TheoLeung@Sprint.ca

"You worked with Tim in the Special Forces?" Ryan questioned, curious if Carter was telling the truth or not. No one gets out of the Special Forces alive usually. He nodded, revealing his sword shaped pendant to prove himself. "Pokément?" Ryna asked, though more of a statement then a question. Carter nodded, replacing the pendant under his shirt.

"I don’t think we have been properly introduced. My name is Carter," the former Special Forces officer introduced. He stretched his arm for a handshake.

"Ryna," the Pallet Town trainer replied, turning around. "We’re leaving now. I’m finding Tim and nothing is going to stop me." The trainer, though interested in the past of Carter, did not want to waste her time with small talk.

"Wait, what happened?" Carter asked, concerned for the safety of his previous comrade.

"Come along and I might tell if, that is, if I don’t leave you in the dust first," Ryna replied, continuing the walk down the hallway. Lin, Simon, and Amy exchanged glances, then ran to catch up, leaving Carter and Ripper behind, standing in front of the their room.

"Go with them?" Ripper asked, though not needing to wait for an approval. Carter was already gathering everything he needed. Stuffing a backpack full of supplies quickly yet neatly, the former soldier was ready to go. "Don’t forget the watch," Ripper reminded. Carter nodded, taking a small device that was like a watch from his drawer. He quickly strapped it onto his wrist, a small box the size of floppy disk attached, which bend around his arm.

"Let’s go," Carter said, patting his small watch like device, then running off to catch up, the Hitmonchan following behind.

* * * * * *

"So, what’s the story behind Ryna?" Carter asked Simon, sipping a bit of his tea. The trio of trainers was back at Simon’s house, the freezing nights catching up with them. Despite Ryna’s insistence, Simon convinced the trainer to stay for another night to avoid the harsh storm that was to come that night.

"Well…" Simon said, trailing off. He wasn’t sure how to explain everything Lin told him, but he was going to try to explain anyway. "To begin with…" Simon started, knowing it might be a long night with these stories.

* * * * * *

There were mountains, large mountains. Clefairy, Paras, Zubat, Geodude, and Onix Pokémon inhabited the terrain, their own societies in their parts of the caves that winded through the tunnel.

"Where is this?" Ryna asked, looking around. She stood there, suspended in the air above the mountains. It was strange, to be in the air like that, unknown where you are in the world.

"I’m here…" the voice said, the same voice she heard before.

"Tim?!" Ryna shouted, hoping he would give more information about his location. She quickly glanced around, finally settling her gaze on a building at the range.

The building would be quite a site, with the forest surrounding it, if it weren’t so desolate. The building, run down as it should, was no where near the condition was as the lab at Glacier City. Windows shattered, large dents from the inside out. To Ryna, the building looked like it went through hell and back in almost one piece.

"Help me…" the voice pleaded, in pain and agony for unknown reasons.

"Tim, don’t go!" Ryna shouted, reaching out, but had to retract her arm when a column of fire erupted, nearly singeing her. "TIM!"

* * * * * *

Again, Ryna bolted up from her bed, breathing hard, sweating. She glanced around, knowing she was in the same room she slept in last night. It was still dark outside. The cold winds howled like a daemon. Still, it didn’t deter Ryna. She quickly dressed, glancing back at the Pikachu who slept with her. Ryna sighed, tucking the blanket over the Pikachu as a sign of affection, then quickly left the confines.

* * * * * *

The sunlight broke the darkness that surrounded the room. Still, not a single being stirred. Well, there was one, who was outside.

Ripper threw a punch, and another, then another dozen in rapid succession. His target: the air. The Pokémon retired early and awoke early for some training. Charging energy, the Hitmonchan’s glove was set ablaze, and with one quick uppercut, the Pokémon melted all the snow in front of him. The flame dissipated from his hand, the Hitmonchan standing there, silent, concentrating.

The short applause behind him didn’t shatter his concentration, though the Pokémon was curious who was watching him.

"Just project your thoughts. I can read them," the one behind him answered, telepathically. Only one person from that household behind him could be telepathic like that.

"You’re up early, Amy," Ripper thought, the Jynx reading that small section of his mind.

"Well, so are you," Amy replied, with a small giggle. "We’ll call it even." She could read the small mental image of the Hitmonchan nodding. "You always train this early?"

"When I have time, I do," Ripper silently answered. He thrust his right fist forward, again hitting air, followed with a left hook, then a strong right uppercut.

"Our trainers were up all night telling their tales," Amy said, changing the topic. Again, the Hitmonchan silently nodded, bowing his head, then wiped the bead of sweat off his forehead.

"I know," he spoke aloud, turning around to face the Jynx. "I heard it all."

"Are you sure you aren’t tired then?" Amy asked concerned. "They were up until 2:00 A.M. last night, or better yet, this morning." Ripper shrugged, beginning to walk back to the house. "It’s only 8:00 right now. You sure you are okay with 6 hours of sleep?"

"Are you always this concerned about others well being?" Ripper asked, stopping in his tracks, a bit angered. Amy took a ‘step’ back, surprised at the Hitmonchan’s tone. Ripper sighed, then entered the building. Amy followed after leaving her shocked state of mind.

* * * * * *

There was silence in the house, the only sounds coming from the kitchen, where Simon was preparing breakfast for the group. The sizzle of bacon soon awoke everyone, either they were hungry or were annoyed by the sizzling. Still, in the end, all were happy for a well made breakfast. Lin was the last to come down, stretching her arms out as she yawned. With one quick glance, she noticed someone was not at the table.

"Where’s Ryna?" she asked, her light body jumping onto the table. Everyone exchanged glances, also noticing a trainer missing.

"I thought she was still sleeping," Simon inquired. Lin shook her head.

"When I awoke, she was already out of bed. I assumed she already came down to eat," the Pikachu told everyone. Looks of worry began to form on the faces of Pokémon and Humans alike.

"She couldn’t have considered leaving without us, could she?" Amy asked.

"She would," Lin whispered, silently damning herself. " I should’ve known," the Pikachu muttered, leaping off the table. "She couldn’t have gone far! I’m going out to look for her!" The Pikachu headed for the door, but was stopped by Carter.

"Get packed, we’re going after her," he replied calmly. "I’m guessing when we find her, we won’t be coming back, so it would be best to be prepared before leaving."

"We don’t have time!" Lin protested. "The longer we wait, the farther she gets, and the harder to search!"

"Don’t worry about that, it will be easy to find her," Carter replied in his same, calm voice. "I’ll explain once we get moving. Just get prepared right now." There was silence between the occupants of the house, but soon they all moved their separate directions to begin what would soon become another long journey ahead.

* * * * * *

Ryna sneezed lightly, her health becoming poorer by the minutes. Common sense told her not to leave in the middle of the night, especially in such territory. Still, her stubbornness to find Tim overrode her common sense. The trainer from Pallet was as determined as ever to find that Phoenix, even if it meant dying in the process.

"Damn it Tim, why do you have to make this so difficult!" Ryna shouted to no one in particular. She pulled her cloak closer to herself, though she already cleared the northern region and away from all the snow. Nevertheless, she felt very cold, probably the after effect of her trek through the freezing lands. The path she followed was clear of people, probably a much-unused path by the roughness of the trail she followed.

Ryna tripped on a small root from a nearby tree which sown its self into the road. The trainer collapsed, a cloud of dirt flying up as she landed onto the ground. She coughed violently, the dirt and sand choking her for a small being.

"Why do you have to be so damn hard to find?" Ryna muttered, before succumbing to her weakened state and falling unconscious.

* * * * * *

Ryna slowly awoke from her state, though her body ached with each movement. She felt dizzy, quickly holding her head in pain.

"Woah…easy…lie back down girl…" the voice told her, Ryna following for once since her new journey. The voice sounded familiar and comforting.

"Lin…is that you?" Ryna asked, stretching out her hand. The small Pikachu grasped her hand, trembling in obvious fear. Ryna sighed, allowing the darkness to embrace her for the moment.

"Where…am I?" she asked, holding the Pikachu’s hand light, yet firmly. IT was very comforting to have such a friend nearby.

"We’re in the hospital at Cerulean City," Lin replied, sniffing. "We found you unconscious on the road, and took you as quickly as possible to here." Ryna sighed, feeling awful for leaving her friends behind like that, whom would risk coming all this way to help her, and she had nothing to give back to them. "Why did you leave?" Lin asked, holding back muffled sobs. Ryna could understand. The Pikachu felt betrayed. They were like family now, since Lin lost her original family. She wouldn’t want to lose anyone else.

"I-I wanted to leave you all alone," Ryna finally replied, finding difficulty in expressing herself. "This is my journey, not yours." The Pikachu huddled in the trainer’s arm, unable to suppress her tears. Lin cried, her tears following upon her trainer.

"Ryna…I am always there for you…and you know that…" Lin said, between sobs. "I wish…you wouldn’t do anything crazy like this again." Ryna sighed, thinking back to all her previous actions, how she treated her companions, how she acted. They were all wrong…her friends were right…she did change over time. Ryna opened her eyes, glancing down at her young Pikachu, who was lying on her chest now, still crying.

"I…I promise I won’t do anything crazy like that again…" Ryna reassured. She needed to change again, for the better. She would continue to pursue Tim and Burner, but this time, she would ask for support from her friends. They were loyal, and she would be loyal back for them. "Friends until the end," Ryna whispered, hugging the small mouse.

"Friends to the end…" Lin whispered back, crying, though a smile formed on her tiny face. Ryna smiled back, releasing herself from the shell that surrounded her.

* * * * * *

"I guess…the first thing I have to say is…I’m sorry," Ryna told the rest of her companions. The three trainers and their Pokémon gather in their room in the Pokémon Center. Ryna felt displeased with herself, thinking how others would be such a burden to her ‘quest’, but instead, realizing how much of a burden she has been to them in such a journey. The meeting she asked for was to show give her apologies, and reveal her next steps towards her goal. "I…I believe I was a burden to everyone here, and I knew I was mean and selfish. Again…I apologize…and I wish I could make it up."

"Ryna, you don’t need to apologize," Simon spoke up, glancing up at the female trainer. "I…we can understand the pain you’re going through. People change, especially after losing one close to them."

"Do not despair, we will always be here to help," Amy continued. Ryna smiled lightly, happy for such support. She turned her head to face the other trainer in the room.

"Being as one not to know much about you, I would have to say you’ve changed for the better," Carter assessed, smiling lightly. "That dome of yours is down, and I’m glad to see what your true self looks like." Again, Ryna smiled, grateful for the words of encouragement. Ripper didn’t speak, but by the way he sat there, nodding from time to time, you could tell he agreed with his trainer.

"I thank you all for the support, and…I wish to say, as I continue on, you don’t have to follow me," Ryna told the occupants. "This is my battle, and I don’t want to drag any of you into it."

"I’m going," Simon interjected, continuing his reasoning before Ryna could object. "I could use the practice, and I think Amy would get well trained from such an experience." Amy nodded, the two minds set on following Ryna. She turned her gaze to Carter.

"Tim is my friend, and I feel obligated to help him anyway possible," Carter said in his same assessment voice. "If you’re going after him, then it would be mutually beneficial if we went together." Ryna smiled. Lin giggled at how the soldier made it sound so technical. The Pallet Town trainer glanced down at her only Pokémon.

"Are you coming?" she asked. The Pikachu looked displeased, then leaped onto Ryna’s shoulder.

"Remember what we promised?" she asked, patting her shoulder. "Friends forever. I’ll be there for you, and I’ll help you any way possible." Ryna smiled yet again, definitely feeling more comfortable with these travel companions.

"Then, let’s get some rest," Ryna told everyone. "We’re heading towards Mt. Moon tomorrow, and it’s going to be a long trek. Get rested and refreshed, stock up on supplies."

"Mt. Moon?" Simon asked, inquiring the purpose of such a trip.

"I…I guess you could say I’ve had a vision," Ryna told them, slightly embarrassed by how that sounded. "There’s a facility there, near Mt. Moon. I…I just feel I should go there…like how I felt I should go to the Glacier City laboratory. Don’t ask me to explain…I can just…feel it." Though the answer wasn’t clear, it was enough to silence the others. They filed out, getting prepared for their next journey.

"I’ll find you Tim," Ryna whispered, though she was happy that she now regained sensible thought. The upcoming leg of the trek would be tough and she needed every ounce of energy she could get.

<Fin>