Hey! Just wanted to say this is extremely long...
Also, I mentioned Sheek in here, so I could kinda give her closure. Hope that's okay! D:
~*~
Her mind felt fuzzy as it fought against the sedatives most likely being pumped into her veins at the moment. Was she dreaming? Or did that really happen? No, it wasn't a hallucination; you don't dream, or think, for that matter, while unconscious. Sheek was truly there, and the message she had had to be delivered. She relaxed, making sure she had the visit memorized down to the movements of Sheek's tail...
"Hey." The Shinx's voice rang loudly in Melody's head. Slowly, a picture formed in her brain. Sheek was standing in a forest somewhere. She was holding hands with an Abra, who was obviously providing the connection to Melody's mind. "...Sheek! It's you! How have you been able to evade capture this long?" The Mudkip bombarded her with questions. Sheek smiled faintly, then replied. "Look, I don't have enough time for that. I have a message for you... Deliver it to someone trustworthy, okay? Deliver it if it's the last thing you do. Here goes..."
Melody nodded to herself. Yes, she remembered everything. Now to find someone to deliver it to...
Her eyes snapped open. She was suspended in a green, translucent liquid inside of a tank. Tubes protruded from her body, pumping nutrients and other drugs into her bloodstream. Slowly, she reached out her hand and gently brushed the glass. She smirked to herself. The solid wasn't thick enough to hold her in. She placed her fingertips against the glass and pushed lightly against it, and it shattered beneath her touch. Forgot about my ability to control water pressure, didn't they? she thought. But then again, they were counting on me being under the influence of anesthesia...
Melody stepped out of the compartment and into the lab room, her Mystic Water, which she always wore, bumping against her bare chest. The first thing she looked at was the calendar, which read 8/7/09. Her eyes narrowed to slits. "They said I'd only be in there for two weeks, and they kept me like that for a month and a half? Filth," she spat. But no matter, she said to herself. I need to get some clothes on.
It was then when she noticed that the security alarm was going off. She glanced at a digital clock on the wall. It was 12:24. Everyone would be at the cafeteria, which was located at the other side of the building. On top of that, they would have to go and secure the place room by room, so Melody would have enough time to get her things and go. She jogged over to the filing cabinets, examining them until she reached a drawer labeled MELODY. She jerked it open, where her clothes and a file containing all of the information about her lay. Hurriedly, she pulled on her undergarments, her dress, and her shoes. After a moment's thought, she grabbed her file, too. The less data they had about her, the better.
She turned to face the other tanks, and felt a pang of pity for the other Pokemon still trapped inside. A Buneary, Grimer, Bellossom, Duskull, and Vibrava were each in their separate compartments. Without a second thought, she raised her hand and balled it into a fist. Immediately, glass shells exploded, and the five gijinkas came to life. Their eyes found Melody and they shot her questioning looks.
"Look," she announced, "We don't have time for questions. See those filing cabinets? Find yours. They have your belongings in there. Get dressed and take your file." She watched as they did as she instructed. When they were done, she continued, "Okay. Let's get the hell out of here. Everyone needs to take a different path to the exit, okay? I'll meet you there." She put her hand on the doorknob of the door exiting the lab room, the others just behind her. "One, two... GO!" she shouted, and threw herself into the hallway.
It was utter chaos. Bounty Hunters and the machines were darting everywhere, and they had even released some of the more animal-like gijinkas to try and have them sniff out the escapees. A young Hunter took notice of Melody and began to shriek, "I found them!", but was silenced when he was hit in the face by the Grimer's Sludge Bomb. "Split up!" Melody bellowed to the others, taking a left into a more deserted corridor. Right, straight, left, left... she knew these passages like the back of her hand.
After several minutes of nonstop running, she bolted out of an exit and into the cool forest air. It was an ideal place to conceal a base, she thought to herself as she caught her breath. The woodland was vast, and hardly anyone passed through here. It's what had kept Melody quiet for two years, but now, she had escaped. No more experiments, no more fighting in pseudo-combat situations. Unless she was recaptured...
There was a sound of another door opening and then slamming shut again, and the Buneary came into view, carrying the Bellossom on his back. "Sorry," he breathed, "She slipped, and I couldn't just leave her there." Melody nodded. "It's fine, I would've done the same thing. If only the other three would hurry..." Just as she said that, the Duskull materialized right out of the wall. "Took a shortcut," he grinned.
After a short time, the Vibrava emerged from the building, looking a little bloody. Melody was beginning to worry about the Grimer, but was relieved when she finally came running over, clutching her side. "Good," the Mudkip said to the others. "Glad you could all make it. Now, if you know what's good for you, you'll find some Psychic-type Pokemon. Whether it be a nutty old Xatu claiming to see the future or a Girafarig bumming for change, they'll know how to Teleport. Have them Teleport you somewhere where you know you'll be safe. And the Bounty Hunters won't know where you went" - she waved her file in the air - "because all of the information they had about you is in your possession. Once again, we will split up. We have a better chance of making it if we're separated."
The was a sudden BANG! An exit door burst open, and several Bounty Hunters and their machines barreled out. "GO!" screamed the Bellossom, and the six fugitives burst off in different directions. Melody heard a "Dragonbreath!" and a shriek of pain. The Vibrava had just given a Bounty Hunter what they deserved. She smirked to herself and sped up a few paces.
She was nearly out of the forest. She could taste the freedom at the tip of her tongue, feel the fresh air on her skin. The treeline was thinning rapidly, and there were about 10 yards separating her from the outside world-
And it all abruptly came to a halt.
A Raticate gijinka, running on all fours, leapt over her head and landed in front of her. "Shadow Ball!" it rasped. Melody didn't have time to react. Time slowed as she let out a squeak and the Raticate released its attack. She could only stand there as it came closer and closer still...
CRASH!
The Mystic Water that Melody prized deflected the attack. The teardrop-shaped glass charm and the Shadow Ball collided, glowed brightly, and burst. For a second, the longest second, the shards of glass were suspended in midair, sparkling like a thousand tiny lights, reflecting a thousand different colors. The second passed, and the pieces dropped to earth. Furious, Melody blasted the Raticate out of the way with a Hydro Pump that was a bit more violent than usual. She gave a last glance to where the fragments of her necklace lay, then began to run again.
A cottage was sitting in a nearby field. She sprinted over to it and began to hammer frantically on the door. "Help, please! I need to get out of here!" she yelled. The door opened, and a tired-looking Chimecho lady answered. "What do you want?" she yawned. "Look, I need to get away from here. I need you to Teleport me somewhere, anywhere," Melody replied. The woman suddenly looked more alert. "Oh my," she said. "It's been a time since I did that. There was another girl your age that time too. She was a Shinx. Goodness, she was so upset, she kept shooting off sparks. Her name was... Sheek! Yes, Sheek..."
Melody's ears pricked up at Sheek's name, but she decided not to piddle around and question the Chimecho further. "That's great, Miss, but I really need to go. There are people who want my head right now, so if you would help, I would forever be in your debt," she pressed. The older woman thought for a second, then nodded. "Alright, dear. Anywhere, you say? I'll just pick a place where I've been before, okay? And come in. I think we should do this away from any wandering eyes."
The cottage was the type that one would see in a painting. Small, cozy, with drying herbs and pots and pans hanging from the rafters here and there. The Chimecho led Melody to the center of the room and instructed her to kneel, which she did. "Now take hold of my hand. Firmly. That's good, that's good. Take a deep breath, and close your eyes. Ahh...!" The woman's voice faded away, and the Mudkip girl felt an overwhelming feeling of being squeezed on all sides. The darkness was pressing harder, tighter, on her...
She collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. She didn't care to open her eyes to see where she was; she was too weak. All she thought of was that she had to deliver that message, if it was the last thing she did.
Continue?
Melody.
