Note: Here's a long chapter again; I was half-tempted to split it into two, but I was feeling generous and decided to keep it as I wrote it. Also, you can now check out Follow Me on deviantArt as well; same username as here. :3 Enjoy~

Follow Me
A Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver Story

Chapter Eleven
Helping Hand

"Come again?"

"Silver," Soul repeated more firmly. "I was traveling with him. Was he not with me?"

"No..." Gold said slowly, watching as she took a few steps in each direction, scanning the horizons. "Did you guys split up or something?"

"No," Soul said impatiently. She gathered Chocobo, who'd been sleeping soundly beside her, into her arms. "Come on, he has to be in the park somewhere."

Gold scratched the back of his head and sighed as she dashed off. "...If you say so," he resigned with a shrug before giving chase.

The Safari Zone was quite a large preserve, separated into six differing climates. Each zone spanned a good mile or two, so searching the entire park, Soul feared, would take longer than they had; the sun was already setting, and the reserve closed about an hour after dark. Keeping this in mind, she pressed on through each area, Gold chatting at her incessantly as a means to pass the time.

"So, whatever happened to Pyro, your Typhlosion?" Gold asked as they trekked through knee-high grass. "Usually he's always with you."

"About a month ago, my mom's house was broken into," Soul said, scanning nearby trees for any flash of red. "Mom managed to scare them off before they could take anything, but it left me paranoid, so I sent Pyro home to keep watch over her."

Gold whistled. "Wow, that's intense...I'm glad your mom didn't get hurt, though."

"Nah, she's pretty tough; I had to beg her to let Pyro stay with her," Soul said. There was an awkward pause, and, wishing to fill it, she asked him a question. "What about your Marill? It's odd to see you without her."

"I think you mean my Azumarill," he said, proudly scratching his nose.

"Oh, she evolved?"

"Yep yep, just last week," he said with a grin, his eyes closed. "It was a really intense battle when she evolved too. But, you know the rules, they don't let you walk around with your Pokémon here; she's in her PokéBall on my belt right now." He opened his eyes to see if she was admiring him: she wasn't; Soul had walked a short distance ahead in continuation of her search. He frowned and sighed. "I guess nothing I say is as important as he is, huh...?" Shoving his hands in his pockets, he muttered bitterly, "Why is it the douche bags always get the girl...?"

Their search continued as the sun's last dregs of light sank past the horizon, casting a gloom over everything and making it much more difficult to see, and Soul grew more and more anxious. The park would be closing soon...Maybe it was as she feared, and the Pokémon hadn't sent Silver to the Safari Zone at all. Maybe he'd been sent somewhere else, or worse: he could be dead. This possibility left her numb, so she dismissed it immediately.

They approached the edge of the marsh zone guided only by Gold's flashlight, and a chilling breeze washed over them.

"It's getting late, Soul," Gold said, shining the light in all directions in a haphazard manner. "I'm sure Silver's probably at the front gate, waiting on you."

There was a loud, unnatural buzzing sound, and then a disembodied voice said, "Your Safari Zone park will be closing in five minutes. Please exit toward the main gate, and be sure to return all remaining Safari Balls to the attendants at the front desk. I repeat..."

"See, we should really get going," Gold said as the PA repeated its announcement.

Soul sighed; perhaps she should listen to him. "...Yeah, you're probably right," Soul said quietly.

Gold smiled and nodded, his flashlight held aloft. "Of course I am," he said. "Don't worry so much."

"Yeah..." she said, turning.

Out of the corner of her eye, amongst the weeping tree branches, she caught a small, crimson flash in Gold's flashlight beam just before he moved it away. Whirling around, she grabbed Gold's arm. "Gold, go back!"

"Hmm?"

"There!" Soul said, directing his arm. "No...maybe it was...look there!"

Obscured by the tree branches, they could see the outline of a body, draped over a thick branch, a head full of red hair standing out amongst the shadows.

"It's Silver!" Soul said with relief. Trading Chocobo for Gold's flashlight and dropping her bag at her feet, she trudged off through mid-calf-deep, murky water toward the tree.

Gold watched her for a moment, remarking, "Well what do you know?" before plodding through the mire as well.

"Silver!" Soul called as she stood at the base of the tree, shining the light in his face. He was unconscious, and his face was pink from the blood rush of his slightly-declined head. She looked around frantically, contemplating what to do. "Gold!" she called as he approached. "Here, hold the light so I can climb up to him."

"Nah, here, let me do that," Gold disagreed, handing Chocobo back to his master. Grabbing a low-lying limb, he put one foot up and added, "But remind me later to ask you what the hell happened to you two that put him in a tree in the first place."

There was a moment of grunting and creaking branches as Gold climbed, Soul casting the beam through the darkness above her from the ground. After a tense minute or two, Gold reached the upper branch where Silver lay sprawled, his bag hanging from a higher branch.

"Oi, Sleeping Beauty, wakey wakey," Gold said, nudging his shoulders. Silver let out a small groan but didn't stir. Gold sighed irritably. "Look, I'm not kissing you, so you'd better wake the hell up," he grumbled, shaking him more roughly.

Silver moaned again and lifted his head, muttering disorientedly, "...Wha...?"

"Hi there, princess!" Gold said cheerily.

Silver blinked and attempted to sit up. "What in the he-"

"Ah, Silver, be carefu-"

Before either could finish a sentence, Silver slipped off the branch and fell.

"Ahh!" Soul gasped as Silver crunched through branches on his way down. Panicking, she dropped the flashlight and moved into his trajectory. There was a loud thud and splash as their bodies collided, followed by a shriek from Chocobo, who'd been splattered with swamp water.

Squinting and rubbing his eyes, Silver looked up: he was in Soul's arms, the two of them sitting in waist-deep muddy water, her Torchic who'd jumped during the collision struggling to stay atop her hat. He blinked, his face reddening as she stared at him.

Tears welling in her eyes, Soul threw her arms around his shoulders in spite of herself. "I'm so glad you're all right!" she sobbed. "I was so worried you'd been sent somewhere else, or...or..." She choked on the words as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm fine...No need to freak out..." Silver muttered into her shoulder, his face pink.

She pulled away and held him at arm's length, Chocobo protesting from his perch. Wiping her eyes, she smiled. "Crazy day, huh?"

He chuckled, closing his eyes. "No kidding."

"If you two need a longer moment, I can always climb back up for a little while."

Both startled, they turned to find Gold hanging down by one arm like a Mankey, a feline grin on his face, Silver's bag over his shoulder.

Flustering, Soul stood, retrieving Chocobo. "N-No, that's all right," she said, brushing her bangs behind her ear with her spare hand. She then offered it to Silver, and he climbed to his feet, clutching his middle.

"My chest hurts," he muttered.

"Yeah, well, hanging by it on a tree branch for a few hours can do that, I imagine," Gold remarked as he splashed out of the tree and joined them, handing Silver his bag. "How in the hell'd you get up there, anyw-"

He was cut off by a droning sound, followed by a voice, "Attention please: your Safari Zone park is now closed. We thank you for visiting and hope to see you again soon."

"We'd better head to the front gate," Gold said, dusting off his hands on his shirt. "We can talk more then." Looking around for a moment, he scratched his head, puzzled. "Hey, Soul, where'd my flashlight go?"

"Ah..." she said quietly. "I...dropped it to catch Silver..."

"Wha?" Gold exclaimed, his mouth ajar. Searching the tree's base, he retrieved the device, water pouring from its insides. He sighed. "D'ahh, now I have to buy a new one."

"I'm sorry; I'll replace it for you, I promise," Soul apologized.

"It's fine..." Gold said, shaking excess moisture out of it. "Come on, let's go..." He walked ahead, muttering, "Gah, it's gonna take like six washings to get this swamp smell out of my shoes..."

"Do you need help?" Soul asked, extending an unsure hand to Silver, who was gingerly rubbing his chest.

"Nah," Silver said through a groan. "Let's go."

The trio trekked back to the swamp's edge, and gathering their belongings, they began discussing which way it was to the exit. Suddenly, there was a large, booming clunk, followed by an earth shake, causing them to lurch forward, off-balance.

The three exchanged worried glances.

"What the hell was that?"

Selected quote from the next chapter:
"You're such a girl!"