Run of the Gauntlet--Chapter Eight
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Pokemon.
Summary: Not all battles are fought on the pokemon battle field.
Lance looked away from the mold covered ceiling as a little red light started flashing by the door. It was the signal from Giovanni that he was needed. Lance stared at the light for a while, as if hypnotized by it, before getting up off the sagging, poor excuse for a bed and walked over to the metal door. Lance placed a palm over the red light and it stopped flashing. Just to become one continuous light. The door, with a noisy protest, swung open on rusty hinges. Lance stepped out and waited for the next door to open. It took a few minutes, but he expected that. Giovanni liked to have those who were under his control squirm. It was fun. A game that was unbelievably one sided.
"Ah, Lance, there you are," Giovanni said as the door opened for Lance to come in.
"As if I could be anywhere else," Lance muttered.
"What?"
"I said nothing."
"Hm. Anyway, I would like you to take out a team tomorrow."
"To search for Mewtwo?"
"Yes. So you did read the report I gave you."
"Any leverage is good leverage," Lance said, hinting at his murderous intentions. Giovanni paused a moment before bursting out laughing.
"I knew you'd eventually make it. Just as I envisioned. Lance Ketchum: the ultimate Gray. Fearless with a heart that is as black as pitch. Not afraid to kill to satisfy his raging temper."
"You're wrong, Giovanni."
"Am I? I know you will kill me as soon as you get the chance. I have seen many Gray's go through this. I know what's happening to you, Lance. Your blood is running hot. You ache to destroy....perfect."
"I will search for your pokemon, Giovanni. But you touch Ash and you cannot even start to dream of my wrath."
Lance knew that that would have sounded more intimidating had Giovanni not started laughing again.
"See what I mean? You have a darker heart than you think. Evil and sinister. Look in the mirror, Lance. After all, mirrors never lie..." Giovanni said, holding up a small mirror. Lance knew he should resist, but his eyes fled to the round piece of reflective glass. A part of him twisted at what he saw. A dark light seemed to cling to him, dancing around him. Another part felt satisfied, yet greedy for more at the same time.
"Did you know that the Dictionary defines the word Lance as 'a weapon with a long wooden shaft and a metal head.' Even your name suggests your true self. The perfect weapon. Neat and deadly. "
Lance looked away from the mirror and into Giovanni's eyes. They stayed like that for a while before Giovanni smiled.
"You ever play chess, Lance?"
"What?"
"Chess. Have you ever played it?"
"A couple of times."
"Good. We'll have to play sometime. Maybe when you get back with Mewtwo," Giovanni said, dropping his hand to pet Persian. Lance said nothing, his mind trying to interpret the symbolism of playing chess.
A green light began to flicker on Giovanni's desk. Giovanni frowned at it before standing up.
"Looks like I have a challenger. I'll be back in a minute. You're welcome to come watch," Giovanni said, walking to the door with Persian at his side. Lance remained in place as Giovanni turned back to him as he reached the doors.
"Oh, and Lance?"
"What."
"Checkmate."
****
Lance found his way to the balcony where Giovanni usually sat when he battled trainers. He walked over and stood next to Giovanni, who smiled triumphantly up at him.
"I was waiting for you. What made you decide to come watch?"
"Any leverage is good leverage," Lance said, folding his hands behind his back. Giovanni's smile grew larger as he checked a monitor on the arm of his chair. It showed him the challenger as they found their way to the battle field. The image stunned Giovanni for just a moment before he realized that this situation could work to his advantage.
"Lance," he said, turning back to his one time friend. Lance turned his gaze from the empty field and looked back at Giovanni.
"What?"
"Why don't you take this one?"
"That is against the rules, Giovanni. Only gym leaders and their challengers may battle. The League prohibits--"
"Rules? What rules? This is Team Rocket. And Team Rocket makes their own rules. No get down there and battle."
"Even if I was tempted in the least to go down there, I would have no chance of battling. I have a Squirtle and a Metapod. They would get the unattainable Earth Badge," Lance spat, glad to have something on Giovanni that could work for him. Giovanni had taken his dragon pokemon back after Lance had stolen from the Elite and in turn gave him the Squirtle. As if that could compensate.
"Not if I return these," Giovanni said and handed Lance a couple of pokeballs. Lance's heart jumped, but soon fell again when he noticed that one of them was missing.
"I still have Dragonite. You will need him tomorrow. Until then....go down there and battle. And don't try anything. I have a device in those pokeballs that is set to explode if you try and run," Giovanni warned. Lance stood in silence before turning away and heading to the field.
****
"Where is he, Giovanni?" Mewtwo asked harshly, supporting Ash's demands and quotes of morality. He was met with all too familiar laugh.
"Where is who, Mewtwo?"
"You know who I am talking about."
"Maybe. But first, the boy must battle. Only then will I give you answers."
"No--"
"It's all right, Mewtwo. I can do this," Ash reassured. "I accept the challenge!" Ash shouted up at Giovanni.
"Very well," Giovanni said and pushed a button on his chair. The door on the far end of the field opened. Ash squinted, but he could only see darkness. He thought he heard a muffled command, but had no time to interpret it before there was a flash of red light and a Dragonair appeared, fully healthy.
"Think you can handle this, Mewtwo?" Ash asked softly.
"I can handle anything, Ash," Mewtwo said and flew up to hover a few feet off the ground, a blue light glowing around him.
"Hyper beam," the soft voice said and Dragonair responded immediately, with no hesitation in building up power. Ash, while knowing that this mysterious opponent was an enemy, could not help but admire the obvious and seamless teamwork between trainer and pokemon. Mewtwo tried to dodge, but was hit with a glancing blow that dragged him back a second.
"Mewtwo, use your psychic!" Ash said instinctivily. Mewtwo looked back at him.
"I know what I am doing, Ash," he said and formed one of his energy balls in his hand and threw it at the Dragonair. It was hit in the stomach and was thrown backwards. It jumped back up immediately, shaking off the pain.
"Gyrados, you too," the voice said and another pokemon appeared.
It attacked before Ash had the chance to say "unfair." He found himself frozen in fear as the Gyardos 'ran' onto the field, powering up for Dragon Rage.
"Not again," he whispered as the dragon pokemon came forward at full force, its teeth suddenly looking very sharp. Mewtwo found himself too centered on that pokemon so that he did not realize that the Dragonair was building up its power too. There was going to be a combined attack.
"Hyperbeam," the voice said and two orange yellow beams shot out. Mewtwo had no time to react. He was hit full force and fell to the ground.
"Mewtwo!" Ash shouted.
"Destroy them," came the command without hesitation.
"NO!" Ash cried and jumped out of the shadows to shield Mewtwo.
Giovanni grinned. Almost there.
There was a pause before the enemy trainer yelled,
"SSSSTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOPPP!!!!!"
The two dragon pokemon skidded to a stop, kicking up dirt and causing damage to themselves.
Lance ran out of the room, tearing off the headphones that Giovanni had been using to give him instructions on the intensity of the attacks.
Giovanni stood in a rage.
Lance ran to Ash and peeled him away from the cat pokemon.
"Ash..." he said as he looked into the boy's face.
"Dragonite! Finish them!" Giovanni ordered. If his plan was not going to work, then it had to be completely terminated. Lance turned in horror as a Dragonite, his Dragonite, materialized out of a red beam of light and immediately began to attack. It was now under Giovanni's control.
"Wait!" Mewtwo ordered, stopping Dragonite's Hyperbeam with a Barrier.
"If I go with you, will you let them go?" Mewtwo asked, keeping the Barrier up. There was a pregnant pause.
"You are bluffing," Giovanni said.
"I am not. Let them go free," Mewtwo replied.
"Go," Giovanni said after minutes of deliberation and deactivating the detonators on Lance's pokeballs. "Go before I destroy you all."
"Go. I will find a way to escape," Mewtwo reassured. Lance nodded, even as Ash hesitated. Ash was never one to leave a friend behind.
"But--"
"Go, Ash!" Mewtwo ordered and Lance practically picked up Ash to drag him out the door, his pokeballs in hand.
The last thing that both Lance and Ash heard was,
"Ultra ball, go."
****
"We're going back for him, right?" Ash asked as he stared into the fire that Lance was throwing more wood into.
"Of course we are, Ash. But right now you need to rest. You've had a hard day."
"I probably can say the same for you," Ash replied quietly, looking at a scar on Lance's cheek. Lance smiled.
"More than you know."
"So you're Lance, huh?" Ash asked after a long silence. slowly stroking an equally interested Pikachu.
"One and only."
"I suppose I won't be able to compete in the Pokemon League anymore."
"Now what gave you that idea?"
"I know what you look like. I've seen your pokemon," Ash answered glumly. Lance smiled as he sat next to Ash.
"As far as I know, there is nothing in the League rule book that prohibits you from competing now. But I will ask that you keep your mouth shut on what you know about me, okay? I don't want people to actually know how to defend themselves against me."
"Why is that? I mean, I'm never allowed to know about gym leader's pokemon. I remember when I went to Saffron to battle Sabrina, I asked Brock about the gym leader, and he said he wasn't allowed to talk about stuff like that," Ash said.
"Ash, the gyms are there to challenge a trainer's skill and talent. To see how well they can handle pokemon in a situation where he or she has no knowledge of what to expect. They can only know that it will be hard. Like real life. You never know what to expect. Only how well a trainer handles themselves and their pokemon in a seemingly no win situation determines who is a true pokemon master and who is meant for different things. Do you understand?"
"I think so."
"Good."
There was a long silence as both Ash and Lance, novice trainer and Master, sat side by side. Both uncomfortable.
Questions ran through Lance's mind at break neck speed, questions that demanded to know everything about Ash. Lance could only pick the one that refused to stay inside his mouth.
"So how have you been, Ash?"
"Um...pretty good."
"That's good."
"I would ask how you've been, but...."
Lance laughed.
"Considering, I've been all right. I'm alive. How's your training going? You gotten that Charizard under control yet?"
"Not real---hey! How do you know about Charizard?"
"It's my job to know about every trainer that comes into the Plateau to compete. So how about your Charizard?"
"He's--now wait a minute! I can't know anything about you, so why should you know about me?"
"I told you. Real life situation. You with no leverage and the enemy with all the leverage in the world. Proves who is a true Master."
"If you were a true Master than you'd be able to beat me without knowing anything," Ash challenged back. Lance could not help but smile again.
"You know, it's scary."
"What is?"
"How much you sound like me. No wonder your mother thinks that you...never mind." Lance said, quickly catching himself.
"What? How do you know my mom?"
"I don't."
"But, you just said...."
"I was thinking of somebody else," Lance replied swiftly.
"Oh," Ash replied softly, not quite believing Lance.
Lance turned his gaze back to Ash, and his eyes fell to Pikachu, who was resting quite comfortably in its friend's lap.
"So you did get a Pikachu."
"Hm?"
"It's always been your favorite pokemon, hasn't it?"
"Yeah...how did you know that?"
"I told you. It's my job to know."
"My dad liked Pikachu's too. He thought they were world's cutest pokemon," Ash said quietly. Lance froze. When he spoke, it was tense and ultra-controlled.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. I just remember a voice saying that. I hear it sometimes. I've always just assumed that it was my father."
"Who was your father?" Lance asked, trying to keep up a normal facade.
"I don't remember him. He left my life before I can really remember things."
"What happened to him?"
"I don't know. I asked mom once and she got all upset. I hate making her cry. So I stopped asking. I don't know what happened. There are so many different maybes I've come up with. Maybe he died....maybe he fell in love with someone else...maybe he was lost in the Amazon....maybe he's living with an unknown tribe cannibals in Fiji," Ash said light heartedly. Lance gave a small laugh.
"I've always thought he should have become famous. He must have really loved pokemon. I mean, where else would I have gotten my love for it?"
"Famous, huh?"
"Yeah. But then I would have heard about him, right?"
"Never know."
"Every day, when I walk down the street, or I pass somebody, I wonder if maybe that could be him. If I've seen him a million times and never known it. If I was sitting right next to him and never would have known it," Ash replied. Lance straightened up.
"What would you do if you saw him?"
"I don't know. I guess it would depend on who he was. I think though I would try and love him."
"What if he was somebody you didn't like?"
"I still would."
"What if he was somebody that was a horrible person?"
"I still would."
"Even after he abandoned you?"
"Even then."
"What if...........what if he was me?"