Chapter 5
“What?!” Everyone practically screamed at the same time. Well, everyone but Fortis and Vulpi.
“How can they just let him get away with that?!” Aurum stood up and Fortis smacked him back down.
“Listen, I know you want to get revenge, but this needs to stay a secret. Got it?” I said with authority. They all quieted down.
“What about Battle Training? How are you going to explain your condition to the teacher?” Igna asked. Vulpi stood up.
“I can get Ms. Clearwater to sign a note for her. She won’t have to use her moves at all!” Optimistic Vulpi was back and brighter than ever!
“Okay, that takes care of that. How are we going to stop her from telling the headmaster?” I asked. Vulpi wagged her tail(s?) and I assumed that meant she would take care of it.
“I hate to be the pessimist around here, but I don’t think Coach Lock will just let Forza sit out of class.” Igna said. I thought about it for a moment. I came up with a solution.
“I’ll just fight the dummies. If anyone has a problem, they can talk to the Coach. Should we go make sure the Headmaster doesn’t know?” I asked. Everyone except Fortis and I ran to the door.
“We’ll have to be fast if we want to catch them.” Fortis said and I chuckled. The door burst open and the Pichus from Salazar’s gang sprung in.
“Ooooo, somebody’s got a big secret. Salazar will love this!” One of them squealed.
“But what is the secret? Let’s go ask the headmaster! He’ll know for sure.” The other one squeaked. Velox was able to grab them in his teeth before they could go anywhere.
“Nice try, pinheads. You’re not going anywhere.” Aurum grabbed one of them by the ear and Igna started interrogating them.
“How much of our conversation did you hear?” She snarled. Vulpi nudged her.
“Come on Igna. If they knew anything, they wouldn’t tell you. You’re being too mean. Try asking nicely first.” While everyone was distracted, the Pichus broke free and ran off. Fortis was about to chase after them, but I held my paw against his chest to stop him.
“Let them go. They said they didn’t know and that they were going to ask the headmaster. If he doesn’t know, we’ll be fine. Even if he did know, he wouldn’t tell Salazar’s gang. Either way, we win.” I tired myself out with all the excitement, so I asked the others if I could get some sleep. They left me with some peace and quiet and I slumbered into sleep.
***
“Forza, wake up!” Forza sat up straight at the sound of her name. Her Chemistry teacher was standing over her with a concerned look on his face.
“Hm? What? The atomic number of Iron is-“
“No, it’s 10:00.” Forza leaped from her desk, grabbed her things, and raced into the bathroom. She didn’t even stop to look at the new student, who was eyeing her with suspicion. Once Forza reached the bathroom, she pulled the ring off her finger. Her human façade melted away and her battered Shiny Zoroark self was staring back at her. Class wouldn’t end for the next 15 minutes, so she decided to wait it out and keep trying to remember everything about him. She missed him, all of them, to the point of getting close to breaking down. She just wanted to close her eyes and let the memories wash her away, but she couldn’t without her ring on, in case someone else walked in.
“Hello?” Forza spun around and saw the new student standing in the bathroom hallway. She quickly swung her ring back on before she realized that was a mistake. Her human form took over and the boy gasped. He now knew who she was. She cursed and grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the school.
“Scream, and I’ll kill you. What did you see?” She demanded. The boy’s jaw was still on the floor (figuratively) so he didn’t say anything. Forza shook him harder.
“I-I saw you turn into a monster. Was that me? Did I just imagine that? But if I did, you wouldn’t have pulled me over. O my mmnfrmnhmrm.” Forza shoved her hand over his mouth. He must have noticed the ring, because he suddenly pulled it off. Her form shifted and his eyes widened. She pulled her ring back on and glared at the peeping Tom.
“You’ve given me no choice then.” She wrapped him in a headlock and pulled off her ring. She used her stronger form to leap onto the school roof and soar into the nearby woods. He tried to scream, but Forza’s arm was in the way. They both covered a lot of ground until Forza stopped at an innocent looking tree. She twisted one of the branches and the tree slid away, revealing an earth-colored hatch. She banged on it three times in quick succession. A microphone appeared with a camera on the end.
“Is that you, Forza?” Forza rolled her eyes.
“Butte report.” She replied and the hatch popped open. An Aggron appeared in the hole and noticed the boy in her arms.
“Who is he?”
“He caught me with my ring off.” She said simply and threw him in. “Do what you want. I don’t care what happens to these people.” She turned to walk away, but the boy’s words stopped her cold.
“I’m unfeeling as a mountain. I’m swift as a river. I’m strong as an ox. Breathe.” Forza turned back around. The boy’s eyes were wide with terror, searching for sympathy in his abductors eyes. He found none.
“If you keep telling yourself that kid, you’ll end up looking like this.” She returned her ring to her finger and modified her appearance to show what all her scars would look like on her human body. Even the Aggron gasped. Forza thought back to when she had gotten all her scars. None of them were pleasant memories, except for one. The round scar on her chest was caused by her closest friend: Fortis. She let her appearance fade back into her original façade.
“Here’s some free advice: don’t let anyone into your heart. It makes losing them even harder.”
Chapter 6: Next
“What?!” Everyone practically screamed at the same time. Well, everyone but Fortis and Vulpi.
“How can they just let him get away with that?!” Aurum stood up and Fortis smacked him back down.
“Listen, I know you want to get revenge, but this needs to stay a secret. Got it?” I said with authority. They all quieted down.
“What about Battle Training? How are you going to explain your condition to the teacher?” Igna asked. Vulpi stood up.
“I can get Ms. Clearwater to sign a note for her. She won’t have to use her moves at all!” Optimistic Vulpi was back and brighter than ever!
“Okay, that takes care of that. How are we going to stop her from telling the headmaster?” I asked. Vulpi wagged her tail(s?) and I assumed that meant she would take care of it.
“I hate to be the pessimist around here, but I don’t think Coach Lock will just let Forza sit out of class.” Igna said. I thought about it for a moment. I came up with a solution.
“I’ll just fight the dummies. If anyone has a problem, they can talk to the Coach. Should we go make sure the Headmaster doesn’t know?” I asked. Everyone except Fortis and I ran to the door.
“We’ll have to be fast if we want to catch them.” Fortis said and I chuckled. The door burst open and the Pichus from Salazar’s gang sprung in.
“Ooooo, somebody’s got a big secret. Salazar will love this!” One of them squealed.
“But what is the secret? Let’s go ask the headmaster! He’ll know for sure.” The other one squeaked. Velox was able to grab them in his teeth before they could go anywhere.
“Nice try, pinheads. You’re not going anywhere.” Aurum grabbed one of them by the ear and Igna started interrogating them.
“How much of our conversation did you hear?” She snarled. Vulpi nudged her.
“Come on Igna. If they knew anything, they wouldn’t tell you. You’re being too mean. Try asking nicely first.” While everyone was distracted, the Pichus broke free and ran off. Fortis was about to chase after them, but I held my paw against his chest to stop him.
“Let them go. They said they didn’t know and that they were going to ask the headmaster. If he doesn’t know, we’ll be fine. Even if he did know, he wouldn’t tell Salazar’s gang. Either way, we win.” I tired myself out with all the excitement, so I asked the others if I could get some sleep. They left me with some peace and quiet and I slumbered into sleep.
***
“Forza, wake up!” Forza sat up straight at the sound of her name. Her Chemistry teacher was standing over her with a concerned look on his face.
“Hm? What? The atomic number of Iron is-“
“No, it’s 10:00.” Forza leaped from her desk, grabbed her things, and raced into the bathroom. She didn’t even stop to look at the new student, who was eyeing her with suspicion. Once Forza reached the bathroom, she pulled the ring off her finger. Her human façade melted away and her battered Shiny Zoroark self was staring back at her. Class wouldn’t end for the next 15 minutes, so she decided to wait it out and keep trying to remember everything about him. She missed him, all of them, to the point of getting close to breaking down. She just wanted to close her eyes and let the memories wash her away, but she couldn’t without her ring on, in case someone else walked in.
“Hello?” Forza spun around and saw the new student standing in the bathroom hallway. She quickly swung her ring back on before she realized that was a mistake. Her human form took over and the boy gasped. He now knew who she was. She cursed and grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out of the school.
“Scream, and I’ll kill you. What did you see?” She demanded. The boy’s jaw was still on the floor (figuratively) so he didn’t say anything. Forza shook him harder.
“I-I saw you turn into a monster. Was that me? Did I just imagine that? But if I did, you wouldn’t have pulled me over. O my mmnfrmnhmrm.” Forza shoved her hand over his mouth. He must have noticed the ring, because he suddenly pulled it off. Her form shifted and his eyes widened. She pulled her ring back on and glared at the peeping Tom.
“You’ve given me no choice then.” She wrapped him in a headlock and pulled off her ring. She used her stronger form to leap onto the school roof and soar into the nearby woods. He tried to scream, but Forza’s arm was in the way. They both covered a lot of ground until Forza stopped at an innocent looking tree. She twisted one of the branches and the tree slid away, revealing an earth-colored hatch. She banged on it three times in quick succession. A microphone appeared with a camera on the end.
“Is that you, Forza?” Forza rolled her eyes.
“Butte report.” She replied and the hatch popped open. An Aggron appeared in the hole and noticed the boy in her arms.
“Who is he?”
“He caught me with my ring off.” She said simply and threw him in. “Do what you want. I don’t care what happens to these people.” She turned to walk away, but the boy’s words stopped her cold.
“I’m unfeeling as a mountain. I’m swift as a river. I’m strong as an ox. Breathe.” Forza turned back around. The boy’s eyes were wide with terror, searching for sympathy in his abductors eyes. He found none.
“If you keep telling yourself that kid, you’ll end up looking like this.” She returned her ring to her finger and modified her appearance to show what all her scars would look like on her human body. Even the Aggron gasped. Forza thought back to when she had gotten all her scars. None of them were pleasant memories, except for one. The round scar on her chest was caused by her closest friend: Fortis. She let her appearance fade back into her original façade.
“Here’s some free advice: don’t let anyone into your heart. It makes losing them even harder.”
Chapter 6: Next
