A/N — Hello! So along with my other stories (I don't know if you guys read them or not), I had an extra chapter for this story that I didn't want to waste. However, when I was revising this chapter, I was curious as to what I wrote when I started this story about 6-7 years ago when I was in middle school, so I went back and reread. And let me tell you, I DON'T KNOW WHY Y'ALL READ THIS! I still find my writing much worse than others with errors even now because of limited vocabulary and grammar, but when I read the first few chapters, IT WAS SO BAD. Like I don't know how it had so much hype. Anyways, I went back to kind of revise and rewrite some of the earlier chapters (which is why this story updated much later than my other stories), so it's more readable? If that's the word/term? I was wild to make this story in middle school, like I honestly don't know what I was thinking as I read through the chapters. The plot, the whole thing, like WHY! I was probably on drugs, and so were y'all GEEZ (no offense, thank you for the love back then and now).
Anyways, aside from me dying and cringing at my middle school self, I want to say thank you for the reviews while I was absent and all of those who favorited and followed in the past years (or recently)! I ended up quitting this story because high school was so much for me, but now that I'm more comfortable in college (at least for now), I wanted to get my pre-written chapter for this story out. Sorry I took like 4-5 years to come back, and I don't know if you guys will see this or are still reading this because life goes on and some people move from this fandom and fanfiction, but thank you for reading, supporting this story, and everything! And if you're a new reader, welcome :)
Okay, I won't blab too much. Happy reading guys!
Chapter Twenty — Action Plan
They blinked, finding Platinum newfound trust in Anonymous very strange and suspicious. Not only does Platinum never speak up in their conversations, or talk to them often, she was suddenly telling them to trust Anonymous, who was a risky and mysterious factor to the group's survival.
"Um... Why do you say so, Missy?" Diamond asked for everyone.
"I have a feeling that it's better to have the warning in mind just in case." Platinum made something up on the spot, trying to sound as reasonable as possible to cover up her lie. "We don't know whether it's a lie or not, and aside from that, we should be aware of Lt. Surge and his actions for precaution."
"She has a point," Green spoke up, firm with the decision. "The food fight that happened before didn't only involve us, but others too, and yet they're not with us like Red mentioned the other day."
"The only thing I don't get is why we're preparing for a wedding though," Emerald cut in, sharing his thoughts. "Why are they making us go through all the trouble of preparing?"
"Anonymous did say that it was a trap," Yellow reminded.
"Do you think it's an ambush against us to finally end everyone?" Soul asked bluntly.
"I hope not. It took me forever to just deal with one guy," Red stated. "I can't handle fifty guys pointing all kinds of weapons towards me."
"The Pokémon given to us prove to be effective though," Green mentioned, holding his pokéball out. The others brought theirs out too and looked at them.
"Yeah, but we can't rely on them too much. They were sent by the game people, who we don't trust ourselves, so they could be trouble," Silver added, gazing at his Pokémon inside the device. "We should just avoid the wedding. Whether we trust Anonymous or not is not in the question anymore. "
"Yeah, I agree. This is crazy to think we can just fight them!" Crystal remarked. "We're just high school students."
"What should we do in the meantime then?" Yellow inquired.
"Well, we can't just sit here and let them attack us," Emerald said.
"Alright, let's lay out all of our ideas first," Green suggested.
Gold raised his hand like a kid in a classroom. "I propose the idea of kidnapping Lt. Surge."
Everyone turned to him with either an appalled or puzzled look, finding the idea extremely ridiculous.
"... Any other suggestions from anyone with a brain?" Green added after a long silence.
"Hey!"
"Gold, that's a trash plan! We're discarding it! No discussion!" Green snapped, earning a sweat drop from Red on the side.
"Okay, think about it. He's extremely suspicious, and if Anonymous is right and he's a part of the group that's targeting us for no reason, we can kidnap him and force him to tell us or give us an idea of why they're trying to, y'know, kill us," Gold reasoned.
"That's actually not a bad plan," Silver remarked.
"Yes, it is!" Crystal shouted in protest, now turning her 'you're insane' look from Gold to Silver for even agreeing with the boy. "We are not going to kidnap someone! That's illegal and wrong in soooo many ways!"
"This whole situation is illegal," Gold pointed out. "I honestly don't care at this point, but if Lt. Asshole is in charge of this, I'm going to beat him up myself."
"Yeah! And when Gold goes down, I'll be there ta finish him off for us!" Sapphire reassured, taking one for the team.
"Is this 'Insult Gold Day' or something?!" Gold hissed, upset that he got insulted twice in a row by his teammates.
Sapphire gave him a sheepish look to let him know she was joking. Well, she wasn't entirely joking because Gold would get knocked out so fast, but she reassured him it was all in good faith.
Crystal let out a disappointed sigh, rubbing her temples. "We can't just kidnap a person, you psychos!" she snapped. "I'm pretty sure all of you are in the Prodigy Program for a reason. Imagine if we lose our statuses or get kicked out because they found out we're trying to kidnap a teacher. Also, what if we're wrong and Anonymous is pulling our leg? How will we explain this to Lt. Surge afterwards? We'd have to let him go, and he'll report us!"
"Crys is right, this seems a bit insane," Yellow agreed.
"I'm with her too. We have a lot on the line to lose if we do that," Ruby said.
Sapphire glared at him. "I don't even think ya should be puttin' input when all the stuff that comes outta yer mouth are lies!"
"Okay, get over it, you barbarian! It wasn't even that big of a deal!" Ruby defended himself, folding his arms.
"I—"
"—Stop now," Green commanded, glaring at both of them. The two juniors shut their mouths and quieted down.
A small sigh escaped his lips. He didn't know how, but he had to lead this bunch of misfits.
"Yeah, plus, don't forget that Lt. Surge is strong too. We can't just kidnap him out of the blue," Pearl mentioned. "I bet he's stronger than Sapph."
Sapphire shot him a look when her strength was underestimated, and he looked the other way to avoid it.
"We'll use drugs then," Silver proposed. "I took some from the hospital when they weren't looking. It'll be easy to just stab him with a syringe when his guard is down."
"..."
All eyes turned to the redhead, giving him looks.
"In case you're wondering, I didn't," Soul informed, holding her hands up in defense.
Silver didn't care for the silence everyone else was giving him, and continued. "Let's put him to sleep, sack him, then bring him to a room with a blindfold so he won't recognize his kidnappers. We can do it on the day of the play. It's a dark place where no one will expect us, and it'll happen before the wedding. Unlike the wedding, it has an official date too, and it's within the week. Car killer and I can do it since we were absent when they gave out the roles for the play. We don't exactly need fourteen people to go kidnap a person."
"Sounds good to me! Let's take this asshole down!" Gold said, hyping him up.
"I don't feel comfortable with this," Soul commented, raising her arm.
"Let's be honest, I'll be doing most of the work," Silver replied. "You're just there to help divert attention. If someone tried looking towards us, you guys can do something on stage to distract them."
"What?!" Soul said, confused about the whole plan.
"We're not doing that! Do you guys hear yourselves?!" Crystal chided. "He might be rude and a horrible teacher, but he could be innocent! We should just call the cops like normal people!"
"I already tried that, and it didn't work!" Pearl complained, folding his arms. "They thought I was pulling a prank when I tried to tell them!"
"Should we show them our Pokémon as proof? Maybe they'll help us then," Diamond suggested.
"What? What if they confiscate them and do lab experiments? I'm attached!" Gold stated.
"No one cares that you're attached!" Emerald snapped, earning a glare.
"Also, we don't have any proof or any leads that the game is behind everything for the police. There's no evidence left behind besides the injuries we received and the Pokémon," Blue pointed out. "I doubt the cops could do something when we ourselves couldn't."
"I mean, I would like the believe that cops are more reliable than some high school students who play games," Crystal said.
"You'd be surprised," Blue replied, shrugging. Considering all of the illegal stuff she did and got away with, Blue didn't really see the police as a capable force at all. There was no use asking them for help when she was smarter than them.
"We have to decide on the action to take soon," Green cut in. "If one of us is out of order, it'll drag everyone else down, and to survive, we actually need to work together. Our current options right now are calling the police on them with the possibility of not getting help, or waiting to be attacked at the wedding, if Anonymous is even telling the truth. If we don't get attacked at the wedding, then we're just going to get attacked next time."
"Kidnapping Lt. Surge is an option too!" Gold reminded.
Green ignored him, not even wanting to waste time in discussing that dumb plan again.
"We only have five days. We don't have time to prepare unless we agree on a plan now."
The room stayed silent, everyone was deep in thought.
After saying these options out loud, Green wanted to rethink their approaches. There were way too many flaws and variables that could make the plan easily fail with each one of those plans. Not only is waiting to be attacked a bad idea that could end up like the first round of attacks, it was getting them nowhere. As for the most plausible route with the police, it could also get them nowhere. He knew they needed a better plan than just to rely on these two options, especially since he had to take in account of the warning about Lt. Surge. Maybe Gold's suggestion was a surprisingly good route (minus all of the illegal stuff involved), but it was still too risky.
He glanced over to Red, whose face was hardened. As his friend for years, Green recognized that look. It was the concentrated look that let him know the black-haired boy was up to something.
"What are you thinking about, Red?" Green asked.
Upon hearing his name, Red snapped out of his thoughts and softened his expression, his furrowed eyebrows now relaxing. "Huh?" he mumbled, looking up. He realized that all eyes were on him.
"Um, I was just thinking about our abilities and what we bring to the group," Red answered. "Think about it. Any option we take, we most likely have to fight in the end. Like we mentioned last time, most of the group's combat experience is very limited because some of us aren't athletic, or have never used a weapon before. The only one with actual experience in combat are Crystal and Green, who either took a fighting or self-defense class before. Maybe Sapph can use her brute strength too, but there's still ten of us who can't fight. Also, I said it last time that I know how to use a gun, but again, going back, our objective isn't to kill anyone. In the end, we're just trying to figure things out and find out why they suddenly want us to help them or be on their side."
"So what are you suggesting to do?" Diamond inquired.
"I feel like our best bet is the Pokémon given to us," Red stated. "Looking at the results from the other night, they seem to be more efficient in dealing with the enemy at hand and they're not too lethal— well, at least from my point of view. We should use them to help us find the guys behind all of this."
"They did seem to help a lot," Pearl commented, thinking back to how Marley took the guy down with her shaymin.
"But training them is hard! My marill won't listen to me at all!" Soul complained, Crystal nodding beside her. She earned confused looks from around the room.
"It keeps shooting water everywhere and we had to shove it in a pokéball for the time being," her sister added.
"Really? My chatot is really friendly, and it always listens!" Pearl mentioned.
"Yes, my piplup is very obedient and nice," Platinum said.
"Ataro is chill too!" Gold added.
Silver looked at Soul to address her. "I guess only yours is the problem. Put a leash on it and train it."
"Put a leash? It's a mouse that shoots water!" Soul exclaimed, feeling offended at his lack of sympathy for her.
"Well, sooner or later, ya're gonna need ta use it ta protect yer own self. It's better that ya learn before they attack again!" Sapphire advised.
"She's right, Soul," Crystal agreed, looking at her arcanine in the pokéball. "We don't have any protection besides these guys against guns. It's the only advantage."
Soul sighed deeply and glanced at her marill inside the pokéball. "Yeah, I know. I guess I'll try my best to get along with her."
"Great! So our first goal is to train and get ready for the attack?" Red proposed.
Emerald frowned at their strategy. "So we're just going to be sitting ducks and just defend when the next attack comes?"
"Well, we can't exactly just rush in blind when we don't know what we're up against or who we're after," Green reminded.
Red nodded, agreeing. "I doubt the cops would help us too. We should just train and get ready to defend ourselves, and maybe then, we can finally get some answers to everything."
Silence filled the room for a moment again, and everyone took the time to think about it. After a couple seconds, Emerald groaned.
"You're right," he mumbled.
"Okay, that puts an end to this meeting," Green announced, glancing at the clock on the wall. "We only have a couple minutes till lunch ends."
Sapphire let out a groan and she pulled her hair in frustration. "Aw man! After this, I gotta go ta that stupid play thing!" she complained.
"Oh yeah, you're Cinderella, right?" Yellow inquired.
Before Sapphire could confirm, Soul stood up from her seat. "What?! You're Cinderella, oh my gosh, that's so lucky!" she beamed, looking envious of the girl. "Who's the prince?"
Soul knew they were doing the play because Crystal informed her about it, but she wasn't told about the roles. She was super sad about missing out on the whole thing because she was hospitalized.
"Our sweet Ruby here is the prince!" Blue informed, gesturing towards him.
Sapphire sent a glare his way, and Ruby ignored it.
Soul clasped her hands together excitedly and let out a squeal. "What?! The leads are in our group?! That's so cool!"
"Yeah, the villains too," Diamond commented. He looked at his best friend. "Right, Pearl?"
Pearl let out a groan when he was reminded of his role of being the stepmother. "Don't remind me, Dia!" he whined.
"There were so many people in the program though, what a coincidence," Crystal remarked. "I bet it's because we came earlier than the others."
"First, we gotta deal with some crazy game, the wedding stuff, and now this play? What a drag," Pearl complained.
"Well, I didn't show up at all, so I don't have to put any effort," Silver said, shrugging.
"Hey, me too!" Gold high-fived the redhead, both of them happy to ditch the event.
Gold was actually there, but he evaded Black's box of roles by hiding and slipping through the crowd. He felt like the whole thing was going to be a drag and a lot of work, so normally, he wanted to ditch it.
DING! DONG!
"Oh shoot, it's the bell," Red announced, getting up from his seat and grabbing his lunch. Everyone else followed as well and began cleaning up their lunch trays.
"Ugh, we have to see Lt. Surge later," Ruby grumbled.
"Don't act suspicious around him," Platinum told him.
"Easier said than done..." Emerald mumbled.
The others threw their lunch trays away and exited the room. Platinum waited behind so that she wouldn't get caught in between the crowd and squeezed while leaving, and Sapphire spotted that. The brunette went back into the room and stopped her from leaving when she headed for the door. Platinum was confused as to why she was stopping her since they never really talked at City Hall when they were decorating, and it was sudden. Sapphire seemed to get along with everyone besides her. Well, to be fair, Platinum only really talked to Diamond and Pearl because everyone was too busy fighting and they were the same age as her. She never really interacted with anyone else besides maybe Blue.
"Is there something you want to discuss with me?" Platinum asked, questioning her.
Sapphire twiddled with her thumbs, all nervous with a sheepish look. "Um, yeah, I know we're not the closest out of the group, or really talked much, but uh... do ya mind helpin' me?"
The brunette didn't distance herself on purpose to Platinum because of dislike, but more because she thought Platinum would get annoyed with her because of her prim personality in contrast of her wild one. She just had an aura of intimidation where it seemed like she didn't want to talk to them from Sapphire's point of view. Her personality was the reason why the others didn't try to interact with her too. They didn't really hate Platinum, but being known as the 'rich chick' of the program, not many people approached her in case they would get on her bad side. It's a miracle that Diamond didn't care about it, but then again, Diamond always had a more forgiving and easy going nature. He even managed to convince Pearl to be friends with her too, who convinced Sapphire to even talk to her.
Platinum raised an eyebrow. "With what matter?"
"I wanted ta ask ya if ya would help me read my script later!" Sapphire answered, a blush appearing across her face.
Platinum blinked. "Pardon?"
She didn't know Sapphire that much besides her rough, wild personality, but was the girl really asking for reading help even though she was like two grades higher?
"I— I can't read as well as others," Sapphire admitted, embarrassment hitting her in her cheeks. "I skipped lots of grades 'cause I help my papa with research about animals all the time, so I'm not the best when it comes ta other stuff. Since ya seem smart and all, I was wondering if ya would help me. Pearl said ya were the best! Oh, but I understand if ya feel uncomfortable about it, and don't wanna help me. We're super busy doin' all kinds of things, after all."
Platinum seemed taken back at the request, but she wasn't upset.
"I don't mind," she replied.
Hearing this, Sapphire's sheepish look evolved into a joyful one. Without asking for Platinum's permission, she threw her arms around the junior and pulled her into a big hug. Platinum stiffened up at the hug because she wasn't expecting it.
"Thanks ya so much!" the brunette exclaimed, pulling away a bit. "When do ya wanna get started?"
Platinum looked at Sapphire's grinning face, and like the feeling she had with Diamond and Pearl, she felt a sense of happiness and excitement in her heart. Her face softened into a small smile, and she felt comfortable in Sapphire's arms that were on her shoulders.
"I'm fine doing it after we do our punishment," Platinum replied.
"Great! That's fine for me too!" Sapphire said, releasing her grip on the girl. She moved her arm from Platinum's shoulders, and hooked her arm with Platinum's arm. Again, the girl was a bit surprised at how close and physical Sapphire got, but she didn't find the feeling uncomfortable, but pleasant instead. She didn't know whether it was because she was finally able to interact with others at this school where she had no one, but she didn't question it too much and went along with it.
"We should hurry ta class! I'm pretty sure freshman classes are on the first floor, so as yer senior, I'll walk ya!" Sapphire told her.
Platinum nodded, taking the invitation. "Let us hurry before we get in trouble."
I wonder if I should ask Green to tutor me in self-defense—
"—URK!"
Yellow stopped her train of thought when she had accidentally bumped into someone and was knocked onto the ground. Quickly, she recovered and tried to pick up their books for them.
"I'm sorry! I was lost in thought, and I wasn't paying attention!" she babbled on as she scooped up the remaining books and held them out to them.
Once her eyes reached the person's face, she froze, realizing who it was.
"Yellow," the redhead said, taking the books from her promptly.
"Lance," she muttered, shaking off her frozen expression to hide the fact she was surprised.
Great. What a time to run into him.
Yellow didn't hate the guy— honestly, she didn't hate anyone. She became closer to him sophomore year, and the two bonded over their love for animals. Unfortunately, Lance would be too obsessed with saving the animals so much that he kept hating on humans and went eco-friendly crazy. Yellow was all about saving the animals and helping them, but she wasn't some wacko who despised every bit of humanity. The thing that really drove them apart though, aside from his personality, was when he had asked her out. She rejected him because of her crush on Red, of course. He still kept trying to pursue her though, and Gold heard about it and tried to help, and somehow, it escalated into a fist fight. After that, Yellow just decided to avoid him from now on, and she advised Gold to do the same.
She cursed herself for being too distracted to notice him.
"So," he began in an awkward tone as if he was trying to start a random conversation, "How's it like to dress your real gender now? It's a shame that everyone found out the truth."
Yellow faked a smile and nodded awkwardly, getting up off the floor. "Like always, skirts aren't my style, but I can live with it," she replied, gesturing to the girl's uniform she was now forced to wear. "Well, I got to go because I'm busy with, y'know, art and school stuff. See ya, Lance." She tried her best to avoid him and leave peacefully.
"Wait, Yellow," Lance called after her, holding her shoulder.
Reluctantly, Yellow turned around. "Yes?"
"I know this isn't the right time, and I was already rejected by you, but was the person you rejected me for, Red Akai?" Lance let out an awkward fake cough to fill the void. Yellow did tell him about having someone else in mind, but she didn't say who.
"Uh..." Yellow hesitated, feeling as if she would create unwanted trouble for Red if she were to tell the truth. She didn't even know why he was asking about this, or even talking to her in the first place.
"Yellow!"
She didn't finish because someone called her name from behind.
Yes! Saved!
Turning around, she came face to face with a waving Red coming over.
No! Wrong person at this time!
Yellow waved back nervously, trying to ignore the look Lance was giving her. "Hey," she replied back to him, acting as casual as she could be.
Just when she thought it couldn't get worse, she was now in between the guy she rejected and the guy who rejected her.
"Perfect that I found you. I was going to ask whether it was okay for the football players to rent out the cafe after the homecoming game for a party," Red told her. "I know you're not the owner, but since you're a worker, I thought you could ask the owner. Of course, I don't want to pressure you or anything. I can do it if you want."
"Um, sure," Yellow replied to him stiffly.
"Great! Thanks!" Red responded, giving her a smile. He turned over to Lance curiously, finally noticing him standing there. "Oh, I'm sorry. Was I interrupting something?"
"Not much," Lance answered him.
"Oh, um, sorry, I don't want to be rude, but do you mind if I ask Yellow something private?" Red asked awkwardly.
"No, by all means, go ahead." Lance gestured him in a friendly motion even though Yellow could feel bitterness in his words. Either way, she escaped him, and she was happy about it.
"Excuse us," Yellow told him as she grabbed Red's sleeve and dragged him away from the redhead.
"Woah, what was that about?" Red asked, noticing the slightly hostile looks he was getting.
"You don't need to worry about it," Yellow reassured. The two finally stopped walking when they reached the courtyard. "Oh, sorry." She released his sleeve when she realized she was still grabbing onto it. "I just really wanted to get away. It was awkward, and I had enough awkwardness this whole entire week." When she quickly remembered the source of the awkwardness, she apologized quickly. "Oh! I don't mean you! Sorry!"
Geez, it's more awkward since the confession, Yellow thought, still feeling it difficult to be around Red. The atmosphere was just eating her alive. She didn't get how Red could stay so cheery, but she envied him for it, and tried returning the energy (though she wasn't doing too good of a job at it).
Red gave her a sheepish grin, darting his eyes away. "It's okay, everything has been going crazy lately," he commented. "The stress of both school and the Prodigy Program, and the whole thing with the game makes a person go crazy. You don't have to worry about it; you're not alone."
He didn't want to bring up the confession since she chose not to talk about it.
"Thanks," Yellow said. "So you wanted to talk about renting the cafe?"
Red rubbed the back of his head, looking troubled. "The truth is, I, err... also want to apologize again. I'm sorry that it's awkward between us and everything—"
"—Don't be!" Yellow shouted, interrupting him. She slapped her hands over her mouth when she realized she just rudely cut him off when he was sincerely trying to tell her something. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt you like that... I just want to stop you from apologizing to me when there's nothing for you to apologize for! I was the one who ended up making things awkward, you were just being nice like usual and spending time with me. You shouldn't apologize when you didn't do anything wrong."
"No, I should," Red told her. "I didn't know I was leading you on and I didn't mean for things to get this... weird. I just want to clear the atmosphere and be friends again, but I'm not sure if you want to after what I did to you..."
"Can we?"
"Eh?"
"Can we be friends again?" Yellow asked, gazing at him with innocent eyes. "Everything's been... hectic. I got a referral for faking as a guy, and then there's the killer out to get us for unknown reasons... I just want everything to return to normal. So, um, if it's alright with you, can we be friends again?"
The last thing she needed was to add Red on her list of people to avoid. Though he didn't have any romantic feelings towards her, she still wanted to talk to him and hang out with him.
Red smiled sincerely and nodded. "Of course!" he replied, grinning at her. He placed a hand on her head and rubbed it, getting into the habit of it. Once he realized he reverted to it, he blushed and swiftly took his hand off of her, which Yellow didn't notice.
"I'm glad we had this talk! Well, I have to hurry up and head to P.E., see you later, Red!" Yellow told him, waving goodbye.
"Y-Yeah," Red answered, waving back.
Yellow bowed politely and began to take her leave. Red watched her back as she left, and his red eyes became mesmerized with her long blonde ponytail swinging back and forth in the air. Suddenly, a vision from his dream popped up in his mind again.
Her back was facing him, her golden blonde hair swaying back and forth cheerfully as if she didn't have a care in the world. He didn't want her to go. He reached out, but she didn't turn around and no matter how much he ran, he couldn't keep up with her.
The feeling of void entered his chest. Red felt like it was hard to breathe and his vision became blurry. The image of his dream blended in with Yellow's back, and he suddenly saw the dream as reality. Without thinking straight, he went with his gut and this time, he reached out and grabbed her successfully, shouting, "Don't go!"
Yellow yelped slightly when she felt her ponytail get yanked and was pulled back.
Red snapped out of the illusion he had when Yellow cried out, and he began to focus his vision and calm down. He quickly let go of her hair, and she turned around in question, wondering why the heck he would do that.
"I'm so sorry!" he apologized, bowing. "I-I didn't mean it!"
"Uh..." Yellow didn't know how to respond. "Did you want something else?"
Red straightened up and waved his hand out in a messy fashion, his thoughts all over the place. "Sorry! I just umm... unconsciously did that! Are you okay? Did it hurt?"
"It's fine," Yellow reassured, stopping his babbles. "It didn't hurt, I was just surprised."
"You know what, I'm just gonna go! I'm late for play rehearsals, so see you later!" Red told her, running away from her as fast as he could.
Yellow stood there, dumbfounded and somewhat confused.
That was weird. I hope Red is okay, she thought.
Red's POV
"Hey, Green!"
I plopped down next to Green who was deep in thought about something. He always came to the bleachers on the football field to just sit there and think when he needed to. I don't know how it helps him, but he says it calms him down and helps the process.
Green's eyes trailed over to me, letting me know I had his attention. "Mm," he grunted.
I leaned on him, slightly pushing him. I could see the irritation on his face from that move.
"Green, I'm sad and confused!" I whined, trying to vent out my feelings to him.
"... Get in line."
A sigh escaped my lips. "Man, Blue was right, you're a jerk, huh?"
Green rolled his eyes. "Fine. Go ahead and vent. What's up?"
I smiled and perked up, getting off of him so that I could tell my story clearly.
"Well, okay, I've been having problems with Yellow. And I—" I stopped, I need to choose my words carefully. Green was my best friend, but it was kind of hard to tell him that I yanked her ponytail because I didn't want her to go and she kept reminding me of Summer. I haven't even told Green about Summer either because I know he'll call me crazy.
"Red, hurry up and finish," he snapped, looking impatient.
"I don't know. I apologized to her about rejecting her and stuff because I have someone else in mind, but it still feels weird. She was nice about it though," I tried to word it differently so that I didn't have to tell him too much about Summer.
Green cocked an eyebrow. "You like someone?"
"Yeah, but I don't know where or who she really is," I replied.
Like usual, he gave a look that said I was dumb. I knew this would happen. I'm surprised we're friends after all these years. This guy was so obnoxious when I first met him and kept acting so smug around me, thinking he was superior (he still does it, but he's more mature and better). If I didn't get used to him, I'd drop him.
"Okay, before you judge me, or well, judge me more than you already have, I don't know myself. This girl is just always on my mind, and I can't get her out," I said.
Green let out yet another sigh. I feel like he's been so stressed out lately that he will lose hair early.
"I already told you, but Yellow isn't going to hold it against you for rejecting her, especially if you like someone else. You barely talk to her, she's not as weak as you think," Green responded.
As I think? I don't think Yellow is weak— Well, okay, I didn't think she was super strong if I had to say it, but it was more physical because of her height. Not that I blame her— she's an art prodigy after all. It's normal for her to not have any strength or experience in fights. Heck, I don't even have much experience in fights, but that one time with the gun was a miracle. I don't know what happened to me, but I felt so comfortable, it's crazy. Wait, hold up, how did Green know that Yellow wasn't weak?
"How do you know that Yellow isn't weak?" I asked, voicing my thoughts out loud.
"I've trained her in akido," Green replied. "She has good potential, but she's too clumsy and fixed on her emotions. Maybe if she can utilize those emotions to fight and get over her pacifist stance, she can beat someone up."
Wow. I'm surprised Green is complimenting her. He hates training people or teaching them anything, and always complains about how useless and horrible they were. I remembered he had to get a job as a tutor to help his grandfather out with medical bills and though he was good at it, Green was mean and strict. I heard he made some people cry. I wonder if he made Yellow cry.
"More importantly, I just don't know what to do with that group," Green brought up.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? Have you seen them? They all don't know how to do anything, and they just keep arguing with each other every chance they get. This team won't last," Green remarked. "This plan isn't perfect, but those idiots better listen to what we agreed on. I know Gold and Silver would do something dumb, they're always so reckless."
Thinking about it, yeah they do argue a lot, whether it's in City Hall decorating or coming up with a plan, but they don't seem too incapable. I mean, combat-wise, they survived with minimal damage, so I'm assuming they have what it takes. Plus, it'd be weird if they do their own thing after coming together as a group. They might fight a lot, but at the end of the day, we all want the same thing and no one to get hurt. Straying from the original agreement would be weird— even for Gold and Silver who wants to kidnap a teacher.
"I wish I can just do everything by myself," Green grumbled, groaning.
"Hey! I'm not bad, I held a guy at gunpoint!" I defended.
Green glanced at me and looked me up and down, then repeated, "Again, I wish I can do everything by myself."
I pushed his shoulder and yelled, "Hey!"
I saw a smile, or since it's 'Green', it was probably a smirk instead. He always had this smug look when he thinks he's better than everyone.
"Okay, fine. Red, you're good enough to stand next to me if you could win something for once."
I frowned. "Who's the champion of the game? Who's the MVP and winner of the Prodigy Competition? I know it's not you!"
"Correction, you're champion of the minigame, and if Gold wasn't useless and on my team, I would be the winner of that competition like I am every year," Green retorted.
I smirked, returning the smugness he gave me. "Still the champion."
Green rolled his eyes again. "Ugh, you're so annoying."
I grinned. It was fun to mess with him sometimes, I can see why Blue likes to do it so much.
I saw Green crack another small smile, this time more genuine than cocky. "I miss when we're just competing instead of dealing with this bothersome stuff. I still have to deal with the homecoming game too."
I threw my arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer. "Don't worry, Green. I'm always here to beat you, and I'm not leaving anywhere. I'll even bring you along with my champion passes to make you feel included!"
"I'm going to say this again, you're so annoying."
"And you're obnoxious."
I laughed, leaning on him, and Green still had a small smile on his face. It's peaceful at times like this sometimes.
"Hey boys! What are you up to?"
I jumped at the voice. That light female voice could only belong to— yep. It's Blue.
Blue sat beside me on the seat, looking eager to hear our conversation. I wonder how Green feels about this. I glanced at him and just as I thought he would, he looks irritated.
"What do you want?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
Despite his rudeness, Blue continued to be friendly. "Oh, c'mon guys! We're a team now, so I just wanted to be closer to you guys and feel our friendship grow."
Our sweat dropped. Blue was pretty, nice, and stuff, but she was always doing stuff that made me scared of her sometimes. She was always good at acting, and when Lt. Surge came up to her today during detention, Blue seemed super happy and chirpy as always. I don't know how she did it.
Blue frowned, and she did a puppy face. "Aw! I want to be good friends with both of you, but you won't let me?"
I can't tell if it was real (it seemed super suspicious), but I felt bad rejecting her advances to befriend Green and I when she didn't do anything bad.
"Sorry Blue, you're right, it's not fair—"
"—What do you really want?" Green snapped, interrupting me. "You still haven't apologized for what you did last time, too."
What did she do last time?
"Yes, well, I was about to until you interrupted me. Red, I'm sorry for pushing you into the fountain that day. I was so heated up with Crys that I didn't notice you were there," Blue apologized.
Ohhhh.
"It's fine, I totally forgot about it! No worries!"
I didn't really mind it too much because I knew she didn't mean it and she looked guilty after she did it.
I glanced at Green again. He was still upset for some reason. I've noticed he always had this face when Blue was around, but I don't know why. I wonder if something happened between them, sometimes Blue would get pissed too.
"I would also like to apologize to you too, Green. I feel like lately I've been so upset with everything happening around that I'm taking it out on you because you're a good friend of mine, and that's wrong," Blue apologized, looking sincere.
I looked at Green to see his reaction, and he still kept his upset face with his usual frown. "Okay," he grunted.
It didn't seem like he wanted to take her apology seriously. I wonder what happened.
"What's up with you two?" I asked bluntly. If anything, it would be best to resolve it now.
"Nothing you have to be worried about!" Blue reassured with a large grin. "It looks like we're all good friends again."
I don't know if I believe it this time because Green was glaring at her, but I feel like it'd be best if I resolve the tension.
"Hey Blue, do you think strawberry or chocolate is the better ice cream flavor?"
Best thing is to start a happy and casual conversation. It worked when Dia pulled that prank on us.
Blue opened her mouth to answer, but I heard Green's groan beside me interrupt her. He got my arm that was around his shoulder and threw it off, then walked down the bleachers, and away from us. I heard him mumble some stuff, but I didn't properly hear what he was saying.
"Sorry. It seems like he's in a bad mood," I apologized for him. "I think he's just a bit overwhelmed with everything that's going on."
Blue waved it off. "It's fine, I can see that Green is handling a lot of things! I will try my best to make him warm up!"
Wow, I don't know how Blue manages to keep that smile after that response, but I envy her for it.
"Well, I should be off. It's getting late!" Blue remarked, standing up. "Hope you have a nice day, Red!"
"Thanks! You too!" I told her, waving as she left.
Sometimes, Blue was always suspicious and said a lot of random things I didn't get, but she seemed like a nice person overall. I hope she and Green get along better in the future. I wonder if she likes him.
I got up from the bleachers and started walking down myself. Today was exhausting with everything that happened with the play, the wedding thing, homecoming game practice, and the computer lab meeting about the game. I really don't know when this is over.
I looked at my hand. It's the same hand I used to clutch the gun comfortably, and the same one I grabbed Yellow's ponytail with.
I don't know why every time I saw Yellow, I saw Summer. These crazy dreams about that girl is really getting to me, I can't believe I'm having hallucinations about it and grabbing ponytails.
I clenched a fist.
I really hope I figure out what's going on soon and why I keep dreaming about her.
Crystal's POV
"I'm scared."
"Soul, just calm down and become friends with it, and it'll listen to you."
Soul stared at the marill through her pokéball, her eyes full of anxiety. I feel kind of bad. Ever since she got the thing, it never listens to her and runs around their place squirting water everywhere. I thought after we were given the pokéballs, it would fix everything and she could somewhat subdue it, but now that we have to use it, controlling it became a concern again. I'm not really sure how I feel about the meeting we had earlier, except the illegal stuff, but if anything, Green was right. The only chance we had to fight with was the Pokémon. My karate kicks won't dodge bullets, and these creatures could actually help us like how Rald helped Gold with latias. It was amazing for him to have it help him. Actually, thinking about it, I wonder how Rald got latias if his avatar is a treecko—
"—Easy for you to say, Crys! Your arcanine listened to you the first time it met you!"
Soul's whining broke me out of my thoughts. I looked up from petting Arckee.
"I'm telling you Soul, just be friendly with it."
Soul frowned. "I'm already friendly!"
"Well, one way or another, Marill will warm up to you. You just need to be patient," I advised.
Soul sighed at the advice given, and just threw the pokéball out to release the mouse. The marill came out, and immediately started to run towards the playground.
"H-Hey, wait!" Soul shouted, running after it.
I wanted to help and intervene, but Soul had to do this on her own if she wanted to bond and gain control of marill. It was good to come to the park at night to train or test marill's attacks; no one was here, and there's a large empty field in case it wants to destroy something. It should be the optimal place to come to.
I glanced at Arckee who was rubbing its fur against my face affectionately. I pet its fur again and leaned on it.
To be honest, I didn't even know what to do with him when it first came out. Even though that psycho behind the screen told us to use the Pokémon given to fight the guys coming after us, I never saw Arckee as an option to fight. Well, I thought the whole thing was crazy and a bluff until it actually happened. Just thinking about it makes me sick. Gold's gunshot wound kept flashing in my mind, and then the weird visions I've been seeing of that guy too. I just want to puke seeing it again.
"Arc! Arc!" Arckee nestled up closer to me, and I pet it in return.
I'm still upset about how Gold attempted to bring me out just to spy on me, but after the weekend, the fight with Blue, and the meeting during lunch, I think I'm not too mad anymore. I was so angry and sad about what happened to Soul, but I'm also still upset about what happened to Gold because of me. I wonder how I should properly talk to him again. I want to ask about how his recovery is, but it's hard to bring it up after what happened. Heck, I even ignored him today during class because I didn't know what to say.
I sighed.
It was so much easier talking to him when I knew he was Awesome. I can't even talk to Awesome about my problems anymore because he's my problem. I can't talk about my problems to Soul either— I glanced over at her still chasing Marill and tripping— she has her own things going on, especially with whatever happened with Silver. I didn't really get what she was telling me, but I'm concerned for her too.
I looked at Arckee again. I don't know if this is going to work and we'll take down the horrible people who are after us, but it better stop soon. I don't know how long I can take this anymore— the visions, the violence, the arguments— all of it, it's driving me insane. I have to face it though, for both Soul and I. I already decided that I would do my best in this program and earn a scholarship, and make a better life for both of us. I can't rely on Black to use his talent and make money for us, and I can't quit now, even if some lunatic is after us.
"Crys! Help!" Soul's shriek came from the playground.
I looked over and saw that marill was shooting water at her, I think that's water gun? I remember the move name from the game.
I stood up from the grass and tapped my arcanine to motion him to follow. "Arckee! Let's go!"
"Arc!" he replied, running after me.
Blue's POV
"I'm telling you, we should just ignore what Green says, and do our own thing!" Gold insisted.
"I agree," Silver said.
I looked over to Yellow, who was frowning and folding her arms. "I told you so many times, this is a bad idea! We're listening to Green!"
I glanced at the clock on my computer screen while they were arguing non-stop. It's almost been two hours since this conversation about what we should do about Lt. Surge started.
I know Gold and Silver thinks it's a plausible plan to just kidnap Lt. Surge, but I'm not sure that it's the best route to take. Can we capture him and interrogate him to the point where we get our answers? Sure. Will he tell everything and will we get scotch-free? I don't know. Blindfolding the guy and changing our voices can maybe hide us, but if he's entirely innocent and Anonymous is just messing around, we could fall into a deeper trap. I wonder if I'm willing to take that chance. Green's idea of using the Pokémon to fight is the best option we have right now, but I feel like something's off. I can't put my finger on it, but there's the flaw of how we're just waiting to be attacked. Are we supposed to just defend ourselves like last time, and then wait for another attack? That'll bring us in circles. Moreover, we don't have any leads except maybe a random statement from a source we don't know of. I need to double check what Red and Green mentioned earlier.
I looked back at my screen— the database of the school is about 80% downloaded. If I can see the records of the girl who started the food fight and got us roped into this mess, maybe it can give some confirmation that Lt. Surge is guilty. If she didn't receive punishment, it'd be weird and suspicious, after all.
"Blue! Tell them it's a bad idea!" Yellow said, dropping on the couch next to me.
I averted my eyes from the computer screen, and over to the boys who were across from me. "Why do you not want to follow Green's plan?" I asked curiously.
Maybe they'll give more reasons to realize the flaw in Green's plan. Out of everyone, because he's Leaf, I still trust Green, but after knowing who he really is, I'm more cautious. I can't tell what he's thinking anymore, considering how different he is compared to Leaf. Leaf would always listen to me or give me advice, while Green was always annoyed or something. Well, looking back, Leaf got annoyed sometimes too, but at least he didn't call me names and still played the game with me. Green was something else. He's always either mad or annoyed when I open my mouth. Even when I tried to apologize so that we could get along, he didn't seem to take it too well.
"I want answers fast," Silver replied. "We can't just wait a whole week to get somewhere."
"Yeah!" Gold agreed. "We can totally do it with the four of us!"
"I already said that I'm not doing it!" Yellow snapped.
Gold and Silver started picking another fight with her (it's rare to see them on the same side for once in an argument), and I flickered my eyes over to the screen again. Maybe I should speak up, but I know this arguing will get us nowhere like the last two hours.
My eyes landed on the number on the screen: 98% finished downloading.
Almost done.
I heard a loud sigh come from beside me. I guess Yellow finally realized she couldn't convince them or change their minds. The room went silent again.
"What are you doing, Blue?" she asked, leaning over to me.
I looked up and saw that Gold and Silver were curious as well.
"While you guys are arguing about what to do, I've decided to investigate what Red and Green mentioned earlier."
They had puzzled looks, so I continued, "They mentioned how weird it was that only the fourteen of us were wrapped up in the whole detention punishment thing, right? I want to see if the fangirls that harassed Yellow also got punishment as well. If they aren't in the same situation as us, then it'll be suspicious because that means they were only targeting people from our group. I'm just going to check their records."
"That's a good idea," Silver remarked.
Gold and Silver came over and hovered over us.
"Do you remember the name of your precious fangirls?" I asked.
I would usually remember, but when it comes to people I don't care about, I throw them at the back of my mind until I just forget.
"I didn't even know we had fangirls until that one day," Gold responded. "I know a lot of people admire us though."
Silver shrugged. That means he didn't know as well.
"I think her name was Shelem," Yellow informed, making all of us look at her. "I remember it was a really weird and uncommon name. Plus, I like to remember people's faces in case I want to avoid them."
My sweat dropped at that comment. Oh, Yellow. I love the girl, but it was funny how she wanted to run away from confrontation or people she didn't like. Well, I have to give her points for confessing to Red.
I glanced back at the screen— 100%.
Finally, I have access.
I quickly went through the database of students, and searched her name. It's going to take longer in comparison to last names, but it should still be quick. Shelem... Hm...
I looked through the list and profiles of students with that name. There were a few of them, but I don't see any with the same appearance as her in the first few. There's no way she could change her appearance drastically. All of the Shelem's listed so far all have very different bone and facial structures. I'm surprised so many students have that name.
I scrolled down, going through the list of profiles until I hit the last one.
That's it.
The Shelem that harassed Yellow wasn't in the database at all.
"What the heck? Is that all the Shelem's?" Yellow inquired, confused.
I slammed my laptop shut.
So if that girl isn't in the school database, she must've not been a student. That doesn't make sense. Why did she harass Yellow then? What was she doing there?
"What's wrong?" Silver asked.
I have a bad feeling.
"I think I need to do a little investigating."
Normal POV
Platinum came home after a long day. Well, it was actually quite long since she had to wake up early for breakfast to meet with her parents, practice violin, go to school, meet up at lunch with the others, practice her lines as the prince's mother, go to the detention punishment, and then help Sapphire practice her lines. But she didn't mind, it actually felt very quick and fun. She didn't know why she wasn't tired when she came home after doing everything.
"Good evening," she greeted her parents when she spotted them in the living room.
"Welcome home! You were out so late, it's almost 8 PM!" her father replied.
"I had to assist a friend who is having trouble with school," Platinum explained.
Though she would never admit it, she felt happy saying the word 'friend' for once.
"Oh dear, that's so sweet of you, but will it be okay to be out that late? Should we send bodyguards for you and your friend?" her mother offered.
"No, it is fine. I went to her place, and the driver picked me up from the door, so we're safe," Platinum responded.
Her father smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're having fun at your new school. At first I had my doubts about the children there, but they seem to be extraordinary and well mannered!"
Her mother nodded, agreeing.
"Commuting must be exhausting though! Do you want to eat dinner even though it's this late? I'll tell the chef to prepare something for you really quick!"
"No, I'm fine. I ate at my friend's place," she answered. "I think I will just wash up, practice some violin, and then go to sleep early."
"Aw, alright! Let us know if there's anything else, or if you want a snack!" her mother told her.
Platinum said her thanks, and left the two, going up the stairs and overhearing the couple talk about marriage again. She knew it was probably about another arranged marriage since she ruined the first one, but she didn't want that talk to bring her down. She was in a good mood after all, though she wasn't sure why.
When Platinum entered her room, she was immediately met with Marley who was on her desktop chair, busy. She closed the door behind her and went over to see what she was doing, looming over her shoulder. When Marley saw the shadow cast over her by Platinum, she tensed up and quickly covered the table. Platinum stiffened up in surprise and backed away.
"I'm sorry, I was just wondering what you were doing," Platinum told her.
"Oh, it's just you," Marley said, relaxing and revealing the contents on the desk.
Platinum saw some sort of letter, and Marley was writing something on it. She couldn't read it from her view since the girl had already begun folding it.
"What is that for?" Platinum questioned.
"I'm sending a letter to a close acquaintance of mine," Marley replied, shoving the piece of paper in an envelope. "I hope she didn't move after all these years."
Platinum raised a curious brow. "You have acquaintances other than Pearl?"
She remembered that Marley would tell her stories about how she was only close to Barry and stuff, and how she worked for him. She didn't expect her to interact with anyone else, especially all of these years.
"Well, I never really talked to this acquaintance, but she's quite close to some of the members of the group," Marley replied, handing shaymin the letter in its mouth.
The shaymin started glowing, and it changed forms and sprouted wings. Platinum recognized this form the night that they got attacked, it was the form that she used to take down the guy who tried to kill Diamond and her.
"Shaymin, please deliver this letter quickly. It's quite important," Marley said, opening a window.
The shaymin nodded, a determined look on its face before bowing and jumping out the window. Platinum watched it fly out, still in awe that Pokémon exists. After watching it fly off, Marley closed the window and turned to her.
"So how did the meeting go? Did everyone believe you about Anonymous?"
Platinum snapped out of her trance of admiration. "U-Um, I don't know. I don't think they believe in Anonymous fully, but we're suspicious of Lt. Surge. Right now, the group decided to just prepare for the next attack and train the Pokémon given to us by them."
Marley stared at her. "Hmm... interesting route to take," she commented.
"Anyway, back to the letter, who is the acquaintance you were talking about?" she asked.
If it was someone Marley knew, then it must've been another person from her visions. Other than taking down whoever is after them, Platinum also wanted to find out more about Dawn and the past that Marley kept bringing up. She didn't know why, but she was so curious to find out the answer. Marley's narration might've been quite limited since she said she was put into the game before Platinum could find out what really happened, but at the very least, she should know about their past relationships.
"Oh, she's someone not too involved with the group, but she did befriend Dawn," Marley replied. "I saw her around sometimes, but I don't really remember her name though because Lord Barry never told me."
"How did you meet her? Or how did Dawn become acquainted with her?" Platinum inquired.
"Dawn met her through Kristina. She's Kristina's sister."
Lt. Surge yawned. With his feet on the table with no care in the world, he sat with his back against the chair, and his arms behind his head. The girl beside him showed a look of distaste at his yawn, finding it distracting because of how loud it was. She tapped her finger against the table impatiently, glancing at the clock and avoiding eye contact with the other two.
"Koga," Sabrina called, interrupting the silence, her voice sounding annoyed. "When are your dumb grunts going to report to us? I knew I should've handled it. It would've been done hours ago."
"I had them also go to headquarters in Kyoto to deliver a message for me yesterday. They're going to take a while, so stay patient," Koga replied, crossing his arms. He averted his eyes over to the window that was slowly opening. "See, what did I tell you? They're here."
Just as he announced that, three people dressed in matching black uniforms jumped through the window. The sound of their entrance made Lt. Surge jump in his spot and plant his feet onto the floor. He straightened his back, finally showing a serious expression.
"What information do you have for us?" Koga questioned them.
"We have confirmation that 'Alexa' is living in the Berlitz's quarters. Any orders to retrieve her, Sir?" the one in the middle asked, kneeing.
"Berlitz? Isn't she that Dawn girl?" Sabrina inquired.
"Her name is Platinum now," Lt. Surge informed.
"Whoever she is, I think it's dangerous that Alexa is even near one of them," Koga commented. "Do you think she told them everything? She even sent a message telling everyone that you're suspicious the other day."
"When I went over to watch those brats at City Hall, they didn't seem to react much and just decorated like instructed. I don't think Alexa told them anything, or that they remember anything,"
"Well, we can't be too sure. Dawn, Platinum, or whatever she's called will notice, or know stuff if she actually let Alexa stay at her house. I say we take her out before she tells the others," Sabrina suggested.
"Are you crazy? The orders were not to kill them yet," Koga snapped.
Sabrina folded her arms and frowned. "I'm tired of sneaking around like this. We already screwed up with letting her escape the game! Besides, the boss said we couldn't kill any of them, but he never said anything about Alexa!"
"She's right. Alexa is a risk factor that we need to get rid of immediately," Lt. Surge stated. "I suggest we take her when she leaves the mansion, and take care of her once and for all."
"Agreed," Sabrina said, nodding. "There's too much on the line for mercy. We're going to wrap this up, and start the second phase immediately. We don't have time to waste, and the boss is getting impatient. The experiment is about to finish as well, and we need answers fast."
Koga sighed, knowing that he can't argue with the two when they're this convinced.
"Okay, fine," he mumbled. He glanced over to the three grunts. "Inform the boss about the second phase, and report to us about the experiment."
"Yes sir!" they all cried at the same time.
Sabrina smirked when she realized she got her way. She brought out a pokéball from her pocket and clutched it in her hands, an excited look on her face.
"I've been waiting for this."
A/N — As for updates on this story, I might write more, but honestly it really depends if I could read my middle school fanfiction journal and understand the crazy ass concept this story had when I was like 13-14. I took more interest after rereading it and wanting to take up the challenge of taking on this type of AU where it's gamer/school/past lives/criminal all together, so I hope I can get to it and go in the direction that I planned originally, but change it up a bit (again, I don't know what type of drugs I was on when I wrote this haha). Dunno how updates will go, but hopefully if I have time, I will continue, especially since I feel kind of bad for how I ruined a lot of their relationships or how tense everyone is right now. Also, speaking on relationships, KRISTINA'S (or Crystal's past self) SISTER IS NOT AN OC OF MINE! There's not many guesses as to who she will be, but she will be one of the characters in the manga like Marley (who was in Platinum Battle Frontier arc).
Anyway, thank you for reading and sticking out this far :) ALSO, this is kind of obvious from the recent chapters (and late) and I don't know if I mentioned it, but if I decide to write more, from here on out, Trigger Warning: DEATH. & lastly, again, thank you for all the favorites, follows, or any reviews given to this story years ago or even recently! Happy reading, guys! Ya girl Mai, out!
