Chapter 10

The first thing I saw when I took out my pokegear was the amount of messaged and missed calls that displayed on the screen. I had over fifty messages and missed calls. I slapped my hand to my forehead.

"Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit!" I rubbed my face. Red turned to me looking worried.

"Oh… well it's just I was on this mountain for a few weeks now, so I haven't had the chance to talk to anyone. They must be worried sick…"

Red wore a surprised and feared expression on his face. He must've remembered now that they were the ones who sent me to find him.

I looked through my messages. They were all from Lyra, Silver, Blue, Professor Oak, my mother, and even Calem. I felt a sudden guilt wash over me as I realized that I forgot to contact the people I held closest to me.

Just as I was deciding who to call first, my pokegear rang. Red and I jumped. The pokegear slipped out of my hands and I had to catch it again.

When I caught it, Blue's number showed up. I noticed Red froze at the corner of my eye. Oh. Blue was Red's former rival.

Hesitantly, I answered.

"H-Hello… Blue..?" I stuttered.

"YOU DUMBAAAASSSSS!" Red and I jumped at Blue's sudden outburst.

"Ack! What the hell man, why are you yelling?" I shouted back.

"Why am I yelling? Better question is, where the fuck have you been? You've been gone for nearly a month! You weren't answering any of our goddamn calls! Idiot! You had us worried sick you fucking bastard!" Blue continued shouting.

"Alright alright calm down! Let me explain everything!" I yelled back, hoping he'll hear me.

"Gold? Gold you answered! Thank goodness!" a sobbing, high pitched voice said.

"Lyra…?" I softened a bit. "You're there too?"

"Gold! Thank god you're ok!" Lyra continued.

"You idiot I was fucking worried about you!" Another male voice shouted.

"Silver! Hey man…what's up?" I said nervously.

"Don't you "what's up" me you moron! Our asses were sitting here for so long worried about you! We thought the worse could've happened! We considered going there to look for you!" Silver said angrily.

"You guys… were that worried about me?" I smiled slightly.

"Of course we were!" Lyra shouted. "You were gone for a month in the most dangerous area in the whole Pokémon region! We were regretting letting you go up there!"

"Guys…I-I'm so sorry… I should have contacted you sooner…. I just… lost signal up on the mountain," I felt the heavy guilt eating at me again.

"Well as long as your tiny ass isn't freezing to death up there." Blue said, calming down.

"Wait…did you just say you didn't have signal?" Lyra questioned.

"Yeah, why?"

"Then how were you able to answer the phone?" Blue asked.

"Oh I came back down to the Pokémon Center to heal my Pokémon." I said.

"Alright now that we know you're okay, did you find Red yet?" Blue asked

"What?!" I was surprised by the sudden question.

"Dumbass, did you forget why you risked your life going up there?" Blue snorted.

"Uh, no…" I muttered.

"So did you find him or not?" Lyra asked curiously.

"….."

"Well?" Silver spat.

"Um…" I stuttered.

I looked over at Red. He was leaning in, listening contently.

"Should I tell them?" I whispered over to Red.

Before he could respond, we were surprised by Blue's words.

"You did, didn't you?" he said calmly.

"Ehh!?" I shouted.

"Don't play dumb," Blue said. "Why else would you stay for so long if you're not lost or dead? We figured if you were okay, the reason is because you'd stay for that long is cuz you were with Red. You probably wanted to stay with him until he made a decision whether to come down or not."

"Well….um… yeah…Sorry…I couldn't just leave him here." I admitted.

"WHAAAAATTT?!" Silver and Lyra said at the same time.

"You found the legendary Red?!" Lyra said excitedly.

"He's actually alive?" Silver's shocked voice said.

"Yeah… I was surprised myself…" I muttered. Peering over, I saw Red look away.

"That's amazing! Gold you survived Mt. Silver and managed to find the missing Pokémon champion!" Lyra said, happy for me.

"Ah, well, it's more like he found me and saved me from Mt. Silver…" I admitted.

"What do you mean?" Blue seemed surprised and curious.

"I think it's best if I tell you the guys whole story when I get back down." I decided.

"Alright. Well anyways, where is Red at the moment? Is he with you? I wanna speak to him." Blue said.

"Oh, well um… you see, he can't right now, uh…He's in the bathroom in the Pokémon Center." I lied.

"…"

When Blue didn't answer, I continued.

"Anyways I think it'd be best if you talked to him in person. I can imagine all the stuff you're gonna say, and I don't think that conversation would go as well over the phone." I suggested.

"He's right, Blue." Lyra agreed.

"Alright." Blue sighed. "You're right, but when he comes back from the great beyond, I'm giving him a piece of my mind!"

"Oh god," I heard Silver mutter in the background. Because of his constant bickering with Blue, he knew perfectly well what Red would be in for.

"Hehe… go easy on him, he's not a bad guy." Red looked over as I said that. "Let him have his say in it. Besides, you know deep down you miss him." I half joked.

"Yeah, shut up. Anyways, I'm glad you're ok. I don't know how long you're planning to stay there, so contact us more often, ok? Don't fall into Red's habit of disappearing." Blue ordered.

I saw Red wince at his words.

"N-no I can never do that to you guys. Besides I think I'd go insane if I didn't talk to anyone for a few years, heheh…" I said.

"Yeah that running mouth of yours will never survive on its own." Silver snickered.

"Zip it! Anyways, once again I'm really sorry I didn't contact you. I promise to not worry you again. And tell the Professor I'm ok! And my mom in case I forget." I said

"Alright. You be careful up there, Got it?" Blue said.

"Yeah don't die on me now. Later." Silver said.

"Bye Gold! We'll miss you!" Lyra cheered.

"Bye everyone. I'll talk to you soon." I said. And with that, I hung up.

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"I seriously can't believe he found Red," Lyra said as Blue hung up.

"Yeah, it's crazy how Red was still alive all this time." Silver remarked.

Blue just stared down at his Pokegear in silence, with a troubled look on his face.

"Eh? Blue what's wrong?" Lyra titled her head to try meeting Blue's eyes.

"Ah… it's nothing… it's just that…" Blue rubbed his face. "That bastard…. Leaving us in the dust like this… never calling to tell us how he's doing…Five fucking years… I haven't been in contact with him. It always bugged me. Even when I tried to forget it, it was always stuck in the back of my mind. I could never forget about him. Despite how much he aggravated me, deep down I never truly hated him. Even though we were rivals, we honestly did care for each other. Yeah I was mad that he kicked my ass as champion in a matter of minutes…but even though I lost my title, I'm glad it was him and not someone I hated…..I miss him…I…have so much to tell him…" Blue said, still looking down.

Lyra and Silver sat there in shock. Despite being close friends, Blue never let out his inner emotions before. He was always cracking jokes and being a smartass. To see him like this, Lyra and Silver thought how much Red really meant to him.

"You know, despite Gold and I always being rivals, I was worried sick for 'em." Silver suddenly said. "I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to his stupid ass,"

Blue nodded slightly. He was aware that Silver knew how he felt. They were both rivals of famous champions. Despite that, they still worried for their friend and hoped the best for them.

"Hey Blue," Lyra said reaching out and stroking Blue's back. "He found Red, right? So he will return with Red and you guys can be friends again,"

"It's not that easy," Blue responded. "Red is a stubborn little bitch. He does things his way. He's not gonna come down cuz some scrawny kid told him to. In the end, it's his decision."

"But Gold sounded kinda hopeful didn't he?" Lyra pointed out. "We just have to believe in him. Besides, I know Gold longer than all of us. He has this hopeful and friendly aura that draws people to him! Even Silver!" Lyra turned, smiling to Silver.

"…..What are you trying to say?" Silver narrowed his eyes.

"Ahem, anyways, my point is," Lyra continued. "Gold is definitely going to get Red to come down. Then you two can reconcile your lost friendship! And who knows, maybe Red will become our friend too? He already seems to be on good terms with Gold."

Blue stayed silent for a few minutes. He knew Lyra had a point; that Gold was reassuring. Aside from being a strong trainer, another reason he was the right choice to get Red to return was his personality. Indeed, he had a friendly air around him that people of all personalities flocked to him.

"If someone like that seems to be doing well with someone like Red, then he will definitely come down. And you two will definitely be friends again." Lyra finished with a smile.

Blue kept thinking. Lyra sure knew how to make a good point. As always, she was out for her friends again.

"Well then, we'll just have to wait and see." Blue said, looking up.

"Heh. That's the spirit." Silver crossed his arms.

Lyra beamed at Blue's change of tone.

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"Whew…" I breathed a heavy sigh of relief after hanging up. It felt odd yet relieving to hear everyone's voices again. I smiled to myself, realizing how lucky I was to have people like them in my life.

I felt someone staring at me and I turned to see Red's blank face looking my way. He had a slight frown as he looked away. When I was about to ask what was bothering him, it hit me.

Red, being on Mt. Silver all this time, had no friends or any human contact. I felt a sudden wash of guilt as he looked down at his gloved hands. It must be overwhelming to him to hear his former rival and friend whom he hasn't talked to in years.

I crawl over to his side and hug him. I felt his body go rigid. Then suddenly arms wrap around my body.

"!"

I looked up and saw Red clinging to me tightly. Feeling sudden warmth I hugged back. For now, I was Red's only friend.

It felt so good that without thinking, I started nuzzling his neck. He moaned in pleasure. His neck was so warm and smooth; I had the strong urge to kiss it but resisted. I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. I just brushed my nose and lips on his neck and took in his scent. He smelled like nature with a sweet tint. His soft hair rubbed against my cheek. I didn't know why we were doing this, but it felt comforting.

After a few minutes, we laid down on the grass. It was still mid-morning, so we watched the clouds float by in silence. I twitched slightly at this sudden uncomfortable yet familiar setting. But seeing how beautiful it was, I brushed the feeling off.

"Hey, Red?" I said turning my body to him. He turned his neck to look at me. "Um, Just so you know, it may not sound like it, but the others and I aren't forcing you to do anything. I mean, in the end, it really is your decision whether you want to come back down with me or not…And Blue is right, the reason I'm still here is not cuz of my bad ankle-which is healed by now-, it's cuz I don't want to leave you alone. I want to stay by your side as a friend as you make the right decision…" I finished.

I saw a hint of surprise on his face. He turned his attention back up to the sky, trying to hide his emotions. I just smiled and looked up with him.

It didn't feel like it, but hours have passed of us just looking at the sky together. I only knew cuz the sky was turning pink.

"Let's head back up. It'll be dark soon." I said getting up.

Red stood up. I sent out my Flygon and we headed back to the mountain.

It was dark by the time we got back. I was still thinking about today as I sat down by the fire. Red crawled into his sleeping bag and turned away from me. I felt this wash of guilt again, and I quietly walked over to his side.

"Red….About today…I'm sorry," I said.

He turned over to face me; his dead looking eyes became confused.

What happened next shocked me.

"For what?" His low, raspy voice said.

A/N: OMG Red talked! How will Gold react to this? The turning point to the cave arc! Look forward to the next chapter ~