Disclaimer: I don't own any characters but Ditto, and I don't own any settings, events, or ideas expressed within the story. Read at your own discretion.
Crap. Sorry, I know the updates are out-of-whack. But it's only going to get worse. I got a couple of new games, and that's ON TOP of the conference I've been mentioning. I might not even get an update in this week, aside from this one. Also, I'd wanted to make the entire day one chapter, but I figured a shorter update was better than none at all.
Krystal and I just sat there on the couch, watching the weird show she'd chosen and talking idly for close to an hour. I was wondering for a while how good of a show it was, since she didn't seem to be paying attention at all. It surprised me when I felt a thought of hers that told me she'd been paying close attention to both me and the show. I was actually going to bring the fact up, when I heard a car pull up to the house.
"This could get fun," I said.
"What? Why?" Krystal asked, looking toward the door.
"My 'mother' will probably be worried, and that doesn't include Katherine, Michael, Colin, and – oh, no."
"What?"
"Ruth."
"Am I supposed to know what all those names mean? And what's so bad about Ruth?"
"You're the telepath here," I said, slouching into the seat as I heard the robin's high voice approaching the door. I heard a key enter the lock, and took a deep breath in anticipation of what was probably about to happen.
"...just don't see why everyone was so excited about it," Colin was saying as the door opened. "I mean, I've seen human movies that –" he began, but he stopped when he saw Krystal. Before long, everyone but Katherine was staring at the two of us, apparently wondering what we'd been doing.
"Hello, all," I said, avoiding the elephant in the room.
"Who's your friend?" Joanne asked, closing the door.
"Her name is Krystal."
"Shouldn't she be getting home? Don't you have school tomorrow?"
"Something happened. Don't we have spare rooms?"
"I...I guess so. How long will she be staying?"
"I'm staying?" Krystal asked.
"Just tonight."
"Okay..." Joanne said slowly. The others were still staring at the two of us.
"Well, don't just stand around like that," Katherine said, sitting on the couch beside Krystal. "Good to meet you, Krystal."
"Talking to my friends?" I asked, surprised. "Who are you, and where's the real Katherine?"
"Oh, come on, Ditto. It's not like I act like you don't exist."
"That's the impression I'd gotten," I said as Colin took the chair to my right. Joanne made her way upstairs, and Michael followed nonchalantly. Ruth ran right in front of me and put her hands on my knees.
"Where were you yesterday?" she asked loudly.
"Yeah, what was with that?" Colin asked.
"I was just busy with...school things."
"Then how come Mike and Kat got home but you didn't?" Ruth asked.
"I...actually, I went on a date."
"A date?" Ruth and Colin asked at the same time.
"On the first day of school?" Colin asked.
"Who'd you go with?" Ruth asked more intently, leaning on my legs.
"Me," Krystal said with a smile.
"Nice," Colin said, holding up his hand for a high five. I didn't give him one.
"So, why'd you get back so late?" Ruth asked. Katherine's eyes widened.
"Okay, Ruth, I think it's time for bed," she said, rising.
"It's okay," I told her, "we didn't do that."
"Do what?" Ruth asked.
"Still, I think it's time I got her upstairs..."
"No!" Ruth whined. "I haven't got to spend time with Ditto in forever!"
"C'mere, Ruthy," Katherine said, picking the squirming bird up, "it's bedtime."
"But I'm not tired!" she cried as she was taken upstairs, leaving me, Krystal, and Colin downstairs. I chuckled while I watched the interchange.
"So what did happen last night?" Colin asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Oh, come on. You didn't get home until after midnight, and I can tell you got beat up."
"First of all, I got beat up at school. Eli got me in trouble with a couple of idiots, and they shoved me in a locker."
"And then I got him out," Krystal put in.
"Oh. Well, then how come you had to borrow a jacket in the morning?"
"The date ended much later than we'd thought, and Jason took us home right away," I lied.
"Jason?" he asked.
"Our driver. It was a double date, and the other date had a chauffeur."
"Well, that's no fun," he said, slouching in his seat. "So, nothing exciting happened last night?"
"I wouldn't say that," I said, smirking at Krystal. "I mean, our date went pretty well."
"Did you kiss her?" Colin whispered. I almost denied it immediately, but Krystal beat me to the punch.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked.
"What is it with you lately?" Katherine asked someone loud enough to be heard downstairs. I turned toward the stairs.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Katherine's arguing with the raven who ignored you," Krystal said. "Wanna listen in?"
"Please and thank you."
"Maybe I just don't like him," I heard Michael say as Krystal began to concentrate.
"No, no, you didn't like Colin when he got here. But you haven't even spent a full minute with him yet."
"Why should I?"
"He's not that bad."
"You didn't like him yesterday, either. What happened to you?"
"Why don't you at least give him a chance?"
"Do you really want to know why?"
"Of course!" I heard without Krystal's help.
"He's a human. Okay? I don't want to have to be stuck with one of those things."
"What...Mike, you don't hate humans."
"Yeah, I do. The humans are gonna start a war soon, and then you'll all be sorry."
"You don't know that. And you really don't know that Ditto has anything to do with it."
"I don't care. He's a human, and I'm not going anywhere near him."
"Oh, yes you are. Or do you want mom to hear about...Lily?"
There was a short pause. "How do you know about that?"
"I have my ways. So?"
"Fine," Michael growled, "He's got one chance."
"And you'd better not be rude," Katherine warned.
"This could be fun," I said under my breath.
"You really haven't met him yet?" Krystal asked.
"Well, I got the impression that he hated me. Looks like I was right."
"Oh, he doesn't hate you," Krystal said as the pair came down the stairs. "He's just like most of the people at school."
"But younger, angrier at humans, and technically related to me."
"True," she said as Katherine took her seat beside Krystal again. Michael took the seat across from Colin and folded his arms, staring at me sternly. Nobody said anything for almost a full minute, and I did my best to maintain eye contact with the moody raven. He wasn't about to crack, though, so I tried to make progress.
"Hi," I said simply.
"'Sup."
Didn't go as well as I'd hoped, I thought. "Not much," I replied.
"Mmm."
A hum? That's it? It's like talking to a wall. How am I supposed to make progress?
"I'm Krystal," she said, nodding toward him. He finally stopped staring at me, and his expression softened slightly.
"Michael," he said, before looking down.
"You play video games?" I asked.
"Of course he does," Colin said. "Not much, 'cuz I always beat him."
"You wish," Michael said, finally showing emotion.
"What games you got?" I asked.
"Well, I've got a bunch of FPS games, some adventure-RPG's, and even the last one of those Smash Bros. games. A little outdated, but I still think it's fun," Colin said.
"Wh-what was that last one?" I asked, losing my breath.
"Super Smash Bros. You wanna play it?" Michael asked.
"Yes," I said without any hesitation.
"Get ready to get whooped," Colin said as he moved toward the television and started to mess with the console. "We're both pretty good at this game."
I don't know, I thought. I have a few tricks up my own sleeve.
Colin handed a controller to Michael and I, and Katherine left the room, mumbling something about boys and their games. But Colin shouted something to her about how she knew she played games, too. To my surprise, Krystal stayed.
"Won't you get bored?" I asked.
"Maybe, but you wouldn't want to lose in the first round, right? And two heads are better than one."
"This game doesn't have rounds," I said.
"Whatever. Then you wouldn't want to die first."
"I don't think I will," I replied as the game's menu showed up. After a few quick button presses by Colin, the character select screen showed up. The other two selected their characters and custom names with practiced ease, but I was looking through the extensive roster. That's a lot of people, I thought. But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't see Falco, who I'd wanted to use. In fact, I didn't see anyone from Star Fox. Well, this is a completely different universe, I thought. I decided to stick with Link.
The match started once a stage was selected, and I jumped right in. Krystal helped immediately with figuring out the control scheme, reading minds occasionally and helping me to remember even when she didn't cheat. She decided against helping me fight at first, but even so, I managed to steal one of Michael's KO's while they were letting me figure it out. At that point, they apparently got serious, and I only got one more KO as they knocked me off repeatedly. But then Krystal decided to help, and I actually managed to hold my own.
I still didn't end up winning. Despite my own smack talk and repeated in-game taunts, I came in dead last. I would have to put up with both Michael and Colin's crap for the next hour, but at least they were both talking to me. Ah, video games, you've yet to fail me, I thought. We played another game, where I insisted we turn on a computer player. They decided to do it, and I managed to place third out of four, without Krystal's help. At that point, Joanne came down and told us that it was a school night, and to turn it off, and everything like that.
"Maybe I'll show you how to play tomorrow," Michael said as we headed up the stairs.
"Well, thanks, but –"
"Because you're seriously the worst. I mean, it's like you're not even trying."
"He got you a couple times," Krystal said.
"Doesn't matter," I told her. "One kill hardly means anything. Heck, twenty kills hardly means anything. If it's two on one, and the 'one' loses, the other two still get bragging rights. It's a sick and twisted game."
"But you still play it?"
"Yes. Yes I do."
The next morning, I woke up sluggishly as the alarm by my head buzzed right into my ear. Whatever dream I'd been having apparently included something capable of making that noise, so at first, I just turned over and tried to ignore it. I couldn't keep sleeping, though, when something small landed right in the middle of my back.
"Agh!" I said sleepily, arching my back and turning my head. There was Ruth, kneeling on my back.
"Time to wake up!" she said cheerfully.
"Ruth, you're not supposed to be in here," Colin said, rubbing his eyes. "Get out."
"You weren't waking up," she explained as she crawled down to the floor.
"The alarm was ringing for ten seconds," Colin complained. I was lying face down in the bed, rubbing my back to massage away the pain.
"Okay. See you downstairs," she called before running out of the room.
"Ohh..." I groaned when I heard the door shut.
"You okay?" he asked.
"No," I replied with a laugh.
"Come on, she's not that heavy."
"It still hurts when she gives your back a flying knee."
"You'll live."
"Of course. Few broken vertebra, nothing major," I said, stretching like a dog that just woke up.
"You must not know what it's like to have your tail stepped on."
"No, that I don't," I admitted, crawling out of bed. "Something about not having a tail, or something."
"Too bad for you," he said. "Tails are great for balance and stuff."
"But they get stepped on."
"Only sometimes."
"And pulled."
"Okay, but that's mean to do."
"And probably slammed in a lot of doors."
"Alright, okay, you've made your point. Tailbones are better."
"You ever wonder why they call them that?" I asked.
"What?"
"Tailbones."
"I thought it was some kind of evolutionary thing. Like they used to be tails or something."
"Well, that might be why people named them that, but the tailbone has nothing to do with tails. It's not vestigial; there's nothing in the human body that has no function to the body. The tailbone has a series of muscles hanging from it that make it possible to...do certain things."
"Mmm hmm..." Colin hummed, and I realized he hadn't even been paying attention. I grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it right at his head.
"Hey!" he shouted when it hit him. "What was that for?"
"You'd think you'd hear me with those ears of yours."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a chuckle.
"I mean you didn't even try to pay attention."
"Yeah, well, they talk about enough boring stuff in school. I don't need you doing it, too."
"It's not that boring."
"Sure it isn't," he said sarcastically, leaving the room now that he'd finished dressing.
"Don't you mock me! I can still hack your computer!"
"You'd better not," he warned, reappearing in the doorway.
"I might," I said with a smirk. He pointed a finger at me in warning, and I just laughed it off. I spied my second shoe clear across the room, and stood to grab it.
"Good morning," Krystal said, making me jump.
"How did you do that?" I asked, turning toward her room and scowling through the wall. I didn't get an audible response, but from the impression she gave me, I knew what she was trying to say.
I never said I couldn't, I imagined her saying, complete with the the cheeky smile I was sure she was wearing.
"Well, you never said you could do it, either."
"So?" she asked from the doorway. I glanced toward her after pulling on my shoe, and stood up abruptly. She was wearing some borrowed clothing, presumably from Katherine, and I tried to evaluate it. She must've noticed, giving a little spin so I could see it all. "What do you think?" she asked.
"It looks good," I said, giving my entire opinion. I hardly qualified to dress myself, and I didn't really care how I looked after that point, so her asking me for my thoughts was akin to asking a squirrel what flying was like.
"That's it?" she asked, leaning on one leg and tilting her head in disappointment.
"Well, you look better than me," I said, exiting the room.
"It's something," she replied, shrugging.
We made our way downstairs, where Joanne was busily rushing around, helping Ruth and Jake with their breakfasts. Once Ruth saw us, she shouted good morning, which made everyone else look up and say the same.
"Morning," I said, standing there awkwardly. The table had one open spot, and I didn't know whether to offer it to Krystal, or see if Joanne would sit there, or what. But Joanne saved me from making the decision when she approached me, asking Katherine to help with Ruth. She didn't start talking immediately; she first escorted me down a nearby hallway for some privacy. Krystal followed silently.
"Okay," she breathed once she was satisfied with the distance from everyone else. "Jake told me everything," she said. I nodded. "I just want you to know...I don't think any different of you."
"Okay," I said with another nod.
"I was upset...at first. I wish you wouldn't lie to me. But I know why you did it, and...I might have done the same thing. I want you to know that you can come to me with anything, ever. You can trust me, okay?"
"Of course," I said, smiling. I was glad when she turned to Krystal instead of hugging me.
"And Jake told me what you went through last night. If you need to stay for a few more days, we have spare rooms. Do you need to call anyone?"
"I do have to call the family that took me in when I got here," she said.
"Your parents?" Joanne asked.
"Well, I still have parents..."
"So...did you run away from home?"
"No," Krystal said. "I...got here a lot like Ditto."
"Oh!" she said. "Oh, my. Did you two know each other before...?"
"No," I said. "She was already in this universe. She lived on a planet called Cerinia, well away from the Lylat System. I guess I accidentally brought her here myself. Lucky for her the main language on Cerinia is the same one on Corneria."
"No, it isn't," she told me. "Telepath, remember? It wasn't hard to learn."
"You sneaky girl," I said, looking askance at her.
"So, do you want to call them?" Joanne asked.
"Oh. Uh...sure."
"Alright," she said, leading Krystal to the house phone. I went back into the kitchen for the Cornerian equivalent of Pop Tarts. For some reason, they had less candy-like flavors, and more fruity flavors. Still, strawberry and cherry tasted pretty much the same, and grape wasn't half bad.
"I can't believe you eat those," Katherine said when she saw me open the silvery pouch.
"Why's that?" I asked with a full mouth.
"You need a reason? They're horrible; they're bad for you, they taste like stale bread, they're too messy to eat –"
"But they're easy to make," I said. "Just open and eat."
"You're gonna die if you keep eating those," she warned before taking a bite of her own meal.
"And if I don't...I'll be immortal!" I shouted, pumping a fist. I managed to get Colin to snicker, and Michael's feathers ruffled to show his amusement. Ruth laughed, but she didn't seem to get it.
"Keep talking, smart aleck."
"Y'know, you're not the first person to call me that?"
"No kidding," she said with a chuckle.
"Yeah. Lots of people call me smart," I said. She looked down and shook her head with a groan, but I saw the smile on her face.
"Okay..." Krystal said into the phone. Her conversation was winding down at that point. "Alright...I will...I'll see you after school. Okay? 'Bye."
"I guess you're not in too much trouble, then?" I asked once she hung up.
"They were worried, but not too much. With how yesterday went, they'd assumed I spent the night with a friend. Of course, they thought it was a girl..."
"Katherine counts," I said, pointing at her.
"Don't bring me into this," she said.
"I'll probably just tell them..." Krystal began, before glancing at Joanne. "...the truth," she finished. "I'm sure they'll know I didn't do anything wrong."
Pants on fire, I thought, hoping she was listening.
"Hurry and finish, kids," Joanne said, "we've got to get going soon."
"They're still having school today?" I asked.
"Well, Ruth and Colin are. But something happened last night," she said, giving me a stare, "and they closed down your school for today to investigate."
"All right!" Michael shouted. Colin groaned.
"And I suppose you and Krystal can spend the day together...but I expect you to do something outdoors."
"It's going to rain," I said knowingly.
"There are only a few clouds," she replied. "And the forecast called for a sunny day. I don't think it's going to rain."
"Give the boy some credit," Jake said, just before the low rumble of thunder hit the house from really far away.
"Woooah!" Ruth said, looking out the window. "Do it again! But this time say a pony's gonna show up!"
"I don't think it works like that," Colin said.
"It should."
"What would you even do with a pony?" I asked.
"Ride it, duh! I could ride it to school, and take my friends for a ride, and sometimes just ride it for fun, and pet it, and hug it, and sleep on it and everything!"
"Sounds like fun," I said with a smirk. "But I don't think I can get you one."
"Mommy?" she asked, turning to Joanne imploringly.
"I don't think so. Now, hurry and eat. You've got five minutes until we leave."
"Well, where should we go?" I asked.
"We could see a movie," Krystal suggested.
"Nothing good's playing, though," Katherine put in. "I say we go shopping."
"Then I'm out," Michael said. "Ditto, you wanna play some games today?"
"I would, but...I already said I'd spend the day with Krystal," I told him.
"It's not like we all have to stay together," Krystal said.
"I'm not going to be here alone all day. I say we make a vote," Michael said.
"Okay," Katherine said with a smirk. "I think we should go to the mall. Everyone who agrees?"
Katherine and Krystal both raised their hands. Krystal leaned toward me and whispered, "I'll bet you could find a hoverboard." My eyes widened, and my hand shot into the air.
"Oh, come on!" Michael groaned. "What'd you say to him?"
"Doesn't matter," Katherine said. "Better get ready if you're going with us."
"Thanks a lot," Michael said as he passed me on his way upstairs.
"For what?" I asked, following him.
"Why'd you agree with them?" he asked.
"It's not like they only sell clothing. We could stick to the video game stores or something."
"Yeah, well, we'd better not be there all day."
"I don't think it'd take that long."
"You don't know my sister."
"Isn't she as much my sister as yours?"
"Whatever, then. Your sister. Our sister. She can shop for weeks straight if we let her."
"Then we shouldn't let her?" I guessed as I entered my own room.
"If you think you can stop her," he said with a dry laugh.
We managed to convince Joanne to drive us to whatever mall Katherine chose, once she got back from driving Colin and Ruth to school. It ended up being a pretty short ride, but by the time we got there, the rain was pouring in earnest. As soon as she opened the door, Krystal ran from the car to the store, and even though I liked the rain, she decided to drag me ahead with her. Michael seemed to enjoy it, and Katherine hardly noticed the rain pelting her scales.
"Hold on," I said when Krystal continued to pull me after we were out of the rain, "They aren't catching up."
"We don't have to spend all day with them."
"Well, we have to be able to find them again," I said, thinking of my translator. Apparently, it could make calls, even though I hadn't tried yet.
"Telepath," she reminded me.
"Well, still, should we really just –"
"They'll be fine," she said, and I looked toward the other two. Michael stared after me for a few seconds, before turning to Katherine and saying something. She shrugged, and he jogged after Krystal and me.
"Hey, wait up!" he called. Krystal let go of my wrist, but she didn't slow down. I turned toward him and started walking backwards, still following Krystal closely.
"What's up?" I asked.
"You were really just gonna leave me with her? She only goes to the dumbest stores."
"You mean the girliest ones?" I asked, facing forward again. Krystal must have known where she was going. "And I thought you were supposed to keep her from buying everything."
"You said you'd be doing that. And either way, she's only got, like, sixty credits. Unless her new boyfriend gave her some."
"How do you know she has a new boyfriend? I didn't even know there was an old one."
"She broke up with him a couple weeks ago. And I only know she's in a relationship because she was in a good enough mood to talk to you and your girlfriend."
"She's –" I began, ready to deny it as if by reflex. I stopped myself when I remembered that we were acting like it was true, before I realized that since last night, it was true.
"She's what?" he asked.
"Uh..." I began, trying to think of an excuse. I realized that I could make up an excuse about Katherine instead of Krystal, but I decided to take the easy way out. "Nothing."
"There you go," Krystal said, pointing out a store. "I think you'll be happy, Ditto."
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"Dude, you're going in there?" Michael asked. "There's no way you can afford anything they sell."
"Who's they?" I asked, looking at the sign above the store. The usual Cornerian symbols greeted me, but Krystal once again decided to pull me along before I could get it translated. It looked like a skate shop right out of Tron. I actually saw a jetpack on display, but I shook my head and declined. I could get into enough trouble without flight.
"Hey," a mottled black owl said as soon as we entered, "can I help you?"
"Hoverboards," Krystal said without missing a beat. He pointed toward a wall that was covered in metallic devices, and I walked toward the wall for a closer look.
"A hoverboard?" Michael asked. "How the heck can you pay for that?"
I ignored him, still trying to figure out whether the devices on the wall were actually hoverboards. Some of them were shaped like thick skateboards, but many of them were shorter. Some were perfect circles, and one or two didn't even look big enough to put both feet on top of. I tentatively put out a hand to touch one.
"I take it you're new to these?" the owl asked. I turned around quickly and hesitated for a moment, before nodding. "C'mon," he said, beckoning and heading toward the back of the store. I followed him only after Krystal did.
"What's back here?" I asked.
"We've got a little simulator for newbies. It's just to get the hang of it, so you don't kill yourself on your first try."
"Oh. Well...thanks."
"Don't mention it," he said, rounding a corner. I almost expected a big chair surrounded by computers, like the Matrix or something, but there were just a handful of helmets laid out in a line inside of a shallow bin. They weren't even covered in flashing lights and wires, although they did have quite a few buttons and switches.
"Just take one, there's an AI that'll tell you what you need to know. And don't break it, or you'll be paying for it."
"Got it," I said, moving toward the bin.
"Can I try?" Michael asked.
"It's not a game."
"He won't break it," Krystal said as I selected one and sat down.
"Fine," the owl said. "What do I care?"
"He gave up rather easily," I said, squinting after him as he left. Krystal giggled, and I turned to her knowingly.
"I didn't do anything," she said with an innocent expression.
"Of course not. Are you gonna try too?"
"I don't think so," she said, sitting beside me. "But who knows?"
"Yeah, well..." I said idly, turning the helmet over in my hands. "Why would he just leave?" I asked. "I mean, it's not like we know how to use these things."
"Just put it on," Michael said.
"What, you know how to use them?"
"They're not rare."
"Oh. Well, I've still never seen one," I commented, lifting it over my head. "So, what, is there gonna be some tingling in my –" I began, when the helmet came to a rest on my head. I felt an electric buzz all the way down to my toes, and I suddenly felt like I was falling asleep. It would suck if this was another kidnapping, I thought, before a cold darkness enveloped all of my senses.
A/N: Well, Ditto's finally getting his hoverboard. Don't worry, he still has the wallet...purse...thing...that he took from Sharp. But since this story's feeling kinda dull and action-less, I've got to throw in a plot twist soon. I'm willing to bet nobody will guess it, though guessing it would be possible.
And for those who didn't see the edit I made to the previous update, Comrade has decided to leave Fanfiction, leaving me without reliable reviews. Tough week, indeed.
This story will survive, though it may go on hiatus for a bit. April may be a tough month for this story. Still, it got 1400 views from nearly 500 different people in its first month, along with amassing over 50,000 words in just under three weeks. Nod bad, considering a total noob wrote it. And since I've yet to get a negative or criticizing review, I think I'm holding my own fairly well. But, I hope you've enjoyed what's been written so far, and I will get back on top of things ASAP.
UPDATE: This story will now go to the backburners. It WILL resume eventually (probably in a week or so), but in the meantime, I'm working on my original story. My cousin may threaten bodily harm if I make her wait any longer, so thanks for your support, and I'll be speedy about finishing the arena fight of Heart's Illusion.
UPDATE 2: Tomorrow (Sunday), I will update. I'm hoping this email issue resolves itself before then, but while I plan to update in the morning, I'll update in the afternoon even if it doesn't. Thanks to the person who favorited and followed (xSporkyx), and to Nimrod, for his review(s). For those who are interested, the 4-chapter arena fight is around 62% finished, and once that's done, I'll be able to put this story on full throttle. Unless, I suppose, people ask for more updates to my Skyrim fan fic, but I doubt that will happen. Anyway, I can confidently say that Sundays will be virtually guaranteed update-days, for this story.