Pokemon: Radiant Ruby and Shining Sapphire / Separation

Chapter 4

Reunion

"Dear Ruby,

It's been a while, hasn't it? I honestly don't know how long it'll be until I manage to deliver this letter, but regardless it feels like forever since the last time I saw you. I want to say that it's just been rough, but the fact that your reading this means that I finally saw you again. Given my, let's just say, strange predicament, I probably acted like an absolute bitch to you when I saw you. Just know that that was only to keep up my appearance as a complacent member of Team Aqua. However, whatever I said or did, I didn't mean it, unless of course the conversation was normal by some amazing twist of fate. I'm getting off track here a bit. Why I'm writing this is to tell you to meet me on Route 110 under the bike paths two days from now around noon. I have so much I want to talk to you about and will make it an absolute priority for me to be there. I miss you, like a lot.

See you soon,

Sapphire"

Ruby_Two Days Later at 1

Ruby Plake sat under the shade of the bike trail that went over him with wasn't wearing his Team Magma attire though. Instead he wore a red jacket with fur lining with a white undershirt underneath. He also wore black jeans and only one glove (the one with the magnet in it). The two had been waiting for over an hour, but no one was showing up. However, Ruby was too excited for this to get up and move from the spot he sat. At this point though, anxiety started welling up inside him. He thought, "What if she was found out? Would Team Aqua hurt her? What if I injured her in our battle. I guess I didn't check up on her afterwards. I'm a terrible…"

Combusken nudged the boy with his elbow before thinking, "Just calm down. She's probably just held up with normal business. And plus, I'm the one who kicked Marshtomp into her. I can confirm that it wasn't strong enough to cause any significant injuries. I held back because I didn't want to hurt either of them, but I still had to knock out Marshtomp."

Ruby thought, still in a frantic state of mind, "But what if she hit her head on the fall or maybe a loose rock cut her leg or…"

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Ruby looked up to see Emerald and Grovyle standing there. He wasn't in his uniform either, but instead wore a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants and a pair of sunglasses rested on top of his dark hair.

Ruby looked at the boy, clearly confused, before saying, "I could ask you the same thing. Did Sapphire invite you?"

Emerald's expression changed to excitement, "Wait, are you meeting up with Sapphire here? No, she didn't invite me, but the real question is why the hell you didn't! Wait unless… this is a couple thing…"

Ruby stood up and was about to say something but was stopped by another voice, this time female, saying, "Woah sorry. I should have been a LOT more specific when I said to meet me under the bike trail. That description covered hella ground."

Ruby turned to see Sapphire in a blue tank top and black sweatpants approaching them. She had a black jacket tied around her waist and she was wearing her normal blue headband, but now it was tied up to resemble a bow. She smiled and waved the the boys saying, "Oh cool! Emerald's here too. Long time no see!"

Before anything else was said, Ruby rushed over to the girl and wrapped his arms around her while tackling her to the ground. Sapphire laughed and returned the embrace before saying, "Yeah. I missed you too."

After the embrace lasted for about ten seconds, Emerald said, "Um, sorry to bother you guys, but what the hell is going on here? Did you two find a way to contact each other about meeting up here or what?"

Ruby rolled off the girl before picking himself up, Sapphire did the same and Sapphire responded, "Well that's a bit of a long story. And how don't you know why we're here? Didn't Ruby tell you?"

Emerald explained, "Nope, it was just pure chance that I ran into him here. Sometimes Grovyle and I walk around Mauville to get away from everything and blow off some steam. It's a bit of relief after dealing with nonstop PR on the terrorist attack two days ago." He then sarcastically added, "Oh yeah, thanks for the bad intel on that by the way. Three days my ass."

Sapphire scratched the back of her head and said, "Yeah, that's what everyone was told. But apparently Archie was too impatient to wait that long so as soon as the team was ready, he decided to go for it. Besides, there were only casualties from the Teams on the raid. I kept up with the news. The people running the cable cars were terrified out of their minds, but there were only thirteen injured and five killed, and none of them were civilians. I'd say that was a win."

Ruby then walked back to Combusken before asking, "So… mind telling me what you're doing in Team Aqua?"

Sapphire retorted, "Oh yeah, that story isn't too hard to put together. I was captured, apparently my skills impressed Archie. He placed a 'bomb' in my neck to keep me complacent. I've been trying to find out how to take them down from the inside. That shouldn't be too hard to figure out honestly. But what really has ME stumpped is why YOU are working for Team Magma?!"

Ruby shot back immediately, "To find YOU of course! Maxie and I came to an agreement that I would work with him until we inevitably found out what happened to you. Sticking with Team Magma was a surefire way to find that information eventually, so I joined up."

Emerald butted in, "And hi, I'm Emerald, still the leader of Team Skystorm."

Ruby and Sapphire both looked at the boy. The wit was so out of Emerald's natural character that instead of laughing, the two just stared at him in concern.

Emerald laughed and said, "Anyway, it's been good seeing you in this casual setting…" He removed the smile from his face before stating, "However, now that your here Sapphire, we need to talk."

Sapphire put her hands on her hips and said, "Oh please, look I know you're worried about me and all, but I'm not in over my head or anything. Like I said in my message, its not like I have a bomb in my neck or anything. I things become overwhelming, I can bail out whenever."

Emerald explained, "That's actually exactly what I needed to tell you. You say that there was a spy among Team Aqua with you, correct?" Sapphire nodded and Emerald continued, "Well the thing is, there is no such spy. As far as I am aware, you are the only one on our side in their ranks."

Sapphire's eyes widened and softly asked, "What? … no that's not…"

Emerald then further explained, "Which means that we have to assume that you do have an active bomb in your neck."

Sapphire spouted out, "No way! The woman I met seemed like she knew you really well. She told me stories throughout the last year of you and your sister!"

Emerald grimaced and asked, "And what the hell kind of stories did she tell you? Think of one that would sound personal and tell me. I'll tell you if she was lying or not."

Sapphire urgently said, "You and your sister used to play around the graveyard on Mt. Pyre on some nights. She said she was in charge of watching the two of you so you didn't damage anything."

Emerald nodded and said, "Well that one's sort of true. I vaguely remember doing that. However, that story could be easily fabricated out of thin air."

Sapphire thought for another moment before saying, "What about you learning to swim when you were seven? You were terrified of water before that, right?"

Emerald put his hand to his chin and thought, "Well that one was oddly personal, but again you could say that about anyone and it could be true. Anything deeper?"

Sapphire snapped her fingers and said, "I've got it! She knew that your sister always had her head in the clouds and that she was always followed by her partner Pokemon everywhere!"

Sapphire looked directly at Emerald expecting some proof that she was right, but instead his face froze, seemingly out of shock. The boy stumbled back a few steps before asking in an even more serious tone, "And did this 'spy' happen to also be accompanied by a Pokemon at all times."

Sapphire nodded and stated, "Yep indeed. It was a Whismur that she called Aster, if I remember correctly."

After hearing this, Emerald walked back into one of the support beams for the bike path above them and slowly slip to the ground. Ruby and Sapphire looked at each other, clearly confused, then back to the boy. Combusken thought to Ruby, "Well that was a reaction. Ask him what the hell it was about?"

But before Ruby got the chance, Emerald swung his fists to the ground and yelled, "THAT BITCH! WHAT THE HELL IS SHE THINKING!"

Ruby stated in a calming tone, "Hold up. So you know her? Does that mean you did have someone on the inside?"

Emerald's expression embodied the very essence of anger as he replied, "No! I didn't send that woman anywhere, she did it on her own!"

Ruby turned to Sapphire and asked, "Well did you ever get her name? This friend of yours I mean. You probably relied on her a lot this past year. You must at least know her…"

Sapphire shook her head and said, "No, nothing like that. She said that it was to keep her identity hidden or something, but she never told me who she was."

Emerald got to his feat and spoke urgently. "Don't worry, I know her name. It's Zinnia motherfucking Draconid! My mother!"

Ruby was about to respond with surprise, but realized that it wouldn't contribute anything to the situation and decided to take his own seat on the ground.

Emerald looked at Sapphire, with pure contempt in his eyes and said, "Tell her to come home within the next week, otherwise I'll send all of Skystorm over to Lilycove and kill her myself. I don't give a damn how many people get hurt in the process. I'll drag her back kicking and screaming if I must."

Sapphire took a deep breath in before asking, "Well then I hope that you're ok with some bad news."

The boy read her face and groaned before saying, "She isn't there anymore, is she?"

Sapphire shook her head and answered, "Ever since the attack on Mt. Chimney, I haven't been able to contact her at all. I know she was on the mission with me, so I assumed the worst. But now knowing who she is, I bet she's still kicking somewhere."

Emerald gritted his teeth and started to walk away. He didn't say anything, he didn't give any indication of a farewell. He just walked. Once Groovyle realized this, he too darted away after the boy.

Ruby, still on the ground said, "Well that just happened."

Sapphire asked, "Why does he have such a piss poor attitude? I mean like at the very least this means Zinnia has been trying to help all along."

Ruby proposed, "Well maybe it's just the fact that she dumped all this responsibility on his shoulders without warning. She also didn't give him any advice about how to handle it. I'd be pissed too in his shoes."

Sapphire chuckled and said, "Well, it's not like our parents are giving US much in terms of advice. I mean, just look at where we wound up. We are both killers on the frontlines of terrorist organizations. Never would've guessed it'd end up like this when we set out from Littleroot…"

The boy then looked up at Sapphire and asked, "So… What now? What do you plan to do. It's pretty apparent that you actually don't have in your neck to say the least, so that means your free to do what you want. So do you wanna leave Team Aqua and start back up our adventure?"

The professor's daughter took a seat of her own before smiling and saying, "I'd honestly love to. But…" She then looked down at the ground and grew silent.

Ruby inquired, "But… what?"

The girl looked back to him with an emotionless expression on her face. She just starred for a bit before saying, "It wouldn't be right. At least not yet."

Ruby then looked to the ground and said, "Yeah, I thought you might say something like that. You said that you wanted to bring down Team Aqua from the inside."

Sapphire nodded and explained, "I'm in the position of a lifetime. I could single handedly stop a terrorist organization where I'm at. I get that It'll be dangerous and I have no idea how long it might take, but I can't just screw up an opportunity like this, can I? If I succeed I could save hundreds, if not thousands of lives. When compared to that, my feelings of wanting to travel with you again kinda have to take a back seat for now…"

Ruby took in a deep breath. Combusken thought to him, "She has a point you know. If the two of you bring down Team Aqua and Magma, you'll have saved countless lives. You'll be heroes. But…"

Ruby finished his partner's thought, "...we'll have to stay separated until it's all over. Another meeting like this might blow our cover, right?" He sighed and then said aloud to Sapphire, "Yeah, I get it… Honestly I could probably convince Maxie to halt Team Magma's plans with strong enough evidence to show him that what he is doing is in the wrong. So I guess I'm in the same boat as you. I want to end all this violence before it gets out of hand."

Sapphire smiled and said, "Awesome. And hey, when this is all over. We can travel the whole damn world together if you want to."

Ruby mirrored her smile and nodded saying, "That sounds amazing. I'll keep you to that. Just… be safe."

The girl then crawled over to the boy and said, "That goes for you too Ruby." She then leaned in and kissed him before standing up. She brushed herself off and threw out a pokeball which revealed and navy blue bird pokemon with a white underbelly and dark red feathers down it's neck and breast areas.

Ruby pulled out his pokedex, and it read:

Swellow

The Swallow Pokemon

Height: 2'04"

Weight: 42.7lbs

These pokemon usually travel in pairs to maintain each others hygiene. They fly incredibly high off the ground until they swoop down to attack their prey at incredible speeds.

Sapphire then mounted the bird and it spread its wings. She waved at Ruby before the Swellow took off the ground with vicious flaps of its wings. Ruby looked on as she slowly flew from view.

Ruby then sighed and got to his feet and thought to Combusken, "Welp, that settles it. We're in it for the long haul. Looks like it's gona be just you and me for a while longer."

Combusken replied, "Yeah, but for how long that's gona is up in the air. So what do you… Someone's there!"

Ruby looked sharply to his right to see a woman dressed in ragged jeans, a black shirt with two red crescent shapes under her breasts and a worn out looking cape. Behind her stood a cowering Whismur. She saw how intensely Ruby was looking at her and laughed, "Oh look! He finally noticed us Aster!"

Ruby put the pieces together quickly and asked, "Zinnia Draconid I take it?"

She gave a deranged smile and said, "The one and only. I'm assuming your this Ruby that I've heard so much about. Sapphire sure does seem to think your all that. But I don't know if I see it."

Ruby thought it appropriate to ask, "So how long have you been there?"

She put her hands on her hips and laughed hysterically. She then answered with another question, "I wouldn't have said 'he finally noticed' unless I'd been here the whole damn time, now would I?"

Ruby's eyes widened and he asked, "Wait you were here, even while Emerald was?"

Zinnia shrugged and said, "Yeah, that would entail the 'everything I was here for' now wouldn't it?"

This infuriated Ruby, "Then why the hell didn't you come out and say something?! Emerald has been looking for you for years!"

Zinnia gave a chuckle and said, "And if this scenario didn't prove that he absolutely sucked at looking, I don't know what would."

Ruby retaliated, "Oh FUCK OFF! I have half the mind to take you to him by force now!"

Zinnia just stretched out and said, "Like you even could. The only people I am even remotely concerned about losing to in this region are the Champion and the team leaders. I doubt you'd even manage to come close to beating me."

Ruby gripped Lombre's pokeball on his belt and threatened, "Do you care to test that theory?"

The woman laughed again and said, "Oh, so there's the side of you that Sapphire adores so much. I can say I at least sort of get it now. That confidence sure is just brimming, now isn't it. But no, I don't really wanna test how strong you are right now. But let's make a deal. If you survive until we meet again, I'll take you up on your challenge."

Ruby yelled, "No! You'll accept it now, or you'll go to Meteor Falls and talk to your son!"

Zinnia sighed and shook her head, "If I had any plans to see my son, don't you think I would've mere moments ago. I swear, you really aren't too bright." She knew Ruby would get upset so she immediately put her hand out to motion for him not to say anything and let her finish. Ruby let her say, "Don't worry about Emerald. There's a reason why I left him in charge in my stead. In fact, it's something that only he can do. And I am trying to accomplish something only I can do, so it all works out."

Ruby, trying to calm himself asked, "And what are you doing exactly?"

The Draconid picked up her Whismur and said, "I can't tell you that. As the lorekeeper of my people, I can only tell my bloodline about it." She then walked up to the boy and said, "But I can tell you this. Ask Maxie about project A.Z.O.T.H . and it'll be the first step for you to figure out the whole story." She then kept walking past Ruby.

Naturally, he stopped her asking, "And where do you plan on going now?"

Zinnia, not looking back replied, "I'm going to prepare for the end of the world. If Team Aqua or Team Magma don't destroy it first, I'm the only one who can prepare for the third threat. So in a sense, I'm counting on all three of you to give me a future that I can save." Before Ruby could ask anything else, she threw out a pokeball to reveal a green pokemon with diamond shaped wings, which she mounted and flew off on even before Ruby even though about registering it in his pokedex.

Ruby cursed to himself, "Damn it! Why the hell did I just let her go?!"

Combusken stated, "It's not like you can do anything now. Let's just get back to base. She at least gave us a lead as to what to ask about."

Ruby closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts, "Right… A.Z.O.T.H." He then groaned and started making his way back to Mt. Chimney.

Zinnia_One Hour Later

Zinnia landed with her Flygon at the base of a tall towering structure that expanded upwards to the clouds. She returned her Flygon and Aster jumped onto the ground and started to follow her inside the building. Inside there were old ruins with a mural that spanned up at least a hundred feet to the ceiling above. She walked over to the wall with the story inscribed upon it and slid to the ground. Aster took a seat next to her and the two sat quietly. Zinnia then closed her eyes and started to dose off. Eventually sleep did overtake her, but her consciousness brought her to an island that was dimly lit with moonlight.

She walked down a pathway that led her to a small meadow are. She called out, "Where are you Darkrai? I'm back."

"From the moment you fell into this dream I've been with you. All you had to do was look."

Zinnia looked down into the water below, but instead of seeing her own reflection, she saw a black ghostly figure with a white strand of flesh sprouting from one side of its head and a luminate light blue eye on the other half of its face.

The woman asked, "So, what do you do here for fun here? Seems like a boring place to live."

The Pokemon responded, "Fun isn't my primary concern. I stay in this world of dreams in order to stop the world from falling to disaster."

Zinnia smiled and said, "Oh come on, give me a little credit. I know you just like to monitor the dream of the world to keep tabs on everyone. But I still don't get what's in it for you."

Darkrai explained, "I do this because of a promise I made long ago. To one of your ancestors in fact."

Zinnia looked at her 'reflection' and inquired, "One of the Draconids? Don't tell me it was Leon?"

The black figure said, "It is none of your concern for whom I am doing this for. All you need to know is that there still exists three people in this region that have been having premonitions of the future in their dreams. And as your lore tells you, that is a sign of those futures coming to fruition eventually."

The Draconid looked concerned, "Wait, three? Last time we spoke you said that there were only two having the dreams? Archie and I… who's the third one?"

Darkrai answered, "Interestingly enough, you were just with him."

Zinnia responded in shock, "That no name? How could someone like him at all be destined to alter the fate of the world?"

Darkrai explained, "Apparently he isn't as insignificant as you made him out to be. In fact it will be because of his actions that will lead to A.Z.O.T.H. being stopped or followed through on. The future of all of Hoenn now rests with the both of you."

Zinnia asked, "And what of Archie's dreams? Has anything changed?"

Darkrai stated, "No. Even with your efforts, it would appear that that man will still achieve his ambitions."

The woman sighed and said, "Well damn. Looks like maybe Emerald was right afterall to think I should've stayed."

She then turned around and started to leave the meadow, but was stopped by Darkrai asking, "The fact remains that the only people that can alter premonitions are those with them themselves. Only you and Ruby can stop Archie from destroying this world."

Zinnia groaned and said, "Yeah yeah, I get it. Now let me just rest up a bit before making a plan. We're going to have a long couple of months ahead of us…" The entire island around her then vanished into a darkness and Zinnia found herself completely unconscious.