The elevator doors rolled open, and Ash stepped into the warm air of the summer night. He glanced around the rooftop, saw what he was looking for and started over.
He came up silently, and alongside Alyssa who stood staring out over the treetops of Fennel Valley.
She didn't startle when he came up beside her, didn't make a single sound.
"Aly?" His voice was soft and her blue eyes flickered up to his, "is there a reason you're angry with me?"
She turned and looked back out towards the darkened treetops, "I'm not angry Ash," her tone equaled his own and he sighed.
"Frustrated then?"
She was silent and he sat down, back against the ledge of the building, "No,"
"You know Alyssa," He said, "in another month it'll be the anniversary of when we first meet,"
She didn't say anything and he looked up to her. She wore what she usually wore, her green tank top, and beret with sweat pants, and once again he found himself wondering if this was all an act.
"Do you want me to come out and say it?" He asked outright, in a calm tone.
"Say what?"
"To know why you were in my room while I was away?"
She didn't flinch at all, or move at his words, "How could you tell?" She wasn't surprised, it was Ash. He knew when things were out of place, or something was off.
"Well two things, the sheets on my bed were ruffled, by someone small and light," His lip quirked as he saw red enter her cheeks in the feint moonlight, "and I smelled lavender,"
"Oh," was all she managed to say, although a smile began working it's way onto her lips, "you remembered that?"
"I always did love the smell of that shampoo," He said lightly, "and you're the smallest person I know, so the two fit,"
She blushed and he pat the ground beside him, "Come on Aly tell me what you wanted to know, I'll tell you,"
She glanced down to him, and her blue eyes were unreadable as she sat down next to him, "You will,"
"More or less,"
She leaned against him, and laid her head on his shoulder, "You and Domino were in a relationship,"
"We were," he conceded with a tilt of his head.
"Did you love her?"
There was a hesitation, "I did,"
"And now?" he didn't answer and she felt anxiousness settle into her heart.
"And now it doesn't matter," He said slowly, "what I felt for Domino may or may not still be there. I don't know. But... She returned to Team Rocket, we know that from what she sent. We'll be seeing her again soon, if she still feels the same as before. It's only a matter of time,"
"She loved you to?"
He sighed, "She said she did. I want to say that what she felt was the truth, but with her... It could have all been an act," he paused, "what is it you looked for?"
"I hate when you keep things from me Ash,"
"I know, but somethings are best left unsaid,"
"You've been different since you've gotten your memory back, and you're having trouble with... Everything,"
"Why do you say that?"
"I saw your notebooks,"
Alyssa felt him stiffen beside her, and she closed her eyes, "How much of it did you read?"
"The earliest dated one," She lied and felt him relax, "How you wrote everything, what your thoughts were... You need to talk about it all,"
His lip quirked and he looked into the sky, where a bright blanket of stars lay overhead, "I'd rather not Aly," He said softly, putting his arm around her shoulder and drawing her close, "it's easy to write it out, but to go and actually talk about it..."
She swallowed moved herself closer to him, "close your eyes," She knew he looked at her without opening her own, "trust me,"
After she felt like he had, she said quietly, "It's just us, a year after we met. We're on your bed laying next to each other, and all we do is talk,"
"A specific time?"
She thought about it, "The night I told you about my life in Pyrite," She felt him turn to get a better look at her, but she kept against him, "eyes closed Ash,"
"Where are you going with this Alyssa?" He asked carefully, "you're not one to bring up-"
"I told you about my dad," She continued quietly and he silenced, "I showed you the burns on my back where he pressed the cigarettes against my skin," She licked her lips and took his hand in her own holding it tightly, "I showed you the scar on my hip from when he hit me with a vase and a shard cut me open,"
"Aly,"
"I told you how he beat me, pulled my hair, called me names, hated me."
"Aly," His voice rose a little in pitch and he squeezed her gently, "you don't need to-"
"You held me as I cried, you could barely move but you held me tightly. Made me feel safe, protected me from all those jerks at the academy. I was a burden for you-"
"You weren't-"
"It was because of me things got worse for you, yet you stayed by me. I'm a crybaby who can barely look out for herself, but you still held me every single time and told me that I'd be alright,"
"Alyssa stop-"
"I told you that night that I trusted you, something I had never said to anyone before. You gave this crybaby a best friend, someone she could look to for help no matter how small or insignificant it may be."
She opened her eyes and looked up into Ashs eyes, the dark brown which watched her with worry as she continued on. "A little over a month later, you told me you trusted me as well. Do you remember what happened when you did?"
Ash looked away from her and across the rooftop, "I do,"
"I saw you cry for the first time, you told me about your suicide attempts, you broke down in front of me," He kept silent, "I want you to do it again,"
He looked at her surprised, "What?"
She wrapped her arms around his chest and held him tightly, "When was the last time you cried Ash?"
"I don't know," He said slowly, "I guess... Back in Pallet on the first day I woke-"
"Were they real tears or were you playing the part?"
He opened his mouth to say real, but hesitated. It would be a lie if he said they had been, "I can't remember Alyssa, last time I actually cried..."
"Think about it,"
He did, staring into the night sky while unconsciously holding her tighter, not that she seemed to mind, and closed his eyes.
There had been times were he wanted to cry, but he never did. He couldn't allow himself to unless needed. Like back in Pallet where he did it for effect. Because honestly, returning home and not a single tear shed after all that would be highly suspicious.
Even though he didn't plan on returning at all at the time. The snow storm forcing him to make a decision which he truly regretted to that moment.
"I..." he trailed off unsure, having difficulty finding the most recent time.
"When you..." She paused, "when you left the academy, you teared up didn't you?"
"I did, and... After I said goodbye to you, and returned to my room... I cried then, not a lot... But I knew I was going to miss you,"
"No time after that?"
He shook his head, "Not that I can remember,"
"Can you cry tonight?" She asked him tugging lightly on his shirt, "if you do, it'll be easier on you."
"Thing is Alyssa, even if I wanted to, I couldn't,"
"How come?"
"I'm trained not to, I can't appear weak or unstab-"
"Around me you can you idiot," She said softly, "you've always been yourself around me, and I don't want that to change anytime soon,"
"Alyssa-"
"Talk about what you did on that same night, but keep going. All the way until now,"
"Alyssa I don't want to,"
"If you don't," She whispered, "it may be to late later on. Please Ash, don't be afraid."
His response startled her, for after a few moments of silence, she felt something like a rain drop lightly on top of her head. She looked up, and saw silent tears running down his cheeks, "That's hard to do Aly," He whispered staring straight ahead, "when you live every minute of your life in fear,"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Ash scratched his nose and checked his watch a third time. It was nearing 5, and they still had to eat before getting on board the helicopter.
The raid was planned easily enough, they were being flown to Mt. Silver, and then would be taking underground caverns into the northern mountains.
Also known as the Farwinds.
Mt. Silver was known for harsh weather, dangerous climbing, and had a death-rate of most who attempted to climb to the summit where a legendary trainer was said to have lived.
The Farwind Mountains were a few levels above Mt. Silvers ecosystem. The Farwinds killed easily enough, most who entered the territory were killed either by wild Pokemon, or the harsh blizzards which were always blowing.
Where as the Pokemon near Mt. Silver were capture-able and tamable, those of the Farwind were some of the few Pokemon never, or rarely exposed to human kind. The Pokemon there were wild, killing one another for food, fighting for territory. A game of predator and prey which made nothing safe.
Especially humans. Who had to fight the elements, as well as keeping alert to the area around them.
Once they reached the Farwinds, they would be scaling the mountains on foot. The drone which they used to reconnaissance the Shadow Installation had taken multiple days to reach the building. The controller having to wait for the minute periods of breaks in the blizzard so that the drone wouldn't be destroyed in the storm.
So this would be a multi-day trek, there would be casualties, and there would be times when those who were coming as support would want to turn back.
He'd let them, he wouldn't keep these men if they were scared. They'd only hinder him in the end.
Ash leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair, he still needed to gear up, but was here in case Alyssa's combat gear wasn't up to standard.
And for whatever reason, she wouldn't let him see just what she had ordered from the R and D department.
His eyes fell to the door across from him as he heard it creak open, and the footsteps that followed.
He gaped a little as he saw her, a small little disbelieving smile on his lips, "Aly," He whispered, "What are you wearing?"
Ash stood up and met her halfway, seeing her cheeks redden as he approached. He placed his hands on her shoulders and examined her.
She wore a black skin tight Kevlar two piece, which consisted of form fitting spandex like pants which held every single one of her curves, and a matching black jacket done all the way up to her neck, that as well was skin tight.
She had black gloves of the same design, Kevlar again. And then her boots were thick black hiking boots.
And then of course, her blond hair was tied back in a neat ponytail by a green hair elastic.
"I-If I get shot at, it'll be unlikely to pierce the suit," She muttered nervously seeing his eyes checking over her, "I can move easily enough,"
"Aly..."
She flustered at how amused he sounded, "Quit it,"
Now a small grin came onto his face and she flustered even more, "Quit it, you looken at me like that,"
"You look great," He said sincerely and her cheeks darkened considerably, "But is that warm enough? We'll be wearing a lot more then just our combat gear, it's below zero up there, and that..."
She made a small grunt and nodded, "Thermal underwear," She muttered under her breath.
His eyebrow raised, "What was that Blondie?"
"I-I'm wearing..." She shut her eyes and finished, "Thermal underwear,"
He regarded her once more as she looked anywhere but at him, "Come on Aly," He held out his hand to her and she startled, "We've got to go pick up my gear from the docking bay,"
She stared at his hand for a few seconds and then took it, interlocking their fingers and pulling him towards the exit.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
They slept for the duration of the hour long flight to Mt. Silver, getting their final moments of rest before the week long operation began.
There were twenty of them in all.
Half of which carried duffel bags filled with explosives, back up ammunition, and rations. He and Alyssa led the pack of heavily armed men through the caverns of Mt. Silver, the long dark passageways lit by a single torch.
Over top his and Alyssa's mission attire, they wore thick fur jackets, gloves, and ski goggles, a scarf wrapped over their necks around the nose and tucked into the done up jacket, hoods pulled up.
The men behind them were dressed similarly, the cold of the Farwinds was lethal within minutes, it was mandatory to keep the body temperature as close to normal as possible.
They had been in the caverns that joint Mt. Silver and the Farwinds for just south of three hours, and judging from previous reconnaissance, they were about to breach the walls and enter into the freezing temperatures.
Ash pat his right pocket, where his M9 sat snug inside his jacket, and turned held up a fist stopping the party, "Listen up!" He called out, his voice booming in the echoing silence, "We'll be entering Farwind Territory in five, if you want out say it now. The chances of you dying are high, if you want to drop out, then this is far enough."
The heavily clothed and burdened men stared at him, not a single person of the twenty uttering a word, "Good, then Jacobs," Ash said glancing to a man with a red band taped around his left bicep, "Ready the trackers, drop every hundred meters,"
The man with the red tape gave off a salute, "Yes sir!"
Ash looked at his men, only their eyes visible through the layers they wore, "We keep going to the first break in the storm," he said, "That should be one hours travel, by then we'll be exhausted. We're eating, and then five before the storm picks up we start and continue until 1900 hours. Everyone understood?"
When there was no reply, Ash turned and faced back down the way they were going, small patches of white beginning to show along the cave floor, "Excellent,"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The world was white, wind howled in their ears as the plunged into the mountainside, snow up to their knees and only able to see a meter ahead of themselves.
Ash pushed on, his legs numb, and goggles frosted over.
The party of twenty two moved forward in a straight line, nothing but the sound of the blizzard vibrating in their ears. The snow was thick and icy, and more then once they had all slipped or tripped face first into the white death.
Glancing over his shoulder, he made out the silhouette of Alyssa behind him, hands held beneath her armpits as she tried to conserve warmth. He pressed forward, his legs shoveling aside the dense snow like a plow, and brought his hand up to his ear, "You good Blondie?" He practically shouted his words as his gloved, yet icy fingers hit the mic which was secure under his scarf and hood.
There was a long silence, but soon her voice came through, although due to the current circumstances he only just registered it, "Been better!" was the response, before the comms' went dead.
He was glad to have Alyssa back in the field with him, despite his want to keep her out of these affairs. But having her alongside him like in the past was something he wouldn't trade for anything, although these circumstances were far worse then before.
However, once this mission was completed he was going off on his own for a period of time. Away from the G-Men, away from the girls and away from every person he knew.
The reports Domino sent, about Melissa Cloud...
He believed them to be fake, he honestly to truly did.
But he had been fooled by trust before.
So he was going to go investigate. To see if the blond he knew was who she really said she was and not... Some by-product of Giovanni's master plan.
If she was... He wasn't so sure he'd be able to keep going. He wasn't only attempting to shut down Team Rocket for his own personal gain, but for Alyssa as well. After all, she had gotten him this far since the beginning, she had gone to hell just like he had.
It had also been her idea to start this entire debacle of shutting down Team Rocket. That night in the cafeteria when she told him not to come back for her, but instead wait for her to finish her training so that she could be sent out into the field.
She had sprung up the idea, stunned him with it.
And once he heard it, he knew he wanted to do it. With her, so that they could both be freed from the chains which Giovanni held them.
Alyssa owed Team Rocket, he knew that. It was a similar situation with Domino.
They owed Giovanni everything.
It was eerily similar, Alyssa and Domino's past. One was filled with violence and loneliness, the other drugs and poverty.
Had he never met them, until that very day, he could very well consider them sisters. Whether by chance, or possibly Giovanni's own doings...
They were very alike.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Ash stared into the pitch black outside of the icy cavern through the goggles which had all but frozen into a brick of ice.
They had made it through the first day, and so far without any problems. The storms worsened at night, and would be suicide to attempt going any further in the dark.
Within seconds of entering the blizzards they would be lost, separated, and killed.
So they were going to rise before dawn, ready their gear, and head out just before first light.
He turned back to the twenty, who were off around multiple fires, smoking cigarettes and speaking quietly to one another in hushed voices.
It was solemn, and it would continue to be so through these next few days. Even more so once the first life is taken by the cold, whenever that came.
But so far these men hadn't disappointed.
Ash moved away from the mouth of the cave, and over to the largest fire where a pot of stew and coffee were sitting atop the flames. He greeted the G-Men as he took two bowls and two cups, receiving a lukewarm reception not that he minded, and moved towards a smaller fire where Alyssa sat with her back against the cave wall, wrapped tightly in a thick wool blanket.
He sat down alongside her, and she took her stew and coffee gratefully, offering him a smile and thanks.
"How are you feeling?" He asked softly taking a spoonful of stew, allowing the warmth to spread down from his throat and through his chest.
She smiled ruefully, "My legs are sore, but I'll live, and yourself?"
"I'm turning in right after my watch, tomorrow we have to make it to the second ridge. A little under a kilometer, but covering that distance in this weather..."
He looked to the entrance, where white flakes whipped by like passing bullets, "It's going to be hard,"
She drank a small sip of her drink and moved closer to him so that they were touching, "Do you think they know?" She asked quietly looking into the crackling flames, "That we're here?"
Ash hummed to himself, "Unless there was a leak internally, then no... But if they do I won't be surprised."
He saw her lips quirk upwards, "There's not a whole lot that surprises you these days are there?"
He stretched out his legs and yawned, "I guess not, but with everything that's happened..."
"Once this is all over, are we going directly for Giovanni?"
He shook his head and set his empty bowl to the side, "Mewtwo is top priority, if I find him, then I find Giovanni."
Her eyebrow rose, "How so?"
He glanced to the men around the fires and said softly, "Team Rocket has eyes and ears everywhere, word get's out where I'm going then... Well I can be sure to know that Giovanni is aware,"
Hearing her quiet hum, he stared at her as the orange flames reflected in her eyes, "When Giovanni's gone... Entirely, what do you plan on doing?"
"I don't know Aly, it's been to long since I've thought about that... The last time was at Indigo. Thinking I had to die for it to end, I accepted that. I wouldn't have a perfect ending, and I was fine knowing that,"
Her head turned sharply to him, and her eyes watched him with hurt, "Why?" Her voice was soft, but he heard the scorn clearly enough.
He looked to his lap, "Cause you would be safe in the end," He trailed off and looked into the fire, "I care more about that then Team Rocket. So I tried to kill two birds with one stone. Take out Team Rocket by doing the sacrifice and exposing them, and making sure you were safe."
"I may have been safe Ash," She replied setting her dishes to the side and placing her blanket over his shoulder so that they were both beneath it, "but more damage was done because you weren't there. I... God I hated myself, I should have stopped you from going down there..."
He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, "If there's one thing I've learned, it is that you can't stop an idiot from doing something they've set their mind too. No matter what it is,"
He grinned seeing the smile spread on her face, "I know that better then anyone else," Resting her head on his arm she closed her eyes and yawned, "Can we stay like this for tonight?"
Reaching into his pocket, he checked the time on a small tablet and placed it back, "It's light's out in ten," He said, "I've got watch for the first hour,"
She sighed, "Once you're done, come over here... You're warm,"
"Deal," He said standing up and placing his portion of the blanket over her, "You've got watch tomorrow night remember, so sleep best you can tonight,"
She gave him an affirmative nod and smile, "G'night then Aly," He said turning around to face the other twenty, "Alright you lot! Lights out! Garm, you've got second watch!"
Alyssa smiled to herself, sat herself comfortably in front of the dying fire and closed her eyes to the sound of the others readying for the cold night ahead.
Whispering to herself, she peaked once through slitted eyes to the silhouette who stood at the mouth of the cave alone, she said, "Sweet dreams Ash,"
Seconds later, she was fast asleep.