There. This was a LOT easier than Black & White.
MISC: Gold's billiard cue. I don't know what that thing's made of, but that's one durable cue. It's light, hollow (hence it gets compressed), yet strong enough to: prevent Lugia from closing its mouth for Aeroblast, shatter Pryce's ice mask, pierce the ice-body of Pryce (and become a lightning rod), stop the Battle Tower's disaster-prevention shutters from closing, have a sword fight against Archie, propel Blast Burn without burning… and on and on… As a result, I'm thinking that it's indestructible… it probably is too.
Primary: Gold & Crystal.
Stranded:
Crystal finished re-arranging the bags in her cabin and let out a sigh. For a vacation, she had decided to take Gold to the Icefall Cave in Four Island of the Sevii Islands. The icicles and the frozen lake inside the cave were supposedly beautiful and she wanted to see it. So after convincing Gold, she managed to drag him all the way to Vermillion City, where the Sea Gallop awaited them. Unfortunately, Crystal and Gold had to share a cabin, and like the irresponsible jerk that he was, Gold dumped all of his luggage in the cabin and disappeared somewhere, leaving Crystal with the mess.
The ship left the harbor soon, and Crystal left the cabin to find Gold. She received a call from Blue (currently in One Island), who gave her some suggestions on where to visit afterwards.
Crystal headed towards the side of the ship and looked at the sea. The water was sparkling beautifully and the Johto girl smiled as she looked onwards. They were currently passing past Two Island, meaning that their destination wasn't too far. But not too far away, she could see a large whirlpool… Crystal instantly turned and headed towards her cabin in case something went wrong.
She could feel the ship steadily turning direction as the whirlpool began to drag it closer. Suddenly, she felt a very powerful collision, which threw her back towards the narrow hallway. She slammed her upper back hard against the wall, and she felt the air escape her lungs. Feeling very dazed, she struggled back to her feet but the ship was shaking violently. Crystal staggered back and forth, trying to regain balance, but before she could, the floor beneath her cracked and soon broke. She fell through the hole and landed hard on the floor below. The pain she felt almost knocked her unconscious. She couldn't move her body, and she feared that she would die there. Before long, she could hear footsteps approaching her as she wavered in and out of unconsciousness.
"Hey, … …erious Ga… …ap out of it! … … I'll get you out. Jus… in ther…"
Crystal felt someone lift her up and support her from the side. In her state, she couldn't recognize who was helping her, but it didn't really matter. She tried to say her thanks, but as she tried to open her mouth, she lost consciousness.
…
Crystal woke up from the constant waves crashing onto the shore beside her. She didn't know what happened; she remembered being on a ship with Gold, heading towards Four Islands for a vacation, then she saw a whirlpool and… Crystal instantly snapped out of her semi-conscious state.
'Gold!'
Quickly, she pushed herself off the ground, but nearly collapsed. She couldn't breathe, and ended up vomiting the water she swallowed. Shaking away the nausea, she scanned the area. It was starting to get dark, but she could see Gold lying on the shore a few meters away. She crawled over to him as fast as she could manage.
"Gold!" she called, but received no response. "Gold?" she called again. Upon arriving at his side, she could tell that he wasn't conscious. "Come on, Gold, wake up!" she yelled, shaking him by the shoulders. He wasn't even breathing… A thought occurred and she became seriously worried… "Tell me you're not dead, Gold! You can't die!"
After a few more unsuccessful shakes, she couldn't help but let a few tears fall. She now had no choice but to use CPR. Crystal pinched Gold's nose and placed her lips on his and blew air into his lungs. She then placed her hands on his chest and pushed down repeatedly.
"Come on Gold! If you die…"
After 10 pushes, she leaned over for another mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, when… Gold's eyes snapped open. He let out a surprised yell and pushed her back while Crystal backed away from the sudden movement.
"Damn, Super Serious Gal," Gold started, taking deep breaths to calm his surprise. "I know I'm irresistible, but restrain yourself! You may want me, but this (points to himself) is display-only! Hands off the merchandise!"
Crystal's face turned red from embarrassment and anger.
"You jerk! Do you have any idea how much I was worried?" she screamed.
"Whoa, easy there, Crys," Gold said, laughing. "I'm perfectly fine. And I'm glad that you are too."
Crystal glared at him but her anger soon calmed. "What happened Gold? I saw a large whirlpool near the ship, but…"
"I was downstairs, exploring around, when the ship started to tilt," Gold explained. "I ran to the windows to see what was happening, and I could see the whirlpool. But not only that, but there was a big rock right in the way. Collision seemed impossible to avoid, so I tried to get to you. But the ship hit the rock first, and while I tried to regain balance, the floor started to break. Then the ceiling broke apart and you fell down through. You passed out, so I had to carry you and escape. On the way, I saw a lifejacket, so I put one on you and… the ship sank. Lucky I found a spare oxygen tank, otherwise I would've been screwed."
'Lifejacket?' Crystal looked down. She could see the lifejacket on her… "Wait… why do I have the lifejacket but not you?"
"There was only one," Gold replied.
Crystal fell silent, touched by Gold's sacrifice. He had chosen to save her, even if it meant that he drowned.
"… Thank you…" the Johto girl said silently. She suddenly sneezed as the wind started to blow.
Gold rose to his feet and tossed her his jacket. Crystal caught it and looked at him.
"Put it on, Crys. I'm going to go look for firewood."
"Aren't you cold?" Crystal asked.
"Nope," Gold replied. He took a look around and headed towards the forest nearby.
Crystal smiled as she watched him. Though he didn't say it, she knew him enough to know that he was just as cold as she was. He was just incapable of saying that he was going to make sacrifices for her.
She put the jacket on and rose to her feet. If Gold was getting firewood, then she might as well look for a place to build the fire.
Meanwhile…
Somewhat far away from the ship's wreckage, several bags floated on the water, drifting aimlessly. The bags have been separated from their owners, and got caught in the whirlpool, pushing them further away from any hope of being found. From one of the bags, a pocket opened and a Politoed came out of its Pokéball. It opened the bag and looked inside. Apart from its own Pokéball, there were 5 more, and a device it recognized as a Pokédex (version VI). Relieved that nothing was lost, it began to push the bag away from all the lost luggage.
Not too far away, the Politoed saw a familiar looking bag, and swam towards it. Upon opening the bag, it saw another Pokédex and 6 Pokéballs. From one of them, a Xatu came out and perched on a floating chunk of the ship.
After a short discussion, the Politoed swam away, looking for some large chunks of wood, while the Xatu kept an eye on the area. The Politoed soon returned with a giant chunk of wood, which appeared to be a piece of the floor of the ship. When the Xatu deemed that it was big enough, another Pokéball opened and a Typhlosion came out.
After another short discussion, the Politoed began to push the chunk of wood while Xatu navigated, and the Typhlosion sped the movement with a series of Flamethrowers, propelling the makeshift raft like a jet.
Few hours later…
Gold sat by the fire while he poked at the burning firewood with his indestructible billiard cue. Lucky for him, the cue was one of the two items that did not get lost in the shipwreck. The other one was the supply bag that he was wearing. The supply bag consisted of snacks, water, and a first aid kit. Everything else, including Pokémon, food (as in, proper food), map, Pokégear, and others were lost.
Crystal, who was hugging her knees and stared into the fire, suddenly sighed.
"Super Serious Gal, what's wrong?" Gold asked, noticing the depressed expression on her face.
The Johto girl looked away from the fire and stared into his eyes. She let out another long sigh and looked even more depressed.
"Aren't you worried at all?" she asked. "I mean… we're lost… What if we can't go back home? What if we can't see our friends again?"
"Hey, don't worry about it. Sooner or later we'll find a way out. After all, our friends will be looking all over Sevii Islands looking for us. Since we were on the way there, they're bound to spot the smoke from our fire. We'll be fine."
"But what about our Pokémon? They're lost too."
Gold fell silent. "… Our Pokémon can take care of themselves," he said after a long while. "They'll be alright, Crys."
Suddenly, Crystal started to sob. Gold looked at her for a second before he moved to sit beside her. He put his arm over her shoulders and tried to calm her down.
"I'm telling you, Crys, everything's going to be fine."
"I'm sorry, Gold," Crystal sobbed out. "I never should've suggested that we go to Four Island…"
"Crys, this isn't your fault."
"But…"
"You're delirious. I think you should try to sleep," Gold suggested. "Once you rest, I'm sure you'll feel much better."
Gold embraced Crystal as she slowly calmed down. But because he was sitting beside her, he failed to see the Blast Burn aimed at the sky from far behind…
Meanwhile, in One Island, Blue sat outside her house, looking up at the stars. Many years ago, she used to look up at the stars as if they had a method for her to escape from the Mask of Ice. Once she escaped a few years afterwards, she looked up at the stars, wondering where her parents were. She thought that they would be looking at the stars as well, and it somewhat comforted her to know that they were looking at the same thing.
Nowadays, she looked at the stars just to enjoy the view, and think about how happy she is compared to her past. Suddenly, she saw a stream of fire aimed at the sky from far, far away. Surprised, she paid more attention to the fire, but it ended shortly. It didn't take long for her to recognize what it was.
'That looked like Blast Burn… Only Green, Gold, Sapphire, and that old lady Brinca can use that move…' Blue thought, suddenly becoming worried. 'Green and Sapphire are nowhere near here, and Two Island isn't in that direction… which means… Gold.' A thought occurred and Blue jumped to her feet. 'A signal flare? Something must've happened!'
Blue quickly reached for her Pokégear and called Crystal. But the Johto girl didn't pick up.
More surprised, Blue quickly ran inside her house, got her coat and a flashlight, and with her Wigglytuff, flew towards the area where the Blast Burn originated.
Half an hour later, Blue began to wonder whether she passed the area she was looking for. But just as she was about to turn around, she saw something glowing reddish orange not too far away. Blue pointed her flashlight at it. She could see a Typhlosion on a chunk of wood, along with two bags, a Politoed, and a Xatu. Upon taking a closer look, Blue recognized them as Gold's Explotaro, Politaro, and Crystal's Tupeon.
Blue quickly got her Wigglytuff to lower the altitude while she quickly pulled out her Pokégear.
"Silver?" she said once the Johto boy picked up after a few rings. "Silver, listen. Get everyone over to One Island right now!"
"Uh… sis? It's 10 pm. Isn't it a little late?" Silver asked.
"Right now, Silver!" Blue said hastily. "Something happened to Gold and Crys!"
"Got it," Silver said, quickly hanging up.
Blue put her Pokégear away and signaled her juniors' Pokémon to get back in their Pokéballs. Once they did, she picked up the bags and headed back home.
Several hours later…
Blue groaned as she put a hand on her forehead. She tried to see if her juniors' Pokémon could tell her anything, but it was useless. She turned to look at the clock. It was 10 pm when she attempted to get some information, but it was 5 am now.
'Only if Yellow was here…' she thought with a sigh.
But before long, someone knocked on the door, and realizing that the other Dex Holders were here, Blue quickly ran to open it. She let them inside and dragged Yellow towards Gold's Explotaro.
Yellow closed her eyes and put a hand on the Typhlosion's forehead. Images ran through her mind as the Typhlosion recalled the shipwreck.
The other Dex Holders watched nervously as Yellow started to frown. Her hand was beginning to twitch, and a couple of seconds later, she pulled away after a gasp.
"Yellow, what happened?" Blue asked.
"They… they were passing by Two Island when the ship was caught in a whirlpool," Yellow started after a few seconds. "The ship hit a giant rock and it sank… Gold and Crys weren't near their Pokémon when it happened…"
Emerald, who had been worrying about Crystal, looked alarmed.
Green cleared his throat. "You heard her, let's get going! Everyone, take a Pokémon that can Fly or Surf. If you have more than one, then lend it to someone who doesn't!"
Green tossed his Golduck's Pokéball to Emerald. Red gave his Gyarados to Diamond, and Platinum received Crystal's Xatu. Green took Sapphire's Wailord and gave it to Blue.
"You and Yellow stay here and see if you can get some more information," Green said. "You know the Sevii Islands better than anyone, Blue. So you should be able to tell us where to go if you find out anything. And take Sapphire's Wailord. It's big enough for everyone to get on, so it'll be our rescue boat."
Blue nodded and received Wailord's Pokéball (Sapphire doesn't keep it in the ball, but this was an emergency).
"We'll call you if we find anything, and you can come to us with the Wailord," Green said. "We'll signal where we are so you can find us." The Gym Leader turned to face the other Dex Holders. "Alright, listen up. Red, Sapphire, search around this island. Report anything odd to Blue. Ruby, Emerald, search around Two Island. Silver, Pearl, you'll take Three Island. Diamond and Platinum, Four Island. I'll take Five Island. Now, let's move!"
Meanwhile…
Gold continued to stare at the slowly dying fire while resting his head on Crystal's, as if the glare alone would keep the fire alive. Crystal had fallen asleep in his embrace several hours ago, but he didn't sleep at all. He couldn't. Though he assured Crystal that their Pokémon would be fine, he was really worried. He spent his entire life with them (except Typhlosion), and couldn't bear the thought of losing them. And because of that, he remained awake… Also he was really hungry.
He looked at Crystal. Though she didn't say it, he knew that she was just as hungry as he was. Gold began to wonder if it was his fault that they didn't have enough food. If only he had packed more… Because he had never anticipated that this would happen, he only packed one uncooked Cianwood sweet potato and one water bottle. With a sigh, he took his billiard cue (still unscathed despite being in the fire for hours), stabbed the sweet potato on the end, and stuck it into the dying flame. If Crystal blamed herself for the shipwreck, then Gold blamed himself for the lack of food. And as such, he was going to save her from starvation.
Two hours later, Crystal began to stir. Gold quickly pretended to be asleep.
Crystal opened her eyes and took a few seconds to remember where she was. She realized that she was leaning on Gold's shoulder and instantly pulled away, seriously blushing. It was a good thing that he was still asleep…
"… Thank you, Gold," she said silently. After a few seconds of hesitation, she reached over and kissed him in the cheek. But to her horror, Gold started to grin. 'He's awake?'
"… You want to tell me what that was about, Super Serious Gal?" Gold said, slowly opening his eyes.
"G – Gold! W – When did you wake up?"
"I never slept," Gold replied. "So, what's your answer?"
"I – It's just m – my way of thanking you," Crystal lied, covering her cheeks with her hands to hide the blush.
"Really? So you thank everyone by kissing them? That makes you one serious s-"
"No! Not everyone! Just you!"
Gold started to laugh. "I thought so!" He reached for his billiard cue and pulled it out of the fire. "Here, you look hungry," he said, carefully removing the sweet potato from the tip of the cue (so he doesn't get burned).
The sweet potato (wrapped in tin foil) landed on Crystal's leg, and she quickly pushed it off. "Ow!"
"Oops, I just wanted to heat it up for you, Crys," Gold said with a grin. "Looks like it was too much though. It's a common mistake, so don't get angry."
"Don't get angry?" Crystal yelled angrily. "What if I was burned, Gold?"
Gold let out a long sigh. "Just like the old days, huh, Crys?"
Crystal smiled after a few seconds of thought. "Just like the old days, Gold…"
Gold took his cue and put the sweet potato back on its tip (by putting the tip on the hole that was made the first time). He then carefully removed the tin foil around the sweet potato and began to peel it.
"Here, Crys," he said, giving the cue to Crystal. "Eat it."
"What about you?" Crystal asked, receiving the cue.
"I'm not hungry," Gold replied nonchalantly.
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not."
Gold's stomach started to growl. Crystal smiled. "See, you are hungry." She took a small bite from the sweet potato. She moved the tip of the cue towards Gold's mouth. "Now you take a bite. We'll share. I'll eat this half, and you eat the other half."
'Then… when we get to the middle of the sweet potato…' Gold started to laugh again. "Are you trying to thank me again, Crys? You just can't get enough of this (points to himself), can you?"
Crystal blushed, realizing her mistake. She started to stammer when Gold stopped her.
"I told you already that this was for display only, right? But if you wanted VIP access, then I can help you with that."
Gold took a big bite from his side of the sweet potato. After a wink, he rose to his feet.
"I'll be right back, Super Serious Gal. We need some more firewood."
15 hours later, 10 pm…
It was dark once again, and marked the second night on the island. Gold sat beside Crystal once again and stared into the fire. Crystal had fallen asleep, but Gold still couldn't. This time, he was worried about what would happen. The water bottle was empty, and there was nothing to eat.
Suddenly, Crystal grunted in her sleep. Gold, realizing that she was uncomfortable, carefully set her on the ground and rose to his feet. He put his jacket on top of her like a blanket, and with a makeshift torch (stabbed a long piece of wood with his billiard cue, and let that wood catch on fire), entered the forest. Thankfully, not that deep into the forest, he spotted some Pecha Berries on the berry plant. Though there were at most 3 ripe berries, Gold felt relieved that there was now a source of food and water at the same time. He picked the berries and returned to the camp, where Crystal was asleep. It was possible that there were dangers on the island, which was why he couldn't leave her by herself for too long, and which was why he didn't sleep. He had to protect her, no matter what.
Relieved that nothing happened while he was gone, Gold put the three Pecha Berries on his bag and sat beside Crystal, with his billiard cue in hand.
Next day, 6 am…
Crystal soon woke up from her sleep and sat up. Noticing that Gold's jacket was on her, she quickly turned to look at Gold. He was sitting right beside her, looking at the horizon with a blank look.
"… Gold?"
The goggled boy snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Crystal. "Ah, you're awake, huh? How'd you sleep?"
"Did… did you sleep at all?" Crystal asked, noticing the dark circles around Gold's bloodshot eyes. To her surprise, he shook his head. "Why?"
"You never know whether there's something dangerous on the island," Gold replied. "Someone has to remain awake and stay on guard."
"You never said anything about…" Crystal trailed off when a thought came to her. Gold had chosen to remain awake to guard her from possible dangers. He didn't tell her about it because he wanted her to rest… "Gold…"
Gold noticed that Crystal was about to cry. "Hey, Super Serious Gal, look at what I picked yesterday," he said, taking a Pecha Berry from his bag. He tossed her one and took one for himself. "Crys, don't cry…"
Crystal nodded, yet tears still fell from her eyes. Looking at the Pecha berry in her hands, she began to realize that Gold was a lot more responsible and mature when he needed to be. Deciding to take better care of him from now on, Crystal took a bite.
Meanwhile…
Platinum flew around Four Island on her senior's Xatu, looking for a sign that her seniors were alive. A few kilometers away, she could see Green flying on his Charizard, scanning around Five Island (the red flame on Charizard's tail is easy to spot). The heiress looked down, and saw Diamond on Red's Gyarados. While Diamond looked from below, Platinum flew farther away from Four Island, broadening the search radius.
Several minutes later, she noticed something and quickly flew towards an island. She had spotted a small column of smoke coming from near the shore, which was very unusual…
On the island, Gold looked up at the cloudless blue sky. He took a closer look as he saw something from far away approach the island very fast…
The heiress soon arrived at the island and freed herself from Xatu's grip. She landed softly on the sand some 100 meters away from the source of the smoke, so she started to run. Much to her surprise, she could see Gold lying face down on the water near the shore.
"Senior Gold!" the heiress shrieked, running even faster.
She dragged her senior onto land and flipped him so that he lay face-up. The heiress shook him, but he didn't wake up. His eyes remained shut and he wasn't breathing.
"Senior Gold, please! Wake up!" the heiress screamed again.
But her senior remained motionless. Platinum started to panic and she looked around frantically, trying to think of what to do. Not too far away, she could see Crystal, also lying on the ground.
The heiress ran towards her and tried to wake her up. Again, she was unsuccessful. The heiress dragged Crystal over towards Gold and desperately tried to think of what to do. Suddenly, she felt movement directly behind her, and quickly spun around. Much to her horror, Gold, who was dead a second ago, had sat up and was looking at her with his mouth open and eyes blank.
Platinum screamed as she stumbled backwards. But then, Gold started to laugh. Much to the heiress's surprise, Crystal also sat up.
"I'm really sorry for scaring you, Platinum," she said with an apologetic look. "It was Gold's idea…"
The heiress burst into tears and embraced Crystal. "I – I was so worried, seniors! I was afraid that you were dead!"
Gold set a hand on the heiress's shoulder. "Die? Come on, Dex Holders never d-"
"Gold, shut up. We're lucky to have survived this long," Crystal said, patting her junior on the back. "Alright Platinum, let's get out of here."
"Yes, senior!" The heiress pulled out her Pokégear and contacted Blue. She then sent out her Rapidash and had it use Flamethrower aimed at the sky, acting as a signal flare to the Dex Holders nearby.
Gold slowly rose to his feet and took the last Pecha Berry from his supply bag. He split it in half and gave one half to Crystal.
Crystal received the berry and also stood up. Noticing that Platinum was busy calling the other Dex Holders, she silently whispered to Gold.
"Thank you for everything, Gold."
Next up: Diamond & Platinum
By the way, I would highly appreciate it if you readers point out (during reviews) which characters seem… well, out of character, and which ones are not. That way, I can change those who need changing, and keep those who don't. For example, I feel that Silver doesn't seem to be in character all that much, so I'm thinking of ways to change that.