Chapter 31

Cinder appearing on the battlefield was greeted by a harsh scene. Across from him was Blue and Tulvir, the former friend of a Blastoise looking at him stoically. He looked around to see the dead bodies of a shriveled Raticate and half of Hurzer. In the latter's case it looked as though half the Nidoking's body had exploded. Cinder sighed in anger.

So much death. He thought. Over a grudge in which none of us were involved. Will nothing satisfy Blue's anger?

Upon closer inspection he found evidence of Selven's Botanical Conversion that had been sliced to ribbons. The greenery that the dock had been converted into was now shredded by what looked like blades. Cinder sighed at the thought of what transpired.

I just hope Selven is okay. He thought.

"I see the day has finally come!" Blue shouted. "The day to destroy everything you hold dear…like your father took it all from me! Poetic to watch your best friend be the last line of defense before you crumple…you hear me you ravenous dragon?! I'll kill you with great joy!"

His words meant nothing to Cinder. They were just background noise. The only thing the Charizard could think of was the destruction they had wreaked for this to transpire.

While it was hard for Cinder to muster much sympathy for the trainers they killed as they were essentially slave drivers, he knew they had families. People who loved and cared for them. The Charizard wondered if they would become like Blue, hateful to the nth degree and swear revenge on whoever did this. But more importantly, Cinder felt sorry for the Pokemon he'd killed along his travels with Red.

They were innocent in all this. They were just being controlled by human taskmasters that wouldn't allow them to live unless it was an existence meant to fight for them. The Pokemon that Cinder had not only killed aboard the SS Anne but fighting for Team Rocket and trainers in the wild were no more at fault than a bystander.

What have we accomplished along this journey? He wondered. Nothing. Nothing more than death and destruction. We've ascended the rungs of power for the sheer sake of power. We don't do anything with this power we've gained. We don't use it for the protection of the innocent. We don't even use it to defend ourselves unless we're the ones looking for trouble.

In the face of Blue's crazed expression, clearly showing an unstable state of mind, Cinder didn't feel afraid. He felt tired. This entire journey had made him tired.

At first he was afraid. Afraid for not only his life but more importantly Red's soul. He hated that each day his best friend would further degrade into a twisted, warped and unredeemable version of the fun-loving boy he grew to love.

That fear transformed into anger over time.

The sight of Red pressing on despite the deaths of the two he lost against Brock was even less infuriating than how he treated the sight of the Geodude tortured to death. It made him so maddened with rage he almost thought he would murder Red. Because at that point the Red he had loved in childhood would never have done. That Red was dead.

He had suppressed this anger like he had all his other misgivings just starting this adventure but witnessing Kurer's death firsthand drove him over the edge. Kurer was not a bad person for wanting to kill Misty. Cinder was sure of that. There was nothing wrong with wanting to avenge the deaths of untold innocents. Misty having flooded land to make better habitat for humans was a just reason to wish death on her. People that dangerous could not be left alive.

And Red's callous attempt at continuing the gym battle even after Kurer had died avenging her slain family was the breaking point. At that point Cinder didn't want to live anymore. He just wanted to end it. End it all. End the gym challenge. End human society for all its ill it had inflicted upon Pokemon. A civilization built upon such bloodshed did not deserve to exist. And neither did the people who profited off it.

A world cruel enough to corrupt the innocent Red… He thought. It did not deserve to exist. To do this to my best friend…not to kill him but something worse…to warp him into this monster…it's just not right.

And the worst of it seemed to be Red's half-hearted attempt at redeeming himself. It came only after three of his Pokemon had been needlessly killed to realize his ambitions and nearly killed Selven. After that Red tried to make amends with a simple apology but nothing could make him take back the lives he'd sacrificed.

And then there was the fiasco where he allowed a Team Rocket member to get off scot-free just because Red wanted money. After that Red tried to be a good person by defending the innocent and entering a career that wasn't needlessly violent. And Cinder could see through it as just a ploy to make himself feel better. Cinder regretted being Red's Pokemon knowing he would become this of all things.

Call me an engine of destruction, will you Blue? He thought. I'd say you should take a good look at yourself. But you don't need a mirror…just stare at Red and you'll see that you're no different.

"Come on," Blue said. "No final orders? No calling of attacks? A simple stand off? Is that it? It looks like you want to be defeated."

"Cinder…" Red said.

He put his hands on the Charizard's back, something he could do as the heatfield had not emanated around Cinder since he didn't feel like battling. When Red pressed his hands against the Charizard's back he didn't know how to react. He partially felt like brushing him off but understood there was so little Red could do. He was desperate for a turnaround and needed Cinder more than ever.

But for my battle strength alone. He thought. He stopped thinking of me as a friend a long time ago. There is no reason to embrace him as such. I don't care anything for this world or those in it. I only want to die or for it to die with me. I have…have no reason.

"Cinder…" Red said, his voice quivering. "Protect me."

His words stung him. Cinder felt as though something had pierced the stone that covered his heart for more than a year. Something reminded him of those times. When Red was crying after trying to impress Green or when Blue beat him to the ground with his greater strength. When Red was crying because his mother told him he'd never live up to his father's legacy or that Lance was not at home because he was fighting. Something reminded him of when Red used to be…Red.

When Red was just a crying, frightened child who had no malice in his heart or selfish ambition. Something reminded him of the outcast child who desperately needed a shoulder to cry on. Because if he had no one then he'd fall to pieces. There was nothing in Red's tone to indicate he wanted to win the battle or make Blue fall. He just wanted to be safe.

He could feel the boy's arms wrap around the Charizard's back, the tight embrace of a much larger creature giving him a strong nostalgia as Cinder had hugged Red's leg as a Charmander. Cinder could feel Red's tears wetted the small of the Charizard's back. Cinder had felt Red's tears before. He remembered those quiet, cool nights when Red fled to the meadows around Pallet Town with only Cinder's tail flame as a source of light. He was death gripping the Charmander with each sob, letting his tears drop onto his head. It was the only water he wasn't afraid of.

"Please," he begged. "Protect me. Just…keep me safe from Blue…please…keep me safe. Please…keep us all safe…I don't want to fight anymore. I don't ever want to fight. Violence is just…violence hurts. And I killed so many in my drive to be just like Blue…please…protect me from Blue like you'd did all those years ago…just this time…for good."

Cinder felt tears well up in his eyes. He couldn't understand what he was feeling. It almost felt like duality in a way. The memory of who Red was as a child versus who he grew up to be was clashing ferociously in his mind now. The two perceptions of who Red was now compared to in childhood were fighting as two opposing armies in Cinder's mind.

It was hard to tell what the Charizard was feeling as it was all based on something completely foreign to him. Used to he could only see Red in such a dichotomous, binary view of innocent and playful or arrogant and immensely selfish. These two opposing perspectives between callous and joyful were beginning to blur as they fought. Cinder could not fully view Red as one or the other, so his idea of who Red was became uncertain.

"Who are you?" Cinder wondered aloud.

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"I'm your best friend," Red said. "Remember? Just remember like it was in the good old days…before I decided to throw it all away for the sake of impressing people. The only one I needed the approval of…was you. It was always you. Only you mattered the entire time."

Red buried his face into Cinder's back.

"If only," he said as he buried his face in the Charizard's back. "If only had listened to you back then. I would have stopped all this madness. I would have never let Kurer or anyone else die. If I could do anything, anything in the world…I would go back to those days of just you and me. And live there forever. Because…because I remember that…that-that was all that mattered."

Cinder could feel Red struggle to not sob, more tears flowing down the Charizard's back.

"Bu-But…" he said. "I was wrong. I was wrong to believe…to believe the way Blue saw me was the only thing that mattered. All I want now…is to erase Blue's effect on me for good. Please…just do that one thing…and I'll never ask another thing of you…you can go wherever you want…find any trainer you want…just don't leave me at this moment."

Cinder felt touched by this display of compassion. It seemed that Red really had begun reverting back to who he once was. However, no matter what Red became after this it was still stained with his sins of the present version of him. Cinder couldn't forget what Red had done in the past.

He guessed that was the reason that he felt so strange. Because it was unlike anything in Cinder's life for anyone he knew to genuinely change. Change, especially to the way one was at a better part of their life, was something the Charizard thought impossible. It was about as possible as Cinder turning from a Charizard back to a Charmander. Could such a thing be possible?

Whether it is or not…Cinder thought. I would like that very much. I would like to become a Charmander again. The power I've gained as a Charizard was never worth the cost of throwing away my happiness I had when Red and I were young. Anymore than it was worth the cost of Red becoming this powerful of a trainer while losing his innocence. What kind of reward is it if one's soul is traded away?

"Come on," Blue said, obviously irritated. "I wanted to give you the first move. From what Oak revealed to me…apparently Lance explained to him that he attacked first when Grey called out his final Pokemon. I want my final battle with you to go the same way."

"Ci-Cinder…" Red sniveled. "A-All I want is to go back to how it used to be…to be worth living…for our sake and our sake alone. I-I don't want to live like this anymore. Always striving for power I don't need…just to ward off Blue."

"But this has been the first time you've fought him in years," Cinder said.

"No," he said as he cried. "Not in battle. In my mind. Everyday I would wake up to the thought of him. What he would think of me. What his judging gaze would do to me when I was as pathetic as I am. I would dream about him all the time…standing over me and taunting me. Every day since childhood it was like that. Please…please burn away these memories, Cinder. Please burn them to cinders and erase that part of my life. Burn them and with it…burn away the monster I've become."

"I'm getting sick of waiting, Red!" Blue shouted. "I think I'd prefer it if you went ahead and did something! The patience I've given you to not attack until you're ready…it's wearing thin."

A sudden warmth surrounded Cinder that he didn't recognize at first. It wasn't until he saw the white flame dance in front of him that obscured his vision. The Charizard was afraid the white flame would burn Red before finding the boy hanging on tight as ever. It wasn't until he remembered his choice of signature move that Cinder understood what was happening.

Sentimental Flame. He thought. The Signature Move I sacrificed all my Fire-type moves for. They were all blended to create this one attack. The move that increases in strength depending on how close I feel to Red. It is weak when I don't feel particularly close to him and immensely powerful if I feel strongly bonded to him. It doesn't hurt Red, no matter how close he is.

"Is this your attack?" Blue asked. "Just surrounding yourself with this odd fire?"

"Please," Red said. "Make the nightmares stop. Like you did so long ago. Only this time…make them never come back."

"Red," Cinder said, crying. "All I ever wanted is to be your friend. I never wanted anything else except to bond with you as tightly as vines wrapping around one another. Nothing in my life…nothing mattered more than being by your side. Because…because everything else was just a means to being there for you. I don't care if…if you become the strongest trainer there is or…or someone nobody remembers. If at the end of it all…you are who you are…then I will never want for anything in this life ever again. I-I don't…I don't understand why you didn't want the same."

"I did," Red said. "I just let the monster in my nightmares dictate who I decided would be more important to me than that very friend. I don't deserve you. And the reason for it is not that I didn't do enough to earn your friendship…it's what I did after I gained it. I was given the best thing in the world…only to squander it as selfishly as I did. This world…it doesn't deserve you…it doesn't deserve what you gave me. And if you protect me…protect me from this…I'll also give you something this world doesn't deserve. Something only…only a true friend could give."

"That's it!" Blue shouted. "I've had it! Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"

The Shellfish Pokemon bent down, preparing to launch water from its cannons. Cinder didn't feel afraid at the sight, instead more confused than anything. He wondered if this was the only thing that had stood in the way of Red's happiness his whole life.

This moment…Cinder thought. Right here, right now. The thought of Blue crushing him so much that he was helpless…this very fear haunted Red his whole life…a fear so thorough it made him throw everything away…and if it were proven wrong…would it…drive that fear away? So far away that it would never haunt him again?

The white fire around Cinder intensified. It engulfed him, singing the wood beneath him. The wide flame he cast was enough to burn anyone remotely near him.

"Fire!" Blue shouted.

"Fire Blast!" Red shouted.

The Blastoise's cannons shot first, two volumes of water more than a foot wide around propelled at Cinder. The Charizard retaliated with a torrent of white flame even wider than that breathed into existence. The two attacks clashed in midair, steam erupting as cold water met fire more than hot enough to turn rock into molten sludge. At first it looked as though the two ranged attacks were evenly matched, neither attack gaining ground as they intercepted in midair.

Then the Fire Blast advanced forward. The Blastoise's Hydro Pump became nothing more than white steam as the white blast of flames reached nearer and nearer. The Blastoise looked shocked at the sight before gasping in fright. It was too late to withdraw into its shell before the flames consumed it.

Blue jumped back, crying in pain as he could feel the heat from where he was standing. After evaporating every inch of the Hydro Pump, the Blastoise was completely consumed by the fire. Tulvir screamed in pain as the white flames surrounded him, his body disappearing in the cloud of fire before smoke raced across the Water-type's body.

When the smoke dissipated the Blastoise stood completely scorched. All of its brown shell was blackened and much of its skin was browned to a crisp. He stood shocked, its stare blank as it groaned lowly in pain. He looked as if he might step forward before falling faceforward. The Blastoise's hard slam against the deck of the ship sent a deafening thud across the ship the Cinder could feel beneath his feet. Behind the defeated Blastoise stood an amazed Blue, his expression utterly broken at the sight of his loss.

"You're out of Pokemon," Cinder said. "You lose."

Blue froze in panic as Red stepped out from behind his Charizard. He looked up at Cinder in wonder, bewildered at the sight. With the tears Cinder shed being evaporated with each new ones that welled up, it was hard to tell but the Fire-type was crying in joy. As Red stared up at the Charizard it was clear that the young man's joy was beyond words, the trainer also having tears well up in his eyes. The white flame around him receded.

It's over. Cinder thought. He thought. The nightmare of Red's inferiority complex…it's been defeated with Blue's loss. He can now rest…satisfied.

"N-N-Noooo…" Blue said.

His knees buckled beneath him as his legs gave out as he was knocked onto the seat of his pants. He quivered at the sight of Cinder walking toward him. Even Blue, as arrogant and cocky as he was, couldn't help but feel helpless and pathetic in the face of his loss and a Charizard approaching him. Red followed behind his Pokemon, looking up in shock at the one who had won him this victory. Cinder looked down at Tulvir's smoking body.

"Return him to his Pokeball," he said. "I don't want any more Pokemon dying than needs be."

Blue continued to shiver in fright, a sight that made Cinder's expression only further harden.

"I will not repeat myself," the Charizard said.

The trainer took the Pokeball at his waist and opened it for the Water-type to be swallowed up by a bright flash of light. The Pokeball blinked blue, indicating that Tulvir was near death but still alive. So long as a Pokemon was inside it's Pokeball it would be kept alive, even if hanging on by a hair, as their status was kept stable by the technology of the capsule.

After Blue stowed away the Pokeball he continued to stare up at the Charizard. Red walked up behind to find Blue was cowering at him. Cinder looked to his trainer to see that he was neither smiling in glee nor frowning. Only the bewilderment of such an event could be seen in his eyes.

"Now," Cinder said. "What do we do with him?"

"I-I-I don't know," Red thought. "I-I-I guess we can't let him go-"

"To think you beat me," Blue said. "My father…he and his ideals of protecting the innocent will never be avenged. Not if it ends here."

"I-I-" Red said.

He looked up at Cinder, his eyes no longer stained with tears, only a wish.

"I don't want to kill him," he said. "It's…it's just too cruel. I know…I know it's foolish but-"

"No," Cinder said. "You're right. He helped us free several Pokemon and has suffered immensely. For that…we should alot him some amount of freedom."

He then turned back to Blue, the trainer continued to cower.

"We will let you go on one of the smaller boats on board," he said. "From here you can make it to shore."

"In the middle of the ocean where we are?!" Blue shouted. "Do you know how unlikely it is I'll survive?!"

"That is our final offer," Red said. "Take it or leave it. We'll abandon any aspirations of joining the Kanto military and not rat you out if you give us the same courtesy."

The trainer glared up at him.

"One day…" Blue said. "I'll…I'll make the Kanto government pay. I…I may recognize this as mercy…but I will never stop hating your father, or the legacy he left behind as a bloody murderer. Once I get to shore…I won't tell them of our mutiny…but I will sabotage them from the inside. And once I do…I'll make you wish you were never born, Red."

Cinder shook his head, turning to his trainer to find Red looked up at him with the brightest smile he'd ever seen. It was a lot like how the young man would appear when he was younger. Cinder could feel himself returning to those days, as though they had suddenly reappeared in the boy's expression.