Walking on Water
A Pokemon Fanfiction by Kasumi Todoh
Chapter 3
A Dangerous Game
"Alone?" Brock repeated. "Ash, have you gone insane?"
"I have to," replied Ash. "I won't have anyone else getting in trouble because of me. Besides," he added, "if Misty manages to escape somehow, you've gotta be here in case she comes here looking for us."
Brock was quiet for a few moments, before deciding, "All right, I'll stay here. I'm just taking this opportunity to express how much I don't like this idea."
"Express all you like. I'm not really in the mood to listen."
At this point, Pikachu jumped down and ran to Ash's side, clearly intent on coming with him, but Ash said, "No, Pikachu. That applies to you too."
"Pika..." Pikachu started to protest.
"I need you to stay here and protect everyone," Ash told the small Pokemon, "in case Lawrence tries anything while I'm gone. You've got to promise me you'll keep everyone safe until I get back. Promise?"
Pikachu still looked unsure, but it nodded anyway.
"Good. Hopefully, I won't be gone long, and I'll bring Misty back with me. That's a definite promise. Wish me luck, guys."
With that, Ash turned and walked out of the Pokemon Centre. He didn't look back. Brock and Pikachu both watched as the doors closed behind him, and Pikachu let out a rather mournful "Pika-chuuuu..."
****************
By that night, the storm clouds had passed, so despite the fact that it was pitch dark outside, the field and the area surrounding it were quite well lit up by a full moon and a clear, cloudless sky.
Ash sat alone at the spot where he was supposed to meet Lawrence. He didn't like the idea of leaving Pikachu and Brock behind any more than they liked it, but somehow he knew he had made the right choice. He wouldn't be responsible for any more innocent victims.
Ash studied his watch by the light of the full moon. Five minutes to midnight. It wouldn't be long now.
A sudden rustling in the grass behind him made Ash jump to his feet. His first thought was of a wild Pokemon, and he frantically looked around for something to scare it off with. He was unable to anything, however, and that turned out to be a good thing, for the Pokemon that came trotting out of the tall grass was none other than Pikachu.
Ash looked at Pikachu, and then at Brock, who also making his way through the tall grass, still carrying Togepi. "I thought I told you two not to come," Ash said.
"We changed our minds," Brock replied. "No harm in that. C'mon Ash, you didn't seriously think we were going to let you take on Lawrence alone, did you?"
Ash was about to reply, when suddenly the spot where they were standing was lit up by a giant spotlight. The flying fortress had returned, this time hovering quite close to the ground. As they struggled to see past the blinding light, Lawrence's voice could suddenly be heard over a loudspeaker.
"I'm glad to see you got my note, Mr. Ketchum. However, I distinctly recall telling you to come alone."
"Ash and Misty are my friends too!" Brock answered, again before Ash could reply. "Where they go, I go!"
"Pi-ka!" Pikachu shouted in agreement.
"Very well." Rather than waste time arguing, Lawrence opened a small hatch in the bottom of the ship and a ladder extended down to the ground. Pikachu climbed up on Ash's shoulder, and Brock put Togepi in his backpack, and the four ascended up into the fortress. Once they were inside, they found themselves in front of a small elevator. With nowhere else to go, the small group stepped onto it, and it took them up one floor and stopped in front of a long hallway leading to a single door at the end.
"I guess this is our stop." Brock replied, noting that the elevator wouldn't go any further, up or down.
Ash nodded. Slowly, they walked down the hall and pushed open the unlocked door. They found themselves in a large room filled with several strange artifacts, and a cage, with Misty still in it.
"Ash! Brock!" she cried.
"Misty!"
"Pikachupi!"
The two boys and Pikachu ran over to the cage. Brock took Togepi out of his backpack and handed it through the bars to Misty, who hugged the baby Pokemon close. Togepi was clearly overjoyed to see Misty too.
Then the joyous reunion was interrupted as they were all nearly knocked to the floor by a sudden heavy feeling, like that of an elevator going up.
"The fortress must be taking off," Brock said.
"Very observant of you," Lawrence's voice suddenly came over the loudspeaker again. "I simply thought I'd move us to a place where we're less likely to be disturbed."
"What's with all the hiding?" Ash demanded, shaking a fist. "Why don't you just come out and show yourself?"
"Because I don't believe that's necessary yet," Lawrence replied. "First, I thought I'd introduce the rules of the tests. You'd be wise to listen to them."
"Tests?" Ash asked. "What tests?"
"The tests you are to undergo to determine whether or not you are worthy to be spared. It's really quite simple. If you pass all four tests, you and your friends will be free to go. If you fail, all of you will be sentenced to live out the rest of your lives as my prisoners on this ship. Same goes if you refuse this challenge."
"Well, since it's obvious I have no choice," Ash replied, "I accept your challenge. What do I have to do?"
"This rules are also quite simple," Lawrence explained. "I have hidden four items from my collection in four rooms of this ship. You have find and retrieve them, and believe me, that's not going to be as easy as it sounds. There are also many booby-traps and other things in place to prevent you from reaching them. However, I don't believe in leaving my opponents at a total disadvantage."
"Gee, I'm so glad," Ash muttered under his breath.
"You will be allowed to keep and use your Pokemon to help you in all areas of the tests," Lawrence went on. "However, interference from your two human friends is forbidden and will result in instant failure. Understood?"
Ash nodded. "I understand."
"Good." With that, a large hole suddenly opened up underneath him and Pikachu, and the two disappeared with a startled shout.
"Ash!" Misty and Brock both shouted, and Brock dashed towards the hole. But it quickly closed up, leaving them alone in the room.
"We have to do something, Brock," Misty cried. "I just know Lawrence has fixed the tests so that Ash can't possibly win!"
"That might be a problem," he replied, rattling the door knob. "Lawrence's locked us in."
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Whee! I'm finally finished Chapter 3! And it only gets tougher from here on in. That's why, as I mentioned in the last chapter, I'm going on hiatus for a while to plan where I'm going next with this story and how exactly these tests are going to run. Believe it or not, I'm making most of this up as I go along. But fear not, I shall return. You can count on it.
Also, I'm toying with the idea of putting titles on my chapters. I thought I'd try it out with this chapter and if people like it, I'll go back and put titles on my other chapters, too, as well as any forthcoming ones. So please read and review!
Kasumi Todoh.
