Word Count: 2264

◼️𝐏 𝐎 𝐊 𝐄 𝐌 𝐎 𝐍◼️

Ethan~

Marill and I were walking around the ship. There were slight modifications to the ferry the last time I remembered, specifically where a deck was extended. Many people stood on the deck to enjoy the full view of the ocean. Once I took a seat on a bench, I too stared at the sea with the others.

It's peaceful... it was too peaceful, how this scene contrasts with the ongoing events.

Lyra should be resting in one of the cabins. Even after all these years, it felt as if nothing about her had changed. For me, that was a good thing. But I wondered if she knows about Silver's past, and how much of the past she knows.

"What if she knows about my past with Silver...?" I muttered.

The fire... I would never forget that day. Silver lost his memories that day, and I would never forget what happened before and after that time. Maybe if I had protected Silver more... would 'that man' still be alive? If he was alive, would history repeat itself in a different fashion?

It wouldn't make a difference though, or maybe it would. Did I really make the right choices back then? I wondered if I had prevented the fire incident from happening... would all of this not have happened? 

I sighed. Clearly, I was trying to distract myself from the past. I wasn't sure if I should tell Lyra about Silver and his lost memories, about Togekiss and Feraligatr. However, I understand that it wasn't fair that she was being kept in the dark, especially at a time like this. But still...

"Ethan?"

I heard Lyra call my name. She stood in her usual attire from three years ago, except I remembered her mom modifying it to adjust to her new size. She grew a bit taller, after all.

Her eyes still seemed innocent. It reminded me of Silver's 5 years ago before he lost his memories. They had a similar vibe of obliviousness, but they served as a reminder that Silver didn't know Lyra was alive. I kept Lyra's wellbeing away from anyone who I counted as untrustworthy, which ended being a lot of people.

How could I trust just anyone? If I trust too many people, one of them would most likely hurt Lyra somehow. Ah... wait a minute. Is this why Lyra and Silver didn't trust me with their secret back in Goldenrod City? 

"Are you okay?" she asked, approaching closer to me. Bayleef hopped beside me on the bench, while Lyra took the opposite side. I pondered to myself quickly.

Maybe it'll be alright to tell Lyra.

◼️𝐏 𝐎 𝐊 𝐄 𝐌 𝐎 𝐍◼️

Lyra~

"I was thinking about three years ago. Remember when I mentioned Silver while he and I were in Goldenrod City? I saw things that gave me a bit of hope," he told me, "There was a reason why Silver's doing this. It's just... I don't know how to tell you that reason."

Ethan's eyes were cast down to his clasped hands resting in the middle of his thighs. Bayleef glanced at him with curiosity, before bumping her head against Ethan's arm. However, Ethan still had the same look.

What was the reason Silver changed? Why won't he tell me? Was he trying to protect me again?

He had been protecting me for years—that's a fact I'm most aware of. I never had the guts to tell him that I didn't need him to protect me, at least until three years ago. I had begun relying on Silver more. Right now, I want to save Silver and bring him back, and to do so I needed Ethan to trust me.

"Ethan, I've also changed," I resolved, which caused him to turn in my direction. "I know that you've been protecting me over the years, and I'm grateful for all that you've done. This time, I'm going to take the burden of stopping Silver, whatever it costs. If you know something that could help me understand the situation better, then I'm asking you to tell me."

Ethan's eyes widened a bit before he let out a breath. Bayleef smiled at me and let out a short cry. As she did, Ethan pulled out something from his bag and placed it on my lap. It was a burnt, broken white mask. It looked like it would crumble in my hands. My finger traced the cracks near the holes for the eyes, before trailing to the lower part of the mask.

I stared and examined this delicate object. The mask itself gave off an eery feeling as if each crack and burnt mark on the object was telling a part of a story. But why did the mask seem familiar to me? Have I seen this before?

One of my visions... that had to be it. Celebi's visions...

"That's Silver's mask," Ethan told me, "I don't know if he told you, but I'll tell you anyway just in case. It started when Silver was two years old. He was kidnapped by the Masked Man—"

Ethan explained how Silver was kidnapped and used to be one of the Masked Man's servants. Apparently, there were three girls and three boys that were kidnapped. Silver was heavily mistreated by the Masked Man so that he could manipulate Silver into serving him. When Silver turned 11, he escaped the Masked Man's clutches with Green's assistance. Eventually, the two of them had foiled the Masked Man's plans, with Blue and Ethan's help.

After that, Silver wanted to learn about his roots. 

I was happy to hear that he wanted to find his family, and that possibly they'd be waiting for him. However, I remembered Silver's resentment towards his father, which made me confused for a moment. Ethan answered the reason for my confusion.

"Team Rocket tried to take Silver by force. At the time Silver had no idea of Giovanni's affiliations with Team Rocket until they succeeded in kidnapping him. Then... something happened."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well we managed to get Silver out—not really us, but Giovanni—the aircraft that carried Silver, along with a few former Team Rocket grunts, got caught in an explosion. We don't know what happened exactly, but we found Silver heavily bruised in the wreckage and carried him out. Giovanni... I actually don't know what happened to him."

"He disappeared, didn't he? I heard he suddenly disappeared two years before I slept. You should be able to locate him, right?" I questioned.

When I said those words, Ethan's eyes began showing even more conflict. What's going on? I couldn't understand the situation well. Silver was kidnapped once, then kidnapped again. Just how many people were after Silver? Why did they need him so desperately?

Ethan sighed and turned to me again. "Blue knows what happened to him. He told me to back off and not worry or try to find out more about Giovanni. Just who did he think he is!? How can I not worry? Giovanni was also caught in the explosion as well. If Silver was badly harmed, then so should Giovanni."

I gazed at him, as he exclaimed his thoughts out loud. He looked desperate—I would be desperate too. Giovanni... I don't believe he's a bad person. Just because he's the leader of Team Rocket, it didn't mean he's a bad person in general. That's what I wanted to believe, and I will continue believing in that.

"So you can't ask Blue where Giovanni is... does that mean he's still alive? What about Green? Can't you ask her?"

Ethan shook his head. "I don't know if he's alive. It's very unlikely, as Silver barely survived the explosion himself. However, I can't be certain whether he's alive or not. As for Green, she doesn't know, and if she does know she wouldn't tell me."

"Why not? I know that things weren't great between me and her, but I also don't think she had bad intentions. I'm sure she would've told you something," I noted.

"Silver lost his memories after the explosion. He barely remembers the events that happened five years ago. Green told me to keep it a secret, as she was worried that if he regained his memories too fast, there would be consequences. My real name is Gold. Ethan was just a name my mom preferred. I didn't want to lie to you, but I also didn't want you to get involved."

I knew he was trying to protect me, but I couldn't understand why he never asked me for my opinion about the matter. Maybe if I had known, I could connect the pieces together faster, maybe I'd help him through his darkness better. Instead, I felt robbed of an opportunity I would've desperately needed while I was linked to Silver.

The bracelets were scary—anyone would be scared if their lives were on the line. But maybe I could've helped Silver more than what I had done so far.

Does Silver even know I'm alive? I need to bring some sense to him.

"So... Silver had been going through a tough journey, huh..." I muttered.

"No, it was rough luck. Silver refused to lead Team Rocket after learning about his father—ha, and look what's happening right now. I don't know exactly what he's planning, but we're going to find out," Ethan declared.

I nodded and proceeded to stare at the sea. We needed to figure out what exactly Silver wants and stop him. He's fighting, and I will too. Even if we are forced to face one another, I'll be fully prepared for that moment, and I won't be afraid of the outcomes.

★ 𝐒𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 ★

Ethan told me the boat had arrived at Vermilion City. We had already exited the boat, where Ethan said Green would meet up with us around here. Right now, we were standing around an area where construction was taking place—or rather, where construction was on hold. 

Ethan advised me to not make myself too noticeable to other people, such as screaming if I became frightened. I wondered why he would say that. A moment ago, he mentioned how he was glad I was 'still the same Lyra', and I remembered myself being a bit energetic. 

After a couple of minutes went by, Ethan turned his head to where Green was approaching us. She looked the same as she was three years ago. Although, she approached us calmly instead of approaching us with a cold expression. She seemed more relaxed but still a little bit careful. 

"Good morning, it's been a while, Lyra," Green greeted me. 

I nodded, "It has been a while. How have you been?"

"I've been the same. There's not much that I've been worrying about, although battling new Trainers are annoying.." she muttered. 

"Wait, are you a Gym Leader as well?" I questioned.

Green raised her eyebrow and looked at me with a confused expression. Her arms were already crossed, so if we had been on bad terms it would've seemed intimidating. "I'm not sure if you were informed, but I am standing in for the current Champion of Kanto. He's... busy. Training, I suppose, but I've barely heard from him."

I wasn't sure if I remembered Green filling in for the Champion of Kanto. If I had forgotten, it was probably a small detail that I've bypassed. I wonder what her connection to the current Champion of Kanto is like. He and Green must've had a long history, and maybe Blue might be involved too. 

"Is he still in Mount Silver?" Ethan asked. Green just nodded her head. She seemed to be acting cautiously for some reason when just a minute ago she was relaxed. 

"Also, regarding Sil—"

"Not here," Green interrupted, motioning us to follow her. Ethan and I did just that without hesitation. She directed us east of Vermilion City, towards a cave nearly. There was a sign outside of the cave. I took a quick glance at it, as Green led us inside the cave. It mentioned there was a sleeping Pokémon that used to be blocking the nearest route, and the sign was advising people to use the 'Rock Tunnel' to get to another city. 

As we entered deeper into the cave, I noticed a figure sitting on a large boulder near the bridge. His hood was covering his face, but the cloak and the clothes showing from inside the cloak were too familiar to me. 

"Let's head down the ladder," Green urged us. 

As the figure got off the boulder and closer towards us, I reached out to take off his hood. the figure didn't resist, and I saw Exchanger's face. There were questions filling my head, but Green continued to be quick to get us down the ladder. 

Ethan was already down the ladder, and Green was about to head down the ladder as well. 

"Lyra, you can go first," I heard Exchanger tell me. 

"Okay," I nodded. After noticing Green is almost down the ladder, I placed my hand on the old wood. I was thankful the ladder was resting against the wall of the cave. 

"Green and Gol—Ethan will catch you if you're about to fall," he reassured me. 

I smiled to myself and began heading down the ladder.

◼️𝐏 𝐎 𝐊 𝐄 𝐌 𝐎 𝐍◼️ 

Be sure to vote and comment on the story. Also, please correct me on any mistakes that might have appeared in this chapter.

Hope you enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next chapter~

~Lisa~