A/N — Hi, so after my last update, I got extremely busy with school, but I finally took some time over the break to write again! Sadly, I'm going back to school next week again, but at least I can sneak in one or more two updates for my stories XD Anyways, replies to reviews are below!
Hexcav-Lio — Aw thank you for still liking this fanfic after all these years and for taking the drug trip haha XD
Guest — Yes I did! Updates will still be slow, but hopefully I can get somewhere with this story!
MikuKitsune39 — Haha, yeah I didn't really expect things to turn this way either, but it somehow escalated by a lot! I promise I won't make it too violent (I hope)! Thank you for all the warm comments you've given to me, and I'm glad you wanna see more Yellow fanarts!
As usual, thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites!
Chapter Twenty-One — Interrupted Evenings
Emerald's POV
There was a table full of gadgets, tools, and metal parts. I don't know whose hands these belong to, but I watched them move. I recognize some of the parts used, I have some of them in my own dorm. There was a piece I didn't recognize... I felt like I'd seen it, but where? It looked like this person was building some sort of gun, but it was different? I couldn't tell. It had a similar structure, but instead of an exit point for bullets, it seems like there's something else you put in there. I continued watching them build something, but I still couldn't tell what exactly it was.
"Rider!"
I heard a voice call from behind. The person turned around, and I saw a girl with long brown hair. She had a few visible scratches on her face and I noticed there was blood on her arms, but it didn't seem to faze her or affect her. Her bright blue eyes gazed at me, dead serious and apathetic. I've always seen the same few people in my dreams, but this is the first time I've seen her. She reminded me of Blue, but her demeanor was extremely different.
"Kristina finally obtained it, and Summer asked me to deliver it."
She tossed something in my hands.
I looked down at it to see what it is. It's... soil? I'm not sure. Why is she giving me soil in a test tube?
I raised my head and looked at her again.
"I hope you can figure out what to do with that. We're going to need it."
"Of course." I heard a voice come out from me. It's not mine, but a slightly deeper voice. "Who do you think I am, Leaf?"
Is that her name? That reminds me of Green's username. LeafGreen.
Leaf glanced at the tube of soil then back into my eyes. "We're trusting this with you, don't screw it up."
Suddenly, the lights went out. Or at least I think, everything was pitched black. I couldn't see anything anymore.
I felt a rush of air go into me, and finally I can see again. Instead of the place I saw in my dreams or Leaf, I saw a white brick wall instead. Or, not a wall. It's my ceiling.
I turned over in my bed to look at the time. 4:06 AM.
I glanced at the window, it's still night time. I sat up in my bed and turned on my lamp.
Man, of course it was another strange dream. I don't know why I keep seeing them. When was the last time I saw them? A few days ago? I thought I was dreaming about those dumb love birds because I saw them all the time, but this time it showed me Blue. Well, not really Blue, but some girl who reminded me of her. Actually, I wonder why I thought of Blue, they seemed like polar opposites in attitudes now that I think about it. Also, there's one more thing that bothered me. I wonder what that person was building. I've never seen that invention before. I should jot it down before I forget the procedures. I saw the structure get built, but I didn't catch the final part.
I went over to my desk and pulled out my invention notebook. I flipped to an empty page and wrote down the materials I saw and the steps taken to built it. I don't know what it was, but this makes me more curious to find out.
I glanced at the other side of my room where my metal parts were. I'm pretty sure I had most of the materials already... There was something unfamiliar, but I could've sworn I saw it before. I should check my bin in case.
It's 4 AM, but I suddenly have the urge to build something.
Normal POV
"I'm mad at prissy boy," Sapphire complained, aggressively taking a bite out of her candy bar.
She and the other football players were walking to the detention thing together as a group, and suddenly, she felt the need to say that. She didn't really find this group the best to discuss her problems with, but regardless of that fact, they were the people she knew well before the whole game problem, and she had faith in them. One of them must have a good idea to at least guide her somehow.
All the boys looked at her, wondering what they should say.
"Oh, okay," Green tried to shrug off. He didn't know why she felt the need to announce that, but he didn't want to get into it. Sapphire would complain about Ruby on a daily basis anyways, so there wasn't really anything he could really say to her to make her stop.
Red's sweat dropped, and Gold swooped in and threw an arm around her shoulder. "Tell your good ol' senior, Gold! What's troubling you, my dear junior?"
Sapphire threw his arm off of her and continued eating. "I feel like I didn't get a proper apology, and I'm still upset."
"Oh yeah, you look like you were going to rip his head off in my apartment the other day. What's the fight about?" Gold asked for the group.
"He lied to me about being Sparkles and being my friend online!" she informed. "He also lied that he didn't know anyone who played the game, but he knew Rald!"
Silence filled the air, none of them really have anything to say about that.
"Oh, is that it?" Gold said, his tone obviously saying it wasn't a big deal.
Red cut in before Sapphire went off on him for undermining her problems. "He probably did it because he didn't trust anyone and is scared. It's understandable."
He didn't want to make anyone mad, but he thought if Sapphire saw it from his point of view, she'd be able to calm down more. Unfortunately, it didn't really work as well as he thought it would.
"What does that mean?! I trusted him fully, but it just shows that he doesn't trust me at all!" Sapphire snapped.
"I-I mean—" Red spluttered, trying to find words to calm her down.
"—We all don't trust each other," Green interrupted, deciding to step in. He realized it was necessary after seeing the horrible responses given. The last thing he needed was Sapphire throwing a tantrum on the way to detention.
"You have to realize he probably didn't trust any of us. After everything, he has every right to be cautious," Green reasoned. "You don't fully trust the rest of the group like you trust us, right?"
Sapphire sulked, actually giving in. "Yeah..." she grumbled.
"Then you should understand how Ruby feels and let it go," Green advised.
"Yeah, I guess," Sapphire mumbled to herself sulkily.
In all honestly, she was more upset at the fact that she believed in someone who didn't have faith in her, and she felt like she cared more for Ruby or Sparkles than he ever did for her. She was upset at the lies, and she knew she couldn't blame him for it, but she still felt sad about the whole situation. It just hurt her in some way.
"Don't be sad about it, Senior! I'll give you some of the cookies I brought for a snack!" Diamond offered, trying to cheer her up.
"He has a lot, so don't be shy about it!" Pearl added, helping Diamond take the cookies out for Sapphire.
"Yeah, Sapph! Don't worry too much about it! I'm pretty sure fashion boy feels more secure now that we've told the truth to each other," Gold tried to reassure.
Sapphire glanced at him. "So ya made up with Crys already after ya told the truth? She seems mad at ya still."
"I'm pretty sure she's over it," Gold replied, though he wasn't too confident in that. Crystal still seems to hold a grudge over him, but it's only been a few days, so Gold thought it'd be better to give it some time.
"I don't know about that," Silver commented from the side.
"Shut it, Silv," Gold said, ushering him to stop. "She'll get over it, I know super serious gal."
"Well, she better," Green grumbled, upset with everything.
"What's up with you? You seem grumpier than usual!" Gold remarked.
"Now, now, let's settle down. We have a long day ahead of us, and we still have a lot to do. The last thing we need is another argument," Red told him, stopping the fight before it began. He knew why Green was stressed and why he was ruder than usual, so he tried to cover for his friend. He understood that Green felt like he had the whole world on his shoulders sometimes, and that his rising stress levels were bound to happen.
"More importantly, I think we should go out to get snacks again afterwards," Diamond suggested, munching on the bag of chips he brought.
Pearl raised an eyebrow and eyeballed the thing. "You want more?"
"Of course! I'll be hungry by then!" Diamond replied.
"Aw! I wanna Dia, but I hafta meet up with Missy afterwards!" Sapphire answered.
"Missy?!" Diamond, Pearl, and Gold exclaimed at the same time, confused as to why she's hanging out with her in the first place. With their personalities, they seem to clash often.
Sapphire nodded. "Yeah, she's tutorin' me and helpin' me out with the script," she replied. She looked over to Pearl. "Why are ya surprised? I literally talked 'bout it in front of ya!"
"Yeah, I guess you did," Pearl said, somewhat regaining a memory of the conversation. He didn't expect her to actually follow through with the advice though.
"That's good you're branching out and making new friends," Red remarked.
"Yeah! I'm pretty sure Missy is happy that she's making a new friend too!" Diamond added.
Sapphire started to blush a bit at the embarrassment of making a new friend. It made her kind of bashful just announcing it.
"What about you guys? You want to get food?" Diamond asked the rest of the group since they didn't answer earlier.
"I'm busy," Green replied, not even bothering to explain himself.
"Yeah, I have plans too. Sorry, Dia," Red apologized.
"Silv and I have things to do too! Sorry man, maybe next time!" Gold answered.
"Guess that leaves us two again," Pearl said.
Diamond smiled, happy that his best friend wouldn't leave him. "I know a great restaurant!"
Pearl hit his shoulder. "I thought we were just going for a snack!"
Green's POV
I thought that annoying teacher would be here, and I could observe his actions more, but in the end he was a no show. This is such a waste of my time, I should ditch this place too. It's not like anyone will notice.
"Green."
I heard Yellow say my name. I looked up from what I was doing, and she had just finished tying the silverware together. It looked like a mess, but I could tell she actually tried to do it the best she could. I had no place to judge though. I didn't care at all, and my ribbons were much sloppier than hers. It's what they get for making me come here.
"Huh," I grunted in response.
Yellow came over to me and leaned in as if she was telling me a secret. "Do you think something's up with Blue?" she asked in a whispering voice.
I don't get why everyone has to come and talk to me about that woman. When she's not around, Red is always asking stuff about her and my relationship with her even after I denied it so many times and told him that I don't like her. Yellow is her best friend and probably knows her more than I do. I don't understand why she's asking me this. She should know that Blue doesn't even like me.
"How should I know?" I responded, voicing my thoughts.
She seemed caught off guard at my response (I don't know why), and began looking fidgety and more nervous. "Well, um, I know you and Blue have a rocky relationship, but I just thought you're good at reading people, so I asked. I'm close to Blue, but sometimes I can't always tell what she's thinking. Today, she seems... off."
Yellow looked deep into thought as she glanced across the room with a worried expression.
I raised a brow. "You really think I can tell what that crazy girl is thinking?"
She looked back at me with an unsure look. "You know what, forget I never said anything. I'm just overthinking things," she told me, waving the thought away.
Yellow tried to show me a reassuring smile, but I could tell it was fake and she was bothered. I let out a sigh. She really changed from her brat days when I had to tutor her, but at least she's more tamed and calmer about things.
"If you really want to know, you should ask the person herself. Blue wouldn't keep anything from you since you guys are best friends, and it's normal for friends to rely on each other," I advised.
This time, she showed me a more genuine smile and nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. I've been so nervous with everything happening that I felt bad approaching her, but I'll give it a try. It's better to have someone supporting you, and I have to be there for Blue."
I don't know if it was the right advice for Yellow because that pesky woman likes to hide things and keeps secrets, but at the very least, she has someone there for her besides Silver. I don't know, I'm not invested enough to care too much. I'd like to keep away from things that might be too complicated for me to handle. Not that I think I can't handle it, but because it's going to be a pain. Blue is too much sometimes. She's cheerful and says she wants to be friends with me, but other times she's upset at me for no reason and I see her taking my stuff sometimes. Then she flashes back to being all happy and acts like nothing happened. I just don't get her. When I saw her at the hospital bare footed and looking like she hadn't slept for days, my opinion of her changed fast, but in the end, she acts all happy-go-lucky and pretends everything's okay. Ugh, just thinking about trying to figure that girl out is giving me a headache. I should stop thinking about it.
I snapped out of my thoughts and saw Yellow distracted with something. I followed her gaze, and I realized she was looking at Blue across the room again. She was arranging the ribbons on the chairs and it fairly seemed normal, but I felt like something was off... I don't know. I just have some weird chill when I'm looking at her face. She was focused on something, which I assume is the ribbons, but something rubs me the wrong way. It's like the feeling I get when I know she's thinking about something, or scheming. It gives me the same vibes as when she showed up at the hospital acting differently than usual— Wait, why am I even trying to figure her out? I should be concentrating or thinking about other things like the football game that affects my scholarship, or the people who are trying to kill me. I also need to think of a new training regime for Scizor. I don't have time for this, why am I even thinking about that pesky woman in the first place? I have nothing to do with her. If we come out alive from this whole situation and I finally get to graduate in peace, I'm going to definitely avoid her.
Crystal's POV
I don't know why that guy wanted to meet up at 9:30 PM in front of some random shop, but I know it's no good. It's strange that he even bothered to contact Black in the first place. What are his intentions? Is it more money or something? He's always popping up out of nowhere just to ask for that. It's better to just send him straight home with nothing and tell him to leave all of us alone before it escalates and Mom becomes involved.
I checked my watch. Ugh, when is he coming? It's already 9:47 PM.
"Oh, you're not Black."
I looked to my right when I heard that horrible voice.
He's here.
Seeing the look on his face, he doesn't seem happy to see me. I honestly expected this.
"How are you, Crystal?" he asked.
I can see he was trying to hide his discomfort.
"Skip the introductions. What are you contacting Black for?"
I knew he was going for money, but I figured I asked anyway.
"I was hoping to talk to him about... some things," he replied, quite vaguely.
"So, money," I clarified.
He gulped and gave me a nervous smile. "I heard Black is becoming the CEO of a company in America. Isn't it normal to share some of the wealth and lend a hand to your dear ol' father in tough times?"
"I'm just here to tell you no before you ask again. Don't contact any of us, goodbye," I told him straight, already walking away from him to not let a word in.
Not even a second later, he had grabbed my wrist and yanked me back. I turned around again to face him. What the heck does he want now? I'm tired of giving him second chances and the benefit of the doubt after everything.
"Don't you think you're being harsh?!" he screamed, his patience ending.
Harsh? I'm the one who's harsh? What's harsh is leaving your wife and kids to fend for themselves! What's harsh is spending the money we earned to just gamble and do drugs! What's harsh is only bothering to come back when you need something! Yet, I'm the one who's harsh! The audacity?!
I ripped his grip off my wrist.
"I don't need to explain anything to you! Leave my family alone!" I screamed back, a bit too louder than I had intended.
Luckily, since it was late, not many people were around to see the scene, but it still caught attention.
"You know what, you've grown to be a real brat! I should've left you and your good for nothing sister in that orphanage! Black is the only useful one out of you three!"
"What did you—"
—VROOOOOM!
The sound of a car engine cut me off, and I looked towards the street to see who pulled over. It wasn't a car, but a motorcycle instead. The motorcyclist took off his helmet and exposed his explosive, messy black hair. I recognized that hairstyle anywhere, it could only belong to one person—
"Hey there!"
—Gold.
"Whatcha doin' out here so late, Super Serious Gal?" he asked, grinning at me.
Great, this guy came at such a bad time.
"Don't worry, I'm going home right now."
I lied, I'm going to the park with Soul, but these two didn't have to know.
"I'll take ya home!" he offered. He stopped grinning when his eyes trailed over to my dad (if I can even call him that). "Who's the old dude?"
"A random stranger," I replied, walking away again.
Once again, I got stopped by yet another wrist grab. Ugh, can't this guy take a hint?!
"Hey, I'm not done talking with you!" he growled, going back to his angry demeanor.
"Well, your opinion doesn't matter! I'm done!" I yelled back, not fazed.
I swear with all my training I could beat this guy up. This happened one too many times, you'd think he'd change by now!
"Hey, leave her alone, man."
Gold jumped in front of me. What was he doing? I know he can't fight to save his life, he should stop before he gets hurt.
"It's not cool to pick on girls."
"Who are you? This is a family matter!"
Gold turned around and raised an eyebrow. "This dude's your pops?"
"No! It's a stranger!" I replied back, taking my arm back again.
"How dare you say—"
Before he could finish, Gold grabbed my wrist and quickly dragged me over to his bike. He shoved me in the back seat, threw his helmet on my head, then forcibly wrapped my hands around his waist.
"W-What are ya—"
"Grab on, or you'll fall off!"
"Hey!" I tried to protest, but I stopped when I felt Gold rev up his engine.
I glanced over to my dad when I heard shouting. He reached out and tried to grab me off of the bike, but Gold was already taking off. I saw my dad's hand centimeters away from touching me, but fortunately, Gold's motorcycle was faster. As a result of being so close to the curb and the bike, some of the dirty leftover water from last night's rain splashed onto him. I saw the scene close up as we rode away quickly. I fell back, almost falling off the seat because I wasn't holding onto anything. I quickly leaned forward and wrapped my arms around Gold's stomach and tried to steady myself from falling off.
"Later, loser!" Gold called out as we left.
I turned back to glance at my dad, who was far from us, stomping in place, angry and wet.
Normal POV
Soul has had it enough with this mouse. No matter how hard she tried to befriend it like Crystal had told her, this thing continued to run amok, spraying water everywhere and ruining everything for her. She even tried baiting it with some snacks, but even then, it still didn't work. Now that Crystal was gone because she had her own things to worry about, Soul was all alone, and it was more than she could handle.
She crossed her arms and frowned. "Why do you hate me so much?! I didn't even do anything to you!" she screamed at it even though she knew it wouldn't be able to give her a proper answer.
Marill stopped jumping around for once and looked at its trainer. It sprayed Soul in the face with a water gun attack again, and then proceeded to jump on the playground again.
Soul yelped as she was sprayed with water, and she fell back because of the impact it gave her. Even though she was soaking wet and laying in some dirt (now mud because of her wet body), she didn't have the energy to get up. She closed her eyes. She thought that maybe if she could just ignore her surroundings and where she was, she could imagine herself in paradise with the prince she dreams of and be happy for once. She didn't have to go to school, she didn't have to be attacked or chased by crazy terrorists, and she didn't have to fight. She just had to be happy.
"... I didn't want to talk to you, but what the heck do you think you're doing?"
Soul's eyes shot open. Red hair and a frown entered her line of sight.
"Silver," she muttered, pushing herself up.
Silver glanced at her muddy state then at her marill. "You should take this training thing more seriously."
Soul frowned, getting annoyed at how he was chastising her. "I am taking it seriously! I told everyone earlier, it won't listen to me no matter what I do!" she snapped. "Besides, what are you doing here?"
"I'm taking a walk."
She raised an eyebrow. "Who takes walks at 10 PM?"
"Who hangs at the park at 10 PM? Also, technically it's still 9."
Soul rolled her eyes. "Haha, very funny," she said sarcastically, getting up from the ground. "It's the only place I can train freely and the only time I actually have to train."
Silver glanced back at her marill then her. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a pokéball, which made Soul furrow her eyebrows in confusion. "I'll help you."
"... Why?" Soul asked, not even bothering to hide her suspicion on her face. She didn't really get along with Silver after everything, and they always got into arguments that made it quite obvious that he didn't like her. Why was he suddenly offering her help all of a sudden? She already told him everything she knew. It's not like him to hang around her without a motive or reason.
"Because it looks like you need it," Silver answered, still confusing her.
Before she could press further, he threw the pokéball into the air and released his feraligatr.
Crystal's POV
We finally stopped at some park near the school after driving for a while, and Gold parked his motorcycle near the sidewalk. He got off and held his hand out for me to grab. I looked at it, hesitating. I hopped off the bike on my own, and I took off the helmet he shoved on my head and shoved it in his chest.
"That was dangerous! I almost fell off!" I snapped, walking away after.
Gold shrugged his shoulders in response and hung his helmet on his bike handle. I heard him follow behind me. "Hey, I did tell you to hold on, didn't I? Can't blame me!"
I let out a sigh.
"You're right, I guess you did."
Gold skipped over to walk beside me instead of behind me.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Walking you home, isn't it obvious?"
"Gold, why are you doing this?" I asked.
"Because you're a girl and you're walking alone at night?" Gold answered in a 'duh' tone. "I can't abandon you here! You might know karate and stuff, but it's always good to have someone as backup!"
I stopped in my tracks and turned to look in the face. Gold blinked innocently, still holding his usual grin. I couldn't keep my anger up anymore.
"Gold, I always thought you were a delinquent."
His face fell at those words. "This is such a roundabout way to say thank you," he said sarcastically.
I took a deep breath before I continued, "I... I didn't like you when I first met you. I see you and Silver getting in trouble quite often around school, and I thought you were just a dumb flirt. My point is, I just didn't want to be around you. Especially with what happened with the food fight, your antics in detention, nearly running over Soul that one time, and throwing my phone out the window; I just thought you were plain irresponsible in general. I didn't want to talk to you, I didn't want to interact with you, I just didn't want to be near you. I was mean to you this whole time because I wanted you to stop talking to me. You actually remind me a lot of that guy who's 'supposedly' my dad'. I don't claim him to be though."
Gold gave me a "what the heck" face, and actually seemed irked by my judgment. "... And you're telling me this, why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm telling you this because I want you to know my true thoughts about you," I replied. I continued before he started complaining again, "I always thought this for a long time, and I saw you like that for awhile. The other reason why I'm telling you this bluntly is because I wanted to apologize for it."
Gold's annoyed expression softened, and he listened carefully, surprised to hear my apology among the criticism.
"I misjudged you. I made a quick judgment, and I chose a decision that protects both my sister and I. Like you saw back there, I'm one of the family members that Soul has left, and I'm the one in charge of keeping this family together on my own. I take responsibility as an older sister and daughter. All this game killing stuff that's happening is the last thing I want right now, and it's been stirring me up. Anyways, I know I'm rambling about other stuff, but the point is, I'm really sorry I saw you like that and felt that way about you. I... After knowing you, you're not as irresponsible as I originally thought you were. Despite everything I did to you, you still went out of your way to make things up, and you..." I stopped, finding it hard to say the words just thinking about it. "... You took a bullet for me. I haven't thanked you properly yet, so thank you. Back to what I was saying, you're nothing like my dad. You're loyal, and despite what happens... you actually stay. I want to thank you for being responsible and taking me away from there, and I'm really sorry about everything that happened to you because of me and the unfair judgment I placed upon you. I'm just really, really sorry for acting out of my own interest."
I lowered my head in a bow for him, properly apologizing.
I don't judge him for his actions with Blue. Instead, I'm disappointed in myself for everything. I didn't think I would do this in the middle of a park at night after he just saw me argue with that guy, but it's better that I'm able to clearly convey my thoughts without getting interrupted. I've been waiting to do this apology since the very beginning after all my anger is gone. I'm so tired of being angry and upset, especially to Gold who continued being there for me after everything I did.
In the end, he's not my dad.
He's only Gold.
"Woah," was the response I got from him.
I raised my head to see his reaction, and I saw a surprised look that quickly shifted to a cheeky smile.
"I didn't expect you to pour out your feelings for me like this," he started, "But I accept your apology. I understand why you put yourself in that position."
I straightened up and released my breath, relaxing. I guess I didn't realize how tense I was and that I was holding it in the first place.
"Also," he went on, "I'm sorry for trying to spy on you when we went to go buy a phone. To be fair, I really did want to hang with you and get to know you more."
"It's fine, it's water under the bridge," I replied.
Gold nodded, acknowledging it. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back a bit. "I'm glad we can make up. It'll suck if I can't talk to Crys or Capturer again, y'know?"
I smiled and agreed. "Same here, I miss our nightly conversations, they were really fun. It's too bad we can't play online again."
For breaks from studying or karate, I used to either chat with him about random things, or I would play duos with him from time to time. I was surprised that Awesome's identity was actually Gold because he talked about other private things online, but looking back, their personalities were somewhat similar. I guess the flirting and my opinion of Gold made me blind to see the similarity initially.
Gold shrugged his shoulders and grinned. "Hey, we can always still chat and stuff. You have that new phone I bought ya, so just use it!"
"I'm happy we're on better terms, but I don't know about giving you my number..." I mumbled.
Though I trusted Gold a bit more and my original opinion of him changed, I still feel cautious giving my number to a boy. He did always try to flirt or do stuff with me, I didn't forget that even after everything that happened.
Gold rolled his eyes at my response. "Oh c'mon, Super Serious Gal! You're still going to act like this? Live a little!"
I gave him a look. "Yes, it's my personality, and I'm living right now. Also, stop calling me that."
I'm still not over these tedious nicknames and random labels he gives people. They were still very rude.
"You're really going to lecture me right now? I just saved your life, y'know!"
"I could beat that guy up in my sleep—" I paused, realizing something. "Wait, speaking of which, what are you doing out here at night? It's very dangerous to go out at night as a student!"
"I'm sorry, I thought you were a student too, my mistake," Gold replied sarcastically. I gave him a dead look, and he answered my question, "I was going around to pick up Silv. He likes to wander at night alone, and I like to bother him and follow. Now, what about you? What is a poor, defenseless student like you doing out at night?"
"I'm out here because I need to wrap some strings up and tell that guy to lay off my little siblings. He keeps contacting Black for money after my uncle from my mom's side grew successful," I answered.
"Oh geez, sounds like a pain! Glad we drenched him in muddy water then!" Gold said, snickering.
I giggled a bit just thinking about it. I thought about the look on his face when we drove away, and I gotta admit it was funny how everything turned out. I didn't expect the meeting to go out like that. I hope he understands not to talk to Black and Soul again— SOUL! Oh my gosh, I forgot!
"I totally forgot because I was in the middle of apologizing! I have to get to Soul! She's at another park training all alone. I had to leave her to deal with this business, and I kept telling her not to go, but she said we were on a time crunch, and—" I stopped when I realized I was rambling. "I have to go now. Sorry, Gold."
Gold gave an amused look and then walked over to his bike. I was going to ask what he was doing until he tossed his helmet at me. I caught it out of reflex.
"Hey, it's fine, you have to take care of your sister. Need a ride? It'll be faster than walking," he said, already getting on his motorcycle. He revved up his engine again, and his bike made a loud sound when it turned on.
I nodded, taking up his offer, and I walked over while properly securing the helmet on my head. As I got in the seat behind him and wrapped my arms around his stomach, I told him, "You should wear the helmet. I think you need it more to drive and block the wind in your eye."
Gold leaned over and dug in his pocket, pulling out a pair of goggles. He put it over his eyes and grinned. "I got it, don't worry so much! Hold on tight, or you'll really fall off this time!"
He faced forward and began driving already. I stared at the back of his head, and it made me think about everything that happened between us, from meeting in detention to what's happening now.
I hugged him a bit tighter.
Marley grew impatient. She knew she had just sent that letter yesterday and it takes time to get a reply, but she couldn't get her mind off of it. She was sure she would be safe as long as she stayed within the mansion and that the game wouldn't do anything until they contacted them, but despite this reassurance, something inside her made her grow anxious. She didn't know what it was, and she kept having this nagging bad feeling. She felt like something was going to go wrong.
Marley looked down at her shaymin when she heard a cry. It was nestled in her arms comfortably, trying to comfort her anxious state. She smiled down at it and gently petted its fur.
"You're right. I shouldn't be too concerned," she mumbled.
If Shaymin delivered it, it should be coming soon, she tried to reassure herself.
The sound of the doorknob twisting interrupted her train of thoughts. Quickly, Shaymin jumped out of her arms and went under the bed to hide. Marley stood there, waiting for the person to come in. Not a second later, the door opened, and two figures entered the room. Marley immediately recognized the first one— it was Platinum. The person who followed behind her, however, it took Marley a second to process. She looked her up and down, and one name popped up in her mind: May.
Sapphire looked around the room curiously, interested in what Platinum's room was like. It was exactly like she imagined, basically brightly pink with a bunch of expensive decorations hung around the room. After fulfilling her curiosity, Sapphire's eyes finally landed on Marley herself.
"Hiya! I'm Missy's friend, Sapphire!" she greeted the girl with a smile.
Platinum stood beside her with a raised eyebrow. Marley could tell she was questioning why she was in her room in the first place.
"I'm Marley," she introduced herself.
"Nice ta meet ya!" Sapphire said. "Yer err... Missy's...?"
"I'm her cousin," Marley replied.
Platinum gave her a look, wondering why she was lying in this situation.
"Oh, I see! Well, yer cousin 'ere was helpin' me with readin' for school!" Sapphire informed.
"Yes, we were going to study in my room, but it seems to be occupied," Platinum said.
It's not like she hates Marley in her room. Well, actually, she sort of dislikes it. She didn't mind housing the girl, but she didn't know why Marley would randomly be in her room or pop up without knocking. It made her wary of her, and Platinum didn't seem too comfortable.
Marley opened her mouth to say another lie to take her leave, but a knock on the window interrupted her.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
All three heads turned towards the sound of thumps.
"What the..." Sapphire mumbled, going over to check what it was.
Marley jumped in front of her to stop her. "I guess the wind seems strong this evening. Sticks keep flying and hitting her window, it's been bugging me for a while."
"I don't think the wind was that strong on the way 'ere!" Sapphire commented innocently.
Platinum looked at Marley. She didn't know what she was up to, but it was obvious she was trying to hide something.
"Why don't we move to a quieter place downstairs where it's more soundproof? My parents are out at a charity party, so the living room should be empty for us," Platinum offered.
Sapphire shrugged her shoulders. "I don't mind. Whatever works for ya!" she replied.
The brunette looked over at Marley one last time before she left the room. "See ya later! Nice meetin' ya!"
Marley nodded and waved back at her to look friendly. Platinum followed Sapphire out, and Marley caught the cautious glance she was giving her. After the door shut, Marley's nervous fake smile dropped and was replaced with a small, genuine one instead. She knew her worries would be finally put to rest now that her call for help came through.
Walking over to the window with Shaymin in her arms, she opened it for the person. However, her heart dropped when she realized it was someone else.
There was a man wearing a black uniform with a bright red 'R' across his chest, standing on the side of the building, being prepped up by some rope. She knew they were watching her, which is why she stayed within the mansion, but she didn't think they would be as bold as to knock on the window when Platinum is around, or try anything that could alert the whole group. This act caught her off guard.
She was so shocked to react that she wasn't fast enough to shut the window, and the man had jumped into Platinum's room. She quickly tried to run to the other side with Shaymin, but he swiftly grabbed her shoulder and dragged her back towards him. He wrapped his arm around her neck and put a hand over her mouth so she couldn't scream for help. Shaymin jumped out of her arms and quickly transformed into a different form that resembled a reindeer. It was just about to attack the man and save its owner until a shadow flew into the room from the window. While struggling to wring out free, Marley tried to make out what it was. Before she could properly even look at it, the thing that flew into the room started glowing. Something emerged from the shadow, and Marley finally realized what it was.
A large blue bat with large fangs, purple wings, and an angry look appeared in the middle of the room, fluttering wildly. Once it was let out of its ball, it started going around the room wildly without any control and smashing decor off of Platinum's walls. Shaymin was going to help Marley despite the destruction happening around the room, but the bat pokémon ended up taking interest in it instead and started attacking it. It released a loud, high-pitched sound that everyone in the room, including the intruder, cringe in pain. It didn't stop even when all of Platinum's bedroom windows smashed apart and glass flew all over the room.
After being choked and using up all of her energy to get free, Marley finally felt her legs collapse beneath her. The loud screeching sound the bat pokémon made gave her a headache where she felt like she couldn't keep her sanity anymore.
The man holding her nearly stumbled, not expecting to hold her weight so suddenly. He propped her up and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and walked over to the window he came from. While Shaymin was being distracted, he took this opportunity to take her out. However, just as he was about to climb out of the window, the bedroom door opened.
"What was all this noise—"
Platinum stopped mid-sentence when she saw the chaos that went on in her room. She didn't know how a golbat got here and was fighting Shaymin, nor the reason why her room was such a huge mess. Her eyes trailed over to the man in black who held Marley around his shoulder near the window.
"Huh?"
Sapphire peeked behind her, wondering why she stopped at the doorway all of a sudden. When she witnessed the scene, her mouth hung open. She made eye contact with the stunned escapee and immediately, out of instinct, ran towards him. When he saw the brunette coming toward him, he threw Marley to his partner outside and tried to get out himself. He had failed when Sapphire aggressively grabbed his neck collar and aggressively tossed him back in the room.
She didn't know why there were two pokémon in the room or why this guy was here kidnapping Marley, but it didn't matter to her. She just knew he was bad. She started mauling the guy and punching him with all of her might as he laid beneath her, taking the hits. Platinum rushed to the window, looking around for Marley. She didn't get a chance to check for her location because a face appeared in front of her. Another person dressed very similar to the guy Sapphire was beating up emerged in the room through the window, knocking Platinum down to the floor with a swift kick. Sapphire changed her opponent and threw a punch at him, but he quickly dodged it and she ended up making a dent in Platinum's wall instead. When she was trying to get her hand out of the wall, one of the guys picked up Platinum's gaming chair and hit Sapphire on the head with it. Sapphire's hand flew out of the wall along with body, and the brunette landed on the ground after being assaulted. The man carried his unconscious comrade up, and the two jumped out the window together.
Platinum gasped when she saw the scene and quickly ran over to the girl to go help her. Sapphire recovered faster than she thought because the brunette was already up again, looking pissed off and angry. The two of them went straight for the window to follow the guys who attacked them. When they attempted to peek through the windows, they saw something flashing in the distance, followed by many loud sounds. Multiple, in fact.
"Get down!" Sapphire screamed, tackling the girl to the floor.
Numerous bullets rained on the house, shooting through the shattered windows and all over Platinum's walls. Luckily, the golbat had already broken the windows with its screeching so glass didn't fall on them, but the barrage of gunfire didn't slow down. Platinum cringed, feeling overwhelmed with everything happening right now. She tried to close her eyes to calm herself, but it wasn't working at all.
Sapphire clicked her tongue, thinking about all the ways those guys could escape during this moment. She couldn't let this opportunity to confront them go by. The brunette looked over to Platinum and to the top of her lungs, she yelled, "STAY HERE! I'LL HANDLE IT!"
Without waiting for Platinum to respond, Sapphire got off of her body and began crawling to the other side of the room where bullets weren't flying. Platinum opened her eyes and tried to call out to her to stop her, but before she could, Sapphire had already jumped out of the window. Moments after, the range of bullets stopped. Platinum took this chance to crawl over herself to the other window and look for Sapphire, worried something could've happened to her. Looking around her garden, she saw Sapphire near seven armed men in the same uniform. They were saying something to her, but from her position and the sound of Shaymin and the golbat smashing up the room behind her, she couldn't hear a thing they were saying.
I have to help her, Platinum thought, hurriedly looking around the room for her bow and quiver. She didn't have anything else to defend herself with except for maybe her piplup, but even then, she still didn't do much training with it. Was it really okay sending it in a battle with armed guys?
THUD!
She flinched when she saw Shaymin fly past her and slammed into the wall near her. With everything going outside, she had forgotten there was still a pokémon battle going on in her own bedroom. Platinum looked back and forth from Sapphire to the golbat, ambivalent on which battle she should focus on right now.
No, I can't think like this. I have to help Sapphire, she's up against so many people! she thought.
Just as she made the decision to help Sapphire, the golbat swooped down towards her with its fangs out. Platinum let out a small scream as she jumped to dodge its attack. As a result of its missed attack, the bat pokémon collided with the wall. She took this chance to run and grab her bow and quiver. Once she had gotten to it, she turned around to see the golbat coming in for another assault.
A battle against a pokémon is won by using another pokéball to fight.
Quickly, Platinum grabbed her pokéball and enlarged it before tossing it in the air. The room was engulfed in a flashing light, and a small blue penguin materialized in between her and the golbat. Upon seeing its face, the piplup reacted by shooting water out of its mouth, sending the golbat across the room again.
The piplup turned to its master with a prideful expression, satisfied at its work.
"Good job, Piplup!" she praised it, petting it affectionately. "I need you to keep the golbat occupied while I help Sapphire!"
The piplup nodded and turned to face its opponent while Platinum made a sprint across the room again to see what was happening with Sapphire. There was still no action yet, and the men continued saying something inaudible to her. Platinum took an arrow from her quiver and began aiming at one of them with her bow. She looked around at the mob, wondering which one she should attack. However, as she tried to decide which target she would aim at, she stopped and thought about the situation. There were too many variables that could go wrong. One, Platinum wasn't a strong shot. She didn't know how she felt so confident that one time she and Diamond were attacked, but when she went with Marley, she didn't do as well as a job as she hoped. Two, what or who is the 'right target'? They're all just a mass ganging up on Sapphire, there isn't a correct answer. And three, even if she were to miraculously hit one of them from her bedroom upstairs, how would they respond? It could be an ambush if they didn't see her coming, but if she were to hit one of them, it alerts the others and it could be unpredictable whether they'll shoot their guns off at Sapphire again. Not only were they outnumbered, they were at a disadvantage with the enemy equipped. Also, the final thought looms over her head. She thought of what Diamond told her last time she attempted to shoot.
Look, I get how that guy is a killer or assassin, or whatever, but you're not— we're not. That arrow can hurt him, and if you aim correctly, then it could kill him. Do you really want to make a person bleed so bad? Because that'll make you sink to the same level as him. And you're not the same.
Platinum hesitated to lower her bow.
I don't want to hurt anyone, but something might happen to Sapphire and Marley is still going to be taken away if I don't think of something quick! she thought, her heart racing again. Think Platinum, think! What's the best way to handle this?!
THUD!
"Ah!"
Piplup slammed into her, interrupting her thoughts. She recoiled due to the impact and hit her back against the wall. Looking up the golbat, it seemed like it was in bad condition after enduring Piplup's hits, but it still managed to stay active.
"Piplup, are you okay?!" Platinum asked worriedly, hugging the penguin in her arms.
It responded with a weak cry and nodded.
What should I do?! Platinum tried thinking up more solutions on how to handle the situation while eyeing the bat pokémon slowly recovering.
She glanced around the room. Can she throw something at it to get it away from her? Should she shoot it? Would it work? Finally, after scanning the room for ideas or solutions, Platinum's eyes laid on the object in front of her on the floor. The screen reflected the light, making it stand out among the broken decoration and other shattered things in her bedroom.
Platinum finally decided what she was going to do.
"How's do fuu?" Diamond asked, beaming at his best friend. Because he was eating while talking, it came out muffled into random sounds, but Pearl was used to Diamond's habits and translated it naturally to "How's the food?".
"It's good," Pearl replied.
It's not everyday they got to eat like this and he often ate cafeteria dorm food, so it was a step up for him.
Diamond munched away on his food happily, satisfied with his answer. Pearl averted his attention from his own food to him and smiled, sharing a happy feeling as well.
"More importantly," Pearl began, "we should discuss our new comedy routine. I feel like we haven't had much time to practice or make up more ideas since everything happened."
Diamond swallowed his food, and the elated atmosphere around him dissipated.
"Yeah, in times like this, we need more laughter in our lives," Diamond said, wiping his mouth properly.
It was already written on his face, but he missed the days that they just played football for the scholarship, got along with everyone, played online games, ate, and just laughed all day while putting on skits.
"Missy seemed to enjoy the last one you made up, Pearl," Diamond commented, trying to lift the mood.
Pearl returned a bashful look, but pretended to be smug. "Of course! Even she can't resist our skits!" he said proudly. He leaned in closer to Diamond, now curious about something. "Hey Dia, we should invite her next time to go to the show with us."
"Of course! I bet she'd like that a lot! It'd be so much fun with more people!" Diamond remarked.
It was exciting for the duo to share some of their passion for comedy skits with somebody since everyone else around them didn't really relate to them. They brought their football teammates to a show one time, and instead of enjoying it, most of them didn't really laugh, or they would just be confused about the jokes. Red and Gold didn't disappoint of course and had a riot, but still, it was hard to share it.
"I wonder when the next one will be. We're busy this season because of the play, along with the homecoming game and dance around the corner, so we definitely have to do it later. We should ask Missy when she's free too since we don't know when her prodigy competitions for music starts," Pearl said.
The blond-haired boy had a smile on his face, but it was slowly fading away just thinking about everything in their lives. He tried to make everything okay and the same for Diamond and himself by mentioning the thing that makes the both of them happiest, but he couldn't help but keep thinking about everything that is happening lately to them outside of school. It's hard to even know if he will make it to the homecoming game uninjured with how people are trying to kill them, and he's still learning more things about Pokemon and confused about everything else.
Well, at least there's one thing that didn't change in my life, Pearl thought, glancing at the boy across from him.
Unlike the others in the group, he and Diamond didn't fight with each other and are still as close as ever. They didn't hide secrets from each other either, and they were very open about everything. Platinum was a new factor to the group, but even with the new addition, they still didn't change too much. He was glad that Diamond stayed his best friend.
He snapped out of his trance of admiration when he realized Diamond was choking, and quickly handed his friend a cup of water. The black-haired boy chugged it all down and saved himself, earning a sigh from his friend.
"Geez, Dia! You're always slow when it comes to moving, but you eat too fast!" Pearl scolded.
Diamond grinned and shoved another piece of food into his mouth, forgetting that he had almost choked to death a few seconds before. "I can't help it! Food is great!"
Pearl shook his head disapprovingly at his response even though he expected that. "You're hopeless," he remarked.
The gluttonous boy just returned with a small laugh and continued stuffing his face. "It's a good thing you're here with me then!"
RING! RING!
"Hm? Who's calling you at a time like this?" Pearl asked.
Diamond shrugged and wiped his hands clean before digging through the pocket of his jacket. Pearl curiously peered over the table to sneak a peek at the caller ID on Diamond's phone. The name 'Missy' ran across the top of the bright screen, answering his question. The two looked at each other with confused looks, wondering why Platinum was reaching out at a time like this. She got much closer to them, but she wasn't the type to randomly call them in her spare time.
Without consulting his friend, Diamond already clicked to answer it. Immediately, the screen changed to a video call. It was hard for either of them to make out what was happening because there was a loud sounds in the background. The camera was showing the ceiling instead of her face and it kept moving around from one place to another.
"Missy? What's happening?!" Pearl yelled, unaware of his surroundings.
"AH!" Platinum's shriek was coming from the other side.
The camera was moving around so much, they didn't see what was happening, but it looked like she hit something with a pillow. A loud screeching sound followed from it, along with a bunch of thumping noises and something that sounded like shattered glass.
"Sapphire and I... are under... attack!" Platinum managed to say between breaths, catching a break. Finally, the camera screen showed the heiress herself, and they could see Platinum in a panic state, her hair and clothes messy. "I don't know why, but they suddenly came to my house and attacked us! They took Marley, and—"
She started screaming again when something came flying towards her, followed by some water. This time, Diamond and Pearl didn't know what it was at all.
"What was that?!" Diamond inquired, looking worried.
"Golb—" Platinum didn't get to answer because something hit her phone and the call was cut off with a thundering THUMP! noise.
It was silent after the call ended. Diamond and Pearl looked at each other, only the look of concerns left on their faces. They understood how the other was feeling right now, whether it was fright, determination, or worry. Without a moment to lose, they both got up from the table at the same time.
"We have to help Missy!" Diamond said.
Pearl nodded with a determined look on his face. "Of course! She's our friend, we can't just leave her!"
A/N — I'm glad I got to write this out before I go back to school! I didn't expect things to get so busy after classes went face to face again, but it did and it messed my schedule up. I have definitely planned something for Sapphire and Blue that I thought of after writing this chapter, so I hope I find some more time to write XD
Anyways, I heard covid is getting worse in some areas, especially after the holidays, so stay safe everyone!
