Trapped the the Darkness - Chapter 27

A Pokemon Fanfiction

Goodness gracious, IT'S BEEN THREE WHOLE YEARS SINCE I'VE STARTED WRITING THIS! I would have never thought that it gathered such a following, and I have all of you to thank. I literally would not be anywhere without all of you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support! This last chapter is all for you!

White: As an added note, the swearing gets a little harsh in this chapter, sorry!

Pearl: For the final time, the author owns nothing!

~000~

When Red and Green actually had left the building, Red heard his friend swear behind him before grabbing him by his good arm and dragging him against the eastern side of the building. He was about to ask what was wrong before Green slapped his hand over his mouth, shushing him. Red stopped and heard Professor Oak's voice get louder as he rushed into the building.

"Gramps will drag me back if he know's I'm with you," he hissed almost silently.

When Green was sure he was gone he grabbed Red by his hand and started running across town where the others had disappeared into the undergrowth.

It was a bit tough to run, as the rain from the night before had made the ground muddier than usual. Even if it did slow him down, Green didn't seem to show it as he wove in and out of the shadows of the trees.

"You could have brought the IV with you," Red suggested, dodging tree branches as he was lead on by his friend. Green didn't look back and shrugged offhandedly.

"I guess. It wouldn't have been any easier to get through here though," Green replied. Green's careless response hit a nerve inside Red, and he narrowed his eyes and considered stopping them both. He was about to when the faint sounds of a struggle got louder. He sighed under his breath and continued to run.

The two of them crashed into a clearing to find Black pinned to the ground, White on top of him as she held his arm behind his back. Cussing wholeheartedly, Black was still struggling against her hold. Platinum and Pearl were there too, but the six of them were the only ones in the clearing. Red slightly wondered why no one else showed up until Gold burst out from the trees beside them, landing face-first onto the ground.

Green hissed in mock-pain and Pearl winced visibly. Gold just sat up, wiping mud off of his face as he spat out blood. It seemed that he had bitten his cheek in his landing, but it didn't mess with his mission. He screwed his lips into a disapproving scowl and stood, marching over to where Black was before he dug his heels into the ground.

"Do you have a death wish, moron?" Gold said, his voice clipped. Black stopped his struggling and glared up at the raven haired boy.

"Why the fuck would you say something like that?" Black growled. Gold sighed, looking up at the sky before sitting cross-legged in front of the Unova boy.

"You've been acting like an asshole ever since N left. It's like its the end of the world to you!" Black stiffened at the mention of his deceased friend, gritting his teeth, but Gold didn't pay any attention to him. "Look. You're alive, aren't you?"

"It's not the same thing, and he's not dead! He's alive - I'm telling you!" Black fought against White's hold again, but she just pressed his arm harder onto the small of his back so he couldn't move. Black grunted in pain but he didn't stop squirming. "That was Reshiram's cry. I could tell from a mile away, I swear to Arceus."

"What if it was a trick?" Gold pressed. "Giovanni and that guy in the robe are still out there. They're still after us!"

Black jerked his head up, burning anger clear in his eyes. "It's not a trick!"

Gold's amber eyes narrowed, a frightening look passing over his face. "You don't know that. You could be leading them right to us. How do we know that?"

Disbelief crossed Black's face. "Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not a traitor!"

Red felt like Gold was taking it too far with accusing Black of treachery, but he couldn't help but agree that going to see what the noise was was too risky. It was much too far away to have been heard clearly, and it could have been anything. He exchanged a look with Green, who also seemed content with Gold's logic.

Platinum placed a gentle hand on Black's shoulder, who recoiled at first until he recognized the foreign touch. "Calm down, both of you. You need to think this through before you go any further." Her voice was almost soothing, and Black calmed a bit.

"I know he's alive," Black murmured. "There's a part of me that just knows."

"Which part? Your di- ow!" Gold was silenced with a well-earned punch from Pearl before he could finish his crude comment. Black glared at the Johto Champion, but didn't answer his question. White took this opportunity to talk him out of it.

"I don't care whether you think he's gone or not," White snapped. "You're not going."

"White, why don't you listen to me?!"

"Because your ideas are stupid! They're impulsive and selfish, and sometimes I wonder if you would even be Champion of it wasn't for Cheren's help!"

Red didn't know who this Cheren person was, but it caused a reaction in Black.

Black put his head down on the ground, yelling in frustration. "My ideas work, Cheren didn't help me at all, and N isn't dead! Give me a chance!"

"No!"

Black gave one last fight before he just gave up, going limp as his face fell down onto some soggy leaves. His shoulders were shaking.

Gold's lips were pressed in a hard line as he stood. White was skeptical, but she let go and got off of Black. He didn't move, his quiet sobbing his only response.

"Black," Platinum said quietly, her hand reaching for his empty hand before holding it gently. He didn't let go.

Everyone fell silent. It wasn't until then that Red realized that he was still gripping tightly onto Green's hand. Green didn't seem to notice, as he was looking down at the ground. Red decided not to say anything and looked back to the Unova Champion.

White bit her lip and crouched down next to her friend, running a hand through his shaggy hair in a comforting gesture. "Come on, Black. Let's just go home, okay?" Black nodded weakly, but made no move to get up.

He may have actually followed White home if it wasn't for the second cry that shredded though the silence of the clearing. Time seemed suspended in that single second, because everyone recognized the cry. Black was right.

It had been a Reshiram.

Black scrambled to his feet and darted off again in the direction of the cry. White shrieked a breathless "Wait!" before she took off after him.

"Come on!" Green cried, tugging on Red's good arm as he started off after them.

It wasn't long before they hit the edge of the forest and reached the way towards the ocean. It wasn't immediately a beach: there was a steep hill that stretched down a few yards before leveling off into a small slice of the shore.

Red knew this area well. He came here with Green a lot when they were kids. He knew if you looked out across the sea, you could see the faint beginnings of the Johto region.

He looked down to see Black sliding down the steep hill. When he briefly wondered where Black was going, his eyes traveled down to see the large Reshiram lying on the beach, exhausted. It was a bit hard to see, but there was a bit of green that could be seen from the top of the hill.

"For fuck's sake," Gold whispered, brushing his bangs out of his face. "He was right."

White was still silent as she gasped for breath on top of the hill. "We have to get down there!" she snapped finally, looking back at Green and Red. "How?"

Green decided to lead the way. There was an outcropping of some rocks near the hill, and someone could easily get to the beach that way without having to roll down the hill.

When they finally scrambled down the rocks, the group was met with a familiar sight.

N was alive.

The said boy slid off Reshiram's back weakly, falling to the ground. He coughed once before Black swooped down and embraced him.

"I'm sorry, Black," N whimpered. "I shouldn't have gone."

"Shut up," Black mumbled against his friend's collarbone. "You're here now, so shut up."

"I guess I still don't understand humans enough yet." N let out a strained laugh, wincing in pain. He was covered in burns, some even overtop of his other burns he received in the jail cell. The irritated skin was an angry pink that contrasted against his normal pale tone.

"You should understand by now that flying off without me isn't how you fix things," Black muttered. "I love you."

Whatever unmarked skin on N's face flushed scarlet and he returned the embrace and started to cry into Black's shoulder, whispering apologies.

White knelt down beside her two friends, holding each of their hands. N looked back up at her through teary eyes and she smiled weakly. "Let's just go home."

Red felt Green wobble beside him and he knew his friend's time away from his recovery was about up.

"Come on, N," Platinum said. "We can patch you up back at the lab, alright?" N nodded, and Black finally pulled away to help his friend up. It was obvious that he was avoiding the burns all over his friend's body when he kept his view on N's face.

It took N a couple seconds to get off of the ground, and he was still standing shakily when he got on his feet. It wasn't until he was standing that the group got a view of how badly he was actually injured. His hair would have normally gone down to the middle of his back, but the ends were blackened and falling out, so it stopped just below his shoulders. Black murmured something about a haircut. There was a good third of his face that was scarlet, but most of the bad burns ran down his arms and rippled across his back. What was left of his shirt was beyond salvaging.

Reshiram rumbled behind the group when N winced visibly, but the pistachio-haired boy shook his head and waved him down.

"No, no, it's alright, friend," he breathed softly. "I'm alright. You just relax."

"Let's go back," Pearl offered.

Everyone agreed and began help N back to the houses. It was going to be a difficult trip, but maybe the others would meet back halfway.

Red and Green strayed behind the group to look out at their old meetingplace. It was starting to warm up, but it still wasn't going to get very warm today.

The Viridian leader leaned into Red, letting out sigh. "I'm tired."

"You shouldn't have left the IV behind," Red grumbled stubbornly. Green laughed and stood up straight again. The same nerve that Green hit before was struck again and Red faced his friend. "I'm serious, Green."

Green shrugged. "I'm not too worried about it."

"Well you know what? I am. Your life almost ended with breaking us out of that prison," Red snapped. Green made a face, jade eyes glancing back at his friend.

"You're overreacting."

Red let go of Green's hand, glaring harshly at him. His voice was cold. "I'm not overreacting. You're underreacting. I don't like how lightly you're taking your life."

Green pursed his lips, an annoyed look passing his face. "It's my life, Red."

"I don't care," Red said, choosing his next words carefully before continuing. "Whether you know it or not, Green, you're special to me."

Green flushed on cue, looking away while he opened his mouth to speak. Red didn't let him and continued.

"When this is all over, I know you're going back on your own." Red failed to mention that he would probably be returning to Mount Silver as he tried to forget what had happened the past month or two, but he was trying to make a point. "I just need to you to promise me something." He held up a single finger. "Take care of yourself. Think of Daisy, Gramps, and me. Where would we be without you?"

Green chewed his bottom lip before his eyes returned to Red. "I can't promise you that." When Red was about frown he shook his head, grabbing Red's hands. "I can't because I don't want to go off on my own. I. . ." he trailed off momentarily before he swallowed. "I want to go with you. I. . . I think I love you."

Red was silent. Green looked like he was bracing himself for rejection, his eyes shut tightly and his face slightly turned away.

Red couldn't help but smile, a small chuckle passing his lips before he could stop himself. Green opened his eyes, an embarrassed red covering his entire face before an indignant expression replaced it. Red shook his head to try and show he wasn't laughing at what Green had said.

"Thank you," Red murmured, leaning in and resting his head on Green's shoulder. "I've been waiting to hear you say that."

"Since when?"

"Awhile."

Green shifted uncomfortably. "How long is a while?"

Red rolled his eyes and didn't answer, wrapping his arms around his friend comfortingly. Green stiffened up for a moment before he hugged back.

"Together then?" was all Green could murmur back. His heart was pounding and his palms were sweating, but for the first time in a long time. . . he felt absolutely wonderful. There wasn't anything he had to worry about.

Everyone was going to be alright.

Red nodded into his shoulder.

"Together."

~000~

And that's a wrap, ladies and gents. My apologizes if you're disappointed that there was no big kiss or anything, but those two need to take things slow. There's a lot of healing to be done and they have all the time in the world. Who knows - maybe you'll see these guys in the future!

Again, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of you who watched or liked this fic. This fic is dedicated to you guys!