Chapter 45
The children couldn't speak. The Pokemon couldn't utter a sound. In fact, there was no sound, at all. Only stunned silence filled the air; stunned and petrified silence. The absolute shock of Ross standing in the doorframe tore their hope into a million pieces.
May's heart was beating rapidly from the excitement of seeing her mother, the excitement of seeing her cherished mother safe and sound. When the door opened and the figure didn't resemble her, her heart felt like it exploded. Not from joy, but from severe shock and fear. Her heart felt like it blew up into pieces inside her body, and there was no longer anything beating against her chest. Her whole body felt stiff and wooden, as if there was no soul occupying the flesh that was staring and gaping at the man in the doorframe.
Max shared a similar reaction to his sister, only his wasn't as petrified or dumbstruck as hers. The younger brother didn't share any of the horrifying experiences or shocking revelations with Ross that May did. He never confronted Ross alone. He never had to fend himself off from a man who was willing to shock him with a taser and kidnap him. And most of all, he was never made aware of the news that his mother was raped.
He was shocked, but not to the level of stunned silence where he couldn't breathe or twitch like his sister. Max didn't know the full extent of the cruelty done to his parent, and unlike May, he didn't know how evil and unforgiving the world could be. He gaped in silence, hoping that either his older sister or Ash would approach the man in the doorway.
Ash's hand was still on the doorknob, for he was the one that opened the door and let the man in. It took him a couple of seconds to realize that the shape he was expecting in the doorway to greet him was different. He was expecting a tall feminine figure, with brown hair and a heartwarming smile. Instead, a man dressed in black leather with a shaved head appeared before him, a man with a wicked smile and an ominous demeanor.
The Pokemon were speechless; Pikachu, Beautifly and Skitty stared in confusion.
Ross knew the tensions were high, so he eased it as he pushed his hand through his shaved head and let out a playful giggle. The children were easy prey, all three of them were standing like statues and gaping at his appearance. If he wanted to, he could kill them before they knew what was going on. In an instant, he could have easily used his blade that he concealed in his pocket by shoving it into Ash's gut, thus painfully finishing off the annoying boy for good. He could have then just as easily removed the sharp and deadly blade from the older boy's insides, and then use it quickly to slash the throat of the younger brother standing nearby. There wouldn't be any time to react, of course there wouldn't. In an instant, he could have killed Ash and Max before May's very eyes. One swift flick of the blade and the two boys lives would be over in the blink of an eye. The girl wouldn't even have time to react, as she could barely stutter. He knew that after finishing off the Pokemon, that May would be all his. And there was no better way to extract revenge on May for their previous encounter than by giving her a slow and painful death by slashing through her flesh.
But nah, that would have been too easy. He realized if he did that, it would have been too simple, too quick, and too anticlimactic. He wanted to have a little fun with them instead; the death and revenge could come later.
He laughed and made a request.
"Can I come in?" he asked politely.
His question was left unanswered.
"Well, I'll help myself then. You got anything to eat in the fridge?" he asked nonchalantly.
Ross walked into the house and gently pushed through Ash and May very easily. He slowly walked through the living room and looked back out of the corner of his eye at the children by the door. They barely moved an inch.
He snickered, this was going to be too easy.
Ross walked over to the fridge and opened the door, and in a baffling manner, took out a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter and jelly. The man set the ingredients on the kitchen table, and prepared to make himself a sandwich.
As he was taking out the bread and smearing across the jelly, he looked over from the table at Ash and others.
"Hey, you mind closing that door? I feel a draft coming in, it's cold outside!" he called out.
Ash's hand slowly slid off the doorknob, as he faintly turned around and stared at Ross in the distance. He took a deep breath and tried to get a hold of himself, peering slowly at the two siblings to the left and right of him. Their faces were blank, and only gave off the impression of uncertain fear.
He looked down at the Pokemon, and Pikachu returned his awkward gaze. Nevertheless, Pikachu knew Ash's intentions. There was a dangerous rapist in the house, there were no adults around, and they had to make sure that they survive the night.
Ross continued to cut the loaf of bread with his blade, relaxing at the kitchen table as if it were his own domain. He dipped his blade in the jelly and gazed playfully over the trio near the doorway.
Ash was finally able to get over his shock and muster some thoughts.
…what is he doing? he thought, Why is he making himself a sandwich? He must be insane, which worries me even more because I don't know what he's going to do next. Damn, what do I do?
"Pikachu, pika?" Pikachu asked carefully, nudging him with its paw.
"Pikachu," Ash muttered, trying to get a grip on himself.
Ash took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. Something was going to happen, something big. He knew it was coming, but he didn't know when. He timidly took one step forward as he stared at Ross across the room. His shoe creaked along the wooden floor as it hallowed throughout the house. An awkward silence ensued, but the man continued making his sandwich.
With some courage left in his body, he took another small step with his other foot, only this time, something held him back. It wasn't imaginary or his conscience that prevented him from walking forward, but it was physical. His arm was behind held by something, something warm, something familiar.
He slowly looked down to see what was holding him back, and it was the warm but frightened grip of a delicate hand. He looked slowly to the left, noticing that it belonged to a girl he loved, May.
They looked upon each other with frightened and nervous expressions, her hand squeezing hard on his arm, but something was reassuring. They cared for one another, and May wasn't willing to let him charge into a dangerous situation. They were going to get through this together.
"Wait," she said faintly, the words barely escaping her mouth.
She loosened her grip on him and stood still, slowly peering at the man ahead of them.
"May?" a faint voice asked from below.
Ash and May turned around and saw the innocence of Max's face looking up at them. The boy was quickly aghast by the fear on Ash and May's faces, they were pale white and devoid of any resemblance of the people he knew. Max quickly realized that this was very serious, and slowly backed up a few steps.
Ash and May glanced at one another and both took deep breaths. They agreed unanimously and silently, that Max needed to be out of danger. They both looked over at Ross, who was biting down on his sandwich without a care in the world. Thus, they knew they had time.
"Max, take Skitty and wait outside," Ash instructed, his voice shaking.
Max was confused.
"Max, please," May said, trying her best to sound authoritative. Instead, her voice only came out as a squeak.
Max didn't need any further incentive to comply. He quickly snatched Skitty off the ground and backed out the open door, slowly staring back at his sister and best friend in the doorway as he stood in the grass outside. Skitty watched curiously in Max's arms, as the two stood in the chilly breeze in the dead of the night, unsure of what might happen in the house. The grass tickled the boys' feet and the cold made him shiver, but Max knew not to move.
"Beautifly, stay by me," May said.
Beautifly nodded and hovered closely to its trainer.
Ross noticed they had Max leave the house, and that they were getting their Pokemon ready, but he pretended not to notice and continued eating his sandwich.
"Be careful," she whispered, slowly rubbing her hand along his arm.
"You too," he whispered back.
With their Pokemon by their side and their hearts set on making things right again, Ash and May slowly inched their way toward the mentally unstable man in the kitchen.
~*~*~*
His body ached and the blood dripped down his face. He pulled himself alongside the corner as he breathed heavily, struggling to keep conscious even. He leaned against the wall of the club as he gasped and the blood trickled to the pavement.
He's probably at my house by now, I need to get back, Norman panted, thinking to himself.
The man heard all kinds of screaming and rampaging from inside the club, but dared not to enter as he would either be trampled by his Slaking or be on the receiving end of tasers from Ross' companions.
Gardevoir, Slaking, I'm counting on you, Norman gasped.
Suddenly, one of the men from inside the club was thrown out of the window and into a parked car on the side of the street. Norman was surprised as the glass shattered around him as a second man was slammed into a brick wall on the other side of the block.
As the reality of the two men being knocked out finally sunk in, Norman turned to the window and was greeted by the snorting face of his giant ape, Slaking.
"Slaking," Norman gasped joyously.
The giant ape burst through the doorframe of the club and walked up to Norman's battered body. The man nearly collapsed into the arms of his Pokemon.
"Did you win?" Norman asked.
Slaking grinned and nodded.
Norman chuckled, even though it was painful, as Slaking carried him in his arms while they walked back inside the club together. Slaking had several burnt marks on its body from the electric shocks, but it was holding up fine.
Norman peered over Slaking's arms to see what happened during the rest of the fight. Much to his delight, the two other men were knocked out cold as they lie on the unforgiving floor with their tasers smashed to pieces.
Gardevoir hovered in the room beautifully as the blue aura highlighted its body, and it winked encouragingly at Norman and Slaking.
"Heh, you two did it after all. Thank you," Norman said, happily.
Gardevoir immediately saw that Norman was badly injured, and quickly hovered down next to the esteemed Gym leader and his loyal Slaking. Gardevoir uttered some speech in Pokemon language as it told Slaking to lower Norman's body to the floor. Slaking complied, gently lowering his trainers' body to the ground and stepping away slowly.
"No…don't waste time trying to heal me, find my wife!" Norman pleaded, "Ash…and May are in danger as well…Ross headed toward my house on his motorcycle!"
Gardevoir and Slaking glanced upon each other unsurely. Were they to obey the man even though he was in pain and was bleeding heavily? Or would they instead decide to leave him there and go look for Caroline?
When Gardevoir noticed blood staining the floor underneath Norman's back, it knew that this was serious. Ignoring the Gym leader's plea, Gardevoir kneeled down beside him and placed its hand on his chest. It began to hum its majestic chant as its body glowed once more, and Gardevoir slowly began the same healing process that it used on May's Combusken with Norman. If Norman wasn't healed quickly, he would die. Gardevoir and Slaking agreed that he needed to be healed before they make any other moves, much to the Gym leader's dismay.
~*~*~*~
May
held her hand close to her face, a mix of anxiety, fear and rage
consuming her.
Every step she took came with a certain ounce of
caution, she knew that one wrong move could be the end of her. She
wasn't going to take any chances, not this time, not this time at
all. One way or another, it would end tonight.
The man she hated so much was only ten feet away from her sitting at the kitchen table. Never before did she feel such hatred toward another person in her entire life. The man she despised for causing her so much pain was sitting there at her kitchen table, mocking her by eating a sandwich in her house.
Her rage was slowly but surely emerging and suppressing her anxiety and fear. Every second she spent glaring at the evil man did her emotional stability have a few tremors. In just a short timeframe, the man managed to ruin her cheery, optimistic, and innocent view on life. Never before could she imagine such horrible deeds such as rape and violence register in her mind. She couldn't bare it, her once perfect family was twisted and torn apart by a horrible demon who conjured fear and ruin in its wake.
She took another step forward, the rage building some more.
She hated him. She couldn't think about the man any other way. He needed to disappear, he needed to vanish. She needed her mother back. She needed her father by her side. She needed her family reunited, and the only way that could happen is if the evil man disappeared forever.
But how could she do it?
Was she capable of ridding herself of the evil man forever? Was she capable of violence herself? Was her rage and frustration building to the point where she could take a human life?
For a mere second, the thought of inflicting a tremendous amount of pain on the evil man existed in her head. She was shocked by her own wicked thoughts, so much so that she felt like running away with Ash and her brother and leaving the man alone in her house.
But she knew she couldn't do that.
If she left him alone now, he would surely win the game. Justice would never be served, and Ross would succeed in getting everything he wanted. If she let him be, the wicked man would always exist in her thoughts and would haunt her for the rest of her life. Most of all, the loss of her mother forever would drive her to a near suicidal path.
She took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind of all the conflicting emotions and thoughts running in her head. It was a harsh ordeal, because her mind felt like it was ready to explode.
She remembered the promise she made to her mother before the evil man took her away. She promised her mother that she was going to be brave, that she would stand up to those who opposed her, and that she wouldn't be fearful and run away.
She needed to honor that promise, especially a promise made to her mother; the mother that was currently gone and that she wanted to see again more than anything in the world.
Could she do it?
Could she possibly stand up to Ross and take him out of her life once and for all? The last time she encountered him, she did a number on him and took him down with her Combusken. She desperately rattled him and asked him where her mother was, but she didn't receive and answer to her desire.
Would she get one this time? Would she be able to find out where her mother was, if she was even alive at this point? Or would it just be a repeat of before?
She took another step forward. Ross was still eating at the table. His sandwich was almost gone, one or two more bites and he would be done.
Confidence began to build. Rage began to suppress. Hate remained the same, but not to a point of frustration.
Ash was by her side. She knew he would protect her with his life. Confidence grew higher. Her boyfriend was always a hero through thick and thin, and she knew this time he would be no different. She knew she had to be just like him, or rather, his counterpart. If he was a hero, she needed to be a heroine.
The sandwich was finished. Ross sat there licking his fingers.
She took another step forward.
She turned to her left as Ash was right beside her. A few more seconds and it would begin.
The final battle.
~*~*~*~
"You shouldn't have come back!" Jamie yelled as she paced the room.
Tana moaned on the floor, holding her head, trying to recover from the electrical shock to her gut. She lie on the floor defenseless, shocked in disbelief that her best friend would ever do something so malicious to her.
"I told you not to interfere!" Jamie cried, "Ross and I were going to make up and be a couple again, a nice, sweet, happy couple!"
Tana tried to move along the floor, struggling to crawl to an armchair to lift herself up.
"I really hate to do this, Tana, I really do," Jamie wailed. She walked over to Tana's body and stared at her fallen friend. "I'm not sure what Ross is going to do to you when he comes back, but I won't be able to stop him. You sealed your own fate this time, and it's your own damn fault for coming here in the first place."
Tana groaned, sitting herself against the legs of the chair. "Why…why are…you so deluded?"
Jamie laughed and shook her head.
"Sorry, Tana, not this time. You're not going to talk me out of it. Ross and I will be happy and that's all that matters. He already has the contract for the Pewter Gym signed, and pretty soon he'll have the one for the Petalburg Gym as well. This man knows how to get power, he knows how to get real power. When he sees something, he goes for it," Jamie said, kneeling before the girl, "And that's the kind of man I need by my side."
"You're…a fool," Tana groaned.
"No, you're the one with your face in the dirt," Jamie scoffed.
She raised the electric taser in her hand and was ready to give Tana another shock to the abdomen, this time on an increased voltage. Tana struggled to move away but her body didn't have enough willpower to move.
"Don't…" Tana begged.
"Sorry, girl, but I need to be happy," Jamie moped, a single tear cascading down her cheek. "If…if I have to lose my friend to get my man…then so be it."
"Lower the taser, Jamie," a voice commanded from the room.
"Huh?"
Jamie turned around and was startled when she saw an unpredictable sight; Brock and Caroline were standing by the rear door exit of the room!
Brock's face was filled with dirt and his clothes were raggedy and worn, but the man gave a chilling scare down Jamie's spine nonetheless. Even more surprising, by his side stood the missing mother, Caroline, wrapped in a single raggedy towel as her only apparel. The towel was filthy and had several tears and dirt spots, but the mother had nothing else to cover up her beaten body otherwise. Her previous clothes were torn to pieces when Ross took advantage of her, and her leg was still wrapped in a small piece of cloth to heal the wound from Sableye. The rest of her body was filled with cuts, bruises, and other mutilations. Her face was filled with grief.
"Brock? Wha…where the…?" Jamie gasped.
"You didn't think Ross could keep me secure forever, did you?" Brock asked, grinning. He looked upon Tana, who had a glimmer of hope in her eyes. He nodded confidently.
"Do as he says," Caroline said, "Lower your weapon."
Jamie was dumbstruck. How did they get here?
"…I don't get it, you guys shouldn't be here!" Jamie yelled.
"Yeah, but we are," Brock said, "I severely hope you didn't do anything to harm my girlfriend, because I'm going to get very angry if you did."
"I…" Jamie gasped.
"Drop the taser, we can put this behind us," Brock said.
Jamie desperately looked upon the faces of Brock and Caroline, they had so much hurt in their eyes. They were kidnapped and tortured for various means, and the pain in their expressions was horrifying.
She quickly turned around and looked at her best friend sitting on the floor, who was exhausted and trying to recuperate. The best friend that she shocked with the taser. The realization that she was producing the same kind of pain and grief toward people that Ross did was quickly catching up with her. And it hurt, it hurt bad.
Jamie started to cry, and dropped the taser to the ground.
Brock was relieved, and quickly walked over to her and kicked the taser to the side of the room. Caroline breathed a sigh of relief as she leaned against the door on the other side of the room.
"Hey, Tana," Brock said compassionately, picking his girlfriend up off the ground. He held her body against his own as she struggled to walk alongside him. Without even exchanging anymore dialogue, the happiness in their faces was revealed. They chortled as they walked together toward Caroline.
"She's ok?" Caroline asked.
"Yeah, she'll be fine," Brock said happily, rubbing Tana's back.
"Ja-mie," Tana uttered.
Brock turned around and noticed that Jamie was still crying on the floor. The floor filled with tears, tears of sin and regret from the woman who betrayed her friends.
"Leave her be, let her cry out her regrets," Brock said.
"Indeed," Caroline agreed.
Brock held Tana close as they exited the room. Caroline took one last look at the room where she was held, the mattress where she was violated, the pillar she was chained to, and struggled to push the disturbing images out of her head for good.
"Wa-it!" Jamie called out.
"What is it?" Caroline asked, standing by the door.
Jamie sobbed some more before she managed to speak. Caroline could tell that the woman was breaking down completely.
"I…I'm sorry," Jamie confessed, wailing on the floor, "I'm…sorry about what Ross did to you."
Caroline's face broadened. She hesitated for a moment, and then said her last words.
"Don't pretend to be sorry," Caroline said sternly, "Just cry out your regrets."
"But…"
"I have nothing more to say to you," she replied.
Caroline exited the room and closed the door, leaving Jamie all by herself in the dark, depressing room.
~*~*~*
Ross leaned back in his seat, jumped to his feet, and walked toward the kids in front of him.
"You two look so serious, something going on that I should know about?" Ross asked.
No more games. It was time to cut straight to the chase.
"Beautifly, use Silver wind!" May commanded.
"Hm?" Ross sneered.
Beautifly hovered in the air and flapped its wings ferociously, creating a huge gust of wind which brought Ross to his knees.
"Not bad," Ross grinned, struggling to his feet.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.
"Beautifly, combine string shot!" May added.
As the Pokemon powered up their attacks, Ross quickly darted from his position and charged toward Ash.
"What?!" Ash gasped.
Ross grabbed the boy by his shirt and violently slammed him against a wall. Ash struggled to pull Ross' hand off him but his grip was too strong a hold. His hands slowly moved up toward Ash's neck, where he started to squeeze to kill.
"ASH!" May shouted.
Beautifly and Pikachu fired their attacks, the electricity combining with string shot to form a powerful combination attack. As the attacks were about to make their mark, Ross let go of Ash's throat and dodged to the side.
Ash gasped for air as he slid down the wall, the attacks struck behind him which destroyed the wall to pieces. He gasped and gagged on the ground as pieces of wood fell down beside him.
"You're always too slow!" Ross yelled.
"Damn you!" May shrieked.
She desperately picked up a chair from the table and threw it at Ross with all her strength. Taken back by her aggressiveness, the chair hit against his head and made him collapse to the ground. Upon hearing the thud, Ash struggled to his feat and jumped on top of Ross' body to pin him to the ground.
"Stay down! May, check his pockets!" Ash yelled.
"Ash!" May gasped.
Ash struggled to hold Ross' arms down as the man tried to break free. He sat on his torso as Beautifly used string shot to wrap several threads around his legs. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold him down too long, as Ross was getting more agitated by the second.
May darted toward Ross and put her hands inside his pockets, realizing that Ash wanted her to search for any weapons that he might have on him. She checked his right pocket as the man moved erratically, but found nothing.
"GET OFF ME!" Ross yelled.
With some unexpected strength, Ross pushed Ash clean off his body and the boy fell onto May behind him. Ross reached toward his legs and pulled apart the string shot that bound his legs with one tug.
"Damn, you kids are amusing," Ross said, "Trying to find my blade, huh? Well I can show it to you if you're so eager."
He pulled out his blade from his pocket, and flipped it open as the knife shone in the light. Ash and May's faces were filled with fear as they helped each other to their feet.
"Hey, May, you should recognize this blade," Ross sneered.
"Wh-why?" May gasped.
Ross grinned. "I used it on your mother," he said.
"Y-you…." May gasped. She started to march forward angrily.
"May!" Ash gasped, holding her back.
Ross twirled the blade in his hand, happy to have the upper hand in the battle again. Pikachu and Beautifly stayed close to Ash and May, unsure if they should move in for another attack. The group stared, huddled close together.
"What's the matter? Too scared to attack?" Ross mocked.
He took a step closer as he prepared to lunge toward them. Fighting against a man with no weapons was one thing, but fighting against one with a blade was enough to shatter the heroism in anyone.
"I think I'll enjoy cutting you two…just a little bit," Ross snickered.
Suddenly, the air in the room became cold. So cold, that the temperature became chilly, and the realization that something was going on struck them. The winds became so strong that they felt like harsh icy air was being blown from the other side of the house.
They all turned and saw Max and Skitty standing together by the front of the Gym.
"Skitty, Blizzard full force, NOW!" Max cried.
"Nyaaaaa!" Skitty cried, blowing the icy attack at Ross.
"The hell?" Ross stammered as he was being blown off his feet. The winds became so strong and so consistent, that he was picked up off the floor and was slammed straight into the stove head first. His blade was dropped to the ground.
"Pikachu, get the weapon!" Ash cried.
"Pika!" Pikachu said, using Quick attack to dart toward the object. It picked up the open blade with its paws and quickly ran back toward its trainer.
Ash quickly took the blade out of Pikachu's hands and closed it shut. He was relieved that Ross didn't have a weapon now which made him far less a threat.
"Max!" May gasped, running toward her brother.
She grabbed him in her arms and hugged him tenderly. Max smiled and accepted the warmth of his sister.
"I…I thought we told you to wait outside," May said happily.
Max smiled. "You know I never listen to you," he said.
Ash watched the two siblings together, happy to see that Max came to their aid with Skitty when they least expected it. He then turned to Ross who was lying on the floor. He wasn't moving.
"Pikachu, stay cautious," Ash warned.
Pikachu nodded.
Ash slowly walked over to Ross and nudged him with his foot. The man didn't move. A few more moments passed, and Ash hesitantly turned the man over. He still didn't move an inch.
"He's…out cold," Ash said, surprised.
"Ash, what happened to him?" May asked.
"Skitty's attack must have blown him head-first into the stove, I think he's unconscious!" he said, astounded.
"Are…are you sure?" she asked, meekly.
"We're not taking any chances," Ash said, "I'm going to hold him down in case he wakes up, I need you to go find a rope so we can tie him to something before he wakes up!"
"I…I think Dad keeps that kind of stuff in the basement," Max said.
"You're…you're right," May replied, "I'll go get it! Max, come with me!"
"May!" he shouted.
May stopped in her tracks and looked over at him.
Ash smiled confidently. "We won," he said jubilantly.
She frowned and shook her head.
"Not yet," she told him, "Not until we find Mom."
"Yeah…you're right. Hurry up and get that rope so we can ask him later. If he won't answer to us, he'll definitely answer to the police," Ash said.
"Right," May said as she nodded.
Thank god, she thought, Please let it be over.
~*~*~~*~*
Norman stretched his body on the ground when he realized he was no longer in pain. He got up and checked his abdomen and his arms where he received the most injuries from being dragged down the street by Ross' motorcycle. The wounds were healed, closed up without a trace of ever being torn.
"Gardevoir," Gardevoir nodded.
"I…I've heard about Pokemon being able to heal injuries using Recover, but I never expected to witness it first hand, or rather, be an actual patient!" Norman said, astounded. He touched his face and was shocked that even the bruises when Ross knocked him out the night his wife was kidnapped were also healed. He didn't have any signs of injury or pain left in his body. "Amazing, simply amazing. Thank you, Gardevoir."
Slaking and Gardevoir stood next to Norman as he looked around the club for any signs of conflict. The entire club had a disturbing silence.
"Tana!" Norman yelled, "Did you find my wife?"
There was no response. Ross turned to Gardevoir frantically.
"Gardevoir, I need you to teleport me back to my Gym quickly! My children are in serious danger with Ross headed there, and I need to be there to save them!" Norman pleaded, "Slaking, I want you to stay here and go search for Tana, I want you to find out what's going on back there."
"Slaaaaking," Slaking roared.
Norman rested his hand on Gardevoir's body so they could teleport back to the house.
"Do you have enough energy to make the jump, Gardevoir?" Norman asked, "I know you need to search for energy signatures but you should already have May's. It should be easy to sense, and you only have one person to teleport back."
"Make that four people to teleport back," Brock called out.
Norman's eyes widened as he looked at the other end of the room. Tana was holding onto Brock for support as they walked together, and behind them stood the woman that he was trying to find, the woman that he loved; his wife.
"Ca-Caroline?" he stuttered.
Caroline smiled as she held the loosely fitting towel on her body. "It's me," she said softly.
"…thank god!" he cried.
Norman quickly ran toward his wife and grabbed her into his arms. He held her tightly as the two cried together, happy to be relieved that their pain was over and that they were reunited.
"Damn, I don't think I can truly say how happy it makes me to see you again," Norman cried, caressing her hair as he held her.
"I've…I've been through hell," Caroline admitted, "But I made a promise to be reunited with my family…and I'm glad I was able to keep it."
Their moment continued to last as Brock and Tana watched them cry out their regrets with one another.
"Tana, if you're wondering about the contract for the Pewter Gym, I was able to tear it to pieces," Brock said, "Ross may have gotten me to crack enough to sign my Gym away, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let him get away with it."
"Th-that's…good news," Tana said, still uneasy thanks to the electric shock, "Wh-ere was it?"
"The moron left it on the table in the room he kept me in. You would think the guy would put it in a safe place after finally getting me to sign it, but he just left it out in the open. In any case with that out of the way, I guess the Pewter Gym is still under the control of my family, just as it should be," Brock said.
"Gl-ad to hear it," Tana said, smiling.
"Want to know how I got myself and Caroline free from where we were being held?" Brock asked, "It's a long story, so perhaps it would be better to tell it when we're back with Ash and the others."
"THE KIDS!" Norman gasped.
"What's the matter?" Caroline asked unsurely.
"Ross is at our house!" Norman exclaimed, "Ash, May and Max are there, we need to get back there now!"
Caroline was frightened, the thought of Ross doing the same thing to her daughter that he did to her overwhelmed her completely.
"Quickly, everyone hold onto a part of Gardevoir's body," Norman instructed, pulling his wife with him as they walked to the Pokemon, "We can teleport right back to the house! Slaking, you hold on too!"
"Slaking," Slaking roared.
The group quickly held onto Gardevoir as the Pokemon summoned its strength to locate May's energy signature so it could teleport back quickly.
"Wh-what about Jamie?" Tana asked.
"Leave her be, I think she needs some time alone," Brock said.
"The children better be safe, they just have to be," Caroline prayed.
"We'll be back there momentarily, don't worry," Norman said, "We'll get rid of Ross for good and make sure he never harms our family again."
Caroline nodded.
Yes, we have to get rid of him for good, the mother thought, I won't allow my daughter to be violated, I won't let her live her life in fear. He has to disappear…he has to die.
In an instant, Norman, Caroline, Brock, Tana, Gardevoir and Slaking disappeared. Their teleportation left Jamie as the sole piece of life in the club, expelled from the comfort and the reunion of others. She was left to figure out herself and why she made the wrong choices, and hopefully become a better person in the future.
Although neither Tana or Brock knew it yet, this was the last time either of them would ever see Jamie. By the next day when the police did the investigation, they would be left with an unfortunate piece of news to give to Tana. She would return to the club alone to find out what happened to her friend herself, and would be shocked to find her lifeless body on the floor.
Jamie would have committed suicide by the next morning.
~*~*~*
Ash finished securing the thick rope around Ross' unconscious body. They had him strapped to a chair, with two pieces of rope bounding him to it. One piece of rope tied his legs together to the legs of the chair, while the other was wrapped around his chest and prevented him from getting up. The chair was loose from the floor however, so Ross was free to hop around with the chair stuck to him if he pleased, but of course that wouldn't happen with the man unconscious.
May and Max watched from the side as Ash finished strapping him down. Pikachu breathed a sigh of relief as it held onto to its trainers shoulder, the craziness had finally ended, hopefully for good. Beautifly and Skitty were returned to their Pokeballs, but not before being given lots of praise and love from May for helping her to take down the most hated man in her life.
May of course was also extremely proud of her little brother, who risked his well being to come to their aid when things looked grim. She tried playing back the scene in her mind of Ross about to lunge toward Ash and her with his blade, and she was horrified by the thought that either she or Ash would probably have gotten struck with the blade if Max and Skitty didn't intervene. Would they have been able to dodge the weapon in time otherwise? That was a question which would never be answered, but May was grateful nonetheless that she had a little brother that loved her dearly.
The group had searched Ross' pockets while he was unconscious to see if he concealed any other weapons, but all that they found was one Pokeball. Ash almost mistakenly released the Pokemon from its ball when May rushed over to him and placed her hands on top of his.
"Don't let it out!" May gasped, grabbing the ball from his hands. "It's his Sableye, I'm sure of it."
"His Sableye? You're right, it would be best not to let it out of its ball, it might try to set Ross free!" Ash exclaimed.
"Not only that but this thing is dangerous," May warned, staring at the Pokeball. "We definitely can't let it know what happened to its trainer, but, what do we do with it?"
"Why don't you just place it on the table next to Ross' knife?" Max suggested, "Leave the Pokeball there, I'm sure we can figure out what to do with it later."
"Good idea, Max, let's leave it be for now. We don't need anymore trouble on our hands," she said confidently, placing the ball on the kitchen table.
"I wonder why Ross never sent it out during our struggle, he could have used it to his advantage," Ash said.
"Maybe the scumbag was so sadistic that he wanted to enjoy stabbing us with his blade instead," she said emotionally.
Max looked down to the floor, shaken up by the reality of how dangerous the situation really was. Ash sighed, and walked over to the boy and placed his hand on his shoulders.
"We're safe now, Max," Ash said as he tried to comfort him.
May peered into Ross' unconscious face, even the sight of the man knocked out sent a wrong vibe down her spine. She then looked over at her brother, who was sniffling a little bit. Her choice of words shook up the boy more than he was before.
"We…We'll be ok, now?" Max asked, trembling.
"Yeah, I promise," Ash said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu added.
"O-ok," Max said, nodding.
Ash smiled and gave Max a quick hug. It was probably the first real hug Ash ever gave him, but he was happy to share it with the little boy who he cared for so much. May smiled affectionately at them.
"Are you going to call the police now?" Max asked, feeling slightly better.
Ash stared uncertainly at the man tied to the chair. He didn't know what to do next at all. The next course of action was a blank.
"This man is the only person who can tell us where our mother is," May said sternly, "He definitely won't listen to us if we ask him, but when the police take him away and interrogate him, he'll definitely spill the beans."
"Are you sure about this, May?" Ash asked, "Don't you want to wait until your father comes home first?"
"Ross could be conscious again by the time Dad comes home!" May exclaimed, "Ross is only tied to the chair, but the chair isn't bolted to the floor. If he wakes up, he'll try to get free by hopping around and I'm afraid we'll have a hard time stopping him again."
"Good point, so what do you want to do?" Ash asked.
"We'll call the police. They've been searching for Ross ever since Mom got kidnapped, they'll definitely be here quickly. The sad thing is we're probably going to have news reporters and media shoving questions in our faces once the guy is taken away," she moaned, "But I don't care at this point, as long as Mom comes home safely that is all that matters."
"Right!" Max added gleefully, "We'll find out where Mom is soon!"
"And don't forget about Brock too," Ash added, "It'll be kinda…like a family reunion or something."
"Heh, you have a way with words, Ash," she said smugly.
"Pikachupi, Pika!" Pikachu chortled.
May walked over to the phone hanging on the kitchen wall and took it off the receiver. Just as she was about to dial 911, a bright blue aura began to shine in the middle of the room. Ash and Max were shocked by the bright light, but May immediately recognized it.
"That has to be Gardevoir!" she shouted emotionally, dropping the phone to the ground. "That means that Dad and Tana are back!"
"Please let Mom be with them this time…" Max prayed.
Ash, Pikachu, May and Max stared at the bright light excitedly as six figures began to materialize in front of them. This time, it really was them. Norman and the others formed before their very eyes.
"M-om?" May gasped.
The mother nearly broke down in tears as her two children ran toward her beaten body and hugged her dearly. Emotions ran wild as joys and excitement filled the air, Norman and Tana succeeded in their mission in bringing back Caroline and Brock safely. Ash and Pikachu were overwhelmed with joy as they saw their best friend Brock and the mother back in the safety of their house.
Caroline was happy to be able to stroke the hair and skin of her children once again, and May finally had her wish granted. The family was reunited.
One question remained, however, and it was one that needed to be answered.
What were they going to do about Ross?