#and i don't trust that this whole stuff just sprouts up on its own

[uncanny-tranny]

I'm describing my transition in these terms from now on, actually. I feel foolish for not having come up with this myself; it makes me feel like a lesser transsexual for it, in fact.

(Also, the person that was being discussed is cis)

[justsomeno1s]

BasilKel Swap Prologue Part 4

VAST FOREST- PATH TO FORT

After stopping by Mari’s picnic again, the party made their way south of the playground, then further past the crossroads, until they came across the familiar tunnel entrance that led to the brother’s house.

It was a wide tunnel, even at its entrances, and it cleaved straight through the forest dirt, surrounded by tree roots along the walls and ceiling, and glowing gems of all colors inlaid in and poking out of the floor. The biggest gems stood up out of the dirt, shining in the middle of the pathway and leaving the entire path lit up. In Omori's opinion, This-Way-Stones were the best way to see in dark caves.

Kel grinned at them as they made their way further down. “Y’know, everytime I’m down here, I remember just how cool this place is! Y’know, I actually helped dig this tunnel! Me and Hector!”

“Hector?” Basil asked. “Who’s that? I don’t remember meeting anyone who could dig this whole tunnel by themself.”

Kel huffed, sticking out his tongue. “It wasn’t on his own! I told you, I helped! And anyway, Hector’s a Pet Rock I found a while back! He came from Otherworld, and he’s super cool! I wanted to show you guys today, but I… couldn’t find him.” Kel ducked his head away as he stepped around a tall blue gem. Hero looked over at Aubrey, and she looked away, sweating. “I swear, I know where I put him, but he wasn’t there at all! I hope he didn’t run off without saying goodbye…”

“Well, I think Aubrey might-”

Aubrey yelled suddenly, interrupting Hero. “LOOK AT THAT!!” She pointed at a Lost Sprout Mole kicking one of the brighter gems. The deep blue crystal made a quiet clunk and seemed to get darker with each kick. “What’s that Sprout Mole doing?”

Kel looked, and jumped into action. “Huh? Hey! Stop that!” he yelled. “If you break that, we won’t be able to see where we’re going!”

The Sprout Mole stared at him for a second, then gave it another hard kick.

“Wha-! You!”

‘Kel engaged the Lost Sprout Mole!’

‘What will Kel do?’

‘Kel attacks Lost Sprout Mole! Lost Sprout Mole takes 10 damage.’

He threw his ball at the mole, knocking it over and letting it flail on the ground for a second. Then he seemed to get an idea.

‘Lost Sprout Mole is rolling around.’

“Hey, Basil! C’mere!” Kel turned and waved him over. Basil blanched at him, but approached anyway.

“What’s- What’s going on?”

Kel clapped a hand on his shoulder, grinning. “I’m gonna teach you how to fight! Then, you can go anywhere! Doesn’t that sound awesome?!”

Basil scrunched in on himself, flustering. “Is it really necessary? I mean, I,” he gestured out weakly. “I’ve got you guys to help me!”

“Yeah, but what if you don’t? Like, you get lost or something? Trust me, I know what I’m talking about!”

Aubrey snorted from where she was watching them. “Yeah, he does.”

“Thank you, Aub-”

“Kel gets lost all the time, remember?”

Kel sulked, suddenly blue, and Basil giggled.

“Well, alright. I guess I can give it a shot?”

‘Basil joined Kel’s party!’

“Okay, so, your skills right now are Wallflower, Guard, and… Tend!” Kel summarized cheerfully. "Guard, anyone can do that. It makes you take less damage! Stuff hurts less when you expect it! Like this!"

He crossed his arms over his face, adjusting his stance to take a hit.

'Kel guards.'

Basil nodded. "That makes sense, I think." Kel grinned, and continued.

"Alright! Wallflower's pretty cool! You ask someone on your side for help keeping you safe!" He pointed his thumb at his own chest. "You hide behind them, and any attacks that would hit you hit your friend instead!"

The green haired boy's face fell. "But, I don't want my friends to get hurt!" He whined, and Kel reached up and patted his head.

"Don't worry! Really!" When he didn't look convinced, the other laughed. "You don't have a lot of endurance, just like me, right? So if you get hurt, it'll hurt you worse than, like, Omori or Hero! It's, uh… What’s the word again, Hero?"

He turned to his brother, ignoring the fuming Sprout Mole, and Hero thought it over.

"Relative?"

"YEAH, THANK YOU!!" Kel cheered, and turned back to Basil. "If you take 10 damage, that's relatively more damage than if Hero takes 10! 'Cause, you're more soft and squishy and cute! It’d be bad if you got hurt!"

"C-cute? What-"

"Anyway!" Kel barged forward, ignoring Basil’s stuttering. "Try using Wallflower, and hide behind me!"

‘Basil hides behind Kel! Kel gets ready to counter!’

The Sprout Mole charged forward, smacking into Kel’s leg, and Kel kicked out, launching it.

‘Lost Sprout Mole bumps into Kel! Kel takes 2 damage! Kel counters! Lost Sprout Mole takes 10 damage!’

“Yeah, just like that!” The caped-boy cheered.

Basil watched the Sprout Mole stomp itself upright uneasily, then tugged on Kel’s cape. “Hey, Kel? Just a little question, but why is the Sprout Mole… glowing?”

“Heh! It's because the Sprout Mole is ANGRY, see Basil?” Kel pointed as the plant creature shook its head back and forth. Basil nodded, looking confused. “Enemies feel EMOTIONS, too, you know! Not just normal ones! And in battle, they change how you fight! So, you gotta remember what EMOTION does what!”

“Oh, uh, right. I’ve never seen them in a fight before. ANGRY makes you… hit harder, right?”

Kel cheered. “Yeah! ANGRY brings your ATTACK up! But you’re not being careful, so your DEFENSE goes down. Got it?”

He hummed, nodding slowly. “Defense down, attack up… So, now would be a good time to use Wallflower, so that I don’t get hurt, and the opponent takes damage?”

“Perfect!” Kel held up his hand for a high five, and Basil nervously clapped his hand.

‘Kel cheers Basil on! Basil feels HAPPY! Basil HIT RATE rose!’

‘Kel’s party was victorious! Gained 22 exp! Gained 3 clams!’

Sprout mole defeated, Kel stepped forward to check on the glowing crystal. He knocked on it and when it made a bell-like chime, turned back with a cheerful smile.

“Looks like the This-Way-Stone is A-Okay!” He said, giving a thumbs up. “You’re pretty good at this Basil!”

“Huh? R-Really? Heh heh,” Basil blushed as he looked away, Aubrey snickering into her hand. “I was just listening to what you said, Kel... But um, thanks anyway.”

“Hey, Kel? Don’t we have a book of enemies we’ve fought before?” Hero asked, and Kel jumped in place, eyes wide.

“Oh yeah, we totally did!” 

“Did?” Hero gave Kel an unimpressed look, and the younger brother looked sheepish.

“I, uh, may have lost it?”

Hero sighed, looking tired, but Kel rushed to speak before he could get a word in.

“BUT IT'S OKAY! Beeecause of this! TA-DA!” Kel held out his camcorder, and shoved it into Omori’s hands. “My camera will be super useful for keeping track of stuff you come across! Weird enemies, confusing places, cool events, even battle techniques- You can take notes on everything! So, while it’s not /as/ cool as Hero’s Foe Facts! or Self Help books, you can use it for both! And, to review what you were doing last. Go wild!”

Omori looked over the camcorder, turning it this way and that, before finally pocketing it.

‘Kel gave you Kel’s Camera.’

Hero huffed, shaking his head. “Kel, what did I tell you about messing with my stuff?”

Kel went silent, glancing around, before his eyes caught on something down the tunnel. “Woah, what’s going on over there?!” 

“Kelsey,” the older brother began, but Kel was already off like a bullet. Aubrey snickered behind her hand again as Basil giggled, and Hero just stared at the tunnel’s ceiling and sighed.

Kel and Basil faced down another Lost Sprout Mole- this one skipping and dancing so gleefully, that it had covered the nearby red glowing gems with dirt and hidden the path forward. Kel had eagerly jumped into battle, Basil dragged behind him, as Hero tried to clean enough of the gems to proceed.

‘What will Kel and Basil do?’

“Okay! Kel tutorial number two! Make sure to record this, Omori!” Kel cheered, pointing at the Sprout Mole. “This one’s HAPPY, see? Higher speed, and a higher chance to hit weak spots.”

Basil looked it over. “But if you’re skipping and playing like that, won’t you miss your attacks?”

“EX-actly! You're doing great, Basil!” Kel cheered.

‘Kel encourages Basil! Basil’s ATTACK rose! Basil’s DEFENSE rose!’

The Sprout Mole did a spin, and bumped into Basil’s leg. He jumped up, eyes wide.

‘The Lost Sprout Mole bumps into Basil! IT HIT RIGHT IN THE HEART! Basil takes 1 damage!’

Kel clapped his hands together, looking like he was fighting back a laugh. “Alright! It’s your turn to attack now!”

Basil looked up in horror, eyes wide. “Huh? Me? Are you sure?”

“Mm hmm! You should give it a shot! Then, you can handle yourself against other monsters!”

His face scrunched up in hesitancy. He glanced over to where the others were, Aubrey bouncing in place, Omori sitting on the tunnel floor, and Hero brushing spare dirt off his pajamas, having finished tidying the crystals. Omori handed Hero the camcorder, who sighed as he continued recording.

“Come on Basil!” Aubrey called, throwing her hands into the air. “You can do it!”

Basil tensed, then pulled his Jump Rope from his waist. Glanced up again, then squeezed his eyes shut and snapped the toy out at the Mole.

‘Basil attacks the Lost Sprout Mole! Lost Sprout Mole takes 12 damage!’

He peeked an eye open, flicking about over the battle, then relaxed when he saw the Sprout Mole skipping away from him.

“Nice hit Basil!” the caped boy tugged on his arm, eyes gleaming. “I think that's about all of the stuff this battle can teach you, soo… Let's finish this!”

Basil watched him for a moment, then stepped up next to him. “O-okay!”

‘Kel’s party was victorious! Gained 18 exp! Gained 4 clams!’

Hero hummed as Basil dusted himself off. “That’s the second ENEMY with EMOTION we’ve come across. That’s pretty odd, isn’t it?”

The green haired boy looked up, head tilting. “Is it? But, didn’t Kel say it was normal?”

Aubrey hummed, mouth a thin line. “It’s normal, but normally we’ll meet like, one or two in any area! They’re not super common. Right, Omori?” He looked her over, then gave a thumbs up. “Yeah, see! So two of them, so close together… It almost seems kinda important.”

“OHH!” Kel jumped up, glowing such a vibrant yellow that it hurt to look at. Omori squinted at him. “Just like a hero story, right?! Like, maybe a meteor’ll come from the sky! Or maybe-”

He gasped, and glowed brighter. A swirl of pink spun through the glow. Already? “MAYBE WE’RE GONNA GET /SUPERPOWERS/!!” He jumped in place for a moment, then rushed past them, running full speed around the room.

“Kel,” Hero began, and the younger brother skidded to a stop in front of him.

“HERO!! COME ON, THAT’LL BE SO COOL!” Kel flapped his hands, bouncing in place. “WE COULD BE SUPERHEROES!!”

Hero grabbed his shoulders, cutting him off, “Kel, hey. Let’s calm down a little, okay?”

“Huh? Aw man, do I have to?” Kel whined, but even as he did, the yellow faded away into nothing.

“Sorry, Kel. Maybe later,” Hero ruffled his hair, and turned towards the revealed path. “Let’s keep going, alright?”

“Outside ahoy!” Kel cheered, rushing through the end of the tunnel. Aubrey was only a second behind him, the other three content to just walk. “Ow! What the heck, Aubrey?”

Aubrey had whacked his arm with her plushy none too gently. “That doesn’t even make any sense!”

“You don’t need to hit me over it! Really!?” he argued back, and Hero sighed.

“Okay, that’s enough, you two. Look, right there, Mari’s just ahead at her picnic. Can we play nice for now?” He offered, and they glanced at each other before looking pointedly away. He sighed again.

Basil patted his arm in quiet sympathy.

Omori started walking up towards the others, then paused. A glint of blue caught his eye, and he turned his head, watching carefully.

“Omori?” Basil noticed his stillness. “Is… something wrong?” He glanced at the others, was given a confused shrug. Kel walked closer and followed his eyes into the thinner parts of the forest.

 Right on the edge of the treeline, there it was.

‘Hidden in plain sight, you find a SAD Lost Sprout Mole.’

“Oh, it’s just a Sprout Mole. I didn’t even notice, heh heh!”

“Wow, really?” Aubrey bounced up next to Omori’s other side, then grinned. “There is! You’ve got good eyes, Omori!”

‘Oh. Well, that’s boring.’

Kel’s eyes went wide, “Oh, wait a sec! Basil, come on! It’s your time to shine!”

“Another fight? All on my own?” He stuttered, and Hero smiled softly.

“Hey, you were great before, and we’ll be right behind you in case anything happens.” The eldest reassured. Basil stared at him, then at the rest of the group.

“... Okay. I’ll… I’ll give it a shot!”

The friends cheered as Basil stepped forward into his first solo battle.

[A boy is standing at the school bus stop, face buried in a book. The cover was blurred, as was the background, and other people.

He suddenly jumped and looked up, smiling at the camera. He began to speak, but the words stayed silent.

A figure with long black hair snuck up behind him, and grabbed his shoulders. He jumped, mouth open in a shocked, silent scream, and the figure laughed, walking in front of him as they pulled their hair back, revealing-]

[The screen breaks. Someone is laughing.]