DISCLAIMER: No owners of pokemon round here. Don't sue!
A/N: The biggie the biggie! And look out everyone, there IS a twist! It's a...what did he call it? A doozy, lol. This was G-O-Double-D's part two thingy and it is huge as promised in the last A/N. Anyways, read on and enjoy!
Anxiety, uncertainty, and to put it bluntly emotional wrecks. These are the words or phrases, which summed up our 6 companions state of mind at this time as they travelled deeper into the caves of the huge volcano gym. Brock walked closely alongside Wilhemina, James protectively walked just ahead of Jessie, and Misty walked alongside Ash, with her arm leaning on his shoulder for support. Deeper and deeper they dissented into the centre of the volcano's core with no sign of ether Gary or an apparent ambush.
"Ash?" Misty questioned shakily. Ash did not answer her in words, all he did was motion his head in the direction her voice came, as he was scanning his surroundings, ever keeping an eye out for trouble. "Something's wrong, it is too quiet" Misty finished. The group stopped as these words echoed throughout their ears. Was something wrong? Was Gary manipulating them into a false sense of security? Finally James spoke up, breaking both the silence and their pondering state of mind.
"Guys! You can't think that! The bastard is toying with us! Come on, let's keep going" he almost ordered. It was at this point Wilhemina spoke up, reverting the conversation to something which had completely nothing to do with the topic in question.
"God is it me, or is it getting hotter in here?" she asked. Ash turned to Brock.
"Say Brock-" Brock cut him short.
"I never touched her!!!" For a moment after that outburst, nothing but silence. James, Ash, Jessie, and Misty just exchanged glances with each other and then all focused their attention back on Brock, who had now come to the realisation as to what he had said. Ash let out a small laugh, as he saw Wilhemina go red with embarrassment
"Haha, good old Brocko, nice to see your mind is on the topic at hand." At first Brock thought nothing of it and then realised that his hand was on Wilhemina's shoulder, trying to apologise for his previous outburst.
"Hey!!!" he snapped at his young companion. He lunged forward but was held back by Jessie and Misty.
"Alright, cut the antics already!" Jessie snapped, speaking for the first time since entering the gym.
"Sorry" Ash and Brock muttered at the same time, their voices barely above a whisper. James eyed his wife in concern as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Jess?" She looked up at him.
"I just want my son back James, I want this over with" she told him as she buried her face in his chest. James held her close and gazed at the group around him.
"Guys, do any of you remember the lay out of this place?" Misty pondered the question for a moment.
"Was the main gym area not down some sorta staircase?" she asked.
"Hey Mist you're right, guys keep your eyes open for some sorta staircase will ya?" Ash replied as he continued walking. The group nodded and followed suit. James slowly and reluctantly posed the next question.
"Guys? How many do you reckon remain?"
"Not sure Jimmy boy, why do you ask?" Ash inquired.
"Well there must be a good number -" Brock said suddenly, cutting the answer to the previous question short. Jessie and Wilhelmina raised an eyebrow.
"What makes you say that Brock?" Misty asked.
"Call it a hunch Mist, or you can put it down to the fact that they're behind us and coming towards us as we speak." Sure enough as these words left Brock's mouth, Rudy stormed from the shadows with around 20 henchmen by his side, guns at the ready. However Ash and his companions did not give him or his followers time to assume their positions, and by the time they were in position, around 8 of his men had been killed outright via gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
"There, that evens it up a little" James announced flatly, the barrel on his machine gun still showing signs of smoke and just stopping its spinning as he did so. Rudy scowled.
"You think that will help you, do you?" Ash stepped forward.
"Asking questions again when you should be looking for answers, are you?" Rudy blinked.
"Huh? What the hell you on about Ketchum!" he snapped.
"Simple, the question before you is, who tried to slit my wife's throat when she lay helpless in a hospital bed?" He paused as he took a stepped towards him.
"Answer, the bastard I'm gonna wreck vengeance on at this time. To put it bluntly, you're mine!" Brock placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hold up buddy-boy, you can have him but wait till-" He was cut short as Ash lunged at Rudy, inflicting a blow to his gut. It was then the gunfire started up again, with numerous bullets flying through the air causing numerous rocks in the volcano's walls to begin to shake, with cracks beginning to emerge.
"God dam it! I'm getting too old for this shit" James wailed over the gunfire and scampering of bodies. Misty let out a laugh, a bullet barely missing her head as she did so.
"Oh come on Jimmy boy! You're only as old as the woman ya feel" she smirked.
"Great, 42" he replied with a laugh. Jessie, who heard his comments, turned around with a scowl.
"What!!" she snapped. James gulped.
"Did I say 40? I meant 30, 30 oh god..." His moment of interrogation was cut short as he witnessed a bullet strike his wife in the lower ribs.
"Ahh!" Jessie wailed, collapsing to her knees.
"Jessie!!" Wilhemina shrieked. Brock rushed over as the last few cobra members hit the floor mortally wounded.
"Slate! Is she ok?" James shouted, putting the finishing touches of putting an all but deceased henchman out of his misery. Brock examined her closely.
"She'll live, just a graze really" he told him as Misty walked up and rushed to Jessie's side.
"Jess, can you stand?"
"I think so" she stammered, although the others could tell she was in some discomfort. By this time, all the henchmen had been dealt with, which just left…
"Ash!!" Misty suddenly exhaled, realising he was the only member of their party not situated near Jessie. The group looked to their right, to see Ash and Rudy still going at it, both showing the scar of battle. Rudy backed him up against the wall.
"I got to admit it Ketchum" he started as he delivered a blow to his stomach. "You were brave." Ash swung him around and struck out a blow of his own.
"Yeah? Enlighten me, you psychotic bastard!" Rudy smirked.
"You know, marrying a tomboy" he replied in a harsh tone. Ash just shrugged his last comment aside.
"That may be the case Rudy, but she's my tomboy, and as I recall the same tomboy you fell in love with at one point!" He paused as he kneed him in the gut.
"What you gotta say to that?" Rudy's temper was at a boil now, and unknown to Ash he removed something from his back pocket and let it loose into his face.
"What the fuck was that!" Misty shrieked, seeing her husband cover his face in pain.
"Shit! It looked like mais" Brock shouted. Misty gazed around both herself and Wilhemina were holding Jessie upright. She scowled at her two other male companions.
"Hey you two, what are ya standing there for, go help him!"
"Mist, he said he wanted to do it alone" James pointed out. Misty shook her head.
"I don't give two shits about what he said, do it now!" she demanded. Brock and James eyed each other. Suddenly something caught Brock's eye. He quickly and discreetly pointed it out to James, who seem to nod in understandment. By this time Ash had Rudy pinned against the wall, physically overpowering him, despite his visual problems at this time.
"Hey Ash! There is a small carpet knife in your back pocket!" Brock shouted. Misty blinked.
"That's your idea of helping?" Brock grinned.
"Nope, this is." Both he and James positioned themselves.
"Ash! When we say jump get outta there." And with that they let loose numerous shots at nearby rocks, causing them to crumble and burst open, resulting in hot flowing lava emerging from them. At this moment in time Ash had sought out the small object Brock had alerted him to, and was delivering yet more blows to Rudy's leg and sides, with a few retaliations in return. It was then the warning came.
"Ok Ashton, get outta there!" Brock wailed, as the lava burst through the rocks and shot in their direction. Upon hearing those words, Ash stuck the blade into Rudy's hooded part of his cloak and jumped to the side, just as the lava struck, resulting in Rudy being engulfed in the hot liquid totally melting his corpse, in a manner best left to the imagination. The girls looked away in anguish as the lava flow subsided. Then Ash slowly got to his feet lost for breath and, trying to get some circulation back within his body, he gingerly walked up to his teammates. Jessie by this time was walking more freely.
"Dang that's too bad, he was one hell of a dancer" James mocked.
"Yeah, too bad no one taught him the finishing touches to the Oakie shuffle" Brock blurted out with a grin. The group let out a laugh along with him, as Ash finally approached. It was at this point Misty rushed up and threw her arms around him in a warm embrace.
"Oh thank god, are you-" she went pale as she caught site of his face.
"Ash! Your eye is bleeding!" she stammered in concern as she took his face in her hands to examine it. He gently pushed her aside while shaking his head.
"It's ok babes, I'm fine, I can still see out of it" he assured her. Misty raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Ash Ketchum, we ain't leaving this spot until you prove that to me" she told him. Ash could do nothing but smile as he took her in his arms.
"So you want me to prove it huh?" She nodded. He smiled as he bent down and bestowed his lips on hers.
"You're still as beautiful as the day I met you" he murmured softly as he broke from the kiss. Brock grinned at his young companions intelligence within the current situation, as James spoke up.
"Well Mrs K, is that good enough for you?" he asked. Misty smirked.
"It'll do" she replied softly as she let her husband go.
"Ok, the main arena is just down this hallway" James told the group around him.
"How do you know that James?" Wilhemina inquired. James sighed with a laugh as he pointed to a sign with the notice "Main Gym this way." Brock's mouth dropped wide open.
"Talk about inviting us in. Well let's get this show on the road." His 5 friends nodded and they walked on. And sure enough, a few minutes later, the huge stone door lay before them. The group took a moment to reflect on all they had been through the last few weeks, well all except Wilhemina, who had only joined a day prior to the current events.
"Well this is it" Wilhemina whispered.
"It ends here" James replied.
"For the kids" Brock choked out.
"For our families" Jessie murmured.
"For our lives of peace" Misty whispered while closing her eyes and squeezing Ash's hand. Ash shook his head.
"No…for Suzie" he muttered, gaining a smile from both his wife and Brock in the process at his gesture of dedication within the current situation. The group was then brought out of their revelry as the huge door parted on its own, leaving the way clear for the group to enter. Shrugging it aside, they slowly entered, and as soon as they did, Ash's eyes widened at the scene before him. For there in the centre of the gym, with 4 followers situated beside him, was Gary Oak.
"Ahh…I see my guests of honour have arrived, how we doing gang?" James blinked.
"What's the deal Gary? Where are all the targets you promised me?" he mocked.
"I must congratulate you on your attempts at humour Mr Morgan, and to answer your question, we lost a good number when Surge's gym went down, nothing like the 5 we originally thought." As Gary finished these words, a gunshot was heard through out the arena, everyone jumped to the side only to see one member of Gary's quartet wince in pain and plunge deep into the lava pit below. The group, even Gary, turned around in the direction it came, to see Brock standing there with a bit of nervousness on his face.
"Err…Sorry, guess the barrel wasn't locked" he said sheepishly. Gary just let out a little laugh.
"No problem Slate, in fact you have saved me some money, one guy less to pay when this is over" he told them. Jessie leaned forward and began to speak with Misty.
"He's lost his mind, 4 on 6, he's no chance" she muttered. Misty nodded.
"I know Jess, but it's up to Ash from here on in" Misty replied. Ash sized up the situation before him. Slowly he took a few steps forward, not before pulling back from Misty's worried attempts to grab him. With a heavyhearted sigh he began to speak.
"You've tried to kill me, kidnapped my kids, raped my wife...I should run over there and put a bullet in your head right now, to justify the son of a bitch that you are!" he started. But then his tone changed to a quiet whisper.
"And yet, I look around me, and I see a person who is in no shape to battle. I guess what I'm saying is it doesn't have to be this way Gary" he told him.
"That's right" Misty echoed in.
"All we want is our kids back" Jessie announced. Gary took in their points.
"Oh so that's all you want huh? By all means, take them" he announced as a side door opened, and Jack and Rose were revealed for the first time in weeks before their respective parents.
"Jack!" Jessie shrieked as she collapsed to her knees as her son rushed up and jumped into her arms. James leaned over her, rubbing Jessie's shoulders and rubbing his hands through his son's hair. Misty for her part did not move, neither did the figure which was clamed to be her daughter. She took a step closer and choked out one word.
"R…Rosalla?" At the mention of her name, the young youth's eyes brightened and a smile dominated her lips, as she lunged forward and jumped into her mother's embrace, as Misty fell to her knees, struggling to hold back her emotions at this time.
"Oh thank god, I missed you so much sweetie." Ash placed an arm around Misty lovingly as he grinned down at his daughter.
"Hey honey" he whispered. Suddenly it hit him. He redirected his eyes back to Gary.
"What the hell is this?" he demanded.
"Yeah, what the hell are you trying to pull Gary?" Brock scowled. Misty slowly handed Rose to Jessie and Wilhemina as she rejoined her husband. Gary paused as he examined the group around him.
"I give you guys the hand of friendship and all I get is accusations? I'm shocked. My friends, you are free to go at any time." He closed his eyes as he opened them again, his facial expression changed to a somewhat darker mood.
"Except you" he finished, and with that 3 velvet wires emerged from the ground, holding Misty in her current location.
"What the hell?" Brock shouted.
"Attack!" Gary ordered the 3 remaining henchmen. They lunged forward, and as you can expect were quickly dealt with by Ash, James and Brock.
"What was the point of that?" James asked with a laugh. It was at this point a scream was heard from Misty. The group whirled around to see electric static bolts going through her body. Then stopping she clasped to her knees via loss of strength.
"Gary you son of a bitch! What was that!" Ash demanded as Wilhemina and Jessie held the kids from seeing any of this.
"Another little device cooked up at Elm's lab. For your most prized treasure is now connected to a mind controlling electronic device, it is set to shock her every time she thinks a negative thought about me." Another scream of anguish from Misty was heard.
"Hmmm…she must really hate me" he smirked. Ash rushed towards her.
"Take one more step Ketchum, and you'll be seeing the afterlife a lot sooner than your lady love!" Gary told him in a threatening tone. Ash stopped dead in his tracks, for he could not hide his distress at this time as yet another scream from Misty was heard.
"Gary you Bastard! She's preg-"
"Brock!!!" Ash snapped, cutting him short. Gary raised an eyebrow but then just shrugged it aside. By this time the static bolts had stopped and Misty was on her knees gasping for breath. Jessie looked on in horror as Gary spoke up.
"You didn't think it would end so easily, did you?" He walked closer to Ash and held the gun to his head.
"Now! On your knees" he demanded. Ash gazed around and slowly and reluctantly got on his knees. Gary let out a laugh of satisfaction.
"Haha… what a loser, you know there are times I really can't describe just how pathetic you are" he mocked.
"That's enough!" Jessie shouted at him in a harsh tone.
"Don't put the girl through anymore, I forbid this!" she told him. Gary sighed in a smug manner as he turned to Jessie while keeping the gun near Ash's head.
"Mrs Morgan, you are in no position to forbid anything." He paused.
"And since I ain't taking requests today, there is no longer a use for any of you to be here." And with that he pushed a button on his belt, resulting in a hole in the floor emerging and engulfing the other group members. For a moment everything went black. James then slowly opened his eyes and stood up.
"That son of a bitch! He out smarted us!"
"We are back outside" Wilhemina stammered. Jack held protectively onto his mother, as Rose got up from her fall.
"We gotta get back in there!" proclaimed Jessie. James shook his head sadly.
"It might be too late by the time we do" he pointed out.
"James what are you saying?" Wilhemina asked.
"I'm saying Ash and Misty are on their own this time" he replied, his voice cracking as he did so. It was at this point the voice of innocence was heard.
"Aunt Jessie, where's my mom and dad?" she asked innocently. Jessie sighed.
"They are still inside sweetie, they should be out soon" she tried to reassure the girl, even though she knew it could be far from the truth. But remembering should the worst happen, her promise to Misty would be kept. It was all of a sudden James spotted something.
"Hey wait a minute." Both Jessie and Wilhemina raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
"Where's Brock?"
***
Gary could do nothing but smile at the current situation before him. For in front of him on his knees, was his most hated rival, and the one thing he held dear not but a few inches away, hooked up to a machine which brought nothing but pure pain to not only its victim, but to those who witnessed it also.
"Well…. It really has been a lot a fun these last few weeks, even the taking care of the kid's part. I dunno how you guys do it." He paused as a grin escaped his lips.
"But then I guess where you are going you won't have to worry about that now, will you?" Ash just looked on as Gary approached.
"It's ironic ain't it Ketchum? They say everything in life happens for a reason." Ash blinked, confused as to what he meant.
"Gary, what are you saying?" he snapped through gritted teeth.
"Are you really as dense and stupid as you look? You should have never have gotten this far! That first attack, the car, am I getting through to you now?" Ash closed his eyes, shuddering at the thought.
"You over elaborate bastard!" Misty shrieked as yet another jolt went through her body. As it stopped she choked out her next question as she crawled forward in an attempted to reach her husband.
"What…. are you saying?" she mouthed softly, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"First of all my dear, I would advise you to stop thinking so negatively of me, if you do the pain will stop. And to answer your question, the only reason your man survived that car explosion was because I allowed it!" he snapped in a harsh tone. It was then Ash spoke up reverting Gary's attention from Misty.
"Gary…please, do what you will with me but…get her out of that thing!" he almost begged, striving to keep his composure at this time. Gary smirked.
"You don't have a clue do you? Did you not have a conversation with your breeder companion? For it was as I had said. In order to end your life, I don't have to kill you! All I have to do is…" He paused and eyed Misty.
"Well now, I think you can figure it out" he finished cold-heartedly. Upon hearing this Ash sprung to his feet.
"You son of a bitch!!!" He lunged forward and was rewarded for his efforts with a bullet being fired into his right shoulder. He hit the ground with a hard sickening thud. Misty could only watch these events unfold, nothing but pure terror going through her at this time. Ash slowly got to his knees while clenching at his shoulder. Gary shook his head.
"I do pity you, for I have just come to a decision. Why grace the earth with a waste of space like you? Besides, I could have a lot more fun with your girl there" he mouthed evilly as he pointed the gun to his head.
"If only you had sat there and kept your mouth shut, you would have lived, and the girl would have went in your place" he mocked. It was then Ash spoke up.
"I ……would rather die, than forsake any part of her." Gary just let a laugh escape his lips yet again.
"Oh my poor boy, as you wish"
"Bastard…ahhhhh!" Misty had opened her mouth again, and yet again the electricity was running through her veins. She motioned weakly.
"Gary………please…you got what you wanted…you have me…please. Spare him." Her head hit the ground, as she was so weak. Gary could only stare at the sobbing girl a moment.
"Can this boy really mean that much to you??" he asked, directing his question to the barely conscious girl. "Well no matter, you will be with him very soon, soon, he won't be along in death." And with that he raised the gun to Ash's head as Misty let out a heart wrenching scream through Gary's laughter.
"Nooooooooooo!!!" she wailed. Gary's hand was on the trigger now.
"See ya Ketchum." Those were the last words Misty heard before closing her eyes and hearing one single gun shot. She slowly opened her eyes expecting to see her husband's dead form, however what she saw shocked her. Gary stood above Ash clutching at his right wrist with the gun he previously held dropped to the floor. But Misty could make out something else - blood. Gary's blood. Gary winced in pain and shot his head to the side the bullet had came from. Standing there with a gun in hand was Brock.
"I told you I would hunt you down!" he shouted as he threw the gun to the side and began walking towards the stunned Gary.
"Huh? But….you're out-"
"Outside? You forget Gary, I'm a rock trainer, I can tell when something ain't right with that particular material. But I don't have to stand here and explain myself to you, I have something for you." He grabbed him by the shirt and backed him up against the wall.
"Courtesy of Suzie Slate, I deliver you this message." And with that delivered a blow to his stomach. A brawl between the two men shortly ensued, much like Ash and Rudy's earlier encounter. By this time Ash had mustered the strength to stumble over beside his fragile wife.
"Mist hang on, I'll have you out in a sec" he assured her as he began cutting at the wires with a metal object which, Ash could only assume, must have fallen from Gary when Brock struck him. Sure enough a few seconds later she was free from her shackles, urgently throwing her arms around Ash and burying her head in his chest.
"God…I thought I'd lost you that time" she choked out. Ash pulled her gaze up to meet his.
"Hey I'm here ain't I?" he assured her, "Come on, we got to give Brock a hand." She nodded as she slowly got up. Suddenly she clutched her stomach in pain.
"Mist?" he asked in concern.
"It's ok, just the baby kicking, guess all that static electricity woke it up" she blurted out with a grin as she placed a kiss on her husband's cheek. Ash nodded, satisfied with the answer, as his eyes reverted around the gym scanning for Gary and Brock. It did not take long to find them hovering over the edge of lava pit.
"Oh my god" Ash choked out. Misty saw what had caught his eye and stammered out a response.
"Something tells me we are only gonna get one shot at this." Brock was battered and bruised at this time, as was Gary, blood seeping from both their mouths and numerous cuts on their foreheads.
"Well Slate, you miss that woman of yours so badly, how about you join her!" Gary snapped as he pushed Brock from the edge, as he had recently spun him around himself and gotten the upper hand. Brock, however, hung on to a nearby jagged rock keeping him upright. Gary sighed in annoyance. He lunged forward to strike the blow which would take Brock to his doom when * Bang! * Blood began to spill from his shoulder. He turned around as if the shock was keeping him on his feet. There in front of him was Ash and Misty, a gun each in hand. He smiled and went to walked towards him when Misty yet again let loose another shot, into his upper chest, causing him to stumble back closer to the edge. Closer and closer to the edge Gary got, and with one last shot, he would be over the edge, with no puns intended. He gazed at his gory body and just shot them one last smile. He then spoke one last sentence, which chilled Ash to the very core of his soul.
"You've won boy." And with that said, Misty clicked the trigger, and a second later his body went from view over the pit.
"Brock hang on!" Ash shouted.
"Shit!!"
"What is it? What's wrong?" Misty wailed, but as soon as she reached the edge she got her answer. For Gary was still amazingly alive and attempting to drag Brock down with him.
"Brock, grab my hand!" Ash shouted. Brock did as he was told no questions asked and Ash quickly pulled him back upright, as he loosened Gary's dying form from Brock's ankle. Misty suddenly caught Gary by the hand. Brock's eyes widened as he regained his composure.
"What the hell is she doing??" Ash grinned, knowing his wife too well.
"Well Gary, I guess this is it, and don't worry." She paused as she leaned down and pressed her lips to his, as if signing his death warrant via the kiss of death routine.
"I'll take care of your child" she whispered as she broke from the kiss. Gary's eyes could do nothing but widen as Misty let go, and he plunged around 40 feet into the molten lava pit below. As his screams died down, a smile could not help but form on Misty's lips. She abruptly stood up and rushed up and hugged her friend and husband.
"It's over, my god, it's really over" she almost screamed, holding her husband close. Brock could do nothing but smile. Suzie had been avenged and his two best friends could get back to leading a normal life.
"Yeah it's over Misty" Brock started. He grinned. "But what's this trend of your kissing the bad guy and then killing them? As I recall is that not what happened with Giovanni?" he teased. Ash smirked.
"Oh come on Brock, leave her alone, she just wants to prove she can be a sexy seductive heroine" Ash replied with a laugh. Brock sighed in exasperation.
"Talk about someone wanting it later" he mumbled.
"What was that??" Misty snapped, unsure if she had heard properly.
"Nothing " he replied quickly, scared of the outcome. Ash grabbed his wife's hand, and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Come on guys, the pokemon centre awaits."
** Cinnabar Pokemon Centre**
Sometime later, we find all members of our group reunited at the local pokemon centre. Brock was explaining the events of what went on to James, while Ash, Jessie and Wilhemina contently entertained Jack and Rose. It was at this point Ash walked into their assigned room.
"Ok guys, back" he announced.
"Hey man, everything ok with Cory?" James asked.
"Yup, Surge is meeting us in Celadon so we can take him home" he explained.
"That's cool" Brock replied. It was at this point that Misty re-entered the room after being checked over with the local Nurse Joy.
"Everything ok honey?" Ash asked. Joy stepped in the room alongside her.
"You don't have to worry Ash, both Misty and her babies are fine" she told him.
"Phew that's a reli-" He paused. Brock shot his head up in shock and James spoke up.
"Did I hear a plural being mentioned there?" he asked. Ash walked up to Misty and eyed her a moment.
"Misty? Is….is there something you want to tell me?" She paused, almost scared of his reaction.
"Ash… you did not hear incorrectly. It has been confirmed by both Joy's tests and the tests I got back in Vermillion" she told him. Ash's head was spinning. Was this happening? Slowly he posed the question.
"Misty? Are you saying you're having twins?" he stammered. Jesse and Wilhemina awaited her answer as Brock and James just averted their eyes around the room. Finally Misty spoke up, saying the last thing anyone expected her to say.
"No……….triplets."
A/N: OH MY GIDDY AUNT!!! lol, okay, even I wasn't expecting that! But still, awesome chapter, thankies very much to G-O-Double-D and now I'm off to start the epilogue. So everyone look out for it, I'll get it up ASAP, and until then, stay cool peeps!