And now, the fourth chapter is going in! Getting close to the ending of the story as we speak! Anyway, enjoy!
A few minutes after the large explosion that had destroyed the Murphy shed, both Milo and Melissa sat down as they looked back towards the smoldering remains of the shed... and the kangaroo crate falling on Doofenshmirtz's head... and the kangaroo hopping away, escaping from its crate.
Milo took a deep breath as he heard the door behind them slam down, the hinges coming loose as per Murphy's Law. "Wow... that was... something."
It was at that moment he noted Melissa having a small frown on her face. Milo paused as he said, "I know that what happened with Dr. D didn't... quite go as planned, but rest assured, after everything is rebuilt, we can always try again."
But Melissa hadn't been listening to Milo, but rather, was looking at her hands in horror as she shut her eyes. "I can't believe I almost killed him..."
"What, that? Shucks, Melissa, from what Dr. D tells us, he always had trouble with that platypus that occasionally comes to visit him all the time. He says it's nothing really new." Milo shrugged.
"No, not that." Melissa shut her eyes in anger. "It's just... something inside my mind just snapped that... I couldn't control."
Milo bit his lip nervously as he put a hand on Melissa's shoulders, only for the Pistachion to nervously inch away from him, causing him to fall down. The young Pistachion girl then got up as she started to run off. "I'm sorry, Milo... I... I need a minute to think!"
"Melissa, wait! I-" Milo started to call out, but Melissa was already running off, tears falling out of her face. Milo put his finger down in disappointment as he sighed. Slowly, he got up and started to head inside the house, heading towards Sara, who had just turned off the television after watching an old Doctor Zone episode.
"I knew it!" Sara smirked as she picked up a notepad and started to write down a small note. "It was a sloppy edit in that episode! Zone really DID shoot the man first!"
As soon as Sara wrote the note down, she put it aside, crossing her legs and putting her hands behind her head in satisfaction. "Score one for the fandom!"
It was then he heard the crashing sound of the couch, grabbing the older girl's attention, noticing Milo's down in the dumps. Sara looked rather surprised, before giving a small sigh. "Oh boy... looks like something didn't go right for you today. What's wrong, Milo, toe injury?"
"No, it's not that." Milo shook his head.
"It's not the shed exploding, is it? You were never sentimental when it came to various things, and you know we can definitely afford a new shed." Sara said as she noted the outside where Doofenshmirtz was lifting the empty crate and slowly crawling out from under that crate.
"No, this is about Melissa." Milo said as he looked down.
"O-oh." Sara covered her mouth, catching onto the implications. "I'm assuming that you tried to change her back to how she used to be."
"I just don't understand it, Sara. Sure, we're used to Melissa's new form, but every time she looks so much at a few humans mingling with each other, she just feels like she doesn't fit in a world that's not ruled by Pistachions." Milo bit his lip. "I have a feeling that MULCH-er really messed with her mind. Don't get me wrong, we're all doing our best to slowly integrate her back to her normal life, but every time she-"
"I get it, you don't need to repeat the obvious." Sara frowned. "But... Milo, I'm starting to think you're just... assuming what she wants."
"Assume?" Milo raised an eyebrow.
"Your heart is in the right place, Milo, but you're not really sure if being human is what Melissa wants. Maybe it's what some of us want, but maybe not for her." Sara explained. "How do I put this... do you remember the Dr. Zone episode where Time Ape had a crush on this human, but they couldn't be together because their species were too different?"
"That, and Time Ape had made a long commitment with Dr. Zone." Milo raised a finger.
Sara grinned. "Yeah, you remember that episode. Well, you remember how that human reacted when Time Ape explained that he had to go with Zone."
"Well... both of them didn't care what species they were, just that they knew they wanted to belong. And everybody treated Time Ape quite well when he and that human dated..." Milo paused. "But Melissa and I aren't-"
"Are you sure about that?" Sara smirked, causing Milo's mouth to drop in surprise. "Look, Milo, I know you say you've had a crush on Amanda, but when you've been hanging out with her, did you feel anything towards her?"
Milo opened his mouth, before pausing. "Well, other than a good friendship and confidence in each other... I didn't quite feel anything for Amanda. I thought I did, but maybe it was just a puppy crush. We are still good friends, and even after Amanda admitted to liking Zack a little more, I humbly respected her wishes."
"Hm mm. Now, what do you think about Melissa?" Sara crossed her arms.
"Well... even before she turned into a Pistachion, I thought she was clever, smart and awesome." Milo laughed. "All the times we hang out together, with and without Murphy's Law following us around, it's always been amazing. I mean, it did take Melissa some time to adjust to me, but she immediately liked me and found me kind of cool."
"I suppose she told you herself." Sara smirked.
"Well, not to my face, but she looks at me with her eyes and I think she knows I can survive anything." Milo grinned. "Given that I have the backpack on me."
"Let's not forget to mention she can easily wow you with her Doe Eyes trick..." Sara giggled.
"Believe it or not, I actually pulled it off on her." Milo smirked.
Sara gasped as she pushed her brother playfully. "You didn't!"
"Just try me." Milo laughed a little... before pausing. "But even as a Pistachion, it's not like she's different, I still know her as Melissa, I still see her as Melissa. Yes, she's different, but I don't care about her appearance. What matters is that I look at her the same way she looks at me..."
Milo's eyes widened as he put a hand on a chin. "Huh? Sara, you don't suppose I have a huge crush on my best friend, do you?"
"Let me answer that question with a question." Sara crossed her arms, looking at her brother. "After all you've said about her, all the times you told me you hung out with her, even after Zack joined in, do you believe you're good enough for her?"
Milo kept silent as he tried to think about all the times he and Melissa had hung out together, from all the times when she was human, to even now as a Pistachion, and every time Milo looked at her, he remembered the same warm feeling, the same sweet look she gave him, the same cocky expression she had... his eyes widened as he gave a small smile. "You know what? I believe I do."
"Then what are you waiting for, genius?" Sara crossed her legs. "Go after her!"
Milo gave a firm nod as he got up and started to run out the door, Sara giving a small smirk. The teenage blonde girl gave a slight giggle as she crossed her arms, "You're such a good shipper, Sara. Sending your brother out to go with his beloved... that's a sweet sister thing to do!"
At around that time, she heard the sliding door open and break apart as she turned to see Doofenshmirz, still charred and beaten badly, limping inside the house as he looked at her. "I don't suppose you still have some suave and bandages in your bathroom I could use?"
Meanwhile, Melissa had just arrived home, going down to her basement to her Milo shrine, taking a small seat as she looked around the pictures of Milo she had. For some strange reason, being in this room was the only thing that would calm her. Melissa sighed as she tried to think, looking over the pictures.
"It's not that I don't want to be human, it's just..." Melissa sighed. "I just want to fit back in to normal society. Is that wrong?"
Melissa paused as she looked at herself in the mirror, looking at the Pistachion face that stared right back. She winced at her look before looking at her plant-like body and tree-like legs, before examining her plant-like arms. Sure, ever since she had most of her memories back as a human, part of her still felt a desire to rule the world like the Pistachions did. And rule the world she desired. Sure, Derek may have been gone, but that desire to rule the world was still there. She looked down, her red eyes flowing with tears.
From what she remembered of her old life, it seemed to be fun and normal, with the occasional bout of Murphy's Law raining around the Murphy boy, and she certainly loved that aspect of her life. She didn't remember how she turned into a Pistachion... well, she remembered HOW, but only because Zack and Milo carefully explained it to her. Thinking back on it, though, Derek did seem a bit creepier, she often wondered why she would have wanted to follow him in the first place.
Still, it couldn't be helped. Even after helping her back to normal society, Melissa still felt like she didn't belong in this world... and she didn't know why this was? Was she... was she meant to be a Pistachion forever? Was the time stream wrong? Was Melissa... supposed to die? She shuddered as she shook her head about that last question, not wanting to think about that.
But still, why was she even here, then? Why was she a Pistachion and not a human? Did she want to be turned back into human? Part of her said yes, but a majority of her body refused to take anything for an answer except... no. She looked around at all the pictures of Milo she had taken, all of the newspaper clippings she had of Murphy's Law affecting the town and how Milo or his father seemed to be in the center of it. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered all the countless hours of research she spent, trying to see if she could reverse Milo's Murphy's Law curse... before knowing that he'd probably be happy without a reverse of his curse...
As if lightning had struck her head, she gave a small gasp, an idea formulating in her head. Milo was attempting to do the same thing for her, the same thing she was trying to do for Milo, except Melissa wanted to help Milo cure his Murphy's Law condition, and Milo wanted to turn her back to human... when she was already happy who she was.
"I guess you and I aren't different, Milo." Melissa laughed a bit as she looked around at the pictures again, thinking of all the times she and Milo hung out together, even if she could only picture her Pistachion self with Milo. She remembered the two laughing together, having fun, Melissa using her Pistachion powers when Milo got stuck in a situation his backpack couldn't find the answers to... how attractive his handsome, smiling face was, how concerned he looked when she had trouble, how she would always calm him down... how she gave him a kind smile.
Melissa's eyes widened as she gasped. "Oh my goodness. I... I think I'm in love with Milo."
As she herself would quote... "Boom."
In fact, she did quote that line as she did a mindblown expression, before looking around... before giving a smile. "I made my decision... I'm going to tell him..."
With that, Melissa got up and left the Milo shrine as she walked up... only to open the door and run into Milo as he was about to reach for the doorknob.
Fourth chapter complete! How did you guys like it? Next chapter will be the final, in which we see the conclusion of Melissa and Milo's adventure together! Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, everyone!