Setting:
•Safe House, South of Vermilion City, Kanto•
•Memory Amber aged 17•
•Present Amber aged 19•
•Christmas Morning, Almost Two Years Post-Burning of the Schoolhouse•
•Amber POV•
Chapter Three
Christmas After Ashes
I tossed and turned in my bed, aware of a heavy, purring presence sitting directly on my ribs. As I came to consciousness, I realized I was lying on my side, facing the door to my mid-sized bedroom. Groaning, I stretched my legs while the figure laying on me stopped purring, got up, and joined my side. Cracking open an eye, I peered into the face of my only best friend left, Pepper the Glameow-Umbreon hybrid. Blinking contentedly, he butted his head with mine before walking to the foot of my bed, jumping off, and exiting stage right.
In the adjacent room, I could hear stirring showing that my mother must have just woken up as well. Pepper was actually probably the one to do that. Looking at my alarm clock, it showed eleven in the morning. Stretching, I got up and left my room to head to my mother's room.
"Morning Mom" I yawned, rubbing sleep from my eyes.
"Morning, Amber. Merry Christmas." She half-heartedly yawned back. Jumping down from her king-sized bed--she was short--she approached me to give me a hug.
Naturally, I hugged her back. I was still fighting sleep.
"So, what do you want to do for breakfast? We can do funnel cakes like we did a few years ago." She smiled.
I sighed, not really in a Christmassy spirit. "I think I might just make some lunch since its almost noon anyway, if that's alright."
"Oh, sure." She said a little downtrodden. It wasn't her fault we were living in exile this year, in fear for our lives.
The town in which we currently resided was a few miles northwest of Vermillion City. Therefore, it was a rainy, clammy Christmas. Taking out a frozen pizza, I preheated the oven in our small kitchen. I then sat down on a small stool, waiting for the slow, old oven to heat. Pepper joined me, rubbing against me, purring as I stroked his jet-black fur.
It was then that I had gotten lost in thought. Christmas year before last was so different. It was so enjoyable; I had everyone I loved the most with me, minus my father who was always working. All of my Pokémon and Silver--all gone now. My Pokémon I'd see again once my mission was completed. Silver? Maybe never again in my lifetime. I sighed, going back to Christmas two years ago.
I was back in my old room, in the house I grew up in near Viridian. I visited my parents for Christmas; Silver decided to join me that year. My neon blue wall clock ticked as I slowly became conscious.
On my feet, I felt the very warm fur of my Flareon, Neelix. Next to me, Pepper was my arm pillow. On my other side, my Jolteon, Blitz, was sleeping soundly. I groaned, knowing it was Christmas morning, so I should get up and do something productive.
Stirring, my three Pokémon woke, all giving me the evil eye. I smiled back lazily, sitting upright in my twin-sized bed. "Come on guys, give me a break. It's Christmas." I petted them all.
Realizing it was Christmas, they all had a sudden change of attitude and cleared a path for me so I could easily get out of bed.
"Heh. Change in attitude, huh?" I laughed quietly, aware that my mother and Silver were still sleeping in their respective rooms. "Hey, how about we do something special today?"
They looked at me with inquisitive eyes. Pepper tilted his head in confusion.
"Remember how we used to have funnel cakes when I was a kid, Pep?" I asked my Umbreon-Glameow hybrid.
"Nyao." He nodded his head.
"I know Dad used to make them, but how about we go ahead and surprise Mom and Silver with some of our own?" I smiled proudly. "Old time holiday tradition!"
"Nyao!" Replied Pepper happily, knowing how good Dad's funnel cakes used to be.
Neither of us had them since I was nine--my last Christmas at home together with my entire family. The following June, my birthday month, I left to be a trainer. I heard Dad hadn't made funnel cakes since. He tried to be home for Christmas that year, but with rumors of Team Rocket resurfacing, he'd been too tied up to return home.
Ohwell, maybenextyear. I had thought back then.
Slipping quietly out of bed, I first headed to my closet to change into some regular clothes. Silver would have to catch me dead if he'd ever want to see me in my pajamas. Taking out a nice long-sleeve Metallica shirt and some flattering black jeans, I quickly got dressed before sneaking silently through the hallway, where I could hear my mother quietly snoring from her bedroom. She always complained about my dad snoring but never realized she did it, herself.
As for me? I didn't snore. Anyone could ask Silver. Silver didn't snore either, but his Sneasel sure did. I could hear the clawed Pokémon snoring away. Entering the living room, I shook my head as I saw Silver fast asleep on the sofa. We had a guest bedroom, but he insisted on sleeping on the sofa. He said he slept better on it, but I had a feeling he just didn't want to intrude even if he was always welcomed like family. At his feet was the sleeping Sneasel, curled up in a ball.
Restraining a sigh, I realized that Silver, who was a light sleeper, would more than likely catch me awake and cooking. Looking away from him for a second, I marveled at the tree he got for my mother this year. It was really lovely, and he even decorated it, more or less with my help. He wasn't one for celebration, but after a year or so of my protesting, he gave in and decided to celebrate that Christmas with my family, since he had none he claimed.
Moving to the kitchen, my three Pokémon were already waiting for me to begin cooking. Obviously, Pepper had explained to them the wonders of funnel cakes. Grinning as they sat at my feet waiting patiently, I closed the kitchen double doors and turned on the overhead light.
Deciding to take a brisk tour of outside to see if maybe I could possibly cook out there instead, I headed for the outside door, opened it, exited, and closed it firmly behind my Pokémon and me.
It was your typical Christmas morning on the outskirts of Viridian. The sun was just rising above the horizon. It was a nice, pleasant cold if that made any sense. The air was dry without a hint of precipitation. Really, that made me a little disappointed, but it rarely snowed in our small town.
Besides, back at the schoolhouse, it would be a very white Christmas, anyway. Walking outside-- barefoot, like I normally did--I felt at peace, so I decided to maybe watch the sunrise before cooking. It'd be perfect cooking conditions out there, which made me happy.
All I'd have to do was get my portable stovetop from my room and set it up. Or, I could always use my Charizard, Charry's tail over a skillet. That sounded like a better option in all actuality.
I reached down to my belt, but I realized I didn't put any pokeballs on there, so that meant I'd have to wander back to my room to grab her pokeball. Groaning at this realization, I trudged back to the side door of the house that led to the kitchen; Neelix, Blitz, and Pepper followed in my wake. What happened next was the bad part.
I turned the knob to find that it wouldn't turn. I had locked us out of the house on Christmas morning of all days. I groaned and rolled my eyes and looked down to my posse. "Uh, guys, don't be mad, but I just locked us out the house…" I trailed off.
They looked at me with incredulous faces. Their trainer and friend, lock THEM out the warm house?!
Of course, it was no big deal. Silver and my mom were both inside, so they could easily let us back in, but that would ruin the surprise of it all.
Sighing, I sat down on the front step of our garage. "Now what do we do? I need Charry and the ingredients so I can make the funnel cakes. I wanted it to be a surprise for Mom and Silver too…" I sighed.
Come on Amber. You're the master at improvising, is what I thought.
"Well, I guess we can make the most of this. The sun's rising. How about we all go for a walk? Lot of memories at this place." Our house was on an acre of property, most of which was turned into a fenced in back yard. By our house was another three acres of land with trees scattered across it.
I began to walk onto the property next to our house; my companions followed in step next to me: Pepper on my right, Blitz and Neelix on my left. The way we were walking was facing the rising sun, so it really was perfect.
Pointing to the back yard on my left, I stated, "That is where Repede and Gallop grew up. You'd be surprised, but they were actually family pets. Repede was still just a Growlithe then," I commented to Blitz and Neelix.
Both were Eevee rescued from Team Rocket, so they wouldn't know this place. Pepper, though? He grew up here, and he remembered very well the days from before I became a trainer. We continued walking in silence, finally stopping in the middle of the field where a large tree stood.
I looked up at the tree and smiled. "This is where I hung out most as a kid. With my friends. We used to have a tree house in this tree. It was the fort for our gang," I laughed. "Figures, I was the leader of it too. Three friends and I built the tree house from scratch, using whatever wood we could find. Dad helped donate wood, too, when he realized what we were doing. Man, it was so fun making that thing."
My Pokémon went up to the tree, investigating the so-called "fun" spot. I sighed. "Sadly, the month before I became a trainer, a rogue storm came and destroyed it. My three friends, Blue, Green, and Red and I all spent a week cleaning up the debris. It was fun while it lasted though." I smiled, thinking back to the "good ole' days".
I sat down on the swing, which hung between two sturdy branches. "This is the only thing that survived. Man, those were the days, though, guys. Just being a kid, having fun, and causing minor mischief wherever we went. We were inseparable friends--the four of us--back in those days."
"I wonder how they're all doing now… I know Red is away in Mount Silver--training. Blue was pretty bummed when I defeated him a couple years ago. And Green?" I sighed. "I haven't heard from Green in years. Ever since she moved away to Hoenn to be a trainer there when I was ten."
My Pokémon all looked at me curiously, expecting to hear more. I grinned back, happy to relate a bit of my past. "You guys didn't know that we were all friends back in the day, did you?"
Two of the furry faces shook their heads no. Pepper only knew half of this since he was scared of the outdoors then.
"Well, yeah. We were a gang back in the day. I was the one in command. Red was my right-hand guy. He was the sensible one, always keeping his eyes on the big picture of things. Blue? Well, you guys already have an idea of Blue's personality from when we battled him," I referred to Blitz and Neelix.
"He was a hot-head, just like me. We were best of friends, and worst of rivals all at the same time. He'd always challenge me for leadership, but I was always more level-headed in the end." I grinned.
"And as for Green, she was my partner in crime. She was like my sister. She taught me a lot of what I know about the world. She was kind, had a lot of common sense, and had a devious streak that I picked up on. Most of our pranks were her invention. She taught me how to improvise, which proved useful when I became a trainer." I smiled.
"Ah, I kinda miss those days. But," I said, getting up, getting ready to walk more, "I wouldn't trade where I am now for anything. Back then, the day before we all became trainers, we broke up the gang. We each vowed to become the best trainers around. And one day? We'd all meet up again and have a battle royal."
"It's been almost ten years now, and really, I can't say I'm ready for that quite yet. The day we all meet again, I want to be ready to take them on. All of them have the goal of defeating me-- especially now that we earned all those titles." I admitted.
"I'm happy with the schoolhouse for now, but, you know guys? I'm really considering exploring the Johto region sometime. Then maybe after that--Hoenn. I guess that'll all come in due time though," I grinned at my Pokémon as I began to walk further into the wooded acre.
We walked some more, until I stopped at a barren tree, with an arrow sticking straight out of it. I laughed at the scene. "I can't believe that's still there." I marveled to myself.
My Pokémon looked at me curiously. "When I was eight, my mom bought me a bow for Christmas. That arrow is the result of me practicing with it." I laughed.
"Blue and I were practicing one day, and I ended up hitting the tree instead of the target. Neither of us could pull it out the tree, so we left it. Man, that's something I could make stories about when I'm older." I laughed. "Not that I will," I snorted.
By now, the sun was fully in the sky, but it was still early morning; maybe around nine. Only then did I really realize how cold I was. My clothes were long but offered little in warmth. My feet were numb as well. Turning around, I stopped dead in my tracks as I spotted Silver about ten feet away, silently sneaking up on me.
I glared at him. "Wow, really? How long were you following me, and when were you going to announce your presence?"
He approached me and grinned, still in his "sleep clothes"--which really was more like a jacket, some long pants, and his black shoes. "Since you left the house. You seemed pretty content being alone with your Pokémon, so I was just going to leave you as-is."
"Then what's up with the stalking me part?" I asked jokingly.
"You're the one making that assumption," he shot back.
I grinned. Silver and I always joked around with each other. Blue, Red, and Green may have all been my closest childhood friends, but Silver was my very best friend.
"Well, I have reason though. You were like ten feet behind me," I glared back.
"Whoa now, easy with the Scary Face, girl. I was just following you to see if maybe you'd find a solution to the being locked out problem. Oh, and by the way, what's a funnel cake?" He asked honestly intrigued.
"You don't know what a funnel cake is?" I asked, kinda shocked.
"Uhh, no."
"You've never been to a carnival, or a fair--or, or, something?" I was grasping for straws.
"No. Unlike you, I haven't done too much traveling--especially where people congregate."
"Antisocial smartass." I replied cockily. "It's food--"
" --I got that part," he cut me off.
"Let me finish! It's like; I don't know… It's kinda hard to explain. It's like a donut, only not in that shape. It's fried like a donut though and kinda tastes like one. You put powdered sugar and cinnamon on it. It's usually a festive food." I tried to explain.
"Oh. And you know how to make this?" He asked in disbelief.
"Despite whatever you think you know about me, I do know how to cook. I just know a good thing when I see it, and not having to cook every meal sure is a nice change," I smiled.
"Hmph. I don't trust you. You cooking? I remember that burn you got on your arm when you insisted on helping me that one time." He shook his head.
I remembered the equal-mark shaped scar on my arm quite well. "That was a minor incident! Don't judge my cooking on that alone!" I scoffed.
I was quietly thankful he didn't bring up the time I accidentally set the schoolhouse kitchen on fire, and he went through three fire extinguishers stopping it. That turned into a whole kitchen renovation project.
He smirked. "Well, I'm just saying. I wasn't the one who had second-degree burns on my arm from taking some food out of the oven."
"Oh, hush you. Before I make Neelix change that." I grinned.
"It still won't be from taking food out of an oven. And besides, I know it's an empty threat anyway. You wouldn't dream of hurting me," he smiled his most charming smile.
I sighed. "Ugh, I hate you when you're right. Now shut up."
Somewhere during the process of this conversation I began to shuffle my feet on the spot, trying to regain some kind of feeling in them.
Silver, just catching on to this, then took me in at face value and sighed. "Long sleeves, jeans, no jacket, no socks, nor shoes. How typical. You must be freezing."
"I'm fine, thanks." I replied, giving him a playful evil eye.
"Whatever. I was going to offer you my jacket since I'm such a nice friend and all, but that's cool. I'll just keep it for myself then." He shrugged.
"That's fine with me," I playfully punched him in the arm as I walked passed him and back towards the house. He caught up with me and followed in step. My Pokémon barely gave him enough room to walk.
"Sheesh, must you be so stubborn all the time?"
"Moi? Stubborn? Only as stubborn as you, Silv" I shot back, smirking at him. He towered over me, but I didn't feel the least bit intimidated by him.
At this, he gently grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to stop and glare at him. "Yess??" I asked, turning around to face him.
He took off his jacket and handed it to me. "Here, take this. You're making me cold."
I noticed he had a thin short-sleeved shirt underneath. Silver rarely ever took off his jacket, so I never knew what kind of shirt to expect on the rare occasion that he did. I knew he'd be freezing, especially since he had less cold tolerance than me, which was saying something. I shook my head.
"I can't take that. You'd freeze. Thanks for the offer though, Silv. You need it more than I do," I grinned, handing him back the jacket he had forced into my hands.
At this, he sighed and glared at me. "Amber Allison Neilstone. Take. My. Jacket. Now." He said, trying to order me to take the jacket, which he shoved back at me.
"Silver. Whatever your middle and last names are. I. Won't. Take. Your. Jacket. Don't even try to intimidate me, buddy. Not gonna work," I smirked back, shoving the jacket back into his arms.
"Gah. Why must you be so stubborn? Seriously, I'll be fine. Just take my jacket, don't worry about me, and shut up," he said.
I threw my hands up in the air, signaling that there was no point in arguing anymore. "Ugh, fine. I'll take the damn jacket and shut up."
I took the jacket, slipped it on, and briskly began walking towards the house, leaving Silver in my wake.
I did have to admit the jacket was really warm and comfortable. This had to be the third time since I'd known Silver that he actually loaned me his jacket, too. He always wore it. I didn't know why, but he hardly ever took it off, even when sleeping or if it were too hot outside. I guessed it meant something to him; he was just so closed of a case that I couldn't even begin to crack that one.
Jogging to catch up, I ignored him, acting the part of "shut up" well.
"Slow down, will you?" He asked.
I kept walking, acting like I ignored him. At this, he ran in front of me to block my path. I tried to walk around him, but he gently grabbed me by my shoulders once more from the front in order to stop me. Oh, how I hated how he had a height advantage over me.
"Amber. Look at me, please? Why are you so mad at me?" He got in my face, making sure I couldn't ignore him.
"You told me to shut up," I smirked back. "So I am."
He sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude if I was. You know me; I suck at communicating with people. I didn't mean to make you mad at me or anything."
I sighed in turn, knowing I was being a bit too harsh on him, and I should stop my game right there. Giving in, I looked up at him. "Fine, fine. Sorry. I know you didn't mean anything by it. I guess I'm just in a mood right now or something."
"You hate losing." He grinned.
Realizing how I loved how he always found the exact words to convey things properly, I smiled back at him, admitting defeat. "Yeah, I do. You know me too well, friend."
He really looked cold without the jacket on. I felt a tinge of guilt build up inside of me. I took off the jacket and handed it back to him.
He began to protest, but I stopped him by putting it on him, myself. "Thanks, but you really need it more than me. I appreciate it though." I smiled. His arms really were freezing already, more so than mine I thought.
"You're doing this so you win, aren't you?"
"Nah, nothing of the sort," I smirked. "Maybe for once I'm just trying to be a good friend," I replied.
"Hmph. That can't be the case--"
"--You saying I'm a poor friend?" I was certain I had cut him off before he could finish his sentiment, but he left himself wide open.
"Now you didn't let me finish," he responded. "I was going to say, you don't need to try. You already are the best friend I could ask for," he smiled.
I felt really touched by that, happy that I had such a close friend. "Heh, thanks Silv. Merry Christmas." I said hugging him.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Amb." He hugged me back.
We stayed like that for a good minute or two, just happy to be in the presence of a true friend. I smiled, knowing that I had everything I wanted for Christmas right there: my furry Pokémon companions, to be home with Mom, and most importantly, to be with my truest pal, Silver.
After finally letting go of each other, I glimpsed Silver blushing out of the corner of my eye but dismissed it to him being cold for his own dignity's sake. Of course, I knew he had a crush on me. It was obvious. I didn't think he knew it himself though, so I left that up to him. I was perfectly content just being his friend. Besides, it was nice to live in that moment for a few minutes. I knew that soon enough, I'd never see him again…
Together, we headed back to the house, where we found the door unlocked, and my mother glanced at us as she then began to scold me for going out there with no shoes on.
A beeping noise brought me back to present time. Realizing the oven was finally heated; I took my pizza and shoved it into the oven while Pepper moved to not be in the way. I glanced down at my left arm, which still had the burn scars from the cooking incident. I smiled, remembering how even though Silver chided me and scolded me, he was the one who helped me dress the burn, and made sure I was going to be okay. We always had each other's backs, I realized a bit wistfully.
Sitting down again, I continued where I left off in the memory. We went inside the house; Mom was about to cook some breakfast. I told her how I wanted to make funnel cakes just how Dad used to make them for Christmas. Just the thought surprised her and made her happy, so she agreed to wait for me to make funnel cakes.
"But only if you make them before eleven," she responded before ordering me and Silver to sit in the living room on the sofa, where she covered us with two really large, warm blankets fresh from the dryer.
Silver and I never had a problem with being up close and personal with one another. I guessed it was thanks to the fact that we were such good friends, but he never minded sharing a large chair with me, or sitting next to me in close proximity. I just about melted into the blankets we were under. I felt myself drifting off for a nap, too--as soon as I started to feel my feet wake up that was.
Silver seemed to appreciate the blankets also, since he wrapped himself into a cocoon with them. Once he noticed me falling asleep though, he put his arm around me for support and leaned me against him so I could use him as a pillow. I remembered him wrapping his jacket around me, too, commenting on how freezing I was, before I drifted off for a nap. It was a good thing, because I had a feeling if I had been left alone, I would have taken a head dive into our coffee table.
He made a pretty good pillow, and my internal clock seemed to work well since about half an hour after I fell asleep, I came to. I was still leaned against Silver, whose arm I was using as a pillow before I fell asleep; only he had changed the way he was sitting some. I was leaned soundly against his chest now, both of his arms holding me, adding extra warmth. His head was rested on my shoulder, where I could hear him breathing deeply, soundly asleep.
I always knew he was protective of me. I had a few close calls with him in the past. Starting with when I almost sacrificed myself to save him back at that cave in on Mt. Silver shortly before we built the schoolhouse. From there, I had walking pneumonia once, where he nursed me back to health. There was the burn incident, which really wasn't too bad. Then there was the Christmas before that, when I had hypothermia.
That was a disaster all in itself. A Tentacruel was stuck in the lake near the schoolhouse, and it was slowly freezing to death. Me, being impulsive me, dove in to save it despite the fact I was still wheelchair-bound and my legs didn't work. It soundly stung me on the hip, temporarily paralyzing all but one of my arms. Silver, at the time, was fast asleep.
I spent the next fifteen minutes or so in the cold water trying my best to stay afloat, slowly going out of consciousness from the cold. Luckily, my Lapras, Speckle, realized I was in trouble and woke Silver, who saved me.
As for the Tentacruel, Silver took the ball I caught it in and released it back to more tropical waters later. For the next few days, I was in and out of consciousness as my body temperature dropped dangerously low and wouldn't rise or stay high. Silver tried everything in his power to keep me warm, and he tried his best to make the paralytic properties of the Tentacruel sting wear off.
I guessed that looking back on that, I could see why he would be so concerned about me being cold outside on that day. He spent days trying to get my body temperature to stay normal before help could be called since the blizzard knocked out phone service and power. I found it kind of ironic really. I loved fire types the most, and there I was freezing.
Knowing that if I were to move, I'd wake Silver, I stayed like that for a little while longer, enjoying the combined warmth of the blankets, the jacket, and Silver. Knowing I'd have to get up to cook though, I sighed before hugging him, truly sorry I'd have to wake him again.
Silver rarely slept soundly, so seeing how content he was in his sleep at the moment really made me pity him. He hugged me back as he woke up, and we sat like that for a while--sleepy, not really wanting to get up.
Finally, I gave in to my hunger, which was small but still there, and hugged Silver tighter before softly saying, "Hey, I gotta get up, but you are free to go back to sleep if you want. You can even use my bed; it's warmer than the sofa."
He yawned quietly before responding. "Nah, its okay. You know it's hard for me to go back to sleep once I'm up. That was a good nap though. I'll supervise your cooking if you want."
We unwrapped ourselves from each other, and I grinned playfully. "Fine, I guess. But only if you promise not to get in my way!"
"Hmph. This coming from you of all people?"
"Speak after you eat my cooking, m'kay?" I grinned.
"I still don't trust it. You might try poisoning me for all I know." He smirked.
"Well fine. Don't eat my food. It'll be more for my mother, the Pokémon, and me. I bet your Sneasel will like it at least." I teased.
Sneasel had popped his head up and grinned eagerly, as if more than willing to eat both his and his trainer's portions.
"You win, this time. I'll stay out of your way, but I'll be keeping a close eye on the ingredients." He chuckled gruffly.
I laughed. "Fine, fine. Let's go."
From there, our Pokémon joined us, and I proceeded to make funnel cakes. A few years later, I didn't recall exactly what went down in the kitchen, but I remembered a lot of laughing, smiling, a few curt jokes, and overall horse playing between me and Silver.
The funnel cakes were made, and they were delicious. Even Silver bowed to my expertise, and he even made a joke about me cooking for him more often, which I reminded him about my scar on my arm. Neither of us brought up the kitchen fire.
We all had a good laugh and a really wonderful Christmas morning. As morning turned into afternoon, it was Silver's turn to cook, and he made some delicious dishes, as usual. My mother made some comment about it being good to know a man who could cook for you that I ignored, and Silver tried his best to hide a full on blush at the compliment.
My parents loved to make jokes about me and him, which I tried my best to knock down since I didn't want any wrong ideas popping into their heads--or more importantly, Silver's.
Another beep brought me out of my memories, and I noted that the pizza was done. I carefully took it out of the oven, cut it, and delivered a few slices to Mom. Pepper had some pepperoni--his favorite--and I took a slice for myself. Yeah, it was Christmas, but things would never be the same, I had realized.
Thinking back on those days, I returned to my room after eating, and trying to lift the spirit in the house, grabbed my guitar, which had dust on it. This brought back another flash back. Later in the afternoon during that last Christmas, Silver borrowed my guitar and taught me some lessons. He even taught me a few Christmas songs, which surprised me since he wasn't "festive".
Looking at my guitar two years later, I picked it up, tuned it, and began to play, letting the good memories resurface as I did. Soon enough, I plugged into my portable amp, and the house rang of cheerful melodies--some that Silver taught me, some that I taught myself. This lasted until nightfall, when my hands were hurting, but my heart felt better than it had in a long time.
It'd be a while, but things would come together again. I'd find the joy I'd been missing since my untimely "death". And maybe, just maybe, someday I'd see Silver again, and we'd be friends again, and all the problems with Team Rocket, and just things going bad in general would fade.
Maybe, just maybe, I had found the hope and strength I'd need for the days ahead; the days that seemed to only get darker as Team Rocket searched to find out that they really had "killed" me.
Even if I weren't in the house I grew up in any longer, and even though we would be moving to New Bark Town next month, it was time to say goodbye to the past. It was time for the age of Amber to end, and time for me to pick up my alias: Wolfe. At least for the time being.