"Buried feelings" Part 2
written by: The Lilty Warrior
Ash splashed cold water onto his face. He felt like crap and his friends knew it. He got annoyed at himself. Why do I have to be sick? he thought to himself. I can't let this get me down! I have to get to the next city so I can get the next badge! Ash also didn't like being sick around Misty. Heck, he wanted to ask her out, not gross her out!
Ash quickly got that thought out of his head. He didn't want to blush and go back to camp with a red face. Even his Pokemon didn't know that he liked Misty. He kept it to himself. He stood up and brushed his black T-shirt off. There was pine needles on it from sleeping on the ground. He adjusted his Pokeball belt on his blue jeans and headed back to the camp.
Misty and Brock were having the rest of the soup. There was a bowl for him. Ash sat and grabbed his backpack. He took out some food for Pikachu and put some in a bowl for it. "Here ya go Pikachu," he said.
"Pika,"(Thanks,) Pikachu said eating, making satisfied "mmmm" noises between mouthfuls. "Pi Chu Kachu."(Wish I had ketchup.) Ash smiled.
"When we get to the town, I'll get a bottle for you," he said.
"Chaaa!" exclaimed Pikachu happily.
Ash ate his soup and nibbled on a biscuit. "How far is it to the town anyway?" he asked Brock.
Brock took out the map. "It's probably more than half a days walk. I'd say we'll get there around early evening. "
Misty finished her breakfast. "We should get moving then, it's almost 11."
The trio finished breakfast and cleaned up camp. After gathering their things, they headed off down the trail. The only sign that they were ever there was the flattened places where they slept, and the ashes from the fire.
The old mine was nothing special. It was about a hundred years old and hadn't been used in more than half that time. It smelled of death and decay, and the ancient support beams groaned with strain. Pebbles and stones fell from the ceiling, and dust permeated the stale air.
James sat near the shaft entrance up on the hill, hidden from view by trees and bushes. He was loading a tranquilizer gun and making sure all was in order. Jessie was sitting with him talking to Koffing and Ekans about the plan. Meowth was elsewhere, keeping watch.
"Now remember," Jessie was saying, "James will shoot the tranquilizer at Pikachu and when it goes down, Koffing, execute smokescreen, and Ekans, disorient them even more by doing tackle. During the confusion, Meowth and I will get away with Pikachu." She grinned evilly. What an ingenious plan!
James grinned as well. "Ooooh, this is gonna be good! The Boss will be very pleased with us! Maybe we'll even get a raise!" James's voice rose in pitch as he thought about how much money he would be wallowing in.
"Yeah," Jessie added dreamily.
"Quit dreaming you guys! They're just down the road!" Meowth said, breaking them out of their reverie. He clambered up the steep incline towards them. "C'mon! get into position!" James grumbled to himself then got into position 'sniper' style. Jessie and Meowth crouched, and Koffing and Ekans readied themselves for the attack.
Brock, Misty, and Ash walked down the path. Pikachu was perched on Ash's shoulder. Ash stopped wearily and leaned against a tree. He was pale, yet he was flushed. Brock knew at just a glance that Ash had a nasty fever. Gee, this is strange, He thought. Usually he and Misty are fighting every 5 minutes!
"Maybe we should stop for a rest," Misty said, glancing at Ash.
"Yeah," Brock added. They were in a clearing next to a steep hill. An old mining shaft was in the side of the hill, and there was old carts with rocks in them rusting next to the entrance.
Brock sat on top of a boulder and took out his map. Misty sat behind him and dug in her bag for a water bottle. Ash slumped on the ground leaning on the boulder, oddly silent. "Here Ash," Misty said, handing him some water. Ash drank gratefully. Misty also shared some with Brock and Pikachu.
After its drink, Pikachu jumped on to Brock's shoulder and looked at the map. Brock grinned and gave it an ear scratch. Pikachu leaned into Brock's hand happily and almost fell off his shoulder, its face in pure bliss. It was totally unaware that it was being watched.
"Got ya!", murmured James, aiming the tranquilizer gun. It was designed to shoot silently so Pikachu and the trainers wouldn't hear a thing.
"Are you gonna shoot or what?" whispered Jessie.
"Shhh!" hissed Meowth. "Get ready."
James aimed at the perfectly exposed Pikachu on the rock trainer's shoulder and fired. At the exact moment of firing, Pikachu hopped off the trainer, and the small dart embedded itself in the trainer's neck.
"Darn it! You got the rock trainer instead!" whispered Jessie vehemently.
"But it-!" James protested. He started waving his arms frantically, trying to explain, and Jessie hauled off and cuffed him in the back of the head.
"YEEOWCH!"
"Shut it you two!" Meowth interrupted. "Time for plan B now move it!"
The three stealthily moved off the hill, their Pokemon right behind.
Brock's head snapped up when he felt a sudden sting on his neck. He figured it was a bug bite and looked at the map again. Suddenly, his vision started to blur and he felt groggy. "What the-?" he slurred.
"Brock, what's wrong?" Misty asked, alarmed. Brock swayed, trying to speak, but all that came out was a groan. The map fell from his hands and he fell off the boulder to the ground face first.
"BROCK!" both Misty and Ash exclaimed in horror. They ran over to him and shook him, attempting to wake him. Pikachu was darting around nervously. It could sense that something wasn't right. "Ash, help me roll him over," Misty said. The two of them rolled the unconscious Brock onto his back. He didn't look sick, he looked like he was sleeping.
Misty bent down, her cheek almost touching his mouth. "He's still breathing," she said, relieved. " I think he's sleeping". Pikachu sat next to Brock's head. Its ear twitched as it noticed something on Brock's neck. "Pikapi, Pikachu chu?"(Ash, what's that?)
Ash looked where Pikachu was pointing. "Hey!" he said as he pulled a small object from Brock's neck. "Misty, what's this?"
Misty took it, and looked. "It looks like a tranquilizer dart," she said. "Why would someone shoot a tranquilizer dart at Brock?"
"I have a feeling that this dart wasn't meant for Brock," Ash said, looking around suspiciously. Pikachu made a gasp sound and seemed to shrink as it crouched down close to the ground. "Pi ka chu pi"(It was for me), it whispered frightened, ears flat on its head. Ash bent down and wrapped his arms around Pikachu protectively.
Misty had just arranged Brock in a more comfortable position with his green vest under his head, (she had Ash help her take it off him), when all of a sudden a choking dark cloud engulfed them. Ash grabbed Pikachu, coughing. He felt woozy enough all ready, he didn't need this!
"ASH!" he heard Misty cry out. Then he heard a thump as she hit the ground.
"MISTY!" Ash yelled, very angry at whoever would dare hurt her. He was suddenly kicked viciously in the groin, and he fell to the ground curled up and in a world of hurt. He had dropped Pikachu, and he heard it shriek as he saw a shadowy figure snatch it up in something. It didn't even have a chance to zap its assailant. Ash couldn't see, and he was gasping for breath.
Misty heard laugher as the smoke cleared. She saw Ash curled up a few feet away, holding himself in pain.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"Make it double!"
Misty groaned inwardly. I should've known it was Team Rocket!
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
Jessie and James were standing at the entrance of the mine triumphantly. Jessie was holding a rubber bag. In it struggled Pikachu. There was no sign of their Pokemon, or Meowth.
"Jessie!"
"James!"
Misty struggled to a standing position, holding her side. She had been shoved roughly onto the boulder and knocked to the ground. Ash had painfully gotten to his knees and was glaring at Team Rocket. He was trembling. Misty couldn't tell if it was pain or fury.
"Team Rocket's blasting off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
Jessie, and James looked at each other. "Now lets get out of here", they shouted. They turned tail and ran into the mineshaft. Ash got to his feet painfully. "We..have..to..follow..them!" he panted. He proceeded to limp hastily into the mineshaft.
"ASH! Wait up!" Misty yelled. She glanced at the sleeping Brock, grabbed her bag, and ran after Ash into the mineshaft.
Jessie and James ran down the damp dark mining shaft. Jessie grabbed a talk radio from her waist with her free hand, and turned it on. "Meowth, are the charges ready?" she yelled into it.
"Yeah, it's gonna be a blast!" Meowth's voice crackled over the speaker.
"Don't press the button until we're safely out, got it?" Jessie reminded Meowth nervously.
"Got it! Now hurry!" Meowth urged. The speaker went silent.
"Here James, carry the rodent," Jessie said handing James the squirming rubber bag. "We gotta get out of here so Meowth can blow the charges!"
Ash stumbled along the main shaft, trying to catch up to Team Rocket. Misty was right behind. He kept thinking about Pikachu. I have to save it! Pikachu's one of my best friends! He was starting to feel light headed and he was cold, the dampness was getting to him. He could see in the far distance, up the shaft, the two Pokemon thieves getting away. He pushed himself to go faster, trying to ignore the discomfort.
Outside of the rear shaft, Meowth sat waiting at a safe viewing distance with Koffing and Ekans. He held a small remote detonator that would set off the mild explosives at the front and rear shaft entrances so that they would seal. An outburst suddenly broke out behind him. Ekans and Koffing were getting into an argument about whose master was going to get a bigger raise, and which of them the Boss was going to spoil more.
"Will you guys quit it?" Meowth hissed at them. They were silent for about two seconds then they started bickering and tackling each other. Meowth got wacked from behind by Ekans's tail, and he fell forward onto the remote detonator. The button clicked. He didn't even have time to shout a warning. The charges blew, triggering an enormous landslide.
"C'mon James! We're almost there!" Jessie said. The exit was just ahead.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" James huffed. He suddenly tripped on a rock and he fell, the rubber bag slipped from his grasp. Pikachu burst out with a flurry of limbs and tail and was gone.
"CRAP!" Jessie screamed. At that moment, Hell broke loose.
Pikachu ran back down the shaft, looking for its master and friend. It was dark and hard to see. Not knowing were it was going, it took an alternate passage, just as Ash and Misty ran by. Pikachu saw a light and it headed toward it at a dead run. All of a sudden, an explosion shook the place. Debris started falling everywhere and the whole mine trembled. Pikachu dodged every which way and flew through the opening just as a huge boulder and landslide debris blocked the entrance. Pikachu had the sensation of heavy rocks falling on it, and it curled up in a ball, its body throbbing with dull pain, waiting to be crushed.
Ash and Misty was heading towards the exit after Team Rocket when explosions shook the mine. They fell to the ground because of the shock and they screamed as the ceiling caved in around them. Ash and Misty looked at each other for a horrifying second. Then at the last second, Ash leaped at Misty and grabbed her so that they wouldn't be separated.
To make things worse, the floor gave way, and they tumbled, having the brief sensation of falling. Then everything went black.
TBC...
