The Forever Trilogy: The Restored Files


~NEVERMORE~


Chapter 9: The Yellow Admin


TOPAZ


Tuesday, November 19th, 4998.


BOOM!

The entire hovercraft shook, rattling us. I was nearly knocked off my seat by the jolt. There were startled gasps and panicked looks throughout. We all exchanged glances.

"Wh-What was that?" Rubin whimpered.

"...I think we were hit," Chase muttered, standing up. "Hang on, I'll-"

BOOM!

We were struck again, but this time so hard that we all fell into the pathway. There were screams from the other cadets. I realized the hovercraft was beginning to angle downwards, like we were going to crash. The entire compartment began to shake violently as our speed began to increase. All we could do was hang onto something so we wouldn't bang against the walls and floor.

"What's going on?!" Pink shrieked.

"Calm down!" Chase told her firmly. "We're going to get out of this alive. I promise."

She just stared at him for a moment, eyes wide, before nodding. "R-Right."

Scarlet, however did not look pleased. "Okay, but how? We're crashing!"

"We're going to die!" Rubin wailed, latching onto his sister. "I knew the president was out to get us!"

"Hey! Get off of me!"

"I knew something wasn't right," Gold muttered. "Look, I got an idea, but we need fliers and really strong pokémon."

"And we have both," Chase replied. "What's the plan?"

"Well-"

It was too late.

The hovercraft lurched. I was pretty sure it just landed face first into the dirt. Screams resonated around us, fire exploding as part of the wall was ripped off. Some cadets were thrown from the vehicle, sent into the unknown. I was knocked into Gold, sending him flailing back flat on his back, and bringing me with me.

"Agh—you okay?!"

Fuck, of all people to end up in a compromising position with, it had to be Gold Jin. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment, and without responding, I rolled off of him. I really did not need this right now.

"I'm fine."

"Is everyone okay?!" I heard Scarlet call.

But before anyone could respond, something began to cut into the side of the hovercraft that had not been damaged. Sparks flew as the spinning blade sunk deeper and deeper into the dark metal. There were screams as the rest of the squad started scrambling towards the hole to escape. The only ones who didn't move were myself and my friends.

"No!" Chase exclaimed, eyes wide. "It's probably a trap-"

As soon as they got out of the hovercraft, we heard their bloodcurdling screams. We all exchanged horrified looks. This... This whole mission... was just a big trap, wasn't it? And we had fallen for it. Unless... this was on purpose... to test us?

"Oh my Arceus," Rubin breathed; I had never seen such a devastated look on his face. "We're all going to die, aren't we?"

"Not on my watch," Scarlet retorted, hopping to her feet and pulling out a poké ball. "Chari! Stop that blade!"

A charizard appeared, somehow managing to fit into the confined space. It latched onto the spinning blade with its claws, stopping the weapon dead in its tracks. Then flames filled its jaws, and shot outwards, melting the blade and blasting another hole right through the trashed hovercraft.

"Move!" Chase barked, taking out his own poké ball.

We all scrambled to our feet and rushed out of the hovercraft. All I heard was Rubin and Jade's screams. I would have tripped over something and fallen flat on my face if Gold hadn't conveniently been then to catch me. Ugh, why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it be someone else, like Rubin?

...Forget I said that.

"Flax?!" Vera gasped out of nowhere.

Wait, what?

"Why so surprised, Vera?" the guy laughed, the pikachu perched on his shoulder smirking deviously.

He had to be sixteen or seventeen, and was really fucking tall, though not quite as tall as Am. He had wildly curly pale blonde hair, lightly tanned skin, and icy blue eyes. He was really hot, but something about him unnerved me. And he was familiar too... like I had met him before. Damn, why did this keep on happening? I was getting real tired of this déjà vu shit.

Chase raised an eyebrow, looking over at Vera. "You know him?"

Her face flushed. "W-We grew up together..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he drawled, waving us all off. "Bolt and I are here on business. Something about silly rebels trying to undermine the Government."

Raiden suddenly released himself from his poké ball with a vicious growl, and leaped up onto my shoulder. This drew the stranger's attention over to me. I stiffened, scowling at him. What was with this guy?!

Gold narrowed his eyes. "Wait... I know you. You're—You're Flax Ama. You work for the President." His gaze flickered over to the pikachu. "Then why the hell do you have a pokémon?"

Flax laughed. "You honestly think Synis truly wants humans and pokémon separated? That's a bunch of bullshit and you know it. The only loser who really believed that shit was N Harmonia. And even Team Plasma was a big farce."

Gold scowled, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "I always had a feeling."

"Same." Chase did not look pleased. "Look, Flax, it's nothing personal—but you're going down."

He laughed. "You think you can beat me?"

"Of course he can!" Pink abruptly exclaimed, taking a step forward, her hands clenched into fists. "Chase is the strongest out of all of us! He can fucking wipe the floor with you, asshole!"

His cold gaze flickered down on her. "Ha. You lot are really amusing. Call me entertained."

"...Chase," Gold said, the serious I had ever seen him. "I'll handle this."

My friend gave him a surprised look. "Huh? You sure?"

"Yep." Gold scowled, determination burning in his eyes. "I'm not the descendant of Gold Kimu for nothin'."

Chase pursed his lips, but nodded. "All right. Everyone, move out!"


I had no idea where we were supposed to be going. I had no idea what we were supposed to be doing. Were we supposed to be going on with the mission even though it had been compromised? Nobody was being clear. Unless... this was just one big... test.

"I really don't think this is a good idea," I muttered.

Vera turned to look at me. "What do you mean, Topaz?"

In all the chaos, Plato had decided to go with Jade and Pink, leaving Rubin behind with Vera and me. The poor kid was on the verge of a panic attack, and Lady, his poochyena, was doing her best to comfort him and to calm him down.

"Leaving Gold all by himself with that Government asshole!" I exclaimed with a scowl. "We have no idea what that Flax guy is even capable of."

"But... But what can we do?" Rubin stammered. "He's probably way stronger than us... And Chase believes he can do it!"

Suddenly, Vera smirked playfully. "Oh, just admit it, Topaz~! You're worried about him."

"What? Don't be stupid-"

"Then why are you soooo concerned about his safety?"

"He's a comrade! Of course I'm concerned!" I retorted.

Vera sighed, and shook her head. "The denial is strong in this one."

"Ugh! This is so irrelevant right now!" I crossed my arms over my chest. "Look, I don't know about you, but I'm not about to sit here like Chase told us to and wait for orders while my friend is in danger."

"Oh, so you're friends now?"

"For the love of Arceus-" I cut myself off and abruptly stood up. "Raiden, let's go."

"Hell yeah," the shiny pikachu growled, leaping back up onto my shoulder.

"Topaz, you can't be serious!" Rubin cried. "We haven't even been issued weapons!"

"Rubin... if you haven't noticed—pokémon are our weapons."


GOLDY


"...So you really think you can defeat me?"

"I don't think—I know."

I had heard some pretty nasty things about this guy. Like I'd said before, his name was Flax Ama. He worked for the Government—more specifically, the President himself. Other than that, what was so bad about him, you ask? Well, to put it nicely, he was like me. He messed around with the ladies, probably more than even me. 'Course these were all just rumors, but I'd never heard anything different.

Flax rolled his eyes. "Cocky, as suspected. It seems to run in the Kimu family."

"Like you're any better," I retorted, taking a poké ball off my belt. "Enough chit chat. Time for some action! Let's go, Exploso!"

With that, I released my quilava. He landed on the ground, and stood tall, flames bursting from the red patches on his head and rear end. Flax simply smirked, pulled out his own poké ball, and sent out an electrike.

"You will regret challenging me," he stated with a snort. "Electrike, use Spark."

"Flame Wheel, Exploso!" I ordered.

The quilava let out low growl before leaping forward, the flames on his head and rear engulfing his entire body as he launched himself forward. The electrike lunged forward at the same time, encasing itself in electricity. The two pokémon slammed right into each other head on, flame meeting lightning with a loud crash.

"Keep pushing!" I told Exploso, clenching my hand into a fist. "You've got this!"

Exploso ground harder against the electrike, spinning harder and harder and harder, with enough force to make Phano proud. Flame Wheel overcame Spark not a moment too soon, as the electricity surrounding the electrike cut out and it let out a cry of pain, falling backward as my quilava gave one last thrust. Flax scowled, obviously not expecting that.

"Thunder Fang!" he commanded, before his pokémon had even hit the ground.

Somehow, before it could crash into the earth, the electrike righted itself, electricity crackling through its jaws. Sparks of lightning bolted out of its fangs, striking Exploso before he could twist his body out of the way. As both pokémon dropped to the ground, I saw the crackles of energy around my quilava and realized he'd been paralyzed.

Shit-

"Again," Flax ordered, holding out his hand.

I didn't get a chance to process what was happening. The next thing I knew, the electrike was upon my starter, chomping down on his side. Exploso screamed out in pain its charged fangs sunk into his flesh with more force than I had ever seen in any pokémon battle. My eyes widened with horror as I saw blood squirt out, splattering the electrike's face.

I panicked. "Exploso-"

Flax just laughed, cutting me off. "Electrike, finish this fool off."

The electrike lifted up the quilava and tossed him aside like he was trash. Exploso hit the ground and tumbled, his blood smearing the ground. He didn't get back up. I took a step towards him, but then the electrike charged right at me, his fangs sparking with another dose of that horrible move.

And then, out of nowhere, an orange blur darted between us. As fast as a Quick Attack, the pikachu slammed into the electrike head first. The electricity emanating from its jaws immediately began to be sucked in towards the pikachu, like a magnet, absorbing the voltage.

"Piiiika," Raiden growled menacingly, voltage sparking from his red cheeks, as he latched his claws onto the electrike's face, sucking in more and more electricity.

"Gold?! Are you okay?"

I snapped out of my daze to see Topaz now standing next to me, with Rubin and Vera behind her. Despite everything I'd just seen, it took me a moment to process what the hell had happened.

...Damn... She pretty much had just saved my life... I had no idea what would've happened if that electrike had gotten to me. I would've been worse off that Exploso, that was for sure. And he... he was already...

"Are you okay, Gold?" Rubin asked, looking at me with concern.

"Forget about me," I said, snapping out of my daze. "Exploso-"

We all looked over towards where the quilava had been. Raiden might have been holding off the electrike, but Flax had been free to move. All color drained from my face when I saw that he had picked up Exploso by the scruff. My quilava was still conscious, but couldn't even squirm due to paralysis.

Suddenly, Vera snapped. "Flax, what are you doing?!"

The blond asshole looked at us, then at my quilava, and then back at us. His pikachu was still on his shoulder, but seemed void of any electricity. My stomach dropped.

"Just getting rid of a weak pokémon," he laughed. "You can thank me later."


TOPAZ


Gold's eyes widened with horror. "Don't you fucking dare. Let him go."

Flax just laughed, rolling his eyes, both his pikachu joining in with snickers of its own. I scowled angrily, my hands clenching into fists. Damn this asshole... damn him to hell or the Distortion World or whatever! Who the fuck killed a pokémon? That was, like, the rule that everyone in this world always followed. Battles were never to the death.

I guess even that rule wouldn't be upheld by the Government.

"You asshole!" I snapped furiously, pulling another poké ball off my belt. With Raiden busy with that electrike, I had only one other choice. "Demeter, get him back!"

The bulbasaur appeared in a flash of light, vines immediately shooting out of the bulb on her back. Vine Whip had to be one of the most versatile moves ever. Not only could it be used as an attack, but other things—like snatching a pokémon away from a psycho. The vines wrapped around the quilava's body, and deftly pulled him out of Flax's grip. Demeter then carefully handed him to Gold.

"I can't believe you, Flax!" Vera snapped. "Why would you hurt a poor pokémon like that?!"

He sighed, and with another roll of his eyes, placed a hand on his hip. "You know very well why, Vera." An amused smile tugged at his lips. "You know your precious little squad walked right into a trap? On purpose?"

"What?" I demanded, my hands still clenched. "That's bullshit!"

"...No it's not."

Startled, I looked over at Gold, and Rubin did the same. He was crouched on the ground, holding Exploso to his chest, his face twisted into a pained grimace. He stared at the ground, his golden eyes refusing to look anywhere else. The tone of his voice made my skin crawl.

"...Gold, what are you talking about?"

This time, he did look at me. "Isn't it obvious? The High Commander didn't tell us jack shit about this mission. We're all in the dark, no clue about what we're even supposed to do." He scowled, looking up to glare at Flax. "This was a set up, to see how we'd handle the situation... and to weed out the weaklings. Why else would the High Commander let us walk right into a trap?"

Vera gasped, her eyes widening, covering her mouth with her hands. "Would... Would he really do that?"

Flax laughed. "Your beloved High Commander isn't so righteous now anymore, is he?"

"Shut up!" I retorted, snapping out of my daze. "Anybody is better than the President!"

"That's what you think," he snorted with a sneer. "But you'll never understand his motives. He's actually a good person, contrary to popular belief."

"Good person my ass," Gold growled, glaring up at him. "What the hell do you want now? Why don't you just fuck off?"

With a melodramatic sigh, Flax waved us off, and returned his electrike to his poké ball. Raiden almost fell flat on his face, losing his footing. Flax turned to the side, but not putting his back completely to us.

"Someone's in a bad mood... Though there is no reason for me to linger any longer. At least you provided me with some entertainment." He paused to wink at me. "If we ever meet again, be sure to let me provide the entertainment."

With a final laugh, he sauntered off, leaving us in stunned silence. What the hell just happened? Did I hear that bastard right?

"...Did he just fucking hit on me?" I demanded in disbelief.

Gold was silent for a moment. "...Sure sounded like it."

"Ugh..." Vera made a face. "That's Flax for you."

Rubin, naturally, looked confused. "I don't get it..."

Vera just smiled and threw her arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry about it, Rubes! Right now we just need to get out of here alive."

Rubin nearly jumped out of his skin, his cheeks turning redder than a cheri berry. "I-I know..."

"Leave that to me," Gold muttered, as he took a poké ball off his belt and returned the injured Exploso to it. "First, we gotta find the others. Preferably Chase or Scarlet."


JADE


"Plato, what are we going to do?"

The three of us were now stuck behind a rock, as gunshots rang all around us. I was really frightened. As cadets, we hadn't been issued weapons yet. We only had our pokémon. But pokémon didn't stand a chance against guns—unless they were steel or ghost-types. I had no idea what had happened to the others, but I could only pray to Arceus that they were okay.

"I... don't know," he confessed, his handsome face bunching up in a grimace. "I don't think there's anything we can do."

"But we can't just sit here, hiding!" Pink exclaimed, distressed. "They'll find us eventually, and then we're really screwed."

I shrunk back down, hugging Pinkie to my chest, my back pressed up against the rock. "I-I'm scared..."

Looking down at me, Plato's expression softened. "Don't worry. We're going to get out of this. I promise."

Despite the fact that we were in dire circumstances, his words somehow were soothing. Plato always had that effect on me, I guess. I didn't know if it was just because he was charismatic or that he just had a special effect on me. Either way, I was very grateful. I really didn't know what I would do if Plato wasn't around.

"Ri... Right..." I bit my bottom lip. "But... B-But how are we going to get out of this? We're completely surrounded!"

"Chase will come rescue us!" Pink exclaimed confidently. "I just know he will!"

We both looked over at her. Her eyes were smoldering with determination, her hands clenched into fists. She was scared, but she wasn't letting it get the best of her. I... really admired her for that. Pink could be so strong. And then there was me, sitting here, shaking, letting my fear overcome me. I wished I could be strong like Pink.

"Well, hopefully someone will come," Plato said quietly. "I don't know how much longer this rock is going to last with all the ammo they're firing at it..."

Crap, he was right, as always. Now I felt even more scared. I hugged Pinkie tighter.

"We... We have to do something..." I whimpered.

"And what, exactly, do you propose we do?" Plato asked.

I chewed on my bottom lip. "I dunno! Something. Like Pink said, we can't stay here."

The thing was, it was pretty obvious none of us had a clue of what to do. We were trapped in a situation we weren't prepared for. We definitely had not been trained for this. I tried not to let those thoughts scare me even more. That wouldn't help our situation. I needed to stay calm. I would be no help to anyone if I lost my cool.

But that was when we heard the furious cries of not just one pokémon, but a few. The shooting abruptly stopped being aimed at us, now bombarding whoever had come to our rescue. Trying not to panic, I turned to Plato.

"This is our chance!" I exclaimed.

He nodded, his lips pursed so hard they were turning white. "Right. Let's go."

Much to our surprise, Pink had already moved, and was now standing beside the rock that had been our refuge. "It's Chase! And Scarlet!"

Plato actually smiled a little. "Perfect. Let's go help them."


TOPAZ


"I'm so fucking pissed! You should've let me kick that asshole's ass! I would've shown that cocky bastard! But nooooo, we have to wander around the middle of fucking nowhere looking for people that are probably dead as a fucking-"

"Raiden, for the love of Arceus, shut up," I groaned.

Demeter let out a heavy sigh. "I didn't know a pokémon could know so many expletives..."

Apollo snorted, flicking his fiery tail. "You've got a lot to learn, then."

Sometimes I wished I could tune out my pokémon's banter, and this was one of those times. We had released all of our pokémon to help protect our little group, but mine were the only ones yacking their fucking jaws off. Could they not take this damn situation seriously? Ugh, this was just so frustrating.

Suddenly, Gold raised his arm, motioning for us to stop. "Can you hear that?"

Exchanging glances briefly with Rubin and Vera, who looked just as confused as I was, I tried to listen for whatever he was hearing. It was definitely shouting... and by the sounds of it, they were scared.

"Wait a sec... I know this place." Gold's eyes widened and he looked back at us. "We're near the border between Sinnoh and Unova!"

On the supercontinent, the regions were arranged a certain way, as I mentioned before. Unova was in the middle, with Sinnoh to the north and Hoenn to the south. Kanto was east and Johto was west. No one knew if there was anything north of Sinnoh, but I had heard stories of a mystical region called Kalos—just fairy tales. There was also supposedly a region made completely out of islands that somehow avoided being part of the supercontinent. Out of all the regions, Unova was the most mysterious, though. It never appeared on the news.

"Isn't Unova supposedly free?" Rubin asked curiously. "I've heard rumors that it was never taken by the Government..."

I had heard the same thing, but I was hesitant to believe it because why wouldn't Unova try to help us? Unless they only cared about their own preservation...

"Nobody knows for sure," Gold admitted. "But right now we need to check out what's going on. For all we know, comrades could be in danger!"

I nodded. "Right. Let's hurry!"

We began to run, our pokémon keeping up easily. Apollo gave Demeter a ride on his back so she wouldn't tire herself out by running. But what we saw at the borderline was not what any of us expected.

Flax was there, holding off a trainer that was protecting another trainer that was on the ground, not moving, while some Government soldiers dragged away the bodies of two comrades that were on our squad.

Shit. What the hell was going on?! That guy really was a bastard.

"Gold, what should we do?!" Vera cried, her eyes wide.

"That kid looks like he's doing fine, so we should focus on helping our comrades," he said. "Dammit, they better be alive!"

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's go!"

My friends nodded, and then we all rushed off to catch up with the soldiers and our fellow cadets. I realized that we might never catch up at this rate, but then an idea popped in my mind.

"Hold up! I've got an idea!" I exclaimed.

Everyone stopped, but Gold looked a little agitated. Before he could say anything, I hurried over to Apollo to pick Demeter up off his back. He was the fastest pokémon we had, so it was only common sense to have him go after them.

"Apollo, you know what you have to do," I said. "Stop them!"

He nodded, staying silent—much to my relief—and then took off. All we could see was a streak of fire as he caught up with the soldiers within seconds. He veered around them, cutting them off. They both look startled, and dropped our comrades, who still weren't moving. This was our chance to catch up!

"Hurry!" I exclaimed, rushing off before my friends could respond.

I was pretty sure I had never run so fast before in my life. But I couldn't—no, I refused—to let the Government take anymore lives. Maybe the High Commander was lying to us, but I couldn't let that hold me back. I had to keep fighting, no matter what. Because this wasn't just about us. This was about the fate of our world—humans and pokémon alike.

I had always known that, but it just seemed to... dawn on me. Like I finally realized the entire situation.

"Demeter, grab them!" I shouted.

The bulbasaur leaped out of my arms, vines shooting out of the bulb on her back. They wrapped around the two cadets and pulled them back towards us right as my friends caught up with us. Vera quickly dropped down to check on them, clearly trying not to panic. She checked for their pulses, and then let out a sigh of relief.

"They're both still alive," she said, looking up at us.

"Oh, thank Arceus," Rubin breathed, putting a hand on his chest.

"I wouldn't relax just yet," Gold said, taking out another poké ball. "Those Government assholes are coming back." He looked down. "Vera, you and Rubin stay here with them. Topaz and I will handle this."

"Roger that," Vera said with a nod. "I'm going to check for more injuries."

"O-Okay," Rubin muttered. "Be careful."

"Hey, don't worry, Rubes," I said, trying to give him a reassuring smile. "We'll be fine. Right, Gold?"

He didn't seem too keen on responding right away. "...Right. Let's go."

Apollo had returned to my side, so I lifted Demeter back onto his back. Raiden was itching for some action, digging his claws into my shoulder again. Dammit, that was going to bruise, wasn't it? But I stayed quiet, following Gold as he headed to confront the Government soldiers that had captured our comrades.

"Hey, assholes!" Gold snapped. "You think we're just gonna let you get away-"

That's when I noticed a faint gleam of something sticking out of one of their pockets. Something they were reaching for. A fucking gun.

"Gold, look out!" I exclaimed.

But there was no time. They had already drawn their guns-

Acting on impulse, I pushed Gold out of the way, sending the both of us crashing to the ground. But I wasn't fast enough to avoid my arm getting grazed by a bullet. Crying out in pain, I rolled off of Gold, landing flat on my back and clutching my wounded arm. I could feel the hot blood already oozing through my fingers.

"Topaz! Dammit—Phano, take care of them!"

I heard him release his donphan, which was his best choice against guns, since Exploso was out of commission. I could vaguely sense my pokémon gathering around me, and I could hear Raiden cussing up a storm in rage about me getting injured.

"Dammit! Topaz, look at me—I know it hurts, but I need you to look at me."

I forced my eyes open. Gold was knelt down next to me, and I had never seen such a concerned look on his face before. It was almost... out of character for him.

"Just... a grazing," I got out with a grimace. "I'm okay... really."

"No. No, you're not." He shook his head, and then scowled. "Dammit, why did you do that?! You're the valuable one here, Topaz! Synis is after you. Don't risk your life for just another soldier!"

"Shut UP!" I snapped, somehow managing to sit up thanks to the rush of anger I just felt. "Don't... Don't talk about yourself like that! I had to, okay?!"

"You had to? What the hell's that supposed to mean?" He glared at me. "Shit, just forget it. Let me see your arm."

I begrudgingly let him see it. My sleeve was soaked with blood, which was also running down my arm and dripping off my fingers. He pulled out a pocket knife and cut open my sleeve to get a better look.

But I knew why I had done it.

It was true I barely considered him my friend. But yet... I had acted without thinking to save him. It had been a knee jerk reaction, like I had no other choice but to protect him. He was one of my comrades, one of the people I felt I knew from an unknown past. He could be obnoxious as hell, but that didn't mean he deserved to die. I didn't want... anyone else to die. Not after our squad had been decimated. I would protect my friends with my life.

"There, that should do it for now," he said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I noticed he had made a makeshift bandage out of the ruined uniform sleeve. "Phano's finished them off with the help of the other pokémon. Let's get back to the others."

He started to stand up, but for some reason that made me panic.

"Wait!" I blurted.

He glanced back at me, frowning. "What?"

"I saved you because you're my friend," I said. "I don't want you to die, Gold."

He stared at me for a moment, before blinking.

"You're annoying as hell sometimes, but I feel like I've known you my whole life," I continued when he didn't say anything. "I know I haven't been the nicest person, but... I'm sorry. You've been going through just as much shit as the rest of us."

Still, Gold said nothing. Instead, he pushed himself back up onto his feet, and held his hand out to me. I accepted it, and let him help me up onto my feet.

"...You're the first person who's ever said something like that to me." He turned his back to me, facing the direction from which we came. "Thanks. It... means a lot." But then he coughed into his hand. "Eh, but enough sappy stuff. I've seen enough death for today. Let's get back to the others."


RUBIN


"Gosh, what's taking them so long? What if something happened? What if they're hurt? What if-"

"Rubes, calm down!" Vera chided, looking up from where she was sitting with the two unconscious cadets. "I'm sure they're A-okay. I mean, this is Topaz and Gold we're talking about!"

I had been pacing back and forth, worrying excessively over my friends' well being, while she just sat there, perfectly calm. I had to admire her for that. I doubted I would ever be able to take war calmly and rationally. It was so obvious I was the weak link out of my friends. Lady, Sir, and I would never be as strong as them, and I had been okay with that... until I realized that might get us killed.

"I know, but..."

"But nothing." She pushed herself up onto her feet, and walked up to me, putting her hands firmly on my shoulders. "Have some faith, Rubes. I know this seems like an impossible situation, but we will get out of this. Every single one of us."

She gave me a reassuring smile, but it only ended up turning my insides into a whirlpool and my face into a furnace. Arceus, it was probably so obvious I had a huge crush on her... I wasn't exactly the best at keeping secrets.

"Oh, um, uh, okay," I stammered, quickly pulling away from her. "B-But... we can't stay here much longer!"

"There's no need."

I yelped in surprise, nearly jumping out of my skin as our two missing friends finally appeared, along with their pokémon.

"Whoa, dude, chill," Gold said, having been the one to startle me, slapping me on the shoulder. "You seriously are way too uptight. You need to get laid or something."

"Oh, will you leave him alone?" Topaz exclaimed in exasperation. "Of course he is—we're on a damn war zone! Wake up and smell the coffee, Gold."

Huh? I didn't even know what he meant. I didn't see how laying down would help my nerves. I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Vera letting out a strained laugh.

"Don't ask, Rubes. Just don't." She turned her attention to the other two. "So how are we going to move these guys? Not only are they out cold, but they're seriously injured. And I'm pretty sure none of our pokémon are strong enough, much less big enough to carry them safely."

Gold groaned, and rubbed his face. "Dammit, you're right."

"We can't just leave them," Topaz said.

"'Course not—that wasn't even on my mind." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even further. "...Rubin, how strong are you?"

"Huh? Um... I dunno..." I shrugged lamely. "I've never really had to carry anything too heavy. Sapph's probably stronger than me."

Gold sighed. "...Figures. I was gonna suggest we carry them ourselves, but..."

"...I can do it," Vera said quietly.

We all looked at her in surprise. It was true that Vera was taller and built differently than most girls, but did that really mean she was strong enough to carry an unconscious teenage boy? Was she secretly a gardener who carried heavy bags of soil? Now that'd make someone strong.

"Uh... are you sure?" Gold scratched his nose. "Not to be sexist or anything, but girls are generally weaker than guys and I don't want you to push yourself too hard."

Vera grimaced. "Um, well, about that... Physically, I am a guy. I can handle it."

...Huh? That made no sense.

"Wait, so you're... trans?" Topaz asked slowly. "I'm sorry that this made you have to come out..."

Vera gave a slight shrug. "It could've been a much worse scenario... and not with friends. But I'm pretty sure I'm stronger than Rubes here. Not that that's very hard... no offense."

I let out an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of my head. "None taken..."

"Well, you're not wrong," Gold said, crossing his arms over his chest. "In that case, we'll carry them."

Vera nodded. "No problem!"

"W-Wait!" I blurted, lowering my hand. "I'm confused. What are you talking about? I thought you're a girl, Vera..."

"Oh, I am." She nodded again. "I was just born male. I identify as female."

Born male...? Identify as female...? I wasn't quite sure what that meant. I'd never really thought of it even being possible to not feel like the gender you were born as. But if Vera said she was a girl, I would believe her. I might not fully understand it yet, but... there was no need to be an asshole.

So I nodded. "Okay, Vera. I don't fully get it, but... you're my friend, so I'll support you no matter what."

Vera's eyes widened for a brief moment, but then her expression softened, and she smiled. "Thank you, Rubin. That really means a lot to me."

Topaz nodded in agreement. "You've got all of our support. Right Gold?"

He nodded too. "Yeah, 'course. Vera's still Vera. Nothing's changed about her."

I swear Vera began to tear up, and then she reached up to wipe her eyes. "Th-Thanks, guys... Really. But... we really should get out of here."

"Right," Gold agreed. "Come on, let's get moving. We've wasted too much time here."


JADE


I have no idea how, but somehow we all managed to regroup. We were all gathered behind a large outcropping, protecting us from view. Chase, Sapph, and Gold were currently discussing the situation while Scarlet properly attended to Topaz's injured arm. The rest of us were just standing around, taking a much welcomed breather.

"This has been so crazy," Pink sighed, her arms wrapped around herself. "Like, seriously... What's going on? Do you have any idea, Vera? You said you know that Flax guy..."

Vera winced, reaching up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry Pink, but I've got nothing. Flax and I only grew up together. I don't know why he's with the Government..."

I sighed, plopping down on a rock. "Gosh, there's just so much we don't know."

"Well, our top priority is getting back to Mount Silver," Plato stated. "I'm sure the others will figure something out. After all, they have more experience than we do."

"Well, I hope it's soon because Jade and I were planning on doing our nails tonight," Pink said, flipping her hair behind her back. "And I'm not about to let the stupid Government ruin our girls' night!"

"Oh Pink," I sighed, reaching over to give her a hug. "I love you."

"Oh, I know," she giggled, resting a hand on my arm. "I'm just fabulous like that."

Plato pinched the bridge of his nose, which only made me giggle too. Oh, he was too cute when he was exasperated. Vera had an amused twinkle in her eyes, and Rubin looked a bit confused. Then again, he usually was confused.

"All right, gang, we've got a plan!"

I pulled away from Pink as Chase and the others joined us. Much to my relief, Topaz was looking a lot better now, with her arm properly attended to. I had been worried about her...

"Before we can return home, we're going to have to steal a hovercraft," Chase continued. "I know it's risky, but we have no other choice. There's too many of us to just use pokémon—not to mention, most of the pokémon we have aren't suited to fly."

"So we're going to sneak into the nearest town and raid the Government's post there," Scarlet told us. "I know it sounds daunting but it shouldn't that difficult. Only the strongest will be going in."

"Scarlet will be sitting this one out though, because her raichu got hurt and we need a small electric type to help hijack the hovercraft," Chase said, giving his girlfriend a pointed look. "Topaz, we're going to need you and your pikachu."

She nodded. "No problem. I'm in."

He seemed relieved. "Thanks. You'll be with me then, since Gold and Sapph are partners anyways."

"Understood," Gold said.

"Same," Sapph said as well.

"Well, let's gear up and head out," Chase said. "We need to get home before nightfall."

I looked up at the sky. According to the sun, it was probably around three in the afternoon. If we were going to steal a hovercraft and fly all the way back to Johto, we needed to hurry. Especially since we had no idea what else we could possibly face.