Chapter 80: A saccharine escape
A month later
Mid-morning
Sinnoh
Dex Criminal's base.
The members of the Organization lazed around in the second chamber. In a corner, Sapphire and Rald pored over a game whilst Ruby stared into a mirror and checked his reflection.
"Can someone please explain to me what is going on around here?" Ruby put the mirror away and peered around the room with a confused gaze.
"Arrrghhhh!" Emerald and Saph screeched in tandem. "Just how many times do we have to tell you?" The midget articulated heatedly and jumped down from the table. He wriggled his fingers and Crystal looked up in alarm. On her lap, Yellow squeaked in fear and clutched the picture book closer to her chest. Sitting on a high stool and away from the group, Green grasped a tome half his size and scrutinized the others with a stormy, scornful gaze. He snorted when Yellow yelped and went back to reading about Pokemon habitats. The door to the chamber slid open and Silver, disgruntled, walked in with a chirpy Blue in his arms.
"Emerald, calm down, you know it is not his fault." The indigo haired woman soothed, "and please don't touch him, we don't want him to end up in the infirmary like the last time." Grumbling under his breath, the blonde ambled back to Sapphire and continued in his senseless staring of the game board. "Well...I have told you this countless times...however you will forget by tomorrow so I'll keep this brief" Crystal sighed and Yellow gazed at her with hazel eyes. "Since the legendary creatures escaped from the distortion world, the members who went to witness the incident were afflicted with inexplicable circumstances. Ruby, you are stuck in a time loop; therefore you won't remember anything by tomorrow. Gold, Silver and I are unaffected because during the event, Silver and I were busy with a mission whilst Gold was fast asleep."
On the far side of the circular chamber, Crystal heard a five year old Green snort. As a child, the young Oak's ego and arrogance far outstripped his size, shutting the weighty book with an audible snap, his mocking gaze speared into Ruby who coolly glared back. "You are telling me...That I climbed up Mt. Coronet, witnessed all the legendary pokemon flying out of a hole in the sky, apprehended some scientist criminal and then got de-aged to a child whilst remembering nothing of my supposed adult life?" The boy's disbelieving tone snaked around the room. "I wanna see my Grandpa..." he hissed, "call him. Now."
The phenomenon around them could easily be explained as a sort of divine retribution for meddling with the universe's unbreakable laws. Since the rupture of the distortion world, the Poke-verse suffered a string of casualties. Flash flood and unexplained forest fires. Trainers, who challenged the Sinnoh league, often vanished when entering forests or other secluded places. The snow around the mountainous regions melted and this caused the rivers to swell and flood their banks; atop Mount Coronet's summit, a vortex to the reverse realm opened up. The authorities of several regions tried and repeatedly failed to study the rip in space; each time a craft veered close to the purplish black opening, a disaster occurred. Either the vehicle combusted, malfunctioned or freak weather conditions forced the investigators to move away from the mountain top. One morning, Gold woke up and found Red de-aged as a five year old child. Concerned and exhilarated, he picked up his child commander and proceeded to check on Green, as the Johto native neared the door and opened it, he gaped as an incensed Oak strode out pompously, marched downstairs and demanded for a way home. Blue, the cunning girl, snuck out of her room and ended up in Silver's place, the red head blearily opened his eyes to witness a younger version of his sister rifling through his possessions. When he got up, the lazuline eyed child squeaked in astonishment, quickly snatched something and fled. Grabbing a shirt, he chased her down the hallway and pried her stiff fingers off his cellphone, sniffing, the girl bawled at the top of her voice and this prompted a four year old Yellow to break down crying as well.
All the oldest members were aged down to children. Green and Red maintained their composure but Yellow could not adjust to her bizarre surroundings and more often than not, burst into tears. She clung on to Crystal and made sure not to cross paths with the spiky haired brunette as he scoffed at her supposed weakness. Silver handcuffed himself to Blue, if left alone; the little commander went around and stole anything she got her hands on. She once ran around screaming with a furious Dia and a placid Pearl at her heels. Red opted to roam around the base and either busied himself in challenging random members to pokemon battles, or annoying the daylights out of Green. When Crystal sensed things settle down, she resumed reading the picture book with Yellow and the door whirred open once more. A breathless Diamond stumbled in whilst a shriek behind him revealed the form of the young fighter. Red ran inside the room with Gold chasing him and the indigo haired woman sighed, so much for spending a quiet morning with Yellow.
Holding up a striped t-shirt, the golden eyed man hunted the tickled brat around the room and Silver growled when Blue wanted to join in the race. "Get back here. Red!" Gold huffed and came to a dizzying stop when the child refused to listen. Crashing down on the carpet, he caught his breath and watched the boy play with Diamond. "...Dia still creeps me out," he muttered and his friends nodded in understanding. "I'm sure he is burning all the calories he stored up whilst gorging on food. By the way, where is Pearl?" Silver removed the cuff and his adopted sibling zoomed off to frolic with her best friend, the red head replied that Pearl worked in the kitchen, baking a cake. "Huh...I wish he'd make lunch or something, I'm starving." Gold picked up the striped shirt and held it in front of his co-workers. "Doesn't this look great?" He eagerly questioned and his comrades heaved heavy sighs. "Oi...Stop sighing. Don't you think this shirt will look cute on-"
Blue immediately zoomed past him and grabbed the shirt; the breeder waved an enraged fist at her giggling form. "...Leave her be Gold, she'll give it back and you can convince Red to wear it." Silver droned and pushed his hair out of his face. "And stop spending so much money on him, he's growing up. Red isn't going to stay as a kid forever you know. From the news reports, the strange events around the regions are dying out, so that means everyone here will return to normal. And get your head outta the gutter, your room is a filthy mess with children's clothes. This isn't a daycare." The phantom thief admonished and his best friend whistled to drown out his words.
"I know...It's just so refreshing to have a kid brother around so..."
"And stop teaching him how to pick up ladies and gambling tactics." Silver smirked when Crystal eyed Gold with a fury of a maddened Arceus.
"I'm sorry for believing that you'll actually grow up to be a decent father." The capturer blandly stated and Gold jerked back like she hit him. Expression doing a revolution, she smiled serenely at Yellow and picked the girl up. "Come on Yellow, let's go and see what Pearl is cooking up in the kitchen, I know he is a bit slow but his cakes are delicious right?" Blonde pigtails bouncing, the little girl skipped behind Crystal and ran when she spied Green. The boy took no notice of her and instead drew up a chart. A shadow fell over him and he snapped his head up to see the contemplative form of Red poring over his meticulous notes. Each morning, the child sported a set of new clothes and Oak suspected the golden eyed man, who currently engaged in a heated debate with a red headed skeleton, was the one spoiling the street brat. Ignoring his rival who squatted down next to him, he continued writing down type advantages and disadvantages. Just as he finished, an older girl with brown hair poked him on his shoulder and he rotated to glance at her. On seeing Sapphire, his mouth became dry; his rival screamed and tore off at once, weeping for Gold whilst Blue rooted to her spot. The marker from Green's hand fell and no matter how many times he saw the tanned girl phase through solid objects, it still frightened him senseless. Seeing their reactions, she guffawed and fist bumped with Emerald. The duo's jubilant moment shattered when Gold yelled at them to stop scaring the kids.
"Pfft!" Sapphire clamped her hands over her mouth. "I mean, did you see Commander Green's face? Ahahahahaha! Did you get a picture Rald?" The midget hefted a camera crawling with vines. "When he returns to normal, I'll show it to him...Hah! Blackmail!" The Hoenn trainers continued to snort and Blue retreated into the safety of Silver's embrace. Next to Gold, Red forgot about his earlier predicament and scribbled on a discarded piece of paper, when the breeder peeked, he saw him drawing up strategies and calculating pokemon weaknesses.
A loud explosion echoed from a distant part of the base and an ear curling scream added to the din.
Whipping around, Gold noticed the tiny fighter caterwauling. Red dropped his pen and curled up, rocking back and forth. When the older male attempted to pick him up, he got a vicious slap for his efforts. Crawling a bit further, the boy balled up and mumbled to himself. At the far end, Strategy's child commander got up and rolled up his notes, he spied the Johto native veering closer to Red and spoke up. "Leave Red alone. He's a war victim and generally, they are scared of loud sounds and things like that. He's gonna be back to normal after a few minutes but don't touch him, he might bite...He did it to Grandpa once and Grandpa told me not to bother him when he becomes like that." Eyes lowering, he shuffled out of the room. Dia sprung up from his chair, declared he would check the commotion taking place in the kitchen and sprinted off. Blue sniffled and stubbornly wiped her tears, Silver picked her up, patted Gold on his back and together with Emerald, vacated the chamber. Left alone with an inert Ruby in one corner, the man listened to his mentor's whining and wondered how to cheer him up. Maybe a new stuffed toy?
Or perhaps he should just wait like Green advised. Amber irises washed over the black haired boy's piteous form.
A war victim...Huh?
Evening
Sinnoh
Beneath Mount Coronet
Balancing expertly on the edge of a humungous bathtub, Red fastened a large towel around his neck and struck a hero pose. "I'm going to be the champion of the Kanto league! I'm going to become a hero. Yah!" He declared, leapt off the edge and proceeded to run around with the towel fluttering out behind him like a cape. Disinterested in his shenanigans, Ruby grabbed the sponge and proceeded to scrub Emerald with it. The blonde wriggled uncomfortably, endured the scouring with gritted teeth before finally wrenching himself out of the taller male's grasp and peering at his raw skin. Hissing, he asked if the fashionista wanted to peel his skin off to which the male replied in affirmative since Rald's skin was filthier than a muk's muck. Getting a splash of water into his face, the crimson eyed teen eyed the bath water in horror and quickly sloshed to the edge. Getting out, he wrapped a towel around himself and stood near the back wall. Inhaling deeply, he asked the ladies if he could join in their bath. On the other side, Crystal, who washed White's hair, soothed the girl when she jumped. Unfortunately for them, the greatest organizer in the Organization lost her memories and Whi-2's mental state regressed to that of an infant. The younger Unova native played with Yellow and in the middle of the tub, the duo splashed each other playfully. Drifting alone, Sapphire, tired of doing this on a daily basis, got out of the tub, walked to the opposite wall and called Ruby's name. When he answered her, she pulled back her arm and proceeded to smash it through the wall and into her best friend's chest. She heard him gasp and wheeze. Satisfied, she returned to the tub and gave the girls a thumbs up.
"Dude's got courage...He's admirable."
"That's not courage, its sheer stupidity." Silver monotonously voiced and reached for the soap. "Unfortunately, knowing Ruby's condition, he will be doing this again tomorrow."
"Wish I had that phasing skill...Man the stuff I could-" Gold grinned perversely and stared up at the ceiling.
"Will you shut up? What happened to you being the ultimate good example for Red?"
"He can't hear me" The amber eyed trainer went underwater for a few seconds and resurfaced. "He's busy playing hero and kicking Team Rocket's butt. That reminds me...I should scrub him. Oi, Red, come here." The boy straightened up and barreled toward them. Articulating another victorious cry, he undid his towel, flung it someplace else and dove into the bathtub, sending a spray of water everywhere. Ruby shrieked about dirty water getting on his body whilst the scarlet eyed child gleefully paddled to his older brother figure. "You as well Green...come on and don't give me that scandalous look, we all know you bath with Daisy." Pink faced, Oak reluctantly swam and placed himself next to Red. His nemesis played with a rubber ducky whilst humming horribly off tune and Green merely stood still. "Want a duck to play with?" Gold questioned and he shook his head. "Fine then, this will only take a minute, don't worry I won't hurt you."
Yellow played with Whi-2's gorgeous hair as it flowed silkily in the clear water. Trying to emulate Crystal who tackled with White's voluminous shock of chocolate brown locks, the healer reached for shampoo, squirted a tiny amount in her little hands and rubbed it in the Unovian's hair. Delighted by the bubbles and white foam, she continued lathering the older girl's hair and piling it atop her head. The result was a mound of foam tottering on Whi-2's head and on seeing this, the blonde giggled mirthfully. Crystal smiled at her, nodded and grabbed the soap; Yellow watched the older woman wash herself and tried to do the same. The bar slipped from between her fingers and sunk to the tiled floor. Panicking, the Kanto native tried to dive down in order to retrieve it, all her older sisters used the soap and if it went missing, they won't have anything to clean themselves with. Gulping a lung full of air, she attempted to go under when Sapphire stopped her. "I'll fetch it, don't worry about it Yellow, if anything happens to you, I won't forgive myself so go back to Crystal okay."
"But...the water is deep." The girl frowned, worry twisting her cherubic features.
"Hmm? It's not deep for someone like me. Just watch, I'll be back up before you know it." Instead of going back to Crystal, Yellow floated there and waited with bated breath for Sapphire to resurface. When bubbles rose to the surface and the wild trainer did not come up, the blonde wailed and Crystal rushed over to her.
"Yellow...What's wrong?"
"Big Sis Saph...She went to...Uwahhh!" The blonde balled up her fists and wept in Crystal's chest.
"Boo!" Sapphire resurfaced and shouted. Aghast, Yellow's sniffles promptly morphed into a cross between crying and giggling. Letting go of Crystal, she floated over to the Hoenn native and retrieved the bar of soap. When the older woman eyed Saph sternly, the younger trainer defended herself: "Yellow was upset because she dropped the bar of soap and I went down to fetch it...But the thing kept on slipping through my fingers and ending up on the floor...So when I heard her crying, I thought I'd surprise her."
Sneaking up behind Crystal, Blue, with a mischievous sparkle in her eye, wriggled her fingers and tickled the indigo haired female. The Johto native instinctively went rigid and curbed the desire to kick out and shatter something. Instead, Yellow splashed her friend with water and before long, the two children delved into a water battle. In a surprising show of tenacity, Yellow dished out her water attacks accurately and splashed furiously in Blue's face. Giving up, the brown haired girl sprang out of the bath tub and amidst Crystal's admonishing, ran off to the boy's area clad only in a towel. Despite his constant grumbling, Silver happened to be only one Blue trusted and she often rotated around him. She begged to go along with him during shopping excursions and faithfully waited by the entrance for his return. Since the mountainous environment turned warmer, Crystal did not mind and allowed the girl to play outside. One day, Blue rushed out on hearing of Silver's return. Her brother came back with a load of food and hopped down from his honchkrow. On seeing the bird, the five year old screeched in terror and displayed a behavior similar to Red when he heard the oven exploding. After recalling the monster into a pokeball, she rushed over to her brother and tugged for the capsule. Bewildered, by her actions, the red head let go and after shifting a few paces away from him, she threw the pokeball with all her might. Jaw opening, Silver watched his honchkrow soar through the air and disappear into a thicket of trees. Blue cried and related that she did not want those bird monsters to take him away and thus dragged him back into the safety of the base. Nodding, he followed his sister whilst Diamond offered to look for the pokeball.
Bath time was over; Crystal clambered out and gathered the rest of the juniors. Whi-2 was toweled dry, dressed and piloted back to her bedroom. Sapphire guided White to the latter's room; the organizer took a wrong turn and ended up in the wrong place yet again. Apologizing, she allowed the Hoenn native to escort her. In Crystal's bedroom, the capturer dressed Yellow up in a fluffy night gown and observed the little girl stand on her tip toes and squint at picture book titles. Extracting one from a low lying shelf, the blonde tottered back to the older woman and settled in her lap. "Can you please read this one for me?" The girl asked and the azure eyed woman melted. Opening the book, Yellow gasped at an image of a dashing prince mounted atop his regal rapidash. Over the course of the story, the prince saves the princess and they live happily ever after. Snapping the book shut, the older trainer carefully lifted a sleeping Yellow and tucked into bed. She stared at the sleeping child for a while with a soft smile on her lips. The young Kanto native appeared as a handcrafted doll with rosy cheeks and a head full of golden curls fanned against the pillow. Switching off the lights, Crystal eased herself into bed and immediately, her younger senior gravitated towards her and buried her small form against her own.
The deep breaths of two individuals punctuated the stillness of the night.
Hours passed and suddenly, a knock resounded on the door.
At first, the older female ignored it, it might be one of her pokemon shuffling around in the dark and bumping against a table, but the noise repeated itself with increasing intensity and she tossed underneath the blankets. Slowly, she extracted herself from the warm cocoon of duvets and made sure not to disturb Yellow. The little girl uttered a small squeak and turned over. Draping a robe over herself, the indigo haired trainer switched on a lamp and stared at the door. The knocking started up again; praying it wouldn't be Gold, she opened the door and unexpectedly, Green stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. Clad in light blue pajamas, the young boy squeezed a plush toy in one arm. His grip on the teddy bear was so tight, Crystal wondered if he was trying to decapitate it. Smiling at him, she bent to his level and enquired if anything was wrong.
"There are monsters underneath my bed..." he muttered in a barely perceptible voice, when she looked skeptical, he further clarified, "they come when the moon is full and if there is a gengar haunting a certain place. I'm very sure...there is a gengar hiding in my room...and it's allowing the monsters to bother me at night." His words were delivered in a factual tone and Crys did not know if she should laugh or feel sorry for him. Red screeched at loud noises, Blue was terrified of birds and Green declared there were monsters hiding underneath his bed. The brunette rubbed his eyes again and patiently waited for the Johto native to digest his discoveries.
"I understand, those bad monsters underneath your bed are scaring you, am I right?" Her child commander nodded hesitantly and strangled his stuffed toy some more. "You want to stay with someone...hmm...how about Gold?" Crystal gently questioned
"Pervert." Oak shot back at her and she giggled.
"Right, pervert." She scratched her head, "how about Silver? He's not a pervert right?"
"The pesky girl is with him." Green whined, "and he looks like a messenger of the ghosts." Crystal stifled her laughs when jade eyes glared at her. "I don't want to stay with them."
"Then...how about me? Although, I've got Yellow staying with me so..." without word or warning, the boy marched past her and climbed into bed. He grimaced on seeing Yellow and placed his teddy bear to act as a partition of some sorts. Muttering a good night, he promptly closed his eyes and stilled.
And Crystal merely watched, slightly uncomfortable to be sharing a bed with her commander. What if he regained his adult body? Shoving the disturbing thoughts into the back of her mind, she clambered back into bed and drifted to sleep.
The next morning:
Waking up to noises emanating from his wardrobe, Silver pushed himself up and timidly observed Blue as she sifted through his wardrobe, for some reason, the girl covered herself in tattered clothing. Blinking, he heaved himself off the bed and attempted to come up with a new admonishing...Something harsh, he decided and nodded to himself. If he allowed Blue to develop her kleptomaniac tendencies, then he would fail at being a good role model for her. Slinking across the carpet, he approached her and frowned, her shirt was in shreds. As he tried to reach her, she spun around, flushed horribly and poked his eyes. "Pervert!" She hissed and Silver swore he heard his heart shatter. Blue out of all people accused him of being a pervert.
"P-Pervert?" he sputtered and shielded his eyes.
"Yes...Now get out; can't you see I want to change?"
"But you are a ki-"
"OUT." Blue bodily shoved him into the corridor and he shivered in the flimsy tank top he wore. Seriously? What was wrong with her? He ruminated on his actions and concluded that he did not do anything to offend her. Well...She did ask for a lullaby but Silver couldn't sing. Could his sister be upset because he refused to sing? In the adjacent room, Yellow's wails permeated through the corridor along with an angry snarling which sounded very much like Green. Amidst all this noise, the silver eyed man heard Gold sobbing.
Gold...Sobbing?
Pushing the stray strands of red hair behind his ears, he opened the door to see Gold kneeling in front of Red and holding up a shirt. "Silveerrr..." the man moaned pathetically, "the clothes don't fit him anymore." Similar to Blue, Red sported a shirt with busted seams and after shifting away from the wailing man, he took off his shirt. Silver noticed the boy's taller stature and realization dawned on him. The Kanto natives were inching back to their original age...So that means the legendary creatures were settling down or, the regional scientists must have found some way to remedy the uncanny events. Sighing, he walked up to Gold's clothes cupboard, yanked open a wooden door and tossed one of Gold's shirts to Red. The boy accepted it with a small thank you and wore it. Near him, Gold resumed his search for a suitable size and the red head watched him with a sadistic hint of amusement.
"...He's growing up you know." The phantom thief eventually articulated and Gold went rigid. The amber eyed male locked his eyes on Red and sharply asked his age. When Red replied that he was nine years old instead of five, the Johto native crumpled to the floor and grumbled some more. "Lugia's sake, stop crying. Red is a twenty six year old man, how do you expect him to stay as a kid? We should be glad they are returning to their normal selves, at least they will be able to guide us on the proceedings of the dimensional scar hanging over this mountain. The local authorities like to check up on it and what are you going to do if they regions' scientists band together and decided to seal it huh?" Silver demanded, his best friend ignored his words and pouted.
"Yeah but...He's a child...He needs my protection. Just look at him Silver!" The breeder pointed to Red who ogled at him in a wary manner. "His innocence must be preserved." Through the open door, Silver witnessed Crystal's room open and Yellow ran out of it like a wild dragon chased her. Crystal sped after the little blonde girl and Green slouched out after them. Seeing his rival, Red spat a string of crude words and tore after the spiky haired child, Gold gasped in horror and his mouth fell open.
Silver smirked. "Protect his innocence huh? Seems like commander Red didn't have much to begin with." Getting up from the floor, Gold exhaled tiredly and asked Silver to gather everyone in the meeting chamber. They needed to discuss some tactics.
Mid-afternoon
Sinnoh
Base of Mt Coronet
Diamond sat on a plush armchair and beheld his best friend calmly shoving one article food after the other. Pearl's cheeks bulged on both sides and after swallowing the entire mass (didn't his throat hurt?), the flame eyed teen smiled and picked up another pastry. Shooting him a smile, Dia dusted off the crumbs falling on his comrade's jacket and passed a muffin to Whi-2 when she warbled for one. White on the other hand, dissected the doughnut Pearl baked for her and wrote down a few notes, underneath the table, Red and Green fought with each other after Gold had the sense to confiscate their pokemon. How the crimson eyed child managed to sneak into his room and retrieve his belt was a wonder the breeder could not explain. In a narrow corridor, he let loose his venusaur and Pika. Upon seeing its master in a childlike state, the electric mouse petrified and keeled over in confusion. Green summoned his charizard and as expected, both boys had extreme difficulty in handling their over leveled monsters. Charizard and Saur re-ignited their ancient rivalry and refused to obey commands, instead, the monsters decided to duke it out on their own. With typholsion blazing behind him, the amber eyed trainer calmed the two beasts down and recalled them in their respective capsules. Annoyed at having their battle interrupted, the two children decided to assert their supremacy with a physical brawl. Right now, Red got pummeled into submission since Green boasted basic hand to hand skills. The table jittered on the floor and Crystal eyed the two with disbelief. Day by day, her respect for her stoic commander diminished each time she heard him flaunt his arrogance and immeasurable pride.
"Alright first of all...Diamond, just ignore them; I'm sure they will calm down." Gold sighed and leaned back in his chair, it was tiring to be in charge of so many people. "And before you ask, Ruby, you are stuck in a-"
"Time loop, I know...For inexplicable reasons, time stopped resetting for me last night. I'm back to normal."
"And so am I..." Sapphire added with an unhappy frown. "Geez...That phasing thing was pretty handy." Next to her, Emerald tucked his hands back into his sleeves and shook his head. "Seems like Rald is still cursed. Just remember not to touch anyone."
The members nodded and the meeting initialized in full sway. Next to Ruby, Blue claimed a spot for herself and nodded like all this concerned her. She filed her nails and implored Ruby to lend her a fashion magazine. Acting as a spokesperson, Gold glanced at a list of things the children were not allowed to do and read them aloud one by one. Firstly, the last chamber in the second floor is off limits. Roaming around and exploring the base is forbidden for the kids. As soon as he mentioned this particular rule, the noise under the table died down. Secondly, no child, or afflicted member is to stay up past bedtime for whatever reason. Thirdly, if there is someone at the entrance, do not answer to them, unless we are expecting a member returning to base, then flag down Diamond and send him to open the door. Fourthly, Emerald should not touch anyone. Fifthly, Rald should not approach anyone with murderous thoughts. On hearing this, the Hoenn native sunk low in his seat and glared at Gold. Sixth rule; do not battle with Red or Green, no matter how much they beg/threaten you. Seventh, Lock up all your possessions, because Blue. Eight, do not let White cut things up in order to study them and when Whi-2 wants to go to the bathroom, take her, immediately. Ninth, Never let Yellow and Green cross paths; and keep the pesky child away from the kid professor. Hearing this, Blue snorted, chucked a heavy paperweight under the table and Red yelped in pain. Ignoring her, Gold continued droning off the items on the list. Apparently, hurting Red just became prohibited. Last rule: Emerald is not allowed to look at anyone with ill intention.
The midget sprung up and shook his fist at Gold and the entire table collectively recoiled in one direction. "I get it! You don't need to make three rules about me you know. I won't touch anyone and besides, looking at people does not strangle them. Get your facts straight." Muttering expletives under his breath, he sardonically added: "Make a new rule, Ruby is not allowed to ask the girls if he can share their bath." The fashionista turned his head so fast, he suffered from a whiplash and heatedly defended himself, under no circumstances would he ever want to share a bath with a bevy of ladies. A few snorts and giggles promptly deflated his confidence and he slunk away from the meeting. Red crawled out from underneath the table, wiped his bloody nose on his shirt sleeve and Gold noted a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Poking Yellow, he whispered something to her and the child slid off Crystal's lap. Curious, Blue got down from her chair and followed the duo out of the room.
"Hey Red," the breeder hollered, "Where are you going?"
"Blue, Yellow and I are exploring the base." The ebony haired male tauntingly shouted in return. "I'll be back by dinner...come on guys let's split up. I'm sure they're doing something bad in here."
The Johto natives froze in shock.
I'm sure they're doing something bad in here.
"BLUE!" Silver screeched and scrambled up from his seat. "We told you the base is off limits, come back here this instant. You could get hurt." He exchanged panicked glances with his friends and they silently agreed to go look for the kids. Diamond jumped up and went after them as well.
"Gold...We can't let them find out." Crystal wrung her hands worriedly and her eyes darted around. At the same moment, Green chose to pull out from underneath the table and fix his crooked clothes; the capturer noticed a scratch on his cheek and his hair stuck out in odd angles. The child hopped into a seat and sat there with a self-satisfied smirk.
The amber eyed breeder narrowed his eyes when he spied the child's expression. "So...You are doing illegal activities around here. I thought something was off...A base secluded in the mountains and a whole lot of shady people refusing to let us go home. I noticed you all hold Pokedexes...Where did you get them?" Suddenly, Green's voice became harsh, "my grandfather pioneered those devices and I don't want a band of criminals putting them to disuse." The brunette balled his fists and stared at the posse surrounding him. "I'm going to get out of here and I'll report you all to my grandpa."
Leaning back into his swivel chair, Gold emitted a short bark of laughter and Crystal eyed him in a panicked manner. "Kiddo...Let's get one thing straight here. You are a twenty six year old man, a world famous professor whose accolades are on par with Samuel Oak...Your beloved Grandpa. You and your best friend...The undefeated champion, Red, cooked up this grand scheme and at first, duped us into joining this Organization before clarifying that we are basically going to craft a world within a world and escape to it. None of us wanted to be part of this...But in the end, we just rolled with it and I have no regrets. I love it here, I like how the people around me take care of each other, we all seek for a fair version of this rotten world and you mister...Is the one who developed ways to forward this project. Yeah...we are criminals...And you...command this bunch of bad people."
Green stared at him, his tiny mouth opening and closing like a water starved magikarp. Crystal sent a worried peek at Gold and shook her head. It was a callous move to relate all this to the poor child. "I...I'm best friends with Red?! Why that idiotic street brat out of all people? He has no brains, he rushes into things without thinking, he jumps straight into danger and he believes in ghosts!" The brown haired boy simmered, gripping the arm rests with such force, his knuckles turned white. "You're telling me I'm best friends with a brainless human? He is slow...And that's a crime!" Hopping off the seat, he mumbled under his breath and made for the door, when Pearl asked him where he was going, the Kanto native replied: "I'm going to train so I don't make stupid mistakes in the future." His gaze turned smug. "Smell ya later." Grinning savagely, he shut the door with a bang and the sound of running feet steadily decreased till it vanished altogether.
"...I just told the brat his entire life history and the only thing he manages to hear is that he is best friends with Red. He called Red brainless and for that I should pound him...How did those two end up as best friends now again?"
"The same way you and Silver ended up as best friends." Crystal sighed, "let's go search for them Gold, we can't have them stumbling upon something they shouldn't."
A trio of children pounded down the hallways with a furious Silver tailing them. Skidding to a halt, the three nodded to each other and split. A grin cracked Red's face when he heard the red head utter something obscene. Unfortunately for him, he heard the distinct thudding of another pair of sneakers, making a snap decision, the ebony haired child passed the stairs and continued hurtling down the white washed corridors. In the distance, his ears picked up an indignant squeal and his face scrunched up into a frown, seems like Blue got caught. He hated the cooped up environment of this place, the sterility and overbearing nature of the three adults looking after them unnerved him. Even though he thought the sun shone out of Gold, the man's very presence choked him...Why...Did those adults not want them to go home? Green acted like a prick; however, that brunette was willing to play a crucial role in order to get them out of this strange facility. Slowing down, the kid champion shook his head, since this morning, a bank of strange memories flooded in his head and confused him. And for some odd reason, the domicile felt strangely familiar. An insistent nagging at the back of his mind informed him that this place functioned as his home. Irritably wiping his eyes, he gritted his teeth and scanned the area. Red reminded himself that he had no home and no family. He owed his existence and gratitude to Professor Oak and hoped to make the older man proud one day...Unlike the elder's ungrateful grandson; Green perfect Oak, always one step ahead of him and mocking him for being an urchin, the crimson eyed child internally seethed and vowed to himself to escape from the base and carry out his dream of becoming a champion.
Perhaps then...He could make his deceased parents proud as well.
He briefly wondered why he thought of them. Red hardly wasted his time mourning and instead poured the hours into becoming a better trainer...However, the past few nights, he'd wake up crying and Gold would always be there to comfort him.
Stewing in his thoughts, he failed to notice Diamond sneaking up on him. Plopped on the floor wearing a black oversized t-shirt and patched jeans, the Sinnoh native watched the ebony haired child roughly wipe his tears. His commander was so small and vulnerable, inching forward, Dia clasped Red around his waist and lifted him up, the Kanto native thrashed for a while before allowing himself to be carried back to Gold. The red eyed boy only stopped wailing after Dia popped a lollipop in his open mouth.
Elsewhere, Yellow squeaked and crept out of the shadows, she wanted to cry. Following their separation, she raced up the stairs and watched Crystal storm out of the network of corridors and call for her. Recoiling, the blonde tentatively crept past the rows of bedrooms and slinked along the walls. The darkness frightened her but she swallowed her fear and moved forward. Red told her to check the room at the end of the corridor...Apparently it contained something important.
Her head hurt. A sharp throb of pain lanced across her temples and induced a wave of tears to gush down her plump cheeks. Nightmares were a thing of the past, ever since her fisherman Uncle looked after her, all the bad dreams stopped occurring, however, since waking up to this strange place, the horrible dreams re-occurred. She knew Red, Blue and Green were her friends. Very good friends. This fact contradicted itself when she thought about how she met the other kids only a month ago.
We are not kids.
A voice in her head repeated.
Someone shouted her name, a male; and with squeak, she dashed down the corridors, her pigtails bouncing with each step. Without thinking, Yellow turned right and entered the last room on the second floor. The moment she shut the door with a muted click, her body become rigid and cold. The chamber itself was pleasantly warm and thanks to an oval window set into a sheer straight of cream coated rock, a beam of sunlight streamed in and dust particles lazily swirled in the light. On the opposite end of the room, a handful of metal rods, rusting bolts, wooden boards and sheets of taped glass conspired to make the ugliest cage in existence. The quivering Kanto child's hazel irises trailed up to the figure hunched on the floor, on hearing the door click, the old man turned around, each shuffle accompanied by a grimace of pain. Yellow spied heavy cuffs latched on to his bruised wrists and a few white whispers poked out against his swallow face. A pair of round spectacles covered his eyes and magnified the terror churning in the glazed depths.
A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, I had fun writing it, especially the interactions between the kid Kanto natives and their Johto charges. Little Yellow is angelic, I can picture her with a halo around her head. Virtual ice-cream sandwiches to all those who read and reviewed. It means a lot for me. Thank you all for the support and constructive criticism is always appreciated.
At Guest (I'm assuming Sakurafox1218?): It isn't a flashback, its divine retribution (and the calm before the storm). Idiosyncrasies is a real word and I like using it. This isn't the last time L-2's going to suffer, so look forward to it :D . At Jack54311: Heh, it was a loaded chapter. Lol, this is the final arc, there is less than ten chapters before Blaec Iustise ends. I'm glad you liked my dark Mewtwo but I'm not saying anything because of spoilers. At Guest: I don't mind specialshipping (I can see it work) but oldrivalshipping…eh, I'm in the firm belief that Green, Blue and Red are platonic soul mates. I just can't picture them falling for each other (even if Blue flirts with them and Red will occasionally tease her). Green moans, it's his way of saying: I love you all, even if you fry my brain cells on a daily basis. I also think that Green is rather soft & sentimental when he is alone. He cares a lot but does not show it. Gold isn't surprised because now he has an excuse to shower his love to a kid Red. Black…is not coming back. I miss writing him though. Ahahaha (don't mind the tears slipping outta my eyes) This fic was going to be extremely dark but I tweaked it because I was afraid no one would want to read it. I had a scene where Gold, Pearl and L-2 head to a black market to bargain for some pokemon artifact and the shopkeeper does not agree to their demands, so, Gold smashes his head open with the pool-cue he carries (which is essentially an iron whip) and L-2 is both terrified and awed. Red and the top trio carried weapons. Geh, don't mind me; I hope the ending surprises you.
At AceTrainerLeaf: YYEESSSS! Kid Red, Yellow and Blue are cute. Kid Green is not. No, you did miss an entire chapter but your astonishment is making me grin and pat myself on my back on a job well done. At Silver: Yep, it has been a while, but I'm sure you are doing something productive (unlike me). Join the dark side for cookies? Tsk, I'll consider if someone gave me bullions of dark chocolate. Legendary pokemon revenge: Turn the criminals to adorable kids. At Guest: Ahahaha, I remember the times when Red was an obnoxious brat. Yes, that is Red in his natural habitat. He was a flirt, just like Gold. Red's characterization in the manga was quite nice, we see him grow up to be a bumbling flirt to a well-intentioned, responsible hero. You miss cocky little Green? Get a dose of him in this chapter :P