Chapter Text
It finally has happened. It's something that comes to everyone that lives. Melli knew this. But just because Melli knew something didn’t mean that he had to like it. After all, just because Ingo was stronger than him didn’t mean that he liked it. Just because Galaxy Team was part of these lands now didn't mean that he had to like it. Knowing things and liking them are two very different thoughts.
Melli had been attacked by a Pokémon. He wasn’t mad about it. That would be pointless to do so. It was Melli after all, that was where he wasn’t supposed to be. It was him that ran into the Crobat and startled it. Normally the deep resonance of its cries would be enough to guide Melli away from it but this time it had been quiet. Sleeping most likely. He was the one that made what should have been a short trip to the Mirelands into a long one and he was the one that left his sick little Skuntank to be guarded by the other two Pokémon. Not that they would have done any good against the alpha.
Melli let in a shaky breath. It hurt. He was surprised the Pokémon didn’t stay and finish the job. Guess it wasn’t hungry. Another wet cough made Melli wish that it would come back and finish what it started.
It was so cold in the caves at this time of night. The pain that had griped Melli was steadily replaced with the bitter cold. He hopes that his Pokémon will do okay…And Adaman. Melli knows that they weren’t as close as they used to be, but he still wishes him well. His heart hurts at the thought. It was the only thing left that he could feel.
His thoughts wandered to the rest of his clan and what warmth that he had felt at thinking about Adaman fled from him. The rest of the Diamond Clan would probably be happy. Melli was never good enough for them. He had tried so hard to feel like he was worth something to them but even as a warden they would withhold any praise. They used to pity him, then they forgot about him and then they hated him. And now he was dying, and he still wouldn’t be great in their eyes.
There was a saying that a man should think of home in death, Melli knows that the point is that the thought of home would bring the dying man comfort…
It only made Melli feel bitter.
Chapter 1
Who You Are
Melli opens his eyes in the darkness of the cave. His ears catch the gentle melody of water flowing and the haunting cries of Pokémon near and far. The warden runs his hands along the cold earthen floor. He was confused. Why? Where?
His mind was slow and sluggish in giving him any answers but where he was now was safe. How was he so sure? No telling but he didn’t need to rush to any answers right now.
A deep breath in brings with it a scent of something coppery. It made him a bit hungry. Meat? His stomach agreed but some part of his mind seemed to jump in alarm. Melli takes a deeper breath to try and pin down the smell.
Blood.
Frowning Melli was a little more awake now. He forces himself onto his forearms and blinked thru the darkness. Not that he should expect to see anything. The torches had gone out and for once Melli didn’t have anything to do with it. Ingo just hadn’t been around to light them in the first place. Despite the apparent darkness Melli’s eyes started to come into focus.
Hm yes…That was blood. Had he thought he was safe earlier? He definitely didn’t anymore. Disoriented Melli wobbles to his feet. He had to get out of here.
Melli manages to take a step before tripping over something and crashing back to the ground. His nose smacks into the fall and Melli yowls in pain.
“Fuck!”
Getting back up Melli glared down at the object that dared trip the Great Melli. His blood went cold as ice at the sight of his own mangled body. The navy blue of his clothes couldn’t even disguise the stains of blood and gashes.
Melli couldn’t even manage a scream. He could only gap at what he knew was his own dead body laying cold and still on the ground. But how could that be so when Melli is also standing right here to look at said dead body?
With shaking hands, the warden reaches down to his body but before he could touch the torn fabric of his clothes he notices his hands. Or what should be his hands. A tremor shook his body as he lefts his other hand in front of himself or claws more like.
His breaths started to come out in harsh bursts that fogged up his own vision. His heart pumped ice thru his veins. He was alive surely? His chest wouldn’t hurt so much if that wasn’t the case. But just as surely, he was dead. His body left broken right in front of him.
Ignoring his claws for now Melli rolls his corpse onto his back. Dialga above there was so much blood. Bile tried to rile in his mouth at the sight. He could remember the pain of the first strike when the Alpha Crobat recovered from being run into and slashed him with its attack. It had hit him square in the chest. The flash of red from his chest matched the red of the Alpha’s eyes and Melli knew that he wasn’t going to make it, but he had ran anyway. What else was he to do?
Die. That answer was very obvious to him now.
Melli stared as his mind tried to come up with something useful to do. He…Should probably leave…
Melli frowned at his own thoughts, and do what? Go where? Home? At that moment he remembered why he was down here in the first place. His Skuntank was sick, and he came down to get some medicine! His Pokémon were still expecting him, and the warden didn’t know how long he had been…lying here.
Refocused on his goal Melli looks back down at his old body. He ignored the bloody mess and looked for the bag of medicine that he needed to hopefully cure his closest companion’s ailment. Somehow, even while being murdered he had managed to keep the medicine in his grip. Melli cringed as he had to pry the bag out of his corpse’s cold and stiff hands. Now Melli was understanding why they called it a death grip.
He had what he needed now. He didn’t have any reason to stay in the cave that killed him but the thought of leaving his body there kept his feet planted in the spot. He didn’t want to leave his corpse to either traumatize some poor traveler or worst, be eaten by some other Pokémon.
Melli tried not to look too closely at his corpse as he starts to pick it up. It was stiff as a rock and cold as ice. There was no warmth to be found anywhere here. He only had a minute moment of wonder at how light his old body felt in his arms. It might be because of all the blood that he lost.
Melli left the cave without encountering another Pokémon. He knew that they were there, he could hear them quite clearly, but it seemed they were going out of their way to avoid him. He shouldn’t be surprised really. He was already dead. There was nothing else the world could take from him now.
The bitter feeling flooded his chest again like the bile that threatened him earlier. Even in death, Melli wasn’t good enough to be noticed. How long has he been out here to grow cold and for no one and nothing to find him?
Melli’s grip tensed before he forced himself to relax when he realized that his claws were digging into his corpse. It was already in such bad shape. There was no vanity left to save but his body was still in one piece, and he would like to keep it that way.
The moon hung heavy in the sky. The fullness made even the night seem bright to his eyes. The dead man tried to remember what moon phase it was when he came down the mountain. The moon looked full to him. Either he had lost a whole month, or it had only been a day. There was no way that his body would still be this fresh if it has been that long. It was a strange relief. If he moved fast, he could at least cure his Pokémon. That might be why he still lingered here.
The journey didn’t take long, and fatigue didn’t cling to his limps like it usually would when he would walk this far. Let alone with a whole dead weight that he was carrying. It was beautiful out. Melli could almost trick himself into thinking that he was out for a stroll to enjoy the night.
In a trance, he walked up the Highlands. Oh, what is his poor Lord to do without his warden? Could he still maybe keep his responsibilities even like this? He could touch physical things so there might still be some things he could still do for his Lord.
He wondered how long he might be able to do that before anyone came up here and realized that Melli was missing. A growl rumbled out of his chest as he knew that answer would be longer than it should be. No one came up to visit him unless they wanted something, and people would avoid him if they could help it. Since Ingo became warden here even his own clan members would defer to the outsider before him.
It only made it worst that the man he despised would probably be the only one that would notice his absence.
Melli set his corpse on the ground. His bad mood made him less gentle than he would have liked but truly what did it matter? He couldn’t feel it anyway.
Melli didn’t quite reach Moonview when he stopped. The thought of burying his body where others are expected to work didn’t feel right. Here would have to be good enough. Out of the way so others might not find what was left. Having claws made digging child’s play. He had a deep enough hole before the sun could start cutting the darkness of the night. The dead man places his corpse into the dirt only pausing long enough to remove his jewelry. The necklace was a gift from Adaman, Melli wasn’t ready to leave it and the bracelet would be given to whichever new warden that would take Melli’s place. It belonged to Lord Electrode and was one of the few bracelets that hasn’t been lost yet. It was still the original.
Melli suddenly overcame with a wave of grief covered his face with his dirty claws. The dead were supposed to be free from pain, but Melli couldn’t even have that. He couldn’t even enjoy oblivion; he had to stay here and lie witness to the pain that his death will cause the people he loved. The agony of knowing how little others will care. He was being punished. For what? Melli couldn’t begin to know. It seemed like he was being punished his whole life and now his death it seemed too.
His anguish made him scream. He howled to the moon that wasn’t there anymore. He prayed to the god that never gave him any mind. He cried for his mother that had passed so long ago that he couldn’t even remember her face. He wailed until his insides felt numb again. Then he buried his old self.