Chapter 9- My Brother
As they were all pulled roughly to their feet, Vincent silently glanced at the others, warning them with his eyes to be quiet and co-operate. He cursed himself for dragging them all into this mess and he prayed with all his heart that Gary was safe.
The group had their hands tied behind their backs and were marched into a stone fortress, which seemed half wrecked. In the large hall, two very familiar people were deep in conversation. One was Clive, the gym leader. The other was…
"Jack!" Vincent yelled, earning him a kick from one of the guards. "What's going on? What are you…?"
"So, little brother" Jack turned away from Clive and walked over to Vincent. "You came"
"Where's Damon? Jack, what is going on?"
"Damon? Damon's locked up. Our plans are almost complete and I'm not letting anyone stand in our way. You two always thought you were so great, with your psychic powers and everything, but once our plans are complete, I will be stronger than both of you" he paused and ran his eyes over the group. "We'll take these two," he said to the guards, pointing to Misty and James. "Lock the others up with Damon"
"Hey" Ash yelled as Misty and James were roughly pulled away. "What do you think you're doing? Leave her alone"
"Oh dear" Jack said sarcastically. "I forgot this one's your little girlfriend isn't she? Well Ashy boy, I'd get over her because soon she'll be joining all those other trainers who went missing"
"Jack" Vincent lowered his head. "You don't mean…"
"You're quick, little brother. Those trainers are dead. Got that? They are dead. And these two will be joining them real soon. Meanwhile, I can't have you walking around messing things up. Guys, take them away"
"James!" Jessie yelled, as he was dragged away. "Stay alive okay. We're Team Rockets and we'll get out of this"
"Jessie, I love you"
"I love you too James"
Despite their protests, Ash, Brock, Jessie, Meowth and Vincent were dragged off and thrown into a small, cold stone room. As the door was locked behind them, the guard laughed.
As the remaining group members huddled together, Vincent took Sol-leks from his poke ball and glanced quickly around the room. There was only one small window and he knew that they were too high up to escape that way. In a sudden burst of rage, he kicked the door.
"No luck there" a voice said from behind him. "I've already tried that"
"Damon" Vincent and the others turned, unsure of what to expect. Brock stood with his fists clenched, ready to hit Damon if he tried anything. But the man who came out of the shadows was not the man Ash or Brock remembered from a few days back. He walked with a limp and his clothes were torn. When he looked up, they could all see the effects of the beatings he had taken. He had a black eye, his lip had recently been bleeding and there were two large bruises on his jaw. His eyes were sad as he looked from one of the group to another. Finally his eyes settled on Vincent. "Hello Vince" he said slowly. "Hello Sol-leks. I'm glad to see that you're okay"
"You don't look okay," Vincent acknowledged. "You got on the wrong side of Jack?"
"Something like that. Hey where's that girl? I thought there was someone missing"
"Jack took her," Vincent said quietly. "And James. Another member of our group didn't get caught. He's out there somewhere. Damon, please tell me what's going on. I'm confused, I think we all are"
"Yeah, okay. I guess you deserve that much. You're old enough to understand, I guess. But some things I have to say may be painful"
"I can handle it" Vincent started to say, but he was interrupted by the sound of the door being unlocked. Damon stopped talking as Jack walked in, along with a guard, and shut the door behind him. Jack and Damon glared at each other for a moment, until finally Jack spoke.
"Go on then" he said. "Tell Vincent everything you know. Poison his mind against me. That's just like you. Vincent" he turned to his little brother. "Who has always been there to try and protect you from Damon? Who put your food on the table? Who has brought you up since our mother died? It wasn't Damon was it? Come on, come with me and I'll see that you and your friends are taken back home. Trust me"
"Don't trust him" Damon's voice was quiet, yet fierce. "I know I haven't always treated you right, but didn't I always stick up for you when we were kids? Remember back then. I can't promise that I can protect you Vince, but I'll damn well have a shot and I'll be honest with you. He'll just feed you lies, like he did with me"
"Why you little…" Jack moved quickly and hit Damon hard in the stomach. As he doubled over, Jack kneed him in the face and watched him fall to the floor. Vincent was at his brother's side in an instant, while Sol-leks stood there growling at Jack. Jack glared at them. "Fine then, I see that you've made your choice. Tomorrow, at sunset, your two friends will die. After that, maybe I'll take pity on the rest of you and let you go, but my two little brothers won't have that choice. Having two extra victims won't hurt. Well then, have a nice time in this hellhole. I'll leave enough guards to ensure that there is no possible way for you to escape" He turned to his guard. "Lock them up," he snapped, before turning and leaving the room. As soon as he had gone, the guard looked quickly around and shut the door before pulling off his mask.
"Gary!" the group said together in amazement. Gary smiled shyly. "Yeah it's me" he started to say, but Vincent suddenly grabbed him and hugged him so hard that Gary half felt like all his bones were being broken. "You are a genius," Vincent told him. "Damon, how many guards are guarding this area?"
"Well, I'd say about four or five here, with possibly about another ten or so further up" Damon sat down and stretched his legs. "So what's your plan?"
"We wait a few hours until Jack's gone to wherever he's taking James and Misty" Vincent said slowly, sitting beside his brother. "Then we call some of the guards in, knock them out, put on their uniforms and escape. Is that how you did it Gary?"
"Yeah, something like that. Who is that guy anyway? And where are James and Misty?"
"Jack's taken Misty and James" Brock told him. "And that man is Vincent's older brother, Damon"
"Pleased to meet you Gary" Damon said slowly. "Anyway, before I tell you what happened to me, how about you tell me how you guys wound up here in the first place?"
Vincent told Damon the whole story, right from when Jack had told him to go until they had been captured. Occasionally Ash or Brock or Jessie added parts in. Damon laughed when Vincent told him how he had trapped Team Rocket under the crates and how Sol-leks had taken down two of Clive's pokemon. "That's old Sol-leks for you" he said. "How's his leg? I saw that he was limping earlier. That Espeon hit him hard?"
"Yeah. Anyway, that's the full story and we've heard Gary's little bit. Since we can't go yet, I suggest you tell us everything you know"
"Yeah, I said I would anyway" Damon settled back and the others made themselves comfortable. "Firstly, any of you got any food? It's been three days since I've had any decent food"
"Sure, I think we've got some left over" Ash looked through his backpack and took out some rice cakes. Vincent produced some bread and some biscuits, which he had brought for Sol-leks. As they ate, Damon begun his story…
