Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, nor do I own the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald manga series.
Author Note: Right... this was inspired by 9/11, when I watched a documentary on it. I was really little when it happened, and something abut that movie struck a chord with me. So I decided to write a one-shot based on the events, using Ruby as the main character. Sorry if he's ooc, I tried my best. I'm considering turning this into a rebirth story, and if anyone has any input on this thought, feel free to post a review! For that matter, post a review anyway if you liked it! See yah...
Fly
I've always wanted to fly. The thought of soaring into the air, my fingers tracing the clouds, feeling the wind in my face, the sun on my back, it's so... so... wonderful. That's all I can think of when I think about flight. I remember when I was a little kid, I'd sit on my back and watch the clouds scuttle across the sky, forming into all different shapes of Pokemon, as I was a Pokemon-obssessed freak back then... and, some would say, still am... although in a different way.
Also when I was little, I used to love to swing on the swingset my father had erected. The way the wind whipped my black hair, caused my stomach to do a series of flips, it was the closest I ever came to flying (unless you counted airplanes). One of my fondest (sorta) memories is when I decided to leap out of the seat as it was at its highest zenith, and see what happened.
Needless to say, that little episode didn't turn out well.
Of course, that's now of the past... I would never lie on the grass nowadays... it would ruin my clothes. And swinging is a hazard to my health.
No, now I'm more concerned about things like fashion, although there are times when I look out the window, or simply look up, and I can't help but wonder...
"Sir, do you plan on checking out, or do you just want to stand there holding those clothes?" A voice snipped irritably, snapping me out of my thoughts. Blinking blearily, I stared at the receptionist with bright, ruby red eyes. She was a thin, stern looking women, her blue eyes hard and her raven black hair tied up in a serve bun. She was dressed conservatively, and wore black spectacles that reminded me of of a Butterfree. I looked down and found myself a cluthing fashionable, gorgeous looking tuxedo and a brilliant blue dress that would take quite a chunk out of my wallet... well, Sapph's wallet really, but no matter.
"Yes, of course." I said dissmissively as I threw the clothes on the counter the receptionist was standing behind, a grin stretching across my (if I do say so myself) handsome features as I thought of Sapphire. She would be livid when she found out what I'd done, but I knew deep down in that barbaric soul of her's she would secretely be pleased.
"50,000 yen." She said once she ran the clothes through the register, and I winced. Sapph would most definitely not be happy to hear that I spent so much of her money, although if I'm lucky she won't notice, considering the fact she makes a huge amount out of regularily beating other trainers to a bloddy pulp.
"Here you go." Was my prompt reply, handing her a thick wad of bills. Her frown deepened, but she placed the money in the register before putting the clothes in a bag and handing it back to me.
"Here's your clothes sir," She said in a sickly sweet, obviously fake voice as she handed me the bag of clothes. "Have a nice day." I nodded politely, eyes fastened to the bag as I wondered if the expensive wear was getting rumpled at all. She waited for a reply, and when she didn't get one, humphed and turned away, mumbling under her breath about crazy kids with no respect for their elders.
I'm not a kid, I'm seveenteen. I thought irritably to myself, adjusting my white cloth hat as I swung the bag (carefully) over my shoulder before turning to face the rest of the area. I was currently in the Veilstone Department Center, because of its prestige around the world and excellent display of clothes. My mouth watered as I caught sight of the gorgeous, sapphire encrusted dress I'd passed earlier; it was the perfect dress for Sapphire. Unfortunately, it also happened to be way beyond Sapphire and my earnings combined... but then again, beauty does come at a price.
I pushed through the crowd, a slight frown on my face as I made my way towards the elevator. It was obvious I wasn't the only one who thought the Veilstone had a very nice selection of clothes; the place was packed to the brim with people, struggling to to get the best of the best, or staring avidly at the thousands of thousands of yen dress as I had done. Of course, their fashion sense wasn't as immpeccable as mine, but you had to give them points for trying. As my mind wandered towards fashion, a favorite topic of mine, I absently wondered how Wallace, my mentor, was doing. It had been awhile since I had last seen him, and I couldn't help but miss the elegant, wise man's present who'd helped me see the way. Actually, when I think about, the last time I saw Wallace, and said good bye to him, was in Lilycove city, as I prepared to board a boat to Sinnoh.
It was a warm, summery day. Wingulls, and a few Pelligers, could be be found soaring effortlessly through the sky, not even bothering to flap their wings as thermals, columns of hot air, lifted them up before they glided down to be lifted up again.
"Ruby! Hurry up you slow poke, we're going to miss our ride!" Sapphire shouted as she flounced towards me, brilliant blue eyes shinning with impaitience but also affection. I nodded my head in her direction, my cloth hat jiggling.
"I'll be there in a minute!" Was my shouted reply to the impaitient girl. If only she stopped swinging from tree limbs, she might be able to settle down more... Sapphire can be so barbaric sometimes. And utterly transparent. "Just let me say goodbye!" Sapphire stampted her foot, obviously annoyed, before abruptly turning away to stare at the puffing boat. She'd never liked technology, and I knew she would've much prefered to have flown on her father's Tropius to get to Sinnoh. But, as I'd patronizingly told many times, you have to learn to conquer your fear.
"You shouldn't have to worry," My mentor, Wallace, murmured gently as he stared over my shoulder with liquid blue eyes. "I don't mind if you leave now. I wouldn't want you to have to pay for another boat." I smiled slightly, touched by his concern and also admiring his outfit. Wallace looked absolutely brilliant. But then again, he always looked brilliant.
"Sapphire would pay," I corrected him absentmindedly. "And she battles so many barabaric idiots a day that it's not like it would matter. We could get more boat tickets in no time flat. Besides, we're not late; Sapph just wants to get in the boat and get it over with." I replied, and Wallace chuckled softly.
"You've certainly got her personality down to a 'T'" He said good naturedly, making me slightly uncomfortable as I thought of all the things that had happened to us in Hoenn. Of course I would know her very well, but still...
"So, what do you plan to do in Sinnoh?" Wallace asked, sensing that he needed to change the subject, and quick. He's quite astute in that manner.
"Win contests," Was my prompt reply, and Wallace arched a delicate eyebrow, so I elaborated. "Explore, tour the sights, and Sapphire will challange the league... of course." I replied, and Wallace smiled.
"You two make such a cute couple." He laughed, and I blanched, my hat almost falling off my head. I caught it in the nick of time, though, and shoved it quickly over my head.
"Wh-what?!" I spluttered, and Wallace smiled mischieviously.
"Nothing, nothing, just rambling to myself." He said with a wave of his hand, a nonchalant grin plastered on his pale, beautifully handsome face. All the same, I watched him suspiciously with ruby red eyes, and once Wallace got over his laughing fit gave me a smile.
"Do well for me, both of you. And don't forget to call once in awhile." He said, suddenly solemn again, and I nodded slowly, still on the watch for any more jibes at my relationship with Sapphire.
"I'll keep that in mind-" I began to say, but was interupted as the ship we were scheduled to ride blared loudly, signaling it was about to leave.
"RUBY! GET OVER HERE NOW!" Sapphire yelled, sounding panicked, and I smiled apologetically at Wallace, who responded with an easy going wave.
"Get going before she flays you alive." He advised; Wallace is my mentor for a reason. I nodded, mumbled a quick goodbye, then tore off after Sapphire.
"Finally," She mumbled when I caught up to her, wheezing in and out of breath. I really need to get back in shape. "You're the slowest person I know." She grumbled good naturedly, much to my annoyance.
"And you're the most impaitient that I know," Was my retort, before cutting off her heated reply. "Now c'mon, let's get on that boat- and don't worry, it'll be fine." I said firmly, and Sapphire stared at me for a moment, before her blue eyes softened.
"Thank you Ruby." She said quietly, and I smiled back, fighting the blush that attempted to rise on my cheeks.
"No problem." I replied amiably.
I wonder what Wallace is doing now. I thought to myself curiously, absently glancing over my shoulder. I caught sight of a far away windo and froze, thinking hard. Then a smile spread across my face as I abruptly changed direction, heading towards the window to gaze out at the azure sky. I can't help but wonder if my fascination with the sky is one of the reasons I was the person deigned to fetch Rayquaza to save the world. After all, he is considered the lord of the sky.
"Not bad." I said softly as I made it to the window, pressing my forehead against the cool glass, hat sloping foreward into my face. Veilstone is an ugly city, I'm not going to lie. It's made out of chalky white grainte that looks like a dead person's skin, with even uglier structures just sprouting out of the ground in random, unorganized chaos. I hate chaos.
However, if I'm honest, from an aerial view it doesn't look that terrible. Or at least not as terrible. My eyes traced the bright red roof of the Pokemon center, where my Pokemon were currently resting. I then spotted the game room, red eyes glowing hungrily at the thought of how much money a person could make if they got lucky. But gambling wasn't for me, so I moved onto the gym, where Sapphire was currently battling.
Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound of my watch caused me to blink, before looking down and realizing who was calling.
"Speak of the devil." I mumbled, and considered ignoring the call. If I did, however, she would kill me later. So answered it, a resigned look on my face.
"Hey Sapph." I sighed.
"RUBY! Where are you, I thought you were going to come watch my gym battle!" The girl in question shouted, blue eyes blazing with a fire that I was well used to. I shrugged and spoke in what I thought was a mollfying tone.
"I'm coming down, I just wanted to get some stuff. Gimme a minute- don't tell me your match has started already, has it?" I said, alarmed, and Sapphire frowned.
"No, it hasn't. I just wanted to make sure you hadn't run off to do something stupid." She said scathingly, and I sighed.
"I'm so hurt." I retorted sarcastically, and Sapphire's blue eyes narrowed.
"What did you say- Ruby! You're at the department store, aren't you?!" She demanded, and I winced. Dammit, she caught me.
"I can explain-" I began, but the furious Sapphire rode over my explanation.
If you're not here by the time my battle starts, I swear Ruby I will kill you-"
"Bye, see you soon." I said, turning off my Poketch with a sigh. I really need to consider enrolling her in anger management classes. I then turned to walk out the door when I stiffened before abrupty turning back around. What was that I'd just heard...? Some sort of... rumbling? Confused, I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes, inwardly cursing my short sightedness. I could feel the concrete beneath me begin to rumble, although no one else seemed to notice for whatever reason. To wrapped up in their own lives, probably.
What...? I thought, and then my eyes widened as I caught sight of a huge airplane barreling towards the department store. The bloody hell-
"Run!" I yelled, to late, as moments later the plane hit the department store squarely underneath the floor I was on. There was a rumble as the whole area abruptly burst into flames and fire, consuming the area as a huge explosion resounded through the area. I let out a yell as my vision went red and I tumbled head over heels, screams and explosons and other loud noises rending my eardrums apart. There was a dull thud as something fell on my leg, and I screamed at the sharp pain that coursed through me.
Vision blurring over I opened my eyes to see hell on earth. Somehow quite a few people had survived the impact, and were attempting to bulldoze through the wreakage to the staircase and the elevator. Flames licked the perimeter greedily, and everything was in shambles, leaving the place an unrecognizable wreck. Pain coursed through my right leg, diverting all my attention as I looked to see a sickening sight. A beam had crashed down on my leg, and I could dimly make out a pale white shape rising out of my knee.
Bile rose into my throat as I turned away, dimly noticing the various burns all over my body. Miraculously, my hat was somehow still on my head. I groaned, gritting my teeth at the pain before attemtping to pull out my leg from the collapsed beam. Hot white pain caused me to cry out in pain, then moments later the beam was lifted pff me, and I looked up to see a Machoke, not much better then me, holding the beam easily.
"Thank... you." I gasped out, but the large, muscular fighting type had already strided away to help out other helpless, trapped civilians. I dared not look down at my leg, and slowly got up, attemtpting to put wieght on it. Almost immediately it buckled as waves of pain radiated through my body, and I grimaced.
Whatever happened to going into shock? I wondered cynically to myself as I grabbed to thick peices of the shattered beam and using them as impromtu crutches to hold my weight. No matter, this'll do for now. I thought, hobbling over towards where the mass of screaming people attempted to push into the doorway. Tears streamed down children's faces, and adults as well, and I could hear someone wailing about how the elevator wasn't working. Not only that, but countless bodies of both humans and Pokemon strewed the ground... and they weren't moving. There was to much chaos... this wasn't going to work.
"EVERYONE BE QUIET!" I roared over the pandemonium, my voice taking on a level of authority that surprised even me. Even more surprising, everyone stopped struggling, and turned to gaze at me with wide eyes. With all the eyes I couldn't help but feel nervous, and I gulped as beads of sweat dripped down my face, irritating the copious burns I had only recently aquired. Then I forced myself to imagine the crowd as people watching me do a contest, and immediately felt much, much better.
"This isn't going to work." I said in steady tone. "We're only making things worse by panicking." I was surprised by how calm and unafraid I felt; although it might've been because of the fact that all that had happened in the past five minutes hadn't really sunken in yet.
Has it really only been five minutes? I wondered to myself, the thought was a strange one; one minute I was arguing with Sapphire, the next I was commanding a group of terrified people (and some Pokemon) to safely evacuate the burning, crumbling building. Arceus certainly is fickle... or whoever it is that controls fate.
"Everyone get in an orderly line, and head downstars in an orderly line. Nothing good will happen if we panic. Children first, weak or sick people/Pokemon then adolescents, then adults, and then havy duty Pokemon to bring up the rear." I ordered, and the group slowly abided. Once everything had calmed down and gotten organized, the crowd slowly began to stream down the starcase. I was completely silent except for the hissing of fire and the pungent smell of...
Oh my Arceus. I realized with horror. Not all the oil has ignited yet.
"Wait!" I yelled just as the last Pokemon, the Machoke that had saved me, was urshered down the stairs. At that moment yet another explosion went off, and once again I was knocked off my feet and knew no more.
When I came around again, my whole body was throbbing painfully, especially my broken leg. A groan escaped my parched lips as I grasped my impromtu crutches and staggered onto my one good foot. I was having difficulty seeing, and my chest really, really hurt. I attempted to draw in a breath and then doubled over as I drew in smoke. Coughing fiercely, my whole body burst into agony, and for moment everything went black as I briefly fainted.
I came to almost instantly, and resolved not to cough anymore. Looking around, I drew up the correct analysis that things did not look good. At all.
I'm trapped. I thought to myself, horrified as I stared at the collapsed rubble that blocked the staircase. The whole top half was covered in a smoky haze, and I was having difficulty breathing. My eyes watered as I looked around, and I drew up the correct conclusion that I was going to die.
I'm going to die. I realized, and that thought cemented the terror slowly growing within me. I looked around wildly as fear clouded my mind and, upon seeing that I was still trapped, bust into useless, water-wasting tears.
"I don't want to die!" I wailed, tears streaming down my burned cheeks, but the crackling fire that surrounded me was my only reply. To die ment I could no longer participate in contests, see movies, laugh friends, catch Pokemon, see Sapphire smile.
Sapphire. At the thought of the girl I abruptly stopped my fit. What would Sapphire do if she saw me like this? She would be ashamed... furious... she'd slap sense into me. Suddenly feeling better, I took another look around the destroyed department store.
Right. So... I know I'm going to die. Now... what am I going to do about it? I thought to myself, abruptly in control once more. I scanned the room again, searching for something... anything... and then saw the window. Naturally the glass was shattered and gone, revealing a sky covered in smog and smoke. But in the far off distance... I could just make out a blurry blue sky.
I've always wanted to fly. And it was then, with those reverberating within my skull, that I arrived upon a conclusion. I would not die a broken man, crushed by dirt and despair and flames. No, I would go out in a blaze of glory, like a comet as it soared across the sky, always remembered by all... or at least by those who loved it... me. Except... Except...
Sapphire.
If only things could be different... I thought regretfully to myself as I hobbled towards the window. If only I could tell Sapphire how much I loved her... but... it's to late... I wish... Tears leaked down my burnt beyond recognition face, although it no longer hurt as the pain receptors on my face had been burned away.
"Sapphire... I know you can't hear me..." I said quietly, looking down regretfully at my shattered beyond repair poketch. "But I just want you to know, I want everyone to know that I... I love you. I've always loved you. Always." I had reached the window, and stared out with wide eyes, searching for the stripe of blue, the sign of hope...
Oddly enough, as I looked down to see people in the streets, staring with wide eyes, or milling about in pandemonium, I felt no fear. Nothing. I was free, free as a Swellow soaring the sky, or the Wingulls lazily riding the currents of air. Flight... soon, I would be joining them in one brief, irrecavocable thrill- my first flight. And my last.
"Good bye Sapph." I murmured softly, dropping my crutches and favoring my uninjured foot. I took one last look at the ground, at the sky, and I thought of Sapphire. I thought of her smile, of her laugh, of all the stupid, pointless arguements we'd ever had. As I thought a brisk wind came, lifting my hat off my head. I made no attempt to stop it, and watched as the white hat began to float down the earth with all the debris. My silky black hair lightly caressed my cheeks, an oddly uplifting feeling. It had been so long since I'd actually taken off that thing.
She's going to be so mad at me. I thought to myself with a chuckle as I steeled myself. Suddenly I felt bitter, thinking of all the petty arguements, all the pent up tension, the friendship, everything... all wasted. I inwardly chided myself for the direction my chain of thoughts were taking, and drew in one last gulp of partially smoky air before taking a step forward.
And then... I flew.
Author Note: So sad... I was bawling by the end of this thing. Sorry if either Ruby or Sapphire are ooc, I tried my best *salutes* Anyway, if you think it should become a rebirth story, review and say so. Also, I'll be putting up a poll so vote on there as well. *smiles weakly* I need to go, I suddenly don't feel to good... and yes, there were people who jumped to their deaths in the 9/11 incident. This really struck a chord with me when I found out. See ya...
-Dragoon