Chapter 6: The Rescue

Walking through a forest at night is never a good idea, what with all the trees to bump into and all the Pokémon out hunting for a meal. Normally, any sensible person would just stay put somewhere and wait until morning to start moving again. Unfortunately, Ash wasn't a sensible person, which is understandable considering his situation wasn't normal either. After dodging what was his 48th tree and evading a hungry flock of Murkrows, Ash had finally come across the cabin he had seen in his vision. He hid behind some bushes with Pikachu, making sure he was unseen. For Ash, it was hard to believe that Team Rocket would actually set up their base in an old cabin. Not only that, but there was only one guard outside, who was wearing a black jacket and hat as uniform and was the same height as Ash, even if he was hunchbacked. "Boy, no wonder Team Rocket fails every time, they really are stupid!" he thought to himself. Pikachu, on the other hand, was still unsure about the whole thing.
"Pika…" (I dunno…)
"You're right Pikachu; we have to be careful around here. Now how do we get in?"
"Pi…PiPikaChu!" (Hmm…oh I know!)
"What's up Pikachu, do you have a plan?"
"Pi! Chu PikaPika…" (Yes! Now listen closely…)
Pikachu pantomimed his planned to Ash, who also agreed to the plan.
"Alright then, let's give it a try. Monferno, come out!" Ash took out a Pokeball and released Monferno. Hoping nobody heard him, Ash quietly explained the plan to Monferno, and Monferno eagerly agreed. Monferno stepped out and went over to the guard, stealing his hat in the process. "Wha-?" The guard, surprised that a Monferno stole his hat quickly went over to the bushes and trees where it disappeared. A punch and a thunderbolt later, the guard came out awkwardly from the bushes, moving slowly to the cabin's door. He looked for his I.D in his pockets, took it out to open the door, and was somewhat surprised at the fact that the cabin's inside was so high-tech. "You there!" The guard turned nervously to another grunt, who was caring a tray of food. "Umm, yes sir?" the guard replied nervously. "I need someone to take this tray of food to the hostage down in room 3-B, can you do that?" Relieved, the guard took the tray. For a split second, the grunt thought he saw a smirk on the guard, but it went away quickly. "So, uh, how do I get to the room?" asked the guard. "Ugh, all you have to do is use the elevator" the grunt said. "God, is it me or are new recruits getting dumber and dumber?" he thought. The guard made his way to the elevator (which he had not noticed before) and went inside. Before pressing a button, he checked to make sure no cameras were around. After a while, he sighed and took off his jacket. However, instead of a hunched back, there was a backpack! A muffled sound could be heard from inside the backpack, and it didn't take a genius to know that it sounded angry. "Sorry Pikachu…" the guard opened the back pack and out came Pikachu, angry and annoyed. The guard took of his hat, revealing a messy spiky head of black hair.
"Boy, I never thought it would be this easy. They practically want us to save Misty!" "Pika Pikachu Chu Pika Pi." (That's what worries me.)
"Now, let me find which floor she's in. Let's see…"
"Pi ka Chu Pi" (Try floor 3)
"Let me try floor three!"
"Pika!" (Good job!)
Ash pressed the button, and as the elevator went down he told Pikachu to get back into the backpack. Pikachu reluctantly agreed, and once again Ash had taken over the guise of the hunchbacked guard. When the elevator stopped, Ash got out and was surprised that there was no one was around. As he walked through the halls, he found two grunts fighting near a door. One of them was short and had a gruff voice, while the other was tall and sounded shrill. "Look, I don't care what the boss says, I ain't goin' in there!" said the short one.
"What are ya lookin' at me for? Last time I went in she grabbed the fork and started to jab me with it!"
"Sucks, she tried to break my nose with a spoon. Damn, couldn't the boss have kidnapped a different hostage?"
Hearing this, Ash immediately knew it was Misty. Now, all he needed was to get past those grunts. "Hey you!" he called out. The grunts turned to Ash and smirked at the sight of the hunchbacked guard. "Um, I was supposed to carry this tray to the hostage, but I don't know where she is. Can you tell-" Before Ash could finish, the grunts had already grabbed him and pushed him inside the room. "Why she's right here, but be careful, she bites!" said the short one. Once Ash was inside, the grunts left, laughing to themselves about Ash's future demise. Even though the room was dark, Ash could still make out Misty's figure in the dark. She was sitting in a chair, which was the only thing in the room besides a toilet and sink in the corner. Misty looked as if she was sleeping peacefully, so it was a big surprise to Ash that when he went over there, a fist had suddenly made contact with his face, knocking him down on his back.
"Ow, what the hell?"
"Listen pal, I don't care if you are hunchbacked, but Team Rocket isn't keeping me here any longer!"
Misty got up from her chair and was about to kick Ash, but not before he dodged out of the way.
"Misty, it's me Ash!"
"Nice try Quasimodo, you might know everything about me and Ash, but you can't possibly him. Ash isn't that ugly!"
"Oy oy, what do you mean ugly!" Then from his jacket, out popped Pikachu, who was very angry that Ash had fallen on him. However, his expression soon changed when he saw Misty. "Pikachu-Pi!" (Misty!)
"Huh, Pikachu? But if you're here then…" Misty was both embarrassed and shocked as she realized that she had just punched Ash.
"So, I'm that ugly am I?" Ash was standing up, brushing the dirt off his shirt and took off his hat. Embarrassed, Misty gave him a small apology. "Jeez, out of all the people to be kidnapped, why Misty? I bet Tracey or Gary wouldn't have been this rough on me." Ash thought bitterly.
"Umm, sorry Ash."
"Yeah, sorry my a-"
"Anyways, what are you doing here? And how did you know I was here?"
"It's sort of a long story."
"Well why'd you come here then? Didn't you hear me say not to come here?"
"But I just had to come Misty; I couldn't let you stay here with those murderers!"
"Ash what are you talking about?"
Ash was quiet, but then decided to tell Misty about everything, his birthday, Selia, the Dimensional Scream, Aura, and Jerry. It took a while for Misty to believe everything, especially the part about Ash seeing his father's death through a vision. She always knew Ash was special, but never did she think he would be THIS special. "Well Misty, now that you know everything, can you come back with me for a while, just until you're safe from Team Rocket." Misty was surprised, and found herself blushing at this. "Well Ash, of course but how are we going to get out of here? We can only go up through the elevator, but everyone will see us. Besides, even if we got out through the window, we'd need a Pokémon to dig through it."
"Window, what window?"
"It's a bit dark, but if Pikachu could just lighten up the room a bit…"
"Alright then Pikachu, light up a little please!" Pikachu lit up its cheeks, and sure enough there was a large window big enough for a person to fit through. The only problem was that soil and rocks were blocking the outside of the window. Ash went over to the window and to his surprise it was unlocked and opened it with ease. Soil came through the room, but it didn't matter since Ash had found a way to escape. "Alright, if I use Monferno and Gible to dig us out, we can escape without anyone noticing us!"
"Um Ash, there's a small problem."
"What Misty?"
"Well you see, Team Rocket took all my Pokémon away."
"What? Do you know where they are?"
"No, but I bet some grunts around here do."
"Hmm…" Ash had gone in thought again, but quickly came up with an idea.
"I've got something, and I'll need your help."

The two grunts were getting somewhat suspicious by now. Normally, a person would not last five minutes with the hostage unless they wanted to come out beaten up and bloody. But the hunchback they had sent to deliver the food was taking much too long inside. They decided to check what was going on inside, for all they know the hostage could be capable of beating someone to smithereens. When they approached the door, they started to hear a loud scream that belonged to the 'guard'. "Waah, help! This girl's crazy!" The shorter grunt opened the door and asked him what was wrong. "Sh-she's taking off her-" But before the 'guard' could finish, a mallet and a face had already found its way into the faces of the two grunts. Both were instantly knocked out with one hit and had large bruises on their faces.
"Darn, I really wanted to finish that sentence."
"You better not, or else I'll use my mallet on you!"
"Where did you get the mallet?"
"Mwahaha, nowhere."
"Ok… whatever, grab them and start plan B!"
They grabbed the grunts and stuffed them to a closet, but not before taking their clothes so that Misty could disguise as a grunt as well. But as Misty was taking off the clothes of the grunt, he was starting to regain consciousness and to his surprise saw Misty taking off his shirt. So, naturally, one thing came to his mind. "WHAT THE F^CK ARE YOU DOING TO ME!"
"Oh good, you woke up."
"Listen little girl, I don't know what is going on, but I do know that what you're about to do is illegal in 80% of the world!"
"You sick pervert, I wasn't going to do that to you! Now I want answers, and I want them now. Where are my Pokémon?"
The grunt, glad that he wasn't about to do what he believed, answered meekly "Well, they're on this floor, in room 3-P, but that's all I know, I swear!"
"Why thank you very much." Misty took out her mallet and knocked it against the grunt, returning him to unconsciousness. She changed into the uniform (uncomfortably) and joined Ash. She told him about the room and the two of them quickly made their way to it. However, they were surprised to find three very familiar Team Rocket members guarding the door. "Oh god, not them again." Misty whispered under her breath. Jessie, James, and Meowth were right in front of the door. However, both Jessie and James had bags under their eyes and had looks as though they had not slept in an entire day. Meowth was napping comfortably on the floor, much to the anger of his colleagues. They barely noticed Ash and Misty come up to them. "Umm, excuse me" said Ash. Jessie instantly sprang up, and spoke with a harsh voice.
"What do you want brat!"
"Well, you see we need to get inside the room please."
"Ha ha ha, how do I know you're not that twerp that everyone thinks is coming?"
"Oh please" said Misty. "Do you really think he's smart enough to come up with a plan that gets him inside? No, I bet he will just come bursting in and make an ass of himself."
"Oh yeah!" Now it was Ash's turn. "What makes you think he couldn't? I bet he can come in a take away the hostage without anyone noticing. What I don't get is why he would come back for the hostage, because she's a loud abusive know-it-all!"
"Ha! What makes you think the hostage would be glad to see him, since he's such a stubborn, hot-headed kid?"
"Hey, quiet down lovebirds, I'm tryin' ta get a catnap!" Then, an idea came to Ash's head.
"Of course, you all need your beauty sleep. After all, you're such loyal, hardworking Rockets, you need to sleep! Listen, how's about you go to sleep and we'll stay out here and guard the room?"
"Well, I don't know…"
"OK! Let's go James!" Within a second, Jessie grabbed James and Meowth by their necks and dragged them away into a room. Misty and Ash sighed, but then went to the door and found out it was locked.
"Locked, huh? Well, even Jessie and James aren't that dumb?"
"Ash look, a keypad! I think we have to type in a password."
"Great, Jessie and James must have set it as well. Now let's see, apparently it's a seven lettered word."
"What kind of password could they have thought up?"
Ash and Misty thought for a while, and when the answer came to their minds, they were slightly annoyed with it.
"Don't tell me…" Ash typed in P-I-K-A-C-H-U and the door instantly unlocked itself.
"…Those three need lives."
As they made their way inside, they found that the room was actually quite empty, which surprised Ash considering that Team Rocket stole dozens of Pokémon each day. But it proved more convenient to them, since it was easier to find Misty's Pokémon. She let out her Pokémon, and was glad to see Azurill, Staryu, Starmie, and even Psyduck safe and sound. "Phew, they're all here. Now let's go Ash!" "Right!" However, when they had run out of the room, Ash accidently bumped into James. "Ouch, hey watch where you're go-" James stopped and to his surprise, Ash's hat fell off and revealed himself! "Crap!" thought Ash. He tried to get up, but James had grabbed him from the ankle. "Twerp! You're going to pay for all the damage you caused me! No one makes a fool of-" But before James could finish, Misty bonked him on the head with her mallet and released Ash. "…James." Jessie stepped out of her room to look for James, and happened to see Ash and Misty getting away. "The twerps!" She went and set off the alarm, and by now every Team Rocket member knew about Ash and Misty. Just before they got to the room, some grunts had appeared. "Quick Misty, go inside the room!" She nodded, and once she was inside, Ash let out Pikachu, who released a powerful Thunderbolt on the grunts. Now that they were instantly knocked out, Ash got inside the room and locked it. Inside the room, Monferno was there and had completed its job. "Good job Monferno, return." Ash used the chair to barricade the door a little. The grunts were all trying to break the door down, but it took a battering ram to finally knock it down. To their surprise, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu were gone! They searched all over the room, but no one was in here. They were about to leave when one grunt noticed that in the window was a hole...

…And through that hole right now, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu were digging frantically and climbing in order to get out. Luckily, their 'tunnel' was dug by Monferno while they had gone to rescue Misty's Pokémon, so they had a good head start. After a while, they had gotten out of the tunnel, and to their relief, they were outside once more. Ash helped Misty get out and as they were getting out, a large group of grunts quickly blocked their way. Misty and Ash tried to turn the other way, but more grunts came out of the building, led by Jessie and James. They were surrounded. "All right then twerp, why don't we just do this the easy way. You come with us, and we won't hurt your friends" said James. "No way! Why should I trust you, you're all just a bunch of cruel, crazy, cowards!" At this point, James was so angry that he had finally reached his breaking point. He had always worked hard for Team Rocket, the only place where he could find freedom, but could never repay it because of Ash. He was always ruining their plans, and James was sick of it. Not thinking twice, he lunged at Ash and delivered a powerful punch to his abdomen. Ash, surprised with the sudden attack, fell down on his knees and lost consciousness. "Ash! Ash, are you all right? Ash!"
"Pikapi!"
"I…hit the twerp…but…" James was at a lost for words. Although Ash had gotten on his nerves before, he would never hurt him directly. The other grunts came over and tried to pick up Misty and Ash. But when more and more grunts came, Ash began to glow blue. Pikachu, who had seen this happen before, tried to tell Misty to get away, but she was confused about what was happening. Besides, they were surrounded by grunts, which were not moving because of what was happening. Then, the blue light grew enormously, and all the grunts were thrown off their feet. Pikachu and Misty however, were the only ones who were completely unharmed. Not wanting to worry about it now, Misty tried to get Ash up on his feet, but he was still unconscious. Then, a clapping noise was heard. Pikachu and Misty turned around and saw that it was Giovanni and his Persian. Giovanni was faintly clapping, and had a smug look on his face. Misty, remembering he was the one behind her kidnapping, spoke sharply to him. "You better let us go now! Pikachu can zap you and your kitty into oblivion and then some!"
"Oh but Miss Williams if I were to do that, what will you do with your friend? Did you not see the power he has just unleashed? If you come with me, I can help control his powers."
Misty felt uncomfortable, remembering that Ash had told her that he had the ability to use Aura. She didn't know much what Aura was, but was it really this powerful? And yet, why should she trust this man? If what Ash said about Aura was true, then it was also true that Giovanni was the man who murdered Ash's father. What should Misty do?

Meanwhile, in some bushes near Team Rocket's base, Brock, Dawn, Selia, and Jerry were watching the whole scene carefully. They had arrived in time to see Ash glow and blast everyone away, and were nervous right now. Would Misty give herself up and believe Giovanni, or would she try to fight, which might get her and Ash injured. It wouldn't be long before the grunts would wake up and capture them. "Jerry, can't we go help her?" whispered Dawn.
"No, we'll just get caught. Besides, we can't fight all those grunts. It would be best if Misty and Ash get captured and we go and save them. They don't know we're here."
"But Jerry…"
"No buts!" Jerry stopped himself, realizing that was a bit too loud. "Do you think they heard me?"
"Oh, I heard you." Everyone gasped as they saw Giovanni over them. They turned and saw Ash, Misty, and Pikachu were being taken away inside.
"My my, it's so nice to see new friends. Why don't you come inside, I insist."