NOVEL WEB Chapter 17: An Intervention
The morning was still somewhat early, with glistening dew decorating the fields on either side of the road. As Chad marched along, his head would swivel left and right to take in the sights, while keeping an eye out for either challengers, trouble, or new allies. His backpack was chock full of supplies, the white scarf clean and wrapped around his neck, and his communicator device dangling from its strap along his left side.
Aside from the river nearby, the light rustle of trees on the breeze, and the occasional distant sound of an unknown pokemon, it was quiet.
“If it upsets you that much, why not just fast-forward until I find them?” Chad asked, doing his personal impression of That Crazy Homeless Dude You Want To Stay Away From.
“Didn’t you just do a two year time jump?” he inquired, concerned for the mental stability of his babysitter.
“Don’t you mean hands? Your hands were tied?”
“OK, but why? What forced you to do the time jump? I thought we were making great progress?” Chad took the chance to pause and just watch the scenery around him, watching some other pokemon frolic off in the distance.
For a moment, Chad’s entire being shifted into a Ghost type, before the color started returning to his scales. He immediately fell to his knees and began to kow-tow in submission. “Author-sama, please communicate your displeasures before you do so. We will do what we can to keep you writing, please!”
Noted; just don’t drag things out. I don’t want to write the pokemon equivalent of Berserk’s boat arc.
Chad tucked himself further under the tree, trying to stay out of the fire’s light just in case. There was a loud ‘fwump’ as a black and purple wyvern with oversized teal ears and a bat-like face landed roughly ten feet away from his camp site. As his breathing sped up, Chad’s eyes darted to the sides, his feet quietly sliding to try and work his way behind the tree.
Colette, clearly a Pokemon Ranger by her outfit, slid off the large dragon to approach the campsite, pausing once she noticed only a lone red lizard alongside a trainer’s gear. She cleared her throat and calmly strode towards the campfire. “Sorry to scare you buddy; do you know where your trainer is?”
The pokemon nodded, still trying to hide itself behind the tree. The fiery tail barely peeking out from the darkness gave away a fire typing. There were small but growing gouges in the bark around its claws; clearly it was conflicted between remaining hidden or defending the campsite. “Are they around? There was a general travel warning for this route and Route 21; all trainers under 7 badges are advised to go around a different way,” she explained, coming to a stop in the full light of the fire.
The pokemon slowly stepped forward and towards the light, as Colette subtly held an open palm to signal her partner. As it got closer, she saw them pull up a black rectangle hanging from a strap, before continuing to peck at what appeared to be several buttons. [HE, NEAR, WILL, TELL] the device buzzed, surprising both her and her partner. The lizard took a cautionary step back as Naeva swarmed forward. “Whelp, what is that thing you hold?” he asked, as Colette tried to position herself between the two pokemon.
“A talk box; I type, it says human words,” he explained, clutching the mystery device to his chest protectively. The two stared each other down, as the lone human tried to use her body language to de-escalate.
“Naeva, relax! I know, it surprised me too but-” Colette was cut-off by the intense gaze of her Noivern, and promptly shut her mouth to observe.
Confident there would not be additional outbursts, Naeva steeled his gaze on the younger lad before him. “And how are you so certain they understand it?” the elder dragon challenged, positioning himself to tower over the fire type.
“Two years of development, experimentation, and practice. If you want proof, what’s something only the two of you would know?” the lizard asked, slowly lowering the device and preparing to type. There was a silence, as Naeva shut his eyes and took in the chilly night air; the tension literally melting away from his body.
“Say that my answer in Coumarine City was ‘yes’,” he stated cryptically, watching the smaller pokemon’s claws flick around the device. The fire type waited, and glanced up at him for approval, receiving a simple nod. [COU, MARINE, CITY, ANSWER, YES] beeped from the device.
Colette tilted her head in confusion, until her expression slackened, her eyes began to widen, and a light scarlet began to color her face. Naeva vibrated with a sinister laughter, even as his trainer lightly battered her fists against his torso while muttering incomprehensible frustrations. “That will be a rather useful trick in the future. I should get one for myself,” he mused, enjoying the situation.
“Can you read?” the younger one asked, as Naeva could only raise an eyebrow and shake his head no. “It translates their written language into speech, so if you can’t read, you won’t be able to use one,” the fire type explained. “But maybe she can teach you?”
“Bah, that’s enough!” Colette intervened, “Just tell your trainer about the danger, and try to get them to turn back.” She led her still-smiling Noivern away from the campsite, before clambering atop his back once they reached a safe distance. With a powerful thrust, the duo blasted into the air to continue their patrol. Colette leaned down closer to reduce the drag, muttering, “Can’t believe you told them about that, dummy. I already knew…”
Chad watched the ranger fly off before falling backwards to sit near the fire, taking deep breaths as his heart began to slow down. “That was a bit overkill to try and get me to turn around, wasn’t it?” he asked, gazing at the bright stars above as he leaned back to form a pyramid with his arms.
“Truth?”
Chad sat up straighter, having calmed down from the recent encounter. “What do you mean, ‘is’? And by ‘story’ you’re referring to her, right?”
Chad paused before the looming building, one which stood as the final gate for many aspiring trainers. There didn’t appear to be any security outside, he could just walk right on through the entrance if he wanted. Though his thoughts were interrupted when, to his right, he heard the distinct click of fine china. A quick look, and he spotted someone sitting at a small circular table for two covered by a pristine white cloth, with a pair of dainty teacups, a fancy teapot, and a tower of pastries layered from silver platters. The shade provided from the nearby massive tree obscured some details from this distance, and Chad moved toward the oddity with care.
She (definitely a she with a bust like that) held her saucer and cup with an elegance that implied a noble upbringing and class. Though her short yellow fur, with a white belly, and pointy ears atop a very vulpine head were odd. The purple finger-less gloves clashed with the air of a royal, while her puffy tail was still and gently tucked behind the chair. “Might I request a moment of your time, young trainer?” her melodious voice asked, neither raised nor shouted, but heard from the distance as if he had been already seated at the table.
Placing his pack at the foot of the table, Chad gently slid into place, but refrained from grabbing any snacks or drinks. “What can I do for you, ma’am?” he inquired politely, keeping his hands hidden beneath the table.
She gently placed the cup and saucer on the table, not making a single sound in doing so. “I have come to politely request that you turn back, and not pursue this path,” she explained, as her eyes were revealed to be an ethereal glowing baby blue, their weight bearing through Chad and truly seeing him.
“I was right, wasn’t I? That hurricane was them,” he rationalized, fishing for an answer as the right edge of her mug slid into a smile. “Can I at least-” she cut him off with a firm shake of her head, the smile seeming less amusement and now more apologetic. “Please, I don’t want to do this alone… I don’t want to be alone…”
A small square of three-layered multi-colored cake with a whip of cream frosting floated from the tower and onto the dainty plate before him. “I know, but they aren’t a part of your story, not until the very end,” she explained, granting herself a madeline with an intricate chocolate piping decoration and taking the most refined bite possible, with nary a crumb out of place. “The plumber didn’t find his princess right away, not until the very last castle, remember? So too must you complete your story to earn your reward. Which reminds me, where is your Storyteller? It’s rare that we travel too far from our charges,” she mused, gazing around the empty fields nearby.
Chad barely hesitated, “Omelette du Fromage,” he blurted out, catching a curious eye from the fox. “He’s not here; when he’s around, all French gets forced into English,” Chad explained, eyeing the sweet treat hungrily.
“Interesting, but what form did he take here?” She pressed, selecting another pastry from the tower, this time a round cream puff with spun caramel on the top in the shape of a sparkle.
I can answer this one; he doesn’t have one. Used too much energy to make the world.
“Ah,” the fox reasoned, opening her jaw just wide enough to slide the puff inside without appearing unsightly. “That is the price one pays for not filing paperwork correctly, I suppose. No matter, his narrative abilities are still sufficiently powerful. So let us turn the question to you, young one.” Once again, she lifted the teacup with grace and enjoyed a quiet sip of the steaming amber liquid. “How exactly did you notice me?”
Chad tilted his head to the right, raised his left eyebrow in blatant confusion, before using his hand to motion to all of her. “You’re asking why the reincarnated human, recognized a Digimon, in the Pokemon universe?” His cadence was slightly slow, bewildered that she lacked such self-awareness. “If you wanted an appearance that would mark us instantly but let you blend in, it’s a perfect choice. This world only knows of Pokemon and Humans, they have no concepts of other worlds or other creatures,” he explained, as his stomach began to rebel against his choice not to partake in the treat.
The answer seemingly sufficient, the Renamon placed her cup back down with a restrained flourish. “Clever, and true. Only the other 26 Actors would likely recognize me, though that assumes they are also sufficiently knowledgeable about your home world’s pop culture.”
“26?! There’s more than two of us?” Chad asked, alarmed and lightly bumping the table with his hands.
“Now, now, it’s not like you’ll meet them all. We Storytellers do try to keep our Storylines separate when possible. For clarification, one of them is in Joseon with a rather crafty Storyteller, one is with me just beyond that building which you shall not pass, and the remaining 23 are in Unova.” Chad stared, dumbfounded, as she once again made another pastry vanish with indescribable elegance.
“And each Story needs to be unique right? Pretty sure I was on the standard Hero’s Journey, and I was told you’re running a Power Fantasy,” Chad explained, leading up to his big question. “So, what are the other Stories? Should I be worried?”
She giggled, an honest-to-goodness giggle born of a higher being expressing amusement as the lower-class life-form began to catch on to the way things were played. “No need to worry. And you are close but not quite. I am running an ‘Overcoming The Monster’ Storyline, while you are on a modified ‘To Be A Master’ Storyline. I believe one of the others is a fun variant of a ‘Wunza Plot’, and the other is an unpleasant take on ‘There Can Only Be One’,” she rattles off, counting each of the four with one of her four fingers.
“I don’t like the sound of that last one, especially since I noticed your number of Actors decreased between sentences,” Chad responded, finally caving and eating the pastry in a single bite. His eyes flashed open in surprise, as he savored the treat, before taking a sip of the tea. “Pretty sure I just screwed up and agreed to a Fae deal by doing that, but damn do you know how to tempt someone,” he remarked, as the fox delicately refilled her tea.
“No, silly. Storytellers are unable to directly affect the Actors for other stories while they are in progress. Even your beloved Author can confirm as much,” she explained, resting her head on her left knuckles, elbow braced against the table as a floating silver spoon stirred two sugar cubes into her tea. “Besides, I believed this conversation was overdue, and the two of us agreed it was needed to finally convince you to keep going.”
“If it was so necessary, then why isn’t the Narrator the one telling me this?”
She could only shrug, “Not all of us are very comfortable, or even acceptable, at having ‘The Talk’ with our Actors. Remember the awkwardness with your parents growing up? Those feelings get magnified when you graduate from talking about body hair growth to existential crises. I would much rather explain how fornication works than this,” she clarifies, as Chad notices the tea is empty, and snacks all gone.
“So what now; do I just walk back?” he asked, standing up and donning his backpack.
“Such a rush,” she mused, standing from the table and letting the smaller lizard look up at her towering seven foot height. “As a courtesy, I will have you end the day arriving back in Santalune city. You will need to travel north to Lumiose City the next day, and not return to Snowbelle until after earning your seventh badge. As for my Story, we’ll also be traveling Kalos, so we may bump into one another for a short scene or two. Just promise me you won’t give up so easily, you can win this, everything you ever wanted-”
“To be a rough, battling pokemon with a huge beer belly?” Chad interrupted, catching the fox mid-sentence with a light chuff.
“Not everything is set in stone, just establish a plot hook that would justify you being slimmer or more muscular. Play along enough and maybe the Narrator will incorporate it into his plans. But you certainly did want a different body, a different form, a different life, and most importantly: someone who loved you for you. This opportunity,” she lectured, crouching down to place a hand on his shoulder, “is not a chance, nor is there any real risk. So long as you seriously try, you will only succeed.”
Chad’s face shifted to one of resolution, commitment, and acceptance. “I never do anything but my best.”
Debatable, but I love the spirit.
“Same; let’s pick this discussion up at a later time. Show me how much you’ve grown next time we meet, young one.” The yellow fox stood tall and backed away a foot, facing the smaller lizard, as her hands became surrounded by rainbow rings of soft power, the mystic rings depicting a mish-mash of arcana, mysticism, and intricate geometry.
{Chad returned to Santalune City after the previous night’s encounter with the ranger, abandoning his plans to travel to Snowbelle City, and to instead head for Lumiose City.}
Chad found himself standing at the Santalune City limits, as the edge of the purple sunset began to fade into the night. The chorus of blooming nightlife accompanied the still air, as the last few clouds in the sky began to give way. After a few steps forward, a familiar presence settled on his shoulders; the mantle both unsettling and reassuring.
Chad lay on top of the bed, unable to sleep. Nothing to fidget with, nothing to research, and unable to just shut it off. “Hey, are you still up?” he asked the ceiling.
“Not just yet, still bothered by a few things from earlier today.”
“That you’re powerful, dedicated to your craft, and reliable?” Chad quipped, a subtle smirk betraying his amusement at how easy that had been.
Chad turned his head to look out the window at the starry night sky, “She gave me ‘The Talk’, then told me to abandon my plan.”
Chad continued to watch the twinkle of the night sky, slowly curling up on himself to stay warm. “She said you could help me change something, to set up a plot hook…Make it so my final form isn’t so… fat?”
<... Is that it? You could request to have your attacks burn hot enough to melt even the sturdiest of foes. You could request the ability to shrug off every hit, or move so quickly no foe can touch you. You could request power above and beyond any other pokemon in this world. And yet, you simply desire to be slimmer?>
Chad waited a moment, as he clutched his tail closer into a rolled hug, despite the room’s ambient temperature being a comfortable warm. “Almost all pokemon have a fixed design; most Pikachu will look exactly the same, except for scars or worn items. Charizard has a massive pot belly and skinny sticks for arms. No matter how hard I train, or exercise; no matter how much I regulate my diet to be as healthy as possible, that will be my future.” His eyes were somewhat moist, causing the pillow to grow damp. To prove a point, he gently poked his belly with a claw, watching as the surface deformed and implied a sufficiently padded layer of body fat.
“If that’s what it takes…” Chad responds, eyeing the pokeball on the nightstand.
Pardon my asking, but I just need to clarify-
Yes, no recent alterations from what I sent you.