Six Years Ago

"She fought valiantly, Lance. Don't blame yourself." Agatha said emotionlessly. Next to her, Lance stood with his jaw clenched painfully tight and his fists clenched by his dies. His eyes bore holes into the ground where Lorelei rested.

"Don't patronize me Agatha. I could've gotten here faster. I should've known..." Lance responded as tears began running down his face. Agatha stood wordlessly to the side as Lance struggled to keep a steady breath.

"Dammit. Where are they now? I'm gonna crush them, I swear I'll-"

"Lance!" Agatha shouted, causing Lance to flinch. "There are more important things to do right now, Lance. Kanto doesn't need vengeance. It needs safety. It needs a protector, Lance." Lance was silent for a while as was Agatha, who had tears streaming down her face as well. The two stood in silence for several minutes until the sound of grass-padded footsteps rustled the air. They turned to see a young girl walking towards them.

"You're..." Lance said before the girl began bawling. Both Lance and Agatha ran over to the girl instantly. The girl looked up at the two with pleading eyes flooded with tears and attempted hopelessly to communicate through her sobs. Agatha wrapped her arms around the girl and held her tight. Lance watched as Agatha tenderly calmed down the former gym leader known as Misty.

"It's okay sweetheart, it's okay." Agatha repeated over and over again in as motherly a tone as she could muster. Before long the girl had passed out from exhaustion and Agatha continued stroking the girl's hair absentmindedly. Seeing that she had everything under control, Lance turned back towards Lorelei's grave. He saw a tall, dark-haired woman standing in front of it.

"Lance. Agatha." The woman said as she turned around.

Present Day

Misty squared off against the Steelix-Onix pair in front of her, keeping her emotions in check and her head level.

"Rapidash, Bounce! Swampert, use Earthquake!" Misty ordered. With a majestic neigh, Rapidash leapt into the air just as Swampert slammed its arms into the ground with a mighty roar. The entire cave began to groan under Swampert's power and the two wild Pokemon in front of it were thrown into each other before crashing into the floor. The Onix groggily got up, but was quickly defeated when Rapidash finally came down to execute its Bounce attack.

The Steelix let out an angry roar, but instead of attacking, it slowly moved backwards. It knew it had been defeated, and apparently had no desire to end up like its fallen comrade. Turning, Misty saw that the two Onixes behind her were also retreating, although she didn't recall hearing Steven give his Metagross any commands. And just like that, Steven and Misty were alone in Cerulean Cave, save for their Pokemon.

"What were those guys doing this close to the entrance?" Steven wonder aloud.

"My only guess is that something forced them out of their territory." Misty responded, causing Steven's frown to deepen.

"But what could get a pod of Onixes and Steelixes to move this far up?"

"Well," Misty began reluctantly, "the only thing I can think of is that pack of Houndooms and Houndours that Janine logged a few months ago." Steven's wordless response made it clear that Misty's guess was a long shot.

"I suppose it is possible..." he stated, although once again he was talking more to himself than to Misty.

"Well whatever it is, I suppose we'll find it sooner or later." Misty said with a shrug as she reached into her bag. Steven watched as her expression changed from apathetic to confused to panicked as she used her hand to search all over her bag.

"Are you okay Misty?"

"Shit, I forgot to bring the log book!" Misty hissed. She stopped and then took a breath. Getting mad wouldn't help anything. The mouth of the cave was still somewhat visible, so Misty could go home, get her log book, and then return within the hour.

"I can't believe I forgot it," Misty muttered as she turned towards the light that signaled the cave's opening.

"Hey Misty, you mean this?" Steven called. Misty turned back around and could just barely make out Steven waving a small book at her. She gave a sheepish smile.

"Thanks Steven, you're a lifesaver." She sighed. Ever since Cerulean City became a refuge, the cave was off-limits to everyone aside from those who passed a rather rigorous exam. And whenever they entered the cave, they were required to take a log book with them and to make note of any and all Pokemon behavior patterns and changes. It was by no means illegal not to, but Misty felt it necessary to set the example regardless.

"Here, I already marked down the Onix pod. You're welcome," Steven smiled. Misty accepted it without eye contact and without further words, the two were once again on their way throughout the cave with Steven and Metagross trailing slightly .behind Misty. Steven tried focusing on the rocks, but his eyes kept floating towards Misty. She was perfect in every way. She was strong when it counted, but kind-hearted as well. Just like the sea itself, at times peaceful and other times raging. But yet, always breathtaking to behold no matter its form. His heart beat a little bit faster, but he forced himself to calm down. Just friends was as far as this relationship would go. And that would have to suffice.

"Hey Steven?" Misty asked, snapping Steven out of his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Look here," she said, bending down by a small pond. As Steven got closer, he saw a small group of eggs. It took him a few moments to realize they were Goldeen eggs. And they were hatching. Glancing sideways, Steven saw a wistful smile on Misty's face and found himself smiling along with her. He looked back at the eggs and within seconds, they had hatched. Almost instantly a pair of Seakings swam up towards them, pointing their horns menacingly at Steven and Misty who backed away slowly.

"We're sorry little guys, we didn't mean to disturb." Misty said courteously even going so far as to bow her head slightly. Steven inwardly sighed. A healthy respect for Pokemon was always a nice thing in a girl. Steven found himself staring again and quickly looked down.

"Steven..." Misty started but Steven stopped her.

"I'm sorry, Misty, really I just-"

"No, it's fine I just- Steven I-"

"I know Misty. You and Red and...I'm sorry, I really am. It's just-"

"What? No! I mean...I don't...maybe we should just keep going." Steven wanted to speak but decided that maybe a cave crawling with powerful Pokemon that could strike at a moment's notice wasn't the best place to talk about the issue.

"Yeah...that's probably best..." Steven said softly. The conversation died after that and the lack of Pokemon made the silence seem deafening.

"Red, I bought you here under the assumption you could control yourself. If I am wrong, please let me know now." Lance said somberly the first chance he and Red were alone. Red sulked like a typical teenage boy would, arms crossed and eyes glaring forward.

"If I see them, I will crush them." Red looked Lance in the eye unflinchingly. Lance glared at him, matching his intensity. The staring match could have continued indefinitely had one of the Vermilion natives not entered the room.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything I just-"

"No," Lance interrupted. "It's fine. What is it man?"

"Team Rocket! We have reason to believe they're coming!" Lance glanced at Red, who glanced back at Lance. Before words could be exchanged, however, another Vermilion native ran into the room.

"Rocket's here!" He shouted. Lance cursed as Red sprinted out of the room with Pikachu scurrying at his heels. Lance followed quickly along with the two Vermilion individuals. Even though they were only a few seconds apart, by the time Lance had arrived outside, Red and Pikachu were already holding off several Team Rocket members.

"This is the Red?!" One of the Rocket members asked incredulously before his Heatmor fell to a Thunderbolt. Before the Rocket member could release another Pokemon, he was blasted by a Thunder Wave and sank to the ground. Similarly, his companions fell as well.

"Red! What are yo-oh...you're...showing restraint." Lance said as he came next to Red, who glared at him.

"Yeah, I am. Hey you," Red said, pointing towards one of the Vermilion citizens. "Grab them, put them somewhere." The man nodded dumbly while Red continued forward on his warpath with Pikachu at his heels. As Lance looked down, he noticed a small pale yellow orb tied around Pikachu's neck.

"Red, is that what I think it is?" Lance asked. Red looked at Lance and then responded.

"Yeah, the light ball. I found it a few weeks before...Rocket." Lance regarded the ball with wonder as the two continued. Team Rocket members and Vermilion citizens alike stared in amazement as Lance and Red laid waste to the entirety of Team Rocket with ease.

"You can't do this to me!" One of the newly imprisoned Team Rocket members shouted angrily as Red and Lance angrily pulled him towards a fairly small jail cell furnished only with a bed and a radio.

"We can and we are." Red snarled as they tossed the prisoner into his cell. The 'prison' was situated near the mouth of the Cerulean Cave, hidden by a Pokemon's Secret Power. Despite being a jail cell, however, the room was furnished fairly nicely with a small but soft bed, a separate bathroom, and a collection of assorted magazines.

"Do you know who I am? Who I work for?" The prisoner shouted angrily. Red rolled his eyes before biting back.

"I don't care who you are and all I need to know is that you're Team Rocket scum." The prisoner gulped as he stared at the barely concealed rage in Red's face. Satisfied, Red and Lance turned around to exit the room. Feeling suddenly emboldened, the prisoner continued.

"My name is Trask and I work under Giovanni's son, Silver!" He shouted. At this, the two former Pokemon Champions stopped. Lance was the only of the two who turned around however. Trask, pleased that he had an audience, continued speaking.

"Yeah buddy, it'd be one thing if I was under Domino or Greevil because then I'd be screwed!" He all but screamed in a manic voice. "But Silver; Silver never lets his guys get taken. He will come for me!" Lance said nothing, but instead turned and followed Red out of the room while Trask continued to shout threats on Silver's behalf.

"You really think Giovanni will let his only son come here?" Lance asked once the two had exited the cave. Red's eyes showed no emotion as he spoke, although a faint smile graced his face.

"I guess we'll soon find out just how much Silver means to his dear old dad."

Thanks again for the reviews you too, I really am glad y'all are enjoying it. And varee, yes I'm gonna keep up with this. I put a lot of time into making everything work, so I might as well see it through.