"So is Jones really apart of Team Rocket?" Misty asked taking a glance at the blond beside her. She and Alyssa stood out in the afternoon sun at the Oak Corral, watching Pikachu relax with a group of Ashs Pokemon by the lake.
"Her back story is legit, she won the Hoenn League six years ago, travelled around to train her Pokemon before taking on the Elite Four, won the badges fairly. But she could have been tempted by Team Rocket at any point in her career to join. So honestly I'm not sure,"
Misty sighed and pulled out her Pokegear, checking the time, it was ten after five, "It's almost dinner time, and Delia will be waiting for us."
Alyssa nodded and readjusted her beret, "Better get going then huh?" Misty nodded in agreement and together they headed towards the group of relaxed Pokemon.
"Hey Pikachu it's time to go!" Misty called out to the yellow mouse that was sun bathing next to a large dog with orange and black fur. Pikachu's ears twitched at her voice before his eyes fluttered open to see the two girls approaching them.
Rolling onto his stomach, he stood up and stretched before scampering over to Misty and leaping onto her head. "Did you have fun Pikachu?"
"Chuka pi cha pikachu," Pikachu agreed with a nod of his head. Waving goodbye to the rest of the Pokemon, the trio made their way into Professor Oak's lab where they were greeted by a young man with spikey brown hair who wore a lab coat over a black polo shirt and cargo pants.
"Are you three heading out?" Gary asked curiously.
"It's about time for dinner, but we'll be back around here tomorrow afternoon," Misty answered as he wrapped his arms around her waist, which caused Pikachu to leap into Alyssa's arms.
"So I'll see you tomorrow then?" He asked softly giving her a light kiss on the lips.
She nodded, "Yup," She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "I'll see you later," She answered as he released his hold on her.
He turned to Alyssa and Pikachu who watched the scene in silence, "I'll see you guys later, take care." He said in farewell as he turned away and walked around a corner and out of sight.
Misty let out a heavy sigh and gestured for Alyssa to follow, in silence they left the Lab and began making their way down the dirt path that led into the streets of Pallet. Alyssa and Pikachu chatted quietly to each other leaving Misty to her thoughts.
She felt like she was betraying him, moving on from him almost right away. She had loved him and she still did, but he was gone, dead, forever never to return. Gary was there for her, and usually she wouldn't care for him but … When Ash had died it had been too much, Gary had been there to comfort her and she accepted it. She couldn't help but feel like she only wanted his comfort because he reminded her of Ash, and the fact he lived near Delia.
She liked him sure, but did she love him? No, and she doubt she ever would. She wished she could, but right now she was still too hung up on Ash. She was the same as Alyssa hopelessly in love with someone who was gone. With a false hope that some miracle would bring him back. But it was hopeless, he was gone. Never to return again.
Pikachu turned to look at Misty as she let out another quiet sigh, he knew that whatever she was thinking about had to deal with Ash. The past year had been hard for all of them, especially the girls, himself and the rest of Ashs Pokemon.
The girls dealt with it by sharing stories with each other late at night, and by keeping themselves busy. He and the other Pokemon kept each other's spirits up, the get together every few days were stress relievers, to continue training, reminisce to each other about past adventures, and discuss the future. They did more than the Trainers realized, keeping their moral raised for future events.
The water Pokemon were lucky, Misty would occasionally have them transferred over to Cerulean Gym where they could participate in Gym battles. It was a kind gesture, like Alyssa's proposition of becoming a Trainer. Following in Ashs footsteps and getting all of the other Pokemon the challenges they trained for.
He admired both girls attitude towards Ashs passing, they were all still far from getting over it due to nightmares, the occasional time you forget that he was gone and not right next to you, it was rough. But they were coping as well as he was.
A breeze blew gently through the air, Pikachus ears twitched in curiosity and he sniffed at the air. He frowned and sniffed again, a foreign scent lingered in the air, closing his eyes he drowned out the sounds of the girls footsteps and tried to pinpoint where that smell was coming from.
"Pika!" Pikachu leapt out of Alyssa's arms, shocking both girls as he turned back and began sprinting away from them.
"Pikachu what's wrong?" Alyssa shouted at the yellow mouse who was putting a considerable amount of distance between them.
"Let's go, it's not like him to just run off like that!" Misty stated quickly, the two girls broke out into a sprint in pursuit of Pikachu who they could see in the distance was sparking his cheeks as he rounded a corner.
Pikachu sprinted down a path that led into a wooded part of Pallet Town, not stopping in stride; he leapt into the air and swung an iron tail at the lock of an iron barred gate ahead of him. The gate flew backwards off its hinges and Pikachu sprinted through the rows of gravestones until he saw a large dark blue shark like Pokemon digging into the ground.
Growling furiously electricity began engulfing Pikachus body and began arcing out dangerously as he sprinted towards the Pokemon. The land shark turned from digging just in time to see Pikachu leap off the ground and spear it in its midsection sending it tumbling backwards until it came to an abrupt stop.
"Pika Pikachu Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu growled furiously at the three humans and Pokemon who stood by the gravestone. Pikachu glanced behind him and saw the name etched on the gravestone, Ash Ketchum.
"Pika Pika Pikachu!" electricity crackled and danced across his fur as he prepared to defend his Trainers grave.
"Pikachu calm down," The blond took a step forward, but a jolt of lighting stopped her in her path.
"Cynthia…" Lance glanced at the Sinnoh Champion cautiously; they had almost reached the body when the Pikachu showed up. And now they were caught.
"Pikachu it's me Cynthia, don't you remember me?" She asked softly.
Pikachu nodded, but the danger in his eyes didn't lessen, "Pikachu pika Pikapi!"
"Pikachu where are you!" A voice in the distant called out.
"Dammit," Steven muttered angrily, they tried doing this undercover. But now they were going to have to deal with the family.
"Pikachupi Chukapi Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted as he stepped forward forcing the Champions back. Misty and Alyssa ran into view and saw the partially dug hole above Ashs grave.
"Wha-whats going on!" Misty asked worriedly as she turned to face the Champions, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Misty, we're here on G-Men business and we-"
"I don't care what you're doing, why the hell are you digging up his grave!" Alyssa yelled angrily, just who the hell did these people think they were, trying to grave rob Ash or whatever sick twisted thing they're doing.
"Please cal-"
"No we will not calm down; you are digging up our friends grave for Gods sakes!" Misty retaliated quickly.
Lance glanced to Cynthia and nodded, Cynthia stepped forward, "We're doing this because there is a reason to believe Ash is alive." Her voice was firm, daring them to contradict her.
Misty, Alyssa and Pikachu froze, their minds went blank. All the anger turned to shock, "What?" Alyssa's voice was quiet in the silent cemetery.
"We have a reason to believe that Ash is alive, and that whatever is in that grave isn't him."
Misty and Alyssa were speechless, what was there possibly to say after something like this.
"H-How do you know?" Misty asked unsurely.
Cynthia took a deep breath and began recounting the information that was taken from Team Rocket.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"One more time Espeon and we'll call it a day," 237 watched as the magenta cat took a battle stance and glared at the heavily panting Raticate in front of them, "Espeon use Distort!"
Espeons eye shimmered an aqua blue as it lift the normal type into the air, in the same action it opened its mouth and let out loud a high pitch screech which penetrated the Raticates eardrums without any trouble. The Raticate withered in pain, it was unable to hold its head as the sound rose higher in pitch until seemed to cut through the air like a knife, "End it."
In an instant, Raticate was sent hurling into a wall with a back shattering smash, and then fell to the ground unmoving. Espeon walked calmly over to 237 who bent down and rubbed her gently underneath the chin, "Excellent work that Psychic-Screech combination is powerful, let's get you something to eat and then we'll sleep alright?" Espeon nodded and rubbed affectionately up against his leg.
The duo left the battlefield and made their way down an empty hallway which led to the cafeteria. "Hey there sexy," A female voice behind him called out. He stopped in mid-stride and waited as he heard her footsteps grow closer to him.
He felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his waist and hot breath on his ear, "It's been awhile," She whispered seductively into his ear, he could smell her minty breath.
"Not long enough," He stated as he began making his way down the hall, leaving the girl by herself. He turned a corner and quickly stepped into a nook that hid him from sight. A few second passed and his hand shot out from cover and gripped the girl by the wrist who let out a startled gasp as he pulled her up against him, their faces inches apart.
She had long blond hair, violet eyes, a perky nose, and a bashful smile on her face. "I thought you were serious back there for a moment Shay,"
He leaned down and brought his lips to her ear, "Maybe I am," He whispered cockily, he laid his forehead gently down on the blonds and looked her in the eye.
Her hands snaked underneath his black shirt and ran gently across his abs, she leaned upwards and brought her mouth close to his, "Maybe I can change that for you?" She whispered suggestively, her lips brushed against his as they stared intently into each other's eyes.
Shay suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist while his other hand lifted her chin so that their lips met. She removed her hands from under his shirt and wrapped them around his neck, deepening the kiss. Shay spun her around and forced her up against the wall, before braking the kiss, and making his way up her jaw-line, and then to her neck.
She moaned once in pleasure, as Shay brought his mouth up once again to her ear, "I missed you Domino," He whispered huskily, sending a chill running down her spine.
She placed her hand on his chest and gently pushed him away, her heart hammered against her ribcage as she looked into his eyes, "And I you,"
Shay leaned in and placed a tender, yet passionate kiss on her lips. Letting them feel the warmth of each other's company. Reluctantly, he separated their lips and a rare smile graced his face, Domino stuck out her bottom lip in a pout but quickly embraced Shay and held him tightly.
"What are you doing here?" He asked softly, reciprocating the hug. His hand ran gently through her smooth hair, it was almost mesmerizing for him.
She looked up to meet his eyes, "I was told of your little… Incident,"
He scowled in disgust, "It's not my fault," He stated through grated teeth, "It's… It's those damned girls, and… And those bloody headaches."
Domino reached up and ran a hand through his unruly hair, "That's why I'm here, I don't blame you, and neither does the Boss. We'll be here for you, how long until your operation?"
"Just under two weeks, until then I have to keep using these," He reached for his right thigh where a bandolier of three needles lay at the ready, "Incase I get anymore headaches."
"How often do they come?"
He let out a frustrated sigh, "Every other day or so, I'm expecting one tomorrow. But for all I know it could happen in the next minute or so."
Domino took his hand and gave it a squeeze, "You'll be fine. I'm here for you, now and the moment your operation is complete."
"I know, it's just some of the… Things the voices say are strange. I even hear my own voice on occasion, I even heard yours on the day of the… Incident." This caught Dominos attention and a flicker of uncertainty flashed across her eyes, seemingly unnoticed by Shay.
"Really?" She asked timidly.
"Mhmm,"
"What did I say?"
He looked thoughtful, his eye brows furrowed in concentration. "It's a little hazy, but something about having two options about something. Not really sure, do you know anything about that?"
A thoughtful look crossed her face until she slowly shook her head, "No, I don't think I do," she gave him an apologetic smile, "Sorry."
He waved it away, "It's fine," He placed an arm around her shoulder and they started down the hallway, "We're grabbing a light dinner then heading to bed, would you care to join us?" He offered politely.
She leaned up to his ear, "For which one?"
A smirk tugged at his lips, as he stopped walking and wrapped his arms around her waist, "Your choice," He growled out in a whisper.
Domino raised an eyebrow and gave him a once over, "I'll take a dinner, I'm not sure if I'll be up late tonight." She started back down the hall hips swaying teasingly, before she looked over her shoulder with a glimmer in her eye, "But we'll see."
With that she stalked off around a corner leaving Shay with a mischievous grin on his face. He looked down to Espeon who was waiting patiently, "Let's go Esp, she's not getting away that easily," He took off down the hall with Espeon in tow and disappeared around the corner.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Misty, Alyssa, Pikachu and the Champions stood around the partially dug grave in silence. They had seen the pictures, heard the possibilities, and God they wanted it to be true. But what if it wasn't? What if they dug up his grave to only see his rotten corpse? It wasn't an image or thought they could live with.
But if it was true? Ash would be back, alive, they could be together again. And it seemed all to good to be true, they wanted to believe it.
"So do you want us to do this?" Lance stated seriously, they had just found out about the possibilities and they could no the truth in minutes.
Misty looked to Alyssa, the shock had yet to wear off for both of them. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. And then a thought came to her mind, what about Delia, its Ash, her son. If anyone was to have a say in this it would be he-
"Pi, pikachu Pikapi," Pikachu turned to Garchomp, "Chaka chupi pikachu," Garchomp nodded and leapt into the hole and began clawing at the dirt.
"Pikachu wait, what if this isn-"
"Pikachupi pikachu cha pika Pikapi!" Pikachu turned to the dig site and watched expressionless as dirt flew out of the hole.
"I suppose we have our answer," Steven muttered going over to stand beside the electric mouse; Alyssa and Misty stared at each other unsurely, before joining Steven and Pikachu in silence.
And object flew out of the hole and landed in the dirt pile, Cynthia walked over to it and picked it up, dusting of the dirt that coated it.
It was a burgundy and brown hat, but if it was washed the colors would surely be red and white. She looked up from the hat as the sound of wood being struck sounded from the hole. Lance stepped passed the wall of people and dropped into the two meter deep hole, "Break it open," He ordered the land shark Pokemon.
Its claw glowed white and it smashed through the casket with ease, Lance turned back to look at the girls, "You may not want to see this," He turned to Cynthia, "Data Pad?"
She nodded and reached into her pocket, and pulled out a thin touch screen device and handed it to the Dragon Master. Lance turned back to the casket, and with his free hand pulled removed the splintered wood and examined the corpse.
"What the... Steven, I think we have our answer…" He stated positively, his voice however carried a heavy amount of curiosity.
Steven came around and peered through the small hole in the casket and his face scrunched up in confusion, "Is… Is that human?" He asked unbelieving.
In the casket, were the remains of a body. The skin was dried and sucked into the skull, which they could now see was heavily deformed. The frontal lobe was pressed back, while the jaw hung protruding at an odd angle. Lance hesitantly placed a finger on one of the body's eyelids and pulled it back, he groaned and looked away as he saw the eye.
The eye was black and veins could be seen running across the lengths of the cornea, "Cynthia, get Anderson on the line and tell him to ready the attack. Then call in a transport to get… This thing out of here, scientists are going to tell us what the hell this thing is," He glanced once more at the disfigured form and shook his head, but before he climbed out of the hole, he entered something into the data pad and a small tray opened.
He let out a disgusted groan and pinched the cheek of the body for a piece of skin, which ripped off the body easily. He placed the flake of skin on the tray and shut it. Standing up he handed the data pad to Steven and climbed out of the hole, he looked over to the two girls who stood a few feet back.
Their faces were both pale as he walked over to them, "Is it…" Misty couldn't continue, her heart hammered against her chest in suspense.
"I can tell you that whatever is in that grave is not Ash," Alyssa and Misty clasped to the ground in disbelief, there was a chance that he was alive. It seemed far too good to be true, it… It seemed like a dream.
"Are… Are you going to…" Alyssa had tears running down her cheeks, he was alive, and if the Champions weren't going to get him out, then she damn well was.
"Yes, we're going to return to our headquarters and launch and assault. We're going to get him out of there, and then shut Team Rocket down once and for all."
"I-I'm coming with you!" Alyssa's voice was shaky, and just above a whisper, but there was nothing but hope in her voice.
"No, both of you are going back to his mothers and carry on with your lives. You'll see him again but not-"
"You take me with you, or I'll find your bloody headquarters myself. I've still got some access to Rocket databases and I'm sure it's got plenty of info on your base, so I'll find it."
"What about his mother? Are you going to leave her by herself?"
Alyssa hesitated, she couldn't leave Delia. She had given her a home, a place to live after Ash had supposedly died. She couldn't possibly just leave her on her own.
"Misty will-"
"If you go Alyssa I'm going." Misty said seriously, there was no way in hell she'd be left behind if a rescue attempt for Ash was going to be made. She needed to see him again.
"But what about Delia, you don't have the train-"
"She'll come with us; if there's a chance Ash is alive she'd say yes in a heartbeat to see him again."
"I'm afraid that you'll have to remain here, this is going to be a dangerous mission. It's guaranteed that we'll lose a few soldiers, and you're both civilians, to go into an operation like this you'd need to be able to hold your own incase a firefight brakes out. That means you may have to take someone's life."
"We'll wait at the headquarters, when you get back we can see him!" Alyssa retorted quickly, nothing was going to stop her from seeing Ash.
Cynthia and Steven had come over and joined Lance in the discussion. "It may actually be a good Idea Lance," Steven agreed seriously, "If we take them with us, we won't need to worry about any hostage situations. If the boy found out his mother, or one of the girls were kidnapped he'd go back to Team Rocket without hesitation to get them back."
Lance nodded thoughtfully, it was a good point. And not only having the girls and mother there keep him from wanting to leave, but it would stop the kid from returning to Team Rocket if a hostage situation actually occurred.
"Fine, but you'll have to do whatever you're ordered to do alright?"
They nodded, "Good and you'll ne-"
"Pikachu why you taking me here?" A voice called out in the distance.
Alyssa turned to Misty, "We're going to have some explaining to do,"
Misty let out a sigh, "Yup."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
I felt a searing pain in my back, groaning I brought my hand up to my head but stopped as something tugged at my skin. What the hell? My eyelids felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds, but painfully I peeled them open and winced as the dull light overhead blurred my vision.
I brought my hand up to rub my eyes, but stopped at the familiar tug. Turning to see what was restraining me, confusion filled me as I saw tubes filled with liquid running from my arms into… "IV bags?" I muttered, "What the hell happened?"
Reaching over, I tore the tubes from my arms and was hit by a wave of nausea. I placed my hands on my head and groaned at the feeling, what the hell happened? The nausea passed and I turned to look to my right, I was startled to see… See… Herasleep right next to me.
I opened my mouth and said her name, but why couldn't I hear it? How did I even know it? She startled a bit, making herself more comfortable. I said her name again, but once again I couldn't hear it, "Wake up,"
She groaned, seemingly in pain. Her head lifted a few centimeters off the bed, blond hair hung messily across her face, she was bruised, cut, and her blue eyes were blood shot, and tear stains ran down the course of her bruised cheeks. Making her look as if she had been in a fight quite recently.
Her eyes met mine and for a second I saw confusion cross her face, but then it instantly turned to a mix of relief and joy, "Oh thank God you're awake-" Her mouth moved as she said my name, but I couldn't hear it, "I was so worried!" Her eyes started tearing up, and she took me into a tight hug, thankfully avoiding my back which hurt like crazy.
"What happened?" I asked her softly, as I reciprocated the hug wearily. She was warm, and I was a bit disappointed when she pulled away.
"You don't remember?" She asked me worriedly, I shook my head. "I was on my way to your lesson when those Grunts grabbed me, they… Started beating me and then pulled a knife on me, but then you came in and stopped them," Her tone had a hint of admiration, and adoration in it, but I pressed on.
"How did I end up here?"
"You came down the hall and when you saw that they had a knife against me, you tackled Tony off of and-"
The memories flooded back as if a dam broke and began filling my conscious with information...
I dove at him, knocking him over with a startled cry. But I ignored that, the rage with in me wanted to beat this guy into living hell, I slammed my fist into his jaw, followed by another, and another, and another. The fury I felt compelled me to break every bone in his fucking body; I was successful in shattering his jaw and nose. I went to throw another punch when a pair of hands griped my shirt from behind and hefted me up before driving a hard right into my gut.
I gasped as the air was driven from my lungs, but quickly rebounded as I ducked a left and kicked out at the Grunts kneecap, shattering the bone and having him cry out in pain. The blond hoarsely told me to turn around, and when I did a hard right hit me square in the nose throwing me off balance.
I fell against the wall; I could feel the hot blood running freely from my nose. Ignoring it, I stepped forward and swung a hard right into his gut successfully winding him, I drew back to deliver a blow to his temple when a warning cry from behind forced me to turn to the girl.
As soon as my gave fell on her a searing pain cut across my back, followed by an arm wrapping itself around my neck. My back erupted into an intense searing pain as something was driven into it.
Shay awoke with a gasp, chest heaving heavily in and out. His forehead and shirt were drenched in sweat, his head ached painfully as he tore the sheets off of himself and stumbled out of bed.
"Shay?" A sleepy voice asked worriedly. He ignored her and pulled open a drawer, on his dresser. He reached in and removed a needle, removing the safety at the tip, he drove the needle into his arm and inject its contents into his system.
His vision blurred, and he fell against the wall lightheaded, unable to support himself. His eyes glazed over and his breathing became coarse. An arm found its way across his back, while another pulled him closer to her, "Are you alright?" She whispered worriedly, drawing back his bangs so she could see into his eyes.
For the first time in a long while she could see something that shocked her. He was frightened. "I… I felt it," His chest expanded and deflated as his breathing deepened.
"What did you feel?" She rubbed his arm soothingly, trying to calm his breathing.
"The… The knife, the pain… I felt it, I still feel it…" His voice came out in just above a whisper, his right hand shakily moving to his lower back.
Domino kissed him gently on the forehead, "It's alright, deep breaths… It was a bad dream… You'll be alright, let's get you back into bed okay?"
He nodded shakily, Domino supported him as he stood up trembling, she helped him over to the bed and covered him with the blanket. She went around the bed and slid herself underneath with him; she snuggled up next to him and put a gentle arm around him pulling him closer. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through him, "Take it easy, close your eyes and deep breaths," She whispered softly.
He did as told and closed his eyes, after a few minutes his breathing steadied and he was back asleep. Domino looked at him with concern, he was remembering. She'd get the full story tomorrow, but she couldn't help but be scared. Something freighted him, and that hadn't happened since he woke up after his first injection.
But now his memories were coming back stronger apparently, and quicker. And memories be damned, she was not losing him. She let out a quiet sigh and rested her head against his arm, pushing the thoughts of this aside; she closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep. Her final thoughts being two weeks, two weeks until he, no they wouldn't need to worry anymore.