Playing With Fire: Chapter 34

AN: I love you if you have read this story!!! (hugs everyone) Love you guys!! ...Of course, I love you even more if you've reviewed, too... *wink*

Brad's POV

How would you feel if someone took your heart, ripped it up, and threw it over a cliff? Yeah, you'd feel crushed. Not to mention dead. Well, I wasn't dead when Amber died, but it felt like a part of me had.

I just stood there for a bit, crying into Amber's soft mane, before I bundled her into my arms and began the long flight back up to Spear Pillar. I spotted a helicopter, and roared as I shot past it, hopefully terrifying the people inside.

How ironic, I thought bitterly. I save her from splatting all over a field, and she dies anyway from a cracked skull.

Hopefully the gang will have saved me a bit of Reggie to kill, anyway.

~_~_~_~_~_~

I yawned and opened my eyes. I saw mist, and realised that I was sprawled on a soft surface, rather like a gigantic mattress. I got to my feet, blinking sleep out of my eyes as I looked around. Blue sky, clouds everywhere... and a giant yellow stag-like creature floating in midair ahead of me. I nearly laughed; I'd always thought that Arceus looked like he'd just run into a giant wheel.

"Amber, you're dead. I assume you already know this. You died because your brain haemorrhaged when your skull was cracked open. The foggy vision you experienced was because the part of your brain that deals with sight was damaged by the haemorrhage."

I looked down at myself; I was still an Arcanine.

"Are you going to bring me back?!" I barked in excitement, Arcanine instincts making my tail wag crazily. Arceus chuckled, and I realised my mouth was open and my tongue hanging out, true Arcanine fashion.

"Yes, when Giratina gets here." the stripey snake promptly put his mouth near Arceus' ear and whispered, "Boo!" Arceus jumped (if that's even possible when floating in midair) and scowled at the laughing Giratina.

"Why do you always take so long to show up?" Arceus complained, and Giratina chuckled.

"Because you are so impatient, that's why. Anyway, shall we?" Arceus nodded, and waved his hoof in a circle, making a green one appear around me.

"Amber, before you go, look down." I obeyed Giratina and looking down through the cloud I was standing on.

I saw a greyish square, almost like a chessboard, with crumbling towers on either side. Even from this height, I could see the two armies grouped around one of the sides doing something. Then I looked up, amazed.

"I'm in the Hall of Origin," I said, awed. Arceus nodded impatiently.

"Yes, we established that. Now, just say the word, and you'll be back where you started!" I grinned at Arceus, then at Giratina in turn.

"Thank you so much!" I cried happily, feeling the clouds part under my feet, and I fell down, towards the group of Pokemon...

I saw Reggie grinning; a smug smile on his fat face... I saw Brad clutching something large and furry with tears cascading down his face... before I landed with an unpainful WHAM! in my old body.

Brad's POV

"You know, that was pathetic." My face contorted I rage as I slowly raised my head from Amber's body and met Reggie's cool gaze.

"Evolving to save a Pokemon who was going to die anyway because of head injuries. Pathetic." the Blastoise spat the last word out in disgust, and I dropped Amber and stood up, surprised to find myself about three feet taller than him.

"You're a moron." I stated in quiet anger, striding to Reggie and towering over him. He snickered.

"Is that the best you can think of?" he asked, snorting. I growled quietly, and Reggie grinned up at me, knowing my predicament.

"If you attack me, my army can extinguish your tail flame in a snap. Actually, we could wipe out all the rock and fire types in your army very quickly indeed." he said all this very calmly, his face expressionless apart from that old smile that plastered his stupid face.

Then suddenly he doubled over, coughing badly. I backed away slightly, wrinkling my snout as a mixture of flesh and blood tumbled out of the Blastoise's mouth. Reg hacked a last time before lifting his head to stare at me again.

"You made me like this," he croaked, and I grinned down at him, glad to have something over on him.

A few gasps came from behind me, but I ignored them because I was too busy sneering down at Reggie.

Suddenly his old grin returned, and I backed away and cringed as I saw the water blasting towards me from the twin water cannons. I shut my eyes, only glad to join Amber wherever she'd gone.

...I was puzzled. I could still hear the water, but it wasn't hitting me. I peeped out from one eye.

The great orange and black dog was standing on her hind legs, front ones pushing against the force of the water. Her giant tail was waving slightly, and her ears were flat against her mane. She gasped and took a step towards Reggie, the water faltering slightly as Amber's pure might overpowered Reggie's powerful water cannons.

"You really think you can kill me, then kill Brad as well?" she snarled, screwing up all her power in her back legs and leaping through the water, towards the Blastoise whose face was a mixture of bewilderment... and fright.

Amber, the twice reborn Arcanine, twisted sideways in the water, slamming into Reg with all her weight. We were standing right in front of the sheer drop which I and Amber had experienced earlier.

Reg tumbled through the air, a paw stretched to the sky, yelling for help as he vanished through the clouds below.

I looked at Amber, who was standing leaning over the edge of the cliff. Her face was expressionless, until we heard a dull boom from below, when she pulled a tongue at the clouds and said one word, and one word only.

"Nyah!"

Amber's POV

I looked up from the clouds, and grinned at Brad. His mouth slowly slid open in shock, and I grinned at him, before being amused at the fact that everyone had been watching.

"What? If I can be reborn once, surely it isn't that bad to be reborn twice?!" I couldn't say any more, because I was immediately constricted by a massive hug from Brad, Lucky, Blitz, Inferno and Danny.

"Amber! Did Arceus do you too?!"

"I knew you were going to live!" Sure I did!"

"AMBER!!!"

"No matter how many times you die, we just can't get rid of you, can we?"

I laughed and hugged my friends back, as our army cheered.

Suddenly a huge bang shook the earth, and a purple blur tumbled ungracefully down after Reggie. Mew soon followed, her pink fur stained with blood and with a huge black eye. She had apparently found some paint, and had decided to give herself war stripes on her cheeks, and had also tied a horrible green and purple tie around her forehead.

She dusted her paws together, and turned to face us. She grinned widely.

"So, I gather none of you got killed, then!"

Me and Brad turned to face each other, grinned, then faced Mew again.

"You have no idea."

AN: I have no idea where the ending came from, but this is not the end!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.