Return to Hoenn

Chapter 21: Shadow from the Past

Light began to seep out of the horizon. Little by little, a soft orange hue colored the dull cloudy sky. The dew on the leaves and branches glistened in the radiance. The pokemon began to scurry out of their hiding place to greet the morning.

Norman and Sapphire continued their search. They were eating berries that Sapphire had gathered earlier. She knew they needed the strength to find Ruby. The flowing river was calmer than yesterday but there were still mud and broken branches being carried away by the water current. Ruvi flew in closer, following the channel's path.

The Staraptor stopped when they came across a fork in the river; one lead deeper into the forest while the other just stretched farther into the distance. They didn't find any more clues earlier that would help them.

"Which way should we take?" Norman pondered. If they chose the wrong way, it could lead to dire consequences. They didn't want to risk any chances of that happening.

Sapphire stared at the river. Her azure eyes focused intently at the two paths. The sound of the rushing water resonated through her mind. There was a deep sense of resolve in her face as she held her dark-ocean colored scarf. She took a deep breath.

"That way..."

At the cave, everyone but Zaffiro was asleep. His steely gaze never left the forest. Nene passed out sometime during the night so he had to make do with the light from the hazy moon. Ruru was still asleep with Ruby in her arms.

The sound of droplets falling from the stalactites echoed inside the cold damp cavern. The warm morning breeze came in and gradually erased the chilliness that came in the night.

Moments later, Ruru opened her deep scarlet eyes. She blinked a couple of times and yawned softly. Her arms felt the weight of the young boy sleeping against her. Her eyes softened as she stroked the hair on his head. Zaffiro glanced at her direction and smiled. She looked like a mother caring for a child.

The Gardevoir caught him staring and blushed. Zaffiro quickly returned to watching the outside while hiding the reddish hue forming across his face. Nene woke up abruptly. She realized she had fallen asleep and began to panic. The two psychic pokemons laughed.

Then their attention turned to Ruby who was beginning to wake up. Everyone's face lit up as their trainer's eyes opened weakly. He slowly adjusted to the light coming from the opening of the cave. His face was pale and his crimson red orbs still lacked the luster they once had. Ruru supported his head as his eyesight began to clear up.

"..Ru..ru?" His tone was hoarse and his vision was hazy but Ruby somewhat recognized the face of his pokemon. He wanted to sit up but his body felt heavy as lead and as cold as ice. Instead he leaned closer to his Gardevoir and shivered. His fever was getting worse.

Ruru's face darkened and she fussed over her trainer. Nene splashed around worriedly. Zaffiro stood up to come over but then he heard loud noises coming from outside. His eyes sharpened. He had a bad feeling of what was coming. Even Ruru felt the same. The trees outside shook and the Tailows quickly fled from the area.

Zaffiro's arms glowed blue and formed into blades as he turned his attention to impending entity. Ruru and Nene tried to stop him but he ignored them. He knew he wasn't fully recovered and that the enemy was strong. Still he needed to protect them.

Ruby tried to keep his eyes open. He knew something was wrong. He wanted to stop him but all he could do was watch the blurry image of his Gallade's back disappearing into the light.

Sapphire had chosen left. Before in Mirage Island, Juan, Wallace's master, told her that she had very good intuition. It was that reason she trusted herself to choose the right way. The channel entered the forest. It was hard to see where the river led with the dense foliage covering it. There was no choice but to walk. Norman returned Ruvi to his pokeball. Little sunlight seeped through the treetops. Toro came out of her pokeball to help light their way. The flame on the Blaziken's claw acted like a torch.

Eventually, they came across a lake. It was small and quiet.

Sapphire scanned their surroundings. There was nothing there. She began to doubt herself. Her hands trembled. Did I choose the wrong way? It can't be… Ruby.. I—

"Over here!" Norman gestured her as he crouched down at the side of the lake.

Toro and Sapphire came over for a closer look.

The Gym leader gestured to a small area at the edge of the lake. The ground had subsided as if there used to be something that weighed it down. Sapphire took Nana out and the black wolf pokemon sniffed the spot. Her eyes widen and her tail began to wag. She looked back at them and barked.

Sapphire felt a huge burden lifted off of her shoulders. She was right and Ruby could be somewhere nearby.

Norman looked around for further clues. But the next signs he found weren't good. There were claw marks and other traces that a battle had occurred. He clenched his fists and hoped nothing bad had happened to his son.

Sapphire ran towards Norman to see if he found more leads. But all of a sudden, they heard a loud rumbling sound followed by a bright flash of light at the end of the forest. The Gym leader sent out Ruvi again and mounted on his back. Sapphire returned Toro and Nana to their pokeballs and joined him.

Ruvi quickly shot out of the forest and flew to the direction the commotion came from. They reached a clearing at a base of a mountain. Sapphire and Norman saw two figures in the middle. The girl's heart raced when she realized who they were. It was Ruru and Zaffiro. The Gallade was lying on the ground, wounded and unconscious and beside him was Ruru who was injured but still able to stand.

"Ruru!" Sapphire called out to her as they flew in closer.

The Gardevoir jolted at the voice and looked up but her eyes filled with horror at the sight.

"Behind you!" She hastily sent a telepathic message to their minds.

They looked back and saw a large shadow closing in on them. Ruvi instinctively turned around and locked claws with the enemy, preventing it from reaching the trainers on his back. Norman grabbed Sapphire and jumped off. He wrapped his arms around her protectively as they fell from the sky. Ruru used whatever psychic energy she could still muster to break their fall. The two hit the ground with minor bruises. Afterwards, the Gardevoir collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"Ruru!" Sapphire got up in a hurry to run to her but she stopped at the sound of a terrifying roar. She and Norman turned to towards the unknown entity that attacked them.

It had a blue reptilian body with a white armored underbelly. Its massive red wings beat like war drums as it glared ferociously with cold merciless eyes.

Sapphire's eyes widened. She knew what it was. "A Salamence."

The vicious dragon pokemon was locked in an aerial battle with Norman's Staraptor. Ruvi struggled to push it back but it proved too strong. Then the Salamence's mouth began to well up with flames.

"Ruvi get out of there!" Norman shouted. But the dragon pokemon held on tightly to the bird pokemon so it wouldn't escape. The Staraptor received the full force of the Fire blast before plunging to the ground. Norman rushed to its side as it tried to stand up again.

The Salamence dove in to finish it off but it saw a red-orange figure heading directly towards it. The blue dragon reacted quickly and moved out of the way. Its sharp eyes glared at the new enemy. It was a tall beaked pokemon with flaming claws that burned vibrantly as it charged its opponent, drawing it away from the injured Staraptor.

"Great job, Toro!" Sapphire cheered.

Norman reached Ruvi. The Staraptor's feathers were singed badly and it was terribly shaken up by the fall. Norman returned it to its pokeball to rest. He was about to take out another pokemon when he saw something at the corner of his eye.

"Zaff…Ru..ru…" The Ruby had enough watching his two pokemon getting hurt in front of him. He staggered to stay on his feet at the cave's entrance as his hand leaned on the sides for support. He was already using up a lot of energy just to stay conscious.

The Salamence's attention shifted towards him. Toro tried to draw it back but was struck hard with Dragon Tail, sending the blaze pokemon crashing to the trees. The violent dragon dove towards the cave with fangs and claws, bared.

"RUBY!" Norman and Sapphire shouted in unison. Fear filled their eyes as they watched the Salamence closing in.

Ruby could barely move. He could hear his father and Sapphire calling his name as they ran towards him. The vicious pokemon was a few feet away when Nene jumped in at the last moment and released a blinding Flash, startling the blue dragon pokemon. Everyone flinched and covered their eyes at the sudden burst of light.

The shaken up Salamence backed up and thrashed around, releasing random balls of fire from its mouth; some hitting cave, barely missing the boy. The cavern walls shook and the ceiling began to crumble.

"Ne-ne..." Ruby called his Finneon. The wing fish pokemon jumped into his arms. Then he retreated further into the cave. He stumbled with every step but he did his best to remain steady until they were a good distance away from the entrance.

"Rono!" Sapphire sent out her Aggron. The iron armor pokemon charged and tackled the Salamence away from the opening of the cave. Norman rushed inside, dodging the falling debris. His heart rate quicken as his eyes desperately scanned the surroundings. Moments later, he found his son collapsed at the side of the wall with Nene squirming in his arm as she urged the boy to stand up.

"It's going to be alright." Norman calmed the Finneon before placing it in an extra pokeball. Then he quickly carried Ruby and ran out of the cave.

The Salamence was still dazed as Rono held it down with its massive armored body. Toro came back and assisted in pinning down the out-of-control dragon.

Norman came out with Ruby. He carefully placed him on the ground with his arm supporting the boy's head and knelt down at his side.

Sapphire approached them. Her eyes were filled with concern when she saw him. "…Ruby?"

She bent down beside him. Her hand trembled as she touched his pale cheek. His skin was cold and she could feel him shiver. His breathing was shallow and he had a pained expression on his face. It was hard to believe that this was the same person sleeping peacefully yesterday morning.

Norman took off his coat and wrapped it around his son. It was an agonizing to see him in that weakened state. Ruby needed to be taken to the hospital as soon as possible but there was one more thing to deal with…

The Salamence had enough. It let out a deafening roar as it spread its enormous wings and thrust itself back into the sky with Toro and Rono on its back.

Sapphire watched in terror as her two pokemon were unbelievably carried off. "Toro! Rono!"

Once it was in mid-air, the dragon spun wildly, throwing the heavy Aggron off. The force of the impact, made the earth tremble. Toro clutched her claws tightly on the dragon's wing. The Salamence grew irritated. It flew across the sky at tremendous speed and attempted to shake off the Blaziken but Toro proved to be stubborn and unyielding.

Ruby opened his eyes faintly. His body felt numb and everything was hazy. He saw two figures beside him; one was standing, gazing at the sky while the other was closer with a sort of familiar scent and warmth.

"…D-ad?"

Norman jolted at the almost inaudible voice. His attention shifted to the boy that lay on his arm. Seeing him conscious brought a sense of relief.

"Just hang in there a little longer." He reassured him. We have to finish off the Salamence first. Ruvi can't fly very fast in his current condition.

Sapphire also turned away for a moment. She looked at him with a smile saying everything will turn out okay.

"Don't ya worry Ruby… This time, I'll be the one ta protect ya." Her eyes flickered with optimism and determination.

Then the conviction turned into gentleness as she untied her scarf and wrapped it around Ruby's neck. "I want ya ta hold on ta this for me. Okay?"

Ruby replied with a weak smile and nodded. He wanted to reach out to her but his hand wouldn't move.

Sapphire turned towards Ruby's Gardevoir and Gallade who were passed out on the battle ground. The two did all they could to defend their trainer. It was dangerous for them to stay there any longer.

"Mr. Norman, I'll handle the Salamence. I need ya ta get Ruru and Zaffiro out of there."

Norman was against it but seeing the resolve shining in the girl's face made him think otherwise.

"Alright."

He sent out his Slaking to carry the two psychic pokemons before they moved to a safer location near the trees. Then he took out his Linoone to look for healing berries as well as some Rawst berries for Ruvi.

Sapphire ran towards her Aggron. Rono grit its teeth and gradually got back on his feet. He was shaken up by the impact but with some encouragement from his trainer, he was fired up and ready for battle. Toro was still hanging on to the Salamence. Her claws dug deeply into the blue dragon's wing. She saw Rono and Sapphire together. Her eyes sharpened and burned with unwavering resolve. Sapphire placed a hand on her Aggron's side. It was time to finish the struggle.

Sapphire recalled the time when she and Ruby were only five and how that day changed her. I'm much stronger than I was back then. I can protect those whom I care about. I will defeat it. The shadow from the past.

End of Chapter 21

I did this on my busy (sleepy) days again... It was done on the 27th but I had to add a few more details..

Tell me what you think? I have a few uncreative parts (I need my nap DX ) ... Suggestions & criticisms are welcome!

I already thought of a good ending! XD 1-2 more chapters left.