a/n: As stated in the summary- this is a story all about Lucas and Red, and the fact that children should not be made to save the world. So, have fun reading, please don't forget to leave a review, and I will shut up now so that way you can enjoy the story. Warning: lots of spoilers for Mother 3.

When Lucas had come storming into Red's room in Smash Mansion, Red hadn't thought much of it. Afterall, even if Lucas was far more well known as a scaredy cat, he was still a twelve-year-old, and twelve-year-olds could get into fights. Just look at Red himself- he was still nursing a bruise from an incident with a pikmin. He would never actually admit it to a living soul, but he had withdrawn to his room to sulk in silence.

Lucas was a surprising, and rather pleasant, break.

"What does it take for Ness to understand that I don't want to go to a huge party? I don't like parties. I just wanna stay home..." Lucas muttered the words, rather then shouting them like any normal ten/twelve-year-old, but the angry emotions boiling in his voice were still there.

Red put down the book that he had been given by Peach, and turned his entire attention on Lucas. "I'm trying to be braver, but it's just so hard sometimes. I feel so alone…"

A frown creased Red's face at those words, as he stared steadily at Lucas. Lucas stared down at the ground, refusing to meet Red's eyes. "I wish I had Boney, but… Boney is with dad now. And he's really old too."

Boney was a… 'dog'. Red could remember that. Animals and Pokémon were different. While animals often looked like Pokémon, Pokémon had a far larger and wider range of attacks then most animals.

Red looked down at the empty Pokéballs sitting on his desk, and outside to where his own Pokémon played. A trainer could only split their attention equally between six Pokémon- it was a rule of thumb. Master Hand had stated that Red could only bring along these three, and that his Blastoise would become a Squirtle, and his Venosaur would become a Ivysaur for as long as he stayed in this world.

But as for Lucas…

Red glanced to the silent Lucas, staring down at the floor with a fierce frown. He began to stand, to make his way over to Lucas, when Lucas said softly, "I know it's just because Ness wants me to become braver, but… I don't think its working."

Lucas turned impossibly huge eyes to Red. "How did you become brave Red? Brave enough to get here?"

Brave? It was always expected of him. At age ten, he had always known he was going to be leaving home. He had always prepared for that day- he learned how to cook basic things, he learned how to shop, he learned how not to get lost in forests, and a few other skills.

Other regions had started rising the age limits to who could go out on an Adventure. The Johto region had remained at ten for awhile along with Kanto, but had raised their age limit to twelve after Gold had campaigned for it. Hoenn had always started at twelve, though Shinnoh and Unova had both raised their age limit to fourteen. There were many other regions, with other age limits, but Kanto remained the youngest with 10, and the next youngest was twelve. They wouldn't raise any objections if someone started in another region, but they didn't like allowing their own children out so early.

Red was sometimes a bit envious of those other regions. It would've been nice to have a few extra years to grow before setting out on his adventure. Though with Lucas…

His hands signed back Lucas's reply, "I went on a Pokémon Adventure."

"You did, huh?" Lucas smilled sheepishly as he looked outside to where Red's Pokémon played. "I wish I could…"

That… was a really good idea! Red's eyes lit up slightly as he considered it. Lucas would enjoy going around and becoming a trainer, and Ness couldn't possibly object to Lucas being brave if he a region's worth of badges!

The other twelve-year-old nodded to Lucas's words. 'Why not? It would work out. You wouldn't be allowed to use your psychic powers to attack the other team during battles, but otherwise it should be fine.' The words were rapidly written down- Lucas didn't have all of the sign-language down yet.

"I-I don't think I could Red." Lucas said. "I mean, what would Master Hand say? Would I be allowed to take them home with me? If we become really good friends, then I don't want them to be left behind…"

Red frowned at the objections. 'Well, he let me keep my Pokémon. Besides, it's easier to ask forgiveness then it is too ask permission, right? It's not like we're top tier or anything, so we don't have as many matches. And even if he doesn't allow you to take your Pokémon to your home dimension, he'll have to allow it here, and you can always come and play with them here.'

Lucas chewed on his bottom lip, characteristic silence striking now. "I-It would be kind of nice to see where you grew up Red…"

Red's eyes widened. Oh no. No, no, no. Kanto (and Johto) were right out of the question. He'd be recognized in half a second and then Green and Blue both would be tracking him down with the express intent to choke the living daylights out of him. He did deserve it though- disappearing without a word for two years…

A rare hint of a smile appeared on his face at the thought of Mt. Silver. It would always be one of his favorite places.

'Not Kanto or Johto unfortunately. Red signed. I'll probably have you start off in Hoenn. It's a island region, so there's less people all around. It's the birthplace of contests, so even if you find you don't really want to battle, you can do contests instead.'

It was indeed all of what Red had stated. And it was a lot harder for any attention seekers to swarm in an attempt to find him. Though, perhaps with his two-year disappearance, everyone had forgotten about him?

That would be heaven…

No, this wasn't about him, this was about Lucas. If anyone learned that Lucas had personally met Red, his life would become a living hell. It happened with his mother, with Green and Blue, with so many others. He'd watched it happen. It had been one of many, many reasons why he had left.

"H-Hoenn? What kind of Pokémon are at Hoenn?"

Red smirked slightly, the lightest touch to his lips, "I'll let you find out."

Lucas grinned shyly at him. "Okay. It couldn't really hurt, right?"

Of course not. "Let's go to Hoenn, then, shall we?"

"Right now?! B-But I haven't got anything ready!"

Red shook his head. "Tonight. Meet me up after dinner. I'll tell Master Hand that we're gonna be out for a month."

The best part about being in an alternate dimension, was the fact that no matter how much time one spent in another dimension, time didn't flow the same in another. While Red had completed his own Pokémon journey in under a year, a feat never heard of before, with Lucas they had all the time in the world to kick back and relax a little, and enjoy the journey without a crazy group appearing out of nowhere to rain all over the journey.

"Okay." Lucas nodded, and hesitated, "What sort of things should I pack?"

Red shrugged, "Pack whatever you need, and if we need anything more, I can buy it along the way."

He had lots, and lots of money after all. Way too much of it. Lucas nodded, and froze, "Wait, I don't have a backpack-"

Red stifled a laugh, schooling his face into its normal, neutral expression. "Wait a moment, and I'll see about getting you one."

While his own backpack was slightly tattered and worn with age, it fit Lucas perfectly. The large pokéball sewn on the back was dirty, and the fabric was still worn from the harsh winds of Mount Silver. But it was important to Red. It had held everything he had needed, and a little more beyond.

Lucas looked at it, a little puzzled.

Red signed, "Just use this until we get too Hoenn region, then I'll get you a proper backpack and some Pokéballs. Are you ready to catch your first Pokémon?"

Lucas nodded eagerly, and ran careful fingers over the backpack. "Is it really okay if I use this Red? It seems really important to you…"

"It's just for now, right? But yes, it kind of is."

It was a gift from Mother, after all. But Lucas needed something to put everything into, other then his pockets. And Red could buy everything in the world five times over. He had enough money…

"Thanks."

It was quiet, but still heartfelt. Red's lips twitched upwards slightly in a smile, as he nodded. Lucas walked out of his room, towards his own.

Red glanced outside to where his Pokémon were playing. Time to start preparing for the journey back to his world…

Lucas settled the backpack down onto the ground, and peeked inside. It was empty, but the fact that Red had it after all this time… It was important. So he needed to be careful when packing. Plus, well, he'd be the one carrying it…

Bright eyes flew up to the shelves installed in the room. Lying on them were several pictures- pictures of his family, pictures of Duster and Kumatora. They were the first things packed- he couldn't imagine going on a trip without Duster and Kumatora. Not after all that had happened.

But he was, wasn't he? He was going on an adventure with Red. For once, he was going on an adventure without Boney.

But Lucas still had his friends by his side.

The child folded a few shirts and shorts into the backpack, wrapping them carefully around the pictures. When he had first gone out after Duster, he hadn't thought to pack extra clothes. It was only after he and Boney had walked, and walked, and continued on for so long, and so much had happened did he realize that perhaps he should've brought extra clothes.

Either way…

Lucas glanced around again. Did he bring food? He had a few magic puddings leftover from his own adventure, and the Franklin Badge… it remained on his shelf, untouched. It was a memento of his father, his brother, and what had happened. Lucas stared at it for a moment longer, before picking it up as well. He couldn't leave it behind.

Lucas pinned the badge on his shirt, and glanced around the room again.

For a few hours he lingered, picking out different items, putting them in his backpack, changing his mind and taking them out, only to change his mind again and put them back in. At least Ness hadn't come charging in too see what he was doing. There wasn't any real good way to explain why he was packing, and Ness was going to insist that he come along as well.

Ness was his friend, but sometimes… Lucas just wanted quiet.

Dad had been gone so many times during those three years, leaving Lucas all alone. Except for Boney, his constant companion. Lucas had watched as his city was overrun by the pig-masks that had helped kill his mother. Lucas had watched as the once friendly town of Tazmilly had disappeared, replaced by cold, uncaring, unfriendly faces that he had once known.

Even if everything had changed, if everyone had come to their senses, there was still that element of it not being right. That nothing was quite good enough.

Everything had changed, including himself, and Lucas hadn't wanted to learn who his dad was again. Duster and Kumatora had helped him avoid his father a little, but they were caught up in their own concerns after a bit. Duster went back to his band. Kumatora was a princess, and it was decided that she would take over this huge new world that they had found themselves in.

Lucas glanced up to where the White Egg lay on the shelf, still untouched after so long, and turned away. At least Kumatora had taught him a few attacking PSI. It would've been hard to fight against Tabuu without being able to attack except for PK Love.

Lucas smiled as he uncovered a loaf of Nut Bread, still ready for eating. Quietly he packed it into his bag, stuffing it in the side pocket instead of the main. A knock came at the door, "Lucas, you commin' to dinner?"

"Yep!"

Lucas stuffed the backpack underneath the bed, and threw open the door. Toon Link stood there, grinning brightly. "I heard you and Ness had a fight, so I figured that I'd make sure you were coming before Ness did."

"Y-Yeah." Lucas's good mood plummeted at the reminder. "Can you sit between us?"

"Sure. Nana and Popo are already making their plans as well. Plus, Pikachu might come and visit our table for once instead of stealing all the food off of Red's plate." Lucas nodded to the words.

"Diddy Kong and Kirby are having an eating contest, so we're gonna have to be quick unless we want all the food to be eaten by them!"

Toon Link was gesturing wildly, barely avoiding hitting the quieter boy beside him. "It's gonna be soooooo epic! Plus, we're supposed to have food native to Red's planet today! This is gonna be the best! He always has those weird food stuff he's feeding to his Pokémon, so the regular people food must be great. Well, hopefully it won't go down as badly as Olimar's all-vegetable diet."

Lucas giggled slightly at the reminder. Ike had nearly burst into tears the second he realized there wasn't even so much as a speck of meat down the entire buffet. The kids had found plenty of sweet stuff to satisfy their own cravings, but there had been more then a few mournful looks.

Olimar's day ever since was always dreaded, though Master Hand had reluctantly allowed a few extra dishes to creep in with lean pieces of meat. Snake and Ike had both eagerly piled their entire plates full of that, and a few sweets before taking off.

Either way, Lucas figured this would be his first insight to what it was like to eat in a Pokémon world. The two of them entered the room together- and Lucas's eyes widened.

Most of it was indeed fruit. But it was these weird, crazy berries that looked close to what Lucas knew, but at the same time were completely and utterly different. There was pink meat, hamburgers, onigiri, and so much more. Toon Link relaxed at the sight of the onigiri.

"Cool, I recognize those."

Lucas nodded, as his eyes scanned the buffet. There weren't any Omelets, but he didn't expect there to be really. Toon Link glanced around, spotting the usual 'kid' table. Occasionally the adults could be seen sitting at it, but it wasn't anything worth noticing.

Kirby was racing towards the buffet, sparkling eyes eagerly eying the food. Lucas found himself quickening his step. He had been stuck behind Kirby once, and vowed never again.

Soon he was chewing on a fruity, tangy loaf of bread, wondering what it was made of. It was pretty good… His eyes scanned the room, looking for Red. He couldn't spot the red-capped Pokémon trainer, no matter how hard he looked.

On the other side of the round table, Ness was studiously ignoring Lucas and engaging the two Ice Climbers in conversation. Nana and Popo had never explained why exactly they had begun climbing mountains in the first place, or if they were actually siblings, but they were always very eager to learn something new, and were always happy to see psychic powers. Lucas wondered if he should go apologize to Ness, before looking back down at his food.

No, he wasn't.

Toon Link swirled his small pile of fruit, before taking a sip of lemonade. "So then Lucas, are you looking forward to next weeks battles? Since we have this week off and all."

"I-" He hesitated to tell Toon Link of his plans. Toon Link was a friend, but he'd tell Ness. "Yeah, I guess."

Toon Link shot him an odd look, before his voice dropped slightly. It didn't carry over the hubbub of Smash Mansion settling down to eat, but it was kind. "Are you alright Lucas? If you don't want me to say a thing to Ness, then I won't. Promise."

If there was anything to say about Link- both of them- it was that they were morally right people. The type who charged in no matter what to defend even the smallest birds life. The kind to make and keep promises no matter how hard. "W-Well, don't tell Ness, okay?"

A simple nod, the usual goofy smile wiped off now. "Red and I are going on an adventure together in his world. It sounds like it'll be really fun, and I don't want Ness messing it up."

Toon Link nodded again. "I might be gone for awhile, but we should be back before the end of the month. B-But don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Got it! You can count on me!" Toon Link grinned. "That might be good, you and Ness spending time apart."

"I know. Bu-But I'm beginning to feel bad because I'm not telling anyone-"

"Nonsense. You and Red have fun." Link paused, looking thoughtful. "Do you want to borrow my sword? Or maybe one of my bombs. You should at least take a set of my boots-"

"T-Toony, I-I don't think I should take it. What if I loose it?"

"Oh, that's true." Toon Link's brow creased. "Well, at least take a bottle of elixir soup. It's delicious, and it'll replenish all of your health. And for me, it replenishes all of my Mana, but I don't know what it'd do for you…"

Toon Link pulled out a bottle of clear orange liquid. It was filled to the neck. "I-I couldn't possibly-"

"Take it." Toon Link wasn't being his usual cartoony self, but rather serious for once. "If you guys run into any trouble, you can drink it and replenish your health."

Lucas shook his head, "It might work for you Toony, but I doubt it'll work for me."

Toon Link scowled, leaning back, and reluctantly tucking away the bottle. "I guess. But, I want to give you something."

"Oh, I know! A Joy Pendant! They're everywhere, but it's said happiness flocks to the pendants. Or was it the pendants flock to those who are happy? Either way, you both could use a little happiness, and you both could stand to smile a bit more-" Toon Link burbled on, happy and hopeful for Lucas.

Lucas froze, mind flashing back to his home town, and how everyone shunned him when he couldn't smile like they could. "But, you can only smile when you're happy, so I hope this brings you happiness." Toon Link finished with a huge smile as he clipped the butterfly pendant to Lucas's shirt.

"Thanks Toony."

Toon Link grinned, and Lucas figured that it was probably the pendants flocking to Toon Link who always made people more cheerful wherever he went. But- his fingers curled around the pendant. Maybe, just maybe, a little bit of Toon Link's cheerfulness would stay with him.

Red slouched into the room a few seconds after, as Kirby vacuumed up the entire buffet. Diddy Kong, with his three plates, gave up. The monkey cried as he walked over to Donkey Kong, and sat forlornly by him after being beaten so badly.

Kirby burped smugly as Red stared at the empty buffet. With a shrug, the trainer wandered towards Lucas, dodging whatever was being thrown at him. Another red figure joined him. Lucas gulped.

The Villager. He was terrifying. The only one Villager seemed to get along with was Olimar, and everyone was too terrified to ask Olimar how and why exactly they seemed to get along. Speaking of Olimar- Lucas could see the tiny alien wave to Villager, inviting him to an empty seat as Captain Falcon frowned slightly on the other side.

Villager tugged at Red's clothing, and held up something- Lucas couldn't see what. Red accepted it with a simple nod and his usual slight glare. Villager walked towards Olimar, absentmindedly twirling his axe. The pikmin, normally scared of everything that moved, chirruped in excitement, buds glowing.

"Are you joining me tomorrow morning to plant in the garden? The tulips need to be planted before winter comes." Olimar asked the question seriously, but kindly.

Villager nodded, pulling out a shovel. Then, the rest of the conversation was lost among the swirling voices, and loud, boisterous laughter.

"Hello Red."

Red nodded back, sitting down in an available chair. His pokéballs at his side were empty- he must've been feeding his Pokémon before he came here. Master Hand floated in a few seconds after Red, towards Lucas. "Lucas, may I speak with you for a bit?"

"Yes, right now?"

"After you finish dinner. There's just a few things I wish to discuss."

Lucas nodded quickly, and began hurrying up his food. Red and Master Hand seemed to glare at each other for a moment, before Master Hand floated away regally. The effect was spoiled when a pie filled with some unknown substance flew through the air landing directly on top of Master Hand.

There was a moment of silence, broken only by Crazy Hand's laughing. When Master Hand turned around with little beams of light gathering at his finger tips, there was a general scrambling for any sort of exit possible.

Red pulled his cap down low, shot a glance towards the empty buffet, and seemed to sigh. Then, with all the speed of a Snake escaping with his smokes intact, he ducked and ran for it, rolling straight out the window.

Lucas jumped out a half-second after him.

Master Hand apparently wanted too talk to him about him leaving. Red had told Master Hand that the two of them were leaving together, and would be gone for about a month. Master Hand was slightly concerned about this though. Concerned, and slightly worried that perhaps Lucas had been somehow coerced into this.

It only took a bit to reassure the hand that this is something that Lucas was looking forward too. The fact that Lucas asked if he could leave to finish packing seemed to reassure Master Hand the most.

"Ah yes, I never did ask, where are you going to go?"

"Around, different places." Lucas murmured, as he quickly escaped from the room, feeling a bit bad. It was known how to get back from each others worlds, on the rare occasion they were allowed to visit. They went straight back to where they had entered the world/dimension from and activated the small beacon set there.

Lucas scurried through the empty hallways, and cracked open the door to his room. The room was dark, and his backpack lay undisturbed. But next to it lay a coil of rope. The Ice Climbers must've overheard, or Toon Link must've told those two. Or maybe they just wanted too give it to him. Lucas hefted the coil of rope in his hands.

The two climbers didn't ever seem to use rope, but they both always had a coil of it wrapped around their waists. Lucas gently looped it around the backpack- who knew when it would come in handy?

Lucas hefted the backpack, noticing how light it felt for some reason. The rope rubbed against his back as he walked down the darkened hallways. The only light was soft, ambivalent light shone from light bulbs and quietly sitting Pikmin. Olimar would be around shortly too collect them.

"Red?"

The Pokémon Trainer turned around to look at him, cap firmly on his head. There were six pokéballs at his side, rather then his usual three. There was a slight smirk on Red's face as he extended a hand out to Lucas.

Lucas smiled back shyly as he nodded and took the extended hand. He was ready to go on his very own Pokémon adventure.