Part 1 : Dark Beginnings
Chapter 1 : A Mountain in the Sea
The morning sun slowly rose in the skies above the snow-capped giant men called mount Kaerlan. The golden disc was shone in the sky, illuminating the world with its fiery ray. Around the mountain, birds flew, bathing in the light of the day, hunting for the bugs that would be their preys, in the eternal law of nature: eat, or be eaten. The bugs, of course, were not about to go down without a fight: most of them were in fact already hiding, while still seeking their own food, for there was no use in avoiding the hungry predators if they instead felt to their own hunger.
A few pidgeys were on the path that went trough the forests on the slopes of the giant, toward its snow-capped heights, eating a few acorns on the ground. Of all the birds of the forest, they alone would eat the acorns - and, unsurprisingly, the pidgey were by far the most numerous creatures of the forest.
The leader of the small tribe watched his fellow pidgeys eating, hoping that no one would disturb them. There had been an abnormal number of humans in the mountain in the last few days, and he certainly hoped that no more of them would arrive.
His hopes failed him, however. Just as he was about to pick an acorn to eat, a pair of humans arrived on the trail, apparently intent on climbing the mountain. When he saw the pidgeys, one of them moved his hand toward his belt - were a few pokeballs rested - but then moved it back with a sigh when he realized they were simple pidgeys. No doubt he was another fool who had heard of all the rare pokemon of the mountain, and who wanted to see it for himself.
The human who had almost tried to capture them seemed to be a male, but a young one. The second one seemed to be a young female of the species. The male carried a yellow beast on his shoulder - a pikachu, in the language of man, but in the language of pidgey, it was "sun-colored thing that summon the wrath of heaven". The female carried instead an egg-like creature, a Togepi, or, as a pidgey would have said, "Brother who is not fully born." The leader knew of these words because he had spied on humans, and had managed to find the human terms for most of the concept that the pidgey knew. With a shrill cry, he ordered his tribe to take flight.
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The young man walked on the path, sighing again as the pidgey he had for one moment thought were rare pokemon took flight. Pidgey. One of the most common kind of pokemon. What was Nurse Joy thinking about when she said there were rare pokemon here? I think she must have gone nuts or some such…maybe they're higher in the mountain…he thought, cursing the idea of a pokemon-hunting trip in the mountain.
He removed his red-and-white official pokemon league cap for a short while, then put it back on. Truth to admit, the trip was worth it for the scenery alone. The forest around them was magnificent, untouched by the hand of man for nearly half a century, since the last lumber mill had closed down. And he had seen a few pictures taken from up in the mountain, and they too were truly magnificent. But it would be a long while before they reached the summit, and he was already beginning to feel his legs weakening.
His blue vest seemed to weigh a thousand pound, and for a moment he thought about removing it, leaving him only with his black tee shirt, but he dropped the idea, sure that his companion would take advantage of it to laugh at him, as she always did.
She was always laughing at him, yes, but for some odd reason even if he had the chance to replace her with a nicer companion, he would not. In some way, he had grown used to her jokes, and he was sure that if she went away he would miss her too much. Besides which, sometime she could be really nice, and then he would never consider going without her. She was his best friend, and that was it. He had other friends - Richie, who, like him, dreamed of becoming a pokemon master, Todd, the photograph, Brock, who wanted to become a breeder, and Tracey, the pokemon observer, who had decided not to attempt climbing the mountain. But she's been my friend for much longer…and she's been a far better friend than any of them. Yes, Misty is definitely my best friend…
"Ash, aren't you getting tired? Maybe we should stop." She suddenly asked, breaking his line of thought. Her voice sounded tired from too much walking.
"Mwaaaa…yes…I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stop…" He answered, hoping she was not simply trying to trap him.
"This place looks like a good place to rest…why don't we stop for a while?" she asked, pointing to a nearby grove.
"Why not?" he answered, grinning. Apparently she was really tired.
"I wouldn't want to get the MIGHTY Ash Ketshum tired…"…Or maybe not…
He did not even bother to answer. The peaceful beauty of the place soothed him, and he just didn't want to start a fight in such a beautiful place.
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Misty winced inwardly as she let the comment out of her mouth. Once again, she had tried to hurt him without even realizing what she was doing…Most of what she said wasn't true…she just wasn't able to resist the lure of poking fun at her friend…sometime she spoke in anger, but sometime, she poked fun at him for no reason that she could understand…
If I make so much fun of him, I must hate him…but if I hate him, why do I keep following him around? Not because of a bike, that's for sure…why, then? Because he's a friend? But if he's a friend, why do I keep making fun of him? She reflected. Of course, Ash and her had started on a wrong foot, but still…
She looked at the sun above the clearing in which they were resting. Ash was sitting in the middle of the clearing, apparently lost in thought, as odd as it seemed for him.
The sun was already high in the sky. She rapidly looked at her watch, and saw that they noon was an hour gone. From Ash came a low sound that reminded her it was time to eat. Apparently, it had also reminded Ash, because when she turned back to look at him he had stopped thinking and was rummaging trough his bag for something to eat.
She opened her own bag, quickly gathering some food. She gave some of the food to Togepi, her egg-like pokemon, and watched as Ash did the same with Pikachu, the yellow electric mouse. She then picked the ham sandwich she had made for herself before leaving Lemonopolis far below and started eating, noticing Ash doing the same.
She quickly finished the sandwich and sighed contently. She had not realized how hungry she was before eating, but now she definitely felt much better. Ash had not yet finished, but he was almost done, and Misty had to work very hard to prevent herself from making a nasty comment about it. I'm going to be as nice as I can to him…he doesn't deserve what I give him all the time…
Finally, Ash was done eating, and they left the small clearing, heading back toward the path, both of them having realized that they would not reach the summit for a while, and that they would have to spend the night in the forest, something which Misty did not like at all, considering how many bugs there were in the forest. She hoped to find an old building somewhere where they could rest, but considering how long it had been since the last human had set foot in the forest.
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The two young adults watched the screen of the videophone. A man in a red suit stood looking at them, his eyes hard and his face promising suffering for those who failed the man. The young man had blue hair, and wore a white shirt with a large red R on it, and white pants. The young woman wore similar clothes, but she had strange red hair.
"Jessie, James. I've been informed by my spies that the two kids who keep foiling your plans are climbing up Mount Kaerlan…you will see to capturing them, and you will see that they do not interfere with my plans there…"
The young man nodded, knowing there were no other answers, followed half a second later by the woman. He turned to look at her, surprised. He had thought she would try to fight a little; giving in like that wasn't her usual behavior…
"I even prepared a plan for you to capture them…" their boss said trough the videophone, before proceeding to explain in detail what his plan was.
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The young woman knelt in front of the altar, her eyes looking at the floor and not at the man in front of her. From the walls, great white drapes with red lotus on them. She knew the man in front of her wore a cloak similar to those drapes - white with a single red lotus in the middle. She also knew that looking at him during the ceremony meant death, and an atrocious and painful death.
"And do you swear to uphold our laws, and to fight to show the true path to the unbelievers?"
"I do." She answered, having long ago decided on following the path she now was on. Her long brown hair were falling to both side of her head as the man picked a cloak similar to his own and put it around her shoulder.
"Then, await in shadow, and be ready to serve the cause." The man said, and then vanished trough a door, leaving her free to go. She quickly removed the cloak, put it in her bundle, and headed back toward her home.
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The two of them were seated in a house far from most roads. One had gray hair and beard; the other was a woman with jet-black hair. They both had the same small reddish-brown eyes, however.
"You sensed it too?" The man asked.
"Yes father. The second sign have come to pass…the time is soon. We must find the nine before the seeker do…and make sure they cannot harm our master." She nodded.
Syraelle looked at her father, a mix of disgust and ambition in her mind. She had no use for her father, no use for his senseless plans. When their master would seize the power that was rightfully his, she would be high priestess, not him.
He, on the other hand, would be noticeably dead. She smiled at the thought.
"Something funny?" He asked.
"No…nothing at all." She answered.
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"Be careful Damian." The red-clothed man said to the teenager as he walked away.
"Of course. Don't worry, I'll come back whole…as I always do!" he answered, grinning at his father.
He had long jet-black hair, like his father, and aqua eyes, like his mother and his sister. His sister…it had been a long time since he had last seen her and he sometime wondered what had happened to the young woman. But there was no use worrying about that, and he started thinking of the newest mission his father had given him.
Sometime working for his father was tiresome, especially because he disliked some of the mission he was ordered to fulfill, but he just wouldn't quit. His father was one of the few in the world who accepted him, and did not treat him as something lower than dirt.
"Hey! Wait!" he heard a woman voice speaking behind him.
He turned to face the owner of the voice. She was about his age, with long golden hair and sky-blue eyes. She also wore the black business suit with small red R over the heart that was the distinctive mark of the highest-ranking members of Team Rocket. She smiled at him; which was something rare.
"The boss ordered me to go with you…" she said. "Said something about this being your first major mission, and that maybe you'd need some backup…"
Damian smiled. He had expected his father to do that, and was actually pleased not to be alone on the mission. He just hoped she would not make fun of him, as nearly everyone did.
"My name's Elayne…Elayne Loreana…What's yours?"
"Damian Wat…" No…not that name. He's my family now…"Damian Scarpa."
"Scarpa? You're the boss's son?"
"Yes."
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"Pokeball, go!" the young man shouted as he threw the small object in the air toward the strange looking hedgehog-like beast.
The pokeball flew trough the air and easily captured the pokemon. Gary Oak heaved a sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure if he would manage to catch the strange creature. If others had been around, he would not have sighed - he could not let his weakness show, and would have found someone to make fun at to draw attention away from him. But alone - he had asked his cheerleaders to stay back because with a group of them trailing behind him, catching pokemon was hard - he had no way to draw his own attention away from himself.
"I wonder what's that creature…maybe it's something good…" he whispered, looking at the pokeball. Another thing that was not really known was that although he had caught lots of pokemon, most of them were weak, low level ones. Of all his pokemon, only his Arcanine, Eevee and Nidoking were high level pokemon. Of course, between the two of them, his Arcanine and Nidoking were strong enough to hide the weakness, most of the time.
With a weary sigh, he walked back to the edge of the forest, trying to locate a few pokemon to catch, but finding none.
His cheerleaders were waiting for him at the edge of the forest. His father had hired them to cheer him up, to try to help him on his quest, but it just did not work that way. For no reason, Gary thought about Ash. Truth to be told, Gary was rather jealous of Ash. While Gary had to pay to get a few travelling companions - rather empty headed ones at that, Ash seemed to have no problem making friends. Even Gary had been his friend once, but he had broken the friendship when the two of them had started their pokemon journey, by his attitude. And while Ash seemed no better at training and catching pokemon, he seemed to have something that Gary did not have: his Charizard set aside, all of Ash's pokemon were absolutely devoted to the young man, and would not betray him.
Chapter 2 : Restlessness
The sun was now well past it's highest point in its eternal travel trough the skies, and in fact was quite rapidly coming toward the point where it would vanish for the night, darkening the skies. Misty looked at the glowing ball of fire in worry. They would have to find a place to rest soon, else sleep outside, and the air was getting chilly. But of course, in a forest untouched by the hand of man for over fifty years, finding such a place would prove a challenge.
Then she saw it. The building looked like an abandoned lumber mill - at least from the stack of huge tree trunk nearby, she could guess it was that. The door was half-open, and some of the windows were broken, but still it ought to be a better place to rest than outside in the cold air.
"Hey, Ash! Why don't we stop here for the night? That way we'll sleep better than outside, and we'll be able to go faster tomorrow…" she said, smiling.
"Well…maybe it's haunted? I don't want to sleep in a haunted house…" Ash idiotically replied. Of course, after his experience in the Pokemon Tower of Lavender town, Misty could not really blame him for being afraid of haunted places, but really…
Before the young man could even dodge, a mallet struck him on the head, sending him to the ground. He looked at her, and, surprisingly, grinned.
"I take it you didn't like my answer?" he said, and she realized he had only been kidding when he had talked about haunted houses. Sometime he was very surprising…maybe he was more intelligent than she gave him credit for, but she would die before admitting that.
"Well, are you coming?" he asked, then headed toward the abandoned building, although Misty could see that he was none too sure about going inside.
She followed him, and she was sure she wanted to go inside. The mill was certainly not haunted, whatever Ash might say and…
"BWAAAAHHHHH!"
The sound made her jump in panic - until she realized it was Ash who was trying to scare her. Without even thinking, she drew her mallet and struck, sending the young man down on the floor.
"I suppose you didn't like that one either…" he said under his breath, but she managed to hear.
The mill was dark, of course, but fortunately, she had picked up a flashlight before leaving, just in case they had to explore caves or the like on the trip. She opened it and they explored the ruined building for a while, looking for a place that would not be open to the wind, and that would be large enough for them to rest. They finally found one, deep inside the mill, and settled for the night.
She soon moved to an adjacent room to get in her pajama, and as she did she tought about the events of the day. Nothing much had happened, of course, but still, it was an habit she had to think back on what the day had offered, and then put it behind her, and concentrate on the next day.
Maybe it was because she was lost in thought that she didn't heard the sound of the floor weakening. Or maybe the sound was not loud enough to be heard by anyone but a few Rattata. But the floor was weakening, and soon it gave way under her, and she found herself falling trough the floor, toward the ground below.
As she felt she screamed, and she hoped she would land somewhere safe.
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The wind blew by the small seaport as the woman looked at the young man climbing inside the ship. She understood how he felt, yet he was by far the best of her helpers, and loosing him would hinder her work for a while.
"Are you sure about this Brock?" she asked, trying once again to convince him to stay on the island with her and her research crew.
"Yes…I've been away from home for too long. I've got to go back to them…It's not that I don't trust my father, but still…"
"I see what you mean…well, goodbye! I hope you come back soon!" Ivy said as she waved goodbye at the young breeder-in-training.
The ship slowly left the pier, and she looked as the young man waved back. Maybe one day he would come back to help her, but she doubted it. He was at an age where he had to keep moving, especially since he had been forced to stay at his home for a long while. She also doubted he would stay at home for a long time.
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Ash heard Misty's scream, and raced toward the door to the small room where his friend had been, but once he reached the door, he hesitated, unsure of what Misty would say if he opened the door and found her busy changing clothes, having screamed only for something as minor as a bug. He thought for a moment, then shouted her name.
When he got no answer, he opened the door, and nearly fell trough the same hole where he could guess Misty had already fallen. He looked around the hole for a short while, then tried to look down it, but it was too dark, and he couldn't see what was below. Suddenly, the whole mill seemed scarier to Ash, as a feeling of dread overtook him. Something bad was about to happen, something terrible. He knew it, yet could not do a thing about it. He called out her name a few time, but she did not answer. Fearing that she might have knocked herself out - or worst - he went down in the lower parts of the mill to find her. However, before that he picked up one of his pokeballs, and threw it out, revealing his Charizard.
For a brief moment, Ash was afraid Charizard had decided to disobey him once again, but as he looked at the great fire lizard, he found himself starring not in the disdainful eyes of Charizard, or the hating eyes of Charmeleon, but in the trusting eyes of Charmander. Relieved, Ash walked down a stairway with the fire lizard lighting his way half a step behind.
I hope she's all right…I would never forgive myself if she was hurt…or worse…he tought, then walked down the stairway, turning toward his left, the path that seemed to lead to the place where Misty would logically have fallen - a place where she obviously should be.
But also, a place where she was not. Ash could see the hole over his head, and a quick flight up with Charizard confirmed that it was the right one, but Misty was nowhere to be seen. For a brief moment, Ash found himself wondering if perhaps a ghost had taken her away, then suddenly recovered from that moment of panic, and started trying to think of a way to find her.
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Damian sat down by the fire, and looked at the young woman in front of him. She was surprisingly young for an high-ranking Team Rocket member, but then, so was he. Of course, I'm the boss's son, but still…
He took a book from his backpack. The title was "Legends of the Dragon". He had picked the book from the extensive library in the Rocket headquarters, one of the most secret room of the place. Not only did it held rare, valuable books that belonged to Giovanni's secret collection, but it also held the Team Rocket archive, with many valuable documents. Only the highest ranking members were allowed in.
He tried to read from the book, but for some odd reason, could not concentrate. He turned his attention back to the young woman.
"So, when did you join the team Elayne?"
"Two months ago…" she replied, shaking her head as if she expected him not to believe her- wich he did.
"Two months? And you're already high ranking?"
"Yeah…I think it had to do with the person who recruited me…when I entered your father's office with her…his reaction was odd…and when she told him I had just joined, he immediately made me one of his lieutenant…"
The strange story immediately got Damian's attention.
"That woman…what did she looks like?"
"Not a Rocket…she had a gray dress, and long black hair…and she seemed…promise not to laugh…but she seemed to shine, somehow…" the girl told him, hesitating on a few points.
Damian thought about the meaning of what the girl had just said. She had been personally recruited by Enaira, at least it seemed that way. I wonder what she's up to now…why did she have father recruit that girl, and why did she force him to give her such a ranking? I know what she wants with me, but what does she wants with her?
"You could ask, you know…" It seemed as if the voice came from inside his mind, but he knew that in fact it came from much further away.
"Very well then, what is it that you are doing with her?"
"Nothing that you should think of right now…concentrate on the mission your father gave you…"
"If you're not going to answer, why did you tell me to ask?"
"I did not ORDER you to ask. I only said you could…and I never said I would answer. Concentrate on that mission."
"All right, all right, I get the picture…"he said, and the voice was silent.
He stopped "talking" with the strange entity he knew as Enaira, and found that while he had been talking the girl had walked closer to him. She sat down besides him.
"Your father told me you had a hard time when you were young?" she asked, looking at him.
"He shouldn't have…I can take care of myself." Damian said harshly. He couldn't trust her. Wouldn't risk trusting anyone unless he had to. He had been betrayed by supposed "friends" too often.
"Don't you want to talk about it?" she asked, a questioning look on her face.
"Not really." He said, yet didn't mean it. He desperately wanted to open his heart to someone, but wouldn't dare, not trusting anyone, and not trusting himself either. If his sister had been there, it would have been different. He knew she could be trusted, he knew she would not betray him. But she wasn't there, she was somewhere else, he had no idea where. And he desperately needed to talk…
"All right…but if you ever need someone to talk to…I'll be there." She told him.
"Wait…I…I think I'd like to talk about it a little…" he said, a touch of sadness in his voice.
And then he found himself telling her everything, from the way his older sisters had made fun of him and his twin sister, how his twin had been the only one he could trust, the only one who understood him. How all the students at school had played all kinds of cruel tricks on him, bringing him to consider suicide a few time, and bringing him to leave his house at twelve, with a single pokemon and little money. How he had traveled from city to city, in search of a place where he would be accepted. How he had been found by the very same woman who had recently recruited Elayne. How Enaira had brought him to his father, and to a place where he was finally accepted - Team Rocket. He left a few things regarding Enaira out, things not even his father knew yet.
"And that's what he meant by hard time…he's one of the two or three person in the entire world I really trust…it's just…I can't bring myself to trust anyone else…"
"Yet you managed to tell me your story, and you've known me for, what, a few hours?"
"Yeah…I suppose that doesn't make much sense, but…I don't know. I feel…comfortable…telling you about it and I needed to talk to someone about the whole thing."
"Don't worry…I won't tell anyone about what you just said…and if you ever need to talk again…I'm always there."
"Thank you Elayne…good night…" he said as he entered his sleeping bag by the fire, and as she did the same. It was well past midnight, and about time for the two of the to get some sleep.
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Ash opened the door to the next room of the mill, having decided that a thorough room-by-room search was the best way to find Misty. Charizard, again, was half a step behind him, following closely, both to light the path for Ash and to protect his master, should anything attack. What a change…a few months ago he wouldn't even obey me, now he'll do anything for me…Wisdom come to us all…someday it might even be your turn…Ash smiled as he remembered that particular line from Misty, then his smile turned to a worried look. Misty…I still have to find her…
He looked at what he could see in the faint light of Charizard tail flame - apparently, a walkway high above something. There was no way he could see what was down below, short of having Charizard fly down there. For a moment Ash was tempted, but decided against it. If, as he was beginning to suspect, there was something in the mill that posed a threat to Misty, sending away Charizard was definitely not a good move. He instead decided to follow the walkway, and to look for a way down.
As it was, he never got the chance, as the threat he had felt since Misty had vanished finally revealed itself. Two great projector on the roof came to life, removing the shadows from both end of the walkway, and revealing at each end a human figure. Ash did not even need to hear them - and definitely didn't want to hear their ridiculous poem - to recognize the two of them. Jessie and James - Team Rocket. He didn't need to hear the poem either to know these two were not here on friendly business.
"Charizard! Flamethrower attack!" he ordered, leaving the choice of wich of the two rocket was to be targeted to the fire dragon. Charizard aimed at Jessie, but just before he could release, a third light came to life, and an unmistakable voice spoke.
"I wouldn't do dat if I were ya…" Meowth said in his strange accent.
"Why not? I don't see what's to prevent me from doing it." Ash shot back, yet at the same time putting his hand on the fire dragon shoulder to stop him from releasing the attack.
"Dis. Only Jess can stop dat machine." He said, as he suddenly launced a machine beside him, causing a number of old logs to advance toward a huge saw - a huge saw that sliced the log in piece as they struck.
For a moment , Ash wondered what Meowth meant, then he saw, and his heart froze within his chest.
Misty was tied to one of the log advancing toward the saw.
Chapter 3 : Dark Menaces
Misty woke up slowly with a painful headache, unable to tell where she was. She tried to raise her hand to put it to her head, in hope of reducing the pain somehow, but the hand would not move. After wondering for a moment what it was she was feeling, she realized that she could not move her legs or her other arm either. It was then that she started feeling the pain in her arms, the pain of ropes digging in her flesh and it was then that she realized that she was tied.
Suddenly, the darkness around her was filled with light, and as she turned her head to the left, she saw Team Rocket talking with Ash. Then, she heard a motor sound, and she felt herself starting to move toward something - she could not tell what, tough she could guess it was not pleasant from the look of horror that suddenly filled Ash's face.
The two villains looked at her, then at him. Jessie finally spoke.
"You see, it simple. You surrender and give us your pokemon, and we stop the machine. You don't, and she get sawed in two by that huge thing."
Hearing that, Misty realized what was about to happen. She struggled with the ropes that held her, but they were too tight, there would be no escape. Her life was in the hands of Ash now, and only him could save her. She tried to speak, to tell him something, but she realized she was gagged as well as tied, and could not speak at all. Please Ash…I don't want to die like that…I want to live…
Ash looked at her, then at Pikachu and Charizard, and she could see the sadness in his brown eyes. No matter which of the choice he picked, he would regret it, and he knew that. For an agonizing moment Ash stood silent, maybe unable to choose, or maybe afraid, or already regretting whichever decision he had made.
Ash…you've got to do it…save me Ash…please… she thought, panic welling through her, looking at him with pleading eyes.
And finally, Ash made his choice. He held out a hand, and spoke.
"Charizard." He started, and Team Rocket, thinking he was about to order the Fire Dragon to attack, let out a yelp of surprise. Misty felt a few bitter tears rolling down his cheek. He had chosen his pokemon over her, and somehow she had thought he would. I should have expected it…his pokemon first and foremost…
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A few tears rolled down Ash cheek as he raised the hand that held Charizard's pokeball to his shoulder, and looked at the Fire Dragon.
"Return." He finished, and there was no mistaking the sadness in his voice, nor the tear rolling down his eyes as he slowly took each of his pokeballs and threw them at James, who picked them up and put them in a bag. Pikachu's going to be a problem Misty realized, but she could not help, and anyway Pikachu simply ran to the rocket and jumped in the bag, tough its eyes were full of tears too
As Jessie stopped the machine, a pair of low-ranking rockets - like the ones onboard the SS Ann - appeared, and while one held Ash's, the other tied his arms. Misty looked at what was happening, when she felt something heavy hit her, and lost all consciousness.
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No matter how hard he tried, Damian could not sleep. As soon as he tried to close his eyes, he saw Elayne's face appearing, and that was not something he wanted to think about - not the slightest. I just can't trust her that much…Love takes trust, and I can't trust her enough for love... he told himself, looking at the stars above him, shining in the night sky. Yet even tough he kept repeating the same thing in his mind, it was no use. He knew he was in love, and he knew there was no way he could change that. A faint breeze rose, stirring the leaves of the trees around him, but he did not notice.
She's so beautiful…she probably love someone else anyway…There's no way she would fall in love with a nobody like me… he thought depressively. For being beautiful, it was true. She had a pale skin, and her long red-gold hair felt below her shoulder, loose. Her eyes were closed, but Damian knew they were sapphire-blue, and that they shone in the morning like two gems of great value.
The wind became stronger, and his own long black hair flew wildly around his head, but he did not care, like he did not care about mostly everything. He was lost in thought, and it would take a lot more than a strong breeze to make him think of something else.
Elayne. Even her name was beautiful. To him, it sounded like a sweet music, or maybe the song of the birds in the trees. The sky gradually became paler as he finally drifted off to sleep, overtaken by tiredness, and as he felt asleep, a smile illuminated his face. Because he knew that in the morning, an angel would be at his side. He had now wanted to fall in love, but now that he had, he knew there was no way for him to stop loving the young woman, that trying to accomplish that would be as useless as trying to move a mountain.
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As far as the two in front of him, the man was named Jerek Almeigen, and he was a top-ranking Rocket bounty hunter. As far as they knew, for in fact he was quite far from that. While his costume was that of the rocket, his true loyalties were to another group, one that had very little to do with Team Rocket. The two in front of him, on the other hand…
They were rockets. Which meant they were greedy, gullible, and not overly brilliant. Of course, some members of team Rocket were quite intelligent, but, like most criminal groups, it attracted a sizeable number of the under-educated, and a fair group of the less intelligent part of the society. The two of them wore black clothes with a red R on the shirt. The man had short, green hair, and had an amused look on his face - why, Almeigen couldn't even begin to guess - and the woman, with an evil look on her face, had long golden hair divided in two ponytails. She wore two lavender triangle-shaped earrings, and looked at all of them with extreme boredom in her eyes.
"So how far have you gone in our scheme?" he asked them, hoping that for once they had succeeded.
"Before we answer that, I'd like to check out what we stand to gain again, just to be sure you didn't change it on us…" Butch stated, looking at him intently.
"If you pull off my plan, I get some money, and you get control of Team Rocket. That's what I'd call a good deal." Almeigen stated, amused by the single-mindedness of the man. "Now could you answer?"
"Yes…we sent the instructions to Jessie and James - pretending to be the boss, of course - and
they should be taking care of the mission just now…which in turn should make the boss…" Cassidy started, looking at him.
"I know the plan Cassidy, thank you. I think that's enough talking for tonight…We'll meet again soon." He said, leaving the table in the seedy Pewter bar.
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Misty woke up slowly once again, but this time there was, surprisingly, considering she remembered something heavy hitting her head, no headache. She tried to move her arms, and to her surprise they were free. She looked around herself for a moment, trying to find where she was. She was in a bed - a small, hard, uncomfortable bed, with rough wool covers, but still a bed, and there was a small table beside the bed.
She rose, and went at the door of what seemed to be her bedroom, opening it. It led to a small room, with a couch, a chair and a table. All of the furniture was rough and uncomfortable, but after being tied to a log, it seemed a major improvement. One of the wall of the room had a window - with iron bars preventing anyone from using it to leave - and outside, it was still night. The single source of light in the room was a lamp hanging from the floor, and in the light it provided, Misty could easily see Ash sitting on the couch, holding his head in what seemed like despair.
She made her way besides him, and put her arm on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him, but soon she felt the tears forming in her own eyes as well, as she realized the situation. They were alone, trapped inside a mill, with only Jessie and James to bring them food - which there was no guaranteed they would keep doing, and no one to know where they were. Their pokemon had been taken away from them - even Togepi…I hope I'll get him back… and they had no way to escape.
Ash turned to face her, and it seemed as tough there was no life in his eyes, those eyes that had been filled with hope, sadness or joy, those eyes that were now empty. She held him close, and he wept on her shoulder, just as she did, letting her tears fall on his black tee shirt. They held each other for a long time, not talking, only trying to comfort each other, and to be a little less afraid.
Finally, Misty broke the silence in soft words.
"Ash…I'm sorry. I should have listed to you…it wasn't a good idea getting in the mill." She whispered. Ash looked at her for a long silent moment, then answered.
"No it wasn't. But there was no way you could tell…it's not your fault Misty." He said gently, still holding her close. For a moment Misty wondered if he saw her as more than a friend - something that frightened her, for some reason - then decided not even to think about it.
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Jessie and James looked at each other for a moment after Ash and Misty were taken away, too stunned to speak. For once, they had succeeded - the two twerps who had plagued their lives for so long were under their control, and the pikachu they had sough to catch for so long was inside a bag.
Meowth was already dancing around in happiness, looking at the bag, while Jessie was weeping tears of joy, and while James simply had a goofy smile on his face. They looked at each other, and, for a moment, not a single one of them looked at the bag, and in that moment Pikachu took action.
He knew that he would not succeed by releasing the pokemon, that with all the rockets, who were there with Jessie and James, fighting was not an option, that the only way to save Ash was to flee, and to get some help.
He raced toward the door of the main area of the mill, hoping to get out, while behind him the three villains, unaware of his escape, still celebrated.
"We did it! WE DID IT JESSIE!" James said in bewilderment.
"Now we're going to get a raise! I'm going to get all those nice clothes…" Jessie added, apparently already dreaming.
"Yesss! Now dat we nabbed that Pikachu…" Meowth said, turning toward the bag - in which it was obvious that Pikachu was no longer. "The mouse iz running! Get him!" he shouted, turning around, looking for Pikachu.
Pikachu, meanwhile, had been far from inactive. He had crossed the door, and was now running toward what seemed like an exit to the mill. Behind him, he heard the telltale sound of pokemon being called out of pokeballs, and the hiss of an Arbok followed by shouts of "Victreebell! GET OFF MY HEAD!" from James. The two pokemon would have no problems catching up with him, because he was quite tired.
After what seemed to him like hours of running, but was probably no more than a few minutes, the little electric rodent found himself cornered at the edge of a cliff. As he looked ahead, a dark shadow passed between the earth and the moon - a shadow that was quite familiar, but that Pikachu somehow could not recognize.
Hoping that a miracle would save him, Pikachu threw himself off the cliff, screaming. Behind him, Jessie and James also screamed as the pokemon they had spent nearly two years hunting down plunged to his death far below.
Chapter 4 : Remorses
The little yellow beast plummeted down the cliff, as James watched in stricken horror, unable to believe the creature had been so willing to escape them as to throw itself down a cliff, choosing death rather than capture by them. It was…It was a depressing thought, somehow, to see that they caused such fear in their opponents. The young man had concluded a few months ago that he was not cut out for evil, that tricking others and stealing from them was not the path he wanted to follow.
Yet, after a lifetime spent working with team Rocket, he could see no other path to follow- neither for him nor for Jessie. The only time he had felt any freedom at all in the recent months was when he had been carried on the wind by that great white bird, Lugia. He had always loved to fly, and that was why he and Jessie had obtained their Meowth balloon, but now the balloon, with all that it stood for, seemed more like an anchor dragging him back to life has a rocket.
And away from the freedom he so desperately wanted.
"What…" Jessie voice was strained, as if she was fighting back to keep something inside. "What do we do now?" she finally asked.
"I don't know." He answered, fighting to keep his voice level, to prevent the – was it sadness? – from showing in it. "I really don't."
"We tell da twerps about dis!" the voice of the third member of the trio said from behind. "We'l.."
Before Meowth even got a chance to tell them what it was that would happen, what it was that they would gain from telling the twerps – the term they had used for so long was suddenly distateful, and James could only wonder why – a heavy metal fan struck the little creature over the head, causing him to fall to the ground.
"We won't tell them. There's no need to torture them…" Jessie said firmly, putting the fan back in her uniform.
"Why not? They've…caused enough trouble for us…" Meowth said, his voice dazed, staring at nothing.
"We'll tell the boss, then we'll let him decide what to do…but no telling the twerps about this, unless the boss order us too, and if he do, we soften it as much as possible. Things will already be hard enough for them without that."
"Right." James nodded to Jessie's order. He could only agree – the twerps, even after all they had done to them, did not deserve that. And if they did, then what did they, Team Rocket, deserve for doing all of what they were doing, and had done, to the twerps?
Jessie took his hand, surprising him. It was not something that Jessie would do, taking his hand. She was much more likely to hit him over the head like she had just done with Meowth that do anything even remotely related to being nice to him. Yet…
Yet her eyes, most of the time hard as agate, seemed oddly different, and in that moment he knew that she had been just as badly shaken by what had just happened as he had been, his inner core shattered by the single crushing thought, that to Pikachu at least, death had been better than capture by them.
And by an equally oppressive weight, the weight of what they had done in the mill. Threatening to kill someone they knew- even if a rival – just to have their way, just to get pokemon. Because they knew that it was a soft spot, that Ash would die for his pokemon or his friends, and that he would almost certainly give up all his pokemon for the life of even one of his friend – let alone Misty, with whom he had been travelling for the past two years.
Team Rocket had always dealt low blow, taking advantage of every weakness, but somehow, what they had just done seemed far wrong than anything they had tried before. Somehow, James felt as if an unwashable stain had just appeared on his soul, one that would never go away.
We kidnapped…and threatened to kill…just to get our way.
The single thought was so devastating that, far below, he did not notice the single dark shape carrying in it's claw an unconscious, tiny yellow rodent, floating on the wind toward unknown destinations.
_________________________________________________
The three of them were again gathered, celebrating to the success of their plot, to the fact that within a few days, they would have more powers than they had ever dreamed of. To the fact that in a few days, if their plans went well, Team Rocket would be theirs, and all the riches and powers that meant.
"I believe that we should implement phase two of our plan soon…" one of them, with long dark hair, and strangely shining blue eyes whispered. "They" he added, "have played their parts in our plan. Now one of us must go and make sure everything turn the way it is meant to turn…"
"I still do not understand." Butch objected. "Why are we makin such a fuss over kidnapping those twerps, and why do we want so badly to kill of those who come after them?" he said, a little too loudly – a man who was passing by on the otherwise deserted road that was so close to their new meeting point heard. He turned toward them, his eyes bulging , apparently intent on seeing who was plotting, then on running as far away as he could, possibly to the nearest police station. And then, to brag to his friend about how he had helped the police catch dangerous criminals.
Of course, it was a chance he would never get. Cooly, with almost clinically precise gesture, Jerek Almeigen drew his pistol from its holsters, and fired a single shot.
The man felt to the ground, an expression of stunned horror on his face, and with a blood-red star-shape in his forehead, with an hole in the middle.
"Make sure no one find the body." He ordered the other two, knowing they would not question his orders – and would not go against them while he was away making sure the next part of his plan succeeded. "And keep in mind what happened here…" he added, his voice chilly. "If you ever are tempted to betray me. By staying, you stand to gain much. By leaving, you will loose all. Which do you prefer?"
The two of them looked at him, and recoiled slightly when he turned his gaze upon them.
"Well. I see those remains are still there…What are you waiting for?" he asked, throwing frosty glances at the two of them. They immediately rose and headed as fast as they could toward the body – which was very fast, as they both believed that the pistol that had just taken away a life would soon be eager to take another – from them.
As they walked away, carrying the body, Almeigen silently watched the sky. They had their plans, and their aims. He had his, and they were much different, but the two of them would serve perfectly to fulfill one of the necessary steps of his victory.
Bringing down Team Rocket.
With all their undercover contacts, the team would have early warning as to an attack by his masters, and they would have the weaponry to fight back. And when war would come, it was obvious that Giovanni would side with the Indigo league, and not his masters.
But it wouldn't matter. Giovanni would die, so would the fools who would fight for his place. Team Rocket would fall, and die.
And the blood of their death would water a new flower of death to grow over the world, a flower of blood and power, a flower of belief and faith, a flower that had risen so often already, a flower that he had no doubt would reappear until final victory was reached, and the unbelievers found the true path.
The Flower of Blood.
The Crimson Lotus. And he, Jer…no, that was not his true name, but after so often calling himself Jerek, he had almost forgotten. He, Ethan Starkhad, would gain glory such as few men had ever known.
_________________________________________
The ground rushed down to meet him, and to the little beat it seemed as if the fall took forever. He could not have been wrong. He could not afford to be wrong, for the sake of all that he held dear. The ground came closer still, now pikachu could distinguish the blades of grass seemingly waiting to impale him.
And then, the fall stopped, as he felt a number of sharp claws sink in his flesh. A great shadow suddenly blocked the moon from him, and, afraid that he had been taken by something that would eat him, something that would destroy him, he blacked out.
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The bright starry sky was reflected in the ocean, creating an infinite field of sparkling diamonds all around the SS. Queen of Orange. From his well-furnished room on the top level of the ship, Brock watched intently the sea below and the sky above, reflecting on the choices he had made regarding his life in the last few days - first and foremost, the choice to leave Valencia island to return to his hometown of Pewter.
I've been away for too long…they'll need me he thought, remembering his family. His father…he was not too sure his father could handle everything he had to do, that he could take care of all of Brock's brothers and sisters at once. Brock had barely managed, himself - and Flint did not have the experience his son had in that domain.
Slightly ahead, the docks of the city of Pallet came into view, and Brock suddenly found himself looking at a familiar figure walking on a dock. Ash's mother, but she was not alone. She was walking with a strange man wearing a long cloak. In fact, by the way they were behaving, they looked like lovers. The general shape of the man seemed somehow familiar to Brock, but he could not tell why. As the ship came closer, the man left, and as the two of them traded one last kiss, Brock could be sure they were, in fact, lovers. So, Ash's mom have a lover, does she? Well…guess she's luckier than I am… he reflected.
As soon as the ship finished docking, Brock got out - to be welcomed, as he expected, by Ash's mother, who ran toward him as soon as she saw him.
_________________________________________
The two thick green snake-likes protuberance darted out of the Ivysaur's back and wrapped themselves around the little pikachu.
That's almost too easy… the trainer of the little beasts reflected as he let his reflexes take over, and gave the order to strike.
"SPARKY! THUNDERBOLT THROUGH THOSE VINES!" Richie Cotter yelled to his pikachu.
Obediently, the little electric mouse gathered energy from all around him, redirecting it in two astounding bolts of energy that struck through the vine, following them to the grass creature at the other end of them. The Ivysaur looked stunned for a moment, then its eyes closed down, and it felt to the side, its vine letting Sparky go. The little mouse raced to his trainer, and jumped in his arm.
"Fine job Sparky! Told you it was going to work."
"The battle's not over! You still have to face this!" the opposing trainer yelled, drawing a pokeball from his belt, and sending it out, releasing the massive bulk of a huge Venusaur.
Richie let himself smile. That would be just as easy. He picked one of his own pokeball, knowing very well that type advantage alone would, in this case, be enough to ensure his victory.
"ZIPPO! I choose you!" he yelled, throwing the red-and-white ball in the field, then catching it as it returned, empty, to his hand, and as the red-and-golden shape of his Charmeleon appeared on the field. He could still remember that day when Zippo, his Charmander, had evolved shortly after he and Ash had met each other in the pokemon league competitions, nearly over a year before.
"Charmeleon! Flamethrower!"
"Venusaur! Earthquake!" the other trainer ordered, and Richie felt panick taking him. The earthquake would be devastating to Zippo, probably sealing the issue of the match. The other trainer wore a smug smile on his lips.
But something else happened. Just as the earthquake was about to strike, even as Richie felt the first tremor under him, Zippo started to glow. His body grew, and changed shape as well. His neck became longer, and two horns appeared on the top of his head. Two great bat-like wings burst out of his back. Then, the light subsided, and where Zippo had once stood as a charmeleon, there was nothing. Instead, a few feet above ground, a new Zippo, now a Charizard, flew over the Venusaur, impervious to the effects of the ground attack.
"Zippo! Use your wing attack!" Richie yelled.
Within moments, Zippo was beating the Venusaur with his wings, and the beast seemed to weaken. A few seconds later, it was all over.
"Guess you win…" the trainer muttered, looking at Richie with undisguised hatred, then left without another word. Richie smiled as he returned to his sleeping bag in the forest clearing. He had no idea why the trainer had awakened him in the middle of the night, but he knew one thing, now he was going back to sleep. Tomorrow, he would have to reach Viridian, and that would take a long time.
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Pikachu slowly woke up again, looking all around him, wondering where he was. Wind rushed at him, and below him, waves crashed on unknown shores. The lingering pain in his back indicated that he was still held by whatever had caught him earlier was still holding him.
At least it hasn't eaten me yet The little mouse reflected, watching the shadow of the great winged beast. Is last run-in with a pidgeot had been less than pleasant, and he was really scared of the great bird now carrying him. But there was nothing he could do about it.
"Are you all right?" the bird asked, in the langauge of pokemon of course - thus, no humans would have understood, but any pokemon would have no problem doing so.
The voice sounded familiar, and pikachu was sure he had heard it somehwere before…And then it clicked. He remembered that day before they had first gone in the orange islands, when Ash had left his newly evolved pidgeot behind to guard a tribe of pidgey.
"Celes? Is that you?" He asked of the female pidgeot carrying him.
"It sure tooks you a long time to recognize me old friend. But of course, after nearly getting yourself killed and fainting in the process…I can't blame you…"
"Not to mention I had some bad experiences with Pidgeots recently." Pikachu - or, as he was known to other pokemon, Raiken - said.
"Really? So, how have Ash - and the others - been?" she asked, a wistful note in her voice.
"The others? Well, Deathwing finally decided to obey Ash and…" His face became a mixed expression of horror and determination as he remembered the events at the mill that had lead him to jump off that cliff. "Ash. Team Rocket got him. We have to find help." He suddenly said, and Celes nodded.
"Where should we go?" she asked, her voice suddenly hard as steel.
"I don't know…Pallet, I think. You remember his hometown?" he asked suddenly.
"I do…but before we go there, I think I'll let you climb on my back…It should be more comfortable for you, and less tiring for me."
Raiken nodded, and Celes landed on a nearby beach.
Chapter 5 : Tense Winds
The fearow flew in the wind, approaching Leman Island and the mill. Its great wings carried it on the ascending air currents, allowing it to move effortlessly. The mill was now very close...It admired the view down, the splendid sunrise over the sea east of the island.
The great beast landed on a ledge near the mill, and looked around for a moment, to make sure he was alone. Then it shimmered, and where it had stood now was a human. Ethan Starkhad brushed some dust off the sleeve of his dark blue business suit, and rearranged his tie. Only the small red R on the hearth pocket of his suit marked him as a - supposed - member of Team Rocket, though the face of Jerek Almeigen was known and feared among all rocket.
He slowly walked toward the mill, smirking. Jessie and James were idiots, and he would have no problems manipulating them in doing what he wanted. After all, everyone knew that Almeigen was the boss's favorite bounty hunter, and that he often carried orders as well. Why would they suspect he was carrying false orders now? After all, Butch and Cassidy had done their job well - he had seen to that - and the two of them were already utterly convinced that the current plan was a plan of the boss. Why would they think otherwise?
He knocked on the door, careful to keep the sleeve of his suit from contact with the dusty, rusty iron. The door slowly creaked open, revealing the red-haired harrigan - Jessie - and the blue-haired cross-dresser - James - as well as their idiotic talking cat, Meowth. The little furball liked to claim he had once been the "top cat" - personal cat of Giovanni, and while Almeigen had not certitude on the topic, he knew that if he had been in Giovanni's place, he would have rid himself of the idiotic creature for that much more loyal, and much deadlier persian he liked. The idiotic trio, as the rest of Team Rocket usually called them. Hopefully inept, far from evil enough, and simply untrustworthy, with a way to fail in tasks that even six-years-old kids would have - had, in fact - been successful at.
"Sir! It's an honor!" Jessie said, bowing low - bowing any lower than that, she would have touched the floor, not to mention that she would probably have fallen to the ground AND given a very...interesting...sight to everyone behind her. Fortunately for her, James and Meowth were also too busy bowing and scrapping to notice, and Almeigen was on the wrong side to see anything - altough he strongly suspected Jessie would have thought he was on the good side.
"Rise, fools. The boss sent me to take charge here. I came ahead, and I have a few troopers underway. As soon as they get there, you three'll be leaving - I'm sure the boss will find some other mission for you"
"What? But...This...our...the boss..." James stammered.
"Was there a part of what I said you didn't understand James? Maybe I went too quickly for you..." Starkhad said, his voice sweet yet carrying a hint of steel in it.
"No sir. I understand sir. It'll be a pleasure to do as you say, sir."
"Very good. Dismissed, you three. I have things to deal with here.
The three fool quickly went off, gathered their thing, and a moment later were leaving at a very quick pace, racing away as fast as they could. Starkhad watched them, an half-smile on his lips.
Such idiots...it's a wonder they haven't been fired - or shot - already.
He smiled. His plan was working very well so far - soon, Team Rocket would be rent apart, and shattered. And with them gone, the path of the Crimson Lotus would have one less obstacle in. No one would oppose them - no one would oppose them, and live.
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It had been five days. Five long days, five boring days since the two of them had been trapped inside the mill, since their freedom had been taken away from them. As well as their pokemon. Ash hung his head low, trying very hard not to think of Pikachu, Charizard, and all of his other pokemon - all those painful memories.
He suddenly heard a soft sound coming from behind him - the sound of someone weeping. Ash rose and went to see what had made Misty weep. As he looked at her, he could not find a single answer. She was just standing there, weeping. Tears ran down her cheeks, falling to her feet. This was not something Ash was used to. An angry misty, he had learned to deal with. A happy Misty, he knew how to deal with. But Misty weeping for no reason, he had no ideas how to deal with.
"Misty...What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her in the eyes.
She stared at him blankly, then suddenly, though there were no reasons to explain that sudden outburst, she threw her arms around him, put her head on his shoulder, and the weeping, which had seemed to calm down for a while intensified.
He awkwardly put his own arms around her, trying to comfort her, wondering what exactly was wrong, if it was something that had to do with their being trapped, or perhaps with the disappearance of their pokemon, or maybe with the obscure guilt that she had seemed to carry with her ever since they had been captured.
"What if...what if we never get out Ash? Maybe no one will find us...Maybe we'll die in this room..." she whispered, her voice trembling, her whole body shaking as she wept.
"I'm sure we won't Mist...I mean, Tracey's going to help us, or something..." he said, trying very hard to make his voice sounds strong, though he could not help but wonder if Misty was right.
She moved her head, and wiped the last few tears out of her eyes with her hand, then stared at him through her aqua eyes, which seemed to be filled with fear still. Ash knew that his eyes probably held the same fear - the fear that he felt in every fiber of his body. What if she was right? What if they would live in the cell until the day they died?
Five days had seemed long in the cell, like forever. If they were to be there until the day they died...If they were to be there until they died, Ash could only hope for one thing.
If we are to be trapped here...I hope we'll die quickly. I really hope so.
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Bowing one last time, Duplica left the stage of the Viridian park center, where she had managed to arrange things so that she could give a show while traveling. She sighed. Life on the road, giving her shows in whichever cities happened to let her have some room to do it, was not at all what she had dreamed it would be. From the few tales she had heard from Ash and other travelers, she thought it was afun way to live, that she would have many adventures.
And instead, it was something else entirely. Dull days passed on the roads. Blisters under her feets, and the aching pain of walking endlessly. The trouble finding shelter every night. The food, which lacked more often than not. Getting lost on a near-daily basis. Rain, and heat. Problem after problem, gathered together only to make traveling harder.
With a weary sigh she walked back to the pokemon center, were at least she could stay for that night with a roof over her head.
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The car braked suddenly in front of the Oak's lab in Pallet, and Gary jumped out, racing toward his grandfather's lab holding in hand one of his pokeballs, the one containing the new pokemon he had caught in the forest. With luck, his grandfather would be able to identify it and give him some information about its source. As far as Gary knew, the pokemon was completely new.
He raced toward the lab's door - and ran straight in a tall young man who was going the same way. He fell to the ground, and as he rose he looked at the person. He seemed vaguely familiar, and Gary was sure he had seen him before...It came back to him. Brock, one of Ash's many friends. The one who was obsessed with girls.
"What are you doing here?" Gary asked, just barely keeping himself from yelling.
"Just came back from Valencia island, and thought I'd ask your grandfather if he had news from Ash..." the young man answered calmly.
"Ash? That looser?" The lie was barely noticeable, in fact unnoticeable to anyone but Gary who knew it was a lie - that he did not really think that way of Ash. "Why would you want news of Ashy-boy?"
"Because he's my friend." Brock shrugged. "Besides which, he isn't that bad." He added.
"Of c..."
Before he could finish what he was about to say, Gary was interrupted by a shrill scream, like that of a dying pokemon, coming from a way off.
"We got to find who - or what - that was." Brock told him, and Gary nodded. As much as he tried to appear hard on the outside, he could not let a pokemon to die in the wilderness if there was any way he could help it - any reasonably safe way to do so, anyway. He took a quick glance at the sky, at the rapidly falling ball of fire of the sun, and headed toward the lab.
"What are you doing?" Brock yelled at him. "We need to find that pokemon."
"Yeah, but the sun is going down so I thought we could use flashlight." Gary sneered.
"Oh, right..." Brock stumbled, realizing that he had misjudged the young man.
Gary entered the lab, quickly went to one of the drawer, and opened it, taking two of the flashlights which were inside, and headed back outside. His grandfather appeared in the doorway of the room, looking at him.
"Gary? What was that sound?" he asked.
"I don't know. I was going to go out and look for what happened." The young man replied quickly. Alone with his grandfather he could be himself, he didn't need to pretend to be harder than he was. Sometime, Gary wished he had not started acting that way toward others, that he could be himself around everyone, but it was much too late now.
"Wait a minute, I'll be coming too." His grandfather said, taking a flashlight out of the drawer from himself. He then looked curiously at Gary.
"Why did you take two flashlights Gary?"
"Well, that guy who travel with Ash - you know, Brock - is there, so..." Gary quickly explained, and then the two of them got out of the laboratory and joined Brock outside.
"I'm almost sure the sound came from that patch of wood over there." Brock told them, pointing toward the patch of wood to the north, part of the terrain of the laboratory.
"Well, let's go instead of talking!" Gary told him, turning his flashlight on as his two companions did the same.
