Journeys: Red, Green and Blue//ON HOLD//

Chapter 16

A/N: Fun fact, chapters 15 and 16 are partly based on episode 4 of the anime because I'm too lazy to make up my own plot. Originally these two chapters were going to be a lot less serious, akin to how the anime often feels, but then I started writing, and it didn't end up happening. They were also originally supposed to be one chapter, but they ended up being really long. Once again, lots of credit to my editor VigorousEmperor for helping me out.

Red was awakened by a sharp pain on his forehead, as if someone was jabbing him repeatedly with a sharp stick. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet, and he could already tell that it was way too early for anyone to be waking him up. Not only that, but he was really cold. Everything just felt extremely wrong. There wasn't enough information for his woozy mind to puzzle it out yet, but something was definitely not right .

He opened his eyes to see Piyo hovering right in front of him, probably having been pecking at him to wake him up. Instead of Riza, he had Furi in his arms, and he was in a rather awkward position up against a tree.

"Piyo, what is it?" he said, his voice scratchy and descending into a coughing fit at the end of the sentence. It was a dry cough, with nothing to bring up. Once he could breathe again, he looked around, realizing he couldn't see Riza at all. "Where's... oh no..." his mind finally filled in the missing information, and he remembered what had happened the day before. Looking down at himself, he could barely see the outlines of several light scratches that covered his arms. However, that was nothing next to how he felt without Riza.

Piyo pecked at his head again to get his attention. She seemed to be trying to show him something, so he stood, securing Furi in his arms. The sudden motion ended up waking up the Bug-type, who looked up and around. "Piyo wants to show us something," Red explained, shivering in the chill of the night. He should've gotten his sleeping bag the night before, but it was obviously too late now.

"Ok, let's go," Red said, which led him to another coughing fit. He really should stop talking. Piyo's response to that all was just a nod before she began to fly away, back in the direction she'd come from. Hoping that she would lead them to Riza, Red followed through the forest, with Furi in his arms still. In the quiet darkness, Red noticed keenly how long the walk took, and he really couldn't do much other than track the moon across the sky. It wasn't eventful, but somehow that in itself was very stressful, and Red couldn't help but feel nervous. After all, if Piyo really was leading them to Riza, something had to be wrong. If something wasn't wrong, then they could've come back together. Finally, they reached a point where Piyo stopped moving forward, hovering in place again. She motioned in the direction she'd been flying, but didn't go any further. She seemed almost afraid to go any further, suggesting that something was wrong.

"Is it dangerous?" Red decided that that would be the best question to ask with the few words he had, and she nodded. They'd have to be very careful going forward. Much quieter than before, they started to move again. Red was careful to listen ahead, hearing what sounded like human voices. They weren't close enough for him to hear what they were saying, but there were definitely several, and they sounded somewhat upbeat. Soon, the dense forest opened out into a large clearing. There was a huge tree that loomed right in the middle, an intimidating silhouette in the dim, predawn light. Just around the tree were a couple fires with people sitting around them. They weren't much, but they looked more like a watch than a whole group. Red's stomach sank as he looked more closely at them and noticed the signature black and red uniform of Team Rocket. He must've found where they were camping out.

Red backed away from the clearing a bit, hiding in the bushes. Being seen was definitely right on the bottom of his to do list. "Is she there?" he whispered, hoping he wouldn't be heard. It was a ridiculous fear, since the clearing was huge, and the rocket members were all right around the tree. Piyo nodded to his question again, flying out into the darkness, towards another spot near the tree. There, he could see a smaller flame and the glint of light on metal. For the first time since the day before, Red felt the seed of hope blossom in his heart. However, the fear from before was still there. After all, Team Rocket had somehow gotten her, which meant that he'd have to face them again.