Hello everyone, Swallow the Sun here, back after a long absence for which I am so sorry.
Firstly I'd like to say thank you all for your generous reviews, every time a new one pops up I find myself on a writing binge and the words just flow out, eager to live up to your praise.
I have been working hard on the story though, and I am pleased to announce that I have my timeline of events of exactly what is going to happen in this story worked out. All I have to do is actually write the story out now.
I do have some good news and bad news regarding this chapter, the bad news is that this chapter is a little shorter than the others, though it still clocks in at over 11 000 words. The reason being that was originally meant to be one super chapter that I think may have exceeded 20 000 words. But then I realized that was a little ridiculous and so I split it up.
Which in turn leads me to the good news which is that I'm already over 5000 words into the next chapter so you can expect it a lot sooner that this one was.
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 review.
Flames will be ignored.
I don't own Pokémon, nor do I own the quote at the beginning of the chapter. The quote is from a song called "A Slow Moving Storm" by a Post Rock/Metal band called Aoria, you should check it out if you like that kind of music.
Summary of Departer thus far:
Ash is missing, though nobody knows yet.
A man strongly resembling Ash walked into the Lily of the Valley Conference and blew it up, killing Brock and Dawn and leaving only Paul as a survivor, though he was horrifically injured we learn as Red picked him up a few minutes later. Cynthia questions Delia about Ash and learns that she, Gary and Professor Oak know something about the missing Pokémon Master Red, and that said Pokémon Master might be responsible for the explosion at the conference in Sinnoh.
Lance is soon killed by an unknown Charizard, reinforcing suspicions of Red but then Cynthia learns from Misty that it was Ritchie at the conference in Sinnoh. May and her boyfriend Drew, whom she's beginning to have doubts about, visit Delia along with Iris and Cilan while Max is given a flight back to Hoenn on Cynthia's private jet. The Ketchum household is brutally attacked by an Alakazam and Machamp who work for Giovanni/Blue, resulting in a coma for Cilan and a few injuries for May. Mimey was killed too.
Max, meanwhile is attacked while flying over Silver Town by a charizard, who is soon killed by another Mega-Charizard that steals Max, but not before he manages to record a video of what is happening and sending it to Cynthia via her wounded Garchomp. Viridian Police Officer Jenny travels to Shamouti Island with her boyfriend Bruno to confront Lugia about asking the Legendary Pokémon for help against Ritchie, who is now called the Colossus, but is instead told that Ash, the 'Chosen One' is on Mt. Silver and that all his past travelling companions must ascend the tallest mountain in the world of which Professor Oak was supposedly the world record holder of the highest anyone had climbed up it.
We learn this isn't true though as it was Alex King, the Professor's best friend and Delia's father, who climbed further than any man had ever gone, though he was never seen again. We also learn that only Cynthia's grandfather, current Elite Four member Agatha, current Sinnoh Regional Professor Patrick Rowan and Professor Oak survived that disastrous trek up Mt. Silver, though Cynthia's grandfather soon shot himself not long after.
Meanwhile Garchomp crash lands in the Corral and Cynthia and May and gang watch Max's tearful kidnapping, causing May to break down and Cynthia to snap at Delia and the Oaks because she recognized the Charizard who took Max as Red's Charizard, a man whom they had lied to her about. Cynthia sends the video to her colleague Steven who calls Max's parents and falsely tells them not to worry and that Max is in their care. Steven calls Cynthia to warn her about what he had told May's parents, and also that the public isn't ready to hear of Ash's innocence.
Meanwhile Brock's brother and Dawn's mother have been mourning, the former having just purchased a gun and setting off for Pallet Town and the latter having been confronted by Sinnoh Elite Four Member and G-Men Council Member Bertha only to recieve a call from Caroline Maple informing her of the G-Men's duplicity.
Delia finally opens up to Cynthia about her past with Red and Giovanni/Blue and we learn that Red is not Ash's father but rather Riley is. The mystery behind Red remains hidden to you readers though.
Ash's father is apparently in the clutches of Giovanni, who is ruthlessly torturing him to get information about Ash and his Aura abilities. He may have taken it a step too far though as the poor man has slipped into a coma which even Giovanni's Alakazam cannot heal. He sets his top scientist, who is also a G-Men member, searching for a way to perform a permanent Mega-evolution.
Chapter 7: A Slow-Moving Storm
"All I see is dark, the sun is fading
A slow moving storm is closing in
The greatest of creations from a dreamer
Leaving me this overwhelming calm"
Silver Town; Clinic; 04/04/2013:
When Paul awoke it wasn't accompanied with the agonized screaming that the nurses had been expecting, in fact the only indication that he had awoken at all was the slight increase in the beeping of the heart monitor. The first thing the Sinnovian noticed was that his left hand was really itchy, as was his right foot. In fact his whole body felt really uncomfortable but those two appendages stood out the most. He opened his eyes to the whitewashed walls of a hospital ward and sighed through his nose.
He remembered everything of course, how that imposter had blown up the stadium, how Aggron had leapt up and saved him, at the cost of its own life, his last lingering thought of his brother before slipping into unconsciousness…
…And then reawaking in a tranquil meadow in screaming agony, alerting the several Pokémon frolicking about to his consciousness.
Paul sighed again as he tried to open his mouth, but only the left half moved, and to ignore the itching in his left hand and right foot. It helped, in a weird sort of way, to remember that he didn't have a left hand and that half his right foot was missing, indeed what Paul was feeling was phantom limb, a sensation he'd never had expected to feel in a thousand years. He knew what had happened to him, but he had had a few days to come to terms with it, hence the lack of horror and disgust on his face.
When he had awoken for the first time in that meadow, he had almost instantly been put back to sleep by a venusaur's Sleep Powder. When he awoke again, the pain had subsided greatly, though it still lingered as a dull throb. There had been a man by him, a man who had looked so much like Ash that at first Paul had thought that it was indeed him. This had frightened the Sinnovian very much as his last memory of the raven head was when he had ordered genocide at the Conference. It became apparent very soon however, due to the man's weathered and bearded face, plus his slightly more muscular physique, that he was not Ash Ketchum.
When the man had noticed that Paul was awake he had introduced himself as Red to the huge surprise of Paul as it wasn't every day that one met the most mysterious man on the planet. The first thing Red had done after introducing himself was inform him, surprisingly empathetically really, that the purple-haired Trainer no longer had a left arm beyond the elbow, or a right foot beyond the heel. Once the resulting panicked screaming and retching had subsided, Red had then picked him up and carried him to a still pond in the middle of the meadow. He had positioned Paul so that the Sinnovian could see himself in the water's reflection, which was an act so devastating to the horrifically scarred man that he immediately fell into unconsciousness again.
What Paul had seen was the face of a man with most of his hair gone and boiled flesh that bubbled around his face, fusing the right side of his lips together. It was unlikely that even skin grafts could completely heal what happened to his face. The rest of his body had fared no better; he was spotted with red raw skin where chunks of Aggron's rocky hide were embedded and horribly bulbous deformities and the stump at his left elbow had been instantly cauterized when the intense heat had sliced his forearm off, same with his right foot beyond the heel. Needless to say, while Paul may be the only survivor of the Colossus's actions, he had not gotten away unscathed.
The next time Paul had woken up had been one of despair, and the next couple of days were filled with sulking and crying himself to sleep. He hadn't even taken notice of where he was, or of Red and a lucario attempting to mend him as best they could. Eventually he had learned that the beautiful meadow he was in, that could have been taken straight out of Eterna Forest back home, was the summit of the tallest mountain in the world. A perplexing conundrum as the air was plentiful with oxygen, water and sunlight, allowing natural life to flourish up there and for wild Pokémon to reside there happily.
When he had eventually managed to summon up enough will to do more than weep over what he had lost, he sat up and peeked through the trees surrounding the meadow. In between the mossy wooden pillars he had seen the grey wall of clouds that constantly swirled around the summit, like a slow moving storm. Who would've thought that within that storm was a literal paradise on Earth?
It wasn't long after that first glimpse of the storm that Paul had spoken his first words since the explosion, it was when Red was changing the bandage that had been wrapped around his torso, sealing and protecting the vicious wounds caused by the fragments of his Aggron's rocky hide being shattered into the young trainer's body. The lucario had been there as well, steadily applying his Heal Pulse to ensure that no wounds were reopened and also to dull the pain as Red had peeled the crimson-caked bandages off of Paul's torso.
"W-why are you doing this?" Paul had asked timidly, struggling to get the words through his slightly fused lips. Red had smiled, causing his face to split and the lines etched into his face to stand out. It had been clear to Paul that Red was not a young man anymore, though despite the whitened traces in the raven head's thick beard or hair, Paul had somehow been able to tell that it wasn't time that had aged him. Certainly, a harsh life could age a man as well as any length of time, but exactly what hardships could Red had faced in his life so that his face appeared so… sorrowful?
Paul's attention had only been brought back to his question when Red began to answer, "You've been chosen to send a very important message to certain people, I need to make sure you are able to and, such as you are now, you aren't." Paul remembered being annoyed by that answer, how vague could you get? "Why can't you send this message yourself? Or anyone else for that matter? Why me? Why a c-cripple?" Paul had asked, his throat clogging at the thought of his current state.
Paul remembered Red smiling sadly at Paul's words, eyes brimming with sympathy, but his words had been direct and to the point, "You are an associate of Ash's right? This tasks needs to be undertaken by one such person, the people who will be receiving your message wouldn't trust anyone else. Plus you were at the Conference." Red had replied nonchalantly. Paul had closed his eyes then before whispering, "So no one else made it…" It was more of a statement than a question and if Paul's eyes had been open he would have seen Red stare at him sympathetically, before replying simply, "No." Anymore words would have been useless, partly because they would have been of no comfort, but also because Paul wouldn't have heard them through the fresh wave of despair that assaulted him, bringing burning tears and desolation.
Paul was by no means a soft hearted individual, he had had a rougher childhood than most, he knew what transpired in the darker corners of the world. But no trauma he had experienced in his youth, awful though they were, could match the collective terror he and several thousand others had felt that fateful day at the Conference. But the question that had remained at the forefront of his mind over the next few days was not why it had happened, but rather why it was him who had survived.
The classic tale of survivor's guilt that had transpired over the next few days was so cringe worthy to the Paul currently laying in the hospital bed that he couldn't help but feel embarrassed at his past foolishness. Whenever Red wasn't around for whatever reason; he had tended to disappear for a couple of days every now and then, Paul had tried everything to end his life; from flinging himself into the pond thinking that he could hardly swim with missing limbs, to wandering into the wall of clouds hoping to stumble into the remarkably less friendly environment of the actual Mt. Silver. He had even gone so far as to try to convince the venusaur that he had seen every now and then to pump him so full of Sleep Powder that he would never awake, and when that failed he had lain down besides the giant snorlax he had seen Red sleeping against, hoping that it would roll over in its sleep and crush him.
Red had been remarkably patient through this whole phase of Paul's despair. Indeed only someone who had felt similar despair and pain could remain so patient. Paul had only been submerged in the pond for a few seconds before he had felt himself being pushed towards the surface by something below him. When the young traumatized trainer had broken the surface there was Red at the pond's edge, an empathetic expression gracing his face as he thanked the blastoise upon which Paul was seated. Wandering through the storm wall had been just as ineffective in ending his life, for he had only taken a few steps into the swirling grey eddies before a huge mass had enveloped him, plunging him into darkness before gripping him and gently lifting him back into the meadow. When the mass had settled him onto the soft grass it had pulled back, revealing itself to be Red's infamous Mega-Charizard.
Eventually, as each of his attempts were foiled by either Red or one of his Pokémon, Paul had stopped trying to kill himself and after many scared and violent thoughts he had decided to talk with Red again. "Why am I here?" Paul had asked as he hobbled towards the mysterious Pokémon Master who was seated in front of a circle of stones with a fire raging in the middle. He had his back against the resting snorlax, whom Paul had realised upon meeting Charizard was Red's Pokémon, as was the blastoise in the pond, and Lucario, and most probably the venusaur he had asked to kill him. If Paul had been a little less preoccupied with his condition and where he was he might've realised that there was one Pokémon missing from Red's famed Pokémon Team, a certain electric mouse…
Red had glanced up at him, smiling before gesturing opposite him, on the other side of the fire, hoping that Paul would seat himself. "The same reason I'm here, because we've been chosen." Paul had grumbled as he gingerly sat down, "That really doesn't answer anything you know, why do you have to be so damn vague?" Red had chuckled before replying, "First of all, do you know who did that to you?" the raven head gestured to Paul's mutilated body. Paul had narrowed his eyes at Red's question; he had actually thought about this a lot during his period of despair.
There was simply too much irregularities for that man to have been Ash; the strange attitude beforehand, the lack of shine in the raven head's hair implying hair dye, and finally the strange tuft of hair upon his pikachu's head which Paul had noticed but had been too preoccupied with the ensuing catastrophe before to really understand the implications of it. "Definitely not Ketchum" he had answered simply.
It was that moment, at the mention of Ash's name, that Red's eyes widened and for a split second Paul could see years, nay decades or perhaps an even lengthier amount of time of pain in those red irises. Paul remembered how his own eyes had widened; he had never seen such agony and sorrow before, and not such a copious amount of it either. Paul had always been highly skeptical of the belief that the eyes were the windows to a person's soul, after all how could bunch of muscles and nerves portray emotions? But seeing the tragedy in the Red's exposed irises had made him a firm believer in that instant. But what on Arceus' green Earth could have happened to the Pokémon Master for his eyes to display such despair?
The soul baring moment was over as soon as it had begun though as Red's eyes returned to their normal opaque red hue. Indeed Red had stirred the fire and continued on as if it never happened, causing Paul to wonder if it had been his imagination, though he was sure that such pain couldn't be imagined. "No it wasn't Ash you are right, however that fact then begs the questions, where was Ash? And where is he now?" Paul remembered being surprised by that question as he had not given it a single thought. His thoughts had been solely focused on who the man was that had blown up the Conference, what had happened to Ash had never even occurred to him. He had been about to reply when he noticed Red glancing behind him, he had craned his head around to see what the Pokémon Master had seen but nothing could've prepared him for the shocking sight of Ash Ketchum standing there with his hands in pockets.
One could hardly blame Paul if he had shown discomfort instead of elation at the sight of Ash as while they had finally earned each other's respect after their first Sinnoh Conference together they were hardly friends. And now that they were the only two survivors of their second Sinnoh Conference together, the tension between them had hardly diminished. Paul remembered looking Ash up and down, to make certain that it was truly him standing there. He had seemed a little pale with dark rings around his eyes but otherwise, the man looked too much like Ash for Paul to doubt his identity.
It was there that Paul's memory got a bit fuzzy, what he could remember was that he and Ash didn't have a lot to say to each other, though Ash and Red had plenty to talk about it. Indeed, when Paul was just out of hearing range hushed whispers would start up between the two nearly identical men, an event that had infuriated Paul to no end. He had tried to listen to their conversations sometimes, but he only managed to catch the odd word here and there; frequent mentions of an 'Officer Jenny', as well as some kid called Max. Paul had understood none of it and so soon gave up on trying to eavesdrop and instead focused directly on Ash.
Though Paul was certain that the man was indeed Ash, there had been a few things about the raven head that just didn't sit right with Paul. First of all had been Ash's attitude, though Paul had to admit that wasn't really all that mysterious. Indeed there had never been a smile on Ash's face, or any trace of that brash, arrogant and yet happy-go-lucky kind-hearted Trainer that Paul had been rivals with for years, but then again there wasn't much to be happy about these days. No the thing that had really bugged Paul was that there had been no sign of Ash up there in the meadow at all until his appearance. Though Paul was willing to accept the summit of Mt. Silver was a mystical place, and it was fairly big as well: at least as big as four stadiums, he still struggled to comprehend that Ash had been up here the entire time while he himself was recovering, and he had not seen him. And last but not least, where the hell was Pikachu? Paul doubted that the pikachu at the Conference was Ash's, not with that tuft of hair, and not under the command of an imposter.
So where was the little mouse? Paul's suspicion was only fuelled further when that night, on the same day that Ash had appeared, he disappeared. When Paul asked Red where he was, the Pokémon Master had replied only that he was on an errand, before going on one himself. Thus Paul was once again alone in the meadow, aside from the Pokémon of course, though Charizard seemed to be missing.
It was in the early hours of the next morning that Paul was awoken by the sound of Charizard's massive wings whooshing through the air as the bestial Flame Pokémon landed heavily next to the pond. Paul had immediately noticed the blood on his claws and coating fangs as long as his arm, though the questions that rose were immediately forgotten by the arrival of Red and someone else. Paul had shakily stood up and hobbled over towards the duo with the aid of the oak staff that Lucario had fashioned for him but when Red's companion had seen him he had immediately yelled out in horror.
Paul would have been lying if he had said that the blue-haired kid's reaction to his appearance hadn't stung, immensely. He was a monster now and people would always see his horrific deformities long before they saw who he really was at all, though he knew that wasn't much to see either. It was a prospect that would forever haunt him and even as he watched Red console the no doubt frightened and traumatized teenager he felt the telltale prick of tears in his eyes. Were he anyone else but Paul, those tears would have long since dripped off his cheeks. But he was Paul and so he had managed to tamper down the pain and misery enough to ask who the kid was.
The kid had been the mysterious Max that Red and Ash had spoken about the day before, and he had not been in a good shape. There were blisters on his hands and he had been shivering heavily, which came as no surprise to Paul after Red told him what had happened to him; how he was attacked by a charizard while flying home to Petalburg only to be rescued by Red's Mega-Charizard, and after spending hours being lashed by the ferocious rains of the storm and then being dropped off on the icy slopes of Mt. Silver he was likely in danger of succumbing to hypothermia.
Paul had watched as Red and Lucario attended to Max's blistered hands and then wrapped him up in blankets and rested him near Charizard's bonfire of a tail, close enough so that he would warm up, but not so close that he would warm up too quickly and shock his system. Paul had then hobbled over to him and was surprised to see him still conscious. He could see the hesitance in Max's eyes as they beheld his deformities but he was determined to make Max comfortable with him. It would be good practice for when he returned to civilisation and besides, the poor kid looked like he needed a friend right now, perhaps in each other the two could find the comfort they desperately needed.
The Paul that had originally travelled through Sinnoh, the one that had abandoned a chimchar for being too weak and had taken every opportunity to demean and break Ash would have been mortified at the Paul seating himself down to both comfort Max and find comfort for himself. But he knew that he wasn't that Paul any longer, and now with such horrific disfigurements he knew he'd be doing himself no favours if his attitude suited his appearance. They had spoken for a while and Paul learned that he had a fan in the young boy; apparently Ash had told him all about the incredibly tough trainer from Sinnoh whom he had only managed to beat in the Conference.
Paul had been a little touched by the respect the boy had for him, and also at the respect that Ash apparently had for him. To have your skills and hard work appreciated was something that everybody strove for and Paul was no exception. He had also been a little hurt at the way Max glanced at him, or specifically, at his melted and fused face, before quickly looking away before Paul could catch him though he was usually too late. He knew those glances, many a time had he met a person with some obvious disability whom he had applied the same tactic too. He didn't blame Max any more than he did himself for that, it was human nature to be curious about something that was unusual and yet so visible. It was like glancing at a Down-syndrome child, or driving slowly by an accident hoping to see a dead body or some blood, a person just couldn't help but keep sneaking glances at them.
No, he didn't blame Max for that at all, but nevertheless it still hurt. He'd only had just over a week to come to terms with his appearance and he was understandably still very upset about it and for the first human who'd seen him as he was now besides Red and Ash to be so obvious in his nervousness around him, it didn't bode well for when he would be re-immersed into society.
The two were still speaking and bonding, Max still sneaking glances and Paul still trying his best to ignore them, when Red approached them with steaming miltank sirloins and a few vegetables. While Max had been surprised at the quality of the food, Paul had had some time to come to grips with how food was found up here. Every now and then Charizard would fly back down to civilisation and then find some isolated farm where he would use his vicious claws to humanely put down a miltank before flying it back to Mt. Silver and roasting it with carefully tempered Fire Spins. Charizard always made sure to target a completely different area each time he went down so that the farmers were none the wiser, no doubt thinking that roaming packs of poochyena and mightyena or houndour and houndoom were responsible for the missing miltanks. Of course between two people one miltank could last a long time, so Charizard didn't have to go very often.
Paul had gotten stuck in pretty quickly but was startled to find that Max had already finished his by the time the lavender-head had gotten halfway through his, the poor kid must have been starving and Paul knew firsthand the effects of trauma on the digestive system, how the fear and sadness pushed down any thought of food. Now that Max was in a place he felt relatively safe his body had no doubt readdressed the issue of his empty stomach and labeled it as a top priority again.
When he asked for more Red had simply chuckled and pointed his meat-juice-soaked thumb in the direction of the spit that was on the other side of Charizard, the conflagration on the end of his spiked tail resting near the miltank carcass and simultaneously keeping both it and Max warm. When Max had gotten up to cut off another chunk of meat Red had finally begun talking about the task that Paul would be undertaking, as now that Max had arrived it would soon be time for Paul to leave.
Paul's reminiscing was interrupted by the sound of his door opening, followed by quiet footsteps. He glanced up to see the Champion of Hoenn, Steven Stone, take off his thick grey jacket and lay it gently over the back of a chair which he then seated himself in. Paul's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as something Red had said to him after giving him all the information he would need to take to the 'certain people' echoed through his mind, 'Remember, trust no one except for the ones who you must deliver this information to, and besides Cynthia do not trust the G-Men, I'm sure not all of them are as corrupt as the information I have given you suggests but it's best to be safe rather than sorry.'
"Mr. O'Connell, I am pleased to see you awake, how are you feeling?" Steven's cold voice brought Paul back to the situation at hand and Paul, deciding to follow Red's advice, feigned confusion. "Where am I?" he said warily before making a show of looking at the stump on his left arm and widening his eyes in shock. "W-what? W-where's my arm?! Wh-what's happening?! WHERE'S MY ARM?!" Paul ripped of his covers with his available hand and gasped in partially feigned horror at the site of his mutilated body.
The heart monitor began beeping frantically as he started screaming, fortunately the anaesthetic was starting to wear off and the pain was returning so his screaming was only slightly exaggerated. A nurse quickly rushed in to sedate him and as Paul felt his consciousness slipping away he noticed Steven putting his jacket back on with a disgruntled expression upon his face before strolling out. Paul smirked before he finally lost consciousness.
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When Paul awoke once again he greeted not by the face of a stern man with steely grey hair and eyes but rather by the much more preferable face of the Champion of his homeland. She quickly noticed his consciousness and smiled gently before speaking softly, "Hello Paul, I'm sure you're wondering what's going on-," "Ms. Lawson, is there anywhere we can speak privately?" Paul interrupted, slightly surprising himself with the ability to speak fluently despite coming out of a drug-induced sleep.
Cynthia's eyes widened slightly; startled by Paul's abrupt question, before they narrowed in suspicion. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin on her intertwined fists, staring at him, her grey eyes probing his black ones for an explanation and completely ignoring his deformities, he was grateful for that. Paul wasn't really sure what his eyes were reflecting but she was apparently satisfied by what she saw for she soon stood up and strode over to the door to his room, pushing it closed with a soft click before glancing at the four corners of the ceiling, only reseating herself when she was satisfied that there were no cameras.
They were fortunate the clinic that Paul had been brought to after he was found at the Death Zone Base Camp was in the small rustic settlement of Silver Town. During the infamously difficult Silver Conference, difficult because the high altitude made Pokémon battling far more strenuous, Silver Town could accommodate up to two hundred thousand people. However most of the time due to its high altitude and lack of tourist attractions the quaint little town was home to only a couple thousand residents; the clinic probably couldn't afford the luxury of cameras in each patient room.
When Cynthia had made herself comfortable, crossing her legs and resting her right elbow on her elevated knee, wrapping her other arm around her stomach and resting her chin on her cupped right hand, her fingers curling around her chin to rest over her full lips, Paul spoke, "Ketchum isn't the Colossus" and with that simple line Paul knew he had gotten her attention as her eyebrows rose ever so slightly.
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When Cynthia arrived in Silver Town to see Paul she hadn't known what to expect. She had left Pallet Town early this morning, flying in with Togekiss, leaving the rest of her Pokémon behind to protect Ash's friends and family who had just been joined by Bruno and Jenny arriving back from Shamouti. They had all been preparing for the tough journey ahead of them, choosing which Pokémon to take and collaborating with Professor Oak on the best way to summit Mt. Silver.
When she had reached Paul's room he had still been asleep, according to the nurses he had woken up earlier when Steven was there only to be sedated again as he had begun panicking. It was easy to see why; the state of Paul's appearance was truly horrific, testament to cruelty of the Colossus' actions. Having been told how Paul had acted she had expected him to have no memory of that fateful day or the resulting days during which he had been missing.
Which was why Cynthia was so surprised when Paul asked her for privacy between them, and downright shocked when he stated that he knew Ash wasn't the Colossus. The very fact that he used the codename that the G-Men had given the man at the Conference told her that he knew far more than his first actions had implied. She masked these emotions well of course, had one witnessed the past few days of Cynthia's life in its entirety one might have thought that she wore her heart on her sleeve, frequently exploding in anger and being reduced to tears when Garchomp was injured and again when she watched Max's kidnapping, however this was far from true.
The past few days had been amongst the most stressful in Cynthia's entire life, she doubted even Steven could have held his stony demeanor for much longer than she had. But now, with the knowledge of both Ash's and Red's whereabouts, things were beginning to look up again and she found herself again in complete control of her emotions.
So she remained calm and composed when Paul spoke, waiting a few seconds before replying, "Yes I know, and it's clear to me now that you have some knowledge of what's happening, so why the hysterics earlier?" Paul groaned as he shifted in his bed, trying to sit up, a difficult action with one arm. "I was told that I couldn't trust anyone but you and Ketchum's entourage," he said once he was seated before grinning wryly, "That and I don't like Steven."
Cynthia managed to still herself as a tiny smile threatened to break out on her face at Paul's jab at Steven, fortunately she managed to maintain her guarded expression, "Told by whom?" she asked. Paul then stared at her with one eye, the other being blocked from her view by the bulbous melted flesh of his right eyebrow hanging over it. "…Red," he replied simply and he was rewarded by more than just a slightly raised eyebrow this time.
Cynthia leaned forward, grey eyes widened, "You were with Red?" she asked causing to Paul to nod his head in reply. Cynthia couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face this time, "Why don't you tell me everything that you can remember Paul" she said before leaning back, uncrossing her legs and taking out her notepad and pen from within her coat.
The blonde Champion sat still as she listened to Paul's tale of how Red found him just minutes after the explosion at the Conference and brought him to Mt. Silver. She listened in barely disguised wonder as the purple haired trainer told her about the tranquil meadow that was the summit of Mt. Silver, about how Red and his lucario treated his wounds and made sure that he didn't hurt himself any more than he was.
She listened in relief as he told her about briefly meeting Ash and later Max, it was nice to have confirmation that they were in fact up at the summit, and it was especially nice to hear that Max was doing alright despite a few injuries. It was a huge weight off her shoulders to hear of Max's wellbeing as she still felt incredibly guilty and responsible for his kidnapping. She was looking forward to telling May the good news, hopefully it would restore some of the brunette's lost faith in her abilities as a G-Men agent.
Eventually Paul began to talk about how Red had given him some vital information which was meant to be delivered to Cynthia and Cynthia only. This was surprising to Cynthia as she had never actually met Red before. Sure she had been making waves in the Pokémon battling community when Red had disappeared, and she was sure Red had been keeping up with the times during his time as a hermit so he would know who she was, but how could he possibly know that she could be trusted.
She was brought out of her wonderings when she noticed Paul grabbing a thick roll of gauze resting on the bedside table that the nurses must have left behind after wrapping his wounds up. Cynthia watched on in curiosity as Paul placed the roll in his mouth before removing the bandages wrapped around the stump of his left arm, revealing the blackened cauterized flesh of his elbow.
She then gasped in horror as Paul took several deep breaths before plunging his fingers into the wound. He grunted and screamed into the gauze wedged between his teeth as he ripped of scabs before digging his fingers deeper, causing fresh streams of blood to spurt out and run down his fingers and forearm. He was lucky that the anaesthetic was still mostly in effect or the pain would have been far too much to handle.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Cynthia cried out as she leapt forward to stop him only to halt in shock as Paul slowly pulled what appeared to be a computer chip of sorts and two tiny objects out of his elbow. With a final muffled scream he yanked out the chip and two tiny stones before spitting out the roll of gauze and panting as he held up the bloody items to Cynthia's stunned face.
"When you get the chance, have a look at these, the stones are apparently a unique Mega Stone and Key Stone of some sort," he said while panting between pained gasps before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell unconscious once more. Cynthia caught his hand before he dropped the items and pried them from his blood-soaked fingers with mild disgust. She brought them to the sink and rinsed them off, she knew the chip must be waterproof otherwise it would not have survived being immersed in Paul's flesh.
After she had dried them off, making sure there was no blood left on either the chip, the stones or her hands she pressed the buzzer situated under Paul's bed. When the nurse came in she gasped at the sight of the bloody unwrapped stump dripping crimson onto the white satin bedsheets before turning and glaring at Cynthia. The blonde Champion was a bit surprised by the nurse's reaction; not many people had the guts to look at a G-Men agent like that, never mind a Regional Champion.
Cynthia chuckled, impressed by the nurse's defiance, before speaking, "He did that to himself, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would keep this under wraps. I'm serious, tell no one, not even Steven" she said grimly. She would be lying if she said Steven's actions during her time as a G-Men employee hadn't raised her suspicions about where his true ambitions lay, and what Paul had said about being told to trust only her only renewed those suspicions.
Obviously a government organisation being sourced by taxpayer's money would come under a lot of scrutiny from the public, which was why these recent rumours of the G-Men allying with Team Rocket and a few other lesser known criminal organisations had caused chaos to their public standing. Cynthia wasn't an idiot, she had been one of the Council members for a few years now and she could tell that the other members were hiding something from her and honestly, she wouldn't be all that surprised if it came out that they were in fact involved in some shady dealings.
Lance was an idiot so she doubted he had anything to do with whatever dark secret the Council was hiding but Steven… She had dated the notoriously ambitious man years back and she knew firsthand just how cold and ruthless he could be, and how intelligent he was. She had been doubting Steven's true allegiances for a while now and after he told her how Ash's innocence had to be kept under wraps, that doubt began to flourish into distrust. And now, with Paul's words and actions; hiding that chip and stone inside his own bloody stump to prevent anyone from discovering it when the doctors had cleaned him up spoke volumes of the import of the evidence the chip must contain, that distrust solidified into certainty. Steven and the other Council members were up to something, something malicious.
Cynthia returned her attention to the nurse who was now staring at her bewilderedly, "You keep this secret then I'll be in your debt, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you the advantages of having a Champion owe you a favour?" Cynthia asked with a smirk. The nurse's eyes widened before a faint smile graced her face as well, "Of course not, now if you'll excuse me Ms. Lawson, it appears my patient's wound has reopened somehow, I must to tend to him" she said tonelessly.
As Cynthia left through the clinic doors she grasped the PokéBall on her waist and released Togekiss, she had to get back to Pallet Town as soon as possible, Bruno was back there with everyone and though she very much doubted that the benign ex-Elite was part of whatever sinister plan the Council was hatching, after being indirectly told by Red of all people that the G-Men couldn't be trusted she couldn't take any chances.
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Pallet Town; Inn:
When Cynthia had arrived back in Pallet Town she had immediately gone to the inn near the docks that Bruno and Jenny were staying at and promptly kicked the police woman out. After a brief interrogation she ascertained that Bruno definitely wasn't part of this conspiracy and then fished her laptop out and plugged in the chip that Paul had given her. What they found was truly horrific.
There had been several video files and one audio file which was a sound clip of Red himself. They had started with the video files which were journal entries of an older man dressed in doctoral fatigues. Each entry told tales of testing the limits of Pokémon regeneration by cutting off their limbs and burning them and freezing them and poisoning them and submerging them in acid and many other horrific tests. The old man often spoke of studying their regenerative tissue and isolating samples and injecting them into human subjects which were apparently supplied by Team Rocket.
As each video grew increasingly disturbing; performing the same horrific tests on the human subjects was just one example of how dark they became, it became clear that they were more than just journal entries, they were reports, and they were being sent to the G-Men. Indeed the doctor mentioned the G-Men as his employers many times, though no actual names were mentioned. This confirmed to Cynthia and Bruno that the G-Men were indeed allied with Team Rocket as all those rumours had suggested, and turned their world upside down.
The final videos were tamer than the others; the malicious scientist began talking about his latest project: finding a way to allow for permanent mega-evolutions, given to him by the leader of Team Rocket, whose name was also omitted. He went on about getting his hands on some Alakazite and all the various ways he tried in isolating the aura within. The last video entry was a short one, merely him saying that he had succeeded and how he was going to test it soon.
Cynthia and Bruno had not uttered a word while watching the videos and now that they had all been viewed, a foreboding silence hung in the room, shock clearly written across both their faces. Bruno stood up suddenly and started pacing the room, his massive frame constantly blocking the light from the windows, casting a shadow over Cynthia who remained pale-faced at the desk. With a sudden yell that caused Cynthia to jump in her seat, Bruno sent his massive fist through one of the cupboard doors, fury written as plain as day across his face.
His eyes were wide and his teeth gritted as he pulled his fist out, ignoring the splinters embedded in his knuckles, before letting loose what sounded more like a roar this time and slamming his other fist through the same door. Cynthia remained silent, she was just as furious as Bruno so she could understand his actions, she too felt like wordlessly shouting and punching something, though she doubted her dainty little fists would appreciate been forced into a wooden door. She was by no means weak and soft; she had been training herself in the arts of Muay Thai ever since she had claimed the Champion moniker, but compared to Bruno's ham-sized fists, hers would only slightly dent the cupboard door and would undoubtedly suffer more damage than the wooden object.
Instead she let her anger brew quietly inside, she had spent the last 15 years of her life working for the G-Men, trying to outsmart criminal syndicates and simultaneously succeed in the politics within the government organisation, hoping to rise high enough to be able to implement her vision for the tax funded group; a righteous and unstoppable bringer of justice. To learn that she had been working for a criminal syndicate like the ones she had relentlessly hunted all along, to learn that even though she had risen to a position of considerable power as one of the Council members she had always been a step behind the ones she was trying to imprison was downright soul crushing, and she knew that Bruno was feeling the same way.
Their brooding thoughts were interrupted by the sound of knocking on the door followed by Jenny's worried voice, "What's going on in there? What's all that noise?!" Cynthia glanced at Bruno, giving him the reins to the situation. The giant sighed and spoke, "We can trust her, and we may need her help, she's very good at her job as an investigator, almost as good as you I'd say Cynthia." Cynthia remained silent for a few more moments as she contemplated Bruno's words before nodding, causing the giant to move towards the door and let Jenny in.
Cynthia was grateful that Bruno decided to summarize what they had just witnessed on Paul's computer chip as she wasn't sure she could handle watching those horrific entries again without emptying the contents of her stomach. Judging by the paleness that spread across Bruno's usually tanned face as he spoke, she wasn't the only one who felt nauseous about the whole ordeal. Jenny's reaction was what you'd expect of someone who'd just been told that a tax funded organisation was secretly funding horrific experiments on Pokémon and human alike. As a taxpayer herself she was no doubt wondering exactly how much of her own money had helped the evil people fashion the blades and acid with which they operated.
Having caught up the police woman with the details of the morbid situation the three began discussing what their next course of action would be. They all agreed that it would be best if they kept this information hidden from Ketchum's friends and family, and as finding Max was still top priority for Cynthia, followed closely by finding Ash and gaining the Legendaries' assistance, the trip to Mt. Silver was still of paramount import. It was then that Cynthia remembered the audio clip on the computer chip that they hadn't listened to yet.
They seated themselves around the laptop once more, this time with the addition of Jenny and Cynthia began to play the audio clip. A couple of seconds of silence played out before Red's voice suddenly spoke, "To whom this message is meant for, I am Red," that he had omitted Cynthia's name she was grateful for; had Steven gotten his hands on the computer chip somehow she feared the consequences that would have arisen had she been named.
The message continued, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions right now, especially if you've already seen the videos I have sent with this message, unfortunately I cannot risk telling you what you want to know over this message. Chances are you already know where I am, and once you reach me I will tell you all you want to know. Now the purpose of this message is to inform you that I know of the task handed to you by Lugia, and that I know that he's not testing yours and your entourage's fitness and durability, but rather your ability to overcome obstacles by unconventional means."
"The Legendaries don't expect you to travel to where I am by foot, but rather to delve into the vast knowledge that your position requires of you and find a far quicker way. The only hint I can give you is that it will require the strongest of the Chosen One's friends, and the stones I gave you. I hope to see you soon… Good luck." And with that the message ended, leaving only the sound of ponderous silence resonating from the three present.
The fact that they had just heard words from a man who had been missing for twenty years was lost on them as they mentally explored the meaning behind his words. They remained silent for several minutes as they each tried to figure out exactly what Red had meant, until suddenly Cynthia's phone began ringing, the specific ringtone playing informing her that it was a call from one of her personal Custodians, an event made unsettling by the fact that they were instructed only to directly contact her in an emergency.
The caller ID displayed the name Jonas Renkse, who was the Custodian Cynthia had assigned to watch over Joanna Berlitz. Cynthia knew that the G-Men were closely monitoring the whereabouts and security of the families of each of Ash's companions, however due to her growing suspicions of the G-Men's true intentions, when the Colossus had initially struck she had handpicked the stealthiest of her Custodians and assigned one to each family. That they managed to avoid discovery by both the families and the G-Men operatives watching over said families spoke volumes of their skills at remaining unseen and unheard.
"Cynthia! Something happened at Berlitz's house!" yelled the voice with a strong Sinnovian lilt through her phone's speaker, "I-it's gone! It blew up!" Cynthia groaned and pinched her nose, would she never get a moment's rest? "Bertha came around 30 minutes ago and Berlitz invite her in, I listen in on their conversation," Cynthia nodded impatiently, and as if Jonas could sense her impatience despite no audible confirmation, he forwent the explanation of his highly advanced technological Custodian gadgets that allowed him to perform espionage missions flawlessly.
"Bertha told Berlitz that she was here to take her to safe place, but then Berlitz got call from Caroline Maple," Cynthia's eyes widened; Caroline Maple… who had just been told by her daughter that Max had been kidnapped and that the G-Men were trying to cover it up. Jonas had been giving Cynthia many reports on Joanna Berlitz since the funeral service for Dawn, and what he had said in those reports were cause for great worry. He wrote of the grieving mother's increasingly violent behavior; going out into the woods to train her Pokémon relentlessly. It wasn't hard to figure out that vengeance was on her unstable mind.
So being told by an Elite that she must relocate to an unspecified location, and then receiving a call immediately after in which Caroline would have undoubtedly informed her of the G-Men's duplicity regarding the whereabouts of Max, could have disastrous effects on the mentality of a mother in mourning with murder on her mind. And judging by Jonas' opening line, the worst had come to pass.
With the recent sickening revelation that G-Men were far more sinister than Cynthia could ever have imagined, she didn't know what Bertha might do if provoked by Joanna. The old lady had always seemed harmless and innocent and yet, much like with Steven, she could always sense that something wasn't quite right with her. When Cynthia had won the Champion title from her all those years ago, the way Bertha had pushed her own Pokémon almost to the point of permanent damage in battle had disturbed the aspiring Champion-to-be and she had since never quite manage to allay her uneasiness towards the seemingly charming old lady.
So if an ex-Champion with a penchant for violence on the battlefield were to be threatened by a Top Coordinator turned housewife turned grieving mother with a newfound desire for vengeance, an exploded house might be the least of the damage caused. "Jonas!" Cynthia yelled, "Find Joanna and bring her to Pallet Town, I don't care if you have to subdue her, just don't hurt her!" With that she hung up and, ignoring the stunned Bruno and Jenny, sent a message to all the Custodian agents she had watching the respective families of Ash Ketchum's friends telling them that they had to bring their charges to Pallet Town immediately.
She had no idea what the G-Men were playing at by attempting to escort Joanna to a 'safe' location but she was sure that Joanna wasn't the only one they intended to spirit away from the public's eye. The fact that the Council had failed to inform her, a Council Member herself, about this decision told her all she needed to know about the intentions behind it; that they were menacing. Had she not secretly sent her Custodians out, she'd never had known what happened to them until it was far too late. At least in Pallet Town she, Bruno and Professor Oak could protect them from whatever the G-Men had had in store for them. It disturbed her how quickly her estimations on the morals and intentions of the G-Men had plummeted after watching those videos.
When she had finished texting her message she turned to the perplexed and worried faces of her companions and began explaining what had happened. However it was not five minutes later when, finishing off detailing her thoughts behind summoning everyone to Pallet Town, her phone rang again, this time receiving a call from Ehsan, a hardened man from the war torn Middle-East that she had watching over the Harrisons.
"Cynthia! You must find Ketchum's mother now! She is in great danger!"
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Pallet Town; Ketchum Household:
Forrest had arrived near Pallet Town not ten minutes ago, pulling over his car onto the side of a small road in the small forest separating Pallet Town from Viridian City. The road was rarely used judging by the sheet of undisturbed leaves that was resting upon it. In the ten minutes it had taken to walk from where he had parked his car to Pallet Town he had continuously checked his gun, constantly pulling out the cartridge and checking the ammunition before sliding it back in with a satisfying click and flicking the safety off and then on again.
His hands were moist and beads of nervous sweat rolled from his short curly hair down his dark skin and into his eyes, which were now sore from how much he had rubbed at them, trying to wipe away the stinging salty water. When at last he came upon the white-picketed fence bordering the house of Ash Ketchum, his entire body was shaking with nerves. He could barely hold his gun properly as he quietly hopped over the fence, avoiding the small gate for fear it would squeak and alert his target within the house, who would have no doubt long ago become accustomed to the sound of that gate opening implying that she had visitors.
As it was though, when Forrest crept forward, noticing the broken window through which Cilan had been flung, though he didn't know that, he also noticed that the house was remarkably quiet. Quiet enough to imply that the house was empty and after a quick hop over the windowsill and search through the house he found that to be the case. He sighed in frustration before turning back, this time using the gate as he now knew there was no one to alert. It was as he was closing the gate behind him that he noticed the large windmill next to the big lab situated at the top of the hill opposite the house.
Though he had never come to Pallet Town himself before, he knew through his brother's tales that that lab was the home of the famous Professor Oak, a dear friend to the Ketchums. If Delia was not at home then chances were she was there. With this in mind he steeled himself and set off towards the lab, his gun now shoved into his hoodie pocket with the safety on. It didn't take long to climb up the hill and slip around the back of the lab to hop into the Corral, avoiding the front door for obvious reasons.
It also didn't take long for him to find his target, and what he saw made his blood boil. Delia was seated on a lavish wooden deck that jutted out from the lab, elevated so as to give a stunning view of the Corral spread out before it. She was with a bunch of his brother's friends and the Professor himself and, though there were no smiles and the conversation they all seemed a part of unmistakably serious, there was also no mistaking the hopeful and joyous atmosphere that they all emitted.
Here she was, the mother of his brother's murderer, at peace and radiating joy while his brother lay scattered about Sinnoh. Here she was, as if her son hadn't slaughtered a hundred thousand people, as if she had no responsibility to pay for what her son had done. How could she be calm? How could she be so undespaired?! How the fuck could she justify feeling anything than guilt and horror at what had happened to his brother?!
Time seemed to slow down as white hot rage and adrenaline pumped through his veins, his violent thoughts spiraling in a slow-moving storm that had been brewing since his brother's death. He lingered on each thought of violence for a while, long enough for the last vestiges of sense and doubt to be blown away by the ferocious winds of his hate. He had dreamed of this, he had waited for this, and now that he was here the storm finally collapsed, leaving behind an overwhelming calm.
It no longer mattered that she was surrounded by friends and potential witnesses to what he was about to do. It no longer mattered that had Brock been there somehow, he would have been horrified and ashamed at what Forrest was about to do. The only thing that mattered was that Ash lose someone dear to him like Forrest had.
The unstable teenager quickly scrambled over the edge of the deck and stood up, alerting everyone to his presence. They looked at him in astonishment before the only person who recognized him spoke up, "Forrest! What are you doing here?" Misty said, surprise coating her words as they echoed in that overwhelming calm. Forrest ignored her and stared straight at Delia, radiating hate and ill intent from his eyes and causing the woman to become nervous.
He stepped forward, pulled the gun out of his pocket, flicked the safety off, pointed it straight at Delia's face, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.
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Cynthia cursed as the van she was driving refused to go faster, why oh why had she thought a fucking van would be a good vehicle to hire to travel around Pallet Town? The lumbering piece of shit could barely breach 100 km/h as she raced towards Professor Oak's lab, which was where she had seen Delia last. Seated in the passenger seat next to her was Bruno, gently holding her phone in hands that dwarfed the cellular contraption as Ehsan's voice echoed through the phone's loudspeaker.
The Custodian was explaining how he had noticed Forrest leave Pewter City via car earlier that morning in the direction of Pallet Town and how he had thought nothing of it. But when he had gotten Cynthia's summons he had confronted the Harrison family and during their preparations for leaving Lola, Forrest's mother, had stumbled upon a note he had left on his desk in his room.
It was the contents of the note that had Ehsan immediately call Cynthia and urge her to find Delia, for the contents detailed a farewell letter from Forrest, who had known he would likely be imprisoned for killing Delia Ketchum and yet he wrote that it was something that he had to do. Cynthia couldn't care less whether the obviously traumatized and unstable boy claimed Arceus himself had given him a mission to kill the sweet woman, what she did care about was preventing another disaster to happen to one of her charges and deep down, she knew that she would be devastated if Delia, a woman whose plight she had come to feel for and who had earned her hard won respect, were to suffer anymore that she had been since the Colossus struck.
The van skidded into the lab's parking lot before the door slammed open and the three rushed out, eyes fervently glancing around, hoping to find some sort of evidence as to the whereabouts of Delia. Ironically it was the horrific sound of a gunshot echoing from behind the lab that let them know where to go. Dread flooded their bodies and settled into their guts as they raced around the lab and towards the wooden deck where the sound had resonated from and what they found as they leapt over the railing was not a pleasant sight.
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In the split moment when Forrest took a deep breath between him taking aim and pulling the trigger Delia had stood up quickly, a primal instinct urging her body to its feet in a timeframe that only a sudden rush of adrenaline could produce. Despite her mind knowing that there wasn't much she could do against a speeding bullet her body insisted that it felt safer on its feet rather than reclined in a seating position. As such the bullet did not reach its intended destination of Delia's skull but rather it ploughed through her stomach and straight out of her back.
Delia screamed in agony as she fell to her knees and blood spilled out from her stomach and back. She could barely hear the horrified screaming of her companions, nor could she see the shocked faces of either her companions or the new arrivals of Cynthia, Bruno and Jenny. She could comprehend nothing but the unbearable pain of the hole in her body, she didn't even realise that she had collapsed to the floor. The only thing she that drew her attention away from the agony erupting through her body was the feel of a warm metal ring pushing against her forehead.
She stared up in terror at the pistol and the burning, hateful eyes of its wielder, barely noticing that Bruno and Jenny had halted their charge towards him, nor that May had her hands placed over her mouth with tears budding in the corners of her eyes, nor Drew staring wild-eyed at Forrest, nor Tracey and his girlfriend shrieking in panic, nor Misty, Professor Oak and Gary going paler than she had ever seen them, eyes just as wild as Drew's were. The only thought going through her mind, the only words her barely conscious thoughts could jumble together as she shut her eyes tight, awaiting her death,: "I'm sorry Ash, please be safe, I love you."
The fatal bullet never came though as an unearthly roar erupted in the distance, shattering the calm of her assailant's mind. It was so loud and powerful that it shook the wooden floorboards of the deck they were all on. Delia opened her eyes again and noticed Forrest's head twisted behind him, the roar no doubt drawing his attention away briefly. Despite her wounded state she wasted no time and, using the last vestiges of her energy and will, she grabbed the gun suddenly and pushed it away from her face, hoping to buy enough time for Bruno and Jenny apprehend Forrest.
She felt relief flood through her as they immediately launched into action, resuming their charge however before they could reach them a huge winged shape blocked out the sun, casting the entire deck into shadow. Before anyone had the time to see what had just arrived a large scaled claw shot out from the silhouette and wrapped around Forrest's head before pulling back and launching the screaming boy into the air.
Forrest landed on his back a few metres away with a sickening crunch and as ribs fractured and organs scrambled, the air was forced from his stomach and he wheezed, trying to inhale air back into his broken body. The shape suddenly landed on him, one massive foot restraining his body against the ground, two claws resting on either side of his neck and the back claw rested between his legs, creating prison of orange scales and sharp blades. The creature's head snaked down until its nose snorting superheated air nudged at its captive's face, capturing the wheezing boy's undivided attention.
Forrest stared up in horror into the face of Ash's Charizard, whose eyes were ablaze with fury and whose vicious fangs were bared with the promise of unequivocal pain. Suddenly Charizard opened his mouth and, while not even an inch away from Forrest's face, he let loose a roar just as earth-tremblingly powerful as he had earlier when he had caused the wooden deck to shake. Heated air rushed out of his mouth and simultaneously buffeted and singed the boy's hair and eyebrows. Heat blisters began bubbling up on his face as he screamed in pain, shutting his eyes for fear they would melt inside his skull.
Though he had closed his eyes, the unforgettable sight of blood red ridges and curved fangs lining the beast's mouth and jaws respectively would forever be scarred into his mind's eye. He almost hoped he would die now so that he could never see it again. The pain of his face slowly beginning to melt shocked the boy into unconsciousness and yet Charizard refused to cease his cataclysmic roaring.
Suddenly a slender and pale hand reached out and gently stroked the winged lizard's neck, causing the draconic head to snap away and one blazing eye to fix upon the hand's owner. However when the beast saw the unmistakable red hair and breathtaking green eyes of his owner's best friend and childhood sweetheart the fury in his eyes dwindled to a spark and the killing intent faded to a simmer.
Misty smiled softly at him, though it did not reach her eyes, and spoke soothingly, "That's enough Charizard, you know Ash wouldn't want this." At the mention of his owner's name, uttered from the full lips of his owner's love, the spark flickered out and the simmer dissipated. Charizard began to turn his head back to his captive until Misty's other slender hand reached up to cup his muscled jaw and keep him facing towards her.
She smiled again, this time much brighter, it might've reached her eyes had the situation been less dire, before placing her forehead against his and closing her eyes, "It's good to see you again Charizard, I've missed you…" A deep affectionate growl rumbled through his body and he nudged his nose against her stomach. When they pulled apart Charizard lifted his foot off Forrest without sparing the unconscious boy a glance, knowing that if he did he would lose control of his formidable temper. He knew it was why Misty had pulled his head away from the boy; only this woman could know him so well, as well as his own master did. She was the only human on this planet he would trust as much as he did his master.
Misty breathed an internal sigh of relief as Charizard finally lifted his foot off of Forrest, allowing Bruno and Jenny to rush in and check on the heavily injured would-be murderer. Misty turned away, returning her attention to the crowd of horrified faces hovering around Delia's slumped form, Charizard following her as she walked towards the motley crew.
Cynthia was standing off to the side yelling into her phone, something about preparing two emergency rooms. May was sobbing into Drew's neck as he held her tightly and stared grimly down at the pool of blood steady growing around the kind mother's body. Tracey was seated with his fainted girlfriend's head in his lap. Gary stood off to the side with his fists clenched and tears beading in his eyes while his grandfather kneeled in front of his best friend's mother.
When Misty saw Delia's eyes were closed she choked back a sob and tears flooded her eyes; fearing the worst until the Professor stood up and weakly spoke with a broken voice, "She's alive, but barely, she's lost a lot of blood and she needs medical attention now." "Dammit!" they suddenly heard Cynthia yell, causing them to snap their heads towards the blonde Champion. "I don't have any of my flying Pokémon with me, I let Togekiss fly around after I came back from Silver Town," she said morosely.
Misty glanced at the huge orange beast next to her and she was about to voice an idea when Bruno and Jenny joined them, the former gently carrying Forrest in his giant arms. "He's in a bad way, though not as bad Delia is, he can survive as he is for a few hours but after that, he will need urgent medical attention" the giant said solemnly before glancing at the cause of the boy's state, the very foreign expression of nervousness adorning his face. "That Charizard, you know it Ms. Waterflower?" he asked, trepidation coating his voice.
Misty nodded, "It's Ash's, and he's an incredibly powerful Pokémon, he could get the hospital in no time. I could take Delia there now, though I don't think it would be wise to bring Forrest with as well…" Charizard snorted and growled ominously, letting everyone know exactly what he thought of that idea. Cynthia nodded but not before giving Charizard a long and thoughtful gaze, "Very well, we'll take Forrest in the van. That Charizard seems to trust you Misty; will you take Delia to Viridian hospital? I have the nurses prepping an emergency room there."
Misty nodded, "Of course, I'll take her now." She moved over to the Professor who had taken off his lab coat and, with the aid of his grandson for his own frail hands could not have, torn off strips to wrap tightly around Delia's midsection. Misty bent down and gently scooped up injured woman, her muscles barely straining as she easily lifted Delia, who was a tall woman, up in a bridal position. The effects of all the swimming she did had never been more apparent as her lithe frame staggered not at all when she straightened to her feet, carrying all 70 kilograms of loving mother.
As she gently walked towards Charizard she gazed tenderly upon the sweaty face of the mother of the man she loved through teary eyes, heartbroken that the delightful woman was suffering so much and yet grateful that she could feel no pain in unconsciousness. She was followed by Cynthia, the Professor and his grandson while the rest remained where they were and watched the touching scene sorrowfully, May only for a few seconds before sobs retook her body and she plunged her head back into her boyfriend's neck, her anguished cries being muffled by his shaking body as he too stared in sorrow and horror. The poor man had seen more violence in the past couple of days than he had ever seen in his life and it was taking its toll on him.
When Misty reached Charizard who had lowered his body and extended his neck to allow for easy mounting, she gently handed Delia to Gary before clambering up the Flame Pokémon and holding her arms out once she was seated firmly behind his wings. With one last look of sadness at his best friend's mother, who had been nothing but kind and loving to him, almost as if he too were her son, a fact made all the more startling when considering how Gary used to treat Ash when they were children, he raised her up into Misty's waiting arms.
Professor Oak stepped forward and gently stroked the sweaty and pale forehead of his best friend's daughter, of his own daughter by spirit, pushing back damp strands of her auburn hair behind her ear. An impractical yet loving action brought on by the paternal love he held towards this amazing woman, whose agony-stricken face and bleeding stomach would be an image that would haunt him till the end of his days. "Keep pressure on the wound, she can't afford to lose any more blood…" he said softly to Misty, his shining reddened eyes never once leaving Delia's tranquil face.
Misty nodded before straightening and shouting to her love's strongest Pokémon, "Take us to Viridian Hospital Charizard! Takes us as quickly and gently as you can!" The beast forwent his customary roar of approval out of consideration for his master's mother and instead growled lightly before taking to the air with a single flap of his mighty wings. He flew fast and true yet he forsook his maximum speed to allow for a gentler ride for his wounded passenger. Misty meanwhile finally allowed the tears building up in her eyes to slip down her rosy cheeks as sobs wracked her body, the audible chokes reaching Charizard who gave a mournful croon unbefitting of his bestial nature in response.
The ones who remained in silence and sorrow as Charizard's form disappeared into the fiery horizon, the setting sun causing the sky to bleed red as if the very earth itself were mourning the tragic events that had just occurred. And as Cynthia and Bruno walked off, the latter with Forrest in his arms, a man and his grandson remained, watching as the bleeding sky gave way to star speckled black. Tears fell from his eyes and down his wrinkled skin as he whispered, "I'm sorry Alex."
I know I promised that more on Red's past would be revealed in this chapter but I decided that I should leave that until the next chapter, at least we got a glimpse of his personality in this chapter. I was toying with the idea of having Red as your typical hard arse mysterious character, but the words just begun to flow when I wrote him as a nice guy and I think it works well. Tell me what you think.
So yeah, Forrest done fucked up now lol. For those of you who are wondering just how Charizard knew that Delia was in danger or how Red got his hands on those Team Rocket files, worry not I will explain in the next chapter. As for where Charizard came from, well I did hint his presence in the corral a couple of chapters ago, when Gible was searching for the "Dragon that was not a Dragon" to teach him to evolve. That was Charizard he was looking for.
By the way, if any of you are fans of Fullmetal Alchemist and Attack on Titan, feel free to check out my new story "Above The Weeping World", it's a crossover in which Ed and Al and a few others from their world find themselves training alongside Eren and gang in Titan world.
Until next time.
SwallowTheSun