Chapter 5
Foreign Encounters
Only then did I look at Alex, and then I really wished I hadn’t been so fast in doing so. His body from head to toe had been completely black like he landed in an oil slick. On his head were two long antennae with bulbs on the ends. And to make matters even worse, on his back were two enormous butterfly wings splashed with a rainbow of colors. Damn, if I had been in Alex’s place at that moment, I swear I would have gone postal. As sad and pathetic as David’s humiliating fate had been, it wasn’t nearly as bad as this.
“THAT LITTLE FREAK RANDY FERGUSON IS GOING TO DIE!!!!!!,” Alex shouted loudly, sending his screaming echo throughout the clearing.
“You said it, man,” I supported Alex, trying to calm his rage by letting him vent and just support everything he said. “All three of us are going to slaughter those little freaks. I’ll even let you be the one who whacks Randy’s head as I pin him down.”
“Jake…” Alex said softly, trying to calm down all of a sudden.
“What?” I asked him, looking up into his eyes.
There was silence for a dark moment.
“Just shut up,” Alex told me with a bit of frustration in his eyes.
Fine. I shrugged and figured I would just let Alex have his way for now, just like David. If it had been me thrown into his current hellhole mess, I would have been infuriated to the extreme myself, so I could understand why both of them would be moody all of a sudden. He needed to rant and I could get that. Still, one way or another, Randy was going to make sure we were humiliated and depressed even before we battled his Pokémon. And since this was his freakish world, we had to expect anything. I swore, he was not going to do to me what he did to Alex and David.
Before we had the chance to do anything, we saw what seemed to be a dark figure emerge from behind us. As we turned around, he got closer, and we realized he was wearing a black fedora and trench coat, looking like a mobster pulled right out of some gangster movie. We were more than ready to retaliate after what we've been through, but when he approached us, he shook his head in disgust.
“Damn, just got here too late,” The mobster told us with frustration. "You three didn’t deserve this kind of misery. Believe me, I know."
“And who the hell are you?” I asked him, still with justified paranoia creeping all over me.
“Name’s Black,” He told us. “You may not believe me, but I’m Randy’s frustration. And heh, I owe you three a favor.”
We were surprised for a moment to think that this guy actually existed. But then again, could we really even trust this guy? I figured I’d at least hear him out.
“You three made me strong by making Randy feel weak,” Black told us with a bit of a sinister smile. “I’ll let you in on some of Randy’s darkest secrets. He can't just flush me out because I'm just as much a part of him as everything else around here, good or bad.”
“Go on,” David told Black, still on his guard.
“Believe it or not, Randy’s world really was created from that necklace,” Black told us, “I know, I know, you thought it was a lie, but it's not. It's about time you face what you're really dealing with here. He created this whole new world and dimension just because of his inability to train Pokémon and deal with his problems. Like you three. Talk about frustration. There was nothing more he wanted than to beat the three of you.”
I couldn’t understand why worthless little Randy would go through so much trouble to beat us. Couldn’t he just accept the fact he was a natural loser at Pokémon battling and there was no hope for him in the world? He'd probably be better off doing something else.
“But, if you try to battle him now, you’ll most surely lose,” Black warned us. “That necklace gives him enough power to give him any Pokémon he wants, as well as use any move or attack. Even ones that don’t even exist.”
“Are you kidding!?” David shouted in shock.
“In Randy’s world, if he can think it, it becomes real,” Black informed us, still trying to keep a low profile. “His new, super-powered Pokémon are nearly invincible. Trust me, you were right when you said the game was rigged, and it definitely is. It’s a good thing I found you three, because if I didn’t, I don't want to imagine what would have happened...”
I had a feeling this might just be one person in all of Randy’s world that we could at least somewhat trust. What he said was certainly making sense. The last time we saw Randy, he seemed ready to do anything, even something like this. We pushed him too far, that was for sure.
“How do we stop Randy and get out of here?” Alex asked Black. "Seriously, look at the two of us. We've got to get this crap off."
“You need to defeat Randy, as well as Jeff and Frank,” Black said to the three of us. “You have to make Randy feel defeated enough to the point where even in his own dream world, he still can’t beat you. Only then will that little schmuck give up this pointless act of his. And thankfully, when it's over, this place of his is out the window like a cigarette. All gone.”
Heh, that was worth chuckling for. Randy would NEVER be able to say he was better than us, because it would be a cold-blooded lie. It then became clear what we had to do.
In order to get out of this place, we had to find Randy as well as those little morons Jeff and Frank and kick their butts. I certainly didn’t want to stay here any longer, after seeing what had happened to Alex and David. I had to be extra careful to make sure I didn’t end up like them, which was exactly what Randy wanted to happen…
“There’s only one way to at least put yourself on the same level as Randy,” Black told us, “You'll need these. Put them around your neck, and it'll at least suppress some of the control Randy has over reality.”
Then, out of his coat, he pulled out three golden chain necklaces. He handed one to each of us, and we wore them around our necks.
“While those are nothing compared to the necklace Randy has, they have an opposing canceling power while you use them here,” Black said to us. “Heck, I should know. I know everything that just presses that little boy’s buttons."
And then, he reached back into his trench coat. It seemed he had one more thing to give to us.
“Here,” Black said, also handing a Poké Ball to each of us. “Take these also. These Pokémon will at least put you on the same level as Randy, since they’re also made from that little boy’s dreams. Once he throws his Poké Balls and his desired Pokémon comes out, he hasn't learned how to change it quite yet. But be careful. Make sure he’s the one to send out his Pokémon first, or he’ll always have a type advantage over you, usually in the worst kind of way.”
“Thanks, Black,” I said to him.
“It’s the least I can do for the three of you,” Black responded. “See you around, and good luck.”
And then he turned around and left. I looked over the Poké Ball that Black had handed me, just wondering what was inside. Still, now wasn’t the time to play guessing games. I was going to save this for a moment I really needed it. Last thing I wanted was for Randy to find out we acquired secret weapons against him.
"Is he serious about this thing?" Alex asked, looking at the necklace with doubt. "Also, I really don't like the idea of using a Pokémon created from Randy's dreams."
"Yeah, me neither," David replied, brushing it off. "For that reason alone, it probably sucks, whatever it is."
Probably. I shrugged but decided to keep the stuff anyway. Alex and David, however, simply cast their given Poké Balls aside, not wanting to have anything to do with Randy's dream world. As for me, I shrugged and simply just held onto mine. Maybe there was some silver lining in using a Pokémon of Randy's dreams against him, even if Alex and David didn't think so.
After that, we headed back into the tropical forest, hoping we would find Randy soon and get out of his retarded dream world as soon as possible. I didn't know where the hell he was in this place, but something had to lead up to him.
Again, we made our way through the dense foliage, this time I was in the front. I constantly had to lift my feet and swing them over the dense shrubs on the ground, and it was wet everywhere. My jeans were soaked and my t-shirt was damp from the dew and the humidity everywhere. I wasn't thinking about Randy all that much and it was really just the heat and getting somewhere that I was focusing on, but I wasn't making much headway there.
I picked up the pace, just wanting to get out of this miserable forest as soon as possible. I could put up with the heat and the sweat as long as it got me out of here faster. After some time, I turned around to see how Alex and David were doing and if they needed a moment to catch up.
And then I realized they weren’t there…
I looked back frantically, but I didn’t see them anywhere. Where the hell did they go? I shouted out several times, calling their names and hoping they were nearby, but there was no sight of them at all and no response. I was just pissed. I really didn't need this right now and felt it should have been easy for those two to keep up. And I top of that, I felt like I was starving. I hadn’t eaten in nearly a day and a half. But like hell I was going to trust eating or drinking anything while I was here.
All I could do was keep moving, but after some time, it became night again and I couldn’t even see the path ahead. I had no choice but to wait until dark. Stupid Randy and his imaginary world. Just who the hell did he think he was anyway? By now, I had no idea where Alex and David were, and this was just making everything fifty times worse. Again, I had to make a bunch of wet plants and leaves my bed for the night. That whole night, I kept thinking how much I really wanted to make Randy's face a gnarled mess with my fists.
Surprisingly, I fell asleep and when I awoke, I could see again. I got up and kept moving, hoping to leave this stupid forest, but it seemed to keep going on forever. After just a few hours, I heard a noise to my right. I thought by some miraculous chance it might have been Alex or David, so I decided to track it down. And then I came across an interesting sight. I came across a small fountain spring, and there were tiny little pixies surrounding it. They all seemed to look at me in shock for one moment, and then they calmed down, almost as if they already knew me and didn't think this was the alarming surprise they thought it was at first.
“Oh, it’s only you,” One of them said in relief, speaking with a calm and quiet voice. “For a minute I thought you were some kind of stalker.”
“Who are you?” I asked them, wondering who they were.
“Oh, we’re just Randy’s mischievous side,” A different pixie told me casually. “But, unfortunately, Randy doesn’t get into mischief very often, so we’re always put on the back burner. He's just not a naughty guy... unfortunately.”
Sure as heck wasn't. He didn't have the guts to stand up to anyone or get even. That's what his problem was. He just didn't see it. What was the point of creativity if it wasn’t put to good use? Randy was just loaded with disappointments.
“Well, I plan on taking Randy down,” I told them. “Just like I always have.”
“Heh, yeah, go figure,” One of them replied casually. “We knew you would. I don’t know how you’re able to tolerate it being in the mind of the one person you despise.”
I didn’t know either, and my patience was growing short because of that. Hell, she was right about that one. After some of them got up and flew away, only about three of them remained. After they flew to a nearby branch, I suddenly felt my hunger arise again. I couldn’t help but ask if they had anything to eat. It became the only thing I was really thinking about.
“I’m starving,” I told the three of them. “You… wouldn’t have anything around here to eat, would you?
They suddenly became surprised, and looked at me like I was crazy. One of them giggled a bit, whispered something to the others, and then they looked at me.
“You… still need to eat?” One of them asked. “That’s just stupid. Obviously you’ve never heard of Sun Water before, have you?”
“Not a chance,” I told them.
“It comes from that spring,” The pixie told me, pointing to the fountain. “If you drink a few cups of Sun Water, you’ll never need to eat again. Drink, once in a while yes, but eat, never again.”
That sounded ridiculous. But then again, after I stole Randy’s lunch money a countless number of times, maybe this was an element of him that had put up with never having lunch again. Who knows, because in Randy’s world, it seemed like anything was fair game. I wasn’t about to give a damn where that came from though. I took her word for it and didn't see much in terms of other options.
I walked over to the fountain and bent down. Honestly, the water didn’t appear to be any different than normal water, so I just shrugged it off. And since these pixies seemed to be another part of Randy’s naughty side, maybe I could trust them. Black already helped us out, so I figured they could be the same. They already looked like they trusted me. Hell, it was like we had already knew each other for crying out loud.
And as my hunger grew stronger, I wasn’t about to argue or start asking stupid questions. I found a pewter cup nearby, and I dipped it into the fountain. I then gathered some water in the cup, held it to my lips, and then decided to drink it. While it looked like water, it tasted super-sweet like sugar. It tasted great, and after I drank down the first cup, I decided to go for seconds.
My hunger melted away immediately, but the Sun Water was so tasty I couldn’t help but keep drinking it. It was addicting as hell. I must have had twelve cups of the stuff before I felt like I had enough of it. There was no soda on Earth that had a better taste than Sun Water. I swore, I would have bottled the stuff up if I could have.
And then, I heard a slight giggling in the distance. I turned around and saw it had come from one of the pixies. I looked up at one of them and she looked at me.
“Boy, you’re going to look awfully cute…” She said before flying away with the other two.
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