Locked Away, Chapter 49
When Misty made the first phone call to her sisters, it fell to a busy message.
Hi, this is the Waterflowers, greatest actors, actresses, and battlers in this age, leave a message.
It was just like her sister Daisy to leave such a conceited sounding answering machine, and it only now made a gaping hole at where her stomach used to be. How could she not call her sisters immediately after what happened to her? She went missing for over a week, and they probably found out she was okay through the media, just like everyone else did.
Ignoring Brock's attempts to get a hold of his siblings scattered across the world, and Drew's murmuring, she dialed the familiar number once again, and held the new, slightly cracked, phone up to her ear for what felt like the first time in a million years.
"I can't believe they're taking people for leverage." Drew muttered under his breath from across the train cart. His arms were crossed angrily over his chest, and the slumped indicated a horrible ache in his head, formed by the sudden rush from Saffron City, to the bullet train to Viridian City with little to no explanation from Misty.
They weren't dumb, though. They knew that someone was taken, after some deducing and frantic listening to Misty rave about getting to a train as quickly as possible, it became far too common a knowledge that whom ever went missing was related to Ash, and quite possibly his mother. She didn't tell either of them much else, but Brock was grim and dark faced from the moment they received the voicemail.
To boot, Ash had not called them back, and they were missing a computer to scan the key information that Clemont gave them. They were derailing from the plan, venturing into the wrong direction, and possibly walking into a trap.
But Misty had to see it. While she never made any specific promises to Cole or Delia, she felt responsible for them in Ash's place. She knew that whatever happened to that woman and her children, it wasn't a fault of her own—even if she did not help the situation.
The message started to ring again: Hi, you've reached-"Hello?"
"Daisy!" Misty squawked, exhaling the breath she had been holding for the last few minutes.
"Misty? Is that you, oh my god, where have you been? We've been worried sick! We heard you were back in the region but-"
"Stop right there Daisy, I know. I'm sorry. I should have called but—just listen for a minute." Misty inhaled sharp. "I love you three, more than life itself, you know that right?"
"...Right, but Mist-"
"Shh!" She hissed angrily. "That's why I need you three to be careful. Stay together, stay in the spotlight, do whatever nonsense you can think up to stay relevant. Throw parties, through tantrums, I don't care. Just stay visible."
A long pause echoed before Misty spoke again. "And if anyone you aren't familiar with comes to bother you, call me right away and run."
"What's going on?" Daisy's voice, hard and hostile, like Misty's when she was in her infamous 'gym leader mode' beckoned honesty from her sister, but Misty couldn't crack.
"I promise to tell you everything later, but right now—just promise, okay?"
Another long pause.
"Okay."
"Thank you. I love you, Daisy."
"...Love you, too, baby sister." Daisy uttered quietly before Misty removed the phone from her face, and clicked the end call button, tears pooling at the edges of her eyes that she wiped away with her wrist.
Brock, seemingly having no luck at calling his family stared Misty down until the tension snapped, and he spoke.
"Why didn't you tell them what was going on?"
"They're safer if they don't know, don't you think? They probably targeted Delia because she did know something. Daisy, Lily and Violet are harmless."
"Not harmless as a means to blackmail you." Drew was quick to point out, earning a nasty glare from the cabin's red-haired devil.
"Where do you think I learned to survive at? I'm not worried about them." Misty breathed. "But I needed to warn them. I don't know if Giovanni is listening in, but I can't take any chances."
"I know." Brock mumbled, slinking back in his chair, and looking out the window at the passing trees. His father was a casualty of whatever war took place before the events now, poisoned even on his death bed, and left to rot. He understood leaving her sisters out of the loop.
"What about you, Drew? Do you have family you need to call?" Misty asked the green-haired compatriot, snapping him out of the daze he was in when he shook his head.
"No, no one." The infliction of dread in his voice left little to ask more questions. An orphan perhaps? Misty didn't know much about him, only what few stories Ash had shared, and she hardly remembered a family name.
Lost in a train of her own thoughts, this new knowledge—an idea she should have already been at least partially aware of—in the light, her head lulled backwards, and she swiped at her face with the palm of her hand. She felt so incredibly tired again, even after their most recent victory. How long had it been since she saw Cole, again? A few weeks—since before the league party. That seemed liked ages ago, now.
"They control people... and what they can't control..." came rolling out of Brock's mouth, huddled against the wall of the train. They kill, he might have said if the situation wasn't already so grim. Ash, who lost so much already, would not handle the news of his kin being lost so easily. The only hope Misty could cling to was the notion that terminated wasn't written on their documents, not like on Professor Oak's. They kill, she thought again, shaking her head until they cleared of nasty thoughts, and turned to the raven-haired boy, lost on an adventure, unaware of the dangers awaiting him at home, or the growing seriousness.
It was always serious, but never dangerous, at least not really. Ash was a wanted criminal, she was a defaced superstar, and Brock and Drew were something of a nobody. Which only worried her more. If neither of them were in the headlines, they were touchable. Team Rocket—Giovanni- could hurt them.
"Misty." Brock mumbled, reaching out to squeeze her knee and look her in the eye, understanding the thoughts expressed on her face. "Don't worry, we'll be okay. You need to focus—we still have a lot of work to do."
"I know." Misty hummed at his assurance, looking out the window again, she thought she might have saw a glimpse of what looked like Ash flying on charizard, but knew she imagined it.
"I know." She said once more, mostly for herself than anyone else. The feeling of catastrophic dread at the edge of her heart. She understood it, the reason Clemont did not want to leave that lab. These people had far more power than they were letting on, and even though she would have liked to give up, sit down, and let fear consume her into silence—she couldn't back down yet. Not ever. They had to win.
XOX
Arriving in Viridian City was a bittersweet moment, she had so many memories there.
Good, bad, good. Her first few moments spent with Ash were under the watchful eye of the city streets, lit with bright yellow lights and tall buildings. The buildings looked even bigger now, coming in from the bullet train's station. It was hard to think that the last time they had been on any type of train, they ended up jumping out of it.
By now, Misty felt that she should have been used to walking into Viridian City. The nostalgia and guilt long replaced with happiness and new memories. The best memories she had of Ash were here, of Cole, of Brock—before this plan turned into this huge pile of chaos that it was now. The simple times that spared her a year ago were so fleeting as she marched from the terminal, out the front gates, and into the street without missing a single beat. Brock and Drew were at her heels, flicking glasses on simultaneously.
Misty barely remembered the walk to the new Oak residence. They didn't speak, or ask questions, or take a cab. They marched silently through the streets, ignoring gleeful screams, and taunting insults. People either loved her, or hated her. There wasn't an in-between at this point. Typically, younger people favored her, knew her reputation and respected it, whereas older people viewed her most recent actions as irresponsible, and untrustworthy.
When they arrived, exactly three hours before sunset, her heart skipped a beat in her chest, staring down the same white, picket fence, slightly pink tinted, green grass and white trimmed house she saw so many months ago. An air of doom hung from every orifice, the broom Mr. Mime used to sweep the floor left unattended, and the lights turned off. Unloved.
She remembered hearing sounds of food steps, and talking—of Pokemon playing and the rustle of the wind in the distance; now, she heard nothing. The silence was deafening, and her throat felt tight and suddenly too dry to speak.
"...So this is her house." Brock mused, after months of traveling to talk with Agatha an Misty, they never stopped in to meet with Delia. Misty had a couple of times to visit with Cole—but nothing more than a handful. Delia was a sweet woman, but they didn't understand how she could disown Ash so carelessly.
Well, it was nice to know that it wasn't her choice—or at least, it didn't seem that way anymore.
"Yeah." Misty offered offhandedly while approaching the white door.
No need to knock, both locks were busted, and the door creaked open with barely a push. Misty flagged Brock and Drew to both stop and turned at them.
"...Just... give me a minute." Misty hummed with a faint smile before squeezing through the crack of the door. Dust penetrated her nostrils within seconds. The scent of dirt fresh with windy days and an unclean home. Unlike the last time when the house smelled of cinnamon, and flowers.
She didn't stop to look around, to check each crevice, or to listen to Brock complain that she should not go in alone—or that Drew insisted that she had to. And to give her time. Whatever they were speaking she was lost in the moment. This was where it all started—from the moment they came here the first time, their lives changed; not just Ash's.
She made a decision that day. To watch Ash's back no matter how much he fought her on it. She would always be there to help him, to care for him when no one else was around. However, and she didn't know it at the time, she was wrong.
Three steps up the stairway, her heavy foot steps gave long creaks as concerned companions flocked to the door to look inside, but not pester. It wasn't Ash who needed her—maybe at the beginning, sure, when he was still finding his place in the world—but it was she who needed him, and she realized it the very moment he left the Cerulean City gym in a huff.
Her first friend. Her family. He was as much family to her as her very sisters, and that meant by default that his family was her family—Brock, Dawn, Gary—they were his family, somehow connected spiritually through bonds she would never understand—but they were her family, because they were his.
At the top of the steps, she finally saw the struggle. A broken picture frame here, a cracked vase there. A broken door at the side entrance of the hall where she could see the find imprint of a boot breaking the surface of a wooden panel and she swallowed her heart down into her stomach.
Misty knew what to expect at this point—an empty house. No one to call to, or help. This happened a week ago, taken from their beds. She wondered if it hurt, if they separated them. Her cold fingers pressed against the damaged fabric while she stepped into the colorful room of Cole Oak, which looked surprisingly Gray.
His bed was moved, the furniture was cracked, his phone—the one she presumed that he called her from—smashed against the opposite wall, laying in pieces across his desk.
A part of her, small and terrified thought she might find a body when she danced around the room for clues. That's what happened in those serial killer movies, right? Motivation for the good guys to get serious—someone always had to die. Would Cole or Delia die? Would that little note written contained be changed to terminated because of their incident at the Unova facility? Would they hurt Cole? Did they hurt pikachu's family, or Mr. mime? She couldn't fathom what Ash would be thinking right now, and knowing that she would be the one who would have to break the news, her heart twisted, and she choked silently on her tears.
"Misty." Brock's cool voice called to her from the hallway, where he watched her slowly crumble to her knees, holding onto Cole's jacket—a memento she hadn't realized that she grabbed. "We don't have time for this; we should contact Gary...let him know something happened. We shouldn't stay here if..."
"He's just a kid, Brock." Misty croaked, head stooping low and hair falling into her face.
"I know." Brock muttered quietly. "But we'll find him. And we'll save him. But we can't do that if we don't figure out how to stop Giovanni."
His voice cracked. "I know it's hard, Mist, but—we need you, and we need to go before they know we've been here."
Misty turned slowly at Brock, her eyes as dark as sin when she sniffled quietly. A part of her, the child still growing up wanted to scream at him for being insensitive—but Brock knew better than anyone, after all. They wouldn't get anywhere whining over the past. Misty let the jacket slip from her fingers, and dusted her knees off.
"Call Gary, tell him we're on our way there. He'll want to know." She swallowed and licked her lips when fleeing the room. "They're going to pay for this."
"They will." Brock chimed in quickly, so fast Misty spun to see the anger in his squinting eyes.
XOX
Saving the world didn't mean giving up who he was, or what he stood for. He knew that now. But he also knew that it meant adapting to the new world. It wasn't easy, and sometimes he wasn't going to make the right decisions.
But he was getting better at it.
Since the incident in the mountain with pikachu, the mouse was more withdrawn, but level headed. Ash worried about him, but knew to give him some space. Hopefully, electrocution would never happen again, but he wasn't sure it wasn't going to be necessary. These men were prepared to kill them at any time. Pikachu was, is protecting him. He only wished he couldn't take it so hard—not that Ash felt any better. However, the shock allowed for an exceptional amount of understanding that started with a swift entrance to the Eterna City airport—which, like Ash thought—was shut down due to the storm. While Ash, charizard, pikachu, and togepi waited near the fence line as Jessie, James, and meowth managed to commandeer a small, six man plane, he kept his thoughts to himself. Charizard was beyond exhausted, looking grayer every time he looked at the pseudo-dragon. Pikachu and togepi were worn out; physically and emotionally, and the egg had taken to sleeping in his jacket during the long wait.
Long gone were his reasoning that stealing was bad, and they would have to return the plane somehow. However, thirty some hours away, staring down the barrel of a gun, and riding down a mountain in a bumpy go-kart left his patience thin. Their plan: steal plane, fly to Ecruteak City. After all, no one would bother them with a fire breathing dragon beside them to guide the way.
No sleep. Exhaustion sunk in at the worst of times, but during the flight, they kept each other awake with pats, nudges, and other forms of physical contact mostly followed by loud shrieks of "Ow, that hurt!" but the sentiments prevented them from passing out. Surprisingly, meowth was the best pilot of the six of them, but given his nature, he was also the sleepiest. James took command of the flight when meowth grew too tired to handle.
Mindlessly, Ash paced back and forth when turbulence wasn't slowly killing him. He was worried about charizard, and so was togepi. Pikachu slept most of the flight—or tried to pretend. Ash knew better than to disturb the mouse though. Togepi was the one to point out that it seemed like charizard's scales were growing darker with every glance, and every hour they were in the air. Somehow, under the exhaustion built up over the last few days, Ash imagined his tail burned hotter than normal, igniting the very clouds around them.
Jessie and James did not talk much, they kept their voices down around Ash, but armed with the observation that Jessie and James knew more about his dreams than they were letting on, he gave them their space as well, thus isolating himself, with togepi sitting in his lap in the passenger's side of the plane.
Togepi played twenty questions with him, like a child mind have with a parent—the way that the egg used to ask Misty a million questions she would never understand. How was pikachu, would pikachu be okay, is Jessie okay, are we there yet, when do we land, it's cold, I wonder if Misty's okay, do you think Brock is okay,
Are you okay?
"Yes, I'm fine." Ash told the small egg while patting it's head and glancing out the window. His eyes felt heavy, as if they could fall out if he leaned forward.
After a time, the storm had cleared, and shone bright light into the cabin, warming him from the inside out. He wasn't sure how far they were away from Sinnoh, but the green below reminded him fondly of Kanto, and according to meowth, they would be flying just north of the region to remain undetected—though, Ash was sure if someone was following them, they would have known by now.
In fact, outside of the rough landing that made every working muscle in his body ache, he was sure that they were safe, and warm, and safe.
"Some landing." Ash murmured while flicking his wrist against his chin, standing outside of plane crash. Jessie, James and meowth stumbled out of the commandeered plane, rubbing their aching heads while Ash pawed at his hips.
He didn't realize how much he missed the sweet scent of distant cherry blossoms and humidity of the Southern region until he stripped out of his winter clothes.
"But we made it!" Ash sung, dropping the jacket into the grassy plains without so much of a second thought. Jessie and James followed suit, dropping their heavy parkas and embracing the warmth.
Summer. Real summer.
"I wonder if we should have stopped in to see how they were doing?" Ash added immediately after, looking to the east, where he could see in the distance the seemingly never ending towers of the Indigo Plateau.
"We would have made a scene." Jessie laughed.
"We used to fancy scenes, didn't we?" James chuckled while tugging his long hair back into a low pony tail, Ash spun around to look at them and cracked a wide smile.
"We're in uncharted territory, you know. Even in this world most people can't figure out this forest." Ash hummed hotly, knowing the were just north of Ecruteak City, the highest point of Johto.
"Give it twenty years, and there'll be infrastructure out here, you just wait." Meowth snorted, the last of the group to leave the plane. Since they didn't have any gear after the incident in the mountain, they were running on the rations that were left in storage from the owners of the plane—which had a gimp wing reminding Ash to cup his mouth.
"Charizard!" He shouted, waiting for the familiar roar.
"Toggii!" The pokemon helped as he and pikachu rested at the hull.
Following the cries of his friends and trainer, the ever-growing dragon swooped down with a twisted into the forest, and landed sloppily into the dirt. The injury on his wind was fine so long as he was airborne, but landing and taking off were still proving tricky. Especially landing.
Dirt flew up and around them, causing the plane to creak, and Ash covered his eyes and coughed at charizard.
"Nice, buddy." He swore while approaching him and dusting his hands over his hard scales. He wasn't mistaken, the glimmering, orange scales were turning a faint shade of black under his jaws, and down his shoulder blades. Without a proper nurse or doctor to explain what was happening, he felt his heart stall quietly in fear.
"Are you feeling okay?"
He roared proudly in response, eliciting a smile from Ash. If the scales weren't bothering charizard, then they weren't bothering Ash.
"Just checking—you have been up as long as us, after all—maybe even longer. I don't know how you can keep going. You have to be tired." Charizard didn't answer him directly, he just swooped his tail around the grass below, and in the warm, summer heat, collapsed aimlessly into the ground and let out a loud huff.
"You have a point." James said. "We should make camp here and come up with a plan before strolling into Ecruteak City. Plus, we're not going to be any good as sleep deprived as we are." At the last of his words, James' eyelids drooped shut, and Ash thwarted a chuckle.
"Right." Ash nodded, though he felt fine. The world was spinning a little, and his eyes hurt, but he was fine. After all, how could he sleep? The world was ending. Maybe. He wasn't exactly sure what would happen at the end of all of this, but it was not good.
Beside him, Charizard huffed quietly, and leaned to the ground to rest his heavy head on the green, summer grass. Ash turned to him quietly, and twisted his hands over the dragon's formerly limp wing, where he could see the faint scarring of where the harpoon flew through his wing, and let out a steady sigh. After everything, here charizard was, flying once again, at his side. Where he should be.
"I don't have charizard's pokeball, so it would be better if he stayed here to rest." Ash smiled to the dragon, who would never admit that he needed rest, but silently accepted the offer and shut his eyes, giving Ash time for himself to think while the former Team Rocket members talked amongst themselves.
Pikachu took little time to find a space beneath charizard's wing to hide, where he poked out his head to see Ash staring down at him.
"Cha...?" The mouse questioned unable to keep eye contact with his trainer. Kindly, Ash knelt beside the two pokemon and rubbed pikachu's scalp.
"Of course you can stay here." Ash hummed, genuinely smiling. "And I'm not mad at you. It'll be okay. I promise." Pikachu looked to him with evasive, tearful eyes, and then looked away once more. His words didn't help much.
"It was good that he did what he did, any how. Otherwise, you might not be standing here." Jesse chimed in, but then immediately returned to silence with the look that Ash gave her—couldn't she see that pikachu was struggling with this? It wasn't everyday that pikachu accidentally electrocuted someone. Even if Ash knew it was necessary, as horrible and dangerous as it was—pikachu wasn't prepared to hear that. He felt guilty.
Ash stood up after a brief silence, and then looked toward the city, where he could see a large tower in the distance. Beside him, James and meowth had already started preparations for the campsite, gathering rocks for a fire, removing the rest of their supplies from the damaged plane, and laying the ground work for cover if it rained—not that it would, there wasn't a cloud in sight. The blue, open Johto skies were resemblance of Kanto region, and they made him homesick again. On cue, it was as if the twenty four hours he remained awake faded from his body and he waved to his travel companions.
"I think I'll go check out the city now."
"We should wait until night fall. You'll be less recognizable then."
"Yeah, but it will also be night, so everything will be closed Besides, they won't notice me." He sounded confident, overly so and so Jessie snorted.
"How are you so sure?" James asked, holding a couple of twigs in his hands when Ash smiled up at him.
"Because I'll be hiding in plain sight."
Then without further comment, Ash shrugged off some dirt, tucked his shirt in, adjusted his collar, and straightened his hair. He looked like a weary traveler, but nothing like the man-on-the-run he really was.
"If you're not back by sunset we'll assume you've been captured"
"Deal." Ash chuckled, and at the sound his pokemon peaked their heads up once again, and Ash waved his hand to them. Togepi maneuvered from the plane to follow after Ash, and hop onto his shoulder before his descent into the forest.
"You're comin' with me? Aren't you tired?"
"Togei!" The egg chirped determined to make sure Ash was safe since pikachu wasn't with him.
Sitting, watching as his back disappeared into the brush of the forest, James and Jessie looked to meowth, and pursed their lips quietly.
"Should we have let him go?"
"If he's alone, they shouldn't notice him." Jessie murmured, though James seemed worried nonetheless, and looked to charizard and pikachu who hadn't moved. His gnawed on his lips. How strange it was for pikachu, of all of Ash's pokemon, to let him adventure out into the world alone. A powerful, little pokemon scarred by its abilities—left alone to sulk in guilt.
"I think you should follow him, meowth. That way if he gets in any trouble..."
"Meeoww." Meowth replied without missing a beat—having been on the same wavelength, he was already preparing to move forward while the rest of them were exhausted.
James leaned back slightly, where Jessie nodded to him.
"Now we rest, right?"
"Right." James groaned, but neither of them were tired any more. Not with Ash adventuring forward.
"Maybe we should go to?" he inquired.
"One of us should stay with the pokemon." she replied.
They shared a glance, then remembering the injury on her back, James was up a second later and Jessie fell backwards with a loud sigh. They couldn't just wait until night fall, could they?
XOX
Ash tried to focus on his task at hand. The city was busy during late afternoon when he arrived through the northern forest, onto the trail leading into the heart of the city—the town square noted for its large statue of legendary pokemon; long believed to be a myth, and of course, the burned bell tower that rested in the center.
Ash stood amazed at the sight, the timber and wood charred from the tip, down to the concrete and brick foundation—and yet it remained erect at the center of the city, a reminder of a simpler, peaceful time that seemed so distant. Ash inhaled, faintly recalling the time he spent here in his dream—the lore behind the tower.
"Some people though that it was Lugia who used to perch high on these towers. But it was actually..." Ash muttered to no one in particular,. He couldn't remember the name as he peered to the top, faintly recalling the dancing colors of a rainbow.
Approaching the base of the tower, though it clearly said to stay away on several signs. His fingers brushed against what should have been ancient carvings on the base—ruined by the weather, by time—they reflected the story of the beast of the sea, and the beast of the sky. Lugia's shape edged faint in the stone, but the sky warden was broken off ages ago. Once more Ash strained his eyes for the name, but nothing came. He knew the bird; the pokemon this tower belonged to. He had even seen it before..
"Toge?" The pokemon asked, snapping Ash back into reality.
"I've been here before." He explained, standing up as a young woman rounded a corner of the park.
"Hey! You're not supposed to be in there!" She shouted at Ash, who jumped at the comment.
"Oh!" he shrieked, looking at his foot steps, then stupidly at the sign. "I didn't know. I'm sorry!"
He stumbled back up the path, brushing his hands off on his knees and smiling stupidly. "Really need to start paying attention—I just wanted a better look at the place."
"Pfft, if you weren't carrying a pokemon I might have thought you were trying to deface the property." Her voice was shrill as a cat, eyes narrowed dangerously at him, then surprisingly soft when she leaned back.
"You were looking at the drawings?"
Ash glanced to the tower, and then rubbed the back of his neck to relieve his nerves, hoping that who ever this was—they wouldn't recognize him. "Yeah, they looked interesting—funny how it's still here—good ol' Tin tower."
"Tin tower?" The girl asked, glancing sideways at him, from where she was standing, Ash could see the perfectly round stomach below her folded fingers, and the long droop of a pink and red Kimono around her shoulders. "Where did you get that name?"
"...that's the name, isn't it?"
A pause.
"No." She giggled. "It's been unnamed for years! But I like that, Tin Tower, it's almost suiting."
Ash cleared his throat, he knew that she at least had the name wrong, but was unsure how to push the subject. "You wouldn't happen to know more about the tower, would you?"
Intrigued by his curiosity, the young woman with magenta colored hair smacked her lips before speaking eagerly. "Well, no more than anyone else in town—we have a festival every year to celebrate the great fire that brought peace to this nation—you know the history behind the three beasts, right?"
"...Right." Ash mumbled, though he vaguely recalled the information.
"The great phoenix once said it spread its flame to give birth to new pokemon, and destroyed the tower in the process. Many people believe that years ago, the great Lugia once stood atop the tower alongside Ho-oh and they lived together in harmony until... Well, that's the mysterious part, huh?" She looked to him with a bright smile over her pink features and Ash crossed his arms and looked upward with a puzzled expression. Ho-oh, he wondered how he forgot the name for so long.
"I remembered the story being more like the tower burned, and so Ho-oh left, wasn't that why you built the new tower?"
The woman gave him a nasty look. "You think a tourist knows the story better than me?"
"No, sorry." Ash corrected while they both stared up at the tower for a few moments of silence.
His ears felt like they were ringing, and a hole somewhere deeply embedded into his chest felt like it slowly started to heal. Ho-oh, he knew that name—that pokemon. The rainbow phoenix he saw only minutes before losing consciousness. Why couldn't he remember it until now—he approached the tower, saw the pictures, knew the lore, but the name was... missing. He didn't have time to consider why he couldn't remember the name before his lips started moving on their own.
"So, Ho-oh hasn't been around since...?"
The young woman scoffed. "Since ever! He doesn't really exist—he's a myth, you know!"
"...Right." Ash hummed, but he somehow doubted that conclusion.
"It's a lie we tell people to bring in more tourist—honestly, I think the tower was burned down by a bunch of kids years ago."
"You just said-" she stuck her tongue out at him, and grinned.
"I was giving you a hard time." Ash scowled at her response, but she giggled. "Hey, why don't you come see my sisters? You look new to town and we run the gym here—it's not as prestigious as some other gyms, but we make due."
Only now, did the dots connect in Ash's head, and her name soared back to him: Sakura, the youngest sister of the gym leaders in Ecruteak City—one of Misty's good friends, well, his version of Misty, anyways. How convenient he would run into her here, of all places. How lucky. At least he always had that to fall back on, Ash tried not to grin at her.
"Well, o-"
"Hey! There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you!" James voice bounded over the park, and the two of them turned to see him sprinting at them.
"You can't leave without letting us know, your dear mother has been worried sick!"
"..my mother?" Ash winced, imagining Jessie as his mom; a nauseous feeling followed. Beside him, Sakura giggled.
"Looks like you have company after all." She smiled gracefully, and bowed her head. "I'll leave you to it, then. If you decide to stop in, you know where to find us."
"Thanks." Ash mused quietly while James stomped at his side and waved to a graceful, and kind Sakura as she left. They waited until she was out of earshot before talking, and the smiles fell of their lips.
"What are you doing? You can't see the gym leaders!" James mouthed off and Ash brushed him off.
"I wasn't going to. Besides, I thought you stayed with Jessie? You didn't leave charizard and pikachu alone, did you?" Ash questioned skeptically, cross with James.
"No, we left them alone." He rolled his eyes. "Then what was that, she's a gym leader, too, you know. They know you, twerp."
"I was getting information!" Ash urged, trying to contain the momentary excitement in his voice. "About—this!" he pointed to the tower and James looked up, amused.
"Who doesn't know about the Tin Tower?"
Ash licked his lips. "According to everyone in this town. It's not called the Tin Tower."
"What's your point?"
"My point is..." Ash folded his arms, and narrowed his eyes. "I remember the name of the pokemon I saw ten years ago. It was lost to me for whatever reason and she said it and it's like it was meant to happen..."
"Ho-oh, you mean?"
"You remember?" A stunned Ash nearly fell forward.
"Read it on the board on the way into central park. Whats so special about him, is that who they're after next?" Ash rolled his eyes in response and placed his hands on his hips.
"Why else would they come here?" Ash huffed. "Regardless, I know how to find him."
James was appalled. "What do you mean?" he looked around the area, begging to find the conclusion that Ash somehow came to. He just got here, but couldn't see anywhere that Ash might have been able to discover the location of the legendary pokemon.
"What do you mean you know where to find him?" James asked once more as Ash started off back to the forest, around the walls created to protect central park, and back toward their makeshift camp. James scrambled to keep up, and meowth appeared beside him just as confused.
"This is where they will be soon!"
"Yeah, well let them come, they won't find anything here."
"Why won't they?" he shrieked, voice reaching a new pitch.
"Because I never knew anything about Ho-oh—no one did...does—just trust me, okay?"
"Just stop! Think about what you're saying, kid." James stepped in front of Ash, keeping his arms out to prevent Ash from walking any further, and stopping this insanity!
"We need to leave now if we're going to get there in time." Ash tried to move past him, but James latched on, and practically pushed Ash backwards. He didn't respond so happily to the shove, and barreled forward himself to take a swing at James. Easily enough, the experienced fighter swooped past Ash's arm, and pushed him off center. Togepi jumped before Ash landed on him, and squeaked out the moment he slumped to the ground.
"What's wrong with you?" James questioned suddenly. "First suggesting the stealing of a plane—staying up for hours, running off into the city and leaving your pokemon behind! You're reckless."
"No." Ash muttered, sitting up and holding his stomach where James shoved him. "I'm finding answers—we're out of time, James."
"No, we're not. Look around you, twerp." James pointed to the serenity of the forest and knelt down in front of Ash. "We need to be smart about this, if we're not, we can't save anyone. That includes sleep, and eating, and making rational decisions."
Ash couldn't meet his eyes. "I know..."
Wind dusted around them, and that flighty feeling in his stomach passed over time, leaving him with an urge to scream, or stomp his feet. Togepi waited patiently beside them, ticking his arms back and forth nervously while Ash sniffled.
"Pikachu k-killed people, James—and have you seen charizard? He looks sick—his scales are changing colors, and Jessie got hurt. What's going to happen in the next week?"
"If it's not one thing, it's another." James muttered and Ash glared at him.
"Well-" Ash muttered. "I know how to find Ho-oh..."
"How?"
Ash grew visibly uncomfortable now, imagining that it would have been easier to just go, rather than to talk it over. They needed more action if they were going to come out on top. To think one step ahead of Team Rocket, and he finally had the chance to—a strong gut feeling.
"Do you remember Shamouti Island?" Ash asked, twisting his fingers together while he looked at the dirt shifted beneath him. Clearly a sore subject for the young man.
"Of course I remember."
"Yeah, well, I remember saving it. When I last saw it, the place was drowned in water—which means whatever happened, Lugia wasn't there to save them. I wasn't there. They knew that I wouldn't be, and they won. The only chance we have to beat Team Rocket is to be one step ahead of them, and that's on Valencia Island."
"So...you know where to find Lugia?"
"No...Maybe, I haven't thought that far—but I know how to find Ho-oh."
"Which is also on Valencia island?" Confusion laced James tone while Ash stood on his own.
"Yes."
And apparently, Ash didn't realize how crazy he sounded while he trampled back to camp with James hot on his heels.
"There's a painter on Valencia Island, Tracey, who painted a few pictures of the pokemon. He could know where Ho-oh is."
"Or we could find the clues in Ecruteak City."
"But they weren't there in my dreams, James. No one knows where or how to find Ho-oh."
"So you think some pokemon watcher does?"
"He painted pictures. It can't be a coincidence."
"So say he does know—what's stopping Team Rocket from getting there first?"
"Which is why we need to leave now."
James watched the way his shoulders rose, then fell, and shook his head. "Jess isn't going to be happy about this, following a gut feeling."
"You said my dreams were how we were going to find the legendary pokemon—well, here we go. Trust me."
"We said that, yes-" James licked his lips, still trying to reason with the young man. "but you never actually saw Ho-oh, how do we know they're not after the legendary beasts in this area?"
"They already have them." Ash noted, and James shook his head.
"And you know that...?"
"Just...I just do, okay? We need to go to Valencia island again and talk with Tracey."
"I just really think you're not thinking this through..." James said as they reached the camp again, where Jessie had been sitting, reading a map when the four of them burst into the clearing.
"Well if you don't want to come, you can stay here!"
"What's going on?" Jessie asked.
"Nothing, Jess, he's just... acting a little...crazy."
"I'm not crazy! Tracey saw Ho-oh, he had to have in order to paint those portraits of him! We're not going to find anything in Ecruteak City, Jessie—you have to believe me."
Jessie, unaware of what had been happening looked to James who sighed. "...We haven't checked yet." she argued lightly. Ash threw up his arms.
"Then you three can check while my pokemon and I go to Valencia island! We'll just meet up again later."
"You can't go alone." James shrieked, cornering Ash who, with charizard's support and height advantage, seemed more menacing, almost hysterical.
"I can—besides, you two can wait here and try to stop Team Rocket—maybe find out where they are keeping the other legendary pokemon."
"How did he get this information?" Jessie whispered into James ear while Ash carelessly threw a pack of rations together.
"Gut feeling, Jess, he's gone nuts."
"Ash," Jessie called to him, in a voice almost motherly. She never used his name, it made his heart ache. "You're freaked out—did something happen?"
Ash stopped instantly, mid-way through shoving his jacket into a borrowed backpack, and faced them with a bit of surprise. Nothing happened, not really. He saw Sakura—remembered Ho-oh's name—and realized Ecruteak City wouldn't be helpful. At least, not until Team Rocket came in, destroyed half the city for information, and they would still be empty handed.
"Nothing happened."
"Then how can you be sure?" Jessie tried to rationalize his thinking, but Ash couldn't explain it with words.
"I'm not." He said honestly, throwing the backpack over his shoulder. "But I know I can get there and back in a few days. After that, I'll meet back up with you here and we'll figure something out."
"What if it's a dead end?"
"Then you three are still here to watch for Team Rocket and find anything that we missed—it'll be faster this way."
Still, they shook their head and looked concerned for his well being.
I think he should go. Meowth spoke from behind them, finally piping in his opinion once they reached a silence.
He has a point, if there's answers there, we can hold down Ecruteak City. It's best to leave no stone not turned. The cat meowed, though neither adult present was pleased with the situation other than Ash, who was grateful to have meowth on his side.
"But how will we stay in contact?" James questioned rubbing his face. "It took us forever to track him down before...and if something happens to him..."
We'll decide on a rendezvous point. Some place close.
"If Team Rocket comes here, we might not be safe at this location." James groaned, flicking his bangs from his face, and looking into the distance.
"Then lets meet closer to the dense forest beside Mount Silver. There's a small town near the base of the mountain—we can meet there in a week." Jessie showed them the location on the map and the three of them nodded.
"And if he's not there in a week?" James questioned, looking up and down at Ash, and then his pokemon who seemed concerned, but unshaken because of their belief in their trainer.
Then we will assume the worst and keep moving on without him.
Ash gulped, but nodded.
"...Sounds fair."
Author's Note:
Happy New Year.
NINT