Hollow Demon 5

   Goldenrod was a happy, lively, bustling city in Johto. People and Pokémon were walking about. Laughter and happy smiles filled the scenery of the beautiful city. Kotone walked with White, arm in arm, giggling and talking about almost everything. Behind them were N and Silver. Comparing to the brunettes, they were walking almost three feet apart. The redhead's hands were inside his pockets while N was eating a cotton candy.

   Finally, they stopped at the Goldenrod Department Store – much to Silver's dismay.

   But it was a whole different story for N. "Oh wow! They have Pokémon dolls I have never seen before." He stood beside Kotone, eyes gleaming at the Shiny Lugia doll. N took the doll and showed it to White. "White, can I have it. Please!" Emerald eyes shined like a little kid, his lips pouting at the petite brunette.

   White sighed heavily and nodded her head. "Fine, fine. You can have it. Just stop making that face!"

   The tall dashing man jumped in joy, attracting some of the people's attention. Kotone bit back a giggle while Silver rolled his eyes in irk. She looked at the redhead. Flashing a coy smile, she skipped towards him. "So, does my little Skitty wants a Skitty?" The brunette gripped a Skitty doll and flailed it in front of his face.

   Silver cursed under his throat and flicked her forehead.

   "Oww!" Kotone shouted in pain and rubbed her swollen skin.

   This time, it finally made him smile.

   The young woman shot him a death glare. "You're mean."   

   Flashing a sly smirk and hands in his pockets, he bent his torso forward, until their foreheads touched against one another. Kotone was stunned, but didn't move away. Her lips were pressed together. Her heart was racing frantically. His breath caressed her flawless face. She could see his silver eyes piercing sharply into her soul.

   "I can be meaner if you want…" He growled huskily, the edge of his lips curving and filled with such dirty motives.

   For a moment, she swore her heart had stopped beating.

   "I…" She muttered – or to be exact, croaked. "I'm gonna put this doll back now." Kotone pushed his body and walked away. His smirk was still planted on his face. The girl's face was red as a Magmar. The Skitty doll on her grasp trembled slightly. Silver chuckled dryly and ruffled his hair. It's her fault for starting it first. Grunting sourly, Silver walked to the cafeteria. The more he stood in the Pokédolls section, the more he felt like he was slowly losing his manhood.

   Kotone mumbled and grumbled and even added a few curses along the way. "Stupid Silver, messing with me again…" She placed the doll back to its place. Her hazel eyes stared woefully at the smiling thing. Unwarily, her hand moved to her chest. It was still banging, vividly reminding her the closeness and warmth she received from him. Kotone shut her eyes and exhaled slowly. "Idiot…" Head downcast, she spun her heels and walked.

   Due to her distracted mind, she bumped into a person.

   "Oof!" Kotone groaned. She rubbed her swollen forehead – again. My forehead is having a bad day… A second later, she snapped her eyes open, finally realizing that she bumped into someone. "Ah, I'm sor-"

   She froze to see the tall man in front of her.

   "Ah, it's okay." Proton said apologetically, hand scratching the back of his head. Without giving Kotone a moment to recover from her shock, he walked away.

   Kotone was at lost for words. It can't be… Her eyes weren't deceiving her. Her vision was crystal clear. She turned around, wanting to call out the person. But to her dismay, he had disappeared into the crowd. There's no way…

   "Hey."

   Her thoughts halted as a voice brought her back to reality. Kotone looked to her side. White was looking at her, curious and slightly worried. N stood behind the ponytailed brunette, his hands filled with bags – and they weren't White's.

   "You okay, Cous? You look jittery." White stared at her red forehead. "And your forehead's red. Have you been bumping into things lately?"

   Kotone managed a small gulp and nodded once. Even so, her heart and mind was getting messed up. She wasn't wrong. Although it had been three years, but the girl could vividly remember the Rocket's face.

   Suddenly, her mind stopped on Silver. Kotone looked straight into White's aqua eyes. "Where's Silver?"

   An eyebrow shot upwards to see her cousin's baffled face. "He's in the food court. Why- Hey Kotone!"

   Without giving White a moment to finish, Kotone dashed to the escalator.

   "Kotone!" White shouted, now in full concern. N stared in confusion. He looked at his girlfriend, who was beginning to give chase. "White! Wait up!"

---

   Silver tapped the table in boredom. His eyes stared blankly at his empty plate. Sneasel munched on his burger. The sounds of the sharp claw's crunching were the only thing that occupied his eardrums.

   "I love you."

   Silver stopped. Her words jingled in his ears like a piercing melody. He huffed acidly, slamming his empty can. What is wrong with me? Questions began knocking into his mind. Why can't I say it? Why can't I say those three words? What? Am I afraid?

   Afraid.

   That word disturbed him. Afraid. Fear. Lost. All three have one thing in common: His past. Silver shut his eyes with his palms. I'm not afraid. I'm Silver dammit! I shouldn't be afraid of saying some words to the woman I love! He opened his eyes. All he can see was darkness, seeing that his hands were still covering his face. But why are those words so fucking damn hard to spit out...?

   -Because you are afraid, you twit.-

   He froze. Another sound – his own voice – came to his mind. But this voice was cold, much harsher, as if there was another side to him; as if that side was his own conscience.

   -You are afraid of saying 'I love you' coz you don't wanna lose her. And let's face it, all the people you said you love – all had died in the end-

   A sweat trickled down his forehead. His own voice – his own self – was spiting him; reminding him of all the faults and sorrow. Whether it was the truth or not, Silver shook his head. "No." He shut his eyes, teeth clenching hard.

   And just as he denied, an image of himself formed in his darkened vision. Silver grimaced to see the image, for it was him – but his eyes were deep black. Pupils and irises were absent, leaving nothing but a coat of jet black colour. A devilish smirk curved on the image's lip. Tiny fangs slid out of his upper jaw, shining under the abyss nothingness.

   -You're afraid- The image snarled wickedly. –And just like the rest, you will lose her.-

   "No!" Silver yelled angrily. He swiftly stood up, hands slamming the table hard. Sneasel dropped from his trainer's shoulder. The sharp claw Pokémon gawked at his trainer, who was now standing and panting. The whole café was eyes on the gasping redhead.

   Silver gulped heavily, trying to set his emotions in check. He rubbed his throbbing forehead and closed his eyes. "I need to sleep more…I'm hallucinating…"

   "Silver!"

   The boy froze. Before he could look upfront, Kotone pounced on him with a tight hug. Silver flinched, almost stumbling backwards. But luckily for him, his stability saved the day. The redhead quickly held her shoulders and pulled Kotone away. His eyes were wide and glaring annoyingly. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

   But his expression changed to see the worry and horror in her face. An eyebrow rose. His heartbeat raced. "Kotone?"

   "Are you okay?" The brunette asked hysterically. Her hands pressed his chest, gripping the front of his jacket.

   Shock was written in Silver's face. Crap! Did she hear me scream? "I-I'm fine! I didn't scream or anything no I didn't!"

   Kotone eyed him in confusion. "Scream?"

   The tall boy blinked in stupor. A few seconds passed by and he soon realized that that wasn't the problem. "I didn't say anything."

   Her confusion deepened at his behaviour. But Kotone quickly shook it off. "Anyways, Silver! We have a problem. I just-"

   "Kotone!"

   Both head turned to see White and N running after them. The tall brunette held her hips, tired after chasing after her cousin. She looked upfront. "Kotone, what is the matter with you? You were running off like you just saw a ghost."

   "A ghost?" Silver asked dumbly. He looked at his girlfriend. "Did Gengar peek inside the women's fitting room again?"

   Hazel eyes met silvers. Kotone shook her head, her pigtails whipping left and right. N appeared beside White. Confusion and bafflement were the only things occupying his mind. "White, what is going on?"

   "Gengar peeked inside the women's fitting room?" White asked dumbfoundedly, slightly amused to Silver's topic.

   "Yes that one time-" Suddenly, Kotone stopped. She shook her head again, this time stomping her feet as an addition. "No that's not the point!" The girl gripped the collar of the redhead's jacket. Her eyes were round, fully focused on her confused and slightly irritated boyfriend. "It's-"

   "Good day to all the people in Goldenrod!"

   All four teens halted completely. Their heads turned to the giant television screen positioned in the middle of the cafeteria.

   Both Kotone and Silver could feel their blood turn icy cold.

   For the person on the huge screen was none other than Archer.

   "No." Both of them muttered the same word in unison.

   The Rocket Executive grinned playfully, as if his presence was something to be happy about. "Ah, it's refreshing to know that the radio tower doesn't just control the radio, but now it has its own channel! Ah how I miss being in Johto."

   White and N were shocked too, but slightly baffled. The tall brunette looked at Kotone, who seemed stunned as a rock. "Who's that?" she asked, shaking her cousin's arm.

   But Kotone didn't respond. As if she was too entranced by the man in the screen. Her face turned into a scornful look. He eyes were still round as plates, not believing the sight she was seeing. White looked at the young redhead.

   If a stranger could see Silver right now, they would freak out.

   Silver looked angry, enraged, furious, savage – all kinds of anger and demise all mixed into one. His hands were fisted and trembling. His teeth were tightly clenching. His eyes were narrowed, glaring deadly at the blue-haired image.

   White gulped. Slowly, she took a few steps backwards. Sensing the fear, N held her shoulders. "White, what's going on?"

   She didn't respond. Neither did the other two. N looked at the huge screen. The bluenette was still smirking.

   "So," Archer said, his fingers tapping one another. "If a few of you haven't known, I am Archer, one of the finest Rocket Executive."

   The mall got silent. Apparently, all the televisions in Goldenrod were now showing his face, no matter what channel they switched on.

   Archer chuckled amusingly. Opening his eyes, revealing a pair of sneaky teals, he said in a very clear and sure tone, "In other words, I am a part of Team Rocket."

   The second those words slipped through his mouth, the whole mall went berserk.

   Gasp. Screams of terror. Even frantic crying were echoing inside the huge department store. Everyone in the mall began running and clearing out. Judging by what White saw, she guessed Team Rocket wasn't favoured by many.

   "What…"

   She looked at the Johto couple. Silver was blatantly shaking, obviously showing his rage. He took Kotone's hands and pushed her away. The young man moved – or to be exact, stomped – towards the huge screen. "What are you doing here?!"

   His voice was enough to shake the glass nearby. White was getting more and more anxious. Silver was acting deranged, even for him.

   Apparently, the screen wasn't a communicator, so Archer was oblivious to the redhead's savage fury. "So, good news for everyone. Team Rocket is back. Yayy!" The bluenette clapped his hands joyfully. Sounds of Petrel's and Proton's cheering echoed from the back. But his smile soon evaporated, changed into a more serious expression. "And you have no idea how much we miss all of you." His eyes glared at the screen, as if he was looking into everyone's eyes.

   And Kotone's skin prickled terribly as Archer whispered, "And we especially miss our little Kotone…"

   Emerald and aqua eyes focused their attention on the frozen brunette. They both exchanged glances, looking at the girl, then at the screen, then back at the still quiet girl.

   Kotone could hardly breathe right. How could this be…? Her hands trembled. Sweat trickled down her neck and forehead. That was actually Acrher's voice. And he was actually back – and bringing Team Rocket back alive. She blinked once, twice, and suddenly, the image of Giovanni danced in her mind. But he's gone! They couldn't possibly…

   "Let's make a reunion, huh Kotone?" The executive's voice slapped her back to reality. Kotone shot her head upwards, gawking at the chuckling Rocket. Archer clasped his hands together, propping his chin as he spoke. "How about you meet us at the top of the radio tower? It'll be just like old times." The man flashed a happy smile. Before he disconnected the signal, Archer slyly purred, "We'll be waiting…"

   Finally, the screen had gone blank. The café was slightly empty. Gasps and panic whispers swirled inside the food court. N pursed his lips. He was beginning to feel a horrible vibe about the man in the channel.

   'White!'

   'N!'

   'Silver!'

   He and White turned around. All their Pokémon were frantically running towards them. Her team and his Zoroark breathed a sigh of relief to see their beloved trainers were fine. But Kotone's and Silver's were more than relieve. Feraligatr quickly dashed towards his trainer, whose eyes were still on the blank screen.

   'Kotone!'

   A loud bark filled the pigtailed brunette's eardrums. She looked as her fire starter stopped and panted in front of her. His eyes locked with Kotone, telling her all that she had already knew. 'We're in trouble.'

   The girl's eyes shined in utter sorrow and fear. "I think we're in trouble…"

   "Back off!"

   The scream took their attention. Three trainers and their Pokémon focused their glanced on Silver, who was screaming frantically and flailing his arms as his Pokémon were trying to come near him.

   "Hey!" N shouted. "Don't be rude to your-"

   "You shut the fuck up!" Silver's voice was getting louder, shrieking even. He glared at N – at all of them. His eyes were wide, filled with manic rage. The green-haired teen gulped heavily and stood behind White. The look he gave him. The wicked gaze he bestowed. It reminded N of the man he solely loathed.

   The redhead was out of his mind. He shook his head, his fists clutching his red locks. "This can't be happening…" he muttered the word a few times, like a chant. "This stupid thing can't be happening." Without another thought, Silver ran off and dashed towards the radio tower.

   Just as she saw him disappear out of her sight, the memory of last year haunted Kotone's mind. "Silver wait no!" With swift fingers, she returned all her Pokémon and gave chase. Still stunned and completely baffled about the situation, White and N followed soon after.

   As she ran, Kotone could only think of one thing: Silver, please be careful…