Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way.
Writer’s Notes – “This fic is planned to be torturously long, with alternating timelines and some gruesome subject matters. Themes include homosexuality, “scientific” experimentation, abuse, character deaths and more. Still want to read? By the way, an important thing to be noted is that this is based off the GAME, not the anime, not the manga. Though of course, I’m making my own twists. So, yeah, characters include Red, Blue, Gold, etc.”

Suicide Waltz

Six years after the devastating attack on Indigo Plateau, Team Rocket is abandoned, and a dangerous man is missing. Couple that with the disappearance of the Elite Four and you've got a major case; how can such powerful figures just up and vanish?

Year xx25, In the Present – Part I

Blue: at the age of sixteen, a boy considered to be the best trainer in Kanto, thrived as the successor to the powerful Viridian Gym for an impressive six years. One of the three child prodigies of Pallet Town, he was rivaled only by Red, who mysteriously disappeared shortly after the Indigo Plateau disaster. Many speculations since then died down less than a year subsequent to the incident.

The silence of six years should have been enough to put any worry to rest, but as quoted from an old friend, “I may not get you tomorrow, but some day...” Team Rocket was long abandoned and their leader left no trace. A new age of peace fell over the region, and evening digest stories returned to reporting things like the latest fads and other such insignificancies.

The young brunette flipped through several files that had been collecting dust in the basement of the Gym, a small area prohibiting entrance from anyone other than the leader. There he kept files taken from abandoned research facilities once run and managed by the infamous Teal Rocket.

Everything from the worn discs to the slightly ripped and tinted papers expressed some sort of obscure danger, a new threat yet to be born and released into the general public; a source of mayhem.

But who would believe such a fallacy? Surely not the Viridian Police, and certainly not any interregional law enforcers.

With Team Rocket out of the picture, who would imagine that any old scheme could rise from the wood works and annihilate the lives of countless innocents? No one, that’s who, and to Blue’s dismay, it was the only sure fact.

He turned on a rusty old PC, one he admittedly used all too often, and prompted the database. He had to check up on his old email address, to change with the times. Everything those days seemed to revolve around email and internet sources. But at least that way, he wouldn’t have to go on a hundred-fifty mile journey whenever he needed to confront Red. (This really wasn’t often at all.)

Missing by any standards of the public, Red’s whereabouts were known mainly to Blue. He wished he’d known some other such whereabouts as well, namely the Elite Four, and possibly even Giovanni, the former leader of the Rockets. Not even a clue as to where they were or what they were doing was present.

Finding that he had no new mail, he logged out of the system, leaving him with an unaccomplished feeling.

Something deep down inside of him still felt that the world at large was in danger of being torn to shreds by some unknown assailant. Every year of his life counted down to seconds of spur of the moment anxieties; however, this he would let no one know, not even his closest trainees.

Blue ascended the steps of the basement and reentered the gym, locking the door behind him. There was an empty feeling, since most of the trainers and challengers went home or wherever they stayed for the evening.

No one bothered challenging gyms in the late hours of the day, mostly for practical reasons, so he felt it ok to close up and lock down for the night.

Those days, for the most part, he helped his grandfather with Pokemon research by lending his own catches as subjects. Half his normal party was left behind in Pallet with Professor Oak, who’d come back from an extensive research trip in Johto three months prior. Blue was left only with his Charizard, Fearow, Exeggutor, and Eevee, which he wasn’t ashamed to leave un-evolved.

Red was perfectly fine with his yellow rat, why did he have to change his Eevee?

Outside the closed doors of the gym, Blue sniffed the air and looked at the all too familiar scenery. Quaint little houses surrounded by tall evergreen trees. Hardly anything changed since all those years ago.

Turning south, in the direction of Pallet, he froze in mid-step.

A boy looking around his age, possibly younger, was standing a mere five feet or so ahead of him, as if he was waiting for him. Though at an immediate glance, Blue had mistaken the boy for Red; upon closer observation he saw that it was someone entirely different. He shook his head slowly, realizing with some regret that Red wouldn’t just turn up in a place like this. “What’re you waiting around for, kid? The gym is closed.”

“Are you Red?” The boy asked hastily, there was a hint of a challenge in his voice. This kid wanted some kind of confrontation.

Blue blinked dubiously, cocking his head to the side. “Haven’t heard that name in years. Who do you think you are, demanding stuff like that?”

The kid looked a little let down, but nonetheless persisted with anxious brown eyes, “Can you tell me where the Gym Leader is?”

“That depends. It’s pretty late.” Blue stated coolly, leveling his eyes with the kid’s before him. He noticed the similarities between the guy and Red. Slightly short, but skinny frame, deep brown eyes, and a fascination for hats fitted on backwards. Though his hair was a much lighter brown, and he just generally looked different. “What’s your name?”

The boy paused, not expecting to be met by a question. He pulled his cap a bit lower against his head. “…My name’s Gold.”

“Gold. Come back tomorrow. Smell ya later!”

“Huh…? Wait!” Gold cried, but Blue had already summoned his Fearow and began a steady ascent. In a matter of seconds, he was a speck on the horizon.

It took a lot of guts and strong arms to hang on to a giant bird flying through the sky. Luckily for Blue, he was very experienced, and the weather was fairly calm. The name “Gold” ran over and over in his mind. Something about the kid reminded him so much of his elusive Red, there was no mistaking he had great potential. Now it was just a matter of whether he’d show up or not the next day.

As Pallet Town came into view, he lowered his flight until he was mere inches above the rooftops. The Pokemon lab came into view, and here he stopped the flight, calling back his revered bird Pokemon.

Blue entered the lab, expecting to see his grandfather busying himself over some documents or typing up a storm on the computer; he needed to check up on his Pokemon. However, he was only greeted by the bustling of the lab aides. One of them stopped to greet him, but then only resumed his busy load of work. Blue sighed and headed for the office, where the Prof kept all his documented findings and Pokemon subjects. Except, there were no pokeballs in sight. It was odd, for his grandfather to take Blue’s Pokemon with him on one of his field trips.

A small flicker of light caught his attention; an idle PC was blinking its not-so-fancy screensaver. Not unusual for the office aides to leave computers on and unchecked.

Feeling most privileged to look into it, he shook the mouse to get the normal white screen back up. An inbox opened up.

‘When did Gramps start using his email?’ Blue thought with some humor.

He skimmed through the inbox, not that there were many messages, and simply clicked on the most recent one. He was the snoopy type anyways; it was his Gramp’s fault for leaving the computer open and vulnerable like that. Carefully he read; the message was incredibly short.

Subject: There’s been a change of plans.

Message: Prof. Oak! Has anyone come along lately? There’s been a change of plans; I think I found where they might be hiding. Usual time? –Pokemon Master

Blue iced over, letting the digital letters soak in. Only one idiot had the gall to call himself a Pokemon Master. He hadn’t received any word from Red in months, but that email was only a few days old… Why?

He felt a tight knot form in the pit of his stomach. What could Red possibly talk to Gramps about? Didn’t Blue have a right to know? It sounded…. like a secret. Rage built up in Blue, but he kept his temper in check.

It wouldn’t be good if anyone discovered he’d read such a message; so he deleted it. It had appeared as “opened” before he even clicked the link, so he was pretty sure Gramps read the message already.

It was no secret to him Red’s hideout.

Six years ago they staked out the legendary Unknown Dungeon together, and came up fruitless. The cave was filled with unimaginably powerful Pokemon, but nothing else out of the ordinary. Even so, Red frustratingly made it his “hideout”, claiming there was something to those ruins they just didn’t know…

Besides that, just who were “they”? What was he talking about?

More importantly, just how long were those two contacting each other? Why didn’t Gramps ever tell him anything? These questions befuddled Blue to no end, and he wasn’t about to do nothing about it. He’d hunt down old Oak and get him talking if it was the last thing he did!

“Are you looking for something, Blue?”

Blue turned to face the head aide, who asked purely out of curiosity. Blue exited the email program and stepped past the aide, intent on leaving. He didn’t feel like being polite to some subordinate. “Nah.” And he left.

Daisy would probably scold him later for being cold, but he could worry about that later. In fact, everything would have to wait till later—he was to be expecting a stream of challengers the next day, including that Gold kid, and he couldn’t afford to be absent. Not of physical or mental nature, since he only had three Pokemon on his person.

The pain in his gut only doubled with anticipation, and he was already fed up with waiting.

He contemplated going home and facing Daisy, or going back to the gym and roughing the night. He opted for the latter, and once again summoned his great Fearow. It was lucky for him that Viridian City was so close to home. He only wished Red would come home every once in a while. He felt sorry for Red’s mother.

Fearow cawed with great enthusiasm at the second chance to flex its wings. With one mighty flap, the pair became airborne, and so due-north they flew.

A long cold flight helped him to work out some basic details. When the day was over, he’d have to find Oak. Back in Viridian, Blue took the time to stake out the Pokemart. With only three Pokemon, he was sure even he would have problems tomorrow.

Upon approaching, he noticed a slight figure sitting against the wall of the door… Blue felt more than a little ticked off. What kind of moron camped out right in front of the door?

Blue nearly made to nudge him with his boot, if he hadn’t of recognized the stupid hat.

“Gold?” He asked quietly. When he received no answer, he could only assume the boy was asleep. Blue hefted a sigh; he really didn’t feel like toting a hundred pound deadweight around… But he really didn’t feel like dealing with a prissy kid awake. He shrugged his shoulders and decided he had no other choice; he carefully hoisted the kid up and over his shoulder, leaving the door free to be unlocked.

The kid was actually a lot heavier than he looked, making the trip down to the basement all the more tedious.

Blue lay the body out on an old, worn out couch, which probably would have been in style five or six years ago. He scanned the ruffled clothes and patches of dirt with some scrutiny. Small and dirty; just his type. Blue turned his back away from the sleeping figure with something akin to loathing. He hated how everything always seemed to remind him of that idiot Red!

He quickly busied himself by logging onto the old PC. It made a few beeping noises of protest as its old engine spurred to life. Blue flinched with each loud groan of the machine, afraid it would wake up his sleeping companion.

Luckily, Gold seemed to be a very heavy sleeper. Blue really could have guessed, though. He wasn’t exactly gentle going down the stairs…

“Nng…” Gold moaned from the couch, effectively distracting Blue yet again from his work.

Blue glared viciously at the little stinker, wondering again if he should just wake him up and kick him out. But then that would mean all the effort he put into taking him in would’ve been a waste… He left the PC to stand over the boy with wandering eyes. It really wasn’t all that bad, having someone around who just happened to remind him of Red.

And he hated Red. …To some extent…

This guy couldn’t be so bad… He definitely took to Blue’s snotty attitude than Red did.

Gold groaned again, shifting into a position that put him in danger of falling off the couch. Slowly, his eyes cracked open, but nothing else seem to process through him. It was like looking at a doll, Blue observed; a very awkward description for a boy, really.

“You up, stinker?” He asked in a tone he usually reserved only for his closest rival.

“….” Gold blinked sleepily before opening his eyes wider to soak in his surroundings. He looked utterly confused, as he should. It wasn’t like he hadn’t fallen asleep outside the gym, after all. Finally, he found his voice, which was dry and quiet, “Where am I…?”

“In my way.” Blue answered harshly.

Gold sat up on the couch, sinking into its leathery folds. He looked up at Blue with dull brown eyes; obviously that didn’t answer his question. So he opted for a new one. “Who are you?”

Blue snorted, placing his hands on his hips. “Well, don’t we have a short memory? And you honestly think you could stand up to Red?”

The statement sunk in a lot faster than Blue thought it would, considering the smaller brunette still looked sleepy. “I remember you! I just don’t know your name! And what am I doing here?”

“You’re in my basement. Taking up space. Got it?”

Gold nodded with a careful expression on his face. He wasn’t quite sure why this guy was so mean to him… But then another question came to mind. It was really disturbing to think about, but… “Wait, your basement? But I was at the gym! Why am I here!?”

“Yeesh! You’re so noisy!” Blue complained, getting genuinely irritated. He was really beginning to think he should have booted the kid off the door rather than being nice and taking him in. He swiftly turned around and returned to his spot in front of the PC, clicking away at some files. “I carried you here. We’re under the gym. No more questions, ya got that!?”

“But—ah…” Then Gold wisely cut himself off. Being under the gym was better than being outside the gym, he supposed. And by deductive reasoning… he could safely assume that this black-clad brunette at the computer was the Gym Leader. Gold couldn’t understand how a Gym Leader could be so petty and arrogant. He mellowed out, nonetheless and muttered, “You could’ve just let me stay outside…”

The room grew silent. The click-clacking of the keyboard became the only audible sensation, and so it stayed for a good half hour or so.

So many questions ate away at Gold. Questions like: “Why did you take me here? What’s your name?” And most importantly, “Where’s Red?”

But Blue’s earlier demand weighed too heavily over Gold to allow him any such questions. He could only try and think of a way to get all the information out of him without it being in question form…

Blue spared him that torturous ordeal by presenting his own question, “So, you really wanna see Red?”

It came out so easily, so simple, that it took no thinking for Gold to answer. “Yes! I have to see Red! Do you… ah… Why do you ask?”

“Red won’t see you.” Blue cut off without mincing words. He turned in his chair, giving the outsider a stern, unforgiving look. “But I can take you to him. Why do you want to see him?”

‘Now this is getting a little too personal…’ Gold thought. But what other choices did he have? This guy seemed to be his only lead as to Red’s whereabouts. Gold swallowed, and continued on, “Because I think… he knows where my sister is…”

This piqued Blue’s interest even more. As far as he knew, Red was never involved with any girl. The kid was always too hyped up over becoming a Pokemon Master to bother with girls, and besides that, he was too young back then to care. Somehow, Blue just couldn’t see Red with a girl… But that aside… Again, he answered sternly and simply, “Red won’t see you.”

“Why not!” Gold demanded angrily. It wasn’t like him to lose his temper, but this Gym Leader guy had a serious attitude problem!

“And besides,” Blue continued, again ignoring Gold’s comment. “Why would Red know anything about some girl?”

“Because she…” Gold swallowed. It seemed like a touchy subject to him, but that would not deter Blue from getting details, so he continued on. “She defeated him… About four years ago, and then—t-then she just… disappeared.”

Woah now! Some broad defeated Red!? The Indigo Plateau champ? ‘So that’s what he was so upset about all those years ago… He’s some kind of moron, taking out his frustrations on me…’ Blue thought, mildly surprised. He and Red’s relationship turned a little sour about two years after the Indigo Plateau disaster…

If this kid was the chick’s brother… then maybe he really did have potential. As a famous reporter once said, “The quickest way to determine a trainer’s skill—well, the fastest way—is to battle!”

“Alright, kid.” Blue addressed, standing up from the chair and sporting three pokeballs between his fingers in their miniaturized form. “Tell ya what—if you can beat me in a Pokemon battle, I’ll take ya to see Red. In case you haven’t realized yet, I’m Viridian City’s Gym Leader. I won’t go easy on you.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” Gold stood up from the cushion. He was up and ready for battle. The other guy looked about as young as him, so Gold was pretty confident he could overturn him. “What are the rules?”

“Other than a three on three? There are no rules.” Blue grinned maliciously.

Gold shivered from head to toe. There was something dangerous in his tone, like an Arbok leering over him. He knew it then, that there was no backing down.

Blue led them up the staircase, and into the main area of the gym. The young man flicked on the lights, watching as the rocky stage came to life. He could sense the edginess in his smaller opponent, and it filled him with a thrill.

As heartless as it seemed, he took great pleasure in deflating egos.

Gold took his place on the other side of the arena, atop an elevated platform. His opponent stood coolly behind his own rails and signaled for them to start. ‘You can do it Gold… This is for Crystal!’ He watched as Blue summoned up his first Pokemon, an Exeggutor, and assessed the best choice for the situation.

“Go! Feraligatr!”

The pokeball made a dramatic spin to the stage, unleashing his most fearsome looking Pokemon. He was at a type disadvantage, but considering Exeggutor relied more on its psychic ability than its grass type expertise, Gold hoped he could land a few bites in and finish it quickly.

The battle commenced fast, smoothly, with about as much as Gold expected. Blue refrained from using any grass type moves; because Feraligatr wouldn’t allow it enough time to perform them.

The water Pokemon snapped mercilessly at the clunky vegetable, landing good hits along its heads. But the psychic blows were beginning to take their toll. Gold gripped the edge of the railing, his attention solely on the battle, leaving his knuckles to go white. “Feraligatr, keep going!” He bellowed. Images of his sister filled his mind, even in the thick of the fray. If only he could win this fight…

“Return, Exeggutor…” Blue’s voice cut through the noise of the alligator’s snarls. His precious plant Pokemon returned to its ball wounded and beat, but it served its purpose well. Blue could see right through Gold’s mind—it was quite simple, really. ‘Too much like Red.’ He glowered bemusedly.

Pitching out his second ball, Blue released Charizard.

The fearsome dragon let out a low-pitched growl, its massive bulk nearly twice the size of Feraligatr. Blue knew that Gold would let his guard down here; he would find comfort in his advantage type-wise.

The two beasts squared off in a show of pure muscle, until Gold ordered his Feraligatr to use its Hydro Pump. A smart move on his part, of course. It was just too unfortunate for him that his Pokemon didn’t have the speed or the skill to outdo Charizard, who dodged every blast and slammed into the gator with a full-bodied tackle.

Feraligatr got mercilessly rammed into the wall; two, three, four times. Its eyeballs rolled as its body fell into a heap on the ground.

Gold felt his teeth chatter together, a cold frost biting at his insides. After the shock, he called back his first Pokemon. When he took a moment to look into Blue’s eyes, he found nothing but a hard, steely exterior. His entire battling style changed from when he was using Exeggutor. Now it was so proficient, almost murderous.

He managed to pull his wits together and thought of a new plan. If he water wasn’t quick enough, then he’d have to shoot the dragon down with electricity! He held his pokeball close before throwing it into the arena. “Flaafy, I’m counting on you…”

Blue stared from the sideline. He couldn’t even be bothered to bark orders at his Charizard. He’d had so much experience battling with electric types that his Pokemon already knew the routine.

His opponent could only watch in sheer horror as Flaafy was thrashed about like a plaything.

Gold felt his heart burn in his chest to see his Flaafy undergo such a horrible treatment, and had to withdraw it from the battle. That damned Charizard—if only it slowed down—if only just a little! Frustration built up inside him as the images of his sister began to blink out of existence. ‘I can’t go like this. I can’t go like this!’

“You know…” Blue’s voice rang through the eerily quiet battlefield. “You’re never gonna get to Red with the way you’re going.”

Gold’s knuckles felt like they would break as he held tighter to the rail. Anger and disappointment boiled up inside of him. He had four Pokemon left, and the only one that would stand even an inkling of a chance against that thing… was Golduck.

Heaven forbid that monster could take down Golduck! It was more lithe and quicker than his Feraligatr, while still maintaining some great amount of physical prowess. It was his only hope.

“Golduck!” He cried, releasing the ball that would seal his sister’s fate.

Blue surveyed the new punching bag with some admiration. The water Pokemon was in very good condition, with a glossy coat and shining jewel… Too bad he had to thrash this one, too. “Charizard, let ‘em have it.”

“Quick--Water Gun, Golduck!”

“Flamethrower.”

The colliding powers exuded a colossal mass of steam, enshrouding the arena in a hot mist.

Gold’s breath hitched in his throat; he couldn’t see a thing! The sounds of combat filled his ears; he could feel every vibration from the blows shake his body to the core. But who delivered to whom? The mist hastily cleared, to reveal his nightmare.

Charizard had Golduck’s throat in its jaws, holding the rest of its body against the hard stone floor, threatening to end its existence. Gold felt as if he were in his Pokemon’s place, with Blue at his neck, pinning him to the cold stone floor, ready to end his existence.

Had he traveled the lands of Johto all for naught? Did everything mean anything? If it meant this… facing this monstrosity… could he ever hope to find his sister?

“No.” Gold whispered, his voice muddled in quivers. And then, like a dog, he unleashed a feral scream. “STOP!!”

To Be Continued…