They laid there. In a pool of their own blood. Wind blowing quietly around them. Summer had fallen asleep. She had bled out too much and lost almost enough blood to kill her.
He laid there. Hand in hers. Tears in his eyes. If he fell asleep…. Would it be the end for them both? Would one die and the other live? Would Summer pull through for him? Arceus…. He prayed she pulled through for him.
Ben could think of many things in his life. However, losing the person he loved came to him as the worst he could ever imagine. It was Oblivia all over again. How he lost her when they first alive and was convinced she was dead. Though now…. He may be witnessing her death with his own eyes.
"I was so stupid," the brunette muttered as his long point of hair started to lose its volume as sweat started to appear on his head. The point of hair seemed to started falling apart into his face as tears filled the boy's eyes.
Ben placed his left hand over the left side of his face. Closing his right eye a tear made its way down his cheek, battling its way through the blood on his face before blending in with the bloodied grass below them.
"I should have known something was wrong!" the brunette hissed as he gritted his teeth. He was an idiot! Had he not learned anything from Oblivia?! The mission always came first! A Ranger was always prepared to die for their job! As long as they got information and could pass something useful onto another Ranger it would be alright!
It was a silent oath each Ranger swore when they came into the Ranger School. It was a silent oath they recited every day over and over again in their minds. It was something they couldn't forget! Something they shouldn't forget!
So then….. why he want so much to put Summer before everything else. The minute he knew everything was going to hell…. He didn't care about his safety, or the safety of the people in the lab, they had been taken by the already. All he cared about was getting Summer to safety, was saving Summer and having Summer finish this mission and make it out alive…. And yet…. Ben looked over at the brunette, she looked so peaceful…. There she was, laid on the floor, blood pooling around her.
Her arm had made its way into an invisible sling over her chest. Ben could see the blood started to form into a large scab. Looking closer, he could make out the white bone in Summer's arm.
'Her wounds are worse than I thought,' the brunette sighed silently as he looked back towards the sky. It was cloudy. Dark, black clouds began forming and purple lightning began appearing in the sky.
Ben's gut suddenly started turning as he looked around. The lightning was hitting things around them. Trees and bushes…. But what worried Ben the most was the fact these things slowly started to disappeared after they were hit.
His eyes widened slightly as fear filled his eyes. If any of the lightning were to hit him or Summer would they die or would their bodies disappear just like the trees? He didn't know and, honestly, he didn't want to find out as he gulped.
Ben wanted so much to move. To move from the grass, to grab Summer and just run. But he knew he couldn't. His leg was more than likely broken. Not to mention he didn't dare move Summer for fear of injuring her more.
"I'm sorry," the brunette whispered as tears started to flow freely from his eyes. "That I couldn't save you," he hiccupped as he squeezed Summer's hand a little. He could see her chest raising and falling lightly. "That I couldn't save the Region. Or the world," he sobbed loudly as he covered his eyes with his arms.
"Nema, Rand, Leanne. Everything you've taught us…. I'm sorry I couldn't use it more wisely," he sobbed loudly as he bit his lip slightly. He hiccupped. His final wish was for his friends to be safe, for the people of this region all to be gone and for the world to be saved.
If anything he could count on his friends.
"Ben!" a voice yelled as the brunette's teary eyes snapped open. Above him were two figures coming into view. They were….. Staraptors and riding them was….. Crawford and Luana!
Boy, had he never been so happy to see someone before in his life. His sorrow felt tears were soon replaced with sobs of joy. They were saved, he was safe…. Summer was safe.
The two landed and instantly, Crawford withdraw a first aid kit, bandaging what he could up to keep the bleeding the two had to a low minimum now.
"They've both lost a lot of blood," Luana muttered as her eyes narrowed slightly. She looked at the sky and pursed her lips together slightly. It looked like it wanted to rain, but then again there was only lightning hitting the ground.
"It's a good thing we got to you when we did," Crawford chuckled as he picked Summer up in his arms, carrying her to his Staraptor.
"Yeah, can't do with anymore Rangers injured, disappearing or turning to pokemon on us," Luana stated with a small hum as she hoisted Ben onto his good leg, which caused him to hiss in pain.
"Man, you must have been injured really bad," Crawford stated. Ben sighed, one of his legs was broken and the other sprained, he really hoped he could be of use in the Union somehow now.
"Yeah, but what do you mean turning to pokemon, missing or injured?" Ben asked with a small confused look, though he already had a pretty good idea of what was happening around the globe.
"Erma and Hastings will explain. Right now, our top priority is getting you to Rythmi and Isaac to be healed," Luana stated as she pulled Ben onto her Staraptor as Crawford sat on his with Summer leaning into his chest.
"Hold on. It was a bumpy ride here and it'll more than likely be worse getting back," Crawford stated as the Staraptors took off into the air. Luana grinned slightly, she did love riding pokemon around the world.
As the four were taken up a large flash of purple lightning hit the ground below them. Ben, Luana and Crawford all looked at the area in shock. Their eyes were wide, their teeth gritted together, lips parted in shock, small beads of sweat running down their faces as they looked at what had just happened.
A dark blue substance had replaced the Johto Region as they all gulped.
The lightning had somehow…. Destroyed the Region. It was no longer there. Where the Johto Region should have been was now just another part of the dark blue ocean.
"That's all the questions I have as of now. I'll be taking my leave. Professor Birch should be expecting me," Seren stated as she stood to her feet. Caden ran over to the girl, hugging her around the leg as he buried his face into the side of it.
"Now leave. I swear Seren if I ever see you again-,"
"Don't worry about it," Seren interrupted as she gave the woman a sharp glare, pursing her lips together as she stared at the woman. Sarah looked at her daughter in shock as she narrowed her eyes. "Once I leave this Region I won't return at all. I'll live my life, with my friends, with Caden, with Kellyn in the Almia Region," the black haired girl stated as she placed her badge in her pocket.
"And just where do you think you're taking my son?" Sarah asked in anger as she stood to her feet.
"Due to the Ranger Law, we help people and pokemon in need. After growing up in that house hold with you and Tyler. I guarantee you will never see Caden again," Seren answered as she gripped her badge with her hand. Caden gulped, not looking up between the two as he continued to hide his face.
Sarah looked at Seren in anger, her eyes suddenly turning a blood red as Seren noticed a large black mist beginning to fill the room. Without warning, something strange happened to Sarah Redfern. Her teeth turned to fangs and her hair was set ablaze.
"Things are getting stranger with this darkness," Seren muttered as her mother suddenly lunged at her. Seren gripped Caden around the arms and quickly jumped out of the way.
"Kellyn!" Seren yelled as the room began getting darker and darker, soon the only thing the girl could see was the fire that was now her mother's hair. Seren gritted her teeth as she felt a small, animal like paw on her bare leg.
"Kellyn?" she asked, in return there was a small call from the pokemon. Seren smiled to herself as she pushed Caden towards the blue pokemon. "Take Caden and leave. I'll be right behind you," the black haired girl whispered as she stood to her feet.
Even though it was dark, the exit was completely visible, behind her mother. She knew Kellyn would get her brother to safety and in the process she had to defeat her mother. But what was going on with this new enemy was a complete mystery.
Caden whimpered slightly as Kellyn kept the best grip he could on the boy's hands. Seren looked up at her mother as a sharp pain suddenly ran through her chest.
She clutched the skin above her heart and started to fall to her knees as Kellyn led Caden around the two towards the exit. He watched in fear as Sarah began advancing on Seren.
"That's it. Allow it to enter you. Allow this feeling to take over!" Sarah yelled as she began to laugh evilly. Seren huffed, feeling her heart ache. What was this feeling? No…. she knew this feeling… there was something familiar about it.
This feeling it was…. Hatred.
Seren's eyes snapped open in complete shock. The darkness, it was feeding on what she and her mother were feeling. It was bringing out the worst in the people around it. At least, that's what Seren was using as her theory.
'Ben and Summer, Kate and Keith, Sven and Wendy. I don't think I've ever seen them angry at each other for more than five minutes. I've never been mad at Kellyn for more than a day. But her…. I hate her guts and this darkness… it's feeding on that!'
Seren stood to her feet as a fist collided with her face. She was sent flying backwards, breaking the desk behind her. Caden stopped as he looked over his shoulder.
"Seren!" he yelled. Kellyn stood frozen. He didn't dare turn around. The girl he loved was in trouble and he couldn't do a single thing to help her. He felt so useless.
"Leave!" Seren ordered as she sat up, rubbing her head in pain. She felt a sticky liquid seep through her fingers.
"But-,"
"I said get out of here! This darkness is taking control of everything! Kellyn," the blue pokemon finally looked behind him. "I don't care what the hell happens to me, but don't you dare let anyone else fall under this damn thing!" Seren ordered as her mother gripped the girl around the throat.
Kellyn's eyes widened as tears began to fill them. He started shooting pokemon attack, one after the other, missing every time. His vision soon became blinded by tears as Caden fell to his knees, tears spilling down his cheeks.
"What are you doing you idiot?" Seren asked as she placed her hands on her mother's. "You're doing it again. Judging everything by how it looks. You always do it. You did it when we were sent to Fiore. When we participated in Operation Brighton. Everything, your face, your life, you always judged it by how it looks," Seren explained as Kellyn felt tears fall down his cheeks. The black haired girl gritted her teeth as she kicked her mother in the stomach, sending her flying backwards.
Caden stood in shock, a small smile beginning to make its way onto his face as he looked at his older sister in shock. Seren huffed as she coughed a little more blood up from her throat.
"Not anymore," the black haired girl hissed. "Being a Ranger made us stronger. Going through our dark time brought us out brighter than everything before. Being attacked forced us to fight back, and now we're stronger than ever. Despite the scars we obtained along the way. We are who we are and we have a mission. So, darkness be damned," Seren growled as she walked towards her mother, who stood back to her feet.
"I won't let this thing control me!" the black haired girl yelled as she threw a punch at her mother, hitting her square in the face, sending her flying backwards. Kellyn looked at the black haired girl in shock as she stood panting.
Seren hissed in pain as her chest began to feel heavy and painful again. She found her knees getting weak but refused to fall to the ground.
This was it. A fight she had been waiting for her entire life.
A fight between mother and a daughter.
A fight between light and dark.
Good and bad.
Who would win…. Well, that was made unsure in the darkness that surrounded them all.
Wendy's breath was ragged. It came out shallow as she hugged her arms around herself. She made it to the top of the mountain, but there was nothing there. Nothing out of the ordinary.
She fell to her knees as she gripped a hold of her chest. The clouds were seemingly making the air thick and heavy and it was becoming hard to breath. Wendy had gotten numerous wounds on the way up the mountain.
The further she got, the less pokemon there were. And the pokemon that were left were getting more and more agitated by the minute. When she had captured the pokemon they turned to dust, much like what had happened to Kate and Seren the first time they caught a pokemon.
The greenette huffed as the wind started to blow roughly. Wendy gripped the hat atop her head to stop it from blowing away. A dark fog started to surround her.
Soon the girl was covered by the fog up to her waist. Unconsciously, tears started to spill from her eyes as she tried her hardest not to begin crying. Why? Why did this have to happen?! And to Sven?!
Wendy had met the boy in Ranger school. Back then they were in reverse. Wendy had short hair and loved to sweet talk people, while Sven had long hair and was quiet and shy.
The girl thought him cute and instantly tried to sweet talk him. When Sven opened his mouth to reply to her the girl instantly knew the two of them would be friends. Honestly, she hadn't even expected the boy to reply with something like that.
Wendy smiled slightly to herself. How she missed the old days. Nowhere was under threat, no one was getting injured so seriously. The end of the world just seemed like a few lifetimes away.
But then, Kate and Keith came and all hell broke loose. Not just with the pranks the red head pulled, but with Dim Sun. Then Ben and Summer came along and they had to deal with the Pokemon Pinchers. Before them all was Solana and Lunick who had to deal with the Go Rock Squad.
She knew that Solana and Lunick were the first to deal with enemies like this. But they dealt with it so smoothly and so swiftly they were gone within a couple weeks.
It was Dim Sun that made everything seemed to come to an end. But now, this darkness was just consuming…. It felt as if the end was already near.
"Then why are you still fighting?" a voice came. Wendy looked up. Her eyes widening in shock as she looked at Sven in front of her. She stood to her feet, but was stopped by a pain shooting through her. The greenette dropped to the ground in front of her.
Her wounds were too extensive, she had lost a lot of blood now and her vision was starting to become hazy. She looked up at her partner, where his dark hair was he was now fully grey, the only thing standing out were his now red eyes.
"You know why," Wendy whimpered as she held her stomach in pain. There was more blood than she had expected. Sven cocked his head as he held his hand up slightly. The woman's eyes widened as she looked at the red substance that covered his hand. "What did-,"
"Why are you still fighting?" Sven asked as he knelt down in front of the woman. "You can be with me again…. All you need to do is give in… give up," the grey haired man coaxed as he reached his hand out, smearing the greenette's blood on her face.
"Sven," the woman whispered as she tried her hardest to rid herself of the pain.
"Come with me, Wendy," he ordered as he pulled the girl up by the throat. He held her in the air for a moment as the greenette began chocking slightly.
Sven lowered her a moment after. His red eyes boring into hers as Wendy coughed blood up. It would have landed on his face if it hadn't gone straight through him.
He studied her face for a moment or so. She was in pain, a lot of pain. The darkness was trying to consume her but she was still trying to fight it, that much he could see.
"S-Sven," the greenette choked as she looked down at the grey haired boy in front of her. Sven cocked his head to the side slightly, not sure why she was still fighting the darkness.
He felt so much better. He could let his anger out on anyone and anything and not suffer any consequences. After all, no one could bury those kind of emotions forever and the darkness only urged you to bring them out.
Sven smirked as Wendy began losing breath. His smirk soon turned to a small frown though as he brought her face closer to him. Wendy stared at him in fear. This wasn't the Sven she knew. This wasn't the Sven she wanted. She wanted the old Sven back. The one she could laugh and have fun with. Not this cold, evil one.
To the greenette's surprise, the grey haired Sven pressed his cold lips against her and in that moment, in that small moment Wendy lost everything. Her will and self-control.
She felt the darkness make its way into her heart as the greenette was placed onto the floor. She wrapped her arms around Sven's neck as her green hair started to become a light grey.
The darkness began surrounding the two of them as Wendy was sucked into its control.
The Rangers had lost another.
Keith cursed to himself as he punched the rock wall in front of him. His hands were already bleeding from having to clear more and more rock slides out of the way.
The red head growled as he looked around the darkened mountain. Cynthia stood beside him as she tended to her Lucario's wounded paws.
"This isn't getting us anywhere!" Keith hissed as he slumped down against the wall. A beeping noise suddenly filled the area. Cynthia looked up at the red head as he pulled his arm out in front of him. "Yeah?" he asked in annoyed voice.
"Keith, we have a problem," Rythmi spoke on the other end of the screen. Keith sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. How he just wanted this mission to end and to be home in Almia.
"What is it?" he asked. His body suddenly felt like it was draining as he slumped down the wall, taking a deep breath as he did so.
"Well, first Summer and Ben had to retreat the mission. They were caught in an explosion," the red head snapped his head up as he looked at the screen.
"Are they okay?!" he asked in worry. Rythmi frowned from the other end of the screen. His eyes were growing dull and tired by the second.
"They're fine, they're in recovery now," Rythmi nodded as she pursed her lips together. "The next thing is that… The Region they were in the Johto Region…. It's been completely obliviated," the blonde stated as Cynthia snapped her head towards Keith. Lucario looked up in shock as the red head felt his blood run cold.
"H-how? What…. What happened to all the people? The…. Pokemon?" the red head asked as his bangs started to cover his eyes.
"From what Ben told us the people were taken over by the darkness and the pokemon had all gone too," Rythmi answered.
"In other words we were already too late," Cynthia muttered as she sighed heavily, shaking her head slightly as she did so.
"It gets worse," Rythmi spoke up as she closed her eyes a little, almost as if preparing herself for what she had to say. "Wendy's Styler's also gone off the grid now," she stated as she opened her eyes. Keith saw a tray tear make its way down her cheek as she spoke.
"What does that mean?" Keith asked in confusion as he looked at the blonde on the screen.
"Isn't it obvious?" Cynthia asked as she looked up. "If this darkness can get a hold of every human and pokemon in a Region and then wipe it out, what will be left?" the blonde asked as she looked at Keith.
"We're looking at the end of the world," Rythmi sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. Keith's heart jumped in his chest as he quickly stood to his feet, supporting his tired body by the wall around him.
"So, what do we do?" Keith asked as he looked down at the screen.
"We don't know. We've relayed all information to Hastings. Whatever you can find out on the top of the mountain may be our best shot. But please, be careful," Rythmi begged as she hung the phone up.
Keith hummed to himself, there was something different about the girl. Almost as if she were acting.
"Well, this darkness has been doing strange things to people," Keith muttered as he looked up. "If it's got Wendy then we may see her again," the red head muttered.
"There's also the high possibility that now the Region they were in will be destroyed as well," Cynthia sighed as she looked up.
"What? Is this thing trying to create a new order or something?" Keith asked in anger as he looked at Cynthia.
"I'm not entirely sure. Honestly, the only time I ever even considered a darkness like this was when Dialga and Palkia waged war on each other and Giratina intervened," the blonde answered.
"Giratina?" Keith asked in confusion as he began walking towards a set of stairs. Cynthia followed not too far behind him with Lucario.
"Giratina runs the Reverse World. When Team Galactic were trying to get Palkia and Dialga, Cyrus, the leader, was sent to the Reverse World with Giratina. Since no humans or pokemon except Giratina himself lived there, it seemed like the ideal punishment among the three Legendries. But now, it seems that he's escaped and has also found a way to control the darkness only Giratina should have," Cynthia explained as Keith looked back at her completely confused.
"Dumb it down for me," Keith requested as they ascended the stairs. Cynthia blinked for a moment and began thinking.
"Let's see. Blue haired bad guy found a way to control pokemon darkness and now wants to destroy the world," the blonde stated, quite proud with her statement. Keith blinked a couple of times and nodded his head.
"Then we better put a stop to this," the red head stated as he balled his fists. "We're gonna get everyone back. Kate, Sven, Wendy. We're gonna watch Ben and Summer heal. We're gonna see Kellyn turn back to normal. I swear this by our Ranger Oath. We will stop Cyrus!" Keith practically yelled as he took off running up the stairs.
Cynthia watched him in shock. Smiling slightly to herself as she did so. If Kate were here right now she knew for a fact that, despite the times being hard, this moronic red head would be making her laugh right about now.
'I just hope we can save our Regions in time,' Cynthia sighed as her Pokegear began buzzing. She pulled it out and answered it quickly.
"Flint? About time. Where have you been?!" the blonde asked in complete shock.
"We have a huge problem over here in Hoenn," the red head stated as he looked through the screen. Keith had ran on ahead and Cynthia didn't see the point in worrying him so much.
"Did you meet up with Kellyn and Seren?" Cynthia asked as she managed to get a good look at Flint. His hair was singed and his face was covered in bruises and cuts.
"Haven't been to Mauville yet. I assume they're doing alright though," the red head answered.
"Kellyn's been turned into a pokemon and we haven't heard anything since. What's the problem in Hoenn?" Cynthia asked in concern as she pursed her lips.
"Well, all of a sudden this black mist started coming from nowhere. The pokemon have turned completely agitated and won't calm down. The people are even worse, I don't know why but they're starting to attack each other," Flint stated as he bit his lip and turned his screen to show two people fighting. "I tried to talk some sense into them but they won't have any of it," the red head added as he shook his head.
"Listen to me! Get to Mauville City. Seren and Kellyn are the Rangers you need to meet. They're still young so protect them. Try to get to the professor to get information. If you can't retreat back to the Ranger Union in Almia. I have a feeling that soon we'll have to go there too," Cynthia stated as she continued walking up the stairs. Flint nodded his head and hung up his Pokegear.
The blonde sighed as she finally reached the top of the stairs. She was confused to see Keith standing in front of her, not moving a muscle.
"Keith?" she asked as she looked over the boy's shoulder. What she saw before her made her stop in her tracks as Keith started to back up. His hands began shaking, his heart began racing. His blood ran cold, his face turned pale. His knees began buckling together and fear struck him completely.
Stood in front of the boy was Kate, Sven and Wendy, each of them with piercing red eyes and each of them looking murderous in one way or another.
"Kate," the red head muttered as he felt a tear escape his eye, running over his cheek and lip before dropping onto the floor.
What was a Ranger to do when their newest, greatest enemy was now their closest, most trusted friends?
Keith balled his fists as he blinked the rest of his tears away.
They were to fight.
Fight in order to bring back those friends they loved so dearly.
"I'm sorry."
Keith: What the heck are you doing?! I want another chapter! Another I tell you!
Jheeze, calm your ass. Alright people, it's been a while but most of it was due to figuring out what was going to happen in the following chapters.
Rythmi: Unfortunately, HTF had to go solo again on this chapter.
I will more than likely be going solo for the rest of the story besides a few parts now. Sky will contribute when she can and for those who are wondering, she's doing fine, sorry if she's worrying any of you.
Keith: I want another chapter! What happens next?!
Isaac: I can't believe Sven kissed Wendy…
Keith: Evil Sven, he's Evil Sven!
Also, an anonymous reviewer requested for my email, that I won't give out. However, my profile does accept PMs I think anonymous can send them as well. If not then please just review me what you want to ask and I will answer in future chapters.
Rythmi: I think that's it so far.
I think so. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who's stuck through this story. I know it's been a couple of years and we haven't progressed much and I'm really sorry about that.
Keith: HTF also got herself a good paying fulltime job now so she will try to update as much as she can.
The next few chapters I haven't chosen what I'm going to focus on. But you guys have a choice. We can A) take the entire thing back to the Almia Region and have the final fight there…
Keith: B) We can take it to the Fiore Region and maybe introduce Solana and Lunick and have the final fight there…
Rythmi: Or C) We can stay in the Sinnoh Region and continue everything there.
Let's us know what you think and I'll be sure to see you guys again in the new year. Until then…
Cast: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our loyal readers!
