Disclaimer: I, ADifferentSortOfPerson, do not own or have any relation or connection with Pokemon, Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures Inc., or any company, person, or people who have relations or connections with anything listed above. I do not profit from this. This is fanwork. All rights to the characters and settings go to the owners of Pokemon.
Green glares at his companion, who was leaning against the wall, eyes half-closed.
"You. Are. Impossible!" he finally shouts, grabbing the nearest pebble and chucking it at him.
Red's hand snaps up and catches it at an impossibly fast speed, and the champion flicks it back at his one consistent visitor.
"My gosh, it's almost Mother's Day! Don't you have anything, anything, for your mom?" Green demands, waving his arms around. Next to him Eevee mewls for emphasis.
Red shrugs, silent as ever.
"So you want me to go back to Pallet Town to celebrate with her, with nothing to say for her one blood-related son?" Green snaps, but his gaze softens when he notices Red's hand tense slightly. Even though Red could seem to be a complete and utter jerk at times, he had his reasons for doing things the way he did.
"Would you like me to tell her that you miss her and wish you could come down to visit her?" he asks gently, and Red inclines his head slightly. "Any origami you'd like to send with me?" He unzips his bag and pulls out a pad of paper, which he quietly passes to Red. The champion straightens slightly and looks down at it, before carefully tearing off a piece and folding it up into the shape of a heart. Green nods and tucks it away into a protected part of his backpack, where it wouldn't be crushed or get wet.
The duo sit in peace for a while, simply staring at the fire that sat in front of them. Eevee and Pikachu were curled up right in front of the fire, grateful for the warmth. Outside, wild Pokemon howled and wrestled in the midst of the darkness.
"It's awfully lonely up here," Green mutters after a while. "Almost no human contact. You know, I've been researching a rather interesting concept lately, and I think it's related to this mountain. It's about parallel universes. Sort of. Well, they're not parallel. Not exactly. The universes... there's a good number of them. And they're all equal. Equal as in how much stuff is there, not in how people act and stuff. There's a lot of evidence supporting it, and I've been meaning to ask Gramps about it." He yawns. "But by any means, the people in them... they're versions of the people in a different universe. Like, there's versions of us in a different universe. They aren't exactly like us, but they... they're very, very, very similar. They have the same... soul as us. Well, soul isn't the best word to use, but it's... it's something like that. And everything they do affects what we do, and vice versa. It's believed that this mountain is a very special place. It's like what keeps all the universes connected. It's sort of like a Radio Tower, in which it broadcasts the same exact current to every universe to keep them all in line. It's amazing how it all works. There's a quite a bit of evidence backing it all up, too, which is always a good thing."
Red glances at his friend before lightly shaking his head. The things Green came up and said... And every single time, he'd say "There's evidence backing it up," and the next time he'd come up and say, "Red, you'll never believe what I found! Remember what I said last time? Turns out it's a bunch of BS!"
"...Shut up. I'm going to sleep," Green mutters, crawling over to a stack of blankets and pillows in the back of the cave. He called out his Arcanine, who sleepily curled up next to the makeshift bed, and laid down, basking in the warmth of the fire Pokemon. Moments later Red could hear him quietly snoring, and he couldn't stop the tiny bit of a smile from popping up.
Green looks up as Red sits across from him. He was currently frying Coba Berries over a small fire.
"Just for you, Mr. Skeleton!" Green says mock-brightly. "I swear, if the cold doesn't kill you, starvation will. Just look at yourself!"
Red looks down at his body, which made his small clothes look baggy.
"Most anorexic and bulimic girls are fatter than you," Green points out matter-of-factly. "I had a bunch of models at my door the other day; I should know. I think it was around the time of the PokeModel Competition, and it was held in Viridian that time around. All of them were asking me who was skinniest. You know what I answered? I said that while they were thin, they still weren't as beauti- as skinny as you."
Red quirks an eyebrow.
"Aw, shush it. I was getting my thoughts mixed up. Because after they all started sobbing about it I explained that they'd be more beautiful if they didn't look like they were so freaking fragile. I was amazed they could even knock on my door without shattering their scrawny fists. And then one of them started insulting me, and when I told her to cork it, she told me that she pitied the city because they had a gay gym leader who didn't have a sense of style. I asked her why she came to my gym anyways, if she hated my sexuality so much, and why the heck they cared about my opinion. They said it was because the only thing better than a gay best friend was a famous gay best friend, and that I was cute and crap. I nearly sent Exeggcutor out just to snap their scrawny little ribs. Darn skeleton models."
Red simply grabs the spatula out of Green's hands and scoops some of the fried berries out of the pan and onto a plate.
"But you know what I like about you?" Green asks, carelessly dumping some of the remaining berries on his plate. "You don't look fragile. You look strong, like you're the ruler of the universe. Which you might as well think you are, for all the good it does the world. You aren't helping anybody by just sitting up here, you hermit lug."
Moments later, Pikachu and Eevee appear next to him, both sleepily rubbing your eyes.
"I swear, Pikachu is stealing your food or something," Green mutters, twisting around to open up a cabinet full of Pokemon food. He grabbed a bag made specifically for Pikachu and dumped it into a bowl. "Bon appetite, you little electric brat," he grumbles playfully, giving Pikachu a pat on the head. The mouse rolls his eyes and carts the food away, tossing it into his mouth as he goes along. Green quickly does the same for Eevee.
They all sit in silence for a while, just munching their food and thinking about their plans for the day. A glance outside would reveal the start of a huge blizzard, meaning that either Green would have to leave early or stay another night, neither option very appealing. For Red it meant that it was endurance flight training day for Charizard, and if things got too extreme, a relaxing day to focus on other interests, such as origami or reading the large stack of magazines Green always gave him to stay "updated" on the world. Maybe he'd give the harmonica Green bought him another shot. Or perhaps try and pick up where he left off with trying to learn how to play the guitar with Blastoise. Whatever suited them best for the day.
Just as Green finishes the last of his breakfast, a large crash outside snatches everyone's attention.
"What the crap was that?" Green cries, jumping up. He grabs his jacket and, with Red on his heels, darts outside.
In the midst of the snow, a young boy, probably about twelve or so, lay, surrounded by people of similar age.
"...Ash, get up," one of them, a girl with an orange blob of hair, orders. "You seem to be fine."
A different one, with light brown hair similar to Green's, looks up. "Might you be the champion?" he asks, in a voice that could've been the researcher's.
"I... no," Green says, shaking his head. "That'd be Red. Um, is your friend alright?"
"I'm fine," the boy in the middle says, sitting up. Green briefly analyzes him. His hair was as dark as Red's, but his skin was tan and his eyes were light brown.
"That's what you think until it turns out some blasted disease seeped into your brain and the Mt. Silver Syndrome sets in," Green mutters, rolling his eyes. "So, I take it you all came up to battle my mute friend?"
"...He's mute?" the boy in the middle asks, looking shocked.
"Well, gee, he has a reputation for creepiness, lives on a mountain, and isn't being nice enough to greet you or ask if you're alright," Green drawls sarcastically. "Come on, I might as well take you inside. So much for my early start back home."
He heads back into the cave, Red right next to him. A moment later, he can hear the group behind him grumble and follow.
"So, now that we're in the one sanctuary in this freezing heckhole, I might as well introduce myself," the researcher says, settling down in front of the fire again. "And offer you breakfast, like any decent host would do. I'm Green Oak, from Pallet Town."
The group all snaps their heads up and stares at him.
"...Oak as in Professor Samuel Oak?" the boy who looked and sounded like him asked.
"Yes," Green says, slightly shocked. His fame was rivaling his grandfather's by this point, and nobody really asked to confirm he was Oak's grandson now.
"That's... a really crappy lie," the boy says, crossing his arms.
Red leans forward and studies him, making the boy twitch.
"...What?" Green asks. "I'm not lying!"
"How could you be his grandson when I'm his grandson?" the boy asks. "Gary Shigeru Oak?"
"Because you've gone wrong in the head?" Green asks skeptically. "I grew up at the lab helping him, and now I'm the Viridian City Gym Leader!"
"Viridian City is still trying to find a new leader because the gym blew up," Gary says, lifting an eyebrow. "They haven't decided on one yet."
"Yeah," the boy who fell adds. "I was there!"
"...Maybe we should finish introductions first before arguing," a teen, older than the rest, suggests. "I'm Brock, Pewter City's Gym Leader."
Green blinks. "Did you get surgery or something? And since when did you travel?"
"Introductions first," Brock says quickly. Green grumbles but leans back.
"I'm Misty, Cerulean City's Gym Leader," the orange-haired girl says.
"I'm Richie," a boy who looked like a replica of the other boy who had fallen says. They were exactly alike, save for their hair color.
"And I'm Ash, from Pallet Town," Ash finishes.
"...I don't remember you," Green says, searching his memories of his life back home. Ash was about twelve, so the boy would've been about four when Green left...
"And I don't remember you," Ash responds, crossing his arms.
Silence quietly falls upon them, before Green's Eevee hops off from her usual perch on his shoulder and struts over to Gary, studying the boy for a while before jumping on his head and sniffing his hair. Panic sets in a moment later.
"Hey!" the twelve-year-old shouts, hopping up to his feet. "Get off of me!"
"Ay-vee!" Eevee squeaks and leaps across the cave in an attempt to reach her master. However, her paw skims over the fire, and her soft brown fur quickly catches flame. "EEVEE! AY-VEEEE!"
Brock jumps up and grabs a Pokeball just as the evolution Pokemon reaches the floor and starts rolling around, squeaking and kicking. She accidentally rolls just where Brock is about to step, and the teenager trips over her, crashing into Misty, who starts screaming. Richie dives for her in a vain attempt to solve the confusion, just to be cut off by Green.
"EVERYBODY CALM DOWN!" Green shouts, grabbing a Pokeball. He glares at the group across from him. "Set your butts back down on the ground right now and listen. You do not panic at the top of Mt. Silver. Do you hear me? It's dangerous. It causes avalanches. Yes, we are at the top of this Mew-forsaken mountain. But how do you plan on getting down if the caves inside are filled with snow?" Green crosses his arms. "Eevee, I'm disappointed in you. It was a small flame. You've fought fire Pokemon before, and they did far worse. Gary, right? Gary, how can you claim to be my grandfather's grandson if you panic when there's a Pokemon sniffing you? Brock, I don't know what you were trying to do, but getting up does not help anything. You should know that. I've talked to you before-wait, wrong Brock. Um... Misty, seriously? Scream for help? We're on the top of a freaking mountain huddled together in a cave. If something goes wrong, we don't need somebody screaming to just add to the commotion. It doesn't alert us to danger; there's so little space that we can all see the danger immediately. Red, hand me a Burn Heal please."
The silent Champion twists around, opens a cabinet neatly carved into the cave wall, pulls out the requested medicine, hands it to Green, and goes back to staring at the fire as if nothing had happened.
"I swear I-" Green begins as Eevee dejectedly crawls into his lap, but is cut off by a low rumble. He pauses. "What was that?" he asks, looking around. Red shrugs, and the visitors just look slightly pale. The rumble starts again, louder this time, and the world seems to shake slightly.
Green gulps, and looks at Red, who, while his stoic face stays the same, his eyes showed panic.
"We should... probably leave," Green mutters, standing up. "Come on you idiots. We're leaving via bird Pokemon now."
Nobody even bothers to insult him back as they all grab their stuff and scramble out of the small cave. All except Red, who just sits there, staring at the fire.
Green looks back and grimaces as the world shakes again, this time more violently. "Red! Let's go you moron!"
Red looks at him and shakes his head.
"You're going to kill yourself!" Green shouts, just as a violent jerk causes him to fall down. "You! Brock and co! Just circle overhead for now! Red, get out of there, for Mew's sake!"
The Champion simply pulls his Pikachu off his shoulder and to his chest as Green crawls back over to the cave entrance. Behind him, he could faintly hear Brock yelling and a Skarmory crying.
"You idiot," Green hisses, grabbing Red's shoulder. The Champion shrugs and pulls away, but Green remains latched on, and yanks the light adult out of the cave and into the snow. "You are leaving now, Red. I know you like this mountain or whatever, but you need to go."
Red shakes his head and yanks his arm away, but Green tackles him to the ground and calls out his Pidgeot, whom he thrusts Red on.
"Go! Fly!" Green shouts, watching in despair as Red tries to jump off. "Pidgeot, I'm sorry! You know the path, lead them away! You can't carry us both!" The bird Pokemon squawks and shuts his wings around Red, before looking at Green confusedly. "Leave! Now!" Pidgeot crows and shakes his head, staying planted on the ground. "Go!" Green shouts, stumbling across the shaking surface and shoving his Pidgeot. "You need to show them the way out!
The bird Pokemon screeches as he flies upwards, occasionally glancing back at his trainer. He stuck to the path he and Green had discovered ages ago, the one that they used only as a last resort, but he was more terrified than he ever had been. Yes, he knew who Red was, and he liked Red a good deal.
But Red wasn't his trainer; his trainer was Green, and he was leaving him behind.
It absolutely, positively hurt.
Green watches them fly away, his heart aching more than his freezing body. The blizzard picked up, and he doubted the fire was still on in the cave. Not that it would help him any if there was. He couldn't see anything another than the ice swirling around in the air, beating relentlessly on his shaking arms and legs.
Funny, he thinks as the earthquake gets worse. I always said it would be Red who died up on this Mew-forbidden icebox. Guess I was wrong.
He smiles a bit, feeling the earth rumble below him.
At least he's safe.
Warmth floods around him, and Green can almost feel himself leaving the ground, moving on, and...
"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!"
...The afterlife had angry Charizards roaming free?
Green weakly lifts a trembling arm and rubs his eyes before slowly opening them, and shrieks at what he sees. Far below, he can see the ground. He was in the air. That wasn't supposed to happen, was it? As he warms up, he also becomes aware of two firm sets of talons gripping his side.
"...Charizard?" Green gasps, opening his eyes again. He looks up, and sure enough, Red's Charizard was holding onto him and soaring through the skies as if the pounding hail and winds had no affect on him.
"He's back!" a voice shouts, barely audible over the howling winds.
"...Richie or Ash?" Green mumbles, looking around. He notices vague outlines of the group ahead, just where the blizzard was ending.
"Holy crap, that Charizard's amazing!" another voice shrieks, and suddenly the air grows a thousand times warmer as Charizard reaches the end of the last cloud.
"And you said I was wrong in the head," a voice Green could identify as Gary's states.
"Shush it," Green warns, and looks around. "Red! Eevee! Pidgeot!"
The bird Pokemon caws with glee and swoops over to his master. A brief, awkward exchange was made as Charizard carefully dropped Green onto Pidgeot's back and Red scrambled onto his Pokemon. As soon as they were all settled, Eevee pounces on Green and rubs against him, yipping with glee.
"I'm glad too, girl," Green mutters, hugging the brown furball.
"So... happy reunion set aside, I say we go down to Pallet Town and get this whole grandfather thing set straight," Gary says, his own Pidgeot diving down next to Green's.
"Of course, of course," Green says, rolling his eyes.
"And I still want my Pokemon battle!" Ash shouts.
Green and Red pause for a second and exchange looks.
"...Are you sure about that?" Green asks. "I didn't get the chance to go over the liabilities..."
"...Liabilities?" Ash asks doubtfully.
"Yes. Red is the most powerful trainer in the Pokemon world, after all," Green says, rolling his eyes. "It's only natural that some... problems occasionally occur."
"Why? What happened?" Richie asks, the Swellow he was clinging to flapping a bit closer.
"...Nothing. There's just a few risks is all. Now, I believe Pallet Town is that-a-way," Green says, leading the group off. However, before he does so, he exchanges glances with Red, who had an odd expression in his eyes. "It's okay. Not your fault," Green mouths, and turns back forward as Pidgeot takes a steep dive.
Okay, so obviously I've done quite a bit of editing on this story. There were a few things that didn't fit/add up to me in the previous version, so while the plot and such is the same, expect some tweaking. I felt that the emotions in the last one were a bit... shallow, I suppose, and I wanted to add more drama and angst to it.
Sorry that the chapter isn't as long as the ones from the original version, but I just wanted to get it up and the universe has decided to get me sick and make me leave school early, right when teachers decided it's time to really crank out the projects.
Oh, and BTW! I'm planning on writing an Inheritance Cycle story, a light-hearted short one, just to balance all the angsty-angst in my other stories. Originally I was going to just stick with the three I had posted on my profile, but then I got to typing and gosh- I need some happy outlet! Then, of course, there's a poll on my profile for what story you want to see after I finish all of this. Obviously, this means the poll's going to be up for a long while, so you have a lot of time to make up your mind and vote!
That's all for now. Lemonade and love to you all!
-ADifferentSortOfPerson