PMD: Explorers of Death V2

See also: PMD: Explorers Of Death

It was one of those normal Friday evenings. My dad and I were at the mall, strolling around and gazing at the vast collection of stores. I was gleefully munching on a frosted cookie I had convinced him to buy for me by saying how much I loved him and I would only ask this one time. I still don't see how he hadn't already caught onto my not-so-hidden pattern.

After several minutes of aimless wandering, I finally found a store that caught my attention. GameStop. I squealed as much as when a little child gets a new puppy. Before even asking for permission, I raced into the store. My father regretfully followed me in.

I ran to and fro, carefully examining every game up for sale. Most of them I either already had, or they seemed tasteless and dull. I groaned, and was just about to give up hope when my eye caught a game I hadn't noticed before. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky. My spirits soared as I greedily snatched the game from the shelf and sprinted back towards my dad.

A flicker of horror passed over his face when he looked at the price tag as I presented the game to him. At first he said he wouldn't buy it for me, but I gave him the puppy eyes and lied to him that I had wanted this game for a very long time. Eventually he gave in, just as I knew he would.

I grinned wildly as my dad bought the game. I giggled like a child whose had way to much sugar as I clutched my new Nintendo DS game. I skipped and hopped all the way to the car, then suddenly cursed under my breath when I realized my DS was at home. A little crestfallen, but not enough to completely dampen my mood, I opened the game case and read the instruction manual.

By the time we pulled into the driveway I had every word of the manual engraved into my skull. I flung the car door open, narrowly missing impact with my dad's head, and dashed into my room. I knocked over countless items as I searched for my beloved DS. Once I found it nestled under a pile of papers and unread magazines, I gingerly held it in my hands as if it were some holy item given to me to save the world.

After a split moment I hastily popped my new game into the DS without second thought. I leaped onto my bed and impatiently waited for the game to load. I irritatedly sighed as the seconds ticked by with only a black screen on my DS. I immaturely shook my DS, willing it to work faster.

My breath caught in my throat as the screen suddenly burst into life. The intro had started playing. I gawked at the detail and pixilated beauty that was this masterpiece. Once the beginning animation was over, I still took a moment to gaze at the artwork of the title screen. I was very easily impressed.

Once I had finally finished savoring over every small detail, I selected "New Game", which was the only option available. It took me straight to the personality quiz, which I had been expecting. It asked for my gender, and I chose female, since biologically I was a girl. Then the questions rolled in.

I wanted to be a Vulpix. I needed to be a Vulpix. I was a total and absolute Vulpix obsessed freak just like many other Pokémon fan girls. I had been longing for a long time to finally have a Pokémon game where I could play as a Vulpix, or more so I had been longing for said goal since I had read that you could be a Vulpix in the instruction manual, but that was still a long time for me. Regardless the motive or reasoning behind it, I was going to be a Vulpix, and I wouldn't accept any other.

I answered the questions honestly, or believed I had answered them honestly anyways. The questions seemed never ending. One came in after another, slowly whittling away at my already near run out patience. Just as I thought I couldn't take it anymore, the survey was over. I held my breath, waiting to see what I turned out to be. I hoped and prayed with all of my heart I would be a Vulpix, even though I obviously was one, but every possible bit of help counts. The results came in...

I was a Squirtle.

"Yuck!! A Squirtle?!" Without the slightest bit of hesitation, I reset my DS. I quickly skipped through the intro and title screen, not stopping to admire the art. I instead went straight back to the personality quiz. I answered honestly again, believing that there was some sort of mistake the first time. I just had to be a Vulpix, there was no way I could be anything else. The results came in once more...

I was still a Squirtle.

"There has to be some malfunction in this game or something..." I spoke as though I knew everything, despite how I had only recently learned what the word malfunction even meant. I reset my DS once more, and skipped straight to the personality quiz. I'll just answer everything randomly this time. Let's see if I get a Squirtle then... I grinned like a maniac, thinking this plan was fool proof. I didn't even care about getting a Vulpix any more, I just wanted something different. Getting an Eevee or something would have been nice. I answered randomly, without hardly even looking at the questions, and the results came in for the third time...

Squirtle.

"Forget this!!" I shut off my DS and pouted. It wasn't fair, I finally had a dream game where I could play as my dream Pokémon, but no, "I have to be that ugly, horrible, stupid turtle." I still wasn't going to give up though. I was going to be a Vulpix no matter what. I sat for a moment, thinking about my possible options. That was when it hit me.

"Oh yeah! God, I'm such an idiot." I exclaimed to myself. I raced into the computer room, knocking over more items as I did so. Thankfully the computer was already turned on, I didn't have enough patience to sit through and start it up. I opened the internet, went to the address bar, and typed in humanity's best virtual friend, "Google.com".

"Alright, how to get Vulpix in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky..." I said aloud to no one in particular. "Enter!" I shouted once I had finally finished typing. I quickly remembered to press the enter key as I did so. I clicked on the first search result. Answer the questions with these answers and you'll get Vulpix as your starter. I sighed in relief as I read the answer to my problems.

I ran back to my room to retrieve my DS, but I was stopped short, "Honey, me and your father are going back to town because someone forgot to get something." My mom called to me from the kitchen. "I said I was sorry-" I heard my dad start to protest but he was cut short, "Will you be alright by yourself for an hour or two?" My mom asked to me. "Yeah sure I'll be fine." I called back and went into my room, DS the only thing on my mind.

"Alright, we'll see you in a little while." I heard the door shut as they left, but I didn't pay any attention. At that moment an asteroid could have collided with Earth and I wouldn't have noticed. I was too focused on answering the questions accordingly to what the internet said and finally getting my Vulpix.

Once I was finished answering the survey, my heart stopped beating for a moment. I waited to see what would happen. I waited. And waited. And waited. Moments turned into seconds, and even into a solid minute. I was starting to get worried that I may have actually somehow broken the game.

I nearly leaped out of my skin when static suddenly burst onto the screen. But as soon as it was there, it was gone. Replacing it was the marvelous icon of a Vulpix. "Yes, yes!!" I shouted victoriously into the air. The call summoned my little Dachshund into the room, barking her heart out. "Oh, Lilly, this is so awesome isn't it?" She yipped in response, which I took as a yes.

As I walked back to my bed room, the game led me to the next screen where I got to choose my partner. I already knew exactley which one I was going to choose. I selected a male Shinx as I leaped back onto my bed with Lilly jumping up alongside. I named him Shadow, in honor of my beloved Shadow the Luxray on my Pokémon Diamond.

The screen went to black. I squealed thinking of what this game was going to be like. I had no idea what was going to happen. I had gone distincly out of my way to avoid spoilers on the plot and story line. For once I wanted to be surprised and not have any clue what was going to occur while I played.

And I sure as hell was.

The screen stayed black for a few minutes. Then the static came back. "Stupid old DS, I'm going to have to get my dad to get me a new one soon..." After only a few seconds, the static was gone and the game started up. I squealed as the scene started to load.

It was sunset, and my Vulpix was lying on a beach. I didn't think much of it, but my breath suddenly caught in my throat. She was lying in a small pool of blood that was gradually growing larger. When I looked a little closer it looked like she had plenty of bruises and scratches.

I didn't know how to react for a moment. I just kept staring at the screen in shock. I suddenly blurted out, "Yes! Pokemon is going up to the next level!" Ignoring the obvious red flags, I immediately got excited and hyped up. I couldn't wait to see what the rest of the game was going to be like.

A minute passed. I had thought the game was in a cut scene, but apparently it wasn't. I pressed the A button to see if it would trigger anything. Nothing happened. I mashed on more buttons but it still remained the same. I angrily sighed, my patience about to snap.

Suddenly a Shinx started to slowly creep onto the screen, which I assumed was Shadow. Something was very strange about his sprite though. Instead of blue and black, his colors were white and dark grey. "Whoa... our partners get to be a special color!" Blindly accepting that fact, I waited to see what would happen.

A text box appeared for Shadow, "I swear I heard it around here somewhere... No, no, it was just nothing..." He then noticed my Vulpix and appeared shocked, then ran over towards her. It stayed that way for a few moments. Well, what is Shadow going to do..? I pondered to myself.

Suddenly electricity started to spark from Shadow. Another text box appeared for him, "Kill her and make us right, kill her and make us right, kill her and make us right..." He kept repeating the same line over and over to himself as the electrcity grew brighter. Death and blood in a Pokemon game..? I thought to myself, ...Alright!

Suddenly Shadow stopped charging his attack, and shook his head. A text box appeared once more, "No, I can't kill her... There has to be another way... Kill her and this will all be over with... But I can't... Kill her..." He shook his head once more, and started to drag my Vulpix off screen, leaving a trail of blood behind, as it faded to black.

Once the screen had loaded again, much faster than it had been doing, my Vulpix was alone in a dark cave. A camp fire was in front of her, the only thing lighting the desolate room. She slowly stood up and stretched, but then winced in pain and fell back to the floor, shivering.

Shadow walked into the room and walked over towards my Vulpix. He became shocked once he realized she was awake. A text box appeared for him, "Lie down, don't move, don't speak, don't make any sound, breathe as quietly as possible, be absolutely still, or you and me will both regret it. I said stop moving." My Vulpix immediately stopped shivering. Well, Shadow is sure mean. I thought. "I-I'm sorry... Just please don't move... Please... Make us right..." He shook his head. "...Tell me your name. Quietly whisper your name to me. Now. Please be someone else, be someone else, be someone else..."

A screen came up where I could type in my name. "Finally..." I muttered to myself. I typed in the name Myra. I felt proud of myself for thinking of that name all by myself, even though I had probably heard it from somewhere else before. But I didn't really care. I selected enter and the screen faded to black once more. Static suddenly burst back onto the screen. It stayed a little longer than it had before. ...Yep, defiantley getting a new DS. It finally went away, and opened back to the cave.

Myra tilted her head towards Shadow and slowly whispered her name to him. He leaped backwards, shocked, "Myr-" He quickly stopped and regained control of himself, and shook his head. "I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up..." It looked like the icon next to his text box had a tear on it. He stood there and just stared at Myra for a few moments.

She suddenly opened her mouth as if about to speak, but Shadow slammed his paw down on her muzzle. "I told you don't talk." Myra started shivering, as if she was going to cry. "Stop moving, please, she'll hear you... Stop!" He shot a bolt of electricity at Myra, barely missing her. She became as still as a stone.

He watched her for a minute, as if to see if she would move again, and then sat down. His sprite seemed on the verge of crying, "Listen to me... If you want to live, then listen... Make us right..." He suddenly stood up, "She heard." His icon looked worried, then changed to slight relief, "She doesn't know you're here, but she's suspicious... Stay here. I must talk to her." He walked away, but just as he was about to disappear off screen, he turned around, "You better not move while I'm gone." He then exited the cave, which left my character all alone.

I was afraid to press any buttons, afraid that I might accidentally make Myra move. I was scared that something really bad might happen. Shadow had seemed pretty serious about her not doing anything. I got really bored after a few minutes when nothing happened. I assumed that I was supposed to do something, but I didn't know what I could do without moving. I then figured that I had to press the start button, since it was the only thing I could do without moving.

I selected the items option. I wanted to see if my Vulpix got to start out with anything. She had one item. Chains. I selected the info on them, "You found these chains wrapped tightly around your neck. You don't remember how you got them but you can't take them off." It couldn't do anything, so I exited out of it. I looked at all of the other start menu options but none of them held anything of interest.

Once I exited out of the menu and was back in the cave, Myra closed her eyes and looked as if she was asleep. The screen slowly faded to black. I waited for something to happen, but nothing did. A text box suddenly appeared with no icon next to it. "???: Greetings, love." Confused, I pressed the A button, "???: H-Hey... Y-you seem to be in a g-good mood..." "???: Quite. And you know very well why." "???: ..!! I do?!" I assumed that this was a conversation between two people, although I had no idea what they were talking about at all.

"???: Don't be daft, you know very well why.
???: N-No I don't-
???: She's here! Can't you sense her presence..?
???: O-Oh yeah! T-That... Yes, I've sensed her-
???: You have been active lately.
???: Uhh... Yeah...
???: I'm waiting love.
???: Uhm... I-I thought I had found her, bu-
???: She got away from you, didn't she?
???: ..?! Oh, uhm, yeah, I tried to chase her but she got away...
???: It's alright, at least we know she's around here somewhere.
???: Yeah, I'll get her next time...
???: ...Something troubles you.
???: What..? Why do you think that..?
???: Love, it's alright that she got away, I'm honestly not mad. Just be sure to kill her soon. Slaughter her. Show that rat no mercy for stealing our life.
???: I-I will... I will.
???: This is just marvelous. We'll finally be able to live normally, like we were supposed to be...
???: Y-Yeah...
???: ...She's here.
???: Huh? Yeah, we know she's here-
???: She's in the Dungeon.
???: What?! ...S-She is... Th-that ignorant little-
???: L-Love...
???: What is it?
???: D-Don't let her find me... K-Kill her... Please...
???: I will-
???: Kill her and make us right... Please...
???: ...I will. I promise.
???: Thank you... love...
???: ...Love...
???: What?
???: Nothing, just thinking... I must go now...
???: Take care, don't get yourself murdered...
???: I won't... love... love..."

The last text box disappeared, and the screen faded to Myra, except she was standing in the middle of a dungeon. She was standing up, so I walked a step forward, then backwards. Nothing happened. "Alright, finally! I get to actually move!!" Lilly yipped beside me at my sudden remark. I brushed her fur with my hand, calming her down, "It's alright, I'm getting to move! It's a miracle, isn't it?" She barked once more and laid her head down, tired.

I turned my attention back to the game, and started walking around. After a few moments, I started noticing the odd atmosphere about the dungeon. First off, there was no music. Second, the dungeon walls and floor were chalk white with a faint pink tint. I walked around for a while and finally found the stairs.

When I got to the next floor, the pink tint had become slightly darker. After taking a couple of steps, I saw a blood stain on the floor, next to a skull. "Yes!" I whispered to myself, happy that the game was going to continue to have a dark theme to it. After coming across a few more skulls and blood stains I found the stairs.

I went to the next floor. The pink hue had become slightly darker again. When I walked around I found even more skulls and blood stains than before. But what slightly shocked me was that in one corner of a room I found a metal table, with chains and handcuffs on it. In another room was more torture equipment. I was getting a bit uneasy, thinking this may be a bit too much for a Pokémon game. Despite that, I continued onward to the next floor.

On this floor, the now standard pink hue was starting to turn into a pinkish grey. More blood stains, skulls, and torture equipment. This time though, a white and dark grey Rattata appeared after I had taken only a few steps. It looked as if it was limping. It looked shocked once it saw my Vulpix, and instantly turned savage. It slowly started walked towards her. Seeing as it was obviously hurt, and just the fact that it was a Rattata, I thought I could take it out in one hit. That turned out to be a major miscalculation. It took thirteen turns to knock it out, and it had dealed a fair amount of damage on Myra before it fainted.

Thankfully, there weren't many Pokémon to fight throughout the whole dungeon. As I progressed onwards though, the environment slowly became more gruesome. I soon found a table that had some sort of internal organ on top of it, with a knife stabbed into it. I stupidly stared at it for several moments, not believing what I saw. "Whoa... I think they went a little too far with all this..." I shivered as I spoke to myself. A little blood and a couple of skulls were neat, but I thought this was starting to be too much for a kid's game.

That was when I noticed something. I could now hear a heart beat in the background music. It was faint, but definitely there. There was also a long pause in between each pulse. I didn't think much of it, too focused on the visuals of the game, and pushed it to the back of my thoughts.

I slowly walked through the rest of the floors, each more painful to look at than the last. The walls were now a complete sickly gray pink. The heart beat would get louder and quicker with each floor I went to. Pokémon corpses started littering the floors, skulls and skeletons with bits of flesh still clinging to them were abundant, torture equipment were plentiful, and blood was practically everywhere. A few more grey and white Pokémon appeared to challenge me, each more violent than the last.

Just as I thought I was about to lose my last strand of sanity, I made it to the final floor at last. Static burst onto the screen before it had finished loading though. Lilly yelped beside me at the sudden noise. I patted her head and stroked her fur, calming her down. This time the static lasted for a solid minute before it went away. I was starting to get suspicious, thinking that the static was more than just my DS going dead.

The floor loaded. The walls and floors were crimson red, as if drenched in blood. The heart beat had stopped, so there was no music at all. Myra slowly walked forward, without me even controlling her. A text box suddenly popped up with no icon, "???: L-Love, is t-that you..?" Myra walked a few more steps forward, then leaped backwards in shock as she saw something off screen. She then slowly crept forward, each step taking a few seconds.

What I saw made my breath catch in my throat. A severely beaten up and bloodied Squirtle was chained to the wall. Parts of its skin were ripped off, exposing muscle tissue. Its eyes were ripped out, only black eye sockets remaining. "???: S-Speak to me... P-Please, love, s-say something..."

Myra backed up a few steps, then turned around and ran. She didn't make it far though, and crashed into Shadow. The two stared at each other for a few moments, when a text box for Shadow appeared, "Shadow: ...M-Myra..." There was a pause. "You idiot!!" His icon looked furious, as if he was about to leap out and tear Myra to shreds. "???: W-What?! S-She's here..?! K-Kill her! Kill her now!!"

Shadow started charging up an electric attack. Myra shivered, and backed up a step. The light from the electricity slowly grew larger and brighter, so much that it got painful to look at. Shadow suddenly stopped charging his attack. A text box appeared, "???: ...L-Love...?! What are you doing..?! Kill her this instant!! Before she destroys us!!"

"Shadow: ...I can't." Shadow's icon looked sad and defeated.
"Shadow: I can't kill her.
???: W-Why not?! Why can't you kill her?! L-Love, snap out of it, please!! Slaughter her, give us our life back, make us right-
Shadow: No.
???: ...No?
Shadow: We'll never be right.
???: What are you talking about?! Just kill her, this will all be over, things will be perfectly normal-
Shadow: I don't love you.
???: ...What-
Shadow: I-I hate you!! Y-You sadistic monster!! W-We'll never be right... A-And... I love Myra..."

There was a long pause, the longest so far. I gawked at the screen, uncertain of what to expect next. Several minutes passed. I thought that maybe I was supposed to move, so I tried pressing a button, but nothing happened. It was still in the cut scene.

Static suddenly burst onto the screen once more. Except this time it would flicker for a brief moment then go back to the dungeon. "Shadow: N-No!! Kill her before she" I could hardly read Shadow's dialougue through all the static, and I couldn't read the last part of his sentence. The screen suddenly cut to black.

There was another small pause. A loud cracking noise suddenly burst out from the speakers that sounded like glass breaking. I nearly leaped out of my skin, caught off guard. Lilly started throwing a barking fit at the sudden commotion. I petted and stroked her fur, trying to calm her down again. "It's alright, it's alright, it's alright..." I was mainly trying to calm myself down. This was one of the most emotionally, nerve wracking games I had definitely ever played.

I turned back to the screen, which was still black. Moments turned into seconds, which turned into minutes. Static started to slowly fade in. Text would pop up at random places, but it was too difficult to read. I prepared myself for anything that could possibly happen. With everything I had just recently seen, I believed that nothing could shock me anymore. Despite how much I braced myself, I let out a slight scream of sheer terror at what I saw next.

That Squirtle appeared in the middle of the screen admist all the static. It looked different though. Its flesh was completely torn away at parts, exposing internal organs and bone. Blood poured out of the numerous gashes all along its body. The thing's shell was cracked open, a vile, bubbling, green goo oozing out. It now had small, red eyes, with eye sockets that were much too large. The top of its head was cracked open, exposing its still pulsing brain, with even more blood gushing out of that. It had razor sharp teeth, its grin stretching off the edges of its face.

But the worst was the tail. The tail itself was very long and torn just like the rest of its body. But the end of the tail curled around a sharp, blood stained dagger. The knife was the main reason I screamed, since I had a large fear of knifes, along with the fact that the thing was a zombie, which isn't my cup of tea either. After a couple of moments it disappeared from the screen, as did the static, leaving a black screen behind.

Lilly leaped on top of me, yapping in my face while showering me in licks, knowing that something was wrong. I pushed her off of me and started heavily breathing, trying to recover from what had just happened. I sighed deeply, and glanced at my Dachshund. She was staring at me with that innocent, adorable face only a puppy could pull off. I gave her a pat on the head, and she licked my hand in response. Feeling a bit better, I returned to my game.

Instead of seeing a black screen, Myra was standing inside of a dark, grey cave with dead Pokémon corpses littered all on the ground. Everything was in shades of black, grey, and white, except for the blood stains and Myra. I was really starting to get sick of all this. That's when my brain clicked into motion, "I don't have to deal with this crap!!" I pressed the power button, thinking all of my problems were solved. But they were far from over. The game wouldn't turn off.

"???: I'm not finished with you yet." The text box appeared. I was now utterly freaked out, and had no idea how to react. I could've just thrown the DS away, but something urged me to keep playing. I made Myra take one step forward, and one of the supposedly dead Pokémon started shaking, and then rose. It looked like a zombie Marill, and took a step towards Myra. Another corpse rose that was a Poochyena. Soon they were all rising and swarming around my poor little Vulpix.

"???: That should keep you busy for a while." It sure did. They went out in one hit, but with so many of them they were difficult to keep at bay. After countless minutes, the last zombie Pokémon fell, just as Myra's HP has at near zero. I ran Myra out of that floor quickly before they could rise again. Instead of going to the next floor, the screen just went to black, and text boxes appeared,

"Shadow: W-Why are you doing this?!

???: I could ask you the same thing... love.

Shadow: What did I do?! Myra did nothing to deserve this-

???: She stole my life, my destiny, she replaced me, then stole you from me... She deserves every last bit of this torture.

Shadow: ...M-Maybe, our desinties have changed-

???: No. They didn't change. They were corrupted. I was going to be the hero, you my partner, but then she came and massacred it all...

Shadow: Maybe she was supposed to be the hero after all, and you-

???: I was supposed to be the hero!! I was supposed to go on adventures with you!! But then she stole it all... But I wasn't going to give up that easily... You weren't supposed to give up that easily...

Shadow: ...I-

???: You were supposed to kill her and set everything back on course. Everything would have been peaceful and normal... We would have been right-

Shadow: We would never be right! I hate you, but I love Myra-

???: You love something that doesn't even exist!! She isn't supposed to be here, she isn't supposed to be real, she isn't real-

Shadow: I-

???: S-She's everything I'm not... Everything I wanted to be... A collection of unrealistic dreams that could never come true and never will be...

Shadow: ...

???: But you couldn't accept me for who I was. I wasn't good enough for you. I was the real one, the one in need who was crying out to you for help... But you succumbed to your greed and left me for her...

"Shadow: ...

???: Now I've turned into this... thing. I'm my own nightmare. I didn't want to be this. You turned me into this horrid creature, and now nothing can be undone...

Shadow: ...

???: Well, what do you have to say for yourself..?

Shadow: ...I'm sorry.

???: Sorry, huh? Well-

Shadow: But I still love Myra. ???: ...

Shadow: ...I-

???: I can't believe you. You greedy, self centered demon." Shadow: I'm not the demon here-

???: Yes you are. You can't look past my flaws and just accept who I truly am, so you desert me for someone who I'm not. Shadow: I-

???: I've had enough of this. I'm done trying to reason with you. She's corrupted your thoughts beyond repair. "Shadow: Wh-What?!-

???: If I have to take you back by force, then I will. I will slit her throat and tear her apart limb by limb. Once you see she's truly nothing, then you'll come back to me, and we'll be right...

Shadow: No, don't you dare-

???: We'll be right... We'll be right... It will all be right...

Shadow: No!-"

There was static for a few seconds, then it disappeared. Once it had left, instead of the screen being black like I was expecting, it actually went straight to Myra standing on what appeared to be a large, solid white platform, with a black background. There was no audio at all.

I walked a few steps, but nothing happened. I pressed every button and looked through every option available but nothing would occur. Several minutes passed, and still nothing. I couldn't think of anything I could do, so I just waited even more. Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes... Nothing would happen.

I sighed and put my DS down, still leaving it open. I sat up, causing Lilly to grunt in annoyance next to me at disrupting her slumber. I half-heartedly giggled, and patted her head. She licked my hand and laid her head back down, trying to get back to sleep. I sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, trying to decide what to do.

Just as I was about to get up and leave, a sudden beeping noise from my DS caused me to stop short. I picked up my DS to see if anything had changed, but Myra was still at the same place. A loud bleep emitted from the speakers again though. I walked Myra a few steps to see if that would trigger anything, but still nothing else would happen. The bleep sounded for the third time.

I looked at the screen and realized that Shadow was standing in front of Myra. I hadn't noticed him before, as he had blended in with everything else. A text box popped up with Shadow's icon looking defeated, "Shadow: ...It's no use." Electricity started to spark from his paws. Myra backed up a step. "Shadow: Please stay still..." The electricity grew even larger, covering up almost half of the screen. My hair started to spike up, like when you're about to be hit by a lightning bolt. "Shadow: This should be enough to kill both of u-"

The electricity suddenly went away. Shadow shivered, then collapsed to the ground. Blood started to pool around him. Myra looked shocked, then ran to his side, allowing me to get a better view of what had happened to him. I gasped at what I saw. He had been sliced in half. The scene stayed the same for a few moments, until Shadow raised his head and spoke, "Shadow: H-Ha... L-Looks like I... failed..." He fell back to the ground once more, and didn't move again.

"???: Such a waste, isn't it?" The text box appeared. Myra looked shocked and jumped up, then started looking around. "???: If only he could have looked past his greed, then none of this would have happened, and you could have peacefully died... But what's done is done I suppose." There was a pause. "???: ...Ready to join him?" Myra's sprite shivered.

There was a flash on the screen, then another, and another. Each time Myra was forced backwards, until she collapsed onto the ground. There appeared to be cuts on her, with crimson blood gushing from her wounds. She was heavily breathing. She struggled, and started rising. Just as she had stood back up, there was another flash. When the brightness had cleared away, I saw a knife had been embedded in her forehead. She staggered, then fell over on her side, unmoving. The text box appeared again, "???: You should have just accepted who you are." Then disappeared.

Several minutes passed, and nothing happened. Eventually the light on my DS went red. A few more minutes came and went, with still nothing. The screen suddenly cut to black. Large white text appeared, "You aren't dead yet. You never will be." A pause. I waited. "Have pleasant dreams." My DS then turned off, out of energy.

Relief unlike ever before washed over me once my DS died. I sighed and laid back on my bed, Lilly grunting in annoyance once more. I laughed and ruffled her fur, causing her to moan agitatedly. I gave her a kiss on the forehead, then pulled my blanket over me. I was extremely tired, and desperately needed a nap. I closed my eyes, and soon fell into a deep slumber.

I woke up in the middle of the night, screeching at the top of my lungs. After a solid minute of screaming, I started to get a hold of myself. I was breathing heavily, and shaking violently. Sweat was pouring off my fore head, and I felt a deep fear I had never experienced before. I swallowed, gasped for air, and started to calm down.

I sat on my bed for a few minutes, trying to collect myself. Eventually my breathing went back to normal, and I stopped sweating. A little while longer and I was done shivering. But the fear never went away. I tried to think about what nightmare I just had, but once I thought about it I couldn't remember it. Whatever it was must have been very horrid to cause me to wake up screaming. I decided it would be best to not remember what had happened.

I waited a while longer, hoping the unreasonable horror would leave. But no matter how much I told myself everyone was alright and that it was just a bad dream, a feeling that something wasn't right would never stop pestering me. I sighed and shook my head, then laid back down. I closed my eyes and awaited for the dream world to come rushing back to me, and before I would know it I would be waking up to the smell of breakfast, sunlight would be pouring in my window, and everything would be alright.

But that didn't happen. I laid there for a couple of minutes. Half an hour. An hour. No matter how long I laid there I couldn't get back to sleep. If anything I was becoming more awake, and the sense of fear growing larger. I agitatedly sighed and sat up. I started to get off the bed, but that nagging horror made me stay. Something told me that I didn't want to go outside my room.

I slapped myself and stood up. I stretched, jumped up and down, trying to get myself active. No matter what I did though, I still felt anxious. "This is just stupid... Everything is alright..." I told myself out loud to try and calm myself down, but then wished I hadn't. It felt like someone might hear me if I spoke out loud. I shook my head, thinking this was all just nothing, and walked out of my room.

I headed for the kitchen, not really sure of what to do. I realized something was odd as I walked through the living room though. Why didn't my parents wake up when I screamed..? They should be home by now... And where's Lilly..? None of my family was anywhere to be seen, and everything seemed darker than normal.

When I actually made it to the kitchen, I was feeling very light headed. My steps were uneven, and I felt like I was about to collapse onto the ground. I sat down in a chair at the table, my breathing irregular. I was getting dizzy, and my vision was blurry. I shook my head to try and clear it away, but it wouldn't.

Drip, drop.

My thoughts instantly cleared and I stood straight up on my feet. Still a bit dizzy, I staggered over to where the sound was coming from. After a minute of searching, I found myself standing in front of the sink. Everything was fuzzy, and I couldn't focus on anything. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and when I was sure I had control over myself again, I opened my eyes. I screamed.

Lilly was hanging over the edge of the sink, her throat slit open. Blood was dripping from her neck onto the floor. Her side had been cut open, with muscle tissue and bones having been torn out. Her arms and legs were ripped off and were put together as an X with her heart on top of it. The whole sink was a bloody mess.

My screeching was cut short as something pierced into my back. I stood there, frozen. Then I slowly fell to my knees as the dagger that had been stabbed into me was slowly slipped out. I clutched my fresh wound, blood starting to ooze out and into my hands. Before I could react any further, I was stabbed again, and again.

Before I knew it I was on the floor, crying and pleading for whoever the attacker was to stop. The stabbing actually did halt for a moment. Thinking I was saved, I slowly started to sit back up. But before I could recover, I felt a piercing pain in my head. I feel over on my side, and slowly started to lose consciousness. Before the darkness completely swept over me, I could faintly hear the words in my head, "You should have just accepted who you are."

I saw a bright, white light. I reached out for it, calling for it. It grew brighter, and brighter, then slowly started to fade away. Tears started streaming down my face, and I screamed for it, flailing, trying to run towards it. But it kept getting farther and farther, and soon darkness swallowed it whole. In vain, I reached my arm out, hoping it would come back. But it didn't.

I woke up in the middle of the night, screeching at the top of my lungs. My thoughts were scattered, and I couldn't think straight. A wild sense of fear was spread all throughout me, and I was breathing heavily and sweating. After a couple of minutes, I started to calm down. I swallowed, then tried to focus on what was going on.

I assumed that I had just had a nightmare. I tried to remember what it was but nothing would come back to me. It must have been really horrid to have caused me to wake up screaming, so I decided it was best to not remember it. I eventually stopped sweating, and my breathing went back to normal. A few more minutes and I stopped shivering too.

But that awful sense of horror wouldn't leave.

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