Pokemon - Evil Reborn

Chapter 36 - Nelly

"Someone... Someone help me..." I groaned, my head spinning. I had one hour to make a decision. Tobi had Nelly. He wanted the last emerald, which Victor was holding out to me right now. Just one or two sentences speaking into the walkie-talkie would save her life. But at the same time, it would come at the cost of total destruction on a massive scale... There was no way Tobi could be allowed to have all of the emeralds. It would bring about the end of the world as we know it...

Giovanni had been taken to a nearby hospital. James Caskey and Neira Kiles were both in shock, and would surely require counselling. Derek Quagmire and CJ's bodies were taken from the scene.

Now it was just me the people were looking at. Thousands of them, perhaps millions. Civilians, tourists, adults, kids... All of them, staring at me as I was frozen there on my knees. They took pity on me, felt sympathy. But none of them knew the gravity of what had just happened. All of their lives were at stake, and they were concerned about this boy, slumped on the road.

"Toby." Darragh said. I looked up. Nelly's father had appeared at my side. His eyes were sharp and focused, anger and concern blending into one.

"I'm sorry..." I shook my head. "I couldn't-"

"You can still protect her."

"But... We can't give Tobi the emerald." I swallowed.

"He's right." Janus agreed. "We can't."

"But he's got Nelly!" Lydia retorted.

"There's more than one life at stake here." Skyra said heavily.

"Isn't there another way...?" Xene asked sadly, knowing that there wasn't.

Darragh knelt down beside me and put his hand on my shoulder. I looked into his brown eyes, behind his glasses. I may have had my lover taken from me, but he had just watched his own daughter get kidnapped. Even so, he tried not to be phased. "Toby." He looked down at the walkie-talkie. "I know this is a difficult decision to make. Save one life, or save billions? That's a choice nobody should have to face."

"Why can't I do both...?" I croaked.

"I wish you could. I wish we all could... But... It doesn't look like that's an option now..." Darragh admitted.

"But... Nelly..."

"Try and think tactically." Skyra said.

"You can't let your emotions get in the way." Janus added.

How could they talk like that? Millions of people had died because of Tobi. But Nelly wasn't just anybody. She wasn't just another life to be thrown away in sacrifice. She was my best friend.

"No!" I shouted.

"Calm down." Darragh held me steady. "Look. Nobody's going to force you to do something you don't want to do. I won't make the choice for you. It's all up to you, Toby. Whatever you choose to do, we'll stick by you."

"Right." Xene nodded.

"Yeah." Lydia smiled.

"What do you say?" Victor held out the emerald again.

"I..." I sniffed. The pressure was too much. I just didn't know what to do. Then I looked down at the ring on my finger. My lips twitched. No. This wasn't the end.

I put my hand on the emerald and closed my fingers around it. Victor let go.

"Find a wide open space..." I breathed. "I'm calling Tobi."

"All right." Darragh nodded and stood up. I picked up the walkie-talkie and shivered.

The space that was found was massive and almost completely empty. Away from the towns and cities, far off away from anywhere notable, was a gigantic field of green. Nothing but grass for miles in all directions. Some trees were faintly visible, nothing but specks in the distance. The sky above was a mixture of blue and grey. Sunlight tried to poke out at every opportunity, only to be suppressed by the dark clouds keeping it at bay. Faint wind whistled past as I stood out there in the open, the walkie-talkie in one hand and the emerald in the other. My friends were all behind me, watching quietly. And then, despite the warnings, people had followed. Thousands and thousands of people, seemingly from all across the region had followed us. Now the field of green was partly filled with spectators, people who knew no better. They were aware of the danger, but none of them knew just how serious it was. But it was too late to make them leave. They were all several metres away from us, watching in silence too. A few murmurs rumbled around, but the stage was set for me. I brought up the walkie-talkie and breathed in and out for a few seconds before pressing the button. "Tobi. It's me."