Shadow Fire

Still gazing into Ethan's eyes, his own eyes shimmered a deep crimson for a moment, the same colour his eyes had been as a human, before returning to the same shade as a typical Totodile's. "I am him..." he murmured. "I want us to be together again so badly." Lowering his gaze, he sighed. Nearby, an advertising screen began broadcasting information about a showing of The Princess and the Politoed. The smaller Totodile stared up at the screen, before turning back and pointing at Silver. "Oh!" he squeaked! "It's just like him! I love that story!" Closing his eyes, Silver gave a bitter smile. Yeah, right... for what reason would Ethan have to kiss a Pokemon? Even if I DO remind him of my human self...

With each attack performed, the children got more and more excited. "Thanks, Kaze!" Talo said, finally. "So, uh, I... I think I get it... Kinda... Hmm... Maybe not..." The boy gave a soft chuckle. "So this means that anytime one of those naughty monkeys shows up..." Trailing off, he suddenly spotted something. "WAH!" he cried, noticing a monkey. "C'MERE, YOU!" With those words, the children, except for Colin, began chasing after the monkey, which was heading deep into Faron Woods.

*Skipping ahead to Meg, because the rest of the temple is... well, it's okay, but yeah* Three down, one to go... The next door led right back to the main chamber, where Link was surprised at what he saw. In the middle of the floor was the final Poe Sister, shaking with rage at the defeat of her siblings. Turning to Kaze, he nodded. Let's get her.

Silver then returned his attention to Ethan. Staring into the human's eyes, he reached a paw up and caressed Ethan's cheek. "I'm so sorry..." he said sadly. "I didn't mean for you to be so hurt. I failed you. I failed everyone. I really am... no good at all..." Leaning up, the Totodile gently licked Ethan's cheek. "I wish I could have stayed by your side..." he continued, afterward. "I wish I was never separated from you... never made you cry... any of that. I love you, Ethan."

Nodding, Link opened the door and entered the next room, giving a soft gasp. It looked like a maze of sorts. Hmm... how to do this?

The children were very excited indeed, with Malo demanding a demonstration, although you could see his eyes sparkle. He tried hard to hide it though. "Horizontal slice! Vertical slice! Stab! Spin attack! Jump attack!" The children were really wanting to see Kaze's moves.

The trainer with the Butterfree stared at the exchange, before clearing his throat. "I hate to be that guy..." he said. "But I need to get going. I think you would be the best to take these two. That little guy obviously knows you very well. Anyway, take care little guys!" Bowing, he scampered away, continuing his adventure. Silver called out after the Butterfree. "Thank you both!" he said. "You reunited me with Ethan!"

Inside, Rusl had left a wooden sword, which he had sharpened for Kaze. Meanwhile, the children huddled about outside, chattering among themselves as to what Rusl had left.

Casting a glance over at his friend to see that she was okay, Link breathed a silent sigh of relief. If anything, her skills have improved a lot.

Silver turned to Cynder and gave a sad smile. "I don't know, exactly..." he admitted. "I had entered the Hall of Fame after defeating Lance, and then when I stood on the teleporter, a strange light surrounded me, and I woke up here as a Totodile. This little guy found me. He actually reminds me a little of Snappy."

With the two of them attacking, it wasn't long before Link and Kaze overcame the beast, which shrieked in defeat, and burst into a puff of smoke. The bars disappeared, letting them into the next chamber.

Rusl's smile widened and he nodded. "Glad to hear it..." he chuckled. "Well, have a good one." With those words, he returned to the village.

Silver jumped towards Ethan, giving happy sobs, as the other young trainer and the smaller Totodile looked on in confusion. "Hmm..." the young boy said. "It seems he knows you." The tearful Totodile nuzzled into Ethan's chest, whimpering softly. "I wish you could understand me..." he said. "I was so scared I'd never see you again... but... I found you again! Now, I just need to find out how to become human again... and find Snappy."

*Skipping ahead to later* Noticing Kaze returning to her house, Rusl smiled. "Ah, just in time, Kaze..." he said, warmly. "I just delivered something to your room!" Noticing the fishing pole on the young girl's back, his smile widened. "Oh, I see you got the fishing rod..." he continued. "Colin will be pleased. And it works better than you would think, right?"

Watching carefully, Link noticed an opening when the monster attempted to attack Kaze. Acting quickly, he lunged, his blade meeting its mark. With a groan, the Stalfos turned his attention to Link. The boy smirked to himself. It seems he can only focus on one of us at a time. Looks like I'm the distraction, now.

"...and yeah, it was the strangest thing!" the young trainer babbled. "I saw the two of them, and since they're rare in this region, I attempted to capture them, but my Quick Balls were blocked, indicating they belonged to someone." Glancing back over at Silver and noticing how upset he looked, the young boy called out to him. "It's okay!" he said. "We'll find your trainer!" Silver turned, but his eyes fell on a familiar looking Typhlosion. "Cynder... is that...?" he began, suddenly gasping at the sight before him. "Ethan...!" Sure enough, he noticed his beloved was talking to the young trainer who had found him and the smaller Totodile. Tears began to well in his eyes, and he made a mad dash towards the ebony-haired boy. "Ethan!" he sobbed out. "It's really you!" Unfortunately, all the humans could hear was "Toto-toto-toto-toto-toto-toto-totodile!".

Another snap of the jaws. "Umm..." he mumbled. "He said he was looking for... Ethan! That's the name." Meanwhile, Silver was looking all crestfallen. He didn't seem to be having much luck.

Silver was too busy looking around to have heard Cynder, so the smaller Totodile looked at Cynder and snapped his jaws. "I'm from around here!" he exclaimed, before scratching his head. "I think. I don't know. But him..." He pointed a claw at the former trainer. "He isn't from around here. We're looking for someone he knows."

Drawing his sword and shield, Link glared at the monster. I've a bone to pick with you...

A short time later, they all arrived in Driftveil City. Silver began scanning around, worriedly looking for his beloved. "Ethan... where are you?" The young boy began going around to other trainers, asking if they were missing a Pokemon at all. Suddenly, he came to a boy with a black and yellow hat, or rather, he accidentally bumped into him. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you there. Um... I see you're a Pokemon Trainer. I was wondering... and no, it's not a battle I'm after... were you missing anyone?"

Ilia, in the meantime, was at the Ordona Spring with Epona, giving her a clean and some food. Turning to Kaze, she smiled and explained that she'd taken care of the horse while she was busy with the children. "Well, she's all prettied up now, so I suppose you can ride her back..." she said. "But don't you make her do too much, OK?" Epona simply gave a happy snort.

Silver gave a sad smile, and nodded. "Yeah..." he agreed softly. "I'll look all over the world if I have to." His smile faded, and a thought went through his mind. How will he know it's me though? The small Totodile gently pet Silver's back with his paw in a comforting gesture.

Oddly enough, this chamber looked empty, and was merely a connecting corridor. Or, so it seemed. When the two had ventured far enough, bars came down over the doors, and a Stalfos appeared. Great... a giant skeleton soldier.

Malo gave a soft whine, pouting. "But... our allowances are terrible..." he complained. "Aww, I wish I was born into a family with a slingshot instead of one with a waterwheel..."

With a nod, Link made his way towards the door and opened it, looking inside carefully. I have a bad feeling about this...