Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter. This chapter was a little difficult to get started but in the end it was a lot of fun to write. To all of you who have followed or favorited this fic I want to thank you for your support. It's nice to see people enjoying my writing. Also if you haven't already, go ahead and check out my One-shot I posted not too long ago. Again if you guys want to I would appreciate it if you wrote a review of what you think. If you have any suggestions on how I can improve my writing, especially my dialogue, please let me know or if you want to voice your opinions that is cool too.
Now sit back, relax and enjoy!
Chapter 10
The platform descended to the corridors below carrying Ash and his two faithful pokémon with it. To their surprise the halls of the basement were empty, not a reporter in sight. Ash smiled underneath his mask as he made his way to the locker room to collect his things. Ash entered the room and sat down on one of the benches.
"Another solid victory guys," he said turning to his two pokémon. "Nice job out there buddy. You looked good today Pikachu."
"Pikapi, pikachu pika pi pi chu," Pikachu chirped with a little pride.
"You're kidding me," Lucario stated as his eyes began to widen at what the electric mouse pokémon had just said. "That wasn't seventy percent out there, no way Pikachu."
"You asked what I whispered in his ear," Ash responded with a chuckle. "I told him to just use seventy percent of his power. Quite frankly we could have won with fifty."
"Pika pi chu," Pikachu added with a nod.
"But master you rebuked Gio for toying with his opponent," retorted Lucario with a confused look on his face. "I don't understand why you would say that to him and then do the same thing. Isn't that a little hypocritical?"
"Giovanni gives his opponents false hope. I, on the other hand, didn't goof around. I just didn't want Pikachu to display his full abilities just yet," Ash responded calmly to his aura pokémon.
"If you say so master," Lucario looked hesitantly towards his trainer.
"One match at a time Lucario," Ash said as he grabbed his bag. "When we need to, we will pull out all the stops."
"You mean the other four don't you master?"
"Yes," Ash stated. "I want to keep them in my back pocket for later. Everyone knows about you and Pikachu, I don't need them to know about the other four."
Lucario looked towards Ash's bag as he began to sense an aura coming out of four pokeballs, all shining with passion and desire to fight. "They're getting restless Ash," Lucario pointed out.
"I am aware," Ash gazed at his bag. He could sense their frustration mounting as well. "I will let them out of their pokeballs tonight to get some exercise. A little time to stretch their legs and get moving will do them some good."
"You don't plan on using them until the finals aren't you?"
"Again Lucario, one round at a time," Ash gave Lucario another soft chuckle. "If the situation demands it then I will use them, but to answer your question I don't believe we will need to use them until Gio. Until then they will have to wait. Maybe they will come out ten times stronger, what with being pent up and watching all their friends battle while they sit in pokeballs all day."
The group chuckled at the idea of the four pokémon being frustrated sitting in their pokeballs. They were, after all, Ash's remaining four pokémon from his top team of six. Between Lucario, Pikachu and the four others Ash was confident no one would be able to make a stand against him.
"Come on guys let's get out of here," Ash said as he made his way to the door. The door opened and they entered the hallway. Ash and company made their way down the corridor. Ash held is head down and kept his hands in his pockets. He didn't want to talk to anybody and by keeping his eyes low hoped to escape conversations with those passing by. He was about half way to the stairs when he heard a yelp from in front of him.
His head popped up to see who it was that made the noise to find Serena regain her footing before turning her head to a corner she was standing by. She said something but Ash couldn't hear or see whom it was directed towards. Serena's eyes quickly shifted from the corner to the figure walking towards her. She blushed and gave a tentative wave. Ash began to smile under his mask before pulling his right hand out of his pocket and returning the wave. He decided to make his way over to the girl and with each step he noticed her smile getting bigger.
He was about to the young performer before he felt a tug on his arm leading him in another direction. He looked to the figure that was attempting to drag him away from his destination to find the same assistant who got him before his first match. The man held a clipboard with a head set resting awkwardly on his head. The man seemed to be in a panic. Ash made an abrupt stop causing the assistant to lurch back a bit.
"Sir we have to get to a meeting right now," the assistant said frantically. "Those in charge are not happy with the fact that their two Cinderella stories haven't made a single press conference and they expect you to make this one."
"But I-uh," Ash began as he took his eyes off the man and focused them back on Serena who looked a little confused and saddened by his sudden change in direction. "Y-you see there is someone. . . . I-er I want to talk to and-"
"It'll have to wait Aaron," the assistant interrupted as he began to drag the trainer into a different room. "The interview is about to begin and this is not an option."
Ash looked back to see Serena's head down in disappointment before being dragged into a room full of reporters.
•••••
"Guys you're crazy," Serena yelled to her two friends who were dragging her across the stadium. "This isn't gonna work and it's obvious he isn't interested in me."
"Psh, yeah right," May said as she was holding onto Serena's right arm, leading her to the stairs of the stadium that led to the corridors below. "It's so obvious Aaron is in to you. What with the fact he looks at you before every match it's a miracle you haven't made a move yet."
"Not to mention what he said at the dinner table the other night," a voice called from behind Serena. It was Dawn who had both hands on Serena's shoulders pushing her forwards. "He was practically asking you on a date. Wooing you to the best of his abilities. Come on, how can you not like a guy like that?"
"You know damn well why I can't like a guy like that," shouted Serena to the bluenette behind her.
"Serena, it has been five years," May turned to her friend as the three began to descend the stairs of the stadium. "We know you loved Ash and he loved you back but you gotta move on. Plus Aaron is a hunk!"
"How would you know?" Serena inquired. "He's always wearing that mask."
"Oh whatever," retorted May. "You've seen how tight his shirt is on him. He's toned and it doesn't take too much imagination to depict a handsome devil underneath that mask."
Serena sighed at the remarks May was making. She was hoping the man underneath the mask was Ash. All the clues pointed to him but for some reason she couldn't pull the trigger. She wanted to know and even though she was resisting she truly did want more alone time with Aaron, but not like this.
The trio made their way to a corner before stopping. "May how do you know he'll be here?" Dawn questioned the older coordinator.
"Well ya see from Aaron's platform this is the quickest way to exit the building. I'm sure he'll come this way," explained May as she peaked her head around the corner to see who was in the corridor. Suddenly she let out a squeal as she saw Aaron exit his locker room. "There he is and he's headed this way."
"What?" exclaimed both Dawn and Serena as they made their way to the corner. They both glanced around the wall to see Aaron and his two pokémon make their way down the hall towards their position.
Serena suddenly felt herself begin to panic, her hands began to clam up and her legs felt weak. "I can't do this. This isn't gonna work," she said, slowly backing away from the other two girls in front of her.
"Oh no you don't," May said grabbing onto Serena's hands. "You aren't getting out of this one. You are going to go and talk to him."
"Uhuh, not like this guys," Serena shouted before trying to turn and run.
"Grab her Dawn," May shouted. Suddenly Serena felt two pairs of arms wrap around her waist. She struggled against the combined powers of the two friends but it was no use. She begged and pleaded for them to let her go.
"Come guys I'm going to embarrass myself," she shouted.
"No you won't," exclaimed Dawn as she and May tossed Serena into the middle of the hallway causing a yelp to come from the Kalos Queen.
Serena stumbled forward a bit before regaining her footing and turning around to the two girls. "I hate both of you. I am get you back for this one," she said to the two coordinators who were now giggling behind the corner.
"You'll thank us later," May responded. "But I think you should stop focusing on us and start focusing on him." She said this while pointing down the hallway where Aaron was standing.
Serena turned to the hallway and saw Aaron with his hands in his pockets standing in front of her down the corridor. She felt herself begin to blush. She didn't know what to do so she raised a hand and sheepishly waved it towards the imposing figure. To her ecstasy she got a wave back and Aaron actually seemed to be happy to see her.
Is he really happy to see me? Oh man he's walking this way. Yes, I finally get to spend more time with him! She thought as she saw the trainer make his way over to her with his pokémon right behind him. Then she saw him stop and noticed a hand grasping his arm firmly. She looked and saw a man with a clipboard begin to take Aaron in the opposite direction. Suddenly all the joy she was feeling turned to confusion. Wait what's happening? Oh you've got to be kidding me!
She saw Aaron turn back to her with a hopeful gaze before being pulled back again by the man with the clipboard. Her head fell and she looked at the floor in disappointment. It had almost worked but just like that Aaron was gone into a different room.
"Hey what's wrong?" asked May as she came out from behind the corner. "Hey, where the hell is Aaron?"
"A guy pulled him into that room over there," Serena motioned to the door Aaron had vanished into.
"Oh Serena I'm so sorry," Dawn said as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder to comfort her. "I'm sure you'll get another chance. What is in that room anyways?"
"If I'm not mistaken I think that is the interview room," responded May as her gaze shifted to the door down the hall.
Dawn let out a sigh. "Well maybe later tonight after dinner."
Suddenly a light bulb went off in Serena's head. "I got it," she shouted with enthusiasm. The disappointed demeanor was quickly replaced with excitement and joy.
"You've got what?" May asked with a confused look on her face.
"You'll see later," exclaimed Serena as she turned and ran up the stairs. "First we need to get to a store and get some stuff for baking. Come on you two, we have to hurry!"
May and Dawn exchanged confused looks before shrugging their shoulders and taking off after their friend.
•••••
Ash begrudgingly entered the room and could hear conversations beginning to stir as his eyes caught the glances the people that filled the room were sending his way. He stepped through the crowd to the front of the room where he noticed Giovanni sitting behind a desk with a bored expression on his face. Behind him was a wall that showed a pattern of Silph Corporation's logo as a backdrop for any pictures that would be taken.
Giovanni glanced to the figure walking towards the front of the room and his bored expression quickly shifted to an evil smirk. He let out a soft chuckle as Ash took a seat next to his. Lucario stood behind his trainer and let out a low growl, audible to only those behind the desk, while Pikachu took a seat in his master's lap as he eyed the Persian that was on the other side of Giovanni.
"Nice of you to finally join us," Giovanni whispered to Ash. Ash didn't respond and kept his eyes focused on the row of people in front of him. "Oh did I scare you into silence from our earlier run in?" At this remark Lucario began to growl louder.
Ash turned to his aura pokémon and whispered harshly to him. "That's enough Lucario. Act civil." Ash made it sound easy to do but deep down he wanted nothing more than to knock Giovanni right off his seat and that stupid smirk off his face in the process.
"My, my Ash, so much reserve for a young man," Giovanni mocked. He turned his attention to the reporters as the assistant made the announcement that the press conference had begun.
The first few questions were suppose to go to Giovanni so Ash got to sit and listen to the answers he was giving. Each one came out with a fake humility and kindness masking the sick and twisted character that lay underneath. Ash had seen Giovanni at his worst and it still made him sick to his stomach even thinking about it.
Ash's mind began to drift back to when he truly saw the madness behind the façade.
•••••
Ash stood by the ruins of the doorway as he heard the screams of Serena on the other side. His heart ached but he knew what he had to do. He promised her he would return to her and he aimed to keep it. He turned his vision back to the lobby as another agonizing cry came from the floor below. Ash couldn't take the stairs, as the path was block by an ever increasing inferno of mangled steel and flames.
"Come you two, this way," Ash ran towards the back of the lobby with Charizard and Pikachu in tow. Ash ran to the back of the lobby but was sent backwards as an explosion put him on his butt revealing a massive hole in the floor. He quickly got up and made his way to the hole. He peered over the edge of the crumbling floor to see a grey and purple pokémon encased inside three spinning circular metal rings. The rings emitted what looked like an electrical charge and the agony it caused the entrapped pokémon was evident.
Ash had to think quickly. He searched the lobby trying to come up with an idea before his eyes fell on his Charizard. "Charizard use Dragon Tail to widen the hole and then take us down there," Ash shouted. Charizard let out a roar as his tail began to turn green. It spun and slammed his empowered tail onto the ground causing the hole to enlarge. "Great job," Ash shouted while jumping on Charizard's back. "Now get us down there." Charizard jumped in the air before diving through the hole to the floor below.
Charizard hovered over the ground as Ash and Pikachu jumped off and landed in the destroyed laboratory. "Giovanni it's over," Ash shouted. "Stop this insanity before it destroys you."
The man turned to Ash to reveal a look of maniac joy on his features. The smile he possessed made Ash's skin crawl while the look of insanity in his eyes made Ash freeze and his muscle tense. Giovanni saw the boy and let out a laugh that echoed throughout the remaining portion of the lab.
"You can't stop me now you fool," he exclaimed. "Soon I will have weakened Mewtwo to the point where I can finally control its mind and its power. Once that is done the whole world will kneel before me. And I'll start with you," he said pointing a finger to Ash. "It will be so sweet to see the hero that has stopped me so many times bow before me."
"I will never bow before you," Ash spat back. Charizard and Pikachu both shouted their defiance as well.
"Oh but it has already begun," said Giovanni with the evil smile still on his face. "Persian use Giga Impact."
Suddenly Charizard was sent forward and into a wall as a sphere of purple and white followed the fire and flying pokémon. Charizard let loose a scream of pain before sending its assailant across the lab and into the adjacent wall.
"Thatta boy Charizard," Ash yelled. "Use Flamethrower. Pikachu use a Thunder attack to try and short circuit Mewtwo's cage."
Charizard flew out of rubble that was on top of it and let loose its fire attack hitting the classy cat pokémon dead on. The classy cat pokémon cried in pain. Its tail began glow as it tried to respond with an Iron Tail. Charizard blocked the attack and followed with a second Flamethrower, increasing the damage taken by the normal type.
Ash made a run for the control panel. He searched for a way to turn off the cage. Suddenly he was jerked around. Once around he felt a fist slam into his face that sent him across the panel and into the wall. Giovanni stood over the trainer with the intent to kill. He picked the seventeen year old up by his t-shirt before throwing a punch towards Ash's stomach. Ash coughed up a little blood as the punch landed. Giovanni laughed as he threw the kid on the ground into the middle of the room.
"Ash," Mewtwo cried through his pain. "He has gone mad. You have to run, get out of here while you still can."
"Shut up you," Giovanni yelled at the genetic pokémon. "I am your master and you shall not speak unless spoken to. Get use to it."
"There is only two things your master of: Jack and shit," Ash said as he struggled to regain his footing. "And Jack left the building."
Enraged by the young trainer's comments, Giovanni yelled and rushed the boy. Before he got to him though he was sent flying into a wall by a yellow aura. Ash looked up to see that Pikachu had used Volt Tackle to save him.
"Thanks buddy," Ash managed to chuckle. "I owe you one. Come on we got to get Mewtwo and get out of here." The duo managed to get to the base of the machine as they dodged the ongoing battle between Charizard and Persian. "I don't see an off switch," Ash yelled in a panic.
"I said get out of here Ash," Mewtwo struggled to get the words out its mouth.
"Shut up," Ash responded. "I don't leave my friends behind. Here Pikachu. Aim a Thunder attack here," Ash was pointing towards the based where the electrical current made its connection to the rings that spun to form the cage.
Pikachu let loose its most powerful attack causing a giant explosion. The explosion sent all those in the room careening into different walls. Ash held Pikachu who was sent straight back into Ash's chest. Ash slowly opened his eyes as he searched for his Charizard and Mewtwo. He saw Charizard's head sticking out of rubble from the collapsing wall. Ash managed to limp his way over to his faithful friend and return him to his pokeball.
Ash still held Pikachu, as he looked frantically around for an exit. There seemed to be no one else around. He saw an exit and made his way over to it, pain coursing through his body with every step he took. He was steps away from the exit before another giant explosion sent him into another wall. His back hit the wall and his head followed in a jarring motion. He tried to open his eyes but his vision was blurry and began to shake. He tried to get up but fell to the floor once again. His vision continued to worsen but he noticed a dark figure walking towards him, he couldn't tell if it was a man or a pokémon. He tried to look up but couldn't find the energy. His vision wavered, and then everything went black.
•••••
"Aaron. Hey Aaron!"
"Huh. . . Oh uh hey. . . . sorry about that," Ash said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck. "Um what was the question?" Ash had been having a flashback of the incident five years ago and was awoken by the shout of a reporter trying to get his attention.
The press conference continued on. Ash answered the questions to the best of his abilities. He began to get annoyed with the questions being asked. Most of the questions were about his thoughts on being a Cinderella story and about how he thought Giovanni and himself would fair the rest of the way. They wouldn't be asking me these questions if they knew who I was. Ash thought annoyed. If they knew I was really Ash Ketchum they would be asking me about my plans for the later rounds and if anyone had a chance to beat me. He sighed and continued to answer questions.
When the press conference ended he managed to escape without having to talk or walk near Giovanni. He felt like he needed to take a shower. Sitting near him and forcing himself to be civil to the man he hated was not something Ash enjoyed, neither did Lucario or Pikachu.
"We should have finished right then and there," Lucario said frustrated that he was forced to sit through the entire interview like he enjoyed it.
"Pika pi. Pikachu pi pi chu pika pika pi chu chu ch-pi," shouted Pikachu in agreement.
"Status quo fellas," Ash said with a tint of frustration. "He knows we need to be in this tournament too. That's his plan. He wants us to lose our cool and do something that will get us kicked out. To be honest I would rather have him punching the shit out me than have to deal with this, but it's the hand we've been dealt."
"Pika pi!"
"Right Pikachu," Ash smiled at his starter. "We've been dealt pocket aces and all we have to do is not fold."
The trio continued along their path towards the hotel. They entered the lavish hotel and headed towards their room. They had done some grocery shopping earlier so they had food waiting for them in their room. Their room came into view, but there was also something else in view. When they got to the door Ash bent down to see a decorative box that was tied together with a red ribbon and a note was seen to be between the ribbon and the box.
Ash's curiosity was peaked. He picked up the box and examined it before taking the note and opening it. He smiled as he read what was on the inside.
Dear Aaron,
I'm sorry we didn't get to talk today so I decided to bake you a little treat. They're my way of saying nice job during your battle today. Again I am really sorry we didn't to talk today, that was really disappointing, but I will be in the stands rooting for you tomorrow!
Love,
Serena
P.S. We should take another flight on your Pidgeot I really enjoyed it.
Ash could feel himself begin to blush and a goofy grin making its way across his face. Suddenly he heard a few giggles and squeals. He turned to the door opposite him. Hushing noises could be heard as he eyed the door. He let out a soft chuckled and entered his room.
He opened the box to see some of Serena's macaroons inside. He offered one to his two pokémon before taking a bite himself. They're just as good as I remember.
