The Will to Go On

[SlowPokemon]

This is my favorite chapter ever. I'm very sad to say that you can expect an epilogue...then TWTGO will be over.
Chapter Twenty-one
At 26 Isolé Avenue

   Karen, Aaron, and Will were walking around Ecruteak City, attempting to locate 26 Isolé Avenue, the address of the Strange Boy’s party. It was December 24, and gently snowing.

   They arrived at Isolé Avenue and Will gave a sharp intake of breath. There was only one house—and it was standing on the piece of land which on their previous visit had been barren.

   Neither Karen nor Aaron seemed to notice, but went to the front door and knocked on it twice. Almost immediately the door was opened and the Strange Boy greeted them.

   “Welcome, friends,” said the Strange Boy with a wry smile. “Glad you could make it.”

   “Well, that makes one of us,” said Karen with a very forced smile. “Thanks for inviting us…?” she said, and then paused. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we ever got your name,” she pointed out.

   “That is correct,” he said gravely. He led them inside without another word.

   Karen glared after him.

   “…Of all the unsatisfactory people…” she muttered under her breath, but followed Aaron and Will.

   Inside, there was a very, large, old-fashioned room. Christmas music was playing and several people were dancing to it. Will was highly surprised to see several people that he knew. In fact… Will started to look at every person individually and found that he had met almost all of them, at some time or another, during their travels.

   Bill, the young inventor of the Pokémon storage system, was talking pompously to the young boy who had been practicing Headbutt in the Ilex Forest. Near them were the irritable nurse from the Violet Pokémon Center and the old man who had talked to them about the Goldenrod Gym Leader: they were dancing together slowly and were looking as if they had never been happier. Also among the crowd were the five Kimono Girls, dancing slowly in a circle around a thin boy who was looking very bewildered. He kept trying to squeeze past one of them, but the Kimono Girls were too close together and kept advancing. Finally a tall boy, a few years older, delved into the circle and helped the boy out. Will heard the first boy stammer “Thanks, Winter,” and the second one sigh, “Don’t mention it, Jub…” and they both went to sit down with the boy from the coffee shop (Grapefruit), who had been watching the scene with some amusement. The tall boy—Winter—asked of a mischievous-looking girl, “Would you get the cards out, ETF?” ETF grinned and stuck a pencil behind her ear as she pulled out a deck of cards—and they began to play.

   In the corner, the Strange Boy was joining Margaret at an old piano and they were presently playing a simple duet. Eusine was explaining about the Pokémon Suicune to Professor Elm, with much hand motion. Elm looked a little awkward; rather, he was looking at Eusine with something that was half intrigue, half caution. The small girl whom they had helped with Oran Berries to her Miltank was sitting at a small table with the attendant from the Ruins of Alph and Margaret’s five-year-old sister, Whitney. And the man from the ticket booth at the traveling circus was sitting in an armchair near the fire, gently snoring.

   “Hey, guys,” said a slightly timid voice near them. They turned to see Lucian, looking a little sheepish.

   “Umm, hey,” said Karen cautiously. “What are you doing here?”

   “I got an invitation,” said Lucian, looking a little surprised. “And I thought I’d come…could be fun, you know…”

   “I’ll bet you don’t get invited to many parties,” said Aaron flatly.

   Karen looked over at him angrily. “Honestly, Aaron. It’s Christmas. Can’t we just be nice to him? This one night?”

   Much to Will’s surprise, Aaron laughed loudly and grabbed Lucian in a hug.

   “Just kidding, man!” he said, grinning. “Glad you could make it.”

   Lucian turned bright red and stammered something, then carefully broke free. He nodded gratefully to all of them and went to sit at a small table with Cynthia and Norman. Norman looked a little more noticeable than normal, and Cynthia looked radiant in a long dress. Aaron stared at her while walking, and as a result banged his head into a pole that rose from the floor to the ceiling. Karen laughed.

   The night wore on. Some of the older people had more than a bit to drink. Suddenly the Strange Boy turned the station on the radio, so quickly that Will was fairly sure no one else had seen him do it. The radio emitted a very strange tune, but very catchy. Abruptly, and all at once, everyone felt the inexplicable urge to dance to the music. Everyone leapt up from their seat and quickly seized the nearest dance partner; and without saying a word, they all began.

   Aaron danced with Karen. The nurse danced with the older gentleman. Winter danced with ETF. Norman danced with Cynthia. And although there were more boys than girls at the party, everyone seemed to have a partner. At the center of everyone, the Strange Boy danced with Margaret, an elegant, complex dance, all the while looking piercingly into her eyes with a wry smile on his face.

   They continued in this manner for about eight minutes, then suddenly everyone swapped partners.

   Grapefruit danced with the attendant from the Ruins of Alph. Eusine danced elegantly and confidently with Karen. Bill danced with Margaret’s five-year-old sister. Elm danced with the young girl from the farm. Nobody cared.

   Suddenly everyone swapped partners again.

   Will danced with Karen. Aaron danced with the elderly nurse. Winter danced with each of the Kimono girls in turn. Norman danced with ETF. And the boy called Jub—although he was a good few inches shorter than her and his eyes were level with her chest—was dancing rather vigorously with Cynthia, who was appearing a little flustered and kept having to push Jub back an inch or two—he kept getting closer and closer…

   Eventually several people stopped dancing and sat down as the song changed to a very slow one. Will sat down on a couch, deep in thought for some time, when the Strange Boy sat down next to him. There weren’t very many people left dancing: Karen and Lucian, Aaron and the girl called ETF, and Eusine and one of the Kimono girls were among those still present. Cynthia, who had apparently been unable to escape Jub, was waltzing slowly with him, Winter and Grapefruit looking on and rolling their eyes.

   “Pretty good turnout,” said the Strange Boy happily. He set down his spiral notebook on the coffee table in front of the couch.

   “What are you always writing in that?” said Will suddenly. He had abruptly realized that he wanted to know very badly.
   
   The Strange Boy hesitated. He put a hand on its cover protectively. “I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you, Will.”

   “You’re not supposed to?” said Will, puzzled.

   “Would you really like to know?” said the Strange Boy finally.

   Will paused, then nodded.

   The Strange Boy handed him the notebook resignedly and sat back. Will opened the cover. It was very full—in fact, there were only a few pages left in the notebook. He flipped to the first page. It read, “Will woke with a start. Glancing around frantically…”

   Will gasped.

   “I knew it!” he said in awful realization. He turned to the Strange Boy and said in a hushed voice, “You’ve been writing this…the whole time?”

   The Strange Boy nodded slowly.

   “You’ve been controlling my whole life?” Will said in horror.

   “No,” said the Strange Boy quickly. “I can’t control anything.”

   “Then why?” said Will.

   “This is how the best stories are written, Will,” said the Strange Boy, his eyes lighting up. “How can I know what happened in my story perfectly unless I was there myself? So I came.”

   “You…came?” said Will, not fully understanding.

   “Yes…” said the Strange Boy quietly. “I came. It was not that difficult. I came and I gathered facts about your life. And then…to actually meet the people I was researching…it was too much temptation. I had to approach you all…to talk to you. And I watch you all the while, taking notes on events that are happening.”

   “So,” said Will slowly, “you’re going to go back to…your world…and pass this off as your own?”

   The Strange Boy sighed.

   “Well, I don’t know about that yet, Will… I don’t think I will. I’ll show it to others, of course—for what is an author without his audience! I really don’t know.”

   “So…” said Will. “When do you have to go back?”

   “I am leaving on New Years Day,” said the Strange Boy. “And, as I understand, I might run into you there.”

   Will nodded. He did not quite understand this highly weird boy, but he didn’t need to.

   “I think we’re going to leave now,” he told the Strange Boy.

   He nodded and waved goodbye to them—Karen and Aaron were coming to join, along with everyone else who had been at the party.

   “Goodbye, friends,” said the Strange Boy, seeing them out the door. “I’ll see you three next week.” He closed the door and they all walked off.

   “Wait…” Karen said, pulling Will and Aaron toward her, allowing everyone else to pass. Everyone walked past them, except ETF, Winter, and Grapefruit. They were trying to wrench Jub from Cynthia’s body, but it appeared he was stuck to her with all-purpose glue. It looked like Cynthia was having trouble breathing.

   Finally, they jerked him off and Cynthia took a huge breath.

   “Bye!” said Jub happily, waving to her. She looked very flustered but more than a little pleased, and bent down to kiss him on the cheek.

   “See you,” she said, and went to join Norman, who was folding his arms and glaring at Jub. The pair walked away, followed by the group of three who were dragging Jub, and all was silent.

   Karen turned around to look at the house. It was as she expected: the house was gone.

   “I thought so,” she said softly.

   The land was barren once more. She and Aaron turned back around and went to the Pokémon Center. Will stayed behind. He stood there for a moment and at last saw them: the Strange Boy and Margaret were waltzing slowly, revolving on the spot, dancing to a song that no one else could hear.

[Winter]

Wow! That was by far my favorite chapter! You made me out to be such a pimp too. XD

Now I feel bad about my vote on the poll -.-

Could not stop laughing about Jub and Cynthia..... All purpose glue... Nice

[SlowPokemon]

Thank you very much, Winterkid. I enjoyed writing the very last paragraph the best.
It took me a while to go through the whole story and figure out all the people they spoke to.

[Winter]

Yeah, seemed like it must've taken a lot of effort to get all that right.

Did you have the Strange Boy/Notepad Idea from the beginning, or did you figure that out as you went along?

[SlowPokemon]

I knew that the Strange Boy was me as soon as I put him in. Maybe more on that later.

[Winter]

Alrighty.. Hopefully more on Aaron's path too :p

[SlowPokemon]

I'm going to make a separate topic with the whole story in one place, so this thread won't have to be hunted through to read it.

Also, I'm going to post some afterthoughts there as well.

[Winter]

Sound's good

[ETFROXX]

I THINK MY FAVORITE CHARACTER IS ETF.

[SlowPokemon]

THAT'S FANTASTIC

I DIDN'T KNOW YOU READ THIS

[ETFROXX]

I didn't, but winter told me we danced in it or something so I came and read this. :3

[SlowPokemon]

lol thanks for advertising winter.

[Winter]

Anytime

[SlowPokemon]

Epilogue

   It was New Years Day. Our favorite heroes were in the Olivine City harbor.

   Will and Karen watched as Aaron set his bags down. He was leaving. It was official. Karen could procrastinate the thought no further, and she was working hard to fight back tears.

   Will, too, felt a little odd as he realized that one of his best friends would be leaving the entire region.

   A voice rang over the loudspeaker: “Attention, all passengers on the 1:30 ship. We will be departing for Sinnoh in approximately ten minutes. Please be on the ship in five. Thank you.”

   â€œSo,” said Karen, looking at the ground. “I guess this is goodbye.”

   Aaron lifted her chin up to meet her eyes and said, “On that you’re wrong, Kare. This is ‘so long,’ not ‘goodbye.’”

   â€œWhat’s the difference?” said Karen bitterly, turning away from him.

   â€œA whole lot,” said Aaron. “It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”

   Karen knew that his words were honest, but she didn’t want to hear it right then.

   â€œYou might meet someone else,” said Karen accusingly.

   Aaron laughed.

   â€œSomething tells me that no one else will have that same…spark that you do,” he said brightly.

   She suddenly hugged him tightly.

   â€œSo long, then, Aaron,” she laughed miserably through her tears. “I hope you always miss my spark.”

   â€œI already am,” he said unhappily, and they stood there in silence, Will looking away awkwardly.

   â€œIs this really going to work out?” whispered Karen.

   â€œI don’t think so,” sighed Aaron. “I was afraid this would come up…”

   â€œI’m not saying I don’t want to be with you,” said Karen quickly.

   â€œNeither am I,” assured Aaron hastily. “It’s just…”

   â€œWith you in another region…” said Karen, “…it’s not likely things are going to work very well.”

   â€œI know,” said Aaron quietly, and let go of her carefully.

The loudspeaker voice spoke again: “Attention , all passengers on the 1:30 ship.
We will be departing for Sinnoh in five minutes. Please board the ship.”

   There was a pause.

   â€œWe are talking to you, green hair.”

   Aaron sighed and reluctantly picked up his bags, saluted his friends, and started toward the ship.

   â€œBye Aaron,” whispered Karen to herself.

   â€œGuys!” shouted a voice behind them. “Wait up!”

   Karen and Will turned around and saw, to their surprise, none other than Lucian running towards them at his top speed.

   â€œAm I too late?” he gasped. “Is the ship gone?”

   â€œNo,” said Will. “You have time.”

   â€œGood,” he said in relief. “Because…” he continued, drawing himself up, “…I’ve decided to join the Sinnoh Elite Four.”

   Karen raised her eyebrows and said, “That’s interesting.”

   â€œAnd…” he continued, hesitating, “there is something else that I want to confess.” He shut his eyes tightly, then said as quickly as he could: “Karen, I’m doing this for you. I’ve always loved you, from the first moment I laid eyes on you. And even if…if…if there’s no chance in the entire world I could ever be with you even if everyone else on the earth was dead…I have to tell you.” He opened his eyes and exhaled with relief.

   Karen looked at him momentarily with shock on her face, but in a second shook herself. She leaned forward, kissed him on the cheek, and said, “Well…there might be some chance.”

   Lucian broke into a wide grin, shouted, “HE WAS RIGHT!”, and bolted towards the ship just before the gates closed.

   â€œâ€¦if everyone else on the earth was dead,” Karen said.

   â€œHello, friends!” called a voice once again from behind. This time it was Eusine coming to greet them.

   â€œHey, Eusine,” said Karen. “Are you leaving, too?”

   â€œI could never!” laughed Eusine. “Suicune is found nowhere else in the world, you know, besides the Johto region. “I came because I heard one of my friends was leaving and I wanted to see him off.”

   Will bit his tongue to keep from asking if Eusine had actually come to see if the friend leaving was “Miss Karen.”
   
   â€œHe’s gone,” said Karen, smiling sadly.

   â€œThat is too bad, miss,” said Eusine, shaking his head mournfully.

   â€œEusine,” said Will suddenly. “Look.”

   The elegant Pokémon Suicune stood right in front of them, looking out over the water. Eusine’s eyes widened as it turned around, leapt towards him effortlessly, and licked his face affectionately. It then winked one of its monstrous eyes and bounded away.

   Eusine stood frozen in shock for a moment, then whooped loudly and ran after it with amazing speed. Will and Karen heard him shout, “Till we meet again, my friends!”

   â€œLet’s see,” said Karen, counting on her fingers. “That’s Aaron, Lucian, and Eusine… I think there’s really only one more person we might see today…”

   And there he was.

   Getting ready to board his own ship, and saying goodbye to the pretty-faced Gym Leader of Goldenrod, was the awkwardly thin, bright blue-eyed boy, with a now-full spiral-bound notebook at his side. After Margaret turned away, the Puppetmaster, the Strange Boy, turned to Karen and Will and winked. Will knew what the wink said. The Strange Boy was moving on to bigger and better things. With this story’s end came a more intense, larger story’s beginning. The Strange Boy got onto the ship going who-knows-where and turned his back to the Johto region, looking only forward.

   Will watched the two ships’ retreat until they were gone, then Karen touched him lightly on the shoulder and said, “Will…let’s go home.”

   They were all part of a bigger story, Will realized. All of them. But then he lay those thoughts aside and followed Karen home. He was going to live the rest of his story to the fullestâ€"sometime in the future. For now, New Bark Town was his obligation, where his father would be waiting…

FIN

[DrP]

Should I spill who the strange boy is??? or is this our little secret?