FOREVERMORE

~Part Three Of The Forever Trilogy~

Chapter 49

All Is Fair In Love And War

June 16, 5001.

(Rubin's POV)

When I woke up the next morning, light was filtering through the curtains. I blinked tiredly, turning my head to look at the clock that rested on the nightstand next to the bed. I blinked again until I could read the red numbers—it was a little past ten thirty in the morning. I glanced over to my left to see Topaz laying on her side, facing me, wrapped up in the tangled sheets. She looked so beautiful in her peaceful slumber, her face finally relaxed from any worry or any concern she would have while awake.

I rubbed my eyes, and pushed myself up into a sitting position. I ran a hand through my tousled hair, and sighed. I was still drowsy, having stayed up really late last night and all. I would probably feel exhausted all day. I rubbed my chin, feeling the faint, yet rough stubble, trying to wake myself up. I looked back down at Topaz, my beautiful wife, who then mumbled in her sleep, and rolled onto her back, the sheets sliding down.

I flopped back down on my side, and pulled the sheets back up, covering her. But then she moved again, rolling back onto her side, and reaching out with her hand. Her fingers brushed up against my bare chest, and then she grabbed my arm to pull herself closer to me.

"Mmmm," she sighed, snuggling up against me.

I put my arms around her, resting my chin on top of her head. I brushed her hair out of the way of her face, tucking it behind her ear. She looked so delicate in my arms, just like last night. I was surprised that I hadn't hurt her.

Finally, her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at me. She smiled, brightening up her beautiful face, and I couldn't help but smile back. She pressed her cheek up against my chest, and entwined her legs with mine.

"Morning, Rubin," she said softly, still snuggling.

"Good morning, love," I said, before brushing her bangs out of the way to kiss her forehead.

"I don't want to get up," she confessed, looking up at me.

"Me either," I replied.

"I don't want this to end," she sighed, her eyes flickering down. "Because we have to go back to just dating and waiting for the war to end to get married... And, well... I like this..."

I pursed my lips, knowing exactly what she was talking about. We would have to put up a front, and go back to our separate rooms. Sure, we could try to sneak around, but that could only last so long before one of us was caught. I would prefer not to have murder attempted on me again.

"Well," I said, and she looked back up at me. "We still have time."

She looked back down, and then pressed her hand up against my chest. When she looked back up at me, there was a hopeful look in her orange eyes.

"One more time?" she whispered.

That wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but how could I say no to that face?

...

We had to practically drag ourselves out of bed to get ready for the day once we were done. We took a shower together—again, not my idea, but she literally dragged me in with her—and then we got dressed. She almost wouldn't let me shave because she liked to run her thumb over my stubble. I promised her a big breakfast—though technically it was brunch now with the time—and for that reason only did I get her to leave the room.

When we entered the kitchen, we saw that we weren't alone. Gold was there, sitting at the table, just with a cup of coffee. I was surprised that he was alone, though. I wondered what Sapph was up to? He looked up at us, slightly surprised.

"Well well well, somebody's up late," he greeted us, smirking a little.

I snorted, and walked over to the oven to get cooking. Topaz walked up to the table and sat down across from Gold. I pulled out a pan, and then walked over to the refrigerator.

"The party lasted a long time," I heard Topaz say.

"Pshaw, it did not," said Gold. "Still, both of you are early risers, not lazy like me and sleep in til one in the morning."

"Glad we could clarify that," I said as I began to line bacon in the frying pan.

Topaz laughed, and I could imagine that Gold was rolling his eyes at me.

"So," Gold continued, "there has to be a logical explanation for why you both got up late."

"And what would that be?" Topaz asked, sounding slightly amused, as I began to crack eggs into a bowl for scrambled eggs.

"Oh, I don't know," he said. "Maybe... Maybe... you... had sex!"

The egg slipped out of my hand, and it smashed to bits right on my shoe.

"Oh shit!" I yelled.

"Aha! So I'm right!" he exclaimed triumphantly and I turned around to see that he had leaped out of his seat.

"...No, as in 'oh shit I dropped a egg on my shoe'," I deadpanned.

Topaz, on the other hand, had frozen up a bit, but then she relaxed. "You're ridiculous, Gold," she sighed.

"Then why are you so happy and calm?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why can't we just be that way? Does there have to be a reason for everything?" she asked as she pushed back her chair, and stood up. "Here, I'll clean your shoe, Rubin."

Gold gave us a weird look as my wife got some paper towels, and then walked over to me. She winced as she crouched down to wipe off the mess on my shoe. Once that was done, I crouched down with her to help her clean the rest of the mess on the floor.

"You okay?" I asked her quietly. "Why the wince?"

"Oh, it's nothing... I'm just a little sore, that's all," she replied, keeping her voice down as well.

Dear Arceus, so I did hurt her then. Crap. Had I been too rough? Man, I felt bad now. This was all my fault. Now she would be in pain for a few days because of me.

"It's fine, Rubin," she added softly. "Don't worry about me."

"What are you two whispering about?" Gold demanded. "Making more plans, huh? I still don't believe you."

"Shut up, Gold," I snapped, looking up at him, glaring. "Believe whatever you want, then. I don't care."

I took Topaz's hand and helped her stand. She walked back over to the table, and sat back down, as did Gold. I returned my attention to the food, relieved to see that the bacon hadn't burned at all during my distraction. Once the food was done, I joined them, and ended up giving some to Gold as well since he asked—politely, too. It was mainly the two of them that kept on the conversation. I was vaguely listening, deep in thought.

And I couldn't help but think about something a bit morbid...

What would happen... if I died? If something happened to me, what would Topaz do? She had Crimson to take care of her, but he would have to return to the past eventually, and I doubted she'd want to go back, too. Who would she have then? Cerise wasn't emotionally strong enough to handle a lot of things.

I was suddenly overcome with the urge to make sure Topaz was taken care of if something awful befell me. Something told me she wouldn't be able to handle it. I had noticed lately that she had come... attached, clingy, and maybe a little dependent towards me. I think it was her old personality from when she was a child. She had been that way back when we were held captive by Synis.

But... who could I trust to take care of her? I had no worries about Sapph. She would be able to get herself together eventually, and I already knew she had Gold. Hm...

"Gold," I said, and he looked over at me. "Can I talk to you? In private?"

He blinked, surprised. "Sure, man," he answered slowly.

Topaz turned to look at me, confused, but I gave her a reassuring smile. She would freak if she knew what I was thinking about. I pushed back my chair and stood up, and then led Gold out of the kitchen to where we were out of earshot.

"What's up?" Gold asked, giving me a concerned look.

I stuffed my hands into my pockets. "Gold, I need you to promise me something."

"Okay," he said slowly, becoming even more confused.

"Topaz needs someone to take care of her... if something happens to me. She trusts you, loves you even, as a friend." I paused, steadying myself. "I need you to promise me you'll take care of her."

He was silent for a moment, his expression becoming serious. "...You think you're going to die soon or something?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just want to make sure she has someone. I know you'd take care of Sapph, so why not Topaz, too? It's just that... Topaz gets attached to people. You remember that, don't you? How she was back then? And it's coming back."

He pursed his lips, and then looked down at me, straight in the eye. "You can count on me, Rubin. I swear to Arceus I'll take care of her, and Sapph, too, until the day I die myself."

"Thank you," I said, a appreciative smile forming on my lips. "It means a lot to me."

He waved me off. "No sweat, bro. We're all gonna be in one big family one day, and family's stick together!"

"Thanks," I said again. "Really."

"It's nothing," he insisted. "Now c'mon, the food's getting cold!"

...

(Topaz's POV)

While I was waiting for Rubin and Gold to get back from whatever they were talking about, a messenger came to give me a letter. I was opening it up when they returned.

"Hey, what's that?" Goldy asked as they walked up to the table.

"A letter addressed to me," I told him, pulling out a folded piece of stationary. "It's handwritten in cursive. Uh... I can't read it."

"Let me see," Rubin said, and I turned to hand it to him.

It took him a couple minutes to read it. Then he read it outloud to us.

"Dear General Rosso and Commander Senri, I have Intel on the Government that may help your cause against it. But they are after me and I'm too frightened to contact you directly. So please, come meet me at the Mount Silver ruins at three pm. Don't bring anyone else but yourselves. Too many people may draw attention. I look forward to meeting you and telling you the Intel." He paused. "It's not signed."

"Sounds fishy to me," Gold said, rubbing his chin. "Addressed to Topaz but including Rubin in the dear? Why?"

"We still have to check it out," I said. "Whether it sounds like a trap or not."

"Yeah," Rubin agreed, nodding. "And there's two of us. If it's one of the admins, we'll be fine."

"But what if it's not?" Gold asked.

"Who else would there be?" I scoffed. "Synis? He never does anything himself. I doubt he'd change that now."

Gold sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Just be careful, okay?"

"We always are," Rubin said.

...

We geared up before we left. I put all my Poke Balls on my belt, and quickly organized my bag. Even though it was painful for me to move, I had to keep on going to do my job. Then we headed out, beginning the relatively long flight to Johto. We weren't that close to the border, but Hoenn went by surprisingly fast. We landed outside the territory, and walked in.

"It's awfully quiet," Rubin noted as we walked, hands entwined.

"That's weird," I said, looking around.

"Mmhmm."

The area around Mount Silver was ravaged. There were shell holes galore, and chunks of the mountain laying on the ground here and there. The silence was eerie, sending chills up my spine. Something was very wrong. I could feel it.

We stopped in front of the caved in entrance to the massive mountain. There wasn't a single soul in sight. I was getting a little worried. This was too weird.

"We should wait a while," I said, even though this was unnerving me a little.

He nodded. "And while we're waiting..."

He pulled me close, and kissed me. I found myself giggling again. I pressed my lips to his, trying to fight the joyful laughter. But our moment did not last.

A deep growl startled us, and we pulled apart, whipping around. I gasped, totally caught by surprise. The person who stood right there could not be there. No, this wasn't happening! Why now of all times?

It was the president, Synis, with a shiny Nidoking and a shiny Houndoom.

"Welcome," he said, his voice like ice. "Topaz... Rubin..."

He looked like he hadn't aged at all, except for the whiteness of his hair. He wasn't quite a teenager, probably in his early twenties, frozen in time. Except for his straight, smooth white hair. His dark eyes were hard and cold, void of the friendliness I had seen in the future. He was dressed casually, which was a change from what I was used to seeing him in.

"Synis," Rubin said darkly, his grip on my hand tightening. "What do you want from us?"

He took a step forward, closer to us, and we tensed. I tried to remind myself of Obsidian, that maybe there was some hope still left for him, that he wasn't too far gone. He stopped, his Nidoking and Houndoom on each side, and narrowed his eyes.

"There is nothing I want from you, boy," he said coldly. "Not yet, anyways. I am here for Topaz."

I stiffened, the bracelet on my wrist from Topaz Bosco becoming heavy. Then why did he ask for Rubin to come here, too? I tried to stay calm. Nobody was in danger yet. Maybe he just wanted to talk?

"What?" I asked.

"I have a proposition," he said. "A deal, if you will."

"Go on," I said warily.

He looked straight into my eyes, making me tighten my grip on Rubin's hand. What the hell did he want? This was really freaking me out.

"Join me," he said. "Join me, Topaz, and I will leave your friends alone. Join me, and I will eradicate the anti-Pokemon laws. I will end it all, just for you. Join me, and I can make you immortal. We can rule together."

...What?

I just stared at him, stunned speechless. I didn't know what to say. I didn't see this coming. I didn't get it. Why did he want me? What happened to Topaz Bosco? Was it because I looked like her? I was so confused. I looked over at Rubin beside me, and he looked livid. He was silently smoldering, just waiting to be pushed.

I looked back up at Synis. "Why?" I asked him.

"You are mine," he said.

Okay, last time I checked, I was not Topaz Bosco. If I belonged to anyone, it was Rubin, and only because we were married. What was this? Synis had lost his mind. He had to be delusional, unless he was just acting like this to get me to join him. I had no idea how. But if he went crazy, how did that happen? I opened my mouth to say something, but I was interrupted.

"She is not yours," Rubin growled, a fierce scowl on his face. "She's my wife."

Oh, crap, that was probably not the best thing to say-

"What?" Synis said darkly, narrowing his eyes. "What did you say?"

"You heard me," Rubin snapped. "Topaz is my wife. We're married. You can't have her."

Then the weirdest thing happened.

Synis's whole demeanor changed. It was like he turned into a totally different person. Before, he seemed to have been closer to his younger self, but now he was back to being the Synis I knew and hated, the Masked Man that had started this all. He was cold now, and suddenly I felt nervous. Something was going to happen now.

"I see," he said, his voice returning to the once I remember, the Masked Man's, cold as ice and void of any emotion. "In that case... You both will die."

All of a sudden, Pokemon exploded from the Poke Balls on his belt—an Aggron, Spiritomb, Hydreigon, and Scolipede—and they joined the Nidoking and Houndoom. To much of my shock, they were all shiny, which meant if they were from the future they were way stronger than our own Pokemon, and we were majorly screwed. Rubin and I stumbled back, releasing our hands from each others' grip. But then Raiden burst out of his Poke Ball with a battle cry, snapping us out of our daze.

I grabbed all of my other Poke Balls, and released my team as fast as I could. Rubin did the same. There was no way we could order all of our Pokemon at once, so we quickly told them to fight on their own if we didn't give them a command. Then Rubin grabbed my hand and pulled me back away from the fray.

I could see right away that Synis's Pokemon were stronger than normal, even if their levels were maxed out. They were violent, knowing no boundaries, drawing blood. It was overwhelming. I had no idea how we could win this. He was just too strong.

"Neptune! Ice Fang on the Hydreigon!" I shouted to the Gyarados.

The massive Pokemon lunged towards the dark dragon, but it was too fast, and nimbly got out of the way. Rubin shouted to Serenity to try to distract it so Neptune could land a hit. Beauty was struggling getting away from the Spiritomb, so she was of no help.

"Nidoking! Earthquake!" I thought I heard Synis command.

I looked around for the blue Pokemon, but then, suddenly, the ground began to shake. Raiden leaped into the air, and Zeus swooped down to catch him in his claws. I saw Apollo go down, as did Joy and Valor. I was nearly thrown off my feet, but Demeter caught me with her vines.

If we didn't stop that Nidoking, we would die. I could tell that much.

I quickly took out Apollo's Ultra Ball and returned him before any more damage could be done. Demeter set me down, and I looked around for my Aerodactyl and Pikachu.

"Raiden!" I shouted when I spotted them.

Zeus tucked in his wings, and dove down towards the blue Nidoking, who was being distracted by Eris, who had his weakness. He pulled up at the last minute, and released the orange Pikachu from his claws. Raiden spun in the air, brandishing a Iron Tail. The Nidoking roared in pain as the Pikachu's steel coated tail slammed into the top of his skull. It thrashed violently, hitting Eris with his tail and sending her flying. Raiden was thrown, and the Nidoking slashed at him with its horn.

Blood exploded from Raiden's left eye.

"Demeter! Grab him!" I yelled frantically, horrified.

Vines shot out of the Venusaur's back, and wrapped around the falling Pikachu's torso. Right as Demeter began to pull him in, the ground shook as both Neptune and Beauty fell. This was going really badly. We were now down to Raiden—once I healed him—and Lady, Demeter and Sir, and Zeus and Serenity. Eris was weak, so I returned her along with Neptune.

Demeter gently placed Raiden into my arms. I turned him over carefully, and looked at his eye. A long red gash went down across his eye, like Scar in The Luxray King. His eye was totally ruined, and he was bleeding badly.

Without thinking, I placed my hand on Raiden's head. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I proceeded to heal him. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the injury had vanished. Even his eye was repaired, though he now had a ugly scar pointing out from above and below his eye, also like Scar in The Luxray King. I slumped against Demeter as a wave of fatigue hit me. Raiden blinked, and looked back up at me.

I had no idea how we could do this. It now was not only painful for me to move, but now I was exhausted and I would probably pass out soon.

"Topaz!" I heard Rubin shout, and I looked over wearily to see him standing several yards away, with Sir, across from me. "Call for help!"

I nodded as the Hydreigon took out Zeus and Serenity. I wearily took out my Pokegear as Raiden leaped back out into the fray. I didn't bother looking at the name I chose. I was too tired, fading.

"Hello?" Crimson's voice sounded in my ear.

"Crim, it's me," I said with great effort. "Look... I need you to come to Mount Silver right now-"

A agonized howl sounded, blasting in my eyes. I looked up, turning towards where the sound had come from. That was most definitely Lady.

The Pokegear slipped from my hand.

No.

No no no no.

There stood the Nidoking, his horn jutting out of Rubin's stomach, lifting him up off the ground. Rubin's face was contorted in pain and shock. I was frozen. I couldn't move nor breathe. Oh my Arceus, no, this couldn't be happening, I had to be imagining things!

The Nidoking lowered its head, and Rubin slid off, crumbling to the ground.

"RUBIN!" I screamed, snapping out of my daze.

I broke into a run, totally forgetting my exhaustion and pain, bolting to his side. I dropped down to my knees, and rolled him onto his back as gently as I could in my freaked out state. He groaned, his face twisted in agony.

"Rubin!" I cried again.

"Topaz," he choked, before coughing, spitting out blood.

I looked down to see the bloody mess that was his stomach. His torn shirt was already soaked in the crimson fluid. It was already oozing down onto the ground, soaking into the earth. It was... terrible.

"Oh Rubin," I choked out, tears filling my eyes. "Rubin, Rubin, Rubin..."

I took his bloody hand into mind, and wiped his bangs out of his eyes. The tears were streaming down my face. I was struggling to stay calm, to keep a grip on myself. Because I knew it was too late. He was dying. Not even my Viridian powers could save him.

My Rubin was dying.

I looked back up, my eyesight blurred by my tears. "Why?" I screamed at the murderer standing next to his Nidoking several yards away. "Why, you bastard?"

Synis looked down at me calmly. "He was in the way."

"I... I will never join you!" I screamed. "Never! Not even in hell, you bastard!"

Synis narrowed his eyes. "You have no choice. You will come with me whether you like it or not." He paused, turning. "I will give you time to say goodbye."

He turned fully around, and then started walking away. His Nidoking gave us one last look, blood dripping from his horn, and then turned around, and followed his trainer. The other Pokemon followed suit soon afterwards.

I looked back down at Rubin, who was somehow still alive. He was much paler, and the blood had begun to ooze out of his mouth. He gave me a pained smile, his lips and teeth tainted with his blood. It was more gruesome than reassuring.

"Rubin," I choked again, starting to lose the battle I was fighting inside myself. "I love you so much."

He closed his mouth, but kept the smile on. "I... I love you... too..." he managed to get out.

"You... you can't leave me!" I cried, finally losing it, breaking down, burying my face into his chest.

"Topaz..." I looked up, still clinging to him. "You have to... You have to... stay strong. Everyone needs you... They don't... need more."

"No," I cried, shaking my head. "I need you!"

His blue eyes were full of pain and sorrow, and I could tell he was fading, barely hanging out, but he was forcing himself to, so he could talk to me.

"You have to... see this through," he told me, his voice growing faint.

"Please... don't go," I whispered, even though I knew it was impossible. "Don't leave me, Rubin..."

He lifted his hand to brush my bangs out of my eyes, smearing me with his blood, but I didn't care. I then acted without thinking, leaning forward to press my lips to his, kissing him one last time. I did not care that his mouth was bloody, or not I was getting covered in his blood as well. I put everything into that kiss, as desperate as it was. And he kissed me back as best as he could, with what little strength he had back. I pulled back, pressing my forehead to his, not wanting to let go.

"I... love you," he breathed, telling me that one last time.

And then he stopped moving, stopped breathing, stopped everything. He was gone. The light in his eyes faded, becoming a dull shade of sapphire blue, and he was gone. He died. He was dead. Gone forever.

Lady let out a fierce howl as I just stayed where I was, frozen in place, a numb feeling overtaking me. Then I forced myself to sit up, moving off of him. I just sat there, tears streaming down my cheeks, as the reality hit me.

Rubin was dead.

I

could

not

think

straight.

I reached out shakily to close his eyes.

Rubin.

My husband.

Dead.

Taken from me...

...by Obsidian Synis.

Forever.

I couldn't breathe.

I started flipping out.

Sobbing, clinging to his body, begging him to come back.

But he was gone. Gone forever. Never coming back.

Raiden scampered up to me, and tried to comfort me. Demeter did, too.

But my husband, the love of my life, was dead. How could I be calm?

Eventually I cried myself to sleep, exhausted from everything that had happened today. I passed out on top of his body, fading from the terrible new reality of the world I now had to live in.

Man.

So...

Synis murdered Rubin. Yes, I've had this planned for a loooooong time. Now you're probably wondering how Evermore can even happen, and all I have to say, THIS IS THE WORLD OF POKEMON. A lot of things have happened in PokeSpe that wouldn't happen without Pokemon. And yes, the way out of this has happened in PokeSpe before.

Now, Rubin is only the first to die. This is the climax of Forevermore, and this sets the tone for the Cessa Arc. More characters will die. This is war, and nobody can get through war without someone dying.

Everything is going to change after this chapter, obviously.

So... Kummern has permanently sunk... for the time being.

Now I want to know what you think about Synis, so you can either say it in your reviews or go to my ask on my tumblr there.

OKAY ENOUGH RAMBLING GO AND REVIEW