Author's Comment.

LP: Wassup! It's your boy Cool LP in da house!

Scarlet and White: Sorry… who did you say you were again?

LP *pales and shatters into pieces*: I need a better role in this story shit.…

DISCLAIMER: SLYBILL DON'T OWN POKEMON COZ LP OWNS ALL!

8 years ago…..I lost something…I don't understand why….But…There's been an emptiness in my chest ever since….It's like a void…and….It's dark….so dark….. Why is it so dark….I don't like this darkness...I'm sinking...drowning…..Jolteon…..Violet…..Someone…..save me…..I don't want the darkness to take me again….Someone…help...me….

Castelia City, Unova Region.

Blue eyes flicked open and Scarlet sat up with a jolt. Letting out a raggedy sigh, he ran a bandaged hand through his black locks and scanned the room he was in.

"Oh you're awake!" two voices rang out from behind. Immediately after, the hunter was slammed in a hug from both sides. "White? Violet? Where are we? Where's Jolteon?"

"Hospital and Pokemon Center!" White chirped before frowning a little at Violet who was smiling in relief. "Violet! You should be in bed!"

"For the last time White, my cuts weren't that deep. I just had a minor concussion after I that Alphinia-girl fell on me! I get this all the time."

"By the way, what happened after I beat Salamence? There's this huge blank in my memory beyond that point." Scarlet asked as he rubbed his forehead.

"You mean you don't remember?" White asked as she stared at her companion.

A day ago….

Scarlet turned to face the now-gaping Alphinia as he took off his gloves. Burgh, by this time, had woken up and stumbled over to White while clutching his aching side.

"If you don't want to be next, I'd say you get out of here and fast," Scarlet hissed. Alphinia's expression however made a complete 180 as a maniacal grin spread across her face.

"Salamence lost…." She whispered before letting out a devilish cackle. "Salamence lost! Don't tell me some human beat my Salamence? Oh this is just priceless!" she screamed to no one in particular. Leaping off the pile of rubble that she was leaning on, she landed right in front of the hunter and smiled wryly before stabbing a finger into his chest. "You're different from all the other bugs I've squashed. You interest me."

Scarlet tried to back away from the slightly insane broad only to be caught in a….hug?

"Those gloves of yours take a toll on your body. I noticed that you couldn't move before you landed on Salamence. That's why you jumped in mid-air and took the time to rest while your friend took on my dragon. That's why you can't move to hit me even if you wanted to," the girl whispered as she squeezed him tightly.

White felt that sickening wave of bloodlust once more and broke in a run towards Scarlet.

"I think I like you so I'll let you off with a warning," she stated as she caressed his neck.

"Scarlet, move now!" White cried as she neared them. She was too late though as Alphinia opened her jaws and clamped down hard on the startled Scarlet's shoulder. With a cry of agony, the teen slumped to the floor as blood sprayed anime-style from his wound.

"I'll see you later, Scarlet," was all he heard as he sank into oblivion.

"And that's what happened," White finished before stopping to catch her breath.

"Ouch, now that's what I call a love bite. Is she a Golbat or something?" Violet commented as Scarlet fingered the bandage on the left side of his neck. What was that all about?

"After you passed out, Beartic helped me carry you and Violet out of the building while I took Jolteon and Espeon to the Pokemon Center. Burgh said he'd be fine and left after further inspection," White added as Scarlet flung the bed sheets off himself.

"What happened to Alphinia and the rest of the grunts?" Violet asked as she poked a bag of IV fluid nearby.

"She blew them up."

Everyone turned to see Burgh leaning on the door frame while admiring a painting on the white wall.

"Huh?" the Violet cried in shock.

"Explosives were lined along the building's foundations. As soon as I got all the pokemon out of there, the building's base exploded and everything collapsed in a heap. Luckily, there were no passers-by on the street so no one got hurt. I can't say the same for whatever grunts were still in there," the artist explained as he stepped over to Scarlet's bed.

"It was terrible! She sacrificed her own grunts and pokemon to destroy the building," White muttered as Scarlet noticed her fingers twitching in anger. "I can still hear their screams…"

Silence ensued for the next couple of minutes before a cough from the door broke it. Looking at the direction of the unwelcome noise, the group spotted a doctor walking towards them holding a checklist.

"It's a pleasure seeing you again Miss Samantha, and I see you brought your little brother along," he greeted with a professional smile. White raised an eyebrow at the man and made to correct him when a pillow was shoved in her face. The doctor cleared his throat, "If you don't mind Burgh, I'd like to speak with the patients alone please."

"Of course we don't mind," the artist replied and motioned to White. "Come White, let's get ourselves some Casteliacones. If my pure heart still remembers, you have yet to fill me in your journey up till now as a pokemon trainer."

"Okay!" the trainer exclaimed as she bopped Scarlet with the pillow and ran over to Burgh. Waving at Violet, she closed the door and left.

"Phew!" the 'doctor' sighed as he wiped his brow and pulled off his face. "It's hard keeping a straight face in front of a gym leader. I almost thought I was found out or something."

"Nice mask Vann," Violet remarked as the brown haired man of 22 ran a hand through his wavy hair. Vann was ORPH's head weapon technician and as such, he was a very busy young man. Rumours had it that he knew Boss' real age. The only downside to him was his perverted way of thinking.

"Thanks Vi! I had to send the good doctor on a luxury cruise to Sinnoh before I could get myself into this hospital. It wasn't too hard though since hacking into the lottery system was a piece of cake," he replied as he gave himself a stretch. "The old stiff needed a holiday anyway."

"What are you doing here Lech?" Scarlet asked disinterestedly. Lech (short for lecher) was Vann's infamous nickname that had come about when he tried to touch Luca's bust. The secretary had pummelled him mercilessly with her checklist before inscribing the words LECHER on his unconscious face. He didn't learn his lesson though as Scarlet caught him eyeing Violet's chest.

"Don't be so mean Scarly. I only came to fix your cube," the pervert replied as he brought out a Rubik cube from his trouser pocket. "Geez, did you fight a dragon pokemon and absorb its DNA or something? If you had continued fighting in dragon-burst, your muscles would most likely have crashed and been rendered paralyzed for life. "

"At least he did it to protect his girlfriend," Violet chipped in with a sly smirk.

"She's not my girlfriend," Scarlet stated matter-of-factly. Now that's denial, Vann thought with a sweat drop.

"She does have a nice rack for a 14 year old," the brunette contributed only to receive a disgusted look from Violet and Scarlet.

"Really, you'd sink that low?" they deadpanned in unison. Vann laughed nervously before changing to a serious expression.

"Pleasantries aside, I have some news from ORPH. Currently, there's a top ranger named Rain who's going around busting some of our best hunters in other regions. So that the organization doesn't get ratted out, the captured hunters were sniped by our undercover snipe team on Boss' orders. Just so you know, they had to kill Mika."

Violet paled and sighed sadly. Mika was a close friend of hers who was among the top five hunters in ORPH along with Scarlet and LP (although the latter two were leagues above her). Said woman had gotten caught while taking a pack of Riolu from a forest reserve. The aforementioned ranger had traced Mika's whereabouts to the exchange point where she was just about receiving her payment. No one had heard of her since then as she was taken away to an unknown prison. How the snipers traced her was a big but unnecessary mystery that no one really needed to solve.

"Oh…" was all Violet could squeeze out before clutching herself sadly. Vann's face fell slightly before he continued.

"Boss told me to warn you two as the ranger has his sights set on Unova. On a side note, the client who requested for Reshiram had a phone call meeting with Boss and stated that he wanted to meet all the hunters taking this request in Nimbasa City in two days' time. So start packing redhead. You're going to Nimbasa."

"I'll do just that….as soon as White wins her gym battle here," Scarlet replied as he hopped off his bed.

"Um…Vann, there's something I want to tell Scarlet so can you give us some space," Violet asked as she grabbed Scarlet's arm.

"Whatever, I'm done here anyway. Later babe!" Vann called as he went out thus leaving the two alone. Scarlet tapped his foot on the ground as Violet fiddled with her fingers nervously.

"Okay Vi, what is it you want to say?" the hunter asked after a while.

"Scarlet….Since I came to Unova, I've been doing some thinking and I've come to a conclusion. I can't do this anymore…."she uttered slowly. Scarlet cocked his head slightly.

"Do what?" he asked. Violet took a deep breath and placed her hands behind her back.

"Hunting. Scarlet…I want to quit."

Silence…..

"H-Huh?" Scarlet spluttered as he dug out his ears. Was he hearing right or did a bop on the head cause his brain to muddle up?

"I don't want to hunt pokemon anymore! It's too dangerous and stressful for me!" Violet blurted before throwing herself on Scarlet and knocking them onto the hospital bed. Quiet sobs were heard from his shoulder where Violet had buried her face in.

"But Vi-"the teen started.

"Don't! Please….you saw what happened to Mika and I had some other friends too who had to be put down if they got caught! And don't even get me started on all the other hunters who died during missions!" she wailed as her sobs got louder. "And you…" she murmured as she brought her shaking palm to his chest. "Look at yourself. You have more scars than any normal 16 year old boy could ever dream for in his entire life! Do you know how worried I am whenever you come back from a mission covered in scars?"

Scarlet looked away from the hand on his torso and stared at his foster sister with sad eyes. Peeling her off and holding the older teen at an arm's length, he gave her a sad smile.

"Sis…" he said causing Violet to look up at him. He never called her Sis before. "Believe me, if I had my way, I would have gladly supported your decision…but….that little brat keeps a tight leash on ORPH's members. I don't think he'll let someone quit so easily probably because he's scared that the person might spill the beans someday."

"I know bro. I know…" Violet muttered softly as Scarlet sat her on the bed. "I just wish there was some way to avoid hunting."

Scarlet scratched his head in thought.

"Maybe you can suggest a yearly leave to clear your head. Boss will probably understand since you lost a friend," he suggested. Hunters could request for a year to take a break if they had stayed for a minimum number of years- usually three- and caught a considerable amount of pokemon.

"Okay…I'll do just that," Violet sniffed before smiling at her brother. Scarlet was a jerk to many but even he had his moments of kindness (he only showed such moments to Jolteon and, occasionally, Violet) and as he wiped her tears, she couldn't help but feel heartbroken that he was using this White person to get Reshiram. Sure it was for 49.5 million but she knew that deep down, the boy didn't care for the money as much as he pretended to. Scarlet just had an endless void that he desperately wanted to fill with anything he could lay his hands on.

"Scarlet…" she whispered in sympathy as she gently rubbed the visible scar on his face. That nagging feeling of foreboding washed over her again and she did her best to put up her usual wry smile. "You'll be safe during this mission, right?"

The teen put up his signature grin and double Victini peace sign. "Of course Vi! Aren't I always?"

Later that day...

"Ginger! Ginger!" White called from the other side of the street as Scarlet stepped out of the hospital building. Jolteon, who was sitting beside the excited trainer, gave a bark of joy as both he and White got up and flew at the unsuspecting hunter instantly tackling him to the ground in hugs and licks.

"Owww..." Scarlet groaned before boiling up. That was it, screw politeness. "YOU DUMB BROAD! I'M STILL INJURED YA KNOW!"

Not one to notice rage, the trainer simply bounced up and down as her coach picked himself up.

"Guess what? Burgh's going to have a gym battle with me tomorrow!" she cried, throwing her arms into the air and accidentally back-handing an innocent passerby. She must have had a good right hook as the poor man dropped in a heap at the foot of the hospital behind the teens.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Scarlet asked as he headed over to central plaza. "Let's train!"

From a hospital window, Violet gazed down at the trio as they made their way through Castelia Street.

"He'd better not get carried away with that girl if he wants to finish this mission," Vann remarked as he walked up to her. Violet looked on. "Yeah..." she mumbled in a voice laced with guilt.

Author's Corner.

Slybill: Finally we're done with Team Plasma for now. Let's see what the next set of pages reveal for our heroes. My midterms end today so my update speed may drop. Don't worry though! I'll do my best to update regularly. Slybill signing out! PEACE!