overture. It should be no secret by now that I am a huge fan of Pokémon, and that Green/Blue is my OTP for that particular fandom ; whilst, by embarking upon this journey of epic proportions, I realise that I really shouldn't be allowing my attention to be diverted away from my other ongoing, multichaptered fics, I just can't help but dish out the OldRival love. Over the course of the next few months, I will be attempting to conduct two simultaneous 100 Theme Challenges, and writing two sets of oneshot collections, comprising of – hopefully – a hundred stories apiece, with my word prompts taken from 100_prompts on LiveJournal. That said, I wish you happy reading!
prologue.
prompt - - - 001. numb
genre - - - angst, hurt/comfort
rating - - - T
synopsis - - - It hurt, more than anything, to think that everything in her life could be snatched away that easily, in one fell swoop. "Tell me," she murmured, "are you even real?"
disclaimers - - - I do not in any way, shape or form own Pokémon or the characters portrayed in this work of fiction. I acknowledge that some, if not most, of the events depicted here did not happen in canon, and even if they did, were altered slightly.
- - x x x x x - -
There were no words to describe this feeling. Of finally having the chance to come face-to-face with the very parents she had resigned herself to never knowing, and being able to enjoy the simple pleasures of knowing their names and faces, and knowing that, above all, they still loved the daughter they had never truly known. She had been looking forwards to this day for longer than she could even remember; it was the first dream she had vaguely allowed herself to acknowledge, the moment she escaped from the stronghold of the Masked Man, and had caught her first glimpse of liberty.
And now, it was happening. As she waited outside the ship, shielding her face from the sun and absently humming a tune under her breath, Blue could scarcely believe it. Today was the day she would meet her parents. She gazed upwards, twirling the handle of her umbrella as she took in the expanse of azure sky above her head, unable to keep herself from smiling; patting her Blastoise's sun-warmed shell, she gazed longingly towards the moored ship. "Oh, Turtley," she whispered under her breath, "this is going to be one of the best days of my life, isn't it?"
Her train of thought was interrupted, however, by a sudden voice cutting through her ruminations. Watching as a portly sailor ambled to a stop in front of her, she mirrored his quizzical smile, a question in her eyes.
"Why are you so early?" he inquired good-naturedly, scratching his chin as he spoke. "It's not time yet, lassie. The ship won't set off 'till much later."
Despite the fact that he was a total stranger, she felt oddly compelled to impart upon him the reason behind her giddy excitement. "I'm meeting my parents today," she responded earnestly, beaming at the man, "after being separated from them for a long time."
"Ah, I see!" A broad grin spread across his face, as he nodded with understanding. "You must be looking forwards to it."
Blue nodded, unable to hide her elation. More than you'll ever know.
"Well, okay. If that's the case…I'll make an exception. You can board the ship now! Hopefully you won't feel as bored if you're already waiting on board."
"Really? Oh, you're so kind!"
"Of course. Anything to make that special moment come a little sooner."
- - x x x x x - -
Whilst the sailor's gesture was undoubtedly kind, there was not much for her to do other than continue waiting. However, whilst under normal circumstances, she would have tired quickly of the lack of entertainment offered by a refuelling ship, happier thoughts kept her distracted and preoccupied; so much so, that she didn't quite note the ship slowly filling up with passengers. Surrounded by her Pokémon, she instead diverted her attention towards the people embarking the ship, and at the expanse of cerulean water upon which the vessel was bobbing. Through the crowd, Blue was reasonably certain she spotted a familiar cap-wearing boy, as well as a shock of spiky auburn hair, though from this distance, she could not be sure; searching the sea of faces, though, affirmed their identities, and she caught sight of Red's quintessential sheepish smile as he was ushered up the ramp and onto the upper deck, and Green wearing a faintly bemused half-scowl as he followed, presumably lamenting his uncharacteristic lack of punctuality.
As Blue made her way to the upper deck, she was taken by surprise by a sudden whirl of movement at the corner of her eye, and by Ditty's increasingly agitated movements. Before she could react, she felt herself being forced to the side, accompanied by the confused cries of her Pokémon as they cast around wildly for their unknown enemy. The fact that her opponent was invisible reminded her of her faithful Silph Scope, which she hastily donned, only to be greeted by the sight of the oddest-looking creature she had ever seen. Even as its unfamiliar form wavered before her eyes, a command rose to her lips, only to die as she attempted to voice it. The beginnings of fear thronged through her system as she felt herself being hoisted bodily upwards and her airways constricted: what on earth was happening?
She struggled against its grasp, gasping for breath; as she felt herself being lifted above the guardrail, she could just about make out the ship nearing its first port. Looks like the ship has arrived on the island. A soft, strangled wheeze escaped from her lungs, as her fingernails scraped against whatever it was around her throat, stars beginning to swim before her eyes. This is bad. How could we have arrived this fast? Despite the oxygen deprivation, her mind was as lucid as ever, and a single thought rose above the others. I've got to stop this thing from disembarking. I have to let somebody know...
Her prevailing instincts faded away to nothing, as soon as she glimpsed them waiting at the port. Eyes fixed upon the approaching Sea Gallop, and with matching expressions of intermingled nervousness, uncertainty, eagerness and anticipation on their faces, were…her parents. It seemed as though they had dressed their best to greet her, a notion which brought tears to her eyes. So that was her father, clutching the photograph she had sent him, peering first at the picture, before transferring his hopeful gaze back to the ship, clad in a business suit and attempting to polish his glasses with his free hand. To his left was her mother, with the same sleek chestnut hair, stifling a gasp as Blue's head momentarily bobbed above the guardrail.
She could only watch as her father squinted first at the picture, and back at her, before breaking into a wide, relieved smile, ushering his wife up the ramp as soon as it touched the ground. They're coming over!
Ordinarily, she would have already been halfway down the ramp and rushing to meet them, but the fact that they would be risking themselves by coming so close to this unknown creature…
No! Don't come any closer! She tried to warn them away, stretching out a desperate arm and gesticulating wildly. The darkness! Please—
- - x x x x x - -
On the upper deck, Red stopped short, frowning slightly as he took a double-take at what he had thought was a figment of his imagination. "Hey, Green." He reached forwards to grab the other trainer's shoulder.
"Hmm?" Allowing himself to be dragged towards the guardrail by the other boy, Green peered over to the lower deck. "Huh? Isn't that Blue?"
"Yeah—" They watched as she gestured wildly with one arm, the fingers of her other hand scrabbling desperately against the empty air by her neck. "She's acting sort of weird…"
Without thinking, Green vaulted over the barricade, barely even pausing to say anything further. "C'mon!"
- - x x x x x - -
Don't come any closer! Can't you see—please—! Unheeding of her wordless warning, her parents rushed forwards, ready to pull her into an embrace; she reached out blindly towards them, voice rising to fever pitch in her head. Mummy! Daddy! Don't—
Her fingers only touched empty air; eyes snapping open, she could only watch helplessly as they sank soundlessly into the puddle of nothingness, vanishing into thin air. Where her parents had stood, just seconds before, was only empty space, with nothing remaining to testify that any of this had happened. Before her eyes, the voidlike abyss dwindled, disappearing just as her invisible bonds loosened. She collapsed numbly to her knees, left staring at the innocuous patch of deck which had, just moments ago, been occupied by an empty chasm. "W-why?"
The sound of thundering footfalls failed to snap her out of her listless fugue, as she lifted her head to gaze unseeingly at the approaching figures. Two males. Both familiar. Two pairs of eyes, red and green, filled with concern. "Why?" she repeated hollowly, causing the two boys to stop short. Her fingers curled into fists, as she felt her shoulder beginning to shake. "Why?"
- - x x x x x - -
As soon as he drew up close to her, he immediately took stock of the situation; an unknown assailant, people vanishing into thin air. Unnatural forces were at work, and he had no idea what they were up against. "Red," he began, dropping to one knee to seize Blue's shoulders, "sweep the area. The enemy. It's still around. Can't have gotten far." The words were exhaled jerkily, one by one, from between gritted teeth, in a tone that booked no argument. "Go. Now."
Wordlessly, his friend nodded, expression unusually grim. "C'mon, Poli."
Green waited until his footsteps had faded away, before turning back towards Blue; just as he stared at her, he realised, far too late, that it ought to have been him sweeping the area, and not Red. What did he possibly know about comforting crying girls? This was the worst possible error in judgement he could have made in these circumstances. Biting his lip, he knelt beside her, awkwardly patting her shoulder and casting around hopelessly for what to say.
"Blue, I—" No sooner had he spoken, when, with a surprising surge of strength, she pushed him off-balance, and onto his behind. A faint cough of protest escaped his lungs, only to die away as she grabbed hold of the front of his shirt, burying her face in the dark fabric. "Err…"
"Why?" Blue whispered, voice muffled and choked by tears. "Why did this have to happen? Why today, of all days? Why? Why? Why?" Her voice rose to a desperate, heartbroken cry at the final word; above all, he hated himself for being so powerless and unable to do anything in the face of her grief. She punctuated each word by beating at him with clenched, white-knuckled fists, but he knew better than to react; each time he felt the breath being knocked out of him, he braced himself patiently, allowing himself to be pummelled until her sudden spurt of energy waned. Almost uncertainly, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, only to have her transfer her grip to his arms.
He winced at the sensation of her nails digging into his skin, leaving red, crescent-shaped weals as he attempted to gently but firmly detangle himself. "Blue," he attempted again, and subtly endeavoured to manoeuvre her into a position which placed less strain on his back; her chin slipped onto his shoulder, and he gave up after that, barely even moving as she hugged him close, near-throttling him. "I'm sorry."
She didn't reply, merely hiccoughing tearfully into the collar of his shirt. "T-today," she began, only to be overcome by a fresh wave of tears; in response, Green could only tighten his embrace, as though hoping to keep her together, to keep her from falling apart and shaking herself to pieces. "T-today, I was finally going to meet my pa-par-r-r-rents."
That explained everything; it made his heart ache for her, not only due to the horrors she must have seen, but also because he knew that had it been himself in her place, he would have felt the same way. "I'm sorry," he repeated quietly, as he began to trace circle upon circle on her back. "For everything."
- - x x x x x - -
All that mattered was the here and now. Under normal circumstances, she would have been mortified at herself, for bawling at Green in such a manner; however, it felt as though she had been drained from the inside out, and, if anything, she felt nothing but exhaustion, and a heart-wrenching sense of loss.
It hurt, more than anything, to think that anything and everything in her life could be snatched away so easily, in one fell swoop. Nothing felt real any more, and even though she could feel his warmth and his comforting solidarity, she was unable to keep herself from wondering, in some distant, detached part of her mind, if he was real. Was he actually here? Or every bit as real as that void, which had appeared and disappeared so suddenly that it seemed to have been a figment of her imagination?
More to reassure herself than anything, she latched on to him as tightly as she could, ignoring his sharp gasp as her nails dug into his back. "Tell me" she murmured hoarsely, shuddering as she spoke, "are you even real?"
She felt his movements stilling beneath her, as he seemed to consider her question. "Of course I am." His tone was familiarly, refreshingly baffled, as though he did not quite know what would happen if he answered her. "I'm as real as you are, and…" He faltered, seemingly unsure as to how to proceed. "I'll be here as long as you need me."
Blue smiled weakly into his shoulder. "That's all I needed to hear."
- - x x x x x - -
epilogue. I know, slightly irrelevant to my prompt, extreme mood whiplash, and I really need to get some sleep, seeing as how it's 2.02AM as of writing this. Yes, I took a lot of liberties with what was in the manga, but, well, creative license, people! Anyways, the…other 99 should be less, err, angsty, and more true to OldRival form. Once again, thanks for reading, and to those who review, thank you for your time! (: