Pokemon and all related trademarks belong to Nintendo. The story, its original contents and ideas, and any original characters belong to the author and cannot be used or reprinted without the author’s permission.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blue Skies

By nightdragon0 (nightdragon0@hotmail.com)

Despite my weariness, the thoughts of my friends out there in the cold kept me awake the entire night. That left me both physically and mentally drained by morning, but I wouldn’t miss my chance to go out and search for Leo and Taryn.

The storm had subsided just half an hour earlier and the inn’s occupants had organized themselves into a search party.

“They’ve already called in a professional search and rescue team, but it’ll take them some time to get here since the storm blocked up the roads pretty badly.” Kysta explained.

She’d finally managed to convince the humans that my mental condition was stable enough for them to release me. Together, we were walking back towards the site where the accident had happened the previous night.

“I can find them myself...” I insisted. “Ugh...”

“Your shoulder still hurts?”

“No.” I lied. Every movement of my arm sent aches up it, but I couldn’t think about it now. “It’s nothing.”

We paused at the cliff, and Kysta brought up a pair of binoculars to look around.

“If they went over, then they should be somewhere down there.” Kysta said to herself. “Uriel, can you see anything? Hey! Uriel!!”

Ignoring her calling, I’d leapt over the side and was climbing down, using any jaggered edges and outcroppings as handholds.

“Wait for me! Uriel!! Dammit!” Kysta fumbled to secure a rope to her level in order for her to climb down, allowing me to reach the bottom much earlier.

“Leo!! Taryn!!” I ran ahead, yelling.

I was trying to get all of my exhausted senses to work when something caught my eye. It was a twinkle of blue light, which seemed to come from within the forest in front of me.

Some feeling just made me follow that light, and I charged between the trees, slamming branches, twigs and rocks out of my way.

“Leo! Taryn!! Huh?!”

There was a flicker of movement just off to my right. As I moved closer, I realized that I’d come to the base of a mountain....with a small cavern in its side!

And a small mount of snow shifted slightly.

Heart pounding, I knelt down and dug through the snow.

“Taryn!!” I cried. “Taryn! Speak to me, please!!”

Her body simply felt so cold and silent. In panic, I realized I didn’t have the slightest clue about what to do.

Suddenly, Taryn let off a soft moan and opened her eyes.

“Taryn! It’s me, Uriel! I’m here! Taryn!”

For a moment, Taryn looked directly into my eyes. In that second, I saw so many emotions in there that I couldn’t describe it. It was like, everything each of us had ever wanted to say to the other went between us in an almost telepathic way.

Taryn’s head leaned softly against my chest as she closed her eyes. Panting wildly, I racked my brain, trying to come up with something I could do.

It was then that I realized I was feeling only my own breathing.

“Taryn! Taryn! Open your eyes! Please!” I screamed, shaking her limp form.

However, this time there was no response.

Not now....and not ever again....

I knelt there for a long time....a very long time. Suddenly, I just let off with a long howl of anguish.

Footsteps sounded behind me as Kysta came running up.

“Is she...” Kysta said softly. “No...Leo!!”

In all my distress, I’d completely missed the figure crumpled just inside the cavern’s entrance.

“Leo! Leo!!” Kysta was immediately by his side.

Watching her, I realized that the scene between Taryn and myself was playing out between those two. But when she broke down in tears, I knew the worst had happened.

I’d failed not one, but two friends. And I’d lost them both for that.

I don’t know what came over me, but I’ve never felt this way before. Not even through my battling encounters of wins and losses. I could just pick myself up and carry on.

But what could I do now?! Nothing! I felt so utterly helpless.

Next thing I knew, I’d dropped Taryn’s body and was running blindly.

As much as I wanted to scream out loud, I couldn’t get the words to form. I wasn’t sure if I heard Kysta calling from behind, but I just kept on running.

I felt some warm liquid trickling down my face.

Tears...my tears...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m gonna get you Taryn!!”

“Just try it break-face!!”

“Rargh!!”

“Hargh!!”

Taryn leapt to the side as I attempted a kicking attack. One of her vines came out and whipped my other leg, throwing me off balance and onto the muddy ground.

“Gee, is the big scary birdie all worked up?” She teased.

“Hey Uriel! No one ever found victory in the dirt!” Leo called from behind. “Go get her!!”

“RRARGGHH!!!!” I rolled to my feet and charged towards her.

Suddenly, Taryn’s form began to fade.

“Huh?! No!!”

I whirled around to see Leo disappearing as well.

“No! Don’t leave me!! Please!!”

Their voices were fading too, growing softer and softer as a white mist shrouded them from view.

NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I snapped my eyes open, seeing nothing but whiteness around. In panic, I drew back and found myself able to stand.

I’d apparently collapsed and had been lying facedown on the snow.

Slowly, reality came back to me, shaking the dream off my mind. But those feelings remained....I could never be with Taryn, or Leo again.

I remembered those times when Leo and Taryn were still young children, when Taryn and myself were at our lowest evolution levels. We used to play around with each other, which eventually turning into battling as well.

That vine trick was something Taryn loved to pull on me, and I never seemed to learn from it.

As our trainers got older, so did we. And we evolved too.

When they both turned 10, Leo and Kysta went their separate ways, and we’d followed them. They’d still meet once in a while through, but now...

It’s never gonna happen again! I told myself. Why? Why couldn’t I have done something?! What now?! What’s life to me without them?!

In between tears, I realized I was hearing the sound of running water.

I forced my exhausted body forward to find a fast flowing stream running through the mountain pass. As I followed it, it grew wider and eventually ended in a waterfall. Not a very high one through, only about 4 stories.

It’s beautiful...I thought. Taryn likes these sorts of things. Leo had a fascination with sketching waterfalls. But they’re gone...because of me. Why?

I kicked up the snow on the floor.

It should be me who’s dead! Not them!! Why??!!

I kicked the ground again and screamed as my foot hit something metallic. I dug a little deeper to find an old, rusted anchor half-buried in the snow.

“What the heck is this doing here?”

I suppose I wouldn’t get an answer to that question. However, it made me stop and look down towards the plunge pool below.

It’s deep. I noted, glancing between it and the anchor.

I’ll never know what combination of emotions gave me that idea, but I found myself dragging to anchor close to the edge. It didn’t take me long to make my decision.

There was a long chain attached to the end of the anchor and I tied that around my foot. Grunting, I lifted the anchor and stumbled closer to the edge.

I’ll end my agony here...then I can be with Taryn and Leo...

“Uriel!”

That was Kysta’s voice. Somehow, she’d found me again. But it was too late, I was already in mid-air.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a flash, I felt the wind rush past me. Then, I plunged into the cold, murky depths.

At last, I can just...let...go...

Suddenly, there was another splash.

I jerked my head up in shock. Kysta...she’d....jumped in after me! What the hell was she thinking?!

It was hard to tell her expression, but she immediately grabbed onto me and tried to pull me to the surface. I didn’t want to or feel able to physically shove her off. I closed my eyes and shook my head, hoping she’d leave.

However, Kysta dove deeper and went for the chain strapped around my right foot. The girl was clearly running out of breath, and yet, she refused to surface.

Go! Go up! Leave me!! I indicated.

Kysta suddenly choked in a huge spray of bubbles, accidentally letting too much water into her mouth and choking. She would drown if she stayed down here.

No! Not you too! Not because of me again!!

Running short of oxygen myself, I pushed my body towards her, but Kysta had floated out of my reach. I realized her foot had slipped and was stuck between a couple of rocks. Silently screaming in frustration, I tugged at the chain around my ankle.

Unfortunately, it had become even more entangled in the struggle, and I began clawing at it. My muscles began to scream in pain. My injured left shoulder the most of all, dulling and slowing anything I did with my left arm.

But even if I could free myself, I didn’t know how to swim.

I can’t...can’t...make it...I felt my body slowly weakening. My thoughts beginning to fade. No! Leo and Taryn will never forgive me if I let Kysta down too! Come on!! AARRGRGGHH!!!

As I closed my eyes, I saw something. It was in my mind most likely, but I saw that blue light that had led me to Leo and Taryn earlier. It formed into a blue bird with wings that seemed almost translucent.

A...rtic...uno...?

The bird flapped his wings and suddenly, the chain in my claws felt much colder than before.

In a final burst of strength, the chain snapped. Pure survival instincts took over as I kicked myself over to Kysta’s limp form.

Light....it was shinning through the surface, almost as if indicating a pathway.

I took hold of Kysta, and then I found myself kicking towards the surface.

The light...it’s almost...almost....

With a roar, we burst to the surface.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Both of us were coughing and spluttering as we made it to the side, dragging ourselves onto the cold, snowy shore. For a few minutes, both of us lay there, shivering in the chilly winds.

Kysta finally found the strength to sit up and glare down towards me.

“What the hell were you doing?! Trying to kill yourself?!” She panted.

“You....should’ve left....me....” I muttered, sorely.

“Left you to die?!”

“I couldn’t...help....them....”

“And what?! Dying’s gonna help bring them back?!”

“I...”

“Me, I, myself, everything’s about you!!” Kysta sprang up. “Haven’t you learnt anything from Leo?! How about me then?! You don’t think I feel I’ve lost as much as you do?! How’d you think I feel if I lost you too?!”

At a lost for words, I stared back up at her.

I am being selfish...I thought. Kysta...she still had strength to spare when I’d lost all hope. Leo...what am I supposed to do? What would you have wanted me to do?

“It’s about earlier, when he was helping us out, right?” I asked. “You wanted to apologize to him.”

“That and more.” She said softly. “Now, I’ll never get that chance to. Life...it’s just so short and precious...”

“Yeah....there were things I wanted to say to Taryn as well.” I nodded. “I almost got both of us drowned.”

“Forget about it, it was my own fault too.”

“No, I thought I didn’t have a reason to carry on living.” I pulled myself up. “But just now, I almost lost you too. And that feeling was just...so dreadful. Maybe that’s why something made me fight so hard to survive. Because I knew Leo and Taryn wouldn’t want to let anything happen to you. That’s why they came back for us.”

“Uriel...wow, you’re a lot more complex that you look!”

“So, erm...would you like to have me? You know, as...”

“My Pokemon?” Kysta smiled. “I think Leo would’ve wanted that too.”

With that, I extended a hand, helping my new partner to her feet.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been a couple of years since that incident.

Now, I once again found myself staring into the eyes of a Feraligatr. It just clicked in my head, bringing back memories of the last battle Leo and I had together.

However, this was a Battle Stadium and the arena chosen was a Water battlefield, giving the Feraligatr an even greater advantage.

Or so he thought.

The other trainer ordered his Pokemon to dive underwater, just as we’d expected.

“Uriel, go show him what you can do under there!” Kysta shouted.

With a grin, I stepped off the platform and dove beneath the surface, much to the amazement of the crowd. In particular, the Feraligatr, who stopped shot as I sent a Sky Uppercut into his face, the momentum taking us both out of the water.

As part of the maneuver, I executed a somersault backwards while in mid-air.

In the heat of the moment, all those memories ran through my mind. However, I sometimes wonder if I really did see the Legendary Articuno back then.

Had he been above the water’s surface, helping me to break the chain by freezing it? Or was it all a fragment of my imagination, the delusions of a mind in desperation?

That’s another thing I’ll never find out.

For that instant during my somersault, the blue sky also came into my viewpoint.

The clearest sky truly is infinitely high, isn’t it Leo? I smiled in my mind.

Then, it was back to the battle.

--- END ---