Chapter 8: Sadness and Sorrow
Brock had let out his Pokemon and told them to surround a campfire in order to protect the others in case the enemy finds them, as Oak and Lance told their Dragonite to rest and gather strength. Max, holding a sleeping Jirachi, put it aside for awhile to check on May, still in a bad condition, as she was very cold even though she was almost in contact with the campfire. Ash was right there beside her.
- Hang in there May, Charizard has gone for help, and as soon as a police helicopter arrives… you´ll be taken care of. I swear May, I´ll make things right again. I am not gonna lose you like I lost…
- It´s so…cold… it feels like there´s no trace of heat in me… but I´ll fight it Ash… Max needs me, I can´t leave him alone… and you need me Ash… to help save your mom… and Ritchie… and Misty…
Ash rose up, as he put his head down and walked away a distance into the woods. Too weak to comprehend what just happened, May felt sleepy and tried to get some rest, as Lance and Oak discussed their next move.
- How could we have been so blind and not know that Giovanni Mortegio was the leader of Team Rocket? All the funds we have put into the Viridian Gym during his rule… seem to have financed Team Rocket all along.
- I´m afraid so, but now that he´s exposed Giovanni has nowhere left to hide, and I assure that once the news has spread, every trainer and Pokemon might join the fight against him. I am however very concerned about his methods and devices: Brock told me that Giovanni somehow has made Team Rocket´s Pokemon super-enhanced due to a machine of some sorts, and he possesses mind-control abilities since I found out that Ash´s Pokemon battled the police. It´s hard to believe, but if I remember correct, Giovanni was actually living in Pallet Town near a decade ago, but he left to become a Gym Leader, or so it would seem…
Brock took out what supplies he had time to gather before the retreat, and began to cook some soup in order to keep everyone warm, as he thought about what he had previously done to Attila and Hun in the elevator.
- Brock, is the soup ready soon? I´m starting to get really hungry, and I think some warm soup could do us all good, especially Jirachi and my sister. I´m sorry if I caused any trouble… but I couldn´t help it…
- Hey little guy, you have nothing to apologise for: You held out as long as you could, and it was only a matter of time before that Memory Retrieval Program made you a pawn for Giovanni… it´s cool Max…
- But hey, wait a sec… how come you didn´t get brainwashed? You were caught before I did…. Cause despite my efforts I couldn´t break free, it was like someone else… a different me, took control of me…
- Well I did get caught and brainwashed, but luckily I could focus on the pain I felt after my attack at the gym, and thankfully I managed to retain a part of my memory, enough to slowly break free.
Suddenly everyone noticed that Ash was missing, as Brock left Max in charge of the soup, as he went out to look for Ash while Oak kept an eye on May, and Lance kept a perimeter around the camp. It didn´t take long for Brock to find Ash, sitting on the ground on an open meadow. Brock was about rush out of the trees to tell him to head back and avoid open areas when he suddenly noticed that Ash collapsed. He was in great pain.
Brock kept a distance, believing that Ash needed some time to realise that Giovanni had his mom and Pikachu, unaware that Ash knew something the others didn´t. The truth about him and Giovanni. And what happened to Misty. Brock went back to the camp, as he told everyone that Ash just needed some time alone. Not sure if Ash should endure it all alone, Oak insisted that Brock should stay awhile with Ash, but Max had already begun to mess up the soup, so Brock told Max to go see Ash. Max nodded, as he took Jirachi with him just in case. Max slowly approached Ash, as he then sat down next to him, who quickly pulled himself together.
- Hey Max. Don´t worry, Brock will make a great soup, and afterwards we´ll find a new, better place to hide. Listen, I´m sorry about May and Jirachi… if I had been there, then maybe I could have helped you guys…
- I´m not sure what you did Ash, but hopefully it will make a difference. Lucky we found you before we left. As for Pikachu… I´m sure we´ll reunite you two again, and stops Giovanni´s evil plan right Ash?
Before he could respond, Ash had a strange feeling about something, as he suddenly looked up to the sky. The Millennium Comet had returned, and a glimpse of it was barely visible to the naked eye, but somehow Ash knew it had come, that it was out there. He giggled and told Max that it´s almost like they were back in Hoenn, on route to Forina, near the lake. Max nodded, as Jirachi began to wake up, as it looked up in the sky.
- Hey Jirachi, you´re awake! Look, I think the comet is up there, at least Ash thinks so. I´m sorry if I hurt you… but despite everything I finally got my wish… for us to be together again… forever and ever…
Despite her weak state, May went to them, telling Max that the soup was ready, as she told him to go back to the camp. Max left, and told her to keep an eye on Jirachi, as May gently sat down next to Ash.
- I´m feeling a lot better… it´s still freezing, but a taste of Brock´s soup and your company really makes me recover. Listen, Ash… I think I know what is on your mind… I overheard your mom and Giovanni…
- Listen May… I´m not alright right now… and you need to rest… just me leave alone ok? We need to keep our strength should Team Rocket find us. Whatever you heard… forget it. Nothing matters anymore…
- Ash… it´s ok. I don´t know all the details, I may have been affected by drugs half the time… but I´m certain of what I overheard…. And what I saw. I remember what I saw when I was ill. I saw you Ash.
- I´m sorry you had to endure that… I´m just glad that my mom was there to help you… as for me being there… I have no idea what you´re talking about. The only time I was there was when I got there with Ritchie.
- Your mom might not have believed me, but I knew you were there Ash. I saw you, I felt your presence… how strange that might be… as if you were sent to save me. You saved me, and I want to repay you Ash…
Before Ash could respond nor react, May got closer to him, as she sat in front of him and grabbed her arms around him, as she leaned forward. She then hugged him, as she thanked him for saving her. Happy that she was alright, Ash began to feel a slight pain in his heart, but didn´t want to alarm nor scare her. Suddenly May opened her purse and began to look for something. She then took out something familiar. The Wishing Star.
- Ever since that night I have kept it with me all the time as a symbol… that we can make our wishes come true, just like you said to me that day. I think it´s fate that not only brought Jirachi back to us and Max, but also the return of The Millenium Comet, despite the way it has been summoned. So far most of my wishes have come true… all but my greatest wish. That wish… was for you to be happy Ash… to make your dreams come true… be it the Hoenn League… or a great life in the future with no worries. You shouldn´t go through it all alone. You´re the best friend I´ve ever had, as well as one of the best things that has happened to me…
but as much as I love you … I know that your love belongs to someone else… Max told be about that night… what you said to him… and I truly hope that in time… you´ll finally be reunited…with her Ash. With Misty.
Ash, trying to keep himself from an emotional breakdown, turned away from May, not only due to the increased pain in his heart…but despite that everything May said was true…Ash´s one wish could never come true.
Delia had been escorted back to the confined room, as Persian was there beside the bed. Giovanni then came out of the monitor room, as he told the grunts to leave them. They acknowledged and entered the elevator.
- Now that this is dealt with, I can lay back and watch as my men take over the world part by part: Purity Canyon is well defended, and it won´t be long before my men have taken over the entire Johto region…
- You… have completely lost it Gio… and for me to think that you could have been saved… I made a grave mistake…. I wish I never told Ash the truth about you… now I may even regret that decision forever…
- You told him? Well well… I thought you didn´t have the heart to say it my darling… but now that he knows, the next phase of my master plan will be much easier to perform…. But right now I need that Jirachi.
- Whatever you do won´t change the fact that I have raised Ash to be the son I always have wanted him to be: The total opposite of you. Once he finds you, I won´t be able to hold him back from you….
- You vastly underestimate me my dear… I have thought of things like this in advance ever since you were captured, I made sure that Ash followed a trail that led to me… I wanted him to find me all along. Because once I get my hands on him… he will truly become my son in every sense of the word. Although I doubt that The Memory Retrieval Program can truly break through his strong mind…. There are many other ways…
- So be it. Do whatever you want with me, I will do whatever I can to keep him away from you… even by force. You may erase my memory or make me your puppet… but that won´t erase my love for Ash, my son.
Suddenly Giovanni got a call, as he then rushed into the monitor room and watched a surveillance tape. Shocked by what he saw, Giovanni contacted Dr Yung and gave him specific and detailed instructions.
- My dear… I just got a disturbing call from Jesse: One of my men, Butch, has been found in the engineering bay, brutally assaulted. My men are doing what they can for him, but that´s not what bothers me:
I have gone through the surveillance tape for the elevator that leads to the engineering bay… and apparently our son is to blame: Even though Ash might have been provoked … what he did to Butch… is interesting…
Delia entered the monitor room and got shocked, as she saw the tape. She backed away, as Giovanni then continued to watch it, when suddenly most of the video then began to get disoriented. Delia saw it as well.
. No.. it can´t be… Ash would never do such a think, it´s not like him… unless you did something to him! If this really is true… then I don´t have the courage to think about what he might do to you Gio…
- Delia… even though my devices can inflict pain and suffering… they do not have the capabilities to do this… I agree that it´s unlike him… something else is going on… something yet unknown to me.
Dr Namba then called, telling Giovanni that the storage room was totally empty, and that the stones were all gone. Puzzled about the latest events, Giovanni then realised everything, as he shut down the monitors.
- Maybe not your devices… but for Ash to be brutally attacked by Pikachu, his very best friend…I can´t image what he felt… and how he still feels after that vicious attack. Ash has changed Gio. For the worse.
- It all makes sense now dear…. It truly does. My men and I left for an ancient temple far into the desert, and it had crucial information not only about the comet, but about something else as well. While we were there, my men found a chamber which housed some special stones that seem to be drawn to energy: Be it negative, positive, electric or psychic… it greatly amplifies that energy, similar to the Synergy Energizer. Now I know for a fact that when Ash got attacked, Pikachu left him alone with the stones. It seems that the stones have taken over him, and although they have no power over him nor any kind of intelligence… The Unown do…
May was still sitting next to Ash, as she cuddled Jirachi, who was sleeping next to her. She then gave the Wishing Star to Ash, who continued to fight back the tears and pain, as May grabbed his hands firmly.
- I want you to have it Ash… not only as a symbol… but to make your greatest wish come true… I´m not sure how long the comet will be up, so I guess you can fully unfold the star and make your wish right now…
Oak, Lance and Max enjoyed a hot meal of soup, while Brock left them for awhile to check up on Ash. A scream was heard, as Brock then ran towards the meadow. May stood back, as Ash glowed intensively bright, as he was in pain again. Afraid to touch him, Brock told May to stay back, as Brock called for Professor Oak, who quickly ran to them. Worried about what was happening to Ash, Oak asked May what had happened.
- I don´t know, for while we were talking and I gave him my star, when suddenly he shrieked and collapsed. I don´t know what´s wrong with him, but we have to help him , he seems to be in great pain!
- Ash, can you hear me? It´s Oak. Listen, try to tell us what wrong, what´s happening to you? Is it safe to touch you, because that glow around you is unlike anything I ever seen in my entire life. Talk to us Ash!
In too much pain, Ash wasn't able to speak, as his screams spoke for themselves: His pain was greatly increasing, not only emotionally, but his heart began to hurt again, as his wound somehow opened up again.
- Oh my, he´s been stabbed badly, how could we not have noticed! Brock, run back to the camp and check for a first aid.kit: If we don´t do anything immediately he could suffer a fatal heart attack! Hurry!
- Ash, it´s May! Brock coming back soon to help you, just fight it ok! We need your help, your mom needs you! Many people depend and rely on you, especially Misty! Don´t disappoint them, you have too…
Ash then screamed out Misty´s name, and as he began to lose consciousness, the glow toned down until it was completely gone. Brock came back and opened up Ash´s shirt, only to find that the wound was gone, as if it never existed. Confused about what just happened, Oak told Brock to help carry Ash back to the camp, as Max heard everything and ran towards May to check up on her. She was traumatised by what just happened.
- May and Max, we can´t stay out in the open! I and Oak will carry Ash back to the campfire, you two go ahead and help Lance preserve the soup and begin to gather everything, we can´t risk staying much longer.
They nodded, as May grabbed her purse and Max grabbed Jirachi, who woke up due to all the trauma, as they left for the camp. Brock and Oak got into the forest, when Ash suddenly began to wake up. Brock gently put him down, as Oak checked Ash for any signs of injury or trauma. Ash then began to cry heavily, as he held something tight in his arms, the Wishing Star. Oak tried to calm him down and make him relax.
- Take it easy Ash… it´s ok now. You gave an old man like me quite a scare… and hopefully we won´t experience that again. It´s going to be alright… once we save everyone, especially your mom and Misty, then…
- No… it´s not alright…. nothing will be alright… nothing matters anymore… I was supposed to keep her safe… to protect her… she meant everything… to me… and now it´s too late… I couldn´t save her…
- Don´t talk like that Ash, there´s still time to stop Giovanni. Once the world finds out, we will get all the help we need to stop him. I know you were close to saving your mom, but it was out of your hands…
- Professor… Brock… you two don´t know what happened…. I was there… I saw her… I felt her… I spoke to her… I tried to find a way… to save her… but I couldn´t… I failed her…I watched her die…
- What are you talking about? You mother´s fine, you, me and Oak just have to go and bring her back. You did what you could, now you have a new chance to save her. As for Misty, you can… wait oh please no…
- She´s gone …. she was dying… there was nothing I could do… I tried to help… she tried to say goodbye… but there was no time for it…. she sacrificed a last goodbye to tell me what to do to stop Giovanni… Now it was for nothing…I… I… I can´t take it anymore… I miss her so much…. If I´d known that this would have happened… then I would have told her… how much she means to me… how much… I care for her…
Devastated and shocked of what they just heard, Oak kneeled down and held Ash in his arms, trying to console him even though he himself began to cry over her recent death, as Brock asked what should be done.
- Don´t tell the others… not yet, it´s not the time, young May and Max have more than enough to worry about… we´ll tell them when it´s appropriate. Right now we need to stay strong… we just need to keep a straight face for everyone for now…but it grieves me deeply to pretend…Misty was like a daughter to me and Delia… oh Ash, why didn´t you tell us… you should never have carried this burdened all by yourself young man…
- Ash… I´m so sorry …if I´d known that she was in such serious danger, then I´d do anything to get to her in time…. Misty was a great friend to all of us, especially you Ash… and for this to happen, especially to her… Giovanni has gone too far this time… I don´t care what I have to do to make some things right… I have been forced to do some horrible things lately… and if necessary… I´d do it again if it makes a difference…
- Please don´t…. don´t try to make me feel any better… it´s just not possible… nothing can change the fact that she´s gone… and I´ll never see her again. I watched her take her last breath… and I did nothing. I should have done something… anything that might have helped me save her… but I couldn´t… I just stood there and watched her die… and I hate myself for it. Giovanni may be responsible for her injury… but I let her die…
An outcry was heard, as something ran back towards the camp. Brock followed, as he grabbed something. It was Max, he went towards them and overheard what Ash said, as Brock then kneeled down to talk to Max.
- Max, listen… I´m sorry you heard it this way, you guys weren´t supposed to know yet… we felt that it wouldn´t be right to tell you three… but now that you know, then you must understand that although we mourn for our loss… we need to stay alert… and even though we should let May rest and Lance to remain focused… it´s up to you if you want to tell her… Oak will tell Lance, and then discuss what we should do next.
- I don´t understand… Brock, how… how could it have happened…I thought she was just caught among the others… now Ash says that she´s…. no, it can´t be, he must have been hallucinating or something, she….
Trying to make Max realise the truth, Brock tried to make him understand, when Max then burst into tears and ran to May, as she gentle held him and asked what was wrong. Oak then went to Lance to tell him. Shocked of what he just heard, Lance tried to pull himself together, as Brock then came and began to gather the rest of the camp together, as May, trying to stay strong for Max, then thought about one thing: Ash.
She told Oak to hold Max, as she ran out into the woods, to Ash. Not able to find him, she ran to the meadow, as she saw him there, standing all alone. She ran right into his arms, as she cried out a river, understanding that her conversation with him about wishes and Misty must have been pure torture for him, knowing that she´s gone. She suddenly saw the Wishing Star, lying damaged on the ground, and was about to pick it up when Ash grabbed her hands, preventing her from taking it, as his tears began to dry up. The Wishing Star got almost crushed when Ash was holding it in his arms, but it still remained intact, as Ash made a wish then.
- May… just leave it… it´s useless… it proved it´s purpose in the past… even though you forgot to fold the last night… I doubt it would have made any difference… I´m the one to blame… I´m the one to hate…
- Ash stop it, don´t do this to yourself! I´m so sorry for what I said earlier… you should have told us… we had the right to know, Misty was like a sister to me and Max! I can´t imagine what happened or how you must feel, but don´t you dare blame yourself… you´re not the one at fault! Giovanni is, and after this is over he will pay for her death. Right now we need to go on, to continue. We need go forward, even without her with us.
- No... you guys go on.. I have to stay here. It´s strange… but I feel… something, right here, where I was hurting before. It´s as if I feel…him. I can sense his thoughts…and they´re not evil… they´re sad and painful…
Trying to persuade him, May grabbed him and tried to take him with her, when suddenly a yellow flash erupted from Ash, as May was knocked to the ground. She rose up, as she noticed that her wounds were gone, she was completely fine. Confused about what happened, she asked Ash to help her up, but he didn´t answer. She stood up and looked at him, only to see an empty, lifeless gaze in his eyes. Something happened to him.
Delia asked about the Unown, when suddenly Giovanni told her to be quiet, as he went towards a window, as he stood beside it. Seeing him just standing, Delia cautiously approached him, being on her guard.
- It´s happening… at first I thought it was all a dream… but it wasn´t… they are more involved in this than I ever could have imagined. The Unown… they´ve contacted me before… in my dreams…. warning me about something I couldn´t understand… and now… they´re saying something else. Dear… they have Ash… and I can feel him…. My god there is so much pain, suffering… and hurt in him… he… he knows… he mourns her death… and he blames himself. What have I done…I should have been more careful… I should have been in control… I never wanted it to happen… I never wanted her to die…. that girl meant everything to him… everything. And I took her away from him… I… I hate myself for it… I only wanted to use her, to lure him to me… I am responsible for this… but Ash blames himself… he´s in so much pain… so much sorrow…