Against All Odds

"Who? Who's back?" Meowth asked.
"Shh." Marshall said.

"I used to live with the girl you knew as, Carrie. She was my sister. But after we separated, I decided to live here, along with a fellow friend of mine." he said.

"Who?" Ash asked.
"He is a special friend. Who has taken me in through thick and thin."
"... Is he a Meowth?" Misty asked.
"He used to be. But now... he is not here..."
"What happened to him?" Ash asked.

"... He has been taken away from me. But why do you care? You barely even knew him. That is why, with all due respect, I'm asking you why you are here."

"We came here to... to, uh..."

If Ash said anything about the plan, Miracle would be in trouble. Ash and Misty both knew that this teenager might have something to do with Miles' plan.

"... Search for Dugdrio! You see, we saw a Dugtrio in our garden, who has been messing up our seeds. We tried to catch him, and saw him go in here. And we just wanted to capture him to make him stop messing with our seeds." Misty finished.

Misty winked at Ash. He winked back. At the other side, Meowth, Marshall, and Macy heard it as well.

'Tanks, guys. You're da best." Meowth thought.

"... That explains something." the boy said.
"That leaves with other questions. Who are you, how do you know my name, and who is A.A.O?" Ash asked.

The boy scoffed.

"Fool. You could have figured it out by now. A.A.O does mean Against All Odds. But that's just my family's traditional words. It really means... my name."

"... Andrew?" Macy asked.
"Andrew? Who's Andrew?" Meowth asked.
"Andrew. That boy. Don't you see? A.A.O means Andrew Adam Owens. That's Amy's brother!" Macy whispered.

"Andrew? What's he doing here?" Marshall asked.

"My name is Andrew Owens. I've lived here for five years, and nobody has ever seen me. But I sold my life to a fellow Meowth that risked his life for me. He has taken me in to this cave, and made me become savage. I don't think I could have lived without him. And I know for sure that you're not telling me everything, Misty." Andrew said.

"... How do you know our names?" Misty asked, changing the subject.
"I know... because of a fellow friend."
"Huh? Who?" Ash asked.
"Me."

A voice echoed through the cave. It was Miles, right behind Andrew.

"You're Miles." Misty said.
"That's right." Miles said.
"How do you know about us?" Ash asked.

"If you have t' know. The morning that Meowth understood 'bout God's Cherished Words, I talked t' Jessie and James. They said that they've been following you 'round for many months. I knew that you and your other friend would help Meowth someday, 'cause of my mother. After that, they gave me a description of you, and made me aware of who you really are."

"... What have you done with Miracle?" Ash asked.
"Glad you asked." Miles said.

Miles and Andrew split apart and revealed... Miracle beaten, and tied up. Misty gasped. Meowth knew that Miracle was at the other side, and he had to find her. He turned around, and ran towards the other tunnel.

"Meowth, no!" Macy exclaimed quietly.
"You're gonna upset ancient ritual!" Marshall also exclaimed quietly.

Macy gave Marshall an annoyed look, then ran after Meowth.

"Why are you doing this to her?" Misty asked.
"Revenge, young lady. Revenge." Andrew said.
"What did Meowth do?" Ash asked.
"It's not somethin' that Meowth did. It's somethin' that my mother did." Miles said.
"What did Aisha do?" Misty asked.

"She didn't do anythin'."

It was Meowth, facing Miles and Andrew.

"He tinks dat mudder is lyin' 'bout my fadder's control ova her." he said.
"Really? You just don't know... what really happened." Andrew said.
"No, Andrew! He'll never be able to handle what really happened between mom and us!" Macy exclaimed as she came into the tunnel.

"Oh, he needs to know, Macy. And I'll be honored to tell him. You see, Meowth, when your mom was pregnant with you and your siblings, she was really happy. But until your dad found out, he wasn't so satisfied. In fact, he wanted Aisha to get rid of them. Amy never knew that he was so abusive to her, but I knew right from the start. But after he evolved into a Persian, he convinced me that your mom was nothing but trouble. Now, everything changed after you were born, and my parents were separated. Now, your father has changed Aisha forever. Poor Miles here has been the one that has been abused. His father forced him to never telling everyone about this, and obeyed. But you were the one that he could never take control of. You always controlled yourself. That made your father and your mother, not only to get rid of you..." Andrew said.

"Andrew, no." Macy said.

Meowth knew that this wasn't what he expected...

"... But to kill you." Andrew finished.

Meowth's heart sank. Macy took a huge sigh. Not a sigh of relief, but a sigh of depression. Meowth didn't make a sound. He knew that his father had enough of him... but his mother? Trying to kill him? It couldn't be possible... but it was.

Meowth dropped to the ground... motionless...

TO BE CONTINUED...