A/N: I'm SOOOOO sorry!!!! Gaahhh... Anyway, yep, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. I was away for a few days. Anyhoo, please enjoy! And thanks to reviewers! Also, as Orangen said: I'm wrong. Emma has a Torchic in Destined: Ruby, and a Treecko here. However, I WILL keep the Treecko as her main pokemon. I'll have to either write in why she lied, or something (even though it was just my mistake). Thanks for pointing that out. And also for putting my story in your forum!
Emerald
4
"Hellooooo???" Emma knocked impatiently on the door. "Hellooooooo..."
Her cheery mood had resumed that morning, and they were now situated in front of Emma's house, where she was knocking on the door with loud, excited thumps.
Behind her, Jira shivered. Emma was so happy and bright, but the house was cold, empty, and almost...
"Emma?"
A boy stood beside them, spiky white hair sticking out above his bandanna. His red eyes skipped easily over the two siblings, coming to rest uneasily on Emma.
"Brendan!" Emma chirped.
He seemed unsure of himself for several seconds, eyes darting around warily, and Jira got the impression that he had something that he wasn't quite sure how to say.
"Breeennnnndoooooonnnn..." Emma said, crossing her arms. "Meanie, you're teasing me again, aren't you?"
"...No." He scuffled the toe of his shoe in the dirt, biting his lip. "Er... Emma..."
"What?"
He was quiet shortly, then finally could hold it back no longer. "We don't know where your family is. The police... The police think they're dead, and your mother's body has already been found."
Emma's green eyes looked at him. They were questioning, but were not like anything at all. They looked straight through Brendan, far away.
Jira managed to let out a whisper. "...Emma?"
Emma let out a brief smile. But it was nothing like anything else. She looked defeated, tired. She was now a shadow of before, her old self have drifted away, leaving nothing but a shell.
"I'm okay." She said, smiling deftly. "I'm okay."
But Jira got the feeling- no, she knew- that Emma was certainly not okay.
"Gotta have hope," Emma said, her voice almost rising to a hysterical level, but as soft as the wind.
Brendan looked physically pained. "...Hey, I'm sorry."
"I know you are." Her voice was cold. "I am very sorry as well."
"They could still be found."
"How many days has it been?" Jira ventured quietly. She did not enjoy prodding... It often ended up in painful situations.
Brendan swallowed. "They disappeared the day after Emma left."
Everyone was silent.
The silence was broken as Deo tore away from the group at a wild run.
Jira closed her eyes tightly. Sleeping here, in Emma's bed, felt strange.
Emma had refused to enter the house- She was sleeping outside, if she slept at all.
So Jira had been offered the bed. Emma had still been worried about her, despite her own problems. Jira had still not taken on the proper color since her scare of the day before, in the forest.
Now she was lying in the comfortable bed, in a room in the house that was so bright, it almost made it hard to go to sleep.
Before that day, Emma had been a girl who radiated energy and happiness from every pore. Her room was filled with bright pictures of the cutest pokemon around: Pikachus and Pichus laughing together, Bellossoms dancing, Mudkips swimming and splashing with a group of Poliwags, and... One picture did not fit the mold.
It was a dark picture, and slightly smaller than the rest, placed in a golden frame on top of a bookcase. Jira stood, trying not to make the floor squeak, then began to walk towards the picture to get a better look.
She flipped on the Jigglypuff lamp beside it, and tilted the picture upwards. She couldn't make out much of anything, but there was a glimmer of green and yellow, combined with a hazy red-yellow light...
She dropped the picture, grabbing her head in pain. Rayquaza, her mind sang. Rayquaza. Rayquaza using Hyper Beam.
The necklace had been enough proof, but as for this picture... Why would Emma have a picture of Rayquaza in her room, using Hyper Beam? Rayquaza, according to the legends, almost never fought... It wasn't normal, it was absolutely...
The now shattered glass of the picture glittered, and Jira bent down, beginning to gather up the pieces. One left an inch long cut on her finger, and she winced in pain, wishing it would go away...
And then she remembered that wishing was childish and useless, as her father had said.
She wiped the blood away on her leg, and bit her lip, glancing at the now absolutely normal hand. No scratches, no more blood... She froze. Could it...
"Better?" A voice chirped in her mind. Childish, warm.
She hadn't heard the voice since the day she wished she had a brother.
Emma shifted in her sleeping bag, clutching the fabric with a fierce intensity.
Why was she so angry?
A figure leaned over her sleeping bag, green eyes glittering in the dark, almost teal.
She glared at it, raising her head slightly. The figure did not notice.
A slow, steady output of warm air on her neck made her mind whirl. Now there were two figures- One solid, the one with teal eyes, and the other, which was almost like a... shadow?
The solid one crawled closer, lifting a hand that drifted closer and closer to her face...
Overhead, in the skies, clouds began to gather. A fast thunderstorm, rain threatening to come crashing down.
The solid one's hand landed on her shoulder, and began to shake her... gently...
She immediately felt calm. The teal eyes meant no harm... They were simply worried, above all else.
But the shadow... It truly was a shadow, following the solid one around. Doing whatever he did, but in some strange, twisted form.
Instead of clutching her shoulder, the shadow clutched her heart, and instead of gently rocking it, wrapped its icy cold fingers around it and began to shake it, hard, squeezing tighter and tighter...
She was too tired to do anything about it... Besides... The pain was almost nothing compared to how it felt to be told that your family was probably dead.
But a deep rumble from the sky awoke her from her daze, and she sat up as it began to rain.
The rumble sounded almost like words...
"Leave her be..."
The gentle grip on her shoulder let go, and the iron hold on her heart was forced to give up as well.
"Emma," the figure whispered, tired but still as emotionless as ever. "Emma."
She didn't respond.
"It's going to rain. You have to go inside."
She looked up at him, green eyes regaining their original hue. "...Deo?"
"Yeah," was the curt response. "Now are you going to get inside, or do I have to carry you?"
"Not my house," she whispered. "Not mine."
"Where else am I going to put you?"
"Professor Birch's lab."
Deo sighed deeply.
She pulled herself out of her sleeping bag, glancing wearily at him. "Deo, I don't like your shadow."
Such a stupid and strange thing to say. Perhaps she was still half-asleep.
If it wasn't night, she would have seen his face darken.
"I don't like it either."
She slumped down onto the cold tile floor, ignoring the beeping machines.
"Sleep well," he said bluntly, throwing her sleeping bag down to her.
She wriggled into it, enjoying the warmth.
"I'm leaving now." He walked towards the door. Why had he cared? Why hadn't he just left her outside?
"Hey, Deo?" She muttered, now sleepy once more.
"Yes?" He asked darkly.
"Make sure to let the rain cleanse you." Another entirely sleepy statement that seemed just right. Her mouth was not her own, it seemed.
He looked at her with what she would never guess was shock.
"The rain can...?"
But she was asleep.
Jira listened to the pitter patter of the rain against the window. The night had seemed strange just moments before...
She raced to the window. There was no way... Deoxys couldn't be...
There was definitely a dark stain, but as the rain trickled down into the ground, it disappeared. Jira blinked.
Another safe night.
She made her way back to the bookcase, frowning. What was it about Emma's room?
She bent down, then pulled a book off the shelf.
"Legends," she read on the cover. She pulled out another book. "Time and Space: Legendaries". Another. "The King of the Skies". Another. "The Deep Sea's Mysteries". Another. "Unreal: True Stories of Legendary Sightings". Her fingers twitched as she reached for another book. It was small and made of black leather, and it seemed so out of place among the many bright colored pictures of the other books.
She flipped it open.
"February 3rd:
Today, my granddaughter was born. She is so beautiful, and her green eyes match mine perfectly. But I know exactly what that means, and it is not merry. She does not deserve the fate that I have placed upon her shoulders: it isn't fair to give it to such a sweet and innocent child.
Rayquaza has already blessed us with a snow, to celebrate the occasion. He knew this was coming.
My only joy is that she will be protected, forever, by the sky. In case he comes again."
Deo watched the rain trickle down his red hair, contrasting with it. He shook his head, droplets sprinkling everywhere.
Behind him, the twisted shadow began to fade away with the rain..
It fled.
But Deo knew it would be back.
A/N: Ugh... I'm so disgusted with myself. Anyway, I hope this chapter was good. I think I wrote in in the same style as Ruby. Anyway, thanks for reading up to chapter 4! YAY!! Talky time!
Orangen- Thanks for your kind words! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I'm so happy! Thanks for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Thanks a lot!!
Well... See you when I see you, I guess... YAY!!