You can't run from your blood. Chapter two: Surprise, surprise Birma Ash stood at the front door. He could hear the homely sounds from the inside; his mother cooking and the infernal noise of a vacuum cleaner from upstairs. Ash guessed, that Mr. Mime was cleaning his room… again! He started getting angry, but then he realized… it couldn't be true! She couldn't have found out, could she?? Ash trotted to the side of the house, looking upwards. His bedroom window was closed, and the lights were on. He gulped. Being inside hole day for three days, was driving Ash crazy. He was grounded, and staying inside wasn't the thing he loved the most. So, after checking twice, he and Pikachu had jumped the window to a nearby standing tree. After wandering around in the forest, they'd gone down to the coast. He looked at his watch. He starred shocked at the digital numbers. What had seemed as a small walk, had lasted for five hours. He sighed. As he walked back to the front door, Pikachu tapped the side of his head, whispering something in his ear. Ash smiled, the first true smile in a long time, and nodded. Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder, walking beside him the last few meters to the front door. Ash opened the door slightly, and he and Pikachu sneaked inside. Ash turned to close the door, but as he turned back, he stood face-to-face with his mother, his very angry looking mother. He gulped, taking a small step back. Delia Ketchum looked gravely at the surprised and guilty face of her only son. Her look scanned down from his wet hair, over his soaked cloth, to the electric mouse pokemon by his side, just as wet as her son. Pikachu surely had noticed that, so being the one with fur; he shook himself off, trotting on all four into the kitchen. Delia glared after the small yellow pokemon, now slightly wet, then turning her full attention back to Ash. Being soaked over again seemed to amuse him, but the angry glare from his mother fixed his smile. He looked down, ashamed, then up at her. "Look, I just wanted to… I didn't know… I… Sorry." He blushed slightly. Delia, standing hands by her side, gave him a hard look, then smiled, and hugged him tight. "You know, I get worried every time you disappear like that." Ash stood paralysed. Delia continued: "I thought you were gone again. Or those people were after you." She released him, sniffled, and wiped a single tear off. "I didn't mean to worry you…" Ash looked at his now all wet mother, but still not wanting to face her. Delia shook her head, and looked motherly at her beloved son. "Better get some dry cloth on, before you catch a cold." Ash nodded, and walked round her in the small corridor, through the kitchen and the living room, and upstairs. As he interred the room, he saw Pikachu asleep on his bed. It had always amused him how the small pokemon could fill up the whole bed, without even leaving a spot to sit on. He opened his wardrobe, finding it nearly empty. Most of his cloth was either torn or dirty; or both. After a few minutes he finally found a pair of jeans, and a worn out, but still acceptable, t-shirt, in a, could it have been black?, dark greyish colour. But when he turned around… Delia Ketchum was back in the kitchen. She could hear the monotonous noise from the vacuum cleaner, from what she meant could be her own bedroom upstairs. She turned her attention back to the cooking and her thoughts. Had she been too softhearted with Ash? He surely looked like he'd expected her to blow him up. If it had been Nick… Delia stopped, thinking at her former dead husband, and the discipline he always showed Ash. She shook her head, sadly. Nick hated his son, only for being who he was. Through Ash… Delia heard a loud scream, and a hysterically laughter. She ran to the stairs. "I'm gonna kill you some day!" Ash yelled angrily at the young man, standing in front of him. The white-haired male continued laughing. Ash, now slightly blushing from anger, felt a light tap on his left leg. He ignored it. The tall stranger looked down at him, and smiled. "You aren't all that scary without pants, ya know." Ash stopped, confused, then looked down at himself. The loosened belt and his big black and wet pants were lying round his ankles, Pikachu standing beside him, shaking his head at his negligent trainer. Ash blushed in a very crimson colour, then turned his fury at the teen, who was still laughing. He tried to jump at the laughing newcomer, when they all heard a slight cough from the door. They turned their heads, facing Delia Ketchum. "I would like an explanation." She said coldly, looking from one to another. When any of them spoke, she closed her eyes tightly. "NOW!" *** The heavy rain fell over the dark green plain, now too much for even the strong Tauros'. It was all silent beside the sound of the falling rain. Suddenly a loud thud could be heard. A figure appeared from the heavy darkness; in front of it laid a heavy breathing reddish brown haired boy. He struggled to get up, in pain from many punches in the chest and stomach. He fired a pure white energy beam at the darkened figure. The pure darkness moved a bit, just enough to not being hit by the beam. The boy fell back, tired from firing the energy beam, and the figure kicked him hard in the side. The boy moaned, crouching, arms trying to protect the head. The silhouette laughed, an evil and true laugher. It kicked him again, harder this time, if at all possible. The boy coughed, crouched, then laid still. The figure bend over him, whispering softly with a voice like the sound of nightfall, low and mysterious. "You don't forget it. Tell him." It rose to its feet and turned away. The boy moved a little, getting the pokeball in his belt. The only pokemon, who hadn't been defeated, was his most loved pokemon. He threw the pokeball. "Sparky! Go!" A pikachu, with ruffled hair and a bright look, was released. He stood on all four, ready for a battle. The black figure chuckled. "You really think, you can defeat me, me, with electricity?" the pikachu, feeling offended, used a high voltage thunder shock. It didn't even affect the figure. The pikachu shook himself off; even through it didn't help in the still falling rain. Rain? Sparky spun around. The boy laid unconscious, and Sparkly knew, that he'd got hit by the electric attack. The mouse pokemon turned his head, being aware of the blackened silhouette, laughing at his misery. He ran at the figure; hoping to hit it, hurt it. He was ready to the collision. It never came. Sparky felt an empty coldness in front of him, like swimming through cold and deep water. Sparky hit the ground hard, still confused. The dark silhouette bend down over him, chuckling. "How cute. It tries to fight back." It took a step back, shaping a black energy ball before it. "Say: Bye bye." The pikachu was terrified. He stood on all four, knowing that he couldn't get away, even if he tried. The figure fired the dark glimmering ball. Sparky closed his eyes. "STOP!" The energy sphere stopped a few inches away from Sparky, and disappeared before him with a low fizzle. The electric pokemon spun around to face the newcomer. On a hill a black rapidash reared, its rider almost one with the huge horse pokemon. "Oh my, the great hero is here." The shape said sarcastically. "Then I'll… disappear…" The tone of voice was derisive. Then the shape was gone. To be continued… A/N: Well, whatta ya think? Lots of unknown characters, huh? And the black rapidash in the rain (fire in rain?) You get the explanation in the next chappy… Hopefully… hehe.. R/R Birma Irma5442@yahoo.dk