Against All Odds


Macy knew Miles all of her heart, more than Aisha, Marshall, Misha or Amy has ever known. She promised Meowth that she would help find Miracle. Right now, all of them were following Macy up to a very steep mountain. The mountain that Miles was taking Miracle. Brock was back at the house, taking care of Misha.

"All I know is, Miles has got Miracle. And he wants to get his revenge once and for all." Macy said.
"If he wanted revenge, why couldn't he have taken me?" Meowth asked.

"Miles likes to keep his plans into his own mind. I promised Miles that I would help him, but I had no idea it was the way he planned it. Kidnapping, abuse, or even murder." Macy said.

"... Moider?" Meowth asked nervously.
"Meowth, calm down. I'm sure he doesn't mean Miracle." Macy said.

Marshall looked at her confusingly.

"Just let me take care of this. I know secret escapes and passageways, so at least we can find Miracle faster." Marshall said.

"... I hope we can count on you, Marshall." Ash said.

"Miles' risks are always easy to take down. Trust me, it's a snap." he replied.
"Get real, Marshall. This is a mountain. Miles can't make traps up here." Macy said.
"That reminds me. If Miles was your brother, then how come he wants to kill you?" Misty asked.

"... My fadder. He tinks dat our fadder is not to blame for mine, Misha's, Macy's, Marshall's, and Miles', abuse." Meowth replied.

"... Is he really to blame?" Ash asked."Of course he is! He's da reason why I was abandoned! Dat jerk!" Meowth exclaimed.
"Shh. We're almost close to the cave. If Miles finds us, he'll kill us for sure." Macy said.
"But how can we sneak in there without getting caught?" Misty asked.
"... I don't know for sure." Macy said.

"I might," Meowth said. "I have a plan. Okay, here's what we're gonna do. Me, Macy, and Marshall are going in to get Miracle. Ash and Misty, you two are gonna go in da cave and see if you can find anything dat could explain Miles' anga. Jessie and James, you two are gonna go back to da house for help. Ya got it?"

"Got it." Ash said as he and the rest of them nodded their heads.
"... But, we're not gonna kill Miles, are we?" Macy asked.

Meowth wasn't sure about that. Miles did kidnap Miracle, and maybe tried to commit a murder. But Meowth really didn't want to kill his brother.

"I... I don't know."
"... Well, the best thing to do is find Miracle. Meowth, Macy, let's go." Marshall said.

As soon as Marshall said those words, they all took off to their positions. Meowth, Marshall, and Macy searched the cave with Ash and Misty. If they could find a passageway, Ash and Misty could find out why Miles would want revenge on Meowth. On the way, Macy showed which passageway Miles always takes. There were two tunnels that lead to every passage of what lies within the cave.

"Miles always goes this way." Macy said as she pointed to the left tunnel.
"What about the other one?" Misty asked.
"Miles forbids anybody to go in there. But if you can go in there, you're bound to find something." Macy replied.

Ash and Misty nodded and went to the right side of the tunnel together.

"Boy, they look good together. Are they boyfriend or girlfriend?" Macy asked Meowth.
"Not yet. Dey love each odder. Dey just wont admit it." Meowth replied.
"If you guys are gonna talk about romance in a time like this, just talk about it outside. But we've got to find Miracle." Marshall said.

Meowth, Macy and Marshall went inside the tunnel to look for Miles and Miracle. They're just hoping that Miracle is alive. But Macy forgot to tell them what might be next.

In the other tunnel, Ash and Misty still hadn't found anything yet. They wondered if the answers would be at the very end of the tunnel. But is seems the end is too far away.

"You see anything yet?" Ash asked Misty.
"No. Maybe this is just an ordinary-" Misty replied, but heard a crunching sound.
"What was that?" Ash asked.
" I don't know." Misty replied.

After another step, Misty heard the crunching sound again. It took the movement to realize that she was stepping on something. As she looked below, she saw a row of papers. Colorful papers. She bent down and took one of the papers. As she wiped away the dirt, Misty realized that it was a photo.

"... Ash. Look at this." Misty said.

Ash looked at the paper and studied it. It was Miles. He looked so young and adorable. But... he had a black eye and a bruised cheek.

"Do you think that is Miles?" Ash asked.
"Yeah. But why does he look so hurt?" Misty asked.
"I don't know. But I bet it has something to do with Meowth's father." Ash said as he picked up two more pictures and studied them.

"Ash... Miles was abused." Misty said.
"How can you tell?" Ash asked.

Misty pointed down to the ground. It was a bat. A baseball bat. On the bat... was blood. Someone had beaten Miles. Ash picked up the bat, and felt it's wooden splinters.

"... Meowth's father may have beaten Miles, but I know a human could have done this." Ash said.

He turned the baseball bat over. There was some bold initials written.

A.A.O

"Who's that?" Misty asked.
"I think it's..."

Misty waited for her friend's response as he tried to figure out the name.

"... Against All Odds..."
"Close enough, Ash Ketchum."

Ahead, was a teenager. He was tall, barefooted, and wore ordinary boy clothes. The only thing was...

... He made a striking resemblance to Amy...

"Where does dis passageway actually go to?" Meowth asked.
"It goes to his cave. It shelters him from the rain. But usually he tells me everything that is needed to know in there." Macy said.

"Is Miracle in there?" Marshall asked.
"I suppose." Macy said.

"Who are you?"

It was Misty's voice. Coming from the other side of the wall. Marshall, Meowth and Macy stopped and listened to what was going on at the other side.

"Who I am is none of your concern. What are you doing here?"Another voice said.
"Searching for answers. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Ash's voice asked.
"... I belong here."

Macy gasped. Meowth knew that something was wrong.

"... He... he's back..."

TO BE CONTINUED...