We were currently on our way to Petalburg City. April was joining us until we got there, so that we could arrive together for the birth of May's new baby. April and Megan were both excited about finally getting to find out if their new sibling would be a boy or a girl.
We were walking along a path in a forest when I suddenly sensed something and motioned for everyone to stop.
"Guys, be quiet." I commanded.
"What? Why?" April asked, not in the loop like her sister and Jason were.
"He's sensed something and he's using his Aura to scan the area." Megan explained.
I shut my eyes and concentrated. A few seconds passed, and I opened my eyes.
"We're not alone. There are two others. Follow me."
We stepped off the path and walked through the trees and bushes until we ran into two familiar faces: my dad and Trevor.
I saw that Latias was no longer with my dad like she was the last time that I had seen him, so she must have returned to Altomare. Still, I wondered just how close Latias and my dad were, since he did have lots of female admirers, and I knew that even he wasn't completely immune to their temptations.
We exchanged our greetings and I asked, "What are you two doing here?"
"I was flying to Petalburg City to meet up with your mom, who told me about May's soon-to-be-born baby. But while I was flying, I spotted one of the ships belonging to one of Team Rocket's Pokemon hunters landing in the distance, so I landed." my dad explained.
"I happened to be close by when Ash landed and we ran into one another. He filled me in on seeing Team Rocket and I wanted to help, so I'm with him right now. I won't let Team Rocket get away this time!" Trevor said, his eyes full of anger.
He was still angry about what had happened to his best friend and to his sister.
"Trevor, try and remain calm, anger won't help you. I understand the anger you feel, but you can't let yourself succumb to the anger and the darkness." my dad said.
"We're helping, too." I said confidently.
"Yeah, me too!" April added.
Megan and Jason nodded their heads as well.
"Okay, but you all have to promise to do exactly what I say. I don't want any of you hurt or captured." my dad ordered.
We began to follow my dad and I heard April ask Megan something that peaked my interest.
"Is this a common thing for you while traveling with Adam? Are you constantly being put in danger, Megan?" April asked.
"It's happened a few times, but I know that I'll never be in real danger. Adam is always here to protect me." Megan reassured her.
I was glad to hear that Megan had put her trust in me like that, regarding her safety. I would never betray that trust and always put my friends' safety first, just like my dad would.
But...something about the tone in Megan's voice made me wonder if her gratitude went deeper than on a friendly level.
After walking for a bit, we reached one of the hunter's vehicles with four grunts outside, searching the area for any new powerful Pokemon to capture. We hid in the bushes and eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Can you believe the girl that we captured? Too bad for her being in the wrong place at the wrong tome when we landed, and trying to interfere with us."
"Do you think it's Amber again?" Megan asked softly.
But as they described the girl, it wasn't Amber. No, it was...
"Christina!" April cried quietly. "They have Christina!"
"We have to save her!" Megan added.
"Really? After Christina treated you and April so badly, you want to HELP her?!" Jason questioned in disbelief.
"No one deserves to suffer at the hands of Team Rocket. We've made up with her, too. We've both forgiven her. She needs help." Megan explained.
"Megan is right. Regardless of how Christina has acted in the past, she needs to be rescued. But we need a plan." my dad said.
"I can hide underneath one of the vehicles, then get inside when the grunts drive back to the ship. I just don't know how to sneak back out once I find Christina." said Megan.
"We could battle the grunts guarding the outside of the ship, distracting them. With their attention on us, you and Christina can escape." I suggested.
"Megan will need help, so I'm going with her. After all, what kind of big sister would I be if I let you face danger alone?" April said, looking at her sister.
"I agree, and it'll be easier with help. That way, if anyone sees us, we'll be able to tell one another. We can watch each other's backs." said Megan.
"We'll follow the tire tracks back to the ship while you two wait for you chance to climb underneath the vehicle." I told the girls.
April and Megan nodded their heads slipped past the grunts when their backs were turned. They quickly crawled under the vehicle and after twenty minutes, the grunts climbed back in and drove off, having not found any Pokemon to capture.
The rest of us followed the tire tracks once the vehicle was out of sight. After several minutes of following the tracks, we came to a clearing where the ship had landed. Four more grunts were standing outside of the ship. The vehicle had already gone inside the ship.
The first step was complete, the girls were inside. Now it was our turn to distract the grunts until they got out with Christina.
"Four of us, four of them. We can each battle one." Trevor said.
"Let's go!" my dad said, and we jumped up.
"Thunderbolt!" my dad and I cried to our Pikachus.
"Metal Claw!" Jason cried as he tossed Weavile's Pokeball.
"Rock Slide!" Trevor cried as he released his Aggron.
The grunts had no time to react or call out their own Pokemon as they were knocked unconscious.
Trevor approached one of the unconscious grunts and looked at him with disgust and contempt.
"To be safe, we can't allow any of them to live. Aggron, kill them."
"Trevor, don't!" my dad said sternly.
"If you kill them, then you're no better than Team Rocket." I said.
"You can't turn yourself to that evil that plagues them." Jason added.
But before anything else could happen, a voice interrupted us. Turning, we saw Hunter Mya walking down the ramp. She was dressed in the red jumpsuit and the long black coat that all of the Pokemon hunters wore, and her long, straight purple hair was falling down her back. Her arm cannon was on her arm and she was smirking at us evilly.
Three female grunts were walking behind her with three Machamps that were carrying and restraining April, Christina, and Megan! It was clear that they had gotten caught while trying to escape.
"Don't you dare hurt them!" my dad yelled.
"I'll release these three girls in exchange for you and your son, and give me your Pokemon." Mya said.
"Don't do it, Adam! I'm not worth it! And Master Ketchum, you're the only one who can stop Team Rocket's plans!" Megan cried out.
My dad looked her in the eyes and said, "I have one question first. It's something that's been on my mind since I was first abducted, back in Kanto. How can Team Rocket keep coming back, no matter how many of your forces are captured or how many of your plans are stopped? I thought your ultimate defeat happened years ago, thanks to myself and the Elite Four."
Mya cackled and shook her head. "Nobody can defeat Team Rocket! You can only delay us, stop us temporarily. But Team Rocket will never disappear for good...because 'they' won't let it happen!"
"Who are 'they'? And regardless, I'll always be here to stop you!"
It seemed that Team Rocket's secret ties ran deeper than any of us ever thought possible! Who were "they" that Mya had mentioned? Who was pulling the string behind the scenes?
"So I'll ask again, will you two surrender for the release of these three?" Mya asked.
"Don't do it-" Megan started.
"Shut up!" Mya yelled and punched Megan in the side of her head, causing her to cry out.
At that moment, something inside of my mind snapped. Seeing my friend held captive, her life in danger, all because of me? It was just like that time back on Dewford Islands when we were nearly captured, and all the other times during my journeys with Michelle in Kanto and Johto, and I couldn't forget about my other friends like Nikki and Amber, who had been in danger before!
It was like my body was now being controlled by some otherworldly force. My fists became clenched and I gritted my teeth together, growling from my throat. The ground began to shake a little and in a flash of light, I let out a piercing scream, knocking everyone and their Pokemon to the ground! My body was now surrounded by my Aura. But instead of it being blue, it was black, and my eyes were glowing blood-red! The only thing going through my mind at this moment was...rage. Pure rage!
I was only focused on the harm that Mya had inflicted on Megan and my rage was clouding any judgement. As everyone got back on their feet, the girls, now free, ran back over to us. I stared Mya and her grunts down and shouted out one word: "DIE!"
Faster than they could follow, I dashed forward and punched each of the grunts in their stomachs, then kicked them in their heads, knocking them unconscious. I then punched Mya's arm cannon, shattering it. I pushed her to the ground as I knelt on her chest, keeping her pinned. My hands latched around her throat and I began choking her. She was looking at me with pure terror in her eyes!
But suddenly, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Megan hugging me. She looked sad and almost seemed to be pleading with me.
"I'm okay, Adam. Please don't succumb to this evil and rage! Go back to being the Adam who protects me and keeps me safe no matter what. This isn't you! Adam, I'm okay now, but you aren't! Please come back!" she pleaded with teary eyes.
Seeing her expression, I blinked a few times and let go of Mya and stepped backwards with Megan. Mya coughed hard as she tried to get her breath back and she crawled back onto her ship and quickly took off into the sky. She didn't seem to care about her unconscious grunts that were still on the ground.
I slowly felt my Aura disappearing and everything seemed to lose the red glow that it had previously had.
But before I could do anything, I blacked out and felt my body fall to the ground.
When I awoke, I realized that I was in a bed. I looked out the window and saw that the sun was setting. I had slept through the entire day! I spotted Pikachu sitting on the floor and he heard me as I sat up and he jumped onto my bed and into my arms.
"I'm sorry to have made you worry. I'm okay, buddy." I said, rubbing his head.
I looked up, hearing the door open, and saw my dad, Megan, Jason, Trevor, April, and Christina enter my room.
"Glad to see you're awake." said April.
"And that you're okay." Jason added.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"You collapsed, due to over-exerting your Aura powers, which is known as Aura Shock. Once the body uses too much Aura, it becomes weak and the person can even die from it if they aren't careful. Thankfully, you just need rest to recover your Aura and since you slept most of the day, everything should be fine now." my dad explained.
"After you collapsed, I called Officer Jenny, who arrested the grunts that were left behind. We then brought you here, a nearby Pokemon Center, to let you rest. Luckily, everyone else is unharmed after today's events."
I then looked over at Megan, who had a bruise on the side of her head, next to her eyebrow, from where Mya had struck her.
"I'm okay, it'll fade after a few days." Megan said as she caught me staring.
Then Christina turned to April and Megan and asked, "Why did you two risk your lives to save me? After all, I was so cruel to both of you for so long. It doesn't make sense. I know that you forgave me, but I didn't think that meant that you would risk your lives for me!"
"No one deserves to be harmed by Team Rocket. And besides, the past is in the past." April reassured her.
"We've turned over a new leaf, after all. So we're going to help you, no matter what, even if we aren't friends yet. It was the right thing to do." Megan added.
"Well...after what we've gone through today...can we be friends?" Christina asked.
"Yes!" Megan and April said with a smile.
The three girls then shared a group hug.
"Ash, why was Adam's Aura a different color? And how did he gain that superhuman speed and strength?" Jason asked.
"When a sudden large emotional trigger occurs in a person who can use Aura, their Aura level surges, making the body's natural abilities such as speed, strength, and thinking increase dramatically, making them seem almost superhuman. However, that emotional trigger also makes the person lose all sense of reason and their only thought is the emotion that triggered it in the first place. Which, in Adam's case, was anger. That also explains why the glow surrounding his body was black instead of blue. Positive emotions give off a blue glow, while negative emotions give off a black glow." my dad explained.
"This proves that Adam hates Team Rocket just as much as I do and that you also want them dead. Your actions today confirm this, since you were about to kill Hunter Mya. You can't lie to yourself anymore!" Trevor declared.
Was what Trevor said true? Did I hate them as much as he did? Did I have a darkness that was hiding deep inside of me?
I was angry because my friend was in danger and hurt because I couldn't protect her. I can't allow anyone to be hurt because of me. I do think that I have a darkness within my heart, but I try to keep it buried because I know that I can't allow hatred to change me. I thought.
"I won't ever allow what happened today to happen again. Well, as much as I can to try to avoid this from happening again." I told Trevor.
But then...I suddenly feared that something worse might happen to me in the future. There could be worse consequences that I couldn't see yet!
"Adam, what's wrong?" Megan asked, seeing my look of regret.
"Back on Dewford Island when we encountered Paul, I lost control of my Aura. I didn't tell you or Jason about my Aura abilities at first because I was afraid of losing control and possibly hurting you both. But...it happened today! My worst fear came true!" I cried, feeling my eyes burn with tears.
"Thankfully, I didn't hurt any of my friends, but I did lose control of my Aura and nearly took someone's life! Even if she was a member of Team Rocket, it's something that I would've regretted for the rest of my life! And the worse part is that I knew she could die...and I didn't even care if she did!
"I can't trust myself with my Aura powers anymore. We have to stop traveling together and go our separate ways. I won't put you both in danger like that, Jason and Megan. It's the hardest decision I've ever had to make, but it's for the best. Both for my sake and yours."
Jason shook his head. "Not happening, Adam. You've tried to do this before, making the choice to split our group up because you were dangerous to be around. But I won't ever leave you. We're a team and we stick together! I don't care if there's danger, I won't leave you just because it gets dangerous."
"I'm not leaving, either! No way! I feel safer with you and Jason than I would with anyone else." Megan cried.
"This isn't like before, though. It's much worse! The danger isn't from Team Rocket because they're after me, it's from myself and my uncontrollable actions! What if I lose control again? My powers would be too unpredictable! And in my blind rage, I could possibly turn against either one of you, since I wouldn't be able to think straight! And I'd never forgive myself if I hurt my friends! I'm sorry, but I just can't trust myself around you guys anymore. I won't put you in that kind of danger!"
"We refuse to leave you, Adam." Megan said firmly.
"We're here to help you. There has to be a way to work on your Aura and be able to get it under control so that no more risks happen." Jason added.
"Your friends are right, Adam. Going your separate ways would be the worst thing to do. They'll help you and keep you grounded and sane." my dad said.
"But you don't know that for sure." I said, climbing out of bed and slipping into my sneakers. "And this is much worse than anything before, and much bigger than Team Rocket's threat! Because the threat is from something that can't control whether it hurts you or not. I can't trust myself to not hurt you anymore, and you can't trust me!"
"Adam-" Jason began.
"NO!" I screamed, pushing past everyone and running out of the room with Pikachu on my heels.
As tears of sadness and emotional pain streamed down my cheeks, I ran out of the Pokemon Center. I didn't want to leave my friends, but I knew that it was for the best and that it would keep everyone safe if I was on my own.
I kept running down the path and didn't look back, with the sun setting in the sky.
Author's Note: Adam discovers a dark side to his Aura and to his personality, which had been hiding deep inside, unbeknownst to him. Knowing that he can't endanger his friends' lives, he runs away to strike out on his own.
Is this the end for our group of heroes? Let us know what you think and stay tuned for the next emotional chapter of Pokemon NG!