Tuesday, June 20
	The sun was shining at an incredibly blinding rate, making the entire sky nearly 
impossible to look at.  I squinted as I looked up to see the trees at the top of the cliffs we were 
climbing, and sighed, exhausted, "Only half a thousand more steps to go..." I grumbled.  I swung 
my feet out from under me, and sat on a ledge a safe distance, and peered down to watch Mew 
helping the other two up the cliff, warning of any loose rocks, and giving her assistance when 
necessary.  I smiled- it was great having Mew around again.  As a friend, of course.  Without 
Mew, I don't know where I'd have been.  I rubbed my neck, thinking about the situation- that's 
right- I'd have been just a regular guy living in a regular world, training my best friends to 
become stronger and more defensive, with a little speech-twist.  
	It was that government-testing.  A whole box, unmarked except with the box of 
instructions that came with it.  It was suppose to enhance abilities like overall body strength, 
improved bone support and structure, more energy-saving body cells to store speed and agility, or 
an increase in special defenses, such as Water Gun or Confusion.  But look what it did do, I 
thought.  It increased the intelligence and speak-capabilities of my pokémon to be equivalent to 
that of a human being- about a 3-to-400% increase in IQ.  I shook my head- I'd have still loved 
them, even if they couldn't speak.  ...Even if I didn't know Mew, things would have somehow 
been the same, because we were friends- and that was all that was to it.
	"Just about there..." Mew encouraged Penny as she tried to pull herself up another ledge, 
"Just a little more, and we'll be at the top!"
	"I'm starting to get dizzy..." Ellis said quietly, shaking her head to remove the spell.
	"Just don't look down, Ellissa!"  Mew advised, "Stay right there, and I'll come to help you 
in a bit!"
	Ellis whined, hugging on to the cliff for dear life while Mew pulled Penny up on to the 
ledge I was sitting on.  Penny blew out a deep breath, and smiled, "Hello, Ben."
	I nodded, "Hey."
	"Tough climb, isn't it?"
	"Yup."  I replied, looking out at the sea that was spread before us.  A brief silence had 
followed, until Mew rose into vision carrying Ellis, who was covering her eyes.
	"Hey Ben!  Look who I found was climbing up the cliff on her lonesome!"  I smiled, but 
Mew gave me a serious stare, "Seriously, Ben," she said, "You might want to keep an eye on her.  
She's fallen down the cliff a few times already."
	I gulped, the thought of Ellis falling through empty space seemed to send shivers down 
my spine.  Especially since I promised to take care of Ellis when Erika had died, making it the 
last thing I promised her before she died.
	Mew winked at me, "...But I think we've had enough climbing for the day.  Don't you all 
think so?"
	"Heck yeah!"  Penny nodded, wiping a droplet of sweat off her forehead, "This here's 
some pretty tough work out!"
	"Don't you mean a really hard work-out?"  Came a voice from nowhere.
	"Yup.  I do mean that."  Penny nodded.
	We all sat there for a moment, not realizing somebody had said something to us, when 
Mew tugged my sleeve on my arm, clearing her throat.  I looked at her, then she pointed up.  I 
blinked, then looked up to see a Charizard sitting on a ledge right above me!
	I gasped, gulped, and covered my chest in surprise at the sight.  It was Carman!  Carman 
stood, looking somewhat expressionless as she towered over us with crossed arms.  I wanted to 
say something, but didn't know what to say.  I looked to Mew, who had the look of "Say 
something!" written across her face, and Penny, who stared in awe, and to Ellis, who climbed up 
onto my shoulder to look at Carman.
	"Carman...!"  I finally said.
	Carman looked at me, still unchanging her expression as she watched us.  I shook my 
head, trying to think of something, but she continued to watch, waiting for me to say something.  
Finally, I sighed, my sigh getting caught half-way through for some unknown reason, "I know I 
can't make any excuses..." I said, "And I know that complaining wouldn't do much...  I just don't 
know what to say..."
	Carman the Charizard continued to watch me, then spoke in a monotone voice, "Then I'll 
be leaving, then..." Taking off into the air, she circled over us before she flew in front of me, 
watching me, "When you've finally realized what you should say, come and tell me."  
	A sudden thought just hit me, and I shouted it out, "No- wait Carman!  I'm sorry I did this, 
Carman!  I'm sorry!  Carman!  Wait!"  Carman had flown off, though, not hearing what I wanted 
to say.  Or did she not want to hear what I was saying?  I sat there, mouth wide open and a 
surprised and sad expression, watching the Charizard that was my first Pokémon fly off across 
the face of the cliff, then over the top and into whatever it was that laid above these rocky areas.
	I buried myself in my knees, feeling the tears just sprout from my eyes at the thought of 
Carman leaving.  Ellis crawled near me, Penny came closer, and Mew lowered herself to my 
level to see me.  "She's gone..." I said, softly.
	"Just like me..." Penny said sadly as she looked up into the evening sky, the sun now 
being covered by the clouds approaching, making the glare less intensifying.  "I can't help but 
feel depressed on this matter... I feel sorry for the both of you..." Penny added, "A friend... 
faithful to the end... Betrayed, and robbed of a life that she once knew...  And her best friend, like 
a family or a brother... once doubtful, caring, and took it from her... ...now wants to give it all 
back..."
	I gulped while Penny expressed herself out loud.  Was it true?  Did I rob Carman of her 
life?  The answer was most obvious- Yes!  Yes, I did rob her of her life.  The life she grew to 
know- the family she grew up with, the house she lived in, the boy she had come to love...  I had 
taken it all away from her, and now I was like a bad memory to her- a permanent stain on a white 
shirt; a deep scar that bore into her entire soul...  Yes- this time, though how I hated to think it, I 
was the villain; the bad guy.  I shook my head, trying to catch my breath, "No...!"  I cried softly.
	Ellis pressed her head under my chin, feeling sad as well, "You've still got all of us, Ben...  
We feel sad, but now we are happy to be with you again..."
	I bit my lip, as I usually tended to do in times like this.  Ellis continued, "We are always 
happy to be with you, Ben... We love you, and we all just want to make you happy..."
	I didn't want any of you to feel pain...  The familiar words repeated.  I choked, crying out 
again, "No...!"  I sniffled loudly, "No- I just... I just wanted to have you all, but had to give you 
all up to life a good life!"
	The life I wanted...  ...was with you...
	"No!"  I cried loudly, banging my fist on the ledge powerfully.  The impact hurt my fist, 
as a rush of pain was sent coursing up my palm and into my arm.  The wind was beginning to 
pick up now, and I could hear the ocean's crashing waves get louder.  In the distance, the sound 
of thunder reached my ears, and a single raindrop landed on my pained arm.
	Mew looked up, blinking for a moment, then shook off her head as a raindrop fell on her 
forehead.  "It's starting to storm out, Ben...," she warned.
	I shook my head, not wanting to reveal my face.  She sighed, closing her eyes, and 
performed a Teleport technique, bringing us all to the top of the cliff, a few feet from the edge.  
The wind felt more powerful up here- probably because the cliff blocked much of the ocean's 
breeze.  "Come on..." she coaxed me, trying to pick me up, "We got to get going... There should 
be some sort of a cave or shelter around here somewhere we can hide in...  Come on- let's get 
going before we get rained on.  We can think about all this later."
	I gave in, sighing, and rose to my feet, Ellis in my arms.  Penny walked by my side with 
Mew hovering next to me while we tried to make our way across a grassy ledge- up a small hill, 
then down down down...  It seemed like far off in the distance there was a forest or a farm of 
some sort, but that would take what looked like a good hour or so of walking, and we needed a 
shelter, and fast.
	"Darn wind..." Mew shielded her eyes as she tried to peer through the wide open 
grassland.  "There's gotta be some kind of shelter around here somewhere..."
	Penny, who hadn't been paying attention but rather looking at our surroundings, gave a 
shout, "Look!  It's Carman!  ...Or something...  It's near that rocky outcrop.  Maybe there could be 
some sort of a cave over there?" Looking off in the distance, a figure seemed to stand on top of a 
hill not any more than a half a mile away.  
	Mew nodded, "Right.  We'll make our way out over there.  Good work, Penny."  
	Soon, we all started to move towards the figure, fighting the increasing wind in a now-
blackened sky.  The wind was increasing to a feverish pitch, and powerful gusts were pushing us 
as we tried to make our way towards the small hill.  The wind was not warm, nor was it freezing.  
Just cold.  The kind of cold one gets when standing outside in early spring when the frost has 
melted but the nights are still cold.  We continued though, and finally made it to the top of the 
hill, with rain spattering all over the place.  The figure did turn out to be a living creature- it was 
Carman, just as Penny said.  She stood there, back towards us, and looking out towards what lay 
beyond the hill.  I approached her, standing by her side.  She didn't look at me, but continued to 
look out in front of her.
	I looked in the direction she had been looking- a field of grass that had a sort of yellowish 
tinge to its light green colour was swaying to and fro.  The rain had stopped, and now only 
flashes of lightning could be seen with a quiet booming rumble afterwards.
	"That field is going to burn down in a moment or two..." She said.  
	I blinked, "You know this?"
	Carman nodded, "Just look."  In an instant, a bolt of lightning crashed into a patch of dead 
grass, catching the spot on fire.  I stood, amazed at the sight of the fire, and bewildered at how 
she knew of its forecoming.  "The grass was dry, and flammable.  It seemed almost too perfect, 
with the clouds not even a thousand meters above us."
	I then realized that lightning took the quickest path to the ground and shifted uneasily, 
"Then... shouldn't we get off of this hill?  We'll be fried like that grass out there!"
	"Do you mean burned?"  Carman looked, for the first time, at me.
	"No, I mean fried!  We'll be vaporized before that stuff even burns us!"
	Carman watched me with her amber-coloured eyes for a moment, then snorted and shook 
her head. 	"You're still as strange as I remember..."
	"Carman!"  Ellis shouted, "Ben's come to say he's sorry, and we want you back!"
	"Want me back?"  Lightning flashed and thunder boomed as another patch of grass was 
set aflame, "You're saying Ben wants me to be by his side again, like we were good old friends?"
	Mew rolled her eyes, Just like Penny... she said in a thought.
	"I just came here to fix things up that I feel shouldn't have been said."  I said in a straight 
voice.
	"Really now?"  Carman replied, "And what made you think that?"
	"I... I just..." I started.  
	Carman closed her eyes and turned away, "Go."  She said, and nothing more.
	We stood there for a while, the fire starting to spread a ways, now, quickly consuming the 
dead grass as it went.  Not a word passed from either side, until Penny mentioned the grass 
burning, "Shouldn't we help put out that fire?  It's going to spread pretty far and consume much 
in its path!"
	"It's foolish to try and stop a burning fire."  Carman replied, "All it needs is a good source 
of fuel and it's on its way to doing whatever it likes."
	I stopped to think about what Carman said.  It sounded a bit familiar- like a symbolic 
phrase.  I then realized that Carman was talking about herself!  It was something that I'd told her 
long ago about burning ambition and battles- how not everyone could win a battle, even with 
friendship and a great team.  In Carman's words, once there was an unhappy feeling, provided 
with much distaste towards it, a fuel would be able to burn inside of them.  Trying to stop them 
would end up in a burn.  But I needed a way to put out this fire...
	"Then... shouldn't somebody take away the fuel before it becomes consumed?"  I 
suggested.
	Carman kept silent, then added, "It would take too long.  By that time, it would have 
already been consumed."
	"Then, let's put out the fire before it becomes too late..." I said, reaching for her hand.
	"Don't touch me!"  She shouted, another crash of thunder booming, and another fire being 
lit in the field.  She watched me through eyes that glared like ice, "Don't do what you don't 
understand!"
	"Then don't underestimate those who do."  I replied.
	She watched me, her hand still withdrawn and held up over her other shoulder as if in a 
striking pose.  A droplet of rain fell, and coursed its way down her muzzle, to hang from a nostril.  
"If you know so much..." she said in a powerful quiet voice, "...then why don't you understand 
how I feel about you?"
	"Rage is one thing that needs no understanding."  I said.  "It is something that needs to be 
forgotten and not to be practiced."
	"Then how do you know this is rage?"  She said sternly.
	"I can feel it in you, Carman!"  I said, "I can feel your hatred and anguish, like a knife 
tearing at my heart!  ...Carman!  I know how much you dislike me, and how I left that mark on 
your soul, and I understand what I did is wrong and want to heal the wound I cut!"
	"Not all wounds heal over time!"  She said, absent-mindedly.
	"Exactly!"  I said, then stopped.  She had me cornered, now.
	"Not all wounds will heal if left alone.  Nor will they heal when treated.  Do you want to 
make the pain worse?  Do you want to bore a hole even deeper?  Make the cut even longer?  
More jagged scrapes and broken bones?  Do you want the blood to escape from an already 
broken vein?"
	"I don't.  I just want to close up the wound."
	"Then just leave it be!  Some things are meant to be- regardless of how you change them, 
like how you changed me!"
	"A stubborn heart shows determination, but an evil mind shines no light!"
	"So you're saying I'm evil?  Making me a reference to your mind, putting you in the 
position of Hero, and me as Villain?"
	"You're only worsening it for yourself, Carman!"  I said.  "I want to be friends again!  I've 
felt this bad since I let you go!  Don't think I didn't spend a single day not forgetting what I did, 
and how I regretted it!  Don't think how I sat in happiness, or in my so-called vile home or 
whatever you want to call it, being dark and the way I thought I should be!"
	"I didn't call your home vile!"  Carman yelled.
	A lightning bolt crashed between us, sending both of us flying in opposing directions, as 
between us a fire burned powerfully.  I shook my head, feeling my hair as I pulled myself back 
up.  Penny, Ellis, and Mew lay behind me, watching as I walked towards the fire, where through 
the flames I could see Carman pulling herself back up.
	"The Heavens are angered with this nonsense!"  Carman spat as she pulled herself back 
up.  She staggered for a bit, then collapsed on the ground again, gritting her teeth.  I stood near 
the flames, the heat flaring in front of me, causing sweat and rain to mix together with the dirt of 
the ground while I watched Carman.
	"It's over, Carman."  I said.  "It's time for us to give up our ways, and time to start anew."
	Carman lowered her eyebrows, then gave a loud roar, launching a powerful Fire Blast at 
me.  Mew and Penny screamed, Ellis gasping as the consuming flames crashed against my body, 
sending me flying to the ground in a heap of flames.  I yelled- the fire burning my skin, singeing 
my clothes, and eating away at my hair.
	"Ben!"  Ellis screamed.
	I shook violently, trying to smother the flames, before another powerful blast of fire came 
flying at me from Carman.  Ellis and Penny screamed, Mew covering her mouth as she shook her 
head.  "She's going to burn him alive!"  Mew gaped.
	Carman walked through the flames, and over towards me, where I felt myself being 
burned severely.  She walked over towards my face, and stepped on my chest, putting her weight 
on it and leaning in close to my face, "You're right, Ben..." she hissed, "It is time to start anew.  
I'm pleased to meet you at this time, and hope we become good friends.  As a gift, I have 
something here for you."
	Holding out her hand, she breathed an Ember into it, holding it above my face, "I call it...  
Burning Ambition!"
	"Carman!  Stop!"  Mew yelled, using Psychic to stop Carman from moving.  "Don't forget 
who you first saw that day you hatched from your egg!"  She yelled, "Don't forget who tended 
your crying self when that Squirtle attacked you viciously!  And certainly don't forget whose 
chest your standing on, ready to kill with your own hands!"
	Carman gritted her teeth, then gave a yell, "Don't think I don't know what I'm doing!  I'm 
taking care of things the way they should be dealt with!"
	"Killing somebody is not the way to handle things, Carman!  Do you like to feel pain?"
	"Think of all the pain I've felt already!"  She screamed back.
	"And think of all the pain you're already causing!"  Mew added.
	Carman showed signs of distress, frustration, and confusion.  She gave a yell, then 
collapsed on the ground next to me, Mew releasing her from the Psychic technique.  Mew used a 
Rain Dance technique, causing rain to fall and douse the flames burning me.  I still lay on the 
ground, deeply engulfed in pain to the point where I couldn't move, let alone see very well.
	Penny rushed to my side, and gasped at the sight of me, then quickly covered Ellis's eyes 
before she could see what I looked like.  She shook her head, tears forming and ready to drop at a 
given moment, while the crying sounds of Carman filled the air with a sense of a war's end.  In 
the silence, the rain continued falling, and doused the fires caused by the lightning.  The storm 
was over.