Just a quick one shot I did while musing over philosophical things. Enjoy! But... remember, there is but one human in this fic. As long as you know that, you don't really have to understand the names and characters (unless you read one of my previous fics, then you will recognize many)
The weak twilight streamed through the large, almost room-wide window, giving all of it's pale light to the single task of feebly lighting the old, dusty furniture. Weary golden eyes watched with dull interest as the sun finally slipped behind the clouds, throwing the room in darkness. Still, the eyes watched, seeing nothing but a few blurred shapes in the light but not troubling about turning on a light. There was no one left to turn on a light for.
The woman sighed, moving her hand slightly to caress the worn and sparsely covered arm of the ancient chair. Her hair, once so full and shining, now held only the peppered gray of age. Her once fair face showed clearly the march of time upon her, for wrinkles covered the skin and marred the pale beauty that, even now, she still possessed.
She frowned as her fingers trembled, looking at her hand reprovingly before sighing once more. It was useless; no force on earth could make her hand steady and strong once again, not after the years had taken their toll upon her. With a faint smile she remembered the old days, traveling across the continent with her faithful companions, her old title that she had hated so much, her battles and the encounters that she had made… it was all so long ago, now.
"Tessa?" came a faint, guttural voice from the direction of the kitchen. The woman turned, a genuine smile lighting up her ravaged face for the first time in many days.
"Ah, Flame," she said in a tremulous voice, "It is so good to see you again, old friend. Come, sit with me so that we can enjoy a nice conversation like we did in the old days."
The gigantic Charizard, not looking much more than days older than when Tessa had first begun her great journey, lumbered carefully over to the chair by the window, careful not to set any furniture aflame by the fire on his tail. With a grunt, he settled down on the floor.
"I was worried about you," said Flame plainly, "I have not seen you come out of the house for months."
"It gets that way, once you become old," said Tessa bitterly, "I haven't had the strength to move much anymore, these days. I hate being so weak."
"But you are wise," said Flame, clearly trying to boost his friend's spirits, "All of the Pokemon here know this as a fact."
"Do you remember Blue?" said Tessa suddenly, her eyes going far away as she visualized her long lost friend.
"Like it was yesterday," said Flame sadly, the memories evoking painful thoughts of when Tessa was young and of the road they had taken since.
"And Silver, Ruby, Lavender, Azure," continued Tessa, almost as if she hadn't heard the Charizard speak, "Orange, oh, Orange... Twilight, Snap, and Indigo, and Kaboren. Brown, ah, sober Brown…" her voice faded away, the anguish clearly evident in her tone.
"All our old friends," said Flame with a melancholy nod.
"All gone now," sighed Tessa, "How I miss them so… how I wish… I wish that I could be with them…"
"Do not wish for something that you will have in due time," said Flame, so softly that Tessa almost didn't hear, "It is foolish."
"You are right, old friend," said Tessa with a smile, "it is you who should be considered wise, not I."
"I am young," said Flame pointedly, "It will be long before I am ever considered to be wise."
"You are wise enough for me," replied Tessa warmly. Suddenly, a small tear formed on her eyes, blurring her vision further until the only thing she could see was the glowing spark of her friend's tail, "Tell me," she choked out, "will you choose a good guardian to take my place when I am gone?"
"The best the world can offer," promised Flame, his voice strained, "But no trainer could ever be as good as you, my friend."
"You'll have a lot of time to find one," sighed Tessa. She ran her trembling fingers though her cropped gray hair, trying to smooth the wild, thick strands down but being as unsuccessful as she had always been, even when young.
"I think I should go to bed, now," she said quietly, "There is no more sunset, and I find that I am tired."
"Then I shall leave you to your rest," said Flame soberly, his eyes masking a deep and heartrending grief. He looked to say something more, but stopped and rose from his place, lumbering out of the room. At the door, he stopped, looking back at the frail woman sitting silently in the chair, faintly illuminated by his light.
"Strength to your wings, my friend," he whispered, ambling out.
"And to yours," replied Tessa softly, amazed that she had even heard the comment with her failing ears. She stood still, not wanting to move quite yet and break the spell of peace that had come from speaking with her most beloved friend. Her mind passed back to the moments with her other friends, in the days when she had been widely known as the great Shiny Assassin. All but Flame were dead now, she had outlived them and regretted it. But she had also taken care that their bloodlines would never be extinguished, for as the generations passed she had nurtured each young that was born to them, taken care that they either found a good place in the wild or a caring trainer's arms. It would be a long time before trainers ever stopped boasting that their Girafarig or Ponyta was descended from the Shiny Assassin's champion, Blue, or that their prize winning Eevee got it's looks from it's ancestor, Kaboren. The world would remember them, but what of her?
Only the name in the books, she figured. That was fine with her; she had never liked taking too much credit for things that were so grossly exaggerated that they made her sick. She only desired, as her last and most powerful wish, that Shining Lake Reserve would find a new guardian, and that it would continue to be a secret Pokemon reserve for hundreds of years to come. Flame, she was sure, would make certain that her wish was carried out, and so would his descendants… especially Shadow. The young Shining Charizard was well on the way to becoming just like his father, Tessa was only sorry that she hadn't had as much time to know him.
Tessa found with dull surprise that her eyes had closed when she wasn't paying attention. She fought to open them, but sleep took her into its warm and blissfully oblivious arms.
Suddenly, bright colors streamed through the partially open cracks in Tessa's lids. She flinched, and was surprised to find that she was laying on her back on some sort of soft, yielding ground. Tessa finished opening her eyes warily, and froze, amazed to see that the sky was bright blue and several fluffy white clouds passed over her, showing their warm cottony white faces to the world.
She struggled upright, and nearly cried out, for as her arm passed in front of her face, she saw that it was not the old and wrinkled thing it had once been, but a full, fleshy sign of health. It was an arm that she had dreamed of for years, the arm of her young self.
Excited now, Tessa looked herself over, gleefully finding that she had somehow been transformed into her eighteen year old self by some unknown miracle. She almost forgot to look around at her surroundings, so great was her joy, but when she did, she couldn't help but catch her breath in wonder.
It was a great plain of green grass, stretching as far as the eye could see. Behind it were trees that shone a healthy forest green, and scattered about in random places were course clumps of brush. Pokemon were everywhere, lingering in herds, running across the plain, or just nibbling on a few blades of grass. As Tessa looked, she saw several shapes perk up and come running towards her spot.
She almost fainted when she saw them.
All of them, every single once, brought back memories she had thought long forgotten. Her eyes began to tear up, but she brushed the wetness away irritably; it would not do to greet her friends in such a state!
"Blue!" she cried, hugging the first that reached her, "Kaboren, Lavender, Orange! Twilight, you old rascal!"
The Pokemon seemed as if they could not be happier at the arrival of their friend. They blissfully endured the caresses of the girl, eyes half-lidded and expressions serene. Finally, Tessa stood, and looked about with confusion.
"Where's the others?" she asked, "and where are we?"
Blue came forward and spoke, his voice exactly as Tessa remembered.
"The other's are waiting in their own sections," he said happily, "Most of them can't exactly travel on land, you know! As for where we are… well… how do I say this?" he paused, "Tessa, you were quite old, weren't you?"
Suddenly, a thought hit the girl. Her legs trembled underneath her, and she fell to the soft grass in shock, her mouth an 'o' of horror.
"No," she whispered, "It couldn't be… I can't be…"
"You're dead, Tessa," said Orange softly, bringing the point clearly into the open, "and so are we. Everyone here is dead, you can meet them at your convenience."
"But… but…"
"The Realms of Fog aren't as horrible as the living think," said Kaboren with a smile, "In fact, they're very relaxing and you can learn much from them. All the information in the world is at your fingertips, Tessa. Plus, you aren't cut off from the living, we can see them if we go to the mirrored pool."
"I wasn't ready to die…" protested Tessa feebly.
"Yes, you were," said Blue softly, shaking his head, "You knew, deep down, so you sent Flame of his quest. He should be flying off pretty soon. You can watch to see whom he chooses after you meet the others. We have been waiting for you for a very long time."
"O… okay," stammered Tessa, letting herself be helped from the grass by a pair of familiar faces. She smiled a stroked Trinity's muzzle, then gave a mischievous grin to Dapwood, "Lead the way, old friends. We have all the time in the world… you could even say we have eternity."
"Well," said Lavender softly, speaking for the first time since her joyous greeting, "You always promised us that we would be together forever, no matter what."
Tessa smiled. It was going to be an interesting time-without-end.