A/N: Indeed, I'm not dead. XD I'm sorry for the late update, really! I pretty much spent all of my holiday watching Fairy Tail and I went to Krabi Island, Thailand and Singapore for a holiday. If anyone who lives in Singapore is reading this, you live in an awesome place! XD I had such an amazing view from the hotel, Marina Bay Sands, and especially from that rooftop pool. :O
This chapter has a lot of background of The Candies, hopefully you none of you will want to bash their head in with a large fish anymore after reading this. (:
Also, I would like to clear something up. Jess, A.K.A Dr. Hayman, is not Jessie from Team Rocket. They just happen to have the almost same name.
I'll be sending everyone a reply to their reviews later in the morning by PM, I didn't have the time to write them today because it's past midnight and I just had a party at my house. I'll be replying to the guest ones now though.
Once again, I HIGHLY recommend listening to the song while reading.
Anyway, enough of my blabbing, enjoy this somewhat-long chapter.
Replies to guest reviews:
Ready to fly:XD don't worry bout it. Ah, yes poor Drew. I'm quite the sadistic author... XD Aw, but Hoennshipping is cute! Haha, thanks. :D
Cheese: :D Awesome, thank you! Glad to know. (: WHAAT?! Can you please link me to it? :3
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Chapter Fourteen: The Bittersweet Candies
White. That's all he saw, plain, white. All he heard were beeps, patterned beeps. Once again, he heard mutters. Then, slowly his vision began focusing, he could see properly and could make out the ceiling, lights and dark green curtains after looking around.
He looked to his left, seeing two doctors standing by him. The first one to speak was a woman, she had wavy, dark brown hair and dark eyes, quite pretty. "You're awake, Mr. Hayden."
Drew narrowed his eyes, "Who are you? Where am I?"
She smiled, "Your memories will return shortly. You've been comatose for a while."
"Comatose?" he muttered to himself.
The doctor nodded, "Indeed. Here, these words might ring some bells in your mind. Ghost of the Night, Paul, Ash, Gary and May."
Drew's eyes widened, "My... friends. What happened to them? What happened to May? Are they okay?"
"They're fine. In fact, they all came to see you last yesterday, and once last week. Relax. I'm Dr. Hayman, you can call me Jess though," she replied.
Drew ignored her introduction, "Last week? How long have I been out?" All the memories of his past, the assassin organisation, Lysandre. Everything flooded into his mind.
An unamused look crossed Jess' face as he ignored her introduction. "You've been out for a week."
"And what happened to our band?" he asked on.
"They had to leave the competition, unfortunately. They've been living in a hotel, in Lumiose," she replied. "Is that all?"
Drew shook his head, "No. Please tell my band to visit me as soon as possible."
Jess rolled her eyes internally, Who does he think I am? Nevertheless, she nodded. "Conway, get to it."
"Right away," the other doctor said, heading out of the room.
"Now, Mr. Hayden-"
"Drew," he interrupted. "Call me Drew."
She smiled, "Ah, of course. As I was saying, Drew, you had been badly poisoned by Golbat I assumed. Is that correct?"
Drew had randomly zoned out, browsing through the memories which had recently flooded his mind.
"Dismissed, go and pack. Your plane leaves tomorrow."
"Hi, I'm May-"
"They're probably all mostly fan-girls, like the troublesome girl I met."
"Get away from me! You'll ruin my sexy hair! No, GO AWAY!"
"Hehehe, why don't you two get together already? I totally ship you two!"
"I didn't mess up that bad."
"I've lived in Vaniville Town for my whole life. Serena moved there from Johto but she was born there."
"-it only affected Cyllage City and because of the cliffs, most people have survived. Just a few didn't make it, it seems like."
"-Drew?"
He shook his head, "Oh, yeah. Uhh, what did you say?"
She sighed, "Nothing. Get some rest, you need it."
Drew blinked a couple of times, then went back to browsing through memories.
Misty skipped down the stairs, singing to herself softly. She topped in her tracks, hearing an amazing tune from the practise room. Curiously, she peeked through the door. She spotted Leaf, playing violin. Her eyes widened, She plays violin?
Leaf sat there, contently as she played a sad but wholesome tune on her violin. Misty opened the door more, stepping in. "Hey, Leaf."
She immediately stopped playing, "Misty! Uh, I... umm..."
"You never told us you could play!" Misty said, grinning.
Leaf rolled her eyes, "I've never been one to tell people things. But whatever. What are you doing? I though you and Dawn were meant to be practising your part in the song?"
"I came down to get a snack-"
"Snack?"
Leaf and Misty turned around, seeing May poking her head through the door. They both sweat-dropped. Misty rolled her eyes, ignoring her friend's comment. "May, did you know Leaf played violin?"
May shook her head, "No...? She plays violin?"
Leaf narrowed her eyes, "She has a name you know. And yes, I play violin. I've been playing for years."
Slowly, a large grin was coming upon May's face, "No way! You know what this means?!"
"No...?" Leaf replied, slightly worried as to what was coming up. Misty walked out of the room, leaving the other two to talk about their instruments.
"We can do a instrumental duet! How awesome is that?" May said excitedly.
Leaf rolled her eyes playfully, putting her violin down. "We'll work on one when we have the time. Let's go see what Mist and Dawn are up to."
Conway came back into the hospital room, looking around for the doctor. Then he spotted her, standing by the patient with a clipboard, monitoring Drew. He was awake, thinking about his memories.
"I'm sorry Drew but your friend's have already left this city. They've all gone back to Unova, apparently," Dr. Conway said.
Drew's eyes widened, Unova? They-they couldn't have... those idiots left me here! I'm gonna kill those bastards if they're still alive by the time I get there. He sat up, trying to get out of his bed.
"Woah, woah, woah, where do you think you're going?" Jess said, frowning.
"Sorry, I have to go," Drew replied, still trying to step out of his bed.
Jess stared blankly for a few seconds before laughing. "Oh, you're going to be here for at least another week or two," she said, stopping him from getting out of his hospital bed.
He frowned, "No, I have to go!" Then he saw the look on her face, "Oh fine, but can you at least call May here?"
"Oh, of course not. It's her performance day today, she can't possibly have the time today. But don't you worry, you can watch her performance tonight on that TV," Jess said sweetly, pointing to the small TV attached to the wall.
He sighed, going back to browsing through memories. Airhead. You better stay in that competition.
"I still feel bad for just leaving him like that," Ash said, staring through the window of the train. He stared out at the distant landscape, dark green woods and a deep blue lake. It was amazing.
"It's for his own good, he'll be safe at the hospital. He's in no condition to fight," Paul replied, taking a sip of his drink.
"Guys- Scarlet's calling," Gary suddenly exclaimed, taking out his large smartphone. He turned it on, seeing a red-haired beauty on the screen. "Hey, it's been a while."
Scarlet was also a part of their organisation, being taken in by Lysandre to become an assassin. Apart from the boys and Lysandre, she was the only one who knew about the boys' past with Eye of the Liepard. She was a very pretty woman, in her mid-twenties. Over the years she had grown to care for the four boys, like they were her younger brothers.
She glared through the screen, "Where the hell are you? Whatever you do, don't come back here!"
Gary smirked, "Too late. We're all on our way there, except Drew."
"What? No, you can't come back here!" Then, she narrowed her eyes, "Wait, where's Drew?"
"Hospital," Gary replied casually, popping a chip in his mouth.
"What? Auburn, give it to Platinum," she said through the screen. She gave a small laugh as Ash peeked over, waving. "Hi to you too, Ketchup." Gary passed it over to Paul who was opposite him, sitting by himself.
"Scarlet," he said to the screen curtly.
"Platinum, go back! Just don't come back," Scarlet said to the leader of the group frantically.
"No," Paul replied. "If we go back, he'll target the girls himself. Yes, Scarlet, we figured out who they were."
The red-head shook her head, "I should've realised. But you don't understand, he'll kill you all as a punishment!"
Paul glared, "He can't hurt us. If we fight back, he can't kill us. The whole reason we're doing this is to protect those girls, don't you understand?"
The girl smiled to herself, "Of course. You've really grown to care for her, I see."
I always did, he said to himself.
"Well, anyway, I've got to go. I think someone's coming. Try re-thinking, coming back here is really not a good idea. I wish you all-"
"Scarlet?" Paul asked, looking at the screen which was going fuzzy.
"What's wrong?" Ask asked, looking over.
"I don't know. Scarlet, you there?" Paul asked in concern. His question was followed by an ear-piercing scream from Gary's phone.
"Scarlet!"
Sitting outside, up on a large hill, The Candies were staring out at the scenery, with their head in the clouds (not literally).
"I still can't believe we're doing this," Melody said, breaking the silence of swaying grass.
"Why not? It's what we've been since the start of our band. If we keep doing this, Eye of the Liepard will beat us," Brianna answered. "We've got to put that behind us."
Megan smiled, thinking back to the old times. They were just thirteen when they formed their band.
"Next up, The Bittersweet Candies," a lady announced, look up at the stage expectantly. Four girls walked onto the stage, confident looks on their faces. They were going to try something no one their age had done at talent show. Rock N' Roll. These four girls were dressed up in all black, hardcore outfits.
They did their performance, the crowd watching in silence. Through the performance, the girls thought the audience was watching with silence because they were that good. Their "applause" had told them otherwise. The audience was laughing, shouting out "boo" and mock-clapping.
The new band, completely heart-broken, took a small bow and walked off the stage, their heads hanging. Ever since then, never had they sang Rock N' Roll and also, changed their name to just; The Candies. Not only had it changed their style, it had also changed their personalities. However, they had promised that one day, they would prove everybody wrong.
Her sad smile growing into a happy one, Megan nodded. "Yeah, we can do this."
"Okay guys, we're going to need to practise this to perfection. Those guys risked their lives to keep us here, got it?" Misty said in a bossy tone, hands on hips.
May pouted, "Again?"
"We've done it like, twenty times already," Dawn whined.
Leaf sat there, ignoring the comments of her friends. "After this competition, if we win or lose, where'll we go? I don't want to go back to that foster home." The three girls have her a weird look, wondering why she would ask that then. Leaf continued, "If we lose, will I go back to just being a nobody in some foster home?"
Leaf was the only one without family. May had her aunt, uncle and cousin, Dawn had her mother and Misty had her three sisters. They kept silent, knowing that Leaf hadn't finished.
She put her head down, trying to stop tears, "It's not like anyone cares about me there anyway, I'm never going to be known. I'm too weak to defeat the Elite Four, and the champion by far-"
"Stop it. You're not weak and we won't lose," Misty said in a tone of finality.
Leaf ignored her, "Have you ever thought about what would happen if we did lose?! Of course not, you all still have your bright futures ahead of you. Misty as a gym leader, and you two as coordinators. And me? A nobody who lives in a cruel foster home. They'll bully me for eternity if I go back with no trophy, don't you understand? No one cares-"
"Leaf, stop it. This is unlike you," Misty said once again, narrowing her eyes. "Nobody cares about you? Why did Gary risk his life to save you then? Why do we call you our friend?"
The long haired brunette stayed quiet, suddenly smiling sadly.
Dawn grinned at her friend. "You lllike him!" she said, rolling her tongue.
Leaf's face went red as she looked up and glared at her blue-haired friend, "I- I do not! He's a jerk!" Then she turned away and huffed, crossing her arms. "A perverted one too," she muttered.
Dawn's face was suddenly close to Leaf's, she was smiling giddily. Leaf sweat-dropped, "Uhh, what...?"
She started giggling, "Our Leafy's in love!"
"I AM NOT!"
"Are too~!"
"AM NOT!"
"Are too~!"
Misty grinned, glad her friend was back to normal. But Leaf had a good point. What would she do if they lost? More importantly, what would she feel?
With the boys in her vision, the bubbly spy sat on the train, staring out the window. Dressed in a trench coat and a blonde wig while wearing quite a bit of make-up, she was unrecognisable.
Suddenly, she noticed a commotion coming from the boys, her head perking up.
"Scarlet!"
She spotted them all gazing with concern at a smartphone, Paul's expression suddenly changing to fury.
He slammed a fist on the table, "How long is this damn train gonna take?"
She flinched, cringing slightly.
"Calm down Paul, it'll take another hour. We'll get there in time," she heard Ash say.
Then Gary spoke, "What station are we getting off at?"
"Greystone Station," the plum-head replied.
The disguised woman smiled to herself, quickly tapping in a number into her smartphone. As the call was received, she spoke in a hushed voice. "Hey, I just called to let you know the station... Greystone Station, the train will be arriving in an hour... I won't, I promise. Bye."
She sighed, replaying the last thing she was told.
Don't fail me now, Lyra.
Dawn's mouth fell open as The Candies walked onto the stage, they looked completely different. They all had ripped jeans, hardcore shirts and black boots with sharp studs on. They also had dark eyeliner painted thickly on their eyelids.
The four completely changed girls walked onto the stage, smirking confidently. (A/N: Rock N Roll- Avril Lavigne)
The stage was dark, a gloomy light slowly brightening the stage. "Let em' know that we're still rock n' roll."
"I don't care about my make-up, I like it better with my jeans all ripped up," Megan sang, confident smirk still on her face. "Don't know how to keep my mouth shut."
Ursula and Melody brought their microphones up, "You say, so what (what)?"
"I don't care if I'm a misfit, I like it better than the hipster bullshit," Brianna sang, the audience's mouths falling open at the once, "sweet as sugar" girl. She continued, "I am the mother freaking princess."
"You still love me."
"Some-somehow," Megan, Brianna and Melody sang together.
"It's a little different when," Ursula sang, smirking at the crowd.
"I'm with you," the three girls followed.
"You know what I really am-"
"All about,"
Ursula put a hand up in the air, "You know how it really goes,"
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah," the others followed in perfect sync.
"Th-they... what?!" Dawn stuttered, staring at the TV screen in the waiting room.
Leaf smiled, "I like it."
May nodded, grinning. "Same here."
Misty hesitated, "Ehhh... I guess it suits them."
Dawn looked at the other three like they were crazy, "Really? I don't really see it..."
Leaf's smile grew. She had a feeling The Candies were hiding it, their true selves, the whole time. "This is the real them, Dawn."
"When it's you and me, we don't need no one to tell us who to be. We'll keep turning up the radio-"
Drew raised his eyebrows, watching Kalosian Idol on the TV in his hospital room. Was Jess lying to me? It seems like I've been out for years...
"Rock 'n roll! Hey, hey, hey. Rock 'n roll! Hey, hey, hey."
He watched as Brianna, the once sugary and somewhat plastic girl, sang her heart out amazingly in high black stud boots and thick eyeliner. He smirked, Seems like it's now where the real challenge starts, Eye of the Liepard.
Meanwhile, somewhere hundreds of miles away...
The boys jumped of the train eagerly, pulling their very small amounts of luggage behind them. They ran through the people in the station, there weren't many people there to their relief.
Ash smiled as they reached the nearby forest, "Finally, I can let you out. Go, Rapidash!"
"You too, Rapidash," Gary said, throwing out a Pokeball to release an identical Rapidash. Paul did the same, releasing his own one. These were indeed the oddly coloured ones as seen before.
The three boys mounted, patting them firmly on the neck to get them going. "Let's go!" Paul exclaimed, his horse Pokémon, the others following him. They were extraordinary Pokémon could run faster than any other, nearly reaching 150mph. Just what they needed.
They emerged from the forest, the extremely fast Rapidash still running strong through dark, empty fields. The grass wasn't green, it was a yellow-ish brown, like what you'd get in the middle of summer or a drought. It was strange, as the sun hardy ever shone upon that area due to dark, gloomy clouds. However, when Eye of the Liepard were there, the sun shone every day with their presence.
They skidded to a halt as they reached the gloomy building, Gary, Paul and Ash glaring up at it. They dismounted, preparing for what was to come.
Gary looked up, "You do know we're probably going to die."
Paul shrugged, "Meh, it's gonna happen someday."
Ash looked over at them, his eyebrows raising. "You really think some old geezer can kill us? Well, that helps."
"I'm going to be the one to kill that old geezer, for Reggie... and Dawn. And her other annoying friends too," Paul said, looking away slightly.
His goofy friend grinned, "That's the spirit! We can do this!"
Gary muttered something inaudible as his other two comrades entered the much hated building. Suddenly, he turned around, swearing he heard something behind him. He saw nothing. After looking back one more time, he also entered the building, awaiting his fate.
What was his fate? Well, you'll just have to wait and see.
A/N: XD Sorry for that ending, am I allowed to end it like that...?
So, how do you like The Candies now? Still hate them? I quite like them now... I thought that song fit perfectly! XD Sorry for not having much of Eye of the Liepard in this one.
The next chapter should be a big one... and it'll be much a quicker update too! Hopefully.
Review! I could never do this without all those who review. Without reviews, it would feel like no ones reading. Trust me, it's the worst feeling.
Until next time... (: