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The Plague's Chosen

M

Mitsuki_SOS

THE SITE LOOKS WEIRD.
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PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION FIRST.

Okie! This fanfic is currently rated PG-13 for violence, suggestive themes, language, etc.
So basically, in mystery dungeon, humans turn into Pokémon, right? Well I had a pretty good idea that inspired this fic. Okie, so the idea is complicated, but, in conclusion, Pokémon turn into humans. However, instead of just randomly turning into humans, there's a reason why they do and there's a complicated background behind it. Anyway, there's a crappy summary-type thing below, but I don't think you should read it because, like I said, it's crappy. xD

SUMMARY TYPE THING:
A plague/disease—known simply as the Plague—is terrorizing the Pokémon world and the Pokémon that live there. Because of this unknown disease, Pokémon are dying left and right after being consumed by it. However, what the trainers and Pokémon do not know is that the Plague is a living thing, and it is searching for something. Some Pokémon are Chosenby the Plague to take on a new life as a human. Why were they Chosen? It’s not certain. What is the Plague searching for? That is unknown. Who or what created the Plague, and will it end up killing every single Pokémon to get what it wants? That is something you’ll have to find out. The Plague’s Chosen will answer it all.

Yes, I know. Lame. xP The story will be even better though ;3

[size=+2]Main Details:[/size]

Main Genre(s): Adventure/Action/General
Minor Genre(s): Mystery/Horror/Suspense/Romance/Comedy
Type of fic: Pokémon fanfic
POV: It is told in 3rd POV

[size=+2]Updates[/size]

Part 1 of Chapter 2 is FINALLY posted! And yes I know that part 1 was fail :/ I'll try making part 2 even better. Anyway, enjoy what's been posted so far! I may starting adding to the Pronunciation Guide, but we shall see!


Pronunciation Guide
Coming soon!


Also, this is like a teaser. This is probably slightly similar to the story, but it was just something I randomly wrote. It kind of reminds me of PMD when a human is turned into a Pokemon. It would be really cool to do an RP on something like this, so I just typed this up. Once again, you don’t have to read it, and this is only slightly similar to the story, but otherwise it really has nothing to do with it. I just felt like posting it because I wanted opinions on both the story and the following game/teaser thing I typed. Also, I'd prefer you didn't read it until reading what has been posted of the story.

Here’s the teaser:

TEASER
A sheet of darkness stained the ground, suspended in midair by the lazy wind. In comparison to this sheet of darkness were the clouds, but their texture, their appearance, could not portray the same this mysterious hue obtained. You would call this sheet a cloud at first glance, but if you looked closely you would notice the particles that drizzled from it softly, like a fresh batch of summer rain. And then, looking downward, you would notice the forest that resided below it, the grouped foliage swaying as the particles caressed its edges, the leaves of the trees being plucked from their homes to waver on the ground instead.

Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “What is this bizarre-looking cloud? Why has it come out of nowhere to settle over this peaceful forest?” Dowsed by your own thoughts, you look onward at the mysterious sheet of darkness that seemed too unrealistic to be floating by itself. The hill you’re standing on directs you from an off angle that shows most of the action that is about to subside.

Suddenly, the ground shakes violently, and you’re clutching your arms, almost stumbling to the ground as you hurriedly catch yourself. Then your gaze slides toward the forest and the darkness that lingers over it, and you hear yourself gasp, wondering if what you’re seeing is real.

The darkness had somehow dropped over the forest and was now pressed tightly against the foliage and the creatures that resided within it. You hear shrieks of horror, and they alarm you to an extent that you whirl around and sprint toward the nearest town or village. You plead and cry and ask people to go and examine the forest, but no one listens to you or heeds to your helpless requests.

You go back later to investigate the demolished forest and see that the Pokémon that were burrowed within it are all dead. Lifeless bodies of pitiful creatures were scattered in every direction, soiling the ground with their rotting flesh, slowly being decomposed. You try to hold back disgust, but you can’t prevent the nausea and the fear that is building up inside of you. You begin to make your way out of the forest when the blanket of darkness returns to hover almost irrevocably over the destroyed vegetation.

You run. Your feet are dragging along the crusted dirt, but you find the will to survival strengthening your muscles and the pace carried by the feet that are too large for the sneakers your mom just recently bought you.

You’re at the edge of the dead forest now when a tendril of darkness wraps itself around you and embodies you within its center. Your body floats almost endlessly in the darkness you’re trapped in, and then, bizarrely, the darkness that devoured you recoils with disgust and spits you out, as if you tasted like garbage. You try to stand just to feel you’re alive, but for some reason you’re shorter to the ground. You feel your skin, but when you come to your senses, you realize it’s…fur?!

BUM BUM BUM x.x Just felt like putting that on there xD Who knows, maybe I’ll write another story with humans turning into Pokémon.
…Nah. In this story, there’s a reason for the Plague and the Pokémon that turn into humans. It will all be explained in the future. ;3





[size=+3]PM LIST[/size]

  • Mr. XXXXXXXX
  • Name here
  • Name here
  • Name here


[size=+2]Chapter list[/size]

::Chapter 1:: Jeremy's Rescue and a Reunion!
::Chapter 2::
Part 1: Thievery, Ross's Question and Attempted Kidnapping?!
Part 2
::Chapter 3::
::Chapter 4::
::Chapter 5::
::Chapter 6::
::Chapter 7::
::Chapter 8::
::Chapter 9::
::Chapter 10::
::Chapter 11::
::Chapter 12::
::Chapter 13::
::Chapter 14::
::Chapter 15::
::Chapter 16::
::Chapter 17::
::Chapter 18::
::Chapter 19::
::Chapter 20::

(NOTE: More chapters are most likely to be added in the future. This is the current estimate of the story, but it is expected to be extended. The Prologue is down below. Keep scrolling.)





[size=+6]The Plague’s Chosen[/size]







::prologue::​






Emerald blades of grass were swaying beneath the delicate caress of the wind, driven by the invisible force that insisted it move. The trees were disarrayed in a repeating shuffle, their leaves yearning to reach the sky as they jabbed upward, defying gravity’s wish. The sky was still despite its energetic shade of blue that seemed to brighten whatever gazed at it. A calm atmosphere was what caused such stillness to shroud the land, but it was immediately interrupted by four paws that carried firmly over the dirt, slicing through the grouped vegetation in effortless speed.

A scarlet blur jumped over one of the green obstacles. Her eyes were black with intensifying seriousness, the curled fur on her head only slightly moving from having fierce wind swoosh against it. The creature was fox-like with a bouncy, large tail that consisted of six long curls grouped and tightened together, the shade remaining to be just a bit darker than the fur that pressed against the rest of her body. The Pokémon darted over yet another green obstacle, catching her breath as the suspension in midair allowed a small break.

Once her paws hit the ground, the Pokémon wasted no time and continued her urgent route, the jolt of fear causing her speed to be flawless and only hindered by the land she ran upon. Her thoughts were blank despite the urgency of her emotions, which completely devoured her mind, her paws heeding to the will of survival.

The Pokémon knew only two things at the moment. One, if she didn’t get far away right now, then something terrible would happen. Two, her parents had fallen at the hands of the Plague, and they did not survive.

Before her parents were killed, they had given her a valuable object, which was now clinging to her chest and causing her ribs to feel sore from having the pressure of the bizarre structure press against it. It was a red square plate that attached itself to her like armor once they had given it to her. They did not say anything of the gift. They merely said to get far away with the item and make sure no one got it.

A hum rumbled from within the Pokémon’s throat as she was astonished to discover she was already at the forest’s exit. Excising her fear and embracing her bravery, she jumped into the air and leapt over the edge of the forest, her exit giving her that extra burst of happiness as she realized she had escaped. She was free.

Abruptly, a tendril of darkness sliced over the little fox, its greedy hold causing her to shriek in a combination of realization and fear. She had been captured.

Her wails and struggles were countered by the darkness that had captured her and was now pulling her back into its cruel essence. Her vision blackened, replaced by the substance that engulfed her.

Darkness? No…It couldn’t be…This something, the Plague, was capable of holding her and killing Pokémon…

Her closed eyes opened. The forest floor emerged before her vision, along with a human leg, lying limply beside her with the knee bending.

She gasped as she saw the human part and sat up quickly, noticing that the darkness had deceased and no longer cradled her within its bizarre structure. And then, with fascination, she peered toward her right and saw the human leg, noticing that it wasn’t separated from a human. Instead, it was attached to her.

Upon seeing this, she shrieked and backed against a tree trunk, the terror of seeing an attached human part to her body causing her heart to thud rapidly in her chest. Why was it there? Had the Plague done this to her? Why did it give her a human part?

With further discovery, she realized the body she was in felt unfamiliar, like a hermit crab trapped in a new shell it did not want nor need. Devastated, she grimaced at her changed body and saw that her four-legged body had been morphed into something gruesome and feared in the wild Pokémon society.

A human. She was a human.

How? Why?

The naked girl—aside from the expanded red plate that concealed her torso—rose from the ground and ran, not caring where she went or what became of her. The long strands of red hair atop her head flew behind her, making the six curls bounce in the breeze her hurried pace had started.

[-*****-]​

“Jeremy, I swear. If you don’t grab one, I will.” Giselle’s voice had been boundlessly threatening Jeremy that day, and though you would assume someone would get tired of doing such a thing, her voice wasn’t at all weakened or mangled from having talked so warningly to him time and time again. A strand of her shadowy hair parted over cerulean eyes, and she felt her cheeks flush after Jeremy flashed her a nonchalant grin, the happy-go-lucky boy she had known nearly all her life causing her to feel foolish once again.

“Gigi, you’ve got to be a little more patient,” Jeremy’s slightly deepened voice said as his fingers pecked an apple off one of the offered trays in the cafeteria. His brunette hair shimmered from the glow of the ceiling lights that filtered above him, appearing almost blond after the streaks of light clashed with his hair’s texture. His eyes were dark brown and framed with long dark lashes that batted against his caramel skin every time he blinked. He felt the need to turn, realizing that Giselle was staring at the offered food hungrily, as if they were her dying wish.

After grabbing some of the offered food and laying them on her plate, she glared with little effort toward Jeremy and followed coarsely after him to their lunch table. “I told you not to call me that.”

“Aw come on. It’s cuter than your name,” he teased, chewing his freshly bitten apple and speaking in-between bites.

Giselle wrinkled her nose at the manners Jeremy was failing to show as he chewed with his mouth opened, not caring that his lips made smacking noises every time they made contact between every bite. Her eyes slid gingerly to stare at the table, feeling her face bottle with unnecessary heat. “Whatever you say, Jerry.”

“At least I always win, Tom.” Jeremy paused to stick his tongue out, revealing the scattered juicy crumbs that were etched along the slimy pink muscle.

Giselle couldn’t help but recoil in disgust once again and shoved a hand against his shoulder, ducking her head to hide her maroon-colored face. There was something about Jeremy that caused her face to color with red and make her hands shake uncontrollably, almost as if she was suffering from an internal earthquake. She wouldn’t admit this out loud, but her thoughts often strayed toward the truth that she was starting to like him in ways she never thought possible. Yes, she’s known him all her life, but just by being around his presence that long had caused her heart to slowly melt, almost as if he had been the candle, and she had been the wax. Just by seeing him or picturing his image in her mind, joy felt essential to her usually drab emotions and a light illuminated the darkness.

She cursed how cheesy she sounded before doing another playful shove against Jeremy’s shoulder. “Gross. Really gross. No wonder you don’t have a date for the dance.”

Jeremy dropped his apple onto his tray, belched and leaned near Giselle, wrapping his arm humorously around her shoulder, obviously teasing her yet again. “You know you love me.”

You have no idea, Giselle thought to herself. Her only response was to tilt her face downwards and press her lips tightly together, as if to block the words she longed to tell him.

Jeremy finished the apple and gave Giselle her personal space before standing up and stretching his arms over his head. His gaze traveled quizzically over the cafeteria, finding all of the tables to be packed except for theirs. “Hey, Gigi—”

“Jerry,” she interrupted curtly, almost as if she was reminding him.

“Oh right, sorry. Giselle, we should have more people sit at the table.”

“Uh, why?” She felt hurt that he would even suggest such a thing. After all, it had been just him and her for years, and he had never complained once about the arrangement. In fact, they were best friends, and this was their domain. Why should anyone intrude on it?

His hand snapped outward, gesturing to the display of crowded tables and hunched teenagers. His gesture showed that what he was referring to had been obvious. “Look at that. Our table is the only one with just two people.”

“So?” She tried to sound bored, but the dwelling of pained emotions began to swell within her tone, starting to leak due to how overwhelming it was to keep hidden inside her.

“I feel like a loser,” he admitted as he sat back down in his seat and held up his face with his palm.

Giselle blinked repeatedly, pondering if she could cast some shield over her eyes since they were now stinging with tears. “A loser? Do I really make you feel that way?”

Jeremy’s gaze met hers in bewilderment, spotting the tears that blurred her vision and were prepared to trickle down her rosy cheeks. “No! Of course not! It’s just we’re left out from the others, and it doesn’t feel right. Why are you crying?” His eyes widened in dread, thinking that he already knew the answer. “Wait, are you having women hormones or something?”

Giselle was compelled with anger at his words, but she couldn’t help but laugh at how terrified he looked. Were men really that afraid of women hormones and PMSing?

Jeremy softened, but his russet eyes seemed to reflect that simplicity that warmed Giselle’s heart. Giselle’s anger seemed to evaporate once seeing it, and she felt the whole room become lighter, as if the air had been lifted or removed entirely.

This is it. I’ve got to tell him, she thought to herself as she felt the blood rush violently through her veins, almost as if her body was a racetrack.

Her pulse pounded vigorously in her ears. Sweat coated her pasty complexion, making her face feel unbearably wet even though only a few drops had formed. She cleared her throat, cleansing the words that were about to come out.

She looked up and smiled a light, carefree smile, feeling her hands go numb and her legs crash from what she was about to tell him. “Jeremy, I—”

“YEAH, BABY! AW, HELL YEAH!” An obnoxious, gruff tone tore through what Giselle was about to say, and the male population of the cafeteria whistled almost rhythmically as they all darted to the windows to look at some sort of display that was outside.

Giselle’s opened mouth released nothing but a puff of air, and she swung her head around to study the group of boys who continued to whistle and make loud noises by the squared windows. She was about to speak to Jeremy once again when she saw him dart past her and sprint immediately toward the windows to see what sort of ruckus occurred. She found herself wandering after him once seeing he was no longer situated beside her and peered over his shoulder.

“Jeremy, what is it? What are they looking at?” she asked hoarsely, the anxiety from earlier causing her voice to sound damaged.

“I don’t know…” Jeremy shoved some of the boys aside, which formed a space big enough for the two to occupy. They entered hurriedly so that their spots weren’t given away and peered through the window, stunned at what they saw.

A girl—about as old as them—stood on the cement wearing nothing but a red plate that covered just her torso. Her ruby hair was long and extended down her back, ending in six curls that looked as if they’d been tied together. Her eyes were drizzled with confusion, but aside from the emotion that bound them, the black shade of her iris seemed to blend and hide her pupil, looking like the bottomless pits of a canyon. She was exceptionally beautiful and dazzling, but the fact she was wearing no clothes caused Giselle to immediately shield her eyes, and Jeremy’s as well.

“Who is she?” Giselle asked, closing her eyes tightly just as someone teasingly—one of the boys apparently—removed her hand from her eyes.

“Don’t know, but she’s hot,” Jeremy stated, pushing Giselle’s hand out of his eyes.

Giselle wasn’t just disappointed in hearing him say that; she was also deeply upset. As usual, he was oblivious to her feelings for him, but that was expected since he didn’t even know about them. In the end, this was her fault.

Jeremy watched the girl that stood upon the cement, his eyes examining her face rather than the other features that the other guys were checking out. There was something noticeably different about her, and it seemed like he had seen her somewhere before. He could not deny the familiarity she emanated or the beauty that caused her face to glow, but he could see she was different from other girls. In a way, she reminded him of a Pokémon…yes, a Pokémon. Her hair was similar to a Vulpix’s, and even her eyes were big and innocent like a Vulpix’s.

Jeremy stood, silently pointing out the similarities to a Vulpix while Giselle watched him, fuming broodingly and yearning to yank Jeremy away from the sight. How could anyone stand looking at this? It was like public porn!

This is ridiculous, Giselle thought, just as one of the teachers began to separate the group with firm hands and a shrill voice.

The girl galloped out of view as the group tore apart, and the boys in the cluster drearily walked back to their tables as they noted her disappearance. Giselle and Jeremy walked back to their table together, their footsteps being the only thing to interrupt the tense silence that coasted between the two. Jeremy’s thoughts broadened as he listed a Vulpix’s features, and Giselle was too busy trying to hold back her tears to tug him away from his thoughts.

She took one last glance out the window and squinted, spotting a haze of black in the distance. She automatically calculated it as smoke and returned to dreading the rest of the day, her eyes shimmery with fresh tears. She couldn’t help but form an envious hate for the girl she had seen through the window even though she didn’t know her. It seemed like Jeremy liked her; it seemed like all the guys liked her.

She sunk into her sorrowful, envious thoughts, ashamed of her feelings for Jeremy. She thought this was one of the worst days of her life, but little did she know there was more to come.

END PROLOGUE.

-------------------------
Reviews? Thoughts? Opinions? Comments? Suggestions? I accept all x3 Also, I realize that this must’ve been boring, but I promise it will get better. Also, yes the description was bad. Feel free to point out any mistakes because I know there are some of those as well. Also, their age and whereabouts will be answered in the next chapter. Also (I’m saying that a lot xP), I promise there will be more information and Pokémon in future chapters. This is, after all, a Pokémon fanfic xD Hope you enjoyed!
 
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The Plague's Chosen--Chapter 1

LOTS of stuff happens in this chapter because the story is pretty much just now setting off. I promise there will be a lot more action in the next chapter. Feel free to share your thoughts, opinions, comments, suggestions, and, if possible, please submit a review =DDDDDDDD Anyway, enjoy!
By the way, I know this chapter is long and could be divided into two chapters, but I can't bring myself to do it :/




::Chapter 1::

[size=+1]Jeremy's Rescue and the Reunion![/size]​






One year later…


“Gigi! Head’s up!”

Giselle paused mid-stride, her body whirling to face the source of the statement. “I told you not to call me—”

Smack!

A volleyball dropped almost immediately to the ground after hitting Giselle’s face, a red mark forming where the ball had struck. The paralysis that had started from the ball’s impact flowed through her limbs until freezing her completely. Giselle fell backward, her back hitting the ground first. A curtain of her black hair draped over her face once she hit the ground, hiding the mark that had begun her humiliation for the day.

“Whoa! Gigi, are you—”

“Oh for Christ’s sake, will you shut up and stop calling me that?!” Giselle’s body whipped forward, her back making a miraculous recovery. She hoped that the red mark that had caused her to fall was concealing the blush that subsided in her cheeks. Thankfully, it was a shade that blended in.

Jeremy kneeled in front of her, squinting his eyes to examine her face. “You okay?”

“Peachy. Or maybe I should say ruby because that’s the color of my face right now, right? That ball is lethal,” she spat, her nostrils flaring as she whipped her head away from him angrily.

He whistled in amazement and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, Gig—Giselle. Ross has bad aim.” His voice reduced to a whisper. “By the way, you’re getting bitterer as time goes by.” He snatched the volleyball and made a retreat before Giselle could retort or insult him back.

She sat, fuming on the ground with her arms firmly crossed. Heat always bubbled inside her nowadays because of everything that was going on. She couldn’t help but express her emotions through bitterness ever since that naked girl had showed up at school and mysteriously disappeared. Since then, her life was spiraling into some sort of depression, and she handled it by yelling and unleashing all of the emotions through rage.

After that naked girl had gone, a bizarre dark cloud had wafted over Cherrygrove City and had annihilated nearly all the Pokémon that were out in the open. The contents of the puzzling cloud were a mystery, as well as what it did to kill the Pokémon. The media referred to it as the Pokémon Plague since it only affected Pokémon, and humans were in no danger of being killed. Since then, the Plague had been traveling and hovering across various cities and lands. Not only had this deadly Pokémon Plague appeared, but her parents had gotten a divorce, and her and Jeremy had drifted apart since then. I guess you could say life was currently sucking for fifteen year old Giselle.

For Jeremy, however, life was bright. Even though Giselle had grown unnaturally bitter, his spirits had somehow risen, and a permanent smile was plastered to his face even when there was a thunderstorm. He had made some new friends—Ross and Clayton—and he even had the chance of graduating early to obtain his license and starter Pokémon. It would probably take Giselle a few more years until she received her starter Pokémon and license, a fact she wasn’t proud of nor wanted to think about.

At the moment, they were along the edges of Cherrygrove, mainly where water rocked against the shallow curves of the city. If you swam further, you would reach the deeper waters and eventually the ocean that stretched endlessly until it was out of the region. However, in order to reach the depths of the ocean, you’d have to swim past the large boulders that formed the outline and boundary. They always halted trainers from passing; there was a law not to pass the boundary for some reason. It was restricted because of the mayor’s orders.

Jeremy hurried back to Ross and Clayton, who were both sopping wet from wrestling each other in the shallow water. He was about to hand the two boys the volleyball when Ross swatted it out of his hands, causing the sports ball to agilely glide past him and land in just a few inches of water. The soft currents that beckoned to the shore were causing the ball to roll further outward until it was floating atop the waves, ushered by the glistening liquid and the adamant wind that swayed it.

Jeremy glared sourly—and slightly jokingly—at the two boys. “Gee, thanks.”

Ross, a tall boy with blond hair and green eyes, gave him a goofy smile and thumbs-up. Clayton just laughed, mirroring Ross’s appearance, looking strangely like he was related to him somehow.

“Well crap I guess I’ll go get it.” Jeremy had begun to walk, but he paused, waiting for any protests.

“What are you waiting for? Go get the ball,” Ross said, waving his hand outward and pointing toward the ball that continued to float inevitably away.

“Hey, I got the ball before. Now one of you has to get it.” Jeremy crossed his arms and made a firm stance. His darkened gaze showed how intensely serious he was about the situation.

“Dude, you’re just being lazy. Go get it yourself,” Clayton said peevishly.

Jeremy sighed, showing scarce signs of patience. “No. I got it before. Besides it’s not my ball, it’s—”

“Oh for Christ’s sake, will you three sissies just shut up?!”

Giselle stomped past the quarreling boys, causing them to fall silent as the vestiges of their argument seemed to echo in the air. Giselle knelt to the ground and removed her shoes, wiggling her toes in the water and shivering with delight at the chills that protruded from the pristine state of the shore. She was about to thrust herself into the water when a rough hand stopped her.

“It’s okay, Giselle. I got this,” Jeremy said with a cunning smile, convulsed by his pride.

All signs of her former self were deserted; a surge of fury caused a glower to arch on her face, making her seem hostile.

She trudged past Jeremy and slipped her body into the water, ignoring the fact that her clothes were now soaked. She adjusted to the cool temperature before thrusting her arms outward to move through the placate waves. The ball had floated at least fifteen feet away from shore, and it was continuously moving, causing distress for Giselle.

“Whoa, hey! Come back, Gigi!” Jeremy called, cupping his hands around his mouth, anticipating Giselle’s angry reply.

She gritted her teeth and paddled until her body was turned around and facing the shore. “Damn it! Will you stop calling me that?!”

“I promise I will if you come back,” he called back.

Like hell you will, she thought as she paddled further toward the ball, approaching the spherical object and the rings of water that gathered around it.

The water was too cold to bear. She extended one of her numb hands toward the ball and snatched it, some of her fingers prickling once making contact. The numbness felt like an infection that spread throughout the body, but she did a tremendous job at ignoring it and begrudgingly routed her way back to the shore. Her teeth chattered like a jackhammer hitting concrete. She felt like her feet had become collapsible.

Jeremy was still shouting at her to hurry. Giselle felt too dignified to rush. The ball kept wandering off course from where her hand directed, and the thickness of the water felt like it was trying to plunge her beneath the surface. No wonder no one ever went past the shallow part of the water.

Giselle was hindered momentarily by a more dynamic wave. Once it lolled over her head, she coughed a bit from having consumed some water and then continued to guide the ball to the shore. Her bitter thoughts clouded her actions for a moment. Why was she out here again? Oh yeah. Because three idiots were arguing over a ball.

Her arms were stiff compared to the forceful effort of her legs. She was marveling over the fact she had done something the three boys had not dared to do—or, perhaps, had been too lazy to do it. Nonetheless, she had done it. No one was willing to go out in those waters. Everyone was too damn scared to interfere with such a thing. In the eyes of the boys right now, she was the hero. She was the brave princess these three cowardly knights needed. Just by thinking about it made her smile, something that was very rare to see.

Jeremy leaned over the water and held out his hand. Giselle snatched it and lifted herself out of the water before vulgarly chucking the ball at Ross. The boy was startled from the impact and stumbled into Clayton, landing on top of him as their legs buckled. Jeremy and Giselle erupted into laughter at the sight, giving both of them a nostalgic feeling about the good ol’ days. They glanced brightly at the other before assisting the struggling duo.

“You’re, uh, Gigi, right?” Ross asked, scratching the back of his head nervously after being pulled to his feet. His eyes met Giselle’s shyly.

“No. I’m Cassandra.” She looked away, holding no interest for the stammering boy.

“But Jeremy was calling you Gigi,” Clayton pointed out.

“Want my real name? Fine.” She smiled angelically before saying with a voice completely opposite of her expression, “None-of-your-damn-business.”

“What a long name,” Jeremy said sarcastically. Giselle punched him in the shoulder.

“Next time you boys choose to be damn lazy, do it somewhere else. God. You all gave me a headache.” Giselle rubbed her head while ambling away from the on-looking group.

Ross stumbled after her. “Wait!”

“No.” She craned her head, peering over her shoulder with a fierce scowl as she continued her route.

“Thanks for getting the ball,” Ross said with gratitude.

Giselle was about to stop and turn around until she heard a thwap and a splash that followed. She slowly peered toward the water to see that the ball had somehow dived in and broke through the surface, floating promptly away. Her eyes pierced the guiltiest one of the party—Clayton.

“I am not getting that. You hear me?! Get it your damn self and do something about your lazy butt!” she almost screamed, stomping away from the three.

“Aw come on. I’m a handicap,” Clayton said, sounding purposely whiny.

“That is bullshit!” Giselle flicked him off and gave him a vicious scowl, stomping completely out of view.

The three boys sat down along the shore, watching the ball drift sluggishly away.

“She has anger management problems or somethin’,” Clayton muttered. “Who is she anyway? I saw you hang around her a few times, Jeremy.”

“She’s an old friend. She’s changed though.” Jeremy sounded like the cheerfulness in his voice was dimming, but he quickly changed the subject by bringing up something else. “So who wants to get the ball?”

“Don’t know about you, man, but I don’t feel like it,” Ross said with a shrug. He paused. “Your friend is frisky. I like her.”

Electricity sparked inside of Jeremy. He didn’t know why, but the compliment that was directed toward Giselle had bothered him. No one had ever complimented her in such a way, so it caught him off guard to hear such a thing from one of his friends.

“So you like her?”

Ross grinned crookedly. “I guess so. Yeah.”

“You don’t even know her name,” Jeremy said, the disbelief and anger causing an uncoordinated combination in his voice.

Ross and Clayton stared with mixed expressions. Ross’s voice sounded risen, but taken aback. “Dude, chill. If you don’t want me to get with her—”

“You were planning to get with her?” Jeremy couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Ross had just met her for crying out loud! Had he really planned to ask her out? Giselle was like a sister to him. He had to be the protective big brother.

Ross and Clayton exchanged glances before standing. “Well I guess we’ll get going. School is tomorrow after all. See ya.” The two waved before scrambling away from Jeremy and his stiff position.

It was clear that he had frightened them somehow. The sound of his voice wasn’t recognizable from what it usually was. He had even asked himself who was speaking until realizing that it was him.

Staring at the settled water and the ball that coursed through it calmed his nerves. He felt as tranquil as the body of water, which looked glossy once a shaft of light fused with its fluid surface. His eyes closed, and he took steady breaths. The air was misty compared to what it normally was. He felt like he was trapped in a drowsy trance, one that didn’t allow him to open his eyes.

With his head lying gently against the ground, he let his arms lay nimbly at his sides. Slumber slowly wrapped its invisible arms around his muscles and his heavy eye lids. The rest of his body just eased into blackness, and the burden of staying awake was lifted.

“JEREMY! JEREMY!”

His eyebrow twitched, disturbed temporarily from his peace. The voice faded with the growing blackness.

“GET UP! OH PLEASE GET UP! JEREMY!”

Giselle was…crying? Her voice was shackled with horror and fear. What was going on? Still, Jeremy couldn’t open his eyes. They felt too heavy to lift, and he wasn’t sure if he was imagining Giselle’s voice or not.

“NO!”

The final frighteningly high-pitched scream caused his eye lids to fly open. The dim sliver of sunlight was nowhere to be seen since an overpowering figure seemed to make up most of the sky. Once his eyes adjusted, Jeremy blinked and saw exactly what the figure looked like.

A huge serpentine dragon with a cobalt scaly body and a large blue crown hanging just above its glaring red eyes was sticking out of the water in an unrealistically big shape. Numerous wing-like fins flapped along its sides, colored with a pastel white instead of the blue pattern that repeatedly scaled its body. Jeremy wasn’t sure what frightened him most—the fact that the Gyarados looked bigger than the buildings in town, or the fact that it looked capable of killing him.

It was then that Jeremy realized his feet were lying at the starting edge of the water. Without hesitation, he stood and bolted, only to be stopped by a blast of water from behind. The water was strong and painful once it hit his bare flesh, causing him to fall forward and damage his nose. He rubbed his face while looking up, seeing a worried Giselle standing about twenty feet away.

He was about to call out to her or even start running once again, but another discharge of water seemed to rope him and yank him towards the source of the liquid. His body was engulfed by the substantial waves, his flesh continuously lashed while the thickness of it towed him deeper underwater. The liquid buried him further as he held his breath for as long as he could manage. His lungs hungered for air, but the desire was based entirely on the water’s course, which plunged him deeper, deeper…

It was hopeless. He would never reach the surface in time. The chances of returning were slim now, and his lungs felt ready to burst, his chest becoming the victim of this fact since it felt like a weight had been plunged in its center. His lungs seemed to survive on the little air he had left, and he felt his body drifting, finding no more reason to struggle or carry on.

Serenely, his body descended, finding the peace everyone longed to have, the peace everyone longed for in such a torn world. And then, just as easily as he had sunk, his body lifted, only it wasn’t him that was doing the work. A new hope bloomed inside him as someone’s arm tangled around his stomach and lurched him upward, toward what he knew was surely the surface.

He knew, however, that his lungs could not go on. They were to die from exhaustion soon, ending the oxygen passage that coursed through his body. He tried to coax his thoughts with survival, but his mind was in denial of that ever happening. He was probably already dead.

And then the liquid sky that had been above him shattered, and air plastered his face as his mouth flew open, inhaling the oxygen with relieved, yet exhausted lungs. A new sky—the real sky—spread out above him, the familiar sliver of sunlight meeting his wet face. He heard Giselle shouting, but he could not keep his heavy eye lids open to see her reaction. A forceful arm that belonged to a stranger pressed him to the shore, and the ground slowly reformed from beneath his tired body.

He breathed heavily, finding his chest in constant repression while trying to get enough air. Giselle’s voice, sounding broken, flowed by his ear, but he didn’t pay any attention to it.

Then, once he came to his senses, he sat up slowly, pressing a palm to his forehead. His eyes fluttered open shortly after and saw, firstly, Giselle, who roped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Once she finally got off (he had to practically push her off), he noticed the soaking wet stranger that stood before him.

To his dismay, it was a boy who was even taller than him. The boy, oddly, had star-shaped hair that was colored entirely in tan. His eyes radiated an eerie shade of ruby, one that seemed out of place within the boy’s tan body and hair. His eyebrows slanted over his eyes, and his voice sounded like it had been doubled with an echo.

“Are you all right?”

Jeremy pressed his right palm to his forehead yet again before nodding. “Yeah. Did you…save me?” He was astonished that he had been saved, but he was embarrassed of the fact that he couldn’t save himself.

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!” Giselle was going hysterical, and Jeremy vaguely noticed the cascade of tears that she suppressed.

“It was nothing,” the boy simply said, and turned, his voice sounding almost robotic.

“Wait, what’s your name?” Jeremy called, ignoring Giselle’s protective grip on his shoulders.

“That is not important,” the boy answered in that plain, monotonous voice.

When the boy had completely disappeared from walking down the path, Giselle continued to hug Jeremy tightly until his lungs felt just as crushed as they had been underwater. He shoved her off gently with an apology and looked toward where the boy had disappeared. That same familiarity that he had experienced with the girl a year ago emanated off this boy. His star-shaped hair and ruby eyes…What did it remind him of?

The mindless babble of Giselle’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “…so happy you’re alive! I thought you were a goner when that Gyarados came out of the water! It was so weird because it just came out of nowhere and then that boy just leapt into the water and the Gyarados fled. It was so weird! You were underwater for a long time also! I was so scared, oh my gosh—”

He pressed a finger to her lip, silencing her. “Please don’t talk. You’re giving me a headache.” He smiled apologetically at her as her mouth twisted with annoyance. “Sorry, but it’s kind of hard to handle after experiencing a life or death situation.”

Her anger dropped, replaced by concern. “Right. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine.”

She began to mess with his hair like a mother would. He sighed irritably and shuffled away from her, wondering who that boy was and how he seemed so familiar.

“Whoa, wait, where are you going? You need to get to a hospital! What if you got any injuries?”

“I’m fine. I feel fine. I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Okay, Gigi?” A smile widened his lips as he trailed away from Giselle and her outraged shouts.

“FOR CHRIST’S SAKE, DON’T CALL ME THAT!”

[-*****-]​

Cherrygrove City is a bustling place, filled with rows of sleek streets, tarnished by the many cars that had driven aggressively over its surface. Skyscrapers don't seem to have an existence here, but houses--ranging from wooden to brick--and shops--consistent of supplies and chipped paint on their exterior--file each street consecutively. There was even a school with sturdy, burgundy brick making up the mass of the educational building.

School lied drearily under the even drearier sky. The clouds had gathered in front of the sun, as if to bully or taunt the gaseous ball of light. The atmosphere was the same, apart from the blanket of gray clouds suspended over the cerulean expanse of the heavens, tampering with the wind and causing its breeze to lower to a droop.

The academy Jeremy and Giselle currently attended was filled with chattering, buzzing students that spoke cheerfully of their studies. At the school, students were expected to wear uniforms of gray consisting of the roughest fabric. Both genders wore red ties, which remained to be the highlight of the overall dull outfit. Girls wore skirts with short sleeved shirts, while the boys wore shorts with short sleeved shirts. Depending on the weather you could wear long sleeved or short sleeved, but since the humidity drenched the atmosphere today, the majority of the student population wore short sleeved.

There were numerous classes, such as Pokémon Battling (also known as P.B.), Poké History, Pokébra and countless more. One of the more popular classes in the school was the class they called Poké Language. This class taught you how to speak to Pokémon, and it was required if you wanted to pass through school. However, there is a way of passing through school without actually graduating, and that option would be to go on a Pokémon journey.

The academy was mainly for students who did more studying or research before going on a Pokémon journey. Usually you’re given the option to become a Pokémon trainer at a younger age, but there is a second option to remain in school and experience the life of a Pokémon trainer later on. This was the path that the majority of the students took, including Jeremy and Giselle.

Jeremy lingered near his class entrance, waiting for his first period to start. He had gotten to school early and had been allowed to enter with determined haste. He had avoided Ross, Clayton and Giselle because of how early he had showed, and thankfully he wouldn’t have to socialize with anyone for the moment. He just wanted to be alone, even for just a little bit.

His thoughts flashed back to the boy from yesterday. His hair was shaped like a star…a star…identical to a Staryu…and it was even tanned…

His thoughts flashed again, this time to the girl he had seen last year who had bared resemblance to a Vulpix. Something just didn’t seem right with what he saw. It seemed so…peculiar.

The obnoxious ringing of the school bell ricocheted off the walls and caused his attention to draw forward, entering the classroom with ease. He sat in his regular desk, which was positioned near the window, and stared through the glass, watching a few Spearow dawdle in a bushy tree.

Gradually, students piled into the classroom, filing into the arranged desks. Jeremy was thankful that none of his friends were in his first period because he didn’t want to be distracted at the moment. His thoughts were consumed by the girl from last year and the boy from yesterday. They had one thing in common—they looked like certain Pokémon. They didn’t look exactly like Pokémon, but they looked similar.

Jeremy peered upward just as one of the teachers entered the classroom. The tardy bell echoed throughout the building just as the last student piled into the classroom. She didn’t seem important at the time until the teacher directed her in front of the class. That’s when realization struck.

It was the girl from last year. Her hair had gotten longer and thicker from last time with the six tightened curls at the end of her hair looking like they were about to split. Her eyes were the same familiar black eyes that stared and glistened knowingly, but they looked as if they were growing into a slant. She wore the usual uniform that female students were expected to wear, and her petite, slender figure fit into it nicely.

“Class, we have a new student,” the bored teacher said as she stood awkwardly in front of the classroom. “Please introduce yourself.”

The girl hesitated, eyes blinking rapidly until she just decided to look down at her feet. “M-my name is Ari.”

Murmurs drifted through the students, and one of the boys shouted daringly, “Hey, you’re that hoe from last year!” There were strained laughs from the outburst, and Ari’s face showered with red even though she looked like she had no idea what he meant.

The teacher silenced the class briskly and guided Ari to her seat, which was directly behind Jeremy’s desk. She sat down with her eyes staring down at the desk, almost as if she wanted to carve something into the wood. Jeremy’s words sizzled on his tongue with the desire to speak, but he found that speaking in class wasn’t allowed when the teacher’s eyes hounded his row because of Ari’s presence.

At the end of class, Jeremy rose promptly and whirled around to socialize with her as he collected his stuff into his arms. Ari was startled from his action, but she smiled briefly at him before gathering her supplies as well.

“I’m Jeremy.” He held out his hand willingly, studying her dark almond-shaped eyes that blended in perfectly with her unseen pupil.

Ari stole a glance at his hand and shook it gently before dashing past him. He followed with the same determined pace.

“Wait, where are you going?” He began to pant as he ran, finding her speed impossible to maintain.

“Class,” she answered promptly, and then halted as one of the teachers ambled by.

“Whoa, wait, I have to ask you—” Jeremy was interrupted as the girl took off once again, her shoes causing clacks to hammer against the walls as they wasted no time in taking her to her next destination.

She was fast! How was it even possible to be that fast? Jeremy was astounded when tracing himself back to his locker and then his next period. He was greeted by Giselle when ambling through the doorway, but her flashes of concern did nothing to ease the pants that still subsided in his chest from earlier.

“What happened? Why are you panting?” she asked worriedly, going so far as to reach her hand forward and gently place it on his shoulder.

He darted away from her, vaguely explaining that he had sprinted through the halls to avoid tardiness. He purposely didn’t mention Ari or the fact he had been chasing her because he knew it would negatively affect Giselle’s emotions. For some reason, she would always have bizarre mood swings whenever he brought up the girl from last year, which had turned out to be Ari. The strange thing was that Ari had reappeared after being gone from a year and now she was a student at the school.

Coincidence? Maybe. But for now the only question that scratched his skull was why Ari had returned in the first place.

Class started with a dull wave of chatter rising from the students. The teacher entered promptly while dragging a lanky boy behind her. Silence just fell into place after noticing that a youthful stranger had entered. Jeremy and Giselle were forced into shock once seeing that it was the same boy from yesterday.

The boy had no difference in appearance, which was something to be expected after only meeting him yesterday. His tan star-shaped hair remained intact despite his pace that should’ve moved the sculpted hairs. His ruby eyes were bright in contrast to his tan skin, and just like the day before, he carried that robotic and monotonous aura about him.

The teacher droned on about the aspects of class and how students are expected to achieve it until noticing the bored male teenager standing beside her. Her attention shifted onto him now as she said in a forced bubbly voice, “I’d like to welcome our new student! Keiba Greene!”

Faint murmurs rang across the classroom. Some of the students in the back had dozed off, apparently too tired to listen to the introduction or the teacher’s previous lecture. Sunlight bathed the room from the single window on the left wall, drenching Jeremy’s face and the stunned expression that had appeared on it after spotting and examining the familiar face of his rescuer.

Keiba was guided to a desk in the second row, which were three rows apart from Jeremy’s. Giselle had proceeded to stiffening in her chair and whispering across the aisle to Jeremy, pointing out the boy from yesterday. However, Jeremy didn’t need to be reminded that this boy had rescued him. He remembered all too clearly what had happened; the question was, how did the boy do it? Why was he a student as well?

There was no question to it. Keiba and Ari were connected in someway. Their enrollment in the school couldn’t be mere coincidence.

Class, like the previous one, ended sooner than expected. The day seemed inhabited with deriving acceleration, or that’s what it seemed.

Jeremy felt controlled by gratitude as he followed Keiba in a hurried pace, learning from Ari’s experience that he would have to walk fast in order to catch up. However, Keiba’s pace was softer and slower, like that of a Slowpoke’s. Aside from this trait, his feet seemed to achieve a dull tempo, one that matched the rest of his stagnant appearance. The peculiarity of his appearance, however, was what caused distractions from the blankness of his eyes, showing that instead of the boredom bound to them, they reflected an incandescent gleam.

Keiba paused, and his eyes snapped like a mouse trap onto Jeremy’s, causing him to jump. “Can I help you?” That dry robotic voice seemed to crow.

“I-I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. Again,” he added, a glint of foolishness causing his fingers to curl.

Keiba seemed neither welcomed nor perturbed at what Jeremy said. Instead, he turned away and said tediously, “You are welcome.”

“Wait!” Jeremy called out, the sense of wanting to befriend the boy becoming clear.

Keiba halted, as if it was crucial to heed to his command.

“Do you want to sit with me at lunch? I mean, you’re new, and—”

“I shall ask my friends. Goodbye for now.” The unusual boy broke off into a run.

Jeremy watched in fascination until slivering through a swarm of teenagers that toddled by his locker. The frustration that had begun to band inside of him was conditioned by the urgency to get to his next class. Giselle followed loyally, like a Growlithe to its trainer. She was determined not to leave him alone for one second, it seemed. It wasn’t really helping that she had changed her schedule in order to obtain more classes with him.

There was nothing out of the ordinary in the classes. It was the same dull atmosphere with the same dull teachers teaching the same dull lessons. The first two classes had seemed more interesting than the classes Jeremy currently attended because of the new students that had joined them. Giselle even mentioned the peculiarity of it during lunch.

“Y’know, it’s kind of weird that that guy that rescued you is going to our school now,” Giselle said while stabbing her fork into the abnormally grey meat loaf she had gotten from the lunch line. Her nose wrinkled when doing so, her stomach giving pangs of hunger, desperate enough to eat even the inedible pile of discolored meat.

“Yeah,” came Jeremy’s tired and mindless answer. Ross and Clayton hadn’t showed up to school for some reason, so he concluded that they were sick. Thankfully Giselle had the same lunch as him, so he wouldn’t be alone for lunch. His eyes, at the moment, were scanning the cafeteria, filing over the numerous rows of filled tables.

Giselle cringed as she chewed on a mouthful of meat loaf, finding her stomach too perturbed to even growl after she had swallowed. She pushed the tray away and settled her cheek into her palm while studying Jeremy’s searching eyes. “Are you looking for Keiba?”

“Uh, yeah.” At least what he said was partly true. He was also looking for Ari, which he was thankful Giselle didn’t know had enrolled. He couldn’t help but notice the envy that budded in her eyes whenever he mentioned the bizarre incident from last year. Her constant complaints of the matter told him it wasn’t a good subject to bring up, and the budding of envy had drastically transformed into fury. He had chuckled quietly when Giselle had referred to it as public porn.

Giselle’s growing suspicion of Jeremy’s desperation to find Keiba was at the top of her thoughts at the moment. She covered up her wary tone with tenderizing softness, saying almost lovingly, “So, how are you doing?”

“Good. You?”

She sighed, realizing her pitch at a conversation had been answered poorly. She tried again. “Oh, good. So how are you feeling? I’m sure you must be hurting from yesterday.”

“Actually, I’m not,” he said, momentarily tearing his eyes away from the scene of the buzzing cafeteria. He had given up from looking now, finding the search to be useless. If Keiba or Ari were here, he would’ve already seen them. “I’m feeling good. I just wish I could talk to Keiba.”

“I am here.”

Startled by the abrupt dreary voice, the two jumped in their seats. Jeremy was the first to spot Keiba, who was in the formation of a diamond with three other people. Ari was among the four, her black eyes latching onto his curiously. The two others varied in appearance and size.

The first of the two was a short girl with frothy white hair, looking like a cloud had detached itself from the sky to nest on the girl’s head. Her beady black eyes appeared innocent and cute, but they were nothing in comparison to Ari’s larger ones, which were now flitting nervously between the boiling Giselle and cheerful Jeremy. The last of the group was a tall muscular boy with red hair that jetted backward in a three-thorn crown. His eyes were a light green, glimmering with intensity and unusually paired delight.

Keiba was the first to speak. “I am sorry it took so long for me to find you. I had to get my friends.”

“Oh, that’s okay.” Jeremy was delighted at the time, causing Giselle to simmer in response. He greeted the four cheerfully and introduced himself to the two that he hadn’t met. “I’m Jeremy. And you are?”

“Calypso,” the short girl answered first, an awkward smile causing her parted lips to break into cracks along the dry skin.

“Oliver,” the ember-haired boy replied in a gruff voice. His jaw seemed to clench when doing so, but his lips had barely opened to speak the words. It was hard to see where his mouth was located since he kept his lips so tightly held together; Jeremy had thought it had vanished after he had spoken his name.

The group’s attention was drawn by Giselle’s hand, which furiously clawed the table in spite of the fact that she was aware of her actions. She clenched and unclenched her jaw, raw anger situating itself in the cool crescent of her cerulean eyes.

“Why are they here?” she asked, forcing the words out through her gritted teeth. She was mainly referring to Ari, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to control herself if she had referred to Ari alone. She was barely managing to control herself at the time anyway.

Ari’s eyebrows furrowed, alarm sneaking its way out of her confused expression. “I’m sorry. Were we intruding?” She peered toward Keiba, as if to check that the invitation from Jeremy had been real.

“No, of course not!” Jeremy stood, gesturing toward the empty seats. “Please, sit down. I was hoping all of you would come.”

Giselle restrained herself, her chest rising lowly as she discovered most of her anger had clouded the involuntary action to breathe. Was she just supposed to sit and take this? No! She would not let this happen again. She would not see Jeremy’s eyes fawning over the same girl that had been the start to her misery. Not again.

Her eyes flickered across to each individual of the group that had filled up some of the empty spaces. Then her gaze landed on the unopened carton of milk she had bought from the lunch line. An idea shadowed her anger. A mischievous smile made her lips extend into a reformed wickedness.

While unlatching the top of the carton with her twiddling fingers, she smiled sweetly at the group and said, “I’m Giselle. It’s nice to meet each of you.” As planned, she pulled her hand back hastily, the edge of her thumb colliding with the milk carton and causing the contents of it to spill forward. Vertically apart from Giselle, the wooden table was drenched with the pallid, pasty white liquid, forming a river of milk as it flowed and sprayed directly toward Ari.

Giselle grinned in triumph, expecting Ari to shriek after the liquid had poured onto her lap. However, her expectations and grin dropped once seeing Ari’s active response to the river of milk that had narrowly missed landing on her.

Ari swooped out of the way hastily, dodging it with swift grace. She didn’t take it with surprise; it was more like a reflex or something she had been trained to do. Giselle was astonished when seeing it, and she couldn’t help the maddening cover of red that sprouted in her face after seeing her little prank had been a failure.

“Oh, I’m so sorry about that,” Giselle said after fuming silently for five minutes. The rest of Keiba’s group stared at her with startled expressions. A mask of horror seemingly joined.

Ari peered downward and noticed that after dodging the approaching stream of milk, she had landed on the ground on all fours. Her legs felt out of place as she tried to pin them underneath her stomach. The awkwardness of the position caused Jeremy and Giselle to watch in perplexity and bewilderment. A few students seated at various tables glanced toward her, eyebrows furrowed.

“Oh, uh…” Flustered, Ari stood and brushed off her lap, as if dust had collected on her skirt from having bent to the ground. “I was just stretching. Sorry.”

A veil of confusion haloed the table. Jeremy was pooled with relief, but the sight of Ari swiftly evading the milk that had undoubtedly been aimed for her and the position she had taken in order to do so dug his interest further. She was fast, exactly the same speed as she had been when running hurriedly through the hall. The significant difference from when she had been speeding through the hall was how her action had been animal, or roughly too wild to even be considered human. Giselle was too shocked to notice what had taken place, but Jeremy was keen on what he saw, especially since his suspicion had been wrought ever since first seeing Ari.

Calypso’s fingers drummed the table, a sudden wave of apprehension stemming through her. “Er—umm, maybe we should—”

“Leave?” Keiba rose after suggesting it, his feet parted in preparation to scurry.

“No, wait, you just got here. Please, sit.” Jeremy smiled, but that didn’t ease the tension and awkwardness that had emerged from the four Pokémon-like strangers. They waved off his attempt as if it was meaningless and scurried across the cafeteria.

He nearly dove after them. “No, damn it, wait!” He sprinted. The four did the same in a quicker, determined speed. At this point it looked like a chase that was similar to Tom and Jerry’s as the four dodged a predatory pounce from Jeremy. The crowded tables of the cafeteria seemed more like an audience now as some watched the amusing scene, scrutinizing the event as if it was a stage.

The performance ended early as the four entered the shadowed exit to the cafeteria and disappeared amongst the dim lighting. Jeremy didn’t bother to follow them further since he was panting at this point, and he almost toppled over, making him realize how out of shape he was despite how thin his body was.

Giselle’s previously cheerful emotions had already crumbled; a wall of unease and fury were imperious and seemed to thrust a darker side she never thought she was capable of through her. It coursed through her and made her limbs eager to launch. It was almost like a static charge of some sort that made her body naturally springy and athletic; a discharge of monstrous pleasure, a mischievous current of revenge. She felt this charge before and recognized it instantly. This charge had always led her to trouble and had always gotten her yelled at by her parents or her teachers. This charge made her become a rebel and made her bend a few rules. There was no name for it, but she surely knew what it was. It was like a dark side of her—always causing trouble and breaking rules. It was because she was so desperate to peeve Ari that this charge sparked inside her and helped her embrace her dark side. She no longer shrouded her smile with innocence; if her lips were letters, they would spell “guilty.”

Jeremy dragged his feet back to the table in disappointment just as Giselle lifted from her place. She smiled at him endearingly.

“Sorry, Jerry. I have to go to the bathroom. See ya in a bit!” She was about to dash when Jeremy’s hand curled around her wrist, halting her. His sudden hold startled her and caused rosy blush to flood her face. It felt like fire had bristled from his touch, making her flesh burn in a frenzy of heat.

“Wait.” His gaze darkened once he really looked into her eyes, shadowing the disappointed edge to his frown. “I know you did that purposely.”

“Did what?” Her eyes widened, but they went too wide. It made her look as if she was alarmed, but she was in a matter of speaking. Her heart was thudding rapidly in her chest from having been grasped along the wrist by Jeremy’s rough hand. The same thrill she used to experience all the time jolted through her, like a lightning bolt had electrified her and ceased control of her grudge. She could already feel her palms getting sweaty, the experience making her throat unbearably dry, as if it was an internal desert.

“You purposely bumped into your milk carton, right?” One of his eyebrows rose. There was almost an amusing edge to his lips as he watched Giselle shift from his harrying stare.

“It was an accident. You gotta believe me.” She gave him a quirky look.

Jeremy was positive that it hadn’t been an accident. It was too coincidental that the target of the milk had been Ari. Giselle hated Ari even though she didn’t know her. He knew her long enough to know when she was acting.

“I don’t believe you, and it’s really obvious, Gig—Giselle,” Jeremy replied sternly, correcting himself.

She stomped her feet unexpectedly, causing his eyes to widen as she displayed what looked like a temper tantrum. She didn’t care what she said or did now. It didn’t matter anymore. “GOSH! I give you the best years of my life, and this is what I get?!”

“Uh…what?” He blinked back his confusion, but he could not contain the bafflement when saying the next statement. “I don’t really understand what you’re saying…”

“My GOSH! Boys are so dense! I hate this! HATE it! You hear me?!” Her rising voice caused a few heads to turn. “I can’t stand this anymore! You know what, Jer-ee-mee? I’m tired of you! Just go ahead and drool over that girl! See if I freaking care! I DON’T CARE about you anymore, okay?!”

She trudged away with various pairs of eyes watching her in amazement and mixed confusion. A few girls began to applaud her, and someone shouted, “You go girl!” After she had exited through the same shadowy exit Keiba’s group had went through, Jeremy blinked continuously, avoiding the eyes that now plowed him.

What did she mean? Part of her statements had made sense, but it was hard to comprehend the rest…

Jeremy shrugged and sat down, avoiding eye contact with anyone that looked his way. He knew she was upset, but he couldn’t resolve anything unless he knew what she was talking about. He hated seeing her this way, but he saw no other option. He felt blistered from all the eyes staring at him, but he had to simply evade anyone’s gaze and wait for lunch to end. Then he’d get to see everyone—including Ari.

[-*****]​

The sound of Giselle’s feet pounding into the ground during each step ricocheted off the walls. By the time she had made it at the end of the hall, her head swelled with a headache, but like previous times, it had been her fault. Her parents’ divorce had been her fault. Her bad grades had been her fault. The distance between her and Jeremy had been her fault. The bitterness dwelling within her had been her fault. Who knows, maybe even the Plague was her fault.

She leaned back against the wall abruptly and sunk to the ground, resting her forehead against her knees. Tears stung her eyes, but she swept them away with the brush of her hand. She was suddenly so emotional. Maybe it was because she was tired of it all. She couldn’t stand being at school or not being a Pokémon trainer. She hated being at home since her dad was no longer there, and her mother always had such coldness in her eyes. No wonder she was so bitter all the time. Perhaps she had adapted from hanging around her mother too much. And Jeremy…every time she was around him, the misery lifted. But she couldn’t stand looking at his face while knowing that he didn’t like her in the way she liked him.

“This sucks!” she cried, slamming her fist against the wall, making the joints in her fingers feel like they had crumbled from within her soft flesh. She kept pounding her fist against the wall until frigid numbness spread through it, and then she proceeded to doing the same to the other one.

With deadened hands, she rose and ambled inaudibly through the empty hallway since she had relieved her intensified resentment. She didn’t care where she was going or if she was allowed to be anywhere other than the cafeteria. She just wanted to get far away, and if that meant skipping school, she was willing.

She whirled around the corner and lingered timidly against the wall. Her feet froze. She saw two figures shape visibly within the dim light that the windows offered, but it was unclear to whom they were. Slowly, her vision adjusted and she saw Ross stationed against the wall. Beside him was a boy, but he was sitting upon the ground instead of standing. She heard their faint voices and knew they were socializing, but she was curious to hear what they were saying. Then, just as she was fixing to take a step forward, Ross suddenly lifted his hand and placed it on top of the boy’s head.

She blinked, slightly disturbed by the unusual display. Ross was…patting the boy’s head. She watched further, curiosity peaked. Ross was…petting his head and nuzzling…his hair.

What in the world?!

She neared forward, and their heads simultaneously twisted in her direction. Ross quickly pulled his hand back and placed it behind his head, making it appear more casual. Once she was within three feet of them, she identified the seated boy.

Keiba?!

He watched her with those piercing red eyes, the cleanliness of his face making it gleam. She waited for his response, but it never came.

Ross was the first to greet. “Oh, hey, Gigi!” He waved enthusiastically. “What’s up?”

She was too distracted by Keiba’s guarded gaze to reply. Once Ross waved a hand in front of her face, she faced him and blinked. “Nothing. What are you doing?”

“I’ll tell you if you’ll go out with me.” He winked, and Giselle felt like she had thrown up in her mouth. The nausea from having listened to his unworthy pick-up line caused her stomach to churn.

“Uh, no thanks. I’m not your type.”

“What are you talking about? You’re definitely my type,” Ross said, hinting a smile.

“No, really. I don’t think I’m your type. Aren’t you two going out?” She gestured back and forth to Keiba and Ross. It took Ross awhile to register what she was saying.

He jumped back four feet, nearly knocking into the wall. “Ew! No, we’re not going out! We’re just friends! I’m not gay!”

She raised an eyebrow. “So…you’re bi.”

“What the HELL?!” He face-palmed. “Where did you get—” He suddenly froze and grimaced at his hand, understanding why she would’ve concluded that. “Oh…wait…”

“Yeah. You pet his head. I thought if I didn’t approach, you two would start getting intimate, so I decided to come forward just to clarify. I’m so glad I wasn’t about to be watching a make-out scene.” She shuddered with disgust at the thought and detached her gaze from Ross’s. Keiba was staring in confusion, looking as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

Ross watched her warily. “Why were you watching to begin with?”

“Oh, trust me. I wasn’t watching long. I just happened to come down this hallway,” she answered with the roll of her eyes.

“But why are you down here?”

“Why are you down here?” she said briskly, eyes piercing his.

“Why did you change the subject?” Ross cornered her stare with a sharper one.

She scowled, but it wasn’t as intense as his. “Answer mine first.”

“No, answer mine first,” he retorted, sounding purposely whiny.

She smacked him across the shoulder angrily, causing him to recoil. “Shut up! You’re such a nuisance.”

“Oh come on. Is that anyway to treat a straight guy that’s willing to date you?” His smile made her resentment grow to the point where she couldn’t control herself.

“Shut UP!” Her hands repeatedly slapped him with furious swipes that only a really agitated Pokémon could manage.

She was stopped by hard hands and an even harder voice that seemed to crow in her ears and rasp with each word it said.

“Touch him again, and you’re dead,” the voice said, ironed with no emotion and the roughness of a sandpapered stone.

Once she was released, she dropped to the ground and heaved onto her side, startled. Then she stood with the assistance of Ross’s hands until leveling herself and peering toward Keiba, who was staring at her icily.

She grimaced at Ross and found her anger contained the same balance of her wobbly feet. “What the hell was that? Trying to molest me?” Her emotions were so strong that she ignored the bruising mark she had given him.

“Uh, well…he was only defending—” He didn’t get to finish because Giselle had stormed off, murmuring furious rants under her breath as she threw her hands up in the air.

Giselle’s nostrils flared. How dare he? Keiba was certainly determined to protect his lover. Geez! She didn’t care what Ross said. He was gay; Keiba was gay. They were together. As long as her accusations annoyed Ross, she was fine with that. She still couldn’t believe what just happened. Why were they there? Why did Ross pet Keiba’s head?

The questions piled as she burst through the front doors of the school. The sky blossomed overhead, streaks of red blazing across as the sun emblazoned its opaque surface. The dirt looked bronze under the sky’s powerful glow. The air felt heavier with thick humidity. The aroma that wafted consisted of fresh shaven grass and the dry leaves of basil.

Yeah, she was skipping, but what else was there to do? School sucked anyway. She was tired of being there and showing she was a failure time and time again. What would one absence do? Besides, they only had a few periods left until the day ended. The evening sky had already showed up. She might as well spend her time wisely. It’s not like she was going to be successful. Her grades proved that.

She wandered through the streets until coming upon one that was aligned with shops. While ambling, her gaze traveled across the transparent displays, and suddenly her gaze fell upon a breaking news report. The reporter on screen was much older than her with wrinkles causing his skin to sag. His hair tinted with gray, and his eyes were a blank blue. He rambled on about how there had been several robberies and one of them had been an important egg that was relative to Pokémon professors everywhere.

Suddenly, Giselle felt inspired. A strange thrill discharged through her, and she had a new idea, one that would probably help influence her career.

[-*****-]​

Ross settled his hand onto his lap while staring straightforward. He didn’t know what to think at the moment. Giselle had mysteriously appeared, accused him of being gay and then gave him a bruise. Not only that, but she had seen him pet Keiba. However, it wasn’t like that in anyway. Their bond was…hard to explain, but both of them were straight.

Keiba chuckled after Ross had explained the situation to him—an odd thing to hear when fused with his robotic voice. “I am straight as well. I did not understand the terms. Thank you for clarifying.”

“Yeah. Can you believe she thought we were dating?” Ross smirked at the thought, shaking his head. Then he glanced toward Keiba and saw that his eyes were closed. “Having trouble adjusting?”

“It is painful,” Keiba admitted as he opened his eyes, blinking them repeatedly. “I’m not used to this sort of thing. It’s a trait I was never required to have.”

“Yeah.” Ross closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall. “I’m surprised we haven’t gotten caught yet.”

“Yes.” Keiba dipped his head and closed his eyes yet again. “I would like to thank you for letting Ari, Calypso and Oliver stay and attend.”

“Hey, your friends are my friends. It’s not a problem,” Ross assured him while crossing his limp legs and folding his arms behind his head.

“Yes…” He cleared his throat. “That girl from earlier…she seems…”

“Hot? Yeah,” Ross agreed dreamily, earning an emotionless glance from Keiba.

“No. She seemed rather cold, actually. She almost seemed like…one of us.”

This caused Ross’s curiosity to wane, and he leaned forward with a prying intent. “You think? I don’t know if she’s been going here that long, but Jeremy knows her. He got really defensive when I told him I wanted to go out with her.”

“Defensive? Maybe’s she one of his…” He trailed off, piecing everything together carefully. It all made sense.

“Which one would she be though?” Ross asked, cocking his head to the side.

“I’m not certain, but she was quite fierce when attacking, correct? It was…inhuman.”

Ross paused before agreeing. “You’re right…That makes sense…”

“Perhaps we should interrogate tomorrow,” Keiba suggested.

“Yeah…and that’s why she had been watching us. She must know what you are,” Ross said, eyes widening. “And she didn’t want us to know she knew, so she approached and said she thought we were gay so that we wouldn’t think she knew about it. It makes sense!”

Keiba nodded and stood briskly, holding out his hand to Ross. “Let us go and find Ari. We must discuss it.”

Ross stood after taking Keiba’s hand. They trailed down the hallway in silence, bursting through the doors in the same way Giselle had a moment ago but with less anger.

While looking up to the sky, Keiba’s eyes narrowed and he slid his hand against his forehead, shadowing his vision so that the dimness of the sun couldn’t harm it. With a grim frown, he shook his head and let his hand fall back to his side.

“It could be approaching,” he stated calmly with another shake of his head.

This time, Ross looked up as well. “Yeah…you’re right. This isn’t good. Is it because Ari and the others are here?”

“Perhaps.” Keiba’s thoughts swam with possibilities, but he couldn’t speak any of them aloud until he was certain. “All I know for sure is that the Plague is near, and it’s searching.”

Ross nodded. “Then we don’t have much time.”

With a brisk starting run, the two dashed over the concrete streets and kept running until they were gone from view. The sun lowered from their disappearance, masked by a looming dark cloud.

The Plague was coming. The clouds foretold its presence.


END CHAPTER 1

--------------------

BUM BUM BUM! Haha xD Hope you enjoyed! Please submit reviews and such! More will be answered in future chapters!!
Also, I'm gonna be super busy 'cause school starts tomorrow T.T Bleehhhh. I'll try getting more up. Also...I forgot what I was going to say...OH WAIT! ...No wait, lost it. I'll remember it some other time, but for now--OH WAIT! NOW I REMEMBER! Okie, I suck at chapter names, so if anyone could help me name the chapters, that would be great xDDD Thank you!
 
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I just read this. I have to say, so far, it's probably my favorite fanfic on this site. Gorgeous description, great plot.... Beauty.
 
Oh wow! Thank you for the review! Oh my gosh o.o Thank you! I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. Thank you, thank you, thank you! =DDDDDDD
 
This is hands down the best fic I've ever read. It's just amazing. I haven't read a good fic, or even a good book in along time. This is just so addictive. PM list please?
 
Oh wow, thank you! That comment just made my day! I've been down in the dumps, but that made me smile xD Thank you so much! Yes, I will add you to the PM list. =D
 
Hello, hello! Gosh, this took me forever to write x.x I’ve been occupied with a lot of stuff. I’ve doing a lot of fanfic writing, as well as fanfic reading and reviewing. Also, I’ve been going through a massive break-up with my boyfriend that I’ve liked for FOREVER, and so that’s caused me to be…bleh. But, I’m tryin’. I promise.

Anyway…

[size=+1]BIG NEWS; MUST READ[/size]

This isn’t all of the chapter! Now, you’re probably asking, “Mitsuki, where is the rest of the chapter? :O” Well, this is just part 1. I still need to write part 2. I thought, “Well, I can’t make it too long or else they won’t have much time or they wouldn’t want to finish reading it or something,” so I just decided to split the chapter. That way there can be a break, and I can hear some feedback before I start writing the rest of the chapter. =D
Okie, concerning the story…
Yes, some of the description sucks. I didn’t want to put too, too much though D: I know it bounces from character to character, but EVERYTHING is pieced together in the end. I was really frustrated that it kept going from character to character, but I just decided to leave it after awhile. Let’s see…please review and comment =D Also, I want opinions on the characters. Do you see any foreshadowing? Do you see any mistakes? Who is your favorite character? Even though this is the beginning, and it hasn’t really gotten interesting yet, I MUST KNOW! So, if you have the time, please answer =D
One last thing I must say before you read. Okay, later in this chapter, there is a part written regularly and then some of the sentences are written in italics. That is because it is going back and forth from past to present.

TINY GIVEAWAY
Giselle’s memory is flashing while things are currently happening to her because what is happening is so much alike and she can’t help but remember the events. So…yeah. Just letting you know. For better clarification, please ask =D I know I didn’t explain that real well.

Okie, you don’t have to read this part, but this is concerning the story’s banner. Raise your hand if you think the banner sucks! =D

…

*raises hand slowly*

So, yes, I need photoshop or something. :p I desperately want a good banner, but right now I’m improvising. It’s the only thing I can do at the moment x.x But if you have any suggestions or comments on it or you think you can make one, please let me know or PM me or something =D

Please enjoy the chapter! (Or, really, part 1 :3)





::Chapter 2::

Part 1 of 2

[size=+1]Thievery, Ross’s Questioning and Attempted Kidnapping?![/size]​



Giselle couldn’t help but grimace at the displays lying nimbly in front of her, protected by thick glass that seemed too impossible to break. She had been standing there for about ten minutes, staring at the priceless object that gleamed from inside the glass case. She was drawn into the store by the twinkle the sapphire gem had produced when being struck by sun rays and the rough curves that were carved into the jewel’s surface, forming a circuitous exterior. It was a rare gem that had been found a few days ago in a mine and now Giselle seemed addicted to staring it, like most women would do when they really wanted something.

She jumped just as the owner of the store clamped their hand on her shoulder. Her eyes found the owner’s—a wrinkly old man with scraggly white hair that sometimes slashed over his eyes, but for the most part looked like the webby, thin legs of a large spider. His eyes were coarsened by seriousness and the stress business-owners often endured, making him appear exhausted.

“It’s almost closing time, ma’am,” he said with an elegantly structured voice.

Giselle nodded, thanked him and exited the store, walking into the now flooded streets of Cherrygrove. Many people were starting to leave their work at the time since the day had almost officially ended and the sun was just peeking out from the edge of a hill now. From time the sky had darkened, causing Giselle to urgently hurry to her home before night fell.

“I’m home!” The silver hinges of the front door produced a tiresome groan as Giselle gently pressed her palm against it, slowly putting it back into place. Her eyes scanned the hallway first and saw the living room clattered with familiar furniture; brown couches, brown tables and brown chairs. There was even a brown pedestal for the television. Her mother was a very earthy person.

Her mother’s greeting never came; instead, her petite figure walked into view with her crossed arms placed in front of her flat stomach. Giselle looked almost exactly like her mother; she had long shadowy hair that rarely twisted into curls and the same striking blue eyes that shimmered like the ripples of the sunlit ocean. Her mother was generally short for her age and reached only about five feet, which forced Giselle to look down whenever she was speaking to her. The only thing about Giselle that was different from her mother was her height and nose; unfortunately for her mother, she had a peculiarly crooked nose. Giselle was grateful that she inherited a straight one from her father.

Giselle didn’t even have to interrogate to know that her mother was disappointed in something. She usually was nowadays. Her bitterness revealed itself earlier now, snapping out of her mouth in a bratty demand.

“Stop looking at me like that! You always look at me like that like I did something wrong,” she hissed, offended by her mother’s hounding stare.

“This time, you did.” She walked away before Giselle could retort and trailed to the kitchen. There was a pause and then a soft click that Giselle had to strain to hear. A robotic female voice chimed from the answering machine, and the first saved message began to play.

“This is Cherrygrove Academy, and we are calling on behalf of your child’s absence through classes five and six. Because this child has not been recorded as being pulled out of class or checked out of the school, we have reason to believe they were skipping classes. If you agree, then the student will receive a punishment as a consequence. For any corrections or comments, please contact the school. We ask that you not respond because this is an automatic message. Thank you.” Click.

Giselle’s eyes flecked over some of the cracks that had begun to form in the plastered walls. It was strange for her to actually be in trouble since she always did such a good job at behaving in school. She found that her heart was beating torrentially fast from having been caught, but it gave her an indescribable pleasure, like the kind of pleasure the chirp of a baby bird would deliver to its mother.

Giselle’s mother, Sharma, trudged back into view, each step seemingly echoing every twinge of disappointment she felt at the moment. How could Giselle do this? She was never a behavioral issue in school, so why was she rebelling now? Was this a late act from when she and Timothy had separated?

Sharma tapped her fingers against the nearest object, irritation causing her joints to bend irregularly in her tightened knuckles. “Well? Reason?” No mercy. That was her enforcement at the time.

“Uh, I was bored?” Giselle shrugged, striding past her astounded mother. She obviously didn’t care about what happened, which caused her mom to teeter on the brink of alarm.

“You were…bored?” She blinked rapidly. This sort of thing wasn’t mentioned in the parental handbook she had read. Why was Giselle acting so calm about getting in trouble? Did she care about the punishment that was bound to affect her social life?

“I just said that.” Giselle opened the refrigerator and pulled out an apple. She approached the sink to wash its red, tooth-shaped exterior.

“What would you say if I said you were grounded?”

Giselle pretended as if she was sighing with relief. “Phew.”

“Cell phone taken away?”

“Who gives a shit about that anyway?”

“Language!” Sharma snapped briskly, appalled by her daughter’s absurd behavior. “Grounded with no cell or books?”

Her smile was caressed by wickedness. “Don’t care.”

Sharma paused just as Giselle’s teeth grinded into the apple. What was the most fitting punishment for this situation? Any form of punishment she had suggested so far was hardly tearing apart her sarcastic faze. There had to be something there that would really get under her skin and bait her into a tortured reaction.

Then she beamed. “You’re not allowed to speak to Jeremy.” Of course! Giselle had had a crush on Jeremy for as long as she could remember. Obviously there would be hostility then and she would probably choose not to skip classes anymore after going through the newly suggested punishment.

Giselle’s jaw clenched slightly, but there was an arrogant twinkle glimmering in her eyes, telling her mother that something was wrong. She snorted. “Oh fine. Whatever. Who cares about him anyway?”

Sharma blinked, perturbed by what she was hearing. “You don’t like Jeremy anymore?”

“He just…doesn’t get me.” She shrugged and began to hurry towards the stairs as Sharma paused for another thinking session.

“Hold it, young lady!” she cried suddenly, jerked to reality by her daughter’s hurried footsteps. She took a deep breath. “Why don’t you like Jeremy anymore? What do you mean he doesn’t get you?”

Before Giselle knew it, she was seated at the kitchen table, lured in by her mother’s therapist intuition.

“He’s just really dense. He doesn’t know how I feel, and it’s like he doesn’t care.” She couldn’t help but vent to her mother even in times of bitterness. Her mother and her were so much alike; there had to be something that her mother could suggest since she went through many relationships in the past—including Giselle’s father.

“Why haven’t you told him yet?”

She lowered her head. Her face was dappled with scarlet. “’Cause…”

“Too embarrassed?” Sharma sighed irritably. “He’ll never know how you feel until you tell him. You should know that.”

“I’ve given so many freaking hints,” Giselle snapped, vestiges of her previous bitterness causing it to spread. She placed her foot on the ground and made swirly formations with her toes.

Sharma sat down beside her, at a loss of words. She was a little disappointed in her daughter since she wasn’t very confident in herself and purposely got in trouble. It’s like she was asking for a lecture.

However, she did what any mother would do: comforted her. She rested her hand gently on Giselle’s shoulder, causing her to jump, not expecting the supple act of kindness from her usually distant mother. Giselle blinked and then swatted the hand away, not wanting her tough expression to crack from her mother’s abrupt comforting gesture. It was unusual for such a thing to happen; it made her ponder if the woman sitting two feet away from her really was her mother.

Sharma didn’t take it offensively; she merely folded her hands together on her lap and stared down at her knees, which had begun to wobble. She felt so pressured at being a single mother; she didn’t know what to do nowadays. She wasn’t surprised that Giselle had begun to rebel; maybe it was her fault.

“Just…go to your room. I’ll decide your punishment later,” Sharma said tiredly, rising to shuffle across the tiled floor of the kitchen.

Giselle said nothing but brightened from being dismissed and practically glided enthusiastically up the stairs. When entering her plain room, she slammed the door, locked it and threw herself on top of the bed, the rough patterned quilts immediately catching her before her stomach did a fierce body slam and caused the floor to thump.

Her room was organized but held no theme or decorations. The only additions to the room were an oak dresser, a full-sized bed with quilts she had made when she was little, chalky white walls, and an aged lamp on top of the dresser. It was all very plain, but she didn’t care. As long as she could sleep and hang in there whenever she wanted, she found no reason to care.

She closed her eyes, shielding the disappointment of her thoughts. Her first task had been decided by herself, and her decision consisted of stealing that rare sapphire gem so that she could keep it for herself.

However, when she was about to attempt, her joints locked in place and all she could so was stare at the jewel she had longed to have, the jewel that gleamed brightly, as if it was related to the sun in someway. Some kind of reflex had restrained her, as if there was some kind of security inside her body or there were involuntary chains trapping her bones in place so that she wouldn’t make any sudden movements. Thinking back to it, it really was kind of stupid. I mean, was she really going to steal that gem? What had inspired her?

Oh yeah, the egg disappearance. Two eggs had been stolen, and it was reported on the news. And then, almost instantly after seeing it, she had gained that rebellious charge once again and ignorantly decided to steal the gem that she could never afford to have. Why though? She hadn’t cared for skipping school since she had acted out of anger, but now she just wanted to be a thief?

What was wrong with her?

[-*****-]​

Restless pants—produced obviously from sprinting—caused some of the visible Pokémon to scuttle back into their homes in fear of being discovered. The noises of breathlessness weren’t nearly as loud as the heavy footsteps that crunched the grass when trailing hurriedly by. Whoever was running was in a rush it seemed, as if they didn’t want to be caught by the moon’s appearance or the twinkling stars that accompanied it.

A tall, mysterious figure was shadowed entirely by the grouped trees, the color of each tree being the perfect camouflage for the green and brown outfit that the figure wore. His face was concealed at the moment, as if he was afraid someone could identify him. Regardless of if anyone was near, he kept running and hastened his pace by extending the distance between each step. His lope was gigantic now when grazing over the grass, his body practically leaping into the air as he travelled.

Where was he going?

Abruptly, he froze and dove into a set of empty bushes. His eyes were seen from one of the immersed cracks, but no one would be able to see them unless looking very closely. He doubted that someone would even try examining the bushes; that was why he didn’t mind inching forward as someone ran by.

A thin boy with a golden cap stood in front of the bushes, his green eyes sweeping over the vegetation with no urgency. Even as his heart raced from the speed he thought he had been incapable of, he was utterly calm; his body felt like a shell, immersed with aspiring serenity.

He removed his cap for a moment and allowed his uncombed brown hair to spill out. He ran his fingers through it and sighed, finding the stressfulness of the situation unearthly. Why was he out here? Well, he had decided to be a professor, and so that had started him out as an assistant. However, he didn’t like the job; he didn’t even like the fact he had been ordered to locate the egg-thief.

“It’s important!” Professor Elm had cried while frantically pacing around his abnormally unclean laboratory. “We need to find those eggs! It’s for the sake of history! Go, Shaun! Go! Find him! I’ll join you shortly, I promise!”

And so Shaun had run after the retreating figure that had taken off into the route that connected New Bark Town and Cherrygrove City. However, five minutes later after pursuing the thief, he had lost sight of him. And now it seemed like the thief had disappeared altogether.

“It’s not worth it,” Shaun muttered, stomping back in the direction of New Bark Town. “I’ll just tell him he escaped. It’s not my job to keep track of his experiments.”

Once Shaun was gone, the figure crept out from the bushes and held two objects closely to his chest. The objects were round and coated in a pale, yellowish whitish color; random specks of green dotted each surface, displaying that they were ordinary Pokémon eggs.

Pokémon eggs. Stolen Pokémon eggs.

Now that the figure’s cautiousness had lifted, he gently placed each egg on the ground and pressed his back against the trunk of a tree. Then, closing his eyes, he removed the black mask he had placed over his face. Blond hair shimmered softly like corn silk from the glow of the moon, and green eyes opened to stare questionably at the unlit sky, finding restful peace.

It was Clayton.

[-*****-]​

The next morning had been tiring of course. Jeremy had gotten up early, arrived at school early and had drowsily watched the sun crawl up into the clouded sky, showing that he had access to the building. Like yesterday, his first stop was his locker, and shortly after it was his first period, which he was enthusiastic about because of Ari’s presence.

Today was a good day because today he was going to talk to Ari.

Once he entered the classroom, he ambled quickly to his desk and sat down, staring out the window.

The sky, like the day before, was masked by dark looming clouds. Today, however, was different from yesterday. The sun was now completely gone from view, unlike it had been five minutes ago when it had slowly tugged itself out from the hill that it usually disappeared behind. Dreary weather was approaching, and this time it was serious. No light—not even dimness—entered the classroom, causing the teacher to flick on the old ceiling lights for once, which hadn’t been used in years because of how sunny it always was.

There was only one other day that it had been this dark, but Jeremy didn’t dare think of it. It was a day of sorrow, a day that he had to bid his pet Poochyena, Roddy, goodbye. However, it was also a day of remembrance—the day that he had first seen Ari and had been bewildered by her beauty, despite the fact she was mostly naked, like a Greek statue.

A Greek Goddess. That’s what Jeremy had thought she was. A Greek Goddess that had been materialized to look similar to a Vulpix. Just thinking about it made him blush, something he never did no matter how embarrassed or nervous he felt.

He expected her to lope gracefully into the classroom then, her poised and rehearsed movement making the activities of the classroom still at the sight of the refined and uncharacteristically attractive person; but she never did. Just the déjà vu of the fact that it was dark and Ari had appeared made him think she had disappeared again—just like last year in the same way it had been this dark.

A finely honed ringing caused him to jump. With high hopes, he spun around to look at the desk behind him, just in case he had missed her walk in.

No Ari.

He stiffly turned back in his desk and tried to focus in class. Why was he so determined to talk to her?

[-*****-]​

Giselle was wicked, like wild fire. Her mother had forced her to go to school without even speaking to her, which she found to be completely and utterly stupid. Communication was key in family, or at least that’s what several counselors had said. Now she was wearing a wrinkled uniform, and her hair was knotted and damp from taking a quick and unbearably cold shower this morning. Her fingers restlessly ran through each soppy strand, separating them into dripping locks that made the shoulders of her outfit drenched with water. She felt like the fabric would fall apart if it weren’t for the stitches she had placed in them months ago after experiencing a severely rainy day.

First period whisked by with the assistance of Giselle’s prompt desperation to leave. Unfortunately for her, second period had dense, thick-headed Jeremy and gay, protective Keiba. Normally she would look forward to having Jeremy in her class, but now she was drowning in a sea of despair and dreading the rest of the day because of it.

She should skip. That’s what she should do.

“No,” she whispered angrily to herself. “You can’t. Damn it. Screw school. Screw it!”

Jeremy entered the classroom gravely, his skin looking darker from having the obscured outside splice his appearance. Once seeing Giselle, he grinned forcefully and offered a friendly wave. She grimaced in response and stared out the window, gaining chills after identifying the familiar darkness that had brought terrible sadness last year. Ironically enough, Ari had first appeared on that day as well. Giselle had glimpsed in the distance to see what she thought was smoke and shrugged off the matter, seeing no importance. Thinking about how ignorant she was then and how Ari had appeared made her boil, and she felt like her insides had been grilled with rage, torrid magma swapping her blood.

The day would’ve been so much more beautiful had the sun decided to appear, creating cheerful, playful immersion amidst the bustling city of Cherrygrove. Instead, a sheet of darkness hovered from within the sky and drizzled light particles onto the chastely swaying grass, spreading its aura of depression.

The tardy bell buzzed a distortedly low tune just as a crackle of white lightning tore like a crevice through the murky sky. The single twig of white lightning branched outward and traipsed till it looked like an electrical tree had tattooed itself over the torrentially-brewing black cloud. With a contorted, thundering boom, the lights of the classroom beamed its bright final moments until shutting off into complete darkness.

Four or five trilling voices had screamed after being startled from the loud noise. However, when the lights went out, more seemingly joined; even the teacher screamed. And then, with a more controlled voice, the teacher tried to silence the panicking students and the fear that had risen amongst them.

Jeremy sunk into his chair and closed his eyes. Darkness had never bothered him, but the screams that still occurred within the classroom made his breathing exaggeratingly quicken. It reminded him all too much of last year, and that was something he never wanted to go through as long as he lived. Usually when the lights went out on rainy days, there would still be enough light outside to see. However, this time the outside was just as dark as the inside. The teacher hadn’t even turned on the emergency lights yet.

“OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD!” One of the girls in the back constantly shrieked, flailing her arms within the darkness and accidentally hitting a few students in the process. “I’m SOOO scared!”

“Oh, SHUT IT! Who gives a DAMN if you’re scared? This is life, honey. Not one of your I’m-gonna-get-whatever-I-damn-want fantasies. So stop being an attention whore by saying you’re scared and SHUT YOUR FLABBY MOUTH!” Giselle was feeling daring and even a little scared herself, but she was tired of all the screaming that was occurring within the classroom—most of which were coming from girls, which Giselle found to be disgraceful, irritating and stupid. Why couldn’t just one or two boys scream every once in awhile? Some nerd in the back had screamed in unison with the girls, but otherwise the other boys had merely jumped.

Giselle was numb with shock after everything in the classroom silenced from her eruption. She turned around and pretended to be scanning even though she couldn’t see and no one saw it had been her that had yelled. And then she saw something astonishing illuminate the darkness.

A pair of glowing ruby eyes remained unblinking and unbearably still as they severed the shadows every student in the classroom stirred within. They were unbelievably bright and emanated enough light for Giselle to see across from where she sat. She didn’t realize who she was staring at until the person blinked and stood, making it look like that the only thing that was moving was the floating red eyes.

And then, with light footsteps, the mysterious pair of red eyes exited the classroom.

Giselle couldn’t stop herself from gaping. It was Keiba! Keiba’s eyes were glowing! It was impossible! How did he do that? Did he use some sort of chemical on his eyes? No, that was too unlikely…but the idea of glowing eyes were unlikely above everything else!

The teacher had finally flicked on the emergency lights, which were fueled by a back-up generator in the school. The teacher spun on Giselle, knowing it had been her who had yelled.

“Giselle, would you please see me in the hallway?” The teacher beckoned impatiently as she spoke. “Students, please do not panic. We are just having severe weather; nothing more.”

Trying to purge her rage, Giselle rose from her seat and followed the teacher through the only door. She wanted to tell her about Keiba and how he had escaped the classroom, but that probably wouldn’t be beneficial in her current predicament. She tried to listen as the teacher lectured her about how inappropriate her statements had been, but the teacher was just speaking a load of crap.

When was this class going to end?

A hurrying figure appeared at the end of the dim-lighted hallway, shouting into classrooms with a large cone-shaped megaphone in their grasp. Giselle didn’t have to squint to see that this person was Mr. Herring, the principal of the school. His combed dusty brown hair was now matted with sweat that had somehow crept upward on his forehead. He sounded tired when trailing by, but his message was loud and clear.

“All students please report to the cafeteria immediately! We are having an unplanned safety procedure! Please report to the cafeteria immediately in a calm, orderly way! Teachers please escort students! Stay away from the windows! Remember: CALM and ORDERLY!”

His words echoed as he disappeared around the corner. Giselle dove to the side just as a horde of students trampled by. They were doing the exact opposite of Mr. Herring’s request.

Jeremy lingered near Giselle, barely noticing it was her at first until scrutinizing her face. A smile widened his lips, and the overexcited-ness of it made Giselle uncomfortable, yet flattered. “Hey, Gigi!”

She wanted to ask how he could be so bubbly at a time like this, but a dozen or so students behind her shoved her forward, causing her to collapse onto her face. She rose with an angry huff and determinedly hauled one of the younger students aside.

“DAMN IT! GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Giselle tackled one of the boys in front of her and glared as a girl fluttered by Jeremy, her distance evidently not satisfying as she coasted and slid a little too close to his side. Giselle proceeded to tripping her without apologizing and snatching Jeremy’s hand, yanking him to an opening in the chaotic crowd of students.

She didn’t know why she was holding his hand or why she was still so protective of him. She was still mad, but it was a natural force that kicked in whenever there was danger. She had to protect Jeremy; she loved him, no matter how mad she was at him.

“Gigi?”

“Yeah?” she grunted, apparently not noticing the nickname she had corrected him about in the past.

“Does this mean you want to go out?”

Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did Jeremy just say that?

Her head turned slowly to look at him, feeling the reality of his words sink in. She couldn’t help the smile that took control of her face then and annihilated the field of rage that had grown from inside her. She had just caught sight of him when she realized—

“WHAT THE HELL?! YOU’RE NOT JEREMY!” Giselle instantly removed her hand and continued with the flow of the pushy crowd. Her cheeks were flushed as she realized she had been holding hands and talking to Ross all this time. But she had seen Jeremy before! Where did he go?

“Duh. Our voices are different,” Ross said while rolling his eyes. And then, with a crushing slam to his insides, he realized what her words had meant. “YOU like Jeremy?!”

“WHAT?!” Giselle avoided the question completely while freezing in the middle of the hall and scanning the ocean of faces, her hope of finding Jeremy as slim as actually finding him in a real masquerade. Harsh voices barked against her while hands as hard as steel thrust her backward, making her feet tumble.

Ross popped up from beside her once again, his voice sounding as broken as shattered glass. “So it’s true? You really like Jeremy?” The desperation for the truth made Giselle think of him as pathetic.

“Oh shut it. Why do you give a damn?” She was just turning swiftly when he caught her wrist. His grip firmed, making his muscles feel wrenched while tightness expanded up his arm. Sternness met his eyes but briskly dissipated as Giselle was torn by a group of shoving students.

Ross released his interest completely, feeling like a departed petal from a blossoming flower. He drove through a group of students in silence, watching Giselle as she angrily swore at a few of the pushy children.

What was the point? She obviously had no affection toward him and was too stubborn to divulge her feelings if she did. Admittance wasn’t something that Giselle would give away generously, and she didn’t seem like the type to be sensitive. Her tough exterior didn’t intimidate Ross, but it was just that that lured him indignantly to the human flame that she was; a brilliant flame massed with greatness, beauty and impenetrable strength that no girl could match. That’s what Ross admired, but when repetitively saying the words in his head, he concluded that he was only being silly. She would think it was corny or cheesy of him to say.

Masses of students arrived to the dark cafeteria and slipped onto vacant tables. The teachers were doing a magnificent job at calming everyone down while also being careful to not release the frustration they were bound to be experiencing when dealing with unruly, frightened teenagers. The outside was looking menacing with compensated shadows, but the sky renovated with light as another pallid beam of electricity deluged its murky appearance.

Jeremy tore himself away from the crowd just as another sword of electricity surged over the black sky. An amount of lively adrenaline gushed through him while shakily sitting down at the table. It was a sinister version of the night that watched the students from the windows of the cafeteria, taunting them with another snap of lightning. He was baffled when looking outside since it looked nearly the same as it always did when he looked through his bedroom window at nighttime—minus the intricately shaped cloud that engorged with severe weather.

Giselle sat at a table opposite of Jeremy’s, her seat unbelievably close to Ross’s. He had been persistent in following her.

“Gigi?” he asked quietly just as one of the teachers had begun to yell.

“It’s Giselle. GEE-ZELL! My GOD! You’re just as bad as Jerry!” she shrieked. One of the teachers glared at her and hushed. She stuck her tongue at them childishly when their back was turned.

“Right. Sorry. So, Giselle…you like Jeremy?” he asked again, quirking his left eyebrow.

“Why the hell do you care?”

“DUDE! I’m attracted to you! DER! DER!” Ross shouted, causing a few of the teachers to hush him in response. He was starting to take on Giselle’s childish vibe now that she had stimulated his irritation.

“No you’re not! You’re GAY!” Giselle half-shouted, half-whispered back. Her cheeks constricted with anger, revealing two usually invisible dimples.

“I’M NOT GAY!” Ross yelled, and his half of the table peered at him in astonishment, backing away from the unusual boy. He lowered his voice. “Look, I really like you, and I want to know if you want to go out. Please? If you say no, then this is the last time I’m going to ask you. I promise.”

Giselle rolled her eyes. “First of all, I doubt that. Second of all, why are you asking me out when we probably don’t have a chance of surviving? Did you see the weather outside? Also, if you’re really not gay, then why were you petting Keiba? And, better yet, why do you like me when you don’t know anything about me? The only reason I think you like me is because you think I’m pretty or I got big boobs or something.” She leaned back, permitting his explanation to be told.

Ross inhaled steadily. Her comments made a lot of sense, and it would be hard to counter them, but he had plenty of answers in mind. “Yes, I think you’re pretty, and you’re really tough. I admire that about you. And…I think you know why I was petting Keiba.”

“Ah-ha!” Giselle sprung to her feet, optimistically swinging her arms by her side. She was seated firmly by one of the teachers before she whispered giddily back, “I kneeewww you were gay! And I knneeeww you were petting him!”

Ross—amazed by seeing this very cheery and outlandish side of Giselle—shook his head relentlessly. She was denying the truth! “No, Giselle. I know that you know.”

She rolled her eyes and talked slowly, as if she was talking to a toddler rather than a boy her age. “Yes, Ross. I…know…that…you’re…gay.”

“No!” He wanted to slap the smugness off her face, but he could never hurt her, nor did he want to. He mechanically leaned forward, binding his eyes with hers. “Giselle, I know that you know that I know that you know that Keiba is a Pokémon.”

Giselle barely followed half of his statement. She did, however, catch the most insane part of it: Keiba is a Pokémon. She began to quietly guffaw until spotting the serious glint faceted within his green eyes. She decided to go with the flow of his joke and made her lips press into a hard line. She reflected his substantial industriousness when nodding and saying, “You’re right. I do know.”

Ross puffed up with pride. “Yes! I knew it! So then…you know about them?”

Giselle didn’t reply until seconds later because of trying to hold back her laughter. He actually believed her! “Yes, I know everything.”

“So then you’re a Pokémon. Right?”

She broke out into laughter, receiving her thirtieth warning from a teacher. Ross was slightly miffed by this, but allowed her next statements to be said. “Yes. How did you know?”

“Well it was kind of obvious in the hall when you attacked me. By the way, you know why I was petting Keiba right? Well, he was my mom’s Staryu, and he got a hold of this object that turned him into a human when the Plague came. So technically he’s still my pet, but in human form. That’s why I pet him. But you already knew that.”

Who keeps a pet Staryu? Giselle wondered, but then she realized what he was talking about. “So…Keiba is a human…but he’s really a Staryu…” She blinked repetitively as Ross nodded. Keiba was…a Staryu. He was…a Pokémon. He was turned into a human by the Plague.

“Giselle?”

“…”

“Giselle? Why aren’t you responding? Are you okay?”

“…”

“Giselle, you’re starting to scare me.”

“…”

“Are you holding your breath?”

Giselle slammed her face against the lunch table, her shoulders shaking from having to control her laughter for so long. He wasn’t making this easy; she was already starting to laugh quietly under her breath as he continued to whisper desperately by her ear. His breath tickled her ear and made the laughs come easily, like water sliding down a straight-down cliff. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up until she exploded into laughter.

“You do believe me, don’t you? By the way, which Pokémon are you?” Ross asked, once again, extremely serious on the matter.

“Oh my GOD!” Giselle started laughing hysterically, unable to contain herself. She raised her head, exposing the tears of laughter that had begun to trickle down her face.

Some of the teachers—assuming she was scared and crying—directed her away from the table and placed her at a nearly empty one where a few children had begun to hyperventilate and cry themselves. Giselle couldn’t even explain she was laughing because she was laughing too hard to do so. Her stomach twanged painfully from the sob-similar sounds that lashed from her mouth. Her arms clutched and wrapped around her waist, though even that couldn’t help the situation.

Many tables away, Ross watched Giselle from a distance, wondering if his news had been too overwhelming for her. To him, it seemed as if she had been crying tears of joy—probably from finally finding someone else that she could relate to. She was a Pokémon after all, and she had finally found more of her abnormal kind.

Jeremy’s eyes strayed from the violence of the outside. The lightning had been constantly thrashing against the hills and charring the grass, however, not much damage had been done. The freakishly thin stems of lightning jolted closer to the school, temporarily blinding a few of the watching students in a blaze of white luminosity.

And, just as one of the thickening stems struck the ground, a barrage of flames ascended from the very tip of a distant hill. The flames spread briskly, as if they were pressed on time and only had a few short moments to live. Their survival rate excessively grew as the pouring rain battered against the school instead, causing liquid blurs to shield the outside.

The students shrieked. The teachers soothed them with flat voices, hiding their own panic.

Mr. Herring rose amongst the teachers, bravely saying, “Please, stay calm! Just—just severe weather! P-please don’t panic!”

Another menacing stick of lightning blazed the ground, inches from the school now.

“UNDER THE TABLES! GET UNDER THE TABLES!” Mr. Herring shouted just as he hurriedly ducked under one himself. He yelled again, sounding muffled. “AWAY FROM THE WINDOWS AND UNDER THE TABLES! DON’T PANIC!” Tremors of fear fluttered in his voice.

Giselle only had to take one glimpse outside to know what was happening.

Flashes of past and present mixed, and she felt herself knotted with confusion and fear, overwhelmed by the closeness of each. The déjà vu feeling of the situation made her feel rapt and engrossed by her instinctive reactions, while pieces of her memory overthrew her sliver of hysteria. And then, with a simultaneous flash of her memory, it began.

A deafeningly high-pitched shatter pierced the air, sending a disarray of glass to spray the cafeteria, dribbling onto the many tables and the students that had been carelessly seated in them. As glass flew, Giselle felt the forceful wind hoist her into the air and throw her back against the wall, pinning her to what would surely be her death.

The first thing Giselle heard were the frightened screams of students, and then the glass-shattering noise that followed, topping the irritatingly sharp noise of finger nails scraping a chalkboard. Giselle automatically curled her fingers behind her neck and held on, placing her head directly in front of her knees. The wind that hissed from the outside invaded the cafeteria and hurled shards of the broken window glass through the air.

“Jeremy!” was the first thing that Giselle had screamed after being towed backward. She tried to open her eyes, but the wind was fierce and impenetrable, trapping her in an uncomfortable position and forcing her eyes to stay closed. She thought she heard Jeremy shout her name as well, but she wasn’t sure assuming that the wind was muting everything—including her voice.

Through her closed vision, she saw bright shimmers of light infiltrate the darkness, followed by a crackling boom subdued only by the obnoxious, insistent wind. She raised her head slowly, lashed by strong gusts of wind, causing her flesh to sting once being relentlessly stabbed by the invisible force. Being twirled in the air was a person she couldn’t see, one that had escaped the low safety of the tables and was now being surrounded by menacing shards of transparent glass. They spun and spun, their identity remaining a mystery, looking like an out-of-place thorn in a clear bush of glass.

Giselle opened her eyes instinctively and saw the wind crushing Jeremy against the wall as well. His hands were palmed against his side while his fingers were outstretched, turning turnip white as strong pressure heaved against him. He was paling now since the wind was pressuring him to the point where his throat had tightened and he was choking on the stale air that he had tried to swallow. Giselle cried his name while trying to figure out how to reach the ground once again, but there was no escaping the frenzy of nature that had entered the lunchroom.

And then Giselle realized who this hovering figure was.

Ari.

Her scarlet curls whipped past her face and looked like they were about to be yanked from her head. She was screaming, her frenetic cries blending with the more hysterical ones of the student population. A single piece of glass scraped her face, embellishing itself in her tan flesh, sinking into its new home.

Giselle stared forcefully ahead and saw a wisp of darkness oppose the wind, dangling through the broken opening of the cafeteria. It flapped back and forth, looking almost as if it was searching for something or someone. It was obvious that this object, however, wasn’t human.

The joy of seeing Ari suspended in midair by harsh winds was washed away by the familiar tendril of darkness that dangled from the broken opening to the cafeteria. Giselle couldn’t help but gasp at the sight and then cough, her throat dry and crusty from inhaling strong air. Ari’s thin hovering figure was jerked now toward the darkness that settled beside the cafeteria, almost as if it was a magnet that was luring in metal.

Ari was being stolen by the Plague.

“Jeremy!” Giselle cried again, flailing her arms and wincing just as a shard entered her leg.

Jeremy’s response to her cry was to turn his head in her direction and blink rapidly, tears streaming in his eyes after being stung by the torrential winds. They both were pressed firmly against the wall, fastened in stiff positions. Giselle mindlessly took his hand, but he was oblivious of the matter because of how numb his skin felt.

Ari screamed. The glass swayed from around her but lurked to the side, floating away from the black cloud that resembled the Plague. It was almost as if she was attached to strings and they were being pulled in order to deliver her to the waiting darkness.

As Ari neared closer to the expectant Plague, Giselle suddenly felt an enormous guilt manufacture in her chest. Maybe if she hadn’t wished Ari would die for all this time this wouldn’t be happening to her. Now Ari really was going to die.

Well, since we’re going to die anyway, I might as well tell him, Giselle thought as the wind scraped her face, being as fierce and stubborn as Pokémon claws.

Another figure joined Ari in midair. They twirled as well until pushing Ari out of the way. It looked as if some sort of funnel had formed on the black cloud, which was groping the air for Ari most likely. The funnel thickened with darkness, sucking the air for any object or person.

Giselle barely caught sight of the newly joined person when she gasped.

“It’ll pass, Jeremy!” Giselle shouted, but, evidently, Jeremy could not hear her. No one could hear her. She felt lost, much like her voice. A person that didn’t belong in the world—a tumor living off the edge of reality.

It was Jeremy! Jeremy had joined Ari in midair and had shoved her out of the way.

Almost instantly, he was sucked into the cloud’s funnel, disappearing from view.

The funnel closed. The cloud heaved. The air stirred with tension and ceased control over its indocile strength. The shards of glass dropped to the ground only to spin seconds later from the newly brewed wind. Students continued to crouch underneath tables for cover. No one dared move until knowing for sure that it was safe.

Giselle’s mouth was wide open. Jeremy was gone. The Plague had him. The Plague, of all things! She had to make it spit him up! She had to!

“JEREMY!” Giselle shouted, waiting for his response. When it never came, she continued. “I LOVE YOU!”

Relieved that he hadn’t heard her, she continued to press herself against the wall while her cold fingers—bitten and slashed by the gusting winds—continued to grasp Jeremy’s.

What Giselle didn’t know was that Jeremy had heard her. He had heard every single word.

Giselle stood as the glimmering blurry shards of glass smeared past her vision, threatening to strike if she came within range. She launched past them while leaping into the air, being grasped by the wind’s arms, towed upward by the air pressure. She was carried by nature until having to flap her arms repeatedly, aiming straight for the Plague.

She felt like her body was about to descend when the darkness that bordered overhead had begun to jerk violently, emitting abnormal beams of light, shredding the air with each ray that tore through the substance. If her thoughts hadn’t been so centered on rescuing Jeremy, perhaps she would’ve heard the voice that had echoed from the shifting cloud. And then, perhaps, if she had listened, she would’ve heard the voices of the past and present in perfect unison, speaking to her and sending her a warning that would be best heeded in the future.

“Trapped unless sacrificed. Sacrificed unless Chosen. There are sixteen doubled to match what is Chosen. No one is safe unless what is hunted is received.” The voice lurking from within the Plague sounded human and impaled with wisdom. Jeremy had heard that, too.

Giselle dropped, hitting the ground with a crash. The glass shards that once swarmed the air dropped as well, narrowly missing Giselle. Students didn’t shift even when the air dove into still silence. The atmosphere maintained an eerie clarity.

And then the darkness overhead howled with unnatural volume, arcing over the suffering cafeteria while spasms racked through its plumed body yet again. It was ready to bend, looking like it was going to barf whatever had infiltrated its body.

Giselle stared at it in numbness. Jeremy was still inside it.

And then the winds died as the disappearance of the blackness removed the entirety of the weather. Stricken, the students wailed, some meddling with the shards that had stabbed their skin. Some were horribly injured, while others remained untouched, yet highly scarred from having witnessed such tragedy.

Giselle dropped to the ground, supported by both knees. Her throat felt raw, scathed with constant breaths of wounded air. Jeremy did the same but with less agony. He finally had the chance to release the piling tears received from having cold air sweep dangerously against him. He couldn’t believe what he had heard. It was just a dream; yes, that had to be it. Giselle and him were just friends. And the severity of what they had just been through was a dream, too.

It was partly a dream and partly a nightmare.

Though, when he continued to think about it, it couldn’t be. The pain wasn’t imaginary, and the constant reorganization of Giselle’s pants wasn’t fantasy. She sounded all too real, and even as the scene of the cafeteria played like the unbearable film of a nightmare, he knew it was real, too.

It was all real, which was why he couldn’t tell Giselle his feelings. His real, true feelings.

Before she could really recover, he sped across the cafeteria, bolting for the exit, the escape. Why was he running? Even he didn’t know. He was afraid of facing more of the mysterious cloud’s wrath and of listening to Giselle’s words scramble like fleeting mice in his mind. However, he knew he couldn’t escape both. One way or another he would face them again someday. He didn’t like commitment or the idea of change. But someday they were going to find him.

When that day came, he would run. But for now, the only thing he had to worry about were the dead bodies of Pokémon scattered around Cherrygrove.

END OF CHAPTER 2—PART 1 OF 2.


---------------------------

Okie, so I realize the whole present and past thing was confusing. That’s why I placed both parts together so that you could read the entire present without getting interrupted and the whole past without getting interrupted.

PAST
A deafeningly high-pitched shatter pierced the air, sending a disarray of glass to spray the cafeteria, dribbling onto the many tables and the students that had been carelessly seated in them. As glass flew, Giselle felt the forceful wind hoist her into the air and throw her back against the wall, pinning her to what would surely be her death.

“Jeremy!” was the first thing that Giselle had screamed after being towed backward. She tried to open her eyes, but the wind was fierce and impenetrable, trapping her in an uncomfortable position and forcing her eyes to stay closed. She thought she heard Jeremy shout her name as well, but she wasn’t sure assuming that the wind was muting everything—including her voice.

Giselle opened her eyes instinctively and saw the wind crushing Jeremy against the wall as well. His hands were palmed against his side while his fingers were outstretched, turning turnip white as strong pressure heaved against him. He was paling now since the wind was pressuring him to the point where his throat had tightened and he was choking on the stale air that he had tried to swallow. Giselle cried his name while trying to figure out how to reach the ground once again, but there was no escaping the frenzy of nature that had entered the lunchroom.

Giselle stared forcefully ahead and saw a wisp of darkness oppose the wind, dangling through the broken opening of the cafeteria. It flapped back and forth, looking almost as if it was searching for something or someone. It was obvious that this object, however, wasn’t human.

“Jeremy!” Giselle cried again, flailing her arms and wincing just as a shard entered her leg.

Jeremy’s response to her cry was to turn his head in her direction and blink rapidly, tears streaming in his eyes after being stung by the torrential winds. They both were pressed firmly against the wall, fastened in stiff positions. Giselle mindlessly took his hand, but he was oblivious of the matter because of how numb his skin felt.

Well, since we’re going to die anyway, I might as well tell him, Giselle thought as the wind scraped her face, being as fierce and stubborn as Pokémon claws.

“It’ll pass, Jeremy!” Giselle shouted, but, evidently, Jeremy could not hear her. No one could hear her. She felt lost, much like her voice. A person that didn’t belong in the world—a tumor living off the edge of reality.

“JEREMY!” Giselle shouted, waiting for his response. When it never came, she continued. “I LOVE YOU!”

Relieved that he hadn’t heard her, she continued to press herself against the wall while her cold fingers—bitten and slashed by the gusting winds—continued to grasp Jeremy’s.

What Giselle didn’t know was that Jeremy had heard her. He had heard every single word.

“Trapped unless sacrificed. Sacrificed unless Chosen. There are sixteen doubled to match what is Chosen. No one is safe unless what is hunted is received.” The voice lurking from within the Plague sounded human and impaled with wisdom. Jeremy had heard that, too.

And then the winds died as the disappearance of the blackness removed the entirety of the weather. Stricken, the students wailed, some meddling with the shards that had stabbed their skin. Some were horribly injured, while others remained untouched, yet highly scarred from having witnessed such tragedy.

Giselle dropped to the ground, supported by both knees. Her throat felt raw, scathed with incessant breaths of wounded air. Jeremy did the same but with less agony. He finally had the chance to release the piling tears received from having cold air sweep dangerously against him. He couldn’t believe what he had heard. It was just a dream; yes, that had to be it. Giselle and him were just friends. And the severity of what they had just been through was a dream, too.

It was partly a dream and partly a nightmare.

Though, when he continued to think about it, it couldn’t be. The pain wasn’t imaginary, and the constant reorganization of Giselle’s pants wasn’t fantasy. She sounded all too real, and even as the scene of the cafeteria played like the unbearable film of a nightmare, he knew it was real, too.

It was all real, which was why he couldn’t tell Giselle his feelings. His real, true feelings.

Before she could really recover, he sped across the cafeteria, bolting for the exit, the escape. Why was he running? Even he didn’t know. He was afraid of facing more of the mysterious cloud’s wrath and of listening to Giselle’s words scramble like fleeting mice in his mind. However, he knew he couldn’t escape both. One way or another he would face them again someday. He didn’t like commitment or the idea of change. But someday they were going to find him.

When that day came, he would run. But for now, the only thing he had to worry about were the dead bodies of Pokémon scattered around Cherrygrove

PRESENT

The first thing Giselle heard were the frightened screams of students, and then the glass-shattering noise that followed, topping the irritatingly sharp noise of finger nails scraping a chalkboard. Giselle automatically curled her fingers behind her neck and held on, placing her head directly in front of her knees. The wind that hissed from the outside invaded the cafeteria and hurled shards of the broken window glass through the air.

Through her closed vision, she saw bright shimmers of light infiltrate the darkness, followed by a crackling boom subdued only by the obnoxious, insistent wind. She raised her head slowly, lashed by strong gusts of wind, causing her flesh to sting once being relentlessly stabbed by the invisible force. Being twirled in the air was a person she couldn’t see, one that had escaped the low safety of the tables and was now being surrounded by menacing shards of transparent glass. They spun and spun, their identity remaining a mystery, looking like an out-of-place thorn in a clear bush of glass.

And then Giselle realized who this hovering figure was.

Ari.

Her scarlet curls whipped past her face and looked like they were about to be yanked from her head. She was screaming, her frenetic cries blending with the more hysterical ones of the student population. A single piece of glass scraped her face, embellishing itself in her tan flesh, sinking into its new home.

The joy of seeing Ari suspended in midair by harsh winds was washed away by the familiar tendril of darkness that dangled from the broken opening to the cafeteria. Giselle couldn’t help but gasp at the sight and then cough, her throat dry and crusty from inhaling strong air. Ari’s thin hovering figure was jerked now toward the darkness that settled beside the cafeteria, almost as if it was a magnet that was luring in metal.

Ari was being stolen by the Plague.

Ari screamed. The glass swayed from around her but lurked to the side, floating away from the black cloud that resembled the Plague. It was almost as if she was attached to strings and they were being pulled in order to deliver her to the waiting darkness.

As Ari neared closer to the expectant Plague, Giselle suddenly felt an enormous guilt manufacture in her chest. Maybe if she hadn’t wished Ari would die for all this time this wouldn’t be happening to her. Now Ari really was going to die.

Another figure joined Ari in midair. They twirled as well until pushing Ari out of the way. It looked as if some sort of funnel had formed on the black cloud, which was groping the air for Ari most likely. The funnel thickened with darkness, sucking the air for any object or person.

Giselle barely caught sight of the newly joined person when she gasped.

It was Jeremy! Jeremy had joined Ari in midair and had shoved her out of the way.

Almost instantly, he was sucked into the cloud’s funnel, disappearing from view.

The funnel closed. The cloud heaved. The air stirred with tension and ceased control over its indocile strength. The shards of glass dropped to the ground only to spin seconds later from the newly brewed wind. Students continued to crouch underneath tables for cover. No one dared move until knowing for sure that it was safe.

Giselle’s mouth was wide open. Jeremy was gone. The Plague had him. The Plague, of all things! She had to make it spit him up! She had to!

Giselle stood as the glimmering blurry shards of glass smeared past her vision, threatening to strike if she came within range. She launched past them while leaping into the air, being grasped by the wind’s arms, towed upward by the air pressure. She was carried by nature until having to flap her arms repeatedly, aiming straight for the Plague.

She felt like her body was about to descend when the darkness that bordered overhead had begun to jerk violently, emitting abnormal beams of light, shredding the air with each ray that tore through the substance. If her thoughts hadn’t been so centered on rescuing Jeremy, perhaps she would’ve heard the voice that had echoed from the shifting cloud. And then, perhaps, if she had listened, she would’ve heard the voices of the past and present in perfect unison, speaking to her and sending her a warning that would be best heeded in the future.

“Trapped unless sacrificed. Sacrificed unless Chosen. There are sixteen doubled to match what is Chosen. No one is safe unless what is hunted is received.” The voice lurking from within the Plague sounded human and impaled with wisdom.

Giselle dropped, hitting the ground with a crash. The glass shards that once swarmed the air dropped as well, narrowly missing Giselle. Students didn’t shift even when the air dove into still silence. The atmosphere maintained an eerie clarity.

And then the darkness overhead howled with unnatural volume, arcing over the suffering cafeteria while spasms racked through its plumed body yet again. It was ready to bend, looking like it was going to barf whatever had infiltrated its body.

Giselle stared at it in numbness. Jeremy was still inside it.

And now for a brief Q&A.

Q: Why did you put both past and present in there?
A: Well, as I’ve said before, flashes of Giselle’s past (and slightly Jeremy’s) were flashing while the events were occurring. Also, I wanted further insight to what happened to them when the Plague arrived. I never fully explained that.

Q: WHAT THE CRAP!? WHY IS THE PLAGUE TALKING?!!?
A: …That will be answered in the future, my dear children :3

Q: …Why did you just call me your dear children?
A: I’M NOT A PEDAPHILE, I SWEAR! I’M THIRTEEN, DANGIT!

Q: Why were the italics of when the Plague was speaking in both past and present? Was it past and present?
A: Yes, it was. The Plague said that in the past and present. Why? You shall find out in the future. *wink* (*COUGH* FORESHADOWING *COUGH*)

Q: NOW YOU’RE WINKING AT ME?!!?!! WHAT THE HELL!?!
A: WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! AND IT’S A HINT! GOSH! D<

Q: Why did you explain everything so vaguely?! Yeah, Clayton stole two eggs, but, uhh, WHY? How does that tie in with the story? Why were lots of it written in short?! Does Giselle believe Ross? Why is Ross acting like an idiot?! Does he really believe that Giselle is a Pokémon and stuff?! Is he THAT naïve? Where did Keiba go?! Why did they have a safety procedure in the cafeteria?!
A: I explained everything vaguely because it should be explained in the future. Some of it will be explained in part 2 :p The stolen eggs will tie in, trust me. Giselle slightly believes him. Ross is acting like an idiot ‘cause he is blinded by love. (Yeah, lame. He’s a smart guy, but he can act pretty stupid sometimes.) Yes, he believes she is. With the explanations him and Keiba came up with, they really believe she is a Pokémon. Ross is really naïve; that’s one of his character flaws. xD Keiba went…oh you’ll find out in part 2. And they had a safety procedure in the cafeteria because that’s the way their school operates! They thought it was just a thunderstorm, but Mr. Herring wanted the procedure just to be safe, and then, SURPRISE! IT’S THE PLAGUE! =D

Q: You described the Plague to be a disease. Why can it suddenly cause bad weather?
A: Ah, that will also be explained in the future. So sorry for delaying the explanation D:

Q: Since the Plague is back, are all the Pokémon dying?
A: Erm—will be answered in the future.

Q: Why did you vaguely explain Jeremy’s disappearance and kidnapping by the Plague? Why didn’t you go into more detail?
A: This is just part 1 of Chapter 2. There’s still a part 2, so more is to be described.

Q: Why are there two different parts again?
A: I didn’t want to bore any readers by placing a big chunk of everything into one post D: I thought two different parts would be more convenient and easier for readers.

Q: It didn’t really seem like Ross and Clayton were going to play a big part, but now they suddenly are. So…what happened?
A: YOU’LL. SEE. I can’t really explain much, and I’m sorry D: But lots of it will be explained in the future.

Q: Why was the Plague taking Ari?
A: …Explained in the future.

Q: Why was Jeremy being a coward when Giselle said she loved him? Is that why they distanced as friends?
A: He doesn’t like change. He didn’t want anything to change. His phobia of change will be answered in the future and explained more thoroughly. And yes, that’s probably one of the big reasons why they distanced.

Q: Why were Giselle's thoughts in the past bolded?
A: Well, I didn't want to put them in italics because I didn't like the way it looked :/ Also, if I put it regularly, then it may confused as being thought of in the present...so I just bolded it for the past =D

Q: Is Giselle PMSing?
A: It’s very possible. (I’m kidding, I’m kidding xD) She’s just really bitter.


I will add more Q&A’s when I think of more xD That’s all I could think of at the moment. Also, I know this part 1 was FAIL. I was rushing, lots of it was badly written, etc. Also, yes, there was dry humor. Very dry humor >.> But hopefully it’ll get better as time goes on. Please review and comment! Part 2 is coming soon!

Also, if you do review, please answer these questions:

Do you see any foreshadowing? Do you see any mistakes? Who is your favorite character?

I MUST KNOW! But you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to xD Anyway, hope you enjoyed! =D
 
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“...”

.. that ellipsis is probably the only way I can possibly express my total reaction to this fic. And god, you’re only thirteen... to produce such... such... *checks brain for an appropriate word*... BAH, THERE ARE NO WORDS TO EXPRESS HOW AWESOME THIS IS. And you say that I’m the talented author – hon, this is better than whatever I could do. :O

And so, as my humble repayment for all the critique you've given me hon, here's my C&C time! ;D

Do you see any foreshadowing?
I know I may have spotted something here and there, but after a day of school... I’m simply gunna let it slide under the dull “I’m lazy” platitude. But, I’ll try to make it up to you in further chapters, Mitsuki! So don’t you worry! =D

Do you see any mistakes?
Just by seeing him or picturing his image in her mind, joy felt essential to her usually drab emotions and a light illuminated the darkness.
Click to expand...
Although grammatically this is actually quite flawless, it seems – I dunno – slightly unfitting around the latter half of the sentence. It’s probably only just me, but I’d go for more along the lines of - Just by seeing him or picturing his image in her mind, joy felt essential to her usually drab emotions, as if light illuminating the darkness. ... or something – perhaps it is just me. It just sounded a little off, Suki-chan. >.<”

If you swam further, you would reach the deeper waters and eventually the ocean that stretched endlessly until it was out of the region.
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I’ve noticed a lot of you’s around the place. It’s 3rd person, which doesn’t limit itself only to them’s, he’s, she’s and anything of the like... don’t get me wrong, but – knowing your capabilities as an author – I’m pretty certain you can string along a sentence together without using the second person. But it’s merely a suggestion, though!

Who is your favorite character?
Augh... you portray your characters with such splendour that it’s excruciatingly hard to choose. But if I had to pick one, then I’d probably go with Giselle. She’s such a complex character with badass qualities and (possibly?) Pokémon physical traits to boot. (Which, after rereading, sounds like something stripped out from a horrible magazine review, but whatever. xP) I like Ross, too, and my likeliness to root for the underdog makes me wanna ship them as well. 3: But I love Jeremy too! AUGH Darn you and your horribly likeable characters! xDD

Other notes of enjoyment:
“Wait, are you having women hormones or something?”
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Were men really that afraid of women hormones and PMSing?
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Yes, they are. xP

“Giselle?”

“…”

“Giselle? Why aren’t you responding? Are you okay?”

“…”

“Giselle, you’re starting to scare me.”

“…”

“Are you holding your breath?”
Click to expand...
xDD

I’M NOT A PEDAPHILE, I SWEAR! I’M THIRTEEN, DANGIT!
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Double xDD

And I’d hate to be prude, but its spelt “Pedophile”... just in case you need it for future reference! xD

Ahahaa, anyways. I’m pretty sure my poorly constructed review has probably reached up to its elastic limit by now – heck, it’s probably longer than the chapters I usually write. xD

All silliness aside, Mitsuki, I honestly have no relative words as to express exactly how great this story is going so far, to do you or it any justice; half the time I had practically forgotten that this was a fanfic because of how much I was engrossed by it – but I’d hope unanimously, that you find my review heart-warming and a dire boost to keep you going!

So on that note, keep writing, and I’ll be loyally reading every word you produce!
 
“...”

.. that ellipsis is probably the only way I can possibly express my total reaction to this fic. And god, you’re only thirteen... to produce such... such... *checks brain for an appropriate word*... BAH, THERE ARE NO WORDS TO EXPRESS HOW AWESOME THIS IS. And you say that I’m the talented author – hon, this is better than whatever I could do. :O
Click to expand...

*falls out of chair* EHH?! EHHHHHHH?!?! OH MY GOSH, THAT IS SO SWEET!!!!! :O Thank you so much!!! You have no idea how much I appreciate that!!
And I seriously don’t think it’s as good as your fic, but THANK YOU!!!!! I mean, your fic rains in awesomeness, the characters pwn in originality, and the description is beyond what I am capable of!!!
Aww this review just made my day. I think I’m gonna cry Dx (Tears of joy! No worries, no worries!)

I know I may have spotted something here and there, but after a day of school... I’m simply gunna let it slide under the dull “I’m lazy” platitude. But, I’ll try to make it up to you in further chapters, Mitsuki! So don’t you worry! =D
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You don’t have to if you don’t want to xD No worries! I’m just so happy you posted a review! That was very nice! And such a nice one, at that! I understand what you’re goin’ through ‘cause I’ve been going to school also >.>

Although grammatically this is actually quite flawless, it seems – I dunno – slightly unfitting around the latter half of the sentence. It’s probably only just me, but I’d go for more along the lines of - Just by seeing him or picturing his image in her mind, joy felt essential to her usually drab emotions, as if light illuminating the darkness. ... or something – perhaps it is just me. It just sounded a little off, Suki-chan.
Click to expand...

I kinda see what you mean. I’ll have to go back and change it or something ‘cause it’s starting to bother me, too :/

And, MY GOODNESS! DO I SPOT A NICKNAME IN THE PREMISES?! :O Yayyy xD I’m gonna call you…Ani-chan? =D

I’ve noticed a lot of you’s around the place. It’s 3rd person, which doesn’t limit itself only to them’s, he’s, she’s and anything of the like... don’t get me wrong, but – knowing your capabilities as an author – I’m pretty certain you can string along a sentence together without using the second person. But it’s merely a suggestion, though!
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for pointing that out! I completely forgot about that sentence =D I’ll go back and fix it. And, aww xD You’re so sweet! THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! YOU’RE SO AWESOME!!

Augh... you portray your characters with such splendour that it’s excruciatingly hard to choose. But if I had to pick one, then I’d probably go with Giselle. She’s such a complex character with badass qualities and (possibly?) Pokémon physical traits to boot. (Which, after rereading, sounds like something stripped out from a horrible magazine review, but whatever. xP) I like Ross, too, and my likeliness to root for the underdog makes me wanna ship them as well. 3: But I love Jeremy too! AUGH Darn you and your horribly likeable characters! xDD
Click to expand...

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

That is just too freaking sweet x3 My characters could never match the originality and magnificence your characters have though D: They’re simply just too amazing!
Also, lots of romance drama in the future. Trust me on that xD Aside from romance, however, there will be plenty of approaching adventure. *COUGH*SOON*COUGH*


And I’d hate to be prude, but its spelt “Pedophile”... just in case you need it for future reference! xD

Ahahaa, anyways. I’m pretty sure my poorly constructed review has probably reached up to its elastic limit by now – heck, it’s probably longer than the chapters I usually write. xD

All silliness aside, Mitsuki, I honestly have no relative words as to express exactly how great this story is going so far, to do you or it any justice; half the time I had practically forgotten that this was a fanfic because of how much I was engrossed by it – but I’d hope unanimously, that you find my review heart-warming and a dire boost to keep you going!

So on that note, keep writing, and I’ll be loyally reading every word you produce!
Click to expand...

You’re not being prude xD Thanks for pointing that out!

This review is FANTASTIC! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!!! Gosh, I think I’m actually tearing up D: I’m envious of the words you used in your reviews xD This review has really inspired me =D

Thanks so much!!! You’re such an inspiration, and this review has really made my day!!! =D (I must’ve read it at least four times now xD)

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! I WILL BE LOYALLY READING YOUR STORY AS WELL!!!!! =D
 
Basically, What Aficionada said. Yeah, I suck at reviewing, but it's only because it's been covered before. So I hope you take this as happily as the other review, although it's not so apalling, oh great Mitsuki.
BUT! To make up for it, I'll try to make you a banner, if you'd like. If you'd agree, what file type?
 
The Meme-er said:
Basically, What Aficionada said. Yeah, I suck at reviewing, but it's only because it's been covered before. So I hope you take this as happily as the other review, although it's not so apalling, oh great Mitsuki.
BUT! To make up for it, I'll try to make you a banner, if you'd like. If you'd agree, what file type?
Click to expand...

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! THIS REVIEW DIDN'T SUCK :O THANK YOU, MEME-ER!!! xDDD

Oh great Mitsuki? I feel formal x33 Haha. Thanks, Meme-er. Shall I call you O' Great Meme?

OH SHOOT. *wacks forehead repeatedly on computer desk* I am SO sorry! Nada-chan (Anime Aficionada) is already making me one Dx But I could always use a second banner, I suppose! =D That's so nice of you to volunteer for that sort of thing! Thank you so much! And you don't have to make one if you don't want to, considering that Nada-chan is making one. However, I don't mind two banners. If you want to make it, then you can. I couldn't impose if you don't want to though.

Thanks again, Meme-er! And I'm so sorry!
 
I'll try anyway. But thanks for being All-caps level happiness at me! :D

(And for the record, there's nothing extremely against it, but I'd rather be called, uh,
something else.)

AND I'M OFF TO PHOTO-BUCKET!

Edit: On second thought, I was going to have a person slowly, in overlapping pictures, turn into the artwork of this Croconaw I just found on afformentioned site, but then I noticed it's basically impossible to get a picture of a person that isn't taken from a game, anime, or real life. And the ones that don't fit in those, don't fit the size I have. So this banner may or may not be possible. I wish I had some sort relative drawing skills so I didn't have to photobucket everything...
 
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The Meme-er said:
Basically, What Aficionada said. Yeah, I suck at reviewing, but it's only because it's been covered before. So I hope you take this as happily as the other review, although it's not so apalling, oh great Mitsuki.
BUT! To make up for it, I'll try to make you a banner, if you'd like. If you'd agree, what file type?
Click to expand...

Lol, I’m sure I would be in the exact same position you’re in, Meme-er, had I not posted earlier than you have. And I'm so sorry about the banner, Meme-er!! I suppose I should have been more open about it, instead of succumbing to the depths of the ominous PM system. Dx
 
THANK YOU!!! I appreciate everything!! =D ARRGGHHH. I don't know what to call you. >.> I shall think of something eventually :3 Also, my REAL reply has been PMed to ya. Thanks again!

Also, I'm not gonna be updating the story till the contest is over. I still need to work on the contest entries and everything. There will be no resting until everything is completed.

And, for the heck of it, I'm going to put some random comment crap thing that has no meaning or purpose x3

...Did anyone get that? *echoes* Okkiee...so I guess that's a no...*echoes again* WHERE IS THAT COMING FROM?!!??!!

And yes, that is my random crap thing of the day x3 *bows*

EDIT: OH MY GOD, IT'S NADA-CHAN! *glomps* Hello, Notorious Nada-chan!!! *waves enthusiastically*
 
I read the whole thing, not the greatest, I've read better. But sure the characters do have that flare to each one of them.

You missed something. The setting is left to less detail then I would prefer. I lack senses of this place. I hardly know what town or city this is. I do not understand the school other than the adjective "dull". I was not shown the beauty of that sun Jermmy thought about, if fact that came out sudden to me when I came to it (This place is sunny?). Perhaps, even the ideas are out of order in some ways, placed early-on somewhere but forgetten by the reader when they reach follow-up ideas. In fact that may mix-up readers and confuse them since the human mind does that if not made easy.

I saw one mistake. You use futher sometimes when it should be farther which means "at a greater [physical] distance", further is used when talking about abstract ideas or extent/degree. That's vocab.

"At the school, students were expected to wear uniforms of gray consisting of the roughest fabric." What fabric? Specific detail on that can add concrete understanding.

"After quote marks," the first letter is not in caps. "Unless," Akiyama said, it has some sort of name or proper noun.

Finally, the use of "gay": It ought to mean happy or colorful, not homo. I mean I really like the old books that used "gay" in the great old time meaning it once was. I just don't like it when people use "gay" for "homosexual", I hear enough of that at school.

Fine story though it was actually worth my time to come out and read, yay.
 
Akiyama said:
Finally, the use of "gay": It ought to mean happy or colorful, not homo. I mean I really like the old books that used "gay" in the great old time meaning it once was. I just don't like it when people use "gay" for "homosexual", I hear enough of that at school.
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Actually that's a common misconception. The "gay" that means homosexual comes from French theatre rather than the "gay" that means happy. But either way, it doesn't really matter because, no matter the origin, it's *come* to mean that, so I'm not seeing what you're so upset about.
 
That's only my opinion, and it's grossy overused at my school. Maybe you don't think so, but it's dead towards me in the context of homosexual.
 
However this point stands absolute: That setting is lacking. Maybe Cherrygrove is some sort of setting in a game or anime or manga. But, it seemed to me that I had little idea about the surroundings as I read the story. What are the buildings? what is everything? where? I am floating here, all over, and thinking up of the possible scenes that don't really fit. Color?

Yeah it is a better fic than average, but I still see room to improve. That description is not the best, you can try to improve it with more solid details. Anyway, have fun.
 
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