The Chateau front door opened with a low creaking sound, as if the house itself was a bit weary of being entered and wanted to return to its unending slumber. The foyer remained as ominously dusty as ever, and Kaito suspected that the house had somehow made itself even more dirty just to spite him. The footprints the others had made when trekking through the house last time had disappeared, and been replaced with an untouched layer of dust.
And were those spiderwebs new?
It was with the greatest of reluctance that Kaito floated inside, half expecting the door to slam shut abruptly just to give him heart failure. Or to subscribe to some cliche horror movie tropes.
Come to think of it, why did the atmosphere here seem so much more...lively? Maybe not the best description for it, but something definitely felt different. He could practically hear the sound of a grandfather clock groaning with each swing of its pendulum, yet the only clock in the house was broken, its hands unmoving and its pendulum rusting.
Kaito made his way up the staircase, his sense of apprehension heightening as he ascended towards the second floor. Perhaps it was a side effect of knowing what was waiting for him at his destination, the apparition he had come here to see, yet dreaded its presence. The anxiety clutching his heart was so much more tangible now, much like the haze of dust scattered in the air.
Not something he really wanted to think about.
He reached his paw up to cover his mouth, filtering each breath so as not to inhale the stale, dusty air that filled the house. The floors creaked and he paused, glancing around blankly. He hadn't stepped on the ground, nor did he have any intention of doing so.
He waited for a few seconds, just to be sure that someone else hadn't arrived or was wandering around. He resumed his ascent, gazing at the pictures that lined the doorways of the second floor, just as he had done on his first visit here. The darkness in this hall was absolute, broken only by the faint glow of the light aura he conjured around himself. Last time he had extended it further out, to better see the surroundings and find clues as to whether his search was a dead-end or not, but this time he knew the answers were up ahead, at the end of the hallway where the staircase to the attic stood hanging open, like a skeleton's broken jaw.
"Kaito," Lin's voice called out, sounding distant and muffled, so the startle factor was significantly reduced. The Togetic paused and replied loudly, but clearly.
"Second floor!"
"Got it!" the Weavile's voice replied, sounding relieved for whatever reason. Kaito waited where he was, until the Weavile had climbed the staircase and joined him, her eyes glancing with mild disgust at the floor every few steps. Kaito decided it would be best for his mental health not to examine her feet.
"Anyone else expected soon?" Kaito wondered, as they traveled down the hall towards the attic stairs.
"Force and Iris should teleport in any time now...don't worry, I said to use the front door," Lin replied, flicking the end of her scarf idly. "After you," she said, gesturing to the stairs.
"And Cecilia?" Kaito wondered, floating up towards the blackness of the attic.
"Don't ask."
Kaito cast the Weavile a backwards glance. Although she and their Quilava companion always seemed particularly close, Lin always seemed oddly hesitant to elaborate on Cecilia's behavior or mindsets. Probably for the better, really. Cecilia was playful, flirtatious, but almost always in good spirits. Didn't have a mean bone in her body, really. Even her teasing of Force was entirely good-natured, and Iris never seemed particularly annoyed by the Quilava's tendency to disregard Force's personal space. In truth, Kaito enjoyed the contrast of personality Cecilia provided to the rest of them. She kept them from acting too uptight, or getting frustrated when months of research went unrewarded.
The potential for talk vanished as they both entered the attic space, and Kaito could sense that Lin was feeling just as uneasy as he was. Despite her borderline stoic and aloof demeanor, Lin was nervous. Not a good sign, but it made him feel less pathetic knowing he was in common company.
Slowly, the two of them moved around the small monuments of boxes and objects until the silver-grey stone came into view, looking completely ordinary and unmoving, yet it radiated the sense of unease like an emotional transmitter. Kaito noticed the static-covered screen of the television was somehow still functioning, despite that he had noticed before leaving last time that it wasn't actually connected to a power source.
"We're here!" Iris called out brightly, as she and Force climbed up into the attic space. "Oops...sorry..." the Kirlia whispered, and Kaito shot her a dirty look, before realizing it was Lin's withering glare that had shut her down first. His heart was pounding in his chest, but he had at least expected someone to show up soon, so it wasn't as terrible as it could have been.
"Did we miss anything this time?" Force wondered, gazing around the attic uncertainly. Kaito shook his head and the four of them slowly approached the Keystone that had still not moved or done anything since they had arrived. The suspense and anxiety for something to happen was nearly as bad as knowing what the Keystone contained.
So they waited in silence, standing a fair distance away from the stone, unsure if any of them should risk moving closer to it, or whether to say anything to it, or just wait until the ghost within it became aware of their existence.
"Maybe it needs to make a dramatic entrance," Lin suggested. She snapped her claws loudly.
Nothing happened.
"Or maybe-" Force began, but at that moment, the runes on the Keystone lit up, forcing the Riolu to shield his eyes from the piercing glare. Purple flames erupted from the fissure at the Keystone's top, expanding and swirling outwards into the fiery circle that made up the phantasm's face. Spheres of green and yellow light circled within the flames, until the fire settled down into the purple ghostly fog. Green eyes and a matching jagged grin formed, and its spiral pupils glowed yellow, the mere sight of the eyes sending shivers through their bodies.
The Spiritomb observed the four of them in silence, coldness seeping into Kaito's body as the ghost's gaze lingered on him, before flitting over to land on each of the others in turn. Iris whimpered and clung to Force's middle, hiding her face in his fur as he stroked her hair comfortingly.
"Oh, so you did come back," the Spiritomb murmured, barely above a whisper. "I was wondering if you would."
"Ah...the winter was a bit harsher than expected," Kaito said sheepishly. "It left us with little way to return here until spring."
"Apology accepted," Diablos replied silkily. His yellow eyes gazed around the attic once more. "After spending countless ages floating in a void of nothingness, powerless and unable to do anything but exist, I suppose such concepts as loneliness and boredom cease to matter."
No one seemed to know how to respond to that, and Kaito fidgeted with his paws uncomfortably. However, Diablos chuckled after a pause, and then smiled, the jagged mouth curving upwards.
"I trust you have a plan? An agenda to fulfill?"
"Um..." Kaito hesitated, and the smile faded from the Spiritomb's face.
"You can't be serious. So you've unsealed me, but then sit on your paws for three months?"
"No, I do have-" the Togetic began, but a sound from the floor below distracted him, and he turned to look inquisitively at Lin, who was cocking her head to the side, straining to hear. The scampering of paws on the staircase hit their senses, and Cecilia burst into the attic, looking more agitated than Kaito had ever seen her before.
The Quilava's fur was untidy and her flames were roaring with a greater intensity than normal. Judging by her heavy breathing, she had run a considerable distance, and she looked livid. It was a rare sight indeed, and Kaito knew better than to draw Cecilia's wrath if she was pissed off.
"Force, look me in the eye!" she snapped, the Riolu looking up in alarm. Iris blinked and backed away a pace or two, unnerved by the heat given off the Quilava. Cecilia moved right up to the Riolu and reared up, placing her forepaws on his shoulders and staring intently at his eyes.
"Why are you staring at my eyes like that?" Force asked, not breaking eye contact, but visibly unnerved by the intensity of the Quilava's stare. "Are you hitting on me?" he paused and glanced at Iris from the corner of his eye. "Is she hitting on me?"
"I...don't think so..." the Kirlia said nervously.
The Riolu's nose twitched and he gave Cecilia a rather bewildered look. "And why do you smell like...you're not in heat, right?"
"Bite me," Cecilia growled, releasing Force and instead focusing on the Spiritomb, who was observing her with great interest. "What the hell did you do?"
"Cecilia..." Kaito began, but a glare from the Quilava prompted him into silence. He glanced towards Lin questioningly, but the Weavile seemed just as confused as he did. So Cecilia's mood had nothing to do with whatever Lin had evaded discussing before.
"Is there a problem?" Diablos asked, his voice barely above a calm whisper, but even that was difficult to catch over the hissing and popping of Cecilia's flames.
"Shadow," Cecilia snarled. "What did you do?"
The Spiritomb blinked, unable to keep the surprise from his expression. Slowly, his jagged grin returned. "You're going to need to be more specific, deary."
Kaito flinched, half-expecting Cecilia to fly into a rage at being addressed like this, but she simply narrowed her eyes at the Spiritomb.
"Did you do something to Force? To get him to attack Shadow's parents?" Cecilia snarled. She stepped closer to the Spiritomb, as if she was about to literally get in his face. Meanwhile, all other eyes turned to look at Force, who was now staring at Cecilia as if she had gone insane.
"Oh that. Yes, that was me."
There was dead silence following this statement. Diablos had answered with no hesitation, and his tone was that of nonchalant amusement, as if he had been asked whether he enjoyed sweet berries.
"...what?" Force sputtered, and despite her anger, Cecilia just stared at Diablos blankly, falling into a sitting position, the aggression being sapped from her body.
"Yes, I did that," Diablos repeated.
"How? I didn't do anything like that!" Force demanded, clenching and unclenching his fists.
"I possessed your body. A necessary side effect of you agreeing to loan me your aura abilities. I trust the amplified power is to your liking? I'd hate for you to think I conned you," Diablos said silkily.
"You never said you'd be able to do that!" Force snapped. "I don't want it if you can control me."
"I'd be more than happy to refund you if you're unsatisfied," Diablos said quietly. "However, because Cecilia here is so eager to know why...let me give you all some food for thought. Put yourself in my place for just a moment...I cannot move. I've spent ages locked away, declared a demon by the stories left behind. History is written by the winners, after all."
The Spiritomb narrowed his eyes slightly, and the attic air seemed to chill by several degrees, so that even Cecilia shuddered. Yet no one spoke.
"You unsealed me, led to my fractured Keystone by the same lore. You have noble goals, noble aspirations, and need the power I wield, a dreaded power that exposes a person's inner darkness. For a person's darkness is the fear of their darkest self, a self they abhore but cannot understand. But in reality, while I have substance here, I have been moved from one prison to another. From a meaningless, timeless, neverceasing existence within a barren abyss to a state resembling a fragment of my former self. Can you really blame me for using what little resources I had to ensure I wouldn't spend the next hundred years or so alone in this musty human building that even ghosts have abandoned?"
Diablos paused, letting his words sink in. Kaito looked around, frowning in thought. Lin seemed a bit uncertain, but was hiding her unease fairly well. Force was holding Iris close, but his own expression seemed to be wavering between anger and sympathy. Iris was just looking anxious, holding onto Force tightly, as if afraid that he'd slip through her fingers if she dared loosen her grip.
"So why did you do it?" Cecilia demanded. She seemed to have regained some of her aggression, and she stood up once more, her flames hissing, making her seem like an angry cat.
"Were you not listening?" Diablos mused pityingly.
"Not that. Why did you attack Shadow's parents, huh?" she growled.
"I didn't. They attacked me. Interfered with my transferring process. I intended for Shadow to contain the fragment I gave Force, but they broke my link early. The fragment failed to bond properly, and I had to preserve Force's life at the cost of theirs. Surely you can't complain with that outcome?"
"...so they really are dead?" Cecilia asked, her voice cracking. "Rio...and her mate...parents of two kits...you just...I didn't..."
"I should be thanking you for the advice. A name like Shadow most certainly had to be a destined name for a powerful inner darkness. I did sense a great deal of potential, and their loss will nurture his darkness."
"Don't thank me for that!" Cecilia practically screamed. "You caused two innocent kits to suffer for no reason? Just because I mentioned Shadow's name back then?!" she buried her face into her paws, shaking uncontrollably.
"Not for no reason," Diablos stated quietly, and it was clear he was talking only to Cecilia now, his voice softer and almost sympathetic. "Inner darkness gains no strength from petty sadism. It was by chance alone that the incident occurred. Had they come to his aid either seconds sooner or later, they needn't have died. However, it's the past now. What's done is done, and can't be undone. A harsh reality, but it would be a greater disservice to let them have been lost for nothing."
"I didn't...I didn't want this!" Cecilia whined into her paws.
"Your heart is conflicted," Diablos murmured. "No matter. Such pain will dull with time. Kaito...I trust you had reasons for coming here other than to tour the premises."
The Togetic winced. "Right...perhaps you could give us all a moment to collect ourselves downstairs before we get to business?" he asked, glancing pointedly at Cecilia, and taking note of Lin's likewise concern for the Quilava.
"Yes, of course," Diablos replied dully. "Take your time."
The Spiritomb smirked, and the purple flames extinguished themselves, the spheres of light becoming drawn into the Keystone's fissure like marbles down a sink drain.
The silence in the attic seemed deafening now.
