Surprise! Well, I admit this is a shorter chapter, but I hope that two chapters in one week satisfies - especially since this short chapter is loaded.
Enjoy!
Chapter 6
It is nearing 3 a.m. when they come for the egg.
The walls of the room shake vigorously with the force of the first explosion. Smoke begins to filter through the bedroom vents a moment later. Ash wakes up coughing on the acrid smell. He feels a knee slam into his stomach as Misty stumbles over him trying to jump out of her bed and stand up. He splutters at the force of her knee.
"Ash! Move!" She shouts at him as the floor beneath them rattles aggressively after a second explosion. "GET UP!"
"What's happening?" He asks groggily, choking on the smoke. He had been ripped from a deep slumber.
The sounds of sheet rock ripping away from the structural beams of the building is heard from downstairs.
Ash staggers to his feet and tries to make sense of the happenings around him in his half asleep state. It is still dark. Morning hasn't even arrived yet. It has only been a few hours since Ash arrived back at the gym.
Misty throws his belt at him with his five Pokeballs attached. He catches it and stares at it trying to concentrate.
"We're under attack!" Misty barks as she grabs the purple egg off the chair next to her bed. Then she slips it into her bag and throws it over her shoulder. Keep the egg safe, she thinks.
Ash immediately springs into action when the reality of the situation dawns. He doesn't have time to change out of his black gym shorts and white tank top, but he slips his shoes on before following Misty into the hallway. Raichu dashes after them; cheeks sparking with fury. The smoke is thick now, so they try to stay low.
"What's happening?" Violet shrieks from her doorway down the hall. She shakes in terror and panic.
"Wake Lily and Daisy!" Misty orders her older sister. "Get the police!"
Violet nods and sprints down the hall to their sisters' rooms, screaming, "WAKE UP!"
"C'mon!" Ash urges Misty to follow him down the stairs to the arena.
Once downstairs, Misty is at a loss for words. They find the gym arena in ruins. The entire west wall is blown out; debris is scattered across the floor and littering the pool. Burning ashes float through the air stinging the flesh of the present Pokemon.
Three men dressed in all black command large, dangerous Pokemon. The water Pokemon of the Cerulean gym are already defending their home with water gun and hydro pump attacks directed at the criminals. Dewgong and Starmie fight off a Nidoking while Politoed and Kingdra face off against a raging Rhyperior. An Ursaring, a Pangoro, and an Electivire climb over the rubble into the gym. Golduck, Corsola, and Azumarill stand in a defensive line. The rest of the gym Pokemon support them from the pool.
"My gym!" Misty gasps at the sight of the crumbling walls and melting metal beams. The bleachers have collapsed in and she can see the sky through the absent west wall.
The enemy Electivire stomps towards the pool sparking fiercely.
"We gotta help!" Ash says as he pulls out a Pokeball from his belt. "We need you, Tyranitar!"
A tall, rocky, green monster forms before them and releases a challenging roar.
"Go stop that Electivire!" Ash orders it. It listens immediately and charges at the Electivire. Tyranitar locks claws with its foe and holds it off from advancing on the water Pokemon.
"Raichu, use your iron tail and quick attack, but not your electricity with all these water Pokemon around!" Ash calls to Raichu who sprints forward to help.
"Let's go, Gyarados!" Misty calls as she throws the one Pokeball that she had on her. Gyarados immediately blocks the ferocious enemy Pokemon from advancing into the gym further.
Gyarados's addition tips the battle in their favor for only a moment. Quickly, a hoard of low level Raticates, Golbats, and Magnemites race in through the collapsed wall.
"There's more!" Misty cries as countless creatures pour in, skewing the ratio.
"We have to keep fighting!" Ash urges as he grabs three more of the Pokeballs off his belt and releases his team.
"We need your help!" Ash's faithful Pokemon in his party, Lucario, Dragonite, and Sceptile, materialize and immediately spring into action to defend their friends.
"Politoed!" Misty screeches when she sees the Rhyperior slam her Politoed against the bleachers. Politoed falls to the ground and remains there motionless.
Kingdra continues to fight it from the pool with a hydro pump. Ash's Lucario races to protect Politoed. It leaps between Politoed and Rhyperior and uses an aura sphere to keep Rhyperior back.
"Misty, you need to get their Pokeballs!" Ash directs. "Politoed is in danger!"
"Right!" Misty agrees.
Misty leaves Ash behind and runs back towards the stairway that leads to the basement.
Fire engulfs the stairwell, but she doesn't hesitate to jump through. She leaps down the stairs three at a time to the private area below the gym. She enters the Pokeball storage room and starts collecting Pokeballs. She makes sure to hold onto Politoed's Pokeball.
They don't fit! She thinks in frustration.
She decides it will be easier to carry the many Pokeballs in the bag and carry the egg, so she pulls it out to make room. She makes space for all of the Pokeballs. Once she has them securely in her bag, she dashes back up the stairs fighting the lashing flames from every direction. At the top of the stairs, she finds that the frame of the doorway has collapsed. With a growl, she charges full force at the beams arms first. She feels the heat searing her flesh, but blasts through towards the gym without a second thought.
Although Ash and Misty's teams are powerful, their Pokemon struggle against the onslaught of lower level grunt Pokemon flooding the gym. Each of their team fights at least two or three enemy Pokemon from every direction at once.
"Return!" Misty shouts as she finally reaches Politoed and absorbs it back into the ball. The Rhyperior roars in anger when its target disappears. It turns towards Misty and charges towards her.
"Lucario!" Ash catches his Pokemon's attention and directs it towards the Rhyperior.
Lucario understands and leaps onto Rhyperior's back to steer it away from Misty and into a flaming beam.
Misty screeches as Rhyperior veers just a few feet away from her.
"Misty! Corsola needs you!" Ash directs her to the opposite corner where her Corsola tiredly fights an Ursaring. Ash's Dragonite battles against various Magmemites nearby but also tries to support Corsola.
"Ash watch out!" Misty screeches as a Raticate hurdles at him with fangs bared.
Ash spins around just as the Raticate slams him to the ground. It slashes at Ash's face and chest with sharp claws tearing fragile skin from his cheek. Ash is able to keep its bone crushing teeth away long enough for Sceptile to blast it away with a solarbeam. Its claw scrapes along his chest as it is tossed aside.
Ash groans and turns over onto his knees. He slowly drags himself back up to his feet and then wipes the trickle of blood from his chin.
"Thanks, Sceptile." He nods to his Pokemon who goes back to continue battling nearby.
Once Misty sees that Ash is back on his feet, she races over to Corsola. She struggles to handle the Pokeballs without dropping her bag as well as the egg in her arms.
She attempts to return Corsola, but the massive Ursaring stands in the way.
"Surrender the egg and we will spare you and your Pokemon!" an ominous voice declares over a microphone.
Ash and Misty strain to see a broad man dressed in all black obscured by the smoke rising from the burning building.
"Is that-" Misty starts to ask, recognizing the man.
"Giovanni," Ash finishes angrily.
Many years ago, they had faced the ruthless leader of Team Rocket while protecting Mewtwo and its clone Pokemon.
Misty and Ash's Pokemon fall back when Giovanni releases a powerful Machamp and Nidoqueen that advance on them quickly.
"They have full strength!" Ash growls, gritting his teeth.
Their own Pokemon are losing steam quickly. It was a dirty trick to attack in the middle of the night with an army of grunt Pokemon, but what can you expect of Team Rocket?
"We can't give up the egg to Team Rocket! We have to get all of our Pokemon out of here!" Misty tells Ash, her fear growing. "This isn't a warning; it's an all out attack!"
The Ursaring charges towards them, but Raichu quickly slams into it, sending it off course. Misty is finally able to return her Corsola to its ball, but she sees her other faithful Pokemon starting to fall one by one. They are trained to battle skillfully in official Pokemon battles - not in a war. She is speechless and helpless as she grips onto the egg in her arms tightly.
It wouldn't be fair to the baby Pokemon in my arms to give it up to Team Rocket. She thinks. On the other hand, why should my Pokemon get hurt?
She closes her eyes and wishes everything would just pause for a moment so that she can think. Just pause for a moment!
She blinks her eyes open in confusion when the gym falls quiet. The sounds of the battle disappear other than the heavy breathing of their tired Pokemon and the fire burning on the south wall.
"Uh!" Ash gasps as he looks around the battle arena.
The enemy Pokemon and their trainers are frozen in a purple haze. Not a single one moves or blinks.
"What's happening?" Misty whispers in confusion looking from her daze Pokemon to the frozen enemy Pokemon.
Ash, although puzzled by their good fortune, takes advantage of it.
"Return all of the Pokemon!" Ash hurries her along. "Let's go!"
Ash draws out his own Pokeballs and returns all except Raichu. Then he runs over to help Misty return hers. They grab every Pokeball from Misty's bag and return each Pokemon four at a time. Once all of Misty's Pokemon are tucked safely in her bag, she slings it over her shoulder again.
"I don't understand," Misty says in awe, "I wished for everything to pause."
"It doesn't matter right now!" Ash tells her quickly. "We have a chance to run!"
Ash spurs her on and bolts to the gym doors away from the fires.
"Charizard we need you!" Ash calls out his Pokemon. He is grateful that he kept Charizard out of the battle in case they needed a quick escape.
Ash, Misty, and Raichu cling to Charizard as it leaps into the air. As soon as they are clear of the gym, the spell breaks and the sounds of angry Pokemon ring out. Sirens can be heard in the distance, but then everything is drowned out by the beating of Charizard's wings. All they hear is the wind in their ears. The night is quiet above all of the chaos. Misty holds onto Ash with one arm and the egg with the other. She looks back at the gym, her home, and allows tears to fall at the sight of the fire engulfing the arena walls.
A few minutes into their flight, Charizard's movements become sporadic. Misty feels Ash swaying in front of her.
Charizard roars in panic, and she realizes that Ash has collapsed against its back.
"Land now, Charizard!" Misty orders.
They land among the dense trees in the forest southeast of Pewter City. Misty slides off of Charizard's back to her knees on the grassy floor. Her arms are still wrapped tightly around the egg that had brought about so much trouble. She loosens her grip and lets it roll into the grass. She catches her body from falling forward with her arms.
"Raichuchu!" Raichu commands her attention.
Misty's breath catches when she sees Ash's state; blood drips from the slash marks on his face. She pulls Ash backwards to find the viscous liquid spread across Charizard's wings. Then she realizes that his chest is also torn open and oozing. She pulls him to the ground hastily and lays him on his back. Charizard wraps its body in a semicircle around them to radiate heat from its fiery scales.
"Ash!" She gasps, trying to wake him by shaking him lightly.
She is relieved when he groans in response, but she remains concerned by the amount of blood smeared on Charizard's back. She rips the torn shreds of his shirt apart to view the slash marks. Charizard lends his tail to shed light on them.
Misty looks closely at Ash's cheek and chest. The wounds are bloody, but no longer dripping. She tears strips of his shirt and ties them around his head and chest. It is a makeshift bandage, but she thinks it should do the trick until they can find help.
"What do we do?" Misty asks fearfully.
"Rai raichu rai," Raichu makes a suggestion.
"Brock?" Misty asks, believing she understands what Raichu is saying.
"Chu!" Raichu confirms, nodding its head.
"I'm worried they will be looking for us there," Misty shares her suspicions, "and in Pallet Town."
"Cha," Raichu pats Ash's hair sadly.
"I know!" Misty perks up at her idea. "Help me get him back on Charizard!"
Misty and Raichu pull Ash back to Charizard. They prop him on its wing and then drag him onto its back.
Misty mounts Charizard behind Ash. Raichu hands her the egg and then jumps up behind her. Charizard climbs into the sky when everyone is securely holding on.
"Charizard, head southeast," she directs, leaning in the direction she wants it to go.
Charizard willingly obeys Misty's orders and soars onward.
Well... I told you I was done with the lowkey storyline. I was attempting to build a lot of confusing emotion between Ash and Misty. There's love and anger and stubbornness, and it's messy. There is so much history between them and it isn't as easy as just confessing. Maybe in the wake of real trouble they will sort out their silly arguments. Stick around ;)
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