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Chapter 11
Ash still couldn't get back to sleep once he returned to his room, he was tossing and turning for the remainder of the early morning hours. It wasn't until the other boys around him began to awake that he got up from his bed, his mind still racing.
"Damn Ash you look awful." Max noted.
"Good morning to you too." Ash replied sarcastically.
"Man, I can't wait for breakfast." Gaz spoke loudly, making sure Ash could hear.
There was no response from the Kalos League victor as he just yawned and made his way out of the room, seemingly in a trance of his own thoughts.
"Okay, I've known Ash for a long time," Brock spoke worriedly. "If he's not getting excited for food there's something seriously wrong."
"He's definitely hiding something." Gary noted, curious at what could be troubling his long-term rival.
"You guys read too deep into things." Cameron remarked as he made his way out the door also. "He's probably just tired."
"As good a theory as any for the minute." Gaz sighed as he and the rest of the boys from the room made their way outside.
Ash made his way downstairs just as May was coming out of her room. Ash could tell she was awake for a while, she probably spent majority of the morning getting ready in front of the mirror. She didn't have the sleepy look in her eyes she usually has when she first wakes up in the morning.
'Wow, I've really paid attention to her over the years.' Ash thought.
"Good morning Ash." She trilled happily.
"Morning." Ash replied dully.
"Someone is cranky this morning." She teased. "Let me guess bottom bunk?"
"Yeah but that's not the problem." He replied.
"What is it then?" May asked.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Ash said shaking his head and refusing to make eye contact with her. He always felt May could see right through him into his soul.
"Ash," She spoke softly. "It's you so of course I'm going to worry, because I care about you."
The words slipped out of May's mouth before she even realised. Had she said too much? Ash raised his head and May realised that she in fact said just enough judging by the glint in his eyes from her words. The deep brown eyes of the Pallet Town trainer always made her feel warm inside.
"Please, talk to me, what's wrong?" May asked with a warm smile.
"Can we go somewhere in private?" Ask suggested.
May nodded knowing that Ash needed to be comfortable as possible when telling her what was bothering him. Ash led her down a corridor she had never been down before. At the end of it was a pair of double doors that Ash pushed open revealing a balcony looking over the river that flowed through Cerulean City.
The sun glimmered over the surface of the water causing a blinding effect if anyone locked eyes on. The plains of grass on either side of the river swayed lazily in the wind, allowing it to dictate the movement of every particular blade.
"I had no idea this was here." May said in awe. She was taken in by the simple beauty of the sight in front of her. "How did you know about this place."
"This isn't my first time in this Pokémon Centre." Ash laughed. "I wandered down here one night I was staying here in the past thinking it led to my room."
"That's not like you to get lost." May's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Hey, Pikachu was there too, why doesn't anyone ever blame him?" Ash asked annoyed.
"Where is he anyway?" May inquired.
"He doesn't even know about this." Ash sighed. "You're the first person or Pokémon I'm telling."
May felt her heart swell at these words. Ash was even telling her instead of Pikachu, his best friend.
"Okay Ash," May started seriously. "What happened?"
Ash took a deep breath and then began to tell May everything.
He described the feeling of disgust and sadness of the idea of Red doing the awful things he did. His betrayal at the hands of Cilan. His fear at the disappearance of his friend Latias. His worry and anxiousness over the words of Paul, Drew and Kenny. His wariness of losing all he's worked for to get to this point of his life as a trainer just to lose it in his obsession over this, and finally the words Mewtwo spoke to him last night.
May could see the emotional turmoil that Ash was going through. It was eating him up from the inside. She had noticed for a while but didn't want to say anything because she knew he would brush it off. Yet, here he was, explaining all his feelings to her, letting it gush out of him and wash over her in a sea of pain and worry.
She knew she shouldn't feel this way, but she was happy that Ash was telling him this. Ash Ketchum of all people was expressing his emotions. May felt so special that he chose her to do this with.
"First of all, Ash, thank you." She smiled.
"For what?" Ash asked very confused.
"This is the first time you've ever done this isn't it?" May asked. "The first time you've expressed how you felt in this much detail."
"Well, yeah." Ash admitted.
"I'm so happy and proud that you chose me to share these feelings with." She grabbed his hand softly.
Ash looked down at their contacted hands, feeling the warmth spread from his fingertips up through his arms and to his face.
"I promise you Ash, you might not see it now, but things will get better. Whether we do it ourselves or it happens some other way, we will get to the bottom of all this and you will feel much better."
May kept her eyes locked on Ash's as she spoke every word.
"I don't know, May." Ash spoke.
"I do," She said back with conviction. "Trust me Ash, believe me. You may have lost your role model and a friend, but you still have the rest of us who care for you."
She paused and gave his hand an extra squeeze.
"You still have me."
Ash's eyes lit up at these words.
"No matter what you have lost in the past, no matter what you lose in the future, everyone here is true to you and you will not lose us. Ash I appreciate you telling me everything, I truly do, but you know that you have to tell everyone else too."
"Yeah you're right." Ash sighed. "It's going to be hard going through that again."
"I know but I'll be by your side the whole time." May told him with a smile.
"You always are." Ash laughed. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Me too I don't know how you survived 3 regions without me there." May teased.
"Well, this helped." Ash said as he reached into the pocket of his jacket a withdrew half of a ribbon.
May felt a smile grow from internally and made its way externally to show on her face. She then reached into her bag that she carried with her and brought out the other half of the exact same ribbon.
The pair of trainers put both halves of their ribbons together to make it whole once again.
"You actually carried this with you throughout your travels too?" Ash asked.
"Every day." May told him.
The young duos eyes lingered on the ribbon for a few seconds until they met each other's gaze. Both felt heat rush into their faces.
Ash's mouth suddenly went dry while May took a big gulp.
"There you guys are, we've been looking all over for you!"
The pair jumped in fright and looked towards the door of the balcony where Max was standing.
"What're you two doing out here?" Max asked confused.
"Nothing just fresh air." May asked in a high voice, face still red.
"Come on then." Max said unaware of the atmosphere.
Ash and May exchanged one more, quick look before they followed the younger Maple through the doors back towards the main atrium of the Pokémon Centre.
As they arrived in the restaurant area of the Centre, they could see all their traveling companion's midway through their breakfast.
"Look who decided to join us." Gary smirked.
"Where were you two?" Dawn spoke mischievously.
"We were just talking out on the balcony." Ash explained.
"Talking huhhhhh?" Dawn was practically bouncing from the prospect of teasing the pair.
"Yes talking." May confirmed as she shot a look at Dawn.
"Are you sure you weren't-" Dawn started again.
"Hey look, seats. Who'd have thought it? Why don't we go sit Dawn?" May said in a strangely loud voice. She grabbed her friends' arm and led her towards the table as Dawn giggled as she followed.
"So, Ash it looks like you finally found something more important than breakfast in your life." Brock joked.
Brock then realised that Ash wasn't listening as he was stuffing his face full of food as Pikachu sat on his head slurping ketchup.
"Spoke too soon Brock." Misty laughed.
"Such a kid." Iris remarked shaking her head, as Axew picked up and ate an apple.
The group continued to eat until they finished their meal, they all relaxed in their seats for a few moments letting it digest. Even Piplup was panned out on the table after eating too much.
"I keep warning you Piplup if you keep eating so much, you'll be too big to move." Dawn warned.
"So, what's the plan once we get to Vermillion?" Gaz asked.
"I'd love to visit the Pokémon Fan Club they have there." Serena suggested. "They're world renowned. We'll have lots of time anyway right because you'll be training for a while won't you Ash?"
"Well about that…" Ash began.
"What is it?" Cameron asked curiously.
Ash hesitated. On instinct he looked towards may who gave him a small smile and nod. He then looked at Pikachu who was now perched on the table. His best friend looked up at it him in confusion, the gave him a small smile himself.
"Ok, well there's something I need to tell you guys." Ash admitted.
Ash ran through everything he went through with May with the larger group. As soon as the last word left his mouth, he felt a massive weight lift off his chest. This was only made better by the look of support given to him by all his friends.
"Ash we completely understand how you feel." Brock told him sincerely. "We're with you every step of the way."
"We're your friends and we want only what's best for you." Dawn added.
"Thank you, guys, seriously I really mean it." Ash spoke with his voice full of emotion.
"So, what do you want to do once we reach Vermillion Ash?" Max asked.
"I need to go to Tohjo, I have to help Mewtwo." Ash spoke with conviction.
"What about your training though?" Cameron asked.
"Usually I'd agree that your training comes first." Gary started. "However, when legendary Pokémon are going missing, I think that's more important."
"You know Ash, we could go to Tohjo to help and you can stay in Vermillion to train." Leaf suggested.
"Not a chance." Ash stated vehemently. "Mewtwo asked for me explicitly and there is no way I'm leaving Pokémon helpless while I go train for my own gain."
"I knew he was going to say that," Misty sighed. "That's why I didn't suggest it."
"I understand your decision Ash, but you need to recognise the weight of it." Gaz spoke. "Your dream as long as I've known you has to become a Pokémon Master, and part of that is becoming a Champion. Are you sure about this?"
"A Pokémon Master is not just about being a Champion." Ash began to speak passionately. "It's about knowing how important the bond between people and Pokémon is, it's about treating every Pokémon with respect and being willing to help every single Pokémon no matter who's its trainer or how it acts. They are our equals."
"Well then, to Tohjo we go." Gaz said with a smile.
"Are you sure you guys all want to this? It could be dangerous." Ash warned.
"Like you've never gotten us into danger before." Iris laughed as she rolled her eyes.
"This will be different though." Ash added.
"We've heard that before." Dawn remarked.
"Fine, if you're sure." Ash relented.
"We are." Serena said assuredly. "We told you we're supporting you until the end."
"Thank you, I really mean it." Ash told the group.
"Enough of this sappy stuff," Max scoffed. "Let's pack up and get going to Vermillion."
Meanwhile in an undisclosed location
Giovanni sat at his desk, slowly running his hand through the fur of his ever- loyal Persian at his side. The Classy Cat Pokémon purred in happiness at the action. Giovanni was deep in thought, going through the several intricate steps involved in his plan and trying to find out was there any holes left for someone to exploit.
He was snapped from his thoughts by a knock at his door.
"Come in." He shouted so the person could hear beyond the thick oak doors, causing his Persian to flinch at the sudden and loud sound.
One of his former most trusted employees walked in looking slightly annoyed at being summoned to the office that usually led to her being yelled at for seemingly no reason. A far cry from her glory days within the organisation.
Giovanni glared at her, usually his stare was enough to make people cower or at least be nervous, but his operative was well used to this by now. She stood twirling her blonde hair with her right hand while her left was gripping something in the pocket of her white skirt. Giovanni had a fair guess as to what it was.
"Why the long face Domino?" Giovanni smirked.
"Cut the crap and tell me why you called me here." She spat.
"You would think you'd have learned some respect by now." Giovanni snarled.
"Yes, you would." Domino said mockingly.
"Anyway," Giovanni spoke dismissively. "Back to the reason I brought you here. Believe it or not it was not to scold you."
Domino looked surprised and curious at this remark.
"Do you know why I've been so angry at you for these past few years?" Giovanni asked.
"I'm not sure of the exact details but I remember it all took a turn after that weird incident in Johto." She recollected.
"Do you remember what happened back then?" He asked.
"Of course, you sent me out on a special covert mission, and then…" Domino's thoughts trailed off as she furrowed her brow. "Then next I remember we were standing on some mountain, but it wasn't just us a lot of our grunts were there somehow."
"I was just as confused as you were." Giovanni admitted. "Since it was your operation and you were in charge, I blamed you for all of us ending up there seemingly for no reason."
"That was why?" Domino screamed outraged.
"Yes, it was." Giovanni confirmed. "If you're expecting an apology then you obviously don't know me very well. However, I now know the true reason as to why we ended up in that area of Tohjo."
"Why?" Domino asked, her anger replaced by curiosity.
"It was for a very rare Pokémon, in fact one of the rarest around." He explained.
"I think that I'd remember that." Domino said while rolling her eyes.
"You'd think you would, that is unless your mind was tampered with." Giovanni suggested.
"What do you mean?" Domino asked.
"We were there to capture many Pokémon, not just any Pokémon, cloned Pokémon. But there was one we desired above all."
Giovanni's fist clenched on the desk.
"The first Pokémon Team Rocket successfully managed to create, an artificial life form cloned from the DNA of the rarest Pokémon in existence, Mew. We labelled it Mewtwo."
"I think I would remember all this." Domino dismissed, she was wondering whether her boss was losing his mind or making up some kind of story to trick her into something.
"I understand you being sceptical but believe me all of these events happened." Giovanni spoke calmly.
"If this is true then how did you find out about all this? You were there too, so shouldn't your memory have been affected too?" Domino asked.
"It was." Giovanni spat angrily; he hated the very idea of someone stealing from him. His memories were his own and no one else's. His pride was hurt, and he wanted nothing but revenge. "I too had no idea how we ended up in Tohjo Falls that night. It wasn't until recently I discovered the answer. Whilst undertaking in our current operation I had Professor Namba research through our files. He came across an encrypted one that he had no access to which we both found odd considering his position in this organisation. He notified me and I took a look, somehow for a reason beyond me I remembered the password. What I found inside was the data we kept on Mewtwo. I had one of our newest recruits Psychic Pokémon help me unlock my memories and they all came back to me. The reason we were at Tohjo was to recapture Mewtwo."
Domino's mind was racing, all this time she had no idea why they were there, why Giovanni lost faith in her, why she ended up on borderline grunt level. She decided to ask the simple question first.
"You decided to let a new recruits Pokémon mess with your mind?" She asked incredulously. "Isn't that dangerous and stupid?"
"I knew this particular trainer wouldn't do anything." He answered confidently. "Plus, he's very powerful."
"Powerful, really? One of those puny co-ordinators?" Domino scoffed.
"Simple Domino, those weren't our only new operatives." He mocked.
This confused the former elite, but she decided not to pry. Instead her mind wandered as to why he chose to inform her of all this. She knew her boss too well at this point though, he wanted something.
"So, you called me here to fill me in on my lost memories out of the goodness of your own heart?" She asked suspiciously.
"Of course not." He laughed. "I'm officially reinstating you in your old role and you are going to be involved in our new operation. We have received information that one of our most worrisome factors are getting closer to here. Go to New Bark Town and rendezvous with an elite of ours, we'll update you from there."
"I better be getting a pay raise too." Domino spoke.
"Don't overstep," Giovanni warned. "You're getting that reinstatement you've been longing for, be happy for your blessings."
Those words angered Domino, the sheer arrogance this man had. She deserved this; she wasn't being given this. She decided not to press the situation. At the end of the day she was happy to be back in the real action.
"You're dismissed." Giovanni waved to the door.
Domino turned on her heel and walked towards the door, Giovanni saw her hand finally emerge from her pocket and he saw that she was holding a black tulip. She threw it over her head, and it landed on the desk in front of him. A sign that she was back and ready to continue her old position.
For Domino it meant something else however, it meant that just as much as she was willing to help Giovanni, she was just as ready to take him down for her to rise. Revenge in the form of beauty.
Thank you very much for reading, hope you all enjoyed. If you like please leave a review. However, I'd like to mention in the last chapter I got a review from someone being very aggressive and hateful towards me because of my support of the Black Lives Matter movement. If you are against Black Lives Matter and the equal rights of all people, please do not bother reading my story, I don't want to be associated with you and with all due respect please fuck off. BLACK LIVES MATTER!