XII. Running Away

"So that's what your face looks like!" Green exclaimed. "Hmm, it's not quite how I imagined it. It's cuter."

Silver hid his blush with annoyance. "C'mon, we can't dawdle here."

Smirking, Green nudged his arm. "Lighten up. We've escaped, haven't we?"

""Surely he sent some of his goons after us," he retorted.

She only shrugged. "They won't catch us. Though I agree, we should get moving. We can't let our guard down."

The partners set off, neither aware of their destination, but each desperate to remove themselves from their past. Sometime later, Silver spoke up.

"So, where are you headed?"

Without hesitation, she answered, "Pallet Town, of course. What about you?"

He rubbed his neck sheepishly. In truth, he wished to stay with Green, but he knew he would only get in the way of her quest. Besides, he had a mission of his own. "I want to find my father," he said. "Except, There's a slight problem: I have no clue on where to start."

Green came to a halt, placing a finger on her chin in thought.

"Well, why not here? Johto's as good a place to start as any. It would be pointless to check somewhere else. After all, I'm almost positive that the Masked Man-" here she shivered "-only kidnapped people from Kanto and Johto. That means you're from one of the two regions."

His face fell. "But, if I was t-taken from either Kanto or J-Johto, shouldn't we-"

She cut him off. "I'll miss you too, but we'll have to part eventually. We'll drag each other down if not. Anyway, the Masked Man will be looking for two travelers, not one. This would throw him off the trail."

As much as Silver wanted to protest, he knew her logic made perfect sense. Putting it into words, however, made it all the more imminent.

Seeing his gloomy expression, Green put her arm around his shoulders, pulling him close.

"We'll keep in touch, of course."

"Of course," he said, giving her a small grin.

With that settled, she floated away on her Jigglypuff, while Silver roamed the forest. Both had a purpose in mind, and both had a steely determination to keep the past behind them so they could focus on their goals.

Until, that is, their past met them head on.