Conversions of the Heart: 'Alternate Ending'

Alternate Ending

Neon: "Where are you? I miss you so much Ruddy."

What was he going to do now? The more he thought about Ruddy, the more his heart began to break; he needed her with him, and he needed her now. Neon began to sob to himself, wallowing in self pity that gripped him till he could no longer hold his emotions back. This hurt more than anything that he had ever endured throughout his entire life; the loss of his brother might have been the first, but the pain of Ruddy never coming back had come in as a close second. Neon had felt so sick from not knowing, curling up as several months of waiting for her had finally began to burst; as he lay down on the ground ready to give into the inevitable, Neon felt a gentle hand caress his head. Looking up with eyes full of tears, Neon saw Ruddy, smiling a weak smile as she held her side; she had been injured by the looks of it, and was having a bit of trouble standing.

Neon: "Ruddy! You're back!"

Ruddy: "(Coughs and smiles) Th-that's right."

Neon: "......Ruddy? Are you alright."

Ruddy: "(Chuckles and coughs) Me? I'm fi-(Falls to her knees) Ow."

Neon: "Oh god! Ruddy!"

Neon rushed to Ruddy's side, holding her as she began to cough uncontrollably; looking at her injury, Neon had noticed that she was bleeding. Try as he might to stop the wound from bleeding any further, Neon could not help Ruddy as she bled out; he pressed down hard with all his might, but to no avail.

Neon: "Ruddy, what happened to you?"

Ruddy: "(Pants) I.......(Swallows hard) I g-got it."

Neon: "Huh?"

Ruddy: "(Coughs and holds up bag) L-look......I-I got.......(Coughs)"

Neon: "Sh! Sssh. (Cups face) Easy now, don't speak anymore."

Ruddy: "(Breaths heavily) N-Neon......(Coughs) I'm sorry."

Neon: "(Tears up) You don't need to be. Just hold, Ruddy. You'll be fine, I'll get help."

Ruddy: "(Holds hand) Oh love.....I'm not g-going.....to make it. (Coughs) F-forgive me."

Neon: "(Sniffs) Ruddy...(Kisses forehead)."

He stayed with her till her eyes closed for the last time; when Neon could no longer hear Ruddy breathing, he cried out to the heavens. Why had life been so cruel to him? Whatever did he do to deserve this cursed existence? Had he wronged someone? A being whose wrath knew no end? Perhaps this was punishment for being the way he was? What reason was there for him to suffer? What purpose did it serve for him to endure this horrible life? With each question that crossed his mind as he looked at Ruddy's lifeless body, Neon roared with anger and sadness; pounding the ground and tearing out the grass, yelling till his lungs ran out of air, and his throat grew too hoarse and dry to continue. This was it, the last straw that broke Neon till he could no longer find a reason to go on; he was going to end it, there wasn't anything left for him to live for now, so why not end his misery once and for all? Balling his fists up as he was ready to find a way to end himself, Neon tripped over Ruddy's bag; cursing under his breath as more tears fell from his eyes, Neon turned to look at the worn out satchel.

Neon: "(Sniffs)......This is all you left me. (Sobs) Nothing but a worn out bag."

Neon folded his ears back as he looked at the satchel; why had she wasted her last breaths telling him about this worthless thing? What was so damn important about it? Fiddling with the rope to see what was inside, Neon let the string fall, and wiped his eyes to have a better look of what Ruddy had wanted him to see; the moment he opened the worn out bag, Neon's eyes grew wide. The young male began to tremble as he reached out to touch a small, brown, and tan egg; Neon's fingers grazed the surface as his jaw hung low in awe. This was the reason she had been gone for so long, why she had not returned right away, and what she had tried to tell him before she died; picking the egg up to hold it close to his body, Neon cradle the only thing left of his beloved mate.

Neon: "(Kisses egg and wipes eyes) D-don't worry.....daddy's got you. (Sniffs) I'm never letting you go, I promise."

Their only child was now under his care, he alone would have to raise this child that Ruddy had given her life to protect; Neon sighed to himself, picking up the worn out bag as he was ready to go find Jasper. Something red had fallen out, Neon's ears twitched as he looked at the odd red stone; it held two little blue lights that dance around in a circular motion, and shined brighter than any ruby he had ever seen. Picking it up slowly, Neon could feel the warm heat resonating from the beautiful gem; attached to it was a note from Ruddy.

My dearest love, I feel that my time with you has come to an end.
I wanted to be there with you, to hold you, to kiss you, and to love
you with all of my breath. I am afraid that I cannot do this, my love;
such thoughts will have to remain only a dream that resides in my head.
I never intended to be away for so long, but I guess we weren't too careful
the last time we were together; however, I do not blame you for this love.
I am more than happy to have your child, and I plan to have you see them when
I finally recover enough to fly. I don't want to write this, love; however, in the event
of my death, I want to leave you with one last gift. This stone is rare, and does
incredible things to whomever holds it; it is known as the Wielka stone, and to you my love, it
is my final gift. Promise me that you will be a good parent, one that our child will grow to love;
be understanding towards them, listen to them, be the parent that you always wished you had.
Our child will need you there when times get rough, they will look to you when they need advice,
and they will need you to be strong when they cannot find the strength within themselves.
Love you always,
Ruddy.

Neon held the note close to his heart, tears of happiness rolling down his cheeks; Ruddy may have be gone from this world, but her love had remained alive with Neon as it had been the day she gave him her heart. Thinking for a moment as he looked at his love's letter, the young umbreon turned to gaze upon his egg; Neon knew what he need to do, and all he had to do first was use the stone.

(Five years later)

Neon: "Ruddy! Come here, love."

Ruddy (Four years old): "I'm coming mommy!"

Five years had passed since Ruddy had died, bringing along many new changes for Neon; he had as promised, raise his daughter as his beloved had hoped he would once she was gone. In memory of her, Neon had given their daughter her name; as time went on, he could see that she was becoming more like her mother as she grew before his very eyes. She may not have been a latias as Ruddy had been, but she still held the same fiery spirit within her soul; Neon could not have been more happier to see his little girl carry on the legacy of her beloved mother. Neon himself had changed; the night he and Jasper had buried Ruddy, he had decided to use the Wielka stone on himself.

(Five years prior)

Jasper: "What are you going to do now, Neon?"

Neon: "(Looks at stone).......We need to go back to the cove."

Jasper: "(Ears perk up) You want to go back?"

Neon: "For now, at least until the little one can travel."

Jasper: "Are you going to be okay raising it? Me and Fang will help if it's too much."

Neon: "(Smiles) Thank you, Jasper. (Holds stone tightly) I need to do something first."

Handing his sister his precious egg, Neon took hold of the Wielka stone and held it close; he wanted to raise his child, their child, but needed to be at peace with himself first. Thinking hard as he used the stone to grant his only wish, Neon's body began to change; every inch of him had been taken over by the ruby color, engulfing him as the two blue orbs circled around his core. As the color began to fade, Neon fell to his knees; Jasper had quickly knelt down beside her brother, patting his back as he gasped for air. Once he was able to breath on his own, Jasper began to look her brother over; her eyes widened when she saw that his hair had become a light green, his crimson eyes had become a fair brown, his ears and tail had taken on the texture of leaves, and a few green thorns had began to bud from his body. It was not just his type that he had managed to change; looking at him further, Jasper had noticed that Neon's figure had become more feminine, his face more round than square, his once flat chest had now perked out with breasts, and his voice was no longer deep.

Jasper: "Oh my god.....Neon?"

Neon: "(Female voice) Sis....Can you help me up?"

(Present)

Neon had become a female leafeon; he felt that in order to raise his daughter with a sound mind and body, he had to become who he truly was on the inside. The young umbreon had wanted to change for the better, perhaps even to make life better by becoming a type that nurtured living things that made the world better; a leafeon was the perfect choice, and one that he knew would give him a better purpose than that of a dark pokemon. Eventually, he and Jasper had gone back to the cove to settle a few things; Jasper had become one the leaders despite her father's objection, and had even brought Fang with her as a mate. No one had dared to question or say anything in regards to Fang being a full grown arcanine; if they did, they would of course have to deal with Jasper, a task no one was willing to take on. The years went by faster than the two siblings had expected, life had seemed a lot better now that they had finally taken control of their future, and it was only just beginning.

Neon: "Here we are."

Ruddy: "Can I give mom her flowers?"

Neon: "(Smiles) Of course!"

Jasper: "There you two are! I knew you'd be here."

Ruddy: "Hi aunty! (Hugs Jasper)"

Jasper: "(Kisses forehead) Hello darling. You giving momma some flowers?"

Ruddy: "(Wags tail) Yeah! (Holds up flowers) Aren't they pretty? Mommy made them."

Jasper: "Hmm, I see. They are very lovely."

Ruddy: "Did you bring some too?"

Jasper: "(Smiles) Of course! Your uncle Fang has them."

Fang: "Where do you want them, hun?"

Ruddy: "(Grabs hand) Over here uncle! (Pulls) I'll show you!"

Fang: "(Trips a bit) Woah! O-okay! I'm coming."

Neon: "(Chuckles) He'll make a great dad."

Jasper: "(Smiles) Yes he will."

Neon: "How much longer before your due?"

Jasper: "A few weeks."

Neon: "Sounds about right. You look like you're ready to pop, sis."

Jasper: "Believe me when I say am ready for these two to come out."

When Jasper had first shown signs of being pregnant, she along with Fang and Neon were thrilled; however, their jaws dropped when Sparks had told them that she was carrying twins. Never had any of them expected that she would be having twins; not that it mattered, if anything Fang and Neon had jumped for joy at the wonderful news. Now here they were several months later, bringing flowers to Ruddy's grave, and waiting for Jasper to have her first offspring; Neon took his sister's hand, happy that they had accomplished so much within these past few years.

Neon: "Did you ever think that this would be our life, sis?"

Jasper: "(Ponders) Not really, but I don't regret it. I have a wonderful mate, he's excited to be a dad, I have a lovely niece that is the spitting image of her mother, and I have a beautiful bro-(Coughs) Sorry. Sister, have a beautiful sister, that has stayed by my side, and who has fulfilled their promise to our older brother. What more could I ask for? (Smiles)"

Neon: "(Smiles)......I guess you're right, sis. Life is truly a beautiful thing."

Jasper: "Yes is it. And the best part is, we'll get to enjoy it together."

Neon: "I hope so, Jasper. I hope so."

THE END