FOREVERMORE

~Part Three Of The Forever Trilogy~

Chapter 35

To Make a Legend

February 12, 5001.

(Grey's POV)

It was a bit warmer day when Fiori and I reached Opelucid City. When we walked through the gate, we were caught totally by surprise. Fiori had been telling me about the city back in the past, and, well, it was no way close to being like the Opelucid of the past. We literally stopped and stared at the sight before us.

Opelucid reminded me of Castelia, just more spread out. There were black skyscrapers lit up with bright blue light, which reminded me a bit of Zekrom. The streets were ridden of any vehicles; only people on foot or bicycle used it. There were freeways in the sky, weaving around the skyscrapers—people in hovercars and on hoverbikes, blazing by. Police were managing traffic.

"Whoa," Fiori breathed, and I looked over at her. Her eyes were wide with amazement as she took everything in. "This is... amazing! Look at those flying bikes!"

"Too flashy," I said, and she looked at me. "This whole city is too flashy. Worse than Nimbasa."

"Eh," she said, shrugging. "We all have our own opinions! C'mon, let's find the Pokemon Center! I'm famished!"

I doubted that would be easy. This city was huge, and there were so many people in the streets where we had to walk. I wasn't a fan of crowded spaces. I never imagined this would happen to Opelucid City.

So I just followed Fiori. I looked around as we walked; even Goldenrod, where I had grown up, hadn't been this advanced. I guess Unova was either really ahead of us or the Government was keeping all of the good technology to themselves.

"Oh, Arceus, Grey!" Fiori suddenly exclaimed, having stopped abruptly so I almost bumped into her. "Look at this!"

I looked to where she was pointing, and was surprised once again.

It was a statue—well, two. They were both made of a dark metal I couldn't recognize. The first one was obviously of my father, Black Kuro, around sixteen or seventeen. I could recognize him anywhere; we looked very similar, but not exactly alike. And with him was obviously Zekrom. The statue was huge, and had to be built to double the real life scale. The gold plaque read in big letters: ON OCTOBER 11, 2010, BLACK KURO FROM NUVEMA TOWN AND ZEKROM DEFEATED GHETSIS AND TEAM PLASMA, KEEPING HUMANS AND POKEMON UNITED. THIS IS IN MEMORY OF THEM.

But that wasn't what bothered me.

What bothered me was seeing me on the other statue with Zekrom, along with Topaz who was with Reshiram. I had to be around thirteen, and had a big grin on my face. Topaz was much older than I was, probably about nineteen or so, and had a much softer expression than she ever had now.

"...What is this?" I asked, looking over at Fiori.

"I have no idea," she said, her lips turned down in a frown. "This is... impossible."

"Let's check it out," I said, and she nodded, still frowning.

Luckily, no one paid us any attention. If anyone recognized me in the statue, there could be trouble. The statue was the same size as the other one—double life size. We didn't have to crouch to read the plaque. I stood next to Fiori to read what it said. IN THE YEAR 2032, GREY KURO AND ZEKROM, AND TOPAZ ROSSO AND RESHIRAM LED THE ASSAULT AGAINST THE SYNDICATE, FOLLOWING IN THEIR PARENTS' FOOTSTEPS, AND SAVING THE WORLD.

...I didn't know what to think, let alone say. I looked down at Fiori, who looked very confused.

"So that's what we would have done?" she asked, looking up at me. "Saved the world from this 'Syndicate' thing?"

"I guess so," I said with a shrug. "Time must be taking a really slow time to realize we're not where we're supposed to be."

"Yeah," she agreed. "But... It is interesting finding out how things would have been."

"If you say so," I said, turning away. "Let's get moving before someone notices that I look like the kid on the statue."

I turned around, and started to walk away. Fiori caught up with me, and then we walked in silence. The city was so noisy; all you could hear were the cars and bikes above you, and the chattering of the people in the streets. If I stayed out any longer I'd get a headache.

Luckily, we found the Pokemon Center only ten minutes later. We got our Pokemon healed, and then were about to head to the cafe to get some food, when we bumped into the last two people I wanted to see.

Rubin and Cerise.

Cerise was all right, but Rubin was just being really irritating right now. I had gotten over my issue with him before, but then he just had to ruin the peace I had been hoping to have between us.

"Oh my Arceus! Hi Grey, hi Fiori!" Cerise exclaimed, beaming at us and waving.

"Oh, hey!" Fiori said, putting on a bit of a strained smile since Rubin was scowling at me. "Never thought we'd bump into you guys."

I hoped we never bumped into them. But things never go my way. Never have, never will.

"Humph," Rubin snorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Cerise winced, and let out a strained laugh. "Don't mind him, he's just..."

An ass? Yeah, I think we know that by now.

"Whatever," I said. "We're just going to get something to eat."

I moved forward, once again heading for the cafe, giving Fiori the choice to follow me or not, but I was once again stopped.

"Uh... Grey?"

I paused, and turned slightly to look at him, narrowing my eyes. "What?" I asked flatly.

"..." Rubin hesitated for a moment. "Can I talk to you?"

"...About what?" I asked, keeping my voice as steady as before.

"What do you think?" he deadpanned.

I sighed. Well, he seemed to be acting civil. But I didn't see how my version of what happened would be the truth compared to Topaz's. Maybe he was finally getting his head cleared. But really, the whole issue was getting old and irritating. I just wanted it to be over with so I could move on with my life and have no more problems with this part of my past.

"Fine," I said, before turning to Fiori. "I'll meet up with you later."

"Nah, take your time!" she said, waving me off. "I think I'll chill with Cerise for a bit. You know, a girl-to-girl kind of thing."

"All right," I said, turning back to face Rubin. "Lead the way."

He looked a little unsure about the whole thing, but didn't back down. I followed him away from the cafe, to the lounge. Luckily, it was pretty much empty. He sat down on a couch, and I sat down in a chair across from him. I loosened the scarf around my neck, and unbuttoned my coat.

"Okay, Rubin," I said, switching to my serious mode, not that I wasn't already serious. "What do you want to know?"

"I want to know... what really happened," he said, meeting my gaze steadily. He looked confused, conflicted.

"What really happened?" I scoffed. "You already know. Topaz told you the truth."

"...What? She... did?"

"No duh," I deadpanned. "You can't even trust your own girlfriend? You should be ashamed of yourself. Topaz is the least likely out of all of us to lie. And even so, she'd never lie to you."

"I... I overreacted, I guess..." He couldn't look at me now; he was staring at his feet, his brow scrunched up.

"You guess?" I snorted. "Did I see a different fight than what really happened?"

He looked up at me and gave me a bitter look. "You don't have to rub it in my face."

"I'm not," I deadpanned. "I'm just stating how stupid you sound right now."

He sighed, and leaned back up against the couch. "Then what really happened?"

"She wanted to heal the cut on my face, so in order to reach it, she had to stand on a block. But the block was too small and she lost her balance, and fell into me, causing the kiss you saw. It was a total accident."

He stayed silent, staring at his hands on his lap.

"And really," I continued, "if that was real, I wouldn't be traveling with Fiori right now. Hell, if that was the case, you wouldn't even have gotten to date her. We'd still be together. But it's not real, and we've both moved on. Got it?"

He still didn't say anything, so I took that as a yes. "Good. And if I hear one more thing about this whole misunderstanding, I'm going to be pissed." I stood up. "Now that that's all cleared up, I'm going to go train for a bit." I always trained when I needed to clear my mind.

"Grey, wait."

I paused, and turned back to look at him. "What?"

"It's Fiori, isn't it?" he asked me.

"...Excuse me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You said you've moved on," he said. "And, well, you're... softer with Fiori. So it's her, isn't it?"

I didn't know how to respond to that. In a way, I had always been drawn to Fiori, just not in that way. Or was I? But she had been the friend I needed to get through the hard times earlier, when I thought everything was just going to end for me. And in my way, I was able to help her. I was able to relax around her, and not really worry about anything.

But now, after his statement, I was curious of how I truly felt. I had never really thought about it. It just never came to mind. Now I felt the need to evaluate my feelings towards her.

"I... don't know," I said finally. "Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, she's one of the most best friends I've ever had."

I turned to go again.

"Grey! I'm... sorry... for all of this. For how I've always treated you and everything, especially after what happened..."

I paused, and turned my head to look back at him. He looked sincere, yet sad and miserable. I guess it finally came back and slapped him in the face. Took long enough.

"Can we just... put this all behind us... and try to be friends?"

I stayed silent for a moment before responding. "Sure. Sounds good to me."

...

(Rubin's POV)

After Grey left, I sat in silence for a while, trying to gather my thoughts. The ache in my heart had increased with the dawning realization of my stupidity. I really needed to get a grip on that temper. Or I'd ruin everything all over again.

If I ever got a second chance.

I sighed and pushed myself up off the couch. I brushed non-existent dust off my pants, and then walked back to the cafe. Cerise and Fiori were sitting at a booth, talking. I contemplated interrupting them or not. Maybe they could give me some advice...

I ended up walking up to their booth anyway.

"Uh, hey," I said, and they looked at me. "Can I... join you two?"

"Sure!" Cerise exclaimed, scooting over to make room for me.

"Where's Grey?" Fiori asked.

"He needed to go do some training," I said, sitting down.

"Oh," she said, obviously understanding. "All right."

"Are you okay?" Cerise asked me, a concerned look on her face.

"No," I sighed, looking down at the table. "I'm such a idiot."

"Oi, you just realized that now?" Fiori asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cerise shot her a look, and put her hand on my shoulder. "Hey, Rubes, it'll be okay... You'll get her back! I know you will!"

I turned my head to look at her, confusion overcoming me. I didn't expect her to say that. I thought she still had a crush on me or something. But she looked and sounded sincere. And I knew her well enough to know she sucked at lying.

"No," I said. "I really messed up this time."

"There's been other times?" Fiori asked incredulously.

"No, no, I've just messed up repeatedly with this."

"Well," Cerise said. "If Topaz really loves you, she'll give you a second chance!"

Fiori nodded in agreement.

"I... hope so," I sighed. "Man, love really sucks sometimes."

"Yeah," Cerise agreed with a sigh.

"Yep," Fiori agreed.

I sat up straight and gave them looks. "What were you talking about before I got here?"

"Our problems, what do you think?" Fiori snorted.

"Love problems," Cerise clarified.

"He's just so clueless!" Fiori exclaimed, frustrated.

"Oh, Grey?" I asked.

She jumped, startled. She stared at me for a moment, her pink eyes wide with shock. "How'd you... how'd you... know?"

"You treat each other differently."

"You really do!" Cerise agreed, nodding. "Grey's always nice to you! And you do act differently around him."

"He's not as oblivious as you think," I added. "He's just never thought about it."

She pursed her lips for a moment, and then leaned back and crossed her arms. "Well then, what about Shirou, Cerise?"

The blonde girl yelped, and blushed a little. "W-What about him?"

"You were just talking about how you think you like him and you have no idea what to do and-"

"Okay, okay! You don't have to say everything!"

"Shirou?" I asked. "So you like him?"

She was still blushing, but she nodded, her curls bouncing. I was silently relieved. One less problem to deal with. Only a hundred more to go.

"But... I feel so out of his league," she said, looking down at the table and straightening out a cloth napkin. "I mean, he's the Champion. He's so good with Pokemon and talented with music! And then there's me, who struggles to win battles, and I have a problem just feeling good about myself... Why'd he want me when he could have anyone else in the world?"

We sat in silence. I knew she had low self esteem, but I didn't realize it was this bad. I felt like a terrible friend.

"And... And... I'm so used..." Her eyes were tearing up now.

"Cerise, don't say that!" Fiori said. "That's not true! You're a wonderful person."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Shirou would be lucky to have you!"

"But nobody wants a used item," she said softly.

"That's not true," Fiori said firmly. "...Am took Diamonda, didn't he? Sapph took Gold! And, well, my dad wasn't exactly 'clean' either but my mom still took him."

...Why did I find it amusing that all those she mentioned were Kimus?

"You have to put the past in the past, Cerise," I said. "We all need to move on. What's important is the present and the future. If Shirou really likes you, he won't care that you're... you know..."

She didn't respond, merely wiping her eyes with her hands.

"Well, I'm glad I don't have to deal with this with-" Fiori began.

"Hey-"

Fiori yelped, and nearly jumped out of the booth. Cerise flinched, but otherwise made no sound. I froze for a second, shocked by their reactions, but relaxed when I saw it was only Grey. But then I realized he wasn't alone—Shirou and Alan were with him.

Okay, I was going to try to be civil towards the latter.

"Hey, what's going on?" Shirou asked, looking confused. "Cer, are you okay?"

She shook her head and turned away, not wanting anyone to see her tears. Grey immediately gave Fiori a look, silently asking her what was wrong.

"It's not my business to talk about," she said. "It's Cerise's... own... personal problem."

I sighed, and rubbed my eyes before looking back at them. "What're you two doing here?"

"Rin called us to tell us about the incident with Reshiram and Black Kyurem," Shirou explained. "We just were passing through back to the League when we bumped into Grey."

Fiori and I stared at him, while Cerise turned her head slightly to look.

"...Reshiram? Black Kyurem?" I asked, shocked.

"Yes," Alan said. "Your friends were there."

"Who?" Fiori asked.

"Cyan, Jewel, Jasper, Esmeralda, Viola, and Alizarin."

"We'll discuss it later with them," Grey said. "Right now we really need to focus on getting the last badge."

"You... You guys can go ahead without me," Cerise said, her voice soft. "I'm not... ready to battle..."

I turned to look at her. "You sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah..."

Well, I doubted anything I said would change her mind. But I didn't exactly want to leave her alone in her current state of mind.

"Hey, I'll stay with Cer," Shirou said. "You can go battle."

"...All right," I said, and then stood, as did Fiori. "Let's go, then."

...

(Cerise's POV)

I slid further down the booth, ignoring Shiu when he sat down next to me. I wasn't in the mood to talk, and most definitely not to him. I stared at the wall, trying to get the tears to stop.

"Hey, Cer... You wanna talk about it?" he asked me, sounding concerned.

I shook my head. I didn't want him to know what I did. I didn't even remember what exactly happened anyway. It wasn't something I wanted to talk about even if I was able.

"Did someone hurt you?" he inquired.

I almost shook my head again, but that was a lie. "...A long time ago..."

He was quiet for a moment. "Cer... I don't know what happened to you... But I'm here. It's over. Whoever hurt you can't do it anymore. Even if they could, I wouldn't let them."

I turned my head to look at him. "...Really?"

He gave me a genuine smile. "Yeah, of course."

I turned around in the booth to face him. I felt the tears pricking in my eyes again, possibly coming stronger. He held out his arms, and I went to him, wrapping my arms around him, pressing my face into his chest. He held me tight, and pressed his lips to the top of my head.

"Thank you, Shiu," I said softly, squeezing my eyes shut. "Thank you so much. For everything..."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for, Cer."

Right here, right now, I could have stayed with him forever like this. I didn't want it to end. I loved the feeling of his arms around me. I felt secure with him. He made me feel so much better. I had no idea why he'd want someone like me, but he made me feel wanted. And I was sure, right then and there, of one thing.

I loved Shirou Kazuo.

...

(Fiori's POV)

Since Shirou had stayed back with Cerise, it was up to Alan to do all the leading. Rubin's better mood seemed to have left, though he was attempting to be civil towards Alan. He was okay with Grey now, which relieved me. That had to make me wonder what they had talked about.

I still didn't know what happened with Grey and Topaz that made Rubin dump her. And I was dying to know. But I would bide my time and find out later.

But I couldn't help but wonder what Alan did to piss Rubin off. Alan just didn't seem the type to make people angry, you know?

"The Opelucid Gym is a bit different," he was explaining as we walked along. "There are two Gym leaders—Ladon and Tanith. You'll have to battle both of them in a double battle to earn the Legend Badge."

"So we have to team up with someone to battle them?" I asked.

He looked back at me and nodded. "Yeah, exactly."

You know, when I really looked at him, he kinda looked like Navy. Yeah, his hair was lighter and styled differently, but they had a similar facial structure. That was weird. Really weird.

"Well, here we are," Alan said, gesturing to the building before us.

The Gym was a bit strange; it had two dragon heads coming out of the roof. Well, it was a Dragon type Gym, so I supposed that was okay. But it was still odd.

"All right," Grey said. "Let's go."

We walked up to the door, and Grey opened it up, letting us all inside. For a moment I was worried that it would have that maze I heard about while in the past, but luckily, it didn't.

Alan walked ahead, and we followed him. All we had to do was go down a long hall that was lined with paintings of the legendary dragons. Then the doorway opened up to an arena that had impressive stands.

"Whoa," I breathed.

"Indeed," Grey agreed.

"Well, Opelucid's flashy," Rubin said. "The Gym has to be impressive too."

"Good point," I noted.

Alan walked ahead of us, looking around. "Ladon and Tanith should be here somewhere."

"Maybe we came at a bad time?" Rubin said. "It is around lunchtime."

"Well, we can wait," Grey said.

I sighed, and started to take off my coat; it was getting hot in here. But, luckily, we didn't have to wait much longer. Ten minutes later, the Gym leaders arrived. We all stood up to greet them.

Ladon was older than I expected. He had to be in his early sixties. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and looked pretty healthy for his age. His hair was silvery gray, and his skin was bronze with tan. He was dressed similarly to how Drayden was back in the past.

Now Tanith was a total shocker. She looked to be around seventeen, and I got the vibe that she was a prim and proper lady. She had long, wavy brown hair that went down to her waist, and striking green eyes. She was wearing a old-fashioned white dress that went down to her knees, with white stockings and high laced boots and everything. She made me feel under dressed.

"Hello, Ladon, Tanith," Alan said. "These are members of the Resistance. They're here to challenge you, of course."

"Welcome to Opelucid," the older man said. "I'm Ladon, and this is Tanith. You are?"

"Grey Kuro."

"I'm Fiori," I said. "Fiori Kimu."

"And I'm Rubin Senri."

"Ah," said Tanith. "One of the generals and two of the commanders."

I started. "How do you know that?"

"I've done my research," she said.

...Okay then...

"Which of you will be battling first?" Ladon asked. "Only two of you may battle at a time."

We all turned to face each other. I knew I wanted to battle with Grey, but I supposed I could work with Rubin if it came down to it.

"You two can battle first," Rubin said. "I'll wait to battle with Cerise once she feels better."

"Are you sure?" Grey asked, looking down at the boy.

Rubin nodded. "Yeah. Besides, you two are a great team."

I felt my face heat up, remembering what we had been talking about. For a moment, I couldn't bring myself to look at Grey. Once I was sure I wasn't blushing anymore, I grinned.

"Thanks, Rubes." Then I turned to Grey. "C'mon, let's do this!"

He looked down at me and smiled, his wonderful rare smile, and I felt my heart skip a beat. I just grinned wider. Then we headed out onto the field, Ladon and Tanith on the other side.

"All right," Grey said to me quietly. "This is a Dragon type Gym. So..."

"Our dragons would be risky," I noted. "But Kitty knows Ice Beam."

He nodded. "Only Viper and Dragon have the weakness."

"So we might have to risk it."

"Mmhmm."

Through with our conversation, we turned back around to face the Gym leaders. I loved battling, but battling with Grey just made it all even better. I just loved being able to work with him. We did make a good team. Battling was one of the few things that made Grey happy, and I wanted him to be happy more than anything else.

"All right," I said, taking out Kitty's Poke Ball. "You ready?"

"As always," he said, removing his own Poke Ball from his belt.

I smirked playfully.

"This will be a three-on-three battle," Ladon announced. "That is all."

Then they released their Pokemon. They were both the same kind—Fraxure. I then sent out Kitty, and Grey released his massive Dragonite. Ladon and Tanith were shocked to see Dragon, and gaped at the massive size of the Pokemon. Kitty was dwarfed by him.

"You... You may go first," Tanith told us.

"'Kay," I said, grinning. "Kitty! Ice Beam!"

"Dragon," said Grey. "Dragon Rush."

Kitty launched herself into the air, a ball of frozen energy forming in her tiny jaws. The beam shot out of her mouth, and hit Tanith's Fraxure. The Pokemon went down immediately. Dragon took to the air, nearly flattening all of us with the rush of air released from the flapping of his wings, and then rushed towards the other Fraxure with speed you would never think a Pokemon as large as him would have.

However, the Fraxure was more nimble, and leaped deftly out of the way. Dragon tried to stop, but had built up so much force he rammed right into the wall beneath the stands. He went right through the wall, and the stands collapsed on top of him.

"Dammit," Grey growled. "Dragon's too large. I have to return him."

"That's fine," I said. "Maybe Viper would be better?"

"We'll see," he said, taking Dragon's Poke Ball back out.

He returned the Dragonite back to safety, switched Poke Balls, and released his Serperior, Viper. The grass serpent hissed, rising to its full height, taunting the remaining Fraxure and the Druddigon that Tanith had sent out moments before. Kitty tittered, and scampered over to join the Serperior.

"Viper! Dragon Tail!" Grey commanded.

"Kitty, use Ice Beam again!" I ordered.

Viper lunged forward with wicked speed, and slammed his glowing tail into the side of the Fraxure. It howled in pain, and collapsed, knocked out in one hit. Kitty leaped into the air, did a somersault, dodging the Druddigon's Revenge attack, and then hit the dragon in the back with Ice Beam. It, too, was knocked out in one hit.

Ladon and Tanith were stunned. I guess they never battled anyone as hot as us, before. We were on fire. Nothing could stop us now.

Ladon sent out his own Druddigon, and Tanith sent out her final Pokemon—a Haxorus. At the rate we were going, we would have this battle won and over with in no time. I wasn't worried. Our Gym quest was almost over.

"One more Ice Beam!" I commanded.

"Repeat Dragon Tail," Grey ordered.

This time, our two Pokemon moved in synch. Kitty and Viper leaped forward at the same time, and released their attacks as one. The Ice Beam took out the Haxorus, and the Dragon Tail knocked out the Druddigon. Moments later, after Ladon sent out his own Haxorus, Viper knocked it out, and the battle was won.

Though that had been pretty easy, I still had a blast battling with Grey.

...

Grey and I decided to go back to the Pokemon Center when Shirou arrived with Cerise. She and Rubin would be battling next. So we headed back together, and got our Pokemon healed. After that, Grey treated me to some hot chocolate, and we sat down at the cafe just to chill.

Though something was nagging at my mind and I had to ask.

"Um, Grey?" I looked up from my hot chocolate, suddenly feeling nervous.

"What?" he asked, a curious look on his face from my tone of voice.

"I was just wondering..." I paused and cleared my throat. "I was just wondering what really happened. You know, when Rubin broke up with Topaz."

Irritation immediately flickered across his face. I knew he was tired of hearing about it, but I wanted to know. Not knowing the truth would drive me crazy.

"Topaz and I accidentally kissed," he said. "She lost her balance on the block she was standing on while she was trying to heal the cut on my face. Rubin saw it and took it the wrong way. He freaked out, dumped Topaz, etc. You know the rest of the story."

"...That's... it?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I let out a sigh of relief. I had been so worried that it had been something serious. However, my reaction confused him.

"What?" he asked.

I felt my face heat up with embarrassment. "I... I was... I guess... I was just worried that maybe you still liked Topaz or something..."

He stared at me for a moment. "Oh." He paused. "Well, I don't. I haven't for a while. You know that."

"Yeah," I said with a strained laugh. "I guess I was just a little unsure."

He gave me an amused smile. "Well, know you know."

I was really glad he was smiling more. He looked so much more handsome with a happy look on his face.

...

(Rubin's POV)

Shirou and Alan walked back to the Pokemon Center with Cerise and me. Cerise seemed fine now, which relieved me. Whatever Shirou said to her made her feel better. He would take good care of her. I was definitely sure of that. She was in good hands.

"Oh my Arceus!" she suddenly exclaimed, pointing forward. "Look! It's Topaz and Crim and everyone else!"

Oh, crap.

I wasn't ready to bump into them again. I wasn't sure of what I was going to do yet. I had to come up with a plan or something. And I needed more time. And I had less time if they were around.

"Come on, Rubes!" Cerise exclaimed, grabbing my hand. "Let's go meet up with everyone!"

Crap, no, I didn't-

Oh, screw it.

I let her drag me towards everyone. Shirou laughed, and followed us, and Alan followed him. Dear Arceus, I was going to die. I wasn't ready for this yet. I wasn't prepared.

"Topaz! Crim! Indi! Sapph! Goldy! Navy! HEEEEY!" Cerise exclaimed, calling to them.

They stopped walking, and turned around to face us. Cerise released me, and proceeded to bound up to them and glomp her brother, and then her sister. I followed her closer, feeling awkward.

"Uh, hey everybody," I said, sweatdropping at my friend.

Crim glared at me, and I fought the urge to flinch. Gold gave a friendly wave. Sapph gave me a irritated look; she was probably still frustrated with me for what I did; I didn't blame her. Indi gave me a friendly smile, and Navy also waved. Topaz... Well, she only looked at me for a moment, turning her attention to her sister.

She really must have hated me. Ugh, I was so stupid.

"Hey guys!" Shirou greeted them once he caught up. "Welcome to Opelucid!"

"Hello," Alan said.

"Oh my Arceus, guys, you have to see the Gym! It's amazing! Grey's Dragonite freaking rammed right through the wall!" Cerise exclaimed.

"Of course it did," Navy said. "The thing's huge."

"I heard he and Fiori battled really well!" Cerise continued. "Oh, man, I can't believe we're almost done with the Gyms!"

"We are, Cerise," I said dryly.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah, whatever. Topaz, come on, I have to show you something! Everyone, come too!"

She grabbed her sister's hand and proceeded to drag her along. Everyone else followed. I hesitated, my heart aching. Topaz wouldn't even look at me. Was it over? Did I even have a chance to get her back?

Shirou went on ahead to follow them. But Alan lingered. I had a feeling he had something to say to me. And I was right.

"You know, Rubin," he said. "If you don't watch yourself... I might just steal Topaz."

I just stared at him.

He looked serious. And, well, I believed him. I really believed him, especially because of that question he asked me that one time. Dear Arceus.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "We'll see, Alan."

WOOT, EARLY UPDATE

AND ANOTHER LONG CHAPTER

AND THE END OF THE GYM ARC

Finally! This took waaaay longer than I intended. I blame school.

Let's see...

Oh yes, ForestFairy made a lot of development. A LOT. It's subtle, but it's progress.

Rubin has finally come out of his jerkass stage. He's been challenged by Alan. Joyous.

OH YEAH MEZZOFORTE TOO.

I wasn't intending to put MezzoForte in, but it just HAPPENED. AND IT'S ADORABLE.

The next chapter is the long awaited and super overdue Valentine's Day chapter. Then the Ball, then the Kummern reunion, then the time skip to ALL THE ACTION.

And by action I mean violence, though, at the end, we do, uh, get the other kind. *shifty eyes*

SO GO FORTH AND REVIEW