Alright people, I'm finally back and here with my first ever horror story. Now I do want to warn you, there IS character death, violence, and swearing, I DO NOT FAVOR THESE IN STORIES! However, in dealing with a story like this in these situations, I thought that these things were needed. And also, you may notice that fellow author Bittersweet Romanticide is in this, just as AshK, Prettygirl17, and Carlo Santos were in, ''Power From Within'', this is because both I thought her personality would be needed in this story and I owed her for letting me be in her story, ''Don't Believe What You See''. So thanks again B.R! This story is in the memory of Dorothy Kain, a great friend of mine and my ''Birthday Buddy''. Please enjoy!

-EVAN AAML

''Once again, we join our heroes on another journey. But little do they know that their next one will be more than they bargained for''.

''Alright guys, just a little bit farther!'', Ash said pointing to the top of a hill that he and his friends were slowly appproaching, his best buddy Pikachu on his shoulder. As he said this, he heard a group of moans turned around to see May, Max, and Brock, all of them exhausted.

''Ash! You said that 3 hours ago! We're never gonna reach Fellacor City!'', May yelled annoyed. The trainers had all been traveling through the Hoenn region, collecting badges and ribbons along the way. After awhile, they had decided to take a much needed break from training, so they decided to visit an islandoff from the mainland. The island had only 1 city, ( and some small villages/towns ), but was a great place to visit. Max, who was resting on a boulder, pulled out his Pokenav and pressed a button.

''Well at least this time Ash's telling the truth, we should be able to see it from over the hill'', Max said. Brock, who was the least tired of the 3, stood up.

''Come on, the sooner we get moving, the sooner we can have a good break'', Brock said. May sighed.

''Ahhhhh! I'm too tired to move!'', May said whinning.

''Well you know May, Fellacor City does have this mall there, and I know how'', Before Ash could finish his statement, a gust of wind appeared and nearly caused him to lose his balance and fall over. When he regained his composture, he noticed that May had disappeared. He and the other boys all looked around them, but found nothing. Ash then looked on top of the hill to see her, peering over the city searching for something.

''Well...what are you waiting for!? Let's get moving and find that mall!'', May yelled. Everyone sweatdropped. Ash and the others then made their way up the hill and to May. As they reached the top, the 5 of them all gazed at the city. It was a fairly large city and was connected to a harbor, the main way off the island. Just past the city was a road leading up to a mountain, the only one on the island. A breeze kicked up and and the gang took it in, relaxing and sighing. Ash, on the other hand, sensed something was amiss. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he had a feeling that something bad was going to happen...really bad. He quickly shrugged off this feeling, in hopes that the others wouldn't notice, and headed down the hill, his friends following.

Once at the bottom of the hill, they started to follow a dirt road towards town. After only a few minutes of walking, the gang reached a small store on the side of the road. As they were about to pass it, Brock stopped.

''Wait you guys, I think we should stock up on supplies while we're here'', Brock said. The other 3 nodded and Brock walked into the store. Suddenly, someone yelled.

''You, hey you!'', they yelled. Ash turned around to see two men at a table in front of the store. Both of them were younger gentlemen and had matching attire on. One of them had several papers in front of him.

''We're you talking to me?'', Ash asked.

''Of coarse, come here'', the man said. They approached. ''Are you interested in a very special contest?'', he asked. Ash smiled.

''I'm interested in any challenge!'', Ash said determindly.

''That's the spirit! Well I'll tell you what, how would you like to win...A CASTLE SIZED MANSION!?'', the man asked. Ash, May, Max, and Pikachu's eyes grew in size.

''A CASLTE SIZED MANSION!?'', everyone yelled.

''Yes! You see, just outside of town, there is a large mansion that is no longer in use. Years and years ago, when the city was just starting out, a very rich and powerful man built the estate in hopes of living here. Unfortunately, right when he finished building it, he died of old age. Since then, rumors have gone around saying that the place is haunted'', the other man explained.

''Haunted!?'', May yelled shocked, her hair nearly standing on end.

''Yes, because of this rumor, no one has ever bought the place. However, we have been asked by the mayor of Fellacor City to try to get someone to purchase it, he hates to see such a beautiful place abandoned. But in stead of selling the mansion, we plan on giving it away for free!'', the first man said. Ash and May looked drawn into this, but Max was hesitant.

''Wait, what's the catch?'', Max asked.

''You see, you are obviously not the only ones in this contest. To win, you have to spend the night in this, ''haunted mansion''. If you can stay the whole night until noon the next day, then you win!'', the second man said. Everyone looked shocked.

''That's it!?'', Ash said.

''That's it!'', both men said. Just then, Brock walked out of the store with grocery bags in hand. He looked over to see Ash signing papers and looking excited.

''What's going on?'', Brock asked.

''I'm going to win a mansion!'', Ash yelled excitedly.

''What!?'', Brock asked bewildered, nearly dropping the bags he had.

''Yeah, Ash entered to win a mansion'', May explained.

''You've got to be kidding me'', Brock said.

''Nope, this is no joke'', the second man said.

''Now, all you have to do is head towards town and when you get to the main entrance, there will be a bus waiting for you. All of the other contestants should be on it now'', the first man explained.

''Alright then, let's get going!'', Ash yelled.

''Pika!'', Pikachu replied. And with that, Ash and Pikachu ran off, but before they got far, Brock grabbed Ash's collar.

''Hold it, Ash, didn't you learn your lesson that time going to the Orange Islands? With the blimp and Team Rocket?'', Brock asked.

''Of coarse I did! But this isn't Team Rocket, so what's the problem!? Let's go!'', Ash yelled as he was released from his grip and ran, the others follwong right behind him, leaving the two men to wave to them goodbye. However, little did they know that hiding in some bushes across from the store was none other than Team Rocket. They were all holding branches to better conceal themselves.

''There go the twerps running to the bus, and what did the older one mean by, ''learned your lesson''? I thought that blimp was one of our best ideas ever!'', James said.

''It was, ignore it, now that the tweros entered this contest, not only will we get Pikachu, but we'll get a mansion to boot!'', Jessie exclaimed.

''Oh please, the only thing you's gonna get is a shockin experience'', Meowth said. James laughed. This of coarse only lead to Jessie hitting both boys over the head with her branches.

''Shut up and let's go!'', Jessie said leaving. The other two hesitantly followed. Meanwhile, Ash and the others had reached Fellacor City's main entrance. And just beyond the entrance was the bus, waiting for them.

''There's the bus!'', Ash said.

''Hey Ash, are you sure about this?'', Brock asked. Ash turned to face him. ''I mean, this will only make it that much longer to your next gym battle'', he continued.

''Yeah, and Fellacor City looks fantastic, not something we should miss'', May said.

''Of coarse I'm sure! We can miss a day of traveling!'', Ash said. He then ran towards the bus doors. Brock and May looked at Max, who shrugged. They all then followed Ash. Right when they were out of sight, Team Rocket quickly jumped out of the bushes.

''Quick, on top of the bus!'', Jessie said. The three of them then quickly scurried on top of the bus and layed low. During this, Ash reached the bus doors, which quickly opened. The first thing he saw was the bus driver. He was a large guy with a white shirt, khaki tan pants, ( I have NO IDEA how to spell that ), and a blue bus driver hat on. He had a large white moustache as well.

''Hello kids, welcome aboard!'', the bus driver said cheerfully.

''Thanks'', Ash said as he and the others stepped on. There were quite a few people on the bus, but the one thing Ash noticed immediatly was that they were generally all around their age. Not wanting to sit in the front next to people he didn't know, Ash headed towards the back, where there were free seats. While heading towards the back, Ash noticed a girl sitting in one of the last two occupied seats. He noticed that this girl had bright orange hair and had a ponytail on one side. He gazed at her shocked. ''No way, this can't be'', he thought. Ash quickened his pace to get to the end. When he got to her seat, he couldn't believe his eyes. ''...Misty'', Ash said quietly. Although this was said to himself, the girl heard this and turned around to see him. When she did, she too became shocked beyond comprehension. It was indeed Misty.

''Ash!?'', Misty yelled in shock.

''Yeah!'', Ash said happily.

''How are you!?'', Misty asked as she stood up and embraced Ash, an embrace he was quick to return.

''I'm great now!'', Ash said. Pikachu, who had remained quiet, ( for Ash's sake ), spoke up.

''Pikachupi!'', Pikachu said cheerfully. Misty borke the embrace to see her buddy.

''Hello Pikachu!'', Misty said hugging Pikachu and petting his head, in between the ears where Pikachu liked. By this time, May, Max, and Brock had reached Ash. They too couldn't believe their luck.

''It's great to see you again Misty'', Brock said.

''You too Brock!'', Misty said reaching over and putting an arm around his neck for a hug while still holding Pikachu. May and Max, who had not known Misty very well, simply smiled and said hello. Misty shook her head at their shyness. ''Oh come on now, your my friends too, get over here'', Misty said as she hugged them as well. Suddenly, someone spoke.

''Well, well, well, if it isn't my little rival May'', someone said. May turned around to see a boy with green hair sitting across from Misty.

''Drew!?'', May said shocked. Drew smirked and flipped his hair.

''Of coarse, who did you think it was, Harley?'', Drew asked. Misty looked at May, and then at Drew and smiled.

''Oh, so May was that Pokemon Coordinator you were talking about!'', Misty said. May looked at Drew with a smirk.

''Oh, you were talking about me? What about?'', May asked. Drew smirked back.

''A few things, mostly how bad at coordinating you are'', Drew said. May made an angry face, which only made him smile. So Ash, ( and Pikachu ) sat next to Misty while May sat next to Drew. Brock and Max decided to sit behind Ash and Misty.

''So Misty, what are you doing here of all places?'', Ash asked. Misty was taken aback from the question, but quickly answered.

''Well, you see...after seeing you guys at the Mirage Kingdom, I started to feel, lonly. So I talked to my sisters and they said I could have some time off to see you again. So I went looking for you guys. But unfortunately, this place being new to me, I got lost and wound up here. I figured I could try my luck at this contest, so here I am!'', Misty explained. After hearing Misty's story, May turned to Drew.

''And what's your story?'', May asked Drew. He shrugged.

''Heading to my next contest, got side tracked, entered this contest'', Drew stated. ''And you?'', he asked.

''Ash and his competitive ego liked the challenge'', May said. Misty giggled.

''Yeah that's my Ash for ya'', Misty said. At the sound of this, Ash slightly blushed and turned to face Misty.

''Your Ash?'', Ash asked. Upon realizing what she said, Misty also blushed.

''Aww, that's so cute! I love young romance!'', someone said. Ash and Misty looked up to see a girl looking at them from her seat in front of them.

''Young romance?'', Ash said as if he couldn't see it. May giggled at this remark.

''And you are who?'', May asked the girl.

''Oh, I'm Natty!'', the girl said. Natty had on a t-shirt with a circle on it. In this circle was an anime style Poochyena. She also had on a simple pair of jeans and sneakers. But something unique about her was that she had purple hair and eyes. She then pulled out a Pokeball and opened it, revealing a dog Pokemon. ''And this is my bestest buddy Houndour!'', Natty continued.

''Houn!'', Houndour said cheerfully as Natty hugged it. Natty then noticed Ash's Pikachu.

''Hey! A Pikachu!'', Natty said. ''Hey, how do you get a Pikachu onto a bus?'', she asked. Ash, Misty, May, and Drew remained silent. ''You Poke-em-on, get it!?'', Natty asked. All four of them laughed nervously. Natty however found herself quite amused. ''Ah! I kill myself!'', she said.

''OOO, your so funny I forgot how to laugh'', a voice said. Everyone turned to the seat across from Natty to see two boys. The one who had spoken was sitting on the end. ''Oh, hi, I'm Terrence, this here's Eduardo'', the boys said. Terrence was a tad on the short side with messy, brown hair wearing a plain red hoodie and jeans. Eduardo, who shyly waved to the gang, had short hair with tan shorts and a dark palin t-shirt.

''You can call me Eddy if you want'', Eduardo said.

''Hi Eddy, hi toast!'', Natty said cheerfully. Terrence, hearing her, became puzzled.

''Toast? What are you talking about?'', Terrence asked. Natty smiled.

''Houndour, if you will'', Natty said. Houndour made a mischevious grin as he faced the now worried boy. Houndour then let loose a small Flamethrower attack on him. The attack soon ended and Terrencesat there, burnt to a crisp. He opened his mouth and a puff of smoke appeared.

''Oh, that's what you meant'', Terrence said as he collapsed anime style. Eddy, Natty, May, Drew, Ash, and Pikachu all laughed.

''Just as a little warning, I don't mind if you think that one of my jokes aren't funny, but make a crack about it and that happens'', Natty explained. The gang now laughed nervously. While laughing, Ash noticed a kid sitting by himself behind Drew and across from Brock and Max. He was looking out the window, contemplating.

''Hey, what's your name?'', Ash asked. Ash, Brock, and Max all faced the boy, who in turn faced them. He looked older than most of the kids on the bus, slightly younger than Brock. He had black hair, which was partially concealed by a red cap. He wore a pair of jeans with a black t-shirt. Over the t-shirt was a red zip-up jacket, which was open. He looked at the three boys with a blank expression. But he soon smirked and put two fingers in the air in a hello fashion.

''Procker'', the boy said saying his name.

''Not much of a talker are you?'', Brock said with a smirk.

''I tend to keep to myself'', Procker said. All of a sudden, the bus made a screeching hault. The sudden stop caused everyone on the bus to crash into the back of the seat in front of them. On top of the bus, due to the stop, Team Rocket was sent flying forward off the bus and into some bushes, no one noticed. In the bus, the bus driver stood up and faced everyone.

''Is everyone alright?'', the bus driver asked. One of the boys in the front stood up holding the back of his neck.

''Alright!? You nearly gave me whip-lash you fricken moron!'', the boy said annoyed.

''Sorry lad, but we're here!'', the bus driver said cheerfully. He then opened the bus doors and sat in his seat. Slowly, one by one, the passangers got off the bus. When eevryone was off, they gazed at what was in front of them. There the mansion stood, in all it's glory. Although the place looked worn down, it was still in good shape. The colums alone were over 100ft. tall, making this mansion quite large in size. Everyone looked at it, thinking what a might they were going to have.

OK, that's chapter 1 down, and chapter 2 on the way. I do want to say that because of school, I may be able to only update on weekends, so I'm sorry for that. I'm also sorry that this wasn't put up sooner, I was in NYC for the weekend last week, so I didn't get time to work on this then. To Bittersweet Romanticide, I hope I got your character right so far, like the little surprise I gave you? And if you also noticed, I placed Poochyena on your shirt in this as a tribute to your former name, ''Poochyena Puppylover''. I reailzed that you were a fan of Houndour and Houndoom while looking at your profile, so I figured, why not? And in case your wondering, I based the looks of the mansion to a old abandoned Psychiatric Center in Utica, ( I highly doubt any of you have seen it, but you could probably look it up, there are several complexes to it, all of which abandoned, but the one I'm talking about is about 200 years old or so ). The colums for instance were based on it, this Psych Center has the second largest colums in the world, ( first being in Rome, naturally ). The place means alot to me and looks cool, so I based this mansion off of it, and wouldn't you know it, that psych center is haunted too! Anyway, I thank you for your patience with me, I've been busy. And I hope that you will all like what's going to happen on here soon! Until then! Also, please people, check out my poll on my profile! It asks what your favorite story of mine was!

sincerely, evan, a fan of aaml

-EVAN AAML