Chp 3: Something Unknown
The interior of the manor began with a large foyer room. The wooden floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, with some spots having given way to rot. Two staircases stood on the left and right leading up to a second floor, while an open archway lay directly before the two explorers. To the left of this entry was a large Pokemon statue that reminded Will of a Rhydon, though its eyes seemed to glare menacingly down upon him. Weavile's body was tense, and it turned its head this way and that listening for the slightest sound. Will did the same, but found that the interior of the house was inexplicably quiet.
"Let's check out the bottom floor first," Will said with a whisper. Together the two passed by the statue into the next room. It was a dimly lit dining area, containing the largest dinner table that Will had ever seen. Its wooden surface stretched from one end of the room far to the other, and was adorned with a dusty white cloth covered in stains, and candlesticks that stood burning on the tabletop.
"Well that's odd. Why would a ghost type need candlelight?" said Will walking over and picking up one of the beacons. In turn he heard a scuffling sound come from the other side of the table. Something was emerging from out of the darkness. But it wasn't the shape of a Pokemon that greeted them. Instead, it was an old balding man, dressed in the attire of a butler.
"Goodness me, guests! and at this hour? Please do forgive the state of things, we were not expecting to have any visitors."
"No way. This place, it's supposed to be abandoned! Who are you?"
"My how rude. Just met and already asking questions. Curiosity is not sinful dear boy, but one should always exercise caution." As he spoke the butlers body began to back away, though his legs did not seem to move. Weavile gave a low growl as the man's gaze shifted towards it. "I'm afraid that our... Other guest, does not wish for any company at the present. Forgive me but I have, shall we say very strict instructions, and must now send you on your way." As he said this, two dark orbs appeared on either side of him. One seemed to be surrounded in purplish flames, while the other sprouted spikes and two disembodied hands. They shared a single feature though, a manic grin and violet light dancing in their eyes. "Ghastly, Haunter, please show our guests to the door."
"Wait! We don't want to fight you! Just tell us what's upsetting all the ghost Pokemon!"
"Would that I could boy," frowned the Butler. Then his eyes too began to glow with the same eerie violet light. "Ghastly night shade, Haunter shadow punch!" A dark ray of energy burst forth from one while the others floating fist charged toward Weavile with great speed. Both attacks struck, knocking Weavile back a few steps, though his level and second nature as a dark type offered resistance to the attacks.
"Alright if it's a battle you're after we'll be happy to oblige! Weavile use night slash on ghastly!" Weavile leapt up onto the dining table, while the claws on its left hand elongated and turned a violent shade of purple.
"Shadow Ball both of you!" commanded the butler. Both ghosts began to form blobs of shadowy energy in front of them, but before they could finish Weavile was upon them, slashing outward with its claws. Will could see from the strike that they had landed a critical hit upon the wild Ghastly which faded away into the darkness of the room. Haunter then rose high toward the ceiling, preparing to fire off its next attack.
"Weavile above you! Intercept with ice shard!" The sharp clawed Pokemons eyes flashed upward as it took note of its prey. Just as Haunter's shadow ball was about to blast forward Weavile swiped its claws through the air, dozens of tiny ice bolts flying upward to strike the ghoul. The attack caused a fine layer of mist to engulf the room. The butlers voice rang out, seemingly coming in from everywhere at once.
"I had hoped that this would not escalate to such violence young master. Depart at once, or the consequences that follow shall be quite severe."
"We've come this far, haven't we? I think we might as well stick around and see just what it is you've got to hide." As the mist cleared off, it became apparent that the butler was gone. Haunter however revealed itself to be floating directly behind Weavile.
"If you insist. Haunter, hypnosis!"
"Dive to the left Weavile now!" Weavile barely escaped a series of pink rings radiating toward where it had been seconds ago. "Can't keep up with us can you?" grinned Will, "Now Icicle Crash!" Weavile jumped high, grasping hold of an ancient chandelier whilst flinging frozen spears toward the ghost type. Much like its partner before it, the Haunter fell, its body disappearing into the darkness. The butler however remained unseen having completely vanished from the room.
"I don't understand this. Ghost types are only called that because of their behavior, and even then, they are a Pokemon. But that guy, he can't be real, there's no such thing as a human ghost. I'll bet anything he is the one behind this." As if to prove Will wrong the sound of a child giggling rang brightly in his left ear.
"Hi mister!" It was a little girl, wearing a daisy yellow dress and a vivid red bow on her head. She seemed oddly bright in the darkness of the room.
"Uhm, hello?"
"I saw you playing with Jeeves just now. You're really good when it comes to battling aren't you?"
"Oh well thank you," stammered Will, "I'm sorry but who are you? How did you get in here?" But the girl did not answer him. Instead she stared back motionless with deep eyes.
"Hmm you might be just the one we need! Mister do you think you could help my friend? He is being forced to do some awful chores and I don't like it one bit!"
"Your friend?"
"Yes! He's upstairs right now, come on I'll show you the way!" The girl was gone so fast Will could have sworn that she just disappeared. "Over here silly!" she called out from the doorway. Will followed her back into the foyer and up the staircase to the second floor. There were two more rooms to the right and left but she ignored them, instead going straight ahead into a long hallway with five closed doors. She stopped in front of the one second from the left.
"My friends in here," She whispered with a sad face, "I wish we didn't have to do this, but that mean man won't let us play anymore. I want him to go away, but we're going to need to get my friend back first. It won't be easy though." Will felt his heart beat faster as he opened the door. It was a dark room; a lone light came from a television set whose screen flickered silent static.
"I don't see anyone in here," said Will looking down only to find that the girl was gone. Weavile approached the television set with its head cocked curiously. "What is it? Do you see something Weavile?" Will approached the box and became aware of a slight hum that emanated from the set. Staring into the static, he also thought for a moment that he had seen something else. A face staring back at him. Without warning the loud sound of crackling static filled the room causing Will to jump back.
"Jeeze! Stupid old TV!" He slapped the box which fell silent again before shaking back and forth as if it were going to explode. Then, a bright red shape phased out of the screen, taking on the form of a small lightning rod with violet eyes.
"Is that a Pokemon?" thought Will, reaching for his Pokedex. Before he could though, the creature attacked, blasting a fine line of electricity towards him. Before it struck Weavile intercepted, taking the full blast.
"Weavile! are you alright?" His partner swayed back and forth but recovered, giving him a curt nod. "Alright now it's our turn! Use Night Slash!"
"Wait don't hurt him!" cried the small girl who had appeared from behind the television, "it's not his fault! We need to free him!" Weavile had to jump out of the way as the small red Pokemon sent another jolt of electricity flying towards him.
"How are we supposed to do that?"
"We need to get him to the storage closet! Come on its this way!" The girl ran back out into the hall as the duo avoided yet another blast of electricity from the plasma like creature. They followed her back into the foyer, catching a glimpse of her long dark hair as she disappeared into the room on the left. "In here hurry!" Their attacker was in hot pursuit, this time spinning its body, throwing waves of purple wind which caused Will to stumble back, unnatural chills blanketing his body. Weavile let out an angry growl before lashing out with its ice shard attack. The phantom creature dove below the banister of the stairs to avoid the oncoming bolts.
"No please! Don't fight! You will need him to be strong!" cried the girl.
"Just do what she says Weavile!" Yelled William, He wasn't sure why, but some instinct in his gut kept screaming for him to trust the girl. Free for a few seconds they entered the room which was nothing more than a cluttered closet filled with discarded things. The little girl ran to the back, pulling the tarp off an old refrigerator.
"This should do the trick. That bad man may have forced Jeeves to break all our other toys, but he didn't know that we still had one of these!"
"You're not making any sense. Who is making you do this?" Before the girl could answer a lamp turned on, its bulb pulsing brighter and brighter whilst ringing loudly.
"We need to get him inside of here!" she said, opening the door of the refrigerator, "It's the only way to break that bad man's hold!" It was all very confusing though William didn't have time to think it through as a lamp burst into pieces, revealing the red Pokemon from before who was quick to attack with another gust of fell wind. Will dove behind a nearby dresser which shook from the attack.
"Weavile! See if you can knock it into the fridge using Nightslash!" The claw Pokemon dove out from underneath a small chair, its talons once again cloaked in a dark aura. The ghost turned to face Weavile, releasing waves of electrical rings. Weavile passed through these and with a mighty smack sent the Pokemon flying into the refrigerator which the girl quickly slammed shut.
"Good work mister! Now we just have to wait."
"Wait for what?" Will didn't need to wait long for an answer though, for no sooner had the door to the fridge snapped shut did the whole thing began to shake like the lamp from before. A purple aura overtook the frame of the device which itself had turned a bright shade of red. Before long it sprouted two large lightning bolt shaped arms, a pointed horn, and a pair of eyes above either door. Will prepared for it to strike again, but instead the Pokemon began to dance around.
"Rotom your all better now!" cried the girl wrapping her tiny arms about the fridge which, much to Williams surprise smiled and hugged her back. "Mister this is my best friend Rotom! We used to always play pranks together on Jeeves and visitors, but then a very bad man came to the mansion. He brought a strange toy of his own that caused Rotom and all my other friends to get very angry. They even started chasing away all the trainers that used to come visiting."
"A toy?" asked William still feeling confused, "What kind of toy?"
"A puzzle toy mister. It's in the middle bedroom right now. I'm not allowed but you can go inside! The only problem with that though is that the door is locked and only Jeeves has the key."
"You mean the butler? I already beat him, didn't I?
"Yes but you'll have to do it again mister. If you can beat him one more time, then Jeeves might be able to help us. But be careful. Jeeves didn't try his hardest the first time he just wanted to scare you away. Now the bad man will make him be serious, so I want you to take my friend with you. Rotom is strong! and I changed him to better match you! I can tell, you're all cold inside so you will like him the way he is now!" The girl rummaged through a nearby box, tossing over a blue and yellow pokeball to William.
"This is a quick ball. You… want me to capture your friend?" The girl nodded, though Will could tell that this fact saddened her. He then turned his attention to the fridge Pokemon, finally managing to scan it with the pokedex. "Let's see, Rotom the plasma Pokemon…. So it can change types by possessing different machines? Then that means this form is."
"Rotoms frost form," said the little girl.
"An ice type, well what do you know," Smiled William, "I'd be honored to take Rotom with me." Will tossed the pokeball high into the air. There was a bright flash as it absorbed Rotom into its core before falling to the ground closed. The Pokemon within didn't even struggle to break lose, causing the ball to seal shut almost instantly.
"Ok, that's one friend saved and one to go!" said the small girl who was off in a flash. Will also returned Weavile to his pokeball before following back into the hall of doors. The girl stood pointing toward the door second from the right this time, stopping Will before he entered. "I can't go in there with you this time. Just be careful mister, Jeeves can be scary when he is mad."
"I beat him once; I'll beat him again. By the way, I've been so caught up all this madness that I never had the chance to ask. What's your name?"
"Abigale," said the girl with a curtsy.
"Well then Abigale it's been nice meeting you. Don't worry, we'll get this mess all sorted out I promise," said Will while opening the door.
"Well if you don't, you can always stay with us here forever and ever," she said with a malicious grin.
"Wait what?" but she was already gone. Feeling uneasy, William entered the room. It was empty for the most part. The carpet was torn up, and messy while paper peeled from the walls. The far wall demanded attention due to a large painting that hung upon it. A portrait of an elderly gentleman dressed in fine clothing. It gave off the unshakable impression that it was staring directly at him.
"Ahh so our guest still persists. I trust then that young Lady Abigale sent you my way?" It was the butler, who had somehow appeared in a vacant corner of the room.
"So it's Jeeves, right?"
"Indeed sir."
"Then can you explain to me what's going on here? Who is forcing the ghost Pokemon to act so violently and why are you helping them? And why are you letting a little girl run around an abandoned house all by herself?" The butler shook his head, taking a few steps forward.
"Come now really, you don't think that I want any part in this, do you? Did you even listen to the plight which Lady Abigale has described? We are all held against our will here sir, by he who came before yourself. A very distinguished gentleman to say the least." The butler shuddered for a moment, and Will could see that eerie violet light glimmering once again in his eyes.
"But alas, already I have said too much. Forgive me sir. I was ordered to simply ward away any chance intruders but now. Now I'm afraid I must do something far worse." Jeeves hand pointed towards the painting whose eyes turned a violent blood red. It wasn't just a trick of the light; they were sweeping all around the room in a manic fashion. Then all at once they became transfixed upon Will. The room grew dark and cold, while a purple blob began to ooze outward from within the painting.
"Gengar! Come forth and help me to change our new friend here from guest, to permanent resident." The Blob sprouted large dark spikes along its back, as well as a stubby pair of arms and legs. In the center was a large mouth stuck in a perpetual grin, while a pair of violet eyes gleamed savagely.
"Alright, one more time my friend. Weavile lets take him down!" Will felt fear pulse through him though when he saw yellow sparks crackling off his summoned partner's body.
Paralysis…
"Gengar sludge bomb!" Shouted the butler. The phantom Pokemon was quick, rising into the air as it bombarded Weavile with foul bursts of dark purple gunk from its mouth. Normally it would have been simple, Weavile's speed made it easy for him to duck and weave through enemy assaults. But Rotom's thunderwave from before had left him in a crippled state, there was no way he could avoid Jeeves's attack.
"Try and intercept it with your ice shard!" Weavile went for the move, but cringed as more yellow sparks engulfed its body. Then in an explosion of black clouds was forced to the ground from Gengar's attack. "Dang it! Weavile don't give up! It's just like when we fought dad! We need to end the fight as quickly as possible! Use the wall to climb up and then strike it down with Night Slash!" With grit determination, the claw Pokemon forced itself to stand then followed its trainers command.
"A desperate move. Night shade Gengar!" Weavile leapt from the wall, its claws pulsing with dark energy. But it was just to slow, already the ghost Pokemon had maneuvered itself directly behind its prey before releasing a horrid ray of energy from its eyes. Weavile fell hard to the ground, and the pokedex in Wills pocket buzzed loudly. An alert warning him that his partners endurance was exhausted. If they tried to battle any further, Weavile would die.
"Forgive me young master. I would never allow Gengar to indulge in its more hostile tendencies but. It is no longer my choice to make. Without an ally to protect you, he will now feast upon your life force." The phantoms wicked smile parted to reveal a long and slimy pink tongue which lapped the air in front of William. His hand scrambled for the second ball in his pocket.
"Woah hang on a second pal; no way am I going to let that thing touch me. Rotom its all on you now!" Another flash of light and the refrigerator Pokemon from before appeared. For a moment Jeeves smiled as if happy to see the creature, then his body gave another shudder, growing rigid as his eyes completely glazed over in violet light.
"Shadow Ball Gengar!" The ghoul twisted itself round in the air, unleashing a focused blob of shadowy energy towards its new foe. Before Will could give a command however, Rotom flung the doors of its body open wide while a mighty gale of freezing wind and ice blasted outward.
"Is that Blizzard?" marveled William retrieving his pokedex. The force of his new friends attack completely overwhelmed both shadow ball which fell apart, and Gengar who was coated in sheets of ice. "What else can you do?"
"Preposterous! Night Shade Gengar!" The phantom lost its smile as it released another series of powerful dark rays from its eyes. Rotom's body was too big and clunky, and it cringed against the strength of its opponent's assault.
"Alright how about a little pay back? Rotom use your thunderwave and paralyze Gengar!" A yellow spark flashed through Rotom's eyes as it pointed its arms toward the ghost pokemon. Its body then began to vibrate quickly as rings of electricity surged outward surrounding Gengar whose own body began to crackle with energy. "Good! Now use thundershock!"
"Shadow Ball!" But the paralysis was already setting in, and the few seconds it afforded Rotom over Gengar were all that was needed. The frosty ghosts body was engulfed in light as it fired a bolt of lightning from its horn zapping the shadow Pokemon. William glanced down at the pokedex's screen, scrolling through the list of techniques his new partner was capable of.
"Now if I recall correctly, one of this species primary weaknesses, is to techniques of its own type," said Will with a triumphant grin, "lucky enough for us since Rotom was formerly a ghost type it still knows a few of their tricks. Now end this with Ominous Wind!"
"Gengar use sludgebomb!" The phantom Pokemons eyes went completely violet just like its masters as it gave a vengeful smile before spewing more foul gunk which struck Rotom.
"You can take it! He's got nowhere else to go now! Attack!" Rotom threw open its fridge doors once again whilst its arms spun wildly around like windmills. Purple gusts of air swept forward, thrusting Gengar into the wall. Unable to endure the super effective attack the ghost pokemon fled, its body fading away into the darkness.
Before Will knew what was happening the large fridge Pokemon had flung itself upon him in a hug that sent sparks racing down his spine.
"Woah easy their buddy! Yes, I know we did it! You were amazing! How is it that you know such a powerful move like blizzard?! That was incredible!" Upon Gengar's departure Jeeves had collapsed, as if strings had been holding him upright. As he stood again, Will could see that the strange light from before had left his eyes, and the old butler seemed to be smiling warmly.
"Well done young master. My job was to defend the mansion by chasing intruders away through Pokemon battles. Yet it seems somehow, that your defeating me was not something the Other expected, and has weakened the shackles placed upon me. As I failed to defeat you, it seems only fair that I grant some type of reward." Jeeves held up a lone golden key of older designs. "Now I see why lady Abigale was willing to entrust her dearest friend to you. Use his power wisely, and set us all free!" The key fell to the dusty floor as Jeeves vanished from the spot and the house grew quiet once more. Will returned both his partners to their pokeballs before picking up the key.
"Alright, all that's left is the bedroom." He returned to the hall, glad to be rid of the creepy paintings gaze. He approached the door in the center of the hallway, the key sliding easily into its keyhole. Beyond the frame William found a large room with twin beds which had been pushed up against the walls to make more room in the center. Here was placed the most intriguing looking device Will had ever seen. The front consisted of a large panel filled with dozens of small squares each bearing an odd shape of sorts on its face. This was connected to a triangular pillar of metal and glass filled with a pulsing purple light. The top had some type of small radio antenna attached, and the machine provided the room with a soft humming sound. As he studied its design, Will noticed that each of the letters within the panel also bore a single spot that flashed the same color as the light, almost as if they were blinking.
"What is this thing?" As far as Will could see there was nobody in the room, though an open window gave him an idea of where this Other man Jeeves and Abigale had mentioned might have gone. Rotom then burst forth from its pokeaball on its own accord, a very angry expression on its face. It took Will a moment to understand the plasma Pokemons anger. "Is this… machine? The thing that's causing all of the ghost Pokemon to act weird Rotom?" The plasma Pokemon gave a nod before blasting the gizmo with its Ominous Wind. The glass pillar shattered spectacularly as the light within seemed to explode outward in a tremendous flare that forced Will to cover his eyes. Then a great number of odd noises filled the room. When Will looked, he was surprised to see many eyes all staring back at him. Each one was a part of the shapes he had seen on the now empty panel. These black figures flew around his body in a circle a few times, each making a series of high-pitched beeps before vanishing in a white light.
"Uhhmmm, your welcome I think?" As the shapes disappeared Will noticed that the inside of the now broken pyramid had in fact not been empty. Suspended within was a smooth rectangular plate of dull purple stone. Its surface was covered in tiny carvings of ancient text.
"Well done master William."
"Oh Jeeve's your back!" said Will suppressing his shock at the elder fellow's sudden appearance. "You're going to have to teach me how you and Abigale do that vanishing trick. I'm sorry but the Other man he isn't here anymore."
"Of course not, once you had defeated me the coward fled. Apparently, he considered his identity far more valuable than the cursed device you see before you."
"So do you know what this is then?" The butler frowned and shook his head.
"I am afraid I do not Master William. All that I can say for certain is that it possessed a most disturbing influence. Under its siren, nearly all the Manor's residents were forced into subjugation. Only myself and Lady Abigale could maintain some degree of freedom. Lucky for you that I managed not to exert my full potential in battle," he said with a devilish grin, "however, I would strongly recommend that you remove the plate that was sealed inside and take it with you. It is a rather, unique artifact after all." Will managed to wrench the old tablet outward, finding that its touch gave him a rather unsettled feeling in his stomach.
"Well what am I supposed to do with this?" Yet nobody answered. Jeeves was once more gone. A paper with a crayon drawing of a small girl holding the hand of man who resembled the butler lay on the floor where he had stood, the words see you again written across the bottom. Through the windows of the chateau a ray of light beamed through. Dawn was approaching and William could see that the fog that had choked the forest was beginning to part.