Ash had had so much fun at his birthday party! Maybe that Gary kid wasn't all that bad after all... he just thought he was full of himself.
-Ash! Don't forget to change underpants and set your alarm clock; you've got school again tomorrow!- his mom called from her room while Ash jumped on his bed
That's when Ash noticed the alarm clock had literally flown away earlier. He was in trouble. But he saw where it probably fell: the pond next door. He'd retrieve it next day. In the meantime...
-Mom, eh... my alarm clock...
Next day at school got on as usual; only, people were constantly asking Gary how to do things, and he'd explain, more than out of good will, because he was liking the feeling of being superior, at least in some ways. Like it was all getting better for him.
For Ash, it was a hard time because he'd overslept; his mom's wake-up-call wasn't as loud and annoying as the Voltorb alarm clock's, so he was late for school and forced to wait until period two outside. When the periods shifted, it was preschool's turn to use the sandbox, so Gary passed by Ash and took a moment to remark some facts:
-Hey, Ashy-boy! Are we late today? Partied too hard, huh?
-My alarm clock..! -Ash replied angrily, remembering he didn't have to explain too late-
-Yeah... that's what happens when you don't pick up after yourself! Smell ya later, loser!
-Come back here, Gary! I'll show you..! -he drew two fists, but Gary's class was gone; of course Ash didn't know Gary's flying object had caused a major uproar on the north of Pallet town.
Officer Jenny hadn't had to deal just with an angry Dodrio, but also a series of missing or mangled children in Pallet Town and Viridian City. Two in town; one dissappeared today, and the other had his blood sucked to death by something like giant leeches a few days before; and in Viridian City, only an hour from town by car, seven kids; three killed in gruesome ways and four dissappeared.
The culprit seemed to come from Viridian City, since nobody who knew the children from Pallet remembered where the children were supposed to be when they were last seen alive or had noticed anything suspicious.
Two lost kids during the same month was enough for security to be tightened. Street surveillance would have to increase, unfortunately. At least until there was a clue as to what happened. Although, for one reason or another, it seemed like the police couldn't ever put on a good enough street surveillance; one would think such gruesome acts would be easier to predict and prevent...
Gary had already forgotten the newspaper article he'd seen in the kitchen some days ago, and was feeling a bit better than a few weeks ago. Maybe he did have something good in him after all, even if it had not been enough to keep his family. He sometimes still wondered why he hadn't deserved to have a normal kid's life, according to fate.
He wasn't hungry after school that day, so he decided to roll by the playground for a bit and maybe use the swing; he deserved at least that much for having completed the learning of the alphabet today. Before the other kids even knew half of it, of course.
He'd lost his appetite, partly because he had been wondering... what if of all of the things he'd seen, hadn't all of them been the clown from the other day in a different shape? It felt the same, no matter what form it was... Maybe his parents were trapped by the clown? He was lost in though and didn't notice he took a detour instead of going to the swings like he'd first planned.
He ended up on the way to the pond, perhaps because he had been thinking of how much he wanted to see mom and dad again... he wanted to know if they were really watching over him, or if he could save them if they were trapped.
He was nearing the pond when he thought maybe he could try to see them again and maybe even visit Poliwag... so he paced on.
He smelled that mud and trashcan dark smell again and heard splashing... he remembered not having heard anything last time, but proceeded with caution. A grunt. A step on plastic, which turned out to be a Voltorb alarm clock. He picked it up. The old, now muddy and deflated balloons. Gary pushed a lock of tall grass aside and what he saw when he unveilled the pond gave him a mix of panic, anger and helplessness.
Ash was nearly in the middle of the pond, and didn't seem to know how to swim; he was panicking and water was making him cough, probably making its way into his lungs and stomach. The lillies were approaching him slowly, nearly imperceptibly, but Gary knew those claw-like roots didn't look normal.
-Ash! -he yelled as the younger boy turned his face to see the source of the voice- calm down! Push the water down with your hands in the shape of a paddle, I'm coming to get you!
-Ghhaa-ry..! - Ash said, with one last thread of voice
Gary was death afraid, but still took off his shoes and sweatshirt to swim better. He couldn't live with himself if there was another death related to him. He swam as fast as he could, avoiding the lillies, but getting his legs tied down once or twice by something slimy he was unable to see under the murky water before he reached Ash. This time he'd brought a sharp rock from the start.
-Climb on my back, we'll get out togheter! Just kick the water for me and I'll push it with my arms! -Ash was a little bit less frightened, but couldn't believe Gary would stand swimming with him on his back- I'll kick from below too; I'm taller than you, so I'll be fine sooner!-Gary reassured him
After what appeared to be an eternity, Gary made foot, grabbed a stick and thrusted all water plants aside with it on their way out. Ash wouldn't stop coughing, but still managed to stand. Gary had seen people hit others in the back in movies when this happened, so he proceeded to immitate the actors. Ash got on his knees and spat the remaining water when Gary hit him again. Then Gary sat in front of him and waited until he was breathing as usual.