Chapter 2
Revelation
Sabrina and I walked back to the main building
at dawn. We arrived at 6:30. No one was awake, it appeared. We walked in.
"No
one home."
"Yeah."
"Looks
like we have time to kill," she said, with an evil grin.
"Hmmm."
We
collapsed on the bed. I kissed
Sabrina. Then I sensed something
amiss. I looked up from Sabrina's face.
"Don't
stop, this is much better that those soaps on TV."
"Huh?"
we said, sitting up. A Rattata sat in
the doorway. Then it glowed, changing
shape. I thought it was evolving, but
it wasn't, unless Rattatas evolve into Megan. She smiled. She was awake? What happened to her?
"Huh? Gah? Wha?"
"No,
I don't speak whatever that is." She smiled.
"What
happened to you?"
"Well,
the goo, it turns out, affected the chromosomes in my cells, and now it allows
me to change into any pokemon, at whim. Also I change with my feelings."
"Well,
we aren't telling league about this, no way. It's too dangerous, and it'd been public in thirty seconds," my
wife said, sitting up, straightening her jacket.
"I
agree," I said. Sabrina stood, putting
her hand to Megan's forehead.
"Hmm,
yes, it's all true, no speculation. She
is a pokemon and human hybrid, almost."
"What
do we do with her?"
"I
have no idea. Just, let's keep this
quiet, okay?"
"Yeah,"
the two girls agreed. This wasn't
getting out public, the Rockets and Biogen would know immediately. Goddish knows how many Giovanni clones were
left after Demonstone, and Giovanni was a great strategist, although he
sometimes made mistakes. That's when
the chopper landed. Ash stepped out,
Raichu following. I walked out, flanked
by Sabrina and Megan. I walked to Ash,
and all three of us noticed what was wrong. I slipped a foot behind him, and brought it towards me, tripping
him. I kicked him in the side. Then Sabrina and I brought pistols to bear
on him. Megan changed into a Charizard.
"Who
are you?"
"I'm
Ash Ketchum, and if I'm not mistaken you're fired."
"Who
are you and how did you find us here?"
"I'm
Ash..." he stopped as Megizard breathed a short flame that singed the gray
hair on his head, "I'm Ditto Alias. I was hired by Team Rocket to be Ash. How did you know I wasn't him."
"Well,
slimeball, Ash would never evolve Pikachu. How did you find us?"
"Well,
Kojiro, we have the world's most powerful psychic at our disposal."
"Who
is this, err, super-psychic?"
"Well,
it's easy, my boss is..." He disappeared in a teleportation blast, as did the
chopper. Megan was Megan again.
"Sorry,
I'm not myself lately."
"Yeah,
but it's you," Sabrina said, cracking up. Then Megan whispered something in her ear. All I caught was 'latex exam gloves' and 'aren't they powdery?' I didn't want to know. I'd never understand women. I hoped, at least not completely. No one totally understood me, except maybe
Sabrina. We had been friends since we
were young. We had grown up in the same
town. I had arrived at the Gym there
when I was 3, dropped off by my Alakazam foster parents. I had looked up to her when I was younger,
and as I got older, had fallen in love with her. I remembered those days. Now we were married, and my work was demanding. I'm a Pokemon Ranger. I save the world, for cheap, and no
breaks. That sucks, too. At least Sabrina had gone with me on most
assignments. I remebered being young,
living at the Gym. One memory, in particular, from when we'd been twelve and
three quarters, eight months after the Muk incident, came back to me.
"James, are you
there?" Sabrina's mom asked.
"Yeah, what do ya need?"
"Well, my husband and I are
leaving for a week or so, to Mauve Town on the mainland. Will you keep an eye on my daughter?"
"Sure, you can count on
me."
"Your parents are leaving for a
week, or so, and you know what that means!"
"Yeah," she said, grinning
evilly.
"PARTY!!!" we yelled. We invited our collective friends, 50 or so,
all of which were Sabrina's.
"James, what about your
friends?"
"My friends? You are 'my friends.'"
"What about your other..."
she trailed off, realizing she was my one and only human friend.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"It's not painful, I'm a lucky
person, to have you as a friend."
"Thanks, I think."
"Yeah. Now about that party." She laughed.
"I love how you change subjects
so easily, it sounds so, perfect," she said.
"Yeah, what else do you
love?"
"You."
"Huh?"
"I love you."
"And I you." I kissed her. It wasn't the first time we'd kissed, but it was still as
meaningful to us, a pair of semi-outcast preteen psychics. I hadn't thought that we'd eventually marry,
but I knew. We kissed again, and pulled
back.
"Did you know you talk about
bacon bits in your sleep?"
"No, I do? How would you know."
"I've slept in your room for
eight months, you think I don't notice these things. You also talk about me."
"Really, what do I say?"
"Well, you say I'm beautiful,
and all that."
"Really, I was hoping to tell
you that while I was awake."
"You do every day."
Guests arrived, and the party was
great, but well, I didn't know anyone, and then that guy Darien came in, and,
as I was offering Sabrina my hand for a dance, he shoved me over, making it
look accidental. Then he offered her
his hand. They danced. All night. I would have fried his rich little ass, but Sabrina seemed to like
him. She wouldn't like me, if she ended
dancing with a charred Darien. No, that
would be bad for my image. They danced
on forever, it seemed. I ended up
dancing with Erika, from Celadon City. She was very nice, but she was wearing a little too much perfume and I
got lightheaded. I had to sit
down. She moved on to another guy,
asking for a dance. I sat, my head
aching from the Eau de Gloom. I looked
for Sabrina and Darien, but didn't see them on the dance floor. Then I saw them, in a corner, still dancing,
faces close together. I projected
myself out to Sabrina, talking to her mentally.
Gee, lay off him, you barely
know the guy.
It's all right, he's very,
nice. You know, you could be like him
if you tried.
What's that supposed to
mean? She had said she loved me
earlier that same day, now she was over in a corner with what's his face. Somethin' wrong here. I watched them, dancing, closer, closer,
until they kissed. I felt as if she had
been invaded, my own Sabrina, no longer. They held the kiss longer than I thought even a psychic could without
proper air supplies. I turned away, and
went to my room, and plugged into a simulator that enabled me to physically
fight any pokemon. I needed a
challenge. Machamp. The sim didn't allow me my psychic powers,
which was just as well, because building physical strength was important,
too. I caught a left right double jab
from the upper arms. The other two
snaked under my block and caught me in the stomach. I flung myself at the creature, and heard a knocking at my door.
"Knocking, knocking at my
chamber door," I said, quoting Poe.
"Quoth the Raven,
nevermore." Darien stepped into my room.
"Give up, James, she's
mine."
"Not if I have anything to say
about it, Darien."
"I can provide for her best,
I'm rich, you're street-scum."
"I'd take that back if you
value your ability to reproduce," I threatened. He smiled.
"You see, James, you can't hurt
me."
"Why not?"
"Because, I'm psychic, you're
obviously not."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, are you through arguing yet,
Sabrina's waiting in her room."
"Arrgh."
"Hey, Kelley, if you're lucky,
I'll let you clean up after our wedding, tomorrow."
"Huh?"
"She accepted my
proposal."
"You son of a Slowbro! You're a Dark psychic, aren't you? You're controlling her!"
"Oh, hush, my excitable
friend."
"Did you call me your
friend?"
"Yeah, I'm a friendly
guy."
"You get too much more friendly
and I'll shove your head higher up your ass than it already is."
"Remember, I'm psychic, you're
a weakling."
"Tell that to a Psyburn!" I said, forming a ball of burning energy on
my fingertips, "suck this, rich-boy!" I said, releasing it. He disappeared. I didn't see him again, till the Rocket encounter, but Sabrina
did, during her evil period. Yeah she
saw him a lot. I shouldn't talk, I saw
enough of a certain Celadon Gym Leader, myself.
I opened the door to her room and
sat down on the bed in the dark next to her.
"Darien?"
"James."
"What happened?"
"I Psyburned his little rich
heiney."
"How could you?" she said,
standing up next to her bed.
"Relax, he's a dark psychic, he
was influencing you. It'll take a while
for it to wear off, but it will. Trust
me, love."
We walked back
to the facility, and told Ash, over the comlink, what had transpired. Then the others awakened. Apparently it was public now. The Rockets had seen to that. Ash called later, asking that we bring Megan
to him so the league could sample her DNA. We left at noon.