Setting:
•Amber's Schoolhouse, Mt. Silver, Kanto•
•Silver aged 16•
•Amber aged 17•
•Early Morning, February•
•Silver POV•
Chapter Two
The Sound of Fire
The alarm's buzzer bored into Silver's consciousness as he came to. He stretched, certain not to wake the sleeping Sneasel at his feet. He got dressed quickly in the dark room into the warmest clothes he had in reach, grabbed his favorite jacket, and slipped on some warm enough shoes. He suppressed a yawn as he walked from his room past the guest rooms and into the common's area.
He was surprised to see that Amber wasn't yet awake. Curious to see if she was even stirring yet, he slipped past the common's area noiselessly and went to Amber's room. He stood in the doorway of Amber's bedroom; from what he could tell, she was still fast asleep—a real rarity for her.
For some reason, it was quite normal to see Amber awake by four in the morning on any given day. She always woke early and went to bed late; it was a rarity to see her asleep at all. That girl thrived on little sleep, and when he confronted her about it once, she simply told him she'd sleep when she was dead.
He grinned a little at the peaceful figure of his mentor and closest friend as she breathed deeply inward and exhaled in deep slumber, nestled under her thick blankets. He dared not to enter closer to let her know he was leaving; he'd no doubt wake her if she were to sense his presence.
If she wanted to sleep in while he took her advice, then he had no issue with that. He somewhat wished she'd sleep in more, actually; it'd be better for her health, even though the lack of sleep didn't seem to affect her like it would a normal person. She never showed signs of fatigue for some reason.
He gently closed the door without a sound, as to allow her to sleep peacefully without the cold in the house seeping into the room as quickly. She normally slept with her Pokemon, so he wasn't worried about her being too cold, but still, he knew how she hated the cold.
After that, he trudged down the narrow hallway which split into four directions: the north wing of the house, which was Amber's place, the south wing which was his and the guest rooms, the east which was the common's area or their living room which led to the classrooms, and the west which contained the kitchen and dining areas.
He went westward and looked at his feet to see his Pokemon partner was awake and yawning. He could tell his trusty sidekick was not too enthused about waking up this early, being the nocturnal Pokemon he was. This was normally bedtime for him. But Sneasel listened to Silver obediently with no protest.
Sneasel had been with Silver ever since Silver was just a little boy; Sneasel, being originally captured from Mt. Silver, was given to Silver as the only birthday present ever from his father, Lord Giovanni. Silver knew his father didn't care too much for him since he almost never spent time with his only child, but at least Sneasel was always there. Silver practically considered the Pokemon his brother, the way they grew up together and took care of one another.
Another thing they had in common were their bad reputations. Sneasel as a species were known for being violent, dangerous Pokemon. They were Dark and Ice dual types; his Sneasel was very competent with his elemental attacks, and he was very fierce in battle, but that was the end of that. Silver's Sneasel was a pretty kind-hearted Pokemon who always looked out for his friends, especially his trainer. He always listened to Silver obediently, never faltering to try his hardest for his human friend; the little Pokemon had a very big heart to go with his sometimes-big attitude.
Sneasel stood about to Silver's knees, being the bipedal creature he was. The feather sprouting out of his right ear was almost as red as Silver's hair, and it had a white base; it felt just like plumage from a bird. The small, golden, ovular charm on Sneasel's forehead reflected with any light that shined on it, and it was well-polished, and the pokemon's red eyes were just as deep as his trainer's.
His small mouth contained quite a number of sharp teeth, and two top fangs always slightly protruded even with his mouth closed. To go with those fangs were extremely sharp retractable claws on his front paws. They were long and reminded Silver of daggers, which could be sheathed and usually were sheathed when Sneasel was not in battle. On Sneasel's hind legs were shorter claws, but they were just as sharp.
Sticking out of the pokemon's rump were three more of those feathers, which somehow helped the bipedal creature maintain his balance. And matching the ovular charm on his head was another ovular charm on his chest, right below his neck, which shown brilliantly in just about any lighting.
Silver looked up from his Pokemon to the table, where the pokeball Amber had mentioned was waiting for him. Amber must have somehow known the blizzard conditions were over, since he looked out the window and sure enough, the moon was out and shining brightly on the white blanket of snow outside. The large bird inside of the pokeball would have no trouble at all flying him up the mountain near the summit of its vast terrain. He noted that the figure inside of the semi-transparent red top was resting fitfully, head partially out of its wing.
After double-checking to make certain he had everything he needed, he opened the front door of the schoolhouse and shuddered as a cold breeze wafted inside. He always found it a little ironic how his only Pokemon was an Ice-type when he despised the cold even more so than Amber. At least Sneasel jumped gleefully into the crunchy, ankle-deep snow. It seemed to energize the little guy. Silver grinned slightly at his pokemon's enthusiasm before recalling him to his own pokeball for the flight.
Silver then called Amber's Pidgeot from the pokeball. The bird appeared with a loud, startled shriek, apparently not expecting to feel cold air during its nap. It ruffled its feathers and hopped in the snow as Silver apologized to it and asked for a ride. Amber often let Silver borrow this Pidgeot, as it was the fastest way up the mountain. It was Amber's most dependable flier, being able to not only reach speeds up to Mach Two, but also to fly over a mile high in the air with very little problems.
Silver would've questioned those statements, but seeming how Amber proved both of those to him while riding the thing, he believed that the Pidgeot would definitely get the job done.
That certain Pidgeot was special compared to most Pidgeot, in addition to being able to fly crazily fast and incredibly high. That Pidgeot had red and blue feathers rather than the standard beige. It was only on the pokemon's head feathers, but it was still there. And, the pokemon's tail feathers were all a navy blue as well. Amber took pride in her Pidgeot, it being one of the first Pokemon she ever captured.
Without further delay, Silver climbed onto the giant bird's back; it was almost as large as him with an incredibly large wingspan, so it had very little problem carrying human passengers. It actually liked the task.
Once securely on the pokemon's back, the bird kicked off the snow-covered earth and before long, the schoolhouse was nothing more than a speck amongst the blanket of snow, which encased the ground in the typical Mid-February winter near the mountain. Luckily, it still wasn't snowing, and Silver was certain it'd be a clear day as soon as the sun rose. Within ten to fifteen minutes, Silver had reached his destination on the mountain as Pidgeot let him off on a rock.
The thin, cold air made it a bit difficult to breathe at first, and the bird itself was panting for breath, its hot lungs producing smoke in the air. Silver thanked it as he recalled it back to its ball for a needed rest.
It wasn't like he was going to be getting down soon anyway; the mountain for which Silver had been named was the tallest in the region. It was the mountain for which the Silver Mountain Range had been named, and it was definitely the vastest one. It was also at the border of the Kanto and Johto regions.
Pidgeot managed to place Silver about one-third of the way up, from what he could guess. He heard a rumor that at the top of the mountain was diamond dust; it was so high and cold.
Silver let Sneasel back out as he figured that his current location was a great place to start training. There were still a few trees sprinkled across the landscape, so there had to be Pokemon about; Mt. Silver had a reputation of housing some of the strongest wild Pokemon in the region. Even Amber was cautious of the Pokemon who called the mountain home. A couple years ago, when Silver and Sneasel actually lived in a cabin on the mountain, they had many an incident with those Pokemon in which they had to fight to protect their home.
As they searched for life, they eventually found opponents--and plenty of them. The day's first opponent was a rather sturdy-looking Steelix, which seemed to not mind the cold air at all, despite it having a natural disadvantage against the cold, being a Ground-type.
The colossal iron snake pokemon's steel body made battling a tricky business, since most of Sneasel's attacks were physical and his claws were ineffective. The battle itself lasted for quite some time; Steelix were always annoying opponents as they almost never refused to back down, especially on their own territory. They were pretty aggressive Pokemon as a species, who loved to bully smaller opponents, and Silver had to be honest with himself, there were very few living things bigger than a fully-grown Steelix.
Still, after a battle that tested both trainer and pokemon's teamwork, the Steelix decided it was no match for Sneasel, and the battle was won as it burrowed underground to escape. The adrenaline going strong in his body, Silver and his Pokemon searched for their next opponent, walking towards the Johto side of the mountain.
Silver managed to find a wild Misdreavus as his next opponent, just as Amber suggested. The Ghost-type was small, billowy like a dark cloud, and had red orbs around its lower portion. It liked to shriek at high pitches, which annoyed the hell out of Silver since it was a tactic used to scare them, and it made his ears hurt. Sneasel easily defeated it having the type advantage.
By the time the battle was over, though, Silver could clearly make out the sun on the horizon. It must have already been over two hours since their arrival on the mountain, putting it at a little passed six in the morning. He decided it was time for a light breakfast, so both sat down and ate a hastily packed meal. After devouring a sandwich or two, the duo continued their search for opponents; by then the sun was clearly up.
Silver was certain Amber was awake by then; he hoped that maybe if he did enough training, she'd cut him some slack or give him some extra credit in class, not like he really needed it. Besides, Amber hardly ever believed in giving just one of her students extra credit; she was fair like that. That, and he was on break anyway, so he guessed maybe it didn't count.
The morning continued onward, and Silver and Sneasel fought an array of four more Pokemon. They decided to once again take a little break. Silver was pretty proud of Sneasel; he had gotten much stronger since Amber began teaching them battle methods. Sneasel was a good student as well since he observed everything and learned it easily.
The sun was high in the sky, signaling it to be already nearing noon— probably only a few hours away. Even though it was cold, the adrenaline from the battles kept Silver feeling warm. Getting up, Silver gazed out into the Kanto direction to see nothing but clouds around him. He took a deep breath before getting ready to resume battling. By the end of his next battle, he realized that the clouds on the Kanto side were turning a bit too gray for his liking.
He quietly wondered if maybe the weather were suddenly changing. He really wished it would stay a clear day. A gust of wind whipped at him and chilled him to the bone despite his warm clothes. With it came the pleasant aroma of burning wood. He was surprised he could smell that as far up as he was, but he guessed maybe stubborn Amber had gotten firewood without him. The scent relaxed him and filled him with nostalgia as Silver continued his quest to find more opponents.
Eventually, after more battles, Silver trudged back towards where Pidgeot dropped him off on the Kanto side. The smell, which he had by then ignored, became stronger as he walked. He wondered why the hell he smelled the fireplace from up there, but he just shrugged it off as it being from the clear day that it was.
Silver walked at a leisurely pace, rather happy with the amount of training they had accomplished. He was considering wrapping things up for the day and letting Amber know that he finished training. Sneasel suddenly snapped him out of his train of thought as the little Pokemon scurried passed him and out of sight.
Startled, Silver yelled, "Hey, where are you going in such a rush?" He felt somewhat amused that his Pokemon still has so much energy.
"Snee!" Cried the Pokemon sharply after a few minutes of silence.
Silver hadn't heard that tone of voice in a very long time; it was harsh, almost screech-like, and he detected a trace of fear in his pokemon's voice. The very sound immediately caught Silver off guard, causing him to freeze to the spot before Sneasel ran back to him and tugged on the hem of his trainer's pants, urging him to follow.
"Okay, okay. I'm coming. What's up?" He replied, trying to regain his composure.
Maybe Sneasel just saw another trainer on the mountain or something. Maybe Sneasel caught a glimpse of Team Rocket, although Silver hoped desperately that weren't the case. The Pokemon managed to unglue Silver's feet at least as Silver quickened his pace to see what Sneasel seemed so worried about.
As he continued onward, slowly de-scaling the mountain as he went, he noticed the smell of smoke grew to a point where it was too strong to be pleasant any longer. Ahead loomed an ominously dark cloud, which they climbed beneath as they continued. Once under the cloud, Silver made out a trail of smoke reaching off into the heavens and a flickering accompanied by the crackle of a blazing flame from the ground below.
As Silver got a better view of the schoolhouse by changing angles, his heart plummeted as the sight of the blazing building confirmed Sneasel's tone.
"Shit!" He yelled, unsure what to do.
He knew he shouldn't have built the house out of wood… Silver normally didn't curse, but the sight of the house going up in smoke completely caught him off guard. He automatically let out Pidgeot, jumped on the bird's back while Sneasel jumped onto his shoulder, and the three plummeted to the ground below as fast as sanely possible.
The bird gave a shriek as it realized how pressing the situation was and sped up its pace beyond the safe level of descent from their altitude.
"That's right, hurry!" Silver urged the bird onward, knowing that if Amber were watching their stunt, she'd commend him on finally being as crazy as her.
Within minutes, Pidgeot was close enough to the ground for Silver and Sneasel to jump and roll in landing while allowing Silver to recall the bird before it crashed beak-first into the snow. Silver's stomach was not feeling so well with the fast descent, but his nerves were worse.
If anything, at least Silver understood the tone of Sneasel's voice now. When they were young, Silver almost died in a RV fire while his mother was away. If Sneasel hadn't been there, Silver would have been dead. Sneasel, being an Ice-type who was naturally not too enthused about fire, was deathly afraid of the stuff ever since because he had sustained very major burns from saving his young master's life.
As soon as they hit the ground and came to a stop, the two began to cough as the grayish-black smoke poured out of the remainder of the schoolhouse. The fire had to have been going for quite some time, at least an hour or so already with it being a large house and all. Silver tried his best to keep his eyes open even though the smoke stung them and made them water. He was dangerously close to such a hot blaze, and he felt it sear his skin as if he were being sun burnt.
All of the snow around the house had been melted, and the dead grass was burnt up as well. A vibrant orange flame with a blue center was licking away at the shattered window of the classroom at the center of the building.
Sneasel shrunk away in terror while Silver tried his best to survey the damage. All of his hard work was going up in literal smoke before his eyes. He had worked so hard on building that schoolhouse for Amber. Using his own experience and some workers, he had made the house for his friend who at the time he thought would never be able to walk again, thanks to an incident where she saved his life from a cave-in on Mt. Silver.
He could only wonder what was going through Amber's mind as he was certain she was watching from the other side. The bad part about living so out of the way was how help usually arrived when it was too late, and the house at that point was pretty much unsalvageable.
He backed away so he could breathe easier as he began to look for Amber. At least they could get through it together; perhaps they could live at her parent's place until they rebuilt. He had no worries that she didn't make it out all right. He didn't want to even consider the possibility of her still being inside; Amber may have been rash enough to try and save a few things maybe, but she knew more than most about fire, seeming how it was her favorite type of Pokemon and all.
She'd be all right; he had no doubts about that. He figured he'd start out towards the other end of the building, where he figured she was surveying damage. The smoke and flames made visibility around the building too hard to tell.
Still, he needed to meet up with her; he needed to make certain she was all right. If she were burnt, he'd have to get her to a hospital immediately, no doubt. He rushed to the other side of the building, lungs screaming at the horrible smoke-filled air he forced inside.
Where he expected to see Amber, there was only empty space. Inside his head, the question, "Where's Amber?!" began to replay over and over as he rushed around the building once more just to make certain he didn't miss her somewhere. Maybe she was walking around the building right as he rounded the corner, or so he hoped.
Bad scenarios began to play in the back of his mind as he went round and round, calling for her. The images in the back of his mind played over and over like a reel in a movie theater as he realized that she was not around the building. Still, he absolutely had to believe nothing bad happened to her.
It was plausible she already left to get help. That was very likely, after all. Who else would get the fire department, right? He did his best to convince himself that worrying wouldn't help anyone; that she could take care of herself.
Still, "Sneasel!" he ended up calling his Pokemon to him.
Timid, but obviously worried, the Pokemon ran to his side. "Snee?" His voice was high-pitched, showing his terror of the uncontrollable flame.
"Find Amber! We have to find her! Track down her scent if you can!" Silver was still trying and failing to keep his cool, and he couldn't erase the bad feeling he had in his gut. He wished he could just wake up right there, as certainly this had to have been a nightmare.
"Snee!" Replied the Pokemon with zest as he took off to the trees, scanning the nearby area.
Five minutes passed; it felt like an eternity and a second all in one, and both returned without Amber or a trace of her. With a voice even he couldn't recognize, Silver surprised himself by saying aloud, "She's still inside… I can just feel it." He said it quietly, but he knew Sneasel heard him over the roar of the flames.
Determination swept over Silver. "We have to save her! Maybe she's trapped. Maybe we still have a chance!" Silver stated fiercely as he balled his fists.
He approached the flames, which were consuming his own room by then as he dared to go closer than he was comfortable. He tried his hardest to wonder where she would be if she were still inside. If maybe she were in his room… It was the only room left that wasn't yet decimated.
Unsure what to do, it took his self-control to keep himself from flinging himself into the burning building. Maybe Amber had gone for help, and Sneasel just couldn't smell anything because of the smoke.
They began to frantically call out her name, hoping it'd reach her over the roar of the flames if she were still inside. He worked his way around the building until he reached her room. Smoke still poured out of it, but it seemed like the damage was just about over. The walls looked brittle, as they seemed to be nothing more than charcoal of what was left, anyway.
He realized with an even more sinking feeling that this was it; the fire was started in her room. He even noticed that her window, though shattered and melted, appeared to have been open. "Amber, can you hear me?!" He yelled into the smoke that poured out of her room.
He inhaled the black fumes, coughed, and then tried again. There was no answer but the sound of crackling flames. With his heart near bursting, he turned to Sneasel. "We need to put out this fire!"
He then let Pidgeot out of the pokeball. "Go get help!" He commanded as the bird left knowing what needed to be done. It was just he and Sneasel at the burning building.
Silver turned to Sneasel. "Okay, try your Icy Wind. Maybe the cold air will help smother the flames!" Silver knew it was a long shot, but he had to do something.
Sneasel complied, but the cold wind only seemed to infuriate the flames even further, causing them to spread as a room caught fire again.
"No good. Try again! We need to get Amber out of there!"
Sneasel tried again, but the flames were only turning more violent. The two refused to give up, even though they were doing more harm than good.
Eventually, the fire department did arrive with a squad of heavy-duty Water-type Pokemon. By then, most of the schoolhouse was little more than a frame with a ton of smoke pouring out.
The firefighters commanded the Pokemon-Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise-to use their water attacks as a group to kill the flames. With the water pressure from the Blastoises' canons, the walls to Amber's room crumbled away inside.
Unable to stand by and watch any longer, Silver yelled at the firemen. "My friend's still inside of there, damn it!" He rushed over to Amber's bedroom, calling out for her, hoping somehow he'd get a response.
He still had hope; he couldn't--he refused--to believe that she was claimed by the inferno. After all, she was the fire-type specialist. He already was certain it wasn't her who started the fire, even if it did come from her room. He approached the room, scared but determined as he stepped through a crumbled wall.
"Hey, kid! Come back here! It's dangerous! We'll find your friend. Just let us stop the fire first!" Some man yelled, but Silver didn't quite comprehend him, so he ignored him.
Silver began to comb the charred debris of the room, starting from where the outer walls caved in. Everything of hers was utterly burned, and even though the water had cooled off the floor and whatnot, he still felt pressing heat. In the back of his mind, he also subconsciously worried about her Pokemon. He wondered if the fire claimed them, though he hoped otherwise.
After more searching, a horrible, unfamiliar stench reached his lungs. His nose at first completely bypassed the scent, but his lungs almost rejected the air they breathed as it reached them. He was certain that after the first inhalation of that, he was no longer breathing, but he didn't concern himself too much with that at the moment, anyway. He had dropped down to his hands and knees to sift through debris as the smell, which lingered in his body even after exhaling, made him want to faint and vomit.
A few feet away from him under a slab of sheetrock was an ominously black object. It was the cause of the stench; he didn't know what to make of it at first. His mind was surprisingly blank, not registering whatever the grotesque object was in front of him. The only things he was focusing on were breathing and not collapsing on the spot.
In his heart, which plummeted to his stomach, he knew the object was something that would change his life forever, but his head didn't want to comprehend what it was. Surely, it was just a nightmare, and he'd wake up at any time, after all.
Silver closed his eyes and tried to rid himself of the scene in front of him and the horrible smell; it was his first encounter with the scent of charred human remains.
In that instant, it all clicked, and he had a moment of pure comprehension. The object was all that remained of whomever was once alive. He torturously looked at the object again to make out features he had once overlooked. The most obvious was that the part closest to him had once been possibly a head; the rest of the body was buried under the wall, but the head was looking straight up at him--at least if it still had eyes it would have been.
Silver was still conscious, but his mind blanked out again from there on out. It was as if he were watching things as merely an observer, not someone actively involved in the scene before him. He was certain at some point he screamed something, but maybe it was just his mind playing a trick on him. He didn't recognize the voice that screamed, more or less. He could feel foreign objects on his face, tears that rolled down freely on his cold cheeks, though he didn't remember allowing himself to cry; Silver never cried.
A firm pressure on his shoulder clamped down on him; it turned out to be the firefighter who warned him not to run into the building. "Let's go, son. There's nothing we can do for your friend now." The man dragged Silver to his feet. Silver practically had to be carried away he was so numb.
"Amber…" He managed to mumble, as though just saying her name would return the flesh to her corpse and the air to her charred lungs. As if speaking her name would lift this curse and allow her to materialize out of thin air. Like it would cause him to wake from the nightmare he suddenly found himself living. He didn't even care if he found himself back on the mountainside. Things seemed so much more real only a few hours before.
As he and the man exited the room, the remaining wall came crumbling down from where they previously stood. The wall buried the charred face of Silver's former best friend. He couldn't see her face any more, but the smell was still there, and more so, when he closed his eyes the second time, it loomed brightly on his conscience.
He vaguely watched as workers put the rest of the house out, an ambulance arrived, and the body was retrieved. He rode back somehow to Viridian City. He didn't know how he got back, but it took hours. There were hours of time where he had blacked himself out while still being awake.
___________
Somewhere, on the boarder of the nearby woods, yet far enough to be undetected, a lone girl watched from the back of her giant dog, Repede. She hugged the dog as the scream of her ex-best friend reached her ears. She didn't even know a human could make that sound, much less Silver. She grimaced as she directed the Arcanine away from the scene of her own crime, from her former life. With her work done, the girl now known as Wolfe rode out while silently saying goodbye to her former life as Amber for the last time.