*I'm so sorry! I'm a day late... TT-TT I blame , which decided to stop working last night (specifically, it wouldn't let me log in and post) and I sat at my computer until about 9 o'clock hitting the log-in button over and over until it worked. It didn't. But one day isn't too bad, right? So here is the second installment of 'Memories Lost', and I hope you all enjoy it! Thank you guys for all the reviews! ;D I hope you continue to do so! They seriously make my week! Replies at the end. :3*

Chapter 2

A beam of bright sunlight peeked through the window shades, settling on Sapphire's eyes, making her blink awake to soft murmuring and a sigh of relief, shuffling of feet, and the brush of someone's clothes across her arm. Ruby?she thought, shaking off the clutches of slumber, rubbing her eyes, expecting to see the black-haired boy perched above her, rose-red eyes teasing.

It wasn't Ruby who was making all the noise though- there was a man and a woman standing above Ruby's bed, and Sapphire quickly recognized them as Ruby's parents. His mom looked as if she had just flown into a panic and was recovering- which was most likely true- and Ruby's dad seemed as calm as usual, but his forehead was creased with slight worry. Ruby's mom was stroking Ruby's bare head, the soft feathery black ruffling under her gentle touch, carefully avoiding the patch of mauled skin that scarred his forehead.

Sapphire felt as if she were intruding on a family-only moment, and wondered whether to feign slumber or to get up and leave, but Norman looked over and caught sight of her open eyes.

His gaze was intense and unreadable, much like Ruby's could be, enigmatic and powerful, and she fumbled for something to say, anything. It felt like several minutes at least before she managed to pry her mouth open and get her tongue to put words to her thoughts, saying, "Is he okay?"

Norman nodded slowly, filling Sapphire with relief. Despite the fact the doctor had already comforted her about Ruby's condition, it hadn't prevented doubt and fear to eat away at her, especially seeing that Ruby looked almost exactly as he had then night before, albeit dryer and less pale.

"You saved him, right?" asked Ruby's mom, voice filled with gratitude. "I can't thank you enough."

"Thank Zuzu," said Sapphire modestly, smiling. She technically had saved Ruby's life- it gave a sense of pride and confidence. She was capable of protecting him, and had thrown herself into the raging currents to do it. She took out Zuzu's Pokeball and let the Swampert out, allowing it to plod over to its unconscious master, making happy noises as it celebrated its success. Ruby's mom patted its head, taking Pokeblock and feeding it to the hungry Pokemon.

"Thank you too, Zuzu."

"Did- did da doctor say when Ruby's gonna wake up?" asked Sapphire, taking note of how deeply asleep he still looked.

"He'll wake up when he does," said Norman, his eyes scouring the whole scene in front of him. "After all, he wasn't given sleep medication or anything. Once he wakes up, they'll examine his concussion and check how bad that could be. Unfortunately, he'll probably miss the contest. It's in a week, isn't it? A concussion would give him too much of a headache to concentrate properly."

"That's too bad..." said Sapphire, her voice trailing off as she remembered how hard Ruby had been preparing for that one day. He practiced all sorts of new appeals, each more stunning than the last, and even having a few battles with her to practice for the new battle portion of the contest that was going to be introduced. He'd be divested when he woke up.

But with Ruby's determination, even if he was locked in the hospital, he'd still manage to find a way out to sneak to the contest hall and participate, concussion or not. If he had a goal he wanted completed, he'd keep going at it until he won, and it was one of the traits about him that she loved best. Beside her, she saw Zuzu frown when Norman said Ruby would miss the contest. All of his Pokemon had been working as hard as they could as well, and it was obvious that Zuzu was disappointed.

If she had been the one to nearly drown, she would have been as heartbroken as she knew as Ruby would be. While he had been grooming his Pokemon and keeping them in tip-top condition(while murmuring "Beautiful!" every few minutes), she'd been having her Pokemon train outdoors in the forest, defeating all opponents in sight, and at the end of the day, they'd battle, usually ending in a tie. Ruby's strength never failed to surprise her even though he had stopped claiming an absolute loathing of battles, looking like he was enjoying himself instead. (until of course, Toro singed the edges of Nana's precious fur. Nothing could set off his anger time bomb quite do effectively.)

Such precious memories, the daily routine of the last month, all the time they'd spent together in the secret base, laughing, simply hanging out, and their ride on Walo, which had been fun and enjoyable until the weather had turned disastrous, memories that Sapphire hoped Ruby deemed important as well. After all, they belonged to them and them alone, those moments of silence, the all-out battles outside in the forest; the picnics while sitting the shade of trees and picking berries afterwards, all the planning that had gone into their routines.

She remembered getting a concussion or two back in her early forest days (or wild savage days as Ruby liked to call them, usually following up with a rant about poor hygiene and no fashion taste, and thatwas followed by a handful of mud), and remembered how much they stung, like a whole hive of Beedrill were digging their sharp drills into your mind, sparing no mercy. Of course, that was a concussion from falling over ten feet off a tree.

Perhaps Ruby hadn't hit the rock as hard as she thought he had. Maybe it was more of a gentle brush than the imagined crack that burst through her ears while she was watching (had that been thunder?), and that all of his effort would not be put to waste.

She'd heard him talk excitedly over and over again about how steep the competition was going to be, pointing out potential threats to his champion win like his master, Wallace, the famous contest master from Sinnoh, Fantina, and a few names she has never heard before. The Pokemon Tournament was also to be multi-regional in its participants, and she remembered the names that had stuck with her, champions and Gym Leaders, opponents that would take her utmost skill to beat, and maybe not even then. The Pallet Town Trio from Kanto, Red, the champion, Green, a gym leader, and Blue, while not as powerful, a formidable competitor and trickster. Yellow was to participate as well, and judging from the battle of the small blond girl that she'd watched four years ago at the Battle Frontier, her size was an inaccurate depiction of the prowess she possessed.

Would it be fair, she wondered, if I participated in da contests if Ruby is forced ta stay here?

"We'll have to do our best," he'd said, red eyes bright with unmatched determination. "We don't need a bet this time though, because I'm sure both of us will be the champions!"

"Confident, are ya'?" she'd challenged teasingly, poking him gently in the shoulder. "Betcha you'll lose out in the first round!" She chuckled, Ruby rolling his eyes as his Pokemon surrounded him.

"With my Pokemon's beautiful charm and grace, they wouldn't even need an appeal to win? Isn't that right guys?" His Pokemon voiced their approval in a chorus of howls, mewls, gurgles, and sounds of happiness. "Nobody can beat my team's beauty!"

"Sissy boy," she muttered, smirking, enjoying the constant banter, the familiar insults that were exchanged each and every day. It was simply part of a daily routine.

"Barbarian," he shot back, sticking out his tongue, smiling.

That had been the day before they set off on Walo, three days before today. She'd looked forward to the festival and tournament with such anticipation, and now, her own happiness was unraveling before conclusions could even be drawn.

The room was completely silent, even Zuzu's chewing of his sour Pokeball in the background had stopped, and their breathing was to quiet to be audible. It made Sapphire feel as if she were locked in time, like everyone was a statue, unmoving and silent.

Then there was a cough, a boyish cough that could have only come from one person in the room. Sapphire's shining blue eyes lit up like lights at Christmas, watching Ruby transition into consciousness. A cough, a shiver, and blinking, where she'd caught a sliver of scarlet before it disappeared behind tightly shut eyelids. It took her a moment to realize that the light was probably too strong, and his concussion probably made it worse.

His mom seemed to be tearing up, clutching his hand tight, and he flinched slightly as her grip gained strength, turning towards her. For a second, Sapphire thought it was a false alarm and Ruby had fallen back asleep, but then he opened his crimson eyes, red as the jewel he'd used to command Groundon five years ago.

His gaze was misted over with confusion and pain, and his expression reflected the same. He looked around at their happy faces, trying to piece together what was going on and where the heck he was, but his dry throat seemed unable to put voice to such questions.

He coughed a little more, and Sapphire quickly caught on. "Do ya need some water?"

"Yes please," he managed to say, feeling the remains of salt water like scratches in his throat.

Please? thought Sapphire as she grabbed a glass and started filling it. He usually isn't that polite to me...

"Here you go, Ruby," she said, handing him the cup, eagerly watching as he drained the whole thing in one go.

"Thank you," he said formally, looking strangely at her, stiff and unnatural.

Ruby, what's wrong with ya? wondered Sapphire. Did ya knock yer head harder than I thought?

"Do ya want more, Ruby?" she asked, taking the glass from his hand. But instead of saying yes or no, he simply repeated his name.

He repeated his name in a way that instantly made Sapphire freeze, as if she had been hit by a particularly powerful Ice Beam. "Ruby..." He paused, letting it sink in, filling the room with tense silence. "Is that... my name?"

*GASP* Cliff hanger! :D ... Not really, since I gave it away in the summary, but I hope the effect still hit you guys. Now without further ado, REVIEW REPLIES!

Chelseaj500: Chelsea! :DDDDDDDD *glomps* Nice to see you here. You would have known about the person who wants Ruby on the side, except you didn't read all the chapters I sent you... (I think the person's mentioned at the end of the chapter I sent you or something. I forget how much I gave you.) And look, I followed your advice. :3 AN is bolded! Thanks for the review buddy! :D

Fightergirl14: I've never been complimented for my grammar before... :3 It feels good to know that I actually do use good grammar, seeing I'm mainly writing late at night. XD I'm glad you like the beginning! Hope you're still pleased. ;)

tinemelk: I hope I can make the plot even more interesting for you. Thanks for the review!

Kimiko Heroux: Your review really made me smile. I'm glad I was able to make the characters feel at least semi-real for you. The story will get more dramatic later on, and I do hope you'll stay all the way! Thanks for the review!

Oh, I'd appreciate it if you spread this story around if you like it. *wink* *wink* *hint* *hint* Please review! And see you next week! :D*