Chapter six: Anger and control

It had turned evening in Olivine City. After the police had taken care off of things, the group had decided to go to he Pokémon Centre. They needed to inform everyone about what happened.

Ash's personality had changed. He had a look of anger in his eyes that could make a Houndoom shiver. Brock didn't know how to handle this. He told May and Max to watch Ash as he went to inform everyone. He took the receiver off the hook and called professor Oak.

Brock had to wait a few moments before the face of the old professor appeared on the screen. "Hello Brock. How is it going?" he said, sounding cheerful. Brock swallowed hard. "Professor, what I am about to tell you is not pleasant," he said. The cheerful look on the professor's face disappeared in an instant.

Ash hadn't said anything. He just kept staring at the floor. Inside, his anger was boiling over. He wanted to know why Misty joined the enemy. But first and foremost, he had to get Pikachu back. Nothing would stop him from doing that. He didn't hear May's voice calling his name in worry.

"…and then they took off," Brock finished. Oak looked at him, eyes opened wide. "Misty thought that I figured it out, thanks to Gary and Tracey?" he asked, his voice filled with disbelieving. "Indeed. Now we still don't know if it is all true, but it is a great possibility," Brock said.

Oak nodded in agreement. "Get here as fast as you can. I'll transport some Pokéballs with Pidgeots in them. Use them to get here. We'll talk here and find a way to set things right. I'll inform Delia," he said. Brock nodded, and hung up. He sighed deeply.

Ash had it. He wanted to put his thoughts to action. "We're sitting here, doing nothing. Nothing at all! We should be outside to look for them!" he yelled. May tried to calm him down. "We will Ash, we will. They won't get away with this," she said. Ash smiled sadly. "They always do. They always fucking do!" he exclaimed.

May was taken aback by his outburst. She wanted to retaliate but Brock stopped her. "Ash, I know this is hard but calm down for the moment. I just talked to professor Oak. We're going to him and we'll find a way to deal with this mess. Is that reasonable?" he said, looking at the trainer.

"No. It is not. You go to Oak's place. I'll go find Pikachu myself and get the truth out of that wench's throat!" he said, enraged. Before anyone could stop him, he had left the Centre. Brock shook his head. "Oh Christ."

Ash walked out of the Centre, fists clenched and with a determined look in his face. He was going to find Pikachu no matter what. However, his thoughts where shattered when he heard someone speak. "So Ash, we meet again." Ash turned around and saw the man with the cane looking at him. The man that had offered him the deal, which he had accepted.

"We have to find him. Who knows what he'll do," May said. She was getting worried that Ash might do something while blinded by his rage. Brock placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we will find him. We won't stop searching until we do," he said. And with that said, the group left the Centre. Night or not, they had to find Ash.

"What do you want?" Ash asked, while he looked at the man, his eyes filled with anger. "Nothing much, only to remind you of our deal," the man said, while he walked up to Ash. "Some deal it turned out to be!" Ash yelled. The man just grinned. "I made her healthy again. That was the deal, wasn't it?" he said, stopping in front of Ash.

"So, now you're going to take my soul?" Ash mocked. The man didn't reply, but reached out and placed his finger on Ash's forehead. Ash felt a searing pain going through his head, like he was burning up inside.

"From this moment on, you will be mine, Ash. And I will call upon you when I need you. And that time will come sooner then you might think. You belong to me, Ash. You shall obey me without question," the man said, and with that, he let go of Ash's forehead. Ash fell down on his knees, sweating heavily. The burning pain was gone the moment the man released his forehead. He breathed heavily, and looked up. The man was gone.

Ash was busy getting up when he heard his name being called. "Ash!" he heard again. It didn't take long before Brock and the others came into view. "There he is!" May exclaimed. She ran up to him and hugged him. Ash was taken aback by this, his temper greatly diminished by May's sudden action.

"Looks like you're calmed down a bit, Ash," Max said. "Yeah, guess I got a little over the edge back there," he said while May let him go. "I'm not going to tell them. They wouldn't believe me anyway," he thought. Who would believe such a thing?

"We should go back, and get some rest. Ash, we are going to professor Oak tomorrow, so no funny stuff, deal?" Brock asked. Ash faked a smile. "No worries Brock. We need to keep our heads cool," he said. But inside, he wanted nothing more then seeing the one who had betrayed him suffer in front of him, and rescue his best Pokémon. As they walked back to the Centre, two glowing eyes watched him go.

During all this, Team Rocket had made it back to the base in Johto, with the prize of their mission in hand. Pikachu hadn't woken up yet. Misty carried the prized Pokémon as she and the others made their way to Giovanni's office. "He is expecting us," Jessie said to the secretary in front of the office. The secretary pushed a button and the heavy oak door opened, allowing the team entrance.

Giovanni had a wide smile on his face. "Finally, you have succeeded. It seems my idea was quite successful. You have done exceptionally well!" he exclaimed. The team stood still, grinning widely. "This Pikachu will be the perfect experiment. But in the meantime, I'll keep him here, as a reminder of the victory," he said, taking the cage from Misty.

He placed the cage with the still unconscious Pikachu on his desk. His Persian sniffed it, and then returned to his masters' side, who sat in his chair again. "Very well, take some time off. Dismissed. But Misty, I want to talk to you before you leave," Giovanni said. The trio left, leaving Misty behind with Giovanni.

"So, Misty. I assume you had no troubles with this mission?" Giovanni asked. Misty swallowed before she answered. "Not much, sir," she said. Giovanni grinned, and got up.

"'Not much' you say? Did some kind of feeling get in the way?", he said, as he walked towards the window. Misty didn't answer. "So it did. No matter. You still managed to complete you mission," he continued, looking through the window.

Misty felt a bit nervous. "You know, I'm glad you decided to join us. But I'm curious, still. What made you join us?" Giovanni asked, walking to his desk again.

"I wanted a place where I'd truly belong. To be truly accepted," Misty said after some moments. Giovanni, sitting behind his desk, gave a nod. "I see. You belong to us now, and you are accepted here. I do hope that you never come back to that decision, understand?" he said.

Misty grinned. "I won't sir. Not after what he did to me," she said. Giovanni grinned back. "Very well Misty. You are dismissed," he said. Misty bowed, and left. Giovanni sat back in his chair after the door closed. "She will be one of the top agents if she continues to work like this," he said to his Persian. The majestic Pokémon purred at its master's touch.

Ash and the others had taken a room in the Centre. After some talking about past events, they went to sleep. Ash, however, couldn't sleep. Something was keeping him awake. "Ash? Aren't you asleep yet?" May asked. In the dark he didn't notice clearly that she was looking at him. "No, I can't really sleep. Can you?" he replied. "Nah, I can't either. Want to go for something to drink?" she offered. Ash's throat felt dry, so he agreed. Silently, the duo left the room.

Ash had finished his third cup of water, while May was still busy with her first. "Wow Ash, you really are thirsty," she said. Ash downed the cup in one gulp. "Yeah, I kinda have a dry throat. Don't know why though," he replied, but in his mind he knew perfectly why. The Centre was quiet and dark, and had a certain peaceful atmosphere.

"Ash, we will find her and rescue Pikachu. I just know we will," May suddenly said. Ash looked at her. He noticed the determination in her eyes. "I know. I just don't understand why she joined Team Rocket," he said. He felt the anger boiling up again, but he did his best to remain calm. He took another cup of water.

"We all have no idea, Ash. But it has to be pretty serious, I think," May muttered. Ash sighed. "Serious enough to betray your former friends," he said, grimly. May placed a hand on his shoulder. "You have new friends, now," she said, smiling at him. Ash smiled back. "I sure do," he replied.

He looked at the clock in the hall. "We should go to sleep. We've got a long journey ahead of us," he said. May nodded, and together they headed back to their room. They didn't notice the figure in the hall, completely concealed in the shadows. "You have a long journey ahead of you indeed, Ash," the figure whispered. Then it vanished.

Misty was in her room. She walked around a bit. What she did felt satisfying and bad at the same time. "No, he had it coming. He should have chosen me. Too bad for him that he didn't do just that,", she thought. She lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. Moments later, she was asleep.

Giovanni was still in his office, thinking about a suitable new mission for his team. Pikachu had woken up but after Thundershocking the cage countless times he knew it was hopeless. The small Pokémon intrigued Giovanni, but he had to think about that later. He looked through the book again, thinking.

The ringing sound of his telephone jerked him from his thoughts. After closing the book and placing it back on his desk, he picked up the receiver and listened to the voice at the other end.

"Sir, we need some new fresh Pokémon. Our research is getting better, but we need more to get further," the voice said. "I see. I'll send some grunts to do it tomorrow. Any type-preference?" Giovanni asked. "None. Any is fine," the voice replied. "It will be done," Giovanni said, and hung up. He knew the perfect place and perfect people for this job.