A Second Chance

by Starmist

A new disease is decimating the population and an organization emerges that's even more deadly than Team Rocket. It's all up to our heros to save the world...

6. Chapter 5: Switching sides

A/N: I'm really sorry about the delay on this story. But, here it is. I must tell you, this part was probably the toughest chapter to write. I hope that the effort I put into it was worthwhile. Oh, and here's a very short disclaimer: I don't own pokemon. So, without further hesitation, I present you with chapter 5.

A Second Chance

Chapter 5: Switching sides

*~*~*~*~*

Teleportation attack… often a technique used in pokemon battles that serve as a defensive measure in order to avoid an attack. However, it is often hard to control. The results of teleportation can be anywhere from the middle of the ocean, to an unknown city on the other side of the world, or, by chance, right beside the enemy. It takes psychic pokemon and some unique people an incredibly long time to master it. But, under a life and death situation, there's no telling what can happen…

Whether it was by luck or fate, no one will ever know. But, the results were the same either way. Across time and space 5 people somehow teleported themselves out of an exploding building near Cerulean. Where did they end up? That's a tough thing to figure out…

But not impossible…

Misty opened her eyes to the blinding light of the sun that hung directly above her.

It was noon.

But how?

Misty somehow raised her body and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through her like a dozen bullets piercing her skin. Where was she?

Ash, Gary, Giselle… Lass… where were they? Misty, ignoring the immense pain, sat up and examined her surroundings. Small dark purple buildings surrounded her on all sides. A city? What was she doing in a city? Which city?

"Oh… that hurts." A voice… but whose? Misty gritted her teeth against the stabs of throbbing pain and turned her sore head towards the source of the noise.

A female lay on her side and tired, unsuccessfully, to get to her feet. She, however, did manage to get to a sitting position and observe Misty. "Misty? Are you ok?"

"I think so, Giselle." Misty huffed as she used her strong upper torso to get off her back and also into a sitting position. Dull blue eyes sleepily tried to concentrate on the nearby surroundings with very little luck. All that she could make out was more of those dark purple buildings and another silent, motionless figure nearby. Who was that?

"Gary?" Giselle quickly answered her question as she shook Gary's still form. He slowly came to when he opened his cloudy brown pupils. Although breathing, he appeared to be in the worst shape of all of them. No sooner did his eyes open then did they close once again.

Misty desperately tried to stay awake by turning to Giselle and whispering. "Where's Ash and Lass?"

Giselle, who was strong enough to stand up, did so and searched the area. "I don't see them around here."

"Where's here?" Misty uttered before the exhaustion gradually overtook her. She collapsed to the ground with a dreadful thump on her back. Before the darkness engulfed her completely, Misty managed to shift her head and gaze to her left. There, a sign read "Welcome to Lavender Town." With her question answered, the blackness overtook her. She passed out.

*~*~*~*~*

Pain. Everything is so white. Pain. A bed? Pain. What am I doing in bed? Pain. Doctors? Pain. Nurses? Pain. A hospital? Pain. What am I doing in a hospital? Pain. Too much pain. Darkness. And pain.

The doctors were startled for a moment as they glanced at their patient. Did they just see him moving? Did they just see him open his eyes for a moment? No, it was just their imagination. He must still be unconscious. Yes, that makes sense. Perfect sense.

A nurse nearby smiled and shook her head. Doctors… they all can be so stiff at times. They can't even admit that they were wrong and that the patient did in fact regain conscious sooner then they had been expected. True, it was only for a few moments, but still, it was enough to prove them wrong.

The nurse walked into the waiting room where a single worried female paced agitatedly across the floor. Due to the nurse's sudden appearance, the woman stopped her relentless pacing and glanced at the nurse with fresh hope in her eyes. "He's going to be fine." The nurse grinned while the woman sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank you. I really thought that he wasn't going to make it." She cried.

"We have run some blood tests on him and found that he's going to be ok. There was some evidence of suffocation in his lungs, probably due to a fire. Numerous burns marks were found all over his body and frankly, I don't even know how he has been able to survive for so long. However, there some unusual things about this patient that I was hoping that you could explain." The nurse apprehensively stated as she glanced at the medical records in her hands.

The woman gazed at her in curiosity. "What kind of unusual things?"

"Um… well, it appears that his blood has strange properties to it." Seeing that the woman wanted the nurse to continue, she added. "We examined the DNA from his blood under a microscope and found that it is different than normal human DNA."

"In what sense?" The woman demanded.

The nurse fidgeted for a moment. "Ever heard of something called junk DNA? It's genes that really have no important function in the DNA code. In most people, this large portion of DNA is inactivated. But, in him its…" The nurse's voice trailed off for a second. "Large portions of it are not only activated but… they resemble DNA that are only found in pokemon."

Instead of being shocked by this piece of information, the woman simply insisted on more. "So, are you saying that pokemon DNA is situated in all humans in this area called the junk DNA?"

"It could be… although it has never been studied before…" The nurse replied uneasily at such a strange concept. "All I know is that genes that shouldn't be activated in humans are activated in this patient. Is there any chance that you can shed some light on this matter? Has he been exposed to large levels of radiation?"

The woman shook her head in disbelief. Talking more to herself than to the nurse, she sighed. "I can't believe it… the legends are true. Mewtwo was right all along…" Noticing the weird look on the nurse's face, she quickly spoke. "Um… is there any chance that I could see him?"

"Yes, but I'm going to need your name." The nurse declared as she produced a pen out of her pocket.

It was now the woman's turn to get anxious. Her voice suddenly dropped to no more than a silent whisper. "Will this be kept confidential?"

The nurse blinked in surprise before nodding her head. "Yes, of course."

Still finding it hard it trust the nurse, the woman decided that she should hide her identity under a nickname. "Call me Lace."

Lace, better known to all of us as Lass, walked into the hospital room. It was the last time that the hospital ever saw her or the patient, Ash, again.

*~*~*~*~*

"How are my friends doing?" Giselle worriedly questioned, directing her question to a nearby doctor.

Recognizing this girl from before, the doctor sighed. "Well, it appears that your friends are just exhausted and simply inhaled too much smoke into their respiratory systems." Hesitating for a moment, the doctor added. "They were in a fire, right?"

"I guess you could call it that." Giselle murmured.

"Hey Giselle. Any chance that you can tell us why we're in a hospital in Lavender town?" Misty called as she and Gary walked out of a nearby room. The doctor that Giselle was previously conversing with walked away.

Giselle grinned slightly as she tried to explain. "Oh, you two passed out and…"

"Doctor! Doctor! The burn patient that was just brought in has disappeared!" A nurse breathlessly raced into the room and ran into the nearby doctor.

The doctor gently placed two hands on the woman, trying to calm her down. "Ok, slow down. What exactly happened?"

The nurse gasped for air, trying to calm herself down without any success. "I was just talking to the woman that brought him in. She just went into the room and I just checked there 5 minutes later and they're both gone!"

"Gone? Are you telling me that you lost the one of the most unusual individuals in all of mankind?" The doctor screamed in panic. He clearly had some plans for this patient.

"Unusual individual? In what respect?" Gary asked, his scientific interest peeking.

"Oh, he just had some odd properties in his DNA." The doctor quickly hushed the curious trio. Turning back to the alarmed nurse, the doctor inquired. "What was the name of the woman who entered his room?"

"Lace something…" The nurse quickly replied.

"LACE!!! YOU MEAN LASS!!!" Misty, Gary and Giselle all cried out in surprise.

"Um… I guess so." The nurse quietly mumbled, slightly frightened by the outburst.

Misty backed away in shock. "Ash was in this hospital! Oh… we have the worst possible timing, don't we?"

"Lass must have used teleportation to escape! She could anywhere by now!" Giselle squeaked in dread. "Well, at least we know that they're both alive."

"But where do we start looking for Lass and her Serpent thugs?" Gary moaned in hopelessness.

The doctor, who had remained silent during this strange conversation, spoke up. "Serpents? Talk about a total coincidence."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Giselle demanded.

The doctor sighed. "My son went to battle the gym leader here just the other day…"

"There's a gym in Lavender town?" Misty inquired in amazement. Being a part-time gym leader herself, she was quite upset for not knowing about this.

The doctor shook his head in agreement. "Yep, my son lost that battle too. Anyway, he was mentioning that the gym leader happened to have this strange snake tattoo…"

Once again excluding the nurse and the doctor out of the conversation, Gary interrupted. "Ok, what in the world are Serpent agents doing in Lavender town?"

"And acting as gym leaders too." Misty spitefully remarked. "We better check out this gym. Perhaps the gym leader can tell us where to find Ash."

Not really sure what the discussion was about, the nurse commented. "Well, if you want to visit the gym, turn right and follow the street all the way to the end."

"Then let's get going." Misty ordered and the trio speedily exited the building.

*~*~*~*~*

It only took a moment… one single moment to create the situation… one single moment to change the untold future…

We are all afraid of death, gazing at this inexplicable event with unknown horror. In order to avoid the terror, we try to cheat death with the use of machines.

This case was no exception.

Beep… Beep… The steady hum of the heart-rate monitor bellowed in the background. Complex instruments were piled in a jumbled mess around the bed. Large and small rectangular-shaped machines stacked themselves in all the available space left in the tiny area. Due to the sheer size of these objects, it was easy to see that they must have cost plenty of money.

There were all there in order to prolong one life.

"Where am I?" The famous question asked by numerous people was asked by Ash as he hovered between the world of the living and the world of the dead. His senses picked up noises and bright lights. However, he could neither see any light nor hear any noise. It was like he was here and yet he was somewhere else too.

The place wasn't black in his eyes or any other color for that matter. It was just a place… nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps, he was just too tired to care anymore. Ash soon felt relaxed this unknown location and didn't even bother thinking about his original question now. It didn't really matter. This place was so heavenly, not because of its sights or sounds but because of its peace and bliss. Here, he finally fled from the pain of the real world… forever…

"I have to get back." Well, may be not forever, as can be seen from Ash's thoughts. Simple determination stimulated an unusual sensation in him, a will to live. His will was fueled by the unshakeable notion that he had to see the world again. He had to see his pokemon again; he had to see Misty, Gary, Giselle and Brock again. He had to get out of here.

It was this will to live that caused an abrupt stir in the peaceful scenery. The feelings of hot, bright lights and loud noises doubled their volume. The colorless world dissolved before his very eyes and was replaced by a dizzy sensation. The sensation enveloped his brain and spread throughout his entire body causing a drastic sting of pain. Although he wasn't moving, the feeling of motion suddenly encased him as the pain continued to intensify.

"Oh my God… he's coming to!" Julie cried in shock as Ash's fingers began to shift.

Win stared, also in shock, as Ash's comatose body began to shake with life. "I'll go get the Master." Win hastily bounded out of the tiny room and dashed straight to Lass' side. A quick haphazard conversation followed as Win and Lass both entered the little room.

"You were right." Lass remarked coolly as she watched Ash's muscles stir. Turning to her two employees, she ordered. "Leave now." Her threatening voice tone was enough to drive the pair out of the room.

"Oh…" Ash mumbled as he desperately tried to deal with the onslaught of pain.

Lass grinned wickedly as she saw him open his eyes. "Hello there. Had a nice nap?"

Ash growled in annoyance at the sarcasm in her voice and frantically tried to place the voice with a name. His brain came through as a single word escaped his lips. "Lass?" Associating the name Lass with threat, Ash anxiously tried to escape from his bed but simply ended up receiving more pain than before.

"Trying to get away from me, Ashy?" Lass mockingly taunted. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Those 2^nd and even 3^rd degree burns on you aren't going to be of much help. You have been in a coma for a couple of hours."

"What?" Ash murmured and glanced at his own body. Numerous parts of his body were covered with large white bandages making him look like a modern day mummy. "No wonder it hurts." A sudden thought banged against Ash's head as he inquired. "Where is everyone else?"

"If you're talking about those low class slugs you hang out with, don't worry. You must have teleported them out of there because they're bodies weren't found in Cerulean." Lass sighed, as she started voicing her own opinions. "I guess that's why you're so beat up now. You couldn't form a shield before the blast hit since you were too busy teleporting your friends away. When I teleported you out of there, you had already sustained a fair amount of damage." She let a deadly pause elapse before adding. "A millisecond longer and you'd be crispier than a burnt piece of toast."

Ash could barely comprehend these words as his energy started zapping away. Fatigue and exhaustion took their toll on Ash as he slowly closed his eyes. "But… why help… me?"

"Because, I'd hate to see all my hard work and effort perish." Lass quickly stated. As Ash drifted off into a weary slumber, Lass continued. "You're too important to die." She then closed her eyes and enveloped Ash in a blackish haze that bubbled with psychic energy. The move proved to be a powerful and energy-consuming move for it eradicated all of her energy supply. Lass collapsed to the floor in sheer exhaustion and panted heavily for a few moments. The dark mist faded and revealed a healthier Ash. Some of his burn marks evaporated while others had lessened considerably in size. The immense amount of pain felt by Ash before had decreased dramatically as could be seen by Ash's incredibly calm state of sleep.

"Psychic moves take up so much energy." Lass remarked wistfully to herself as she picked herself off the ground. "I just hope that this will help him recover from his ordeal."

*~*~*~*~*

"Hit squad #4: Mission report on Cerulean needed." Giovanni sighed as he gazed down at the sweaty walkie-talkie in his hands. He had been using it almost nonstop for a couple of days serving to wear out his voice.

"Hit squad #4 reporting: Boss, it seems that AK was here yesterday and traveled to an old building nearby." A weary voice responded.

Giovanni studied some papers on desk before pressing the red button on the gadget. "But the nearest building is the Serpent's HQ."

The scratchy voice on the other line seemed to hesitate at this observation. "We know that Boss. After conducting a large search of the city we investigated the Serpent's HQ. There was nothing there, as in, there was no building to investigate."

"No building!" Giovanni yelled crossly into the radio. "How can there be nothing there?"

The person on the other line cringed. "It seems that building was completely decimated in some sort of explosion."

"So, he's dead?" Giovanni inquired, upset at being in the dark on the issue.

"Hit squad #7 reporting: That's not true sir. It seems that a person matching his description was seen in the Lavender Hospital. Unfortunately, it seems that he has disappeared under unusual circumstances." A different voice declared into the machine.

Once again, Giovanni shook his head in frustration. "Unusual circumstances? That doesn't help us!"

"Hit squad #5 reporting: Some rumors are circling around Saffron claiming that AK is there." Another rough voice stated.

"Hit squad #8: Boss, allow me to remind you that the Serpents have another building in Saffron, the Silph Co. building." Yet another voice asserted.

Giovanni nodded his head. "Yes, the old Silph Co. building… the building they took away from us all those years ago." A slow smile formed on his lips as he continued. "It seems that our friend, AK, likes to find Serpent buildings." Giovanni then shouted into the instrument. "Listen up! All 10 groups will all meet just outside Saffron. At night, you will all tour around the city and try to find AK. Then, exterminate him, as planned."

"Hit squad #10 asking a question: Should we find James and bring him with us?" A scratchy voice asked.

"Hit squad #1 asking another question: All 10 groups together will equal hundreds of agents. Is that really a necessary amount of people?" A timid voice questioned.

Giovanni smiled. These agents really didn't know how powerful Ash was. "Yes, it is incredibly essential to have as many agents as possible. AK is an exceptionally strong trainer. As for James, I'm sick and tired of him giving us the wrong locations to look for AK. Kill him as well."

*~*~*~*~*

"Is that it?" Giselle asked with more than just a slight amount of fear bubbling within her delicate vocal cords. Up ahead, the path curved and revealed a spooky building that demanded fear in its presence. The sheer size of the building itself seemed to dwarf the hill it stood on. Loose wooden panels rocked back and forth threatening to fall from the already decomposing structure. A wicked path stretched straight to the building, like a hand beckoning its next victim.

"Sure looks like it." Misty gazed in wonder at the bloodcurdling structure. Fear didn't need to quiver up her spine this time; it was already fizzing within her arteries and veins. "I wonder how tough this guy is." The small group now reached the building and carefully pushed open the creepy door. It slowly creaked open as nothing but darkness was discovered inside. "Hello?" They soon sauntered inside the dark building.

"Is anyone there?" Gary uneasily called as the hum of his voice bounced around the dwelling before finally disappearing into nothingness.

"Another challenger? How many more do I need to beat today?" A dark and mysterious voice growled within the blackness. The doors swung close behind the terrified group and a soft light enveloped the area. Examining the parts of the rooms that were visible under the dwindling brightness, the trio discovered that they were standing in a dark pokemon battle area with unsettling designs of ghost pokemon encompassing the walls and even the floor.

Misty bravely took a step forward and yelled. "Are you the gym leader?"

"So, a female challenger? Ah… a refreshing change of pace, I'll say." Stepping into the light, a mysterious female gazed at them with deep blue sapphire eyes and shoulder-length hair that was splashed with rich crimson. Following her was a black ball that hung suspended in midair. Malicious shadowy eyes and a mouth with two razor-sharp teeth bellowed from the front of the blackish sphere. Scattered specks of shady mist circled the center of this bizarre creature. "Male challengers have a hard time getting over the fact that they were defeated by a girl. Isn't that right, Ghastly?"

Ghastly grinned sinfully and stared at the petrified group of people. Astounding the tiny group, the ghost spoke in the human tongue. "Look at what the psychics dragged in. A rather odd bunch of individuals, don't you agree?"

"Indeed…" The woman whispered back. "Fiery red hair… you don't see that color every day. What's your name?" After an awkward silence passed, the woman added. "I like to know the names of the people that I beat."

Since Misty was the only one of the group that had red hair, she declared. "We aren't here to challenge you. We want information, Serpent, and we want it now." After a slight pause, Misty snarled. "And the name's Misty. Remember it and don't forget it."

"Mi…sty?" The sinister woman gasped in shock. She and her pokemon fixed their horrified eyes in Misty's direction. To the surprise of everyone in the room, the tall woman dashed over to Misty's side and gave her one of the biggest bear-hugs that one can possibly give. "Oh my god! I thought that you had perished years ago!"

"What! Who are you?" Misty gasped partly in astonishment and partly in lack of breath. "And why are you hugging me?"

A small blush came to her face as she released her hold over Misty. A small trickle of tears raced down her cheek in happiness. In a hoarse voice, she ignored Misty's questions and rambled. "After all these years! I never thought that I would see you again! Where's Brock? Did you know that Ash is in Team Rocket now? Well, of course you don't know that… Just look at you! You look great! What have you been doing all these years?"

"Do I know you?" Misty asked with a baffled expression dawning her face.

"Did you already forget about me? After hundreds of attempts of trying to capture that Pikachu from Ash?" She inquired.

Misty blinked her eyes in disbelief, and carefully examined the woman in detail. The hair may be shorter, and the person may be a bit older, but there was no mistaking it. "Jessie?"

*~*~*~*~*

"Well, you're finally up." Lass commented nonchalantly as she observed Ash's eyes slowly flickering.

"Ow…." Ash groaned as he placed a hand on his sore head. His head seemed to be cracking under strenuous pressure; it was as if someone had smashed every single one of the cells in his brain. The pain was literally intolerable… even worse than a migraine or a headache due to Stellar. "What… happened?"

Lass, who was typing a few things on a computer, sighed. She gazed at the room with little interest in her eyes. This, being one of her many offices, possessed slight, if any, appeal whatsoever. It was a large room largely composed of only a high tech computer, and a couple of comfy couches. Ash happened to be lying down on one of these sofas with a slightly pale tint on his face. Lass delicately declared. "You have been out cold for at least a couple of hours."

"I have?" Ash moaned in a muffled tone. "Then why does my head feel like its been run over by a tractor carrying 17 Dragonites and 5 Snorlaxs?"

Lass laughed maliciously. "Oh, that. It's just one of the temporary side effects. Don't worry. It should stop hurting it after a few minutes."

"Side effects? From what?" Ash inquired painfully as he tried to shake off the horrendous throbbing within his skull.

"Oh, nothing important." Lass remarked softly. "Just downloaded your brain onto a disk."

"What!" Ash screamed in spite of his painful headache. "How could you… what!"

Lass shook her head as an amused grin materialized on her lips. "Ashy, now really. You shouldn't be shouting like that in your condition." Searching around the desk for a while, Lass discovered a CD. However, this wasn't a normal CD. It was much larger in diameter with a perfectly colorless surface. The disk was also thicker in depth and seemed to weigh a significant amount more. "Here, catch." Lass then threw the CD towards Ash, which was enclosed in a plastic case.

"Are you telling me that this compact disk contains all the information in my brain?" Ash inquired in surprise as he caught the diskette in his hands.

Lass simply nodded. "Amazing how much technology has increased over the last few years. We simply improved the design off the ancient's object of a 'CD' and created a Mega CD, or MCD for short. It holds a maximum of 10,000 mega bytes… more than 15 times more powerful then a normal CD." More to herself, she continued. "Still, not even this can hold all the brain's information."

Ash stared at the object in amazement. The idea of holding everything that you have ever thought and remembered is a hard concept to get over. He agonizingly shifted off the cozy coach and onto his stiff feet. A couple of awkward steps proceeded before Ash reached Lass. Giving her the disk, he took a deep breath. "How did you do this?"

Lass grabbed the disk from Ash and placed it into an unusual compartment that was attached to the futuristic computer. As she was trying to load the program, Lass spoke. "We have developed a scanner that was able to scan every brain cell in the human mind and load it into a program. The information in the brain is so immense, however, we needed to delete certain information in order for it to fit onto a MCD."

After a few anxious moments of waiting, an enormous chart formed that seemed to stretch to infinity. "You mean that everything that I've ever thought, heard, seen, felt and remember is sitting right here in this chart?" Ash questioned in shock as he pointed to the data listed on the computer screen.

Lass smiled arrogantly at her accomplishment. "Indeed… although this doesn't include short-term memories and a large amount of past memories. They aren't necessarily that important when you think about it."

"But… why?" Ash murmured at a loss of words. "Why would you ever want to do something like this?"

"Because I can." Lass merely stated. "Also, it comes in handy when you're working on a special project."

"Project? What kind of project?" Ash demanded getting the feeling that it wasn't a pleasant kind of project.

Lass simply shook her head. "You'll find out in due time, Ashy. Get some rest now. I have lots of work to do. Leading an entire organization takes quite a bit of hard work, you know."

Ash flashed her an angry glare. He never liked her surprises. "Rest sounds like a good idea to me." Ash unsteadily wandered back to the sofa. He lay down on it and pretended that he was fast asleep. Seeing that Lass wasn't paying attention to him, Ash summoned all his strength for a teleportation move. The air became dense with a dark smoke, but it soon faded an instant later leaving Ash panting fretfully.

"Silly Ashy." Lass remarked seeing that Ash was trying to escape from her. "You think that you could actually escape from here using your powers? Don't you know that you are way too weak to even attempt such a powerful maneuver?" Lass then turned her attention away from the machine and walked over to Ash. "After all, being part pokemon has its limitations."

"Part pokemon?" Ash repeated restlessly. "But humans and pokemon are two completely different organisms!"

"Says who?" Lass insisted. "Haven't you ever heard the old legends?"

"The old legends?" Ash murmured in confusion.

Lass shook her head in frustration. "Oh yea… forget about that. I never told you about them, did I?" Memories of these long forgotten stories entered her head. She had listened to them so many times to them that she knew most of them by heart. "Well, I'll have to tell you about later."

"Ok…" Ash sighed even more confused than before. "But still… humans? Part pokemon? What kind of crazy idea is that?"

"A theory that's utterly valid. We all have pokemon genes in us that enable us to perform numerous attacks, especially psychic attacks. Even though these attacks are programmed into our genetic code, humans can't execute them because these genes happened to be turned off." Lass testified monotonously. "This 'crazy idea' can be proven too. The only proof you need is a missing link." Pausing for a moment in order to choose her words carefully, Lass added. "And we're the missing link."

*~*~*~*~*

"And that about wraps up the last six years." Jessie licked her chapped lips and rested her sore throat.

"Why did you and James part after that avalanche?" Gary inquired remembering the times that Jessie and James were an inseparable pair.

Jessie sighed as her mind shifted back to the painful memories. "Meowth's death really destroyed our team spirit. I guess we've cheated death on so many occasions in our lives that we never thought that it could happen to us. When it finally did, things have never been the same."

"Death certainly is a fast way to grow up." Misty wistfully remarked remembering how a few gunshots forced her to grow up faster than she would have ever thought possible. "But, still… why would you leave James and join the Serpents?"

"James and I weren't on good terms at the moment. I guess we both grew up so fast that couldn't handle the fact that things were never going to be the same again." Jessie stated as a slow tear escaped her eyes and tumbled down her cheek until it pounded against the cold hard floor. "I was beginning to resent Team Rocket in every aspect for even sending us out there. James tried to convince me otherwise… but I wouldn't listen. The Serpents Clan seemed like a good place to go to… especially after meeting Lass."

"You know what I think is strange?" Misty suddenly yelled in surprise at her own notions. "Both you and Ash had your wills crushed before Lass asked you both to join."

Jessie suddenly bolted out of a chair that she was sitting on. "Lass also asked Ash to join the Serpents?"

"It's almost like she's targeting people, breaking their spirit and convincing them to join." Giselle commented thoughtfully.

Gary shook his head in amazement. "This Lass girl seems like a crafty person all right. It's going to be hard to find out where she is now."

"Try Cerulean. HQs is close by that city." Jessie stated, not knowing the about the recent events that transpired there.

Giselle grinned nervously. "It was destroyed." Gazing down at the floor, she sighed. "It looks like we are never going to get the cure for Stellar. Poor Brock."

"Brock's infected?!" Jessie screamed in shock. "Gosh, I guess a lot of things have changed over the years, haven't they?" Searching her brain for some ancient information, Jessie declared. "Well, if that's true, then you should try Saffron City. It's the biggest building that we own, excluding the one at Cerulean, of course."

"Really?" Misty cried with a surge of excitement fizzing within her vocal cords. "That's probably where she's holding Ash and where we can find the cure!"

Jessie smiled at her old enthusiastic enemy who had grown into a friend. "Saffron's is only a few miles west from here. Look around for a place called the Sliph Company. It used to be an old Rocket building but we modified it."

"Thanks Jessie." Misty smiled gratefully in Jessie's direction as she got up. "We'll go and check it out right now."

"Good luck guys." Jessie called.

Gary and Giselle waved farewell and exited the dusty building. Misty soon followed in suit but as she reached the doorway, she gazed back at Jessie one more time. "Jessie… you know that you can leave anytime you want to. Leave and get on with your life."

Jessie shook her head in regret. "I wish I could. Once you join the Serpent's, there's no turning back."

As she stepped out of the building, Misty sighed and whispered to herself. "I just hope that Ash is smart enough to realize that."

*~*~*~*~*

"Ok… good. No sign of her." Ash remarked thankfully as he sat up from the couch that he was resting on. Gaining an ample amount of strength, Ash stood on his feet and quickly glanced at his body. Surprise was certainly evident on his face when he realized that he didn't even have one scratch on him anymore. But that's impossible! Burns marks like his don't get healed that quickly… In fact, his body healed as fast as… as a pokemon's would…

"Pikachu, come on out… but be quiet will ya?" Ash whispered as he tossed the ball into the air and liberated a very irritated little rat.

Pikachu glared at its trainer as electric sparks threatening flickered from his cheeks. "(How dare you leave me there for so long! Why, I oughta…)"

"Be quiet!" Ash commanded in as soft of a voice as he could muster. "Look, we've been captured by Lass. I need you get out of here and find Misty, Gary and Giselle."

"(But what about you?)" Pikachu demanded with worry etched on its tiny modest face.

Ash gently patted the little creature. "Don't worry little buddy. I have a hunch that Lass doesn't want to hurt me for some reason. Besides, I'm still too weak…" Still spying a distressed look on Pikachu's face, Ash sighed. "I promise that I'll get out of here… somehow. I've always done so in the past, haven't I?"

Pikachu grimly nodded, trying its best to hold back tears. It hadn't parted from Ash's side in years. "(Are you sure that you're going to be ok?)"

"I swear it." Ash spoke with a shaky confidence filling his tone. "If I break my promise, you can electrocute as many times as you want. Deal?" Just to show that he meant it, Ash held out his hand out.

Pikachu grinned at Ash but, instead of shaking Ash's hand, Pikachu jumped into Ash's lap and gave him an immense hug. "(Deal.)"

It was now Ash's turn to hold back tears as he embraced the little pokemon. Pikachu then slipped out of his grasp and sat beside a window nearby. Using his mind, Ash managed to open the window, making sure that the alarm didn't go off. Pikachu then bounded out into the darkened night and disappeared from sight. As Ash gently used his powers to close up the window, he gazed outside. "Good luck old friend."

*~*~*~*~*

"Well, this looks as good a spot as any." Gary commented as he threw his stuff to the ground.

Giselle copied his actions and proceeded to lay out her sleeping bag. "Good thing I remembered to pack this."

"So, we're going to camp out here for the night and we should make it to Saffron tomorrow." Gary quickly reviewed their plans and starting searching his backpack for something to start a fire with.

"Yea… sure. Whatever." Misty mumbled softly with a bored expression plastered on her face.

"You all right, Misty?" Giselle asked with some concern as she collected some nearby firewood.

Misty waved off her kindness. "Oh, I'm ok. Just a little… well, concerned… that's all." Not wishing to explain her statement further, Misty quickly came up with an excuse. "Here, I'm going to collect some more firewood."

Misty dashed out of the campgrounds and into the blackened night. Darkness surrounded her as she daintily gathered dry sticks in her hands. A silvery moon proved to be her only source of light as it illuminated the surrounding area. However, it wasn't the only source of light…

"What the…?" Misty exclaimed in amazement as she carefully gazed ahead and observed a yellowish blur. The classic zig-zag tail and the red rosy cheeks clearly identified this creature as… "Pikachu?"

Pikachu halted in its tracks at the sound of its name. It quickly glanced around the area until its beady little eyes rested on Misty. "(Misty?)" Misty dropped the wood from her fingers and opened her arms to the tiny rodent. Pikachu raced over to his friend, filled to the brim with unconditional joy. "(Thank god I found you! Ash is in trouble… really big trouble.)"

After pondering Pikachu's magical appearance for a moment, Misty managed to figure out what had happened. "Lass must have captured Ash and he sent you for help, right?"

"(Indeed.)" Pikachu sighed. "(But there's more… I'm afraid.)" Even though Pikachu knew that Misty couldn't understand him very well, Pikachu still continued. "(Lass… does things to people. When she wants something… she gets it.) Whispering under his breath, Pikachu swallowed in fright. "(Just what does she want with Ash?)"

*~*~*~*~*

"Get up." A cold hard voice echoed across the room, directed at Ash who was snoozing in a coach. Seeing that his companion was ignoring him, the man walked further into the room accompanied by a girl around the same age.

The girl, with slightly more compassion than her comrade, silently strolled up to Ash and whispered in his ear. "Ash, you have to get up. Lass is going to catch us if you don't."

Battling drowsiness, Ash lifted a pair of bulky eyes to the duo and yawned. "What are you talking about? And isn't it a little early to wake someone up?"

The guy snickered. "Oh yes, we all know the suffering of waking up at noon." He stepped a little closer. "Hey, Ash. We have a proposition to ask of you."

"Huh?" Ash simply inquired as he shook the sleepiness out of his system. He then focused his vision on the pair and exclaimed. "Win? Julie? What in the world are you two doing here? Trying to kill me again?"

"Hush." Julie ordered as she placed a hand over his mouth. "Not so loud, now." Noticing that Ash was silent, Julie removed her hand away from his mouth. "Ok, that's better. Now, Win and I want to talk to you."

"Talk away." Ash commanded.

Win nervously fidgeted. "Well, have you had 'the talk' with Lass?"

"The talk?" Ash asked with confusion. "Um… I've had a few conversations with her if that's what you mean…"

"Good, he doesn't know what it is. Lass must not have gotten to him… yet." Julie remarked. "At least there's hope." Turning back to Ash, Julie stared at him for an elongated period of time. "Ok, Ash, you want to escape right? You want to get out of here and see your friends again, right?"

"Of course…why not?" Ash inquired with bewilderment etched on his face.

"She must have delayed it because of his weak status when he came in." Win declared as he also started staring intently at Ash. "Has Lass told you about us or how any of her other employees joined the Serpents?"

"Um… no." Ash promptly answered. "Look, get to the point."

Win bit his lip before nodding. "Ash, everyone here at the Serpent Clan had their life destroyed before they came here. Lass has been looking everywhere for candidates for having a special gift, or what she calls the 'chosen ones'. They seemingly possess some sort of power and can become the most powerful creatures on the planet, with some training of course."

"So, her search has ended… with me." Ash harshly spoke with a tinge of anger burning within his eyes. "And she wants me to join forces with her in order to take over the world, or something like that… right?"

"Indeed." Julie lowered her head to the ground. "Win and I are brother and sister. She… killed our dad… he used to work for her. We… were abandoned… just like that. Lass was the only one there to lend us a helping hand… our mom had passed away when we were very young. We had no where else to go…"

Overwhelmed by emotions, Julie closed her lush eyes as salty teardrops tumbled from her cheeks. Win comforted his sister by placing a reassuring arm around her. "That's why we don't want the same thing to happen to you. Promise us that…"

"How come no one invited me to the party?" Lass questioned as she strutted into the immense room. Her eyes rested on a tearful Julie and a consoling Win. That single expression, devoid of any emotion whatsoever, convinced Win and Julie to depart immediately. When they did so, Lass directed her attention at Ash. "So, feeling better?"

"Feeling better?" Ash uttered these words with an icy breath and glared at her. "I would be feeling better if I could get out of here."

"Ok." Lass daintily answered and walked out of the room. Overcome with intense curiosity, Ash followed her through a long corridor. The hallway terminated with the appearance of a room, similar to a lobby, except for the fact that it was devoid of people. "Be my guest. Leave." To emphasize her point, Lass used her abilities to open a large set of doors that lead to the outside world and freedom.

"Excuse me?" Ash muttered in shock. There was no way that Lass was really letting him go… right?

"I said that you could leave." Lass stated curtly as she motioned Ash towards the open doors.

"Ok, what's the catch?" Ash inquired knowing that Lass would never do something this stupid. "Let me guess… you have some chip implanted in my brain that causes immense pain when I disobey your orders? Or, I've got it… that's not really the front door; it's all a hallucination, correct?"

"Nope, no catches, chips or hallucinations." Lass remarked frankly. "Although that chip thing isn't such a bad idea…"

Ash stared at her strangely as thoughts starting circling around in his head. "Was this 'the talk' that Win and Julie mentioned before?" He shook his head in disbelief. Did he really just hear her say that? Just to test her out, Ash strolled straight up to the edge of the doorway and spoke. "See? I'm about to escape now…"

"You certainly can't escape very well, can you? It's a miracle that you even made it this far in life without killing yourself." Lass sighed. "But, I want you to know something first. You won't leave here."

"Huh?" Ash moaned in pure confusion. "What do you mean I won't leave here? You just said that I could escape!"

"You are so gullible, Ashy!" Lass mocked. "After 5 years, you would think that you'd know me better." Lass soon walked up to Ash, still keeping the doors of freedom wide open. "Have you even tried using your gift at all this morning?"

"Um…. no." Ash muttered, remembering that he last time he used it was to help Pikachu escape.

Lass smiled wickedly. "You haven't used after letting that rat out."

"Oh… you saw that?" Ash nervously stumbled. "You didn't do anything to Pikachu… did you?"

"Your precious little pokemon is safe at the moment." Lass quickly voiced. "You were so busy worrying about that little creature that you haven't even bothered looking at your own hands."

Ash once again sprouted a confused look on his face; a look that we all are so familiar with. His eyes soon diverted to his hands and his wrists, which appeared normal to the ordinary eye. However, Ash started getting an unusual feeling especially while glancing at his strangely swollen wrists. He tried to ignore it by convincing himself that it was just his imagination flirting with insanity. Unfortunately, his best efforts were in vain. "What did you do?"

Lass grinned with that devilish smile of hers. She then lifted her own hands and spread a blackish mist into the air. When the mist cleared, it was evident that two large golden cuffs forcefully clung to both of Ash's wrists. "They're a little something I made up. It takes away your power, basically. I can't believe that you didn't even sense them!"

"Well, invisible cuffs are hard to catch after a long nap." Ash remarked. "And I don't care if you have placed these things on me. I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Why? What's out there that isn't in here?" Lass demanded spitefully. "Why did you start this mission anyway? Was it really just to stop Stellar? If that's so, then fine. It's stopped. Simple as that. All you had to do is ask."

Ash cringed a bit. "Um… well… thanks, I guess." Hesitation was more than evident in his voice along with confusion. "But… I need to… I need to be with my friends right now. I have a life, you know!"

"You have a life?" Lass sardonically hissed. "What life? A life as an ex-Rocket? I sincerely doubt that's the kind of life you want!" A long pause elapsed before Lass spoke again, only this time it was deadly quiet. "At 15, you were a young Pokemon Master with a full life ahead of him. Do you really think that you're the same person? Do you really think that you can go back to that life again? You died 6 years ago, Ash."

A violent shiver dashed down Ash's spine, making him quiver with remorse. Was it true? Had he really 'died' 6 years ago? He had changed a lot but… still… Ash growled back at Lass. She knew that she had touched a sensitive spot. He had always secretly hoped that doing some right in the world, after doing so much wrong, would somehow change the past. Could he be wrong? Setting aside these disturbing thoughts, Ash shook his head. "No, I… I didn't. I… I'm le…leav… ing, right… now."

"Bet I can change that." Lass whispered as Ash twirled around in surprise. "You were wrong when you told me that you had everything you wanted. But, you really want your old life back didn't you?" Observing that she had caught Ash's attention, Lass smiled. "I can make that happen."

"…………..how?" Ash stammered in amazement. The need for freedom was beginning to decline.

Lass sighed. "Ever heard of a creature called Celebi?" Seeing Ash shake his head from side to side inspired Lass to continue. "Well, this pokemon is basically a little green alien, although many people don't believe that it exists. Foolish people! They're the same people that think that Mew and Mewtwo don't exist!"

"They exist?" Ash inquired, dumbfounded to say the least.

"Why of course they exist!" Lass cried at the top of her weary lungs. "Anyway, this pokemon is nicknamed Timetravel because it has the ability to wander across time." Ash's eyes soon widened in shock when she added. "And since you're part pokemon, you have the ability to time travel after a lot of experience… experience which only I can give you."

Another tense pause elapsed before Ash exclaimed. "Are you saying that I could travel back in time and stop the shootings… stop my life from being ruined?"

Lass simply bobbed her head up and down. "Yes, Ashy, yes. You can stop it all from happening." Edging closer to him, Lass whispered. "I can make your wish come true."

Ash merely froze on the spot as Lass gazed down at his wrists and dissolved the cuffs on his hands. She then walked back into the building and glanced expectantly back at Ash. "Coming?"

Ash gulped nervously as he bit his lip. He then turned his head towards the outside where the Rebels were patiently waiting for him. They had been his friends through it all… and always will be. He couldn't ditch them, could he? Could he really get his life back in the harsh world outside? He then gazed inside the Serpent complex. His eternal wish could finally come true… and if he really could go back in time, then he really wouldn't be ditching his friends. Then again, Lass is probably using him… so… freedom or wish? What a dilemma! "I'm leav…. I mean… I'm coming… Lace." Ash sighed as he chose his destiny by walking back into the Serpent HQ.

*~*~*~*~*

"Well… here… we… are." Giselle panted in a show of dramatics as the weary group reached the golden city.

Gary grinned smugly. "I remember the last time I came here to Saffron. I totally destroyed the gym leader! By the time I was finished with her, she was begging me for mercy! I should have laughed in her face, but I simply…"

"I don't mean to interrupt your gloating session, but we need to find Ash." Misty abruptly reminded him. "Hey, Pikachu! Where are you running off to?"

The obedient pokemon, who had been previously perched on Misty's shoulder, bounded into the midst of city. "(Would you guys hurry up and follow me? I know where I'm going!)"

"I think that it wants us to follow him." Giselle stated the obvious as the trio raced in pursuit of the yellow blur. The rodent halted its mad dash through town was it caught sight of an incredibly tall building. "So, this must be the Silph Company."

"(Wait… I smell something)" Pikachu remarked as he placed his tiny nose into the air. A familiar smell was in the area… resembling his trainer's… but it wasn't coming from the Silph Co. building…

As Misty gazed at the tall intimating building, her brain went into overdrive. "So, we have to get into the building and free Ash. I'm thinking that we do it during the night… that way we'll probably avoid detection."

"Oh my…" Giselle suddenly cried as her eyes glued themselves to a location a little ways away.

Gary soon followed her direction and gaped in horror. "Misty… you have to see this."

Misty, along with Pikachu, was too preoccupied to notice Gary and Giselle until now. Both of them redirected their eyes and their expression drastically changed to shock. "Ash?"

There was a sight that three humans and a Pikachu weren't prepared to see. Not only was Ash in plain sight but he's also fishing? And eating a hot dog? And reading a magazine? After almost being blown up to pieces? "What in the world is he doing?" Gary exclaimed perhaps a little too loudly.

Ash raised his head at the sound of the commotion. His eyes appeared to be a lighter shade of brown along with his clothes. Instead of the dark black attire that he previously dawned, Ash was cast in teal blue shirt along with dark green khakis. His hair also seemed to be a bit shorter and was pale enough to be called dark brown rather than jet-black. "And you're staring at me… because?"

Giselle and Gary raced over to his side while Misty and Pikachu slowly followed them. Giselle haughtily and not to mention angrily, stomped her foot. "What are you doing out here? Didn't Lass capture you? And what are you doing here fishing?"

"I happen to like it." Ash directly commented as he took a deep bite out of his immense hotdog. "Let's see. It's… um… Gary and… hold on. I know this… Giselle, right?"

"You never liked fishing for as long as I've known you." Gary growled spitefully at Ash's relaxed attitude.

Misty and Pikachu soon joined their friends as Pikachu crept closer to his trainer. "Why hello Pikachu… my pokemon… the one who's never in a pokeball." Ash mumbled rapidly as if he were reading a list of facts about his own pokemon.

"(Something's not right.)" Pikachu quickly voiced as it went and hid behind Misty's leg.

"Hey! What's the matter?" Ash inquired as his eyes met Misty's. "Excuse me, can you give me back my Pikachu… um…"

"Misty." Misty snarled in distrust at Ash. Her eyes were filled with inner turmoil, and yet they managed to retain a clear suspicion towards Ash.

"Right. I knew that… no wait, I didn't." Ash rambled in amazement at his own words. "No… something's wrong… shoot! What's going on now?" Ash rapidly clenched his head as an unspeakably harsh quantity of pain slammed against his head and the rest of his nervous system.

Gary worriedly gazed at his friend. "Ash, are you ok?"

"Do I look like I'm ok?" Ash shouted crossly as his body shook in convulsions of pain. "There's… a glitch in… the system." After speaking these words, Ash hit the ground as the world turned pitch black.

*~*~*~*~*

"Welcome to the Serpent Clan, Ashy." Lass congratulated him with a handshake and tossed him a uniform.

Ash nervously gazed down at the uniform in his hands. "Really, this is too much. Remember? This is a temporary thing! I'm not staying here forever!"

"Yea… sure… whatever." Lass mumbled as she grabbed the darkened blue uniform from his hands and tested its size against his body. "Let's see… an XL should fit you. Yea… this should suit you." She then tossed the uniform into his outstretched arms once again and rummaged around for some more clothes to add to his new uniform.

"Lass!" Ash angrily cried as she comically piled numerous articles of clothing into his arms creating a shaky tower of garments. Peeking his head to the right of the mound, Ash sighed. "Have you been listening to a word that I've been saying? I'm not going to stay here that long… just until I figure out how to time travel."

"Like that's going to happen any time soon." Lass quietly whispered under her breath.

"What did you say?" Ash inquired.

Lass grinned as she added a pair of black boots to the immense heap. "Nothing, Ashy."

"And would you stop calling me that!" Ash growled in annoyance.

"No." Lass honestly answered and started walking out of the storage room. "Follow me. I'll show you to your room."

Ash complied as he barely managed to pursue her without crashing into an adjacent wall. A short walk, or an incredibly lengthy hike to Ash who could barely keep his balance, occurred and ended at a door. As Lass opened the door, Ash collapsed on the floor as the large pile of clothes crashed to the floor. "I hope that I never have to do that again." Ash huffed as he lifted himself off the floor.

"Since you're a fellow teammate now, I want to show a project that we've been recently working on." Lass stated as she walked out of the relatively small room and into the hallway. A quick stroll proceeded before it terminated at a large door. Not even bothering touching the knob, Lass gracefully pushed open the door with a blackish mist and revealed a startling sight. Situated before the pair was a huge complex where literally hundreds of people sat staring at large test tubes, beakers, and large stacks of paper. Observing the clutter of scientific items like bunson burners, numerous white lab coats and ridiculous-looking goggles, Ash had no doubt that this was a lab room of some sort.

"So, why are we here?" Ash inquired monotonously.

Lass merely grinned and sauntered into another nearby connecting room. There, Ash observed various computers stacked against 3 sides of the room. Lass quickly turned on a nearby computer and booted it up. After boating up a program, she waited for it to load. When it finally did, Lass motioned Ash towards the machine. "Check it out for yourself."

He might as well have been looking into a mirror because that's what he saw… himself. "What? Why do you have a picture of me on the computer?" He then watched the screen and was surprised at the appearance of his friends. "Misty? Pikachu? Gary? Giselle? What are they all doing there?" After gazing at the screen for a moment longer, Ash noticed something fishy. "I never did those things… how did you digitally alter it? It looks pretty real to me." Ash hastily rambled his thoughts out loud.

"Actually, you wouldn't believe how real it is." Lass commented mysteriously. "I must admit; you're friends are smarter then they look. I thought that it would take them at least a few more days to get to Saffron." She then decided to answer his original question by declaring. "By the way, this is an actual video and it hasn't been modified in any way."

Ash gazed at the screen in confusion. "Excuse me? I think that if I were fishing, eating a hotdog and reading a magazine, I'd remember it. Heck… I hate fishing for that matter!"

"Why do you assume that it's you?" Lass flashed him a smile that really lived up to the expression 'if looks could kill'. She had something up her sleeve.

Win and Julie picked that inopportune moment to enter the room. They both gasped in surprise in Ash's direction with a disappointed look on both of their faces. A look that showed that they're hopes for him had been crushed. "Master, we have a problem with our most recent project." Win murmured.

"A problem?" Lass questioned with deep concern. However, she quickly stole a quick glance at Ash and seemed to make up her mind about something. "Tell them to take care of it for me. I'm in the middle of something important."

Julie bravely spoke. "But, Master, this matter is quiet urgent. It seems that there is some sort of glitch."

"Then give me 5 minutes, ok!" Lass roared in a frustrated tone as her terrified employees dashed out of the area. Turning back to Ash, Lass sighed. "Sorry about the interruption. Now where were we…" Her mind wandered off for a bit before she spoke. "Oh, yes, I remember now. Are you absolutely certain that this person is you?"

Ash sunk his head to the ground, recalling the disappointed looks on Win and Julie's faces. "Who else could it be? It's not like I have a twin."

"Nope, not a twin…" Lass frankly remarked. "But that doesn't mean that there isn't a person out there that doesn't have the same DNA as you."

"What?" Ash exclaimed in shock as his brain whirled in comprehension. "Are you saying that you made a clone of me?!"

"Not merely a clone. Why, that technology has been around for centuries! I've made an exact clone of you." Lass explained.

"Exact? As in that person has all my thoughts and memories? All my hopes and dreams? Everything?" Ash shrieked. "Is that why you scanned my brain onto a MCD? You somehow downloaded all that information into the clone's brain?"

"You're catching on, Ashy." Lass replied arrogantly. "Now I've got to see what all the fuss is about your clone. I wonder what glitch Win and Julie were talking about." Her mind soon wandered off as she ordered. "Stay here until I return." She then raced out of the room.

Ash stared at the screen intently, still in disbelief at the thought of having a clone. He then noticed that his clone had fainted while his friends were attending to him. "No guys… don't help him out. He's just a clone… he's not me." Ash mumbled to himself as he continued to watch the screen. A slow tear slipped down his cheeks as he watched his clone serve as his replacement. "I'm sorry." He sighed to no one in particular, hoping that it would make him feel better. Unfortunately, it only made him feel worse. He began to wonder if he had really made the right decision…

*~*~*~*~*

Bang!

"Ouch!" Ash yelped in pain as he felt the excruciating throbbing reached his foot. "Smart, Ash, real smart. Kick a metal bedpost and not except to injury your foot. Yep… I'm just as smart as Misty says I am." At the sound of her name, raw anger materialized within his face and once again slammed his foot against the bedpost.

Bang!

The metal jiggled with more force then before and additional stabs of pain pumped into his foot. This time, though, Ash simply ignored it. He was just too upset to care. "How dare my friends think that ugly clone is me!" Ash cried, overlooked the amusing irony of calling his clone ugly. He continued to slam his already wounded foot repeatedly against the metal post.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Soon the burning in his foot became too much for even him to bear as he collapsed on the bed. Exhaustion set in along with a deeper understanding of the present situation. "It's not the Rebels fault. In fact, that clone is a pretty close copy." Anger once again clouded his dark brown eyes as he yelled. "It's all Lass' fault! She set me up! I've got to get out of here."

Ash bounded to his feet, still throbbing with pain, and raced over to a bag full of a few of his supplies. He searched through there and noticed something missing. "My pokemon! They're gone!" Ash screamed as his mind wandered to the clone. "Of course. If Lass wants to fool my friends into thinking that the clone is really me, he would have to have my pokemon." Slinging the light bag over his shoulder, Ash sighed. "I just hope that they're ok with that cheap look-alike."

He then quietly opened the door to his room and observed a blackened hallway. "Now… where was the front door again?" Ash randomly picked a route and started walking down corridor. Regrettably, it only led to hundreds of other rooms and soon a dead-end. "Great! Just my luck!" He then haphazardly strolled down numerous hallways, hoping that one of them would lead him to the front door.

"I'm telling you. These test results are correct!" A strange masculine voice floated through the air. Ash's curiosity peeked as he rounded the bend and discovered a somewhat ajar door with a bright light emitting from it.

"But they're impossible! How would you explain them? Glitches don't just appear out of thin air!" A womanly voice retorted furiously.

"Lass?" Ash whispered to himself as he recognized the voice tone. He slowly edged towards the door and peered through a crack in it. Sure enough, Lass was standing there, boiling with more anger than had been previously documented in his mind. Right next to him was a terrified man dressed in a white lab coat.

The man nervously quivered and handed her a couple sheets of papers. "Master… it's just that we've never seen a glitch quite like this before."

Lass irately tossed the papers to the ground. "You've never seen a glitch like this before! We've experimented with numerous pokemon and human clones and never had this problem before! You and your pathetic team have had hours to work on this problem! You must have at least some theories!"

As if preparing for a thrashing, the man slid to the ground and instinctively shielded his body with his hands. Picking up the scattered sheets of paper, the man whispered. "We do have two theories so far, but we don't have much evidence to back either of them up."

Cooling down a bit, Lass growled. "So, what are your theories on the Ash clone?"

The man pointed to something on one of the pages. "Well, we believe that it could have something to do with the certain 'changes' you asked for in the clone. These changes were to exterminate all of Ash's cares and wishes, or basically, to compromise his personality in order to be more obedient. One of the theories has to do with the fact that the clone doesn't have Ash's powers."

Lass shook her head. "I know that we didn't program it into the new clone but that shouldn't make a difference. It's simply a matter of turning a couple of genes off."

The man nodded. "That's exactly what we thought too, but we doubled checked the clone's cells just to make sure that we didn't mess it up somehow."

"So, what's the second theory?" Lass inquired.

The man sighed and pointed to another part of the page. "Well, see here how the glitch only occurred when he was introduced to his friends? The microchip implanted in Ash's clone also shows that only certain memories were deleted."

"But why would the sight of a few people cause a malfunction?" Lass questioned curiously.

The man seemed to anticipate this question for he quickly answered. "Well, we discovered something very interesting we when realized that the malfunction only occurred when the clone saw one of his friends. It turns out that all the recently deleted memories somehow involve this same person. Therefore, the clone now has absolutely no idea who this person is but otherwise is completely normal."

Lass cocked her head in confusion. "Why would the sight of one person cause the clone to delete all memories of that person? That makes no sense!"

"That's the problem that we are currently faced with." The man simply stated.

"Well, who was this person?" Lass asked.

The man grabbed the pieces of paper from Lass and quickly glanced at it before replying. "Um… Misty… something."

"Misty?" Ash whispered softly in surprise. An amused expression soon dawned his face when he spoke. "Guess my clone must have been so frightened by the sight of her that he immediately fainted. Not surprisingly. There are times when I want to run for the hills when I see her."

"Did you just hear something?" Lass inquired as her sharp ears managed to pick up Ash's one-to-one conversation.

The man gazed at her as if she had just said that the sky was purple. "Master, are you sure? I didn't hear a thing."

"Hush up." Lass commanded as she curiously approached the door that Ash was hiding directly behind.

Thinking that his master had banged her head against the wall a little too many times, he hastily spoke. "Um… Master… I'm going to get back to the rest of the team. We'll continue to work on this problem through the night." He then left.

"Ok, thanks." Lass quickly voiced as her eyes continued to stare at the door.

"Shoot! I'm in trouble!" Ash thought to himself as he tried to quietly sneak away.

Lass smiled as her finally figured who it was. "Well, what an irony. The original Ashy listening to a conversation about his own clone. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either way, Ashy, you're going to have to face me."

Ash bit his lip and didn't even want to think of what the 'hard way' was. Since he knew that he was caught red-handed, Ash quietly slipped into the room. "Hi. Um… I was just trying to find something to eat and…"

"And let me guess? You just happened to stumble across this room and listen to the whole conversation?" Lass continued with a smirk on her face. "And while you were searching for this snack, you decided to bring your bag along for company, right?"

Ash blushed in embarrassment as he realized that he was carrying around his small bag. "Um… it can get lonely in the hallway at this time in the night."

Lass continued to play along with the game. "Did you happen to check for some food in the refrigerator in your room?"

"Oh yea…" Ash mumbled. "That would have been a good place to start, wouldn't it?"

"Indeed." Lass simply answered. "And don't try to escape again. I've set up numerous traps outside along with my Raikou, Entei and Suicine who guard this place during the night." Lass warned him. "You're just lucky that I told these pokemon not to attack that pesky Pikachu when it escaped from here."

Ash shivered involuntarily at the thought of facing those 3 dog pokemon. Just one of them could easily rip him to shreds. "Fine… whatever…"

Lass stared at him sharply in order to emphasize her point. "Well, since you've overheard the problem with the Ash clone, what are your theories on it?"

"My theories?" Ash muttered in confusion. "How should I know why my clone deleted everything about Misty?"

Lass gazed into his innocent brown eyes trying to find some sign of a lie. When she couldn't find any, she sighed. "Well, I've got a theory."

"What is it?" Ash asked inquisitively.

Lass grinned slowly but it was soon replaced with a deep frown. "If my theory is correct, then you should already know what it is."

"What? How should I know what it is?" Ash growled confusedly.

Lass shook her head as if he had just proven her theory for her. "Yes… if my theory is right, you should know it. Maybe you wouldn't admit it to yourself. But… you've known it for a long time… an incredibly long time."

"Excuse me?" Ash asked stupefied. "I just learned about this problem only a few minutes ago!"

Lass brushed past him and walked out the door. She then turned back to Ash. "Here, I'll show you back to your room."

"But you haven't answered my question yet!" Ash childishly whined as he followed Lass down the hall.

A shy grin crept onto Lass' face. "Guys can be so stupid at times."

"I resent that." Ash grumbled. "And besides, when are you going to help me learn how to time travel? You said that you'd give me a lot of experience in order to learn that move."

Lass stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned back to Ash. "Eager as always, right Ashy?" She then started walking in the opposite direction. "Come on. Might as well get in an hour or two of training tonight."

"But it's 11:00 already! Isn't it a little late?" Ash sighed as brain started contemplating this suggesting. Ash then turned silent as he thought to himself. "Well, the more training I get, the faster I can get out of here and the faster I can find the Rebels."

*~*~*~*~*

"Amnesia! It's got to be amnesia!" Gary exclaimed as that egotistical grin materialized on his lips. "That explains why Ash could remember Giselle, me and Pikachu but not Misty."

"Hmm…. selective amnesia… it's the best explanation we've got." Giselle sighed, exhausted at the amount of thinking that she had to do within the past few minutes.

Misty shook her head in frustration. "Amnesia! What does amnesia have to do with a Pikachu that wouldn't even go near his trainer anymore? How does that explain his fainting session when he saw me? And what in the world does 'there's a glitch in the system' mean?!"

"Calm down Misty." Gary ordered. "Maybe he'll have some answers for us when he wakes up."

Misty collapsed into a nearby chair. "Something doesn't add up. How could Ash escape that easily from Lass? Why doesn't he have Brock's cure with him? Why is he doing things that he never enjoyed before like fishing?"

"Actually, you're right. They are a lot holes in that explanation." Giselle remarked thoughtfully. "Nothing makes sense about this whole situation!"

"Ow… any chance I can pick up a replacement for this throbbing thing on my neck?" The Ash clone moaned as he came to and quickly surveyed the scene. "Where am I?"

"A hotel room in Saffron." Gary quickly answered. "You've been out like a light for a couple of hours."

"Saffron? We're still in Saffron?" The clone shouted in shock. He suddenly remembered his 'Master' (Lass) specifically ordered him to get as far away from Saffron as possible. "We have to get out of here."

"Get out of here? It's 10:45 pm already! If we plan on getting out of Saffron without getting hopelessly lost, we have to wait till morning." Giselle reminded Ash.

The imposter gritted his teeth in annoyance but finally agreed with Giselle. His eyes then wandered over to Misty, who was silently sitting in a chair in the far corner. "You guys never told me that you got a new teammate while I was gone."

Gary and Giselle's eyes widened in amazement as they exchanged confused looks with one another. "Um… Ash… that's Misty. You've known her since you were 10." Gary stated awkwardly.

At the sound of her own name, Misty abruptly awoke from her dream-like state. "What's the matter Ash? Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? You certainly look like that… better get some more beauty sleep… you unquestionably need it."

The Ash duplicate gazed at Misty strangely, unused to her playful taunts. "Is that the way that you treat all people? You're never going to get anywhere with such a snotty vain attitude like that. It's just plain pathetic! Just like your face… a face that even your mother couldn't love. In fact, I bet that the first time she saw your repugnant face, she committed suicide."

Misty angrily rose out of her chair. Rapid breaths issued from her lungs as she gave him the evilest glare that she could muster. Never had Ash insulted her like that before! This was different from all the lighthearted exchange of insults that was so customary with Ash and Misty. This was downright cruel. "Watch it Ketchum." Misty took whatever pride she could still retain and walked out of the room.

The fake wasn't even the least affected by this show of outrage. He simply turned his attention back to Gary and Giselle. "Some people in this group need to learn how to behave." A slow reflective expression formed on his face as he added. "Keep an eye on her. She doesn't seem very trustworthy."

"Misty! Not trustworthy!" Gary and Giselle cried in unison.

"Misty may be an annoying brat at times, but she's incredibly trustworthy. You of all people should know that." Gary continued.

"She would do anything for you, Ash." Giselle sighed.

The clone shook his head and whispered softly under his breath. "You mean anything for the original Ash."

*~*~*~*~*

"(Misty, where are you going?)" Pikachu questioned as he saw Misty wrap a dark coat around her.

Misty smiled at the little pokemon, who had been off hiding… or as Pikachu put it 'watching the wall for 5 hours' during the time that his fake trainer was knocked out. "Oh, just taking a walk... nothing much"

Pikachu shook his head, knowing all to well that Misty was hiding something. "(Spit it out, Mist. What's up?)"

Realizing that Pikachu wasn't going to be fooled that easily, Misty sighed. "If you have to know, I'm going to head over to the Silph Co. building. Since Ash couldn't obtain the cure, I'm going on a solo mission."

"(Is that the only reason why you're going there?)" Pikachu mischievously grinned.

But now, Misty was able to pick a couple of key elements in the Pikachu language. "I guess nothing gets past you." Misty laughed at her own ignorance. "If you really want to know, I'm also going to check out the place. Something smells fishy about Ash's miraculous escape. Hopefully, I can get some answers there."

"(You're right; something isn't right.)" Pikachu then dashed to the door and innocently gazed up at the doorknob. "(Any chance that you'll let a poor innocent little pokemon tag along with you?)"

"How could I refuse?" Misty smiled as Pikachu scrambled to the top of her shoulders. Misty quickly opened the door and raced down the 4 flights of stairs. She then bounded outside into the cold air and sprinted over to the old Silph Co. building.

These actions didn't go unnoticed by the group though. Ash's clone spied the two as they dashed away from the hotel. "Just as I thought. She's too smart for her own good. Master isn't going to like this."

*~*~*~*~*

"Ash? Where are you going at this time in the night?" Giselle yawned and rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes.

The clone mentally kicked himself for being caught. "Um… I'm going to tour the city."

"Since when did Ash like to tour cities?" Gary moaned as he picked himself up from his comfy position in his bed. "Try the truth."

The imposter growled as he quickly tried to think up of a clever lie. Unfortunately, his brain just wasn't working today. "Fine, if you want to know, I'm going to the old Silph Co. building. I saw Misty and Pikachu running in that direction."

"Huh?" Gary and Giselle questioned curiously. "Well, we are coming with you."

The fake Ash groaned in frustration for a moment until he realized that Gary and Giselle tagging along might not be a bad thing. Perhaps he could even use it to his advantage. "Ok, then. Let's go."

*~*~*~*~*

"So, what kind of traps does Lass have here?" Misty inquired as she approached the tall building. A large wicked gate enclosed the structure with lush plants scattered around the area.

Pikachu sighed as memories of his last visit here hammered against his head. "(This is an electric fence, but I found a hole in it.)" Pikachu then leaped off of Misty and started racing ahead. "(Here, follow me.)"

"Slow down!" Misty called as she followed the speedy rodent through the thick vegetation. Numerous trees pounded their thick leaves against Misty while low bushes caused her to loose her balance more than she would have liked to admit. Eventually, their sprint ended a ¼ of a mile away from the building. "Pikachu… where's the hole?"

Pikachu answered that question by motioning to a small dirt tunnel underneath the fence structure. Regrettably, it was only large enough to permit small creatures to crawl through it. Pikachu used his small size to do this and stood on the other side of the fence gazing back at Misty. "(Ok, we have a slight problem. I forgot how small it was.)"

Misty pondered this problem for a moment before her lips expanded into a shrewd smile. "And I think I know an old friend that can help us out." Misty grasped a pokeball from her belt and tossed it into the air. "Come on out Togetic!"

"(Togepi evolved?)" Pikachu questioned as the pokeball opened and revealed an interesting creature with a semi-circle head and with two tiny wings attached to it back. The unusual proportions of this pokemon enabled it to have an incredibly small neck, an enlarged stomach and a medium-sized head. Large bumps were situated on top of its skull while two chubby arms and legs protruded from its body. A dark peach color encompassed the majority of the creature with the exception of it fair wings and some red circles along its body.

"(Pikachu! Long time no see!)" Togetic chirped gleefully at its old buddy.

"Togetic, do you think that you fly me over this fence?" Misty politely asked her happy little creature. Togetic agreed as it lay down on the ground while Misty promptly climbed onto its back. When its wings were beating as fast a bee's, Togetic lifted itself into the air and flew over the fence. The joyful pokemon landed on the other side with its master, unharmed, but slightly weary. "Thanks Togetic! Here, why don't you get some rest in your pokeball?" Misty returned the creature to its safe haven.

Misty and Pikachu then silently hid themselves behind various bushes and trees as they advanced towards the building. "(Maybe our luck is holding out.)" Pikachu whispered as it noticed that, so far, they hadn't encountered any real danger.

This changed in a blink of an eye as soft growls were heard nearby the pair. Misty and Pikachu froze in fear, hoping that whatever was out there wouldn't notice them in the bushes. This hope was soon destroyed as a vicious beast, resembling a ferocious wolf, emerged from the darkness. The shadows soon took their cue and dissolved themselves in order to reveal two more wolf beasts nearby.

Misty quivered in utter fear. "Our luck is about to change… and not for the better."

*~*~*~*~*

"You ready Ashy?" Lass questioned. She contracted her face as it changed to 'battle mode'.

Ash nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be." They were both standing on opposite ends in a large room that closely resembled a pokemon battle gym.

"Since time travel is a psychic ability, use as many psychic attacks as possible." Lass commanded. "I'll give you the first move."

Ash stopped for a moment, trying to think of a good attack to use. Unfortunately, while doing this, he lost the element of surprise when he tried using teleport. His image dissolved into thin air and materialized directly behind Lass. He quickly powered up for another attack and focused a bluish beam mixed with the colors of the rainbow towards Lass. However, Lass was prepared for such a move as a blackish shield surrounded her.

"Psybeams may work on lower life-forms, but you're going to have to do better with me." Lass sneered. "Let's see how you handle night shade."

Lass closed her eyes and shot a ray towards Ash. It still held the same hue when performed by ghost pokemon: murky black blended with rich blue. The villainous attack blasted to Ash's side at top speed, which was faster than a runaway train. Barely able to think, Ash managed to form an almost invisible pastel blue screen that held most of the attack at bay. However, the sheer force of the Lass' move and the haste that Ash used in order to make the screen resulted in the evaporation of his barrier and the onslaught of pain.

When he had recovered, Ash shook his head. "I guess I need to work on my light screen move." He then took a deep breath in and passionately threw his arms in front of him. This caused a towering tornado of bluish haze to gallop towards his opponent. In preparation for the oncoming attack, Lass hurriedly created another blackish sphere around her body. Foreseeing this, Ash formed a small bluish ball and forced it into the ground. The ball of pure power dug through the floorboards and surfaced directly underneath Lass. Still trying to horde off the last attack, Lass was completely unprepared for a darkish blue orb as it crashed through her shield and knocked her off her feet. By the time the dust cleared, Lass was on the floor, surprised and somewhat weary, but certainly not out of the game.

"Nice idea, combining dragon rage with dig. But, I thought that we were working on psychic attacks?" Lass reminded him as she quickly tried to think of a good counter move.

"Anything that gets the job done." Ash declared as he trained his body to get ready for the next attack.

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Lass mocked as she started up her next attack. She rapidly formed a filthy ball of black and sent it flying in Ash's direction. His light shield caused the attack to crash harmlessly against the shield, which sustained throughout the entire attack this time.

"Mud-slap?! Is that the best you can do?" Ash inquired in shock at the poor choice made by his opponent. Glancing down at his clothes, Ash discovered that there were black muddy blotches scattered amid his attire. "And you got my clothes muddy too!"

Lass sighed and forced a wicked grin on her face. "Oh… I'm sorry. Here, let me clean that off."

Ash recognized the spiteful undertone in her voice. He immediately tossed his eyes in her direction as she raised her arms into air. In sync with her hand motions, three streams of darkened water hurtled out of thin air towards her adversary. The sheer velocity of the attack stopped Ash from forming light screen; therefore making Ash take the full force of the attack. However, in the middle of it, a radiant sphere materialized around Ash's body and the rest of the attack bounced harmless off of it.

A slow smile escaped his lips as Ash cried into the air. "Yes! I finally learned barrier!"

"Congrats Ashy. And I thought that surf would surely make you faint." Lass praised as a sudden thought entered her mind. "And here's a quiz for you: What does water conduct?"

Ash opened his eyes in panic, knowing the answer all too well. Having an electric pokemon around allows you to remember these kinds of facts. He quickly formed a blue shield around him as Lass powered up for a thunder attack. The sinister lightning appeared in the room as it sprinted towards Ash and crashed against his shield. The fact that Lass was at a much higher level then Ash caused the lightning to break the shield and sizzle the individual that it was protecting. He cried in pain as the electricity bellowed through his nervous system and flung him against the right wall. When the attack ran out of power, it left a helplessly exhausted Ash on the floor.

"Give up Ashy?" Lass questioned seeing that Ash was pretty close to fainting. "I'm surprised; you really should have fainted by now."

"I'm pretty resistant to electric attacks." Ash sighed, remembering the various mornings that Pikachu had awoken him by using its thunderbolt. He then gradually lifted his body off the floor. He was about to comment further when he heard something outside… something very familiar. "Yea… sure. Good battle."

Lass stared at Ash questionably. "I'll go and get some potions for you. You look pretty tired."

Ash could barely nod his head. His attention was too focused on the strange noises coming from outside. He hardly noticed that Lass had left when he pulled himself to his feet. Though he could barely walk, Ash forced himself to stagger over to a nearby exit door. Using the handle for support, Ash opened the door and gazed outside. "Oh… it's those three dog pokemon that Lass said patrols around the area. They must have caught an intruder."

Indeed, three dog-like pokemon were just outside, nicknamed the 3 Legendary Dog Pokemon due to their power and scarcity. Raikou, the electric beast, Entei, the fire beast and Suicune, the water beast, were growling at some large bushes only a few meters away. Since he couldn't see the intruders, Ash quickly lost interest in the scene as his ears picked up sounds of a battle towards his left. Ash rapidly trotted to the far left side, right next to the powerful electric fence that lined the whole area. There, he could see an immense battle going on. The people with black clothes and crimson red 'R's on their shirts could be easily identified as Team Rocket agents. Ash's expression changed from semi-bored to shock as he recognized the people that the Rockets were fighting against.

"Gary? Giselle? And… me?" Ash inquired in morbid panic. Deciding that he had enough surprises for tonight, he stumbled back to the door and closed it. "Ok… this situation keeps getting weirder and weirder…"

*~*~*~*~*

"AK! Prepare to meet your death!" A man, sporting a black top with a scarlet "R" on it, threatened as he flashed a slivery pistol towards the Ash's direction.

The clone growled in aggravation at such an annoyance. Why did these Rocket agents have to come for him now? It was times like these that he wished that he were someone else's clone. "Team Rocket? Now's not really a good time. Can you try to kill me later?"

Gary sighed and gazed over at the nearby Silph Co. building. They were practically at the entrance and these stupid Rockets had to come and waste time. Who knows where Misty and Pikachu were at the moment? "Yeah… we're kind of in a hurry now."

"And why did it take you guys so long to find him anyway?" Giselle asked conceitedly. Why would it take Team Rocket this long to find one person? Team Rocket wasn't that slow… were they?

The leader of the Team Rocket group, which contained literally hundreds of agents, scowled. "It's none of your business missy! Now, hold still and I'll make your deaths as painless as possible."

"But wasn't it because that James guy kept getting the locations wrong?" Another member of the Rocket gang questioned.

The leader glared at his foolish agent and yelled. "Be quiet!"

During this distraction, the Ash look-alike pulled out a pokeball and released a pokemon. "Come on out Zubat!"

The leader, realizing his idiotic move of waiting too long, shouted. "You want me to kill your pokemon as well? Well, that's fine with me!" He then fired a series of shots at the poor bat as it flew away in order to avoid the bullets.

"Ash! Zubat's going to get hurt! Recall it immediately!" Giselle cried anxiously.

Gary pointed to the sky and declared fearfully. "She's right Ash! Zubat can't face all those bullets on its own!"

The imposter simply ignored these pleas and fixated his eyes on the bat. The poor creature tried using its supersonic attack to stop the bullets with no luck. It then tried using a combination of a haze attack and a confuse ray on its enemies. This soon resulted in a misty area surrounding the bat with yellow beams shooting all over the place. Due to the sheer panic in its actions, the attacks were very poorly performed and many bullets jabbed into the Zubat's skin. Blood dripped from the sky forcing the bat to the ground. This made it easy prey for another shower of bullets that completely annihilated the creature. "You stupid pokemon! At such a high level you can't even cause some damage to them! You deserve to die!"

"ASH!" Gary and Giselle screamed in a combination of distress and pure rage. Ash… of all people… just let a pokemon die?

"Sheesh. This Ash person has some pretty wimpy pokemon." The clone thought as he threw another pokeball to the ground. "Let's hope that this creature does better in battle." The ball opened to reveal a high level Dugtrio.

"Ash no! This isn't a battle! It's a killing spree!" Gary desperately bellowed as he tackled him to ground. "Recall your pokemon now!"

And that's when he and Giselle saw it. The eyes of the clone glowed with nothingness… there were no emotions locked within those pupils. It wasn't the eyes of a person; it was the eyes of a robot. He didn't care about anything or anyone except himself and the people that made him. The real Ash adored all his pokemon and all his friends. This clone was simply a shell of this person.

"Misty was right." Giselle breathlessly whispered. This wasn't Ash… he never was and never will be. The imposter swung his fist against Gary's cheek and he responded in kind.

As this fight was going on, numerous pokemon from Ash's group jumped out of their balls and faced the Rocket agents. Dugtrio burrowed into the earth and tried to take out the agents by dig. A Blastoise was soon unleashed into this chaos and was commanded to drown the ground-type pokemon within the holes that it had made. Being weak against water and trapped underground, Dugtrio eventually surfaced, death catching it with a dazed expression on its face.

Weepinbell used one of its green vines to whip the Rockets while the other vine tried to choke them to death. The Rockets that managed to avoid these terrors either got slashed by incredibly sharp leaves that were flying through the air or fell pray to the deadly stun spore that was circling through the air. Unfortunately, the enormous amount of energy required to do all these attacks ran out within a few minutes. The Rockets took advantage of this by releasing 3 Rapidashs, the fire horse pokemon, into the battle scene. 3 continuous streams of fire issued from each of the stallions and literally burned the creature to ashes; the plant never had a chance.

When Ditto reached the skirmish, it wisely transformed into a gun and started firing nonstop at the villains. A couple of bullets proved to be fatal, but it just wasn't enough to significantly damage the whole group. Eventually, some one was smart enough to unleash a Gloom, a depressing and ugly looking plant creature with a blue body and a peach top. The Gloom spewed a bulky glob of acid into the gun's barrel. Ditto coughed out most of the hideous liquid as it changed back into its original form, a pink squishy blob. Anger exploded on its face as the Ditto altered its form into an enormous white fox known as Ninetales. In its new body, Ditto spewed a giant ring of smoldering fire into the air as it directed itself towards Gloom. The fire encircled the beast, frying it to a crisp. The success of the firespin attack didn't last very long, though. The highly trained Blastoise that destroyed Dugtrio blasted two exceptionally large jets of water straight into the unfortunate pokemon. Ninetales cried out in pain and used its remaining strength to transform into a Dragonite. The large dragon, elementally strong against all types of pokemon, soared into the air. A combination of electric, water and fire spewed from the beast mercilessly. Dozens of humans and pokemon hit the dirt in utter pain while blood seeped from their unfortunate bodies. Ultimately, Ditto's plan came to a crashing end as one single well-placed shot pierced straight through its lungs.

"Get off of me!" The fake Ash flung Gary off of him and gasped in horror at the scene. All of Ash's pokemon, even with all their skill and experience, couldn't face these agents without their real master.

Gary and Giselle, who had been so wrapped up trying to get Ash to recall his pokemon, also froze in horror at the sight. Dozens upon dozens of dead bodies were scattered around the area of both pokemon and humans. All four of Ash's pokemon had fought bravely to the end and only one was left: Haunter. Barely a handful of Rockets were still in a good enough condition to fight. However, they were enough to cause worry within the group.

"Haunter, shadow bolt at full power." The clone softly whispered to Haunter who gazed at him strangely before attacking. It changed into a pile of black shadows and started twirling around the heads of all the creatures still alive at the scene, with the exception of three. Screams and bellows filled the night air as intolerable pain cracked against the Rockets poor wretched skulls. Haunter continued to spin around them, allowing for all the agents to feel every ounce of agonizing pain. By the time Haunter was finished, nothing besides three humans and one pokemon even had a heartbeat.

"Return Haunter." The imposter moaned and allowed the one and only surviving pokemon back into its pokeball. "Looks like we won."

"We won?" Gary snarled in contempt. "With only one pokemon left alive, you actually think that we won?"

Giselle shuttered as she observed the horrendous bloodshed. "Nobody won here; it was a massacre."

"Massacre! You idiots! This was all about survival. Who cares if a couple of pokemon and humans died in the process? It just means that they were too weak to begin with. Weaklings have no place in this world." The clone monotonously declared.

"How dare you?" This time it was Giselle who stepped up to Ash and glared at him. With pure rage fueling her body, she jabbed Ash so hard and severely in the face that he collapsed to the ground. "Who are you and what have you done with Ash?"

By now, both Gary and Giselle could see the truth. There were no doubts in their minds that this wasn't Ash, despite the resemblance. The clone slowly rose to his feet and gave Gary and Giselle one of the coldest looks that could be performed on the human face. He then released Haunter once again and called. "Haunter, shadow bolt at full-force… on them."

The ghost pokemon gazed from the expressionless clone to a quivering Gary and Giselle and then back to the clone. Through its psychic powers, the ghost pokemon could sense that the Ash clone was nothing more than a hollow robot, devoid of any emotions whatsoever. Even the ghost pokemon knew that it wasn't Ash.

"I said shadow bolt at full-force you good for nothing pokemon!" The imposter bellowed in frustration at the hesitation of the ghost pokemon.

Haunter then grinned malevolently at the clone. "(What ever you say… imposter!)"

The clone's eyes widened in terror as the pokemon turned into a black shadow and started circling his own head. "What are… Stop it!" These were the last words of the clone as his screaming and bellowing ceased to exist. The Ash imposter collapsed to the ground, dead.

*~*~*~*~*

"(Ouch… that hurt.)" Pikachu moaned as its was thrown 5 feet into the air and flung into a nearby tree.

"Hang in there, Pikachu!" Misty called as rolled away from a thunder strike. Raikou roared in anger at her continuous evasion of all of his attacks. Seeing that Misty was resting and off guard, Raikou decided to take try a different approach.

Pikachu leisurely raised its eyelids towards the scene before screaming. "(Misty look out! It's about to use a quick attack!)"

Misty quickly saw this and hurriedly climbed up into a tree close by. This resulted in the thunder wolf crashing head on into the tree. Misty sighed gratefully, seeing that she was still alive at the moment. Gazing over to her right, her expression drastically changed to horrified one. "Pikachu, I think that you better be careful." Entei and Suicune both were starting to shake off that electric paralysis attack that Pikachu had given them earlier. Raikou, on the other hand, still seemed to be more charged up by that attack as it continued to ram the tree violently. "Togetic and Poliwrath, I desperately need your help!" She shakily released two pokeballs into the air as two pokemon flew out.

Togetic took to the air and barely managed to save Misty from further thrashing by the electric monster. Like before, Togetic allowed Misty to climb on its back. Immediately splashing a large ray of water at Entei, Poliwrath, a tight package of compact muscles, jumped to the ground. It certainly fit the description of a fighting pokemon with its powerful shape. Also a large white spot emerged on its stomach with a black spiral set in a clockwise fashion. It also resembled a water pokemon due to the fact that it was mostly dark blue with smooth rubbery skin. Having the element advantage over Entei, a fire pokemon, the creature lost an exceeding amount of hit points. Though weakened, the inferno beast was far from out.

With Poliwrath and Entei locked in a battle, Pikachu was forced to face Suicune by itself. Pikachu tried to slash the water creature with thunder, but Suicune used its speed to avoid the large lighting bolts. Pikachu, frustrated, stopped wasting its electricity and tried to think of a strategy. The water beast smiled as it issued an incredibly powerful stream of water straight towards its opponent. The hydro pump attack didn't damage Pikachu much due to its resistance to water attacks. However, a wonderful idea entered the rodent's mind while the attack continued to pound against his wet fur. Pikachu unleashed a powerful thunder attack at its adversary. The electricity conducted through the water and straight to Suicune's body. The dog howled in pain until the attack ended. Pikachu took advantage of the dog's weak state and released another electric paralysis attack. Suicune crumpled to the ground and fainted.

"One down. Two more to go." Misty remarked, as the flying Togetic tried to avoid Raikou's continuous electric attacks by flying higher into the air. The pokemon was also using its double team move, making two more copies of itself. All these actions made it exceptionally hard for Raikou to strike them.

"(Make that two down.)" Pikachu declared as he scampered to Poliwrath's side and noticed an unconscious Entei nearby. Having the element advantage won out over level during both matches. Regrettably, there wasn't a pokemon in Misty's possession that had an element advantage over electricity.

"Hey… I've got an idea." Misty cheered to herself as she unleashed Clefairy from her pokeball. "Clefairy, sing Raikou to sleep!" Clefairy sat in Misty's arms as she focused her attack on the electric dog.

Raikou's fearsome expression faded as sleepiness soon seized it. Resistance proved to be futile so the dog laid its head on the ground and soon drifted into a deep slumber. The others also felt the effects of the sing attack as Togetic gently dropped to the ground fast sleep. The others reacted in a similar fashion. Clefairy, unlike other pokemon with this attack, smiled at her accomplishment. She then awoke her trainer by shaking her. Misty yawned and opened her weary eyes. Snapping back to reality, Misty ordered. "Poliwrath! Use ice beam on Raikou now!"

Though Poliwrath was still deeply affected by the attack, it was too highly trained to let its trainer's commands go unanswered. Half asleep, the pokemon lifted its body and shot an ice beam towards Raikou. Ice surrounded the sleeping pokemon and soon it was nothing more than an ice sculpture. Poliwrath then collapsed to the ground in a deep slumber.

"Thanks for the help guys." Misty grinned as she returned the three pokemon to their pokeballs. She then walked over to Pikachu, who was still stuck in dreamland. "Pikachu, wake up!" Misty bellowed into the poor rodent's ears. Pikachu instantly snapped its eyes opened and glared at Misty. Before it had a chance to strike Misty with a thunderbolt, she smiled. "Come on now Pikachu. We've already wasted too much time here."

*~*~*~*~*

"Go Fearow!" A well-known voice floated through the air, which Misty immediately recognized as Gary's. Following the command, an orange bird darted into the air, carrying two passengers, Gary and Giselle, on its back. The giant bird flew over the tall electric fence and then landed a little ways away from the battle scene. Gary soon recalled the bird and sighed. "Ok, so here we are. Do you think that Misty and Pikachu are in the building?"

"Think again." Misty curtly answered as she raced into the pair's view with Pikachu on her shoulder. "What are you two doing here?"

"Ash mentioned that both of you were heading to the Silph Co. building." Giselle's eyes darkened at that name, remembering their former experience with his clone. "Anyway, we all decided to follow you here."

"So, where's Ash?" Misty innocently inquired.

Gary and Giselle exchanged worried looks with one another. Finally, Gary took a deep breath and spoke. "Well… we three sort of had this encounter with Team Rocket. In the end, just about everyone was killed… including Ash."

"What?" Misty and Pikachu both gasped in shock. "But how?"

Giselle sighed. She knew that these two were going to take the news bad. "We'll tell you the whole story later. Any chance that you can tell us why you're here?"

Misty bit her lip, forcing herself not to cry. "Um… Brock's cure… Ash's… suspicious escape… needed answers…" Her voice trailed off as her throat swelled with sobs.

Giselle tried console Misty by placing a reassuring arm around her. "Ok… it's all right Misty. Here, don't cry."

Misty's tough attitude took control of her as she snarled. "Who said that I was going to cry? Why would I cry over that brat? It's not liked I cared… about him. He's not worth… the effort… to cry… over…" Misty's voice trembled, as she tried to convince herself of this lie.

Gary gritted his teeth at the awkward situation. "Well, it seems that you two must have had quite a battle here." He sighed, noticing two pokemon that had fainted and one frozen in a large ice cube nearby.

Misty simply nodded and tried to shake of her overwhelming sadness with little success. "Yeah… here… let's get going." The trio strolled up to the building and noticed the fact that there was no back door. Remembering her experience at the Serpent HQ in Cerulean, Misty started searching for an invisible door along the wall. Eventually she found it and the small group walked in.

Inside, the room was laid out like a regular pokemon gym. It seemed to be windowless and devoid of furniture. What was unusual about the area was that it appeared that there had been a fight there. Evidence of water and broken floorboards proved that the fight was very recent. However, the group barely took in these details. They're eyes were focused on the far-right corner of the room where a figure was apparently resting.

Seeing his old friends there, Ash gasped in astonishment. The potion that he was holding dropped to the floor as he whispered. "Oh no… I'm in trouble now."

Misty turned back to Gary and Giselle and yelled. "Hey! I thought you said that Ash was dead!"

"He was… a few minutes ago at least." Giselle whimpered confusedly.

Gary blinked in bewilderment. "You mean that they are two Ashs?"

Misty shook her head, never taking her eyes off Ash. "You mean that there were two Ashs."

Another A/N: Ok, I kind of thought that the ending was a little lame, but oh well. I'll try to bring the next part ASAP, but no promises. Anyway, reviews are appreciated very much! I just love getting them! I guess there's nothing left to say except: Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!