C. Cowboy: This is it, the final battle! Who will win, Spinarak-Man or Hobgoblin? Find out here, and don't forget to review please! I'd like to think everyone who's read this, and was patient through the slow period. And I'd like to dedicate this fic to my girlfriend, even though she probably won't admit it but I'm willin to bet she thinks this fic is nuts ^_~ and also my best friend Leo AKA Fusionblaster who helped me a lot while writing this. Anyway, I'll be starting on the next fic in the Spinarak-Man saga, 'Spinarak-Man: Evolution' soon. Until then, enjoy this and my other fics. Thanks again everybody!
Chapter 8: Final Battle On Goldenrod Tower
"What are you going to do?" Misty cried out as the Hobgoblin hovered around her. She was tied to the very top of Goldenrod Tower.
"Use you to catch a bug, Mist." Hobgoblin chuckled, " Like Gramps always said. Can't catch a big one, without the right kind of bait." He then started to fly away, "Just hang out there for a bit, Misty!" he mocked as he threw a sleeping gas pumpkin bomb at her
Hobgoblin began to fly circles around the large radio tower firing pumpkin bombs into the air showing Spinarak-Man where to come. "The itsy bitsy Spinarak, went up the water spout, down came hobgoblin, and took the Spinarak out…" he sung happily as a figure swung around and stuck to the side of the building.
"Nice tune," Spinarak-Man asked, "come up with that yourself? It's so original!"
"Wondered how long it would take you, Web Brain." Hobgoblin growled as he threw a pumpkin bomb at the webslinger.
"Where's Misty?" Spinarak-Man yelled as he swung kicked Hobgoblin off the glider and threw a window onto the observatory halfway up the tower.
"Does this seem familiar to you, Ashy Boy?"' Hobgoblin asked, as he leapt to his feet. "Same as a week ago, only different name. You really do need to keep your girlfriends away from me."
Anger flew through Spinarak-Man as he reared back and punched Hobgoblin in the face taking half of his hideous, smiling mask off with it.
Hobgoblin pulled himself to his feet, with his hand covering the large tear in the mask. He finally started laughing and dropped his hand.
Ash's eyes grew wide under the reflective eyes of his mask when he saw and recognized the face, "Gary?"
"Ha! I figured my name calling would have given it away along time ago, Loser." Gary chuckled pulling off his mask.
"Why?" Spinarak-Man asked shocked.
"You." Gary stated matter of factly.
"What?" Spinarak-Man asked now confused.
"You, you always were the star. No matter how much better my pokemon were, no matter how much better of a trainer I was, even when I beat you, you always came out smelling like roses!" Gary yelled pointing at the masked hero, "YOU had Gramps' support. YOU were always talked about like a damn hero, everywhere I went, I was so ahead of you, I was winning! YET every where I went, "Hey, you said you were from Pallet Town, You most know that Ash Ketchum, did you hear he saved two kids from a Toros stampede the other day?" Do YOU know HOW SICK I AM of being better then you yet still being in YOUR shadow???"
"Gary, You're a Pokemon Trainer, even if you felt that way, that is no reason to try to hurt and kill people with monsters like Team Rocket!" Spinarak-Man reasoned walking toward him. "You're a Pokemon Trainer, what happened to our race to become Masters?" Spinarak-Man asked just three feet from him.
"You know, Ash." Gary said looking solemnly at him, "That dream sucked." Spinarak-Man had just enough time to feel his danger sense go off when Gary threw a pumpkin bomb in his face and it exploded sending the hero flying backward into a steel pole.
Spinarak-Man pulled himself to his feet; his costume was shredded and his mask was destroyed leaving most of his face uncovered. Before he had time to react Gary stormed him, and punched him hard on the face.
"You know another thing, Ashy Boy," Gary growled as he punched Ash hard just below the ribs, "You know I was going out with Misty?" He then kneed him in the stumach; "I never really cared about her, I only did it for two reasons. One, to get to you." he then grabbed his face to look in his eyes, "Two, she is so good in bed."
Rage flew threw Ash's eyes as he glared at Gary's wide smile. "And you know the first few times, she actually called out your name, Ash!" Gary laughed, "Why she would want a loser like you, I'll never know." Gary then looked up at Misty being held helplessly on to the large antenna, "After I kill you, I'll have my way with her and send her behind you, if you like."
"NO!" Ash yelled as the rage exploded and he pushed Gary away and punched him hard in the face making him back step.
"I…" Ash punched with all he had in to Gary's jaw, "WILL NOT…" A left cross, "LET YOU…" A right cross, "TOUCH HER…" An even harder left cross.
Gary stumbled backwards and landed hard on the ground. Ash stood menacingly over him, and jerked off the few threads left of his mask. "You always called me a loser." Ash growled, "But you know what, the only loser here is you. You were a good trainer. You were an excellent trainer. Do you know what made people like me better, Gary? Do you? You only battled to make yourself look good. I only battled for my pokemon and my friends. You looked over people in need, and pressed on to selfishly become a master, I stopped when ever anyone needed help, and put my own dream of being a master on hold."
"I… am… better…then you…" Gary growled pulling himself to his feet.
"We're Pokemon Trainers, Gary." Ash shot, "We have a great power!"
"Yes." Gary smirked, "One that can be used to rule!"
"No, Gary." Ash said shaking his head solemnly, "With Great Power must always come Great Responsibility. A very wise person told me that."
"Who ever that was," Gary smirked, "Was as much a fool as you!" He yelled as he threw some dust from a pocket on his belt into his face and eyes.
Gary then flew into him with several punches to his face and ribs. "I hate you, Ash!" Gary yelled as he punched Ash's jaw hard, "You ruined my life!" he growled swinging again.
But this time Ash, using his danger sense instead of his eyes, caught the fist, "You ruined your own life." Ash said blinking the last of the dust out of his eyes. "Give it up, Gary!"
"No, Ash!" Gary said kneeing him in the stumach, "We finish this, NOW!"
"Fine." Ash grunted as he gave Gary a hard uppercut, making him fly backwards. Ash jumped to the side of a pole and used the momentum to fly into the air and launched poison sting needles at his rival. Gary quickly rolled away and threw a pumpkin bomb at him. Ash shot a webline and quickly swung out of the way, making it hit and explode on one of the support poles.
Ash swung down and kicked Gary in the face with both hills before flipping down and looked up to see him now running toward him. Ash spun a large netlike web, which Gary quickly got tangled in. Gary pulled something off his belt that transformed into a large scythe and cut though the net, and swung for Ash's head.
"I'm going to so enjoy taking your head off, Loser." Gary smirked swinging and missing Ash's head, but barely slicing into the skin of his shoulder.
Ash jumped back and gripped his shoulder. "Awe, the lil loser scared?" Gary asked smiling. Ash then jumped him and threw the scythe over the side and decked him hard.
Ash flew into him, rights, lefts, kicks; Gary was on the ropes. "I… I surrender…" Gary gasped crouching against the main support pole. Ash slowly stood back but kept his guard back. "Have mercy please…" Gary begged slowly pulling himself up, holding his wrist.
"Did you show Melody mercy?" Ash asked angrily, "Did you show Brock mercy?"
"Ash… I was confused…" Gary pleaded still holding his wrist, "Team Rocket did something to me… you have to help me… like you've helped everyone else… please… it's me… remember… how we were best friends growing up?"
Ash looked at him suspiciously, "Please Ash…"
"You're going to jail, Gary." Ash stated emotionlessly.
"So be it." Gary said glaring at him, "not before I see you dead, Spinarak-Man."
Ash's danger sense went wild as Gary pressed a button on his wrist, and Hobgoblin's glider shot in behind him, Ash quickly back flipped over the glider and it the large blade on the front of it shot right toward Gary. "Oh no." Gary sighed just as the blade plunged into his chest and into the pole behind him.
"Gary then looked sadly at Ash, "Don't… tell…Gramps…" he sighed as he fell forward over the glider.
Ash relaxed for a moment before his danger sense went haywire once again, the impact of the glider hitting to pole proved too much to support the main antenna where Misty was tied. The antenna broke and tumbled down past the observation platform. "MISTY!!" Ash cried out as he dove after her.
Ash shot a webline and quickly pulled himself down to the tumbling piece of metal, "Misty?" Ash asked crouched over her. He seen she was out cold and began fighting to untie her, while holding on to the large antenna by his feet. "Come on, Ash, Come on!" Ash whispered trying to break the thick ropes binding Misty. The antenna was ten feet from the concreted ground when he finally broke the rope, grabbed Misty by one arm, and zip lined to the tower just before the antenna landed on several parked cars and exploded violently.
Ash looked down at the fire trucks and police vehicles coming quickly down the street, he shot down to the side walk and gently laid Misty down on a bench and swung back up for Gary.
Short while later…
In the hidden Team Rocket Headquarters, Giovanni set in his office impatiently waiting for word from Hobgoblin. He has not heard from him in well over two weeks. "Sir?" a Rocket spoke up walking in.
"What is it?" Giovanni growled looking hatefully at the Rocket.
"Umm. We have news on Agent Hobgoblin." He spoke up nervously.
"And that is?" Giovanni snapped narrowing his eyes.
"He…was…umm… killed, Sir." The Rocket said ready to run out.
"So." Giovanni said emotionlessly, "This Spinarak-Man is more of a challenge then expected." He turned toward the Rocket, "If that is all, dismissed."
"Y-Yes Sir…" The Rocket stuttered as he ran out the door.
Giovanni then set in his chair and rotated it away from the desk. "Yes… Spinarak-Man, you will make great game."
The Next Day…
Ash, Misty, Brock, and Professor Oak all stood together at Gary's burial. Ash made sure to remove Gary's Hobgoblin costume and left him in his apartment, unfortunately Spinarak-Man was seen leaving Gary's apartment, yet another murder on his name.
"You ok, Prof. Oak?" Ash asked walking up to his mentor.
"I wish I could say yes, Ash, I really do." Oak said looking down at Gary's tombstone, "But I will not be ok until that slime, Spinarak-Man pays for what he has done to my grandson." He then turned to his sad would-be stepson, "At least I still have you, Son." Oak said hugging him.
Ash then pulled away and walked a little ways away from them and stopped before a grave.
'Daria Kasumi Ketchum
1996-2024
Beloved Mother and friend'
Ash stood before his mother's grave and her words once again repeated in his mind, 'With Great Power must always come Great Responsibility'.
"I miss her too."
Ash spun around and smiled faintly as Misty walked up.
"You ok?" Ash asked as she stopped a few steps in front of him.
"Yes. I'm fine." She whispered with a nod.
"Ash… I really need to talk to you about something." She said nervously.
"Shoot." Ash said with a smile.
"Ash…I've been really confused lately…" Misty confessed, "I've had strong feelings for more then one guy, and I was really struggling with who to chose. And yesterday someone told me…told me that the one I chose should be the one that makes me the happiest."
Ash nodded listening.
"Ash, before I was knocked out last night, while I was tied to that tower, I could only think of one thing, one person. And it wasn't the person I thought it would be." She then took a nervous gulp and looked up with a smile, "I said to my self, 'Misty, you have to make it through this, so you can see Ash Ketchum become the greatest Pokemon Master in the world, and to…." She started breaking off looking away for a moment before looking back into his deep brown eyes, "and to… tell him… how much you love him."
Ash looked at her in utter shock, when she placed her hands on both sides of his face, "Oh Ash, I love you… I love you so much…" she said as she kissed him, kissed him with everything she had; every ounce of love and passion in her body, she kissed him.
(In that moment, I wanted to tell her just how much I loved her.)
"Misty…" Ash said sadly as he gently pushed her away, I…can't." Ash stated sadly.
"Can't…what?" Misty asked looking up fear all over her features.
"Misty…" Ash sighed, "I'll always…be your friend."
"Ash…" Misty whispered as a tear slid down her cheek.
Ash then leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, "And I'll always protect you."
Ash then turned and walked away leaving Misty standing there in shock, disappointment, rejection, and sadness. But then in one second what he said sunk in, 'I'll always protect you…' her eyes shot wide and her hand came up to cover her mouth as she spun around to Ash's slowly retreating form. "Ash… are you…"
(I would not risk loosing her like I did Mom and Melody.)
Ash now stood on a tall skyscraper, in the familiar yellow and green uniform gripping the mask in his hand, for one last patrol before they hit the road again.
(I couldn't bare it if I lost anyone else.)
He slowly pulled the mask up and slid it over his face.
(My mother always told me that with Great Power must always come Great Responsibility.)
He then slowly took steps toward the edge.
(Now I will live my life, living those words.)
He looked over the ledge, closed his eyes, and stepped off.
(Fighting in secret, protecting those important to me, and those who would be threatened by those hiding from the law.)
Ash felt the wind over his body; it was both invigorating and relaxing.
(It is my gift.)
Then at the last second, Ash shot a webline to a crane and swung with amazing agility.
(It is my curse.)
He shot another and this time swung down between vehicles in a traffic jam.
(It is my destiny.)
Ash shot double weblines and catapulted himself high into the air ninja spin before landing on the side of a skyscraper.
(Who am I?)
Ash looked over the city one last time before rejoining his friends, and then at the rising sun: a new day as come, a day full of hopes and possibilities.
(I am…Spinarak-Man!)
The Beginning