Footsteps echoed through the seemingly empty mansion. The noise was amplified in the otherwise silent hallways, making every light pace sound like a roll of thunder. The atmosphere was charged with inhuman energy. Every shadow appeared suspicious. The various inanimate objects littering the corridors were nearly expected to hurtle themselves through the air at any given moment. However, Melody and her companion were left undisturbed. The Mudkip glanced at said companion, who had introduced himself as Lee, and wondered if he was thinking the same thing as her: This is almost too good to be true. They're planning something. I'm sure of it.
A low moan filled the air. Melody jumped and resumed a battle position, ready to have an all-out death match with whatever had emitted such a sound. Lee, on the other hand, paused for a second and let his eyes sweep over the floor. "...It was the wind," he stated finally. "It's howling rather violently outside." He gestured to the trees outside of the window, which were flailing about in the gale. Melody breathed a sigh of relief, gave a nod of thanks, and set off with him again. The tense silence blanketed the two once more, and she found it increasingly unnerving. She decided to converse with the mysterious Hitmonlee that had rescued her from almost certain death in order to lighten the mood.
"So..." she began, "what happened to put you in this position?"
Lee exhaled slowly. "It's a long story... So many things have occurred. I'm no closer to figuring this situation out than you probably are. Speaking of situations..." he halted for a moment, as if contemplating whether to continue or not, but then went on. "...Why were you falling?"
The Mudkip girl smiled sadly and replied, "It's not an easy tale to tell in my case either. To put it as simply as possible, I've had a rough night. The first things I witnessed were limbs of shadow that came out of nowhere. They... they took away someone I cared about... They sucked him into the fireplace..." Her voice trailed off as her fingers curled into fists.
"Ah," Lee said, who was perhaps unsure of what words of comfort to offer his newly-met acquaintance. Melody nodded silently, feeling a little awkward, and picked up her stride somewhat, trotting after her Hitmonlee partner. Having a talk with him, however minimal it was, made her feel less on edge. We're in this together, she thought. I've got to give him my help so we can make sense of this living nightmare. For the first time that night, she forgot her fears.
Their search for fellow gijinkas continued, but so far, their efforts had been rewarded with nothing more than empty rooms and lonely halls. Melody pondered over why they had been left alone by the malevolent ghosts for this long. Perhaps they are so occupied with terrorizing the others, they haven't yet sensed us. It is possible, since both Lee and I exited and reentered the mansion, she reasoned. Even so, her fingers twitched at the slightest noise, ready to send an attack at whatever might decide to reveal itself.
It was then that she realized that there was a third pair of feet making light clopping noises as it followed behind the two gijinkas. Melody stopped instantly, took a breath, and spun around. "Decided to drop-" she started, but her breath caught in her throat and her eyes opened wide as she recognized the individual standing before her.
Shaggy cobalt-blue hair, hazel eyes, a lazy, overconfident grin-
"S-Sven?!" she spluttered. "Big b-brother...?"
The Swampert only grinned wider in response.
Lee had done an about-face after Melody had shouted. "What is it? I can't see anything," he inquired, his tone suggesting his alertness. "Do you think they're making you see an-"
"Illusion, yes," the Mudkip responded after shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "How dare you imitate my brother, you bastard! Hydro Pump!" A sphere of water formed in her hand, which she morphed into a whip-like shape. She swung it at the Swampert gijinka, positive her assault would reveal the true identity of the creature. When her water-whip hit him, though, it drew blood, and his image did not waver. "Melody..." he muttered. "To think you would attack your own family member..."
"...Sven..." the Mudkip said hoarsely. Tears welled up in her eyes as confusion took root inside of her. She blinked them away in order to clear her vision.
"Melody?" Lee asked, walking over. "Did you get it?"
The Mud Fish Pokemon's eyes were still fixed on what still appeared to be her brother, who pointed at Lee. "The true illusion," he told Melody, "is him."
The Hitmonlee was now standing behind her. "Melody...?" he questioned again, gingerly placing a hand on her shoulder. Her head jerked to the side to take a look at his limb. She was horrified to discover his digits were coated the inky blackness that she identified with the shadow hands. She gasped, slapping his arm away. "So you were one of them all along!" she exclaimed. "You're nothing more than a mirage!"
A look of confusion crossed Lee's face as his image flickered between a shadowy monster and a Hitmonlee gijinka. "I don't understand what you're trying to say," he stated, shaking his head. He took a step back. "Look at yourself."
Movement in a nearby mirror caught Melody's attention. She glanced sideways at it, and what she saw made her heart skip a beat. In the reflection, Lee, other than appearing almost entirely befuddled with what was happening, looked completely normal. Behind her, in the place of her "brother", stood the spirit girl from earlier that night. What shocked her the most, though, was the fact that her own figure was wavering, almost like a faltering hologram.
The child's mint-green eyes danced with mirth. "I found you," she sang. "Now we can play together like real friends. I'll make you invisible so no one can take you away. But then," she sniffed, "I guess that means I won't have to mask my presence from the Hitmonlee anymore, would it?" She giggled lightly as her body faded away and reappeared a few moments later.
Lee's shifted his suspicious gaze to the now-revealed imp, who gave him a charming smile. "Hello," she chirped in greeting. "I've played with dolls with the Glameow, and pretended the Houndoom was a mermaid. Now, I'm letting the Mudkip become like a chameleon. I think interacting with you would be entertaining too."
Melody's form was now nearly fully transparent. She stepped forward and placed her fingers gently on Lee's hand. She looked up at his face as despair filled her. "Help," was all she could manage before completely disappearing from sight.
Continue?
Melody.
-----
Author's block. It is relentless. The passage would make more sense without it D:
So here is the explanation if the story was confusing (which I'm sure it was):
- The spirit girl, after following Lee and Melody for a short while, hid her presence from Lee and instead appeared to Melody, in the form of her brother.
- The spirit girl tries to turn Melody against Lee by using her power over illusions to make Lee appear to be a shadow monster. This was unsuccessful.
- Instead, the spirit girl decides to make Melody invisible. Only the girl, the other monsters in the house, and Melody herself can see her. The child now wants to have some fun with Lee too...
Uh, yeah. My writer's block... is very severe this time. BLAH SIMPLE WORDS WHAT IS CREATIVITY BLAH CONFUSING BLAH BLAH
*pulls hair out*
