1 Year Ago
"Thanks for letting me come with you," Red said after a few hours of walking. His voice was low, which wasn't particularly necessary as it was unlikely there was anyone in the area. Slightly in front of him, Janine smiled.
"Sure thing," she said. "A little bit of non-Cerulean air is probably good for you." She joked. Red laughed. He didn't smile -or if he did, it was so faint Janine missed it-, and it was a mostly humorless laugh, but Janine considered a laugh nonetheless. At his feet, Pikachu sniffed the ground and air around him suspiciously.
"Yeah probably. So what are we doing anyway?" He tried hiding his true intentions, but Janine could tell Red wanted an attack on Team Rocket. Which was not the focus of this mission.
"We're going to the Indigo Plateau just to see what the people there need. That way we can tell Lance and he can bring them what they need. Hopefully, we won't meet any Team Rocket members." Janine said, slightly emphasizing the last sentence. Red gave a short nod, signaling that he heard but wasn't satisfied by the answer. Janine focused on what was in front of her. They were nearing Viridian City: the most dangerous part of their journey. Giovanni himself liked to stay in his old gym, which the duo had to walk directly behind in order to get to Indigo Plateau.
A mile away, Janine could hear nothing. What was once a bustling city was mostly quiet since the Rocket takeover since most citizens either stayed inside or fled to Johto. Regardless, she could tell they were close and stopped so that Red could catch up.
"Now listen," Janine began in a whisper. "We need to get to those trees over there as quickly and inconspicuously as possible, okay? You go first." Janine said, pointing towards the small mini-forest on the other side of Route 2. Red nodded wordlessly and peeked around the corner. All clear. He looked down at Pikachu who scrambled up to its owner's shoulder. Red then made a break for it and a few seconds later, Red had disappeared from Janine's view. She took a deep breath and was about to sprint when she heard voices.
"You sure it wasn't a Pokemon or something?" One of the voices asked. Janine carefully held out a small mirror and saw, to her horror, two Rocket grunts. She inwardly cursed, her heartbeat quickening. Across Route 2, Red hissed a curse and struggled to keep an eye on Janine. He knew she wanted as little combat as possible, but it looked like a quick Thunder Wave was necessary.
"Pikachu," Red began when a voice shushed him. Red swore and violently turned to see Janine with a finger over her mouth. The two looked back at the Rocket grunts, who were still looking for some Pokemon. Red gave Janine an incredulous look and the ninja just smiled and winked.
Present Day
Silver was irate. That was honestly one of the few words in the dictionary that could be used to accurately describe what the Team Rocket heir was feeling as he sat on his bed and began to think. Had anyone asked what he was thinking about, they would have gotten a silent and irritated glare. All manner of things floated through Silver's mind, but one in particular was how he was going to get his men out of Cerulean City.
The red-haired teenager knew for a fact that his subordinates wouldn't just be released because he asked, but Silver also knew that there was no his father would allow for a full-scale attack on Cerulean. Not yet, anyway. Whatever Giovanni was planning for one of the last few strongholds in the Kanto and Johto regions, it was big and as a result, the city was all but off-limits.
No, Silver needed to be smart about this. He considered taking a small task force, but immediately dismissed the idea. If they were outnumbered, then Silver could kiss his freedom good-bye. The longer Silver mulled over the problem, the clearer one idea became. One way or another, Silver would have to break into Cerulean City. Obviously an attack from outside was all but-
Silver found his thoughts jarred by the always irritating yet admittedly smooth voice that belonged one of Giovanni's most trusted generals. With an agitated sigh, Silver looked up to see Domino walking into his room with a wide smile on her face. Had Silver not been a teenage boy, Domino's sudden appearance would have been indescribably annoying. But, while she was an obnoxious woman whose morals and agendas were about as clear as ink, Domino was at least nice to look at.
"What do you want, Domino? Get out of my room, I'm busy." Silver snapped, causing Domino to giggle mockingly.
"Would you rather Vicious be in here?" The blonde asked, feigning an innocent curiosity. Silver's red eyes darkened at the mention of Vicious' name. As much as he hated Domino and her inability to just say what she wanted, Silver absolutely loathed Vicious. An arrogant, loud-mouthed weakling who, for reasons far beyond Silver's understanding, Giovanni had seen fit to make a general.
"What. Do. You. Want?" Silver repeated, his voice an irritated growl. Domino's eyes narrowed while her smile widened.
"This is really bad!" Jasmine cried out over her phone. The former gym leader quickly but quietly descended a flight of stairs and found herself at a teleportation pad. She knew where the pad went, but what she didn't know was who would be on the other side. Grabbing a Pokeball, Jasmine stepped on the tab.
"Just get outside, someone will be there waiting for you. Hurry, Jasmine!" The garbled voice on the other end of the phone ordered. Jasmine could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she quickly worked her way out of this sinister building. After what felt like an hour, Jasmine could see the exit. And then she felt something behind her. Turning around, she felt a force crash into her. It was a brutal landing as Jasmine collided with the front door which, to her horror, didn't open.
"And to think, my dear, you almost got away. Now do tell, what are you doing so far from home?" A female voice said as a figure emerged from the shadows. There was a loud crash above her and Jasmine had to look down to avoid getting glass in her face, thus missing the massive vines that had punched through the building's glass doors.
"Come on Jasmine!" Another female voice shouted pleadingly, this one much younger and pleasant sounding than the first. Jasmine ignored the pain of her hand pressing into shards of glass as she forced herself up and painfully made her way out of the building.
"Do you really think Silver will show up?" Misty asked the small council that had gathered in the quarters beneath the Pokemon Center. With her in the room were Lance, Steven, Red, and Janine. For a while no one answered and then Janine spoke up.
"Well if history is any indication, then yes, he will." She stated gravely. Misty's mouth set itself in a firm line and her fists clenched, almost without her consent.
"But there's no way he'll attack Cerulean. There's no way he'll win." Steven countered.
"That depends on how much back-up he brings with him." Red stated bluntly, causing the others in the room to shift uncomfortably. It was a harsh and brutal truth.
"We can't just give up the prisoners, though!" Misty shouted earnestly, feeling the situation beginning to spiral.
"Relax," Lance said, his voice both booming yet soothing. Misty took a deep breath.
"We're in a very precarious situation. If we release the prisoners now, we might be able to avoid a major conflict with Silver and Team Rocket by extension." Steven said, putting his opinion out for the group to weigh.
"Unless Silver's already on his way with an army." Red said, but Janine shook her head.
"From what I can gather, Giovanni's waiting for something. I'm not quite sure what it is, but it's what's keeping him from sacking Cerulean outright. Silver won't come with an army. At least, not a huge one. Giovanni won't risk a huge battle, even if it is his son." She explained. A bit of hope flowed in the five individuals in the room.
"Okay so there's a possibility we can win this?" Misty asked naively.
"It's very slim. Even if Giovanni doesn't send an entire horde, there's no doubt that Silver's forces alone are enough to be reckoned with. We would potentially have to pull our resources from Vermillion and Saffron just to hold them off. And if we do that, then predictably, that leaves those two cities absolutely defenseless." Lance stated. Misty sighed. This is why she hated strategy meetings. It consisted of a lot of back-and-forth between five rather intelligent people.
"Well they wouldn't be absolutely defenseless. The defensive measures Surge installed into Vermillion should help them hold off for a few days and Saffron is just a miracle city. No matter how many Rocket grunts and admins get sent there, it just won't fall." Steven stated. Lance gave him a sideways glance that only Janine caught.
"What is up with Saffron anyway? We're their allies, and yet not even Janine can get in." Misty asked suddenly. Lance's answer was quick and his tone made it clear that he had no desire to discuss the topic further.
"We don't know. Whatever Sabrina did, it worked." Red and Janine looked at each other and gave each other understanding but imperceptible nods. Lance was hiding something.
"So can we do this then? Can we prepare for Silver by taking a few trainers and stuff from Vermillion and Saffron?" Misty asked hopefully. Steven looked at Lance and for a while no one said or did anything.
"Perhaps," Red stated, "we could even grab a trainer or two from the Indigo Plateau? Those trainers are really strong, right?" Lance took a few deep breaths.
"You guys realize, this is a long shot. We have no idea how big a force Silver wants to bring. Or even if he'll bring one at all. After all, he's never had anyone trapped in Cerulean before. As much as the kid likes coming to the rescue, the risk here is simply too much. We could be weakening Vermillion and Saffron for nothing." Lance reasoned, making it clear he had no desire to have a wide-scale battle with Team Rocket, or at least he wanted more information before doing so.
"Cerulean is the sturdiest stronghold we have, Lance. Even if there's a possibility we could be under attack, we need to take it seriously." Red argued. Lance said nothing for a long time. Finally, he spoke.
"Fine, I'll call Saffron and the Plateau to make the necessary arrangements. Steven, get Vermillion." Lance ordered. Misty let out a sigh of relief as Steven nodded. Lance followed Steven into the elevator and held it open for the other three.
"I'm gonna stay down here, try and sleep." Red stated. Misty looked at Janine, who said nothing, but the message was clear. She wanted to be alone with Red. Misty nodded and quickly left the room. Red walked over to the bed and sat on it, leaving enough room for Janine to sit too if she wanted. Instead, she stayed standing.
"Red, Lance knows something we don't." Janine said, stating the obvious. Red nodded.
"If we confront him though, he won't talk. I assure you that." Now it was Janine's turn to nod. She looked at Red as his eyes continuously would glaze over, focus on her, and then glaze over again. For him to be this tired, it must have been days since Red last slept.
"Red," Janine said in a soft voice, that forced the boy to listen intently. "If we make it through this assault from Silver, come with me to Saffron City."
This chapter was kinda boring, but longer than usual. Oh well, I just wanted to say that this is gonna start the first real story arc. Not quite sure how many chapters it'll last, but it'll likely be a while. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying :)