Torments of Hoenn - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Finding Us, However Hellish it May Be

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"What the hell is this?" Silver snapped at Ethan and Lyra, trying to control his fluctuating emotions.

"S-Silver," Lyra breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to prove what I feel to you," he tried to prevent his voice from cracking. He couldn't afford to show any weakness at this moment. He had to stay strong for the sake of himself. "But I can now see that what I feel for you isn't as special as I thought it was to you. Or even reciprocated, at the least."

"Silver, that's not true. I-I'm just so confused," Lyra's eyes began to water as realization hit her. He did love her, and she loved him.

"Well, it's a little late for us to take anything back, isn't it?" he spat at her, feeling his eyes begin to tear up, too.

"No, Silver," she cried to him, slipping away from Ethan and to Silver. As though the situation couldn't get any worse on top of all of this drama, the sky began to rumble and pour rain. Lyra tried to take Silver's hand, but he slapped hers away despite just wanting to hold her in his arms right then.

Lyra looked at the ground, salty tears mixing with the rain. She sent a quick glance back at a distraught Ethan, who was holding his mother's ring in her hand. Silver caught sight of it and felt his temper rise again. But before he could express his anger once again, Lyra spoke first.

"I'm sorry that I can't keep our promise of staying together. I really am. But-" she breathed in deeply, reaching up to her neckline. "I-I can't do this anymore," she barely managed to choke out as the rain drenched her body. Shivering and crying, she slowly placed the ruby necklace into his hand. "I just… can't."

Silver forced himself to nod, clenching his fist around the necklace tightly before placing it into his pocket. The unshed tears of many days finally began to fall down his face. "Whatever," he snapped, covering his immense sadness with the extreme fury and jealousy he had bottled up. Lyra had betrayed him, and he had every right to be angry with her.

"I'm so sorry," she tried to hug him in the least, but he finally just turned around and re-entered the dark forest. She began to walk away in the opposite direction. She was so depressed that she was just on the border of hysteria. Ethan jumped up and began to follow her, but she told him off. "Not right now, Ethan. Please, just leave me alone," she cried to him. He looked like a little lost puppy when she said this, and this only made her more frustrated with herself, but he complied nonetheless. Lyra eventually found a little cave where she sat herself down and allowed herself to finally vent and bawl.

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Silver was in an angry rage as he tromped through the forest. Why? That's all he wanted to know. Why did everything good in his life just end in such disaster? A shrill voice then cut through his thoughts, "Silver!"

It was none other than Tesla. He didn't feel like dealing with her right then, but as fate would have had it, they ran smack dab into each other. "Silver!" she grinned at him darkly.

"Leave me the hell alone, Tesla. I am in no mood," he shoved past her and to a small clearing with a stump where he could sit at.

"What did I do?" she growled at him, becoming annoyed. She followed him, and seeing the necklace hanging out of his pocket, she smiled evilly herself. "So she finally dumped ya, huh?"

"Shut up," he hissed at her, slumping down on the stump, exhausted.

"I saw it coming, you know," she boasted. "She only had eyes for that little dork of hers. You meant nothing to her, I could see it."

Silver felt the tears re-emerge. "I said shut up!" he shouted at her.

"Make me, Silver," she bent down and breathed into ear huskily, licking the lobe of it. It sent unpleasant shivers down his spine. She then straddled him, getting way too close for comfort. "You know that she probably secretly hated you, right? After all the things that you did to her, how could she not?"

Silver looked away, ashamed of himself. He was just so done and frustrated and blinded by his conflicting emotions towards Lyra that he couldn't think straight, and so he was believing every little lie Tesla was telling him. "You probably meant nothing to her. But unlike her, you mean the world to me," she gripped his shirt, a lustful glint in her leering eyes.

"I told you to shut the hell up! I love her!" he threw Tesla to the ground, but she still didn't get the hint. Her eyes flashed at his admittance to his loving Lyra.

"You know you want me. You know you want to do this," she unbuttoned his shirt slowly. "So just forget about her… let your anger take control - let it lead you like the old Silver would have." And Silver being stupid, did exactly what she said. He fell for her trap, and let his sexual tension over Lyra and his anger at being cheated on take control of him. He grabbed Tesla harshly by the shoulders, smashing her face into his. This only made her smile sickly. Finally she managed to throw his shirt off to the side, and began to work on his pants while he ripped at her soaked jacket. Was he really go to do this to Lyra? Betray her, like she did him? But this was so much more than what Lyra had done… she hadn't taken it this far with Ethan. But at the reminder of her and Ethan, Silver's fury took full control, and before he knew it, he was stark-naked and there was no going back.

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"I love him so, so much," Lyra cried uncontrollably against a rock.

"Love, love, loooovvee," the cave echoed. She only sobbed harder at that. Over the impossibly long amount of time she had been there, the storm had gotten so bad that it was impossible to see through the sheets of rain and the lightning was too blinding and the thunder too loud. Her cries for Silver were left unheard to even herself as the thunder cackled once again. She snivelled and rubbed her hands up and down her arms, shivering. It was freezing in there! She began to tremble violently, and her never-ending tears weren't helping any. She fell to the ground in a desperate attempt to keep warm. Suddenly, her vision began to blur as the cold gripped her body. And then it all went black.

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Silver couldn't believe what he had just gone and done. It was the ultimate form of betrayal… but were he and Lyra even still together? He couldn't tell anymore. He threw on his cold and wet clothes, wiping his drenched red hair out of his eyes. Tesla grinned up at him. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

He glared at her. "If you say anything to Lyra, I swear…""I thought you two were over," Tesla crossed her arms over her bare chest.

Silver said nothing, before leaving her there and walking away. She only laughed behind him. "I thought so," she retorted. He ignored her.

He wandered around, pushing branches out of his way as he did so. He was going to try his best to find camp again, but that was going to be difficult with the headache he had and the rain. But he still had to try - especially if it meant getting away from that witch Tesla.

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Ethan was standing under a large tree with his and Lyra's things under it with him. He was worried about Lyra and wondered where she was at and if she was okay. Suddenly, from behind him, he saw the flustered redhead that was Silver emerge from the depths of dark trees.

"What are you doing here?" he crossed his arms accusingly at him, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to appear threatening to the thoroughly peeved Silver.

Silver just scoffed at him. "Trying to get back here. Nice to see that you salvaged everyone's stuff," he eyed Ethan and Lyra's backpacks, which were sitting on the soggy ground beside Ethan's leg, while his things were out in the pouring rain.

"Where's Lyra?" Ethan asked after a second, ignoring Silver's comment as worry began to rise as lightning struck a tree not far from them.

Silver stiffened. "I thought she'd be here with you."

"Obviously she's not!" Ethan panicked. "Oh no… she can't be out there all alone by herself…"

"Why not?" Silver frowned.

"She's afraid of thunder storms," Ethan stated simply. "She can't think properly in one. Her brain just kind of shuts down and she freaks." Lightning struck again, even closer than before. Silver's heart began to race. Lyra was out there all alone, and it was all his fault. His heartstrings were tugged at the thought of something dangerous happening to her and if she got hurt because of it. Pulling the sleeves of his jacket up his arms, he began to stomp off into the rain again and away from the shelter of the tree. "What are you doing?" Ethan shouted at him, his voice disbelieving.

"I'm going to find Lyra, stay here and look after everything," Silver told him quickly, before disappearing once again into the trees before Ethan could protest.

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Lyra shivered once again. It was just so damn cold and she didn't know what was going on anymore. All she wanted was Silver and that was it. But he was gone now from her grasp… just like that. Everything hurt at the thought that he'd gone off to Tesla to vent. She squeezed her eyes shut and allowed further tears to fall, and she wondered slightly, as the thunder cracked in the distance and she squirmed away, if she was going to die there. It seemed plausible enough - she was so cold she swore she had hypothermia and she just didn't have the drive or heart to go on anymore. So, would it really matter if it all ended right there? She just didn't know, and her sleep-demanding eyes finally fluttered shut at that.

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"Lyra! Lyra, where are you?" Silver called out hysterically to her. Of course, all he was answered with was the pitter-pattering of rain around him. The wind was now blowing harshly around him, sending leaves flying every which way. He sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. It was three in the morning and he was getting nowhere what with all of the rain paired with the fact that he was exhausted. But he couldn't give up yet. He wouldn't give up on her.

He tromped through the mushy dirt on the ground the best he could, and found a cave in which he could rest in not more than 20 feet away. He walked in slowly, hesitantly even, and gasped when he saw Lyra curled up beside a rock, motionless.

"Lyra!" he cried, falling to her side. She still wasn't moving. He grabbed her shoulder, shaking it violently in an attempt to awaken her. "Wake-up!" She didn't even stir once. A certain sense of something shot threw Silver every time an attempt failed. It was the well-known feeling of desperation and loss on his part. These were two things that he knew much too well and, when he and Lyra had still been a couple, two things that he had been trying to forget. But now, in the spur of this awful moment, he felt as though he was losing her. He slid down the cave wall, holding her close, trying to keep her glacial cold skin as warm as he could. When she still didn't move, he began to talk to himself for comfort.

"Oh, Arceus, this is such a disaster…" he mumbled. "So much has happened, Lyra. And I just wish it would end and I wish that you could realize what I feel for you and how strong it is. That's all I want anymore. But I want you to be happy, as well. And you can't be happy with me, I can see that. You can only be happy with Ethan, and I have to accept that," he pulled a hand through her wet hair. He thought back to what he had done with Tesla just an hour beforehand. He was disgusted with both of them. He had been completely "pure" up until that moment, and he had been saving himself expressly for Lyra, as was she for him. But he had just been so frustrated by everything that he had given into his stupidity, and now all he felt was guilt. He knew that he didn't deserve Lyra, but that stop him from wanting her. He just wanted someone to love him back.

Lyra shivered after a long while of sitting there, but nonetheless had woken up, but Silver had dozed off in a silent fit of confused tears. She snuggled into him, but wasn't quite aware of what was going on. All she knew was that someone was there, holding her, and she felt better because of that. She clutched his wet shirt in her hands and was instantly content. It was just what Silver did to her - he just made her feel better in the worst of situations. And then it hit Lyra - she was with Silver! Her eyes fluttered open, and despite herself, she kissed him. She just couldn't control her emotions!

Silver was arisen from his troubled slumber by her passionate kiss, and he felt all tension between them break free as he grabbed hold of her shoulders and held her flush against him. It was awkward when it ended though. Where were they supposed to go from here? Both figured it could only go up - or in other words, positively. "Silver," she shuddered. "We have to talk."

"Now's not really the time," he answered back simply. "We've gotta get back to the camp. From there we'll figure everything out." Silver tried to stand up, but he found that he just didn't have the strength to.

"Just stay with me here for tonight," Lyra took his hand in hers. "Please."

He tried to reason with her, "Lyra, we're soaking wet and it's freezing. We can't just stay here."

She defended her argument. "But neither of us can see through the rain out there and - actually, whatever. I'm not arguing with you. Leave if you want to, but I'm staying here whether you like it or not."

Silver gave her a incredulous look when she turned away from him. Like hell he was just going to leave her there! But she would stay strong in her choice, "Fine, we'll stay." He wrapped his arms around her after ditching his soaked, cold jacket. She reluctantly cuddled up to him, and both fell asleep until the next morning…