Dust.

It clung to every surface of the dark house. The floor was coated with a thin layer, and every piece of furniture shared the same fate. The windows were grimy with the stuff, so even the heavy drapes had been pulled open, no natural light would penetrate the darkness that lay within, like mold to a damp rock.

How disgusting.

The pure-white fairy Pokemon scowled to himself as he floated through the air, disdainfully examining the dusty surfaces of each object he passed. The only light came from the glowing sphere he had conjured around his egg-shaped body. Although he had a pair of wings, they fluttered pointlessly, unneeded to keep him airborne. At least that spared him the agony of having to touch the layer of filth with his feet, or something equally horrifying. Even if this old mansion was haunted, he'd have expected something, specter or human, to at least grab a damp cloth every so often. Most ghosts he had come into contact with hated disgusting living conditions as much as the living did.

Then again, quite a few ghosts didn't give a damn. Funnily enough, this was also something he could say about some of the living.

The Togetic made his way to the staircase, noting with some disappointment that the atmosphere of a 'haunted' mansion was lacking something without the eerie creaking of old floorboards or the groaning of broken-down staircases beneath the weight of a person. Maybe the ability to fly wasn't as wonderful a skill if it took away from such mundane activities as walking.

Such thoughts vanished when he remembered the inch of dust coating the steps. Atmosphere was overrated, anyhow.

The second floor of the house fared little better than the rest. Dust still clung to all the surfaces, and Kaito didn't even want to consider what sort of grime had been driven into the carpets over the years of abandonment. The air smelled musty, almost like a slowing decaying tomb.

Fitting really, if any of the stories about the mansion were remotely true. Supposedly there were ghosts living here, remnants of the lost souls of the family that had perished here. Other said the walls whispered secrets, and that the eyes of paintings moved to follow unsuspecting people wandering the dark halls. And some people said it was just an abandoned house that had absolutely nothing weird or ominous about it.

Kaito smirked briefly at the thought. Urban legends were so fascinating. In a region as rich with lore and mystery as Sinnoh, the stubborn belief that anything with dozens of stories and rumors about it could not have some grain of truth within was prepostrous. It was only by pursuing these rumors, and searching endlessly for records of lore or history that he had formed an understanding of what had to be done next.

The Old Chateau had stood within the Eterna Forest for decades, undisturbed save for the few brave Pokemon trainers or children roped into tests of courage. Everyone had come out alive; there was nothing grisly about the rumors. It was just a vibe given off from within, the sense of fear permeating their souls, and the power of their imagination doing the rest.

That was where the real connections had started clicking. It was what brought him here. To this dark hallway on the second floor of the mansion. Dusty pictures hung on the wall, each one spared a single glance before moving on. He paused at the first of a series of doors placed along the hallway, considering them in silence. He had already explored the side rooms of the first floor and found nothing of note, just the basic rooms of a large house. The doors here gave him a different feeling, something more personalized. Perhaps the bedrooms of the previous occupants.

Reluctantly, Kaito touched the nearest door with his paw, but cringed at the thought of stroking the aged wood. Instead, he expanded his personal energy field, giving the door a slight telekinetic 'push', the door creaking as it moved, the sound exceptionally loud in contrast to the otherwise silent house.

Despite having been at ease for the majority of his time here, Kaito froze in place, straining to hear some distant sound or sense movement from within the house, something that would have reacted to the creaking door and gone to investigate. Seconds ticked away, and the Togetic relaxed, slipping past the ajar door.

Certainly, this new room had been a bedroom, perhaps that of a child. The shelves were filled with books and toys, appropriate for a young child, but certainly not a teenager. The blankets of the bed were twisted and partially hanging off the mattress, the white long since faded to a disgusting yellow shade, and the musty smell of age clung to the air. The drapes of this room were tattered, having become the meal of insects and other small creatures.

A few papers and drawings were scattered around the room, and while Kaito was eager to find some confirmation of his theories, what little he could see of them without closer inspection reassured him that they were all made by the sloppy hand of an imaginative child, and so he decided not to linger in the musty room any longer. The smell was more than he could endure, and why let his own imagination touch upon the horrors of the room's sanitation?

The next room down the hall was a standard bathroom. Faded white paint decorated the walls, and a dusty mirror stood above a sink. A shower stall was in one corner, and a toilet in the other. Kaito had no qualms about abandoning further inspection of the room's condition in favor of moving on. Bathrooms rarely contained nuggets of information, not counting the public stalls where the users scrawled their words of wisdom.

The third door led into another bedroom, much larger and more spacious than the previous one. The much larger bed here had been designed for two, and the bedding was much more orderly than the first room. Another door to the side of the room stood open, displaying various articles of dated clothing.

Kaito sighed wearily. This search thus far had netted him nothing but disappointment and disgust. The place should have been haunted at the very least, to throw something of interest at him. Ghosts were excellent sources of information and gossip, and contrary to the belief of humans, rarely sought to inflict pain upon the living. That wasn't to say that none of them were more malicious, but Kaito had the fortune of being able to sense that type of malevolence long before he would be in any danger from it.

Kaito returned to the hallway, but paused, gazing down what was left of the hall. There was space to walk down that way, but no doorway, not even a closet door. A little space at the end of a hall would be fine, particularly if someone was moving furniture to and from the room, but this was excessive. Not long enough to be another room, but too long to be pointless. And then there was this unsettling feeling...

Kaito cast his gaze slowly along the walls of the dead end, hoping to detect some irregularity or hint. Then he spotted the dangling cord near the ceiling. A child would never be able to reach it, but it would be within reach of a human adult. In his case, he could easily fly up that high. Feeling a sense of triumph and eagerness, he examined the cord for a moment, and then cautiously tugged on it.

Upon doing so, the part of the ceiling the cord was attached to moved downwards with an ear-splitting screech of a rusty hinge grinding against the other components. Kaito furrowed his brow, but pulled again, forcing the hatch steadily downwards, until at last, with one final groan of metal against metal, the panel came free, and a collapsible staircase unfolded, extending to the ground and leading into absolute blackness above.

The Togetic floated cautiously higher, approaching the entrance-way to the room above. Anxiety, or maybe excitement, bubbled in his stomach. It was dampened only by the tendrils of unease worming their way around his chest. Yet this was a good sign; it was evidence of what the rumors and stories had said about the house, and the mysterious ruins beneath the mountain. If either site produced results, they would finally be closer to their objective.

He peered his head into the attic, unsurprised to see the floor here covered in the same filthy layer of dust and grime as the rest of the house, and he could see the slant of the mansion's roof at the ceiling. Boxes were stacked haphazardly around the small room here, some sealed shut with heavy tape, while others lay open or discarded. Such a strange collection of objects, ranging from clothing to tools, to random cosmetic decorations that Kaito had never seen before anywhere, but also seemed completely useless for any conceivable application.

As he moved around one of the towers of boxes, he heard a crackling fuzzy sound, faint at first, but growing louder as he approached the back of the room. There was also a faint flickering of white light, at first undetected from behind the boxes, but the source became clearer soon enough.

An old television sat on the floor, its face crackling with static, occasionally displaying a clearer image before becoming scrambled again. The Togetic knew nothing about most electronics, but he somehow doubted that such a device had remained active for so long and still functioned. Functioned in the loosest sense of the word, anyway.

Ignoring the device for now, Kaito's gaze swept the other objects kept here. The feeling of unease and dread was slowly intensifying as his eyes moved further and further to the right side of the room.

"So this is where you've been," a voice stated unexpectedly. Kaito whirled around with a yell, a blob of purple energy growing between his paws before his mind could register the source. His heart was pounding so intensely in his chest that he for a moment thought he was about to drop dead on the spot, and his Shadow Ball fizzled out of existence, the exertion of preparing an attack overwhelming him, and even the light from his body flickered out now that he no longer had the energy to maintain it.

"Damn it, Lin!" Kaito hissed, clutching his chest with one paw, trying to will his heart to slow down. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Hmm...I forgot about your...condition. My apologies, I should have called to you sooner," Lin lamented, coming into his line of sight. "But I had started to feel foolish after doing that for the entire first floor."

Kaito grimaced, noting that the layer of dust underfoot was greatly muffling the Weavile's footsteps. No wonder he hadn't heard her come inside or make it this far into the house without him noticing. As usual, she wore a blue scarf draped around her neck and trailing down towards her feet. It was downright miraculous she never tripped on it, and even odder since she was an Ice-Type and therefore shouldn't need a scarf at all.

"You going to be okay?" Lin asked finally, a trace of concern in her voice. Kaito nodded, massaging his chest, but managing to resume his normal flight abilities. "Good. Find anything in here?"

"Not yet," Kaito admitted. He glanced at her thoughtfully. "You're back sooner than expected."

Lin smirked slightly. "Iris saved us a couple hours on the return trip."

Kaito blinked. "Hours? Did you take your time coming here, then?" he asked. Unless he had spent far longer exploring the house than he thought, Lin should have arrived before he did.

The Weavile gave a shrug. "Cece needed to burn off energy, and I let Force off early as thanks to Iris. I had time to kill, so I hunted in the forest, washed up, and then came here. I know how you get about that sort of thing, but lo and behold, I took two steps into the house regretted spending the time at all."

Kaito glanced at the dusty floor, imagining how the foyer probably looked now that Lin had supposedly walked through it checking for him. "But they'll be here soon?"

"They'd better," Lin replied. She gazed around the attic uneasily. "It does have the same vibe here, doesn't it?"

"As the Coronet chamber?" Kaito wondered. As Lin nodded, he felt another burst of excitement welling up within him. "How'd that go? Did you find it?"

"This," Lin stated, holding up a small stone fragment. Kaito's expression fell. "I know it looks like nothing, but it had some sort of barrier around it that kept me from seeing it until I nearly tripped over it. And Force-"

"Lin, you up here?" Cecilia's voice called from below, startling Kaito, thankfully not as badly as the first scare he had received, and distracting Lin from her explanation. Moments later, the blazing weasel Pokemon came rushing up the steps, shedding some much needed light over the contents of the attic. "Sorry, did I scare you, Kaito?" the Quilava asked sheepishly.

"I'm fine," Kaito replied testily. "So who else is showing up, just for the sake of clarity? I don't think I can take any more surprise arrivals. Sorin's a definite no?"

"Yeah, I can't picture him riding the winds from Johto in the middle of December," Cecilia said, looking amused. "Why are we meeting here anyway? Cuz other than the whole privacy thing, this place gives me the creeps. It's even worse than that passageway."

Lin gave a slight nod in agreement, looking around anxiously. Kaito blinked at both of them. Were they really detecting something amiss that he hadn't noticed yet? Or had he chalked up all his anxious feelings thus far to being a side effect of a dark, spooky location?

"Hm, let me see that stone," Kaito said, reaching over and plucking the fragment from Lin's paw. She cast a frown in his direction, but made no protest. The Togetic peered closer at the stone, leaning closer to Cecilia's flames to better see the engravings upon its surface.

"What is all this stuff anyway?" Cecilia wondered, abruptly wandering away to inspect the nearest set of boxes. Both Lin and Kaito looked over at the Quilava incredulously, Kaito's expression leaning further towards annoyance. As if aware of their eyes, Cecilia looked back at them. "What?"

"Never mind," the Togetic muttered, closing his eyes briefly. With a little focus, his body once again began to emit its own lighting, and he turned his attention back to the odd stone.

"Ooh, what's this?" Cecilia asked excitedly from the corner of the room. No one responded, not even to glance in her direction. "Ahem. HEY GUYS! I found something weird! Maybe you should come look at it!"

"In a moment," Kaito said distractedly. He narrowed his eyes at the bottommost runes on the stone. There was something unspeakably ominous about those markings, but it seemed incomplete, like part of it had been broken off, but something about it drew him to the fragment.

"Kaito...seriously...look at this," Lin said quietly, having joined Cecilia at the end of the room. Kaito stifled his annoyance and floated over to where they were standing. Actually, they had sort of backed away from whatever they had been looking at, and Lin was looking like she had discovered a nest of Ariados.

Sitting before them, half-concealed beneath a thick waterproof cloth, was a stone statue. Even in the relatively non-existant lighting provided by Cecilia's distant flames, it matched the color and texture of the stone he now held in his paw. A strange fissure had formed near the top of the statue, and a number of runes were crudely carved along the circular base, leading to a chunk that was outright missing, the shape of the missing portion perfectly matching the stone Lin had handed to him.

To make the connection even more obvious, the fragment had began to vibrate in his paw, as if it was struggling to be free, and rejoin the larger stone. Kaito's paw began to shake, whether of its own volition or that of the quivering fragment, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that something would happen when the two stones were made one again.

"What is it?" Lin asked, sounding even more concerned than ever.

"What we've been seeking," Kaito whispered, barely able to contain his excitement. "The broken pieces of the Keystone. The stone that keeps the seal intact."

"Okay, I know this is supposed to be dramatic and triumphant and all that, but you're really jittery right now and it's distracting," Lin remarked.

Kaito blinked down at himself, then scowled. Without a word, he rotated the stone base around and pressed the fragment into the missing section. It took several attempts to keep himself steady, but the piece clicked into place eventually.

And nothing happened.

Kaito stared at the Keystone expectantly. Seconds ticked by, each feeling like an eternity. Everyone was silent, and even Cecilia's flames seemed to burn in absolute silence.

"What'd I miss?" Force's voice wondered, as he and Iris made their way into the attic space. No one answered, as no one seemed sure what to say to this question. "Am I the only one who feels sick right now?"

"Usually the female says that line," Cecilia chirped.

At that moment, the Keystone's runes lit up, the intensity of the light cutting through the murky blackness of the attic. Kaito yelped in shock and backed away from the stone, just in time, as purple flames erupted from the fissure at the top, incinerating the tarp that had been covering it, until all that remained of it was bits of ash. The flames expanded outwards, becoming a circular shape, like the face of a clock, supported by the Keystone base. Within the purple flames, several small spheres of green and yellow light formed, spiraling around the perimeter of the fire, revolving faster and faster until they blurred.

In the center of the revolving flames, a jagged green grin formed, and just above it, a pair of eyes, green like the mouth. In the center of each eye, an eerie spiral appeared, like the pupil of the phantasmal eyes. Each spiral glowed yellow, and Iris gasped audibly, staggering backwards, her innocent eyes wide with terror and her body trembling. Force immediately held her close to him, his eyes narrowed at the phantom before them.

The ghost's yellow eyes flitted around the room, the purple flames settling down into a gaseous fog, and the spheres of light spiraling slowly, so they could be distinguished as spheres of light rather than a solid ring.

The Spiritomb finally focused its eyes upon Kaito, who felt a coldness seep into his body beneath its gaze. The ghost's attention moved next to Lin, then to Cecilia, and lastly to the couple furthest away from it.

"Such an interesting collection here. Not at all what I'd have expected to awaken to," the Spiritomb whispered. The words were spoken with cool amusement, brimming with maliciousness, but not threatening.

"I'm not sure this was a good idea," Lin said quietly.

"Oh?" the Spiritomb chuckled, its gaze falling upon Lin again. She gazed back at it defiantly. "You unsealed me purposefully?"

"Yes," Kaito replied, drawing the ghost's attention. "If you are the one the stories speak of, we have need of your power."

"Forgive me, but I'm a bit...out of the loop, shall we say?" the Spiritomb mused. "Time is meaningless in the Void. It will take me time to adjust to this world again. What do the stories say?"

The Togetic paused before answering. "Your power is to expose and purge the darkness of a person's heart, created to cleanse the world of evil."

"Is that all?" the Spiritomb asked with a chuckle, the sound causing Kaito to feel cold again, and Cecilia inched closer to Lin, a low growl escaping the Quilava's throat.

Kaito frowned. "There's more, but how about you fill us in on those details? You have a name, right?"

The Spiritomb seemed momentarily taken aback, but then smiled, the ends of its jagged mouth curving. "I am Diablos. If that's all you need to be convinced of my identity, then let's press on. I'm afraid in my current state, my power will only be of so much use."

"Your current state?" Kaito repeated.

"I am currently unable to even move my Keystone," Diablos whispered. "It would be slow work to identify those with potent inner darkness in such a state. They would have to come here. What Pokemon live closest to this location?"

There was a long pause. Kaito just shook his head. He hadn't paid the local Pokemon even the slightest bit of attention when he had come to the mansion, and even if he had, the rumors of the mansion being haunted were so widespread that none of the local Pokemon would even consider coming by.

"Well, there's that Eevee family past the forest," Cecilia mused. All eyes turned to her, but then she furrowed her brow. "Wait, they're relocating for the winter. Got to shelter the new kit and all."

"New kit?" Lin repeated, looking at Cecilia oddly.

"Yeah!" Cecilia chirped enthusiastically. "Cute little guy. He hatched near the end of October."

"Why do you know this much?" Force asked, in a tone that suggested he probably knew the answer already, but was praying that he was wrong.

"I did some kitsitting for a week in September," Cecilia said indignantly. "Rio's heat was late, and Shadow was always hanging around them, so-"

Lin snapped her claws loudly. "Don't get started now. Just don't."

"They named one of their kits Shadow?" Diablos murmured. His yellow eyes gleamed. "Interesting. But no matter...with winter serving as an obstacle, our progress will be limited until afterwards. But...there is another option..."

The Spiritomb's eyes fell upon Force, who tensed.

"You there...Riolu have aura abilities, don't they?"

"Yeah, why?" Force growled.

"Good. That will do. Approach me if you would. Don't be afraid, I cannot harm you."

Slowly, Force set Iris into a sitting position and walked cautiously closer to the ghost. Iris vainly attempted to grab onto his wrist and stop him, but the Riolu was already out of her reach.

"Look at me," Diablos whispered.

"I am," Force retorted. The Spiritomb merely chuckled, and after a short pause, their eyes met.

"Open your heart and your mind. Relax, this won't hurt you. I need just a glimpse...yes, very good. Show me your dreams."

By this point, everyone else in the room had tensed, unsure exactly whether to allow this interaction or not. Iris had bitten her lip, but she wasn't reacting any worse than that, so no one made any move.

"Show me the desires..." Diablos murmured. "Your hopes...your wishes...yes, that will do."

The Spiritomb's eyes blinked and Force flinched, as if snapping out of a trance.

"I will need to make use of your aura abilities, Force," Diablos murmured. "But right now, they're not strong enough. Therefore..." the Spiritomb paused and one of the green and yellow spheres of light emerged from the mist of its main body. "I will grant you a fragment of my power. If you accept it, you aura abilities will be amplified, and I will be able to use them. I trust this is an acceptable arrangement?"

No one spoke. They didn't have to exchange looks to know, but it was clear that they all were thinking the same question in their minds.

Was this an acceptable arrangement? Was any of this acceptable? Or had they lost control of the situation already?