Ruby
~Evolution

Radic was never really sure exactly how Ruby knew Thunder. His best guess was that it had to do with her past, therefore he never asked. If there was one thing Ruby hated talking about, it was her past. She hated it intensely and most of the time pretended it had never happened. He wasn't sure how she was able to call Thunder either, considering she had no electric conductors to speak of, except perhaps her coin. All he knew was that she would give a piercing scream, the sky would cloud over, and a large bolt of lightning would lance down, striking her and allowing her to attack with it. It seemed incredibly powerful for a Pokémon of her caliber, another mystery about Ruby that Radic never fully understood.
There were many things about Ruby that Radic did not understand.
He had been walking, for once, alone. He did not have any other Pokémon walking alongside him, which was odd considering Radic's paranoia-loneliness often prevented him from walking without some kind of accompaniment.
The trainer who he almost inevitably met had black hair and a cruel expression on his face. He looked tired, as if he had been through a lot. He had Pokéballs with him. Instinctively, Radic knew what would happen.
He disliked battling, although most of the time he won, although he wasn't sure why. He had a feeling that at some point, all this good luck would be turned against him. He didn't know where this feeling came from.
"Hello." He waved to the boy happily. Perhaps they would not have to fight. The boy was not impressed nor did he return the gesture.
"Let's go."
"You want to battle me?" Radic was struck by the boy's impulsiveness, feeling tinges of sadness at the fact he had to battle, despite he had done nothing to aggravate the strange boy.
"Sure. You got Pokémon, so do I. Let's go."
Radic shrugged helplessly. "If you really want too, alright."
"Go, Tentacruel!" The boy threw one of the Pokéballs forward, causing the Tentacruel to flop onto the ground. Radic simply chose Nova's Pokéball.
"Raaaaaai!"
The Tentacruel went down. The boy searched through his own Pokéballs furiously. "Graveler!"
Radic switched before damage could be done. When he sent out Accident, he found that he had a slight misgiving at sending him against an evolution of what had caused his handicap. However, Accident was ready. His stronger shell was able to withstand it's rock attacks, and it's more powerful water streams made quick work of the enemy Pokémon. The Graveler fainted.
The boy seemed incredibly frustrated. "I'm going to beat you!"
Radic shrugged. He hated confrontations like this where things got personal. He didn't like to make enemies. This seemed to anger the other boy more.
"Go, Weepinbell!"
The Plant Pokémon sat in the center of where they had decided to battle. Radic thought carefully.
"Kitsune..."
The Fire Pokémon's flames soon defeated the Weepinbell. The Boy recalled it.
"This isn't fair!"
Radic shrugged again. "Then what do you suggest?"
"For our next Pokémon, we don't switch. We decide at the same time, okay?"
"Fine." Radic wondered what the boy was planning. This seemed a little odd. Worried, Radic found his hand straying near Accident's Pokéball. Accident was strong enough to be able to make a good fight, even against something it was weak against. He decided that he would send Accident forward.
The boy and him threw their Pokéballs forward at the same time.
Accident matched gazes with the scarlet eyes of an Arcanine. The two stared at eachother as the boy cursed his luck.
"Accident, water gun!"
"Bite!"
The Arcanine rushed forward, biting into Accident's shoulder where there was a gap in his armor. Accident grunted in pain, then sprayed a powerful blast of water out of his mouth. The Arcanine slid near Radic, wounded badly.
It stood, sniffing Radic slowly. The Arcanine then growled loudly, showing it's fangs. Radic backed away, unsure of what was inciting the Pokémon. The Arcanine was knocked to one side as Accident fired another blast at it, knocking it across the ring. It remained motionless.
The boy cursed again. "Switch."
"I have to switch too?" Radic blinked.
"Just so there isn't a unfair advantage."
Radic shrugged. He decided that he might as well let Ruby forward, not sure why he felt that way. He returned Accident, who was trying to lick the wound on his shoulder. As Radic tossed out his own Pokéball, the boy threw his own.
Ruby fell out onto the open ground. She had been napping, but her surroundings instantly awoke her. A familiar scent came to her from the wind. She stood, her fur bristling. She stared at the Arcanine, memories she tried to forget beginning to appear in the back of her mind. The sound of another Pokéball opening near her got her attention and she found herself staring at a Persian.
It was such a shock to Ruby that she could not move for several seconds, unable to believe her eyes. She simply blinked while her adversary stared back at her.
"Tsume?"
Studying her long-lost leader, Ruby found that the fire in Tsume's eyes had long died. She looked thin and worn, her face no longer having the same energy as it used to. Various thin marks crossed across her body and Ruby could faintly see some wounds that she was sure was from that strange battle with the Growlithe that seemed so long ago. Ruby forced her mouth to work. "What happened to you?"
Tsume regarded Ruby carefully, as if wondering how to respond. No doubt she was aware of her appearance to the rebellious Meowth she used to know, but to her alarm felt no concern. She didn't feel much of anything lately. This showed in her emotionless response to Ruby's question. "The boy found me wounded. He caught me."
"I'm sorry-"
"It's not your fault." Tsume shook her head sadly. Ruby wondered at the change in her one-time leader, not understanding how such a bastion of fearsome energy was reduced to such slow and deliberate, almost sad movements. Why was Tsume letting this happen to her? Ruby couldn't shake the feeling that it was somehow her fault. "If it weren't for you, I might have died. More of us would have been caught."
"Are the others okay?"
Tsume's voice remained frighteningly passive. This frightened Ruby as well. She had always remembered Tsume's voice as being something with strength, with power, with feeling, but this strange emotionlessness was confusing to her. "I think so...I haven't seen them in a long time."
"Slash!" The boy shouted. Tsume sighed deeply. "Stop babbling, stupid cat! Slash now!"
Ruby felt anger rising within her at the boy shouting commands at her previous leader. How dare he do that...
"I hope you won't hate me for this." Tsume raised one of her larger paws, her claws shinging from the tips. Ruby backed away, not wanting to fight one of her former friends. Why was she listening...?
"Tsume, don't..."
"Ruby, what's wrong?" Radic's voice had considerably more compassion then the boy's. "Is this a friend of yours?"
Ruby nodded slowly.
Radic sighed deeply. "I can't take you back, Ruby. You can't go back. You have to keep going."
Ruby interpreted his statement less literally then Radic most likely intended. The Meowth kept her glittering eyes on Tsume as she moved forward.
She ducked under her paw at the last moment, Tsume's claws brushing the tips of her forehead whiskers. Tsume wasn't stupid. As she came out of her roll, Tsume's paw batted her easily to one side. The physical advantage clearly belonged to the Persian, who had seemed to exert no effort to knock it's lesser form away.
Ruby was more hurt from the fact she had been hit then the actual strike itself. Her concern for her own well-being was fighting with her affection for her one time friend. She didn't want to be hurt. But she didn't want to fight Tsume.
Why was Tsume doing this...
Tsume didn't let up her attack. Ruby barely managed to dodge the next swipe, leaping over Tsume's head and whirling around for an attack of her own. While she moved, she forced all thought from her head, not trusting it to allow her to do what she knew she had to. With her mind blank, she opened her mouth and bit into Tsume's tail.
Tsume's scream of pain caused tears to form in her eyes.
Tsume whirled around, whipping the injured tail away from Ruby.
Ruby was stunned. She had attacked her. That made everything definite. Tsume was her enemy, she had attacked her and drew blood. Tsume was no longer her friend. But how could that be...when Ruby still cared about her as much as she had before...?
Tsume's facial expression didn't change as she lashed out with her claws. Ruby was too confused and heartbroken to dodge the attack, taking it full across the face. Bleeding scratches appeared, marring the perfect cream-colored fur.
Ruby felt fury rising quickly within her. Her face...
"Ruby..." Radic cautioned.
Someone had ruined her face...
Tsume stared at her bloody claws and looked at Ruby sadly, her face and voice finally showing some emotion. "I'm sorry...but I can't..."
Her precious, beautiful face...
"Don't stop now!" The boy cried harshly. Tsume glanced in his direction.
Someone was going to pay...
The sky began to grow thick with heavy black clouds. Sensing what was going to happen, Radic pulled his jacket over his head. The boy stared up, confused.
"What the..."
Ruby's past was facing her directly. She could not hide from this. Her fur raised on end. Tsume was once strong and resilient...forceful and wise...adaptive and charismatic...the leader of her previous friends...Tsume was strong...but now...staring into her dead eyes...Ruby saw the body of her long-ago friend. This was not her friend. Her friend had been killed. Her friends soul had been killed.
Blood dripped from her whiskers.
Someone was going to pay.
She could feel electricity gathering in the air above her. She closed her eyes, letting her body glow with a strange light. Tsume backed away uncertainly.
"What is it doing..."
Radic stared at his Meowth in confusion. "Ruby, don't..."
Ruby felt white-hot anger rising within her at the treatment of her friend. The death of her friends soul. Anger kept rising within her until she felt as if she could hold it no more. As if in response to this, rain began to pound from the sky into the ground, as if releasing the fury that Ruby could not hold. Normally, Ruby hated the rain. But she didn't care at the moment.
Why did her friend hurt her...
Why did she hurt her friend...
Why was her friend dead..
Someone had hurt her friend...
Someone had hurt her face...
The heavens responded to her call, and the skies lit with a blinding flash of light, causing all present to cover their eyes. Those who hadn't, however, would have seen a bolt of pure electricity lashed through the sky, cracking into Ruby's body.
Ruby didn't flinch. Her eyes slowly opened, glowing with an eerie white light. Ruby looked like some demon, the only source of light against the steadily darkening sky and ground. Her mouth opened, revealing her bloody fangs. Light glimmered off both her own blood, falling from her precious face, and her friends, dripping from her own fangs. Two types of blood...
On one...small...scratch-cat.
Someone was going to pay.
Ruby whirled on her paws with un-natural speed, facing the boy who jerked back in surprise at what seemed to be the glowing form of a demon before him.
"TSUUUUMEEEEEEE!" Ruby screamed with all the fury and sadness within her heart, all the humiliation, the hatred, the frustration, the hurt. The air around her crackled with energy, the ground beneath her paws buckled under her power, and the power that had simply built over the time she had hidden her past lanced from her body into the boy. He jerked with pain as electricity flowed through his entire system, flooding his senses. Not even able to release a scream, the boy collapsed in a heap.
She hoped he was dead.
She knew such thoughts were bad, but she didn't care. She wanted him to die, for killing her friend. Her anger was replaced by a growing sadness.
Ruby let the energy fade away from her body, breathing heavily.
"Ruby!" Tsume was at her side. "Why did you do that?"
Ruby turned to Tsume, icy determination still in her eyes. "Don't die, Tsume. Don't let him kill you."
The Persian blinked several times, then some preliminary flickers of light flashed in her eyes. She smirked in a familiar way.
"Don't worry."
She trotted over to her fallen master, sniffed his body, then continued to walk away, apparently deciding that her destiny lied elsewhere then with the trainer. Ruby watched her walk away from the trainer with gentle feelings of happiness, still dampened by the remnants of her terrible fury and sadness.
Ruby sat down, exhausted. Radic was at her side, dabbing at the bloody marks on her face with his shirt. "Are you okay? What happened?"
Ruby sighed deeply, conflicting emotions causing her to feel incredibly confused. She felt a prickling within her limbs and credited it to exhaustion.
But it was more then that.
"Ruby, you're..."
Ruby felt a sharp stabbing pain in her back. She yowled aloud as her spine lengthened, her bones falling out of place. All at once they snapped back together, the bones in her legs lengthening as well. She felt muscles growing underneath her coat, a new layer of white fur growing over her brown paws. The whiskers on her head slowly sank beneath her skin, her ears tapering and becoming larger. Another layer of black fur extended over them.
She felt a sight pressure in her cheeks and two more whiskers appeared, as if the two on her forehead had simply been moved to a new location. She felt her eyes lengthening, her teeth becoming larger. Her claws were growing in her paws, causing such pain she was forced to extend them as her paws grew in size. Her tail remained curled, but the brown was replaced by another layer of white fur.
As the light faded, she felt a aching pain between her shoulders. Slowly, the coin that had been attached to her forehead clinked to the floor. Radic touched her new forehead gently.
"Ruby..."
When Ruby could open her new eyes, she noticed that Radic seemed smaller then he was before. Not sure of why, she managed to sit herself partly upwards.
Ruby raised her own paw to smooth her fur and felt a slight raised area. Radic, sensing that she wanted to see herself, released Nova. He quickly took Nova's sunglasses and handed them to her, ignoring his Raichu's protests.
Ruby could barely see the reflection of herself, but it was enough in the steadily regaining light. The ruby on her forehead glimmering with an unknown power. She smiled, her fangs poking out between her new lips.
"You evolved, Ruby..."
Ruby stared at the direction that Tsume had last taken. Her eyes saddened. She whispered beneath her breath, staring at the sky above her that was rapidly clearing into the beautiful blue it had been before. She supposed it was some kind of parallel to her soul in some way. She seemed so beautiful sometimes and she was fairly convinced of it herself...but when she was angry...she became something to be feared. Although something within her told her that she should think this should be a bad thing, she actually found the thought almost amusing. Smiling thinly, she turned back to where her old friend continued walking away.
"Tsume...try and recreate your life...even if your old one is gone." Ruby whispered through her new mouth, her voice so soft that none could hear her. "After all...every one of our species is always alone. You might as well be happy with yourself."
"Can I have my sunglasses back now?" Nova held out his paws towards Radic.