Bad Blood
Broken Diamond
By the
Davids (DK and Darth David)
Chapter Five: Bad
Blood
Ash quickly exited
his supposed father's home, focusing on the situation at
hand. The entire city of Cerulean would be destroyed if he
didn't act quickly, which really wasn't all that much
pressure at all. On top of that, he had to rescue Misty, that
stupid girl. What did she think she'd accomplish by just
running off on herself like that? But then Ash realized that he
was the real fool. He thought he'd be able to take on an
entire criminal organization by himself. He'd refused
Lance's help, the League's help. And now it was too
late.
Too late, Ash
grunted to himself, and he couldn't help but think of his
old man. It was much too late for his dad to just enter his life,
especially in the prime of it, and expect Ash to greet him with
open arms. It was impossible. Ash closed his eyes. That idiot
would never know the pain and suffering he'd gone through
living life without a father. Then again, he'd gone through
most of his life without a family. Maybe he'd know the pain.
But then again, he'd run away, so the pain would be
self-inflicted. Ash, on the other hand, had no choice in the
matter. He didn't have a father and that was it.
Ash's eyes had
narrowed in hate, but now they were squeezed tightly in pain.
There were too many things going on all at once. His father
certainly hadn't picked the best time for Ash to deal with
having his father suddenly resurrected from the dead.
Come on, Ash,
he told himself. Focus. Focus, like the Pokémon Master.
Focus
But whenever he
thought the words "like the Pokémon Master", they
became "like your father". How could they?!? Ash may
have inherited his Pokémon training skills from his dad, but
nothing else beneficial.
"Bad blood,
that's what it is," Ash muttered to himself as he heard
the door open and the clomp, clomp of a pair of shoes stepping
out onto the porch.
~~~~
David recoiled as
cool Cerulean breeze swept through his unkempt, blue color-dyed
hair, and his pupils retracted violently as they hit the sunlight
for the first time in what seemed like ages. He made a mental
note to himself to get out more often. He'd been shut up in
his little lab for so long he didn't even remember what the
aquatic scent of Cerulean really smelled like.
Without glancing down
at his son, he shaded his eyes with his hand and scanned the
area. "Know anyplace to start?"
Ash snorted.
"Are you kidding? If anything, Jup's forces will find
us first before we have a chance to do anything."
His father turned to
face him. "So you're just going to stand here pretty
and wait for him to send a bullet through your chest? Or are you
going to help me formulate some kind of plan to defeat these
thugs?"
Ash laughed
humorlessly as he sat down hard upon the porch steps and scuffed
a small rock with his foot. "Don't be so cliché. This
isn't some 007 secret agent movie where we cook up a
brilliant scheme to overthrow some wanted terrorist group. We
don't have an army with us. It's best if I just face
off with him and end this once and for all. It's me he
wants, anyway. Mainly."
David was impressed
for the moment. "So you're saying you're willing
to trade your life for the rest of Cerulean?"
"That's if
I lose, which probably won't happen."
David smirked.
"Modest now, aren't we?"
"I'm not
bragging. I'm just stating the truth."
"Is that what
your mother taught you? To state the truth?"
That hit a nerve that
had never been hit before, and it hurt. Ash responded in the only
way he could think of, with anger. "Who are you to talk
about my mother like that?" he yelled angrily, leaping to
his feet and confronting the tranquil figure standing on the
porch.
"She happens to
be my wife," David replied calmly. "And I was simply
wondering how your mother brought you up. Judging by the attitude
you've shown me so far, you don't seem to be the best
person that ever lived."
Ash was in a blind
rage. All thoughts of rescuing Cerulean were pushed aside.
"Maybe if you were there to do some of the bringing up
yourself! I happen to be in probably the biggest dilemma
I've ever faced in my life, and suddenly my father—my
very own father!—just pops out of nowhere and expects me
to throw him a welcome back party! Next thing you know,
you'll be wanting me to be your best friend and call you
Dad!" Ash hadn't rambled on like that in a long time,
but it certainly felt good to get all that pent-up energy out. He
fumed silently, glaring, hating with all his heart, and waited
for an answer.
David was hesitant at
first to reply. Some of his son's words had hit him hard.
Finally, he said quietly, "Son, I know you've got every
reason to hate my guts right now. And I'm not asking you any
favors. But there's a bigger issue to be dealt with here,
and you can hate me later. Right now we've got to save this
city. And I don't expect you to call me anything. But I
expect you to treat me with respect."
Ash's eyes
slitted like an Arbok's, and he spit on the ground in front
of his father's house. "Don't ever call me
"son", and respect is the last thing on my mind!"
With that, he stormed off, throwing caution to the wind.
David watched his son
go in his own direction, totally crushed inwardly. He sighed
deeply, and, turning in the opposite direction, set off on a
different path. They were destined to meet sometime or later.
He'd deal with that when the time came. But then he
regretted it instantly as he looked over his shoulder and saw his
son disappear from sight. He'd been keeping too many things
delayed. Sooner or later the buildup, needing only a slight push,
would topple over him and crush him underfoot.
Now, he'd pushed
his son too far too fast. And now he'd been crushed by the
backfire.
~~~~
Jup scratched
irritably at a nonexistent itch as he watched the price of the
Pokémon Masters' foolishness assemble before him. Ten
citizens of Cerulean stood before him. No, make that ten terrified
citizens of Cerulean. And also innocent, Jup thought with
a smirk. That simple fact would make their deaths all the
sweeter. But he was still sour because the Masters hadn't
been brought to him instantly like he thought they would. The
entire Cerulean police force was out scouring the city, and still
the two fiends hadn't shown up.
Jup gave a slow
smile, the itch disappearing. He made a quick gesture with his
hand and immediately a team of specialized Rockets set off to
demolish another building. He had all the time in the world.
There was nowhere to
hide.
~~~~
Ash scuffed his foot
in contempt as he rounded the corner of another building. A lot
of thoughts were running through his mind, which only complicated
the task at hand. He knew he needed to rescue Misty—fast.
Not only was she very attractive, she could be raped and ten
civilians of Cerulean were being killed this very minute.
Suddenly the ground shook underneath him from an obviously large
explosion and a seconds later a booming sound echoed in his ear.
He turned just to see a Cerulean apartment building reduced to
rubble.
Cursing the day he
was announced Pokémon Master, he turned in the direction of the
explosion and began to jog. If Jup wanted him, so be it. He
wouldn't allow more innocent people to be slaughtered like
hapless sheep—nor would he be taken without a fight. And
this time, he would win.
Suddenly Ash felt as
if he were being followed and turned just in time to see a
dark-clad figure raise a shiny object. It didn't take a
genius to know what it was. Ash dove to the ground, Pikachu
tumbling off his shoulder.
BANG.
Rising quickly to his
feet, Ash dusted himself off as he scooped up Pikachu and broke
into a run. He heard another crack and the impact of a bullet
hitting the ground centimeters behind him.
Just don't
panic, he thought to himself. Don't panic
"There he goes!
Cut him off!" a loud, angry voice shouted.
"Alright,
let's move!"
Ash crossed an empty
intersection and hid behind the welcoming shadow of an office
building, panting for breath. "Whew, I'm not built for
thismaybe Misty was right. Maybe I do need to lose
weightoh, man!"
"There, behind
that building!"
"Surround
him!"
Right away Ash knew
he was in trouble. He'd walked right into a trap. His eyes
quickly darted around for any possible escape. He smiled faintly
to himself. This was practically a scene right out of a typical
action movie; the hero finds himself surrounded by thugs, then he
quickly devises a plan of escape. Taking down a few baddies along
the way, he somehow gets to the top of the building. Then he has
a confrontation with the archenemy, which he wins, but the wily
warlord quickly escapes by jumping off the building to another,
where a helicopter is waiting. The triumphant hero then silently
watches the helicopter disappear in the distance, never to be
seen again
"Should I shoot,
sir?"
"Shoot, don't
shoot, do whatever you want! Just GET HIM!"
"Pika,
pika!"
The voices snapped
Ash back to reality and he looked around. Two teams of Rockets
were converging upon him—fast. Grinning at himself for being
so cliché, Ash quickly began climbing the ladder to the fire
exit staircase. He had barely reached the top rung when he heard
the clang of metal against metal and realized they were shooting
at him from down below. Quickly he ran up the angling stairs as
bullets ricocheted off the metal railing near him.
Panting hard, Ash
cleared the last step at the top of the building. He took in big
mouthfuls of delicious air, bent over, hands on knees. Finally,
when his lungs were satisfied, he looked up.
There stood Jup.
Ash's first
instinct was to tell Pikachu to attack—already his yellow
friend was crackling with electricity. But judging by the small,
handheld pistol in Jup's hand, that wouldn't be a wise
decision. He needed to escape, and fastno telling what this
diabolical leader would do next. Their previous meeting had not
been a pleasant one.
Ash's hand
tightened around Pidgeot's Poké Ball. It was definitely a
gamble, and the stakes were high. But for the safety of himself
and Pikachu, a risk needed to be taken
"Pikachu,
Agility!" Ash whispered as the little mouse Pokémon leaped
off his shoulder in a yellow blur and began to dash in Jup's
direction. Pulling out the Poké Ball, Ash watched the
magnificent bird Pokémon appear with a flash of white light. The
expansive wings flapped, the sharp beak opened with a cry.
{Get on!}
Ash needed no second
order. He quickly hopped on and held on tightly as the two began
to rise
Two shots.
For a moment, Ash was
frozen solid. He knew neither of the bullets had hit him, since
he'd felt no impact. His back to Jup, he slowly turned
around to find the teen grinning evilly, pistol still smoking.
He'd missed; Ash wondered what he was so happy about.
Then he began to
descend toward the ground
He looked down at his
winged friend. Two holes.
"Pidgeot!
NO!!!" he cried as the truth hit him like a baseball bat.
Leaping off, he knelt underneath the falling figure, catching the
feathered body in his outstretched arms, gathering it in in a
farewell embrace. In his tight hold he felt the form grow limp,
cold.
He stood and looked
at Jup with red, tearstained eyes. But now there was a renewed
hate for this fellow that took control of his body, his actions,
his expressions, his memories, and the terrifying knowledge of
their end. "Just" he whispered in a
blind rage as Pikachu returned to his side, tear ducts
electrified. "YouMURDERER!!!"
Jup's gun
disappeared in the folds of his jacket, but his smirk did not.
"It was your own doing, fool. Admit it. If you had turned
yourself into me, your Pidgeot would still be alive. This is only
one of the consequences of your actions, Mr. Pokémon
Master."
Ash's mind
zeroed in on that last sentence. 'This is only
one'what else could he possibly mean? Not Pikachu, his
little friend was right beside him. He couldn't mean his
so-called "father", either, since Jup did not know the
relationship between them. That left only one other person
Misty!
"No"
All the anger was gone, the storm had ceased. But now there was a
new emotion controlling him—fear. Fear for his loved ones,
and not only fear, but sadness
So jumbled up in a
sudden avalanche of thoughts, Ash didn't notice Jup make a
quick signal with his hand. Immediately he was completely
surrounded and restrained by a couple of tough-looking Rocket
agents, but he didn't even offer any resistance. All was
lost, and worst of all, others would pay for his mistakes
Pidgeot's
dead, was all Ash could think of now. He took one last glance
at the still body of his deceased companion before being led away
and shoved into the backseat of a waiting copter
Pidgeot's
dead, Pidgeot's dead, Pidgeot's dead
~~~~
"Got anything
yet, zam?"
[Not yet, sir.]
"Come on.
We've known each other for years; you can drop the
sir'. I'm just David."
[You are the Pokémon
Master.]
"I was. But it
takes a person to consume a title, a title doesn't consume
a" Suddenly the former Master felt his eyelids droop,
his breathing falter, and his heart skip a beat. He understood
more than ever what was happening to Ash.
Because it had also
happened to him.
"I'm
Davidand that's an order!" David said jokingly.
[Yes]
David felt the light
touch of Alakazam probing through his thoughts.
[you are.]
Suddenly Alakazam
drew back from his mind and fell flat on the ground.
"What is
it?" David twisted around attempting to preserve their
mental connection and sift through his friend's emotions.
"What's wrong?"
[I feel]
{Ala]-"zam,"
{Ala]-"ka"-[zam]
David noted that he
was fading in and out of speech pattern. From psychic to oral.
Oral to psychic. He wasn't so long a Master without first
being a trainer. He wasn't a trainer without being sensitive
to the same things his Pokémon were.
"What is
that?" he asked softly, through the dark, painful tears that
began to drip through his mind. "Some kind of mental
attack?"
[No, no. Itit
is pain. Pure, unyielding pain, different from those around us,
fresher. I was not prepared for]
David stiffened.
[It is Ash.]
Alakazam matched his
gaze. There was no need for words.
Just six Poké Balls
and a fistful of prayers.
[I suppose you are
going after him, David Ketchum?]
"Ash is in
trouble, I know it. But this isn't a job for me—this
isn't a job for David Ketchum—no, I've got to
be"
He filled his mind
with images, strategies, memories. A persona.
"I am the
Pokémon Master."