I walk into the gym slowly, carefully, as if the lava will consume me if I move too fast. It's time. It's finally time. The lava splashes below my feet as my Pokemon follow dutifully after. Toxis is at the lead, mainly because Bronze relented and decided he could start it off.
"You sure you're ready?" I ask Toxis, his muscular shoulders hunched to attack, his fangs bared in a savage grimace.
"Positive." He growls, a sound that chills me to the bone. I'm so glad that he's on my side, otherwise, I would be terrified.
Almost as terrified as I am right now.
"Well, well, well. Another one." says Clair when I finally approach her. My entire team stands vigilant by my side. "I thought I finally wiped out the last one of your kind."
"And what exactly is my kind?" I ask her.
"They've never had a real name, but I've always had a nickname for them. Broken, You're Broken, I can already tell. Just like the rest of them. Honestly, if anything, your ego annoys me. Think you're so great, bridging a line between Pokemon and human. How have you come this far?"
"My team supports me. We work together."
"Oh, your team! So what do you do when they fight? How many Pokemon have you killed to get this far?" She laughs. "I will enjoy this. Defeating a Broken one is always more fun then defeating a regular human." She holds out a Pokeball. "Let's go."
A Dragonair stands before us, coiled like a snake ready to attack. Toxis steps forward, tail swishing. Suddenly, it darts forwards, and Toxis uses Blizzard, the frosty pellets of ice battering the air and battering the Dragonair backwards.
It screeches in retaliation, sending forth a Dragon Pulse. Toxis, hit straight in the chest, flies backwards, a large bruise where it hit him. He breathes heavily. "Toxis, Blizzard again!" I yell, "You can do it!"
He nods, getting up to his feet. He roars in agony and hatred, and then slashes the thing down the throat, throwing it against the wall. It faints, it's eyes rolling into the back of it's head.
She sends out her Gyarados, which uses Bite, running forwards only to be smacked back by Toxis's paw. Visibly bleeding now, he uses Thunder, the beam of lightning hitting the Gyarados. It thrashes, hitting Toxis against the wall, but he gets up slowly, trembling, and still focusing Thunder, increases the voltage until the Gyarados falls over, just above the lava, twitching just a little. He walks over and slaps the face, trying to make sure that it's knocked out. He nods, and backs away.
Clair grits her teeth and returns it, sending out a Kingdra. It looks almost like her, royal, graceful, and really, really pissed off. Not exactly a good combo.
"Kingdra, Dragon Pulse!" It hits him in the same spot, and his jaws fling open in terror. He graps the spot, beathing heavily, and then... "HYDRO PUMP!"
I scream just in time to see Toxis holding the water back with his hands. Slowly, he slides backwards, pushed by the force of the water. His feet grab the edge...
"ASHLEY!"
"TOXIS, NO! SWITCH!" No Pokeballs. No way out. Dill screams in agony, tears running down his cheeks.
"Dill, I love you. You can be my Cas... Just like in your-" His eyes are wide open. He wasn't paying enough attention. His back feet slip and he falls into the lava. One last screech pierces the gym, and I see Toxis's hand grabbing for something before it shrivels up and sinks under.
"N-n-no, he can't be..." Dill mutters, and then turns to Clair. "I HATE YOU! Ashley, let's go!"
I flash to him, and we roar as one, his Blizzard every bit as potent as Toxis's. Soaring, we dodge one Dragon Pulse, and then another hits us face on. The purple energy curls away and we cry as one, our tears streaming and fangs bared, our fur spiked in the lava-illuminated gym.
One direct Blizzard freezes it, and then we slash down, tearing a hole in it's stomach. It's bleeding fast now. Clair looks unfazed. "Dragon Pulse."
Our eyes are wide at the critical hit slams us against the wall. Dill slides down, pushing me away. He's singing to himself now, and I just catch his last words, "Don't... ever... change... I need... you..."
The next words are obscured as blood bubbles from his lips and then his eyes roll up into his head. He's smiling. Before I can do anything, Sky, proud and defiant, swiftly moves in front of me. "Sky, don't! You know what's going to..." Khrys yells.
She silences Khrys with a wing, and then turns to him as Clair switches out for her other Dragonair. She looks at him, a sad smile on her face. "Khrys, if not here, we all know that a Crobat and a Butterfree wouldn't make it up Mount Silver. I-I-I'm... I'm so happy... because I got to be with you... and even if it ends today, I-I'm so happy I got to be on the team."
The Dragonair coils and then strikes with Fire Blast, Sky narrowly dodging. She uses Air Cutter, her wings a bright white. She's here, then there, Air Cutter after Air Cutter. The Dragonair stays still, and she dives in close enough for a finishing hit when it uses Fire Blast. There's her silhouetted against the fire, and then she's gone.
I'm just breaking down now, much like my mom must have all those years to go. I wasn't ready. I can't run. Stuck. Terrified. Like a bug in a spiderweb. Khrys swoops forward, and uses Psybeam. For a second, the monster snake is terribly still, and as soon as he relaxes, the fire consumes him too.
Bronze, who's been sitting here this whole time, just watching, steps forward now, and looks at me. "Ashley-sama..."
The name he hasn't used for me since the beginning. Tears are running down my face now uncontrollably, and I can't move, can't answer, can't flash. Just can't.
He knows. "I'm going to see Lilly. Thanks for everything."
Clair withdraws Dragonair, solemnly nodding to the Pokeball. She sends back out the Kingdra, the wound on it's throat healed with a spritz of a Hyper Potion. "Finish him."
The Hydro Pump rushes at Bronze, who spreads out his hands, ready for the hit.
Suddenly, like the flip of a switch, I turn on. My legs unlock and I run, my eyes now gold and green, the color of time itself. I jump in front of it, the water hitting me instead. My eyes shut, and now I'm fighting, fighting just to keep existing. I shudder in and out of the darkness, only getting glimpses of what happened next. Bronze flaming the ground. Running, lava hitting his feet. The tears battering me, but I'm numb and can no longer feel a thing.
He looks down at me, and I hear him whisper, "Oh Arceus, you stupid, crazy idiot."
The darkness finally takes me, and I fade silently and peacefully into the void.
(A/N: WHUUUP WAIT UP. THERE IS MORE. THE BOOK IS NOT FINISHED, KAY?)
