Pokemon – The Fear of Suikun
By Yui Kinomoto & Drayden
In the middle of the clear field, a blue blur shot out of a nearby patch of trees; the animal was limping weakly on one leg but was still trying to run. Inside the vehicle that was pursuing the creature, the red light on the tracking device was going crazy. A high-pitched beeping sounded in the ears of the blonde haired Roketto Dan'in.
"We're close, sir," she yelled out over the shrill noise.
"I can see that, Domino," he bellowed back, stepping on the gas pedal. The tank-like van crashed through the trees, startling the Pokemon. It growled, and tried to get up and run, but the pain in its front leg was intense. It could hardly move as the black van headed nearer to it.
"I have you now, Suikun," said the man at the wheel, grinning evilly. Pushing forward on the pedal, he sped toward the almost defenseless animal. Just as they were nearing, a blast of cold came from behind Suikun, sending the van spinning off course. It spun and crashed into a tree, badly damaging its left side. As the dark man tried to start it up again, Suikun bounded away with a limp, disappearing into the trees.
"Ugh…" the man growled. "Domino! Get the other Dan'in and get out there to pull this thing loose! We can't afford to lose any time!"
"Yes, sir!" Domino said promptly, motioning for the rest of the men in the van to follow her. As he watched them from the driver seat, Sakaki growled silently to himself.
'Damn Suikun,' he found himself thinking. 'I'll have you yet…'
It was a bright afternoon in Miraizou City; the sun shone through the window on two trainers relaxing in the pool of the city's local gym, laughing and talking with each other.
"Great day of training, huh," asked the male, splashing a bit of water on his forehead.
"I guess you can say that," said the girl, relaxing with her arms folded on the edge of the pool. Her flame-like red hair hung damply around her shoulders, and she kicked at the warm water with her feet.
"Ah," said the boy. "You're just mad because I beat your Chicolita with a Water-type."
"Baka! I am not!" she snapped. "You should be mad that Tsubo-chan beat Gorudaku."
"I wasn't trying," he said with a smile. The girl snarled at him, and tackled him into the water. The two splashes around for a bit, lost in a catfight. Finally, the girl went to hit him in the arm, and all he did was laugh at her.
"Ryuu!" she cried. "Stop laughing at me!"
"Why? You're funny," he said. She hit him again, only making him laugh louder.
"Grr! You're mean," she said. "And you're a liar. You said you invited some other friends of yours over!"
"I did," Ryuu grinned. "Kasumi's dropping by with a few friends of hers. And I called Matsuba, too…"
"Oh, you did?" the girl said, blushing. "Arigatou…"
"Hai, Yuui," he said, leaving her alone to go off into her own little world. For some reason, he felt a light mist blowing at his back; he turned around to see nothing but the window. 'I must be imagining things,' he thought to himself, turning back to watch the door. And just at that moment, it opened, and a group of people piled into the gym. In the lead was a pink haired girl, already dressed for the occasion in an aqua-blue bikini. A small white overcoat covered her shoulders.
"Ryuu-chan!" she chirped, stepping into the shallow water and sitting down next to him. She threw off her jacket and went to hug him, kissing his cheek affectionately.
"Hello, Kasumi," he said, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. "And how was your trip here?"
"Great," she said. "Look what we picked up on the way here." She motioned over to her group, slightly bigger than normal. Her two best friends, Satoshi and Takeshi, were there as usual, along with the Pikachuu that Satoshi always had with him, but this time two tagalongs accompanied them. One was a blonde boy with heavy clothes and a blue head-band. The second was a boy with light brown hair that was streaked back excepting one thick strand that hung over his face. He wore a strange purple outfit with a white cloak.
"Matsuba! Minaki!" Yuui exclaimed, smiling and waving at them. Immediately, the dark-haired Takeshi perked up, and ran to the edge of the pool where the pretty redheaded girl was.
"Konnichiwa, miss," he said, taking her hand. "I believe we haven't been acquainted. My name is Takeshi, and…"
"Back off, lover-boy, she's got a spot in her heart for someone else," said the guy in purple who'd been addressed as Minaki. Yuui stood up and walked to Matsuba, who gladly took her into an embrace, even though she was totally soaked. He brushed her hair back and stared at her.
"It has been a while, Yuui-chan."
"Yes… I know," she said, almost collapsing right there. Minaki rolled his eyes as the two kissed.
"You guys, you saw each other three days ago," he said.
Yuui laughed, letting go of him and giggling, because the front of his shirt was soaked. "Yes, we know, but for us…"
"That's a long time." Matsuba finished. Everyone went wide-eyed.
"That was scary," Ryuu commented.
"Do they share a brain or what?" Kasumi asked.
Minaki laughed. "They're linked telepathically," he said. "That's usually what happens when you date a mystic."
"Leave me alone, Minaki," Matsuba said. "Not my fault."
"Well, come on, you guys, aren't you going to go and change?" Ryuu asked. "Aren't we going to swim?"
"Uh.. Sure. Yeah," Minaki stammered. "Just keep me away from the deep end."
Matsuba laughed. "The world's biggest Suikun fan and he's afraid of drowning," he choked out.
"Shut up, Mat, I did almost drown last time," he said.
"Yeah, yeah," Matsuba said. "See you in a bit, Yuui-chan."
"Aw, it'll be too long to wait," she sighed. Everyone sweat-dropped but Matsuba; he simply laughed.
"Until then, mai aikouka," he whispered, bringing a bright blush to her cheeks. He walked off to the changing rooms with Satoshi, Takeshi and Minaki following. Yuui stared intently after him, but decided not to be mischievous and follow him.
"I'll be in the deep pool," she informed, stepping out of the shallow wading pool. Ryuu nodded and she left.
"So," Kasumi said, swimming in circles around Ryuu. "How have things been around the gym?"
"Not too bad," he replied. "I haven't been giving out as many badges as usual."
"You're getting stronger," she said. "Strong enough, even, to defeat the mighty Kasumi of Hanada?"
"I wouldn't try to defeat you," Ryuu said softly. "I'd be forced to let you win."
"You evil sweetheart, you," Kasumi said, holding onto his shoulders. The moment would have been perfect, had it not been interrupted by a loud scream from the other pool…
At the same time that Ryuu and Kasumi ran out of the shallow end, the other four boys emerged from the changing rooms. Satoshi and Takeshi were changed already, but Minaki was still in his normal outfit, and Matsuba was wearing his sweatpants with no shirt.
"Not quite enough time," Minaki started to say, but he stopped when he saw the reason Yuui had screamed. In the middle of the pool, floating above the surface of the water, was a Pokemon…
"Suikun…" Minaki whispered.
"Wow," Takeshi said in awe.
"That's familiar," Satoshi said. "I've seen it before…" His Pikachuu nodded in agreement from its perch on his shoulder.
"It's so pretty!" Kasumi said cheerfully.
"It's gonna kill me… look at that expression in its eyes!" Yuui cried.
"No…" Matsuba said. "It's hurt."
All eyes were on him. "It… is? How can you tell?" Minaki asked.
"Look at the way it's nursing its
front leg," Matsuba pointed out. "That leg's hurt. It's gotta be helped."
"I'll try," Yuui said quietly,
swimming toward Suikun. The Pokemon let out a low growl and faded away,
disappearing into the water…
"No!" Minaki cried. "Suikun!"
"It's gone…" Matsuba said. "But for some reason, I still feel something…"
"So do I," Yuui said. "I think it's still in the water."
"What is still in the water?" said a new voice from the doorway. Everyone spun around to see a girl dressed in a black outfit, holding what looked like a black tulip in one hand. Her dress showed off a bright red R right on the chest…
"It's the Roketto Dan girl again," Kasumi grunted. "Domino." Matsuba made a motion to Yuui to keep her mouth shut.
"Uh… Nothing, just a Nyoromo we were looking for," she said.
"I'm not stupid," Domino said. "Our tracking devices say Suikun came in this direction. Now what are you hiding here?"
"We aren't hiding anything!" Ryuu shouted. "This is my gym, and I want you out of here! Now!"
"A tad touchy, are we?" said yet another new voice. And in walked another man, dressed in a suit of pure black. He was followed by a small army of Roketto Dan'in men.
"Well, if it isn't the leader of Roketto Dan himself," Ryuu scoffed. "Sakaki. What are you doing here?"
"Simple. I'm looking for the Pokemon, Suikun," he said.
"Even if it was here, we'd never let you take it!" yelled Yuui from the water.
"Quiet, you," Domino said, raising her black flower and pointing it at Yuui. A black sparkle of electricity flew out at her, sending the 'shocked' girl flying towards the edge of the pool. Matsuba ran around and fished her out, holding her in his arms.
"Are you alright?"
"I've been better," she sighed, standing on her own feet. She glared angrily at Domino, who in turn glared back.
Sakaki growled under his breath. "Enough little games. Where is Suikun?" he demanded.
"It's not here!" Ryuu yelled back. All of a sudden, a wave came up from the middle of the pool, and once again Suikun floated above the water, its reflection rippling in the small moving waves.
"Not here, huh?" Sakaki smiled. "Well then, what do you call this?"
"A really good light show?" Kasumi said inquisitively. Ryuu gave her a look saying 'bad time for bad jokes,' and she smiled crazily. "Just trying to make things better."
"Suikun, come to me," Sakaki whispered, eyeing the Pokemon nastily.
"Like it'd go to you," Minaki spat. Just as Sakaki was about to yell again, Suikun stood up...
"What's it doing?" Satoshi questioned, taking a small step back.
"I don't know…" Minaki said under his breath, watching Suikun with awe.
Suikun scowled, holding up its front leg in pain. Gathering a blue aura around its face, it threw its head back, crying out in a voice that sounded beautiful and mournful and frightening all at the same time. A bright flash of light emitted through the whole room, blinding everyone.
"I'm scared, Mat-chan!" Yuui cried, clinging to his shoulders.
"Don't worry, Kasumi," Ryuu said, shielding her with his body.
"Everyone get down!" Minaki called out, pushing Satoshi and Takeshi to the ground. Soon, the room became so bright that nobody could see an inch in front of their face… and the pressure in the room was getting to be too much to take.
"I'm sorry, Yuui," said Matsuba as he fell backward. She didn't hear him; she had already collapsed in his arms. Everyone else had already blacked out too… well, everyone except Ryuu.
"Wake up, Kasumi!" he called over the cries of Suikun, shaking the shoulders of the fainted girl. Slowly he dropped to his knees and let her fall, grasping the sides of his head in pain. The pressure was too much… slowly, reluctantly, he let himself drop to the floor next to Kasumi, and he closed his eyes…
Ryuu woke up to find himself in a totally unfamiliar place… the first thing he noticed when his eyes blinked open was the floor; it was made of solid ice-blue crystal. The air around him was cool and calming, and the walls were made of the same material, although the colors seemed to shift through the walls like blood running through a human vein. What looked like some kind of dark blue gel coursed through the walls, creating beautiful patterns in the ice-like structure.
Kasumi was still fainted next to him on the ground. She looked serene in her sleep, yet worried; 'Well no wonder,' he thought, 'she collapsed under pressure.' Slowly, he knelt at her side and turned her onto her back, slowly shaking her. "Sumi-chan? Hello, wake up!"
"Uh… Ryuu??" she said wearily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Where are we?"
"I couldn't tell you," he said. "Suikun must have taken us somewhere…"
Suddenly, another scream shot through the silence of the room, echoing off the walls. Ryuu shot up and ran toward the noise, Kasumi following. They came out in a small blackish room to see Yuui and Matsuba in the center, and the other three boys run in through the other side.
"Matsuba!" Yuui cried out. "He's dead!"
"He's not dead," Ryuu said, "he's just fainted. Come on, Matsuba, wake up."
He knelt down and took hold of Matsuba's shoulders. "Come on, get up…"
"See, I told you!" Yuui cried. "Whatever that thing did… it killed him."
"Killed who?" Matsuba asked, sitting up from sleep. Yuui glanced over at him to see him blinking his eyes rapidly and looking around the place. "Hey, where are we?"
"Mat-chan!!" Yuui cried, jumping at him and tackling him right back down. "You're not dead!!"
"Not last time I checked," he said, helping her up and smiling.
"Where do you think we are?" Satoshi questioned. "Is this still your gym, Ryuu?"
"Doesn't look like it," Ryuu said.
"It probably is, though," Minaki commented. Everyone turned toward him, surprised looks on their faces. "I'm not sure how, but I think somehow Suikun trapped us in here. And I have a feeling it's not letting us out until its leg gets better."
"Then we should find it and help it," Kasumi said. "I mean, if that's the only way to get out,"
"I'm in," Ryuu said. "What about the rest of you?"
"'Kay," Yuui said calmly. Everyone else nodded.
"Now… where do we start?" Takeshi asked, looking around. There were the two small doorways where they had come in… and one more passageway, leading out into a seemingly black room.
"I guess that way," Ryuu said, stepping forward with Kasumi at his side. "Shall we?"
"Let's go," Kasumi said, walking with him through the pathway. Everyone else followed, and they all found themselves in a completely darkened room…
"How are we supposed to navigate in here?" Yuui asked. "I can't see a thing…"
As if on cue, a spark lit up one side of the room. For a split second after that, everything was quiet and dark, as it had been before. Then, a huge flame roared up from the far corners of the corridor, and with a loud whooshing sound, flew forward, spreading throughout the entire room. Kasumi screamed, and latched herself to Ryuu's shoulders. Anything but fire…
"Ryuu…" she cried, closing her eyes tightly. He looked down at her, and it snapped; Kasumi had a huge fear of fire. Ever since Hanada Gym had almost burned down long ago, she had tried to draw herself away from fire by using Water-type Pokemon.
"Use your Water Pokemon," he said, bringing a PokeBall up from his belt. "Gorudaku, go!"
From the ball emerged a tall blue duck, the red diamond on its forehead glowing profusely. It looked up and around, not panicking at all about the fire.
"Imaya! Sutaamii!" Kasumi called. She released a mauve-colored starfish-like Pokemon with a huge red jewel on its center.
"Go, Juu-chan!" Yuui said. Her Pokemon was an ivory-white sea lion with a long, flowing tail fin.
"Shawazuu, go!" commanded Matsuba. Yuui stared in awe as the Water-type evolution of Iibui came from his PokeBall.
"I thought you trained nothing but ghosts," she asked.
"Yes, but a close friend gave me Shawazuu," he said. "I like it, anyway."
"Shawaa!!!" it cried, flailing its mermaid-like tail.
"All right everyone, let's put this fire out!" Ryuu called. All of the Pokemon let out their respective cries, blasting the flames with their strongest attacks. All it did was make the flames grow bigger, and spread closer and closer to the group.
"No!" Matsuba shouted. "We'll have to run for it!!"
"Through the fire?!? No way!!" Kasumi cried out. "Sutaamii, blast those flames with a bubble beam!" The attack did nothing but make the flames roar louder, and Kasumi screeched and jumped behind Ryuu, almost in tears.
"I hate to say it, Sumi-chan, but Matsuba's right," Ryuu said. "The only choice we have is to run."
"A… all right," she stammered, a small tear running down the side of her face.
"Okay," Ryuu said, taking charge of the group. "On the count of three, we run."
"One…"
"Two…"
"THREE!" The group took off in a mad dash toward the exit… it seemed to take forever to reach the end. Just as they were almost there, a small voice cried out from behind them. It was Satoshi… he had tripped over his shoelaces, and fallen flat on his face. Pikachuu was frantically pulling on his arm, telling him to get up, but he appeared to have hurt himself.
"Get up, Sato-kun!" Kasumi called. Just then, a flame overtook him, flaring up from his leg. He cried out, and Pikachuu sweatdropped, screaming for him to move.
"I can't… get up," he said. "You guys… go on. Get yourselves… out of here…" As he spoke those final words, the flames totally washed over Pikachuu and himself. There was no more sound after that.
"Satoshi…" Takeshi whispered mournfully.
"That… can't be good," Yuui said. They all stood there for a split second, just watching the flames for any sign of life. But there was nothing.
"We… should go," Kasumi said slowly, forgetting about the fire. "There's no reason for all of us to… to die in here."
"You're right," Minaki said. "Let's go forward. Maybe he's still alive in there… and we can save him if we get through this place."
"Hope so," Kasumi said. "I just hope there's no more fire…"
The remaining people walked forward through the doorway. Once again, the room was totally dark, and Kasumi sweatdropped. "Not again," she said.
Another spark of blue lit up the room... this time it sparked up right above them. The walls and ceiling were made of the same crystal ice that made up the first chamber. The only light was the blue liquid running through the walls... and it illuminated the huge pool of water that stretched in front of them.
"Whoa," Ryuu said, staring out into the blue abyss. To the left, right and center, all they could see was water for miles and miles, and it was so deep that all you could see looking down was dark blue.
Kasumi grinned. "Fun!" she exclaimed. "I wonder how we get out, though?"
"I guess we either swim to the other end, or all the way to the bottom," Matsuba said. "Shall we, Yuui-chan?"
"Let's go!" she said, diving in. "Ooh, it's nice and warm! Come on, Juu-chan!"
The Jugon splashed down next to her, followed by Matsuba and Shawazuu, and Ryuu, Kasumi and their Pokemon. Immediately after came Takeshi… but Minaki stood on the small platform, staring down nervously at the water.
"No… way am I getting in there," he said.
"Aw, come on! It's great!" Kasumi said.
"Yeah… you have a Water-type, don't you, Minaki?" Matsuba asked, holding onto Shawazuu.
"Yes, but… what if I can't hold on?" he said. "You know I'm afraid I'll drown."
"You can swim, Minaki-chan, I've seen you do it," Yuui said.
"Well yes, but…" Everyone eyed him angrily. "All right, I'm coming… Go, Nyorotono!" Tossing a bluish-colored Pokeball, he released a green frog Pokemon into the water. It clapped its hands and waved up at him, and he uneasily edged toward the water. Finally, he gave up and dropped down. They were right… the water was nice and warm. But he still felt extremely edgy being in such a deep pool, where he could easily… he didn't want to think about it.
"Come on, Sutaamii!" Kasumi said, lying on the back of her Pokemon like is was some kind of pool-floatie. "Let's swim! If we find nothing going forward, we'll dive down."
"Right," Ryuu said. "Gorudaku, forward."
"I don't have a Water-type," Takeshi sighed. "I guess I'll just swim on my own. No big deal."
The six teenagers advanced forward, not finding anything even after swimming for a long time. There were no more paths to the left, right or front, and they had gone so far that they couldn't see the passage behind them anymore either.
"This is just perfect," Minaki complained, furiously treading water as he held onto Nyorotono. "Where do we go? I hope we don't have to go down…"
"Probably do," Ryuu said. "It can't be that bad… if anything happens to you, our Pokemon will save you."
"Just to be safe, I'll dive down once first," Kasumi said. "See if there's really anything down there."
"You be careful, Sumi-chan," Ryuu warned, hugging her shoulders. "If anything happens to you…"
"I'm always careful in the water!" Kasumi cried happily. "Sutaamii, let's dive!"
Everyone watched intently as the girl held onto her Pokemon and took off below the surface of the water. She kept going deeper, not letting the water pressure get to her. Just as she was reaching the darkness, she saw something out of the corner of her eye… not a passageway. Something else.
She kicked her legs and sped to the surface. "What did you find down there?" Yuui asked as she gasped for air.
"Nothing good, that's for sure," she replied, pointing downward. "Look!"
Emerging from the depths of the water was some kind of small twister… it slowly sucked in the water and formed into a large whirlpool. Minaki almost had a panic attack, and everyone else stared in surprise.
"Not… good," Matsuba said.
"Let's get outta here!!!" Yuui cried, holding onto Juu-chan's slender body. Everyone else held onto their respective Pokemon… all except for Takeshi…
"Guys! I can't out-swim this thing!" he called, paddling his arms frantically. Kasumi was about to send out another of her Water-types to help him, but it was already too late. He was pulled into the fast moving water and spun around like a shirt in a washing machine. Soon, he was pulled all the way under by the rushing current. There was hardly even a scream to remember him by…
"Takeshi, no!" Kasumi screamed, turning around. "Sutaamii!"
"No, Kasumi! You'll get pulled under too!" Ryuu said, holding her back. "There's nothing we can do…"
"Keep going!" Minaki called. "I see something!! Under there!"
Sure enough, there was some kind of weird light shining from underneath the water. "We'll have to dive for it," Ryuu said.
"All right! Juu-chan, under!" Yuui called. She and her Pokemon disappeared deep below the surface, followed closely by what remained of their group. They swam towards the light; it kept getting more and more brilliant as they drew nearer. Then there was a flash, and the raging storm of water stopped…
The trainers dropped lightly to a small white platform, the light disappearing behind them. As they looked down at themselves and at each other, they noticed that they weren't even the least bit wet… it was as if they'd never been in the water in the first place. Kasumi looked up at the ceiling… it was solid, as it should be. And Takeshi was still gone.
"This is scary," she said. "How many more people are we going to lose until we find our way out of here?"
"I wonder," Ryuu pondered, "if Suikun is doing this purposefully…"
"What do you mean?" Yuui asked, her arms around Matsuba's waist.
"Well… It seemed pretty angry at us," he said. "Do you think it's possible that it trapped up in here just so it could kill us off, one by one?"
"But why?" Minaki said. "Suikun is usually such a peaceful Pokemon… why would it hurt us?"
"Maybe it thinks that we're the ones that hurt it," Matsuba suggested.
"Well… Whatever it is, we have to find our way out of here before it does kill us," Yuui said. "Where do you suppose we go from here?"
"Stupid dark rooms," Ryuu complained silently to himself. A small blue light darted across the wall… the same way that it had in the water room. Slowly, as it moved across the room, they could see a white beam stretched out across a gap… and below? Nothing but black. Continuous black…
"Oh my god," Ryuu said. "That's… really… far down."
"Aren't you scared of heights?" Kasumi asked. He nodded.
"That's it!" Matsuba suddenly announced. "Kasumi's fear of fire… Minaki's fear of drowning, and now your greatest fear. This thing is playing off of whatever we're scared of."
"Oh, great," Ryuu said. "So let me guess… we all have to overcome our fears to get out of here."
"I'm guessing so," Matsuba said.
"That's good," Yuui sighed. "You're not scared of anything, are you, Mat-chan? And neither am I."
He smiled. "Come on," he said. "Let's walk the line."
"Are you kidding me?" Ryuu exclaimed. "I can't… I can't get across that!!!"
"Kasumi went through the fire, didn't she?" Minaki said. "And I went into the water. I'm sure you can make it across this."
"Well… all right. I'll try," he said. "But no promises. If I get scared and turn back…"
"If you get scared, you'll keep walking to the other side," Kasumi said. "And just to make sure you can't turn back, you're going first."
"But… okay," he said, looking out over the gap. The beam was pretty thick, but it looked a little rickety. He put one foot forward and stepped out, balancing himself as he walked forward. He was followed, respectively, by Kasumi, Yuui, Matsuba and Minaki; the Pokemon still stood on the platform.
"Oh yeah… Return, Gorudaku," Ryuu said. The other trainers recalled their Pokemon too, and kept right on walking. "Do you notice that all these little rooms are really lengthy?" he questioned.
"Yeah... every challenge seems to take longer than the last," Kasumi agreed.
"This seems pretty easy, though," Yuui said, "just so long as we keep our balance."
As if on cue, a small breeze began to blow through the room… at first it was a silent, short zephyr, but it slowly picked up, whistling with rage.
"You had to say something, Yuui," Ryuu mumbled, trying not to look down. He held his arms straight out to the sides and looked straight forward, moving step by step. He counted every time he put a foot forward… "One… two. One… two. One…"
"Aah!!" A male scream cut through his train of thought. He spun around just in time to see Minaki stumble and fall, diving head first toward the bottom; if there even was a bottom. Obviously, there was; they saw him land on a seemingly invisible floor. There was a loud thud, and almost immediately blood started pooling out from below him.
"Oh! Minaki!" Yuui cried, staring down at him. "No…"
Matsuba stared blankly down at his best friend, tears slowly forming in his eyes. He sharply turned away, blinking away the tears. "I can't look at that," he said sorrowfully. "Please… can we go?"
Ryuu looked up at his friend… he could tell Matsuba was on the verge of crying. And Matsuba never cried. "Right," he said, trudging along more quickly. They were near the end now… Ryuu ignored the wind, the shaking of the pillar. He just wanted to get to the other side…
Finally, another platform came into view. Ryuu ran to the other side, and literally collapsed on the solid floor. "That was not fun at all."
"No," Kasumi said. "I want out of here…"
"Me too," Yuui said. Matsuba was silent... he just wiped his face off with his bare arm. It was obvious he'd been crying… Yuui looked at him and was about to ask what was wrong, but she already knew.
"I'm… almost afraid to see what's in store for us now," she said, sitting down with her legs crossed. "Ryuu… Yours and Kasumi's fears have been covered. Now it's me and Matsuba… and truthfully, I don't know what I'm afraid of… I don't know what to expect."
"Well… Only one way to find out," Ryuu said. Kasumi was latched to his arm, her eyes showed nothing but pure fear. "Catch up with us, all right?"
"Right," Yuui said. She crawled up and sat next to Matsuba, who had dropped to a sitting position as well. He was curled up in a ball, his face hidden, and all Yuui could hear was long, mournful sobs.
"Mat-chan… you're crying…"
"Did you expect less?" he said, looking up. His face was totally red and tear stained. "Yuui… Minaki is gone. So are those other kids. I'm so worried… that one of us is next…"
"Matsuba," she sighed, hugging his shoulders. "I'm so sorry… But if we stay here, that'll just be useless. We came this far… we can't quit now. There's a remote chance we can still save them."
He looked up at her hopefully. "Why does everything you say sound so reassuring?"
"I don't know," she said. "I'm just amazing."
"You are," Matsuba said, kissing her cheek. "Come on… we shouldn't be wasting our time."
The two followed Ryuu and Kasumi into another room… this one wasn't dark, just empty. It was like the first room… they were surrounded by nothing but crystal.
"I'm afraid to ask," Yuui said, stepping forward a little bit. "I don't see anything."
"Don't jinx it," Ryuu said. "Let's just walk to the end and get out of here… hey, maybe this is the end. Maybe this is where Suikun is."
"I hope so," Kasumi said. "So… where should we…"
She stopped suddenly, ears perked up.
"What is it, Sumi-chan?" Ryuu asked, stepping to her. But just as he was nearing her, a wall of crystal shot up, separating them. "KASUMI!!" he called, holding his hand to the wall. He spun around; Yuui was there, but not Matsuba. Another wall had already come between them.
"What's happening, Ryuu?" she cried. "I'm scared…" And yet another wall cut her off. Ryuu looked around, trying to find a path that would lead him to the others… but there was nothing. He was trapped in a small room… with no way of moving ahead.
Matsuba looked around, the icy crystals surrounding him, taunting him. He called out for Yuui over and over, but there was never any response. The patterns in the walls even seemed to spell her name…
"Yuui!" he called again, his voice dry and scratchy, his eyes full of tears. Suddenly, as he looked around, the crystals around him became mirrors… silvery-white glass with the blue energy still flowing through them.
"Oh, what now?" he said, annoyed, as he looked at his reflection. "This is the last thing I need to see."
He stared at himself, into his own eyes; they were bloodshot and frightened. They were even almost starting to lose their irregular colors… before, one eye was chocolate brown and the other a deep emerald. Now they were both bluish-gray… not a good sign.
"Matsuba," said a voice that sounded a lot like Yuui's. He looked to see a blurry image of her in one of the mirrors, smiling at him. He smiled back, but all of a sudden the mirror shattered, leaving one of those haunting crystal walls. The pieces of the silver glass scattered around him, and he could still see Yuui's image in them. It was like a puzzle.
"You're alone now, Matsuba," said a vaguely familiar voice. He turned back to his reflection in the mirror to see that it was no longer following him… it was moving freely, like another person. But it was him… or at least, something that looked like him.
"Excuse me?" he questioned, staring "himself" down. The reflection grinned evilly, and stared back.
"They're all gone," Mirror-Matsuba said. "Ryuu, Kasumi… even Yuui. They're all dead. Don't you wish you could have seen them die, like you saw Minaki?"
"You can't be serious," he said, fighting back his tears again. "Yuui isn't dead…"
"You don't have to deny it, Matsuba," said the reflection. "Just accept it. You're alone. Isn't that what you're afraid of? Loneliness…"
"Stop it," Matsuba screamed, clapping his hands over his ears. The voice still echoed through out the room, though, haunting his mind…
"You're afraid that everyone will leave you," the voice said. "That's why you train those ghosts of yours… because they're immune to death. They'll never die, never leave you… and you will never have to be alone. But you are now, can't you see?"
As Matsuba struggled not to listen, he was totally ignoring the real world around him. Without him even realizing it, the walls around him were closing in, the room slowly becoming more compact…
"You're trapped here," said the reflection. "As you will be… eternally alone."
"Go away…" he cried, the silver tears dripping down on the ice-like floor. "Get out of my head…"
"Ohh… What do I do?" Yuui asked herself, walking the tiny corridors of the crystallized labyrinth. "I have to find the others… I hope they're all right. Maybe…"
She took a PokeBall from her belt, slowly lifting it into the air. "Eefi, go!" she called. The crimson light reconfigured into a purple catlike creature with a stunningly shiny diamond on its forehead and a split tail. It purred and looked around, confused.
"Eefi… can you sense Ryuu or anyone else in here?" Yuui asked. "Concentrate hard."
"Fuii," it cried, sniffing the air.
"And what's 'Fuii?' Is 'Fuii' good or bad?" Yuui questioned. The Eefi looked up at her and, shaking its head at her stupidity, went back to its search.
"Well? Any sign of them yet?" Ryuu asked. He was also using an Eefi… he and Yuui had trained theirs together. Even though hers was the male one… his was female, but he loved it none the less.
"Fuii," it said, looking every which way.
"Is that all you two ever say is Fuii?" he asked. "You and Yuui's Eefi are so much alike… I'd hate to see it if you two ever had kids." Eefi blushed, and continued looking around, the gem on its forehead flashing a dim light. All of a sudden, the light went crazy, flashing red everywhere.
"Fuii! Fuii!!" it cried, pawing at a nearby wall.
"What? Is someone behind there?" Ryuu asked. Eefi replied by flexing out its tail, motioning for him to hold on. He carefully held the tip of its tail, and it started walking… right through the crystal wall. Ryuu came out on the other side to see Yuui and her Eefi… the two Eefi immediately ran to each other, talking and nudging each other.
"Well… Nice to see someone's alive in here besides me," Yuui said.
"Yeah," Ryuu sighed. "Wonder how Sumi-chan is."
"And Matsuba!" Yuui cried. "I can't even sense him anymore!"
"I hope that doesn't mean what I think it does," he said slowly. "Do you think his fear finally got to him?"
"Don't say that!!" she whispered. "I don't want to think about something like that…"
"Wait… Look there," Ryuu said, pointing ahead at a darkened corridor. "Looks like the way out."
"Do you think we should go ahead?" Yuui asked. "Maybe… If we save Suikun, it'll give all our friends back."
"Worth a try," he concluded. "We wouldn't want to get lost in this place again. Come on, Eefi, return."
He held up a PokeBall, as did Yuui, and both of them turned toward their Eefi. The problem was, neither Eefi was there anymore. "Oh no," Yuui said. "Don't tell me…"
"Great, our Eefis are trapped too," Ryuu groaned. "More of a reason to get outta here and stop Suikun."
"I'm scared," Yuui whimpered as they headed toward the doorway. "I have a feeling it's my turn to confront my fears…"
"Don't worry, I'm here for you," Ryuu reassured. "You can do it, whatever it is."
"I hope so." She walked through the door to be confronted by another black room, the blue energy flickering through the walls as always.
"You're not scared of the dark, are you?" Ryuu asked, walking forward.
"No…" Yuui moaned, standing in the doorway. She took a few cautious steps, and stopped, whining. "I can't go on."
"Oh relax," Ryuu said. "How bad can it…"
He was cut off at that moment… a huge needle shot out from in front of him, piercing his stomach in one quick motion. It stayed suspended there, and Yuui watched in horror as blood trickled down his back. "Oh… My… God…" she cried. "No. No…"
"This is weird…" Ryuu said, touching the sharp metal that protruded from his body. "I… don't even feel this…"
"What?" Yuui said. "You mean…"
"It doesn't hurt at all," he said. "In fact…" With that, he reached down and pulled the needle out, sending a splatter of blood to the ground in front of him.
"That is so sickening!" Yuui cried, turning away. "Oh… I can't do this. I can't."
"You're…" Ryuu started.
"Scared of sharp things…" she stammered. "Anything sharp, especially needles. I hate… hate, hate, hate this!"
"I should have guessed that," he said. "Well… it doesn't look like there's any more…"
At that, another piece of sharp metal shot out from the side, cutting straight through Ryuu's arm. Another came from the other side and caught Yuui in the leg. She flipped out, shaking her leg, but the needle was stuck in pretty good. Blood splattered everywhere, and she cried in agony even though she felt no pain.
"Get it out!! Get it out!!" she screamed over and over. Another came from behind her, going straight through her chest. It stuck out from the front, right in front of her face, and she screamed louder than she already had been.
"Yuui!! Calm down…" her friend said, holding her shoulder and trying to calm her. Just as she was starting to quiet down, another needle flew from behind her and struck Ryuu in the eye. When he took it out, calmly and painlessly, Yuui stared into the empty socket where his right eye had been.
"Oh… gross!!" she cried dropping to her knees. "Make this stop… please…"
"Yuui, you have to understand that this is all an illusion," Ryuu said. The second she looked up, he was struck by another needle. "Yuui. It's not really happening… this is all just a really good illusion."
"But I'm scared," she cried, wiping away a tear.
"I know you are. That's the point," he said. "Suikun doesn't want us near it, because it's afraid we'll hurt it… wait. That's it, Yuui!"
"What's it?"
"Suikun is afraid of us," he explained. "That's why we're all experiencing our fears. This is all reflecting off of the fear that Suikun feels!"
"So… if it's not scared anymore, all of this will go away," Yuui said. "And all of our friends will come back."
"I hope so," he said. "But… the only way to find out is to keep going. Are you following me?"
"Okay," she said, standing to her feet. She walked forward, wincing slightly every time she got hit by one of the needles. But soon, she got over it, and just kept walking right through it all. Finally, she and Ryuu stepped through a tunnel, and a bright light washed over them. Yuui looked over at her friend to see that all traces of the last room had been removed; all of his wounds were healed. Even his eye was back to normal.
"See… I told you," Ryuu said, smiling. Yuui smiled back, and looked out at where they were now…
"Whoa," she said, staring up. They were in some kind of crystal tower… a spiraled staircase led up to an incredible height. And below it was another seemingly bottomless pit… one wrong step could lead them to absolute disaster.
"Well!" Ryuu said, with sarcastic happiness. "Should we climb?"
"Of course we should climb!!" Yuui said, running up to the first step. "This looks like one of those "final tower" things… the boss is at the top!"
"Uh… yeah," he said. "You play too many video games."
"So?" she asked. "Come on! Let's get going up there to help Suikun!"
She started dashing up the stairs, Ryuu on her tail. Every step was the same ice-blue diamond that every other room had been made of, and as she got closer to the top, the blue color got darker and darker. It also got darker… the light in the tower was slowly fading away.
"Hurry, Yuui!" Ryuu called from behind her. "Something doesn't feel right up here…"
"I know," she said. "I can sense something very powerful…"
It seemed like hours before they finally reached the top. There wasn't much to see up there; just a huge crystal platform that was shrouded in shadows. There seemed to be nothing there…
"Well, so much for this," Ryuu said, looking down. "I suppose we're stuck now…"
"No, wait…" Yuui whispered. "Look…" She pointed to the center of the crystal, where a dim light seemed to shine out of nowhere. All of the sudden the light moved, and everything around it illuminated… and the legendary beast of Water was in clear sight. Its front leg was still bent at an unusual angle.
"Suikun," Yuui said softly, walking up to it. "I'm not trying to hurt you… please listen to me…"
It glared at her through narrowed eyes, still half-afraid. This girl had been able to overcome her fears, as had the other boy. Could these be the two people that would be able to help it recover?
Suikun looked up, sending a bright flash of light to the top part of the tower. Yuui and Ryuu looked up to see a collection of large violet-colored crystals floating in mid-air.
"What the…?" Yuui looked closely, and finally saw through the surface of the dark crystals. There were humans inside of them… to be more exact, their friends. It the first one, Satoshi stood motionlessly, his arms reaching out to nowhere in particular. Pikachuu was frozen at his feet, a frightened expression on its face. In the next one, Takeshi floated upside-down, soaked and dripping wet.
In another diamond, Minaki hung lifelessly, blood dripping from his broken body. In the fourth one, Kasumi stood, holding herself and shivering. She looked alone and helpless, like she had been totally forgotten by the world.
"Poor Kasumi," Ryuu sighed. "I knew we should have looked for her…"
In the second-last one, Matsuba stood there lifelessly, like a porcelain doll. Tears were frozen to his face, and his fists were clenched with anger and fear. And in the last one, the two Eefi floated, their bodies forming the shape of the Yin-Yang. They appeared to be staring at each other, but their faces held that same lost and forgotten look.
"Suikun," Yuui repeated. "Please release our friends."
The Pokemon shook its head, motioning down at its leg. "Heal you first?" Yuui asked. When she received a nod in response, she started to carefully step forward. Suikun seemed calm, as if it was going to let her get close. Just as she was about to take a look at the leg, a small bolt of electricity flew forward, hitting the legendary Pokemon in the side. It cried out, jumping up and knocking Yuui backward.
"There, how do you like that?" Domino laughed, standing behind Yuui with her deadly black tulip in hand.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "I was trying to help this thing!"
"Well, I was trying to capture it," said Sakaki, stepping off of the final stair. "Now, Suikun, you're cornered. What now?"
Suikun lay on the ground, its leg stinging. Sadly, it turned its head toward the ground, its expression painted with anger. Sakaki smiled, and took out a blue-colored Pokeball. "Now you're mine…"
"Stop!" Yuui cried, standing in between the Pokemon and the man. "I'll never let you capture Suikun! It's meant to be wild! Besides, it's hurt, and knowing you, you won't tend to it at all?"
"Who cares?" Sakaki said. "As long as I own a legendary Pokemon, I'll be famous. And just think of all the scientific opportunities I'll have…"
"That's not what Pokemon are about!" Yuui declared. "Pokemon are for friendship and loyalty… they're your friends, who you can put your trust in to come through for you in a tough battle. They're not about fame and science!"
"Whatever," Domino said, extending the handle of the metal tulip with a flick of a switch. She ran at Yuui, knocking her off her feet with the staff, and shoved her over the edge of the platform. "Sayonara," she waved. "Nice to see you go."
"Yuui, no!" Ryuu called out. "No…"
Yuui was falling quickly with no idea about when she would reach the bottom. All she could see were her surroundings getting darker and darker… she gave up, closing her eyes and preparing for impact. After what seemed like an eternity, she opened her eyes to find herself floating in mid-air. Was she dead? If so, it had been pretty painless. She looked down to see the two Eefi, concentrating their psychic powers on her to hold her up.
"Oh… Thank you, Eefi!" she said happily as the lifted her up. They deposited her back on the platform next to Ryuu, and together, they flew into the air and let out a happy "Fuii!!!"
"Now what are you gonna do?" Ryuu asked. "Are you sure you want to fight both us and our Eefis?"
Sakaki smiled evilly. "It'll be an easy battle," he said. "Perushian! Go!" His Pokemon was a beautiful cream-colored cat with long whiskers, and sharp claws. It faced the two Eefis, hissing savagely.
"This is nothing," Ryuu said. "Yuui, you help Suikun. I'll take care of Sakaki."
"Right," she said, commanding her Eefi to come forward. "Come on, Eefi, let's help Suikun."
"Fuii!" he said, following her toward the legendary Pokemon.
"Not so fast!" Domino yelled, rushing at her with her long staff pointed forward. Yuui, gathering all of her strength, grabbed the end of the tulip with one hand as the Roketto Dan'in ran forward. Then, grabbing on with her other arm, she swung Domino around and threw her over the edge. A scream echoed over and over as she fell.
"Whew…" she sighed, relieved. Then, she immediately ran to Suikun, Eefi at her side.
"Eefi… I want you to use Morning Sun on this leg," she instructed, pointing to Suikun's front leg. The Eefi drew in a small amount of light from its surroundings and released it in the form of a golden beam upon the leg. Suikun sat calmly, letting the leg slowly heal. After a while, it stood up and shook its leg, standing firmly on it.
"Yay! You did it, Eefi!" she said, hugging her Pokemon. "Suikun, you're okay!!"
"That's good," Sakaki laughed. "Now Suikun will kindly come with me… or your friend will have an unfortunate fall…" Yuui looked to see that he was holding Ryuu tightly by the wrist, dangling him over the side of the platform. Perushian was holding Eefi down, the chest of the Psychic Pokemon slashed open and bleeding. Ryuu looked a bit dazed and scratched up himself.
"You wouldn't," Yuui spat, narrowing her eyes to glare at him. "If you do…"
"You'll what? Send another Eefi after my Perushian? I'm sure she'd love to kill another…"
"You're sick! Let Ryuu go!" she cried angrily.
Sakaki smiled. "If you say so," he said, letting go of his wrist. Ryuu dropped lifelessly down, hardly even screaming or flailing.
"NO!!!" Yuui shouted. Suddenly, Suikun bounded forward, taking the stairs ten at a time. It leapt out and caught Ryuu on its back, and carried him back up to Yuui.
"Wow," she said. Suikun dropped him at her feet, and slowly turned to face Sakaki. Without a second thought, it released a cold wave from its mouth, paralyzing him in place, and pushed him over the side, watching as he fell.
"What… just happened?" Ryuu asked, standing slowly to his feet. He looked around… the first thing he saw was his Eefi, laying there on the platform. He ran to it, staring at the huge gash in its chest. Yuui and her Eefi were also at her side.
"Eefi…" Ryuu stammered. "No…"
"I guess we were wrong," Yuui said. "They really did die… all of them, too." She looked up at her friends enclosed in the crystals, floating high above her. "Matsuba… Kasumi… all of them."
Yuui fought back tears, while Ryuu sobbed over his Eefi. Suikun stepped up to the top of the crystal structure, near where the crystals were.
"Don't worry about it," said a mystical, echoing voice. "Everything will be as it should."
"Suikun…" Yuui cried, wiping away a few tears. Suikun stared at her, and curled its lip up in a small smile. Then, the familiar bright flash lit up the room, blinding the two trainers. The pressure took them over almost immediately, and they blacked out…
Ryuu and Yuui woke minutes later to find themselves back in the Miraizou Gym… somehow they had ended up on the top of the highest diving platform. Ryuu got up first, and immediately looked to his Eefi… it looked totally unhurt. There was no trace of it ever being cut. He shook it lightly, and its eyes opened; it batted its long eyelashes and smiled at him. He hugged it without even saying a word, tears of joy flowing down his face. Then, he heard Yuui's joyful voice…
"Matsuba!" she cried as he ran at her and hugged her, holding her close.
"Yuui," he said. "I thought I'd lost you forever."
"I thought so too," she said. "I was so scared…"
"It's okay, Yuui, don't cry," he whispered, brushing away her tears. "I'm here."
Ryuu watched the touching scene, his eyes almost tearing themselves. He noticed the two Eefi, curled up in a corner nuzzling each other affectionately. And then… he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Kasumi stood behind him, wearing a cheerful smile.
"So I see I haven't been forgotten."
"Sumi-chan!" he yelled, hugging her so tightly that she couldn't even move. They shared a long kiss, and looked up to see Minaki and Matsuba reuniting.
"I've already made sure Takeshi and Satoshi are okay," she said. "They're around here somewhere…"
"Well, I'm just glad you're here," Ryuu said. "That was absolutely crazy."
"Sure was," Kasumi said. "I hope we never have to do that again."
Yuui nodded. "Same," she said.
"Hey guys, watch this!" Minaki said suddenly. He ran and took a flying leap off the platform, pulling off a perfect dive. "I'm not scared of the water anymore!"
"Crazy," Matsuba said. "I guess we all learned how to overcome our fears a little bit."
"Sure have," Ryuu exclaimed, suddenly jumping off of the platform and pulling Kasumi down with him. The two landed in the water, and immediately Kasumi surfaced and started chasing him around the pool.
"I'll get you for that, Kihou!" she exclaimed, splashing at him. Minaki sat on the edge of the pool, laughing, and Matsuba and Yuui stayed atop the platform to… catch up a bit. Satoshi and Takeshi… well, they were around there somewhere…