Disclaimer: I still don't own pokemon... sigh I own at least ten imaginary pokemon, though. Does that count?

Spirits of the Past

Part 2: Preparation

"What?!" Cynthia exclaimed. "How do you know she's in there, and if she is, why hasn't anyone found her? Surely that old mansion would be one of the first places to look."

Gardenia kept looking at the floor as she replied quietly, "No one checked the Old Chateau because only adults were searching. The trees grow closely together all around it, and only by cutting them can any regular person get through. They automatically eliminated the possibility when they saw that no one had cut through the trees. But a little girl came to me a couple of days ago. She said that she and the missing girl played in Eterna Forest a lot with a wild Leafeon they had befriended.

"But before the girl's disappearance, she had been trying to convince the other two to go to the mansion with her. She kept on urging the issue, saying it would be fun, and that Leafeon would protect them. The Leafeon had shown them a small passage that walking pokemon use to get to the outside of the Chateau. It was very small – only large enough for small pokemon to get through, but the girl who talked to me said that when crawling, they could get through. The small passage isn't very noticeable, and the adults searching were too tall to see it. But neither the Leafeon nor the missing girl's friend wanted to go in. The girl had gotten upset, and even went home early one day – she disappeared that same night.

"So the girl thinks that she must have gone into the Old Chateau by herself. I went and checked it out, and saw the small hole through the trees the girl had talked about. But… I couldn't go in there. I decided to wait until you got here, Cynthia, so that I could hear the story and hopefully get you to come along and help. "

"How long has she been gone?" Jenna asked.

"A little over a week. Most of the search teams have given up looking for her in the woods, and are simply hoping that she is still alive, somewhere. No one thinks she was kidnapped – she disappeared during the night, and none of the doors or windows showed signs of forced entry. I would've gone to get others to go into the mansion for me, but…" Gardenia broke off her line of thought.

"But if you didn't go along with them, everyone would think of you as a horrible gym leader for the town." Cynthia finished. "Am I right?"

Gardenia nodded. "I think I can do it if you two are there with me. You two are strong, and I bet you aren't afraid of ghosts…"

Jenna thought, Of course I'm not afraid of ghosts! That's silly!, but decided to keep it to herself. She didn't want to hurt Gardenia's feelings.

"Of course we'll go with you, first thing in the morning. Going now wouldn't do any good – it's too dark to see a thing." Cynthia said. "Why don't you sleep here for now? I'm sure there's a spare cot or two in the closet." Cynthia opened the small closet and pulled out a folded-up collapsible cot, as well as some extra blankets and a pillow.

"Thanks. I don't really want to walk home right now… after hearing that story. By the way, is it true?"

"No one knows for sure." Cynthia answered. "All we know for sure are where the bodies were found. I have no idea how that story was started, or if it is even close to what happened. But it does remain that the butler was poisoned and the father and daughter were found dead in some sort of lab. As for the rumor that more answers can be found by going there, I'm not sure how that started. All I know is that I get bad vibes from that place, and we'd best take going there seriously."

Jenna thought this was ridiculous. Even if ghosts did exist, what could something without a body possibly do to a living person? But she kept her views to herself. They all went to bed fairly soon after that, different thoughts about ghosts and disappearing people racing through each of their dreams.

Cynthia awoke first the next morning, followed by Jenna, then Gardenia. They all got ready for the day, and they walked by the gym so Gardenia could tell them that she would be gone for the day. Jenna and Cynthia waited outside for her.

Once Gardenia came out, she said, "I really think we ought to bring a psychic or channeler along with us. If there are ghosts, it would really help."

"It sounds like a good idea," said Cynthia, "But where would we find one on such short notice? If it has already been a week since that girl disappeared, we need to find her as soon as possible."

"Don't worry – I know of someone who moved into town about a year ago. He's usually pretty reclusive, but I think he is fairly proficient at communicating with… with…" Gardenia couldn't finish her sentence.

"The dead?" Jenna said, trying to be helpful. Gardenia gulped and nodded, then began leading the others. They ended up walking to the far west edge of town, to a small house on the outskirts of the forest. Gardenia went to the door and knocked.

"Who is it?" Asked a male voice from within after a few seconds.

"I'm Gardenia, the gym leader. I've got a couple of friends out here with me. Could we come in?" the door opened, and a slender man could be seen. When Jenna saw him, she guessed he was in his early twenties, though he had a sort of youthful look to his face, making him look more like he was in his late teens. His hair was brown, as were his eyes, and he was about an average height – about half a head taller than Jenna herself, who was fourteen.

"Can I help you?" He said, not unkindly.

"Yes. Have you heard about the little girl that disappeared about a week ago?" Gardenia asked.

"Yeah, I did hear. Has she been found yet?"

"No." This time Cynthia replied. "Let me introduce myself briefly. My name is Cynthia, and this is Jenna. We are actually coming to ask for your help." She recounted what Gardenia had told them the night before, as well as their need for someone who could commune with the spirits.

He listened attentively, then said, "Do you know why I live so close to the forest? It's because of that house. For a constant living, a grow herbs for the herbalist shop on the north end of town, and they in turn give me a cut of their profits. But professionally, I am a channeler. I was interested in the Old Chateau, but when I went there, the negative aura it emanated frightened me. I didn't want to go in by myself, and I don't know anyone else well enough to ask. This, in truth, is the perfect opportunity for me. If you'll give me a minute, I'll gather my pokemon and some supplies, then we can head out immediately."

True to his word, he came back in just a couple of minutes, with a small pack on his back. And with that, they headed into the forest – to the infamous Old Chateau.

Yay! End of part two! Well, this is a lame, slow part, but it was needed nonetheless. Please, if you're reading this, at least check out poketto.proboards104 .com! I'm trying to promote the site as much as possible - it's a great place to discuss pokemon. Anyway, please enjoy! And please review! (pretty-please with a pickle on top?)