I've been writing too many dark Pokemon fics and stuff lately, so let's break that streak with a more lighter, fluffier, upbeat fic! And it's Advanceshipping! (Plus some one-sided Pearlshipping and a little Ikarishipping)

I don't think that this fic will actually be very long, like maybe four chapters at the most. Also, it's slightly AU, as Dawn, Zoey, and Paul have different backgrounds and such. This fic also isn't as heavily romance like the last one, so most of it is light, fluffy stuff, which is where the title and chapter names derive from.

I don't own Pokemon and the obscure Haunted Mansion references.

Take My Hand

One: Helping Hand

"Ash, we've been walking through this forest for several hours now."

"Look, I'm pretty sure that I know where I'm going..."

"I think we're lost."

"No, we're just...misplaced..."

Eterna Forest was dark, yet the sun was out, being shrouded by dense overgrowth and trees. Pokemon such as Wurmple and Buneary skittered around, watching the group of two that were moving through the forest. Wait; make that three, counting the little Pikachu that was riding on the male's shoulder.

Ash Ketchum stopped walking as he looked around at the surrounding trees. "Wait...didn't we just pass that tree?" he asked aloud, pointing to a tree that they had indeed already passed. His short black hair wavered a little in the cool wind that blew through the forest, but most of it was kept firmly underneath his hat. He was wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt that was underneath his jacket with the yellow stripe that his mom had made for him for the start of his new journey. Because of his long pants, he wasn't bothered by the long grass-like weeds that were tall and went past his ankles and close to his knees.

May, however, was less amused. "I thought you said that you knew where you were going." she said. May had long brown hair that too wavered with the wind, but was kept underneath a red bandanna. Unlike Ash however, she was wearing a short sleeved red jacket and white shorts, which she somewhat regretted as she paused to knock some of the weeds away from her legs

Pikachu, Ash's faithful Pokemon, turned to Ash from where it was sitting on his shoulder. It may have trusted Ash's judgment, but it too wished to know and be reassured that they weren't lost. "Pika pi chu?" it asked inquisitively.

Ash smiled at his Pikachu. "Don't worry buddy, we're not lost." Ash had that uncanny ability to know what Pikachu was asking, so somehow knew that "Pika pi chu?" meant "Ash, are we lost?"

Pikachu nodded whereas May plopped down on a tree stump. "Yeah, well, I'm taking a break."

Ash followed suit, sitting on one as well. "It's too bad that we haven't met up with Brock yet. He usually has a map that could lead us out of this forest."

Brock, the usual third member of the group, had briefly gone home to visit his family, but had promised to meet up with Ash in Sinnoh. May and her brother Max had gone home briefly as well, before May returned and met up with Ash a few days ago. Ash had been shocked to see her, as her original plan had been to go on a solo journey to Johto. Max, however, stayed behind with their parents and was helping his father run their family gym in Petalburg.

"What are you going here?" Ash had asked flabbergasted.

"What, you aren't happy to see me?"

"Well yeah, but weren't you..." Ash trailed off.

"I was...but..." she paused and Ash couldn't help but wonder what was running through her mind. "I found out that they have contests in Sinnoh, so I figured, why not?"

Ash grinned. "Well, I'm glad to have you traveling with me again. As soon as we find Brock, then our group will be complete."

He noticed a weird, faraway look in her eyes before she smiled and nodded, but he never asked her about it.

But somehow, it was only the two of them for those few days, even when getting Ash's first badge or passing through a few towns. Ash was beginning to worry that something had happened to Brock, but apparently, from when he had called up Brock's house at a Pokemon center, that Brock had indeed left...so why hadn't they caught up to him by now?

May had suggested just simply waiting somewhere for him, but Ash felt that they should continue to press on, as they never knew where they would actually meet up with Brock.

"What are we going to do Ash? If we can't find the way out?" May asked.

"Don't worry...we'll find the way out...we'll just..." Ash trailed off, at a loss for words. After a minute or two, he stood up again.

"We should probably continue onward." Ash said. May nodded as she stood up as well.

They continued onward for some time in silence, until a fog started to settle in. May shivered as they walked and Ash had to have the patience to not point out how close she was to bumping into him. At some point, he suddenly heard May scream.

"May?" Ash asked, immediately worried and looking around for a sign of her in the now dense fog. May suddenly came from his left, panting.

"May, are you alright?" Ash asked, concerned. "Why were you screaming?"

"Well, I suddenly lost sight of you and I was worried that I was lost." May admitted. May was surprised as Ash held a hand out.

"Well, just take my hand and I'll make sure that we don't get separated again." Ash said. May stared at the offered hand for what felt like the longest minute before taking it as Ash pulled her along through the thick fog that had suddenly swept out over the forest. Even though Ash was walking at a slow pace, May had to run a little to keep up with him, her thoughts somewhere miles away.

Was he just being a gentlemen or something? Helping out a friend? Or...

Ash's thoughts were on something similar to May's.

Why did she take so long just to hold my hand? I was only making sure that we wouldn't get lost again...and May seems distracted for some reason...

Eventually May was able to walk at a normal pace, her hand lightly squeezing Ash's as if in her own reassurance that he wouldn't let go. As they walked, they noticed the crunch of dead leaves and grass under their feet and the absence of Pokemon around them.

"Where are we?" May wondered aloud.

"I don't know. Maybe we're just in an older part of the forest..." Ash guessed.

"Well, I just hope that the oldest part is the closet to the exit."

Suddenly, they came upon the strangest thing to find in a forest. A dark red picket fence was in front of them, the wood worn down and rotted from over the years, with some broken or leaning beams. The gate had a rusted lock, and next to it, an old sign tacked down into the ground by a rotted pike.

The Pokemon Chateau

"There's a house out here in the woods?" Ash asked aloud.

"Maybe there are people that can tell us how to get out of this forest." May suggested.

"Only one way to find out." Ash said as he lightly pushed against the gate, which as expected, creaked loudly like a gate that hadn't been opened in several years. As they made their way inside, neither noticed how the sign out front that they had read earlier suddenly sprouted roots around its base and pulled the sign back into the ground.

As they walked, the grassy ground below them was replaced with an old cobblestone walkway that had rocks that jutted upward at some angles. The closer they came, Ash and May noticed old rose bushes and gardens that lined the walkway, ones that were not dead, yet were still dried and parched. A fountain that spewed water every now and then was on their left, but the angel statue that might have been on it was missing a chunk of its head, its one eye staring upward as if to the heavens. The only thing that seemed to be alive were vines and weeds that practically crawled along the ground, as they drew closer, the weeds had started to climb up the sides of the building that now stood before them, weaving its way around its large bay windows and old oak door. In an odd Gothic majestic way, the mansion was still grand. The porch steps creaked under their feet as they stood in front of the doors, unsure of what they should do.

"I guess we should knock..." Ash said after he had found his voice. The sight of the house of such utter disrepair gave him the creeps, though he wouldn't openly admit it.

May, however, did. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Well, maybe living in the forest makes it hard to take care of all the plant life?" Ash suggested. Pikachu on his shoulder ever so slightly dug its claws into the fabric of his shirt, but it still made its discomfort known.

"Chuu..."

Ash reached up and placed a reassuring hand on its head. "Don't worry Pikachu, nothing bad's going to happen."

He lowered his hand only to lift it up again to knock when...

"Uh, Ash?"

"What May?" Ash asked as he was seconds away from his hand making contact with the door.

"You're still holding my hand."

Ash looked down and noticed that his other hand had still been holding May's and the dull blush that had spread across her face.

"Sorry." he said, immediately letting go, and as he did, he noticed that his hand suddenly felt cold. He turned back to face the door, trying to hide his own blush. It's just the fog that's making you cold, not...

"Ash?"

"Hmm?"

"There's a door-knocker right there." she pointed. Ash looked and noticed for the first time a brass door-knocker that had a Pokemon that he had heard was called Piplup, a little penguin's head that held the brass ring in its beak. He grabbed it and knocked it three times against the doors, which caused three long ringing sounds throughout the house even after he had stopped knocking. At first, nothing happened, which caused May to give a shaky laugh.

"Ok, nobody's home, let's just..."

The oak doors gave a great shudder as they swung inward, showing the pitch blackness of inside the house, as if the doors had opened by themselves. After a few seconds, a voice spoke.

"Come in."

Ash and May seemed to mentally brace themselves before entering the house.

A young lady with orange hair wearing a white suit opened the door to the mistress' room.

"My Mistress, we have visitors."

The girl at the window didn't seem to have heard him; instead her eyes were focused on the boy approaching her home. Her pale fingers tightened their hold on her arms, brushing against the pink shimmer fabric of her dress. Her unblinking eyes never left the young boy with the Pokemon on his shoulder.

"Madam?"

She turned around and smiled. "Prepare the servants and maids, afterward invite our guests in. I shall join you all shortly."

She momentarily glanced out the window, a frown tugging at her lips as she watched the girl that was with the boy. Her eyes narrowed almost noticeably as they stopped holding each others hands.

"Madam?" the servant asked once more.

The grin was back on her face. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure?" Even though most servants usually refrained from getting close to their boss, she was always concerned about her and often worried.

"Absolutely." she said, the grin more forced than before. She turned back to the window, a sinister smirk beginning to play on her lips.

"Oh, and Zoey?"

Her personal servant blinked in surprised at being addressed. "Uh, yes?"

The girl at the window didn't turn to face her, but somehow Zoey knew that she was grinning widely and was quite glad that she didn't have to see her almost feral smile.

"Make sure that our guests are quite 'comfortable'."