The Forever Trilogy: The Restored Files

~NEVERMORE~

Chapter 20: Dark Skies

TOPAZ

Friday, January 3rd, 4999.

It was just another day of training.

My pokémon were improving pretty steadily, so I had decided to dedicate today to working on myself more. It... was a good distraction.

This was the best shape I had ever been in, but I still needed to get stronger. I had to be as fit as possible to survive a war. And following the advice Chase had given me, I was going back to the basics. After running laps around our training room, and then doing sets of push ups and sit ups, I was tackling pull ups.

Even after being here for almost three months, this thing was still fucking hard. I knew girls didn't have as good upper body strength as guys, but holy shit. Not to mention I needed a stool just to reach it.

"Urrrrgh..." I managed to pull myself up for the sixth time, breaking my record of five. "SIX!"

"...Is it really that good of an idea to keep pushing yourself like this?"

I looked down at Rubin, who, as my partner, was spotting me. He looked a bit fatigued, his face still flushed from having to keep up with me as I worked out. Water bottle in hand, he looked like he rather be sitting down right now. Honestly? I couldn't really blame him.

"I gotta… get stronger," I got out through gritted teeth as I heaved myself further up. "You never know what could happen, Rubes."

"That's true, but..." He frowned up at me. "I don't want you to hurt yourself from pushing yourself too hard."

Dammit... Rubin was always so kind and considerate. He was just looking out for my well being. Maybe he was right. Maybe this was enough for now.

I carefully lowered myself from the bar and dropped down to the ground. "Fair enough."

His eyes widened. "You didn't have to stop!"

I shrugged as I got down from the stool. "I was getting tired anyways."

Reaching up to brush my sweaty bangs away from my eyes, I walked over to where he stood. I picked up my own water bottle, where I had left it on the floor. Rubin watched me, not looking completely convinced.

"If you say so..." he muttered. "What do you want to do now? Looks like Chase left early, and Sapph isn't around… Everybody else is using all the equipment. There's not much else here for us."

Looking around, I saw that he had a point. Everything was taken. I let out an exasperated sigh and crossed my arms over my chest. Figures! I swore this always happened. Everyone snags all of the equipment, and we were left out in the cold. It was probably because everyone thought Rubin was so… weak. But he wasn't! He was getting better.

"Nothing we can do about that," I grumbled. "Ugh… Maybe we can go jogging around the rest of the floor?"

"I suppose," he said after a moment of thought. "It's better than nothing, I guess."

But before we could even take a step in the direction of the door, said door slid open. I was surprised to see Ross step inside the room. Everyone seemed to notice this, because they stopped whatever they were doing. If the squad leader had come to see us, then something must have come up. And that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"Uh oh," Rubin said, eyes wide. "This can't be good… Ross usually doesn't come to our training anymore."

Way to voice my thoughts. Seriously, what was going on?

Everyone must have had the same thing in mind, as we all approached Ross to see what was up. And judging by his serious expression, it probably wasn't anything we'd be jumping for joy about. Great. What a perfect way to start the new year.

"Squad Leader, is something wrong?" Vera asked with concern.

Ross grimaced for just a moment, but it was long enough for all of us to see. "The High Commander has requested an audience with all of you once again."

Pink's eyes widened. "Wait, what? I never met the High Commander!"

"I think I would remember something like that..." Vera mumbled.

"He has requested the entire squad," Ross clarified. "But you two are the only ones he hasn't met with previously. I suspect he has some sort of confidential mission for you."

"But… we're just cadets!" Jade exclaimed. "Aren't we too… new for something like that?"

"No one can dispute the High Commander," Ross answered. "Cadets or not, if he wants you to do a mission, you will do the mission."

Nothing like demanding authority to get me pumped up about serving the greater good.

"All right, let's just go see what he wants," I said, trying not to grumble. "But we should probably clean up and change into our uniforms first."

Everyone agreed with me on that. So once we had cleaned up as much as we could without actually taking a shower and changed into our uniforms, we went to see the High Commander. I really wasn't looking forward to this meeting. After everything we had gone through already, and hearing my friend's suspicions, I wasn't so sure if I could completely trust the High Commander.

There were way too many suspicious adults with ambiguous motives.

All of us were ushered into his office. I had no idea how we all managed to fit inside, but we did. I was slightly surprised that neither of the Generals were here. I sort of expected them to always be around the High Commander whenever he met with people. Unless they had somewhere else they needed to be… which would make a lot of sense.

The High Commander sat behind his desk, as always, shuffling some papers before setting them down. Then he cleared his throat and looked up at us.

"As you are aware, there has been abnormal weather conditions all over the continent," Tibbs began, clasping his hands together to rest on the desk. "The situation in Cinnabar Island has become especially dire."

"What's going on there, sir?" I asked.

"As you know, Cinnabar Island escaped Groudon's wrath when it combined all of the regions. The island is positioned to the west of Kanto's shore. We had stationed a troop of soldiers there years ago as an outpost, and never had any issues." Tibbs paused, giving us time to process his words. "That is, until now. The constant lightning storms in the region have damaged power lines, among other things, and we have lost communication with the troop."

Well, shit… that wasn't what I had been expecting at all.

"After much deliberation, I have decided that it is time to investigate and make sure that our soldiers are safe," he stated. "You are our best cadets in the entire Resistance, despite your lack of experience compared to the rest. You also experienced firsthand what was occurring in Hoenn with Articuno and the blizzards. You will travel to Cinnabar to carry out the investigation."

Even though he had just complimented us, I was not happy about this. For one, this sounded like a really serious mission. Shouldn't he send actual soldiers to investigate, not cadets? Sure, we had been there when the Government was after Articuno in Hoenn. But we had failed to protect it. The Government had successfully captured Articuno because we were just... not powerful enough.

There was more to this than he was saying. Why else would be choose us?

But whether I liked it or not, we still had to do it. We couldn't disobey a direct order from the High Commander. And maybe we could use this… to find out just what exactly our beloved High Commander was up to.

"You will leave early tomorrow morning," Tibbs continued. "General Frost will personally debrief you on the situation. Be prepared for anything, cadets."

We had little to no choice but to be prepared.

Saturday, January 4th, 4999.

I was called down to Professor Pine's laboratory the next morning, maybe twenty minutes before we were scheduled to depart for Cinnabar Island. Once I had finished getting ready and packing for the mission, I went to go see the professor. I was all suited up in my uniform, along with winter gear. But since it was thunderstorming in Cinnabar, I was assuming it was warmer there, so I was expecting to have to drop the warmer clothing.

So, with my poké balls on my belt and Raiden perched on my shoulder, I headed to the elevator and rode it to the laboratory's floor. I was unsurprised to find Viola waiting for me, arms crossed over her chest.

"Hey, Vio," I greeted her.

"Topaz," Viola greeted back, giving me a nod. "Sorry for calling you so early. But you're leaving and the professor wanted to catch you before you go."

I gave a mareepish smile. "It's okay. I was up anyway. I only had to wake up this guy earlier."

Raiden huffed. "Yeah yeah, next time maybe I'll ruin YOUR beauty sleep."

I ignored him. "Well, let's go meet with the professor."

Viola nodded. She proceeded to lead me into the lab. I spotted Alizarin and gave him a wave, which only made him get embarrassed and turn his back to me. He was such a dork. I didn't get why Viola complained about him so much. He didn't seem like a bad kid. Just... young.

Not that we were much older.

Professor Pine was in his personal lab in the center of the massive floor. He was standing in front of a table, speaking with Samantha and Mirica. We walked up to them.

"Topaz is here, Professor," Viola said.

All three of them looked up. Samantha and Mirica excused themselves, leaving us alone with the professor. Huh. I was really curious about what this was about. We'd already gone over the data I'd compiled on the Government's advances from the Articuno mission.

"Thank you for coming so swiftly," he said, fully turning his attention to us. "You still have your aerodactyl, yes?"

I frowned, a bit surprised, but nodded. "Yeah. Zeus is still with me." I pointed to his poké ball on my belt.

"Excellent." Professor Pine stepped behind the table. I now saw that the Mega Glove and each of the mega stones we'd found rested on the table. "We have thoroughly studied these items. The information Lightning has given us has also proven useful I've decided to set aside a team for further studying Mega Evolution and what it can bring to the Resistance. But due to you previously having accomplished Mega Evolution, I decided it would be best to return these items to you."

My eyes widened. "Oh. Thank you, Professor."

He picked up the Mega Glove and held it out to me. I stepped up to accept it from him. It was just like I remembered—a black leather fingerless glove with that gleamed like a rainbow with a double helix in the center set in the middle of the back of the glove. I slipped it on my left hand.

"The Mega Glove holds a Key Stone," Professor Pine said, gesturing to the stone set in the glove. "A Key Stone is necessary to use Mega Evolution. According to the information Lightning shared with us, your Viridian powers resonate with the energy inside Key Stones. Lightning seems to believe that this will enhance your ability to use Mega Evolution, but there is no solid evidence to support that claim."

I frowned, looking down at the glove on my hand and the stone inside it. "Huh..."

"There's a lot we don't know still," Viola said. "For one, Viridian powers used to be considered a myth."

"Indeed," the professor said. "So I must ask you for another favor—record what new abilities you discover in your Pokédex. We must stay on top of this."

I nodded. "I can do that. Anything to help."

"You should get paid for all this extra work," Raiden grumbled.

I gave him a look. "Raiden, I'm not even paid as a cadet."

Raiden's slammed his paw down on my shoulder. "Which is bullshit!"

"I can certainly compensate you for your efforts," Professor Pine said dryly.

My eyes widened as I jerked back to attention. "That's not necessary! Raiden's just complaining."

"Damn right I am," the pikachu huffed. "Someone has to look out for you. You're too damn nice for your own good."

"Sometimes I wish I knew what he was saying, and then I remember that I probably don't want to know," Viola said wryly.

I sighed, reaching up to rub the back of my head. "Really, Professor, you don't have to pay me. I'm happy to help. If it wasn't for you giving Chase his first pokémon all those years ago, we might not even be here. I'm really grateful for everything you've done for us... The least I can do is help with your research."

The professor smiled gently. "I should be the one thanking you, child. You and your friends have done much for us here in Mount Silver, whether you see your accomplishments or not. But very well." He reached down to pick up the Aerodactylite. "You will need this for your aerodactyl. As for the others, you can give them to whoever you see fit. We will be on the lookout for other Key Stones in the meantime."

I nodded, accepting the Aerodactylite and putting it away in my pack. I then retrieved the other stones and put them away. I would keep the Venusaurite for myself... Someday, Demeter would be a venusaur, after all. But the Swampertite and Altarianite... They should go to Rubin. I was sure he'd be able to use them someday.

"Thank you, Professor," I said, giving a grateful smile. "I should be going, though. I don't want to miss the hovercraft."

"I doubt they'd leave without you," Viola snorted, only to turn serious. "...Be careful, okay? We've been monitoring the weather in Cinnabar, and... it's not pretty. It may be more dangerous than Sinnoh was."

More dangerous than Sinnoh, huh... That was so reassuring. But of course the High Commander had to send us.

"...I'll do my best," I said. "See you when we get back."

And with that, I turned around and headed out of the laboratory. I didn't have time to worry about what we were getting ourselves into.

The hovercraft shook, thunder booming around us. The windows rattled, threatening to shatter. Rain pounded against the walls surrounding us. But no one spoke a word. No one dared to jinx this treacherous journey.

The closer we got to Cinnabar, the worse the weather became. Now we were in the middle of the storm. The air had grown hot and humid, heavy with residual electricity. I was glad Raiden was in his pokéball now. His cheeks would be sparking like crazy with how charged the air was. Static electricity was everywhere. We had buckled up for safety this time, after our last unlucky hovercraft ride.

I sat at the edge of the bench welded into the wall of the hovercraft, next to Rubin. Sapph was on his other side. Goldy sat next to her. Plato, Jade, Chase, and Scarlet sat across from us. There wasn't enough room for Vera and Pink to sit together, so each of them sat next to Goldy and Scarlet respectively, across from each other.

The hovercraft shuddered again. Lightning flashed, illuminating the inside. I saw Jade shiver. This was pretty nerve wracking. The pilot just needed to find a safe place to land and then we'd be able to get out of the air... We weren't that far off from the shore of Cinnabar, thankfully.

I turned to glance out the window. The sky was heavy with dark storm clouds, rain pouring down in sheets. Thunder rolled, shaking the hovercraft, along with the turbulence. Lightning streaked through the sky, striking the turbine of the hovercraft.

I didn't have time to react. The hovercraft lurched, fire and sparks exploding from the turbine. Red lights flashed, the pilot shouting over the com that we'd been hit by lightning. We tilted, the hovercraft off balance from the loss of the turbine. The only things keeping us from falling everywhere were our seat belts.

The last thing I heard from the pilot was that we were going to hit the water.

We slammed into the crashing waves, the windows shattering on impact. Dark water flooded into the room, carrying with it shards of glass that sliced into us. The front of the hovercraft crumpled, buckling into itself as the entire vehicle broke in half. There was screaming, but it was drowned out by the water.

I couldn't breathe. It happened so fast I hadn't had time to take a deep breath. I couldn't see—everything was dark except for the electricity sparking inside Raiden's poké ball. It was enough light to see the buckle of my seat belt. I fumbled to unbuckle it. I managed to free myself as my lungs began to burn.

I still could barely see, the water churning around me. I had no water pokémon to help me. I couldn't breathe, and there was only so long I'd be able to fight the horrible pain.

But then I felt someone grab my arm. I jerked on reflex, spinning around, only to relax when I managed to make out the bright gold eyes of Goldy. I also saw, behind him, Sapph cutting Rubin free of his seat belt with her feather blade. Somehow, Sir had gotten out of his pokéball and Rubin grabbed onto the tiny mudkip as Sapph yanked him away from his seat.

I wasn't sure what really happened next. Everything blurred. I couldn't breathe or I'd die. But if I didn't breathe I would die. My vision blurred. My lungs screamed at me. I wasn't sure if I was trying to swim to the surface or if someone was moving me. The next thing I knew, I was gasping for air and coughing up water, trying to stay above the violent waves crashing upon us.

"Topaz!" I heard someone try to shout above the waves. "Are you okay?!"

"Goldy?!" I coughed, spitting up more salt water. The waves churned around us, rain still coming down in sheets. I kicked my legs as hard as I could, struggling to stay above. I realized he had his hand on my arm still, helping me tread water. "We have to-"

"I know! Hang on!" He reached underwater with his free hand, and emerged with a poké ball. "Take Polli, she'll help you swim!"

His poliwag came out of that poké ball. I immediately latched onto her, right before another wave crashed down on us. I was shoved back underwater, accidentally breathing in some water. Even with Polli, I felt like I was underwater forever, trying to crawl my way back to the surface. I gasped for air, coughing up the salt water that burned my nose and lungs, my bangs plastered to my face and nearly getting into my eyes.

That's when I realized Goldy was gone. He didn't surface with me.

"Goldy?!" My voice cracked as I looked around frantically for him, trying to swim forward instead of just bobbing at the surface. "Goldy!"

All I saw was a blur of pale blue in the distance, heading towards the island—but it was gone in a flash. Just like Goldy.

"TOPAZ!"

I jerked towards the sound of my name. It wasn't Goldy's voice. It was Plato, hanging onto Tempo, his buizel, as the pokémon propelled himself forward through the water with his tail.

"Plato!" I gasped, a wave of relief rushing through me. Oh thank Arceus... He was okay. If he was okay, Jade was probably okay too, then. But if... if Jade wasn't with him... where was she?!

"Scarlet's lapras is going to take us all to shore!" Plato shouted about the crashing of the waves, right before more thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. "We'll get you there!"

I nodded numbly. I let Plato help me over to Tempo, carefully keeping Polli tucked under my arm. Tempo proceeded to carry us through the water. I finally saw a lapras in the distance, struggling to keep herself upright through the vicious waves. She wasn't alone; I some of my friends on her back.

When we finally got there, Tempo swam right up to the lapras's side. Immediately, someone reached down to pull me up. With that person's help, I managed to climb up onto the lapras's back. I realized it was Sapph as I finally got to sit down. No one said anything as I sat there, trying to catch my breath.

The violent gusts of wind pierced me to my very bones with cold. I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself in a futile attempt to stay warm.

"G-Goldy-" I began to say, my teeth chattering.

"Plato's gone back to look for him," Sapph said. "He'll find him. Gold's a good swimmer."

Rubin looked down at his hands. "I hope so..."

No one said a thing after that. We all focused on staying aboard Lara, which I learned was the name of Scarlet's lapras. I ended up sitting between Rubin and Jade, while Sapph, Grey, and Scarlet kept an eye out for Plato and Tempo. Pink and Vera were also here, huddled close to keep warm. I hugged Polli to my chest.

Plato and Tempo came back alone. Scarlet said the waters were getting too vicious for Lara. We had no choice but to go to shore.

I wasn't really sure how long it took to reach the beach. I was freezing. We all were freezing. Trying to share body heat with Rubin and Jade only did so much to help. Polli wasn't much warmer either.

Lara's landing was far from graceful. She lurched onto the beach, causing most of us to lose our balance and tumble onto the sand. Polli was torn from my arms, somersaulting even further beyond where I had crashed. There was a flash of light out of the corner of my eye as I tried to push myself up onto my knees, wincing as I realized I must have gashed my knee against a rock somewhere.

"Hey! You okay?"

I looked up to see that Raiden had released himself from his poké ball. Now he was also drenched to the bone. I wiped my bangs away from my eyes.

"No."

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. I forced myself up onto my feet, trying to scrape the sand off my legs. Blood trickled down from the cut on my knee. I ignored it. Polli had collected herself and waddled over to where we stood.

"Is everyone okay?" I heard Chase shout.

There was a chorus of varying responses. My friends were all behind me, but I didn't bother to turn around towards them. My heart ached. I couldn't tell if I was crying or if it was just the rain.

Goldy was gone. Dead. Lost at sea. All because he had to save me. It was my fault. I didn't even get a chance to tell him how I felt... Arceus, why was I so stupid?

"Topaz?"

I looked over to see that Rubin had made his way over to where I stood. His hat was gone; he'd put it away in his pack. Thankfully, all of us had our packs on us while flying, so we still had our gear. And our bags were waterproof. But it was strange seeing him without his hat, with his waterlogged hair plastered to his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, repeating Chase's question.

"...Goldy's gone."

Rubin's eyes widened, but then he looked away. "...Sapph thinks he's okay. That he probably washed up somewhere else..."

I scowled. "That's insane, Rubin. He gave me Polli." I gestured to the poliwag at my feet. "How the hell is he supposed to swim through this storm without her?!"

"Calm the fuck down," Sapph snapped, coming to her brother's side. "Look, we're all worried about Gold. Just 'cause you're biased doesn't mean you can treat like rest of us like shit."

"ENOUGH."

Everyone looked over to where Chase stood. Even Scarlet, who was tending to an exhausted Lara, looked up in surprise. For a moment, no one said a thing. Lightning lit up the sky. Thunder boomed. The waves crashed against the shore.

"We have a job to do here," Chase said flatly. "We'll look for Gold. But right now, we need to find shelter. No one will be able to help him if we all freeze to death out here."

...Chase was right. I didn't want to admit it. But he was right.

Rubin hesitated, before holding his hand out to me. "Come on, Topaz... It'll be okay. I'm sure we'll find him later."

I didn't want to think about it. I couldn't think about it.

But I nodded. Raiden leaped up onto my shoulder. I crouched down to pick up Polli, balancing her with one arm. Then I stepped up to Rubin and accepted his hand.

"Let's get out of here," I muttered.

I didn't have to say it twice. Scarlet returned Lara to her poké ball. And with that, we all filed off the beach, heading into the forest that lined the sands.