-1 Make Love Not War
Chapter 7
Author's Notes: Here we are with Chapter 7. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: See Chapters 1-5 for the disclaimer.
May and Delia were sitting down at the table, drinking coffee, when the sound of letters coming through the mail slot met their ears. May walked over and picked up the mail and found a letter from the Kanto army. Worried, she flipped it open and pulled out the letter, and tears began to meet her eyes. May brought this particular letter to Delia. "Read it, Mom." she said. Delia read the letter and tears met her eyes too. Pikachu looked at the letter and began to cry too.
The letter said the following: Dear family and friends of Ash Ketchum, we regret to inform you that your loved one is officially missing, presumed to be KIA. Now, this does not mean that your loved one is dead, and there is a chance that he may be found. If he is found alive, we will have an immediate order sent out to have your loved one returned to you. We hope and pray that we will bring your loved one back to you.
Sincerely,
General Jonathon Callard of the Kanto Army.
Meanwhile in the desert of Afghanistan…
A fatigued Ash Ketchum had just woke up. He reached up and felt his face. A five o'clock shadow had started to grow. "Wish that I had a razor. Well, time to look for the US Army base." Ash thought. Ash looked over and saw guard towers and chain-link fences. "Well, that's convenient." he thought to himself.
Ash walked toward the base. "Halt!" a loudspeaker shouted to him. "Identify yourself!" Ash was prepared, and he knew that if he did not respond, the military snipers would shoot him and kill him. Ash cleared his throat. "I am Private First Class Ash Ketchum of the Kanto Army, and I request permission to come onto the base!" he yelled. "Roger, permission granted." the loudspeaker answered. "Come on in, Mr. Ketchum." The main gates to the base opened, and a few US soldiers came out to greet Ash.
One soldier walked up to Ash. "Sergeant Andrew James Oldham of the United States Army. I was ordered to take you into my unit, and we will make sure that you get home as ordered by command." Ash took the sergeant's hand and shook it. "Are you going to be able to get in contact with my wife and family to let them know that I am okay?" he asked.
"Sure thing, there is a secure satellite phone line in the command tent." Oldham said, leading Ash to the command tent.
Back in Kanto…
The phone rang and Delia answered it. "Yes?" she answered sadly. "Is this Mrs. May Ketchum, wife of Private Ash Ketchum?" a voice on the other end asked. "No this is Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum." she said. "Well, someone here wants to talk to you." Delia was filled with both anticipation and was prepared for the worst just in case this was confirmation of Ash being KIA. "Hello, Mom." a second voice on the other line said.
Back in Afghanistan…
"Ash!" Ash heard his mother yell his name on the other line. "You're alive!" Ash smiled to himself. He never thought he would hear his mother's voice after the hell that he went through during that last mission. "Yeah, I'm fine Mom. Is May or Pikachu there?" he asked his mother. "Yeah May is here, hold on." Ash waited a few seconds and then heard another voice on the line. "Ash?!" he heard his wife say in disbelief. "Yeah, it's me." Ash answered. "Oh, Ash, I was so scared that you were dead!" May's voice said, nearly in tears. "Well, I'm fine. How's the baby?" he asked. "The baby's fine, Ash. Pikachu is all right too. You can't talk to him right now, because he is napping, but I will be sure to tell him that you are all right as soon as he wakes up."
Ash and May talked for a while longer until Andrew took the phone from Ash. "Hello, Mrs. Ketchum? I've got good news for you and your husband. Because of the fact that Ash lost his squad on one of his missions, I have orders to get your husband back to the military airport and bring him back home to you. It's going to be about seven months until we can get him back home, and he will have to accompany us on a few of our missions, but I promise you, he will come home alive. I guarantee it." he said.
After a few more hours of talking on the satellite phone, Ash hung up and went to meet with Andrew. "Sergeant Oldham, sir. How are we going to get me home in time for my wife to go into labor?" Andrew turned to look at Ash. "It's going to be a very risky thing to do, because we will have to go through some of the hottest areas that Afghanistan has to offer, bet we can do it. In the meantime, let's get you cleaned, shaved, fed, rested, and introduced to the rest of the unit that you will be working with for seven months."
Author's Notes: So, Ash is going to be able to go home soon, but, that is only if he can survive the hottest areas of Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda is a bunch of clever bastards, y'know? Well, anyway, read and review. Points go to those who can guess what KIA stands for. Until next time, I'm Zombie Hippie. Good night, and God bless.
