Me: :D Guess who's back?

Ember: *going crazy with confetti* HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY! WHOOOOOO!

Gardevoir: *raises an eyebrow* Ruby fanatic?

Me: *pinches fingers* Just a little...

Gardevoir: So. You've been gone for two months.

Me: *sweatdrop* Eheh...

Gardevoir: *crosses arms* Care to explain?

Me: W-Well, I finally finished that project I was talking about, school is out, and I have no plans! Which means more updates! Yay!

Ember: Let's get started already! *shakes me violently* We're wasting precious Ruby time!

Me: *with swirly eyes* Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, plot is mine, OC's too, um... *passes out from motion sickness*

Gardevoir: *facepalm* Warning: If you have not read Eon's previous stories, It Just Takes One, Two Sides to Every Story, and Strike Three, then I advise you do so to catch up on the plot. This would be a bad part to start in.

Ember: *strikes on a pose* ONWARD TO RUBY THEN!

Prologue

"What?!"

Drake cringed inwardly at the icy tone. "It's true, sir."

The man before him emitted such a low growl that the redhead's skin prickled. "I figured it was that meddlesome Psychic type, but to think that she was helping, too..." He let out a humorless laugh. "I can't believe I didn't see this coming."

"I can't say I did either." The admin rubbed the back of his neck, the face of a certain blonde flashing across his thoughts.

The dark man swished the cape around his shoulders as he paced to and fro. "Although, I suppose it was a fitting ending. She even managed to wipe out a threat or two."

Drake's mouth gaped. "How can you say that?! She was your second in command! She did so much for you!"

"But for what might I ask?" He stopped and glared at the boy. "If what you told me is no lie, then why would she pose as such a faithful follower? When in the end she planned to throw it all away?"

This isn't right! You know that! I know you know that!

The redhead bit his lip. "Perhaps she didn't believe in what she was following anymore."

"Perhaps," the man said narrowing his eyes. "Perhaps she never believed in it in the first place."

Drake looked away, focusing on the dark figure's black gloves instead of his face. "Master, is what we're doing really the right thing?"

There was a pause. Instead of answering, the dark man turned and began walking towards his admin. "Drake, do you remember what I told you when I first found you?"

The boy's fists clenched. "That you and I had a similar goal."

"Exactly," the man practically purred, pointing a gloved hand at him. "You and I, we're both looking for something. You understand my views more than she ever would. She did not have the same conviction that you do. Now that I think about it, I dare say that she never had any conviction at all."

"Then...why did you invite her, too?" Drake's eyebrows knitted. "If you didn't think she would be devoted to it, then what was the point?"

The footsteps on the floor faded as the man stopped before him, the inside of his gloves flashing briefly in the light. "There was a reason I chose you two out of my many followers to be my most trusted pupils. That is because of your powers."

Drake frowned. "She was able to keep the subjects alive to complete Project 1. What have I been able to do?"

"Fret not," the man murmured circling him. "In time, I will come of need of your prowess. However, had she met such a fate or not, she would have been of no use to me anyways now."

"How can you talk about her like that? Like she was so..." Drake's face softened with anguish. "Disposable."

"Because she was. Was she not?"

The admin could not answer.

Run!

RUN!

The redhead closed his eyes sharply behind the usual black sunglasses. "But...why?"

The dark man's expression didn't change as he slowly took the glasses off. "Drake."

The admin blinked reluctantly, two ice blue eyes staring into those of his master.

Said master frowned. "Did that woman influence you?" When the admin again did not answer, the man curled his lip. "What did she do to you?"

"Nothing," Drake muttered.

The single word was not convincing enough. Gingerly placing the glasses on Drake's silver fedora, the dark man gradually moved his hands down until they lay upon the boy's face.

Drake hissed gently, feeling a familiar chill settle on his cheeks. The emanating cold dug into his skin and buried itself into his nerves, swimming all the way to his head. He could only stand there, teeth clenched, as each of his innermost thoughts were slowly devoured by the invasive ice. His confusion, his doubts, even his memories.

There was one that he had just come across the other day, one that he had meant to ask her about. It was of him and her, together, with a guitar in each of their arms. It had been odd. Since when did he know how to play a guitar? There were other people, too. There was the girl on the piano, another with a flute, and the guy holding a different guitar. All of them somehow similar, all of them with the same shining red eyes.

...or...were they blue? Then again, were there two girls and one boy? Or two boys and one girl?

Drake shut his eyes tightly.

Actually, what was he thinking about in the first place? All he knew was that it was cold. So very cold. He couldn't even think straight.

"Drake."

Such a soothing voice, like someone gliding across the ice that was his mind. It calmed him, letting him know that there was at least one thing that he knew was alright.

"The blond one has tried to corrupt you. She is evil."

Blonde. Bad.

"She's no longer with us. I got rid of her. Because I am your master, Drake. I will take care of you."

Master. Good.

"Now, are you ready for your next assignment?"

When the admin opened his eyes, they glowed a frightening yellow.

"Ready."

Chapter One: Ruby

"Uh, is that too tight?"

I stuck my tongue out, choking. "Never mind! Let me do it!"

Sapphire rolled her eyes with a scoff. "You're the one who said I should learn how to tie a tie."

I removed her hands from my neck and redid the tie myself, glancing around the room. I'd rented out two of them, one for the girls and the other for us guys, but as soon as everyone was dressed, the groups had merged.

White was teaching Black how to fix his tie while Platinum stood observing Diamond and Pearl's. Green and Blue were in a game of tug-of-war; she would try to tie his tie, and he would take it off with a sigh every time she tried. Red and Amber were attempting to position each other's, and Gold, Silver, Soul, and Emerald were no where to be seen.

"What?" Sapphire muttered with rosy cheeks. "Did you want us to look like everyone else?"

"Pfft!" I laughed to cover the red growing on my face as well. "No! I just figured you were going to start wearing suits since you hate dresses so much!"

"So what if I don't like dresses?!" She growled. "Somethin' wrong with that?!"

I looked at her black gown in disdain. "I'm just happy you're wearing one. Arceus knows what would've happened if you'd said no."

"I'd actually be comfortable?" She grumbled, tugging at the straps on her shoulders.

"Oh, stop grumbling," I muttered readjusting them. "You look perfect."

The red on her face grew brighter, and she shoved me away. "Stop that, you prude perfectionist!"

"Excuse me for trying to make you look less crude," I said holding my hands up.

"Who are you calling crude?!"

"Who else would I be talking about?"

She bared her teeth.

"Wimp!"

"Brute!"

"Sissy!"

"Barbarian!"

Her hand was already curled into a fist to hit me, but she hissed and clamped her other hand around its wrist. I lost the frown forming on my face and took them into my own.

"How bad is it?" I asked. "I told you to let Senior Yellow heal it for you!"

She sucked in a breath. "I'll be fine!"

"Sapphire? What's wrong?"

We turned to find Yellow standing behind us. She had been the last to get her black dress on and must have joined us just now.

I narrowed my eyes at Sapphire. "Drake hurt her wrist, and she refused to tell you about it."

Yellow's jaw dropped, and she took the injured wrist. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

Sapphire glared at me as a faint light surrounded our senior. "I didn't want to bother you."

After a minute, the light faded, and Yellow opened her eyes to look at the brunette. "Is that better?"

"Yes," Sapphire said flexing her wrist. "Thank you, Senior Yellow."

The blonde nodded with a smile, excusing herself to go help Red and Amber with their ties. I watched her go, not quite believing she was there.

She'd been unconscious when the rescue team brought her back. However, unlike her previous sleep coma, she'd woken up perfectly fine the next morning. Initially she'd been a bit slow from a loss of energy, but as the days went on, the girl gradually got it back.

Red hadn't left her side once during that time. Amber, too, had stuck around a lot, but he was considerate enough to leave on occasion and give them some space. After all, this was the first time the three of them had been together since Yellow was kidnapped.

"Hey," Sapphire said pulling me from my thoughts. "I think it's about time to go."

Blinking for a second, the words finally hit me, and I nodded. "Alright." I glanced at the others. "Is everyone ready?"

They turned to me, a flurry of black suits and dresses.

I could remember a week ago when we'd all dressed up like this for an important event.

But I didn't think it was quite the same this time around.

We left the Pokemon Center silently, walking in a single file down the sidewalk. A gloomy sky fell over Violet City, and it was as though not a single breeze was blowing. Sadly, it seemed to fit the atmosphere just fine. When we reached a certain house just down the street, I glanced back to nod at everyone before heading in first.

Inside the house, I led the way to the living room where a group of people were standing around a small shrine. On it I could see a picture of Crystal cropped from the one taken at the Battle Frontier surrounded by a small trove of flowers and lit candles. It was there that I found Gold, Silver, Soul, and Emerald, all four of them standing solemnly before the shrine. Crystal's mother was in the doorway beside me watching them quietly.

"I thought I'd give you all some space," she said sniffling through the tears that had already formed in her eyes.

I nodded and waited until the four of them had noticed and beckoned us forward. We all filed in, and although there were fifteen of us, we made it work. The sofa and chairs had already been cleared out of the room, so we used the space to form a circle around the shrine and hold hands. I held one out to Sapphire and Emerald on either side of me, which they accepted as Green took the liberty of beginning our own special eulogy.

"Crystal Kesshou was a remarkable person," he said lowly, steeling his eyes at the picture of her. "She was known and beloved by many people. Some had just met her."

The Sinnoh trio and Unova duo all looked at each other.

"Some knew her as a senior."

Sapphire's hand tightened around mine.

"Some knew her as a junior."

Red and Yellow nodded together. Green paused a moment to take a breath, and Blue gently squeezed his injured arm in comfort.

"And some simply knew her as our good friend, Crys."

Emerald tensed along with the three other Johto kids. I glanced over at Gold, but his eyes wouldn't leave the ground.

"Her passing was untimely and unexpected."

Amber's bangs shadowed his eyes.

"However, she will not be forgotten. Her memory will live on in the hearts of all the people she has touched. Because that's just how remarkable she is."

By now, tears had started forming in all the girls eyes, Sapphire included. Even Diamond and Pearl who hadn't known her for very long were getting teared up.

"May she rest in peace."

Green's jaw was rigid as he finished. I knew he wasn't one for a lot of words, but he'd said enough.

Everyone in our circle was tense as his last sentence sunk in. Tears were flowing freely by this point, and I gently suggested to Green that we go outside where there was more room for the breakdowns that were about to occur. He nodded, ushering everyone outside past the crowd of people who had come to pay their respects as well.

In the doorway, I realized that Gold and Silver weren't with us and went back to find them still standing in front of the shrine.

"Guys," I said softly as other people began coming in.

"Just give us a minute," Silver replied in a cold voice.

After a moment, I nodded and moved out of a middle-aged man's way before joining everyone outside on the lawn. The girls had definitely let it go now, and Emerald, too, had his head buried in Soul's shoulder. I approached Sapphire who was trying her hardest to suck the tears back into her eyes. She saw me walking her way, though, and when I got close enough, she ran forward and buried her face in my chest.

I patted her back, fighting to keep myself composed.

Our senior was dead.

That night just a week ago seemed so far away now. Since I'd been injured, I wasn't there when it happened, but Red and Amber didn't fail to fill us in when they returned. They and Crystal had gone to find Yellow along with everyone else, after which they were attacked by Team Rocket. During the battle, the rock formation in the cave was shifted and came down on them all.

I shifted my head just enough to look over at Platinum and the small bandage on her forehead.

They'd all been able to get out safely. Except for Crystal. After the rocks fell, she was trapped inside and looked for a different way out. The others waited for her on another island, but then the unthinkable happened: the entire HQ exploded. And Crystal had still been inside it.

Everyone had searched through the aftermath in an attempt to find her, but it was futile. She was just...gone. Gold had been crazy enough to try going after the Team Rocket grunts that had escaped, but after observing them, he'd been heartbroken to find that she wasn't among them. He still would have been in denial if it weren't for what Amber told us the next morning.

He knew Crystal was dead the moment the explosion occurred. Gold was so irrational at the time that he almost punched him in the face for saying such a thing. However, Amber told him something interesting. Just before the blast, he'd received a message in his mind.

"Your mind?" Gold had asked with a furious grimace. "Look, you Damn Sham Twin! Don't screw with me right now!"

"I'm not!" Amber had shouted back at him. "You think you're the only one who lost someone yesterday? I lost two of them!"

Gold's face had calmed a little. "What?"

Amber's lip had curled by then. "I didn't know the explosion was going to happen, but before it did, I got a message. It was from my Gardevoir."

"What does that matter?" Gold's irritation was on the rise.

"Because she was in there with Crystal."

Then it settled again.

"And...Melany."

Blue and Yellow had jumped forward at the same time. "Melany?!"

Amber nodded slowly. "I have no idea what they were doing, but all the message said was, 'Melany and I say good-bye. Look for the blue one.'"

"Oh my Mew," Blue whispered covering her mouth with a hand.

Amber clenched his teeth. "Crystal has blue hair and eyes, right?"

Gold's fist curled. "What of it?"

"I don't know why she was there, too," Amber said quietly. "but Sam must have been trying to teleport her out of the area." He bit his lip. "She's not trained enough to move people yet, though."

Faster than anyone could see, Gold had extended his pool cue and held it up to Amber's throat. "Is what you're saying true?"

The golden orange-eyed boy didn't even give the stick a second glance. "As true as the fact that I tried to kidnap Yellow."

The room went dead silent.

Then, Gold finally allowed his tears to fall.

After that, there was no denying it. Crystal was gone.

Glancing up, I saw Gold and Silver finally exit the house. The sounds of our mourning were beginning to quiet down, and the impassive looks on their faces showed that they, too, were done. The redhead made his way toward Soul as Emerald finally pulled himself from her shoulder. Instead of following him, Gold walked over to Amber who stood alone at the edge of the lawn. He glanced up at the boy's eyes which were almost the same as his own and nodded stiffly. Amber nodded back, and the two shared a few quiet words before heading back to where everyone was gathering.

Red glanced at the two sadly. "Why don't we go back to the Pokemon Center and change? I'm sure we could all use a day out."

Amber shook his head. "I'm sorry, but actually, there's something that I need to do now."

"What is it?" Yellow asked from Red's side.

Amber looked up at the sky. "I need to go to Hoenn."

Everyone stared at him blankly until Sapphire pulled away from me and glared at him. "What do ya need to go there for?"

The boy stuffed his hands in the pocket of his pants. "There's some people I need to talk to. They should know about this, too."

Sapphire scrutinized him for a minute before nodding. "I'll come with ya."

My eyes widened. "Sapph!"

She glared up at me. "I'm perfectly fine, prissy pants. My wrist doesn't hurt anymore. Besides, I'd like to go home. It'll be nice ta see Papa."

"Your father?" Amber asked confused.

"Yeah." The brunette walked up to him with a frown. "He's the head scientist in Littleroot Town. His name is Professor Birch."

The dark-haired boy nodded. "I believe I've heard of him. I didn't know you were his daughter. I can accompany you to Littleroot and then be on my way if that's what you would prefer."

"Uh, uh," Sapphire said shaking her head. "I'mma come with you." Her eyes narrowed. "I want to see these, 'people you need to talk to.'"

"You don't trust me." It wasn't a question.

Her fangs showed through her frown. "No. So, give me a reason to."

I took a step forward, copying her stance. "I'm going with you guys." Sapphire turned to me sharply, but I just narrowed my eyes at hers. "I'm not going to let you go with him alone."

"I'll go, too," Emerald suddenly said. He walked over to us, wiping his face so that he could properly glare at Amber. "I think a trip home would be good."

Amber glanced at the three of us with wide eyes. Then he smirked just barely. "None of you trust me."

Our trio's glare didn't waver once.

"Alright. You're welcome to come with me."

We nodded at him.

Most of our seniors had begun to trust Amber. I figured it was time for us to try doing the same.

Me: *finally wakes up* Wha...? What did I miss?

Gardevoir: *sitting with eyes narrowed and arms crossed* She made cupcakes.

Me: O-O ...what?

Ember: *pops in with a tray full of cupcakes* Look! I made it so that they all have little Ruby faces on them! Try one! *stuffs cupcake in my mouth*

Me: *chews in surprise* Um, red velvet?

Ember: *nods frantically* It's elegant and perfect! Just like Ruby!

Gardevoir: *rolls eyes* Fangirls.

Me: *finishes cupcake and shrugs* What can you do about us?

Hello readers! I know, I know! I've been gone longer than I was wanting, but now I'm ready to kick it in gear and get this story moving! For those of you who have already read my series, welcome back! For those who have just found this, I welcome you! If you feel up to it, check out my other stories listed at the top of the chapter and catch up on all that's happened. Either way, I hope you all enjoy! Review and return!