Ripples to and From Corruption.

By: Jarzard

Chapter 2

The crowd parted when the cloaked figure stood and made his way to the far door, the stride was purposeful and it more or less screamed danger to anyone who didn't move. The other two cloaked figures watched it leave red and black hair hanging gently out of their cowls. The crowd ignored them. The fight continued. And shadows stalked.

It was a long and highly skilled battle that took center stage bellow the stands, fire vs water, grass and psychic, dark and steel, then dragon on dragon. Each of the bouts were full of strategies, tricks and brute strength finding the way past an equally skilled opponent. No quarter was given, none was asked for. However time slowed when four people walked onto the arena floor, their pokemon almost instantly subduing the weakened fighters and their trainers.

Of the four an old woman stepped forward to speak. And the trenched figures tensed, smelling a trap.

"We of the new elite four have intervened on this now irrelevant match for one reason and one reason only. To catch the traitors." She glanced directly into the two hidden eyes.

"Well Ashy, I guess Ill meet you in hell eh?" Gary sneered from the floor of the stadium.

"I'll play with you before your executed, Lance." Loriell laughed.

The two cloaked figures ran for the wall of the indigo stadium.

)§(

Gary.... traitorous Gary.... the accusations spun in Ash's head as he fled the scene of the tournament with the mysterious figure close behind him. They had worked long into the night working on the plan to help the two new Palletian trainers escape the conspiracy worked up by the elite 4, why hadn't he realized the gleam in Gary's eyes wasn't from eagerness to help but from a plan to get power. Why hadn't he realized? His mind was snapped out of a downward spiral of horror and betrayal when the other figure grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to a stop by the small stream.

"Why did he betray you? And who betrayed me? Do you know?" the voice was rougher than when he had last heard it, but it was definitely Lance.

"Power.... he betrayed me for power.... as for who betrayed you Lance I don't know, after all I thought you were Gary.... But.... how did you betray them?" Ash would take no chances.

"Heh, I gave the two squirts access into the forbidden files on the Psy Project, the same one you were a part of."

"What is the Psy Project? And why is everything faked?"

"The Psy Project as it is commonly known as is basically an enhanced breading program for those with psychic potential. And for that to be the case there could be no variables, no chances, no danger. So everything was faked, you entire life was a sham."

"So how did we escape?"

"Have you ever heard of a pokemon, called missingno? Imagine it as a variable say an 'X' or a 'Z' despite all of our complex programs and sensors when this particular pokemon would come into an area it would appear as something that we designed to be there, after all, it is everything yet it is nothing. As it turned out, when it left, you followed."

"So now what?"

"I'm sure you've heard of Saffron City right?"

)§(

The stadium wasn't what it used to be, shingles were lose, a couple windows were busted. And of course there wasn't a crazed Sabrina until the next batch of 'trainers' arrived, much like there wasn't a mewtwo till then either. Of course Ash and Lance weren't supposed to be here either, especially not Ash AND Lance together.

"Sabrina!" Lances voice cracked like a whip through the odd silence that permeated the surroundings.

"What does the Master of Dragons want of me?" Sabrina smirked leaning up against the doorframe leading into the old building.

"You know what I want psychic."

"Of course I do, after all, I'm psychic." Sabrina's grin was not all that reassuring.

"So will you?"

"Yeah I hope he knows its going to hurt."

"Don't matter."

Ash got a very bad feeling when Lance and Sabrina started to chuckle.