Chapter 41: Severed ties, severed bones
Evening
Hoenn
Lavaridge Town
The moment she touched down on the station platform, her hat coated with a layer of grey ash which rained down from the nearby mount Chimney. The train station was devoid of people and Blue was running late. After Red left with Ruby, she flew to Saffron city and boarded the bullet train which took her all the way to Rustboro city in Hoenn. From there, she took another train to the quaint hamlet of Lavaridge. The woman didn't bother disguising herself, she didn't even change her clothes, why should she when no one spared her a glance? The people were too busy fearing for their lives. Hitching up her bag, she walked purposefully through the thinning crowds. Frigid winds struck her bare arms and she regretted wearing only the blue and black tank top and a short scarlet skirt. Her long hair blew wildly and irritably she combed her brown bangs away from her face. A bit lost because she didn't prepare for the journey, she hiked up to an information desk and enquired about the Gnarled den. The clerk, a young woman much like herself appeared confused by her request.
"I'm sorry; the place you are looking for doesn't exist."
Blue had reached the end of her patience.
"Don't give me crap!" she spat and the informant's face morphed into astonishment. "My brother is stuck in that Arceus forsaken place...Search for it on the maps, that island exists" the woman still had her eyes wide with shock. "Well?" Blue hissed, "stop gawking at me and get on with your job, or don't they pay you enough?" Startled, the female rapidly typed away on a computer whilst Constellate's commander swallowed back tears. In the distant horizon, an explosion rang out and the entire platform shook, people ran for cover as mount Chimney erupted again and choked the surroundings with volcanic rock and ash. In the pandemonium, Blue stood still and trained her cyan irises on the quaking individual who tapped away on a keyboard, the fluorescent lights in the platform flickered a few times and moments later a blackout occurred. Blue moaned in distress and clutched her head.
"Ma'am" the lady behind the desk began "if you need help, I'd advise you to go-"
"I don't need help..." Blue cut in quietly, "I can't ask for help." Turning away, she forlornly dragged herself out of the station and went to the main area of the town. It was ablaze with activity and there she met with another trouble; gym leader Flannery was busy evacuating the panicking citizens and pokemon out of Lavaridge. The innocent and obedient civilians meekly followed her orders as police officers ushered them in the right direction. Wild pokemon added to the general chaos as they randomly fled from their habitats in a chaotic manner. Feeling (and looking) utterly lost she jumped when the vermilion headed gym leader herself came over and enquired about her condition. With a few tears escaping her eyes, Blue related that her brother was stuck in the Gnarled den and needed to be rescued. Funnily enough, she didn't need to act, the anguish and pain was so much, the pained emotions seeped out of her. Flannery shook her head sympathetically and informed her that a team will be sent in to retrieve him. Following this, she asked for a description and Blue stilled.
"Please," the brunette begged, something she was not accustomed to doing ever since she escaped from Team Rocket's clutches, "just tell me where it is situated and I'll find him myself. I apologize for troubling you."
"Can't do that," the fire type master scratched her wild ponytail, "normal people can't go there and besides, it is my duty to make sure you are safe. Join the crowds and go down to the shelter in Mauville, I'll take care of other matters."
The Kanto native bit her lip and wondered if she should threaten the young adolescent before her, instead of carrying out her wishes, she pressed with another plaintive appeal. Flannery sighed in annoyance and after being asked for the umpteenth time by an unrelenting Blue; she brought out a PokeNav and pointed to a tiny landmass west of mount Chimney and the jagged pass. The distressed criminal's eyes almost popped out as it dawned on her how impossible her task was. Chimney speweed fire, ash and boulders the size of wailord, trying to dodge all those was tantamount to suicide, Flannery issued more bad news as she explained that the Gnarled den could only be reached after breaking cloud cover, apparently Mount Chimney provided a natural barrier to the island, due to this, the general public didn't even know of its existence.
"Do you still want to go?"
"Yes" Blue steeled herself, "I'm going, thank you for the information." In a whirl of chocolate colored hair, the beautiful woman was gone. Flannery stared at a white card placed in her hands just before the lady left; it showed a cluster of stars. Shrugging and feeling rather pitiful for her, the orange haired leader tossed the card and in minutes a mound of silver ash buried it.
Hours later
Gnarled Den
Entrance
The surroundings were pitch dark and Blue angled her head to the sky and watched brilliant stars stand out against the black canopy. The fight against Kyogre and Groudon was over, she mused. The temperature remained stable for quite a while and fortunately the mountain stopped erupting and returned to its dormant state. Peering into the cavernous hole, she summoned her wigglytuff and bravely strode inside. Her flashlight showed the hard earth imprinted with boot prints, hooves and paws of various beasts. The occupants inside the den must have been stampeding roughly for such detailed impressions to be left behind and the conduit leading to the main area was littered with broken boulders, rocks and fallen stalactites. Kicking one away from the path, she ventured further and missed a body lying in the shadows. Wigglytuff uttered a squeal and she quickly turned around, the beam catching the pathetic form of her brother in the process. Seeing him like that, Blue petrified and almost hyperventilated. Her brother was mercilessly kicked to the side; his red hair stuck to his face and clung to his mouth in thick matted strands. Something rust colored ran down his parted lips, chin and disappeared into his dusty, upturned collar. Shaking herself, Blue crouched down to him and gingerly picked up his hands; the fingers were bent in angles they shouldn't be in. Cobalt irises roamed over and alighted on his abdomen, there was a tapered rock sticking out of it and seeing this she almost fainted.
"Silver." Her hands tenderly pressed against his chest to find a feeble but steady heartbeat. "Hey Silver, wake up, big sister is here for you." He didn't respond, no flutter or twitch of his eyelids to indicate he heard. Blue started crying; she embraced him tightly and sat down on the soiled ground. Rocking back and forth, she held him and cried loudly, the sorrowful sounds echoing through the rocky corridor.
Half an hour passed.
Sniffing, she wiped away her tears and patted her adopted brother on his head. A while ago, she forced some fresh water down his agape mouth and calmed down after he involuntarily swallowed it up. Removing the stalactite in his abdomen, she cleaned him up and wiped all the acrid blood traces on his person. Done with her job, she sat contentedly next to him and prepared to while away the night in the den. Just as she draped a protective arm over his shoulder, the red head stirred. Unable to believe her eyes, Blue stiffened and watched him like a hawk, Silver groaned and shifted, his eyelids started to quiver and in the next instant they snapped open to see a pretty woman leaning dangerously close to him. Gasping, he was about to shove the stranger away when said stranger enveloped him in a bone crushing hug. A familiar perfume tickled his nose and he threw his aching arms around her.
"Sister..." he rasped, "I'm so happy...You came for me. I thought..." he inhaled deeply, "I thought...I was going to die here alone."
"Shh..." she placed a finger on his lips, "no one is going to die Silver...not on my watch. Gold and Crystal are waiting for you back in base. When you are feeling a bit better, we are going home okay?" He nodded weakly, "good" her voice dropped to a whisper, "now put your head on my shoulder and sleep, you need some rest. We are leaving at daybreak." Mumbling softly to himself, the redhead leaned against his sister and fell into a deep slumber. For her part, Blue stared at the opposite wall. Even though she was exhausted, sleep would not come easily to her.
Late Afternoon of the same day
Hoenn
In the middle of the ocean, near Sootopolis
Ruby.
Norman didn't want to believe his eyes but it was true. As an explosion of air hit his face and Rayquaza shot downwards, the normal type gym leader went after them. Steven implored Drake to follow the stranger as the green serpent bashed its head against Groudon. The metallic beast offered zero resistance and its hollow exterior crumpled inwards. The force of the blow jarred through the dragon and Red who sat on its back clenched his teeth and shuddered, despite having the Jade Orb, the beast did not heed his words properly. Even though it dented like a soda can, Groudon still moved...It will keep on moving unless its synthetic heart is ripped out. Emitting an earth quaking roar, it swiped a claw and Red ducked, Ruby on the other hand let himself fall off the mythical pokemon of the sky before summoning tropius, the fruit pokemon was borrowed from Sapphire. Sitting comfortably on its back, he pushed his hat backwards and flew over to Kyogre. Tiny seeds shot out of the flying type's mouth and embedded itself in the sea beast's flesh, in tandem, a few solar beams were also fired and the sea monster did a wonderful job of dodging the pokemon's furious assaults. Of course, with Rayquaza's appearance, both legendary pokemon had tamed themselves somewhat thus attacking them were much easier. Too focused with fending off Kyogre's water attacks, the boy failed to notice a staraptor looming behind him, without warning, the predatory bird slammed into his beast and Ruby whipped his head around in alarm.
"Dad..."
"Don't you dare call me that!" Norman spat angrily, "tell me brat...What are you doing here? What in Lugia's name are you DOING HERE!? Get out of Hoenn...Stay out of this mess." Inwardly the raven haired teenager was happy to see his father doing okay, although the welcoming speech could've been much friendlier. Biting his lip, he resolved to ignore the angry man and complete his mission, capturing Kyogre that is. As he turned around, the large pokemon did a giant leap and practically flew out of the ocean, he saw Archie staring at him with bloodshot eyes and undiluted hatred. The man jumped from the leaping Kyogre and haphazardly landed on tropius, fumbling with his dagger, he brought the weapon up and tried to stab Ruby. Calmly, the boy kicked him in a manner similar to Saph and hoped he'd fall off, alas, Archie slowed his momentum by digging the knife into tropius' side and he hung there. The distressed pokemon gave a piteous cry and buckled wildly. Norman commanded staraptor and the avian picked the dark skinned man off by its talons and dropped him into the sea. Even while falling, the villain worded out a command and the sea basin pokemon retaliated by raising the waves in a titanic imitation of surf. Seeing the wall of water, Rayquaza spun around violently and smashed it with its tail, it fired an orb from its mouth which hit Norman's staraptor.
The vulturine bird imploded. Feathers, blood and guts sprayed in the air and over the gym leader. The air tainted with a foul stench. Face registering surprise, the man flailed and fell.
And fell.
He plummeted to the ground with a sickening crunch. His spine broke in several places and with growing horror; he realized he couldn't move his lower extremities. Above him, a screaming speck in the sky gradually got louder and clearer. It was Ruby; the boy raced downwards with the bulky grass type doing its best to fly with its unorthodox wings. Jumping the last several meters down, the crimson eyed child hurtled to his father and knelt down to him.
"Are you okay? Dad? He didn't mean it! I swear it was on accident!" Ruby didn't even twitch when Kyogre roared furiously near him.
"Ruby..." Norman's voice was weak and he made no movements, just shifting his head was proving too much of an ordeal, "...Get out of here, I don't want to see you." In the next instant, Rayquaza sailed past him and an arm shot out and grabbed his son, solemnly, Ruby watched as Drake and Steven touched down near Norman and stood guard. At least his dad would be in safe hands.
Fatigued beyond comprehension, Red blinked rapidly in an effort to stay awake. The strain on his mind weighed akin to lead, Green was right, at this rate; it felt like he was going to die. Perhaps using his own team would've proven to be a much better decision. Unfortunately his beasts wouldn't be able to calm storms and plow through tornadoes and walls of fire like the legendary he sat on. Plus, it moved so fast, he was sure no one caught a proper glimpse of him and even if they came close, a dragon pulse was all it needed to force them at a respectable distance. Firmly steering the sky high pokemon one way, he decided to end this quickly, they still needed to capture Kyogre...their new world did need seas and oceans. Briefly, the tired ex-champion took a moment to collect the rampant thoughts running haywire in his mind. It was laughable to think of capturing in a situation like this, people and pokemon were dying, natural disasters were occurring and all they cared about was adding one more mythical creature to their arsenal. Detaching a sweaty hand from Rayquaza, he pushed his cap down on his head and wiped said palm on his jacket. Whatever, not his organization's problem, he only cared about having a good fight. And a blood pumping battle was playing out before his very eyes. A thin, coveted smile morphed on his lips and he droned out a command.
"Rayquaza...Use Dragon ascent." It was high time he conducted the war.
The emerald serpent buckled at first and writhed; shaking its head it looked up to the sky and bolted. Red stopped breathing. His hat fell off and Ruby clung to him, with the force of gravity pulling them downwards, ascending this fast towards the heavens messed up his body and pressure began mounting in his head as Rayquaza broke through the clouds and continued at the speed of light. Panic mingled with exhilaration as Red hoped the snake would stop before getting to the ozone layer. It did. Halting abruptly, the rest of the body bunched up and in that short moment, both Red and Ruby swallowed air. Like a meteorite, the legendary pokemon dropped towards the earth, straight at Groudon. Seeing it come, the police force sensibly scattered to safer places. Jaws open wide and teeth gleaming like ivory, Rayquaza drilled into the cyborg and its deluded master. Maxie was rendered into broken bones and a blood smudge on the smoldering earth whilst the mechanical creature was punched into the land it created. Red's arms signed as they tunneled into the soft hot soil and came to a juddering stop. Underground, he saw ribbons of lava snaking towards them, Groudon's synthetic heart beat loudly a few times before becoming still. The glow from its eyes faded.
Red almost fainted. Ruby supported his limp body and the sky high pokemon tore out of the burrow. The older male's eyes were half closed and glazed. The Jade Orb shard in his palm ingrained in his skin. Mumbling incoherently, he slumped against his junior and stilled. On the other hand, the Hoenn native awkwardly balanced his senior and held onto the scaly surface of the beast. Fully out in the open, Rayquaza did a half turn and concentrated on Kyogre who appeared a tad helpless floating on its own. Ruby wondered if it was possible to capture the whale pokemon when he was grasping a comatose adult and struggling to keep his seat. Not to mention the police and media helicopters hovered like fearows around him. The man on his person moaned and pitched forward as the serpent jerked. Gripping Rayquaza's two horn-like projections Red nudged it closer to the sea. Instead of doing so, the green snake did a turn and flew away. Once again, a haze of confusion enveloped the police as the legendary soared back towards them; it made a sharp turn downwards and skimmed the surface of the sea, trailing white foamed waves behind. Kyogre eyed it angrily and opened its cavernous mouth, taking the opportunity, Rayquaza fired a hyper beam and it blasted inside the gaping maw pushing the deluge of water back into its gullet. The sea monster choked, spat and thrashed, creating tidal waves in the process. Red dug out a master ball from his jeans pocket and threw it whilst the serpent did an abrupt turn upwards.
One blinding flash of light later, Kyogre was nowhere to be seen. The tsunamis collapsed over each other and the ocean turned calm. Seizing the opportunity, Steven jolted into action and commanded the rest of the able police officers to make a ring around the intruder and Rayquaza, they zoomed towards Red and Ruby and kept a considerable distance, behind them, the choppers veered closer hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive trainers riding the legendary beast.
Putting a hand inside a pocket, both Red and Ruby pulled several cards out, seeing them do something, the gym leaders all tried to levitate closer. Grinning to himself, the leader of execution held his card up in the air and everyone's eyes slowly followed its movement. Flicking it into the air, he threw a dozen more of the same white sheets and tore off into the horizon by blasting past Sid. All that was left behind of their appearance was the missing lord of the seas and a handful of white paper which fluttered serenely down to the ocean. A camera zoomed up and the contents of the card played back on television.
Two maroon swords, crossed over each other and a picture of Rayquaza in its glory.
Surrounded by medics, Norman gazed to the horizon and clicked his tongue in displeasure. He was unhappy with Ruby making an appearance here, seems like the brat got bolder. He even came here to fight. The despondent father regretted telling his son off with such harsh words, his mind was getting foggy from the pain he was enduring, but nevertheless he muttered to himself.
"You've done me proud Ruby."
Stopping an elemental war between two gargantuan beasts was a feat to be boasted about. A distorted smile tugged at his lips and with an inaudible sigh...Norman passed out.
A few weeks later:
Afternoon
Hoenn
Mauville
Following Kyogre's capture it began to rain in Hoenn. The ocean swelled and flooded coastal cities such as Slateport, barricades were erected near the river shores and people struggled to go about their daily lives in such gloomy weather. Large scale operations to rid the ocean of rotting pokemon corpses were undertaken. Meanwhile, members of the police who joined the battle were admitted to hospitals of high repute. It was one of these dreary days when Mr. Stone found himself making his way to Mauville, the rain came down in torrents and as soon as he stepped out of the car, his umbrella folded backwards due to the wind. He made his way inside the hospital and shook the umbrella free of water; shrugging helplessly he passed the broken equipment to an aide and went to the elevators. When the doors opened, he came face to face with the nurse who was tending to Steven Stone, greeting hurriedly, he enquired of the champion's current state.
"I'm sorry Mr. Stone, but your son's condition cannot be remedied."
The CEO of Devon Corporation sighed heavily, the wrinkles on his face becoming deeper. Everything was white around him, the hospital, the walls, floors and ceilings...Even the nurses wore white. Nodding, he spaced out for a moment and absentmindedly smoothed his pinstriped suit down. White was associated with purity, nobility and power and as the man walked down stark corridors smelling of disinfectant; he decided that he hated the color white. Pushing open the doors to a special ward, he paused at the entrance. Inside there was a single bed and an individual with steel grey hair was playing with a beldum. Once again everything was in different shades of white, from the bed Steven lay on to the sheets pooled around his waist, the hospital gown which hung from his form and the linen bandages covering his eyes. His adult son appeared very much like a child right now, there was absolutely nothing wrong with his Steven...Apart from the fact that his boy would never be able to see again. The dagger point had penetrated past his retinas and slashed his optic nerves. Damages to these cranial nerves were irreversible. Perhaps Steven heard the footsteps or he sensed someone, the young male angled his head vaguely towards the door and worded out a greeting.
"Hello father." His hands were still busy with the levitating steel type.
"Hi Steven" the words were thick with worry, "how are you doing today?"
"I'm okay, thanks for sending me beldum, now I'm not so bored anymore" he paused, "what...did the doctors say?"
Silence permeated the room
"Son...You won't be able to see again." Mr. Stone stopped speaking when Steven's hands halted. The steel type was still affectionately butting its head against him but the human took no notice.
"Oh...I see. I'm sorry dad."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"...When I was young, you fully supported my decision to become a pokemon champion. You did everything you could to provide me with a comfortable life and you helped me in my quests. I have many hobbies which sometimes interfered with my goal, instead of yelling at me, you always funded my expensive past-times. I've only been champion for a year and I'm sure I've given you some very difficult times. I don't think the pokemon association will welcome a blind champion." Steven chuckled humorlessly, "most likely the chairman will the one showing me the door...I'm sorry to let you down like this."
Mr. Stone watched his normally spirited child slump further in his bed; now the younger male was hugging beldum to his chest and staring off into nothing. The father wondered how being blind felt like, what was Steven seeing? An endless void of black? Grey? White? Or did he see his future prospects and goals all crumbling down like a poorly constructed building?
"Stevie-"
"Please don't call me that." The champion interjected.
"Steven...You've gone through many hurdles and you have overcome them. Just...Just think of your blindness as another obstacle and try to triumph your disability. As for keeping your position as champion, it's up to you, if they show you the door, you are always welcome back home...right?" The adolescent nodded somberly and shifted.
"I'm really tired dad, thanks for visiting me every day." He looked up and smiled...Except his face was in the wrong direction. Mr. Stone got up quietly and stood before his son and smiled back. He reached out a lined hand and ruffled fluffy steel-grey locks; squeezing Steven's shoulder comfortingly he vacated the room.
Evening
Hoenn
Littleroot town
Normally he didn't have time to appreciate the quaint town he lived in. As a gym leader, he spent most of his time in Petalburg city. The city was slightly larger and obviously polluted; although it was nowhere near as contaminated as Rustboro or Mauville. A fresh breeze blew about the hamlet ringed by woody trees. Due to the disaster taking place a few weeks ago, the foliage had thinned out and died and now some of the trunks stood stark naked. Norman sat outside his door and took in the scenery, he wanted to bother his longtime friend Professor Birch, but the researcher was constantly being called to distant parts of Hoenn to comment on the destroyed habitats. Birch drowned in his work and having nothing to do or no one else to talk to, the gym leader felt rather lonely. The chairman of the pokemon association had suspended him from his gym leader duties. After Norman was discharged from hospital, he went to headquarters at Ever Grande city to find out the new schedule of his gym. To his surprise, the ridiculously short chairman stood on his gilded throne and pointed a quivering finger at him. Afro wobbling dangerously, he spouted the words Norman dreaded.
"You are SUSPENDED!" Spittle flew from his mouth and landed on the polished oak desk before him. "You, Norman, constantly break rules and you have no regard for our meetings. Don't think I forgot how you stepped out AND ignored me when I warned you! So yes, you are suspended till further notice." The pompous man snickered and commended himself on a job well done. It'll teach Norman a lesson he thought. Alas, the gym leader simply shrugged and pulled himself through the double doors and outside, he didn't even beg for the authority to reconsider. As of now, he mulled about at home or spent his days outside. Guilt gnawed at him for being a burden to his wife and he also had to think about finding a new job should the association fire him.
It got late, birds flew down from the skies and perched on the trees, soon the town resonated with the tweets and chirpings of different pokemon. Sighing, he began the arduous task of wheeling himself towards the door...as was the norm, he got stuck and cursed.
The door to his house opened to reveal his wife.
"Oh honey, you could've called me to get you." Walking around him, she gripped the handlebars of the wheelchair and pushed, smoothly he rolled right inside the house where a delicious smell wafted from the kitchen."
"Am I heavy?" he queried.
She laughed, her voice managing to lift his perpetually sour mood. "How long will you keep on asking me that?"
"You have a wayward son, a house and now a semi-paralyzed husband to look after" he grumbled and looked downwards, his legs looked healthy at the moment but in a year it will shrink to half its size. Muscular atrophy was something nasty, he saw it happen with his bulky slaking once when the pokemon was severely injured and had to recuperate for a long time, in a mere two weeks, the muscle laden arms were reduced to nothing and now Norman feared the same would happen to him.
He would never walk again, he snorted at the thought. Was chief of police Anabel happy? Were those Ransei people rejoicing? They better be, the strike team had to sacrifice. He lost the use of his legs. Steven became blind and Wallace was still in a coma. Winona shirked her duties to regularly visit him and he heard that Elite four member Drake retired from his position. Even though the calamity was over, Hoenn still remained in a bad shape.
"Did he visit?" Norman reeled himself into the tiny kitchen and watched his wife stirring something in a pot.
"Both Sapphire and Ruby came when you were in hospital." she replied and adjusted the seasoning. "Saph stayed over for a while and you know your son...He bolted when the doctors announced that you woke up."
The two lapsed into a comfortable silence; Norman's irises were locked on to the steam steadily rising from the pot. Leaning back into the chair he allowed himself to relax. Things were going to be okay, he reassured himself, at least he fooled himself into thinking as such.
Mid-afternoon
Johto
Dex-criminal's hideout
Unlike Hoenn's wet blanket weather, Johto was sunny and revitalizing. Despite having a well-equipped infirmary, Silver declined to stay there, he preferred his own room. His chamber was more comforting than stark walls and curtains. The red head smiled at a large poster of Proteam Omega, his favorite animation, in his room he had the freedom to do what he wanted and so he spent most of the time watching said cartoon and sleeping. Slowly his door creaked open to reveal his sister who came in holding a tray. There was a steaming plate on it and a glass of juice, she put those down on his bed stand and pulled up a chair. Blue looked much better now, before she fretted day and night to the point where she had dark circles underneath her pretty eyes. Hefting the plate up, she scooped a spoonful of rice porridge and began blowing on it.
"Uh...Sis, my hands are all okay now, I'll feed myself." She looked up inquisitively and frowned when he held up his still bandaged hands.
"No...You can start eating by yourself when those bandages come off," she sternly stated, "besides what's wrong with me feeding you? Don't tell me you are embarrassed, I'm your older sister!"
Silver denied being embarrassed, however he pointed towards the door and his silver tinted eyes took on an angry gleam. Peeking from the threshold were Gold and Lack-2, the former grinned like a monkey and held up a camera whilst the latter showed a thumb's up. Blackmail. Those two have been hanging around like this ever since Silver was brought back to base. At first Gold had thrown a fit, he yelled at Blue for not telling him everything and both he and Crystal spent nights watching over him. After he got better, the amber eyed trainer started taking mortifying photos of him. Blue giggled at the sight of a pouting, sleeping Silver, there was a few of him when he was shirtless and one where he was clutching a stuffed toy. Now the idiot and his lackey were trying to get one when Blue was feeding him. He actually liked the attention his older sibling gave him; unfortunately the black haired pervert ruined it all. Leaning forward he tried to grab the hot plate, however Blue scooted up from the chair and held it out of reach citing his hands were still injured.
"Fine, if you don't want me to feed you...Gold, come in here please!" her voice trilled out and Silver's already pale complexion blanched further. Stowing the camera in his pocket, the trainer entered with a too wide grin. The brown haired female handed him the plate and Gold parked himself in the chair and held up a spoon teasingly.
"I'm not eating that!" The red head venomously spat when the utensil hovered before his mouth. His best friend shrugged and thrust it in his mouth instead.
"Mmm...Man this tastes good!" the gambler exclaimed, "hey Lack-2 wanna taste?" The child nodded and gobbled up a spoonful, smacking his lips in the process. "Whoa, I didn't know you could cook this well senior Blue. Hey Silver," Gold faced his brooding comrade, "mind if I hook up with your sister?" the sentence was finished with a sultry wink.
The adolescent's eyes almost popped out of his sockets. "I will kill you." he vehemently whispered and in the background Blue chuckled softly and winked back. Seeing the exchange, the male sputtered in indignation and was about to lightly admonish his sibling when Gold thrust a spoon in his mouth. Choking, he managed to down the morsel with a gulp of juice. His black haired friend laughed mirthfully and shoved another spoonful into his mouth, finally relenting and knowing Blue won't, under any circumstances, allow him to eat on his own, he reluctantly allowed himself to be fed. Holding back angry outbursts, he accepted the food without another death threat. A few moments later, Whi-2 waltzed in and took in the scene with wide azure eyes. Striding up to Gold, she worded out a question which had the phantom thief groaning inwardly again.
"Senior Gold, may I have a turn at feeding Silver please?"
"Yeah sure...Blue, we need another plate here." Gold smirked.
"I'm not a gulpin! Sis don't fetch another plate and Whi-2...One spoon only...And the rest of you GET OUT!" No one listened to Silver as Whi-2 took her own time feeding him. Lack-2 sat himself at the edge of the bed and started chatting to the engaged female and Gold went around cleaning up Silver's room. Thanks to him, Crystal and Blue, the room was always spotless, no dirty clothes on the floor and they always came in to open or shut the curtains. He was really grateful for all this, though Gold needed to take care of his own room first. Blue silently got up once she affirmed that her brother won't start a ruckus again. Exiting the loud chamber, she went down the passageways and into the infirmary. There were two individuals inside. One was lying in bed and busy reading a thick tome whilst the other sat on a chair, near a small table and occupied himself with a game on his tablet. The two ignored each other and merely passed her a customary glance when she strolled in. She chirped a greeting and only the crimson eyed individual mumbled one in return.
"Red..." she eyed him, "you are holding the book upside down." Blinking, the man righted the book, closed it and tossed it near his feet. Pulling the sheets upwards, he lay back on the mountain of pillows placed behind his back. Green tapped the tablet furiously with a stylus, a ditty rang out from the device and he huffed and put it down. It was the thirtieth time he lost to the stupid mobile game. Setting the tablet gently down on the table he faced Blue.
"How's everything going?" he asked.
"Well...Red and Silver are recovering rather well. My brother is almost back to his normal self and Red...Still gets tired very easily. Gosh, I didn't know trying to command a legendary could place such a strain on one's mind and body...I mean this is Red we are talking about." Blue leaned back in her chair and observed the raven haired jostling about in his bed on the other side of the room.
"I'm still human you know." The ruby eyed adolescent tiredly intoned.
"...Legendary pokemon are not supposed to be trifled with nor can we puny humans ever hope to command them. Look at those who tried, their efforts were never rewarded. Thankfully our goal doesn't need us to use them personally; we are going to borrow the attributes of the pokemon in order to create a new world." Green rubbed the bridge of his nose and exhaled, "remember when Red posed a theory of using the distortion world as a basis?" Blue nodded, "I did some more research on and it turns out we can do it...At least it's a more plausible theory than trying to capture Arceus...It's impossible to capture the alpha pokemon and even if we did, not even a master ball will be able to tame it and I also don't think the red chain will be able to restrain Arceus because he is made from a different material than the rest of the legendary beasts. By the way, how is the creation of the chains coming along?"
"Cyrus was being very uncooperative so I decided to teach him a lesson with Pika" Red droned from his position.
"I told you not to get out of bed!" Green hissed.
"Dude! What do you want me to do? Rot in here? I'm bored enough as it is. And since when were you such a worrywart?"
"I-" Green paused when Blue sent him a sly look, her face threatening to split into a grin. "I'm not worried" he quickly added, "It's just that if your recovery takes too long, we'll go ahead without you."
"Heh, you don't have to worry about that, I'll be up and rolling in no time." And Red smiled, suddenly Green felt like they were kids again when the only thing the three of them concerned themselves with was winning the title of Pokemon Champion.
Arc Two:
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land. Thus the little minutes.
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity
A/N: And this arc comes to a close people. Much thanks to all those who read, reviewed and offered constructive advice, they are deeply valued. At Lebensmude, I'm sorry for misinterpreting you and since you asked (I appreciate the way you think) Chapter 6 (Chess master) is directly tied with the quote. At Jack54311: Emerald wears a stone on his forehead that was later revealed to be the core of the Jade Orb. Knock some sense in the legendries or capture them? Hah! At GrotesqueChimera: You could say Hi the next time :P Thanks for reviewing, I hope the story continues to entertain you. At AceTrainerLeaf: Guess it's difficult for an overprotective parent to actually believe their children are going wayward. Did you like the aftermath? I tried to portray how the characters struggled with the aftereffects of the war.
Please continue to support and read, reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome. Stay tuned for Arc three!