Trapped in the Darkness – Chapter 22

A Pokemon Fanfiction

Summer is upon us and I can finally crank out some more chapters! We're in the final stretch and its coming upon the grand finale! Enjoy the next chapter guys~

Pearl: The author owns nothing but the plot for this fic!

~000~

Green sighed deeply as he looked up at the hole in the ceiling, closing his eyes as the raindrops fell gently on his raw skin. It felt nice to take it slow for a few moments, catching his breath and enjoying the coolness of the precipitation that continued. The sounds of battle were faint here, but they still continued on while lightning and thunder battled in the darkening sky.

Green's heart thudded irregularly in his chest and boy became concerned as he finally noticed it. He looked down at his dark grey jacket, placing a hand over his heart as he tilted his head.

"That's no good," he said quietly, chewing the inside of his cheek. He looked back up at the sky as his Eevee began pawing at his fingers. Green scratched its cheeks, but he was distant.

Red's Pikachu had taken a seat on his owner's lap after he had retrieved Red's hat. It watched the rest of the group from the corner Red and Green sat at, its tail flicking interestedly.

Green chucked darkly, clutching the place where his heart was. "You know what, Red? This is all your fault."

There was no response from the unconscious raven beside him, but then again, Green didn't expect one to his statement.

"Hah, to be honest, I didn't really care what happened to everyone else in that cell in the beginning," Green continued quietly, making sure his voice didn't alert the others. "Really I was just worried that I kept myself alive. And. . . you I guess."

The Pikachu turned to face the auburn haired Oak, its head tilted to the side. Green noticed and cracked a smile, petting the electric mouse gently.

Red mumbled something in his sleep and Green turned his head to look at his rival curiously. "I wonder why you're so important to me," Green muttered. He trailed off, his eyes unfocused before they cleared in a split second. Realization dawned his face.

"Oh."

He was silent for a second and looked back at Red, his face irritated. "No, that couldn't be it." Green threw his hands in the air. "I hated you for a while after you beat me. You were – no – are better than me and I can't stand that!"

Green looked down at his shoes and he covered his face with his hands. "That can't be why I keep trying to save your ass," he muttered quietly.

"Green!"

The Viridian leader looked back at the group to see who called his name. White waved at him energetically. "We're ready to go!"

Green shot her a distracted thumbs up, but stood up even when his chest roared in pain. He clutched at his chest for a slight second before he moved in front of Red.

"Come on sleepy head," he said at the raven. "I'll carry you but I need your help to get you on my back." Red groaned in his sleep, but reached out for help up. Taking care to mind Red's previously dislocated shoulder, Green pulled his rival to his feet.

"Forget it," Red mumbled, rubbing his eyes childishly. "I'm 'lright."

Green tilted his head. "You sure?"

Red nodded sleepily, reaching for his hat his Pikachu had retrieved and placing it on his head. He pulled the brim of his hat down low on his face so it hid his eyes.

Green was only dimly aware of his Eevee on his shoulder until she whipped her tail into his face to alert him of the rest of the trainers in the hallway. He quickly turned back to the rest of the group, his face flushed.

"So, uh," Green cleared his throat. "What's the damage report?"

Diamond seemed to take control of the situation. "We got out of that with a lot of luck. A few of us only have burns or bruises. Gold has a concussion and Sapphire broke her ankle though, so we have to help them out. Are you two alright?"

"We're fine," Red answered before Green could open his mouth. "I dislocated my shoulder but I put it back in."

Diamond was stunned into silence before he fought for the right words. "W-Well we're going to have to look at it once we leave here so it heals properly."

Red nodded, but didn't say anything else so Green took over again. "I have a feeling they're going to be waiting for us at the end of the hallway," he said.

"What if they try to battle us?" Platinum said, gripping the strap to her bag tightly. "None of us are prepared to battle anyone, even if its just a grunt."

Pearl opened his mouth to object to the statement, but then shut it just as quickly when he realized she was right. His pumpkin eyes dimmed in thought while a silence fell over the group.

"We won't battle them then," Black stated firmly.

White laughed hollowly, unamused. "Yeah, we'll do just that. And then we'll never get out of here. Great plan, Black. Perfect execution." She folded her arms across her chest and glared at the shorter boy as she waited for a response.

Black scowled irritably, rolling his eyes. "Thank you for telling me something I already knew, White. I was trying to say how there's got to be a way to get out of here without encountering the bosses."

"No," N interjected. Black paused, mocha eyes flickering to the green-haired man. N shrunk in stature momentarily before holding his head higher. "We should see them. Father and everyone that is."

"Are you stupid?" Silver hissed. "We're not going to see them and that's final."

"Who said you were deciding where we're going to go?" Sapphire shouted.

"Definitely not me!"

"Thanks for siding with me, Gold. You're a great friend."

"That's not cool, dude! You can't just tell people what to do."

"I still think we should just try to run for it."

"No! We should give those jerks a piece of our minds!"

"Can we please just leave?"

"You're all cowards!"

Green tightened the grip where his heart was as he listened to the bickering teenagers in front of him. He was unsure what to add to the argument, if he should do something to make it stop. All he knew was Red was beginning to drift off on his arm next to him again and his chest was tightening uncomfortably and he still didn't know where his Pidgeot was and his head was pounding and he just wanted the noise to stop. . . .

"Stop it!"

The lot was silenced, their attention turning to the one who had made the statement in surprise. She had her head down, her fists clenched in a mix of emotions.

"I can't believe you guys," Platinum said, her voice dropping down low. "I thought you wanted to get out of here! Not argue amongst yourselves like a bunch of children!"

"We are children, Platinum," Black said quietly. She turned to face him.

"But I thought you were the Pokemon Champion of Unova!" she said. She looked like she was ready to burst into tears. "I thought you wanted to get out of here to go back to your region!"

Black flinched before he looked at his feet. "No. . . I'm not going to be the Champion when I get back." White and N looked stunned, others blinking in surprise.

"Why not?"

Black's eyes widened and he shivered, wrapping his arms around his frame tightly. "Because I'm afraid. They. . . they've made me terrified. I'm scared and I can't handle my position anymore. That's why I need to get out. I just want to go see Cheren and Bianca and just go home."

N put a hand on Black's shoulder. "That's why we need to see them," he said gently. "We need to make sure they don't come back to try anything else again."

Green wanted to stay listening, but his attention faded out from the trainers in front of him as his head and heart thudded painfully, almost in unison. His legs felt like jelly and the world began spinning. He tried staying upright but his knees began shaking and suddenly the ground was closer to him then it was before.

"Green!"

Red was next to him, his voice urgent in Green's ear as the world began to clear in his mind. He couldn't move and his breaths came out in short gasps, Red's usually calm and soothing voice seemed to be screaming at him and his head was screaming back in protest.

Red's hands were suddenly on his shoulders, Red in front of him with wide crimson eyes. Green struggled to focus on him, but the more he tried to focus the more his head ached.

Diamond quickly sat next to him, checking his pulse and seeming to check other things like he was completing a checklist in his head. He furrowed his brows almost to the point Green thought for a moment they were going to meet at the middle.

"What's wrong with him?" Red snapped, tightening his grip on Green's shoulders. Diamond recoiled momentarily, not expecting the force behind Red's question before he answered.

"Green's severely dehydrated," he said, clearing his throat. "But that doesn't explain what happened just now."

"Than what – " Green interjected shakily between breaths, " – the fuck happened to me just then? Usually bodies don't just give out."

"You had an anxiety attack."

Green froze. "An... anxiety?" Diamond nodded, pausing again to pull a bottle of water out of his backpack to hand it to Green.

"Drink up," Diamond murmured. "You'll feel better if you do."

Green didn't take it.

"Why . . . why did I just have an anxiety attack?" Green nearly shouted, feeling panic build up in his chest again. Red's grip tightened again before his hands moved to cup Green's face and make him look forwards at him. Warmth spread underneath his fingers and he retracted his hands to put them back on his friend's shoulders.

"Calm down," he said quietly. "Panic attacks aren't bad."

"I felt like I was going to die!"

Red flinched subtly but shook his head. "You're going to have another one if you don't calm down, moron. You aren't going to die."

Diamond decided this would be the best time to jump in the conversation and explain. "You've suffered through a lot of traumatic events in here. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't have a breakdown sometime or another. All it took was a trigger."

"A trigger," Green repeated. Diamond nodded. Green looked down and he tried getting his pulse to even out. What was the trigger then? The explosion? The argument?

The presence of his rival in front of and touching him was clouding his senses. He shook his head and tried standing up.

Red helped his rival up carefully, wincing when he strained his bad shoulder. Green took the bottle of water when it was offered again, taking a long swig before handing it back again. When Diamond looked confused and tried handing it back, Green shook his head.

"We're getting out of here soon enough," he said. "But first we're seeing them."

There was a soft chatter among the rest of the group, Silver and Black looking displeased with the decision. "Why is that?" Silver asked, his voice irritated.

"To show them that they haven't broken us. The exit is right up ahead, anyway, and you know they it'll be then behind the door."

Silver muttered something under his breath, but didn't push the subject any further. "Fine."

"Let's get moving then."

The group gathered their things, beginning to move down the hall cautiously again before they began talking again.

"Hey, Red."

Red turned to look at his rival curiously.

"I, uh, may have to tell you something when we get out of here."

Red pursed his lips. "Why can't you tell me now?"

Green laughed nervously, looking away. "I may have a panic attack again."

Red's eyes widened and he was about to respond to the question again before Sapphire yelled in triumph as she hobbled between Ruby and Platinum. "I see the door!"

The group quickly crossed the final few yards to the door, emotions running high.

"We meet up for the last time," Gold whispered finally before pushing the door open.

And light streamed in from the doorway.

~000~