A/N — Hey guys! It's been a whole month :) Dang, that was felt like half the time. It feels like I've posted recently, but... its been a MONTH! Guess author time is different, eh? Anyways, i'll cut to the chase to the review replies because all the notes is at the bottom & I want y'all to read the chapter already! YAY!
TO THE BEAUTIFUL REVIEWERS:
Shidake — You'll find out your answer in this story who he is, but you won't find out why Gold and Yellow were hiding until next chapter, just saying XP Platinum is the best, huh? I don't why, but I find her loyal to people she likes.
TheGamingPyro — OMG LOL. I laughed so much on your review! Thanks for the compliment by the way XP But yeah, shippings should never be broken, especially if it's OTP's!
Trainer Azurite — His reaction with cake is how I imagine him!
darkdemon5 — AW THANK YOU SO MUCH :))) And, also, I'm not really familiar with RPG games (since I haven't played in a long time), but when you meant MMORPG, you mean when they play the game together...? Because I've been lacking in that for awhile :/ Well, it's kinda fixed in this chapter though. XD
justsomerandompokemonguy — Yeah I try my best, thank you :)
ElectroPhoenix — Okay, let me just say, *spoiler kinda spoiler alert* your guess is pretty good, and she was proud!
Just Another Kid — AW. Thank you! :) Your review made my day! But, LOL. Yeah, Blue is just the strongest pokespe shipper I know, tbh. Also, Platinum's character was pretty fun to write tbh XD I'm happy that you liked it! AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING PATIENT! I'm sorry for making you wait for a month DX Oops. Also, thank you for the birthday wish :)))))) I LOVE YOU! XD
TheWishFish — Well, tbh a lot of people (who are rich) in japan (well in the animes/mangas) get assigned to a partner/fiancée at a early age. Mostly, it's at the age of 15/16, but you know, you can get them a partner, but marry them later.
Black-Hole Fiend — AW THANK YOU SO MUCH :) ILY! That was such a nice review! It's been a hassle for me to put all the characters tbh, but I love all of them, so oh wells XP But yeah, I've been moving the plot WAY too slowly, but after this chapter (which I coincidentally wrote before you commented), it'll go up I think.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEW GUYS! I feel the love from behind the screen, Anyways, sorry about the long wait, and go ahead and read :)
Chapter Ten — Believe In The Impossible
"I swear ya're stalkin' me an' followin' me 'round! Stop it!" Sapphire yelled once she saw Ruby and Emerald casually enter the cafe.
The boys didn't even see her in the back until she started shouting all of a sudden. Emerald shook his head, annoyed, as he glanced back at both Ruby and Sapphire. He could never escape the pair no matter how hard he tried. The short boy went straight to the counter to pick up the cakes he ordered, while Ruby went over to Sapphire's table to defend himself.
He placed his hands on his hips. "If anything, you're the one following me. I ordered this cake yesterday! Who knew you would find out the time and come here at the same time?" Ruby wasn't really serious about that accusation, but he had to defend himself from getting the title of 'Sapphire's stalker', especially since he's known for chasing her around with a comb by some new classmates already.
"I came here 'cause Gold recommended it!" Sapphire defended.
"Really? Because I don't see him," Ruby said, looking left and right for Gold.
"He's here—" Sapphire started moving her legs around under the table frantically, which only gave Ruby confusion. She stood up once she realized he wasn't getting her point. "Anyways! I don't want ta hear yer naggin' while I'm eating cake! Leave now!"
Ruby crossed his arms. "You can't tell me what to do! I'm not even nagging you, you started this argument first!" he retorted. "Also, use some more soap! You smell like dirt!"
"See? Ya're already doin' it now!" Sapphire yelled.
"Well, now I'm doing it, but before I wasn't!" Ruby shouted back. "I'm doing it in a nice, advising way too, so you're welcome!"
"Ya—"
"—Guys, stop!" Red cut in, quickly getting out of the booth and wedging himself in between the arguing pair. He was glad it was much easier to leave once most of the table was gone. "We're all friends here! There's no need to argue with each other!"
The senior didn't know if he was used to being the mediator because everyone kept picking at each other, but it kind of became a habit at this point. He did it first at the detention between Blue and Green, then Gold and Silver earlier, and now Ruby and Sapphire. Red didn't know why they fought so much, but he secretly wishes he could look away like Green and not care. Too bad, he does.
"Red, you smell like dirt too," Ruby remarked.
"What? I do?" Red said in a shocked tone, sniffing himself in a panic.
Sapphire growled. "No, ya don't! This prissy boy is just makin' stuff up to pick fights!"
"I'm trying to help here! Wouldn't you like to know if you smell bad so you can fix it?" Ruby reasoned.
"Argh! I don't care, ya're pissing me off!" Sapphire yelled, lunging at the boy. Immediately, Red ran over to them to try to rip the girl off of him.
Blue's POV
Yes! I'm so happy Platinum stood up to that jerk! It was kind of getting hard to watch with all the insults he was throwing at Dia and Pearl. He wasn't even hiding it and being so outwardly rude, I'm not surprised it ended this way. Well, I'm surprised that Platinum was the one who made the move to pour tea on his head, but you know, you can never predict everything! I'm glad it ended up this way though! I'm pretty sure Dia had a huge crush on her. I saw how he looks at her with that blush forming! Ugh, if I wasn't so focused on trying to hook up Yellow with Red, I would totally meddle to help him too!
I tried to listen in on more of the conversation since that guy looked upset after she did that, but it was difficult to hear with Ruby and Sapphire shouting at each other on the other side of the room. Man, I would totally help those two get together as well! I bet they like each other so much since Ruby tries to always fix Sapphire's appearance and Sapphire always starts conversations (though it can be seen as a fight as well) with him. Oh wait, I can't think about that! I gotta focus so I can hear what that guy is saying to Platinum!
"Ahem! Are you listening to me?!"
I stopped trying to listen in when some redhead shouted at me. He was standing in front of me on the other side of the counter, arms crossed with a frown on his face. When did this guy show up?
"Of course, I was listening! Welcome in, what did you want?" I asked in a sweetly high voice.
I saw that he started tapping his fingers on his arms impatiently, and with a voice that showed he was annoyed, he said, "I said that I wanted two chocolate chips and to go!"
I don't know what his attitude was about, but if I wasn't helping out a friend's small business, I would be yelling at him. Well, not yelling at him. That's not really my style. I would totally just mess around with him and then maybe take his wallet when he's not looking. I did it to Green a couple times, I wonder if he ever noticed.
"Alright! Coming up~!" I told him in a cheerful sing-song voice, grabbing his items and putting them in a neat small box.
I tapped the buttons on the cash register to put in the costs of his cakes, and the total came out to be $4.48. "That will be $4.48, please!"
The redhead just grumbled something incoherently (geez, I really don't know his problem, he seems worse than Green) and slid a $5 bill on the counter.
I took the bill and placed it in the cash register to get his change. WAIT! Wouldn't it be super fun to mess with this guy right now?
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, dear customer!" I suddenly cried, faking sadness. "It turns out my cash register isn't functioning well, so I have to calculate by head. Hold up for a second please."
I pretended to act like I counted the amount of change by using my fingers. Since he seemed so impatient, I felt like it would be funny to see him wait even longer for his change.
"$5 minus $4.48, hm..." I mumbled out loud, getting into the act. I glanced at him secretly. I was right— this really pissed him off. This is so funny, haha!
"It's 52 cents," he informed me, his voice getting lower. I didn't think he could sound even more mad, but I underestimated him.
"Hm, wait, I have to make sure!" I told him, waving off his answer. I did the fake finger counting for about thirty more seconds until he finally broke.
"Ugh! I don't care anymore! Just keep that stupid change!" he yelled in my face. He grabbed the box I put the cakes in earlier and started grumbling something about how my dumbness is why humans shouldn't rule the world before walking out of the cafe. What a nutcase, I'm glad I messed with him.
In the corner of my eye, I can see Silv glaring at him from the table. Ugh, he's such a sweet brother. I should really bring some leftover cakes home when no one's looking. It's a waste to throw it out anyways— HOLD UP.
He said something about why humans shouldn't rule the world. What does that mean? Isn't he human too?
WAIT.
Another kind of species that's stronger than humans are Pokémon. But, Pokémon wasn't real.
... Until last night.
Did he play the game too? I'm not surprised if he did since he got that weirdo hairstyle going on. Nah, I'm probably jumping to conclusions with that. Just in case, I'll investigate later though. Thinking about it, I should also deal with what happened last night soon. Yellow told me she and Gold experienced the same thing as Silv and I, which meant that more people must've had Pokémon. I'm pretty sure it didn't go too out of proportion since I don't see the news freaking about random creatures from a game popping out. Ugh, so many issues to deal with. I should text Leaf about it later. It's really fun talking to Leaf about my problems, I wonder if they had Pokémon come out of their screens too! Well, enough of that, I should try to listen in while I can!
I glanced over to Platinum who was still speaking with her date about something. Ruby and Sapphire finally stopped yelling, so I could finally hear them—
"BLUE!"
I couldn't focus because I heard someone call my name. The voice seemed to be in front of me, but no ones— ah! It's Emerald, but I didn't see him because he's so short.
"What's up?" I replied.
"You suck at your job," he insulted me. The insult might've been true, but still, what a rude little brat! I'm his senior too! "Get me a strawberry shortcake and a fruit tart!"
"Wait, hold up, I'm trying to listen in on something," I told him, gesturing my head towards Platinum.
Unlike the other stranger that was here, I could ignore Emerald because I knew him. What is he going to do anyways? Report me?
Emerald turned in the direction I was gesturing, and once he saw the mess between his juniors and Platinum's date, he threw his arms up in anger. Or, I think those are his arms? His sleeves are always so floppy and long, I couldn't really tell. I ignored it and tried to eavesdrop, but by the time I tried to, the conversation was cut short and Platinum's date started to stomp out of here, yelling a colorful stream of words.
Ugh! I swear, I miss everything around here!
"Are you going to hurry up and get me the cakes now?" Emerald asked, now that the whole scene was over.
"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, upset.
I got his cakes and packed them in a box as well. "Here, that'll be $4.48."
Emerald handed me the money and I rang up his order. Just then, I heard the door open and a group of three walked in. "Welcome in—" I paused when I realized who it was. "—Soul? Crystal?"
Yellow's POV
I don't know what happened, but finally Sapphire stopped kicking Gold and I heard noises outside the table.
"Are you okay?" I asked again.
"No, but I'll live!" Gold responded, rubbing his shoulder. "Man, why is Lance here? He's supposed to be captain of the hockey team, yet he eats small cakes?! What kind of man is he?"
I wanted to tell him he's a part of the football team and he came here for cakes too, but he seemed so hurt, so I didn't say anything. Now thinking about it, Gold is right though. Why was Lance here? When I was working here, I never really saw him visit (thank goodness for that). He seems like the type to hate this place too since it uses a lot of plastic and he's against plastic. It was kind of strange that he chose to come here. I've been avoiding this guy since I was in sophomore year, and though that was a long time ago, I'm not going to stop. I know it's bad to avoid confrontation, but Lance seemed to have so many issues going on that I didn't want to be apart of.
"I can't see anything," Gold said, trying to look through the table cloth. "Do you think he's gone? I don't hear his voice."
"I'm not sure," I replied. I heard a bunch of screaming and shouting from Ruby and Sapphire and some from Red too. I'm guessing Red is trying to break up their fight since he always does that for others. I really like how he's so kind and considerate to others. I bet others would just ignore it.
"Green!" Gold whisper-shouted, crawling over and pulling on Green's pants. Immediately, he was met with a kick. "What was that for?!"
"Don't touch me," Green told him, glaring daggers at him.
He opened the table cloth towards Green's side. "Dude, what was that for?!"
"Don't tug on me," Green responded.
"I needed to ask you something!" Gold defended.
"What do you want now?"
"Is there a spiky red-haired guy in the store? He's like Silv but with his hair up," Gold described, gesturing to it. This somehow earned him another kick, but instead it was from Silver this time.
"Ow!"
"Don't say that jackass looks like me," Silver said, glaring. I don't know why he's so upset, but he seemed to be. Or, maybe I was just imagining it?
"That's it!" Gold shouted, grabbing Silver's legs and yanking him down under the table with us.
"Let go of me, idiot!" Silver yelled, trying to rip away from Gold.
I wish everyone would just stop fighting! I really don't get how they have the energy for this. Geez, where's Red when you need him?
"Yikes, that was bad," Pearl commented after he stomped out of the cafe screaming curse words on the way out.
He just finished cursing all three of them and threatening Platinum for what she had done. Of course, Platinum kept a straight face and waved him off, saying she can buy his company if she wanted to and how she's not scared of him. Diamond and Pearl wanted to defend the girl too, but before they properly could, Darach kept yelling at them and he just left angry.
"Why were you with such a mean person, Missy?" Diamond inquired, his mouth full of more bread.
Platinum let out a stressed sigh. "I was with him because my parents wanted to arrange a meeting for my future. However, he did not seem to be the most pleasant person. Such a temper is becoming of only commoners."
"Geez," Pearl said, rolling his eyes at the 'commoner' comment. Well, he let this remark pass by since she defended them. "Thanks for the words you said about us! You're a nice person after all like Dia said!"
"Oh please, I was just defending myself. I do not wish to be controlled by anyone," Platinum clarified with a straight face.
Though she said this, Diamond and Pearl could see through her and they knew she was just embarrassed to say her true feelings.
"Hey Missy!" Pearl suddenly called her. "If it makes you feel better, we'll do a comedy routine just for you!"
Diamond nodded cheerfully. "Yeah!"
Platinum smiled softly. "Well, I expect a good show from both of you two. After all, you did just ruin my meeting," she said, jokingly.
"Woah" was the first thing Black said when he entered the cafe with his sisters.
After school, he met with Crystal and Soul, and informed the two of his decision to stay in Japan for a while. Crystal and Soul were pleased with the news, so they thought they should celebrate and get some cakes at Soul's favorite bakery. They expected a quaint little place whose only sound was ambiance and a nice selection of cakes. What they didn't expect was some guy with tea all over to pass them on the way out, Ruby and Sapphire on the floor wrestling with Red trying to pull them apart, Diamond and Pearl jumping around with Platinum, and lastly, Blue in a maid costume. Everyone from detention being there happened to be a bonus. Well, at least they still had a nice selection of cakes.
"This was much different than I had imagined when you told me about it," Black told them.
Crystal and Soul realized everyone, or almost everyone with the exception of Yellow, Silver, and Gold, from the punishment thing was here. They went straight to the counter and went to check out the cakes, greeting everyone. While Black was trying to choose which one he wanted, Soul kept looking around.
"Wow, the whole detention crew is here!" Soul exclaimed. "Well, almost everyone!"
"I'm glad that guy isn't here..." Crystal muttered to herself, referring to Gold.
"You know, I always wondered about this Crys, but why do you dislike him so much?" the brunette asked. "I have a good reason because of the incident, but you seem to just hate him from the beginning."
"It's not like I hate him," Crystal clarified. "I just don't like how irresponsible he is. He acts like a delinquent, says stuff about teachers, and just plays around during class when he should be properly studying and trying his best to stay in the program. High school might not seem much now, but it affects your future life and what college you get into later. Plus, now I have a legitimate reason that I don't like him."
"Ah," Soul said, remembering her story about how he threw her phone out of the window.
"I swear, the more he opens his mouth, the more I think about our dad," Crystal grumbled.
"Woah, just 'cause Gold is wild and stuff doesn't mean he's like our dad," Soul defended. Though she didn't entirely like the boy since he flirted with multiple girls other than Crystal, she didn't think Crystal would go and compare him to their deadbeat dad who abandoned them.
"Okay, yeah, I'm going too far when it hasn't happened yet," Crystal backed off, seeing her mistake. "I still stand by what I said earlier though."
"Cut him some slack," Soul told her.
Just when she said that, Gold, Silver, and Yellow emerged from under the table, all tangled up with each other. Ruby, Sapphire, and Red happened to freeze when they saw the scene and backed away from them. Gold and Silver continued to grab each other while Yellow just crawled away. Quickly, the blonde stood up and looked around. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized Lance was gone.
"I knew he was a delinquent," Crystal commented once she saw him randomly emerge from under the table. Even Soul couldn't defend this one.
Gold stopped fighting Silver when he felt eyes on him. "O-Oh hey, Super Serious Gal!" he greeted, pushing the redhead off of him and standing up. "What brings you here?"
Before Crystal could properly answer, Emerald's yelling cut her off. "Yellow! Since when were you a girl?!"
"YES!"
All eyes turned to Red who suddenly yelled that and pumped his fists into the air. Once the realization that everyone was staring hit him, he scratched his cheek and smiled awkwardly.
"Um, I just didn't want to be the only one who didn't know Yellow was a girl," Red explained.
"You can totally tell she's a girl. She has a smaller petite build than boys," Ruby pointed out.
"What are ya talkin' 'bout? I only knew she was a girl because I met her without her hat," Sapphire brought up. Not that there's anything wrong with being mistaken as a boy anyways.
Blue joined the conversation, intrigued. "I bet Rald and Red are the only ones who didn't know! Typical dense boys~!" she joked.
"Technically, Emerald was the last one," Red defended, making the blond glare. "Uh, anyways, Yellow, why were you under the table?"
Yellow stiffened up when he called her name. She didn't want to answer the question, but she didn't want to ignore him. "Umm... the truth is—"
"—Forget about that! Gold, you idiot, you owe me a new phone!" Crystal cut her off, remembering what the girl's cousin did.
"Hey, it was an accident!" Gold screamed, trying to avoid the girl. He tried escaping her grasp by running circles around Yellow, which made the blonde confused since Crystal followed. Since it seemed to be futile, he ran over to the counter. When he looked back to see if Crystal was catching up to him, he didn't watch where he was going properly, and ended up smashing into a brown-haired boy who was looking at the cakes.
"Black!" Crystal cried, rushing over to her brother to see if he needed help. "Are you—"
"—OH MY GOSH, IS THAT RESHIRAM?" Gold's shriek cut her off and made everyone in the cafe look at him, even Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, who was at the other side of the cafe. In response to their confusion, he held up a card in the air.
"Heck yeah! It took me forever to find it!" Black shouted, getting excited that he met another Pokémon fan.
"Yeah, I heard you can only get this one in America!" Gold exclaimed, looking at the card with shiny eyes.
"No way!" Red screamed, going over to join the two. "This is my first time seeing one! Let me touch it, Gold!"
"Wait! I just held it for a second!" Gold whined, pulling it away from his senior.
"Geez..." Crystal muttered when she saw her brother befriend them so easily and rabble on about Pokémon. She was into the game too, but she wasn't as obsessed as Black.
"Dorks," Soul coughed, earning a look from her sister.
"Blue," Crystal called, getting the attention of the cashier. She pointed at a couple random cakes. "Can I get these cakes to go, please?"
Blue nodded cheerfully. "Of course!" she said, getting the cakes ready.
While she was getting the cakes, Soul made small conversation with her. "I didn't know you and Yellow work here!"
"I'm just helping out a friend," Blue replied. "Yellow works here for extra cash though. Anyways, how is your week so far? You girls doing alright?"
Blue wasn't entirely close with the twins compared to the others like Gold and Silver, but she was still very friendly with them after school and they would have random conversation about things. Crystal thought she was shady since she was associated with Gold and Silver while Soul just found her to be funny and pretty. Despite their differences, they still share a fairly good relationship.
"Yes, our class is doing a haunted house theme, but I'm sure you heard from Gold and Silver already," Crystal responded.
"What? That's so cool! Ugh, Silv never tells me anything!" Blue said, her interest perked. "I'll be sure to visit it when I have time!"
"You should come visit our cafe too!" Yellow mentioned. "It's Pokémon themed, so I'm sure your brother will like it too!"
Crystal's sweat dropped when she thought about how Pokémon obsessed her brother is. "Yeah, I'll try to swing by during my break."
"I'd tell y'all to swing by mines too, but ya need ta be in a relationship!" Sapphire joined the conversation, looking at the display of cakes. "My class is lame, we're doing some obstacle course for couples."
"Ugh, I so want a boyfriend," Soul announced.
"Forget about that, you need to focus more on your studies before you look for one," Crystal chided.
Soul rolled her eyes at that repeated line. "Yeah, yeah," she said, already used to Crystal's nagging.
"Don't worry, my friend! I'll find one for you!" Blue reassured her jokingly. Or at least, they think? Yellow gave them a nervous smile when Blue said that, so they weren't entirely sure.
"Stop it," Yellow gently told her, disapproving of her meddling. "Anyways, I hope we can survive this week! I heard Lt. Surge wants us after school tomorrow again."
Hearing this information, all four girls groaned in unison. They thought they were going to have the week off because of festival preparations, but Lt. Surge changed his mind all of a sudden and they need to report to City Hall tomorrow again.
"Ugh, don't remind me..." Crystal mumbled.
Emerald's POV
I adjusted my headgear while the game was loading on the computer screen. Ugh, I hate this thing. Sure it masks my voice well and technology is amazing, but IT'S SO HARD TO FIT ON MY HEAD. I hate how I have to shower to make my hair go down to put this thing on. It's annoying to play with wet hair because the headgear makes it cling to my head. Man, I really want a blow dryer for Christmas now.
"Man, I really want a hair dryer for Christmas..." I voiced my thoughts out loud.
[Hair dryer? Seriously dude?]
"None of your business, Awesome," I replied back calmly. Oh shoot. I forgot that I was online.
I heard a laugh coming from the other side. [Hey, you said it first, I just repeated it.]
"Uh huh, okay," I replied, not caring. "Where are the others?"
Like usual, we texted each other to meet up in the private space only for us, known as The Lab. I don't know if it became our hangout place, but I guess it was the most convenient. I wonder when the others will arrive though. The special group promotion match ends at midnight and we can't join unless we have a full party. Ugh, I really need those coins. They better not be late! I want to buy a new weapon for my character, it's been so long!
[The others should be— Ooh! Capturer is about to get on, she just texted me!]
"You know, I wonder why you and Capturer are so close. You guys know each other in real life?"
We might be a whole full party, but I see a lot of other players split off into pairs or separate chats more. I wonder if they knew each other in real life. I know Sparkles, or Ruby, yuck, I don't know why he chose that lame name. Makes me kind of wonder about the other names everyone else chose. They all seem pretty lame.
[Nope!] Awesome replied. [I bet if I knew her, she'd fall for me though.]
Ew! I swear, I get enough of that dating and love and mushy crap at school! I think I might puke! Not only do Ruby and Sapphire friggin' flirt all the time with each other, I have to prepare the festival for a couple's challenge. Geez, I thought I could escape this gross stuff when I play games!
"Okay dude, but how do ya know Capturer is a girl? Maybe Capturer is a guy and he's hiding his true gender because he doesn't want anyone to find out," I reasoned, hoping to crush his dreams. "Sparkles said he was a guy too, and it's hard to tell."
[How do you know he's a guy? He could be lying, right?]
"That's because I know him in real life, duh," I admitted. I don't think it's much of a big deal to let Awesome know that I know him.
[Dude, you know each other in real life?! That's crazy!]
"Yeah, it's whatever," I said, shrugging it off.
"Tree! Tree!" I turned my recliner chair around, only to see Treecko standing in the doorway. It was cowering behind the door, using it to hide half of itself, not including the head.
I took off my headgear. "Do you need something?"
It only nodded its head at me. I don't know what that means. Ugh, I totally forgot about this problem. I wonder if the others experienced it the other night too. We planned to meet up that night later, so I'm assuming they might? Ruby had one come out too, so I wouldn't be surprised. Not really sure though since no one mentioned it in the group chat. I wouldn't blame them though. If it didn't happen to me, I wouldn't believe it. I wonder if I should bring it up...
I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard some noise coming back from headgear. Putting it back on, I heard Awesome yell my name.
"What's up?!" I answered his calls. Is everyone online yet?
[They just sent the announcement to go to the eighteenth gym if we wanted to join the promotion battle. The others texted in the group chat that they're already there.]
"Alright! I'll meet you there then!" I told him. Awesome's character disappeared from the screen. I guess he left already.
I surveyed the screen, looking for the options to travel. Once I clicked the eighteenth gym icon, a screen popped up and a monotone voice read the script out loud in my ear.
{Are you sure you want to enter the special promotion battle?}
Yes, of course.
{Please join up with your party when you enter the lobby of the eighteenth gym.}
I clicked the button to enter and the loading screen popped up. I really hate the school dorm's WiFi, it's always sooooo slow. While I was waiting, I glanced back at the treecko that was still hiding shyly behind my bedroom door, peering out at me. I still don't know what to do about this situation. Man, I really hope the game doesn't crash this time. I already have enough trouble as it is this week.
Blue's POV
"You know, I just love game night! What's better than us four sticking together?"
I honestly needed a break after working all day after school! With school festival preparations and helping out my friends, I feel like I never have a break. Well, it's fine since I enjoy it. I can't wait to just relax and play. I mean, I hope I can relax this time. Last night, I thought I could, but then a jigglypuff just shot out of my screen and knocked me on the floor.
I looked up to glance at the jigglypuff, totodile, pikachu, and aipom jumping around in Yellow's kitchen. It's kind of surreal what happened. We made a few discussions on just keeping them hidden for now and as pets, but I feel like it's not the best way to make the most out of the situation. I should try and scheme up something later. I bet jigglypuff can help me do lots of things if I put my mind to it.
"Well, you guys haven't come over in awhile, so I guess it's fun," Gold shrugged, snacking on his chips. "But seriously, you guys were in the same room as me, and yet none of you guys told me that we were supposed to report to the gym!"
"I thought it was obvious," Silv responded, not caring.
"It's fine. You know now," Yellow said.
"Yeah, yeah, thanks to no one," Gold replied. "I wonder if Capturer is friends with anyone in the group. Hacker told me him and Sparkles are close, so I'm not too surprised if more people in our group know each other in real life."
Oh yeah. Yellow told me that Red was Fire_Fighter. I was kind of surprised, but it makes sense. Fire_Fighter is always going on and on about new events and playing so much, and every time I see Red, he's being a dork about Pokémon. I think he'll make a lovely couple for Yellow since she's dorky herself but in a cutesy way. I should really make plans to push them together during the festival.
[Hacker is here!] Sapphoro, one of our group members, alerted his presence.
I put my headgear back on and adjusted the mic to my mouth. "Hey Hacker, took you long enough~!"
[For reals! You took such a long time!] Pealord commented.
[It's okay, we still have plenty of time till midnight! I'm just glad you're here.] Fire reassured. Geez, this guy is totally Red.
[I'm going to start it.] Leaf informed.
We needed someone to start the special promotion event, and now that the group is assembled, it should be fine! It's been awhile since we were all together in a large group, I really miss playing with them as a full party.
A few seconds after Leaf said that, a message popped up on my screen and a monotone voice read the message out loud.
{Welcome to the special promotional event! Players present are: Hacker551, Quartz101, Healer, LeafGreen, Fire_Fighter, Pealord, BeautifulSparkles_114, Sapphoro911, Kotone24, Aoineko, DarkHood097_, Capturer01, Awesomenessofall_123, and Cakeisyummy234! We invite you to enjoy this event and collect coins as a prize! However, we have a condition to get these coins. As you already know, the other night, Pokémon came out of the game and each of you was given a partner based on your avatar. If you all are wondering why, it is because of a program we made. We gifted those Pokémon to all of you so that you can do a job for us. All fourteen of you are the chosen ones.}
My heart dropped. I should've expected that the others got Pokémon too when Gold and Yellow did, but what the heck does the game want us to do and how did they get those creatures out?
The screen changed and more dialogue popped up.
{This upcoming Monday when the festivities begin, at 2 PM exactly, many men dressed in black will be attacking your school, Jewel Academy. Test the Pokémon out gifted to you and try to eliminate them. That is the enemy team, and that team is sent to kill you all. More information will be reported to all of you the same day at 8 PM sharp. Please log in again at that time. If you manage to get a few jobs done, then we will reward you with coins.}
[Wait! Wait!] My heart skipped a beat again when Gold started yelling frantically in the microphone. Damn, I already felt on edge when it announced our school name, but Gold's screaming out of nowhere scared the heck out of me.
[That's a load of crap! You're literally implying that all of us go to the same school!]
{We're not implying. We're saying it.}
This part freaked me out because now it was like the game system was talking to us specifically instead of just treating us as another group. Well, the fact they mentioned our school name should've given it away. But really? Everyone else goes to the same school as me? I know Red, Gold, Silv, and Yellow. I didn't expect the rest of the group to be going to the same school as me. I wonder if Leaf goes there too.
[You don't know me in real life.] Quartz argued. [And even if you do, then how do you expect us to just trust your words blindly that random men will come for us?]
Quartz is right. This game is acting like they know us in real life, but I don't leave any tracking or contact information that'll lead them to me. They might've gotten my school name, but that doesn't mean anything. The laptop I'm using is basically school property, it's not like it has my real identity anywhere on it. I was sure to be careful after hacking to find Yellow.
{Whether you believe it or not, we're trying to help and is on your side to fight evil. You'll be thanking us at 8 PM on that day when we talk again. In addition, As a symbol of trust and to aid you all, we present you with another gift.}
I raised an eyebrow after a second of silence. What gift?
Suddenly, my laptop screen started to glow just like the time jigglypuff came out.
[Hit the deck!] Gold shouted, tossing his laptop onto the couch away from him.
I quickly did as he said, not wanting to repeat the other experience. I saw Silv and Yellow do the same as well.
A few seconds later, some flew out of the screen. I went over to go pick it up and I saw the others do the same. Gripping the item in my hand, I realized what it was.
It's a pokéball.
Why were they giving us this though?
I looked at my jigglypuff and the three other Pokémon. Did they want us to catch them or something?
{I'm sure all of you recognize this device. To carry your Pokémon more easily, we have gifted you all with a pokéball. We hope that you all can use this gift to complete your first mission for us. Enjoy the special promotional event and thank you for playing.}
Before I could do anything, my laptop screen turned black. I turned to the others and their laptops were in the same condition as mine.
Clutching the mysterious pokéball in my hand, I looked up at jigglypuff. What have we gotten ourselves into?
Timeskip — About 6 days later from that night...
Honestly, Yellow couldn't really understand what she was feeling. All of her emotions felt like they were mixed up because of what happened the other night. One day, Pokémon came out of the screen. She was going crazy with that problem and the fact that Gold's aipom ran wild the next day. When she thought she'd have a break, the very same day her favorite online game is telling her and thirteen other people that guys are going to come to their school festival just to kill them. Not only was she surprised that everyone else went to her school, people were trying to come and kill her. She was kind of doubtful about the game since Blue mentioned how they can't find them individually, but after bringing Pokémon out of the screens, she didn't know what to believe anymore. She had a mix of fear, confusion, anxiety, and excitement all wrapped into one.
"Yellow!" The blonde stiffened up at the sound of her name. She turned around slowly, having a terrified expression on her face.
"O-Oh, it's you, Blue," she said, smiling nervously.
Blue looked at her friend. "Are you okay, Yellow? You look like you saw a ghost."
"Sorry, I just feel on edge," Yellow replied.
Almost a week has passed since that night and preparations from the festival have finished. Today was the day that the black dressed in black were supposed to come, so Yellow was extra nervous.
"Don't be. Just remember what I said last night," Blue reminded, trying to calm the girl down. "We have to stick together."
Yellow nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, thanks Blue."
"No prob—"
"Stop talking and get to work, Pesky Woman," Green interjected.
He was dressed in the same charmander costume that he tried on when they first got their costumes. This time, it was equipped with a butler sash that went around his waist and a tray that had milkshakes on top. No matter how many times Blue saw him in this costume, she couldn't help but laugh.
"You... are great... in... that outfit! I can really... feel the... flames from here!" Blue said in between her giggles. She tried to keep it under control, but she couldn't and she burst out into a loud laughter.
Green's eye twitched, obviously annoyed. "Just get to work," he growled, walking away from the pair.
"You can really feel his glare pierce your soul," Yellow commented, laughing nervously. "Was his outfit really that funny?"
Did she think it was funny? Honestly, she doesn't really know. But did she think the costume was adorable? Yes.
"It's the cutie charmander and grumpy Green combined! How can that not be funny?" Blue replied, wiping a tear. "That was a good laugh! Okay, I'll talk to you later, Yells. I have to hurry up and get that table."
"Okay," Yellow said.
The blonde stared around the cafe, lost in thought. I wonder if I should go help...
"—Yellow!"
Hearing her name being called again, Yellow jumped in place. She looked up and realized that Red was right in front of her.
"Sorry! Did I scare you?" Red asked innocently, watching her reaction.
"U-Um, no! It was totally my fault! Don't worry about it!" Yellow spluttered, kind of embarrassed that she behaved that way again. Nothing can calm her nerves down at that point.
"So, what's up?" she asked, acting casual.
She was sure Red was a part of the group since he claimed to be Fire, but she couldn't really tell because of his demeanor. Compared to her who's freaking out every second, Red seemed super normal and acting cheerful as always. Then again, Blue was acting chill too.
"Oh I just came to get you because they want us in the kitchen," Red said, gesturing towards the back. "They need some extra help because Joey got food poisoning from another stall."
"What?" Yellow shouted, widening her eyes. "Is he okay?!"
"He's fine, he's fine," Red reassured, waving it off. "He's just laying in the nurse's office right now and resting. They're just understaffed, so they asked me to get some hands. I'd ask Blue, but she seems kind of wild. Are you okay at baking and cooking?"
"Umm... I guess," Yellow mumbled. She was more or less good at it since she was the one who made her and Gold's meals everyday. As long as she follows the recipe, it should be fine. "I can help!"
Red smiled at her. "Alright! That's great!"
As she followed him to the back, she glanced at her watch then at the only window in the room. No sign of them yet. Four hours to go, she thought.
"Is something wrong?"
Yellow jumped at the sound of his voice again. "U-Um! No, not at all," she lied, quite badly. "I'm just wondering how many people are gonna be here."
"Well, it's still early in the morning, so not many people are here yet," Red told her. "Hopefully, more can come! We worked really hard this week, so I want our efforts to pay off!"
Yellow nodded in agreement and the two continued to walk to the kitchen area. Maybe, this is good. I just could focus on festival stuff for now. It might not happen after all, and I should just clear my mind like Blue.
After everything that happened last night, Blue tried not to be bothered. I mean, it was the regular everyday thing that an RPG game that you play with your friends just happens to know where you are, who you are, and probably a lot of things about you even though you never put one shred of info in there. It was also common that they tell you that guys will come to your school festival and kill you and some other teenagers. You know, it was a completely normal thing. No biggie, right? RIGHT? Yeah, it did sound insane when she gave that speech to Yellow, Silver, and Gold, but she tried her best to be calm and handle the situation. All they need to do is stick together, and if some random assassin guy comes to their school, they'll never find them, and they'll get lost in the crowd. Thinking optimistically was the best thing for her, so she tried to keep it cool.
The only thing that fazed her was the identity of the other people in the game. There was a possibility that one could be a traitor by being an insider, or be the one controlling the scenes from behind. She knew that her allies were Silver, Gold, and Yellow, and maybe Red. She knew Red for the longest time before she even met Yellow, and in those years, Red never acted like a fake person to come and kill her when her guard is down. If he wanted to do something, he would've done it sooner. And if he tried to double cross her in real life, she'll just go against him.
At least I know I can trust Leaf, she thought.
Leaf and her had a strange relationship. She couldn't really put her finger on it to properly describe it, but she just had a good feeling about him.
I wonder how he's doing.
While Blue was waiting for the order to come out, she quickly hid in the corner and started texting Leaf again. She texted him that night too in the group chat when everyone was freaking out, but since it was the day of the attack, Blue wanted to reach out to him again.
BING!
Green felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Shoving the metal tray on the customer's table, he walked away from the table to check the text message.
To: LeafGreen
From: Aoineko
Yo, Leaf! it's nice 2 talk 2 u again? well anyways, I'll cut 2 da chase. I believe that u r da smartest of da group, so I'm going 2 ask u a question since u apparently have the answers 2 everything. will something really happen today, or no?
P.S. This is L8, but I never knew that u went 2 my school (if the crazy game person was right). We should meet up 1 day X3
Green stared at the text message for a few seconds before replying back.
"Are you okay, Pearl? You look like you're going nuts," Diamond commented, eating a lollipop. "Actually, it looks like you haven't been sleeping again."
"Because Dia— no, Diamond. Aren't you worried about what happened that night! I mean, the crazy game even gave us a pokéball, and things are happening! Think about it! If anything can come out of the screen, then everything can get dangerous. Fire Pokémon can come out and blow fire everywhere, electric Pokémon can shock someone till they're dead, and ghost Pokémon... they just give me the creeps," Pearl said, covering his arms, getting the chills about thinking about it. "Pokémon might be cool and all, but they're definitely not for the real world. Plus, I'm worried about what he said about the attack."
"Yeah, I'm with you," Diamond agreed. "I'm still wondering how they knew where we went to school."
"Oh yeah, that part was freaky too," Pearl commented.
"For now, we should just calm down and focus on the festival. Stuff might've happened, but it's not like they'll send random guys to kill us just for playing a game," Diamond reasoned. Though he was doubtful of his own words, he hoped it was true.
Pearl relaxed his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess," he replied. "Hey, where's Missy?"
"Wait, where's Missy?" Pearl asked, looking around and noticing that the blue-haired girl wasn't around.
Even though the three were in separate classes for the semester, they still got to choose their location for their booths. Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum coordinated that their class's booths were next to each other so they can chat sometimes or see each other more. Well, it was more of Diamond and Pearl planning it because Platinum said she wasn't really going to work. It was still a nice thought that she joined though.
"I think she said she was with a friend," Diamond informed. "She should be—"
"—Excuse me, can I please buy some cotton candy?"
The two halted their conversation and turned to the front of the booth where the voice came from. A man dressed professionally in a black tuxedo stood there, sunglasses on his face and his hair was neatly down, held by hair gel. They were confused as to why someone like this was at their school festival and buying cotton candy, especially in the morning.
"... Sure," Pearl answered hesitantly, wondering about his appearance.
Beside him in the other booth, Diamond continued to gaze at him while licking onto his lollipop. The man just acknowledged the boy's presence and gave him a head nod as a greeting. Of course, he returned it, but he continued to stare while Pearl was getting the product.
"Here, ya go!" Pearl said, hanging him the bag of cotton candy. "That'll be—"
Before he could finish, the man just shoved a random amount of bills into Pearl's hand and left without saying anything else. Pearl counted the money, noticing that was way more than what he had to pay.
"Woah, what's up with that guy?" he muttered to Diamond. When he didn't hear a response from his best friend, he looked up. "Is something wrong, Dia?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Diamond replied. Pearl noticed that he seemed distracted and that he kept looking at something in the distance. "I don't know why, but I just get a weird vibe from that guy."
"Platinum, you're so sweet to offer to show me around!" Candice chimed happily. "I hope it isn't too much trouble!"
Candice was Platinum's best friend since she was smaller. Like Platinum, her family was very rich as well, so she had connections that led her to meet the girl. It's been awhile since the two reunited since they chose to go to different schools and Candice was a much older. It didn't really matter though since the two still stayed in touch and Candice was already in college.
"It's not that much of an inconvenience. I apologize for bringing you very early though. I see that it looks emptier at this time of day because everyone is still preparing," Platinum replied, strolling through the sophomore's hallway with her.
"It's fine! I just wanted to hang with you for a while and catch a break! I've been dying over these college papers I have written weekly!" Candice said, full of energy. "So how's your new school? Are you enjoying high school life?"
"Yes, I find it pleasant so far," Platinum replied. "However, lately, there's this thing that's been worrying me."
Platinum was going to call full on bodyguards and just stay home from the festivities today after getting that warning from the game. However, she felt bad breaking her promise to Candice when it was one of the rarer times to see her. She was still worried about the threat, but then again, there was no way they'd even know she was Quartz.
"What's wrong?" Candice asked in concern, frowning.
Platinum shook those thoughts away. "It is nothing to worry about. I think I'm overthinking things again."
"Typical Platinum! Always stressing yourself over little things!" Candice said, brightening up. "Hey, let's go get some good food! I know that'll cheer you up!"
Platinum nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. "I think that sounds great."
"AHHHH!" A hurling shriek was heard. The girl who was the one screaming immediately went to cling onto her boyfriend's arm. "I can't do this anymore!"
Her boyfriend patted her head to comfort her. "As long as I'm here, it's going to be okay," he reassured manly.
"Honey," she muttered, her face buried into his chest. She grabbed his arm tighter, and continued to walk with him through the rest of the dark maze.
"Crys, I hate this," Soul whispered to her sister once the couple passed them.
Currently, Soul was dressed in a fairy dress like she wanted, but she had a bunch of scary horror makeup and fake blood all over her dress. It either looked like she was a zombie fairy, or that she was a fairy who got beat up in an alley. Either way, she was not happy with her look. Crystal, on the other hand, didn't care and she wore the same witch costume she tried on earlier last week.
"Watching people get lovey-dovey when I'm a lonely ugly fairy is killing me!" she announced. She and Crystal were the ones who previously scared the girl earlier, so they got a really good view of everything.
"You were telling me to get together with Gold yesterday though," Crystal retorted.
Yesterday, while they were decorating the windows at City Hall, Soul suggested that Crystal should get with Gold because he kept going after her. Crystal didn't know why her sister would make such an insane suggestion all of a sudden, but Soul said they were a cute pairing. Honestly, it was probably because she was sleep deprived with all of the movement she's forced to do and because she hung out with Blue more often.
"I know, but it's totally different when one of your ships becomes canon because you made them! Other people just make my life lonely," Soul stated.
"What are you talking about? What's a ship and what's canon?" Crystal asked, completely confused.
Soul let out a sigh. "If you aren't a shipper, you wouldn't understand," she replied.
"Okay, you sound crazy," Crystal remarked. "And I am not going to question it because you're driving me insane."
"I am perfectly sane," she claimed.
Soul groaned and sat on one of the stone stools used as decoration in the classroom. "Man, when are we going to get a break? Why do so many couples come through this thing? Scary movies aren't even that fun and it's still morning!"
"Stop complaining."
Crystal and Soul stiffened up together when they heard a deep voice appear behind them. Whipping around, they saw that it was Silver covered in toilet paper as a mummy and Gold with a black hood and scythe, pretending to be the grim reaper again.
Soul's initial reaction to them was "I should've been the freaken mummy! You don't even look that scary and ugly!"
"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment, or not," Silver mumbled. He was supposed to be scary and ugly because of their theme, but calling a person 'not ugly' is a compliment.
"Hey Super Serious Gal and Mario!" Gold greeted cheerfully, his voice a bit loud. He glanced over to Crystal, who returned eye contact. "Hey Super Serious Gal! Let's go look around the festival together during our breaks!"
"No wa—" Crystal stopped in her sentence when Soul elbowed her, who gave her a look as if she was gesturing something. Crystal had no idea what the heck that look meant, and proceeded to turn down Gold's invitation. "No, I'm good. I don't even know if our breaks match up."
She remembered Soul's words to be nicer to the boy, so she gave him a proper excuse rather than flat out reject him. After this week when everything settles down more, Gold promised to go buy her a new cell phone. Though it was completely his fault that her other one broke, Crystal was content that he was taking responsibility and owning up for once.
"Oh, don't worry! Silv is in charge of that, and he told me that our breaks are at the same time actually," Gold informed. "It's at 1:45 PM."
"1:45?" Soul and Crystal repeated at the same time.
That was fifteen minutes before 2 PM, which is the time that the game said random men would attack them. Soul and Crystal planned to stay together at that time and man the booths in a crowded place, so they would watch each other's backs if that actually happened. Crystal highly doubted it would happen though.
"Woah, they did that awesome twin thing where they say the same thing," Gold remarked to Silver, who did not seem to care at all.
A light bulb appeared over Soul's head as Crystal started to decline the offer, "Sorry, but I planned to—" Soul elbowed her again, making the blue-haired girl turn and glare. "What, now?"
Soul yanked her shirt towards her, then put her mouth near Crystal's ears. "Look Crys. Don't you get it? This is it— it's the thing from last night. Black suit. Gold's wearing black. Don't you think that he's the killer? He has a reason to kill you for all the time you kicked him too!" she whispered. "You need to go with him!"
"That's ridiculous! Even if that was true, you're basically telling me to go and get killed!" she whisper-shouted back.
"No, you're getting the advantage! If you can surprise him and knock him out, then you win and we don't get killed!" Soul replied.
"Soul, you're being crazy," Crystal said, shooting the brunette a dead look. She knew her sister was crazy, but this plan she had in her head about Gold being some kind of killer was out of control.
"Please Crys, trust me on this," Soul begged, giving her puppy eyes.
Crystal rolled her eyes then let out a groan. "Fine," she said before turning to the guys. "I'll go with you."
After spending more time with Gold, he wasn't as annoying as Crystal initially thought. In fact, she had a different outlook on both Gold and Silver after doing decorations with them after school. They didn't really seem to be like the delinquent type like she imagine them to be. Well, Gold can still arguably be a troublemaker though.
Gold grinned widely. "Great! Then it's a date! See you later, Super Serious Gal!" he told her, leaving them before she could change her mind. Silver was about to leave with him, but Soul stopped him by tugging on his costume.
"Silver! When's my break?" she inquired.
"2:05 PM," he answered, leaving afterwards.
Soul turned to Crystal now that the two were gone. "I guess my break is right after the promised time. Take down Gold when he's not looking! I know you can as a karate prodigy!"
Crystal rolled her eyes. "You need to stop reading those crazy mangas. I think they're a bad influence on you!"
Sapphire wasn't scared at all. The girl was pretty strong and she knew she could probably knock the guy out easily. Also, who would believe a random online threat anyways? Killing someone is kind of hard to do when you don't know where that person is or who they are. She was just skeptical about the whole thing. The only thing that seemed to make her wonder is the fact that Sparkles, one of her favorite people in the world, is a student in her school. It was confirmed in the group chat that very night, and she wanted to ask more about Sparkles now that they went to the same school, but she felt nervous and awkward about it.
Pulling out her phone, she started to log in and text Sparkles. She was super bored because of the lame lovey-dovey obstacles in the classroom, and since her job is to take the couples in and greet them, she had to do the least amount of work.
"Hey!" She jumped at the sound of the sudden loud voice.
Looking up from her phone, she saw Ruby, who was wearing glasses and looking at her sternly. "What are you doing? You're supposed to deal with the customers, not play on your phone."
"Why do ya care?" She quirked an eyebrow.
"Actually I don't, but this is part of my grade, so try not to slack off," he reminded. "Mr. Wallace is really depending on us, so I need this idea to be a success."
Ruby turned to the customers in front of them when he saw them approach him and Sapphire, and he gave them a nice fake smile. "Hello, welcome to the couple's challenge! If you win, you get a special memory gift at the end of the line! But first, you must complete the challenges that are ahead! Do you have the tickets?" he inquired professionally.
He took the tickets the couple gave to him then gestured them inside. "Thank you! Have a nice day and good luck!"
When Sapphire sat there just watching them, Ruby nudged her.
"What was that for?" she hissed.
Keeping a smile, he muttered to her, "Open the rope, you caveman."
Sapphire did as told and opened the red velvet rope so that the couple could enter. After that, she went straight back to texting on her phone.
"Get off of your phone!" Ruby scolded, frowning.
"Just wait!" she replied, swatting his hands away. "Let me just finish texting Sparkles!"
Ruby froze when he heard the familiar name. "What, what?"
"And... send," Sapphire announced, closing her phone and putting it away. "There, I'm done! Ya happ—"
—BING!
Sapphire stopped talking when something in Ruby's pocket went off.
The room was dimly lit. A person sitting on a recliner chair was facing numerous cameras that showed different areas of the school. Behind that person were Koga, Lt. Surge, and Sabrina standing on the other side of a long desk. They continued to keep their heads down as they waited for their boss to speak.
"I cannot wait to begin this operation," the person in the chair stated.
"Sir, are you sure this plan will help gain the trust of the kids? What happens if one of the grunts accidentally kills one of them?" Sabrina asked.
He stayed quiet before answering her, "Do you doubt my plan?"
"Of course not, Sir. I'm just worried about the possibilities," she responded.
"In that case, don't worry. I'm pretty sure whatever we throw at them, those kids will live. And if not, then it just proves they were never good enough. We need this plan to be successful so that I can gain their trust and they'll believe in my words. I hope that you three will not disappoint me as commanders on this mission. Get the grunts ready, it's almost time."
"Yes sir!" the three shouted simultaneously, leaving the room.
The person in the chair continued to stare at the cameras. "Everything's coming together..."
