Chapter 26

Torn

It was three days after the Johto trainers arrived back at Goldenrod City from fighting off the giant Pokémon in Olivine City. Roxanne had found a Pidgeot flying service that allowed her to fly back to Rustboro City in Hoenn. Meanwhile, Jasmine and Silver were staying at Whitney's house while Gold was still in the hospital. Jasmine woke up late and walked out into the living room, looking for Silver, but he was not around. Whitney sat alone on the couch, looking dumbfounded over Silver's location.

"He was gone when I woke up this morning," Whitney told Jasmine. "The door to his room was wide open, and he wasn't in his room… I have no idea where he could be."

"Oh, Silver…" Jasmine sighed, rushing out of the house.

Whitney watched Jasmine run off, wondering where she could be going. To her, Jasmine's affixation with Silver made no sense. She knew Jasmine for a long time. Jasmine was the very personification of innocence and purity in Johto. She was mature beyond her years, while somehow always seeming smarter simply by not speaking. Why, then, was Jasmine so attached to Silver?

It must be physical attraction, Whitney thought. That has to be it.

But that couldn't be it. If there was any girl in the Pokémon world who would see through a guy's appearance and into his heart, Jasmine was the one. But if it wasn't physical attraction, what else could it be? Did Jasmine simply just feel bad for Silver and want to help him?

As good of a heart as Jasmine has, she still wouldn't go out with Silver just to help him through his problems, Whitney thought. She'd be smarter than that.

So what was it? And why did it matter to her, anyway? Whitney began to feel bad about possibly being critical of her friend, but she realized that it was all about looking out for Jasmine's best interests. Roxanne had told her about what had happened when she was with a malicious boyfriend. Whitney certainly didn't want to see that happen to Jasmine. And if Silver was about to do something hurtful to Jasmine, she couldn't just sit still and watch as her friend fell into his trap, could she?

What's there to worry about? Whitney thought. Silver's a little rough around the edges, but he isn't that bad, is he?

But Whitney began to think about it more. She had heard all Silver had been talking about lately. His words were words of a madman, of a lunatic. Maybe it wasn't his fault, but according to him, his childhood friend had been killed, his life is in constant danger, and he feels as if Jasmine is his only hope. He lived a life as a criminal, then began a wayward trainer, then suddenly showed signs of kindness after meeting Jasmine. All of this didn't make sense to Whitney. What was Silver rambling on about all the time? Something about a ninja wanting to kill him, something about having to face his father for Jasmine's sake. Was this really the truth? Or was Silver simply setting the bait for a trap, which would end up hurting Jasmine badly?

I don't know about this Silver… I never liked him, but now he seems flat-out crazy, Whitney thought. He's been accused of murder before, he has a father who's our worst enemy, and he's saying his friend was just killed.

All these things began to get Whitney extremely worried. She got up from her couch and left her house, determined to find Jasmine and stop her from putting herself into possible harm.

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Jasmine had run all around Goldenrod City by this point. She was totally exhausted, trying to catch her breath. She had not seen Silver anywhere. Certainly the place she expected to find him was Blue's graveyard, but he was not there. And he wouldn't be visiting Gold in the hospital, as visiting hours for the day had not begun yet. It was pretty obvious to her that there was a good possibility that he had left the city, but where could he have gone? And why was he on the run? After thinking about it for a little while, she left the city running in the direction of Olivine City, figuring that she had the best chance of finding him by going this way.

Silver… why? she asked silently.

She continued her sprint in the direction of Olivine City, when she pulled out a Poké Ball.

"Eevee, help me," she said, sending out her Eevee.

Eevee began to sniff around, trying to find Silver's scent, which it knew very well. It then began to dash ahead suddenly, so Jasmine followed it. After about a couple minutes of running, Jasmine noticed a figure standing ahead of her, which looked quite familiar.

"Silver!" she screamed.

She rushed towards Silver, who looked downcast. As she met him, she threw her arms around him. Silver gave no response to her.

"Silver, what's wrong? Why did you run off?" Jasmine asked him.

Silver sighed. "Jasmine, for your sake, it might be best if we don't see each other for a while," he told her.

Jasmine looked at Silver in shock. Was he breaking up with her?

"Blue was killed for being around me, and I'm afraid you'll be next," Silver explained. "I feel responsible for her death, and I wouldn't be able to live with the burden of yours as well."

"But…" Jasmine muttered.

"Jasmine, you mean so much to me…" Silver continued. "I want to protect you, and the only way I can do that is by eliminating those who want me dead- that ninja Janine and my own father."

Jasmine did not know what to say. Silver was doing this with the full intention of trying to protect her, yet she did not want to be separated from him.

"I have to go now," Silver told her. "If I don't destroy those two, we're never going to be able to fulfill our dreams."

"Please…" Jasmine said silently. "Don't leave me."

"I don't want to," Silver replied. "But for your sake, I must. Please, Jasmine, allow me to take care of you."

He reached out and touched Jasmine's chin, then the two shared a kiss.

"I must go now," Silver said.

At that moment, Whitney came running over towards the couple.

"What's going on?" Whitney demanded.

"I'm going to leave Jasmine for a while, so I can kill those who hunt me," Silver answered.

He is crazy, Whitney thought. He's hurting Jasmine and going nuts at the same time.

"What's the matter with you?" Whitney yelled at Silver. "Don't you care a bit about Jasmine? Or have you totally lost it?"

"I'm trying to protect her," Silver responded. "It's all for her good."

"Do you even know what you are saying?" Whitney shouted. "You're crazy!"

"I don't understand," Silver replied.

"You have lost your mind!" Whitney screamed. "You have been rambling about a friend being killed, about a ninja hunting you, about having to face your father. You've somehow tricked Jasmine into thinking you're a nice guy, but you're really just a lunatic!"

"You know what," an angry Silver replied, "you remind me a lot of that boyfriend of yours. You think you're some sort of hero, when you really aren't anything more than just an inferior trainer!"

"I'm starting to think that you may be behind some of these murders that have occurred!" Whitney yelled back. "The rest of us live in a normal world, while you live in some fantasy world with ninjas chasing you and a rivalry with your father!"

"Guess what?" the furious Silver argued. "That fantasy world and your 'normal' world are about to clash if I don't do something about it! I only hope that I can stop my enemies before they manage to kill me, or Jasmine!"

Jasmine looked at the arguing trainers in hopelessness, unable to speak her mind. After watching the two scream at each other for several more minutes, she finally reached out her hand and grabbed Silver's right hand. Silver stopped yelling at Whitney and looked at Jasmine.

"Silver, I want to go with you," she said.

"I don't want you to be killed by being around me, though," Silver replied. "Please, stay here where you'll be safe."

"Why is my life more important than yours?" Jasmine asked. "Why should you risk your life just for my safety? I'm willing to risk mine for yours as well… your life means just as much as mine does."

Silver did not know how to respond to Jasmine's comment. He couldn't bear the thought of Jasmine being killed the same way Blue was, but Jasmine seemed insistent.

"I want you to be happy," Silver said. "You may come along."

Jasmine smiled at Silver. Silver then turned away from Whitney and began to walk away with Jasmine.

"Jasmine, be careful!" Whitney called to Jasmine. "I don't trust Silver… don't let him hurt you!"

"He won't," Jasmine quietly replied.

Whitney turned around and started back towards Goldenrod City. All she wanted to do was protect her friend… and apparently that was all Silver wanted too. As much as she worried about Jasmine being put in danger by Silver, she had a feeling Jasmine would be all right, so she stopped her protest and headed back home. She could only hope that her gut feeling was right.