Infection

Chapter Three: Epidemic

Population Infected (Kanto): 0.174%

The doors of the tower squealed and whined as Ash and Misty pushed through them together, Brian and Pikachu following close behind.

The latter trainer drew out a cell phone, only to groan as he saw the signal. Or, rather, the lack of one.

"Nothing," Brian complained. "I could barely send a text with this, much less try a long-distance call."

"Maybe up higher?" Ash suggested. "This is a tower. There are a lot of different floors, and you might get better reception at the top."

"You would know." Misty looked around. "It's so weird to be here again. How long has it been? A decade?"

Ash laughed half-heartedly. (It was all he could manage: like Misty and Brian, he was still shaken from the incident in Lavender.) "For you, maybe. It's almost a homecoming for me, remember? I spent over a year here just three years ago. Speaking of which…" He led them out of the entrance hall and into the tower's center room. Ash cupped his hands into a megaphone and shouted. "Gengar! Gastly! Come on, I know you're listening! It's me, Ash!"

From the empty room, they heard the reply "Gar?"

Two pairs of eyes appeared, one on the ceiling and one on the floor. Upon seeing Ash, they shot wide, and the violet forms of Gastly and Gengar popped into the room, circling around him in joy.

Ash gave a genuine laugh this time. "It's so great to see you again! And so much has happened since then… although I guess you can tell that just by looking at me not being dead."

The pair stopped their frantic circling and looked hard at him, realizing that he had indeed gained a body since their last encounter.

"Gar, gar gen!" Gengar started. "Gen ga—" Suddenly he cut himself off, smacking his head. He held up one finger. "Gen."

In an instant, Gengar's features shifted. His squat purple body elongated and paled as he grew slightly taller than Ash, and clothes shed from his skin to neatly surround his new form.

Now using the familiar face and voice of Professor Oak, Gengar spoke again. "It's been too long, Ash!"

Misty, Pikachu, and Brian gasped in surprise. "You can change?" Misty asked.

"Of course!" Gengar cackled in a way that didn't fit his current body at all. "Who do you think taught Ash when he was a ghost?"

"Astounding," Brian remarked curiously. You could almost see the switch flip as he moved into Science mode and started throwing out questions. "Is that a trait unique to you, or to Gengar, or could any Ghost Pokémon—"

"Cut it out, Brian," Ash chastised, cutting his query short. "As much as I'd like to, we're not here to make small talk."

And just like that, the switch flipped back. Brian's features hardened as he nodded in agreement.

Confused, Gengar looked back and forth between them. "I don't understand. Is something wrong?"

"Terribly," Misty confirmed. "Something's gone wrong with the people in Lavender Town. The whole town is acting insane and we have no idea why."

Gastly and Gengar looked at each other uneasily. "Hmm… we have noticed a strange feeling coming from that way. It barely caught our attention, though, since we'd never check it out ourselves."

"When did it start?" Ash asked. "Do you know?"

Gengar shook his head. "I'm afraid not. It came on slowly, and it ebbs and flows even now… But we first became aware of it a couple of months ago. It was quite a small feeling then, some smidgen of wayward Psychic energy. But in the last few days it has grown tremendously, though it remains weak in absolute terms."

"Psychic energy…" Ash mused.

"At least we know it's not a disease or something," Misty remarked. "Something or someone must be controlling them. Something ridiculously strong, especially if it can be sensed all the way from out here."

Brian cleared his throat for attention. "Ash... I still need to call. How do you get to the top?"

"Oh, yeah!" Ash pointed to a door left of the one they'd entered through. "There are stairs through there, but you'll have to be careful. I've got no idea how strong they are."

"Gotta risk it," he replied, already heading that way. "I'll return when I've got through and let you know how it goes."

In a moment, Misty was behind him, holding him back by the arm. "No you won't," Misty declared. Brian turned around, a question in his eyes. "You think we're going to split up after what just happened? No way." She looked to Ash. "We go together, or not at all."

"Definitely," Ash agreed.

Brian cracked a small smile. "Right. Together." He turned, and as the entire room followed him, you could hear the smile still in his voice as, speaking half to himself, he remarked, "I'd almost forgotten the other reason I chose you two to come with me…

"We do make such an excellent team."

The stairs were rickety, to say the least, and at least a quarter of them were rotted through. But somehow or another they made it to the top of the tower, into the Ghosts' playroom.

The room was almost the exact opposite of the rest of the Tower: bright, cheerful, and well-kept. Everything from rubber balls to toy soldiers and even a television and a working carousel was in perfect condition.

Misty and Brian looked inquisitively at Ash and Pikachu upon seeing the room. The pair shrugged, and all the explanation Ash could give was "Ghost Pokémon like to play."

"Right…" Disregarding this, Brian took out his phone once again, holding it high. "Hmm… yes! Two bars. Not perfect, but it'll do for now."

Brian's fingers danced along the keys as he punched in Lance's number. Ash and Misty faintly heard the ringing on the other. It grew louder as Brian turned on the speaker and set it down on the carpeted floor so they could all speak; the trio of Masters gathered around it in anticipation, Pikachu and the Ghosts watching from the rear.

There was a click, and Lance's tinny voice began to sound from the phone's weak speakers. "Brian? This is a bit early. I didn't expect you to call for a few days. How goes the mission?"

"Lavender Town has been completely taken over, its occupants have all been infected by the same contagious insanity, they attacked us shortly after we arrived, and we barely escaped with our lives and minds," Brian relayed quickly.

"And we're holed up in a tower east of Lavender Town with no way to leave until our flying Pokémon have recovered," Misty added.

For a long moment, the phone was silent. Then the sound of running feet on pavement began to sound.

"Tell me absolutely everything," Lance ordered. They heard him yell "Get out of the way!" to someone on the other end as he ran.

Ash, Misty, and Brian took it in turns to relay all that they'd seen and heard in Lavender Town back to Lance. Even as they spoke, he was ordering people at the League around, preparing a full response: by the time they'd finished, messages were already on their way to the police and all the available Masters from Kanto and Johto were heading to the Indigo Plateau as fast as they could come.

"I'll send someone to pick you three up as soon as possible," Lance panted (he had just reached his office after running for nearly the entire explanation). "If things are really as bad as you say, then we've no time to wait for your Pokémon to recover. Can you tell me anything specific about your location?"

"It's almost exactly three miles northeast of Lavender," Ash remarked. "In the middle of the forest. But the top of the tower is higher than the trees around it, so if you approach from the air it should be obvious. Other than that, I can't help. It's not on the map and there are no roads leading out here."

"That'll have to be enough, then."

"Lance…" Brian began. "Do you have any idea what might be going on?"

They heard him sigh. "No. Nothing yet. I told you everything we knew when you left. Maybe another of the Masters might have an idea."

"If it helps…" Misty looked at Gengar. "We have some Ghost Pokémon here. They've told us that there's been some mass of Psychic energy radiating from the town over the past month or so."

"Any news is helpful at this point," Lance replied. "Psychic energy… I'll ask Will if this sounds like anything he's heard of when he gets here. I might call Sabrina as well. They're easily the best psychics in Kanto and Johto."

Ash barked out a short laugh. "I doubt they'll have heard of this before. If an entire town had ever gone insane, I think I'd have heard of it."

"Because you're always studying Kanto history," Misty scoffed.

"Well, you probably would have heard of it," Ash amended.

Misty laughed a little sheepishly. "Uh, well, I wouldn't exactly say that I'm a history buff either…"

"It hasn't happened," Brian sighed. "I'd have heard of it, I promise. I may not be a historian, but I've at least read something that wasn't about Pokémon in the last decade."

"Be that as it may, any scrap of information we can gather can only help us now," Lance said. "It seems we find ourselves on the brink of disaster, and if so it may fall to us to keep our world, and our people, safe. But we will talk of that when you get here. For now, I need to be going. I've got a lot of calls to make. Brian, I'll make sure whoever is sent to retrieve you has your number to call when they arrive."

"Thank you, sir. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"I look forward to it." The line cut off.

They sat for a moment in silence.

"Well…" Brian put his phone away. "I guess we wait, then."

Ash stretched his legs out and lay back with his arms behind his head. "Sounds like naptime to me."

"But… isn't there anything…" Misty looked around to find that Brian, Pikachu, and even Gengar and Gastly were all lazing about similarly.

"Nope," Brian answered carelessly. "We'll have plenty to do once we get back to the Plateau. 'Til then, we might as well rest up. Being terrified for my life takes it out of me."

"Ditto," Ash mumbled.

"Chu," Pikachu agreed.

"Okay, I guess," Misty said tentatively. She lay down next to Ash and let him draw an arm around her, pulling her close. Pikachu crawled over and joined them, curling up on top of Ash to complete their small family. In moments they were all asleep.

Except, of course, for Gastly and Gengar. Ghosts don't sleep…

And so a few minutes after the humans and Pikachu had curled up, Gastly tilted his head. He looked to Gengar, who met his gaze in confirmation. They both felt the same thing: whatever energy was in Lavender seemed to be leaving, for whatever reason.

"Maybe it's going away," Gengar muttered. "Maybe there won't be a problem after all." Shifting back to his true form, he looked at the wall beyond which he knew Lavender lay. For the first time in almost a century, he very much wanted to leave his Tower to learn what was going on…

At approximately 4:30 that evening, a mass exodus occurred in Lavender Town.

Nearly every vehicle in the area was moving in perfect sync, each one perfectly filled to capacity with the townspeople. Some cars held people who had never met before in their lives.

And yet they knew each other. The bonds that held them all made sure of that.

And it was those same bonds that were able to coordinate nearly four thousand buses, cars, and trucks as they moved east together. There were no traffic jams, no people cut off, no accidents. From above, they would have appeared much like a swarm of ants marching to war; each one separate, apart, and yet only a piece of a single sentience.

The column of cars moved towards Saffron City.

It took fifty-five minutes for the first cars to travel the distance, and so the column arrived on the outskirts at about 5:25 P.M. As they travelled into town, some of the vehicles split off, moving into several clusters throughout the city. They arrived in parks, at malls, around neighborhoods, in parking structures, anywhere that many people were nearby. Together, the groups emerged from their vehicles.

At each cluster, there were a few Team Rocket members in place, each one masked to keep their appearances as uniform as possible: not even they knew exactly who they were working with. In addition, each one wore one, and only one, glove, each with a red stone set in the palm.

As the people arrived, some of them moved towards the Rockets. Without a word, they were given a collection of crystals, and as they received them each one stepped back, allowing another to take their place with flawless efficiency.

And then, suddenly, all movement stopped. Everyone who had needed to do so had stepped forward.

At each cluster, the Rockets each raised their hands in unison, and spoke with one voice:

"Go."

And the people of Lavender Town scattered to begin their assault on Saffron.

"Wow! Growlithe looks amazing!"

Natalia Brown smiled cheerfully as she handed the Fire puppy back to his trainer, the short teen taking him with wide eyes. "You'd be surprised what a few days of care can do for a Pokémon. And she was so much fun! It almost makes me feel bad that you're going to pay me for it."

"Well, I don't have to if it bothers you," he replied with a sly smirk.

She frowned dramatically. "Hey, I said 'almost,' Ken! I'm running a breeding center here, not a charity."

"Only kidding," Ken replied. He took out his walled, removed a small stack of bills and handed them over. "I added it up, so that should be right, Natalia."

"Natty," she corrected as she took the money. She thumbed quickly through it to make sure the count was correct. "That's exactly the amount, thanks!" She whistled. "Come here, Pachi!" From another room of the breeding center, Natty's Pachirisu chattered as she came. She jumped up, clinging to Natty's magenta T-shirt before she scurried onto her shoulder. Natty handed her Pokémon the money. "Take this to the register, please." Pachi rubbed against Natty's cheek before she leapt off, running to the front of the store.

"What did you do to his coat?" Ken asked as he marveled at Growlithe.

"Special shampoo," she replied. "It was invented by my partner Brock for Fire types, because normally they burn it off before it can really soak in and get the fur nice and shiny."

"I know. I've tried myself. Hey, is there any way I could get some from you?" He asked.

Natty frowned again. "Sorry, but I don't have any for sale. I'm talking to Brock about it, but right now the only place you can get it is his store in Pewter. He makes it all himself, so it's in short supply. I wish I could."

"Hmm. Maybe I should go talk to him."

"It's not cheap," Natty warned. "So unless it's super-important that you keep Growlithe looking perfect, you might be better off with something else. Anything will get him clean."

"Thanks. I'll think about it." Ken started towards the exit, and Natalia followed him. In the lobby, she took her place with Pachirisu at the register and waved as he left. Then, with a heavy sigh, she opened a notebook on the desk and began to write out her transaction with the young trainer, going completely against her nature by making sure every boring detail was marked out in full. Luckily for her, she was interrupted halfway through when her spiky-haired partner came through the door.

"Again?" Natty said upon seeing him. "Holy crap, Brock, this is the third time this week! Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd think you didn't trust me."

"No, I've learned better!" Brock replied. "I just wanted to… check up on things… again. Is that so wrong?"

"You know damn well that nothing's changed in the past forty-eight hours." Natty started ticking off items on her fingers. "Growlithe just got picked up, but other than that I still have Blissey, Snubbull, Phanpy, and that Beautifly that keeps trying to Sleep Powder me."

"Well, see?" Brock defended. "Now I know that Growlithe's gone."

"You're here to see if Sabrina's visited and we both know it," Natty flatly accused.

"Grk!"

A few weeks before, Sabrina (Saffron's Psychic Gym Leader) had brought them an Abra that she had found injured on the northern edge of Saffron City. The Pokémon Center had healed it's injuries, but she couldn't get the poor Pokémon to relax, and so she brought it to Natalia. Through kindness, and care, and to some extent plain stubbornness, Natty had gotten Abra to open up to her (as much as any Abra ever opened up, anyway) in a turnabout that Sabrina had praised as a near-miracle. And through Sabrina's many visits while Abra recovered, she'd developed a sort-of friendship with Natty. And one day, Brock dropped by and met Sabrina. And then a miracle happened.

For once, Brock was actually normal around a girl who wasn't Natty or Misty. His fear of the fact that Sabrina could probably teleport him to the moon lasted just long enough for him to not make a total ass of himself, and before the day was over Brock and Sabrina were closer than Sabrina and Natty. Ever since then, both of them had been coming over quite often, always inquiring about the other.

Natty was so close to just setting them up a date so they would stop bugging her already.

"If you're so desperate to see her, I'd suggest her gym," Natty remarked. "She's usually there."

"No!" Brock shouted, his face turning dark red as he shook his head rapidly. "I could never just… I mean, no, that's not why I'm here!"

"Ha. Caught you," Natty smirked before turning her attention back to her notebook. "Now, if you have nothing better to do, either go home, go to her gym, or get the equipment inventory out of that cabinet so I can take off the Fire conditioner I used earlier."

Realizing that it meant he could stick around a bit longer, Brock started on the third option. As he rifled through the filing cabinet, he asked, "By the way, is there a convention in town?"

"Not that I know of," Natty replied without looking up from her notes. "Why?"

Brock shrugged. "Nothing. Just saw a bunch of cars parking together on my way in, about fifteen minutes ago. It was probably just something private."

"You don't say."

"I do say."

For a moment, the room was silent but for the scratching of a pen and rustling papers.

Then Natty heard a familiar hum, and then a crash. She looked up for the source to see Brock lying on the ground with Sabrina on top of him, the latter having apparently just teleported on top of his head.

Sabrina stumbled quickly away from Brock and looked at the two of them with wild eyes. Then, for a moment, she seemed to break down, falling to her knees, and letting her long, forest green hair hang over her eyes. "Thank Mew," she said, her voice cracking with relief. "You're still okay, you're still you." Her eyes locked onto Natty with a deadly intensity. "Come on. We have to get out of here now. Saffron City is under attack."

"What!"

"I'm sorry, Brian. I can't help you right now. We've got to go help in Saffron!"

It had hardly been an hour later when Lance called back again, this time with far more dire news: apparently Saffron's police department had called in an all-out invasion. They'd already lost a quarter of the force before realizing that the invaders were spreading whatever they had by touch. They'd put the officers under orders to back off and attempt to evacuate the city.

"Under… attack…" Brian sat down heavily. "How many people are attacking? And who?"

Lance paused on the line. "How many I don't know, but all the evidence indicates that it's most or all of Lavender Town."

Brian's face drained completely of color. "Then that means…"

"In all probability, they are intentionally spreading their… disease… to the citizens of Saffron City," Lance completed. "Brian, Saffron is the largest city in Kanto. There are two million people in the city itself, and a million more in the surrounding area. If this spreads to them all…" He couldn't complete the statement. "We simply can't allow that to happen. Are you certain that there's no way for you to get there?"

"Don't you think I wish I could?" Brian murmured.

"I'm sorry," Lance said. Brian could tell from his tone that he meant it. "We'll do our best to keep everyone safe. And… Brian… if I can, I'll find her."

Brian swallowed hard. "Thank you, sir."

"Please… don't thank me yet," Lance replied. "Not until this is over." And with that he hung up.

Brian dropped the phone as soon as the call ended. He looked to Ash and Misty. "Saffron's being attacked," he explained, his voice empty. "Lavender Town must have emptied out right after we left. Lance sent everyone available to support the police, including himself." There were tears in his eyes as he added, "He's not sure if it will help."

"Brian…" Misty rose up and gave him a hug. It was enough to tip him over the edge, and he started to cry silently.

Ash looked on in confusion. "I don't understand," he said. "Why…"

Misty turned her head around, fixing one eye on him without letting Brian go. "Ash, Natty's in Saffron. And odds are she has no way to leave and no idea that anything's wrong. If they find her…"

Ash paled. "Oh, Mew."

"Exactly."

"You don't know," Brian sobbed suddenly. "You've never had that happen, been trapped in your own mind…"

"What do you mean?" Misty asked, releasing him.

Curling his legs into his chest, he took a few shuddering breaths to calm down. When he spoke, it was with a quiet despair they'd never heard from him.

"Remember when I was captured?"

Ash nodded. "How could we forget?" As important as returning Ash to life had been, the search and rescue of Brian after he was captured during the search for Galactic had become just as important, if not more so.

"I've told you once before that they used the Red Chain to control me. But I've never explained… You don't know…" he stopped. "Mind control is a powerful force. But no matter what, there's always a piece of the real you left. Some part that knows exactly what you're doing and what's happening to you. A part that can't fight back, that can't do anything but watch as you do whatever you're told, no matter how sickening or cruel it might be. And in Lavender Town… I saw the same thing in those people. Do you think they would ever attack us on their own?" Brian trembled. "I was terrified beyond reason that I might go back to that hell. I won't let that happen to me again. And I'd never let it happen to anyone I care about. But Natty…" He broke into a fresh cry again. "I can't lose her. Not like that. Never like that. And the Chain was easy to get out of. But we don't know anything about this… what if what happened to Lavender Town is permanent?"

Ash and Misty shivered at the implications. "That would be awful," Misty murmured.

"Death would be better," Brian quietly agreed.

"It won't happen," Ash said forcefully. "We know her. She's strong and she's lucky. She'll find a way out."

Brian put his head in his hands. "I pray you're right."

There was silence for a long while after that. No one really knew what to say.

"We're under attack?" Brock sputtered. "From who?"

"I don't know," Sabrina replied. "Whatever they are, they came all at once a little while ago. Some people being used like puppets. And somehow they're making everyone they meet… like… themselves. Controlled."

Natty stared incredulously. "So… zombies? It's zombies?" She smirked. "Should I get my shotgun?"

"Damn it, this isn't a fucking joke!" Sabrina screamed. Natty recoiled in surprise; she'd never heard Sabrina raise her voice before. Or curse, for that matter.

"Whoa, Sabrina!" Brock held out his hands. "Calm down. Tell us what's happening."

For a second, Sabrina looked at him, breathing hard with wide eyes. Then, much to his shock, she threw herself at him, burying her head in his shoulder.

"It was awful," she cried. "They took everyone, even the Pokémon. Nobody could even tell anything was wrong until they were already taken… except me. I could sense when they changed, but even I didn't understand what was happening until they came for me… All my students from the psychic academy. All my Pokémon. My parents. Brock, they made my parents attack me."

Brock wanted to comfort her, but didn't know what to do: despite hundreds of attempts, he'd never actually been in this situation before. He tried patting her back as he asked, "What did you do?"

"I tried to free their minds first, but I couldn't. Whatever's controlling them is a lot stronger than my abilities. Maybe I could have fought them off telekinetically, but… I couldn't! They were my friends, my family… I couldn't hurt them. So I teleported to the first place I thought of, which turned out to be here." She looked at Brock. "I had to try and rescue you too… and Natty, of course."

Suddenly, she jumped away from him. "Quick. Get whatever you absolutely need and come here. I can get us out of town, but they're coming. Wait…" She closed her eyes and concentrated. "They're… spreading from certain points. Um… I see. They came into town and formed a bunch of clusters, then moved from there…" She opened her eyes. "They're not just at the gym, they're everywhere. They're spreading like a wildfire. In another few minutes, I think they'll have control of the whole town. We can't be here when that happens."

"We have to bring the Pokémon," Brock said suddenly. "We can't leave them."

"Then go!" Sabrina cried. "Hurry!"

Brock turned to Natty to find her throwing two empty Pokéballs his way. He deftly caught them.

"Blissey and Phanpy are in the yard out back," she explained. She leapt over the desk and ran towards the back. "I'll have to get Beautifly and Snubbull out of holding."

"I'll go recall them." Brock followed her, but stopped at the door. He looked back. "Sabrina, I…"

"There's no time now," she said, cutting him off. "Go."

He nodded resolutely and left.

For a few minutes, Sabrina stood in silence, meditating and trying to pick out individuals from the group of controlled people. She found it nearly impossible: there was just too much background noise from the larger groups. Unless someone got very, very close, she wouldn't be able to tell. She opened her eyes again and looked out the glass storefront. For the moment, the streets were clear… but only for the moment.

"Got 'em," Natty cried from the back of the breeding center. She sprinted back into the lobby, sliding to a stop just short of a collision with Sabrina. Pachirisu sat on her shoulder, twisting a strand of Natty's dark brown hair and chattering anxiously. "Where's Brock?"

"He's still in the back," Sabrina answered.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Brock yelled. He ran through the hall as Natty had, bursting into the lobby.

Only to be stopped as Sabrina lifted him into the air.

"Wha… What are you doing, Sabrina?" he asked heatedly. "Let me down! We have to go!"

"No…" Sabrina stared with empty, heartbroken eyes, and shook her head slowly. "Oh, Brock, not you, too..."

"Stop it!" Brock roared, suddenly more enraged than Natty had ever seen him before. "Damn you, let me down! We have to get out of here!"

"I know we do… I'm so sorry for this."

A moment later she hurled him back and grabbed Natty's arm. There was a flash of blue light, and they were gone.

Natty felt a strange sort of motion sickness for a moment after they appeared, which was only made worse when they fell a few feet to land hard on a hill overlooking Saffron City.

"Brock…" Natty looked around, but he wasn't there. Only herself, Pachirisu, and Sabrina had made the trip. Sabrina had her back turned to Natty, looking towards the lost city.

"What the fuck, Sabrina?" Natty stood up, her fists clenched. "Why the hell did you leave him? Why? Did he bother you that much, that you had to get rid of him? Let what happened to your family take him?" Natty nearly flew at her in her fury; she was only stopped when Sabrina fell weeping to the ground.

"Do you think I wanted to leave him?" she wailed. "I would never… but…" She turned around to stare at Natty (or perhaps through her) with bloodshot eyes. "They took him. I couldn't pick out individuals at a distance; I couldn't even tell it had Brock until he was almost in the room… Someone must have got him in the backyard and sent him in alone to take us, as well. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Natty I'm so sorry…"

"Brock…" Natty whispered painfully. She sat down beside Sabrina. "Damn it all."

"I don't know what to do," Sabrina said, her voice weak with exhaustion. "I would go to the Plateau… but I can't get both of us there. After getting us out of Saffron, I'm already tired. I don't even know if I could get me there. It's across the region."

"Pewter?" Natty suggested. "We could go to where Brock… was."

"I wouldn't risk it…" Sabrina sniffled. "Maybe Lavender Town. But considering that the people all came from the east… I think it might not be Lavender Town anymore."

"Sabrina…" Natty asked. "What's going to happen?"

"I don't know, Natty. If they take everyone in Saffron, that's over a quarter of Kanto. And if they're all able to spread whatever they have… it won't take long to have the whole region under control."

"Brian…" Natty realized. "He might not know. What if he comes home?" Horrorstruck, she grabbed Sabrina's arm. "What if he was home?"

Sabrina turned her head and sadly stated "Then he won't be your Brian anymore."

A flash of memory occurred to Natty:

"It's over, Natalia. Slifer, use Hyper Beam on her."

"Do not disobey! I said attack her!"

"I wouldn't want to fight me either."

Her heart fell as she remembered Brian being ordered to attack her… and doing his best to follow orders. "No… not again."

"Risu?" Pachirisu jumped into Natty's lap, nuzzling her chest. "Pipachi?"

"No, Pachi… Daddy's fine," Natty decided. She nodded determinedly to herself. "If he was there, he'll fly away and we'll find him. I know it."

"But what will we do?" Sabrina asked. "We need a safe place to go. But if this spreads… there may be no safe place. Not in a populated area, by any means. But where?"

And then a skeleton appeared in front of them and danced a jig.

Natty flew back, clutching Pachirisu with a cry of fright, but Sabrina simply sat there and sighed. "Not now, Haunter…"

"Haunt haunter!" The skeleton exclaimed sadly before dissolving into the relatively normal form of Haunter, a Ghost Pokémon that Sabrina didn't quite own; instead, he seemed to just enjoy following her and trying to make her either scream or laugh just for the sheer hell of it.

Haunter seemed preoccupied for a moment, but soon popped back with his normal manic grin. "Hau… Haunt haunt ter!"

"You do?" Sabrina said, real hope filling her voice for the first time that day.

"He does what?" Natty asked. "Please fill me in."

"He says he knows a place nearby," Sabrina explained.

"Haunter haunt!" Haunter exclaimed proudly. He pointed to the east. "Haunt ha haunter."

"The other side of Lavender Town," Sabrina translated. She mulled that over for a moment. "I THINK I could get us that far. It'll take all I've got, but I'm pretty sure I can do it. We could rest there for a day or so, and then I could probably jump the two of us to Fuschia or Cerulean when I'm fresh and have time to meditate."

Natty hesitated for a moment, then agreed, "Okay."

Sabrina sat down and put a hand on Haunter's head, reading his mind to get the location straight from the source. She wanted to know the spot she was going to as well as Haunter did. Then she held her other hand out to Natty, who sat back next to her and took it gingerly.

"Get ready… this one will be harder," Sabrina warned. Then she was surrounded by a bright blue aura. Looking down, Natty noticed the same thing around herself and Pachirisu. Then there was a great jerk at the base of her spine, and they disappeared once more.

Brian had finally pushed back the tears, but just barely. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu were sitting together silently, trying to comfort each other over what was happening. They'd invited Brian to sit with them, but he hadn't spoken a word since realizing the danger that his fiancé was in.

"What do you think will happen?" Misty asked, scratching Pikachu's ears absently.

Ash shook his head. "I don't have a clue. Saffron is so big… you think that just the people from Lavender can really capture the whole city?"

Misty groaned and covered her eyes. "How should I know? I really hope not, but… maybe. If the people they spread to can themselves spread the same 'disease', then the number will go up exponentially."

Ash was totally blank. "It'll do what?"

She sighed. "You're so hopeless, Ash."

There was a quiet hum and a flash of blue light, followed by two quiet thumps as two bodies hit the ground.

"What the hell?" Ash yelled, jumping up with Misty.

"Huh?" Brian snapped out of his funk, and looked towards the commotion. "Who…"

By the time his conscious mind recognized the second person, Brian was already on his feet.

"Natalia!"

She sat up, shocked to hear his voice. "Brian?" Natty turned around, searching for the source, and her eyes lit up as she recognized him running towards her. "Brian!"

Tears were once again streaming down his face, but this time for an entirely different reason, as he stopped and slid to a stop embracing her.

"You're alright. You're here. You're safe." Between each declaration, he kissed her until they both laughed with sheer joy and relief.

"Brian…" she stopped him, holding his face in her hands. "How? How are you here?"

"How are you here?" Brian replied. "Hey, cut it out!" Pachirisu, nearly as ecstatic as Natty to see Brian again, was climbing all over his head. Luckily, he was saved as she saw Pikachu and rushed off to reconnect with her old friend.

"That's a good question," Ash interjected, walking over with Misty. "How are you here?" Then he saw Sabrina. "Sabrina… she rescued you? Why you? And why here? And what's wrong with her?"

Sabrina finally opened her eyes and sat up. "Whoa… that took even more than I expected." She yawned. "Hi… you look familiar…" She tried to place his name, but her tired mind came up blank.

"It's Ash, Sabrina. Ash and Misty and Brian."

"Oh, yes…" Sabrina closed her eyes and smiled. "I remember you. You're the one who brought me Haunter… who set me free." Then she frowned. "Didn't you die?"

"A little," Ash replied. "I got better."

"Oh. That's nice." Sabrina laid back and mumbled incoherently for a moment before fading into light snores.

"She's exhausted," Natty explained. "She brought me, herself, Pachirisu, and Haunter here from Saffron… that really took it out of her."

"Haunter?" Ash exclaimed. He turned to see Haunter happily reuniting with Gengar and Gastly, who he had left nearly a decade before.

"Hey, Haunter!" Ash started to go say hello when Natty reached past Brian and grabbed his arm.

"Wait."

Ash stopped. "Hm? What's wrong, Natty?"

She swallowed hard. "Ash… it's Brock. They got Brock."

"No!" Ash protested. "They…" He grit his teeth. "Bastards!"

Misty looked stunned, a hand . "Holy shit… Just when I thought we were all safe…" She caught herself blinking back tears. "Damn it."

"I'm sorry," Natty said. "They… wait." She paused. "How do you even know what I'm talking about?"

"We were attacked, Natty," Brian explained softly. "Before they left Lavender Town to strike at Saffron. Ash, Misty, and I were sent to investigate what was happening, and we just barely made it out. Ash led us here."

"Where are we?" She asked. "Sabrina never really told me…"

"This is the tower where Ash spent time when he was dead," Brian explained. "It was the closest safe place."

"And I'm guessing Haunter led you here?" Ash added.

Natty nodded. "He told Sabrina he knew a safe place with no people. I guess it was here. Although why that would be, I have no idea…"

Ash looked over at Haunter again. "This was his home. The first time I traveled through Kanto, I came here looking for a Ghost Pokémon to defeat Sabrina, and I found Haunter. She was insane back then; I mean, truly, completely bonkers. But Haunter made her laugh. Somehow, that was all it took. He stuck around with her afterwards, and I guess this is the first time he's come back since then." He was silent for a moment. Then he asked "How did it happen?"

"I…" Natty choked. "It was my fault. They went for the Gym first, I think, and Sabrina's whole family and all her trainers and students were caught. She's been visiting recently, and when she teleported away, she came to us, to save us if she could. Brock…" she laughed weakly. "Brock was there because he was hoping Sabrina would come by. They've been getting along really well. Who would have thought Brock might find a girl he couldn't scare away? But when she came, she told us to grab what we needed as fast as we could. All we had were a few Pokémon we were taking care of." She gripped Brian's arm until her knuckles were bone white. "We couldn't leave them, we just couldn't!"

"Calm, calm, love," Brian soothed, caressing her back. "No one blames you. I don't think anyone here could have left an innocent Pokémon behind." Ash and Misty murmured their agreement, giving Natty strength to continue.

"I got the ones inside while Brock went outside." She hiccupped. "And when he came back... Sabrina could tell it wasn't him anymore. There's not any big fence in the back, anyone could just climb over… I guess they caught him there. So Sabrina threw him through the Breeding Center and got the rest of us out as fast as she could."

And there Natty reached her limit. The memory of Brock being launched back, that look of otherworldly fury in his eyes, brought it all crashing down as the last half-hour of frantic action and loss finally caught up with her. She choked on a word, stopped, tried again, stopped, and finally broke down.

"That's enough," Misty stated. Ash looked down at her. "She's exhausted. I think we're all getting to the ends of our ropes."

"It's time to rest," Brian agreed quietly. "The world may be falling down around us, but we're only human. This has been the worst day since Galactic, and the way things are looking it's not going to get better anytime soon." Natty gave a fresh sob in his arms, and he nearly smacked himself for his stupidity. "Oh, Din, I'm an idiot. Sorry, love…"

"Don't be," she replied shakily. "I know it's the truth."

"Pachi?"

Having seen Natty from across the room, Pachirisu had returned to see what was wrong. She tilted her head.

"Come on," Natty said with a watery smile. She let go of Brian with one arm and held it out, creating a small space between them. "There's room for one more."

Pachirisu snuggled in with a happy squeal, which in turn caused both Brian and Natty to giggle lightly as they put their arms back around each other.

Ash and Misty looked at each other, each of them cracking a small smile in turn. Ash slipped an arm around her waist, and they walked together to the other side of the rather spacious room, Pikachu following close behind them, making sure that both couples add a bit of space to themselves.

Pikachu leapt up onto Ash's head. "Pi pika!"

Ash reached up and scratched him once. "Sorry, buddy. I guess you kind of got left out in all the commotion."

Pikachu shrugged. "Pi."

Misty looked back at Brian and Natty, who had curled up together and were now resting peacefully on their way to sleep. "So, should we just… go back to where we were before the attack?"

Ash sat down and held out a hand to her. "Unless you've got a better idea."

"It just feels so wrong," Misty replied. But she took his hand anyway.

Ash's voice was barely above a whisper as he answered, "Yeah… I know." Ash lay back once more (once again quietly glad that the floor was plush carpet rather than splintery wood like the rest of the tower) and lay on his side, inviting Misty to sleep in his arms. Of course, that would have been the easy way. Instead, Misty took the spot at his back ("No, I wanna be big spoon.") and he ended up cradling a sleeping Pikachu.

"Ash…" Misty's voice was weak, so weak he almost didn't hear her even with her head nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

"Hn?"

"I…" he could hear the tears in her voice, and feel them on his cheek, as she whispered, "I can't believe… Brock… he's always been…"

Ash took Misty's hands and squeezed them tight. "Unassailable. Like… like a rock. No matter what's happened to us, he's been the one who could always stay sane, always stay strong…"

"And now he's gone… before we even had a chance to see him."

"I know, Misty. I know. But… you know, I almost feel bad for whoever is behind this."

There was a long pause, followed by a dull "What."

Ash explained. "As terrible as it is… they just kidnapped the best friend of three top-level Masters and the craziest girl in the world. Once we actually get out of here and go start looking for them?" He gave a black chuckle. "Oh, they are so royally screwed."

He managed to earn one weak, but genuine, "Ha" from his girlfriend with that.

"We'll get him back," Ash promised seriously after a minute had passed. "If we have to tear up half of Kanto, we'll get it done. We've never given up before. Right, Myst?" He waited a moment for her response, but then realized that the steady breath on his neck could only mean she had succumbed to her exhaustion once more.

With no one to talk to, and feeling more than a bit tired himself, Ash closed his eyes and joined her.

"He's a Mon-day morning luuuuuuunatic, disturbed from time to time! Lost within himself, in his Solitary—"

Click.

"Blaaaaargh," Brian moaned into his phone. "Whadja wan'?"

"What… who the hell is this?" The voice on the other end became half enraged and half frantic. "What have you done with Brian Edwards?"

Oh, shit. "Lance?" Brian bolted upright, accidentally jarring Natalia awake as he did so. "Damn, I'm sorry. I was asleep. That was me." Brian walked quickly to Ash, Misty and Pikachu, snapping his fingers rapidly at them. They slowly rose up to look at him with bleary eyes. He mouthed It's Lance at them and jerked his head to get them moving. It only took a few moments before they were on their feet, listening for any information. Brian put the phone back on speaker, and everyone in the room gathered around.

"Okay, Lance, you've got the whole troupe. Now what happened?"

For a span of seconds that seemed to stretch into infinity, Lance said nothing. Then…

"It was hopeless," he finally said. His voice, for the first time that any of them had ever heard, was totally lifeless and dull. "We attempted to stop them, but there were too many. Far too many. We could not let them get close enough to touch us for fear of the infection, but we battled as hard as we could to hold them back. Walls of ice, walls of fire, trenches, psychic barriers, anything we could come up with. In the end it was all pointless. Maybe a fiftieth of them were trainers, and maybe a tenth of those anything nearing a threat… but that was 300 trainers, 30 good ones, against the five Masters who were able to show. Even further, every person they infected was another potential opponent; they gained trainers even faster than we could defeat them. We fought for a while, but in the end they wore us all down."

He paused. "We lost Will. He tried holding them back with his own telekinetic abilities even after he ran out of Pokémon, but it was too much, and he gave up his chance to get away in exchange. He was too tired to move when they got to him. As for me… I lost Gyarados. I wasn't the only one to have a Pokémon stolen away mid-battle, either."

"What's happened to Saffron?" Ash asked.

"I… I…" Another first: Lance at a loss for words.

"What's happened to my city, Lance?" Sabrina demanded again.

"That voice…" Lance seemed to perk up a bit. "Sabrina? You made it out?"

"Yes, I did," she answered. "Now answer my question!"

"…It's gone. It's all been taken. After Will fell, we realized that if all of us were captured fighting there, then there'd be no one to help the rest of Kanto. We hightailed it out, and I made it to Vermillion and healed up. I'm in the Pokémon Center there now."

"Why Vermillion?" Misty asked.

"Because the only one of us with any way to come get you lot is me. I have several flying Pokémon with phenomenal stamina, and it's absolutely vital that we get all of you back to the Plateau so we can formulate a plan of action. Vermillion was the closest safe place with a Pokémon Center. Lavender Town is empty, and Saffron…"

"Sir?" Natty asked in a small voice. "Um… how many? How many people?"

Lance hesitated. "We won't know for certain for a while, but… if I had to guess, I'd say it was most of them. At least three-quarters of the city. Possibly more. A few people made it out, but the invaders were… thorough. It was a remarkably well planned attack."

"That's… that's two million people, minimum," Sabrina stated flatly.

"Enough to do nearly anything," Lance agreed. "Which is why we must get to work. Ash, Misty, and Brian have a unique perspective from their investigation, information we need to give everyone at the Plateau. It'll take a bit to organize that many people, no matter how quickly it's done. That may be a tiny window and we can't waste it."

"Then come," Brian stated. "We will have the chance to talk later."

"I'm going to be headed towards you in a few minutes, then. If Ash's directions were right, then it'll be a little under two hours."

"Thank you. We'll be waiting."

"I'll see you then."

They sat for a few seconds around the dead phone.

"Uh…" Ash scratched his head and yawned. "So, what time is it?"

Stepping forward, Brian looked at the display before pocketing his phone again. "Holy crap, it's three in the morning, give or take a few minutes."

"Well, we fell asleep at like six or seven, so that's not too surprising," Misty said. She stood up and stretched. "And I'm completely done with sleeping right now. I'm going outside to train until he gets here."

Ash stood up. "I'm with you, then. What about you three?"

"I'm, ah… a bit rusty on the training," Natty admitted. "I've been running a business. Doesn't leave much time for that. But I guess I'd better get to it, considering what we're getting into…"

"Probably," Brian agreed. "And obviously I'm in."

"Sabrina?" Ash asked. "You've been… quiet."

"I'll come with," she said. Her voice fell as she completed "But… I don't have my Pokémon. They were at the gym, and they were all… all…"

Ash flushed. "Oh… I'm so sorry, Sabrina. I can't imagine…"

She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "No, it's alright. It's hard, but I've got pretty good control over myself. I'll get by."

"Hmm… no," Brian said, shaking his head. "That won't do at all. It's not about emotional support, it's about having a way to defend yourself. I know you're a psychic and you can defend yourself that way to a point, but if you get too tired out, you're as good as dead... like Will. Could I at least let you carry Espeon for a bit? At least until you can get a Pokémon of your own."

Sabrina thought for a moment. "I guess. That would be okay. Thanks."

"Don't thank me. You saved Natalia…" He glanced at his fiancé. "I owe you more for that than I could ever repay." Brian reached into his jacket and removed Espeon's Pokéball. "I'll let her out so she'll understand." Throwing out the ball, he said, "Come on, Espeon!"

As soon as Espeon had coalesced, Brian knelt down behind her. "Hey, Espeon. I need to ask a favor. Can—"

For a moment, he kept moving his mouth, but no words came out. Then his hand flew to his throat, his eyes wide. Espeon turned to face him and outright hissed. She stalked back, and Brian started to rise into the air, clawing wildly at his neck with silent cries for help.

"Holy… she's choking him!" Natty cried. "Stop her!"

Ash and Misty sprang into action. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt right now!"

Misty released Corsola with a cry of "Rock Blast Espeon, quick!"

Two cries went up as Pikachu and Corsola sent a barrage of electricity and stone at Espeon…

Only to have it all utterly fail, hitting an invisible barrier two feet from contact.

"She's using Reflect!" Ash deduced.

Misty nodded. "Keep pouring it on, guys! It'll break through!"

"Pi!"

"'Sola!"

"Ah… add yours in too, Pachirisu!" Natty finally added. "Thunderbolt!"

"Pachi!"

For a moment, nothing changed. Brian floated higher, his arms beginning to slow and falter as his air ran out, and the three attacks couldn't get through. Then, finally, help arrived.

Hearing the struggle upstairs, the three ghosts had finally made a reappearance. Immediately upon seeing the situation, all three of them pounded Espeon's shield with a Shadow Ball, which was more than enough. The Reflect broke with a sound like shattering glass, and Espeon was suddenly under attack from six points. Needless to say, she did not last long. Electricity crackled, rocks pounded, and the three Shadow Balls knocked her across the room. She hit the wall and fell still.

Which left Brian falling through the air, limp and unconscious.

Natty ran under him, ready to do her best in a futile attempt to catch the man who was at least twenty pounds heavier than she. She was saved, fortunately, as Brian fell into another psychic's grip. Sabrina shone a light blue as Brian slowed, falling gently into Natty's waiting arms. She sank to the ground, laying him down and cradling his head, as everyone present came running over.

"He's breathing," she said. "He's just knocked out."

Almost immediately, he coughed violently, and his eyes fluttered open. "I think…" he coughed again. "I think something's wrong with Espeon."

"No shit." Natty hugged him again. "Holy hell, you've got to stop scaring me like that. I'm going to have grey hair by the time I'm twenty-five if this keeps up."

"I'm sorry," Brian said. He pulled Natty's arms off of him, kissed her briefly, and stood up. "Where is she? I want to see her."

He started over to Espeon, but his legs shook too much, and he almost fell. Ash was faster, though, and caught him.

"Easy, Bry," he said. "You did just get choked out. Maybe you should rest for a bit."

"Not yet," Brian answered. "This must be done now, before she recovers. Please…" His eyes begged Ash for help, and Ash could not deny.

Ash nodded. "Okay. But let me help." He let Brian put an arm around his neck and held him up with another around Brian's back. Brian led him to Espeon, the rest of the room's inhabitants following behind.

"This is far enough," Brian said.

"That's good, because we're at the wall."

Brian sighed. "Is this really the time you choose to joke? Honestly? Right now?"

"Sorry," Ash replied with a grimace.

Brian let go of Ash, kneeling next to Espeon. He ran a hand through her fur. "Oh, Espeon… Why did I let you stay out? I should have been faster… maybe then you'd be safe. Maybe—huh?"

He stopped as his hand hit a hard spot on her back, under the fur. He touched it, and it was strangely cold, like a chip of ice had been stuck there. He spread the fur apart with both hands so he could see.

His blood ran cold.

Brian's voice shook with shock and grief. "No… no, no, no… Oh my god. This… This means…" He pounded a fist against the ground. "Damn it! I knew I should have killed him! I knew it, and I still didn't! Damn it!"

"Brian, what's wrong?" Natty asked.

"Come look," Brian replied hopelessly.

Natty, Ash, Misty, and Sabrina came closer so they could see. With the fur spread apart, they could see a tiny red gem pressed into her pale lavender skin. Ash and Misty paled, and it took all she had for Natty just to keep her feet.

"Is that…" Misty whispered.

"The Red Chain," Brian confirmed. "Galactic's keystone. I think you can figure out the rest."

"But… all of the Red Chain was destroyed," Misty protested. "And Galactic was broken up. Who could have…"

"It's Quasar," Natty answered. "It has to be."

Sabrina looked back and forth between them in total confusion. "Is someone going to explain all of this to me?"

"Three years ago, Team Galactic found a material called Red Chain," Brian explained. "Fragments of the will of Arceus. In short, a Pokémon touched by the Chain is put under the control of whoever touched them. But there was a man… a man named Quasar. A scientist. He saw what the Chain could do, and he perverted its design to work against humans as well. But as far as I know, he was the only one who knew that was possible besides Cyrus himself, the boss..." He drifted into a memory.

Sabrina interrupted. "But I thought someone took Team Galactic down? It was all over the news."

Ash laughed weakly. "You heard right. That was us." He looked to Brian. "But who was Quasar? I never…"

"You weren't there," Natty explained. "Only Brock, Brian and I ever saw him. He was the one who put Brian under control, remember?"

"I think… you might have said his name once," Misty confirmed hesitantly. "At the end, when—"

"I had him!" Brian's outburst cut through the conversation. "I literally had him at the point of a sword!" He looked over to the weapon, which still lay where he had left it after removing it the night before. "But I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him, even then. He was begging for his life, and… I let him have it. I've regretted it ever since. He's the one who set off the alarm as we tried to leave, I'm sure. And I never saw his name on the lists of those captured, even though I looked… I thought that I had missed it, or that I didn't know his real name. I should have guessed he had a way out. He even told me—"

"I suppose that now I'm just a worrier. You see, I like to have a plan B. And if Master Cyrus' plan fails, we'll still have a great deal of unused Red Chain material just lying all around, being useless…"

"—he was practically preparing for Cyrus to fail, and he wasn't going to be the one to take the fall. He's behind this, I'm sure of it. He must have found someone willing to back his research again, made a ton of Red Chain fragments… "

"Even if it is him, it's not your fault, Brian," Misty soothed. "The fact that you weren't willing to murder a helpless old man in cold blood doesn't make this your fault."

"I know," Brian said, adding darkly, "but I won't be making the same mistake again, believe me."

There was a collective flinch at that. Ash stepped forward. "Brian, don't you think that's a bit harsh?"

Brian rounded on him. "Harsh? Harsh? Ash Ketchum, we are talking about a monster. He put me under control and ordered me to kill the woman I love and one of my best friends. He tried to get us captured by Team Galactic seconds after I spared his life. And if he is behind this, as I have no doubt he is, he has now captured and perverted two cities, including Sabrina's whole family, Master Will, and your best friend Brock, and beyond even that almost certainly plans to capture more." He put a finger to Ash's chest. "Listen very carefully, Ash. He. Deserves. To. Die." Brushing Ash's attempts to help him aside, Brian walked shakily away from Espeon, taking his sword from the floor and buckling it back onto his side. "And upon my honor, he'll die by my hand. I swear it."

There was a long moment of silence while Brian held out a hand and recalled Espeon. Natty broke it with a murmur of "Brian…"

"Come on," he said, cutting off whatever supplication she had planned. "We should still go train outside for a bit before Lance arrives." He started downstairs.

Sabrina turned to Ash, Misty, and Natty once he was gone. "He's not normally like that, is he?"

"No…" Natty replied, shaking her head. "Never."

"I think the Red Chain coming back has shaken him really bad," Misty said. "The way he's acting… I think it might be what he fears most."

"What makes you think that?" Ash asked.

"His breakdown in Lavender," she answered. "He was almost helpless when he realized that the people were losing themselves to whatever was controlling them. My guess is that being controlled like that affected him more than we've ever thought." She looked at Natty. "It explains how torn up he was when he thought you'd be trapped in Saffron, too."

"But—" Natty began.

"Oi! Is anyone going to come down here and spar me, or am I just going to have to beat the shit out of some trees?"

Misty sighed. "He's acting kind of crazy right now, but he's still right. We do need to keep at the top of our game."

"And I have been looking forward to battling him," Ash added.

"Pi pika!" Pikachu grinned and sparked a bit; he felt the same way.

"Gar?"

"Oh… yeah." Ash looked at the three ghosts sheepishly. "Gengar, Gastly… sorry I haven't come visit under normal circumstances. I've been travelling all over the world, but that's no excuse… But I finally reached my dream! I became a Master less than a week ago. So maybe, after this whole mess is sorted out… I'll have more freedom. And I can come visit."

"Gast!" "Gar!" The two came to hug him. (Or float around him, since Gastly had no arms, but whatever.)

Ash laughed. "Thanks, guys. I still can't repay you for all your help."

"Gar Gear!" Gengar smiled and flashed a peace sign.

Sabrina looked at Haunter, who was frowning, glancing between her and his two friends. "You want to stay, don't you, Haunter?"

He looked at her sadly, but nodded.

Sabrina gave him a sad smile back. "I don't blame you. If anything, I'm surprised you stuck around as long as you did. So stay if you'd like. Just don't be a stranger, okay? Visit once in a while!"

"Haunter haunt!" After giving her a creepily wide grin and a lick to the face, Haunter led the three ghosts to the carousel, where they quickly got back to playing as though the past decade had never happened at all.

"Gonna start killing trees any minute! Only you can prevent one hell of a forest fire I'm about to start!"

Natty giggled. "Okay, that one was actually pretty hilarious."

"Come on, let's go kick his ass," Misty said with a smile. Ash grinned back and followed her out, with Pikachu, Pachirisu, Natty and Sabrina trailing behind.

The doors slammed shut behind him with a thunderous crash. He walked quickly into the circle of light and knelt, keeping his head down as he had been ordered.

"Speak."

"One of the five targets you requested was captured in the raid on Saffron City, sir. I have him—"

"Fool. Of course I know that. I know all of those linked by the Chain. And I know that he is waiting outside. Bring him in!"

"Of course, sir." He stood, but before he could even stand and turn, the doors behind him had already been flung open, and the former Leader Brock was standing beside him.

"I was not talking to you. I am quite capable of having the doors opened and one of my many subjects brought before me without your help. You may go now, Giovanni. Ensure that preparations for the next wave of attacks do not require any more of my input. I can only control so much directly."

"Yes, sir." Without another word, Giovanni bowed again and backed out of the room, closing the doors behind him.

Brock stood in obedient silence in the dark room for a few minutesm his captor glaring at him through the darkness. Then he was ordered, "Do not move, but remember yourself."

Instantly Brock was breathing heavily, and his heart rate spiked. He began to rail at his captor. "Who are you? Where am I? What are—"

"Silence."

And Brock was silent, though now a muted red light shone from three places: Brock's eyes, the red gem pressed into the wrist of his left arm, and a third gem at the front of the room he was currently in. Peering through the gloom, Brock could barely make out the figure of a man illuminated by the pale glow.

"This is stupid," the voice stated. "I will never understand why Giovanni enjoyed having the lights like this so much." There was a quiet click, and the room went from near-total darkness to bright illumination.

An old man sat behind an oak desk at the back of the room. He was dressed all in white, with white hair; the only points of color on him were two spots of red on the palms of his hands.

Brock's eyes bulged, and he trembled with fury. He knew this man.

"Welcome, Brock," Quasar said with a bright smile. "It's been too long, has it not? I've been looking all over for you. Although, to be honest, I'm surprised to have found you already." He looked down at a file on his desk. "My records show you live and work in Pewter City. I suppose it was a good thing you decided to visit Saffron City, no?" He chuckled as Brock fumed silently. "I really do need to thank you, you know. Even though you wrecked my plans last time." His voice turned bitter at the end, and his happy face finally went sour. "You, and your little bitch of a friend, and that… that damned boy with his stupid stick. And I suppose I should include your other allies Ash and Misty as well, even if they weren't there when you freed my prototype. But!" His frown jumped back to a manic cheer. "You did show me how brittle the first stage Red Chains were, a lesson that I'm sure Cyrus would have loved to have known as well. With that in mind, I made sure that this generation's fragments don't fall apart just because you hit them too hard… or shock them, or burn them, or freeze them, or any other myriad ways one might try to free my servants. And since it was you who inadvertently showed me that when you broke the shard controlling Brian, I have a reward for you: I won't make you torture yourself."

Brock started to sweat right about then.

"Instead, I plan to have you torture the other four for me… once they've been captured, of course." Quasar gave him an insane grin. "Won't that be fun?"

Seeing the outrage and despair in Brock's eyes, he amended, "Well, not for you. Certainly not for them. Mostly for me, when I find the time to watch. I promise, though, that even though you'll all be totally under my control, you'll all have your minds intact. I wouldn't want you to miss that, now, would I? What's the fun in watching you suffer if you aren't even aware of it? But, sadly, I really don't need you to be aware for this next part. I just wanted you to know exactly what to expect after I've won this little war I'm starting. Something to think about… For now, I'll banish you back to whatever mental catacomb you go to when I take total control. So…" Quasar gave him a cheery wave as his hands began to glow. "Ta ta for now!"

If Brock could have screamed, he would have as the red light forced him down, down, down into darkness, until only his shell was left.

"You may speak," Quasar added when the deed was done.

"Thank you, sir," Brock said mechanically. "What would you like me to say?"

"I'm glad you asked." Quasar leaned forward, clasping his hands in earnest. "You see, even as you are you can provide me with a wealth of information." He picked up five files on his desk and shook them. "These documents tell me a great deal about the five chief targets I have been searching for since I began: Ash Ketchum, Misty Waterflower, Brian Edwards, Natalia Brown, and of course you, Brock Slate. I have birth certificates, hometowns, lists of important family members and close friends, Pokémon ownership records, essentially anything anyone has written down about them. It's useful… to a point. But what I don't have is what I truly need, something only one of the five can provide: their desires, their loves, their strengths, their weaknesses. That, above all else, is the information I need to hurt them or trick them enough that I can capture all of them and render my vengeance. And that you will tell me."

"As you wish, sir."

Quasar flipped a switch on his desk, setting a red light blinking. Clearing his throat, he clearly intoned "Interview with Brock Slate. Subject: Target connections and vulnerabilities. Now, Brock." He leveled eyes on the breeder. "Tell me about your friends."

"Of course, sir. Where would you like me to begin?"

Quasar leaned back in his chair with a smile. "Oh, let's start with something simple... the one you've known the longest, and whom I know the least of…

"Tell me about Ash Ketchum."

Population Infected (Kanto): 30.827%

Notes:

First impression: There was so much crying in this chapter. I guess it all made sense, but still. Overload. Oh, and I should say, that's not Sabrina's normal personality. Like, at all. I'd have liked to introduce her in a normal light, but instead it happened in the middle of a crisis when she was already breaking down before she even appeared. She'll be much less emo in later chapters, I promise! And yes, she'll stick around, for reasons that we will explore further in chapter four.

Which brings me to the whole Brock/Sabrina… thing. It's one of the few Brock pairings I find plausible, since Brock pushes away almost every girl he meets by basically proposing to them first and asking questions never. But his first encounter with Sabrina would keep him from doing that to her and her alone. Would they hit it off? Depends. We don't get much of her personality canonized, but she's usually depicted as a mix of the two personalities she was split into in the show: a childishly playful side, and a heavy, serious side. There's potential there—and that's enough.

It occurs to me that I've widened my scope of impact. By which I mean, OCAD changed nothing in the lives of Sinnoh's populace overall. Sure, Galactic was gone, and that was good for the people, but for the most part they went about life as normal. Certainly it wasn't anything socially important And now? We're up to chapter three, and Kanto has lost two cities out of ten (excluding the Indigo Plateau). You see that number up there? That means for every ten people in Kanto, three are under the control of Quasar. And that number's still rising. This one's gonna be one for the history books, folks.

Hm… this was fun. I really enjoyed this chapter. Not as much as I'll enjoy chapter… oh… chapter six will be pretty awesome. Same with most of ten. Or not! I really don't know for sure yet. These are just rough sketches.

And somehow I've finished ahead of schedule! Go me!

So, next chapter… it'll happen at the Indigo Plateau for about half, and then shift to a different city that I choose not to reveal. Accordingly, it will be about half exposition/politics/romance/WhateverElseICramIn and half action. What will happen? Will someone... die? And why am I asking you these questions? I'm the writer!

Well, that's all for this installment. Thanks for sticking around for however long you have! (And if you've been here since the beginning of OCAD, you get six theoretical cookies. And a smile!)

: )

No one else can look at the smile!

In closing: please, click the button! Leave a review! I need to know how I can improve! I will stagnate without input! Help me help you help me help the story!

And that's it from me! Ta ta for now!

James, a.k.a. FTEcho 4