Pokémon Heroes of Johto

The Peak of the Future

I took a step forward from where I was standing in front of Giovanni, putting my arms up protectively in front of both him and Proton.
"Wait!! Looker, please.... I know that they've done some pretty bad things, but.... I think that they deserve a second chance! Giovanni just reunited with his son after four long years! And Proton's just seen the error of his ways! Give them a break, will you?" I pleaded.
"As kind of you as that is, the law is the law..." Looker stated softly.
"And these are two lives that have a lot to make up for!! They've missed so many important things in life that they want to fix, and you should let them fix it!!" I pushed on, unwavering determination filling me.
"Wait a minute!! Do you hear that?" Proton asked, seemingly alarmed.
"It's.... it's a time bomb!! Get down!!" Dad exclaimed. A sudden explosion erupted from the wall a few feet away from us, causing everyone to panic. I was blasted up the mountain more, falling roughly onto my back. I groaned out, my vision momentarily blurring.
"Hey, kid!! Come on, hang tough!" Proton's voice called to me, though the ringing in my ears muffled it.
"Fire!! Hey, Fire!! Snap out of it!" Silver called. The ringing in my ears slowly stopped and my vision returned to normal. Luckily I wasn't injured, just in momentary shock.
"Ugh.... where's my dad?! Gold, Crys, Looker?!! Dad!?! Where are they?!" I asked frantically.
"Calm down, they're gonna be fine. I promise you." Silver stated seriously, holding my shoulders to calm me down.
"I think we can get back by going up and around the mountain." Giovanni suggested, staring upwards.
"Right...." I muttered, Silver helping me gain my balance.
"If we're going up, we should probably put on our coats. Mt. Silver is know for its bellow freezing temperatures." Silver suggested to me. I nodded, Silver and I putting on the coats and winter gear I bought in Mahogany Town a while back, and we soon began climbing the mountain side.
As we climbed further up, Giovanni slowed down to meet my pace, Silver and Proton walking ahead unknowingly.
"What you said for me back there..... thank you." Giovanni murmured.
"Yeah, no problem." I stated softly.
"Are you.... a friend of Silver's? He seems to care about you a lot." Giovanni said hesitantly.
"Yeah. I've known him since the beginning of my journey. We weren't friends back then, but.... you can see how much that's changed now." I stated cheerfully.
"That's good.... I.... was worried he would never make friends when he was younger. It seems like he's made pretty good ones now."
"Thanks.... Um.... I'm Fire, by the way. It's nice to meet you, Giovanni." I stated nervously. Giovanni smiled warmly at me, letting me relax a bit.
When we reached the middle area of the mountain I began to hear a light rumbling sound. I froze, glancing around to see what it was. Proton took a few steps closer to the wall of the mountain side, gently placing his hand against it.
"Uh-oh." he mumbled.
"What? What is it?" I asked nervously.
"Run!" Proton exclaimed, making a break for it farther up the mountain. A huge wave of snow began to fall towards us, Silver tackling me away from it just in time. Unfortunately, we slipped off the ledge, falling down a few feet to another cliff side, the soft snow breaking our fall. That was an avalanche? Sure was painful, I'll give it that... I groaned, sitting up and shaking the snow off of me.
"Silver, you okay?" I asked with another groan.
"Yeah, I think so.... What a long fall." Silver muttered.
"Hey, Silver.... I don't think we've been on this path before." I stated nervously.
"Why do you say that?" Silver asked.
"There wasn't a cave before, last time I checked." I said shakily, pointing at the large cave entrance. Silver stared at it for a moment before getting to his feet, making his decision.
"Come on. Maybe it'll take us back around." Silver stated, helping me to my feet. I hesitantly followed him into the cave. Oddly enough, there was a lake as clear as glass inside of it. I admired the water's reflection on the stone walls and ceiling. As we got to the deepest point in the cave, I heard a loud, strange cry.
"W-what was that?" I asked nervously. Suddenly, I felt a rush of cold air as a majestic blue bird Pokémon flew into in front of us, landing a few feet away. It cried out to us again, staring Silver right in the eyes.
"What kind of Pokémon.... is that?" Silver asked in awe of it. I pulled out my Pokédex, my eyes widening at the name it gave me.
"It can't be.... it's an Articuno! But.... Red caught the only Articuno that lived in the Kanto and Johto area...." I murmured.
"What? Wait....Articuno, tell me, why are you here?" Silver asked. Articuno kneeled over, as if telling us to get on. After a moment of hesitation, we obliged, hopping onto its back, Articuno flew us to the next exit. We were shocked to find Gold and Crystal outside, riding on Zapdos and Moltres. They flew closer together, letting us speak to each other.
"Gold and Zapdos.... and Crystal and Moltres.... what does it all mean?" I questioned. Suddenly, the Tidal Bell and Clear Bell in my bag began to ring, along with the Rainbow Wing and Silver Wing glowing brightly.
"Fire... what's up with your-" Silver was cut off at the sight of Lugia and Ho-oh swooping up beside us. They cried out to greet us, Lugia using its telekinesis to lift me onto its back.
"Lugia.... and Ho-oh..... but why? Why are you all gathered here?" I asked. I closed my eyes and placed a hand to Lugia's neck to hear its voice through telepathy. "We... we need.... to get to the peak? Lugia says that we need to get to the peak!" I confirmed to everyone.
"What for?" Crys asked.
"It didn't say, but I trust Lugia, so we're going to the peak of Mt. Silver! Let's go!!" I exclaimed. With that, the five Legendary birds flew up the side of the mountain, staying side by side as they ascended. We passed through a layer of thick, cold air, and after a minute or so, we reached the top of the mountain. The legendaries dropped us off by a cave entrance, Lugia informing me that the answers in which I seek are through the pathway. Confused, I hesitantly entered the cave, Gold, Silver and Crystal right behind me, just like they always have been. It was a simple, straightforward path, with another exit straight ahead. It was windy on the other side of the cave, so I tightened my scarf around my neck. When we walked out, it was snowing a bit, the wind making it a little bit hard to see.
"W-what are we even up here f-for?" Crys asked, her teeth chattering as she shivered from the cold.
"I don't know..." I murmured. I continued to take heavy steps upwards, and noticed something up ahead... a silhouette.... of a person? "Hey!" I called, wondering what someone would be doing up here all alone. As I approached the figure, I began to slow down. It was a boy with a yellow back pack and a red jacket with short white sleeves and a white collar. He wore a white and red cap on his head and seafoam blue pants.
Slowly, the boy turned to me, and my heart fell to the floor. Those eyes.... I know those eyes. And that raven hair was dark and familiar to my own ruby red orbs. I took a shaky step forward, staring up at the boy. He stared down at me. I didn't know what to say. What could I say? I gazed deep into his eyes, searching for an answer as to what he was feeling or thinking. I finally built up the will to speak, and forced the one word on my mind out of my mouth.
"R-.....R-Red....?" I squeaked out. He didn't move. Not the slightest reaction.
"Fire!! What is-?!" Silver froze, realization striking him. "It... it can't be..." Silver muttered. Crys and Gold ran after him, stopping behind us somewhere.
"That's not.... that's not him..." I murmured.
"What?" Silver questioned. A stream of tears came down my eyes.
"That's not the real Red... Who are you?!" I snapped almost falling forward, but Silver was there to catch me. I plucked out Typhlo's Pokéball and released him, dropping it to the ground. "Typhlo, use Flamethrower!!" I cried out. The boy released his Charizard instantly, and it used Flamethrower back without a command from him. "Where's the real Red, huh?! Where's the Red that I know and love?!" I cried out, tears flooding my eyes.