A Blond Ray of Sunshine

Chapter 6

"You must heed my words," an unknown, deep voice echoed in the darkness. "This is your destiny. Boundless power awaits you."

"My destiny," another voice that sounded like Antoshi's responded. "This power has been nothing but incredible to me. I want to know what my destiny holds. I have to know."

"Then you must end them. It is the only way to start anew. They do not care about you. No one cares about you. They could never understand the level of power you wield. They are all jealous of you. They want to hold you back."

"They're ... holding me back?"

"Yes. Your power is limitless. I will teach you how to unleash your power. But first, you must do as I say. This is the only way to find your true destiny."

"The only way? ... I'm not strong enough. I can't just ..."

"You are strong beyond reason! You are capable of power the world has never seen before! Show the parasites no weakness!"

With a soft groan, Antoshi fluttered his eyes open. He lay completely still, letting his blurry vision focus, staring at a bright white light before him. He was at a total loss as to where he was. The memory of his plummet to the street immediately came flooding back to him.

'Am I ... dead?' he thought. He wondered if the sense of tranquility he felt at that moment was transcendence to another plane of existence.

"Antoshi?" a familiar voice greeted him, quietly.

He turned his head to see Fireball rising from a chair. The boy blinked a few times in disbelief. A huge grin spread across the Typhlosion's maw.

"Fireball?" Antoshi replied, groggily, reaching out with his near hand to touch his friend's face. Antoshi's eyes immediately began to well up with tears. "This is ... real, right?" Fireball nodded in response. Antoshi's hand fell away, uttering a trembling sigh as he rubbed his eyes with his forearm. He noticed an IV tube sticking out of his arm, leaving him confused. "What happened? Why am I here? ... Where is 'here'?"

"We're in the Viridian City police station."

"I'm here again?" he mused.

There was no one else around in the small room. As Antoshi slowly sat up on what he realized was a hospital bed, something shifted around in his pocket. He dug a hand in to see what it was. To their mutual surprise, it was Fireball's Poké Ball.

"Is that mine?" Fireball asked, awe-struck.

"Of course," Antoshi replied, with a cheeky smirk. "I've only ever had one Poké Ball."

"So, you kept it on you. ... I just knew you were thinking about me the whole time." Fireball turned his gaze away in guilt. "Antoshi, I'm so sorry for running away. It was a really dumb move and—"

"No," Antoshi interrupted him. Fireball appeared confused. "I'm the one who should apologize, Fireball. I didn't ... do enough. There were so many other ways for me to respond. It's my responsibility to keep you safe."

"Don't do that to yourself, Antoshi," he replied. "The police told me everything that happened with you. I also heard all about how you were holding up as the day went on. ... Please, don't blame yourself for something I did. You're so much better than that. You're the one person I really look up to."

"It's just that ... you and I are almost one and the same. If something happens to you, I can't help feeling like it's my fault."

Fireball placed a reassuring claw on Antoshi's shoulder. "It's not your fault."