Me: *eating a piece of cake* It's time to celebrate!
Max: *also eating a piece of cake* Oh yeah! Didn't you first become a Fanfic member a year ago yesterday?
Gardevoir: *glaring at a piece of cake* Yeah. That's when it ALL began...
Me: *sadface* Why do you make that sound like it's a bad thing?
Gardevoir: *raises an eyebrow* That's my job.
Me: *pouts and eats a bite of cake*
Max: Come on! This is a time to be happy! *grabs giant present* I even got you something!
Me: *perks up* What is it?! *tears off paper*
Carlos: *pops out* I. AM. IRONMAN!
Me: *shrieks and passes out*
Gardevoir: *knuckle bumps Carlos* Best present ever!
Carlos: *nods* Always.
Max: *sweatdrop* Disclaimer: Eon doesn't own Pokemon. Maybe if she did, she'd be happy enough to wake up...
Chapter Two: Crystal
Blue hung her head. "Yeah, Melany took her last night."
Gold shook his head. "Melany?"
The brunette nodded. "She's a member of Team Rocket like Amber was."
My eyes widened. "Team Rocket?"
Emerald narrowed his. "Was?"
Blue sighed and held her hands up. "Alright let me explain. The strange people that have been coming after Yellow are part of a new Team Rocket. Amber was a member along with his coworker Melany until she left him with us last night while kidnapping Yellow. After talking to him a bit, we found out that he's no longer working for Team Rocket."
"Or so he says," Green suddenly said, appearing beside her on the video screen.
I covered my mouth in surprise when I saw that his left arm was in a sling. "Arceus, what happened, Green?"
He rolled his eyes. "I got hurt."
I sweat-dropped. "But what were you doing?"
Blue smirked and winked at him. "Saving me."
The brunette boy blushed with a grimace, and Gold smirked at him. "Yo, Green. You're blushing."
His senior growled. "Shut up, Gold."
The Hatcher snickered, and Blue turned to Green with a raised eyebrow. "Is the scanning done already?"
He shook his head. "It's going to take much longer than we expected. The range of the tracker isn't large enough to encompass the entire region so Silver's trying to manipulate the disc's features to do so."
Blue sighed softly, and Emerald tilted his head. "Disc?"
Green nodded. "The admins of Team Rocket now carry a white-threaded necklace with a dark pendant sporting a red TR. Each pendant is equipped with a tracking disc that allows its holder to know where his or her grunts are along with other admins and grunts."
"Amber had one and told us about that feature," Blue explained further. "He suggested that we check the tracker to see if we could find Yellow."
"So he's working with you guys to find her?" Gold asked dubiously.
Blue frowned unsurely. "Sort of. The guys refuse to let Amber out of the room we have him in so all he's been able to do is open his pendent to get us the disc and explain how to utilize it." She glared at Green. "He told us the story behind why he was even mixed up with Team Rocket, but the guys refuse to believe him."
Green glared back. "It's impossible to believe his story after everything he's done."
"Yellow did," Blue said quietly.
The conversation died instantly at that.
"So…" I mumbled, trying to change the subject. "Where're Black and White?"
"At the Seafoam Islands where Melany took Yellow last night," Green said flatly. "They're trying to see if they can get any leads on where she went."
The mention of Yellow didn't help the silence at all.
"Anyways…" Blue said uneasily. "I've been trying to contact you guys for the past few hours. Can you do something for me?"
I nodded. "What is it?"
"I'd like for you guys to meet Silver in Olivine City," she asked with a plea in her eyes. "As far as we know, Melany fled to Johto, or at least that's the direction Amber saw her go. We've been to practically every city in Kanto so far, so we've all decided that Johto is our best bet to look."
Gold's eyes lit up. "Silvy's coming?!"
Blue sweat-dropped. "Yes, Gold. Green and I are going to continue to expand the scanner so we can confirm if they are, for sure, in Johto. Black and White will most likely help us and Red to watch out for Professor Oak. He's coming back from Unova any day now, and we'll be able to get further with the disc once he arrives."
"So what are we supposed to do once Silver gets here?" Emerald asked in confusion.
Green left a moment and came back with a calendar in his hand. "Today's Tuesday, and the ferry in Vermillion doesn't depart until tomorrow which gives you enough time to make it to Olivine City. I'd say it'll take you guys a day to two to fly there since it's on the other side of the region. But once you meet up with Silver, just hold on for a while until we can figure out the scanner. Then we'll start making plans on what to do next. With any luck, Melany will be in Johto, and then we'll be able to do something about it."
Blue nodded and looked to me. "Could you do this for us please, Crystal?"
My eyes widened. "Of course! What's most important right now is that we get Yellow back."
Blue sighed gratefully. "Thank you so much."
I waved at her. "We'll be off here soon. Just hang in there."
Blue smiled sadly. "We'll try. Once we've got more information, we'll send it to you guys."
I nodded once, and she cut off the call. Turning to Emerald and Gold, I frowned slightly. "Okay, so here's the plan. We leave tomorrow and head for Olivine to meet Silver. From there, we await further instructions from the seniors."
Gold nodded, his face solemn for once. Emerald bit his lip and looked out the window at the gathering storm clouds. "I hope Yellow's okay."
I glanced in the same direction and sighed. "Me too."
Gold
Those clouds from before were only a forewarning to the raging storm that hit that night. Sometime in the ungodly hours of the morning, there was a crash of thunder that made me bolt right up. Emerald stirred slightly on the bed in Crystal's guest room, and I glowered at the rain from my spot on the window seat. It was just big enough to be comfortable so that's where I ended up sleeping. A flash of lightning went off again, and I groaned, shoving a pillow into my face.
"Stupid storm," I muttered through the fluffiness. "Shut up!"
The responding boom from outside seemed to mock me, and I glared at the window. Sighing, I threw down the pillow and quietly got up so I wouldn't disturb Emerald. Trudging down the stairs, I slowly shuffled to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
"People say milk puts you to sleep…" I mumbled to myself. Seeing the jug, I grabbed it and poured myself a glass. I downed it in an instant, slowly putting the cup down and waiting for the effect to kick in. It wasn't until five minutes later when nothing had happened that I sighed and face-palmed. "Warm milk."
I poured some more into my cup and put the jug away. Staring at the milk, I raised an eyebrow with narrowed eyes. "Now. How do I make you warm?"
I eyed the stove but instantly denied it when I remembered the time I almost burnt my finger trying to use one of those things. Shaking my head, I saw the microwave above it and trotted over. I pulled on the handle and clumsily placed the glass inside before hitting the 30 second button. When the bell went off, I took it back out and shut the little door.
"Okay," I said to the glass as I gradually walked to the living room. "Let's see if you really work." I raised the cup to my mouth and did a spit take almost as soon as I took a drink. "Arceus, how does that put anyone to sleep?!"
I put down the glass and started running my hands over my tongue to get rid of the taste. Another flash of lightning went off, and I gradually stopped as I looked out the window and saw a figure sitting on the porch. Tilting my head, I headed for the front door and silently opened it to find that the figure was actually Crystal, the girl sitting cross-legged and watching the storm with wide eyes.
Shutting the door behind me, I snuck up behind her and leaned over her shoulders with my hands behind my back. "Couldn't sleep either?"
She gasped lightly and whipped around to glare at me. "Gold! Can't you go a whole day without scaring me?!"
I smirked and sat down beside her. "You're the one who's so easily scared."
She narrowed her eyes but went back to staring at the dancing clouds in the sky. I noticed her unusually tense stature and tilted my head. "You alright?"
She crossed her arms over her knees and set her head on them. "I'm just worried about Yellow-san. I mean, of all people, why would Team Rocket want to kidnap her? I just can't figure it out. It's not like she's done anything that calls for revenge or something along those lines."
The rain started coming down a little harder, and I leaned back on my arms. "Hm, well maybe it's not something that she's done. Maybe she has something that they want."
Crystal tilted her head. "Like what?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. That's something to ask them."
She rolled her eyes, and I looked over at her as she sighed softly. "I just hope we can find her."
I blinked as her eyes closed and smirked to myself as she started breathing softly. Going in the house a moment, I came back out with a couple blankets and threw one over her shoulders. "Super Serious Gal, you have got to stop worrying yourself to sleep."
She didn't answer me, though; she'd already passed out. Wrapping the other blanket around myself, I settled down beside her and leaned my back against the wall of the house. The thunder and lightning were starting to settle down a bit, the patter of the rain on the ground beginning to echo through the air. My eyes closed on their own, and before I knew it, I'd finally found my way back to sleep.
"I have received intelligence that there are three of the Dex Holders residing in Johto at this moment," the dark man said nonchalantly, "and that a fourth will be joining them soon."
"S0 what do we do?" Asked one of the two people behind him. "Eliminate them?"
The dark man laughed. "You say that as if it were easy, Drake."
The redhead shrugged. "They're just a bunch of kids."
"Oh, they're more than just kids," the girl beside him said quietly.
The dark man stood up from his chair and faced her. "You're quite right, Melany." He silently strode over to her and held his chin in a hand. "And you have spent the most time dealing with them. What do you suggest we do?"
She blinked slowly and looked down. "Nothing."
His eyes widened. "Nothing?"
She nodded. "They have practically no leads on our location so why do anything?"
Drake's eyes narrowed. "So what happens when they start snooping around for us?"
Melany turned to him with similar eyes. "Well, if we try to stop them, then that just proves to them that we are, in fact, in this area. What better way to alert them then to reveal ourselves?"
The dark man nodded slowly. "Makes sense."
Drake cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "Fine then. What if we hinder their means of searching without revealing ourselves?"
Melany scoffed. "And how are we supposed to do that?"
Drake smirked, grabbing the sunglasses that were hanging from his shirt and sliding them on his face. "By being sneaky of course."
Crystal
I had no idea what time it was when I finally forced my eyes open. The sky was covered in a gray blanket of clouds left over from the storm last night, and a chill blew gently through the air. I subconsciously pulled my blanket tighter before stopping in surprise.
"When did I get a blanket?" I muttered.
I felt something shift beneath my head and turned with wide eyes to see that I was using Gold's arm as a pillow. He was still asleep, his head leaning against the house lazily, and I jerked away quickly. Gold stirred slightly, and I managed to force down the blush on my face as he came to.
"Morning, Crys," he said with a yawn. "What time is it?"
I shrugged, hiding my face. "I don't know. Let's go check inside."
He watched me curiously as I stood up and hugged the blanket around my head. Getting up himself, he followed me inside where Emerald was already eating cereal at the table.
"Well, finally!" He exclaimed. "It's almost ten! I was wondering when you were going to wake up!" His eyes narrowed at Gold. "Why were you guys sleeping on the porch?"
The raven-haired boy sighed and knocked Emerald lightly upon the head. "Oh calm down, Shorty. We were watching the storm and fell asleep."
"Hm," Emerald hummed lowly before nodding.
Gold stalked over to the cupboard, pulling out two bowls while I grabbed the cereal. We joined Emerald at the table and hastily ate before running upstairs to change. The quicker we left for Olivine, the more time we'd have to get there. A half hour later, Emerald and I were waiting at the front door as Gold shuffled around upstairs.
I huffed and readjusted my packed shoulder bag. "Gold! We don't have all day!"
"I know! I know!" He yelled from the upper floor. A minute later, he was rushing down the stairs and out the door ahead of us. "I'm ready!"
Emerald and I sighed before following him outside. I noted that the clouds had grown darker and nervously released Xatee. "I hope it doesn't storm again…"
Emerald tilted his head at me. "Did you say something, Crystal-chan?"
I shook my head quickly and smiled. "Oh it was nothing!"
He smiled back and climbed on Xatee's back. "Okay, let's go then!"
My Pokemon flapped its wings and grabbed onto my shoulders before gaining more altitude. Gold was already flying off on his Togekiss, and Xatee quickly flew after them.
We immediately set out for the west, deciding to head for Goldenrod City where we'd most likely stay for the night. Tomorrow we'd straighten out to the north and fly straight to Olivine where Silver would hopefully be arriving on the S.S. Anne.
I stiffened as there was a slight rumble from the clouds above. Looking over to Gold who was flying beside us, I cupped my hands over my mouth. "Maybe we should wait until tomorrow!"
He turned his goggled eyes to me and smirked. "It's just a little thunder, Super Serious Gal. There can't be that much of a storm left after it raged so much last night."
I bit my lip and looked at the clouds again. "B-But—"
"Don't worry about it!" He said cheerfully. "Just think about seeing Silver! It's been at least a good month since the reunion!"
I nodded slowly, still watching the churning sky. A few hours slipped by, and we found ourselves halfway to Goldenrod City, passing over the enigmatic Ruins of Alph. The sky had only gotten darker, and the sounds of thunder had grown with each mile we flew on. We were just making our way past the north end of the ruins when the first flash of lightning struck a couple hundred feet in front of us.
Emerald let out a cry, and I turned to Gold again. "We needto land!"
He nodded, and Togetaro suddenly veered to the right to avoid another strike of lightning. The wind began to pick up, and I blinked in surprise as a few raindrops hit me in the face. Within seconds, a downpour had started, and the world was blurred by a sheet of gray.
I craned my neck up to look past Xatee. "Emerald! You okay up there?"
My eyes could just barely make him out as he nodded. "I'm good!"
I sighed in relief and searched the sky for our final trio member. "Gold!"
At that moment, a lightning bolt flashed not even twenty feet before us. The pulsing energy disoriented Xatee, and my eyes widened as I felt her claws release my shoulders. My voice was lost in my throat as I plummeted through the air towards the rain-sodden ground. I managed to get out a scream just as I crashed into something soft. Lifting my head, I saw Gold holding me onto the back of Togetaro.
"Help me out, Crys!" He told me, struggling to get the rest of my form onto his Pokemon.
Scrambling the rest of the way on, I clutched his arm as I settled in behind him. He noticed my terror-stricken form and squeezed my hand in reassurance. "It's okay, Crys. We're going to be fine."
I didn't even have time to nod before another round of lightning caused Togetaro to swerve again, this time making him lose his balance and fly head on towards the ground. I clutched Gold's arm tighter, and he wrapped himself around my head as we crash landed. We were jarred around left and right, tumbling upside down a few times, before finally coming to a stop in a small field of tall grass. Natus and Smeargles were running for shelter all around us, and Gold slowly released me as the wind whipped the rain in our faces.
"Come on!" He yelled over the gales in our ears. Returning his Togekiss, he pointed off into the distance. "I think I see a cave over there!"
I followed his finger but couldn't find anything in the gloom of the storm. Regardless, I felt Gold grab my hand and drag me in that direction. We staggered through the wind, Gold holding his arm above his face to fight against it. After what felt like an eternity of resistance, we finally stumbled into the opening of the cave and almost collapsed onto the ground.
"I-I think we're okay now," Gold panted as he got his breath back. "We'll just wait the storm out."
I froze when I realized it was just the two of us and raced for the entrance. "Emerald!"
Gold pulled me back just before I stepped into the rain. "Crys, don't! You could get hurt!" He made me sit down farther in the cave and released Explotaro. "Look, you stay here and warm up. I'll go look for him."
"Gold!" I protested, but he had already run out into the storm. I groaned in frustration and threw my bag down beside Explotaro. The Fire type watched in confusion as I raced after him.
I was already sopping wet so the rain didn't help any as I fought to find Gold and, possibly, Emerald. I called out their names, but the only thing that answered was the whine of the wind. The cold starting to get to me, I turned around to go back only to realize that I had no idea where I was. The rain created a landscape of featureless gray, and I couldn't tell from which direction I'd come. I whipped around in confusion, tripping on a rock and falling to the ground. The chill of the storm was beginning to seep into my bones, and I struggled in fear to stand up. However, my muscles wouldn't obey, and I could only lie there, soaking up more rain than I wished.
My fingers curled as the rain pressed on harder. My body was way too cold to move, and I fought to keep my eyes open.
Come on, Crystal, I told myself. You can NOT go to sleep now!
"Crys!"
I thought I heard a voice and strained to lift my head. "…Gold?"
A face suddenly materialized from the rain, and I blinked slowly as I found that it was him, his eyes wide as he took in my state.
"What are you…didn't I tell you to wait at the cave?!" He yelled fearfully. Gently grabbing my hand, he helped me to my feet and wrapped an arm over my shoulder, practically carrying all my weight as we trudged back to the cave. Once we made it back, he softly set me against the rock wall and motioned his Typhlosion over. The Pokemon settled down around me, and I shivered as Gold sat beside me and shoved his goggles off his eyes. "What were you doing?!"
"W-Was…looking f-for…E-Emerald…" I shivered softly.
"I told you I was!" He exclaimed. I only shivered more, and he sighed. "Listen to me next time, 'kay?"
I nodded slightly, leaning into Explotaro's soft fur. My clothes were completely soaked through, but as time went by, the Pokemon's heat slowly brought some warmth back into my body. I didn't realize that I had dozed off until I opened my eyes a little later and saw that Gold was walking around exploring the cavern, his form just visible from the flames on Explotaro's back. At one point he stopped and turned to look at me.
"Oh, you're awake, Crys," he said in a relieved tone. "I didn't get quite as cold as you so I thought I'd look around."
I coughed a little, my voice raspy as I said, "But aren't you soaked from the rain?"
He waved a hand and turned back to what he was looking at. "I'll survive. Besides, I found this neat little puzzle."
I struggled to stand up, Explotaro helping me walk once I had done so. Heading over to Gold, I saw that he was standing at a podium with a little match up puzzle that had about sixteen or so pieces that formed a picture. Assuring the Typhlosion that I was fine, I left him at Gold's side to stand on the other side of the podium across from him.
I tilted my head at the picture. "It kind of looks like…"
Gold's eyes widened. "Ho-Oh." I nodded, and he spotted a stray puzzle piece lying off to the side. "Hey, it looks like this one got left out."
Picking up the square fragment, he slid it into place in the picture. Both of us froze as the room started to rumble, and all of a sudden, the floor beneath Gold and Explotaro disappeared. The boy gave out a cry as he and his Pokemon went tumbling through the hole to whatever lie beneath. I called out his name and rushed around to look down at where they'd fallen through.
"Gold!" I heard a thump and saw the light from Explotaro's back as the Pokemon raced over to his trainer on a floor far below me. "Are you alright?!"
There was a brief sound of shuffling. "Yeah, I'm fine, Crys. That fall is a lot farther than it looks, though."
I shivered a little through my still-somewhat-drenched clothes. "Can you get up?"
More shuffling could be heard but this time ended in a cry. "I…I think there's something wrong with my leg."
My eyes widened, and I ran across the cave to my bag to retrieve Arckee's Pokeball. Racing back to the hole before the podium, I released him and slowly climbed on his back. "Okay, let's go join Gold!"
He barked once and jumped down the hole. Gold had been right about how deep the drop was, and Arckee almost toppled over when we finally touched down a few seconds later. Climbing off his back, I went over to Gold who was sitting on the ground with his back supported by Explotaro.
"What happened?" I asked worriedly.
He stiffened as I touched his right knee. "I think it might be sprained."
I nodded with a shiver and stood back up. "I'll get Parasee to make a painkiller for you." I was turning around to go back the way I came before realizing that it was a good fifty feet above us. "Oh. Right…"
Gold smirked through his pain. "You left your Pokeballs up top didn't you?"
I sighed softly which turned into a cough. "I have an idea, though. Arckee." The Arcanine came to my side, and I got back on him. "Jump off the wall and use Extremespeed to see if we can reach the opening."
He nodded once and instantly ran for the wall beside us. Bouncing off it in the opposite direction, he used the force of his push as a catalyst for the Extremespeed that launched us up into the air. The sounds of the storm soon reached us, and I could just make out the rain pounding outside the entrance to the cave before Arckee started falling and my eyesight fell back beneath the hole. We had another rough landing before I frowned determinedly.
"Alright, do it again," I told Arckee, "but this time, reach out your paws and grab the edge. We were just close enough to touch the outer edge of the hole."
Gold watched in pain as my Arcanine repeated the same process and got us going towards the whole again. He reached out his forepaws and managed to latch onto the edge of the opening to the upper floor. I carefully jumped off his back and unsteadily landed with my arms held out for balance. He let go of the hole, and I watched as he used a Flamethrower to ease his descent back to Gold.
"Be ready to catch me when I come back!" I told him.
He barked back, and I set off to retrieve my bag. The chill was starting to set into my muscles again, and I found myself beginning to progress slower. Forcing my legs to move, I finally made it over to my sodden sack and strapped it over my shoulder. I was about to head back when something zoomed by ahead and threw me back on my bottom. Rubbing my aching head, I glanced up to identify the cause. However, I was only thrown back further by another sudden gust.
"Who's there?" I called out with a cough.
I got no answer, only the sound of clacking on the stone floor. It gradually got closer to the point that I could make out a figure in the darkness of the cave. Pulling out a Pokeball for defense, I pressed the button and released my Hitmonchan. The figure stopped moving, and I squinted my eyes in the gloom to see what it was.
"A Skarmory?" I rasped.
My voice made it screech, and the foe Pokemon came at me with an X-Scissor attack.
"Hitmonee!" I yelled. "Use Brick Break!"
His star-stickered gloves shot out to stop the enemy and deal enough damage to make it fall back a step. It must have been smart, though, for it sensed that Hitmonee was a Fighting type and flew to the top of the cave in a Fly attack. It was beginning to descend, aimed for me and my Pokemon, when it was intercepted by one of Hitmonee's Sky Uppercuts. It knocked the Skarmory into the ceiling, dealing even more damage before both of them fell back to the floor.
I tried getting back to my feet, but it was getting seriously cold again, and I only made it to my knees before falling over on my side. Hitmonee gave me a concerned glance until he had to turn back to the Skarmory. As he hit it dead on with a Fire Punch, I curled up into a ball, shivering even harder as another cold wind rolled in from the storm. Apparently my little nap with Explotaro hadn't been enough to completely warm me back up.
"Crys!" I heard Gold shouting from under the hole. "Are you okay? What's going on?!"
I was colder than when I was lying outside so I wasn't able to answer like last time. That only seemed to make him more frantic as he started calling my name more and more. Everything was slowly becoming fainter and fainter around me, and I was starting to fall victim to tunnel vision. All I could see was Hitmonee fighting against the Skarmory and the podium Gold and Explotaro fell through. The same hole that he came stumbling out of on Togetaro's back at that moment. He returned his injured Pokemon and quickly looked around for me. When he saw my fallen form, his eyes widened, and he struggled to make his way towards me.
However, halfway through his path, something hit him across the head, and he fell to the ground unconscious. I lifted my own head, just barely, in surprise at his passed-out form. A second later, there was a cry, and I slowly turned my head to find that the Skarmory was standing over a fainted Hitmonee.
Not wanting him to catch hypothermia as well, I used the last of my strength to return him to his Pokeball before succumbing to the cold. The hollow sound of my breath was almost audible as the rain was beginning to let up. The only thing that drowned it out was the echo of footsteps from within the cave.
I tried to make my eyes stay open, but the cold was forcing them shut. They closed with an air of finality, and I could just hear a Pokemon being returned to a Pokeball. Sleep was dancing on the edge of my consciousness like the storm clouds outside, muffling the sound of someone approaching.
The darkness finally took hold of my mind, and I was too weak to resist it. All my systems were beginning to shut down, and just before I completely blacked out, I heard one strangely familiar voice in my ear.
"Sweet dreams, Miss Glare."
Me: *finally wakes up* Wha...?
Carlos: *blinks innocently* Didja miss me?
Me: *glares* Where did you even come from?!
Carlos: *smiles and points at Gardevoir* She figured out how to teleport me here!
Me: *sweatdrop* At least he wasn't wearing a pink robe this time.
Max: Eh?
Gardevoir: *laughs* Ah, what you guys miss...
Carlos: *eats a cupcake* Well, we're here to stay now!
Max: *widens eyes* We are?
Carlos: *smiles wide* Why not?!
Gardevoir & Me: *sweatdrop* This outta be interesting.
Me: *starts getting sleepy* Well readers, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. *yawn* Basically a major case of hypothermia. Not good. But it's only the second chapter! I couldn't possible kill of Crystal? ...Right? *feeling evil before yawning again* I think I should head off. It is about midnight...
XD Review and return!
