SL has a new slogan! The old one of "The life of a Dex Holder is always intense" still holds, but the new one's a bit better. "SL. Where everything goes to hell". It even rhymes!

Many worries about this story and whether it was cancelled or not. I assume those reviewers did NOT READ THE BLOG POSTS. Because I said it there like… 3 times. Even if I chose to cancel SL right now, the actual cancellation will occur in SL #023, thus giving me more time to think about it, while the story progresses. Just like SA. I wanted to cancel it in SA #017. Waited until #020 to declare the cancellation alert, and then continued for 2 more chapters for reconsideration. SO RELAX. Just because the update speed is like 1 word/day, it doesn't mean it's cancelled. It ain't cancelled until I say it's cancelled.

If I wanted to cancel it, I would say: CANCELLATION ALERT!

That was a drill. I'm not cancelling. For the real thing, I would probably say: THIS IS NOT A DRILL. CANCELLATION ALERT! (That was also a drill)

By the way, new poll on profile. A survey, since I don't think my latest news update method is exactly working out. Again. So there's the survey/poll. This message shall appear on every update that's a part of this mass-update. … So every story's latest chapter.

Segment: Gold & Crystal.

Chapter 21: Broken Apart

April 22, 10 am, Pallet Town…

Crystal checked her Pokégear again. Damn it, she couldn't focus. What she said to Blue was way too much. Her senior was only trying to help…

She sighed. This was going to haunt her for a long while… She tried to call, but of course, Blue didn't answer. She must be upset… So Crystal sent her a message, hoping to set things right.

"Blue, I'm so sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. You know I'll always respect you for all you've done, right? I just didn't want to talk before. But that didn't mean I could say what I said. And I'm sorry. If you would call me back, I'd like to apologize again. So please call me back and forgive me."

Crystal sighed again and tried to focus on her work. But perhaps this just wasn't her day. She still only accomplished 5 tasks out of 20. Her worst record… Maybe she should just call it a day. Even Green told her to go home and take today off. … She would discuss this with Green…

…

Couple of hours later, Violet City, Johto…

…

Crystal let out a long sigh as she lied down on her bed. This was the first time she left work early. Green understood, of course. In fact, he convinced her to take today off. But still, she felt horrible. Maybe Green was secretly disappointed in her for not being able to handle what happened.

Crystal looked at her Pokégear again. Still no messages from Blue, and no calls from her either. … So she was really upset, then… That had to be fixed… So Crystal sent her another message.

"Blue, I can tell that you're still very angry at me, and rightfully so. I know I don't have the right to say anything, but I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I'll make it up to you in any way I can. So please, call me or message me back."

It probably wasn't enough. As experience told her, when Blue was upset, no one could calm her down except for herself. She had to let herself calm down. And Crystal felt that it just wasn't going to happen.

So maybe a different approach was required. If Blue wasn't going to call her or message her any time soon, then perhaps a meeting was required. That Dex Holder meeting…

Crystal sat up and pursued that train of thought. A Dex Holder meeting was important, as it ensured contact and cooperation between Dex Holders outside chaotic events. And it was pretty mandatory for those who could make it.

If Blue showed up for that meeting, then Crystal could follow her and apologize. Even if the Kanto Dex Holder was still upset, Crystal could at least let her know that she was being sincere.

If Blue did not show up, then at least Crystal could seek help from the other Dex Holders. Red and Green might have better luck. Or Silver. She'll probably need their help in talking to Blue.

Crystal let out a long sigh. Hopefully, this plan would work… She reached for her Pokégear once more and sent a message to every Dex Holder in the vicinity. The first Dex Holder meeting would be on tomorrow, at 10 am, in Prof. Oak's lab.

The girl set her Pokégear down again and lied down once more. Before doing anything more, she needed to rest.

…

Next day, April 23, 12 pm…

…

Silver followed Blue from a distance as she headed towards her secret base. He had to talk to her… about what she did. Yes, he was aware that Crystal swore at her, but that was only in anger. She obviously didn't mean it. He could tell by her expressions during the (brief) meeting. And yes, he was a bit angry at her for a while, and thought that she needed to be punished. But nothing severe. Nothing like being humiliated in front of everyone… That was way out of line.

Silver thought about what he was going to say and how. He had never gone against Blue, ever. And he never questioned her judgments either. He basically owed her everything, and so he did everything in his power to let her feel comfortable around him. But this… seemed too much. He had to find out why she did what she did.

Of course, Silver knew that Blue knew that he was following her. Maybe that's why she stopped walking and waited for him to come to her. Perhaps she was going to keep the location of her secret base hidden from him. It was sort of customary. She knew or would find out everything about him, including secret base locations and secrets. But she guarded everything about herself from him. As a result, he knew nothing of her secret bases. He figured that she had at least 3, but had no idea what region they were in. And this also meant that he knew nothing about what she was going through.

"Hi, Silver," Blue said with a smile. "So, you've been trying to follow me, huh? Trying to find out where my secret base is? Well let me tell you that mine is a lot better than yours. Mine's actually cozy and livable!"

Silver took a nervous breath. Blue's behavior was also customary. No matter how troubled she was, she never showed it in front of him. It was her way of protecting him and hiding her troubles. Even now, though she knew that he knew that she was in distress, she was faking cheerfulness to hide it from him.

"Sis," Silver started with a serious expression. "… We need to talk."

"Do we?" Blue asked, her smile replaced with an ice cold expression as she stopped with the façade. "Green and Crys might want to, and maybe Yellow, but do you?"

"Sis, why did you do that to Crys?" Silver asked. "She's a mess now. I know she swore at you, but I think what you did to her was way too much."

"Of course it was. No matter how you view it, what I did to her was over the line," Blue said nonchalantly. Silver was stunned for a short while, as he didn't think that she'd admit it so easily.

"Then why did you do that?"

Blue smirked. "Because I no longer give a rat's ass about what anyone else thinks about me. Remember what you said at one point? No matter how hard you sought for a brighter life, the darkness just drags you back in. Well, that darkness dragged me in, alright. And I'm sick of trying to claw my way out of it. Every time I try, something or someone comes along to kick me back in. So I'm done trying. If I can't escape the darkness, I might as well drag others in with me. Starting with those who kicked me in. Crys was just the start."

Silver gulped. He had to make a choice now. "… Sis… if this is what you'll do to everyone else… I can't support you. I won't."

Blue now glared at him, but looked quite hurt. "… You too, Silver? … I thought I told you… I thought I asked you to not change. Why do you think I said that? But you're going to abandon me too, huh? … After all these years… I can't even…" She let out a long sigh. "… So be it. I'm used to having no one in my corner. It's me against the whole world. Again. If you won't support me or stay by my side, then stay out of my way."

Silver regretted his decision to try to talk to her. And felt serious guilt. But there was no turning back.

"Sis… Until you go back to being yourself, I won't support you. But just know that I won't try to stop you either. I can't do that. So please, hurry up and return to being yourself."

It was the best he could do. He couldn't bring himself to oppose her. That would hurt her way too much, and he owed her too much to do something like that.

Blue kept her glare. "I am being myself, Silver. You just don't know me. No one does." She reached into her pocket and took something out. Silver recognized it as a Smoke Ball. So, she found a way to get more, huh? The girl threw the object on the ground, and immediately both Dex Holders were covered by a thick smoke that prevented them from seeing anything. Silver calmly held his breath and walked out of the smoke radius. When the smoke cleared, Blue was gone.

"Damn it," Silver muttered as he slowly walked away. "… Sis, what happened to you?"

…

Next day, April 24, Violet City, Johto…

…

Gold paced around near Crystal's house. He should try to talk to her, but… maybe not. Did she even want to see anyone right now?

… This was a problem. Crystal was in distress. Quite badly. She probably needed to talk to someone. Someone close. Someone who actually says things as well, so not Silver. And someone who's not exactly "below" her, so not Emerald. Meaning, Gold was the only one who could talk to her. Who should talk to her. But obviously, that wasn't going to work. Crystal's crush on him was revealed, rather brutally. And she was embarrassed. Humiliated. Him marching up to her to try to talk to her wouldn't solve anything and if anything, make things worse. Not to mention the awkwardness. So… that's a serious problem.

With a sigh, he decided to return home. It was probably best to get out of there before he got spotted by some fan girls and attract Crystal's attention. That would be disastrous. And instead, he should just think about getting her a gift to calm her down. Something that showed her that he cared for her as a friend. Maybe a scarf? She always complained about being cold in the winters, and she had everything except a scarf.

But… where would he get a scarf that wasn't too expensive? Why, the Goldenrod Game Corner, of course! … But that wasn't open today. So he'll go there tomorrow.

From inside Crystal's house, the girl was actually looking at him through her bedroom window. She just didn't want to talk to him or see him face to face. But deep down, she wanted him to come to her. She wanted him to knock on her door so she could face him. And maybe she could explain things too. Or at the very least, she could maybe just… let him go. If he doesn't actually like her in the way she liked him, she could at least let him go and remain friends with him. It would be better than dwelling on it.

But to her surprise, Gold sent out his Togekiss and flew away. So… he wasn't going to talk to her today either. Great…

She let out a long sigh. Maybe she should go to him? … Not today. She needed time to prepare herself…

…

Next day, April 25, New Bark Town, 3 pm…

…

Gold returned home after an unsuccessful attempt at securing a gift for Crystal. That clerk… she was a hard ass. His attempts at gaining sympathy had failed miserably, as the clerk apparently didn't care about Crystal kicking him. Not that she kicked him at all recently given what happened, but still. Normally, if he said that, people would take pity. Not this clerk, nope. She was a hard ass.

And that other girl. Come on. Did she really need all those scarves? Just one of them would've made everything better. But no, she was a cold one.

So in the end… no scarf for Crystal. Gold would just have to talk to her and try to set things right.

But as he arrived in front of his house, he spotted a girl crying. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the girl was the one who had kissed him during that date. That fan girl. So… why was she crying in front of his house?

The moment she saw him approach, she ran towards him.

"Gold!" she cried out.

"Uh… hey, what's wrong?"

"My… my house," the girl sobbed out. "Someone destroyed it."

"What?"

Gold got back onto Togekiss and the girl followed him. Together, they went towards Violet City, where the girl lived. Upon arriving, she led him towards her house.

The structure was intact, and didn't seem to receive much damage on a glance. It was covered in some kind of thick liquid, however. Foul smelling yellowish liquid. Probably a certain chemical designed to create a foul stench. And in one side of the house, there was a large hole near the first floor, likely caused by a Pokémon attack.

"What happened?" Gold asked as he observed the damages.

"I don't know," the girl replied. "I was in my room when I heard this loud thud. I thought someone crashed a car into the wall or something. But then I saw this huge hole and then there was this stench… And through the windows, I saw a large green Pokémon and a trainer with dark hair forming two side tails…"

Gold almost jumped. That description sounded like Crystal and her Meganium. But… this was crazy! … Or was it?

He took a deep breath and started to think about this. The girl in front of him hated Crystal, and he knew it. But Crystal didn't like this girl either. In fact, she had more reason to hate her than the other way around. So it was possible that this girl was just framing Crystal. But then, who would do this to the house?

And that foul stench. Gold recognized it. It was a type of stink bombs that he used to use a lot in his… younger days. And by younger, he meant a couple of years back. Crystal had confiscated the stink bomb kits from him. There was another kit, but he gave it to Emerald. So right now, the only ones who would have those kits in the vicinity of Violet City were Crystal and Emerald. So if Crystal didn't do this, then Emerald must have. If Emerald was to do this, then he would have received the order from Crystal. So either way, Crystal was responsible. But that was just crazy.

"Were there any other Pokémon with that trainer you saw?" Gold asked.

"… No, only that green Pokémon. I think it was a Meganium," the girl answered.

That settled it then. Gold clenched his hands into fists. All the years he knew her, he didn't think that Crystal was capable of this. So she was the super jealous type? The type that would see lives destroyed just to get petty revenge over a date? … He had to settle this.

Gold told the girl to wait for him and went straight towards Crystal's house. It wasn't that long of a walk, so he was able to arrive there before his anger calmed. He loudly knocked on the door.

Inside, Crystal was just preparing herself to visit Gold when she heard the loud knocks. Surprised that someone would knock on her door so angrily, she went over to open it. To her surprise, she found Gold standing in her doorway. But he seemed to be fuming…

"… Gold?" she muttered, instantly feeling embarrassed. "What are you… … Are you okay?"

"Crys, do you remember the girl that went out with me?" Gold asked. "A few days ago? And she kissed me?"

Crystal started to feel worse and worse. "… Yes. What about her?"

"And are you aware that her house had been severely damaged?" Gold asked, almost demanding. "By a trainer with a Meganium. And to add insult to injury, the entire house is covered in that stink liquid from the kit you confiscated from me a couple of years back. Do any of these sound familiar?"

Crystal simply blinked, as she had no idea what he was talking about. Stink liquid? Kit? She confiscated those from him years ago, but she immediately threw them out. Maybe Emerald still has it… Oh.

Crystal felt her strength draining. She had told Emerald to get the hell raisers and work with them to make sure none of the fan girls approached her in the future. He must've gotten them to just pour the stink liquid all over that fan girl's house.

But that Meganium thing? She had absolutely no idea. She hadn't left her home ever since… that meeting. So someone else must've done it.

Regardless of who actually did the damages, the point was that Gold was suspecting her. And suspicions like this did not go away quickly.

"You… you're blaming me?" she muttered.

"Who else would do this?" Gold asked. "You're the only one who has any reason to hate her. And the very fact that you sent Odd Boy to vandalize her place like this… seriously, what the hell? I didn't know you were such a jealous type."

"Gold," Crystal started. "… You know I like you… I'd never do such a thing to someone you cared about," she said truthfully. "Even if I don't like her… if you like her, then I wouldn't think about doing anything to her. Don't you trust me?"

"I'm sorry, Crys," Gold said with a stern expression. "But I don't like you. As a friend, maybe, but love… no. But after what you did to her, I don't know if I want to stay near you. I really thought you were better than this."

Crystal simply blinked. She felt as if her life was being torn apart. After all that she went through with him, after all these years… he didn't trust her? She was being sincere but he wasn't having any of it. And now… he was breaking her heart on purpose.

"Sorry, Crys. But I don't think I want to see you anymore. For my own good and for those around me, I don't think you should stay around me. Because now, I don't like you, as a friend, or a girlfriend."

Gold didn't wait for her to respond and simply turned away. Crystal tried to reach out for him, but her arms wouldn't move. She tried to follow him, but her legs were way too wobbly. She tried to say something, but she was way too stunned for words. Instead, she simply stood there, trembling in shock, trying to form coherent words until Gold disappeared from her sight.

'… No… … No, this… this can't…'

Crystal felt her vision tunnel and found herself hyperventilating. And before she knew it, she felt her tears streaming down her cheeks as she staggered back into her house. And because of this, she failed to see a Wigglytuff floating high above the ground, seemingly observing everything going on…

"SL. Where everything goes to hell." Seems like an accurate slogan. No, Crystal's world has not been blown to hell by a Super MAC round like Diamond's. Just obliterated. So, with Diamond's world blown to hell and Crystal's obliterated… any more worlds to shatter? Of course there is. No, not White. I'm going to leave her alone. Her world's been stabbed at already. But there is Platinum. Her world's still intact and doing quite well in her view. Time to nuke it to oblivion. "Whenever I see a world untouched by war, a world of innocence, a world of lush forests and clear rivers, I really just wanna NUKE THE CRAP OUT OF IT." (game quote)

Next segment: … I think you are supposed to vote on it. But screw it. I'm deciding. Diamond & Platinum up next. That segment's horrendous events have to happen soon. So… Nuclear launch detected! And it won't take 20 seconds to land.

And from now on, no more voting for segments. I now hold all the power and you can only read about it! … Which isn't that bad, really, since most of you do it anyways.

I think I actually remember the reason why I stopped updating SL, but I'm not completely certain. This chapter's results will make things clear.