New Update: Revisions are now complete. My goodness, I did not know I had this many errors, but now they are all fixed and this is a few new surprises in there.
Old: If you want your OC in the story, please message me or write to me in the review/comment section, along with the details and I will add you in the upcoming chapters!
for art of the Main Characters, my DeviantArt name is: Graffiiti3000
Lupai's (Esper) page Link: u/9915675/Nilofar
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: World of Exploration
Chapter 6: Love - A Gift and a Curse
From the time I took the blast for Gwen to surprisingly warping everyone out of the dungeon, it all seemed unreal. Never would I have expected Mum nor The Shy Crew (Aura, Chikky, and Mimi) to show up, not mention Kokoro coming along, because after blasting me with two fairy-powered Shadow Balls, I thought she would finish both of us for good.
By the time we arrived back at the crossroads, my body immediately started to feel the effects. To give you a good idea of how it felt at the moment, it's the same feeling as you not having the will to fight, more or less, the will to even hold yourself together with the fatigue feeling of being ill. If that wasn't enough, it felt like my soul was about to shatter, as if it was made of glass, which is actually not the first time I've felt like this. The reason for that is because Shadow ball doesn't entirely affect the "body", which is why it does little to no damage to [Normal] and [Fighting] types and shows almost no visible marks. This is why it is very hard for some explorers to detect an injury on some Pokemon because what's affected is soul and spirit of a Pokemon, not the body. To give you a better idea, imagine someone sucker punching your soul almost to the point it feels like it's about to separate from your body; get it now?
After making it to the guild entrance, we were surprisingly not greet with a footprint check, which was odd since Loudred and Diglett was always on the job, even after the guild changes and expansions. Honestly, most of roles in the guild haven't changed much since Pumpkin and Miya took over, which was something everyone appreciated. The thing that was mainly clear was that Miya was mostly in charge of what went on around the guild, and Pumpkin preferred it that way. From renovations, such as the porch that was installed on the second floor and the renovated soundproof rooms (You heard me right) to the instructions made and given to all who comes in or out of the guild, Miya makes sure everything goes smoothly; but everyone knows not to take pumpkin as a second-hand. He himself will give instruction when he needs to and also in-charge of planning and information of all sorts. In my opinion, it is hard to find a couple who works together so well as they do.
Regardless of all that, Gwen, Mum, and the others noticed I was getting weaker by the minute and quickly carried me in. By the moment we entered the first floor, Pokemon that were looking at the boards and making their way around the room immediately turned their attention to us, watching as Mum, Gwen, and the others carry me down to the 2nd floor. By time we made it, Miya was already making her way inside the Guildmaster's Room where Pumpkin, who apparently was looking at a map, possibly going over the expedition they had sent the recruits, including my kids, on.
Before she made it into the room, Aura floated over to Miya and nudged her with the bubble she was floating in. To my surprise, Miya jumped and turn around quickly, but smile as she realized it was only Aura. "Oh! Hiya Aura, you startled me for a moment there. Did you need something?"
"H-hey, Sorry Miya, but we actually do need your help. Liloxi is badly injured and is in need of a bit of healing that only you can help with."
"Wait, Badly Injuried?!" She said, loud enough to get Pumpkin's attention. "But...where is he?"
"He's over there," Aura said, pointing towards my direction. I smiled weakly as Miya looks at me with much concern while the others lay me carefully on the floor.
"Oh no...let me have a look at him." Miya said, as she makes her way towards me. After overhearing Aura and Miya, Pumpkin rushes from the Guildmaster Room and heads over to me.
"Zero, are you ok? what happened to you?" he asked. It was easy to see the worried look in his eyes, but on top of that, there was also a look of confused as he looks over me."
"That's weird...there's not much of a scratch on you" Miya said, searching me for wounds.
"That's probably because I miiiight've..."drained" his energy? if you know what I mean," Kokoro said laughing nervously.
"Wait, what -do- you mean?"
Nervously, Kokoro points to the "kiss" mark glowing on my ear then looks away, whistling as Gwen gives her an annoyed look.
"Let me guess, you used Draining Kiss on him. Goodness, yours was probably just as powerful as Chikky's when she used it on an outlaw recently," Miya said, as she began using one of her special healing moves she created on me. Looking over, I caught sight of Chikky, who only seemed to be blushing madly after hearing Miya talk about her. I know they are the Shy Crew and all, but one thing is for sure, it's best not to mess with then when they are cornered. I've seen some odd stuff happen and Chikky Drain-kissing and outlaw to immediate unconsciousness is the least of it.
"Yeah, but on top of that, he kinda took the blast of two fairy-powered Shadow Balls while trying to save me." Gwen said, turning her glare away from Kokoro and looks at me. "That's the second time he risked his life to save me and I barely know him...I think..."
"Hmm...well, give me a minute. Shadow Ball attacks the Pokemon's soul more than the body and since he took two of those full of fairy-power AND a Draining Kiss, It's amazing he's still alive, more or less conscious, but then again, this is Liloxi we're talking about here. He reminds me of someone I know." Miya said, looking at Pumpkin, which kinda made him blush a bit.
"Miya, can I lead a hand? Elemental-Style Shadow Ball is a trademark of mine, something I teach all of the ones I've trained, including Kokoro and I can easily heal him 's the least I can do since my own teachings ended up getting him hurt." Jazz said, making he way over to me.
"Mum, it's ok. I knew the risk of jumping in front of those Shadow Balls and it was worth it. Besides, I'm not going down that easy." I said, smiling at her, which seemed to relieve some of the guilt she was feeling.
"Hehe, I know, Lilo."
"Wait, M-Mum, pleeease don't call me Lilo in public." I said, my face starts turning a bit red as I hear a bit of giggling around me.
"Well, I'm sorry, but you'll allows be my little Lilo~." She said, causing some of the giggling around the room to grow even louder. "Now, let me start healing your soul, it's pretty damaged from what I see."
"And I'll take care of this mark on his ear, but you'll need to rest to get your energy back, Liloxi." Miya said as she channel her power into her leaf.
Without delay, they got to work on healing me, which was kinda nice since I knew both were phenomenal healers. Looking over to the side, I catch a glance of the Mimikyu who seemed to have kept himself behind the crowd along with Aura and Chikky, who was still blushing her face off. Over time, I noticed Chikky's curiosity was getting the best of her, as she started to her way closer to see what was going on, followed by Aura who was right behind her; you almost never see those two apart.
After a few minutes, Miya finished healing most of my wounds and removed the mark on my ear while Jazz finished healing most of the fractures on my soul. Her healing my soul was something I remember her doing back when I was only a Buneary, however, she was the one who caused it to be fractured in the first place (Which I will get to later). Because of their healing power, the feeling was coming back to my body once again after almost losing all of it except, of course, the pain. Quickly, I attempted to get up, stumbling a bit, but after a moment, managed to do it without any help.
"Wow, thank you Mum. Thank you Miya. I feel a lot better. The pain of it was a heck of a lot worse than the time I took a Shadow Ball from you during training, Mum" I said, moving my arm and legs around.
"That's because I wasn't using much of my power, If I did, you probably wouldn't survive." Jazz said, grinning. Sometimes I had this odd feeling she wanted me died rather than alive so she could keep me with her forever, knowing that she is a ghost herself...not like that's a bad thing. Regardless, I rather be alive since I have a wife and children to care for (Which I'll cover later too).
"Anyways..."Pumpkin said, sitting down. "there's a lot to talk about, especially about that artifacts over there."
"Well, like I said before, I know more about the artifact more than anyone. It's been with me there since I make the cave my own." Kokoro said, stepping forward.
"Oh? but before I ask, who are you?"
"Oh! I'm Kokoro, Owner of Cyra Cave on Blizzard Island. Kokoro said, giggling, her fangs showing in the process. "I make the cave my home since I was just an Eevee, keeping unwanted Pokemon from venturing too far in, especially ones that didn't work for me. Not to long after, Jazz took me under her wing and trained me for several months, making me as strong as I am now. But after the fight, right before we got here, Liloxi said I could join the team, isn't that right Gwen~?"
"Wait, he didn't-...you know what, Whatever." Gwen huffed, turning away from Kokoro, which only made her giggle even more.
"Haha, well, on behalf of Liloxi, welcome to the team." Pumpkin said, smiling. "But if it's not too much to ask, what -do- you know about the Artifact?"
"Well, as far as I know, this Artifact only works according to a Pokemon's heart and soul, granting an unknown ability. From what I heard, it actually only work for a certain Pokemon," she said, looking at the Cube. She was carefully holding it with her ribbons since she brought it out the cave and kept it with her as she handled it carefully. "I should know because every Pokemon that even tried to use it, it would never work for them, not even me.
"Uh, actually, that's not entirely true..." Jazz said, hesitantly. She slowly moves over to Kokoro, who then hands her the cube as she gestured to hold it. Jazz then gazes at the cube, inspecting every detail then turns her attention to me. "This Artifact...it actually reacted to Lilo once."
"Wait, really, but I thought-"
"Remember, I knew about the cave before you was born. I'm the one who put the artifact there for safe keeping in the first place."
"Hmm, mind if I look at it?" Gwen ask, looking at Jazz. Jazz nods then hands the Artifact to her, allowing it to be held by the ribbons connected to what seemed like her hair; Which I was surprised she could control since all of the Glaceons I've seen couldn't do that. Without warning, the Artifact started to glow brightly.
"Wow...That's amazing" I said, staring at the Artifact. The bright glow was strong enough to grab the attention of everyone who was on the main section of the 2nd floor.
I then proceed to walk towards Gwen, attempting to get a good look at it myself, but as soon as I got near it, it started to glow even brighter. Faintly, I heard Mum mumble something like "This was a bad idea...", which was odd; what did she mean by that?
"L-Lilo, I don't think you should-," but before Mum could finish, a flash erupted from the cube and a stream of light entered to both Me and Gwen. After the flash of light faded away, there way silence in the room, leaving everyone with a confused expression on their face, all except mum who's expression was more an odd mix of surprised, curious, and worried...which was very strange.
After a long silence, Pumpkin finally spoke. "Uh...Are you guys ok? do you guys feel any different?"
"...No, but if anything, I do still feel a little weak even though Mun and Miya healed me." I said, trying to keep myself upright.
"T-that's because you soul needs to heal, you know that." Mum said, shaking her head at me. The fact her voice sounded a bit flustered was very odd, but I decided not to question it. "You always try to walk away from an injury like nothing happened even though you know you're hurt."
"That's not true. I rest sometimes, just not all the t-," before I could finish, I instantly stumble backwards from sudden weakness and dizzyness, only for The Shy Crew to surprisingly catch me before I hit the ground. "Ok, maybe I do need some rest..."
"Aura, Chikky, Mimi, could you please take Liloxi to his old room?" Miya said, pointing towards the East Wing.
"Will do!" All three said at the same time while helping me back up to my feet.
"We still kept it the same for you Zero after all this time, ya know."
"I appreciate it." I said, as they quickly rushed me down the hall into my old room. The room itself was made when I was still a Buneary, back when I was first recruited to their team. Mind you, this was also back when Wigglytuff and Chatot still ran the place.
"Actually, I'll go too, I wanna talk to him for a moment." Gwen said with a curious tone.
After taking me into my old room, Gwen immediately came in as Aura, Chikky, and Mimi walked out the room after laying me on my bed; leaving only us two in the room.
"Liloxi, there's something I been meaning to ask you." Gwen said, walking up beside the bed.
"I could say the same thing," I said looking at her. After taking a good look at her, something immediately stood out about her eyes, something I noticed once before back at Cyra Cave's Entrance. "you know, I couldn't happen to notice your eyes are two different colors."
"Yeah, what about it?" she said, tilting her hear abit.
"Back at the Cave, you was channeling your power through your body, weren't you."
"Yeah, how did you know that?" She said, giving me a suspicious look.
"There's two reason for that. First, When I channel my power, my eyes tend to glow a deep icy blue, from what I was told. A lot of Pokemon said was odd because from what I know, I'm the only Pokemon who's eyes glow when channeling power." I said, looking at both of her eyes. "And second, I can feel auras."
"Wait, I'm pretttty sure Pokemon like Lucarios and Gardevoirs are the ones who can feel Auras." She said, frowning, as if I made that last part up. "So, how the heck can you feel Auras?"
"...Something happened years ago and I almost died trying to save my best friend, Queen, who was a Kirlia at the time. After seeing that I also gave up my life for him, something that he felt like he should have done for me, he used a move that he never told me he had, he transferred all of his power into me, putting himself at the brink of death in place of me," I said, looking away from her. "Because he trusted me with his power and his entire life-force, it allowing me to continue fighting, but with absurd amount of power. Afterwards, when I tried to return his power back to him, I noticed that some of his power was still fused with mine and couldn't be undone."
"Wow... I'm sorry about what happened." She said nervously.
"Heh, don't worry about it, It's in the past. Besides, since some his power is fused with mine, we actually can feel each others emotions and read some of each other's thoughts, when we are nearby. Honestly, if I didn't send him on vacation last week, he would be here freakin' out because I got hurt," I said, chuckling, "but by the way, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"What moves do you know?"
"Uh, a lot of different stuff, why?" She asked. I could tell she was getting a little suspicious.
"I wanted to know if you knew any [Psychic] Moves?"
"Eh, yes, but just one though. It's Calm Mind, something I only used once when Jazz was training me. I still think it's useless," She said, with an annoyed tone in her voice. "Again, why do you ask?"
"Well, I know you're still a bit cautious of me, but could you close your eyes and use it for a moment? I want to see something, that is, If you trust me."
"Hmph...Alright, I'll trust you, but only this once since you did get me back to full health," she said. Sitting down, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Immediately, I could sense her power flowing through her, but the feeling of it was a bit different than before; more..."gloomy", which didn't make sense.
"Now, open your eyes."
Slowly, she opened her eyes. Looking at them, her eyes were no longer both glowing blue, but instead, they both faintly glowed their own original color; one red (Left), and the other blue (Right). Slowly, the glow dissipated after a moment, even though she was still using it.
"That glow...It might have been weak, but...WAIT! I have a question, and I know it's odd, but do you happen to know who your parents are?
"My Parent? Well, kinda. I know my mother is an Espeon, but I don't know about my dad. I've been trying to search for him for about a year now, usually when I had free time away from guarding the cave. All I know is that Jazz told me, 'The moment you find a Pokemon who would do anything to protect you, you found him,' But all I found was a 'Cottontail' who continuously puts himself in danger. Tck, anyways, why did you ask?"
"(It couldn't be...) Uh, I was just curious. If anything, we'll get to that in a moment." I said, dismissing all of it as I laid back down. "but first, what were you going to say before all of this?"
"Oh, well, speaking of you constantly putting yourself in danger, I wanted to asked why did you even bother saving me those last few times? You nearly killed yourself more than twice. Heck, Not even an explorer would take such a risk to potentially get buried alive under an avalanche or their soul almost ripped in half for someone they barely know, especially after the fight we had." She said, her eyes full of concern, despite how rash her tone was.
"I don't know, it's just...something push me to save you, like I needed to save you and protect you. Honestly, I don't understand what it was that pushed me to do it those few times and still don't, at least, I didn't until you told me what Jazz said to you." I said, looking down, smiling to myself. Strangely enough, there was commotion going on in the main room, as if the recruits just came back from the expedition Miya and Pumpkin had planned for them, which wasn't possible.
"What do you mean..." She said, narrowing her eyes at me.
"Remember how you mentioned what Jazz told you?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well, Before you told me about it, I asked you could use a [Psychic] move, which was was Calm Mind. When you did, one of your eyes, the left one, didn't turn blue like before, but instead both of them faintly started to glow their own color before dissipating. For a moment, I was skeptical, but after you said your mother was an Espeon and Jazz told you what to look for, there was no doubt in my mind that you had to be my-"
"Daughter" said a familiar voice making it's way in the room. Walking in was an Espeon that I couldn't live without; my wife. She was different than most Espeons due to the fact that she had two different color eyes, one red (left) and one purple (right), and she wore a wedding ring around her tail instead of her paw.
"Esper?!"
"M-Mom?!" We both spoke at the same time, causing us to look at each other with much confusion.
"Haha, it's good to see you're both her-...!"
Before she could finish, Gwen had suddenly tackled and hugged her, causing both of them to fall on the floor and giggle. Honestly, it caught me off guard since I would never expect Gwen to be so happy, but for some reason, it felt right.
"Mom! I haven't seen you in so long." Gwen said, wagging her tail excitedly. Again an odd sight to see her so happy and excited.
"Haha, well, I was on a mission with your Aunt and Uncle and it was something," She said, as they both got back up. "They're both in town talking to some of the locals."
"But wait...how? when..." I said, trying to get the right words out.
Giggling at how flustered I was, she walks over to me then she hugs me and kisses me on the cheek. "It's good to see you too, hun, and I'm glad you two are finally getting to meet each other. I'm surprised you didn't recognize your own Daughter sooner, but then again, you wasn't completely there when she hatched from her egg."
"Y-yeah, but how did you know I was around and when did you get back? And how come you didn't tell me contact me?" I said, trying not to spit out too many questions at once. There was so much to ask, yet so little time due to the fact that the dizziness was getting worse.
"We're connected, remember?" She said, swaying her tail. "And I just recently got in the building. Now, as for as contacting you...it's hard getting in touch with you as the distance I was at. After I left Gwen under Jazz's care-"
"Wait, hold on... After you got back from that 6-month long secret mission 3 years ago, you told me a few months after she was born, she wanted to stay with a friend of yours. How did she end up being taken care of by Mum?" I said, my mind spinning more from the details than the dizziness itself. Honestly, I wasn't buying any of it, especially the distance part and it's bad enough she's been gone for over a year now...Honestly, no matter how far we are or the condition, we are suppose to be able to contact each other. Being without her this long has been painful and troubling, and I still blame myself for allowing her to take that first secret mission given to her by the Secret Pokemon Exploration Federation (SPEF) and the second one she just not got back from, but I'm glad she's safe now. In terms of how and when Gwen came to be under the care of my Mum, I was still confused.
"Well, she evolved pretty early, around the time we were going through an unmarked ice cave on Blizzard Island to get to the West Region. While in the cave, I saw she had this strong will to fighting and wanted to get stronger at every given opportunity, so apparently she took after you in that case. Because of it, I thought it would be best for her to stay with Jazz while we continued our mission since she taught and raised you too. I mean, Jazz is a friend And your mother, after all" She said, giving me a sly look, however when I looked at Gwen, her smile was completely washed off her face as she started walking towards the bed with a baffled look, filled with questions.
"I remember he mentioned Jazz raised him, which made me wonder up until now. I know Jazz told me that after her son left, she started raising a few stray Pokemon she found around the island and my dad happened to be her son that left, but the thing was that she never described him..." She said, keeping her eyes fixed on me. "You can't expect me to sit here and fully accept hearing that this Pokemon is my Dad! I've been searching for him for a YEAR, and never found him until now. If you're really my Dad, then prove to me that Jazz raised you or I'll end what's left of your life."
Looking over from the bed, I could see Gwen's claws were out and glowing, showing that she was serious. As Gwen started to move in closer, Esper moved in front of her, standing in between me and her "Gwen, Stop!"
"No Mom. Stay out of this, he needs to show me." She said, cutting Esper off with a sharp tone in her voice. It may be weird coming from me, but I don't blame her. Just hearing her voice tremble filled me with all kind of emotions.
"SHOW ME YOU'RE REALLY MY FATHER!"
Without saying a word I gathered all the strength I had despite the dizziness and stood up, facing her. She looked at me with a hint of surprise that I could still stand in my condition. Without delay, I gathered all the darkness around me to form a Shadow Ball infused with Ice with almost no effort.
"...An elemental type Shadow Ball was a special talent Jazz passed down to everyone she's taught; Me, you, even Kokoro, apparently. She raised me ever since I was born after my mother gave me to her before she and my father went on a mission that she knew would be their last. Ever since, Me and Mum lived together for years on end, teaching me everything I could learn and more." I said, as I dismissed the Shadow Ball and summoned five blue flames around me, again with no effort at all, which was rather strange. The energy within me to make them was different, almost limitless to the point it didn't feel like mine, but nevertheless, I moved the flames around me, effortlessly, without a problem. "She even taught me how to use moves that I couldn't normally learn, even to the point of making my own version of it, like this Icy Will-O-Wisp, A move she always used when training me, teaching me how to survive no matter what..."
With that, I dismissed the flames around me, but as soon as I did, a bit amount of pain surged through my body, causing me to stumble a bit. Regardless, I made my way to Gwen who was now tearing up. kneeling down, I brushed away them from her eyes.
"I'm sorry Gwen for not being there when you was first born, Gwen. I blame myself for not going on the mission with your Mother, Aunt, and Uncle. I did not think it would be that bad until I got word that the mission they were going on was to take down one of the biggest bosses in the Western Region. Your mother is very strong, however knowing me, I worry to much to let stuff like that go by, but I knew i couldn't go. Regardless, because I went on this mission, I was finally able to see you. Gwen, you are my daughter. There's no doubt about it."
With that, she leaped into my arm, sobbing with joy. "After all this time, I finally found you, Dad. For so long I've been searching for you."
"Well, there's no need to search for me any longer." I said, hugging her as she sobbed even more. Esper smiled before coming over and hugging us both.
"I'm glad we're all here as a family, but I'm curious, how did you two meet through the mission?"
"it's a long story..." We both said, looking at each other. Soon after another sharp pain surged through my body without warning, causing me to lose my balance, only for Gwen to catch me again from falling over.
"Yeah, I think we'll save that story for another time, Sweetheart," I said weakly, holding my chest. "Right now, I need to rest for abit and let my soul heal after the fight that happened recently."
"Fight? What happened?" She said, tilting her head.
"Well, let just say that I took two very strong Shadow Balls, enough to almost rip my soul in half." I said looking at Gwen, who then looked at her mother, laughing nervously as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "But it was well worth it, I guarantee you."
"Geez, you're always so reckless." Esper grumbled, eyeing me a bit before softening her look. "Well, if it was far a good cause, I guess I'll let it slide. But if you so much as get another scratch, those Shadow Balls are going to be the least of your worries.
"Alright, alright, I won't get hurt anymore, you have my word." I said as Gwen helps me back to my bed.
"Good, now, I'll let you rest and check up on you from time to time. I'm going to look around the guild since it's been a while. Also, when you finish resting I have a few things I wanna share with you, especially about our travels and the Exploration Team." She said, making her way over to me and giving me a kiss before heading out the door along side Gwen.
Once they left, I quickly fell asleep, but something was off about the dream; I was fully conscious in it. All around me was nothing but emptiness until I heard a voice.
"Heh, she almost sounded like Jazz before walking out." Said a voice, almost as if they were singing.
"...Wait, Melody?" I said, looking around the emptiness, only to find more of it. However, as I turned back around, I was immediately greeted with confident smile of a Pokemon, a Primarina shimmering with light. Her body was completely pearl white, with blue cover the lower half and, what seemed like hair, was that of a clear blue sky. In her hair, there was a Black Star that held an odd glow, yet, a beautiful one. The story behind how I met her and why she exist is a very complicated one and interesting to say the least. Long story short, we met through a dream the same day I met Esper and all of it was not a coincidence at all. Before I was born, There were many other Pokemon before me and from what I was told, they are all connected to me in some way; which is also true about Esper since who they were in love with or married to is connect through her (Yes, very odd yet typical). How it goes is that after the Pokemon died, they become connect to the next Pokemon, communicating with them through their own thoughts or dreams. Melody, on the other hand, lived before me and after she died, she ended up being connected to me, but only through dream unlike her husband, a Gallade named 'Barritone', who is connected to Esper through thought. If I were to be honest, I didn't understand it myself when she first told me, but since this has become a regular thing, I decided to just accept it.
"Yep, it's me alright!" She said gleefully. Her immediate presences caused me to stumble a bit in the emptiness, which only made her giggle, a rather sinister, yet playfully way. "Took you long enough to go to sleep. That pain you was feeling wasn't from the Shadow Balls, despite your soul being slightly fractured. Heh, you took more damage from Jazz herself when she was training you, even to the point she literally tore your soul in half with one of them. The only reason why you didn't die was because I was holding you together."
"Wait, wait, you was causing that pain?! But why?"
"I needed you to sleep." She said flatly, yet cheerfully.
"But I was in the middle of something, as you saw." I said, glaring at her, which only made her laugh more.
"I know, which is why I gave you some of my power."
"Oh, so that was your power I was feeling," I said, tilting my head a bit. "Goodness, why give me some of your power?"
"Well, remember, I am you after all and you had almost no power left." She said rolling her eyes as if it was the most obvious thing. "But afterwards, I really needed you to sleep so I can talk to you about something important."
"Eh? what could be so important that you needed to literally poke at my soul just to get me to sleep?" I questioned.
"Apparently I can finally talk and connect to you directly and even possibly merge with you." She said, her eyes full of an interesting mix of hope and confidence. "And whatever you need to know, now's the time."
"Wait a sec, we can talk to each other now without being in a dream? why didn't you do it earlier?"
"Your soul is fractured. trying to connect to you directly would only worsen the effect" She pointed out, making me scratch the back of my head in embarrassment.
"Right, that probably wouldn't have went well. But you also said we can merge too, how is all of this possible?"
"The cube, dear, the cube." She said, looking pass me as if someone else was there. Despite her eyes being fully of hope, there was something else that seemed to worry her. "The memories of past lives before you, including me, was locked away in that cube, however, something else was also locked away in there too...some 'Terrifying' power."
"That probably isn't good..." I admitted. "I'm sorry for all the questions Melody, but I still don't understand how you were able escape from the cube, and who of all people could have locked these things from me?"
"For starters, I'm a [Ghost] Type, remember? I gave up my [Fairy] Type for [Ghost] years ago, along with a bit of Psychic so I can do a loooot of things, along with a lot of workarounds too, like the way I make it so you and I could speak face to face like this whenever you went to sleep." She says, gliding around me. Since there is nothing but emptiness around us, along with the fact that we're basically floating in this emptiness...she seems to be enjoying it. "But as for who did this...I'm not entirely sure, but I have a feeling it's someone who knows this cube more than anyone else."
"I think I may know who," I said, looking at Melody. Since we are connected, she immediately knew who I was thinking of.
"I think you may be right, but we can deal with that later. For now, I think it's time we tried merged as one right away."
"M-merge now? You think that's a good idea?" I said, cautiously. The last time I "merge" with someone, it had weird side-effects, but I will admit, I had no regrets.
"I'm sure of it." She said, smiling, but her face starting to turn serious. "But before we do, let me ask you something. Have I ever told you the story of how all these "Lives" came about?
"Hmm, no, you haven't actually. In fact, it still doesn't make sense." I said, trying to remember. After everything that happened that week, my mind was a bit cloudy.
"Well, get comfortable Liloxi," she said, closing her eyes.
"Years ago, these lives came about because of two Pokemon, a Blaziken named 'Pirro' and a Froslass named 'Crystal', a couple who couldn't stand being apart from one another no matter where they were or what situation they were in. One day they heard that there was a Pokemon that lived in Joyous Tower that could grant any wish they desired if they were able to give him a good fight; one he would remember. Determined, they Journeyed to the tower, only to find themselves being sent home repeatedly after losing against the Pokemon that resided in the tower. After many attempts, Pirro and Crystal finally made it to the top and met a Jirachi named Cosmic and his wife, Clair (Also known as Jupiter), the Mawile, who was very much pleased to meet them. Despite their friendly confrontation, Cosmic knew why they were here and accepted their challenge.
After a long battle, Pirro and Crystal were victorious and Cosmic was very much satisfied with the battle he had with them. At this, he said that he would grant them one wish, at which they wished that they could be "soulmates" forever. Upon hearing this, Cosmic and Jupiter smiled sadly and told them that if they went forward with this wish, yes, they would have immense love for one another, but they would also have to carry the burden of a "Curse". The conditions were that If one were to find themselves without the other for too long or if one were to reject the other, their heart, mind, and soul will begin to develop fractures, leaving them feeling sad and in pain; and if it persisted, it can spell certain death for both. On top of this, the curse is passed down to the next Pokemon born after the previous one with the curse dies, however, one will always end up finding the other, no matter what. After hearing all of this, Pirro and Crystal hastily accepted despite the consequences, but Cosmic had one more request, one very personal to him and his wife. "Recently, before you two came in, a pair of Pokemon, an Alakazam and Jynx came in and laid a curse on me and my wife after they losing and refusing to give them the wish they had desired. The curse we carry will affect our child and because of it, I ask of you: when the time comes, will you be willing to assist the Chosen Pokemon who will carry the last of your burden in confronting our child?" Looking at each other, they once again accepted without hesitation. Seeing this, Cosmic smiled and granted their wish, but then warned them, "The only way to break his curse is if you save our child from his own curse. 'The one who holds 'The Heart of Emotions' will end it all."
After listening to Melody's story, a heavy feeling of dread weighted on me. "...So me and Esper being together...it's all fate, isn't it?"
"More or less, yes..." She said, finally opening her eyes and looking up. I could tell she was thinking about Barritone. "And so is the curse."
"But what about 'The one who holds 'The Heart of Emotions', who do you think that could be?"
"You." She said, her face more serious than I've ever seen it. "We knew it was you the moment you was born, right before we were sealed."
"We?" I said, confused.
"Right, I think it's time you meet the other." With that, Melody backed away and held her arms up. Her entire body began to glow and before I knew it, I was surrounded many different Pokemon, none of which were familiar to me.
"Wha...who are yo-"
"Hmph, why even finish that sentence, you should know by now," A voice said with a tone sassier than anyone I've ever heard. Apparently the voice came from a Zorua (Known as Midnight from what melody had told me in the past) who had an even sassier look on her face.
"But if you must, we are the ones who lived before you, all bearing the same curse as the one you and Esper carry. We've been with you since you were born, but unlike Melody, we were unable to escape from the Artifact's power." Said another voice, a Treecko with a rather modest tone of voice.
"But now, the curse is at it's end. Cosmic and Clair's Son will awake once again soon. If we don't stop him, he will purge this world and all the worlds connected." Said another, but upon looking, it was Pirro the Blaziken himself. "Are you willing to merge with us and finally put these curses to rest?"
"I-I don't know" I said, shaking my head a bit. "This is way too sudden. How the heck am I suppose to save everyone? What am I suppose to do?"
"This isn't the first time you've save the world and you know it," Melody said, crossing her arms.
"Well, yeah, but I was with Pumpkin and Miya at the time. They were the True Heroes. I went along with them because..."
"Because you didn't want to see the world destory," said an Auroras. "Do you want to see it destroyed now? Especially with all of your lived ones who depend on you?"
"No, no, not at all," I said looking down. After hearing him mentioning the ones I care the most about, all I could think of was My wife and kids, Miya, Pumpkin, the guild, Wigglytuff, Chatot, and My Best Friend, Queen...
"Then what will it be? Will you merge with us?" Melody said, giving me another hopeful look.
Alright, let's do this" I said, looking around at all the Pokemon as they cheered over my answer. The idea of me being the main one saving the world this time from utter annihilation had my head spinning, but if what they said was true, It has to be done, but I know I'm going to need help.
"Heh, ok, "Melody said, Smiling brightly. "But doing it will have a few effects on you:
First, we all will become one. As one, we are you and you are all of us. you no longer have to be in a dream to talk to me since you and I will be one entity again, along with the rest of the lives we carry, However, doing so will take a heavy toll on your body if done right away, so I would wait.
Second, You will have the memories of the past lives of all of us, both the good and the bad.
Third, Some moves you know now may be replaced.
And Lastly, There will be a few surprises that come along with it."
After hearing the last part, a wide grin spread itself across Melody's face, which only made me worry. "Is...that all?"
"Well, there is one last thing: For me and you to talk like how we are talking now, as separate entities, it will take the help of a Ghost Pokemon, unless..."
"Unless what?" I said blinking in curiosity.
"Unless you decide to embrace being more of a ghost, if you know what I mean." She said, he tone sounding quite alright with the idea.
"I am not killing myself to become a ghost." I said with an annoyed tone. It was already bad enough Mum almost killed me multiple times, but now Melody hinting at the idea? That's just too much.
"No, no, you don't have to die, just channel more ghost-type power within you. I'm sure there's a few Pokemon out there that can help you with it."
"I'll think about it." I mumbled to myself before turning my attention to her. "But for now, I'll do the merge. I feel we should get started right away."
"Hold on, I have a request before we do." Said a Pokemon who apparently was standing behind me. Turning around, I was met with the confident face of a Teddisura with a scar on his forehead. In no time, I realize who the pokemon was; it was Crescent, the Former Leader of the Crescent Federation. "Hello Zero, you know who I am, don't you?"
"Y-yes, I do, you was the leader of a very famous group, and even now, they are still famous."
"Haha, well, im glad they are doing well and would love to know more," He said moving closer. "But first, I have a request for you. could you please lower yourself down for a moment, I want to give you something that may help later."
"Uh, Alright," I said, slightly confused as to what it was. Regardless, I lowered myself down to his level. "Like this?"
"Perfect." He said, as he stand right in front of me. Holding his paw up, it began glowing bright and right after, he placed his paw on my forehead. The energy from within him began to surge within me. The only odd thing was that I didn't feel any different.
"There, all done. What I just did was gave you a gift as well as a request I hold personal to me." He said, taking a step back. "The gift of my Mark and the request to oversee my Federation, find my friend, as well as find my Daughter and look after her. You can summon the mark upon your forehead at will by channeling energy towards your forehead. With it, it should be enough for them to know that I'm still here; that I'm with you. You have enough time to do all of this and well as find the answers you seek before he awakens, that is, if you accept my request."
"Well...it is a lot, especially since your federation is stuff of legends, not to mention you requesting me to look after your daughter." I said, touching my forehead. " But yes, I accept and thank you, Crescent."
"No, thank you," He said, giving me a bow before walking back to where he was standing.
"Alright Melody, I think I'm ready to merge now."
"Excellent~ " She sung, her voice as gleeful now than it's ever been as she glides happily around me. "I've been waiting to do this for a while and now we finally can be as one! Alright now, hold still..."
Before I could say anything, she gently taps my nose and all of a sudden, my body starts glowing.
"It's time~ Let's Merrrrrge~ "
"W-wait, Melody, you singing! Remember what happened last time? I don't think it's a good idea for you to-"
Before I could finish protesting, everything faded away and I Immediately sprung from my bed and sung a "Sharp A-Note" with an unimaginative Soprano vocal so loud, everything that was made of glass or even seemed like it was made of glass from my room, all the way down the hall to the other end of the 2nd floor instantly shattered. Apparently, The note I involuntarily sung was strong enough to cause the ground to shake a bit.
Realizing what was going on, I quickly covered my mouth to stop myself from singing, but then, as the ground settled and the singing stopped, I heard a voice cry out from the main room; It was Epser's voice
"Liloxi?!" She said, hearing her race through the halls to my room. her face was full of confusion as she slowly walked towards the bed.
"Hun, was that you?
"Sorry about that. Melody's voice is still as strong as ever, or should I said my voice," I said, using melody voice at the end.
"W-what? wait, was that Melody's Voice? How-"
We all merged. I have everyone's memory, Esper, or should I say, Barritone?" I chuckled happily. Before I could say anymore, Esper already had thrown herself at me, with tears of joy running down her face. seeing her this made me smile as I hugged her and kissed her cheek."
"For so long I wondered If you were ever going to, but now, it's finally happened..." Said, as I held her to me. After a while, I start to remember about why I couldn't remember before and started frowning at the very thought of it.
"Sweetheart, I need to tell you something." I said, my tone a bit more serious than before.
"What is it?"
"When I was young, Someone sealed away the memories of the past, along with everyone I am now connected with using the Artifact we found recently, which is why I couldn't remember any of it."
"Wait, who would do something like that?" She said, her face showing a hint of disgust of the thought of that idea.
"I don't know entirely, but I do have a good idea who did it. Will you help find out about it?"
"Of course, and as soon as I find them, I'll give them a good piece of my mind." She growled. Knowing her, she'd probably kill them, which is not something I want to happen, especially if it's the Pokemon I'm thinking of.
"Please don't do anything you may regret," I said, frowning at the thought. "Anyways, we need to gather information and I know a good place to begin too. But first, what time is it?"
"Uh...well...you've been sleep for about 14 hours."
"14 hours?!...eh, I shouldn't be surprised."
"Why is that?" She said, looking at me closely to see what answer I'd give her.
"I'll tell you more on that later, but for now, we need to start asking some questions."
"Well, where do we start?"
"Right here, starting with Pumpkin and Miya."