It had been four days now since he had been taken from the Sinnoh League by Team Rocket.
In that short increment of time, he had been drugged, threatened, tortured, and worst of all.
Recruited into Team Rocket.
He was certain that it was only a matter of time until help came, after all no such event had ever occurred at a Pokemon League before...
What had happened at the League, he wasn't all to sure of himself.
He started his speech, and against the dark sky there was something that looked like a comet soaring through the air.
It only took seconds for him to realize that whatever that bright light was, was heading directly towards the stadium.
So he did what first came to mind.
He dove at Mr. Goodshow, knocking them both off of the platform and onto the ground...
Thinking about it however, when the explosion which felt like it had shattered every bone in his body hit, he had not yet touched the ground.
He remembered a sense of weightlessness and then... And then darkness.
What came after was his waking up on whatever airship he was brought to Giovanni on.
So he must have hit a wall, or hit his head when he did land on something.
That must have also been when he had broken his left arm, which was currently supported in a sling from when he was tended to after... After his torture...
Of course at the moment, he wasn't able to see his arms. Or anything for that matter. Nothing except the inner lining of a dark blue sack which covered his head.
He was being led somewhere, by Giovanni he was sure of, a few Rocket Grunts and a girl.
At the moment, they were outside, he knew this from the way that his bare arms felt the comforting warmth of the summer sun, and the fresh air which managed to seep through the stitching of the sack.
After the ear popping sensation of being in the air for the last five hours, they had touched down in what must have been a field of some sort as the ground beneath his feet was soft, and their footsteps silent.
How many there were around him, he wasn't sure of. More then two, but less then ten.
A hand roughly grasped his shoulder and held him back. A few seconds ticked by, and he heard the rusty grind of hinges as a door was opened.
He was pushed forward, and his right arm brushed the frame of the door. When he was through, they were still outside, which made him believe that wherever they were, must have had a fence of some kind.
He walked on for another minute until the binding which held the sack over his head was undone, and the sack pulled off his head.
The light blinded him, and he looked to the ground in a squint until his eyes accommodated.
He was correct about the the grass beneath his feet, which was a bright lively green. Looking away from the ground, his head tilted back as he took in the large three sectioned building in front of him.
There was a single door made of heavy metal, the walls were made of concrete, and the windows were all barred shut.
Turning his head to the left, he looked passed Giovanni who stood with his eyes on him, and to the long chain link fence which ran down the open space, and around the perimeter of the building.
Beyond the fence, was open land, and then a thick tree line which burst with shrubs and thick oak trees.
Ash looked slowly back to Giovanni, eyes filled with insecurity, "What... What is this place?"
"This," Giovanni said simply, taking his black eyes off him and to the large, prison like building, "is your new home."
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"I... I didn't believe it at first. I thought it was some sort of... Ruse, or dream... I suppose in this case I'd call it a nightmare, but anyways. It still feels like Ecruteak is my prison, I remember it so clearly. The way they looked at me when I entered the building,
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The men and woman who lined the hallways, some younger then him, others older...
The faces they wore were not kind, lacking sympathy.
Humanity.
He was ushered down an aisle formed by members of Team Rocket, who stared at him with eyes which had the blood draining from his face, and his arms and legs quivering.
It was like...
He had become their prey.
However as Ash approached them, their eyes would turn away, even if for just a second.
Ash shifted his eyes to Giovanni, who's stoic features remained unchanged as they walked down the line of Grunts... Beside Giovanni, was a blond girl who looked vaguely familiar. He didn't know why, but the pink hat, and violet eyes sparked his memory.
And behind, were six Team Rocket members who stood in two rows of three. These men had accompanied them on the helicopter, which sat out on the open area beyond the fence.
They turned a corner, and a single door sat at the end of the hallway. Unlike the previous hallway, there was not a Rocket in sight.
The Rocket at the front of the left line, moved forward, and opened the door at the end of the hall. Holding it open as the other Rockets split off to stand opposite one another along the wall behind them.
They weren't coming with them?
Giovanni led the way once they passed through the door, the Rocket who held it open remaining behind.
There were many doors here, and Ash glanced around expecting one or two to open at any moment.
None did however, and he was led around a corner and to the opposite end of the hallway to a single door on the left.
The blond girl stuck a key in the door, undid the lock, and pushed the door open before standing aside.
"This will be your quarters," Giovanni said nodding once at the door.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Ash walked passed both of them and entered the room.
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"That storage closet... I hated it, but as much as I hated it, I also loved it. Not at first of course, but there I could cry. Hide myself... Cut myself... That one and a half by two meter closet became my sanctuary. A lot of good it did me at the beginning though,"
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They were on an elevator, descending a floor into a steel corridor.
The Rockets who had stayed behind in the hallway before, had tightened up around him, Giovanni and the blond girl.
They walked three abreast in front and behind.
And Ash felt the three behinds gaze burning holes into his back.
They passed through another door, and into a strange room.
The wall to the left of the door, was built straight into the frame. A few meters down however, looked like a concession stand window with a large sheet of glass and a thirty centimeter opening along the bottom.
Opposite of that, were individual stalls lined up alongside each other.
There were also six Team Rocket members holding guns. He believed them to be what was called assault rifles. A few with scopes, a few without.
'Why did they bring me here?' The thought chilled him, and he was led to a door opposite the one they entered and up a short staircase of eight steps and into a long hall with the right side made entirely of glass.
Bulletproof he guessed seeing the stalls from before.
What they looked down on, was no doubt a firing range.
He jumped when the girl spoke, surprised at the intimidation she had despite her appearance.
"You will be trained as a Ranger," She said stepping up, and looking through the long window to the range below.
"A... A Ranger?" Ash asked hesitantly, "What..."
"They specialize in firearms, and special ops designated for long range specialists and in your case, extreme environments,"
No words came out of his mouth, strictly at a loss for words, "I..." He was shaking his head, "I can't..."
"You will," The blond girl said nodding to the window, as if telling him to come here.
Timidly he came up beside her and looked down on the empty range. At one end, he saw the Team Rocket members checking their guns, and at the other, a paper target with a human silhouette printed on each.
"Start the demonstration," Giovanni said from behind him.
Ash jumped as the deafening CRACK CRACK CRACK sounded from each of the stalls. The targets shuddered with each hit, and once three shots from each stall had been fired, the shooting ceased.
"You'll be taught how to hit a still target, weapon maintenance, proper tactics for urban and guerrilla warfare, and where critical damage can be applied to the human body,"
His throat began drying, and he shook his head in denial immediately, "T-Team Rocket... You don't... You steal Pokemon, you don't... You don't kill people!" His voice was scratchy and he looked to Giovanni, "You steal Pokemon for a profit! You don't-"
"Team Rocket is about building a better world," The voice which chilled his heart said in the unnerving calm, "to do so, we must use any means necessary. And in most cases-"
"Most?" The word was whispered out in horror as Giovanni continued.
"Lethal means are necessary,"
"I... I can't, no I won't. Not ever!" He was shaking his head and the blond girl spoke once more, her tone unaffected by his words.
"Once you learn to shoot, we up your training to moving targets,"
In saying so, Giovanni ordered the second phase of the demonstration. The targets moved up and down, left and right, the Rockets fired three more shots a piece into them.
When all shots were fired, the targets were raised into the ceiling, and the blond spoke again, "Easy enough, but those targets are on an automated system so it's easy enough to for see where they move to. Which is why we move onto stage three, live targets."
Ash slowly turned to look at the blond girl, eyes filled with horror at her easy going mannerism.
They... God they wouldn't... Team Rocket were thieves...They wouldn't commit murder, no, it wouldn't be a murder in this case.
Using live people as targets?
That would be a massacre.
His eyes moved away from her and back to the range-
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"I still remember it, how starved they looked. How pained they looked... Their whimpers, the hollow look in their eyes..."
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"Ready phase three of the demonstration,"
Ash reeled around in surprise at Giovanni's words.
They weren't. They weren't really going to...
Ash snapped his attention back to the firing range at the sound of gears turning. A long the length of the range, short barricades appeared every twenty or so feet, scattered down the area.
And then at the opposite end, the very back wall, Ash watched as it slowly lowered, and disappeared into the ground.
He took a step closer to the glass, hands pressing flat against it, "No..." His voice wavered as he stared at the six Growlithe, all chained by the neck to the ceiling above.
Their rib cages could be seen through their knotted fur, and the emptiness he could see in their eyes even from this distance, "No... You... You can't! This isn't right!" His voice cracked as he yelled his plea.
He heard Giovanni, and couldn't believe the words he said, "Begin phase three,"
The chains which held the Growlithe to the roof all dropped in unison, clattering to the ground and setting the fire-types free.
Ash stared as they didn't move, as if unaware of what happened.
And then the first broke into a sprint, that despite it's malnourished appearance, directly for the Rockets at the other end in a orange blur.
The first shot rang off.
"NOOO!" His scream echoed out as the Growlithe seemed to lose it's footing and crashed into the ground unmoving.
He watched petrified as shots rang out left and right, the Growlithe all sprinting for the cover which had sprung out of the ground.
"S-Stop it!" His body shook, and he fell back with only a trembling arm to support himself on the ground.
They fell left and right, bullets tearing through them, spraying the ground with a crimson splash.
Tears ran down his cheeks, which had no color left, and the eyes which watched the horror before him were unblinking.
With each that fell, their cries of surprise or pain, he never knew which it was as they died directly, called out to him.
And then, on the final which had made it to the barrier closest to the stalls, sprinted from cover and to the Rockets.
Bullets pinged left and right, sparks flying with each miss.
For a very quick moment, Ash believed that it would make it.
But a meter away, he cried out as an electrical barrier appeared from out of the blue, catching the fire-type and stopping it cold in its tracks.
It hit the ground, rolled once so that it's head stared directly at him.
It wasn't dead.
The eyes which looked directly at him asked for help, pleaded for him to save its life.
But that vanished when all six Rockets pointed their rifles at it an pulled the trigger.
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"I cried... And I threw up, although the only food I had had in the last four days had been some bread... If they had never shown me... Had they never shown me, what they did for training Rangers. I would have joined, I mean what else would there have been for me to do? But the... I can't ever forget the way that Growlithe looked at me, the way its eyes dimmed as the bullets shredded its body... Because of that, the first true horror I witnessed, I held out."
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Their eyes were all on him, every single one.
Then again, why wouldn't they?
His right cheek was a medley of different colors, his left was burned from... From where the blond girl had placed the jumper cable to his cheek.
He hadn't felt pain like that before.
Compared to Pikachus thunderbolt, which was used playfully when he was struck, what he felt while in the cold room where they had tortured him once more was with intent to harm.
The burns would go away, but he could still feel the electricity which had surged through every one of his nerves.
That was two days ago.
Then there was also the fact that he had been brought here by Giovanni.
And what these people more then likely wanted to know.
Was what made him so special.
Something, he himself, had no idea of.
Ash sat alone in the center of the cafeteria, tray of... Of something in front of him. Around him, eyes poured on him, watching his every movement.
As of yet, he had been yet to talk to anyone. Which he was glad for, these people... Well after... After what he witnessed in the sub-basement.
He knew that this Team Rocket was different then the one Jessie, James, and Meowth knew.
Would they still hold Giovanni in such high regards if they knew about all of this?
Or had they been playing him and the others for these last four years. Pretending to be idiots when really...
They were cold-blooded killers.
No, he knew.
The trio who had followed him from Kanto to Johto, to Hoenn and most recently Sinnoh, he knew they were good people.
They may be a pain, but in their own, strange little way. They weren't truly bad guys.
Ash flinched as a tray smashed down on the table beside him, and a chair pulled up next to him.
A boy a few years older then himself with dark cropped hair and specs leaned sideways against the table, "Ey Kid," He said in a slippery voice.
Ash stared at him, unconsciously shrinking back into his chair, otherwise, he kept silent.
The older boy then said, "You gotta be a big deal round here if you showed up with the Boss and an Elite,"
"Probably an Elite ain't ya?" Said a girl with bright red hair in pigtails, who came on Ash's other side and sat down on the edge of the table, "so what's your story?"
'W-What's my story?' Ash thought in disbelief, 'I got kidnapped is what my story is!'
Although this is what he thought, he was far to shocked to say so.
"What?" The black haired boy asked a little hotly, "You to good to speak to us?"
"Maybe he's just a hand picked recruit that the Boss has big plans for?" The girl said, "Or, he's Giovanni's kid or somethin?"
The black haired boy looked amused, "This runt?" He laughed, "This boy the heir to Team Rocket! I'd fuck you Janette before I choose to believe that,"
"Like I'd give you any of this," She said dryly, before jerking her head at Ash, "So what is it gimpy, why you here?"
"I... I don't know," Ash muttered looking down to his tray.
"Ya don't know!" The guy exclaimed, "Ya don't know! Look at him! Everyone's got a reason for joining Team Rocket. I got one, this red headed whore's got one!" He got cussed at for saying that, but continued on without acknowledging it, "So kid. Don't bullshit here, if the Boss showed up with ya here, means you did something to get his attention."
Ash just shook his head meekly, "I... I don't know why I'm here,"
The black haired boy shook his head and stood up from his seat, "Everyone looky here!" He exclaimed and all the eyes which had already been on the table focused more intently, "The Kid who showed with the Boss has no idea why he's here! Let's have a game shall we? Let's see if we can piece together mister hand picked by the Boss's reasoning shall we?"
A general murmur spread through the cafeteria, and Ash felt increasingly uncomfortable.
Why... Why were these two drawing attention this way. Why did it matter to them why he was brought to Team Rocket.
It wasn't there business, it was his.
"E's got guards outside his room!" A voice hollered across the crowded room.
"Boss had an escort, not to mention the Tulip with em when they arrived!"
This drew a response, and Ash started to stand, only to have himself shoved back into the hot seat.
"You stay right there," Janette said tightening her grip on his shoulders, restraining him.
"Already had the shit kicked outta him!" Another called out.
"One of us do it?" Someone asked from behind.
The muttering which came now chilled Ash, and his muscles tensed.
The muttering sounded...
Hungry.
Like the idea that one of them had done it showed it was acceptable...
He swallowed, scared, alone, and nervous.
He wanted to go home. Something he had planned on doing after the closing ceremony of the Sinnoh League, and after they returned to Twinleaf Town to see off Dawn and Johanna.
"What if he's like the Boss's crown jewel or somethin?"
"Crown jewel? You gay or something Jack?"
"Oy fuck off!"
"How bout you two shut your trap!" The black haired guy shouted at the two who bickered two tables down.
"So let's get these facts together eh?" Janette said, "Our runt ere' he got the Boss's attention, had the Tulip here as an escort, has Guards stationed outside his room, and has had the shit kicked out of him!"
Ash tried to stand, but the girl, who was surprisingly strong, held him seated.
"What if e's the new number one?"
Now muttering spread like wildfire.
He had no idea why.
"Oh ho?" The black haired boy seemed particularly impressed by the idea, "The new number one? Hell that makes you Giovanni's princess! You had the escort cause you'll go off the wall won't ya? So you got guards stationed, oh damn you're getting pampered by Giovanni ain't ya?"
"And that shit kickin was from when you killed a guy ain't it? You got outta line and that's your punishment!"
Now the muttering intensified, until it seemed like the entire cafeteria was compressing down on him with their voices.
He felt claustrophobic.
Something which had never happened before.
The black haired boy sat on the edge of the table and looked hard at Ash, "So when you get outta line," He said slowly, "you get punished accordingly,"
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"Because they thought I was the new number one, was scrawny like a girl, and being pampered by Giovanni... That's how that stupid title came about. Princess Ketchum, her royal highness... That was also how the beatings started. My broken arm healed first, and then they began. First it started if I did one small thing wrong, or didn't respond appropriately. But when they realized I couldn't fight, well it escalated to just plain assaults."
"After two weeks, I gave up on rescue. I accepted that it wasn't coming. For what reason, I didn't know. I wasn't sure what state the Sinnoh League was in, and slowly it left my mind altogether."
"I met Sue after the torture Domino put me through to try and get me to join the Rangers. She was exactly the same as when you first showed up. Although I said nothing to her, mostly because I was in and out of consciousness... So when the beatings started, the suicide attempts became frequent... I got to know her through my many trips. She was my only friend for the first five months, but as you know, that changed that day in the cafeteria."
"We became friends, although I didn't trust you until at least a year had gone by since joining Team Rocket... You Alyssa... You kept me alive until the break out. You kept me alive because you sat down at that table in the corner of the cafeteria... And because of that, I've been in debt to you ever since. I've never told you this Aly, but I vowed to myself that I'd protect you from harm as you did for me."
"I didn't care about my injuries, I'd take them one after another if it meant you were unharmed. I told myself I would protect you, so I'm sorry that I failed you this time."
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Ash watched the rise and fall of the sleeping blonds chest, who lay beneath the thin sheets on the bed in the infirmary.
His eyes left Alyssa, and to the monitor, which beeped with every heartbeat.
Ash took the notebook on his lap, and the pen which rested in his pocket and wrote down a date on the cover.
"I... I know how you feel, or maybe felt about me Aly. Whether those feelings are the same, or maybe they've altered, I don't want to leave you the same as how I left you at Indigo. So... I hope you wake up Aly, when you do, I won't be here. And I don't know if we'll see each other again.
"You'll hate me for this, and I doubt you'll forgive me should we meet in the future. Our partnership, this truly is the end. I'm going after Giovanni alone, but before I do that. I have to see if you are who you truly say you are. I hope to God Alyssa, that Domino lied. I don't want all we've done to be in vain, that you've been with Team Rocket up to this point."
Ash shut his eyes, feeling his throat constricting, "Because if you have been with them, well I can tell you that they have already won."
Ash stood up from the chair beside her bed, and set the notebook on the table beside it.
Gently he brushed away her bangs from her eyes and sighed. For the third time now he was leaving her behind to go off and do something incredibly stupid.
Even though the second time should have been the end.
Should he return by the end of this, he would properly apologize.
Apologize to a lot of people really.
Taking one last look at her sleeping face, he turned around and left the private room. Shutting the door quietly behind him, he was immediately swarmed.
"Ash honey?" His mom came forward to take him into a hug, but after realizing what she was about to do stopped.
"How is she?" Sue asked with an out of character worry.
Using his right hand, he ran a hand through his hair, "She's unconscious right now... She lost a lot of blood, and... And I don't know if she'll wake up,"
They looked horrified, "A-Ash..." Misty whispered, her hands entwined together tightly above her chest, "What... What happened?"
They saw his eyes darken, "I let her get back in the game," He replied in the uncannily unaffected calm he had used so much before, "and because of that, I may have gotten her killed."
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36 HOURS AGO
G-Men HQ - Command Center
"This is Raven over,"
Hitting the switch in front of her, Cynthia spoke into the microphone, "Copy Raven, what is your status?"
Around her, the comm-center had gone quiet. Lance, Steven, herself, and Anderson stood watching a live satellite feed of the Rocket Facility, "Shorty and I are about to begin Ops, we're going to cut comms with HQ and get this underway,"
"Copy Raven, what's the status on support?"
There was silence until she heard Ash reply gravely, "Two KIA, from the cold, and one Pokemon attack. We only have one of the bodies,"
Anderson cursed beside her and shook his head, "Is that all Raven?"
"Yes Ma'am, although you better have that hot-evac prepped and ready for pickup. We don't have enough rations or oil left to make it down the side of the mountain. Once you receive word that three of the five supports are down, I want evac on its way."
"Understood, good luck you two,"
The comms died with a burst of static, and together the comm-center watch as the satellite view showed two, almost un-seeable heat signatures disappear into the diamond construct.
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Grasping her hand, Ash helped lift Alyssa up through the grate beneath the facility. A small one by one meter exhaust vent was their entrance.
Ash shrugged off the heavy winter jacket, that was coated and damp from snow, and dropped it to the floor.
Beside him Alyssa was doing the same.
When they were stripped of any access clothing, Ash looked at her carefully, "You ready Blondie?"
She smiled and gave a firm nod, "I am,"
"Come on then,"
They currently stood in the electrical bay of the facility, and as they moved through the large output boxes Ash gestured to Alyssa to lay down explosives.
She carried a duffel bag, loaded with primed C-4 which would be used to disrupt those in the building.
Moving through a row tall electrical boxes, Ash halted and made a fist, behind him Alyssa froze.
Reaching to his waist, Ash drew his sidearm and checked the safety.
Around the corner, a Rocket patrolled the path which lead to the exit door. They needed to make it to the main hallways of the facility before they were allowed to alert the building to their presence.
So with his other hand, Ash reached into his back pocket and removed a plain dollar coin. He threw the coin up and over the machinery, and he heard it clatter to the ground in front of the Grunt.
"Huh?" There was a short pause, "A-"
Ash spun out of cover, sidearm raised and pulled the trigger.
The bullet blew the coin which was held in front of the Rockets face, away, and straight pierced through the bridge of his nose.
The Rocket snapped back and collapsed to the ground, a stream of blood leaking from the back and front of his head.
They moved on. Coming up on the body, Ash gestured to it, and as he stopped at the door, Alyssa lifted the shirt of the Grunt, stuck C-4 beneath it, and tucked the shirt back in.
Easing the door open, Ash checked the corners and stepped into the long hallways.
Looking briefly to Alyssa, he tapped the top of his gun and pointed to her.
She nodded, removed her own from her hip, thumbed the safety and nodded.
She would have to kill. Something he tried his damnedest to prevent the last few years. But in this situation, it was required.
Although he would take as many lives as he could so she wouldn't have to.
As they reached an intersection of the hallway, Ash removed his knife from the sheath on his chest with his left hand, and held it to the lower right of his hand gun.
Peeking around the corner, he saw that the passage was clear and devoid of video cameras, he pushed forward.
The pair traversed the floor without so much of a sight of a Rocket, and coming to a staircase, Ash turned to Alyssa, "Which floor Blondie?"
Alyssa removed a handheld tablet and swiped a few times across the screen, glancing up she replied, "Two floors, down the hall and eighth room on the right,"
"We open fire," Ash said softly, "We get you there, clear the room, and then you're on your own. Wait fifteen seconds, and then come after me."
She nodded and he gave her one back.
Climbing the staircase, Ash went up two floors and stopped outside the door. Relaxing his breathing, he opened the metal door and looked around.
Two Rockets were walking away from him and towards where he and Alyssa were heading.
He saw no others.
Leaving the stairwell, He moved silently, one foot after another, gun and knife at the ready.
Checking each corner as he passed, he slowly close in on the two Grunts.
He struck.
Catching both Grunts off guard, he hooked his right arm around the Rocket on the rights throat, while in the same action stabbing the point of the blade through the side of the left Grunts neck.
He withdrew the blade, and in the same graceful movement plunged the blade into the Grunts he held, chest.
The one on his left collapsed to the ground, squirming as he clutched the stab wound, while choking on his blood.
Ash set the Rocket he held onto the ground once his eyes had gone dim, and withdrew his blade.
Flicking the blade with his wrist, the blood slid of the knife and to the ground.
As he was about to turn around, when he stepped back raising his gun as another Rocket entered his peripheral vision to the right.
However the Rocket didn't make a sound, only stared cross eyed at the hole which appeared in the center of his forehead.
The body hit the floor, and Ash saw Alyssa moving towards him.
Checking her corners like a good girl.
He gave her a nod as she caught up with him, "Nice shot," He said as they moved down the hall.
"I might be even better then you," She remarked offhandedly, a smile coming his way.
"Ya you wish-"
He stopped as the long, sounding whine of the alarm echoed through the halls.
"We have intruders in the base, I repeat intruders, in the base! This is a red alert, shoot to kill!"
"That goes double for us," Ash muttered, removing his silencer, and starting faster down the hall.
They reached the end, and the door where Alyssa would be looking for information.
He kicked the door open, it screeching back on its hinges, and stepped into the data center.
He was surprised by the number of people inside, most in lab coats who held hand guns of sorts, and a few regular Rockets.
His gun shots boomed, with each pull of the trigger a body fell.
He slid into cover behind a desk, and Alyssa joined him.
"Take the right, I got left."
In unison, Ash rolled out of cover, and Alyssa popped up from behind the desk. Their shots rang out, and bullets hissed and ricocheted across the room.
Dropping his empty magazine, Ash slid in a replacement and rushed towards an unarmed Grunt.
He slid the sidearm bag into its holster and swung a hard right at the Grunt, who caught it in the jaw and staggered back. The bullets halted in his direction, the remaining Rockets afraid to hit one of their own.
Ash threw blow after blow into the Rocket, crushing the mans ribcage, and successfully breaking his left arm and right leg.
Taking the disabled man, Ash grabbed him by the collar and shoved him back into a pair who held hand guns, surprising them.
In the few seconds it took for them to regain their baring's, Ash had put a knive in two of them and a bullet through the forehead of the last.
He went to fire on the remaining two Rockets, but stopped as Alyssa was in the line of fire.
She ducked a swing, retaliated with her own and knocked one down. The second came at her, tried to jab her in the jaw.
She blocked with her arm, lunged forward and threw two lefts, followed by hard right which sent him staggering back.
The first had stood back up, but Ash dropped him with a single shot.
Ash watched as Alyssa drew a knife much like his own from her waist, twirled it between her fingers so that she grasped the tip of the blade, and sent it flying end over end the two meters where it buried into the second Rockets chest.
Where she learned that.
He had no damn idea.
It was flashy though.
Returning to the door, he went over to the desk they had initially hid behind and pulled it in front, barricading it.
Behind him, Alyssa had begun hooking up her tablet to server, and pulled out her laptop from the duffle bag.
"You have everything?" He asked seeing her take a seat in in front of her computer.
"I do, I've got everything here,"
He hesitated.
He didn't want to leave her.
Affection is a weakness. The words he had drilled into him during his time as Shayne repeated themselves in his mind, and he glanced to the barricaded door.
"Can I blow it?" He asked, "will the server still be online?"
"It will, the building has an emergency power grid which powers the data, and comm centers. Go ahead,"
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a stick that looked like a hand flare, and flicked off the cap.
Beneath that a red button.
"You sure?" He asked once more above the whine of the siren.
She nodded.
And he hit the button.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Outside of the large structure, The G-Men forces watched for their signal.
Around them the storm had died, and wouldn't pick back up for another hour or so. They lay on a snow bluff which overlooked the construct, with explosives beside them, and nerves at a high.
And then the earth shook, and the lower western side of the facility exploded in a shower of smoke, flames, and metal which flew dangerously through the air.
"That's our signal men!" The leader called out, "Let's take these bastards out!"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The building quaked beneath them, the alarm silenced, and the lights cut out save for the small laptop screen.
A few seconds ticked by, and they came back on.
"They've got their signal," Ash said, "I'm going, it should be fifteen minutes or less. Get what you can, and in twenty I want you out of here and to the rest of the squad,"
"What about you?" She asked glancing away from the screen, blue eyes regarding him hesitantly.
"If I'm not here by the time you leave, go without me. If you get out, and... I don't show within ten, I want you to give them the go ahead."
Her eyes widened in surprise, "But-"
He covered her mouth with his hand and spoke reassuringly, "Ten minutes after, and give the call."
He smiled at her, and started for the door marked EXIT in big red letters.
Ash left through the door, drew his side arm and moved fast through the hallways.
After five minutes of going up three floors, and searching, he heard the floor groaning. Which mean that one by one, the G-Men were taking out the supports.
He chose thermite as the item to remove the supports for two reasons. It would melt through with ease, and was a silent weapon.
It burns through materials, no explosions, no nothing.
Which kept the G-Men free from harm, and got the job done.
He found the cages not to long after.
They were aisles of stack cages, where the Pokemon inside looked ferocious despite their skinny appearance.
In all, he counted thirty. All of which he would have to free without them killing him.
Lucky enough, there appeared to be no Rockets in the room. So Ash spoke to the Pokemon he was going to free, "Don't worry everyone," He said absently checking the locks, "I'm going to get you all out of here."
He kept his voice neutral, and glanced at each of them until his eyes landed on a Rhydon, "Hey fella," He said soothingly.
It growled at him, and Ash took a step back and bowed.
The Pokemon were of the Farwinds, they were killers.
But they were far from stupid.
Ash looked back up and saw it watching him closely, "I'm going to break the lock," He said thumbing the safety on his sidearm, "I need you to help break the others free. We've only got minutes until this place is blown to hell, and I'd like it if you all weren't caught in it,"
It stared at him and Ash raised the gun, pulled the trigger, and the lock was blasted apart.
Taking off the remains, Ash pried open the door to the cage and moved onto the next one, "You start over there," Ash said blowing the lock off a Mightyana's cage, "The faster you guys are back in the wild the better."
And to his relief, they helped.
And in minutes the thirty had been set free.
The wall to the north Ash pointed at, "Take out that wall, and you're free. I've got to go take out the machine they were testing you guys with,"
Ash gave the thirty different species a nod, and started for a door on the east side.
Behind him, he heard attacks going off left and right, and then an explosion and a cold gust of wind entering the room.
Ash kicked open the shut door, and looked around the room he entered.
There were large cylindrical tanks, with bright yellow liquid aligned in rows across the large room. At the top of each, a hose ran up to the ceiling, and across the roof all to one central point. The hoses all converged into a single square machine, with multiple thick wires wrapping around it.
Ash stared at the strange machines, drew his side arm and shot the closest tank.
It burst open, the liquid and glass crashing to the floor and spreading out.
"They don't even use reinforced glass?" He muttered shooting another, the same effect taking place.
As he moved to the central area, he destroyed the tanks with a single bullet. And once he reached it, he had gone through fifty rounds.
There was a console on the central machine. It was glowing and showed the layout of the room.
Fifty small red markers were on the screen, and he figured they would have been green had he not destroyed them.
Taking his knife, he twirled it once in his hand, before swinging the tip down towards the console screen.
It burst into a display of sparks, and the screen turned black.
Ash stabbed at the screen three more times, creating a small hole, and re-sheathed his knife.
Taking his handgun, he inserted a full clip, and aimed at the console.
The gun blared as the bullets ripped through the machinery and into the internal circuits. Once empty, he loaded a new clip, and stepped back.
He unloaded it into the hoses above, which showered the machine with the yellow liquid. Ash watched as the liquid dripped into the hole he created in the console and begin sparking and smoking once more.
That was all he could do. The building would be destroyed soon enough, and this machine along with it.
For now, the best he could do was make this machine inoperable. With the destruction of the building, would lead to it being irreparable.
His gut told him twenty minutes had gone by, Alyssa would be out of the building by then, so that was all that was required by him as well.
Returning to the caged room, he stared at the massive hole in the wall.
He approached where snow had begun spreading across the floor, and peered over the edge.
It was a thirty foot drop, it wouldn't kill him because of the snow. But it would be colder then he would like.
Before he jumped, two G-Men appeared from beneath. They saw him and waved, "Sir!" The one on the right called out, "Good to see you! The final two supports are ready, permission to take them out?"
"Did my partner return?" He called down.
"Negative Sir!"
She couldn't have gotten into trouble. She had a direct route to the outside of the building and-
He came to attention as a three tone beep sounded over head, followed by the ruffling of the PA system.
"A-Ash!?" His eyes locked on the speaker in the room at Alyssa's voice, "H-Help-"
Her voice cut off, as did the microphone.
Seconds later it sounded back up, "Ketchum, Ketchum, Ketchum,"
Dear God no.
"You really did it this time," Domino said over the PA, "even for you, this is a new level of stupid." There was a pause, and his heart froze.
The sound of a safety switching off sounded over head, "And..." Domino trailed off, and Ash waited frozen.
BANG!
The sound of the handgun thundered over the PA and silenced completely.
Reaching to his hip, he snatched the Pokeball on his hip and called out Espeon, who up until this point had been awaiting for her call.
"You two!" Ash shouted, "Come with me, Esp!"
The magenta cat's eyes shone aqua blue, and the two G-Men rose from the ground, and up into the room.
Ash was running as soon as they landed.
He had done it.
He had done the stupidest thing he had ever done.
He had gotten her killed.
Or maybe, maybe Domino had just fired at the roof, and still had her alive.
The G-Men ran after Ash as he dashed through the halls, dropping everyone who crossed his path
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Domino... She... Where is she now?" Misty asked hesitantly, "is she still out there?"
Ash clenched his hands into fists, "No, she's gone,"
'I killed her after all.'
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Ash shouldered opened the door to the data center, drawing his sidearm in the same movement.
His eyes glanced frantically around the room, past each of bodies he and Alyssa had left on the ground before, and to-
The weapon dropped from his hands, his eyes landing on the blond who lay on the floor, a small pool of blood soaking beneath her.
"A-Aly!" Ash ran over to her, got to his knees and stared at her in horror.
Her face, pale, had begun bruising.
Her lip was cut, and one eye had swollen shut.
Behind him, Ash heard the footsteps of the two G-Men who had accompanied him, "Alyssa," He said quietly, she was alive, but her eyes were on the verge of closing, "where did Domino go?"
Her breathing was coarse, and he felt sick. "Exit," The single word seemed to have taken effort, and her eyes slowly closed shut.
"You two!" Ash barked looking over his shoulder, "Get pressure on the wound, I'm going after Domino!"
Saying so, he got to his feet and started for the door he had left through once before.
He didn't understand how he had brought himself to leave Alyssa at this moment.
There was a possibility that she would die, but he felt that this was much more important.
He was furious.
Not at Domino, but himself.
It was his fault Alyssa had tagged along for this mission alongside him, when he knew he could have kept her from coming.
He knew the dangers that Domino would present to him.
Not once did he think that she would have been here waiting for them. That she would know that he would be coming to this frozen hell.
It could have been a coincidence.
But he knew better.
He followed the blood trail, which ran down the center of the hallways.
Alyssa must have gotten in a solid hit, or cut on her-
Ash was thrown into the wall as a body tackled him from the side.
"GAH!" He cried out as a knife buried itself in his left shoulder.
He swung his right elbow back, and heard the solid crack as he hit the person in the jaw.
Domino pushed back, and got to her feet.
Her face was lightly bruised on her right, and she seemed to be favoring the left of her ribcage, "Hello Ash," She growled lowly.
Gritting his teeth, Ash reached with his right hand for the knife protruding from his shoulder, and tore it free, blood spraying from the wound.
He shook his head, "Why Dom, why!"
Her violet eyes regarded him with contempt, "Because I knew you wouldn't come back for me Ash. That was a fools hope,"
"It wasn't!" He said quietly, "I meant every word I said Domino. That I loved you," She stiffened, "that I wanted you to run from Team Rocket. I meant it then and I meant it after I got the antidote."
He paused, and his eyes darkened, "But not now Domino, you went to far this time."
Her lip quirked, "Oh ho, because your little girlfriend is on her deathbed right now?"
He took a step forward, and she took one back, "Y-You know, I guess we really never did need to wipe your memories. I would have thought you'd stay by her side, but I guess I was wrong." She swallowed and smirked, "Your training really did pay off, the fact that you left your best buddy to accomplish your mission must really mean that you've truly come full circle,"
With his right hand, Ash twirled the blade between his fingers like Alyssa had done previously, "No," Ash shook his head, "in the end Elizabeth, we're right back at the beginning of the end,"
"Is that so?" She asked amused.
He gave a stiff nod.
"This time," He said, "I won't miss."
Drawing back the knife, Domino's eyes flashed with remembrance.
The blade moved through the air, end over end, blood spraying off the blade.
She gasped, the cold steel piercing her chest, and the tip, directly into her heart.
Ash caught her with his good arm before she fell, and lay her onto the ground, her head on his lap, "I'm sorry Liz," He whispered as a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth, and the scared light behind her eyes dimmed.
"I'm sorry..."