Chapter 2 – Visiting Friends

"Sometimes friends have to go away, but a part of them stays behind with you. You'll remember them forever, and they're going to always be in your heart." Ash

[15:33PM] – May 16th 2011 - Oak Laboratory – North of Pewter City

The man narrowed his eyes, staring out of the tree he was currently perched in. Below his shadowy form, Vaporeon and Lucario were just visible, silent sentinels. On the branch above him perched his Raichu, the long tail dangling down past the man's shoulders. The black fox was nowhere in sight. The raven haired man sighed, leaning until his back propped up against the tree trunk, the worn bark crumbling and peeling.

"She's got distracted again. She always gets distracted."

His voice was fairly humorous, a light and easy tone, relaxed with a hint of impatience. The man blinked, his eyes a pale blue. The aura guardian called down to the Pokémon below him, "Luca! Can you check that Zo is still on task?"

A grunt of acknowledgement followed this query. Below, the pitch black Lucario closed his eyes. The sensors on the back of his head rose, half-heartedly, a faint blue glow surrounding them. It only took a few precious seconds as the jackal did this, then his red eyes snapped open. "CarrRioRo," Luca growled.

The raven haired man in the tree sighed. His eyes were now half closed in exasperation. One hand came up to hit his head gently.

Above him Raichu made some quaint chirping noises. "ChuRai RaiRaiCha." He tried to reassure his trainer. "RaiAi?"

The man nodded, as if he could comprehend the strange noises. "We wait," he replied.

From below the mermaid fox let out a shrill cry, similar to the whaling keen of Lance's Dragonite, however this was more fluid and songlike, like the bubbling of a brook. "PourVapVap? PourEon."

"Hush now," the man chided gently, a note of caring evident in his voice. The fox blinked her wide brown eyes up at him then let out a small yawn, her red mouth and sharp fangs evident. The man in the tree glanced down at her, almost carelessly. "You can sleep when we get out of here Va. Just keep it up for a little bit."

The fox let out a protesting squeal, "PorEon!" She complained.

The dark haired man did not answer, but remained silent, pondering something. Above him his Raichu let out a quiet 'chu' which the man acknowledged with a simple blink of his eyes. In return the long tail touched gently against his roughly shaven cheek. It flickered impatiently a faint crackle of black electricity was to be seen, running along it. Everything about the strange, surreal energy screamed wrong but the man ignored the pleas, dropping lightly down from the tree. His knees bent, silencing his drop. Beside him, his Lucario melded into the shadows, a faint growl the only thing left to remind the man where he had been standing. The Vaporeon curled herself around his legs as Raichu stayed above them, branch hopping silently.

The orange mouse was surprisingly adept for a ground dwelling rodent, the heavy and cumbersomeness of his species not evident in the nimble paws and quick darting movements. They suggested years of running, of constantly having to watch their backs.

In front of them the faint shape of a house could be seen, built into the hillside. Its walls were white washed with dainty widows, flower baskets planted around the edge of the small plot. The small, quaint chimney puffed pale grey smoke, that wiped away, curling upon itself until it was lost to the atmosphere. The man's footsteps unintentionally quickened.

A back door was closed. The raven haired man had adjusted his course heading towards it. Silently Vaporeon darted ahead, seeming to spit on the lock. Nothing appeared to happen for a moment, and then with a quiet hiss the metal of the lock dissolved, eaten away by the acidic saliva of the bubble jet Pokémon. The raven haired man didn't even have to slow his pace, by the time he reached the door the whole of the locking device had been eaten away to nothing. The door swung open with a gently touch of his gloved fingers.

Now the man paused, and by his side the mouse looked curiously up at him. Then, as if he had made his decision, he stepped forward, crossing the threshold.

It was dim inside the cottage. No lights were on and most of the curtains had been drawn. The man winced as a floorboard underneath him creaked but continued walking. Vaporeon trailed behind him while Raichu led the way. His lightning bolt tail glowed faintly with black electricity, letting off a dark glow of light.

There was a faint scuffling and the black fox appeared in front of him. Its snout was lowered to the floor and eyes wide. She let out a faint squeak – "Rua!" Dust coated her fur and made her look wraithlike and surreal.

The man didn't say anything but the fox must have received some instruction, for it perked up, scampering back the way they had come and rounding the corner out of sight.

"Typical" was the thought that ran through the man's mind. His Raichu agreed "She can be a bit dense sometimes."

"I heard that!" was the indignant reply, even her mental voice sounding high pitched.

This conversation ran in utter silence, the whole process running on a mental level, almost telepathic but far stronger, allowing a wave of images, emotions and senses to run between them. Only Vaporeon and Lucario were silent, the former too tired and grumpy to join in and the latter, silent in his patience.

The man shook his head briefly, messing his ebony hair so that it fell across his eyes. He didn't bother to move it though, and continued through the corridor, ignoring the kitchen and dining rooms to the sides. His final destination lay straight ahead, opening out in some faint form of lighting.

A lamp was on in what appeared to be the living room. The furniture had all been moved around so that a closed door in the wall could be accessed easily and the front door was barred off. The man let his eyes linger of a mantel piece, where pictures stood, and gathering dust. He forced his gaze away though and crossed the floor to the closed door. He hesitated before letting out three sharp knocks on the wooden surface. After a seconds pause he let out another two sharp knocks before stepping back.

Some commotion could be heard, along with the shifting of papers and the creak of stairs. Then the door burst open.

The raven haired man narrowed his eyes at the man that stood in the doorway. Behind him, harsh white lighting led down to what might have once been a cellar, but now looked far more advanced. A brown haired man stood framed in the light, his hair spiky and green eyes narrowed. He wore brown cargo pants with what closely resembled a pilot's jacket. It was tight fitting brown leather with the collar folded neatly. His spiky hair stuck up, brushing the doorframe above him. In his hand, a gun was levelled at the intruder.

"What a welcome I get?" the raven haired man smirked, "First time back in Kanto after several years and this is my welcome home gift?" the aura guardian took a step back, away from the spiky haired man, giving him room to observe.

The other guy barely blinked. "Your name," he demanded. By his feet a black fox appeared, yellow rings on her body glowing. Vaporeon let out a quiet snarl, stepping forwards, her hackles raised.

"Va," the raven haired man chided. He looked up at the other man, "I thought you'd recognise me Gary. Then again… it had been a while, and I have had the slight case of the death to deal with. Doesn't matter though – I got better and now I'm back – do you know how hard it is to make your way to Kanto from Sinnoh in these times?"

"Your name," Gary Oak repeated his eyes wary. Slowly he reached one hand up to cock the gun.

The raven haired man eyed him curiously, "So when did SECTION recruit you? Or let me guess, your grandfather put them up to checking up on you? Or was it Leaf? You do know that won't do anything right?" he waved a hand around, black and blue mist trailing behind it. "Aura guardian – hello!"

Gary flinched, "Who the hell are you? How do you know all these things? What are you doing breaking into my house?"

The raven haired man turned his back on the man, walking over to the couch and slouching down on it. He crossed his feet and sighed. "Technically it's your lab." He corrected. "Although it's a nice place. I'm impressed."

The gun was lowering to the floor. "Do I know you?" Gary asked, frowning.

"I'm dead," the aura user introduced himself, as if it was an everyday thing. "I died four years ago at the battle of Indigo Plateau." He was watching Gary's reaction. "Among my many pseudonyms of Shadow, Chosen One and 'Hey! You over there!' you might discover my real name." He glanced up, meeting the green eyed gaze."It's me Gary." He said, "Ash. Ash Ketchum. I'm not quite as dead as you think and I want to know where the Time Gear of Viridian Forest is."

The gun fell to the floor with a clatter and even the black Umbreon hissed sharply. Raichu hopped forward, teeth bared, black electricity dancing over his fur. The midnight fox regarded him suspicion, the same look Gary was directing at Ash.

"You're lying!"

Ash laughed. "That's it? I'm lying? Don't you recognise me?"

Gary narrowed his eyes. "You've got a hood on." He pointed out.

Ash blinked. "I do? Really?"

Rai falm palmed.

"Well if you want any more proof…" Ash spread his hands out, after pulling down the hood, ignoring the gasp. "Ask me a question only I would know. Or shall I tell you what I know?" Without waiting for a reply he continued speaking, "Three years ago I died. I was shot and pushed over a cliff by Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket, nowadays part of the Team. You were my best friend until we were six when you became a bully and a pig headed…" he didn't finish that sentence, choosing instead to continue with his account.

"When we were ten we started our journeys. I got a Pikachu because I was late and you got a Squirtle, now a Blastoise, along with your Eevee, now an Umbreon," he motioned to the Moonlight Pokémon. "You were my rival. You were always ahead of me until the Silver Conference where my Charizard beat your Blastoise using steam. I went on to Hoenn and you became a researcher. Next time I met you, I was beaten by your new Electivire and encouraged me to go to Sinnoh where you were working for Professor Rowan. There we helped…" Ash paused, frowning. "Was it a Shieldon group or Rampardos?" he directed this towards his Raichu.

"Chu." The mouse added after pausing to think.

Ash nodded. "Shieldon then – we helped them from Pokémon Hunter J, and you helped my Glissor evolve. The next time I met you was…" again he paused, fear flashing in his eyes before continuing. "It must have been after my elite challenge when we ended out rivalry by tossing that broken Pokéball off the cliff at Indigo… then I began to work for SECTION, while you were one of the researchers and I saw you more regularly. Last time we met was a double date, you and Leaf, me and…" he stopped, the word appearing to be stuck in his throat. He closed his mouth and swallowed.

Gary had taken a step backwards. "Okay. You know a lot, I'll give you that. But I'm asking you one question because I'm still doubtful." He glanced sideways at Raichu. "It's probably you, but just to make sure… you know…"

The aura guardian nodded.

"The Ash I knew would never have evolved his Pikachu." Gary added. "Ever. So my question… nothing to do with the Raichu actually, but that night with the four of us… you said something to me. It sounded so damn freaky… tell me what it was."

Ash's eyes seemed sad as he spoke, without hesitation, "I told you that the world was going to become a frozen world where nightmares walked. The years ahead would be the worse years of your life if you're alone. Be prepared to never see the sun or moon, or stars or wind or snow or rain, because these next few years…will only ever last one second." Gary was reaching for his gun as Ash finished, "I never told you that. I never spoke those words to you ever. I wrote it down, because words can be overheard. I wrote on a napkin, in pencil and you read them then tore it up and let my Charizard toast it." He paused, frowning. "I still have no idea where that came from either."

Gary stopped reaching for the gun and stood up, shaking his head slowly, "You died."

"Don't I know it?"

"You died only a month after that conversation!"

Ash was silent. Gary took slow steps forward before sitting down a on the opposite couch. He buried his head in his hands and was silent.

The raven haired man sighed and began speaking, slowly, "I was dead. Then someone brought me back. I have a mission and when it's all over…," he paused and a look of extreme anger overcame his features but it was gone almost immediately.

Gary's head snapped up a second too late, missing the look of anger. However his own face showed frustration, "So why didn't you come to see us. After you were 'resurrected' from the dead? Did you not even have time to visit you supposed friends?"

Ash flinched, "I couldn't. You don't understand." He paused. "Have you seen Sinnoh?" he changed the subject. "It's ten times worse than Kanto and Johto isn't much better. It's almost peaceful here in comparison. This is the first time I've been back in Kanto since I… uh… I think woke up in the correct term … two years ago on Mount Coronet. Mount Coronet! You try getting from there to here in two years with a war going on, the borders patrolled regularly…"

"Okay! Okay! I get it." Gary snapped. "SECTION phoned ahead. I knew you were coming. Why did you do it like this? Appear at the League and then come here? It sounded like you wanted to kill me."

He winced. "Someone overheard that? I was just trying to save time by asking instead of hacking into a computer. I… This isn't a personal visit. I just need to know where the Time Gear is and you'll never see me again. I'll be gone. If I came back I would have just given everyone false hopes. It's why I'm trying to keep a low profile."

"Good luck with that." Gary scoffed. "Killing Goodshaw was a really good move."

"He was there." Ash shrugged. "He deserved it."

What do you need the time gear for?" Gary asked, confused.

Ash's eyes darkened, "I told you, I have a mission. Part of it involves collecting the time gears."

"We can help!" Gary leant forward. "Just come with me back to Mount Moon base…"

"No!" Ash snapped. "You can't tell anyone!"

"Why not?"

"Because…"

"Come on then." Gary snapped, angrily, stressed at seeing his dead friend again.

He stopped, seeing the look in Ash's blue eyes. Had they always been blue or was that just since the Celadon Incident?

Ash began speaking, slowly. "When it's all over…you should listen, this is the best bit," his voice was heavily weighted with sarcasm, "I get to die again, but this time there's not coming back," The anger was evident in his tone and his hands began to glow black faintly.

Gary shifted away from his old friend. "Really?" he asked quietly. "Why did you even agree to this then?"

Ash gave a wry smile. "Believe me, when your faced with that choice…even a few more years is better than the alternative." The coldness that was creeping into his voice made Gary shiver, and he suddenly found himself afraid of this man. "You can't tell anyone." He said, seriously. "And I'm sorry for putting you through this…"

"You mean this is it? You appear, then vanish and go off and die?" Gary frowned. "That isn't how it works!"

Ash was looking at his watch now, and he shrugged, changing subjects. "What time is SECTION arriving? I assumed you called them when I arrived. They must have forewarned you anyway."

Gary nodded. "They're on their way." He narrowed his eyes. "I can't get you to stay and tell everybody what is happening instead of running around – a vigilante…"

"I should go."

Gary sighed. "Ash!"

"Gary."

"Don't do this you moron!"

Ash stood, giving him a lopsided grin. "Okay then." He said, slowly. "I'll take your advice and go and say 'hi' should I?" he laughed. "Why should I be worried? They're going to take me to their Pewter Base. That's my next stop, provided you tell me about what I need to know."

Gary shook his head, "You need help. I'd deal with the Viridian Gear."

The raven haired man sighed. "I can't persuade you otherwise." He asked, rhetorically, turning towards the door. "Nice seeing you again Blue." He called, taking a step forwards, but Gary called after him.

"Wait!"

He paused, half turning, Va weaving around his legs.

Gary was staring at him in indecision. Then, his voice a hoarse whisper he whispered, "You said you killed Goodshaw, up at the league. Is it true? Why…?"

"I've killed many people."

Gary swallowed. He still seemed to be struggling to decide what to do. Ash turned away, beckoning to Vaporeon and Raichu. "Fine," he called over his shoulder. His voice changed, becoming almost trancelike, "When the moon is full you have to take the gear to the place where the sun died. A message will come in the rain, and you will go." His eyes had slipped out of focus and his voice had dropped, "I guarantee you that."

Then he was gone. His quick footstep vanished as he disappeared from view, his Pokémon vanishing behind him, leaving only a slight ripple behind in the shattered air.

[16:07PM] – May 16th 2011 - Oak Laboratory – North of Pewter City

He appeared on the front lawn, in front of the barred up door. He shook his head, always disorientated after teleporting. He still wasn't used to it, even though he had been doing it for several years. His head was also muddled from his parting speech that was still ringing in his ears. He was overcome by the knowledge that he had not intended to say that, and that the words were not his.

His now auburn eyes were confused. It didn't make any sense. There was no moon shining at night, nor was there a place where the sun died. The rain never fell, nor did the wind blow, so how could a message appear in the rain?

What was it with him a prophetic riddles?

He really did sound mad.

He sighed and looked at the bushes and trees surrounding him. "You can stop hiding," he spoke up, his voice quiet but cold, hiding the tiredness in his tone.

There was a rustle of movement and then figures emerged from the foliage. Guns and rifles all aimed towards him. He gave a wry grin, the irony of it occurring to him. He called out again, pointing with his hand to some skulking figures at the back. "You three, with the handcuffs, you can came and chain me up or whatever you want to do. I'm not going to fight." Under his breath he added, "Not that I'd want to fight my own side."

A man stepped forward, his skin tanned and eyes were narrow and brown. His hair was pale and brown, spiking, similar to Gary's. He wore an orange top with a black t-shirt underneath. The sleeves were baggy, and his dark brown pants scuffed the ground. The dark skinned man was growing a small beard on his chin, and he reached up one hand to stroke it thoughtfully. Like Lance he wore a black watch on his wrist.

"How long had SECTION been waiting out there?" Ash asked, faintly amused. Some of the guns which had been slacking towards the ground came up, pointing sharply towards him. His lip curled. "You've been slacking with all the top secret aspect of it."

"Who are you?" the tanned man called.

Ash smirked. "That's the best thing. I know your names but you don't know who I am." He crossed his arms across his chest. "So, are you taking me to your Pewter Base or am I going to have to take myself there Brock?"

Brock narrowed his already narrow eyes, unimpressed. "So, you can read name tags. Well done." He ignored one guy who glanced at his non-existent name tag. "You know an awful lot too, but we'll find out what you know soon enough."

Ash blinked. "Interrogation? I love interrogation. Lots woman around there – Riley would have a have a field day." Raichu gave a sigh and Ash kicked him gently with the toe of his shoe. The mouse glared up at him, chirping.

Brock was still unimpressed, "So you're a criminal, you break into houses but only talk to the occupant, you mistreat your Pokémon, you're a murderer…shall I continue?"

Ash's eyes darkened, "You've gotten too good at this job gym leader, how do you know any of those accusations actually apply?" his tone had darkened.

The SECTION members had enough. Brock stepped forwards as the ground rumbled and a Kabutops appeared beside him. "All right, down on your knees. You can't escape this; we've gotten psychic Pokémon blocking the area. Tell your Pokémon to lie down or we'll shoot."

"Psychics." Ash scoffed. Hey, that was an idea. Maybe the psychic version of future sight translated into weird predictions?

"RaiAi!" Rai growled, tail bristling.

"Take it easy." He chided, unmoving, glancing up at the guns. "Look, I'm really scared I'm going to die here so why don't you lower your weapons." His tone was sarcastic, "I don't really care about your psychic Pokémon either. I'd advise you to try dark next time – it works better. How do you know that I'm not psychic huh? Should have dragged Sabrina here, but I am grateful that you didn't. Thanks for that at least. I really do not want to meet the mind reader witch any time soon."

"Poureon," the mermaid reminded him. He ignored her.

"I really don't want to hang around here chatting, as much as I'd like too. I would just be on my way to your base now except it's terrible to pop in uninvited. So I'll just invite myself." He began to stride forwards and the guns followed. He ignored them and was about to sidestep Brock when the Kabutops raised one of its scythes warily.

That was when Vaporeon moved, darting forwards in a blue blur. Some water must have splashed Kabutops for it stepped back, scythes dripping. The snarling bubble jet Pokémon was moving too quickly to see, but it was obvious to see the fang marks that exuded poison. The fossil Pokémon let out a pained cry, staggering backwards. It kept shaking its head as if to rid itself of the pain.

The SECTION group froze. They were not used to handling situations where other people controlled what was happening. Ash realised this and could see that he wasn't getting anywhere. But he hadn't finished yet.

"Scared now?" he asked, his voice taunting, "You better start watching your backs. A black Lucario… a shape shifting Zorua… a Raichu with dark electricity… a Vaporeon who exudes poison in every pore… and a man who used to be an aura guardian… Scared yet?"

He stepped past Brock and began strolling away, stopping at the edge of the trees to call back, "Are you coming? I'm sure your base wouldn't be happy if they know you let me stroll in there by myself!" He turned around with a triumphant grin and walked away. The group hesitated before racing after him, with the exception of Brock who had stopped to examine his Kabutops.

"Too?" the fossil Pokémon asked, its dazed looks vanishing. The tanned man examined the wound which no longer existed. He froze before swearing. "Damn it. That sly bastard. His Vaporeon made you confused with a water pulse and his Raichu must have paralyzed you, which is why you couldn't move. He made it look like you were poisoned by having his Vaporeon bite you." He sat back, finally understanding how dangerous this enemy was. He shook his head in disbelief, "But he didn't actually hurt you at all."

The man who had tugged at his sleeves appeared in the bushes. "Uh sir. You do know that you aren't actually wearing your name tag."

Brock looked at his jumper and froze. "I'm the Pewter Gym Leader." He snapped, impatiently, hiding the fear in his tone. "Of course he knows my name," before brushing past the man and stalking off, trying to shake off the edgy familiarity that which the strange aura guardian had dealt with him.

[18:27PM] – May 16th 2011 - South West of Pewter City – Mount Moon SECTION Headquarters

"So, is anybody going to unlock the door?"

Brock lingered at the back, eyeing the dark man warily. There was no improvement in the situation and they were still at loss at what to do. He had phoned ahead, telling them to get the sedatives ready. He cursed himself that he had forgotten them in the first place.

"Anybody?" Ash was standing by the strong door in the rocky cliff. A small slot for a card was on the left hand side. The raven haired man sighed. "Fine, I have my ID somewhere." He began rummaging in his pockets. The three guards the remained looked at each other in puzzlement. The rest of the group had been dismissed, only making the situation worse.

Ash gave a triumphant "Got it," and waved a card in the air. Then, much to the surprise of the shell struck sentries he promptly proceeded to scan it.

Card Accepted.

The raven haired man tutted his annoyance, "You'd have thought they would have cancelled my bloody card by now," He turned too looked at Brock and the guards who were still silent. His eyes narrowed and he stepped through the now open doorway.

He managed about one step before a small, feathered dart was shot into his neck. He pulled it out almost instantly, giving it a lethal glare and sighing. Raichu and Vaporeon were similarly hit.

"Crap," was the only word he managed to say.

One second later they fell unconscious to the floor.

[18:42PM] – May 16th 2011 - Mount Moon SECTION Headquarters – Intelligence Office

Dawn was having a bad day.

It had all started when she had missed her morning coffee, and consequently had gone to work half asleep with crumpled hair. Then she had several million phone calls from May about this dark criminal up at the League Ruins and that Lance was going off to some Island in the Johto Seas. Then she had to organise a patrol to help Gary Oak and she had forgotten to request tranquilisers which posed her current problem.

There was an unconscious criminal in interrogation, two of his Pokémon in the sterile unit.

Oh, and the man had just used an unidentifiable card to enter their base.

Now she had a headache. The worst part was it still wasn't sorted, this whole incident, and there wasn't anything she could do to stop the pain, since all medication had become illegal. She leaned back in her chair, watching the camera footage. By her side a Piplup chirped quietly. The blunette turned her head towards the penguin smiling. Her Pokémon could be so cute at times.

Glancing at the camera she saw that the man in the cell was awaking slowly. She saw him put his gloved hand to his head a groan.

"Damn it," he swore again. Dawn sighed as more obscenities flew from his mouth. The raven haired man seemed surprisingly quick to wake as he sat up, glancing around the cell. Then his pale brown eyes found the camera.

"Dawn?"

She flinched.

"Dawn? Okay, long gamble, but hacking into the League computers has to be good for something right? So I'm assuming you're there, somewhere, watching, since Brock is the only person he would ever trust to manage the Intelligence Office." The hooded man rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Can I talk to you?"

Can he talk … Dawn shook her head, blinking. How did a completely random stranger know her name … okay, so he hacked the computer files … why then, did he want to talk to her?

On the screen, the footage flickered and continued, the voice echoing from the speaker. "I don't mean any harm! I swear by the aura. Please, I just want to talk."

Dawn was shaking slightly now. She should really wait and see what Brock had to say about this, but her curiosity combined with her bad mood was making her reckless, as she stood up, leaving her office and heading quickly towards the Interrogation unit.

She would worry about finding that coffee later. This was enough of a wakeup call for her as she swiped her card through the slot on the door. It beeped in recognition, the door sliding open. The guard on duty nodded to her as she approached a smile on his face. Self-consciously she smoothed her blue hair slightly; it was crumpled but relatively straight, and lacked the beanie she had worn in childhood.

Dawn Platinum Berlitz was nineteen, having worked at SECTION for only two years. She used to be a co-ordinator, back in the old day, before starting a school her mother had wanted her to go to in Johto. She joined SECTION after graduating, although if she had learnt anything in those last two, war torn years, remained to be seen. In the past two years she had worked her way diligently up through the ranks to where she was now, moving to Kanto to keep nearer to her friends.

"Open the door." She instructed the brunette.

"But Dee Dee - the prisoner…"

She turned to glare at Kenny, but not just because of the nickname. "Open the door," she demanded her childhood friend, who was in her way. Kenny, recognising a bad mood when he saw one, nodded obediently, using his card to gain access. It gave a disapproving beep.

Dawn gritted her teeth. "Who ordered the door to be high level?" Dawn demanded, clenching her hands. She tried her own pass, but it failed. Then, acting on impulse, she used the unidentified card they had taken from the man.

Beep.

The door slid open. "That worked," Dawn shrugged, going through. The man was lounging on the chair on the other side. He looked up when she approached.

The door slid closed.

"All right, I'm here." She took a step forward towards the table. "Now let's talk. How about we start with whom the hell are you?" Dawn pulled out a gun from her pocket pointing it at his forehead.

Ash smirked at her, feet resting on the table. "They taught you too well Dawn. Was it Lance? Or Sabrina? Or did Brock change his mind about the 'no weapons'?"

Dawn took a deep breath. It didn't help. "Who are you…?" She asked again. The man in front of her sat upright.

"I can't tell you." he said. "It's for your own good." He added, when she looked at him reproachfully. "But I'm no-one for you to worry about, I'm not opposing you or anything like that. I'm on your side, and I just needed to pass on a message to you." Ash self-consciously glanced at the camera. He blinked and with a spark the red light indicating filming died. "Sorry about that," he said, gesturing to it. Dawn looked startled but gradually lowered her weapon.

The blunette eyed the man warily, "Before you tell me this message can I ask you a few questions?"

"Shoot me."

She ignored the sarcasm, "Your Vaporeon almost killed Barry, one of our scientists when he touched it. It exudes poison like normal Vaporeon's exude water. What's up with that?"

Ash narrowed his dull eyes, "As an Eevee she was dropped into poison." He spread his hands, shrugging off blame, "She used to be in the care of Team Rocket until I rescued her. Anyway, the toxic forced her evolution into the only thing that could survive it. Rocket scum were hoping for a new Eeveelution but got a poisonous Vaporeon instead. Well…she's a toxic Vaporeon…sometimes…" his voice trailed off, face twisting into a wince. "I rescued her from northern Johto." He added, helpfully. "About six months back."

Dawn was shocked and had to stifle a gasp. She ignored the last sentence "Umm…" it had put her off her train of thought, "What about the Raichu and the black energy?"

Ash dismissed this, as if it was a casual thing, "His energy is all negatively charged."

"Isn't all electrical energy negatively charged?" Dawn asked, confused.

Ash narrowed his eyes, looking confused, "Well the charge is opposite what it normally is and since…umm...yeah it should be negative… to be truthful I don't really know, but he's got black electricity and I have black aura." Dawn looked startled as his hands glowed dark blue, almost black. Ash gave a wry grin, "Negatively charged," he told her, shrugging.

"Where did you get that security card?"

He smirked, "It's mine. Some stupid people forgot to cancel it. Lucky it still worked really…" he shrugged, "You'll work that out too."

"Whose side are you on?"

His eyes darkened, "My own." He said, shortly.

Dawn crossed her arms, blue eyes darkening. "Please elaborate." She drawled, mimicking his laid back attitude.

The aura guardian laughed. "I don't like the League, but then you could probably have guessed that. I don't particularly like the Teams either. SECTION isn't half bad though."

It didn't make any sense. Dawn sighed, "Final questions: who are you and how do you know everything you do and what do you want?"

Ash eyed her curiously, "That's three questions. My name you'll work out, but for now, you can call me Shadow. I used to know you years ago, and again, you'll work it out. And I do believe I already answered the last question. I have a message for you."

"What's the message?"

"I thought you said no more questions." Ash sighed. "I need you to unlock something from the vaults."

Dawn crossed her arms, eyeing him warily, "That's not a message. Those are instructions." She was being picky, she knew, but she wasn't going to be bossed around by this guy.

"Fine." The man rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath which sounded an awful lot like 'spoiled princesses".

"What did you say?" she snapped.

"I said 'that's the message!'"

She stared at him suspiciously for a moment. "What item?" she retorted, finally.

Ash put up his hands as if surrendering, "I don't want it." He leaned forwards, "The message it to ask someone to take the Time Gear of Victory Caves in vault ten, seven, seven, eighteen to Gary Oak. He knows what to do with it." He leaned back, smiling at her dumbfounded reaction. "Oh, and pass-code is six-double-zero-one-nineteen-eight."

She blinked at him, "How-how do you know about that …Time Gear?" she spluttered and he blinked at her.

"You'll work it out eventually honey."

She curled her lips, "Nobody calls me honey," she huffed, turning her back on him.

"Oh, and your hair looks terrible."

This day couldn't get any worse. She was riled up and spun around, the gun aiming once more at the obnoxious man's head. Once again he was unworried. "Okay, I've got another question. If I knew you once…or you knew me, what were you to me?"

Ash narrowed his eyes. "Honestly?" he asked, and then he shrugged, "A friend? Isn't that what you want me to say? Would it make that much difference?"

"I…" she frowned. "You look familiar."

"Ask me that again, if we ever meet again…" Ash said, giving her a sad smile, "I'll answer it truthfully."

Dawn was totally fed up now and she glared at him, letting her finger clench over the trigger. Outside, Kenny jumped at the bang as the bullet whistled into the table in front of the raven haired man. Ash didn't flinch, his eyes boring into hers until the door slid closed and she let herself slide down the wall.

"Ma'am, are you all right? Did he do something to you?" Kenny was trying to be protective, and she pushed him away, ignoring his worried expression.

Dawn shook her blue hair slowly. "That man…" she began before taking a deep breath and shaking her head, "He is the most…" she struggled to find the word, "annoying bastard that ever walked the face of the planet."

"RaiChu," the orange rodent sitting in front of her, chirped nodding its head in agreement. Dawn stared at it before turning to the guard. "Kenny." She said slowly. "Is that your Pokémon?" she asked.

The man shook his head rubbing his head, "Come on Dee Dee. You know my team, you used to beat them often enough in contests." Dawn frowned, trying to recall his team of Empoleon, Breloom, Machamp, Alakazam, and the Floatzel.

Kenny worked it out before her, standing up, rifle pointed to where the rodent had been. She scrabbled up, flicking the safety of her hand gun.

The brunette guard was already calling in back-up over his comm. However there was only a faint static. Dawn had plans running through her head. "Where's his Vaporeon, he wouldn't leave without his Vaporeon?" she asked, stalking forwards towards the door.

Then the com device beeped, "Hello – we have a breakout in the Sterile Unit. The newly acquired Raichu and Vaporeon have broken out. I repeat they are on the loose. Do not approach. I repeat, do not approach."

Snap was already replying, "The Raichu made it to interrogation. Requesting-"

"I wouldn't bother," Dawn shook her head, staring at the door with a neat square cut through it. Through it she could see the empty chamber, with one wall half dissolved in a pool of acid. The faint shimmer in the air meant teleportation. Dawn sighed, clenching her fist. "Arceus – even his Raichu agrees with me."

November 2011 – So you can start to see the similarities to Mystery Dungeon. Got to love those games!

April 2011 – Corrected some continuity issues now that the plot and facts are all sorted. The photographer was changed to Kenny, just because he was a character who appeared more often in the anime.

I like those horizontal lines, but they don't always like me. I hope they all manage to load successfully.

Keep reading and remember – reviews make my day!

~ Eclipse