Crystal's Story

Have you ever been in so much pain, you felt like laughing? That's how I felt but I didn't think about it. I was too busy thinking about Emerald.

"Emerald! Emerald!" I yelled but he didn't stop. I never understood how one minute he would struggle to keep up to me and the next he was out running me.

Finally I caught up to him. I grabbed his shoulder and spun him around so fast that he fell back. He stared up at me and began crying ferociously. It wasn't until then that I realized I was crying.

"Emerald, why are you crying," I asked, even though I knew the answer.

He sniffled and wiped his face before talking, "Because you're cryin' cuz I burned you."

I looked at him and managed a weak smile. "Emerald I'm not crying cuz you burned me."

He looked up at me, "Then why are you crying?"

"Because you ran away from me."

"But I burned you. Aren't you mad at me?"

"How could I ever be mad at you, Rald," I said pulling him up from his position and hugging him. Slowly he reached his hand up and hugged me. "I'm sorry I made you cry Crystal," he muttered.

"That's okay Ken, you didn't mean to." I let him go and looked down at the ground. "Besides, it's time to show you my little secret."

He looked confused, "What's you little secret?"

I took a deep breath, preparing myself, but then, just as I held up my hand, I blacked out.

I woke up in a burning hot room. My face was on fire and it felt like my arms and legs were melting off of my body, like I was sitting right on the sun. The room kinda looked like the sun, really bright and pretty, very pretty. The sun's really bright and pretty, very pretty.

However, the tortuous room didn't allow me to think for long because a terrible high pitched scream started.

I shuttered at the sound. Horrible memories entered my head, memories of Emerald. A younger Emerald, same silky up-do of blonde, grass green eyes, but shorter with nearly invisible freckles across his nose. Night would come and the nightmares would start. He would scream with complete fear and cry and cry until I rocked him back to sleep.

Now, I was trying to rock myself to sleep because it couldn't be real. The screams weren't real; they stopped a year ago, the nightmares were over. But they weren't, I heard the screams and Emerald's nightmares, my nightmare, were being relived.

I was rocking myself to sleep because I had to be in a nightmare. The heat was reminding me of Emerald, fiery hearted, adorable, innocent little Emerald.

Fire erupted and enveloped me. Those nightmares Emerald had of fire monsters that burned him and me were coming to life. My fear began overtaking me.

No. My fears could not overtake me. I was too strong, much too strong. In fact, the fire felt good. It felt great. It felt nice, like ice. Mm, ice, cold ice. Snowy, delicious, freezing ice. Where are you? I don't know where.

Wait, I do know where. I have it; it goes throughout me, flows through my veins. If I concentrate, I can bring it out. If only the screaming stopped…

I couldn't wait. I focused and my hands glowed: blue, teal, white. White teal blue. Teal blue white. Those are pretty colors, very pretty, like the sun. The sun's really bright and pretty, very pretty.

I pressed my hand to my feverish head. Ahh, it felt good. The ice cooled me; it was making me regain my sanity, my very shaky sanity. Heat brings out my insanity. Can't you tell?

I held out my hands and walked, freezing everything in my path, even the door. I passed safely through the previously fiery door unharmed and walked back to Saggitario absentmindedly.

I trudged through the street and out of the corner of my eye I saw Melody Portavani.

"Hello Green," I said. She kept walking as if she didn't hear me.

"Hey, Green," I said again, "Hey, have you seen Emerald?"

She kept walking. I watched her until she went out of sight. Just then Yellow burst around the corner and ran into me. I hit the ground with a thud.

"Sorry," Yellow said quickly as she rushed to stand up.

"What's wrong, Yellow," I asked.

"The Satori has started."

"What?"

"In short, stuff's gonna go down and one of those things'll be Green if I don't help her."