Chapter 16: Woes

At first, Tamao didn't have any dreams. However, she was aware that she was asleep; the darkness around her wasn't merely caused by her closed eyes. No. The darkness was deeper than that; there was no light shining through it, the way it would if she really was just laying awake. And from the deep darkness, Tamao knew that she was in trouble. She was in major trouble, and she had no idea why. She found it hard to think about it. The reason she had fallen to this odd, apparently dangerous slumber… She couldn't think of it. She knew it was because of someone, but who was it?

The thought of people caused Tamao's mind to wander. Her eyes were closed, and the darkness was infinite, so she had nothing to stare at. A mind with no vision occupying it was open for any thoughts that drifted in. There might have been an outer force too, one that wanted her to think about other things. Even so, Tamao found it a lot easier to think about anything else but her current situation. She considered fighting back, but it was useless. It seemed she had been mentally captured by this dreamless sleep, so she might as well behave herself. That at least gave her higher chances of surviving the situation in a reasonable way.

So her mind wandered. The first person it went to was Silver. It bothered Tamao quite a lot that he was the first one she thought of, but she let it be. This was no time to be in denial; there was something in him that attracted her thoughts. This wasn't the first time, after all. She had thought of him several times during the very short time she had known him. And somehow, now, here in this dreamless sleep, Tamao thought that he probably went through the same phenomena. His thoughts were probably pulled towards her like three Magnemites were pulled to each other when a Magneton was about to be born. The way Grimers found themselves attracted by polluted waters, without even considering the clear and clean waters, Tamao's mind went to Silver first, without even giving her the chance of think of others. Not before she was done with thinking of him.

However, Tamao doubted it was anything as natural as the creation of Magnetons or Grimers nesting. There was something more to this. If Tamao were to tell any of her sisters, Sakura, for instance, they would probably call it something as cheesy as 'love at first sight'. While the thought did not make Tamao flinch, probably because she was not awake enough to flinch, she felt no need to rush to desperate denial. She knew it was untrue, and she could calmly think so, while still admitting that her thoughts were not attracted to him by a coincidence. She could feel it now; there was something there when she talked to him. There was something between them when he walked towards her, when he invited her to come along him. Something that could be mistaken for a bond. Something that could surely, one day, if treated correctly, turn into a bond. But it was not a bond yet. A bond was a natural thing, something summoned by… fate? Maybe. Tamao wasn't sure, but she believed that a bond was something Morty could see. And Morty had not warned her about this. If he had seen it, surely he had warned her she would form a bond with someone? After all, right now, such bonds would only restrict her. Make it harder for her.

That thought made Tamao realize something. The restriction, the beginning of a bond that tied her to Silver against her will; it was like a chain. However, the more Tamao thought about it, it did not feel like a chain was connecting her to Silver. It was not like they had been handcuffed together. It was more like they were the chain. Like they were links in a chain, links that existed right next to each other. They were connected, connected with others, but directly connected with each other. So their thoughts met often. Their thoughts met so often, they were creating a bond as a by-product.

This thought, both absurd and abstract, made Tamao feel calmer. While it made no sense to her, it was the most logical thing she had thought for a while. While a part of her thought that thinking while unconscious really wasn't a good idea, every single cell in her body understood that this thing her unconsciousness had bought up was close to the truth. And while she couldn't understand it, she believed it.

The whole chain thought made Tamao so relaxed, her mind started moving on to other people. The first person it touched after Silver was Crystal. It went to her so quickly, without giving time for anyone else, that Tamao grew a bit suspicious about her too. She felt her pain so clearly. What if there was a link between them too? Was she a part of this supposed chain Tamao was thinking of? She had been told she had taken Crystal's place in destiny… But what did that mean, anyway? Were they really linked? And if they were, did it mean she was linked to Silver too? They had known each other before… everything. So it was possible. This thought, however, did not calm Tamao down. Quite the opposite. It made her uneasy, and uneasiness seemed to make thinking more difficult to her. Tamao decided to move on; she didn't want to make this slumber any deeper than it already was.

Ignoring the whole chain thing, Crystal was probably worried of her. A lot of time had to have passed since she left them, and Crystal was probably trying to contact her, when she wasn't busy being driven crazy by Eusine. He was probably worried too, and Tamao could guess how annoying he had to be when worried. He probably drove everyone around him crazy, not only Crystal, but maybe even Leafia and Glacia too… If they were with them. Although Tamao couldn't be sure, she was certain that Leafia and Glacia were not with her. Murkrow was not there either. Not in their pokeballs, not close to her by all means. It was hard to explain, but she felt it. She knew she was alone, alone wherever she slept. There might have been someone with her, but that someone was not someone she wanted to be with. That someone was a person she should not think about, for that person made her mind blurrier if she paid him or her too much attention. That person was the one granting her this dreamless darkness.

The dizziness and blurry mind was getting to her, so Tamao decided all she could do was to worry of other things. All she had for now was her clear mind; she wanted to keep it clear. Her consciousness and body were apparently controlled, so all she could do was think. And think she did. But thoughts always had a tendency of turning into worry. Worry and painful memories. After all, there was something Tamao still had yet to understand, something she still needed to realize. And apparently, this threat of blurriness was there to keep her from realizing it. Therefore, she had to think of other things to worry of. The worries and the memories might bring her the solution too, although that road was a lot rockier. She was to fall, it'd be very painful. But right now, it was all she could do. She had to worry.

While Tamao was quite sure her pokemon were physically all right, she was worried of their thoughts as much as her own thoughts worried her. After all, her pokemon had always shown devotion to her. Devotion that she had sometimes thought she didn't deserve. But it was devotion, a loyalty that gave her three friends she could always trust, no matter what. No matter what kind of worries or trouble she met, she knew there was always someone to make her see things in another light. This feeling had, despite all the sadness her return to Johto had given her, just gained more power when she came back. Suddenly, she had recovered some of the trust she had had in her sisters before. Suddenly, Tamao had placed a lot of words in Morty's words. Suddenly, Tamao had allowed herself to be annoyed daily by Eusine. Suddenly, Tamao had realized, that while they both had changed drastically, she could still relate to Crystal. Suddenly, Tamao had discovered she still had the strength to consider creating new bonds, since she had unconsciously hoped she'd get to know Silver after whatever result this situation spawned. Suddenly, Tamao had realized her mourning over Umbreon had been complete before broken; in other words, she could move on with her life. There were people she was worried about, and the very people were likely to worry about her. While Tamao had sworn to be independent, to never let her pride down, she realized that putting these worries to them meant that she was depending on them somehow.

Would she depend on them to save her? That depended. Obviously, she couldn't be quite sure if she was in any danger, even though it seemed more likely than anything. But she wasn't in any instant danger, so it was possible that no rescuing was needed. Even so, Tamao wasn't sure how she'd manage to get out of this situation herself. What if there wasn't a way? Then she'd have to be rescued. And to be rescued, she needed to be found.

Well, Tamao did trust her pokemon to be able to find her; both Leafia and Glacia had excellent senses, and they knew her scent by heart. On top of that, Murkrow had keen eyes, and the ability to fly. Together, the three would probably find her rather easily, unless she was well hidden. The rescuing itself… Well, Tamao had several people in mind who were capable of it. Her sisters were powerful fighters, but they probably knew nothing of her current distress. Morty was a gym leader, but since he was so focused being the seer, he rarely did something so direct himself. Crystal and Eusine were both powerful, but they might start arguing about how they would save her, and miss their chance. So no, it seemed that Tamao did have a hard time trusting these people, everyone but her pokemon.

And… One other person too.

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Silver, although having a hard time admitting it to himself, was getting worried. It had been a while since he had worried last, so he didn't quite recognize the feeling when it first snuck up to him. However, when he did realize he was worried, he got worried about it. And thus, with his worry doubled, he got even more worried. This he knew could not be good; Silver was never worried.

After questioning his own health for a while, Silver also had to admit he knew the reason for his worry perfectly. There was no doubt about it, and this irritated him quite a lot. He wasn't supposed to worry about such things, after all.

The phone call he had gotten from Crystal had surprised him, that he could freely admit. It had startled him quite greatly. However, even though he knew that Crystal would rather jump off Mt. Silver than call him, her words had startled him even more, and become a source for this endless circle of worries Silver was feeling. And he was not happy about it; not happy about Crystal calling him, not happy about her words, not happy about his reaction to them. Everything seemed to be just wrong.

" So, that girl didn't return to the two idiots… Makes sense, I guess, but why'd she do that? She wasn't even considering a change of plans in the morning…" Silver though for the thousandth time, as he aimlessly circled around Blackthorn city. The people he passed looked at him suspiciously; his aimless walking together with his appearance probably made them think he was up to something. Not that he cared, though; he was used to it. He had gotten that treatment for many years now, and five years ago those assumptions would probably even have been correct. Therefore, one could say he pretty much deserved it. So it didn't really bother him.

Irritated with his own worry, Silver found himself even more frustrated when he realized where his steps were headed; it seemed that he had unconsciously started walking towards the Ice Path.

" What? Now I'm going to go look for her. Ha! Not happening. I'm not going to go crazy and start playing hero here… Just because they can't find her doesn't mean that she's in some weird danger or something…" Silver was almost convince din his own angry words, but that was when the word danger hit his thoughts. And from that word, a thousand images of he creature in the black mist spread through his mind, leaving behind awkward afterthoughts.

This caused Silver to seriously consider looking for her; after all, if the girl really had run into that black creature, Crystal and Eusine would be no help for her. They'd just faint, and leave her with two more people to worry about.

" That stupid good girl; she's obviously one of the majority, who worry about people who shouldn't mean anything to them…" Silver thought angrily, as he set his foot in the Ice Path. He was instantly hit with a soothing, cold air, which cleared his thoughts out a little.

Angry with himself, Silver quickly turned around and left the cave. He was panicking. He hated panicking. And he was NOT going to leave Blackthorn so he could join the little search party Crystal and the idiot had formed. It was not like that girl, Tamao, couldn't take care of herself. While she might not have been the greatest trainer on earth, her pokemon weren't helpless, and she knew how to handle danger situations. She probably had a few more tricks with her than what Silver had seen, since she seemed to be pretty used to that misty thing.

To stop himself from acting recklessly, Silver stomped away from the Ice Path. He even passed Blackthorn, going straight to Route 45. The further away he'd get from the place he last saw the girl, the less he'd worry. He was sure of that. So he had to get far way, quickly.

" Maybe I'll go to Kanto…" Silver thought angrily, as he stomped down the mountain road. He held back the urge to kick a Geodude, which was trying to challenge him for a battle. While he still couldn't be counted as the good guy (and hopefully would never be), he still didn't want to go back to what he had been. The pokemon couldn't know he wasn't in the mood, so it didn't deserve being assaulted like that. So, Silver just stomped on.

Walking made Silver calm down, and realize how weirdly he was acting by running away like this. Although he had always been something of a coward (while not scared by danger, always running away from difficult things), he hadn't realized this was so hard for him. Was it even natural to worry about someone he had known for such a short time? Probably not. But even so, silver was highly disoriented by his worry. How annoying.

While walking close to Route 46, Silver was pretty convinced he was just being stupid, and needed to get a grip. This thought was the result of his hard work claming himself down ,and trying to make the worry in him dissolve. However, sometimes we are bound to lose things we work hard for. And that is exactly what happened to Silver at that moment.

For some reason, in the instant Silver noticed two people standing in front of the entrance to the Dark Cave, he could feel his worry creeping back to his mind. While his primary focus was on these two people, he did have his mind full of trying to chase the worry away, once again.

For a reason unknown to himself, Silver didn't want these two to see him. No matter what, he didn't want that to happen. And since he had been following his weird urges for all day, he figured he might as well hide; it was not too far away form his usual behaviour, since he usually avoided social contacts with other people.

So, Silver moved to stand behind a conveniently situated rock, rather close to those two. If he breathed really quietly, he could hear what they were saying. And, luckily to him, it seemed that the two were too engaged in their conversation to have noticed him appear and hide.

Although Silver had not mistaken these two for Hikers for one second (they were way too… small… to be associated with the hikers around this mountain), Silver was surprised to realize he recognized both of the voices speaking. He also realized that the fact that these two voices were here was peculiar, out of place. Both of them should be somewhere else, as far as he knew.

Carefully, Silver peeked from hide, eying the two people talking. He had been correct; the two voices, speaking quietly, but in an agitated tone, did indeed belong to that idiot Eusine, and the gym leader of Ecruteak city, Morty. As Silver withdrew his head, to avoid being seen, he realized this little fact bothered him a bit more than it should have, once again. Never mind the gym leader, but wasn't that Eusine suppose dot be looking for Tamao?

Silver found himself feeling so worried, he realized he'd have a hard time going on if he wouldn't find out. And, since he obviously couldn't just go and ask them, it seemed that the only way to find out was to eavesdrop. Not that it bothered him; Silver still didn't see why people thought eavesdropping was wrong. If people were talking in a wide-open place, they couldn't expect that no-one would hear them. It was their own fault for not going to a more secure place to talk.

Eusine's voice was a bit louder than Morty's, and it was definitely more agitated. In fact, Silver noticed that it sounded very frustrated.

"… You say that, but I still think it just makes things more difficult! I cannot say I quite understand this situation, but I'm sure that telling her wouldn't have too horrible consciences! She is currently very worried, and if we don't tell her, it's like sending a blind man search for a yellow Magikarp from the sea…!" Eusine spoke, in a quicker tone than he usually did. It was obvious that he was having a great disagreeing with Morty, but it didn't sound to Silver like they were arguing. Then again, from what Silver remembered of the gym leader, he was way too calm to be argued with.

Eusine's voice paused, apparently waiting for Morty to reply. It was silent for a while.

" I understand that you're worried. I admit that I do not understand the amount of your worry, as the worry I experience was relieved beforehand, when I saw this would happen. But even though I understand that you're worried, you know I can' just say it's okay for you to go and do reckless things. Telling her might feel right for you now, but the results would not be good, even if you did find Tamao." Morty's voice was calm and collected, and Silver was unsure whether he was just imagining the sadness he thought he could hear from it.

Unlike Morty, Eusine bursted into words in the instant Morty had finished. Silver did notice that he didn't, however, interrupt him.

" You know that it really bothers me when you say things like that! If you knew what was going to happen, couldn't you just have warned me? Why do you not just tell us where she is no, so we can go rescue her? Although she is not particularly close to me, I do care about her, and it is not just lady Crystal I'm thinking about when I say these words to you. And you… you care about her more than I and lady Crystal together, so why will you not go and save her yourself?" Eusine's voice now sounded both frustrated and exhausted. It seemed that he was very desperate about making Morty see things his way.

The heavy silence returned for a while, and when Morty finally started speaking, Silver knew that there was no doubt about it; there was definitely a deep sadness echoing in his voice.

" I am not the one who is meant to save her. Not now, and not in any danger. Even when she'll face things a thousand times worse than this, I am not meant to do anything more than what I will without a doubt do. I am not one to protect her form this fate. And, I'm sorry to tell you, my friend, that neither are you. For Tamao, or for Crystal."

Morty's silent words were followed by a frustrated sigh from Eusine. He began to speak again, calmer this time, but still with great deal of anxiousness in his voice.

" I really don't understand this… No matter how hard I try, I just can't make myself see the logic…" he sighed out, with the anger in his voice turned into the voice of a defeated man.

" I know that you see things they way they're apparently supposed to go, but do they really have to go that way? It's not that I don't trust your word, but is it really okay for us to risk things, just because you've seen that they must be risked? It feels so… pointless… to me, when we could protect what we had, instead of risking it!"

The silence returned after Eusine's words. Morty's sad voice eventually cut through it, once again.

"Not everything can be protected. Life is about taking risks too. It is not easy for me to allow things to happen either, you do know that. Back when I was young, and still inexperienced with this power, it was mere torture for me not go and change things for the better. Even now, it is an endless struggle for me to quiet down the part of me that screams and demands me to go and save her. However, there is one thing that makes it easier; I know what will happen if we do as I see, but I have no idea what would happen if we were to change our actions. The future beyond those choices might be a lot darker than the future that had been entrusted to my eyes."

While Silver was generally confused about Morty's words, he did understand that they were talking about him as 'the Mystic Seer of the Future'. Although he had always thought that title was just a bunch of random nonsense associated with Gym Leaders, hearing the heavy tone in Morty's voice made it clear to Silver that he was some sort of a psychic. This bothered him, once again; if he was a psychic, this sad tone he had when speaking of things that were clearly somehow related to Tamao was alarming. Worry gripped Silver's mind, and he had to struggle to keep his heartbeat down, so he could hear Eusine's reply.

" But you cannot know that! The future beyond those choices may be lighter too! It may be a happy one…!" Eusine sounded so sincerely desperate that Silver realized he was having hard time in finding him annoying right now.

Silver quietly turned around in his hide, and let his left eye peek from the corner of the rock. Eusine and Morty were facing each other, and Eusine's expression was a perfect reflection to the words he had just said. Morty, instead, looked calm, yet extremely sorrowful.

" But you do see it could be bad too. And you do not wish to risk things, right…? The risk in not following my visions is greater than the risk in following them, and I know you understand that", Morty's expression had turned into a sorrowful smile, a smile that provided nothing of the happiness a smile was supposed to provide. It was a sad, depressing expression.

Eusine sighed deeply. His expression turned painful, and he closed his eyes. He was holding his forehead with his hand, and seemed to be deeply troubled. This greatly increased the worry Silver was feeling; this whole conversation was so ominous, it made him feel sick. What was going on? Why were they talking like this? Why did they make it seem like that girl Tamao had a terrible future ahead of her? She didn't seem like someone who'd have to suffer form her own choices, so…

" What is going on?!" Silver nearly shouted in his head, as he stared quietly at the two. His shout was interrupted by Eusine's quiet words.

" I just can't understand it… Why is it so that we can't do anything? I might guess it with you, since you are the seer, and seers are always suppose dot be neutral, but… Why me? Why am I not allowed to do anything about this?"

Morty shook his head silently, and answered in a quiet, assured, but slightly bitter tone.

" Seers might be neutral, but even we have things only we are supposed to do. The reason you an I cannot do anything about this lies not in my powers", his smile had turned into a mere, angry face. Silver was surprised that something that passionate could penetrate the cold sadness radiating from his eyes and voice.

" Then why…?"

" Because we are not a part of the chain", Morty answered simply. The words were a mystery to Silver. Even so, he found a small, silent gasp escaping his lungs when he heard them. These words were heavy. Whatever their meaning was, it was a great one.

Eusine looked at Morty silently, to which the gym leader replied by sighing deeply. He then started speaking, in a tone that made it very clear that he absolutely resented speaking about this subject.

" I've told you before; in this puzzle, there are four pieces. The death of one leads into the life of another. The life of another leads into the happiness of the third, yet the death of the first leads into the pain of the fourth. One will live, one will die. One will become happy, one will suffer. And no-one outside of the puzzle will be able to affect it. We can guide it, but we cannot complete it", Morty said clearly, with a voice full of pain. Eusine looked at him for a while, then turned his eyes away. Silver felt a gripping pain in his chest.

" So no matter what, we have a lot of pain ahead of us too", Eusine muttered after a while. Morty nodded, even though he probably knew Eusine didn't look at him. He didn't need to. Eusine clearly knew it too.

It was silent for a long while after that. While Silver could clearly feel a part of him that wanted to jump up and demand the two to explain what on earth they were talking about, a part of him just wanted to stay there, hidden, and forget everything that he had just heard. Everything they said felt so… wrong, to him. Like it was something that shouldn't be happening, but there was no doubt it really was. And Silver didn't even understand it. All he knew was that he was experiencing a truly terrible feeling, and that the worry in him was growing into unnatural heights.

After the long silence, Eusine finally sighed a long, deep sigh.

" I understand. There is no use in me arguing. Your word is the only thing I can trust now, so struggling against it would be very unwise… It pains me, but it seems I can only hope for things to change… For her good…" Eusine's voice faded away. He looked at Morty quietly, who returned his gaze without a word. Then he spoke again.

" I believe you wish against me this time, no…?"

Morty shook his head, but something about the gesture made Silver feel like he was, in fact, agreeing with Eusine. After that, Morty spoke in a numb voice.

" What I wish is for this whole chain to lose it's meaning, to cease from ripping the destinies of these people who never deserved it in the first place. However, I know my wish is unlikely to be granted, so I'm bound to trust myself into one side of our chances. And in that, you're correct. I don't want her to die."

Eusine looked at him quietly, and then nodded.

" You won't stop co-operating with me because of it, right?" he asked, Morty shook his head.

" Of course not. You're my friend, regardless of what will happen. And even if our opinions diverse, there is nothing we can do about this", he answered, rather peacefully.

Eusine nodded again.

" I should leave, then. Lady Crystal is probably so furious at me I'll be in a world of pain when I return to her. Also, she had probably already found… them", something about the last word he said made Silver shiver, which was a very unfamiliar feeling for him.

" She has. But listen…", Morty answered. He looked at Eusine more seriously than he ad for the whole conversation.

" …Whatever you do, do not tell her anything. The more this situation advances, the more likely it is that they all meet at the same time. Currently, one has a full awareness of what is going on. Another will gain it soon, and the third knows more than you even realize. If she becomes aware of this, and they all meet, something terrible will happen." Morty spoke with eyes so serious, even Eusine looked astonished. However, he apparently tried to look calm.

" Oh, come on. You haven't seen anything like that, have you?" he asked in a teasing tone. Morty raised his hand, and looked stern.

" Do not ask me that. In this current situation, my visions cannot be trusted as well as usually. Destiny is in chaos; I do not see the future, I see what can come of the future. Possibilities. What ifs. Anything can happen, and I have no guarantee I will foresee it early enough to prevent damage", he spoke with a shivering voice.

A painful silence took over the two for a while. After that, Eusine just nodded for the third time, and turned away. Without saying good-bye, Eusine walked away, up the mountain road. Soon, he was long gone on the road, leaving Silver gazing at Morty standing alone, with apparently no intention to leave.

A while after Eusine had left, Morty suddenly opened his mouth to speak again.

" You can come out now", he said peacefully.

Obviously, he was talking to Silver. However, Silver did have a hard time getting shocked by him knowing about him listening. Something about the conversation just now had made Silver feel very numb. So numb, feelings other than worry had to fight twice as hard to get to him.

And so, Silver didn't think about staying hidden, or escaping the place. He simple stepped away from the rock, to face Morty. The two stared at each other for a while, before Silver finally managed to get a thought into his head, and find words to express it.

" You saw that I would do this." It was not a question.

Morty nodded.

" But you didn't tell him?"

Morty shook his head. His face expressionless, but there was sadness in his eyes.

Silver gulped. It was difficult for him to speak, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything else.

" What do you want from me?" he asked, trying to keep his voice moody. He failed quite miserably.

" I want you to do what I am not allowed to do", Morty answered seriously. Silver gulped, but he felt something inside him light up with those words. Somehow, those words created a light that managed to penetrate the worry in him. Was it hope? Maybe. Silver wasn't very familiar with what people called 'hope'.

" You'll tell me where she is?" he guessed, annoyed by the fact that this 'hope' was clearly echoing in his voice.

" Yes", Morty answered shortly.

Silver stared at him quietly. While, oddly enough, it felt rather natural to him that he would be the one Morty sent after the girl, something did bother him.

" So… I can make a difference, while you and the idiot can't?" he asked. His voice was most definitely moody now.

Morty smiled his sad smile, and Silver had to wonder why he even bothered to answer. Silver knew already.

" Yes."

" So… I'm a part of the 'chain'? A piece in that puzzle you spoke of?"

" Yes."

Silver stared at Morty for a while, feeling both astonished and… unimpressed. While he knew that his answer, together with what Silver had heard, should horrify him, scare him and make him want to run away, he didn't feel so. The only thought he could think was 'I knew it', even though he didn't even know what they were talking about. But it was true; he had known. He had known on the moment he laid his eyes on that black-haired girl, Tamao. He had known, each time he cursed his faith and Crystal for not battling him. He had known, the moment five years ago he suddenly found himself very different from what he had thought he was.

But the truth was, he didn't know. While he knew what he was in this situation, he didn't know the situation. He knew his path, but he didn't know his destiny. So, there was only one thing she could do now.

" So what is it then? What the hack is that 'chain', anyway? You can't expect me to go and rescue someone without having a clue of what I'm doing!" he spoke quickly, feeling anxious. Even tough he wanted to know, the part of him that had known was against it. A major part of him still wanted to run away.

Morty took a step closer to him.

" I don't. I'm fully prepare do tell you whatever you need to… No. After this, you shall know everything I know about this. How you handle that information… That I don't know. But I do know that sending you to unknowingly do something you must is not something faith would do. And therefore, it is not something I would do", he answered seriously, the sadness in his eyes getting almost unbearably pressuring for Silver.

Morty stopped right in front of him. Silver stared at him, feeling annoyed by his long silence.

" Start talking, then!" he shouted, feeling irritated.

" I do have a condition", Morty answered to his shout, though his voice was quiet and calm. '

" What?!" Silver raged, but Morty just looked at him sternly.

" Will you meet it?" he asked.

Silver felt enraged, but something about Morty's stern, sad eyes made him just snort and look away.

" Whatever…" he muttered angrily.

" Well then. I shall tell you everything, in the condition that you do not share you knowledge with Tamao. I do not wish for her to know any more than necessary, and it pains me to tell you that she will find out before the sun has set two times. However, the person she finds it out form will not be you. Do you understand?" Morty's eyes were piercing, as he stared at Silver, like a Noctowl stared at a Gastly that is trying to creep into its nest.

Silver only had one choice.

" Fine", he muttered, trying to avoid Morty's gaze.