WHOOOOOO
I'M NOT DEAD :D
I am unfathomably sorry for the lack of content. The last chapter was posted during the holidays, and I was prepared to jump right back in even once school had started.
I drowned in homework the day after.
AND I've had an exam coming up, seeing it's nearly the end of the school year, so I've been revising for that, too.
School, you f**king asshole XD
Anywho, I'm a lot more organized now, and I'm hoping that the next few chapters will be up in quick succession. This is just a note to say I AM NOT DEAD/DYING.
But thank you for caring, non-the-less :3
On with the chapter!
"W-Wait, what just-" I begin to question after seeing the form and badge vanish into thin air. But after realising that I already knew what happened (the badge teleporting the form to the Rescue Team Federation), I begin to ask a better question.
"...How did that happen?!"
At first, Chase replies with a quiet chuckle, most likely after seeing the stunned look on my face. He then proceeds to answer my question.
"The badge that was stuck to the form was the same kind 'a badge that Rescue Teams and Exploration Teams used to use to get outta Mystery Dungeons quickly. But somethin' happened that made them work wrong, so their only used for transportin' items around the world, now."
"So… What happened, exactly?" I ask him yet another question, curious as to what Chase was referring to.
"Oh, have you heard of the story of two Pokémon going off to fight Rayquaza? I think one of them was a human too, so you must have heard of it, right?"
"Oh yeah, I've heard of that for sure. It was the first story of this world ever to be told to people." I tell him, gaining a recollection of the Rescue Team games.
"Well, the meteorite that Rayquaza needed to destroy gave off some kind of energy once he blew it up. From then, every time a something living used the badge to get out of a dungeon, it…
...I-It would die mid-teleportation..."
I could tell that Chase seemed rather shocked by that fact, and I'm sure that most Pokémon in this world would as well. After all, something like this would vastly complicate Rescue Missions. This would also explain why Chase said that you wouldn't be kicked out of a Mystery Dungeon if you got knocked out.
"...Jeez, I'd imagine that there would have been a massive increase of outlaws at that point." I state, seeming to also ask Chase if I was correct on my assumption.
"Y-Yeah, there was… How'dya know that? Was it in the story?" He answers, but then questions.
"No, it wasn't in the stories. In the human version, everything carried on as if the meteorite had never even existed. I know because a lot of Rescue Teams would have used badges to get out of Dungeons before word got around, so seeing that there was a lot less Rescue Teams around, it would give outlaws an upper hand."
"...You can figure out anythin', can't ya Edge?" My friend tells me after my explanation, yet again seeming impressed with my deductive abilities.
"You realise that there are a lot more humans that will figure out more then I ever will, right?" I tell Chase, trying not to seem like too much of a Gary Stu to him.
...Great. Now that I'm in a world full of Pokémon, I'm beginning to talk as if I'm an original character. The effects are finallygetting to me.
"Well, no, I don't. I'm not exactly live in the human world, Edge." Chase replies with a grin. But I spot something in his face that seemed a bit different from his usual expressions. I also note that his tail flame seems to be dimming a bit. Chase was tired.
And he sure wasn't the only one. I was pretty worn down too. After all, I did end up fighting a murderous cobra and mantis, had to see someone die before my eyes, and then break his death to their little sister.
As I'm reminded of this, I feel a streak of sadness cross my heart, and my mood clearly changes from happiness to joy to sadness. Chase is able to see this, and questions my sudden change in mood.
"Huh? W-Why the long face, Edge?" He asks, leaning towards me and looking up at my face, which was now tilted towards the ground because of my recollection. My eyes look over to him (seeing that he was mostly the only thing I could see) and I scan his face quickly. And just the sight of his massive red eyes looking into mine and the curious shape of his mouth was enough to make me laugh slightly, bringing me out of my glum mood.
"Chase, you have the most amazing expression of curiosity I have ever seen." I tell him with a grin on my face, with the image still in my mind.
"Heh, ya know I could say the same 'bout you when you're surprised, right?" My friend then says to me, most likely as a comeback.
"Shuddup..." I state as I lie down, talking with a hint of ecstasy to show that I wasn't annoyed by his comment. "We should get some sleep now, it's getting late."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. We had a long day today, and we got a long day tomorrow!" Chase replies, lying down on the straw pile beside mine and curling into a ball to conserve heat. I do the same, not wanting to wake up tomorrow with a cold. Or tonight… Or... whatever the hell it is…
Over time, the flame on Chase's tail begins to fade as he loses consciousness, and the space of the hut darkens alongside it. I planned to stay awake until it went out, seeing that the light of the fire seemed to grab my attention as I looked around the hut. But just before the flame went out, Chase asks me something.
"...H-Hey, Edge… Do you think you'll wake up in the human world again, tonight?" He whispers, with a tone of overpowering fatigue in his voice.
"Yeah, I'm sure of it. I'll be sure to go to sleep as soon as I can tomorrow..." I tell my friend, yawning as my eyes began to close at the same pace that Chase's flame went out.
"...A-Alright… See ya tomorrow… Edge..." Are the last words I hear before falling asleep. The last time I had heard those words… It's been too long for me to remember. But one thing is for certain.
The last time I heard those words, they came from Axel.
And then my eyes open.
I was back in my room, back in the human world yet again. The various posters hanging on the walls being illuminated by the dim light shining through the closed curtains of my window are, for some reason, the first things that appeal to me first. One poster, hanging on the door in the corner away from my bed, had an image of the Millennium Puzzle from Yu-Gi-Oh. It was fairly big, covering most of the top half of the door. The next, beside me, was a map of the world, provided by Collins. This was very big, covering most of the span of the wall it was placed on. The last poster was a replica of a painting of an owl flying through a dead forest, titled "First Flight" and painted by Peter Cousins.
I begin to sit up as I prepare myself for the day ahead, but I'm instantly forced to lie back down as a massive surge of pain rushes through my body, mostly in my chest area. I groan in pain, clutching my chest as I wonder why the hell it hurt so much.
Then the image of a certain Arbok crushing me in it's coils came to mind.
In my chest, like any other average human being, was my ribcage. What had happened to my ribcage during the dream last night? It was broken.
The only explanation for why my chest hurt so bad was that the events of the dream had taken it's toll on not just the body of the Snivy I was controlling, but my human body as well. I couldn't believe it at all, but it was the only thing I could believe.
My ribcage was broken.
I can tell this is going to be a bad day when I'm charged with getting help with a broken rib the very second I wake up. Pushing myself slowly into a sitting position, I begin to lift my legs from under my blanket and onto the steps of the ladder, wincing as the pain in my chest intensified with every movement. Latching onto the railing of the bunk bed, I begin to climb down steadily, one step at a time, until I reach, the floor of my room. But as this happens, I realise that each time I breathe in, the pain intensifies further, causing me to panic slightly. Keeping a straight posture and taking short breaths, I walk over to the door, which was right ahead of me, so getting there was easily accomplished. Pressing the door handle down, I open the door and head out into the landing.
Thankfully enough, my mother was in her room, which was on the opposite end on the corridor. She was looking through her wardrobe, inevitably to pick out clothing. I think she said she'd be going out somewhere today.
"H-Hey… Mum?" I call over from the door frame. She turns around at the sound of my voice with a dress in hand. She was most certainly going somewhere today.
"You're up early. Did you sleep well, Edge?" She asks me, examining the dress simultaneously. Clutching my chest, I respond.
"I guess you could say that… But I think I need to go to the hospital pretty quickly..."
At the sound of my request, she looks at me, seeming slightly alarmed.
"...W-Why, what's wrong, Edge?"
"I think a few of my ribs are broken..."
At first, Mum didn't believe a word I was saying. But after proving by showing that I had a major inability to walk correctly, a bruise on my chest, constant pain as I breathed in, and even coughing up blood stained saliva at one point (reminding me of the punctured lung), we took of to the hospital in a hurry, leaving my siblings with my step-dad, Adrian. Adrian was a nice guys, he just constantly played pranks on me. Like one time, I was talking with my sister around a time when I was suddenly obsessed with the story of the Slenderman. I started telling her things about it, saying that he'd always appear when you least expect it. He then proceeded to wear a crappy white mask and a suit and scare the living s**t out of me, repeating the words "When you least expect it..."
I hated him for a while after that.
Anyway, where we are, in the hospital, getting a computerized tomography scan or whatever the heck it's called. I think it's just meant to be a bunch of different pictures taken by x-rays from different angles for more accurate results. I think they said that this kind of scan requires more radiation, and would increase chances of me developing cancer. But to re-assure me, they told me that the possibility of that happening was very low. I guess that helped me a bit, but I'm still kind of worried…
But the worst part was having to stay inside that god-damned motherf**king scanner for half a bloody hour.
The scanner was kind of like a doughnut placed on it's side, only it was a lot bigger than a doughnut, and it was made of metal. The was a table that I had to lie on after taking off my shirt, which was then taken into the scanner.
Oh, and by the way, I'm slightly claustrophobic. If I'm in a closed space smaller then an average elevator, I begin to panic.
The interior of the scanner was the size of a coffin.
And the sound of constant whirring really didn't help.
The doctors were talking to me over an intercom, trying to keep me calm and occasionally telling me to hold my breath.Once the scan was completed, I gladly climbed off the table once it was pulled out, put my shirt back on, and proceeded to return to my mother as we discussed the scan with the doctors and how I obtained the injury in the first place.
"I have no clue… He was fine last night, up and running. He didn't show any of the symptoms. But this morning, he just woke up and told me his rib was broken..." Mum told him, both of the adults seeming concerned about my injury.
"Well, first off, your child's ribs are merely cracked, not broken. According to the scans, only minor damage has been done." He then stated.
"S-So how does he have a chest infection?! If his ribs are only cracked, then how were his lungs affected?"
"We're unsure of this, miss, but we're giving him the correct treatment none the less. We've actually had similar cases like this before, although very rare. People wake up with random injuries and come to us, over exaggerating them, as if they had seen what happened for themselves. On even rarer occasions, people state that they had dreams of obtaining the injury, but we haven't received any further information."
"...E-Edge. Did you have a dream about hurting your rib?" Mum then asks me after hearing the explanation from the doctor.
The people that the doctor was referring to were clearly having the same dreams as me. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to admit the I had had my rib broken in the dream. For some reason, there was something in my mind refraining me from doing so. Maybe it's because I didn't want Mum to worry about me, or I didn't want them to think I was crazy. I have no idea why, but I said…
"...N-No… I don't have any recollection of breaking my rib in a dream last night."
"Alright then..." The doctor began. "Putting that matter aside, the injuries aren't too sever, so the treatment needed will be to take paracetamol on a regular basis and to make sure to stay hydrated. Make sure you don't injure your chest further, and support your chest with a pillow if you have the need to cough. The treatment usually lasts three to six weeks, and you'll be excused from school during the first week."
Whoa… Six weeks? Gardevoir had me healed up in no time at all! What kind of power does she possess?!
The doctor handed over a box of tablets to my mother, and we were then permitted to leave.
"So, a week off of school." Mum says, sparking a conversation as we drove home. "What do you plan to do in that time?"
"Well I can't do much, can I?" I reply, pointing at my chest.
"There's still a lot you can do. Maybe you could spend some time downstairs and not locked up in your room all the time." She then says, striking a little bit of guilt in me.
"Maybe we could finish the robot arm that I got for my birthday. We've been working on it for a while now, but we might get it finished soon if we start working on it again." I say, trying to contain a brief hatred towards my mother.
"(...Jesus, who the hell do you think you are? I just had to see someone die and tell their little sister about it after promising that I'd bring him back alive, and you just go ahead and try to make me feel more guilty?! Believe it or not, I don't wast away in front of fricking Call of Duty or whatever the f**k you think I spend my time on. I'm able to do productive things, I have friends on there, I contribute to things. This is the kind of thing I want to do, so don't f**king judge me about it...)" The though rages through my mind during my sudden swing in moods, and I could wish that I could say it aloud. But to be honest, I'd rather not have my ass kicked…
I'm not sure why, but Mum didn't say a word after that until we got home… But I guess I'm glad for that, another word like that and I would have let my thoughts run free… Then I'd be screwed beyond belief.
Lying on my bed, a bag of cold peas enveloped in a tea towel on my chest, a glass of water and some paracetamol at hand…
Oh, and not to mention the astonishing amount of boredom.
I wouldn't be able to use my computer for extended periods of time, seeing that after a while, my body would go into an unsafe posture and I'd risk hurting my ribcage again. So I could expect a lot of lying down next week.
After just laying there on my bed and resting for a while, I decide to actually think about something instead of just looking blankly at my ceiling. Maybe I could actually think about how to hell injuries obtained in one world still affect the body in the other…
Maybe it was a kind of connection or something. Like a spiritual bond connecting the two bodies so I could move freely between them. The only issue being that the body my spirit was currently in would carry over injuries once I fell asleep.
Then another thing hits my mind.
Do I really go to the Pokémon World when I fall asleep? Or is it set for certain times? There was obviously only one way to prove this, and that was to fall asleep. The only problem being is that I'm a light sleeper. I can not fall asleep during the day. But maybe it was the will of falling asleep that triggers my spirit to switch bodies or something, so I could still try.
Digging my head into my pillow, I close my eyes, and try to fall asleep. After a while, nothing happens. But the more that I wish that I want to fall asleep, the more I become less aware. I guess it really was the will that started the switch… Pretty soon, my body was numb, and I wasn't even aware that I was asleep.
And then my eyes opened. Not to a plain, white ceiling, but to the darkened, straw roof of Chase's hut.
Now I had identified that I did indeed switch bodies whenever one of them fell asleep.
After briefly getting used to the sudden change in bodies, I push myself off of the pile of straw that I could gladly call my bed in this world. It may not seem like it, but it's surprisingly comfy to lie down on if you're in a good sleeping position. Lightly stepping over to the door so Chase wouldn't awake, I decide to take a quick stroll, maybe to look at the view from the cliff once more. I swear, I am never going to get used to that sight in my life.
Slowly opening the door, I notice that the hinges begin to creak before it is fully opened. Not wanting to wake the sleeping Chimchar, I squeeze through the gap of the open door that was available to me without making any further noise. Closing the door behind me, I walk through the patch of grass in front of Chase's hut, most likely acting like a garden, and into the empty street of Starside Town.
If anything, the fact that Starside Town was empty amazed me enough. Looking back to how busy it was during the day, it's hard to believe that so many Pokémon could just vanish into their huts… I guess it would be safe to assume that most of those Pokémon were travellers.
Looking up into the dark night sky as I strolled along, I see that there were practically galaxies visible, with millions of stars scattered around. I was always told that the reason we couldn't see many stars in cities was because of all the lights from the buildings and cars, not to mention the amount of clouds caused by pollution. But there was none of that here. No lights, no clouds, no pollution…
Everything was pure.
As I tilt my head back down, I stop in my tracks as I'm about to walk heads first into the Kecleon Mart. I laugh silently at my near mistake, and turn right in order to reach to cliff. The second I pass the fence separating the right third of the village from the centre, I'm yet again stunned by what the view has to offer.
Going to sit under the tree where me and Starly had talked earlier today, I looked out into the beautiful land of the Setta region once more. There were multiple galaxies visible yet again, each seeming to fill the entire night sky with stunning beauty. Littered around those galaxies, yet again, were an infinite amount of stars. And the way the sea to the right reflected all this made it seem like the Setta region was an island floating in the vast reaches of space.
When I reach my destination, I sit down and hang my short, stubby legs off the side of the cliff as I begin to think about how I'm even here to see all this. First off, why was I brought here? Was I expected to preform the great acts of heroism that those two humans before me did? Were there multiple humans in this world right now? Like in Gates to Infinity?
Next, how am I even here? I already established a possible "Spiritual Connection" which allows me to flow between bodies and carry over injuries, but how would that even be possible in the slightest? It sounds so ridiculous… But still seems so believable to me…
And last but not least, why the hell is the deal with that Light Source thing in the middle of the forest? Why am I so drawn it it, and why was it the first thing I saw before I even came to this world? And what was that dark space? There are just so many questions I need answers too!
"What the hell is going on…?" I say to myself, putting my head in my hands as the confusion really starts to bother me.
"What up, Edge?" I hear a voice say behind me all of a sudden, startling me slightly. I turn my head away from the Setta region and towards non other than Chase. "Are ya cryin' again?"
"Huh? N-No… Why would you assume that?" I ask him as he comes and sits next to me.
"Well, ya sure looked like you were about to… Ya sure you're OK?"
"Yeah, I'm good." I say, finishing part one of this conversation. After a brief silence, something comes into mind. "...I-I didn't wake you up, did I?"
"Nah… I just couldn't sleep right. I'm so pumped for tomorrow!" Chase tells me, his face gleaming. Looking at his face, I almost expected to see a pair of sparkly anime eyes, glittering with a sense of ecstasy. "You are to, right Edge?"
"Right…!" I reply, smiling over to my friend, who was already smiling back.
There goes part two of the conversation.
"So… Why aren't you with your parents, Chase? Did you run away or something…?" I question the Chimp Pokémon as I take note that I had not seen any Infernape in my time in this world.
But, as I look over to my friend, it seems that he is taken aback by this first off, but then a smile is put on his face as he replies.
"Oh… Uh… N-Not exactly… I-I wanted to see the world and go on an adventure with my brother, but my m-mom fell sick. ...M-My brother had to stay behind to help her, so I had to stay a while longer so I could get prepared some more. My brother taught me how to fight properly, and I guess you can tell that he did a good job when you saw me at the berry fields back then." He finishes with a smirk.
From this statement, I'm able to tell that Chase isn't exactly the best liar.
It was apparent that Chase was lying about everything prior to the mentioning of his brother tutoring him. The reason I think this is mostly because of the fake smile Chase was putting on throughout the statement. He had also stuttered at many points, enforcing the fact that he was making most of the story up. However, he didn't stutter at all during the mentioning of his tutoring, implying it was true.
And to explain the fake smile, Chase seemed to have a rather shocked expression at the mention of his parents, but instantly put on a smile afterwards. Genuine emotion would have taken at least around three or so seconds to get over the shock. Chase was obviously hiding his true feelings right now.
Another thing to back this up, would be that Chase acted similar to this whenever I said something that could even slightly be related to family matters. He would always stutter whenever saying words that could be used to define family, and he had that same smile, too…
"...You don't have to keep anything from me, Chase. I'm your friend, remember? I'm here for you." I tell him, keeping a smile on my face to try and bring out his real emotions.
"...There's no getting' past you, is there…?" He states, grinning slightly. A genuine grin.
"Afraid not, Chase…! You can tell me what's up, I'm sure I'll be able to help out." I say, trying to re-assure the Chimchar.
"...O-OK. I'll tell you tomorrow, we gotta get some shut eye for now. I've heard that bein' in a Rescue Team is hard work!"
"Judging by what you're saying, I'm going to take a guess that the Rescue Team Federation are going to reply as quick as we can send the form to them." I tell him, taking an educated guess. Chase kept saying that we'd be doing the duties of a Rescue Team tomorrow as if it was safe enough to bet the world on it.
"Right again! Come on, let's get back tot he hut!" He says, beginning to shift his pace into a run. I follow after, looking up as I ran to see the beautiful galaxies above before going back to the human world.
"Are you OK, Edge? Do you feel any better?" Mum asks me as she walks into the room with a plate of food in hand. I wasn't able to go out of a lying down position for too long, as my rib would be injured again, so I couldn't stay at the table long enough to eat with my family.
I was reading "Hunters of the Dusk" by Darren Shan, one of my favourite authors. He rights a lot of horror books, but all of them are amazing. One of his best series is "The Saga of Darren Shan", which supposedly takes place in an alternate universe. Hunters of the Dusk is part of that series.
"Well, now that I'm being treated, I'm feeling a lot better." I tell her, putting the book aside and sitting up slightly so I was at an angle where I could comfortably eat.
"Good to hear." She states, placing the plate on my lap. "And just so you know, this is only while you're recovering. You're not going to get dinner in bed from me ever again after this…!" She jokes. In reply, I say,
"...Unless my rib is broken again."
"It was cracked, Edge. Stop over-exaggerating it."
"Oh, right. Sorry." I apologize. Looking down at my plate, I see that mum has prepared spaghetti cabonara for me, one of my favourite meals. Of course, everyone downstairs had had this meal. Even if I was injured, mum wouldn't prepare a separate meal for me (unless it was involved in the treatment).
"You really like those Darren Shan books, don't you?" She asks me, looking at the book beside me.
"Heck yeah I do…! I love the way he's able to set the mood. And the plot is something to marvel, too!"
Mum smiles at my choice of words. "You're very articulate, Edge. I saw a comment you made on a music video. You were describing the feel of the song. I listened to it and heard exactly what you meant!"
"Thanks, mum. I suppose that you're cooking is going to be as good as I'm articulate, then!" I complement her, picking up my cutlery from the plate.
"I'll be back soon for the plate. But not to worry, after a few days, I'm sure that you'll be OK to take it down yourself!" She tells me in a comical tone, walking out the door, and leaving me with one as I began to eat my food.
I turned my lights out as I walked through my door and into my room after saying goodnight to mum and Adrian, causing the room to be plunged into darkness. I guide myself carefully up the ladder of my bunk bed, and go into a lying down position under the covers of my bed. At least I was able to sleep without a bag of frozen peas on my chest…
I begin to think about what would happen to me and Chase throughout our career as a Rescue Team, but no matter what was going to happen, I was super excited. Looking over to the alarm on the other side of my room, I see that the current time is 08:15 PM. I wonder why Chase hadn't woken me up yet… Maybe it was just a simple matter of him not having woken up yet…
Closing my eyes, I feel my awareness begin to droop, but the excitement remains. Finally, something eventful was going to happen in my life… I just can't wait!
This chapter stands at 5263 words… I'm slowly building up my average word per chapter!
Yeeey :D
So, anyway, no that this chapter poses an un-answered question…
It's time for a QOTD!
Only it's not a QOTD because it's not every chapter…
Anyway, what do you guys think Chase is hiding about his family? Use the info you can gather from the chapter, or just try to take a wild guess!
Please don't forget to comment! I love to see your feedback!