~5 Minutes~

"Yellow?"

I felt sick. My head was throbbing as I forced away dark thoughts, my hands clammy from being clenched for too long, my throat dry from the panicked breaths. My eyes felt sore from scrutinising everything in my direct sight.

"Pika."

I looked down at my friend, and his expression somewhat calmed me.

"I know I can trust Lance and the others to help, but it's my fault she's gone. It's my fault again. I'm the one who agreed for Yellow to leave."

I think I was reasoning more with the thoughts inside my head rather than Pika.

"There's got to be something here, Rose likes to leave tokens." I released Poli and Aero, "I need you to carefully look through this area for anything out of place. We need to move quickly. Poli, go through the grass. Aero, scan above the trees."

I could rule out the underground path; Pidgeot was being used so I doubted they'd be there. The daycare was closed, as usual, business having moved inside Saffron City. Yellow's route would have taken her to Cerulean City and all the way around, eventually reaching Viridian City.

There was no chance she'd have gotten there if Rose intervened.

"Yellow!" My throat grew even more dry as I screamed out her name.

I sounded like an idiot hearing my voice echo in the emptiness, it was useless to think she'd be okay.

"Aero!"

The purple Pokémon came zooming towards me as I shaded my eyes and looked above at him. In his grip was someone else who had indirectly been tied to Rose's malice: ChuChu.

The Pikachu fell into my arms in fright, with an expression that confirmed my doubts but also manifested some hope. Her fur was ruffled and tangled with flakes of leaves, but there was something else important about her appearance.

Attached to ChuChu was a folded paper flower, a little crumpled but otherwise in perfect form. A deep pink colour: rose.

When Rose was bored and I was busy, she'd always fold small pieces of origami and throw them at me.

ChuChu couldn't have been more adamant to remove it, so I obliged, opening the flower into the form of a small letter. My heart was thudding impatiently, and I knew every second was precious now.

There, written in her small and sloped letters, was the message that Rose knew would impale me.

"I caught her before you did."

Those spoken six words looped in my mind as I emptily stared at the paper, watching it crush between my fingers mercilessly.

And that's when I finally snapped.

No more games.

~20 Minutes~

There wasn't an ounce of happiness in the department, it was replaced with inevitable stress. I could feel our colleagues look between the three of us, awaiting orders.

"I'm going to go live soon." I clenched my fists and stared back at Green and Lance, "What are you two doing?"

"Her phone's disconnected, we can't track it. The last location I picked up was Saffron City, so that's useless." Green met my eyes in disappointment.

I stared back at him, determined to stay grounded. After all, Red had stolen the chance of flying on an emotional whim.

"What else can you do to track her?" I murmured.

"I'll get some of us to study any local footage in the route junctions, we might be able to follow her journey." Green sat back down in a seat, "We'll split them up by location. Anyone know where Sakura is?"

Apparently nobody did, because he got no response.

In all fairness, she was so quiet it was hard to notice her absence.

Not like Yellow though. Yellow had comfortably settled in my heart, she was more than just a team mate, she was like my sister. Arceus, we'd never done anything normal that sisters would do, but I knew our connection was strong. That girl had persistently claimed her space in this department, and she'd successfully become irreplaceable.

I missed her.

"I'm waiting for that idiot Red," Lance looked more flustered than ever as he glared at the device in his hand, "We need updates."

Everything was silent, apart from the tapping of keyboards scattered across the room. The sound unnerved me even more, and my nails became a resort for my anxiety as I picked at them. Staring at my watch, I began to count the minutes leading to my interview. Twenty-three minutes.
Twenty-two.

"Update!"

Everyone halted as Lance held his phone to his ear, intensely focused on the vibrating voice of Red.

"So she definitely has her?"

My heart dropped, and I mouthed for Lance to turn his sound up but he only ignored me.

"I get it, you're angry, but we're wasting time. You know Rose the most, where would she take Yellow? She obviously wants you to follow her."

"Any important date places?" I yelled out, hoping he'd hear, "What about Diglett Tunnel? You both used to search for Chansey there."

Lance focused on Red before murmuring, "He says they're plausible, but don't make any sense. She wouldn't need Pidgeot for any of the locations he's thought of."

"Well think harder!" I raised my voice, standing beside Lance's ear, "Arceus, you've read so many mystery novels. Put that knowledge to use!"

All we needed was evidence that Yellow was safe, but I was beginning to doubt that existed.

"Wait, go on..." Lance glared at me, pushing me backwards as he moved to the doorway for silence.

I scowled, then silently followed to hear into the conversation.

"You mean that book Yellow was reading too? What's it called?" He looked back at me, but I could only shrug in response.

"How Pokémon got away!" Green called over from his computer, watching us intently.

"How Pokémon got away." Lance repeated, "You finished it whilst dating her? So?"

"She used to tease him for being so engrossed in the plot." I felt another shock in my head as I caught onto the conversation between Red and Lance. "Ask him about the ending!"

Lance nodded at me, and I watched him turn the speaker on as we all clung to Red's words.

"The protagonist finds the victim at the peak of Mount Moon, it was a cult-like scene. The perpetrator, a schizophrenic trainer, wanted to sacrifice a girl's pokémon to the hallucinations he saw."

Red stopped speaking as we processed his words, probably figuring out what he should do.

"Red, don't you dare be rash and fly there yourself. We need to gather and be logical about-"

"Sorry Lance."

We simultaneously sighed as he cut the man off.

"I don't have strategies when it comes to protecting the people I love. Rose wants me there and if that's going to save Yellow, so be it."

Hearing him was only worse for the emotional panic that had begun draining our team. I closed my eyes in despair, praying that Arceus had given Yellow the opportunity to escape.

When I opened my eyes again, I met Green's, seeking comfort in his familiar expression.

Things would work out. They had to.

~2 Hours~

"Nearly there." I gritted my teeth, not sure if I was reassuring the two Pikachu, or myself.

I could have stuck to my gut instinct and immediately flown to the peak of the mountain, but logic told me to search through the stretched interior that spanned three levels. There was always a chance of Rose playing tricks, and I couldn't take the risk of being careless.

My fingers were sore from pushing away rough stones, palms covered in musty dust and nails beginning to grow grey. My feet were roughed from sharp movements to avoid wild pokémon; there was no time to battle. My shoulders and arms were sore from Pika and ChuChu taking turns to be carried; switching at being my source of light. My body had already ached from the fast flight to Mount Moon, Aero didn't exactly put comfort first when he could speed. No wonder Yellow didn't want to ride him.

Yellow.

I clenched my fists at the image of her warm smile, Rose couldn't take that away. I wouldn't let her.

Even now, in this glum darkness, Yellow was still the light pushing me forward.

A blur of pink made me pause, and I turned sharply to my left to look at the bright colour. Damn it, it was only a small family of Clefairy and Clefable. I paused to watch them, almost hovering as they skipped down the mountain, carrying shards of Moon stones and humming daintily.

"Its almost soothing to see them like that." I bitterly smiled at the whimsical Pokémon, then turned forward and continued to trudge through.

"Yellow!" I cupped my hands over my mouth, my shout only startling a wandering Paras.

"Pika!"

"Pika!"

ChuChu swapped spots with my partner as she ran forward, her cheeks burning with a yellow static.

I continued to move, eyeing a Zubat in disdain as it circled around me, fangs baring. I didn't have enough light to guide me clearly, but the angle of the ground beneath me seemed to be shifting. It was become more tiresome to trek and whilst that burned my muscles, it meant the path was steepening. That was good.

"We're coming closer to the peak!" I grunted, hoisting myself over a fat boulder that was obstructing us.

As I landed back on the ground, a soft hue of light made my heart pound harder, diverting the pain from my grazed palms. We were nearly there.

Before I could begin to formulate a rough plan in my head, a whimper stole my attention.

"Yellow!" I turned back, "Are you here?"

"Pika!" My partner shook his head, jumping off of my shoulder and joining ChuChu as they moved back to the boulder.

"What's there?" I crouched down and looked at the two uneasily.

They flashed their cheeks together, the electricity illuminating a small pink creature.

"Clefairy?"

The small Pokémon was wedged in a cramped spot between the jagged wall of the mountain and that boulder. It looked up at me in hope and I sighed, "You got left behind, right?"

"Clefairy."

I turned away, looking back at the shreds of light. It would be an easy climb up to the peak.

"I really need to go..." I met its eyes again, then decided that I didn't need more guilt to burden me.

"Fine, give me a second."

I sat down and reached my arms through the small space, using my hands to shield the Clefairy.

"Pika, use Iron Tail!" I pushed ChuChu into my lap, then covered my head as my partner slashed through the boulder, small shards splintering out in the aftermath.

A few seconds later, the boulder had slid downwards, and there was enough space for me to stand back up and stretch, freeing the Clefairy.

"There, now go join your group." I pointed in the opposite direction, and after sending me a grateful smile, the little pink blob hurried away.

"Okay, they have to be at the peak." I fastened my pace, following the light as it became brighter, eventually transforming to the circular shape of an opening.

If I emerge from there, instead of the sky, maybe I can catch her off guard.

"Alright, you're staying here." I paused in my path, turning to Yellow's best friend.

She looked back at me in a feisty confusion, then continued to walk upwards.

"ChuChu, I'm serious." I lowered my voice but maintained the strict tone, "The reason you aren't with her now is because Yellow wanted you safe, and I'm going to stick to her intention. Stay here."

I knew she wanted to disobey me, but after resonating with the thought of Yellow, the Pikachu glumly stopped moving.

I nodded my head to her, then motioned for Pika to follow behind me.

Regardless of the stance I took, I'd have to jump upwards, which made it hard to take a defensive stance or scan the situation. Arceus, I wasn't even sure she was here. My gut instinct of moving through the interior had already wasted enough time.

"Get on my shoulder," I whispered, then looked down at my partner's brave eyes, "We're going up and it doesn't matter what's there."

The rocky surface stung my hands, and I flinched before pushing down and heaving my body through the opening. My memories of Mount Moon promised a large and flatter surface above, safer than where I'd been.

Everything blurred as I finally made my way, scrambling to stand up and wincing in the bright daylight. My eyes watered as they adjusted to the summer sky, but by the time I'd gained my sight again, I'd wished I hadn't.

Her silhouette stood there, arms crossed defensively as her voice laughed.

"What an um-smooth entrance."

I clenched my jaw and stared back at her eyes, dancing with a sardonic light.

"Looks like you didn't let me down this time."

A/N:
Ooooh, the climax is coming! What do you guys think is waiting above?

I planned through these chapters beforehand, and I just realised there aren't many left :(

Also, complete side note, but a few of you wanted to see my finished Switch decor. I hand-painted these shells, just need to seal it up :)

See you next week!
Baiii