A.N.- Argh, so sorry that I died for half a month and miraculously returned. I posted this chapter back on the 13th, and for some reason, only the first 3/4 or so uploaded. Then, my computer got murdered by a wrecking ball and I got a new one, but the new one was all screwy, so someone had to fix it, and... YAY I HAVE A TABLET MICROSOFT SURFACE KEYBOARD PRO NOT AN IPAD PEOPLE 3.

Nice name, right? Anyway, I'm back now and will now have a semi-regular updating scedule- expect a chapter every week or so, but don't be surprised if I upload more than that!

"Sir?" I call.

There is a muffled response from behind the door.

"Well, hurry up, then." I sigh, looking at Janine. She blushes a bright red and casts her glance downward. "Sorry, Daddy gets like this a lot. I mean, what with all the respect Lance has around here."

I nod, thought I can't exactly agree. Don't get me wrong, Lance is an amazing man, but there comes a certain point when you know someone so well, you're inclined to hate them. But what the Hell? The guy got me my prosthetics after Unova, and now I'll be forever in gratitude to the G-Men.

"So?" Janine questions. I look at her oddly. "What?"

Her already furrowed eyebrows sink deeper into her face. "Your subordinate. Amelia, right? How is she?"

I smile inwardly. Astrid is a Kalotian name, one my people are not that familiar with. "Astrid's fine. 'Cept for a concussion and a few cuts, she's alright."

"I've heard rumors. That they marked her."

I snort. "You say it like she's one of them now."

"So they did mark her?"

"Arceus, Janine, so what if they did? It's not like the mark does anything."

She flicks her violet eyes skyward. "You never know, Colonel. Not with Plasma."

"Nonsense." I shake my head, just to confirm where my thoughts lie. Koga bursts through the door in his usual black gi and red cape trailing behind his heels.

"I'm ready, Janine." He looks at me expectantly. "Ash?"

"Right. Xatu, let's go." She's perched on the handle of the hotel door, cocking her head and scanning the room suspiciously. I think hard about our destination as she glides towards the three of us. We all place our hands on Xatu's wings. I can't really call upon our mind link that easily, as Xatu is one of my newer Pokémon, but with minor difficulty, I activate the connection. Teleport, I think.

I use Teleport a lot, mainly for transport, and sometimes in battle, but every time I experience it, I can never get used to the feeling. First, you feel fire, and it's so hot, it's almost cold. Then you do feel cold, ice water washing over you, slowly, excruciatingly. Next you spin, around and around in a vortex of pain, and you forget where you are, what you're doing.

Then it's over, and you stumble about for a bit, and then you're back to normal. I've been told different people percieve Teleporting in different ways, based on their personalities.

Once I come to my senses, I find that Koga is dusting himself off. Janine is still on the wet grass, clutching her head. "You okay?" I ask, gripping her shoulders and heaving her up onto her feet.

She studies me warily, her eyes still dull and misty. "I still can't believe you're only 20, Colonel. And you passed the test when you were 13."

"Janine, you're higher in rank than I am. Don't call me Colonel, call me Ash."

"Don't you think it might be deemed improper if I called you by your first name?"

Koga motions us towards the lobby and starts walking into the building. Janine follows obediently, her normally erect stature softened and bent. Koga, being a ninja, has a very strict sense of honor. Janine almost never goes out in public, and when she does, she acts so soft and quiet that she is nearly unrecognizable.

The tall man motions me forward and whispers in my ear. "General Lance never told me the password, see?"

The bald secretary gives me a quick once-over. "I don't know you. Password?"

"Et dedit illi draco nostrum."

He nods briskly and motions us toward the elevator. "I suppose you know the drill?"

The cylindrical chamber is empty, save for a small potted plant in the corner. I press the button- B for basement- and we slowly descend.

"Ash?" asks Koga, quite loudly.

"Yes, Sir?"

"What was the password again?"

"Et dedit illi draco nostrum. It means 'dragon gives us will.'"

Janine nodded slowly. "Fitting, Colonel. But in what language?"

"General Lance calls it Latin."

As if on que, the elevator dings to a stop. I am the first to step out. Quickly, I recall Xatu and start walking. The walls and floor of this level are bare, a harsh adjustment from the lavishly decorated lobby. I wouldn't go as far to call it shabby, but it is plain, almost beautifully so. I am admiring the simplicity of it all when I notice it- the door. "Arceus, almost missed it."

Koga raps his knuckles on the door, and I can hear him inside. "Identification?" he drones.

"Colonel Ash Ketchum, with First Lieutenant Koga Zagnit and Brigadier General Janine Zagnit."

"Password?"

"Et dedit illi draco nostrum."

"Come in, you three."

The door swings open, and Lance is standing up with his arms crossed. "You're late, Colonel."

When I don't argue or defend myself, he only grunts and sits down. I do the same without waiting for an invitation. Janine and Koga still stand awkwardly behind me.

"Sit, please. We have many important things to discuss tonight," someone else says. I've heard the voice before, and I play it over and over again in my head. Whose voice is it?

The source of the annoyingly familiar voice approaches our table.

My heart nearly stops when I realize who this man is. "I thought you were dead," I mumble, hearing my voice tremble and then flatline.

N looks at me with his piercing eyes. "I could say the same thing to you."

(A.N. This is where my previous July 13 upload cut off)

For a moment, I don't know what to do. I'm just sitting there, being barraged by things I swore never to remember. The cold, the utter, numbing cold. The resignation, the screams of pain. Every time I opened my mouth, snow would swirl into it and choke me. It would melt quickly inside my mouth, deteriorating quickly to cold water. Iris and Cilan held my hands, I knew. I could sense them, but I couldn't feel them. Eventually we made our way to a home on Route 10, inching through the blizzard. Even when the man ushered us inside, piled us with blankets, I still felt so cold.

N's voice drags me back into present-day. "Where have you been?"

I close my eyes, shaking the troubled expression nothing exciting a look of bland seriousness that I hope draws all eyes to N. "Places."

Lance knows what I was thinking about. He bites his lip to hide the grimace and runs a hand through his flaming hair. "There'll be time for catching up later. We have urgent matters at hand."

Outside, a crack of thunder jostles the skyscraper and a pen rattles off the table.

The lights flicker on, then off. For the briefest moment, the buzzing of the generator starts up. Its life is cut tragically short by Zekrom's pillars of judgement.

"Some storm, huh?" jokes Koga.

"Lance, I hear voices. They're looking for us," says N. I hear the scraping of his chair on the floor and the thump-thump of two firmly planted feet.

Janine asks, "What Pokémon are they?"

"A Magnezone, and... Damn, I can't recognize the second one!"

I hear a grunt to my left. Janine or Koga. "All right, then! Ariados, use Flash!" A spider-like Pokémon appears on the table and summons a bright flash of light from its beady eyes, illuminating the room in an odd, almost natural way.

I stand up quickly and feel the blood drain from my face. I grip the table and squeeze my eyes shut as the world around me loses solidity. Time seems to slow. When I move my limbs, it feels like I'm trying to fend off a Muk's attack. I open my eyelids, which feel like they've been glued together, and everything is tinted blue. I feel so sleepy, though I only know one thing.

I am awake.

"Ash! Stop, you'll kill him!"

But-

Isn't that what I swore never to do?

"Janine! Get away!"

Did I hurt her?

"Ash! It's over, the Plasma grunts left!"

Why can't I stop this? Every time I stuggle, I feel something being stolen from me.

"Damnit, someone stop him!"

I have to fight this!

"N! Get away from him!"

Because if I don't fight...

"Lance, he's stopping! It's alright!"

I will die.

Ha. Hahahaha. This was honestly a blast to write. I tried to make Ash's arrogance toward Lance feel clumsy and awkward because, well Ash hates him (for reasons that WILL be explained LATER) but he doesn't really hate him, ya know?

Ash and Janine- a whole different story. Janine is going to become sort of like Ash's May in this story... But she's not like May at ALL. She's more like... how can I put it... an Iris-y Serena? A Dawn-ish Misty? I DONT NO QIT BATHERING MEH!

Thanks for reading, and I hope to entertain (or enrage) you with another story about Barry that I can't remember the title of at the moment but it's on my profile! I like feedback, so please do the review thingy.