From the title of the chapter, you can kind of guess that things around to get a little bit... spooky around here. Also, sorry for taking so god damn long to write this stuff. Blame it on school and the new Super Smash Bros game. Enjoy.

Chapter 35

Ghosts

Dialga could sense it. His servant, Clades, had lied to him. He had told him that those that were traveling between times had been destroyed. However, he could still sense them. It wasn't Clades either. There were more. One of them was a powerful creature, filled with darkness. However, the other two... they were just faint traces of energy. They were almost unnoticeable, yet they were still there. Dialga was mystified. Where had they come from? He could feel like they weren't from that world, but that didn't make sense. How had they managed to come through? There weren't any rips in space, and what world where they coming from to? Was there someone traveling through worlds?

He had heard from Clades that him and that human were world travelers, though their travels didn't tear any rips. So... where were these intruders coming from? It didn't mater to him though. That was Palkia's problem. Still, their constant travels between times was bothering him, as well as putting the time line at risk. He couldn't allow Clades lies to go on any longer. He stood up as he looked over the edge of temporal tower. Using a great deal of his energy, the legendary pokemon teleported.

- In here, quick! - Electro shouted, getting a hold of a door that was half opened, leading the group into a house, far away from the battle happening at the other side of town. Zed rushed in, Lucy still being carried by Electro. He ran up a stack of straw and gently left her on there. The pokemon was still sobbing, though she was feeling a little bit better than before. Electro sighed in relief now that they were safe and turned to close the door shut. However, when they looked around they saw that Slew was gone. He had separated from them at some point, and they hadn't noticed. - Where is he?! - Zed shouted. - I don't know! Hold on in here while I go look for him! - He shouted, walking out into town. - What? No! - The zorua shouted. He wanted to get involved in the action as well.

The electrivire turned to look at him. - No, Zed. This is way too dangerous for you, and I can't go around having to worry about you. You must stay here. - He told him. Zed looked at Electro, furious. - If only you could let me show you I can help! I am part of an exploration team, you know! I can fight! - He shouted. Electro turned to face him, anger showing in his face. He huffed, looking away and calming down a bit. He crouched down and grabbed Zed's head forcefully, pulling the zorua closer, then staring intensely at him. - Listen. I don't give a damn if you are part of an exploration team or not. This isn't any kind of rescue emergency or outlaw fight. As of now this is war, and neither you or even Eric is prepared for this. Besides... - The electrivire pointed behind Zed, turning his head to look that way.

He was pointing at Lucy, who was laying on the straw, panting heavily and crying. - She needs your help more than I do. So, stop trying to act like a hero... and be one. - He simply said. Zed stared at Electro, shocked because of his words. - Alright, I'll do it... but just you wait! I will be joining you guys soon! I'll show what I'm made of! - He shouted, turning around to attend Lucy. Electro smirked, though he was worried about the joining part, he knew he would stay to help the shin, and that made him feel calm. He turned around and opened the door again, ready to leave. However, just as he was about to close it, Zed called him from inside the house. Electro turned to face the young dark type, who simply smirked at him. - Be careful. - He advised. Electro gave him a thumbs up, then turned around and closed the door. However, outside his face went grim. He had a lot of experiences with these kind of situations. Maybe too much experience.

As soon as Electro left, Lucy called out for Zed, sounding really stressed and in pain. He hurried to her. - Lucy? How is it? How are you feeling? - He asked her. She hissed in pain, as she rolled on her back, looking away from the zorua. - It hurts... it hurts a lot... please make it stop Zed... - She pleaded, tears in her face. Zed nodded, now feeling really committed to helping her. - Ok, look at me Lucy! - He ordered her. Slowly, the shinx turned over to look at him. Her face was a mess, stains of dried tears and some snot near the center of it. She was still crying as well. - Give me your paw, I have to see it. - Slowly, she handed over her paw to him. She was notably trembling in fear, sobbing softly every so often. The zorua gently grabbed the paw, though he still got a yelp from the shinx, as the touch was enough to send pain to her brain.

Zed winced at the sight. The paw wasn't torn or anything, and there weren't any external wounds. However, the paw itself was completely dislocated, being turned a whole ninety degrees back from it's original position. Zed almost let go of it, feeling a bit lightheaded. However, he couldn't let his worry and disgust be shown, or Lucy would get even more worried than she already was. He carefully put her paw on the straw next to her. - It... isn't that bad. - He lied. - Really? Will... will you be able to fix it? - She asked him. He felt like his heart sunk down. He knew how to put bones back in place... but it was going to hurt. A lot. Chimecho had showed him with her psychic powers, as Loudred had once come in with a sprained arm. He didn't know it is was the same way with all bones though, and he practices, yes... but he hadn't done it for real.

He was now doubting if he should do it or not. If he did it, he could run the risk of making it even worse. However... if he didn't do it, the injury could get much worse. He didn't know what to do, but he didn't really have that much time to think about it. Mustering all of his strength, he breathed in deeply. - I will fix it, yeah. - He said. Lucy smiled in glee, as she knew that the pain would be gone in a while. - However... it's going to hurt. But if I don't fix it... you could get much worse. - He explained her. The shinx closed her eyes, knowing that it was going to be quite bad for a while. However, she trusted him with her heart. - Do it... if it can help me in the end... it will be worth the pain. - She said.

Zed was hoping she wouldn't say that. He nodded, breathing nervously. - Alright... give your paw. - He told her. She shakily handing her paw over to him. He grabbed it and held it in his left paw, while he put his right one on the end of it. - What are you going to do? - She asked. - I'm going to put the paw back in place, so that way it won't get any worse. If it starts to hurt a bit try to endure it, but if the pain gets too strong tell me. - He told her. She nodded, a bit more nervous than before, yet still trusting the zorua. The zorua gulped down nervously as he started to push it back into place. Just from touching it was hurting, but Lucy didn't say anything, as it wasn't that much different from the pain she had been enduring that whole time.

Slowly, she saw how it went back down to it's original position again. After a while though, it begun going faster and faster. Suddenly, pain flooded her whole mind as she started screaming. Zed immediately let go of it, alarmed by her shouts and thinking he had made it worse. Her paw fell down to the straw, bouncing back up slightly. Lucy shifted to grab it, though the zorua stopped her halfway. - No! Don't! If you touch it you could make it worse! - He shouted, firmly grabbing her other paw. Lucy looked at him in the eyes, as he stared into hers as well. For a second there, one could say they shared something, though it was only for an instant. Lucy's calm came back to her as she desisted on trying ti grab her own paw. Zed let go of it as he slowly grabbed Lucy's broken paw again. He then began rolling it in a circular motion, bringing slight relief to the shinx's face.

He then grabbed the paw once again, looking at Lucy in the eyes. He gave her a confident look, and the shinx nodded, closing her eyes and bitting her lip. Zed pushed the paw back in it's palce again, earning a yelp of pain from Lucy. She was about to shout him to stop, but he was really close. He gave one last push, earning a scream from her. The bone relocated itself, making a "pop" noise as it went back into it's place. Lucy looked at her paw, her eyes filled with tears, whilst Zed was sweating copiously. She tried to move around her paw, and although it still hurt, she was able to move it, though sloppily. Lucy turned to face the zorua, a smile on her face as she hugged him tightly, careful not to hurt herself. - Thank you Zed... - She muttered. She was glad that he had helped her, but he was even more glad because he had managed to do it. - It... it was nothing Lucy... - He answered, rubbing the back of his head.

He stepped away from Lucy, walking off into the house in the search of some bandages and a piece of wood with the which to make a brace. Before he walked off, he turned to face Lucy and told he to not move from the straw or move around her wrist at all. She did as he told her, and he came back minutes later with a couple of white bandages and a small plank of wood he had gotten from a chair. He had broken it ff and had been careful to break it there was no risk of any splinters randomly pinching her or nailing into her arm. He was careful to not move the wrist at all as he put the wood under it, and then used the bandage to keep it in place.

Feeling light headed, Zed sat back on the ground, huffing heavily and still sweating, wiping some sweat from his forehead. - Well... that... that was pretty tense. - He said between breaths. - I need a break. - He followed. Lucy looked at him, smiling, though there were some tears in her eyes. - What, got a little worked up, fox boy? - She asked him teasingly. He smirked. - Yeah. I have to admit it went fairly well for being the first time. - He informed her. Lucy's face went pale. - Wait... so... you actually... I.. was... you... - She began stuttering, really confused. Zed laughed. - Oh my god the look on your face! That's priceless. - He looked at her again, and noticed that she actually a bit mad now. - Zed are you messing with me?! Because this is not the best time be joking around! - She shouted.

The zorua's face went from cheerful to serious as he got from the ground, looking around. - You're right... I need to put a barricade in the door. You lay there, resting. You need time for that wrist to fully recover. I'll go get the stuff by myself. - He said, walking off deeper into the house. - Zed! You didn't answer my question! - She shouted. From all the way inside of the house, Lucy could've sworn hear him say about it being true. Her face turned red from anger and shame from being toyed around like this. - God damn it Zed! - She shouted, whilst the zorua's laugh could be heard from all the way inside the house.

Clades walked calmly to the lowest part of the cavern. Beisde him, was Blake the umbreon. - So, you say that they will pass through here? - Blake asked. - Yes. I do have that intuition... and even if that isn't the case, then our new servant will go after them. Either way we win in all situations. - Clades explained. - So... we just wait for them now? - The umbreon asked. Clades nodded again. Blake smirked, as it meant that he would be able to get his revenge on Elly for the beating she had given him in the dream. He was enraged because of this. She had caught him off-guard with those new powers of hers. But not anymore. This time, he would kill her.

- Right after taking care of them... we are proceeding with the next part of our plan. We will go make Dialga a little visit, and then use the life gem to get all the energy we can from him. This way, he will become one our servants as well. - Clades explained. - Yes... your plan is genius... but just a question... what happens if they manage to survive the encounter with... them? - Blake asked. - If they do... then we'll come after them personally, my associate. We will hunt them down... - Clades said. - Like the rats they are! - Blake finished, laughing afterwards. - Exactly my friend... exactly. - Clades replied, a bit of annoyed tone in his voice.

- Welp. Any ideas on how to get down from here? - Eric asked. They had arrived at the edge of a massive cliff. Down at ground level was the wastelands, but the problem was getting down there, and still keep their legs... as well as their lives of course. - Well... we can't really float down, or fly for that matter. - Elly said. - And even if we did, the amount of height would be too much for any flying type, specially with all of our weights. - Dusknoir pointed out. - So, basically we're stuck up here. Great. - Grovyle muttered under his breath, angry. The human Eric looked at him, rolling his eyes. - Wow, took you long enough to go into negative mode. Good grief. - He annoyingly said. Grovyle turned to face his human friend. - Alright then, mister Think Positive! Got any ideas?! - He asked violently. The human looked around for a while and pointed in a direction behind the grass pokemon. - Maybe through there? - He asked.

All of the pokemon turned around to face what looked like a spire of rocks ascending from the very bottom of the cliff to the edge. The shape didn't seem natural, yet it was impossible something like this had been built. They all looked that way, quite confused and surprised at the same time. However, Jake, as always, didn't show any feelings. However, Dusknoir stared at the construction with horror, as he knew what that was. - Umm... I... well... we could look for another way down... - He said nervously.. Everyone else noticed his nervous tone, and the riolu was the first one to ask him. - Something wrong? - He asked the ghost type. Dusknior stood there in silence, thinking about something. He snapped out of his thoughts as the human Eric tapped his shoulder. - Hey. You ok? Do you have something important to say? - He asked.

Dusknoir shook his head. - Well.. we should get going then. - Grovyle said, walking towards the spire. All of them started following them, except the human Eric, who grabbed Dusknoir by his shoulder and stopping him on his tracks. - Oh no! We're not going anywhere until you tell me what you're thinking about! - He shouted. Dusknoir turned to face him, alarmed. - What? No, there's nothing to worry about! We're ok! - He shouted. - Famous last words. I've had one too many of these situations to know where this is going. There's this one guy who hears or knows something and doesn't tell the group because the thinks that it's nothing, but then it turns out to be crucial information! - He shouted. Dusknoir stared at him angrily. - Oh for the love of... it's just something I heard, alright!? A rumor! - He shouted.

- See?! So you were thinking about something after all! Care to share it? - The human asked. The rest of the group had stopped to stare at the two arguing creatures. Dusknoir sighed. - Well... its just a rumor... The fortress in the which you were jailed came out straight from the ground, you should know that, since you're from the time when it happened. - Dusknoir said. Eric nodded. - Yeah... I remember hearing that a huge forest had appeared out of nowhere, and that a fortress completely made out of stone had also popped out of the ground whilst in the middle of an insanely strong earthquake, which I guess destroyed the landscape and created this huge cliff. - The riolu said, pointing at said chasm with his thumb.

- Yes. Well, when this fortress came out of the ground, and we established our base here, we found that spire. - Dusknoir said, pointing at what seemed to be their only safe way down. - We didn't have any use for it at first, but when we started fighting and executing resistance members... and other innocent pokemon... - He said, the words choking up in his throat, remembering all the lives he had stolen. - We decided to use the spire to dump and bury all of the corpses. Because of this, now we call it "Spire of the Dead". - Dusknoir declared. Everyone in the group either grimaced or cringed at the story behind their only hope of survival. - Christ... that's... kind of disturbing actually. - The human Eric swore. - Well, you haven't heard the best bit yet. We had a number of guards stationed there, as it is one of the only ways to get up the forest that surrounds the fortress... Well... not too long ago, one of them came back, his eyes wide open and horrified. He said that they had heard voices and screams coming from inside, and that when his companions had gone to investigate they had not returned. - Dusknoir said.

- We sent another party to investigate again... and none of them returned. Because of the danger that the spire was, we considered destroying it... yet whoever we sent there never returned. In the end, the entrance was sealed, and no one has gone in ever since. - Dusknoir concluded the story. - Wait... are you seriously suggesting that... that place is haunted? - The human Eric asked. Their companions faces were completely drained of color. - Well... yes, I am. - Dusknoir said. - By whom, more ghost pokemon? They will be no sweat! - He shouted. - No. Ghost pokemon and pokemon ghosts are completely different. - Dusknoir explained. - In reality, ghost pokemon aren't truly ghosts. However, their structure and the way our organs work make it seem like we are ghosts. However, pokemon ghosts are something else. They are vengeful spirits that have come back from the dead for some reason, and are most likely trying to get their revenge on the living. - He explained.

Whilst the other pokemon nodded, understanding the situation, the human groaned. - Why are all ghosts always out for revenge?! Can't there be nice ghosts for once?! - He asked to no one in particular. The rest of the group ignored him, as Elly asked Dusknoir if that was the only way out of there. - Unfortunately, yes, that is the only way down from here to ground level. It sounds dangerous, but considering that we have you and Eric by our side, I think we can survive this. - He said. The eevee nodded as Grovyle walked up. - Alright, then we're going to need to come up with an strategy. Eric, you're going to come with me. - He said. Both Erics looked at him, and then at eachother in - Who are you talking to? - The human Eric asked him. - I was talking to you, idiot... - Grovyle sighed in exasperation.

- Ok, can we please get this whole same name problem solved? - He asked, quite annoyed. - Well... alright, but... do you have any ideas for a new name for me? I was thinking about Rish. - The riolu Eric said. Elly stared at him, unbelievably angry. - What?! No! You're not Rish! We already discussed this, you dumbass! - She shouted. - Well, then how about you come up with a name? I just said that off the top of my head, nothing else! - He retorded. Elly thought for a while. - How about "Idiot"? - She asked, a smile on her face. - What? No! - The rioly shouted, whilst the human Eric rose his hand up in the air. - I second that name! - He shouted. The riolu turned to stare at the human angrily. - You zip it! - He shouted. He was getting way too angry for this kind of thing, and he noticed this.

- Alright... then how about... Rice. - He suggested. The human behind him looked at him, a "Are you kidding me" look on his face. - Really? You've just won the unoriginal names award dude. Just invert your god damn name and say that it's original. - He gave the pokemon a slow sarcastic clap whilst slowly nodding. - Good job. - He "congratulated". The riolu turned to him, now actually pretty angry. - Go to hell! - He shouted, annoyed by the human's constant comments. The human laughed at the rioly for how angry he was. "Angry?" The human asked himself. A devious smile popped up in his face. - Why am I such a friggin' genius? - He asked himself.

- How about Iratus? - He suggested. Both the riolu and Elly stared at him, confused. - Iratus? What is that? - The riolu asked. - It's latin, it means... bravery. - The human said, a smirk on his face. The riolu thought about it for a second, before nodding. - Alright, Iratus it this. Until you leave that is. - He reminded Eric, who nodded, smiling. Elly didn't buy it. As Iratus walked off, for a bit, the eevee approached the human. - What does Iratus mean? - She asked. Eric leaned down to whisper into her ear. - It's latin, and it means angry. - Eric said, a smirk on his face. Elly had to suppress a giggle, as it kind of suited the riolu. Said pokemon turned around to look at them. - Hey, come on! Are we going to the haunted place or not? - He asked them. - Yeah yeah we are coming Iratus! - Eric shouted, suppressing his laughter, the eevee beside him doing the same as they walked to where the rest of the group was.

The trip to the spire was short, and the ominous ambiance only increased as they approached the area. The closer they got there, the more dead plants they saw, like something had drained the life out of them, whilst they were stuck in time of course. The dirt slowly got soggier and mushy, and an ever so present smell of decay went into their nostrils, making most of them wince. The spire itself didn't look any better, as one could see sections that had crumbled down, leaving hanging roots and what looked like... bones. They then noticed what seemed to be the entrance, though it was sealed off by a giant rock slab, without any way of opening it or closing it. - This is it? - Grovyle asked Dusknoir, who nodded. - Yes. We sealed it off like this so as to prevent anything from escaping, though I think the bottom exit was left open. - He explained.

- Alright, so we know that the exit is open... but what about the entrance? - Iratus asked. - Well... there doesn't seem to be any keyhole or mechanism to open it. - Elly observed. - And you're right, this was closed without the intention of ever opening it again. In other words, this should be impossible to pass – The ghost type said. Eric rolled his eyes. - Pfft. Impossible to open? I'd like to see that. - He said, confident. - Well, do you have any brilliant ideas, mister "I'm so good I can open the impossible"? - Grovyle said. - Ideas? No. But I've got one hell of a key here. - Eric said, pulling out his staff and approaching the slab. He looked back at his friends.

- I'd suggest you stand clear. - He said. Not even five seconds after that the human grabbed the staff with both of his hands and lunged at the slab. The staff hit the stone really hard, shattering it. Not letting up, he let the staff fall through his hands, grabbing it again in the midsection with his right hand and grabbing the extreme closest to him with his left hand, then delivering a fast and powerful stab with the other part of the staff. The result was the slab breaking into pieces and being launched inside of the cave, leaving a gaping hole where the seal once had been. Eric smirked and he spun around the staff in his right hand before putting it back in his sheath on his back. - Here's Eric... - He muttered.

(Skull Woods Theme Extended – The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds)

The human was the first one to walk in first, and because of this, the first one to walk into a pretty... grim scenery, to say the least. As soon as he walked in, the smell of decay and death got even stronger, probably because of the many skeletons and decaying bodies laying around. The rest walked in, and their initial reactions were similar to the human's. Between the corpses there were some sableye, whilst there were other pokemon, although it was hard to distinguish them because of both the state of the bodies... and the growing nausea in each of their heads every time they looked at the ground. To try and avoid this, Elly looked upwards, but she paid the price for it, as she held in a scream of surprise and horror. Everyone turned to look at her and then looked up. Each of their faces showed either disgust or surprise as they saw that the dome of the spire was completely covered by bones and other... parts. And some of them... were decaying bodies, with their arms stretched downwards, like trying to reach for them.

- Good lord... - Grovyle muttered, whilst Dusknoir stood there in horror at the result of his actions, whilst Elly was looking away and Iratus was hugging her closely. Jake had a slight face of disgust, whilst Eric was thinking of how all of that could've happened. He was expecting the bodies on the ground, and those had taken him by surprise... but hanging from the ceiling? That was new. Well, not really, he remembered seeing something like that a long time ago... but seeing there, of all places... that's what surprised him. - Wow... Now I understand why this place is haunted. It's like this thing rose straight outta hell! - He exclaimed, looking around to find either horrifyingly blank eyes staring back at him or eyeless skulls, with their maws open agape and showing their rotting teeth.

- Now there's just something wrong going on in here... - Eric muttered. - You don't say! - Grovyle responded from all he way at the entrance, looking away in disgust. - How... how could this happen? - Dusknoir asked. It was then when Iratus rose his head and looked at Dusknoir. - Didn't you say that you left the exit open? All of these poor pokemon must've entered without knowing. - The riolu said. The human, who was knelt down, his right leg on the ground moved around the bones. He found what he had been looking for, and far more in fact. He found scratch marks on the floor, as well as some rotten tissue and bones. - Or abducted. I don't think anyone would come in here willingly, and considering by the looks of all of these cadavers it is most likely that whatever killed them also dragged them around a lot. - He observed, raising from the ground and looking at his companions. Jake, who had walked off observed one of the skeletons, and found something quite odd.

- Hey... this skeleton... it's skull is completely bashed in. - He said. The human walked over to the sneasel, and found out that he was right. He didn't know to which pokemon the skeleton belonged, although it looked canine. Either way, Jake was right. The skull was broken, like it had been bashed against something, and not only that but some of the bones were broken as well. He looked at the wall next of which the skeleton was. He noticed dried blood on it. - This poor fellow must've been flung around... and he crashed into that wall and died from blood loss... and probably pain. Look at all of these fractures... - He observed, looking away. - What a terrible way to go... - Elly said, recomposing herself after that initial freak out. - You bet it is... Either way, we've got to get moving. The sooner we get out of here, the less chances we'll have of running into whatever killed these guys. - Eric said, looking around for a tunnel to lead them deeper down. He managed to find said hole on the opposite wall of the entrance.

- Over there. - He pointed, walking towards it at a steady pace. The rest of his companions walked right behind him. It was pitch black, and because of this the human pulled out his staff. He concentrated some of his energy into it, and both of the extremes started to glow. The bottom one looked like a black flame which trailed the staff with every move, whilst the top one was a white flame, which gave off some nice light. - Stick to me, and don't separate. - He advised. The rest of his companions nodded nervously before they started making their way downwards. Iratus closed his eyes and focused his aura, allowing him to see the aura of all things in the darkness. With his eyes still closed, he looked at his friend's auras. Elly's was... kind of black actually, though he could see a bright light deep inside of it. Grovyle's was green, and shifting around a lot, obviously telling the riolu that he was nervous.

Dusknoir's was almost transparent, and he noticed that he was also nervous, but for some other reason... he didn't seem scared in the slightest... so why was he feeling like that? Jake's aura was completely still, as he had expected. The moment he looked at Eric's aura... he had to open his eyes. He had no aura coming off him! He was extremely confused. How was it possible that one didn't have any aura? Was it because... he didn't have a soul? It didn't make any sense! He close his eyes to look at the human again.

(Stop the music)

To his horror, that was the least of his worries. As he closed his eyes, he saw two auras zip past by them and go behind the group. Both him and Elly were at the back, and he immediately turned around to look that way. He saw both of the auras... one... was extremely familiar... while the other was identical to Elly's! He stared at them, confused. What was going on? He opened his eyes, and stopped in horror as he saw two pairs of eyes. The ones on the left were bright green, almost emerald, whilst the ones in the right were a mix between purple and red, forming a really dark shade of red. He stepped back in awe. Both of the pairs started approaching, but all of a sudden they stopped, as another thing happened in the darkness. Whilst everything in front of him was pitch black darkness, all of a sudden a green crooked smile appeared in the middle of the black. The outlines of the smile zigzagged, and gave out the impression that whatever was smiling wasn't normal. Then, more for them appeared, until there were dozens in front of them, covering the whole area.

(Dr. Trager Chase - Outlast)

He stepped back in horror and called out for his friends. - Umm... Guys?! - He shouted keeping his eyes on the smiles. All of his companions, which hadn't noticed that the riolu ad stopped turned around. As they saw the whole scenery, their faces also turned into one of shock. Eric, who was in the lead, sensed the threat they posed. - RUUUUN! - He shouted as he made a mad dash for the depths of the tunnel. The rest of the pokemon started following him as well. The riolu made a sprint to catch up with his friends, Elly looked behind her every so often, feeling scared for him. The riolu turned his head back, and saw in horror that whatever was behind them was chasing them! He turned to face forwards. - Eric! It's chasing us! - He shouted. The human looked back, his staff risen above his head and giving off some light ahead. - Then don't fucking stop running! - He shouted back, looking forward again.

He noticed they were coming up to a crossing, with different tunnels leading to different parts. From the tunnel in front of them he could see more of the green masses. - To the left! - He shouted, turning the corner to the left, though stopping midway and turning around, going right. - The other left!- He shouted at the top of his lungs. His companions didn't bother to look to the left, but as soon as they looked back again a huge mass of green smiles, already giving off an eye light behind them was coming for them. Two huge purple yes, with green irises appeared in the middle of the mass, as it kept tracking them down. - What the hell is that thing?! - Grovyle asked, looking forwards again as he had looked at the monster.

- Just god damn run! - The human shouted again, keeping his eyes directly in front of them. Laughter was echoing through the halls, as more and more of the skeletons lying on the floor seemed to be turning to face them. Suddenly, in front of them, Eric saw what seemed to be actual skeletons standing upright, blocking them. They were bipedal, with one of them having four arms whilst the other was a bit shorter, with really sharp claw like extremities for hands. Eric dashed ahead, brandishing his staff. He then stomped the ground with his left foot, spinning his body to the left and extending the staff, spinning 360 degrees and smashing both of the reanimated skeletons in the mid section of their rather thin bodies. They were smashed into pieces, the human keeping his momentum and running along his friends.

All of a sudden, the whole cave started shaking violently. Without stopping, they looked around, and saw how some rocks started falling from the ceiling. At that same time they came out from that hallway and into another intersection. All of time started slowing down, as a mountain of rocks started falling on them. - Keep running! - Eric shouted, his voice echoing through the cave, although it felt like it was much slower. The human ran straight ahead, followed by Dusknoir, who was actually pretty far away from the human. Jake tried to follow him, but with the danger of the rocks crushing the Sneasel, Grovyle lashed out a vine from one of his arms and snatched him out of the way, pulling him to the left whilst Iratus and Elly, being the last ones in the group, went right, going around that corner just barely before the rocks crumbled down and blocked the way.

(Stop the music)

- Holy hell! - Eric shouted. He turned around and stared at the recently crumbled down tunnel. - Hey! Are you guys there?! - He asked. He heard a groan coming from the ground near him, and once he looked down, he noticed that Dsknoir was stuck under some rocks. - A little help? - He asked. The human crouched down, grabbed both of his arms and pulled him out of there. The pokemon got out from there and stood up, as he looked around, frantically. - What... where's Jake?! - He turned around and faced the rubble. - Jake! Jake, where are you?! - He shouted, desperate. - He's over here with me! - Grovyle answered, his voice at the other side of the rubble. - Guys?! Where are you?! - Elly asked, desperate. - We're stuck at the other side of the rubble! - Dusknoir shouted, answering the eevee's question.

- What happened?! - Iratus asked, his voice coming from the same way Elly's voice came from. - I think that whatever was chasing us tried to make the whole place fall down on us. It seems that it got the whole thing quite wrong, because he blocked it's path as well. - Eric explained, shouting so everyone could hear him. - What now? - Grovyle asked. - We have to split up. Try to find an alternate way out of this place! - The human shouted. - But what if we don't find anything?! - Iratus asked, worrying everyone. The human smirked. - All roads lead to Rome! This place isn't as natural as we thought, so there must be more than one way of getting out of here. Find it, and we'll meet up outside. - The human answered. - But what if there's only one exit? - Dusknoir asked him. - Come on... where's that positive thinking? - He asked the ghost type.

Dusknoir rolled his eyes in annoyance. All of a sudden, the rocks in front of them shifted. Eric moved his staff over to the rocks and looked for movement. - Did... did you see that? - Dusknoir asked. - You bet your ass I did. - The human answered, lowering himself to look at the rubble closely. He then saw it shift again, as some kind of black thick liquid poured out. The human instantly recognized it, and didn't waste time to step back. - STEP BACK! - He shouted at the top of his lungs, as the thrust his staff into the liquid. The strange substance disintegrated as soon as the staff touched it, the rumble shifting again slightly, more rocks falling again, as some kind of screech came from the other side of the rocks. This time from the side they had been chased by the unknown entity. Everyone at the other side of rocks looked that way, as the human shouted. - What happened?! Eric! - Grovyle called out.

- We're alright! But listen closely! If you see any kind of creature made out of some kind of black substance, or that looks completely black, run away! Also... Iratus, Elly... if you see Blake, you know what to do... but if you see Clades... Run the fuck away! - He advised them. - What? Why?! - Elly asked. - Blake is your enemy... but Clades is my problem! And if that isn't enough motive, he's far too powerful for you! Even a his weakest state, you're no match for him. He will kill you, and he won't take a second to think about it. Hide or run, but do not fight him! For this one time, I'm being brutally honest! - Eric shouted, a really serious tone in his voice. The riolu and the eevee looked at eachother, then both nodded. - Ok... we will listen to you... but you guys be careful as well! - Iratus shouted.

- Alright! Sounds easy enough! - Eric answered. Dusknoir floated up to the pile of rocks. - Grovyle! For the love of Arceus! Take good care of Jake! If something happens to him... - The pokemon warned Grovyle. - Don't worry... nothing will happen to him. I'll make sure of that. - Grovyle said. Feeling a lot more relieved, Dusknoir sighed. - Alright guys... good luck! - Eric shouted, as he turned around and dashed into the the darkness ahead of them, Dusknoir not far behind him. Iratus and Elly also walked away from the rubble, going into their own tunnel, whilst Grovyle and Jake stood there. They didn't really have a source of light. Grovyle however, came up with an idea. He put his hands together and formed an energy ball, which gave out a tiny bit of light, though more than enough for the place they were at the moment. - Come on, let's go. - The grovyle told Jake, who simply nodded, as they both walked into darkness too.

Blake and Clades were now standing in front of the open entrance to the Spire of Death. They both looked at it, a smile on both their faces. Without thinking about it twice, they both walked inside. A few meters behind them, hidden between the highest trees, was Primal Dialga, who was staring at that place, fairly interested. Everything, both Clades, those who wanted to stop time, as well as those that were traveling in time were in there. All of them, together. However, the legendary didn't enter. There was something in that place... something that sent chills up his spine.

- Spooky scary skeletons, send shivers down your spine. Shrieking skulls will shock your soul, seal your doom tonight. - The human Eric was singing. Singing. They were in the middle of completely darkness, and even after that whole chase, the human was still singing like nothing was happening. - Spooky scary skeletons, speak with such a screech. You'll shake and shiver in surprise when you hear these zombies screech. - The human kept singing, really upsetting Dusknoir. - Are you seriously singing at a time like this?! - He asked the human, quite surprised as well as annoyed. The human looked at him, rolling his eyes. - I'm just trying to lighten up the mood here! You're not doing much to contribute either. I'll stop singing, but have fun with the creepy ambiance. - The human said, completely stopping his singing and turning to face forward.

(Shadow Temple – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)

The silence was far much better than Eric's annoying singing, at least for Dusknoir. They kept on walking down that tunnel, until they came out a wide area. It seemed to be a hole of some sorts, and there didn't seem to be any of way of going down. The human grabbed a rock and dropped it, waiting for a while. The stone took almost five full seconds to reach the ground below. Dusknoir looked at the human. - Well... what now? - He asked. - You can float, right? - Eric asked the ghost pokemon . - Yes, though I won't be able to carry you. - He said. The human smiled, extending his hand over the pit and letting the staff go from his hand. - I wasn't asking you to hold me. - He said, before he turned his back to the pit, spreading his arms and falling backwards. - Eric! - Dusknoir shouted, floating downwards. However, he didn't see the human anywhere, and he got at the ground, which was illuminated by the staff, didn't see the human anywhere around.

He then heard something rumbling down the walls, and looked up. Barely visible because of the darkness, he saw the human sliding down the rock wall, slowing down by the seconds, the fingers of his right hand buried in the stone, allowing him to stop his descent. He was smirking cockily. - See? I told you I didn't need help... - He said. All of a sudden, the section of the rock broke off, making the human loose his grip and falling down to the ground. He howled out in pain as he hit the ground hard, with his back as well. - Aahh... my back... - He muttered, swearing under his breath. He got up sloppily and found Dusknoir looking at him, a smirk on his face. The human walked up to his staff, stepped on one of the edges, making the staff fly upwards, the human catching it in midair, before walking besides the ghost pokemon. - Don't you dare say anything. - He warned the pokemon.

Dusknoir shook his head, smiling and chuckling a bit. It didn't last long, as he turned to look around. - How far in do you think we are? - He asked Eric. - Well... considering that we walked quite a while with the others... and considering the significantly long drop... I think we've gotten ahead out of everyone. - Eric said. Dusknoir sighed. - I wasn't talking about that... I was referring to how much of this place there's left. - He said. - Well... I think we are halfway though this place. - He said. Dusknoir sighed. - You think? - He asked. - Hey, I can't really figure this stuff out. Now let's keep going until we are out of here. - Eric said.

- Come on! Get a move on Iratus! - Elly shouted. The riolu behind her sighed heavily. - I'm keeping an eye out so that nothing jumps out at us and tries to kill us, Elly. Also, stop calling me Iratus! At least when Eric isn't around. - He said. Elly stuck out her tongue, slowing down her walking to walk by him. - Nah. If it makes you angry, I'm going to keep calling you Iratus. - She said. - Really? You want me to be angry? - He asked her, raising his eyebrow. - If it keeps you the way you are... then yes. - She answered. She got really close to the riolu. - Wow... really good place to be like this. - He answered, sarcasm in his voice. - Hey... I'm not feeling very well, alright? This place is creeping me out. - She said. She couldn't see much, other than what he was lighting with his paws, which were glowing blue. Even though he was doing this, he was still using his aura senses to see if anything or anyone tried to sneak up on them.

Luckily, up to that point so far so good. They hadn't run into anything out of the ordinary. If ordinary was, of course, the almost endless amount of skeletons laying on the floor around them. However, it was a bit ok, since they were both together. It wasn't exactly the most enjoyable of experiences, but it wasn't as bad as being separated of course. The tunnel was getting a tad too narrow, and eventually they had continue in a row. Eric decided to go first, Elly right behind him. The tunnel got really low, and the riolu had to lower himself so as to not hit himself in the head. It looked like this small tunnel was in fact up high in the wall of another cavity, and the riolu came by a drop. He could see the ground however, and it wasn't that far. However, for Elly, it looked like an endless abyss. He jumped down, and Elly right behind him, landing softly on the ground.

(Stop the music)

That was when they both noticed Clades standing right behind them, both of his swords in his hands, glowing ominously in the darkness. - Going somewhere? - He asked teasingly.

Grovyle and Jake were walking through the darkness, now heading through a tunnel that lead downwards and slightly to the right. They hadn't talked at all, and neither really wanted to do so either. All of a sudden, a scream was heard, followed by shouts. The words were incomprehensible, but they both recognized the voices. - Those were Iratus and Elly!- Grovyle shouted, looking at Jake. He didn't look worried, but for some reason he was feeling something. He felt this oppression in his chest each time he thought about either Dusknoir, or his other friends. Was it worry? Was that the famous feeling that plagues a creature's body whenever they are worried about someone? Was that how it felt? If that was the case, then he really wanted them to be alright. - Hope they are alright. - He said in his usual monotone tone of voice.

Grovyle looked at him. - You don't sound too hopeful. - He pointed out. - He must've sucked all the feelings out of you. - He said, obviously referring to Dusknoir. This kind of offended Jake. - What do you mean? - The sneasel asked. - Well... ain't it obvious? Maybe Dusknoir is on our side now, but I still can't trust him at all. He has done so many horrible things that I just can't forgive him. One could say that my alliance with him is temporary. Whenever I get the chance or a reason... - He muttered. - Why? What has he done? - He asked. - He's killed dozens just to get higher up in his ranking to become Dialga's little prairie dog. - He explained. - Not so proud of your master, now are you? - He asked the young pokemon bitterly. - You aren't really better than him. You and that human wanted to go back in time and kill everyone just so any of this wouldn't ever happen. - He said.

Grovyle stopped on the spot and look at Jake. - Because our god damn lives are miserable! If there was one way to stop all of this from ever happening, it was to completely avoid this situation at all! And even if we had to kill everything on the planet, all of those who had their lives ruined, as well as those who were frozen in time would come back to life and enjoy what they had been cut short from! And all of these things in exchange of other lives that had been either ruined or had lost all meaning! In my opinion, a worthy sacrifice! - He shouted. - Yeah? Yours and that human's. From what I heard, you didn't get too much support from your allies. Everyone in this world now considers you two murderers. - Jake said, his voice sounding bored. The grass type was taken aback by his response.

- Also, you were the ones that made your lives miserable. You decided to fight against a power that you couldn't comprehend and didn't want to accept. You made yourselves either criminals and fugitives. You were the ones that chose your life. Had you decided to join our side things could've been a lot more different. - He said. - And how do you know that? - Grovyle answered. - And how do you know that things would've been the same? - Jake answered, a bitter tone in his voice. Grovyle frowned, looking forward and starting walking again. Neither one of them said anything, and kept on going through the tunnels.

(The Groom Chase - Outlast)

- Run! Elly! RUN! - Iratus shouted as he rushed down the opposite way Clades was, Elly right beside him. The creature smirked as it started running after them, laughing maniacally as he thew both of his swords forward, flying through the air and spinning. Eric ducked just in time to avoid one that would've cut his head clean off. One of the swords came back and almost cut Elly's ears off, though she managed to lower her had just in time. This swords came back to his right hand, while the left sword got stuck on the rock. It wasn't there too long though.

Both Elly and Eric ran past it, Clades a few meters behind them and pulling out the sword from the rock forcefully. He dismissed this sword and made out of his crossbows appear, taking aim at the running shapes in front of him and firing. The bolt passed right in between them, making both their furs stand on edge as they jumped away from eachother. Eric looked back and saw that Clades was aiming at him. He started making his movements unpredictable and erratic, making the whole task harder for their foe.

He fired several bolts in a quick succession, dodging most of them, although one of projectiles scratched the riolu's cheek, producing momentary pain, although quite weak and unnoticeable at that moment because of the adrenaline. He put his paw back and created an aura sphere, launching it at their chaser. The amount of aura in his body allowed him to fire five of them in a quick succession. Clades skillfully dodged all of them, and he slashed the last one out of the air, dashing through the cloud of smoke with a demented smile on his face. Eric decided to try out one of their new powers. He prepared another sphere, but this time he used his shadow magic. The sphere turned purple and divided itself into three smaller balls of energy, which started rotating at really high speeds.

He let go of the attack, and all three of them headed straight for Clades. He jumped to the left, and was caught off-guard by the fact that the spheres homed in on him. However, the explosion only pushed him against the wall, and didn't harm him much, although it did some damage. The last two followed, but he simply dashed up to them and took the hit, increasing his speed by flying, catching up to them. Iratus cursed out loud as he looked forward. He looked at Elly who was looking at him with worry. He then came up with an idea. He ran closer to Elly as he prepared another sphere, but this time he aimed forward, used his water magic and launched the water string.

The water started leaving out of his body at a fast rate, feeling his mouth getting progressively drier. He grabbed Elly's fur as soon as he felt that it had hit something and had stuck to it. He then made the string pull them forward, just as Clades lunged forward and slashed downwards, almost cutting them in half with both of his swords. He looked up and at the pokemon, which disappeared into the darkness in mere seconds. - Why you little... - He growled in anger, and then started flying towards the direction they had gone.

(Stop the music)

Meanwhile, Iratus and Elly were soaring through the tunnels, and they came out into an open room, with some rocks laying on the ground and standing up. Iratus was distracted looking at all of these things through his aura senses that he didn't see the wall approaching at a fast rate. He let go of Elly, who rolled on the ground and went to the left whilst he crashed into the wall, almost knocking him out cold. Barely conscious, he got himself up and looked around. He was dizzy, and his aura senses didn't allow him to see the whole room, just a few meters around him. He quickly hurried to a rock and hid behind it. Unknown to him, Elly was doing the same.

(Surgeon Sneaking Part 3 - Outlast)

Clades came into the room. Both of the pokemon knew this because they heard his feet touch the ground. Clades smirked to himself. - Alright then... let's play cat and mouse... - He said, as he started walking around the room. Eric's headache was clearing up, allowing him to see further with his aura senses. There were a lot of stones lying around in the room, and him and Elly could use these as cover to hide from Clades, who was walking around in the middle of the room. Elly was still not in Iratus' view, but he hoped that she would be soon. Using the darkness to his favor, he started moving to the left as quietly as he could, sneaking to the next rock he could use as cover. This was when he noticed Elly, crouching down behind one of the rocks. He hurried to her as quietly as he could, tapping her head.

She yelped in surprise, producing a lot of noise, Iratus putting a paw over her mouth and stopping her from actually screaming. However, it was still enough for Clades to know the general area where they were. - Well, well, well... looks like someone is letting fear take hold of themselves... - He muttered, chuckling. He approached the place where he had heard the sound come from. Iratus lifted his paw from her mouth and whispered her to follow him. She nodded in the darkness as he put a paw on her forehead. He then started moving slowly, Elly right behind him. They managed to move two spots away before they heard a snap sound. All of a sudden, a fire started in the middle of the room, and Iratus' eyes widened in horror. Now Clades could see them if they moved at the wrong time! They stopped right where they were.

The riolu leaned to look over the top of the rock and saw that Clades was checking the spot they had just been in. He then moved to the other side and told Elly to follow him closely. They moved to the right once more before he noticed Clades turning around and heading from the rocks located in the middle. His aura senses were getting better, and the riolu noticed another hole in one of the walls to their right. It was quite far away from where they were, but if they managed to sneak neat there and then go through the tunnel they would be safe. He told Elly about the exit and he motioned her to follow him. Just as they were moving though, Clades turned around all of a sudden and headed for the next spot to their right.

(Stop the music)

They held their breaths and Clades walked right by them, his right hand combusted in flames as the creature leaned over to examine that spot. Elly, who could see the creature felt like they were in a extremely bad spot. She was right, as Clades started heading for their spot. Without thinking about it twice, she came up with a plan... but she just hoped that Iratus would react the way he would. The riolu was looking at Clades, really nervous as he approached them. All of a sudden, he heard Elly say something out loud behind him. - I love you! - She shouted. He turned around to look at her, but then noticed something dashing out into the middle of the room. Clades saw the eevee running away and chased after her. - ELLY! NO!- Iratus shouted desperately. - Come on! GO! MOVE! I WON'T BE ABLE TO ENTERTAIN HIM MUCH LONGER! - She shouted.

The way her words were echoing through the cave... It made the riolu noticed something. Clades was chasing after the pokemon, his torch barely allowing him to see the outline of the creature as it sneaked in between the rocks, avoiding made of his attacks. She dashed behind a rock, but Clades was faster. He faked her out by making it look like he would go from the right, but he went behind the rock from the left, and both of them ran into eachother. The eevee didn't expect this, and Clades had already risen his sword over his head.

He brought it down onto the eevee's head, cutting off her neck.

Eric and Dusknoir came out to an open room, filled with an unusual amount of skeletons. There were skeletons all over that place, but there quite a lot in that room, even more than in the entrance. In front of them, they could see an exit. They were almost out! - Hey! Look! That's an exit! - Dusknoir shouted, relieved that they were about to get out of that place. However, Eric tensed up. He had already experienced those kind of situations one too many times. - Ok, but don't let your guard down at all. Whatever is in this cave is going to attack us. Just trust me, I have a hunch. - The human said, holding his staff in both of his hands and looking around to see if something moved. - Screw you and your hunches... - Dusknoir muttered, when all of a sudden, he saw two red dots staring at them from the darkness.

- Well, well, well... It's the world traveler. What a surprise to see you survived your encounter with our little "friend". - Blake said from the darkness. Eric turned to face the umbreon, smirking. - So you're the famous Blake? If that's the case, then I have to tell you that if you keep on going this way, you're not going to win any father of the year awards. - Eric joked, although referring to the very serious tone of Blake's constant torment of her daughter. The umbreon laughed. - Just as Clades had told me... you don't ever take anything seriously. But your words won't have any effect on me human. I will not fall to your insults. - He said.

- It wasn't really an insult, I was just pointing out that you're one hell of an asshole. Now, THAT'S an insult. - The human said, pointing his staff at the umbreon. - Now stay the hell out of our way or I'll open you up, rip out your intestines and strangle you with them. That ought to satisfy a couple people. - Eric said. Blake smirked at the human's words. - Such unnecessary violence! Clades hadn't told you had such a foul mouth. - He said. - Stop talking. You want to fight as much as I do! Come on, let's go! - He shouted. Blake chuckled. - Although I would like to battle you, there are other places that require my attention at this moment. In the mean time, you can have fun with one of our little friends. He's eager to meet you since you encountered him up near the entrance. - The umbreon said, smirking.

- Have fun... - He muttered as he backed into the shadows. Eric charged after him, but a shout from Dusknoir stopped on his tracks. - Eric! The exit! - The ghost type shouted. Eric turned around just in time to see how their only hope of getting out of there was blocked by a black mass. Many distorted laughs echoed across the cave, sending chills up their spines. - Did you hear that? - Dusknoir asked, backing up to Eric, who was backing p to the ghost type as well. - You bet your ass I did. - The human responded, looking around for anything that could attack them.

(Hunter of the Dark – Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep)

He then saw it. Out of the field of view that his staff gave him, he saw a black mass moving around slowly, shifting in the darkness. He pointed his staff that way and illuminated the area. He did this just in time to see how the mass lunged up into the air and lashed out at them from the left. - WATCH OUT! - The human shouted, rolling to the right and avoiding the swipe. Dusknoir turned around and put his arms in front of him, taking the hit and sliding backwards a few meters. Eric rose his staff to illuminate their attacker, but the only thing he saw was a huge mass of blackness shifting around, skulls, bones and distorted faces appearing at time. - What the hell is that?! - Dusknoir shouted, asking the human. The human however, had absolutely no idea of what he was looking at. That was until green creepy smiling mouths started appearing all over the creature.

- It's the same thing that attacked us! - He replied, watching how the mass began moving around the room at an insanely fast speed. Dusknoir looked at the creature for a while, until they both saw how it literally disappeared into a wall. Looking around, they didn't notice black thick liquid pouring out the cracks in the ground. It was below them! It bust through the floor and roared, making both of them turn around in surprise. Eric's staff revealed it's whole shape, and Dusknoir kind of recognized it. - That's a spiritomb! - He shouted, flying backwards. The mass started lashing out small black tentacles at the human, who skillfully blocked them, rolling and flipping around, keeping an eye on the creature. - A what now?! - He asked, in the middle of dodging an attack.

- It's a congregation of spirits that turns into an actual ghost pokemon! But... it looks weird! - He shouted, referring to it's black color, instead to the usual purple. - Well, probably because this thing is also made of dark matter! - Eric replied. - Made of what?! - Dusknoir asked. He then saw a tentacle pull back and try to pierce him. He swore out loud as he ducked just in time. He then took aim at the base of the appendage and launched a shadow sphere he prepared in seconds. The broke off, dissolving into black goop and letting out something green, which flew into the ground. The black mass grouped together and made a sphere, which looked like a smaller version of the bigger creature. - Watch it! - Eric shouted, rushing to him, jumping between two tentacles that were moving at the same time towards him, spinning into the middle and then jumping off the main mass and landing on the ground, piercing the little sphere with his staff. The dark goop disintegrated, and left no trace whatsoever.

- Alright... so how do we beat this guy? - Eric asked. All of a sudden a skeleton's arm pulled out of the ground violently, earning a shout of surprise from both of them. Suddenly, skeletons of many sizes and shapes rose from the ground, a green light coming out from their hollow skulls. Both of the living creatures tensed up, ready for the undead's attack. Instead, the skeletons charged against the mass, chipping away parts of dark goop. - They are... helping us? - Dusknoir asked. Eric spun around his staff and crouched down, ready to charge. - Don't question it! Shoot the bastard with some shadow spheres! I'll take care of the dark matter that falls off! - The human shouted, running off to where the skeletons were fighting.

The dark matter that had fallen off was regrouping into smaller forms, like spheres that seemed to change shapes, or worm like shapes that extended at will, lashing out violently at the bones. The human stabbed one of the spheres then spun around, raising his staff over his head and slamming it against one of the worms. Not skipping a beat, he dragged the point of his staff along the ground, and did a spin over himself, eliminating a few more of the slithering creatures but also knocking away a skeletons legs. He looked at the undead creature. - Sorry! - He apologized. Quickly after that, he turned his attention to the main mass. It was much smaller than before, and there were a lot more skeletons helping them too. All of a sudden, the human saw that the spiritomb was coming out from what looked like a small stone. It was like he was some sort of liquid locked up in a stone, and that had thawed out, making irregular shapes.

Eric smiled to himself, dashing for what he knew was his weak spot, judging from how well it was trying to protect it. Despite all of this, the human got in the middle of the mess of appendages, stepping right and left, ducking and jumping when he needed to, as well as spinning over some others or simply jumping over them. One of the tentacles shot into him, trying to pierce the human once he got close, but he deflected it with his staff, pushing it to the left while he spun around, grabbing one of the ends of the staff with both of his hands whilst thrusting the other end into the core. He let out a shout as he pierced the creature's origin, and then twisted his weapon once inside.

(Stop the music)

It disappeared as it had appeared. The whole mass, including those small fragments that were slithering around vanished into thin air. Eric fell down on the ground, landing on his feet, spinning around his staff before stylishly putting it back into it's sheath. - Wow... what a creep. - He joked, referring to the creature he had just killed. He smiled at Dusknoir. The ghost type was breathing heavily, but was also smiling at the human, feeling rather cheerful that they had defeated such a foe. Eric walked up to the pokemon, who was looking at him with hopeful eyes. - Hey, what's wrong? Do I have something on my face? - He asked, rubbing a hand across his mug. - No... it's just that... you just managed to take that down that thing so easily! - He said. - Nah. I didn't do it all by myself. You helped out a little. And our friends over there did most of the job. - Eric said, pointing at the skeletons behind him.

The undead simply looked at them, before they bowed and the lights disappeared from their skulls, falling down to the ground again. To their left, the entrance of the cave was revealed once again, as the creature was now dead. They both walked out. - Man. So good to be out that place. - Eric said, stretching. Dusknoir inspected the area. From that point on, it was a huge wasteland. The ground was either filled with holes or cracks in the ground, like some sort of war had raged there a long time ago. Either way, it was much better than the place they had just come out from, that was for sure. They looked around, in hopes of seeing some of their friends. Just then, out from their right appeared Grovyle and Jake, walking calmly towards them. - Hey! Good to see you made it out ok! - Eric shouted.

Both of the pokemon walked up to them. - Yeah. It wasn't that hard though. We didn't find anything in our way to here, so you could see it was just a stroll. - Grovyle answered. - Well, sounds better than ours. We had to fight against the spiritomb that attacked us at the entrance. - Dusknoir explained, both of their friend's eyes widening. - A spiritomb? That was what killed all of those guys? - Grovyle asked. - But not a normal one. That wasn't an actual spiritomb, but a mass of dark matter that absorbed the spirits of those it killed. However, it seems to have been acting similarly to a spiritomb, or whatever you want to call it. - The human said. - Dark matter? What's that? - Jake asked, quite curious, as he had never heard of that concept before. - I'll explain later. However, right now we need to find Iratus and Elly and get away from here. We saw Blake, so Clades is bound to be close by. - Eric said, expressing his worry.

- Well... we haven't seen them at all, though we heard them scream loudly whilst we were exploring. - Grovyle remembered. - What?! Shit... I hope they're alright... - He said with worry. He got his answer by a voice that came from behind them. - If almost getting a fucking heart attack is alright... yeah, we're alright. - Iratus said from behind them. He was dragging his leg across the floor, as he seemed to have hurt his leg. He was leaning against Elly, who was smiling. - Hey, cheer up. At least we got out of there and nothing too bad happened. - She said. Iratus growled in annoyance, rolling his eyes. - Just... don't do that ever again... alright? - He pleaded her. Eric coughed awkwardly, calling their attention. - Umm... could you guys at least tell us what happened? - The human asked. - Well... let's just say that your premonition about Clades became true. We ran into him, and we ran away... - The riolu started remembering what had happened.

Eric held in his scream, as he was dragging Elly's unconscious body across the floor, whilst the shadow replica distracted Clades. They managed to get to the exit just as Clades cut off the copy's head off. Elly yelped in surprise as the foreign sensation of having your head cut off invaded her. It felt so weird and cold, and her neck hurt for a while after she regained control over her body. However, her yelp alerted Clades, who turned around to look at them. - What? - He muttered, confused. - Elly! Run! GO! - Iratus shouted, not wasting any time to turn around and start running, Elly a few steps behind him. They both made a mad dash down the tunnel, Clades resuming his chase shortly afterwards. A couple of seconds of running after that, both of the pokemon noticed something to their right and left. They saw a riolu whose fur was black to their right, and an eevee whose fur was black as well to their left.

Both of the ghosts looked at them as the group came up to an area where the path divided into two. The ghosts stopped right in front of the left path. Iratus and Elly heard a voice in their heads. "Go, we'll distract him" Not questioning it, both of them headed to the right, although both thanked the ghosts before they left. Clades came up to the the division just as the living pokemon turned a corner, disappearing form his view. He saw the ghosts, who started running, and chased after them. Meanwhile, Iratus and Elly we running down the tunnel, when they noticed the exit in front of them. - Come on Elly! We're almos there! - He shouted. They ran outside of the tunnel...

- Only to start falling down. We came out from one of the sides, and we both started rolling down the side. - Elly explained. - Whilst we were falling, I hurt my leg, and I can't walk well. Elly helped me up and we walked around for a while... and here we are! - The riolu concluded. Eric whistled. - Wow... that's one clever way of using that power... Good job! - The human congratulated them, expressing everyone else's thoughts as well. - Seems like you guys had a really busy time too. - Elly said, talking to the human and Dusknoir. - Yeah... just fighting a congregation of spirits made out of dark matter, whilst some skeletons helped us. - He said. A puzzled look appeared on the duo's faces. - What? - They simply asked simultaneously.

Eric groaned. - You know... this whole experience was too spooky for me, as well as tiring. Can we please get moving so we can rest up for a while. I think you guys would benefit from it as well. - All of them agreed with the human. Without wasting anymore time, they all left, walking away from the spire.

Clades was still chasing after those two, not feeling tired in the slightest. Eventually, they would fall down from exhaustion, and then he would take care of them once and for all! However, they didn't even get that chance. Luck was apparently on his side, as they came up to a wall, blocking their way. Clades smiled as he flew up to them and his swords. - DIE! - He shouted at the top of his lungs. However, to his surprise, both of the pokemon went right through the walls, disappearing. He stopped in his place and looked around, searching with them. He noticed their shapes standing behind him. However, he wasn't able to utter any words as the whole cave started shaking violently. Before he could move out of the way, more than fifty tones of rocks and debris fell on top of him, as the tunnel suddenly collapsed.

Alright, so that's the end of the chapter. Sorry about the abrupt ending, but I really didn't know how to end the chapter. Either way, this was a fairly enjoyable chapter to write, and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. And another thing? If you either whistled, or put on the "Spooky Scary Skeletons" song when Eric sung it... you deserve a god damn cookie sir. I have nothing else to say in this closing remark. Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you next time.