Disclaimer.
Howdy! My name is Redskywalker29, and the story you are about to read has been discontinued!
In all seriousness, I haven't updated this story in years. I wrote it before I had a clear handling of how writing worked, and I'm sure the writing in question reflects that. Now that I'm getting back into publishing my writing on the internet instead of hiding it in my basement, I thought I should write a disclaimer on this. I probably won't be updating this story or bringing it up to a higher standard of writing, and for those people who liked the story, I'm glad you did, but I feel like I can't just pick it up. My notes have long been lost.
I won't delete what we have here, but I probably won't be picking it up again. If you do continue reading, I hope you enjoy it. I'm working on becoming a better writer, so I hope my later works will have a better grammatical quality.
Ever so sorry,
Redskywalker29
Prologue
In the beginning, there was naught. Naught but two abstract forces, both struggling for superiority against one another, but never able to express their full will. Being abstract forces, they had no physical bodies and had no way to work their will against one another or in aid of creation, indeed they knew not of a physical body at all. And this lifeless struggle over nothing would have continued, if not for the arrival of a traveler.
She (Or he it is not known.) had begun life with knowledge of other worlds. Worlds of physical strength and gods. Of magic and the true blades that struggle against one another on a vain attempt at superiority, and she knew of heroes sacrificing themselves for the good of all.
But she had lived in a time that was of great tragedy and darkness, and as opposed to her counterpart who remained in his realm, she became the embodiment of children, of innocence, and of playfulness. In short, this god was chaos embodiment, and her name was Mew.
In her stressful times, Mew dreamed of another realm. While hers raged in warfare and darkness, she dreamed of a realm where forces fought but could never defeat one another. So great was her ambition of dreaming of this world, and so frequently that she did dream, it was but till a time until the other side of the realm was able to peer into the opposite world as well.
Order was the first one to achieve thus. Order had been struggling, for before one starts with order, chaos will rule and order will fail. Order was losing the fight, of it could be called that, and in a fit of desperation, dreamed of other realms. One realm in particular...
Both Order and Mew benefited from this exchange. Mew gained the courage go along with her world, and the strength it took for her to keep her ideals. Eventually, that strength led her to becoming a god in her own right.
Order, on the other hand, saw Mew's world through her own eyes, with eyes that were unprejudiced and critical. As chaotic as the struggle of that one realm was, in it Order saw beauty.
As Chaos threatened to succeed and plunge their world of nothing into a constant state of nothingness, Order created one last ditch plan. With all of it's remaining strength, it formed an egg. In it went all of Order's strength and desire to create, to build, and keep stable. In that she felt what remained of her powers go into. In that egg, was the makings of a god.
With what time and strength that remained, she hid the egg where none could find it, and then was destroyed by Chaos.
What time went passed is hard to say, for time was non existent. Eventually, in a sea of chaos the egg hatched. In what had been the finest wrought piece of jewelry that Order had wrought went its ambitions and cause. Inside that egg went the heart and soul of Order itself. Inside that egg, Arceus hatched.
In an instant, Chaos reacted with shock at this embodiment of Order. Striking out with what force it had, it was rewarded with not the death of this new god, but the impenetrable force that had once been Order. And then Arceus struck back.
For what stood an age, the forces grappled. The mighty blasts of Arceus fighting against the onsets that Chaos produce and the blasts of energy it dropped from nowhere. In the end Chaos took what it had, and the universe that it created, and formed a giant shape of what could have been called his physical form. The two entities battled against one another, but despite Chaos's control, Arceus was unbeatable.
With one final blow, Arceus struck against the universe, the giant. Chaos shattered, weakened by the fighting for ages. From the giant, 18 shards fell through the hole in space. A shard of each color of a type that held the vague memories from a past life as Order. Additionally, a pink shard with the inscribing of fairy rounded the bunch, Sensing the power inside them, Arceus gathered them to himself and found himself in a state that was unbeatable, a form of total ascension into the form of a true god. (Coincidentally, this took place around the same time Mew ascended into a god form, but that's a different story).
With his new power, Arceus thrust the world into order, shaping a realm out of nothingness and creating order amidst the chaos. Filled with the desire for order, Arceus began to create his birthright. And that marks the start of the realm.
To create the universe, he first created two beings. One was to control space, the other time. That would provide the elements necessary for a universe, which he had seen as Order had worked with Mew's universe. But unbeknownst to hm, Chaos was not yet defeated. Ever so subtly, and with what remained of its strength, Chaos whispered into Arceus's ears the creation of a third god.
Arceus had no defense against this, for he took the whisper as his own mind and idea. Without knowing why, he created the third as well, despite not having a realm for him to rule. Arceus watched as the three gods were created, each filling with strength that could rival his own, but Arceus saw none of those implications. For him, he saw three sons. And that was how Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina were created,
Arceus carefully watched, explained to, and guided them, as despite being born true gods they had experienced with their power. Under his tutelage, they were able to create what Arceus wanted. Space and time, were born the moment that they were created, but it never started until the two respective deities thrust it into creation. However, the seeds of doubt were planted that day in the mind of Giratina. Watching as his brothers/sisters created realms that were controlled by them, the god felt envious of their power. These doubts were aided as Chaos whispered into his ears with the only weapon he had left, but it was still many ages before Giratina formed his rebellion…
Arceus, oblivious to his son's jealousy, felt joy as the world around him was created. With space and time he was finally able to fulfil the ambitions of Order. He created three other gods as his sons were done with their tasks, and gave the powers that were imbibed in goodness, and what Order had seen in the world that was Mew's. He named them Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie. In them he put power, but only together could they equal one of the creation trio, for Arceus was growing tired. And then, Arceus began to create life.
As Arceus went through his tasks essential for life, Chaos stealthily slipped away. It had not the strength left to create a body to rival Arceus and could not stand up to him in a fight. He did however had enough strength to gain control of one. Chaos would wait until Giratina was alone, then seduce him into chaos. He'd be able to destroy this world and what was created by Arceus.
That might have been what it would have done, and indeed Arceus would not be prepared to fight his own son so soon, but one factor saved the world from an early destruction. Mew, newly ascended and done with the troubles that plague her realm, was finally able to create the portal that she wanted, so that she could visit the realm she dreamed of.
Unknowingly, she create the portal near where Chaos laid, and Chaos watched as Mew came into their realm. Greedily, Chaos threw what caution it had to the side. Any thoughts of long term plans were stopped, for he sensed chaos incarnate in Mew, and it needed no time like Giratina's to emerge. Before Mew could recover from the strain it takes for creating a portal, Chaos invaded Mew's body.
He expected to find the near godling that he had heard of from fighting Order. Indeed that was what Mew had been naught but a few days beforehand. Now Mew was a true god however, as equal to Arceus as there ever was, and to put long story short, immediately curb stomped the weakened Chaos.
Chaos was banished, his ashes spread into the thinnest bits, but he was not destroyed completely. Only able to whisper. And much time passed before he was able to do that. But he regained strength, and eons later, started what was known as Giratina's rebellion. But that was age slater. Until then, he merely drifted in rest,
Time passed that is irrelevant to this story. It was full of misadventures and accidental discharges of massive blasts of power. Arceus having sensed Mew as she destroyed Chaos, was forced to deal with her childish antics for eons, even when she would go back to her world for tea. Indeed, Mew traveled through the two realms freely and rather quickly. Arceus actually enlisted her assistance in creating the world, and left an entire region to her.
Mew ended up making a recreation of her own world, including the name of Kanto, along with the bordering region of Johto, while Arceus created the rest of the world.
TIme passed and many more gods were created to enlist, and Arcuses had filled with mortals as well. But an event happened that not even he could predict. Mew, remainder of the heroes f her own world, brought humans into the world. They were different from the Pokemon that Arceus had created.
Arcuses soon found out that humans were capable of things that seemed alien to Arceus. Most were as the pokemon were, but some were different. They were cruel and greedy and wanted power. Even Mew was confused, for she had wanted the heroes not the villains of her world What they did not know what that Chaos whispered to them and drove them to madness.
With these villains, heroes emerged as in all tales. The battles fought between them astounded the gods, for this was alien to them. Arceus called a council of the legends to deal with it. In that council, Arceus came into a conclusion. He had an afterlife, but all went into it. The villains when they died caused trouble for the rest of eternity, Meanwhile, the heroes were forced to deal with them for the rest of eternity. Which was not what they deserved.
It took Mew and Arceus together to brainstorm an idea to match it. Mew recalled some of the myths and legends from her own world with the guardians of the afterlife and the guardians of eternal punishment. Arceus first doubted this idea, but an idea came into his mind. Giratina still had no realm of his own. He only had the ghostly powers that he had, of which Arceus had no clue where they came from. If he made a new realm, Giratina would have a place for himself to rule like his brothers/sisters.
After agreeing to the plan and enlisting the help of Giratina to aid in the creation of his own world, they brainstormed an idea. The distortion world. Giratina would rule from the distortion world, and all the souls of villains would go there letting the heroes could rest. It would be a land of bended physics, and inverted landmasses to cause the villains sickness, but no harm was to come of these villains. It was a far more wretched consequence to leave them alone forever.
To aid in the world, and to help Arceus in the afterlife, Arceus created two separate species of beings. One was to watch over the afterlife. They'd be full of good, kindness, and order, which were all traits Arceus that were good. They'd guide souls to the afterlife after they died, for the gods were getting tired of that , the other being would be loyal but uncaring in some ways. They would guide villains to the distortion world. They wouldn't feel horrible after dooming people to years of nothingness. Giratina mostly presided in their creation, for they were to be his subjects. Both were gifted with wings to aid them in their tasks. They were the first Angels and Demons.
Arceus did not now, but Chaos was in Giratina's ear…
At first, angels and demons got on together rather well. They worked together, then took breaks with one another in a lighthearted sort of way. They balanced each other out, for angels were generally guarded and slow to let their emotions loose, while demons wore them on their sleeves But theirs was a relation that worked well together. That peace soon shattered however…
Giratina eventually began to grow jealous. His powers over the negative zone included antimatter, but Giratina had absolutely no idea how to use it. His brothers and sisters were gifted with great powers and went up to great acts of mischief with them, often to the anoyment of their father.
With his jealously churning, it was only a time before Chaos found Giratina. In his ears, Chaos whispered a plan. Giratina resisted at first, but eventually fell prey to the subtle whispers. In that plan did Giratina learn how to destabilize Arceus.
It started innocently. A few souls bound for the negative zone ended up in the afterlife and vice versa. A few gods found their mountains blown up on accident. Rivalries were inflamed, and jealousy began to ran rampant.
What found Giratina out was patient Lugia. He had been near the surface of the ocean and resting after the fight between Groudon and Kyogre, which had been a few hundred years ago, in which he had taken a great part. He noticed Giratina flying by suspiciously,and on a whim decide to follow. There he watched as Giratina blew apart a plentiful area, turning the area in Hoenn into a desert and disappeared into the distortion world.
Lugia angrily confronted Giratina in the distortion world and demanded answers. Giratina was the pleasing host before Lugia told him he saw the deed. With his act destroyed, Giratina began to fight with Lugia in a massively one side battle. With his knowledge of the distortion world, he sealed off everything. After beating Lugia, Chaos began to whisper in his ear once more. Giratina learned the process of turning a normal pokemon to a shadow pokemon.
Sensing the fighting in the distortion world. Ho-Ho entered. There he was greeted by a mockery of his former friend. Only by Giratina being weakened from the process was Ho-Ho able to escape, and he hastened to Arceus with the story of the betrayal.
With his plans revealed, Giratina threw everything aside and activated his plan. All around the realm demons hastened to his call, loyal to him for being there creator and not Arceus. To his side, he called Darkrai, promising the shadow the hand of Cresilla the moon goddess, for they were having a romance, and for some reason thought that it was forbidden. (It wasn't). The worse blow that Giratina used was by far the most dastardly. He opened up the gates of the Distortion world, and flooded the world with the villains who were now horribly disfigured and loyal to Giratina.
Arceus took charge then and tried to confront his son. With him he took his finest angels and Mew , and his other two sons. His intention was peace. What he got was war. Giratina refused to listen to Arceus and attempted to kill him. Literally infused with Chaos, Giratina took a new shape using an orb condensed into darkness. The unexpected power stopped Arceus and forced him to retreat, with great cost of lives and power.
The war dragged on. Giratina was mobile and never able to be captured or fought. The only ones he feared where Arceus and his two siblings, and he began to induce his brothers to fight with one another. Their fighting greatly impeded the effort of Arceus and his forces. In the end, Arceus was forced to seal them away for the rest of the war. Arceus in desperation took all his plates to fight Giratina, but he could never find battle was going sour for Arceus. Hope began to be lost.
Mew found herself in a world much similar to her own former world. She could not flee to her original, which was know embroiled in peace, for she was needed here. The strain caught upon her and finally Mew snappe. Arceus was too full of order and pride to resort to the methods needed to win. He began a fight with Giratina and all his force s by himself and was losing. His trust in his plates' powers was broken by the endless hordes.
Arceus was too full of order and wouldn't do what needed to be done, so Mew did. She was chaos incarnate in her own world afterall. Gathering about a few of the smaller but equally powerful gods, including Victini, Jirachi, and Celebi, Mew opened up the realm. She invoked time and brought in the greatest heroes of the past and the future to aid her. She went to other realms and found their most virtuous and strongest heroes. She went to the remaining angels and found their strongest and purest of heart. She found the demons who struggled to resist against Giratina's orders and freed them. In the end, Mew assembled a small squad the greatest the realm had to offer. Then she sent them to Arceus.
Arceus was losing the battle. Waves of enemies had him outnumbered. He was too stubborn to retreat, but not powerful enough to win. The end of the age seemed nigh. Then with the rising dawn, did the group of Mew's heroes arrive. WIth their formidable process, they cut a path to Arceus and saved him from exhaustion. They distracted the hordes and fallen gods, while Arceus confronted his wayward son.
Harsh words were reputed to be said between them, and they fought. Arceus was weak from fighting while Giratina was as fresh as ever. Arcue began to lose ground. His plates began to fall to the ground rendered useless. Then, one future snet angel appeared from the thick of the fighting. Giratina was too distracted to notice an ant, and was not prepared as that angel took one of the plates of Arceus. In his hands, the plate morphed into a blade the finest to be seen in the realm, and he was filled with power. He climbed up on the back of Giratina and stabbed him with the plate. It was the fairy plate and did massive super effective damage to Giratina, who threw him off hurting him greatly. Sensing his distraction, Arceus rose up and struck down Giritna. He began to cast his spell to banish him.
Giratina then stared at the broken angel, who laid beside him. His wings were broken and strength spent, but he was still alive. Giratina began to cast one last curse. Fueled with his power of chaos and vengeance, Giratina swore vengeance on that angel. The words he said were thus, " If I am to be chained now, then let my killer and all his like be chained thus!" The angel gasped as he felt his wings fade. Around him the angels felt their wings fade and many fell to the ground in pain.
Giratina laughed with insane joy, but he was silenced as Arcue completed his spell. Arceus was unable to kill his own son, and so sealed him away into the distortion world. The demons were sealed there as well for supporting Giratina, but Arceus allowed them to leave, for some did not willingly follow the dark god. Darkrai was banished to an island, and would be sealed until one of a holy heart released him willingly and knowingly. He wouldn't see Crseillia again unless it was a visit from her when Arceus wasn't looking. Shadow Lugia was problematic, and sealed away until a few years of shock therapy reverted him to his senses. It is said Lugia very rarely left the trench in the sea again after that.
Arceus looked upon his fallen friends and angels, and he saw their wings gone. Arceus tried with his power, but was not able to break the spell upon them. He could only remove it a little. Arceus made it so that the lost wings of an angel would return when that angel committed a deed that was worthy, and gave something to help, protect, or save, but they'd only last a time.
Arceus then sent all the future travellers to their time in the future and wiped their memories, and sent the travelers from other realms of their own worlds, of whom he didn't wipe their minds of the event, for he wouldn't interfere with their futures that were beyond his jurisdiction. Arceus then retreated to his throne on spear pillar, and sealed it off. He was never seen again if not for the whispers he sent to the worthy.
"And that is how the angels lost their wings." Crystal said finishing her story right as their mission objective began to draw near.
Extra-
"How did you like the story Lyra? It's been awhile since I've told that story so i'm not actually sure if I did it justice" Crystal asked her sister, who was clinging on to the other leg of Xatee the Xatu that Crystal used.
"I think you spend too much time on the backstory," The smile on Lyra's face didn't break, even when Crystal kicked her off in midair and she plummeted downward and on top of the unfortunate Green, riding his Charizard.
Crystal huffed. "That's how that story has been told for generations!" She shouted down.
"It's okay I guess," Lyra said. "But you could have started with Giratina's rebellion and made the point!"
"It would have made no sense if I started with Giritia!"
"It would for everyone who knows this story. It's not like we've all haven't heard this tale before!" Lyra called back, causing Green to groan and shove his hand to his ears.
"Enough! I've got enough of a headache already!" Green said to Lyra his eyes narrowing. "And don't you have your own flying type?"
"He's at home. This is a recon mission, not a mission to blow things up." Lyra shot back. Green scowled. With one hand he tapped Charizard's back and the mighty fire type quickly shot up in the air over Crystal and her Xatee. Aware of Lyra's protest's, he almost regretted shoving her off to be caught by Crystal. He hadn't even drunk his coffee yet and wasn't emotionless like he should be. His hands reached into the saddle of Charizard, of which he made for long flights, to find his coffee. His hand reached, but he found nothing…
Below him, Lyra was caught in midair by Xatee's psychic powers, the trick of having a small bird carrying two people. Crystal kept her back to Lyra in irritation. "Shouldn't you be taking this more seriously?"
Lyra laughed. "You should see yourself." Crystal turned around and to her horror saw Lyra wth Green's coffee drinking down the entire thing.
Panic immediately set in. "You know what caffeine does to you!" Crystal said lunging for the cup. "You know you get a comic book hero's mentality!" She tried to keep her voice down but shouted all the same.
Green cursed up above as he saw the sight. "That's it you and Ruby can walk to your mission, I'm going to go fly with Red!" Crystal said before going to fly with her squad leader.
A caffeinated Lyra was usually not attentive, but hopefully she wouldn't need to be. It was a reconnaissance mission after all. What could go wrong?
Chapter 1- A Covert operation
Time- A half hour ago, or so is suspected. It's hard to tell time here-
The sound of flapping was reassuring to Red's ears. They blotted out most noise and most thoughts as well. Perhaps if he closed his eyes, then maybe, just maybe, he'd be somewhere, anywhere other than here.
But no, for when he opened his eyes, all he saw was the dark night before him, lit up by the bright florescent lights of the game corners that littered the streets of Goldenrod. Kricketune chirped in the dark, with their sound pervading through the silent night. A Hoothoot flew by, while it was carried by silent wings, before it let out a shriek cry and dived down for prey. A few people were walking about with eyes cast to the ground. Even if they looked up, all they would see was the tall buildings that littered Johto's biggest town. Red recalled vaguely that they weren't the biggest in the world, for the monolith skyscrapers in Unova earned that title, Red heard that they were bigger than most mountains, but not that it made him feel better. Besides, it didn't matter, for no one would be able to see him through the shadows.
Red shifted uncomfortably and looked up from his suspended position to the pokemon that carried him. Aero was a good friend, a purple dinosaur with sharp claws, wings, and jagged teeth. His move-set allowed him a variety of types, and it always brought Red a smile when an opponent would bring out a water type only to be knocked out from thunder fang.
As wonderful as these things were, it still didn't make riding in his claws comfortable. Aero wasn't big enough to ride bareback, and he needed time to grow. From what Red could remember, dinosaurs took a long time to grow. Which left Red hanging from claws across the night sky.
Red was glad when the building he wanted finally loomed into sight. Growlithe Enterprises may not have been the fastest mail delivery service, but since the headquarters was in Goldenrod, it mean that it was one of the biggest buildings in the city.
Nearing the roof, Red's confidence dropped the slightest bit. The building was massive. It was like an entire city by itself. The thoughts of his friends and the mission turned his courage to steel though. Without a moment's hesitation, Red dropped down from Aero. He landed on his feet without stumbling an inch.
Readying himself, Red put his foot forward, and found his path blocked by an arm. Without pausing to think why, he grabbed it, while using the weight behind it to throw the person in front of him.
"Oww!" Red's eyes widened in horror as he saw who he had thrown. Crystal found herself on the ground with her back was strewn against the rocks and her arm bruised from where it had been grabbed. "What was that for?"
He knew that his case was a shaky one. "I didn't know it was you! I was surprised and reacted!" Red pleaded anyway. Crystal looked at him indignantly. They had gone over the fact that Crystal would have been traveling with him in favor of his normal partner, Green. It just had been him being overexcited that had caused him to make an error like that.
"Well now you can be busy with dealing with all the armed guards that come storming up here after all the trouble we made making a silent exit!" Crystal said, with mouth bared angrily as she picked herself up. "Throwing me, really!"
What did you say to ease a person so intense and passionate? Red didn't know, and he was not going to find out anytime soon. He wondered why he was stuck with Crystal. Not that there was anything wrong with her, but she was always so focused that it scared him. It was too much like Green, except Green was usually silent nowadays.
Red put any lingering questions and thoughts aside, and he was ready to go through the door leading down under the building. Before he could take a step though, Crystal was already near the ventilation pipes, with lips curved angrily. Red braced himself to be scolded.
Crystal grabbed her bag and began to rummage inside it. "Did you pay any attention Red! You know that we have to go through this ventilation system to get in!" Crystal said. She apparently found what she needed, because she waved to her bird Pokemon to come closer.
For the first time, Red noticed the Xatu that Crystal had ridden on the way. Xatee, the plumage covered, green-headed psychic, flew a short distance to Crystal's arm and latched her talons into Crystal's arm.
Crystal flinched as razor sharp talons pierced her, but she continued her lecture to Red. "Are you going to forget that Ruby is going to cause a distraction downstairs so that Green and Lyra can get in? Are you going to forget that the door will trigger an alarm when opened? Use foresight Xatee, let's see if that is a wire down there." The last part was to Xatee, whose eyes flashed gold shimmering with power while gazed into the ventilation shaft.
"Nothing out of the ordinary here. Just a ventilation shaft my old friend." Red flinched. A voice appeared into his mind, a wise feminine one that spooked him. It was uncomfortable to listen to physics in one's mind, especially if you are not the main adresse.
Crystal smiled, through her heart wasn't into it. "Thanks Xatee," Crystal said and returned the pokemon. "Well that should be all the traps taken care of, but I'm not sure." The strain in her voice was evident, while not a rookie as Ruby was, Crystal and her sister were no experienced veterans either. Red resolved to take the squad out for ice cream when this was all over, just for kicks. They'd need it if the intel was right. He could feel his weapon in his pack, and that made him uneasy. He might need to use it. It being a sword that fit into his pack. A sword that caused lots and lots of civilian damage. But that wouldn't happen. He knew they'd be fine...
Regardless, Red was ready to climb inside. "What are we waiting for?" Why there was a ventilation shaft in the first place, Red didn't know. At least it didn't lead to the main reactor where a torpedo could destroy the building in one shot. That would be too ridiculous for such a serious place.
Crystal stopped him once again. A smile was appearing on her stern face and she looked like she was stifling a giggle. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Crystal asked. Red's mind scrambled thinking of what he had forgotten. Was it something to do with his light armor? He'd taken his light set so it would be concealed, but he might have not been supposed too. He couldn't remember. They might have been supposed to go in without any of their special skills or equipment for security reasons. One of the reasons being an operative was so difficult.
A snort from above told him what his mistake had been. Aero's wings beat down before landing heavily on the ground. Aero stared straight at Red's face and said, "So, are we ready to go kick some ugly kidnappers butt? I really want to see what happens if I use a Hyperbeam on some weaponry. Would it explode? They fire using gas I think, so it should blow up. Could we go for pizza afterwards?"
Of course, Red didn't understand what he said, but he knew Aero well. The fact that the dinosaur was grinning toothily, the slightest spark of light crackling in his throat like he was about to blast something, gave Red a solid idea what he was thinking. Smiling sheepishly he returned him to his poke ball.
"Well since you're the best battler, I guess you should go first." Crystal sounded unsure, almost nervous. Given the dire strait of the mission, and the cost if they failed, Red wasn't too surprised. He was actually hoping that his information was wrong, and some miscalculation had been made.
Right as he crawled through the opening, and only a heartbeat away from the drop down, he heard Crystal whisper to herself, as was her habit. "At least I think I got all the traps." Great. Just the kind of encouragement he needed. Screwing up his courage, and putting a damper on his eagerly beating heart, Red plunged in.
There was a downwards drop, for a good ten feet. If he hadn't been expecting it, Red could have hurt himself. It would be too difficult to go through the mission with a broken arm.
He peered down the dark empty passage. He couldn't make head or tails out of it. Too dark. With a growing suspicion that this was going to be a bad time, he realized that the corridor shrunk after the first thirty feet. It was going to be cramped. Red might not fit.
Behind him he heard Crystal land, followed with her quick whisper, "I'm ready to go." Not much was said as the two made their way across, for each dealing with their own thoughts.
Red was worried, for he had a bad feeling about this place. He usually was never wrong. Crystal was probably worried about her sister. If asked to put herself in danger to help someone else, she wouldn't even hesitate to agree. Put her sister in danger though? She'd worry herself to death. Judging from Lyra's near ADHD tendencies and complete lack of self preservation, he wasn't too surprised. He actually sympathized with her.
It began to get dark further down, and Red could hardly see an inch in front of his face. He dropped his hands to his belt and grabbed his nearest pokeball, opening it. The dark passage was momentarily lit up in a flash of light before fading to darkness. In front of Red was a yellow mouse with tiger shaped patterns on the back and two red spots in the front. It didn't look at all dangerous, but first looks weren't truth. Behind the cute cheeks was the tightly coiled heart of a warrior, and his very body radiated a strong current of electricity. It's tiny body also held the most unforgiving and harshest pokemon to walk in the immediate area.
"Pika," Pika said, or at least that was what Red understood. What Pika actually said was more along the lines of, "Why are we in a dark space, and why did you have to wake me up from my nap?"
Red tapped Pika's shoulder once whispering, "Do me a solid and use flash buddy alright?" Pika stared at Red for a moment before making a little shrug, and a bright light burst from his tail. It flashed out brilliantly, then leveled off to an average glow. "Since you've got the light, I guess you can lead the way." Pika snorted at Red before scampering forward and lighting the path.
The rest of the way was in silence, other than the squeaking of one of the pair's shoes as they dragged it across the floor, or the muffled breathing of the three as they crawled forward. Red turned his mind to what lay ahead. The tower was owned by a mobster by the name of Otis and Red got a bad vibe off him. If the plan worked, then they wouldn't have to cross paths with him at all. They just needed to get in and get out.
From what Red could remember, which wasn't much, as he was recovering from a bout of a nasty flu, the blueprints stated that there would be an opening just in sight in only 20 yards-
"More like thirty yards."
Red recoiled. Was he really that obvious? Or was Crystal just that good? You'd have to be good trying to guess what was going through the mind of everyone when they got into their habits. Especially Lyra, who was difficult to manage even when she wasn't caffeinated. Either way, it was creepy. But Red trusted Crystal completely. She was the arguably the brightest one out of them, with the sole exception of Green.
Not much time passed between the short conversation and the time it took for the metal grate to appear. It was a large one, but they were in a narrow ventilation system, so that wasn't much. If Red tried, he'd just be able to slip in, and they'd be only a few rooms away from their ultimate destination.
Red quickly crossed over to the other end of the grate, and Crystal grabbed one of the metal cutters she kept in her bag. She tossed one to Red, and they quickly dismantled the grate. With the bars cut, Red would just be able to squeeze in, and no one had heard the noise of cutting metal. They looked at each other, and a grin formed on Red's face. They were in. Crystal swung her legs over the hole and dropped down.
Red waited. A whistle meant it was clear. Yelling at the top of her lungs meant she was in trouble.
He waited, but the only sound was her dropping to the ground. That was immediately followed by a hoarse shout which was quickly cut off. "Huuuuuuuurk!"
Red quickly peered down at the ground. Crystal was on the ground in a big office room waving to Red. A big bald man was passed out beside her, with foam on his lips and a foot shaped impression against his skull. Red dropped down.
Now that he was on ground level, he could see the scene better. Crystal looked fine, besides the fact that a hulking six foot man was lying next to her passed out. Red took a quick breath. There was a slight tang in the air that felt familiar in Red's mind. Curious. The air was tinged with the slightest tinge of... was it strawberries?
"Erika let you borrow one of her plants to make chloroform formula didn't she?"
Try as she might, Crystal couldn't help but grin. "It was her newest batch. You know how she likes strawberries. I had Green help whip up some. A quick jab against his windpipe made him gasp and force in the formula. Kicking him in the head was to make him lose consciousness faster." She gestured to the man next to her, with his chest rising and falling but no movement visible from the man.
"Nice!" For a moment, Red forgot where he was. He felt the adrenalin rise in him with the enthusiasm evident. Red was supposed to be serious in a mission with danger, but he could never manage it. He always harbored that little thought that made him excited at the thought of danger and battle. He usually kept a leash on it. The fact that they had made it this far, however, loosened him up a bit. "Come on, let's see if we're the first ones there."
Red looked outside the door, but no one was in sight. Part of him marveled at their luck. It seemed to be going well. Yet why did he still have the bad feeling at the back of his mind?
The three, two humans and a Pikachu, made their way across the hall before reaching a wide rowan door labeled with a brass 101 sign near the top. Red would have been excited, because this was the room they needed, if not for the fact that something seemed off. The door was hanging loosely, with one of the hinges violently bashed in, and long scratches gorged into the wall. The floor was damaged with long cuts from some kind of sharp object, and a head sized impression was burned into the wall.
A crisp wind was blowing from inside, and Red felt his back chill. Something had gone down here. As always in danger, he had the spike he had in adrenaline and danger that naught but a fight could give him. A good fight.
Without waiting for Red to catch up, Pika jumped off his shoulder wide awake and ready for some action, "Come on! Let's see what's in here!" Pika took a flying leap off Red's shoulder before darting into the spacious room.
Now Red couldn't understand what Pika had said, but he had made his intentions pretty clear. "Come on. Let's hope we don't lose him," he said entering the room. Inside he felt excited. Something had totaled the place.
He burst into the room. It was massive in length and height, a good fifty feet either direction. What he saw told him he needn't have worried nor grown excited, for standing amidst the loose men writhing on the floor and the bruised mobsters in mid of semi conscious knockout, while reading his book in the middle of the room and leaning against his chair with no care in the world was Green. And without a single auburn hair out of place or bruise on his body.
Green looked up from the book he had been reading. "Hey Red! I was wondering when you'd get here!" He said, before returning his gaze to his blue hardcover book.
Red took the time he had to sit in the chair and bury the ambition to smash his head against a wall. He contemplated the rival who had once again beaten him to their destination. Green's auburn hair was clearly visible from the disappointed position Red was in. Green had been wearing his normal outfit despite multiple reasons not to. He might have been too tired or focused on something else to bother changing out of his purple shirt or black pants. His pendulum that hung from his neck, a gift from his grandfather, was obscured by the blue hardcover book he was currently reading with his focused intensive eyes. The picture of the book was also obscured by the shadows of the room. Which figured. Red wanted to know what kind of book would make Green want to read it while surrounded by the unconscious bodies of multiple men.
Green stayed silently absorbed in his book, with an air of complete lack of care of whatever went on around him. It was one of the things that irked Red, but at least it was better than the cocky braggart he used to be. Red shivered at the thought. He'd been rather unlikable back then, before he changed into a quieter, more focused self. He was still annoying though.
"Sorry to interrupt your little fight here, but Green have you seen Lyra?" Crystal asked the faintest hint of worry poured in to the words.
Green looked as if he was stifling a yawn. "They'll be here in ten seconds." A thought was bugging Red. Green wasn't really someone to act like this. What with the danger involved, what was going on? Green was acting strangely, and Red could not help but wonder about it. It might have to do something about the reason why he decided to bunk with Red in his house a few weeks ago…
_Flashback_
Red answered the door to his small home. "What's going on Green?" He asked as he saw Green holding a box, of all things, filled with his numerous possessions.
"I'm bunking with you now." Green said, and pushed his way into the house.
(Okay. Maybe Red was exaggerating a little, but it was funny! Sorta.)
Any further musings were stopped as a loud voice echoed down the empty halls and into the rooms.
"Come on Ruby! We're going to be the last ones there!" Red flinched. It was a stealth mission of utmost importance, with a danger level incredibly high, so of course Lyra would be running down the halls talking loudly in the cheerful way of hers, as if she had no concerns in the world. Red sometimes wondered what that felt like.
The sound of two people with one person running and one was probably being dragged based on their personalities stopped near the door. Without a moment's hesitation towards the damage caused to the door and surrounding hall, Lyra plunged into the room, an arm dragging Ruby's shoulder with her. "Yes, we're here!"
Red took a good look at her. Her face looked flushed from the running, and she was gasping for lack of breath which meant she'd been running for a while. She didn't get tired easily. None of the squad did. It wasn't in their genetic structure, unlike a normal person. Her ridiculous puffy white hat slipped down her eyes obscuring them. She really needed to get it fixed. She was wearing overalls which reminded one of a Mario.
Red could recall asking her to wear something suited for sneaking into rooms and rough wear. Instead she had worn her normal outfit. What was worse was that this was the probably the best outfit choice she could have made. Red could still remembered when they stormed a drug lord's base, and she'd been wearing her Halloween costume. (Admittedly, it was a good one, Lyra was a decent cosplayer).
Lyra finally noticed their presence in the room. "What! We're the last ones here? Oh come on! I told you to stop checking your reflection in mirror!" The brunette complained to Ruby who was shoving Lyra's arm out of the way and fixing the wrinkles on his shirt.
Red took a closer look at Ruby who was trying to get his outfit so that it looked like he'd just ironed it, despite the fact that he lacked both an iron and the time needed to do that. His outfit's color scheme was black with red background and was the kind of material used for swimming rather than the drier atmosphere of the Johto/Kanto area. Since he was from Hoen, the region covered in H2o, Red wasn't too surprised. He didn't exactly know why it mattered to keep his outfit so clean and carefully selected based on color and designs, but Ruby took it to an art. Of course, his reaction when someone ruined his outfit was annoying. But at least he didn't get angry, like the time someone tried to take off the hat he always wore, a white hat that looked like his hair. It hadn't ended well when they did that...
Ruby was apparently satisfied with his current state and looked towards Lyra. "You know as well as I do that I had to fix my outfit! You knocked it aside when you took out that security guard on the third floor!"
Something stuck Red's memory, but before he could say anything, Lyra giggled at Ruby.
"Lighten up Ruby! If I didn't take out that security guard, then he would have run the bell and all those people meeting in that big secret hidden room no one is supposed to know about would have came rushing out!" Lyra might have sounded reasonable, that is, if Lyra didn't stick her tongue out at Ruby who noticed and grimaced.
Red would have stepped in between the two, but Crystal was already there. A virtue of being Lyra's twin he supposed, was sensing when a fight would occur based on her ridiculous caffeinated phrases. "Stop it the two of you!" Crystal shouted, and pulled the both of their ears apart with a stern look on her face, a sharp look of ice in her dark brown eyes. "Now what are you talking about? I went over the blueprints in the building and the schedule of the guards. Your path shouldn't have crossed anybody!" Crystal did not like it when unknown elements were introduced to her plans.
Lyra removed the hand grabbing her ear."Hmm, you didn't notice." Lyra said thoughtfully. "They were a group of gangsters planning how to best steal the magic diamond necklace they received information about. After we completed our mission we need to go find them and stop their evil Italian plans!"
Crystal looked in confusion to the two older members in the room. Unfortunately, Red was as clueless as possible, and judging from Green's too late reaction to keep his face blank, he wasn't the only one. Lyra was normally very energetic and cheerful, but Arceus save them if Lyra didn't spout nonsense when she was heavily caffeinated. There's a reason why the only coffee in Crystal's and her's house is buried under piles of paperwork, which is something she'd normally never touch.
Ruby noted our looks of confusion, "I have no idea what she's talking about. She's been like this ever since she so rudely knocked me over to take out the security guard. There is too much going on here, and I for one don't like it. To mysterious, with too many guards out of place, and there's too many chances to get dirty for my liking!"
Ruby was weird like that. He cared too much about his appearance, but he could cut through the heart of a matter. That little speech shut the rest of our moaning up. This discussion was taken up time from completing the reconnaissance for the mission. They had to know what they were dealing with. Red was ready to continue, but found himself strained to remember the next direction.
It was Green that saved him from an embarrassing discussion with Crystal. "The door is down that hall and to the right. Didn't you pay attention to the blueprints?" Well it saved him from facing Crystal at least. He only had to get a scolding from Green who was just as bad.
Red assumed that he'd as busy contemplating other things, but he didn't know where to go. Try as he might, he couldn't recall what his plan was. Pika was up ahead in the corridor though, and he was not looking happy. Red decided to go after him instead.
Pika stared at Red for a second, before he jumped up and slapped Red's face with his tail. "How in the name of Arceus did you miss an entire hallway? What kind of an idiot are you! Now come on we have a duty to perform!" As he had feared, laughter filled the room as Red rubbed his raw cheek. Red turned around to see his fellow partners all laughing hysterically at him, even Green looked as if he was trying to stifle a chuckle, although it may have been a trick of the light. Red wasn't too sure about Green lately. Still, it was sad if you had Green even near a chuckle.
Finally the last of the laughter died down, and the room grew silent as Crystal walked towards the hallway, with a fierce glint of determination in her eyes. They knew the next part, for she was their strategist for a reason. "Red, you and Pika should take point. Green should be the rear guard and cover for us. The rest of us should be fine if we stay alert." She put forth, which was instantly voted as a good plan.
Red looked at Pika, whose irritation had faded. "Come on!" he said. The group fell into a single line with Red in the front. Green stayed back a few paces keeping a wary eye out. The rest of the group followed in between. The hall was narrow and was nearly claustrophobic. Before long, they were beginning to get tired, and there was no end in sight. "Where's the door? Lyra asked.
"It's to the left," Green said, not bothering to even cast an eye. "It's hidden in the frameworks, but if you look closely there is a slight distortion in the wall frame." Green walked towards the wall drawing his hand against the side. He paused halfway through the hall. He fiddled with something for a few microseconds before a sharp crack was heard. Red flinched as the wall extended forward and out, which revealed a darkened passage heading downwards. "Why do they always think that hidden doorways are any effective?" Green mused before yawning and heading backwards in the line.
Red stared in amazement at his friend, but Pika was tired of the delay. Pika jumped in front of Red. "You ready to go now, or do I have to shock you again?"
Red ignored whatever Pia had said and replied, "Come on. Use flash so we can get going!" Pika screwed up his eyes and focused his power. From the tip of his tail, a bright light flashed out, Red shielded his eyes. It flared for a few seconds, before it leveled off to a somewhat moderate setting akin to a torch or flashlight.
"Come on!" Pika said, and headed off into the darkness. Red's blood began to pound. He could sense excitement coming soon. He pushed onward with the others following behind.
What he didn't know was what he'd find down there, nor what repercussions it would have. What he did know however, was one simple fact. He had a bad feeling about that place. What scared him though, was how he relished the challenge it showed. For somebody like him, and what he was inside, that was a bad thing to have...
Wondering why we were stupid enough to get into a situation like this? Are you wondering why there weren't any adults helping us in the slightest bit, dear diary? Do you wonder why there are gangsters in Johto in the first place and how they are operating out of a perfectly good building in the middle of a city without any opposition? Do you wonder why the police force is so terrible in this region?
Well, I guess I can't answer last two, heaven knows why, but perhaps exploring ahead will clear up a few answers. You must certainly be confused, I know I am.
Excerpt from the journals of Red, last name unknown, battle specialist. Vol. 6.