CHAPTER 3 Discoveries of Devastation
Ash/Misty-17.Brock-19.Jessie/James/Cassidy/Butch-21.Giovanni-40+
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"You're stepping on my foot!" I exclaimed again as James' heel came in contact with my toe for the third time. He and Jessie led closely in front of Brock and I, trying to make it down the dark hall.
"Deal with it, twerp, we're doing this for you," Jessie retorted in his defense. I didn't respond, for it was the truth.
"Are you sure she's not..." I began to question once more, trailing off, unable to utter the unthinkable.
"For the millionth time, we don't know," she informed me once again and I sighed in defeat.
James, noticing my worry, spoke up suddenly. "You really are worried about her, aren't you?" he inquired.
"Well, obviously, he is in love with the girl," Jessie commented nonchalantly and I suddenly felt my cheeks go hot even in the situation we were in. I opened my mouth, preparing to deny my feelings once more.
"What? I do not..." I began to protest.
"Save it, Ash, the denial approach really getting old," Brock told me and I looked at him surprisingly for commenting upon his suspicions for the first time.
"But I don't..." I continued to protest; ignoring what he said and turned to Jessie in disbelief. "And how do you..?"
"Oh, come on, we've been watching you two for years... it's not exactly something you can hide anymore," James answered for her.
I stared at him incredulously, not believing what I was hearing. I turned and Jessie began to make another comment as she flipped a strand of long hair over her shoulder. "So does she feel the same say?" she inquired.
"I..." I started to say something but my words came out jumbled.
"I think she does, but this dumb-ass over here is too chicken shit to risk it," Brock cut me off getting a dirty look from me in return.
"I say, 'if you're not willing to risk it all... you don't want it bad enough'," Jessie remarked.
"Yeah," James agreed quietly.
I didn't say anything more because something suddenly just caught my attention. I could have sworn I saw James steal a glance at Jessie as he murmured his last words. I did notice the way he acted around her, was somewhat familiar to the way I was around Misty and I was almost certain I had witnessed her acting the same around him as well.
I had gotten to become familiar with Jessie and James over the years and I had noticed that there was definitely a case of a hidden love that was existing between them. I smirked to myself, thinking how coincidental it was.
We walked in silence for the next few minutes. The silence was broken suddenly as two voices were heard somewhere in the distance. Brock opened his mouth to comment but James clamped a hand over it, silencing him. Jessie peeked around a corner and I caught a slight glimpse of two figures dressed in black discussing something.
"Shit, it's Cassidy and Butch," she whispered to us.
"Okay, you two keep going, we'll hold them off," James said hurriedly. I nodded, feeling somewhat unprotected however, it being only Brock and I on a search for Misty. The two of them scampered off in the other direction. I turned to Brock and we exchanged understanding glances as we began to continue down the empty corridor.
"If we get out of here alive, you're giving me your Onix," I muttered to Brock after about another ten minutes of walking by ourselves.
"If we get out of here alive, I'll give you the entire rock species," he retorted. I let out a small chuckle but was soon immediately brought back to the reality of the situation we were in. "Let's just hope that we do," he spoke seriously.
"Right," I agreed, sighing heavily.
"We should be near the end of the corridor now, where else could she be?" he wondered allowed, changing the subject back to Misty.
"I have no idea I..." my voice trailed off never finishing the thought I was about to speak.
All words left my mouth suddenly and Brock's next sentence was not heard... The world seemed to stop at that moment, leaving me frozen in the one second that time was in. An overwhelming feeling of panic and dread filled me once more as I spotted the motionless figure lying on the other end on the corridor, in a small opening of a room. Misty.
Somehow, even in my shocked state, my shaky legs managed to rush me over to her. I heard Brock muttering; "Oh, God," before the numbing that was overtaking my body reached my ears so no other words anyone spoke could be comprehended. The rising of fear and panic that filled me as I glanced at her limp form from a distance, was replaced by a pang in my chest. All I had to do was take one close up look of the girl I loved before my heart ripped in a million pieces.
I had been able to tell from several feet away that she was injured, but the reality of seeing her just lying there, unmoving, was sickening. Bruises and cuts covered her arms and legs. Her clothing ripped and stained with blood in several places and her red tresses lay tousled and messy. Her face, although still beautiful, had been marred. She had a black eye and the other one was also beginning to swell. Scrapes and gashes lined her cheeks and her lip was split... all of which had been a result of what appeared to be a violent, torturous beating.
I saw Brock's trembling hand move from his side to her neck. The breath I was holding in was released in utter relief as he gave me a reassuring nod after checking her pulse. She was alive... but she was hurt. Suddenly, I felt a rise of anger enter my body. I would kill whoever did this to her.
"M-Misty." I muttered her name quietly, gently shaking her in an attempt to wake her. After several attempts her eyes fluttered open and she tried to move herself to sit. I felt the pain in my chest worsen as she almost instantly begun coughing and spluttering up blood right when she awoke. "Oh, Myst," I whispered, my voice shaky and full of emotion as I rubbed her back slightly and tried to ease her pain.
"Hey," she greeted us after she had stopped coughing, forcing herself to weakly smile. "You should see the other guy," she joked feebly, wincing as Brock and I helped her up to sit and lean up against the wall behind her. "Are you both okay?"
I sighed incredulously. Here, Misty was lying battered and bloody and she was making jokes and asking us if we were all right. It never ceased to amaze me how caring she was for others, always putting them before herself.
"Myst, we're fine, that's the last thing you should be worried about," Brock told her, practically taking the words out of my mouth. The expression on her face suddenly changed to a serious one as if she had just come to a realization. She nodded, sighing slightly.
"Can you stand?" I asked her warily. She nodded again and we both supported her as she tried to stand up. The second she was at her feet a cry of pain escaped her lips as she doubled over. Brock and I lowered her to the ground as she fell.
"What's the mater? Where are you hurt?" I asked, my panic growing more by the second. She didn't say anything, her breath was rampant and tears had begun to well in her eyes. She hastily lifted her t-shirt slightly and I almost gauged at the reaction. Her stomach was completely black and blue and turning shades of sickly yellows and browns in some places.
"Ash! Brock!" I heard someone yell in a strangled whisper. I turned to see Jessie and James approaching us from behind.
"Oh, thank God you found... her," Jessie's voice trailed off as she caught a glimpse of Misty's appearance. They both reacted the same way as Brock and I had when he first saw her. "Oh my God..."
"W-what are they doing here?" Misty spoke up, her voice cracking and tears streaming down her face as she struggled to speak.
"Misty, they're here to help us," Brock calmly explained to her.
"What? What the hell is the matter with you guys? This is Team Rocket we're talking about here. It's them two who have been trying to steal Pikachu and countless other things from us for the last seven years! And now you're trusting them with our lives?!" she cried out in disbelief.
"Speaking of which where is that little electric mouse?" James inquired suddenly.
"Pokemon Center with the all the other ones," I answered nonchalantly before coming to the realization that all of our Pokemon were probably wondering where we were.
"We are not trying to hurt you," Jessie told her steadily, getting back on topic. "We're not a part of all this we never intended for any of this to happen, but now that it has we are going to help get you out of here."
Misty's eyes narrowed. "How do we know this isn't just a trick?"
"Because they've helped us before in the past," I reminded her as she averted her eyes towards me. "And if we don't let them help us this time we may never get out of here." She didn't respond and hung her head not making any further comment.
"You just have to trust us," James added. Misty nodded her head, reluctantly agreeing to the situation seeing the importance in it. He then looked around the room and moved over to a ledge, pulling a medium sized box down from it.
"Here," he said, handing me an ice-pack he had retrieved from the box, which apparently was a first aid kit. "Put it on her stomach it should help the bruising."
Taking a deep breath I slowly and carefully placed it on the bruised area. I felt a wave of guilt come over me as she cried out in anguish anyway, gripping Brock's shirt to ease the pain. "I'm sorry, Myst," I whispered, my voice quivering as I did so. She broke into sobs as I pressed the cold object to her stomach once more. "I'm sorry," I apologized again.
It was killing me to see her like this, even more so because it was me who was hurting her in the process of trying to help her. Her breath became less rampant and calmer as she adjusted to the coldness. She averted her gaze to me, bringing her tear-filled aqua eyes to my brown ones. "Ash," she choked out, whimpering slightly.
"Shh, it's okay, you're okay now," I assured her, running my hand through her crimson locks in an attempt to comfort her.
"No, I'm not, you don't understand..." I opened my mouth to ask her a question but she had already buried her face in my chest, in full-fledge sobs. Usually, I was completely self-conscious to her touch but this time it was different. My worry for her overpowered my own personal feelings, and I wrapped my arms around her as she cried. "God..." she murmured, before breaking away from me and hanging her head low. "I knew your first time was supposed to hurt, but I never thought it'd hurt that much," she remarked, adding a bitter laugh in vain at the end before biting her lip as tears filled her eyes again.
I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I noticed Brock and James going pale and Jessie gasping and moving a hand to her mouth. The room began to sway gently, the walls pulsating and a distinct hum ringing in my ears. My breathing stopped momentarily and my heartbeat pulsed against my temples. I couldn't draw my eyes away from Misty's trembling form and as I looked downcast, my breath got caught in my throat. Blood trailed down her legs mostly from the area of the inside of her thighs. Anger built up in me even stronger than it had before. I had been enraged when I found Misty, beaten, but to now discover that she had been violated in such a way pushed me over the edge. She had been taken to the point that her mind, body, and spirit could be damaged without ever fully recovering. She was the most loving and caring person I knew and was the last who deserved to me abused so horribly.
I opened my mouth and a rush of air escaped my lungs, managing only to softly say, "Misty," It was barely recognizable as a whisper but filled to its limit with empathy and comfort. No other words could have portrayed my feelings at that moment and no other reaction would have been appropriate.
She hung her head lower, as if somewhat ashamed for what had happened. I slowly placed my hand on her forearm, stroking it gently as a sign of comfort. She looked at me gratefully and the tiniest smiles came to her face. The deathly silence was broken softly by Jessie.
"Misty, who was it?" she questioned gently.
"The one in the red coat," Misty answered, her voice quivering. I noticed Jessie and James exchange impending glances.
"What?" Brock asked, noticing their expressions as well.
"That's Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket, he runs the whole organization," James explained.
"He's the one who's been putting us up after you for all these years," Jessie added.
"W-why?" Misty queried, stammering.
"Who knows? Probably because every time anyone has tried to destroy you three or your Pokemon you've been able to stop it, and he doesn't want you interfering with his plans."
"There's no more time to tell you the rest, we have to get out of here before he comes back," James said quickly.
"Right," I agreed quietly, speaking for the first time. Misty was able to remain on her feet as she leaned on Brock and I to help her.
"Too late."
The cold voice sent shivers down my spine. I looked up, although already knowing who had spoken. There he was, standing with the same sinister smirk he had on his face before... Giovanni.
I moved myself away from Misty, letting Brock support her fully, and slowly approached Giovanni, shooting daggers in his eyes the whole time. "You..." I muttered towards him, rage and anger I never imagined possible, colored my words distinctively.
He snorted slightly, grinning coolly and portraying a pretend wince of nervousness. "Don't we seem a little mad?" he teased, averting his words to me and forcing my anger to grow even more at the same time as I began to speak.
"I don't know who you are or why you see us as such a threat. But I do know that you have to be the lowest creature on the earth that I have ever come across in my entire life. You had no reason to capture me and my friends nor did you ever have any reason to screw with us in the first place. We never did anything to you, and excuse me if defending myself accounts for me fucking up your 'plans'," my voice grew more and more sinister as I talked to him, and even more hatred filled my next words as I spoke coolly. "I promise we'll stay out of your way if you just let us go, but if you ever lay a finger on any of us again.. I swear to God it will be the last thing you do."
I was surprised even at how biting my tone was. I had meant to be firm but I didn't know that I could actually speak with such vehemence. He deserved it, though. Here was the man who had been responsible for all of our pain and suffering over the years. He had hurt Misty in the most brutal way imaginable and he would take every harsh word I threw at him. I had expected him to laugh at me again, for he was unfazed by my seriousness. But nothing could have ever prepared me for what he said next for it shocked me to the very core and made my soul tremble in fear.
"Now, Ash, is that any way to talk to your father?"
TBC
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A/N: Yes, I know, I know it lacks originality, but I'm trying my hardest here ;) Next chapter will be up soon, please review and make me happy =)
and also.. PLEASE EXPLAIN IN REVIEWS OR EMAIL ME ABOUT THE CODES FOR ITALICS, BOLD AND OTHER FORMATTING. =)
Ash/Misty-17.Brock-19.Jessie/James/Cassidy/Butch-21.Giovanni-40+
--
"You're stepping on my foot!" I exclaimed again as James' heel came in contact with my toe for the third time. He and Jessie led closely in front of Brock and I, trying to make it down the dark hall.
"Deal with it, twerp, we're doing this for you," Jessie retorted in his defense. I didn't respond, for it was the truth.
"Are you sure she's not..." I began to question once more, trailing off, unable to utter the unthinkable.
"For the millionth time, we don't know," she informed me once again and I sighed in defeat.
James, noticing my worry, spoke up suddenly. "You really are worried about her, aren't you?" he inquired.
"Well, obviously, he is in love with the girl," Jessie commented nonchalantly and I suddenly felt my cheeks go hot even in the situation we were in. I opened my mouth, preparing to deny my feelings once more.
"What? I do not..." I began to protest.
"Save it, Ash, the denial approach really getting old," Brock told me and I looked at him surprisingly for commenting upon his suspicions for the first time.
"But I don't..." I continued to protest; ignoring what he said and turned to Jessie in disbelief. "And how do you..?"
"Oh, come on, we've been watching you two for years... it's not exactly something you can hide anymore," James answered for her.
I stared at him incredulously, not believing what I was hearing. I turned and Jessie began to make another comment as she flipped a strand of long hair over her shoulder. "So does she feel the same say?" she inquired.
"I..." I started to say something but my words came out jumbled.
"I think she does, but this dumb-ass over here is too chicken shit to risk it," Brock cut me off getting a dirty look from me in return.
"I say, 'if you're not willing to risk it all... you don't want it bad enough'," Jessie remarked.
"Yeah," James agreed quietly.
I didn't say anything more because something suddenly just caught my attention. I could have sworn I saw James steal a glance at Jessie as he murmured his last words. I did notice the way he acted around her, was somewhat familiar to the way I was around Misty and I was almost certain I had witnessed her acting the same around him as well.
I had gotten to become familiar with Jessie and James over the years and I had noticed that there was definitely a case of a hidden love that was existing between them. I smirked to myself, thinking how coincidental it was.
We walked in silence for the next few minutes. The silence was broken suddenly as two voices were heard somewhere in the distance. Brock opened his mouth to comment but James clamped a hand over it, silencing him. Jessie peeked around a corner and I caught a slight glimpse of two figures dressed in black discussing something.
"Shit, it's Cassidy and Butch," she whispered to us.
"Okay, you two keep going, we'll hold them off," James said hurriedly. I nodded, feeling somewhat unprotected however, it being only Brock and I on a search for Misty. The two of them scampered off in the other direction. I turned to Brock and we exchanged understanding glances as we began to continue down the empty corridor.
"If we get out of here alive, you're giving me your Onix," I muttered to Brock after about another ten minutes of walking by ourselves.
"If we get out of here alive, I'll give you the entire rock species," he retorted. I let out a small chuckle but was soon immediately brought back to the reality of the situation we were in. "Let's just hope that we do," he spoke seriously.
"Right," I agreed, sighing heavily.
"We should be near the end of the corridor now, where else could she be?" he wondered allowed, changing the subject back to Misty.
"I have no idea I..." my voice trailed off never finishing the thought I was about to speak.
All words left my mouth suddenly and Brock's next sentence was not heard... The world seemed to stop at that moment, leaving me frozen in the one second that time was in. An overwhelming feeling of panic and dread filled me once more as I spotted the motionless figure lying on the other end on the corridor, in a small opening of a room. Misty.
Somehow, even in my shocked state, my shaky legs managed to rush me over to her. I heard Brock muttering; "Oh, God," before the numbing that was overtaking my body reached my ears so no other words anyone spoke could be comprehended. The rising of fear and panic that filled me as I glanced at her limp form from a distance, was replaced by a pang in my chest. All I had to do was take one close up look of the girl I loved before my heart ripped in a million pieces.
I had been able to tell from several feet away that she was injured, but the reality of seeing her just lying there, unmoving, was sickening. Bruises and cuts covered her arms and legs. Her clothing ripped and stained with blood in several places and her red tresses lay tousled and messy. Her face, although still beautiful, had been marred. She had a black eye and the other one was also beginning to swell. Scrapes and gashes lined her cheeks and her lip was split... all of which had been a result of what appeared to be a violent, torturous beating.
I saw Brock's trembling hand move from his side to her neck. The breath I was holding in was released in utter relief as he gave me a reassuring nod after checking her pulse. She was alive... but she was hurt. Suddenly, I felt a rise of anger enter my body. I would kill whoever did this to her.
"M-Misty." I muttered her name quietly, gently shaking her in an attempt to wake her. After several attempts her eyes fluttered open and she tried to move herself to sit. I felt the pain in my chest worsen as she almost instantly begun coughing and spluttering up blood right when she awoke. "Oh, Myst," I whispered, my voice shaky and full of emotion as I rubbed her back slightly and tried to ease her pain.
"Hey," she greeted us after she had stopped coughing, forcing herself to weakly smile. "You should see the other guy," she joked feebly, wincing as Brock and I helped her up to sit and lean up against the wall behind her. "Are you both okay?"
I sighed incredulously. Here, Misty was lying battered and bloody and she was making jokes and asking us if we were all right. It never ceased to amaze me how caring she was for others, always putting them before herself.
"Myst, we're fine, that's the last thing you should be worried about," Brock told her, practically taking the words out of my mouth. The expression on her face suddenly changed to a serious one as if she had just come to a realization. She nodded, sighing slightly.
"Can you stand?" I asked her warily. She nodded again and we both supported her as she tried to stand up. The second she was at her feet a cry of pain escaped her lips as she doubled over. Brock and I lowered her to the ground as she fell.
"What's the mater? Where are you hurt?" I asked, my panic growing more by the second. She didn't say anything, her breath was rampant and tears had begun to well in her eyes. She hastily lifted her t-shirt slightly and I almost gauged at the reaction. Her stomach was completely black and blue and turning shades of sickly yellows and browns in some places.
"Ash! Brock!" I heard someone yell in a strangled whisper. I turned to see Jessie and James approaching us from behind.
"Oh, thank God you found... her," Jessie's voice trailed off as she caught a glimpse of Misty's appearance. They both reacted the same way as Brock and I had when he first saw her. "Oh my God..."
"W-what are they doing here?" Misty spoke up, her voice cracking and tears streaming down her face as she struggled to speak.
"Misty, they're here to help us," Brock calmly explained to her.
"What? What the hell is the matter with you guys? This is Team Rocket we're talking about here. It's them two who have been trying to steal Pikachu and countless other things from us for the last seven years! And now you're trusting them with our lives?!" she cried out in disbelief.
"Speaking of which where is that little electric mouse?" James inquired suddenly.
"Pokemon Center with the all the other ones," I answered nonchalantly before coming to the realization that all of our Pokemon were probably wondering where we were.
"We are not trying to hurt you," Jessie told her steadily, getting back on topic. "We're not a part of all this we never intended for any of this to happen, but now that it has we are going to help get you out of here."
Misty's eyes narrowed. "How do we know this isn't just a trick?"
"Because they've helped us before in the past," I reminded her as she averted her eyes towards me. "And if we don't let them help us this time we may never get out of here." She didn't respond and hung her head not making any further comment.
"You just have to trust us," James added. Misty nodded her head, reluctantly agreeing to the situation seeing the importance in it. He then looked around the room and moved over to a ledge, pulling a medium sized box down from it.
"Here," he said, handing me an ice-pack he had retrieved from the box, which apparently was a first aid kit. "Put it on her stomach it should help the bruising."
Taking a deep breath I slowly and carefully placed it on the bruised area. I felt a wave of guilt come over me as she cried out in anguish anyway, gripping Brock's shirt to ease the pain. "I'm sorry, Myst," I whispered, my voice quivering as I did so. She broke into sobs as I pressed the cold object to her stomach once more. "I'm sorry," I apologized again.
It was killing me to see her like this, even more so because it was me who was hurting her in the process of trying to help her. Her breath became less rampant and calmer as she adjusted to the coldness. She averted her gaze to me, bringing her tear-filled aqua eyes to my brown ones. "Ash," she choked out, whimpering slightly.
"Shh, it's okay, you're okay now," I assured her, running my hand through her crimson locks in an attempt to comfort her.
"No, I'm not, you don't understand..." I opened my mouth to ask her a question but she had already buried her face in my chest, in full-fledge sobs. Usually, I was completely self-conscious to her touch but this time it was different. My worry for her overpowered my own personal feelings, and I wrapped my arms around her as she cried. "God..." she murmured, before breaking away from me and hanging her head low. "I knew your first time was supposed to hurt, but I never thought it'd hurt that much," she remarked, adding a bitter laugh in vain at the end before biting her lip as tears filled her eyes again.
I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I noticed Brock and James going pale and Jessie gasping and moving a hand to her mouth. The room began to sway gently, the walls pulsating and a distinct hum ringing in my ears. My breathing stopped momentarily and my heartbeat pulsed against my temples. I couldn't draw my eyes away from Misty's trembling form and as I looked downcast, my breath got caught in my throat. Blood trailed down her legs mostly from the area of the inside of her thighs. Anger built up in me even stronger than it had before. I had been enraged when I found Misty, beaten, but to now discover that she had been violated in such a way pushed me over the edge. She had been taken to the point that her mind, body, and spirit could be damaged without ever fully recovering. She was the most loving and caring person I knew and was the last who deserved to me abused so horribly.
I opened my mouth and a rush of air escaped my lungs, managing only to softly say, "Misty," It was barely recognizable as a whisper but filled to its limit with empathy and comfort. No other words could have portrayed my feelings at that moment and no other reaction would have been appropriate.
She hung her head lower, as if somewhat ashamed for what had happened. I slowly placed my hand on her forearm, stroking it gently as a sign of comfort. She looked at me gratefully and the tiniest smiles came to her face. The deathly silence was broken softly by Jessie.
"Misty, who was it?" she questioned gently.
"The one in the red coat," Misty answered, her voice quivering. I noticed Jessie and James exchange impending glances.
"What?" Brock asked, noticing their expressions as well.
"That's Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket, he runs the whole organization," James explained.
"He's the one who's been putting us up after you for all these years," Jessie added.
"W-why?" Misty queried, stammering.
"Who knows? Probably because every time anyone has tried to destroy you three or your Pokemon you've been able to stop it, and he doesn't want you interfering with his plans."
"There's no more time to tell you the rest, we have to get out of here before he comes back," James said quickly.
"Right," I agreed quietly, speaking for the first time. Misty was able to remain on her feet as she leaned on Brock and I to help her.
"Too late."
The cold voice sent shivers down my spine. I looked up, although already knowing who had spoken. There he was, standing with the same sinister smirk he had on his face before... Giovanni.
I moved myself away from Misty, letting Brock support her fully, and slowly approached Giovanni, shooting daggers in his eyes the whole time. "You..." I muttered towards him, rage and anger I never imagined possible, colored my words distinctively.
He snorted slightly, grinning coolly and portraying a pretend wince of nervousness. "Don't we seem a little mad?" he teased, averting his words to me and forcing my anger to grow even more at the same time as I began to speak.
"I don't know who you are or why you see us as such a threat. But I do know that you have to be the lowest creature on the earth that I have ever come across in my entire life. You had no reason to capture me and my friends nor did you ever have any reason to screw with us in the first place. We never did anything to you, and excuse me if defending myself accounts for me fucking up your 'plans'," my voice grew more and more sinister as I talked to him, and even more hatred filled my next words as I spoke coolly. "I promise we'll stay out of your way if you just let us go, but if you ever lay a finger on any of us again.. I swear to God it will be the last thing you do."
I was surprised even at how biting my tone was. I had meant to be firm but I didn't know that I could actually speak with such vehemence. He deserved it, though. Here was the man who had been responsible for all of our pain and suffering over the years. He had hurt Misty in the most brutal way imaginable and he would take every harsh word I threw at him. I had expected him to laugh at me again, for he was unfazed by my seriousness. But nothing could have ever prepared me for what he said next for it shocked me to the very core and made my soul tremble in fear.
"Now, Ash, is that any way to talk to your father?"
TBC
--
A/N: Yes, I know, I know it lacks originality, but I'm trying my hardest here ;) Next chapter will be up soon, please review and make me happy =)
and also.. PLEASE EXPLAIN IN REVIEWS OR EMAIL ME ABOUT THE CODES FOR ITALICS, BOLD AND OTHER FORMATTING. =)