A/N — WOO HOO! Three day weekend for meeee guys! :)))) Well anyways, I'm going straight to the apologies like usual, but this has been a WHOLE LONG while since I updated, huh? I seriously thought I was gonna go on hiatus for a moment, but I guess I survived it. Stepping away from the depress stuff though, LET'S SKIP TO ME CHEERING! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
AND TO THE BEAUTIFUL REVIEWERS LIKE USUAL —
Emeraldofthestars — Aw thank you so much XD Your review really made my day and it's so sweet of you to say that ;)
Shidake — Yeaaaaaah, but tbh the plot finally moved. But yah, I think anyone would LOL. Anyways, thanks for reviewing :))
Just Another Kid — Haha thanks for always reviewing XD Also, LOL at your review! Haha, I love it! Your reaction seemed funny, but I have to warn you... this chapter isn't as much bloody as the other one, so it's okay :) Also, as for the other chapters... hmmm... I don't really know if there's more blood. Well, there is, but no as much, so don't worry!
Falneou17 — Yeah, but I think it was obvious that I was rushing! Sorry about the less details though. My grammar is too weak. Well... anyways, thanks for reviewing and your compliment :)
justsomerandompokemonguy — LOL, yes. This is literally the biggest turning point I think...
TheRunAwayPanda — THANK YOU!
Pale1357 — yes, yes it has, LOL.
ElectroPhoenix — Actually, yes I have to reveal, it is. Sorry about the long update by the way... sighs... well anyways, you're going to find out some details, but I got to say, this isn't going to be all the answers to your curiousity, sorry!
darkdemon5 — THANK YOU SO MUCH~! but yeah, school is a butt. And thanks for understanding :)
Topaz Smith — Haha, thanks! And yeah, it WAS rushed, oh wells.
ASDFGHJKL THANK YOU SO MUCH! *CRIES* I'M SO SORRY I WAS SO LATE BUT THE CHAPTER WAS HERE, SO GO ON AHEAD!
Chapter Twelve — The Nostalgic Feeling (Part II)
Platinum's POV
It was my fault.
Candice is dead and it was my fault.
If it weren't for my panic attack, I wouldn't have gone unconscious, and Candice wouldn't be like this. Not even that, but if I had taken the warning more seriously and hired bodyguards or stayed home, then this wouldn't even have happened.
I'm so useless.
And I even had the nerve to cry and feel scared. Why is my hand shaking? Why is my heart stopping? What is this horrible feeling?
"DAAAAAWNNNN!"
That name kept repeating in my mind, along with the horrifying shriek that came with it. I don't know whose voice it was, but it was clear.
Dawn.
That girl... she's the same as me. After finally seeing her face, it feels like it's fate to end the same way she did. I'm alone like her, I let someone kill my friend like her, I had a panic attack like her, and I'm pathetically useless like her. We're both the same. Am I going to end up like she did? Ah, just thinking about it is killing me. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I got murdered by this man. I wouldn't have to experience this horrible feeling of being useless again, nor would I have to see those visions of Dawn again that's been haunting me recently.
I stared at Candice's killer who was a short distance from us. He was still gripping onto his knife, and I don't know why he didn't attack me yet, especially when I was unconscious. My vision became blurry. It's probably because of my tears. Oh well, I guess I can accept whatever comes my way. I know I'm not physically strong and I know I'm going to lose the fight no matter how hard I try. That girl, Dawn, did after all. Dawn was even older than me, so if she didn't have a chance, then what do I have?
The killer crept closer, slowly walking to us.
This familiar scene felt so nostalgic even though we were different.
Instead of having a breakdown like that girl, I should just accept fate and my misfortune in life. After all, being calm and level headed is the thing I'm best at.
He came closer.
Why is my heart stopping so much? Why couldn't I handle this?
And closer.
I mean, I should be used to this, considering the multiple kidnappings in my life.
And closer, finally reaching me.
I sat there with Candice in my arms, her eyes closed. At least I could die in her arms. My eyes flickered over to the knife in his hand covered in her blood. This is going to be the end of me, and I'm okay with it. This is my punishment for acting so stupid and letting my friend end up this way. I hope Candice can forgive me.
I closed my eyes. Just get this over with quickly.
But it never came.
I opened my eyes to see what happened, only to find someone else in front of me. I recognized that wide back. It was Diamond.
Candice's killer was on the floor with his knife, a bit farther from us. He clicked his tongue upon Diamond's appearance and got up from the grass, clutching his knife. I noticed that more blood dripped from it.
"Missy," Diamond called me, turning around. His face was more serious and concerned. "Are you alright?!"
"... Diamond?" I croaked, my voice suddenly hoarse.
He widened his eyes when he saw me, his expression full of worry now. "Ah! You have a cut here!" He reached out and touched my cheek, caressing the small cut on my face gently. "Oh no! We need to get you to the nurse's office right away! Does it hurt a lot?"
As he pulled back his hand, I noticed something. There was a stream of blood falling from his hand, dripping all over the grass.
When did he get that? Was it when that guy was about to end my life?
I reached out and grabbed his hand, firmly holding it. Tears blurred my vision even more as I pulled it to my forehead.
Why am I so useless? If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have gotten hurt. If it wasn't for my invitation, then Candice wouldn't have gotten hurt either. I'm just a bad luck charm.
Ba-dump.
That's funny. Out of everything now, I can hear my heart beat again.
Ba-dump.
I opened my eyes and stared at Diamond's hand.
Ba-dump.
Why do I feel so pissed off?
Ba-dump.
The redness of his blood drove me crazy.
Ba-dump.
Dawn's face and the vision I just saw flashed in my mind. The things she did to attack the man, the look on her face when she finally fell, her screaming— "I REFUSE TO DIE! I REFUSE TO LET THEM DIE!". I saw everything.
Huh. I just realized something.
I guess we aren't the same. She actually tried to protect her friends, even though she was covered in injuries herself and she was weak. But look at me. I'm here, mourning over the death of my friend and causing another friend— if Diamond actually ever considered me as one— to get injured for me because I didn't have the guts, or courage to move and live.
That girl was the opposite of me.
And I hate it.
I hate that.
I hate the sight of Candice's body covered in blood.
I hate the sight of Diamond's blood.
I hate that the world is falling around me, and I accepted it without even avenging my friend.
I hate how I'm so useless, giving up without even trying.
... Just what am I doing?
I let go of his hand and reached behind me on the floor. Ah, it felt nostalgic again. Like her, I had no arrows on me. Of course there wouldn't be. I gently placed Candice's body on the grass then stood up. I glanced over to Diamond, and he continued to look at me with a worried expression. For a second, I didn't see him, but someone else. He was older, looking more mature. I can clearly remember his warm smile.
Lucas.
I guess we're different, after all. Maybe I have a different personality from the Dawn. Maybe I'm like her, having break downs easily, ending up in similar situations. I don't know. But I do know there's something way different between us. Unlike her, I'm not going to lose this battle.
Normal POV
"YOU #*$%#^!" Sapphire shouted, pounding Ruby on his back as hard as she could.
Ruby was carrying her like a potato sack around his shoulder, trying to flinching at every hit each time. "Shut up! You're heavy and I really don't want to do this!"
Damn, what should we do now? he thought, trying to think of a plan while Sapphire shouted even more colorful words.
Ruby put her down, and she pushed him away. There was no use running with her at this point since they changed floor levels. Once she was put down, Sapphire held the urge to punch him after the stunt he pulled five minutes ago.
"Tell me why ya brought me here, or I'll kill ya," she threatened, folding her arms.
"Because there's an intruder and we could die," Ruby reasoned, quite calmly despite his words. "When you see a person with a gun, you run the other way, you caveman!"
"Those bullets were probably fake! I have an uncle that still uses BB bullets that just hurt for a while!" Sapphire responded.
Would a random person come to a couples challenge event at a high school just to kill her? Sapphire couldn't believe it. It must've been fake. None of the students got injured too, or she couldn't tell, considering she was too focused on attacking the guy.
Ruby gave a look that told her she's dumb. "Oh yeah, and the knife he thrust at you was fake too, huh?"
"Anyways, it's none of yer business! They're coming at me, and I have ta fight back!" she told him.
"Yeah, yeah," Ruby brushed it off, giving up on convincing her. "I already told Mr. Wallace about it and reported it to the other teachers, so you don't have to worry about it."
"Ya're not listenin' ta me!" Sapphire snapped. "They're after me! Ugh, whatever! Just move!"
Sapphire was about to plow Ruby down until he grabbed her wrist and jumped in front of her again. "I already know those guys in black are trying to kill you! I get it, I'm not that dense! I also know you're..." he paused for a second, "... Sapphoro. It's because you're Sapphoro that should be running away, so listen to what I'm telling you!"
The brunette widened her eyes at the mention of her username. "Y-You! You!" she spluttered out, pointing at him. "Don't tell me ya're one of the fourteen! I love everyone in there because they're all amazin', so it doesn't make sense that ya're a part of it!"
"Feeling the love here," Ruby said sarcastically, frowning.
"Wait, if ya're one of the people in the group, then ya heard what they said in the gym yesterday! Why are ya running away?!" Sapphire shouted.
"I know we've only known each other for a short while, but I'm pretty sure I'm not that hard to figure it out. I'm going to say it again, so listen slowly, okay? I. Don't. Want. To. Die. You understand my words, or do you want me to repeat them?" Ruby said, acting as if she was a child who had trouble comprehending his words.
"I'm going ta punch ya—" Sapphire stopped talking when she heard something fly through the air. She barely dodged it, barely scraping it passed her ear. Ruby and Sapphire turned towards the direction where the attack had come from. There stood in front of them, another man dressed in black.
"Found you guys."
He lifted his gun and pointed it at them.
It wasn't one person that they saw, but two. Both entered through the window, swinging on the rope. When they made their way into the room, they looked around at the four people. Red was still on the floor with Yellow, and Green was in the bed with Blue standing beside him.
"Target one, two, three, and four are spotted together. Proceed with tactic fourteen."
The two took out their guns and pointed it at Green and Blue first. As they started to shoot, Green rolled off the bed and hit the floor with Blue to use the bed as a shield. They both cringed as a rain of bullets continued to shoot over their heads.
"Blue! Green!" Red shouted, wrapping his arms around Yellow at the other side of the room.
I have to help! he thought, quickly wanting to rush to the aid of his friends. It was hard though because not only was he unarmed and had nothing to fight with, he was also in a large pikachu costume, which wasn't the best thing to move around in.
"Yellow!" He released her gently and whispered to her. "Go under the nurse's desk."
"W-What about you?" Yellow asked in a worried tone.
The blonde girl was very reluctant to follow his plan. She knew Red had good intentions and was trying to protect her, but something was wrong with that plan. Yellow was fully aware that she was weak and she couldn't do anything, but she didn't want to be the damsel in distress and just let Red take on those guys alone. Red wasn't even in a better position than her, it didn't make sense that he didn't hide with her.
Red flinched at the flying bullets even though they weren't directed towards him.
"Go now!" he ushered the girl.
Yellow didn't move because of her stubbornness to leave him there, and Red had mistaken that she was frozen in fright, so he didn't bother to wait for her. He scooped her up in his arms and quickly ran over to the table in the back and placed the girl there himself.
"Re—" Yellow started, but she stopped when Red had already ran away from the desk before she could explain herself.
While the two were distracted, Red quickly sprinted towards one of them and attempted to tackle him down since that was his only option at this point. Unfortunately, the man saw this attack from the corner of his eye and right when Red was close to him, he pointed the gun in his face. Red barely stopped to give himself distance from the gun, but it wasn't enough.
"Looks like you weren't useful enough to live," the man told him. "It's the end of the line for yo—"
When he was talking, Red quickly jerked forward and grabbed his thumb, pushing down a pressure point. After Red had successfully made him release the grip off of the gun, he snatched the gun then pointed it back at the man. At the time, he didn't know how he could do that easily, or why he did it, but he just felt like it was right and something he did before.
The other man stopped shooting at Blue and Green and turned to the other scene, which was Red pointing the gun at his comrade, holding it wrong. He shifted targets and moved his gun to Red's direction. "Boy, you don't even have the guts to shoot that. Let it go before I kill you."
Red ignored him. His hands magically went into the correct position, gripping the weapon as if he was already used to it. In that moment, Red felt a surge of excitement go through his veins. He couldn't tell whether it was because of the fear that his heart started to go faster, but it felt good. He felt ecstatic and he had a comfortable feeling despite the touch of cold metal in his hands. It was nostalgic.
Keeping his serious expression, he told them, "Get away from my friends."
Calm down. Calm down. Calm down, Crystal repeatedly told herself internally, trying to not go into a panic. She knew that going into a panic is the worst thing you can do. I'll just put him in the nurse's office and give him first aid or something. No biggie. Afterwards, I just need to call the hospital and get him checked out. There's no reason I should panic. She glanced at the unconscious Gold in her arms. It's going to be okay.
After her screaming session, she regained herself and realized that Gold needed help right away. Currently, she was close to the nurse office with Gold in her arms, carrying bridal-style. She ended up taking a longer way because it was isolated with less attention and it would be faster to take the route with less crowds or traffic.
"Almost there," Crystal mumbled, going as fast as her pair of legs could carry her. "Hang on, Gold."
RING! RING!
Her phone rang and Crystal ignored it, deciding that she had more important matters to take care of.
Suddenly, as Crystal finished running up the second flight of stairs, she felt her heartbeat speed up. At first, she thought it was because of all the running, but it was more suffocating instead. Darkness entered her vision, and she felt her body get heavier.
Crystal recognized this place.
She's seen it so many times in her dreams. It was inside some sort of prison cell, the other side of the bars being occupied by people with lab coats and black uniforms. Beside her in the jail cell was a couple other people— a man with bright blond hair, a black-haired man, a girl with long blonde hair, and a brunette. She looked down and saw that a man in his late twenties laid on her lap. He was unresponsive, and he laid there with a gaping wound in his shoulder. All of their faces were hard to see since the lighting was so bad, so Crystal couldn't make out their features too clearly.
She felt her heart hurting and her head heating up. The vision started to get blurry at times, and Crystal saw teardrops fall from her own face and onto the boy's.
"Put them in here."
Crystal heard a grunt next to her. She looked over to the bars, and a man with a black uniform opened the gate and tossed a girl in roughly, along with three other people who had injuries all over. All of the people who were thrown in were all unconscious.
"Dawn," she said, her voice breaking. "May, Brendan, Fire."
The men that were already in the cell both scrambled from their spots and went over to the girl. "Dawn! Get a hold of yourself!"
"Summer! We need you!"
The girl with long blonde hair came over as well and examined her body for them. "She's just sleeping. It looks like she didn't get injured too bad, so don't worry."
The blond let out a sigh of relief. "That's good," he said. He glanced at the other three bodies that were thrown in too. "What about the other three?"
Summer, Crystal assumed it was the blonde girl's name, went over to look at their injuries. "They should be alright. They sustained a lot of injuries, but it seems their vital organs weren't harmed."
Crystal felt her heart drop when she got a better look at Summer. Her arm was hanging to the side, the bone broken and exposed. There was burn marks all over, red and black covering a good surface area of her pale skin. Despite this, Summer seemed to not be worried about the injury, nor did she show any signs of the pain.
Summer went over to the unconscious black-haired boy that was thrown in, and caressed his face with her other hand. She looked at him with a sad look, dreamily staring down at him.
"Even though we're in this horrible situation, I don't regret anything," she told him softly in a quiet voice.
Summer's eyes flickered from the boy to her, making eye contact. "Kristina, are you okay?"
Crystal recognized that name. Every time she saw a weird vision, she would always hear people call her Kristina. She didn't know who Kristina was, but she assumed it was her point of view that she was looking through.
"O-Of course," she stated, slightly flinching. She felt dizzy and as if she was going to collapse, but didn't show it. "I didn't get too injured. You should be more worried about the others."
The blonde gazed at her with a skeptical look, but adverted her attention to the other unconscious people.
The two men who went over to the unconscious girl carried her in their arms and set her down more nicely. "You don't have to worry about Dawn. We have her."
"Leaf, how are you doing?" Summer asked as she looked at the others.
The brunette sitting against the wall flinched when she heard her name get called. "Summer, don't help me. I want to die, so don't you dare try to heal my injuries."
"I can't leave you there, you know that, Leaf," Summer replied in a gentle voice. It reminded Crystal of her mother. "We're friends."
"I know we're friends, but I'm a less worse position than them. Go help them first," Leaf told her.
"I don—"
"—Hey."
Crystal saw some people approach the cell. Everyone in the jail cell turned their attention to him and stopped their conversations. One of the people outside of the bars happened to be a scientist, or so Crystal assumed, judging by his lab coat. The scientist scanned the jail cell, his eyes darting around to find his first victim. His eyes finally stopped and they fell on the man in her arms. Crystal felt Kristina's heart drop.
"Take that boy with the huge chunk out of his shoulder. The boss says he's the one who's the most effective for the machine."
Her heart beat faster and she felt a mix of fear and anger rush through. "Don't you dare touch him," she said, her voice matching her emotions.
"Stop."
Crystal tried to get out of these visions. She kept seeing them multiple times randomly, and she didn't know why, but now was not the time to see Kristina's past. She needed to get her head into reality and focus right now. Gold was counting on her to help him, and she was the only one who could.
She went over to pick up the unconscious boy that she dropped earlier. Despite being exhausted, she carried him once more and attempted to go up the stairs again.
THUD.
She heard the door close at the bottom of the flights of stairs and footsteps, and it made her panic. Could it be the guy who shot Gold? Was he after her because she plays the game? Even though Crystal excelled in karate, there was no way she could handle him if he had a gun.
As the footsteps continued to grow louder, Crystal quickened her pace.
Platinum might've had a strong will to fight, but there was no use denying the reality: she was useless in this situation.
She literally had zero muscles because she never had to carry anything heavy in her life, being book smart and being smart in her studies was not the same as being strategic, and Diamond was more or less a human shield protecting her because she couldn't fight. It was difficult to focus right now too because her mind was full of Dawn and everything she even so much as looked at Diamond, she saw Lucas.
Platinum placed a hand on Diamond's shoulder, eyeing the man's movements cautiously. "Diamond, run away and go call the police. I think I can distract him for a while," she told him.
There weren't many options at this point. Either of them knew how to fight.
Diamond gave her a doubtful look. "Missy, that's too risky. If anything, you should be the one to run away because you're faster."
"I can't just abandon you like that," she told him. "I won't leave you, nor will I leave Candice after everything that happened. It's all my fault that this happened anyways. I didn't take the warnings seriously from that game, and now Candice is on the floor and you're here in danger."
"You play the game too?!" Diamond exclaimed, surprised to hear the news. Diamond didn't really put Platinum in a category or stereotype her too much as the others in the program did (they deemed her 'rich chick' who was just snobby), but he didn't expect she would play the game.
"Too?" Platinum repeated, noticing that word.
"Yeah I—"
"—You know, I'm really tired of you two."
The man who was trying to kill them finally spoke up. They both stiffened at the sound of his voice. "I don't have much time, so I hope you'll make this easier for me like your other friend."
At the mention of Candice, Platinum glanced down at her friend's body again. The killer saw and took this opportunity to attack them head on. Diamond gently shoved Platinum behind him, opening his arms out so he could protect her. Platinum watched in horror as she almost saw the man about to make contact with him. Quickly, she grabbed Diamond's arm and yanked it away from the knife's path, then dragged him to the bushes near Candice's body. She could hear the man follow behind them, his footsteps faster than theirs.
It should be somewhere here, Platinum thought, looking around the area they stopped at.
She remembered that Candice decided to take archery as a hobby about a week ago, and she had just come back from practice. Her bag should be around where they were originally sitting. She just needed something to fight with if she wanted a chance.
Diamond looked worried and cautious as the man caught up to them, confused as to what she was looking for.
"Here!" she exclaimed, rummaging through the floor, not caring whether her expensive rings or fingers got dirty.
Diamond didn't get what she was looking for. It was just a big black bag.
"What is it for—" He stopped when he saw a knife get thrust at him again. The killer had caught up to them. When he braced for the impact and the knife was getting closer, something collided with the knife. Diamond heard a metallic sound and then next thing he knew, the knife was on the floor and the killer was looming over him, shocked. He looked over to his right to see what stopped it.
An arrow.
Diamond flickered his eyes over to who shot it.
Platinum was there, holding a bow in her hands. She drew another arrow and readied it in the direction of Candice's killer.
"Stop."
"Damn it," Soul cursed under her breath.
She tried to take deep breaths to calm down because Crystal gave her advice, but it was proving to be difficult since Silver was acting like a psycho and there's a gaping hole in her leg. When she finally regained some of herself, she reached for her phone in her back pocket. Dialing one of her speed dials, she called her sister. If anything, Crystal was the one who knew everything and the one that could help her. She didn't know if Crystal got attacked too while she was with Gold, but Soul had to reach out to her. Luckily, the girl switched her SIM card from their emergency phone to an older temporary model.
It started to ring, and after about a few seconds, it went straight to voicemail. "Hello! This is Crystal Kurumi! I can't get to the phone right now, but if it's something urgent, make sure to leave a text message or call again soon! Thank you!"
Soul started to mumble curse words again, upset at her hopeless situation. She stopped when she suddenly heard a shrilling laugh that gave her chills. Looking over to Silver again, she saw him gaze at his arm, enjoying the sight of it, evident by the large smile on his face.
"Silver!" she shouted, trying to get his attention.
The redhead ceased his laughter for a moment, and when she made eye contact with him, she felt another chill go up her spine. His silver eyes that were usually dull or annoyed changed. He looked like he was a psycho killer who had just been celebrating after murdering someone, feeling the madness going through their soul. For a moment, Soul hesitated to ask him for help.
Soul felt afraid all of a sudden by that look, and she kept her eye on him while dialing another number. Through the speaker, someone answered.
"Hello?" A male voice was heard through the line.
"Black, I need your help!"
Black didn't answer and Soul wondered why. She looked at her phone screen, and a low battery message flashed on the screen before the phone turned off. She cursed again and tossed the phone beside her, her hope falling again. She couldn't get up or move anymore because of the wound in her leg, and even though she had somewhat stopped the bleeding, she was still in a position where she needed help urgently. The throbbing of her leg was starting to get to her, and she felt like she would just collapse— whether it was from the pain or from blood loss.
The redhead stopped looking at his injury and raised his head to look straight at her again. Soul's face twisted into a grimace when she saw the creepy smile plastered on his face.
"Why are you crying? The sensation feels so wonderful," he told her, showing him his bloodstained glove.
Many thoughts ran through Soul's mind. One of them was understanding why he never smiled when he was around them (this wasn't the case, he just didn't like her), and the other thought was how he's a psychopath right now whose laughing at his own wound while she's hurting.
Silver stared at her, the smile still on his face. "You know, I remember some things. How people tried to kill me, how people did tests on me, how I was kidnapped before. I also remember the feeling of being hurt— the pain rushing through my veins like it was yesterday."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
She didn't think he could get even more insane, but she was proved wrong.
"Memories came back to me, that's what I'm talking about," he stated.
"Look, I know you're like crazy and all, but take me to the damn hospital. I can't afford to let go of my life right now!" Soul snapped, feeling tired of his nonsense. It literally took all of her effort to stand up to him.
Silver's face fell into a frown. "You're not going to die," he reassured confidently without any doubts. "After all, you have 80% of Kristina's generation cells even though you're half of her."
"Again, what the hell are you talking about?"
The man and Red continued to stare each other down, guns pointed. They watched each other's movements to make sure they didn't make the wrong move. Because if they did, they knew that someone would die, and they knew it was going to be themselves. There was no way they were going to let that happen.
Blue lifted her head from the floor once the shooting stopped. She saw Red with a gun, and immediately, she was confused.
"Wha—" Blue was going to speak, but she couldn't because Green slapped a hand over her mouth to stop her.
"Shhh..." he hushed her, gesturing with an index finger over his lips. "Don't distract Red."
"Put the gun down," the man demanded, not backing down.
Red didn't flinch and kept his attention, focused. "No way," he refused, his eyes flashing with blood lust. "If you shoot me... I will shoot your comrade without hesitation." He nodded his head towards the man beside him.
Yellow covered her ears and shut her eyes tightly from behind the desk, trying to prevent herself from listening. She couldn't stand their conversation of killing and shooting and things that could involve injury and blood. She felt as if she was going to puke any moment. The tension in the air and the fact that Red could get shot up worried her, but she knew she needed to help Red and the others.
"Listen to me... Listen to me!"
Yellow opened her eyes when she heard a voice in her mind. "Who's talking to me?" she mumbled, looking around.
"It's me, Chuchu!"
The blonde snapped her head down to her pocket and dug in it, pulling out a small pokéball with a pikachu trapped inside. She had named the pikachu Chuchu as a nickname the other night, so she assumed the voice belonged to her since she claimed to be Chuchu.
Still she's freaked out by the fact that Chuchu was talking to her, Yellow asked her, "Are you talking to me? How can I understand you? I thought Pokémon were supposed to say their names."
But then again, I shouldn't be surprised, considering the Pokémon was alive in reality in front of me, she thought, taking back her statement.
"Release me, Yellow. I can help," Chuchu insisted, surprising the blonde.
Yellow remembered the game system talking about how the Pokémon given were a gift to help them. However, playing Pokérune was the whole reason why they were in this mess in the first place, so would it even be plausible to trust their word? She was indecisive in making the decision to release Chuchu onto the guys.
"You want to help him, right? Trust me."
Yellow peered from behind the desk again, seeing Red in the same position with a gun pointed at him.
She didn't know whether she could trust anything that game says after all that happened, but she did know that she wanted to help Red and the others. Finally having resolve, Yellow pressed the button and released the electric mouse.
Emerald opened the door to the stairs to get to the upper floor. He was pretty sure he could get some help from the football players or something since they were on friendly terms while decorating City Hall. Maybe his detention buddies would believe him if he told them that a psychopath guy who came shooting into the festival was on the way, trying to murder him. He didn't know if they would believe him, but he just had to get away from that guy. He barely escaped him after pelting random scraps of metal at him and running in the opposite direction.
He heard loud panting when he entered the stairway and small quiet muttering— someone was here. Was it another guy with a gun? Emerald didn't know.
Once the door behind him shut closed, the muttering had stopped and the heavy breathing had ceased as well. Footsteps echoed throughout and the person who was in here was running farther from him, evident with the sound becoming distant. Emerald went up the stairs cautiously to see who it was, and when he went closer, he saw the "someone" above him on another flight of stairs. He couldn't make out their face because they were moving too much and was a blur, but he spotted something familiar that caught his eye. Even though it was less than a second, Emerald had immediately recognized what it was.
Crystal's star earrings.
Quickly, Emerald rushed up the stairs after her.
Ruby didn't know what to do in his situation, and Sapphire wasn't helping either. She was the type of person who based her actions on impulse decisions instead of real strategies in his opinion. Judging by that, she wasn't going to win this battle without having an actual plan. He wasn't the best tactician ever, but he was actually pretty sharp when it comes to planning things. Maybe Sapphire's impulsive thinking might help him, but things weren't really turning his way. Sapphire's growling wasn't really helping him either.
"I hate yer guts," she told him.
"Are you really going to say that right now?!" he snapped, turning his attention to her.
"But," she continued, "I still think that ya're a pretty good player online. Ya already know what our saying is online: 'we don't have to win the battle, but the war'. Remember the group's words and ya will be fine! I still have a lot things I want ta do in life, so I don't plan dyin' yet!"
"Well I just don't want to die in general," Ruby mumbled in reply.
Sapphire ignored his mumbling and went on four feet again— her fighting position that had both her hands and feet onto the floor. She might've resembled an animal, but she found this position very efficient in moving around. She snarled at him, ready to pounce on him.
The man put his finger on the trigger and narrowed his eyes at the two, unfazed by Sapphire's beast-like behavior. "Tell me where you hidden them and I will let you go."
"What are you talking about?" Ruby snapped, glaring at him.
"I know that you two are hiding the Pokédex somewhere. Now tell me where it is and maybe I will pull back my attack," he offered.
"I don't know what ya're talkin' 'bout, but I do know that I don't listen to bad people!" Sapphire growled.
Without hesitation, Sapphire sprinted through the hallway to him like a tiger ready to hunt and devour its prey. All she had to do was take him down with brute force— something Sapphire had since she was on the football team.
The man quickly pulled the trigger when he saw her approach him and he jerked backwards slightly due to the pressure of shooting it off. Sapphire winced when she got shot in the thigh, but still kept going. She jumped on him when she reached closer and started to hit him as hard as she could with her two fists. He attempted to pull the trigger again in the midst of being beaten up, trying to defend himself. When he had released another bullet from his gun, Sapphire fell backwards away from him, hissing and cringing at the pain. She held onto her shoulder, which now had blood running from it. The pain was too much for her to bear though and she was trying to stop the bleeding in both places.
Despite his injuries, Sapphire tried to confiscate the guy's gun while he was recovering when she heard footsteps coming closer to her. She saw Ruby walking towards her with a friendly expression. For a second, hope lit up in her heart and she was happy that Ruby was coming to help her because she could barely move herself.
"P-Prissy Boy," she called his name, cringing from the pain. "Steal his—"
Sapphire stopped talking when she saw him wrap his arm around her neck. "Huh?" A small sound escaped her lips, confused by his actions.
Suddenly, Sapphire felt disgusted when she looked at his face more closely and met his bright red eyes. She didn't know why, but she felt like her heart was twisting inside her body and the smile he had gave her anxiety and worry. It was as if she experienced this feeling before, washed by nostalgia.
"Sorry Sapph, but I gotta do what I need to do," he told her, still grinning. "Night."
Before she could struggle in his grip, or blurt questions, Ruby had pushed the back of her neck, triggering a pressure point. The girl fell silently to the floor forward and felt her vision darkened, becoming unconscious right away. Before she slipped away, her last thought was: "traitor".
He sat in the chair, his fingers interlocked. He was watching the cameras, observing the events and responses of them. There were some missing from the cameras though because they were either outside, or in a place without cameras, so he felt irked that he didn't know everything that was happening to everyone.
"What is the report now?" he asked, not even bothering to look at the group on the other side of the desk.
"All of the experiments are on the verge of dying, and still no reports of the Pokédex. As ordered, we used some of the lower men in the division to attack them and let them tell us, however, some of the experiments were better than predicted. Target one, Fire, has stolen the gun from the opponent, and Kristina's clone and—" The grunt took a hard gulp, choosing his words wisely. "—your son overcame the grunt sent to them."
There was a short silence in the air. "... I see," their boss replied. "I guess they're not as strong as I thought with their memories gone. Proceed with the plan to almost kill them, maybe that will jog some memories. I need them for the next project."
"Yes sir!" the grunt responded back.
Just then, someone burst into their room in panic, gaining a lot of attention by their sudden entrance. The boss moved his chair around, glaring at the person. The person who came in stiffened up at his gaze and they meekly went over to join the other grunts.
"U-Um," they began, their voice shaky. "We have an emergency, sir!"
"What is it?" he asked, irritation present in his voice.
"It seems that the girl that we sent into the game years ago has exited out of her own will."
The boss gripped a fist and finally swerved his chair around to face them. "What did you say?"
Pearl slammed his phone onto the brick wall behind the school and cursed under his breath. He felt furious. When he tried to call the police because Diamond told him earlier, they wouldn't come. They wouldn't believe his words and thought the kid was playing a prank on them. Even though he didn't believe the mumble jumble stuff that the game told him and nothing happened to him yet, he still believed in Diamond's words to call for help and took it seriously.
Crap, I have to hurry up and find Dia, Pearl thought.
"Barry Lux Dai, the fourth generation head of the great Dai family that's famous for weaponry."
He jumped in surprise when he heard a light voice appear behind him. Swinging around, there in front of him was a stranger. It was a girl. She had lax, bored gray eyes that gazed at him like she was staring into his soul. Her appearance was quite odd, a bit similar to a goth, but more formal like lolita-style. Her black dress went around her body nicely, and a large white bow was clipped on her short black hair that was neatly tied up. Despite her strange outfit, soul-staring eyes, and her sudden appearance that came out of nowhere, what Pearl was shocked about was the thing she was holding in her hand.
He recognized it as a Pokémon in the game. Shaymin.
The girl held it in her arms gently, petting its head like it's some kind of cat. Even though her eyes looked dull and boring, she seemed a bit amused by her tone. "Isn't that such a nice name?" she asked him. "Oh, where are my manners? It's me, Marley."
Pearl stared at her without saying a word, wondering what the heck was going on.
Marley gave him a smile that he couldn't read. "This feels very nostalgic, doesn't it?"
A/N — Anyways, WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING? Silver spouting nonsense? Crystal is breaking down with an almost dead Gold in her arms and also thinks that Emerald is out to kill her (unknown to her that it's Emerald)? Yellow found a turning point? Red loving the feeling of a gun? Blue and Green are hugging under the bed? Platinum finding alternatives to fight? Who is that mysterious lady named Marley that approached Pearl? Why did Ruby pressure point Sapphire and knock her unconscious when they were almost winning the fight?
Find out in the next chapter: Unexpected Saviors!
P.S. But dang, and we thought school drama was already bad enough XD LOL.
