Chương 52: Red II

"I have something to tell you guys," I said bluntly, reaching into my bag. They watched in curiosity as I pulled out the Griseous Orb. An instinctive shudder ripped through all of them as the orb pulsed faintly. It was otherworldly. Even with the lights on in my room, the Griseous Orb provided a glow for itself, rejecting any other source. The mere act of holding the crystal seemed to boost me. I could tell my eyes were red right now, and judging by the gasps, I was right.

"This orb belongs to the Legend who saved my life. Their name is Giratina," I explained to them.

"Giratina?" Crystal asked, leaning forward with an awed expression.

"One of the most ancient pokemon to exist, created at the same time as Dialga and Palkia, the legends of Time and Space. But Giratina is stronger."

"You flatter me. Time and Space are both troublesome in their own right." But Time and Space could both be controlled by a chain that Antimatter had effortlessly destroyed. There was a reason Giratina was only second to one pokemon. Giratina said nothing, but I got the feeling that they were pleased by my praise. Jasmine gasped in recognition at the name, straightening immediately. She knew how powerful Dialga was, so telling her that Giratina was stronger than it made her more than a little nervous.

"Don't worry, we're... partners," I said eventually. Telling my overprotective gang that I basically belonged to Giratina was a surefire way to get them pissed at the legend.

"Is it truly so offensive that I claim you as my own?" Giratina mused.

"Yes. They'll try to catch you to let me go. It's best if we're partners."

"I see... and if I were to destroy them, I would then have to destroy you because you would not rest until I was gone. And if I were to rid of so many of you... protagonist, as you so call it, the Alpha would likely be displeased and inflict an even greater punishment onto me."

"Got it in one."

"Understood. You may truly consider me a partner then. I have no complaints, so long as no other try to claim you." I snorted, beckoning towards my shadow where a chilling red gaze stared up. My gang looked at it in horror, all shivering at once.

"Woah," Gold said, looking the least bothered. He waved at the shadow, shuddering once more as the red eyes gazed at him... and then it abruptly vanished.

"When Team Rocket experimented on me, they sentenced me to death. No human alive should have the cells of Mew injected inside of them," I said, a little bitterly.

"What?" Green asked quietly.

"I was going to die, but Giratina saved my life by stabilizing me with their ability and... part of another person's soul." More silence.

"Pardon?" Janine asked, stunned. I nodded tiredly.

"I have a piece of someone's soul inside of me. With it came a set of memories that gave me information on a lot of things." It didn't take long for them to connect the dots.

"Your knowledge," Green said in realization, eyes widening as it hit her at once.

"I know a lot. Whether you consider it a curse or a blessing... I have a lot of information," I confirmed.

"The Casino... The Legendaries... Saffron," Green whispered, staring at me with horrifying realization.

"You can see the future!" she shouted, shooting up. I opened my mouth, only to shut it.

"Kind of. It's more like... I'm using another book as a reference," I corrected.

"Another book as a reference?" Gold asked in disbelief. Crystal found out first.

"You're saying that you're using another universe to guess what's going to happen in this one?" she asked.

"For the most part. I don't really use it much at all, but against Team Rocket, I pulled out all the stops. My knowledge isn't perfect either; I've been wrong before," I replied honestly. Green nodded.

"That makes sense... if you were all-knowing, you wouldn't have acted the way you do during our journey. Things still caught you off guard, and we still ran into plenty of trouble," she muttered.

"What a troublesome burden you have. Cursed with knowledge like what Team Rocket might be planning..." Jasmine murmured, engulfing me immediately. Gold shook his head.

"I don't wanna know anything about the future," he said honestly.

"Me as well. I believe that knowledge should not be spread too far," Janine exhaled. I stared at them in surprise.

"Huh?" Crystal laughed softly.

"We'll just trust your judgement. You haven't steered us wrong yet, and I, for one, can't deal with the stress of knowing what may happen in the future. I don't know how you act so casual about it." I scratched my hair.

"You guys are acting very casual about this," I pointed out.

"Dude, we watched you transform a God into an even stronger God and then watched it duke it out with a god that people worship. I'm unfazed by a lot of things right now," Gold said bluntly. While what he said was absolutely cause for concern, it made sense. I exhaled.

"We've all got our own issues from this ordeal, huh?" I asked. They all nodded tiredly.

"I think we've discussed enough then. Let's get some rest. There's always time to talk again, and we can keep going for ages with all our problems," I decided. We all nodded in agreement. I really tried not to react when they all got comfortable... in my room, but my god, they knew how to ragebait me in the worst way.

"This house is huge as fuck. There's no way you're all gonna sleep in here, right?" I asked incredulously. They spared me a single glance before ignoring me.

"Your room is massive, and it looks like Lorelei accounted for this. Look at the size of your bed! It was meant for group sleeps, so that's what we're doing!" Gold said adamantly, leaping onto my bed with a level of audacity that honestly amazed me. I opened my mouth, only to shut it in defeat.

"Even you, Janine?" The horror in my voice was palpable. Janine snorted.

"Of course not! I'm going to Mars instead," she said decisively, marching out of my room. As she made it to the door, I said, "You know what, I'm totally fine with this now." She turned and lunged, blood in her eyes.

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Bring it on, Ninja Girl!" I spat. Gold surged up, grinning wildly.

"Finally! I've been waiting to put both of you in your place!" he cackled, lunging at us.

"Guys, seriously!" Jasmine wailed.

"Goodnight," Crystal said bluntly, somehow managing to close her eyes amidst the chaos. Green giggled, taking it all in with a wistful expression. Green looked into the night sky, sighing as a cold breeze brushed against her. So that's why Silver was so strange. Green didn't know how she felt about it. Logically, she should have been more upset. That was a big thing to keep secret, but despite that... Green wasn't mad at all. Giratina had saved his life, so Green didn't have a problem with the legend.

Without it, she wouldn't have Silver. As for the knowledge aspect... no, Green wasn't mad about that either. Because even with all that knowledge, Silver had still sought to sacrifice himself. All the knowledge in the world hadn't been enough to stop the absolute might of Mewtwo when it came down to it.

"It was almost enough for him to crush you at the League," a poisonous voice whispered in the back of her mind. Green flinched, expression closing in on itself. Even after everything, Green still hadn't been strong enough. She still wasn't strong enough to protect Silver. He would have won. Silver would have beaten her handily. In a match that she had vowed to crush him in, he should have won. Green heard all the whispers surrounding the battle. Her win was controversial at best, and she agreed.

Green felt no joy from that victory because she hadn't earned it. She felt no joy from it because everyone echoed the same sentiment she did. Silver had won. Bailed out. She had been bailed out. Against both Crystal and Silver, Green had been bailed out. She wasn't strong enough. Green shut her eyes and exhaled. She knew what she needed to do. Green needed to get even stronger, and the only way to do that was to—"You know, I heard that you should never trust how you feel about your life past 9 pm."

Green froze as the quiet voice placed a coat over her frame, ensuring her sleeveless upper half was at least protected. She jumped and turned, coming face to face with a serious Silver, those all-knowing eyes of his staring a hole into her. He was wearing a black tee, a slight shiver wracking through his body as the cold terrorized him. Despite that, he still found it necessary to give her his coat. Even with the knowledge that Green handled the cold far better than he did....

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly. Silver didn't answer her for a while, staring into the sky for a second. Green always found it odd how she could almost always see his eyes at night, as if they glowed in time with the moon above. It had been soothing, a steady rock that she latched herself onto often. Silver's eyes... When did it become so difficult to look into them? Ah, Green knew. It was when she Mega Evolved Saury.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that, Leaf?" Silver asked, still gazing up at the object in the sky that seemed like the perfect mirror to him. Green shuffled slightly at his blunt words.

"You still don't think you're strong enough, and it's going to guide you into making a stupid decision," he said softly. Awkwardness made way for a bit of anger, Green's eyes narrowing at his words.

"Stupid decision? What, are you the only one who should be allowed to make them because you're all-knowing?" Silver looked startled, caught off guard by her biting tone. He turned a confused gaze towards her and shook his head slowly.

"That's not at all what I meant, Leaf," he said warily.

"You're planning on doing something that you don't have to do. I'm here to tell you that you don't have to do that." His concern was obvious. Despite just waking up, Silver still showed that vulnerability from earlier in their conversation. Green shut her eyes.

"I'm just going to train for the Elite 4. I may not win, but I can get stronger to put up more of a fight—""Cut the bullshit, Leaf. You know that no matter where you go, you'll receive the best training with the three of us," Silver interrupted her. There was a severe frown on his face, one that only grew more pronounced the longer he stared at her.

"The Mewtwo situation was abnormal. None of us were strong enough there. You can't beat yourself up over that—""Then what about when I was partnered with Mew?!" Green interrupted with a hiss, the floodgates finally opening. Silver stopped, shock on his face at the venom in her voice.

"What about when I finally did have the power to save you, and I lost. What about when you were busy crushing us in a battle, all while protecting everyone around us?" Silver opened his mouth, but Green didn't let him say anything.

"You and Mewtwo won handily. I finally had the tools to save you, but I had to beat a barrier and watch you collapse. I thought you died, Silvy. There was so much blood, and you were so limp... like a puppet without its strings." Those words caused a violent shiver to rip through Silver's spine, separate from the cold. It was so powerful that Green instinctively shuddered as well. The look in his eyes... it was nothing Green had ever seen. He looked so haunted. But the stress had finally spilled over.

Months and months of holding it all back left Green a complete mess.

"I had to come to terms with the fact that I couldn't do anything to help you, again. How do you think that makes me feel, Silver?" Green asked quietly. Silver shuddered again, his eyes wide. Green saw a spark of panic enter them, and averted her gaze once more.

"Green... you don't have to do this. I just want to help. I know I messed up; that's why I want to fix this," he said slowly.

"Wherever you want to go... whatever you want to do... You don't have to do it alone." Green shut her eyes.

"Why not? That's what you did." The silence was deafening. The air was thick with tension, so thick that if Green took a breath, she'd choke. Green knew that if she looked up right now... looked at Silver's face in this moment, she'd never be able to live with herself. Green did not let the silence linger. It was far too suffocating for her.

"You deal with all your problems alone. You got out of it stronger than all of us. You beat Team Rocket on your own, you stopped Mewtwo on your own, you did all of it alone. And even after all that you went through, you still would have won the League." Finally, it dawned on Silver.

"We said no hard feelings, Green," he interjected quietly.

"..." Green said nothing, staring a hole into the floor.

"We said no hard feelings, and you won. Why are you mad that you won?!" Silver asked incredulously.

"BECAUSE I DIDN'T WIN!" Green shrieked, tears forming in her eyes.

"WON? WON?! You call that a win?! Nobody considers it a win but you! How can I consider that a win when I'm still not strong enough to beat Crystal or you?!"

"You won. You had it! The only reason you lost is because I used Mega Evolution! I was even going to use Mega Evolution against Crystal! I wasn't going to beat either of you!" Silver looked appalled.

"What? Who cares about that?! You won by using every resource available! Why the hell are you making excuses for me? I lost fair and square!"

"Mewtwo and I used Mega Evolution, so why are you counting that as your loss?! You were going to win that battle before that!"

"If you and Mewtwo synced from the start, you wouldn't have needed Mega Evolution!" Green retorted. Silver looked frustrated.

"Why do you keep bringing up ifs and buts, Green?! Why are you denying the reality of what actually happened, to think about what didn't?!"

"Because it doesn't matter!" Green sobbed, ducking her head and silencing him on the spot.

"It doesn't matter if I won if that's the way I did it because at the end of the day, I still didn't prove I'm strong enough to be by your side!" Silver took a step back.

"You always coddle and protect me, but I want to stand next to you, not behind, because... because if I stand behind you, you'll die for me!" Green exclaimed, tears spilling out of her eyes.

"I didn't get Mega Evolution to use it on any of you. I got it to protect you all against threats! I didn't want to use it; I needed to crush you, but I wanted to crush you without Mega Evolving. I wanted to win with just my team, but I was going to lose, and if I lost, you'd never let me help you!"

"That's... that's not true," Silver denied shakily.

"YES, IT IS!" Green shrieked.

"I don't need to be coddled, but unless I showed you, you'd never stop! Why won't you just see me as your equal?!" Silver scrambled to say anything, eyes wide in a way that made her gut curl.

"Green, please just listen. I messed up, I know I did, but nothing I did was to make you feel inadequate! I was trying to keep you safe!"

"I can't be safe when you're about to die! I already thought you died on the S. S Anne and I vowed to be stronger for you, but I failed!" she sobbed weakly.

"But I failed too..." he trailed off.

"What about at Fuschia, when you prioritized my broken arm while your ribs were in that state? What about when you made sure I stayed hidden and put yourself right in that Executive's crosshairs?! What about just now, when you gave me your coat even though you hate the cold?!" she asked hysterically. Silver stayed suspiciously silent, eyes darting in every direction as he racked for an answer that would appease her. Green didn't think an answer like that existed.

"The S. S Anne, the Game Corner, Fuschia. You're always protecting me with your life! You're always taking the lead. You never let me stand by your side, and you'll take any injury meant for me, even at the cost of your own health. I always have to be behind you. I don't want that! I just want to be next to you so that we can handle it together, but I'm too weak, so I just have to watch you get hurt over and over again!" she wailed. Silver took a step forward, hand outstretched...

but he froze completely as Green took a step back. His face contorted slightly, equal parts disbelief, equal parts anguish. Green was hysterical by now. Silver was making expressions that only amplified how terrible she already felt.

"I'm not strong enough yet. I need to become stronger. I'll become the strongest, and I want to do it alone! Then you'll have no choice but to let me fight with you." Silver looked utterly wounded. Her confident best friend shrank into himself, shifting repeatedly in a maneuver that Green had never seen... but looked so practiced. She didn't even want to think about why he'd be assuming a stance like this so easily. She might truly break if she did.

She had already used Mega Evolution against her best friend, who had been tortured by the same technique. If she thought about why he'd be acting so... meek with her, she'd shatter to pieces.

"I was just... I was just trying to fix it without dragging you all into my mess," Silver repeated quietly, staring a hole into the floor. Normally, Green would have been triumphant for rendering Silver speechless, but it was impossible with the current situation, just as it was impossible to look into his hurt gaze. Just as it was impossible to stop the whirling torrent known as her emotions.

"Were you trying to fix it... or were you trying to break me, Silver?" she asked quietly....... Were you trying to break me, Silver? I felt my heart squeeze in a horribly unfamiliar way, which made it all the more terrible to feel. Never had I... never had I gotten into an argument so severe with my loved ones.

"Wherever you want to go... whatever you want to do... You don't have to do it alone."

"Why not? That's what you did."

"You know that's not true, Green," I said quietly. Green refused to meet my gaze, not that I was trying to meet hers. She hadn't looked me in the eye since this conversation started.

"It might not be... but you don't ever stop to think how jeopardizing your life might affect others," she said softly. I shut my eyes at that. She was right. She was 100% right. I didn't ever think about how putting myself in harm's way would affect others. I just thought that if it was for the greater good, it was fine. This conversation was just a byproduct of my own faults boiling over. I had truly been protecting Green our entire journey...

and while the logic had been sound in my head, maybe in hers it was entirely different. What was seen by me as protection was perceived as weakness by Green... It was my fault... I sagged in defeat.

"You don't have to be around me, Green... but at least go with Crystal or Gold." Green said nothing for a long while.

"I can't... I can't do it. I wouldn't have beaten Gold or Crystal either. All of you are stronger than me. I'm weak..."

"You aren't weak, Green. Just because we can all take a match off each other doesn't make any of us weak," I whispered.

"I just... I just want to be alone for a bit," she said, voice just as defeated as mine. No, she didn't. Being alone was one of Green's biggest fears. She was as social as social got, thriving on human interactions. Green was a horrible liar through and through, but there was nothing I could say to stop her. I don't think anyone could stop her. So I would just have to do damage control. It was my fault after all. I stood straight and approached Green with a soft expression.

"I understand," I said quietly, pulling her into a tight hug. She trembled in my grasp, body wracking with weak sobs that made my gut curl even more. Did I really understand?

"You want to be alone for a bit. I get that." Did she really want to be alone?... I leaned back slightly, cupping Green's face with both my hands and brushing the tears off with a reassuring smile.

"You've always been my ride-or-die, Green. You could be the strongest in the world, and I'd still have the urge to protect you... I never once thought you were weak. You were my goal for all of Kanto. A big part of me wanted to beat you since our very first battle." I exhaled softly, finally releasing her.

"But if I'm the reason you're in pain, I'll be the first to let you go. Just don't go disappearing for too long, or else I'll come find you. There's nowhere on the planet you can hide from me." Green sniffed harshly before breaking out into quiet sobs. She leaned against me, and I felt a tremble rip its way through my own body.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she whimpered, squeezing me tightly.

"Don't apologize. I understand," I soothed.

"Molseis... I know you can hear me. You'd better keep her safe," I warned. I received a scornful scoff in return.

"You doubt me, Uncle Wreathed in Wrath?! She will suffer no bodily harm so long as I am with her," Molseis decided.

"Good... and thank you. You chose a great trainer," I said quietly.

"So you really did know," Green murmured, voice thick and shaky.

"You've always been warm... but this time felt a little different. It was heavier," I replied, squeezing her once more. Green shuddered and finally released herself from my grasp.

"Oh... your coat," she whispered, moving to remove my signature coat. I shook my head, tightening it around her.

"Keep it. It's good protection from the cold." She sniffed.

"But it's your favorite one."

"Don't worry. I have a bunch of copies of it," I reassured. Green wavered once more, pulling me into one final hug and squeezing with all her might. She finally took a step back, right as a brilliant blaze of orange appeared next to her. Despite being the avatar of fire, Molseis did not burn Green. They shot me a nod of respect, to which I returned. Molseis seemed to lack all the kindness of Moltres, their gaze haughty and impatient.

But despite that, it stared at Green with a sort of tenderness that told me the clone was telling the truth about keeping her safe. I would have to trust them and Green's team to help her. Right before they took off, I suddenly said, "Green."

"I love you. Stay safe." Her eyes widened to epic proportions, more tears spilling that instantly steamed and vanished.

"I love you too, Silvy," she said quietly. And then she was gone. Molseis showcased its ability as a legend by whisking the two of them away without a trace. I stared at the spot. Seconds dragged into minutes, and minutes would have dragged into hours, if two hands hadn't placed themselves on my shoulders.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" I asked quietly, eyes rooted on where Green had just been.

"It was difficult," Crystal replied quietly, wiping her own tears.

"The air was just too thick. It was yelling at me to wake up," Gold said quietly.

"I didn't realize my battle with Green affected her so much," Crystal sighed, ducking her head in guilt.

"I think... there was probably no other way this could have ended," Gold admitted. I said nothing for a long while, just allowing that horrible feeling in my body to settle. Green didn't accept the luck that she seemed to draw naturally. No, she was utterly disgusted by it... the surest sign that I had influenced her. Green didn't want handouts like that because they undermined what she trained for. But that was Green's match with Crystal. Why did she reject her victory against me?

She went out of her way to get the mega stone... I gave her the keystone. I even told her that Saury was capable of Mega Evolution. I handled two of the steps for her, and she dealt with the last. That victory was completely earned. She knew everything necessary to reach Mega Evolution. None of us would have been mad if she used it. We would have just acknowledged that she was one step ahead with her planning, then go look for our own... Being upset about the battle against Crystal was one thing...

but what had she done wrong against me? I didn't care. I kept telling her I didn't care. Why didn't she listen? Why? Why? Why, why, why, why, why?

"You know, part of me thought that I'd be the one to ditch Green eventually," I said aloud. Gold and Crystal said nothing.

"I mean, she's annoying as hell, invades my personal space like no one else, and doesn't stop talking. Why wouldn't I ditch her? It was just supposed to be a temporary alliance." I sighed, feeling something cracking inside slowly but surely.

"But eventually, the only reason I ever considered ditching her was to keep her safe. I guess that was the wrong decision, too. Green became the most important person in my life somehow, to the point where my urge to protect her became a detriment."

"I'm not good at this friend stuff. I thought I was doing the right thing..." I trailed off. Finally, my body began screaming. I didn't even realize I collapsed until Crystal and Gold steadied me. My heart hammered against my chest like a drum, screeching at me to go get my best friend back right now.

"Your fault. Your fault. Your fault."

"It never occurred to me that there was a chance Green would ditch me first. Sorry, guys, I'm such a horrible friend that even someone like Green got fed up with me," I said finally, shutting my eyes in defeat. I didn't acknowledge Crystal and Gold pulling me into a tight hug with words. I just buried my head into them with a weak rasp.

"You know that's not true, Silv," Gold denied gently.

"You're one of our best friends. None of us could have accounted for this. We're just as much to blame," Crystal sniffed.

"It hurts... I don't like this feeling," I admitted weakly.

"Shhh, it's okay, Silver. We'll deal with it together," Crystal soothed, her own tears spilling as she raked a hand through my hair.

"She'll be back, Silv... don't worry. She just needs some space from us," Gold reassured, squeezing me tightly. I trembled against them. Despite my moment of weakness, no tears fell. It's like they refused. Despite that, Gold and Crystal stayed with me the entire time, shedding the tears that I couldn't.

"Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. Your fault." Of course, I couldn't cry. Team Rocket even robbed me of my ability to grieve properly.

"Green Wreathed in Love, are you sure this was the best decision?" Molseis asked tenderly.

"..." Green said nothing, curling into herself. She clutched Silver's coat with a devastated expression, holding the object like it were a lifeline.

"Green Wreathed in Love?" Molseis repeated. Finally, she felt something fundamental cracking inside of her. Green let out a weak sob that transformed into a keening cry.

"No, of course not!" Green wailed in defeat.

"I don't know what I'm doing. I don't wanna leave Silver, but how can I stay with him when I can't even look him in the eyes?! I can't look at any of them!" Why weren't they mad at her? How could Gold, Crystal, and Silver look and talk to her so normally?! She cheated... she cheated!

"I used something I swore I'd only use on criminals on my best friend because I couldn't stand the thought of losing to him..." Green was just horrible. She sniffed brokenly, tucking her head into her knees. She didn't care if Silver would have used Mega Evolution if he had the chance. She didn't want to use it against anyone in her gang until they had their own. They were supposed to be friends, so why was Green such a bad one?! How could she do that to them? Why did no one see what she saw...

Her body felt like it was being crushed from all angles. She just wanted her friends back... she didn't want to leave. Everything inside of her demanded that she go back and hug Silver because she knew he wasn't handling himself as well as he tried to make it appear. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. But Green didn't because it was she who reduced him to that state. Why? Why was she like this...

You could be the strongest in the world, and I'd still have the urge to protect you... I never once thought you were weak. You were my goal for all of Kanto. A big part of me wanted to beat you since our very first battle. She had been Silver's goal. While she strived to catch up to him, this entire time, he had been striving to catch up to her. And she stomped on their final battle. All because she couldn't stand to see him win. What type of friend would be so terrified seeing their best friend win? Not Crystal...

Not Gold... Not even Silver. Only Green had been horrible enough to be terrified at the prospect of losing to Silver and Crystal.

"Green Wreathed in Love..." Molseis trailed off.

"I just wanted to protect him. I never wanted to use it against him in that situation," she whispered, tears cascading down her face.

"He gave me the Keystone, he gave me the information... I thought I could take matters into my own hands instead of just waiting for Silvy to hand one over to me. I thought my intentions were good, but when I realized I was going to lose, all I could see was Silver on the floor, throwing up in a puddle of his own blood." It was a sight that haunted her sleep every day. Silver on the floor, in a puddle of his own blood. Silver standing up on wobbly legs.

Silver staring her directly in the eyes, blood all over him, telling her he'd fix this. Silver collapsing on the floor, unconscious, unfeeling to the world, eyes glassy as he responded to nothing. It was one thing to think Silver had died on the S. S Anne. All Green had seen was the explosion. It had broken her, but it was the idea that she failed that hurt so badly. But holding Silver's cold body was something completely different. The agony she felt had been otherworldly, something she could not even describe.

But in Silver's eyes, he had been fixing it. Silver's definition of fixing it was to put himself in a near-death state. One that she thought was actual death. How could he possibly think he was fixing it? If that was his idea of fixing it, Green didn't want him to fix anything. So she decided she had to crush Silver. She needed to, to save Silver from himself, because Silver was someone who had too little value for his life. She needed to beat him in battle at the League, but that wouldn't be enough.

Just beating Silver wasn't going to let him trust her capabilities more. She needed insurance to make sure he never doubted her again. That was when she focused on a key detail. How could she ever forget it? It plagued her nightmares as much as Silver's corpse did. Mega Evolution. All of it stemmed from Mega Evolution. Mewtwo and Silver had won because of Mega Evolution, something Silver had already told her about. Silver had even given her the Keystone, back at Saffron...

And he had given her the info that Saury was able to Mega Evolve. Mega Evolution had turned Mewtwo almost invincible. If she were equipped with that... Silver would trust her, at least until he got his own. He wouldn't feel the need to shove her behind him, and by the time he finally did get his own, he'd trust her. So she went to the Professor. She questioned him, and she told him her reasoning for wanting one.

"To protect my friends from threats like Team Rocket," she had said firmly. Oak's eyes had looked faraway at that, and he conceded with far less of a fight than Green expected. That had made her think that her reasoning was sound, her resolve was firm... And then she battled Crystal and Silver, and it all came crashing down. Green was reminded of her inadequacy, her helplessness, her weakness. Green buried her face in her hands. She knew Mega Evolving against Silver was a mistake.

Of course, she knew that using it against him was a stupid decision! That wasn't something she was supposed to do... And even then, her friends weren't upset with her egregious mistake. They just resolved to protect her from the attention she had forced onto herself. Protect her. Again. It was always about protecting her. Why couldn't Green be as strong as them...? Why did they all feel the urge to protect her? Why did she keep putting herself in situations where she needed to be protected? Why was she so weak?...

Silver managed to get strong by himself. Maybe independence would teach her what it meant to be strong. Green was not faultless. She knew how attached she was... So she'd fix it. She'd fix it. Green tried to wipe her tears, but saw that they had already dried up. This was necessary. Green was weak because she allowed herself to be weak. Silver was strong because the aching loneliness forced him to rely on himself. She would do the same. Green would become strong enough to stand side by side with all of them.

"..." she curled into herself once more, squeezing Silver's slightly too big coat tighter on her person as if it would summon him. She just hoped this aching loneliness didn't consume her before that.

"Green left?" Jasmine asked worriedly. I nodded listlessly.

"Her battle against Crystal and me broke her. She was convinced that she wasn't stronger than any of us," I said tonelessly. Much to my surprise, she didn't immediately break out into tears. No... Jasmine took one look at me, and her expression hardened into something foreign. Looking at her face like that, I was reminded that Jasmine was still a gym leader.

"Will you be traveling through Johto alone?" she asked gently. I stared at her and mumbled, "Yeah, probably. The plan was to travel with Green, but things have changed." Gold and Crystal looked as subdued as I was. Losing any member of the gang would put us in this state. I guess this is how they were when I was gone.

"That's... not a bad idea," Gold muttered in contemplation, pushing his cheek further into his palm. Crystal had a faraway look in her eyes.

"Traveling alone... I'm not opposed to it. We can visit each other whenever we want, regardless. We have our locations." The three of us nodded in unison. Janine and Jasmine both shared a look.

"I'm sure Green has her reasons for leaving. She'll be back, and if not, we'll find her. Trust me," Jasmine said firmly, grasping all of our hands in her tiny palm. I stared at it, idly raking my thumb over the smooth surface.

"Once a week." We stared at Jasmine in confusion.

"Come to Olivine once a week, all of you. You'll spend that day with me," Jasmine said in a tone that brooked no room for argument. We all looked a little surprised by her straightforward and authoritative voice, never expecting this out of Jasmine of all people.

"Please accept," Janine said softly. Crystal was the first to nod, slightly puzzled.

"Why wouldn't we? I think that's a good idea," she said. Gold hummed in agreement.

"We're not rookies anymore. We can take our second journey at our own pace. We can be anywhere in Johto fairly quickly."

"Sure." I gazed out of the window. Jasmine bit her lip slightly.

"You'll be sleeping over, too. I'm glad I bought more beds after knowing you all," she sighed. Crystal smiled.

"It'll be fun! I'd love to see where you live!" Janine gazed at the three of us.

"I'll visit when I can. I won't inherit the gym just yet, so I'll have more free time."

"Good. I'll have keys made for you all. You can come over whenever you want. The Johto gym circuit won't start for a bit, so I'll have free time," Jasmine assured, pulling us all into a tight hug.

"My house is big enough. I had it built for Rusty, after all." We smiled at her words, returning the hug slightly.

"I know things may seem difficult right now, but imagine the look on Green's face when she comes back and sees how much you guys progressed!" Jasmine's optimistic words worked a bit. Gold perked up. He took a deep breath before shifting his gaze towards both Crystal and me.

"True... we can start our schemes of getting rich now. We gotta start our conquest of the world," he said confidently.

"Right... Yeah, there's still a lot we have to do. Our fame didn't disappear with Green," I muttered. Crystal hummed.

"So when she comes back, she'll see how much we've improved in all aspects. I like it," she said finally.

"That's the spirit!" Jasmine cheered. Janine nodded quickly.

"Think about all you can get done! Colors are still the center of attention! Capitalize on it!" We all nodded in agreement.

"Right... I've got things to do to help us," I mused.

"I'll help to the best of my ability!" Crystal decided, a look of determination on her face.

"We got this, guys! Let's start our empire!" Gold clenched his fist and nodded with a cocky grin. Jasmine let out a palpable sigh of relief. I felt her gaze linger on me for a moment, but she seemed satisfied.

"I'm going to go watch Delia cook. I wanted to learn more from her," Jasmine said softly, gauging our reactions. We waved her off.

"Go have fun," I drawled. She beamed, pushing herself up. Jasmine pulled us all into one final group hug before walking off.

"I'm going to go back to Fuschia," Janine said softly, staring at each of us with her purple eyes.

"I'll make a group call tonight?" We all nodded in unison, watching her sigh in relief.

"You all did wonderful, don't forget that... and this whole thing was out of your control," Janine assured. She nearly bowed before thinking twice of it and instead pulled us into a hug. We all returned it.

"I'll try to come to the first Olivine trip, okay?" she murmured.

"Kay," we all said. As soon as she shut the door, we all collapsed onto the massive bed for the better part of 10 minutes.

"So..." Gold trailed off, pushing himself up first.

"You two are blaming yourselves." Crystal flinched, rubbing her arms.

"How could I not? I had no idea Green was going to use Mega Evolution on me. I didn't know I had her so pressured," she mumbled. I silently stared at the ceiling.

"What could I have even done differently? Try to lose on purpose? I don't think she'd appreciate that very much," I said quietly. Gold sighed.

"Green's been in a tough spot for months. I think... our mistake was just taking too long to talk to her. Delaying the talks was a mistake."

"Hindsight is 20/20. Silver and I thought that talking during the League would have horrible consequences as well. Maybe it would have been a better outcome than this still," Crystal muttered bitterly. Our golden-eyed companion stared at us with a frown.

"Guys, you can't just beat yourself up over this. I understand you two were the main catalysts for Green's breakdown, but it's not your fault. The situation was fucked," he said bluntly. He sat between us with a sigh.

"Green's always been an emotional girl. She's the most emotional in our gang. Things get to her easily... but Green's also smart as hell. Let's just give her some time to cool off, and I'm sure she'll come back," he reassured.

"I know... but it just feels miserable. Green beat us both, so why?" Crystal asked in confusion.

"She doesn't feel like it's earned... but she shouldn't be the only one to be the judge of that," I frowned. Crystal nodded in agreement.

"Neither Silver nor I have a problem with the loss, even with the knowledge of Mega Evolution. What's there to be upset about? We all knew about it for months..." she trailed off.

"The people. They were throwing doubts on her win," I said flatly, a ferocious scowl making its way to my face.

"That's not for them to decide! If we don't have a problem, then their opinion doesn't matter!" Crystal shouted, a glare on her face.

"Guys, guys!" Gold interjected urgently, placing a hand on both of us.

"I think... It's just a matter of perspective. The crowd reinforced what Green already thought. None of us accounted for just how seriously Green was going to take this tournament, and can we blame her?" Gold asked, crossing his arms.

"She cares about you, Silv. It's a little unhealthy, but Green feels like in a world where no one wants to save you, she has to be the one to try." My eyes shot open at that.

"What? She said that...?" I asked quietly. Gold nodded.

"It was during the S. S Anne when she thought you died." My gut curled even more. It wasn't even the first time Green thought I died. The S. S Anne must have jump-started her desire to save me. It had to be because the S. S Anne was when I vowed to protect Green.... It always led back to Team Rocket. I tried to protect Green from Team Rocket, but they still dug their claws into her. Gold clapped his hand harshly.

"Enough. Both of you," he said sternly.

"We can't act like we're dying every time one of us goes missing. We'll get through this, we'll get Green back, we'll be a gang again, but we are not going to crash and burn until she comes back, got it?" he demanded. Crystal and I looked surprised by his tone before sighing in unison.

"You're right," I said first, pushing myself up.

"I can't laze around all day. We've got work to do." I turned towards Crystal.

"I've got some business to handle for a bit, but we can start looking into all the people interested in us. I was thinking of hiring an assistant for our gang, depending on how busy we really are." Crystal looked surprised, but she nodded readily.

"Right! Being proactive is the best course of action right now! Okay! I've got some business to do, too. We'll meet up?" she questioned. Gold grinned.

"That's the spirit! I'm no good at stuff like this, so I'll follow you guys' lead, yeah? And if I feel like you guys are about to crash, I'll slap you back to reality." We nodded in unison. There were plenty of things I needed to do. Regions to visit, people to visit, people to hunt... Yeah, alright, I was already miserable for months. I couldn't put myself in that state again.

"We've got work to do, gang," I said firmly.

"Yeah!" Gold and Crystal agreed.

"My little Leafy left?" Maple asked in blatant concern. I nodded mutely before deciding Green's mother deserved more than that.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault."

"Oh, Silver, how could you even say that?" Maple said sadly, pulling me into a firm hug.

"None of this is your fault. Leafy is a smart girl, but this is the first time something like this has happened to her, and she's so emotional. Just give her some time, alright? She's got my brain up there, so she just needs some time to process everything." I nodded again, the action more automatic than I would have liked. Maple watched as I abruptly stood up.

"I just remembered I have to talk to Oak," I said suddenly. I needed to do something else. Anything else. Anything to have my brain moving. Be proactive. Busy myself while working through my problems.

"Oh... okay! I'll tell Lorelei you went out," Maple said uneasily, gazing at me with an inscrutable gaze. I nodded stiffly for the umpteenth time, turning and marching off.

"Young Silver! I'm glad to see you visiting!" Oak greeted. I composed myself as much as possible before arriving. It would do no good to leave my weakness on display for all to see.

"Professor," I greeted.

"Come in, come in! I was just thinking of your performance at the League!" I paused at that.

"You were the one who gave Green her Mega Stone, right?" Oak shot me a curious look.

"Why yes, I did. It's my job to support my sponsee, and when she approached me... I could not say no to her. I would like to apologize, however. She informed me that she only intended to use it against threats, and well, with what has been happening this past year, all of which revolved around her and you, I realized she would need additional insurance," he said earnestly.

"I get it. I don't think she intended to use it against me either," I muttered, tugging my glove by habit. Oak hummed.

"I'm still surprised she knew of it in the first place. I had received it from a friend of mine by the name of Mr. Pokemon." Realization settled in. I would have laughed in amusement if I were in the mood. Mr. Pokemon was the one I stole the Keystone from. No wonder he had it. It was funny how things worked out. Mr. Pokemon likely gave away those Mega Stones and some Keystones before keeping one for himself, which I then stole.

"I'm the one who told her about it," I said bluntly. He raised a brow in surprise.

"You?" he asked in some surprise.

"... I'm not mad about how I lost. Mostly impressed that she had so much agency," I added honestly.

"Why yes. I was most surprised when she approached me. The look in her eyes was fierce. It reminded me of an old friend of mine."

"Agatha." Oak jumped at that, turning towards me with wide eyes.

"You've met, I presume? I'm surprised she would talk about me."

"She doesn't. You should talk to her, though," I said idly. The Professor looked puzzled.

"I suppose I shall? I wasn't aware she wanted to speak to me."

"People aren't honest with themselves. Where are the other Professors?" I asked. Oak hummed.

"Both are heading to their respective regions now that the League is over. You should have seen the look on Rowan's face. He seemed rather fascinated by adopting a young boy as his apprentice. I believe you and your group inspired him." I shook my head, not deigning to comment on that. I wonder if it was Diamond he was thinking of making his apprentice.

"I promised you I'd tell you some stuff, so I'm here for that, but before I do that, where's your Grandson?"

"Gary? He is off somewhere. I will let him know you dropped by to see him. I'm surprised you'd want to speak to him." I waved it off.

"There's no need. I've got his number. Just thought he might be here."

"Now what about Mason? I would have expected him to show up. His rival was also looking for him." I followed up with. Oak froze, something I caught immediately. I stared at him in some confusion as he took a second too long to answer the question. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision. The entire time, I felt an uneasy feeling coursing through my body.

"Young Mason... has unfortunately passed," he said finally, a grave expression on his face. The world froze around me. What did he just say?

"What did you just say?" I asked quietly, feeling my insides turning into themselves in a dreadfully familiar gesture.

"Sometime during your... capture, we discovered that young Mason passed away. That is partially why I had no qualms parting ways with the Venusaurite. I wanted Green equipped with whatever could keep her safe from such threats," Oak explained softly. I felt nauseous. Mason? Dead? But... but why? What did he even do?! How was that even possible?...

"Team Rocket," I whispered in realization. Team Rocket killed him. Team Rocket killed Mason. Mason was dead. I felt myself shutting down in real time at the revelation. It felt like I was drowning. Everything felt so heavy, my head pounded, my body refused to listen to me, and I was so, so cold. Why did they kill him? What did Mason do to them to deserve death?

"I heard you guys helped battle Team Rocket! I helped too!" I inhaled sharply as my innately good memory cursed me with a flashback. The attack on Saffron. Mason helped during the attack on Saffron.

"Silver?" Oak questioned cautiously. I did not hear him. It felt like the walls were closing in on me in every direction. Mason had been killed since I was captured? But... but why? He was average. There was nothing special about Mason. Even after his slight annoyance, he wasn't extraordinary enough to be targeted. How had his death remained hidden knowledge until now? The reason for that lined up with exactly why he was killed. It's because Mason was average.

If Mason were extraordinary, more people would have paid more attention to him... including me. More people would have known about him, known that he was a potential target of Team Rocket. Mason wasn't special, and because of that, I didn't pay him any more attention than I needed to. Nobody kept an eye on the kid traveling alone who had helped stop Team Rocket. After he said he helped, I should have taken him fully under my wing. I was the one who gave him tips for fucks sake— I froze. Your Fault. Your fault.

Your fault. Your fault. No... no, no, no... I gave him tips. I'm the reason Mason became an above-average trainer. I put him in Team Rocket's crosshairs without providing proper protection. I knew he was traveling alone. I was told repeatedly that traveling alone was dangerous, yet I let him do it. Because why did it matter what some random did, right Silver? That's how you always thought... so why was it suddenly different that yet another one was killed?

Was it because you had a personal attachment to this "random"? Is that why you suddenly cared?... I got Mason killed. That wasn't... that wasn't fair. He didn't deserve this... he lacked the talent, but he tried so hard that he even got my respect. He was weak, but his desire to grow was strong, strong enough that I spared him some basic help because deep down, I had that same desire to grow stronger. Was I wrong to help him? Should I have left him weak?

If I had kept him weak, would he have given up on his journey by now? If he had... he'd be alive. How was it fair that he was killed? Why... why was I like this? Was I doomed to just keep messing up? Was it because regular people died every day?

"Young Silver!" Oak said in concern, shaking me to no avail. It wasn't right. He didn't do anything wrong. He didn't do a damn thing, so why... WHY WAS HE DEAD?!......... He was probably alone when he died... How did it take me so long to find out? I bowed my head, shuddering as an overwhelming emotion enveloped me. It's not fair. None of this was fair. Why? Why? Why was it always them? Why couldn't Team Rocket just leave me alone... I thought I protected them, but I still failed. Of course I did.

I failed Green, I failed Mason... I'm not made to protect. There's only one thing I'm good at... Of course. I'm a monster after all. An eerie calm suddenly enveloped me.

"It was Petrel who killed him," I said calmly. I didn't even register that Oak had engulfed me in a hug.

"What...?" Oak asked, stunned by my change in demeanor.

"Executive Petrel. He was there during the attack on Saffron. Mason encountered him, and he held a grudge," I said stonily, removing myself from his grasp.

"I'll deal with it."

"Young Silver, wait—" Oak's voice died in his throat as I promptly left. Oak felt a sinking feeling in his chest.

"His eyes just now... they were red," Oak murmured. This was beyond concerning. This was urgent. As Oak rushed to follow after Silver, he pushed open the door— And saw no one there. Not even a trace of where Silver could have been. Not even the air shifted to signify he had taken flight. Oak could not help but think he made a massive mistake. Perhaps Rowan was right. Maybe Oak was not fit for understanding humans.

"Janine." Janine jumped in the comfort of her room, whirling around with wide eyes.

"S-Silver?! What are you doing here?! Where have you been?! It's been days since we last heard from you!" she pointed out. Silver didn't offer a snide remark. Much to Janine's concern, his eyes were a vivid shade of red.

"I found Petrel. Do you want to come with me?" Her righteous anger at his words temporarily overshadowed Janine's concern for Silver. She shot up with wild eyes, nodding with as much venom as she could muster.

"You don't even have to ask! Let's go!" He nodded shortly, grabbing her arm. Janine's concern reared its head once more at the disturbingly docile actions of Silver, but she couldn't say anything before a dizzying sensation overcame her, and the scenario changed. They were in a dense forest, one where the sun shone through. That immediately eliminated Viridian Forest from Janine's mind, and she turned towards Silver with a confused gaze.

"A forest of the true wilds. Closest to Dark City, so no gym close," he answered for her, voice clipped. She nodded, not questioning how they had managed to appear here so quickly.

"How did you find out he was here?" Silver stared at her, those red eyes of his flashing momentarily.

"Domino found out for me," he replied honestly. Janine seemed surprised by that detail, but Domino was exceptional at tracking people. Even she could admit that.

"Will we have reinforcements?" she asked.

"We're not enough?" he replied. Her eyes narrowed.

"No, we're enough." Silver smiled thinly at her.

"Of course we are." As they walked, Janine shuffled. By now, she would have the urge to punch him or anything, but instead, she was worried. Worried and angry.

"How are you holding up? Crys told me you said you'd be busy?" she asked genuinely.

"I'm fine. Now isn't the time to be talking about this. We can discuss after the mission." She stiffened at his tone before her expression cooled over.

"This is Silver on a mission. He's always focused. I'll talk to him after the job is done," she rationalized. Silver opened a ball, releasing Oberon from it, and watched as the Ursaring sniffed the air once, head turning in a specific direction soon after. He beckoned in that direction. The redhead nodded, returned Oberon, leapt into the tree, and they were off. Janine kept pace with him easily, smoothly releasing Ariados in the same movement.

They leapt through the trees swiftly, no words exchanged until they arrived at a suspicious layer of trees. Silver's eyes narrowed as he picked out a hidden house. Right on cue, the area exploded into action. It was as if their target knew they'd be arriving. A Jellicent immediately burst out, belching out a stream of water that soaked the floor, missing the duo in the tree.

"I figured someone would be able to track me. Just when I was preparing to relocate," Petrel sighed, waltzing out like he owned the place. Of course, that confidence waned once he realized his opening technique utterly failed. And it vanished altogether as he gazed into the trees and met the furious gaze of Janine, and the unsettling glare of Silver. Despite his casual air, Petrel no longer looked like the polished Executive he once was. His outfit was dirty, his hair unkempt, beard scruffy...

It was difficult to equate this man with the one who had caused Janine so much pain. Wariness replaced staggering confidence; normally relaxed shoulders were tense and heavy.

"Shit," Petrel said helplessly, ignoring Janine and staring directly at Silver. She was going to make him regret that.

"Petrel," Silver greeted quietly.

"You won't be getting away today," Janine said grimly. Petrel laughed. Janine detected the hint of nervousness that followed it.

"Well then, look who we have here. Two thorns in my side that ruined a nice gig I had going," he exhaled. Janine was about to say something, but was cut off as a sharp object soared through the air, embedding itself in Petrel's shoulder at speeds too quick to react to.

"AGH! WHAT THE HELL?!" He shrieked in shock, caught off guard by the maneuver in the same way Janine was. The Executive stumbled backwards, hand reaching up to grab at his bloody shoulder. Silver stared ahead, arm outstretched to show who had thrown the object. There was no emotion in his eyes as he stared down the bleeding man.

"The battle started as soon as you tried to flood the forest. Who said you could talk?" he asked quietly. Petrel tried to speak, but a howl of agony escaped him as something sharp carved into his leg. He collapsed to a knee, blood pouring profusely from his wounds. Loki slunk away, avoiding the lunging Banette with a cold expression. A massive Dusknoir phased onto the battlefield. Its single eye gazed at Petrel once before focusing on us. Petrel huffed, terror entering his eyes at his wounds.

His Ditto had transformed into a Blissey, tending to his wounds with an empty smile, only for a psychic sheen to surround the pokemon. It let out a surprised cry at that, flying straight towards a stony Metagross, who had a claw raised already, and they crashed ruthlessly into the Blissey, destabilizing the transformation immediately.

"You won't be escaping this time," Silver said tonelessly, watching Metagross completely immobilize the pokemon under that heavy claw. Ditto squirmed and attempted to transform, only to let out a wail as Metagross added a bit more weight.

"He's so clinical. He rendered a leg useless... and then took out the teleporter from last time," Janine noted. It was disturbing. Silver's plans always carried a risk with them, but right now this one didn't feel like it had any. This felt like an execution. Janine didn't realize how close to the truth she was.

"We're in the forests too, Petrel. You have no advantage," she said coldly. Jellicent, Gourgeist, Dusknoir, Ditto, and Banette... Only 5 pokemon. Four now with the Ditto neutralized. Jellicent gurgled. As if willing to prove the notion that they had no advantage wrong, it puffed up, only for a flurry of vines to wrap around it. Gaia glared coldly at the water type, unwilling to let it flood the battlefield once more. Janine's Roserade followed up immediately.

From her vantage point in the trees, no one had seen her charging, but the finished Solar Beam captured everyone's attention. It practically pierced the captured Jellicent, getting a panicked wail out of it. Dusknoir unleashed an ominous noise, the incredibly dangerous ghost attempting to move, only for a Gengar to blur into sight, venom and hatred in its eyes. Petrel's eyes widened.

"Gengar?! You little traitor!" he roared. If possible, Gengar's rage mounted even more. The ghost hissed balefully, vanishing from his spot and appearing in front of the shocked Banette, Shadow Ball in hand. He immediately slammed the orb into the Banette, sending the ghost careening through the air. Gengar was her strongest pokemon, and he had only continued to grow under her as he finally began to listen.

They didn't quite get along, but Janine did manage to get him to focus on his anger at being abandoned, something that allowed them to resonate more with each other. The result was him solidifying himself as Janine's most powerful pokemon, even stronger than when Petrel had owned him. He sneered at the unconscious Banette, doing exactly as he had done at Fuchsia and picking off the weaker foes. It felt almost disturbing that this same Executive had caused them so many issues, but was now down to three pokemon.

Dusknoir let out an ominous rumble at the Gengar, glaring at him. Gengar hissed violently, conjuring two more Shadow Balls. It launched one, watching as Dusknoir effortlessly consumed it in its mouth. Gengar sneered, gearing up to throw the other Shadow Ball, only to vanish. The ghost appeared directly in front of Gourgeist this time, immediately unleashing the Shadow Ball. Gourgeist squirmed in agony, only to seize as Gengar stared at it with glowing eyes.

Before it could fall asleep, a missile cruised through the air, Crobat smashing into it with a ruthless Aerial Ace. Gourgeist gurgled in a panic, but a stream of thin flames ignited it, courtesy of Janine's Salazzle.

"W-What the hell? This isn't fair!" Petrel panicked. Dusknoir turned towards Gengar and roared, mouth opening to suck in the ghost. Gengar panicked at that, struggling to get away from the incredible suction. As it drew closer and closer to inevitable doom, the pokemon's image suddenly melted, revealing that instead of Gengar, it was Jellicent that Dusknoir had been bringing close.

"No, wait, you dumbass!" Petrel roared, watching as the mouth clamped around the Jellicent. He was pale, never expecting the battle to be so decisive. As Dusknoir attempted to consume Jellicent, it finally realized something was amiss. The powerful ghost spat out the dramatically shrunken Jellicent moments before he accidentally killed his ally, but the damage had long been done. Before he could make another action, webs wrapped around him, courtesy of the Ariados.

Its attempts at struggling ceased as Nidoqueen unleashed a furious bellow, clamping down on the top of the Dusknoir's head with fangs of darkness. Dusknoir immediately hissed in panic at that, struggles increasing tenfold, only for Gengar to appear in front of him, eyes glowing ominously. He channeled a Dark Pulse in his palm, aiming directly at the vulnerable Dusknoir's mouth and firing mercilessly, forcing the ghost to consume the Dark-type move. The ghost seized up, shaking repeatedly before slumping.

"So easy," Janine said in awe, staring at the petrified Petrel with a cruel glint in her eyes. Petrel shuddered, stumbling to his feet. He grabbed a final pokeball and released it.

"Burn everything down, damnit!" he snarled. Janine heard Silver let out a guttural hiss as a Charizard burst from the ball, full of fury. It roared wildly, unleashing a bout of flame that immediately set fire to a tree.

"CHARRRR!" the Charizard howled, letting out an unruly screech as its body exploded in flames.

"Is he crazy?!" Janine hissed, watching as a somber Freyja summoned a stream to put out the spreading fire.

"..." Silver looked like he had gotten the sails ripped out of his body, as he saw tears streaming down the Charizard's eyes.

"Does he know that Charizard?" Janine thought in concern. Silver's team had been idle, content to let Janine handle it and offering support once in a while, but now they all looked agitated. None looked more agitated than Ares. The Salamence stared at the Charizard with confused eyes. Much to Janine's disbelief, there was some recognition there, which was concerning because Ares never remembered anyone. She watched the Salamence falter, Ares' gaze locked onto the tears in the Charizard's eyes.

Janine felt a sinking feeling in her gut. Something was wrong here. Something was very wrong. The Charizard roared, turning towards Silver's team and unleashing a furious stream of flames. Freyja moved to intercept, but stopped somberly as Ares stepped in front of it. The fire bounced off her, inflicting no damage. Ares looked on in disbelief before shutting her eyes. She dipped her head in respect, the barest hints of sadness in her stance.

"Ares, make it fast," Silver said softly, shutting his eyes. Ares exhaled and lunged, grabbing the Charizard's head under a massive claw and smashing it onto the ground. She took no joy in the action, staring at the Charizard with the closest thing you'd ever get to remorse on the proud Salamence. Silver approached next, staring at the unconscious Charizard. He crouched, raking a hand against its scales with a severe frown.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said softly. Janine's disturbed expression vanished as she noticed that Petrel used the fire as a cover to escape.

"Silver, he's getting away!" she informed him, ripping her mind off the disturbing sight she just saw in favor of pressing matters. Silver continued staring at the incapacitated Charizard before eventually nodding.

"Good work, Janine. I'll make sure he doesn't get away. Finish up here while I get his Pokeballs," Silver said. Not waiting for a response, he launched himself through the trees. Janine bit her lip as she watched him go. Petrel was on fire. Everything hurt in a way that he hadn't felt in so long. His partially healed leg burned, his arm lay limp, his chest ached... but he kept running. Because if he didn't stop— Don't think about it. Just run. Don't stop running. Don't stop running!

Branches whipped past in a blur as the Executive stumbled through the undergrowth, breathing raggedly as his lungs struggled to supply him with the oxygen necessary to continue running. He let out a sharp wail as his injured arm broke a branch, a sharp pain lacing up his arm. Twigs snapped loudly underneath clumsy footsteps. Too loudly. Every sound felt like a flare, one that announced his location like a shining beacon. He flinched at every noise. Even his breathing was growing too loud. How did this happen?

One second, he was living the life with Team Rocket, raking in money and taking it easy. Life was good. He could do whatever he wanted, take some easy missions, boss around some chumps... Now he was running for his life because if he stopped running, he was going to die. Petrel was no fool. He could see it clear as day, the overwhelming urge to hurt him until he stopped breathing. What was most terrifying about the entire thing was that it wasn't the gym leader's daughter who wanted him killed.

No, it was the kid... the one who felt less like a kid and more like a demon. The one whose shadow he could swear he was running past on different occasions, that just spurred him to run even faster. Silve— Petrel shouted as he stumbled on a branch, barely catching himself. He hissed in agony as his good leg twisted awkwardly, biting back the tears at the amount of pain he was in. As he struggled to push himself up, a shiver crawled down his spine, prompting him to turn slowly. There it was.

The silhouette that had been ahead of him at times. The one he swore was a trick of the eye, but was beginning to realize was real. Why was it real?! How long had Silver caught him? Petrel had seen that shadowy figure so much. Was he being toyed with...? His heart froze in his chest at the sight of two glowing red eyes staring at him through the thick foliage. He wheezed, unable to scream due to the fear rendering him speechless.

The red eyes stared unblinkingly, and Petrel scrambled away, pushing himself up and turning to dash off. Or at least he attempted to. Something sharp stabbed into his leg; he collapsed with a shrill scream, tears welling up against his will as his already injured leg suffered even more damage. One look showed him that it was the same thing that had lodged in his shoulder. A wooden stake, sharpened to a level that gave no illusions about its purpose.

His heart hammered against his chest, unfrozen by the merciless fire behind those cruel eyes. His throat clenched, his body urged him to run, to the point where he even tried to ignore the agony in his legs. But his body didn't listen to him. Instead, it turned instinctively at the sound of footsteps he could not even hear. Silver approached him, figure appearing all at once, as if he was purposefully hiding it.

He idly twirled a knife between his fingers with a level of expertise that betrayed the thoughtless move. Petrel felt his breath hitch at that, trying to back away from him with a panicked expression. He showed no fear as the razor-sharp edge of the blade came dangerously close to his fingers, simply weaving the knife effortlessly. It rolled across his fingers in a smooth circle, gleaming underneath the sun above. Passing from the index to middle to ring fingers... it was like some twisted coin trick.

"You didn't think you were gonna get away, did you?" Silver asked, balancing the knife on his knuckles before spinning it into a firm grasp. As his hand clasped around the handle of the blade, the redhead bore those unnerving eyes into him. Petrel felt words spilling out without any control.

"K-Kid, I don't know what I did, but I'm sorry! Is this about Fuchsia? I wasn't trying to kill you! My Swalot already died because of it, so don't you think we're at least a little even?" Silver didn't react to the pathetic plea. He never even stopped in his gait, just approaching at that daunting, slow pace.

"Petrel... does the name Mason ring a bell?" That simple question shattered Petrel's hopes of coming out of this alive.

"You have to know it, right? I mean, after all, that's his Charizard that you drugged up like that," Silver pointed out quietly.

"P-Please don't kill me. We can talk about this—""She was crying. That Charizard, even with all the drugs making her rage... was crying. Crying because you killed her trainer." Silver was directly in front of him. Petrel flinched as the redhead crouched, terrified of what was about to follow. But instead, Silver reached out and ripped Petrel's belt away, stealing all 6 of his pokeballs in one smooth motion.

"You won't be needing this anymore," he said softly. Petrel, while horrified that he had been deprived of his pokeballs so easily, felt slightly relieved that the extent of Silver's cruelty seemed to end there. Well, up until Silver pulled out another stake and stabbed it through his hand.

"ARGHHHH!" Petrel screeched.

"You killed a little kid for messing with you once," Silver said, digging the stake deep before removing his grasp. He watched with a tilted head as tears spilled out of Petrel's eyes, the man fruitlessly trying to grasp at the object with sharp whimpers.

"Do you think he deserved that? Deserved to die for doing the right thing?" Petrel blabbered, trying to speak but having nothing coherent spill out.

"I don't think Mason deserved that at all..." Silver glared at him, hatred appearing in such an overwhelming wave that it even pierced the fog of Petrel's pain. He trembled as the pain transformed the monster in front of him into a horrifying figure, nothing visible but those bloody red eyes.

"... But I think you deserve exactly what's about to happen to you, Petrel." Silver raised his knife and lunged, getting a horrified wail out of Petrel. First, the boss threatened to kill him, now the kid?! No, not like this! This couldn't be how it ended! Staunch seconds passed before Petrel took a sharp breath. He was still alive. What? Why was he alive? He shakily opened his eyes, only to stop in shock at seeing the gym leader's brat holding Silver's arms back.

She paid no attention to him, just locking eyes with Silver the entire time. Janine looked terrified.

"Wait, Silver! Please, you don't have to kill him!" she pleaded. She watched him tilt his head, his red eyes flashing with a malice that belied how expressionless his face was.

"You're the one stopping me? I thought you'd be happy. You're the one who wanted me to kill him before," Silver said idly. Janine shook her head furiously.

"I wasn't thinking straight back then... but now I know. I don't want you to kill him, Silver. Please don't kill him. Not you..." she said softly. She recalled that talk. The one that filled her with so much guilt whenever she thought of it. Where she claimed to hate Silver because he refused to compromise his morals... And now he was preparing to do just that. He was going to kill Petrel in cold blood.

"He killed Mason, Janine," Silver said flatly. Janine froze at that.

"W-What? Mason was... he's dead?" she asked in shock. Silver clenched his free hand.

"You were right. If I had just killed Petrel at Fuchsia, Mason would still be alive. I'm going to make up for that mistake I made. I won't make that mistake again. I will never make that mistake again." No, no, no. That was the last thing Janine wanted to hear Silver say. He ripped himself from her grasp, preparing to stab the horrified Petrel once more, only for Janine to lunge, hugging him from behind and trapping both his arms.

"Janine," Silver said calmly. Janine knew Silver would never genuinely hurt her. For all the fights they got into, it was just how the two showed their affection for each other. It was unorthodox, but Janine was sure she would never genuinely harm Silver, and he would never genuinely harm her. But she was sure that Silver killing this man would do genuine harm to himself. She sighed.

"Petrel doesn't deserve to die here. He deserves so much worse." Silver paused.

"Please, Silver... didn't we just talk about this? You're not a monster. You don't have to do this... what would Green think? Didn't you say you wanted to protect her?" Silver said nothing at that for a long while. Then he craned his head to stare at her. Janine trembled at the unsettling look in his eyes, shivers crawling down her spine that reminded her of the creature hiding in his shadows.

"Green's not here, Janine." The callousness of his words caused her to loosen his grip. He untangled himself from her limp grasp, still staring at her with a tilted head.

"But you're right. He doesn't deserve to die here. He does deserve so much worse..." A haunting melody rang through the forest, causing Janine to warily look around.

"... So I'm going to give him worse." Janine unconsciously took a step back as Silver's red eyes began steadily shrinking as he spoke. It wasn't a trick of the eyes either; the pupils grew smaller and smaller until they were just little glowing pinpricks in his eyes. All the malice that she knew he had been hiding behind his eyes exploded to the forefront. It was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen in her life. Thousands of voices whispered to her at once, threatening to overwhelm her in an instant.

Mercifully, Silver turned away from her... But he turned directly towards Petrel. For a second, nothing happened. Silver just stared at Petrel, while Janine stared at Silver's back with a nervous expression. From her peripheral vision, she saw something below shifting. Then Petrel began screaming. It was an unholy screech, a noise so deafening it cracked his voice in an instant and made Janine jolt in surprise. He wailed, words spilling out of his mouth.

It sounded like he was saying something, but Janine could not make it out at all.

"m'I yrros, m'I yrros!" he wailed, shuddering in place as his eyes rolled to the back of his skull. Petrel felt thousands of things crawling through his body at once. The whispers began first. Not voice, not words, but impressions forced directly into his mind. The whispers caused his mind to unravel, and the sensations threatened to pull him apart at the seams. At some point, his screams became laughter, an unbearable pressure boring on him mercilessly.

The world shifted; time became meaningless, up became down, and distance no longer existed. Silver was infinite miles away from him, and infinite miles close. As if reality obeyed him. In Petrel's mind, it did. However, there was not much left of Petrel's mind. There was just enough for him to perceive the world, for him to still keep a grasp on reality. Janine watched in horror as Silver took a step back.

As he turned to face her, she saw his pupils grow back to their regular size, the haunting red eyes explaining everything to her without a word. Behind him, Petrel shivered and shuddered. He did not react as Silver pulled the stakes out of his body, simply blabbering nonsensically.

"Good work, Janine," Silver said warmly, turning an apologetic gaze towards her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezed, and walked back in the direction of their team.

"You should call an Officer Jenny. I'll go return his team, and we can talk to her after." Janine nodded, more out of habit than actual understanding. She was not concerned about Petrel. In fact, part of her felt a vindictive glee at what he had been subjected to. But it had been done by Silver. The very unstable Silver. The Silver who had warned her so long ago that he was unstable to a degree that warranted him refusing to kill anyone. She never knew how right he was.

Janine Created Group Chat: Code Red Members: Janine, Gold, Crystal, Jasmine Jasmine: Janine? What's the matter? Did something happen? Janine: Guys. There's an emergency. We need to have a meeting as soon as possible. Crystal:? Gold: What's up? Janine: Code Red. It's even worse than we imagined. Jasmine:! Already? Silver's snapped so soon?! I thought we'd have more time! Gold: You're kidding. He was upset, but there's no way he'd crack already. We already talked to him and he was beat up, but he was fine.

Crystal: Something else happened, right? Do you know? Janine:... It's Mason. Executive Petrel killed him. Gold & Crystal:?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?! MASON?! Crystal: I can't believe this... I-is that why he didn't show up at the League? Gold: No way... don't tell me they targeted him only because of Saffron. Janine: I know... I was just as surprised. Even now, I can't believe it. Jasmine: I may not know who he is, but this is still horrible news. Gold... Crystal, I'm visiting you both right now.

H-How did Silver take it? Janine: Silver tried to kill Petrel, and when I stopped him, he used Giratina and did something that drove him to insanity. Crystal: Oh no. Gold: Fuck. As if we didn't already have enough issues to sort through. Jasmine: Emergency meeting. Now. I need to make sure you're all doing okay... and we need to talk. Can you all come to Olivine? Crystal: We can. Gold: Yeah... Jasmine: Janine, please make sure you bring Silver with you. Janine: We'll be there as soon as we finish talking to Jenny.

I'd appreciate it if I could sleep with one of you tonight... I may have nightmares.

"My my. I did not expect you to do such a thing," Giratina mused.

"Are you disappointed?" I asked quietly.

"Why would I be? Any decision you make is one I agree with. That is why I allowed you to drive him to insanity. I find myself rather amused by it all." I said nothing even as the rain pounded against me.

"I know what to do now," I said softly, gazing into the clouded sky.

"And what is that?" I exhaled softly, feeling my resolve tighten into something unshakable. I brushed a hand against each pokeball on my arm, ensuring every member of my team was touched.

"We're going to eradicate Team Rocket off the face of the planet, until nothing remains, partner. The only connection to the world they'll have is the memories of the ones they hurt." Giratina let out a noise akin to a hum. I watched as my shadow reacted, red eyes gazing up at me.

"Very well then, partner. You are my chosen after all. While this will be easy, it is still better for our goals to align. What is it you humans say... Ah, yes, it builds synergy."

"..." I remained silent, turning my gaze back to the rain and inhaling slowly as the cool liquid soaked me to the bone. What a fitting day for rain.

"Good. Let's not waste anytime then. We've got work to do." Lorelei frowned, a sense of unease crawling through her body slowly.

"Something is wrong," she murmured to herself. No... this felt a little worse than wrong. Lorelei's instincts were screaming at her that something catastrophic was happening. This was only something she'd feel if either of her children were involved. She took one look at Mars, who was lazing on the couch while scrolling through her Pokegear, and shut her eyes.

"Oh no... Silver, what happened?" she thought in despair. Did it have to do with Green vanishing? Lorelei inhaled and removed her glasses, cleaning them at once. She'd have to speak to him as soon as possible. A figure awoke with a start, grasping their chest with wide eyes and intaking gulps of air.

"What? What the fuck happened?" they hissed, staring around wildly. They instinctively reached for a set of pokeballs with one hand, while reaching for a weapon with their other. That was when they noticed they were not alone. A familiar figure slept next to them, chest moving in time with their breathing.

"What...? What are they doing here?" While the sleeping figure next to them was one they could easily identify, the person staring at them was... also one they could easily identify. But being able to easily identify that second face was the problem.

"U-Um... are you two okay?" a tiny voice asked. The first figure was frozen in disbelief at the person who had asked that question. They stared at each other for a long while, equal levels of shock coursing through them. Then, rage filled them in an instant as they realized what happened. They let out a shrill shriek.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" they roared, causing the sleeping figure to jolt up in surprise.