The Ghosts of New Island

[emsiecat]

Mew and Mewtwo had made it back just in time to hear the last vestiges of the battle echoing horribly throughout the castle.

Mewtwo had quickly sensed the presence of the clones and most of the humans upstairs and Mew had retrieved them, telling them it was safe to come out. They'd beseeched the Goddess and Mewtwo instantly; all of them trying to tell them at once what had happened, and demanding that they go find Liana.

~Liana is fighting that thing?~ Mewtwo looked at the sea of faces and noted hers missing. ~Foolish girl!~

"She's fine." Mew said firmly, calmly.

"How can you be so sure?" James retorted once Meowth had translated her words.

"Because she's stood right behind you."

The group turned as one to see the young woman shuffling back into the entrance hall looking tired, dishevelled, and wearing an old lab coat. Her eyes were slightly glazed over as she took in their faces; she swayed a little as if woozy.

Surprisingly Mewtwo was the first at her side. He gripped her shoulders and growled. ~Where is it?~

"It's in the lab, its dead." She blinked up at him. "I'm afraid I've caused a bit of damage."

Mewtwo unabashedly looked into her mind and saw the image of his ruined lab and the crushed Devourer. ~Lovely.~ he muttered sarcastically.

Mewtwo noted her state of dress and wordlessly handed the girl his travelling cloak. She gratefully accepted it. It was much too large for her smaller frame but it was warm and woollen, and unlike the damned lab coat it smelled pleasant. The lab coat smelt clinical and mouldy from being abandoned down in the lab.

Well he took that better than expected. Liana thought fuzzily to herself as the days events caught up with her and she wandered aimlessly over to the clones, humans, and Mew.

Liana was glad to see the other island inhabitants unscathed and quickly assuaged Lucinda's frantic worrying, and answered the clones' seemingly endless questions about the creature. In the hubbub of chatter nobody noticed Rhys's strange stare, or the way he looked over Liana's shoulder as if he was looking at someone else.

Mew hissed in sympathy when she saw the young woman's feet. Liana had tried to skirt around the broken glass and debris down there but it had got everywhere. Strangely she hadn't really felt it until Mew pointed her wounds out. Now she thought on it, they hurt like hell.

"Come on. Let's get you patched up." The Goddess said with a motherly air, herding Liana out of the room. "Mewtwo, go clean up that mess in the lab. We don't want to attract anything nasty by leaving a corpse down there."

Mewtwo glowered at his original's bossy tone of voice and ignored her, falling into step beside Liana. Noticing her wince as she walked, he telekinetically lifted her a few inches off the ground so she didn't put weight on her feet.

~That took some courage, facing down a Devourer alone. You quite possibly saved their lives today.~

Liana quirked her lips, "If you're thanking me don't bother. It was my responsibility really. My uncle is the reason the monsters are here after all." Liana quickly remembered the whole reason she'd found her way to the lab anyway. "I should be thanking you; you knew I'd need to learn the castle layout didn't you?"

He shrugged. ~I had a vision of sorts that you would need it. Believe me though, had I known you'd need it for this purpose I would never have left New Island. That was a foul creature you had to destroy.~

The rest of the group was left milling around the entrance hall as Mew, Mewtwo and Liana wandered off. Lucinda turned away from James and Jessie, who were insisting that they hadn't been all that concerned during the attack, to notice Rhys looking quite odd.

"Rhys? What are you looking at?"

Rhys blinked slowly as if waking from a dream, but didn't take his eyes off the doorway that Liana had entered through. He opened his mouth a couple of times before making any sound at all. When he finally did speak, to a now rather concerned group of humans, his voice was slightly choked.

"D-did you just see that?"

"What, how Liana looked like Hell warmed over, or how Mewtwo looked like he wanted to go and murder that Devourer thing again?" Jessie quipped.

"Not that! How Liana nearly fell over."

"Yeah, she was exhausted, so?"

Rhys frowned; it looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't quite spit it out. Had he really been the only one to see it?

Lucinda sighed exasperatedly "Spit it out will you?"

"Someone caught her, stopped her from falling. None of you saw that?" he snapped back.

Lucinda glanced at Jessie and James quizzically. Had they missed something? She certainly hadn't seen anyone catch Liana. Mew had been with them and Mewtwo hadn't been close enough to catch her from what she'd seen. Thinking on it, nobody had helped Liana at all! The girl had staggered into the entrance hall alone and unaided, she'd swayed and then righted herself before Mewtwo had gone over to question her.

"Rhys, buddy, I think you're seeing things." James concluded a little hesitantly.

"You're probably tired from that psychic lock thing you did." Lucinda nodded fervently. "Have a rest and you'll feel better."

"I'm not seeing things and I don't need a rest." Rhys insisted, annoyed that nobody else had seen what he had as clear as day!

By now the clones and Meowth had joined them and were looking from human to human interestedly.

"Then what didja see Rhys?" Meowth piped up earning a glare from Jessie.

"Liana walked in, she looked really tired, and she swayed like she was going to fall over, but someone caught her by the elbow and steadied her. It was hard to make them out at first. I thought they were in the shadows in the doorway, but someone was definitely there I swear! It looked like a little kid, from what I could see. It was all hazy. When Mewtwo walked over they just disappeared. I thought he would have seen the kid but he didn't."

"Why would a kid be on New Island? It's hardly the place for house guests and squatters to live, is it?" Jessie replied condescendingly.

Rhys shot the woman a look. "Did I say they had to be alive?"

James squeaked. "You're saying that child was a ghost!?"

Rhys went and sat on one of the couches, his eyes flicking back to the doorway now and then as he rubbed his temples tiredly.

"It looks that way doesn't it? You guys didn't see the child, neither did Mewtwo it appears. I'm apparently the only one who saw them. So I'd guess it was a ghost."

"Or you're just crazy!" Lucinda cracked patting Rhys's back as she sat next to him in a would-be sympathetic gesture.

"Jee thanks. Last time I tell you lot anything."

"We could always ask Liana if she saw or felt anything." James pondered.

"Better yet let's ask Mew. It's doubtful Liana noticed anything, she probably would have reacted if she'd seen a ghost nearby, and Mewtwo certainly didn't see it." Rhys shrugged.

***

They got their chance to speak with Mew soon after. She and Mewtwo returned, Mewtwo wrinkling his nose distastefully as he stalked off to deal with the mess in the basement.

Mew approached the seated humans and floated beside them, turning full circle to try and catch her own tail as she spoke to them mind to mind.

~Liana's asleep. She'll probably remain that way for a few hours, maybe a day. She sapped a lot of strength taking that monster down. However I sense you wish to discuss another matter.~

James smiled at Mew. Apart from Moltres and Growlithe, she certainly had to be one of his favourite Pokémon.

"If you wouldn't mind Mew, Rhys has something he wished to question you about."

Mew turned her startlingly blue eyes on Rhys and waited until he'd gathered his thoughts together.

"Mew," he started hesitantly, "when Liana came back up from the basement. She wasn't really very steady on her feet."

Rhys licked his lips nervously. If Mew denied what he said then it was likely he was going mad. That wasn't a very pleasing prospect!

"She almost fainted when she got into the entrance hall. I just wondered. Did someone help keep her on her feet or did she just right herself?"

Mew smiled warmly at the worried man before replying.

~You're not losing your mind, Rhys. Someone helped her to stand.~

[emsiecat]

Rhys let out a small sound of relief before grinning and pulling a face at the other three humans. "Hah! See? I'm not crazy!"

"That's debatable." Lucinda muttered.

"Who was it, Mew?" Jessie looked interested now.

~I could see her more clearly than Rhys could. It was a young girl, a child. She was, as Rhys suspected, a ghost. Who she was exactly I'm not sure.~

James's eyes flicked nervously to the doorway where the ghost had stood not long before. "Is she still around?"

~It's hard to say James. This island is full of ghosts you realise, spirits that are in unrest. They may come and go, or they may stay I can't tell with individuals, I just know they're here. Some don't even seem to realise they're dead.~

James made a sound like a mouse being trodden on.

"People that Mewtwo killed?" Lucinda asked worriedly.

Mew looked thoughtful for a few moments. "No, not all."

"Do you think Mewtwo notices these ghosts? He certainly doesn't seem bothered by them and psychics are naturally weak against any ghost." Jessie spoke up.

Mew pondered for a while longer before giving her theory. ~More than likely I'd say he's trained himself to drown out their presence. For example if someone leaves a radio on static for long enough, they'll stop registering the noise. Mewtwo has lived here the past four years, perhaps he ceased to listen to the spirits and register their existence. Especially since most seem to be human.~

Mew turned back to Rhys cocking her head to one side.

~What I'd like to know is if Rhys can see these ghosts all the time.~

Rhys took a step back from being put on the spot so suddenly.

"What you want me to conduct a séance or something?" he tried to sound light hearted but the shock in his eyes was evident. He wasn't a medium!

~Not at all, I was merely curious. From the short time I've been here you haven't expressed this ability before. It makes me wonder if it was a latent ability within you, or if the spirit we witnessed actually wanted to be seen and so made herself more noticeable.~

Rhys smiled as if remembering something before answering Mew.

"Actually I used to see ghosts a lot as a child. It really freaked out my mother and father when I told them I could see 'see through people'. As I got older the ability hasn't presented itself as much."

Mew nodded knowledgably. ~Like the radio static again. Over time, subconsciously of course, you drowned out your own ability. You said earlier you created a psychic lock on the doors that used your energy. I'd say since such an action lowered your subconscious defences then you were able to see the child.~

"Can you see any others Rhys?" James still looked a little concerned.

"No. I mean I've always sensed them in a way. I can usually tell when there are spirits around, but I haven't been able to see them properly in a long time. In answer to your question though, yeah there's plenty of them around, as Mew said this place is crawling with them, I just can't see them." He shrugged as if it was a perfectly normal experience.

Lucinda waved a hand dismissively at Rhys and turned back to Mew. "Did Liana see the girl?"

~No. she would have said something had she done so. She was so tired when I left her that she probably wouldn't notice if the castle fell down around her ears.~

Lucinda winced in sympathy for her friend. "She very rarely takes elephant shape. She always did say it took more out of her than her other forms."

~I have to speak with Mewtwo. Since this monster attacked we have to make a decision. It may be that the island is no longer safe for us. Not to mention we need to go back to the Pokémon League to answer Lance's invitation.~ Mew suddenly giggled. ~I need to visit this realm more often, the Gods Realm is so boring, I haven't had this much fun in years!~

The humans cast one another dubious glances as Mew floated down to the basement. For a Goddess she certainly had a strange idea of what was fun!