She breathed in the cool afternoon air. Metagross, by her request, had gone back to the beach to collect her things; she was waiting outside the Pokémon Center for his return. She leaned heavily against the outer wall, breathing in sharp breaths as she processed everything that had happened after Steven woke up.
"Don't you remember me?" She'd said the tight feeling in her chest making her words come out as nothing more than a pained whisper.
"All I remember is water." He answered, looking at the sapphire-eyed girl who was sat to his left.
"You were in a storm; you were washed overboard as you travelled by ship from Hoenn to Sinnoh." Cynthia explained, drawing his marcasite eyes to her. "Do you remember who I am?" She released her partner Garchomp who held out his fin-like claw as a sign of greeting to Steven, he took it and shook it, recognition shining in his eyes.
"I do, Cynthia, right? The Champion of Sinnoh?" His smile of realization stung Sapphire somewhat.
"Yes, do you recall anything about your home Hoenn?" She looked over at Sapphire sympathetically as Steven's eyes unfocussed as he attempted to recall memories just out of his reach.
Sapphire took out her PokéNav Plus, handing it over to him to jog his memory.
"I know this, it's a PokéNav, and my father invented these years back." He smiled at the little Devon device.
Sapphire took it back, flicking through the many apps which had been installed onto the device throughout the years, opening a photo app, which had albums upon albums of her friends and images of her adventures through the years.
She found the one she was looking for and showed it to Steven, to take the PokéNav to better see the image.
"This is Wallace, my best friend right?" He asked Sapphire.
The picture had been taken in Sootopolis by Mina. In the picture stood six figures. Sapphire stood in-between Steven and Wallace, her arms over their shoulders. Phantom was floating behind her, his hands on her shoulders as he peered over her head. Milotic was on Wallace's other side, his arm around her. Steven stood, his arm around Sapphire's waist, Metagross standing in front of them all.
"And my partner Metagross, who I had on the ship…" He dropped the device and searched his pockets, his face fearful.
"Metagross is just fine." Sapphire reassured before Steven grew too panicked. "I have his PokéBall, don't worry." She picked the PokéNav up from the bed, trying to hide her emotions as best as she could. "I, I just need to get some air." After that, she'd rushed out of the room, exiting the Pokémon Center as swiftly as her legs would allow her.
She drifted down the wall, finding herself falling into a sitting position against the wall. She buried her face in her arms as tears leapt from her eyes.
The ground shuddered in unison with a loud, metallic impact. Sapphire's head snapped up.
Her backpack was swinging off of Metagross' front let, its zip fastened and it bulging with all her belongings.
"Thanks Metagross. I appreciate it," Her voice was shaky; the tears visible as they crept down her face.
The Pokémon set itself down next to her, psychically setting her bag down besides her.
"Sorry," She leaned against the Steel-Pokémon, wiping her face quickly with the back of her hand. "I have no reason to be crying, I'm just being selfish. I just can't bear to see him like this; it doesn't feel right me being there when I'm the only one he seems to be incapable of remembering."
The Pokémon Center's front doors drifted apart as Cynthia exited. "I have an urgent appointment, I wasn't expecting you two for another week and a bit, so I'm sorry to rush off but I have other plans I must attend to. I shall return in a week's time." She stood in front of Sapphire, looking down at the girl.
"Okay, thank you Cynthia, for everything you've done today." Sapphire stood, recalling Metagross into its PokéBall.
The older woman placed her hand on Sapphire's shoulder. "Do me one favour. Stay strong, for his sake."
Sapphire nodded, breathing in all her pains and worries before releasing them into the afternoon air.
She'd re-entered the Pokémon Center, passing into the room Steven occupied. She set herself on a chair beside the bed once again.
She released Metagross, who fit into the room quite well, Sapphire had to move the other chair for the metallic Pokémon to be able to approach Steven's side, but other than that, nothing needed to be done for the steel Pokémon to see his friend and partner.
She gave Steven the PokéBall, "I'll be in the lobby." She stated, turning to leave the room.
"Would you please stay?" He called to her before she left. She turned back to him, her eyes filled with questions. "I wish to ask you a few questions. I feel like I ought to know you, and you showed me that photograph of yourself Wallace and I."
She nodded to him, sitting down beside him silently. A few moments passed with neither of them speaking.
"That photograph was taken a few months back. I had visited Sootopolis to visit Wallace as he wanted news of Mina, the Milotic which he had given to me as a Feebas egg. I had no idea that at that time also you were visiting Sootopolis on your travels. It was the first time the three of us had met up in a few years, so I asked Mina to take a picture on the PokéNav, since I was recording as much of my journey on there."
He nodded, having listened to her explanation intently. "Do you have other photographs of me?" He asked.
"Quite a few yes. We've known each other for eight years now; our first meeting was in Granite Cave, just north of Dewford." She looked through her PokéNav photos, selecting one of the two of them in the air, her on Latias, he riding Latios. "This was taken years ago, Phantom, my friend Flygon, took it after we saved the Eon Pokémon from the grasps of Team Aqua."
"It seems we've had a few adventures. Why were we travelling to Sinnoh together?" He asked as he handed back the PokéNav.
She faltered, looking down. "We were travelling to Sinnoh to meet with Cynthia, to ask her about folklore. We were trying to find answers."
"Answers to what?" He asked, curiosity blooming in his silver eyes.
"It's very hard to explain, plus it's a long story."
She'd told him all about her psychic power and how she'd lost it recently. How he had vowed to help her regain it and how they'd rushed to get on a ship bound for Sinnoh so they could learn more about the ancient people who had the same psychic power as what she had. She missed out the fact she'd died and left him mourning her.
"Do you mind if I wash the blood out of your hair?" She asked, indicating some of his bangs which had turned a dark brown with the dried blood that clung to them.
"Not at all." His reply was quick.
She rose, digging in her backpack for a small bowl buried within its depths. She entered the en-suite to fill it with warm water. She plopped a flannel into the water, bringing it back through and setting it on the bedside table.
She rinsed out most of the water, wrapping the damp flannel around the relevant bangs, gently rubbing away at the dried blood.
She kept her gaze on the locks she was cleaning, not allowing her eyes to wander into the pools of deepest silver which made a well of sadness overflow in her stomach and distract her.
She snapped her eyes away, having let them drift. He was looking directly into her deepest blue eyes.
"Can you answer me one thing?" He asked, watching her as she carefully looked back at him before continuing. "When I see you I feel like I know you, I know that I know you, yet I can't remember you. Tell me, what was our relationship?"
"Our relationship?" She nearly dropped the flannel, she hadn't been expecting that. She thought of what she should say, how she should answer his question. "I don't know how to answer that. We've been very close friends for a long time now. We've protected the Hoenn region together, battled alongside one another."
"That wasn't what I asked." He stated, watching her eyes carefully.
She broke the contact as she stooped down to pull a comb from her backpack, running it lightly through the wet bangs before fetching a small towel from the bathroom.
She dried them as she thought. "I can't say. For me I do not know what our relationship is. I know what I wish it to be, but, I could never say what you wanted it to be. So for the sake of answering your question, we were close friends. We've been in intimate situations yes. We-We've kissed, hugged and shared a bed, heck, for the last week we've shared a bed, but I must say I don't know what you wanted from our relationship." She explained, setting the towel down on her lap as she finished. She stared at it glumly; her explanation seemed to make everything sound wrong.
"What did you want from our relationship?" He asked, forcing her to look at him by touching her chin, catching her attention. He used to do this all the time if she was looking away from him.
"I," She stood, turning away from him as she set the towel on the back of the chair. "What I wanted is no longer relevant; I ruined our relationship a few months ago." She looked over her shoulder. "I, Steven, I love you, and have done for many years. But a few months back I did something stupid with good intents and caused you a lot of suffering. I fear since then I cannot erase the pain you went through. You agreed to help me, but I wasn't sure why, I was overjoyed, but confused. You should have left it, let me suffer, and kicked me out of your life so that I may hide away, far away. I should suffer for what I did, and so my opinion on our relationship doesn't matter. Not now, not ever." She turned her head away from him, a tear threatening her eye. She had said what she needed to say.
Steven, on the way here, had been so kind, so caring. But she stood by what she said now; he needn't have agreed to help her. He needn't have cared about her. She'd saved his life, but she hadn't thought things through and lost her life because of it, dying in his arms may have seemed the perfect way to go to her at the time, but she hadn't thought about him. How watching her die affected him.
"Look at me." He commanded firmly. "Look at me and tell me what happened." His voice commanded no argument.
"Now is not the time." She stated herself. She turned around to him, "I should not have said anything, not now. I will not answer your question; I will only repeat that I love you, which does not require anything from you. You can hate me, you can shun me or demand I leave, but I shall never stop loving you Steven Stone. But now is not the time for this conversation. I will help you regain your memories as best as I can, then. And only then, shall we have this conversation. Now I must leave, it's getting late and I must pay for my room."
Steven did not sleep that night. His mind was plagued with images of that girl. Something fluttered within him; he could not place the feeling and was incapable of analysing what it could possibly mean.
She'd left her PokéNav, saying that if he felt so inclined, he could look through her photographs.
He had, many of them were of various Pokémon, from small Aron to a shining white Metagross he could vaguely remember. He'd spent a long time looking at this glimmering white Pokémon trying to remember it. A word drifted into his mind Silver, was that its name? He wanted his questions answering. Wanted her to tell him every detail of what they'd been through together.
He settled on another photograph. He remembers the occasion. Wattson from the Mauville Gym was retiring. The Hoenn League had thrown him a farewell party; there were many people in the background of this picture. Steven wore a formal suit of black, with a tie of deep purple. The girl was wearing a dress of sapphire hue, it dropped to just past her knees, her hair flowed down around her shoulders, being held back by only an ornate hairclip, set with a sparkling sapphire which matched her dress and eyes. Clearly she'd given someone her PokéNav, as there were a few pictures of them, dancing or posing with others. He paused on a photograph of them, dancing to a forgotten song; something warm and wet was blooming in the corner of his eye. He wiped away the lone tear as his heart ached, who was this girl to him?
He flicked to the next picture; he'd dipped her dramatically, supporting her entire weight with one arm. Her face was flared deep red, and a playful smile was tugging at his lips. He looked at the picture confused; they were clearly very close, closer than she herself had admitted to being.
He swung his legs out room under the covers, releasing Metagross into the room. "Can you take me to her?" He asked the great Psychic/Steel-type Pokémon. Steven pointed to her in the picture just in case his partner did not know who he meant.
The Pokémon nodded. Floating over to the door, but clearly indicating it couldn't fit.
Steven passed through the doorway, recalling then re-releasing his Pokémon.
Oddly, the Pokémon led him over to the main entrance of the Pokémon Center, leading him outside. Steven was glad he'd slipped his shoes on.
They walked for a while, heading away from the city and towards the sound of the sea. She was sat there in the moonlight.
He looked at her; she was perched on a rock out to sea, patting the head of a large blue dragon-like Water-type who looked as though he was very dangerous.
She seemed to be talking to it, but her words did not carry above the gentle rush of the sea.
The sand made no noise as he approached the seas edge.
She was too far out for him to reach, since she was not soaked to the bone he wondered if she had walked along the line of jagged rocks, but that seemed impossible to him.
"Who is she Metagross? Who is she and why does it hurt to be apart from her?" He whispered to his closest Pokémon.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who is following this story or who has favourited it! It really helps me write knowing that there are a few of your who actually enjoy reading this! Thank you, THANK YOU!