Author's Note: So, we enter the next phase in Team Rocket's attempt to neutralize the threat they see in Ash and gang. I am going to do my best to make it convoluted, complex, and terribly confusing. The Three Catastrophic C's. But more on that later. Who else is dying to know what the confrontation between the three girls is going to go?

One more thing. I'm sorry that it took so long to update this. And that it is shorter than I would like. RL is hectic, as I'm sure you guys can imagine. So, in response to some unfriendly notes, I will not give a timeline for the next chapter in the story. It will get here when it gets here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor any of their characters. I do claim creative ownership of any characters outside the cannon and the plot of this story.

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Misty closed the door to the guest room. Ash was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, and Pikachu wasn't far behind. He tried to stay up, but he wasn't much of a match for Misty with him in his worn-out state. She had ushered him into bed, still clothed (minus shoes, of course), and tucked him in. Brock was in the kitchen, making drinks for everyone, and May and Dawn were in the living room. It still rubbed her the wrong way that those two trollops were here. It was supposed to be her and Ash. Why did everyone else have to be here with him? It was enough to make her want to scream.

Her footsteps sounded through the hallway as she went to the kitchen to help Brock with the drinks. Her irritation must have been showing, because when she stepped into the kitchen, Brock suddenly became very quiet, as if he was afraid to make a sound that would upset her. He had already poured everyone a soda of their choice into ice, and was trying to figure out how to hold four cups simultaneously. And failing miserably.

"Here, let me help you with those," Misty said, reaching for her glass of Dr. Pepper and May's Sprite.

Brock moved the glasses away. "No, no, that's okay. You just sit down and relax. I got it. Why don't you go in the room with May and Daaaa actually, sure, could you help me?" He pushed the glasses back in her direction. Misty rolled her eyes and grabbed the glasses. Taking a sip of hers, she followed Brock into the living room.

May was sitting in a chair, looking around, but distinctly avoiding the other person in the room. Dawn was laying stretched out on the couch, one arm hanging off, the other over her eyes. She looked exhausted.

"Dawn!" Misty yelled. Dawn jerked up, coming halfway to a sitting position, her arms coming up.

"I'm up," she said sleepily.

Brock shot Misty a reproachful look before giving Dawn her drink and taking a seat. Misty rolled her eyes, gave May her drink, and sat down in her favorite chair. "So," she began. "Who wants to tell me what's going on?" She took a sip from her glass, waiting for someone to start. Crossing her legs, she looked at May. "Why don't we start with you?"

May shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I was in Slateport getting ready for a competition, when I got a message from Ash. It said to meet him in Cerulean City, and that he needed me." She looked away when she said that last part, and Misty didn't miss the ever-so-slight pinkining of her cheeks. "I called in a favor and flew here. Really fast, I might add. I got here, and there was another message for me. This," She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. "List of instructions." May handed it to Misty. "And here I am."

Misty looked at the list of directions. "Okay. Was that the short version, or the long version?"

May glared at her. "Short."

Brock interrupted the impending fight. "Our story's a little more interesting."

"Okay. Why did Ash think I was dying, and look like he had been up for four days straight?"

Dawn, who had laid back down on the couch, raised her hand. "In answer to the second question, because he has been. He's been sick with worry since the first message. And since you didn't return any of his calls…"

Misty frowned at that. "He only called here once, and Daisy said that he looked to be in a rush. If I had called back, odds are I would have found Nurse Joy saying that he'd left."

Dawn shook her head and counted off on her fingers. "He called once when he got that first message. He got Daisy that time. Then he called again from the airport when we got there. Lily hung up on him before he could say ten words. Then before we left to fly to Celadon, twice. He got the machine both times."

"Then why did he think I was dying?"

Brock raised his hand. "He got a message in a Pokecenter, from Officer Jenney. It said there was an accident, and he should get here ASAP. When he called that first time, Daisy was in tears, said that you were in a bad way. I'd never seen him so intent on anything before like he was on getting here as soon as he could. Then when he called from the airport, Lily was laying on the guilt pretty thick. Basically said that it was his fault that you were in a bad way."

"Wait, hold on," Misty said. "When did he talk to Lily?"

"Um, it was night here. Two days ago?"

Misty blinked. "I'm going to kill her. She said that it was Derick." Brock and May gave Misty a weird look. Dawn looked to be asleep again. "See, Daisy's boyfriend had broken up with her, and she was crying and upset. That must have been when Ash called the first time, because when I got home she said that Ash had called. Then Lily got pissed about Derick calling, saying he wouldn't even turn on the video on his side."

"That's because the camera was broken on our side," Dawn volunteered.

Misty waved her hand. "Shush, I'm thinking."

"Why did Lily think it was Derick?" Brock asked.

"Our caller ID said it was Derick. You said he left some messages on the machine?" Misty stood up and went over to the answering machine.

"Yeah, two of them."

The machine displayed a solid digital 0. No messages. "There aren't any here. Either they didn't make it through or one of my sisters deleted them."

"Where are your sisters anyway?" Brock asked.

"They left on a road trip yesterday." Misty was deep in thought. Who would send Ash something saying that she was in trouble? "Brock, did Ash really send a message to May?"

He shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"Then who told me to fly out here?" May asked. "If not Ash, then who?"

"I don't know. They wanted us all here, though. But why?"

Brock started naming off some ideas. "Team Galactic isn't too happy with us right now."

"But then why would they involve me and May? We haven't done anything to them."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Guilt by association?"

Misty shook her head. "Next idea."

"Team Magma? Also less than happy with us."

"Why me and Dawn? Next."

Brock threw up his arms. "I don't know Misty. Team Rocket? They're the only organization that we've all crossed swords with."

Misty and May gave Brock a look. Even Dawn lifted her arm off her eyes to look at Brock. Misty gave voice to what they were all thinking. "Honestly Brock? Do you really think that Jesse, James, and Meowth could pull something like this off?"

"You know, there are more members of Team Rocket than those three."

"I know. I've met a few. And they've all been bumbling idiots. Let's face it, when it comes to organized crime, Team Rocket is falling out of it. They're full of incompetent… everythings."

"Then what do you think Misty? Who could pull strings to bring us all here? And why?"

Misty sat back down with a flop, chewing on a fingernail as she thought. Ash gets a message saying she was dying. All of his phone calls show up as Derick calling. May gets a message, supposedly from Ash saying that he needed her here. None of it made sense. Why? Who would do this? Who would benefit from this? What was there to gain? "I don't know, Brock. We need to do some serious research as soon as Ash gets his rest."

The clock ticked on the mantle. Tick, tick, tick, tick. "I could use some rest too," Brock said, standing up. "And I'm sure Dawn would appreciate a real bed instead of the couch."

Misty sighed. "I'll take you to the other guest rooms. What about you May? Do you want some rest too?"

She shook her head. "No thanks, I'm fine. I actually want to talk to you about something."

Misty nodded and stood up. Brock went over to Dawn and picked her up. He followed as Misty led them to the other rooms. Opening the first door, she gestured into the room. "Dawn can sleep here." Brock laid the sleeping girl onto the bed. Piplup was already asleep by the pillow, and Dawn's other Pokemon were in their balls on the desk. She rolled over, grabbing the pillow in both hands and pulled most of it into a hug, keeping only a little under her head. Closing the door, Misty led Brock to the next room. "This one's yours."

"Thanks Misty." He started for the bed, then stopped. He turned around and pulled her into a hug. "I'm glad you're okay, Misty. We were all really worried about you."

Misty hugged Brock back. "I know. But we'll get this all sorted out. I'll bet you money that this is all one big prank that some future dead man came up with."

Brock let her go. "I hope so. Night Misty."

She smiled. "Good night, Brock." She closed the door, and headed back to the living room.

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Brock had just lain down on the bed when a thought suddenly struck him. Crap, he thought. I just left Misty and May alone in the same room. Please, God, PLEASE don't let them kill each other.

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Misty came back into the room. May was still sitting on her chair. "Hi May. It's so good to see you again. Too bad it isn't under different circumstances." Misty went to her own chair and sat down.

"Yes, it is, isn't it?"

"Want to drop the pleasantries?"

"You bet."

The masks of friendship vanished, leaving glares of loathing in their place. Misty crossed her legs as she looked at May, analyzing. "So," she finally said. "I'm sure you must have been happy to get that 'note' from Ash. How does it feel now?"

"Oh, I don't know. Why don't you tell me in a few days when he leaves again? With me."

Misty chuckled. "In your dreams, girl. Ash has an open invitation to stay for as long as he wants. And I'm thinking that he's going to want to stay here for a while, to find out what's going on." May said nothing. "I'm actually very curious as to what's going on too. Do you have any idea what's happening?"

May was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "No, not a clue. But whoever it is wanted us all rounded up together. They have some pretty serious computer skills, too."

Misty's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you say that?"

May rolled her eyes. "Please, isn't it obvious? Whoever orchestrated this had to have A) Sent a message with the identity signatures of the Cerulean City PD, and B) Sent a message with the ID of Ash."

Misty nodded, starring thoughtfully into space. "Yeah. They also had to hack the phone lines in real time and alter the caller ID whenever Ash called. There's probably only a couple people in the world who could do that. You'd need a super computer to handle the speeds. Or…." A thought clicked in Misty's head. "Adam."

May raised an eyebrow. "Who's Adam?" she asked nonchalantly, adding the name to the small list of blackmail possibilities against Misty.

"Adam," Misty said, voice dripping with venom, "Is a trainer. He also has a little crush on me. AND," she added with emphasis, "Works at the telephone company."

Misty could see the gears turning in May's head, and saw her expression when it all finally clicked into place. "Oh, I see. But why?"

Misty threw a hand out towards the guest area. "Hello. Ash practically killed himself trying to get here. And now that he's here, Adam has good opportunity to get rid of Ash."

"Okay," May responded. "But then, what about me?"

Misty shrugged her shoulders. "You and Dawn are probably spare strings for his bow. Contingency plans, in case his first one went wrong."

May shook her head. "I don't know. Something about that doesn't seem right. That seems like a lot of effort. Plus, don't you think he would have tried to do it a little more discreetly, you know, so all clues don't point straight at him on investigation?"

"No, it sounds like Adam. He's smart. Really smart. But, a big failing is he doesn't think that other people are smart. He expects us to sit here scratching our heads while he puts his plan into action."

May laughed once. "Boy, he's going to be in for a rude awakening tomorrow. When I get my hands on him…"

"Take a number, girl. I get first dibs."

"Yeah. If there's anything left after Ash gets through with him."

The two girls laughed. They looked at each other, smiling. Then they realized that they were smiling, and dropped back into their aggressive frowns.

"Alright, May, if you're going to stay here I have a few ground rules."

"Of course I'm staying. Do you really think I'd leave you here with Ash un-chaperoned?"

"Like I said, ground rules," Misty repeated. "Number one, you don't get to be alone with Ash under this roof. Ever. Two, you get locked in every night."

May looked at Misty incredulously. "Excuse me?"

"I lock you in your room when you go to bed so you can't sneak out."

"That's crazy. Plus, it's unsafe. What if there's a fire?"

"Umm, May? You do realize that you're in the water gym, right? I don't think fire will be much of a problem."

"It's still crazy."

Misty smirked. "I don't care. My roof, my rules. Take them, or leave them. It makes no difference to me. Same rules will apply to Dawn, so you don't need to worry about being singled out."

"And if I refuse?"

"You get to sleep in the Pokecenter. Three blocks away. And Ash gets to stay here, with me." Misty smiled.

"Why not just kick me out and be done with it?"

"I just might. The only reason I'm even giving you the choice is because Ash thinks of you as a friend."

May didn't have much of a choice. "Fine, I agree."

"I thought you might." Misty stood up. "Now, if you will follow me, I will show you to your rooms." Without even waiting for a response, Misty started walking. May jumped up and followed her. Turning down a hallway, Misty went down a few doors and opened one on the left. "This is your rooms. I hope you find them to your liking."

It was a big room. Very big. There was a large television against one wall, a few comfortable looking chairs, and a big queen sized bed. It even had its own bathroom. May wasn't quite sure how to respond. She had been expecting a cupboard under a stairwell somewhere. "Umm…thanks." May stepped into the room. "Looks comfortable."

Misty nodded. "It is. Do you have everything you need for the evening?" May nodded. "Good. Then I'll see you in the morning." Misty pulled the door closed and locked it with a key from her pocket. Replacing the key to its rightful place, Misty wandered the halls for a moment before retiring to her own suite of rooms. I have to remember to let her out tomorrow. I hope I don't forget…

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