A/N — Dang, when you're gone for months and stop writing for awhile, you feel rusty with writing tbh. Well anyways, I'm back! After surviving the exams and whatnot, I barely made it, and not to mention, I even have another one coming up, sighhhh... at least my homework load is lessening because of it. Long time no see guys! Sorry for the hiatus! I've been writing but not as much due to school work. High school is such a drag tbh.

I want to go straight to the reviews bc the ending author note is all over the place and I want to try to keep author notes short (even though I can never manage it), so TO THE BEAUTIFUL REVIEWERS LIKE USUAL —

Ragequest — LOL, I'm so sorry that I literally left after you said that... but thanks!
Shidake — Again, I'm so sorry! I somewhat abandoned this fic for awhile due to reasons... thanks though :)
Just Another Kid — YES. I'll admit that I made her character like that even though it was somewhat OOC. I think it's 'cause I was trying to force the ships since there isn't any motions and also to remind the readers that Yellow likes him. *tries to awkwardly do specialshipping* LOL, you get reminded of The Keyblade Pirates? Is it haunting you or something lmao. Also, yes I am trying to mellow things down A WHOLE LOT bc of other reasons. I mean, honestly, this chapter isn't mellowed down much with things still going on but serious events will come and it'll get less mellow lol. It's complicated, but I'm complicated. LOL at the thunder XD School just likes to get into everything, huh? Also, ship moments will come... not this chapter much but the next? I have some ship moments but less, y'know? It'll come. Just wait. Anyways, thanks for always worrying about my stress problems lol :) and for giving me the longest reviews!

Thank you for those who reviewed and still read this confusing story :) Just saying guys, it's gonna get somewhat confusing even more with the drama and mysteries but everything will be unraveled and revealed at the end! I already planned the next ten chapters for this story! I think it's going to be about 30 chapters though? I dunno bc usually nothing goes on schedule. But anyways, go ahead and read!


Chapter Fifteen — Recovery (Part II)


Yellow's POV

"So..." I started, trying to break the awkward silence that was formed when we sat down for about five minutes after ordering. I'm nervous, I don't know what to say to him.

"So..." Red mimicked, looking equally awkward. "How did you and Blue meet? The personalities are super different, so I'm pretty intrigued."

Thank you for making small talk Red.

"Yeah, I get that a lot," I replied. "Blue and I met due to—" I stopped when I remembered that Blue didn't want to spill her identity as Leaf to Red and Green. We officially met because she tracked me down and we had an offline meeting, but I couldn't say that to him. I gave him a nervous smile unconsciously and tried to lie, "I-I actually don't remember when we met! It was a long time ago actually. Haha... So um, speaking of different personalities, how did you and Green meet?"

"Green and I? We met on the football team because we had a sort of a competitive rivalry against each other. Later on, we talked it out and found out that we had the same interest in things. Like for example, Pokérune," Red responded. "I love Pokémon very much." I could literally see flowers and rainbows appear around the happy atmosphere he created for himself. He reminds me of a cute puppy sometimes. Or a little kid? I'm not sure.

"Y-Yeah," I agreed.

"Well, speaking of meeting the others, I wonder how we met, huh? I mean, I remember we had a few periods together in the last few school years, but we really never talked until the detention if I think about it," Red said.

I nodded in agreement.

He's right. We seriously never talk and when we do, it's always about something related to school back then because of a project, or a small greeting in the hallways. Gosh, I remember those weird days where Blue would take pictures of him and sell them out to people without his consent. Actually, I think she still does it.

"I'm happy that we got in detention though and that the food fight happened," I admitted. I got to be closer to him and a lot of people by two hundred percent. It was kind of calming to do something other than art and meet new people.

"Yeah, me too! Even if we were forced to do this wedding decorating stuff," Red agreed. I noticed his expression kind of shifted from a friendly smile to a more serious face all of a sudden. "So anyways, I have something to ask you about. Do you have an older relative or sibling named Summer?"

Summer? The name sounded familiar, but I don't know where it came from. Well, to be honest I don't have many relatives besides Gold and his mom and my uncle since my parents are gone overseas, so I guess I don't.

"Nope," I answered. "Why?"

"It's just that this girl who looks somewhat similar to you keeps appearing in my dreams. She's older though and she wears a doctor coat all the time," Red explained.

WHAT?! Red's dreaming about some random girl? "I've never met her, but she keeps appearing in my dreams. I thought I'd ask because she reminds me of you."

"O-Oh, really? Well, I don't know," I replied. I don't know how to respond to that, honestly.

"I see," Red said, looking dejected. Dang it, now I feel bad even though I didn't do anything wrong.

Luckily, he brightened up a few seconds later. "Well, moving from that random subject, how long have you been playing Pokérune? I'm pretty sure our group was made a couple years back but when we met, you weren't at champion level or anything."

"Yeah, I played for almost three years after I entered high school," I answered.

"I did too," Red informed. "But during those times, I never thought the game was funny or anything. I wonder what could've happen to make the game change all of a sudden."

"You mean about the events at the festival?" I asked.

"Yeah, that was pretty freaky. I mean, I knew nothing too bad was going to happen because when I peered into that guy's eyes. It seemed obvious that he wasn't going to actually kill us, but at the very most, just hurt us," Red said.

What? What does he mean?

"How'd you know that?" I questioned. From my view, aside from freaking out inside, I was sure that man was going to harm us, or kill us. His face seemed determined about it, and I didn't really see anything else. He was literally shooting bullets at Green and Blue for me to actually tell.

"I don't know actually," Red replied, scratching his cheek, "I just have a feeling about it, y'know?"

Red, you are awesome and all, but no. No, I don't know.

"Um, I guess?" I replied that instead since I felt dumb not knowing.

"Anyways, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I know you're shaken up by the events, but it'll get better, I promise! As fellow allies, we should stick together and Green and I will back you up," Red reassured again, giving me a thumbs up.

Gosh, I can feel my cheeks heat up at his dreamy smile.

"Yeah," I responded, nodding.

"Great!" Red exclaimed, grinning. "Well, I have to go because I need to start on my calculus homework." He grabbed his bag and stood up from his seat. "Nice talking to you, Yellow!"

And with that, he ran out of the cafe without any more words said.

I looked at the table and realized that our cakes arrived when we were deep into the conversation. Both of them sat there, untouched on the table.

... And he forgot his cake.

I sighed. What should I do? I mean, I want to give it to him since he paid for it and it's his, but he already ran out in a rush and I probably won't catch up to him since he's way more athletic than I am. I also can't just give it to him tomorrow because the cakes in this cafe spoil when it's left out for more than a day... But then again, I can't eat it since he paid for it and it'll be rude. ARGH! WHY IS LIFE SO HARD?

"Yellow, are you okay?"

I stopped freaking out and turned to the waitress, who I now realized was my friend Jasmine.

"Yeah, Jasmine. I'm alright, thanks," I reassured. "I'm just overly confused about a lot of things. I have to go take care of my sick cousin, so can you wrap the two cakes in the to-go boxes for me, please? Oh, also can you get Gold's special to-go as well for me?"

I'm just going to eat them in the end. I really need it after everything. I hope I can pay Red back later.

Jasmine smiled at me. "Of course!"


Normal POV

"Did you stress yourself about what happened so much to the point you forgot to shower or something?" Green asked, no humor in his voice.

Blue rolled her eyes dramatically. "I already told you that I came here in a rush, okay? Turns out the hospital is farther than I thought on foot!"

"Of course it is. It's literally in a nearby city by the border," Green deadpanned. "But that's not a good reason. Look, though I think you're dumb, stupid, annoying, irritating, noisy, pesky, meddling—"

"Okay! Get to the point!" Blue snapped, hitting his shoulder.

"My point is, even though your personality has a lot of problems and you're a psycho, I know that you're smart. Or at least, I hope that you are. You can't become student president if you weren't. So why'd you come like that if you're smart?" Green questioned. "Don't get me wrong by the way. I'm only helping you because I promised I would help my grandfather with the school problems. And since you're the student president to deal with people's problems, who'll deal with yours?"

Blue let out a long sigh. "I'm stressed. It's normal," she stated. "Also, I'm fine. I'll get over it."

"Is it about yesterday?" Green asked.

"I don't know, is it?" she answered rhetorically.

"If you're scared about it happening again, then you don't have to worry about it. It has something to do with some game Red plays. You probably don't know about it though since you think those things are lame," Green tried to reassure.

I do know about it, actually... she thought, still pretending to hide the fact she plays the RPG game.

"... I know it is," she mumbled. "Silver plays it."

Sorry to Silver, but she had to sell him out.

"Silver...?" Green repeated.

She nodded in response.

"Why—" Green was cut off when an old man yelled out to him.

"—GREEN!"

Both brunettes turned towards the sound, only to see an old man in a wheelchair waving at them. "Hey kids!" He rolled himself over in the chair and they both stared at him for the time being. "Sorry to cut your chat and all, but I just wanted to introduce myself and say goodbye to my grandson because I have to get back to my room."

"... Huh? Isn't this the—" Blue stopped talking when Green placed his hand on her mouth and gave her a menacing look that literally said, 'shut up'.

"Gramps, I'll walk you back to your room. Just give me one more minute to say something to my... uh, friend," Green said awkwardly, not knowing how to describe Blue.

"Okay, I'll be over there," his grandpa replied, rolling away to the spot he had pointed at earlier.

Blue ripped Green's hand off of her mouth and glared. "What the heck was that for?" she snapped.

"Look, you idiot. You were about to say 'you're the principal, huh?' and all, weren't you?" Green said, his voice going in an over exaggerated high pitch when he mimicked her.

"First, I don't sound like that. Second, yeah, I was. Why is that a problem? Also, why is he hospitalized? I never heard anything about it," Blue questioned. "If you think you can avoid my question, then you're wrong. Now tell me."

Green sighed, knowing he couldn't dodge her. "Look, I did that because I don't want him to know you recognize him. He's hospitalized due to some condition that causes some of his organs to barely function. The doctors still don't know the cause and it's unknown, but for now, he's laying low so that no one worries. Speaking of which, why do you know him? You might be the student president, but you've never met him before."

"I mean, I've never met him, but I've seen pictures. I've been trying to get a hold of him for a while too," Blue stated. "Anyways, if you're so worried about his condition to the point where you don't want no one to know, you should take care of him better. Now I gotta go. Yellow just called me earlier in the hospital and I'm meeting up with her."

"Wait, what are you talking about? Re—" Green stopped when he realized he was going to tell the insane shipper psycho that her OTP (Green only knew that term because Blue kept blabbing about it in class) was together. Knowing her, she would most likely scream in his ear, and he really didn't want that to happen.

"Re? Re what?" Blue said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Never mind. Anyways, here," Green pulled out his wallet and handed her enough money for a train. "You can pay me back tomorrow."

"You know you're never going to get this back right?" Blue told him, grinning mischievously.

Green rolled his eyes. "I work for a reason. I'm getting it back," he snapped.

"'Course," Blue muttered, standing up from her seat. "Wait, before you go, I have one more thing to say."

"What is it?"

"Umm..." Blue tried to find words to not make her intentions too obvious. "I want to ask you a favor. Can you please—"


"Hey Prissy Boy," Sapphire called as she nudged Ruby in his side.

The two were walking from the school to the dorms, and the dorms happened to be in the same way. Since everyone else left somewhere else, they were the only ones left and the silence was pretty awkward, not that they'd noticed.

"Ow!" Ruby exclaimed, flinching. He started to rub his side. "I heard you. You didn't have to whack me with your elbow!"

"Well excuse me for trying to get yer attention!" Sapphire snapped. "Anyways, what I wanted ta ask whether your name is Brendan or somethin'!"

"I'm so hurt," Ruby said, pretending to be hurt by placing his hand on his heart. It ended when his eye twitched and he quickly switched to an irritated look. "Look, I get that you call me nicknames and all, but I was so sure that you would at least know my first name. We have known each other for a while now, Sapphire."

Now, it was Sapphire's turn to twitch her eye. "I know it's Ruby!" she snapped, rolling her eyes. "I'm just askin' whether ya did somethin' ta change yer name or whatever!"

"I'm a high school student that can't even stand dirt and is obsessed with other things. I don't have time to be a criminal," Ruby deadpanned. "Why are you asking that?"

"'Cause ya acted like someone I saw in a thingy and whatnot! But I guess I was mistaken since that guy is way older," Sapphire replied.

"You're a strange one, you know that?"

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Ya're the weird one," she retorted. "It was just a dream and I was askin'! Don't ask 'bout it!"

"Uh huh," Ruby replied absentmindedly. "Oh, we arrived at your dorm. Hand me the keys, so I can open it for you."

Sapphire slapped his hand when he put it out for her. "I don't need yer help. I'm perfectly fine by myself!"

"Last time you said that, a box fell on you and you were out cold for about a minute," Ruby deadpanned.

A small blush appeared on Sapphire's face, completely embarrassed. "That was an accident!" she snapped.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Ruby said, obviously not believing her. "I'm just saying. You literally got injured badly and could be dying at this moment. You might be a barbarian, a jerk, and a horrible coordinator when it comes to clothes, but I'm somewhat concerned for you."

Sapphire's eye twitched again. She couldn't tell whether this guy was really worried because of his sarcastic tone and the fact that he literally spouted insults at her. Also, she didn't know how the topic of fashion entered this conversation.

"I don't need it. This injury could be walked off in about a few days," she said, waving it off.

"It's that attitude that's going to make you end up dead one day, you know that?" Ruby stated.

"I'm not that weak," Sapphire argued.

"I already told you to let me help," Ruby said. "I'm perfectly fine from the other day."

Right when he said that, something snapped in Sapphire. A memory of yesterday's incident flashed in her mind and she suddenly remembered something before she suddenly got knocked out. Ruby was there, and so was the guy who attacked her.

She snapped out of her thoughts, and yanked Ruby's collar. "Hey! What happened yesterday? What did ya do?" she demanded, remembering he was there.

"You took him down, what are you saying?" Ruby feigned ignorance, trying to yank off her grip but failing to. "That guy who attacked us was just some random serial killer or something and I took him to the authorities after you knocked him unconscious. But then you fainted because you lost a lot of blood."

Sapphire looked in his eyes with a suspicious look before placing him down and releasing her hold. She couldn't tell whether he was lying or not because his answer was immediate and it was perfectly reasonable. But then again, in her head, she assumed that Ruby didn't know that guy was a part of the people the game told them.

She placed her hand on his shoulder. "If ya ever see anyone like that, tell me and I'll come and save ya," she reassured in a princely manner.

"Wow, you're so manly," Ruby remarked dryly, not knowing how to respond to that.

Sapphire didn't catch his sarcasm though and only accepted it as a compliment. "I know right," she said, flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

Ruby rolled his eyes at how she didn't pick it up even though it was quite obvious. "Anyways, try not to fall," he advised as he waved bye and left her.

The girl stared at his back weirdly, having a weird anxious feeling in her heart. Every time she saw his face or his back or him in general, she would always get a nostalgic feeling that she couldn't put her finger on. She figured it was probably because of the weird dreams she's been getting about the older Ruby, or the similarities he shared with Brendan.

Sapphire shook her head and slapped her cheeks to clear her thoughts. She shouldn't get too distracted in her thoughts right now. She had to think of other problems to deal with the current one at hand.


When Ruby left her and finally arrived at his dorm, he received a call from Emerald.

Picking it up, he greeted the boy, "Hey." While he was on the phone, he took out his keys and inserted them into the door.

"Yo!" Emerald said from the other side of the line. "How's Sapphire?"

"Headstrong and stubborn," Ruby answered as he opened the door and shut it behind him.

"Same as always, huh?" Emerald commented.

"Yeah, pretty much. She doesn't seem to have a clue about my identity or yours from yesterday, nor does she have much of her memories. She restored some pieces, but she still doesn't know about the enemy or the real objective, or so I think," Ruby informed.

"Dude, I still can't believe she's Sapphoro," Emerald stated.

"Yeah, me too. But then again, it's literally in her name," Ruby said. "I'm actually shocked that I didn't notice it before."

"So what should we do about her? Should we tell her?" Emerald asked.

They knew each other for a while so the blond boy trusts Sapphire and since they're buddies online, he believes that they should work together and help each other. Ruby and him were doing alliances because they got along well, but that could shatter at any moment. Emerald didn't hate Ruby or anything, but something was always off with that guy. He always seemed like he was secretly better than everyone else and has more than to what he's leading on.

"I don't think we should let her know. Then she'll get involved too much and overwork herself," Ruby commented.

"Well, you call the shots in this one so I don't have anything to say," Emerald said, indifferent. "Anyways, I'll be at your place later to discuss other stuff and talk about last night."

"You're working on a strategy for the situation or something?" Ruby asked.

"Of course," Emerald answered immediately. "I just need to know what right pieces to use and who they are."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed.


Gold's POV

Mm... where am I? Ouch! Why does my shoulder hurt so much? Oh yeah, because of what happened last night.

I sat up on the couch and rubbed my eyes. Ugh, I feel so tired and exhausted. I looked at my shoulder again, and noticed that it had bandages and everything. Yellow probably treated me yesterday, but I don't remember much and my memory feels hazy after I fainted in front of super serious gal. Not my best moment.

The front door opened and I turned my head to see who it was. Yellow entered and when she saw me, she ran over to me, looking worried.

"Gold, you're awake! How are your injuries? What happened?" she asked as she placed down a box of something on the kitchen counter.

"It hurts less than before. I seriously thought I was going to die," I replied. Glad I didn't. "As for what happened, all I remember is that there was some guy with a gun when I was with Crys. Afterwards, I blacked out and that's all I remember."

"Wait, so they attacked you with a gun, too?" Yellow asked.

"Yeah... wait, what do you mean 'too'? No way, did you and big sis get attacked like me?"

Yellow nodded. I look at her face and body. She didn't have a scratch on her.

"Did you overpower the opponent or something?" I questioned.

I'm not trying to diss Yellow or anything, but I'm pretty sure I'm stronger than her. I saw her cry the other day because she leveled up and her Pokémon friend evolved. It's kind of weird to imagine her beating up some thug that's threatening her.

She gave me a look that said I was insane. "Of course not. Well, it's hard to explain. Red and Green was with us when it happened and somehow, the enemy was knocked out and it was really crazy. Oh yeah, speaking of crazy, Red and Green are Fire and Leaf and they have Pokémon too. Also, Chuchu came out and helped me and umm... yeah... and then this and then that happened," Yellow explained horribly, jumping over the place.

"Woah, woah, slow down. Red and Green are a part of the alliance?" I asked, going back to that part.

Yellow nodded.

WAIT. I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING.

"Green. Green the killer machine, Green the guy who dares to punch old ladies, Green who makes kids cry by his face, Green the serious guy who cares a lot about school, Green who finds a lot of things stupid; that Green plays the game?" I clarified.

I love the guy (even though he's a stick in the mud sometimes), but seriously? Red... Okay, I had a feeling he played the game since he was so chill about loving it in public. I just never really asked him.

"Apparently, yes," she replied. "I think you're overreacting a bit."

I put my hands on my head. "This is just too much to process."

"Well, I know you just woke up so I'm not going to bother you much about it. I brought some cake for you from the cafe since I stopped there," Yellow said, getting the cardboard box. She opened it and placed it on the table next to me. "You're probably starving since you haven't eaten last night or today."

"Thanks," I said.

"I don't know why, but something took over me when I saw you injured, so I didn't take you to the hospital. Sorry about that, Gold," Yellow apologized, rising off of the floor.

"It's okay. Your medicine always works better anyways," I replied. "Plus, there's no way we'll be able to pay for the hospital bills."

I don't know how, but whenever I got hurt in the past, Yellow would treat me and in the next few days, the injury would disappear without a scar or anything. Those happened for the super serious ones too. Whether it was just a scrape or scratch, it would disappear in about half a day. I was about to experiment on her kids because I was curious, but I had to get hurt in the process to test it, and no way was I going to do that.

"So do you need anything—" Yellow stopped talking when she noticed something.

I turned in her direction to see what she was looking at, only to find Ataro next to me. He jumped on the couch and hugged the arm that wasn't hurt.

"Didn't I put you in a cage?" I asked, remembering what happened last time. "Sorry buddy, but Silver forced me to."

"I remember you told me about it, so I went to release him on the way back," Yellow informed. She went over to retrieve her bag, and she threw a pokéball, releasing Chuchu. "They must be hungry as well since they haven't had anything to eat either. I should prepare something."

She grabbed the apron off of the wall and put it on. "Besides cake as an appetizer, what do you want to eat?"

"Scrambled eggs and bacon," I replied, having a strange crave for breakfast.

"Okay, got it," she responded, nodding. She was about to go to the kitchen until her phone made a sound. She stopped then looked at the message before turning to me. "Sorry Gold, but you have to wait awhile. Blue wants to talk to me about something. I'll come back and cook it soon though!"

"It's okay. I'm not really that hungry since I just woke up and I have the cake," I replied.

Not going to lie, I kind of didn't feel like doing anything after waking up bedridden.

"I'll be right back," Yellow said, taking off the apron and hanging it back. She took her keys then ran out the door.

I sighed and laid back on the couch on the pillow. I remembered texting Capturer before when I was half asleep, but it didn't hurt as much back then. Man, I'm bored. Why couldn't Silv or super serious gal be here? I feel like messing with someone.

I grabbed the phone from the table.

I need to ask Capturer about something and contact Silv about what happened.


Soul's POV

Emerald left after Crys came back and Black was gone the whole time. I wonder where he was? It's okay, that wasn't important. What's important is that encounter last night. I can't get it out of my mind. What the heck was Silver spouting? Where the heck is he? Was he a part of what happened? No, that couldn't be possible. He got shot as well.

The image of his silver eyes staring at his blood flashed in my mind again. He looked like he was enjoying himself, and it gave me the shivers. Aw man, I feel sick now.

I shook my head. But that doesn't matter. I need to get to the bottom of this and why it's happening. Kristina was the name he talked about and how she was some super being 'cause some random doctor gave her a magical potion, and yeah—this sounds like superman, but a different story since superman became superman in a different way. Dang, my head is getting dizzy now that I'm thinking about all of this!

"Soul, are you okay?" Crys asked as she looked up from her book. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up at her. She gave me one of those looks that literally said 'you look insane'.

I put my hands down away from my head. "Perfect," I replied. "I don't even feel pain anymore."

"Oh really? That's good," Crys said, closing her book. She gave me a warm smile. Good, it seems like after getting some air, she has more color. She was so pale and worried, I felt so bad for her.

"Did something good happen?" I asked.

"Nothing much," Crys replied. "I was just texting Awesome earlier, and I feel better."

"Awesome? Oh yeah, speaking of the game members, the game did say that the others go to our school. Who do you think he is?" I asked curiously to bring up a non-killing conversation. The atmosphere was getting really gloomy and I needed to get my mind off of things.

"I don't know who, but it's probably a good person. I already told you that Sparkles is Ruby and Hacker is Rald though," Crys said.

Oh yeah... that little liar! I remember when we asked him last time, he was like 'I never heard of it' or something! I knew that kid was a gamer!

"Did Rald tell you about what's going to happen next?" I asked, bringing it up. I know it wasn't the best time to, but it was better to let her know early. I don't remember whether he told me he told her or not though.

Crys looked uncomfortable and nodded. "Yeah... I can't believe that something worse might happen..." Her sullen expression was quickly replaced with a determined one. "But don't worry, Soul. I will protect you this time, so you don't have to be scared and you won't get hurt."

"That's my line," I said. "But thanks."

I'm happy to see that she wasn't in a bad situation like me. I was worried that she was dead or something when she didn't answer.

"This is some sort of sick prank someone is probably trying to pull on us. Don't worry about it," Crys reassured.

"Yeah," I mumbled. "Umm... hey Crys, can I tell you something without you freaking out or something?"

"Things are already insane, so why not give it your best shot? Shoot," Crys replied.

"Okay so you know how I said I was with Silver yesterday," I began. She nodded, motioning me to continue. "So yesterday he was there and I already told you he got injured and stuff, skipping ahead, long story short, Silver said something about some crazy lady name Kristina and something about me getting supernatural healing from her. Would you believe what he says?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Crys responded, looking partially concern and confused.

"You know what, never mind," I said, waving it off. "I think it's just a dream or something. Anyways, I want to sleep. You should head out to the dorm too since it's getting dark. Black will be with me soon."

Crys got up from her seat, still looking worried. "Are you sure? I can skip school and stay for the night," she said.

"Nah, don't. You already messed up your perfect attendance to be at my side, and the doctors said I'm doing fine. You should also go back before someone realizes something's happening or other crazy stuff," I reassured. "Now go, so I can sleep."

"... Okay, but if there's anything wrong, just call my phone, and I'll be at your side," Crystal said.

I nodded and smiled to reassure her nothing's wrong, and partially because it was hilarious that Gold actually broke her phone. "Uh huh. Okay, bye," I responded as I watched her leave the room.

Once she finally left and the door shut behind her, I laid back down in my bed and sighed.

There's no way I can tell her. She's already worried about what happened to me and the events that's happening to the game right now. Not to mention, Silver's words are still on my mind! ARGH! What does he mean by 80% of the healing cells?!

Wait, that's it! Healing cells! Keyword: healing.

Without hesitation, I ripped open the bandages tied around my arm.

When I saw the wound, I felt my heart sink again. It's getting harder to breathe.

H-How is this possible... I mean, I know I wasn't feeling that much pain or anything, but... how can a gunshot wound turn into a scrape all of a sudden?

Something's definitely wrong.


Normal POV

Crystal was walking to the exit of the hospital when she had blacked out.

She saw something.

There were people, a large group. They were all gathered in front of some temple, Crystal didn't know specifically because it was so vague. All of them had different uniforms to identify them. She noticed some of them were policemen by how they dressed, while the others just wore casual clothes or a priestess robe. All of them put their hands outstretched out in a circle, and for a moment, she thought she saw their faces.

"What do you mean you don't know who put me in here?!"

A loud voice snapped her back to reality and the setting of a hospital returned to her eyes.

"Hey Miss! How long are you going to stay there?"

Crystal turned when she heard a high pitched voice. A small child stood behind her, tapping on her knee.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized as she moved out of the way.

The kid ran past her and she watched him go, dazing into her thoughts. When she watched him, she happened to spot a familiar red shade in her view, only to lead her eyes to Silver. He was using a wheelchair to move and was talking to the receptionist. Thinking about what Soul told her, she ran to him.


"What do you mean you don't know who put me in here?!" Silver snapped, slamming the desk irritably.

The nurse he was talking to flinched slightly as she backed up and tried to act professionally. "Um sir, the truth is, you were admitted in the hospital and your treatment was paid for, but we weren't certain of who brought you. A young man in a dress coat and hat came, but he dropped you off and left immediately afterwards."

When Silver was going to retaliate back, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Crystal.

"Silver! You're in the hospital?!" she exclaimed. She didn't think something actually happened to him, but she remembered Soul's words and what she told her about Silver. That was one of the reasons why she ran to him in the first place.

"... Yeah," he answered hesitantly, wondering whether he should tell her anything. He couldn't exactly lie on the spot since he was clearly injured in a wheelchair.

"Umm..." she began, feeling uncomfortable about being nosy. "Can we have a talk over there for a second? I want to ask you something."

Silver glanced back at the receptionist who gave him a nervous smile then back at Crystal. He realized that she was not going to help him anyways, and that he was free to talk with Crystal, so he just nodded and followed her on his wheelchair.


"I can't believe we got lost," Pearl stated as he let out a long sigh and entered the hospital.

"It happens all the time. At least we came here before dark," Diamond optimistically stated.

"You're right, Dia! We should hurry and visit Candice before she goes to sleep. Missy probably needs some support after what happened, and we should be by her side during hard times like this," Pearl said. "We're friends after all."

Diamond smiled, pleased to hear that Pearl saw her as a friend after everything that happened. They didn't get off on the right foot in the beginning, so he's glad Pearl likes her now.

"We could perform our new comedy skit to cheer her up!"

Pearl grinned and patted his back excitedly. "That's a great idea, Dia! Let's practice on the way before we perform!"


"I already told you. My name is Marley," Marley answered, not giving her the specific answer she was looking for.

"Is that your real name?" Platinum asked.

"Yes," Marley answered, slightly sounding irritated.

Platinum stared into her eyes, her cobalt ones piercing through her soul. "... You... You seem to know a lot," she began, "I'm not sure why, but you know about this 'Dawn' girl I have dreams of, what actually happened in the past, the game, and the attacks. I'm not saying you predict the future or anything, but I feel as though you know more than I know. There's also the fact that you're identical to Alexa. Tell me why, please. I know there's a missing factor to all of this that I don't know, and I want to know it to prevent anyone close to me getting hurt."

"It's a long story," Marley stated, sighing.

"I have time," Platinum replied, not backing down.

Marley sat down on the nearby bench outside of the room and Platinum sat next to her, attentively listening.

"Okay, so here's what I remember from the past..." Marley began, "It all happened in one night. I was walking with my master..."


Twenty Years Back — Marley's POV

I was walking down the streets at night, coming from a grocery store. There were only a few street lights on, flickering and the streets were dead silent, no presences nearby. Next to me was the man I served, Lord Barry. I became his servant due to my family's devotion to him and continued the bloodline tradition of serving him.

"What should we have for dinner, Lord Barry?" I asked, carrying a bag of groceries. "Our choices are in between curry or eggs."

Lord Barry sighed and ran his hand through his blond hair. "Marley, I told you to stop calling me 'Lord Barry'," he said.

"But it is informal for a servant to address their master like that," I replied.

"Yeah, but I'm not really the rich type so it's okay," he responded, patting my head. He rubbed my hair messily. "It's okay, Marley."

I nodded, feeling warm by his touch. "Uh huh," I mumbled.

"Leaf, stay behind me."

I heard a deep, manly voice. Turning to the direction, I saw the temple. Many people were at the temple at night, surprising me because it wasn't exactly a usual sight. Those people were praying too. Outside, in the front, they seem to be in the middle of a brawl or something. At one side, there was a red-haired boy who was wearing all black. He was holding something and trying to hide it in his clothes. There was a policeman after him, one with messy black hair. Next to the policeman was a girl in her mid-twenties probably and she was wearing a lab coat and holding groceries like she had just come from somewhere like Lord Barry and I. A little blond boy was at her side holding a gun. On the other side, there was another policeman trying to apprehend some girls who wore priestess robes. And, straight in the middle, there was a girl with short brown hair standing behind a guy whose hair was like a porcupine. A doctor figure with long blonde hair stood in between them and a black-haired man was yelling at them. That was the guy whose voice I heard. Across from them was none other than Lucas, Lord Barry's best friend.

"Ethan? Lucas? Brendan?" Lord Barry mumbled, immediately recognizing all the policemen since he worked with them. He turned to me. "Look like there's trouble. Marley, hide somewhere."

"I can take them on," I insisted.

In my opinion, it looked like a robbery, some girl from the grocery store getting in the fight with her child, and another criminal who's literally fighting.

"No," Lord Barry denied. "They might not look dangerous, but criminals are criminals and you shouldn't underestimate them! Marley, do as I said and hide, now!"

I reluctantly nodded and went behind a nearby bench as I watched Lord Barry run to them.


Present — Normal POV

"... I don't get it. What does that have to do with anything?" Platinum demanded bluntly, crossing her arms. She was rather impatient when she wanted answers.

"That was the first meeting," Marley clarified. "The reason why I told you that is because you wanted to know who they were and how I first met them. The brunette girl and the spiky-haired boy were somewhat criminals. She was a girl who lived in the streets and hung out in alleys and robbed for a living and he was the one who helped her and was near her, immediately blamed as an accomplice. The policeman fighting them was Lucas—"

Platinum cut her off. "—Who is Dawn? And who was Lucas to her? Please get to the point."

She could tell Marley was going to narrate from the very beginning, and though Platinum wanted to hear what happened, she didn't want to hear the whole thing. She was anxious for answers.

"Dawn... that girl... She was also an acquaintance of Lord Barry," Marley stated. "That girl was always blamed for a lot of things because she came from a family of priestesses yet she didn't have any spiritual power in her at all. She and Lucas were also close, but that's because he kept approaching her."

"Tell me," Platinum began, pausing for a second, "why do I dream of her and the other people you mentioned."

"Because your memories are suddenly flooding in," Marley explained, giving her a serious look.

"What memories? You're not making sense," Platinum stated. Yeah, she found her similar to Dawn, but it's impossible for her to be the exact same person. They're different ages and completely different people too.

"Okay look, this is harder to explain more than almost anything. Long story short and summarizing everything, something happened and those criminals, doctors, priestesses, and the policemen I mentioned in the story ended up working together in some case. They then started to get closer and lived together and also ended up being vigilantes."

"That still doesn't explain anything."

"Will you let me finish?!" Marley snapped. "One day, an organization of criminals found out about them and wanted to test their limits on something. Since all of the people who were assembled excelled at fighting or something special, they thought they would have a special standing and could lead to something more. The organization of criminals were doing research and experiments on bringing these weird creatures to life by mixing DNA of other animals and decided to use those people for subjects to control them. But instead, that group ended up breaking the lab and sent some of the creatures free. Of course, the organization was angry, but their offer still stood. When they wanted to show the organization a lesson, they went to break into the HQ and something happened."

"What happened next?" Platinum inquired after seeing her stop.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Platinum asked.

"I was put into that game and used as an experiment before they infiltrated it," Marley stated. "Something caused you to become younger and I don't know how, but also lose your memory and I want to find out what. That's why I want to work together with you to actually find the answer. You want answers to your visions and everything, right?

Marley might've sounded insane like she had initially thought, but Platinum felt like she could be the answer to all of her questions and problems. So many things didn't add up lately, and though the story sounded unbelievable, Platinum didn't know what to believe in this point, and it didn't matter. She didn't know whether it was because of Marley's confidence, but something in her told her to believe in her despite the craziness that came with the girl.

Platinum stayed silent and hugged her arms. She suddenly felt a cold shiver go up her back just remembering what happened yesterday.

"I know you're not the same as Dawn and it's complicated, but you have the same will to help your friends, or at least I think so," Marley added, staring into her eyes. "Do you want to help me or not?"

Platinum remembered what happened to Diamond, and Candice's unconscious body flashed in her mind again. She wanted to protect her friends in the first place and if she could do something then it would be okay. She shouldn't sit in fear forever and let it consume her. And if someone close to her got hurt again because of her, she could never forgive herself.

Something went down her throat as she thought about it carefully, and she finally made her decision. "I'm in."

"Good, Dawn— I mean Platinum," Marley immediately corrected herself. "Now that we're revealing everything, I just wanted to say that you resembled the physical features of Dawn very much even after all these years. The only difference is that the Dawn I knew was a very peppy person even though she was resented by her family."

"Oh," Platinum mouthed. "Does that mean you're still searching for Barry then?"

"I already found him. It's your friend, Pearl," Marley responded. "I was quite shocked when he didn't remember me, but I guess it's okay. No one has their memories."

Platinum widened her eyes.

"Pardon?" she inquired. "He's the great Barry you've been talking about? Did you talk to him about everything then?"

Marley shook her head. "He might realize there's danger, but he doesn't realize the whole situation clearly yet. You somewhat have, but he tends to be dense. I decided not to tell him until the time is needed, so he isn't so frantic and eager to jump into action."

"Wait a minute. If you recognize physical features then tell me who Lucas is," Platinum demanded.

"Huh? Don't you already know? It's that black-haired boy you were with earlier," Marley answered, referring to Diamond.

"I knew it," Platinum muttered to herself. She looked up at Marley again. "Are you going to find the fourteen members? You know their features."

"That's my plan," Marley stated, nodding. "This conversation stays between me and you. You aren't allowed to tell Lucas, Diamond, or whatever, and of course you aren't allowed to tell Barry. Got it?"

"HEY MISSY AND MARLEY!"

They stopped their conversation and turned their heads to the side when they heard a loud, energetic voice. They saw Pearl running to them while raising his arms in the air, waving cheerfully with a confident smile on his face. Diamond followed behind, slower and with a smile that radiated the same energy.

"Hello," Platinum greeted.

She glanced at Diamond's bandaged arm, remembering what happened to it.

"Don't shout in the hospital," Marley chided.

"Oops," Pearl said, realizing his mistake. He quickly shrugged it off afterwards.

"Are you here to visit Candice?" Platinum asked.

"Yeah!" Diamond answered, nodding.

"We don't really know Candice that well, but if she's an important person to you, then she's a friend of ours!" Pearl stated. "It sucks what happened to her!"

Platinum smiled softly. "I'm certain she would be delighted to see you, but she is sleeping right now," she informed.

"Aw man!" Pearl whined, his shoulders dropping.

Diamond continued to suck on his lollipop, showing the same sullen expression. "It's okay. We can't help it. We'll just perform our comedy act for her tomorrow."

"Yeah! And we'll make our act even better by having more time to practice! C'mon, let's go!" Pearl insisted, dragging Diamond the opposite direction. He turned around to the girls once he remembered they were there. "We need an audience! You guys should come with us!"

Platinum nodded. "I want to watch your act. I haven't seen it in awhile," she said. "I need to go get my stuff from Candice's room first."

"It seems somewhat interesting and I have nothing to do, so I'll go as well," Marley announced.

"'Kay! We'll be waiting at the benches outside in the front!" Pearl informed as he sped up with Diamond.

"Bye Missy and Marley!" Diamond said as he was dragged away.

After they were gone and out of earshot, Platinum's smile dropped and she looked at Marley.

"Nice job at acting normal," Marley complimented dryly.

"I basically acted all my life. Of course I am very believable," she stated, not even taking the thank you to account. She turned around and walked to Candice's room. Without turning around, she added, "We'll resume this conversation tomorrow. Just like I said before, I won't tell them."

"Okay, as long as you understand," Marley said, going the other way Diamond and Pearl went.


"Umm... Silver," Crystal began awkwardly, "By any chance, were you with Soul yesterday?"

"Well, we worked together in the booth and that's all I remember," Silver responded. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Why? Do you know something?"

"U-Uh," Crystal stuttered, finding it difficult to get her words out. She tried to explain to him in a nicer alternative way compared to Soul's explanation to her. "I'm just asking because Soul apparently said she saw you yesterday during her accident. She wasn't really sure though, so I wanted to ask. I guess you didn't since you said so."

"I see," Silver mumbled, looking deep into thought.

"Sorry for bothering you," Crystal apologized, getting up to leave. "Well, I'll see you later at school or something."

Silver nodded, and she left the redhead.

While walking away, Crystal started to wonder about things. She knew that Soul wasn't lying by the look in her eyes, and she felt suspicious that Silver was in the hospital around the same time Soul got admitted. Soul said he was gravely injured and he had a wound in his arm. When she saw him, he did have bandages wrapped around his arms, but he was in a wheelchair, so she was confused. Silver didn't seem to even know what Crystal was talking about either.

Maybe he's hiding it? Crystal wondered.

After hanging out with him and Gold more, Crystal shifted her perception of him as a delinquent to a better viewpoint. She didn't hate the redhead, but if he's involved in this, she couldn't let it go. Going back to Soul's room, she decided to discuss it with her.


"What happened to you, Blue?" Yellow asked worriedly, seeing her look when she entered her dorm.

"I didn't have time to clean myself because I wanted to talk to you urgently," Blue replied.

"It's not about how dirty you are, it's about how you got scratches and how your feet are bleeding under that dirt," Yellow stated, putting her bag on the floor. She opened it and grabbed her trusty first aid kit that she always brings with her. "I'll treat it with medicine, but you need to go take a shower first."

"Wait Yellow, I'll do it later. I want to talk about something," Blue insisted.

"Blue," Yellow said in a deeper, serious voice. "I'm serious. I really want you to get treated first, and I can't treat you unless you clean yourself. I, really, really, don't want anyone to get hurt anymore and I'm really worried for you."

"I will. Don't worry too much. They're just small scratches," Blue reassured. "I ran to the hospital last night and I ended up like this."

"Hospital?" Yellow questioned.

"Silver is in the hospital," Blue informed, looking gloomier. "I don't know who put him in there or what, but he's staying there. He doesn't know, and the doctor doesn't know either. I'm just worried about it, Yellow."

Yellow stopped her scolding and dropped her attitude about it. Blue looked like she was in a mix of emotions right now. Her blue eyes looked half dead and on the verge of tears and it looked like she was going to throw up.

"Do you think the person who brought him there is a big part or something?" Yellow asked.

"I don't know. I might be overreacting and it could be a teacher or whatever ,but I'm just really worried, even if it's the small details," Blue stated, using her hand to move her bangs out of her face. "I mean, I'm not that traumatized about what happened to me, but when it comes to you and Silver and people who are important to me, I might go crazy."

"I get what you mean," Yellow agreed. "Something happened to Gold too and I got really scared."

"Something happened to Gold? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's doing fine now and there isn't much of a problem anymore," Yellow replied.

"This game situation is going crazy," Blue stated. "I don't know why, but they want to do something for us. All only fourteen of us. They went after Red, Green, you, and I who were playing the game and then went after Silver and Gold as well. I don't know the others, but that's already almost half of the players and there's no way it could be random."

"Yeah," Yellow mumbled.

"This isn't the last of it though," Blue stated, changing the mood. "I'm going to get back at them."

"At the game?"

"Yep," Blue replied, nodding. "I can't have the same thing happening to Silver again, nor you and Gold too."

"Blue, I feel the same way, but they have guns and dangerous weapons," Yellow reasoned.

"Well, we have Pokémon," Blue retorted, pulling out a pokéball that had her jigglypuff inside. "Same thing with your Chuchu. Didn't you use it earlier too?"

"Yeah," Yellow replied.

"Then there's just that. As long as we have these guys, we're somewhat safe or we at least have something to fight with. There's no way I can use a gun, but you know, at this point, anything's possible."

"Mm..." Yellow mumbled, feeling uneasy about this. She really didn't like getting into fights and felt really uncomfortable with the idea of it, but she knew that if it had to come down to it, she would at least do her best to defend herself and everyone else.

"I have a battle plan about this," Blue announced seriously, her tone changing. "I need your help."

"What is it?" Yellow inquired.

"It starts with first knowing the people in play," Blue began.

"You mean finding out who the others are in our group?"

"Exactly."