Well Holy crap, I'm back! Bauls, what's it been, three centuries? Probably. Anyways, with the help of a trusty Beta-reader "The Randomind," I've decided to re-write the story of the Crossing of Worlds! I'm adding more stuff that I deem needed, (Character development was a big one!) So I hope you enjoy!
Italics are thoughts!
Italics are also memories when indicated!
And bold Italics are Psychic Communications!
Escaping the loud chatter of a deep voice and the following laughter, Harvic ran from the old decrepit home in the woods. Holding tightly to his necklace, he ran on the old path he had carved over the years. He knew every pebble and leaf that covered the old dirt path; he knew every old tree like a long lost friend.
Having barely escaped the drunken rage of his father once again, he slowed his pace to a walk, catching his breath as he let his hands fall to his side; following the old path like a life-line.
With a crackle of thunder, and a glance to the sky, watery droplets formed rain, which eventually poured down onto the old forest. The forest was older than anyone he knew, yet the government was cutting it down to make way for a nuclear power plant. "With this energy…we will power the entirety of the west!" They exclaimed at the local rallies, their nostrils flared and their red ties dramatically flowing in the wind.
Spitting at the thought of those fat-suited men, Harvic found himself walking into a familiar clearing of trees, not minding the rain that slipped down his arms and face. The wrath of nature was far more forgiving than the wrath of his father, who had changed for the worse after the death of mom.
Sighing to the ground, Harvic walked to the refuge provided by the overhanging trees, a clearing in the woods, just big enough for a tiny pond to thrive. Crouching, and eventually laying beneath the trees, Harvic looked to the pond as he saw a small shadow jump out of it. A frog. He thought to himself as he looked back to the rough grassy earth below him.
Planning to avoid his father's rage for the night, he thought about his mother. She had developed a severe case of lung cancer, only given three months to live. She fought on for the entirety of three years before the inevitable happened, leaving Harvic with his father alone. Rather than move on from the sad memories, the old construction worker had decided to soak in them instead.
A loud 'crackle' of thunder slammed into the world, leaving Harvic to jolt from his thoughts in fear, slamming his head into a small rock. "Fu-"
Shaking the annoying pain away, he sighed as he looked around, now noticing many rocks and stones of differing sizes around the clearing.
A sudden memory flooded his mind, mom:
He watched in his head as his mother bent over his small stature with an angelic smile, "Look, watch what I can do!" She exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, gaining the attention of the young son she had taken to the pond. Bending down and grabbing one of the many stones around the pond, she turned and showed it to the bow, before slashing it forward like a Frisbee, sending it skipping across the pond to reach the center, before slowly drifting down under.
Bending down and retrieving another stone, slightly smaller than the last, she handed it to the young son with an encouraging smile, "Try it for yourself!" she laughed playfully.
Struggling to imitate his mother, he positioned his arms to his right, and slighted out his arm and wrist, sending the smooth dark stone skidding a few times, and sinking to the bottom a few meters away.
"You did it!"
The memory drained away, as his sight was replaced with the clearing once again, and he felt something gritty in his hand. It was a stone.
Glancing down at it, he turned and dashed it forward, yet it did not skip, but only smashed into the water with a mighty ripple, sinking quickly to the bottom. Grunting, Harvic turned away from the pond and the voice, and began walking away.
Another loud crack of thunder slashed out into the sky, a few seconds after he had seen a white streak dance across his peripherals. Where the hell's the rain?
Following his thought, a light drizzle began pouring from the skies, causing him to chuckle under his breath. Yer' a Wizard Harvic!
Over the course of a few minutes, the drizzle turned to a downpour, hard pellets smacked against his glowering face as he ran forward in what he thought was north. Look at what ye' did now Wizard! Now yer' gonna drown yerself hur hur hur!
Unable to see under the blinding pellets of rain; confused, and lost, he slowed to a halt, having lost sight of the path. "Where the hell am I?" He sounded out, muffled greatly under the sounds of the crying skies.
Another flash of light danced across the sky, prompting another slow crackle to follow patiently.
Looking around panicked, Harvic shivered at the inevitable coolness that overtook his wet form. "Friggen' cold now… great"
Stepping forward, he felt a sudden loss of traction in the ground. Involuntarily panicking, he jerked back, causing a loss of footing, and inevitably a fall to the muddy grass. "Gah-Jeez-No!" He blared out, sliding across the mud face-first.
Frowning comically and shaking his head slowly in defeat, he sighs. B-e-a-utiful.
After a minute of soaking in defeat, with a change of position and a clenching of muscles, Harvic forced himself upward in an attempt to jump up to his feet, resulting in a pile-driver of mud to his face courtesy of physics.
"I give up; no it's fine, I'll stay here, not like anything else can happen, goddamn cold, wet, and muddy now. No I'm serious I'll sleep here, not that this can get any wors-" Suddenly a large force pounded into his shoulder, knocking the wind, thoughts, and the rest of his sentence out of his body. A blinding light filled his vision instantly as his body was wracked around in pain. Soon following… rang out a crackling sound of thunder.
A feeling of dread and death filled his consciousness; it felt like his body was pulling away from him, like a piston from the chamber, only to return soon thereafter. A constant annoying sound of 'beeping' soon became noticeable with passing time. And after an eternity of dreadful waiting, the sound became painfully loud, and it had become so clear, he was sure he could reach out and touch the noise itself.
Suddenly a blinding white light filled his vision, causing him to throw his arms up in defense, attempting to block out the unwanted guest. Attempting to sound out words, he only managed to let out a sound of a wild animal in pain.
"Arrrrgthflth!"
Some footsteps sounded out, clearly attracted to the sound of a dying mammal emitted from Harvic himself.
"Oh, you're awake! At last! Are you Okay? Where does it hurt?" He heard a female pitch sink into the whiteness of his vision.
Eventually growing accustomed to the light, he made out a soft slender face to his right, gaining his attention with the voice.
"The lights are a bit bright I know, but you're dilating now, how are you feeling?" The seemingly-nurse asked, pulling away her stethoscope from his chest.
Clearing his throat, following it with a sigh, Harvic laid his head back down to the pillow and looked to the nurse. "Where…am I?"
"You're in the land of the living again, sir!" She giggled, clearly proud at her own work of keeping him alive, hanging her stethoscope around her neck.
"That bad huh?" Harvic inquired, "Wait…no, where am I? I get I'm in a hospital, but I don't live anywhere near a hospital like this…" Giving the room a quick look-around, he noticed what seemed to be a high-quality institution, filled with the first-class equipment. "Was I medevac'd to the city or something?"
Raising an eyebrow, the nurse shook her head, "You were found near route 8…by a wild Pokemon…in-fact, a kirlia I believe, she's been waiting for you to recover…"
Blinking a few times, it took a minute for Harvic to process the information. "I don't live by any big roads…and wait…what…Pokemon?" Spamming his eyes around the room, Harvic chuckled. "Alright, alright, I'm dreaming aren't I? Scared myself for a minute there…Only way any of this would make proper sense! Oh, oh! Or I'm Dead!"
Laughing herself, the nurse shook her head, "Nope! You're totally conscious and quite alive too! And you could thank Chansey for that! She monitored you well enough and administered medication when needed!"
Blinking a few more times, Harvic sat up, nearly regretting it at an instant, as a sharp pain shot through his shoulder, prompting a reaction. "Ghh-fff…" He voiced out, quickly, yet gently being pushed back down by the nurse. "You still need rest before you're ready to go anywhere."
How in the world am I not awake yet, that hurt like hell… Wait, maybe I'm awake and this is all a prank…well not the pain part but…
Curious at his silence, the nurse turned and grabbed a notepad and pen of a nearby table, "Alright!" She announced, getting his attention, "On a scale of One-to-Ten, how bad are you in pain?" She asked.
"Zero and a-halve. Can I go now?" He spoke, attempting to get up again, yet slower and more successful this time.
"Alright…now truthfully?" The nurse asked, turning once again to look at him.
"About a three, it was honestly just surprising, it doesn't hurt that much…Like when someone pushes you and you go 'ow,' without thinking you know?" He motioned to the nurse what he meant, waving off a pushing motion to the air in front of him.
Ignoring his rant, the nurse smiled politely and nodded, writing something down on the pad. "Well, I think you're okay to go, as long as you take it easy, you were struck by lightning by the way."
"Figures…"
"You're not surprised by that? It wasn't raining at all the past few days…" The nurse questioned, tapping the pen on her cheek.
"Are you kidding? Did you not see those huge clouds and hear that thunder? Plus I was in a forest, which added onto my chances and all that stuff about trees and negative charging…I was near where they're building that new nuclear reactor you know?" Harvic ranted off in reply.
Crunching her eyebrows in confusion, the nurse sighed, "…Do you feel any pain in your head? Do you have cloudy thoughts, perhaps?"
"My head feels fine." Rubbing his head and shaking it, Harvic felt no pain, as it should be.
"Allll-right then…" The nurse continued on, unsure of his condition. "Best head off then, but first, the kirlia that found you likely wants to meet you, and you should thank Chansey for taking care of you!" She suggested, walking out of the hospital room door, note-pad in hand.
She's still playing that prank up huh? He sighed, getting to his feet; he grabbed the bag of his clothes nearby, walking into the bathroom to switch out of his hospital-gown. Its fine, but I need to get a ride home now, I know this place must be far from the town, because there is 'no' way it's around there by any means. Changing back into his old faded black jeans and white t-shirt, he noticed they were clean, and his necklace had not been removed from his person.
After making funny faces at himself in the mirror for nearly five minutes, Harvic decided to head out for home, heading back into the room, something heavy weighed down his heart. Having noticed something before his brain did.
In the middle of the room, a small kirlia stood, its back facing him, it was seemingly playing with its hands nervously, clearly waiting for something.
Tha-That's a…You're a…
Suddenly the facts organized into his brain, and he had an inner meltdown, all in one second. "Well, if I didn't believe in that multiple dimensions theory before…I do now." He spoke to himself, coping with the sudden realization with attempted logic.
Hearing his voice, the kirlia spun around and dashed forward, lunging to hug at his waist, causing him to stumble back in surprise and fear. "Gh-"
Standing awkwardly, he began to feel the sadness that the small pokemon felt, it was radiating from it, and onto him, nearly knocking all thoughts from his mind and causing him to cringe, all whilst drowning any trace he had left of a good mood.
Eventually releasing the tension in his muscles, he sighed and got to a knee, hugging the kirlia back. I have no idea what is going on. He smiled sarcastically to himself. So I guess I really am away from home huh…
"Awwww…" The nurse let off, having walked in, another strange being at her side of which Harvic recognized as a Chansey from his days of playing the games and collecting the cards.
Eventually, the kirlia let go from his waist and looked into Harvic's eyes, its eyes were red and watery, and seemed to look right through him, he felt his sarcasm shatter in front of him, leaving him in slight shock; As if the being before him broke the very code of his thoughts. The eyes relayed a truth to him that nothing else could have.
The kirlia moved its hands to his temples; and sitting confused, Harvic let it all happen without a thought. Suddenly thoughts and emotions flooded his mind, causing him to spasm as his Sarcastic Security Measures had failed. Anxiety and hope filled him as he tried to think clearly and a light female voice pitched in his head.
I'm so glad you're okay, I thought you were dead! The voice startled him, causing him to take a step back from the kirlia, which he clearly knew was a female now. As he did so, she removed her hands from his temples.
The Hell was that!? He thought to himself, looking at the being.
Having forgotten they were there, Harvic jumped slightly when the nurse and Chansey spoke up. "Chan-Sey!"
"Yes, you're right Chansey, the Ralts evolution group can read thoughts, and contribute their own thoughts into the minds of others."
Blinking a few times, Harvic smiled, "…" Standing to his feet, and stretching, he opened his mouth wide taking in the air around him. "Well I'm about ninety percent sure I'm going to pass out in a second." He laughed, looking down to the kirlia in front of him.
After being sat back down into a nearby chair by the nurse, he finally looked down from the ceiling, his right foot nervously tapping on the ground, "So…You…Saved me..?" He eventually let out, looking to the kirlia, gaining her attention once again.
Seemingly thinking about his question for a moment, the kirlia nodded after a short moment, I guess I did! She radiated joy throughout the room, causing Harvic to smile after a while.
"Well…Thank you…err…to both of you." He thanked awkwardly, turning to the Chansey to show he was thankful to it as well. Turning to the nurse he gave a glance to the door, "So I guess I'll head out then?"
"If you want, go right on ahead, but I'd get yourself checked up on at the next Pokemon-Center you reach." The nurse nodded.
I'm going to have to get used to this place and play along like I've lived here my entire life; otherwise I'll look like a Looney. Or worse, I. Will. Die. Harvic thought to himself, walking toward the door with purpose.
However, the second he passed the kirlia, a sense of sadness fell over him like never before, so strong, it made him flinch. Turning back toward the kirlia, He sensed her wish as if it was his own. "Ehhhh...You want to…uh, come with me?"
The kirlia very lightly nodded, hinting that she did.
"Alright come along then!" He exclaimed with a wide grin. All aboard the Crazy Train! He thought, picturing himself jumping onto a flaming train riding into a fiery pit.
Jumping excitedly and happily once again, the kirlia sprung forward to land next to him, a huge smile on her face.
Suddenly the voice of the nurse cut in, it seemed she had left the room and just came back, "I thought she'd want to go with you, no-one wants to be alone...So I brought you this!" She walked over to him, handing him a red and white ball with a button on what he guessed was the center.
"Do people normally choose their companions so easily around here?" He asked, confused at her readiness for such an event to occur.
"No, but in this case, you didn't choose your pokemon, your pokemon chose you!" She smiled.
"Oh…well…thanks then! …And for everything else too!" He smiled sarcastically at first, then awkwardly attempted to seem true, not used to being sincere, let alone around people at all.
Looking back to the ball, he began examining it once again, but before he could really get a look at it, the kirlia pushed the button on the Pokeball and was sucked into it by a beam of red light, and after a few seconds of slight rocking, the ball went still and he pressed the button as the kirlia did; releasing her once again.
Shaking slightly, Harvic raised an eyebrow before the kirlia explained herself; I don't like it in there…
"What? You were only in there for a second, how do you-" His question was interrupted with an intrusive feeling of sadness. "Alright, alright."
"You may leave anytime you're ready sir! Also, for my records, may I know your name?" The nurse questioned.
"Harvic." He stated, not bothering to reveal his last name.
"Very good, have a wonderful day Harvic; we hope to see you again!" The nurse chimed, hurrying off as the sound of the front door chiming open caught her attention.
What a terrible thing to say at a hospital! His thought resulted in a giggle from the small Kirla.
"Thanks." He spoke absentmindedly past his thoughts to the nurse, returning his attention to the kirlia in front of him, twirling around happily.
"Alright." Bending down to one knee, Harvic chuckled, "I know you're a kirlia, but what's your actual name? I don't want to just call you Kirlia all the time."
Well…my previous owners called me Angela, so…Angela? She spoke sadly; clearly some bad memories lay with the thought of previous people she had lived with, so he chose not to press further.
"Alright then Angela, I'm Harvic…as you heard…it's nice to 'officially' meet you!" He exclaimed, reaching out his hand out for a handshake, which was ignored and exchanged for a blank stare, causing him to awkwardly withdraw it after holding it out for an extended period of time.
"…Alright, let's head out of here and to…Oh hell I have no clue where I am…You wouldn't happen to know…" He trailed off as Angela simply shook her head.
"I'm sure this place has some maps we can get…" Getting back to his full height, he began walking out to the main room when Angela grabbed onto his arm causing him to look at her questioningly before once again looking for a map.
Thinking to himself, Harvic chuckled. This is what it must have felt like when I wouldn't let go of my mom's hand when she introduced me to that new pre-school heh…oh…mom. His thoughts trailed off as he thought of his mom, and to ignore the sad thoughts, changed the subject back to the map.
"Here's a small pamphlet! "The Xendar Region, home of such tails as Khan the hero, and blah, blah exposition smexposition, I'll come up with my own opinion about the Xendar region. " Harvic chuckled as he grabbed a few pamphlets and walked out of the pokecenter with a wave of his free hand to the nurse and her helper.
Walking outside, Harvic was hit by the new atmosphere and setting. He was no longer in the damp dark forests of his past. A beautiful small town was shown before his eyes. Paved walkways were filled with many kinds of people, all ages. Many of them were accompanied by Pokemon.
The color of the buildings and surroundings alone were enough to blow his mind, being so used to the dreary cream colors of apartment buildings and the dirt colored log-cabins in the woods.
"This…is going to take some getting used to, heh."
Taking a glance at the pamphlet and tracing a path on it with his finger, he made mental notes as to where to go. That place has a cool name, maybe I can do stuff there! Oh, I need food, and water, oh maybe I can be a travelling salesman of tonic! Or wait…Art! …Do they have art here?
"Alright then, we head north!" Harvic announced after a grueling five minutes, pointing his free hand out to his left.
That's south.
Blushing slightly in embarrassment, Harvic quickly swirled his arm in an arc to face north, "Yes! North! I knew that!" He announced, quickly marching off in that direction, Angela holding on to his arm. "Alright, it may be a bit longer to get used to than I thought…Hey, you're not very talkative are you? But you're rather clingy."
Angela simply stared up at him questioningly, causing him to shrug, "I mean its fine… nothing wrong with that…Let's head to…eh…" He trailed off as a chunk of awkward got caught in his throat.
Flipping the map over a few times in his one hand, he sighed, "I feel like my brain is broken, I think I'm still in shock about all this, I mean…Look at where I am…"
Looking to Angela for a response and receiving nothing, he filled the silence with a sigh. And I have a companion who hates me.
…I don't hate you. The small voice interjected.
And can read minds…I gotta remember that.
They walked forward for a long and awkward five minutes before the kirlia spoke up again into his mind.
..D-do you hate me?
"What? No of course not, I don't hate anybody, I just dislike people…" After letting that hang in the air for a minute, he realized the implication he made, "But no I don't dislike you either, your…uhh…nice?" He thought of the correct word, but hasn't been around the kirlia long enough to come up with a proper opinion. "I mean you did save my life…" He trailed off.
"Don't worry, I'm just not a people person, I'm not used to them…let alone clingy ones…not that that's a bad thing of course…eh…just not used to it." He rambled on, using his free hand to implicate his words as he spoke.
"Anyways! I think I know what we can do…or I can do…you can be my little side-kick! Unless you can paint…maybe I can teach you!" The rambling continued, and surprisingly, unlike anyone else Harvic ever opened up to, she listened. "We must head off…to the art-store!" He yelled out triumphantly, pointing his finger forward as he quickened his steps, forcing the clingy Angela to do the same to keep her grip on his arm.
Oh boy, I wonder where they're off to! I have no clue! Do you?
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Once again another thank-you goes to The Randomind for helping with this! May we continue ever onward! *Points finger dramatically into the air.*
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