A/N: I'm sorry in advance for the POV shifts

My heart was still in the midst of pounding from Red's actions, but there was a stronger anxiety in me now. I didn't want to let them down, but I had to do this.

"What is it? Don't tell us you're Vespiquen!" Blue threw her hands on her hips dramatically.

"Of course not, nothing related to the case." I grasped my phone from my pocket as proof, "Actually, I've been talking to one of uncle's close friends; they work together. His name is Oliver and I had to list him as another emergency contact for my uncle."

"What does he want?" Red suspiciously glared.

"He called me two days ago, telling me that he's arranged a small funeral ceremony for my uncle. I agreed to attend and payed for half the costs. He texted me earlier today and told me they're returning the body." I took a deep breath and hoped they'd forgive me, "The ceremony will be early tomorrow morning. I have to leave tonight."

They looked back at me, silently, and my expression became more pleading. I needed the group on my side, regardless of how risky my actions were going to be. Uncle deserved this.

"Say something, please! This is my only chance of having closure."

"There is no way Lance would let you leave his sight and I'm against it. It's not safe for you." Green crossed his arms, sternly looking at me.

I looked at Blue hopefully, but even the brunette shook her head. "I don't know..."

As my last resort, I turned to Red. It was hard, looking straight at him, but by now I'd learnt how to communicate through eye contact.

"If it's not too long, I think we can cover for you." A glimmer of hope settled back in my vision as I smiled at him gratefully, "Guys, this is her only relative. Let Yellow say goodbye, she deserves that."

If it hadn't been for my immense shyness and confusion about Red's own feelings, I would have hugged him then and there.

"Seriously?" Green narrowed his eyes, "Don't you think Yellow would be in danger?"

"I won't, I mean I doubt it!" I'd already rehearsed this conversation in my head, "I wasn't part of the K-Z that Rose holds a grudge against because I'm new. Besides, I'll be back immediately after the ceremony is finished."

"I guess it's possible, but how are you going to sneak out without raising suspicion?" Blue began to fiddle with her nails, a sign of deep thought.

"I could give you Aero. He travels faster and it would make your return smoother." Red offered.

I winced in memory of my last journey with that membraned Pokémon, "Thanks, but I'd rather be shocked by ChuChu."

"How about my Pidgeot? I've raised him and he's notably bigger than the DAPP's. That way you won't be caught taking one of the company's Pokémon."

I stared at Green in surprise, then beamed at his change of heart, "Yes! Yes that's perfect, thank you!"

"I'm still not convinced this is right, are you taking any Pokémon?" Green sighed, refusing to return my grin.

"Just ChuChu." I gestured to my room, where she was waiting, "Wilton was like her uncle too."

Blue groaned, "You promise you'll be okay?"

"I will! I won't let you down." I blushed as the realisation struck me.

The group cared about me, they wanted my safety.

~

It was one in the morning and the sky was beautiful. Deep navy inked away the bright clouds from the summer morning, and now darkness drew a silence over Saffron city. Shards of stars pressed into the atmosphere, hidden so far that unless you squinted, you'd miss them. I wasn't outside yet but far away, there was a rustle of trees that assured me of a swift breeze. Contrary to the day's heat, the night held coldness.

I pulled ChuChu closer to me as the remnant of dinner's grilled cheese made for a bad combination with the Mago yoghurt. My stomach was churning, there was a bad feeling in my gut. I hated to admit it but I was scared. I was terrified. Not of the journey, but the destination.

"Yellow, Viridian is your home. You can't worry now, there's so much waiting ahead."

"I know." I mustered up a whisper to my best friend, "But I have to get used to the fact that he's never going to be there again. He never even got the chance to welcome us back home, ChuChu."

And here I was, wearing the same backpack I had left home with. With Chuchu still close to me. Still feeling scared.

"Just like Red, you're clinging to the past." I pressed my chin against the Pikachu's fur as she communicated to me, "But if he can stand back up, then you definitely can."

Here I was, standing in a new room, a new home. With a new family. Feeling more resilient.

I watched a Fearow move through the sky, then unlatched my window and pushed it open. On the windowsill lay Green's Pokè Ball for Pidgeot. The harsh breeze was more of a wind, but it grounded me.

"You're right, as always." I held her up and met the shining eyes of my Pikachu, "We're stronger, and we can do this together."

"With us, of course."

I snapped back around, then melted into a smile as my three teammates stood in the doorway of my room.

Somehow, it was all feeling like a goodbye. I wanted to return to K-Z quickly.

Blue reached me first, pressing me into a hug as her fluffy dressing gown touched my skin. "Yellow, you get back here pronto!"

"Of course. I promise, I'll be here tomorrow." I grinned as she blew me a kiss, then stepped back.

Next came Green, who stood before me with an unreadable expression that made me want to laugh childishly. "I figured it would be easy to watch you leave."

"Green," I looked up at him and pouted, "Can you not bully me?"

"For once in my life, I was wrong," He smirked and ruffled my hair, "See you soon Yellow."

"Thanks." I smiled, then straightened my hair and watched Red move to me, my heartbeat fastening.

His hair was especially messy, and I knew he'd only just woken up to say goodbye. I hoped he was over Rose. Selfish or not, I now knew I wanted to be the only girl Red looked at.

Part of me wanted him to say some specific words. Words about me returning here, coming back home. Proof he wanted me around.

I was still waiting for those words as he pressed his arms around my shoulders, giving me a tight squeeze. His head lay above mine as he whispered, "Take as much time as you need."

What?

I tried to hide my disappointment behind a smile as I gave them one last wave, then released Pidgeot out of the widened window. A new angst built into my chest. ChuChu clung to my shoulder as we climbed out, onto the bird waiting for us. His words shouldn't have worried me, but they really did.

Did they need me?

~Morning~

I looked back at the four warm croissants on my plate, our Thursday tradition for breakfast.

She's not here.

Rolling my eyes at the stupid mistake, I put one back onto the tray, then moved ahead to get some more food.

"Did you mean to do that?" Green's overconfident voice questioned me.

"Just a small mistake." I shrugged.

"I don't mean that."

"Then what?" I turned back to him as he scanned the fresh fruit.

"I meant what you said to Yellow," he nonchalantly replied, "Take as much time as you need?"

I felt a pang in my chest and sighed, "Obviously not. But if I told her to rush back, she'd feel pressured to stay at K-Z. I saw how heartbroken she was about the Viridian crime and her uncle, I just wanted her to spend time at her old home. That way, maybe she can move on and come back to us."

Green grumbled to himself as we walked back to our table, "Red that's nice and all, but do you really think that's what she's going to take from your words?"

"Arceus!" I frowned and stopped moving to stare at him, "What do you want me to do? Tell Yellow I love her, even though we're in the middle of catching a serial killer, my ex?"

Green snorted and walked past me, "There's your answer."

My mind froze as I followed that snarky asshole.

I just said that I loved Yellow.

There were so many inexplicable components to that emotion, but this time I felt sure of it.

I wanted her forever.

As Red sat down, I snatched my croissant from him and watched Lance approach us.

"No Yellow?" He raised his eyebrows.

She was definitely his favourite.

"She's tired, you know how she gets." Green casually replied.

I wonder if he's ever lied to me with that much honesty.

"Well she has been working hard. That resilience is proof she's the legacy of Burgundy and Alexander." Lance muttered.

"What?" I watched the two boys gawped like idiots in amusement.

"Oh yeah, you never knew." I smirked at my advantage. "Yellow is theirs."

"Seriously?" Red groaned, "She could've just been with us from the beginning then."

I smiled to myself at his words.

Way to go Red, you're starting to be less discreet.

"Maybe it's good Yellow's uncle looked after her instead of her busy parents. They pushed hard to establish K-Z." Green observed.

My mind sometimes struck like lightening; moving in a quick pattern and connecting dots that others hadn't noticed. Like thunder, it was unexpected. Loud.

Well, now it was a storm.

"Oh shit." I dropped the croissant as my throat clenched, "Shit!"

"Tastes good to me." Red raised his eyebrows.

"Shut up!" I closed my eyes, "We've been idiots. I just figured it out."

"Easy there, tell us what you've got." It was typical of that Lance to coax out my epiphany.

"Okay." I paused to take a sip of Green's smoothie, "Yellow is Rose's target."

Not caring about their response, I elaborated. "Rose's parents never passed through into the DAPP, but guess whose did? Yellow's. Guess who ran the Lavender Town kidnapping case, where Rose's stepdad was fired? Yellow's parents."

"You're saying her grudge is against Yellow, not the entire company? What about Red?" Lance was rushing my mind, but the sparks were still flying.

"Don't you see?" I strummed my fingers, "Yellow has someone Rose wanted. It's obvious to us all. Red."

"What do you mean?" The dense boy demanded.

"Media. The press conferences for example." I impatiently clicked my tongue, "In the first one, you lead Yellow by grabbing her hand. In the virtual conference, she comfortingly held yours. In every photo of us, including the beach one, Yellow has been beside you. Rose isn't stupid, she knows how you act when you care about someone, Red."

"Why don't you two just get together?" Green rolled his eyes, "But you're right. It makes sense for Rose to assume she's been replaced by Yellow. Just like her parents were. All of this time, she's lashed out at both Red and Yellow."

We were all silent as we processed the information. Maybe she wanted Wilton to die on purpose.

I knew we shouldn't have let Yellow go.

A cold feeling dripped through my body as I numbed. Crap. She was vulnerable right now.

"Well it's a good thing she's just sleeping in her room." Lance shrugged, "We need a way to catch Rose now."

"Actually," Red gritted his teeth before jolting up, "She isn't in the building."

It was another explosion.

"What the hell do you mean?" Lance's face paled.

I zoned out Green as he calmly explained the situation to Lance.

We needed to figure out how to secure Yellow and get her back. If all had gone to plan, she should hopefully be here by the afternoon.

"You stupid idiots!" The redhead stole the canteen's attention and I rolled my eyes, "Did you not think Rose could have intervened in this apparent funeral? She probably knew that Yellow agreed to come to the funeral, that's why she sent us the 'Check Mate' note in advance."

"What are you saying?" Red snapped loudly, still on his feet, "What about Yellow?"

"She's the next, if not the last, victim."

~

I had just about grabbed Poli and Aero's Pokè Balls, tossing them into my belt as I sprinted out of the building.

Everything was a blur.

Pika was firmly on my shoulder as I ran to the route she would have taken. The entrance of Route 5.

Yellow, she hated battling. She just had ChuChu. She was unarmed. We idiots had all forgotten about self-defence when Yellow was leaving.

Now, I had my gun slid into my belt. If I needed to use it, I sure as hell would.

I'd barely conceded the junction, only vaguely processing the interior walls as I quickly passed through.

I instantly reached for Aero's ball, knowing he was one of the select Pokémon of Kanto that reached the fast-flight guidelines.

But before I could fly, I saw it.

My body burned in a fusion of anger and fear as the crushed Poké Ball lay before me, splintered into tiny segments. It was Green's. He'd marked his balls with a little 'G' years ago.

Pidgeot didn't even fit the sequence, and it wasn't here anymore.

Which meant only one thing in my chain of reasoning.

Rose must have used Pidgeot.

That meant she had flown her away.

Rose had Yellow.

A/N:
Huehue, another cliffhanger ^o^

Happy Sunday everyone! I just finished a 4 week exercise programme so I'm feeling very accomplished.

Well, ignoring that, Yellow is in trouble! Anyone have an idea on where she is?

Stay tuned for an update next Sunday,
Baii!