Chapter 10 Tragedy at Seafoam Islands
Leaf's eyes fluttered open as the sun crept into her window.
Ever since their date, for the exception of having to explain to Blue the enormous bill that was mailed to him, she and Red hadn't done very much and Leaf was starting to get bored.
"I wonder when Red will set up my next gym battle?" Leaf asked her pink partner as she sat at the edge of her bed.
She was just about to get up, when Red suddenly barged into her room with the biggest smile on his face.
"This is it! This is finally it!" he gleamed as he walked in.
"RED!" Leaf yelled "Have you ever heard of knocking first?! I may not have been decent!"
"All the better!" Red sarcastically thought to himself as he sat beside her and patted her hand
"I was just on the phone with Blaine, the cinnabar gym leader and-"
Leaf cut him off "You arranged my next gym battle?!"
Red raised his finger in the air "Even better…We got one!"
Leaf looked around "Uhh…one what?"
"Confirmation of a mystic bird in the seafoam islands!"
Leaf looked at him in shock "No way….you mean?"
Red nodded "That's right! We're going to find it and we're going to capture it! So hurry and get dressed Leaf!" He stated as he walked out of her room.
Leaf, meanwhile, was still contemplating what he had just told her "…a mystic bird huh…."
She got dressed in her usual green outfit and hurried to meet Red.
As Leaf ran outside, Red gave her a confused look "Is that what you're wearing? I thought I told you to wear something warmer!"
Leaf pointed at him in response "Uh Red, you do know that the seafoam islands has a really tropical climate right…you may get a little hot wearing that jacket?" She looked down at herself "and this outfit is special to me….I mean you gave it me…"
Red smiled and shook his head as he mounted charizard "Alright, don't say I didn't warn you!"
Within a few minutes the duo were airborne and were on their way to the seafoam islands.
As they reached the islands Leaf, Red, pikachu and jigglypuff dismounted off charizard and Leaf looked up at their destination in awe.
"So….this is where the legendary pokemon lives huh?" she wondered
Red nodded "Inside that cave lies Articuno, the mystic bird of ice"
He stroked his chin remembering what Blaine had told him "and if I remember correctly, Blaine said that when articuno resided in kanto in the past, it would rest by a small stream that flowed through this cave"
Red took a deep breath as he looked toward the cave "I've chased you across many regions articuno. Today, I will find you….and I will catch you!" He thought confidently.
Leaf looked down and scratched her head "I still can't believe that the legendary pokemon that I've only heard stories about, is actually down there…..it's so hard to believe"
Red nodded "I know right? But, we're going to find it" he then held out his bag "Speaking of which, Leaf would you mind holding my bag for me? I'll be in charge of the flashlight and figuring out where to go!"
"Thank you for making me a part in this…." she sarcastically replied as she grabbed the bag and the four of them entered the cave.
As they started to walk through the frozen cavern, Leaf looked around to admire its beauty. All the walls were coated in ice and were glistening as the sun hit them
"Wow….how come I've never heard of this place before" she inquired
"That's because this cave wasn't frozen until recently" Red answered "Articunos presence here has caused the whole cave to be covered in a blanket of snow and ice….it's truly beautiful"
Red looked over at his partner with concern "Leaf, aren't you cold?" he asked "I mean, I'm cold and I have a jacket on…..you have a tanktop and skirt…."
Leaf stuck her nose in the air "HMPH! I've lived on the streets for years and faced cold nights worse than this!"
Truth is, she was totally lying to him and secretly cursing herself for not taking Reds advice when he asked.
Red took his coat off and handed it to her "You want mine?"
Leaf waved him off "No! You..you need all the protection you can get!" she stated with a slight chatter of her teeth.
Leaf continued walking ahead unaware that she was now walking on ice.
"WOAH!" she screamed as she lost her footing
Red quickly ran behind to catch her and she wound up falling into his arms
"That's what you get for walking ahead with your head in the air!" Red laughed as he tried to stand her back up
"Thank you for that advice oh great ex-champion…." she stated, trying to catch her breath
"I just figured the "great thief" would be more aware of her surroundings….guess I was wrong" he teased back
Leaf turned her head and glared at him "You…wanna run that by me again buster!"
The two looked ahead to see pikachu and jigglypuff laughing at their squabble
Leaf then looked down to see that Reds hands were still around her waist
"So..umm…are we going to look for this mystic bird or are you going to hold me like this all day?" she playfully remarked
Red quickly let her go "I..I'm sorry! I didn't realize…."
"Sure you didn't" Leaf winked at him and the two pressed on
They continued to made their way further into the cave, but saw no sign of articuno or the stream it was said to be near. The air was now getting thin and the cave was getting colder the further they went in. As such, Red and Leaf were becoming increasingly agitated and discouraged at the lack of results.
"Come on Red! I'm getting tired! Where's this stream you were talking about!" Leaf asked
"I don't know okay?!" He shot back "We've been walking for a while; it can't be that far away!"
Eventually, Red couldn't take it anymore and started to run as fast as he could further in.
"Red! Wait!" Leaf yelled as Red ran ahead of her
"We gotta be close….we gotta be…" he thought as he kept running.
Leaf, pikachu and jigglypuff were all running as fast as they could to catch up to him and once they did; they saw Red just standing there, staring blankly at a dead end of the cave.
Leaf knew what Red was thinking and hesitated to speak up "Red…"
He just continued to look at the wall "There's….nothing" He then looked at the ground "How…..how did we miss it?!" he yelled and pikachu jumped up into Leafs arms
"It's okay…" she stroked its fur "It's okay, just let him vent…." She muttered as punched the rock wall in frustration
"Damn it! How can I not find a 5ft tall ice bird!"
Leaf walked over to him "Red…let's retrace our steps, maybe we missed something?"
Red shot her a glare "We missed nothing! It's not here!" He shook his head and walked past her "I'm cold! Let's go home!"
"Hey!" she yelled "You're just going to give up? Red ignored her and just kept walking "Hey don't ignore me! This is for your mom right?"
Red immediate froze in place as she continued "That's what you're here for right? For closure?"
Red blinked a few times "That's….right" he whispered as he took a deep breath and turned around to face her "You're right Leaf….that's what this is all about"
"I know you're frustrated Red, but you can't let it get the better of you" Leaf smiled, jigglypuff patted his leg and pikachu leap up on Reds shoulder, nuzzling him. They cared so much and he felt like such an idiot for his outburst.
"I'm sorry guys" he smiled back "I….I've just waited so long for this moment….and"
Leaf walked up and rubbed his shoulders "…..and it will happen…I promise! We just have to keep looking"
Red couldn't help but laugh and Leaf looked at him confused "What's so funny?"
"Oh, it's just…normally it's me trying to console you, not the other way around!"
Leaf shook her head "I guess there's a first time for everything!"
They both laughed when all of a sudden it felt as if the cave rumbled slightly
A few pebbles fell on the ground and Leaf slowly grabbed Reds arm "Dddid you feel that?" she hesitated to ask.
Red slowly looked around "Oh my god….it can't be…." he muttered
Without warning, the cave started to shake violently and giant boulders of snow and ice started to fall around them
"The caves collapsing!" Red screamed and grabbed Leafs hand "We need to get out of here now!"
Red, Leaf, jigglypuff and pikachu ran as fast as they could toward the exit, all the while, boulders of snow and ice were falling around them.
As they ran, a stray boulder struck pikachu in the back and it collapsed crying out in pain
"Pikachu!" Red cried out and Leaf immediately spun around and ran back to grab it.
"It's ok I've got you!" she yelled as she picked it up and started running back.
However, just before she could reach Red, a giant boulder of snow fell down and separated them
"RED!" Leaf screamed
"Leaf! Hang on!" Red yelled back as he tried to push the boulder but to no avail
"I….I can't move it!"
The two looked at each other in horror as the cave continued to collapse around them.
"Get outta here NOW!" Leaf finally yelled out
"NO! I won't leave you behind!" he kept pushing as hard as he could "I'm not losing another person in my life!"
"RED! GO GET OU-" Her words were cut off and Red watched in horror as a giant snow boulder fell from the ceiling and crushed her
"NO!" he screamed and started punching the snow boulder "NO!NO!NO!NO!" he kept punching it until his hands were numb.
Snow boulders continued to fall from the ceiling and jigglypuff was viciously struggling as it tried to reach out for Leaf.
Red had no choice but to grab the struggling jigglypuff and make his escape, all the while thinking to himself
"She's…..she's…..gone"