The following story is a collaboration between Emawa and ffgtfgtr. For more information on the separate authors, please visit their profile pages.
Enjoy the story.
"Will, hurry up! I see a shadow in the other room!" Lexi hissed from below.
"I am hurrying!" Will insisted, pushing his brown hair out of his eyes as he frantically dug through his backpack. He could hear Lexi's sigh of annoyance and the impatient tap of her foot; she hated waiting. He, on the other hand, loved keeping her waiting.
Lexi was currently standing just below Will's bedroom window, holding one end of a thick rope. The other end was duck-taped to Will's windowsill.
At last he found what he was looking for. From his backpack Will pulled out an old, black binder and gave a sigh of relief.
"Will…" Lexi said in a low, dark voice.
"I'm coming! Just chill out!" Will took a moment to shove his backpack – along with several pieces of sports equipment he picked up from the floor – under the covers of his bed and then stepped back to admire his work. In the dim lighting, it looked as though there was a real person asleep in his bed – exactly the effect he was hoping for.
Satisfied, Will moved over to his window and said to Lexi, "Here I come!"
With the binder he'd pulled from his backpack, Will slid down the rope as though it were a zip line. He touched down softly on the ground, right next to where Lexi stood, and then yanked hard on the rope, pulling it free.
Will left the rope and the binder hidden safely in his front yard and then said in a whisper to Lexi, "Let's go!"
"About time," she muttered, but her tone was light and she was smiling, so Will simply flashed her a grin and gave her a quick high-five and then the two hurried off into the night together.
Not that that was anything unusual. Nearly every night led to Lexi and Will sneaking out together, going to parties or sports games or whatever piqued their interest. Lately, Lexi had become fond of a dueling piano bar, whereas Will knew a place that his favorite band, ABSOLute disaster, played every Wednesday. It all depended on their mood.
Needless to say, their parents despised it all. Their habit hadn't exactly gone unnoticed, and it brought on constant scolding. It didn't matter how many times Lexi and Will swore that they had never drunk or smoked or done drugs – what they were doing was strictly forbidden. Not that it stopped Will or Lexi – nothing ever did.
"You brought the tickets, right?" Will asked Lexi as they walked, heading down the sidewalk almost mindlessly. Around them, late night winds were blowing strong, carrying the heavy scent of rain.
Lexi snorted. "Of course, Will. I'm not stupid!"
"Just checking," Will replied, his trademark grin plastered across his face. Lexi rolled her and hurried her pace, taking the lead as the two turned a corner.
It was Will's turn to roll his eyes. Lexi was always so anxious when they were out on the streets – walking fast and making no conversation. Of course, Will was used to it, but he still found it a bit exasperating – and maybe just the tiniest bit amusing – that Lexi could be so tense on the streets at night and yet so at ease whenever they reached their destination.
Will had to hurry to keep up with her, following Lexi as she cut through a narrow alleyway and then through a smoky, gloomily-lit bar. That was another thing – regardless of where they were going, Lexi always led the way. Not that he was complaining – Will had terrible night vision, and an even worse sense of direction.
Besides, Lexi knew her shortcuts. She seemed to constantly find new ones, and always got the two where they wanted to go fast.
Tonight was no exception. It took only ten minutes for Lexi and Will to work their way from Will's house, located at the far north of the city, to the outskirts of Eterna Forest, their first stop of the night and Will's least favorite.
He hated Eterna Forest at nighttime. Something about the chilly air and tall shadows all around it just edged on his nerves. During day it was beautiful – green and lush and full of life, but at night when it became still and eerily quiet Will couldn't stand going near it. If the city could stay so alight and active when the sun went down, why couldn't the forest?
Lexi, however, harbored no fear and moved towards the trees, whistling. Will waited a few paces back, tilting his head back to look at the darkening clouds above instead of at Eterna Forest.
Only a minute after Lexi started whistling there came a rustling from some bushes and then a moment later a Luxio came springing out of the forest, grinning widely.
The pokemon leapt right at Lexi, knocking her down and then proceeding to lick her face like a pet did. Lexi laughed and squirmed underneath him.
"S-Sparky!" she managed to choke out, breathless from laughing. "S-stop it!"
The Luxio – Sparky – relented, stepping off Lexi and allowing her to push herself back to her feet. Done with greeting her, Sparky ambled over to Will, who got down on one knee to pet him gently on the head.
Both Lexi and Will loved pokemon, and had since they were little. Neither of the two had ever owned one, but they were all around the sprawling suburbia of Eterna City and the youths had grown up all around them. Since a young age, Will and Lexi had wanted to go out on their own as pokemon trainers, but their parents had crushed that dream by refusing to sign the papers needed for a training license.
So, instead, they each owned a complete team of six stuffed pokemon dolls, outlining their dream team, and constantly watched pokemon battles and contests on TV.
However, as they'd grown, their eagerness to challenge the Pokemon League had decreased. Instead they'd found different goals and dreams – Lexi wanted to be a psychiatrist, and Will planned on pursuing profession photography. Regardless, though, the two had retained their love for pokemon.
Which was why, on one of their nightly outings, when they'd found Sparky the Luxio lying half-dead in the street after being run over by a careless drive, they had rushed him to a Poke-Center and saved his life.
Sparky had been in the critical unit of the Poke-Center for a long time after that; each night, Will and Lexi would visit and spend some time with him. It was during that time that Will and Lexi, with some help from Nurse Joy, had nicknamed him, fondly though with no creativity, and also over that time that a bond had developed between Sparky and the two teens.
After Sparky had recovered, Nurse Joy had wanted either Will or Lexi to keep him as a pet. That hadn't happened, mostly due to the fact that Will's parents had flipped when he'd tried, so instead they came up with a mostly simple arrangement: Sparky would spend the day living in Eterna Forest and, at night, when Lexi and Will snuck out, he'd hang out with them. Every night, Lexi and Will's first stop was to pick up Sparky at the edge of Eterna Forest.
So, while the Luxio wasn't legally their pokemon, he was a much treasured companion.
"Let's get moving," Lexi said, walking over to where Will was scratching Sparky behind an ear. "I don't want to miss the opening number!"
"Right," Will said, nodding and standing up. "Lead the way."
The two adolescent 'rebels' had big plans for the night. Lexi's favorite band, named Ether, was in concert, and after standing in line for a grueling two hours, the two had gotten prime-seating tickets, right up front.
And, even better, the event was pokemon-friendly, meaning Sparky would be right there with them.
They set off, away from the forest and back into the city. Like always, Lexi led, with Will right behind; Sparky, who'd been left with a bad leg as a result of the car accident, was being carried by Lexi, who rubbed absentmindedly under his chin as they walked.
Lexi cut through a narrow alleyway for a shortcut; it came out right in front of a small café. Despite how late it was, the lights were on inside and the windows open; the strong scent of coffee wafted from the windows and hit Will full in the face.
At once Will felt hypnotized; he stopped walking to breath in the smell of coffee and felt his spine shiver from pure bliss. "Lexi!" he called out.
Lexi, in hurry as always, had already walked past the café. She turned around and asked, "What is it?"
"Why don't we stop for some coffee or something?" It had just hit Will how hungry he was; the lasagna he'd had for dinner seemed ages ago. And then there was the fact that coffee happened to be his favorite beverage; something about the smell of it, freshly brewed in the middle of the night, was alluring to Will.
But it must not have affected Lexi, because she glared at him and stomped her foot. From her arms, Sparky mimicked her cold look. "You're kidding, right? We'll be late if we stop!"
"Come on, Lexi!" Will said, placing a hand on his stomach. He moaned out pitifully, "I'm hungry!"
As if on cue, his stomach let out a noisy growl; Will gave a sheepish grin at the same time Lexi's look turned murderous.
"Really, Will?" she sighed out in exasperation. "You know Ether is my favorite band! I don't want to miss this!"
"You wouldn't miss anything! It would just take a second!" Will told her. He noticed Lexi's steely, unrelenting look and sighed. "How about this – I'll get a cup of coffee or something and catch up with you?"
He had finally broken through her resolve; Lexi's expression turned doubtful. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," she said.
In all the times they'd snuck out together they had never spilt up. There was safety in numbers – not that they were scared of anything. It was just better to be safe than sorry – beside, everything was more fun when you had someone with you.
And there was something about the café – one that Lexi, in all her years in Eterna City, had never seen before – that she just didn't like.
But the concert hall was just down the street and Will was hungry. He wasn't about to let this one go."
"It'll be fine," he said, giving her a little smile. "I'll get a cup of coffee and a donut or something to go and then meet up with you. Sound good?"
"Well…I guess," she said, though the uncertainty was all too clear in her voice. She fished through her pocket for a moment before pulling out their concert tickets. "Here. Take yours – I'm going to head straight in."
Will did so, tucking it safely inside his pocket. "See you in a few minutes," he said, before turning and heading into the café.
The little bell at the top of the door rang as he entered, glancing around. The place looked as though it had just been cleaned – the tile floor was practically sparkling and he could see his reflection clear in each little circular table. There was only one other person inside – a worker, standing behind the counter. He was watching a small TV on top of the counter and hadn't even looked up at Will's entrance.
Other than the news bulletin playing on the TV screen, everything was silent.
Will hesitated a moment before approaching the counter. The volume of the TV was low, and he didn't hear what they were saying until he was in front of it.
"This just in," reported the news anchor, a young women in her late twenties with ginger hair tied back in a tight bun. "A local teen, Leonard Cooper, has been reported missing. He was last seen two days ago, at Legacy Cards and Comics, talking to a brunette man suspected to be in his early thirties. Witnesses say that, after being harassed by the brunette man, they left the shop together and haven't been seen since. After reviewing the security cameras, we have a clear shot of both Leonard and the man-"
As she spoke, the picture appeared behind her – like she had the, the man was brunette, and his long hair fell in front of his face, blocking his eyes from sight. He was also very tall and smirking; to Will, he did indeed look the type to harass a boy in a comic shop.
Next to him was a picture of Leonard Cooper and Will nearly snorted. He certainly looked his role too, with short, messy auburn hair and an acne-scarred face.
"If you have any information on Leonard or this man's whereabouts, please call the number below," said the anchor, as the number flashed below the two boy's pictures.
She paused a moment, catching her breath, and then began talking again. "In other news, the detectives on the case of Henry Ado's murder now believe it as a pokemon behind the attack. Experts say-"
"A pokemon?" Will said, frowning as the anchor continued to talk. "That's ridiculous! Pokemon don't kill people!"
"Normal pokemon don't," agreed the man behind the counter in a cold voice. He spoke so suddenly that Will nearly jumped – he had completely forgotten he was there. As the news anchor signed off, handing the channel over to sports, he turned off the TV, picked up a rag, and began wiping the counter. "But other pokemon – they wouldn't hesitate."
Will stared at the counter; it was already perfectly clean. He couldn't imagine why the man was wiping it down again. "Aren't all pokemon normal?" he asked.
"All pokemon from this world are normal," said the man, never looking up from the counter. "But pokemon from other worlds – well, they aren't so normal. Not by our standards, at least."
"Pokemon from…other worlds?" Will repeated, his brow furrowed. He'd never heard of such a thing before.
"Yes. Pokemon from other worlds," a small smile played at the man's lips. "They're not like pokemon here - they don't like humans at all. They're mutated and dark. They're backwards - so backwards, in
fact, some people have started calling them Reverse pokemon."
"Reverse pokemon?" Will had never heard anyone say a word about Reverse pokemon or pokemon from other worlds – not even in school. What was this guy talking about?
"They have their own world," continued the man. "But it isn't enough for them. They want our world, too," He finally looked up at Will, a nasty grin spread out over his face."And we can't let that happen, can we?"
"Well, I-" and suddenly Will met gazes with the man and felt every muscle in his body freeze.
The man's eyes were all black - he couldn't even see a reflection in them.
And he was unmistakably the man who had kidnapped Leonard Cooper.
In the split moment it took for Will to make the realization, the man had thrown himself over the counter and at Will, who stayed rooted to the spot in terror. Before Will had the chance to scream, the
man had seized him round the waist, pinned Will to his hip, and flung them both out the front window and into the night.
All that was left in the café was a single concert ticket, fluttering gently to the floor.
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