Note: Late again; I swear I'm not trying to make it a habit. =,= As an apology, here's a longer-than-usual chapter. c:

Follow Me
A Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver Story

Chapter Ten
Destiny Bond

A spinning sensation, much like riding a merry-go-round spun much too quickly, accompanied with no sound and the nauseating fear and uncertainty in her heart left Soul unable to breathe. Happily, it lasted only a moment, and then she felt the rush of air as they reached their destination. Her body floated in midair for a moment, and then her feet glided down and landed on solid ground once more. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around; where was she?

"I effing told you not to touch it, didn't I?"

Gold's outburst startled her. Gold seemed to have come along with her, but the usually-cheery boy seemed uncharacteristically the opposite at the moment.

Huffing and folding his arms, he turned his back to her. "You just had to go and upset the forest guardian, didn't you? And then you top it all off with stringing me along with your bad karma!"

"M...Me?" Soul said with indignance. "The only reason I touched the shrine is because you startled me!"

"Hey hey hey, don't lump me in with you," Gold said, pointing at her. "The only thing I'm guilty of is association."

She very much wanted to respond to that, but was cut off by a very desperate-sounding voice.

"Father!"

Blinking, Gold and Soul looked at one another and then crept closer to the ledge upon which a young boy and an older man stood. Soul gasped; the boy was very obviously Silver, but he was much younger in the face and had shorter hair. The other man, however, she didn't recognize.

"Hey hey, Soul, it's that emo red-headed guy who stalks you all the time!" Gold whispered excitedly, tugging on her sleeve.

"Shhh!" she hissed, "I can't hear when you're talking!"

The two inched closer so as to eavesdrop more effectively.

"You told me...you were the number one in the world!" Silver spat. "And then you go and lose to some...kid, not much older than me?"

The fire in his eyes was quite visible, a passion she often witnessed when bumping into Silver. She and Gold eyed the man who stood with his back to his son, who said nothing.

Silver watched his father's back for a moment and then exhaled through his nostrils. "...So that's it then? You're going to quit? What are you going to do now?"

Silver's father turned, and Gold let out a small gasp. "I've seen his face on wanted posters before! That's Giovanni, the ex-head of Team Rocket!" he whispered even more frantically.

Soul hushed him again as Giovanni spoke.

"...One must acknowledge one's defeats before he can move on..." he said quietly. "I will go solo...for now..." He clenched his fist and stared at the ground. "So that one day, I'll have the power to form a stronger organization, greater than Team Rocket ever was!"

Silver stared at his father in numbing disbelief, and then, his face tensing and with a voice cracking on the borderline of sobbing, "What aspect of you was ever number one?" he screamed. "Gathering so many only to be defeated by a mere child!"

Giovanni sighed wearily and shook his head. "You don't understand," he said. "Putting together the potential of many is how you produce a huge power. That's what an organization is...that's the strength of an organization!" He looked away before continuing. "I failed...to make the best use of my subordinates' potential...!" He turned to his son, and with eyes blazing and a twisted smile, he said, "But one day, my son, you shall witness the revival of me and my Team Rocket!"

Silver clenched his jaw and took a step forward, "You're right, I don't understand you!" he yelled. "You're not making any sense! Why are you doing this, dad?"

Giovanni turned away, sighed, and shook his head. Taking a few steps forward, he turned his head and said over his shoulder, "...One day, you will understand..." And without even a glance of regret, Giovanni walked away from his son toward the exit, and was gone.

"Wow, can you believe that?" Gold said, whistling. "That guy just abandoned his kid like it was nothing...Can you imagine what that must feel like, Soul? ...Soul?"

She wasn't even remotely paying attention to him. Unwavering, her eyes were focused on Silver, who stood there, fists clenching, shoulders trembling, and chest heaving. Her eyebrows rose with concern, and in spite of herself, she took a step forward.

He screamed. Long, loud, frustrated, distraught. "I don't want to understand you, you bastard!" he yelled, tears pouring down his face. "I'll never become someone like you-a coward when he's alone and a tyrant when you're in front of other cowards!" He straightened and glared at the gate his father had gone through. "I'll become a strong...I'll become a stronger man all by myself!" He took a step forward and screamed even louder, "All by myself!"

Soul studied Silver very carefully, her eyebrows raised, and she finally admitted to herself what that feeling she'd had in Ilex Forest was, the reason she couldn't get Silver out of her mind these past few weeks: she loved him. This tragic, lost, complex boy, who would one day become the proud and stubborn young man she'd come to admire. In that moment, the love she felt filled her up, to the point that its warmth blocked out all else.

"Pst, Soul, look out!"

Gold's warning brought her back to reality in time for Silver, who'd been fleeing in their direction, to crash into her. They pulled apart and made eye contact for a moment, Soul unable to breath.

Silver's eyebrows tensed. "What are you staring, bitch?" he snarled. Shoving her to the ground, he ran off into the distance, headed back to town.

Gold watched the boy disappear from sight, fists on his hips and a scowl on his face. "Jeez, what an asshole," he said, sticking his tongue out in Silver's direction. Helping Soul to her feet, he added, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Soul said. "It's not the first time it's happened."

Gold raised an eyebrow at the fondness in her tone but decided to dismiss it for more pertinent matters. "So...any idea where we are?"

"Yes," Soul said with a nod. "This is Route 22, just outside of Viridian City." She pointed, adding, "That's where Silver is headed, and his father seems to be headed for Route 26, toward Johto." She swallowed before continuing. "Also, judging by their conversation and how young Silver looked...it seems like we're four years* in the past, right after Red's defeat of Giovanni." (*Counting the time for Soul's Pokemon journey; it's technically over four-and-a-half years[ish].)

Gold's jaw dropped. "But how? How did we get from Ilex Forest in the present to Route 22 four years in the past?"

Folding her arms, Soul sighed. "I'm not sure..."

Gold looked at the sky in thought for a moment. "I wonder..."

"Hm?"

"Well...my grandpa told me once about a Pokémon called Celebi," he said. "Celebi is supposed to have the ability to travel through time, and there've been rumored sightings of one in Ilex Forest in the past, but nothing was ever confirmed. You don't suppose-"

The sentence went unfinished as a flash of light above them caught them off-guard. Through a distortion in space, a small, glowing Pokémon emerged. Looking down at the gaping teenagers, Celebi lifted their bodies into the air, and in a flash, they were gone, leaving the route empty once more.

"Soul?"

"Hm?" She was startled from her memory and found Gold watching her, concern in his gray eyes. "O-Oh...yes, Gold?"

"You've been staring into space for a good minute or two," Gold said with worry. "You sure you're feeling all right?"

"I...I'm fine; I was just thinking about something." She glanced around, and then a realization caused her eyes to widen.

"...Where's Silver?"

Selected quote from the next chapter:
"I guess nothing I say is as important as he is, huh...?"