Ah, Platinum… she was sacrificed for this particular series. Makes some sense. Hard for one calm girl to survive amidst a bunch of recklessness, if said recklessness all comes from her seniors.

The Sapphire vs. Platinum rivalry from the original SA plans only happened because of personality extrapolation of Platinum (at the time). Realistically, this rivalry can't occur, which is why it's not present in the actual SA and SE. SR's version is created by altering or exaggerating Sapphire's personality, namely parts of her aggression. SL's version will be created by exaggerating Platinum's, namely her coldness. And in SY, both have been exaggerated slightly. See? BALANCE!

But… let's get this disaster over with. This disastrous series has to end so the other disaster series can be started. Note the difference between a disastrous series and a disaster series.

And another thing (another repeated message from the others of S-EARLY): there are stories and drawn arts out there inspired by or depicting a scene from S-EARLY. Since I'm not told of these creations (except some of the arts), and I have no qualms about these existences… inform me of them if you find them so I can check them out. The arts will be posted on my Tumblr blog.

Category: SR.


Chapter 29: Survival – Red Part 3

Day 14…

"Damn it, this is the last time I'm going to climb up a mountain in the middle of the night," Gold grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah," Sapphire muttered. "Things wouldn't have been this hard if you weren't in the lead! You don't even know the way to the mountain, or back to the camp!"

"Ah, shut up…"

Red looked up at the dark sky. "… It's got to be like 2 am right now. Platinum's probably worried sick about us."

"She's probably still sleeping," Sapphire said dismissively.

"She did work tirelessly ever since we landed here," Black said from behind. "All that's probably going to take a toll on her sooner or later."

"Oh, come on. We worked harder than her," Sapphire said almost in a growl.

Eventually, the four Dex Holders returned to the camp. And they soon noticed something…

"Hey, where's Platinum?" Red asked as he looked around the camp. "And why did her tent burn down?"

Sapphire narrowed her eyes as she scanned the area. She found the exact spot where Platinum lay unconscious after that punch (the other Dex Holders were told that the heiress had fallen asleep), and spotted a faint trail leading towards the fire, her own tent, and far away from the camp. It was pretty obvious that the heiress had burned her own tent down and run away.

Why exactly did Platinum run away? She was either scared of the threats Sapphire made, or she was so offended by the suspicions she received, she didn't want to stay anymore.

Sapphire frowned as she thought deeply about this. If Platinum was scared of the threats, she would've just run away instead of burning down her tent first. But since she burned down her tent, it meant that she was so offended by the suspicion, she didn't want to stay anymore. But why would she be offended? Sapphire felt her strength drain a bit upon realization. Platinum would only feel that way if she didn't do anything wrong in the first place. If she really did do everything she could for the best for everyone and yet still received suspicion from everyone…

Sapphire shook her head. No. It was too early to conclude. It was also possible that Platinum just ran because of her fears and her tent burned down due to some stray ember from the fireplace… several meters away.

"She probably went to gather stuff to rebuild her tent," Sapphire said eventually. "The tent probably caught on fire thanks to a stray ember."

Black tilted his head. "That… seems quite far-fetched."

Gold shrugged. "It's possible, though. Stranger things have happened."

Red didn't look too convinced, but he decided to let it slide. Maybe it was because he was so tired. "I guess we'll find out in the morning."

"Yeah…" Sapphire muttered quietly.

One by one, the male Dex Holders crawled into their tents to sleep. Sapphire stood perfectly still for a few more minutes before she crawled into hers. She had to test out her theories. She had to know for certain…

Sapphire moved the food reserves out of her tent and placed it between the 4 remaining tents. She crawled back into her tent and removed the leaves of the tent 'wall' that blocked her sight of the food reserves. She remained seated and kept her eyes on the reserves. She had suspected Platinum of secretly eating from the reserves. The heiress said that small animals were responsible. If she was right…

Few hours later…

Sapphire woke up when she heard a scream coming from far away. It was faint, but her superior hearing allowed her to pick up the scream. She quickly crawled out of her tent and stared into the distance where the scream came from.

It was obvious that the scream belonged to Platinum. … Was she in trouble?

A few minutes ago, from her new position, Platinum had decided to do something about her broken knee. The scarf alone didn't prevent it from moving entirely. And every time her knee bent in the slightest, the blinding pain forced her to fall. So she had to come up with some method of preventing her knee from bending at all.

Platinum gathered 4 long, straight wooden sticks. They weren't too thick, but they weren't twigs either. She stripped their bark and placed the removed bark beside her. If she couldn't find something to eat soon, she'd have to settle with that bark.

Platinum removed her scarf and took a few deep breaths to prepare herself. She clenched her eyes and slowly forced her broken leg straight. The pain was unbearable and she felt tears forming in her eyes. But she forced it straight.

Eventually, she managed to straighten her knee, but not fully. Something was in the way. Something… painful. Platinum realized that it was her broken kneecap. It was now in the wrong position and that prevented her knee from fully straightening. She had to fix this before her bones healed.

She carefully felt around her good knee with one hand and the broken knee with her other hand. She compared the two and determined what she had to do. She put a small piece of wood in her mouth so she'd bite down on it when the time came. She then put her hands on her broken kneecap. After a mental countdown, she forcefully repositioned her broken kneecap.

Even though the pain forced her to bite down on the piece of wood, she still couldn't withstand the pained scream from escaping past her lips. And that scream was what woke Sapphire.

Sapphire looked into the distance for a short while before she shook her head. She soon remembered what she intended to do and focused her attention to the food reserves. Much to her surprise, half of the stored food was gone once again. So… it really wasn't Platinum. It couldn't be her, as she was currently way too far away and given her condition, she wouldn't be able to move that quickly. Sapphire felt her strength draining. She shook her head. She had to focus… and think of what to do. She then noticed tiny tracks near the reserves. Lines as if something small had crawled over towards the reserve and then made its way back.

"Tiny animals… just like she said…"

Sapphire put her hands on her temples and dropped to her knees. She frantically shook her head to shake away the thoughts about Platinum, but failed.

"No… no… What did I… What have I… … No, I have to set things right…"

Her legs were trembling, but Sapphire forced herself up to her feet. The other Dex Holders didn't know yet. And she had to tell them soon. Today. When they woke up. Sapphire crawled back into her tent she could think of exactly what she was going to say.

Before long, the male Dex Holders woke up one by one. They crawled out of their tents one by one and glanced around to see if anything changed. Then they drank some water (which was from the pond that Platinum had found) and waited until everyone was awake.

Once Gold and Sapphire crawled out of their tents, Red cleared his throat to speak. "Alright everyone, gather up. Time to discuss our next action!"

"Where's Platinum?" Black asked. "I still don't see her around. Where'd she go? Her tent's still burnt to a crisp too."

Sapphire let out a long sigh. "… Red, before we do anything," she started quietly. "… There's something… I have to tell you."

"Hm? What?"

Sapphire took a shuddering breath. She dropped to her knees and bowed in shame. "About Platinum…"

"What about her?"

"It's… my fault she disappeared," Sapphire mumbled out quietly.

"… What do you mean?" Gold asked.

Sapphire let out a shuddering sigh as she began to explain everything. Including the… incident last night when she purposely broke Platinum's knee and threatened her, which was what forced the heiress to run away from the camp.

"… You what?" Gold muttered. "You… … What?!"

"Sapphire… Platinum did everything for us," Black said. "All this… our camp, fire, and water supply all came thanks to her."

"I know!"

Red crossed his arms and paced around a bit. "So… You just didn't like how I appeared to care more about her than you. That's why you purposely hurt her. So she could go away and I'll be focusing on you."

Sapphire put her hands over her face. "… Yes…"

"Damn it, Sapphire!" Red yelled out abruptly. "Platinum looked up to you! She did everything she could so she wouldn't disappoint anyone! And you broke her…" He took several deep breaths to calm himself down. "… So. Why tell me this now?"

"To let you know that I'll set everything right," Sapphire answered quietly. "I don't care if I have to search every square centimeter of this whole island. I'll find Platinum and set everything right."

Red let out a long sigh. "… I don't think Platinum will forgive you. I don't think your actions can be forgiven. And we don't even know if Platinum is alive right now, if that scream you heard was any indication of her state. She's all alone out there, without any supplies. Not to mention, she's been starving herself for days because of your suspicion. And, you broke her knee."

Sapphire slowly nodded. "I know. Alive or dead, I will find her. If she's alive, I'll bring her back safely and then apologize to her for everything. Afterwards, I'll do all I can to set things right. If she's dead…" She took out the length of vine from her bag. "… Let's just say that she's not the only one who'd rather die than live ashamed."

Red sighed again but allowed her to carry out her plan. "If that's your determination, good. But I won't allow a pointless death. Go find her, but keep yourself alive. That's an order." He stared at Sapphire for a bit before shaking his head. "… Knowing Platinum, she won't return. Ever. You suspected her of doing something she didn't do, insulted her for only suggesting the right things, broke her knee, and even threatened her. You scared her and hurt her feelings so much she ran away from us. She would rather risk the unknown and dangerous wildness than stay with us. The fact that she burned down her own tent, which she created, mind you, was a clear message that she will not be returning. So you'll have a hell of a time convincing her to return. But it's your responsibility. Get to it."

Sapphire nodded and rose to her feet. She still avoided eye contact with everyone due to shame. She bowed to Red and soon headed towards the general direction where she heard Platinum's scream. Red watched her for a while and then focused on the others.

"Alright, this is what we're going to do. Platinum is out there somewhere. She's hurt, alone, and probably in serious trouble. If she's still alive, then it means that she's getting a source of water. So Black, head up to our water source and see if you can find any traces of her. If you don't find anything, then she may have found another source and we'll expand our search. Gold, search around the coastline. When Platinum first ran away, she wouldn't have gone straight into the forest. She most likely followed the coastline. But with a broken knee, she wouldn't have been able to walk properly and there will be plenty of traces. Marks made by dragging her leg, for example. Find those traces. But one of us has to stay at the camp and make sure the fire's strong enough so none of us gets lost. So we'll rotate the guard duty. I'll stay here this time and whoever returns first, we'll swap roles. Everyone clear?"

Gold nodded. "Yeah. Let's find her."

"Good. Remember, we have to find her by the end of today. So let's get to it."

Unfortunately, even though Platinum's scream gave the other Dex Holders a big hint as to her current location, the heiress had already anticipated as much and she used all her strength to crawl/limp away once more, thus making their search for her much more difficult.

4 days later, Day 18…

Red carefully scanned the area once more. All he saw were trees and shrubs. There were no signs of Platinum, and he was getting more and more worried. He knew that the heiress really looked up to him. And he cared for her too. She was a very valuable junior. So he had to find her, no matter the cost.

After another couple of hours of searching, Red decided to take a little water break. He headed towards the pond so he could drink some water in the shade cast by the surrounding forest.

But as he approached the pond, he noticed something. Slight movement. Someone, or something was here as well. He hefted the bamboo spear he carried around and prepared himself. Just in case.

He deliberately slowed his pace and constantly looked around. Near the edge of the pond, there was a large tree. He couldn't see behind that tree, so it felt likely that something might be hidden there.

Red held his breath and quickly moved around the tree. The moment he could see behind it, he almost jumped in surprise.

"Platinum!"

The heiress looked up at him, equally surprised. She didn't think anyone would've been able to find her, since she was on the opposite side of the pond from the camp site, and it would be quite a walk to reach there.

Red quickly set down his spear and kneeled in front of her, in a way to prevent her from fleeing once more. Platinum simply watched him. She didn't appear to be able to move anyways. Instead, she kept wary eyes on him at all times. Red then noticed that his junior looked very different than the last time he saw her. Sure, she looked just as tired and starving as before, but right now, she looked… suspicious. Scared, even. She kept her guard up and eyed his every move. He didn't think this was necessary, since he never actually did anything to her. Then he noticed that her clothes were quite damaged. They were just covered in dirt, and were even torn in various placed. Undoubtedly from having to crawl so much. Even the girl's skin looked different. She was paler than before, and her body had countless scratches and cuts all over the place. Again, from having to crawl around so much. But it seemed that the girl had found a way to prevent her broken knee from constantly bending. She had placed four straight wooden sticks around her knee and tied them around her leg with plant vines and her scarf, thus preventing her broken knee from moving.

"Why…" the heiress started quietly.

"Platinum, I'm so happy that you're okay," Red said with a happy smile. He gently put a hand on her shoulder to show that he meant no harm.

Platinum jumped at the contact and didn't seem to trust his words. Her weary eyes still showed clear hints of suspicion, disbelief, and a little bit of fear. "… Why are you out here?"

"To find you," Red answered. "Everyone's been looking for a few days now."

"… Why?"

"Because we care about you! We were all so worried!"

The heiress still didn't look convinced. If anything, her suspicion seemed to have become bigger. "… Why? I tried my best to help you all, but everyone hated me. So there must be an actual reason why you tried to find me…"

"We never hated you," Red said nicely. "We all thought of you as a-"

Platinum suddenly gasped in terror. Red glanced back and spotted Sapphire running over with a relieved look on her face. Realizing something, he quickly looked at Platinum. The heiress was now trying to crawl away, but was making no progress because of her panic and haste. Red gently held onto her shoulder, not allowing her to escape. Not that she would be able to.

The heiress faced him with a look of deep resentment and fear, as if she was blaming him for bringing Sapphire to her. Her look hurt him. He had never seen her look at him with resentment before. But at least it didn't last long as Sapphire just arrived, which made Platinum cover her face with her arms and pull away as much as she could.

"Just… just leave me alone," she whimpered out, now visibly cowering. "I – I didn't do anything…"

Red cast a glare at Sapphire. The Hoenn Dex Holder avoided eye contact with him and kneeled in front of her junior. Platinum pulled herself away from her as much as she could.

"Platinum," Sapphire said nicely. "I'm so sorry for what I did. I was 100% wrong and you didn't do anything wrong. Please. Come back to the camp with us."

Platinum frantically shook her head. "N – No, no… No more…"

Red kept his glare at Sapphire. "You, leave. Now."

Sapphire winced at his words but understood. She bowed to both Red and Platinum and quickly walked away. Once she felt that she was far enough away from the heiress to make her feel safer, she stopped walking and waited.

Platinum calmed down when Sapphire left her alone. She still looked scared and worried, however. Red moved so that he would block Sapphire from Platinum's sight. The heiress kept her guard up, as she no longer trusted anyone on this island. She had already come to the conclusion long ago that no one remotely cared about her. Red felt the need to offer her the warmth and care she needed and wanted before he could attempt to change the way the girl saw Sapphire.

"Platinum," he started warmly. "… I understand how you feel." A blatant lie, but he sounded genuine enough. "I know how it feels when it looks like no one is looking after you, and that you're all alone." 'Damn it, where's Blue when you need her? This is her specialty!'

Platinum stopped trembling and carefully examined her senior's expression. Red patted her on the cheek. The heiress jumped at first, but quickly relaxed.

'Hey, it's working!' "You have nothing to fear from me," he said nicely once more.

The girl still didn't look fully convinced. But she seemed to be warming up to him. "… But…"

"Hey, come on," Red said with a warm smile. "When have I ever hurt you in the slightest?"

Platinum stared into his eyes as she thought over all of her memories with him. Come to think of it, Red never did hurt her in the slightest. Even Diamond hurt her more (that one misunderstanding early in their friendship) than Red.

She slowly nodded as she allowed herself to trust her senior. "… Okay… I trust you…"

"Good. Now trust me when I say this. You keep saying that no one cares for you. You're wrong, Platinum. We do care for you. I know I do. And so does Black. In fact, he always took your side. Gold doesn't hate you either. He views you as a teammate, and you know how much he cares about his teammates. Now, Sapphire may have hated you, but she changed. She told me all about what she did to you, and she deeply regrets her actions. In fact, she's the first one to actively search for you." Red examined his junior's expression. She seemed to be listening to him. "Now, Platinum. I want you to come back to us. And believe me, Sapphire will set everything right." He looked back at the Hoenn Dex Holder, who was just waiting for him to call her over. So he did. "Sapphire, get back here!"

Platinum looked quite surprised, but calmed herself down a little and watched. Sapphire came over and again, kneeled in front of her.

"Sapphire, as I said, this is your responsibility," Red said with a stern expression.

Sapphire nodded. "Platinum, I'm really, really sorry for what I did. Can you please come back to the camp with us?"

Platinum didn't say anything and instead, scanned her senior's expression. So Sapphire tried harder.

"It's really not safe for you to be all the way out here by yourself like this. Come back to the camp with us. We'll protect you and make sure nothing happens to you. And I'll do everything I can to help you."

Platinum finally spoke, but very quietly. "… Why should I go back? Everyone hates me… you more than the others. No one took my side for anything. It was perfectly clear that I am not wanted around, so I left. And I will not go back."

"It's not safe for you out here," Sapphire said again.

"It is not safe for me in the camp either," Platinum replied. She cast a long glance at her broken knee, which had stopped hurting the previous day. Perhaps all the nerves died? Or she was used to it. "I will take my chances out here, alone."

"But you'll die out here… I really want you to survive, Platinum. Please, come with us so we can take care of you."

"Why do you say that?" Platinum asked. "Are you really afraid that I will die, or are you just afraid that Diamond and Pearl will find out that I died because of you?"

Sapphire put a hand over her face. When her hand moved, Platinum immediately reached for Red, seeking protection. She backed away from Sapphire as much as she could. But when Sapphire lowered her hand, she could see that tears were welling in her eyes.

"… After what I did, I don't care about what happens to me," she said quietly. "Even if Dia and Pearl find out about what I did to you, it wouldn't matter to me, because I won't be getting off this island without you. If you don't want to come back to the camp, I'll stay here with you. If you run away again, I'll find you again. And if you die…" She pulled out the length of vine from her bag. "… I'll follow you too. So do as you wish."

Sapphire slowly rose to her feet and walked away once more, this time heading back towards the camp. Red watched her leave and sighed.

"Platinum… you really have to return to the camp with us. Just look at her. She's more ashamed about this than ever. If you keep refusing to trust us, she really will kill herself. Just as you would, if the roles were reversed."

Platinum still didn't look fully convinced. She looked away from Red and focused on her broken knee. Red moved so he could sit right next to her. He slowly put an arm around her for a warm embrace, in a way of showing his care for her.

"… Senior… I want to be left alone," Platinum mumbled out quietly, even though she was starting to relax in her senior's embrace.

"Don't lie, Platinum," Red said. "I know you felt lonely for the past several days." He checked his junior's expression to make sure he was saying the right things. "Platinum, please come back to the camp with us. You're invaluable to us. We need your help. And I trust you. That's why whenever you suggested something, I let you and Black carry out your plan."

The heiress just sighed as she struggled to make a decision. "But…"

"How about this, then? You come with us back to the camp for today. And if you still don't want to stay with us, you can leave again."

Platinum looked at Red and tried to read his thoughts. Was he giving up on her? Somehow, that notion felt much worse than being alone in the middle of the wilderness.

"I'll take it as a yes then," Red said, having received no response from the girl. He slowly rose to his feet and carefully lifted her onto his arms. Platinum winced from the sudden shock to her knee, but didn't put up a struggle. "You're a lot lighter than I remember. I think you need to eat something."

Still, the heiress didn't say anything. She just let herself be carried back to the camp in silence. Maybe it was because she didn't get any sleep for a while, or maybe it was because she felt relieved deep down inside her, but as Red carried her towards the camp, she steadily fell asleep.

Day 19…

Platinum stirred as she heard mumbling voices around her. 4 distinct voices talking to one another…

"… You think she's sick or something?"

"Might be. She didn't seem to have eaten anything in a long while."

"Maybe she's just really tired from crawling around all day for the past few days."

"Maybe it's all of the above? … Shouldn't we just let her rest?"

"I think she's waking up."

The heiress slowly opened her eyes. She immediately recognized Red, Gold, Sapphire, and Black all sitting around her in the makeshift tent, looking at her worriedly.

"Finally, you're awake," Gold said.

"You've been asleep for a good 3/4 of a day, you know," Black said.

"Are you feeling okay?" Red asked.

The heiress slowly nodded as she sat up. "Yes…" She then noticed that she was using Red's vest as a blanket. She folded it neatly and returned it to Red. "Thank you…"

Sapphire let out a sigh of relief. Platinum kept nervous eyes on her at all times. The Hoenn Dex Holder understood. She simply placed two pots on the ground next to her junior. She then placed a long sturdy walking stick next to her as well.

"Here. I'll just leave these here and leave you alone," she said warmly. "I know you don't want me near you, and I understand. Just eat up and drink up, okay?"

Platinum didn't respond and didn't look at the two pots, one of which contained several ripe berries and the other filled with drinking water. Sapphire gave her a friendly smile and soon left the tent.

Red gave Platinum a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Eat, drink, and relax, okay? When you want to, meet us outside."

The male Dex Holders left the tent as well, leaving the heiress alone. She finally let out a sigh of relief and started to collect her thoughts. So far, things weren't bad. And she believed that as long as she kept her mouth shut, everything will remain as such.

Platinum took a small sip of water and a small bite out of a berry. She left the other berries perfectly intact, just in case that caused any trouble. Still, no matter how nice the other Dex Holders were to her, she couldn't quite trust any of them.

3 days later, Day 22…

The escape raft Red and the others were building was finally completed. Red gathered the others, including Platinum, for the next plans.

"Alright, so we'll load up our food and water supply on the raft and push on. Any suggestions for improvement?" Red asked. The other Dex Holders immediately turned their attention to Platinum. The heiress kept her head down with her now-usual crestfallen look. "Platinum?" Red called nicely.

The girl slowly faced him. "… Yes?"

"Do you have any suggestions for our plan?" Red asked nicely. He pointed at the created raft on the shore. It was a simple raft without any supporting wings. One simple wave could flip it over. But it looked big enough.

Platinum eyed the poor excuse of a raft but didn't say anything. For several seconds, she simply stared at it and kept quiet.

"I guess it's not really up to your standards," Sapphire muttered. She frowned as she realized that her words sounded sarcastic and implicative even though she was just stating a fact. "Um…"

The heiress flinched and quickly scanned the expressions of the other Dex Holders. "N – No," she hastily blurted out. "I… I think it's great!"

It was a blatant lie and everyone knew it. But Platinum looked so scared and panicked, the other Dex Holders couldn't really say anything. Red quickly signaled her to calm down with both of his hands.

"Easy, Platinum. It's okay. We really do want your advice."

Platinum put her hands over her mouth as she desperately checked everyone's expressions. Even though they all had warm expressions and smiles, the heiress didn't trust any of them. Without warning, she quickly turned around and began to limp/hop away as fast as she could manage.

Red let out a long sigh. "Damn it."

Sapphire rubbed the back of her neck and kept her head down in shame. Gold and Black simply stood back, wondering what was wrong with the raft.

"Alright people, start brainstorming," Red ordered. "Something's clearly wrong with that raft. So find out what that is." Afterwards, he went to talk to Platinum once more.

Sapphire stared at the raft. She calmed herself down as much as she could and thought about it. Her ideas were generally rushed, according to Platinum, so she thought about long term effects.

"I think I know what Platinum was thinking," she said to the other two Dex Holders.

"Huh?"

"A big enough wave would flip this thing over," Sapphire said. "I think we should do something about it."

Later that night…

Platinum slowly peeked around her tent. No one was in sight, as they were all still sleeping. After scanning around for several minutes, she slowly crawled out. With her walking stick, she managed to get to her good foot before long.

She took another look around to make sure no one was awake and slowly hobbled away from the camp. She couldn't stand being around the others. They just… scared her. Their whole "nice act" frightened her too. And she just couldn't stay around. So she would leave once more. Red tried to talk to her earlier that day, but his words didn't mean anything to her. No matter what anyone said, her thoughts were clear. Before long, anger will build up, and someone would lose their temper. And Platinum was not going to stay around for that again.

But she didn't manage to get far. Before she passed Red's tent, she stopped in her tracks. She stared at Red's tent and blinked. He trusted her. He was so nice to her too. Even if she didn't trust him entirely, he put so much trust in her. And she couldn't just… betray him like this.

As much as everyone scared her, she didn't want to betray Red's trust. That just didn't seem right.

Platinum let out a whimper-like groan as she proceeded to sit on the grass nearby. She couldn't stay. But she couldn't leave either. Only if she had someone to talk to… only if Diamond was with her…

She stared up at the night sky. The full moon was beautiful to look at. But the bright reflection of the near-perfectly circular celestial body appeared to look like Diamond's slightly chubby face and his bright smile. He was looking for her… somewhere out there…

She reached out for the moon. It appeared to be so close… within arm's reach… But the actual distance of 380 000 km obviously prevented physical contact.

"So close… yet so far…" Platinum muttered. "Diamond… I know you are looking for me… … You're close… close to me… yet so far… you're just out of reach…"

Platinum soon buried her face into her hands and sobbed. She missed Diamond so much. She hated this island. And she hated herself for being incapable of making a decision.

"Platinum?" came Red's voice from behind.

The heiress quickly calmed down and wiped away her tears. "Y – Yes, senior?"

"What are you doing out here?" Red asked as he sat beside her. Platinum didn't say anything, as she didn't know what to say. Red apparently understood her. "… You were planning on running away again, weren't you?"

"… Yes…" Platinum mumbled out quietly.

"… We tried our best to show you that we want to take good care of you," Red said. "So… why are you trying to abandon us again?"

The heiress let out a sigh. "… Senior, may I be honest?"

"Of course," Red said. He faced her and looked into her eyes. The moonlight made her eyes sparkle, but only because tears were forming in them. "You can tell me anything."

Platinum stared into his eyes and felt her tears blurring her vision. "… The truth is… I'm just… scared." She looked down as she wiped away the tears. "I'm scared of senior Sapphire… junior Black… senior Gold… this whole island, and…" She looked up at her senior once again, her eyes red from fatigue and crying. "… You, senior…"

"Me? Why?"

"You're all so… reckless and headstrong… Your plans are always so rushed, but you don't plan for anything in case your ideas fail. I was the only one to suggest contingency planning, and you all benefited from it. I was the one to suggest building shelters, and I had to make them myself. I was the one to suggest finding a source of water, and I had to find it myself too. I did all sorts of things for the good of everyone and yet… you didn't appreciate my efforts." She looked down once more and wiped at her eyes. "You didn't even take my side when senior Sapphire started to accuse me of stealing your food. So what would happen if I stay? Everyone will continue making reckless suggestions. If I go with your plans, there will not be any preparations for when the plan fails. If I make alternate suggestions, everyone will start hating me more because I would be disagreeing all the time. And eventually, someone will hurt me again, just as senior Sapphire did. Maybe it'll be junior Black who will vent out his anger on me. Or senior Sapphire again. Or… you. Senior Sapphire already threatened to break my other knee if I did not agree with her plans. So what will you do? Break my arms?"

Red wanted to say that it wasn't true, but then he realized that Platinum was just venting out the pent up emotions she had for the past several days. So he waited. She would calm down eventually.

Platinum let out a trembling sigh as she steadily calmed down. "… If you really do care about me… please just let me go and let me have my peace of mind."

Red waited for a few seconds to see if she had more to say. She didn't. In fact, she seemed to be waiting for his response.

"… Sorry, Platinum," Red said with a sigh.

"… For what, senior?"

"This. What happened to you. Everything," he said quietly. "Because… well, this is my fault. If I could keep things under control, this wouldn't have happened to you. If Green or Blue was here instead of me, there wouldn't be any problems. If Green was here, he'd keep everything and everyone under complete control, and he would've led everyone off this island a while ago. If Blue was here, she'd be the one coming up with ideas and she'd talk to you guys so there wouldn't be any personal problems arising. But I'm not like either of them, so this happened. And I'm sorry."

"Senior," the heiress started. But Red didn't let her continue.

"Listen. I won't force you to stay with us. I can't ask you to stay with us if you feel that you'll get hurt. You're really smart, Platinum. Your suggestions and plans are invaluable. If I only listened to you sooner, none of this would've happened. I'd listen to your suggestions now, if you made them. Sapphire and the others agree too. We all want to hear your thoughts, but because of what we did, you don't want to share your thoughts with us. And I'm sorry. At this rate, and knowing you, you might have better chances of getting off this place by yourself than with us." He gently patted the girl on the upper back and sighed. "I won't stop you if you really want to leave us. I just wish you good luck. … And goodbye."

Red rose to his feet once more and returned to his tent. Platinum wanted to say something but no words came out. Instead, she stared into the dark distance once more and thought about what Red said. She might've hurt his feelings by only focusing on her emotions. And with that realization, came guilt. Guilt of refusing to accept everyone's sincerity. Guilt of making others feel miserable. Especially Red. He put so much trust in her… she just couldn't leave him. She wanted to help him. And she would.

Day 23…

Platinum pulled herself away from the breakfast she was making and hobbled around the tents to see if anyone else was awake.

She peeked into Red's tent. The Kanto Dex Holder remained fast asleep, with all of his limbs spread wide apart. Since he was still snoring, Platinum moved on to the next tent.

Gold and Sapphire were sleeping in the next one. Because the heiress had burned hers down, Sapphire had volunteered to give up her own tent when the heiress returned. And until another tent was built, she forced Gold to make room for her. And so far, Sapphire and Gold had no success in rebuilding a tent.

Both Gold and Sapphire tend to… kick and turn while sleeping. So when Platinum peeked inside the tent, she took a few seconds to notice what was what. Gold was currently snoring with one of his legs resting on top of Sapphire's chest, and with the other below her hips. Sapphire, despite lying in an incredibly uncomfortable position, was still fast asleep, snoring equally loudly as Gold.

Platinum moved on to Black's tent. The Unova Dex Holder was sleeping face down, drooling a bit as he snored with a happy expression. As such, the heiress left him alone as well and hobbled back towards the fireplace to continue with the breakfast.

Soon, as the breakfast approached completion, the other Dex Holders started to wake up one by one. Red was the first to crawl out of his tent. He was actually a bit surprised to see Platinum still around and quickly approached her.

"Good morning, senior," the heiress said with a smile. It was the first time he saw her smile in a long while.

"Platinum… you're staying with us?"

Platinum nodded. "Yes. You have given me so much trust and care, I cannot leave you. For better or for worse, I will stay with you."

"What about the others?" Red asked.

"… Senior Sapphire's actions were due to irrational anger. I cannot judge her solely on that. And for the past few days, she has also shown me great care. I will forgive her. This whole experience would have been an example for the others and as such, I do not expect any trouble anymore. And as such, I have no reason to leave you."

"You're going to stay with us? That's great! Thanks, Platinum."

Platinum rose to her feet once more. "Thank you, senior Red, for all your care and support through my difficult time. I will never forget it."

Red gave the girl a gentle embrace. Platinum appeared happy for the first time in a long while, and he felt very relieved.

"Alright, Platinum. So do you have any suggestions you'd like to make?"

"Yes," Platinum answered. "First, the raft. We will need to take two large logs and attach them to the raft. They will act as supporting wings. That way, it will be much harder for the waves to flip it over. Next, we will need to make one large tent that we will place on the raft. We do not know how long we will be on the ocean. We need a shelter from the sun rays. Next, we will need to stockpile our water and food reserves. Once all those preparations are complete, we will use the tides to escape this island."

"What direction should we take?"

"We should head north. Using the position of the sun, I can determine the general compass directions."

Red smiled and patted his junior on the shoulder. "You see? This is why we need you. I'll wake up the others, and we'll start making those preparations."

5 days later, Day 28…

Red checked over all of the stuff on the raft. The new raft had supporting wings, several oars, and had a big makeshift tent built on it and tied to the raft so wind wouldn't send it flying off. All of the pots they used were filled with food and water and were stacked up inside the tent. The tent also had several dry rocks which were going to be used to create sparks should the Dex Holders find rescue in the dark.

"Everything ready?" Sapphire asked Platinum.

Platinum glanced over the raft as well. "Yes. We should be ready."

"So… what are we waiting for now?"

"The start of the low tide," Platinum answered. "When the water level starts to go down, we will need to push off on the raft and row as fast as we can. We should be able to make great progress."

"Okay. But why wait until nighttime?"

"Wind always moves from the land to the water at night, and the other way around at daytime. As such, to escape, we have to use a low tide at night."

"Alright. That makes sense."

"Okay, the water level's starting to go down!" Black yelled.

"You heard him! Move, people!" Red yelled.

Sapphire helped Platinum get onto the raft and began to push the large raft along with Red, Gold, and Black. Once the raft was on the water, Platinum helped the others get on one by one. Those that climbed out of the water immediately took out the built oars to row as fast as they could. The tide and wind greatly helped out, and before long, the island appeared like a tiny dot in the distance.

"We did it," Sapphire said. "We're finally out of that island."

"Yeah. Now we just sit back and rest, right?" Gold asked.

"Yes. We just have to make sure that we are drifting north," Platinum said. "If we approach the routes ships take from harbor to harbor, we will be rescued quickly."

"And if all else fails," Red said. "We can just row like hell and get to Kanto mainland by hand."


Finally, this experiment of Survival – Red series is over. Green/Blue series will fare better, for sure.

Announcement: this will be the last chapter of SR. No, I'm not ending it. No, I'm not cancelling it. As you can see below, there is another chapter ahead. But it just won't be SR. Details to come next chapter.

Next up (non-DHC):

Quite a few Dex Holders write diaries/journals, it seems. And a mishap causes a couple of diaries to become lost, and another Dex Holder finds them. Using the… embarrassing secrets buried inside, the Dex Holder probes the others for information in hopes of returning the diaries and embarrassing the crap out of the owners. Suggested by a recurring faithful reviewer of SR.