[CyberCubed]

(Part 2)

~*~*~*~

“This is the place,” Tana said.

The trio stood before a shady nightclub with neon lights on the windows and beer cans scattered all over the floor. There were several people walking in and out of the club, as well as a few sitting on the curb in front of it while drinking themselves silly. Cigarette smoke filled the air which even made Gardevoir uneasy, despite the fact that its respiratory system is different than that of a human. The people were mostly young kids who looked like they were part of some street gang or another, several with shaved heads and matching tattoos that unified their identity. Needless to say, it wasn’t a pretty place.

“So this is where my wife is being held, perfect,” Norman said sarcastically.

“You know this place?” Tana asked.

“Yes, every crook and low-life in Petalburg hangs out here. Thank goodness it’s far away from my Gym, I wouldn’t want my kids socializing with these people,” he said, crossing his arms.

They walked onto the sidewalk next to the club while several of the people looked up at the trio suspiciously. Norman turned to Tana and whispered to her.

“It would be best to return Gardevoir to its Pokeball. Pokemon aren’t allowed in this club and we don’t want to attract any unneeded attention,” he whispered.

“Good call,” Tana said. She reached into her pocket to take out its Pokeball, but fidgeted thanks to the handgun also being in the same pocket. When she pulled out her hand with the Pokeball, the handgun fell to the floor noisily. Norman took notice of the gun as Tana scrambled to pick it up and put it back in her pocket. She pushed her hair out of her eyes nervously and turned to Gardevoir. “Gardevoir…return,” she said, flustered.

The red laser retracted Gardevoir back into its Pokeball and she slid it back into her pocket, a different one than the handgun this time. She looked up at Norman as she knew she had to give him an explanation as to why she had a loaded handgun with her.

“Why didn’t you tell me about that?” Norman asked.

“I…I don’t know. I was going to tell you about it eventually, but the opportunity never presented itself,” Tana said, struggling as to what to say. “I’m…I’m not going to lie. There’s…a good chance that Ross won’t survive the night.”

“You should have stated you intentions sooner,” Norman said sternly.

“I know, I just want to make sure this madness ends tonight,” she said, looking up at the man towering over her. The gun was part of the plan all along, but she knew that keeping it a secret until the last minute was not going to settle well with him. “Are…are you going to try and stop me?”

“Yes,” Norman said, “Give me the gun.”

“But that man raped your wife! How can you not…not want…?” she desperately asked.

“Hand me the gun,” he said sternly. He held out the palm of his hand and positioned it near her face.

She hesitated and muttered some profanity under her breath. The man didn’t flinch however, and continued to hold out his hand. She shook her head angrily and reached into her pocket and handed the gun over to him. She placed it in his hand and turned away in disbelief.

“Thank you,” Norman said.

He unloaded the handgun and dropped the bullets to the floor while Tana watched. He then put the now unloaded gun into his pants pocket.

“No guns,” he said.

“But…aren’t you angry at all?!”

“I said no guns. I’ll deal with Ross as I see fit,” Norman said, turning back to the club.

“This is not just about you, though, it’s about Brock and Jamie too! I’m hurting about this just as much as you are!”

“I know, don’t worry, Ross will be brought to justice,” he assured her, “Just not that way.”

Tana frowned and crossed her arms, she had been planning this for a full week and Norman disarmed her in an instant. In the grand scheme of things, she was just an ordinary girl, not someone confident enough to take a persons life. Whether it was Brock or Norman, neither of the men would abide to pulling the trigger and killing someone in cold blood.

“So, how are we going to handle this then?” she asked.

“We’ll cross that bridge as we come to it,” he replied.

“Great,” she muttered.

One week ago…

“Please…don’t take him to Ross!” Tana pleaded.

“Why not? Don’t you see, Tana, this is our lucky break!” Jamie said convincingly, “If we get Brock drunk enough when we bring him to Ross, we can get him to sign the contract! The contract will legally say that all rights and ownership of the Pewter Gym will shift from Brock’s family to Ross. There’s nothing to lose from this! Brock won’t even get hurt, I’m sure Ross will let him go as soon as he signs the contract. Plus, this could be my only chance to get back together with him. He’ll totally forgive me for this.”

“You don’t know that, you don’t know that at all,” Tana said angrily, “Ross isn’t a forgiving person, and I bet even if you do bring Brock to him he’ll just use him to his advantage and scoff at you. The man nearly KILLED you, Jamie, what the hell is wrong with you?”

Jamie turned around and shook her head hastily. She put her dark sunglasses over her eyes and pulled her long green hair into a ponytail, she didn’t want Tana to notice the tears she had in her eyes.

“That…that was because I hurt him,” Jamie said, nervously, “I…I accidentally cut his chin while I was giving him a shave…and…and he…”

“He punched you in the face and gave you the beating of your life,” Tana reminded her, her words spoken in a harsh manner. “A man who beats you because you accidentally made a small cut on his chin while working with shaving cream does NOT deserve a second chance.”

“That’s, that’s not true!” Jamie whined, her voice cracking, “I’ll…I’ll be more careful next time! I won’t make that mistake again, and when I bring him Brock he’ll forgive me, it’ll be like we never broke up!”

“Bull. You’ll never forget the pain you endured and the amount of stitches you needed to get. Nor will you forget all the blood you lost and how many days and nights you spent crying your eyes out while trying to forget about this trauma,” Tana said, as her voice began to shift into a more understanding tone. “What’s the matter, Jamie? We have everything we want right now.”

The tears cascaded down Jamie’s cheek, the sunglasses could no longer hide her sadness and frustration.

“No…NO! YOU have everything you need. Brock is your boyfriend and not mine. My only chance is to make things up with Ross and get my man back,” Jamie cried hysterically, “I promise you, Tana, Brock will not be harmed! I just need him drunk enough to sign a contract, and that’s it! After that you’ll have your man back and I’ll have mine. It’s a win/win situation, I don’t see why you can’t let me be happy!”

“You’re making excuses for yourself, Jamie,” she said, shaking her head, “You’re kidding yourself if you think you’ll be happy with that man.”

“Please, Tana, just let me be happy. Just promise me you won’t get in the way, please,” she pleaded.

Tana was silent.

“When Brock gets back from the store with the groceries, I’ll let him know that I want to take him to meet a good friend of mine,” Jamie said, confidently, “We’ll first stop off at a bar and get him drunk, and then I’ll lug him over in my car and drive to Ross. There he’ll sign the contract, and the Pewter Gym will officially be under Ross’ control instead of Brock’s. That’s all I need to do, that’s all I need to get his forgiveness.”

“And how do you think Brock will feel when he’s sober again? How do you think he’ll feel when he realizes he’s signed his Gym away?” Tana asked.

“I…don’t know. That’s none of my concern, it’s just something you’ll have to deal with. He’s your boyfriend, remember? He’s your responsibility after that, not mine,” she said sternly, wiping her face quickly, “I just promise you to bring him back unharmed. That’s it.”

“Sometimes I’m ashamed to consider you my friend,” Tana scoffed, “You’re willing to hurt my boyfriend by letting him lose his Gym for Ross’ own personal gain. And you’re willing to sell your soul for the devil again. Next time Ross decides to go ballistic on you because you made a little cut on his chin, you might not come out of it alive.”

She walked toward the bedroom door and turned the handle.

“Tana,” she whined.

“And I may not be there to save your life again,” Tana said, angrily.

She opened the door and slammed it behind her, leaving a somber and conflicted Jamie in the room by herself.

Five days ago…

“WHERE IS HE?” Tana demanded.

“He’s with Ross!” Jamie cried, “He…he wouldn’t let him go!”

“What do you mean? Jamie, what the hell did he do to Brock? Where’s my boyfriend?” she shouted.

She ran over to her friend and rattled her arms, the two women were emotionally wrecked.

“I TOLD YOU!” Jamie cried, “Brock wouldn’t sign the contract, even when he was drunk. Somehow…he…he was sober enough to know not to sign it. Ross…got angry, and…and he didn’t let him go! He’s still there now, I’m not sure what he’s doing to him!”

“Jamie, you idiot!" Tana exclaimed, slapping her friend across the face, “I need my boyfriend back, I need you to go back there and get him back for me!”

“But…”

“PLEASE!”

Several minutes of frustration and arguing went by before they reached an agreement.

“I’ll…I’ll try…” Jamie cried.

“Th-thank you!” Tana said emotionally.

The two women hugged each other for comfort as they moped in each others arms.

Four Days ago…

“You’re the only person I can turn to for help, and I know how much you care for Brock and his friends. Please, help me?” Tana begged.

Professor Latrommi got up from his seat and scratched his chin. He walked around the desk in the living quarters and held his hands behind his back. He looked up at the ceiling and pondered for a few minutes as Tana watched patiently.

“I cannot loan you my Tyranitar for various reasons, thus the only Pokemon I can spare is my Gardevoir,” Latrommi said, “I believe Ash and his friends told you about this, but that Gardevoir is the same one that performed the surgery on his Swellow when it was crushed by a tree before they met you at the beach. It…it would be the one most suitable for the job.”

“Thank you, Professor!” Tana said jovially, “I don’t want to get Ash and May involved in this, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t let them know what happened to Brock.”

“I understand. Those kids have been in enough trouble lately, I’d rather them stay clear of this one,” Latrommi said, “I care for Brock a great deal, he’s a funny guy, all he really wanted to do was attract girls and get some women. I actually tried to help him with this with a ray gun of mine that attracted the female species to him, although that didn’t work out as planned. Heh, you promise you'll help him?”

“I do, thank you for your support,” Tana said.

She walked out of the living quarters and back into the lobby of the lab, where Gardevoir’s Pokeball would be transported to the transfer machine from the Pokemon Center.

Latrommi yawned and stretched out his arms, he turned around as he picked up his phone to dial Nurse Joy.

“It’s a shame Brock got mixed up in such a bad situation, I hope Gardevoir and the girl can rectify this,” Latrommi said, “Heh, maybe after she rescues him I can ask them to make a video of them having fun with one another. I certainly enjoyed the first tape I have of those two girls together, hee hee!”

He scratched his rear before dialing on the phone, eager to get Nurse Joy on the line to help with this dire situation.

…Present…

“Careful, this place is anything but friendly,” Norman warned.

Tana and Norman walked into the chaotic club, which was filled with loud music and chattering. There was the smell of beer and cigarette smoke in the air as well as the stench of urine. Tana had to hold her nose, she couldn’t believe that these people were able to endure the odor.

The bar was against the wall typically with several stools next to the counter, most of which were occupied. The bartender was a gruff looking man with a beard and a raggedy shirt. His face consisted of routine, as if he had served the beers for the people in this club for several years.

Norman tapped Tana on the shoulder and told her to wait there as he went to speak with the bartender. Tana complied and instead glanced around the club a bit more. She noticed some pool tables, a dart board, people sitting on the dirty floor in their drunken state, and some poles with strippers swinging around in the back of the club. She cringed at the thought that Brock and Caroline were being held at a place like this, it was unbearable to think what they were subjected to here. The stench alone was enough to kill anyone, in which she kept her nose closed.

The bartender backed up away from the counter in shock as he recognized the man who approached him.

“You’re….you’re Norman from the Petalburg Gym!” the bartender gasped.

“Yes, I am. I’m looking for someone named Ross, and I know he’s in this club, could you point me in the right direction?” Norman asked.

The bartender ignored his request, and continued to gasp in shock. “I don’t believe it, it’s you Norman, the Petalburg Gym leader!” he gasped again.

The people sitting on the stools next to the bar looked up surprised at the famous Gym leader, and quickly got up off their stools and exited the club. Various people muttered to each other that Norman of the Petalburg Gym was here, and since he was famous in Petalburg, nearly everyone knew who he was.

“What is he doing here?” a man asked.

“I can’t believe it, I hope he doesn’t get Officer Jenny involved here,” a woman shouted.

“Is he still looking for his wife? I heard she was kidnapped?” another man gasped.

Tana was taken back when nearly every single person in the club was gaping at Norman’s appearance. Several people darted out of the club as fast as possible, while many of the strippers jumped off their polls and ran into the back room. She stared in shock and disbelief as people brushed past her to exit the club, many of them with a look of anxiety and fear on their faces. Norman’s reputation as a stern and powerful Gym leader carried his importance all the way to the poorer and dirtier sections of Petalburg, everyone here knew who he was. And more than that, they were afraid of him.

“Hey, don’t all run away!” the bartender shouted, “There’s still business to be had here!”

The people in the club ignored his request, and before too long, the once busy and bustling club was reduced to three people; Tana, Norman and the bartender.

“I don’t believe it, they’re all gone,” Tana said.

“Yeah, o’course they’re all gone!” the bartender scoffed, “With Mr. Gym leader here he scared away all my customers!”

“Why are they all afraid of him?” Tana asked.

“You kiddin’ me? Norman could run any of the low-lives here into the ground with his Slaking, he’s very well respected even by the scum that show up here every week. Nobody is going to get on his bad side, especially now that his wife is missing,” he said, placing down an empty bottle on the counter.

“Tana, keep quiet,” Norman instructed. He turned to the bartender hastily. “I’m losing my patience quickly, so I’ll ask you again. Where is Ross?”

“Ross? Sorry, don’t know him,” he replied.

Norman angrily reached over the counter and grabbed the man by his shirt. The bartender stuttered in fear as Norman dragged him off the counter and slammed him against a wall. He held his back pinned up against the wall, while he angrily screamed in his face.

“Ok, maybe I do know him…but he’s not here right now!” he said desperately.

“LIAR!” Norman shouted, slamming his body harshly against the wall once more, “I know he’s here. I’ve had a psychic Pokemon track him down to this club. WHERE IS HE?”

“He’s…he’s…”

“ANSWER ME!”

“Norman, maybe you should…” Tana said timidly, reaching out her hand to try and get him to calm down.

“Tana, leave this to me,” Norman said, turning toward her. He then pulled the bartender away from the wall and threw him down onto the floor. The man scampered to his feet quickly but Norman made sure to hover over him.

“Last chance, tell me where Ross is or I’ll have my Slaking tear this entire club down brick by brick. Don’t make me say this again,” Norman warned, holding a Pokeball in his hand.

“FINE! FINE!” he gasped, “Ross is in one of the rooms in the back, he’s been staying here for about a week! I think he has some other people staying in there with him too but I’m not sure. Please, that’s all I know!”

“That’ll be all then, now you can get out of my sight,” Norman said.

The bartender nodded and scampered out the front door without looking back. Tana was impressed as much as she was shocked, May’s father really was scary when he screamed. She could now see why people were so afraid of him, Norman’s bad side was NOT something you would want to be on the receiving end of.

“We’ve found him, Tana, we’ve found him, finally,” Norman said, relieved, “Brock and Caroline are being held in the sleeping quarters in the back of this club. We need to do this carefully.”

“Yes, I know,” Tana said, “I don’t believe he knows that we’re here yet, or at least I hope he doesn’t. The people here did scream a lot, so I hope he doesn’t know the club is deserted. If we can take him by surprise, all the better.”

“Indeed, but do not let your Pokemon out of its ball just yet. I first want to make sure that we can get Brock and Caroline out of here safely. After that, I’ll deal with Ross personally,” he said.

“How are you going to do it? You unloaded my gun, and we don’t have any other weapons on us beside our Pokemon,” she said.

“We don’t need weapons, all we need is our Pokemon by our side. Ross will be brought to justice, that’s all you need to know,” he said.

Tana sighed. He’s taking control of this mission himself, not that I blame him because it is his wife. I just hope I can get a good blow on Ross myself, I have a score to settle with him, she thought, I don’t even know if Jamie is here at the moment, if she isn’t, it’ll be much easier to confront Ross and take him down. If she IS here, then she better not get in the way. I just hope she doesn’t try to stop us, or else I’ll have no choice but to take her out for her own good.

Norman and Tana slowly walked side by side to the back of the club, where one closed door separated it from the room that Ross and their loved ones were surely in. They slowly walked toward the door, quietly, hoping to get this over with quickly. Just as Norman was about to turn the handle, he heard someone scream his name from the front of the club.

“NORMAN! Long time, no see!” Ross shouted.

Norman and Tana turned around quickly, shocked to see that Ross and four other men were standing at the front of the club. They were all dressed in dark attire with chains hanging down their necks, presumably friends of Ross by their hostile demeanor.

“You…you knew we were here?” Norman asked, surprised.

“Sure, the people who ran out of the club notified me the first thing. I have a lot of friends here, as you can see.” Ross smiled, looking over at his four companions. There were two on each side of him, some of which were already starting to crack their knuckles. “You made a big mistake coming here, Norman, my buddies and I would like to finish the job that I started with your face.”

Norman took his hand and rubbed his cheekbones and his mouth slowly, feeling the torn tissue from their last encounter. He still didn’t fully heal yet from when Ross jumped him and kidnapped his wife, thus Ross’ line agitated him greatly.

“You scumbag, where are Brock and Caroline?” Tana blurted out.

“I figured you’d be here too, since you were the one that helped Norman’s daughter back in the alley, right?” Ross asked snobbishly, “Man, I can’t wait to get my hands on that girl and pay her back for what she did to me. You know, maybe after I deal with you two I’ll go back to the Petalburg Gym for the rest of them. I already have Pewter Gym under my control, I’d like to add the Petalburg Gym to my collection as well.”

“What? Brock would never…” Tana gasped.

“Yeah, that’s the plan. Now that both of May’s parents will be out of commission, I’ll go back for the girl myself,” Ross said, “And don’t worry, Norman, if your wife was any indication, your daughter is sure going to be entertaining as well. I’ll be sure to take her innocence from her.”

Norman had heard enough, and was no longer ready to play anymore games. He threw his Pokeball ahead of him as his Slaking materialized on the floor. The gorilla had its massive fists on the ground, staring at its prey angrily. It snorted from its nose and awaited his masters’ command. Norman nodded in Tana’s direction.

“Gardevoir, come out!” Tana commanded, throwing her Pokeball in the air.

The feminine figure of the white and green Gardevoir formed next to Slaking, swaying back in forth in its typical eerie demeanor.

Ross and his accomplices did nothing but grin when they saw the two Pokemon ahead of them. They appeared to have no Pokemon with them, but the four men apparently had no fear about confronting them themselves.

“Alright, boys, get this over with quickly,” Ross said, “I have someplace to be, mainly the Petalburg Gym!”

“NO!” Norman shouted, “Slaking, pummel through them, now!”

Slaking roared as it raced toward the four men, ready to tear them to pieces. Instead of jumping out of the way, the men instead pulled out electric tasers that were in the shape of handguns. Before Norman could see what was going on, the men were firing blasts of electricity from their weapons at the massive ape.

Slaking screamed as the electric shocks came in contact with its body, but such attacks would not phase the ape completely. It used its massive arm to slam two of the men into a wall, harshly hurting them while the other two continued to fire.

Gardevoir hovered in the air and fired Shadow Ball attacks at the men, one of them which collided with the bar and destroyed it in the process.

“Ross is getting away!” Tana exclaimed.

“I’ll run after him!” Norman shouted, “You go into the back room and see if you can help my wife and Brock!”

Tana nodded and quickly ran to the door in the back of the club while their Pokemon were battling the punks with electric tasers. She turned the knob but the door was locked, so she frantically backed up a few steps and tried to kick down the door.

Ross darted out of the club and onto the street, looking around quickly for a means of escape.

“Dammit, where is my motorcycle?” Ross complained, “I’ll have to leave Caroline and Brock there, but who gives a damn. I had my fun and I have the contract, that’s all that matters.”

One of the punks saw Norman running toward him and tried to zap him with the taser. Norman avoided his attack and gave him a fierce punch to the face which sent him flying on his back. The Gym leader was about to exit the club when he turned around to take one last look at the situation. Slaking and Gardevoir were screaming in pain as they received multiple shocks of electricity, but they did not let down their masters in the least. As much as they were getting hurt, the Pokemon still fought intently and bravely, using their own attacks to constantly give the four men the fight of their life. He also noticed that Tana had managed to kick down the door in the back of the club, and watched her run inside. He put a half smile on his face as he realized that Tana would soon see his wife, Caroline, as well as Brock. Knowing that he had to stop Ross as he couldn’t let him get to the Petalburg Gym where his children were, Norman quickly turned around and dashed out the club.

He was standing on the sidewalk in front of the club when he noticed Ross charging at him on his motorcycle. He was twirling a chain in the air as he drove by and took a swing at Norman. The chain wrapped around Norman’s arm harshly, in which Ross pulled on the chain and dragged him down to the ground. The Gym leader screamed as he was being dragged down the street against his will while Ross rode on his motorcycle, cackling all the way.

Norman tried to pull the chain off his arm with all his might, but it was of no use. The chain was wrapped around his arm too tight and he was being dragged down the street at the same time as the motorcycle went 10mph. Ross was clearly toying with the man, and enjoyed torturing him as Norman’s body was being pulled along.

“Ha, that’s enough for now,” Ross said, stopping his motorcycle, “I’ll let the boys at the club finish you off, have fun!”

He dropped the chain to the floor and drove off in his motorcycle at top speed. Norman lie on the floor, with pain fluctuating through half his body and the chain still around his arm. He struggled to sit up straight and after a few more moments of sustaining the terrible pain in his body, he slowly unwrapped the chain from his arm. He panted desperately and wiped the blood off his face, discouraged that he was unable to prevent Ross from getting away.

“Damn…he’s heading toward my house,” Norman grunted, struggling to stand on his feet, “There’s no way I can get there before him…unless I get Gardevoir to teleport me there. Ugh, I…must head back into the club…can’t let him harm May and Max.”

Norman staggered, clutching his left arm as he headed back toward the club. The man had taken a heavy beating from being dragged down the street, but he was not willing to give up. He could hear all the explosions and roars from the Pokemon inside the club, he feared that even Slaking and Gardevoir were being taken down by the four men with tasers.

Inside the club, Tana entered the small, dark room after kicking open the door. She slowly peered inside, but the room was vacant. She turned on the lights and saw only a single mattress against the wall, a table with several pills covering it, and broken beer bottles scattered along the floor. Her eyes scanned the room quickly, but there was nobody there!

“I don’t believe this, I thought Brock and Caroline were being held here!” Tana gasped, “Did Ross move them to another place?”

“He did,” a voice called out from behind, “They’re around here somewhere, but not in a place where you’ll ever be able to find them.”

Tana turned around quickly and was astonished when her longtime friend Jamie came walking toward her.

“Jamie?” Tana gasped, “So you ARE here! Thank goodness, you can help me get them out of here!”

Jamie shook her head. Tana immediately knew something was strange.

“Jamie, what’s the matter?” Tana asked, taking a step toward her, “What are you…?”

Before she could say another word, Jamie fried her with her own electric taser. She fiercely shoved the taser into Tana’s stomach, surprising her best friend with a devastating attack. The electricity coursed through her body as Tana fell to the ground, completely dumbstruck that her friend turned on her like that.

Jamie peered over at Tana’s fallen body, which was twitching from the shock. She chuckled and put her taser away, as she then kneeled down over her friend and rubbed her hand through her hair.

“Ross and I are going to be happy together,” Jamie said in a delirious manner, stroking Tana’s hair some more, “I won’t let you get in our way.”

She took her foot and kicked her friend swiftly in the abdomen as she lie there completely defenseless. Jamie had taken her down, and was prepared to deliver the finishing blow if needed.

With Tana down for the count, Norman badly injured, and the Pokemon fighting for their lives, it appeared that their rescue mission was not going as smoothly as planned.

~*~*~*

The trio at the Petalburg Gym were in May’s bedroom in their sleepwear. Ash was wearing his black t-shirt and sweatpants, while May was in her yellow T-shirt and blue spandex shorts. Max wore a white tank top and shorts, and he was sitting on the edge of the bed, having just finished brushing his teeth.

Pikachu was already sleeping on Ash’s sleeping bag which lie beside the bed. May had allowed Max to sleep in her bed for the night and promised to be there for him if need be. She also decided to sleep next to Max in her bed, she wanted to remain close to him just incase he needed her. Ash, of course, had no problem sleeping in his sleeping bag while the two siblings shared the bed together.

Beautifly was resting on top of the bookshelf while Skitty was sound asleep in an armchair. The rest of their Pokemon preferred their Pokeballs as the remained in the form of energy.

Ash stretched out his arms and sat down next to Max on the side of his bed. He put his arm around Max, almost treating him like his own little brother. All the previous romantic implications between Ash and May were no longer relevant, as the more important issue of Norman and the others was back in the forefront of their minds. The uneasiness however consumed them as they were worrisome about the endeavors about their loves ones.

“It’s midnight now, I guess they won’t be back till sometime early in the morning,” Max said unsurely.

Ash rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. “Maybe, although when they do find Brock and your mother, I’m sure they can simply teleport with Gardevoir back home instead of walking all the way back. We’ll probably see them much sooner than you expect, Max,” Ash said optimistically.

“I hope so,” Max said, taking a deep breath.

May emerged from the bathroom and yawned while stretching her arms above her head. She smiled at her brother and Ash warmly.

“Max, if you want to sleep next to Ash in my bed instead of me, you can,” May offered.

“Eh, I don’t really care. Either one of you is fine,” Max said, grinning.

“Chuuuu,” Pikachu cooed on the sleeping bag.

Ash noticed their weary expressions as the siblings yawned. It was a heartbreaking day for all of them, and they required some much needed rest. With some prayers and a little luck, their family would be complete once again the next morning.

Ash, May and Max radiated the room with their compassion and closeness with each other, it was apparent that the three of them were a closely-knit set. It was what Norman envisioned for his children when he first allowed Ash to take them under his wing, and a few years later, his expectations were fulfilled.

They were their own little family; a family growing up and going through life together.

Right when Ash was about to climb into his sleeping bag, he heard a sound.

The doorbell rang.

The group looked at each other with startled and ecstatic expressions. Even Pikachu shot up from the sleeping bag and jumped onto Ash’s shoulder.

Could…could this be? Could Norman and Tana have returned home with their mother and Brock? Who else would be ringing the doorbell at this hour?

“Dad…?” May gasped.

“MOM!” Max shouted gleefully.

Without a moments hesitation, Ash, May and Max ran out of the bedroom as quickly as possible. Pikachu had to hang onto Ash’s shoulder tightly or else it feared it would fly off. Skitty and Beautifly didn’t hesitate to follow either, with the playful kitty running down the stairs and the majestic butterfly following in unison.

The trio approached the front door with overjoyed demeanors, the hope to see their missing mother and friend again was so great that it nearly overwhelmed them to the point of tears.

May could barely stop giggling and fidgeting with her hands as she waited. She couldn’t believe that she got herself so worried and depressed for no reason. Within a few seconds she would see her precious mother again, the mother she cherished and loved.

“Open it! Open it!” May insisted.

“Ok, ok!” Ash said happily.

It was a moment of pure captivation and enchantment.

Ash turned the doorknob, and the cheery faces of him, May, Max, Pikachu, Beautifly and Skitty awaited the recipients.

The door cracked open, and only one person was standing in the doorway. His mouth turned into a smirk, as he put his hands into his pockets and cackled.

“Nice Gym you have here,” Ross said, smirking at the gaping children.

And thus, their gleeful expressions and hopeful spirits were crushed into a million pieces in an instant.

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That's all for now! I'm going on vacation on Wednesday for about a week, and of course I won't have anytime to write on vacation, so don't expect the next chapter for quite a while. I made this chapter long because the next one won't be ready for quite some time, so I hope this one makes up for it!