Johto Champion
Oh my god, Ritchie did the 'What could possibly go wrong'? Everything goes wrong when you say that, he is invoking Murphy's law! Ash is talking to Tracey? Isn't he, I don't know... dead? Well, looks like Ash needs to break in to Prof. Oak lab, wonder why...
Storm Trainer
I don't know if anybody cares anymore, but I'm rested and ready to continue and finish this fic, so if anybody's still reading, here we go again...
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Chapter Six
Forgotten Years
January 30, 10:00AM
MAY
We sat outside in rickety old patio chairs and drank our coffee. One token visit to the parents every year was the agreement, and although I’d only been here last November, I decided to come early so as to ask some important questions.
‘So,’ Dad said in that overly-parental voice, ‘what have you been doing with yourself lately?’
‘Reading,’ I said, withdrawing The Brothers Caroso from my bag and tossing it onto the table. It thudded loudly against the frosted glass. ‘You won’t believe some of the stuff in here.’
My dad picked it up in one hand and glanced at the cover, then seemed to choke on his coffee. After a few muffled coughs, he swallowed, put the mug down, and held the book in two hands.
‘This looks interesting,’ he croaked.
‘I’ve got some questions for you,’ I replied in a low voice.
‘I’ll bet. Shall I assume, for the record, that you already know everything and are just here to confirm?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘I want you to explain everything. Every single detail.’
He nodded slowly, and swallowed again. ‘Okay,’ he said, ‘you’ve earned that. I guess it really begins the week before Gym Heroes began, about five years ago. A few of us veterans were up late in the Pokémon centre, discussing a variety of topics. But one, that was raised by Jasmine, really stuck. She told us there was a new leader competing for the first time that year. We were duly supportive, but generally uninterested. First time, big deal, right? But then she told us that he was only sixteen, and would be travelling unaccompanied. I didn’t see this as a big thing, seeing as how you’d been out without us for five years, though you did have Ash and Brock with you, you were as good as alone. But the others seemed to find this very strange.’
‘But why? Most of them would have encountered Ash at some point, and like you say, he was always travelling with other kids and never any adults. And there are stacks of others of a similar age, too.’
‘This was different, as I soon came to realise when I was filled in about Dante’s history, his parentage. When he arrived at the Indigo Plateau, Dante was deeply distrustful of adults, and was consumed by a desire to defeat them all and win the competition. It made some of us very uneasy, and we decided to assign a guardian to him for the duration of the contest. And since I was the one with teenage children, it fell to me to try and make small talk with him. He rejected me, of course, so I left him alone, and just kept an eye on him from a distance. You can only imagine my surprise to see him, in the distance, next to you, in the stands, watching me, in the arena, battling Koga.’
‘So everybody knows about that except for me?’
‘You’d never been to Stralis. You didn’t even go to Gyms anymore at that point. There was no way for you to know who he was. Anyway, I was most distracted by that, and as a result, lost the battle to Koga. As I walked out of the arena, I formed an idea. Dante needed someone stable in his life, someone to support him. On the other hand, you had fallen for Ash and been clobbered. Then you’d fallen for Drew, and again been clobbered. And if there was one thing I had learned about Dante, it was that he was a gentleman.’
‘Oh no,’ I said, ‘you didn’t…’
‘I didn’t say anything, no. But I thought it was a good match, and tried to conspire to bring you into each others’ orbits more frequently, with varying degrees of success. Unfortunately, Dante wasn’t nearly as interested as I had assumed he would be. He was still determined to win the competition, and before long, I heard from another Gym Leader that he had boarded a plane bound for the Sinnoh region, with the intent of visiting the Battle Arena. At least that was his story. We all know now that he was heading for Stark Mountain, planning to capture Heatran.’
He fell silent at that moment as my mother arrived, carrying a tray of sandwiches.
‘So,’ she said, taking a seat, ‘what are you two gossiping about?’
January 30, 2:00PM
ASH
I arrived in Agate two days ago, but Eagun had refused to see me until today. He wouldn’t give a reason why, and honestly I didn’t care, as long as he would answer my questions.
‘What can you tell me about the forest shrine?’ I demanded in my most polite but forceful voice. ‘Is it true that Celebi regularly appears?’
‘In a sense, yes,’ Eagun said slowly, talking with his eyes shut. ‘Celebi appears to help Pokémon who have shut the door to their heart.’
‘What about people who have shut the door to their heart?’ I asked.
‘No. Celebi is the guardian of the forest, and of the Pokémon. Humans do not concern it.’
‘Would Celebi travel backwards in time to save the life of a Pokémon?’
Eagun finally opened his eyes.
‘What a monstrous thought! To kill a Pokémon simply to manipulate Celebi!’
‘That’s not what I said at all, old man,’ I growled, starting to lose my temper. ‘The Pokémon is already dead. He died over two years ago. I want Celebi to bring him back to life.’
‘I do not know if Celebi’s powers work in such a way,’ Eagun closed his eyes again. ‘In any case, we cannot access the shrine. It has been blocked by a gang of thugs.’
‘Team Rocket?’ I snarled.
‘No. Team Cipher.’
‘What’s their racket?’
‘They have created Shadow Pokémon. They shut down all centres of love, devotion, affection, friendship, and loyalty, and enhance the disobedient, uncontrollable aspects.’
‘Is this what you were talking about when you mentioned heart doors?’
‘Yes,’ he nodded. ‘I believe that Celebi would appear to assist Shadow Pokémon regain their sanity. If only there were someone to collect and unite them.’
‘I guess that’s my cue,’ said a crackly, gravelly voice.
I looked over my shoulder to see who it belonged to. A man about my height stood in the doorway, wearing a flowing blue overcoat and a bizarre contraption on his right arm. He had blonde hair and yellow eyes, and a white stripe that crossed the bridge of his nose. Behind him was a much more normal looking red haired girl. They both walked in without protest from Eagun.
‘It’s wonderful to see you again, Rui!’ Eagun’s wife gushed, tottering forwards and hugging the girl.
‘Hi, gran. This is Wes.’
Wes nodded curtly, and folded his arms across his chest.
‘We’ve snagged some Shadow Pokémon, and we brought them here to purify them at the shrine,’ Rui continued, to Wes’ obvious chagrin. While Rui conversed with her grandparents, I sidled across to Wes and spoke in a whisper.
‘How do you snag Pokémon?’
‘This thing on my arm,’ Wes replied, tapping it with his other hand, ‘converts a Pokeball to a snag ball. I stole it from the Team Snagem headquarters.’
‘Where might one get one of those?’
‘One mightn’t.’
So that was the way he was going to play, was it? If he wasn’t going to tell me where to get one for myself, I would simply have to take his. That’s just the way it is.
January 30, 3:00PM
MAY
We finally got rid of mum and got back to the conversation at hand.
‘So he went after Heatran. Then what?’
‘When I found out what he was doing, I followed him. He was caught up with Team Magma, but together we managed to fight them off. But Dante was still set on capturing Heatran, despite the fact that the Pokémon was now awake and thoroughly enraged. He engaged it with his Cloyster, which Heatran made short work of, and then with Steelix. Before long, Heatran had defeated all of his Pokémon, and was no closer to being captured than it was before he had arrived. So he turned to me, demanding I lend him my Pokémon to finish the battle.’
‘What did you do?’ I asked.
‘I punched him square in the face, knocked him out, and carried him back down the mountain.’
I just stared.
‘It was the only thing to do. He had already put his Pokémon and our lives at risk, I wasn’t going to let him do it to my team as well. In time he came to realise that I had been right, but for a period of months, he would not speak to me, no matter how many calls I placed.’
‘Why were you calling him so often?’ I felt very suspicious, and maybe even a touch jealous.
‘I don’t know exactly. I wanted to help him, wanted to show him that some people can be trusted. Maybe I wanted to be a father figure. Maybe I was using him because I was missing you and Max so much. I really don’t know why, but I was deeply concerned with this troubled young man. But eventually he accepted one of my calls, apologised, and we arranged to meet up at the Gym Heroes contest the following year, which would be 2006.’
‘Which was the year when he introduced himself to me, and…’ I trailed off, with a sudden realisation. ‘You talked him into it, didn’t you?’
Dad was silent for a few moments. ‘He didn’t need much convincing.’
I felt sick. It was bad enough the way that Ash and Drew had treated me, but Dante, I had always felt like he did everything he did out of a bizarre, misguided love. But to find out that he had only done so because of my father?
‘Didn’t you ever wonder,’ Dad said, not looking at me, ‘why he broke down completely when I told him I was disappointed in him?’
‘I can’t believe you would do a thing like that,’ my voice was full of loathing and I didn’t care. I was so mad I just wanted to smash things.
‘It wasn’t all my doing,’ Dad said, getting to his feet. ‘Dante was just as much a part of the conspiracy as I was. You should be having this talk with him, too.’
‘He’ll be here in a week, Dad,’ I said, walking away from the table. ‘Don’t worry, I will be.’
January 30, 4:45PM
TRACEY
The top hackers in the world had worked for years trying to find a loophole in the system that would allow them unlimited freedom, but they had never been able to find it. The law of the code was simple – only six Pokeballs at a time could be out of one account. There were complex mechanisms to keep that a law, to prevent mass Pokémon theft.
Those mechanisms, that law, it all meant nothing now.
I can’t tell you how I did it, because I don’t know for sure that you won’t exploit it the way I have. I can’t tell if you’re trustworthy or not – come to think of it, I can’t even tell if I am anymore.
But I had done it.
In my excitement I forgot the most important rule that Ash had set, his absolutely paramount instruction. I left the house. I needed a drink to celebrate all my hard work, and there was nothing in the fridge. The reason was innocent enough, but did that matter? It didn’t make any difference in the world. Somebody finally told me something, and I didn’t listen. I’ve just walked into the restaurant, and sure enough, Misty and Brock are sitting at one of the tables, staring in my direction. I don’t think the beard and short haircut are going to be enough to get me out of this one. No, I think I’m well and truly screwed now.
Oh well, at least I accomplished something in my life.
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Chapter 7 within 7 days.
Z
...indeed...
you know I am...Originally Posted by Zubeon
interesting, a failed sort of tutor figure to Dante...
well, dark Ash has more of a character, I'll admit that...
so did I...
well that was one of the last things I'd have expected.
The whole failed tutor relationship again.
chapter 7 might tell what's going on.
Some things are being set, other being explained, but we're still going our steady way.
Can't wait for the rest !
Just some Random
How old is everyone in this? I've lost track.
Storm Trainer
I don't know that I ever expressly stated their ages (correct me if I'm wrong) but my basic idea is this:
Ash 19
May 18
Misty 20
Brock 22
Dante 22
Tracey 20
Drew 19
Max 13
Dawn 17
Tania 18
Falkner 20
Richie 19
Flannery 22
That may not be correct but as you can see it's a pretty tight pack.
Johto Champion
I am still reading! Just waiting for an update... Anyway, Ash is going to steal Wes' machine thing. Man, he really gone insane without Pikachu and May.... Well, her love life isn't the best here. And more Tracey mysteries. Great chapter so far.
Just some Random
I've been wondering for some time now. Is Dante your own creation or is he from some other tv show?
Storm Trainer
Technically he's an original character, but like all writers I built him up as a composite of other characters and people I've encountered. There are two notable influences on Dante that are referred to by the other characters at various times.
Storm Trainer
Chapter Seven
Creating Monsters
January 30, 4:50PM
TRACEY
It was as if the entire restaurant knew the significance of the situation, because they all quieted down as Misty wound her way through the chairs towards me. Brock hadn’t moved, hadn’t even turned his chair around, he just turned his head and watched over his shoulder. Meanwhile, Misty had reached me. She leapt forward and threw her arms around me.
That I didn’t deserve.
After a few moments she broke away and slapped me hard in the face.
That I did deserve.
She wasn’t exactly crying – her face was stained with tears and she was shaking with fury.
‘Letting somebody believe that someone they love is dead, when they’re not, is very cruel,’ she said in an angry whisper.
‘I know,’ I said quietly, feeling the eyes of every restaurateur on me. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘You’re sorry?’ she shrieked, ‘why would you do such a terrible thing?’
‘Haven’t you ever wanted to shed your skin and start all over again? I just had the guts to follow through with it.’ I didn’t know why I was being such a jerk, it was just happening.
‘Guts?’ she repeated, ‘you think it was a brave thing you did?’
‘Listen,’ I said, lifting a finger threateningly, ‘there was nothing for me. For once in my life, I put myself first. Maybe it wasn’t the right decision, but it was what I had to do.’
She didn’t say anything at first, just furrowed her brow and looked at me.
‘That doesn’t sound like you. That’s Dante talking. That’s Dante talking when he’s trying to push people away. You’ve been working with Dante, haven’t you?’
‘Working at what? Do you realise how ridiculous you sound right now?’
‘So you’ve been working with Ash.’
I didn’t answer quickly enough. Now she would just assume she was right. The worst part about it – she was. There was no point trying to avoid it now. I was already down, but it wasn’t too late to drag Ash down with me.
‘I’ve seen Ash since the plane crash, yes.’
‘He knew you were alive and didn’t tell me?’
Shift the blame. I nodded seriously.
‘Then he is in for a world of pain.’
She turned and stormed out of the restaurant to the applause of the other diners, and the chagrin of Brock, who now had to wheel himself home.
January 31, 8:30AM
MAY
Against my better judgement, I had agreed to spend the night at my parents’ house. I could hear something sizzling in the kitchen downstairs. Guilt breakfast.
I got dressed and headed down to the dining room, where Dad was already sitting with a dirty, tattered old notebook.
‘Morning sunshine,’ he said, gesturing at the seat opposite his. ‘Sleep okay?’
‘Fine. It’s my bed, so I’m used to sleeping in it.’
‘Of course. Are you ready for today’s lesson?’
I didn’t say anything. It was starting to become apparent where Dante had acquired his “sinister gentleman” characteristics.
‘When we left Dante last he was defeated and embarrassed. I had saved his life, but he still regarded me with a great deal of suspicion and harboured great resentment for my interference with Heatran. Long story short, he hated me.’
‘Did he ever tell you that?’ I asked in spite of myself.
‘No. Although passionate, Dante was always a gentleman. He never spoke of his hatred to me. But I could tell my the change in his training patterns that he longed to defeat me. It was by sheer luck that we didn’t face each other, because it was precisely the kind of situation that would lead Dante to another meltdown.’
‘Just luck?’
‘Yes, just luck. Regardless, I decided on a peace offering.’
‘Me,’ I said gloomily.
‘No, not you,’ Dad replied. ‘Permission to be with you. You know as well as I do that I didn’t set the two of you up together. In fact, I think you’ll remember that it was you who sought him out so as not to lose face with Ash. The only difference was that instead of chasing him away, like I normally would your boyfriends, I left the two of you alone.’
‘How sweet of you,’ I said sarcastically. ‘Do you have any more secrets to tell me? Maybe about the time you went hang-gliding with Richie?’
‘No, because you obviously know about that already.’
I gave him a slight smile.
‘Why did you keep all of this secret? Why didn’t you tell me Didn’t you think I could handle it?’
‘Honestly? No. I thought you were too young to deal with it. But now you’ve grown up a lot. You’ve become a very confident young woman. You’ve become a mother.’
I froze.
‘The internet is a very powerful tool, May. It has just about everything you could ever want to find, as well as everything you wished you’d never seen.’
‘You were checking up on me?’
‘No, on Dante. You’re listed as the mother of his child. I put two and two together.’
‘Only biologically,’ I said swiftly. ‘I have nothing to do with her. She lives with Dante at the Gym. That’s what we agreed on.’
‘Will Dante be bringing her to your birthday celebrations?’ He was being remarkably calm about the whole thing.
‘I asked him not to, but he almost certainly will.’
‘I’d like to meet my granddaughter,’ Dad said, ‘even if she was conceived, born and raised out of wedlock.’
‘Get lost, I’ve seen mum’s wedding dress. I can’t have come any later than a month after you were married.’
‘Touche.’
The sizzling was replaced by the scraping of a spatula on a frying pan. Mum walked in, carrying two plates of fried eggs and bacon.
‘What are you two so smiley about?’
January 31, 3:30PM
RICHIE
We made it through our first full rehearsal today, and I think we did pretty well, though I did drop my guitar during “Do You See What I See?” The most amazing part was that nobody got hit by Dante’s microphone stand today. That’s a first for us. Everything was going great, until…
‘Are you sure we can’t open with “All Around”?’ Tony asked.
‘What?’ Dante said, dropping his microphone and turning around incredulously.
‘That song was built to open. It’s a first class opener.’
‘It didn’t even open the album it was written for,’ Dante snapped. Then he seemed to soften slightly. ‘We can change the order of the set list, but the opener and closer aren’t negotiable.’
‘Says who?’ Tony challenged.
‘Says the Commissioner of the League,’ Dante replied. ‘She chose more of the songs than I did.’
‘Okay boys, lunch time,’ Flannery had entered the studio with Holly in her arms. ‘There are sandwiches a plenty.’
We shuffled past her but she caught Dante’s arm.
‘There’s a challenger in the arena,’ she said, ‘and he won’t go. He said he wouldn’t tolerate any delays. There’s something familiar about him, but I don’t quite know what.’
‘I’ll handle it,’ Dante said. He slung Holly over his shoulder, grabbed a sandwich and disappeared through the door. It didn’t seem at all suspicious, so I didn’t follow him. I just helped myself to a few rolls and tightened my guitar strings.
January 31, 3:45PM
ASH
Dante came out with the baby. Brave of him. But then again, he didn’t expect to see me here.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ he hissed, moving in close. ‘You know Max is staying here, what are you trying to pull?’
‘You know why I’m here,’ I replied in my silkiest voice. ‘Have you found one yet?’
‘I haven’t been looking, and you know that,’ he said. ‘How did you get here so quickly, anyway?’
‘A little bird flew me,’ I said, and released Pidgeot from his Pokeball.
‘So what, you’re here to battle because I haven’t helped you as much as you wanted?’
‘No, Dante, no. I’m here to make a demonstration.’
I released Charizard from his Pokeball. Then Primeape. Then Butterfree. Then Gengar. Then Lapras.
‘Great, you’ve got new Pokémon, congratulations. What does this have to do with…’ he trailed off when Blastoise, Feraligatr and Torterra appeared. ‘You’ve got nine Pokémon,’ he finished blankly.
‘Forty-five, actually,’ I said with a smile. ‘I’m no longer restricted by the Law of Six.’
‘How did you manage that?’ There was a glint of greed in his eye as he looked over my Pokémon. Evil Dante was coming back to the surface. Just pull the right triggers.
‘Tracey did it for me,’ I said. ‘You’d be amazed what people are willing to do for you if you blackmail them. It’s just like how you gave me Houndoom.’
‘I never gave – I’ll never give you Houndoom!’
‘It’s not like you have a choice here,’ I removed my jacket, revealing the snag ball converter.
‘Ash,’ Dante said in a low voice, ‘if you steal Pokémon, you’re no better than Team Rocket. Remember what they did to Pikachu.’
‘And here we are at the one million dollar question,’ I said evenly. ‘I’ve been trying to remember what they did to Pikachu for a long time and I think I’ve finally figured it out, or at least, I’ve boiled it down to just one question. If it was Team Rocket Boss Giovanni’s armed son Silver who shot Pikachu, why was the bullet wound in the back of his head?’ Dante tried to speak but I cut him off. ‘Maybe, just maybe, it’s because standing behind Pikachu was Team Rocket Boss Giovanni’s other armed son, Dante.’
‘Ash, this is insane,’ he said, backing towards the door and tightening his grip on the baby. ‘You don’t really think I-’
‘Pidgeot.’
Pidgeot responded to my command immediately, unleashing a powerful whirlwind attack. Dante flew back and slammed hard into the wall. Torterra rumbled forwards, catching the falling baby in his leafy canopy. She was crying loudly. But I suppose I would be too if my father, the undefeatable Point Noir Gym Leader lay bloody and broken on the floor.
...indeed...
wow, an update, tempted to say finally
the noble attitude...
Ah, so that was it, nice thinking. Very nice...
huh...let's see what he has to say for himself...
Well, I suppose he'd say something if he wasn't laying in a pool of his own blood...
Now, let's find out what the item is. Spoiler:- Guess:
Johto Champion
Heh, Tracey shifted the blame to Ash. And Ash just went Dante on Dante. Expect without the fire. He also stole the snag thing that fast? New Ash is really awesome. And Dante shot Pikachu? Cause he thought that Ash would destroy Team Rocket? Man, lots of revelation here.
Storm Trainer
Chapter seven was shorter than usual. That's because the first draft was far too long. Here's the second half of the original chapter seven, which for convenience's sake, will be known henceforth as "chapter eight"
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Chapter Eight
Runaway Girls
January 31, 4:00PM
DANTE
Thought I was dead, didn’t you?
I should have been, that’s for sure. But as I slid along the floor, bloodying my lovingly restored Gym arena, there were two thoughts on my mind.
Holly. He’s got Holly. I’ve got to get her back.
Ash. Ash must be punished.
I had helped Ash out of pity, and he had spun around and tried to kill me. The double-cross wasn’t entirely unreasonable, but taking my daughter was. As I crawled, I made a mental list of things to do.
Number one – find Tracey, get him to break the Law of Six on my account too.
Number two – find Ash, rescue Holly. Escort Holly to a safe place.
Number three – murder Ash.
It may seem unreasonable to you that I now pledged to destroy my one time rival and one time friend, but the fact of the matter is that he turned against me. Once stung, twice as deadly.
Now… where do I find Tracey?
I had barely dragged my failing body out of the main doors when I found myself staring at a pair of gaudy red cowboy boots.
‘G’day Dante. Boy, you look like hell.’
‘It’s nice to see you too, Tania,’ I croaked, dribbling blood out from between my teeth. ‘Richie’s inside.’ I made to crawl past her but she stepped into my way.
‘You’re not going anywhere in this condition,’ she said, bending down and helping me up onto my useless feet. ‘Now I’m going to get you inside, get you cleaned up and bandaged, and then tomorrow morning I’ll call Ash and arrange a meeting. We’ll get her back.’
‘How do you know-’
‘Call it women’s intuition.’
Nobody was letting my finish a sentence today.
‘I can’t wait overnight, leaving my daughter with that monster,’ I said. ‘We have to go right now.’
Tania looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Does your Gym have security cameras.’
January 31, 7:00PM
TANIA
It was good to be back in the thick of the action again. I sat cloistered in the surveillance room, watching Ash leave the Gym, baby in arms. Despite his obvious insanity, he was carrying Holly very carefully. I could tell from the way he held her that he wasn’t planning to hurt her. Still, that wasn’t the point. We had to get her back.
A flash of white near his hand.
Zoom in. Isolate.
It was a piece of paper, with a few words in big, tidy handwriting on it.
Ash’s hand enters the frame, draws a thick line over the first word. The force of the pen on the paper turns it slightly, so I can just make out what’s written on there. He’s crossing off Dante’s name. What’s the next name on the list? I can’t tell, bend the paper more.
There it is! And just as I suspected.
It’s May.
January 31, 7:10PM
MAY
I had just left my parents’ house on foot, heading nowhere in particular when I felt the buzzing of my phone in my pocket. It was Dante. I didn’t answer it.
He called again. And again. I answered on his fourth try.
‘I don’t want to talk to you right now,’ I said in place of a greeting.
‘Good, then just listen. Ash has kidnapped our daughter and he’s coming for you.’
‘Thanks Dante, but I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself. He won’t be able to kidnap me as easily.’
‘He’s not going to kidnap you, he’s going to kill you.’
‘What?’ the whole situation was absurd in its role reversal.
‘He’s coming to kill you.’
‘How do you know?’
‘Because he’s just left here, and he broke me up something bad. It was only my fantastic acting skills that allowed me to survive.’
‘How does that relate to him trying to kill me?’
‘Your name was right under mine on his death list five.’
‘Death list five? That is such a cliché.’
‘Does that really matter right now? He’s coming to kill you. Stay where you are and stall him. Someone will be along to help you soon.’
He hung up.
‘That’s just ridiculous,’ I said out loud as I replaced the phone in my pocket.
‘It certainly is.’
I spun around to see Ash standing behind me, and baby in his arms, greasy, long black hair hanging from his head like curtains. He wasn’t in a good way at all.
‘Wow Ash, it’s been a long time. Who’s the kid?’
‘This is your daughter, Holly.’
‘Uh-huh,’ I closed my eyes. Dante was right, again. ‘Why are you holding my daughter, Ash?’
‘She’s very nearly an orphan. Someone has to look out for her.’
‘Ash, you can’t just steal a child like that.’
‘Seems to me I already did. It was just a matter of killing her guardian.’
‘You can’t do it.’
‘You don’t care that Dante’s dead?’ he pounced quickly. ‘It doesn’t bother you that the love of your life is painting the Gym floor red as we speak?’ He moved closer to me. ‘Maybe you don’t believe me? But then how did I get the baby?’
‘Give her to me,’ I said automatically. Ash smiled creepily.
‘Now you want her? She’s two years old, and you’ve only just developed an interest in her welfare?’
‘Give her to me now!’ My voice was quavering. I had worked so hard to stay detached from Holly, but I couldn’t stand seeing her held by Ash while he spoke so callously about murdering Dante. Even if it wasn’t true.
Ash bounced her up and down in his arms. ‘She’s not very heavy, why don’t I pass her to you like a football? You know how to catch, right?’
THWACK!
Ash keeled over forwards, and instinctively I lurched forwards and snatched Holly out of the air before she hit the ground. As I held her in my arms, I looked up and saw Falkner, holding a branch severed from a nearby tree.
‘My Pidgeot flies at mach four too, ****er,’ he kicked Ash hard in the ribs. ‘Is she alright?’ he stepped over Ash and held his arms out for the baby.
But I couldn’t hand her over. I don’t know why exactly, but I felt as though handing her over would be a terrible, terrible mistake.
‘Come on May, give me the baby.’
‘I can’t,’ I said, not looking at him.
‘It’s okay, I’m her godfather.’
‘I’m her mother.’
‘Then you’ll just have to come with us to the Gym. She has to get home straight away, to the people and environment she knows.’
‘I can’t leave her.’
‘You don’t have to,’ Falkner put his arm around my shoulders and steered me towards his Pidgeot, ‘just come to the Gym for a couple of days.’
I was completely transfixed by her eyes. Pale blue eyes, like mine. I wondered if Dante had sung that song to her as a lullaby. It seemed likely. I wasn’t even listening to Falkner. I just nodded absently and let him steer me away.
January 31, 9:00PM
FALKNER
Women.
Two years she had to enter Holly’s life, and May chooses to do it at the most inconvenient time. But since we used May’s phone cell to find Holly, I couldn’t be too cruel about it.
Oh right, you’ll be wondering why I’m still stuck outside with May an hour and a half after the successful rescue mission. Two words. Lightning storm.
Of all the natural phenomena to ever strike the Earth, nothing annoys me more than lightning storms. Volcano? I can fly over it. Earthquake? I can fly over it. Fire, flood, tornado? Careful and skilful flight solves all. But I can’t fly in lightning. It’s too dangerous.
We’ve got a fire going and we’ve set up a small camp in a cave I found. Dante’s been informed, but he’s still not happy about the situation. But that’s just too bad, there’s nothing I can do. I’m not flying in a lightning storm.
Watching May and Holly made me think about Flannery. She wants kids. She’s great with Holly, there’s no denying that. One day she’ll be a great mother. But I’m not ready to be a father. I love spending time with the kid, but the big difference is that I get to go home.
Flannery thinks that it’s because I don’t love her. Some days she’s right, some days she’s wrong. I’m stuck in a cave watching May. Today she’s right.
Johto Champion
Death list or just a list of people where Dante is the only one that is needed to be killed? Dante is going to break the Law of Six as well? And FalknerXFlannery... Wonder what's Ash going to do next.
...indeed...
That was fast, I like it !
I've noticed that you've stopped putting in bold when the POV changes and the dates, I think you should keep bolding then, it kind of makes an easier transition.
Wonderful. A demented maniac bent on revenge. But why take Holly ?
Huh...didn't see that coming. Very nice !
This one either...I love this chapter, you have some improbable scenarios thrown at you, changes the situation radicaly, but the best part is, it still sticks to a plausible situation.
Yeah, now she's beginning to feel motherly care...
*snicker*
This is going to be interessting indeed :P
Keep it up it's getting more intense by the chapter !
Storm Trainer
Chapter Nine
Dreamworld
January 31, 10:00PM
DANTE
Why is my telephone ringing at this time of night? If it’s anyone other than Falkner, calling to say that he’s going to make it back after all, I’m going to be very annoyed. I relent and answer my phone.
‘Hello?’
‘Hello, this is Charlotte Hatfield of the World Pokémon League. Am I speaking to Dante Caroso?’
‘You are.’
‘Thank you. Are you available to speak with the Commissioner of the League at this point?’
‘Why on earth would the Commissioner of the League want to speak with me at this time of night? It can’t wait until tomorrow?’
‘Tomorrow’s a Sunday, League Headquarters will be closed.’
‘All right, put her on then.’
Charlotte disappeared and the hold music came on for a moment or two. I twirled the phone by the cord while I waited.
‘Dante?’
‘Commissioner.’
‘Call me Joanne.’
‘Joanne.’
‘I understand that an offer was put to you recently to join the Sinnoh Elite Four?’
‘That’s right, Joanne, and I still haven’t made up my mind about it.’
‘The decision is no longer in your hands, I’m afraid. I’m ringing to tell you that the position has been filled.’
‘Great.’ I hadn’t really wanted the job anyway, but it seemed too good an opportunity to not consider.
‘We have a new offer for you.’
I sighed into the phone so that she would hear my exasperation.
‘Let’s hear it then.’
‘Well, as you know, the Pokémon League has presence in fourteen locations at present.’
‘If you say so.’
‘We are planning an expansion into a fifteenth region for mid year. Construction is underway on eight permanent Gyms, with a further four to follow, and they should be ready to occupy from early July. We would very much like you to occupy one of them.’
‘Where is it?’
‘The position we would like you to fill is in Fremantle.’
‘Where the hell is Fremantle City?’
‘The west coast of Australia. And there they don’t feel the need to qualify their city names.’
‘You want me to move halfway across the world and take up an unfinished Gym in Australia? It’s probably hot there.’
‘Oh my, yes. But think of the opportunity. You would be the first and only Gym Leader of Fremantle. The Gym would carry no stigma that wasn’t brought to it by you.’
‘Listen Joanne, I’ve spent a lot of time and money customising the Point Noir Gym to suit me. You’re asking me to move into a new Gym without even seeing it first?’
‘Nobody said that, Dante. We want you to go over there as soon as possible to oversee the final stages of construction. So that you can customise it as you see fit before the finishing touches are put on and it becomes too difficult.’
I said nothing for a few moments.
‘How long do I have to think about it?’
‘I need an answer within 72 hours. If you accept, we will relocate you two days after the conclusion of the Gym Heroes competition.’
‘Alright then, I’ll call you on Tuesday night.’
‘Please take this offer seriously, Dante. We need someone of your calibre over there to make sure it runs efficiently.’
‘Uh-huh.’ I hung up.
As if things weren’t complicated enough. I could just refuse, of course, but the unfortunate thing was – I wanted the new Gym. I wanted it badly.
I’ll have to think about it.
January 31, 10:30PM
RICHIE
So… Tania was here.
She wasn’t mad about me skipping town to come and jam with Dante. After all, I’d left a note saying where I was going. And she’d used it to find me. No problem there.
Arthur and Tony had already turned in, and Flannery had headed back to Hoenn, so it was just the two of us and Max left up at the Gym. Dante hadn’t re-emerged from his bed since he got the call from Falkner. Knowing him, he’d probably gone through the window and was halfway to Pallet Town by now. It was exactly that suspicion that kept me from opening the door to his room. If he was going to take matters into his own hands, I didn’t want to know about it until he got back. That way I couldn’t be tricked into helping like I always am.
‘So Max,’ Tania said, ‘has Dante been up to old tricks?’
‘Not really, no,’ Max said, pouring himself a glass of water from the jug on the coffee table. ‘Though I did overhear part of a suspicious phone call a couple of days ago. It was happening just as you arrived, Richie.’
‘What was he saying?’
‘He was talking about Agate Village and Celestic Town, and how Ash wasn’t following his advice.’
‘He was talking to Ash?’ I cut in.
‘Yeah, and Ash wasn’t doing as Dante said. Maybe that’s why he came here and went all Dante on Dante.’
‘Try and use the word “Dante” more often,’ Tania said.
‘It’s not a word, it’s a name.’
‘Why would Ash need to go to Agate Village and Celestic Town?’ I asked.
‘Well, there’s nothing much about Agate Village,’ Max said, vault of information as always, ‘the only special thing about it is that it’s basically the only living area in all of Orre. It’s got water and even has a forest. It’s basically an oasis turned into a retirement village.’
‘There’s nothing special at all there?’ Tania asked.
‘Well, there’s the Forest Shrine, but I don’t see what that has to do with Ash. It’s basically just a tribute to Celebi, and he’s met Celebi before anyway.’
‘What about Celestic Town?’ I pressed.
‘Well that’s more interesting. It’s in Sinnoh, and there’s an old couple there who are experts on Dialga and Palkia, the time and space Pokémon. That’s always good for a visit.’
‘Can you think of a reason why Ash would want to learn about time and space?’
‘Well,’ Max said, which was followed by nothing, for a long time, until he seemed to snap with idea. ‘If he wants to create a special rend, with which he could alter time… it’s an attempt to get Pikachu back! Just like what Dante was doing a couple of years ago, but marginally less insane.’
‘He has been pretty nuts without Pikachu,’ Tania said reasonably. I couldn’t see a reason to argue.
‘It’s pretty stupid though,’ Max said matter-of-factly. ‘If he wants to bring Pikachu back to life, all he needs to do is find a Time Flute.’
January 31, 11:06PM
FALKNER
‘Why won’t she stop crying?’
For all her new-found maternal instincts, May was absolutely abysmal with Holly. Refusing to hand her over to me, she insisted on trying to calm her when she started crying. That was almost two hours ago. Holly’s going to have a sore throat tomorrow, which will just lead to more crying.
‘If you’ll just let me hold the baby, I’ll get her to sleep,’ I said tiredly. ‘I’ve done this plenty of times. I’m one of the standby babysitters, you know. And godfather.’
‘You’ve said that four times already.’
‘Well, I’m just reminding you, because you obviously don’t trust me at all.’
‘It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that… I’m her mother. I should be able to make her sleep.’
‘You’re not really her mother, May,’ I said.
‘What? I remember giving birth to her.’
‘Maybe so, but that was also the last time you saw her. She doesn’t know you. She doesn’t feel safe with you. You’re a stranger to her. She knows me. She likes me. Let me put her to sleep.’
‘You’re not perfect either,’ she snapped. ‘You went with Dante on his mission to kill Giovanni.’
‘I’ve made some errors in judgement,’ I agreed. ‘I’m not judging you, though. I’m just stating a fact. You can’t expect to be a ready-made mother just because you gave birth. It takes time to get good with kids. You need practice. But we also need sleep, and to that end, you need to give the baby to me.’
‘Fine,’ May said, passing her over. ‘But you have to tell me exactly how you do it, so that I can learn.’
‘You’re planning to be a part of her life, then?’ I said with a smile as I lay back and settled Holly next to me, using my jacket as a blanket. She was still bawling her eyes out and waving her tiny hands around, until I pinned them to her sides by zipping the jacket around her. May came and looked over my shoulder.
‘Isn’t that uncomfortable?’
‘Babies can’t have loose covers, or they can turn over and suffocate. They have to be wrapped up so they can’t move.’
‘She’s still crying,’ May pointed out, sounding a little bit smug that I hadn’t managed to instantly quell the screaming.
‘She needs her lullaby,’ I said, pushing my irritating hair out of my eyes and ramming it behind my ears. ‘Sorry kid, my voice isn’t as good as your old man’s. That’s why I play bass.’
No reaction, just more screaming. Tough cave. Better get on with it.
‘When you’re down, and confused
Nothing seems right
And it’s you, who decides
What’s gonna make it right.’
‘Of course,’ May whispered, leaning back against the wall of the cave. ‘It had to be.’
‘Well life ain’t no joke
But it’s good when you smile
Do you know where you are?
You steal everything
But you won’t get far.’
She’d calmed down a bit. Normally after two verses she was smiling, but her little face was still contorted. Then I realised.
‘Hey May, you wanted mothering lessons?’
‘Yeah?’ she said eagerly, crawling over to us.
‘Lesson one: changing.’
February 1, 12:01AM
ASH
Why am I lying face down in a pile of leaves?
I sat up and looked at my watch. It was February. How’s that?
As I got to my feet I noticed a dull ache in my sides as if I’d been kicked in the ribs. I lifted up my shirt and sure enough, there were the beginnings of a bruise.
All of a sudden my head exploded with a blinding pain and I fell back to the ground, clutching my skull. But I was getting handfuls of lank, greasy hair. Why was my hair so long?
Where was I?
Where was my hat?
Where was Pikachu?
...indeed...
ah, thanks for the bolded parts !
But may I ask you ? what's up with you ? You operating in your own world ? No word for God knows how long, and then, three chapters in two days...
Obious question : why ? To get away from old demons ?
Oh, so Ash should have focused on Max, rather than Dante.
Of course...Baby don't cry.
Which reminds me : You said we'd learn why "The Stairs" is Houndoom's favourite song. When is that going to happen ?
Oh man. Is this a good thing, or a bad one ? At least, it's going to be fun. Especially when Ash notices he has about 45 pokémon on him
Keep it up !
Storm Trainer
I wrote the first two chapters as one and then split them, so really, it's only two chapters. Also, the first two I wrote about a week ago while in Sydney, but couldn't post them until I got back. It's not as impressive as you think.But may I ask you ? what's up with you ? You operating in your own world ? No word for God knows how long, and then, three chapters in two days...
When I find the bit of paper where I wrote the reason.You said we'd learn why "The Stairs" is Houndoom's favourite song. When is that going to happen ?
Seriously, don't panic. It's February. Gym Heroes starts in March. There's still a month of stuff to happen before we even get to the exciting part of the story. It's going to be a long ride. Have patience, and all will be revealed.
Just some Random
Like there's anything wrong with that?You operating in your own world?
Hmm, smells like amnesia! Or maybe something more sinister... maybe he was under some sorta spell or something that turned him evil! LOLWhy was my hair so long?
Where was I?
Where was my hat?
Where was Pikachu?
Y'know, there's this thing that bugs me about Holly... 2-year-olds do have some basic language skills! I mean, I babysit for this little girl and her big sister a lot. She was a late talker (she didn't need to talk. Her kindergarten taught sign language), but by the time she was 2, she was speaking in basic sentences. What is Holly? Retarded?
If there's one thing I know about Fremantle, it is this. It is not hot. It is summer there right now and they are having maximum temperatures of 18 degrees celsius. That is not hot. That is cold.
Storm Trainer
Possibly, there is a history of mental illness in her family.Y'know, there's this thing that bugs me about Holly... What is Holly? Retarded?
More likely though, she's not actually two years old.
Yikes!If there's one thing I know about Fremantle, it is this. It is not hot. It is summer there right now and they are having maximum temperatures of 18degrees celsius. That is not hot. That is cold.
1.When you jump down the throat of a fictional character for making a snap judgement about the weather of a place they've never been to before, you may be taking the story a little too seriously.
2. There hasn't been any comprehensive survey undertaken on Fremantle weather patterns since 1989 (20 years before the present in this fic). Those statistics show an average summer temperature in the mid 20s. Since the climate of Australia has only been rising in the past twenty years, I'm willing to bet the average is somewhere in the high 20s now.
3. The relatively low maximums are due mostly to the prevalance of the Fremantle Doctor. Who's to say it will still exist in 2009?
4. It's only been summer for three days. It's a little too soon to say it's a cold summer.
5. Dante lives in the far north of the world, and we know from Perfect Strangers that Point Noir is a cold, constantly raining place. Even 18 would seem hot to him because he has no tolerance for higher temperatures.
6. Australia is the driest continent on Earth. Dryness and heat are usually found together. As Dante didn't know where Fremantle was until it was explained to him, he was making an assumption based on his knowledge of Australia. Not an unreasonable one, either.
Johto Champion
So now Dante wants a new gym... That is going to be interesting to see Dante struggle with his decision. And Max is so smart, why didn't Ash go for him instead. May going to actually take care of Holly, going to go back to Dante? Ash has amnesia, did he get hit on the head before he saw Pikachu die? I forgot. And now this hit to the head causes the good Ash to return! Oh boy, he is going to be so sad when he knows what he done...
That and his father burned him when he was young. You pretty much have a phobia of heat after that, I guess.5. Dante lives in the far north of the world, and we know from Perfect Strangers that Point Noir is a cold, constantly raining place. Even 18 would seem hot to him because he has no tolerance for higher temperatures.
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