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Lost Dreams
By: Pixi Powder
Pixi_powder@yahoo.com
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A face flashed onto the screen. A look of surprise was glaring through the videophone.
"Misty," he said, not sure who was more surprised, him or her. He paused, trying to think up a coverup. But there was none. Nothing he could say. Officer Jenny and Jason had left to look around the house for clues before Gary had uttered a single word.
"It was you. It makes so much sence now. You couldn't beat Ash. You wanted to be Master so bad you had him kidnapped. Taken away, knowing full well that with him gone, you'd become Master by the default. I feel like I should be in shock right now, knowing that you have been the cause of all my pain, and yet I'm not. I'm not surprised at all." Misty looked at Gary. She hated him, hated him with as much passion as she loved Ash. "I told you not to play games with me. Told you that you couldn't win. I never thought you'd stoop this low, even for you. And I'm going to make sure you pay. Make sure you hurt as much as I have. Make sure you have to deal with this for the rest of your life."
Gary was frozen in the spot. He hadn't moved from the second Misty had started talking. Hadn't blinked, didn't even seem to breathe. Finally a smirk crossed his face. "You think I'll pay? You don't know everything that I control. Pokemon Master is just one title I've earned."
"What? Is Kanto's most idiotic on the list of titles too?" Misty sneered at Gary.
"No, I think they awarded that to you. Only you would think that you could save your little loser. I wouldn't bother. He's already on his way to his death. If you leave now, and don't stop to tell anyone about our little conversation, you might get there in time to see him before his brains get blown out of his forehead." He smirked at Misty. She shivered.
"You won't kill him. You haven't yet. You won't do it."
Gary interupted her. "I didn't kill him cause it was far more fun to watch him suffer. Now he's a liability. Let's just say he's on the last drive of his life."
She shook her head. "You know you won't get away with this." A tear welled in the corner of Misty's eye.
"Sure I will. Who are the police more likely to belive? A histerical ex-girlfriend looking for someone to blame for the death of her boyfriend on or a well known, well respected Pokemon Master who's been getting the brunt of Hurricane Misty for the last year? You'll look like you've gone off the deep end and I'll look like a victim."
"What about the phone? The last call was from here to your personal quarters. How would you try and explain that?" Misty was throwing at Gary that she could muster. Misty was on the brim of crying in hysterics.
"You mean the psycho who called asking for ransom on Ash?" An evil smile crossed over Gary's face. He had already thought of everything. He changed his expression to sadness and began his speech. "I... I got a phone call. It was early and the lights were still off. I... I fumbled with the phone but forgot to turn the moniter on. I heard some man with a scruffy voice demand ransom for Ash. I figured it was just some dumb prank and hung up on him. How was I to know that it was the truth." He stopped and looked Misty dead in the eyes. "I've already got it worked out. You've got no witnesses. It'll be your word against mine, and mine carries a little more weight. You know time is running out. Loser is getting closer and closer to his death. Sure you want to sit around and talk all day on the phone with little old me?"
Horror crossed Misty's face. He was right. She had no witnesses. Jason had led Officer Jenny to where he had come from and was explaining everything to her outside. It wasn't like there was anyone who was too fluent in Pikachu... except Ash. "You aren't going to get away with this. I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain and I'm not giving up." She clicked off the videophone and sat for a second. Everyone told me he was gone. Told me to move on. Told me that I should get on with my life and that Ash wasn't coming back. I'm not going to let them be right.
Pikachu jumped off the table and ran out the door, Misty right behind her. The small yellow Pokemon sniffed the ground lightly then took off running into the trees. Misty ran after her, yelling at Officer Jenny and Jason on her way. "Both of you run. We have to go. Now!"
Officer Jenny and Jason looked towards the yell and saw red hair dissapear into the trees. Both took off running after her. They had to be at least a minute behind her, Jason's short legs making them fall farther behind Misty every second. After only a few minutes, Misty was on her own, only Pikachu was with her.
"Don't stop Pikachu. Keep running. We have to make it there. We have to catch up. We have to stop him."
"Pika," Pikachu called out in agreement.
The pair ran. The panted heavily, but never stopped. They couldn't stop. For Ash's sake. Officer Jenny and Jason were far behind and MIsty had no intention of waiting for them. They would find the way eventually. All they had to do was follow the path of broken tree limbs where someone had been traveling. Someone before Misty.
The trees stopped at once. A large river was directly in Misty's path. But nothing could stop Misty. Not now, not so close. She glanced upstream and then downstream. Nothing. No bridges, no boats, no nothing. Except for a fisher. Not to far down. He sat with his pole in the water, his toes dangling in the water. Misty took off runnig towards him.
She gathered her energy, trying to make her words slow enough to be understood. "I see your a water trainer. If you have anything that could get us across this river we'd be eternally grateful."
The young boy looked up. "Sure! Like I told the other guy, you can use my Lapras. He'll take you across in no time."
He grabbed a pokeball from his belt. "Go. Lapras." A red light shot out of the ball and formed a small Lapras in the water. "Hey. Aren't you Misty? The gym leader?"
She smiled. "Yes I am. And right now I'm grateful to you. An Officer Jenny and a boy about your age should reach the river soon. If you could tell them that I already crossed I would really appreciate it." She hopped onto the Pokemon. "By the way. What's your name?"
He grinned. "I'm Andy. Andy Tiedell."
Misty nodded. "I'll remember that." With that, the Lapras began to cross the river swiftly. In only a couple minutes they had reached the other side. Misty jupmed off the Pokemon, grabbed Pikachu and took off running again.
Misty felt revived. A minute to catch her breath was all she needed. Trees had been replaced with grassy plains and the midday sun beat down on Misty furiously. Her and Pikachu ran, passing through a few towns. Every once in a while Pikachu would have to stop and catch the scent again. Misty looked around. She recognized the area as Johto. Somewhere near Azeala Town.
Pikahu was growing tired. Her breathing became more labored and with every breath a tiny 'pi' would escape the tiny Pokemon. Misty noticed the poor rodent and picked her up carefully. She let the exuasted Pikachu rest on her shoulder. Trees loomed ahead. Missty ran faster. She knew Ash had to be there. I'm coming Ash. I'm not loosing you again.
She was running on pure adrenaline now. She wanted to stop. To lay down. To pass out. She couldn't feel her legs anymore. They were numb. Or maybe it was her mind that was numb. Either way, she didn't feel the pain anymore. Everything became blurry and zoomed out of focus. She pushed on though. She couldn't stop. Not now, not yet. She was running for her life. Running for Ash's life.
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"Dammit. The Pikachu didn't buy us enough time. I thought I might be able to cover this up, but Misty won't give in that easy. You have to kill him."
He sat up, looking into the videophone unsure of the words he had just heard. "You want me to kill Master Ash?"
Anguish filled Gary. "He's not the Master, I am. And of course I want you to kill him. If anyone finds him alive, we're all dead."
"But Gary," he stopped to correct himself. "Sir. If I kill him and someone finds out, I'll be in prison forever. Not even you could save me from that."
Gary closed his eyes. He wasn't going to yell at him. That man sitting there was the only one who could save his future. "I promise you won't get caught. I want you to call the police station in Goldenrod and make a ransom notice for Ash's life. Don't turn the moniter on. Threaten to kill him and then hang up. Knock him out, shoot him from behind and leave for headquarters. I already have a story worked out so that nobody will know who shot him. We'll blame it on some rogue trainer who was once beaten by Ash and sought revenge. Not even Team Rocket can get blamed. You know what your orders are. And if you disobey them, you will end up just like Ash." He hung up the phone ubraptly.
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A/N: Cliffhanger!!! I think there's only one chapter left. I'll prolly write it tomarrow. So there you have it. I need some ideas for new stories so feel free to leave them in a post or e-mail them to me at Pixi_powder@yahoo.com. And by the way, thanks bunches for all the really great reviews. Always nice to know that my writing is enjoyed.