The Past Returns
Disclaimer: Geez, do I really have to say this every
time? Oi…I don't own Pokémon. If you want to sue me, all I have is my
pen…which you cannot have. ^_^
A/N: Ack!
This fic took me forever! I had so
many problems with it, especially the encounter with Team Rocket. It was the best thing I could think of that
I didn't wanna change for the hundredth time, so I just left it. I'm really not too pleased with it, but I'll
let y'all be the judge of that!
"Who are you?" Ash asked the shadowy figure that stood
before him. All he got in response was
an evil laugh, as a door closed on the mysterious scene.
"No, wait!" Ash called out, but to no avail. "Ash…" a distant voice called out to
him. "ASH!"
"Huh?" Ash opened his eyes to see a somewhat
annoyed Misty staring down at him.
"It was just a dream…"
Ash said thoughtfully. "Well I'm not
just a dream, Ash, so get moving! You
overslept again!"
"Oh, sorry…uhh,
Misty?"
"What?"
Ash motioned to the clothes
laid out next to his sleeping bag.
"Oh…well, just hurry
up!" Misty spat, as she walked away,
her face as red as her backpack.
That's the fourth
time I've had that dream. I wonder who
that guy is…, Ash thought as
he got dressed.
***
"So Jasmine uses steel
type Pokémon?" Misty asked.
"Yeah, they're fairly
new. Other than their strengths and weaknesses,
not much is known about them. They're
pretty tough, just like that Skarmory that Ash battled," Brock replied.
"Oh yeah, I remember
that. So what others are there?"
"Well, there's Onix's
evolution, Steelix, Magnemite and Magneton are now also classified as steel
types…" Ash tuned out of the
conversation, even though he knew this knowledge would be beneficial to him in
the future. He couldn't stop thinking
about his dream. It was starting to get
fuzzy, but he tried to smooth out the details.
What did the room look like? Nothing,
it was too dark to tell. Did the man
have a Pokémon with him? Maybe…he
couldn't remember. What could be triggering
this dream? He didn't know.
Noticing that Ash
hadn't touched his breakfast, Brock spoke up.
"Hey Ash, aren't you going to eat anything? Your food's getting cold…" A sweatdrop slowly began to form on
Brock's head as he waited for a response.
"Umm, Ash? Ash?? Satoshi-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun???"
"Don't call me that,"
Ash said automatically. "What is it?"
"Your breakfast is
getting cold," Brock replied, giving him a strange look.
"I'm not hungry," Ash
said plainly.
"Oh…well, I'll pack
this up then, and you can eat it later, okay?"
"Sure…"
Despite his recently
catatonic state, Ash had still noticed his friends' worried looks, and so
decided it would be best to try and forget about the dream for now.
"C'mon guys, we should
get moving! I wanna earn that
Mineralbadge as soon as possible!"
Misty looked up at
Ash, shocked at his sudden mood change.
She'd been suspicious of him before, but now she was positive that he
was hiding something.
Two can play at
this game," she thought.
"Sounds good to me!" She exclaimed cheerfully, hiding her
suspicions. "Let's go!"
Brock, having viewed
their pathetic put-ons, thought Ash and Misty were both nuts. It was now painfully obvious that something
was bothering him, but he was greatly amused by their behavior, so he followed
along quietly, trying not to laugh.
***
(Team Rocket HQ)
"Are you blundering
idiots so challenged that you can't even capture a measly little Pikachu?! I've shelled out far too much money for your
foolish operations! I trust you were at
least able to work the video camera?"
Giovanni thundered.
"Y-yes, Boss," Jesse
said fearfully. "We have the tape right
here," she finished as Giovanni snatched it from her hand and popped it into
the VCR.
"Now, let's see why it
is that you continue to fail!"
A look of shock
appeared on Giovanni's face as the "twerps" came onto the screen. It was quickly replaced by a sly grin,
however, as he spoke. "Bring them to
me."
"Yes, Sir," Jesse and
James responded as they exited the office.
***
"Not again!" Misty shouted in annoyance.
"I could've sworn it
was right-side-up," Ash said confusedly, as he retraced their path on the map
with his finger.
"Hey Ash, why don't you
let me—" Brock started, but was abruptly
cut off by Misty.
"You can't read a map
any better than he can, Brock!"
"Oh, well…hmm, I guess
you're right." Ash and Misty fell over
in stupidity.
"Well then let's—" Brock began, but stopped again as Ash walked
into an invisible wall.
"Ow," Ash whined, as he
rubbed his nose. "I feel like I'm at the
Fuscia Gym. How'd this get here?"
"I dunno, but there
has to be some way around it," Brock replied, as he started feeling his way
along the wall.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect—" "Skip it.
We got work ta do," Meowth interrupted.
"Right," Jesse and
James replied.
"Why am I not
surprised? What lame brain scheme have
you got planned for us this time?" Ash
asked, rolling his eyes.
"We do not come up with
lame brain schemes!" Jessie cried angrily.
"Well, lets see,"
Misty said, as she counted her fingers.
"Hole in the ground, giant robot…yep, Ash was right."
"Why you…" James began, fists clenched.
"Quit foolin' around,
you two!" Meowth warned. He then pushed a button on the controller he
was holding. Before they knew it, more
thick plastic walls came crashing down on all remaining sides, closing them in.
"Don't forget da roof!"
Meowth exclaimed, as he pushed another
button, closing the containment. Then,
Jesse and James fed a hose through a hole in the top.
"What's that for?" Ash asked in a cocky tone. His question was soon answered, as a faint
hissing sound could be heard coming from the hose and gas began to emerge. The three began coughing, as the gas quickly
filled the small chamber.
"No," Ash thought as
he fell to the ground, along with Misty and Brock. "They can't win…"
***
Ash awoke with a jolt. He'd had the same dream again, only this
time, he could almost make out the man's face.
He had a vague idea of his identity, but he couldn't confirm it.
"Ah, so you're awake,"
a guard said, as he came into Ash's cell.
"Where am I?" Ash groaned.
"Team Rocket Headquarters,"
the guard replied. "The Boss wants to
see you." With that, he led Ash down
the hall and upstairs to Giovanni's office.
As Ash walked into the
office, he saw that Brock and Misty were already there.
"Are you guys okay?" Ash asked them.
"Yeah, we're all right,
Ash," Misty replied.
"What have you done with
Pikachu (who I've apparently forgotten about until now ^_^;)?" Ash demanded.
"Pikachu is fine. It's been a long time, Satoshi."
"What?" Ash exclaimed. "But how did you…" He trailed off as the figure stepped into the
light. Ash recognized him immediately.
"You!" He yelled angrily. "I thought you were gone for good!"
"You know this guy,
Ash?" Brock asked.
"Not anymore," He replied,
then turned back to Giovanni. "I want nothing
to do with you!"
The man laughed. "Now is that any way to treat your own father?"
Ash heard Misty and
Brock gasp, but he didn't care. "You
are not my father! You lost that
privilege when you abandoned us! You're
pathetic! You never even—" Ash couldn't continue, for Giovanni had
slapped him.
"Give me back my Pikachu,"
Ash said quietly.
"All right, Ash. I don't need your Pikachu. I'm not so cold-hearted that I would steal my
only son's Pokémon"
Ash narrowed his eyes,
but decided it would be smart not to say anything this time.
Giovanni turned his gaze
to Jesse and James. "You two, blindfold
them and escort them back to the woods." With that, he went and got Pikachu out of a glass case and handed
it to Ash. Then they left.
As they walked down
the hall Ash thought of what he should do now.
Then Pikachu spoke. "Pikapi pi
pi?"
"No, Pikachu," was Ash's
response.
***
Once they got back to
the woods, it was too dark to keep going, so they decided to set up camp. Misty and Brock were worried about Ash, but they
didn't know what to say to him. They
hadn't said a word to him since they got back.
They ate dinner in silence and went to sleep.
Ash was the first to
awake in the morning. He began packing
his things, then woke up Pikachu. "Come
on Pikachu, we're leaving," he said.
Misty was awakened by the sound of his voice.
"Ash?" She said sleepily.
"Go back to sleep, Misty."
"No, Ash. Where are you going?"
"Home."
"What? Why?"
"So you guys don't have
to tell me to."
"Ash, why would you
think we want you to leave?" Misty
asked. "You're our friend!"
"Am I?" He asked. "How could you possibly still want me
around, knowing who my father is?"
"You're not your
father, Ash. How could you think
we'd possibly care about something like that?"
"I—" "Will you two shut up? I know you love each other, but could you deny
it later? I'm trying to sleep!" Brock yelled.
Ash and Misty looked
at each other, faces burning bright red, then looked away, stubbornly crossing
their arms, and went back to bed.
Uhh…and then Pikachu sighed
a mushroom cloud and shook its head in defeat.
And I dunno what happened next because this fic is over! The end!
Goodbye!
~Fin
A/N: Heh heh…okay, I didn't know how else to end
it, but I had to end it somewhere! It
took me forever to write it cuz I kept screwing up. FYI, that big plastic TR gas chamber thing was a result of writer's
block. You have no idea how many times
I had to rewrite that part cuz it sucked.
I still think it sucked, but that was the best I could come up with. And there was no Togepi because…cuz Brock
accidentally ate it for breakfast. And
most of this, I've already said in the first A/N…wa. Okay, I think that covers everything, so R&R! Pretty please? ^_^
