Chapter 18
"Interruption"
I was about to give out the next attack when something exploded right in the middle of the battlefield. It created a smoke cloud that filled the entire stadium.
"What's going on!?" I heard Lance shout.
I couldn't see them, but several people landed a few feet to my right.
"There it is!"
"Get it already!"
"Right!"
Jessie and James!?
I tried to see what they were doing, but by the time I could make anything out at all, all I saw was a blue-white sphere that was getting larger by the second. It hit me on the head, and I felt something grab me around my arms, legs, head and tail.
"What about Pikachu?"
"He said forget about Pikachu! All he wants is dis thing!"
"We've got it. Let's go."
"Pikapi!!!"
'Ash!!!'
It seemed like the darkness of the smoke was giving way to something white…but I couldn't tell what…The voices faded into the background and it felt like I was alone…but only for a moment…In just a short while, the whiteness faded and I found myself somewhere that seemed very dark indeed.
"…So it really does work……"
It took me a few seconds to recognize that voice…but it had to be……Giovanni…
What? What happened? I asked groggily.
My vision was starting to come back, and I could see that the room wasn't really all that dark…
But how did I get in a room? Where'd Jessie and James go?…Why is he here?
I tried to look around the room, but something was holding me in place. I couldn't move at all.
Uh! What did you do!?
From what I could see, Giovanni had me on top of something, and he was looking at me intently.
"……I caught you, Ash……I finally caught you…"
What are you talking about!?
"………You didn't want to believe me before, and I knew I couldn't force you to……So if I couldn't get your loyalty willingly, I knew I would have to force it on you again……What do you think?"
I think you're gonna pay for this!!
I fought hard to get out of whatever I was being held by, but struggling was just useless…I tried to break it apart with psychic power, but the more I tried, it just seemed like I was storing it inside of me, and that wasn't a pleasant feeling…
"…You can try all you want, but you won't be able to get out of there……Now it's time to move to something a little more permanent…"
What?!
He moved closer to me, but paused after I said that.
"You're mine, Ash. Now's the time for me to make up for all those years you thought I was ignoring you……"
…I didn't think you were ignoring me……It's just that I know better now…
"……Ashura………I wasn't lying to you……when I said I wanted to start over……"
Huh?
"……But it's too late now. We both had our chances, and things didn't turn out the way we wanted them to. Now I'm going to make things better for the both of us……You want to become stronger, don't you, Ashura?"
Well……I guess so…but-
"Then just let me do this one thing for you…"
He touched something on the back of the thing that was holding me, and I felt the whiteness come back again, but this time, the white faded into black and it lasted longer.
* * *
At first, I didn't think that I had really woken up. It was too black to tell the difference. A strange hum was running through and around me.
"…Ashura? Can you hear me?"
……Yeah.
I felt a slight tingling when I said that.
"That's good……Can you see me?"
I opened my eyes, finally realizing that they had been closed. He was standing in front of me again, but the room looked different from the other one he had me in before.
Yes.
Another tingle…
He nodded.
Something was strange…I felt different somehow, but I couldn't tell why…
"……That's good……I would like to begin training you right away, but first I need to make sure that you are ready……"
He held up a handful of white cards, then picked one out and held it up so I couldn't see the front.
"What's the design look like?" he asked.
What!? What kind of question is that!?
"Just answer me, Ashura."
The humming became stronger.
……It's a circle.
I was just saying that so we could move on. He placed it facedown on a nearby table.
"…What about this one?" he asked, holding up another one.
I don't see why you're asking me……um…It's a star.
He put that one next to the other one.
"This one?"
…Square
He did the same thing with that one and held up another one.
Triangle…and, uh…the next one's a……leaf.
Great. He's out of cards. Maybe I can convince him to let me go now.
He picked up the cards again in the order he had shown them to me. The first one was a…circle…!? Then a star, a square, a triangle…and a leaf……
He looked like he was smiling, but like always, it was hard to tell.
"You're a lot better at this than you think you are, Ash."
Wha…!? I wasn't even trying! That was just a coincidence!
"Do you want to try it again?"
Uh…No! I…I wanna get outta here! I still have to finish my fight with Lance!
"That can wait, Ashura. You have more important things to take care of."
Oh yeah? Like what?
"You are going to help rebuild Team Rocket. It's already been done once before, and that was by me. It only makes sense that you would be the next one in line to make it stronger than ever…and to think that when you started out, you only wanted to make it weaker…"
That's still what I want.
"That's not going to happen Ash. You are under my control…and this time…no injections…You should be happy about that at least."
……So what did you do?
"…Haven't you noticed?"
Noticed what?
"…Take a look at yourself…"
I couldn't really look down to see myself, so I relied on what I could make out in my mind….It looked like I was wearing something…metallic……full of energy……but it didn't have any energy of its own…It was using mine for power……A machine that absorbs psychic energy? That didn't seem possible…
"……Well?"
……So what does this do anyway?
"Why don't I tell you who invented it first?…It was created by a good friend of yours, I believe…The brilliant Dr. Gray……"
Him!? He did this too?
"Of course…A mind like that is very rare. I'm lucky I found him…Getting him to join was the easy part…"
He chuckled slightly at that. I didn't think it was funny.
"…But the one that you are wearing now is actually an improvement upon the original…which was used………for another friend of yours……The one and only…Mewtwo…"
What!!?
"Yes, that's right. But I made a dangerous mistake when I had that one designed. I completely underestimated the power of that creature…and I ended up losing it……That will not happen again."
He spoke the last sentence very firmly. I hoped that he was wrong…
"……This one has several new features to it. Instead of simply focusing the power, it stores it inside and uses it only when necessary…If you try to break out, it will turn your own power back on you, making it impossible to escape……You can try if you want to, but there's no point in getting hurt over something like that."
I knew better than to doubt him. Whenever he talked about his little schemes, he always told the truth…I wish he was the same way every other time too.
"……You're unusually quiet, Ashura…………What's the matter?"
……Is it really that hard to figure out?
"…Oh I see……You're upset……I've finally won, haven't I? There's no fighting back now. You're on my side."
I didn't bother telling him, but I knew I wasn't the only one fighting against him. My friends weren't going to just let him get away with kidnapping me again…They'd come and help me…I knew they would………If they could find me…………I didn't even know where I was…I hoped that they could figure it out…