Mount Silver||Peak||Morning (133) ”When I first came here… it wasn’t to climb this far,” the other trainer admitted with a hesitant voice. Vee wasn't sure if it added to the man's candor or if it came off overeager. Still, the Espeon was content to hear him out.
”And I never expected to see Red here, either, not anymore. But when I found him… I learned the truth of what happened that same night, you know. I couldn’t remember a time I’d ever seen him without his Pokemon. It felt wrong, like it wasn’t really Red I was looking at. And when he told me what he did-I didn’t take it very well. I thought he was a monster. I even said as much. I’d heard about people being forced to kill their Pokemon, but I never thought Red would. He loved his team… I just couldn’t imagine.”Yes, Vee had held a very similar opinion once. Before that horrific night, he would have sworn up and down with the utmost confidence that Red would never commit such atrocities on
any pokemon, much less the team that had been at his side for so, so very long. The psychic's bifurcated tail swished almost lazily as its owner contemplated the words thus far, finding cynicism and doubt pouring back into his soul. Long had those emotions been there, but for the moment, they were guarding him against the pain hope could bring.
Still, Vee did not interrupt Blue.
”But I’ve seen the way he hates himself for what happened. I know how it sounds, but it’s there, and I don’t know if it’ll ever leave him. We’ve known each other for years and I’ve never seen him break down the way he did that day. He had a fucking gun in his mouth.” The only sign that the Espeon was still listening was that his ears twitched at that particular detail. Red had shot at them so freely, Vee never considered that there would have been any kind of guilt or remorse on his side. The latter bullets, the ones aimed at himself and Charlie and Pika, had been less decisive, yes-- but after so many years with nothing but hate and spite poisoning his memories, Vee had assumed those shots were made out of the need for more suffering, more malice. Was Red truly so... penitent?
”I know what it’s like to hurt the ones you care about. I’ve turned my back on those I was meant to protect before, I’ve run from doing the right thing-I couldn’t leave him here to face those demons alone. It’s not the same thing, but still.”For a second, Vee's eyes strayed to the mound of snow that was slowly adopting several crimson spots. Still, he refrained from speaking. Blue certainly looked like he wasn't done pleading with him, and the Espeon was very much still interested in what the man had to say.
Funny, calling him a man... Vee mused to himself as he truly observed Blue for the first time in years. The last time he laid eyes on the trainer, he was still little more than a tall boy. Though, it seemed Blue had come into his own in the long absence from each others' presence.
”I could say I climbed here for some other reason-the pit we found below, maybe, anything, but that’d be wrong. I just wanted to make sure Red wasn’t alone. A part of me must have known if he returned here without anyone else, he wouldn’t have come back down. He would have stayed here with his self-hatred and his regrets, and then… I didn’t want that to happen. I care about him. The mountain was never my home, but it was his. He needed someone there. That’s why I’m here.” Vee's eyes narrowed. Since when had Blue cared for Red at all?
”But nobody thought we would find you three here,” Blue continued, glancing about at not just Vee himself and Pika, who was still close to his battle ready stance, but at the old poke ball in his hand.
”He never knew you were alive. These Pokeballs weren’t kept for that reason.”Another tail flick, another long beat of silence. The Espeon didn't seem to emote anything at all, and only moved his eyes to regard his evolutionary cousin as he approached. The Umbreon had long been his own rival, like their trainers, and thus the psychic couldn't help the thrill of anticipation that slinked up his spine. But Artorias didn't seem interested in continuing the battle.
”There was something here,” the Umbreon added, his voice soft and calm as it usually was.
”There are memories here. Not as deep as your own, but I remember the mountain. I can still recall what it was like when all of you were in this place.” Vee willed the memories of their visits when accompanied with Daisy in those cheerful days away, wanting to focus instead on what the other pokemon had to say rather than nostalgia drown his rationale.
”As we traveled upwards, I thought the peak would be a finality. A farewell to the Pokemon I once knew. I never believed I would see any of you again, yet here you stand.” The two Eeveelutions locked gazes, the intensity of their focus seeming to still the world around them.
”Please, Vee… let us end this fighting. Pika was right. There’s nothing to be gained from it.”Oh, Vee was quite sure Charlie would eagerly disagree with such a statement. Still, it was not up to the Charizard at the moment-- Blue had seen to that. Well, Blue and Pika. The Espeon tore his eyes away from Artorias to stare at his teammate for a moment, narrowed gaze still there. The gentle mountain breeze was the only sound around them, causing the flakes glittering about them to dance upon it. Pika swallowed, his own expression full of anxiety and desperation. Yes, the little rodent had always worn his feelings on his sleeve, much as Charlie did. And, back in the day, Red himself. After another moment, the Espeon's large eyes moved to Blue, then to Artorias again, and then to the bleeding mound of snow. It seemed to be forever that the psychic contemplated his situation and whether or not he would condemn his trainer to death, but finally, he turned back to the others and spoke with a calm conviction.
//...In order to truly judge his actions, I will need to hear Red's testimony myself. We will see then how he made the decision to slaughter us all, and why he came back with all of our poke balls.// It was then another wave of psychic power, this one much gentler and almost warm, removed the snow from his trainer, revealing his precarious location near the cliff's edge. However, instead of leave him there, the limp body rose, Vee's power rippling around him as the Espeon carefully transported the still whimpering Red to Blue's feet.
//Indigo Plateau is close by. Should you hurry, the doctors there will be able to heal him. Should you hurry.//With a look to the forgotten bag nearby, Vee plucked a pokeball from its depths; the psychic could find his own if he focused. He stared at Pika a moment, then closed his eyes. The ball dropped on his head and the Espeon was returned back into his ball.
Pika retrieved both the ball and the bag, dragging them both to Red's side.
"Arceus above...!" the Pikachu whimpered, the state of his trainer bringing tears down his frosted fur. He wanted to try and pull the hard armored shell off of Red's torso, but it was so splintered... There was no telling whether or not moving it would cause shards to pierce deeper into the poor man. Red himself was... shaking. Shivering. Blood was already painting his camo and the snow was trying very hard to turn it to ice. He turned to Blue, panicked and desperate.
"We have to go! Now! Can your Pidgeot carry you both? I-I'll even get in my ball if it makes a difference. Please! He's dying!"It was hard, clinging to consciousness when your life was leaking out of you and the cold was so very, very persistent. It hurt so much to keep breathing, even in tiny gasps. But Red was at the very last, stubborn. Even in the haze of bloodloss, all he could think of was that he'd failed in his orders. He'd failed in killing all of his team; half were still alive. He hadn't killed them all. He hadn't. They hated him. They wanted to kill him.
But they were
alive. And that was all that mattered.
The conversation filtered in and out, especially as more and more snow fell upon his form. He could hear Pika... then Vee.... then... Blue... Not that Red could comprehend what they were saying; it was taking all the mental prowess he currently possessed to just pick out who was speaking. But finally, at long last, the snow shifted off of him... and he was... floating?
Before he could understand what was happening, he was on the snow again. The cold had penetrated him in a way it never had before. Maybe it was because there was always Charlie's warmth nearby, or how Pika somehow always blocked the chill while riding around on his shoulder. But now it was taking him, inch by inch. He couldn't feel his fingers anymore, his feet were hard to move. Everything else hurt...
A wet, terrible cough tore through him, more blood spurting from his mouth and onto the snow. He wanted to say something as Pika panicked, but found his lungs filled with nothing but blood and ice.