"You awake…?"
The whisper was met with a thick silence that permeated the nighttime air. After just a moment longer, watching and waiting for the form beside his own to show any signs of consciousness, Green let out a gentle sigh. His large hand delicately ran over the head of silky ebony hair resting against the neighboring pillow. Though he had a terrible habit of luring Green into a false sense of security, it really did seem as though Red was truly fast asleep this time.
With a deep breath, the larger male slid out from under the covers as stealthily as he could, checking to make sure not only Red but the two small Pokemon curled up on the end of the bed remained asleep. Once he was certain he hadn't disturbed anyone, the Gym Leader made his way out of the bedroom and down the hall of his small apartment before safely arriving in the living room. The brunet couldn't help but feel a bit of a smirk tug at his lips at his ninja-like abilities as it took true skill not to wake someone as sensitive as the Kanto Champion.
However, he was on a mission, there was no time to act smug. In a flash, Green was typing away on his laptop, searching through different websites and news articles. Nothing he found was even the slightest bit different than any of the other web searches he had conducted on previous nights. He was beginning to think he'd reached a dead end, that perhaps his lack of sleep had all been for nothing and that there was no way he'd find the answers he'd so desperately been searching.
Ever since Red descended from atop Mt. Silver, Green had been happy to have him back by his side. After weeks of living under the same roof of the Gym Leader's small apartment, the brunet had finally built up enough courage to share how he truly felt about Red. With a wave of relief and pure happiness, Green had been delighted to hear that the feeling had been mutual. Unfortunately, as time went on, something began to nag at the back of his mind. The more time he spent around the smaller male, the more he had realized, he had still never found out the true reason behind the drastic personality change in Red. He knew bits and pieces of the details, enough to understand that the events of the past should never be brought up in polite conversation, however, not knowing the full story had begun to eat away at his mind.
He could recall very well what had happened those years ago, it had been a difficult time for everyone close to Red.
The day had started out normally for the two rivals. Having recently returned from their exploits in the Johto region, they spent the day relaxing together with their Pokemon at Professor Oak's laboratory. It was then that the day had taken a turn, as Red had received a call from the elite four's Lance, requesting that he investigate a strange occurrence off of the coast of Cinnabar Island. Of course, being the Champion of the Kanto region, it was expected of the raven haired boy to take up the responsibility of defending his home.
Of course, it hadn't been the first time Lance had asked Red to run errands such as these. Neither of the two trainers were concerned, especially with Cinnabar being so close to Pallet Town. They both agreed to a friendly battle the following day, and with a brilliant smile and a slew of loud goodbyes, Red mounted his Charizard and headed off.
The remainder of the day came and went, and soon enough, Green found himself outside his grandfather's lab once again. He spent the morning putting his Pokemon through their regular training exercises, then offered the Pokemon professor his assistance in feeding all of the Pokemon residing at the lab at lunch time. Soon enough, the evening had rolled around, and the younger Oak had begun to feel uneasy. It wasn't uncommon for his rival to sleep in, especially after performing his menial task for the Elite Four, but this had been pushing it. Something deep inside of Green knew that things just…weren't right…of course, he quickly pushed those feelings aside as he journeyed to his friend's home. He knew Red of all people was more than capable of handling himself should the situation arise.
Upon arriving at the small house Red and his mother shared, he was stunned to hear that the raven haired trainer had not returned. Things definitely weren't right, and Green wasted no time mounting his Pigeot and heading out over the sea toward Cinnabar Island.
Night had fallen by the time the older boy could see the faint glimmer of city lights emanating from the small, volcanic island. Green knew he'd have to land in the city for the night as it had grown too dark to fly anywhere else safely. Hopefully Red would be able to cope without him until morning, or even better, he hoped to find the other trainer on Cinnabar Island, simply having forgotten about their battle. Certainly he'd have to slap some sense into the Champion, but it would be worth the anger just knowing that Red hadn't been hurt.
As Green neared the city, an ear piercing explosion ripped through the air, startling both the trainer and his Pokemon, stalling them in the air. Neither had even a moment to compose themselves before a shock wave sent them tumbling backwards. Green had only barely managed to cling to feathery back of his Pigeot as the enormous bird righted itself. His ears rang painfully, but he managed to scramble back onto his Pokemon, and scan the dark ocean for the source of the explosion. It didn't take much for the trainer to notice the flames and the inky black pillar of smoke blotting out the stars.
Reacting without a trace of forethought, Green found himself urging Pigeot toward the flames. His heart hammered against his chest, and a terror he couldn't hope to explain gripped his body. The only thing he could remember thinking at that moment was that Red had been at the source of that blast. Of course, there was no evidence to support that feeling, but at that moment in time, nothing could convince him otherwise. Drawing closer, the brunet found that the burning patch in the ocean used to be a large building built on top of a large concrete structure, but now was nothing more than piles of smoldering rubble. The scent of blood was heavy amidst the smoke. The coppery odor burned his nostrils and the back of his throat, but he wasted no time landing onto a clear section of the concrete platform.
Green pulled his flashlight from his bag after calling his Pidgeot back into its Pokeball. He pulled his shirt to cover his nose and mouth, offering at least some protection from the smoke as he began searching through the mounds of rubble. As to be expected, small pools of blood seeped out from beneath chunks of ceiling and wall. He did his best not to think about what horrible sights he had bore witness to, and considered himself lucky as not to have seen any actual bodies yet. The faint wail of sirens in the distance drifted towards the facility, but the noise was completely muffled in Green's ears as he searched frantically and seemingly in vain for any signs of life. Just as the spotlights of the Cinnabar police boats shimmered through the walls of smoke, something caught the brunet's attention. A splotch of orange duller than the intense flames stuck out from beneath a large pile of debris, and beside it lay a smaller splotch of red too bright to be blood.
At this moment, the blood in Green's veins ran cold. His breath caught in his throat, and he could feel a sickening lump form in his chest. The flashlight fell from his hands as he lunged toward the unmoving form of his friend. His body felt completely numb, yet somehow his feet carried him faster than they ever had before. Green fell to his knees beside the younger trainer, hands shaking as he sat frozen in place. The faint light from his dropped flashlight could only illuminate so much, but Green had no problems seeing the stream of blood flowing from a gash in Red's forehead, coating his face. The vibrant red of the Champion's jacket had also become heavily stained by the deep crimson liquid. His lower half was covered by the rubble, one of the larger pieces in particular was thoroughly embedded in Red's upper back. Charizard's wing was partially draped over its trainer, as if both trainer and Pokemon had tried to defend one another. Both were in rough shape, but only one showed no clear signs of life whatsoever.
It was at this point that Green's memory began to grow fuzzy. His vison became blurry as his eyes began to sting, he couldn't tell if it was from the wind changing direction and blowing the smoke into his face, or from the tears streaming from his eyes. "Red," the older trainer barely managed, unable to tear his eyes from the lifeless, bloodsoaked body of his friend. What happened then was nothing more than a blur. He barely recalled screaming the others name, frantically clawing at the debris covering the other trainer's form. His fingers probably bled, and his muscles likely couldn't cope with the weight of the concrete slabs he desperately tried to lift, but none of that mattered. The only thing he could think about was the slim chance that he could still save Red. Green could faintly remember hands pulling him away, a freezing boat ride to Cinnabar Island, and a long, dreary night in a police station…or maybe it had been a hospital.
Regardless, it had been days before Green could speak about the incident, and weeks before it was safe to move Red back to the mainland. They had only just managed to get the Champion to the hospital in time. He was suffering from severe trauma from the force of the explosion, cracked ribs, a broken leg and foot from the ceiling collapse, and some form of brain injury that had been caused neither by the explosion or any other blunt force. To top it off, he wound up in a coma from his injuries and the trainer's throat had been damaged from smoke inhalation. It didn't take long for Red's Pokemon to heal completely, all of which had suffered some form of injury. This, at least, had been one weight lifted off Green's mind. Unfortunately, the story was quick to spread, and as much as Professor Oak had tried to keep the media from harassing his grandson, eventually the cameras wormed their way into Red's hospital room, and Green had been forced to speak on camera.
In the weeks that passed as Red lie motionless in his bed, nothing seemed real to the older trainer. He spent his time in a haze, either in the hospital room with his rival, or outside comforting and taking care of the injured boy's Pokemon. All of them were understandably concerned; even Green's own Pokemon could sense that their master was not doing well. No matter what, though, the brunet pushed forward. He vaguely remembered Gold, Silver and Chris spending a couple days in town to help take some of the burden off of Green's shoulders. Blue came into town as well, staying at least a couple of weeks. He recalled her presence had provided the most comfort, and he wished he had asked her to stay longer. However, all too soon Green found himself taking care of Red with only the assistance of the raven haired boy's mother, and occasionally the Pokemon professor when he could get out of the lab.
The day Red finally opened his eyes had been both ecstatic and heart breaking at the same time. For the first time in ages, Green felt true happiness as tired crimson eyes gazed into his. Again, he couldn't help the tears as they flowed freely down his cheeks. "You're awake," he breathed, unbelieving, "You're back, I- … This is so-." Green gently, yet eagerly embraced his friend, "I can't believe it. I was starting to think you were gone for good. Damn it, Red… I'm gonna kill you, you know that? How could you scare me like that? And gramps and your mom and everybody, we thought you might not come back to us."
Several minutes passed as Green finally came to terms with the Champion's return to consciousness. He managed to calm down enough to go and get Red's mother and Professor Oak, both of whom were just as excited to see Red back among the living. Of course, the first few days, the raven haired trainer could hardly stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time, but eventually he regained enough stamina to stay up for a few hours. All the while, Green began to notice that the vibrance he expected to manifest in his friend once he regained his energy was nowhere to be seen. The brunet had anticipated a short wait before Red had enough strength to chat and joke around, but… after nearly a week, Red had yet to crack even the faintest smile. This is where the heartbreak had begun to set in.
As Red recovered further, Green noticed that his once talkative and eternally optimistic rival had grown silent and reserved. The closest the Champion had ever seemed to happiness was the first time he had reunited with his Pokemon, after that, it was if he had become an empty shell. This realization tore jagged, bleeding wounds into Green's heart. All this time staying at his friend's side just to have an emotionless husk returned to him. He hoped against hope that the boy might show some sign of his former self somewhere deep inside of him. Instead, a new problem reared its ugly head.
A few nights after Red had recovered to a normal sleep schedule, the first sound to come from the Champion's throat in weeks had been in the form of an agonized cry. It happened in the early hours of the morning as both trainers slept soundly, Red in his hospital bed and Green in a tiny cot set up in the corner of the room. The brunet had nearly been given a heart attack as he was startled awake, only to find Red thrashing about in the bed, clawing at the mattress and his hair. No actual words escaped him, only blood curdling screams and heart wrenching sobs. Of course, Green was able to get doctors to administer a sedative to keep him from harming himself, and hoped that this had been an isolated incident.
This happened every…single…night after the first episode.
The night terrors the champion suffered from were violent, usually resulting in scratches and dark bruises marring the raven haired trainer's delicate skin. On occasion, a stray punch or kick would land on an unfortunate nurse, or more than likely, Green. What made the entire situation worse lay solely in the fact that, once conscious, Red still refused to speak with anyone.
It was quickly driving Green to a breaking point. He realized he wasn't emotionally equipped to handle the situation he was in, caring for someone who had been so severely traumatized. The frustration accumulated more and more each day. He did everything he could to get Red to talk, to smile, to laugh, to do anything! Nothing worked. All he ever got in response was a blank stare, and he couldn't take it anymore. Things didn't stop at just that, either. Not only did the older trainer have to cope with Red's nightly bouts of screaming, during the day the Champion had also succumbed to regular instances of severe migraines. These had formed soon after the night terrors had started, likely due to the unknown damage Red had received to his brain, and left the teenager in horrible agony. At the time, it was simply too much to handle.
Green was just about to walk out of the hospital forever the day he had nearly tore Red's arm off after shouting at him for nearly ten minutes. The brunet had realized that what he was doing was no longer benefitting Red or himself. That night, he packed his things into his bag, and was just about to leave as another fit of night terrors racked the Champion's body. At this point, it had become a nightly ritual for Green to summon the doctors to assist the pitiful boy, and as he moved to press the 'call nurse' button, he froze. In the midst of Red's cries, a single word emerged.
"Green!" the trainer sobbed pitifully, "Green… Green"
Red repeated the spikey haired brunet's name over and over again as Green himself stood speechless. Slowly, he pulled his hand away from the button and moved to stand beside the bed. In a flash, the thrashing teenager lunged at him. However, instead of clawing or kicking at the older trainer, Red simply clung tightly to Green's shirt, his body calming almost instantaneously. All that remained of the fit were soft whimpers and trembling shoulders, and this alone gave Green enough hope to stay as he delicately moved to sit in the bed beside his friend and rival.
After that, things seemed to settle down between them. Red no longer suffered from night terrors, so long as Green slept in the same bed. Even their waking moments had improved. A small light seemed to have ignited in the champion's eyes, a light that only appeared whenever the older trainer entered the room, whether it be from acquiring food or even returning from the bathroom. No matter what, if Green entered the room, the raven haired boy would watch him intently. It almost resembled a well-trained dog trying to contain its excitement as its master returned home from work, and Green couldn't help but blush each and every time. Eventually, they had even managed to communicate through a series of 'yes or no' questions, and on rare occasions, the champion was even able to muster small words. Of course, Red had still suffered from regular migraines, but with how everything had improved; the brunet had been able to help his rival through the pain.
Everything seemed to be going well, until one day as Green returned from getting lunch to find only an empty bed and a note that read simply, "I'm sorry. –Red" There had been no explanation for the trainer's disappearance, and for the longest time, everyone had assumed the champion had been kidnapped. Searches were conducted that lasted for months on end, but eventually, everyone including Green himself came to the realization that Red wasn't going to return or be returned anytime soon.
It took an entire year to figure out that the champion had traveled with his Pokemon to train at the top of Mt. Silver. By that time, Green had successfully taken up a position as the new Viridian City Gym Leader, and moved into a single room apartment nearby. Once the rumor had started to spread about the Kanto champion's location, the Gym Leader had been there in a heartbeat.
A small sigh escaped Green's lips, the laptop closing with a gentle 'click'. Just as before, all traces of what had happened that night had been covered up well. All the police had to say on the matter was that the Kanto Champion and several others had been severely injured in an explosion. The building off the Cinnabar coast had apparently been an old factory, but no one was supposed to be there. None of it added up, and after all these years, all the Gym Leader wanted was an explanation.
He ran his large hand through the thick mop of hair on his head, before standing. It was already three in the morning, and the entire internet search had been a complete waste of time. Running the gym tomorrow was going to be hell, but by now he had gotten used to it. He simply had to grit his teeth and bare it, and hope that tomorrow night he'd be able to get some sleep.
Green trudged his way back into the bedroom, all his ninja-like abilities sapped from his tired form. Of course this meant Red was quick to wake as he, Pikachu and Eevee all turned their attention to the weary brunet. "Sorry," Green muttered sleepily, "bathroom." He turned his head just enough to receive a gentle kiss from the smaller male, before wrapping his arms around Red's slim waist and cuddling him close. It didn't take long at all for sleep to take him.