Though this was mentioned somewhere else within S-EARLY, I can't remember, so I'll mention it again. Age Relations was updated once more. Edition VII. Fixed a possible issue with Rakutsu and Faitsu, and added X and Y (under "Blind Guess"). Since Edition VII is made without any actual confirmation and merely predictions and blind guessing, the next update won't become Edition VIII, but… just Edition VII again. The current one is more of an Edition VII beta.

Now that SA is over and there never will be an SA2, the current priority of S-EARLY… er… S-RLY (really?!) is back to being: end SY. Approximately 4 to 5 chapters are left, so… it won't last long. Objective: end SY before its 1st anniversary. No problem. Hell, I can end it before 2014 if I really wanted to, and that's like two weeks away.

By the way, a non-story external news regarding… well, me, in a sense. A handful of readers have asked if I am… "follow-able" on any other sites, such as Twitter or some fanart sites and whatnot. And my answer each time was "no". That answer hasn't changed. But I may have also said that there is someone else who helps with all of S-EARLY in terms of idea discussion. He's effectively an idea-filter (and also the co-developer of the Age Relations, which he calls Age Differences). Otherwise, a whole lot of crap might've ended up appearing at various places in S-EARLY. Anyways, while I know that he appears on Serebii forums, I didn't know the ID. THAT has changed. I successfully tracked him down. He goes by the ID of "DX 2401PT", clearly based on 2401 Penitent Tangent, the Monitor of Installation 05 (from the same game series as the Containment series). A fellow glitch abuser, we share glitch ideas and work together to abuse various glitches, mostly in the Pokémon games. Anyways, because he's my idea-filter, he knows most of what I know regarding ALL of S-EARLY, including what's going to happen. So, if you really want a secondary "source" to "follow" me, he's as close as it gets. Go bother him on Serebii forums. He doesn't read this stuff, so wouldn't know my ID, but get around it. Just say S-EARLY (or ShadowNet) and that'll ring a bell. This note will appear on my profile (under Alternate Communications).

Chapter 8: Pokémon Boy

Violet City, Johto, 1:30 pm…

While Crystal went home to drop off her belongings and change into more comfortable clothes, Ruby and Sapphire activated their 'tourist' mode and went around the calm city, looking at major attractions. The destroyed-and-rebuilt Sprout Tower was a lot bigger than what it used to be, and fancier too. It was definitely worth a look. Rumor has it that the new giant bell on the top floor was made from hundreds of live Bellsprouts, and every time it rang, it sounded like hundreds of Bellsprouts crying out from deep inside the bell. And they say, at night, the bell rings on its own and lets out a faint eerie groan even though absolutely no one is nearby… Definitely a worthy story to scare the crap out of little kids.

While Ruby and Sapphire went to see the 'haunted' Sprout Tower, Black let out a sigh and approached the private jet where White was being 'interrogated' by a Berlitz Mansion guard. Platinum followed him, as she wanted to teach her guards how to properly communicate, and so that she could meet White.

Inside the jet, Black stopped before he reached the med bay. He took a deep breath and tried to organize the thoughts in his head while Platinum talked to the Berlitz Mansion guards she brought along.

A couple of minutes later, Platinum approached Black, who was still standing outside the med bay, pacing around with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"… Well… not really," Black muttered. "But…"

"You are nervous to talk to her?"

"You could say that."

Platinum smiled. "Black, if you are concerned about what she said to you yesterday, just remember that she was under mind control. But if you are concerned about her message, I will go and talk to her first."

"Really?"

"Yes. I do wish to meet her and see what kind of person she really is," Platinum answered. "And I will ask her questions to confirm or deny what she said yesterday."

The heiress knocked on the door to the med bay and entered. She spotted White sitting on the bed, with her face buried in her hands. The Unova Dex Holder looked up and saw the unfamiliar girl approaching.

"… Who are you, and what do you want?" she asked. "Where am I and why are you kidnapping me?"

Platinum made a hand signal to calm her down. "I am Platinum Berlitz and I am a Sinnoh Dex Holder. I am one of the many Dex Holders who have joined together to save you from you kidnappers. You are currently in the med bay of the private jet belonging to one of the Unova Gym Leaders, and I am not kidnapping you."

White blinked. "A… Sinnoh Dex Holder?"

The heiress nodded and pulled out her Pokédex from her bag. "Yes. As you can see, I am not the enemy."

White quickly got to her feet and bowed to her senior politely. The heiress responded politely as well, and the two Dex Holders shook hands.

"You must've been the "Lady" that guard was talking to earlier," White said as she rubbed her eye which got poked by the said guard.

"Yes. I have brought over a few guards from home to better accompany the other Dex Holders in our task."

White searched through her memories. She had heard the name once before… "Ah, so you're Lady Berlitz of Sandgem Town! The richest in all of Sinnoh!"

"Yes."

"It's so nice to meet you! Though I wish it were under different circumstances."

Platinum nodded, but soon looked serious. "Now then. You were under mind control, yes?"

White slowly nodded. "By Psychic from Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem."

"Tell me everything you remember since the start of your mind control. What you heard, what you saw, what you did, and what you said."

White's expression darkened severely as she recalled everything. She sat back down on the bed and wiped away the tears forming in her eyes. "… I… I killed Black… He tried to save me from the mind control, and I saw him, but I couldn't stop myself. I… I attacked him and…"

Platinum slowly sat beside White as the Unova Dex Holder started to sob. The heiress gently patted her junior on the shoulder.

"White, listen carefully," she said once White steadily calmed down. "You did not kill Black."

White didn't look convinced. "I told myself that too. That it was the mind control. But…"

The heiress smiled and lightly shook her head. "No. I mean, Black is not dead. He is alive and well."

White almost jumped in surprise. "Huh?"

"Think about it. Black first tried to rescue you with all the help Unova had to offer," Platinum said. "And he failed. You believe you killed him then. But how do you think we rescued you this time? Black left Unova to gather the Dex Holders of the previous generations, such as myself."

"So… Black is alive? That's great! Where is he? I want to see him!"

Platinum's smile faded. "That will be problematic. Since you were in complete mind control and as such, completely unaware of what you were saying, Black believes that what you said to him were your honest thoughts that were not bound by rational or emotional thoughts."

White looked surprised and rather afraid. "Wh – What do you mean? What happened?"

"It is relatable to when a person is angry. When people are angry, they will say everything because their rational bounds are gone. They will say the truth, no matter how hurtful the truth may be. Yesterday, when Black saved you, you said many things to him. As a result, he is hesitant to see you. I have come first so that he may sort out his thoughts and to clear some details." Platinum took a deep breath. "Tell me all about Curtis."

White almost jumped in surprise. "… I told him?"

"Yes. According to Curtis, you two were dating. He claims to be the son of the vice president of the BW Agency and that he will be the new vice president in the future. You supported his claims yesterday when you told Black that you used to like Curtis."

"N – No!" White said almost in a sob. "That's… that's not true! It's true that we used to be close, but only as friends. He kissed me one day and started to claim that he was my boyfriend. I fired him for that. I never liked him like that…"

"You also said that you actually never loved Black at all and just kept him around so no one else would ask you out on a date. A failed business opportunity, as you called him."

White frantically shook her head. "No! That's not true! I – I love him! I… always have! I…"

Platinum observed White's expression for a few seconds before she stood up. "I believe you," she said as she straightened out her clothes. "However, I am not sure if Black will believe you. I will give him my opinion, and I will leave you two to sort things out."

Platinum gave White a nod and left the med bay. She immediately spotted Black still waiting outside.

"… I heard," Black said before the heiress could say anything. "… But I don't know."

Platinum smiled. "Sort it out with her. I trust her and believe her words, but this is your decision."

Black thought for a few seconds before slowly nodding. With a short sigh, he opened the door to the med-bay and entered. Platinum decided to give the two Unova Dex Holders privacy and left the private jet. She dragged all of her guards outside for communication training. She'd distract herself with it until her seniors gathered to the private jet.

Several minutes later, Ruby and Sapphire returned, having finished their tour of the 'haunted' Sprout Tower. Not a lot of proofs of it being haunted, though. Sure, the bell groaned on its own and there appeared to be a body wrapped in Bellsprout vines high above the bell, but nothing really worthy of claiming the entire tower to be haunted.

Sapphire smirked as she saw Platinum ordering her guards to stand in a straight line and practice decent communications.

"Teaching your guards to act like people, huh?" she said in a half-taunting manner.

Platinum pretended as if she didn't hear anything. Ruby immediately noticed and slowly walked away from the two female Dex Holders, whistling and staring at the sky to fake innocence. He quickly checked the status of his Running Shoes. They were good to go, in case he had to run like hell.

A few tense minutes later, Ruby spotted Crystal jogging towards the private jet and let out a sigh of relief.

"Sorry I made you wait!" Crystal said cheerfully, unaware of the situation brewing between Sapphire and Platinum. "So, should we go get Gold now?"

Sapphire shrugged. "Sure. Let's get Black and get to Goldenrod City."

"Black is currently with White," Platinum said. "I believe it is for the best if we leave the two alone and allow them the time and privacy to sort out their issues."

Crystal glanced at the private jet and nodded. "Alright. Let's go get Gold."

Platinum looked over at her guards, who were still standing perfectly straight in a line. "I want all of you to stay here and guard the jet. But do not enter until Black or White tells you to. And if they ask for our whereabouts, tell them that we went to Goldenrod and that we will be back soon."

"Yes, my Lady," all the guards replied at once.

Crystal watched the little exchange and couldn't help but smile. Those guards just reminded her of those hell raisers in the orphanage. The first (well, technically second) hell raisers didn't really listen to her, but the second (third) group of hell raisers obeyed her every order, just like these guards. The current group of hell raisers was different, but… eh.

The Dex Holders all got onto their aerial transport and flew towards Goldenrod City. Platinum got her borrowed aerial transport Pokémon to approach Crystal's Xatu.

"Senior Crystal," she called.

"Yes?"

"If I may ask… Is senior Gold in a special relationship with you?"

Crystal smiled. "… You can say that. Why do you ask?"

Platinum appeared embarrassed for asking such a personal question. "Um… I apologize if I sounded intrusive. But I do have a boyfriend in Sinnoh, and I was wondering if you could advise me with your experiences. There is no one else I can ask for advice on this matter."

"If he loves you and you love him, things will work out fine. Just spend lots and lots of time with him. Give it a few years and he might even pop the question."

"Has senior Gold done the same to you, senior?"

"Well… um… kind of," Crystal muttered. "He tried multiple times, but I avoided the question. I just don't know if I'm ready for it."

"But you love him, no?"

"Yeah, I love him, but… I just don't know."

"If you are anxious about it, perhaps it is wise if you do not anticipate him to propose," Platinum suggested.

"Maybe, but… he's so predictable. Whenever he suddenly asks me to go to a fancy restaurant, I just know he's going to try the proposal there. I haven't accepted any dinner offers from him for a while now." Crystal cleared her throat a few times to get rid of the forming blush. "Anyways… let's stop talking about that. It's getting a bit embarrassing for me."

"I apologize, senior."

"But hey, I'm amazed that you know so much about what I'm teaching at Celadon," Crystal said to change the topic. "How do you feel about becoming my assistant? TA if you will."

Platinum smiled brightly and bowed (as much as possible while on aerial transport). "I would be honored, senior!"

30 minutes later, the Dex Holders arrived in Goldenrod and headed towards the rebuilt daycare. It wasn't a big facility, but it did see quite a lot of business. And some bad reviews. Something about Pokémon left there turning into delinquents.

As the Dex Holders approached, they could see a Typhlosion napping in the warm sunlight and an Ambipom playing what appeared to be volleyball against a Ledian. Crystal didn't recognize the Ledian, so she assumed it was left for the daycare service.

The Typhlosion woke up and upon spotting Crystal, ran up to her. Crystal waved at it with a friendly smile and patted it when it came close enough.

"This is Gold's Typhlosion," she said to Platinum.

The Volcano Pokémon waved at Ruby and Sapphire, who waved back. Then it turned to look at the unfamiliar Dex Holder. It gave her a wave as well, as it decided that she was friendly given Crystal's reaction. The girl bowed in response.

Crystal sent out her Meganium to play with Gold's Pokémon for a while. Ruby, Sapphire, and Platinum all sent out their starters to do the same, and all four Dex Holders headed inside. Immediately, they could hear Gold's yells from inside.

"Come on, come on! Triple Kill! Come on, more! Overkill! Killtacular! Come on! Killtrocity! Killimanjaro! Come on! More! Bam! Killtastrophe! Extermination! And…! … Aww, damn. Game over. Stupid Grifball stipulations…"

Crystal shook her head. "See? I told you he'd be screwing around all day," she said to her juniors. "Gold!"

Gold quickly shut off his game console and ran out to greet her. "Hey, Super Serious Gal! What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Gold!" Crystal said with a happy smile. The two Johto Dex Holders immediately hugged each other and kissed.

Platinum smiled warmly at the scene and imagined Diamond doing the same with her. Ruby simply looked around the daycare while Sapphire roughly rammed an elbow into his ribs. A few seconds later, the two Dex Holders stopped kissing and turned their attention to the other Dex Holders.

"Hey, Fashion Boy and Wildchild Girl! It's been a while, huh?" Gold said as he kept an arm around Crystal's waist.

"Hi, Gold," Sapphire said with a wave.

Gold looked over at Platinum and simply blinked. "… And who are you?"

Platinum gave him a polite bow. "Hello, senior Gold. My name is Platinum Berlitz, and I am one of the Sinnoh Dex Holders."

"Sinnoh, huh?" Gold muttered. He extended a hand and Platinum shook it with both hands and a bow. "I remember that region. The former daycare moved there years ago."

"Yes, senior. And I have heard your name from them."

"So, what brings you all the way here?" Gold asked.

"We all came to ask you to join us," Crystal said. "Two Dex Holders from Unova are recruiting the older Dex Holders to fight a big enemy in Unova. Apparently they can't beat the enemy by themselves. It's apparently very hectic because the enemy is using the Legendary Dragons of the region."

"Yeah. We fought the Dragons already," Sapphire said. "They're very tough. Right now, we can defend ourselves from them, but we can't really defeat them. They're too strong for us to overwhelm them."

"Oh, come on," Gold said. "It can't be nearly as bad as the Dunsparce Wars. Now that was a chaotic event. This super genius had to risk it all in a heroic dive into the abyss to fight the Dunsparce. One man heroically battling a horde of freaks!"

Ruby and Sapphire looked over at Crystal, wanting to hear how the event actually happened. Crystal saw them and sighed.

"… He's not lying. That's what actually happened. Though he left out the part of him getting his butt kicked, and the fact that I had to go down there and save him."

"Pff. Come now, Crys. Do you really believe that I needed help?" Gold said with a laugh. "I only pretended to need help so you could get some of the action too. I can't be the hero all the time, now can I?"

Crystal didn't look convinced. Neither did Ruby and Sapphire. "Uh-huh. So you were only pretending to have been buried alive?"

Gold's eyes darted from left to right. "Uh… yeah. Of course. What'd you think?"

Crystal rolled her eyes and sighed. "Whatever you say, Gold. Anyways, are you coming with us, Mr. Hero?"

Gold grinned and kissed her again. "If you're going, I have to go, now don't I? I can't let you get harmed."

This time, Sapphire rammed a knee into Ruby's leg. Ruby winced but still focused on something else.

"What about Odd Boy? Is he coming?" Gold asked Crystal.

"I haven't asked him yet," Crystal said. "But I think he should stay behind and make sure the hell raisers don't burn down the orphanage. I'll go talk to him. And afterwards, let's go to Pallet Town and talk to Green and Blue."

Sapphire wanted to ask about Red, but decided against it. Crystal didn't want to talk about that particular topic, so she'd wait until she got to Kanto.

Crystal took out her Pokégear. "Okay, I'll go find Emerald, so… just wait here for me, okay?"

"Where is Emerald?" Ruby asked.

"I sent him on a mission to the National Park. But he'll come running when I call."

Once Crystal left, there was an awkward silence in the daycare for a little while before Gold broke it.

"So, Platinum, right?" he asked.

"She probably prefers Lady Berlitz or something," Sapphire said as she crossed her arms. Ruby immediately took a step backwards.

Platinum narrowed her eyes at her, but soon reverted her expression to normal and focused on Gold. "Yes, senior."

"Lady, huh?" Gold muttered. "Why is that?"

"She's from an incredibly rich family," Sapphire answered. "She's very spoiled, you know. Thinking she's better than everyone. Everyone from her big ass mansion calls her "Lady". Isn't that right?"

Platinum narrowed her eyes once more and completely turned to face Sapphire. "Senior. I would appreciate it if you did not interrupt my conversation with senior Gold."

"See? Look how she talks," Sapphire said as she glared at the heiress. "I would highly appreciate… Just talk normally and stop showing off your fancy heritage!"

Gold looked back and forth between the two female Dex Holders. 'This is getting interesting. But damn it, I left my popcorn bag in the other room…'

"It is not my fault, senior." Platinum said calmly. "I was raised to speak in this manner. I have been taught to speak formally since I was 4 years old. It is now instinctive. There is nothing I can do, even if you have a problem with it."

"How do you know? You probably haven't even tried!"

"That is because I have no desire to speak like you," Platinum said, her voice and tone ice cold. "I would rather remain formal forever than talk rudely like you for a minute."

Sapphire clenched her fists. "What, you have a problem with the way I talk?!"

"You seemed to have forgotten behavior and personality, but yes."

"Well screw you!" Sapphire yelled. "If you have a problem with me, say it! Or better yet, get out of here! Go back to your fancy home!"

"Learn to put public issues first, senior," Platinum said in a taunting manner. "Our mutual dislike is a private matter, and the crisis in Unova is public. I will still work with the other Dex Holders in order to defeat the enemy in Unova, even if it means I have to work with you. But of course, you would not know any better. As I recall, you did not want to join us because of your petty childish bet with senior Ruby. I joined even though my parents are in critical conditions."

"That just shows how cold and bitchy you are," Sapphire said through clenched teeth. "Leaving your dying parents behind? You want them to die, right? That way you'll get even richer, you selfish bitch! And you call me childish? You're so much worse."

Platinum seemingly trembled as the sudden thoughts of her parents' deaths flashed across her mind. But she still maintained composure and her voice became even icier. "Get your facts correct, senior. It was my mother and father who wanted me to go help Unova. And I only left after getting all the medical help possible within Sinnoh. Do not dare try to comprehend my motives with your puerility. And you dare call me selfish? I worry for my parents every waking second and I cannot even sleep because of those worries and you dare say that I want them to… …" Platinum trailed off, being incapable of even mentioning her parents' possible deaths. "You require much more basic education. Until then, you will have severe difficulties in maintaining proper conversations with people, even children."

Sapphire glared at Platinum with flames burning in her eyes before she looked over at Ruby. Ruby flinched and immediately pretended to focus on the floor.

"Ruby!" Sapphire yelled out, stopping his attempts at neutrality. "What do you think?!"

Ruby looked back and forth between Sapphire and Platinum. Sapphire's fiery anger scared him. But Platinum's absolute-zero iciness scared the crap out of him too. "Uh… Oh, I think I dropped my wallet outside!"

Before the two female Dex Holders could say anything, Ruby quickly ran outside. The two female Dex Holders turned to look at Gold, but he had followed Ruby so the fire wouldn't fall on him. Ruby noticed him following and looked behind at him.

"Gold, what are you doing out here?" Ruby asked.

"Doing the same thing you are," Gold replied. "The manly thing. See, everyone thinks that we're running away like sissies. Well, it's time we show them that we run away like men!"

"So you're afraid too!"

Gold shrugged. "You know that old saying. Hell has no fury…"

"Yeah."

"Well, if that applies when one girl is pissed, imagine what happens when two are pissed off at you. And based on what I can see, Wildchild Girl has her explosive temper and that rich girl seems to have ice cold rage that just keeps building up inside, which is equally terrifying, if not worse. You know what they say. If a girl has enough rage pent in, it'll start snowing in the summer. And given how cold that new girl is, we might have a terrible, terrible blizzard."

"… Let's get out of here!"

"Well said!" Gold glanced back at the daycare. "Listen, don't tell Crys about this."

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Because one, this is getting interesting. And two, if we tell Crys, she'll try to put a stop to this fight, and then the two girls will think that one of us told on them. Then we're really screwed. And besides, I don't think Crys can calm those two. Wildchild Girl probably won't listen."

"So what, do we just… let this go on?"

"Well, at least until someone else finds out and decides to do something about it. But seriously, we should just sit back and watch and hope that we don't get burned."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's just hope that Green or Blue can put a stop to this…"

Platinum vs. Sapphire rivalry is being rushed, since SY itself doesn't have much time left. And as such, most Dex Holders are not going to stop it, clearly demonstrated with Gold and Ruby, fleeing like men. Run away, run away! RUN AWAY!

Alternate Lines:

"Gold, why are you out here?" Ruby asked.

Gold didn't answer and just grinned. He took a deep breath and started to sing. "Brave sir Ruby ran away!"

"No!" Ruby yelled as he looked at his senior.

"Bravely ran away, away!"

"I didn't!"

"When danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled!"

"No!"

"Yes brave sir Ruby turned about…"

"I didn't!"

"And gallantly he chickened out! Bravely taking to his feet…"

"I never did!"

"He beat a very brave retreat!"

"Oh, lie!"

"Bravest of the BRAVE! Sir Ruby!"

"I never! … Look, let's just get the hell out of here!"

"Well said! Packing it in and packing it up. And sneaking away and buggering off. And chickening out and pissing off home. Yes, bravely he is throwing in the sponge!"

The SY countdown is active, so things will go by rather hurriedly. But with Green and Blue, there will be a little… filler taking place. This filler (and the conclusion) are the cause of the variance in chapter expectations of SY.

And yes, in SY, Green and Blue are 30. Meaning, they're parents.