A/N: This is an original Pokémon Fan Game, made by Amethyst. if you wish to check it out and play the game download it at Reborn Evolved. search for it on your web browser if you want to get to the website.

Chapter 63- Flame of Hope

Weeks Ago

Time: {A/N: I totally messed up a time table for chapters 29-31… so… just know this event takes place in a time span between those events.}

Location: Obsidia Ward

Weeks ago, back in the dark cracked city of Reborn. Before Percival had met Adrienn, before Lucille knew Nero was her twin brother, before Marie even arrived. Before Percival faced Aya in a Gym Battle… no more correctly just moments before.

In the side streets of the broken and cracked buildings of Obsidia, was a man with red hair, metallic blue eyes, with red shirt and pants, paced. "Percival? Hi. Look, I know you have every reason to hate me, but hear me out. I never meant for this to happen. Kiki never would have—" The man shook his head trying to start it over. "I didn't go to Apophyll to infiltrate it for Team Meteor. I joined because I wanted to change. And I did change. Team Meteor had other plans, and they wanted to use me being there, so they directed me to set up the PULSE to destroy the Academy. You all and Kiki tried to stop it..." The image of Solaris' Garchomp slashing into Apophyll's Sensei Kiki was still burned into his sight. "...But I had sabotaged the machine in the first place. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I liked that place. So, I secretly sabotaged the PULSE when I installed it." The man, the old fire-type Leader Cal, spoke to no one, or at least he thought. "...Kiki didn't have to die. And I'm so sorry that it happened this way. Do you believe me?"

"No, to be honest. I really don't." The echoing words of a Demon in the night spooked the Cal.

"Huh?! When—" Cal immediately jumped back in surprise. When did he? How did he arrive?

"Who knows." The Person in black, clad in shadow, smiled deviously. "Long enough I suppose? So, you're trying to convince Shiro and co that your innocent, eh?"
"I—" Cal didn't have a chance to respond.

"That was rhetorical. We both know what you said was a lie." Nero said, his own silver eyes meeting Cal's Metallic blue ones. "But that was a rather convincing speech. Maybe Shiro and that Blondie would fall for it. I doubt that Little Miss Marlow would believe it though."

"No, I was going to betray Team Meteor. I had the machine—" Cal again was cut off.

"Sabotaged? Really? You do know I was watching you the whole time you set that thing up, right?" Nero gestured to Cal that sabotage obviously was an impossible task. He was there with Cal when the PULSE for the Camerupt was being set up. Nero was diligent, if he saw an inkling of sabotage Cal would have been tossed into the lava of Pyrous mountain, just like Kiki's Medicham. "Your reason for being in Meteor was weak. Just joining to one-up someone, that's petty at best. And sure, maybe that last minute, desperate effort of Shiro and friends made your heart waver. But you weren't going to do anything. Because even if you did somehow manage to Sabotage the PULSE. Then you should have just gone along with them when they appeared. Then maybe you wouldn't have any blood on your hands."

"What do you mean by that." Cal's eyes flared with anger.

"Please your just as responsible for that woman's death, as Solaris is." Nero responded coldly. Before laughing inwardly. "Though if she didn't die, you probably would have let the PULSE activate. Causing not only her death, but the death of many other people as well."

"…" Cal couldn't respond as he too thought of that…

"Team Meteor will be after you from now on. Since in the end you did betray us." Nero said, walking away. "But with how broken you look. I doubt you'll be a threat, as if you ever were. Though if you wish to keep that life of yours, I think it's best to make sure our paths never cross again."

Time: 16:00

Location: Ametrine City

It was a few hours past mid-day. A man with blue hair, and black clothes with red accents was walking up to an apartment building, just when four figures rushed out of this building.

"Damn it." The one with white hair, Percival cursed as he looked around. "Blake isn't here…"
"Okay, let's think." There was a panicked voice from the girl with green clothes and purple hair. "There has to be some way to find her, right? He said she was locked up. So where could someone possibly hide a girl in a place like this?"

"…Shelly?" The man with blue hair called out to the girl.

"Eep!" Shelly jumped confusing the man for another. "It's Blake, he's s-still here!"

"No, it's not…" the boy with white hair breathed. The two haven't seen each other since the events of Pyrous mountain.

"Yeah… I'm not Blake. It's me, Cal." Cal said rather softly. Still feeling guilty of that day, the sting of that reminder Nero said to him.

"C-Cal?" Shelly backed up, frightened. "Oh n-no, no, no… I'm sorry, I'm—"

"Shelly, wait." Cal called. In which Marie stepped beside Shelly as if to protect her. But Shelly stopped. Percival and Lucille were curious to see Cal here… though he didn't seem to have any intent to attack them.

"Y-yeah?" Shelly called back hesitantly.

"You don't have to be scared." Cal confessed. "I'm sorry for what happened before. I let my anger get the better of me and hurt you."

"N-no… I was really stu-stupid…" Shelly nor Cal could really meet eachother's eyes. "I should've known th-that you, um, weren't really like me… I've spent my whole life trying to please my brother, so I, um, just assumed it was the same for you and—"

"I would rather not please him, but yes, I've always lived in Blake's shadow." As Cal retold this event. Percival and Marie made a small bit of eye contact and winced. The family situation of the Whitehall's was not one of ease. Honestly speaking Percival and Marie easily has had their own spats and been in a situation like Cal and Shelly. As Cal asked for forgiveness, he looked not just at shelly but Percival and Lucille as well. "However, that doesn't excuse what I've done. I've made a lot of mistakes. Nothing I do will change the past, and I don't expect your forgiveness. So, I'm just going to focus on what I can fix: The future. And if you can stand me, I would greatly appreciate your help."

"Trust is easily broken." Percival said. "Even harder to regain."

"But you still need a chance for it to be granted again." Lucille intervened, nodding to Shelly.

Shelly nodded back, still a bit timid. But wishing to have an old friend back. "O-Of course… But… Um, j-just one question?"
"What is it?" Cal said somewhat hesitantly… wondering how much Shelly had heard about him.

"Why is your hair blue?" Shelly asked, instantly destroying the tense atmosphere. The question was so out of the left field that that Percival and Lucille looked in complete wide-eyed shock. Marie, this being her first-time meeting Cal, didn't say anything.

"Here I thought it was a serious question." Cal smiled, chuckling lightly.

"I was serious…" Shelly blushed thinking it wasn't as important… "But it's-um, it's—"

"My hair is naturally this color. Or close. I had it dyed back." Cal admitted to Shelly.

"It seemed like the thing to do. That's all." Cal said. Understanding and accepting the person he was. "I spent most of my life trying to do everything in response to my brother. Dyed my hair to be different from his, tried to joined both the Reborn League and Team Meteor to one-up him…"

"Wait, you what?!" Shelly shouted as she heard the last part.
"What?!" Marie also joining in.

"Right… guess we did never mention that…" Percival said in realization.

"It's pretty much one thing after another with us. So, it's kinda hard to remember every little detail." Lucille shrugged… she was told by Percival that Shelly and Cal were friends. But between the times of Mount Pyrous, and seeing Shelly… Well Shelly was a Meteor hostage at the time, and that certainly wasn't the time to tell her that.

"Ugh… you didn't know that…" Cal sighed, "But don't be alarmed. I've left that behind. I've been a walking mistake. I was trying to be someone better than my brother, when I should've been trying to be myself."

"…" Percival sighed… "I can understand… Going back to yourself huh? Blue flames do burn hotter than red after all."
"Yeah, but that also means I need to stop Team Meteor as much as anyone else." Cal bowed his head to everyone present. "So please, don't be afraid, all right?"

Percival looked to Shelly for this answer. Percival still didn't know if he should trust Cal or not. So, he waited for someone who might understand him a bit more. "Al-All right!"

"Thanks." Cal said, looking at the building the group came from. "I'm guessing you were just speaking to my brother."

"Yeah! He locked up Heather and we need to find her!" Heather explained.

"That's not all." Cal explained. "I overheard him radioing Team Meteor for back-up. They're dispatching an air unit here, right now."

"Great…" Percival sighed.

"Oh no! He's trying to give them the Ring!" Shelly shouted.

"Right." Cal once being a member of Team Meteor knew the problems of that. "I don't think I need to explain why that's bad."

"Yeah… But we'll have to split up." Percival decided that was the best course of action.

"We still have to find heather, and stop him at the same time!" Shelly cried out… this was certainly a pressing issue.

"Right, your friend with the Salamance…" Cal pondered the thought. "Didn't you also say that she was in the Elite Four or something?"

"Yeah, you remembered." Shelly smiled at that.

While Percival, Lucille, and Marie had their own reactions. "What?!" "She's in the Elite Four?!" "Wow, nice going Shell!"

"How does a girl that young get into something like that?" Cal also confused questioned.

"Huh?" Shelly struggled to remember how Heather became an Elite four member. "Um, well… I think I remember that her mom used to be part of it a long time ago… So, I guess she proved she was good enough to take over?"

"Well then we could use her strength." Cal stated. "She can fly out and deal with the air unit, leaving us free to chase down Blake."

"Take him out while's alone, and take out the back up afterwards." Percival reiterated. He thought it was a good strategy.

"Yeah, and when that air unit comes in late thanks to Heather, I'll take out Solaris, or even Nero myself." Cal stated.

"…" While Lucille winced at the mention of Nero's name.

Percival perked up at Solaris'. But tried to word it in a way so it would leave room for Lucille. "I don't think either of them are people to be taken on alone. Besides we also owe a thing or two to them as well."

"But we need Heather for that!" Shelly reminded the group.

"Yeah, I have a feeling I know where she is." Cal nodded.

""You Do?!"" Both Marie and Shelly shouted.

"I grew up in this place too, so I know all about it." Cal admitted. "Check out Blakes Apartment. Look very carefully and there should be a hidden passage of some kind."

"Really?!" Marie had sparkling eyes like this was now a mystery story. "That's awesome!"

"…We used it a lot when meeting with Team Meteor." Cal shook his head ignoring Marie's comment. "But I'll bet he's changed the security since then. So, I'll leave that to you two. In the meantime, I'm going after Blake. I'll slow him down."
"I'm coming too." Percival commented. Cal looked a little hurt. "Regardless of trust in you. Neither Blake or Team Meteor is to be underestimated. We've been hurt because of that in the past. I'm not going to repeat that mistake, yet again."

"Alright." Cal nodded in agreement. He knew Percival was strong, so he wasn't too against the idea of back-up.

"Marie, Shelly. Come on! Time is short." Lucille called to the two girls. Before looking back at Percival and Cal. "Good luck."

"Thanks, you be careful yourselves." Percival nodded, "You especially Marie. This isn't a game."

"I know…" Marie cleared her head of useless thoughts… This was Shelly's friend who was in trouble. So, she had to be serious… well as serious she could be.

Trusting Percival and Cal to either stall or take the ring back from Blake. The three girls: Lucille, Marie, and Shelly ran back up the building to Blakes Penthouse to try and find the secret passage.

"So… Heather is locked up here somewhere?" Marie questioned glancing about the room for any details that could be imported.

"If what Cal says is true, there must be some way to open a secret passage." Responded Shelly, before the two in unison cheered. ""Just like a Mystery novel!""

"…" Lucille smirked slightly… But since coming up here again, she's been feeling something… some kind of pressure. Not that it was a bad feeling, it was familiar…

"Okay, Let's start looking." Shelly said as she approached a bookshelf.

"(The Bookshelf!)" It was that moment Lucille knew where the pressure was coming from, who it was coming from. "Not the Bookshelf!"

Crash!

Lucille pulled Shelly away from the now crashing bookshelf. Where there was now a broken false wall leading into an icy-cave. Standing in that frame stood a white beast with one singular black horn. A singular red eye peering the girls. Lucille looked back at this Absol, her Absol. "Hope…"

"Aro." The Absol moved its head as if to beckon them.

"Wh-What the-?" the almost crushed Shelly questioned.

"Well… that was anti-climactic." Marie said as the path to Heather was newly acquired. "Though, does it matter? We have a way to Heather, now."

"R-Right!" Shelly responded from her stupor. "Heather's waiting for us!"

"…" Lucille was somewhat apprehensive about this… Why was she here now? Though Lucille didn't have much time to think about it as they chased her through the cave.

Chasing after the Absol through the path of ice, led the girls to a mountain side shed. Trying the door, it was fairly obviously locked. With Hope just staring at the shed, this was the only place Heather could be.

"Heather! Can you hear me?" Shelly shouted at the door. Desperate hopes that Heather could hear. But as there was silence, doubt entered Shelly's mind. "Or… Would you respond even if you could?"

"We can't back down now." Lucille reassured Shelly. "We have to our best."

"Your right!" Shelly nodded more confident. "Heather! Heather, can you hear me?!"

While Lucille, Shelly and Marie were all calling for Heather to respond. Inside the shed sat a young girl with pink hair. Shivering from the cold.

"…" The girl, Heather, bit her lip and stood up. "…Stupid Blake. Stupid Dad… Stupid Mom… Why did you have to leave me alone?" She cried to no one… Alone in the shed… "…I'm so sick of this… I'm always alone." Heather walked around the small shed. "If it's not one thing, it's another. Stupid Blake with his lies! "Oh sure, Heather! I'll look after you. You can crash with me and we don't even have to have any rules at all! You can do whatever you want!" Yeah, and I'll be locked up in a cage, LIAR! The only crashing we'll do is when I crash your face into the ground... Stupid jerk." She yelled at no one, walking to another corner. Imitating her deceased father's tone. ""You should have known better than to expect anything else from this cold reality." Yeah, well, shut up, Dad! The only things that are cold are this stupid shack, and your heart! Ugh!" She yelled punching a heavy metal machine. Though she pulled back in pain from that. "Owww… I hate this... I hate this... I hate Dad and I hate Blake and I hate being alone... I hate it! I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I HATE IT! But—" She shouted at the top of her lungs before, curling into a ball… tears in the corner of her eyes. "It's... my fault. Isn't it? I did this... I ran away. I blocked everyone out. I—" The tears started to pour as she was alone. "...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

"—ther!" It was then when the girl heard a noise from outside.

"…Huh?" Heather looked up from her tears, looking at the shed door… Was someone out there?

"Heather! Can you hear me?! Are you in there?!" They called again.

It was a voice Heather did not expect, but one she recognized. Heather walked to the door. "…Shelly?"

Heather said in a loud enough voice that Shelly heard. "She's there! Lucy, Marie, She's there!"

"What in the world are you doing here?" Heather asked in utter disbelief. After everything she did… why was Shelly here? Searching for her?

"We came to rescue you!" As Shelly called from the other side, Heather clutched her chest.

Heather found herself smiling, she didn't feel that she deserved such a friend, but she was so grateful for Shelly's appearance here. "…"

"Heather is there any way you can get the door open?" Shelly called from the other side.

"If there was, I wouldn't still be in here." Heather responded, more irritated than she meant

"O-oh, right… Sorry…" Shelly timidly called back.

"No—I'm sorry." Heather immediately called back regretting her choice of words "Can we break it down? I tried before and couldn't, but maybe together—"

"Yeah!" Shelly cheered immediately on hearing that.

"Here let me." Heather heard another voice; it was a girl she barely knew… but she meant well. "Alright, let's try this Hope."

"Hope… huh?" Heather questioned as she heard the name of Lucille's Pokémon. It was something Heather currently now had. Heather held her own pokeball sending out her Salamance. "Salamance, Tear off that door!" With a terrible creak and slash the door for the shed was destroyed. Heather was free from the shed. Seeing her friend Shelly, and the two other girls who she barely knew come for her… Heather smiled. "Thanks for coming for me."

Shelly immediately hugged Heather upon seeing her. "Of course! That's what friends do, right?"

"Yeah." Heather smiled inwardly. "I was never much of a friend though."

"You were to me." Shelly smiled, "You were all I had."

"Shelly, I'm sorry—" Heather tried to apologize for not being that good of a friend but Shelly interrupted.

"It's okay! Don't worry." Shelly smiled. "Don't worry. Someone just told me that everyone makes mistakes. Nothing can change the past, but we can always fix the future. So, I forgive you. I'd forgive him, too."

"Right… Thanks." Heather smiled, glancing up at Lucille, with her new Absol. "You too Lucille, I haven't been very nice, but you've done a lot for me."

"Hey. I'm not one to leave someone calling out for help. Whether they realize it or not." Lucille said, with a smile.

"Also thank you too… uh…" Heather directed her gaze to the girl about her size with black hair.

"Marie, Percival's half-sister." Marie answered, which Heather responded with a complex look. Perhaps she forgotten hearing about it before. "You can be confused later. To be honest we need your help. That guy Blake he stole a ruby ring that apparently was yours."

"Mom's ring?" Heather looked at the girls surprised. "He, has it?"

"Yeah!" Shelly responded, "And he's trying to turn it over to Team Meteor. They're sending an air unit up here now to retrieve it, so we need to stop him!"

"Duh, we do!" Heather looked raring to go. "What the hell are we waiting for? I'm gonna knock his head off after everything he did!"
"For locking you up?" Shelly asked.

"Ugh, who cares about that?!" Heather screeched, she was angry about that, but her good heart screamed for something else. "For trying to starve an entire city! I tried to feed them secretly, cuz that's what anyone would do, right? If they found where he was hiding the food. But then he caught me and here we are. So, I owe him big time!"

"Speaking of time, Cal thinks we don't have much of it." Shelly explained.

"Well, let's go smack a few of them out of the sky!" Heather motioned for her Salamance to leave the shed. "I'm sure Salamance can carry all of us."

"Drop me off the base, or some place close." Lucille said. "I'm sure Cal and Percival are full fighting with some of Blake's Reinforcements. I should help them."

"Got it! Everybody on!" Heather rallied. It was time for a counter attack.