Rescuing Ash

Chapter 5

By Speed Demon

Misty was woken early the next morning by an announcement of the loudspeaker: "All team members are required to report to the meeting chamber within the next half hour."

Misty slowly opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. There was a tiny closet, a bathroom, a desk with a computer and a lamp on it, and the bed she was lying in. She hadn't really looked the night before, since she had been so upset. Then she remembered what Nate had said, and all the emotions came flooding back.

'All of Ash's memories have been erased.' Misty thought. 'That means he won't remember Pikachu, or his mom, or even--'

"Me," She said aloud. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she swore she wouldn't cry again. She stumbled out of bed and dragged herself to the little bathroom. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and wrinkled her nose in disgust. 'I look horrible.' She thought.

Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and the rest of her face was extremely pale. Her newly blonde hair stood up in places, and the uniform she had fallen asleep in was wrinkled and hung at odd angles.

About twenty minutes later, she had showered and changed into a fresh uniform, which she had found in the closet. She washed her face with cold water, and it had helped her eyes look less red.

She pulled her black boots on and glanced in the mirror one last time. 'At least I look halfway normal now,' she thought, and then she hurried out the door.

Since she didn't exactly know where the meeting chamber was, she decided to follow everyone else. She came upon a huge, ornate wooden door with a golden nameplate on the front that read: "Meeting Chamber".

Inside looked like a huge theater. Rows of plush seats took over most of it, but at the front were a small stage and a huge screen. Misty scanned the crowd for Nate, and found him sitting near the middle. She strode quickly to get the seat next to him.

Nate was mildly surprised to see Misty sit down next to him, but he was happy to find that she didn't look quite as upset any more.

"What's this all about?" Misty whispered.

"I dunno," Nate replied. " We don't usually have meetings all together like this."

The room was now almost completely filled, and as Misty glanced at her watch, she found that the 'meeting' would start any minute.

A stout, balding little man walked onto the stage and adjusted the microphone. Nate explained that he was the second-in-command, and his name was Ricardo Chimas. He tested the microphone once, and then began to speak.

"Greetings, Rockets, Our great leader, Giovanni, has gathered you all here today to bring to your attention his newest successful experiment. And now, here is our wonderful supervisor, Giovanni."

Everyone began to clap.

The giant screen behind Ricardo suddenly lit up, and the face of Giovanni Zenithal came into view. Giovanni flashed a rare smile, then said, "Good morning, Rockets,"

Everyone in the room replied respectfully, "Good morning,"

Giovanni then started into his speech. "First, I would like to commend my brilliant scientists for their hard work and great achievement. They have created the first soldier completely and totally devoted to Team Rocket. He used to be one of our worst enemies, and now, he is completely faithful to us. His name was Ash Ketchum-"

A few people booed, and Ricardo gave them the evil eye. Giovanni continued. "But he now goes by Max Solo."

Ash appeared on stage, and Misty's eyes began to well up with tears, but she managed to hold them back. She wanted to run up there and take Ash away from this evil place, but she knew if she did, their plan would be completely ruined, and she would more than likely be killed.

He was dressed completely in black, black pants a long-sleeved black shirt with a small red 'R' inscribed on his left shoulder, and black boots. His eyes possessed a hollow, haunted look. Ricardo smirked at him and asked him,"What do you think of Team Rocket?"

"Team Rocket is my entire life."

"Max?" Giovanni asked.

"Yes, Father?"

"Would you ever betray Team Rocket?"

"Never."

"Would you give your life for Team Rocket?"

"Of course."

"Thank you Max, you may go."

Ash left again, and Giovanni chuckled. "See what I mean?"

The Rockets began to cheer, except for Nate, Misty, Jessie and James, who acted as if they were applauding, but weren't actually. When they had quieted down, Ricardo said, "Now, pay attention. You're newest assignment is this: Starting tomorrow, your new teams, which will be announced today, will be sent out in intervals to different parts of the country to search for more individuals who seem like they would make good soldiers. That is all for now, so you may go."

The members of Team Rocket filed out of the meeting chamber, and Misty headed for her room. She was more determined than ever now to get Ash out of here.

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Ash's two guards led him to his new room, which was much more inviting than his former cell. But Ash didn't really care what his room was like, or much of anything else. He appeared to everyone else to be completely faithful to Team Rocket, but he was smart enough to know that something wasn't quite right.

He collapsed onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, and tried to remember something, anything, about his past. His brain seemed to be completely blank, though. Suddenly, a hazy image of a redheaded girl popped into his mind. Ash didn't know who she was, but she was certainly beautiful. He wanted to know who she was, and how he knew her. His vision melted away as swiftly as it had appeared, and Ash opened his eyes again. He stood and strode over to the desk in the corner. He checked all of the drawers, and finally found a pad of paper in the bottom one. It looked like it had been in there for a while, but Ash didn't care. He picked up a small pencil, sat down, and started to sketch a picture of the girl.

TO BE CONTINUED………

A/N: Not much to say except…did you like it? Then review!!