The Legend of Yellow
By: hydro-serpent58
Kari: Hello! And happy Thanksgiving! I'm so happy right now!
Ellen: What's wrong with her?
Nellie: She got a new DSi and got Pokemon HeartGold.
Kari: Anyway, I've warmed up to Lyra/Kotone now. :)
Soul: Does that mean I'm not your least favorite anymore? *hopeful puppy eyes*
Kari: Errr...not quite. But I like White's outfit. While the rest of the female protagonists have cheerful outfits, White's outfit is gothic! She look's rather rebellious and like a punk in a good way. :D She's cool.
White: YAY! Kari-chan let me speak! *hugs*
Black: What about me?
Kari: *grabs shot gun* Who said you were allowed here?
Black: 0.o *runs for his life*
Crystal: Still, you gotta admit, Kotone/Lyra is waaay stronger than Soul.
Everyone: *nods*
Soul: HEY! What's that supposed to mean?
Blue: Soul, Lyra/Kotone is the 3rd champion of Johto. She even even challenged Red. (Even though he kicked her butt.) *cough**cough*
Soul: But...
Kari: Also, remember it said that in the game a boy named Red disbanded Team Rocket 3 years ago? That was Red from FireRed/LeafGreen. It says that the main protagonist Kenta/Kotone, has an older sibling. It's not revealed who, but there are multiple clues leading that Red is the older brother of either Lyra/Ethan.
Red: ...
Gold: REALLY? AWESOME! *glomps Red* I have a champion for a brother!
Kari: Ugh...Gold, that's only in the game. In the manga you two are not related. *sweatdrop*
Gold: Awww...
Soul: Hmph. Well, unlike all of you. My Pokemon are from all over the regions!
Silver: That's only because you were chasing after Gold like a sick puppy.
Everyone: O.O Ouch...
Kari: But ya know? Soul really isn't that weak.
Everyone: What do you mean?
Soul: *vein pops* Are you calling me weak?
Yellow: Well...
Green: You are the weakest one out of all of us you know...
Red: And you do have the least experience...
Sapphire: Every single one of us could pwn you, including White and Black who are younger than you.
Ruby: Plus, you don't really know how to battle that well...
Wally: Or participate and contests correctly...
Emerald: The only thing you're good at is breeding Pokemon.
Silver: Even though Gold's better than you at doing that.
Blue: No offense Soul, but they're right on this one.
Pearl: So, yeah...
Diamond: I guess you could say that.
Platinum: You're weak.
Soul: *the girl looks at the floor, casting a shadow over her face. Her hands were clenched tight and a thick, red vein formed on her head. Then she rose up, her hair flowing furiously in the air with fire in her eyes, and let out a huge scream* GET'EM GARNET! *Soul roars throwing Pokeball*
Garnet: CHOOOMP!
Everyone: O_O Holy crap! She has a Garchomp?
Kari: That's what I was trying to tell you. Her Gabite evolved. *sweatdrop*
Everyone: *runs away*
Soul: DRAGON RUSH!
Garnet: GAAARCHOOOOMP! *Garchomp flies at them and the two appendages on its head glow light blue. Then, its body becomes enveloped in a light blue aura with the same color streaks and it slams into them*
~BOOM!~
*The explosion destroys anything in it's path for a 2 mile radius in every direction*
Kari: *sigh* Soul, you do know you're gonna have to pay for all the damage that's done now right?
Soul: NANI? That's not fair! And how come you're still alive?
Kari: Duh. I'm the aurthoress, I can make anything happen.
Soul: Such as...
Kari: Such as making a 20 foot psychic barrier appear between me and the explosion.
Soul: Oh.
*Ellen and Nellie peek out from behind a boulder*
Ellen: Thank god we were caught behind that force field.
Nellie: *shakes head* Kari-chan does not own Pokemon. On with the story!
Chapter 20: Innocent or Guilty?
Crystal P.O.V.
I woke up to crisp air the next morning. I sat up and stretched, immediately wincing as the cool air struck my thin clothing. Shivering uncontrollably, I slipped out of bed. In the back of my mind I heard my animorph side protesting and wanting to go back and curl back up in the warmth of the sheets. I smiled shaking my head. I had become accustomed to it, my other side...it was like a split personality of me, a more wild side. I quickly walked into the bathroom my feet stung at the coolness. I breathed a relieved sigh of relief as I felt the warm soft carpet under my barefeet when I walked into the bathroom. That's right...the town has a curse going through it...
"Oh! Hi Crys!" Yellow said cheerly. Yellow, Tamashii, Kitt, and Mist were all sitting at the same table. Tamashii was cool and collected as always keeping to herself. And it looked like Kitt and Mist were having a serious discussion. They turned and smiled at her. "Hey Crys, after you eat something we were thinking about heading into town and finding this "Neku"."
I nodded. "Sure."
...
The 5 were now hiking through the rough rigidity terrain. Let's see...according to what that lady said, Neku lived in a secluded spot hidden deep in the dense jungle near a river. She must live there alone to get away from all the criticism. A pang of sympathy rushed over Crystal. She must be very lonely I realized.
"Oi, pixie, poetry boy, how are we supposed to find her home if it's hidden?" Tamashii asked.
The group halted. "Ugh...we you see..."
"...We never really thought about that..."
A collective groan emerged out of the group. "And here I thought you had this all figured out." I mumbled.
Soon we entered the jungle area, when I have no clue. As we continued deeper into the area, I started noticing more wild life.
"Hey Mist, what's that?" I asked pointing to a colorful bird fluttering it's feathers on a nearby branch.
"That's a Hue. It eats fruits and loves to sing. It's said that if you follow one it will lead you to water like rivers because that's where they normally gather."
"Hontoni?" I heard Yellow asked amazed. She gazed at the bird rather fondly while I shrugged.
"What'ave, what good would it do if the river is not clean? They have been know to lead travellers to unhealthy water sources resulting in many deaths." Tamashii replied casually.
Immediately Yellow's face fell while Mist glared at her. "Did you really have to ruin the mood?"
Tamashii raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? I'm only stating the facts."
Mist grumbled something under her breath about uncivilized women while Yellow stared straight ahead. As we continued going on through, we came to a strange place where the ground was shattered forming an unstable ledge below it.
"What happened?" Yellow asked as she gingerly stepped forward to inspect it.
"Beats me. What about you two?" Tamashii responded.
"Well, we wouldn't have that question if we knew." Mist snapped fiercely.
It was clear those 2 were not gonna get along well too soon. I inspected the ground and my brows furrowed. What was it that Sapph said again? I know she told me once about the earth splitting... Crystal frowned while she pondered about this. It was on the tip of her tounge. As a nature girl, it was only natural for Sapphire to know about these things. If only she knew as much about her studies Crys thought warily.
Huh? What's this? Yellow wondered. Buried under the dirt was something glinting. She bent down the have a closer look while meanwhile Tamashii just wandered around aimlessly. Looking around for something worth at least a small profit. When Yellow uncovered the dirt, she was startled to find a shard, with a weird symbol on it. It looked like graffti but it was engraved into the stone in what looked like... Blood... Yellow thought in horror. It was at that same instant Tamashii's instinct kicked in telling her to get off the ledge fast. Coincidentally Crystal had just remembered,
Flash Back
I was sitting on a bed while I nibbled on the eraser of my pencil. I wasn't sure where I had picked up that habit from, but whenever I didn't understand what the homework was asking I ending up doing this. Sapphire sat in a spiny-chair re-reading her "chicken-scratch" handwriting. Her pencil was tucked neatly behind her ear and she was biting her lip in concentration. I had come over to Sapph's house when she said she needed help with the Math equations, now we were doing our separate homework from our different classes and it wasn't really helping.
I cried out in frustration. "What on earth does that mean? What natural disaster causes the Earth to crumble yet isn't a geographical disaster? What kind of question is that? I mean, if it's not a Earthqauke or Volcano, what can it be?"
Sapphire looked up at me with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Well...unusually strong shock waves of unreal strength would cause the earth's surface to shatter. Not like an earthquake which creates deep chasms or a volcano which creates large creavces, but distorted land masses. The land becomes hazardous and very unstable. If you come across one it's best to turn back."
I looked at her in disbelief. "Where did you learn that?" The wild girl just shrugged. "It's just something I learned. Nature is never boring no matter how much time you spend in it." A grin split into Sapphire's face. "Of course, I don't don't need to tell you that. Considering your work requires you 24/7 out in the wilderness."
I playfully punched her shoulder. "It's called fieldwork. But thanks for explaining it."
End Flash Back
So that's it... Suddenly the realization hit me like a thousand bricks. "The land becomes hazardous and very unstable. If you come across one it's best to turn back." Shit.
At that moment the ground underneath them crumbled letting them hurl towards the ground.
"AAAHHH!" Crystal and Yellow screamed.
Tamashii had a surprised look on her face, but in a matter of moments it turned into a pissed looking one.
"That's what I get for acting too late on my intuition." She mumbled to herself.
"Hey, watch out!" Mist yelled from above.
They were falling about 15 meters per second. Crystal saw the ground looming toward her as she continued to fall. I tried to reach for my Pokéball but due to the friction from the air, the winds sharply slammed into my arms causing it to painfully wrench backwards. I hissed in pain and forced the arm back down. Looks like I wouldn't be able to reach them. I looked over at Yellow and Tamashii, it seemed they were having the same problem. Mist turned desperately towards Kitt.
"Can't you use your leviathan magic or something?" She cried.
He turned to her a grim expression on his face. "I would have already done so if I could, but at the rate they're falling the acceleration plus force of the fall would cause my magic to bounce back or miss. There's nothing I can do."
Mist glanced at the ground. "I can make some plants grow to cushion their fall but...the impact might cause them serious damage considering plants aren't the softest thing in the world." Mist muttered to herself.
They were 3 yards away from hitting the floor now, it was not gonna be pretty. I screwed my eyes shut and prepared for the extreme pain and possible concussion that was sure to come. A few feet away from me to my left I sensed Yellow do the same.
"Dang it! I'm not gonna die here if it's the last thing I'd do!" I heard Tamashii growl from somewhere on my right. She was still trying to access her Pokéballs I assumed. I couldn't be sure.
Suddenly—Crystal felt the air around her become stale. She chocked as oxygen evaporated from the air and could only see black unable to open her eyes. She flailed and struggled but got no where. She was drowning in a sea of darkness. Suddenly in the distance, she saw a faint glowing. As she came closer she spotted was looked like a tomb stone, on it in a glowing red dye was a picture of what looked like a cross between Butterfree and Beautifly. A butterfly? I wondered as I bent down to inspect it. I reached my hand out. *Stop...* A voice whispered in my mind. My eyes widened and my hand froze in mid-air. I looked around.
"Hello?" I called but got no answer.
I waited, and just when I thought I had imagined it the voice spoke again. *Do not touch the seal, it is not yours to release...* The raspy voice spoke. Once again I jerked my head around but saw nothing.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" I shouted into the darkness.
I got no response. The silence was really unnerving me now. Why won't it answer me? I wondered. *You stand on Afterlife's doorway...you cannot handle the power...retreat now, before it's too late...* The voice whispered. I shuddered. The voice...it sounded so old and decrepit yet...mysterious and creepy sounding at the same time. Slowly, I let my hand drop to my side and stood up.
"All right, I won't mess with it. Now, would you mind telling me how to get out of here?" I asked.
In response a bright light flashed blurring my vision causing to vast emptiness to melt away. In the distance I say a hazy figure...someone with lime, scarlet, white, and golden feathered wings. The figure stood in front of the sun obscuring the being's features. The only thing I could clearly make out was the wings before getting swallowed up by the light.
I eyes slowly opened as I groggily looked around. Yellow was lying next to me still unconscious, I looked over towards my left and saw Tamashii sitting leaning against a tree for support. I also saw Mist and Kitt talking to a strange girl. She had short orange hair and had on a dark purple hoodie jacket. It had no sleeves exposing her pale skin. She wore a cream colored skirt and matching dark purple sneakers. She had denim colored eyes and had her hands in her pockets. Crystal noticed a a set of purple headphones around her neck and she had this tomboyish look about her. Tamashii was the one who spotted her first.
"Oi. The ice girl woke up." Tamashii said loudly grabbing the threesome's attention.
The turned towards her and Mist immediately rushed over.
"Oh Crystal are you alright?" She asked frantically inspecting her.
I laughed. "I'm fine Mist, just a bit...shocked."
"That's to be expected." The mysterious girl spoke up as she walked over. Crystal blinked as she pulled on her hands out of their pockets and offered it to her.
"Name's Neku. That was quite a fall you guys had." Crystal blinked dumbfoundedly as she wordlessly took the hand offered to her.
She immediately noticed there was no marking on the hand and Mist seemed to notice this too. Crystal immediately snapped out of her daze.
"Oh. I uh...my name's Crys." I said.
She pulled her hand back and stuck in in her pocket. She nodded. I glanced at the other 3, my curiousness must have been obvious cause' Kitt his throat and explained.
"When you guys were falling, Neku was the one who saved you." My eyes widened.
"Wha? Really!" I stared at her. "How? When? What—"
"Crystal give her a break and let her talk." Tamashii said exasperatedly.
I flushed feeling incredibly flustered. "I'm sorry. Please, continue." I murmmerd quietly.
Neku shrugged. "I just used a pych to capture you 3 and carefully bring you to the ground. However, I don't think you guys were used to Pin waves. When I reached you, but you and the blonde were already knocked out. Mikaduo-san was extremely tired, but she managed to stay awake. We treated her wounds already, so I suggest you let us check yours."
"Uh...okay." Crystal responded awkwardly.
Suddenly she heard the bushes rustle. Something was approaching them...at an alarming rate. Although tired Tamashii instinctively with one had clutched her sai still hidden beneath her cloak. Crystal's hand was already on her belt which was where she had attached the whip to and Kitt and Mist prepared to let out a barrage of spells. However, the next thing that happened was something they couldn't have imagined.
"There you are!" Said an exasperated voice.
Everyone's gaze snapped towards the figure who had emerged from the foliage. His albicant-colored hair that was wavy and tussled this way and that. He had on dark trousers and a white dress shirt on with the sleeves rolled up. He had infuscate-colored eyes and had a bewildered expression.
"Do you know how much trouble I had to go through just to find you? Geez." The boy sighed.
It was then he noticed the rest of the company. He glared, his face immediately becoming cold much to their surprise.
"Who are you? And what do you want with Neku?" He said in a icy voice.
Crystal flinched while Tamashii gave a challenging glare back undeterred.
"I suggest you stop making assumptions before you confirm they're true." Tamashii replied back in a cool voice of her own.
The boy growled. "What was that?"
Both Mist's and Kitt''s eyes widened. They sensed his zone level energy rise. This kid was no amateur. Apparently, Neku sensed it too.
"Josh it's okay." Neku said shortly.
Startled, he looked at her. "I saved them when they fell off one of the cliff sides. I was just treating their wounds when you came barging in."
They stood there awkwardly now. "Uh..." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Gomensai, my bad." He said sheepishly.
Neku sighed rolling her eyes. A faint smile adorned her lips. The boy turned to us. "I'm Joshua. And this is my best friend Neku. I'm sorry I accused you like that, but you see I can't be too careful of who I trust nowdays. The entire village knows I protect and defend Neku, and they constantly try to persuade me to abandon her. There are those who do not wish Neku well. The inkeeper's son has had to do a lot of work helping his mother after her husband died. One day Neku went to visit him and hopefully help him complete his task so he might be able to at least play for a little while since he hadn't in a while. However, it was around that time the innkeeper's son fell ill. His mom thinks that since he couldn't complete his work in time even with her help, she got angry because he couldn't play with her. She thought that since Neku came all the way there to play and instead worked for nothing, she cursed him as punishment..." Joshua spat bitterly.
Tamashii and I shared a look. Neku spoke up. "I...I promised that I would take him to the pathway..." Josuha turned sharply towards her.
"NEKU! Don't you dare say such things." He said sternly.
"But..." She trailed off looking away.
Mist studied her intently while Kitt urged him to go on. "I always get strange looks from the villagers. While some try to convince me to come back others also blame me saying that I helped Neku bring on the curse...and to think our prayers have finally been answered..."
"Prayers?" Tamashii raised an eyebrow.
Joshua nodded. "Yes, Neku's never given up hope. Her favorite tale was the story of the Luna Pathway...she and that kid were just working..."
"T-that's a mira-cle..." A voice choked out. Everyone's gazes snapped towards the voice.
"Yellow!" Crystal gasped. She rushed over and helped her sit up.
Tamashii glanced at Neku. "You're right, it is a miracle your prayers actually worked. No wonder they think you're a witch."
"TAMASHII!" Mist and I screamed in unison.
An angry look crossed Joshua's face while Neku's blank look leveled up with Tamashii's casual look. "Would you like me to treat your friend?" She asked quietly downcasting her eyes.
I smiled. "Of course, that would be wonderful." I replied shooting a glare towards Tamashii.
Joshua gave Neku an unsure look. "Are you sure...?"
Neku looked at him, "Josh, we can't just leave them. The blonde needs help and Crys is still a little woozy. We're lucky I even found them, or else who knows what would've happened."
Joshua stared at her for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Alright, I'll help carry the blonde."
As he walked over he glared at Tamashii and helped Yellow up. Yellow slug an arm around both Crystal and Joshua and they half-carried, half walked her back to their residing place. Neku calmly looked over at Tamshii who hadn't moved.
"Are you coming or not?" She asked coolly.
Tamashii smirked. "So you do have a back bone." The raven haired girl said as she stood up.
She faltered for a second as dizziness overcame but her vision quickly cleared. "I'll be fine on my own." She cut off before Neku could ask. The purple eyed girl nodded and led the way.
As Neku led the way Tamashii couldn't help but notice how well the girl knew the forest. Despite being blind, she already knew the forest like the back of her hand Tamashii mused. As they walked along they came across other Hue birds. Neku paused and studied them. The group watched as her eyes stopped on a particular bird. With a soft whistle the bird flapped towards her and landed on her shoulder.
"Would you mind opening the door for me?" She asked softly.
With a hoot flew up and disappeared into the underbrush. Neku glanced behind her. "Come on, we're almost there."
After another good 20 minutes they reached a river. It was clear and running. Joshua caught me looking at it and spoke up. "They water may look clean, but it's not sanitary. Many mosquito eggs and viruses can be found in the river. Hue's don't nest around her because of the Hornet Frogs that live around here. They are immune to the viruses and they're very poisonus. They hunt down mosquitoes but they also eat birds. They usually keep to themselves, but they sometimes attack so we try to avoid them if we can." The boy explained.
"I see." I nodded. They're so many creatures...I wonder if they are as many monsters and animals as there are Pokémon... The carefully jumped on stones over the river. And soon came to a cliff side. The turned and traveled along the bottom, they stopped in front of a curtain of vines growing on the wall. Suddenly Neku did a bird call startling me and Yellow. In response the vines were suddenly drawn back revealing a sealed wall. After a moment the wall opened revealing a pathway. They went through with the door closing behind them and found themselves standing in what was supposed to be a yard. A few meters ahead of them the rocky ground turned into grass and on it was an old house. it was surrounded by deep foliage and rocks. I heard Yellow gasp beside me.
"Sugoi!" Yellow said looking around.
A Hue flew down and landed on Neku's shoulder. The girl petted the bird while and explained. "It has to be hidden to the villagers don't find us. It's pretty lonely though..." She turned around and smiled.
"But not with Josh. He makes everything fun." She grinned.
The boy smiled fondly back at her. "Come on, we better get you inside."
...
Yellow sat next to me on a couch. Tamashii sat alone in an armchair, and Kitt and Mist sat on a coffee table. Joshua was busy putting bandages on me. Neku was in the kitchen preparing something.
"So Joshua...would so mind telling us more about what's happening?" I asked locking eye-contact with him.
"Well..." He glanced warily at Tamashii before looking back at me.
"I guess." He shurgged.
"What would you like to know?"
"Well...how did you meet Neku?"
Joshua paused and heaved a sighed shrugging a shoulder. "Well, if you really want to know, that's where everything began."
"I'm just a rouge commoner, my mother had already passed away. My father was busy working in the mines to make so money, because of that he rarely came home. Sometimes he couldn't come back for weeks at a time. Whenever that happened he'd send home money to me to take care of myself. I was just like any other commoner, I wasn't special so no one looked out for me. I learned at an early age how to mange money and to use it sparingly. I ended up living at home alone most of the time. When the neighboring boys found out, they always tried to get me to lend them some money. I always refused, finally one day they ganged up on me. I was going trough an alleyway to get to my house more quickly. There they cornered me and demanded I give them the cash. Again I refused, but this time they wouldn't hear it."
Flash Back
A rouged boy dressed in worn clothing took a step back. In front of him were 4 boys. Two were thin and lanky, one was small and short, and the leader was large and round. Not one of them had an ounce of muscle, but considering how frail the albicant-eyed boy was, he was willing to bet punches from them would somewhat hurt. The gang loomed closer to him as again he instinctively back away.
"What perfect time." The large boy grinned. "How about you loan us some cash will ya? We know you have some."
The boy bit his lip. "No. I'm sorry, but I can't." He replied.
The leader's eyes flashed dangerously. "Oh we'll see about that."
On cue the two tall boys that were slightly taller than their leader came forward. The infuscate-haired boy whirled around tried to run. However, he wasn't fast enough. He felt a rough hand grab his shoulder pulling him back and slamming him into the wall. The boy cringed at the impact, taking advantage of his temporary immobility he felt 2 arms hold one of his arms while another 2 held the other one. He couldn't run.
"Nice try punk, but this is for denying us money those other times." The round kid said raising up his balled fist.
He then landed a punch in the albicant-eyed boy's face. The boy felt his right check sting, but before he could get his bearings a second fist slammed into is stomach. The punches weren't that hard, but the longer they did it the more it hurt. Soon there were bruises all over the upper part of his body.
Through the beating Joshua had retreated into his inner mind to escape the pain, unaware of reality. He now sat in an empty void. His arms were tucked around his knees and his face was buried in his arms. "I don't want this...please, make it stop..." The boy muttered.
The beatings continued, the large boy seemed to finally be getting into it now. Throwing more force into his thrusts, but he frowned at the lack of response he was getting. Not once had Joshua cried out in pain. The boy's hair was now damp from sweat and plastered unto his face. This prevented the boy from seeing his expression.
The boy growled. "Hold him tighter, I'm gonna try something else."
Outside the boy was barely aware of what was happening to him. Here...he felt no pain. He just felt a faraway sensation of pain but thought nothing of it. "Please...stop..." But it didn't, he barely felt the sudden rush of pain in his arms. Even so, he noticed. "No...stop..." "No more...I don't want this...!"
The 2 skinny boys were twisting Joshua's arms in a painful position. At the same time the leader was focusing on his chest now. "I'll tell you what," he said in between punches. "If you give up now and just give us all you have we'll let you go."
When he got no response he frowned. "This is your last chance, either now and beg for mercy or you're dead." Again, no response.
"Fine." The boy huffed.
He backed away and glanced over his shoulder. "Hey, search him."
The small boy who had been standing in the distance quickly scrambled up to them. He carefully stepped up to the unresponsive Joshua and hesitated. He looked back at the leader.
"What are you waiting for? Do it!" Jumping, the boy immediately started his work.
"No...stop. I'm telling you to stop." The boy's whimpers grew weaker. "Stop...stop it now..! I don't want this, can't you see that?" The boy got no response. The boy lifted his head from his arms with his head still bowed. "I'm telling you to stop...leave me alone...NOW!" The boy screamed. At that moment all fear left him, instead it was replaced by vengeance.
The small boy felt a lump in Joshua's pocket. He paused and shakily extended a hand forward withering away under his leader's intense gaze. His gaze was drilling holes through the small boy's head. The short boy gulped and edged his hand toward the pocket. When he was a moment away from searching the pocket all of a sudden Joshua's leg flew up. His foot slammed into the boy's chest sending him backwards. Using the boy's shock to his advantage, he twisted out of their grasp and knock them both down with punches of his own. He turned around just in time to see the leader charging towards him. At the last moment he side stepped causing the large boy to ram into a wall. The infuscate-haired boy grabbed the leader's neck and held him in the air with one hand. The boy gasped and choked clawing at Joshua's iron grip. The other 3 boys scrambled up and backed away, their eyes wide in terror.
The clouds overhead had turned dark during the fight and now the rain came down soaking the boys. Joshua's bangs covered his face. His dripping hair stuck to his head effectively concealing his expression.
"You know...I hate people who think so full of themselves just because they have a little posse." The boy spoke, his voice was void of emotion. He clenched his fist and at the same time tightened his grip around the boy's neck.
"Especially people like YOU!" He shouted.
He pulled his fist back and slammed it into the large boys face and at the same time letting go of his neck. He sailed through the air crashing into a wall before crumpling to the ground.
"L-let's get out of here!" One of the boys shouted.
With that the 3 took off as if their lives depended on it. They didn't seem to notice they were leaving their leader behind.
Joshua stood there alone in the rain for a moment in silence. He had effectively knocked out the leader, and didn't feel like wasting any extra time on him or going after the others. His wet hair cast a shadow over his face as he turned and walked back to his house, splashing carelessly in puddles along the way.
As he went along he seemed to be the only one in the village since everyone was inside from the rain. He ignored it and continued on. Soon he entered the forest.
...
He paused. There in front of him was a collapsed body. He walked over and checked the person's pulse. Feeling the faint pulse, without a word he lifted the body up with his already bruised and battered body. Ignoring the pain he trudged on towards his home. The girl was dirty and seemed to be a lost traveler. She must have collapsed from exhaustion. However, it seemed karma wasn't with him. For a day later, he'd receive news that his father was killed in the mines.
End Flash Back
"And I'm sure you could pretty much guess, that girl was Neku." The boy concluded.
Yellow gasped and covered her mouth, a guilty expression on her face. "I'm so sorry..." She apologized.
Joshua shrugged. "It's fine, really. But during the time I received the news Neku was still unconscious. I promised myself to become stronger, I had to be able to fight." He trailed off. "Of course, those boys avoided me and told the kids some rumors. They all avoid me now, so Neku was the only company I have."
The room lapped into silence. Joshua continued to wrap bandages around my arm while the rest of us contemplated what he had said. They seem to trust us...a little weary of Tamashii, but they don't think we're a threat I though feeling relief wash over me. One of the things I had been pondering was after we found Neku, how would we get their trust. We might be bruised now, but at least it worked out in our favor. However they still have some explaining to do...
At that moment Neku walked in carrying a tray with biscuits and lemonade on it. She set it down on the table just as Joshua finished bandaging me.
"I hope you like it." She said quietly.
I mentally frowned. She has such a calm and composed attitude...
"Thanks." She nodded. And turned around.
"I'm gonna feed the Hues." She said as she walked out leaving the door ajar.
End P.O.V.
...
I gasped choking as I was ruffly handled. My hands were tied together and I could free them. Two guards were leading me down a vast hallway. My vision was blurry, they had not treated me well on my little trip here. I staggered to keep up with them, if I didn't they'd pull on the rope making it cut into my skin. I was dehydrated and could barely think straight anymore. We stopped in what looked as some kind of chamber that had a prison-like feature to it. I couldn't catch what they guards said. The door opened and all of a sudden I was thrown inside. I landed painfully on my stomach, the rough floor scraped my legs and arms as I head my head. The ruffly yanked me up and dragged me against the wall. I heard solid metallic clicks. My eyes widened, The had attached 3 chains on me. Two were on either of my wrists and one was around my neck. The chains were connected into the wall behind me, and my arms were raised painfully over my head. I knew they were probably gonna be sore for a while. My head drooped in exhaustion.
"Look at how pitiful he is, do you really think he will last long enough?"
"Don't even start, he wasn't killed immediately when he was brought here. That alone is an accomplishment. Not many survive to make it here as a guest."
I painfully raised my head. "What do you want?" I rasped out.
The two blurry figures turned towards me. "Sleep now, you're gonna need all the rest you can get before your big day." I didn't need to see clearly to hear the sickening grin in his voice.
The other one laughed. "If he can survive that is. I bet he'll white out before he gets to the main test."
The two left and the door closed with a loud clink. He heard their voices fading away as the figures retreated. A test huh? Oh boy... And with that the boy blacked out.
...
Yellow wandered throughout the house. Most of the rooms were empty or just filled with dust mites. Everytime she walked into one she'd sneeze. Yellow looked around as she entered one room. The sun filtered in through the window. There at the edge of the room was a piano. Yellow blinked. A piano? I wonder if it still works...
"Eh? Players?" Crystal asked in confusion.
Neku nodded. "Yes, the only people who can use pychs are Players. Pychs are like attacks that you can activate. However, only a a select few pychs will work for different Players."
"One pych may work for Neku, but that same one may not work for me." Joshua chimed in.
"Whenever you use a pyshc, you use your zone level energy. It's energy that you already have, for example it's like how you already have aura. Those who have experienced death in it's face are the only ones who are able to activate it."
"Wait...what do you mean, "experience death in it's face"?" Tamahii frowned. Neku glanced at her.
"It's people who have literally brushed death on it's surface, or in other words, have defied death. They're people who survived even though they weren't supposed to."
"Pychs give off Pin Waves when you use them. Since you use your zone level energy to activate them, the energy is converted into Pin Waves and is exerted when the pysch is used. That's how it dispels energy." Spoke Joshua.
"Neku has an incredible amount of zone level energy, because of that she can practically use any pysch."
The sparrowman and pixie's eyes widened. "But...is that even possible...?"
Joshua shrugged. "It is for her."
Yellow gingerly lifted up the flap revealing the keys. Yellow blinked, the piano wasn't dusty at all. That means they must use it Yellow thought. Yellow stood there unsure for a moment, she knew she shouldn't touch anything but... Just a few keys She decided. She carefully experimented with middle C. Da... The piano responded. It was a little out of tune, but a good warm up would straighten that out. Yellow pressed down high A then low D. Daa...dan The piano replied. A small smile crept up her face. This isn't so bad
"Josh is a special kind of Player, he's Composer."
Mist stared blankly at her. "As in a music artist?"
"Yes and no. He does write his own songs, but there are special kinds of Players. A Composer is one of them."
"What does a Composer do?" Kitt asked interested. Joshua shrugged.
"I'm actually stronger than a Player but...I guess that's pretty much it." Joshua responded.
Yellow winced. If there was one thing she sucked at, it was playing the piano. That sounded horrible Yellow thought. If only Green was here...the others didn't know, but since Green and Red were best friends they shared a lot of secrets together. One of them was that Green played the piano. Red told her this once and made her promise not to tell anyone. She'd been surprised but delighted back then. The blonde sighed. I might as well give up She thought as she got up and moved away. However, at that moment the piano began playing...by itself?
The piano's keys began pressing down due to some invisible force. At first just a few keys at a time were played into a simple tune. However, it became more complex as the pace increased. Yellow couldn't help but stare transfixed rooted ot the ground. He mind was screaming at her telling her to leave, but some unexplainable presence...it was preventing her from moving. The piano began playing a ghostly tune that sent shivers up the young girl's spine. However, Yellow could barely hear it...yet, at the same time it was loud and clear. A whispery soft voice drifted into the flow of the melody. It was as if the voice and music was one. The soft voice blended into the notes, it was hard to tell one form the other. At times it would seemed as if only the music was playing, but she knew...she knew the voice was there. The haunting melody stirred things within the room. Entranced by the music, Yellow didn't notice the sudden change in atmosphere. The room suddenly got gloomier and foggy, it became blurry. At the same time, the temperature plummeted, the door seemed far away but Yellow wasn't paying attention. The presence grew stronger overwhelming the girl, she'd soon lost her common sense and stood under the spell of the song. Strange things began to happen around the blonde. All she could do, was watch.
Dancing bears, Painted wings. Things I almost remember, And a song someone sings once upon a December. Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm. Figures dancing gracefully, across my memory,
A loud and ignorant 15-year old boy was going alone down an empty dirt path. Despising his name, he told others to refer to him as Beat. One either side of the path was dark thorns. He had pale tan-colored hair which was covered up by a black hat. The hat had a white skull stitched unto the front as a logo. With a sword in one hand, he cut down anything he came across. The petals of the roses her chopped off littered the floor as he went along. However, in his ignorance he had proceeded to try and kill the death spirit of the dark forest...What he didn't know, was in order to kill it he'd have to kill himself...The spirits of the dead plants took on ghastly forms and taunted the boy. Effectively capturing him, and taking him away. The boy was no match as the torn-like vines took form with the spirit inside them aroused. The vines strangled him and dragged him away inside the forest, him sword left to rot on the floor. As the thorns pierced his skin blood dripped and stained the ground. He was trapped, a imprisoned sinner. To be tortured for eternity...the only way you'd know he was in there was the trail of blood that led into the dark woods...
Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm. Figures dancing gracefully, across my memory,
A 15-year old girl with pink hair was in a bedroom. She wore elegant fancy clothing that was at the same time quite revealing. Lots of shelves were built into the walls, and on them were filled with hundreds of stuff animals. Stuff animals were even on the bed. The girl was an innocent creature, blessed with beauty and a master of decievery. Using her skills she could fool anyone to do her bidding. Eri, she was called. However, she was possed by another, one who would be her downfall. She was just a puppet, and nothing more. One night the spirit gave life the the girl's most precious item. And in the middle of the night, she was murdered by the the stuffed cat. Blood splattered on the walls and stained the sheets. The girl laid there dead with mighty gashes across her chest and neck. Her night gown was torn and on the floor was an innocent stuffed cat. It's fur was stained with blood, especially it's claws. It laid there innocently motionless. It was the very thing she had killed her best friend, Shiki for...
Far away, long ago things I yern to remember and a song someone sings. Once upon a December, and a song someone sings Once upon a December...
A 12-year old girl with platinum blonde hair stood on a rock. She was in the middle of the ocean where a few hills in the water resurfaced. She was the young sister of a brother who had disappeared. With the name given Rhyme, she sang false notes that rang out through the entire ocean. Drawing the interests of the sharks, the girls continued to sing. However, her words created an entire new crazy being. Born of a flower, a single bullet rang out from a gun of a deceased man. At that moment she had sang the final word to her song, and a huge wave came and swallowed her. As she sunk to the bottom, a flower bloomed out of the wound. Soon everyone that had loved her, began dying.
Far away, long ago...once, upon a December. Who is next? I wonder now. Once upon a December...
Suddenly huge gusts of wind began to blow. A huge vortex appeared in the place where the piano was. From inside the maze maniacal laughter erupted. Painful screams of the dying and the haunted singnig of the insane flooded the girls ears. Dark shadows loomed every now in the shadows. Yellow was trapped, and there was no where to run. However, suddenly the whispy voice called out towards her.
Come to me...come now... The ghostly voice rasped. Still entranced, the blonde started walking towards the vortex in a zombie-like state. Her eyes had darkened and become a melancholy yellow. The shine in her eyes had faded becoming dead, the same thing that had happened to Red whenever he went into a trance...
"YELLOW!" A voice screamed.
Something caught the girls' arm holding her back. Yellow turned her head back to see it was Neku grabbing her arm. She was squinting due to the rough winds. Crystal was at the doorway covering her face trying to stop the biting winds from stinging her eyes.
"YELLOW!" Crystal yelled again.
The blue-head winced as a blood-curdling scream erupted from the vortex. A nasty ghoul-like shadow wandered towards her causing her to freeze. Crystal choked as the being's shadowy arms wrapped around her neck pulling her back. Childish moaning and groaning was heard as the bloody arms of children appeared weeping. She grabbed Crystal effectively choking her. Come join us...we don't want to be alone anymore... They spoke.
Just like what happened to that boy... Yellow numbly thought reflecting on how similar the scenes were.
"Crys!" Joshua shouted.
He was half-way in between Neku and Crystal. He changed course and went to help the suffocating girl while the orange-haired girl struggled with the blonde. Apparently the scream had not broken through to Yellow. Still under the spell she continued on trying to rip away from Neku and go towards the vortex that was calling her.
"Yellow please..." A voice whimpered.
Mist and Kitt stood outside the door a foot away from the winds. If they were to go in, they would be sucked inside to join the restless spirits. Mist whimpered while Kitt held her biting his lip. He sensed such terrible horror in the air...something evil really was plaguing the villagers...was this the curse they spoke of?
"Oi blondie! Snap out of it will ya!" An irritated voice called. It was Tamashii.
She had been going in their direction however she had been stopped. Dancing skeletons appeared from apparitions. They encircled her. What's wrong? You're not afraid are you? They taunted. Tamashii growled sweating. She clenched her sais tightly causing her knuckles to turn white.
"In your dreams!" She spat.
They paused, and then burst out laughing. Their crackling laughter made the raven-haired girl feel sick. Hear that? She's not scared... One voice whispered. Well then, why don't we play with her? Another spoke. Tamashii couldn't tell which had spoken. Out of the fog dark figures appeared. The figures took on the forms of innocent creatures. One was a Clefairy, another was a Teddiursa. One was a Igglybuff and another was a 's eyes widened. If there was one thing she and Yellow had in common, it was that they both loved Pokemon a lot.
"Nice try, I know they're not the real thing." The crimson eyed girl sneered raising her sais.
Oh? One skeleton spoke. What do you mean by that? Another asked. Who says they're not the real spirit of creatures long ago? Another questioned. Would you still do harm to these poor creatures that died a horrible death long ago? They've been alone for eternity... Another said. The skeletons faded and morphed into transparent ghosts. They spun around the girl and the Pokemon effectively trapping her. Their whispers echoed throughout her head. W-what if they are the real thing? Tamashii thought with her hand trembling.
The Pokemon looked up at her innocently, "Er?" Teddiursa asked tilting it's head to one side.
"Mi." Skitty mewed stepping forward.
"Iggly!" Igglybuff squealed bouncing eagerly.
"Clef?" Clefairy asked unsure.
Tamashii bit her lip. But they're so cute... Her grip was slipping. Inconspicuously the Pokemon came forward.
"Cle?" Clefairy asked unsure.
Before Tamashii knew it she too, had fallen under the spell. She lowered her weapons and jestered forward.
"It's alright." She spoke softly.
The pink Pokemon blinked before happily running towards her. The other Pokemon took it as their cue to pounce as well. Reality hit her as she was slammed hard unto the floor.
"Cle-air..." She heard a deep rouged voice say.
It was totally opposite of what the cute little timid voice she had heard before. She looked up to see the Clefairy pinning her chest down. It's eye sockets were ripped out and blood was dripping out of it's mouth. She could see long pointy fangs and the claws on it's hand suddenly seemed more intimidating. The other "Pokemon" crowded around the now defenseless girl. The sais had been knocked out of her hands. Skitty's eyes were now open and they were glowing bloody red. Blood matted it's fur and the crescent of Teddiura's forehead Tamashii realized, was actually a scar. A huge gash was on it's stomach and Tamashii could see maggots eating away at the rotting flesh. Igglybuff was the worst. It's eyes were glowing a bright creepy yellow and had one of those creepy smiles insane people wore. Tamashii saw razor sharp teeth that she didn't even think was possible for a Igglybuff to have glint. The spirits around her laughed. That's right! It's time to feed...feast, like you've never had before! The floating ghosts cackled as they were sucked inside the vortex. So Tamahii did the first thing she did relfexively. Scream.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!"
Yellow faintly heard the scream. The same thing happened to that pinkette... She faintly noted. Neku shook her.
"Yellow! Listen to me! Do not listen to that voice you hear me? Do not listen to it! Yellow, it's trying to trick you! Come back to the others and me! Yellow, please!" Neku pleaded.
Crystal found herself slipping. Her struggle started to slacken as her vision began to blur due to lack of oxygen. The claw-like arm slashed her neck and she felt something warm trickle down her neck. The blue-head vauguely saw a red liquid dripping unto her clothes as the undead children contiuned to pull at her with iron-like grips.
Joshua ran towards her activating his Pysch. He whipped out a phone out of thin air and typed in digits into the device. Suddenly huge meteorites started falling down appearing from nowhere. They fell through the fog which hid the ceiling and began smashing the ghost children and the shadow creature that was keeping Crystal captive. The monster roared as it was repeatedly struck with the huge amounts of force. The children screamed and let go running. However, using the camera on his with a quick flash they all stood immobilized. That was when Joshua proceeded to try a combo. Asteriods, soccer balls, grand pianos, electric and wooden guitars, etc. began raining down on them. As the object struck them they let out screams of agony before they disappeared in a white beam of light. However, just before they disppeared a werid marking glowing in red would appear on them before being obliverated. The children were losing fairly quickly, however, the thorn-like vine monster still was stranggling Crystal. Joshua growled. So you're gonna be a pain like that huh? He thought. Meanwhile, the rest of the corpses were being taken care of. Joshua smirked.
"Forgive me Neku, but I'm gonna have to do that wihtout you." He spoke loudly.
However busy Neku was she still heard him. "Screw that!" She hissed back yanking on Yellow. That girl is too strong for her own good The orange haired girl thought.
Joshua's smirked widened. "Typical answer comming from you."
He then turned his attention to Tamashii. He didn't like this girl, but seeing her so vunerable like this...was quite unnerving actually. Joshua lept into the air with his zone level energy rising.
"Fusion Star: Level 2!"
Suddenly his left fist began to glow blue giving off a chilling aura. His fist froze surrounding his hand in ice. On his right hand it glowed red and his fist was surrounded by fire. He then shot 2 beams out of his hands. The ice beam struck the shadow creature while the fire beam struck the Pokemon. Cries of anguish were lost over the tremendous roar of fire and ice working together. During this Neku pulled Yellow into a full body hug protecting her from the elements that were clashing. Yellow stood there limply staring blankly ahead right at the place where the piano was.
"Yellow, if you really want to go there...I promise I'll take you." The denim-colored eyed girl whispered mysteriously into her ear.
A strange marking on one of the girl's hands started glowing. Suddenly the memory of the crystal with the bloody graffti sign flashed into Yellow's mind. Yellow spoke only one word.
"...Butterfly..." That broke the girl out of her trance as her eyes went back to normal.
When Joshua finished, the room was back to normal. The fog had lifted and Mist and Kitt were able to come in. The piano was split in two, and tiny ice particles and burnt marks were the only evidence left of what had happened. Yellow blinked.
"What just...?" She fell backwards right into Neku's arms.
"Calm down." Neku murmered.
Tamashii staggered over holding her abdomon. One hand still had a sai in it. Crystal was a sickly pale color and walked back swaying this way and that. Joshua landed neatly on the floor and hurried towards them.
"You guys alright?" He asked concerned.
Yellow nodded. "Yeah..." She trailed off looking towards the piano. "Joshua, I am sooo sorry..." Joshua waved his hand.
"It's no big deal. I can still compose." The blone nodded and smiled weakly as the group strumbled down stairs...Tamashii, Yellow, and Crystal that is.
Something is definately going on here Kitt thought as as he watched Tamashii refuse to allow anyone to wrap bandages around her mid section. Yellow was lying down and Crystal was sitting in a chair taking deep breaths. Mist was busy tryin to assist Neku and Joshua in any way they could. What happened up there... He glanced at Joshua. A Composer is stronger than a Player how? Seeing as how easily he pulled that attack off there's more than what meets the eye with this guy His eyes trailed towards Neku. That girl...a mysterious presence is always lurking within her. It gives off a frightning and dangerous air yet a warm and light to her heart...that girl posses a strange potential. His eyes strayed outside to the window. I wonder...how far the darkness has spread now?
Kari: Urgh...I really screwed this chapter up.
Crystal: It's okay. *pats back*
Kari: *sigh* My first attempt at writing a horror scene. I failed...epically.
Yellow: Don't give up Kari-chan! *waves banner*
Sapph: *sweatdrop* Where'd you get that from?
Yellow: Ruby made it! :D
Kari: Oh well. Please, by all means, review!
~hydro-serpent58