69th Transformation [video/action for Goldenrod]

[exeggutorhead]

[Video]

[It's early morning on the 12th, barely sunrise. Dew is glinting on the grass, Pidgey are chirping, and the camera is focused on a large bush that looks like it's on the corner of a quiet little street. A Pidgeot is standing next to the bush, leaned all the way down and chirping at something in the bush in a coaxing, reassuring way. The camera wielder is apparently a Lucario, judging by the way it's muttering to itself and the black paw that keeps tapping at the front of the 'Gear.]

[Just what's inside the bush? Anyone watching is going to find out in a second, as the 'Gear is lowered down and shoved through the leaves. Suprise! It's a little kid, no more than eight years old and sporting some familiar wild green hair! A little kid who does not look happy. He was already looking at the Pidgeot with the sort of wary scowl of someone trying to look way more intimidating than they really are, and his eyes narrow further when he sees the 'Gear.]

Hey! I said go away! I could kill you, you know, I'm a monster!

[The 'Gear is withdrawn from the bush with a sad little 'Luuu', and the camera is turned around to face Samus the Lucario, who shrugs. Help??]

[Action]

[Whether through outside help or just the Pokemon finally extracting him themselves, Envy will eventually come out of his leafy hiding spot. He'll be able to be found all over the city for the entire three days, usually lurking out of the way like a nervous goblin. Even if brought inside by someone responsible, he's a little escape artist and none of you are his master! You can't tell him what to do! He'll find her eventually and then whoever stole him will be sorry!]

[Besides, as far as he knows, he hasn't been outside in so long, and sunshine and fresh air are great.]

Comments

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[All IS silent--save some sniffing. The sudden cry and the visceral sound of board meeting bird startled the sobs right out of him. Now the boy's eyes are wide and he casts a look aside at Envy. DID YOU HEAR THAT?]}

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy is full on sobbing himself by the time he hears the battle cry, but that at least startles him enough to snap him out of most of it.]

[He stays right where he is until he's sure he doesn't hear anymore of those birds...and he's not entirely sure he wants to come out even then. What if this stranger is even worse? But they sound like another kid, much easier to take on if necessary. He gives Henry a look right back, sets his mouth, and nods.]

[Then he sticks his head out of the trashcan to see what's up, scrubbing at his eyes with one forearm. He wasn't crying! He's a monster! Monsters don't cry!]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[BEHOLD: THEIR SAVIOR.]

[It's a freckled, gap-toothed ragamuffin of a girl, grinning like a cat who got into the cream and leaning on a slightly-bent 2x4 that still has a few feathers stuck to it. She blows a tuft of entirely-untamed blond hair (it's got streaks of black in it, too-- like whoever did the bleach job didn't entirely know how to and was just winging it) out of her face and beams at the pair.]</sub>

Looks like someone forgot to take out the garbage.

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry mouths something wordlessly when Heather appears. Who...WHAT...was this? And was he about to die?]

[Then she opens her mouth and the tears start welling up again. He rocks to his hands and knees and bangs his head on the rim of the trash can.]</sub>

I'm not garbage!

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy crawls the rest of the way out of the trash can. There is a banana peel and several food wrappers stuck in his hair.]

[Stumbling up to his feet--and very nearly falling back down again halfway up--he scowls at the girl who he definitely doesn't recognize.]

Neither am I!

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Here is where a Problem (tm) begins to form.]

[Because Heather, although definitely a lot younger in both body and spirit, had definitely been trying to deliver a cheesy action flick line that would make them groan and roll their eyes at the Classic Heather (tm) wit on display.]

[It has not yet occurred to her that they don't know who she is. Or even who each other are.]

[Which is why, when they just start hollering instead of the expected reaction, she wrinkles her nose and tilts her head.]</sub>

--holy shit.

Are you crying?

_{[Yes, Henry. She said 'shit'.]}

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry does something amazing. He manages to inhale and exhale in surprise and anger at the same time.]}

NO!

_{[He says through tears and snot and feathers.]}

You can't say that!

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy gives Henry a weird look. Can't say what?]

[Although then he goes directly back to scrubbing at his eyes with both fists, face going red with indignation.]

I don't cry! 'm a monster! Crying's for dumb humans like you!

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[Henry stops scowling at Heather long enough to whip around and blink blearily at Envy.]}

Hey!

[foolishwren]

<sub>[THAT stops her in her tracks.]

[Letting the tip of the bird-battling board rest on the ground, Heather swipes her hair out of her face and looks at them both with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape.]

[Oh.]

[Oh, shit.]

[That... changes things.]

[Unfortunately, even though she knows she should know what to do, she's got the brain of an eight-year-old.]

[And she's kind of stumped.]</sub>

A dumb-- ... neither of you remember anything?

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy sucks in a breath like someone just punched him in the stomach, eyes widening. He doesn't know what she means by remembering, or that he's forgotten so much.]

[He only knows about one kind of thing that he could have forgotten.]

[The silence only lasts for a few seconds though before he's got his arms squared out at his sides and hands clenched into little fists. Tears start gathering up again as he shouts.]

I remember EVERYTHING I NEED TO!

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Well, Henry doesn't know what Envy's problem is but he isn't sure he likes him anymore in that way that little kids make snap judgements about people.]

[He takes his turn to speak, now frowning at the ground.]</sub>

I'm get in so much trouble. I wasn't supposed to leave the yard and nobody's gonna believe I didn't do it on purpose.

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Oh shit.]

[OHH MANNNNNN.]

[Eyes widening still, the girl drops the board entirely and lifts her hands peaceably, taking a step back.]

[Because ohhhhhhhh man, this is more than she originally bargained for and she doesn't actually know what to do. Like, Envy's just screaming.]</sub>

Wh-- hey, it's fine, it doesn't matter!

Hey, the birds are gone, right??

_{[RIGHT? THAT'S GOOD!]}

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy sure is screaming all right. He's had a long and scary and strange day, and it's all just sort of spilling over now, uncontrollably because children are even worse at handling emotions than he normally is.]

It does matter! All of it matters and I'm going to get in trouble too!

The longer I'm gone the madder she's gonna be and I don't even know where I am!

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Henry's little fists continue to shake and his sneakers get blurry in his vision. This has to have been the worstest day ever.]

[Time to take it out on someone who he's already kind of mad at. The boy suddenly jerks his head up, face red, snot dripping from his nose, and flings a bony little fist at Envy.]</sub>

ITS YOUR FAULT WE GOT STUCK IN THE GARBAGE!

[exeggutorhead]

[That tiny baby fist hits Envy square in the jaw, making him stagger. It wasn't even that the hit was that hard, but he sure wasn't expecting it. Already on the verge of an all-out tantrum, Envy forgets all about Heather for a moment and whirls on Henry.]

IT'S YOUR FAULT WE GOT CHASED BY BIRDS!

[He leaps at the other boy, trying to tackle him down and hit back.]

[foolishwren]

_{[OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]}

HEY!!

<sub>[She shouts, but this unsurprisingly does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to stop the other two kids from falling upon each other with swinging fists. She clearly will have to do something more than that to stop this from happening. But what exactly can she do?]

[The only thing she can think of is charge into the fray and attempt to grab one of them.]

[Envy's the smaller of the two so... he'll have to do.]</sub>

[no_ufo_ending]

<sub>[Once Envy is peeled off of him, Henry sits up with a gargling cry, fists full of tufts of tangled green hair.]

[IT IS NOT ENOUGH.]

[Henry drops one of his souvineers and grabs up an empty water bottle from the street and chucks it at Envy as he struggles to free himself from the mysterious freckled avenger.]</sub>

I NEVER SAW A BIRD IN MY LIFE!

[exeggutorhead]

[Envy howls with rage as he's suddenly hauled up off the ground, kicking and thrashing and generally becoming a screaming whirlwind of limbs and hair.]

[The water bottle hits...something, maybe, and bounces off harmlessly.]

LEMME GO!

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Oh man. Lifting people is actually a lot harder when you have the muscles of a scrawny nine-year-old and not the ones of a toned twenty-something who's been hiking, brawling, and working out for six years.]

[Heather stumbles backwards with the screeching green-haired demon in her arms, whipping her head side-to-side in an attempt to keep his hair out of her mouth. It's all she can do just to hang ONTO him, much less keep Henry from THROWING things.]</sub>

STOPPIT! STOP!!!

_{[As she backs up, her shoe comes down on the bottle that Henry had just thrown and her feet go right out from under her. She keels over backwards, still holding onto Envy.]}

[no_ufo_ending]

_{[With his plastic missile having proved itself useful, Henry knows that it's time to leap into action. For real.]}

IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!

_{[The boy throws himself onto the screaming rage pile.]}

[exeggutorhead]

[The Green Tornado continues to spin, even laying flat on the ground. At least, it does until Henry drops down on him, getting him to stop screaming at least for a second while he lets out a loud OOF.]

[That doesn't last long.]

NO! I'M THE MORPHER! IT'S ME!

[That's his thing, and even in the middle of a brawl he can't let that claim stand from some human kid! He continues fighting in earnest, trying to wriggle loose from Heather's grip.]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[As the three ACTUAL SCREAMING CHILDREN just turn into a uniform whirlwind of flailing limbs and clouds of dirt, a shadow passes over them. A huge shadow. Something is blotting out the sun.]

[And then She descends.]

[In perfect, serene silence, Sunny settles gently on top of the flailing pile, which disappears instantly under her voluminous plumage.]

[SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH]</sub>