Two years after Amber won the Indigo League and three since the disbandment of Team Rocket…

She was at it again-talking about taking on gyms of the Johto region. Silver couldn't keep up with her at times. Well to be honest with himself, he hardly ever could keep up with his best friend, Amber. She was known for being reckless, impulsive, and impatient, though as a teacher it made her shine even more. Class was never boring, to say in the least. Still, Silver wasn't sure he liked the idea of Amber wanting to leave the school already to take an adventure in a different region

True, he was supposed to graduate come that April, and he was certain she had some sort of scheme to get him to become the teacher in her absence. He would refuse; wherever she decided to go, he'd follow just to make certain she didn't do something she'd regret along the way. Amber was naïve even though she was slowly learning the ways of the world more and more every day. He was actually a bit younger than her, but he was definitely as mature if not more so. She liked to have fun, and he understood it, and a part of him always did have fun with her around, but he, being the person he grew up to be, was always a little too cautious for her liking and had been called a "buzz kill" on occasion.

Before Amber showed up in his life, Silver had no real human friends. No one wanted to hang around him, if not for his odd appearance with his bright red hair or deep crimson eyes and the always stern, menacing look on his face, then for his reputation that always preceded him wherever he went. Also, his voice was a bit harsh sounding, and that didn't help matters with him making friends, either. But still, his reputation of being Giovanni's son killed any chance left of making human friends or being accepted in social circles. He knew just about every tale the rumor mill spun, and most of them were about how he was in Team Rocket and was generally a criminal although that was as far from true as possible. But even then, with Amber, it was different. She ignored all of that completely. He was grateful for it, unbelievably grateful. Before she came into his life at the Indigo League, he had been a boring nobody. Amber opened up a whole new door of opportunities for him; she even managed to clear his name with all the publicity she earned, though it still did little to squelch the rumor mill all the way.

Yes, Amber really was special to him-his very best friend, the only human he could rely on and confide in without being discriminated against. Her only problem was that she bored easily and moved around quite often from topic to topic, hobby-to-hobby, unsure what she really wanted to do in life. After all, although they were getting older, neither were still adults, even though Amber would turn eighteen and legally an adult in just a few more months. He couldn't believe it already had been that long since he first met her; then again, he couldn't believe it hadn't been longer. Although their current friendship started at the league, it at least felt like to Silver that they had been friends for almost a lifetime.

"Are you listening to me, Silv?" she startled him out of his thoughts as she looked at him expectantly. Her azure eyes were practically boring into his skull as she sat on the neighboring sofa, chin propped on her left hand, learning towards him in his chair. The only light in the room was that of the circular fireplace, which roared with warmth and light on the winter's night. The schoolhouse was just about empty thanks to the season.

"Sorry. I'm sorta spaced out right now," he admitted a little sheepishly. He had no clue what the hell she had just told him, and he had a feeling he might regret it later that he blanked out on her.

"Pretty early for you to be getting tired. But, I guess I'll let you go to bed," she seemed a bit disappointed in his feigned sleepiness, and he felt somewhat guilty if he'd oblige.

"Nah, it's alright. What time is it anyway?" He wasn't the type to wear a watch, and from his angle, the clock on the wall was out of view.

"9:30 according to that thing. Like I said: early," she somewhat teased as she glanced at the clock behind him.

"Hmph, that's not early for some people, you know. Normal people go to bed around this time," he joked back. He and Amber always joked around with each other. To some, it might have seemed like they were always fighting, but they knew better; they communicated well that way. Others thought it was flirting, and others still called it a farce meaning that neither was comfortable with the other. He and Amber just let them think whatever because deep down, both knew mutually it was just two good friends having a fun conversation. They kept each other's wits sharp, which was a good thing.

"Define normal, if you don't mind." She grinned at him.

"Definitely not either of us," he smirked back.

"Well, if that's the case, I don't care about normal since it doesn't pertain to us," she stated with finality.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really. I mean it's not like anyone else is stuck in here anyway. Everyone else left before the blizzard came in, and we don't have any plans for tomorrow…Speaking of, we need firewood. I think I might go out and get some tomorrow.

"You think it'll be clear enough to do that? I mean, you don't even have Charry with you anymore." It had been a pretty bad February on the foothills of Mr. Silver, the mountain for which he was named and also the founding place of Team Rocket. Amber thought it ironic to build a schoolhouse there, and so she did-on the Kanto side of Mt. Silver.

The previous November, Amber let her first ever Pokémon, a fierce female Charizard, go into the wild for training in a secret location only known to wild Charizard as well as the overseer of the place who made very few exceptions for tame Charizard. The fact Amber let Charry go in itself astonished Silver; those two were as close as sisters, but after really hard thinking, Amber decided it best that Charry go out and improve herself further so she can fulfill her own dreams. Granted, Charry was welcome back at any time, and Amber awaited the day her Charizard would return satisfied from being one of the toughest of her species. But, he guessed it would be a long time before the large dragon-like flame lizard ever returned; Charizard were notorious for their will to battle stronger opponents. Most had large egos, and thus, they as a species usually tried to improve themselves constantly. Charry was no exception.

At the schoolhouse, Charry was on her best behavior, but Amber could tell her beloved Pokémon was not getting the proper attention she deserved nor the rigorous training she needed to remain undefeated. And so, Amber did what was best. Amber usually was pretty selfless, up to a huge fault-she'd put her life on the line for just about anyone, even if she didn't know whomever she was saving. It was her fatal flaw, by certain. He guessed it was her good nature that really drew him in the most. She was a sweet-natured person, even with her faults. And in turn, she knew his faults as well: mainly his dislike for other people thanks to all of the scorn he had to deal with most of his life.

"You forget I have other Pokémon, don't you?" she asked wryly.

He sighed, "No, but I'm just saying. You don't have your trump card any more. Charry had been undefeated for years; can you say that about any of your other Pokémon?"

"I'll have you know that Repede, Blitz, Gallop, Kaiser, and Speck all have a pretty good track record, too!" Amber always referred to her Pokémon by their nicknames. She always treated them as if they were people; Silver liked that about her, too. For the longest time, his own Pokémon was the only person in his life who was there for him.

"Whatever. Just let me know when you go. Sneasel and I will help too; that way maybe we won't run out as fast."

She gave him a faux glare, "And now you're calling us incompetent?" She feigned surprise.

"I'm just saying that teamwork comes in handy. Didn't you teach me that yourself?"

"Ah, touché, my friend," she grinned. "I was just testing you. Looks like you really pay attention to what I teach you, Mr. Top Student." She loved to rub that pet name in his face from time to time, and it embarrassed him. He knew that deep down, she was pretty proud that he was her best student, and that it was an unbiased opinion.

"You're always testing me," he teased back.

"Well, as I was saying earlier, someone's got to take over the school when I'm gone."

"And who says I won't be going with you?" he didn't mean to, but he knew he was tensing up. He hated this subject the most.

She smirked, "We'll see when the time comes, alright? Who knows, you might have a flare for teaching that you don't yet realize! I know a lot of people could use you as an example."

"Example?"

"As in being a skilled trainer, actually paying attention in class, and not to mention being a damn good friend," she grinned.

Her compliments just about made him want to blush from embarrassment; before Amber came around, he never was given a compliment, and even to that day being praised by someone made him feel a bit uncomfortable. She was picking on him, but she was doing it in the form of compliments. True compliments were hard to come by from Amber as a teacher; hell, she complimented her Pokémon more than her students as she was pretty critical, but it made her a pretty good teacher being able to point out flaws and ways around them.

"Quit picking on me!" He grinned slightly.

Her expression turned serious, which surprised him. "I'm not picking on you this time, Silv. Sheesh. Can't a girl be serious once in a while with her compliments? I meant what I said completely! You might have what it takes to take over the teaching business when the time comes."

"Well, like you said, when the time comes…" he ended the subject there. He didn't want to accept the possibility of her leaving him behind at all. He watched her back now, and he'd watch it then, too. They were a team, and he wasn't going to just let her run away from him…again. Though he did wonder at times if she was tired of him, too. It seemed more and more lately she had been trying to distance herself from him. It was subtle, but he knew it to be the case; he knew Amber well.

"What's got you down?" she could read him pretty well, too.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. I guess I'll go ahead and get some sleep. I feel like being normal tonight," he decided.

"Oh, well. Night then. Sleep well, Silv. Hope you feel better in the morning," she gave him a small smile. He couldn't tell what was up with her, but the smile she gave him didn't look right.

"Thanks. Night, Amb," he dismissed the smile and began to trudge his way out of the common's area that they were in and into the living quarters to his room. Other trainers came and went as they pleased, but he permanently resided there with Amber though they literally lived on different ends of the house. She had her own room in the teacher's study. Though, since they technically lived together, Amber's father loved to pick on him and call him Amber's boyfriend. He just let the comment slide since his liked Amber's dad and thought him to be a pretty cool guy. Besides, he was a boy and a friend, so in all technicalities…but in any case, as long as he and Amber were close friends, he was fine enough.

"Oh yeah, Silv!" she caught up to him and got his attention.

"Yeah?" he didn't turn around to face her.

"Tomorrow morning I suggest you go ahead and get some training with Sneasel done. After school starts up again, I'll be giving finals, which will be battles. The top student gets completely qualified for the next Indigo League Tourney, and I'm sure you guys want to be in peak performance. I heard that the Ghost-type Misdreavus will be around while it's still dark out. It's your choice, though. But, if you do wanna go, my Pidgeot is on the table in his ball. Well, anyway, night," she walked off again.

He had forgotten about the finals that were approaching. Since Amber's school was accredited, she could allow one trainer to become eligible to enter the next Indigo League without winning any badges. But still, he kind of didn't want to wake up early and do training, which made him groan a little to himself. Sometimes, Amber did ask a bit much of him, but he took it in stride since in the end, she usually was looking out for him, and he didn't mind taking orders from her as long as he benefited. And so, Silver slid into bed, set his alarm for four in the morning, and was sleeping by ten.

The alarm's buzzer bored into his consciousness as he came to. He stretched, certain not to wake the Pokémon sleeping as his feet, Sneasel. He got dressed quickly in the dark room into the warmest clothes he had in reach, grabbed his favorite jacket, and slipped on some warm enough shoes. He suppressed a yawn as he walked from his room passed the guest rooms and into the common's area. He was surprised to see that Amber wasn't yet awake. Curious to see if she was even stirring yet, he slipped passed the common's area noiselessly and went to Amber's room.

He stood in the doorway of Amber's bedroom; from what he could tell, she was still fast asleep—a real rarity for her. For some reason, it was quite normal to see Amber awake by four in the morning on any given day. She always woke early and went to bed late; it was a rarity to see her asleep at all. That girl thrived on little sleep, and when he confronted her about it once, she simply told him she'd sleep when she was dead.

He grinned a little at the peaceful figure of his mentor and closest friend as she breathed deeply inward and exhaled in deep slumber. He dared not to enter closer to let her know he was leaving; he'd no doubt wake her if she were to sense his presence. If she wanted to sleep in while he took her advice, then he had no issue with that. He somewhat wished she'd sleep in more, actually; it'd be better for her health, even though the lack of sleep didn't seem to affect her like it would a normal person. She never showed signs of fatigue for some reason.

He gently closed the door without a sound, as to allow her to sleep peacefully without the cold in the house seeping into the room as quickly. She normally slept with her Pokémon, so he wasn't worried about her being too cold, but still he knew how she hated the cold. After that, he trudged down the narrow hallway which split into four directions: the north wing of the house, which was Amber's place, the south wing which was his and the guest rooms, the east which was the common's area or their living room which led to the classrooms, and the west which contained the kitchen and dining areas.

He went westward and looked at his feet to see his Pokémon partner was awake and yawning. He could tell his trusty sidekick was not too enthused about waking up this early, being the nocturnal Pokémon he was. But Sneasel listened to Silver obediently with no protest. Sneasel had been with Silver ever since Silver was just a little boy; Sneasel, being originally captured from Mt. Silver, was given to Silver as the only birthday present ever from his father, Lord Giovanni. Silver knew his father didn't care too much for him since he almost never spent time with his only child, but at least Sneasel was always there. Silver practically considered the Pokémon his brother, the way they grew up together and took care of one another.

Another thing they had in common were their bad reputations. Sneasel as a species were known for being violent, dangerous Pokémon. They were Dark and Ice dual types; his Sneasel was very competent with his elemental attacks, and he was very fierce in battle, but that was the end of that. Silver's Sneasel was a pretty kindhearted Pokémon who always looked out for his friends, especially his trainer. He always listened to Silver obediently, never faltering to try his hardest for his human friend; the little Pokémon had a very big heart to go with his sometimes-big attitude.

Sneasel stood about to Silver's knees, being the bipedal creature he was. The feather sprouting out of his right ear was almost as red as Silver's hair, and it had a white base; it felt just like plumage from a bird. The small, golden, ovular charm on Sneasel's forehead reflected with any light that shined on it, and it was well-polished, and the pokemon's red eyes were just as deep as his trainer's. His small mouth contained quite a number of sharp teeth, and two top fangs always slightly protruded even with his mouth closed. To go with those fangs were extremely sharp retractable claws on his front paws. They were long and reminded Silver of daggers, which could be sheathed and usually were sheathed when Sneasel was not in battle. On Sneasel's hind legs were shorter claws, but they were just as sharp. Sticking out of the pokemon's rump were three more of those feathers, which somehow helped the bipedal creature maintain his balance. And matching the ovular charm on his head was another ovular charm on his chest, right below his neck, which shown brilliantly in just about any lighting.

Silver looked up from his Pokémon to the table where the pokeball Amber had mentioned was waiting for him. Amber must have somehow known the blizzard conditions were over, since he looked out the window and sure enough, the moon was out and shining brightly on the white blanket of snow outside. The large bird inside of the pokeball would have no trouble at all flying him up the mountain near the summit of its vast terrain. He noted that the figure inside of the semi-transparent red top was resting fitfully, head partially out of its wing.

After double-checking to make certain he had everything he needed, he opened the front door of the schoolhouse and shuddered as a cold breeze wafted inside. He always found it a little ironic how his only Pokémon was an Ice-type when he despised the cold even more so than Amber. At least Sneasel jumped gleefully into the crunchy, ankle-deep snow. It seemed to energize the little guy. Silver grinned slightly at his pokemon's enthusiasm before recalling him to his own pokeball for the flight.

Silver then called Amber's Pidgeot from the pokeball. The bird appeared with a loud, startled shriek, apparently not expecting to feel cold air during its nap. It ruffled its feathers and hopped in the snow as Silver apologized to it and asked for a ride. Amber often let Silver borrow this Pidgeot, as it was the fastest way up the mountain. It was Amber's most dependable flier, being able to not only reach speeds up to Mach Two, but also to fly over a mile high in the air with very little problems. Silver would have questioned those statements, but seeming how Amber proved both of those to him while riding the thing, he believed that the Pidgeot would definitely get the job done.

That certain Pidgeot was special compared to most Pidgeot, in addition to being able to fly crazily fast and incredibly high. That Pidgeot had red and blue feathers rather than the standard beige. It was only on the pokemon's head feathers, which reminded Silver of hair for the bird, but it was still there. And, the pokemon's tail feathers were all a navy blue as well. Amber took pride in her Pidgeot, it being one of the first Pokémon she ever captured.

Without further delay, Silver climbed onto the giant bird's back; it was almost as large as him with an incredibly large wingspan, so it had very little problem carrying human passengers; it actually liked the task. Once securely on the pokemon's back, the bird kicked off the snow-covered earth and before long, the schoolhouse was nothing more than a speck among the blanket of snow, which encased the ground in the typical Mid-February winter near the mountain. Luckily, it still wasn't snowing, and Silver was certain it'd be a clear day as soon as the sun rose. Within ten to fifteen minutes, Silver had reached his destination on the mountain as Pidgeot let him off on a rock.

The thin, cold air made it a bit difficult to breathe at first, and the bird itself was panting for breath, its hot lungs producing smoke in the air. Silver thanked it as he recalled it back to its ball for a needed rest. It wasn't like he was going to be getting down soon anyway; the mountain for which Silver had been named was the tallest in the two regions. It was the mountain for which the Silver Mountain Range had been named, and it was definitely the vastest one. It was also at the border of the Kanto and Johto regions. Pidgeot managed to place Silver about one-third of the way up, from what he could guess. He heard a rumor that at the top of the mountain was diamond dust; it was so high and cold.

Silver let Sneasel back out as he figured that his current location was a great place to start training. There were still a few trees sprinkled across the landscape, so there had to be Pokémon about; Mt. Silver had a reputation of housing some of the strongest wild Pokémon in the region. Even Amber was cautious of the Pokémon who called the mountain home. Years ago, when Silver and Sneasel actually lived in a cabin on the mountain, they had many an incident with those Pokémon in which they had to fight to protect their home.

As they searched for life, they eventually found opponents-and plenty of them. The day's first opponent was a rather sturdy-looking Steelix, which seemed to not mind the cold air at all, despite it having a natural disadvantage against the cold, being a Ground-type. The colossal iron snake pokemon's steel body made battling a tricky business, since most of Sneasel's attacks were physical and his claws were ineffective. The battle itself lasted for quite some time; Steelix were always annoying opponents as they almost never refused to back down, especially on their own territory. They were pretty aggressive Pokemon as a species, who loved to bully smaller opponents, and Silver had to be honest with himself, there were very few living things bigger than a fully-grown Steelix. Still, after a battle that tested both trainer and pokemon's teamwork, the Steelix decided it was no match for Sneasel and the battle was won as it burrowed underground to escape.

The adrenaline going strong in his body, Silver and his Pokémon searched for their next opponent, walking towards the Johto side of the mountain. Silver managed to find a wild Misdreavus as his next opponent, just as Amber suggested. The Ghost-type was small, billowy like a dark cloud, and had red orbs around its lower portion. It liked to shriek at high pitches, which annoyed the hell out of Silver since it was a tactic used to scare them, and it made his ears hurt. Sneasel easily defeated it by having the type advantage.

By the time the battle was over, though, Silver could clearly make out the sun on the horizon. It must have already been over two hours since their arrival on the mountain, putting it at a little past six in the morning. He decided it was time for a light breakfast, so both sat down and ate a hastily packed meal. After devouring a sandwich or two, the duo continued their search for opponents; by then the sun was clearly up.

Silver was certain Amber was awake by then; he hoped that maybe if he did enough training, she'd cut him some slack or give him some extra credit in class, not like he really needed it. Besides, Amber hardly ever believed in giving just one of her students extra credit; she was fair like that. That and he was on break anyway, so he guessed maybe it didn't count.

The morning continued onward, and Silver and Sneasel fought an array of four more Pokémon. They decided to once again take a little break. Silver was pretty proud of Sneasel; he had gotten much stronger since Amber began teaching them battle methods. Sneasel was a good student as well since he observed everything and learned it easily. The sun was high in the sky, signaling it to be already nearing noon— probably only a few hours away. Even though it was cold, the adrenaline from the battles kept Silver feeling warm. Getting up, Silver gazed out into the Kanto direction to see nothing by clouds around him. He took a deep breath before getting ready to resume battling. By the end of his next battle, he realized that the clouds on the Kanto side were turning a bit too gray for his liking.

He quietly wondered if maybe the weather was suddenly changing. He really wished it would stay a clear day. A gust of wind whipped at him and chilled him to the bone despite his clothes. With it came the pleasant aroma of burning wood. He was surprised he could smell that as far up as he was, but he guessed maybe stubborn Amber had gotten firewood without him. The scent relaxed him and filled him with nostalgia as Silver continued his quest to find more opponents.

Eventually, after more battles, Silver trudged back towards where Pidgeot dropped him off on the Kanto side. The smell, which he had by then ignored, became stronger as he walked. He wondered why the hell he smelled the fireplace from up there, but he just shrugged it off as it being from the crisp day that it was. Silver walked at a leisurely pace, rather happy with the amount of training they had accomplished. He was considering wrapping things up for the day and letting Amber know that he finished training. Sneasel suddenly snapped him out of his train of thought as the little Pokémon scurried past him and out of sight.

Startled, Silver yelled, "Hey, where are you going in such a rush?" He felt somewhat amused that his Pokémon still has so much energy.

"Snee!" cried the Pokémon sharply after a few minutes of silence. Silver hadn't heard that tone of voice in a very long time; it was harsh, almost screech-like, and he detected a trace of fear in his pokemon's voice. The very sound immediately caught Silver off guard, causing him to freeze to the spot before Sneasel ran back to him and tugged on the hem of his trainer's pants, urging him to follow.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming. What's up?" he replied, trying to regain his composure. Maybe Sneasel just saw another trainer on the mountain or something. Maybe Sneasel caught a glimpse of Team Rocket, although Silver hoped desperately that wasn't the case. The Pokémon managed to unglue Silver's feet at least as Silver quickened his pace to see what Sneasel seemed so worried about. As he continued onward, slowly de-scaling the mountain as he went, he noticed the smell of smoke grew to a point where it was too strong to be pleasant any longer. Ahead loomed an ominously dark cloud, which they climbed beneath as they continued. Once under the cloud, Silver made out a trail of smoke reaching off into the heavens and a flickering accompanied by the crackle of a blazing flame from the ground.

As Silver got a better view of his schoolhouse by changing angles, his heart plummeted as the sight of the blazing building confirmed Sneasel's tone. "Shit!" he yelled, unsure what to do. He knew he shouldn't have built the house out of wood…Silver normally didn't curse, but the sight of the house going up in smoke completely caught him off guard. He automatically let out Pidgeot, jumped on the bird's back while Sneasel jumped onto his shoulder, and the three plummeted to the ground below as fast as sanely possible.

The bird gave a shriek as it realized how pressing the situation was and sped up its pace beyond the safe level of descent from their altitude. "That's right, hurry!" Silver urged the bird onward, knowing that if Amber were watching their stunt, she'd commend him on finally being as crazy as her. Within minutes, Pidgeot was close enough to the ground for Silver and Sneasel to jump and roll in landing while allowing Silver to recall the bird before it crashed beak-first into the snow. Silver's stomach was not feeling so well with the fast descent, but his nerves were worse.

If anything, at least Silver understood the tone of Sneasel's voice now. When they were young, Silver almost died in a house fire while his mother was away. If Sneasel hadn't been there, Silver would have been dead. Sneasel, being an Ice-type who was naturally not too enthused about fire, was deathly afraid of the stuff since he had sustained very major burns from saving his young master's life.

As soon as they hit the ground and came to a stop, the two began to cough as the grayish-black smoke poured out of the remainder of the schoolhouse. The fire had to have been going for quite some time, at least an hour or so already with it being a large house and all. Silver tried his best to keep his eyes open even though the smoke stung them and made them water. He was dangerously close to such a hot blaze, and he felt it sear his skin as if he were being sun burnt. All of the snow around the house had been melted, and the dead grass was burnt up as well. A vibrant orange flame with a blue center was licking away at the shattered window of the classroom at the center of the building.

Sneasel shrunk away in terror while Silver tried his best to survey the damage. All of his hard work was going up in smoke before his eyes. He had worked so hard on building that schoolhouse for Amber. Using his own experience and some workers, he had made the house for his friend who at the time he thought would never be able to walk again, thanks to an incident where she saved his life from a cave-in on Mt. Silver. He could only wonder what was going through Amber's mind as he was certain she was watching from the other side. The bad part about living so out of the way was how help usually arrived when it was too late, and the house at the point was pretty much no longer salvageable.

He backed away so he could breathe easier as he began to look for Amber. At least they could get through it together; perhaps they could live at her parents' place until they rebuilt. He had no worries that she didn't make it out all right. He didn't want to even consider the possibility of her still being inside; Amber may have been rash enough to try and save a few things maybe, but she knew more than most about fire, seeming how it was her favorite type of Pokémon and all. She'd be all right; he had no doubts about that. He figured he'd start out towards the other end of the building, where he figured she was surveying damage. The smoke and flames made visibility around the building too hard to tell.

Still, he needed to meet up with her; he needed to make certain she was all right. If she were burnt, he'd have to get her to a hospital immediately, no doubt. He rushed to the other side of the building, lungs screaming at the horrible smoke filled air he forced inside. Where he expected to see Amber, there was only empty space. Inside his head, the question, "Where's Amber?!" began to replay over and over as he rushed around the building once more just to make certain he didn't miss her somewhere. Maybe she was walking around the building right as he rounded the corner, or so he hoped.

Bad scenarios began to play in the back of his mind as he went round and round, calling for her. The images in the back of his mind played over and over like a reel in a movie theater as he realized that she was not around the building. Still, he absolutely had to believe nothing bad happened to her. It was plausible she already left to get help. That was very likely, after all. Who else would get the fire department, right? He did his best to convince himself that worrying wouldn't help anyone; that she could take care of herself. Still, "Sneasel!" he ended up calling his Pokémon to him.

Timid, but obviously worried, the Pokémon ran to his side, "Snee?" His voice was high-pitched, showing his terror of the uncontrollable flame.

"Find Amber! We have to find her! Track down her scent if you can!" Silver was still trying and failing to keep his cool, and he couldn't erase the bad feeling he had in his gut. He wished he could just wake up right there, as certainly this had to have been a nightmare.

"Snee!" replied the Pokémon with zest as he took off to the trees, scanning the nearby area.

Five minutes passed; it felt like an eternity and a second all in one, and both returned without Amber or a trace of her. With a voice even he couldn't recognize, Silver surprised himself by saying aloud, "She's still inside…I can just feel it." He said it quietly, but he knew Sneasel heard him over the roar of the flames. Determination swept over Silver. "We have to save her! Maybe she's trapped. Maybe we still have a chance!" Silver stated fiercely as he balled his fists.

He approached the flames, which were consuming his own room by then as he dared to go closer than he was comfortable. He tried his hardest to wonder where she would be if she were still inside. If maybe she were in his room…it was the only room left that wasn't yet decimated. Unsure what to do, it took his self-control to keep himself from flinging himself into the burning building. Maybe Amber had gone for help, and Sneasel just couldn't smell anything because of the smoke.

He began to frantically call out her name, hoping it'd reach her over the roar of the flames if she were still inside. He worked his way around the building until he reached her room. Smoke still poured out of it, but it seemed like the damage was just about over. The walls looked brittle, as they seemed to be nothing more than charcoal of what was left, anyway. He realized with an even more sinking feeling that this was it; the fire was started in her room. He even noticed that her window, though shattered and melted, appeared to have been open. "Amber, can you hear me?!" he yelled into the smoke that poured out of her room.

He inhaled the black fumes, coughed, and then tried again. There was no answer but the sound of crackling flames. With his heart near bursting, he turned to Sneasel. "We need to put out this fire!" He then let Pidgeot out of the pokeball. "Go get help!" he commanded as the bird left knowing what needed to be done. It was just he and Sneasel at the burning building.

Silver turned to Sneasel, "Okay, try your Icy Wind. Maybe the cold air will help smother the flames!" Silver knew it was a long shot, but he had to do something.

Sneasel complied, but the cold wind only seemed to infuriate the flames even further, causing them to spread as a room caught fire again.

"No good. Try again!" We need to get Amber out of there!" Sneasel tried again, but the flames were only turning more violent.

The two refused to give up, even though they were doing more harm than good. Eventually, the fire department did arrive with a squad of heavy-duty Water-type Pokémon. By then, most of the schoolhouse was little more than a frame with a ton of smoke pouring out.

The firefighters commanded the Pokemon-Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise-to use their water attacks as a group to kill the flames. With the water pressure from the Blastoises' canons, the walls of Amber's room crumbled away inside. Unable to stand by and watch any longer, Silver yelled at the firemen, "My friend's still inside of there, damn it!" He rushed over to Amber's bedroom, calling out for her, hoping somehow he'd get a response.

He still had hope; he couldn't-he refused-to believe that she was claimed by the inferno. After all, she was the fire-type specialist. He already was certain it wasn't her who started the fire, even if it did come from her room. He approached the room, scared but determined as he stepped through a crumbled wall.

"Hey, kid! Come back here! It's dangerous! We'll find your friend, just let us stop the fire first!" some man yelled, but Silver didn't quite comprehend him, so he ignored him.

Silver began to comb the charred debris of the room, starting from where the outer walls caved in. Everything of hers was utterly burned, and even though the water had cooled off the floor and whatnot, he still felt pressing heat. In the back of his mind, he also subconsciously worried about her Pokémon. He wondered if the fire claimed them, though he hoped otherwise. After more searching, a horrible, unfamiliar stench reached his lungs. His nose at first completely bypassed the scent, but his lungs almost rejected the air they breathed as it reached them. He was certain that after the first inhalation of that, he was no longer breathing, but he didn't concern himself too much with that at the moment, anyway. He had dropped down to his hands and knees to sift through debris as the smell, which lingered in his body even after exhaling, made him want to faint and vomit.

A few feet away from him under a slab of burned plywood was an ominously black object. It was the cause of the stench; he didn't know what to make of it at first. His mind was surprisingly blank, not registering whatever the grotesque object was in front of him. The only things he was focusing on were breathing and not collapsing on the spot. In his heart, which plummeted to his stomach, he knew the object was something that would change his life forever, but his head didn't want to comprehend what it was. Surely, it was just a nightmare and he'd wake up at any time, after all.

Silver closed his eyes and tried to rid himself of the scene in front of him and the horrible smell; it was his first encounter with the scent of charred human remains. In that instant, it all clicked, and he had a moment of pure comprehension. The object was all that remained of whomever was once alive. He begrudgingly looked at the object again to make out features he had once overlooked. The most obvious was that the part closest to him had once been possibly a head; the rest of the body was buried under the wall, but the head was looking straight up at him, at least if it still had eyes it would have been.

Silver was still conscious, but his mind blanked out again from there on out. It was as if he were watching things as merely an observer, not someone actively involved in the scene before him. He was certain at some point he screamed something, but maybe it was just his mind playing a trick on him. He didn't recognize the voice that screamed, more or less. He could feel foreign objects on his face, tears that rolled down freely on his cold cheeks, though he didn't remember allowing himself to cry; Silver never cried.

A firm pressure on his shoulder clamped down on him; it turned out to be the firefighter who warned him not to run into the building. "Let's go, son. There's nothing we can do for your friend now." The man dragged Silver to his feet. Silver practically had to be carried away he was so numb.

"Amber…" he managed to mumble, as though just saying her name would return the flesh on her corpse and the air to her charred lungs, as if speaking her name would lift this curse and allow her to materialize out of thin air. Like it would cause him to wake from the nightmare he suddenly found himself living. He didn't even care if he found himself back on the mountainside. Things seemed so much more real only a few hours before.

As he and the man exited the room, the remaining wall came crumbling down from where they previously stood. The wall buried the charred face of Silver's former best friend. He couldn't see her face any more, but the smell was still there, and more so, when he closed his eyes the second time, it loomed brightly on his conscience.

He vaguely watched as workers put the rest of the house out, an ambulance arrived, and the body was retrieved. He rode back somehow to Viridian City. He didn't know how he got back, but it took hours. There were hours of time where he had blacked himself out while still being awake.

Somewhere, on the border of the nearby woods, yet far enough to be undetected, a lone girl watched from the back of her giant dog, Repede. She hugged the dog tightly as the scream of her ex-best friend reached her ears. She didn't even know a human could make that sound, much less Silver. She grimaced as she directed the Arcanine away from the scene of her own crime, from her former life. With her work done, the girl now known as Wolfe rode out while silently saying goodbye to her former life as Amber for the last time.

Author's Notes:

First and foremost, thank you if you actually read this! Here's the second part to my Pokemon fanfiction. So this chapter is one of the reasons this fanfic is rated Teen.

So yeah, here's the intro to my portrayal of the character, Silver. He is totally owned my Nintendo, though his spin on his personality is more of my creation. I tend to prefer the manga version of him over the "rival" version in the video games. He's going to be a pretty major character in my fanfic, so just putting that out there. Also introduced is my main character OC. Don't worry, you'll see MUCH more of her later; after all, this story is mostly about her.

Copyright stuff: I don't own pokemon or any of the characters portrayed in this writing (minus Amber).

Also, for those wondering which pokemon Amber was refering to earlier by nickname: Repede = Arcanine, Kaiser = Marowak. Speck = shiny Lapras, Blitz = Jolteon, Gallop = Rapidash. I will be adding a character bio for Wolfe I, and they shall be all added in there if you'd like to read further about them (as all but Repede are actually major characters in this portion of the fic). And that bio shall be on my deviantART. Just see my profile if you want to look it up.

Questions, concerns? Feel free to review or even PM me if you'd like. I don't plan on changing much if anything, but I do appreciate feedback as long as you don't flame me. Once again, I wrote this about 4 years ago...soo yeah. My apologies if someone may feel like it's too long. If you have problems with long stuff...I don't really recommend this fic since most chapters are around that length, though there are quite a few that are shorter/longer.

Oh, and the ****** means a passage of time and - means a bit of a point of view change, just to clarify. And I guess that's it! Enjoy!