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 addressee.

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.