Sylvie's Unusual Week (story)

Sylvie's Unusual Week is a story detailing the day-to-day adventures of Sylvie Summers and co., intended as a prequel to Shoten Showdown.

It is the first story set in the "second generation" timeline, meant to explore the Vultroverse in the days after Vultro the Fox.

Chapter 1

"Oh my GOSHHH I am SOOOO bored!" Jocelyn groaned. It has been precisely five minutes since anyone texted her, or talked to her, or complimented how she looks, which might as well mean the sky is falling. Of course, this was expected... Almost everyone else was busy with final exams, leaving her alone with me. Which, don't get me wrong, is a good thing. Jocelyn is incredibly popular, which means that it's really hard to get some quality time with her.

I had been so distracted the whole walk trying to carefully plan this day, that I realized I hadn't said anything since we left. "JoJo, babe, can't you wait just a couple more minutes? We're almost at the mall."

"Ugh, I guess!" she scoffed. I know deep down she truly cares about me. In fact, she once confided in me that despite all the other people in her life practically tripping over themselves to talk to her, no one truly was there for her like I was. Everyone just wants to know her superficially, so they can brag that they're her friend.

It's different between us. I've known her since we were toddlers, back when we used to draw with holo-chalk on the pavement of the abandoned ship lot. And we used to share those giant milkshakes at the nearby ice cream truck, literally talking for hours about girls and who we thought was cutest in our class. She was always confidently wrong about that.

Those days might be long gone, but as I looked over to her, smiling, the warm smile she shot back at me was enough to remind me that we still have an inseparable bond. "Hey, you wanna get some ramen at that one place?" she asked as we approached the front doors of the mall. "You know it!" I said.

--

"Grandma Phoenix?" I asked. "Yes, dear?" she said. "I know this is gonna sound really crazy, but, have you ever heard of there being some kind of, uh..." I struggled to find a way to explain it in a way that wouldn't sound absolutely insane. I guess there is no good way, is there? "Uh... mysterious ghostly force that certain people can wield?"

"Eh...?" she leaned forward a little bit. "Ghostly force, you say?"

--

"JoJo!? What the HELL was that!?!?" I practically screamed at her. My brain was still trying to process the scene that just unfolded. Was it real? Was I imagining things?

"Sylvie, I swear, I can explain..." she said, putting her arms out in an attempt to calm me down. She guided me over to some nearby tables and sat me down. She looked side to side, as if to make sure no one was watching, and then leaned over the table towards me. Her voice was just a whisper.

"Fist of all, shush! Just, stay calm," she said. "Yeah, easy for you to say!" I yelled. "You didn't just witness your best friend wield some invisible punchy... ghost... thing!" Jocelyn sighed. "Look... Ever since I was a kid, I knew that I was... different." I scoffed. "You got that right!!" Jocelyn crossed her arms and shot me an incredulous look. "Ugh, Sylvie, would you just sit down? I'll tell you the whole story, kay?"

"So, a really long time ago, my grandpa came in contact with this um, virus thing. Apparently he was told, and I know this sounds super lame... but he was told he would gain some kind of powerful spirit warrior. But that's not what happened. He just kinda got sick for a while, and then recovered."

"Uh-huh..." I said. To be honest, I had never seen her speak with such sincerity. I was starting to feel bad for snapping at her, so I sat there quietly as she continued. "Well, nothing happened for a long time, that is until I was born. When I was about six, I was playing with some toys. And then, a literal ghost sat down next to me, mirroring my every move!" I nodded my head silently. She kept going. "It was really strong, like ten times stronger than I was, at least! You'd think it'd be creepy having that there, but honestly it was kinda comforting. I didn't know what to call it for a long time, I just called it my "friend." But then, uh, one day..."

"Uh, one day I started calling it..." She looked down at the floor and started to mumble. "...Male... Fantasy." I think she was expecting me to judge her, but I just sat there, listening intently. "I dunno exactly where that came from... I guess because it reminds me of some meathead anime character that only a man could come up with..."