Back at the Garden
Amy had gotten bored after hours of waiting on the others to return. She had explored just about every nook and cranny of Latias's Garden, and Jen and the others still didn't return. "How long are the Gatherings usually, Bianca?" Amy asked the brunette.
Bianca shrugged. "The longest one I think lasted about...a week."
Amy's head spun around to stare at her in disbelief. "Please tell me you're joking."
"Sorry, but I wish I could. The best thing to do is wait and try to pass the time."
Amy sighed heavily and nodded.
"Do you want to go to the shops with Sabrina and me? I'm running low on some things back at the house." Bianca said as she and Sabrina began to walk towards the entrance to the Garden.
Amy glanced back at Red, who was talking to N and his Pokemon. "Sure. Why not?" She said as she hurried after the two girls.
They all came out of the alleyway and walked down the raised sidewalk.
"What are we looking for, Bianca?" Sabrina asked.
"I need to stop by the Smeargle Art Supply store that's down this street. I need more charcoal for my drawings."
"I didn't know you liked to draw." Amy said.
"From time to time I'll draw whatever I feel like, but I need more charcoal because Latias has been stealing mine. I've seen her little drawings on the walls of the Garden, and she has been getting pretty good." Bianca said as she stopped in front of a small store. "You can both come in with your Pokemon or stay out here. I'll only be a moment."
Sabrina and her Pokemon followed Bianca inside, while Amy remained outside with Haze and Mystic. She sat down next to her Pokemon and rubbed Haze's ears. "I wonder what it would be like if I could understand and communicate with you guys like Jen can with her Pokemon. Well, with any Pokemon actually."
Haze and Mystic looked at her and shook their heads. Haze nuzzled Amy in the side and sat in her lap. They didn't need to speak the same language. Thanks to their tight bond, Amy and her Pokemon could understand each other just as easily as Red and Jen could understand their Pokemon.
Amy smiled and pulled her Pokemon into a group hug. They smiled and hugged her back.
Suddenly, Amy's phone started to ring in her pocket. She quickly took it out and checked the caller ID. A smile crept across her face as she recognized the name. "Hello, Kayla. Where are you?"
Kayla was Jen and Amy's fourth housemate back in Ecruteak City, but she spent most of her time traveling throughout Johto. "Hey, I'm in Olivine City with just about everyone from Ecruteak City. Why is everyone here and why is Officer Jenny not allowing anyone back into Ecruteak? Where are you guys?" Kayla asked.
"Uh…Ecruteak City isn't there anymore. It has been burned down."
There was silence on Kayla's end.
"We're in Altomare right now, but we will be able to return once the city has been rebuilt." Amy continued.
"What happened?"
"I challenged Ho-Oh, and tried to catch it. It didn't like that, flew off, and returned later with a vengeance." Amy explained.
"You pissed off Ho-Oh?! Why?!" Kayla cried. "Why would you piss off such a beautiful fire type Pokemon, especially if it is a Legendary fire type?"
"We didn't mean to make it mad. I didn't even know that it would return like it did."
"You said 'we', Amy. Did you bring Mikey and Sayo with you?"
"No. No, I brought Red and Jen with me." Amy said quickly.
"Who's Jen?"
"Huh? Oh!" Amy cried as she realized her mistake. "Jen is Red's cousin."
"So where is Mikey? What happened to her? She's not here with Sayo and Morty. Is she with you guys in Altomare?"
"Of course she's with us. Why would I leave her behind?"
"I don't know. How has she been doing with her nightmares? Have they been getting better or worse?" Kayla asked with obvious concern in her voice.
"She's actually been doing better. I think she's finally rid herself of them." Amy said with a smile.
"Ooh, good!" There was a pause as Amy heard Kayla talking to someone on the other end. "I just told Sayo and Morty about you guys. They were really worried."
"You didn't tell them where we were too, did you?" Amy asked annoyed.
"Of course I told them! Why wouldn't I? We are all worried about you guys. I'm worried about you guys. I have been gone for about two weeks, and when I come back home I am greeted by camps of refugees from Ecruteak City. And when I try to find you guys, I am told by both Morty and Sayo that you have been M.I.A. for more than two days. Why shouldn't I be concerned?"
She did have a point.
Amy sighed. As annoying as Kayla's big mouth could be, she did know how to back it up. "We're all fine, Kayla. That's all that matters, and thank you for checking in on us."
Kayla paused for a moment again. "How long are you guys going to be in Altomare? Perhaps I can come up there with you guys? I can bring Sayo with me."
Amy stiffened. "Would that be wise? It probably took Red a lot of courage to tell me about Jen and the others. They may not like it if I allow someone else in on their secret, especially this soon. I'm trying to earn their trust."
"I'll see you guys soon. Kay?"
"Wait! Kayla!" Amy cried quickly.
"Yeah?"
Amy hesitated before responding. "We will be back soon. I think we may be heading back tomorrow."
"Sweet! We'll all be waiting for you guys to return. See you tomorrow!" Kayla immediately hung up.
Amy lowered her phone from her ear and replaced it back into her pocket. Her Pokemon looked at her with their heads cocked to the side, as if to ask, 'are we really leaving tomorrow?' Amy tapped the side of her phone in debate. "I don't want to leave, but if we don't, Kayla and Sayo might come here. I don't know about Red, but I know that Jen may not want to return. Heck, I don't even know if she and the others will be back by tomorrow."
The door to the art store opened. Bianca walked out with her arms full of art supplies and charcoal. "Sorry we took so long, Amy. We can head back to the Garden now."
Amy nodded and followed the girls back, but froze when she noticed a man dressed in blue duck out of sight. She narrowed her eyes at the spot where he had disappeared. She knew the uniform all too well. "Team Aqua."
"Amy, what's wrong?" Sabrina asked as she touched Amy's arm. She stiffened as she got a mental glimpse of the grunt from Amy's mind, and let her eyes dart over to the spot that Amy was glaring at. "Let's go for a walk."

Following the Aqua Grunt
"Sir, I have a visual on all three girls, but I think one of them may have spotted me." The Aqua grunt reported as he touched his Bluetooth. "I will continue to follow them."
"Don't bother. Fall back and wait for the others to report in to us. They may have better luck—what am I kidding? They will be stealthier than you just were. Return to your rendezvous point and wait for either the others or someone to pick you up." A grunt on the other said growled.
The Aqua grunt rolled his eyes and took the Bluetooth out of his ear. He hated being talked down to, especially by a grunt who was not a part of his Team. "Damn Rockets. Why the Hell did Archie decide to let Team Aqua join them? We were so much better off without them! Hell, I think I'm starting to hate them more than I hate Team Magma…and that's saying something!"
He watched from his hiding spot as the three girls he was assigned to follow disappeared around the corner. He looked down at the Bluetooth and pocketed it before chasing after the girls, this time making sure not to be spotted.

Following Red and N
"How long have you been here, N?" Red asked with his Pokemon translating for him. He had lost the ability to project his mental thoughts after Mewtwo and the others had left.
"For a while I was just traveling with Sabrina and her Pokemon. We traveled all over Kanto looking for Jen, but after having no luck, we moved onto Johto. We didn't know if she would even be in Johto so we decided to stay in Altomare with Bianca, her grandfather, and Latias." N grimaced. "We never did think about asking Latios where she was. We all knew he was safe, but we had somehow forgotten that he was with Jen."
"That may have been Jen's psychic abilities keeping you from thinking about him."
N shrugged. "I still feel guilty for forgetting about him."
Red put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't. Everyone is back together again. That's all that matters right now." Just as he finished signing this, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Red took it out and read the message from Amy. "Screw you, Universe!"
On his phone it read,

We just spotted a Team Aqua grunt spying on us. We will be back sometime later once we lose this guy. Bianca, Sabrina and I are going for a long walk. See you eventually, Red.
Love, Amy.

"What? What does it say?" N asked curiously as he watched Red's expression darken.
"I just jinxed us." He muttered angrily. "Amy said that an Aqua grunt is following her and the others. They are going to out a little longer."
N grimaced. "What should we do?"
Red looked at his phone and then at the Garden. "We need to go after them. Actually, no, I'll go after this creep. You stay here and wait for the others to return…Jen and the others I mean. They could be back at any time."
"Red, I want to be more helpful than that. I don't want to wait around for things to happen. Let me go after them. Latias showed me around the city while you were with Amy in Ecruteak City." N protested.
Red thought for a moment before nodding. "Bring some of my friends with you just in case." He signed while gesturing towards his Pokemon.
N glanced at Red's Pokemon and shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll be fine on my own. I do not want to put your friends in danger."
Before Red or his Pokemon could protest, N ran off to find the three girls. "He can be quite stubborn sometimes." Red signed.
"Do you want some of us to follow him?"
Red nodded. "Pikachu, Espeon, and Blastoise, I want you guys to follow him. Stay out of sight or N might try to send you back here."
"We'll keep N safe, Red. You've got nothing to worry about." Blastoise said as he led Pikachu and Espeon towards the storage drain.
Red turned back to the rest of his Pokemon. "We will wait here for Jen and the others to return."
Venusaur, Charizard, and Snorlax nodded and waited for Red to do something, but he didn't move. He glanced around the Garden and looked back at his Pokemon. They stared back at him patiently.
"Well I can see why N didn't want to do this. Waiting is boring." He signed after a long moment of silence.

N ran across multiple bridges and ducked through alleyways as he tried to find the three girls or at least the Aqua grunt that was following them. Thanks to Latias showing him all of the city's shortcuts, N was able to cut his search down to ten minutes.
The three girls were walking casually down the sidewalk, pretending not to be aware of the fact that they were being followed. N tried peeking out from the alleyway to see if there were any grunts watching or following them. No one seemed to stand out to N.
"Could they be on the roof?" He wondered as his gaze drifted towards the rooftops.
They all appeared to be clear of grunts.
N moved back into the alleyway towards the other side of the shops. There was another sidewalk that he could use to run to the next alleyway that the girls would pass. He slowed his pace as he spotted a blue haired man duck into the same alleyway he was planning on using. N frowned and quietly followed the man.
The man didn't look like an Aqua grunt, but that didn't mean he couldn't have been another Team's grunt in disguise. He stopped at the end of the alleyway and ducked down as the girls passed, watching them as they continued down the sidewalk.
N crept up from behind the man and put him into a tight headlock. The man gasped and was about to scream, but N covered his mouth and dragged him into the alleyway. "Why were you following them?" He growled.
"Mhy hood I ell oo?" The man hissed through N's fingers. He struggled against N, but N made sure not to let go of the man.
The man reached for his Pokeballs and summoned his two Pokemon. His Houndoom and Golbat turned on N.
"Let go of our master, boy." They hissed.
"I do not wish to fight or hurt you. I only want to know why he is following my friends." N said to the grunt's Pokemon.
They gave him an odd look, but quickly shook it off and charged him.
N readied himself for the attack, but it never came. Three Pokemon leapt in the attacking Pokémon's' way and blocked the attack. "Leave our friend alone!" Red's Pikachu growled.
"Golba oos-" N threw the grunt onto the ground before he could continue the command. The grunt tried to climb to his feet, but froze when he saw Blastoise towering over him.
"Stay down, bub." Blastoise ordered darkly.
The grunt glanced at his Pokemon, only to see that they were collapsed on the ground with Red's Pokemon standing over them.
"Are you ready to talk?" N asked curtly.
The grunt glared at him, but his expression began to soften as he recognized N. "Holy shit! You're N! You're still alive?"
"Of course I'm still alive. Why wouldn't I be alive?" N asked confused, but as soon as he finished asking the question the memory of Jen telling him that Ghetsis was killed by Giovanni flashed through his mind.
"We were told that Ghetsis and everyone from Team Plasma were killed. We thought that-"
"I left Team Plasma years ago, and I never looked back."
"Good thing too. If the Teams heard that you are still alive—that Team Plasma is still active—then maybe Cyrus and the other Team Leaders can regain their courage to stand against Giovanni."
N stared at the Galactic grunt. "What are you talking about?"
"About two months ago Giovanni spoke to Cyrus and three other Team Leaders about becoming a part of Team Rocket. I don't know what exactly happened, but Cyrus left that meeting pale and terrified. Then, a few days after said meeting, Cyrus ordered Team Galactic to join up with Team Rocket."
N remembered attending the meeting in the disguise of a Rocket grunt. Giovanni had used Mewtwo's power to scare the other Team Leaders into joining Team Rocket. "How many other Team Leaders have done the same as Cyrus?" N asked cautiously. He didn't know how many more questions the grunt would willingly answer for him.
"Other than us, uh, Team Aqua, Team Dim Sun, and Team Magma."
"Dim Sun joined Team Rocket? What ever happened to the Great Gavel Team?" He focused back on the grunt. "What has Giovanni been having you all do? Are you just spying on us?"
"Huh? No, I didn't know you were here in Altomare. We're just here for the brunette and the Kanto gym leader. Our orders were to follow them until they led us to the Eon Legendary."
N's eyes narrowed at the grunt. "Why are you sharing all of this information so freely with me? I thought I might have needed to have at least forced some of it from you."
The grunt scoffed at him. "Don't think I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart. I'm only telling you this so you can help Cyrus regain his sense and pride. I don't want to be used as some pawn to Team Rocket anymore."
N was silent for a moment. He looked over at Red's Pokemon. "What do you guys think?"
Red's Pokemon were studying the grunt and shrugged in response to N's question. "Who's to say that the Teams won't turn on us after we help them escape Giovanni?"
N sighed. "What will you do if I decide to help you?"
The Galactic grunt grinned at him.

Red sat at the edge of the pond with his Pokemon by his side. It had been more than an hour now, and no one had returned yet. He began pulling at the grass impatiently when he finally heard the sounds of footsteps approaching him. Red turned around eagerly to see Colress walking up to him.
"Afternoon, Red." Colress nodded. "You seem disappointed to see me."
"I was hoping you would be Amy, N, or Jen." He signed.
Colress shook his head. "Sorry, boy, but I don't know sign. You're going to have to communicate with me in some other way."
Red took out his notepad and began writing his words down. "I thought you were someone from our group returning."
"Ah. Well, I'm sorry that I am not." Colress said as he knelt beside Red. "I'm sure they're on their way back. Just give them a few minutes."
Red nodded slowly and looked at Colress from the corner of his eye. "I don't mean to sound rude, but why are you still following us? I would have thought that once we returned to the Kanto or Johto, you would have left since we all thought that Jen was gone."
"Curiosity and the desire to know more drives me, my boy. I would be a fool not to continue to follow you two, even when your cousin was gone. Both you and she have been through so much and have encountered so many different Legendries, your cousin apparently being one, in such a short amount of time that…wow. Hehe...if you came to me about three months ago, or later, and told me that I would be saying something like that, or being in the presence of a multiple Legendries and a hybrid of one, I would have dismissed you as crazy. Now…"
"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?"
Colress nodded. "How did you find out about her being a hybrid?"
Red's pen hovered over his notepad as he tried to put the right words together in his mind. He smirked as he began to write. "I had to sneak into the most secure and heavily guarded facility in all of Kanto to find the files."
Colress looked at him in awe. "Where? Was it more secure than Team Rocket's base?"
Red nodded with a straight face. His Pokemon on the other hand were stifling their laughter. "I was almost caught multiple times. It actually took me a couple days to take the files, but I managed to swipe them without anyone noticing."
"Huh. Was this before you encountered Team Rocket for the first time?"
"Yep. My brother and I had come across the file a couple times before when we were helping our au with a small school project, community service, at the facility. We both planned on taking the files together before we started our adventure as Pokemon trainers, but he fell into a coma. I had to take the files on my own and start all by myself."
"What did you cross out?"
"Nothing."
"What was the name of this facility? Who was in charge and how did they get their hands on Jen's files?" Colress asked with a raised eyebrow.
Red silently snickered. "Alright, alright, I'll stop messing with you. My brother and I found the files within my aunt's house. It wasn't easy sneaking them out of the house on my own. Lucy was very possessive of them."
Colress stared at him with a peeved gleam in his eyes. "You're a troll, you know that boy?