The S.S. Anne Adventure

author's note: Eeeks! I haven't updated in so long, I'm sorry. :( Enjoy the chappie! There's more to come.

Red, no longer smiling from his victory, quickly made his way back to Green's cabin – their meeting point.

Red was worried. There was no denying it. He mentally cursed himself for having ruined the plan; almost hurting his friends. You just had to be the winner, didn't you, Red? He thought to himself. He reached for the doorknob.

As soon as he entered. Green and Blue noticed relief flood his features. Relief that they were safe; that his screw up hadn't cost them anything… for example, their lives…

Red wasn't stupid, though. And he knew his friends better than anyone. The solemn, worried expression they were trying to suppress could not be hidden.

"I'm sorry about botching up the plan, you guys...he said apologetically, even though he sensed that it was something much more important than this that had unsettled them so greatly.

They only looked at him solemnly. "You are a moron," Green said, her voice not succeeding in its attempt to be light and teasing, "but we've got bigger problems."

Blue handed him a letter. Red read it, his face paling more with each word.

Dear Lorelai,

You remember our last parting, do you not? The date we agreed on is in approximately two weeks from now. I expect that you will meet me. We must accomplish our grand vision…

Just to keep you informed: Agatha, the old bat, has hidden – retreating into her shadows that she loves so much. I doubt we will be able to find the traitor, but if she chooses to reveal herself to us was again, I should greatly appreciate her help. She was, as you know, essential to our pokemon armies.

Without Agatha, Bruno has gone off and joined some team of other trainers – all very decent, I hear, which even includes the Rocket that helped Oak's grandson defeat Agatha. However, their movements are hard to follow and besides of which, I unfortunately doubt that Bruno will join us... As with the pokemon armies, we need Agatha's abilities to control him.

I hope to see you in two weeks' time, Lorelai. I need you to prove that you, at the very least, are still faithful.

Sincerely,

Lance

Red felt like his head was spinning. He sat down. It made perfect sense now, why Green and Blue should be so worried. This was indeed cause for concern. It seemed as though Lance was preparing his next strike on Kanto – on the entire world!

"Now you see why we're so upset," Blue replied with a half-hearted smirk.

They were silent for a moment. Then…

"They won't find Agatha," Blue spat, "she's too slick. If she doesn't want to be found, she won't. We don't have to worry about trouble from her."

"And they seem to need Agatha, or else Bruno won't comply. Lance made that completely clear," Red noted quietly, still distressed from the letter.

"So they won't be half as powerful as they were last time," Green said, with a shaky giggle, "and now we know what they're up to. They have no idea that we know. It gives us the advantage!"

They were silent again. Doubts nagged at their minds.

Unless… yeah, but… not quite yet, but… maybe…

Suddenly, they were snapped out of their reveries by a knock on the door.

"Quick!" Green hissed at Red (who was still in his suit and gray hair dye, although he'd taken off his 'dorkier' accessories) "go into my bathroom. Change into these-" she thrust his everyday clothing at him "- and change! Remember, you're sick with a stomach virus! Don't come out until you've changed and haven't a bit of your disguise on you!"

As Green gave her orders to Red, Blue shoved the fake moustache, hat, and sunglasses under Green's bed.

As soon as Red shut the bathroom door, Green tensely opened the door to her room. Automatically, her expression became sweet and relaxed.

Only someone who knew her as well as Blue could recognize it as an act. It wasn't that Green had to act to be nice to Yellow, it was just that Green's real feelings were nothing but tense (because of the letter, and the blonde's sudden entrance) and she didn't want to let Yellow know that.

"Oh, hi, Yellow," she greeted calmly, "Good to see you here. Why are you dropping by?"

Yellow seemed a bit uneasy, apparently because of her motivation for coming here. She fidgeted from foot to foot then answered:

"I need to speak with Red, please… right away… I checked his cabin, but he wasn't there…" she trailed off hopelessly, the poor girl obviously nervous.

Green frowned, and Blue noticed one-hundred percent genuine concern in her eyes. "What's wrong? I'm afraid you probably can't talk right now, he's-"

Red, with perfect timing, retched as though he were about to vomit.

Suddenly, Yellow was concerned as well. "Is he alright?" she blurted, " I thought he'd be better by now; are you sure it's only a stomach bug? He could-"

Green cut in. "Yellow, what were you going to say? It sounded pretty important.."

"Um, it's okay. Could you please…tell Red that I came by? I really need to speak with him. It's important!"

"Okay, I'll give him your message," Green said soothingly. More retching noises.

Yellow bit her lip, then managed a smile. "Well, I'd better be going then. Remember to give him my message!"

The door shut, and there was quiet. That was quick. She must have been in a hurry, Green thought.

"Why don't you just tell her about the whole Lorelai scenario?" he asked, his eyes piercing into Green.

Green didn't look at him. She looked in the direction Yellow had left by, and replied:

"I can't tell you," she said calmly, her voice wavering only slightly.

Then, testily: "Why not?"

She turned around. "Because," she said with the faintest hint of a smile, "the first way to fool your enemies is to fool your friends."

"That's stupid," Blue mumbled as Red came out of the bathroom. His hair was damp, and he was wearing his normal clothing.

"Hi," he said, trying to be cheerful (the letter was still on everyone's mind) "it took forever for that dye to come out." He still had traces of the gray in his dark hair. "Was that Yellow?"

"Yeah, she wanted you to go see her sometime soon. She said it was really important," Green told him.

Red thought for a moment. "I guess I'd better go see her then…"

But when he got out of the room, Red could only feel a pouding in his head.

Fresh air. That's what he needed.

So he passed Yellow's door and instead headed to the deck.