What's That Sound?: What's That Sound?

"So, let me make sure that I'm hearing this right," Lucy begins.  "Just to be sure that we have all the facts down."

 

The noibat nods, nervously glancing over her shoulder.  They're in the woman's front yard at the moment, so why is she so paranoid?  Maybe because it's starting to get dark?

 

"You hear noises in the attic at night, but can't find anything when you check," the vulpix says.

 

"Nothing but an eldritch chill icing my veins," Noibat agrees.  That's a weird way to describe it.  What the heck does an eldritch chill even feel like?

 

Was somebody just living in her attic without telling her?  Maybe it was a Ghost- type trying to avoid paying rent and/or taxes.  Or maybe Noibat was just paranoid.

 

Honestly, that's probably it, but Lucy would still like to check first.  He turns to Lars and Mark, barely paying any mind to how the dunsparce shivers in fear.  It's fine, Lars has always been a bit of a coward.  Mark seems fine, at least, so it's probably okay.  When it comes to danger, the pawmi is a bit like a chatot in the mines.  The only difference is that Lucy has no intention of letting the kid die of carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

"So, are you guys ready to take a look?"  Lucy turns around to ask, beaming.

 

Lars looks like he wants to disagree, but Mark beats him to the punch.

 

"Yep!"  The pawmi seems very excited.  He had always seemed to like the idea of horror, after all.  At least, that's what Lucy could guess from the two weeks since he followed Lucy and Lars home from the Toybox dungeon.  It was a bit surprising that nobody had ever claimed the lost child, but oh well.  He was a delight to have around.

 

"It's this way," Noibat says, walking back into her house.  "Follow me."

 

Lucy does so.  He can hear Mark's bouncy footsteps walking behind him, and assumes that Lars is following at a bit of a distance.  Dunsparces are normal types, so if it is a ghost, it would probably make sense to have him in the front, right?  Not that Lucy cares.  He knows Dark Pulse, after all.  And it's not like they're going to fight the devil or anything, right?

 

The noibat leads them to a dead-end hallway.  At least, it appears to be, until she flies up to pull down a hatch on the ceiling.  A ladder folds out from the door, revealing a sort of staircase into the attic.

 

"I'll leave this open – Please let me know if you need anything, okay?"

 

Lucy nods.

 

"Absolutely – We'll come get you when we figure this thing out!"  The vulpix is sure that they will.  And so, he climbs up into the room above.

 

Once he's at the top, Lucy turns around to make sure the others are following him.  They are – Mark is practically vibrating, and Lars seems utterly terrified.

 

"So, how are we feeling about this?  Any theories?"  Now that Noibat seems to have wandered elsewhere, Lucy allows himself to show excitement.

 

"I think we shouldn't be here," says Lars.  "Didn't you hear how she described it?  She said it was eldritch," he rambles, hysteria seeping through his voice.  "What if we get killed?"

 

"Why would we get killed?"  Lucy tilts his head.  "It's probably some ghost type.  Which, for the record, we can totally handle.  There's three of us, and if it's hiding from Noibat, then it's probably afraid of being found to begin with."

 

Lars seems to force himself to calm down a bit at that.  It's good to see him doing the breathing exercises Lucy taught him!

 

"I… You're right.  It's a one-star mission, we'll be fine.  And besides, it's not like-"

 

"Hello…?"

 

Lars yelps as the strange voice interrupts him.  The sound seems to come from all around them – Both everywhere and nowhere all at once.

 

Oh, so THAT'S what an eldritch chill feels like!  It's pretty neat, honestly.

 

"Hello!" Says Mark, tail wagging.  He doesn't seem scared, at least.  Is he immune to whatever this is?  Or maybe he's just not that good of a danger meter.  Honestly, Lucy should probably have a word with him about personal safety at some point.

 

"Hi, we're here to ask you to get out of Noibat's attic!"  Lucy grins, trying to be nice about it.  "She's not able to sleep with you scraping around."

 

"Oh.  Is Noibat the one who lives here?  I'm afraid that I've been too scared to let her see me."  A pause.  "I didn't mean to intrude, I just accidentally ended up here."

 

"Well, that's okay – We all make mistakes!  Why don't you come out of wherever you're hiding, and we can get you somewhere else?"  Lucy offers.  Honestly, this whole situation is kind of weird.  How do you accidentally end up in somebody else's house?

 

"I… Don't think that that's a good idea."  The voice sounds as if it's trying to hide its own nervousness.

 

"Why not?" Lucy asks.  He glances over at Mark, who has gotten distracted with some dusty wooden blocks.  Oh well, he probably doesn't have asthma.

 

"Because then you'll be scared."

 

It's spoken like a resigned truth, as if whoever this is has come to accept it.  It's honestly a bit sad, for this person to think so lowly of themselves.

 

"Nah," Lucy says.

 

"I- what?"  The voice sounds shocked.

 

"I said nah.  Unless you're going to try and kill us, there's no reason for us to be scared of you, right?"

 

A silence, which Lars breaks.

 

"You're not going to try and kill us, right?"  The dunsparce asks timidly

 

"I would never!"  The voice seems a bit offended at the implication, which is good!

 

"Then come on out!"  Lucy encourages, and the voice sighs.

 

"Okay, but you can't say that I didn't warn you."

 

The shadows across the room shift towards the center of the room.  The attic grows dark with a strange force, and a hulking shape emerges from the writhing mass of shadows.  The tension is thick, and Lucy suddenly understands why this pokemon had said they would be afraid of it.

 

It's a Giratina.

 

The legendary pokemon raises its head…

 

…Only to bump it on a beam above it.

 

The string of curse words that proceed to come from its mouth dissipates any and all tension that Lucy may have felt.

 

"Oh crap, are you okay?"  The vulpix asks, and the Ghost- type groans.

 

"I'll live, but OW."

 

Now that the light is returning, Lucy is able to get a good look at the other pokemon.  And the more he looks, the more he's sure that this isn't the giratina of legends.

 

For starters, the renegade myth wasn't so small.  Sure, he towers above the rest of them, but he still fits inside the attic.  Secondly, wasn't giratina supposed to be a dark gray?  This one is pure white.  Finally, the pokemon looks stressed.  And why would a deity be afraid of being seen?  Lucy has so many questions.

 

"How did you get here?"  He asks instead.  The vulpix quickly glances over to Lars, who is somehow paler than usual.  Then, he glances over to Mark, who is still trying to stack the wooden blocks.

 

The giratina looks a bit sheepish.

 

"I… Actually don't know."  A pause, before he continues.  "I was somewhere dark, surrounded by stars.  I felt like I shouldn't be there, so I left, somehow.  Then, I was in this room."  Another pause.  "I think that this just happened to be the place that I emerged.  Or, maybe it's important, but I wouldn't know.  I can't remember anything before that."

 

"Oh, that sucks."  Lucy can relate.  Outside of the fact that he used to be human, he can't remember anything from before Lars found him.  Heck, he had to pick a new name upon waking up!  Speaking of…

 

"Do you have a name?"  Lars beats him to the punch.  Honestly, it doesn't surprise Lucy that much.  Even though he can be a bit of a coward, Lars is kind, and can never resist helping someone in need.

 

Even if that someone is a ten-foot tall dragon god.

 

"...No."

 

Lucy wonders if this giratina used to be human, too, but he doesn't ask.  He'll bring up his own experience later, if the pokemon chooses to stick around.  The vulpix hopes that he will, because everybody needs friends, right?  And being afraid of being seen is no way to live.

 

"We could call you Diavolo," Lucy offers, trying to be helpful.  It's a fitting name for a giratina, right?

 

Red eyes open slightly.

 

"Diavolo…?"  He goes silent for a bit, almost as if he's trying to remember something.

 

Regardless of whether or not it worked, the giratina smiles.

 

"I like that.  Thank you."

 

Lucy grins, and maybe Lars does too.  Even Mark looks over, though it may just be because he finally managed to stack all of the blocks.

 

Now, all they have to do is tell Noibat that they found the bootleg devil in her attic!