Yep, Lance is a smirky evil bastard. I already know that!

Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Chapter 3

“Delicious.” Lance murmured, as they broke apart for air. Red sighed, not really in the frame of mind to struggle.

“Now… Giovanni is allowing you to choose two of the pokémon here. They are rentals, and will obey your commands.”

“But it’s not the same.” Red whispered.

Lance shrugged. “Of course, but until he is sure you can be trusted, he will not be returning your pokémon. And when they are returned, you may find them … damaged.”

Red shuddered. He could only imagine too well what was happening to his pokémon. To his horror, tears welled up in his eyes and he angrily wiped them away with the back of his gloved hand.

Shh… Lance whispered.

“I…I want to go home.” Red whispered brokenly.

“I understand.” Lance’s voice, for once, was not cold, but actually held a hint of human emotion. “But you have to know. Here, the only way to protect your self is to seal all those emotions off. Do you understand? You have to hide, and to heal in silence.”

Red thought he understood now, why Lance didn’t speak except to command him, except in whispers that probably couldn’t be traced by any spyware, but the way he held him… it spoke volumes.

Giovanni probably didn’t understand.

He finished sniffling. “All right then.” And Lance let go of him. Together, they surveyed the shelves of pokémon.

All Red had to do was not love the pokemon he was given. It would be difficult, but they were only glassy-eyed machines.

Hopefully…

Red was going to take a Pikachu and a Poliwrath, or maybe a Bulbasaur, but as he reflected back, he frowned. At least Eevee and the others were still safe at Professor Oak’s lab. Thank goodness!

But… but it would be like a betrayal.

What would they think of him now? Poli would probably be sad, but he was gone – fainted, trying to protect Red from the Golem’s explosion attack, and Aeroy was knocked unconscious, so there was no way to fly away, and… and Pika… Pika was dead or gone, fled into the Viridian Forest.

He wanted to scream ‘coward’, but he couldn’t.

He would have run and hidden too if he could.

“Red.” Lance’s voice once again snapped him away from his self-pity, and he flushed. A movement, a moment, and he felt himself pressed against the wall, Lance’s gloved hand sliding down his hip. “If you are going to be so distracted, Red, I’ll have to punish you again…”

He can hear it, the voice under the voice, and he nods meekly. Because he knows – somehow he knows – that Lance doesn’t want to hurt him.

Why?

So he decides to pick out something that won’t leave bad memories but he knows how to use, and he chooses Charizard – remembering Green’s Charmeleon, so a fire-flying dual type, and something else to cover it’s weakness to water…

And Lance points to a poke ball.

And he sees inside, something that is not a Pikachu, but something that will be powerful – and good against water types.

Raichu.

It’s not like the Electabuzz and Voltorb and Magnemite that Lieutenant Surge uses, so it is acceptable, and it is not a Pikachu, so he swallows and picks it up.

He does wonder though, as Lance leads him back to their quarters, how did he know?

Giovanni does not seem like the type to share information…

“What am I supposed to do?” Red asked, having collected his pokemon in a bit of a daze. Lance paused from where he was flipping slices of bread and other assorted deli products in the pan, watching the oil sizzle distractedly.

“Well, since you’re here with me, I do not think you will be assigned to Sabrina or Koga or Surge.”

Red felt a bit relieved. Not that he hated them, but Surge had tried to kill him and Sabrina was creepy in a psychic way and he was pretty sure that Koga had a thing for Green, which was disturbing to say the least.

“Besides, Giovanni wants you to be his hand.”

“His… hand?”

Giovanni had mentioned something like that during the battle, hadn’t he? And Red had gotten a disturbing flash of himself dressed in a Rocket uniform kneeling at Giovanni’s side.

That had been even more distracting!

“So…”

“But until he trusts you, I doubt he will have you do anything.”

“You’re my guard then.” Red said a bit bitterly. “I’m nothing but your prisoner…”

“You are only a prisoner here if you choose to make yourself one, Red.” Lance flipped the last slice of bread onto the sandwich, sliced it neatly into halves, and slid the plate across the table. “Here.”

Red smiled. At least the food was good.

But… Lance’s words all had a double meaning, didn’t they?

You are only a prisoner here if you choose to make yourself one.

Did that mean… that… but how? Giovanni was manipulating everything, he was sure of it, and…

He chewed thoughtfully as he tried to think. What could Lance be talking about?

Was it because…?

Red did not know how to finish that sentence, as he finished eating. He cleared the plates away and did the dishes, feeling as though that would be fair, since Lance was cooking.

Lance watched him with a strange distant expression on his face.

… Why?

Why would you care about me, Lance? We never knew each other… so why do you care for me?

Who are you?

There is so much I don’t know… can I even trust you?

I wish I could.

End Chapter

Completed 6/24/06

Poor Red *Huggles him*