(A/N: No one figured out what the blue ribbon figure was...+Sigh+ Oh well on with the chapter!)
Ash Ketchum: I Found My Destiny.
Chapter 9 - I Want To Play A Game.
+Flashback 10 Years Ago.+
Giovanni's Pov.
"Delia Ketchum..."
My words took effect immediately. She was terrified on the spot.
"Giovanni why are you here...No...not the child-"
"Yes, that's exactly why I'm here. There's no point in trying to hide it. I'm here to take the bastard, so where is the brat!"
Delia started crying. "Gio, no there playing!"
Gio...My old nickname...
...Wait they?
I followed my ears to the childish voice of someone calling Playtime! Playtime! I ran to the backyard and saw the kid from the pictures. The kids back facing mine. I walked up to the kid and reached for the shoulder. That's when we made eye contact.
His eyes were a deep brown; his face shape matched Delia's perfectly. His hair was black like mine... he had a familiar jaw-line...too familiar...
Delia came running out of the living room and put a hand on my shoulder, I pushed her away harshly.
The kid - who had been staring at me all this time, now, looked frightened.
"Mama?" He say's looking at his mother.
I frowned and picked him up.
"Delia the father..."
She looked up to me and once my eyes reached hers I understood. I gulped.
"-Is you..."
A pause.
"His...his mine?"
She looked at the floor and picked herself up, once standing she nodded.
I dropped the kid after that, he bruised himself and started crying. Delia went to comfort him but I pulled on his blue hoodie dragging himself closer to me. The kid whinges.
Delia met me straight in the eye and answered my previous question.
"No."
I was confused.
"No his not yours."
"Then-"
"They are."
"They?" I said startled. She pointed to the pond behind where the boy was. There at the edge of the pond I saw another kid. This kid too, had his back facing me; he seemed to be into whatever was in the water to notice us before. I let go of the first kid and walked slowly to the other.
My shadow covered the kid and some of the ponds bank. The kid looked up to me and I immediately noticed this was a girl. She had the exact same clothes as the boy and the only difference was that she had longer eye-lashes and a longer fringe. She said no words as she looked up at me, unlike the boy who looked at me with astonishment this girl looked very unimpressed with me.
She looked away and met the boy's eyes.
"Ashie!" She said as she ran to him, the boy embraced her in a protective hug before looking back and forth between me and Delia.
"There twins?"
Delia stepped forward. Her face calm. "The boy's Ash, Professor Oak helped me name him after the tree since we both love nature...the girl's the youngest."
Anger over-took me once I heard Samuel's name.
"Such filth, for a boy's name." Ash heard this and gasped. Even though I doubt he knew what we're talking about. I smirked and looked at the girl with evil in my eyes. I moved to grab her when she turned and tried to run to her mother. Before she could I had already picked her up. She was pounding her little fists on my back.
"-I think I'll take this one, she has fighting spirit. Potential!"
Delia immediately reacted. "No Gio, you can't split them! They've never been apart before don't do this!"
"I shall do what I like!" I growled back. Both twins were crying now. Sensing danger. "I am Giovanni Ketchum and like you said there MY kids which mean's I can do whatever I like with them!"
"Gio, they didn't do anything wrong please put her down, your scaring her!" Delia shouts back her tone getting angrier near the end.
"Think of this as a favour, I'm toughening them up! Something you'll never do!"
"She can't even speak properly yet!...GIO!"
She was getting too annoying for my liking, so I slapped her across the cheek. This silenced Delia but made the children's screams louder.
I grabbed Delia's arm and pulled her to my face, our noses barely touching.
"Don't call me that. You will call me by my true name."
I released her and made my way back into the house. I reached the living-room when Delia catched up to me again, this time holding Ash back by his shoulders who was currently screaming for his sister.
"PLEASE DON'T DO THIS GIOVANNI! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG! DON'T DO THIS PLEASE!"
I stopped walking, I was nearly outside the door now, and turned back to Delia. "You dare take this to the authorities and I WILL kill her. You understand! And then I'll come back for the other one." I coolly say ending by looking down at Ash who had grown quiet.
"At least let me give her something to remember me by!..." She begs.
I stop and think about it.
"Do it quick." She rushes of to get a pen and paper to write a letter. I smirk, sure I said to do it quick but if it's a letter then she'll need to be able to read first! And if I refuse to teach her then the kid will never know!
She finishes and put's it into an envelope before I can read it. She goes to hug and give the letter to her daughter to hold but before she can I grab the envelope out of her hand and walk off.
"My baby..." I hear Delia whisper as I make my way down the steps. I hear the girl call out something to Ash.
"I have Dratini Ash! So no crying!" I curiously turn around. So she's made the boy stop crying. "Don't forget me..."
I put my hand over her mouth as I shove her in the backseat of the limo. She doesn't make any move to resist. I shut the door and sit next to her.
"Drive." I order the chauffer who I notice has a curious look on his face.
I turn to the girl. She looks at me. I try to retain a chuckle as I see her face, she's trying to give me an angry threatening look but all it looks like is a pout.
"Child, you shall obey me, got that? I am your Master."
She looks down. "Do you understand?" I repeat.
"Yes Master." She replies.
I move back so my head rest's on the back of the leather seat.
"You may not know this Child. But I am your father."
She looks at me confusingly. She too shuffles back to the seat (coping me) her leg's not reaching the floor.
"I'm...I'm...your Dad..." I struggle out. Still letting this new information sink in for myself. After all I only knew Delia had gone into labour - not had twins nor I the father!
The girl looked up at me. "Da...Daddy? Father?"
I look up at her. As heartless as I try to be I can't stop my eyes shimmering. I don't let them fall though...I do have a reputation.
The girl yawns and put's her head on my chest. Sniffling and asking for Ash in her sleep. That won't be a problem; she can have Domino, finally a good use for her!
I frown. Now what? I don't intend to ever keep the child...then again...maybe what I told Delia is true...
I look at her sleeping figure. My black cell-phone rings. I only use this phone for business calls.
"Yes?"
"Sir, using Amber in the experiment has failed. I'm afraid the test subject has failed."
"And the Pokémon?"
"Mentally alive Sir, but we'll need new D.N.A."
I look down at the child's figure once more, that's the thing with babies...they have no sense of fear.
I hang up the phone.
"Maybe what I told Delia is true...she does have potential." I say aloud.
I laugh evilly in the limo not noticing my chauffer having a strange look on his face.
+Present Day Team Rocket Cell #0458+
Ash's Pov:
"Holy Fricken Shit!" I flinch at the sudden use of the girl's language. She seemed to notice this.
"Oh, sorry, force of habit!"
"No, no don't worry."
"So this is your girlfriend?" She asks taking the picture of me, Misty, Pikachu, Brock and Mom. She's pointing at Misty.
I feel heat rushing to my cheeks. "No! She's a girl and she's my best friend but she's not my girlfriend!"
"Oooo...kay..."
"Anyway..." I say with a sigh. "What about you? You must have a lot of friend's like I have Misty and Brock and Pikachu, May, Max...and Dawn sorta..."
"Dragonite." She tells me simply as she crosses her arms.
I tear-drop. "Any human friends? Non-Pokémon?"
"Domino."
The tear-drop get's bigger.
"That's a game..."
"It's a name."
"No, no a game! G-A-M-E. Game..."
"Name! And N-A...uhhh..."
A laugh. "Kid don't you know how to spell?"
Her eyes dimmer and I instantly feel guilty.
"No-one ever taught me...all I know are passwords and hearsay from other Rockets..."
"W-wait. That's how you learnt to talk!"
"Correct."
"Whoa..." That explains a lot. I look at her again and sense she's upset.
"Domino...what happened to you..." I hear her whisper gently. If I wasn't so close I wouldn't have heard her. I gently place my gloved hand on her shoulder and make her lean onto me so we hug. She doesn't resist, and put's her head in the crook of my neck.
"So who's Domino?" I ask gently.
"I call her my big sister..."
"Is she?"
"No...I have no one like that...not anymore."
I try to cheer her up.
"At home it's just Pikachu and me. So I get lonely too sometimes...When Mom's out shopping with Mr. Mime..."
I notice her eyebrows lower in confusion.
"Mom?"
"Yeah a mom! You know like Mother! The person who raises you and is always there for you and fixes you up when you're hurt and always cooks your favourite food and..."
I notice her confusion is only growing and that's when it sinks in.
"You don't know..."
She shakes her head agreeing with me. I lean back to the wall and take a deep sigh.
There's a long silence and I think the girl's fallen asleep. I gently lean in to check.
Her deep brown eyes meet mine.
"Ash?"
"Oh, I was...I thought you went to sleep."
"No. I was looking at the white thing."
"The moon?"
"Yes."
I too look at the white object in the sky.
"What do you think everyone at home is doing?"
I pause before replying. "I'm not sure." I decide to question her with a topic I forgot about in the forest.
"Kid, how did you know I was a Pokémon Trainer?"
"Oh that? That sort of information's in your file...Team Rocket kept telling me you were dangerous so I had to know all about you."
Another silence.
I feel her raise her chin and look up to me.
"Ash what are you going to do now? You can escape if you try..."
"No."
My answer surprises her.
"No?"
"No. Nope. Nada! I'm gonna stay right here with you!" I grin at her.
"Why? What about your friends? Your family?"
Images of fun times with my friend's pass my head. Misty fishing me out of the river, Pikachu using thunderbolt to protect me from the Fearows, defeating Brock at his gym for the badge...
...And the fight I had with Mom before I left...
(A/N: Part 2 of I've Got A Secret Song. Italics & bold are word's sung by Delia & Misty. Rest are Ash.)
EACH END'S A NEW BEGINNING
EVERY DARKNESS HAS ITS DAWN...
I feel tear falling down my cheeks and onto the girls head. I wipe them away.
MY TEARS CAN'T FALL FOREVER
SO NOW I MUST MOVE ON...
"But...your dream...you're a Pokémon Trainer!"
MY HOPES ARE STILL THE SAME FOR THE MAN I'D LIKE TO BE...
I turn back to her and grin.
AND I WILL MAKE THOSE DREAMS COME TRUE
JUST YOU WAIT AND SEE.
I release the girl from my grips and walk up to the cell window. The moonlight illuminating my face.
I'VE GOT A SECRET
I turn back to the girl and look at her face.
THERE'S NO TURNING BACK
THAT TEARS UP MY SOUL
THERE'S NO GIVING UP
I raise my fist to my chest in proudness.
KEEPING IT HIDDEN
LIFE STILL GOES ON
HAS TAKEN ITS TOLL
NO MATTER HOW TOUGH
The girl instantly frowns.
I CAN'T TELL THE TRUTH
"Ash Team Rocket is tough and dangerous. What about your safety?"
I turn away from her face and walk back to the cell window bars. Holding the picture in a deathly grip.
I'M GONNA MISS YOU
CAUSE HE MIGHT TURN AWAY
MORE AND MORE EACH DAY
SO I'LL KEEP THIS SECRET
BUT I'LL KEEP ON GOING...
My voice is fading and I hear the girl run up to me and give me a hug as I fall to the floor.
(MRS. KETCHUM, MISTY & ASH)
IT'S BETTER THAT WAY...
Child's Pov:
"It's better that way..."
I hold him as he held me that first day in the forest.
I remember what happened those days...
(A/N: Lyrics are from You & Me & Pokémon. I recommend listening to this whilst reading! Italics is the girl normal is Ash and both is...well your cleaver aren't you! =D )
+Flashback. Day's In The Forest.+
Child's Pov.
The magic feeling...
It's grown so strong...
Always leaves me...
To a place where I belong...
"Ash what the heck are you doing!" I yell as I see Ash leaning to the floor petting a foreign Pokémon. It was green and crawling onto Ash's arm.
"What the heck is that!"
"A Catterpie!"
"Ewww!"
He just laughs at this.
"You know kid, you remind me of a girl I know."
Won't go away...
Never let me down...
I've got the greatest friends...
That ever could be found...
"So where can others be found?"
He grins.
"Uh-oh...ASH!" I scream as he grin's and grabs my arm to make me run.
Across every river!
Behind every tree!
On top of every mountain!
They're apart of you and me!
He let's go of my arm but not before spinning me making load's of different Pokémon spin with me. We both laugh.
One world!
One world... Now and forever!
Best friends!
Best friends... Loyal and true!
One dream!
"Now I see why you're a Pokémon Trainer!"
"So what's your dream?" He chuckles as Pikachu runs past his shoulders and down my back. I giggle and reply.
"To be free!"
He giggles and playfully pushes me onto a plain of high grass, startling a diversity of flying Pokémon.
One dream... Put side and side!
There's nothing we can't do!
One hand!
One hand... Helping the other!
He says as he grabs my hand to help me up.
Each heart!
Each heart... Beating as one!
We live!
We live... Always together!
Sharing the same bright sun!
You & me & Pokémon!
He pick's me up so I'm on his back and he runs down a side of the river. The flying Pokémon from before chasing us.
They rush like water...
They soar like the wind...
They're always with me...
Every day that I begin...
Accidently Ash awakes a sleeping Beedril nest.
"Aww crap not again!"
"Again?"
"No I mean...Ah just run! Charizard I choose you!"
He calls out his Charizard and put's Pikachu in my arms as he sits behind me on Charizard's back.
Not letting the opportunity pass, Charizard uses a powerful flamethrower, being careful not to cause any serious damage.
They burn like fire...
They chill like ice...
They take on any challenge...
Charizard grunt's as if in agreement.
Make any sacrifice...
Charizard flies higher in the sky sending me and Pikachu squealing in delight and Ash in laughter. I notice he tightens his grip on me for safety when Charizard did a loop-the-loop.
Across every river!
Behind every tree!
On top of every mountain!
They're apart of you and me!
One world!
One world... Now and forever!
Best friends!
Best friends...Loyal and true!
One dream!
One dream... Put side and side!
There's nothing we can't do!
One hand!
One hand... Helping the other!
Each heart!
Each heart... Beating as one!
We live!
We live... Always together!
Sharing the same bright sun!
You & me & Pokémon!
Charizard gently slows his pace down and proceeds to make a careful landing.
One world...
One world...
Best friends...
Best friends loyal and true...
One dream...
Just one dream...
There's nothing that we can't do!
Once off Charizard, Ash picks me up in the air spinning me around like Master Giovanni did. Pikachu jumps around us.
One world!
One world... Now and forever!
Best friends!
Best friends... Loyal and true!
One dream!
One dream... Put side and side!
There's nothing we can't do!
One hand!
We high five each other, reminding me of Domino.
One hand... Helping the other!
Each heart!
Each heart... Beating as one!
He holds me close in a protective hug. I can hear his heartbeat from all the adrenaline!
We live!
We live... Always together!
Sharing the same bright sun!
You & me & Pokémon!
+End Flashback.+
+Present Day Team Rocket Cell #0458+
Ash's Pov:
I turn around from the cell window bars and to the girl. She's not looking at me and instead at her hand's which's she's holding. She doesn't even notice when I walk up to her and put my hands above hers.
"Hey..."
She snaps out of whatever day-dream she was having and looks at me.
"Ash!"
My face goes serious. "I need to tell you something..."
"Go ahead." She replies leaning her back to the wall and crouching down to her knees. She's clutching a piece of aged paper.
"-But first can you read this too me?"
My eyebrow's arch in confusion. Then it all makes sense. She never learnt how to read properly either.
"Sure what is it?"
"I'm not sure. I got two of these from Domino...it was in an old locker here. It took me a few times to read the first envelope."
I smile. "Okay let's read it..."
She snuggles into my chest as we slowly read the letter.
"Dear My Darling,
You may not have spoken to me for a few months, maybe in years. And I apologize for the shortness of this letter. Your father wants' to take you to his home right now so I must hurry. My Darling know that I love you and that I always have loved you. You and your brother.
Maybe when you're older your father will let you visit me?
Know that this is for the best decision. All I want is the best for you Darling.
Times are not so great for us right now, so me and your father have split. But I guess you don't want to hear about that right now...here's a picture of the family when we were...happier.
I love you my Darling Baby..."
~D~.
I sniffle into my glove as I read the short letter over and over again in my head. I look at the girl for her reaction but she has no tears.
"You know who this D person is kid?"
No reply.
"Kid?"
She turns her face to mine. Her eyes large with curiosity.
"This fell out from the envelope Ash!"
"Huh?"
She hand's me a piece of shiny paper; I look at it closer when the glimmer goes.
It's a picture of me when I was a toddler in my Mother's arms.
+Flashback+
Ash's Pov:
I found it.
It's the same picture but this is torn in half so it shows the girl and the man only.
I turn the picture over and I read the words that make my heart freeze. I try blinking but if only that could make the word's disappear but there still right there in black and white.
+End Flashback+
+Team Rocket Cell #0458+
Ash's Pov:
No...no it can't be.
I slowly turn the picture in my hands around.
"-The Family."
xie.
Of age.
The girl look's up to me and I harshly push her away. She fumbles around on the floor in harsh surprise.
I slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together. I grab the picture I took minutes before I left home and place it next to the one I had just found.
They fit.
The girl cautiously approaches me in pain and looks past my shoulder to see the picture. She instantly gets angry and pull's it towards her.
"What are you doing with this! It's mine!"
I hardly hear her though...Her voice sounds so far away and my eyes have dimmed. She continues to yell at me and my head slowly turns her voice to a younger girl.
"Play with me Ashie! Playtime!"
"I got Dratini Ashie!"
"No crying!"
"Don't forget me..."
I look at the girl whose giving me death glares and run up to her to give her the biggest hug in human kind.
+Child's Pov+
"This fell out from the envelope Ash!"
"Huh?"
I hand him the picture and he studies it slowly. After looking at it he turns it around, there's some faint squiggles in what I figure as curly handwriting so I ignore it.
After a while I got bored of waiting for him to finish so I look up to him when suddenly he pushes me! And a mean push as well! He'd make a good Grunt!
He grabs something from his pocket whilst I'm on the floor. I carefully go up to him again as I hope he doesn't hurt me again as he put's two pieces of paper together.
I raise my neck and realise it's my picture and I immediately get angry at this.
"What are you doing with this! It's mine!"
I continue to yell at him when he doesn't respond. He brushes his gloved hand through his sweaty hair, looks at me and scares me half-to-death with the tightest hug ever! Now I know how Domino felt!
"Ash what the heck are you doing!"
He responds by raising me in the air and laughing with all his heart.
One minute his angry now this? What's going on in his head?
"Now I understand!...Kid when we were getting captured in the forest the last thing you said to me was Ashie!...I didn't believe it at first but then that proved it! It did! It really did!"
"What Ash what!"
He stop's spinning me and place me on the ground. He lets me hold onto him as I regain my balance.
"I get why I had to protect you from the Rocket's...Why your aura was so easy to connect too...why when you admitted you were afraid of thunder I held you- I told myself I was just cold at first but now I know I never wanted to let anything scare you!"
That was the final straw.
"Ash Satoshi Ketchum just what the hell is wrong with you!" I tell him as I gently bonk him on the head.
He just laughs.
"Here..."
He hand's me the picture - now with both pieces - and tells me something I didn't understand...
"You're my little Sister..."
Silence.
That's all that was heard throughout the cell room. Silence.
"Sister? No way...you're crazy! I have no family!"
Ash nods and gently walk's up to me. "Here."
He hand's me an envelope. It's the one I first read - the one explaining my past.
"I kinda read it before...I hope you don't mind."
I look into his eyes. There glimmering.
He continues.
"Those flashbacks's I had...I thought they were just wacky dreams...but that ribbon...it wasn't a ribbon but a Pokémon...Dratini..."
My eyes widen in surprise.
"Yes! I remember now! I loved Dratini! He lived in our pond!"
He chuckles.
"Kid do you know what Dratini evolves into?"
"No why? How is this relevant?"
He laughs once more.
"Because Dratini evolves into Dragonair...and into Dragonite..."
I gasp.
"I think because you were close to the Dratini in our pond it followed you...you didn't see it as a Dragonair because it went off to evolve...and then you started to be friends with him again when it evolved into Dragonite..."
Silence as we let this newly known knowledge sink in...
I break it.
"And you don't care that I'm a Rocket?"
"No." His voice breaks. "-Because your not anymore. And if anyone should be mad it's me...I should have done something to stop you being in that pain...I promise I'll try to be a better brother!...I-I-"
He had to stop there since I went up and pressed my lips against his cheek.
"I love you to...Brother."
We hug for all the lost years together before he takes the photo away from my hands.
He points to the figures.
"That's me, in our Mom's arms."
I smile, still holding onto him. "So that must be me!"
Ash suddenly frown's at the picture.
"Then who's..."
"And that's Father..." I look up-to his eyes again. There lost in some sort of unknown emotion.
Before I can see his reply of our Father, the devil himself is heard walking through the dim corridors.
Whilst still in our hugging position I think fast and make it seem as if Ash is choking me.
Giovanni finally walk's out of the shadows. His alone. I make a fake choking sound whilst Ash is trying to figure out what the hell in going on.
Giovanni finally look's up to the cell instead of the floor. It seemed his plan was threaten us with creepy words before leaving us with a death glare. His plan back-fired when he saw me getting 'strangled' by Ash.
I dramatically turn towards him.
"M-master!"
Giovanni immediately reacts to this. His face goes red in anger and quickly goes into his pocket for the prison keys and opens the door. I run to him before he can do anything else and hug him.
"I'm so glad you here! I knew you'd come! What took you so long? I'd fire those pathetic Rocketer's for taking so long! Ash Ketchum is dangerous! And why did they put me to sleep by attacking me! Master!"
Giovanni just stares at me in shock.
"You were hurt?"
"Yes!"
His face slowly goes into anger. But it's not directed at me...it's directed as Ash.
Ash is scared to death by now. He moves one step back and Giovanni also makes one step forward into the cell.
"I'll kill you...I should have done so long ago!" Giovanni say's with venom in his speech.
"No, Master! Not yet, let him suffer a little while first! Plus we need to make a start on your master plan!"
Giovanni stops and thinks' about it.
"Very well Child. But first you to come to my office." He grab's me by the elbow and chucks me over his shoulder after he locks the door on Ash.
As me and Giovanni walk out of the prison corridor I see Ash's face one more time.
His so sad...
This is for the best Ashie...
+Present Day. Team Rocket Cell #0458+
Ash's Pov:
She just walked out with Giovanni...What on earth is she thinking?
I look for her face one last time. She's on Giovanni's shoulder...she looks so small...
Suddenly she smirks and winks at me.
Then it flicks in my head.
Of course!
As soon as I can't see them both no more I go back to the far cell wall and laugh.
"No wonder Mom named her that!"
I laugh to myself and look to the moon which my sister found sanctuary in so much...
Too bad I didn't see the familiar purple figure flying through the sky...
(A/N:WOOO! Completed this chapter! Hey if anyone knows who the figure in that last scene belonged to...there'll be surprises!
Hint: It's a Pokémon!)