Cold.

Dark.

Nothing.

Silver opened his eyes, his body swirling in mid air around the black nothingness. He looked around, his mind empty as the pitch black space. His silver eyes blinked slowly. He swayed forward, emotionless and blur.

My son…

A sudden voice filled the dark abyss. He turned around, his body whirling slowly. But all he saw was nothing.

I will love you forever, my son…

Silver flinched. He knew that voice – a voice he missed so much. He soon regained control of his mind and looked up front. He averted his eyes sideways and back, trying to find the person of the much loved voice.

Silver…

Suddenly, he felt as if a huge weight falls on him. Silver gasped for air. He gripped his chest, trying to breathe. But it only made it worse as he felt his chest tightened, crushing his ribs. Silver opened his mouth, trying to scream. But all was heard was a hollow gasp. He gripped his chest with both his hands. His eyes closed, baring the intense pain.

He cringed as his body swayed upside down. Now he was heaving a headache. Silver quickly held his head. The deadly pain in his chest and head was killing him, torturing him.

Before Silver could emit another empty scream, he fell to the ground. Numbly, Silver plopped on his elbow. He opened his eyes, teeth gritting at the sudden impact. But he blinked in shock as he felt his body wasn't hurting anymore. He patted his chest, his head. They were all fine. Carefully, Silver rose to his feet. He looked around, shocked to see the once shattered abyss was now a lush, green field.

He looked down as he felt soft, warm grass between his toes. Silver scrunched his eyebrows, irritatingly confused.

Silver…

Silver snapped up. The much recognizable voice was ringing in his ears again. With swift feet, he ran, trying to find the mysterious person.

Soon enough, Silver halted, his eyes widen in dumb shock to see the person standing right in front of him.

Emery flashed a beautiful smile. Her glowing silver eyes stared majestically into his son's dark silvers. Her arms spread, her smile never leaving her place. "My son…"

Silver felt his tears getting wet, staining his cheeks. But ego didn't matter to Silver anymore. The person he loved was near him. Without a thought, he dashed his feet towards her, embracing his mother.

"Mama…" he sobbed. Silver laid his head on the woman's shoulder, crying.

Emery posed a peaceful expression and laid her head on her son's chest. She felt the boy's shoulder vibrated slightly as the boy continued to snivel. She felt his hot tears staining her white dress. But Emery could care less about her attire. Her beloved son was with her now.

Slowly, she pulled the tall boy out of their embrace. The elegant woman kept her soft gaze as she wiped the tears of Silver's face. Chuckling gently, she said, "You have grown well, my son." Her hand stayed on his cheek.

Silver blushed at his mother's warm touch. His damp silver eyes shined under the bright sunlight. He touched her hand, gripping it tightly. "I miss you…" he mouthed, barely a whimper.

But Emery knew what he said. Her soft hands moved from his cheek to his hair, playfully caressing it. "I miss you too," she giggled. Silver grinned childishly as the woman petted his hair – just like she always does when he was little.

"Sneaa!"

His ears caught a loud cheer. Silver looked down, his smile growing bigger to see Xander, his best friend. Excited, Xander pounced on Silver and gave him a sweet peck on the nose. Silver chuckled at the Pokémon's carefree attitude. He hugged the Sneasel tightly, squishing him.

Silver led out another chuckle as Xander tried to wiggle himself free. Finally, he released his hug. The Sneasel took the chance and jumped on his trainer's shoulder, sticking out a tongue.

The redhead only managed a smile. Xander was acting like a kid as always. He soon focused back on his beloved mother. "Mama…" he mouthed again, but no sound.

Emery stared at his son. Oh how has he grown. She felt her heart feeling soft and at peace. Gently, she placed both hands on the side of his head. "Silver…" she murmured. "I may not be with you long enough to see you grow…But I am always here…" She placed her left hand at his heart, her eyes and smile never leaving his sight.

Silver frowned. He didn't want her to go. Not again. Mama… He swiftly took both her hands and held it closely to his chest. His sorrow silver eyes began to gleam sadly. No… Silver wanted to yell, to tell her to never leave him again. But his mouth remained shut, shivering. He was unable to convert his thoughts into verbal words.

Emery caressed his soft cheek with her fingers. Her eyes showed nothing but trust and love. But deep inside her wistful silvers, Silver could see her mother's dead sorrow. And it panged his heart.

Before Silver could act out, he felt her grasp loosening from him. He could see her mother fading away, vanishing out of his sight. No. Silver gasped. He reached out his hand, trying to grab hers. But to no avail, Emery and Xander disappeared into the cold wind.

I love you forever…my son…

Silver snapped his eyes wide open. He gasped silently for air. A few silent minutes filled the atmosphere. Silver glanced around. He wasn't in a dark abyss. He wasn't in a grassy field. He wasn't with his mother. The thought made Silver realized something.

He was now awake.

He remained frozen on the bed, his eyes coldly gazing on the ceiling. His mind was still blank, a blur. He scrunched his eyebrows as he faintly tried to remember his last memory. Nothing. The man grunted in irritation and stood his torso up.

He quickly regretted it and groaned in pain at his chest.

Silver gripped his chest. He flinched to feel something soft on his fingers. Silver looked down, paralyzed to see his whole chest was wrapped in white. Unwarily, he moved his hands to his hair and neck. Some of them were plastered in white too. Silver twitched his head around. The place was white. It had a closet and a small table. Another pang of headache slapped Silver, causing him to stop thinking. The redhead groaned and slowly massaged his temples.

Where am I…?

"Oh my Arceus! Silver!"

A sudden high-pitched voice echoed the room, causing his eardrums to bang. Before Silver could turn his head, he felt a small but slightly heavy weight pouncing on him, crushing his ribs.

"Ackk…" Silver croaked. With his free, good hand, he pulled the annoying anonymous and shoved the person away. Silver gripped his wounded chest, cursing at both the pain and the attacker. He opened his eyes, ragingly glaring at the person. Silver bit his inner cheek, about to yell as loud as he can.

But he went completely mute as he saw who it was.

Kotone scratched the back of her head apologetically. She took a few steps backwards, giving him some space. She mentally slapped herself on the cheek. Idiot! He's hurt and you just gave him a bone-crushing hug! Heck, why don't we stomp on some Hoppips after this!

Silver kept his eyes on Kotone. He couldn't believe that the brunette was standing right in front of him. Suddenly, his eyes widen as he remembered completely everything "That man…" he mouthed, eyes on the white sheets.

Kotone tilted her head in confusion. "What?"

"That man!" he yelled, slightly cringing as he felt his throat getting dry. "Where is he?"

"Hey hey calm down!" Kotone quickly moved her feet and held his shoulders, pressing him down on the bed. She saw his eyes beamed in flames; his face was showing both pain and remorse. Kotone sighed quietly. The redhead was definitely not well enough.

Silver quivered roughly on the bed. "That bastard…"

"He's gone." Kotone cut him off.

That rendered him speechless. "What?" Silver asked dumbfoundedly.

Slowly, the petite trainer released her grip and took another few steps backwards. With a sharp sigh, she answered, "He's gone. After you've fainted, he…well…" Kotone scratched her arm, unable to continue her words.

Silver sat up and glared at her impatiently. "Well, what?"

"He was crushed on some huge rocks!" His voice was so loud and sudden, Kotone replied spontaneously.

A few minutes of silence filled the room. One was standing in major awkward nerves while the other was on the bed, his mouth wide open as he tried to convey the information. Silver roughly shook his head, groaning as his headache came back. "W-What did you say?" he grumbled, massaging his forehead. His left eye pierced at the nervous Kotone.

Kotone twiddled her fingers. Her eyes down as she muttered, "Mewtwo saved us when he attacked. And, um…" She bit her lower lip. "When my Pokémon countered his shot, one of the bullets exploded…and…caused a huge quake in the cave. We were saved thanks to Mewtwo's shield. But him…well…"

Another few silent minutes surrounded the area. Kotone pursed her lips – anxious, nervous and many stressful nerves filled her veins. Never had she been in an intense situation like this before. All the epic battles she had before was nothing compared to the torture in the room right now.

Silver froze in shock. He's…dead? The man he hated, despised – was now gone for good. Kotone had defeated him. His eyes gazed numbly at the pure sheets. His head boggling with a thousand thoughts. Suddenly, he led out a dead chuckle. "Guess I'm an orphan now…"

No response. He didn't look up. He didn't turn his gaze towards the petite but powerful trainer. He just sat there, head down and blank.

Suddenly, his ears caught a few sniffles. Quickly, his head snapped at the brunette, shocked to see her eyes glistening with tears. Her mouth covered with her left hand. Seeing this, Silver felt a sudden punch in his heart, and it wasn't because of the gunshot. He bit his inner cheek, feeling guilty. "T-The hell are you –"

His mouth became mute as Kotone plunged herself at him, hugging him tightly. Silver froze in total shock. He felt her embrace getting tighter. Her sobbing became louder and louder on his shoulder. Silver shuddered as he realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. Thus, he could feel her touch, her warm tears, her lips.

Silver knew he wasn't strong enough to handle it all. Swiftly, he pulled the woman away, gripping her shoulders. Silver plucked up all his courage to yell at her, but all that dissolved like acid the second he saw eye bags under her eyes. Her beautiful brown eyes were now fluffed and red, indicating that this wasn't the first time she cried – or had any decent sleep. Her lips trembled. Her tears flowed rapidly on her cheeks. He focused back on her eyes. It was still a bright brown, just stained with undeserving tears and sorrow.

Silver sighed heavily. The woman has ways to make him feel all kinds of guilt. Slowly, he released her grip and looked away. "How long was I down?"

Kotone blinked her wet eyes, staring dumbly at Silver. She bit her nail. "Um…four days…"

The redhead snapped his attention at her, eyes wide. "Four days!" he coughed loudly. His throat was torturing him, choking his neck. He moved his hand and stroked his neck, trying to soothe it. Silver flinched as Kotone took a glass of water and jumped on his bed, sitting on her knees in front of him.

"Here." She held the glass in front of him. Silver stared at Kotone, his eyebrow raised. The woman flashed a sweet, innocent smile – making his skin tingle. He felt his cheeks getting hot and looked away. Grumbling, Silver took the glass and drank it. His heart hummed in relief as the cool water washed down his throat.

He focused his gaze on the window, trying to distract himself. Half of him wished that Kotone would get off his bed and walk way – another half just wanted her there, pulling and locking her into a tight embrace. He sighed under his throat, his lips stayed at the edge of the glass.

"Silv?"

The man peeked without moving his head. Kotone was curiously staring at him like a Pokémon, still not moving. Suddenly, he realized that her hair was being pulled back into a tall ponytail. There were no childish pigtails and her annoyingly puffy hat was missing (much to his utter joy). Instead, she wore a…nurse's hat?

His stricken eyes zoomed at her whole body, flabbergasting. Silver gargled and almost choked on the clear liquid, a few drops painted his chin.

Giggling, Kotone wiped the drops away from his chin, her fingers caressing his skin. Her touch woke Silver up like a bullet. On impulse, he swatted her hand away and scooched his body way back until his back hit the headboard. His shivering hand pointed at the confused-looking brunette. His eyes waved at her body up and down. He wasn't blind. She wasn't wearing her normal trainer attire. "W-What the hell are you wearing?" he shrieked, completely ignoring his crackling throat.

Happy that he noticed, Kotone jumped out of bed and hopped playfully in front of him. "What do you think? Since I admitted you in Goldenrod hospital, Nurse Joy lets me be your personal nurse. So I can take care of you and help out when needed. Plus, I get to wear to an adorable uniform!" she squealed melodically and posed a twirl around the dumbstricken patient.

Silver felt like his eyes were about to pop out of his sockets. Kotone was wearing a nurse's outfit – but not just any normal nurse's outfit. The pink clothing fitted perfectly on her body, showing off her curvaceous figure. The collar of the uniform was short, exposing her bare, open white neck. The end of her brown ponytail rested neatly, covering a small part of her long neck. The sleeves were short and sweet. Unwarily, his eyes moved down. Apparently so was the outfit. The uniform's length stopped a few inches on top of her knees – flaunting fully her slender, hairless legs. The woman wore pink shoes, matching the outfit wholly.

Silver gulped like he never gulps before.

Oblivious, Kotone skipped playfully, twirling sideways like a little girl wearing her favourite dress. She flashed a sweet smile, clasped her hands together and placed it on her chest, her eyes brimming with sparkling joy. "Well, do you like it?"

Silver was speechless. His tongue was frozen like an ice cube. But his face was hotter and redder until it matched the colour of his hair. His left eye twitched, still focusing on his dolly rival. He felt his heartbeat racing, accelerating like it was about to burst out. His mind suddenly remembered seeing a cartoon Mightyena, whistling devilishly and eyes popping out everytime a sexy Persian entered the scene.

Seeing their situation right now, Silver felt like wanting to do the same thing.

And it didn't help as his mind flashed back what he saw during their misfortunate Radio Tower incident.

Kotone held her hips, annoyed. The man was being silent again. But his gaze was fully focused on her. With a slow sigh, she strode her feet towards the numb patient. "Yoohoo, Silver. You alive?" She slightly bent her torso and waved her palm in front of his face. The redhead was still paralyzed. With a pouting face, she inched closer and poked his nose. "Silver…" she muttered, her breath touching his completely flustered face.

Silver had had enough of hormonal torture. "Wahh!" he yelled and lay down, pulling the sheets so that it covered his whole body.

Kotone was taken aback at his scream and action. Her eyes froze widely as she stared at her rival. "Silver?" The brunette tried to pull the sheets away, but it only made Silver tightening it even more.

"Out…Get out!" he stammered, voice muffling under the sheets.

Unsuccessful, Kotone led out a disappointing sigh. "Fine…" Suddenly, a flirtatious mind tapped into her brain. With a devious smirk, Kotone bent her body – until her face was very close to his.

Silver was gripping the sheet so tightly to his face that she can make out the lines on his eyes, nose and mouth. The woman flashed a naughty grin. Gently, she placed her palm at his bare chest, earning a cold shiver from him. Still grinning, Kotone stared at her rival. "If you need anything, just call me alright? I'm gonna take very good care of you…" she murmured softly. Her tone was making Silver go ballistic. He was trying very hard not to take the term 'take very good care of you' as a different meaning – a whole different meaning.

The perky woman giggled under her breath. Before she exited out of the room, she pecked his nose with hers. The sheets were their only little thin barrier. Even so, it successfully gave Silver a good jolt.

Contented with her tease, Kotone hummed a playful tune and skipped out of the room until it was out of Silver's earshot.

After a few minutes of being paralyzed with utter aghast and fully sure that Kotone was gone, Silver removed the sheets from his face and upper body. His silver eyes widen as he stared dumbly at the ceiling. He didn't know how long he was in that position, or to why Kotone would even act that way.

But one thing's for sure, his body and inner demons were loving it.

"Damn!" he cursed. Silver bought his right hand up and ran it though his hair. He led out a few deep breaths, calming him down. But the sound of his rapid heartbeat showed that he wasn't getting anywhere near serenity.

So instead, in a loud irritating puff, he shut his eyes tight, trying to get some sleep.

More curses were released under his breath as a dancing and promiscuous Kotone teased him in his mental vision, lullabying him to a sweet sugary dream.