As expected, a handful of reviewers from last chapter liked the "domestic violence" between Black and White. Perhaps I should add more? Either you liked having the paired Dex Holders fight each other, or you just liked White getting beaten because she apparently is deserving? And damn it, I don't hate White. She's my 9th favorite Dex Holder! … or was it 10th?

This chapter's title refers to the title of SL #014: Tipping Point.

Segment: Green & Blue.

Chapter 18: Tipped Over

April 21, Fuchsia City, Kanto, 7 pm…

Blue forced herself to smile as she listened to Silver talk about what happened to him so far. The two Dex Holders were currently sitting at a table in Fuchsia City's not-so-greatest restaurant (can't afford fancy places), waiting for their food to arrive.

Blue observed Silver's expressions. She guessed that he knew that she was a bit distressed. And she also figured that he thought his duty was to remain in the support role. As always, if she asked for his help, he would do everything he could.

"So Gold's on a date?" Blue asked once Silver finished.

"Yeah. And Crys…" Silver held his tongue a bit too late.

"Crys… what?" Silver avoided eye contact so Blue slightly narrowed her eyes. "Silver? Tell me."

The Johto Dex Holder gave up resisting. "… Crys isn't happy. She apparently… likes Gold. She dragged me to meet Gold and his date in the restaurant."

Blue let out a short laugh. She had to cheer herself up somehow. "That would've been interesting to see. How'd it go?"

Silver shrugged. "I don't know. I got your message before anything happened so I left. It was really weird anyways."

"Maybe I should give her a call," Blue said. "Find out if everything went right and if she's okay with whatever happened."

"Probably a good idea. She got attacked at the orphanage today by an attempted murderer, and I doubt that Gold would be able to comfort her as well as he should."

Blue looked surprised. "Really? What happened?"

"Apparently a guy broke into the orphanage and held her hostage to avoid the Violet City police. The hell raiser orphans saved her though."

Blue let out a sigh. "Oh, those monsters… My foot still hurts at times thanks to those four. But I guess those monsters will protect Crys whenever she's in the orphanage." She shook her head to shake away the bad memories. "So, is she okay?"

Silver nodded. "Yeah. It's Crys, remember. She's really tough."

The two Dex Holders fell silent and there was an awkward silence between them for a little while before Silver broke it.

"Sis, are you sure you're okay?"

Blue faked a smile and nodded. "I'll be fine, Silver."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You might think Crys is tough, but I've been through a lot more than her, Silver. I'm fine."

Soon, the food arrived and the two Dex Holders ate in silence. The food wasn't all that good, and Silver contemplated on whether he should've ate first with Crystal and Gold in Violet City before coming here.

Bad feelings and memories kept creeping into Blue's mind, however. She needed to focus on something else to avoid thinking about them. But what? Nothing in her life was going well enough to think about them pleasantly. Which meant she'd have to discuss other people's lives.

"… Silver, I think it's time you find yourself a girlfriend," Blue said abruptly. That topic, which Silver hated, was unfortunately the only thing that came to mind. But it'd have to do.

"Not this again, sis," Silver said with a sigh.

"Come on, Silver! You can't expect to stay alone forever," Blue said. "And you've met quite a few girls already. Not to mention, there is a fan club out there targeting every male Dex Holder."

"The only girls I've seen apart from you are other Dex Holders and a bunch of idiots," Silver said.

"… That's something Green would say," Blue muttered. "You know, you two are so similar to each other, it's… quite funny."

"What about you, sis?" Silver asked. "Do you have a boyfriend yet?"

Blue didn't immediately reply as she thought of what to say. She noticed that Silver looked quite… flustered, as if he said something he shouldn't have. She then realized that her eyes have narrowed and she wasn't smiling. With a faked cough, she quickly tried to revert her expression back to normal.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Sorry."

Blue sighed. Regardless of her will, her expression wasn't changing. Damn it. She tried to think of something to say when her Pokégear started to vibrate. She took it out and noticed that her parents were calling yet again.

"… How's your dad, Silver?" she asked as she pressed the button to answer the call and simply placed the Pokégear on the table. Her parents would be screaming at her, and she didn't give a damn. She'd let them vent out their anger, and get even more pissed off upon realizing that she wasn't even listening. Maybe they'll hear what she says to Silver, and his response. "Does your dad also treat you like a kid?"

"No," Silver said. "We don't really talk much. But when we do, he treats me as if I'm Red. A worthy obstacle, if you will."

"That must be nice," Blue said flatly. She looked at her Pokégear. She could still hear her parents yelling at her, though barely. "I assume he doesn't call you 200 times a day to yell at you like this."

Silver silently looked at Blue's Pokégear and slowly shook his head. "… Sorry, sis."

Blue let out a long sigh. Her feelings and expressions could no longer revert to normal. She glared at her Pokégear with contempt before looking up at Silver. "… Do you ever wish that you never found out who your parents were?" she asked, loud enough so that her parents would hear her. As expected, her parents stopped yelling, probably from surprise or more anger.

"… I know our parents aren't what we expected, but…" Silver muttered. "… Give it some time, maybe?"

"For how long, Silver?" Blue suddenly snapped at him. "I've been dealing with this shit since I was 17!" She leaned closer to her Pokégear so her parents could hear clearly. "And every day, every fucking day, I tell myself "today might be different" but it never is! And it never will be any different!" Blue finally noticed the look of surprise and panic on Silver's face and took several breaths to calm herself down. "… Sorry, Silver. I didn't mean to snap like that."

"… Sis?"

"It's just that… every day for the past year now, I wished that I never succeeded in finding my parents. I liked them much better when they were just fragments of my memories."

Blue shut off her Pokégear and put it away once more. As she put it away in her bag, she spotted the full pack of cigarettes she always carried around. No, she didn't smoke. Not anymore, at any rate. She quit, with the help and support of her friends. But she always kept a full case inside so she could build her resolve. She wasn't going to give into her urges. No.

"I… really don't know what to say, sis," Silver said. "I wish there was something I could do to help."

"… Just don't change, Silver," Blue said. "You have no idea how much your company means to me. Just… please don't change."

"No problem."

"Thanks." Blue let out a long sigh and slowly rose to her feet. "I'll… be going now. Thanks for today, Silver. And I'm sorry you had to hear that…"

Blue soon left the restaurant after telling Silver to not follow her. She stared at the sun starting to set for a little while before she sent out her Wigglytuff. She hopped on and waited for it to float high in the air.

She was supposed to return home, but the hell with that. Blue simply pointed north. She was going to stay in one of Silver's secret bases until her parents accepted the fact that she changed. Which was going to be never.

…

Next day, April 22, undisclosed location, 9 am…

…

Blue woke up from her sleep and immediately noticed that she was cold. It seemed that Silver's 4th secret base wasn't exactly the most ideal place to stay. At night, it got pretty damn cold. Even with the Ditto-blanket, Blue still shivered as she got ready for the day.

A few minutes later, once she was warmed up enough and she finished getting ready, she looked at her Pokégear, hoping that for once, her parents have left her alone. If they did, then perhaps things would start looking up again and they would start to accept her changes.

"… 36 messages…" Blue muttered sadly. "… This day's not any different than any other…"

Blue sat down by the only table in the secret base and sighed. She needed some cheering up. She stared at her Pokégear and began to scroll down the list of contacts once more.

'Crys…' Blue muttered as she spotted the Johto Dex Holder's name. 'She probably hasn't gone to the orphanage yet. She's probably taking a short break from research in Prof. Oak's lab. I wonder what happened to her yesterday. Gold's on a date, huh?'

Blue made her mind and called Crystal. Crystal answered within a few rings.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Crys," Blue said, faking cheerfulness. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, I guess," Crystal said with a sigh.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no… I'm okay."

Blue slightly frowned. "Crys, you're lying. Something seems wrong. What happened?"

Crystal let out a long sigh. "Gold went on a date yesterday, and I met him in the same restaurant. And there, his date… well… she doesn't like me. Let's just say that. And Gold… … Forget it. It's yesterday's problem."

"Crys," Blue said warmly. "Do you… want to talk about it? Maybe I can help you."

"No… I'm okay, Blue. I can handle it," Crystal said. She sounded awfully tired though. And even frustrated.

"Come on, you shouldn't deal with this kind of issue all by yourself."

"No, seriously. I'm fine, Blue."

"Are you sure?" Blue asked. "I mean, if you feel hurt because Gold is-"

"Blue," Crystal interrupted with a frustrated sigh. "You're my senior and you know I really respect you. But sometimes, you really need to just fuck off and let people handle their own damn business!"

Blue gasped in shock and was about to say something when Crystal hung up. She stared at her Pokégear for a few seconds before she set it down.

"… That wasn't very nice," she muttered quietly. "I guess she just needs some time. And in the meantime, I'll just… keep this a secret from Silver. He might kill her…" Blue let out a sigh and stared through the windows. "… This is turning out to be a spectacular day…"

Blue shook her head and slowly packed up her things. Maybe randomly traveling around will help her collect her thoughts. And once she calmed down enough, she'd access the fan clubs for Gold and Green and see if there was anything she could do to help the two Dex Holders.

…

Several hours later, Pallet Town, 1 pm…

…

Blue waited at a table in the (only) café of Pallet Town for Green. She sent him a message to meet her there, as she wanted to talk to him again. She took a sip of her iced coffee just as Green entered the café. Blue waved at him and the Gym Leader approached her.

"So, what do you want, Blue?" Green asked as he sat down across the table.

Blue took another sip. "… Not sure I like your attitude, Green," she said honestly. "Did something bad happen?"

"Not really, no. So, what do you want?"

"I just wanted to see you," Blue answered. "Is that too much to ask?"

"You saw me yesterday," Green said. "Why do you want to see me again so soon? You must have a reason."

"Alright, fine. I called you over because I have some information I wanted to share with you," Blue said eventually.

"And that is?"

"Your dreaded fan club," Blue answered. "It's possible they planted a bug or something in the lab where you work. Which may be why they're able to chase you all over the place."

"… Seriously?"

Blue nodded and gave him a small electronic device. "Here. Scan for the bugs with this thing. It'll detect the bugs and light it up with a small bulb. Smash the bugs with a hammer or something and you'll be safe."

Green took the device and pocketed it. "What about the bugs you planted?"

"I didn't plant any bugs," Blue said. Green didn't look convinced, even though she was telling the truth. "Besides, even if I did plant the bugs, do you think I'd plant them and give you a tool to find and destroy them right after?"

Green thought for a few seconds before shrugging. "Fair enough. So, what are you going to do now?"

"I think I'll see if I can spare Gold from his fan club like I saved you. I got nothing better to do."

"Still interfering in other people's business?" Green asked with a sigh. "You never change, do you?"

Blue sighed too. "Maybe one day you'll understand why I do what I do. But until then, just know that I have a valid reason."

The two Kanto Dex Holders sat in silence for a short while before Green rose to his feet. "If that's everything, I'll be going now. I still have work to do."

"Wait," Blue said abruptly. "… The actual reason I called you over here…"

"… Well?"

"… I need to talk to you about Crys," Blue said after several seconds of hesitation.

"Hm?"

"I think you're spending too much time with her," Blue started. "And it's giving people the wrong idea. I mean, some people believe that she's go-"

Green suddenly slammed a hand on the table, causing Blue to jump in surprise. She noticed that he looked quite angry right now and held her tongue. Something definitely must've happened. It's not like Green to get angry so much so quickly.

"Damn it, Blue," Green said through clenched teeth. "Are you trying to tell me that you're jealous of her too? Act your age. How can you be jealous of your junior?"

"What? No!" Blue said quickly, trying to defend herself. "I'm just saying that Gold might-"

"Meddling in other people's business… What, are you trying to gain something from them? Next thing you'll tell me is that Crystal has been telling me lies and that I should never talk to her again." Green suddenly rose to his feet. "You disgust me. You're exactly like all those damned fan girls who chase me all day every day, attacking those who get in the way."

"Green! I'm not jealous!" Blue yelled just as Green started to walk away. The Gym Leader didn't look back. Blue could only stare in despair as he left the café entirely. "Damn it, Green… I may be the envious type, but I'm not the jealous type! … I thought you knew me better…"

Green's reaction definitely didn't seem natural. After all, Blue had no way of knowing that Green's fan girls have targeted Crystal and that he had to rescue her from their clutches earlier that day, which also explained why the girl was in such a bad mood when Blue tried to call her. So although this reaction was reasonable for Green, to Blue, it sounded as if he was biased against her.

She stared at her glass of iced coffee and sighed. A tear formed in her eye as she thought about how even her closest friends didn't understand her. But a thought occurred and she suddenly smirked. Her smirks turned into laughter and for a minute, she simply laughed. People around her looked at her as if she lost her mind. Blue ignored them all.

"Figures," she muttered eventually. "Of course he doesn't understand me or even know me. My parents don't, so why should anyone else? Close friends, huh? My ass…"

With another laugh, she left the café and walked in a random direction. She tilted her hat so there would be a dark shadow cast over her eyes. She opened her bag and stared at the cigarette case inside.

Blue smirked again. "Screw it." She opened the case and took out a cigarette. Without any hesitation, she lit it and proceeded to smoke for the first time in years.

After a minute, she stopped walking. A thought occurred and she no longer had any reason to refuse that particular thought.

'Red still loves me. And knowing him, I can get him to do anything I want. So maybe I'll play along and pretend to love him too. I'll just accept Red's love and say the hell with Yellow. She had her chance for 10 freaking years. No one else would ever like me, so I might as well take advantage.'

With a smile, she pulled out her Pokégear and sent him a message, telling him to meet her there in a few hours. Afterwards, she was about to put it away when another thought occurred. Another possible source of entertainment, created by screwing with more of her former friends…

Blue looked at her Pokégear and scanned through the archived list until she found the call record in which Crystal told her to fuck off. She did want to keep this call a secret, but now… She wanted to see the chaos erupting from this. It would amuse her. So she sent that recorded call to Silver. Knowing Crystal, she probably regretted saying that to her. But too bad. It's time the other Dex Holders feel the pain when life gave them the finger again and again.

Maybe she'll tip off Gold's fan club that Crystal was in love with him and see the chaos erupt from that. And maybe she'll tip off Green's fan club and exaggerate the bond between him and Crystal. Perhaps seeing Crystal being targeted by two separate fan clubs would be very amusing. And maybe she'd screw over everyone's relationship attempts. Green thinks she was jealous, huh? Oh, she'd show him what happened if she was jealous instead of merely envious.

Blue took another drag from her cigarette and took out a notepad. She wrote down her plans for the future and grinned as she checked them over.

"Sorry, Crys," Blue muttered with a smirk. "You made my life a lot worse whether you knew it or not. So, I'll make your life hell too. My life won't get any better. So neither will yours. If I can't be happy, you won't be happy. See, Green? This is jealousy. Crys will pay for being happier than me, and for making me feel worse."

Blue put the list away and briefly contemplated whether she would feel sympathy for her junior. She soon shook her head. No. She should feel sorry and sympathetic. But she would force herself to be heartless and remorseless. She would tell herself that Crystal had it coming. Little miss-perfect-life, huh? Not for long. Besides, everyone still believed that Blue was some selfish, heartless, and bitchy thief who had absolutely no morals. No one understood her, so she'd act as how everyone believed. Blue would now put these plans into effect as soon as possible. She'd revert to her old self, before her friends changed her for the better. She'd start stealing again. She wouldn't trust anyone, she'd screw over everyone else, and she would no longer give a damn about anyone else's problems. But first, there was something else she had to take care of.

She was going to go back home and give her parents an ultimatum. Either they deal with the fact that she had changed, or she would just leave. Actually, she'd do both. She'd get them to acknowledge that she changed a lot, and then she would leave. They would not stop her. They couldn't. She won't listen to them. Even if they blocked her path, she'd force her way out. They wanted a younger Blue? Fine. She'd give them her 7 year old self. Cold, bitter, and completely independent and heartless, except to Silver.

I recall promising a popcorn-worthy scene somewhere in SL. Well, focus on Blue and what she does. She'll produce many popcorn-worthy scenes, by my estimates. But not in a funny way… More of a: "she did not just say/do that!" or "oh, it's on!"

Alternate Lines:

"It's time I go on a strike," Blue muttered with a smirk. "I'm going on strike. I say "no more"! No more neglect, I want respect! That's what I'm striking for! All you lucky kids and happy kids, can all just take a hike! I'm going on strike! I'm going on strike, from Johto to back home, I'll raise my middle finger for you all to sit upon! And with my finger up your ass, you won't be very psyched! I'm going on strike!"

The Alternate Lines here is based on a song from a TV show, which is why some lines sound ridiculous and others repeat. Some of you may have heard it.