The delay wasn't long I hope. I was busy playing in the snow. On Colloseum mostly (I got it! Yay!). Last chappie, enjoy! (ans it's very long)
The last disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I do own Crystal's evolution. T.T awesome yet sad at the same time.
The Pain of Saying Goodbye
Crystal's body was a jumble of broken bones and bloody cuts. It hurt so much she could barely stand. This pain was a close second to that of her mother's murder. If Razor was afraid of her, he sure wasn't showing it.
He struck again, a fresh cut appeared on her face. She gritted her teeth to keep from crying out in pain. Crystal knew that besides seeing her dead, Razor wanted the satisfaction of hearing her in pain.
And there was no way she was going to give him what he wanted.
Half his body was engulfed in the shadows. Crystal could barely spot her own claws. Only the dim light of the moon allowed her to see in the night. How could she maneuver in this darkness?
I bet Razor can see perfectly in the shadows, she thought. And that was exactly why she needed the sun to rise. Come on sun, shine already! She could hear her thoughts so clearly that it almost seemed like she was saying it aloud.
She stared at the shady Pokemon, waiting for his next move. It was so hard to predict. He could disappear for only a few seconds and before she knew it, she'd probably be on the ground.
Crystal wanted to run, desperately she did. But running wouldn't solve her problems, it'd only wear her out. Besides, he would probably follow her anyway.
The mood of the night was somber and still. The stars didn't shimmer, or even shine at that. The lake didn't sparkle when moonlit rays fell on its waters. Even the beautiful white moon looked a stony gray. The whole forest looked as if a fog of death had lain there and was waiting to be lifted. Hope now was like trying to find your opponent when you're blind. A little like the situation she was in now...
It wasn't total darkness, but it did give her a huge disadvantage. She watched his every move, every step, every glance, but even that wasn't enough. He crept into a crouch, as did Crystal. Her pelt lightly brushed the ground. She steadily kept a quiet pace, despite the pain.
Crystal heard a crack. She couldn't tell if she'd either stepped on something or another bone had been broken. There was no way she could experience any more pain than this. Crystal couldn't feel her back leg, couldn't walk on her front one, and couldn't tell how many wounds she'd received so far. She could practically memorize all the disadvantages she had.
A claw shot out of the shadows. Crystal just barely managed to evade the blow. The next attempt aimed strait for her neck. She quickly backed away. The black Pokemon immediately felt something against her leg.
It felt... scaly.
She scanned the creature as best as she could. Crystal turned her head, but soon wished she hadn't. There, in the darkness, a small fire burned, enough for her to see what it was burning on.
A tail.
A long orange tail.
She could feel her heart in her throat. The flame, it was so small, barely burning. Shiloh. Just as she was in a struggle fighting Razor, Shiloh was struggling just to stay alive.
The storm. The storm was too much for him to handle. He refused to leave, because of...
She stopped. Everything seemed to stop. Silence. Complete silence...
The words barely came out of her mouth. "...m-me..."
She wiped the blood mixed tears from her face. The cold night made her shiver. Why? She kept asking herself. Why didn't he get to safety?
The answer seemed to remind her of what Shiloh would've said.
Cause that's what friends are for... Friends are worth dying for.
Crystal felt something stirring. Inside her, something was stirring. Rage, hatred, anger, fury. And mixed with all the boiling emotions was something unexplainable. Emptiness. Suddenly, nothing made sense any more. Without her only friend, without her family, without anyone she held close, she felt so...empty. Her purpose was to protect, but who would protect her when she needed protection?
She was expected of so much, what if she couldn't handle it all? Then Razor came into mind. He was the obstacle she couldn't seem to overcome. He never seemed to stop until Crystal was dead. Was his purpose to make her life miserable? To kill everyone she held near, then blame her for not living up to her purpose?
Her mother's sweet voice seemed to come into mind. "Sometimes you can't do things alone," Dawn said. "Sometimes you just need others to lean on along the way."
But without anyone to lean on I feel like I'm gonna fall over, she thought, denying her mother's encouragement.
"But if you look real hard, deep inside, I'm sure you'll find that there's something left."
Her mother's words jostled her mind. Something? Not someone?
If no one's going to help then I've got no chance of winning.
Everything seemed hopeless; no one she could "lean on" was alive. Why couldn't she just join everyone now? A pang of sorrow hit her heart. Like that would solve anything. If her mother could only contact her when she was living, she'd never see her again. But at least it would relieve her of this pain.
Shiloh's body could be seen better as it was illuminated a few streaks of light. She stared hopelessly at her unmoving shadow.
Wait...her shadow?
How can I see my shadow, it's not... Her eyes widened. Or is it? Crystal swiftly turned around. The horizon was lit by a golden glow and the darkness's hold over the sky was being penetrated. Her eyes sparkled. And for the first time in a while, she smiled. Crystal had made it through the night. Part of her felt glad and part of her felt guilty for nearly giving up. And just then figured out what she was leaning on.
Hope.
Hope had helped her make it through the night. Even though she thought about hopelessness, deep down she did always know that there was hope.
Crystal suddenly felt curious. What would happen if Razor was surrounded by sunlight? She scanned the clearing for a dark figure. Crystal soon found what she was looking for. There was Razor, at the edge of the lake, struggling to stand. She raced over there to get a better look at what was happening.
She observed carefully. It was like he was burning up on the inside. His pupils were now mere slits and he kept wriggling on the ground. But once he caught sight of Crystal all his pain was temporarily being pushed away.
"You've made a big mistake you stupid little Pokemon," Razor growled.
"That thing you call a mistake was a strategy. Even thought it wasn't a physical attack, it worked." She felt her confidence being boosted.
Razor's anger had increased as well. "Damn your family, damn that Shiloh. They were all distractions. Distractions that distracted me from my target. That's why they had to be eliminated, and the only reason you nearly won."
"Distractions?!" the words came out loud and fierce.
Razor nodded with a smirk and began to run, his speed increasing. She used agility and her speed too increased. Crystal was pushing herself harder and harder to run quickly with all the injuries. She closed her eyes and felt herself slightly speed up.
Her paws began to get scarred and blistered. She skidded to a stop and opened her eyes. She wasn't even in the forest any more. No trees, only rocky hills. Crystal sensed something moving behind her. She dodged left and Razor came racing from where she'd thought he would.
She watched him halt and turn to her with a scowl. "Your family deserves to be dead," he said randomly. "They all do, including you."
Her blood boiled. Her mother popped into her head again.
"Crystal, calm down! Don't you see? This is exactly how he wants you to feel!"
Crystal stopped. Strangely she understood. His power at the moment was increasing, and now she knew why. He was feeding of her rage. Razor had a simple weakness that she'd never noticed. But in order to kill him, she had to face him without hate. Crystal searched for another reason to kill him, besides vengeance.
She stood there in thought, staring at the now faded black sky. She realized that all she ever wanted was revenge, not caring about how much havoc he could cause. Then she remembered her purpose; to protect.
Crystal decided she would fight for the Pokemon living in the forest. She decided that there would be no more loss, no more death.
He came at her with full force, as did she. When they made contact an earsplitting crack echoed throughout the air. Crystal suddenly felt dizzy. Her vision blurred, she couldn't tell if Razor was still alive or not.
She collapsed on the rocky ground. Crystal felt reality slowly slip away.
No... It can't end like this...it...just...can't...
Voices seemed to fill the air.
"Do you think she's still with us?"
"I don't know," said a female's voice. "We've poured like five buckets of water on her. Even I couldn't handle that many without waking up."
Water?! The black Pokemon's face immediately felt ice cold and wet.
She rapidly sat up and shook the freezing water from her fur.
"That's freakin cold!" Crystal shouted, quivering.
She winced while getting up. "Lay down Crystal, you need your rest."
Crystal looked up to see Misty, Ash, and Brock surrounding her.
"Ash! You're okay!" Crystal shouted telepathically.
"Thanks to you." He smiled at her.
"Really it was nothing." She smiled back.
"Nothing?" Misty laughed. "You should've seen yourself when Shiloh found you!"
Shiloh? He's alive? Crystal glanced around. Then she spotted him. The fire type lay there resting near the tent.
"SHILOH!!" she screamed in joy.
His eyes shot open and he immediately lifted his head. "Huh?"
"You're alive!" she yelled while running over there.
"There's no way I was gonna leave you to deal with Razor alone." He looked at the brightening sky. "But when I got there, you'd already taken care of him."
Crystal stared at the sky with him. "He's gone," she whispered. "He's really gone." All the trouble was gone. No more Razor, no more death. Now he couldn't take Shiloh away form her. Well, there was still one other thing.
Her gaze shifted to Ash and Misty. The two trainers smiled at each other. Crystal felt a mischievous grin appear on her face. How couldn't she have seen it before? She crept into a crouch, trying to be unseen.
Stealthily, she snuck up behind Misty. She lightly headbutted her in the back. "Catch 'er Ash!" Crystal laughed.
She watched Misty fall, but not for long. This time, Ash caught her. He helped her regain her balance. Crystal saw them inches from each other's face. Ash's face reddened and Misty blushed.
Crystal held her breath to keep from laughing. They just stood there, frozen. Looks like Misty needs a little help, Crystal thought.
She shoved Misty closer to Ash which made his face even redder, if that was even possible. Them Misty finally made a move. She leaned in, gave him a peck on the cheek then slowly pulled away. Crystal giggled. They just stared at each other, a little flushed.
The black Pokemon butted in. "Awww." She smiled. "Don't I get a thank you or something?"
Misty shoved Crystal. "Ow! I'm still recovering remember?"
She rubbed her side.
The water trainer laughed. "Sorry but you were asking for it."
"Hey! I do deserve some thanks!"
"Well then thanks."
Shiloh just stood there warming himself in the morning sun. "It's about time," he mumbled.
"What was that?" Ash asked him suspiciously.
"Oh, nothing." He smiled.
They all laughed.
They spent the next hour packing up their things. Crystal offered to help but soon found that rolling up a sleeping bag was harder than it looked. Heck, she practically got lost inside the dang thing.
"Well it's been fun." Misty closed her eyes and smiled. She picked up the red bag.
"Same here, though I was nearly killed, it was still fun." She added, "Well with you guys at least."
Shiloh stood at her side. "Yep."
The three trainers set off. "Bye!" they all said in unison, waving.
Crystal watched the three as they got more distant. She suddenly realized something. Shiloh wasn't with them. He was still here.
Crystal turned to him. "Why aren't you going?"
He laughed. "Are you saying you don't want me to stay?"
She looked strait at him with her blue eyes. "No, but I want you to go with them. My duties lie here in the forest. You belong with Ash, you still have so many adventures together, I can feel it."
"What are you, psychic?"
"No, I'm..." She paused. "...your friend."
He stopped and stared at the disappearing figures. "I suppose..."
His voice trailed off.
"I just want you to be happy. Whatever you choose, I'll still be your friend."
He smiled at her. "You're right." Shiloh began to flap his wings. "Thanks."
She smiled back and nodded. "You're welcome."
He took off and looked back only once. She watched him slowly vanish. "Looks like you've sorted everything out. You know your purpose and where you stand."
Crystal responded whether her mother could hear her or not. "My purpose is to protect. To protect is my fate and my fate lies here, in the forest of Silvin."
T.T awesomeness. Can't believe I finished it. Oh! By the way, I have the sequel to this up, Eternity. If you liked this then you'll love Eternity.
This is eeveelover893 signing off!