Three Years Ago

"Wow so you're the Red?" Ethan asked, completely starstruck. Red glanced down at him wordlessly. The boy had just appeared from nowhere a few minutes ago and proceeded to bombard Red with questions, requests, and every other excuse to talk to his apparent hero. Red finally had enough.

"Yes. I'm Red. Are you satisfied now?" Red growled, although the malice he showed wasn't truly there. Somehow Ethan sensed this and refused to back down. Instead he simply stared into Red's eyes, excitement building. Red groaned and continued walking with Ethan at his heels. Red honestly had no idea where he was going, so Ethan would take turns between requests for Red to train him and explaining to Red everything he had learned about Cerulean.

"Isn't this place awesome?" Ethan asked once the two had come to Nugget Bridge. Throughout the entire village, this was the one place that hadn't changed much. Red said nothing, much to Ethan's chagrin. "You know, you're not the only victim here Red." Startled, Red looked to see Ethan standing up.

"I, um, heard that you were in a prison so you probably had it really bad. Worse than most, I'll give you. But everyone here is still a victim. You can't just close yourself off from them. They need you Red. And in a way, you need them." Ethan said. After that he smiled and gave Red a thumbs up. He then turned to walk off, leaving a rather confused Red in his wake.

Red turned his attention back to the small river that made its way past the Cerulean Cave. The way the sun reflected off the clear water was beautiful, Red had to admit. Before he quite realized what he was doing, Red found himself making his way towards the cave. He had cut through the city and had to climb over a few ledges, but soon he was there at the mouth of the cave. He took a step then noticed a presence beside him.

"I wouldn't go alone." She said. Red violently turned and saw a beautiful purple-haired woman about his age. She extended her hand.

"Janine. I was the Fuschia gym leader until..." she let her voice trail and Red nodded in understanding. "But yeah, it's dangerous to go in there alone. Even for you."

"I'll stay close to the entrance." Red offered. Janine gave a short disbelieving laugh.

"Here, how about I go in with you. It's against the rules for anyone to go in solo, and I wanted to take a trip in there too." Red opened his mouth to argue, but the look in Janine's eyes told him it was useless. Wordlessly, he walked into the cave with Janine behind him. The two walked in silence for a few minutes, the cave growing darker as they moved further and further away from the mouth.

"That boy you were talking to, Ethan," Janine began. Red glanced back at her.

"You've been stalking me?" He asked. Janine laughed, but ignored the question.

"He was saved by Misty and Mort - one of Johto's gym leaders. Giovanni's son was about to off him." Red said nothing, keeping his eyes forward. Janine also said nothing and the two simply ventured further into the cave.

Present Day

"You let her get away?!" An enraged voice exploded, causing the three commanders in the room to flinch.

"I-I'm sorry Cyrus. She had back-up and I was caught off guard." One of the female figures responded quietly. The first voice, Cyrus, took a deep breath but said nothing.

"What did she take?" He asked.

"We believe that she took information pertaining to our Red Chain operation, sir." A different voice, this time a male, said.

"Dammit!" Cyrus voice barked and over the phone, the three commanders could hear him slam his hands into the table, which caused them to jump again. Cyrus took another deep breath.

Cerulean City had become almost a fortress overnight. Police officers walked back and forth in front of the eastern gate while Officer Jenny kept watch over the skies from the Cerulean Tower. All over the place, the various higher-ups of Cerulean sat on rooftops, just waiting. They had been on high alert like this for about two weeks now and so far nothing. Janine had been sent to try and find out Silver's plans, but that too was about two weeks ago. Red wished he had gone with her. If she was caught, she could get imprisoned. Memories of being a Rocket prisoner began to flood into Red''s mind.

Just barely he could feel his muscles tighten. It started becoming harder to breathe, but Red couldn't notice since his mind had traveled four years into the past. He didn't notice that his body temperature was beginning to rise to nearly uncomfortable levels and that his limbs were trembling. All he could see was the tortures he witnessed. All he could feel was the pain he endured. He gritted his teeth as he relived each and every day he was in that damned hell-hole Team Rocket called a prison.

Had Red been aware of his own body, he would've noticed the numbness in his fingers or how dangerously he was to the edge of the PokeMart he was sitting on. He would have heard Pikachu crying for its trainer. He would have noticed the streaks of lightning that shot from his Pokemon as it tried to alert the entire city to the situation on the roof.

But Red didn't notice. All he could see was what once was known as the Safari Zone. He could see the Pokemon he had to constantly evade. He could smell the stench of rotting flesh, both human and Pokemon. He felt the stings and the cuts and the breaks he had suffered there. He saw Charizard.

"Red!" A voice screamed, causing Red to exit his waking nightmare. He noticed that everything was black, although he could hear voices. He realized his eyes were closed and slowly opened them. He was on his back and Misty was standing over him, distress all over her face. Lance and Steven stood over him as well. Red warily sat up and noticed a pain in his hands. His finger tips were red and blood trickled from his palms where his fists had been clenched. Red took a few deep breaths.

It was just a panic attack. Red looked around. The city looked the same as it had about ten or fifteen minutes ago. Red could feel his blood rushing through his veins as his body slowly began to relax. He stood up and his vision began to spin slightly. Misty, Lance, and Steven watched him closely.

"I'm fine. Sorry." Red said dismissively. Lance wordlessly nodded and turned so that his Dragonite could fly him away. He knew it was best not to press the issue. It would only make Red embarrassed and nervous. And it was best not to take that route so soon after a panic attack. It might start another. He found himself hoping Misty wouldn't push it. Red had already collapsed once today.

Back on the PokeMart roof, Steven was just lingering while Misty struggled between fussing over Red and not provoking him further. In the end, she simply stood there awkwardly.

"I'm fine." He repeated sternly, his eyes refusing to look Misty in the face. Misty wanted to reach out, but couldn't decide if that would be the best decision.

"A-are you sure? When Pikachu started firing off Thunders, everyone was concerned. I just want-"

"I said I'm fine." Red snapped. His vision started getting spotty again. He tried to calm down, but Misty often made staying calm...difficult. It was hard to stay emotionless around her.

"She's just worried Red. We all are." Steven said standing up. Red turned to face the former champion.

"I know. Thanks. I'm fine." Red replied in a tense voice. This time his eyes met Steven's and a silent battle of wills ensued. Misty cleared her throat, forcing the boys' attention off of each and onto her.

"Okay Red, if you're sure you're okay then we'll head back." Misty said quietly. Red nodded. Both Misty and Steven boarded Misty's Jellicent and they were soon gone, leaving the PokeMart roof in silence again. Red squatted on the ground next to Pikachu and rubbed its head.

"Thanks buddy," he said softly. Pikachu nudged his hand affectionately. Red fully sat down and turned his attention to the sky. His mind lingered on Misty. Maybe he was a bit too cold towards her. He just didn't want her to worry. Did that make her worry more? He gave a frustrated sigh. High-alert Cerulean made everything way more difficult.

The trip back to their respective roofs was awkward to say the least for Misty and Steven. Neither said anything to each other. They had to pass Misty's station in order to get to Steven's and the silver-haired young man briefly considered just walking to his station. But instead he said nothing. Steven shifted and his hand landed on Misty's causing him to jump.

"Um, sorry." He mumbled, moving his hand and turning his face.

"It's, um, okay. Don't worry about it. It's fine." She replied mechanically. Steven turned to look at her and could see that she was still thinking of Red. Steven held back a frustrated groan. Part of him wanted to tell Misty that Red was fine and another part wanted to tell her not to worry about Red at all. Finally they landed on the southern most building in Cerulean, the bike shop.

Misty and Steven gave each other quick good-byes and just like that, Misty was on her way to the southeastern portion of the city. Steven watched as her Jellicent floated further and further away before siting on the roof. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. It was almost six in the evening. Soon everyone would come off watch, eat dinner and take a break while Lance would continue circling the city. Steven debated on circling with him and decided it was probably for the best.

Steven grabbed his notebook and the pencil beside it. Inside were mostly sketches of various rocks and other materials he had found lying around the Kanto region. It his mind, Sinnoh was the best when it came to rare stones. Kanto was too urbanized and the places that man had mostly left untouched were either coastal or jungle, neither of which were great places for rare stones. Although, there was the cave. Steven had found quite a few interesting stones there, many of which had been crafted into jewelry he either gave to Misty or sold. Steven pushed the thought of stones out of his mind, however. He opened the notebook to the pages containing his sketch of Cerulean.

He was nearly done with it, all he needed to do was draw out the west entrance. He closed his eyes, perfectly remembering the exact scene he was trying to draw. It had been about a year after he arrived in Cerulean and he had convinced Misty to let him draw her in front of the village. Steven summoned his Reuniclus and Skarmory to help him keep watch while he prepared to draw. The next hour or so was spent by Steven looking between his notebook, south of the city, and his own memory.

He didn't even notice that time was up until Misty cleared her throat, causing him to look up. She was standing behind him, giving her full view of the just-finished sketch. Steven looked at her, but Misty's eyes were focused on the picture and the girl that stood in the center. Was that really her? The girl was so beautiful. And the city behind the girl looked so grand.

"Do you like it?" Steven asked hesitantly. Misty found herself speechless.

"Is that girl...really me?" She asked, her memories of that day coming back. She remembered feeling so awkward with Steven drawing her and feeling so grateful when Lance interrupted them. Had Lance been working on this all that time?

"Yeah, of course it is. Why? You don't like it?" Steven asked, his voice rising slightly. Misty had always wondered what it was like to be touched by a work of art. She had heard the expression countless times before, but now she truly understood what it meant.

"It's beautiful Steven. Absolutely beautiful."

Silver was ready to move. Two of his generals stood behind him, covered head-to-toe in black along with a few dozen captains and about five grunts. Silver had neglected to go the ninja route in preference of comfort and ease of movement. His long red hair was tied in a ponytail. It was a long way to Cerulean from the Sevii Islands, but the boat was ready. It was a small submarine capable of moving up to 150mph. It was built of a nearly unbreakable material that could plow through anything without slowing down. It was a ship after Team Rocket's own heart: The Black Bullet. It went where it went, and broke through any barriers to get there.

"Are you ready, sir?" One of the generals asked. Silver nodded and the strike force piled into the submarine. It was a tight fit, but no one dared complain. Had Domino been in charge, she would have simply gotten a bigger albeit slower ship. Vicious would have tossed any complainers into the ocean to be swept where they may by the current. But Silver's company was trained better. They accepted their situation without question.

Just like that, the Black Bullet was gone. Submerged into the Sevii Ocean. Above them, practically invisible floated Janine, carried by the combined power of her Crobat and Noctowl. She allowed Noctowl to release her arm so that she could zip up her wetsuit and then sealed the owl Pokemon into its Pokeball.

"You ready Crobat?" Janine asked. Just then she felt a sharp sting in her side and was forced to bite her tongue to keep from screaming out. Her side burned and was cold at the same time and Janine instantly recognized it as an ice-type attack. She searched frantically for the source and let go of Crobat just as another Ice Beam was about to collide with her. She summoned Crobat back into its Pokeball and was about to hit the water when another attack, collided with her. She hadn't seen it coming, but Janine for a split second found herself in a cloud-like substance. The force of the impact had forced the air from her lungs and sent her flying back, unable to even flail.

As soon as Janine hit the water, she knew she was in trouble. The violent waves of the Sevii Ocean carried back and forth and it was all but impossible to surface for a quick breath. Janine could feel the pressure in her chest. At this rate she was going to drown. She groped for a Pokeball, hoping it was the right one. Something hit her in the face and it took all of Janine's willpower to stay conscious. Her vision was going black. She saw a red flash and then the world went black.

Around the now unconscious body of Janine, the water began to spin and churn even faster. Soon the girl's body found itself in a whirlpool. Her head was mostly out of the water, although it occasionally went under. Janine's Vaporeon cried shrilly for her to wake up. It couldn't keep this up for long. It tried a screech attack. Normally it knew better than to make this much noise, but circumstances dictated it was necessary. Vaporeon continued to cry out.