"You can't make someone love you, all you can do is stalk them and hope with time they panic and give in."

Disclaimer – I don't own Pokemon

Sorry this took so long, it took me a while to write this and I wanted to start on the next chapter as well so there wouldn't be as much of a wait for it.

Beyond the ShadowsRunning Out of Reason

It was dark now, darker than it had ever truly been before.  Darker than it would possibly ever be again.

It was so dark that you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face.  So dark in fact, that she easily blended in with the darkened shadows and silhouettes that filled her path.

The sun had gone down hours ago, and the sleepy town had seemed to just shut down on its own accord, which only encouraged her perfect execution.

There was no one around anymore, at least no one but her.  She liked it better like that anyway.

There was no one around this way to distract her from her plan, her mission you could call it.  The night was her only friend, her only partner in crime, her only companion, but she didn't mind, it did its job.  It easily hid her from the eyes of others and it made this so much easier to deploy.

She crept easily through the shadows with stealth and agility.  She was unseen next to the night sky, just how she wanted it to be.

She was getting closer now.  Her target was almost in sight, she could see it on her horizon, she could see her victory in hand.

It was so close now, she could already smell the sweet scent of victory on the air.  Her body filled with nervous excitement as she assured herself she could do this, that she would do this and that this time she would win.

It wasn't payback, or revenge, nothing like that.  Blackmail perhaps, so she could have what was hers returned in full, but mostly this was for fun. 

She couldn't wait to see the look upon her sweet little face when she found it out, when she discovered her plan.  When she lost it all, when she lost everything that mattered the most all over again.

She slinked up to his bedside and placed a cloth over his mouth.  The drug took effect quickly, he barely had time to try and scream out her name.

But that only made it more fun, made it more challenging and exciting.  It increased the risk and filled her with adrenaline and excitement.

It was all so perfect.  Her revenge if you must give it a name, was working out brilliantly.  She couldn't have planned it any better even if she tried.

Soon everything would be as it should.  Soon she would have everything she wanted.  Soon she would be on top again.

Soon, she would be begging for death. 

And soon, soon she would give it to her.

She sang softly to herself as she pulled a brush through her long hair.

"so many times, I though I held it in my hands, but just like grains of sand love sipped through my love slipped through my fingers," she sang along to Nsync's 'Something Like You' which played along in the background.  "And so many nights, I asked the lord above 'please make me lucky enough to find a love that lingers'.  Something keeps telling me that you could be my answered prayer.  You must be heaven sent I swear cause something happens when you look at me I forget to speak.  Something happens when you kiss my mouth my knee's get so weak.  Could it be true this is what god has meant for me cause baby I can't believe that something like you would happen to me."

It was morning now, and last nights events remained unknown by all.

She smiled to herself.  

She couldn't remember ever feeling so happy.  She couldn't remember the a time in her life before he came along that she had felt happy enough to sing.

She could barely remember the old life she was forced to lead.  The life of misery she had left behind where she would use anything to take her away from her cruel reality.

But now reality was just fine and she couldn't bear to leave it all behind, especially not him.

Brock was everything to her.  He had filled the void in her heart, he made her feel whole again.  He made her forget everything bad that had ever happened in her life, he made her forget all the pain she had been caused in the past.  He healed the wounds, he comforted her when she needed to cry and he was just there.

He was absolutely perfect.  There wasn't a thing wrong with him, there wasn't anything she would change and he narrowed all her former regrets down to one little regret concerning her little brother Michael.

But now was no time to think about that, she had a good life now and she didn't want to remember it.  She just hoped he was safe.

Her smile brightened the more she thought about Brock and how absolutely perfect he was from his sparkling black "eyes" to his spiky hair and warm smile.  She couldn't think of anyone more perfect for her in the entire universe than Brock Slate, actually she didn't want to.

They had only been together less than a week now but that was more than enough.  For her it had been love at first sight, even when they were still in elementary and she knew it would continue to be love until last sight when they would die in each others arms.

Her perfect fantasy played before her eyes of a life she knew they would spend together.  She used to dream of the day she would meet him face to face again, the day when he would pronounce his love to her and her alone, but now she didn't even want to go to sleep because her reality was better than her dreams.

That's when you know it's love, when you can't fall asleep because of that very fact.  Reality was perfect, he was perfect and it made her feel perfect.

Garnet hummed happily to herself as she tied her hair up into a high ponytail.  Today she would be leaving her act and traveling with Ash, Misty and Brock.  She had introduced them all to her psychic Pokemon who later told her that they could sense psychic energy within Misty's little baby pokmon.

She couldn't wait to meet them all at the Pokemon center this afternoon, especially Brock.

She sighed contently to herself.  She didn't think she would be able to ever stop smiling, but just as you find yourself on top of the world it's time to fall back down just like some twisted rollercoaster.

And boy was this rollercoaster twisted, or maybe it was just it's driver.

Garnet turned as she saw something pass from the corner of her eye.  It was time to come face to face with her nightmare, with the girl who had haunted her dreams that weren't about Brock for her entire life.  It was time to face the girl she had wished she would never have to see again.

But some wishes don't come true.

"Well if it isn't my darling little sister," Kirsten hissed bitterly.  "Now how long has it been since you were kicked out of the house?"

"Two of the best years of my life," Garnet replied snidely glaring at her sister.  This time she wasn't going to let Kirsten win.  She didn't have Michael to protect now so she could say whatever she wanted.  "What do you want Kirsten?"

"Now what kind of sister would I be if I followed you all the way here from little ole Pewter only to ask for something?" Kirsten asked forcing a tone of shock into her voice.  It was one like nails on a chalk board that made you cringe just to think of it.

"Exactly the kind of sister you are," Garnet said.  "The kind you run away from."

"Little sister, I'm hurt," Kirsten pouted an evil smile pulling at her lips.  "I only came to find little Mikey."

"What do you mean?" Garnet asked droping down her walls to keep Kirsten out as she was filled with worry.  Michael was the most precious thing in the world to her only equaled by Brock and she would blame herself if anything happened to either of them.

"I know you know where he is Garnet dear," Kirsten smirked spitting her name out distastefully.  "And unless you give him back to me, your little boyfriend is mine for the taking."

"What did you do to Brock?" Garnet gaped becoming more and more worried by the second.  First Michael and now Brock, she didn't think she could live with herself right now knowing that it was her fault that both their fates lay in the hands of the witch.

"Oh don't worry, he's just sleeping, for now," Kirsten smiled as she toyed with Garnet's heart. 

She was like a little puppet on a string right now ready to do her bidding no matter what.  Garnet had always believed in her heart above all else and now it was Kirsten's for the taking to totally destroy along with her sister.

"I want Michael, and I'm not giving you back rock boy until I get him," Kirsten said.

Garnet gasped as tears she didn't even know she was crying streamed down her face.  She grabbed her things and ran to the only place she knew to go.  She had to see for herself, make it real.  She prayed it was all a lie, or a dream cooked up by her imagination, anything but the truth she was to encounter.

Ash and Misty were in the lobby of the Pokemon center when she came in waiting impatiently.  She knew they were waiting for Brock.

"Garnet, what's wrong?" Misty asked sympathetically as she saw her.  "If you caught Brock flirting with another girl then I swear I'll kill him."

Garnet shook her head.  "Do you know where he is?" she asked her eyes filling with more and more tears.

"Actually we were hoping you did," Ash replied for her.  "When we went to wake him up this morning he wasn't there so we just thought he had gone out with you to watch the sunrise or something romantic like that, we were just waiting for him to come back."

"oh no, I . . . it can't be," she whispered desperately as the tears spilled down her face and her heart broke into thousands of tiny pieces.

"No this isn't happening," Garnet said wiping away her tears.  "This is all just funny joke.  You can come out now Brock, you got me," she yelled to him capturing the attention of all present and laughing nervously.  "That was a good one, I fell for your joke."

"This isn't a joke Garnet," Misty told her softly taking a step forward to comfort her.  Garnet took a step back eyeing her skeptically.  "You're the only one laughing."

"Then it's got to be a dream," Garnet begged her cheeks becoming tear streaked all over again.  "It has to be, I'm going to wake up any second now aren't I Misty?  Please Misty?" she begged meakly as she cried into Misty's shoulder.

Misty felt her pain.  She didn't know what she would do if Ash ever went missing or something.  It would break her heart in two and never be mended.  She would be forced to tears despite her strong exterior just like Garnet was.

But Misty didn't even know the half of it.  She didn't know what Garnet knew, she didn't know about Kirsten or Michael or much of her life for that matter.  She didn't know the things that went on in her head or why she was like she was right now.

"Garnet, tell me what's wrong," Misty said her voice neither commanding nor questioning.

Ash watched sympathetically from a far figuring it was girl stuff and that his presence would only be intruding on things he'd probably rather not know about for the time being.

"Do you want to know why I left Pewter?" Garnet asked knowing she would have to start from the beginning.  Her voice wavered with uncertainty and emotion but she knew she had to talk about this because it was the only way to make them understand.

Misty nodded in response as she led Garnet to where she and Ash had been sitting before signaling for him to follow.

'Whipped,' Garnet thought to herself almost smiling for a second until her thoughts found their way back to Brock as they always did. 

It had been a long time since she had cried.  Just like Misty she had built walls around her heart and kept her emotions well hidden so Kirsten would never be able to hurt her, to make her cry.

But happiness and tranquility had tricked her into lowering her defecnces.  It was like she had opened her heart and soul to Brock then forgotten to close it.  Kirsten had found a way to hurt her and it made her betray a promise she had made to herself too long ago to remember.

"I left two years ago to escape my family, actually they made me leave.  They just forced me out unto the world without even a 'goodbye, have a nice life'," Garnet said sadly.  "But mostly I left to escape my sister.

"My entire life people thought I was some kind of terrible klutz because I would come to school some days covered head to toe in bruises.  I would always make up some kind of excuse to explain them like walking into a door frame, or falling down the stairs, anything to conceal the truth," she explained now remembering the life she had spent so long trying to forget.  "But no one would have believed the truth even if I hadn't lied.  I'd tried many a time to let people know, but who would really believe that my teenage sister was beating me for her own sick twisted pleasure."

Misty gasped.  She had thought her own sisters were bad but Garnet's was just beyond it.  Kirsten was just plain evil and she was still yet to find out just how evil she was.  Boy was she going to find out.

Ash sat quietly taking it all in and trying to picture the life she led and all the horrors it must have contained for her to want to escape it so badly.  Kirsten was enough but something told him that there was more.

"She liked to frame me for things I didn't do so she had reason to beat the crap out of me, as if to suffice her conscience," she added.  "But Kirsten was only the worst of it.  My mother used to put prescription pills and illegal drugs into my food in an effort to just make me disappear.  She never wanted me, she just wanted another Kirsten.  I was never good enough for her and she made sure I knew it.  When I was ten she tried to drown me in the bathtub.  It was only by luck that my father came in and stopped her, but he wasn't much better and at times I almost wish that god had just let me drown that day and save me from it all.

"My dad was a drunk who wasted him money on poker.  He wasn't very good at it and every time he'd come home after a bad night at the casino or bar or wherever the game was being held he would take his frustrations out on the furniture, family heirlooms and me," she said.  "He would beat me in the same fashion as Kirsten so I never had to wonder where she got that from, but thanks to uncoordinated drunkedness and bad eyesight I could protect myself from him. 

"His tactics we're merely physical," she continued, "where as Kirstens were both that and emotional.  She loved nothing more than to hear me scream for mercy as tears streamed from my eyes, so I promised myself I would never cry again, especially because of her."

"Why did you live with it so long? Why didn't you runaway sooner?" Misty asked cruriously.

"Because I had to protect my brother," Garnet replied.  "I let them do this to me so that they wouldn't hurt him and I stayed so he would be safe.  But it seems he too found a way to escape because Kirsten is looking for him and she's kidnapped Brock until I get her Michael.  The thing is I don't know where he is and if I don't find him I'll never see Brock again."

Ash who had been thoughtful the entire time finally spoke up.  "Don't worry," he told her his eyes and voice full of determination.  "There's always a way."

~ to be continued ~

So how was that?  Anyway I first started feeling sorry for Garnet when I wrote about Kirsten so I decide to use her as the evil chick instead and she's been stalking Garnet in an effort to find Michael.

Please review, as they say the more the merrier and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry and suffering from review withdrawal.