AUTHORS NOTES: This chapter is a little bit of a sillier chapter, we zoom in a little more on some of the characters true nature. However not everything is as it may seem... Just a warning though there is heavy use of alcohol in this chapter only which could by some peoples standards be rated M. There's nothing more than that however, but if you are sensitive to these things I advise you to not continue with this chapter.
As always it really helps to hear from you all so please leave a review if you want! Enjoy this next chapter!
The water washed swiftly through the taps as I scrubbed my teeth clean. Lysandre had finally finished his daily routine after a whopping five hours, so I took this opportunity to get clean before the others. Taking a quick spit into the sink and rinsed my purple toothbrush. I took another shot at my reflection stretching my mouth and face to make sure I appeared fine. My face as always dawned a pale glow while my hair was curled naturally like it always did. I had recently dried my hair and got dressed as well, I wore a grey sweater dress with striped black and white stockings as well as long finger-less gloves.
I gave myself a nervous smile before heading out of the dingy white washroom with half broken lights. Twisting open the creaky door I was suddenly greeted by a waiting Archie that had been only inches away from the door. It was quite startling as I reeled my head back, he grinned lightly and then rushed to my bathroom now that it was unoccupied. After his swift enter the door slammed behind me, unfortunately one bathroom was definitely an issue with a whole house full of villains.
Ignoring the filled room I flopped down onto my bed spreading my legs and arms in a dissatisfied matter. If I were truly to make this work I would have to split up the men into groups, hopefully Vicki would take a few to her house and perhaps we would even out the responsibility. It was literally like living with eight children, all of them constantly bickering.
A buzz rumbled underneath my fluffy pillow, it must have been a text from my phone. I extended my arm shifting it underneath the pillow to find the phone. Once I had felt a square like shape I pulled it out and flashed the screen in front of my face, the glaring light made my eyes sting terribly. It seemed to be a text from my brother John asking if I wanted to go out for drinks tonight. Knowing that I had barely enough money for this many people I sent him back an immediate decline to his invite.
Almost what had seemed like only seconds I received a reply from him, this time he said the drinks were his treat. Knowing my brother I was skeptical and asked him if a few friends could come along. A short yes was all he said in return, and then another text popped into view saying I would split the bill then. As much as I desired to decline once more I knew John, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. So in my own agony I replied questioning where and what time to meet. His response was yet again simple, the usual place they went too near their local grocery store. My fingers tapped the screen quickly letting him know that we would be there at eight.
I set down my phone, it's protective case was covered in animal stickers; it seemed like we were going to go out tonight. This led to pure anxiety and stress as I rubbed my temples. I could only hope that these men would be on their best behavior, at least for just this one time. After inhaling and exhaling a few times I approached the large group that surrounded the television. Their eyes fixed onto me as soon as I approached them. Vicki however gave a slight knowing smirk as if she knew what was going to happen.
I sighed deeply, "Alright so guess what, you're all going out for drinks with me tonight!"
A loud boom came from the bathroom, "WOOOHOOO! YEAH!"
Covering my face I continued, "My brother isn't really going to take a no, and I can't leave you all here to your own devices. So you're coming with me, and if you want you can try some alcohol."
Archie swung the door open with a crack, "YES, FINALLY!"
"LIKE I WAS SAYING, you'd better be on your best behavior as these kinds of places are the worst to get in trouble. You'll easily become noticed and thrown in the slammer, so please be careful" I declared sternly throwing a glare at the male pirate.
"I don't think I want to 'drink', it sounds kind of dangerous" N responded in a worried tone.
Ghetsis glanced at him in a disgusted way, "I can't believe I raised you."
"N, you're a reasonable adult, start acting like one. You can take care of yourself and you aren't being forced to" I sighed.
"Don't worry about it, I got you man" Vicki assured N with a genuine smile.
"Well I for one am intrigued by this alternate reality and want to experience as much as I can before I go home. Of course this is for scientific reasons only" Colress claimed excitedly.
I grinned at him softly, "Wonderful, alright so we have at least four more hours so just make sure you're all looking sharp!"
"Sharp, I'm always sharp. When am I ever not dressed properly?" Giovanni replied in an annoyed tone.
Lysandre nodded in agreement, "Yes, he has a point. I do take extra care with my own appearance as well."
"Hey I was just making sure, mostly I was directing that to the ones who were less careful of their attire" I agreed staring at Archie while he kicked back into a notch on the couch.
Observing the Team Aqua leader I noticed he had a really relaxed aura about him, it seemed to settle down the mood for everyone but Maxie. It suddenly made me curious so I snatched a controller for my Xbox 360 that I had hooked up to my flat screen. I flicked the channel off and loaded the dashboard, the others cocked their head at me in confusion. With a quick flick of the controller I loaded my profiled and loaded YouTube, I could have used my Ipad but this was universal and the speakers were more amplified. I quickly typed in a band I had listened to, it was a punk genre named Billy Talent. Since I preferred the newer albums I loaded the song Dead Silence.
It took a few seconds for the music to load and it began to play blasting through the speakers. Vicki was a bit disturbed by the loud noise but I only had wanted to see how the men reacted to our world music. Colress, Cyrus, N, Maxie and Giovanni seemed a little ruffled but not annoyed, meanwhile I could notice there was a note of some enjoyment from Lysandre, Ghetsis, and Archie. Vicki seemed to begin to observe them as well and finally realized what I was doing.
Wanting to join in on the fun she snatched the controller searching up some of her favorite Vocaloids. I didn't exactly care too much for them however, it was always something I didn't have an opinion on. The majority of them were extremely confused and wore strange expressions, however it was to my surprise that N, Colress, and Cyrus were listening and enjoying intently. This little experiment went on for at least what seemed to be a few hours.
However our little experiment was cut to a halt when I had realized the time, we had to get our butts going in an hour. In conclusion however we found that Colress, and N seemed to be interested in the bulk of what we showed them, while Maxie, Giovanni, and Cyrus leaned towards classical and country; Archie, Ghetsis, and Lysandre seemed to reel more into the depressing music and rock or metal. I rushed the men to get themselves prepared, Giovanni and Lysandre however were already well prepared for an outing already.
While I allowed the rest of them to have their privacy I pulled Vicki aside to the spare storage room. She seemed rather stirred that I had dragged her away from the interesting company we had at my house. However I shot her a gaze of seriousness to fortify that it had been important.
"Alright so I needed some time to talk with you, while they weren't around" I whispered calmly.
She simply cocked her head, "Why?"
"There isn't a lot of space at my house to take care of all these people, can you take any home?" I pleaded.
Vicki shook her head sadly, "Nope, my parents would definitely notice. My home isn't like yours, everything is out in the open. I'll help pay for food and take them out when you need a break though."
"I guess that's helpful enough, I'm just worried about getting caught is all. They've only been here two days and I'm stressing myself out" I confessed lowering my head.
She put a hand on my shoulder to assure me, "Don't worry everything will work out, Cyrus has actually been making progress on a portal back home. They shouldn't be here for too long."
"Yeah, right..." I frowned.
"Isn't that what you want?" Vicki asked noting my hesitance.
I shook my head slightly, "Sort of, it just gets really lonely sometimes. Even though this has been the most stressful time in my life it's also been the most exciting and joyful. In an odd way I really don't want them to go, even though they have to."
She nodded back in agreement, "I know what you mean, N's really fun to be around on my end. I also enjoy Maxie's sarcastic remarks, it reminds me of myself. I'm going to miss them a lot too."
"Yeah... Alright well that's all I needed to say, lets get back before they wreck something" I concluded solemnly.
Vicki retorted a short giggle, her long hair was neat while she sported a white hoodie with nice dark blue jeans. She followed me outside of the room, the staircase rocked as we trotted our was down as quickly as possible. To our surprise we had to leave in a few minutes by now, and damn they were looking good. It really didn't take long for the rest of them to clean up, each of them were wearing their new clothes. I began to picture them all wearing pitch black shades to make them appear super cool, this image made me laugh a little on the inside.
"What are we waiting for now? Let's head out!" I laughed.
******
Upon arrival my brother John had been awaiting our arrival from outside of the rather humble looking bar. As usual he was wearing a bright smile with nicely shaved short brown hair. He had chosen a red plaid shirt today and some washed out blue jeans, however he wore them very well as he looked actually quite sharp. I glanced at him wearing a nervous smile as the eight men (and Vicki) had walked by side, he glared back with giant blue eyes. However he did not seem to be disappointment, instead he appeared to be in a strange mix up of surprise and shock.
Once we were in front of him he glanced around darting his head back and forth examining our party. His long pause made the chilly air seem even colder, I watched him continue to stare as white powdered snow collected on the concrete. Finally he sported a long greasy grin, I recognized this look of sarcasm and I suddenly felt both relieved and fearful for what odd comment would pop up.
John addressed us clearly, "I've never met these friends before Britney? I didn't know you even hung out with people who weren't weird, scrawny, and nerdy!"
"I suppose we should take that as a compliment?" Maxie responded intelligently.
John rolled his eyes, "Yes, I'm used seeing guys hit on my sister who can't even lift a branch. Nice to know she's finally finding good men."
I blushed instensly out of embarrassment, "John that's enough my friends aren't nerdy, and these guys aren't hitting on me. We just happened to 'bump' into one another."
"Oh you know I'm only teasing, anyway nice to meet you all. Let's get us some drinks!" He chuckled while pushing through the doors of the bar.
I hid inside myself as my embarrassment grew to extreme levels, why did he have to be so awkward? Vicki couldn't help but laugh at my misfortune which I dismissed trying to hold my head high. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Ghetsis eying me like a hawk, it was the most uncomfortable stare I had ever received.
The bar itself was booming with business at this hour, we strutted past multitudes of people and found a wide glossy table to sit at. As we sat I noticed a few ladies sizing up our villains who were obliviously sitting at the table. If only those poor unsuspecting women had any idea who they really were, it wasn't often that this kind of crowd played Pokemon; and that they'd even recognize them in these clothes to boot. I would assume though if they did know they would probably be even more attracted them, that's just kind of how fandoms worked.
We awaited peacefully for a waitor or waitress, a wild techno beat played in the background while many young people grind on the dance floor in the distance. I observed my new chaotic friends in this new scenario, poor Maxie and N seemed like they had shrunk to two feet tall; this kind of atmosphere was probably stressful for them. A waitress found our table awaiting assistance and swiftly came to aid us with our fill.
The female waitress in black asked, "Hello my name is Chelsea and I'll be your server today, are you ready to order?"
I always thought the idea of having a pub bar mix was an excellent idea, and it was why my brother and I favored the place. I helped the others search the menu with things that I believed would fit them, since they had no idea what to order. Once they were all decided we returned our attention to the pretty blonde woman.
John was the first to answer, "Yeah, I'll have some whiskey and coke."
"I'll start out with a Grasshopper beer please!" I declared clearly shifting my attention to Vicki.
Vicki was next, "I'll have a hard lemonade."
"UHHHHHH..." Archie hesitated, "I'll get whatever this is."
The lady responded clearly, "Of course, some whiskey and coke as well?"
"Yeah okay" The pirate said again.
Colress smiled, "I'll have some red wine?"
"The same for me" Giovanni piped in.
Lysandre rolled his eyes, "Oh whatever wine for me too..."
"Just water for me please" N squeaked as well.
Cyrus nodded his agreement, "Me too, I don't need anything different."
"I'll take the Grasshopper as well then" Ghetsis replied lastly.
I narrowed my eyes at the long green haired man, why the Hell did he choose the same as me? I decided it would be best not to try and rationalize what a crazy man had thought, so instead I just turned my gaze to John who was across me. He stared back at me and smiled joyfully, it's been awhile since the last time we had met. The man was two years older than me at twenty three years of age and had moved out far before I had. It was times like these we really needed to cherish, as now the both of us were consumed with work and school.
John started up his voice, "So what have you all been up to lately?"
"Actually we just came from ano-" Archie shouted being cut off.
"We are visitors from another country, we just happened to meet these two ladies while sight seeing" Maxie interrupted before Archie ruined their cover.
My brother grinned, "Oh cool, what country?"
"They're from New Zealand" I blurted aloud before any of them could answer.
He nodded, "That's pretty cool, you don't have the accents but the world is a melting pot now."
After my ridiculous response I shot a grateful glance at Maxie for covering, the man at least was intelligent enough to observe and take charge of situations correctly. Letting out a relaxed sigh the waitress came back within a few minutes to serve us, I thanked her promptly before I began to chug down my drink. It was a part of my family to be able to hold our alcohol well, however I didn't exactly tell that to the men as I watched them copy my actions in a confused manner. Giovanni however decided it would be best to pace himself as he watched my brother glare at the majority of us nervously.
Vicki I kept a close eye on since I knew she was a bit of a light weight, it only took about thirty minutes for her to down three drinks. About everyone else but my brother and Giovanni had been keeping up with a fast pace. That asides from Cyrus and N however as they sipped their tasteless water gratefully. Archie was the fastest to pound down the liquor, and he didn't seem to be feeling much asides from a buzz yet. However I knew how these sort of things worked, if we gave it enough time he would be wasted from drowning in that much alcohol.
A more intense beat began to play from the Dj which was stationed in clear view, many people began to gather around and sway to the music. At this time I was now on my fourth and because of my unfortunately short height and light body weight I was beginning to feel the buzz. My head spun slightly and my brother began to release a heavy chuckle. The light fixtures dimmed and we could hear the music ringing in our heads. I turned my head to Vicki who appeared to be full blown plastered, I watched her carefully to make sure she didn't give our little lie away.
"Holy crap, you guys look like a bunch of idiots" Cyrus claimed coldly.
Giovanni snapped at him, "Don't act like you're better than us when you're not willing to step out of your comfort zone."
The Team Galactic leader replied, "You're all going to regret those decisions in the morning."
I nodded in agreement, "He is a little bit right, but you'll have fun anyw-"
Vicki interrupted me spitting out, "LET'S GO DANCE!"
"OKAY!" Archie slurred a poor response.
My brother and I exchanged a worried glance, but instead of stopping them I let them carry on while I held a sly smirk. I had to admit that this was the best way to bring us all together, I hoped that we would eventually open up to each other to break the awkward boundaries. We wouldn't have to if it weren't for the fact that I was forced to live with them.
The attractive pirate stumbled forward to follow Vicki, it was obvious that the whiskey was hitting him hard. I watched as they both howled in laughter at each other, I always sort of assumed that Archie would be a fun drunk. Unfortunately for us though I was noticing that Maxie instead of opening up became rather reclusive. It was to be expected, perhaps he was one of those soul searching types. His eyes appeared to be watery and glazed over as he stared off into space. It was apparent that he was lost in thought, his expressions emotionless and bold.
My voice began to slur smoothly, "Maxie, what exactly is it you are thinking?"
Startled he shot his head in my direction, "Nothing important."
"Oh come on, tell me!" I squealed leaning across the table.
He stared back at me nervously, "I feel like I'm in space and the world is spiny."
"That's all a part of the fun my friend! Loosen up, relax, go meet some girls I saw some sizing you up earlier!" I boomed in laughter.
"I suppose I could try" The man shot up heading towards where Archie and Vicki mingled.
John glared at me, "That's just like you trying to stir up trouble, always making people get together. You manipulative little shit!"
"What can I say, I'm awesome" I giggled at him with a grin of pride.
Ghetsis and Lysandre exchanged a look of mischievous curiosity as my brother and I chatted. It had seemed to be they were listening, but by the expressions they held they were starting to lose traces of intelligent thought. Ordering a few more drinks I dazed off piercing my soul with the gentle mood of the toxic drinks. By now everyone and anyone who was drinking was completely out of it, all of them displaying their true colors profusely. Giovanni as always was glaringly self absorbed and aggressive, snapping at every little comment made to poke fun at him.
Colress, Lysandre, and I however found every little dumb thing absolutely hilarious; this in turn had irritated Giovanni more. A the while however Ghetsis was actually oddly calm and slightly clingy, it was a complete and utter shock to see him so different.
"Well little sis, I'm going to chat it up with some girls. I need a girlfriend right? Do any of you guys want to join me?" My brother declared loudly.
Lyandre smirked stupidly, "I'll join you, I can see this being great. I'm pretty sexy."
"Oh my god! You're so stupid!" Colress laughed.
"Alright anyone else?" John asked again as Lysandre joined his side.
I piped up to him, "Take Giovanni with you, he seems a bit agitated, annoyed and stuff. Get him into a less cranky mood, sour puss."
Giovanni hissed as we all chuckled, "Get me away from them please."
"Alright be back in a little sis!" My brother waved as the tiny group walked away.
"Bye!" I yelled as the joined the crowd.
This moment Ghetsis roared out, "So now that they're gone I have questions."
I cocked my head, "Yeah sure whatever you like man."
"This game, anime thing, what exactly do you do in it?" He questioned with glazed red eyes.
I smiled in a silly way, "Oh, well I play and I train my Pokemon and I happen to play as the one who get to beat all of you!"
"That's absurd!" Cyrus hissed.
The Team Plasma leader glared at him, "Silence peasant! So would you say that you're good at training Pokemon?"
"Yeah I'm awesome, I've beaten other online players many times. I love myself a good match, games are one of my best hobbies" I chuckled happily.
His eyes lit up in interest, "I see, I see. I like what I'm hearing, would you mind joining for a dance?È
"Uhm, what?" I scowled awkwardly.
Colress seemed just as confused as I, his golden eyes wide with utter shock; and when you're closest partner was surprised something was wrong. However my head was dizzy and fogged, I couldn't seem to come up with a proper conclusion for the change in tune. I was reminded in my drunk state that this was not a caring or forgiving man. Could he be just completely in disarray from the intoxication? N even squeaked nervously as the table hit a silence.
I giggled loudly at his absurd actions, N tuned in and awkwardly darted off to join Vicki and the others. However the brave males eyes remained stale and serious, not a hint of humor irradiated from the mans terrifying stature. With my uncontrollable laughter I watched him give a cold stare at Colress who had been chuckling as well. As soon as their stares locked however the scientist made an expression as if to say 'ohhhh' in a state of realization. He jabbed a nudge into my stomach and I flinched into an uncomfortable position.
I glared back at Ghetsis in disbelief, "Wait, you're serious?"
He nodded lightly, "As serious as I would be, that offer still stands."
"Come on seriously, what's this about?" I shivered.
"I am taking time to relax while I have it, there's no catch" He responded boldly.
I burst into a booming laughter, "Wow, I like drunk Ghetsis! Okay as long as there isn't a catch I'm down. You guys coming?"
"I AM SO DOWN!" Colress howled.
The other two glared at as like we were imbeciles and dismissed us from our seats. Not in my best judgement I stumbled forward as Ghetsis shadowed me like a ghost. As we stepped closer to the main floor I caught Vicki staring with her jaw dropped, I wasn't the only one in disbelief it seemed. Colress observed the two of us curiously as we interacted in such awkward ways, not all of my fear of him had dropped. As if to be a king himself Ghetsis took lead like it had been a ballroom, it was hilariously odd but I didn't really care given the circumstances. My only true concern was how close he was with me, it felt like dancing with a grizzly bear, it was like at any moment I could be dead.
His trusty scientist seemed to see my true collecting anxiety but he was too friendly with Ghetsis to truly separate us, or maybe he was just entertained. After a few long minutes I slowly became accustomed to the closeness and the heat his body gave off. Allowing myself to get a bit more comfortable I howled out a loose laughter. Colress immediately took notice of this behaviour and he shot me a sly smile from the distance. I broke off gently after a few more minutes and let out a heaved sigh as my head throbbed viciously.
I gazed into the terrifying man's eyes, "I guess I underestimated you, you really are a lot of fun to be around."
"Alright love birds, time to get going you're wasted as balls" John's voice shot suddenly from behind me.
"Oh god you scared me!" I squealed.
My brother chuckled, "See it's time to go, do you need a ride?"
"No I have a group of childish men, I'm good" I cried from giggling so hard.
"Okay don't have too much fun, I took it upon myself to pay the bill. Have a good night!" He replied while walking away.
Without another response I took grasp of both Ghetsis and Colress, dragging them around to gather the others. Once our drunken crew was full and somewhat nauseated I led them outside. The cold wind had now intensified blasting at our faces, with courage we wandered and stumbled until we finally crashed back at home.
******
END CHAPTER