*Just saying, playing Pokemon Soul Silver and drawing at the same time really messes up your sense of time. I thought it was only 8 o'clock, and in reality, it's 9:30 PM. D: But at least I realized! So here's the update, albeit a bit late! (and in other notes, my shiny Beedrill is awesome. :P)*

Chapter 24

"Ruby!" shrieked Sapphire, releasing Toro, who was about to leap forward and kick, its taloned foot bursting into flames, swinging at lightning speed towards Rei's face-

"I wouldn't!" said Rei savagely, laughing as he held Ruby up in front of him as a human shield, his Gengar raising a hand. "You attack me, he dies! You really thought I didn't know about your plan? What a joke! I can't believe you thought you could outsmart me."

Ruby started clawing at Rei's trapping arms, desperate for air despite feeling the bite of the dagger on his flesh, the same one that had taken away his freedom, and nearly his life, before. He looked scared, shocked, and yet- he looked determined and fearless at the same time. "Thought I might as well try," he spat, eyes filled with hatred. "Saph, back off. You're still in his range!"

Sapphire backed off just fast enough to avoid a Shadow Ball aimed at her head. "But-" It sent a tree branch crashing down almost on top of her, and she avoided being hit by mere inches.

"I can fight him myself!" yelled Ruby, breaking into a fit of choking, coughing, voice hoarse and quiet and yet the only thing Sapphire could hear.

"I can put you back under my control," threatened Rei, loosening a little so Ruby could breathe, but only barely. "I can make it so you take this dagger out of my hand and kill every one of your friends. I'd make you save her for last, make you draw out her screams until she can scream no more, make you bleed her out to the point of death, but string her out to the last possible moment, make you finish her in the cruelest of ways. And then I'll let you go and let you see your blood-stained handiwork. Do not doubt me. I can and will do what I said."

"That's if you get me under you control! And Sapphire could easily fight me off- I could never kill her!" Ruby said defiantly, but his eyes betrayed his doubt. He'd been controlled once, had been willing to slaughter his friends. Was it to happen again? "I'm the one you shouldn't doubt, I'm the one you shouldn't overlook."

"And why would that be, Ruby?" asked Rei lazily, scratching little red scribbles of blood with his dagger into Ruby's skin. "You don't even appear to have your Pokemon with you- did you give them away? Poor planning on your part."

"I'd rather not have them than have them end up in your hands. They'll be more useful against you than with me- besides, you messed up their pristine beauty. That's unforgivable in my book," said Ruby, trying his best to distract Rei by talking as Sapphire and the others formed a plan. "If anything, you'll pay for the burn mark on Mimi's neck."

"You don't match me in strength, you don't match me in wit either. You were so much stronger with me, Ruby. All the power you could ever wish for was within your hands. What a waste. Without me, all you care about is the superficial. The only thing in this world that holds power is well- power."

"I don't care for power; none of us do," said Ruby, turning his intense gaze down to the others, who were watching with a horrified fascination. Wanting to do something, anything, but unable to move a muscle. Ruby was slightly irritated- he hated all this righteousness and heroism. Sure it was nice to know his friends cared enough to not want to potentially injure him, but being noble wasn't how you won a war. "Fight him! I don't care if you hurt me! Call ourselves heroes? We've got a job to do, and you're all standing there like you've been hit by Disable!"

As if someone had pressed the play button, all of the Dex Holders but Sapphire came back onto the scene, shouting out powerful attacks to destroy Rei.

No! Sapphire wanted to scream. Don't hurt him! I don't want- I can't-

But there was no need to worry- yet. The attacks she had feared were for Ruby and Rei instead flew upwards where Kyogre was drawing the storm to an even more intense level. Some also hit Groudon, which was trying to replace the endless clouds with a blazing sun, causing it to stomp out an Earthquake, splitting the earth beneath their feet into islands separated by long, deep fissures.

"I believe its time to let them loose," said Rei, psychotic joy filling in his features. "Watch closely, Ruby, watch me kill your friends, watch as they die in front if your eyes. Except for Sapphire. As I promised, that honor is yours."

"Run! Groudon and Kyogre- together, they'll kill you if you don't move!" screamed Ruby at the top of his lungs, but where was there to run? Some of the Dex Holders were trapped on islands of land barely large enough to stand on- Gold looked as if he were about to fall. Suddenly, a thought of inspiration flitted a ross Ruby's mind. Where to run but the sky? "Quick! Use Fly!"

Before he had even spoken, Red and Green had risen up on Aero and Charizard respectively, but only Green looked battle-ready. Red instead looked shaken with fear. Which was when Ruby noticed it- where was Yellow? Red's gaze was glazed onto Silver's, imploring the younger boy to tell him where Yellow was. But to tell would mean Yellow could be killed.

"Explotaro, Smokescreen!" shouted Gold suddenly, causing the battlefield to be made entirely invisible between a thick cloak of black smoke.

Ruby coughed and tears of pain flowed unwillingly from his eyes. Rei cursed behind him, he too blinded by the smoke. Ruby heard a quick muttered discussion which he instantly made out to be between Red and Silver. The sound of a flying Aerodactyl was echoing through the air, and Ruby presumed that Red was flying to find Yellow while Gold's Smokescreen bought him invaluable time.

Ruby expected an attack, but none came, almost disappointing him. Rei was an exposed target right now, easily taken out by an attack of any sort... Except Ruby was in the way. And even in the smoke, Ruby knew he wasn't getting away- if there was one thing he could feel, it was the knife. It was easy to imagine if piercing right through his throat like an arrow- in and out.

"Salamence!" called Rei at last, and Ruby could feel the almost wind-like air blow all the suffocating smoke. "Use Wing Attack again- hit them hard, would you?"

'Them' ended up being Green's Charizard, which scored deep cuts in the dragon's wings with a well-placed Dragon Claw which finally felled the already injured, far-beyond-its-limits Salamence. "Too slow," said Green, looking down at the fainted opponent with cold, triumphant eyes. "Too easy- could you make this more entertaining? After all, I'd hate for your game to be boring."

Rei tightened his grip on Ruby's throat, and suddenly, Ruby couldn't breathe any more. He let out a horrible gargling noise that had everyone flinching- except Rei of course.

Dammit... thought Ruby, trying his best to struggle free, trying his best to resist the attacks on his mind. He could feel them, like stabs to the heart, drawing out his blood, his willpower, his entire being, trying to pull him back, back to Rei. I can't, not again. No!

"Resistance won't work, my dear Ruby," whispered Rei into his ear, using his knife arm to slowly cut off Ruby's bandages. "You will give in to me. There is no amount of willpower in this world to save you."

That's what you think! Ruby, taking advantage of the knife no longer being at his throat, kicked viciously back at Rei, who stumbled, grip loosening. Ruby breathed. Another kick. The knife was back.

"I've had enough stalling. My patience is gone!" shouted Rei, and Ruby's eyes grew large and wide with utter dismay. "Groudon, Kyogre, destroy them! No more waiting!"

The legendary Pokemon both seemed to smile- there was nothing interested in simply standing or floating, and attacking was a great way to vent out their boredom. Kyogre was building up a vicious Water Spout and Groudon was splitting the earth with Earthquake after Earthquake after Earthquake and preparing a powerful Solarbeam. Sapphire looked to Ruby, mouthing "Get ready" as Rei admired the destructive power of his Pokemon.

Ruby tried not to react, not to give anything away this time. He kept his expression constant- agitation, pain, fear- and continued to try and fight without being killed by the sharp blade in front of his neck.

"Ruru, now!" shouted Sapphire, suddenly releasing Ruby's trusty Gardevoir. Quick as a flash, its Psychic sent Rei's knife into the ground, nearly spearing through the man's foot. Sapphire sprang up, jumping at Rei, hitting him with a monstrous kick to the face that sent the man stumbling backwards. As she landed, she grabbed Ruby's hand, freeing him from Rei.

Ruby felt the sudden weakness in Rei's mind, the surprise, the shock, and launched his own attack. If one is not careful, it'll be their victims that control them, thought Ruby smugly, defiantly, as he concentrated on the strange, tattered fragments of Rei's mind. It was a little sad really to feel someone in such a state of decay, where evil had robbed Rei of rationality, where grief had pushed him over to the realm of insanity.

"Groudon, Kyogre, I command you to stop!" shouted Ruby, trying to reach out to the lehendary Pokemon. Could he really reach them at the opposite end of the Amethyst Orb's power? "STOP!"

But they did not stop- they only continued their rampage. Ruby could only stare in stunned horror as the earth itself shattered beneath his feet, only instinct allowing him to cling to the edge of what was now an abyss. It hadn't worked. It hadn't worked.

"Surprised?" laughed Rei, appearing at the edge of the precipice Ruby clung to. "Was that the Ace up your sleeve? Pathetic. I'll always hold the joker." Rei held out the Amethyst Orb, almost teasing him with the sight of it. "The legendaries will not bow down to you unless you hold the orb. They refuse to bow if all you can do is shout."

"I've done it once, control them," said Ruby, closing his eyes and focusing his mind. He could sense, see, feel the auras of the two, Groudon and Kyogre, sheens of red, hot fire and blue, chilling water. He also felt Rei's boots stepping on his fingers, threatening to push him off. "I don't need some orb to control them- I know I can!"

"You tell yourself that," replied Rei with a wide smile, pressing hard into Ruby's hand with his foot. "Let's see if you still believe it when you're in hell! I've had enough of you!" And that was when Rei kicked Ruby hard in the face, sending the teenager spiraling down, down into the abyss.

"Ruru, Mimi, Pilo- save Ruby!" commanded Sapphire, struggling to regain her balance on the still shaking ground while desperately running towards Rei had shoved him off. "Dono, Rono, Toro- attack Rei!"

Sapphire's rescue team of Pokemon quickly dived after Ruby, Mimi coiled like a snake around the Tropius's neck, but not pulled tight, and Ruru carefully balancing on the flying-type, using its psychic powers to both maintain balance and propel them faster. The Milotic shot out like an arrow once they were close enough, wrapping around Ruby and catching him as Ruru helped slow Ruby's fall long enough for Mimi to pull him back up onto Pilo's neck.

Sapphire herself joined the attack party, her Pokemon launched against Rei's Gengar and Houndoom, his last Pokemon. Sapphire aiming a vicious clawing at Rei's face.

Having been watching Ruby fall with a lazy smile, Rei looked almost surprised when Sapphire leaped him, lashing out with tooth and nail. He jumped backwards agilely, but Sapphire had still managed to leave a score of bloody welts across his face.

"You bitch!" exclaimed Rei, holding his fingers to his face to wipe off the blood and frowning in disgust as they came away red. "Kyogre, aim your Water Spout at her! Kill her!"

"That's not going to work!" said Sapphire, charging for him again. "Not unless you want it to hit you as well!" Brandishing her long, uncut nails, for some reason, she started thinking about how Ruby had wanted to paint them for the festival. I'll paint them red with Rei's blood, she thought smugly, raising her hand like a Persian would raise its paw. "You can go and die!"

"Gengar, Nightmare!" Rei was prepared this time, disappearing like a cloud of gas the moment Sapphire was about to touch him, the surprise making her land ungracefully on the ground, landing in a pile of burnt, soot-covered leaves. Then the Nightmare hit, and Sapphire, try as she could, could not shake it off.

"Sapphire!" she heard Ruby shout, but it was like hearing his scream through water, and instantly, she saw him drowning again, drowning, drowning, drowning in the stormy sea, but this time, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't reach him. The water was cold as ice against her skin, the currents hard and forceful as they pushed her and Ruby away from each other. Salt burned her eyes like the fear burning her veins, and even though she knew now that these visions were far from real, she couldn't help but being paralyzed with terror, couldn't help thinking that Ruby really was drowning, and with a sick realization, that she was drowning as well, but she knew she wasn't, and the worst part was that it didn't make the Nightmare any better.

"Sapphire! Sapphire! Wake up, you're stronger than this! Wake up!" screamed Ruby, and it sounded as if he were a distance away, fighting something, someone, letting out a gasp of pain. What had hit him? Sapphire wondered vaguely, still trying to fight off the clutches of the dream. It was hard to tell the difference between reality and the nightmare, the edges of her tormented vision blurred.

"Not so tough now, are we?" said a familiar voice, and Sapphire wanted to fight, but she felt as if she were being weighed down with lead, like a Pokemon had used Gravity and the invisible force had pinned her down to the ground. "Didn't you know about my Gengar's Nightmare and Hypnosis as well? And yet you still tried to fight me head-on."

Of course I did, she thought, and I would do it again a thousand times. I want to defeat you with my own hands! She was mostly free of the Nightmare now, and she could tell the water she had felt was merely a sheen of sweat, the icy chill the shivers that fear had sent down her spine, the vision only a vision. But the Hypnosis still had her in its grasp, vulnerable. Where were her Pokemon?

"Toro," she whispered weakly, "Rono, fight him!"

"It was wrong for you to underestimate me," Rei said, baring his teeth. "Even with most of my Pokemon down, why would you presume that I hadn't brought preparations? Groudon and Kyogre can serve as distractions- and even if you were watching, what would have stopped me from using a Revive or two?"

That meant that all of his Pokemon were back. Sapphire's insides churned with a terrible, sickening feeling of hopelessness. That meant the battle would start all over again, and she'd have to use her battle-weary Pokemon and now worn-out body to fight him. Struggling to open her eyes, she turned her sky blue gaze to where she knew the Salamence lay fainted to see it waking, Rei's Gengar having teleported to it and given it the Revive.

It almost felt like cheating on Rei's part. Sapphire had never actually played a video game, preferring to be outdoors breathing fresh air than cooped up inside her small house hitting buttons, but she had watched Ruby play the GameCube in his room before, hitting the 'reset' button so he could start over the level with his lives back. She'd asked if it had been fair, and he'd shrugged it off, saying "It's just a game. Doesn't matter if I cheat a little." Of course, she'd dragged him kicking and screaming outside, something she couldn't do now. She couldn't turn off the game, couldn't shut it off like it had never been started, never been played, leave it untouched in the clutches of the game console. Life was so unfair- her enemies could cheat, and all she had on hand were a few measly berries.

There was the heavy thump of a boot against the ground, and Sapphire turned slowly, wishing she could jump off the ground like she wanted to, agile as an Aipon, instead of lying lethargically on the ground like a sleepy Slakoth.

"I'm done with you," said Rei in her ear, and she heard the swishing sound as his dagger was drawn from its sheath. "There's no need to save you for Ruby- after you, he'll be the first one to go." She let out a gasp of pain before slumping down, dagger buried in her backside. Ruby's desperate shouts suddenly filled the air, and she could see his lovely red eyes, black, black hair in some beautiful, ethereal light as he ran towards her. Involuntarily, she closed her eyes.

*Oh cliffhangers, cliffhangers... I dunno, they simply control my life. This one practically begged me to write it... I dunno why. I'm just a sadist. :V And while doing this, I'm drawing angels... ... Yeah. Review reply time!

Light-Sakura: Really? That's a bit odd. :/ Oh well! As long as I know it's you now! XD To tell the truth, I completely forget what happened last chapter. (I wrote it weeks upon weeks ago. :V) But I imagine Silver wouldn't want Yellow to go... She's the least battle adept of the Dex Holders, and she'd be much too tired to battle after healing Blue. :V (IMO at least. XD)

blazelight790: Call that a cliffhanger? Take this! :D Don't worry, I have Pokemon to hurt Rei with too. :V Face the wrath of my crappy Soul Silver team! *only has... ... five badges so far* Actually, never mind. Platinum Team! :D (Dragonite, Lvl. 100, Charizard, Lvl. 100, Gyarados, Lvl. 100, Mewtwo, Lvl. 100!) No problem! Thanks for taking the time to review. ^^

Mimishee Lee: It's okay! Just a review is fine to me~ (I love reviews.) XD I probably should tell you that this is a worse cliffhanger, but I think you've figured it out. It'll only take a week for the next chapter... ... And then we'll have my epic epilogue. :V I love Ruby and Sapphire too! :D (why else would I write this? *is shot*)

ZXCVBNMEM: I'm still trying to see if I can remember how to spell your username without copy and paste. XD It's pretty difficult. :V XD Everyone wants to destroy Rei~ You should all line up. (though, I don't see why. I personally really like Rei, just saying. :V Of course, this is coming from the author who created him. And a huge fan of a character whose only purpose in life is to burn down the world. :X)

wolfeclipse25: Blood will always be spilled, my friend. :V It makes for solid entertainment. XD (this is coming from someone who can't stand the violent scenes in a movie and closes her eyes and shuts her ears. :V I'm so weird...)

Natural Athlete: That would be me if this was a movie. XD I would have my eyes closed for this entire part...

SniperGYS: :D Good to see you over here! I should probably put the rest of the chapters up on dA... But I'm a bit too lazy for that. ^^' I left links to here, so that should be good enough. :V (though the first few chapters suck like crap.) I love drama in a fanfic too. ;) But I'm too busy to read many PokeSpe fanfics, so I don't many others... (not to mention that too many fics contain OldRivalshipping. Dunno why, but that pairing pisses me off. So does SilverxLyra... especially since the latter doesn't exist in canon.) Of course Rei is cool! XD *is shot* I don't know what goes through his mind either. :V

By the way, I will write that BluexSilver oneshot once I get a bunch of other stuff out of the way. Expect it maybe around the time of the epilogue, or next week. Or I'll magically get inspiration and it'll be up within the week. Themes and prompts are highly welcomed. As usual, reviews are highly appreciated, and I'll see you all next week! :D*