"It's been almost two months now."
"Why hasn't Mama been reading us stories?"
"Is she sick? Oh, I hope she's not sick!"
"Of course she's not sick! She's probably just being lazy..."
"Don't call Mama lazy!"
"Yeah! She and Daddy's been working on changing up my room!"
"Don't you dare team up on me, Celina, with Iri! That's my job!"
"You don't like it that she's right."
"Shut it, Iri! You're a traitor!"
"Kids?" V decided to walk into Aini's room before anything got physical between the three. "What's going on?"
"Mama, are you sick?" Celina blurted, suddenly bursting into tears. "Please don't be sick!"
V blinked, then kneeled down, brushing away the tears before this snowballed into Iri and eventually Aini crying. She knew that once the younger two saw their big sister break down, it was a matter of seconds before they did as well.
"I'm not sick, I promise." V said gently. "So don't be scared, okay?"
"Then why haven't you been reading us stories?" Iri asked, lowering his head. "Me and Nini haven't been fighting with Cece, I promise. Are you mad?"
"I'm not mad. I've just been really tired lately. There's going to be a lot of changes soon, so I might not be able to read to you every night like usual."
"It's been two months." Aini spat. "When're you going to start again?"
"How about tonight?" V suggested, gathering her children around her. "I'm thinking we follow up Soul and Silver with Gold and Crystal. Is that okay?"
"Yeah!" Celina smiled, immediately perking up.
"I don't even care if it's actiony or not!" Iri grinned, latching his arms around V's neck. "I missed the stories!"
"But don't make it sappy." Aini spat. "I hate sappy things."
"You hate everything." V said, grabbing her nose and playfully moving her face back and forth. Aini squeaked, swatting her hand away and covering her nose, her glaring eyes peeking over her hands. "Now then, how about a twist on a classic?"
o.0.o.0.o
Crystal in Neverland, Part 1
Once Upon a Pokéball, there was a baby boy. He was born with raven black hair, golden eyes and a grin that screamed trouble. While he was in his crib, a certain fairy took interest in him. For you see, every time a baby laughs his or her first laugh, a tiny little fairy gains his or her powers.
This particular fairy wanted to find the child who had granted her powers through his laughter. Knowing nothing but the gender of the child, she searched far and wide for the infant. Eventually, she came across a rather bustling little town called New Bark. She darted to and from window, searching for the crib of the child. The queen had said that she would know which infant was the one she was looking for, though she was having trouble understanding why it was so hard!
Suddenly, she felt an all to familiar pang of joy in her heart. Slowly, she darted back to the window, darting through the open window and glancing around. A soft cooing entered her ears and she grinned, turning and looking into the crib of a golden eyed baby.
He looked at her.
She grinned at him.
He laughed, reaching up chubby hands and trying to grab at her.
Suddenly, pain and pity ripped through her heart. Such a sweet child was stuck in a hellish world. She seen the fights, the horrible people that roamed the streets, the dangers around every corner. Why should a child such as he be forced to live in this world?
...
"That's it!" she whispered, darting out of the window. Pausing, she went back with a smile. "Don't worry little one. I'll be back!"
o.0.o.0.o
It was very late into the night when the small fairy returned. The baby blinked his eyes, staring up at her as she sprinkled the golden dust onto him. There was a moment of silence.
Then the baby was floating.
Rather than seeming afraid, the infant seemed delighted, clapping his hands as he twirled through the air. The fairy held his hand, knowing that him being shaken to much would cause damage.
"Come on, little one," the fairy smiled, suddenly growing into a full sized woman and grabbing his hand. "Theres no need to be scared anymore. We're going to Neverland!"
o.0.o.0.o
"Goodbye, Quartz!"
"I'll always believe in you, Gold!"
Gold floated away a bit sadly as he hid in the shadows, watching as Quartz waved goodbye, then backed into the shadows of her room while he himself floated away, farther and farther from the house.
"You okay, Gold?" the young man turned to his little fairy companion. Soul smiled at him. "It's alright. Quartz wanted to come home. We couldn't stop her. And you have lots of friends back in Neverland."
"I know." Gold scowled, crossing his arms. "I just thought she'd stick around, you know? We don't get random humans coming to Neverland, much less a freaking girl." he flicked the fairy playfully. "How come you and your fairy friends bring me Lost Boys? Why not some Lost Girls?"
"A majority of fairies are female." Soul shrugged. "And Blue's boy crazy, you know that. It's not like we're lacking beautiful lady-creatures in Neverland."
Gold shook his head.
"Still, though." another forlorn look at Quartz's window. "Ugh, never mind." Soul stared onward sadly as Gold drifted around. She noticed how Gold had become particularly close to Quartz, closer then any of the other lost boys that she and her friends had brought to him, and when she chose to go home, it nearly tore him apart.
"This is the place that your friends picked me up from, right?" Gold asked suddenly, turning to her. Soul blinked, recalling her older fairy friends first bringing Gold to Neverland, her being assigned to being his fairy guide through Neverland.
"I... think?" Soul murmured, looking around at the bustling stone buildings. "This is the same country, but I don't think it's this city. It was a smaller town."
"Show me the town." Gold insisted.
"I... I don't know." Soul said, unsure.
"Soul." Gold smirked. "If you don't show me the house, I'll tell Silver about your little crush."
Soul's face flared in embarrassment.
"Don't, you meanie!" she exclaimed, using her tiny fists to bop him on the nose. Gold was hardly fazed, simply brushing the fairy off.
"Show me." Gold grinned, knowing he had the upper hand. Gold was pretty sure that the fairies worked it out to bring a specific Lost Boy for a specific creature in Neverland, especially when it came to Blue. Even though Yellow and Soul were sometimes dragged into it against their will, Gold knew the brunette water fairy was playing matchmaker with the boys and her friends in Neverland.
Soul sighed.
"Fine." she said, shaking her head and fluttering over the rooftops and into the sky. Gold easily followed her, drifting through clouds without a single hassle.
That was the special thing about Gold. When he was brought to Neverland by the fairy whom he had given her powers, he had to sprinkled with the special fairy dust. The only way to Neverland, after all, was to follow the second star to the right and straight on till morning. While temporary with most, Gold never lost the ability to fly without wings. Eventually, he learned to control this power, but in Neverland, he was still viewed as an anomaly among among anomalies.
Before long, Gold and Soul were floating over a small little village. Soul was giving directions to the home as Gold followed them. Soon, the two were floating outside a second story window, peering inside with hopes of seeing what was going on.
Gold wasn't going to admit it, but he was excited. When he was younger, he remembered the mermaids telling him about their mothers. He always wanted to meet them, but alas, he couldn't breath underwater. So he was, to say the least, curious.
Inside, he saw a woman with gold eyes like his own, rocking back and forth in a rocking chair with a small bundle in her arms. The door behind her suddenly burst open, and what he saw made his heard plummet to his stomach.
A little boy, with black hair and gold eyes.
"Mama!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side.
"Shh," the woman scolded gently. "You'll wake your sister."
Gold was clenching the windowsill tightly, unable to tear his eyes from the scene.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Gold asked, glancing at Soul. Soul nodded with a bright smile.
"Look, Gold! That woman must be your mother!" she said, pressing her face to the glass. "You have her eyes. And that boy looks just like you! Your brother? Oh! Oh! And that baby must be your little sister!"
With each word from her mouth, Gold felt himself growing angrier. Why wasn't this woman, who may be his mother, mourning over her loss of him. Why wasn't she crying? Didn't she miss him? Want him back? Why was she paying attention to these two kids instead of searching for him?
Scowling, he floated away from the window as Soul continued to coo over the smaller children. After a few moments, the brunette nature fairy popped up in front of his face.
"Gold! What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I've obviously been replaced, so I'm not needed here." he said, continuing to fly through the sky.
"Gold, I don't think..."
"It doesn't matter." Gold shook his head, a grin on his face to reassure his friend. "Don't worry about it, okay?" he poked his in her stomach, reminding himself to do so gently as to much force from the tip of his finger, to her in her tiny size, would be like him taking a cannonball to the stomach.
He glanced up at the sky, eyes settling on the second, bright glowing star to the right. Just through there, straight on till morning, was Neverland.
"Lets just go back home, okay?"
o.0.o.0.o
Johto was being threatened by war, and many men were forced to leave their families to defend their country. Likewise, many women were also forced to care for the injured soldiers. Likewise, one little girl with bright blue pigtails was forced to watch her father get drafted and her mother run to nurse soldiers. She herself was left in an orphanage, sometimes sobbing at the aspect of loosing her parents.
"Crystal?" she turned with tear-stained cheeks, glancing in the doorway. The woman who ran the orphanage smiled, walking inside the room of the twelve-year-old girl.
"What?" she sniffled, wiping her tears away.
"Your mother wanted me to give you this." she crossed the room, holding up a doll with black hair, amber buttons for eyes, and wearing an odd little elfin outfit. She recognized the doll. It was a small thing her grandmother had made for her mother when she was a young girl. It was supposed to be that of a boy she met when she was younger, named Gold.
"It's Gold." she said quietly, taking the doll from her and holding him up. "The boy who never grew past sixteen, and lived in a magical world called Neverland."
"I first told your mother about Gold and his adventures. Soon enough, she began to spin her own tales of the boy. She loved entertaining the children here with the whimsical tales." Crystal looked up at her. "I need you to tell the stories too. These are hard times, and these kids need something to hope for. You're one of the older ones here, and I need you to help me take care of them. Can you do that for me, Crystal?"
Slowly, Crystal nodded.
"I can." she responded, finding her resolve. "I will."
"Good." the woman gave her a big hug, then left the little ten-year-old in her room. About an hour later, just as she was about to settle for bed, she heard something out in the hallway. Narrowing her eyes, she wrapped her arm around her Gold doll, and sat up in bed.
"Who's there?" she demanded. From the hallway, a small head peeked in the room.
"Crystal?" she turned her head, recognizing the long blond hair on the short boy.
"What are you doing on the girls side?" Crystal scolded. "You know you're not allowed."
The younger boy, four years her junior, lowered his head.
"The older boys said they were gonna smother me with a pillow." he said. "They said it was 'cause I tattled. Can I stay here with you? At least for the night?"
Crystal paused, recalling the owners words earlier, then scooted to the side, pulling up her blankets and making room for the younger child. In a blink of an eye, the boy had leapt into bed. Crystal blinked in surprise, then patted his head in a comforting manner, like an older sister would to a little brother.
"Night, Crystal."
"Good night, Emerald."
o.0.o.0.o
Unfortunately, the war last many more years than the people thought. Bombs were dropped on the capitol, Goldenrod, and the little orphanage was struggling to survive as more parents died, food rations became scarce, and more devastated children filled the halls of the orphanage.
In an effort to protect it's children, the government declared that all of them must be moved to the country side for safekeeping. Of course, the parents flocked their children to safekeeping. Any child under the age of sixteen had to go, and soon, they were gathering up any young men and women who hadn't gone into the war, between the ages of sixteen and twenty, to act as surrogate parents to the children in an effort to ease their pain.
In times such as these, it's no wonder teenagers grow up fast, quickly becoming adults and discarding silly things like Gold, the boy who remained sixteen forever, and Neverland.
A chikorita splashed through a puddle, sniffing at the ground curiously.
"What is it, Mega?" a blue-haired young woman asked. The sixteen-year-old came up to her pokémon, holding a package in her hand and a satchel in the other. She was donned in a dark cloak with the hood up. The little chikorita looked up with a grin, hopping around an old hopscotch outline, done in chalk.
Crystal rolled her eyes, slipping the package into her bag and scooping up the pokémon.
"I'm to old for that and we don't have time." Crystal chastised. "We need to get this home to Emerald." she held up her now full purse for emphasis.
Suddenly, a loud alarm went off. Crystal jerked, face flickering in panic. The alarm meant bombs, and whether it was practice or real, she couldn't be sure.
"Oh no..." she murmured, suddenly bolting through the street as lights in homes went off around her. She knew what this meant. They were turning of lights to make them lesser targets, and they were retreating to shelters. Heart hammering, she hurried through the streets, planes flying overhead with soldiers turning on floodlights to spot the planes so they could shoot them down.
Mega squirmed in her arms, growling towards the sky. Crystal glanced up, widening her eyes.
"Oh my Arceus!" Crystal exclaimed. She ducked under some old rubble, clutching Mega tightly as the ground shook and explosions made her ears pop. Gritting her teeth, she slowly opened her eyes, swallowing to regain her hearing. Panting from the fear, she slowly got up. Mega struggled, unwilling to leave the semi-safety of the rubble. "Come on Chika. We're not out of the woods yet and this is liable to collapse any second. We have to go!"
Then she bolted back in to the street, hood falling and blue pigtails, somehow defying gravity, popped out. She smiled slightly as her target came on sight, practically throwing herself against the door.
"Ruth!" she cried out. "Ruth, let me in! It's Crystal!" The door suddenly flew open, and she stumbled in, nearly dropping Mega.
"Crystal! Crystal!" Emerald ran up to her with a bright grin on his face. "You're here, you made it past the pirates!"
Crystal rolled her eyes at his antics. Despite being ten, Emerald seemed to always believe the whimsical stories told by the orphanage owner. The plump woman stuck her head up from the burrow they had dug, where the few that were left of the orphans still resided. Crystal shot her a disapproving look at filling the blond boys head with stories.
"Here, Emerald." she said, passing the parcel to him. "Happy birthday."
"A present!" grinned Emerald, snatching the present from her and tearing the colorless paper from the package in his lap. Though being ten years old, the boy never seemed to grow up past being five, both literally and figuratively. Sure, Crystal had reasoned. he was among the older, so it had to be an act, but Ruth seemed to encourage it.
It drove her utterly nuts. This was a time of war and sorrow, and she was simply putting up a false front, a veil of illusion over they eyes of children. While she herself didn't want the young one's to be tainted with war, she also didn't want them to believe bombs were canons from pirate ships and that Gold and his Lost Boys, mermaids, fairies, and the 'good pirates' would come to the rescue.
No mythical group of teenagers would rescue them from a war.
"Socks." Emerald pouted, holding up the gift as if they were offensive. "Two of them."
"Of course." Crystal said, rolling her eyes. "I got them a size large so you can grow into them."
"Now that's just insulting." Emerald spat back, crossing his arms. Ruth smiled.
"Come along, you two." she said, gesturing for them to come down. Crystal didn't waste a second, following her down. Some children were smiling as they came back down.
"Mama Ruth, I wanna hear a story 'bout Gold!" one of them cried out.
"Alright then. How about..." she trailed off as Crystal cross the room to the radio, putting headphone on to listen to the broadcast. She needed to have a list of what they needed next time they went out. She titled the list in the margins, 'Things Needed'. "The time Gold stole Captain Archer's ship, right out from under his nose!"
"That's a good one!" a child giggled. Crystal furrowed her brow as she tried to make sense of the static around the radio message, jotting down notes on her list.
"It was a misty night," Ruth began. "And Archer was sure he had found Gold's hideout once again. So he and his crew of bloodthirsty pirates went ashore, leaving their ship, the Rocket, unguarded. Informed by his mermaid friends, Platinum and White, Gold slipped aboard with the Lost Boys."
"Silver, Ruby, Dia, Pearl, and Black!" one of them cried. Crystal glanced over her shoulder, slowly moving the headphones from her head.
"On board, Gold found Archers remarkable treasure, full of crowns and gold and jewels and all sorts of rare and valuable items! Gold told the boys they'd hide it, and they'd have to hunt them down to get it back! You see, it was all a great game to Gold, and he knew that his gijinka friends, Jade, Onyx, Opal, and Carnelian, would never pass up a moment to mess with the evil pirate. But that was when..." she paused for dramatic effect. "He arrived."
The children gasped.
"Captain Archer grinned a malicious grin, and a ferocious sword fight began between him and Gold. Unbeknownst to the captain, there were traders in their midst."
"Was it the good pirates?"
"Indeed it was! Red, Green, Sapphire, and Topaz may make up a small crew, but they were good pirates nonetheless. Seems they had a similar plan to Gold, to rob Archer of his treasure. Seeing as they had the same goal, they decided, just this once, to work together.
"Lightening flashed, and suddenly, Gold was pinned by the evil pirate! Laughing an evil laugh, he pointed his blade to his throat. "Give up, boy!" he declared with an evil grin. Gold, ever the defiant delinquent, stared back with a grin. "Never!" he said. And at that moment, three figures with fluttering wings appeared."
"Blue, Soul, and Yellow!" a little girl shrieked happily.
"They were in their larger, human forms, as all fairies can control what size they are. Using their magic, they covered the ship, and the Rocket lifted into the air. Platinum and White, with their ability to control water, managed to maneuver Red's ship from its hiding spot, and stationed it right under the ship, where the Lost Boys, the good pirates, the fairies, and Gold all escaped. "You haven't seen the last of me, Gold! I'll get you for what you've done! If it's the last thing I do!" Archer cried out vengefully, though Gold took it with a grain of salt, as Archer could never truly beat Gold."
A pause.
"So you see, children. Archer will never win, so long as there is faith, trust, and fairy dust."
Crystal rolled her eyes, standing up with a shake of her head.
"Yay!" the children cried out.
"I'll be Gold!" Emerald declared. "You guys can be my lost boys and the fairies and the pirates and the mermaids!"
Soon, the children were bouncing about, happily reenacting the story. Crystal let out a grunt as one of them bumped into her, sending her notebook flying into the dirt.
"My notebook!" Crystal cried out, reaching for the object and shaking dust from it.
"C'mon, Crystal!" Emerald exclaimed, grabbing onto her arm. "We can beat Captain Archer together."
"I don't have time for your games anymore." Crystal sighed. "I've got a lot to do."
"You used too." one of the girls whined.
"You were the first Lost Girl." a boy reminded.
"That was a long time ago."
"Yeah, back when you were fun!" Emerald shot back, then immaturely sticking out his tongue. Crystal didn't respond, simply sat down at the desk again, adjusted the radio, and put the headphones back on to see if she could recreate her list.
o.0.o.0.o
"Honestly, Ruth," Crystal said as they both walked inside with the last child, everyone else in bed. "I don't know why you fill their heads with such silly stories."
"They aren't stories, Crystal." Ruth said, "You know your mother-"
A sudden knock on the door caught their attention.
"Here, take the little one to bed." Ruth said. Crystal blinked, trying to see what was going on. Quickly, she put the last child to bed and then headed back down the stairs, hiding in the shadows to see what was going on. Ruth slowly opened the door.
"Good evening, ma'am." Crystal recognized the army uniform. "Evacuation notice for any young men or women ages sixteen to twenty. The young lady who lives here, Crystal, is on list for the morning train."
"What?" Ruth exclaimed. "No offense, sir, but you can't take Crystal when children are still here."
"I'm under orders, ma'am."
"Then listen here," Crystal said, coming down the stairs. "If you have room for me, you have room for the children. They go before me, sir, and I'll only go with them. There's only five left, you took all the others. Surely you have room for five more kids?"
A long pause.
"I'll see if I can get an officer rounding up the children to do rounds." he said. "Be ready to go in the morning, Miss."
And with that, he walked out the door. Crystal turned to Ruth.
"I'm not leaving." she said simply.
"Crystal, I don't think you have a choice."
"But you said so many years ago that I had to stay here!"
"I said you had to tell stories to the children, and that's why they want you there. To be a mother, and tell stories in replacement of the mothers that the children have lost. Tell them the stories of Gold. He needs them, Crystal. And you do as well."
"Ruth, I've grown out of those stories! They aren't true! What are you going to tell me next? As long as we have faith, trust, and fairy dust, everything will be fine? That the good pirates will save us from the war? That mermaids will tell us where to go? Those are all just stories! They're meaningless!"
"No they're not." both turned to Emerald, standing halfway through the stairs with the Gold doll in his hands, rubbing his eyes. "They're all true. Mama Ruth says your Mama saw Gold."
"Enough, Emerald!" Crystal exclaimed. "Story time is over. Look outside your window. It's a war! Gold and the Lost Boys isn't real, mermaids, fairies, and pirates don't exist, and people don't fly!"
"Yes they do." Emerald insisted. "You believed it once too. Your Mama said she met him."
"My mother has nothing to do with this!" Crystal shot back. "Grow up, Emerald! You're ten years old today! It's all just childish nonsense!"
"You're a liar!" Emerald shot back, turning on his heel and jolting back up the stairs.
"Crystal!" Ruth said. "How could you treat him that way? He's like a brother to you!"
Crystal jolted, but said nothing. Ruth began to climb the stairs.
"You think you're to old for childish stories, yet you're acting like a child now. You may think you're an adult, but you're just sixteen. You're still a child."
Crystal watched as the climbed up the stairs, picking up the Gold doll along the way, and going to comfort the blond boy. Crystal, in response, went to her room, and slammed the door shut in frustration, going across the room to the window seat and curling into a ball.
Crystal did not cry very often, but at that moment, warm tears dripped down her cheeks. She didn't want to leave Ruth or Emerald or the other orphans in this wartorn wasteland. She had to be there for stability, so they didn't get lost in fantasy. Slowly, she turned her gaze back to the window, then opened it.
She remembered her mother telling stories of Gold, how she apparently went ona grand adventure with him.
"Second star on the right," she muttered. "And straight on till morning."
Apparently, that was where the great Neverland was, but down below was were sirens wailed, firemen trying to put out fires from the bombs, and she was yanked back to the cruel reality that was her life. Slowly, she shut her windows with a click and curled onto the window seat, away from the stars.
Neverland didn't exist.
Mermaids weren't real.
Fairies weren't real.
Gijinka's were legends.
Pirates were just in stories.
And Gold and his Lost Boys didn't exist.
o.0.o.0.o
"You told that action story for Iri, didn't you?" Aini asked while crossing her arms. V smiled.
"I think he deserves it, don't you."
"Well, it was a long time coming." Aini sighed. V shook her head.
"I know."
o.0.o.0.o
Wow, so, I'm tired. Anyone ever watch Peter Pan 2, return to Neverland? I was born in 1998 and that movie came out in 2002, and was, like, a staple in my childhood, before I watched the actual Peter Pan movie. It's going to be a bit of a challenge to have Gold, playing Peter, fall in love, but I've got an idea going in my head, and i'm pretty excited for it.
Amy47101 signing off! ^.^