CHAPTER 51 – RUNNING OUT

"Uh, hello?" Leoric called out, rapping his knuckles on the hotel room door. "Anyone still up?" he shouted, continuing his knocking. After close to a minute, he heard a click on the other side of the wood, and the door swung smoothly open into a gloomy, dark lounge room, and standing in the centre of the doorway was a tall, muscular figure with a gray-black singlet over his chest.

"Whaddaya want?" he asked groggily, wiping at his filmy eyes with a broad hand. "You have any idea how late it is?"

"Come on, Noll, since when have you ever been one to turn in early?" Leoric joked, brushing past him and walking into the room. He tripped over the coffee table in his haste with a bang, and he howled with pain and clutched at his shin as he toppled onto the ground with another loud bang. "Damnit!"

"Watch where ya goin'!" he slurred, quietly closing the door, before clearing his throat with a soft growl. "Anabel and Brandon are sound asleep, and I don't want either of them waking up in a grumpy mood to find that I'm the one who let the ruckus in."

"Fine, fine, but you need to be more careful with where you stick the furniture," Leoric muttered, flicking on a nearby lamp, which cast a soft yellow light on the spacious room. Noland walked over to the fridge, opened the door, and retrieved two thin bottles from inside, before kicking it shut and sitting down on the large futon next to the lamp. Snapping open the cap, he passed the first bottle over to Leoric, who accepted it graciously, then proceeded to open his own bottle and take a deep swig.

"Ah, nothing beats a late-night beer, don't you reckon?" Noland said heartily, holding the bottleneck between his fingers. Leoric didn't give an answer, so he turned around to face him, and he was surprised to see that the boy hadn't touched his drink; usually Leoric was more than willing to have a midnight drink with him. "What's on your mind, Lil' El?"

"Don't call me that, Noll; I hate that name," Leoric murmured, staring down into the amber-coloured liquid in his bottle. "Can I ask you something?" he asked earnestly, his voice rising a little.

"Okay…" Noland said warily, already suspicious. "What's got you so bugged you're not gonna touch that beer, eh?"

"What, you want it?"

"Just ask the real question you came knocking on my door at—" he turned his head to check the clock on the kitchen wall, "—quarter past eleven at night for."

"Well…" Leoric began brokenly, fidgeting with his drink. "You see… it's about… this… girl—" he broke off suddenly as Noland burst into a roar of laughter and smacked his hand against Leoric's back.

"I never thought I'd hear the day when you'd say those words!" he chuckled, mockingly wiping an invisible tear from the corner of his eye. "Who'd've thought that 'the great bachelor, Leoric Reiger' – as you call yourself – would be asking for help with girls?! Oh man, where did I leave my video camera?" he added, laughing as he spun his head this way and that. But he stopped when Leoric slammed the beer bottle down on the coffee table and stood to his feet, muttering indignantly. "Oh, don't be such a baby. I was just having some fun!"

"Yeah, well, I knew this would be a waste of time anyways," Leoric countered, shaking his head and making for the door. "It's not like you've ever made a serious attempt to help me out before…"

"Ouch, that hurts, Leo. I know I haven't—well, you know," Noland said, shame-faced. "Come on, sit back down, have a drink. Tell me what's wrong, eh?" he suggested, jerking his head towards the empty seat next to him. Leoric eye him off dubiously, wondering if he was about to step into another one of Noland's satirical traps, before he took the offer for what it was and threw himself back down on the cushioned seat, snatching the bottle back from its place on the table.

"That wasn't so hard, was it now?" Noland teased, leaning back into the soft back of the lounge, and taking another sip of beer. "Well, go on. Tell me about this girl, and what the deal with her is, yeah?"


Paul stood up from his work and looked down pitilessly at Dawn. He'd just bound her arms and legs to a rickety metal chair, and now he used his Weavile's sharp claws to cut off the leftover rope, throwing the frayed length into a dark corner before he recalled the Pokémon to its PokéBall. She had struggled valiantly at first in resistance, but after a few menacing threats he had coerced her into a quaking silence, and even now she was still trembling with immense fear as her shadowed eyes stared haughtily up at him.

"Now all we do… is wait," he said softly, moving into another corner of the dimly-lit room, leaning against the high steel wall and crossing his arms. He closed his eyes tiredly, worn out by the long day that had just gone by, but just then he heard a scraping sound from the spot where he knew Dawn to be, and so in irritation he opened his left eye and saw her hopping towards him, the chair weighing her down terribly and making her progress slow and draining.

"You're—not going to—get away—with this—!" she hissed, talking in between the banging sounds that the chair made as it smacked against the cold floor. "Ash—and Brock—and Leoric—and Ari—will come—and rescue me—!"

"That's exactly what I want to happen, you foolish girl," Paul spat, pushing himself off the wall and striding towards her struggling figure. He struck his foot against the back leg of the chair and thrust his palm forwards into Dawn's shoulder, sending her toppling over to the side. She hit the ground with a loud thud and cried out as the force of the impact jarred her arm, sending a flare of pain through her neck.

"Why?!" she gasped, her chest heaving.

"Because without him here to see it, my revenge will mean nothing," he said simply, jerking his head towards his Torterra, who occupied a third corner of the room all by itself. A thick green vine sprang out from the tree on its back, and with an effortless flick it righted Dawn's chair, lifting it into the air and banging it back down onto the floor, which made Dawn cry out in pain again.

"And what might this revenge be?!" Dawn shouted, her eyes hidden behind the mess of blue hair that had been thrown across her face.

"Something that Ari has had coming for a long time. I think you know what it is, though…" Paul muttered, and although Dawn couldn't see him, the tone of his voice was almost daring her to take the leap, and say it aloud. But she didn't have a clue what he was talking about; knowing Paul's history with Ari, there were probably a thousand things that Paul might have wanted vengeance for, for something Ari could have done – or said – against him.

But maybe… she thought wildly, it's not something Ari did to Paul at all! And as the thought occurred to her, so did an answer. And with that answer came a bone-chilling wave of dread.

"You want revenge for what happened to Tina…" she whispered, pure terror in her voice. She felt a rough hand on her shoulder, and the next moment Paul brushed the hair out from in front of her eyes. She knew what she would see if she looked at his face, so she lowered her eyes to her lap, terrified of the boy standing over her.

"No."

The single word made Dawn's heart jump with shock, and her mouth fell open in surprise, but she concealed it in a wracking cough. Paul's hand – the one not clamping down on her shoulder – grabbed her chin and forced her head up towards his face, so she screwed her eyes shut so as not to see him. The hand on her shoulder tightened painfully, as a warning, and Dawn reluctantly opened her eyes and stared full into Paul's.

"Not just for Tina. For my mother as well," he growled. His voice was like the colossal rumbling of thunder just as the rainstorm passed overhead and unleashed its full force upon the tiny houses below, and it made Dawn sick with fear.

"Y-Your m-mother?" she trembled, whimpering. Paul wrenched his hand to the side, dragging her head with it, and to her intense relief he let go of her and turned his back, lost in his emotions as they swirled inside of him.

"Six years ago," he murmured, "I was a happy little boy, living with my mother and brother. You've met Reggie; I was like him. I had a Turtwig, even back then, that I cared for very much, and I still have that Pokémon to this day. He's standing right there, in fact," he added, moving his head to look at the Torterra standing proudly in the corner of the room. "Torterra is the only true companion that I have, because he is the only one of my Pokémon that knew me before my mother was killed."

"Killed…?"

"That's right, killed," he snapped, clenching his fists. He turned around and knelt back down, so that his head was level with Dawn's, and he flashed an almost ironic sneer. "And do you know who killed her? I'll tell you; it was Ari's father. He shot her, once, right in front of me, and left her to die in the woods south-east of Veilstone City. From that day, I lost a part of myself. Oh, I know what I've become," he added, in reply to the amazed look that Dawn was giving him. "It was something that I had to do. I knew that I had to be tough – ruthless – if I wanted to survive, and not meet the same end that my mother did."

"But…" Dawn started, but Paul wasn't finished yet, and he smacked her across the cheek to shut her up.

"It wasn't safe for Reggie and I anymore. We both knew it. We fled the Sinnoh region for a year, to lose any trace that we might be followed, and we travelled to Johto. We'd heard word that Team Rocket was on the rise in the region, and that meant that we would be safe. When we came to Ecruteak City, Ari's mother took us in for a week, so we could rest and restock our supplies. I had no idea of the relation between Ari and his father, until only a day before we were due to leave."

"The day you tortured Ari…" she whispered, the truth hitting her like a tidal wave.

"I found a picture frame inside his room. It had his mother – Roselyn – standing next to his father, and even though the photo was a decade old, I could see the resemblance between him and the man who'd killed my mother. It hit me, then, that Ari was his son, and I came this close—" he held his thumb and finger a hair's breadth apart, "—from ordering Torterra to demolish the DeVarro house, and wipe those two from the face of the earth. But I knew that suspicions would be raised – my actions might have put myself and Reggie in danger – and so I took my Pokémon and headed into the mountains near Mt. Mortar, ready to take my anger out on the first Pokémon I saw in the wilderness."

"And you saw Morty's Duskull, and so you sent out your Elekid to torture it first," Dawn said, her voice becoming faint. "Ari followed you, so you saw your chance to finally have your revenge… but you got your revenge, back then!" she shouted, starting to struggle against her bonds. "So why did you kidnap me—?!"

"You," Paul seethed, "are my revenge for what Ari let happen to Tina. He let her die in the Ice Path, so now…" he tapped his Weavile's PokéBall threateningly, "I am going to let you die, right in this room."

Dawn yelped in fright and thrashed vainly against the rope tying her to the chair, trying desperately to escape away from Paul as quickly as possible. She overbalanced and fell onto the floor, sobbing despondently as Paul snorted with contempt at her futile efforts. "Pl-Pl-Please…" she gasped, tears rolling down her cheeks, "don't… please… please don't… no… don't…"

"Oh, stop crying! It's pathetic. Besides, you don't have to worry about dying just yet," he added sinisterly. "At least, not until Ari comes through that door," he pointed at a large, painted steel door in the corner of Dawn's sideways vision, set in the centre of the far wall. "But until then… we wait…" And with that, he resumed his position leaning on the back wall, closing his eyes and ears to his prisoner's dejected fit of crying and pleading as the minutes slowly ticked away.


"Noctowl, come on out!" bellowed Ash.

"You too, Crobat!" Brock roared.

"Horazon! We need you, now!" screeched Ari.

Three PokéBalls arced high into the air and fell onto the hard street outside, bursting open in a flash of searing white light. Ash's Noctowl, a large owl-like Pokémon, flew upwards, scattering a coat of twinkling yellow particles as it left the PokéBall. It had differently coloured feathers to normal Noctowl; its wings were a dull shade of red in contrast to the standard chocolate-brown, and the horned mask that covered its eyes was a richer yellow than what it would usually be. Ash had caught this rare Noctowl during his travels in the Johto region, and he was very proud to own such a specimen.

Brock's Crobat, a huge purple bat with four sleek, plane-like wings, sped out of its own PokéBall in turn, flicking its wings like knives as it flitted about in a circle, its speed making it near impossible to spot in the darkness. Thankfully, Brock's senses were keener than most, and he kept his slanted eyes trained on his Pokémon's progress seamlessly, darting this way and that as they followed Crobat's lightning-quick flight, just as it shot past Ari's Dusknoir, who had materialised out of its PokéBall and was now conjuring a ring of ghostly blue flames to orbit its robust body.

"We'll follow your lead, Ash," Brock said, still tracking Crobat. "It's your idea, so you can take charge," he added, to which Ari nodded and stepped forwards.

"Your lead," he repeated calmly. Ash gave him his ever-determined look – with Pikachu imitating him in expression – and nodded slowly, turning to face the three Pokémon in front of him, and each one stopped what they were doing and dutifully waited in silence for his orders.

"Okay, listen up," he said assertively. "We need to cover a lot of ground in not much time, so the three of you are each going to cover a separate part of this island. Noctowl," he said, turning to face his Owl Pokémon, "take the west; fly low over the buildings and see inside them; look for Dawn. If you see her, you're to fly straight to the studio and find me. That applies to all of you," he added, his eyes sweeping over all three of them, who nodded obediently. Noctowl crowed and spread its wings wide, soaring into the night sky, which quickly swallowed it up.

Ash watched the glittering feathers disappear before he turned his attention to Crobat. "Crobat, I know you're not my Pokémon," he admitted, "but that means nothing at the moment. I want you to take the mountains to the north; you'll be able to cover the rough terrain much quicker than Noctowl or Dusknoir can, and you're more used to the landscape as well. Now get going," he commanded, and to his relief Crobat unquestioningly flicked its wings again and rocketed into the air, heading into the darkness to his right.

"Dusknoir," he said, turning to the Gripper Pokémon, its silhouette dancing around in the shifting blue light, "you take the stadiums on the east. There's always an off-chance that whoever has Dawn hid her in a utility room or something, so that's your task. Get to it, double-time!" Dusknoir boomed, gave Ari a knowing nod, and moved away with surprising speed for such a large Pokémon, tearing down the street and rounding the corner in the blink of an eye.

"Okay, now let's go find that studio," Brock suggested, stowing Crobat's PokéBall back on his waist, and Ash spun around on the spot and nodded, returning Noctowl's PokéBall to his belt and running down the darkened street, with Pikachu in tow. "Come on, Ari," Brock called out, and Ari didn't need to wait for an invitation. He turned stiffly, and he exchanged a brief, worried look with Brock, before sprinting down the road behind Ash.

"So where's the studio, Ari?" Ash shouted, picking up his pace even more.

"Third street on the left, then second on the right, then straight for four blocks," Ari yelled back, swinging his arms across his body as he put on a spurt of speed to keep up with Ash. Brock effortlessly caught up with them, his tanned legs pumping in rhythm as he ran level with Ash, who was slightly in front. He turned his spiky-haired head very slightly towards the two younger boys on his left, a slight frown on his face as they passed the first intersection.

"What I don't get," he yelled, "is why someone would kidnap Dawn Dawn – of all people! You and I have made much worse enemies over the years, Ash; I don't know why they went for her and not for us? I mean, who has a grudge against Dawn?!"

"Haven't got a clue," Ash replied, keeping his eyes set on the roads ahead of him. "Well, there's always Team Galactic; they're never happy to see us around, especially not after we tried to fight them off at Celestic Town that time. But apart from that, I'm not sure that there's any—!" he added, but he groaned aloud and stopped short, almost tripping over his own momentum, and accidentally throwing Pikachu off his shoulder and onto the ground, as he suddenly remembered something; something that had only been said to him a few days ago.

"I'll be happy to take that brat off your hands."

Brock and Ari sped past Ash, and were twenty feet ahead of him before they realised that something was amiss. Their heads snapped around, and when they saw that Ash was no longer with them, they skidded to a stop and whirled around to see him standing stock-still, a look of blanched shock etched onto his shadowy face. He remained that way even as Pikachu ruefully hopped back onto its Trainer's jacket, and Brock reacted first, sprinting back towards his old friend, whilst Ari hesitated, wanting to continue the dash towards the studio.

Brock snuck a glance over his shoulder and called out to him, "You go ahead! Tell them we're coming, and try and get that footage as soon as you can! Go!" he roared, and Ari turned and ran ahead down the street, making the left turn just as Brock made it back to Ash. "Ash, what is it?!" he asked, shaking him by the shoulders.

"Paul. It's Paul. He's the one who has Dawn," Ash growled, his hands forming fists. "That day we saw Ari's match against that Dewey Blanch Trainer, after you took the groceries back to the hotel, Dawn and I ran into Paul," he recounted. "He said he'd be happy to 'take that brat' off my hands. I thought he was talking about Pikachu, but he meant Dawn. He wanted payback for her hitting him on the bridge on the day we came here."

"Payback?" Brock repeated, furrowing his brow worriedly. "I hardly think that kidnapping someone is a suitable payback for getting slapped in the face, don't you think? A bit extreme…" he muttered, trailing off into his own thoughts.

"Alright, you've got a point there," Ash conceded, his face still stony, "but suppose it's not about that. Maybe it's about something else, something we don't know about," he suggested. "Ari said that two adults cornered him, and a third one knocked him out from behind."

"That only means that Paul might have been the third person, the one who KO'd Ari. And even if he's not," Brock argued, sensing the reasoning behind Ash's chain of thought, "if we can track down this dark-haired man, we can coerce him into telling us what happened to Dawn; he'd have had to have been there when she was taken."

"Point two to you, Brock," Ash mused, straightening up and letting the cold expression fall from his face. "Well, come on, we need to hurry over there. I'm still not comfortable with the idea of this footage, and I don't want to waste any more time on it that we have to," he added stubbornly, taking a step backwards before he launched himself forwards, sprinting down the road after Ari. Brock smirked and gave a grunt of a laugh before he turned and ran in pursuit of Ash, speeding around the left-hand corner, and with each second they were drawing closer to the television studio that might provide the vital answers they needed.


Trivia:

*Despite Leoric saying in Chapter 22 that he hadn't drunk alcohol for a year, he has had two beers in two consecutive nights.

Quiz:

*What landmarks are located south-east of Veilstone City?