Brian's Tale - Chapter 1: A Hole Different World
Brian's Tale (A Trainer's Tale Redux) Chapter 1: A Hole Different World Crack Ratty old shoes stepped on thin branches, slowly walking through the forest. The shoes belong to certain 16-year-old boy, a lonely Ian Little. Ian had his head down, making his way all by memory. He'd been going through his usual 'i'm depressed' phase he went through every now and then. The forest was right out of his town, Summerton. It is a quaint, sleepy farming town with a population of about 3,000. There were the normal town sites - a bakery, a school, a bar, etc. Right now he was going to his quiet place. He went to it every time 'it' happened. If he didn't... people usually just frustrated him and made him mad... which made him lash out at them. So for his (and everyone else's) sanity, he went there for a few hours before calming down and returning. And by everybody else, he meant the other kids at the orphanage. He was an (obviously) orphan and the oldest one there too. He'd lost his parents and sisters in a car crash. Since his grandparent's were deceased and his father was also orphan, he'd had no where to go. So he was put in the nearby orphanage. The place was nice enough, for a orphanage anyways. It was located on a hill overlooking the town. There were about two lunchrooms, a playroom, and of course, the Donation room. There were also seperate bedrooms that kept about 4 each. He roomed with Toby and Oscar. Oscar was a short 12 year old with a shorter temper. He'd been here since he was born. His mother dropping him off saying she'd be back in an hour. She hadn't come back since. Toby was an 11 year old who kept to himself. He was always spacing out and mumbling to himself. The boy had a strange journal he often wrote in and NEVER let anyone ever see. In total... there were probably about 50 kids in total and about half were under 8. As previously stated, he was the oldest. Because of that fact, he was admired by most. He always helped out the little kids with things like homework and solving desputes among them. About five helpers worked in it. The head was the caretaker, Ms. Mary. She was a lovely old lady who started the orphanage in the 60's with her husband, Mr. Frank. Mr. Frank was a really nice guy, always had a happy glow around him. Ian smiled at the thought of him. He'd died of Cancer a few months ago. Ian and the other kids had all gone to his funeral with a completly devastated Ms. Mary. The helpers all gave a speech and the funeral was a respectful one to the old man. Ian continued his thoughts until reaching his place. It was a large clearing with a gigantic tree in the middle. No one besides him knew of it, and he liked it that way. The path there was elaborate and he'd been followed quite a bit, but no one ever found out.
Resting on the tree, he pulled out his prized possesion: His DS. He smiled at how he'd obtained it, one of the greatest achievements of my life.
Flashback! Ian, at this time 9 years old, was jumping up in down. Today was Donation day! Donation day was the 1st of every month where all the kids of the orphanage got the donations of others. It was always all 11:05 on the dock. During that time, all the kids went wild towards the donation box and grabbed whatever they could. Sometimes they got things like Tamagotchi's or sports equipment or sometimes... every so often... "Ian! Ian!" A kid yelled. It was Andy, a 7 year old who got adopted a few months later. He was Ian's friend, and month's later Ian was sad to let him go. "Guess what i heard i they got this time?" "What? More Tamagotchi's? Andy, I swear this place is just full of them. I got three in my pocket right now!" "No man, it's a DS! It's got like 5 games!" "Dee-esh?" Before Andy could inform him, Another boy, this one 17 years old, passed by. "Might as well talk about it while you can cuz after today, it's gonna be MINE" the kid said with a snort. This was Shawn. He was an annoying bully who never got adopted and was kicked out after a year. His jerk-ness to the kids made Ian want to help people. Soon the kids were all waiting at the door. Ms. Mary would count down from three and the kids all rushed. Instead of yelling, it was like the calm before a storm: Just silent. "3-2-1!" Then all hell broke lose. Ian rushed ahead, right behind a couple other kids. There he spotted the DS. It was stacked so anyone could see it. He gained his speed and rushed for it, barely grabbing the thing. The others missed it, instead grabbing the other 4 cartridges. "I got it! I got it!" He screamed. He had the DS! Not wanting to drop it, he ran for the door before running into to something: Shawn "Hey twerp, i said that was mine!" Shawn raised his fist to punch. Ian anticipated the blow, closing his eyes. After a few moments, he opened it to a furious looking Mr. Frank grabbing a terrified looking Shawn's fist. For an old man, he was a fighter. He never hurt any of the children, but he'd proven his strength. "Shawn what do you think you're doing?" "Uh, this, uh- This PUNK just stole MY gameboy" Shawn said with a smug look
"Shawn how STUPID do you think i am? That's it. You're staying in your room for the next century!" Mr. Frank yelled, pulling him by his ear.
Ian smiled at the moment, he always thought of it. Over the next few months he traded things to obtain the games: Mario 64DS, Runefactory, New Super Mario Bros, and his favorite, Pokemon Platinum. He played the game constantly, beating the Elite Four on the first week of playing. He played the game many times since and loved it more each time. He always had the same team: Consisting of Chimchar, a Luxray, An Abra, a Murkrow, a Lucario, and finally, a Gyarados. He quickly turned it on, starting the thing up. He decided to play it from the start. Soon he was purchasing pokeballs Jubilife. While the saleswoman was blabbering on, the game's power turned red and just shut off at that. Now, Ian was angry. He hadn't saved once. Ian, enraged, threw the thing to the left. He then began to feel rain pattering on his head. Grabbing the device, he headed home. Right now it was about 7 and it would take a few hours to get back. He'd only camped out a few times, and only once out at his quiet place. Knowing he would make it back till 11 and thunderstorms were approaching. Seeking shelter, he ran into a nearby cave. "Huh, never seen this place before...." he said to himself as looked at all the stalagmites. The rain seemed to be trying to enter the cave. Ian headed deeper in. As he continued, he found the cave getting wider. Now he was curious. The cave didn't seem to have an end! Eventually, the tunnel bored him. Not giving up easily, he picked up a rock and threw it out into the distance. Turning around, he headed back. Maybe he could just... run back and dodge the lightning. He kept thinking how awesome it would be dodge lightning until noticing something... Where was the clunk? When you throw a rock there is going to be a clunk. Now he was about half-way out of the cave. Maybe if he discovered this... it would be more awesome! Now he was about at the place he threw the rock. He threw another rock: Again, no clunk. Looking down, he noticed something: A giant hole. The thing was easily wide enough for 10 of him! And it looked deep enough to reach China! Carefully creeping his way so he was right on the edge, he looked down at it. The thing was... a little hypnotizing. So hypnotizing... he didn't even notice... He was falling in it.
His first impulse was to scream, which he did, but he got tired after about 5 minutes. Since so much air was getting to his head, he failed to see it'd been 5 minutes since he dropped in. Soon, he began to pass out.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Fingernails tapping on a coffee cup echoed through the bedroom. The noise soon joined by sobs of a middle-aged woman. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. She had a natural, fun-loving personality, but now...not so much. The woman grabbed a black bag under the bed. The woman began to rumage around through a black bag. She picked out an item- a video camrea. Setting the thing up, she wiped away the tears and became presentable. Clicking the on button, she began "Uh, Hello. I'm Nancy Scott. My therapist thinks i should... express my feelings. About two weeks ago, my son, Brian, was hit by a car while coming home from school. He's in a coma. He's... He's not expected to make a recovery. I've been struggling through this week and... it's been hard on me and Melody..." The woman began weeping into her hands. "I'm Sniff Sorry, it's just... I'm not sure what's going to happen..." Nancy was stopped by a ringing phone "I'm sorry... I..." She trailed off before turning the thing off and answering the device "I- Uh- Hello?" "Yes, Ms. Scott?" a woman- a nurse asjed Wiping away the tears "Speaking" "This is about your son, Brian." The nurse said calmly. "Yes?"
"He's awoken." She said blankly
White light. Death is just a strange white light. Maybe he was in heaven. Okay, it's time to see what heaven-or hell...or purgatory...or whatever- looks like. Adjusting his light to the eyes, he looked around. The place looked like a hospital. He guessed either he fell asleep in the cave and someone found him or He just died... and he was in heaven... hospital. He was hooked up to various machines. Jeez i guess i really got hurt... As he tried to make sense of where he was, a nurse carting various pills noticed him awake. "You're awake!" She yelled. The boy didn't even slightly look like he was going to make a recovery! Now he looked healthier then she was! She abandoned her cart and ran off to inform the others.
"Huh... I guess it's been awhile..."
Nancy made her way passed the front desk, ignoring the secretary. Normally she chatted with Phyllis, the receptionist, before her visit. But right now, she needed to see her son. She'd been to Brian's room 10 times in the past 2 weeks and knew it by heart. Making her way to the room she saw him. There, in the bed, laid a rather confused boy, giving her a questioning look. He's awake! After seeing he was awake, she ran towards him and gave him a hug "Brian! i was so worried about you... They said... They said..." Nancy yelled crying tears of joy. She had her son back! 'Brian' on the other hand was... confused. Who was this yelling lady? Another nurse? It would've made sense... They all seem a little bonkers here... "Uh, lady? What're you talking about?" He asked. "Brian, stop kidding around. Please i'm just so glad you're awake" she said "Really ma'am... I don't know who you are..." The woman stopped her hugging, now looking the boy straight in the eyes. Brian always joked around, but he would've stopped by now. She began to well up with tears again. Her son didn't know her...
"Ms., please down cry. I'm sorry for upsetting you." Okay, it was defiantly him. Brian always comforted her when she cried, and always blamed himself. He was still him... He was just... dazed...
After an hour, Nancy let Brian go back to sleep. Right now she was waiting for the doctor while sitting in a waiting chair deep in thought. Why hadn't he called her mom? Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a certain bald headed man. "Hello, Ms. Scott." She looked up to see the smiling face of Dr. Johnson. He was always had a cheery personality to him and was liked by his patients. "Oh, erm- Hello Doctor." She said blankly. "Now, let's get down to business. Now, you told me he seemed to.... not remember you?" Johnson asked, to which Nancy nodded. "Now, i have a theory. I think it may relate to the 'accident'. As you know, just a day ago, he was in a critical state. Now, he looks just fine. I believe that- to save his life- his body... 'deleted' his memory." The doctor explained. "So he... Has amnesia?" Nancy asked as he just nodded. She just stared off in silence before asking another question "Can he ever regain it?" "We don't know how bad it is, but you can try...jogging his memory. Try reminding him of some signifigant event. Birthdays, holidays, etc." The doctor said calmly "Okay, thank you Dr. Johnson... Would you mind if i make a call?" "Not at all" The doctor left the room as Nancy dug out her cellphone from her purse.
"Hello? Honey? Uh ya. Ya I need you to come straight from school to the hospital. Yes. Ya he is." A girlish squeal came from the phone before Nancy continued "Just... He's just a little... different..."
In the hospital room, a 16-year-old boy began to awake. Ian was glad too, he'd been having a wierd dream. He was in his special place, but there was this blurry thing. He and it were leaning against each other, enjoying each other's company. He couldn't make As he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a tiny, ten-year-old's face. Once notcing he was up, she backed her face up and gave him a fierce hug. "Oh big brother! I'm so glad you're okay!" Looking past her, he saw that woman before looking at the scene, a couple tears in her eyes. "Honey, he needs to breathe" The girl quickly got off the bed and stood by the woman. Ian was confused once again. Who were these people? The girl looked like a minature version of the woman. "W-who are you guys? And why do you keep.... hugging me?" He asked So it was true. Melody thought that when her mother said that he had amnesia, it was some wierd sick joke. Now, she wished it was. She put on a glum face, although handling it better than her mother. "Okay, sweetie, this is going to be... hard." "Hard?" "Just listen dear." The two girls sat down, pulling chairs to his bed. "Okay, so let's start out... I know you don't... remember me but... I'm your mother." Nancy said blankly. "My m-mother?" "Yes, honey." "But... But you can't be my... mother" "What do you mean?" "My father, mother, older and younger sister died in a car crash when i was 8... I go to her grave twice a year..." Nancy was shocked. She's dead? How could that be- Wait. Doctor Johnson said that his mind might fabricate memories to make sense of everything. Still she didn't expect that kind of detail or... tone. "Brian..." "Brian? My names Ian." Going so far as to make up a new name. Wow. "No your name's Brian..." "My names Ian! and my mother is DEAD!" Ian yelled. He never liked bringing up the topic. Though the kids sometimes asked, he tried his best not to yell. "Honey, I AM your mother and your name IS Brian." "B-but neither of those things are true!" "Honey this is... a bit harder than the rest... You were hit by a car and... right now... you have amnesia." "Amnesia... But... Thats not possible." "Sweetie. It's true." "But... If- If that's true- then... Summerton... Oscar & Toby.... the Orphanage..." Ian (Or he guess he would now be known... Brian...) began to mumble more things until looking her in the eyes. "I... Think... It's just... It's... hard to think that..." "I know honey, i know it's going to take some getting used to." Nancy said, giving him a hug. He cried a few tears. After a few minutes, Melody cleared her throat. "Okay well, now we should continue. I want to introduce you to Melody, your sister." "My sis-" Brian said before the girl choked him with another Ursaring-hug "...And she's very affectionate." After she let go, Nancy began to explain the... other stuff "Your father, he divoriced me after Melody's birth. We haven't talked since and you haven't either." "Oh..." Brian said, looking down "And your older sister, Pam, is in college, studying human-pokemon relations. I haven't told her that you're awake, i'll have to do that soon... She's coming on saturday... (today was wednesday)" "P-Pokemon?" Pokemon? She's obviously just joking, maybe just mistaking 'pokemon' for 'animals'. Ya, Of course not. "Yes pokemon. You've forgotten that too... oh." "You-You're not kidding?" "What? No..." "Pokemon... Like... Trainers? Battles? The pokemon league?" "So... you do know?" "I.. i just thought... nothing..." If she's not kidding... Then... the game was just some... connection to reality. It was his was way to go back to the real world... But... What about the orphanage? Toby, Oscar, What about them? He'd have to make sense of it later, right now he had other things to learn. The two explained more things. They all lived in Sandgem town, in a nice house. Brian was still 16, and he had the same general look. He went to school and had a part-time job. He had friends who visited him every couple days. He got a more sense of the world. They lived in Sinnoh but Nancy originated from Kanto. But moved to Hoenn with her family and Pokemon. She used to be a master trainer, even becoming champion! His mom was a master trainer! She was (and still is) really famous! She defeated Brendan himself! Because of this, they lived with 2 of her old pokemon, an Arbok named Holly and a Jolteon named Angela. Her Wigglytuff lived with Pam and the rest of her pokemon lived in the wild. They also kept mentioning this one person. They never mentioned it, as if trying to get him to reveal the name. He couldn't remember anyone like that, but he felt like his mind was just an inch away from it.
Nancy promised she could visit him with Melody and that they'd bring the 'special someone' for him to meet... and that they'd bring him home tommorow. On friday, he'd go back to school so he could meet his friends.
Soon he fell back asleep. Inside his head, he had another strange dream. He was again in the field as last time, leaning against the same tree. This time, the thing was gone. He wondered why he was having an uneventful dream, until something strange happened. Infront of him, A young girl appeared. She was about Melody's age, maybe a couple years younger. She had pink cotton-candy colored hair that matched the pinkish in her skin. She wore a white sundress and had ruby colored eyes. She just stood there, looking at him. "Well?" She said, her tone very... childlike "W-well?" Brian asked, confused. "Don't you remember me?" She asked, her head tilted with a confused expression "I've-I've never seen you before in my life..." "Ian, come'on... it's me? You met me yesterday!" "My names... My names Brian..." He Mumbled "Really? Going by his name Ian? He's really taken you over... If i already couldn't tell by where we are..." She said looking over. "What're... What are you talking a-about..." "Hmm... Well i guess you really have forgotten..." "Forgotten?" "Yes, Forgotten..." She said, sitting down next to him on his left and leaning against the tree. "Fate." "Fate?" "Well, since you're...bad at remembering... my name is Fate." "Well i'm-" "I Know who you are Ian" "But i'm Brian!" "Yes.. Yes you are..." She said with a glum sigh. "How do you know me? And why do you keep calling me Ian?" "Always persistent." She said, changing into her normal happy face. Soon Fate got up and sat cross legged across from him. "I guess i should start from the beginning, this is going to be hard..." Brian gave a laugh "I've been getting that alot lately." "Okay so... you are Brian" "Okay, I think i know that?" "...And you are Ian." "W-What? But i'm-" "When you... fell down that hole, it wasn't by accident. I... sort of hypnotised you to fall in..." "Wait... but that was all a dream!" "No... It wasn't. Okay, so let me explain. Like i said... you are Brian, and you are Ian... You're both..." "What?!?!" "Listen. After the crash, 'Brian' was in a critical state. He was in a coma, and if given another week... he would've died. But then i found you... You and him... you were technically the same person before this... the same person, just different universes." "Different universes?" "Yes, there's a whole bunch of different universes... Usually, there isn't the same person in two universes. But somehow... you two were the same... So when he was hit... I kept on a non-stop search to find someone like him... that someone was you." "So after i found you and transported you, i... fused you together." "Fused... me... us..." "To save him, i had to... fuse you two together." "So... does that mean... I can talk to Brian?" "Well...No. You're both, so you can't." "Okay... But who are you? How are you in my dreams and how did you know me? or...former me." "Let's just say i'm a friend of Bri- of him." Brian stopped for a second before asking another question "What about me? Why don't i have any of... former Brian's memories?" "Well... When you two... 'fused' together, He was deing, and your body was perfectly healthy so... 'former you' mostly took him over. I'd say you're... 60 Ian and 40 Brian. During the... Change... Ian lost some of his memories as well. But don't worry Somethings will come back to you, just give it some time." "Okay... It's just..." "I know this is a lot to handle and a bit confusing, but if i know Brian, He'll get through it." Fate said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I have to go... you have vistors." Fate said, starting to fade away "Wait! When will i see you again!" Brian yelled, reaching out to her.
"Trust me, you'll know" She said simpily with a smile.
Brian began to open his eyes as a strange tapping filled his ears. He looked towards the sound, noticing a small hand tapping on the glass of a door. Soon the hand gave up and the person just opened the door. In came Nancy and Melody, both holding a plate with some food. "Hey honey!" Nancy said, putting the food on the nightstand. The food consisted of an omelette, hash browns and some apple juice. "We brought you your- well you won't remember but... it's your favorite!" Melody explained "And... we brought you someone who you might remember... come on in!" After saying that, a strange foreign creature entered. It was a fully grown Raichu! This was the first real pokemon he'd ever scene! It was so... lifelike. It sounds silly but it was. The pokemon had the normal colours and physical appearance, except for one (or two? or eight?): It had eight fingers, four per hand. "Brian this is..." Suddenly, a million different images began flashing in his head- all of him and that Raichu doing things together both having smiles on there faces, having fun. her name was on the tip of his tongue: It was... It was... "Jenna!" He yelled. He barely knew her... Well he really didn't, at all. He saw the images and he remembered them, but to him they were like pictures a friend shows you... They were just...foreign. "OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH! Brian remembers her! I knew he couldn't forget her!" Melody yelled as Brian kept staring at 'Jenna' who was shocked he could remember HER out of all people. Not his mother. Or his sister. His other sister, his friends. Nope. Her. The two just stared at each other until "Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" Melody said, impatiently. As fast as lightning, Jenna was an inch away from him. Brian was afraid she was going to eat him until she hugged fiercly. She began to mumble a bunch of things in poketongue. Although he knew humans couldn't understand it, he swore she said "Missed" and "Wouldn't". He assumed it was just his imagination. "Wait, wait. I'm not sure i remember" Brian sad as Jenna tore away and looked him in the eyes with tears. Wanting to comfort her, he began to try to make her feel better. "Wait... again. I do... but i don't really know. I keep seeing these images of you and me.. Doing stuff." "So you do remember?" Nancy questioned "No... Yes... I don't know... I think i... Half do." "Okay... Strange but... Moving on." Jenna eventually let go of him, moving over to his right and cuddling up to him. Brian began to eat his omelette "So today, we're gunna sign you out of the building and you're going home!" Melody yelled. Brian began to nearly choke on his eggs from the news. He was going home! He was going to that amazing house inside his and Jenna's room with the dark blue wallpaper, that old Tv he got from old Mr. Bernard before he moved, the beat-up console he got from Uncle Blue. This time, the place felt like he knew it completely. Soon the two left, leaving him alone with Jenna. Once they left, the Raichu began hugging him harder. Jenna began crying into his chest and started mumbling more things. "-Thought you - Dead" He heard something say Brian started looking for the speaker, finding no one. "I Would- Never-" He heard again. Looking down, he saw the pokemon still mumbling things. "Uh Jenna?" He asked as she looked up to him. "I know this is going to sound weird but... You wouldn't happen to be saying the words 'Thought you' and 'Would never' Would you? Jenna's eyes shot open and Brian swore he saw a slight blush. "Understand me?" Jenna said. Okay either he was asleep or...this was real. "I think i can understand you... try saying something" "uh.. uh... She sells seashells by the seashore." Jenna said as Brian noticed each time she said something it was more clear. "You said the 'she sells seashells' thing! I.. I can understand you!" This time, it was Brian's turn to hug. The just hugged each other, happy to know they understand each other.
Soon Nancy and Melody returned to the room. "Okay Brian, ready to-" Nancy stopped before seeing the two hugging, not moving "Awwww" The girls said in unison. The two quickly split apart, both blushing.
The car ride home was mostly uneventful at most, although Jenna fell asleep in Brian's arms. Soon the car stopped as Brian looked out the window. There, stood a medium sized house. For a single mother who lived with two kids, she lived quite large. He got out of the car quietly as to not wake Jenna. Melody grabbed his hand and showed him to the door. Melody and Nancy showed him around the house. Jenna woke up after 20 minutes and reminded him to tell the others that they could talk to each other. Melody kept asking Jenna questions and Brian to translate while Nancy just listened in. After the tour and dinner, Brian and Jenna went to their room. Brian knew everything about it, well except that Jenna slept with him which made him blush. "So.. time for bed!" Jenna said, strangly filled with excitement "Uh... Yeah... So, how do we..." "Here, i'll show you" She led him with her strange fingers to the bed and patted on it like trying to get a dog up. He slipped under as Jenna did the same, cuddling close to him Brian quickly fell asleep while Jenna just kept awake, thinking. Thinking how they would become best friends ALL over again! And maybe... maybe it would be easier to express her feelings her feelings that... That she loved him.
End of Chapter 1
Well, thats the Redux. This is probably the most fun thing i've written. I can feel that this story will be more of it's 'own thing' with much more... fleshed out characters. I want it to have longer chapters and have a more original story. References: 1. Oscar, Toby, Andy, Pam, Phyllis, and the last name 'Scott' are all names of characters on 'The Office', a show i've been watching recently 2. Not sure if this counts, but the names of most of our main characters except for 'Jenna' are from the first story Oh! and before i forget... I really like the pun in the title... Just wanted to put that out there