Okay, back to angsty fiction! Time to redeem myself, bwahahahahaha.
Disclaimer: I own chickens. But not Pokemon.
21. black
As the Arbok rears back and hisses before slithering quickly the way it came, Diamond holds his injured arm and tries to stop the poison from snaking through his body; his attempts are futile, and as the world begins to darken, he sees Platina's face.
It wasn't that he didn't know what the dangers were like when he agreed to become Professor Birch's assistant in field work. He knew them. Sapphire warned him, Ruby advised him, Professor Birch told him to be extra careful and not have his head up in the clouds all the time.
But really, when one was at a point in life where nothing seemed to matter now, death almost seemed like a good friend to have.
…
Diamond trudged along the mud-spattered trail, making sure that he followed the detailed map Ruby and Sapphire gave him. "Did they already explore this entire thing?" he muttered to himself, a little amazed at how much ground they had covered and how detailed the map was (Ruby's handiwork, no doubt, since he suspected Sapphire wouldn't have the patience to sit down and figure out where north and south was).
His phone vibrated, and Diamond pulled it out and hit 'answer'. "Hello?" he asked, his heart racing and jumping into his throat.
But of course it wasn't the voice he wanted to hear. It never was. Instead, Ruby's voice filtered through the small phone Platina had given to Diamond for his birthday (Diamond hastily pushed that thought away). "Hey Diamond," he said cheerily. "What's up?"
"Nothing much. I'm just going on a short journey. Plus Birch said he wanted some samples from the northwestern region," Diamond answered, trying to sound just as upbeat as his Hoenn counterpart. He really didn't feel like talking, so he cut in over Ruby's response. "Hey, Ruby, I have to go. I think I'm losing connection-" and he pressed the red disconnect button on his phone, feeling a little bit guilty but not guilty enough to call back and apologize.
How strange, Diamond reflected, that he had changed so much. Had he been back in Sinnoh, it would have been Pearl who pulled a stunt like that, and Diamond would have made some effort at reprimanding his best friend. He had never thought that he would be so… well, mean.
They'd all changed, and nobody knew that better than Diamond. He had watched his friendship with Pearl strengthen over the years; yet even now at his lowest point he couldn't bring himself to confide in the now lanky blonde. And if he couldn't trust Pearl, he reasoned, who could he trust? Platina? No, she was too busy with her fiancée- her husband now, Diamond thought with just a hint of bitterness. That wedding a month ago had been one of the most painful things he had to endure.
He'd called her that morning, and she had picked up on the second ring as usual. "Diamond?" she had asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Diamond stared at her image for a moment, remembering that she had never actually called him by his nickname- it had always been formal touch and go with them, hadn't it? Platina continued to rub the sleep out of her eyes, and Diamond was brought back to reality.
"Hi," he said quietly. He scratched his ear awkwardly as the both of them kept silent for a while, unspoken thoughts and ghosts of memories filling the lines between them. Diamond finally plucked up his courage, and asked, "How's Elroy?"
"He's fine. Still sleeping." Platina blinked once, and Diamond tried to convince himself that this was a secret signal for him to come save her from a life of misery. Don't be stupid, his inner voice chided him. You know better.
Platina cleared her throat and continued on. "How's research with Professor Birch?"
"Fine." Diamond hesitated before plunging on. "I'm going for a journey," he said quickly. "I need to explore new things, see new people and places… get away from things for a while." He stopped, and there it was again, the elephant filling the room. "So… this will be the last time you hear from me," he said quietly, "for a long time at least."
She hesitated too before smiling brightly. "I always thought you would go out on your own someday," she said. "Though you've never gone out on your own before, have you?"
"No." And Diamond wished she would say something, offer to come with him like she used to.
She nodded, almost absently, her thoughts already far off. "I see," she said, although Diamond thought she didn't see at all. "Where are you going?"
He didn't hesitate, because he knew he had already lost her and there was no point to convince himself otherwise. "Through the Hoenn jungle and then I'll just wander," he said quietly. He glanced to the side, as though somebody was calling him and then he made his escape. "I have to go, Missy. Goodbye."
She said an absent-minded goodbye, and Diamond hastily hung up.
That was when he had left all his Pokemon behind and left the lab without a word.
The thoughts that occupied his mind now revolved around the short conversation they had had that morning. Diamond barely glanced around as he trudged through the forest, ducking under hanging vines and grasping branches for comfort and stability. Not bringing his Pokemon had been a suicide move, he thought briefly to himself, but then he remembered part of the reason why he had come out here in the first place. He needed adrenaline to feel alive, to revive the part of him that had died when Platina walked away and chose someone else.
The sound of hissing drew him back to the present, and he felt the hairs on his arms stand up as he realized he had walked straight into the nest of Arbok Sapphire and Ruby had taken such great care to warn him about. The biggest Arbok reared up, swaying and hissing as its forked tongue flickered between two deadly fangs.
Diamond didn't move. His waist immediately felt empty, and he wondered vaguely why he hadn't bothered to bring his Pokemon with him. Then he remembered. He had wanted to die.
Behind him, he could feel rustling, and another Arbok slithered into view from behind. They were all around him now, and he couldn't move even if he wanted to.
Did he want to? Diamond observed the predicament he was in, and smiled at the irony of it all. He never moved. He never made the first step, and it had cost him more than a couple missed opportunities- it had cost him the girl he had ever really loved. He never made the first move to ask her why, either, and so he would die never knowing the reason why she had walked away from him and straight into the arms of another. He would never know that at all-
It happened so fast that Diamond was caught unawares. A sharp pain flashed through his left arm and he gasped, stumbling backwards. The Arbok hissed triumphantly, drawing itself up to its full height and celebrating its easy victory- both Arbok slithered back the way they came and through the bushes. Diamond gritted his teeth, feeling intense pain from the poison rush up his arm and through his body- he could almost envision it now, attacking every single nerve and muscle he had in his body. He grasped his left arm with his right arm, trying desperately to remember anything Pearl had said about first aid or poison stings- he suddenly wished his best friend was with him right now.
He stumbled back along the way he came, and suddenly his legs gave out beneath him. Diamond grimaced; he remembered Professor Birch said that poison usually affected the legs first, so the prey couldn't run very far. Of all the useless information he needed to know now-
His fingers clumsily dialed Ruby's number, and the Hoenn boy picked up with a cheerful "Hi, Dia! Where are you now?"
"Arbok," Diamond choked out, feeling his fingers begin to lose all sorts of sensations but clinging on desperately. "Nest of Arbok-"
"What?" Ruby was off in a minute, and Diamond could vaguely hear him yelling at someone for help. "Dia! Where are you?"
He was too tired to listen or answer. Diamond dropped the phone and it lay there uselessly, Ruby's voice demanding answers from the earpiece. The Sinnoh Dex Holder lay there in the middle of the clearing, feeling his life force ebb away moment by moment as the poison spread through his veins. It was funny, but he thought he was seeing hallucinations as the world grew dimmer and dimmer. He thought he was seeing Platina hovering over him, smiling that amazing smile as she whispered, "It was always you, Dia. It was always… you."
Then the world went black, and Diamond remembered no more.
Cause I love you more than I could ever promise
And you take me the way I am
WHY DID I EVER AGREE TO WRITE THIS? WHY? I seem to really enjoy sad endings and making people die lately. :( Things just never work out between Platina and Diamond! Luckily, the next one up is at least a happy one.
Review please and feel free to let me know how horrible my muse is- she's currently sulking while eating sour Skittles.