IXEN (Age ?): Wow, it's been a long time since Author's written anything. Probably a year? If you readers don't know who I am, I'm Author's greatest creation for a her novel. I also appear in "Crest of Infinity" and "Pokemon Adventures: Rainbow Version" but eh... I'm in charge of the notes and disclaimers now, so bear with me. I'm not so good at speaking...

RED (19): You'll be fine, Ixen-kun! It'll be alright if you try.

BLUE (19): Or you can let me be in charge. Ohoho~

GREEN (19): Annoying woman...

SILVER (16): Watch what you say.

PEARL (12): Is it just me or did the tension suddenly heighten in here? Oi, Dia! Get back on stage! The one-hour premiere is about to start!

IXEN (?): ...At least someone is looking forward to the story... Erm, cue "Butter-fly" or "Target ~Akai Shougeki" or any other Wada Kouji song.

~GREEN~

I looked up from my book when Grandpa mentioned my name to his colleague. The man he was talking to seemed a bit older but shorter and stouter. He had a bushy grey mustache covering a proud smile as he looked over from me to the three young kids next to him.

I eyed them carefully and figured they were the new Dex Holders for the Sinnoh region. As usual, there were two boys and a girl. Seven years younger than me, I really had no interest in them until my sister turned towards me. "Green, come here and meet your new juniors." Daisy looked at me expectantly.

I closed my eyes and closed my book. I placed it on the table next to me before standing up and gauging the trainers. In the trio, the girl stood in the middle. She stared up at me with shining eyes filled curiosity and awe. Despite that, she managed to maintain a level of dignity that matched someone of her social status. "It is an honor to meet you, Senior Green," she said with a polite bow. "My name is Platinum Berlitz."

On her left, a boy with blonde hair smirked up at me nervously. He looked towards the other boy and Platinum. He finally built up the nerve to introduce himself to me. "Right, I'm Pearl. Little Miss says you're a really strong trainer from Kanto. If it's not too much to ask, I would like to be able to train under you, Senior Green."

I stared at him for a while and realized he resembled a man Grandpa and I had met earlier. That man was supposedly a powerful trainer in Sinnoh and I found that it would be at least worthwhile to see how his son compared. "I suppose I can, but fair warning, I'm known to be tough on my disciples. There is also a matter of being a Dex Holder that will make my expectations higher, so do your best."

Pearl seemed instantly excited and looked towards the other boy. "Did you hear that, Dia? Dia!?" He stared at his friend oddly and I had to shift my gaze over to find that the boy was no longer standing behind Platinum.

The last boy had noticed the table of snacks and was helping himself to a bagel. He looked up at me with a calm expression. "Oh, sorry. I'm Dia!" He offered me a new bagel. "Would you like one, Senior Green?"

Platinum covered her mouth and was holding back a few giggles while Pearl looked away out of embarrassment. Grandpa only smiled before looking at Professor Rowan. "Let's start our discussion on the Distortion World now."

~RED~

I stared down at the snowy mountain from my peak. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in as I remembered my past training sessions here. Things were getting pretty boring. Trainers that made it to this point are pretty strong but they don't really make it to my expectations for a fun battle. Each challenge seems to wear me out and it gets harder for me to tell if my skills are still sharp. Battling just wasn't fun without the others anymore.

I smiled when I remembered that all of the Dex Holders were going to be coming together for the first time in a few years. There were three new additions to the team and I wanted to make a good impression on them. Green actually told me about the regional team and uncharacteristically told me to relax. Apparently, I was some sort of star since there appeared to be a popular anime based on my Pokémon team in Sinnoh.

Of course, that was what he said yesterday. Thinking about it now, what am I doing here on Mt. Silver when I should be at home or at the very least checking up on Green's gym and the lab? I opened my eyes and found myself in Pallet Town. I was very confused and couldn't help but feel something was wrong. Even if it wasn't bad, I knew something was off.

I stood in the empty field of grass and flowers silently but there didn't seem to be anything alarming. I jumped though when something wet and cold hit my cheek. I reached up to it and found water, making me look up at the lightly cloudy sky. It wasn't raining but I noticed more and more flakes of ice fall. My eyes widened when I realized it was snowing.

It's never snowed in Pallet Town before and I could tell this wasn't from a battle. I had to find out the cause so I started moving towards the residential areas. I froze when something orange crashed into the ground a few feet in front of me. It looked like a small meteorite but when I approached it, the rock started floating in front of me.

When I was finally within an arm's reach away, the rocks took up a strange pattern. Triangles pointed out in all eight directions of a compass around a hollow circle with a smaller circle inside. "Courage," a voice in the back of my mind said. My eyes widened as it continued. "You have been tasked to seek Courage. Do you accept?" I couldn't find my voice because I was so confused but I touched it. That seemed to be all the answer it needed because an orange light surrounded me, leaving me rather disoriented on my bed with Pika jumping on my chest in worry.

~BLUE~

"What do you mean 'it's all in my head'? Are you saying I'm going crazy?" Red's voice slightly cracked.

"No, I'm just saying the stress of being our de-facto leader is getting to you," I said as I looked out into the ocean from the Vermillion City Harbor. "I mean, it was a dream, right? Maybe you're subconsciously thinking you lack courage." I bit my tongue when I realized I could have phrased that better.

"But I'm brave!" Red shouted.

I held my Pokégear away from my ear, resulting in a worried glance over from Silver. I smiled at the redhead to reassure him that he didn't need to worry and turned my attention back to the call. "Look, Red, you're one of the bravest guys I know but courage can refer to a lot of things."

"Like what?"

I tried to come up with a good reason and a thought finally came up to get him to leave me alone for today. "How about being true to your emotions? Go check out what Yellow is up to. Did you even return her Pokédex to her?"

"Huh!?" I could feel the red-eyed boy burning up through the call. "Oh, right. I told her I was going to visit and do that today… Um, thanks, Blue."

"Don't mention it. Bye." I finally hung up and Silver chuckled. I gave him a good-natured glare. "And what about you? I'm sure there's someone you might like." I called out my Wigglytuff and carefully drifted up from the ground and over the sea.

He shrugged as held onto the feet of his Honchkrow. "As long as the one person I care about more than anyone else in the world is happy, I'll be happy, Sis." He wore a small smile as he closed his eyes peacefully.

I knew who he was referring to and he already knew that but I couldn't help but smile back. "Thanks, Si—" Something in the ocean underneath us reached up and sharply pulled on Jiggly's foot, dragging us down into the water.

"Blue!" Silver heard my sharp cry and instantly dove towards me.

I tried to keep my head above the water but something grabbed my leg, tempting me to look down. My eyes widened when I saw a pair of menacing eyes glowing red as it dragged me out into the open sea.

~SILVER~

I quickly gave chase and sent out Kingdra and Gyarados. I had to figure out a way to get her free without hurting her but there didn't seem to be any way to get close to her. Every time I did, shadowy creatures would appear around me and push me away.

"Protect our god…" Their empty eyes looked up at me as they allowed the large humanoid mollusk get away from me.

"You're not going to stop me that easily!" I cried out. I looked ahead and noticed that Kingdra and Gyarados managed to set up a Twister trap for the large creature. I released Feraligatr from his Poké Ball and rode the waves over the shadows to catch up.

As I got closer, I noticed that Blue was taking advantage of the confusion by using her Blastoise to blast a full-powered Hydro Pump at the large mollusk. It was forced to release her and I sighed in relief as Jiggly managed to get her back into the sky.

I was about to join her but the creature gave out an intense roar and rose out of the ocean. I was completely caught off guard by the sheer size of the monster. It was many times larger than Lugia and had many tentacles coming from an arm. Orange bat-like wings stuck out behind him and he swung an arm at my water Pokémon. "Return my queen to me! I intend to bring the one named Light back into my realm! All who get in my way shall perish!"

At this point, my Twister-Whirlpool attack had dissipated and the large creature tried to crush half of my team with a tidal attack. I quickly recalled them before the attack hit but nearly let go of Honchkrow in the process.

"Silver!" Blue allowed me to stand on Jiggly for a short moment. "Since it's not a Pokémon, we should try using our ultimate move on it. We'll have to attack from up here though."

I nodded and readied Feraligatr. When the two of us were prepared, we tossed our Poké Balls into the air. "Hydro Cannon!" we shouted with all our might. We were quick to recall Feraligatr and Turtley but it didn't seem like our attack had much affect on the creature.

Instead, it seemed to be preoccupied with its minions. It cast us one last look before receding into the ocean. "So the one called Light lies elsewhere…"

~GOLD~

I carefully aimed my shot and smirked when I successfully sank three balls in that single turn. It helped to have such a nice song playing in the background to drown out the thunderstorm outside. "Hey, Aitaro, turn the radio up a bit louder." I sighed as DJ Mary's voice filled the room with old man Pryce's song.

I chuckled at the memories I had of that guy before stopping to reflect on that particular adventure. In the end, I felt all of the mushy feelings inside me wanting to come out. I shook my head and decided not to think about it. Besides, I was never one to think too much on that stuff. All I wanted to do was live for the moment and be able to laugh at whatever comes my way. If I could do just that, there would be nothing to stop me and whatever goals I get.

The song finally ended and I returned to my game. I had to stop again though because one of the other DJs said something interesting. "—prize will be an all-expenses-paid trip to Sinnoh's Sandgem Town for its annual snack festival. Contest rules are simple. There will be three passwords hints given out during the next few hours. First to call in with the three correct passwords wins the contest! Here's the first hint: Pink. Corrosive saliva. Evolves when—" The radio suddenly screeched and I had to slam my billiard cue against it to silence it.

"Hey! Who's messing with the radio antenna again?" I pulled back the curtains and saw the thunderstorm that was still going on outside. My spirits sank a little until I remembered I could just call Super Serious Gal. She'd know the answer with just those two hints.

I went over to my Pokégear and picked it up from its charging station. A searing jolt ran through my arm and I immediately let go. A flash of bright light appeared before my eyes so I had to close them. When I opened my eyes, I was in a cave, surrounded by three egg-shaped things. Well, at least one was egg-shaped, but it had a weird horn sticking out from it.

I was curious so reached my hand out to touch it. It immediately turned into a walking blue lizard with the egg's fiery design covering its hands, feet, and face. I backed into the peanut-shaped one with a lightning bolt horn and that turned into a four-legged blue dog-lizard with black armor and a longer horn. They looked at me expectantly and turned to the gold box floating in front of us. "Do you have the ability to Hatch this Miracle?" I returned to my room but looking down at my hands, I noticed I was holding the golden egg.

~CRYSTAL~

"Are you calling me a liar?" Gold waved his cue stick around like a madman. "How do you explain that thing sitting there on the table?" He pointed at the odd cube he had brought with him. "I'm not crazy!" he exclaimed.

"Gold, can you sit still?" I looked at his right arm and noticed it was completely fine despite him telling me he had been shocked. "It's not that I don't believe you. I just find it impossible for a person to receive a jolt like that and be completely okay. Besides, how did the 'egg' appear in your hands? Your story is physically impossible." I paused though because there was probably nothing impossible for a Dex Holder. I studied the golden box-like design. On top, there was an odd pattern etched into it but there were no records of it in any of the research Professor Oak kept in the lab.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "It just appeared." He frowned as he picked up his fried Pokégear. "I just bought this model last month." He stopped whining when he noticed Blue and Silver sitting at a computer. "So what are those two doing here?"

"They encountered something strange on their way to One Island. A creature suddenly appeared and tried to abduct Blue. They fought with it but somehow it disappeared without a trace. Given the footage Blue managed to get with her Silph Scope, I'm surprised something so large can hide itself so well." I showed Gold the fight on the computer I was currently using.

I had hoped he would give some sort of helpful input but as usual, I was disappointed when the idiot began laughing. "You totally got it handed to you, Silver! Three Pokémon were nearly knocked out with one swing! If I were there, I would have just used Super Rising Thunder and defeated it then and there!"

Being more mature, Silver ignored him and went over the footage again and again. "Hey, Sis, it said it was looking for its 'queen' and I guess her name is 'Light'. Should we start with that?"

"I guess, but that's not much to go on." Blue sat at the computer next to him and turned it on so she could run her own concurrent search.

"Hey! Don't just ignore me like that! Silver!" Gold used his billiard cue to poke Silver but I was walking by with a large stack of papers. I cast him a death glare as he nervously laughed at the mess he made.

~SAPPHIRE~

I opened my eyes and found myself in the middle of Mirage Island. The peaceful atmosphere made me a bit drowsy but I smiled. I wanted to relive those moments I had with Ruby, back when we were training. I wanted to be able to confess to him without making such a fool of myself as we were leaving the island. More than that, I wished that I would have realized he was the same boy from back then so that I would have understood him better.

But still, even if I didn't have those wishes, I'm glad things are how they are now. My best friend, although still a bit of a jerk, is one I know I can count on when anything bad happens. So why was it that I felt hopeless and helpless as this darkness was sinking into this spring and around me?

I could feel my breath grow shallower and I was beginning to panic. I wasn't used to being this closed in and I ended up shrinking back, screaming. Right when I was about to be swallowed up by the shadows though, a pink light erupted from around me.

I was saved as a great angel stood before me. She had long blonde hair and wore a metal helmet which completely covered her eyes. She had eight angel wings and glowed in the same pink light which protected me. She smiled at me kindly and I was kind of stunned. "Are you okay?" she asked me.

I nodded my head. "Who…? What…?" So many questions came into my head but I couldn't ask them. One stood out above the rest though and I could feel myself tear up. I wiped them up and tried to fake annoyance to hide the hurt. "Why wasn't Ruby the one to protect me?"

The angel frowned and turned her head towards the spring. I saw Ruby standing there with his back towards me, his graceful Kirlia and Milotic out, ready to fight. Beyond him, I could see many empty eyes stare at him with a pair of glowing red ones menacingly staring at me. "That boy is a warrior rather than a guardian, but he will always fight to protect the people he cares about. I hope you will do the same to protect the Light of both of our worlds."

I nodded and smiled with fierce determination. "Of course! I can't fall behind to a person like Ruby after all."

The angel faded away and left me to fare in the darkness. I became a bit overwhelmed and flinched but quickly opened my eyes when I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. "Sapphire! Are you okay?" Ruby's eyes glowed with worry as his grip tightened.

~RUBY~

"It's kind of hard trying to explain it to a person who doesn't watch television," I said. "You were kind of turning into static in your sleep. It was like you were fading in and out."

"What kind of explanation is that?" Saphhire angrily asked.

"Give me a break. I was worried you were going to vanish right in front of me. That's what it looked like anyways," I replied back.

She softened at that. "You were worried? About me?"

I blinked at her and turned around. "Of course I was!" I stared at the moonlit sea and looked down on the Wailord we were riding. "If you aren't here, how am I supposed to get to Kanto and back to Hoenn?"

"Oh…" Her sudden change in mood caused me to flinch since it sounded as if I hurt her. I turned my head to look at her but she had curled into a ball to try to get some sleep.

"Hey, Sapph? I'm sorry." She didn't respond and I scowled at myself.

We were silent for a long time and when I finally went to check on her, she had fallen asleep again. It would have been odd for me to sleep right next to her so I looked through my Pokémon and decided to have Ruru watch over her. My Kirlia sensed my emotions and gave me a comforting hug.

"Thanks, Ruru," I said in a quiet voice. "Please watch over Sapphire, okay? If she starts to fade away again, get me immediately." I stood up and walked down Wailord's back to give her some space.

I laid back and looked up at the stars. Being a city boy, it still surprised me how much I could see in the sky out here in nature. It was always refreshing so I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. When I opened them again, I found myself in a field of flowers with a pixie with leafy wings. She wore a pink flower petal skirt as well as headdress. Draped around her hands were delicate sunflowers and although I found her very beautiful, I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty when she frowned at me. "What's the point of achieving beauty when you don't have a Pure heart?"

I looked away as I sat up. "There is no point," I replied as I clenched my fists. "But, it's hard to face everything truthfully when every little thing I do can taint her crystal clear heart. I have to protect her purity, no matter what."

~YELLOW~

I peacefully slept next to the river and was forced to wake up when my Pokégear began ringing. I slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes before reaching for the phone. I checked the caller-ID and smiled when I realized it was Blue. "Hello? What's going on, Blue?"

"Yellow, you do remember everybody is coming together, right?"

I jumped up to my feet. "Ah! I nearly forgot. What time will everybody be in Pallet Town? Is it today? Right now? I'll be there in a moment!"

I heard the older girl laugh a bit. "Relax, Yellow. Professor Oak won't be back until tomorrow morning with Green and the Sinnoh team. Ruby and Sapphire will be here soon though. I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't oversleep tomorrow."

I nervously chuckled. "Thanks, Blue." I looked over at my fishing rod and noticed that it caught something. "Um, I'll talk to you later. I've got a catch right now."

"Okay then. Remember, don't be late!" She hung up and I tossed the Pokégear into my bag so I could grab onto my fishing pole.

I pulled on the rod as hard as I could but the Pokémon was a lot stronger and heavier than I thought. I struggled to keep my ground so I reached for Golosk. Despite the added weight and strength, we were unable to pull the catch up. Instead, I felt a sharp tug that caused my Golem to let go, sending me over the water.

I yelped as I crashed into the river. I quickly reached for Omask so we could battle underwater but our opponent surprised me. I was forced to let go of my fishing pole and quickly swam up to the surface. I got back onto shore and Golosk seemed already prepared for a battle.

"Hold on! Don't attack just yet!" I turned my head back to the river and the large turtle rose to the surface. It had two heads and a large tree on its back. Given its size, I was surprised it could even fit into the river but then again, I thought I saw a glowing white portal underneath it while in the water. I noticed it had a bad injury so went up to start healing it. "Please hold still."

It looked at me gently and returned my fishing pole. "So you are the child who possesses the ability to heal." I looked up and nodded with a smile.

~EMERALD~

"Hey! I'm back from my job. Crys? Are you here?" I entered Professor Oak's main lab and noticed that it was a mess. I was about to freak out thinking Crystal was attacked or something but I heard some shuffling near the back of the lab. "Alright, who messed up the lab? Eh? Gold?"

The boy was picking up the papers off the ground and looked up to me with a smile. "Hey, Rald. How have you been?"

"Gold! You're not even halfway done with cleaning up your mess." Crystal came out from the other room with a broom. She smiled when she saw me. "Hey, Emerald. Sorry I didn't come out to greet you. I was fixing the stove." Her eyes narrowed into a glare that was directed at Gold.

"Calm down, Super Serious Gal!" Gold went back to work. "I swear it was an accident! Look on the bright side! At least I didn't burn down the lab."

I took a step away from my senior to avoid trouble but felt bad for him. "Anyways, can I help? I finished reorganizing Pokémon at the Johto lab like you asked."

Crystal was still staring at Gold but she sighed when she figured he wasn't going to be able to clean the entire lab by himself. "I guess. There's more Pokémon in the back. Just reorganize them by Dex number and make sure Gold doesn't go into that room."

I smirked and happily went to work. "Sure thing!"

"Yes, yes," Gold sulked. "Abandon your senior in his time of need…"

I had been working for about ten minutes when I heard the door open. I peeked outside and noticed it was Silver and Blue. Crystal came out of the kitchen to check on them too and went on to speak with them. The two didn't close the door and Silver simply stared outside. "So does anyone know why the two Eon Pokémon waiting outside?"

I jumped up at that. "Latias and Latios!?"

Gold looked up from his job hopefully. "Hey, hey! I want to see!"

"Gold, get back to work!"

I rushed past everybody and managed to get outside. "Rald! It's great to see you. We have something to tell you before we leave to that other world."

~PLATINUM~

Dia patiently stood by my side as Captain Eldritch gave us a tour of the ship's bridge. There were many interesting instruments that I was curious about so it was very interesting. "It's not a big ship, but I'm proud of this vessel," he said. "After all, we've braved through lots of adventures together."

I nodded and noticed Dia was trying his best to pay attention. He seemed bored but said nothing as he loyally kept an eye on me. I looked towards the Captain and bowed my head. "Thank you for teaching me about the ship's workings. Please continue to bring us to Kanto safely, Captain."

"Of course," Eldritch said with a slight blush. "It's not every day I can be the Captain in charge of a ship with four Dex Holders and two renowned professors. You're welcome anywhere on the ship," he turned his head to look at Dia, "but just make sure he stays out of the kitchen."

I looked between the man and my friend blankly. "Of course?" I walked towards the calm boy and smiled. "I have finished speaking with Captain Eldritch. Now what is it that you would like to do, Diamond?"

He thought about it slowly and turned his eyes toward the window. We could see Pearl still training with Green. The two have spent the entire afternoon doing so but it didn't seem like they would finish anytime soon. Dia smiled at them. "Let's walk around the deck, Lady. The weather seems nice right now."

I nodded my head and he led the way. We didn't walk very far before we stopped on the side of the boat to watch the sunset. He kept his calm blue eyes on the ocean and wore his usual lazy but easy-going smile. I turned my head from him and stared at the beautiful light reflecting off the ocean.

We were silent for a long time before I spoke up. "Thank you, Diamond, for convincing Captain Eldritch to show me the ship's bridge."

His smile grew as a blush appeared on his face. "It was nothing, Lady."

"But you didn't seem to be as interested as me. You appeared bored."

He shook his head. "Seeing you enjoying yourself is good enough for me." He turned back to the ocean and blinked when something caught his attention. I looked down too and noticed a pair of red eyes glaring up at me. At first I thought it was Giratina but then I saw that it was surrounded by misty figures.

~PEARL~

Right as the sun was about to set, Green and I finally stopped with our training. I was completely out of breath but did my best to keep up with my senior. He was pretty impressed with my basic abilities as a trainer and took a sip of water before speaking. "You will make a good addition to the Dex Holders' so-called 'fire brigade'. In fact, considering you can recognize a Pokémon's move in an instant, you have proven yourself capable enough to be the driving force the brigade needs when it comes to directing our attacks."

Green seemed to be half talking to himself but I guess what he said was a compliment. "Thanks, Senior Green. But what is the 'fire brigade' of the Dex Holders?" I looked towards Chimlord and Charizard who were resting.

"You'll see when you meet Gold and Sapphire." He sat on a lounge chair and picked up a file he had placed there hours before. "As for now, I've heard a lot from Professor Rowan about you three and the Distortion World. Just what do you know about it?"

I looked at him in surprise. "The Distortion World?" I thought about it carefully and quickly answered. "It's a world where the laws of gravity are constantly changing. When you first enter, there's no guarantee of where you will end up and it's ruled by the Pokémon Giratina." I tried to come up with something more to say but realized I didn't know much about it at all. "I'm sorry, Senior Green. That's all I can tell you." I straightened up when I thought of my friends though. "But you can ask Dia and Little Miss about it! Little Miss did a lot of research on the world so should know enough. As for Dia," I paused when I remembered a painful memory, "he told me that Cyrus said that his three experiences with the Distortion World connected him to it."

Green looked at me oddly. "Dia is connected to the Distortion World?"

I nodded my head. "When we were fighting Giratina, he took a Shadow Force attack for me. I thought he had died, but he ended up in the Distortion World due to that connection." I didn't tell many people about Dia's sacrifice and I realized something. "Senior Green? Can you not mention any of what happened to Dia to Little Miss? I know it might be a little wrong to keep this from her, but Dia and I swore to protect her in any way we can. If she knew…"

He thought it over. "Very well then." He paused when he sensed something. He only gave his Charizard a glance before it took off towards the other side of the ship. It was only seconds later I heard Dia's panicked shout.

~DIAMOND~

"Will Sir Dia be okay?" I was able to hear Sebastian as I lightly slept.

"Of course he will!" Pearl said a bit too loudly. He caught himself and nervously laughed in a quieter voice. "Sorry, but there's no need to worry; he's just relieved. Like his name, he's tough." I heard some shuffling and movement. "Hey, Little Miss, let's give him a chance to rest.

"Yes, that would be for the best."

"It looks like my research questions for Dia will have to wait…"

"What do you mean, Senior Green?"

"It's… nothing, Platinum. But maybe you can help me. Let's leave him for now. I want to know more about the Distortion World and what happened just now." I heard the door close behind him and felt myself totally sink into the darkness of sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself still surrounded by shadows. I stood in the Distortion World but it felt different from the last time I was there. The world usually gave off no feeling but right now it was colder and darker, like all of the light in the world was sucked away.

Above my head, there was a dark ocean. I could see a beach nearby and I noticed a boy with messy blonde hair lying in the sand. He wore a green shirt with long yellow sleeves, a pair of light green shorts, and dark green boots and I noticed a piece of white cloth clenched in his fist. He was unconscious and I did my best to get as close to him as I could. I tried to jump down onto the beach but the gravity didn't allow me to so I stood above him.

He finally stirred and slowly got up to his feet. He looked at his surroundings and spotted the ocean. The boy's first reaction was to back away from the water before he checked his surroundings. "So I'm back in the Dark World…" He sighed in relief. "At least it's just me and not anyone else. But still…" He shivered slightly even though there was no breeze. "I guess I don't think I'll ever get used to this feeling of darkness."

"Ah, so that is what I feel," I said aloud causing the boy to look up at me as I stared out into the water. "The Emotions I have in the Distortion World compared to what I sense in this world," I spoke slowly as I tried to piece together my other emotions, "this uneasiness inside us is scary yet comforting."

INTERMISSION

IXEN (?): So that happened. I can't believe Author imagined this as an anime...

GOLD (16): Hey! We should totally get an anime.

DIA (12): A mecha anime!

SAPPHIRE (14): What's a mecha anime?

RUBY (15): Er, it's hard to explain since you don't watch TV...

YELLOW (17): Eh? I want to know what a mecha anime is.

CRYSTAL (16): A mecha is a genre of anime with robots or machines. There is usually a lot of fighting between good and evil, like our adventures, just set in a more futuristic world.

PLATINUM (12): That seems like an interesting idea for us to be in.

EMERALD (14): No, it doesn't! It's ridiculous! Just get on with it already, Ixen!

IXEN (?): Yeah, okay... On to the next half of the premiere where things hopefully stay more on topic.