BtP 4
Author's Notes:
To the first review this story has received, I say "Huzzah". Also, thank you, because I will definitely need the luck, you unknown reviewer. (Cue the suspense chord from those really old mystery/ action cartoons.)
Anyway, this chapter will be rather revealing. Some weird stuff will happen. Some not-so-weird stuff will also happen. You know, the usual.
Anyway, back to the Story.
Btp 4: In the Gray Zone
Omniscient POV:
"Master, the four have joined together," A Xatu told me. He was one of my best friends.
"You know we're past you calling me that. Or are we not as fond of each other as I was lead to believe?" I asked the Xatu, knowing his response already.
"Of course we are, which is why you know I am one for formalities. Anyway, what do you wish us to do? Prepare for your departure, or continue monitoring them?"
"Please, I've been monitoring their entire journey this entire time. No, I will strike at the appropriate time, don't worry about that," I said, scoffing at my friend's forgetfulness.
"Whatever you say."
Scott's POV:
I was finally getting used to our new names, but I still had a feeling that that was what they were: New. Not our original names, but new names. Everyone else still couldn't believe I had become a crazy, gray Squirtle. It sucked, because everything was so much hotter, since I absorbed all the light that touched me. Stupid science. Anyway, Uncle Kenny was out training with Tyrone, and Gina and Vex were off doing who knows what to some poor victim. (Better them than me.) So I was left with nothing to do other than wish that I didn't get so hot in the sun.
Well, that and wonder what that broken glass and the sand was supposed to be. But I had a feeling I already knew. So when I suddenly felt an impact on my shell, I went in. But what really freaked me out was when I saw glass and sand streaming off my shell. What really SCARED me was when the sand made a message. But what truly made me go beyond scared, was what the message said. "I know." (Was this a prank to get back at me for taking the last pomeg berry?) But what made me scream, was when Vex came back, and laid down in the glass, and didn't notice the glass or the sand. Neither did anyone else. I might be going slightly crazy. But then, there are too many coincidences if that's true.
Tyrone's POV:
"Is it just me, or is Scott going a bit crazy ever since that whole gray incident?" I asked my new mentor, Kenny.
"I'd say he's either going crazy, or he's right and we just can't see it," Kenny said.
"So you're saying that Scott's right about his and his sister's names? 'Cause I am pretty sure during that first battle, you called him Scott, and his sister Vully."
"I am not only saying that he might be right, but that he probably is right. After all, shouldn't Gina have left by now? It's been a few months now, and I am quite sure that Jirachi only stay for a week every millennium. I don't suppose you would know anything about that, would you?"
"Y... Y… No, I don't," I said, failing to say yes. Shoot, she still has that much power over us.
"You do, don't you. You just won't admit to it."
"Y-Yeah, I can't."
"I see. I'm guessing you won't explain it then, either, eh?"
"Yeah."
"In that case, this conversation's over. Unlike our training," Kenny said, throwing his kicks at my face. I dodged all of them, and patted away a spark that had landed on my shoulder. I threw my own punches at him, which he blocked with his legs. They were irritating that way. He said I was getting good, I said he needs to learn to punch.
So naturally, when he did punch, I didn't see it coming. I never do. He always does it so unexpectedly, when I'm worrying about his legs, that it takes me by surprise. What surprised me even more was that my instincts saw it coming.
"Nice one. You finally dodged a punch. I was beginning to worry you weren't capable of such a thing."
"I didn't even know you punched until I was over here."
"Another strange happening. Even actions done upon instinct are still known to the one doing them whilst they do them."
As he said this, Kenny launched a flurry of punches and kicks; I jumped out of the and started jumping off the sides of two nearby trees, scaling them very quickly. Kenny was faster, though, using brave bird to launch himself directly above me, and then using flare blitz to body slam me back down. I blocked the attack, and twisted my body so I was above him, right before we landed.
"Nice one, you even managed to take me by surprise with that one."
"I took myself by surprise as well." What is going on with me? Now Kenny knows about this. Should I tell him that it's been happening long before today? Should I tell him that it started when we moved in with him?
Vex's POV:
My brother had gone off the wall. He thought I was laying in glass. He thought my name was really Vully, and his was really Squirty. He shouldn't have told me the second part, though, as it just led to a whole lotta teasing. He really walked right into it. Anyway, getting back on topic. He did only start thinking these things when he turned gray. He also did think through the story behind our "names" pretty fricking thoroughly. It couldn't have been a coincidence.
I decided to find out the truth once and for all. Hopefully I was strong enough to pull off this kind of a curse. One that would make my brother mentally stable. I knew it would take a lot of my power, but it was worth it. To finally determine if there was any merit to Scott's ramblings. I decided that I should get the others in on the loop. But not Scotty. Definitely not Scotty. He would just say that he's fine, and that he's sane.
"Hey, Vu- I mean Vex, do you think I might actually be insane?" My brother asked me, having very bad timing.
"I thought I had made that abundantly clear, bro," I said, toying around with his insecurity. Why do people say I'm a conniving little fox? It's not like I act like a stereotypical Zorua or anything…
"Yeah, you did. You also made it abundantly clear that I'm color blind and still blue, not gray. And look at where that got me."
"That was pretty funny… Anyway, I honestly don't know how crazy you are. Just give me a day or five to figure it out, okay?"
"Fine. But you had better not try any of your pranks on me."
"Sheesh. You act like I don't test them on others first to make sure they will actually humiliate you. I feel rather offended," I said, starting to walk off. Then, I could've sworn I saw a slight shimmer, like the light reflecting off of a mirror… Or glass.
Gina's POV:
"I wish that I could make Scotty mentally stable enough for us to know if there's any merit to his claims of our "original" names, and the glass," Vully said, putting particular emphasis on the "original".
"I do believe that it should be so for the next few days or so. Only one way to find out if he's actually sane or not," I said.
We started walking back to the cave. (Well, floating, in my case.) It was around dusk, and getting dark a bit quicker than I think it should've. I shuddered involuntarily, causing Vex to look at me quizzically.
"You okay?" The Vulpix asked me.
"Hopefully… Let's just pick up the pace a bit before the nightlife starts coming out," I said, not wanting to have deal with any of the various dark, ghost, and bug type Pokémon that came out at night.
"Good idea."
I heard a rustling noise in a nearby bush, and nearly had a heart attack, before I realized that it was just Tyrone and Kenny. Wait, what are they doing out here this late?
"I think we were training a bit later than we should've, Kenny." Tyrone said, not looking at us, and then walking into Vex's tails. "Wait, what did I just walk into? Why can't I see anything? VEX," The poor little Tyrogue yelled, making a few Zubat flutter out of the trees and as far away as they could possibly get. I always thought that was more of a Pidgey thing.
"Sorry? In my defense, I was thinking about how hard it was getting to see before you so rudely walked into my tails," the stubborn girl said.
"So I'm guessing you won't undo it, then," Tyrone said, before sighing, "so how long do you think it will last?"
"Until morning, maybe until dusk tomorrow. Anyway, we need to hurry back, so we can find out the truth right now."
"About what, might I ask?" Kenny asked us, sighing already. "This had better not become an interrogation for Scotty. We've already determined that he isn't exactly mentally stable right now."
"He will be for the next few hours. I need to know if my brother is really crazy or not. After that… Never mind," she said, starting to trail off in thought.
Right about then, though I refused to tell anyone about it, besides Scotty and Tyrone, I could've sworn I heard the sound of something cracking. Something like… glass.
Tyrone's POV:
Why did I have to be blinded by Vex's backside? That came out wrong. At least Kenny was helping to guide me back to the cave. Otherwise, I would've fallen off of six different cliffs, walked into a cave filled with Gligar that would love a snack to walk in, and gone back into the woods at about ten different entrances. I decided not to take up topography that day.
"Don't tell anyone about this conversation, okay?" Gina told me.
"Sure. What do you need?" I asked. It seems a telepathic conversation was in order
"Did you hear a cracking sound just now, specifically glass cracking?"
"No. Don't tell me you're starting to go crazy as well."
"That's what we're trying to determine now. If Scotty is correct about his claims, then you know what that means."
"Yeah, I do. And I don't need to think about that. We've seen enough of that witch for five lifetimes."
"Not if Scott's correct. If he's right, then we're not even close to being done with that villain."
"I just hope he actually is insane, and hallucinating."
"We both know that that isn't possible."
"Yeah… We do."
"So now we know he's one of the four. And we are as well."
"No way."
"Why else would we have been sent? The master always planned this kind of stuff. To the master it was a game. There's no denying it. We're part of the Prophecy. We're all in the gray zone now."
"Yeah, but it's affected him most of all. We both know what that rock truly is, and it is not just a shell. No, it chose Scotty. He was in the gray long before that day. We can't hold back any more information from our friends: they're going to be in danger no matter what we do," Gina thought, (Or is it spoke? What's the correct term for talking via telepathy?) making the conversation turn dark rather quickly.
"So that means we should also be expecting some changes pretty soon."
"Are we back at the cave yet?" I asked, before walking into what I assume was a wall. I then realized Kenny had let go a while back.
"Yeah, and you guys have some explaining to do, right now. You guys knew I wasn't crazy this whole time, and you didn't tell me. I thought we were friends," Scotty said. At least, I assumed it was Scotty talking. After a few minutes, he continued speaking, "You guys knew I wasn't hallucinating about the color of my skin and didn't tell me, but instead just let Vex keep on claiming that I was still blue."
"We kind of assumed you knew you were being pranked after you went with me to pick some Oran berries."
"Wait, what?" Scotty sounded flabbergasted at that statement. "Ah, never mind. So, what was it you were going to ask me, Vex?"
"Are you really seeing broken glass with sand, or is it just a hallucination?" Vex asked her brother.
"Why do you care so much now, huh?"
"Well, Scotty, aka. Squirty, Tyrone and I can confidently say that sadly, you aren't hallucinating," Gina said.
"Okay, I think you might also be crazy, then. Wait, what's that stuff coming from the ceiling?"
"There's nothing there, Scotty. Gina, I think Vex is starting to become too much of a role model for you," Kenny said.
Then, I felt something smooth flow down my back in a huge amount… something like… dust. Then I knew what was going on. We were going to be tested, again. And these tests were always failed at some point in time. It was only a question of when. Something very confusing when the master put out these tests."
Author's Notes:
Next chapter will be defining this "gray zone", and this Prophecy will be revealed as well. It'll also be a bit less dialogue, and a bit more action.
Now everyone is starting to acknowledge some rather strange stuff. And just how much do Tyrone and Gina know? What exactly is this prophecy? Why do they say that Scotty has been in the gray zone for so long? Is that what turned him gray? (No, but it is a part of it. After all, wouldn't the others have turned gray by now?)
Omniscient POV:
A reflection on the events six months ago. (So basically the Past Predation to Present Pals chapters.)
"What a stroke of luck they had, eh, Master," One of my servants said, not realizing just what actually happened back there, "I mean, you've done that kind of thing before, and no one ever escapes, and certainly no one ever has an inkling as to what happened. I say the Squirtle should be rid of that horrendous rock on his back. Seems like nothing but a troublesome can, if you ask me."
"Enough, that 'troublesome can' is one of the most sacred items to exist ever. Luck wasn't on their side; it all went precisely to plan. The Squirtle is nothing but a bothersome Magikarp flopping on the floor, begging for attention," I snapped at the being approximately 3.35 times as tall as me.
"Then let me give him some attention, and a new purpose for his new shell. Let him fall to my mind, fists, and power, Master," My servant snarled, as my description was one of that which must go. I couldn't tell him the magnitude of the fours' importance, not now, and not a moment ago.
"No, don't. Not yet. After all, when one plays with time, it is black and white. Past and future. Future and past. But most only perceive present and future. No, you mustn't. For when one dabbles in time, one must also have a gray zone, someone to perceive the past as well. That Squirtle, is in the gray zone. And no, that isn't why he's gray. His shell, it is of great power. It is the keyhole with which one can view space and time. The Squirtle must learn to do both, first. Then, and only then, will we strike," I said.
Author's Notes: (Again)
If you notice any typos in my writing, please alert me. (Yes, I probably should get someone to beta this instead, but I don't know which ones are actually good. Or which ones would actually beta read the story)
Also, this is soon going to turn into a crossover between far too many games to be a regular crossover. I'll mostly be using monsters and enemies from other games, but I'm not sure which ones to use. This is where I'll definitely be needing help from you readers. OCs, people, OCs. Either Pokémon, or monsters from other games. Please don't use any humans. Also, which game said monsters are from. If there is one particular game that you people like to take your monsters from, then that's what this will be a crossover with. (Unless if that's not enough elements from other games to be considered a crossover.) I'll also be using Pokémon, but I'll definitely need monsters. I'm asking now so I have enough time to work in the first one. By the way, I'll definitely be providing a twist on the fights from the original game.
