Author's Notes: This was supposed to be part of Chapter 5 but I decided to cut it (again...) into another chapter. I hope you like this chapter and a big thank you for the reviews! Once again, I'm very sorry for the extremely long time to get this out... Hope this makes up for it - this is one of the most important chapters of this story! :)
Oh and from now on (well, from the fifth chapter) there's going to be quite a few violent and bloody scenes...
Endless Fury
Misty trudged along the trail, almost blindly in the dark, but instead of heading towards civilization she seemed to be getting closer to the heart of the forest. The stream of moonlight that had lit up part of the forest was now gone, and was replaced by the inky blackness of the night. Her only source of light were the flaming shrubs that were just mere points of light that were swirling and moving around - at least it seemed that way to Misty. The pain in her abdomen had worsened to the point that she didn't know if she was walking, lying down or if she was dreaming... and this was all a horrible nightmare that she would soon wake up from.
Despite all this, Misty wasn't worried in the least. The pain had numbed all sense of logic, and in its place was the insane urgency to find Haruka. She didn't know what she'd do once she found her, but it would've been a big problem if she hadn't been so injured.
Misty didn't know or care on why she was walking on this horrible road and going towards a lunatic who had killed twelve people. She felt that she just had to keep moving, because if she didn't, she would drop dead on the dank, forest floor. Well, maybe she was already dead and this was some sort of ungodly passage to hell.
If it was, she hoped she would get there soon so her torture would end.
Her newly found fear of the darkness was somewhat forgotten at the moment, but at times it would return when she lost sight of the lit shrubs, and she would remain in a state of perpetual nothingness. She wondered dully why the other hedges didn't catch on fire, even those that were close to the ignited plants, but put that thought aside.
Misty had to kneel on the hard, twig-littered floor as a huge wave of nausea passed over her, even worse than all the previous ones. Cold sweat slid down her clammy forehead as she clutched her dirt-crusted hands to her bloody stomach in a vain attempt to overcome the revolting feeling. It wasn't ending, and instead, the pain increased in such a way that she felt that she would pass out again.
Her muddy hands were getting soaked by her slimy crimson blood as she held her bleeding stomach, but it decreased some of the pain, so she pressed them even harder against her open wound. After a while, the repulsive urge to vomit went away and the familiar agonizing throb took its place.
Misty shakily tried to stand up once again, but she was feeling even weaker than before so she remained in the same fetal position. But with just sheer will, she was able to shakily stand up, though unfortunately, the nauseating feeling came back at full force.
Misty was too weak to overcome it this time and with a hack that shook her whole body, she retched on the ground. Whimpering softly, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and once again tried to stand up.
She swayed dangerously for a moment, before finding her balance and continued going forward. Even through her dim vision, she could tell that the flaming bushes were fewer in between and the moments of staying in a state of darkness were longer. She also found it strange that there were even less branches that scratched her bare arms, and therefore, she could advance forward without bumping into trees.
After what felt like an eternity, Misty couldn't see or feel absolutely anything. She was in some kind of clearing, but it wasn't a natural one since smoke hung more heavily on the air here than when she was near the burning plants. Tripping over a charred trunk confirmed her suspicions, even when she landed roughly on the ground.
Haruka was close and slapping herself mentally, she realized what a fool she had been. This realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and her foggy mind suddenly cleared. Trying to breathe though the thick smoke, Misty hauled herself off the floor and started heading back the way she had come.
"Going somewhere, Kasumi?"
The whole place suddenly was surrounded by towering wall of fire that encompassed Misty in a fiery circle; it was trapping her and not letting her escape from the inferno.
Despite the smothering heat that threatened to engulf her, she felt as if someone had dropped a bucket full of icy water on top of her head. Misty had always considered herself brave, but when she saw herself amidst the scorching fire and the black suffocating smoke, she just wanted to fall to the floor and cry for mercy.
The smoke dissipated momentarily, and in its place was Haruka who was grinning maniacally and staring at Misty with her hateful red eyes. With a simple flick of her hand, the smoke dispersed and Misty could clearly see Haruka's ecstatic face, and alongside her was her faithful Torchic, who was staring at Misty pitifully. Once she saw her, Misty's knees gave out and she stared hopelessly at the ash-covered floor.
Misty felt a hand grab her chin forcefully and harshly lifting it up, only to be at eye level with Haruka's glowing eyes.
"Shall we play, Kasumi? I've wanted to have fun with you for a long while," Haruka said silkily, and Misty noted the predatory look in her eyes.
Before her world collapsed under her, Misty noticed how much Haruka resembled the devil himself, and regretted wanting the hell that she had so desired.
It all went so fast.
Brock saw the oncoming Fire Blast attack as though seeing it in a dream and didn't react properly until it had almost reached them. Pushing Togepi and Ash roughly from the bed, who was also in that panicked trance that he was in seconds before, they all crashed painfully to the floor.
The fire grazed part of his shirt, but he ignored it for a moment as he desperately kept his and Ash's head low, noting absently that they were both crushing a Slowpoke under their combined body weight.
The arduous moments of waiting fearfully seemed eternal to both Brock and Ash. When it was over, they both tried to breathe somewhat properly as the Fire Blast attack finally died down - but only black smoke filled their lungs instead of precious air. The top bed bunks were still blazing, and Brock was relieved for a split second that they were able to get away safely from it, until he realized he was burning.
Remembering all the safety lessons he used to give to his brothers and sisters about fire emergencies, he started rolling on the floor frantically to extinguish the flames. Trying not to cry out in pain as he did so, the fire finally died down, but what was left of his green vest was only a charred cloth.
Eyes watering because of the smoke, he could barely see Ash's silhouette going towards the other side of the room. He wanted to tell him not to move, but as he tried to speak, he inhaled deeply on the choking smoke and started coughing in a vain attempt to clear his lungs.
He soon lost Ash amongst all the black obscuring smoke and tried to go after him, but a soft whimper caught his attention. Togepi was trembling violently, and clutching the Tentacruel doll as if it were his lifeline. Concerned about the welfare of Togepi, Brock scooped the egg Pokemon in his strong arms. Togepi began squirming frantically in his grasp, so Brock began to search for his backpack that had been alongside the bed before all of this had happened. He hissed in agony when his hands touched the scorching floor, but luckily, he was able to grab his backpack.
Trying to handle Togepi as gently as he could, and ignoring how painful his hands felt, he managed to put the little egg into the safe confines of his bag. Togepi began shrilling loudly at how dark the inside of the bag was, but this time, Brock purposefully disregarded him. The dazed Slowpoke that lay on the floor caught his attention instead and sighing in relief when he felt a pulse, he also placed it next to Togepi in the safe interior of his bag.
Crawling across the burning floor, Brock narrowed his eyes and desperately tried to go to the other side of the room. He could hear the Charizard's triumphant cries even among all the roaring fire that consumed the room. Freezing for a second in fear when Brock heard those ecstatic roars, he hoped that everybody in the other side of the room was safe.
Two people's outlines were soon faintly visible and Brock, covered in sweat, hurried to get there. He began coughing even more roughly in horror once he saw the condition of the other two inhabitants of the room.
Ash, half-slumped against the bottom bunk, had a very glazed yet determined look in his eyes as he tried to carry an unconscious person on his back. The weight was too much for his small body to bear, but his strong will urged him to try. The guy that was on Ash's back had a bright, red burn on his left cheek, and part of his brown hair was scorched. Various bruises and blood stains covered his body, and an oddly-angled shoulder revealed that he had broken it.
Brock, despite his own battered state, shakily stood up to go help his youngest friend and the injured person he had seen briefly before the Charizard attacked. Ash, once he saw his friend coming, smiled weakly and attempted to stand up, but his knees buckled under all the weight.
"Will you give me a hand, Brocko?" Ash wheezed, but tried to cover his fatigue by grinning.
Brock didn't respond, but merely took hold of the man and tried to ease Ash of some of his burden. He grunted, but didn't complain about the heaviness, and walked slowly towards what he thought was the exit.
A cracking noise made his head turn around, and his eyes widened in surprise and alarm at the sight. The fire in the upper bunk had destroyed all the support that kept it at its place, and with a shuddering snap, all of it came crashing down in a ball of flame.
"Ash! WATCH OUT!" Brock cried out loud and lost all the oxygen in his lungs in doing so.
Ash, who was too preoccupied in getting his bag out of the bottom bunk, didn't notice the falling debris. Brock, momentarily forgetting about the injured young man on his back, who rolled carelessly off of him, ran over to Ash and shoved him out of the way. Ash landed roughly on the floor, and his glassy eyes grew in shock as the upper bunk collided with the bottom bunk and both smashed into a fiery pile of wood.
"NO!" Ash yelled hoarsely, and ran over to the flaming pile without hesitation.
"ASH! What are you doing?" Brock shouted in alarm when he saw Ash losing all common sense by still trying to get out his crushed backpack from the collapsed bed bunk.
Ash howled in agony when his hands touched the hot flames, yet he still continued to get his bag from out of the fire. Brock tried grabbing him by the arms but Ash resisted, and with surprising strength, pushed Brock roughly off him.
Snapping out of his momentarily surprise, Brock once again tried grabbing hold of both of Ash's arms and started pulling him away from the fiery havoc. Ash couldn't fight him off this time, yet he thrashed around in Brock's arms.
"Calm down, Ash! What's gotten into you?!" Brock screamed his voice even louder than the roaring fire that was slowly consuming the small room.
"LET GO OFF ME!" Ash bellowed, and he seemed to gain physical strength as he saw his backpack enveloped by the flames. "PIKACHU!"
Brock, stunned at these words, released Ash from his firm grip. Ash immediately went back again to rescue Pikachu, who was trapped in the backpack's suffocating interior.
The bag was trapped between two long planks of wood and was rapidly being ravished by the fire. Ash, completely oblivious at the great danger he was putting himself in, tried to wrench out the flaming backpack. He gritted his teeth, and didn't utter a word at the raw pain he felt - he suffered it all in silence.
Brock, growing weaker as the seconds passed and as more smoke replaced the oxygen in his lungs, couldn't help but slump in a dazed pile by the floor. Brock saw through bleary eyes the young man that he had been trying to help earlier, though he was in a worse state now that he had been moment ago. The young man's shoulder, which had been in a strange angle before, was now bleeding profusely by the bone that was sticking out of his skin. Brock tried to help him, but all his attempts failed because of his fatigued mind.
Ash, unaware of the state of his other two companions, was able to get out the half-wrecked backpack with his two burnt hands. He rapidly tore the ruined remains off of Pikachu's immobile body and wasn't mentally prepared for the sight in front of him.
Pikachu's yellow fur had been completely devoured by the fire, and underneath it was a blackened skin that was covered in gleaming red spots. His normally bright, black eyes were closed shut - which Ash frantically tried to pry open with trembling hands.
"Pi-pikachu?" Ash stuttered, while weakly shaking his unresponsive Pokemon.
Brock could see, even though his eyes were glazed over by the smoke, the pain that was becoming more apparent in Ash's eyes. Brock himself was very worried about Pikachu's condition and wanted to go over and check how he was, but just as soon as that thought passed over his head, his limbs froze in motion.
The fire finally grazed his petrified body, and even then he couldn't open his mouth to scream.
Ash, only preoccupied about Pikachu, never saw the panic in Brock's eyes.
"Hey, Stevens! Dinner's here!"
Mark immediately opened his eyes when he heard the voice cutting the silence that he was used to. He had been sleeping peacefully because his constant nightmares had finally decided to give him some rest, instead of tormenting him relentlessly. He dreamt of nothing, of course, yet that didn't matter because he had been suspended in an eternal, blank state of bliss.
Until now, that is...he thought to himself with annoyance, and tried to turn over to the other side of the lumpy mattress.
...Lumpy?
The rush of memories of hours before overwhelmed his mind.
It hadn't been some past dream... A girl with red hair had come here...had tried to convince him that he was innocent...had actually entered his cell and comforted him...
Had almost made him believe that he was worth something...
Misty.
"Meowth got your tongue again, Stevens? God, I wish they'd pay me more for this..." the policeman grumbled - as all of them did; always complaining that he never said anything.
That didn't matter to Mark. He was remembering the Pokeball that was under his filthy mattress - a Goldeen was inside it. Misty gave it to him... It represented the most important thing in Mark's empty, wretched life...
Her promise.
"MISTY!" he screamed with all the pent-up desire that had been inside his soul. He sobbed into his grimy mattress, not from grief - but from the glorious happiness that had overcome him. She was coming back... She wasn't a dream... She was real...
...Misty was - to him, she was...
"Who the hell is this 'Misty'? You scared the shit out of me, Stevens!" the policeman reprimanded him, and finally steered the cart with his dinner inside the small, padded room. "Say... this 'Misty' person isn't another culprit of yours, right? Finally cracked under all the stress, Stevens?" he grinned, even though Mark couldn't see well under the dim light.
You're not worthy of saying her name, you bastard...
"Hmm, Misty... Hey, did this girl help you kill all those people? Better speak up, Stevens; this can help you get out of this fuck hole of yours," he scowled, gazing at Mark's room with disgust.
"Don't say her name..." Mark whispered threateningly to him - the first time he spoke directly to any of the policemen.
"Eh? Why the hell not? Was this Misty girl some kind of bitch of yours? Well, that sure explai -"
"SHUT UP!" Mark bellowed with a murderous glint in his eyes. Both of them glared at each other in silence, neither of them wanting to move.
After some tense seconds, the policeman was the first one to speak up. "Fine. Have it your way, Mark," the cop said, pronouncing his first name with distaste. He picked up a hot plate full of onion soup that was on the cart and spilled it all over Mark's mattress. "Just one final piece of advice," he muttered harshly, while Mark stared at the large green spot on his mattress that used to be his dinner. He never expected the next words that came out of the police cop's mouth.
"Don't cling onto false hopes, Stevens."
"So you don't want to play? That's a real shame..." Haruka grinned maniacally while she approached Misty's battered body. "But don't you worry, Kasumi! I know of some really fun games the two of us can play!" she laughed maliciously, enjoying the frightened look in Misty's eyes.
Misty was breathing heavily from the lack of air and her numerous wounds. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this situation and her horror made it difficult to think clearly. She had no idea what this demon had against her - was it because Haruka knew that Misty watched her burn that whole field?
Misty dropped to the ash-covered floor in exhaustion, her wasted body unable to run away from the onslaught of pain that was soon to come.
"Aww, you poor, little thing... Are you too tired to play? Don't feel bad - I'll fix that up for you!" she chuckled, while coming even closer to Misty, her loyal Torchic by her side.
Misty closed her eyes tightly and tried to struggle when Haruka lifted her up by the collar of her ripped yellow shirt. She opened them abruptly when she felt Haruka's bright, red eyes boring into her own.
"I can't believe you were so easily led to your death, Kasumi," Haruka said softly, her fake playfulness long gone from her voice. "And you're already beaten up -" she said this while inspecting Misty's face with her gloved hands, "- You proved to be a bigger disappointment than I thought."
Haruka released her hold on Misty, making her crash painfully onto the hard floor. Haruka had a wild look in her eyes as she circled around Misty's paralyzed body.
"You know...this could end in a very fast manner, but..." and she smiled sweetly at Misty, "...this isn't your lucky day, Kasumi. Unfortunately for you -" Misty wasn't prepared when she felt Haruka's hand around her neck. "- I'm in a very bad mood today. Well, actually...I wanted to get my revenge on you for a while, so..." Haruka tightened her hold on Misty's neck, who thrashed vainly in her grasp, "...you'll understand my actions. I mean, if someone ruined your life, you'd do the same thing, right Kasumi?"
Even though she was dazed, Misty opened her mouth. "I...never...did...anything...to...you...!" she managed to gasp out, though she regretted it immediately.
Haruka's triumphant grin dropped off her face, and instead, a scowl marred her features. "Trying to be funny, Kasumi? Or maybe perhaps you had some memory lapse? Or perhaps..." and she squeezed Misty's neck even harder in delight, "...the lack of air is making you a bit stupid? Well, more than normal anyway," Haruka said, while Misty writhed weakly.
Misty's world soon grew darker, no matter how much she tried to fight the darkness. She wanted to cry from the panic that was overwhelming her other senses; her brain was shutting down from the agony of it all. And then it slowly began to subside as she felt herself becoming oddly light...
Until she smashed back down to Earth.
"Did you actually think I was going to kill you in such a painless manner? Don't be so naïve, Kasumi," Haruka said nastily, while she softly stroked Misty's battered body. "You thought that I wasn't going to use my dear fire here? What's the use of controlling fire to its full capacity if you don't even kill your enemies with it?"
Her hands suddenly became enveloped with flaming fire, and she stared at her palms with open admiration. "Isn't it beautiful?" Haruka purred, while hugging her hands close to her chest; Torchic chirping happily next to her. "Its warm heat, its uncontrollable power, the way it moves like it has a life of its own... All of it has a magnificent charm I could never ignore. Humanity's biggest treasure - without it, humans would've perished long ago. And yet, they discredit fire as some worthless bug, the bastards."
Haruka snarled and with surprising speed, her blazing fist came into contact with Misty's tender head. She crashed backwards into the ground, and with a muffled crack, she felt her broken ribs shatter inside her chest. Misty's eyesight swam with a million blinding stars, and she felt a small trail of blood sliding down her mouth. Despite this, she tried get up - a rush of pure determination suddenly flowing through her veins. With wobbly legs she walked slowly towards her aggressor - who was watching her with amused eyes. Breathing deeply, Misty raised a shaking fist and tried to direct it towards Haruka with her remaining strength. She laughed, and blocked Misty's blow with a single finger. Haruka, in turn, kicked Misty directly on her gut, and with cold sweat sliding down her forehead, she retched blood all over the ashen floor.
"Perhaps because fire has caused them so much grief, and I was no exception," Haruka continued, ignoring Misty's broken body on the floor. Misty didn't know if it was because of her delusional state of mind, but she thought that Haruka's red eyes dimmed for a second.
"But that was when I didn't know its full energy..." and without any other notice, Misty felt a tremendous impact on her head that made her battered body to roll several feet closer to the burning flames. "The way it can expand, the way it can burn until only ashes remain..." Haruka said pronouncing each word with pleasure, and she cupped Misty's cheeks with her burning hands. Misty shrieked in agony and tried to get away from the endless pain that smothered her face. Haruka gripped her harder until her nails dug painfully into Misty's cheeks, while a streaming river of blood ran down her face. "Getting killed by fire is the most painful way to die, Kasumi," Haruka ignored Misty's agonizing screams and continued, "And fortunately, you're the next lucky person to know just how painful it is..."
Misty's vision burned a bright orange as she felt herself fuse with the burning fire in Haruka's hands. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, long after her pleading had ended in a silent gasp. She heard a soft whisper that even surpassed the roaring fire that filled her ears.
"Good luck in hell, Kasumi."
The fire wasn't important.
Ash hardly took notice of it as he watched on helplessly as Pikachu - his best friend, didn't move even when Ash started crying into his burnt skin. He didn't feel anything that was happening around him - the fire, the Charizard, his friends - everything disappeared from his numb mind.
Ash could only feel Pikachu's nonexistent heartbeat.
"Please wake up, Pikachu..." Ash sobbed, and shook Pikachu's body even more forcefully.
Pikachu didn't move.
Still holding Pikachu closely to his chest, Ash slumped to the floor. He felt a cry of despair building up inside him - he wanted to scream in anguish, but a part of him was denying fiercely of what he was seeing.
Pikachu can't be dead...he just can't be...
But just look, another voice inside his head exclaimed. Pikachu's dead and you know it.
"NO, HE ISN'T!" he screamed out loud, and when no one responded to this, Ash felt himself losing it.
With tears covering his face, he dropped both his hands in defeat. It took many long seconds to figure out that one of his hands had landed next to his abandoned Pokeballs that he had thrown out in his haste to get Pikachu out of his ruined backpack. It took an even longer time to remember that he had a certain Pokemon that could get them out of the dangerous situation they were in. In an emotionless state of mind, Ash felt himself grabbing onto the smooth surface of the Totodile's Pokeball and throwing it up to the air.
Totodile came out in a flash and was starting to dance in glee until he saw the fire that was enveloping the room. He opened his jaw to let out a stream of water and waited for Ash's orders to extinguish the flames. It never came, since Ash was still staring at Pikachu with an indescribable expression on his smudged face.
Totodile, startled at the sight of his burnt friend and determined to save them all from further catastrophe, finally began shooting water from his jaws. Mist was soon replacing the suffocating smoke inside the room, and the temperature dropped down abruptly as the flames died down under the spray of water.
Brock gasped out loud when he felt the cool water on his skin, and came out of the dizzying trance that he had been in. Ash saw Brock immediately going towards Raul and checking how he was. He shook his damp head sadly, mostly to himself, and turned his squinty eyes towards Ash. He almost screamed when he saw Pikachu's broken body once more.
"Ash, is Pikachu alright?" Brock whispered.
Ash didn't respond, but scrunched his face and buried his face under Pikachu's neck. He didn't care that his sobs were echoing all around the small room; he was only aware of the deep feeling of loss that was invading his heart. Ash's sobs still continued even when Brocks strong hand squeezed his shoulder, he didn't want Brock's pity - he only wanted to be left alone.
Ash felt Brock leaving his side; with a sigh of relief, he hugged Pikachu even closer to himself.
His face obscured by Pikachu's skin, he could only hear Brock's grunts and a soft thud followed by a cry of frustration. Ash lifted his head.
"Can't - lift - this - guy!" Brock hollered, pulling on Raul's limp arm.
"You did it last time, why can't you do it now?" Ash replied hollowly.
Brock just stared at Ash oddly, but didn't say anything. He placed Raul's arm carefully around his neck and with a groan, heaved his body onto his back.
"All set now. Let's leave before the Charizard comes back," Brock said in a strained voice.
Ash merely nodded quietly as the only indication that he heard and agreed with Brock. Still holding Pikachu, he scooped up all his Pokeballs on the floor but couldn't pick up the rest of his possessions. His body moved forward while his brain was slowly detaching itself from reality itself.
"I don't think that the Charizard can see us through all this smoke. Anyway, I think it left already, so that's one less thing to worry about," said Brock relieved, once he was sure that it wasn't anywhere nearby.
Ash remained quiet, and Brock didn't say anything else when he heard no reply from his friend. They both reached the entrance to their room, and when they didn't hear anything menacing, they left the room entirely.
Ash immediately knew that things were seriously wrong; the whole ruined corridor was eerily quiet. Brock was looking at their surroundings with an apprehensive expression on his sweaty face, and every so often glancing at Pikachu. Ash held Pikachu even more protectively to his body, and trying, but failing dismally, to stop Totodile from dancing excitedly. Brock stopped all of a sudden, and carefully lowered Raul to the concrete floor.
"Things aren't looking too good, Ash. I think it'll be best if we try to help this guy; I can't carry him any longer," said Brock, while rummaging around his bag.
Togepi popped out of the bag, looking much happier that he had been earlier. He was still clutching the worn-looking Tentacruel doll, but he now wore a strangely smug expression on his cute face. He chirped joyfully in his usual manner, while Brock tried to push him down gently to find the items he needed. He lifted Tao up instead.
"How did this Slowpoke come to our room anyway?" Brock said curiously.
"His name's Tao; he's Raul's Slowpoke," said Ash uninterestingly, indicating a bruised Raul with his hand.
Brock stared at Raul for a moment before continuing to look through his backpack, while placing Tao back into his bag. He emerged from inside the bag beaming jubilantly at Ash, holding a bottle, a towel and a white box.
"Thought we were out of rubbing alcohol back in Mahogany and I didn't think there were any band-aids left," said Brock conversationally, while applying a bit of alcohol to the towel. He scooted closer to Raul and gently rubbed his wounds with the towel, then pressed a sticky band-aid to each one of them. He stared at Raul's shoulder with a grim determination in his squinty eyes.
"That shoulder looks nasty... Let's have a look at it," Brock muttered to himself.
He poked the pointed bone gingerly with his finger, and then tried to place the bone back in with difficulty. Ignoring Raul's whimpers (though he was still unconscious), Brock managed to place the bone in what hopefully was its rightful place. Brock delved into his backpack again, though his grin faded slightly when he faced Ash again.
"Can't find anymore cloths to keep the bone in place," Brock sighed. "Oh well..." Brock mumbled and took his torn orange t-shirt off.
Ash remained silent through all this and couldn't find the energy to help Brock in any way. Brock, meanwhile had strapped the cloth around Raul's broken shoulder and across his arm, while maintaining a firm grip on him. Raul looked much better than before, though a good part of his hair had been burnt and there was a red burn in his right cheek. He also hadn't come back to consciousness.
"Maybe this'll wake him up," said Brock, pressing the damp towel to Raul's nose.
Raul slowly opened his eyes and didn't seem to react until a few seconds passed. When he did, his eyes seemed to bulge out from their sockets and he immediately tried to stand up - the pain in his shoulder made him think twice on that.
"The Charizard - where's the Charizard?!" Raul said frantically, while moving his head from side to side.
"I think it's gone now..." Brock said in a reassuring voice, though he also checked his surroundings nervously.
Raul turned his head so fast he appeared to crick his neck; he stared at Brock sharply. "You're Brock, right?" said Raul crisply, as though he had never seen him before.
"Uh, yeah...that would be me..." said Brock uncertainly, looking as if he had forgotten who he was for a moment.
Raul nodded curtly, and faced Ash without saying anything else to Brock, who looked a bit taken-aback. "Ash, I think we should -" and stopped abruptly when his eyes strayed away from Ash's cold face to Pikachu's inert form.
"What the hell happened to your Pikachu?!" Raul yelled, and pushed a suddenly responsive Ash aside to check Pikachu carefully. "The little thing's still breathing but I don't know for how long," Raul said tersely, while opening Brock's bag without permission.
"Nothing's wrong with Pikachu," said Ash firmly, though his voice wavered.
"Whatever you say," Raul replied dismissively, and took out a jar in a side pocket from Brock's bag, who was watching him intently with one beady eye.
"There's some smashed Burnt Berries here; it'll help your Pikachu," said Raul, spreading the reddish goop on Pikachu's black skin.
Ash hadn't reacted properly until now, but the full meaning of Raul's words finally sunk in.
Pikachu was alive...
He was still hurt, but he could, no, get better - Ash could do something to help him; he had a chance to make Pikachu recover instead of sitting helplessly with his dead body in his arms. He wasn't useless, he could do something now...
Pikachu depended on him.
"What're we waiting for then? Pikachu needs help!" Ash shouted, back to his usual self in a blink of an eye, while returning Totodile back to his Pokeball. Attaching each of his Pokeballs to his belt, he sprinted without hesitation to the other end of the wrecked, silent corridor.
"Ash - ASH! Don't be so stupid and come back here!" Raul yelled, while clenching his teeth and grabbing his shoulder as he stood up.
"Nurse Joy will look after Pikachu, don't worry!" Ash's voice echoed around, even after they couldn't see him any longer. There was a deafening silence between Brock and Raul as they realized the implications of Ash's statement.
"The idiot... the goddamn fucking idiot! He's going to be killed down there!" Raul yelled, while beginning to run after him: Brock hot on his heels.
"What happened to this place?" Brock panted, while staring everywhere with shocked eyes.
"Team Rocket," Raul answered simply, as they both turned around a particularly dark corner.
"Team Rocket? Jesse, James, and Meowth wouldn't be capable of doing something like this," Brock whispered in a choked voice as he stared, horrified, at a bloody Chikorita whose purple intestines were wrapped around its neck.
"I have no idea who those guys are, but I sure as heck know that there are more than three people behind all this," Raul murmured back, who was fixedly looking straight ahead.
They finally reached the main lobby though they stopped, completely appalled, at what greeted their eyes.
A mass of dead bodies lay sprawled all around the red, marble floor, and amidst their blood-splattered corpses, dozens of Pokemon, amongst them that Charizard, were slashing ruthlessly at their gory remains. Soon it was apparent that it wasn't a mindless action; once one of them found a stray Pokeball on one of the trainers, they would open it to see what Pokemon was in it. What they considered to be weak, they would slay mercilessly with their claws and those they considered to be relatively strong, they would return back to their Pokeballs unharmed. Team Rocket members were staring pitilessly at the massacre and would stuff all the Pokeballs in a bag over their shoulders that were approved by their own Pokemon.
Hiding quickly behind a wall because an Umbreon was sniffing suspiciously in their direction, both Brock and Raul stared at each other horror-struck. Trembling slightly from the sight, they both contemplated quickly of their current situation in silence.
"What do we do now?" Brock spoke up, once he found his voice.
"We should..." Raul strayed off, lost for words, and ran his fingers through the remaining part of his brown, tussled hair. "We get Ash back," he said finally and straightened his faded yellow shirt, making it bunch around his scrawny shoulders.
Brock didn't say anything but began unhooking each of his Pokeballs from his belt. Stopping only when he felt Raul's pale, inquisitive eyes on him, he turned around to face him. "I'll use Onix to distract them; you try to find Ash," Brock stated decisively and enlarged the Pokeball that contained Onix.
Raul nodded and also unfastened his two Pokeballs, but unlike Brock, opened them immediately. Eliza came out panting slightly and her eyes were even more unfocused than usual, while Tao's Pokeball rolled unopened on the floor.
"Tao..? Where's Tao?" Raul whispered worriedly, unnecessarily shaking Tao's Pokeball.
"Er...Tao?" Brock asked.
"My Slowpoke!" Raul screeched frantically, with a definite edge of panic in his voice.
Raul was violently opening Tao's Pokeball by banging it against the wall, when Brock remembered.
"Oh, I think you must be this Slowpoke's trainer then!" Brock said merrily, while pulling Tao gently from out of his bag. No sooner had he said this that Tao was taken away forcefully from his grasp.
"Tao, I'm so glad you're ok!" Raul cried out in a high-pitched voice, while fiercely hugging Tao, who was gaping blankly at the wall. After much cuddling, Raul emerged from this happy display of affection with a suspicious glare at Brock.
"Why was Tao inside your bag?" Raul growled menacingly, while tightening his grip on Tao.
"I found him injured in the fire," Brock said rapidly, while backing away a little from Raul.
Raul glowered at Brock for a few tense seconds until he visibly relaxed and turned away from him; Brock sighed in relief.
"Well, then... We better get in there," Raul said briskly, indicating Brock with his hand.
"Yeah, let's go," Brock said at once, and just when he was about to release Onix, Raul stuck out his undamaged hand.
Rolling his eyes at Brock's questioning gaze, he firmly shook Brock's hand. Releasing it just as rapidly, he stood up and dusted himself off, and with Raul's pointed stare, Brock did too.
With simultaneous nods to each other, Brock threw Onix's Pokeball to the floor; it opened with a bright flash of red light and Onix's humongous form appeared with a mighty roar. Team Rocket's Pokemon turned their heads rapidly and began to run towards Onix with howls of savage battle lust.
With a parting wave of his hand to Raul, Brock entered the slaughter.
Raul soon followed Brock, but lost sight of him when a swarm of high level Pokemon covered Onix from sight. He didn't help either of them because of only one goal in his mind - to find Ash.
Though Eliza was injured with her battle with Golem, she still had sufficient power to clear the way for Raul and Tao, who was nestled in his arms. The Umbreon that had been sniffing them earlier was the biggest problem Eliza had right now, as sweat poured down her pink brow as she tried to maintain a psychic barrier around them. A Blastoise tried to bring the barrier down with a strong jet of water, but it rebounded back at it; the Blastoise entered its shell just in time, as the force of the water collided with it. An Espeon was trying to rip the telepathic wall down with its own psychic energy - it would've succeeded if it hadn't been for the Blastoise who at that precise moment crashed into it, sending it toppling over to an indignant Venusaur.
"Tao - where's Ash?" Raul asked hurriedly, as they both tried to keep up with Eliza.
Tao didn't respond for several seconds, instead staring with its mouth open at the battle happening all around them. His eyes suddenly changed into a striking, glowing blue, and when the images flashed into his mind, Raul's eyes turned the same shade of blue.
He saw Ash protecting an even more injured Pikachu with his own body as a Bayleef, a Totodile, and a Cyndaquil battled for him. The Bayleef was whipping any approaching Pokemon with her vines, while Totodile was spraying furiously at the Charizard who tried to kill them earlier. Noctowl was pecking any nearby Pokemon, though his strategies weren't working too well. Cyndaquil was flaming any Team Rocket member, but surprisingly to no avail, as the flames ricocheted from their shiny suits.
"Eliza - corridor to the right!" Raul ordered rapidly, knowing that Ash was near the Emergency Room.
Eliza fired another psychic blast to a snarling Tyranitar in response. Covering them with another telepathic barrier, they all both turned right to another destroyed corridor and at the end of it - Ash.
The Umbreon saw them advance even further and gathering all its dark energy in its malevolent red eyes, it fired a tremendous black beam from its mouth. The telepathic wall shattered into a million particles of purple light and struck Eliza directly to her head. With a soft moan, Eliza slumped to the floor.
"ELIZA!" Raul roared along with a howl from Tao, and scooped her up into his arms.
The Umbreon cried out in triumph and tried to bite Eliza, but Raul's infuriated swipe stopped it for a mere second; it smiled spitefully at them and was about to attack again when most of Team Rocket's Pokemon spotted them defenseless.
Raul saw raw hunger in all their hateful eyes and, returning Tao and Eliza back into their Pokeballs, he prepared himself for death.
He was so close...
Running recklessly into the massacre without preparing himself for it gave numerous wounds to all of his Pokemon. They were all battling as hard as they could but Ash saw that their fatigue was soon winning over. It was his entire fault...
A Flareon had given Pikachu even more wounds as they all ran for their lives to the Emergency Room. Ash was now protecting him with his back, and cringed in pain when a Raticate clawed him ruthlessly.
The Emergency Room was just behind him... If only he could reach it...
Cyndaquil was the first one to fall, his quills finally extinguished from sheer exhaustion and Ash returned his body quickly into the relatively safe confines of his Pokeball; he thanked him through the Pokeball's red surface. Noctowl was defeated by a nasty Thunder Bolt from a Jolteon that burned some of his feathers, and Ash returned him with a pained heart. Bayleef´s vines were soon falling limply by her sides and before anything worse happened to her, Ash returned her too. Totodile alternately sprayed from the Charizard to the rest of the fierce Pokemon who, spotting an opening, were circling around Ash and Totodile.
Without any other notice, Ash returned a surprised Totodile back into his Pokeball.
Before the ferocious Pokemon blocked his sight, Ash managed to catch a glimpse of Raul who was vainly blocking his face with his bloodied hands. He saw no more as the bloodthirsty Pokemon turned their attention towards him.
Ash hugged Pikachu even closer to himself and prepared himself for the pain to come.
"Stop."
Ash raised his head.
All the forthcoming Pokemon quickly retreated away obediently from him as a blue-haired woman and a blond man stepped forward. The woman was peering interestedly at him behind her black goggles, as the man smirked in a victorious manner. The rest of Team Rocket's members stood beside those two, holding their Pokeballs in their hands threateningly. The woman, who Ash assumed was one of the leaders, turned her back on him and addressed the group before her.
"All our work has not been in vain, for this boy..." and she pointed towards Ash, "...has the strong Pokemon the boss has asked us to retrieve."
All of them smiled greedily in unison, and raised their Pokeballs a little bit higher, but still remained in their places.
The man stepped forward and his smirk was even more pronounced when he spoke. "You better hand it over, kid, or they'll attack -" he said, while displaying all of the Pokemon with a flick of his hand. "- with just one snap from my fingers..." he said harshly, and raised his hand with his index finger and thumb pressed together. "So what's it going to be?"
"You'll never get Pikachu!" Ash yelled, and tried to hide Pikachu under his jacket.
"Pikachu? We aren't playing, brat; you better give us that strong Pokemon the boss wants or else," the woman hissed, and some Pokemon growled.
"Wha - you'll never get any of my Pokemon!" Ash said with a small bit of surprise in his voice; he faintly remembered hearing the man and woman from somewhere before.
"Oh, we'll see about that," the woman cackled, and some of the members snickered along with her.
All of them were charging for him when Ash, in a desperate and foolish move, threw Totodile's Pokeball towards them. Totodile began to dance happily for barely a second, when uproarious laughter stopped him from doing anything else.
"You think that pathetic Pokemon will stop us?" the man sniggered, and outright chortled when a Jolteon lightly kicked Totodile, making him land on his tail.
"TOTODILE, WATER GUN!" Ash shouted and didn't think about his command until he saw the results of it. The attack reached the blond man, but when the jet of water died down, he stood there completely dry.
"Such an idiot, little boy... All these suits are fireproof and waterproof - did you actually think Team Rocket would wear simple clothing, you silly child?" the woman chuckled.
Ash returned Totodile immediately and was berating himself for the stupidity of his action. He thought he saw a big, yellow Pokemon moving restlessly in its place as the rest all advanced forward.
"Enough games," the man whispered.
He snapped his fingers.
The agitated Pokemon, an Electabuzz, gave a battle cry and crackling with unspent electricity, punched one of the Rocket members. A freckly man fell forward from the force of it, as the rest of his companions watched dumbfounded. The backpack that was on his back began to sizzle and smoke, and without any other warning, it exploded in a ball of fire.
The explosion sent the people that were near him crashing into a nearby wall, which collapsed from the force of it. A part of the ceiling began to crack and rumble, and soon chunks of falling debris were dropping all over them and crushing several unwary people under it. Some were suffocating from the smoke as they were trapped in a wooden beam that had fallen from the ceiling and caught fire. Those that were unharmed were trying to bring down the crazed Electabuzz who was continuing to punch any person in the back, and caused even more explosions that sent people flying.
Ash, who was forgotten in the chaos, was coughing roughly from dust that was covering his line of vision, but otherwise remained unharmed since the ceiling over him remained intact, though cracks were soon appearing on its smooth surface. He was holding Pikachu even more protectively to his chest, when he heard it.
"Pi...ka..."
His eyes flew open, and he could see through the smoke and dirt an outline of a woman, but his attention soon focused on his dear friend. He touched his forehead fondly with slightly burnt fingers and quietly urged him to open his eyes. Pikachu squirmed for what seemed like an eternity to Ash, and when he did, the first true smile since the massacre started spread across his blotched face.
"Pikachu?" he asked softly.
"Pi...ka...pi..."
And his cheeks started to spark.
A single crackle of electricity reached the woman; the woman screamed and with fast reflexes, she took the smoking bag off her shoulders and threw it towards Ash. He ran for it, and the force of the humongous explosion made him fly several feet up in the air before landing agonizingly over a stray piece of rubble.
He barely heard a scream of "RETREAT!" as he felt himself black out.
"Ash!"
He felt a strong pair of hands hauling him to his feet, and with blurry eyes, he tried to see who it was. He thought it was someone familiar but his brain and eyes weren't functioning properly; he tried to open his mouth instead, but his throat was so dry he could barely manage to croak feebly.
"It's ok, Ash. Just try to relax now, everything's fine," the voice said.
"Whossit?" Ash muttered incomprehensibly.
"Don't try to speak yet, just drink this," the voice, whose outline was becoming clearer, said.
Ash shut his mouth even more resolutely, though the strange object finally entered his mouth and a clear liquid went down his throat. He sputtered uncontrollably, and sat up straight as his eyesight finally came back to focus.
Brock stared at him with concern, and Ash noted with some worry that there were several deep gashes that were still bleeding all over his bare torso. Ash took out the water bottle away from his mouth, and threw it away. He then realized Pikachu wasn't with him anymore.
"Pi-pikachu?" Ash said frantically to Brock, while trying to look for him with his hands.
"He's alright," Brock smiled, as he presented a relatively healthy Pikachu.
"Pikachu..." Ash mumbled, as he tenderly hugged Pikachu. But then he remembered something else, and his eyes widened. "Where's Raul?"
"Right here," a voice replied behind him; Ash turned around behind him. Raul was staring at him with his serious grey eyes, but there was a small smile playing on his lips. His yellow shirt and Brock's orange shirt were wrapped around several bleeding wounds that were on both his arms and his shoulder. He was rubbing his face over and over again and when he felt Ash's questioning stare, he said, "With everything that happened here, I forgot about my jaw injury - nothing to distract me from that now," he said, and flinched from the pain when he finished speaking.
"And Team Rocket?" Ash asked angrily, and Pikachu patted his cheek.
"Gone. The fucking bastards escaped when they felt the whole place coming down," Raul spat, and regretted doing so, as he clenched his jaw.
"The Electabuzz - why did it attack Team Rocket? Wasn't it one of their Pokemon?" Ash asked, while narrowing his eyes to see in the darkness.
Brock actually chuckled at this, and when he recovered he said, "No, it actually wanted to help us because I got it out of the closet. Misty placed it there when she escaped because Haruka didn't..." Brock broke off as a completely terrified expression came over his face; Ash's face reflecting the same horror.
Misty.
Ash jumped to his feet and ignoring the alarmed yell from his friends, he was out the door.
"Misty, where are you?!" Ash screamed to the night air as he pounded the streets of Blackthorn.
He had asked several people, among them a rock-seller, if they had seen a red-haired girl with blue eyes but no one saw her. But he had heard secretive murmurs of a nearby fire going down at the distance, but Ash didn't care about it - he only wanted to find Misty. Ash had gotten desperate enough to go to the police department, and he was running all the way there. It was difficult getting there with all the injuries he received, which earned several curious stares in his direction.
He was relieved when he saw the police department at the distance, but just when he was about to run once more to get towards it, he smelled smoke. He noticed that he was near a forest, and there was a faint trail of smoke hanging over it. He was just about to head back to the police station but there was a nagging feeling at the back of his head to go inside the shrubbery. Ash tried to ignore it but when he was leaving the woods behind, the feeling increased. Saying an apology to Misty wherever she was, Ash entered the woods.
It was completely dark, though there was a prominent smell of smoke in the air. There was a trail of flaming bushes that ventured deeper into the woods, and without knowing why, Ash followed it. As the fiery bushes were growing scarcer, the lack of breathable air was growing thinner. Ash was crouching on the ash-littered floor, and didn't lift his head until he reached a humongous clearing.
The flames rose up to the canopy of trees though the leaves there didn't catch on fire. He couldn't see if anybody was trapped over there, and was just about to call if any people were still alive when he felt a pair of eyes gazing at him. He couldn't see them through the bright orange flames that were dancing in front of him, or through the thick shrubbery behind him, but he knew that they were watching him intently. Ash was startled to hear a blood-curling shriek emanating from the fire that rang through the heavy air for several long seconds, until it stopped abruptly as he saw something like a blazing silhouette of a person and a smaller figure dart through the trees. Ash tried to get a better look at it, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. When it left, the fire died down immediately leaving only a charred ruin behind where there once was living vegetation.
Ash walked cautiously towards it and instinctively took a hold of his Pokeballs. That burning figure that he had seen left him disturbed and fearful, but he moved towards the burnt clearing anyway.
He saw amongst the ashes of what used to be the place where glorious trees once stood, a severely wounded person, whose skin almost blended in perfectly with the remains.
"A-are you ok - miss?" Ash asked timidly, he could faintly see the person had a feminine figure in its severely disfigured, by the numerous wounds, form.
She didn't respond. Ash crawled fearfully, but determinedly towards her, and he could see the person was laying face-down on the ground. With trembling fingers, he took hold of the person's frail shoulders and turned her over.
"...Misty...?" Ash croaked, suddenly feeling a freezing numbness over him, as he felt everything crumbling all around him.
He cupped her charred face in his frantic hands and with a tortured spirit, he stared at her eyes - he wanted to see her life again.
Misty's dark, open eyes only reflected a single dying ember beside her.
Yes, I'm evil. Be very afraid. :)
I do hope you liked reading this since it was the most fun I had writing a chapter (though it took me quite a while). If I take a long time to take out a chapter it's not because I've abandoned it, or because I have writer's block, or because I don't spend too much time on the computer (quite the opposite, actually). There are two reasons; one is because I get distracted easily. I would have my writing program open, but then I'd check my favorite Internet pages, or watch anime and I wouldn't have the heart to write. The other is lack of writing confidence (which is slowly diminishing, thank goodness); especially after I read a great book or fanfiction. Sorry if this rant bothered you: I wanted a solid reason to explain (not excuse) why I don't update often. I promise this won't happen again.
A humongous thank you for all the great reviews - it was the main reason why I wrote half this chapter in only one day (I feel guilty now...).
Kaitlin Smith: Thank you. Thank you so very much. You were one of my most loyal readers and the guilt burned inside me most (since it took me such a long time to write this chapter out) as I read your wonderful reviews. I'm sorry, but I can't promise you that Misty won't die - many horrible things are yet to come. Oh, and poor Brock...how can you wish him to die? ;)
Lily Pichu: Of course I recognized you immediately as soon as I read your review! :) I'm ecstatic that you consider me one of your favorite authors - it's a great honor. I also hope that you have time to write me another review with constructive criticism (though I know fully well what I've done wrong - the first and third chapters still make me cringe).
cold katana girl: I'm sorry you feel that Misty is a hypocrite (though I'm not sure if you were referring to the Misty I'm writing or the one in the anime) even if I completely disagree. Also, I would appreciate if you don't bash the pairings I like since they don't apply to this story (except pokeshipping, which I won't add too much). Thank you for taking the time to read my fanfiction, though.
Clarissa: I really loved reading your review - it made my day! I'm so sorry that this chapter took such a long time to get out...
mystery: Yes, I know that the 5th chapter is violent... Um, did you like it...?