Jason Creight awoke with a start in the lobby of the Pallet Town hospital.

He'd been here before. He remembered it well; how could he forget the day he'd awakened, to discover he couldn't use his legs?

But he was here for a different reason this morning. He was here to wait for visiting hours to begin so that he could spend time with Kelly. His Jynx had brought her here just the night before to be treated for what turned out to be relatively minor injuries... the doctors had still suggested she stay there for the night, and no one argued.

Jason had chosen to stay in the lobby, more for reassurance than anything else. Of course, Officer Jenny had wanted a report from him on what had happened at the lab, which he'd only been too happy to give. But he'd left directly after the questioning.

And, evidently, he'd fallen asleep in his chair.

He scratched at the corner of his mouth; fortunately, he hadn't drooled in his sleep, something he considered himself lucky for. There were only a couple other people in the lobby; other than the incident at the lab, last night had been quiet where injury was concerned.

The others had apparently taken no notice of Jason, somehting else he was thankful for. It meant either he hadn't snored, or they didn't care.

He hoped it was the former.

The sun shone brightly through the windows of the lobby. Perhaps too brightly. There was a small covering of frost on the ground, and the sunlight was bouncing harshly off it.

Jason's thoughts drifted to the night before. When he and Kelly had been trapped in a corridor with four Rocket grunts. The grunts coming two at a time.

One had tried to take her away.

And in response, Jason had come close to letting the full measure of his fury loose on the man.

How he'd gotten caught in that red haze of anger.

*I might have reached her sooner... helped her...

...if only my damned legs weren't so useless...*

He stared down at his anorexic legs. *I can't let something like that happen again. Even if Oak can protect us... he couldn't protect all of us... and I couldn't protect her fast enough...*

And his mind drifted further back in time, to two years ago...

*"I've devised a treatment which I believe can cure you of your paralysis."*

Dr. Kendrick's offer rang in Jason's mind. It repeated itself again and again, each time getting louder.

*"From entering the hospital in your chair to leaving it on your feet, it could take anywhere from two to four months. It all depends on how quickly you recover from surgery and how quickly you learn to walk."*

*"...you don't know how badly I want this, Tommy..."*

*"I want this, Tommy. As much as anything I've ever wanted in my life, I want this. And I want it now."*

The words echoed painfully in Jason's mind.

He let them take him over for a moment, sitting completely still in his wheelchair. To anyone else, it would have looked as if he were a dead body.

The memories drowned him, flooding his mind and leaving his body a motionless shell.

***

"Jason?" Adam snapped his fingers in his friend's face. "Jason?"

Jason suddenly seemed to come to awareness; he jumped in surprise at the snapping fingers. "Huh? What?"

Adam smiled in relief. "Thought we'd lost you, there. Come on, visiting hours started a while ago. I thought you'd be visiting Kelly before me."

Jason nodded, but he continued to stare out that same window. Adam leaned back down. "What is it?"

Jason shook his head in a quick, jerking motion. "Just some bad memories."

"All the more reason to see Kelly and get them out of your head."

Adam walked through the lobby and up one of the halls. Jason followed him a moment later. Adam apparently already knew where Kelly's room was, because he entered a room on the left. Jason did likewise.

Kelly was lying on the nearest bed. For some reason, Jason had half- expected to see an IV or some such device attached to her, but there was nothing there besides her. She still had her clothes on, as well; apparently this hospital had become more accomodating than they had been while Jason was here. Or so Jason thought.

Kelly's left ankle was wrapped in an ace bandage, and she had a couple of band-aids where she'd received scrapes from the altercation, but otherwise, she seemed to be doing fine. She was awake and reading a magazine Adam had been kind enough to bring from the lobby; Jason assumed Adam had sneaked it in.

She looked up, saw Jason, and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey," he responded. "How're you feeling?"

She sighed. "Better than last night, I'll tell you that. Give my ankle a little while and it should be fine." She reached out for his hand, which he immediately gave. Their fingers intertwined, and already Jason began to feel better. "They'll let me out of here around noon. I wish I could go now..." She smiled. "Maybe in your wheelchair."

Jason scoffed. "I need it too, you know."

"Who said you wouldn't be in it already?"

Jason grinned. "Wow. I look forward to that."

"Just make sure I'm not in the room," Adam said, reminding them that he was still there.

"So what happened last night?" Kelly asked. She looked at Adam. "I've been trying to get answers from him, but he thinks that both of you should be here to tell about it."

Jason's eyes went wide and he shook his head, still amazed by what he had seen. "Professor Oak still has a few secrets, apparently. The Rockets apparently had a leader with them... maybe it was Giovanni, maybe not, I wouldn't doubt it... but we were fighting the Rockets off, me and Adam and three others... it was the five of us against six of them, including the leader..."

"Then the Rockets ran off," Adam continued, "but the leader stayed behind and challenged all five of us to battle. Most of our Pokemon were tiring out... I don't know if we would have won or lost, but he had a Rhydon that was insanely strong..."

"Then Professor Oak came out..."

"And he challenged the leader to a battle."

Kelly's eyes grew wide. "He did? But he doesn't have any Pokemon."

"It turns out that he does," Jason said. "And good ones, at that. An Arcanine, a Dragonite, a Gengar, an Aerodactyl..."

"I thought Aerodactyl was extinct," she interrupted.

"So did I," said Adam. "But he's got one. So I guess it isn't, quite yet."

She shook her head. "Are you sure you saw Professor Oak battling? Could it have been someone else?"

"You know anyone else at the lab that wears black pants and maroon shirts? Or perhaps a white capture ball belt?"

She frowned. "White? That's not standard."

"It must have been once. Otherwise, he might have had it customized. It was a lot different from modern belts, at any rate."

She scoffed in amusement. "I wish someone'd had a video camera. I would have loved to see it."

"No doubt there," Jason responded.

Silence reigned in the room for a moment, as no one was quite sure what to say next. Finally, Jason struck on something, and he turned to Adam. "Could you give us a little time?"

Adam nodded agreaably. "Sure. Take your time." He left the room, and the slight ratching sound of his artificial right knee grew steadily more distant.

Jason turned back to Kelly. "I know that the professor really wants me to make a decision on the surgery. And I've made it."

Kelly's expression became serious and open. She was ready for whatever Jason had to say on the matter.

Jason took a deep breath. "Last night, when that guy grabbed you... I wanted to kill him with my bare hands. I came close. And if I hadn't been stuck in my wheelchair, if my legs had been working... it wouldn't have been that way. He wouldn't have hurt you... I wouldn't have come so close to crossing the line.

"And so, I've decided to have the surgery. After I leave here, I'll call Dr. Kendrick in Saffron and set the date."

Kelly paused, then nodded. "Okay. I'm glad you've made the decision. Just as long as you're sure it's what you want... the road's going to be long and hard, I imagine."

"Then when I stumble, it'll be on my own two feet... not four wheels."

Kelly squeezed his hand reassuringly. "When the day comes... do you want me to go with you?"

Jason thought about this. "I don't know. I'll let you know when I find out."

She nodded. "All right." She smiled slightly. "You'd better go make that appointment, then."

"Okay." He returned her small smile. "See you when you get out of here."

He turned and wheeled out of the room. He made his way down the hall and into the lobby. He positioned himself next to where Adam was sitting. Adam was reading a newspaper; when Jason leaned to the side to see what article had caught Adam's attention, he chuckled... Adam was reading the comics.

Jason moved his wheelchair to another area of the lobby, one that was unoccupied. He felt he'd do well to not disturb anyone else with this call; it was going to be difficult enough to make as it was.

The number was still stored in his PokeGear. He'd been careful about it two years ago.

He took a few deep breaths.

*I can do this.*

He dialed the number.

The phone rang once. Twice.

The receptionist picked up on the second ring. "Saffron City General Hospital, may I help you?"

*Deja vu.* "I'm looking for a Dr. Kendrick. Does he work there?"

"Yes, sir."

"Is he available?"

"Yes, sir. One moment."

As with two years ago, that one moment stretched into several. However, Jason's patience was rewarded with a tired-sounding, "Dr. Kendrick."

"Doctor, this is Jason Creight."

"Oh! Yes! Mr. Creight!" Kendrick's voice rose and intensified. "You've caught me by surprise. I was beginning to think you decided against having the operation."

"I'm still feeling somewhat iffy, Doctor, but recent events have convinced me to go for it. Can I do it anytime soon?"

"Absolutely, I can do it in... Becky? Spinal clone in three days... is that doable? Yes? Okay, yes, I can do it in three days, seven in the morning, Mr. Creight, if that's a good time for you."

"I can do it."

"Great. We've already started performing the procedure on Pokemon test subjects, and the results look very good. The odds are less favorable than with our artifical nerve tests, but we have a 70% success rate thus far. We've even had a human volunteer... he's still in recovery, however."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it's going well for you, Doctor."

"Ah. Yes. Well, I look forward to meeting you, Mr. Creight."

"You too, Doctor."

They hung up.

And Jason slumped back in his chair.

***

The evening before Jason's surgery, Jason was in his room, packing clothing, books, and assorted items into his backpack, determined not to be bored during his tenure in Saffron. Kelly, who sat on her bed, watched him pack. "Have you decided whether you want me along?"

Jason sighed. "I think it's probably best if I go alone. Otherwise I'll stay scared to death that I become like Creight. If I can manage this without incident, I won't have anything to be afraid of." He looked up at her and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be all right."

Adam had headed back to his home in Celadon City the day before, but not before doing all he could to help Oak in his plight to repair the demolished front entrance to the lab. He'd donated money, even assisted the repair crew where he could.

Jason hoped Kelly would be all right.

But with Oak and his considerable Pokemon team, how could she not be?

*Then again... Oak did swear never to battle again. It must've been hard for him to break that oath, even for us. If something happens...*

Jason shook his head firmly. *Nothing will happen. Oak and Kelly and the lab will be just fine without me.*

He had been contacted by the Saffron hospital the day before; it was Dr. Kendrick, issuing strict instructions for Jason to follow, including the rule that said he wasn't allowed to eat anything past 5 P.M. today. It made sense; he needed to have all food flushed out of his system so it wouldn't interfere with any of the undoubtedly numerous drugs they'd be pumping him with.

*Boy, I'm being really optimistic about this, aren't I?* he thought ruefully. *I really shouldn't beat up on myself so much. I've known other people to have surgery... they always came out fine. Why shouldn't I, then?*

*I'll be fine.*

***

Jason got to the hospital from his motel room in Saffron at 6:00 in the morning, a full hour before he actually needed to be there. He was nervous. He knew why; he'd never had a surgery in his life. He didn't want to count the time he'd literally died in Kelly's arms, to be resuscitated on the ER table, because that wasn't really surgery. It was medical attention, but it wasn't surgery.

This was.

*But I'm coming in under pre-arranged conditions. They know what to expect here, whereas they didn't last time. And I'm alive this time around.*

Jason permitted himself a small, grim smile at this.

A moment later, a doctor approached him. He had short black hair, a long nose, and a kind expression on his face. "Jason?"

"Yes."

The doctor extended his hand. "I'm Dr. Kendrick. It's good to finally meet you in person. There's a lot of exciting things to hear about the world's first disabled Pokemon master."

"They're all true."

Kendrick chuckled. "Well, you're here early. That proves you're as dedicated as I've heard."

"Well, good. I'd hate to disappoint you."

"Glad to hear it." Kendrick smiled. "You look nervous."

Jason sighed. "Let's get going before I change my mind."

"If you say so. We'll need to prep you first. Actually, I'm glad you came this early, because it gives us more time to prepare you for it. Less stress when we can take longer."

Kendrick gestured toward one of the prep rooms, and Jason nervously wheeled himself in.

***

A figure clad in black, not unlike the Rocket leader that had plagued this place only days before, stepped through the entrance of the lab without hesitation or fear. He knew his objective and was completely sure in his movements.

He pulled a capture ball from his pocket and silently tossed it. The ball revealed an Alakazam, and it stood just as surely, just as silently as its dark master.

They stalked down the corridors of the lab, confident and single- mindedly focused on their objective.

The Alakazam abruptly stopped in front of a door. It used its immense power to unlock the door and open it.

The dark figure entered and saw his quarry lying facedown on his bed, snoring softly.

Alakazam turned to its master.

The master nodded once.

Alakazam approached the sleeping man and touched its right spoon to the man's back.

The man awoke. "Huh--?"

Alakazam and the man disappeared in a flash of light.

The figure shook his head. "Unprepared."

He then brought his right wrist up and activated the PokeGear wrapped around it. He hit the "CALL" button.

"Yes?"

"You've got him now. I've completed my end of the deal."

"For once."

"I want your best ones. And I want different types... I was taken down last time because I only had one type."

"Very well. I will send all of them to the teleporter there in five minutes... be sure the coast is clear there, or my Pokemon will go to amateurs."

The figure snorted. "Thanks for your vote of confidence."

"Five minutes." The line went dead.

The figure exited the room, locking and closing the door behind him. *That should keep them off-balance for a while.*

He stalked down the hall, and found the teleporter room. It was deserted, but the teleporter was active. He closed and locked the door behind him, and patiently waited for the capture balls that would eventually come.

Exactly five minutes from the time he had made the call, the balls appeared in two rows of three before him. He grinned under his ski mask and placed all of them in his belt. The ball that had been in his pocket had disappeared, teleported automatically back to a safe place.

He tossed each ball, eager to see what he had on his side. He became more excited with each revelation. When he was satisfied, he exited the teleporter room, making sure no one saw him, and made his way down another hallway in the dorm wing.

He found what he was looking for moments later. He brought out one of his new Pokemon, which obediently unlocked and opened the door.

He stepped through the open portal.

She was sleeping on the left side of the room. An open book lay on the floor underneath her arm, which was hanging limply over the edge of her bed.

He moved to her side slowly, savoring the moment.

He leaned over her form.

And that was when her eyes snapped open.

She began to scream.

He clamped his gloved left hand firmly over her mouth, and yanked her roughly out of bed by her arm. He pulled her uncomfortably tightly to his body.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this," he whispered in her ear.

The Pokemon he had brought out entered the room, closed and locked the door behind it.

"Now the fun begins."

***

Nearly sixteen hours after the surgery had been performed, Jason woke up in the recovery room of Saffron City General Hospital. A nurse standing by his side looked down at him and smiled. "Hey, there. Just coming out of the deep, here... you've come close to waking up a few times already, but you kept going back. Glad to see you finally made it back to reality."

Jason licked his dry lips, which didn't really help, because his mouth was quite dry, as well. He found the words he was looing for after a moment's search. "Reality sucks."

She chuckled. "That you can speak is also a good sign."

"Need water."

"In a little while. You need some time to recover from the anesthetics. I imagine you're feeling really woozy right now."

Jason grunted hoarsely. "Got that right. Also thirsty."

"You'll get your water, don't worry. Just need you to wake up a little more... the anesthetic is still running its course on you. Meanwhile, I'm going to call the doctor, let him know how you're doing."

Jason grunted again. "Go ahead. I'm not going anywhere."

The nurse was right about one thing... he felt *very* tired. *Then again, it's not that big a surprise... no doubt I lost a good amount of blood during the procedure. That, and the anesthetic... man, it's a wonder I'm even awake at all...*

Jason's head rolled to one side, and his groggy eyes fell on a clock mounted on the far wall. He couldn't focus his eyes, however, and that made it extremely frustrating for him. What was more, he'd had to hand over his possessions, including clothes, backpack, and PokeGear.

*Not that I'd be able to raise my arm that high, anyway.* And he wasn't about to try. He knew he needed more rest.

Dr. Kendrick came around the corner and approached Jason's bed. He grinned. "How's it going, Jason?"

"I feel like a log," Jason responded.

"You certainly have been sleeping like one," Kendrick joked. His tone became more serious. "The anesthetic still needs to get out of your system, but after that, we'll move you to a room of your own and check your mobility."

"Did it work?"

"We won't know for a while," Kendrick responded. "Even you won't know for a while. You've had phantom limb syndrome. It may return... if it does, don't try to move."

Jason bobbed his head once, and he yawned.

Kendrick grinned. "Get some more sleep, my friend. You'll need it."

"Right."

And, as if he had hit a switch, Jason instantly let himself fall back into the dark pits of the dream world.

***

Twenty hours later, Jason was playing Nintendo 64. He had been moved from the recovery room to his own, where he'd been given as many accomodations as could be allowed by the hospital staff. He was seated upright in his bed, and he was trying to make his way through a Tetris game. One might think this was a very mediocre game to play, but Jason had started out with anesthetics in his system; he hadn't made it through the first level.

However, he had been getting better with each game, which let him know that the anesthetics were almost all flushed out. Meanwhile, his thumbs were getting somewhat sore.

During the course of the day, nurses and doctors had come in to check on Jason's condition, and had hooked up a hyper-sensitive sensor array to Jason's legs. He found it rather convenient that his phantom limb syndrome seemed to spike when they touched his upper legs. However, he hadn't sensed anything below his knees...

*But Kendrick said not to make anything of it, either way. So I won't.*

The hours seemed to pass by slowly. It had been dark when Jason was moved into the room; now it was late afternoon, and he was getting very bored of playing Tetris. The hospital food wasn't much help... all hospital food was necessarily bland.

Jason sighed and reached for his backpack, which contained the book he wanted to read.

Then a commotion rang out in the hallway. There was the *clomp clomp clomp* of feet hitting the floor at a running pace...

"Sir, you can't run in here! Sir!"

And Jason thought heard ratching action.

A moment later, his suspicions were confirmed. Adam burst through the doorway, breathless, sweating, with a desperate, wild look on his face.

Before Jason could even try to think of what to say to his friend, Adam reached into the inside pocket of his overcoat and threw Jason an envelope containing a single sheet of paper. The envelope landed in Jason's lap, and he stared at it, confused.

"Read it!" Adam gasped.

An orderly approached Adam. "Sir, we can't have you running in here. I must ask you to wait in the lobby."

Adam nodded at the orderly, then pointed at Jason and looked directly into his eyes. "Read it now!"

"Sir, either you leave this area right now or I'll take you off the premises!"

Adam grunted and stormed out the door.

Jason frowned at Adam's raucous entrance and exit. *What's up with him?* He glanced down at the letter.

He knew better than to ignore Adam when he was like that. He opened the envelope and empited its contents. He unfolded the sheet of paper.

*Hey, bro, I miss you. You ought to try the Orange Islands for a vacation; they're great this time of year, what with the winter weather up there. I've met a girl that I think you'd love. I think she might like to meet you, too. If you'd like to see her, come to Tangelo Island quick; she's only going to be here for a week.

Daniel*

Jason's eyes widened and he gaped at the letter.

The orderly re-entered Jason's room and walked up. "Sir, was that someone you know?"

Jason looked up at the orderly. He snapped out of his reverie. "Uh.. yeah. Yeah, I know him."

"Well, when you're released from the facility, would you be so kind to let him know that he can't do something like that?"

"I think you already did, sir," Jason replied. "Is Dr. Kendrick available? I need to see him immediately."

"I'll check."

"Thanks." Jason turned back to the letter. To anyone else, it would look like an innocent note from a friend of his.

But to a select few... it was something much, much different.

Jason found himself very lucky to have found a friend in Adam.

Then the horror of it hit him.

*It's happening. Creight tried to stop it, but it's happening anyway...*

The only hope Jason found in all this was that Daniel had enough mercy for Kelly to let her live for one week.

But Daniel was temperamental. *Emphasis on mental. He might not let her last that long. And he's sadistic, too. He might torture her, or worse...*

Dr. Kendrick marched into Jason's room, a look of strained patience on his face. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"I need to know when's the soonest possible time I can be released from here."

Kendrick frowned. "I told you, it all depends on the physical therapy--"

"Can I delay the therapy?" Jason interrupted.

"Yes, but it's not advisable," said Kendrick.

"If I were to decide against therapy for the time being, how soon could I be out of here?"

Kendrick considered. "We could release you late tomorrow morning, but--"

"Can you arrange it?" Jason asked.

Kendrick sighed. "Yes, I can. But as I said, it's not advisable."

"I heard you the first time," Jason said. "Would you please see what you can do? And posthaste?"

Kendrick's frown deepened. "What's the rush?"

"Something extremely urgent has come to my attention, and I need to resolve it personally."

"Are you sure it can't wait?"

"Positive. Now can you take care of it, or not?"

"You've become quite a hassle in the past two minutes."

"And I apologize for that, but I need this taken care of right now."

Kendrick sighed again. "Okay. Yeah, I can take care of it. In the meantime, get some rest. You're not at a hundred percent yet." He moved to the doorway, then turned around. "We just got your sensor results a couple of minutes ago. I'd assumed you'd heard about it somehow."

Jason shook his head. "No. Did they reveal anything?"

"I was about to find out when you had an orderly page me." Kendrick smiled ironically and left the room.

Jason groaned and slumped back in his bed.

He stared at the letter in anger.

*I'll find you, Daniel. And I'll get her back if it's the last thing I do.*

Jason saw the flaw in this vow.

With such a secure position, Daniel surely had to have better resources than he had before.

In which case, it might very well be the last thing Jason ever did.

Jason Creight obsessed on.



To Be Continued