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Chapter 3

Encounters

Part II

It was dark outside. Dark, and quiet. Only the sound of wet footsteps could be heard as the young trainer wandered aimlessly in the forest, far from the Pokémon Center where he had left. The silence was unnerving, especially compared to the last time he traveled through here with his friends. Last time, it was so full of life, that Pokémon could be seen everywhere. But now, it was desolate. Almost like a graveyard.

Ash raised his head and could see that the sky was still thick with storm clouds, so not a shimmer of light, from the moon or the stars, could shed its illumination to the treetops. How long had he been walking? Ten minutes? Twenty? An hour? He didn't really care. Time had lost its meaning to him. His mind continuously reflected back on the vision in the mirror, despite his desires to forget them.

'The woman that Ash recognized as Domino slowly approached the injured Bianca and placed a heavy boot on her back to stop her from crawling away. She raised her right hand towards the young artist and aimed the gun... and pulled the trigger.'

Ash shook his head in an attempt to free himself of the images he hoped weren't true. But if they were figments of his imagination, then why? Was he just losing his mind?

Spluch.

"Aww, man..."

Looking down, the Kanto trainer noticed that his left leg had sunk into the ground practically to the knee of his jeans. With an annoyed groan, he pulled his captive appendage out of the deep mud-hole that the rain had left only an hour before. "Ewww... squishy." After fruitlessly trying to remove the mud from his pants, the young boy again tried to focus on the area around him as he continued his leisurely walk. The dark green grass spread out like a natural carpet in most places, though the bare patches seemed to call to his feet, trying to eat him alive. His auburn eyes searched carefully around him for any more surprises.

The snapping of a twig behind him caused Ash's freeze in his tracks. Now that was not what he was expecting. He stood quiet and still, listening for any other sounds that could reveal the identity of whatever was out there.

Nothing but the distant rumbling of thunder.

"I think I'm losing it." Sighing at his own paranoia, Ash was about to continue his stroll when he heard it. The soft padding sound of light footsteps across the rain-soaked forest floor reached his ears. He quietly hid behind a tree and searched carefully with his eyes in an attempt to see what was approaching.

There in the distance through the foliage, was a shadow in the shape of a person.

And whoever it was, they were nearby...and coming closer.

Growling in frustration, Butch grabbed the nearest grunt by the front of his uniform, who happened to be Dirk, the newest recruit, and slammed him against the nearest tree, temporarily knocking the wind out of him. His three fellow teammates nervously watched a few meters back fearing for their friend's safety.

Beside the three was a large spherical cage, setting on a large detachable metal stand in a muddy field, ready for transport. Its purpose? Containment of powerful and legendary Pokémon, of course. The enclosure was scientifically designed in both size and strength to keep any large Pokémon from escaping no matter how powerful it was. Many long hours went into preparing it for the day when it would hold its prize. Standing 200cm tall and 145cm wide, with each 5cm bar exactly 23cm apart, it truly was a scientific masterpiece.

There was only one problem.

Despite the precautions that were taken, it appeared that Team 3's target had somehow escaped its confinement without making a single sound. Hence the reason for Butch's attitude. All he asked for was a few minutes, while he left to contact the four Rockets in the jeep, and to come back to see the pokémon STILL imprisoned. Alas, fate was not smiling down upon him today.

Why did the radio signal have to suck so badly in here?

The executive glared through his wet bangs at his dazed teammate. "How did it get out?" His voice held no mercy and his eyes held a barely contained rage. If he didn't get a good answer, there would be hell to pay.

"Uhhh... I don't know."

Butch didn't like that response. He pulled the poor man a safe distance from the towering lumber, and began shake him with such force that his body gave the appearance of a rag doll, "You were supposed to be WATCHING IT!"

Dirk's voice was barely audible due to his leader's treatment. "I'm... sorry... sir!" He felt like his brains were being rattled loose, and they probably were.

Brett, one of the three standing back, decided to speak up in the defense of his comrade. "Sir, it's not his fault!" A large droplet of sweat began to form on the back of his head when his superior turned his attention to him. He gulped, and had a damn good reason too.

Butch dropped the dazed grunt, whose eyes had begun to swirl around in his head as he collapsed on the ground, and quickly marched over to the small group, facing the one who had spoken. "Don't even think that you're getting out of this!" He then grabbed the man by his collar and pulled his terrified face in close. "I left three of you in charge of guarding the cage, and ONE, to keep an eye on Cassidy! Not the other way around!"

In a pathetic attempt to calm their leader, Steve and Daniel took a hold of Butch's shoulders and arms, breaking his grip, and slowly drug him away from the terrified teen. "Mr. Buzz! Please calm down!"

Bad idea.

Butch attacked his next target fairly quickly by freeing his hands of one grunt, and strangling another. "The name is BUTCH!" Steve squealed in shock, realizing that he must have botched his leader's name up... again.

Daniel and Brett still tried to prevent their teammates from getting killed by pulling on their leader from behind. "Sir! He didn't mean what he said! Honest!"

"Let go of me! I'll Kill'im! Let me att'im!"

"Butch..." The weary voice of a young woman stopped the bizarre scene dead in its tracks. When their eyes fell upon the injured executive, she spoke with an air of authority despite her exhaustion, "Let him go."

Upon seeing Cassidy's weary glare, Butch released the grunt and sauntered over to his companion's side, who had been moved under a nearby tree to prevent her from getting soaked when it rained previously, "So you're finally awake." He crouched down to her level and looked her in the eyes. "Do you need any help up?" Her vicious scowl was all the answer he needed. Glaring, he stood up and scoffed as she slowly stood up on her own, "Hmph, I guess you're feeling better."

Cassidy intertwined her fingers as she lifted her hands high above her head and stretched. The sound of dozens of vertebrae snapping into place caused several of the Rockets to cringe and Butch to smirk, just ever so slightly. After finishing her stretch, she automatically took command of the team, starting with the three nearest the Latias' prison.

"You three. Get the cage, break it down, and put it in the jeep." Next, she turned to the "human paint can" who had just recently regained his bearings, "Make sure everyone has a Pokémon with an ice-type, dark-type, or dragon-type attack. If someone doesn't have one, issue them one from our stash. And make it quick. We don't want to lose track of it."

After the grunts saluted their leader and scurried off to complete the tasks given to them, Butch's eyes fell upon her suspiciously, "What do you have up your sleeve?"

The blonde turned her back to her comrade and walked back to the tree she had awoken under, "I have no idea what you're talking about." She bent down and grabbed her missing glove off the ground.

Butch's eyes narrowed as he folded his arms in front of his chest, "Liar."

Cassidy smirked at the accusation and carefully placed the long glove on her wounded arm, "You know me all too well."

This didn't bode well with him. The proof was in the groan that escaped his lips. Placing a hand on his face in annoyance, Butch rubbed his temples with his middle finger and thumb, "Dammit Cassidy! Just tell me what the hell you're doing!"

For several seconds, Cassidy stood in quiet thought. Her face held doubt and nervousness that only he could see. It was almost as if she was afraid to tell him. Quickly turning her head from left to right, and reassuring herself that the rest of the team was far enough away, she took a step towards her friend and spoke quietly, "I saw everything that happened."

Upon seeing Butch's face of complete confusion, she continued, annoyed. "I know how the Latias escaped."

Now that got his attention. His eyes widened in realization as he grabbed her shoulders in excitement. "You saw? What happened? How? Where did it go?"

Five words were spoken that once again brought confusion back into his mind and on his visage.

"It turned into a human."

"... What?"

Latias slowly staggered to a stop and leaned against a large tree in exhaustion. Her matted brown hair clung tightly against her head, face, and neck as she pressed her forehead against the massive trunk. Her tiny pale hands clutched at the rough bark desperately while trying to catch her breath, and her green blouse, though not real, was torn and bloody due to the terrible condition of her torso. Her soft skin was deathly cold as her thoughts became clouded and her stamina left her. Despite her best efforts, her legs began to buckle under her weight, causing her to tumble mercilessly to the muddy ground.

Tired and depressed, she curled up right where she collapsed and pulled the small pouch to her chest. She had no desire to go on. There was nothing left for her, no friends, no family, no home... The cold of the forest began to grow fainter as her consciousness faded slowly away, her pain melting into an unidentifiable comfort.

Splish. Splish. Splish.

A virtually unnoticeable noise wafted into her ears as she drifted deeper into the dark depths. The source? She could only imagine. Were they... Footsteps? Yes, they are... Coming closer... Did they find her?

Finally, the sound stopped by her head. Her weary body had no strength left, so she just laid there, drifting away... Something warm touched her neck with a tenderness that was somewhat familiar. She knew that it had to be them, but...

For some odd reason, she wasn't afraid. The heat was strangely... inviting. Sadly to her dismay, the warmth left her just as quickly as it had come. The fragrance of the one who touched her caused an indistinct memory to surface as it lingered about.

Beautiful russet eyes... so soothing...

"It's a girl..." Ash crouched down as he removed the black fingerless glove from his right hand. When he reached out and checked the girl's neck for a pulse, he gasped in horror when he realized how cold she was. He felt fear well up deep within. Her pulse was weak and her temperature was low, which meant that she must have gotten caught out in the rain. His voice was quiet, but panicky as he removed his blue jacket and wrapped it around her freezing body in an attempt to keep her warm. "C'mon! Wake up!" The muddy ground was chilly to his touch, but he wasn't about to let anything get in his way.

What else can I do? She's so cold...

Gently placing his left hand under her head, with his right supporting her back, the trainer pulled the unconscious teenager against his chest and stood up to retrace his steps back to the Pokémon Center. A task, that to others, would be quite simple. But when it came to Ash Ketchum, nothing was simple. He hesitated for only a moment and focused his eyes on her face. Even though the lack of light prevented any positive identification, she seemed somewhat... familiar. , a tiny droplet of water fell from the skies, between the branches of the lofty trees, and splattered against the strong young trainer's bare arm.

Upon turning his face upward in curiosity at the darkened heavens, another raindrop struck, this time in his eye.

He flinched and jerked his head back to the ground as millions more tears fell from the crying gray expanse above, pelting him and the girl mercilessly. "WHAAH!" He dashed under the nearest tree to shelter his companion as the wind began to pick up, carrying the rain with it directly to them. Cursing at his poor luck, Ash pulled the girl closer to his chest and pressed himself up against the trunk in a poor attempt at keeping the two of them from getting any wetter or colder.

A flash of lightning illuminated the entire forest for a split second before once again being consumed by the immense darkness. Moments later, the mighty clap of thunder blasted through the woodland area and brutally ripped at his eardrums. He flinched at the crash and began to silently pray for the worst of the rainstorm to pass.

The howling wind, combined with the torrential downpour and mud from the forest floor, pounded the windshield of the large jeep without remorse as it continued to bounce its way through the swamp-like conditions of the forest. However, the storm raging 'inside' the confines of the metal and leather seemed to be just as dangerous as outside. "I can't believe it!" Butch glared at his comrade with a disgusted expression, appalled at the horrible lie she tried to feed him. "First, these yo-yo's in the back, and now you!"

Cassidy rolled her eyes at his choice of words. "You do realize that I'm trying to drive here."

Butch slammed his fist on the dashboard, cracking the plastic, and scaring the crap out of his audience behind him. "Don't try to change the subject!" He then folded his arms across his chest, mainly to hide the fact that his hand really hurt. "What's really going on?" The grunts crammed in the backseat watched with a mixture of amusement, confusion, and fear. No one knew what started the argument between the two leaders, and no one had the guts to ask. Mainly because they didn't want to get hurt again.

Cassidy gave Butch a bored glance as she continued to drive. "Shut up. This is not the time or the place for a discussion." To everyone else, she seemed unconcerned about anything. Inwardly, on the other hand, she was seething.

I'm gonna kill him when I get the chance. Oh, yes. He is so dead right now.

"Hey," Her thoughts were interrupted by a grunt in the back. "What's that?" He appeared to be looking out the window at something. Another spoke while peering outside,

"Yeah. What is that?"

Confused at their statement, Butch and Cassidy replied with a very intelligent "Huh?"

When he opened his eyes, two bright lights of a vehicle of some sort greeted him through the stormy blast, causing a sense of relief to wash over him. Ash began calling out to the automobile, while still gently clutching his companion, "Hey! We need some help! Over here!" When he saw that they had altered course, and were heading straight towards him, he almost literally jumped for joy, but stopped when he felt a weak tug on his shirt. He smiled when he looked down at her and began to reassure her, "Don't worry. You're gonna be ok..." His ability to speak vanished as the headlights shone brightly on her face. For the second time that night, his blood ran cold.

"Bianca?"

Nurse Joy glanced up from the computer and looked towards the entrance with worry imprinted on her features. The storm outside continued to get worse, showing a great display of raw power through the lightning and thunder. How many times had she turned her attention back to the foyer? She didn't know. But she was certain that the boy had been gone for far too long. Not even looking at the clock that rested above the door, the young woman knew the time. She checked it only minutes before.

3:13 AM.

Not being able to sit in front of that machine any longer, the Pokémon nurse arose from the chair she sat in and proceeded towards the ICU, where she usually treated the critically injured Pokémon. A simple thought caused her to smile as she recalled last time he was in this Pokémon Center. How he wrinkled his nose in discomfort at the strong smell of medicine as he entered was simply adorable. It reminded her of her own daughter, who always complained and scrunched her face up in the very same manner. Just too cute.

The off-white floor clacking quietly under her feet quickly reminded the pink-haired nurse of her destination. Now was not the time for daydreaming. She continued her walk, trying not to let her mind wander too far from the task at hand. Upon entering through the large double doors marked ICU, Nurse Joy witnessed her beloved Chansey keeping an eye on Pikachu's vitals displayed on the monitor. The Pokémon nurse smiled as she slowly made her way towards the pokémon assistant and placed a gentle hand on its shoulder to get its attention. "How is our little friend doing?" Her assistant gazed at her for a moment before smiling and handing the clipboard to her. "Chan-sey!" "Thank you."

The young woman gave her companion a hug before coming to stand by Pikachu's bedside. Glancing at the clipboard Nurse Joy creased her forehead in thought. Pikachu's condition seemed to be a peculiar one. According to the tests and scans that were administered, the furry yellow Pokémon was perfectly healthy. It's blood pressure and brain activity did seem abnormally high, but that was mostly due to the stress it was currently under.

Sighing in defeat, the Pokémon physician knew that all she could do to ease its suffering was to administer a mild pain killer via injection. As soon as she reached the cabinet, the horrible noise of a heart monitor going flat-lined caused her to whirl around in panic. Nurse Joy dashed back to Pikachu's bedside and gasped in horror.

Upon hearing a car door slam, Ash jerked his head back up and squinted in a lame attempt to see who was getting out of the oversized vehicle. Nine men and one woman clamored out and were now standing in front of him. Despite the glare of the headlights in his eyes, he was certain that everyone wore completely black outfits, besides a big red mark of some sort on the front. The woman stepped forward and smirked as she, and her comrades stood unaffected by the rain. "Well, this is a surprise." Her voice was familiar. The young trainer retreated a few steps and pressed his back against the large tree behind him. This only caused her to laugh at the boy before her. "I never would've thought we'd be dealing with you in this." She extended her left gloved hand and motioned for him to come closer, which he ignored. "Give us the girl and we'll let you go."

I hope you enjoyed! Please R&R!