Hey Everybody! Okay, okay, I know I still haven't replied to some of you, and I'm really, really sorry about that. Honestly, since it's vacation, I know I should be having an easy time getting through these installments and getting back to your reviews, but time seems to disappear quicker than you'd imagine when you're doing nothing but having fun. However, over the next few days I'm devoting myself to doing nothing more than answering all of your reviews, so please, if you haven't received a reply already, look for one in the coming days. As for this chapter: it was another hard one to finish. I just don't know why, because I know exactly what I want to happen in each of these installments, but when I sit down and try to write it out, it never sounds as good on paper as it does in my head. However, I truly believe the chapter I'm presenting you with now is honestly really good (after all the hours of work I've put into tearing it down and building it back up), and I'm happy to finally have another two week installment up as promised after four chapters in a row being a week late! Anyway, that's all I've got to say, so please, read and REVIEW PLEASE!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokemon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this fic are soley based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.
Characters' Ages:
Ash: 17
Brock: 22
Misty: 18
Delia: 41
Oak: 56
Silence rang in the ears of the powerful trainers as they followed the main road leading out of Cerulean City. Initially, the heavy street traffic beneath the two filled the now-empty air with the welcome noise of angered and frustrated late-afternoon rush hour traffic. Even though neither one had said so aloud, nor really thought it on a conscious level, the sound of honking horns and the screams of aggravated drivers was a nice distraction from their current situation. However, though the streets had been cluttered as they exited the growing city of water, the further into the countryside they flew, the emptier the roads beneath them became, eventually leaving them with nothing but their private thoughts and concerns.
Though it felt awkward as they soared above the sunlit country in relative quiet, neither Cynthia nor Steven felt as if they could muster the will to discuss what possibly lay ahead of them.
To Steven, who was flying directly behind his blond counterpart, this wasn't a time for conversation; it was a time for action, and he was missing out. None of this had been in his plans, and he felt the anger boiling in his blood as he thought of Chris, Ash, and Misty having to deal with this on their own after counting on the help of their friends.
Cynthia wasn't so much upset that they were missing the action as she was that Ash was involved in it at all. She wouldn't have even allowed him to come had she known Chris planned on roping the raven-haired teenager into his rescue plans. Though she knew it was silly, considering Ash was grown, she couldn't help the sense of responsibility she held towards his well-being. After all, she was the Champion directly before him, and she was the one who had set him on this Master journey.
Of course, aggravating the situation for both trainers was the fact that Chris and Lance were both continuing their joint ignorance of the former champions' calls and texts. Why neither would just pick up for a moment to give their location was causing the anxiety levels of both the man and woman to rise to unprecedented levels.
Sighing, Steven decided to check his phone again. Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out a sleek silver device and checked the screen. Unsurprised to find "no messages" blinking over and over across the top of the mechanism, he rolled his eyes and put back the phone. Cynthia looked back for a moment, a concerned look still etched across her face, and Steven simply shook his head in return.
"Oh," she replied, dejectedly looking back ahead.
Another moment passed, and Steven decided that for the good of their collective sanity, something needed to be said. They couldn't remain silent with their worries forever, or they'd be in an absolute panic by the time they arrived; meaning they'd be completely worthless in the effort to save Ketchum or Waterflower.
Calling ahead, he asked, "Do you see anything yet?"
"Not yet-wait, yeah!" The shock was evident in the woman's tone, and Steven excitedly looked up at her, amazed at the lucky timing of his question. "Look over there!" She pointed towards the horizon, and Skarmory dove beneath Togekiss so his master could have a better view.
In the distance, a plume of smoke was rising into the atmosphere. "What do you think's going on over there?" he asked, looking above to his counterpart.
The blond champion shook her head. "I have no idea, but I have a feeling Chris is involved."
"Then let's go!"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Misty!"
For just a small window of existence, Ash felt all time come to a complete halt. Everyone but him seemed stuck in their respective positions. He saw the smoke rising from his barrel; he saw the surprised expression on Giovanni's face; he heard his fellow Pokémon companions cry out in surprise by the sudden noise infiltrating the building; but most importantly, he watched Misty, with her eyes closed, begin to fall gracefully backward from her sitting position.
As soon as it had stopped, time began again.
As the drop of her head against the metallic floor reverberated throughout the destroyed Rocket center, Ash called her name once more as he dropped the smoking weapon. Without hesitation of any kind, he jumped up and ran the few feet over to his girlfriend's side faster than anyone could blink. Getting back on his knees, he raised her head from off the ground as he examined her limp body, tears flowing down his cheeks as he tried to find where she'd been hit.
Behind him, he suddenly heard Giovanni groan and hit the floor.
"Huh?" He turned and saw blood flowing out of the Rocket leader's left thigh as the older man cried in pain from the hit.
That wasn't his gun!
He swung his head back around to Misty, causing pain in his neck with the lightning-quick reflex. He double-checked every part of her body – almost unable to believe what he was seeing – before feeling the greatest rush of relief he'd ever experienced surge through his body.
She's okay…she's okay…she's okay… He started mumbling the words to himself quietly, still feeling the tears fall from his cheeks as he tried to comprehend all that had just happened. The woman he loved wasn't dead; he was fine except for a few cuts and bruises.
His Pokémon gathered around him and Misty as he continued to hold her unconscious body close to his own while rocking back and forth gently on his knees.
This quiet moment didn't last long, though.
"Ahhh!" Giovanni cried, rolling onto his side, away from Ash, putting pressure on the bullet wound.
The cry instantly regained Ash's attention from his beautiful girlfriend. It was so weird to Ash, watching the man who had caused all of this pain and misery now in a state of torment himself. He'd turned one of the trainer's biggest achievements into a complete nightmare, and he'd almost taken away the person he cared for most.
However, even as these thoughts raced through his mind, he couldn't feel happy watching his hated enemy suffer.
Regret? No, it wasn't regret. He'd have done the same thing a million more times if it was necessary to save Misty…in fact, he would have done a lot worse to save her. But not regretting the action didn't translate to enjoying Giovanni's pain.
He felt as if he was watching a movie; he was on the outside looking in at this scene, wondering how the villain must feel now that his plans were ruined.
As Misty rested in his arms and Giovanni growled in pain, the Pokémon, including the gigantic Electivire, all seemed confused as to what they should do now. The fighting seemed over to them.
Slowly resting her head on the floor after giving his girlfriend one more hug to his chest, Ash stood back up on shaking legs and walked towards the boss.
"Vire!" The electric Pokémon took a step toward the former champion. However, he was stopped in his tracks as Ash's remaining six Pokémon jumped in front of their master, growling and protectively standing between the brute and their trainer. Though not at all frightened by his opponents, the large electric type stayed calm as Ash bent down and retrieved the weapon from Giovanni's side as the boss muttered a slew of curses in return.
Picking it up, Ash examined it for a moment before throwing it clear across the expansive room.
That takes care of that problem.
"A-Ash?" Misty's voice suddenly floated to his ears and he spun around to find her sitting up, looking about with curiosity. "Did I get hit?"
She looked down and checked out her body, confusedly trying to find some hole or blood on her clothing.
Despite the fact that she'd asked a question, Ash didn't answer. He couldn't.
Instead, he ran back to her and, in one fell swoop, picked her up and off her feet. Feeling her breathing chest press against his own was the greatest reassurance he'd ever known. A few seconds after he picked her up, he felt her suddenly wrap her arms around him as well, finally realizing what was going on.
Feeling the reciprocation, he smiled. "You're fine, Misty…I promise," he whispered into her ear, through her thick and messy hair. After several seconds of standing there quietly, the relative peace of the scene was interrupted by another explosion right outside the front doors of the building.
Both trainers turned their attention away from each other to examine the direction of the noise. Outside shouts could be heard as attacks and weapons pierced the air.
"What could be going on out there?" Misty wondered aloud as Ash put her back down. She looked to her boyfriend who shrugged.
"I don't really care. Now that you're safe, all I'm worried about is getting Heracross and Tauros to a Pokémon Center as fast as I can."
Misty nodded. "What about Sceptile?"
Ash's eyes widened, remembering the hit his grass type had taken. "Where is he?"
Looking behind her boyfriend, Misty pointed to a pile of broken wood and computer parts. "O-over there, I think."
Ash gulped, expecting the worst as he slowly turned to see the damage caused by Electivire's excessive violence. Sure enough, he couldn't resist the gasp that escaped his throat as his eyes beheld a sickening scene.
Sceptile lay on top of the destroyed equipment, completely still. His right arm was completely twisted beneath his body, his neck appeared disjointed and bent, his left leg was turned completely backward, and the long leaf attached to his left forearm had been ripped off.
Unable to restrain himself, Ash sprinted again, new fear and worry blossoming in his chest as he hit his knees for the third time. He quickly examined his reptilian Pokémon and knew that the outlook wasn't good. He didn't see the stomach of his favored grass type rising or falling, and when he held his hand to the Pokémon's chest, he felt only the faintest sign of a heartbeat beneath the Pokémon's scaled-skin.
Misty rushed to her boyfriend's side, holding several pokéballs that had come from the belt and that had been dropped on the floor. Enlarging them, she tried several. For some reason, she just had to take the pathetic site away from their vision; as if by withdrawing the powerful Pokémon, the damage he took from the battle wouldn't be real.
After several failed attempts, one of the pokéball's beams struck the Hoenn starter head-on, and dissolved him into a red light.
"Ash…I'm so sorry, Ash," she muttered after putting the hurt Pokémon out of sight. "I can't believe-I just don't know-I-I've never seen something like this before." Though the hurt Pokémon were back in their respective pokéballs, the images were still fresh in each of the trainers' minds.
Noctowl being shot backward by a severe electrical jolt; Tauros, rising up just as he was shot in the leg; Heracross being shot through the chest; Sceptile being pummeled into the ground without mercy. The images repeated themselves dozens of times in a matter of seconds as Ash remained seated on his knees and Misty stood with her hand attached to his shoulder. Neither of them had been ready for this.
And then, the worst thought of all hit Ash. What if something had happened to Pikachu too?
He shook his head. He wanted to cry again, but suddenly he felt his body refuse the comfort. His eyes remained dry as he continued to shake his head, wondering what happened, what he had done to deserve all of this heartbreak.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Is this all you've got, seriously?" Chris mocked as his Sceptile took out three more Arbok with a single Night Slash attack. The darkened leaf upon his forearm lightened as the grass Pokémon landed and looked behind to find a Weezing approaching fast, spouting poison smoke in every direction.
"Pikachu, they're right through those doors," Chris whispered to the yellow Pokémon still perched upon his shoulder. Chris had refused to order Pikachu into any of these fights or the fight against the Nidoking from earlier in spite of his obvious strength out of principle. He couldn't imagine the look on Ash's face if he had to tell him that he'd gotten his starter and best friend hurt. As he looked ahead and saw the large steel doors in the distance, though, he knew Pikachu could make it back to his trainer safely.
"I think we've got their entire army out here." Raising his voice, he pointed towards the entrance. "Go through those doors and find Ash!"
"Pika!" nodded the small yellow Pokémon, eagerly bouncing off the blond-haired G-Men member. Landing on all fours, the thought of being back with Misty and Ash flashed through his mind, and he sparked his cheeks as he charged ahead.
Several Pokémon tried to get in his way as he approached the large entrance doors, but he quickly protected himself by covering his entire body with an electrical charge in a powerful Volt Tackle as he got closer. Several Raticate were blown backward after trying to get near the mouse Pokémon, and within a few short milliseconds, the electric type was within striking distance of his target.
"Chu!" With a burst of energy, Ash's first Pokémon rammed through the large doors, blowing them backward as he continued to run forward.
He instantly noticed that it was different in here. The air reeked of a foul stench, and many of the above lights were damaged or gone completely, meaning it was much darker inside the large building than it was just outside. Despite the sudden ambiance shift, he continued rushing forward, dodging pieces of loose furniture or broken computers as he searched for his best friend and master.
At the sound of the doors being brought down, both Ash and Misty turned to see what was going on. For a moment, all they could make out was a yellow blur, but as the blur got closer, Ash gave another rare smile.
"Pikachu!" he cried happily running towards his Pokémon and holding his arms wide open.
"Pika-pi!" exclaimed the mouse excitedly at the site of his master. He sped up even more as he dropped the electrical charge surrounding his body. Running into Ash's arms, he forced his master to the ground as he rubbed his head into his friend's chest. For the moment, he was just savoring the reunion after worrying he would never see his best friend again.
"I'm so glad to see you too, buddy," Ash commented, hugging his original Pokémon as tightly as he could. Though the moment immediately before the yellow creature's entrance had been one of solemn remorse and depression, seeing that Pikachu was still okay immediately made Ash feel a lot better.
"Wait a minute," Ash said after another moment of hugging. He turned to Misty, who had joined the two in a group hug. "If Pikachu's here, then that must mean that the others finally made it too!"
"That would explain the noise!" Misty realized suddenly. "They must be fighting to get inside and the Rockets are trying to keep them out!"
"Well then, let's get outta here quick! The sooner we get out, the sooner we can all leave and get the Pokémon the help they need!"
"Right!"
He stood alongside his girlfriend, Pikachu still in his arms. Looking over to his Pokémon who were still left out, he motioned them towards the exit. "Come on you guys! Let's leave!"
Nodding, the Pokémon waited for Misty and Ash to pass before they followed after in a mad dash. However, the group of eleven was stopped by the sound of another gunshot ringing through the air.
Turning around in a panic, Ash saw Giovanni sitting up and smiling as another pistol was pointed towards the ceiling. "How do you have that thing?" he asked bitterly, taking a bold step towards the crime boss as he examined the gun. "I threw yours all the way over there!" He pointed in the former gun's general direction.
"You don't think I wouldn't remember to carry a spare, would you?" he asked, somehow managing a sarcastic grin through the pain as his leg continued to stew in a puddle of its own blood. "I'm not stupid, you know. Did you think just a little shot in the leg would cause me to give up my plans?"
Ash and Misty continued to stare blankly at the older man. Neither was able to believe what they were seeing. They could actually see the open exit doors, just teasing them with freedom from this hellish nightmare, yet here they were, still stuck and forced under the will of this deranged criminal.
Slowly, Ash put Pikachu down and brought his arms up, out of ideas as his Pokémon growled at Giovanni once again. Unfortunately for Ash, the large Electivire had also returned to his former self, punching his fists together menacingly and threatening all of the Pokémon about the danger they faced if they tried to approach his master.
Misty followed her boyfriend's lead, putting her hands back in the air, apparently too surprised to even utter a discouraged word at this point.
His heart racing, Ash tried to think of something, anything, to get himself, Misty, and the Pokémon all out safely. In the corner of his eye, he saw Misty's hands up, and to Giovanni's right, he saw the gun he'd dropped just a few minutes before.
For the rest of his life, no matter what happened from here on out, he knew he would never be able to forgive himself for dropping his weapon so hastily.
Turning to see his girlfriend one last time, a final strategy flashed in his mind. He felt the same light bulb that normally only went off during difficult battles flash as he looked at his surroundings.
Maybe it'll work…
"Just let her go," he requested, facing Misty as she turned her head in surprise. "No matter what you do, I'm never going to do what you want, so you may as well let her live and just take me out now."
"Ash, no, don't do that." She looked back at Giovanni with clear eyes and a suddenly-strong voice. "Keep me here and let him go, Giovanni," she requested, lowering her hands.
"I'm the one you wanted to take out anyway, so why keep us both hostage? Ash will learn his lesson, and I promise that he won't ever interfere in your plans again."
"Misty!" Ash cried, panicking. "What are you talking about? I'll never give into him."
He shot Giovanni the most hate-filled stare he could muster. "If you touch her, I won't rest until I take you down, I swear! Just take me out now and leave her alone and you'll be rid of your greatest enemy forever!"
Giovanni gave the former champion a forced smirk, obviously still in a tumult of pain from the gushing wound in his thigh.
"That's so sweet. The two young lovers trying to sacrifice themselves for the other's sake. It's very poetic, if I do say so m-myself." He stopped to take a quick breath. Ash noticed large droplets of sweat beginning to form on his brow. "You-you'd like that, wouldn't you Ketchum? Have one witness so that after this is all over someone can try to take me to court again, hm? Well, I can assure you that will not happen under my watch! I'm changing my plans…I'll risk a new champion taking your place, but first I want to see you suffer."
As he hissed the final words of his small monologue, he pointed the gun forward, and Ash felt his body, as if of its own accord, jump in front of Misty's.
"Pika!"
"Oomph!"
Sensing the impending danger, Pikachu suddenly latched onto his friend's chest as he stood, arms out, in front of his girlfriend. The small Pokémon spread his body across his master's torso, trying his best to cover him from the incoming bullet as his small claws gripped the fabric of his shirt.
As they stood there, waiting for fate to arrive, Ash's Pokémon were doing their best to get to Giovanni from all angles. Unfortunately for them, Electivire was simply too powerful as he released tens of thousands of volts in their general direction every time they drew near. Torterra and Glalie both tried shooting off Energy Balls and Ice Beams, but both attacks were quickly nullified by a Light Screen produced by the large Pokémon. It seemed that the creature was simply invincible, making his master just as untouchable.
Giovanni's smile remained as all three braced for the impact. "I guess you want this done the hard way. V-very well then." He pressed his finger down on the trigger and the sound of a bullet being released from its chamber echoed throughout the facility. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu all felt their bodies instinctively tense at the noise, expecting the worst as the bullet presumably raced towards them.
"Saur!"
"Huh?" For several seconds, he was simply too nervous to open his eyes, but slowly, he managed to force apart his clenched right eyelids just enough to see Ivysaur standing in front of them.
Though by itself this was surprising enough, what was even more astounding was the blue shield that had appeared in front if his grass type as he took his ground between the criminal and his master.
"What's going on?" Misty whispered a moment later, looking over the shoulder of her boyfriend. Pikachu was silently turned around and staring at the half-poison type too, apparently amazed at their last-minute savior's action.
"I-I think Ivysaur learned Protect," Ash muttered, pleasantly surprised by the intrusion. Ivysaur continued muttering its name at Giovanni as the Rocket boss looked on in surprise for a moment.
Shaking his head, he turned to Electivire. "Take care of that pest!"
"Vire!" agreed his Pokémon, charging his fists once more as he headed towards the Kanto starter.
"Ivysaur, watch out!" Ash cried, holding onto Pikachu as the electric mouse tried to jump from his arms to intervene in the battle.
Before the large electric Pokémon could reach out and grab Ivysaur, Donphan suddenly appeared using his signature Rollout attack to push Electivire out of the way. The ground type had apparently been waiting for an opening, and as the electric Pokémon stumbled to the side, he gave a quick victory cry. Despite the swift rock type attack though, the massive Rocket Pokémon managed to quickly regain his balance. Pivoting on his left foot, he landed a direct punch on Donphan's trunk and sent the elephantine Pokémon flying backward.
Turning back to Ivysaur, he recharged his fist and growled his name at the grass Kanto Pokémon.
Incensed by whatever it was Electivire said, Ivysaur replied with a gruff "Saur!" and began to glow bright white.
Though it took a moment in all the confusion to understand, Misty looked on in wonder as she processed what was happening. "I-is he evolving?"
"I said get him!" spat Giovanni, furious as Ivysaur's form began to grow before their eyes.
"Ivysaur, way to go!" Ash complimented, pumping his fist in the air excitedly. Pikachu mirrored his action as he cheered for his longtime friend.
Misty jumped out from behind Ash, shaking her head. "Crawdaunt use Crabhammer!"
Though Ash was at first confused as to her command, he realized its purpose when he realized Electivire was preparing to charge his Pokémon again.
"Craw!" cried Ash's Pokémon. He had been standing directly behind Giovanni's Pokémon, and at Misty's order, he used his bottom four appendages to leap high enough into the air to bring down his water-logged claw on top of his the electric Pokémon's head.
Electivire cried out his name and swerved back and forth in a dizzying pain as Ivysaur completed his transformation.
"Venusaur," grumbled the large Pokémon, looking over at his opponent. The second the two locked eyes, his body began to glow green, and suddenly spiked vines emerged from beneath the metallic flooring, surrounding Electivire completely.
Enraged, the electric type pounded his fists against the vines, but to no avail. The roots were extremely thick, and the electric type seemed absolutely helpless as his master continued to give unheeded orders.
"That's awesome!" Ash cried happily. "Now take the gun away from Giovanni, Venusaur!"
"Saur!" A dozen vines shot out from beneath the large grass type's flower at once, all racing towards the crime boss.
"No you don't!" he shouted, letting out another screaming bullet at one of the vines.
"Venusaur!" cried Ash and Misty simultaneously, as Pikachu called out to him in his native tongue. Unfortunately for Ash's Pokémon, the crying was to no avail as one of the vines was shot off his body completely. A green liquid oozed out of the vine's tip, and the Pokémon retreated his precious appendages quickly.
"Misty, find his pokéball!" Ash ordered, rummaging through his own, trying to find the one that belonged to his previous-Ivysaur. "Hurry! He looks hurt!"
"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Misty replied, pointing capsule after capsule at Ash's creature, trying to force him into a withdrawal. "I can't find the right one!"
"I've had enough of this foolishness!" Giovanni yelled, regaining the trainers' attention.
To their surprise, the remaining Pokémon that Ash had out had all rushed to their friend's aid, forming a wall between the older man and Venusaur.
"Take this!" He began shooting off randomly into the crowd of Pokémon and they all cried at once, along with Ash and Misty, who'd given up looking for Venusaur's pokéball and were instead just randomly pointing each of the capsules toward the army of creatures before them, hoping desperately that the beams would latch on to their assigned animal.
"Saur!" bellowed the grass and poison type again. Suddenly, another blue shield appeared, but this time it was much larger and covered all the Pokémon standing in front of him.
"Found one!" Misty cried happily as Torterra returned to his respective pokéball.
"Me too!" Ash cheered, bringing Donphan back. "Keep up the good work, Bulba-I mean-Venusaur!"
Pikachu too grabbed a random pokéball from off the ground and pointed it at the group, successfully recalling Crawdaunt.
"There goes Glalie and Gabite!" Ash announced. "But where's Venusaur's?" He looked around, unable to find the Pokémon's ball anywhere.
Misty quickly got on her knees in search of the missing sphere. Giovanni just shot his fourth bullet, and the Protect looked like it was weakening.
"Vire!" To their left, the large electric type made a sudden reappearance, finally finding a weak spot in the spiked vines. Breaking out, he instantly rushed Venusaur's protective shield with a massive Giga Impact attack.
"Venusaur, stay strong!" Ash encouraged as the grass type was knocked several feet backward. The Protect remained, but its luminescent blue was quickly fading. Venusaur grunted again as he heard Ash's encouragement. Using all the strength he had, he pushed against the Impact, forcing Electivire backward.
Another gunshot rang out, and the shield finally disappeared from view altogether.
"Finally," Giovanni declared, still seated due to his bum leg. "I'll take care of you first!"
"Venusaur!" Ash called running towards his Pokémon with Pikachu by his side. However, before either of them could make the short run to their friend, they, along with Misty were suddenly picked up by the ankle and held upside down by the grass type's vines.
Venusaur turned around, looking at his three friends as a dim blue shield appeared behind him. Elecitivire quickly began punching the shield once more, and the grass and poison type grimaced as his attack faltered.
"Venusaur, quick! Come with us!" Ash invited, motioning to the exit while hanging upside down.
"C'mon Venusaur, hurry!" Misty urged.
"Pikachu-pika!"
Slowly, and still flinching from the assaults on his shield, Venusaur shook his head.
"Saur," he drawled slowly, expanding his vines and pushing his friends towards the doorway. Outside, the sounds of battle continued to ring out.
"No, Venusaur!" Ash cried, suddenly realizing what his Pokémon was trying to do. "We're not leaving you here alone! I command you to put me down!" He began struggling; tugging and pulling at the green plant wrapped around his leg.
It was no use, though. The vines continued to lengthen, slowly dragging their unwilling passengers closer to safety as the blue shield dimmed once again.
Pikachu began sobbing loudly. "Pika!"
"Venusaur, don't do this!" Misty cried out, her eyes watering as she watched the Seed Pokémon's own eyes begin to well with tears. Whether they were from pain or sorrow, she didn't know, but the scene as Ash tried relentlessly to get out of his Pokémon's strong grip was heart-breaking.
Finally, the three were all at the entranceway. With a final grunt of exertion, Venusaur threw all of them out at once onto the dirt road. Stopping the trio from reentering with his vines, the last Ash saw of his beloved first grass type was the blue shield disappearing completely, and the sound of Giovanni unloading one final bullet.
"No!" Ash screamed, pressing against the vines that sealed the doorway shut. "No, you can't!" He beat and kicked the thick plant appendages, but to no avail. Even in death, his loyal Pokémon was too stubborn to be moved.
He didn't stop, though. Ignoring the ongoing battles behind him, he put all his focus on screaming his Pokémon's name repeatedly through the thick vines; as if maybe he could yell loud enough to reach him on the other side.
As his voice grew hoarse, another one caught the three of them by surprise.
"Ash! It's him, you guys!" Cynthia announced over the fighting that was raging.
Misty turned to see Cynthia, Steven, and Chris all fighting dwindling numbers of Rocket grunts. Only a few Pokémon remained, and Cynthia hurriedly defeated a small herd of Raticate that challenged her Garchomp before rushing forward. She turned Ash around, and was less than surprised to find tears streaming down his cheeks.
"What happened in there?" she asked, gripping Ash's arms as tightly as she could. "Are you hurt?"
Ash just continued crying, now unable to find the strength to explain what had taken place. He couldn't do it, and so he just lowered his hat and cried silently; feeling more and more pathetic with every teardrop that cascaded.
Seeing her boyfriend's state, the water trainer tried to intervene on his behalf.
"Giovanni just…" However, Misty didn't even know how to explain what had taken place. Giovanni hadn't "just" done anything. He'd taken away Pokémon, companions, and most importantly, friends. He had kidnapped her, and threatened all of their lives. She was forced to leave Cynthia hanging mid-sentence as her eyes filled up too.
"It's okay," Cynthia consoled, bringing the two in for a hug, feeling herself get sentimental as she thought about all that had transpired without her being there. She felt guilt beyond anything she'd felt before as the two teens sobbed quietly into her coat. Pikachu too, she noticed, had walked silently up to her leg and began weeping as he hugged her pant leg.
Steven soon came up behind the others, tapping Cynthia gently on the shoulder. "I know this is a bad time, but we've almost completely finished off these grunts. We need to get you and your Pokémon to a hospital quickly."
Looking up, Ash took a shaky breath before wiping his eyes. He was tired of crying and feeling helpless. Looking at Misty, he gave a solemn nod. "I-I think he's right, Mist. There's nothing more we can do." He looked to Steven. "Giovanni is inside that building…please take care of him for me."
Steven looked up and at the large building before giving Ash a nod. Chris came up behind him, giving the former Sinnoh Champion a small, sad smile. "It'll be alright from here on out. I know it wasn't exactly as we planned, but I promised we'd get her back in one piece, and at least we pulled through on that."
"Chris, you and Cynthia take care of Giovanni," Steven said, pointing towards the blocked doorway. "He's inside, according to Ash."
"Probably too afraid of what he's going to face out here," reasoned Cynthia. "Otherwise he would've come out already."
"Actually," Misty interjected, wiping tears away, but still allowing more to take their place, "Ash took care of that. He shot him before he could hurt m-me."
For a moment, the former champions and Chris all looked too surprised to speak as their eyes and mouths remained wide open at the announcement. Finally, Chris found his voice.
"Is he, uh, you know, dead?"
Ash quickly shook his head as Pikachu sadly climbed back on his shoulder. "I just shot him in the leg."
Chris gave a quick nod before looking at Cynthia. "You ready?"
"Be careful," Ash warned as she answered. "He has a huge Electivire in there. I'm not sure how it's so big, but I've never seen anything like it before."
"We'll get by," Chris assured. He looked to Steven. "Get these two to help as fast as you can. If any police stop you for breaking the limit, tell them it's a League emergency or something."
Steven nodded before motioning over to a sitting white van; the same Ash had been carried away in only a few hours earlier. "You guys ready to go?"
"I guess so," Ash answered, feeling oddly emotionless as he grabbed Misty's hand and led the three over to the vehicle. She quickly opened the back and allowed them to grab a piece of the backseat for themselves. After Steven entered the driver's seat, he turned the ignition. Ash looked back one last time, watching as Cynthia and Chris discussed their entrance strategy.
As the van sped down the highway, gaining speed by the minute, Ash found himself still without feeling any longer. In one moment, he'd been bawling his eyes out in sorrow from losing one of his best friends, and in the next he was completely and totally numb to what had happened.
He could see it as if he were still there: Venusaur shoving him out the door and calling out his name one last time before the shot was fired. One of his first Pokémon…gone.
He looked down at his hands, which he realized for the first time in a while were currently holding the other members of his party. In Misty's hands were the other pokéballs and the other twenty that had never been opened attached to his ripped belt. He couldn't believe he was coming back with twenty-nine in tow after leaving with thirty.
Next to him, Misty was no better off. She continued crying as they sped towards the hospital without trying to stop. Normally she hated crying. To her, it was a weak female stereotype to cry when something upset you, and throughout her life she'd done her best to avoid such a girly response to danger and sad situations, but this was different. This wasn't some dumb movie her sisters had tricked her into watching where everyone has heart attacks and dies, and it wasn't like she fell off her bike and scraped her knee.
No. This was real pain. This was the kind of pain she hadn't experienced in years.
Ash looked out the window as the silent trip continued. It struck him as odd that it was so sunny outside, given the situation. In books and movies, he remembered realizing a long time ago, the weather usually reflected the characters' mood or predicament.
It should be raining.
Noticing the clock on the radio, he saw that it was only a quarter before six. He almost wanted to laugh as he thought back to how the day had begun for him. He'd awoken in Lance's mansion, walked down the stairs fully-prepared to fly back to Sinnoh to meet back up with Misty, and had been shaken from his cozy world of minor inconveniences with an earth-shattering announcement by the red-headed former champion.
He suddenly sat up, realizing something.
"Steven?" he called from the back. His voice startled everyone in the vehicle. They were apparently all transfixed on their own thoughts.
"Uh, yeah Ash?" he answered, looking into the small rear-view mirror to catch the raven-haired trainer's brown eyes. "What is it?"
"Where's Lance?"
"…I don't know," the steel trainer answered honestly. "He'd gone after Mallory after she left us to deal with a gigantic Tyranitar, but Chris said he saw her later on as he was catching up to your van, and he had to stop to fight her so she wouldn't get to Giovanni and warn him about our plans. Something happened between the time that he went after her and Chris found her, but we don't know what yet."
Ash's stomach sank even further than he knew possible as he sat back in his seat quietly. Did Lance die too after all of this? Exactly how many of his friends had given up their lives so they could save his pathetic self?
Steven looked back at the trainer again using the mirror, but this time Ash refused to meet his gaze. "Ash, I know what you're thinking, and it's not your fault. It's true that Giovanni was going after you, but if you weren't here, he would have found someone else to pick on. You weren't their target, you see…the Pokémon League was. And the best way they have to damage the Pokémon League is to hurt the members within it."
"Then why did he wait until now to start terrorizing the League?" Ash asked, his fists balled tightly as he thought of all the trouble his presence as a champion had caused.
Maybe it's good that Goodshow took away my title before anyone else got hurt.
In spite of all that had happened, Steven gave a quick laugh. "You honestly think you're the first one to be hurt by the Rockets in the League? Master Red himself had a run-in with Team Rocket about fifteen years ago that has caused him to never mess with Giovanni again. Before you guys were even born, Red was known around the world for his adventures against the Rocket Syndicate. Taking down an evil organization at eleven isn't a common occurrence, I guess. But one day over a dozen years ago, he just came to me and said that he was retiring from the G-Men and that he didn't want to have anything else to do with Team Rocket…he didn't go into specifics, but from what I can tell, Giovanni gave him good reason to be afraid."
"Wow, even Master Red?" Misty asked quietly, finding her voice again.
Steven nodded. "I know, right? So Ash, like I said, you weren't the target here…the League was. If it hadn't been you it would have been one of us, but eventually Giovanni was gonna choose someone to take out as a warning to the rest of us. And honestly, I'm glad you were here because I can't think of many people, including myself, who'd have survived everything that's just happened."
"I didn't survive it," Ash responded quietly, still staring at the outside. "I didn't do anything. Everyone just bailed me out and made up for my stupid mistakes."
"Ash, don't say that," Misty consoled, grabbing her boyfriend's hand. Though he didn't pull away, he didn't grip her hand in return, either. "You saved me. If you hadn't acted when you did in that room…well, I wouldn't be here right now."
All was quiet as those words sunk in.
"But then what happened?" he asked, even more quiet than before.
"What?"
"But what happened next?" he asked through clenched teeth, turning to face the redhead. There were no tears in his eyes, but the pain was easy to identify. "I saved you in that second, then got us caught in the middle of a fight with a thousand other grunts."
"You held them off with all of your Pokémon, though," she replied, worried at the guilty expression on his face. "You and your team held off an army by yourselves."
"We were gonna lose that battle until Chris arrived and caused that huge explosion," Ash reasoned, his voice growing more edgy and loud. "I was just buying time until someone could save me because I couldn't save myself."
Steven cleared his throat. "Ash, that's all anyone in your position could have done. You weren't exactly expecting to win the fight, were you?"
Ash ignored him. "And then, even after that all happens, what did I do?"
"You saved me again," Misty answered softly, gripping his hand tighter. "You saved me from getting killed, Ash."
"…but I didn't have the strength to finish the job," he answered, finally letting his voice drop again as the true source of his anger revealed itself. "I had the power to end it all. I coulda killed him, Mist, and made all of our problems go away, but instead I showed mercy."
For a second, she didn't answer, and Ash wondered if she couldn't help but agree with him. However, any doubts he had were suddenly erased as he felt her soft lips press gently against his dirty and bloodied cheek.
"You didn't kill him because that's who you are. You're a savior, not a killer, and that's why you shot him in the leg, and that's why you jumped in front of me when he surprised you with the second gun. I know you think you would have killed him if you could do it over again, but I'm glad you didn't because it wouldn't have proven anything. Today you showed me that you're even braver than I knew…and you showed how much you care about me."
The words were sweet, but Ash couldn't ignore the guilt that continued to eat at him from the inside as she hugged him from the side, along with Pikachu.
She's right…if I could do it over again, I wouldn't have shown mercy. I should have ended it before he could do anymore, but I didn't and now Venusaur's gone and Lance is missing.
He stared out the window, unresponsive to his girlfriend's attention.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Alright, Mr. Ketchum, everything looks good." The doctor gave him a small smile as he got off the examination table. "Though I would suggest that maybe you quit training so much. I've never seen anyone with quite this many cuts and bruises after a Pokémon battle!"
Ash gave the older woman a small smile. "Thank you. I'll remember that from now on."
"You can go check out in the lobby and then you're free to go," she responded, patting him on the back as he left the office. In the office, he was unsurprised to find Misty and Steven already waiting for him.
"What did the doctor tell you?" he asked worriedly as she got up and gave him another hug.
"He said that I'm fine…though he did say I didn't seem very well-rested for someone who just slept away twenty hours." She laughed lightly at her own joke, and Ash gave another small smile. Truthfully, he felt like he'd never manage to give a real smile again.
"You wanna go to the Pokémon Center?" Steven asked, standing up as Ash went over to the secretary's desk to fill out the exit papers. "Chris told me he and Cynthia would meet us there after they finished getting the police to the hideout and turning Mallory in."
Ash nodded quickly. "I just wanna find out how the others are doing."
"C'mon then," Steven motioned towards the exit.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The three sat in the relatively-empty waiting room for thirty minutes before Nurse Joy finally stepped out of the E.R.; though the light above the room remained on, as did her surgical mask and gloves.
Pulling down the mask, she walked over to the three trainers. "The doctor and I are doing our best for your Heracross, but it's not looking good," she informed Ash, who felt the small amount of hope he held out for his old friend quickly vanish. "I don't want to give any false hope…I'd say it'd take a miracle at this point to save him."
Taking a deep breath, he looked up at her after a quiet thought to himself. "What about Sceptile, Noctowl, and Tauros?"
"Sceptile also isn't looking very good at the moment," she warned. "The doctor says he's a little better off than Heracross, but we still only give him about a twenty percent chance of making it through the night. Tauros' leg is terribly damaged, but he'll definitely live. I think reparation surgery for him can wait until tomorrow, but I must warn you that it will be expensive."
"I don't care about price at all," Ash informed, holding his hand up to stop the nurse. "Just do whatever it takes to make my Pokémon feel better, okay?"
She nodded. "Right. As for Noctowl, he'll need a night here with us, but I think he'll be up and flying within a day or two."
Two up and two down, Ash thought bitterly as he remembered the damage they all took on his behalf.
"Please tell the doctor to do everything she can to save Sceptile and Heracross," Misty urged as the nurse lifted back up her mask. "Those are some of our best friends in there."
"I understand," Joy answered, nodding before slipping back into the room.
Misty looked over at Ash. "It'll be alright. Your Pokémon are tough enough to handle anything that's thrown at them."
He gave her a weak grin before turning back and staring at the linoleum floor. Even Pikachu's sympathetic pats on the back went unnoticed as the former champion tried to justify all that had happened.
Author's Notes: It was another dramatic, and rather dark, chapter, but at least you all know that Misty lived, right? That nullifies like three death threats that people sent me, so I know I'm relieved, haha. Like I said above, I am pretty happy with this chapter after all the work I poured into it. Honestly, the original version of this chapter was longer, but I cut out the last couple of scenes because I felt like I was cramming too much into one chapter. Even though this one's a little shorter than the last few (which were over 9000 words by themselves) I think it makes up for it in substance, and the last thing I wanted was to include extra scenes just for the sake of having my word count higher, you know? However, the parts that I cut out will, of course, be the beginning pages for the next chapter, so you'll see them in a couple of weeks. Again, as I said earlier, I plan on getting back to all reviews over the next few days, so please don't let my lack of response stop you from giving me your input and thoughts on this chapter if you're on the fence about whether or not I'll ever respond to your comments. I appreciate all of you so much, and we've all been going on this journey together, so I need to know what y'all think.
Alright, I think it's time for me to hit the hay. Until two weeks from now, later days!