Hello again,
Here is the next chapter and it's a bit more dramatic than the last one.
If you've already read this chapter and are wondering what has changed in my rewrite of this, please refer to the author's note at the end.
A series of x's separating two paragraphs means that the setting has changed, either to a different character or location or time, etc.
However a series of hashtags separating two paragraphs means that it is still in the same setting, but the point of view has changed to someone else in that setting.
Please read and constructively criticize, comment on problems you find. Thank you.
Flames will be ignored.
There is an excerpt in here which comes from Nightwish's 'The Poet And The Pendulum', which I do not own. It's a fantastic song and I highly suggest you listen to it if you like female-fronted rock bands.
I don't own Pokémon.
Chapter 3: Within Thy Empty Stare
Viridian City Police Station; 02/04/2013:
Cynthia was pleased but annoyed, she was pleased that Misty had been able to possibly identify the Colossus, but she was annoyed that Misty's suspect wasn't Red. She supposed she should be relieved that the world's strongest Pokémon Trainer wasn't on a killing rampage but it was well known that Red was the only trainer known to have Colossal Pokémon. So the fact that this relatively unknown Ritchie Jackson, as Misty had called him, had gotten his hands on Colossal Pokémon was worrying and the source of her irritation.
As for who killed Lance, Cynthia had received Nurse Joy's report on Dragonite earlier and she knew that the mysterious charizard was definitely of Colossal Strength, so Cynthia figured that Ritchie killed Lance as well, especially since Ritchie actually had a charizard according to Misty.
Cynthia supposed that another boon to the whole situation is that since they now knew that Red wasn't killing people, he could be their strongest ally against the Colossus, but that again led to the problem of finding the damn man. Her talk with Professor Oak had yielded no results and she had met with Jenny and surprisingly Bruno before her session with Delia and Misty, so she knew that Blue knew nothing of the Master's whereabouts either.
Bruno had also told her of his plan to try and ask the Legendaries to help and, while Jenny had scoffed at his plan, Cynthia admitted that it was worth a try. So she had asked Bruno to ask the nearest Legendary, wherever that was, and see what sort of deal could be made. As far as she knew they were on their way to Pallet Town to catch a ferry to Shamouti Island in the Orange Archipelago, where Lugia, Guardian of the Seas, apparently resided.
Cynthia realized with a start that she had drifted off into her thoughts, so she returned her focus to the two seated in front of her. She had since dismissed Misty and Delia and called in Gary and Tracey, she didn't think that they would be able to help her find either Red or Ritchie, but since she had had all these people called in she figured she might as well ask them what they knew.
She stared at the two men before she spoke to the older one, "Mr. Sketchit, what can you tell me about Ritchie Jackson?" Cynthia leaned back and awaited her answer. Tracey leaned forward, placed his hands upon the desk and was about to speak when he noticed the screen on the desk. His eyes widened and he gasped, "That's… that's a beautiful microwave… Miss umm… Mrs… no… Mrs. Championess!" Gary groaned and face-palmed as Tracey giggled, "That's a TV Tracey," he said wearily.
Cynthia raised a brow before noticing the Watcher's reddened eyes and bittersweet stench. "Mr. Sketchit, are you high?!" she exclaimed. Tracey didn't respond as his eyes were fixated on the 'microwave', it looked like he was trying to open the 'door'. Cynthia stared at him incredulously; this man came into a Police Station for a G-Men Investigation… while high on weed!
Gary, who found Tracey's predicament too painful to watch any longer decided to try and save the stoned Watcher. "Ms. Lawson please forgive my friend's state, you see he is both a Watcher and an artist so a lot of his drawings are impromptu and are done in awkward positions and because of this he sometimes has issues with his joints. He uses my grandfather's prescription for cannabis to relieve the pain sometimes."
Cynthia nodded understandingly but inwardly smirked; she knew that Gary's excuse for Tracey was a load of crock but she also knew that there were more important things to do right now than arrest some pothead. Since the Watcher appeared to be preoccupied she turned her focus to the brunette researcher sitting next to said Watcher. "Well Mr. Oak, perhaps I can finally get a few answers from you before you run off again hmm?"
She had said that in jest of course and Gary chuckled nervously, he was about to reply when Tracey burst out laughing, "HAHAHA! Hohohoho Gary! She got you good there eh? Hehehe!" Tracey continued chuckling until he realized that he didn't understand the jest, at which point he frowned and started muttering to himself. When it became apparent that he wasn't stopping anytime soon, Cynthia went ahead with her questions.
"So Mr. Oak, I showed Ms. Waterflower and Mrs. Ketchum footage of the incident in Sinnoh and they identified the man on the podium, codenamed 'the Colossus', as one Ritchie Jackson. What do you know about Ritchie Jackson?" Gary was shocked at the news, evident by his gaping mouth and wide eyes. Composing himself, he spoke disbelievingly, "I met him a couple of times and he and Ash were really close friends, in fact they met during Ash's first League at the Indigo Plateau. They eventually faced each other but Ash lost because-"
Gary was interrupted by Cynthia waving her hand. "Yes yes, Misty already told me about all that. Do you know anything else about him?" Gary, a little perturbed by Cynthia's impatience, nodded, "Well I was talking to him at one of Ash's Homecoming parties once, and he remarked that he was from Frodomar City here in Kanto. I've never heard of the place though."
Cynthia sighed, as a regional representative of the G-Men Council she was required to know all the regions and their cities, mayors, histories, etc. She knew that there was no city in Kanto called Frodomar and there never was. She slumped in her seat and that's when she noticed that the young researcher was fidgeting nervously with his hands upon the desk. She knew this was unusual behavior and so she knew that Gary knew something that she didn't. This irritated Cynthia to no end as she took her job very seriously and there was nothing she hated more than when people withheld useful information for her investigations, no matter the reason for their silence.
"What is it Gary?" She asked with an annoyed expression upon her face. Gary was startled but then he sighed, he supposed he should have known that a G-Men Detective could see through him. "Well… since you now know that the Colossus isn't Ash, I suppose it's safe to tell you this. The phone call that interrupted our discussion last time was from Liza Thane, a charizard caretaker who resides in the Charicific Valley Natural Reserve in Johto. She told me that Ash's Charizard had took up and left, she told me that she thought he was heading for Viridian City…"
Cynthia sat forward in alarm, "Why didn't you tell me this yesterday?!" she asked, voice raised and bristling in anger. Gary, intimidated by the Sinnoh Champion's anger, stuttered nervously, "W-well I d-didn't want to tell you in case y-you thought it was A-Ash that killed Lance." Gary gulped as he saw Cynthia groan and pinch the bridge of her nose.
Cynthia, barely able to control her fury now, spoke threateningly, "Four things Gary, firstly you withheld information integral to a G-Men Investigation from a G-Men Official, an act which I could have you arrested for!" Gary was really quite scared now, Cynthia was probably the most powerful woman in the Pokémon World and he had managed to piss her off, and now she was threatening him with arrest!
Cynthia continued speaking in that ominous tone, "Secondly, I think you misunderstand me, I am not your friend, I am not Mrs. Ketchum's friend and I am not Ash's friend. I am not here to prove Ash innocent; I am here to catch a killer before he kills again. If Ash turns out to be that killer I will not hesitate to put him down. Thirdly I have no proof that the Colossus and Lance's murderer is the same person so while Ash may not have been at the Conference, he could have easily been the one to kill Lance. What you have told me has listed Ash as my primary suspect for the murder of a G-Men Official and Regional Champion."
Gary paled as he realized that he may have just doomed Ash, Mrs. Ketchum was going to kill him! If Cynthia didn't kill him first that is.
"And lastly, when I was 'interrupted'" Cynthia made quotation marks with her fingers as she said that, "by Liza's 'phone call' I hadn't yet told you of Lance's demise, which means that either you knew about it beforehand, labelling you as an accessory to murder, or that 'phone call' wasn't really Liza and whoever it was told you about Lance. Or perhaps you didn't know about Lance at all until you saw Mrs. Ketchum today on your way into Viridian, which means that you never spoke to Lisa which means that you don't know anything about Ash's Charizard which means that you could be trying to frame Ash for Lance's murder!"
Cynthia knew that wasn't true but she also knew that Gary's 'phone call' was fake, which meant that he was still hiding something from her. Cynthia was no stranger to cheap underhand tricks to get people to talk, in fact her 'promise' to Ash's mother the day before about how Ash was still alive was, while partially genuine as Delia's plight had truly tugged at her heartstrings, mainly a ruse to get the mourning mother to trust the G-Men Agent and cough up information she might not have done otherwise. Cynthia's accusation of Gary's framing of Ash was no different. It was just a scare tactic to get the researcher to talk, and it succeeded.
Gary was visibly shaking now, "N-no no no! I did speak to Liza I promise!" He sighed; he knew that Cynthia knew the phone call was fake, so he knew that he was going to have to tell the blonde Champion at least some of the truth. He just hoped Mrs. Ketchum could forgive him.
He took a deep breath, and then began to speak, "The 'phone call' that interrupted our discussion was fake; as soon as you had left I called Mrs. Ketchum. I told her that you had come to the Lab and that you were asking questions about Red. I asked her what to do and she told me to tell you nothing useful about Red, I told Gramps to do the same afterwards. I then called Liza because I suddenly got a feeling that something was wrong with Ash's Charizard. It was then that she told me about his sudden departure."
"Why did Mrs. Ketchum tell you to do that?" Cynthia questioned while glaring ferociously at the poor shaking researcher. Gary nervously wrung his hands before speaking again, "Gramps, Mrs. Ketchum and I thought that as long as you thought that Red was responsible for the 'Valley of Death' and later Lance's murder, then Ash would at least be safe from the Law."
Cynthia leaned forward, "And what information do you three have that would prove otherwise?" she whispered ominously. Gary looked down and mumbled something but Cynthia couldn't hear him. Her fury multiplied, "Talk louder Oak!" she snapped viciously. Gary's head shot back up and with a quivering voice, he did as she commanded, "R-Red is d-d-dead Miss Lawson, Mrs. Ketchum received a p-package a few years ago and in it w-was Red's cap and an old videotape. I-it was h-his s-s-suicide n-note and-"
The screeching of Cynthia's chair suddenly being pushed back interrupted him as she stood up and slammed her fists on the metal desk loudly, "You knew that the Kanto Champion and Pokémon Master was dead and you didn't inform the Police!" She shouted furiously, she was reaching her boiling point, which was probably the reason why it didn't occur to her anger-addled mind that Gary's story didn't really make much sense. She continued ranting, "Not only do you neglect to tell me that Ash could be Lance's murderer but you-"
She was interrupted by Tracey standing up, walking around the table and hugging her, "Don't worry Championess, don't worry, he can't hurt you anymore…" he whispered softly as he stroked the back of her head. Cynthia's eyes widened before narrowing sharply; she had reached her boiling point. With a snarl she shoved the stoned Watcher away from her before grabbing the back of his head, sweeping his legs out from under him with her foot, and promptly smashing his face onto the cold hard surface of the metal table. There was an audible crunch as his nose broke and as Cynthia let go of his head and he slipped off the table and onto the floor, blood could be seen leaking out of his nose. There was also a smeared trail of blood on the table.
Gary was now standing with his back against the wall, staring with fear at the ferocious Sinnoh Champion as she rolled the Watcher onto his stomach with her foot before leaning down, bringing his arms behind his back and clasping a pair of handcuffs around his wrists. "Tracey Sketchit, you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence, you stupid bastard!" She snarled. She then grabbed his hair and, with strength that defied rationality, pulled him up to his feet before grabbing his neck and roughly guiding him out the door and into the waiting room.
The occupants of the waiting room looked up at the commotion and were shocked at what they saw. Cynthia saw Misty and Delia get up but before they could open their mouths she fixed the latter with a murderous glare and pointed her finger at her and then at the door she had just come through. "You! Join Gary and wait for me! And you!" She turned to the red-head and hissed at her, "Not a word or you'll be joining your sister's boyfriend here!" Instead of doing as she commanded, Cynthia was surprised when the two women returned her glare.
"How dare you talk to us like that! We have come here, while in mourning might I add, at your behest to help you with your investigation, and you abuse Tracey and threaten us with arrest?! We have no legal obligation to help you and we will not if this is the way you will treat us!" Delia said sharply to the furious G-Men Official. "You can't arrest me! I've done nothing wrong! And why is Tracey's nose bleeding?!" Misty questioned angrily as she stepped up to examine the Watcher's nose, she then she noticed his hands locked behind his back, "Is he in handcuffs?!" Misty yelled incredulously.
Cynthia growled, these people were really winding her up, "You're wrong Delia. You, Gary and Professor Oak will help me or I will have you three arrested for failing to supply vital information for the G-Men Investigations of the Colossus' attack at the Conference and the murder of Lance!" Everyone in the room except for Cynthia, Delia, Misty and Tracey gasped as they heard that last bit; none of them had known about Lance's death.
Cynthia gestured to Tracey, "As for this pothead, I'm arresting him for the consumption of the illegal substance cannabis, and if any of you try to stop me, I'll have you arrested for attempting to interfere with an arrest!"
"You can't do that!" Cynthia's glare snapped to the new voice, whose owner appeared to suddenly regret drawing attention to himself. Nevertheless the young Maple boy bravely continued speaking, "You can't arrest someone for having consumed cannabis, only if you caught them either in possession of or in the act of consuming the drug can you arrest them. Otherwise you are assuming he had possession of the drug, and you can't arrest someone because of an assumption!"
Cynthia snarled at the young boy and was about unleash hell on him when May stepped protectively in front of her brother and glared at the blonde Champion, her eyes daring her to shout at her brother. Drew looked on interest though it didn't look like he was willing to get involved as he crossed his arms and purposely avoided Cynthia's glare. May frowned at the lack of support from her boyfriend but returned her attention to the furious blonde.
"My brother's right Cynthia, you can't legally arrest Tracey and if you do, we will report you for abusing your position as a G-Men Official." She said surprisingly calmly, as if she weren't a distraught wreck just a moment ago. Max smiled gratefully up at his sister, despite their constant arguing and fighting, they still loved each other very much and they always stood up for each other.
Cynthia was about to erupt when she looked around the room; everyone, besides Drew, was staring at her, some with fear and some with anger and defiance. She realized that if she wanted their cooperation, she was going to have to calm down before she alienated herself any further. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, her fury deflating as she did so. She removed the handcuffs from Tracey's wrists and returned them to her coat pocket before shoving him towards the door that led out of the waiting room, "Get out of my sight." She said harshly; she was still pretty angry, but she could think with a relatively clear head now.
As Tracey, bloody nose and all, left the station she turned to Gary, who was standing in the doorway to the interrogation room, and sharply gestured for him to sit in the waiting room. She then slowly looked around the room; she was going to send them all away when Misty had told her about Ritchie seeing as the investigation was no longer about Ash, but now that Gary had told her about Ash's Charizard she had to assume that Ash killed Lance, making him the primary suspect, therefore she still needed to speak to these people.
She turned to the Maple siblings, "Will you come with me please?" She waited while they shuffled past her and into the interrogation room. However she raised both an eyebrow and a hand when the green-haired man tried to follow them. "Umm… Who are you?" she asked. Drew who, like most young men was a big fan of the gorgeous blonde Champion, appeared surprised by her question. "Me? I'm Drew Hayden" he replied coolly while smirking, obviously expecting some sort of impressed reaction.
Cynthia continued staring at him with her brow raised; she still had no idea who he was. "And I'm Cynthia Lawson, Champion of Sinnoh, am I supposed to know who you are?" Max smirked as Drew's smirk slipped of his face and he started spluttering, but May frowned and tapped Cynthia on the shoulder.
"Ms. Lawson he's my boyfriend, and I would appreciate it you let him in with me." The Sinnoh Champion looked at May, her anger bubbling up again. She would 'appreciate' it?! Who did this girl think she was?! She may be the daughter of a Gym Leader but Cynthia was the bloody Champion of Sinnoh! She spoke ominously, "Don't push your luck princess, you may have convinced me to let Mr. Sketchit go but don't think for a moment that you can tell me what to do in my own investigation!"
As May recoiled the G-Men Officer turned back to Drew, "How well do you know Ash Ketchum?" she asked. Drew, who knew of May's thoughts regarding the raven-haired trainer, thought he saw an opportunity to impress his girlfriend. "Ash Ketchum? Well I know he's the scumbag that killed several thousand people a few days ago… why do you ask?" Drew's smirk faded when he saw Cynthia's expression; she looked at him as if he were insane. It was when Cynthia's stare slowly drifted behind him that he realized what he had done.
He turned around slowly and came face to face with a raging mother bear, and she wasn't alone. To the beast's right stood Misty and Gary, glaring at him with venom in their eyes, though the latter seemed to show guilt as well, and to the beast's left stood Iris and Cilan, the former glaring with the same venom as Misty and Gary and the latter with a disapproving frown on his face. Finally he focused on the mother bear herself. Delia spoke quietly but ominously, "What… did you just call my son?" Drew gulped and turned to face the trio behind him, hoping for support but Max just had that infuriating smirk on his face, May avoided his eyes and Cynthia just continued staring at him expressionlessly.
Cynthia suddenly smiled wickedly, "I'm sorry Mr. Hayden, but I don't know who you are so I will not be needing you, why don't you stay here and get to know Ash's friend and family a bit better?" she asked rhetorically while ushering the siblings into the room before following them and slamming the door shut behind her.
Drew turned around and smiled nervously at the mother bear while slowly edging towards the exit. However he soon found out that the exit was blocked by none other than Misty Waterflower, who smiled viciously down at him. Drew gulped.
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Cynthia sat down opposite May and Max before leaning forward, placing her elbows on the desk, and resting her chin upon her clasped hands. She remained silent as she stared at the siblings. May and Max glanced at each other in confusion before looking back to the Champion seated in front of them. Were it a more suitable time Max would have been bouncing off the walls in excitement, the world's most powerful, not to mention beautiful, female trainer was seated in front of him after all. But a combination of the morbid situation and Max's newfound fear of the blonde left him both nervous and very silent. Of course the smeared blood and face implant on the steel table didn't do much to calm his nerves.
May, however, eyed the blood with distaste before looking up and meeting the Champion's steely gaze with defiance and determination. Max glanced at his sister and sighed, he had a feeling that May wasn't going to make this easy for his nerves, indeed he soon saw May open her mouth angrily.
"Well? You just gonna stare at us? Or will you do your damn job and cross-examine us?" Cynthia's eyes narrowed and Max gulped, she spoke bitingly, "I know that you're angry at Ash, otherwise your boyfriend wouldn't have pulled that stunt out there, and a livid mind makes for prejudiced opinions, something I have no need for. So I will direct my questions to your younger, more composed and obviously smarter brother." Cynthia, who didn't realise the hypocrisy of her statement regarding May's inability to make rational decisions in her angered mindset, ignored the brunette's outraged spluttering and instead focused on the nervous blunette teenager.
She knew that he was in his mid-teens which meant that he was going through puberty, which meant that the only thing on his mind nowadays was likely food, Pokémon, and breasts. Then again, Ash had always shown interest in only two of those things, and breasts weren't one of them. Nevertheless unless he was gay, which Cynthia doubted, a little harmless seduction would no doubt loosen the teenager's tongue.
With that in mind Cynthia smiled coquettishly at Max while delicately brushing her bangs above her ear, revealing her usually hidden left eye. She panted slightly while waving her hand in front of her face, "All this drama has me getting warm." She said slyly before unbuttoning her coat, revealing her tight low-cut tank top that showed a generous amount of her formidable cleavage.
She glanced up and smirked inwardly at the young boy's reaction; his jaw almost reached the table and his eyes were fixated on what only a privileged few have witnessed. Cynthia, having a huge dislike for media whores and such, always tried her best to keep her private life private, hence why she always wore that coat, to keep her body hidden from the prying eyes of the paparazzi. She had always made doubly sure that her past boyfriends and hook-ups never took pictures or videotaped her while she was changing or showering or… doing other things…
But while Max may have been enraptured with the beauty sitting before him, his sister was not. May scoffed in disbelief while shaking her head, she knew what Cynthia was doing; she had done the same many times to get Drew to do what she wanted. But she wasn't a couple of decades older than Drew, that coupled with the fact that it was happening to her younger brother made it seem so much more disgusting. She glanced at her brother and rolled her eyes at his slack jaw and ogling eyes before reaching over and smacking him on the back of the head and frowning at him when he looked her way, men!
The teenager blushed and then focused his gaze on his hands, which were fiddling with each other nervously. Cynthia leaned forward, making sure that when he looked up he had direct view of her cleavage, and began her inquisition. "So Max Maple, what can you tell me about Ash Ketchum?" Max glanced up and blushed heavily at the view that beheld his eyes. He decided to focus directly on her face… her beautiful, flawless, unblemished face… with delectable lips and serenely arched eyebrows… Max shut his eyes tight as he tried to focus on what was asked of him, he stuttered nervously, "W-well A-ash was…"
He took a deep breath as he thought about the raven-haired Pokémon trainer who had taught him so much about life. He then opened his eyes and focused directly on Cynthia's steely grey ones. With a clear and passionate voice he began speaking, "Ash was-is the man who made me who I am today, he is the man I hope to become one day. Ash is my brother, perhaps not by blood but in every other sense of the word; he is by my brother by spirit, by companionship, and by mentor. I love Ash as I love my sister and as I love my parents. I may have taught myself all there is to know about Pokémon, but Ash taught me how to raise them, how to train them, how to battle with them, and how to love them. He may not have won a single League, he may not be the strongest Pokémon trainer I know, but he is without a doubt the greatest Pokémon trainer I know."
Cynthia leaned back impressed; the boy was a good orator and it was obvious that held the missing raven head in very high regard. She glanced at the boy's sister. May held her head in her hands, her shoulders were shaking and the unmistakable sound of sobbing permeated the air. She repeatedly whispered "I'm sorry Ash, I'm so sorry" amidst her cries. Max's speech and dedication to the boy who had taught the siblings so much about the world had ripped down her walls of hate and reminded her of the love she held for the missing Pokémon Trainer. It wasn't the love of ardor but rather the love of friendship and familial bonds. Ash Ketchum was as much a brother to her as Max was.
Max gazed sadly at his sister before reaching over and rubbing her back soothingly. "Oh Max…" she whimpered as she lunged at him and squeezed him tightly while sobbing into his shoulder. Max held her just as tightly and continued rubbing her back as tears came into his eyes at the sound of sister's pain and guilt over the loss of not only Brock and Dawn, but Ash as well.
Cynthia smiled as she buttoned up her coat and made herself as regal and graceful as she was before; she had gotten what she needed. While there was no documented proof that Ash was innocent of Lance's killing, the love the two siblings had of the raven haired trainer that was so clearly displayed in front of her was proof enough to her of the merits and honesty of Ash Ketchum. He was no murderer and since Cynthia was a G-Men Council Member, she could manipulate the law as she pleased. She decided that when she publicly announced Lance's death, she would also declare Ash innocent of both the actions of the Colossus and the murder of Lance. While she unfortunately couldn't use the measurements from the podium as proof as that information was highly classified, she could use Ash's Glalie and a picture of Sparky, which, according to Misty, was the name of Ritchie's pikachu, to pardon Ash from the 'Valley of Death' incident. As for Lance's murder; well she could just create some proof for that, perhaps a poorly made video of a masked female attacking a Lance lookalike. That should be enough to draw suspicion away from Ash.
She had briefly debated whether or not to reveal the information of this Ritchie Jackson to the world when she learnt of him from Misty, but she eventually decided that the world needed to know that the G-Men were working on the case. A false sense of security was important for the scared people of the Pokémon world; they needed to believe that the G-Men were in control, especially after those recent protests and rumours about the G-Men affiliating with criminal empires and syndicates, and also unfairly bending the law into their own hands. She supposed that last one was true since that was pretty much was she was doing to declare Ash's innocence.
Cynthia realized that releasing the information about Ritchie would probably alienate his friends and family, if they weren't involved that is, and likely cause them to lose their jobs, social standing, etc. But she told herself that she didn't really care; unlike her ex-colleague Bruno she figured that the suffering of a few people was well worth false comfort and the dispelling of possible riots and uprisings against the G-Men, that's what she told herself anyway.
Cynthia stood up, catching the attention of the mourning siblings, and spoke gently, "Thank you, I can see that you need some time alone and I've gotten all I need, you may go." The siblings wordlessly nodded and stood up, Max was the first through the door but before his sister followed, she was stopped by Cynthia, "Wait May." She glanced over her shoulder and Cynthia smiled apologetically at her, "I'm sorry for what I said and how I acted to you, I was angry at the Colossus and I unfairly took it out on you, please forgive me," May nodded with a weak smile, accepting her apology, before stepping through the door without a word.
Cynthia leaned back and smiled; while her anger was not planned, everything else she had done afterwards to both get back into the group's circle of trust and pry what she had needed from the Maple siblings had been. She had purposely angered May and seduced Max, sensing that the girl was conflicted about her thoughts of Ash and knowing that her brother would no doubt try to impress the Champion with what he knew of Ash. As she had hoped May had broken down at Max's speech, had she not then Cynthia would have still doubted Ash's innocence and she didn't want to waste time and effort looking for another missing person.
She stood up and headed back to the waiting room to dismiss everyone, since she had gotten all the information she needed about Ash she didn't need to talk to any of them anymore. But when she got there she saw a strange scene. Gary was glowering at Drew while Cilan and Delia held him back; there was blood on his forehead and Drew had his head held back and was pinching his nose as blood dripped from it. May was fussing about the green haired Coordinator and glaring at Gary while her brother was smiling gleefully. Misty and Iris stood next to each other, creating a barrier between Gary and Drew. They had their arms folded and were scowling at Drew.
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May had exited the interrogation room just as Gary's head lunged forward and smashed into Drew's face. The researcher's hands that gripped Drew's collar were immediately torn away by the green-haired Unovian and Delia. May gasped and ran to her dazed boyfriend while Misty and the dark-skinned Unovian stepped in front of Gary as he was pulled away. She pried her boyfriend's hands away from his face to get a good look and to her relief his nose didn't look broken, though it was bleeding quite heavily. She glared at Gary while rummaging about in her belt pack for tissues. As Cynthia entered the room Drew stood up sharply and spoke to her, though due to him holding his nose his voice came out as a nasally whine.
"Cynthia!" He pointed at the steaming brunette researcher, "This man attacked me! You have to arrest him at once!" Cynthia raised her eyebrow incredulously at the Coordinator, "Mr. Hayden we are not on a first name basis, and why should I waste precious time arresting the grandson of the esteemed Professor Oak when I don't even know who you are?" Drew spluttered indignantly, "You were about to arrest that other guy just for smoking weed! But now arresting him," he pointed at Gary, "is an inconvenience?! What the fuck?!"
May gasped "Drew! You can't speak to the Champion like that!" Drew turned to stare at May in disbelief. "May! You're my girlfriend! You're supposed to side with me!" he yelled. May, in return, glared at him "I'm not going to side with you when you yell demands at the frikkin' Champion of Sinnoh!" Drew huffed in disbelief and anger before turning around and rushing out the door, causing May to sigh wearily, all while Cynthia watched in amusement. The Champion then solemnly glanced down at her feet before gesturing apologetically to everyone in the room, "I am sorry everyone for losing my temper like that, it was unprofessional of me, please forgive me." Everyone nodded accepting her apology.
Cynthia continued, turning to the Unovian duo, "I'm afraid, Ms. Hawthorne and Mr. Stevenson that I must apologise once again to you two as I have all the information I need on Ash Ketchum and no longer need to speak with you. I could have you sent back to Unova in my private jet if you like." She awaited an answer as the two Unovian natives looked at each other briefly before looking back at her, Cilan then spoke politely, "Thank you for your gracious offer Ms. Lawson, but I think we will decline, we would like to stay here in Kanto a little while."
Cynthia nodded before turning to the Maple siblings, "What about you two and the mighty Drew Hayden?" Max chuckled at the blonde's jab at the green haired Coordinator and even May smiled a little; she knew her boyfriend was a bit full of himself. "Would you like to take my jet back to Petalburg?" Cynthia continued. May answered, "No thanks; Drew promised to take me on a cruise to Cinnabar Island and afterwards the Orange Archipelago, but I'm sure my brother would appreciate the offer, right Max?" She looked at her brother who was nodding excitedly, "Yes Ms. Lawson I would love to take your offer!"
Cynthia chuckled at the teenager's enthusiasm before gesturing for everyone to follow her. May and the rest of them followed the blonde Champion out of the Police Station before convening at the steps in front of the entrance. As she glanced about for Drew she was approached by Misty. The red-headed Cerulean native smiled kindly at her, "It's good to see you again May, despite the circumstances. How have you been?" May smiled sadly in response, "It's good to see you too Misty, honestly I haven't been too well, Dawn's death was incredibly hard for me, Brock's as well. At first I hated Ash but now I just feel terrible for blaming him. I should've known better."
May's eyes watered as she mentioned Ash, she felt really guilty about blaming him. Misty, seeing the brunette's tears, brought her into a comforting hug, "Hey now don't cry May, you were angry and looking for someone to blame, it's only natural that you would blame Ash, the only reason I knew he was innocent is because I'm his oldest friend." May pulled back and giggled, "I bet you wish he was more than just your oldest friend though, hmm?" Instead of blushing as May had expected, Misty just smiled sadly and spoke wistfully, "Yeah… I just wished I had at least told him before… before…" As Misty struggled to finish her sentence May realized what she had said. She gasped, "Oh Misty I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"
She was cut off by Misty who raised a hand and smiled weakly, "It's fine May, really, well I've got to go, I'd better find Tracey before he mistakes a bench for a toilet again." May giggled and she waved goodbye as the red-head headed off. She was then approached by Delia and she grew a bit nervous; she hoped she wouldn't have to answer for Drew's hurtful comment. Her fears were quelled however as Delia smiled warmly at her.
"Hello May, I was wondering if you and Drew would like to stay at my house for the night since you'll be heading off to Cinnabar tomorrow. I've already spoken to Iris and Cilan and they've accepted. Would you like to come?" May was amazed at this woman's hospitality and generosity, here she was offering her house to her and Drew even after the green-haired Coordinator had offended her! May smiled gratefully at her, "Thank you for your offer Mrs. Ketchum, I think we will accept, I just have to find my moping boyfriend haha!" She giggled.
However May's temporary happiness was crushed by overwhelming guilt as she realized that the only difference between her and Drew before she had spoken to Cynthia was that Drew was brave enough, or stupid enough, to voice his thoughts out loud. And she knew that Mrs. Ketchum knew; that much was obvious when the older woman had avoided her glares in the waiting room before the sessions had started.
If Delia had noticed May's sudden gloom, she didn't show give any indication; she still had that gentle smile that only a mother could own upon her face. "Well I'll leave you to it then, be sure to get there before supper time; I'm making my famous lasagna!" Delia said. May's face brightened considerably; it was well known amongst Ash friends that Mrs. Ketchum's cooking was to die for and her foreign dishes were especially good. "Don't worry Mrs. Ketchum; I'll make sure we'll be there to sample your delicious cooking." Delia smiled her thanks and said "Then it's settled! It'll be nice to have some company around the house."
May nodded with a grin upon her face as the auburn haired mother moved away and walked towards her car with Gary and the two Unovians. She turned around to find her brother standing there with bittersweet smile on his face. "I guess this is goodbye for now" he said tentatively. May smiled and pulled Max into a hug, "Yeah, for now… but I'll be home before you know it!" she exclaimed happily. "I'm glad to see you smiling again sis… maybe now you can catch a better boyfriend than grass head over there." Max teased. May pulled back and glared at her brother playfully before lightly punching his arm. She turned around and saw her boyfriend scowling at Max.
She turned back to Max to finish her farewell. "You stay safe okay, don't do anything rash." She said. Max smiled and said, "You too sis, don't eat Mrs. Ketchum out of house and home!" He laughed and ran away in the direction Cynthia was heading before May could get hit him again. She glared at him before smiling sadly; this would be the first time she and her brother would be separated since Dawn and Brock had died.
Max had been so supportive during the whole thing despite his own suffering. She hadn't realized the extent of her brother's selflessness until his little speech about Ash in the interrogation room; it was then that May had realised that Max was feeling the same pain as her, and she had selfishly wasted his support and comfort on thoughts of hate towards Ash and her own thoughts of pain.
May's gloomy thoughts were interrupted as Drew walked up and stood next to her awkwardly. She glanced at him with the corner of her eye, "Something to say Drew?" she said frostily; she was unhappy with his demand for her support against Cynthia when he had failed to provide the exact same thing against the exact same person when said person was threatening to arrest Tracey. Drew, however, replied just as coldly, "No." May sighed and looked away; she was going to have to work on her boyfriend's arrogance.
"Well Mrs. Ketchum invited us to stay at hers for the night and I accepted, so let's hit the road; it's at least an hour to Pallet Town." May said in a no nonsense tone. Drew frowned at her, "I thought you hated Ash." May sighed, "I did, but then I remembered who he was and what he's done for me." She said vaguely. Drew shook his head lightly and began muttering under his breath. May ignored him as she headed towards the car park and their rental car.
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Close to Shamouti Island; 02/04/2013:
Bruno groaned as he finished heaving into the bowl in front of him, his massive hands that were gripping onto the rim slipped off as he rolled over onto his back next to the toilet. He panted while stared at the bright lights above him. He heard a giggle and weakly lifted his head to see the source. His wonderful and supporting girlfriend had her hand over her mouth trying to stifle her laughter as she watched him suffer. "The great and mighty Bruno, he who outwrestled an onix, he who fought a machamp with his bare fists and won, brought to his knees by the gentle waves of sea!" Tears leaked from her eyes as she began laughing uncontrollably.
Bruno growled, "Woman, you are evil. There's nothing gentle about this!" Jenny glanced at the porthole window… the sea was flat… She continued chuckling, "How is it that you can remain standing on a crumbling mountain during an onix's Earthquake but that," she gestured out the window, "is too much for you?" she asked incredulously. Bruno replied with a question, "How is it that you're still standing there mocking me and not helping me!" he said grumpily. He groaned as he felt his stomach rising again and clambered his way back up to the toilet. After he finished retching he returned to previous position on the floor and muttered hoarsely, "Why couldn't we just take a bloody plane? Why? Why? Why?"
Jenny rolled her eyes, "For the hundredth time, Shamouti doesn't have an airport!" she shouted. Bruno groaned, "What primitive people must live on this island that they don't have an airport?" he groaned in agony. Jenny snorted, "That's rich coming from a man who spends most of his time in a hut on a mountain wearing a karate outfit!" Bruno glared at her and made a shooing motion with his hand, "Go away and let me die in peace woman!" Jenny playfully glared at him before cracking up into a smile; she knew he was just teasing her, he would never seriously talk to her in that manner and if he ever did, well she would make sure that he would eat his words.
After informing Cynthia of what Blue had told them and Bruno's plan to recruit the Legendaries the day before, the two had immediately left for Pallet Town to catch the fastest ferry to Shamouti Island. Bruno had paid the captain a handsome sum of money to get them there as fast as possible, hence why they were already at the island less than 24 hours since their departure from Pallet.
The policewoman eventually stopped reveling at her boyfriend's pain before heading over to clean him up and get him ready to move; they were almost at the island. "Come on you, we're almost there, according to the G-Men reports of what happened here 6 years ago, a girl called Melody and a boy called 'the Chosen One' saw Lugia when the Legendary Bird Trio went crazy. We should ask the locals where to find her and then question her on how to speak to Lugia." Bruno sighed but nodded; he knew how important this was, besides it was his idea in the first place. "Alright, I think I'm fine now, let's g-" The giant promptly sat up and retched into the bowl again. Jenny sighed.
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Pallet Town; Professor Oak's Lab; 02/04/2013:
Gary sighed as he hung up his coat by the door and made his way to the bathroom. During the trip back from Viridian he had not said a single word while Mrs. Ketchum and that weird Connoisseur made small talk. The black girl hadn't said much either, were it any other time he might have attempted to make a move on her, he had never bedded a black girl before. But even he had his morals; he couldn't take advantage of her when she was so obviously suffering. Besides, he wasn't exactly in the mood either.
As he entered the bathroom and switched on the light, he glanced at the mirror to find dried blood and slight bruising on his forehead. He reached up to lightly touch the purple area and winced, he then turned the tap on in the shower, undressed himself and stepped in. The water poured down his face, washing the blood away and running into his eyes and down his cheeks, and when the tears started rolling down his face, the water washed them away as well. He turned off the water but the tears continued as he began sobbing.
The reason he had gotten so angry at Drew was because the Coordinator reminded the researcher of himself. The way Drew had spoken ill of Ash reminded Gary yet again of how he used to bully Ash before they left on their respective journeys, and how he used to believe that he was superior to the brash raven head in every way. It was all because of his stupid parents! Why had they abandoned him? Why had they left him all alone? Sure he had his grandfather but he was a very busy man, he hardly had time to look after a child, though Gary knew the old man had tried his best.
The tears became stronger at the thought that his grandfather still would not tell him what had happened to his parents. Seeing Delia's compassion for her son time and time again as he was growing up had really broken him down, and he became so jealous of the raven head, so jealous that the only way to deal with the pain was to make himself believe that he was superior to Ash because he had no parents, because no one had time for him, because he was the grandson of the famous Professor and Ash was just the son of a farm girl.
And after the Silver Conference, when Gary realised that one didn't inherit social standing, they earned it, it tore at him even worse despite his happy façade. And as the years passed and Gary watched from the sidelines how Ash grew up and became the great Trainer and friend he was today, the guilt formed but the jealousy remained as Gary realised that the only reason Ash was as great a person as he was, was because of his diligent mother. How would have Gary turned out had he had a mother to care for him as Delia did for Ash?
And Gary knew that his grandfather knew that it was tearing him apart, so why did he still refuse to tell the young researcher about his parents? Why wasn't he allowed to know why no one had ever told him a bedtime story? Why no one had ever sung him to sleep on a cold, dark, stormy night? Why wasn't he allowed to know what was so wrong with him that even his mother abandoned him? What could possibly be gained by keeping the truth from him?
When the clock struck midnight the young researcher was still in the cubicle, his long since dry naked form seated on the cold tiled floor with his head buried in arms resting crossed on his knees. His body trembled as wept for the childhood that he never had. He mourned for the mother he had never known, for the father he had never idolized, for the man he could have been.
Gary had wondered what could be gained by keeping the truth of parents from him, but he never paused to wonder could be prevented by doing so.
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Pallet Town; Ketchum Household; 02/04/2013:
Delia opened the door to find May and Drew standing on her porch and she smiled brightly. "Hello Mrs. Ketchum!" May said politely behind gritted teeth while nudging her boyfriend roughly in the ribs. Drew scowled at the brunette but spoke anyway, "Hello Ma'am."
Delia smiled at the exchange and spread her arms out wide, "Welcome! Please come in and make yourself at home, I'm almost done cooking and will be ready to serve in about 15 minutes. And please May dear, call me Delia." As she ushered them in she subconsciously ignored Drew and focused on May, but one could hardly blame her for that, Drew hadn't said very pleasant things about her missing son after all.
Delia had prepared herself for the snobbish Coordinator; she knew that he was an unpleasant person, honestly she couldn't see what a dear girl like May could see in him, but she decided to be polite to him and keep her patience in check for the evening. Little did she know just how much her substantial patience was going to be tested that night.
She asked her new guests what they wanted to drink as they settled down on the couch next to Iris and Cilan and as she left to go fetch their beverages she could see May and Iris already settling into a comfortable conversation, while Cilan politely attempted to speak to Drew, but the Coordinator seemed pretty unresponsive. As she returned to the dining room she saw that the Unovian Connoisseur had seemingly given up on talking to Drew and was now sitting with his fellow Unovian and her companion, talking lightheartedly with them. Drew however was slumped on the single couch and was staring at the phone in his hands. Delia frowned, where did he get his manners?
As she handed out the drinks on the tray she held, she noticed that her Mr. Mime wasn't anywhere to be seen. She glanced around the room and found him standing by the window staring out into the garden. The Barrier Pokémon didn't make a noise, he didn't move, he just stood there and stared with a disturbingly empty gaze. Delia frowned, this was very strange behavior for the usually chirpy and obedient Pokémon, but she wrote it off as discomfort from having so many unknown guests in the house and returned to her task of handing out the drinks.
She noticed that May kept glancing at her boyfriend, at which point her smile drooped slightly before returning as she turned back to the Unovian natives. Delia then moved to Drew to hand him his drink, which was simple earl gray tea with a drop of milk, as he had asked. The Coordinator grabbed the cup, took a sip and grimaced before placing it back on the tray, "Not enough milk" nonchalantly, as if she were his waitress and not his host.
As Delia recoiled slightly, she noticed Iris choking on her words and Cilan frowning heavily. May's face reddened, not with embarrassment but with anger, "Drew! Don't be so rude!" May yelled at him. Drew's head snapped towards her and Delia, who could see an argument brewing, spoke quickly, "It's fine May, I'll just make another cup, it's not a problem." She breathed a sigh of relief as the Hoenn couple seemed to calm down, albeit reluctantly.
But that was not to be the last of the green-haired Coordinator's disrespect that evening. As Delia ushered everyone to the dining room and presented her starter meal, a delicacy from a far off region called Kalos that was called 'Garlic Bread', followed by the main course which was lasagna, a famous recipe from Alto Mare City, followed by Crème Brulee, another dish from Kalos, Drew had complained that he didn't want 'weird foreign food' and then when he discovered that there were no burger joints in Pallet Town, he settled for eating a pack of crisps. Such obnoxiousness continued and by evening's end Delia's eye was twitching, Iris' hands clutched her legs as she imagined them around Drew's neck, Cilan had a perpetual frown on his face and May had her head in her hands.
Delia sighed and glanced at Iris, catching her attention before gesturing to May. Iris understood and stood up before walking over to May and speaking, "Hey May, would you like to show me your Pokémon?" May glanced up with watery eyes and smiled weakly at the Dragon Tamer. "Sure Iris." The two headed out the sliding door to the garden.
Delia then turned to Cilan, "Would you mind helping me set up bedding for everyone Cilan?" Cilan stood up and smiled politely, "Of course Mrs. Ketchum, just tell me where to put them." Delia smiled gratefully, "Well there is a bunk bed in Ash's bedroom, I think the girls can have them. You can take the guest room Cilan, and as for you Drew," Drew looked up from his phone when he heard his name mentioned, "I'll put a mattress out in the living room for you." Drew shrugged before returning his attention to his phone.
As Delia walked out the room and to a cupboard with Cilan following her, she noticed that Mimey still hadn't moved from his spot at the window and frowned again before returning her attention to the task at hand. She opened the cupboard and grabbed a few duvets and pillows and their covers. She then noticed Cilan pulling out a nice, smooth and thick mattress. She stopped him before winking and smiling wickedly at him and reaching deep into the cupboard to find the thinnest, scruffiest and lumpiest mattress the Connoisseur had ever seen. She handed the 'mattress' to Cilan before reaching back in and pulling out a thick woolen blanket that could give one a rash just from looking at it.
Cilan returned her wicked smile before grabbing Drew's 'bedding' and carrying it to the living room where he set it on the floor. Drew walked out of the dining room and Cilan snickered when he saw the Coordinator's expression of horror.
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The two women sat on the bench and watched the incredible view as the sun set over the rolling hills of Pallet Town. There was something calming about the sunset and both girls felt as if all their troubles were gently drifting away. They made no sound as they listened to the bird Pokémon chirping as they settled down for the night, the gentle sound of Delia humming as she washed the dishes in the kitchen, the distant noises of farm animals; the neighing of ponyta and rapidash and the mooing of miltank.
May sighed peacefully, "I always love coming to Pallet Town, there's something so calming about the simple life the people have here. There's no Tournaments or Contests or Competitions, there's little crime and violence and the Pokémon are used for normal chores rather than battling." Iris hummed her approval, "This place really is very beautiful, Ash was lucky to grow up here." May nodded happily and then glanced at the window to the living room, wanting to make sure that Mrs. Ketchum or Cilan wasn't strangling her boyfriend. However what she saw was Delia's Mr. Mime still standing at the window looking directly at them with a completely empty stare. He didn't move and he eventually began to grow on the brunette's nerves, it was actually kind of creepy the way he just stood and stared at them.
May looked away before her nerves got the better of her and focused instead on her new friend sitting next to her. The two began to talk about themselves getting to know each other better before Iris jumped up and exclaimed, "Enough chit-chat! I came out here to see your Pokémon!" May giggled and stood up as well. She then grabbed all the PokéBalls on her waist and released them.
First to come out was a large butterfly that had a white and black body, black, red, yellow and blue wings, huge blue eyes, two black antennae and a large curled black proboscis. The next Pokémon was a light blue foxlike mammal with long, pointed ears, dark eyes and two dark blue, rhombus-shaped markings on its back. Atop its head appeared to be some sort of tuque.
Then came out a huge blue tortoise with two huge cannons coming out of its back and a large dark green quadruped prehistoric herbivore-like Pokémon with a huge flower growing out of its back. Next was a huge fat bear with a white belly and face, the rest of its body was a dark blue-green colour and it had huge claws growing out of it paws.
Last but definitely not least was a bipedal red Pokémon with beige, yellow and gray accents. Behind its head, there were beige, hair-like feathers that continued downward and surrounded its chest and abdomen. It had a V-shaped crest upon its small red face that protruded out into a vicious hooked beak. It had shaggy legs that hid claws similar to those on its three-fingered hands. The Pokémon were Beautifly, Glaceon, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax and Blaziken respectively.
"Wow May! They look so powerful!" May smirked proudly, "Well what did you expect from the greatest Coordinator in the world?" she said boastfully. Iris laughed, "Oh May, you little kid! You sound just like Ash!" May giggled before she noticed Blaziken, which was arguably May's strongest Pokémon, looking very alert. The Blaze Pokémon's wrists were ablaze and her head swung around quickly with large irises. May knew that that meant they weren't alone.
"What is it Blaziken?" she asked carefully so as not to spook her Pokémon. Blaziken suddenly locked eyes onto the Mr. Mime standing at the window and started growling. The Barrier Pokémon suddenly blinked before disappearing. May and Iris gasped and the former turned to the latter, "That was weird, Mr. Mime can't learn Teleport can they?" she asked. Iris nodded, "By TM they can, we'll have to ask Delia whether she taught that one it." May nodded and turned back to her Blaziken, who it seemed had calmed down considerably, and returned it before returning all the others and heading inside with Iris.
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Viridian City Gym; 02/03/2013:
Blue had his feet rested on the desk as he leaned back and puffed on his cigar, sending smoke rings into the air above him. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand and every now and then he removed his cigar to take a sip. Overall he felt very powerful, like Don Corleone or Tony Soprano, and he smirked. However that was all ruined when Alakazam suddenly appeared in front of him causing him to inhale his cigar smoke, choke and drop his whiskey. As a human's natural reaction was to lean away from a sudden threat he did so, unfortunately his chair could only handle so much leaning backwards. The legs slipped and the powerful Team Rocket Boss rolled backwards across the floor as the chair fell.
He stood up and glared murderously at his Pokémon who stared back impassively. "Care to explain what you're doing here, both at the wrong time and without the package?" Blue asked dangerously. Alakazam did not react but suddenly a series of images onslaught the Boss' mind. He saw a brunette woman, a black woman, two green haired men and a bunch of the brunette's Pokémon. The images stopped and Blue sighed, it seemed that things had gotten a bit more complicated.
He had recognized the Hoenn couple as two successful Coordinators but that's all they were: Coordinators. None of their Pokémon would be a match for his, even if they all attacked simultaneously, he was once a Champion after all; his Pokémon were ruthlessly strong. It was the other green haired man that had him worried. Blue had learned long ago never to underestimate a Gym Leader and while he knew that Alakazam could take on the Gym Leader's Pokémon alone, he also knew Alakazam would struggle if all of them were to release all their Pokémon.
Blue sighed again and unclipped a PokéBall before tossing to Alakazam, "Here take Machamp, the two of you should be able to deal with this." Alakazam caught the PokéBall not with his hand but rather his psychic mind before disappearing. As Alakazam teleported away Blue wondered about the black woman he had seen. He shrugged, if he didn't know who she was then she probably wasn't important or strong.
What a foolish assumption.
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Pallet Town; Ketchum Household; 02/04/2013:
There was only a quarter of an hour until midnight and May was still awake. She wished that Mrs. Ketchum had let her sleep in the guest room but the kindly mother had insisted that the beds in Ash's room were far more comfortable and easier to sleep in and that she couldn't let the ladies have anything less than the best she had to offer. But the problem wasn't that the bed was uncomfortable, it was that she was sleeping in Ash Ketchum's room.
Everywhere she looked there was some reminder of Ash or some item of his. His desk was cluttered with framed photos of all his travelling companions, including one of herself with Ash, her brother and Brock. On his laptop was a sticker of every one of the Pokémon he had caught with Pikachu in the middle. On the windowsill there was a neatly ordered row of all his caps, including the red one with a dark center and green PokéBall logo in the middle.
Even the damn bed sheets smelt of the raven haired trainer, a natural earthen and herbal smell that often permeates the air after a long day of rain. She clutched her sheets and brought them up to her nose to smell once again. While travelling in Hoenn she had eventually grown a small crush on the handsome raven head, but that was only natural, had she been travelling with any other cute and friendly boy she would have likely crushed on them as well. So as her crush faded and she became more mature she had set her sights on more mature boys and one that was preferably a Coordinator, which was how she became besotted with the arrogant and rude Drew Hayden.
May sighed, she was very upset at Drew's behavior throughout the whole evening but deep down, she knew that she wasn't surprised. She realised she had ignored the age old adage: "Look not at how he treats you but rather at how he treats others, for with time that is how he will treat you." She had fallen for his charms and thought it was sweet at how he treated only her nicely, but now she realized that he wasn't sweet at all, he was just a spoilt, arrogant and rude brat. Was there any chance for him?
But even her love troubles weren't as distressing as the guilt she felt lying in the bed of a man she had betrayed. She could feel the tears coming up again and quickly swung out of the bed to head to the bathroom. She was stopped by Iris' voice, "Can't sleep either?" She turned to look at the dark-skinned beauty lying on the top bunk and smiled weakly, "Yeah, there's just too many reminders of him in here." Iris jumped down, "Same here, I just miss that little kid so much." She said with a sad smile.
"I'm going to get a glass of water, wanna come?" Iris asked as she jumped down. May nodded and followed the Unovian woman down the stairs to the kitchen. They saw Drew, who had somehow fallen asleep on that horrible mattress, and May frowned. Iris saw the brunette's expression but remained silent; she knew that May could sort out her own boy troubles.
As they approached the kitchen they heard a soft humming and sniffling, they glanced through the archway to see Delia sitting at the kitchen table, staring at a framed photo in her hands with tears streaming down her face as she hummed a simple yet somehow hopeless tune. Eventually the mourning mother opened her mouth and began to sing with a soft, quivering voice:
"Be still my son, you're home
Oh when did you become so cold?
The blade will keep on descending
All you need is to feel my love…"
She looked as though she wanted to sing more but choked with sadness. The two girls shared a sad look before making themselves visible, "Are you alright Mrs. Ketchum?" May asked gently as she approached the grieving woman. Delia lifted her head to see the two girls approaching and tried to summon a smile but failed, "I just miss him so much!" she said as she burst into more tears. May moved over and hugged the weeping woman from behind while Iris watched sadly.
May glanced at the picture Delia was holding and saw Ash as toddler in the cutest pajamas. The little boy had his hand behind his head as he laughed happily. May's eyes watered as she saw the picture; it was just so… Ash-like and it reminded her of her adventures with raven haired boy in Hoenn. It reminded her of how important Ash was to her and as her love and respect for him rose once again, so too did her overwhelming guilt. She saw Iris pour herself a glass of water and head back upstairs and May knew that the dark-skinned girl could tell she and Ash's mother needed some alone time.
May gently let go of Delia as the auburn haired mother's sobs subsided and sat down opposite her before grabbing her hands with her own. "Mrs. Ketchum I need to apologise to you, when I saw what happened in Sinnoh all I could think of was that Dawn and Brock were dead. I don't know if you know this but me and Dawn had grown very close and we were the best of friends, I deeply cared for her and I became so angry that she was dead. I forgot all that your son had taught me, I forgot how much your son had done for me, I forgot how much I owed your son for helping me become the person I am today…" May choked off as tears rose unbidden, she tried to continue but her guilt and pain had seized her throat and tongue.
Delia, whose throat was thick with pride at how her beautiful baby boy had touched this girl's life, wiped away her tears and squeezed the brunette's hands with a soft smile, encouraging her to go on. May burst into more tears when she saw this incredible woman's generosity. "I became so blinded by my anger that I blamed the last person on earth I should be blaming. I blamed your son. And I hate myself for it, I know I can never forgive myself but I hope... I pray that you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
May cried and fell to her knees next to older woman, "Please Mrs. Ketchum! Please forgive me!" she cried over and over again. Delia pulled the weeping girl up into a fierce hug. She stroked the girl's hair and whispered soothingly into her ear, "Of course I forgive you, I forgave you before you even knew Ash was innocent." She continued, "But you need to forgive yourself dear, you are one of the sweetest, kindest and bravest people I have ever met and you don't deserve to beat yourself up over an assumption that anyone could make."
May's cries subsided and Delia pulled back only to lean forward and kiss the girl gently on the forehead, "Can you do that for me? Can you forgive yourself?" May smiled weakly and nodded while sniffing. Delia beamed, "And please, May, call me Delia." May's smile grew and they remained silent for a while as their tears and despair subsided.
May, wanting a change of mood, decided to ask Delia what she had discussed with Iris earlier, "Delia, did you teach your Mr. Mime Teleport?" Delia frowned and shook her head, "No, why do you ask?" May, who was quite alarmed by the news, was about to explain when the grandfather clock in the living room chimed midnight. Suddenly a grunt and loud crash echoed through the house.
The two frowned at each other before rushing into the living room. There they found Drew plastered against one of the walls by some invisible force and in the centre of the room, floating a couple of feet above the coffee table with its legs folded, was a humanoid being with a long, thin snout and two long spikes for ears. It had a yellow skeletal body and brown armoured plates that covered its chest, shoulders, forearms and. It had three digits on each hand and foot and a huge drooping moustache. Its hands were clasped together as if it was praying and orbiting its body were two silver spoons.
Suddenly the beast separated its hands and the two spoons shot towards them. He curled his fists around them until he gripped them strongly, before he slowly descended as his legs unfolded. As soon as his feet touched the surface of the wooden table he slowly opened his eyes. Wisps of blue ether drifted away from his ethereal blue eyes, fixed in an empty stare, before eventually evaporating.
The beast suddenly pushed his hands out and towards the two women and an invisible shockwave flung them against the wall behind them. Before they could drop to the floor the beast opened his hands, causing the spoons to float away eerily, before they began to glow with the same ethereal blue that enveloped his empty eyes. The two women became encased in the same blue and they found that they were frozen in place.
There was a sudden thudding from the stairs and Cilan arrived at the scene. As soon he saw what was happening he unclipped a PokéBall and shouted, "Whimsicott, use Shadow Ball!" But before he could complete his throw his wrist was grabbed by a huge muscly hand. The Unovian Gym Leader looked to the hand's source and found a huge, four-armed, gray skinned, heavily muscled figure wearing a pair of legless wrestling pants. The machamp gripped his wrist with its upper right hand and grinned evilly before squeezing hard, causing Cilan's hands to clench and the PokéBall to slip out of his grasp. Machamp caught the PokéBall with his lower right hand but his evil sneer remained focused on Cilan.
Then, with a horrible, cruel laugh, it slowly crushed the ball, killing the Pokémon within.
"NO!" Cilan screamed hoarsely as he tried to collapse and fall to the floor but Machamp yanked him up by the wrist it was holding. It dropped the remains of the PokéBall and then grabbed Cilan's shoulders with its two upper hands and lifted him effortlessly into the air, exposing his stomach to the beast. May, Delia and Drew watched in horror as Machamp, with its two lower fists, began pulverizing the Unovian's chest and stomach. Cilan screamed as his body shook as countless blows were rained upon it, causing blood to spray from his mouth. The beast then grabbed his head with one of its huge hands before spinning him around and releasing him as if he were a discus.
Cilan smashed through the window before landing and rolling across the garden as several shards of glass lacerated his body. He came to a still before lapsing into unconsciousness. All the while the alakazam remained where he was and continued staring expressionlessly at May and Delia with that cold, empty stare. The Hoenn girl began crying and her sobs caught the attention of the multiple limbed beast, who lumbered over and grabbed the girl by the throat with its upper right hand, pulling her away from Alakazam's otherworldly grasp, and proceeded to give her the same treatment as it had Cilan. However it had only gotten one punch in, which was enough to wind May, when a feminine voice was suddenly heard.
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"Haxorus, Dragon Tail!" A large, gold-plated, black-skinned, wingless dragon with vicious red claws and red tipped sickled tusks shot out from the stairwell, where Iris was standing with an angry expression on her face, before flipping and slamming its glowing green tail onto the arm that was holding May. Machamp roared in pain and dropped the heaving girl before turning to face the new intruder. Haxorus growled viciously and was about to launch himself at the beast before he noticed Alakazam grabbing his spoons and swiping them horizontally, causing a huge purple scythe to shoot out towards him.
Luckily Iris saw it too and issued her next command, "Grab Machamp and then use Fling at Alakazam." Haxorus grinned before lunging forward and grabbing Machamp with claws glowing with the power of Dark energy before the beast could react. He then spun around and tossed the machamp, not unlike it had done to Cilan moments before, directly towards the incoming Psycho Cut. The beast intercepted the super effective psychic move, causing it to dissipate and a huge gash to open up across Machamp's body, before it slammed into Alakazam, crushing the coffee table, and fell unconscious. Iris, having killed two pidgeys with one stone, ordered Haxorus to use Shadow Claw on the Psi Pokémon, who was already weakened both by the Dark-typed Fling and the sheer mass of the 130 kg Superpower Pokémon.
Haxorus leapt towards Alakazam with a huge black and purple claw sheathing its ordinary claw and slashed across Alakazam's face, causing three diagonal scars to appear. The Alakazam made no noise however, Iris wasn't quite sure if alakazams could make noise, and weakly stood up before procuring a PokéBall and recalling the fallen Machamp. Then it disappeared, leaving nothing but the haunting memory of its empty stare.
Drew and Delia fell to the floor as soon as the Pokémon disappeared, the psychic power no longer present, before rushing over to the winded May. Iris recalled Haxorus before rushing over to the broken window, leaping over the sill and sprinting towards the fallen Connoisseur. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw his chest rise and fall, however, her joy was short-lived when she saw blood dripping from his mouth. He had internal bleeding!
She turned to Delia who had made her way outside with Drew, who was supporting May, "Mrs. Ketchum, where's the nearest hospital? Cilan needs help!" Delia sighed, "In Viridian City, but it's at least an hour drive there." Iris unclipped another PokéBall before releasing a black, blue and purple three-headed dragon with empty eye sockets. She spoke to it as she lifted Cilan onto its back and then climbed up to sit just in front of its wings. "Hydreigon, we to head north as fast as possible, I'll tell you when to stop." She then turned towards the others, "I'll meet you guys at the hospital, and I'm sorry for the mess Mrs. Ketchum." she said before the dragon took off.
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Delia turned to May and Drew, who were both in shock and resting on each other for support. She spoke gently, "How about you two change into proper clothes, I'll clean up all this mess," she gestured to the glass shards and broken coffee table, "and then we can head off Viridian, okay?" The two nodded dumbly before heading inside and upstairs. Delia sighed before walking over to the cupboard which contained the dustpan and brush. She opened the cupboard door and then fell to her knees screaming.
May, who had just finished putting her shirt on, heard Delia scream and quickly rushed out of Ash's room, catching up to Drew as they both rushed down the stairs. They found Delia on the floor by a cupboard crying and sobbing. May glanced into the cupboard before turning around and throwing up on the floor. Drew had a similar reaction.
For in the cupboard lay a Mr. Mime, eyes open and unblinking in an empty stare, one of the blue growths on its head ripped off and shoved down its throat.
So there it is, I'm sure you guys have realised by now that this is a dark story, and it will only get darker.
Speaking of dark stories, you have to check out Redenzione's 'Pokemon Summit'. It's an excellent PokeShipping story by an excellent author.
Changes:
-Drew's jerkiness had been dialed down a lot, again to make it more realistic.
-A new very important scene with Gary, found between the scene with Bruno and Jenny on the boat and May and Drew arriving in Pallet. Just press Ctrl+F and type in 'Pallet Town; Professor Oak's Lab; 02/04/2013:' to find it. Please read it as it is very important.
If you are confused about something, or you want to ask me something, please feel free to PM me and I will try my best to reply without giving away spoilers unless you want them.
-SwallowtheSun