FOREVERMORE

~Part Three Of The Forever Trilogy~

Chapter 30

To Beautify

January 21, 5001.

(Cyan's POV)

Pinwheel Forest was driving me mad.

Bug Pokemon were everywhere. Now bug types really didn't bother me; they were practically harmless, though I was sure if I ever told that to Viola she'd blow up on me. And the bugs here were extremely weak and low leveled. They couldn't do anything to us.

But Jewel was absolutely terrified of them. Anything we came across a bug, she would shriek and start flipping out, and then come running to me for protection, and wouldn't calm down until I had Charizard knock the poor Pokemon out. At first, I didn't mind. But then it happened every five minutes.

This was going to be a long day.

I was surprised that bug Pokemon were even out in this weather; we were in the middle of winter, for Arceus's sake. All the bugs should be hibernating through the cold. But they were out and about. Unova sure did have a lot of weird looking Pokemon, I had to admit.

We were walking through the final stretch of land before we reached Skyarrow Bridge, which would lead us into Castelia City. Jasper was pretty excited about actually being able to explore the big city this time; he, along with Esmeralda, wanted to go sightseeing. I supposed that was all right.

We climbed up onto the side viewing area. My companions gasped at the sight; we could see the bridge go on and on, fading in the distance, and then the skyline of the city before us. Jewel ran towards the edge, and leaned over the railing to get a better look. We followed her, and I placed myself on her left side.

"It's so beautiful," she said, her reddish brown eyes wide with amazement, as she looked up at me. "I can't believe the bridge is still standing after all these years."

"Technology," I said with a shrug. "If N's castle's still standing, why not Skyarrow Bridge?"

"True," she admitted, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I've just... never seen anything like this."

I frowned slightly, looking down at her. "Synis really kept you sheltered, didn't he?"

She bit her bottom lip rather cutely, and nodded. "He always said he didn't want me to end up like my mom. Something bad happened to her, but I have no idea what. He always refused to tell me. I think it has something to do with why he never let me around the admins without him being present, besides Karen, that is." She paused, and looked back out to the cityscape. "I think he really loved her."

As always, Jewel told me more than she told Esmeralda or Jasper or anyone else about her past. I had no idea why she chose me to dump this all on, but if it made her feel better, then I was all ears. She was still very timid, but she was slowly coming out of her shell.

"Synis love someone?" I scoffed. "The guy's a psychopath. Nobody as crazy and evil as him could love someone."

Her grip on the railing tightened. "He's not crazy... all the time, anyway. He has a... problem. And just because he's evil doesn't mean he was always like that."

She seemed to really believe that, so I wasn't about to question her about it anymore. I shoved my hands into my pockets. "If you say so, Jewel."

"Come on, guys!" Jasper called.

We rejoined him and Esmeralda, and then headed into the gate. The receptionist lady greeted us, and we responded in turn. We left the gate, and stepped out onto the bridge. It was much colder higher up, and the view was even more breathtaking.

It took us several minutes to cross the Skyarrow Bridge on foot. Thanks to all the traveling on foot, it took no effort. The beauty of the bridge, along with the amazing views it gave us, made it even more worth it. Jewel looked really happy, which made me happy.

We left the bridge, and immediately went to the Pokemon Center. Well, we tried to, navigating the gigantic metropolis. It took us a full half a hour to find the center. By then, we were tired mainly from being out in the cold, not to mention starving.

But after healing our Pokemon, Jasper wasn't about to let us rest.

"I heard there's this great cafe somewhere in a alley," he said. "We should go check it out and get something to eat!"

"A-Alley?" Jewel stammered.

"Why would a cafe be in a alley of all things?" Esmeralda asked incredulously.

"Who knows?" I said with a shrug. "Unovans are weird."

That, of course, got me some looks. It was obvious we weren't from the region; our accents were different from those here. I had a Kanto accent, as did Jewel. Jasper's was Sinnoh, and Esmeralda's was of Hoenn. I wondered if Unova knew about the Resistance yet. They would eventually.

"Come on guys," Jasper sighed. "It's not like there's gangs here. Even if there were, we're very capable of handling ourselves."

"G-Gangs?" Jewel gasped, her eyes wide.

"Ever heard of the Aqua Gang?" Esmeralda asked. "It's a crude imitation of Team Aqua back in Hoenn. They're a nasty piece of work."

"We're in Unova," I said. "I doubt there's any gangs; everyone's so happy-go-lucky here. Nobody here would hurt a lost Growlithe. Unovan's are odd."

Jasper rolled his eyes at me. "That's because they know how to enjoy life here, and they have Pokemon. Pokemon make everything better."

Jewel stilled seemed skeptical about going to the cafe, but we all agreed in the end to go there. Luckily for us, the alley where this cafe was, was right nearby the Pokemon Center. It took us only five minutes to find the place, which was a relief, since we were starving.

I opened the door to let the girls inside, and then Jasper. The bell on the door rang when it clicked shut. The cafe was small and warm, but very welcoming. There were round tables set up throughout the room, and there were musicians around playing gentle, peaceful music.

"See?" said Jasper, turning back around to face us. "No gangs. This place is nice."

He led the way, then, and we followed him to a table. I pulled out a chair for Jewel to sit down, and then sat down in my chair myself. Moments later, a waiter came to give us menus. We examined our choices quietly; out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Jewel was still nervous about something. She really needed to relax.

"Wow, they really have some great food here," Esmeralda said. "Do you know any of these recipes, Jaz?"

"A couple," he said. "I don't often use them, though."

"Ohhh, I don't know what to choose," she sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

I continued to look over my choices, trying to decide what to get. They were all good; it was nearly impossible to pick. They all sounded so good. How was I supposed to choose?

"Cyan..."

I looked back up at Jewel. "What?"

"You... You said that, when you were younger, you used to play guitar," she said.

"Yeah," I said, confused on how this had to do with anything.

"Um... That guy over there has a guitar... I just wanted to... you know, hear you play."

"...Jewel, it's been years since I last touched a guitar."

"I just wanted to hear you..." she said, her face falling. "Just once."

I sighed, and set down my menu. Jasper and Esmeralda had caught onto our conversation. Em's eyes brightened up, and she got that look she always got when she had a idea. Dear Arceus, that was not good.

"You should play for us, Cyan!" she said. "You're really good, right? I want to hear, too!"

I sighed, and pinched the bridge of my nose. "If you so insist, then ask to borrow a guitar yourself. I'm not about to get up."

She glared at me, puffing out her cheeks. "You're too much like your father, Cyan. But I will do it myself."

The girl hopped out of her chair, and walked right up to the guy with the acoustic guitar, and I facepalmed right as Jasper smiled Mareepishly. Esmeralda could be so pesky sometimes, but she was still my friend, no matter how annoying she could get.

I was surprised when the man agreed, and handed her the guitar. She returned to our table, a smug smile on her face. She held out the guitar to me.

"Told you I'd get it."

I scowled at her. "You are a pesky, pesky girl, Esmeralda."

She laughed, amused about something. "Whatever you say, Cyan. But you have to play for us now."

"Please," said Jewel, a pleading look on her pretty face.

"C'mon, Cy, it can't be that bad," said Jasper.

I sighed, and pushed back my chair. "Fine," I said, taking the guitar from Esmeralda.

"Yes!" she cheered before plopping back down in her chair next to Jasper.

I rolled my eyes at her as I set the guitar down on my lap. I checked to make sure it was tuned, just in case the man who owned it wasn't doing it properly. Once I was sure everything was in place, I ran through a bunch of songs inside my head, trying to choose what to play.

Finally, I came up with one. I cleared my throat, catching everyone's attention at our table, and began to play. It wasn't so bad after all. I still had it. I probably could have done better if I had been practicing, but that didn't really matter. Once I was finished, I looked back up at everyone.

Jewel, Jasper, and Esmeralda were staring at me with wide, amazed eyes.

"What?" I snapped.

Jewel flushed. "That... That was amazing, Cyan..."

"Yeah!" Jasper exclaimed, grinning. "Why did you ever quit?"

"I knew it!" Esmeralda cheered. "You can sing, too, right?"

"You might have gotten me to play guitar, but there is no way in hell you're going to get me to sing."

"Aaaw! You're no fun, Cyan!"

...

January 22, 5001.

(Jasper's POV)

The next day, we split up in pairs. Jewel wanted to do some more training, and asked Cyan to work with her, and he agreed. They went off to do their own thing, leaving me with Em. I didn't mind at all; Em was a joy to hang out with. She wanted to some more sightseeing in Castelia, and I agreed.

So we bundled up in our winter clothes, and headed out. I couldn't help but wish that Terro wasn't so big so I could let him out; but he was a Torterra now and took up way too much space. My other Pokemon were still too immature to be let out in the public.

I let Esmeralda do the leading around this time. The city was huge, and I was pretty sure we would get lost. But if I had to get lost with anyone, it would be Em.

A cold wind blew by, sending air rushing into my face. The aroma of freshly baked goods overcame me, and my stomach growled. It smelled mostly like cakes, so we were probably close to a cake shop. Em turned around to face me, her green eyes bright.

"Do you smell that?" she asked, and I nodded. "Cake! Come on, let's find out where it's coming from!"

She took my hand, and proceeded to drag me along with her. Then, moments later, she released me, and bounded up to a window. She gasped, pressing her hands up against the glass. I closed the distance between us, and looked inside the window.

"Look at all those cakes!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide with amazement.

Behind the window was a display case of all different kinds of cakes. Each was its own work of art; great care had been taken to ice them with articulate designs. They were indeed amazing; I probably couldn't have done a better job myself.

"They're beautiful," I said. "Whoever iced them sure took their time."

"We have to go inside," she said. "I want to see what else they have!"

She took my hand again, and proceeded to drag me inside. It smelled even more wonderful in the shop, and the warmth made it even more better. I loosened up my scarf and pulled off my gloves as Esmeralda bounded in further, excited by all the food. I followed her.

"This is all so amazing," she said once I reached her. "This is making me hungry!"

I laughed lightly. "Well, maybe I can whip something up back at the Center. But you'll have to buy something here."

She sighed, and waved me off. "I know, I know!" She paused, and her face lightened up with a idea. "Hey, why don't you ask if you could bake something here?"

"Em, that's crazy," I said. "You can't go around asking stuff like that. We'd still have to pay."

"Fine, I guess I'll just buy something," she said, looking around. "Just a slice will do, I guess."

She headed off to the front counter, and I followed her. We both bought a slice of cake, and then went to sit down to eat at a table. I wasn't surprised when Laxo, my Munchlax, released himself from his Poke Ball. He proceeded to beg me for food. I laughed, and broke off a piece of my cake for him. He happily accepted it from me, and munched on it greedily. I noticed some of the other people in the shop were staring at us; that made sense; Munchlax weren't from Unova.

"It's rude to stare," Em said. "Even if it's a rare Pokemon."

"I know," I said. "But they don't know any better."

She sighed, and shook her head at me. "You're too nice, Jasper, you know that?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

...

January 23, 5001.

(Jewel's POV)

I was so nervous, even though I had already battled two Gym leaders and had defeated them. But this Gym had bugs, and I hated them. I had no idea how I was going to deal with my phobia and win at the same time. It all seemed impossible to me.

"You'll be fine," Cyan reassured me as he opened the door to the Gym to let us all in. "It's just another Gym battle."

I stayed silent as we all walked inside; the Gym was like a showcase. There were paintings on the walls, and they looked absolutely amazing. I couldn't help but stare in awe. I had never seen artwork like this before in my life. Words could not describe them.

We exited the hall of paintings, and entered what must have been the battle arena. It was similar to the Striaton and Nacrene arenas, but it was much more colorful, and the ground was lined with green grass. It was much more inviting.

"Wow, this place is cool," said Esmeralda.

"Most definitely," Jasper agreed as we looked around.

"Welcome, welcome!"

We looked to see a young man approaching us, probably in his early twenties. He had neat, longish brown hair, and green eyes. He was thin and tall, and was wearing a green dress jacket and matching pants, with a white dress shirt and dark green ascot.

"My name is Vidar, and I am the Castelia Gym leader," he said with a friendly smile. "I take it you're here to challenge me?"

"That's right," said Cyan. "I'm Cyan, and this is Jewel, Jasper, and Esmeralda."

Jasper gave a friendly wave, and Esmeralda said hi. I stayed silent, my nervousness beginning to get to me. Oh no, what if I couldn't do it? What if I failed? I couldn't stand to be a failure. I remembered when I first got Cookie, how hard Karen pushed me to train, telling me I would be pathetic otherwise. That was the woman who raised me, along with Flax, Maroon, Navy, Verdant, and Pink.

"Ah, you must be from the Resistance!" he said, and Cyan nodded. "Well, it's a honor to meet you. Who's going first?"

The words came rushing out of my mouth before I could stop myself. "I-I am!"

Cyan, Jasper, and Esmeralda gave me shocked looks. I felt my face heat up with embarrassment.

"Um... I mean... I'd like to go first..."

"Of course!" said Vidar. "Let us begin!"

I took a deep breath, and followed him out on the field. My nerves were really starting to act up now; my hands were starting to sweat and get jittery. I did my best to calm down, telling myself it was no big deal, I could do this. I could do this.

Vidar released a Scolipede, probably one of the most terrifying out of all the bug Pokemon in the world. I nearly screamed from just looking at it. But I bit my tongue, forcing myself to stay quiet. I squeezed my eyes shut, and took a deep, calming breath. When I reopened them, I took out a Poke Ball, and released my Flareon.

Vidar seemed surprised to see such a Pokemon; I guess Eeveelutions weren't common in Unova? But the Champion, Shirou, had one. But I pushed that out of my mind, trying to focus, and ignore the fact that our opponent was a Scolipede.

I remembered one time, when my father was younger and more sane, and was in his nice personality, he told me a story. About my mother. Her name was Topaz Bosco—she was named after her ancestor, basically the Topaz I knew today, who should, properly in the timeline, be married to Gold Kimu Jr, but I highly doubted that would happened, so I wondered how, due to my father's tampering, I even existed. So all I knew was that she was descended fro Red and Yellow, and should be descended from Gold and Crystal. My father really should not have messed with time.

Anyways, this memory came to be because of the battle. My father told me I had to have natural battling skills somewhere thanks to my ancestors. He told me I had it, but I just had to bring it out. Maybe... Maybe I could do it this time.

But that memory also reminded me that my mother was dead. I had been told she died in childbirth, but something told me that was either not true or there was more to the story. That suddenly gave me the vindication that I had to win... for her.

"Let's do this, Cookie," I said softly. She looked up and me, and nodded. "Use Flamethrower."

Fire shot out of the Flareon's mouth, and hit the Scolipede hard. I gasped as the Pokemon collapsed, knocked down in one hit. I was shocked. We took out his Crustle and Leavanny the same way. But when I thought about it, it only made sense because of the typing.

But I still couldn't help but feel proud. I accomplished yet another thing on my own.

Esmeralda went next and won. Then it was agreed the boys would wait for their battles tomorrow. Vidar gave us some tips on how to make our Pokemon look good, and I decided to try them out. Em and I both received the Insect Badge, and then we returned back to the Pokemon Center. I was just so happy.

But for some reason my parents were still lingering on my mind...

This. Chapter. Is. So. MEH. AWFUL. Agh, I HATE IT. At least it's up...

Anyways. AQUAMARINE AND CHRISTMAS.

Somehow Esmeralda turned into a bold daredevil. I have no idea how that happened. IT'S A CONSPIRACY.

Hehe, Cyan being able to play guitar is a reference to Forever and Ever. ;) Remember that when you read it. Which reminds me.

What do you want next? Next Forevermore chapter, next Evermore chapter, or the prologue and first chapter of Forever and Ever?

Cyan's POV was such a joy to write, and Jasper was pretty fun too. These boys.

So, onto the mind screw.

Yes, Jewel's mother is named TOPAZ Bosco. Yes, she is descended from Red and Yellow. And yes, she's dead, though you'll find later on HOW. Jewel's mother is the connection to our Topaz. I call this Topaz BETA and our Topaz ALPHA. Topaz in Forever and Ever is GAMMA. Angelshipping is Synis x Beta. Starran also named the crack of Synis x Alpha, BUT I FREAKING FORGOT ITS NAME. Along with all the Beta kids ships in Evermore. AGH.

Speaking of Evermore, you're probably all curious about CADET and FINNIAN and COPAL and ARYLIDE and CORAL. Guys, things get INTENSE. There's LOTS of action, in more ways than one. But not until the third arc, though Cade's the exception. So don't worry, it's not like I'd write that stuff out anyways. *shudders*

Review response time!

JUST BECAUSE THE TIME SKIP BRINGS US TO MAY DOES NOT MEAN THE BIRTHDAY IS IN MAY. You'll find out whose birthday it is eventually. And, really, it's not that hard to figure out. Which character does everything seem to revolve around in the Trilogy? Who is the main focus of the trilogy? Honestly guys, I thought you'd figure it out easy.

Oh yeah, they DO get their memories back. Chapter 42, baby! Icey is evil and she knows it.

Guys, the way the story's going, we might just need Zekrom. -.- I do this to myself, I swear.

Also... YOU HAVE TO CHECK OUT THE TV TROPES PAGE. IT'S A FREAKING WORK OF ART. THERE ARE EVEN PROFILE PICTURES (courteous of Starri).

I LOVE ALL OF YOU. And hopefully the next update won't take as long as this one.

REVIEW. AND MAKE THEM FREAKING LONG. I LOVE LONG REVIEWS. NO ONE LINERS. SCREW THE ONE LINERS.

I really need to stop talking.