December 8th, 2140
4:01 am
The train stood over the river with its doors open. Ash ran to the opened doors expecting to see a red-haired man attempting to swim towards land. He didn't.
Instead, he saw a body floating in a pool of blood: a body, a corpse. Ash let out a blood-curdling scream.
And then he woke up.
He frantically looked around the room expecting to be in a train-car. He wasn't. He was back in Kanto, in his bed in the military barracks. It has been more than a month since Gary fell into that river.
Besides, Gary wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead. When Ash last saw him, he was alive and attempting to swim towards land. Not floating in a pool of blood, and definitely not dead.
"But still," said the darker side of his mind. "It has been an entire month since you last saw him. He has not come back so he is either dead, lost or captured."
Better lost than dead, and better dead than captured.
Ash shook his dead and looked at his sleeping comrades in hopes of losing his dark thoughts. He didn't. He then laid back on his pillow in hopes of going back to sleep…
He didn't… not for a long time.
o - o - o - o - o
December 8th, 2140
7:32 am
Ash was eating his pancakes in silence when he felt someone slide into the seat next to him at the table. It was Misty.
"You look awful," She commented. She wasn't lying, Ash had baggy eyes (he couldn't sleep last night) and disheveled hair… more messy than normal.
"Nice of you to comment on it," Ash replied scathingly.
"Bad dreams again?" Misty asked solemnly.
Ash looked at her and slowly nodded. There was no use lying to her.
"They're getting worse with every passing night. In last night's dream Gary… Gary," Ash croaked, tears were forming in his eyes. He struggled to keep them.
"Go on," cooed Misty.
"He was dead… bl-blood everywhere...a-and," Ash confessed. The tears were rushing out. He placed his face in his arms which lay crossed on the table and began to sob hysterically.
Misty looked like she was going to cry, but instead, she wrapped her right arm around Ash's back and patted him as he sobbed. She also cooed into his ear in an attempt to comfort him.
They sat like that for a few minutes until Ash was able to recollect himself. He wiped his eyes and turned to look at her.
"Sorry about that," Ash said to her, looking faintly embarrassed.
Misty smiled at him. "Hey, what are friends for?"
He smiled back and they ate their breakfast in silence. After they finished, Misty stood up to leave.
"Well, I gotta go now… Oh yeah, Admiral Hendrix of the S.S Gyarados asked me to give you this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope.
"What is it?" Ash asked curiously as he took the envelope from her.
"I think they want to send you on another mission…" Misty abruptly stopped when she saw Ash's expression harden.
"They also said that is completely optional… since you are going through a mental stage and…"
"I'll think about it," replied Ash nonchalantly.
Misty simply nodded. "Ok, I'll let Admiral Hendrix know that you're thinking. The envelope included the instructions for if you say yes." With that Misty left.
Ash watched her go. After she was gone, he took the envelope from his pocket and opened it.
Dear Private Ketchum,
We are aware of your mental struggles after a series of tragic events that took place on the 27th of October. So we are merely asking you to complete this mission. It is not mandatory.
The mission is simple:
Kalosian pokemon professor Augustine Sycamore has important "bomb-making" papers in his laboratory located in the Kalosian capital city of Lumiose. Find all of them, and bring them back to Kanto. If worst comes to worst...burn it.
You will once more be working under Admiral Hendrix. Go to the Administrative Facility for more info.
If you do choose to complete this mission; Then I wish you the best of luck, soldier.
Sincerely,
General Scarlet Vexus of the Kantonian Army.
Ash read the letter a few times, then he looked up. He sat there for a few minutes wondering what he should do. He got up after about 15 minutes…
...To the Administrative Facility for the rest of his instructions.
December 16th, 2140
7:44 am
Ash and Hendrix once more used a fishing boat to get to Cyllage city. This time, Ash didn't take Pikachu since they were going to a city where he knew people, he feared he would get recognized if he brought Pikachu. After they arrived in Cyllage, they took a metro to Lumiose city. They arrived in Lumiose on December 16th early morning. They rented out an apartment above a pizzeria. The entrance stood in the alleyway.
Hendrix was setting the apartment up while Ash just looked out the window at the commuters going to work. He also looked across the street where Sycamore's lab stood. People in lab coats were going in and out of the lab.
The first part of the plan was to find out where the papers were kept. Ash turned to look at Hendrix who simply looked back (Hendrix was sitting on the couch).
"Should I begin the plan?" Asked Ash.
"Yeah… I need to take a nap… you go," Hendrix said while walking into the bathroom. Ash snorted.
Ash put on a black t-shirt with blue jeans and a dark grey trench coat. He then combed his hair to the left (with plenty of gel) and put on blue aviator sunglasses. He then looked into the mirror and smiled.
The man he saw in the mirror looked absolutely nothing like the boy who placed second place in the Kalos League six years ago. No one should be able to recognize him.
At the door stood a small side table. Ash grabbed a gun, a newspaper, and a pokeball from it. He put the gun inside his coat. He then pocketed the pokeball and put the gun inside his coat.
He walked down the stairs and out the door, a newspaper in his hand. He crossed the street and sat on a bench next to the lab's entrance.
He then began to "read" the newspaper in hopes of overhearing some vital information from one of the scientists. He sat there for like 15 minutes, then he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, Dedenne! Where are you going?"
Ash turned to see a familiar blonde-haired girl run out of Sycamore's lab...it was Bonnie. Ash smiled at his old friends.
Bonnie chased Dedenne all over the sidewalk, Ash watched while silently chuckling to himself.
"Dedenne! Wait for me!" Cried Bonnie cheerfully. Dedenne ran onto the busy street. Bonnie followed it. Ash's eyes bulged as he watched a truck speed towards her. He didn't waste a single second, he pushed himself off the bench and ran towards her.
Bonnie turned around to see a truck speed towards her. She screamed in fright. At that exact moment, Ash grabbed her neck and pulled her back just before the truck could hit her. He dragged her to the sidewalk and then released her.
"What-were-you-think-ing?!" Ash snarled at her. Bonnie looked at her shoes in shame.
"Sorry Mister, I don't know what I was thinking, I just wanted to catch my Dedenne. Thanks for saving me.
Ash grimaced at her. It was hard to stay mad at this girl.
"Bonnie! Bonnie! Are you ok?" Cried a blonde-haired man in a lab coat. It was Clemont. He ran towards Ash and Bonnie.
"I saw the entire thing… Thank you for saving my little sister," said Clemont as he shook Ash's hand. "I'm Clemont by the way."
Ash remained silent as he began to think of a pseudo-name he could use.
"Uriah Grayson," he finally said.
"Well Mr. Grayson, thank you for rescuing Bonnie here," said Clemont pointing at Bonnie. Ash nodded at her, Bonnie grinned back.
"Really, it was nothing…" Said Ash scratching the back of his head.
"Hey! Have you eaten breakfast yet?" Asked Bonnie.
"No…" said Ash, frowning.
"Hey, Clemont! Can Uriah join us for breakfast at the cafe?" Asked Bonnie.
"That sounds like a great idea! Would you like to join us for breakfast? We are going to a local cafe." Asked Clemont.
"Sure," said Ash.
o - o - o - o - o
December 16th, 2140
8:08 am
The walk to the cafe was not fun saying that it had begun to snow heavily. They were trudging through the snow and were shivering. A few minutes later they finally entered the cafe.
They found a booth next to the window and sat down. Bonnie and Clemont sat across from Ash. Ash ordered pancakes with sausage, Bonnie ordered French toast while Clemont ordered oatmeal with coffee.
Clemont took a sip of his coffee.
"So Mr. Grayson, what do you do for a living?" Asked Clemont.
"I work in architecture," Ash said the first thing that came to his mind. "Also don't call me Mr. Grayson. It makes me feel old."
Clemont chuckled. "Ok, Uriah. What made you want to pursue architecture?" Asked Clemont.
"Well… I… uh…. As a kid I loved buildings," Ash said.
"Incredible… Well I am an inventor and I am the Lumiose City Gym Leader," said Clemont, he puffed his chest up in pride.
"Cool, uh... so you also work for the professor?" Asked Ash while pointing to Clemont's lab coat.
"Oh yes, I help with his research on mega-evolution," Clemont replied. Ash raised his eyebrow at him. Clemont was clearly lying. Clemont must be helping the bomb production. Clemont must've realized that Uriah (Ash in reality) knew he was lying. Clemont hastily spoke.
"We think we may have discovered a new pokemon mega-evolution," Clemont said quickly… yep… he was definitely lying.
Ash cocked an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
"Yes, we do very much…" Clemont's phone rang. "One moment…hello?" Clemont got up and went into the restroom to take the phone call, leaving Ash and Bonnie alone in the booth.
"You look like my old friend Ash Ketchum," said Bonnie nonchalantly.
Ash nearly choked on his sausage. "What?"
"You look like someone who I knew six years ago; his name was Ash Ketchum. He is from the Kanto region.
Ash was trying to make sure he didn't give himself away. "Have you seen him since?"
Bonnie looked sad as she shook her head. "But, I hope to see him again. From what I heard, every household in his hometown had to send one person to the army a few months ago… I hope he's ok.
Ash simply nodded… he never liked being in the army. Seeing stuff no human being should ever see and losing friends along the way. So he definitely was not "ok". But he wasn't going to tell Bonnie that.
"Let's hope that he is ok…" he simply said. At that same moment, Clemont returned from his call.
"Hey sorry about that, it was an important call," Clemont said.
"It's cool," replied Ash. "Shall we finish our breakfast then?" Bonnie and Clemont nodded.
Twenty minutes later they finished their breakfast and left the cafe. When they left the cafe, they heard someone.
"Bonnie! Clemont!" Cried a female voice. Ash whipped around, hand on his gun. Instead of seeing a person who meant harm, his jaw dropped. The woman running towards them was Serena.
"Serena! Hiiii!"Cried Bonnie, running towards Serena and tackled her in a hug.
"Oh wow! Serena, You're here in Lumiose? Wow… It's so nice to see you." Said Clemont cheerfully.
"I wanted to give you a surprise visit!" Said Serena joyfully. She then caught Ash's eye and frowned at his shocked expression.
"Hello… who are you?" She asked puzzled.
"Aaahh… Serena, this is Uriah, Uriah this is Serena… a close friend of mine," said Clemont.
Serena smiled and extended her hand. Ash frowned, unsure of whether he should accept it. In the end, he accepted it since he was making everyone around him so uncomfortable.
Serena relaxed when he accepted the handshake. "So how did you guys meet?" She asked.
Clemont told her the entire story, Ash simply sat down on a bench and stared into space. When Clemont was finished, Serena looked shocked. She turned to Ash and profusely thanked him for saving Bonnie's life. Ash simply shrugged it off. Suddenly, Bonnie grabbed his forearm.
"Serena! Don't you think that Uriah looks a lot like Ash?" Said Bonnie cheerfully.
"Oh my gosh! He does really look like Ash!" Serena gasped. Even Clemont nodded.
"If we mess up his hair then he'll look exactly like him!" Bonnie reached up in an attempt to mess up Ash's hair. Ash yanked her hand away.
"Don't touch it!" He snarled at her. He then looked up at the three shocked faces staring at him. He cringed.
"I gotta go." He turned around and began to walk away.
o - o - o - o - o
December 16th, 2140
8:45 am
The trio stood there in shock.
"Guess he really loves his hair…" Said Clemont utterly confused.
"Should I feel bad Clemont?" Asked Bonnie sullenly.
"Well you should not touch someone's hair…" said Clemont.
Serena merely stared at where Uriah had stood only a few seconds ago.
She had a bad feeling about that man…
o - o - o - o - o
December 16th, 2140
8:51 am
Ash arrived at the apartment and stared at the mirror. He had washed his hair, so there was no gel in it. He wore his usual hairstyle, messy black hair. He wore a black t-shirt with blue jeans.
He knew he shouldn't have gotten so frightened when Bonnie wanted to touch his hair. She was only being the playful little girl he knew six years ago.
He was being stupid… paranoia was taking him over… He was never this messed up before Gary fell out of that train, or when Marcus and Samantha were blown to bits.
He just felt like if Bonnie had messed up his hair, then they might have realized that Uriah wasn't actually Uriah, that Uriah was a nonexistent person. That Uriah was only a made-up name to hide Ash's true identity.
But it was far more likely that the trio just thought that Uriah was Ash's doppelganger or something. But still, Ash didn't want to risk it. If they found out who Ash truly was… they were bound to tell authorities… Right?
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Ash's heart nearly stopped beating… that knock was so loud. He opened the door to see Hendrix's menacing scowl facing him. Ash took a step back in surprise.
"Is everything alright Hendrix?" Ash asked innocently.
"Where in the name of Arceus were you boy?! You had one job and somehow you failed it. You failed at sitting on a bench and eavesdropping and those danged scientists. You better have a good explanation for this!" Snarled Hendrix.
"I-I was having breakfast…" Spluttered Ash.
"What?!" Said Hendrix now looking utterly perplexed.
So, Ash told him everything. He started from Bonnie's near-death incident and worked up to the point where he dashed off in fear of them having recognized him.
By the end of the story. Hendrix's menacing scowl turned into a curious stare. He seemed to be lost in thought. He paced around the hallway.
"So you befriended a scientist at the laboratory, who you also happen to know from six years. He and his sister took you out for breakfast. Where you three ran into another old friend, a female. And you fear that they might soon realize that there is no such person as Uriah?" Hendrix briskly asked.
Ash fervently nodded.
"Ok. First thing's first. You need to stay on the scientist's good side. Ok?" Said Hendrix.
Ash nodded once more. Hendrix grinned. He was still pacing around the hallway, then he stopped and turned to look at Ash. A much larger grin appeared on his face.
He leaned towards Ash's ear and whispered something into Ash's ear. He then grabbed Ash's palm, and put something in it. He smiled as he stepped back.
"Now with that out of the way, we have more important matters to discuss," Hendrix said.
"What's that?" Asked Ash, looking up at Hendrix.
If Hendrix's smirk wasn't huge before, then now it was huge.
"The beginning of our plan to steal the Kalosian bomb-making papers."
: ~ :
I just want to make this clear if it is not already clear. Ash is Uriah. Ash used a pseudonym since clearly, Ash couldn't tell Clemont his real name.
Hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it. I am excited to read your comments! (WRITE COMMENTS PLZ)
Again, I do not own any of the characters (except for Hendrix) and places mentioned in this fan-fiction story, it all belongs to the Pokemon Company. I only own the plot.