Geez, my life is getting complicated. I have finals coming up and I'm so super nervous right now that it's not even funny. But then again, by the time i actually publish this, finals will be over and I'll be on Christmas break…
Whatever! Wish me luck my loyal readers!
Amy47101 does not own pokémon. Only her OCs, Vale and Sara.
o.0.o.0.o
Crystal clear path, guide me through
May love keep me warm in the cold,
Let my trust and honor shine true,
With this unwavering heart of Gold…
o.0.o.0.o
The Adventure Saga
Enlightening the Soul
o.0.o.0.o
"No. No, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO! Damn it all! Damn that useless girl and that traitor of a boy! Damn it all!"
Proton never felt afraid or overwhelmed in the presence of Archer or Giovanni. True, Giovanni, at least, was intimidating, but he never felt legitimately scared that he would loose his life. Giovanni, while he wouldn't hesitate to kill someone, it was never without a reason. Obsidian Green, for example, threatened to expose him to the police. Countless grunts who seemed ready to run to the police rather than risk their life in the mafia also ended up mysteriously 'missing'.
But here he was, silently watching Mask as he slammed his fist against the reinforced glass pane, screaming obscenities and cursing Vale and Silver. Proton knew how dangerous this man was. And while he was mostly working as a double agent, so he didn't bear witness to the mans atrocities, he's heard the rumors. How he'd kill people and pokémon alike when his mood flipped. How every little thing enraged him. And judging by how many grunts had limbs and other parts of their bodies wrapped in bandages, he would probably drag it out if he wanted too. So if he liked living, who was Proton to disbelieve him?
He was heaving like he had run a marathon, as if each gulp of air would help him regain his composure.
"I am perfection." he hissed under his breath. "I expect nothing less than perfection. And that… that spineless little bitch thinks she can forfeit? Thinks she can RESIGN?! Fine." he let out a small chuckle. "That's fine. That's completely fine. She can resign permanently for all I care! Proton!"
Proton flinched as Mask suddenly snapped his gaze to him.
"Yes, sir?"
"I must complete what I have begun. With or without Vale, I have the messenger of time in my grasp. The grunts should know that the minute that Vale and Silver began battling that they should have evacuated. Anyone who is left, to hell with them for being slow."
"What about the dexholders?" Proton blurted. Mask paused.
"Undo the locks on their prisons. See if they're smart enough to get out."
"But-"
"Proton, I promised you before you'd get the chance to study them as they grow, didn't I?"
"That would be hard to do if they are dead, sir!" he cried out frantically. He didn't want to loose his precious subjects, not when there was still so much to learn!
"As they grow, Proton. Connect the dots for a moment, and think."
Proton stared at him for a moment, then spoke slowly.
"Well… If you're implying that you have Celebi, the messenger of time…"
"Good job, you're catching on. If they get out and try to fight me, good. They can watch themselves unravel. If they don't, I'll pluck them from history."
"Your son?"
"The same concept could apply… But he's delicate. I need to make sure he gets out safely and in one piece. Make sure that happens, Proton."
"… And Vale?"
"I've said it before, haven't I?" Proton could practically see his wicked smile as he spoke his next words. "She's resigning. Permanently."
Proton slowly smirked, bowing respectfully.
"Of course, sir."
o.0.o.0.o
"Vale, are you…" Vale flinched when Silver awkwardly trailed off, as if unsure what to say. Slowly, Vale looked up at him, cradling Umbreon in her arms. He was taking slow steps, and was holding his shoulder. His arm was limp. Whether it was dislocated or broken, she didn't know.
"Silver…" she reached out one of her arms like a child. "Silver, I'm so sorry, I…"
"… It's fine." he said slowly. "We've been hurt worse, haven't we?"
She shakily stood, walking towards him and hugged him. His breath hitched and she stepped back, startled.
"It's fine." Silver said, shaking his head.
"You're hurt. I hurt you, of, Arceus, how are you even standing?"
"I'm fine. Just bruised and exhausted. It's nothing that I can't deal with."
Vale felt her tears welling up again, then she shook her head.
"Silver, I'm so sorry. I don't think I could ever express how sorry I am, for everything."
"It's the other way around." he responded. "I regret that day, that day we escaped almost eight years ago. You should've gotten out before me. You never should have been here and I took advantage of your need for attention and praise. And I… manipulated your kindness. I was more suited for a war machine, I-"
"No." Vale shook her head with a pained smile. "It was because of my… inexperience and need for love and attention that I was perfect. I was always alone, so it wouldn't matter if I suddenly disappeared one day. On top of that, I had a… gift for battling. Mask refined that, and made me what I am now. You were to smart, to stubborn, to cold. And unlike me, he couldn't beat you into submission."
"But why would you let me go?" Silver finally asked, bowing his head. "Why would you stay? Please, don't say it was to save me. I swear to Arceus Vale, it wasn't worth…" he waved his good arm in the air. "This. It wasn't, not in the slightest."
"But in my eyes, it was." Vale said quietly, setting Umbreon down. "Silver, I let you go because I knew you would be fine. You have experience in that world. You were smart enough to handle yourself. Me? I don't know anything outside of this. All I've ever known was Mask. I wouldn't know what to do with myself in the outside world without instructions. It's all foreign to me. And look at you now."
She smiled warmly, approaching him again and holding his face in her hands.
"My little brother is all grown up. And he's happy… compassionate and warm and strong, the opposite of everything Mask ever stood for. He's comforting me when it was the reverse when we were children. He has good friends and trust for his pokémon. And he is able to love and be loved. Silver, I am so, so proud of you. Prouder than I could ever be."
She moved one hand to his shoulder and dropped the other, looking to his Typhlosian and Weavile.
"And your pokémon… so strong! Silver needs loyal pokémon like you looking out for him."
Typhlosian let out a roar of pride, crossing his arms as he seemed to bellow a laugh while Weavile nodded in approval. Silver glanced at him, then returned them, promising them a reward for their work. Vale also returned her fainted pokémon then slowly undid the belt around her waist. She looped it over Silver's shoulder and under his bad arm, clipping it in place.
"Vale?" he asked, giving her a look that crossed between stern and confused.
"You may have beat me, Silver, but there's still work for you to do."
With one arm around his shoulder, she beckoned Umbreon to follow her. As gentle and carefully as she could, she guided Silver towards a warp panel. Again, she scooped up the dark-type eeveelution, placing him in Silver's good arm.
"Beyond this warp panel is your friends. Go through here and save them."
"What about you?" Silver asked. "Aren't you going to come too?"
Vale smiled gently at him, then wrapped her arms around him in a much gentler manner, careful of his bad arm.
"Silver, you were a good brother. Promise that you'll continue to enjoy the happiness you've been given." she whispered gently. "And… and I'm glad my last opponent was you."
"Vale, wait-"
"Goodbye."
Then she shoved him onto the panel, teleporting him to safety with her pokémon. Silence and emptiness engulfed her for a moment before she turned to the viewing window. Mask was gone, but Proton stood there, waiting.
"Proton-"
"Don't even bother to try to negotiate. I've already released the locks on the dexholders prisons anyways."
Vale felt her eyes widen for a moment.
"Really? But doesn't Mask…"
"What does it matter to you? Think of it as a test. A test to see if they really are what they're cracked up to be. A test…" he paused, as if for effect. "To see if they can escape with their lives."
Vale simply stared at him.
"I have to protect Masks secrets, the ones not even his closest of executives know about. So I'm going to flood this entire place and make sure that everything is unable to be reached, ruined by the ocean! So you and your 'brother' better get out quick, there won't be any time to chase us down."
"That's fine." Vale smiled peacefully, slowly removing the mask from her face, letting it clatter to the ground. "They're smart enough to get out. Hopefully, no one will mind if I stay here."
"Wh-What?! This building is going to be flooded! Do you understand that?"
"I understand." Vale said calmly. "The dexholders will get the job done. I have every faith in Silver and his friends. And this way…"
She trailed off, closing her eyes.
This way I'll never be haunted by what I've done, who I've hurt, and what Mask has done to me. This way, I can find my peace.
"Heh. Little fool! Well, at least this saves me the time of making sure you croak!"
There was a small noise, and the warp panels suddenly shut off. She knew she was really trapped now, those panels were the only way in and out of the arena. And she was fine with that.
"If you want to drown like a useless ratatta, that's fine! No need for resignation papers, you're done, permanently! Goodbye, Vale!"
And like that, an explosion went off and water began filling the room. Vale simply smiled, tilting her head back to they sky, wishing silently she could see the stars through the ceiling.
Silver, when you look at the stars, promise to remember me. I'm counting on you, my one and only little brother.
Silver and Hood… Umbreon and Sammy… All my pokémon…
Farewell.
o.0.o.0.o
Yet Silver lines of tears fall
Hope, come and find me.
Our Souls are fading steadily…
Will we make it at all?
o.0.o.0.o
Silver stumbled off the warp panel, looking back and trying to figure out why Vale sent him ahead with her pokémon. Umbreon struggled in his arm for a few moments before it leapt nimbly to the ground, darting back to the warp panel and pressing it's paw to it. It growled, trying again.
Then the building shook violently, forcing Silver into the wall to regain his balance. Once everything settled, he glanced around.
"Go, everyone! There's an exit at the end of the hall!"
Silver widened his eyes, darting to the side as a stampede of pokémon of all shapes and sizes powered past him. He pressed himself to the wall. Umbreon nimbly leapt over the backs of the pokémon over to him. At the tail end of the entire thing was a tall young man, taller than Vale. Silver stared at the hooded young man as his long limbs allowed him to almost keep up with the pokémon he was trying to help escape. At the last moment, Silver lashed out his good hand and grabbed his arm.
"What's going on?!" he demanded harshly. "Was that an earthquake?"
"I don't know!" the hooded boy cried out frantically. "The building shook and I think it's taking on water!"
"Water…? Are they… drowning the place?!"
"That's right, Silver."
He scowled as Proton's voice echoed in his ears.
"That was an explosion. This building is about to become a watery memorial of Mask's work."
"Wh-What?" the hooded young man exclaimed in a frantic whisper. "Sir, you can't mean that! There's pokémon still in here, we need to evacuate first!"
"What about the others?!" Silver exclaimed. "The dexholders?! Lyra?!"
"I'm sure they're somewhere. Consider it a test. You know, flush out the weak. I'm sure you'll all figure out a way to get out. Except… Vale."
"Vale?!" the hooded young man exclaimed.
"You aren't happy with that?" Proton said. "I would've thought that you would be pleased… after all, the battle between Vale and Silver caused the building to collapse inwards anyways."
"What… Would she…?"
"She says she's going to stay. Good riddance, if you ask me."
Silver whipped back around at that, stomping on the panel.
"Vale! Take me back to Vale!"
"Silver…" the young man placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder. "It's not going to work because it got turned off. All of them did, I think…"
"How do you know my name?!" Silver shot back to the hooded boy, smacking his arm off of him. He shrunk back, holding his wrist for a moment. Silver suddenly felt very angry about everything. Whoever this hooded boy was, he knew something. He had some sort of connections, he wasn't just some hero who showed up at the last minute. He grabbed up a fistful of his shirt, pulling him down to his eye level."You know Vale, don't you?! And Proton and probably Mask himself!"
"Vale's my f-friend." He said nervously. Clearly, he wasn't used to any sort of confrontation. Looking at his face, trying to see past the shadows that shaded his upper face. He was surprised to see a boy who was probably only a little older than him, closer to Vale's age of eighteen years.
"Yeah, right." Silver spat, shoving him into the wall, brushing him aside. "You sound like you were doubting your so-called friend. Well, you want to know something? Vale is my sister. These walls are reinforced, some pokémon battle wouldn't bust a hole in the wall."
"I… know…" he said slowly, shuffling in place.
"Then why doubt her?!" Silver demanded. He flinched, looking down. Silver smashed his foot into the panel one last time in some hope he still had time, but he knew it was no use. Vale… was probably gone or in the process of leaving at this point.
"I'll save her." he suddenly said, confidently, standing up straight at his full height.
"Save her? She's gone! Dying!"
"Not entirely." he said, then he began talking very quickly. "See, it might take a couple of minutes for the room to fill with water. Now, and this may vary, if she got knocked unconscious while in the water, she would probably drown within ten seconds because she will involuntary "breathe" in water and her heart will stop beating in a minute. If she's experiencing a near drowning, in which she had some water enter her lungs, she will feel fine immediately after that. But hours or days later, she will start feeling nauseous, drowsy and have difficulty breathing normally. This is most likely due to the oncoming of phenomena and-"
"Idiot." Silver hissed. "WE DON'T HAVE DAYS, SHE'S DROWNING NOW! I don't care about any of that, even I have better social skills than that!" he let out a roar of frustration. "Damn it all, I have no time for this! Do I try to go back to Vale or do I run to save the dexholders?! She just realized that she didn't need this place! But on the other hand, the dexholders are injured and locked up and I can only pick so many locks! What do I do?!"
He slammed his good hand into the wall repeatedly. Bowing down slightly.
"If I really am chosen by Entei, I could use some help now, you know." he growled under his breath. Umbreon suddenly tugged at his pant leg. The pokémon was barking something at him, though tears were in its eyes.
"… What is it?" Silver said slowly, looking at the pokémon.
"She says to go on ahead and find the rest of the dexholders." the hooded young man suddenly said. "She says… it's what Vale would have wanted. Was for you to continue to be happy with your friends. Um..."
Silver simply looked at him. He knew Vale had said something like that before she pushed him onto the warp panel. But while he could sometimes understand what his pokémon were saying due to his level of trust, this young man acted like he knew exactly what Umbreon was saying.
"I think… this, uh, belongs to one of them. Proton had it, and I kinda swiped it because I was curious." he took a folded piece of paper, holding it to him. Silver slowly took it. "It's okay, Silver." he continued calmly. "I've got a lot of friends who will help me. I'll get Vale out of here."
And with that, he turned and ran back down the hallway. Silver didn't know whether or not to trust him or not, after all, he acted crazy and seemed almost… unfocused. Like he had blinders on or something and wasn't seeing the true horror of what was going on.
Umbreon growled again, snapping him out of his revere. He shoved the paper in his back pocket and steeling himself against his wounds, he ran as quickly as he could through the hallways, following the Umbreon. He didn't quite recall this area, pristinely clean, white hallways that shined like they were scrubbed every day. Hell, he swore he even smelled bleach. He walked closer to a certain area and saw a warning sign. All who enter must remain completely SILENT.
Walking past the doorway, he glanced around. Still, clean, pristine white hallways. Peeking into an empty cell, he saw completely white walls from floor to ceiling. What was this…?
"Lyra?" he called out slowly, waiting for an attack. He didn't trust this one bit. Suddenly, the door next to him suddenly slammed open, startling him and causing Umbreon to growl menacingly.
"I knew that would work!" came the cheerful voice of none other than Fire Red. Silver simply stared at him as he casually strolled out of the cell he was in. One of his eyes was swollen shut and it looked like he was smiling through the pain. Next to him, the cell door clicked and the door opened peacefully.
"And I thought Ethan was bad." Krystal sighed, crossing her arms and walking out. One of her pigtails was loose and her jacket was ripped, but it looked like she got knocked out before any really damage could be done. "They were unlocked, Fire."
"You sure? 'Cause I've been here for a while and I've been struggling with the knob for hours now."
"I think that they were just unlocked." a waterlogged Gary came out of a cell further down. Despite looking completely soaked and slightly roughed up, he seemed otherwise fine. Further down, Dayna came jogging up to them.
"Is everyone okay?" she asked, looking over them like a frantic mother. "Oh, guys…"
"Nothing a little patching up won't fix." Fire said with a grin.
"Your eye…" she murmured.
"Check on the others. A couple of them look like they're in worse shape than me."
Silver could tell he was lying. Smiling and hiding the pain, but standing aside for his friends. Judging from Dayna's look, she suspected it too. Slowly, she turned to Gary.
"Did you inhale water?"
"I dunno." Gary shrugged. But he then smirked arrogantly. "I'll be fine though. A little water would never best the great Gary Oak."
"You should get checked by a doctor." Silver said, recalling what that odd hooded boy said. "For phenomena."
"He's right." Dayna nodded hesitantly.
"Where are the others?" Krystal asked, looking around.
"They're probably here." Silver said, slamming open another door and finding it empty. "I'm surprised he put you all in such close proximity, with your pokémon too." another door, and he saw a red and black sweatshirt. "Here's Ethan."
Krystal rushed past him, kneeling down beside her childhood friend.
"Ethan, wake up, come on!" she muttered under her breath. She got a small groan.
"Is your arm okay?" Dayna asked hesitantly, reaching for the limb, Silver shot her a glare, telling her to back off. She did.
"Get him up quick, Mask is flooding this place." Silver said.
"Wait, what?" Fire asked.
"Mask blasted a hole in the wall, he's flooding this place, we don't have time to dawdle." he shot back. As if to punctuate his point, another explosion wracked the building. A soft trickling noise caught their attention and water suddenly drifted over their shoes.
"I'm going to look for Leaf." Gary said, his voice suddenly having a slight bit of worry.
"I'll go find Lyra." Fire promised, dashing after him. As much as Silver wanted to go after him, and find Lyra himself, he decided to let the stronger trainers handle it while he explained, to the best of his ability, what was going on to Dayna and Krystal.
"Ethan." Krystal said again, her voice having a slight edge of panic. "Ethan, Ethan, get up! Get up, we've gotta move, now!"
"Move aside." Dayna said, brushing her off and kneeling beside Ethan. She opened her bag, digging around a bit before she pulled out a small pouch. Pouring a purplish powder into her hand, she blew it into Ethan's face. A few seconds later, he coughed and opened his eyes.
"K-Krys…?" he asked hesitantly. Krystal's eyes crinkled and it looked like she was going to cry.
"What was that?" Silver asked. Dayna smiled gently at him.
"A chesto berry, dried out and ground into a powder with a couple of other elements." Dayna said as Krystal helped Ethan stand. "I've been experimenting with medicines on and off for three years. I've found that when adjusting a few things, powdered or juiced versions of berries can have a similar effect on humans as they do on pokémon."
"And you know this how?"
"Er…" Dayna scratched her cheek bashfully. "Um, thank Fire's gullibility?"
"...You drugged your boyfriend."
"No! Nothing was lethal, and one time I actually got his permission! It was, um, it was when he got poisoned by a pokémon because he was running around in Viridian Forest and ruined their habitat. So I asked him if I could test out a pecha berry drink and it worked great!"
"You took advantage." Silver said, running his good hand down his face. "Whatever, I don't care. I need to find Lyra."
Ignoring this oddity about what seemed to be the gentlest, most innocent dexholder to date, Silver rushed out of the room, holding his arm and trying to keep the pain as dull as possible. He saw Gary gathering the still unconscious Leaf into his arms and Fire peeking his head out one cell worriedly. In his hands were a few pages of paper.
"What's wrong?" Silver demanded, looking into the room. Lyra was there, in the corner, curled into a ball with her head in her lap. Her yellow bag sat next to her.
"She…" Fire trailed off.
"Lyra, come on, we need to go!" he demanded, stepping into the room. She didn't move. "Lyra? Lyra, come on!"
"Go away." she finally said.
"Don't give me this now!" he snapped at her, grabbing her wrist and hauling her up. "If you stay here you're gonna die! I know you don't want that, you-"
"What do you know?!" she finally snapped back, becoming dead weight. "Every day, in and out, all anyone had ever told me was how everything was my fault! How I was weak, replaceable, not needed! The one thing I prided myself on was owning a pokédex, even though I knew I was a last minute, final resort because I begged Professor Elm! And now… Now Professor Oak won't even recognize me as a holder!"
She collapsed to her knees, wrist still trapped in his hand.
"I don't have a family, I don't have anyone who cares, I have no purpose, no talent, no credibility! Everything is always my fault because I try to play hero! Even my Papa… Everything would have been better if I wasn't here! I never should have existed! So go! All of you go and relieve yourself of me!"
"Lyra…" Silver said, slightly panicked and unsure what to do. He's ever heard her like this, she was always so optimistic, so happy...
"I just want this all to end." she said quietly. "So please, leave me with the peace that you get to live. Please."
"This is my grandfathers handwriting." Silver heard Gary's voice behind him. He was examining the letter. "Leaf, myself, Fire, Dayna, Krystal, Ethan, Silver…"
"All the dexholders with a corresponding talent." Krystal said quietly. "Except…"
Silver knew this had to have been a mind game set up by Mask, especially so with Proton around. Umbreon suddenly growled at him, padding at his leg. He looked down and suddenly remembered his interaction with the hooded boy in the hallway.
"I think… this, uh, belongs to one of them. Proton had it, and I kinda swiped it because I was curious."
Slowly, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out the letter. There was neat, block-written handwriting, almost like a font on a computer.
"Lyra Kotone." he read slowly. "Is a special case, as I never planned on giving her a pokédex to begin with. See, I alway thought that it would be best to give a pokédex to children who have a predetermined talent. And while Silver did, in fact, steal a pokédex from me, even he had a talent beforehand. So when Elm contacted me, asking to make a third pokédex on the fly for an enthusiastic young trainer. Surprisingly, your talent evolved over the course of your journey.
"Lyra, every life you touch is treasured to you. Each bond of friendship if sacred. Even with pokémon, you formed an unnaturally strong bond with them. So, because of this talent that evolved over the course of time, I have decided to give you the title, The Treasurer, and this has nothing remotely to do with money."
Behind him, there was a snort. He looked over his shoulder at Ethan, who was ruining the moment. He shot him a death glare, then continued.
"As the Treasurer, you are to be known for your overwhelming and unconditional love for everyone and every pokémon."
That was where the letter ended, but Silver dropped it to his side, took a deep breath, and continued.
"And even though your childhood wasn't ideal, and you somehow think you don't have a family, you should know that people, in turn, treasure you. You felt betrayed. Unwanted. Hated. But no matter what was thrown in your face, you turned around and still held out a hand to pull others from isolation and darkness. You cried for them. You fought for them. You laughed for them."
She stared at him with that. Her eyes were still watery, doubtful. He took a deep breath, then kneeled down in front of her.
"You're not useless. You are a wonderful person and your smile is like a beacon of hope. Anyone who spent five minutes with you would know this. The senior dexholders, Krystal and Ethan, your pokémon…" he paused, then smiled softly at her. "And me. We all love you, Lyra, and we don't want you to disappear. Just as you treasure every one of us, we treasure your existence for all it's worth."
He inhaled deeply, then leaned closer to her, trying to whisper quietly his next words because he didn't want the others to hear.
"And if nothing else, I'll treasure you forever. If they won't say it, I will. I love you, Lyra, so don't think you're meaningless, that you're not worth it. Because to me, you're worth everything."
Lyra let out something akin to long whine, not unlike a child who was about to start wailing. Then, in a true, emotionally charged Lyra moment, she latched herself around Silver's shoulders sobbing into his jacket. Trying to ignore the pain shooting through his arm, Silver could remember, distinctly, when he would have shoved her off and called her a moron. But now, he simply reached up with his good hand and patted her on the back.
Because every word he said, spoken and unspoken, in addition to Oak's letter, he meant.
If he could, he would have stayed like this forever, but a horrendous creaking not unlike that of metal brought him back to reality.
"Lyra, we need to move, this place is taking on water." he said, standing up and pulling her up with him.
"What? How?!"
"Do you even know where you are?"
She shook her head. Silver sighed.
"I'll explain later, we need to move. Now." he said simply, pulling her up. Looking down, the water was ankle deep. And that creaking wasn't sounding too good. "Can everyone here run?!"
"I think so. Leaf is starting to come around." Dayna said.
"And I'm not against carrying her like this." Gary proclaimed boldly with a confident smirk.
"Right." Silver muttered sarcastically. "Umbreon, find the nearest exit. We need to get moving!"
Umbreon nodded, then bolted forward, leading them.
"Isn't that-" Krystal began before Silver bolted past her, dragging Lyra behind him as his heavy foot-falls sent water flying. The white hallways soon became the normal gray and then Umbreon began leading them to an exit. The wall had been busted down, probably from the stampede of pokémon that came through here earlier. By the time that they managed to get to the exit, the water was rising quicker and quicker.
"Return!" Silver shouted, holding out Umbreon's pokéball. At this point, the water was up to his chest. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Gary trying to run, but failing, still holding Leaf. Silver could see her eyelids twitching, the water probably having an effect on her unconscious state.
"Blastoise!" he heard Fire shout. "Gary, put Leaf on here. Krystal, I'll help Ethan up!"
"Hey, I can-"
"Now's not the time to be stubborn, you're barely keeping up!" Krystal snapped, practically shoving him into Fire. After Leaf was settled, Ethan scrambled up and held onto his senior.
"Blastoise, take them ahead. Go!" Fire ordered. Come back once you hit land! I-" he groaned slightly as the water rose higher. Small arms seemed to wrap around his waist from behind, holding him up from sinking under. He was wincing horribly.
"Fire, you liar, you're really hurt!" Dayna cried out desperately. Her small stature did little to keep them both above water. Silver found himself floating suddenly rather than touching the ground. He could already see Krystal and Gary speeding after Blastoise.
Suddenly, the cry of an Azumarill interrupted them.
"That's Ethan's!" Lyra cried out. "Azumarill, over here, Fire needs help!"
Azumarill trilled it's name in response, going over to the dexholder.
"Fire, just hold on, you're going to the surface, I'm right behind you." Dayna said calmly and firmly, much more firmly than Silver expected from her. Pecking him gently on the forehead, she made sure he held tight before Azumarill was off. Dayna herself followed quickly after him.
"Silver, we need to go!" Lyra cried out, gulping down breaths as the water rose higher and higher.
"I need to make sure of something!" he grunted back, his one arm uselessly in pain.
"There's no time, please! I'm… I'm…"
"Lyra, you're running out of time, you've gotta go!"
"Who are you waiting for?!" she exclaimed as she gripped at his arm. "You're gonna die!"
"LYRA, GO!" he managed to shout as his head hit the ceiling. Lyra teared up for a moment, then took one last deep, long breath, then dove down. Silver craned his head back, taking quick breaths to store oxygen, then took a huge gulp of air and dove down. He opened his eyes, the salty water assaulting the delicate orbs, making them sting and tear up. He kept his gaze strained in the darkness, the lights having gone out due to the pressure.
Regardless, he strained his eyes, seeing if he could catch even a glimpse of Vale or the odd young man that claimed he would save her. He knew it was useless, as both had primarily dark clothes on.
Closing his eyes in silent memoriam for the two young adults, he turned back and started kicking towards the surface.
Silently, though, something warm trickled from his eyes. While he could blame it on the saltwater, he had a feeling because Vale was gone. And while he could write it off that he didn't need to mourn because she was an enemy, or because she wanted to die like this, or because, for as long as he could recall, people who committed suicide were weak, but he knew better.
Vale wasn't weak. She had to have had some semblance of strength if she made it this far before she really, actually considered ending her life. He hated living with Mask for the five years he was here… How many times he himself wished that it all would end!
But Vale was stuck here for near fourteen years, based on the information Sara gave him about "Felicity's" disappearance. Vale had to be strong, because she couldn't just live, she had to survive. And now, he realized he was mourning her, because no matter what she did, no matter what happened, she was always there for him when he was young.
For five years, she was his only sense of comfort, which made him wonder if that was how he ended up somewhat okay, unlike her. When it came to Vale, she had no one who would comfort her, no one she could turn to, no one at all. Maybe that was why she had so much confusion in her eyes as she tried desperately to understand what he meant when he said that she was missed, that she was to be loved by someone out there.
She's had conflicting messages in her all her life. Between the messages Mask instilled in her, the need for love and attention, and the fact that she wanted to give the same love to someone, anyone… Unless she was suppressing her emotions, as she often did, Silver found, it would be obvious that Vale probably had the emotional maturity of a young girl, if they weren't completely stunted by Mask to begin with.
And everything he said to her, he meant. While his objective was to save Lyra, he couldn't deny that, somewhere, he might have wanted to see Vale happy. And maybe, wherever she thinks she's gonna go after she died, she could be happy there.
As his head broke surface, he bobbed for a bit, seeing some of the dexholders on the shore. Lyra was waving her arms back and forth in spastic relief, begging Azumarill to speed faster towards him. He bowed his head for a moment, crying slightly and hoping the water would hide it, or he could blame it on the sea water.
He just wished, deep, deep down, that his 'sister' had found some semblance of meaning worth enough to her to live.
o.0.o.0.o
Pain like Fire soon departs…
The Day will heal our aching hearts…
Like ocean Blue we will continue
So don't dwell on this Farewell.
o.0.o.0.o
Ahem. Cue emotionally charged moments. So in the midst of all this drama, Silver confessed.
Wish me luck on my finals, I have one tomorrow and I'm a little nervous. First college final of my life!
Amy47101 signing off! ^.^