FOREVERMORE

~Part Three Of The Forever Trilogy~

Chapter 44

Contemplations

June 1, 5001.

(Flax's POV)

"You have failed me yet again, boy," Synis said, his voice like ice, as he stood in front of the stained glass window, his back to me, with his arms folded behind him.

I scowled, glaring at the back of his head. He turned around to face me, his eyes sharp. Synis's youth startled me as always, though he had looked like this for as long as I could remember. He couldn't be any older than twenty-five when you looked at his face and body. But his hair and eyes told otherwise. His hair was white as snow, and his dark, dark eyes were hard and cold with sorrow, pain, and knowledge that only someone who had lived a long time could know. I had no idea how he didn't age or why he was still alive.

"Why do you keep on failing, Flax?" he asked me, his tone still cold.

I stayed silent, and didn't even more. Synis suffered from Split Personality Disorder—this was his most sane self, the one with the cause that I did not support. The one that just wanted his lover back. How pathetic. It made me so sick. Emotions made you weak.

"Father?"

I turned my head slightly to see Jet, Synis's son, and Jewel's twin brother. Neither of them knew the other one existed. He was fifteen years old, of course. Oddly enough, he had dark, dark brown hair, and pale blue eyes, even a lighter hue than my own. He was sickly because he had a poor immune system, and there wasn't really a cure for that. He was also pretty scrawny; his sister had more meat on her bones that he did.

"What, Jet?" Synis asked, turning to look at the boy.

"Um... Kyurem is getting anxious," he said after a moment. "He... ate some of the men again. And... um... has Mother been rescued?"

I sneered, crossing my arms over my chest; the kid thought Topaz was his real mother. I snorted, which then made Jet scowl and glare at me. I rolled my eyes; the kid was the least bit intimidating. He was more annoying that anything else.

"Obviously not," I said, looking down at him with irritation.

"Only because the admins are incompetent," Synis replied, giving me a sharp look. "Do I have to everything myself?"

The day Synis did something himself would be the end of the world as we knew it. Kyurem only listened to him, and Jet. Not only did he have control over a powerful legendary, he had a strange bond with his Pokemon, which made him even more insanely powerful.

"No," I said, trying not to show my annoyance. "Mazenta and I have a fool proof plan that will undermine the Resistance's already feeble leadership and make the whole organization crumble."

"And that would be...?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Revealing Cade," I said with a smug grin.

...

June 2, 5001.

(Verdant's POV)

I sat outside our admin base with my Venusaur lounging beside me lazily. It was hot out, though the forest around us kept things cooler. Nevertheless, I still had my hair pulled back in a low ponytail and was wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts. It was peaceful out where with just Venusaur and me.

I had a lot on my mind, and the serenity helped me think. I especially couldn't get out of my head what happened in Goldenrod yesterday. I couldn't believe what Flax tried to do to poor Cerise. That was so unthinkable. I mean, what was he thinking? If Synis found out what he tried to do, he was good as dead, which wasn't such a bad thing after all. All of Synis's personalities had respect for women. Yeah, I thought females were soft, but I wasn't depraved or sick enough to try something like that. I had respect for them. I mean, they were the ones who had to do all the work to populate the earth. Guys barely had to do anything.

Anyways.

I was really beginning to doubt the cause. I mean, Navy left, and I have had a crush on him for as long as I could remember. And, well, it just wasn't the same without him around. He made everything so fun. I mean, Maroon was a great friend and all, but it was kinda lonely with just the two of us being the sane ones around here.

"Verd."

I looked up to see Maroon. He had just stepped out of the front door, and had walked over to where I was sitting with Venusaur, with a soda pop in his hand. He only called Navy and me by our first names when it was just the three of us. He looked bothered, with mixed emotions in his red eyes and his lips turned down in a frown. Maroon rarely frowned, so I knew immediately something was wrong.

"Maroon," I said, giving him a concerned look. "You wanna talk about something?"

He looked down at me, and sighed. "Yeah."

Maroon also rarely sighed. Something was most definitely wrong. I patted the spot on the other side of me, away from Venusaur. "Then I'm all ears."

He walked over to the spot, and sat down next to me. He just sat there for a moment or two, staying silent. I didn't say a word. He would talk when he was ready. But I was dying to know what was on his mind.

"I... I don't think it's worth it anymore," he finally said, staring at the glass bottle in his hands. "All of this..."

I turned my head to look at him, pursing my lips. "What do you mean?"

"I don't like being on the Government's side anymore," he said, still staring at his soda pop bottle. "Everyone else... is just going too far."

"...You're talking about what Flax tried to do to Cerise, right?"

"What else?" he asked, looking up at me. His expression turned thoughtful. "What else? Did you see those two guys? I wonder who they are."

"How did I not see them?" I said with a snort. "They were hot. They're probably Unovans or something like that."

He rolled his eyes at me. "I wish Synis would tell us more about why we're doing this."

"We'll probably never know everything," I sighed, shrugging. "But I'm with you on this one. I can't stand it either." I paused for a moment, debating on whether I should risk it and say what was on my mind. "Maybe... Maybe we should run away, join the Resistance. Navy did, so why can't we?"

He looked at me sharply, his eyes widening with shock. Then he calmed down. "It's not that easy, Verdant. Why would they take us? We're only caused them grief, even more so than Navy ever did. And, well, the Senri girl hates me."

I snorted. "Don't know why."

"I kidnapped her brother, remember?" he said dryly.

"Oh, that's right. Well, that was almost two years ago," I said. "They forgave Grey and Navy, so why not us?"

He lifted his soda pop and took a drink from it. "F.A. will hunt us down and kill us, for sure."

Okay, he had a point there... "Well, we could disguise ourselves or something!"

Maroon rolled his eyes again, lowering his bottle. "And how long would that last?"

I sighed, and brushed back my bangs. "Stop being so difficult!"

"I'm not being difficult. It's the truth, Verdant, and you know it."

I sighed, and leaned back, looking up at the clear, blue sky. There wasn't a single cloud up there. I felt Venusaur shift beside me. There had to be something we could do to help, at least. Hm... But what? Maybe...

"Maroon!" I exclaimed, leaping up to my feet. "I know what we can do! We can give them the Light Stone!"

...

(Jet's POV)

I was laying on my bed in my room at the castle, staring at the ceiling above me. Amun, my Eevee, was curled up on my chest, napping peacefully. I had nothing else better to do, like always. I was either helping take care of Kyurem, studying with my tutors, or sick in bed. And today there was nothing for me to do because everyone was busy, and Kyurem wasn't in a good mood to be of any fun.

I felt so... alone.

But I had to be strong to take my father's place someday. So I could fulfill his mission if something ever happened to him. But I doubted anyone would. He was too strong. No one could battle him and live.

I looked down at Amun, sleeping ever so peacefully. I had something with him that my father called a "link"—a bond between a human and Pokemon that increased the Pokemon's power the stronger is was. I could talk to him telepathically, and we could feel each others emotions. He was truly the only friend I had.

I wished I could sleep like him. I always had nightmares. Every night I was plagued with them. And without Amun and our link, I would never be comforted or calmed down from the fright.

I looked back up at the ceiling. It was made of gray stone, like the rest of the castle. I had every crack and dip in the rock memorized.

There was a light knock on my door. I didn't move. There was no point.

"Come in," I called, my tone bored.

I heard the door open, and footsteps sounded on the stone floor as my callers walked in. "Kid, where's the Light Stone?"

Okay, that caught me by surprise. I pushed myself up abruptly, knocking Amun down into my lap, waking him up. He blinked blearily, pushing himself up into a sitting position. I tensed, seeing it was Maroon and Verdant. I narrowed my eyes at them warily.

"Why?" I asked slowly.

"We need it for something," he said. "Admin business, kid."

I really wished everyone would stop calling me 'kid'.

I looked at them for a moment, keeping my eyes narrowed. Then I sighed, relaxing, and lifted Amun off my lap, setting him down on the bed. I slid off my bed, and walked over to the glass display case on the far right wall, and put in the combination to the lock. The lid popped open, and I reached in to take out the heavy white rock. I struggled to carry it over to them; I wasn't the strongest person in the world due to my condition.

"Here," I said, my voice slightly strained, holding it out to them the best I could. "Take it. It's basically useless."

I was relieved when he took the stone from me. I felt a little woozy after carrying that. I really couldn't strain myself.

"Thanks, kid," Maroon said with a grin.

Verdant smiled and nodded. "Yeah, we have some use for it."

Okay then.

...

(Flax's POV)

"So tell me about Unova," Synis said, leaning back as he sat on his throne, his shiny Nidoking sitting beside him, keeping an eye on me.

"What about them?" I asked calmly. Really, I could tell him a lot about them.

"The leadership," was his reply.

Well, that made things easier. "The Champion is an eighteen-year-old boy named Shirou Kazuo. He's strong; he actually managed to knock out almost all of my team. It looks like he's in a relationship with Cerise Rosso."

He was silent for a moment, staring off away from me. "Continue."

"Then there's Alene Vin, or Alan as everyone seems to call him. He's nineteen, and he's Kazuo's best friend. He was the previous Champion, but he gave up the title two years ago, almost three, when he was sixteen. He is now Kazuo's manager."

Again, he was silent as he took the information in. "The Elite Four?"

I fought the urge to sigh. "I'd say the biggest threat out of them is Katherine Willow. She's sixteen, and has psychic powers that make Viridian powers look pathetically weak. She specializes in Psychic type Pokemon, of course. She, along with her older sister Professor Elizabeth Willow, is childhood friends with Kazuo and Vin."

"Relations?" he inquired.

Ha, this was going to be good. "Kazuo is descended from Cheren and Bianca through their son Finley, and Natural Harmonia through his daughter Zoey. Due to the delayed time ripple effect, Vin is descended from Kaigun and Fiori Kimu, through their son Marine."

Synis pursed his lips. "Interesting."

It was very interesting.

...

(Sapph's POV)

I hadn't seen Gold since he was taken away to get surgery because it turned out the bullet had lodged into his bone. I was worried sick about him, but everyone was so busy I didn't bother to ask anyone how he was, and the infirmary where he was at was so crowded, and it would be hard to get in there. I had already tried.

I wondered if Safaia, Magnus, and Ross had been informed about what had been going on yet. They were bound to be shocked. A freaking lot had changed since they were with us.

I had nothing to do, even as a commander, so I was just sitting in the lounge on the first floor, messing with my Pokegear in sheer boredom. I wondered how Gold was doing. Was he even thinking about me? Did he even care?

"Sapph!"

I jumped, startled, and turned around on the couch to look behind me. It was my brother. He stepped inside, and walked over to me. I frowned, immediately thinking something was wrong.

"What?" I asked sharply.

He gave me a dry look. "I've been looking for you. Gold wants to see you."

Even though that was what I wanted to hear, I was still a little surprised, especially with everything that was happening with the memories and all. "Why?" I asked him.

Rubin gave me a weird look. "Why? Why? What kind of question is that? You're his girlfriend, aren't you? Why wouldn't he want to see you? Arceus, Sapph."

"Well, maybe he'd want to see Topaz first," I snapped hotly before realizing what I was saying.

Oh crap, I didn't mean to say that. Okay, maybe I did, but I shouldn't have said it in front of my brother who was dating her. The whole memory thing was really bugging me, and I just wanted to know the truth and get it over with. But my statement did not please Rubin. He scowled at me.

"For the love of Arceus, Sapph," he snapped, also looking frustrated. "That was the past."

"Are you sure about that?" I snapped back.

"Sapph, shut up for a second. Arceus, listen to yourself. If you're so paranoid about the whole thing, talk to him yourself. I can say all I want and you'll never believe me."

I glared at him. "Fine! I will!"

I pushed myself up off the couch and stormed past him, out of the lounge. I ignored the people around me and headed for the door out of the castle. Once I was outside in the humid air, and standing on one of the black stairs that led up to the castle's entrance, I took out a Poke Ball and released Tropi. I climbed onto the Tropius's back and told her to fly to the other side of the castle where the hospital was set up because I was too lazy to walk all the way there.

Seriously, you got your daily workout from just walking through the place.

It took us about five or so minutes to get around the massive fortress, and then Tropi landed on one of the stairs. I slid off of her and thanked her, returning her to her Poke Ball. Then I headed back into the castle.

It was cool inside, but bustling with activity. Like I said, the infirmary was packed. It was like a mini-hospital in here. It was noisy and smelly and all sorts of other things. As I walked through, heading for Gold's room, several people greeted me as 'Commander Senri'. Even though I had been a commander for a while now, it was still weird. Rubin had been 'Commander Senri' for longer than I had.

No one stopped me from pushing open the door to Gold's room and stepping inside. Gold was propped up in his bed, his bandaged wound underneath the thin white sheet, reading a book by the looks of it.

Gold Kimu Junior was reading a book of all freaking things?

When was the freaking world ending?

The door clicked shut as I stared at him in shock, and he looked up at me. His gold eyes brightened up, and he shut the book and set it down.

"Sapph!" he exclaimed. "I've been waiting for you. I would have gone looking for you myself but they won't let me leave and I'm not supposed to be put any weight on my leg."

"Uh... Sorry," I said, not sure what else to say. "You're... okay then?"

"Aha, yeah, I'm fine!" He then smirked at me playfully. "You weren't worried, were you? It could have been a lot worse, you know."

"Yeah, well, of course I was worried!" I snapped, glaring at him. "You got freaking shot! No one else has gotten hurt like that yet!"

"Jeez, Sapph, chill," he said. "And if we're gonna talk, you should come closer. You're like all the way across the room."

I sighed, and walked over to the bed and stood next to it.

"That's better," he said, smiling at me. Then he frowned when I didn't respond. "Sapph, what's wrong?"

I sighed again, and looked down at him. "I want to know the truth, Gold."

He blinked, confused. "The truth about what?"

"About you and Topaz," I snapped, glaring at him.

"Oh. That." He rubbed the back of his head. "We're just friends, Sapph. The past is in the past, okay? Even if we wanted it to, it'd never work out. We're too different now. Besides..." He paused, like he was debating saying the next thing or not. "I love you, Sapph."

Okay, I didn't see that one coming.

I just stared at him, my eyes wide with shock. I couldn't find my voice. His expression was serious. Did... did he really mean that? Did he really love me? Or was he just saying that to try to get me to trust him again?

"You don't believe me, do you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes, his tone becoming bitter. "Do you ever believe me?"

"I... I just didn't expect you to say that..." I said after I managed to find my voice. "I... believe you."

He still seemed skeptical, staying silent. His gaze flickered down to the book that rested on the bed next to him. "You have nothing to say, do you?"

I bit my bottom lip, knowing what he meant. He had said it, so he wanted me to, too. I did love him, but I just didn't feel ready to say it out loud. Saying so anyone could hear just frightened me. It made it even more real than it already was. I wasn't ready.

I wasn't ready for a lot of things that had already happened. But it was too late to take those things back. What was done was done, and nothing could change that.

So I just shook my head, and said, "No."

...

(Fiori's POV)

I was surprised that Am wanted me present when they updated Safaia, Magnus, and Ross on what had been going on. I supposed it was because I was a commander and I didn't know them, or maybe Grey just wanted me there. Either way, I didn't mind.

So here we were, sitting down at the table in the meeting room we had set up for the leaders of the Resistance. The atmosphere in the room was normally very serious, but the presence of old friends and food helped lighten up the mood.

"Soooo," Safaia said, leaning back in her chair, looking at all of us. "We're all snazzed up now, aren't we? Nice. Though I was wondering... where's Scarlet?"

I stiffened at the mentioning of her name. Grey grimaced a little from his spot next to me. Am didn't react, which was typical, and Topaz winced a little. We were the only other people in the room.

"Well..." Topaz began when it was obvious no one else was going to answer the question. "Scarlet died during the Mount Silver bombing. I'm sorry, Sapphire."

Safaia's eyes grew wide with shock, and her jaw dropped. She froze in place, not moving. Even Magnus and Ross looked surprised and bother. Safaia shut her mouth and just sat there, silent, taking in the news that her old friend was dead.

"Oh..." was her response. Her voice was dead and flat. "She's... dead."

Magnus reached out to place his hand on her shoulder. He didn't say anything, but just the gesture was comforting. Safaia stared at the table, not saying another word. I couldn't help but feel bad now. Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on Scarlet when she was alive...

"Well then," Ross said with a sigh. "Anyone else that we know that died besides her and Tibbs?"

"Not anyone close," Am said.

Ross nodded. "Well, that's a relief."

Am curtly nodded. "Yes. Grey, Topaz, and I have discussed what your roles as commanders will be."

"Magnus, you'll be working with Cyan and Crimson in the air force," Grey told him calmly. "Safaia, you'll be in the navy with Navy and Indigo. Ross, seeing as you have experience with arms, you'll be in the army with everyone else."

"All right!" Magnus exclaimed with a nod. "Sounds good to me. I look forward to working with them."

"Just be careful with Crim, okay?" Topaz told him with a Mareepish smile. "He gets angry pretty easy."

"More like a ticking time bomb," I put in.

"Ah, well, he's still a kid," Magnus said with a shrug. "He has a lot to learn."

That was very true. We all still had a lot to learn, even though most of us were legal adults.

"So... I'm in the navy?" Safaia asked, and Am nodded. "Well, that will be interesting."

Working with Navy would be interesting in itself. That guy was something else. But he was easy to get along with, and I considered him a friend. Any friend of Grey's was a friend of mine.

"And the army sounds great," Ross said. "I can help teach everyone how to really use those guns you've got."

Yeah, things were going to get better.

...

I opened the door to the kitchen, stepping inside. It was empty except for one person—Safaia, of all people. She was digging through the cupboards, probably looking for a snack. The reason I was going into there was to make sure we had all the ingredients for dinner.

"Hey Sapphire," I greeted her, and she turned to look at me, caught by surprise.

"Oh, hi, Fiori," she said, standing back down on her flat feet. "What're you here for?"

"Just to make sure we have everything for dinner," I said, walking towards the fridge.

It was easy to get along with Safaia, even though it was weird for me to call her by her nickname. And it was a little weird to know she was good friends with my brothers and my boyfriend, since they had worked together a lot in the Resistance before all this craziness happened. But it made me wonder if she knew something about them that I didn't.

"Oh, well, it's gonna be good, right?" she asked me as I shut the fridge's door.

"Of course," I said with an amused snort.

"Hey, wait... Can I talk to you about something?"

I paused, and turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "About what?" Was there something wrong?

She rubbed the back of her head, messing up her dark blue hair. "Well, you're dating Grey, right?"

"Yeah, why?" I asked, wondering what that had to do with anything.

"I just wanted to make sure," she said, pursing her lips. "But... Grey's a great guy and all, and he's my friend, but... He's had several girlfriends. Even back before he got all serious and stoic on us. I don't know what goes on in his head, but he hasn't exactly made the best choices."

I frowned, leaning up against the counter. "Like Scarlet?"

She grimaced at the mentioning of her deceased friend. "Not really. Scarlet was fine before they started going out. Am, Grey, Scarlet, and I were all friends and worked together a lot. Sometimes Gold and Sapph would join us. But Scarlet really wasn't that bad. She just... got possessive. And that eventually led up to why they broke up. But I'm talking about the girls before her."

I looked down at the floor. That was kinda... disheartening. But...

I looked back up at her. "I trust him. He's over that, now."

"All right then," she said with a shrug. "I think he is, too. I just wanted to let you know. Just in case something happens."

I gave her a thankful smile. "Well, thanks. I appreciate it."

OKAY NO TERRA BUT I WILL PUT THEIR FIRST MEETING INTO A FLASHBACK, OKAY?

Guys, Forevermore's one year anniversary is coming up in FIVE FREAKING DAYS. Man, I can't believe it's been a year. Anyways, I'm going to try to update on the anniversary, which is why this chapter is kinda short.

Oh, and Jet is indeed Synis's son and Jewel's twin brother. Also, Synis's world is Ransei, from Pokemon Conquest. Then what happened to the other regions? You'll have to wait and see. It will be covered. There's a whole chapter dedicated to Synis's past coming up!

And, man. These ships are killing me. Especially AmazonMoon. BUT IT WILL GET BETTER AT THE END OF THE PERMA ARC/BEGINNING OF CESSA.

Anyways.

The Cade Chapters begin next.

JOYOUS

SO GO AND REVIEW

*FIXED ALAN'S AGE CRAP I FORGOT HE'S NINETEEN NOW OOPS