Chapter 5: Vengeful resolve.
Summary: a few days after arriving in Snowpoint City, the unlikely ally in Greed meets with them again, a much calmer Ash listens to Greed as his path towards vengeance is set.
Sitting in the pokemon Centre, thinking after resting for a few days, Ash still experiencing his nightmares, but not to the extent he was on the ship, he looked at the glass of beer that was in his grasp, thinking about how he was getting his revenge, "I haven't seen the spirit for a few days now, also, the nightmares have gotten weaker," Ash commented as he sipped the glass of beer, wondering how his friend was going to take his revenge.
After finishing his drink Ash walked towards the hallway to get to the room of the princess, Salvia at the same time was preparing to find out the mystery revolving around the Seven Shadow Lords, "let's see I need to make sure that Ash isn't going to do something stupid," Salvia reminded herself looking for her pokeball, 'this should help, since I don't have my Togekiss, I have to use this one,' Salvia stared at her pokeball for a moment.
Ash knocked on the door startling the young royal, "hey princess, we need to get going," Ash called through the door.
"Not yet we have to wait for Greed," Salvia responded staunchly.
"I am not waiting for him to arrive, we need to get a move on before the other Seven Shadow Lords make an appearance," Ash argued, trying to rush the young royal.
"You still need to be patient, the other Seven Shadow Lords this time have to traverse a mountain and a valley of snow," Salvia snapped back, causing Ash to hit the door, "firstly Ash, you need to remain calm, I shouldn't have to be the one that tells you that," Salvia informed Ash as she heard another thumping on the door, knowing how frustrated Ash was feeling.
"Then what should I do?" Ash asked calmly.
"Firstly Ash, I am still not feeling well, I need to fully recover and you still need to rest up, it might have been three days, but that isn't enough for either of us to be ready for the fight," Salvia stated as Ash turned away from the door, submitting to Salvia's logic, he continued down the hallway only to be stopped by the call of Salvia, "plus didn't you say I am a true friend?" Salvia asked Ash.
Ash pretended not to hear her question, but knew that she had heard him, "yeah I said that, but sometimes I wish Dawn was here," replied the depressed trainer.
"I know, but she isn't sadly," Salvia stated with a saddened tone, "I know it is difficult, but you need to realise that once someone has died, they cannot be brought back to life, plus don't you think that Dawn would want you to be happy? Not moping and beating yourself up," Salvia replied before coughing, still feeling a little dizzy from her illness.
"How do you know?" came the cold reply form Ash.
Salvia took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders, "I am one of Dawn's best friends, she told me as long as you are a happy, then she will always be happy," Salvia informed the trainer.
"Yeah right," Ash retorted with a hint of sarcasm.
"Come on Ash, you cannot let things drag you down, you have a long life ahead of you," Salvia tried to cheer Ash up.
Ash walked away, not taking heed in what Salvia was telling him, 'it isn't like I have tried to be happy, but more of the fact that I lost my happiness,' Ash thought as he walked into the main foyer of the Pokemon Centre, seeing the doctor walk in with his briefcase, "oh doctor, she will be here in a moment," Ash informed the doctor calmly.
Salvia walked into the main foyer wearing a black blouse with a red dress, her long blue hair tied up in a ponytail, "alright, it seems like I will be getting a check-up again," the princess walked into the middle of the main foyer.
"So have you been taking the medicine?" the doctor asked the royal softly, the princess nodded to affirm the doctors hopes, "good, now you will still be feeling ill, but that should clear up in another three days," the doctor clarified with the princess.
"Great, so we are stuck here," Ash complained hitting the table in front of him.
"You have rested up, now the other thing you need to consider, there will be a snow storm coming and it will last a couple of days, it is best that you stay here where it is safe," the doctor replied as he pointed to the dark clouds rolling in from the south. "What makes it worse is that any roads leading out from the city will be blocked for another week, so take that chance to recover," the doctor informed Ash as he grabbed his suitcase and walked out of the medical facility for pokemon.
"You see Ash, there is no need to be worried about the Seven Shadow Lords, they wouldn't be able to make it passed the storm as well," Salvia assured Ash, getting to her feet and walking towards the café situated in the left side of the Pokemon Centre, "take the chance to get healthy, eat properly and please…" Salvia started before being interrupted by someone walking into the Pokemon Centre causing her to suddenly shiver from the cold.
"Clear your mind," Greed instructed Ash.
Ash turned to Greed and ran up to him, "you again," Ash grabbed him by the collar.
"Yes I know, you want to hurt me," Greed stated with a sigh, he grasped the wrist of Ash and forced him to let go, "you know, I was in the neighbourhood when I decided to tell you both the plan of attack, Lust and Envy will be here in over a week, they plan on taking advantage of you both being unwell, and trapped in this city," Greed explained the situation to Ash and Salvia, he looked around to see the full Pokemon Centre, "before I tell you both more, we better go somewhere private," greed whispered into Ash's left ear.
"I know a place where we can go," Salvia replied with a plate of food in her hands.
The trio walked towards the hallway and into her room, "certainly not a place I would find you resting in princess," Greed commented, looking around the room, which had little light, only a single bed as well as a bedside draw, Greed walked over to the medicine bottle, "you're sick," Greed commented with concern.
Ash looked out the door to make sure no one was following them, after closing the door, he glared at Greed who was holding the bottle, "now tell us, why Lust and Envy are coming here," Ash requested angrily.
"First, I was interrupted by Lust and Envy, there is more to the plan of the Shadow Lords," Greed replied, he placed the medicinal bottle back on the bedside draw, Greed grabbed a chair and turned it back to front, he pointed towards the bluenette, gasping in horror she placed her hands over her mouth in fear after finding out she was the target, "that's right princess, you're the target," Greed bluntly told both Ash and Salvia.
"Why me?" Salvia asked in fear.
"Have you ever heard of killing two Pidgeys with one stone?" Greed asked the royal.
"Me as well?" Ash asked Greed while looking over to the royal.
"You? No they don't even know who you are, I am talking about them killing the princess and the king, if they kill the princess, the line of succession is broken, there is no heir to the throne, this is something Pride will take advantage of," Greed explained to the two people in the room, he looked out the window to see the snow starting to fall.
"Wait a second, why did my dad change so much?" Salvia asked the Shadow lord about her father's change in personality.
Greed looked at the ground with shame written over his face, "did your father tell you what happened to your mother?" Greed asked the princess with a frown.
"Cut the crap Greed, tell us the extent of their plans," Ash dictated terms with the traitorous Shadow Lord.
"Let me finish," Greed told Ash with a frown, he looked over to the princess who shook her head with sadness, "your father told you, your mother was killed in an accident, well that is false," Greed remarked calmly, he noticed Salvia starting to cry, with him clenching his fists angrily, "your mother was murdered, by none other than Lust and Envy, I heard them boasting about it to Pride behind the back of your father," Greed explained to Salvia who fell to the ground crying about the new development.
Ash looked at his friend who was crying, "wait, why didn't you say something to her father?" Ash asked Greed as he grabbed him by the collar again.
"I wanted to, but unfortunately Pride was whispering into his ear, and was always there, feeding Salvia's father all the lies in the world, the best one yet was the promise to bring a person back to life, the person he wanted to be brought back to life was none other than your mother princess," Greed explained the reasoning behind her father's attitude change, "yet we know as well as anyone, that once a person dies, they cannot be brought back to life," Greed replied to his own explanation.
"Why? I love my mom, she was a really nice person, she made me and my family happy, why would someone murder her?" Salvia cried as she started hitting Greed.
"So this is what guilt feels like," Greed noticed the feeling in his mind, "and now Ash time to answer your question, you see, the murder of the queen was a part of the plan to get the king to head down a darker road," Greed elucidated the start of the plan to Ash and Salvia, he grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to Ash, "I was gradually turning against the Shadow Lords and that was the final straw, I kept giving information to their enemies until everyone was ready to counter attack," Greed clarified with two as Salvia felt a little dizzy and stepped back after her numerous hits on Greed.
"That doesn't explain everything," Ash retorted with his fists clenched.
"Then let me make it clear to you, they wish to create a new world order, destroying all kingdoms is the first step," Greed answered Ash's question with a grimace, he gave the paper to Ash showing them the new leaders of Unova, "they are young but, they have the full support of me and the armies of the world," Greed showed Ash a picture of a woman with long brown hair, wearing denim shorts, a white blouse and a black vest, she was standing next to a man with a blue jacket, jeans and short brown hair, "they were chosen by the previous king, his name was N," Greed pointed out with a troubled tone.
"Wait, you mean?" Ash started to question the Shadow Lord with a startled expression, Greed nodded and took a deep breath, "he was one of my friends, and these two strangers have taken the throne!" Ash started yelling at Greed but was soon hushed by the former member of the Shadow lords.
"Keep your voice down," Greed whispered as he placed his hand over the raven haired trainer's mouth.
"So Greed, what of the other kingdoms and their tenuous pact of peace with ours?" Salvia asked after regaining some of her composure.
Greed quickly removed his hand and glanced over to the royal, "well these are only rumours, the prince of Kalos is living in a rural town, while the princess of Johto is In hiding, but the royal lines of Kanto and Hoenn weren't so fortunate," Greed whispered, but started pointing to the back of the picture.
"Why are you pointing at the picture?" Ash asked in a puzzled manner.
Salvia looked at the back of the picture and snatched it from Ash, "there is some writing on the back," Salvia answered her friend. Salvia gazed at the back of the picture and started to read it, "odd, most of it is rubbed out," Salvia tried her best to read the writing.
"Yeah, I was holding onto the picture," Greed admitted as he started to feel guilty about his own involvement in the Shadow Lords, "you know normally I wouldn't feel guilty about my involvement in the Shadow Lords, but that was years ago, now I have no guilt about betraying them," Greed admitted to his unlikely allies, Salvia handed back the photo and then turned her attention to Ash, "so Ash, what do you intend to do?" Greed asked the young man.
"Simple, I want to destroy the Seven Shadow Lords," Ash snapped back with a determined face, he pulled out his photo of him and Dawn, "get my revenge on them for what happened," Ash confessed while looking at the photo, then glared at the former Shadow Lord.
"I know, you don't trust me, but I think it is time to make a plan of attack on Lust and Envy," Greed explained to the trainer and the princess, he pulled out pictures of his two former teammates, "now these two work in tandem, Lust can easily seduce her victims but also has a deadly ability where she can read a person's mind and take on the form of someone the victim loves, even act like that person," Greed explained the abilities of Lust to his allies.
"What about envy?" Salvia asked the trainer.
"Well Envy, as his name implies works on using the jealousy of anyone who is attracted to the other victim," Greed answered the princess, "now I know full well you two are friends, but in this situation, Salvia we need to hope you can act well," Greed informed the princess.
Salvia looked at the ground furious at the idea, "how can I act? I haven't been taught," Salvia snapped back, she looked over at Ash who was equally, angry at the idea, "plus, that would be stupid Greed, haven't you forgotten, I look exactly like his lost love, that wouldn't be fair on Ash," Salvia informed the Shadow Lord.
Greed sighed momentarily and shook his head, standing up, he walked towards the window, "so what do you want to do? Defeating Lust and Envy would fulfil the revenge you both seek," Greed hit the bedside draw, causing the medicine to fall off the draw, in a sudden move Ash lunged down and prevented the bottle from breaking, "you two need to come up with a plan and fast," Greed instructed the two.
The raven haired trainer looked at the man who was staring at the window, "you're on our side right, how about you pretend to re-join them?" Ash suggested much to the shock of Greed.
Greed spun around with a smirk on his face, "oh I have been wanting to stab Envy in the back, quite literally," Greed confessed his dislike of Envy towards his new found allies, a dark smirk ran across his face as the two friends started to wonder what he was thinking.
Salvia tilted her head in shock at the Shadow Lord, "then how about you pretend to take me hostage? That should make it a believable plan as well," Salvia suggested more ideas on the plan, holding out her pokeball, "then when the time is right, we strike back for a counter attack," Salvia explained the idea to Ash and Greed.
Ash looked up to Greed and started to wonder about something, "Greed, why do you hate Envy so much?" Ash asked the former member of the Shadow Lords.
"I cannot stand him," Greed replied, smiling with a hint of bloodlust in his eyes, "I like the idea," Greed agreed to the plan.
Ash and Salvia looked at one another with a concerned expression, "Salvia, I don't know he seems to hate Envy so much he would rather stab him in the back," Ash whispered as he sat back down, handing back the medicinal bottle back to the princess.
"I know Ash, but it seems like we can trust Greed…..for now," Salvia replied with a concerned expression, turning her attention to Greed, the two walked towards the door, "Greed, we are going to get something to eat," Salvia told the former Shadow Lord.
"Man, it is going to be difficult to convince them that I am not part of the enemy, but that is fine as long as Pride and the rest fail I couldn't care less," Greed looked at the picture of Ash and Dawn, "there has to be a way I can atone for my sins," Greed whispered as he turned towards the door only to spot a shadowy figure standing at the doorway, "I know, I am trying to help them, but you would still be here if I didn't make the wrong move," Greed told the spirit, but it never replied, it just vanished leaving Greed thinking about what he had to do to keep the people he hoped to protect.
Salvia and Ash grabbed some food, they took a glance towards the window seeing the snowstorm setting in, "I guess there isn't much we can do," Ash walked back to the table.
Salvia sat in front of Ash and started eating her meal, "so we need to place our trust in Greed?" Salvia asked as she looked over to the hallway.
Ash swallowed his first bite, "yeah we do, if he wanted to he could have taken us both out, but he didn't," Ash commented as he glanced over his shoulder, "plus, why does he want to kill Envy? Did something happen between him and Envy?" Ash asked the princess, grabbing his next fork load of food, "the other question is how does Lust and Envy know you're here?" Ash continued to ask the questions.
"Wait didn't Greed tell you to keep your voice down? So there is someone who has been spying for them," Salvia quickly deducted, trying to figure out who it was.
Ash placed the fork down and looked around he also wanted to figure out how Lust and Envy knew they were in Snowpoint City, "do you think it could be the doctor?" Ash asked the princess calmly.
"What makes you think that?" Salvia asked the trainer with a shocked expression.
"Just a feeling I got," Ash replied with a grimace, "plus it couldn't have been Greed, he only just arrived," Ash pointed out with his left hand over his mouth.
Greed walked into the main foyer where he spotted Ash and Salvia having a meal together, 'they are trying to figure out who ratted them out,' Greed thought to himself.
Ash got up and walked towards he door, "I am going for a walk," Ash declared quietly, Salvia got up and showed her willingness to go with Ash, but Ash stopped her from leaving the Pokemon Centre, "no you stay here, you are still sick, I don't want you getting worse," Ash ordered the princess.
"He is right Princess, you stay here where it's safe, let Ash find out who sold you both out to my former comrades," Greed told the princess as he looked towards Ash, "the full force of the storm will be here in under an hour, you better be back here soon," Greed told Ash who glared at him, "you think I did it, I don't blame you, but as you said, I only recently got here," Greed tried his best to defend himself, Ash grabbed a scarf and walked out into the falling snow, "Ash, come back safely," Greed instructed the trainer with a nod.
"Ash, please make sure you make it back before the storm gets worse," Salvia pleaded with the trainer, her expression now fully of concern for his wellbeing, she watched Ash vanishing in the white blanket that was covering the air, 'please Ash, don't do anything stupid.' Salvia wished as she turned back to the fire inside the Pokemon Centre.
Ash walked through the snow which was starting to get heavier, Ash tried to find the place where the doctor resided, "let's see, the doctor should be living around here," Ash noted to himself, he walked covering his face from the driving snow, he immediately noticed that he didn't have too much time before the full force of the storm set in.
Ash pressed on until he made it to the house of the doctor, he knocked on the door, but there was no answer, he could barely hear the doctor talking, but it was enough to hear what he was saying, "yes, I am making sure those two don't go anywhere," the doctor was saying something Ash could barely here, "even the traitor is there too," the doctor was telling someone, Ash pressed his ear against the door so he get a better ear on what was being said.
"So he is talking to someone," Ash whispered as the wind started to pick up.
"Yes Lust, the princess is at the Pokemon Centre," the doctor called the name much to Ash's horror, Ash stepped back trying to take in what he had heard, "that's right, she will be healthy soon, but they will be trapped here for a few days, she will not be able to escape," the doctor informed Lust of the young royal's situation.
After hearing the doctor's confession of sorts Ash made his way back to the Pokemon Centre, the road being more difficult to follow as the winds continued to get stronger, 'I don't believe this, Greed was innocent, but the doctor, what was that bastard thinking, selling out the princess like that?' Ash tried his best to digest what was going on.
Ash pressed on but soon collapsed, he felt the hand of someone pushing him to go forward, but no one was there, Ash looked around, finding that no one was in the area, "again that spirit seems to be guiding me, but why?" Ash got back up and pressed on towards the Pokemon Centre.
"Do you think he will make it back? The weather is getting worse," Salvia's concern for Ash started to build even more.
Greed looked out the window hoping that Ash would make it back, "yeah, I am hoping so, something tells me he has an important part to play to save the world," Greed replied taking a deep breath.
After talking about Ash, the wind drove in revealing a panting Ash, he placed his hands on his knees trying to regain his composure, "it…..it…..was the…..doctor," Ash informed Salvia and Greed, he looked up with an angered expression, "he was talking to Lust and Envy," Ash stated much to Greed's shock and the princess' horror.
Salvia placed her hands over her mouth, her eyes widened realising that they were now trapped inside the city, "but why?" Salvia asked stepping back, coughing as the cool air soon hit her, but it wasn't that of the air outside, it was like her entire body had cooled down.
"He was doing his job as a doctor, but the question is, why did he sell us out?" Ash asked himself, looking up to Greed, "what else can you tell us?" Ash asked the former Shadow Lord.
"The Shadow Lords, make promises they never keep, for instance, like with Salvia's father, they promise to bring back loved ones is a very tempting offer, I am willing to bet, the doctor lost someone precious to him," Greed explained to Ash and Salvia, he walked to the door, "you two have no choice, you need to fight, let's hope by then you will have fully recovered," Greed informed the two friends, as he helped the Nurse lower the barrier to enforce the Pokemon Centre doors.
"You made it back safely, thank goodness for that," Salvia breathed a sigh of relief, she turned towards the man she thought was her enemy, seeing him help the people out, "you know Ash, it seems like we have misjudged Greed, he is helping people out and asking for nothing in return," Salvia said with a smile on her face.
Ash looked over to the helping Shadow Lord, giving members of the public and trainers alike blankets in order to keep warm during the snowstorm, "hey you two please help out a little," Greed made a request to the two.
Ash and Salvia started helping Greed and Nurse Joy out, handing out food and blankets to the people, "here you go," Ash handed a blanket to a child.
"Thank you sir," the child replied with a joyous smile.
Greed walked up to Ash happy to see that the people were going to be fine, "so Ash, what is your answer?" Greed asked the trainer calmly.
"Simple, I seek payback for what the Shadow Lords did to Dawn, but, I need to make sure these people are alright, so when Lust and Envy come here, I will fight them with tooth and nail, for revenge and for the people here," Ash informed his new ally.
"Revenge ha?" Greed asked the trainer laughing at him, "you still seek the avenge the love you have lost, yet you accept that once someone's life is lost, they cannot be brought back, the same cannot be said for the King and the doctor," Greed explained to Ash, he looked over to the royal who was getting a little sick, "you better take her to her room, to get her medicine, I was able to get more just in case, so you need to look after her," Greed instructed Ash, he walked off to help more people out, "you know at one time, I thought being filthy rich meant having lots of money, but helping people out makes me feel even richer, maybe I am being greedy," Greed started laughing at his own weakness. Greed glanced over his shoulder with a playful smile, "when you see the other bottle, take credit for getting, tell the princess you got it for her."
Ash walked over to the princess who started coughing, "come on Princess, time for you to rest up," Ash informed the young royal.
"No, I…..I want to help," Salvia coughed out her response, now feeling tired from all of her work, Ash didn't listen he led the bluenette back to her room, making her feel guilty, "please Ash, I am not worried about my health, these people need help," Salvia weakly requested and getting weaker due to her illness.
"Don't you worry about that, Greed and I will help the people out," Ash tried his best to smile during the response, but still nothing would emerge, he opened the door and helped the tiring princess back to her bed, Ash grabbed the bottle and pulled out a couple of tablets to give to the princess, "now take your medicine and rest up," Ash ordered the young royal as the lights started to flicker, Ash turned around and quickly noticed another problem with the princess, who was getting really nervy with the flickering lights, "hey is there a problem?" Ash asked the blue haired royal with a concerned tone.
Salvia sat with her back to the wall, "yes, I am afraid of the dark," Salvia replied with an embarrassed tone.
"You're twenty and you're scared of the dark?" Ash questioned the princess, but dared not tease her further about her fear, "well I guess I can't say anything, there are some things I am scared of as well," Ash admitted while handing over the medicine, leaving the princess perplexed by his comment, she tilted her head as if to ask what he was afraid of, "I will leave it at that, you go to sleep," Ash instructed the royal, as he walked back to the entrance of the room.
(2 Hours later)
After a few hours of helping the trapped people in the Pokemon Centre out, Ash walked back into the hallway as the storm got worse, the lights made their final flicker before finally going out, Ash walked passed the room housing the princess, only to hear her sobbing, "it's so dark," Salvia cried, Ash stopped for a moment and thought about what to do next, he turned to the door and put his hand on the doorknob, "I am so scared," Salvia admitted, Ash hesitated for a moment.
Ash with his hand shaking thought about opening the door, he removed his hand and started to walk away from the room, only to hear the young royal crying even more, "she is an adult and is so frightened of the dark," Ash hissed he quickly opened the door and spotted the princess with her arms around her legs, her head resting on her knees.
"Who's there?" Salvia asked with a fearful tone, hearing the door close, not daring to look up out of fear.
Ash walked up to the bed and sat next to the princess, "you know, it is a little sad that you're afraid of the dark at your age," Ash commented as the princess rested her head on the trainer's shoulder.
"I know, I cannot help it Ash," Salvia answered back, feeling a little more at ease, "you said you were afraid of something what is it?" Salvia asked her friend softly.
"Going to sleep and being hounded by the nightmares I have been getting over the last few nights," Ash admitted his new fear to the princess, "in fact I haven't slept properly for nearly a week," Ash confessed his problem to his royal friend.
Salvia looked over to Ash, who was looking at his hands, trying to cover up his fear as much as possible, "wow, you haven't said a thing about being scared of going to sleep," Salvia commented to which Ash remained quiet, the room remained dark, leaving Ash and Salvia to talk about their own little fears, until the eventually fell asleep while sitting up, peacefully as the howling storm continued outside of the Pokemon Centre, Salvia's head resting on the right shoulder of Ash, who was sleeping right next to her.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter the ending part was quite nice, but that is the last little bit of peace they will get for a little while.
Next time chapter 6: Shattered Snow Storm