The Ketchum Brothers
Chapter 4
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon
By GhostRanger17
I woke up to the sound of engines rumbling we were still on the spectre obviously since there was no other place that would have engines that loud. I looked out the window and saw we were in Orre once more it was morning and Serena was coming my way except she was purely calm no sadness, no anger not even a hint of anything except a little happiness. "Ash said we are gonna land soon so that you should prep the jeep whatever that means." I simply nodded before getting up and stretching. I walked over and began to throw everything onto the jeep before making sure the straps holding the jeep down were secure. "So who are you exactly because I already know Ash is driving the plane but I don't know you" she said standing behind me as I was finishing tying one the straps down. "I am nobody important just worry about Ash alright?" and with that she left back to the cockpit. Soon we landed in a flat part of the desert behind our home. We slowly unloaded the jeep before we got off the plane and got onto the jeep. I drove the jeep into the warehouse and parking it.
"Daddy!" I heard before being tackled in a bear hug by SarahI looked and saw Deoxys behind her before returning in a flash of red to his pokeball. "Is this our new home Daddy?" I laughed before replying "yeah this is it home sweet home." at this point Ash had come inside the warehouse and went straight to his room with Pikachu on his shoulder locking the door behind him. "Is uncle Ash ok daddy?" I looked at Sarah a bit before replying "yeah your uncle is just very tired and I bet you're very hungry right?" Sarah smiled before running into the kitchen only to run out screaming and hiding behind me. "The mean lady is in there daddy!" I laughed she must have been referring to Serena "well that mean lady is the lady that your uncle brought along with us so we are stuck with her until your uncle says otherwise alright" Sarah only nodded before i walked in grabbing a granola bar and realizing I had to get fresh ingredients for food. "How do you guys live like this there is barely any food just these bags labeled MREs" Serena said with annoyance "those are called Meals Ready to Eat thanks you very much and second off this is how me and Ash have lived for years so get used to it." I replied before handing Sarah a granola bar and sitting down in the living room. I turned on the TV was flipping through the channels when something caught my eyes it was news broadcast from Kalos. "Thats right Bob infamous mercs labeled The Ketchum Brothers were spotted in lumiose city and were surrounded by the international police locking down the entire city only for the two mercs to escape in a Kalo air force AC-130 kidnapping one Serena Yvonne as well." it then showed some high ranking official who commented saying that the international police believed that Ash and Donovan Ketchum had indeed not died in a car wreck in Saffron city and were instead these mercs and thus labeled The Ketchum Brothers. I turned off the TV before remembering that we hadn't hid the plane.
I quickly went to the back of the warehouse before entering my workshop taking out a laptop I had and running to the back and entering the plane. "Please please please tell me this is one of those new ones please I swear if not we are screwed if a drone comes." I said before locating what I needed "What are looking for?" I turned around and saw Serena standing there. "Well some AC-130s are equipped with adaptable camouflage allowing them to camouflage without the need of a hangar or paint thus helping us stay hidden." I replied before I turned back to my laptop typing in a few lines of commands I hit enter and like that went outside and found the plane now was camouflaged reflecting the same sandy background on the ground. "Alright I am off get supplies be back soon" I said before leaving Serena and Sarah behind at the warehouse. As I was on my way to the pokemart I noticed an old fuel tank on wheels with a huge hole running down the middle and left on the side of the road. I attached the fuel tanker to the back of the jeep before continuing my way to Pokemart buying some supplies and then driving to the local dump to buy some scrap metal. After the long trip I returned home to find Ash and Pikachu sitting on the couch. "Did you see the news Donovan?" I nodded before replying "we gotta move soon or the international police will find us soon you know." Ash simply smirked before I told him about the fuel tanker I had found on the side of the road. "Well I guess we will have to relocate and make the AC-130 our new base." Ash said I simply nodded before replying "I already got a fuel tanker that I plan to patch up but I will have to do some retrofitting to make the plane fit our needs but I can work with that." We both stopped talking at that point since we both smelled something and we both went to the kitchen where we found Sarah and Serena placing down plates of food on the small table. "Dinner is served!" Serena said proudly me and Ash looked at each other for a split second before sitting down to have dinner. We ate the food like it was last meal before Ash cleared his throat. "Ok so regarding Serena she already knows about me not you ok and she will be traveling with us from now on she has agreed to stay out of our way when we are working but umm she is gonna be living and traveling with us ok" I felt like dying and I could see Sarah was thinking the same thing as well. I swallowed before replying "Sarah already has my bed so that couch is mine so how you settle sleeping arrangements is between you and Serena Ash" I could see Serena and Ash both clearly bush a deep red before I got up and said "alright I am off to begin retrofitting that plane and repairing the fuel tanker Ash you need to go get us some money and complete a few contracts while I get everything sorted out here alright?"
With that I grabbed my tools and began repairing the fuel tanker tt was late and evening by the time I had finished repairing the fuel tank. When I came inside I found Ash and Serena standing close to each other staring into each other eyes as if they were gonna kiss. "Get a room for god's sakes I have a seven year old to raise the last thing I need is Sarah being scarred for life by you two." Ash and Serena simply smirked before Ash replied saying "Says the one with the sailor's mouth" "ahhh fuck off Ash I don't care if Sarah has a sailor's mouth but the last thing I need is Sarah to be scared and confused and about how you two who hated each other for a while could just make up like that." I replied grabbing a Mt, Dew I found Sarah playing with Pikachu in the living room. "Sarah time for bed" she frowned before asking for a few minutes longer to stay up to which I refused only for her stop arguing and eventually go to the bathroom and changing into her pajamas. I carried her to bed and tucked her in and was about to leave when I heard those words "Daddy can you sleep with me?" I honestly wanted her to grow up so I replied "No but I can leave someone to guide you while you sleep instead" and with that Darkrai appeared "you see Darkrai has a place for people when they are dreaming and although he typically gives people nightmares he's made an exception for me, your uncle and now it can be you as well but only if you trust him alright?" She only nodded her head before I kissed her forehead and left the room closing the door behind me. I sat down on the couch and stripped to my boxers and undershirt I tossed my clothes in the washer and laid down on the couch I took a few sips of my green flame retardant. I then laid on my stomach with my head on the pillow and closed my eyes.
I could see myself in a dark room I was being beaten up I saw two men and a woman being sitting in chairs like me except they were covered in blood and one wasn't even moving. "Kanto marines ha you're stubborn not smart or brave for that matter and like that I saw the two men shot in the head before me."
I woke up in a cold sweat it was another nightmare. A flash of blue light and in the darkness I could see an orange plasma pokemon it was Rotom except he wasn't grinning this time and had a solemn expression on his face instead. Rotom? He said with a confusion "no it was just another nightmare Rotom frankly I don't think I am gonna be able to get any sleep" I got up and finished my Mt. Dew before putting my clothes in the dryer. I took out another pokeball and in a flash of blue out came Sawk. "let's do some training I can't sleep Sawk with that we went outside and bowed at each other before we fought. Sawk delivered quick a few punches and kicks which I blocked before delivering some of my own punches. "Close combat Sawk" and with that his hands glowed white before delivering a few punches straight at my face and chest. I coughed up some blood before dodging a few of hit and then countering him again. I closed in and delivered a few punches to his face quickly before he countered again. After a bit of training with Sawk I had him take a break before taking out another pokeball. Kabutops let's do some training and with that he got into a fighting stance crossing his two sharp blades. I went inside grabbing a machete before getting into a combat stance of my own. We clashed him delivering a few cuts to me before I countered dropping his guard by hitting him with the butt of my own machete. We fought like this for hours the sun had slowly begun to rise by the time we were done training.
I sat down on top of a sand dune where Kabutops and I had been training and stared at the sun rise the same sun rise my friends got to see before that hell hole. I held my dog tags and part of me was screaming "why why me what the hell did I deserve to live why did I have to suffer everyday for the rest of my life I did nothing different I had nothing that made me better suited than them and yet here I was." I sat there staring at the sun rise before I felt Darkrai's presence I looked down at my chest it bore scars new and old painful and painless. I was beaten deep down I was broken just as much as Ash was yet here I was covering my face covering my scars covering myself.
I headed back inside ignoring Serena and Sarah's stares and gasps as they saw the blood trickling from my chest and face from the cuts when me and Kabutops had trained. I walked to my room and stripped off my shirt bandaging my cuts I closed my eyes for a brief second before hearing a voice "it wasn't your fault there was nothing you could have done Ketchum" I opened them again and finished wrapping my cuts before I put on a t-shirt and making my way to the kitchen again grabbing a Mt. Dew. I sat there swaying between consciousness and memory I swear I heard voices ranging from screams of pain to shouting before gunshots ring out. No matter how much I try I can never escape the pain the suffering nothing seems to stop the voices, the memories nothing. The Mt. Dew numbs the pain but it never stops I am in that room again it's dark or no wait it's day I can't remember I hear a man say "you're next" and then the next thing I see is a gun aimed at my face. I shake my head I am in the kitchen it's empty Sarah and Serena obviously left. Nothing can compare to this even death would be preferable to this every single day June 7th the same pain, the same screams of pain, agony, desperation and the worse part it always ends with the same gunshots finishing it all. I finished drinking my Mt. Dew before I heard a single drip drip drip. I look around and then I feel it I forgot to bandage my cheek. I stick a simple bandage and walk outside again. The sun has risen again and yet I feel exhausted and weak as I lay on the sand dune I can feel the sand in my hair, hands, it's on my skin hell it even got into my boots. I close my eyes I am in that same room the same thing happens every time no matter how much I try to stop it I can't no matter what. Then I wake up Ash is standing over me this time "Memories again Donovan?" Ash says without any visible emotion. I simply nod and close my eyes "You know you're scaring Serena and Sarah Donovan and usually June 7th isn't this bad compared to last year it's gotten worse." I close my eyes and feel a slight breeze and open them again. "Come on big brother let's go" Ash said as he extended his hand out to me before I took it. Ash walked me to the couch where I laid down before he took off my boots and threw a blanket covering just my chest and arms. "You get a good rest otherwise I will have Pikachu shock you into resting" Ash said jokingly I chuckled a little before closing my eyes.
"Are you sure he's safe to be around I mean what if he hurts Sarah or me or even you Ash" I could hear Serena said from the kitchen. I could hear Ash and Pikachu laughing their heads off before Ash replied. "I would expect him to hurt me or you but Sarah don't worry about her my brother loves her he wouldn't lay a hand on her if you would have seen him he has barely cared about anyone or anything except for me or his pokemon but the way he treats that little girl is just special very special." I chuckled quietly before letting sleep consume me. I woke up the sounds of helicopter blades and lights. "They have found us" I heard Serena yell before I heard an explosion obviously they had tripped one of my welcome mats. I got up from the couch and quickly ran to the armory loading up my shotgun before putting on heavy body armor. I heard another explosion before I saw Ash with Serena and Sarah near him. They were surrounded by men in black armor with pikachu in a cage already. Seeing that made me simply snap I remembered the gunshots the scream no not again never again. I pumped my M1014 shotgun before kicking the door shooting one of the armored men. "Take him down" I heard one of the men yell I pumped the shotgun shooting the men one by one by now Ash, Sarah and Serena had gotten off the ground and were standing there quietly before we heard another explosion. "Go get out of here I will hold them back you know the International Police won't show any mercy so go Ash go!" and with that i saw Ash run towards the garage before I heard the jeep speed off. I pumped the shotgun before grunting in pain feeling the lower part of my chest and pulling my hand out to show blood. Darkrai appeared in front of me I handed him my belt holding my pokeballs before saying "go with them and at all cost promise this you will protect Sarah at all costs understand?" darkrai simply nodded before taking the belt and disappearing now I was all alone. I laughed as I heard the international police try to cut through the door only for another welcome mat to go off. I pumped the shotgun one last time before kicking open the door light blinded me before I shot more men and more and more, I dove behind a police car before finding I was already out of ammo. I took out my side arm firing a few shots before I heard the sound of engines roaring and looking up I saw the plane was long gone there was no way they were going to get them no not all. I felt weak and saw the blood lost I walked back inside and sat down on the couch grabbing a Mt. Dew I knew this was it finally no matter running death was finally gonna get me. I heard movement i simply kept drinking before I turned around and saw eight men armed with assault rifles all pointed at me. "Give up there is no where to go and nothing you can do" one of the men said before more men approached from the front. I laughed before quickly taking out a black detonator and replying "It been fun Ash but hopefully this will be the one that does me in" and with that I pressed the button.
I looked down from the plane I could barely see anything Daddy was still down there and then I saw a fiery explosion where the warehouse was where Daddy was. My eye filled with tears before soon enough Serena's did as well. I could see pikachu was sad aswell but uncle Ash if he cried he didn't want us to see any tears he was being strong like daddy was. I had to be strong it's what Daddy would have wanted I saw Daddy's partner her handed me a belt full of pokeballs before hiding in my own shadow.
Author's Notes
Pretty heavy stuff but don't worry this story is far from over. Remember to Read, Review and Follow.
-GhostRanger17