FOREVERMORE

~Part Three Of The Forever Trilogy~

Chapter 43

Return of the Trainers

June 1, 5001.

(Grey's POV)

We were taking Goldenrod today.

Sinnoh had actually surrendered to us. Synis just gave it up. That made no sense to me. They fought so hard to keep Twinleaf, but then when we beat them, they just gave it to us. I was very confused about the Government's motives now.

We still had to start conquering Hoenn, but we needed another front. So Am decided we would fly to Johto to take the city smack dab in the middle of the region. It seemed pretty insane, but we had to take risks.

Crimson and Cyan were leading in with the air force. Once the airspace was clear, the army would be brought in via hovercrafts. The commanders were to secure the radio tower so we could control the air waves. But that wasn't what I was worried about.

My parents—adoptive or not—were Goldenrod City. They would be in danger. Besides, I hadn't seen them for eight years. I had been gone ever since I had become a trainer. They only knew what the media told them about me. They probably thought I was dead. And, well, I doubted they would be proud of all my actions if they had known all that I had done.

Currently, I was riding in the hovercraft specifically designed for the High Commander and generals, along with the coordinators that kept us in contact with the commanders and lower ranking officers.

Am was standing in front of the map of the combined regions, examining it. He was quiet, as usual, deep in thought. Topaz was busy clarifying orders with Rubin, who was the most senior commander in the army, and was therefore the leader of all the commanders. I had just finished doing the same thing, but with Cyan, who was the senior commander in the air force.

We were pretty much set. We were trying to take Goldenrod without actually making Am, Topaz, and me step into the city to join the battle. That was pretty much how the Government did it, and we needed to be on par with them. But it was still risky.

"General Kuro," Am called to me.

I stood up, and walked over to where he stood by the map. "Yes, High Commander?"

Am was only being this formal because we were in front of other people, and we had to be strict and show our authority, being proper and respectful to each other. Otherwise, the adults wouldn't be able to take teenagers seriously, especially if we were in charge.

"Everything is set?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "Just need the okay to go in, sir."

He was silent for a moment, still not turning to look at me. "Good."

I narrowed my eyes. Something was bothering him. I knew him well enough to tell. Anyone else would just think this was his normal behavior, but it wasn't. He couldn't be tense about his family—Diamonda and Aqua were back at the base in Unova, unless he was thinking about Fiori and Gold. But we both knew those two were set—Fiori was already one of the strongest trainers in the Resistance, as was Gold, and Navy had her back, and Rubin would be keeping his eye on Gold, too, because Topaz asked him too.

The dynamic those three had ever since the memories had returned was odd. Even Fiori couldn't grasp it.

Fiori. I hoped she would be okay. Navy better take care of her.

"What's wrong?" I asked him quietly.

"Can't stand not being in the fray," he said, still looking at the map, his voice low.

"Don't blame you," I said, still quiet. "I don't like it either. But they'll be fine. They know what they're doing."

He was silent for another moment, still looking at the map. Then he finally turned to look at me, his expression serious. "Give the signal, General. It's time."

...

(Crimson's POV)

We were circling Goldenrod City high in the air, waiting for the signal to go in. It was nerve wracking waiting. I wished I could be on the ground with the others. But the air force was badly needed. Without planes in the air, we'd never make it. Goldenrod was much more heavily guarded.

My fighter jet was specifically designed for me, as was Cyan's for him. It was painted bright red to stand out amongst the soldiers' jets. Cyan's was blue. I thought it made us easier targets, but whatever.

"Begin the attack," Grey's voice suddenly said from my headset.

"Roger," I said, switching out of stealth mode, which was essentially an invisibility cloak. As leaders, Cyan and I had to stay visible unless we were in extreme danger.

Plato was brilliant to invent and design all this tech. Sometimes we would give him ideas and he would use them. But really, it was all him. It was awesome.

I broke through the clouds, descending on Goldenrod City. Cyan and the rest of the crew followed.

We were met by the Empire's own fighter jets—what, Unova's name for the Government kinda grew on me—who must have been waiting for us. Crap, somehow they knew about the attack!

"New orders," Grey's voice sounded once again. "Go invisible and stay that way."

"Roger that, General," I said, pushing the button to return to stealth mode.

I looked over; Cyan was invisible as well. I swerved to the left, away from him. I checked the sonar to see where everyone was. Cyan was where I figured he'd be. I looked back where Fulmine was stationed to feed the jet more electricity for extra power.

"Power up," I said.

"Rai rai," she said with a nod before her cheeks sparked and she began to fulfill the order.

We had this in the bag.

...

(Sapph's POV)

How much longer would we be stuck on this freaking hovercraft? If I had to sit still for much longer, I'd go crazy. We needed some action already, for Arceus's sake! Agh! And I was in here with Rubin, Gold, Fiori, Indi, and Navy.

"Sapph, chill," my brother told me from his spot next to me. He saw that I was antsy. "I doubt it'll be much longer."

I scowled, and crossed my arms over my chest. "I want it to be now."

He sighed heavily. "So impatient."

I glared at him. "Shut up."

"No," he said flatly, giving me a dry look. "You're being ridiculous."

"I am not-"

"Both of you, shut up," Fiori said, looking annoyed. "You're giving me a headache. Besides, Rubin has a point. We'll get to the tower when we get there. There's no need to complain about it."

I scowled, and crossed my arms over my chest. "Whatever."

"We'll be there, soon, anyway," Gold told to me, and I almost ignored him.

Ever since we got our memories back, Gold had been acting really chummy towards Topaz. Yeah, I knew she was with my brother and all, and he was still with me, but I couldn't help but feel worried. I mean, the memories had been pretty clear that they liked each other back then... What if he still liked her? More than he liked me? So, yeah, I had been acting a little snappy to him lately... To everyone, really.

I didn't want to lose Gold, especially after everything I gave to him.

"See, we're here," Gold said, flashing me a grin.

We sat in silence, waiting for the order to proceed. I was starting to get excited, eager to finally get into action. I loved battling, and getting to defeat the Government's lousy soldiers made it even more better.

"It's clear to proceed," Topaz's voice said over the intercom.

Finally! Yes, we could get to action!

We checked our gear one last time, and then prepared for landing. We sat down, ready to leap up as soon as we landed. I was tensed, eager for the battle that awaited us. We all would be working together, so there was no need to split up into groups. But if we did have to, I would work with Gold, Rubin with Indigo, and Fiori with Navy.

The hovercraft lowered itself in front of the radio tower. A hovercraft could only land on the ground when it was off, so we had to jump off. Rubin had released Joy moments before, and she took out the guards with ease. And then we were inside.

"Split up into the pairs," Rubin said, catching me by surprise. "Don't separate. You know the orders. Move."

Well, we could still do this with ease.

...

(Cerise's POV)

We were already getting in injured, and the siege was only an hour in. Diamonda and I were overwhelmed, even with all the volunteers from Sinnoh. My scrubs were already stained with blood, gore, and who knows what else. I wanted to use my powers to badly, to ease these people's pain, but it would make me tired, and I needed my energy.

Seeing all these people—mainly teenagers like me—made me feel terrible. Some of them had fatal wounds, and could not be saved. We had to watch them suffer until they finally died. And the injured just kept on coming.

I wished Shirou was here. He would know what to say to make these people feel better. And he would be here to comfort me... Maybe I wasn't so cut out for medical work like I thought I was...

"Cerise, we have more volunteers from a hospital," Diamonda informed me as I covered up a dead body with a sheet. "But we're getting low on supplies."

"Already?" I gasped, turning to face her.

She nodded, her expression grim. "And the airspace is under attack again, so they can't send any more supplies until it's taken back."

I pursed my lips. I hoped Crim was okay. Cyan, too. They were both up there. They would be good as dead if they crashed. If anything happened to Cyan, poor Jewel would be devastated. And, well, Crim was my brother, and he was needed back in the past. I didn't know what I'd do if any of my siblings died or got hurt.

"We're losing, aren't we?" I asked quietly, looking down at the sheet-covered body.

She was quiet for a moment, and I looked back up at her. She nodded. "It appears that way."

I stood still for a moment, thinking. "I'm going in," I said at last. "I have to help!"

Her eyes grew wide. "But you have no-"

"I can do this myself!" I exclaimed, clenching my hands into fists, looking up up at the older woman. "I don't need any help!"

I turned around, and ran out of the tent, heading for the tent where Diamonda and I had put our things. I had my regular clothes on beneath my scrubs—a red tank top and white short shorts. I pulled off my bloody scrub top, and kicked off the pants. I pulled my hair out of its ponytail, and put on my belt that held my Poke Balls and empty gun holsters. Then I was set.

I could do this. I could prove myself now.

As long as the admins stayed away... I would be fine.

"Cerise, wait!"

I stopped, right before I left the tent. Diamonda had caught up to me, entering through the other entrance. She walked up to me, and held out a gun. My eyes widened with surprise at the sight of the weapon. What-

"Take this with you," she said. "Just in case."

I gulped, and nodded, taking it from her, and I put it in the right gun holster on my belt.

"Thanks," I said, giving her an appreciating smile.

"Just be careful," she told me, and I nodded, and then finally left the tent, heading out.

I had no real destination in mind. I just wanted to find somewhere or someone I could help. I released Persia to have my back. The city was so huge, and I had never been in it before. I couldn't believe Topaz and Grey grew up here. Jade was from here, too, in the past. And soon I found myself terribly lost.

"Crap, Persia," I said, looking around as we walked. "I have no idea where we are."

We rounded a corner, and bumped into the last person I wanted to find alone anywhere. It would have been better if someone was with him, but he was alone. So very alone.

"Oh, look what we have here, Bolt," Flax said with his trademark smirk, looking down briefly at his shiny Raichu. "Cerise Rosso, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here... so very, very alone?"

With each word, he took a step closer to me, and I took a step back away from him. He was going to try something; I could feel it. But I had no idea what. I just knew I was scared and wanted to get as far away from him as possible.

"G-Get away from me," I stammered, trying to sound threatening. "Or I'll... I'll-!"

"You'll what?" he asked calmly, cocking his head to the side, looking amused.

"-I'll kill you!" I managed to get out shakily.

He jerked back his head and laughed. He laughed at me. He thought I was so funny. Would anyone ever take me seriously?

"You'll kill me?" he taunted, letting out another chuckle. "Ha! Good one, Cerise. You're so weak you couldn't even hurt a fly. And you think you can kill me? Ha!"

I realized he had backed me up against a building wall. Persia hissed, and lunged to attack, but his shiny Raichu zapped her with Thunderbolt, knocking her out in one hit.

"Persia!" I cried out.

I stepped forward, wanting to help her, but Flax reached me, and slammed me up against the wall roughly. I cried out as pain shot through my back.

"Where do you think you're going, sweetheart?" he drawled, looking down at me, his lips curved up in a smirk.

Being this close to him reminded me... of course time together. Thanks to Kate returning our memories, I now remembered what happened. And I wished I could have had hit my head again and got another concussion just so I could forget about it.

I met him while I was on my way to Mount Silver. I hadn't gotten far through Hoenn because I was easily distracted by things. And he was just another distraction. Now I knew that Synis had sent him to find me, but I doubted Synis had in mind what we did.

I was immediately infatuated with him, finding him very attractive. It didn't help that he was so nice to me, almost as nice as Shiu. He made me believe he was traveling to Mount Silver too, to join the Resistance. He was such a good liar.

He had me wrapped around his finger, and the next thing I knew he kissed me and I kissed him back, and then we were making out, and then we were... making love. If you could even call it that.

And the sad part was, I liked it a lot. He made me feel loved and alive.

This went on for a full month, and then I got in a accident. I got a concussion and lost all my memories of my time with him. I don't know why, but I felt that was more than just a coincidence.

I reached for the gun that Diamonda had given me, but Flax was fast, and twisted it out of my hand. I gasped in pain as he tossed it aside. I was really in trouble now.

"Nice try, sweetheart," he drawled, still smirking.

"Please let me go," I whimpered, pressing myself up against the brick wall, trying to get as far away from him as I could.

"Now why would I want to do that?" he sneered. "Pink's too dirty to be of any use, and you... entertained me well back then."

I froze. No no no no, dear Arceus, no.

"This can be easy or hard," he told me. "Up to you, sweetheart."

I tried to push him away from me, but he shoved me right against the wall. I tried to knee him in the crotch, but he grabbed my knee first. I tried everything I could think of to get him away so I could escape. But he was too strong, to fast. I was beginning to panic.

He pulled me away from the wall, and shoved me down onto the asphalt, scraping my hands and knees. I tried to scramble onto my feet, but he kicked me in the ribs, knocking me right back down, flat on my stomach. The air rushed out of my lungs, and I started to cry as I gasped for oxygen.

The next thing I knew, he was on me. He pushed me onto my back, and I tried to scream, but he clamped his hand down over my mouth. He was going for full humiliation, so after stripping me off my shorts, he tore off my shirt, leaving me in nothing but my underwear. I tried to get him off of me, though I was getting scraped up on the hard, rough asphalt, and he wasn't exactly being gentle either.

Oh my Arceus, I couldn't believe I was going to be-

"What the hell are you doing?"

I bit down on Flax's hand as he paused, caught by surprise. He swore loudly, and let go of me.

"Shiu!" I cried out, scrambling onto my feet. "Shiu-"

But before either of us could take any steps toward each other, Flax grabbed me again, putting his arm around my neck, pinning me up against his body. I felt cold metal press against my temple.

"Anybody moves, she dies," Flax said icily.

Shirou and Alan had found us. I had never seen my boyfriend angry before, but the look on his face was of terrifying fury. Alan was frozen, his eyes wide with horror, locked on the man that had me.

"You," Shirou growled, his hands clenching into fists. "You bastard! So you're the Flax guy I've heard so much about."

"Oh? They've told you about me? I'm flattered." I could hear the sneer in his voice. "I hope it was all good. I wouldn't want to make a bad impression on you."

Shirou scowled. "I should have known you were one of the admins..."

I was so confused. Shiu had met Flax before? And Alan looked really freaked out, and for some reason I had a feeling he wasn't freaked out about me.

"Let her go," Shirou said, his voice like ice, sending chills down my spine. "Now."

Flax laughed. "Or what, little Champion? Oh wait, I'm sorry, isn't that your friend over there?"

What? What was he talking about?

Alan stiffened, his eyes still wide, now filled with an emotion I recognized as fear. I was so confused. I had no idea what was going on.

"I'm the Champion now," Shirou said darkly, his patience waning. "Now let her go."

"So I can blow your little whore's brains to bits, then?" Flax taunted.

"Don't call her that," Shirou growled, his eyes narrowing. "I will kill you."

Flax tightened his grip on me. I gasped, clutching at his arm, trying to get him to loosen his hold. He was limiting my air supply. I gasped for air, but it was pointless. I could barely get in any oxygen. Tears were streaming down my face as I hopelessly fought against him. I squeezed my eyes shut.

I heard a squawk, and the suddenly he let me go, pushing me forward. I fell down on my knees, gasping for air. I was disoriented. I heard shouting, and saw a yellow blur run past me. Then someone said my name, and I was in someone's arms, warmth touching my cool, bare skin.

I blinked, finally regaining my bearings, and looked up, seeing the agitated face of my boyfriend.

"S-Shiu?" I breathed.

"I've got you," he said firmly. "You're safe."

We were already on the other side, back where Alan still stood, stunned and unmoved. He set me down gently, and put his hands on my shoulders to steady me when I wobbled on my feet. He shrugged off his jacket, and put it on me, zipping it up all the way. I realized I was shaking.

"Alan. Guard her." He turned back around.

"Shiu, don't!" I cried, reaching out to grab his arm, pulling him back towards me. "Flax has your weakness! I... I don't want y-you to get h-hurt..."

He turned back around, and looked down at me, his eyes cold with his fury. I didn't let go of his arm. I just looked up at him, silently pleading him to stay and not battle.

"I'm the Champion, Cer," he said, his voice steady and calm. "I can handle anybody. And I'm not about to let that bastard get away with what he was about to do to you or what he did to Alan."

He pulled away from me, turning back around. But I reached out again, and grabbed his arm, pulling him back around. I surprised him by pulling him down towards me and kissing him. It only lasted for a moment, though, for he pulled away, and pushed me towards Alan. Then he ran off to join Liore and Celio.

...

(Topaz's POV)

"It's going badly," Am said, narrowing his eyes at the model of Goldenrod City on the table we sat around. "We might have to go down after all."

It was true. Rubin and the others were held up in the radio tower, and the other troops were being slaughtered and manhandled. It seemed we would never have the upper hand in this war. It was frustrating.

I remembered when Rubin contacted me and told me the situation. We sent back up, but that didn't help. They were still stuck in that mess. I was worried sick about him, and Gold, and the others. They were my friends and they could die.

"It's all up to you, High Commander," Grey said, looking up at the man.

Suddenly, one of the operators walked up to us. "Your wife is on the line, High Commander."

Am frowned, and reached over to pick the phone up off the receiver on the table. "Yeah, Dima?"

Grey and I waited, and I tried to make out what Diamonda was saying. Whatever it was, it wasn't good—Am was still frowning. I glanced over at Grey, and he shrugged subtly. Then I looked back over at Am.

"All right. We'll look for her. We're about to go out, anyway." He paused. "Always am, Dima. Love you." He hung up a moment later.

"What is it?" I asked, and he looked over at me.

"Cerise," he replied calmly. "She left the infirmary alone. Dima's worried about her, though Shirou and Alan showed up and went looking for her."

Oh, for the love of Arceus, what was Cerise thinking? Especially after everything we said about how dangerous it was during battles. She wasn't physically strong, and she wasn't the strongest trainer either. Not to mention we had been receiving reports that the admins were in the city. If she bumped into one of them...

"Let's hurry," I said to them, and they nodded.

Oh boy, just wait until I found her. She needed to stop acting so stupid and reckless. She would get herself killed one day if she kept that out. Compared to my reckless sister and brother with a crazy temper, I really was the only sane one in this family.

We headed out of the main room in the hovercraft, to the armory, where all the weapons were kept. As the leaders, we each had our own little cubby where we could put our Poke Balls and other gear inside. I saw that instead of guns, like Grey and I had, Am had that sword from his and Dima's old apartment in Castelia City. I raised an eyebrow, silently questioning him.

"Long story," he said, strapping the sword inside its sheath onto his back.

I shrugged, and decided to let it go. There were more important things to deal with. Once my belt was all set up, I tightened my ponytail, and pulled on my fingerless gloves. I checked my boots, and then I was all set.

We would fly down on our Pokemon. This was the first time, I realized, that I would see Am in action since nearly three years ago in Eterna City. I couldn't believe it had been that long. This would be interesting.

"After we find Cerise and see to her safety, we'll go to the radio tower," Am said as we walked to the exit.

He released Hindsight, and I sent out Zeus. Grey would have to wait to release Dragon since he was so huge. Zeus latched onto my shoulders, and Am got onto his Xatu's back. Grey pushed the button, and the hatch opened up. Hindsight unfurled his wings and leaped out of the exit. Zeus followed suit. Once all was clear, Grey released his massive Dragonite, and then he had to jump out onto his back.

It wasn't that hard to find anyone. We saw explosions of electricity—that meant Flax all the way. Something serious was going down, then. If he found my sister, she was in major trouble. And if he even tried to hurt her, I would kill him. Yeah, Cerise set herself up for trouble, but that was no excuse for any action that bastard did.

Zeus tucked in his wings and dove towards the lightning. He stayed away from the actual electricity, otherwise he'd be fried. He pulled up when he was a safe distance away from the ground to drop me, and then released his hold on me with his claws. I dropped down to the ground, having to crouch down to take the impact, and Raiden released himself from his Poke Ball. The ground shook as Dragon landed behind me. I heard Grey slide down the Dragonite's back right as Am and Hindsight landed. We all returned our fliers. Raiden leaped up onto my shoulder, and then we headed closer to see what the hell was going on.

"T-Topaz!"

The next thing I knew, I was being squeezed to death by my sister.

"Cerise!" I gasped before pushing her away from me to get a look at her. And I was not pleased by what I saw. The only thing that covered her up was Shirou's black hoodie, and her face was red and her eyes were bloodshot from crying. "What happened?"

Tears filled her eyes again, and she latched back onto me. It was awkward because she was four inches taller than me, but I put my arms around her and let her cry into my shoulder.

Am and Grey walked up to us, as did Alan, who must have been watching her since Shirou was nowhere to be seen. He looked traumatized, nervous, and even scared. I turned my head to look at him, not letting go of my sister.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded, my voice harsher than I intended, making him flinch. "Where's Shirou? What's with all the lightning back there?"

Alan winced, and wrapped his arms around himself. "Well... um... the blonde admin guy..."

"Flax," I clarified, serious mode on.

He just ignored me. "He... tried to... to..."

"What. Did. He. Do?" I growled, my patience waning.

He didn't respond. He just squeezed his eyes shut and froze. He was really bothered. Of course he was, Flax was the guy who tried to kill him. Okay, maybe I had been a little harsh, but still.

"Well, whatever he did pissed Shirou off," Grey said, pointing beyond us. "Look."

I pulled away from my sister, looked forward. Cerise whimpered from behind me. There, several yards away, was where all that electricity had been exploding. There was Liore, Shirou's Jolteon, and Bolt, Flax's shiny Raichu. They were duking it out, tearing each apart. There was blood spilled on the ground, and I couldn't tell if it came from human or Pokemon. Liore and Bolt were cut up, burned, and bruised, bleeding.

I hated to say it, but this was what a real battle was.

Shirou and Flax weren't faring any better. Shirou's clothing was torn and burned, and there were a few bloodstains. Only a few cuts and scrapes were visible. He was a mess. Flax was the same way.

Clouds formed over them, and a lightning bolt dropped down from it. Bolt managed to leap out of the way, though but he flopped down on his stomach, and struggled to get back on his feet. He growled, and launched his own Thundebolt. Liore didn't bother to dodge; he absorbed the attack with his ability. The shiny Raichu growled again, his eyes flashing with fury.

I turned back around to face my sister and friends. "What the hell happened, Cerise?"

She clutched at the front of the jacket, tears running down her dirt-smeared cheeks, creating little rivers. "He... He... tried to... rape me. B-But Shiu and Alan found me... just in time... A-And Shiu's battling him now... Oh, they're going to kill each other! I don't want anything to happen to Shiu!"

I just stared at her. I couldn't breathe, much less move. I just stared at my sister as she unraveled before me. No. She did not just say that. I misheard her or something.

"He. Did. WHAT?" I growled, my hands clenching into fists. "What?"

That was it. Flax had crossed the line. First, he tried to kill Alan. Then he screwed with my sister. Then he tried to screw with me. And now he tried to screw with my sister again.

"That bastard!" I exclaimed, whipping back around to face the battle. "I'm going to kill him!"

I took a step forward, but Cerise squealed, and grabbed me by the waist, holding me back.

"Let me go, Cerise," I said darkly.

"No!" she cried. "He'll hurt you! He's too strong... Please! Shiu's enough and he's already hurt!"

I took a deep breath, and tried to calm myself. I was starting to get like Crim—I was getting so angry I couldn't think straight. And that was bad. I had to have a clear head out here. I was a general. I had to be a good example.

And now that I had forced myself to properly think, I saw that Cerise was right. At this rate, if they weren't stopped, they would kill each other. I didn't give a hoot about what happened to Flax, but if something happened to Shirou, my sister would be devastated. And who knew how Unova would react, too.

"Fine," I said, my voice calmer now. "We'll stop them."

She released me after a moment, and I turned around to face her. "Please hurry!" she begged, still crying. "If... If Shiu gets hurt..." She covered her mouth with her hand, choking back on a sob.

I looked past her to the guys. Am had released Luna, his Umbreon, which made me flinch a little. I was still scared of them, even though I knew Luna would never hurt me. Grey had also sent out a Pokemon, Viper, his Serperior. Raiden growled from his place on my shoulder, and then leaped off. He landed on the ground, and then stood up on his hind legs, clenching his paws into fists, cheeks crackling with voltage. He wanted in, too.

Am nodded to me, giving me permission to make the first move.

"Raiden, separate them with Volt Tackle," I commanded, pointing to the two fighting Pokemon.

The orange Pikachu dashed forward with wicked speed, surrounding himself with electricity. Liore and Bolt were latched onto each other, obviously going in for the kill. Raiden slammed into them, separating them with such force they were sent flying. He skidded to a halt, and whipped back around to face us, growling. Luna leaped forward, putting herself between the two Pokemon. Viper stayed back, watching, waiting.

"What are you doing?" Shirou demanded, whipping around to face us.

"Stopping you from getting yourself killed!" I snapped. "You're hurting Cerise!"

"I'm defending her!"

"She doesn't want you to get hurt!" I exclaimed with frustration.

"Calm down or this will end badly," Grey said, walking up to me with Am.

Flax laughed at us, though it sounded tired. "Look at all of you, so friendly. What do you do for your spare time?"

Oh for the love of Arceus-

"Flax," Grey said warningly. "You're outnumbered. I'd watch what I say."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm so scared."

"You should be," Am said icily, narrowing his eyes.

Liore, sensing the battle was over, limped over to where Shirou stood, looking like he was about to collapse. The Jolteon continued to glare at Bolt as the Raichu also returned to his trainer's side, looking exhausted. All of them looked like they were going to pass out. Suddenly, there was the sound of running, and Cerise dashed past us, and latched onto Shirou, embracing him. She almost knocked him down.

"Cer, get back," he said tiredly, pushing her behind him.

"How chivalrous," Flax said with a weak sneer.

"How about you shut up," I snapped, my hands clenching into fists again.

He turned to look at me, his expression dark. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

"Flax, what the hell are you doing?"

We were all surprised to see Maroon walk up to the bastard, Verdant and his Charizard not far behind him. We all tensed, expecting them to attack us, even after what Maroon had done back in Twinleaf. Maroon looked angry, too.

"What's this?" Verdant asked, kicking Cerise's torn clothing on the asphalt. His eyes grew wide with shock when he realized what it was.

Maroon scanned us until he spotted my sister peeking out from behind her exhausted, injured boyfriend. He narrowed his eyes, and then whipped back around to glare at Flax.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded, scowling. "I can't believe you."

"You're sick," Verdant spat, his face twisted in disgust.

"Oh, shut up," Flax snapped before crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll do whatever the hell I want. Synis doesn't give a damn."

Maroon shook his head, and ran a hand through his hair. "We're not getting you out of this one, F. A. You're on your own."

"Yeah," Verdant said, giving him a dirty look. "There's a fine line, and you went waaaay over it."

"I'm outta here," Maroon said with a sigh, turning around, returning to his Charizard. "Come on, V. A."

Verdant gave us one last look before following Maroon over to his Charizard. Maroon got on the fire dragon's back first, and then Verdant followed suit. The Charizard unfurled his wings, and leaped into the air. They soared higher and higher and then they were gone. Then we all looked back at Flax.

He looked nervous now. Good. Served that bastard right for what he did. Oh, could we kill him now?

"We're giving you one last chance, Ama," Am said darkly. "So I suggest you get your sorry ass out of here before we make you."

Well, darn it.

...

(Goldy's POV)

We were wedged into a corner, almost literally. We were surrounded by the Government's soldiers. We were hiding behind a counter, trying to wait them out. But it was only a matter of time before they got tired of waiting.

My bangs were plastered to my forehead with sweat, I had several minor injuries, and I was exhausted. Currently, I was leaning up against the counter that served as our shield, reloading my gun—there was no space to use Pokemon in here.

"We can't keep this up," Rubin muttered from his spot next to me. "We need more back up."

I brushed my bangs out of my eyes the best I could, and looked over at my friend. He was in the same condition as I was—tired, sweaty, and injured. Sapph was on his other side, fairing slightly better than us. But we were all tired.

"They'd just get killed," I said with a sigh.

He turned to look at me, his blue eyes narrowed. "Some sacrifices must be made, unless you want to die."

I just stared at him, shocked by his statement. Was his younger self rubbing off on him or what? A few months ago, he would have never said anything like that. Man, Rubin was just full of surprises lately.

Suddenly, the Government's soldiers open fired again. Bullets flew everywhere, hitting the counter, the wall, and the floor. We all tried to shield ourselves, but some of them ricocheted off of whatever they hit.

Fiery pain shot through my thigh like a needle. I gasped, and keeled over, clutching at the agonized area. I felt hot blood ooze through my fingers. Pain seemed to spread through my whole body, like I was being set on fire. I could barely concentrate on anything but the agony. There was shouting, more shots fired, and for some reason Pokemon cries.

"Gold! Gold! Are you okay?" came Sapph's worried voice.

I groaned, and leaned back up against the counter, propping my head up against it, still clutching my bleeding thigh. "What... does... it... look like?" I managed to spit out through my gritted teeth.

"Ah, little bro!" Fiori exclaimed, from her spot next to me. "He's been hit!"

"Everyone stay calm," Navy said. "I think we've finally gotten some decent backup."

I gritted my teeth some more, trying to bear the pain. I squeezed my eyes shut as tears began to prick at my eyes. Fiori pried my fingers off of the wound, and pressed a strip of cloth against it, trying to stop the bleeding. But I couldn't help but gasp in pain from the pressure.

"Is everyone all right?" called a familiar voice.

Sapph, Rubin, Indi, and Navy all stood up from behind the counter, while Fiori stayed down with me. Oh my Arceus, who knew a gunshot could hurt so much. I heard two gasps of surprise.

"Sapphire? Magnus? Ross? You're supposed to be dead!" That was Sapph.

"Oi, you can't get rid of me that easily, Hunter," came the gruff voice of a girl that very much should be dead.

"Help me up," I said to my sister.

She took me by the arm, putting it over her shoulders. She pulled me up onto my feet, slipping her arm around my waist to help support me. I leaned against her, exhausted.

"Sapphire, Magnus, Ross," I managed to get out, giving them a pained, tired grin.

Sapphire, as in Safaia Naito, one of the commanders who was supposed to have been killed by the Government's secret weapon and my friend. But she was very much alive. Her dark, dark blue hair was cut boy short as always, and her matching eyes were the same color seemed harder. She had a deep tan, and still wore baggy clothing that hid her clothes. She was how old now? Nineteen or so? Her Grovyle was now a Sceptile, standing next to her.

Next to her was Magnus Pyrrhus, another old commander. He was about twenty-four years old, one of the oldest leaders left. His fiery red hair was cut neatly, though his bangs were shaggy and loose, and his brown eyes were friendly. He was tall, about my height, but he had broader shoulders and a thicker build than Am or me. He had been a commander since I had joined the Resistance. His loyal Arcanine was out.

And next to him was Ross Faith, yet another old commander. He had to be around twenty or so now. He also had red hair, though it was a softer shade than Magnus's, and his eyes were deep blue. He was a little on the tall side, but not as tall as me. He had out his Lucario.

"It's good to be back!" Magnus said with a grin.

Just then, three more people came bursting into the room—Am, Topaz, and Grey. The two generals had their guns drawn and their electric rodents out. And my brother had a freaking sword. But they saw who was here, and were shocked, lowering their guns.

"Sapphire?" Topaz gasped, her eyes wide.

She turned around to face them, putting her back to us. "Am! Grey! Topaz! Heh, long time no see, eh?" I could hear the grin in her voice.

Am's reaction, well, surprised me. I was so used to my brother hiding his emotions, but his face was outright shocked. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open. I mean, Grey looked happy to see our old friend, but he was even going about it calmly. Was Am's younger self effecting him, too?

And then he shocked me even more when he walked up to her and hugged her. Am does not hug people. I haven't even seen him hug Dima, and he's her wife. Well, they probably... do... other... things... But still.

"Whoa!" Safaia exclaimed. "Hey, Am, are you okay?"

He let her go, stepping back. "You were dead, and now you're back. I'm just glad to see you."

"Ahahaha," she let out a strained laugh, rubbing the back of her head. "Well, I never really died. Magnus saved my life. Same with Ross. We've been meaning to get back, but then Mount Silver was bombed."

"Yeah, it's been pretty rough," Magnus said with a nod. "So, where's Tibbs?"

We all grimaced.

"He's dead," Am said calmly, turning to face the older man. "He was killed in the bombing that destroyed Mount Silver."

All three of them looked stunned, and exchanged glances. I guess they never thought our leader would be killed.

"Then who's in charge?" Ross asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Isn't it obvious?" Grey asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Fiori tightened her grip on me, and nudged me forward. I limped the best I could, biting my tongue to bear the pain and stay quiet. Every movement sent pure agony shooting through my body. Sapph and Rubin followed us, and Navy and Indi went out the other side. Topaz noticed right away, and her eyes widened with alarm.

"What happened?" she demanded, stepping towards us.

"Goldy got hit by a ricocheted shot," Fiori answered. "In the thigh."

Her gaze flickered down to the injury, and then she looked over at her boyfriend. "How are you?"

"Fine, love," he told her reassuringly. "Nothing serious that can't wait."

"All right," she said, sounding relieved and tired. "Come on... Let's get you to Diamonda, Gold."

Finally.

ASDFGHJKL

A LOT JUST HAPPENED

First things first...

Safaia never was dead! Hehe. And meet Magnus and Ross, I just love these two. Oh, and Magnus becomes the Cinnabar Gym Leader in Evermore, too.

Ross... Unless you've been following my blog, you don't know much about him. And I'm keeping him a secret. 'Cause I'm evil.

OKAY MOVING ON

Yes, Flax tried to rape Cerise. And Shirou and Flax nearly killed each other. More will be explained next chapter, which is also another Government chapter! You really do not want to make Shirou angry. Nope, not at all.

I WISH I COULD KILL FLAX BUT NOT YET

He's still needed. Blame the plot armor.

What else... Hmmm...

OH YEAH, Goldy got a shot wound. He'll survive, don't worry. Nothing fatal there.

OKAY THAT'S IT

GO AND REVIEW