emerge as Bastion pulled out the thickest book on the shelf. The moment the book was off the shelf, an ear piercing cheer burst from where the book was sitting.

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" screamed a collection of voices as a almost a dozen small figures burst from the space. As they flew out in a burst, Bastion was knocked off his feet and off the shelf. The little figures swirled around the room for a few seconds before landing on the floor in front of the trembling Cody and his three frightened pokemon.

"Holy shit, this house is haunted!" Cody whispered in fear.

"Hehehehehehe!" the little figures laughed. The little ghosts that sat before him were giggling like children… at least he thought they were ghosts, given that all of them had flown out of one small space in the bookshelf. The little specters looked like candles with tiny lit flames on their heads.

Where have I seen these pokemon before? Slowly, Cody leaned over and reached for his pack, not taking his eyes off of the candles, lest they attack him. He found his hand book and after flipping around, he found what he was looking for.

Litwick are ghost pokemon that take the form of candles. The species didn't exist until the early twelfth century in France when a local variety Gastly permanently took to a new physical form by fusing themselves with candles. Thus, a new line of ghost species came to be and has been evolving ever since. They are birthed from invisible spiritlings that absorb the excess life force attached to a soul a recently deceased being, fueling their flames for up to two centuries. Being that Litwick are only young ghosts, they only are able to feed on external the energy of a person's life force for sustenance, which is easily replenished with rest.

Litwick typically live in cemeteries and dwellings nearby said cemeteries since such places have lingering traces of life energy for them to feed on. However, Litwick and their evolved forms can be found almost anywhere, so long as there are living beings to feed on nearby.

"Hmm, how about that," Cody said to himself as he closed his book. The Litwick had grown bored with him and his pokemon and had began to whimsically float around the room, giggling to each other. For ghosts, the floating candles didn't seem all that spooky, though from what he had heard, they would become much more scary once they evolved. However, that didn't make them any less interesting to watch. For one thing, they all looked quite different from each other, despite having similar bodies. The coloring of each Litwick was slightly different, varying from white to cream to yellow (and one was even black.) But even more interesting was the color of their flames. The flame of each Litwick was a different color, creating a multitude of different colored dancing lights in the room. He felt it would be a good idea to alert Heather and Jared of this discovery, but after the night he was having with them, he decided this would be an experience he would keep to himself.

By this point, Bastion had gotten his nerve back and had gone back to looking at the many books on the shelf. Mars had also lost his fear and was now angrily squeaking at the ghosts that he must have believed were taunting him. But Colossal was still shivering as he clutched his trainer's leg.

"Really Colossal?" Cody laughed as he pat the lizard's horn. "After all we've been through, you're afraid of a couple of harmless ghosts? I can't wait to see you when you evolve. I've never seen a Tyranitar that was afraid of its own shadow." Cody chuckled again before leaning back in the chair. "Oh well. Maybe you'll be less afraid of ghosts if you're exposed to them more, and this is a good place to start. Seriously, this house may be a little bit creepy, but it's not that scary." But he spoke too soon.

"Fools!" a voice echoed in the room, causing Cody to sit straight up in shock. "Why have you come to this place!" All of Cody's pokemon froze in place at this new anomaly and looked up at the ceiling as if the voice came from there. The Litwick reacted more dramatically, letting out a scream in unison and flying back into the bookshelf where they had come from. Whatever being had posed the question was apparently scary enough to scare the ghosts themselves. "But it's okay. Now that you're here, you never have to leave again!"

"Who's there?" Cody called out nervously. There was no answer. But seconds later, he heard another voice from the hallway.

"Cody! Help!" Heather shouted from somewhere far away. "I'm locked in this closet! Help!"

"Heather?" Cody cried out in reply. He sprung out of his chair and ran to the hallway. "Guys, get out here!" His pokemon broke from their fear and joined him in the doorway. A pounding noise resonated from the door at the end of the hallway. Don't worry, I'll get you out of there. But as he ran down the hallway, something didn't seem right and he was about to run right into it.

To be continued…