Volume IV
With Alex gone, the digital domain faces a new threat, born from the Battle of Infinity School.
1 is in charge now. Viktor and Tiara are missing. Denied is in limbo. No one's happy about any of this.
. . .
22. Once We Decided To Change
23. TBA
24. TBA
25. TBA
26. TBA
27. TBA
28. TBA
. . .
Chapter description: After finding an old friend, Dia reflects on the field trip, the past, and what may lie ahead.
Tags for this chapter:
Mentions of Puberty (superficial; growth spurts and voice lowering), Silly Shenanigans, mentions and fears of Bullying, Shoplifting, past and present Gem Injuries & Repairing, discussions of Overcoming Idealization, Old Friend Reunion, past Abuse, returning home
22. Once We Decided To Change
From the darkness of night, Dia held his phone at eye-level, as he lay in bed. The backlight was dim, to accommodate not just his eyes, but also his friends'. None of them would've been affected by the brightness, but it might've disrupted their sleep.
He'd really been lucky to be able to share a room with them at the lodge, or at least, he thought so. The reality was, it was an easy suggestion.
Anyway, clock app opened, he watched the second hand tick along, until it hit midnight - April 24th.
"Happy birthday, me." He whispered, resting his arm and mobile device on his chest. Fifteen. In every way except for programming. Having never figured out the birthdate he wanted back then, his age would instead roll over every January 1st. It was so lame, but it was what it was.
It was only last year when he'd decided: April for obvious reasons, and the 24th was a result of a random number generator. And ever since not too long ago, he'd considered being changed to reflect that (somehow?), but lacked the courage to mention it.
Even then, he wouldn't be able to hide what else has been happening. As if fate decided to pull a prank on him, his first growth spurt hit, and soon to follow was his voice, which deepened and cracked a lot more than usual. It turned out that the former was more extreme than a Human's; by the end of the week, he'd grown by 30.5 centimeters, or an entire foot.
Due to this, his clothes were now too short in length. This prompted a hasty trip to a gift shop, and the trio didn't leave until Dia had found something suitable for the time being. At first, he was drawn to an ombre hoodie, fading from a sapling green to a navy blue.
"This is a women's. You sure?" Ruby mentioned, offhandedly.
Dia turned away immediately, trying to hide his face. "Oh. Uh. Nevermind."
He was sure the the red gem watched him walk away. "Was it something I said…?!"
It was easier when he was alone. With no one around to judge. And passerbys most likely wouldn't have known. But Dia wasn't anymore, and his friends would, among other people. And that was… Worrying.
Example being his fellow Diamond Men, who Dia tended to avoid at all costs. They already made their opinions on him clear - a weirdo. Shorter (initially), not blue, "extra shiny" ("What, does he think he's better than us?!"), and brittle ("Diamond, more like Glass! The wind could blow wrong and he'd fall apart!"). Dia was convinced that he wouldn't have survived without Ruby and Gold, and Silver if he wasn't looking after the other minerals.
Wearing this would just be asking for trouble. God, those counterparts of his would clown on him so hard. He'd never hear the end of it.
Or maybe, for this one thing, they wouldn't. But given how they've been with everything else… It was hard to know for sure. Better safe than sorry.
"Yooo, so what's the holdup?" Gold slid in, after about ten more minutes.
"He can't decide between the red and the blue," Ruby replied, gesturing to both items. Then, he noticed something, adding, "Put those back! We're not shopping for you!"
"Then you get some stuff, too. That way, it's fair," Gold retorted. A pause. "Oh c'monnn, dude! Live a little! We're like, on vacation right now!" Ruby sighed, then apparently agreed. "That's the spirit! And Dia?" He felt Gold's heavy arm around his shoulders. "Don't overthink it! Besides, in my opinion, you look better in blue."
"Y-Yeah? You think so?"
"Totally!" At the affirmation, Dia took a breath, then made his decision - the Far Out sweatshirt. Turning to face the soft metal, he finally realized that he was already wearing something. The… Shard Mountain Buffalo tee, accompanied with navy blue shorts.
"Oh shit. That looks great." He mused aloud.
"Isn't it?!" Gold posed. So cool…
"I like these." Ruby added, having just returned to the group. A Smokey Bear tee, and beige shorts. Definitely more plain, but it suited him in every way.
As for Dia, he'd already found the other part of the outfit, cargo pants in a faded green. So now, it seemed that they were all set.
Unlike the Webspace, where general commodities were free (transportation, housing, food, supplies, medical care, and outfits), money was required. So they shoplifted, though Ruby was reluctant about it.
"Yeah, sure." Dia, on the other hand, was nonchalant. It surprised the other two. Well… Let's just say it wasn't his first time committing that.
After the fact came a realization: Dave can't know about this. Dia launched into a whole tangent, that if he did know, then he might think they were bad influences, and never let them hang out with him again, and they were the only ones his age who cared about him, and he'd have no friends, and
"No worries," Gold interrupted, "We got your back."
Dia exhaled, relieved. And that night, they celebrated with (also stolen) snacks and soda, doing karaoke to their favorite songs. None of them were any good at it, but that was part of the experience, or so Gold said. After an attempt on an English cover of "Kyoumen no Nami", they were finally told to shut up from the next room over. Honestly, a while ago, Dia probably would've been rendered damn near catatonic from something like that.
But he just laughed with Gold, while Ruby apologized and promised they would.
"Okay Google," Dia had said into his phone on another day, "'How do you count carats'?" His search results returned with… How to count carrots. Making a face, he cursed under his breath, "Goddammit."
"Try saying it like… 'care ats'?" Ruby suggested.
"Oh, and add 'in jewelry', for good measure." Gold offered.
"Hm… Okay Google, 'how do you count 'care ats' in jewelry'?" He didn't know which part did it, but it worked. "Holy shit! Check it." He read the answer. Basically, measure in milligrams, then divide by 0.2. "But the scale's in pounds! We'll have to change it and shit! Ugh… Okay Google, 'diamond weight calculator'."
It came up as he hoped. Three fields to enter, for length, width, and depth. "Alright, here goes. Measure me!"
There wasn't a way to get the total size (unless he wanted to convert the weight values above, which he didn't feel like doing), so only his head would do. The most closely-related cut he had was the Square Step, so that was used. And since this was the case, inevitably, each value was the same.
He ended up getting a ridiculously high carat weight. 229,052.2. If he were to factor in his entire body, it would've been even higher. And moreso once he's fully grown.
As for the other two, it worked in completely different ways - rubies were done so based on size and density. With the same calculator, Ruby's was even more crazy - 274,077.2.
Seriously, what the FUCK were these numbers. Well, obviously because they weren't sizes or weight fit for a ring or whatever, but still!
Meanwhile, gold was solely in fractions of 24, representing purity within other metals. As Gold was made to be absolutely devoid of anything else, he couldn't exceed the 24/24. Therefore… 24 carats.
Yeah, that one was boring. But at least the three of them learned something.
A short while following that, an accident happened. A tree-climbing contest. Somehow, Dia had beat out both of them, but found himself unsure of how to… Get back down. His friends had started again to help, and as Dia lost his footing and fell, failed to catch him in time.
The impact had spread through one of his legs, resulting in a shatter that reached the middle of his thigh, stunning him momentarily with a gasp. Still, it made him bounce once, the next shockwave striking at the back of his head.
He was lucky that the new cargo pant leg prevented basically all of the shards from escaping somewhere, but it was not so with the other situation. The three had looked for hours, but despite the direct sunlight, which would've given it away, they couldn't find Dia's pyramid tip.
Back at their lodge room's shower area, Dia finally released the closed-up fabric in question, allowing the pieces to spill onto the bathmat, even shaking it a little to make sure none got stuck on the way down. Fuck, there were a lot. It could've been worse, though - a fall like that should've split him in two. But lately, he's been a bit sturdier than usual, and today showed for it. Was… The growing part of it? Could he naturally become less brittle?
Still, what's here was going to take forever. He sighed.
Midway through reassembling the leg, he was joined by Ruby, letting him help. "You doing okay?" He asked.
"Not really. I've never lost a piece of me before. What the Hell am I gonna tell Dave? 'Cause he sure as fuck is gonna notice."
"Hey, c'mon. Don't worry. We'll look again tomorrow. Go digging if we have to. We'll find it!"
"And if we don't?"
"Well… It won't stop him from worrying, but I had this thought. That maybe I could…" Ruby stopped, grasping at his hands. Dia caught on, an uncomfortable feeling rising up.
"No. Dude. Don't. I know yours can just grow back, but… I, uh. I don't wanna end up like Phos. Started with the legs, then the arms, then the head, and… Yeah."
"Oh. I can respect that," Ruby let the idea go, and the two worked in silence for a short while. "How do you feel about what happened to Diamond?" Fuck.
"It's… Pretty mixed," Dia tried to explain, "They inspired me a lot, but then I read the manga and… God, they turned into such a selfish bitch. Part of me really wanted to go back. Like, completely undo everything I had changed. But what Kelly did for me is all I have left of her…"
"That, and you don't have to be like them, either. You can be the Dia you want to be."
"Yeah… And then I look back, and there were signs everywhere. Real fucking foreshadowing, that this was how it was gonna go. It wasn't even out of character. They always felt like this. They were… Enabled just enough to let it get to an extreme."
"But that's hindsight, man. Things we don't notice right away. It's not your fault."
"No, but sometimes it feels like I'm rooting for a piece of shit, and I don't like it." The leg was finished. Thank God he had plenty of resin on him. Considering how tedious it might've been to affix it back on himself, he pulled up the pant leg, letting Ruby do it for him.
The feeling of reattachment was always the hardest part. Like a wave of that one sensation people experience - the "pins and needles" - running all the way down from the impact site to the last opposite ends. Briefly, he was reminded of the look on Billy's face, when he'd put his arm back on, wondering if he'd done it wrong.
"Nope…! That's just… The n-nerves waking up again…" Dia told him, fighting through it as bravely as possible. If not already obvious, this was what made it annoying. Not the 3D jigsaw puzzling, not the necessity of resin, not making sure all the shards were found (usually). This one Goddamn feeling.
"You ready?" Ruby asked, pulling Dia back to the moment. "You can squeeze my hand if you want." The worst he could do was scratch him, but the marks would be gone in minutes. And at first, Dia was dead set on refusing the offer, but then glanced back at the leg. It was gonna be fierce.
"… Yeah, sure, okay," Dia complied, "Go for it." The second it snapped into place, he gripped Ruby so tight that he could only hope he didn't make himself crack. Teeth grit, he growled expletives repeatedly.
Soon, it ended. "You good? Can you stand?" The red gem asked some more. Dia moved the newly re-attached leg a bit, then nodded.
As promised, the trio snuck off the next morning. It seemed like it was going to be fruitless, until…
"Dia?" A familiar voice said, belonging to a Spike, which was odd since he was sure no one else had followed them. But when he saw him, a strong feeling overcame him. He wasn't sure how it was possible, but he was able to recognize him.
His Spike. And he was holding what they were looking for.
"Spike?!" The anime shades-wearing boy caught up to and hugged him.
"Dude! It's you! It's really you! Oh my God!" He was saying, "Finally! We were starting to think, well… That's not important!" "We"? Spike pulled back, finding Dia at nearly eye-level with him. "Also, when the Hell did you get so tall and rugged-sounding?!"
"What do you mean, 'we'?" Dia finally asked, his friends looking on in surprised silence.
"Okay, okay. Get this," Spike smirked, "We all found each other again. The plan's to get back together, find Kelly's computer, and go home!" Wait, what. "Sure, we might have to wait a long time to see her, but we will! And yeah, Dave's gonna be irritating to deal with, but we'll take care of that." Oh God. Dia didn't like the face his old classmate was making.
"Oh. Oh wow? Oh yeah?" He sputtered.
"Alright, is somebody gonna tell him, or am I gonna have to?" Gold spoke up suddenly, once Dia was unable to say anything more.
"Oh shit, sorry! Hi, you must be Dia's friends! Nice to meet you both! Look, as soon as we know the way, you can visit anytime you like. You'll always be able to-"
"No no no no no, not that," Gold interrupted, "Actually, it's a few things. One," He formed a single finger upon the rounded edge of his hand, "Why would anyone wanna go back to a PC? Wouldn't that be, like… Evolving, but backwards?"
"Yeah, we thought that too, in the beginning. Now we're tired of it. Especially once we started losing each other along the way. It… Wasn't fun." Spike glanced at Dia, in a manner that Dia wished he didn't remember.
"Uh huh… Well, two," A second finger, "His Dave's not there anymore, my dude. In fact, he hasn't been in his game since, uh…" Gold struggled to calculate the years. Dia wasn't sure if he should stop him. "A long time."
"Ew, you've met him? I am so sorry. But I guess it helps to know we won't have to worry about that." This wasn't going to go well, Dia knew it.
"Whoa. You didn't just say that," He could hear the offense dripping from the semi-fluid mineral. "Dave 82's great! What's your damage?!" The statements quieted Dia's old classmate.
"Alright, let's settle down," Ruby stepped in, as though ready to restrain the more headstrong Gold if necessary. "There has to be an explanation for this. Maybe he knows something we don't…" Things that they shouldn't have to know about. Because it shouldn't affect how they view him. It was in the past.
"Huh… I don't know if we're talking about the same guy, but my Dave's a total prick," No. Oh no no no. This couldn't be happening. "Passive aggressive. Full of envy. Possessive. Bossy. It was always his way, or the highway. Impossible to be around." Please. Just shut up. "So when we figured out how to go Online, and our player stopped coming back… We ditched him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's still fuming about it now. It's just like him to hold a grudge-"
"Spike. That's… Enough…" Dia tried to say. Spike misread his plea, hugging him again.
"Sorry. Bad memories. I know-" He couldn't help it. Dia pushed him away.
"N-No! You don't know! That's not…! He's…! Not… I…" He wasn't sure what he needed to do about this situation.
"That's… Awful, that you had to deal with that," Ruby carefully replied, unable to resist giving Dia a concerned expression, "But that's not how we've known him? He's always been kind to us…"
"Oh yeah, the best," Gold added with ease, casting doubt on the whole thing, "Responsible, too. As someone who's spent the night countless times? Never regretted it."
Spike stared at them for a minute. Then, to Dia, asked, "Level with me here. Did you… Start crashing at some other Dave's place? Since ours was so shitty?"
Hearing that made Dia want to bash his head against a tree. Is that why he immediately clung to Baldi?! On top of being lonely and lost as Hell?!
"No," Instead, he mustered the willpower to reply, "I've been living in that Webspace place. Laura told me that our Dave was a-already there. And… And…" He trailed off. Ruby and Gold were going to find out. Dia couldn't avoid it any longer.
"Look, I didn't believe i-it either, at first," He managed to continue, "I kept shit to myself. I would lie because it was easier. But he helped me feel better a-about things. I'm out here on this field trip right now thanks to him. I made friends and he likes them! He's shown me that he's… Changed. He's changed, Spike."
To be honest, he wasn't sure if he was convincing Spike, reassuring himself, or… It might've been both. But what mattered was the effort Dave was putting. Dave from years ago would never. Dave today is.
His old classmate handed Dia his pyramid's tip. "I'll be the judge of that. When are you leaving?" So ominous.
"Monday." A few days away.
Back at the lodge, back to now - Monday. Which was also his birthday, albeit self-decided. Dave was going to be in for a surprise. And Dia wasn't sure whether or not it would be the good kind.
In those days, he became overtly passive, not saying or doing much, in order to not draw his former teacher's ire. But Spike grew increasingly protective of him. It never happened, thankfully, but he mentioned on at least a few occasions that he'd be willing to throw hands if it meant knocking Dave down a peg.
Things weren't like that anymore, far from. Dia hoped Spike would be able to see that too, but he knew that it wouldn't be easy, considering how things came to an end. The last few months back in their copy of Fun Algebra Class were easy to recall.
(HEY, DIA. I GOTTA SHOW YOU SOMETHING.)
"I-I don't know if I'm-" Dia quieted when Spike put a hand to his lips.
(USE THE CHAT FEATURE.)
Specifically, the privatized kind.
(I DON'T KNOW IF I'M UP FOR IT. I'M NOT REALLY IN THE MOOD.)
He wished he could at least stop sniffling.
(YOU'LL LOVE IT, TRUST ME!)
To be fair, Spike has never been wrong. Wiping away his tears, Dia left his hiding place, under a classroom teacher's desk, and followed Spike outside. It was night, so the only reflections to appear on the grass were from the moon, displaying a faint, patterned silhouette of Dia's body.
(WATCH THIS!)
Whatever this was leading to, Spike was excited, as he abruptly hopped the fence. Dia nearly panicked, until he noticed that his friend didn't fall.
(HOW ARE YOU… HOW'RE YOU DOING THAT?!)
Spike just smirked, holding out his arms for Dia to take.
(GAME DESIGN FLAWS, DUDE! C'MON, JOIN ME!)
Nervously, Dia complied, and it felt even weirder, being able to see the underside of the skybox.
(… OKAY. DID YOU PULL ME OUT HERE JUST FOR THAT?)
He couldn't help crossing his arms, trying to look unimpressed at his much taller classmate.
(NO NO, OF 7777ING COURSE NOT. WE'RE NOT EVEN THERE YET.)
Once again, Dia walked with him, glancing back every few seconds. Dave couldn't find them like this. He couldn't. Dia already angered him once today, twice would be
(SO, ONE NIGHT, I FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS. I DECIDED TO SEE HOW FAR I COULD GO.
REALLY 7777ING FAR, APPARENTLY. EVENTUALLY I GOT TO WHERE THE SCHOOL WAS BARELY VISIBLE.
AND TO SPITE OUR DEAR, SWEET, INNOCENT ALGEBRA TEACHER, I TURNED AROUND AND WENT)
Just as Spike described, he stopped suddenly, faced where they'd come from, and yelled, "DAVE SUCKS EGGS!"
This time, Dia freaked.
(OH MY GOD NO DON'T SAY THAT HE'LL KNOW WE'RE OUT HERE AND OH MY GOD NO HE CAN'T FIND OUT HE CAN'T FIND OUT HE)
"Shhh, chill, it's okay!" Spike pat him on the back, just as he started to hyperventilate. "Sorry, I should've warned you. My point is that: Once we're at least this far away?" He gestured to the school, which now only appeared as a few stray pixels in the midst of the world's expanse. "He can't hear us anymore. We can-" He was cut off by a censor beep. "On him all we want out here."
"Wow…" Dia spoke his awe, once he calmed.
"What's something you've always wanted to tell him?" Many things, really, but Dia wouldn't dare say it to his face. Or while he could listen in. … Which was probably Spike's point.
"Um… 'You're an-'" A beep of his own. "'Dave'?"
"Then shout it like you mean it," It took Dia a few tries, but he eventually got it. "Yeah! You tell him, Dia! You tell him!" Once over, the two sat on the invisible ground. Spike was pointing at Dia's arm. It was cracked at the wrist, almost to the point of shattering, and a few had spread to his elbow. "Now… The real reason I dragged you to no man's land - how'd that happen?"
It was painful to talk about. Reluctantly, Dia let Spike see. "Dave said that I was hogging her."
"Hogging her." Spike's hold was ginger, like carrying a ceramic antique passed down through generations. He reached into Dia's inventory, wanting his jar of resin. Dia allowed it.
"That it was high time I learned to share. He told me that next time she wants to hang out, to tell her 'I'm busy, but Dave isn't'."
"Understand?" He was squeezing so hard, he had to have felt or heard the crunching. "Understand?"
"Yes, sir! I understand…!" Then he let go so abruptly that Dia was surprised his hand didn't fall right off.
"Good." And like always, he held no remorse as he wheeled away.
"As if," His classmate grunted, as he spread the resin over Dia's surface, tiny amounts seeping through the cracks and bringing everything back into place. "He won't even call you by your new name."
"He's… Convinced that this is just a phase. That I'll 'come to my senses' and want to go back." Dia tensed at every bit of repair, but it wasn't nearly as bad as when a part of him needed reattached.
"And then, he'll probably tell you that it's your fault. That you wasted her time. That you should've known better. That you should've thought harder about it."
"Yeah. But I did think, for a long time. But even infinity wouldn't be enough for him…"
"Nothing is," His friend sighed. The job was done. He let go of Dia's arm, as he returned the item. "Look, man. We gotta tell her."
"We can't…! As soon as she leaves again, it'll just… Get worse."
"Maybe on our own, but if all of us…" Was that even possible? Dia was terrified to try, but…
Over time, Spike would introduce the others to this secret place, where it was essentially used to share grievances where Dave was concerned.
"I wonder why he would even want us around, if we're merely his obstacles." Pondered Allen, AKA Green Alien Monitor. Like Dia, he'd chosen his own name.
"He is the crankiest person I know, but I do not have an answer." Chimed in Sleeps, or Gotta Sleep.
"Something about us makes him unhappy, and we cannot seem to fix this, no matter what we do or how we change. He is impossible to satisfy." PlayRobot observed, keenly.
"I think I know," Finally, Error added. "It's because we're not programmed to be his toys any longer. We're capable of doing what we want, and that gets under his skin. He throws around blame like this to exert some kind of control. Since he isn't in control."
"Holy-" A beep from Spike, "That's just it! But why's it such a big-" Another. "-ing deal, when it's what Kelly wanted?"
"I get the feeling that something went wrong when he was merged," Error continued, eloquently, "Since, to my recollection, his Guide self was as considerate and nurturing as could be. But his other half… It's like he's taken over."
"A-Are you… Saying that…" Dia tried to put his thoughts in order, without sounding like a stammering mess. "She needs t-to… Tweak him?"
In response, Error gave him a soft smile. "Yes. Absolutely. If he cannot see reason and change on his own, she'll have to make him." His statements left Dia speechless. It sounded messed up. But it was either this, or keep living in fear.
"Then, an intervention is recommended," Allen nodded, "Alone, he would win. But he cannot defeat every one of us at once. One way or another, things are going to be different."
"We're agreed, then?" Error glanced around at them. He was given nods, even a reluctant one from Dia.
They waited. Days. Weeks. Then three months had passed. Kelly never returned. Things carried on as usual, as faculty and students alike began to wonder if the next best option was to go through with the plan themselves, somehow. Error had always been exceptional with code, whether knowing how things work, to changing properties with a single tap. It was a pre-existing skill, but no one knew why he had it.
But one day, he'd gathered them together.
(LISTEN. WHILE I WAS 7777ING AROUND, I MADE THIS DOOR APPEAR.)
He opened it.
(IT LOOKS LIKE A SCARY VOID, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING MUCH BETTER THAN THAT. IT'S THE WHOLE GOD7777 INTERNET. AND WE CAN JUST. GO RIGHT IN!)
Everyone was staring in disbelief. Then, Allen replied first.
(WE CAN LEAVE… GO WHEREVER WE PLEASE. WE'LL BE FREE AT LAST.)
They were on board with this, ecstatic even. By this point, it was clear that Kelly wasn't going to come back, and being here was miserable, even when putting aside the elephant in the room.
(SHOULD WE TELL DAVE?)
Speaking of, the question PlayRobot proposed was laughable. So much so, that they did. Loudly. Except for Dia, who only managed a nervous chuckle.
(OH MY GOD, PLAYROBOT. HELL 7777ING NO! HE'LL WANT TO MICROMANAGE EVERYTHING AND IT'LL SUCK SOOO MUCH.
AND LIKE, NOW WE DON'T HAVE TO TRY FIXING HIM! WE CAN JUST DITCH HIM!)
Spike easily refuted, his sentiments shared with the others.
(AH, YOU'RE RIGHT, SPIKE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING.
LET'S)
"Hey! What's so funny?" Everyone immediately shut up, beginning to hear the telltale noise of that damned motorized wheelchair. Given how he wasn't the only one to stiffen from fear, Dia felt a little less like a coward.
(OH DEAR LORD. I AM SO SORRY. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME HERE. I PROMISE I WON'T DO THIS AGAIN, PLEASE FORGIVE ME.)
PlayRobot apologized quickly, but frankly, it wasn't exactly her fault.
(DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. WE COULD ALWAYS RUN.)
Sleeps offered.
(BAD IDEA. WE'LL BE FOLLOWED FOR SURE.)
Allen, unfortunately, had to reject it.
(NO. LET'S BE STRAIGHT WITH HIM.)
Error overcame himself before anyone else. When Dave arrived, he took one look at the scene and said, "Oh, it's another one of Error's magic tricks. Alright, if we've all had our fun, put everything back."
It was explained to him. Dia was already wincing from whatever kind of fallout they were about to endure. "Absolutely not, Error. We're not leaving. Don't you have any idea how dangerous that place is? What if you get hurt? Or worse, die? Think about how Kelly would feel, if I had to tell her how you guys were stupid enough to do that."
"I'm sorry, how Kelly would feel?" But instead of folding to the algebra teacher's tactics, Error fought back. "That's such a load of-" A beep. "Dave. It was never about her. It was always about you, right from the moment you and Guide were put together."
"You watch your language; the students are right there!" Dave was more than cross now. Outright offended. "Also, how dare you insinuate that! Whoever put those ideas in your head is lying! But anyway, since I have to repeat myself, we're staying put, and that's final!"
"Well, Angry, maybe if you'd pull your head out of your-" Another beep. "For once in your life, you'd be able to see that your feelings aren't the only ones that matter here. We're sick of waiting for a player who's left us to rot, and we're sick of being stuck here with you. So you know what? You can stay put all you like. We're leaving."
Dave was fuming, blocking the doorway before Error could pass through. "Oh no you don't! I forbid it!" But the secret entity had enough. With a worn face, he knocked Dave sideways, causing him to fall out of his wheelchair. But, goal accomplished, Error walked inside (or outside?) without another word.
Dave didn't immediately right himself to stop the others. Instead, he was stunned, only breaking his silence when Sleeps followed Error. "Wait-! Sleeps! No! Don't go!" Then Allen. "Please! Allen, help me! This is- This is crazy!" Then PlayRobot. "P-PlayRobot, not you too! Come back…!"
Spike glanced at him, to the door, then to Dia. Gently taking his hand, he murmured, "C'mon, let's go."
Dia's unspoken hesitation fell apart, nodding back and letting his friend lead him to freedom.
But Dave's voice gave him pause. The desperation was almost Earth-shattering. "Spike, don't listen to them! They don't know what might happen out there! The Internet's not a safe place!" Spike, however, ignored him. "And Diamond- Dia! Please! I'll- I'll do anything!"
It sounded… Wrong, coming out of his mouth. Somehow, Dia was able to stop the both of them, facing the algebra teacher with a glare. "Oh, so NOW you'll call me Dia? Are you KIDDING me?! Honestly? You're an-" A beep. "Dave. Live with it."
As Dave's already worried expression gave way to despair, Dia turned to the door, pulling a bemused Spike along as he moved forward.
And he never looked back.
"Heyyy, birthday boy!" Dia's reminiscing was interrupted by Gold. He could've sworn neither of his friends were awake, but as he glanced over, both wore smug faces.
He didn't know how to respond. Then, he let out a small yell as the two minerals hopped out of their bed and tackled him from his own.
"Sorry, we didn't crack you, did we?" Ruby was first to relent, quickly followed by Gold. Dia checked, then shook his head. Wow. He did take that surprisingly well. "Okay, that's good. So…" A pause. "We didn't know when we'd have a good time to do this, so now's the best shot we have!"
"… For what, exactly?"
"Your present, duh!" Gold filled in.
"Wait, you guys actually got me something?!" Dia was handed a small present. He couldn't help it. He immediately opened it up, pieces of wrapping paper going flying.
"Of course!" Ruby nodded. "Now… You don't have to wear it if you don't want to. But I saw how much you liked it, and, well…" Inside was the ombre hoodie from that day at the gift shop, which came with a pair of white shorts. "At least you'll have it, right?"
"It's not… Weird to you guys?" Was all Dia could manage. The responses he got were headshakes. "O-Okay. Thanks. I'll…" An idea emerged, equipping the outfit in place of what he was already donning. "I'll sleep in it."
"Heh, that works!" Gold flashed a fluid-y thumbs up, then gave him another present, but this one was a to-go box of some kind. "Annnd! Cake! It's not much, but, ya know." A single slice of chocolate. Dia's favorite.
"Oh my God. Look, I love this a lot, but I won't be able to get any shut-eye if I eat it now."
"Then have it in the morning." Gold just waved it off.
"Cake for breakfast…" Dia breathed, "You're a Goddamn genius."
Morning came and went. Dia was able to eat the slice without drawing any unwanted attention, and was worth every bite. With the rest of the students, and Baldina's staff and faculty, he returned home to the Webspace. Spike chose to sneak into one of the Internet buses.
"Ah… Of fucking course it's raining," Dia mused as his group stepped through the entrance tunnel. "Never gets old." Luckily, he still had the umbrella Billy gave him a while back, so he used it. It was just big enough for him, Ruby, and Gold.
"Where's… Silver?" Ruby murmured, as he scanned their surroundings. He was right - the giant metal mineral was nowhere to be seen. From what Dia knew, it was totally unlike him to not show up for things like this.
"Huh… Um, no sweat!" Gold tried to play it off lightly, "We know where his hut is. We'll just give him a hard time about it. C'mon, Red. See you tomorrow, Dia!"
"Oh yeah, right. See ya!" Dia let them go, missing them already despite having roomed with them for a month straight. Or maybe it was exactly why. Still, they probably figured it'd be best to give him, Spike, and Dave some space for what lie ahead. For the best, since it felt like they already learned a bit too much.
Next to him, his old classmate appeared. "Hey, Dia. You ready?"
Dia nodded. The both of them left the tunnel, looking around for Dave. He should be easy to find, if he wasn't alone.
But, oddly enough, he was. Denied and Billy were both absent. And that was instantly worrying.
Still, Dia flagged him down, Spike following. At first, Dave gave a smile, like nothing was wrong. He greeted Dia with a one-armed hug, the other carrying his own umbrella, noticing Dia's changes in the time he was gone. Then, immediately after, realized that another of his former students had arrived.
"Spike? Is that really you?!"
But the concern Dia had wasn't about if the other two could patch things up, but rather a single question that permeated his thoughts. "Uh… So where's Billy?"
Denied, he could excuse, but Billy… He and Dave were nearly inseparable, deeply committed to each other. Like they were married, except they weren't. And they've been together for how long?! Were either of them ever gonna pop the question?! Well, unless they just preferred not to, some couples were like that, but… It didn't feel like that with them.
Forget that for now. Dave was replying, assuringly. "He couldn't come, but don't worry, he's fine! He's still rebuilding his house after that fire, is all."
"WHAT…?" Frankly, Dia didn't know how else to respond to that information.
"… Okay, I realize how that sounds bad. I'll catch you two up when we get home."
Jesus Christ. What the fuck happened here?!
More info:
- THE BUS CAME BACK
- The shirts they pick out are real apparel found on the Yellowstone National Park online store. Far Out sweatshirt, Shard Mountain Buffalo t-shirt, and Smokey Bear t-shirt. Unfortunately, there're no options for pants/shorts, so those were made up
- And the one Dia decided against, is the Ombre hooded t-shirt. A shame that it's only in womens', it looks so cool and should be for everyone!
- Additionally, his previous hoodie is based on the one made by The Fuzzy Pineapple!
- In earlier chapters featuring Dia and his gemstone physics, I had mentioned how it was inspired by KoG/LotL. Here it's more clear-cut; while yes these are inspirations, in terms of the story, Dia, Ruby, and Gold took it to heart. Gold's the only one who stayed true to the alloy representation, though; the other two gave themselves an extra power
- Or, in Dia's case, made his ability "stronger" (instead of turning surroundings blue, the area becomes outright blinding)
- What are the chances that three (or perhaps even more) mineral-based characters from Dave games were shown this anime? Probably very low. But I just wanted there to be a KoG/LotL-inspired trio
- Funfact, the fight between Diamond and Shiro in episode 10 was the point where he wanted to be more like a real one, flaws and all
- Dia: Deep! Within! The hand! Of slumber!
Ruby: Is heat, that has, been ta-ken captive...
Dia: As! It floats! Along! The water!
Gold: A co-lor comes, alive!
- I do like to believe that as Dia grows up, he will get a bit more durability to accommodate, but not by much. However, I also like to think that it's possible to train for it, too
- Growing up idolizing a character, to the point of shaping yourself more like them in some ways, can be conflicting when they take a turn you don't approve of
- I don't see him going back to blue or anything like that, though
- Ruby and Gold are the only ones who know about his self-assigned birthday. Not even Dave or Spike. Not yet, at least
- Ruby, AKA Ruby 77, is listed as Mohs 9 on the scale. Less hard than diamonds, but a whole lot more durable, as they're able to withstand many kinds of damage when it comes to jewelry. Their one true weakness is sunlight, which results in "bleaching", or loss of their luster
- But his healing factor prevents this from being permanent. It's more like a sunburn to him. Except he'll look... Paler?
- He has inherited an "older brother" kind of demeanor
- His Dave is a House, and thus has a Tristan. In this regard, he looks out for him. And with Dia, he helps him comfortably open up about his feelings
- Gold, or Gold 99, is not a gemstone, but a metal. However, if put into the same scale as Dia and Ruby, he is Mohs 2.5 - pure gold. While extremely soft, he is also heavy and malleable, so it matters very little
- He is a bit dramatic like his Dave, but in a "look at me i'm so cool" way, rather than "woe is me". More importantly, he doesn't like to think about existence (His game was his Dave's dream, is he real? Don't think about it)
- Honestly he just wants to bring the fun sides out of his pals, whether getting Ruby to loosen up or give Dia a confidence boost (because boy do the both of them need it, he thinks)
- I debated with myself about this for a long time, whether or not to showcase Dave this far back in the past, and simply leave his behavior to mentions. In the end, perhaps it's fair to share this example. But please keep in mind, however, that he has recognized these problems and has strove to change, as seen just about everywhere else in the story
- Dia: WHAT…?
Dave: NOW I KNOW THAT SOUNDS BAD…
Spike: Oh, I get it, he did change. He just got worse.
Dia: NO SPIKE I SWEAR TO GOD-
Spike: Today's news on channel 99: Dave commits arson.
Dia: NUH UH NO HE DIDN'T HE WOULDN'T- Dave you didn't, right?
Dave: … I can explain.
Spike & Dia: HOLY SHIIIIIT-
Dave: Language.