Chapter 17: Blue (4)

"Thanks for the Eevee, Gramps' cousin!"

"Someday, I'll be the greatest Trainer in the world!"

"I'll surpass Gramps!"

'These are Eevee's memories…' Blue assumed.

"Give it up, Red. It's not gonna trust you that easily. Gramps even told you."

"Well, I'm gonna be a Pokémon Master! And Pikachu here is gonna be my ace!"

Meetings.

Rivalries.

Ratatta.

Blue suddenly felt like she was going to be torn apart.

Eevee suddenly felt like she was going to be torn apart.

Blue started to feel pain.

Eevee started to feel pain.

P̶̡͔̲͇̙̗̳̼̾͊̀̊͂̅̍̑͗̔̏͆̉̚o̵̪̼̯̙̝͉̱͝i̵̯̖͙̘̟̜͙͒̓͘s̸̡̤̖̥͍̠̮̻͈̘̭̒͊͒̍̕ô̶̢̼̙̬̭̝̺n̷̼̺̞̒̈́̀̑͆̉̉̉̅͌̓̏̚ͅI̵̖͇͋̓͐̂̃̅̀́̒̏̕͘͠͠ͅ'̴̡̢̧̨̛̗̬̗̗̱̱͍̦̼̝̌̅̀̍̓̐̈̋m̶̡͔̠̣̘͈͓̬̜͔̖̠̳̎̑̇̈́͜s̴̨̨̠̲͈̼̝̮̦̥̝͍͕̠̿̔̄͗͋̉͑͊͝͠ô̷̙̪̺̄̆̄̿̆͛͠r̸͚͚̘̮̜̠̘̞̯̬̥̤̉̽͜ȓ̷̨̨̥̤͚̫̣͍̪͈̭̈́͌́̈́͆͂̆͐͜͠ỳ̶͇͎̩̺̹͘͝Ȑ̸̨͇̫̠̲̬͉̄̈́̇̂́̿̆͐̓͆̍͋͘e̷͙̫͎̤̙̻̜̜͖͛͑͑̌́̀͂̑̽̉͂̽͝g̶̛͍̝̩̺̖̫̟̟̭̬̽̽̍͊̌̏͗͗̒͐̑̀̊͝r̶̡̳͖͙̯͚͓̤͍̆̊̋̾̀͑̓͗̑̆̕͝͝ȩ̷̧̡̣̗͈͚̩̹̯̃̓͐͛̅̄̈͌̽̔̀t̵̯̟͚̼͕̩́̕I̴͉̭̤̩̞̣̗̪͉̝̋ͅ'̶̨̹̙̯̒m̸̠̘̣̫̼̺͍̙͊̔̒͆̆͑̔̎͆̾̓͝ͅs̵͍̤̪̰̲̞̗̬̫̬͇͖̪͖̆͘͝ő̴̬̭r̷̢̩͎̱͚̹̥̜͚̗͒̏̾̐͒ŕ̸̡̢̧̼̐̈͘͝y̵̡͍͕͇͉̟͎̗͙̮͈̘̰̥̗̔̀̽́̈͛͒̽́͘I̸̧̻̳̼̣̝̫̘͖̬̟̤̪̽̇̀͛̇̑̉͂̚͘͝d̷̟̃̄̓̉͌̈̀̾͘ḯ̸͎̙͕̰̮̫͈̪̥̄̉̍̋͠d̴̡̡̫͓̝̤̫̤̗̝̺̭̖̈̔̒̆̅͗͜ͅn̵͎̺͎̙̘̙͉̝͎͓͑̽̅́́̀͛͂̎̽̌'̸̨̨̢̮̤̬͖̳̰͔̺̹̟̹̦̿̅̊̂̈́̏͑̉͑̆̚͘͝͠t̵̡͖̥̱̞͕̩̂̆̐̂́̈́͗́͗̉̌̆́͝r̸̡̹̲̭̻̳̥̬̗̤̒͆͋͗̄̒̂ͅͅe̵͍̬̗̽̑a̸̛̛̺̗̓͌͝͝l̸̢̧̨̤̯̼̠̥̐̊̀͝ī̷̭̰̦̫̙̃̋̓̈́̍͝z̶̡̖̻̬̳̠̰͛͂e̵̠͍̝̖̖̪̟̱̞̙͉̋̓͝P̸̮͚̫̘̱̫̰̮̱̬͚̣͗̔́̽̈́́͠ͅo̶͓̭̼̦̿́̃̃ͅi̵͓̘͐̆̀̀̅s̷͕͙̼̣̖͍̜̪̩͔̺͍͝ở̸̡̝̩̘͋͗́͆̀̽̔̍̃͋͗͝͠n̴̨̤̟̼͔̻͚͍̑̌̓̃̋̃̀͋̿̆̀̍̚ͅI̵̧̧̧̻̳̺̜͕̠͍̽́͊͘͜'̵̩͖̟̥͓̭͎͈̭̯́͋̾̏̌͑̍̏ͅm̸̠͍̅̊̔̈́͌͊̾̉͌͗̕̕͝s̶̢̮͗͌͋̅̇̂͑̉̾͂̈́̿̋͘̚o̸̘̎͒͋͐͑̈́̎͒̇̍̕͝͝r̶̢̬̓̇̔̐̆̈́͋̓͑͋̋͊̅͘͝ṟ̴̨̻̙̼͈͈̹͍͕͉̌̀ͅý̵̡͐̓Ś̶͎̪͈̯̱̭̼͌̅̅̑̊͊̀͂͝h̸̡̛̝̙̪̪̯̐͂̓̈́̄̿̏͂́́̈́̕͝ȃ̷̢̩̘͆͐͋͊̈́̌̀͗̀͊͝͝͝r̷̢̪̜͙̘̘̤̟̓̒̏̈́̀͂͌̚͝ȩ̷̢̘̳̗̞͈̭̜̺̳̜̺̰̊̎̂̓̈́͂͂̇̉̍̽͜d̸͎̰͐͛̀̈̓̓̈́͑̈́̄̕̚̕͝͝f̸̛̬̗͛͛̄̇̓͂̏̽̓͝͝e̴̪̤̗̩̤͐̊̀̏̇̊͊͘ẹ̸̗̫̖͔͉̘̯̟̝͔̫͂̿́͗̾̉̅̅̀̚͝ͅͅl̷̨̨͉̰̬̙̹̥̹̟̗̄́̇́i̴̗͈̺͈̣̓̅̋̄̅̄̆̏́̽̎͋̈́̀͠n̶̡̬̻͙̮̿́̾ǧ̴̡̧̛̥̥̥̝̘̏̊͘ș̸͂̽̂̅̋̂́̈̂͌Ȉ̴͕̼̰̙̠̠̪̫̉̅́̿̿͛̇͐̑̓̕͜ͅẗ̶̛̝̟̜̩̑́̕h̴͓̭̹͇̭̜̟͑̇͊͒̌͛́̂̀̕͠ȕ̷̧̥̹͙̬͚̯̩̗̩̤̝͔̲̻̀̍̒͗̀̈́̑́͝͠͝r̴̗̮͙͍͙̙͈̙̯͔̬͙̬͈͆͌̓́͗̕ţ̷̣͖̟̺͚̺̗̬͓̟̄̆̒͘͝͝ͅs̸̥̗̪̤͔̭̠̻͔̤̫͙͎͐̽̃͑̇̒̄̐̍̒̏̓͊͂͠I̸̙̭͇̓̆͌̇̓́̌̉͂̓̈́͆̚͝͝'̵̨̧̳̺̦͇̲͕̱̀ͅͅm̷̠͓̜͖̼͇͉̫̅̒̍̊͊̓͘s̷̙̜̻̙̀̅̂̽̀͂o̵̧̢̪̞̣̰̱̙̰̘̹̼̿͜ͅͅr̶̝̞̮̩̥̲͈͔̺͕͘͘͜r̶̛̛͔̥̳̓̂͑͋͌͊̄̑y̶̧̢̧͓̭̖̗͇̖͓͇̖̞̱̣͋̈̆͋̉̂̅̍̕P̵̡̧̥̯̣̖̳̩̣̻͖̯̣̯̹̾̀̈́̔̀̃̀̈́̐͝o̵̟̩̞͉̳̫̫͗į̵̨̢͚͙͕̺̙̤̼̺̟̾̈́̽̏̊̆̒̓̃̽͗͘͜͝ş̶̙̣̞̻̫̤̟͂̈́͂̿̽̃o̴̢͍̤̮̘̯̬͖̗̞͎͓̫̾̇̽̅̐̔̇̈̃͒̈͜ͅn̶̢̳̺̠͉̐́͘͠Y̵͖̙͊́̈́ọ̷̓̏̐u̷͌̈́͜ͅr̶̝̃̆̿̃̽͌͋̈̔͑̐͘̕̚͝f̴̭̺͆̊́̎̌̎̈̃́̐͑̑ͅȧ̶̧̡̡͔̞̳͓͍̮̓ú̴͉͓̭̺̇l̴̢͖̫̫͕͕̞̮̑̈̃̓̈́̆̋͝t̴̢̛̲̟͉̺̩͊̍̈́̈́̎́̽͑͘B̷̡͖̞̈́͑̽̈̄̌̅̋̕͝͠o̶̞͈̻͓̙̰͔̮̱̹͐͐̑̌̈͊̍͘d̶̡͓̯̦̬̱̙͔̙́̾̃̉̆̓̆́̏̍̑̽͜y̴̨̼̪̬̙͓͎͚̘͇̭̳̌̎̽̅͑̈́̿͋͠f̷̛̬͚̺̙̪͕͇͎͓̉͒̊̀͗͠ͅe̷̼̮̙̬͚͉̍̔̔̂̇̇̃̂̏ȅ̵̗̹̱̈̓l̵̝̝̬̜̿̽̄̑̊s̸̰͑́͋͊͘c̵̦͗͊̿̿̔̿̎̔̒̋̕͝ơ̴̢̲̟̈́̐̏̀̋͊́͐̐̅̚͠͠l̶̫̯͍͉̬̻̥̬͔͍͇͕̳̱̉̍͐̒̏͊͑̚d̷̻̿̀̽́͌͒́̋͊́̊̅͠͝I̴̛̤̝̯̱̓'̷̦̰̩͇̖̃̑͑̅̉̈́̓̐̊́̈́͆̍̾͘ͅm̸̬͚͚̳̳̣̟̭̘̣̃s̶̡͉̭̱̬̹̝̮͊͋̋̊͒͋̕̕o̷̧̲̣̲̬̭̺̖̍́͒̈͌́̚͠͝r̸̞̖̝͖̬̱̭̮̻̩͓̖̖̈ŗ̴̼̲̻̪͕̗̭̱͆̓͐̓̒͝y̷̳̭̺̽̐͋̊̐͑͊͗̋̋̚͘͠P̶̹̋͒̒̉̓̓͠͝ờ̶̭͓͚̀͌̈͑́̿̓͑͠͠ị̵̧̧̝̮͍̦̬̜̗̣̗̜̩̋̀̇̀̍̃͂͘̚͜͝͠ś̴̨̫͉̘̱̪͍̟̤͈̗̹̹̂̅̍̄̏̏͝o̴̤̔n̷̡̛̥̼̗̗̼̰͚͚̿́̇̆͆͊̽͜͝͝V̸̧̮͓͇̤̥̪̖͚͎̰̈́͗͌̾̈́̂̄͘͜͜į̴̨̹̰̣̥̼̖̠̝̪̒̋̑̉̊̓͆̉̌͒͗̃̈́͋̀͜s̴̛̥͔̀i̶̧͕̯̙̞͖̹̿͝ò̶̢͖̥̤͍͐͋͆̈́̽̓̓͆͊̂̕͝ņ̸̡̣̳̯̗̳̹̜̔́̎͒̀͘͜ͅd̴̡̹͍̲͒̽̇͑̓̒̎̄i̵̭̟̘͕̦͉̖͉͍̔̄̀̄͛͘s̸̥̑̆͝t̶̡̥̩̱̼͇̞̏̊́ǫ̸̛̛̰̫̬̞̱̣̰̰͔̰͚̈́͑͋̐̈́͗̀̀͠r̶̡̨͕̠̞͈̯͙̰̞͚̲̗͐͋̈͋͂̽͒̐͛̇̎͗ͅt̵̨̲̳́̿̈́͘i̵̧̝̙͗̇̾̀͆̉̑̿̌̄̕͝ņ̷̛̗̪͍͎̫̪̠̦͇͇̔̍͆̆̾̐͜͝ͅͅģ̵̩̖͙̗̺̙̟̊̑̔̚P̸̨̬͈̭̗̣͚̣̖̻̲̭͈̹̗̅̈̈́͛́͘͘̚ǫ̸̖̪̰̝̭̗̘͍̜̮̑̆̆͂͝i̶̛̤̋͛͗̐̀̎̄̾͑̈́̋͋s̷̢̯͔͓̗̥̥͈̺̠̻̺̦̘̲͒̒͒ò̶̡̢͙̗̝̳̠̮̿͋́͋̽̈͋̆͒̊̐̚͝ͅǹ̸̡͕̞̗̫̝͇̥̥̯̻̳͗̐̀̑͊̒̾̓̔̆Į̵̘̗̬̞̯̄'̵̰͕̹̯͙̤͎̪͙̪̖͒͗̾̇̍̈́̍̅̈́̏͘̕̕m̶̤̖̣̅s̶̱̠̘͚̙͇̥͐̔̒́̓̓̒͠o̴̲̮͕̲̰̫̜̥̱̣̐̏̑̔̀̉̎̕r̸̢̢͖͍̼͉̰̠̓̀̽̽͂͊̍ͅr̴̠̹̫̯̔͒͋͂͜͝y̷̠̼͌͊̔́́̅̓̽̌̈́̌͝͝Ḭ̶̡̧̫̙̜̥̞͓̺̒̽̅̄͊̈̽̍͐͒͋̿̅̾ͅt̴͓̼̰̬̻̖̼͗́̑̒́̊̀h̶̢̨̰͎̬̤͙͈̩̻͚̤̯̲̍͑̕͝ǘ̴͔̤̖͙̬̬̳͈͋̿͗̾͛͑͑͠ȓ̷͓̜͓͖͚͎̟̎̈́̔́͒͑͐̀͌͋̀̿͌́ͅẗ̵̫̤́́́͑́̍̅͊̔̕͝͠s̶̛̺͚̣͍̲̮̝͔̞̩̞͖͚͔̻̀̔̌̉͗̌̈́̚͝P̶͕̹̞͙̅͊̑͑̏̂͊̅̈̚͝o̸̢̧̞̰̤̗̯͙̰̖̭̔̊̏͛͝͝i̸̿̅͋̍͑̈́̓͜s̶̛̻̬͖̻̝͍̬̠͓͒ö̷͍̫͇̼̋́̋̔́͛̉́̿̀̕͠͠n̴̠͉͓͑Ẏ̸̨̫̤̭̠̮̬̣̱̞̪̬̻̈́͆͛͆̾̔̒͆́́̈͐͝͠ͅö̷̧̝̫̖́͆͂ͅṵ̸́̈͒̈́̍̕͝͝r̸̙̒̏̅f̶̥̤̬̦͒͛̃̒̕a̵̺͇̹͎͕̰̹̯͖͔̪̻͚̜̒̆͌̽̿̓͊̑̀́͗͘͜͝͠ư̶̧̛̠͎̭͙̬͓̜͈̲̫͉̗̻̋͒̈̉̾̈́̔̎ĺ̶̨̨̻͈̺͍̀̄̑̔̈́ͅt̸̨̛͕͎͖̽̔̊͆̈̀͌̒͛̄͠Ì̸͕͚͊̈́̑͋̿̋̀̈̈ͅt̸̠͍͙͕̖̲̯̹͕͉̰̫́̃̌̉̒̔͋̂̀͆͛͊͝h̶̟͓͖͎̪͕͚̙̗͑̏̀͐̾̋͊͘͝͝u̶̠͎̲̰̭̦͗̿͗̈́͜ṙ̴̙͚͓͌̉͗̔͒̀̐͝t̵͇͓̦̤̙̞͚̲͛́̃̍͊͝s̸̡̛͎̳͎͓͖͇̯̺̉̉̅̌̔́̍͂͊̌̕̚Ĭ̷̺͑̓̈́̓͌̔̐̽̌̒͆̚͝͝ͅ'̴̜͈̿̒͊͛͌͋͠m̷̖̯̫͍̩̪͐̀̄̃̄̉́͋̾̉͝͝s̶̞̠̦͕͉̮̬͍̾́̎̐̏̾̓̌̅͂͝o̸̫͛̓̾̒͛͑͝r̸̡̬͖̬̤̺̠͙͚̙͍̺͙̃̿̃̋̒r̵̛̻̼̙̠͕̺͊̿̓̈́̋̌̊̎̋̕ͅy̶͙̩̗̞͇̳̤͙̝̋̏͋͗͠͠I̷̡̨̨̳̤̣̳͈̞͙̘͇̣͛͑̉̐͗̒̽̈́͜t̶̛̤̻̘̹̥͒̊͋͌͋̽̇͘͝͠͠͝h̸̖̮͆̃̓̋u̸͔͚̰͈̽̂͆̏̊̊͑̽̇͗͛̕͠ř̵̢͊̆́̇̀̐͝͝ṯ̷̨͍̼̥͚̜͉̘͔̊̾̅̃̈́̆͐̇̓̾̕ͅs̵̡̳̜̫̪̖̪̮͙̳̖͕͈̾̂͌͊͋̓̒̊̚̚͝͝A̵̛̳̘͓̲̟̬͇̯̭͖͉̥͛̏̎̈́́ͅl̶̡̟̹̞̩̻͕͍͊̏l̷̼͈̻͕͖̗̹̊̿̍̄͒͋̈͂̆̽̒y̴͇̹̗̲̹̏̂ơ̵͚̭̦̲̰̲͉̑̈́̇͋̐̓̉͌͊͐̿͋͋u̶̮͕̣̙̳͈͓͇̝̱̐̑͂́̊͘ͅr̵͈̦͕̫̟̘̠̹̉̈̃̊̿̏̀͂̏͜͝f̶̡̧͓̘̩̤͎͚̻͓͑̃͌͒̽̂͆͜͜͝a̵̺̘̋̔͊̀͝u̵̦͈̙̪͑̓͊̀͒̆̓̉̃̊̆̐͠͝ḷ̴̘̰̱͖̟̰̿̉t̴̨̠̫̼̼̘̑̈́̓͑͂̒̒̈́̓̕͠P̵̤̮͇͕̤̦̻͖̱̉̀̌̇͘ͅȯ̷̝̫̬̐̓̆̔̃͌̔̈́̃͝ͅĭ̷̢͙̜͍͕̰̲̃̏͛̋͊́͌̋̈́͝͠s̶̨̳̹̭̠͇̻̰̆̔̄̇͒́̈̑͌́̊͆̕o̵̬̯̭̠̬͈͚̝͚̼̐̊͛͐́̅̒̈͝n̷̡̮̪͍͉̜͉͊́́̑͆̅͘͘͠Ì̵͎̯̰̥̳̟̹̹t̷̺̖̟̣̲͚͙̻̘͙̖̘̮̽̇̀̉͒͜͜h̴̨̧̡̢̰̝͈̳̜̬̬̄̈̎͑̐̓́̀̇̈̚̕͠͝͠ȕ̶͓̞̲̲͈̓r̶͉̙͍̙͔̺̪͇̠̼̽́̂̓͌̀̚͝͝t̴̡̜͇̼̤̰͚̥̻̖̫̓̃̂̉̒̊̆̄͜͜͝͝ͅͅs̸̡̧̧̧̰͖̩̞̻̳̮̲͉̗̅̆͛͆̒̅̏͋̂

'I can't move.'

'It's as if half of my body stopped working.'

'I could only watch as the team trained tirelessly in silence…'

'Growlithe stayed by my side…'

'Kept me company…'

'During the day.'

'During the night.'

'He never left my side.'

"Eevee, leave the party," Gary said.

'I could barely even see him through these tears…'

"…I'm sorry…" he whispered.

'I get it now…' Blue thought as she dived further into Eevee's memories.

Each being a bubble within the ocean that is Eevee's soul.

'You couldn't stop blaming yourselves…'

'You understood how guilty each other felt.'

"…Vee~!" a coo echoed.

Blue turned to the memory bubble of that day.

"An antidote?" Gary questioned.

'Is this…?'

"Raticate, you've been poisoned!" Gary exclaimed in shock.

"That was a close one. Good job, Eevee!" the boy praised while the brown rat gave a sheepish chuckle.

'This… isn't a memory!'

With a knock, Blue infiltrated Eevee's world.

Eevee turned to her intruder and leapt towards her.

Not wanting to be disturbed by her deepest desire.

'So all this time… You've been living here…'

'Chasing a fantasy that can never come true.'

Eevee smacked Blue away, growling at her presence.

"I'm sorry…" the girl started.

"I intruded without your permission."

"But… you can't stay here forever."

{ If one fell into a deep dream, their mind may be trapped by the desires of the soul. If such an event occurred, it would become impossible to return to reality unless rejection of the desire is achieved. By one's own volition. }

Such was written in Agatha's book.

And Blue knew it.

"If you remain here…" Blue tried persuading.

{ All the while, the actual physical body would continue to weaken until it eventually succumbs and come to a peaceful end. In a sense, this could be considered 'happiness'. }

Eevee had enough.

The brown fox launched [Swift] towards Blue.

One of the star projectiles landed cleanly on Blue's forehead.

'Is this what you truly want…?'

Her forehead started to bleed.

'If so, then I…'

"Are you okay?" Gary asked, holding her close.

"That was too much, Eevee!" Gary scolded, his hands caressing her arms as if to soothe her.

"Green…" she muttered with a light blush.

"Hey, Green!" another voice called out.

Ash came into view, holding his cap filled with Berries.

"What's a guy gotta do to get some he—"

"Blue? What happened?" Ash asked worryingly.

"Red…" Blue muttered, happy to see him as his normal self again.

The Pallet trio began talking about their adventures among themselves.

Their mouths filled with the Berries Ash gathered.

Raticate, Eevee and Pikachu were happily playing with each other.

'Aah… This is nice…'

"How's your injury?" Gary asked, placing his hand on her.

"It's fine," Blue simply said, placing her own hand on his.

"Don't push yourself. It ain't like you," Ash replied, stuffing his mouth with a Berry.

"Haha, that's true…" the girl chuckled at him.

'This is the calm I've longed for…'

Her expression turned to shock.

'No, this is wrong!'

'This is my dream!'

'I know because…'

Her memory remembering a defeated Ash and a cold Gary.

'In reality, they're…'

'But…'

'Despite knowing that…'

'I want to stay here forever…'

Blue looked at the boys happy with Eevee and Pikachu playing with Raticate.

Eevee smiling so radiantly at the brown rat.

"C'mon, Blue!" Gary called out.

"Let's go!" Ash followed suit, impatient.

"No."

Everything froze.

"I won't go with you," she firmly stated.

Eevee stopping in her tracks.

"Blue, what's wrong?" the person she admired asked.

"This… is just a dream," the girl answered.

"A dream of us being together again."

"I want this. I really do."

"But that would be selfish of me to do."

"Isn't this fantasy only actualising what you truly feel?" 'Gary' inquired.

She could not deny that.

But Blue had enough.

"My dream…!" she began.

"Shouldn't insult them like this!"

Eevee finally faced the blue eyes.

"I've always wanted to be like Red and Green ," the girl confessed.

"The two of them always looked forward."

"Although they might have changed because they've hit a wall…"

"I still believe that they'll come back even stronger in whatever path they chose!"

"They always stayed true to themselves!"

"I won't let 'you' take that away from them!" Blue cried out, her resolve triumphing her desires.

Eevee widened her eyes.

She remembered all the times with Raticate.

Her true memories, untainted by fictional mirages.

"I know this isn't the end," she continued.

"I believe in those two."

"I know they will walk on their path again."

"One day, we'll cross them."

"But until that day…"

The girl stepped forward.

"I will walk mine."

And Eevee closed her eyes.

She had heard enough.

'Raticate' slowly morphed into a sinister shadow.

The memory bubble burst open.

"…I am your desire," it called.

"If you intend to reject me…"

Its ominous eyes shined white.

"Then leave you shall not!"

The shadow leapt towards the girl.

Blue faced it with a brave face.

Her blue eyes overflowing with resolve.

Then, Eevee pounced.

Pounced at the false image of her beloved friend.

Surprising Blue.

With her mind set, Eevee roared at her desire.

"What do you intend to do, Eevee?" 'Gary' asked.

"You're the one who wished for this world," 'Ash' said.

But Eevee would not change her decision.

Blue had complete faith in Ash and Gary walking again.

That was because they were still living in the real world.

But the Raticate that Eevee pined for…

Is no longer there.

Neither in the real world.

Nor in her fantasies.

"Will you go?" 'Raticate' asked.

"Will you leave 'me' behind?"

But what was still living in reality…

Was Eevee.

And the one who would walk out of the dream…

Was Eevee.

"I see…" 'Raticate' smiled.

That was what Raticate gave his life to protect.

A tearful farewell.

From the living Eevee.

To her departed friend.

And 'Raticate' was gone forever.

Blue hugged Eevee.

Her fur brushing against the girl's porcelain skin.

"Let's go, Eevee," Blue whispered.

Eevee's soul.

Once an ocean of troubled memories.

"Let's live…"

Now a field of flowers.

"For Raticate's sake."

With that, Eevee opened her eyes.

Her saviour laid next to her.

Paths made

Greeted her…

Will one day cross.

"Welcome back, Eevee…"

Dwell not at the 'moment'…

As her new Trainer.

But at the 'present'.

With a gentle touch…

Chapter 17: Blue (4)

Eevee smiled contently.