The Spirit of Fire

Part 4

Tyler just stood there, blinking at Amber in disbelief. He quickly ran up to the computer and squinted at the small text. Amber opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Well... we don't know that this Flareon here is Ruby for sure, right?" Tyler said in a trembling voice.

"What other Flareon leaves a unique scorch mark like that?" Amber whispered softly. The two stood there, silence wafting through the air. Amber turned to look at her Flareon. That happy innocence was still etched in its eyes. But Amber could still remember that emotion she had once seen in the Flareon's eyes before. The sound of Tyler's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Then... is this Flareon a ghost or something?" Tyler asked, slowly stepping closer.

"Don't be stupid, Tyler. I think we'd have figured that out by now if my Flareon was a ghost." Amber said. If it wasn't for the curious thoughts swarming through her mind right now, she would've rolled her eyes. "Now, I'm going to go outside for a little bit. I'd like to have some time to just... think things over. Alone."

Alone. The word just seemed to roll right out of Amber's mouth. She couldn't remember saying it in her mind, thinking it over. Now it seemed like the word was racing through the air around Amber, taunting her, whispering "Wouldn't that be dangerous?" in her ear.

Tyler nodded. "Okay." He said. Now it was too late for Amber to change her mind. She had to go outside... alone. Her heart was screaming for her not to go, but her legs weren't listening. They slowly carried Amber closer and closer to the door. Amber's Flareon quickly hopped off the bed and started following her. But no, she had to go alone, even if she didn't want to.

"Flareon, you heard me before. I'd like to spend some time alone with myself." Amber said. Her Flareon blinked up at her and then hopped back onto the bed. Amber's heart sank. She almost wished that the Flareon would continue following her outside. She almost wished that the Flareon would refuse to listen to her. But again, it was too late. Amber's Flareon had obediently listened to her.

As Amber's legs continued to carry her through the hotel, closer to the doors leading to the outside world, an image of Freesha appeared in her mind. Amber tried to shake it away. But it still stood there in her mind, clear as crystal. Amber's hands reached out for the doors awaiting her. As she opened them, and big gust of warm air was pushed into Amber's face, tangling her wild hair. As she stepped outside, sunlight seemed to dance around the skies. She was now outside. She was now alone. She was now alone with her thoughts.

Her thoughts.

Even though Amber was now alone, the millions of thoughts swarming through her mind still seemed to be screaming at her. Who exactly was Freesha? Why was she here? Was Amber's Flareon really Ruby? If it was, then how come it isn't dead? These thoughts made Amber shiver. Even though Freesha hadn't chased her when her Flareon carried her back to the hotel, fear continued to stab her in the heart. Everywhere Amber looked it seemed like Freesha's burning red eyes were staring out at her.

"I'll just call my Flareon Ruby once or twice to see if it recognizes the name." Amber said out loud. She wasn't sure who she was talking to. As for the questions about Freesha, those would have to wait. Though maybe it would be better if they stayed unanswered. Amber never wanted an encounter with that girl again.

But wait, no. There was one question about Freesha that was already answered. Amber hadn't realized it before, but now the answer seemed to be poking her in the back. Why was Freesha here? She knew why Freesha was here. Freesha was looking for her long lost Flareon, Ruby.

She had been searching for Ruby for ten whole years.

"My Flareon is Ruby. My Flareon is the Flareon that belonged to Freesha. My Flareon is the one who died ten years ago." Amber said in hardly a whisper. She didn't need to call out the name Ruby and see if her Flareon recognized it. If Freesha had been searching for Ruby for ten years, she must have really wanted Ruby back. That means if she ever sees Ruby, she'll know right away its... well, Ruby.

Amber whirled around and pushed through the doors leading back inside the hotel. She ran all the way down the main hall and up the stairs, not daring to stop until she got to her and Tyler's room. The heavy thuds of her footsteps seemed to shake the whole floor as she continued running, breathing heavily, her throat now dry. Finally she reached the door of their room and knocked hard. The door opened, revealing Tyler. Amber watched his eyes as he scanned her appearance.

"Amber, why are you breathing heavily? Is something wrong?" Tyler asked. Amber walked past him and sat on the bed next to her Flareon. Tyler sat on the other bed and gazed into Amber's eyes. "Amber, tell me what's wrong."

It took a couple gasps of breath to regain her strength. "Tyler, this Flareon is really Ruby." Amber said in a raspy voice, her throat still dry. "Don't even ask me how Ruby is alive right now."

Tyler just stared at her for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, I thought so. I just didn't want to believe it." Tyler said softly.

"And Freesha... she's looking for Ruby. She's been looking for Ruby for ten whole years. And now she knows that I have Ruby." Amber continued.

"But how did she know that Ruby... er, came back to life?" Tyler asked.

"Don't ask me that, either. I don't know." Amber said, sighing. "Just... come on. Lets all go outside for a moment. You, me, your Growlithe, and Ruby." Tyler nodded.

The walk to the doors leading outside didn't seem very long as Amber walked along side of Tyler, his Growlithe and Ruby happily trotting along by their feet. Before she knew it, all four of them were outside. Amber took a deep breath of the fresh city air.

"Well, we're here." Tyler said, looking around. "What do you want to do?"

"Just take a short walk, I guess." Amber answered, shrugging. What she really wanted to do was tell Tyler about how she was afraid Freesha would appear any moment, how her icy stare was still solid in Amber's mind. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. The words were like concrete, stuck in her throat, not making any movement at all.

"Okay." Tyler said, nodding. It took effort to make Amber's feet start walking along side of Tyler's, closer to the woods surrounding the city, closer to the building that had been on fire. Whenever Amber looked at the scorched ruins of the building, a cold shiver ran up her spine. She couldn't help thinking that Freesha had something to do with the fire.

That's when Amber felt it. It was a familiar feeling... but Amber just couldn't place it.

No, she could. Of course she could. It felt like something was breathing down the back of her neck.

Amber whirled around, only to see nothing. Looking down, the Flareon was still standing where it had always been standing. Amber's stomach seemed to twist. What was happening?!

"What is it?" Tyler asked, his eyes full of alarm. Amber just stood there for a moment, staring out at the sky.

"Couldn't you feel it? Couldn't you feel that hot breath... that feeling... that something was near?" Amber asked softly. Tyler shook his head no and continued to stare at Amber alarmingly. Amber sighed. "I felt it right before I had met Ruby too."

"Then do you think Freesha is near?" Tyler whispered. Amber gazed into his eyes. Finally. He understood what she was feeling.

Before Amber could give her answer, something burning hot felt like it had just appeared behind her back. She could just barely feel the flames licking the back of her jacket, daring her to turn around.

"Run!!" Amber shouted, grabbing hold of Tyler's arm. The two ran through the streets of the city, dodging people and pokemon passing by, Ruby and Tyler's Growlithe quickly following them. Amber didn't ask Tyler if he had seen anything behind her. Amber didn't listen to the annoyed shouts of the people they kept quickly rushing by. The only thing she listened to was the rapid beating of her own heart and the heavy breathing not only coming from her, but from Tyler too. And the only thing she said was still stuck inside her mind, inside her heart. "I don't know what I felt, but I'm not going to let it catch me."

Then they stopped. Amber and Tyler leaned over, trying to catch their breath. They were now outside of the city. As Amber stood up straight again, the whole world seemed to spin before her eyes. When she focused, the sight in front of her made her heart stop.

A familiar haunting icy stare. The icy stare of two burning red eyes.

Amber yearned to turn around, to stop looking at the figure standing before her. But she couldn't help it. Her eyes scanned Freesha's appearance. She looked slightly different than before. Her long blood-red hair was not a sweaty mess anymore, but instead combed neatly. The dripping mud and grass stains seemed to have disappeared, but the scorch marks were still there. And her eyes. There were no longer lines underneath her eyes. She no longer had the appearance that she hadn't slept for days, but instead had the appearance that she was awake and alert, ready for anything, a single evil spark in her eyes.

"What a pleasant surprise." Freesha said, her voice no longer raspy. But she continued to talk slowly and clearly. Her eyes met Amber's gaze, and then Ruby's.

"Just take Ruby and leave!" Amber shouted, surprised at her cofidence. Freesha's face grew into a twisted smile.

"Ruby. Ruby, come to your trainer." Freesha whispered. Ruby just stood there, gazing into Freesha's eyes. "Ruby." Freesha repeated, more sharply this time. "Come over to me. It has been ten long years." Again Ruby just continued standing there, gazing into Freesha's eyes.

Suddenly Freesha whirled around and buried her face in her hands, trembling. "That look... that emotion in Ruby's eyes..."

"A happy innocence?" Amber whispered softly. Freesha turned to look at her.

"You!" Freesha shouted. "What have you done to Ruby?!" The same thing that had happened when the building was on fire happened again. Burning hot flames were shot out of nowhere and whisked through the air by a sudden rush of strong warm wind. Choking, Amber shut her eyes and held her hands in front of her face, defenseless. She could just barely hear the distant sounds of Tyler shouting something and his Growlithe barking wildly. Amber winced as small flames kept brushing past her face and into her hands. She struggled to open her eyes, only to find her self collapsing to the ground in a sudden rush of pain.

"Flareon!"

Ruby's sudden cry seemed to echo through the air and ring inside Amber's ears. That's when Amber realized that Ruby was usually a very quiet pokemon. The Flareon would issue small yips and low growls, but never had Amber heard Ruby communicate by saying its name before. Moaning, she forced to herself to lift her head. Ruby was standing there, it's back arched, now growling at Freesha. A look of pure fury sparked in its eyes.

That's when it happened.

Everything seemed to go in slow-motion. With a final leap of faith, the Flareon soared through the air, its teeth bared. Just as Ruby's glistening claws touched Freesha, a sudden burst of blinding light seemed to explode in the air. Amber screamed as she was pushed against a tree trunk by a strong gust of air. She shut her eyes tightly.

A Flareon can't come back to life. No pokemon can. A human can't come back to life either.

A loved one can't come back, no matter how much you wish they could.

As Amber opened her eyes again, the blinding light was gone. Ruby lay limp on the ground near Freesha's feet, lifeless.

"Ruby?" Freesha's whisper shattered the deadly silence. Ruby just continued to lay there. Freesha raised her head slowly to gaze into Amber's eyes.

"Freesha, Ruby died ten years ago, and you know it." Amber said softly. "A Flareon can't come back to life." But as she said this she kept thinking 'What just happened? It sure seemed like Ruby came back to life to me. But has Ruby just died... again? And why?'

A sudden rush of heat was pushed into Amber's face as she tried to stand up. She stumbled backwards and then squinted up at the sky. Amber opened her mouth to shout something, anything, but nothing came out. She could only just stand there a gawk at the figure of a large elegant bird flapping its wings that seemed to be made of fire. A sharp piercing screech echoed through the steamy air.

"Moltres?!" Amber choked out.

"Now I understand." The sound of Tyler's voice startled Amber. She had completely forgotten that he was there. "Ruby's soul can't come back, but the Flareon's body remains here forever."

"What are you talking about?!" Freesha screamed. Only then did Amber see that tears were streaming down Freesha's face. The sight startled Amber. Before, Amber just couldn't get an image in her mind of Freesha crying. She hadn't even thought that it might happen. But now here Freesha was, standing before Amber, crying over Ruby's dead body.

"I think the Moltres let its soul reside in Ruby's lifeless body ten years ago." Tyler whispered.

The whole world seemed to stop.

An image of Ruby using the huge fire attack against Tyler's Growlithe raced through Amber's mind within the time of a heartbeat.

"You see, Flareon aren't supposed to know any attack that strong. Not even a Charizard should."

That was what Amber had said at the pokemon center before. Tyler was right. Ruby's soul was gone. A loved one can't come back to life. But their body remains here forever, while their soul remains in one's heart forever. But the Moltres's soul moved to Ruby's body. It's been that way for ten years.

"Why?" Freesha whispered up at the Moltres. The Moltres just gazed into Freesha's eyes. Amber thought she saw pity sparkling in the giant bird's eyes. But then the Moltres flew away, the swish of its flapping wings echoing over the city beyond.

Amber turned to look at Freesha, only to find that she had disappeared.

So had Ruby's body.

*******************************************

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Tyler said, sighing. Amber and Tyler stood on top of a small hill overlooking the village in which Amber lived. Amber nodded, staring at the ground. Then she shook her head. Finally she looked up into Tyler's eyes.

"No, its not. I enjoyed being a pokemon trainer. Perhaps my mother will let me get a new starter pokemon." Amber said softly. Yet sadness still sparkled in her eyes.

Tyler noticed this sadness. "What are you sad about then?" He asked.

Amber sighed. "I just feel sorry for Freesha. She missed Ruby so much that she came looking for the Flareon for ten whole years, only to find out that Ruby can't come back to life and that she's gone forever." Amber answered. "Freesha never found what she was looking for."

"Yes, but its better now that she knows." Tyler said. "To think someone is still alive for ten years when they really aren't... it just... messes you up."

Amber smiled and nodded. "Yes, I guess you right." She turned around. "At least I found what I was looking for."

Tyler blinked. "Huh?"

Amber just laughed and waved goodbye as she ran down the hill, wind weaving through her wild brown hair, towards her home below.

Note from author: Well, I'm finally done with this story. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, remember to send a review or two! ^.~

~Kitten >^.^<