Mear
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you found it!” A sudden voice caused my entire set of muscles to jump at once. My head moved sharply, and the countour of the ghost I had seen before was now smiling excitedly as she clung to the bunny that I had created from Reverse Sketch. Just when one can’t possibly get more startled, it happens.
“So… you really were looking for that?” Shupple asked with an almost half causticity in her voice due to the smoke. I let out a breath and found my own lungs starting to repair themselves. Indeed, oxygen is one thing that people are indeed thankful for only when they are deprived of it for an extended period of time.
“Yes, so very much! My parents gave it to me, and it was what I wanted to have in the afterlife, and it was what kept me bound to this world. Thank you so much for finding it!” the ghost child continued on somewhat excitedly. “I’ll make a deal with you, if you don’t mind,” the girl said suddenly as she looked at us both.
“What… deal?” I have breathed out a bit of smoke finding that my lungs were still not back to normal. It would be a matter to deal with later for the prior matters were already causing something to be worked.
“A deal that everybody will like! If you, girl, help me pass onto the next life and lets me keep the bunny, I’ll help you defeat the other ghost! I don’t like other ghosts taking over my fun, so if you help me, I’ll help you!” the girl answered back keeping her face as light as possible. Now this was a strange deal. In some methodical sense that one who has been through too many events already does, I perceived that there had to be at least one catch to this.
“Okay, but how about we see if we can help the others first?” Shupple said, and suddenly seemed to wince. My eyes shot to some form of determent and finally found that her shoulder or rather her collarbone appeared to be the hamperor.
“Sure, but I’ll only help you out with that just a little bit, okay?” the girl laughed back still clinging to the rabbit.
I found Shupple’s eyes on me, and a part of me forced a smile. The entire situation was not one of humors, and yet I found myself trying to act as though it unfazed me.
“You know, you two are really cute together, you know that?” the high pitched voice half laughed to herself causing me to feel suddenly unnerved. I caught a half look at Shupple before we both tried to force a smile and move onwards.
Suddenly, the illusion around us shifted sharply and it appeared as though Gray were having some sort of extreme fit right in front of us. I blinked for a moment as he continued screaming before it finally occurred to me that he had his own version of an illusion of his fears going on.
“Hey, idiot. Done screaming yet?” Shupple said sharply. The ghost girl behind us half giggled to herself as though remembering her own pranks.
“She’s going to help. We made a deal, okay?” Shupple said as Gray seemed to be giving the girl behind us a coy look that one gives anything unnatural in the world.
“Okay…” Gray said half raising an eyebrow, and once again the illusion area around us seemed to fade away.
“Let’s go onto the next person now!” The little girl exclaimed as she opened yet another hole into an unknown area.
As I stepped through, a change in lighting seemed to cause my pupils to contract for a moment, and I found that a Glameow Gijika was seeming to step out of her own illusion at that point. The ghost girl seemed to dart forwards at the Glameow and waved a hand in front of her.
“Well hi!” she said seeming to cause the Glameow to recoil at recognizing the spirit before her. It was then that I remembered that the man had said that the girl had made toys and had motioned to this Glameow.
“W-what are you doing here?” the Glameow said stepping back as though ready to run if the need existed.
“Don’t worry,” I said finding my voice somewhat calmer than before. “We’re trying to get the other Gijinka back together and stop this illusion.”
The Glameow seemed to reflect a look of relief at seeing us and gave a nod.
“Alright,” she said after a moment still eyeing the ghost girl warily. “Then where is everyone else?”
“We’re looking for them,” I answered back.
Suddenly the sounds of running caught my ears, and my head turned to see a very determined Lupe running almost as though she were expecting to run us over if necessary. However, as she realized that we were not an illusion, she seemed to come to a sudden halt. Letting a breath out, Lupe took on a sudden tight look once more.
“You’re not an illusion,” Lupe said giving everyone that was standing before her a sharp eye.
“No,” I answered back. “We got out of our own illusions.”
“We still need to find everyone else,” Shupple said suddenly appearing to be tired of the sudden repeat that had just occurred within ten second intervals. The ghost girl suddenly moved in front of Lupe and waved her hands lightly.
“And I’m gonna help,” the ghost chimed in lightly. “Let’s find more! More!” With that, she opened a portal and appeared to gesture us all into it.
“Let’s go,” I said sharply no longer wishing to waste time when that spirit could be causing others to experience their own worst pains and sufferings. With that, I heard footsteps behind me and knew that everyone else was following as well. There was something working up inside me that half resembled the determination that I gave my art pieces as I worked on them. I wanted to see the end of this just as I wanted to see a full picture done. I didn’t care for any more fears or anyone else being harmed. I refused it.
Stepping out of a portal once more, I found that I was standing almost in a forest terrain, and yet there was no alert as to someone being there.
“It looks like a Celebi forest….” I found myself saying as I recognized the large trees that only grew when accompanied by Celebi’s power. My eyes moved around again, and yet I could not find the source of any person being there. However, just as my nerve was about to be worked, I saw that a Lucario was kneeling on the ground in front of a tree mumbling something to himself.
Lee
Hoom and I stood fully again, and suddenly a portal formed before us. The portal seemed to twist for a moment, and the muscles in my legs tightened considerably even if they were fatigued. However, there was no time to run, and suddenly we were literally sucked into the void. I felt fingers seize my arm, and I realized that Hoom was trying to keep herself steady even as the terrain before us pulled away and seemed to reform itself.
I felt my own body becoming somewhat tense as the world reformed around us, and the presences that I had felt before seemed to dash away as well. It was a sudden strange mixture that left my emotion pool gone. Suddenly, my arm seemed to twitch, and I realized that Hoom was starting to cut my circulation with her grip.
“Hoom, could you release my arm? It began to hurt” I began, and she seemed to suddenly tense and come to herself.
“Sorry!...Where are we?” She asked after a moment. I found my own eyes surveying the area peering for any form of distinctions that would allow for area information.
“I don’t have any idea; however, I sense something familiar here…” I said more to myself than Hoom. The area appeared to be a clearing of trees. I let my senses take a few notes, but suddenly Hoom seemed to tense.
“This combination can’t be good…” Hoom said to herself, and before I had time to question it, she had bolted towards something. My legs twitched under me, and within half a second, I was running after Hoom. Suddenly, as we came closer and closer, I recognized the distinct smell of blood that shot through my nose. So that was what she was running towards.
Suddenly, Hoom stopped dead in her tracks. My eyes caught the red gushing pond of blood before any of my other senses. My legs tightened once more, but before I could move, Hoom was already headed for the pond.
“Stop! It’s still water!” I yelled out, and yet she ignored me. Jumping into the red liquid, Hoom disappeared. I stood for a full second before kneeling towards the water waiting. Lungs have a capacity to hold air for a long time, and yet Hoom was also a fire type. I would give her thrirty seconds before I would go in. However, just as I thought this, Hoom’s head came above the water once more. She made a motion with her arm, and almost as impulsive as Hoom’s previous motion, I seized her arm and pulled not only her but someone else from the water. My feet dug into the ground as I pulled them both out. In truth, I was not as muscular in my arms as I was in my legs, and so I found it more of a difficult matter. Yet I pulled them out in a few sharp tugs. Blood splashed on my jacket, and yet I fished them out not caring.
As I managed to get Hoom out, I found that she had retrieved the form of Melody. So that was who she ran after so quickly. Letting out a breath, I found my eyes move up as the blood seemed to lighten in hue and then suddenly shift to water. I found my head turn to Hoom once more, and we both returned a look of confusion. However, this look kept my attention for only a fraction of a second as my eyes dropped to the form of Melody.
Melody’s form was tight, and she gripped her knees as if not believing they would be there if she let go of them. Her breathing was sharp and yet came in repeatable waves. I took her by the shoulders and found that she was refusing to open her eyes. I shook her shoulders lightly once, yet it did no good. Again.
“MELODY!!!!” a howl escaped Hoom, and I felt myself jump a fraction. Melody seemed to jump as well and tighten considerably. Looking straight at me, the Mudkip Gijinka seemd to let a half breath escape her before sudden shocked tears streamed down her visage. I felt myself tense trying to think of something to do. Hoom bent down somewhat and took Melody into her arms and hugged her.
“Blood…….. So much…. Blood….” Melody breathed the words so loudly that I could hear them half echo in my own mind. “And they… they just….” Melody breathed out again.
“Melody,” Hoom said as she continued to hug the shocked Mudkip. “We’re here… it’s ok… It’s just an illusion….”
“N-n-no….” Melody breathed back shaking as if to herself.
The thought hit me sharply and nearly straight across the face. I breathed in.
“Calm Mind,” I said aloud wondering if it could possibly project to another. In the minutes that followed, I felt a relief seemed to wash over myself, and yet I was unsure of Melody. Hoom lowered her head as if experiencing the Calm Mind for herself, and as my eyes moved back to the shocked Mudkip, I found that she was starting to relax as well. Her eyes no longer retained the look of something that she would probably never be able to unsee, and instead, they seemed to grow weary almost.
“Thank… you…” Melody breathed out after a moment.
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M.... migraine *head/desk*
Mear
Lee
KC