Summary of previous chapter: Gary remembers how he met Becca and Jen as he realizes how everyone he knows is paying the price of his mistakes. As Gary gets ready to leave the Saffron Pokémon Center, two trainers –who are up to no good, go against the orders of Nurse Joy of going to the back of the Center and catch Gary and Misty hiding. The trainers try to take the still unconscious Misty with them and turn them both in to the authorities for the reward money, but after a quick and confusing fight, Becca, a mysterious blonde trainer, Gary and Misty make it out of the center. Nurse Joy pretends to be injured to try and get the two intruding trainers arrested but her attempts are hindered by a call to the cops on duty. Misty and Gary have been spotted running away from the officers outside the Gym. After a long chase, the officers catch the two outlaws in the train station of Saffron, only to realize that they are not Gary and Misty, but Jen –Copycat, and her boyfriend Britt.

Outlaw

Chapter 4: Remembrance

The smell of ocean was overwhelming around the coastal city of Vermillion. Gary enjoyed the cold breeze as he held in his hands a small piece of paper with very important information written on it: the location of a private boat –Lt. Surge's boat, which would take him and Misty to Cinnabar Island. The winter was making its way into Kanto even more than before, and Gary was glad that he and Misty had a place to stay for the last couple of days. Gary had met Lt. Surge when he battled him for his badge; but once he began researching, Gary had gotten Lt. Surge his Elekit. Lt. Surge had been very grateful to Gary as Elekit were not around the area when they were first discovered, but Gary thought it would be a great idea to have the best electric Pokémon trainer in the region train a new species. Gary and Lt. Surge exchanged information that Gary would later publish and share with the rest of the scientific community. Lt. Surge's fame and reputation grew by the second and he always made a point of how much he owed Gary. Gary hoped and wished that Lt. Surge's feeling of indebt was strong enough to help them run away.

Luckily for the Cerulean fugitives, his feeling of debt really was strong.

The first thing that had been done was to return the car to a rental place. Lt. Surge had personally gone to return it, stating that he had borrowed it from Bill. The second thing Gary did was take a warm bath and change into more comfortable and warming clothes, and made sure that Misty received the same care. Lt. Surge had welcomed them into his home and had offered them to stay as long as they wished, but Gary had said they needed to leave Kanto as soon as possible. Lt. Surge agreed.

"I only believe half of what I see, and half of what I hear," Lt. Surge had said when Gary asked for help. Gary had offered him money to keep their presence a secret, but Lt. Surge had not accepted any. "I owe you a favor, kid. Take this as payback."

And boy, was it payback indeed!

Lt. Surge had given them a roof, hot food, and secrecy. The Gym Leader of Vermillion had made sure Gary understood that not everyone in the League agreed with what was happening to them. After seeing Misty's bruised and unconscious body, Lt. Surge's belief that there was something more going on than what the League was saying had grown even more. He had known Misty's parents and he knew that the Waterflower sisters were everything but criminals.

As Gary closed the window to his room, he returned to his task of packing his and Misty's belongings. They were scheduled to leave tonight and head to Cinnabar Island. They would travel all night and make it to Blaine's home before the sun rose up again.

Blaine was another Gym Leader that owed Gary a favor.

Blaine's Magmar had fallen very ill for a long time when Gary had begun his researching career. Gary had a lot of respect for Blaine and his strong Pokémon, and had immediately offered assistance. After a few weeks of constantly traveling back and forth to Cinnabar, Gary discovered the cause of the illness and provided Blaine with a solution to Magmar's problem. Blaine was eternally grateful to the young Oak.

Regardless of how much Gary had wanted to quit research, he had sure made some good friends in high places to help him in situations like the one he was encountering now. As much as he damned research, research was helping him back. However, almost everyone who had helped him out had ended up in more trouble than him, instead. Becca and Bryan had been sent to jail for helping him and Misty get out of the hospital. Jen and her boyfriend Britt had fallen victims of the same faith. A bitter Gary remembered the last seconds of his stay in Saffron:

Jen dragged her boyfriend Britt out of the back lounge of the Saffron Pokémon Center. Gary placed Misty on the back of the car, and Britt and Jen went inside it as well. In a matter of minutes, all four of them exchanged clothes. Jen gave Gary one last hug before she and Britt made their away around the Pokémon center to catch the attention of the police officers so Gary and Misty could escape. When Gary heard the cars and the cops chasing the fake Misty and Gary, he sped up and drove away from Saffron with tears in his eyes.

"Another one bites the dust for me," He thought.

Hours later he had heard on the radio that Britt and Jen had given the cops quite some run for their money but had been caught in the same train station where he and Jen had met. They were immediately arrested and taken into custody of the Pokémon League. Copycat had given her last imitation show and it had been the best. It was sad, though, that only she and her boyfriend had enjoyed it. Jen had been teaching Britt how to imitate people for the past three years. He had passed his final test with flying colors when officers could not tell he was not Gary Oak.

Yet, the price they had to pay was too much in Gary's eyes. There had been many people who had either died or gotten hurt since the whole Gym ordeal happened. Weston had been shot at the carnival. Misty had almost died when Jake tried to win the battle with the Pikachu. Jake's Pikachu had died from injuries caused by the fire. Becca, Bryan, Jen and Britt were in jail. Ash's Pikachu had died. Misty had no other friends but him; Brock hated Misty, and Ash did not want to know anything about Misty. What had he done to deserve this?

And then there was Emily Dragon, the mysterious woman who had sent Jake to get rid of Misty. And to top things off, he had found out this morning that the three people who died at the fire were Jessie, Cassidy and Butch from Team Rocket. The only survivor had been James. The more Gary thought about all the people involved in this situation, the less sense it all made.

"Where did we go wrong?"

And what if Misty was truly pregnant? He could not stop himself from remembering what had happened that night at the Gym, and how he met the person responsible for assaulting Misty in such a damageable way.

The office was thrashed. The furniture was either flipped over or broken, and the floor was covered in paper, trash and…red stains.

"Blood."

Gary became uneasy. "Misty, are you here?"

No response.

Gary began screaming Misty's name as he moved around the furniture around him in order to be able to get to the corner Alakazam had felt a human presence. He knew that if she was not here, it meant that she was dead somewhere in the Gym. He had to find her. He just had to. The blood on the walls was fresh and dripping to the floor.

"Misty, talk to me! We need to get out!"

Gary heard Dragonite trying to help out, but the heat was also getting the best out of the Pokémon. Gary thought he could ask Dragonite to use one of his ice attacks but he feared it would hurt Misty if she was indeed somewhere around.

Gary's search took him to the corner of the room where Alakazam had felt Misty's presence. He got on his knees as he moved papers and pieces of furniture. He finally saw a hand come up from the side of the pile of trash.

"Misty!"

Gary grabbed the hand and pulled it up only to find it did not belong to Misty or a woman. Gary had found Butch.

"What the hell?"

Gary's memory was triggered. The officer had said that a man taken to the hospital had said there four people inside the building. There were two women dead, one guy in the hospital and now an unconscious Butch. Gary's heart began racing. There were two possibilities. One: Misty had escaped the building before the fire and had accidentally lost her Pokémon belt; or two: Misty was one of the women dead outside.

Gary sighed. He did not know what Team Rocket had to do with the fire, Jake, or perhaps Emily Dragon's attempt to get rid of Misty, but he could not leave Butch behind. Gary prepared himself to lift up Butch when he heard Dragonite roar.

Gary looked up and saw Dragonite carrying Misty in its arms.

He ran to the Pokémon and thanked him as he grabbed Misty and laid her on the floor. He checked her pulse and was glad to find one even though it was slow. She seemed bruised and burnt here and there but other than that she looked fine. He could not help to smile as he touched her face. "You definitely need life insurance, Red."

Misty smiled.

Gary frowned as he did not know if his mind was playing tricks on him while he held Misty closer to him. "Do you know I'm here?"

Misty slightly nodded.

"Are your sisters here?"

Misty shook her head.

"Then I'm gonna get you out, ok? Can you hold on a little bit more for me?"

Misty nodded before opening her one good eye and using the last of her strength to pull herself up and press her lips against Gary's.

Gary took half a second to react and kissed her back before she finally passed out in his arms. Gary placed Misty safely in his arms. He then walked towards the door and used Misty's fingerprint to open it. The door opened without further adieu. He took one step forward to leave the room, hoping Gyrados could take care of Misty while he returned for Butch. All of a sudden, he felt his legs failing on him.

"What just…"

Gary followed the pain of his legs to his back to his head. Something had hit his head hard enough for the pain to take over his entire body and bringing him down to his knees. He felt a hot liquid pouring from his head down to his back. It was blood; his blood.

His sight was slightly impaired by the hit as he saw Dragonite fly behind him heading towards the opposite corner of the room.

"Did…Dragonite…attack…me?"

Gary could not understand why. He knew Pokémon tend to be jealous of their trainers but his and her Pokémon had trained very close to either trainer. There was no reason why Dragonite would believe he was placing Misty in further danger.

Gary laid down Misty as he turned around, ready to defend himself from Dragonite when he saw the Pokémon flying back to wall and hitting it, falling to the floor unconscious. "What the fuck?"

Gary looked to the other side of the room and saw a standing Butch with an Electabuzz of his own. Gary recalled Dragonite before he spoke.

"You've got to be kidding me. There are greater things right now than stealing Pokémon."

Butch chuckled. "I didn't come here to steal Pokémon, Oak. I'm here to kill her."

Gary's eyes opened wide to the amusement of the Rocket in front of him. Butch's voice was angry and aggressive. He did not seem like the silly regular member of Team Rocket who had tried to steal Gary's Pokémon in more than one occasion. "What?"

"I was given an order to get rid of the redhead. I lost my partner because of her. Now you'll lose yours."

"What are you talking about?"

"Cassidy…is dead…she killed her!"

"Who did?"

"The stupid bitch you were carrying!"

"Misty would never…"

"She did. And now is payback time."

"Butch, we need to get out of…" Gary tried to reason with the Rocket member but it was useless. Butch had already ordered his Electabuzz to attack Gary and stomp over him and Misty. The Pokémon tried to push Gary out of his way to attack Misty, but Gary fell to the floor and placed his body between Electabuzz and the Waterflower sister. Gary felt the pressure of Electabuzz' feet on his back as he tried miserably to protect Misty's body by using his own to shield her.

Butch walked towards Gary and began kicking him to force him to move from top of Misty. Gary tried to call a Pokémon but every time he tried to reach over the pokebelt he was hit even harder by Butch. Gary began coughing up blood as Butch hit his face with his foot.

"Why don't you just give up, kid? The League wants you dead too. Just make it easier on me, will ya?"

"Who…sent…you?"

Butch snickered and kicked him again. Gary could not help to whimper. "Who…sent…you?!"

"Does it matter? It's just one more person that wants you dead. You sure know how to piss off people, Oak."

"Answer me!"

Butch growled in desperation with Gary's stubbornness. He grabbed Gary by his back and pushed him out of the room, leaving Misty helpless with Electabuzz as he did as he wanted with her. Gary tried to run back to the room but Butch began punching him on the face and stomach. Gary did not think he could take more pain. The Pokémon underneath them were now tired and their efforts had begun decreasing as it showed on the fire increasing in strength again.

"Gary Oak; the prodigious kid; Mr. Have-it-all, where is your glory now?"

Gary stood up and held his weight against the wall that led to where the stairs should have been but had been consumed by the fire. Gary took deep breaths to ease the pain, but with bigger breaths only meant more smoke in his lungs.

"What did we ever do to you?"

"I'm just doing a job, it's not my vengeance."

"Then why…are you doing it?"

"Personally, I don't like you."

"Then leave Misty alone."

"Oh, she's part of the bargain. It's either both or none. Besides, I had fun…with her…right before you came…"

Gary's eyes opened wide. He felt the pain of the smoke in his lungs being replaced by the pain of deep anger. His fists trembled and his knuckles cracked. He reached over the Pokémon belts and recalled all the Pokémon that were trying to stop the fire. Half of the Gym had burned down anyway.

"Giving up, Oak?"

Gary did not speak.

Butch began walking to him, describing how it had been with her. Gary's anger only rose. "She's pretty good. The exercise helps her a lot for this. But of course, you know that already, don't you?"

Gary began walking towards Butch. He had never wanted to hurt anyone as much as he wanted to hurt Butch at the moment, not even that Jake kid.

Butch stopped in front of Gary. Gary eyed him until he saw Electabuzz come out from the room. Electabuzz growled and Butch called him back. "Seems the job is done. Now it's just you and me."

"You wish."

Butch smiled as he tried to hit Gary on his face again, but he dodged it. Gary grabbed Butch's fist and did something he never thought he would do. Gary extended Butch's arm with one hand, and then used his closed fist of his other hand to bend Butch's elbow the wrong way in a swift movement that broke Butch's arm. Butch cried in pain seeing his arm bend the wrong way and hang limp in two parts. Butch got down on his knees and held his broke arm to try and easy the pain. Now that the Pokémon were gone, the last part of the Gym was crumbling down. Gary walked next to Butch and headed to the room to check up on Misty; she was still alive, though extremely bruised by Electabuzz' merciless attacks.

Gary picked her up in his arms as he turned around and saw Butch standing up but still crying. "The building will collapse any minute now. We have to get out. You can either stay there or follow me out of here."

"What the fuck are you talking about? How are you gonna get down anyway? The stairs are gone! Besides, I am dead either way if I don't complete the job."

"Gyrados!"

Gyrados came out from Misty's pokebelt. It roared and made Butch take a few steps back. The pain in his arm was extreme, and he could not think of anything else to do. He watched as Gary carried Misty and held her tight before ordering Gyrados to get them out of there. "I need you to take us down and make a hole on the wall so we can escape."

Gyrados nodded and used his strength to make a hole on the wall before using his body as a makeshift stairs for Gary and Misty. Butch stood up there for a few seconds before walking as he followed Gary, standing right next to him. "It's burning down there," Butch said as he looked down. "Tell me how hell looks like in a dream."

"What?"

In a seemingly swift movement –but what seemed like slow motion to Gary, Butch pushed Gary off the top floor, down to the burning first floor. Gary grabbed Misty by her waist with his left arm and used his right arm to grab onto Butch's bad arm as he fell. Butch could not help but to give in to the pain and fall right after Gary. Gary let go of Butch and then grabbed on to Gyrados who had moved to catch the trainers. Butch did not make it and fell to his death.

Gary saw as Butch shook and screamed on the floor as he got engulfed by the fire. Gary closed his eyes and asked Gyrados to take them out to safety. Gyrados did as told and then was called back by Gary.

"Look! It's Gary Oak!"

Gary saw the officers and paramedics run to him as he fell on the grass outside the Gym, passing out immediately after but still holding on to Misty for dear life.

Gary opened his eyes. He sighed as he closed the bag and turned around to look at Misty on the bed. She had been asleep for days now. Lt. Surge had offered him and Misty any room in the house. However, Gary had wanted to stay in the same room as Misty in case she woke up. He did not want her to wake up to a lonely and strange room. She was under the covers, with her feet aiming towards the door. He had shielded her from the window, and her face did not get struck by the sun as the shadow that the window cast on the side ended exactly below her chin. The twin-sized bed was pushed against a corner, and the sun rays bathed the lower part of her body to keep her warm.

He slowly walked towards her and sat next to her on the bed. He sat on her right side, but opposite to her to see her face. He lifted his right hand and caressed her left cheek as he then slowly rested his entire upper body on hers.

"Red, I need you. I don't think I can do this alone any longer."

Nothing.

Gary sighed and felt the weight of the world rest on his back. It made him feel extremely heavy as his arms held her sides and he dug his face on her stomach. "Please, Misty. I need you so much."

Gary felt the weight get even heavier to the point of pushing his face deeper into her body, hindering his breathing but not enough to make him want to pull away. He needed this contact; he craved it. Even though the temperature outside was around the low 40's, Gary felt nothing but warmth that emanated from her body; her battered and poorly fed body.

Her lips had completely healed by now, and the bruise on her eye had diminished to just a light purple color around the bottom of her eye. Her scratches and bruises were slowly disappearing, and her wrists were completely healed by now.

Yet, Gary knew that the worst pain was yet to come. He could only imagine what had transpired inside the Gym when he was gone. He knew Misty was strong and would defend herself by any means to save her own life, but he also knew that four people were just too many for her to handle on her own.

The sun now hit Gary's back and provided him with pleasant warmth that only the rays of the mighty sun can give you. Suddenly, the weight of the world was lifted from his back and was now pulling him by his shoulders. He allowed the "weight" to guide him to wherever it wanted, that was until the "weight" called his name.

"Gary…"

Gary furrowed. When did the weight of the world develop a voice of its own?

He opened his eyes and looked in front of him. He encountered a pair of blue-green eyes staring right back at his brown ones. The weight of the world surely looked a heck lot like Misty.

"Misty?"

Gary's eyes widened at the realization. Misty was awake. Misty was awake and staring right at him.

"Misty…"

"Gary…is it really you?"

Gary sighed and nodded, small tears forming in his eyes. He straightened out his body and then pulled hers to his. He embraced her with all his might and she welcomed every bit of it. She returned the embrace with almost the same strength as his, and rested her face on his shoulder.

"The hug hurts a little. I'm guessing I didn't die?"

Gary laughed. "Nope, you didn't."

The embrace lasted a long time as Gary asked repeatedly if she felt alright and Misty assured him that she did.

"What took you so long to wake up on me?"

"So long? What day is today?"

Gary pulled away from the hug and kicked himself mentally for not allowing Misty to speak first as Bryan had suggested. There was no turning back now.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

Misty furrowed as she tried really hard to go back in time and find and answer to Gary's question. She remembered arguing with Gary before he left the Gym, but she also remembered how she had decided to follow him as soon as her sisters returned. Her head began to hurt and she flinched. She held her head with her hands and Gary began to worry.

"It's ok; you don't have to remember right now."

But it was too late. Her mind was racing with dozens of scenes forming her head one after the other after the other.

"You left…I went to my room…intruders…Team Rocket…the alarm went off…I ran…they hit me…"

"Misty, stop. Don't overexert yourself. You just woke up."

"We fought…the Pokémon, fire…Butch…"

"Misty…"

"No…Butch…"

Misty pushed Gary away to examine her own body. She took her trembling hand to her eye and slowly touched it as it still stung to contact. She then touched her lips and they felt dry, the skin around them was still very sensitive. "He kissed me…"

"Misty, don't think about it, ok?"

Gary knew where Misty was going to with all this. Her reaction and face was of someone who just remembered something that should have never happened to them.

She turned over her hands to look at her palms. Small cuts were now healing on them, and her wrists hurt a little. Her arms had small bruises and cuts as well. She then grabbed the edge of the covers and pulled off her. She looked at her lower body but she was covered by a pair of pants. She pushed Gary off the bed and pulled down the pants, not caring if he stared or not.

"I...I wasn't wearing these clothes."

Her uncovered legs showed a few signs of struggle, especially around her thighs, but these signs were slowly fading away. She looked down at her body and suddenly felt dirty.

"Butch…he…he…"

Misty could not finish her sentence. Gary looked at her, not knowing whether to approach her or not. "Where…where's the shower around here…"

Gary pointed to the opposite corner of the room. Misty shook as she walked to the place Gary had pointed at. She opened the door and headed to the shower. She clumsily opened the curtain and allowed the hot water to run in the shower. She began sobbing and grabbing her body as she entered the tub and stood under the running water, not even bothering to take off her clothes.

Gary stood at the door, not understanding what she was about to do. Was she going to kill herself? Was she going to take a…shower?

Misty's sobs became even louder as she began hitting the walls around her. Gary took small steps as he approached her. He did not want to startle her, but he also did not want her to think she was alone. He was afraid that what Butch had told him was true, but he was more afraid that Misty still remembered the incident as well as she seemed she did.

"He…God, he…"

Gary suffered with her. He knew he would never be able to feel what she felt, but he also knew that what she felt was one of the worst pains in the world for a woman. Misty began slowly sliding down to the floor of the bath tub and stayed there, water pouring down her back. "Gary…he…how could he?"

Gary's heart melted. He walked towards the bath and stood in front of Misty, outside of the tub. He looked down at her as he turned off the shower before slowly kneeling next to her. She continued to sob and hug herself, her head hanging and her honor ripped to pieces.

Gary leaned forward and carefully rested his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. Her tears were merged with the water on her body, and her wet hair covered most of her face. He gave her a weak smile and pressed lightly on her shoulders as a sign of support.

"He might have taken something away from you body, but he didn't take away who you are, or what you're worth."

Misty continued to sob as Gary removed the strands of hair from her face. He then pulled a towel and wrapped it around her body. He lifted her up and guided her as she walked out of the tub. She felt weak and tired even though she had been sleeping for more than a week now. She knew that it was more emotional drainage than anything physical injury she might have had.

"Gary, how long have I been out of it?"

"A week…and one day."

"Where is he?"

"Who?"

"Butch."

"He's dead."

Misty sobbed. "He won't even pay for his crime."

"He will...in hell."

Gary helped Misty dry herself and provided her with clean, warm clothes. She folded them and placed them on her bed as she dried her hair. She then sat on her bed and stared at the floor. "Where are we?"

"Vermillion City."

Misty looked up at him. "What are we doing here? Where are my sisters?"

Gary's head hung in shame. How was he supposed to break all the information to her? She had just woken up from a nightmare to fall into an even worse reality.

"Why don't you shower first? Get dressed, we'll eat and I'll tell you everything while we are at it."

"You promise you won't lie anymore?"

Gary's heart skipped a beat. Lying was what had gotten them here in the first place. He would never ever lie again; especially not her. He walked towards her and saw her eyes filling with tears again. "I promise I won't lie anymore if you promise you will come out of that shower alive."

Misty began crying again. She knew that he knew she felt like less than shit at the moment. And he also knew that the post-rape depression could literally kill her. He needed to make sure she knew she was still valuable to someone; show her someone still cared for her.

He took the towel from her as he pulled her closer to him. She stared at his chest, afraid to look up at him. He placed his left hand on the back of her neck and lifted her chin with his right hand. She slowly but willingly allowed his hand to guide her and stared at his eyes.

"I won't ever do anything to hurt you. I care for you, Misty. More than I ever cared for anyone else in my life."

Misty's tears were back. This time there was no water to camouflage them and they ran freely down her cheeks. Gary held Misty's face in between his hands and lowered his head to hers so their foreheads met.

"I know it hurts. I can't ask you not to cry, but I can ask you to be strong. I'm not leaving you, ever again. I'd rather…"

"Gary…"

"Yes?"

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

Gary was taken aback. He pulled himself away from her to be able to see her in the eye. He tried to look for a hint of humor in her eyes, but he found none.

"Misty, if you knew everything that has happened in the past 8 days, you'd know that what I say is true."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"How can you promise something like that?"

"Because I'd never let anything happen to the woman I love."

It was Misty's heart's turn to melt. She had promised herself she would never love again. She had promised herself not to ever fall into the trap again. But staring at Gary's eyes and listening to the sound of his voice made her break all her promises. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe him so badly.

"How can you say that, Gary? You don't even know me."

"The same way I know that you love me."

Misty closed her eyes. "I do."

Gary could not help to smile. She did not have a clue of how much he loved her, and what he would do for her. "Then let's not say anything else. I'll make dinner and I'll meet you downstairs. Lt. Surge will be joining us."

"Ok."

Misty gave Gary one last hug before locking herself in the bathroom. Gary's smiled widened at the realization that Misty was going to be ok, and that she loved him like he loved her. Her confession gave him a new ray of hope; a reason to continue fighting. He was going to fight for her, with her, so they could end up together and finally be happy.

He exited the room and headed downstairs. He ran to the kitchen and began making his specialty: lasagna. It was a special occasion, and he knew Misty would be starving. The last time she was fed was intravenously, and that had been two days ago. Gary turned on the television to listen to the news. He wanted to know what else had the League come up with in the past couple of days.

"Good evening, Vermillion! This is Mike Keeler, reporting live from the headquarters of channel 54. Today has been an eventful day in Kanto, and we'll start with our major headline. Joining us is Lisa Smith, reporting live from Indigo Plateau, home of the Pokémon League."

The screen changed to a scene of a meeting room in Indigo Plateau. Gary studied the people in the screen and saw some very familiar faces: Maya, Lance, Agatha, Bruno, Lorelei, Koga, Dawn, Ash, and Professor Oak.

The look on Professor Oak's face was painful to see. His head hung and his stare was glued to the table in front of him. Maya was at the front. As if on cue, Maya took out a piece of paper and began to talk.

"The Pokémon League of the region of Kanto has delegated for quite some time about the several issues that are taking place in our association. The members present: Lance, Agatha, Lorelei, Bruno, Koga, Professor Oak, Dawn, Ash, and myself, have agreed that the current issues surrounding our associations are a cause for impending loss of credibility of our mission and vision, as well as reason to take extreme measures for a good cause.

We have come to the realization that if these extreme measures are not taken seriously as soon as they take effect, the purity of the mission and vision of our organization will cease to exist. This will in turn destroy the spirit and hard work of thousands of members around the region, and will place a dark mark on the quality of Kanto's trainers all around the world. We hereby present the following actions to be placed in effect at the end of this meeting:

Gary Oak and Misty Waterflower will be formally charged with the accusations imposed by the law. These two former members will be exposed to the full penalty of the law and shall receive no aid from the League as they have given up their positions and status when they chose to break the law.

The Pokémon that belonged to these two former members will now become possession of the Pokémon League itself as they are registered under our name. These two former members have shown a lack of qualification to take care of other living beings, and will in turn resign their Pokémon to Ash Ketchum and Dawn Hall.

The Pokémon Gym in Cerulean will no longer exist, and shall not be reconstructed. The Waterflower family has failed to keep their end of the bargain in the probationary period of their term, and their permission to keep and maintain an official Pokémon Gym will be revoked.

The Waterflower sisters, excluding the temporary Gym Leader, will be charged for fraud and break of a legal contract. The three older sisters, Daisy, Lily and Violet will be kept in house arrest in our facilities in Indigo Plateau. They will be judged and charged some time this coming week.

Anyone who tries to aid these two former members of the Pokémon League will be subject to charges of aiding outlaws escape, aiding in avoiding the law, and will be trialed as accomplices. Becca Gall, Bryan Gall, Jennifer "Copycat" Lee, and Britt Edwards have already been charged.

The Pokémon Gyms will not hold any battles until these issues are completely resolved and the two former members are in the custody of the law and are charged with the crimes they have committed.

At the end of this ordeal, a new Gym will be constructed in Lavender Town to replace the Gym in Cerulean City.

Professor Samuel Oak will be placed in house-arrest here in Indigo Plateau as a means to force submission of Gary Oak, and for the relation between him and Gary Oak.

Gary stopped what he was doing and stared at the television. He could not believe they were going to arrest his grandfather. Granted he had given him the money to get out of Cerulean, he had no involvement with what the League had done to Gary, or what Gary was trying to do to the League. "This is bullshit!"

Gary also knew that the League knew how much he cared for his foster parent. However, if he turned himself in, not only would he fall into the League's trap, but he would lose any opportunity to clear up this mess. If he went jail, everyone who had helped him get this far would have sacrificed themselves for nothing. He needed to keep a leveled head and work as fast as possible to get all of them out of jail, free of any guilt. If he lost his cool, the League would get the best of him.

Gary watched the television a little longer but when the news anchor switched to other local news, he turned it off and continued what he was doing. A few minutes later, Lt. Surge showed up and sat on the kitchen table. "Oak, that smells great. What is that?"

"Lasagna, sir."

"Where did you get it?"

"Made it myself."

"Ha! Who knew you had hidden talents outside research!"

Gary chuckled. "I've got good news, sir. Misty…"

"…is awake," a voice coming from the stairs said.

Both men looked up and stared at her. She was wearing a light blue long-sleeved turtleneck, blue-jeans, and black boots. Her hair was neatly brushed and almost completely dried, held in a ponytail. Her left bang covered half of her forehead and fell down her face up to her chin. Around her waist she wore her pokebelt.

Lt. Surge stood up and picked up Misty with a huge embrace. "I'm glad you are alright, ma'am. Oak here was worried sick."

Gary smiled shyly as he took out the lasagna out of the oven and began serving them. Misty smiled at Lt. Surge and returned the embrace. "I've taken too much of a break, haven't I?"

Lt. Surge laughed. "You probably needed that break."

"Perhaps, but now I'm very hungry."

"Glad to hear that, Red. I made lasagna for dinner."

Misty smiled as she and Lt. Surge sat down. Gary finished serving the pieces and sat down next to Misty. They all began eating as Misty spoke.

"Gary, you need to tell me what is going on."

Gary swallowed hard and took a sip of his drink. This was going to be difficult to do. "Where do I start?"

Lt. Surge stared at the both of them while he continued to eat as if he was about to witness some sort of show.

"The last thing I remember is you coming back to the Gym to get me out."

Gary nodded and began to speak. "Ok, then. I don't know how to tell you all this, so I'll just spit it out, ok?"

Misty nodded.

"The Gym…burned down; all of it. The Pokémon…died in there. The firefighters couldn't save anyone."

Misty's eyes began filling up with tears as she covered her mouth with her hand. "All of them? What about Team Rocket?"

Lt. Surge raised his eyebrows. "What does Team Rocket have to do with anything?"

"Team Rocket started the fire."

"Thought so," Gary said. "Jessie, Cassidy and Butch didn't make it. James was taken to a hospital in Cerulean. He's still there."

"How do you know?"

"Because when I went back to save you, there were two burned women on the ground. Butch…well…you know what happened to him. The officers told me they had taken one man to the hospital. Jesse would never leave James' side. Besides, I confirmed it when I heard it in the radio coming here."

Lt. Surge stopped eating and pointed his fork at Gary as he spoke. "But, wait. Let me get this straight. Team Rocket broke in to the Gym, and set the fire. Why are you guys being blamed for it?"

Misty started at Lt. Surge and then at Gary. "We are being blamed for the fire?"

Gary nodded and sighed. "The League is charging us with arson, Team Rocket and the Pokémon's deaths, fraud, conspiracy, broken contract, having an affair, and…running away from the law."

"WHAT?!" Misty yelled as she rose from her chair.

"Misty, calm down."

"How can I?"

"Look, this is what we'll do. We'll get to the bottom of this and we'll clear our names."

"But…Gary…all those charges…"

"Are false. We'll just have to prove them."

Misty sat down and stared at her still full plate. The lasagna was good but it seemed like she was going to get sick to her stomach.

"Where are my sisters?"

"Indigo Plateau…house-arrest. So is my gramps."

"PROFESSOR OAK?" It was Lt. Surge time to yell.

Gary flinched and wished everyone would stop yelling at him.

"Yes, the League is using him to force me to turn in. But I won't. Not until I can fix all of this."

"But, Gary…your grandfather."

"He'll be alright. So will your sisters."

Misty sighed. "I don't see how we can fix this. No one will believe me that Team Rocket set the fire."

"They have to, Misty. Team Rocket has a bad reputation."

"But they steal Pokémon, and while they were there, they didn't care about the Pokémon. They were there to…get rid of me."

Lt. Surge took another bite of the lasagna. "Why do you think that?"

"They told me."

"Misty, tell me what happened inside the fire before I got there. I need to know."

Misty nodded and took a deep breath. It was too soon to relive the events that occurred inside the Pokémon Gym, but she knew that if they wanted to get out of this mess, they had to share all the information they knew.

"After you left, I made my bags to follow you. I was waiting for my sisters to arrive so I could leave the Gym. I went downstairs to set the alarm and that was when I saw them."

"Team Rocket?"

"Yes."

"Go on."

"I told them they couldn't take my Pokémon. I ran to the system and activated it so the Pokémon would be secured. Team Rocket began to follow me, so I ran upstairs."

Misty looked behind her shoulder for a few seconds and saw the four members of Team Rocket quickly approaching her. She knew her Pokémon were safe, but to keep the safe she had to lock herself inside the gym with the intruders. She ran towards the stairs that would lead her to the office so she could look herself inside there, but Cassidy caught up with her.

Cassidy grabbed Misty's ankle and pulled her down. Misty tripped and rolled down the stairs for a second time in her home. She ended up face down at the bottom of the stairs. Jessie, James, and Butch stood in front of her. Cassidy stood behind her, on the stairs.

"What do you want from me?"

"Somebody asked us to do a little favor," Butch said.

"Asked? More like PAID," Cassidy said.

"Whatever it is, you aren't gonna get away with it! My sisters will be here any moment!"

The Rockets laughed. "Your sisters? Please! They are still very much buried in paperwork in Indigo Plateau," Cassidy said.

"How…how do you know?"

"We know people."

Misty tried to get up but Cassidy used the heel of her boot to kick her back into place. "Where do you think you are going?"

"You guys are screwed, there are hidden cameras everywhere. The police will find the tapes and you'll go to prison."

The Rockets laughed again. "Are you kiddin' me? Jessie, James, time for your part of the deal."

Jessie and James looked at each other both having an uncomfortable look on their faces. Misty lifted her head enough to watch them as they began spreading gasoline around the Gym. "Stop! Please!"

Neither of them had the guts to look at her in the eyes. They knew her and her bratty companions for years now. While it was true that they had battled several times, it had never been truly personal. They were Pokémon robbers, and the brats were Pokémon trainers. The last thing Jessie and James were murderers.

Butch picked up Misty by her hair. She screamed and tried to free herself but Cassidy took out a small knife and pointed it at her stomach. "Scream again and I'll make a bigger hole for you to yell from."

Misty gulped. "You made enemies with the wrong people, girl."

"What did I…"

Misty's question was interrupted by a punch from Butch to her left eye. She felt heat covering her eye and blood dripping down her cheek. She began moaning in pain and Cassidy reacted to this by cutting her stomach, her arms and her legs."

"Does it hurt? Do the cuts sting?"

Misty could not believe what was happening to her, nor did she understand why it was happening at all. Butch let go of Misty's hair and grabbed her by her wrists, placing enough force on them to make them crack.

"It hurts, please stop!"

"We're getting good money for this. We're gonna do this right."

Butch slapped Misty's face as Cassidy continue to make small cuts around Misty's body. Jessie and James tried to ignore what was happening while they finished pouring gasoline inside the entire building. James looked up and his face fell when he saw what Butch and Cassidy were doing to Misty. He knew they had to get rid of her and make it seem like suicide or an accident, but this was too much.

"Butch, quit it. Let's burn this place and get the hell out of here. It won't matter if you hit her or not."

"If it don't matter, then why not have some fun?"

James fists trembled. "Stop it, man. That's enough!"

Butch's anger rose. He had never liked James, and when he had been told that he had to work with him to do this job, he had not liked the idea one bit. However, the amount of money he had been offered was too much to ignore. Part of the deal was to bring Jessie and James because they knew Misty and had battled her many times before. Whether he liked it or not, Jessie and James had to go with them to Cerulean's Gym.

Butch eyed Cassidy to tell her it was her turn to have fun with Misty. Cassidy grabbed Misty by the hair and began pulling her up the stairs. "Why don't you show me your room?"

Butch walked to James and punched him in the face. "I don't take orders from you! Get it? Now shut the fuck up and do your job!"

James hit the floor as Jessie ran behind him. "That wasn't necessary Butch! You jerk!"

"Fuck you."

Butch turned around to watch as Cassidy had stopped midway on the stairs and was now kicking Misty's head. "I…really…don't…like…girls…like…you…"

Misty tried to free herself from her grip but Cassidy's anger was overwhelming. "What did I ever do to you?"

"Nothing to me, but Emily Dragon is pissed at you."

"Cassidy, shut up!" Butch yelled at her. "Relax, it's not like she's gonna get out of here alive."

"Still!"

"Whatever, I said it, so what?"

"Emily Dragon…" Misty thought as she saw Cassidy and Butch argue back and forth. Jessie and James had begun lighting up the other rooms of the gym. The fire was spreading fast. Misty watched as Butch and Cassidy's argument went on and on. She took this to her advantage and grabbed both of Cassidy's feet, aiming to trip her so she could run away. Cassidy felt the grip on her ankles and tried to free herself. Misty held on to her ankles like glue and tried to get up herself. Cassidy kept pushing her back down with her hands but she was getting tired. Cassidy tried to push down Misty one last time but she lost balance. Misty's lips hit the edge of the step and began bleeding. She let go of Cassidy to clean her mouth at the same moment Cassidy was planning on pulling away from her. Cassidy lost balance completely and flipped over the stair's rail. Misty tried to grab her but she was too late. A loud scream was heard right before a crack and thud sounds.

Cassidy had fallen four feet down and had broken her neck. Misty stood up and saw her bleeding from her head. "God…I didn't mean to…"

"You bitch!"

Misty looked up to see Butch charging at her rather quickly. Misty began running up the stairs as she saw Jessie and James running after him. The fire alarm began going off and the fire was intensifying rapidly. "Butch, we need to get out of here now!"

"Shut up! I'm going to kill that bitch first! She killed Cassidy!"

Jessie and James looked at where Butch was pointing. They saw a fast-growing pile of blood below Cassidy. "This is not going according to plan," Jessie said.

"Go get the car, James. I am going to get Misty out of here."

Butch had disappeared behind the cloud of smoke. Misty's screams were heard coming from upstairs and Jessie could only imagine what was happening to her. "I don't like the twerp but whatever Butch is doing to her, she doesn't deserve."

"Jessie, will you be ok?"

"'Course I will! I can kick any guy's ass."

James gave Jessie one last hug before disappearing on the back of the Gym. Jessie heard James call out his newly acquired Golem to make a hole on the back of the Gym as she ran upstairs to try and save her oldest female rival.

Jessie followed the screams and found the room where they came from. She opened the door just in time to see Butch finishing forcing herself into Misty. Jessie's blood boiled. Like she had said, she didn't like Misty, but that didn't mean Butch could use her like this. "You are such a pig."

Butch zipped up his pants before turning to face Jessie. Jessie wasted no time and punched Butch in the face while he was still adjusting his pants. Butch fell to his knees and Jessie took this opportunity to knee him on the stomach. She then turned to Misty who was still in shock. "Twerp, get the fuck out of here before he recovers. Get out!"

Misty stared at Jessie with bewildered eyes. Was Jessie helping her?

"But Jessie…"

"GO!"

Misty nodded and ignoring all the pains she was feeling, she clumsily ran to the hall. The stairs were burning by now and there was no way she could use them. The smoke was piercing her lungs and hindering her senses.

She tried her best to walk to the office. She could use the phone and call the police. The office was a very secure room. Team Rocket –Butch, would not be able to get her in there.

Back in the room where Misty had been before, Butch and Jessie were in the middle of a fight. Even though Butch was a man, Jessie knew some moves to keep herself protected. Yet, she was getting tired and the smoke was not helping her keep her guard up. If she was correct, James should be outside with the car by now. She had to get out of the room soon.

"Emily Dragon is not going to be happy when she sees you betrayed her. She doesn't stand traitors."

"I couldn't care less."

"Then you as good dead as alive," Butch said as he took out a knife and threw it directly at Jessie. Jessie was no expecting this attack and was not able to dodge it. The knife dug into her leg. "Aaaahhh!!!"

Jessie fell to the floor in pain. Butch slowly approached her and pulled the knife from her leg, only to dig it in her stomach once, twice, and a couple of more times.

James walked inside the Gym just in time to hear Jessie scream. He stood at the entrance lobby of the Gym to listen more carefully and find out where Jessie was. The stairs were practically gone by now. James screamed her name.

As he tried to pay attention to the screams that kept getting softer and softer, he did not pay attention to his surroundings and a piece of wood fell from the ceiling, knocking him unconscious. His last words before he passed out were words of regret for what they had done.

After Butch made sure Jessie had enough holes in her stomach to survive, he pulled her out the room and threw her to the fire. Jessie was already dead.

He saw Misty dragging herself on the floor. She was too weak to keep fighting. Butch smiled as he slowly approached her, the knife still in his hands. "Hey, kitty, kitty, kitty."

Misty heard him and tried to push herself up from the floor but she was too hurt and tired. She felt her luck run out. "You're gonna pay for what you did to my friend."

Misty mumbled that she had not meant for her to die, but Butch did not listen. He stopped in front of Misty and picked her up from the floor. "A little birdie told me you have a secure room here. You and me are gonna have some fun in it."

"No…"

Butch placed Misty on his shoulder and walked to the room as easily as if he knew where everything was in this house. He lifted Misty's hand and placed her fingertip on the detector. The door opened and they both went in. Misty regretted not bringing her Pokémon with her and leaving them in the hall where she thought they would be safe.

Lt. Surge and Gary stared at Misty, who was stroking her pokeballs, as if asking for the Pokémon's forgiveness. She thought she could keep them safe by leaving them under the closet in the hall, and while she was glad they were all alright, the Pokémon in the Gym were not as lucky.

"Misty, James is alive. He can confess what he saw."

Misty shook her head. "He is a criminal. No one will believe him."

Gary growled. He could not believe what the Rockets had put Misty through. "Misty…"

"Yeah…"

"Jake worked for Emily Dragon too," Gary said.

"Jake…Jake Dragon!" Misty said.

Lt. Surge furrowed.

"How do you know?" Misty asked.

"I had an encounter with him when I left the Gym. He stole my bags and the documents I was going to give to the League."

Lt. Surge continued to furrow and look at both trainers with an angry face.

"Do you know who Emily Dragon is?"

"I've seen her name. She battled my sister around the same time you battled her; she was in the wall of fame." Misty said.

"I knew it! I remember now! I saw Jake Dragon's file before I left. He gave two references," Gary said.

"Emily Dragon," Misty said.

"And Dawn Hall," Gary said.

Lt. Surge stared at Gary. "Dawn Hall? Maya's Dawn Hall?"

"Yes."

"We need to find out more."

Lt. Surge nodded as he pointed to the window. "But first you need to get out of Kanto. It's night. The boat is waiting for you."