(Anime, Dark Fantasy) Ambition's Debt (Chapter 8, When Angels Deserve to Die - 7/11)

[Evil Figment]

Well, here's the start of my newest story. In terms of timeline, it's set "some time after the end of the anime". Ash is sixteen years old, and most of the other characters are aged in regard to that (Misty at seventeen, Gary at sixteen, etc). May is two years older than she SHOULD be (ie, she started Hoenn at twelve rather than ten in this fic) ; this is because otherwise either she was too young for the plot, or Ash too old for me to feel comfortable writing about him.

This first chapter only really serves to reintroduce several characters and how their lives have changed (and not always the main character of each scene ; the point of the Brock scene is to reintroduce the characters who show up at the end much more than Brock himself)

Ambition's Debt

Chapter 1 : Moving on

Children dream. It is in their nature to create an ideal vision of a future self, of what they would desire to be. Some dreams of the pokémon they will own, others of the wealth they will possess. Few, if any, of these dreams come to fruition. An awakening comes, perhaps in the wake of a breaking defeat at the hand of a hated rival.

Once, in the town of Pallet, there had been such a boy. He had dreamt of pokémon, of training, of being a master, and had set out to see the world. Six years ago, that had been; and in those six years the child's dream had died. Other goals, less dreamy, more down to earth, had replaced the dream; goals that had brought him now to sit by a table in the silent library of the University of Kanto, in Viridian.

He had changed, with the end of his journeys. His hair, a pale brown, fell down to his shoulder in a lose ponytail. His eyes, piercing blue, hid behind reading glasses that he would never have been seen with, back then. He wore simple black clothes, a peace pendant at his neck the only memory of the trainer he had once been.

He was not alone at the table. Across from him, a girl, her dreams broken as surely as his. Her hair, a rare blue-green hue, was cut short of even her shoulders. Once she had sought the life of an artist, her pokémon turned into a traveling show; her dreams had been cut short, too.

They both had their eyes on books, browsing through.

"That legend seems promising, Gary," the girl whispered, pointing at a passage in the book before her. "I think it would make a good paper."

The boy glanced; the book had a picture of a gigantic serpentine creature, two arms protruding from the front half of its body. A name was written below it, Rayquaza.

"Sorry, Duplica. Won't do." Gary Oak shook his head. "First it's one of the better known ones. Second it's a dragon type, and dragons are vastly overrated anyway. Third…" he trailed of.

"Third?" Duplica insisted.

"Third, Ashy-boy has seen that one, too."

The girl rolled her eyes; a short laugh escaped her lips. She glanced guiltily toward the librarian. "If we're to believe your grandfather, Ashy-boy has seen all the legendary pokémon there are."

"He's been busy," Gary shrugged. "You know him," For a moment, he almost regretted the rugged campsites, the harsh roads. There had been a sense of freedom to his journey…

Duplica's hand passed over his, and he shook his head. Whatever good there had been in his journey, the rewards of his new life were simply better than it all. Their eyes met; they both smiled.

Gary's cell phone rang; before the librarian even had the time to remind him, he flicked it off, and turned back toward his girlfriend of the last three months.
_________________

Children dream. It is in their nature to create an ideal vision of a future self, of what they would desire to be. Some dreams of the pokémon they will own, others of the wealth they will possess. Few, if any, of these dreams come to fruition. An awakening come, perhaps in the form of a chance encounter, a twist of fate…

Once, in the city of Pewter, there had been such a boy. He had dreamt of being a breeder, of caring for his pokémon and those of others equally, and of presenting the best he could do to contest, to mark his talent. Six years ago, he had left to pursue that dream; Six years ago, and now the dream was dead.

The ceremonial hall of the Indigo convention center was full to the brim; visitors and dignitaries from across the world waiting for what they knew would soon happen. In one corner, a man past his fifties, in a white lab coat, hopelessly tried dialing a number on his cell phone again and again. Watching over his shoulder, a younger woman frowned; miles away, the boy they were calling was losing himself in his girlfriend's eyes.

Meanwhile, behind the scene, a boy waited, nervous. The massive swampert at his side seemed to sense his master's uneasy feelings; glanced about at the rest of the room. Its eyes narrowed, mimicking perhaps unconsciously the perpetual expression of its owner.

"And so, ladies and gentlemen," a young man spoke in front of the crowd, red hair clashing with his black cloak, "I am at once saddened to announce that Bruno Evans has retired from his position on the Elite Four, and honored to present his successor to you all tonight! Ladies and gentlemen…"

The boy swallowed, hard. He reached for his pokéball, recalled Swampert. The necktie he wore felt tight, too tight.

"…please join me in welcoming the newest member of the Elite Four, BROCK SLATE!"

The boy stepped onto the scene, felt for a moment as if the spectators had all exploded at once. It was, of course, nothing more than the flashes of too many cameras going off at once.

"While young, Brock has proven himself an able trainer time and time again, not to mention he achieved gym leader status years ago, though he has been on a prolonged leave of absence," Lance, the league champion explained. "He has battled Team Rocket several times in the past with great success, and has proven himself one of the most promising trainers for the future of Kanto! Brock, anything you'd like to say?"

The boy stared at the cameras. They stared right back at him.

"Hmmm…" he began, forcing his eyes upward. The last thing he wanted to see now was a pretty girl, and he was quite sure a few of them would be in the audience. "I…I must say I never expected to be called to this. It's…I am honored. And…" he froze, unsure of what else to say.

He was not left hanging long. Lance, moved back in. "If anyone has questions…"

In the first row, a man rose, smoothing his blue hair, his white suit glimmering under the heavy spotlights. The woman besides him, dressed in the same white, her hair a flaming red, frowned.

"Mister Slate, James Morgan of 'Jet Set' here. Can you tell us a few things about your career up to this point?"

Brock blinked. He could have sworn the one-time Rocket agent had just winked at him.
_______________________

Children dream. It is in their nature to create an ideal vision of a future self, of what they would desire to be. Some dreams of the pokémon they will own, others of the wealth they will possess. Few, if any, of these dreams come to fruition. An awakening come, perhaps when life forcibly part them from the people that have been part of the dream.

Once, in the land of Kanto, there had been such a girl. She had dreamt of violence, of guns and daggers, of the work of an assassin. Her dream, eight years ago, had lead her to Team Rocket, and the criminal organization had slowly given her the means to pursue it. But Team Rocket was disbanded now, and the dream, dead.

She barely spared a second glance at the television lying not far from her computer desk; her partner was on the couch, listening to the special edition Jet Set show about the new elite four member.

She snorted.

"I know they're hacks," her partner observed. "Doesn't change a thing that they run the best show on Brock's promotion to the elite four," he shrugged. "Even if you hate them, you have to admit, they run the damn best celebrities shows in town."

She laughed. "That just means there are no good celebrities show in town," she laughed off, sitting down in front of the computer. There was a text file open; she put the last finishing touches to its note.

A smile crossed her lips. Let Jessie and James – the pathetic fools – run what information they wanted. They had no idea what true reporting was about; where they sought glamour and fame, she knew what information meant; she knew what it was to have the survival of a politician or corporation in your hand – and to squeeze. Nineteen, she was already a celebrity.

"Did you scan the pictures in?" she asked out loud, tossing her blond hair. The boy, younger than she by two years, took a moment to answer. When he did, it was a simple nod. "Did that yesterday, while you were off holding your interview. Report going up tonight?"

She smiled at him, one of her few truly grateful smiles. Without him, her news site would have been nothing; without the vivid pictures of suffering he managed to snap. To be told of the pain of a woman whose children had died was one thing, to see her crying before the wrecked car was another. "Thanks, Todd," she added.

With the last few touches on her text done, it was a matter of minutes to attach the proper picture, to upload it, that of seconds. Soon, truelies.knt had a new article up, the credits to it pointing to the pseudonym that had been hers since the days of Team Rocket – Domino.

It took barely three minute for the first shocked email to reach her inbox.
__________________

Children dream. It is in their nature to create an ideal vision of a future self, of what they would desire to be. Some dreams of the pokémon they will own, others of the wealth they will possess. Few, if any, of these dreams come to fruition. An awakening come, perhaps with a tragedy they feel responsible for, a tragedy that forces them in a new path.

Once, in the city of Petalburg, there had been such a girl. She had dreamt of seeing the world, had forged her path into being a coordinator, and had dreamt of winning the greatest of all contests. Her dream had led, three years ago, to her brother and she both leaving their home. Three years ago, and now the dream was gone

The stadium was filled to the brim, the final battle about to begin. They had come to see it from all over Hoenn, gym leaders and members of the elite four alike. In the front rows, a boy sat in a wheelchair, his eyes hidden behind glasses, a triumphant smile on his face. He finished typing a last email on his laptop; closed the browser window he had been working in. Besides him, his parents looked down at one of the finalist, smiling proudly.

The girl was ready. Battling for the league tournament had never been a dream, but even so, she had learned many things from the best of trainers. Across the field from her, a boy, perhaps sixteen. For the fleetest of moment she had taken him for another, a friend who had guided her first steps, but no. Whatever similarities there were – right down to the pikachu they both seemed to value so highly – it was not he.

She spared one glance at her family, a smile at her brother. A simple twinge of guilt, no more, came with the sight of his wheelchair.

"Attention all! Welcome to the grand final of the Hoenn Evergrande tournament! Many trainers entered, now only two are left! In the red box, trainer Richie Leonhart of Viridian City!"

The round of applauses did not last long. He was a stranger in Hoenn; trying to take a prize he had no right to claim.

"In the green box, trainer May Whyte, of Petalburg!"

The applauses grew from faint to deafening. The girl was more than a popular trainer; she was their champion, against the foreigner.

She closed her first about her first pokéball. Her opponent did the same.

"Trainers, ready…" the announcer called out.

Their eyes met.

"…go!"

"Sparky! I chose you!" the boy yelled.

"Blaziken! Go!" she replied.

The battle was on. Across the stadium, a thousand video cameras focused on it.
________________________________

Children dream. It is in their nature to create an ideal vision of a future self, of what they would desire to be. Some dreams of the pokémon they will own, others of the wealth they will possess. Few, if any, of these dreams come to fruition. But sometime, a child is born who will not let go of the dreams, whatever the cost. For these children, the awakening never comes, or if it does, it is always too late.

Once, in the city of Pallet town, such a child had been born. Six years ago, he had set out to become a pokémon master, traveling through countless leagues, winning and losing endless tournaments, in search of his elusive goal. He had not found it yet; perhaps he never would. But the dream was still there, and alive.

His journey would stop now, if only for a week. The weather, rainstorms and hurricane winds, was not fit for traveling. Friends had offered him safe places to stay, but there was one above them all he had chosen.

She was before him now, her red hair no longer bound in the ponytail that had once been her trademark, the figure of the young girl he recalled clearly now that of a woman. Then again, he was no longer the ten years old he had once been. Behind her, in the house, the television she had been listening to harped on, pictures of a league battle in a far away land flashing across the screen.

A little yellow pokémon, perched on the boy's shoulder, yelled out a happy "Pika!" at the sight of the girl. It jumped into her arms; she smiled.

"Thanks for putting up with me," was the first thing he thought of saying. What else could he say? How did you renew links with a friend not seen in years?

"It just gives us a chance to catch up," she smiled back. Her face was radiant, beautiful in ways he could not ever remember remarking, even at Maiden's Peak all of six years ago. "You've changed, Ash," she quietly remarked, her voice shaking ever so slightly.

He blushed. What answer was there? Of course he had changed. "So have you." He finally decided.

She smiled nervously, moved away to let him enter.

Outside the Cerulean City gym, the rain continued to fall.

[Ledian_X]

Nice story, D! I kind of like the alternate future vibe from all this and I look forward to reading more of this story!

L_X

[Evil Figment]

You will, soon :-D.

[MistyRocks]

hey, nice to see you've got something up. be sure to update regularly and keep me entertained ^_^

It's good, I can't wait to see where this is going

[Roxy_Parkington]

Oooh, nice one! I'm looking forward to more and am curious as to what happened to Max.

~Roxy~

[Evil Figment]

What happened to Max, I'm not 100% sure of myself. I only know at this poitn in time that May feel guilty about it and it's the reason why she shifted from coordinator to trainer. But it will be developed at later points, and likely be related the main plot (as will the reasons for the rocket being disbanded, and the Domino/Todd duo's investigations)

[Barb]

I like the AU that you've created here. Dare I hope for shipping? ;-)
Misty's remark to Ash, "You've changed," seems to speak for all the characters in this story. It'll be interesting to see how this develops.

[Evil Figment]

*grins* Needless to say shipping will be in. Poké and Alto are but two shipping that will feature in the story (yes, it's complex enough to feature at least two ships for one character).

And yes, many if not all of the characters have changed. It's been a few years since the anime era, and most of them have moved on. In the same vein, several old gym leaders have been replaced (I just need to figure out all the *new* gym leaders...)

[Kasumi]

I'm not really good when commenting on fanfics, but at least I can say I enjoyed every paragraph I read of this first chapter. As Barb, I'd love to see some shipping in there.


Looking forward to reading the upcoming chapters, Dami. ^_^

[Evil Figment]

*grins* And you shall (besides which, technically, there's already one confirmed ship in Ambition's Debt - Gary x Duplica*)

As for not beign good at replying, no worries there. Sure, replies that tell me what to improve are nice and all, and reply that talk about things people particularly liked, or would like, are fun, but when you get right down to it - what's more impotant to most fanfic writers is knowing there are people out there who are reading their fic (and continuing to do so) and likeing it.

Lack of constructive criticism does make it harder to improve the fic. But lack of replies makes it hard to *write* the fic, period.

*More or less my trademark ship. I've been using it in my fics on and off since 2001 :-D.

[PlatinumHawke]

Good establishment going there, sets fairly toned-down and muted feel, without going into anything wrist-slitting dark (but with the potentional to do so). Also enjoyed the linking of the entire chapter, which made it flow really well. This might get me back into writing. ^^

[Timarelay]

I like everything except the repetition of that first paragraph every damn section ^^;;; Repeating a sentence is fine, but a whole paragraph? I dunno. It doesn't appear to have bothered anyone else but I really don't like it =/ I think it works better if that paragraph only appears in the beginning, and then never again. I would say have some alternate version of it at the very end but I like the way it ends with the rain.

I know, I know. You change the last sentence of it. But can't you work that in without having to put in all the other sentences before it?

I feel so evil being the only one that's had anything negative to say but it really irks me =/

Other than that though, it's really really good. ^^ I like it and shall continue to read it.

[Evil Figment]

*grins* I actually very much doubted myself on the repetition bit. It seemed like an interesting twist, but I thought it might bore people. Glad to see at least one person agree with me on the later bit ;-).

I'll be posting chapter 2 shortly.

Like, very shortly.

Like...ah, hell.

Chapter 2 : The More Things change

Clouds stirred. Darkness in the sky shattered, thorn apart by a single bolt of brilliant thunder. The bolt became a flame; pokémon stared from the rim of a trainer box at a human girl in the middle of a battle stadium. They yelled out an order….

In a bed, on an island west of Hoenn, a girl stirred.

The landscape of the dreams changed. The stadium vanished in mist, a pokémon center replacing it. Of the clouds, there were no traces left.

The girl gasped, in her bed far away and yet so close.

Tongue of flames rose about the walls of the pokémon center; screams filled the air. A maddened laughter buried the screams, that of a man in black and red, head covered with a hood. He bellowed something, the words inaudible. The flames grew stronger.

The girl tightened her fists. A tear fell off her cheek, staining her pillow.

People were running. Trying to get out, away from the flames. They yelled; and again the sinister laughter covered it all. A girl, barely even a teen, tripped and fell down. Near her, a boy screamed.

The girl's body shook. Her covers slipped off her.

The pokémon center had fallen. Its supporting beams, used by time, had never stood a chance against the fire. Near one fallen support beam, the fallen girl rose unhurt. Besides her, his legs crushed by the collapsing steel, the boy who had saved her called out her name, his face contorted by the pain.

May Whyte woke up.

She glanced about, found herself in what could only be a palace. Drapes surrounded her bed itself, and the floor of the bedroom beyond was all marble and precious carpets. The furniture was ancient enough to be worth a fortune to collectors, and precious paintings hung on the wall.

The champion's suite of the Evergrande league building. It took her a moment to recognize it, to remember that she had in fact earned the right to sleep there, if less than twenty-four hours before.

A shiver ran down her spine. There was a glass of water on the bedside table; she drank from it.

"Even here…" she whispered to the night. "Still the same memories…"

It had been February the fourteenth; the press had dubbed the incident "Bloody Valentine". The work of disgruntled members of team Magma, it had sealed the dooms of Aqua, Magma and Rockets alike. Faced with the League's ultimatum, the former two had chosen to fight and had died; the Rockets had disarmed and disbanded.

But neither the Rocket surrender nor the death of Aqua and Magma had healed Max. And so, for her brother, May had become a trainer…

And now she was at the top. She took another sip of water, putting off the burning question – "what now?" Her own dreams? She sighed, glanced at the trophy on the wall. To be the champion of the Evergrande tournament had never been her dream.

But now…

"I won't go back," she sighed, again talking to the night. "It's not my place anymore…" she trailed off. Her old contest ribbons were in a closet back in Petalburg; it had been years since she had last glanced at them.

To the east, the first faint streaks of sunlight began coloring the sky.
_____________________

Brock was up before the sun on the morning of his first day as part of the elite four. He had slept poorly, the bed too soft for a back that had grown used to roots and hard ground, the covers too warm for a boy that had slept with nothing more than a sleeping bag between him and the weather.

He spent a few minutes tossing restlessly, decided he wouldn't sleep, put on some clothes and stepped outside. The sky was clear except for storm clouds to the east, perhaps as far as the Cerulean region. The sun was already peeking above them by the time he reached the middle of the great balcony linking the four towers that served as private quarters to the members of the Elite four.

He was not alone there. An old man, bearded, long white hair tied back behind his head, was already there.

"Hoh, Brock!" he greeted with a deep laugh. "Good to see you, young man."

Brock nodded absently. This was the man who had convinced him to step up when offered the Elite Four role.

"So, how's the day?" the man went on. "Ready for the other big announcement?"

Brock smiled and nodded.
________________

From: PuffTheDragon@league.knt
Sent: April 14, 2031, 06:24am KST.
To: MistyMermaid@league.knt, DarkPhoenix666@league.knt, FlowerGirl@league.knt
Subject: Re: League meeting tonight?

Hey girls! What's up? I still haven't received anything from you regarding tonight's meeting. You planning to make it?

I really have to insist you do your best to be there. I can have league helicopters sent over to your places within the hour if transportation's a problem.

Misty, I've heard Ash Ketchum was around Cerulean? If you catch sight of him, feel free to invite him. He'll probably be interested in what I'll be saying at the meeting, so…

-Lance Strife
League Champion, Kanto and Johto
________________

Misty stretched, glancing at the computer screen. She turned it; glancing over her shoulder, Ash read the entire email.

He frowned.

"That's not the first time he asks after you," Misty pointed out. Her fingers traced invisible lines on the desk.

"Oh, really?" Ash snorted. "It's not like my email is hard to find. He could have contacted me directly."

"Do you know how many people out there use PokémonMaster for their email address?" Misty snorted. "He's probably not sure which number you are."

"Seven-one-four," Ash laughed. "That's just for PalletNet, of course."

"My point exactly," Misty chuckled. "Besides which, I think he's afraid of you. He seems to think you're one of the best trainers around. For some reason."

A mischievous smile appeared on her lips.

"Well, I am!" Ash's cheeks reddened. He stared at Misty, and somehow, missed the smile.

"Oh, really?" She emphasized the last word. Her eyes twinkled. "I beat you in the whirl cup…"

"And I beat you when you wanted to keep Totodile!" Ash's lips closed tightly after the last words; he clenched his fists.

"Oh, that was only Brock letting you win…" Misty smiled, opened her eyes wider. It was, as far as she was concerned, an artful display of mock innocence.

"Was n…" Ash's voice trailed off. He blinked. "You're just teasing me!" He exclaimed.

Misty managed to maintain her innocent expression – for all of five seconds. Then she burst out laughing, and Ash joined her.

"I missed you, Ash," she let out when she finally managed to control her laughter. A warm smile formed on her lips. "You can't imagine how boring this place can get when you're not around."

"Bah," he smiled. "You're the one who can't imagine how boring traveling get when there's nobody around to blame me for getting us lost." He smiled, as if it had all been a joke – but his eyes belied the joke. "Even if it was not really my fault most of the time…" he smiled.

"That's what you think," she countered. She smiled too, and she, too, had another story in her eyes. "And thinking, as I recall, isn't your strong point," she stuck her tongue out.

Ash's eyes widened, he opened his mouth – then blinked. He began laughing again. "You just love doing that to me, don't you?" he accused.

Misty returned to her most innocent face, turning her eyes to study her fingers most carefully. "Who, me?" she whispered. "Poor little me?"

Ash growled. Misty barely had the time to dodge; a cushion crashed into the computer screen behind her. Cushions do not normally fly on their own, and seconds later; Misty had one airborne, racing toward Ash's head.

The ensuing cushions fight lasted for the better part of an hour.
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In May's personal estimation, five in the evening came by far too early on her first day as champion of the Evergrande's tournament.

The day had been too full, too. Well-wishers wanting to congratulate her, friends wanting to congratulate her, reporters wanting to pat her on the back and congratulate themselves on managing to corner her for an interview…It had taken the help of both her parents for her to get some privacy in the late afternoon.

Not that she had wanted to be left alone; simply, she had to change for the League Party, and no matter how much she enjoyed the attention, the kind of attention being naked in public would be likely to attract was not quite what she was after.

The woman who emerged from her suite again had little in common with the trainer who had gone in. Her traditional clothes were discarded, replaced by a simple pale blue silk gown, strapless and sleeveless, and her hair was done up in a chignon. She had needed surprisingly little make-up, had refused to wear any jewelry but the pendant she had earned with her victory, a gold and silver frame reproducing a pokéball, a ruby inlaid in its upper half and a sapphire in the lower one.

Everyone she had talked to had insisted she must wear high heels with the dress. By the time she reached the ballroom where the party was to take place, her opinion of several acquaintances had been dramatically lowered. Still, she gritted her teeth as two ceremonially dressed guards threw the doors open for her.

The roaring wave of applauses nearly deafened her.
______________________

The Indigo Convention Center was once again bursting with people. Apparently, what Lance had called a meeting was to be a large-scale social gathering; most of the great trainers, researchers and news sources of Kanto and Johto were there.

Standing alone by one door, Ash had a frown on his face. Gary and his grandfather were there, along with Duplica and Ash's own mother. The notion of Gary having a girlfriend had left Ash staring, mouth wide, for a long moment. That the girlfriend was someone he knew had not helped thing.

There were others there, too. The gym leaders were not in the room – Lance had asked them to help him set up whatever announcement they were planning on – but Ash thought he had glimpsed both Casey and Sakura giggling in a corner, as well as Jackson and Macey, his acquaintances from the Silver convention all those years ago, holding hands. Jessie and James were there too, harassing trainers with questions about what the new announcements possibly could be. Ash had chatted with Drake for a moment, two Orange League champions sharing their thoughts on what Lance could possibly be up to. There were others too, some he only recognized by face, others he could put names to, though remembering where and how they had met was something else entirely.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice boomed in loudspeakers, "please welcome the gym leaders of Johto and Kanto!"

Ash looked at them. There had been change among the gym leaders. Brock was missing, of course – out of touch or not, that piece of news had been impossible to miss – and in his stead stood a boy younger than Ash. Surge was gone, as were Koga and Blaine, and whoever the true Viridian gym leader had been back during Ash's journey, the new one had to be a recent addition; he was no older than Ash himself. Most of the faces he saw, he recognized vaguely, but the one sitting down in the seventh seat, for Cinnabar…

"Is that Harrison?" he gasped. No one seemed to notice or answer.

Before he had the time to ask again, the Johto gym leaders began filling in, and there, too, there were changes. Pryce and Chuck were nowhere to be seen, and neither was Jasmine.

The elite four followed shortly behind. Brock looked like he would have rather been elsewhere; Ash smiled sympathetically. The others all looked supremely delighted with themselves. The fourth of them filled in; Karen, in her typical black clothes…

Then Lance was there, and Charles Goodshow, the president of the International Pokémon Federation, was there with him. The old man had changed little from the last few times Ash had met him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome!" Lance's voice boomed. "As you're aware, we have a special announcement to make today…"

The room fell silent. Goodshow began talking.

"As you well know, the federation was founded years ago to promote cooperation between trainers and leagues, and a better understanding. It is thus a pleasure to announce a new step taken in that direction…"
___________________

"This party miss something," Richie announced not for the first time of the evening. Near him, May smiled.

"Booze?" she suggested. Her eyes twinkled, and she smiled. Richie blinked.

"Aren't you a bit young to be after getting drunk?" He exclaimed. "You're just fifteen!"

"I'm just kidding," she reassured him. "I promise I've never been drunk," she added then paused. Her eyes took on a thoughtful expression. "I think."

Richie glared at her, and May smiled winningly. "The closest I actually ever got to being drunk is a single beer, at a party last year," she admitted after a few seconds of watching his stunned face. "And I didn't even like it much."

"I'm sorry everyone," Wallace stood up from his end of the table. "May I have a moment of attention, please?"

The room immediately fell silent.

"As some of you might have heard, Charles Goodshow and Lance Strife are making a major announcement tonight in Kanto. I'd have liked to announce this myself, but to be fair, the idea was Lance's, and Charles arranged the details, so it's really their thing to announce. We have a direct satellite feed to their conference, so…"

An entire wall of the ballroom vanished, replaced by a massive television screen, showing a convention hall faraway. May and Richie both stared; just next to the camera was the familiar figure of Ash Ketchum.

"As some of you have heard," Goodshow was announcing, "we have recently discovered a sizeable new island some distance to the south. This island, which we've called Victory Island, will be home to the first ever World Challenge. Trainers from all over the world are encouraged to form teams to face the challenges that await them on the island. I'll let Lance detail…"

The man who stepped to the mike wore a long black cloak, had flaming red hair. "We've established two outposts on Victory Island, at opposite ends of the island. The first is nothing more than a small seaport; it will be the starting point of challengers. The other is a fully operational city, and it will be your destination. Between the two are only wilderness filled with extremely powerful wild pokémon, treacherous terrain, and who knows what else."

There was a moment of silence. Richie and May's eyes met. Near them, from his wheelchair, Max listened with rapt attention.

"For safety reasons, teams will be required to have at least four members, at least two of which must have placed in the top-sixteen of one of the official leagues at least once. All team members must have pokémon of their own," Lance went on. "And of course, though we deeply regret this, people with physical disabilities will not be able to take part in this challenge."

Max said something; it sounded like "Awww, man!"

"What do they stand to gain?" a reporter asked Lance, but it was Goodshow who answered.

"There will be sizeable financial reward to any team that makes it through the challenge, although the first three teams to arrive will receive a greater reward," the old man stated. "In addition…" he began, paused. "In addition, every last member of the first team to make it to the destination without having to receive help from leagues officials will be considered, now and forever, to have a rightful claim to the title of 'Pokémon Master'".

The silence was deafening. When it vanished, fifty voices asked May a single question. She glanced at Max.

"I'll do it," she announced.

[MistyRocks]

man, put Misty in a fic and I'm happy... she's fantastic. Am looking forward to Ash and Misty getting together...

Anyway, I'm enjoying it, it's real good. I guess you never got around to writing much for Brock's scene then? lol

I like the idea of the challenge thingy! Can't wait to see what it's actually like.

[Kasumi]

Things are getting very interesting. Now I'm wondering what people are going to be on Ash's team.

I loved the little bit of teasing between Misty and Ash. Brings back good memories. ^_^

[Evil Figment]

No, the Brock scene - as I said, that squinty eyed pervert has got to be one of the single most uninspiring character in the entire saga. BOOOORING.

So yeah. I cut the Brock scene short and moved on to better things.

Ash's team, well, there's one name at least that should be obvious for it, Alex :-D

[Blackjack Palazzo]

I'm a bit confused by the wording of the announcement. I can see how the place couldn't be accessable to someone who, say, couldn't walk, but saying that people with physical disabilities can't enter seems excessive. I mean, there's people with prostethic limbs who can climb mountains, so I can't imagine that would be that much of a qualifer.

Also...um...Lance's surname is rather distracting. After I read it, I was all "Oh holy crap" for a good minute, and what was said after that was kinda lost.

[Evil Figment]

XD, what can I say? I borrow last names all the time. It'S just the way I am about writing.

And as for Lance' statement, granted. THough he was only covering the basic stuff, the exact details on WHAT keep people from registering are a bit more complex, so yeah, I can imagine somehow can prove they are fit despite their disabilities would be allowed.

[Blackjack Palazzo]

Yeah, it just seemed like a strange blanket statement. Perhaps if it was clarified, since official rules have to be precice, and something like that could turn a lot of people off to it. I guess it just stood out to me, even though it was probaby meant as just a side note (and to keep a certain someone out, plot-wise)

[Evil Figment]

Indeed. The reason this was specifically mentioned in the story was, obviously, Max himself.

Now, to figure out who's in whose teams. (I have at least three teams planned so far).

[Roxy_Parkington]

Another great chapter! I love Misty in this one and am anxious to see who will be on each team.

~Roxy~

[Evil Figment]

It'S what I'm workign on right now. Suggestions who you'd want to see teaming up are welcome!

[MistyRocks]

Hmmm... I'm not good with the whole teaming up with thing. But DO NOT, under penalty of death, team Ash up with some girl who he's gonna hook up with cuz I swear, if he doesn't wind up with Misty, you are so dead... *evil eye*

Ok, my legs have actually fallen asleep, so I'm going to bed!

But, eh, get writing! ^_^

[Evil Figment]

XD, well, I DID say there would be a triangle there, I think. But it's going to be an interesting one, I promise :-D. (And yes, Misty is part of it).

[Barb]

Very nice. I love the world challenge you've created and my suggestion for Ash's team is Ash, Misty, Drake, and Prima.

[So sue me. I like Drake and Prima. ^__^]

Or even Ash, May, Misty, and Brock.

And grammatically speaking, this sentence seems wrong to me: Of the clouds, there was no trace left. I think it would've read better reversed: There was no trace left of the clouds.

[Evil Figment]

Hmmm. Good point. As for the team, Brock is out of the question - as I mentioend already, teh squinty-eyed pervert has got to be one of the least inspiring character.

May, otoh, gets to have her own team, of course. There will be at least three teams to follow, and hers is one (and Ash's is another).

Misty, of course, is a given on Ash's.

[tyger]

I like it B. The first chapter is probably some of your best work. I hate the repetition of the paragraph. After the second repetition, I quit reading the first paragraph =P. That's chapter 1 of course. This urban feel is very nice. It's quick-paced and such. This would be an interesting trainer rather than fantasy. I mean I know it's going to be fantasy, but a trainer would just be nice. ^^;; I'm not much for pokemon fics in general these days, but I can go with it.

BTW: Charles Goodshow and Lance Strife. I should hit you. well not really. But still! I should get on you about better names, boy!

[Evil Figment]

Wow there! I do deserve the blame for STrife, but Charles Goodshow was so named by 4kids, not me! Let's be fair there ;-).

As for what exactly it will be...

It will have trainer elements - even TGE had them (chapter 1-20 of Crimson Lotus in the second version). It will have fantasy elements - soul gift and the dragon shrine, in particular, are likely to resurface. It will have political elements as well (think ...well, actually I can't quite remember ever writing those). It will involve warfare, and have even some sci-fi elements - I think.

While this fic is entirely independant from my other stories in terms of plot and characters (ie, if you haven'T read them - don'T worry, they're set in completely different timelines, storylines, etc), it will have a few easter egg for my old readers who endured my crappier fics of day past - old villains and heroes having their names recycled to apply to other things (example : there is a character out there who uses the email addy CrimsonLotus@Shadowforce.net). Names given in the past to some airships and places might also resurface for a variety of use - but we will see. I have only the faintest idea for many of those things myself ^^;

[Evil Figment]

Just wanted to point out a slight edit I made to chapter 2 : the date (July 24, 2031) was changed to April 14, as this make the involvement of certain characters in the later stages more sensible.

[MistyRocks]

Just a lil reminder: I'm watching you!

I will not have bad things happen to Misty, so think veeeeeerrry carefully about who you put on the teams...

[Kasumi]

MistyRocks: I'm totally with you on this! *nodnod*

[MistyRocks]

brilliant!

You watch out now Damian... you don't wanna mess with Misty...

[Evil Figment]

XD

Depend. How do you define "mess with her"? :-D. I am a proud follower of the Timarelay-Dacta school of character torture, after all, the first tenet of which is, "the more you love a character, the more they should suffer"

MWAHAHAHAHA!

[MistyRocks]

oh crud, that's true. Damn you for being associated with those people, they trained you badly in how you should take care of your characters...

[Evil Figment]

Though to be fair, that should be the Timarelay-Dacta-Rocks school, as the way you treated poor Ruairi (and STILL treat him, look at his ex-wife) leaves you no place for criticism of how others treat their characters :-P.

[Blackjack Palazzo]

What about adding me to that mix? Lookit what I do to my favorites!

[Evil Figment]

YEah, but I didn'T from you nearly as much. Timarelay, Julie Dacta and MR here helped form much of my style plots-wise as far as fanfic authors go *nodsnods*.

[Blackjack Palazzo]

didn't from me nearly as much?

[Evil Figment]

Whooops.

Didn't learn from you.

[tyger]

Poor L&S.
Poor Lance from any of Jul's fics
Poor Ruari. Poor Paz.
Poor Starkhad. poor readers.
There I covered all four of you bad people.

[Evil Figment]

POOR *STARKHAD*? *chokes*

That guy was a raving loon! He was directly or indirectly responsible for the (presumed) death of about half the heroes who died.

Wait, no. Not half. He was directly or indirectly responsible for just about EVERY death suffered by the heroes in that story.

Poor Misty, poor Ash, I could understand, but Poor Starkhad?

[MistyRocks]

lol @ the discussion...

No comment on how I treat my characters ^^;; can't help it if things just happen to go wrong... Least Ruairí's still alive ^_^

Tyger - you can't say poor Paz, I never finished with her! My computer crashed before I finished the story so no one knows if she was gonna have a happy or sad ending... *cue evil laughter*

Anyway, back to Misty. I don't have a problem with you brutally slaughtering anyone in the fic, but Misty and Ash shall wind up happily ever after. I'll be really disappointed if they don't...

[Evil Figment]

XD, oh, if that's ALL you need...

*grins*

I'll think on it :-D.

[Timarelay]

I protest! I do not torture my characters that much! When they die, it is honorable and beautiful! When they suffer, they suffer nobily!

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Anyway, good chapter. Lots of little errors. Watch out with those. You're slipping up a lot more. Wording's a little off here and there too. But I have a feeling you just wanted to get that chapter over with. At least, that's how it comes accross.

You guys are making me feel like I should be posting something ;_;

[Evil Figment]

Well, you don't exactly NEED to...

But I'm pretty confident MR and I would both like to have you back among the writers :-D

[MistyRocks]

YES omg yes yes yes yes yes!

T, if you don't post something, *coughandhangaroundherecough* then I'm gona kick your lil ass!

[Evil Figment]

I wouldn't have put it quite THAT violently...

Or maybe I would :-D

And I completely agree with the hang around part!

[Timarelay]

Meep ^^;;; But I have nothing to post, except the last chapter or two of my Riding Fire fic which rather suck and I'm in the process of rewriting it as non-pokemon. I wonder if the thread's still here...

[Evil Figment]

But you could write something new! Writing's good for you! It's good for us all! :-D

[Blackjack Palazzo]

Yeah, the thread's still here. Just dig around in the archives for a while.

[Evil Figment]

Sorry for the delay in updates. Finals et al have been keeping me busy. I should resume a more regular updating schedule now.

Not entirely satisfied with chapter titles here. Suggestions welcome.


Chapter 3 : Dance of the Puppets

There are thing in life one learn to recognize as signs the day is not going to go well. Waking up with a leg cramp is one. Walking up unable to get out of bed is another.

Seeing one's boss storming in one's general direction, waving a piece of paper, is also generally considered a bad sign, which was the main reason James Morgan let out a groan, on what should otherwise have been a good morning.

"Morgan, Trevelyan!" he screamed out. Another bad sign; James and Jessie glanced at each other. Meowth looked up from the corner of their office, where he was calmly purring.

"What d'ya think he wants?" the feline questioned. He received no answer.

"Is that a newspaper he's waving?" James asked instead. He frowned.

"It looks like one…" James spoke dubiously.

"Wat's dat written on it?" the feline's eyes narrowed.

They glanced at each other.

"It looks like an article about that world challenge thing…" Jessie scratched her chin. "Why does he want to talk to us about that?"

They glanced at the boss.

James frowned, counted something on his fingers. "Jesse, how high did you place in the Indigo tournament that year you managed to sneak in?"

Her face fell.
_____________________

Down the street from the Indigo Convention Hall, close to the stadium, and across the streets from a tree-covered park, the Flaming Rapidash coffee shop had something of a reputation as the best coffee shop in all of Kanto. Even on bad years, trainers from all over the world would stop there during the tournaments season at Indigo.

"I think I've never actually been here before," Ash shook, leaning back in his chair on the terrace. Across the table from him, Misty smiled softly; to her left, Gary laughed openly. Duplica's smile was almost a mirror of Misty's, perhaps just a bit more mocking.

"You mean you've been missing on the best drinks in…the best non-alcoholic drinks in all of Kanto?" Gary let out a laugh. "Man, I'm almost tempted to pity you."

"I don't need your pity, Oak." Ash would have said more; under the table, however, Misty's foot found his leg. "Owww!"

"So Ash, who are you planning to take the World Challenge with?" The red-hair asked, ignoring Ash's owls of pain.

She smiled sweetly; Both Gary and Duplica smirked. Ash, on the other hand, blinked.

"Well, I was thinking of calling Richie…" He shrugged. "I didn't really think about it."

Misty smiled. "Well, you know what Lance told me?" she leaned toward him, and let out an exaggerated whisper. "He says gym leaders will be encouraged to join in the challenge…"

Duplica giggled; Gary openly grinned. Ash, on the other hand, frowned – though only for all of two seconds. His eyes widened in alarm.

"You mean you're going to take the challenge?" he exclaimed. Gary bit his lips, Duplica turned away, and even Misty rolled her eyes.

"I mean that if – you know, if – someone were to invite me, I might go…" she smiled. Ash's eyes brightened.

"Well, if you wanted to come with me, why didn't you say so earlier?" he exclaimed, smiling. Duplica shook her head with an amused smile; Gary took a long-suffering glance heavenward. Ash didn't even look at them.

"I've been saying just that for the last five minutes," she grinned at him.

Ash opened his mouth to reply. He thought better of it. "I'll still call Richie, though. We need another trainer who made the top sixteen of at least one league, anyway."

Gary nodded. Neither him nor Ash caught the glance that passed between Duplica and Misty; even if they had, it would probably have been too late already.

"Say Ash, when does the ship leave for Victory Island, again?" Duplica asked very casually – too casually.

"The ship?" he blinked. His hands darted to his backpack, but Misty had a copy of the information leaflet in hand before him.

"It says the ship will leave on May twenty," she informed them, her tone just as casual as Duplica's.

"Why do you ask?" Ash added in the tone of someone who is not really interested in the answer.

"Oh, no reason…" Duplica smiled. "You know, I know an excellent trainer who placed in the top-sixteen of the Silver convention a few years back and who's going to have a long three months of nothing to do after May ten…" she grinned.

Gary's eyebrows shot up in alarm.

"No way." He shook his head wildly. "Don't even think about it. Not going. Not a chance."

"But…" Duplica began.

"We're supposed to go on vacation together this summer, anyway. Remember?"

She giggled. "Since I'm going to Victory Island for the summer, I guess that means you'll come with me…"

"You have a team?" Ash frowned. Gary groaned, took his head in both hands.

"Of course she does. She's coming with us."

Ash looked on Misty, who was studiously looking at her fingers. Gary rolled his eyes, looked at the sky; Duplica turned hers to the table. Her fingers traced pictures on it; she began whistling.

"She what? Who says so?" Ash rose up from his chair. Gary sighed.

"I say so," Misty stuck her tongue out at Ash.

It went rather downhill from there.
___________________

"Yes Mary, this is confirmed! KBC will be sending two of our best reporters, James Morgan and Jessie Trevelyan, along with a few other trainers to make a firsthand account of the perils of Victory Island, relayed directly on KBC everyday, until the challenge is over! This is…"

Richie flipped the television switch off before the reporter could identify himself. His hotel room was typical; plenty of channels on the television, and not one of them bothered to offer anything the least bit decent. Of course, today, everyone had only one topic on their mind anyway.

His hand hovered near the phone, and he drew a phonebook from one of his pockets; raced through the names listed there. He turned to the phone to begin dialing…

Someone knocked at the door. Richie slipped the phonebook back in his pocket, went to open the door.

"Hi," a girl said nervously. Richie's eyes widened in recognition.

"May!" he greeted. "Thanks for keeping me company last night. Those parties get boring without someone to talk to."

She laughed, a nervous sort of laughter. "Well, that announcement helped make the night a bit less boring…"

He nodded. "Yeah. I was just about to call someone about it…"

"Oh…"

Richie frowned. "He probably already has a team by now though. Ash's got so many friends…"

May's eyes brightened.

"What did you want to talk about?" Richie turned back toward her.

She did not answer for a moment ; a calculating smile spread on her face.

"Well, I was going to suggest we team up for the challenge, but maybe we could call Ash, too…" she trailed off.

"You know him?"

"We traveled together for over a year," she smiled winningly. "I was a coordinator back then, of course. But anyway, what do you think?"

They looked at each other for a moment ; nodded. Richie was first to the phone, but May only half a step behind.
__________________

From: TrevelyanJessie@KBC.com
Sent: April 15, 14:32 KST.
To: BlackTulip@TrueLies.knt
Subject: Re: Old Promises

Domino,

We don't want your help. We're not interested in having the help of you and your little clique of…better not to say it.

You really HAD to mention those promises, didn't you?

We'll take the help, since you aren't leaving us any choice.

-Jessie and James

You wrote:
>Jessie,
>This is Domino. I heard you were being sent
>to Victory Island. I heard your team was not complete.
>I can complete your team, and get you some extra
>pokémon for safety – this is a dangerous place, it seems.
>
>All I ask for in return is that you allow me to be part of
>the team. I don't believe Lance when he says this is only
>to promote international trainers competition.
>
>Domino
>PS: Remember your promises.
______________________

Todd finished reading the email for the tenth time ; there was a long moment of silence.

"Would you care to tell me why we are going to Victory Island?"
Domino glanced at him ; did not bother to answer.

"I think I asked you a question…" the boy frowned, his eyes narrowing.

"You already read the email. What's there to add? I don't believe Lance, and I think there's something fishy, so I'm going to look into it. What more do you want?"

"Alright," he frowned. "What's all that about ancient promises? Does it have anything to do with…"

She interrupted him. "You know perfectly well who I used to work for. You knew before we started working together. It's a bit late to start feeling squeamish about working with what's left of Team Rocket, Snap-boy."

"You're supposed to have disbanded."

She looked at him, rolled her eyes heavenward. "We did disband. But that doesn't mean we broke all our ties. I mean, think about those gym leader friends of yours. If tomorrow someone decided to disband the league, would you expect Misty and Brock to stop talking to each other?"

Todd frowned. He said nothing, did nothing, only frowned. There was a stretching moment of uncomfortable silence.

"I suppose you're right," he finally conceded.

"Good, good," she let out an exasperated sigh. "We're not going to commit any crime here. Just asking some old…associates to help me find the truth about something."

She glanced back, quietly observed his reactions. There were none to speak of.

"So we're going to Victory Island."

She nodded. "I'll contact another old associates about getting us both pokémon."

He was already halfway to the living room door ; turned back to glance at her. "Stolen pokémon?"

Their eyes met ; a long moment stretched out in an uncomfortable eternity. Domino looked away first, a sarcastic reply dead on her lips. She winced.

"I couldn't say. I never really cared to find out."

Todd shook his head, something like disgust plain on his face. "I'll be out taking a walk."

The second he was out, Domino's remorseful look vanished, sliding off her face like water. She turned back to the computer, and began typing another email.

___________________

From : BlackTulip@TrueLies.knt
Sent: April 15, 15:23 KST.
To: ProdigalSon@PalletNet.com
Subject: Need Help (IMPORTANT!)

Gabe ;

I need a few trustworthy pokémon as soon as possible. I promised Jessie and James I'd have them sent to help them set up their Victory Island expedition. I'm going there myself – something fishy about it all.

Please have them forwarded to me as soon as possible, even if you have to steal them – not that stealing pokémon is anything new for you.

Also, please trace down Mondo. I'm told he has become a trainer and has placed pretty high ; we might need him too.

-Domino
__________________________

The day had not improved. It had, in fact, gotten worse, at least for Gary and Ash. Firmly convinced that the two boys would raise no further (silly) objections, Misty and Duplica had proclaimed it was time to begin looking for equipment.

A sane person would have found a reason to be at the other end of the town around right then. Unfortunately, either Gary and Ash had found none, or else they were clearly insane. Either way, they found themselves carrying around armloads of bags, back in the elevators of the league tower, where both Misty and Samuel Oak had their own apartment.

"Girlfriends sure can be troublesome sometime," Gary shook his head. The two girls had stopped to stare at dresses in a store's window near the League Tower ; Ash and Gary had gone on. The elevators door opened ; they both stepped out.

"Girlfriend?" Ash frowned, tried to reach for the key to Misty's apartment, in his pocket. It took him a few tries to actually get it. "Misty isn't my girlfriend…"

Gary shook his head wordlessly, looked at the boy struggling to get the key in the door, then to open the door. Taking a long sigh, Ash dropped the packs on the table near the entrance.

Gary frowned. "Mind if I drop those packs here? I don't think I want to get my key out carrying them anyway."

The phone rang.
________________________

There were five towers to the palace of the Elite Four ; the tallest of them stood apart from the others. It was a place of isolation and contemplation, a place meant for a master. It should have been a suitable place for the foremost pokémon trainer of the Dragon Clan.

Strangely, Lance had always hated it.

He sat there now, his eyes closed, his head bowed. Outside, the wind picked up ; a particularly strong gust passed through the open window, the drapes fluttering in the twilight. It reached him, carrying with it a peculiar perfume…

Lance smiled.

"That smell brings back memory," he whispered to the shadows.

The shadows did not answer ; they waited. Slowly, one detached itself from the wall, revealing a human figure. It was a woman, her face youthful and unlined despite the snow-white hair cascading to her shoulders. She wore a dark blue cloak ; pulled it tighter with another gust of wind.

"It's been a long time," she observed, smiling. Her eyes settled on Lance ; dead eyes, empty eyes, "little brother."

Lance sighed. "Cut to the point. I expect it's about the challenge?"

The smile slid off the woman's face. "Victory Island, Lance?" There was a sharp edge to her voice. "That's not what we called it, ten years ago."

"I couldn't…"

"Hint at what kind of danger you're sending those trainers in?" She laughed. There was no happiness in the laughter, only bitter echoes. "Couldn't tell them the truth about what really await on that island?"

"I did what I had to." He stood up. "There's a reason people actually found that island now. She's back, she's growing strong again…"

"And yet you're sending trainers there without telling them anything."

"Would they go if I told them? Do you seriously think any of them would go there if they had an inkling what's waiting for them, Danae?"

The woman did not answer.

[MistyRocks]

the start of that just made me think of what an absolutely awful day I've had...

Anyway, yay I like it! Tis fantastic. Course there's mistakes but you can pick em out if you read through slowly.

Ah Misty's so fantastic... I like how it's going. But just who's on Ash's team? Is it Gary Misty and Duplica? And Richie's going with May.

*poke* update faster

[Evil Figment]

Gary, Misty and Duplica are (so far) the other members of Ash's team.

May and Richie are indeeded teamed together.

[MistyRocks]

fantastic, so Misty's got no competition on the team, considering Duplica's well taken.

Good boy Damian *pats*

[Evil Figment]

*smirks* Did you not notice the "So far" part? :-D.

[Roxy_Parkington]

Hmmm, I'm interested in what "dangers" await our heroes once they reach Victory Island. Something tells me that Lance's sister will play a bigger part in coming chapters.

~Roxy~

[Evil Figment]

She will probably appear again.

[Barb]

I'm wondering who Gabe is and how he fits into Domino's plan. Good chapter as always. A bit slow, but I expect the action will pick up once everyone gets to Victory Island.

[Evil Figment]

Gabe is the name I haev decided on for a certain game-cannon character - or perhaps TWO certian game-cannon characters, which might be one and the same - one from FRLG and the other from GSC.

And in other news, I quite agree, this is a bit slow. Chapter 4 should build up to the story somewhat more, but I expect the group to sail for Victory Island in chapter 5.

[tyger]

At the risk of being eaten by the wolf.... VIctory Island -- how very Yugi-oh. =)

[Evil Figment]

ROFLOL!

For ONCE this has nothing to do with me stealing! I have never once in my life watched or even paid the slightest bit of attention to Yugioh ^^;

[Evil Figment]

Here we go for chapter 4, and another demonstration that sometime I really have no idea what I'm going to write before I write it.

(meaning that both of the last two scenes were almost entirely unplanned before I actually wrote them ; they're both spur of the moments twists.

Chapter 4 : Dire Warnings

Lance spent a long time alone after his sister had gone, contemplating. He drew books from his shelves, leafed through them, earmarked passages. He compared maps, and even took out his old journal, reflected back on old memories.

It took him the better part of an hour to reach his decision; by then, the moon was already high in the sky. He dialed the phone anyway; the people he woke up, once they listened to his explanation, did not seem to mind. It was not much, but all of them felt it was fair enough.

The announcement did not make the headlines; it was still within the first few page of every last newspaper the next morning.
_____________________

"They're what?" Gary asked quietly the next morning. They had all gathered in the living room of Misty's apartment. The newspaper, spread to the article that had left Gary's mouth wide open, was on the low-lying table; they sat on the couches surrounding it.

"Removing the pokémon limit for the World Challenge. You can take every pokémon you've ever had with you…" Misty breathed out slowly.

Duplica smiled; looked at her boyfriend. Ash sat back in his seat, his lips moving soundlessly.

"Ash?" Misty frowned at him.

He blinked, shook his head, frowned back. "Sorry…" he spoke quickly. "Just trying to remember all the phone calls I need to make, that's all."

Gary blinked at him.

"Ash released many pokémon. Pidgeot, Primeape, Charizard, Butterfree, Squirtle…"

"He released a charizard and a pidgeot?" Gary stared at Misty, his eyes widening. "Man, Ash…"

"They were better off that way…" Ash tried to defend himself; he looked away at the same time. Gary's jaws moved soundlessly, his lips imitating Ash's words.

"And now you're going to have to get them back," Duplica let out a mocking laughter. "How many of them are you planning to try to get back?"

He paused to muse for a moment; the other three stared at him, waiting for an answer. "Charizard and Squirtle to begin with. Pidgeot if I can find her, too," he paused for a moment. "I don't think I can find the others. Lapras is somewhere out there on the seas…"

"You let a lapras go…" Gary gripped his own head with both hands. "You had a lapras and you…you let it go…" he let out an agonized whimper. "Ash…"

"She was only traveling with me until we found her family again!" Ash protested. "I promised her that, that's why I even got her in the first place!"

"Maybe you should start working on finding all of those pokémon soon, Ash," Misty warned quietly. "I don't think fighting with Gary is going to help you build your team."
_________________________

The apartment in Celadon City was quiet; Todd had gone out to check on supplies for the expedition to Victory Island. Domino had encouraged the idea, piled new – and hard to find – items on his list as much as she had dared.

The clock on the wall ticked away; seconds passed into eternity. At five, there was a stir, a flight of pidgey taking off from the nearby street. She rose up; opened the door even as the doorbell rang. There was a man there, looking for all the world like a pizza deliveryman.

"A delivery here for one…" he checked the name on his pad. "…Dominique Valmont. Is that you?"

Domino's eyes darkened, widened. She bit back an oath, and threw her hand at the deliveryman's throat. It never even came close; his hand closed about her wrist before it did. The pizza box, empty, drifted to the floor.

"I told you not to use that name," she growled, struggling to free her wrist. "I told you a thousand time!"

"It's your real name. You can't pretend it doesn't exist."

"Watch me," she snorted. "I made a name for myself with Team Rocket, so kindly use that one." She paused, looked him over. "Don't toy with me, Gabriel."

"You wouldn't say that to my father," he snickered. She shivered, and her hand relaxed; he let it go. "With him, it'd be all 'Of course sir' and 'Call me as you will, sir'…" He smirked; barely got out of the way of her next punch in time.

It barely took a moment for Domino to regain her composure. "I assume the delivery is what I asked about?"

"Yeah. Twelve of the best pokémon the team's storehouse still had. All of them bred there, might I add. No unknown origin."

"None of them stolen from the Elm laboratories?" She smiled; he did not.

"I only did that once." He reached to pat a pokéball at his belt. "So I stole a totodile there that one time…"

"And trained it as your first pokémon until it was a feraligatr…" she smirked. "Which you actually tried to take to the Elite Four challenge…"

"Hey, I only did that to show Yoshi his place. Or Jimmy. Or whatever he calls himself these days…But anyway, yeah, that's what you asked for. I talked with Mondo, and he'll contact Jessie himself."

Domino frowned; for all that Team Rocket had – officially – disbanded…

"Why didn't you have him deliver the pokémon?" she asked quietly.

He looked around, at the people walking down the street. Too far to hear a thing, perhaps, yet…

"Let's get inside."
____________________

From: CharrificValleyGirl@JohtoCom.jht
Sent: April 23, 21:19 KST.
To: PokemonMaster714@PalletNet.com
Subject: Re: Charizard

He's on his way, Ash. Should be in Pallet tomorrow afternoon or so.

-Liza.
P.S.: I hear that challenge's going to be pretty tough! Good luck!
___________________

Ash glanced at his pokédex for the fifth time or so; the email was still the same. Nearly twenty hours now since he had received it, and there were still no signs of Charizard in the sky of Pallet town.

He glanced down at his belt, at the pokéball there. It felt odd, having so many of them along; it felt all the odder that so many of these were for pokémon he had not seen in years. A young police agent had delivered Squirtle's pokéball to the Oak's laboratory earlier, and Ash had recovered Pidgeot on his own, mere hours before. They had both seemed happy to see him.

He was alone waiting on the riverbank. Not that he would have chosen to be, but Misty had decided she had better things to do than wait for Charizard with him, as had Gary and Duplica. The journey to Victory Island, they had explained, would need prepared.

It took him a few minutes, perhaps three or four, to notice the stranger at the edge of the trees; perhaps he would not have noticed him at all if not for the older man's polite cough. He wore a straw hat over his head, hiding his hair but for a few graying strands. He carried a fishing pole in hand, but little else that might have identified him as a fisherman.

"Excuse me," the man said, pulling on strands of his mustache. "I think you're Ash Ketchum, aren't you?"

Ash looked him up and down; slowly nodded. "You know me?"

"I heard about you," the man waved the question away. "You're something of a famous trainer. I also heard you were planning on taking the World Challenge."

Ash frowned; relaxed. "That's not exactly secret. I mean, we were the first team to register…"

"Yes, yes," the man waved aside. "Now, listen to me," his voice sounded harsh, hard, the voice of someone used to giving command and having them obeyed. "You need to realize that Victory Island is far more dangerous than Lance has led you all to believe. There is an evil there, that does not sleep"

Ash opened his mouth to say something; the man gave him no time.

"Why didn't he tell you? Someone has to go there, and he can't. Would trainers register if he told them the truth?" he answered the questions Ash had not even be given the time to ask.

The young trainer frowned and thought it over. Slowly, he shook his head.

"Exactly. He's sending you there to fight, and doing what he must to make sure you get there," the man laughed. Ash shivered; there was something cruel, sadistic about the laughter.

"I guess I…"

"Won't go?" the man interrupted him, ignoring the frustrated glance that earned him. "I heard enough about you to know you're lying. You know I won't be able to keep every trainer from going to the island. You know others will go, that some of them might pull it off, even. And you're too competitive to let these trainers be anyone but you. That's reason one."

The shiver that went through Ash's spine lasted even longer than the last one; his eyes widened. "How…"

"Reason two is, you like playing the hero, Ash Ketchum. I heard enough about your fights with Team Rocket to know that. You like playing the hero, and if you think those other trainers are risking their life without even knowing, you'll go, because you wouldn't want to miss your chance to protect them."

Ash stood up. "Just how do you know all that about me? Who are you, anyway?" he fired off the questions; the man laughed.

"Just an unpleasant memory, really," the man laughed; the sinister echoes rang through the forest. Ash soon turned away; when he looked back, the man was gone.

Charizard arrived minutes later.
_______________________

"So, what's the real issue here?" Domino asked the boy once they were seated inside. He took a long moment before answering, his eyes wandering across the room with a look of idle curiosity. When they came back on her, they were clear and focused.

"Lance claimed that Victory Island was newly discovered, didn't he?" He reached down before she could answer, drawing a folder from the packages he had brought.

She nodded slowly.

"Look at this," he pointed at a piece of paper. "It's a passenger list for the liner SS Star Ocean II, which sank eleven years ago."

"I…" Domino opened her mouth; Gabriel interrupted her before she could say anything.

"The wreck of the Star Ocean was found earlier this year. Right next to Victory Island. In fact, it's the diving crew that was trying to pinpoint the Star Ocean that found Victory Island."

She nodded slowly, and her eyes went to the list. There were names underlined on it; names she knew.

"Lance Strife. Lorelei Silph. And…Gio…your father?" she struggled, but the name refused to come out. "The boss?"

"Indeed." He turned the passenger list, pointed at an old newspaper article under it. "This is an article summing up the sinking of the Star Ocean."

Domino read on, the words sinking in. When she reached the end, her face was pale. She could complete the picture he had begun herself, now. "Only five survivors, found nearly six months later on a makeshift wooden boat on the high seas, far from any island. All claiming they were separated from the rest of the survivors during a storm, and made the boat on a desert island…"

He nodded, turned to the last piece of paper in the folder, a short transcript of a message.

"I found that one in the Security Level Black files of the old Rocket Library. I haven't been able to find another copy of it anywhere else. It's the last distress message sent by the captain of the Star Ocean. It says the passengers were making their way on lifeboat to a large island near the ship when it sank."

"Victory Island…" Domino's voice trailed off. "But…"

"They were shipwrecked there. All of them. And over the course of the six months before they were found, someone or something killed all the others. That's the only conclusion I can find."

"Did you tell your father about it? Did he say anything about the challenge?"

Gabriel was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"He said 'it has to be done'. Then he vanished. I haven't seen him since the challenge was announced, Domino."

They were silent for the longest of moment. Their troubled eyes met.

"What are you going to do, Gabriel?"

He barely hesitated before answering.

"I'm going to Victory Island. With or without you – I need whatever answers are there."
_______________________

Brock was about to go to bed when the doorbell rang; he cursed, harsh words about anyone who thought inviting themselves in the house of people past midnight was a good idea. Still, he picked up his discarded vest from where it had fallen, walked to the door of his apartment, half opened it...

What he saw at the door; a frantic young woman ringing the doorbell, made him open fully.

"Sabrina?" he asked quietly; had no time to add anything before she was on him, her head on his shoulder, her arms holding him close. "Is there something wrong?"

She did not answer, sobbing against his chest for a long moment. When she looked up, her eyes were red, her face, pained. "The dreams…they're back, Brock. The same dreams…"

"It's alright," he smiled, pulling his arms tight about her. "You're awake now."

"I…" she shook her head. "I still see them. Even awake." Her face twisted, she let out a short, bitter laugh. "I almost wish Ash hadn't taught me to laugh and cry. Life was far easier before you all showed up." A lone tear trickled down her cheek as she spoke; but even as she did, a slow, weak smile spread across her lips, and her eyes found Brock's.

He pulled her inside the apartment, closed the door, guided her to the living room and helped her sit on a couch.

"The same dreams?" he sighed when she was finally down. Their eyes met; she nodded. "You're still thinking they're some sort of prophetic vision?"

A brief smile flashed across her lips then was gone again. "I am a psychic, Brock. I can tell the difference between normal dreams and…significant ones. What I saw tonight might not happen directly, but…it's important. It is…"

Brock sighed. "What did you see?"

"So many things. People asking questions and getting answers, only I couldn't hear the questions. People without faces. Rain that kills. You standing alone, and three graves around you. A woman who was also a man. Children running away from a fire…" her voice trailed off.

"And it all was significant?" He asked her quietly, reaching out to touch her cheek.

She nodded slowly.

"I…" her voice wavered. "I'm afraid of tomorrow Brock. I think we have very hard times ahead of us."

He pulled her close, and held her through the night.

[Roxy_Parkington]

Oooh, it looks like there's more to Victory Island than Lance is telling everyone... I especially liked Gabriel's line about Jimmy, heh. It's another great chapter, and I'll most definitely keep reading.

~Roxy~

[Evil Figment]

Thought some people might like that one :-).

[MistyRocks]

aw deadly, charizard! Definitely my favourite of Ash's pokemon! fantastic

The chapter was cool, nice to see Ash being able to collect his old pokemon.

[Evil Figment]

Charizard rules :-D.

[tyger]

I wish Ash had psyduck as well.

You changed the structure, and I still think the Jimmy line's unnecessary =P. I'll be the malefactor in this and almost every other one. ^^:;

BTW: you still haven't told me if that's Gio!

[Evil Figment]

But why should I tell you? :-D

[tyger]

But why should I tell you? :-D


Because I god damn well will strangle you in your sleep, if you don't.

[Evil Figment]

All that just to get spoiled?

Kids, these days...*shakes head*

[tyger]

All that just to get spoiled?

Kids, these days...*shakes head*


Damn right we're spoiled, what with you being such a little tart with your strict and almighty upbringing. (kicks you in the shins and runs away)

[PlatinumHawke]

Now now kids, let's settle down. ^^
*looks at Brock*
When in Rome...
*kicks him in the shins and runs away*

[Evil Figment]

LoL

Ok Tyger, I give in since you won't stop bugging until I tell.

Yes, that was Giovanni.

[Blackjack Palazzo]

I thought it was pretty obvious, myself.

I'm also looking at that line about "a woman who was also a man"...but that may be because you told me in advance.

[Evil Figment]

*grins*

I'm pretty sure people who have been paying attention to other parts of these forums lately can figure that one out easily ;-)

[tyger]

I thought it was pretty obvious, myself.

I'm also looking at that line about "a woman who was also a man"...but that may be because you told me in advance.


It's obvious alright, I just had to be stubborn and maintain my principles about getting the writer to tell me himself. =)

[Evil Figment]

Yeah, because you like to annoy me :-p

[MistyRocks]

hey guys, i like chatting as much as the next person but dear god would you update?!

Sorry man, but I wanna read more!

[Evil Figment]

Hey MR, it's only been three days ^^;

More seriously, I've been helping out with a local show lately, so next chapter is going along rather slowly. Early-to-mid may is a bad time for my writings, I'm afraid ^^;

[MistyRocks]

that's a pity cuz I'm looking forward to the next chapter...

[Evil Figment]

Yeah, I know. But what can I say? My social life isn't so active that I can pass on occasions to do stuff when they present themselves ^^;

[Timarelay]

No specific critisisms this time ^^ Good chapter. Pretty solid. When does the action start though? The real, gritty torture? It's been purely emotional, and no one's even gotten down on their knees and screamed "NOOO!" or "WHY?!" yet. Chapter 5 better bring on the death and sex and puppies!

[Barb]

I'm intrigued by the island itself now. Rain that kills; people without faces. Sounds a bit like the mysterious island from "Lost" [the show I'm addicted to], only minus the polar bears.

[Evil Figment]

The island will be...interesting. Though not all that Sabrina has seen refers to Victory Island proper : the dark times ahead are for Kanto/Johto/etc as well as the rest.

That said, and sorry for the delay...

Chapter 5 : The Length of Days

A month became weeks; weeks ticked away, became days. The stores of Kanto and Johto frantically ordered more supplies, trying to keep up with the demand of hordes of trainers readying themselves for the challenge; and most of the trainers frantically raced around, realizing slowly they had waited too long before preparing the journey to Victory Island.

Most of them.

The trainers lounging about by the lake in the Oak preserve, converted to a private beach for the evening, were not part of that "most".

"Man, doing all that shopping early sure paid off," Gary smirked, leaning against the back of his plastic chair. "Nice thinking, Duplica." He turned to her, brushed his lips against her cheek.

"I thought it was my idea?" Misty threw an ice cube from her seven-up glass at Gary. It landed on the lid of the boy's straw hat.

"Maybe," Gary laughed. "But I don't get to kiss you, so it's her idea."

Misty laughed; Duplica joined in. Gary, grinned…then shrieked in surprise as a jet of water struck his bare torso.

"Take that!" Misty smirked, jumping from her chair with a water gun in hands. She struck the trigger again and again, spraying Gary for all she was worth; Duplica watched on, still laughing.

Through it all, Ash said nothing. He did laugh; smile sometimes, but at best half-heartedly. The others, if they even noticed, did not ask why. Where they stood on the sandy beach under umbrellas, he remained alone, under the shadow of an old maple tree; while they swam in the lake, he stared at fallen leaves, counted the hours they had left.

Only pikachu seemed to care. Of course, Pikachu had been there, weeks ago, when the stranger had told him about Victory Island, about Lance's true goals.

Ash sighed.

On the beach, the party continued.
_____________________

Night fell over Pallet. The full moon shone high overhead, and dim stars glittered over the horizon. Once in a while, the call of a hoot-hoot or noctowl shattered the silence; sometimes houndour and houndoom howled in the surrounding mountains.

And Misty sat by her bedroom window, alone, her eyes drifting across the palely lit pages of an old photo album. Every so often she would pause, look at a particular picture, sighs, move on. The pictures were of people; herself and her sisters; sometimes – the older ones – with a red-hair boy on them. Others, more recent, were of Brock, and Ash, mostly of Ash. Pictures from that festival at Maiden's Peak, a lifetime ago; pictures of the Indigo league challenge. A group picture taken by Todd before they had parted way, and pictures of Orange and Johto. She turned to the last page, the picture of the Silver convention; a tear trickled down her cheek.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," she called softly.

The door opened; Ash's mother entered. Without any word, she came to sit down on the bed; glanced at the album. A smile spread across her lips.

"Thanks for letting me sleep here." They traded smiles; the older woman shook her head.

"You know you'll always be welcome here, Misty. You…" she trailed off; looked at the photo album. Misty followed her eyes; sighed. She inhaled deeply.

"You love him, don't you?" Delia asked quietly before Misty could speak.

The girl sighed. "I…"

She looked at the photo album yet again, at the moon outside. Her eyes went to the wall, remaining there for a moment as if she could see Ash sleeping on the other side. Ash's mother slowly closed the photo album, put both her hands on Misty's shoulder.

"You don't need to answer, you know," she smiled. "But…"

Misty let out a bitter laugh. "What does it matter? I have my gym to run, and he has his…his journey. Even if I loved him…" She bit her lips; Ash's mothers hand closed about hers.

Delia began saying something, slowly shook her head. She sighed. "If you really think that's for the best, Misty."

They looked at each other, remained silent for a long moment. Their eyes met; Misty looked away, hastily wiping away a tear. She gritted her teeth.

"That…it's not what I wanted to talk with you about, though." Ash's mother broke the silence; their frowns met. "Have you noticed Ash being…strange…lately? I mean…"

Misty nodded. "Withdrawn. He's been avoiding us since he got Charizard back…" Their eyes remained locked on each other's. The two frowns, mirroring each other, darkened.

"I thought…did he tell you anything?" If Ash's mother had expected more than a headshake, she was disappointed.

Another silence passed.

"You'll look after him on that island, won't you?"

This time Misty nodded.
__________________

A few hundred feet away from Ash's home, there was still light in Gary's room. The trainer, no longer a boy, sat on the floor; his hand idly fiddled through folders and loose papers. Notes, maps; the legacy of a journey and the product of the research projects he had been part of since.

He was not alone, of course. Duplica, on their bed, was still engrossed in a novel – a pirate story, of course; she flipped the page without seeming to notice the ticking clock besides her. Her hair, loose, fell to her waist; she was still in her bathrobe.

She set aside her book, sighed dreamily. "I wonder what we'll see on Victory Island…"

Gary shrugged. In front of him, three stacks of paper represented the sum of an evening of work; left, the trash, right, research notes of the past few years his grandfather could use. In the middle, mementos, old trainers diaries he could simply stuff into a box and forget about. Now all he really had left to do was put the right stack in order…

Duplica frowned. "That's not an answer, you know…"

"Wild pokémon, I guess…"

"I figured that out with all the pokéball you guys bought," Duplica laughed quietly. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Gary nodded, turned back to his stacks. Most of the notes for his grandfather were already arranged in separate folders; he began piecing together the loose sheets.

"There might be forests," he suddenly spoke up. "There ought to be, if it's an uninhabited island. Mountains, I guess. At least high hills. Maybe there'll even be some as tall as mount Silver. There might even be dragon-type pokémon…"

Gary's eyes remained on his papers. If he had looked at Duplica, he would have caught her smiling softly.

The cloaks besides them echoed a faint beat; more time passed. When Gary next looked at the arms, it was already three.

"Dear? Will you be done soon?" Duplica yawned.

He nodded absently. "Half an hour I think…"

She put both hands on his shoulders, caressed them. Gary took a single glance, smiled and fought back a growing blush. Her bathrobe was lying on the bed, discarded. She wore a sly smile, and nothing else.

"…Maybe I can finish tomorrow," he conceded.
___________________

Ash woke up early, ate little. The night had left him troubled, strange dreams and horrible ones succeeding each other's in an endless parade. With the last bit of his two toasts swallowed, he stepped outside, pikachu on his shoulder. It was still dark.

For the longest of moment, he remained on the doorstep, glancing out toward the Pallet woods.

"What do you think I should do, Pikachu?" he wondered out loud. The creature did not answer.

"Maybe I should tell them…" he hesitated before going on. "They deserve to know, don't they? But…."

"Piiiii…" the yellow mouse agreed.

"I mean, it's their safety too! But if they know, they won't come, and if they don't come, I'll be disqualified, and…"

"Piii-ka."

"I guess you're right. No choice. I should tell them, but I can't. But I don't like it!"

Something caught his eyes; he whirled to face it, a shadow detaching itself from the darker shadows of the wall. It floated before him, formless, black, sooty red lightning flashing across it once in a while.

Even as Ash stared at it, it seemed to dissipate. He turned to order Pikachu to attack it; by the time he looked back, the thing was gone entirely.

"Did you see that, Pikachu?" Ash frowned. "Maybe I need to sleep more…" A figment of his imagination, was that what it had been?

"Piii," the little pokémon shook its head. "Pika!"

"You saw it too?" he frowned. "But…"

Both of them glanced around; neither glanced up. Had they done so, perhaps they would have caught sight of the faint sooty red glow coming out of one of the upper windows.

It came from Misty's bedroom.
___________________
On the eighteenth, two days before the trainers would leave for Vermillion, cars began filtering in Vermillion from all over Kanto. It was only a handful, four or five an hour at first. By noon of the eighteenth the trickle had grown; by dusk, twenty new families or more would trickle in with every hour.

The night was a time of peace; with morning, the arrivals begin again, steadily growing, until the trickle had become a flood. The roads leading into Vermillion turned into endless rivers of metal as drivers raged at each other, waiting for the unending line to allow them in the city.

The flood on the morning of the twentieth was different, no longer cars flowing in from all over Kanto, but a human mass filtering from all ends of Vermillion, from every last hotel from the most famous five-star international plaza to rickety motels in the poorest suburbs, toward the harbor.

It was, after all, the beginning of the first world challenge. Those few who failed to come would regret it, at least as far as the people gathered in Vermillion were concerned. A historical event; what excuses could there be to miss it?

If not for the impressive security forces present, there might well have been no world challenge. A number of squads of policewomen patrolled the street leading directly to the pier; keeping a clear path for the trainers; the elite four assisted them, along with those few gym leaders who had not found themselves a team form the challenge.

"Thanks for the help," Brock waved at one of the officer Jenny after the woman had explained to a bystander why they could not get closer to the ship. She gave him a smile in answer; more than his clumsy seductions attempt of years past had ever earned him.

A hand fell on his shoulder, restraining him; he turned and glanced into Sabrina's eyes. She was frowning.

"Something the matter?"

She slowly shook her head, but her frown did not vanish. Her eyes seemed to look past in; a quick glance behind confirmed she was following the Jenny.

He gripped both her wrists gently. "You don't look like nothing's the matter."

When she nodded, he frowned. "It's just…it's something silly Brock."

"What is it?" he insisted. "I've seen enough silliness to…"

"It's the Jennies. I never liked them, that's all. It's…you wouldn't understand. Forget it."

Brock hugged her tightly
_______________________

The trainers began arriving a few hours later, around ten. Brock, waiting for them just before the ship, saw familiar faces after familiar faces – Todd along with Jessie and James, Richie and May along with two other girls he could have sworn he knew even if their names escaped him, and of course, ultimately, Ash and Misty, along with Gary and Duplica.

Cheers after cheers went up from the crowd, cheers for friends and family members, sometime cheers for particularly well-known trainers such as Ash and May. Cheers, too, for Lance when he finally showed up, and for Charles Goodshow when he arrived seconds later.

There were speeches, of course, though few present would remember them. The importance of fair play and teamwork was brought up times and times again; Jessie looked away at mention of fair play. She had, after all, stolen the badges she had used to get to the league.

At noon, the SS Tidal Queen slowly slid away from its pier, sailing south. Onboard, five hundred and twenty nine trainers, eager to seek their fortune, to find new adventures in a new land, longing to discover unknown countries, watched the sinking coastline, their pokémon besides them.

Misty, her eyes betraying lack of sleep, yawned, glanced back at the shore. Gary and Duplica were in their cabin – officially catching a nap, though their version of napping seemed a rather noisy one – while Ash was not far from her, half-hidden in the shadows of a walkway. His face, lost in thoughts for days, was now plainly worried.

A pair of trainer – one, red-hair and green eyes with a Rapidash, the other, spiky hair matching the ragged fur of his growlithe – passed between the two of them, deep in talk. Misty barely glanced at them; Ash didn't even seem to notice they were there. His eyes were on the sea, looking southward, toward Victory Island.

"Misty!" A girl cried out. The red-hair gym leader turned barely in time; a speeding human shape fell on her, catching her in a hug. She wore twin ponytails of her dark red hair; her eyes sparkled. "It's been, like, forever!"

Misty smiled, a forced smile perhaps. "It's been a long time," she agreed. "I didn't know you were taking the challenge, Sakura."

The girl grinned. If she noticed that Misty was perhaps not as enthusiastic as she appeared, she said nothing. Three more trainers followed her; all familiar faces, Casey with her baseball caps, and Richie and May looking much as they had during the final of the Evergrande tournament.

In the shadows, Ash's faced turned to a frown.

"Too many friends…" he sighed.

[PlatinumHawke]

mmmm, Impending doooom. ^^ But with 529 people? Given 4 to a team, that's one extra floating around. Oh well, more fodder for the cannon. =P

...oh and...

Yay for Gary.
Boo for Brock.

[Evil Figment]

It's 4 to 7, not 4 always. Ash and May's teams both have 4, but the Rocket team (for example) is running at 6 (Gabriel, Domino, Todd, Jessie, James, Mondo).

[MistyRocks]

oh yeah, I tried replying to this yesterday couldn't for some unknown reason... I think my computer's got a virus cuz its just gone crazy like

Anyway, I really liked it. what can i say? it's great! But the small mistakes, like you have this odd thing with the letter 's' you keep adding them or leaving them out at the end of words (not all the time, but it's noticable... at least to me... but don't mind me, I'm weird and strange with things like that. I'm always pissed off if there's a typo in a novel cuz it's like 'oh my god, there's millions of copies of this same typo out all over the world! would you ever proofread!!'. sorry, I'm getting distracted and making these brackets drag on for quite awhile.) that's my only criticism!

oh yeah and WOO Misty loves Ash and they shall hook up on the island be together forever and hopefully all the cruddy characters *coughbrockcough* end up dead... Brock bites

I am sleep deprived!

[Evil Figment]

Brock'S fate is undetermined :-D.

[Barb]

I loved the scene with Misty and Delia. I've always thought of Delia as a surrogate mother to Misty (especially during the times she traveled with Ash), and I could see them becoming friends as Misty got older. One typo: "The cloaks beside them echoed a faint beat..." I presume you meant 'clocks.'

[Evil Figment]

Clock, actually, but yeah.

And yes, that's mostly how I've always seen the relationship between Delia and Misty (though for whatever reason, I never got around to writing a scene of the two of them before...).

[Timarelay]

Good chapter again. ^_^ Not much to say that hasn't been said. Any mistakes I saw have already been pointed out. And so have all the good things ^^

Is Sakura a Misty-rival?

[Evil Figment]

Not particularly. More of a friend, though perhaps not as much of a friend as Sakura would like at this point in Ambition's Debt.

[Evil Figment]

Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again! ^^;

New chapter up. Shortest to date, I think, but things actually begin to happen.

Chapter 6 : The Price of Trust

The room had once been a conference room, used by the board of directors of a major corporation – once, when the world had seemed far simpler to those now sitting around the table. Now, it was something else entirely. The paintings of the corporation's founders had long since been removed, the triptych that had replaced them a thing of fire and suffering; computers covered every corner of the tables and desks.

To the men and women gathered about the table, the rest of the room mattered little. They had not met often, only a few times really, since that first, terrible meeting, only a few years ago.

At the head of the table, leaning against the back of her chair, a woman watched them all; watched the television screen propped against the far wall; the Tidal Queen sailing away on it.

"Almost too easy…" she whispered; a few head, those of the people closest to her, turned.

"Did you say anything, miss Silph?" one of them asked.

She shrugged, and made no answer; they turned back to her work. Her cold eyes went back to the television screen. What had Lance been thinking, sending all those trainers away, and now?

"Do you think the trainers will be safe once they get to that…how did they call it? Victory Island?"

"Not a chance," someone else, further down the table, looked up. "Even that island has to be part of the network. Everything will work just fine, as soon as we're done fine-tuning the programming..."

"Are you…"

She stood up, surveyed them all. The room fell silent; her eyes turned to the programmers huddled together around their computer screens.

"It will work," she said. Three simple words, but they all nodded and turned back to their work. "It has to work," she added in a quieter whisper. This time, no one seemed to hear it.
_____________________

It had taken Misty barely an hour to realize something was wrong with Ash when he had returned with Charizard. Richie, once the two trainers met again onboard the Tidal Queen, needed barely a quarter of that.

And, where Misty had been content to remain silent and simply watch over Ash, he did not.

"What's the matter with you?" he found himself yelling with the last peaks of the Fuchsian Mountains sinking beneath the horizon. Ash, so far barely even acknowledging the young man, gave no sign he would even consider answering.

"Richie!" Misty protested; from Ash's shoulder, Pikachu nodded in agreement. Sakura and Casey, who had been talking with Misty, glanced at the yelling boy.

Ash simply looked away, half-closing his eyes.

Richie ignored Misty, shook Ash by the shoulders. "We're your friends, Ash! Why won't you trust us?"

Misty took a step forward, toward Richie; May stepped between them. She had her hands on her pokéball, no idle threat with the League Champion ring on her finger. "Leave them alone," she ordered. The other trainers on the ship began to edge away

Misty closed her hand about one of her pokéball in turn. Her eyes narrowed, and the crowd drew further away. "You think you can stop me?" the gym leader growled.

May said nothing – she laughed. Someone closed her hands over Misty's wrist, began pulling back. Casey stepped between the two trainers.

"Stop it, both of you…" Sakura pleaded, still pulling on Misty's arms.

"Not a chance," Misty snarled, struggling to free her hands. May closed her fist about one of her pokéballs.

"Misty!" Sakura pleaded again. Her grip tightened.

"Both of you…" Casey added.

"Let me go…" Misty turned to glare at Sakura. "Ash…"

The boy, weathering Richie's shouts again, turned to look at her, at them all. There were tears rolling down his cheek.

"All of you…" he breathed. "Stop it! All of you!"

They did stop; they turned to look at him. Misty sighed. "Ash…"

"Can you go get Gary and Duplica, Misty? Please? I…I need to talk to you all."
_____________________

The other trainers on the Tidal Queen had cleared a wide circle about Ash and the others from the start of their fight; beyond that, they showed little interest in the shouting match. Most of them turned away, to their own discussions; some went below deck, to the battling arena to fight.

But two pair of eyes remained on the fight, their owners lounging on the deckchairs at the prow of the ship.

"So that's the famous Ash Ketchum," Gabriel Marazano nodded thoughtfully before stretching out. He reached up to adjust his hat against the sun. In a black t-shirt and jeans, no one would have ever thought he had once been one of the highest ranking members of Kanto's most feared crime syndicate; no one would have thought of his companions either, blue jeans and white tank-top, dark sunglasses and loose blonde hair. "And his pikachu."

Domino snickered. "I wonder if Jessie and James are going to remember they're not supposed to capture that rat anymore."

"Maybe you should stay with them to make sure they remember."

She shook her head, looked down at the group. "Nah. I don't want to be around when they talk with Ketchum. I met him a few time since I started working with Todd, he always look at me like I'm going to sprout a monster head or something."

Gabriel frowned, his eyes still on the fight. "Odd. Did you meet him before the team disbanded?"

"Not that I remember." Domino shrugged. Ketchum and his friends were shouting louder now; Domino tried to listen. A few words drifted through. "Wonder what Ketchum is hiding."

"I think he knows," Gabriel shrugged. His eyes were not on Ash, had not been once since that one glance, at the beginning of the fight. "I think someone told him."

"Told him…the Star Ocean, you mean?" Domino frowned. "Who? Why?"

He shrugged, glanced at her, went back to watching the group beyond. "Who knows? Could be Lance. I heard he was taking a lot of interest in Ketchum's quest."

She glared accusingly, half-rose from her chair. "You don't seem to care much how much he knows."

Another shrug, and Gabriel turned to face her. "It's not like it's a criminal secret we're trying to keep."

"But…" she began, shook her head with a weary sighs. "Sorry, just a habit from the old days."

He nodded.
_____________________

The Elite Four helicopter flew against the winds returning to Indigo. None of its passenger spoke on the way back – Lance working on his laptop; Brock glancing down through the windows; Sabrina browsing through a trade paper version of some comic book series.

They landed after about three hours of flight; the sight that greeted Brock when they did brought a frown to his face. Will, Karen, and Koga, all waiting for them?

"What's the matter?" Lance asked the second he could be heard over the helicopter's engine.

It was Karen who stepped forward to speak. "We received this, Lance." She handed the League champion a videophone recording. "It's from the mayor of Alto Mare."

Lance nodded, sat down on one of the stone bench, and opened up his laptop. Seconds later, the recording in his DVD drive, he frowned.

"What's the matter?" Brock asked Karen. Of Brock's own age, she had been the most welcoming of all members of the Elite four.

"The town's falling apart," she shrugged. "The people, really. Crime is through the roof, families are breaking apart faster than they can form…" she shrugged, shook her head. "The mayor wants us to go take a look at thing."

Will snorted. "We're thinly stretched as it is. We can't really afford to take care of a city that has always refused full membership with the League."

Lance closed back his laptop and stood up. "That will do, Will," he warned quietly.

Will stiffened, then reluctantly nodded.

Koga frowned. "What are we going to do about it then? The kid's right about our resources."

"What worries me is now how stretched we are. It's that this…corruption…has begun in Alto Mare of all place. That place has always been…guarded." Lance looked at each of them in turn; when his eyes met Brock's, he blinked. Brock's lips moved soundlessly, forming the name "Latias"; the dragon tamer nodded. "One of us has to go."

The other members of the Elite four glanced at each other. Brock did not bother. "I can go," he offered, his eyes still staring straight into Lance's. The league champion nodded again.

"But…" Will began to object. Lance glared at him, and the boy fell back to muttering.

"I'll go with Brock, if no one disagree," Sabrina offered, looking up from her comic books. "The gyms are closed for the duration of the world challenge, after all."

Lance nodded.
___________________

There had been few interruptions as Ash recounted everything he had been told in the woods of Pallet Town; even once he had been done, the group remained silent for a while.

Then Misty had stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The others had slowly trickled out of the room. Richie, Sakura had remained the longest, but there had been little, too little to say. In the end, it was Ash, curled up in a ball, crying, and friends trying to comfort him when part of them wanted nothing more than to let him suffer.

They had all left, except one.

"Why aren't you with them?" Ash hissed when the boy sat down besides him, on his cabin's bed. Gary, once his closest friend, too long his greatest rival.