"Gary," Ash said, later that evening as they both lay in their beds. "I'm sorry 
about what Brock said earlier." It was dark, but neither of them were asleep, as 
each lay awake contemplating their own thoughts. Pikachu, who was cuddled next 
to Ash, rolled over, trying to find a more comfortable position. Ash heard a 
grunt from across the room, where Gary's bed sat.

Then Gary spoke. "Don't be sorry. Most of what he said was true. I am ignorant 
and I have little regard for other's feelings."

Gary heard a rustle of cloth, obviously Ash, propping himself up on one elbow. 
"That's not true! You've proven yourself to care about others' feelings at least 
three times in the past six years."

Gary smiled at the jest and Ash began to laugh. Soon Gary was laughing too. When 
they had calmed, Ash lay back onto his back and said, "So, Misty's operation is 
definitely larger than Giovanni realizes."

Gary agreed with a soft, "Mmm."

Ash and Gary had been amazed to find out that Misty and Brock had begun a full 
scale underground rebellion. Including herself and Brock, she had managed to 
convince five of the former gym leaders to join. It had also surprised them to 
learn that the rebellion consisted of over a thousand people and was rapidly 
growing. Misty and Brock had informed them of a meeting with one of the gym 
leaders, who played a major role in leading the rebellion.

"It is fortunate they trust us," Ash observed.

"They trust *you*," Gary corrected.

~*~*~

Ash and Gary followed Misty into her room. "What's going on?" Gary asked, when 
he saw Brock already in her small room, standing next to a raven haired woman.

Gary furrowed his eyebrows as he examined the woman, she seemed familiar, but he 
couldn't place her. Her shoulder length black hair hung loose, only restricted 
by a red headband. She wore a silk green kimono, which hung to her feet, 
concealing her shapely body. Her eyes matched her kimono and had a slight 
twinkle in them when she examined Gary, but abruptly changed when her gaze fell 
upon Ash.

Misty dropped to her knees and pushed the pale blue comforter covering her bed 
back, allowing her to see underneath it. She lay on her stomach and began to 
slide under, until all of her that was visible was her legs, clad in jeans.

"Are we holding the meeting under your bed?" Gary asked, a hint of amusement in 
his tone.

"In a manner of speaking," Misty replied, her voice muffled as she pulled open 
an earlier unseen trap door.

Gary raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Cool."

Ash noticed Brock shoot a glare at Gary, who, upon seeing it, sent one right 
back. Gary and Brock hadn't been getting along well, especially after Brock's 
comments the previous night.

Misty pulled him from his thoughts by climbing from under the bed and pushing it 
to the side, in order to give them enough room to climb through the trap door. 
Brock entered first, a flashlight in hand, climbing down the stairs that had 
been revealed when the door was opened. He was followed by the dark haired 
woman. Misty waved at Gary and Ash to follow and they too began to descend the 
stairs. Misty climbed into the hole, then moved the bed back into position and 
closed the door behind her.

The stairs were narrow and made of stone, descending deep underground. It was 
dark, with nothing to light their way but Brock and his flashlight at the front 
of the group. The gloominess almost made Ash wish for Pikachu, seeing as his 
flash would probably illuminate the entire stairwell. He pushed that thought 
away though, knowing that is was best if Pikachu remained hidden in their room. 
Ash didn't feel guilty about leaving the little pokemon alone, Pikachu always 
found ways of entertaining himself. When they had left he was deeply engrossed 
in a game of solitaire.

They continued to walk in silence and the stairs opened up into a brightly lit 
room. It wasn't big, an overhead lamp hung over top of a circular table that was 
surrounded by five or six chairs. In the corner a computer sat, turned off at 
the moment.

Turning off his flash light with a click, Brock walked around the table and took 
a seat. The other's followed his example, Misty and Ash on either side of Brock, 
Gary next to Ash, and the raven haired woman next to Misty. Ash and the young 
woman made eye contact. He nodded in acknowledgement and said a curt, "Erika."

"Ash," she said, also nodding.

Gary instantly noticed the tension between the two, but didn't say anything. 
Brock and Misty also seemed to notice the obvious agitation stirred up between 
them, and they both seemed surprised, leading Gary to believe that neither of 
them knew the cause.

"Okay, Erika," Misty said, breaking the silence that had descended upon the 
group. "What did you want to meet about?"

Erika cast a wary glance at Ash and Gary before turning to Misty and saying 
excitedly, "We've found him!"

Brock and Misty instantly lit up, but Gary and Ash exchanged perplexed glances. 
Noting this, Misty elaborated. "The Elite Four have gone into hiding due too the 
bounty Giovanni has placed on their heads," she began.

Ash and Gary both nodded, having been there when Giovanni had issued the order.

Misty continued. "With the number of our forces, we believe we could instigate a 
successful rebellion against Giovanni. But we feel that if we had the Elite 
fighting with us we could tip the scales to our advantage."

Ash raised an eyebrow, intrigued, while Gary leaned back into to his chair, his 
hands folded.

Brock picked up where Misty left off. "We've been searching for Bruno, the 
second of the Elite Four. He was rumored to be seen somewhere on route ten. 
We're hoping that he will know where the remaining three are."

Erika entered the conversation. "We haven't made contact, I was leaving that for 
you. He's hiding in the rock tunnel, in one of the deeper canyons."

Brock nodded. "We'll go and find him. Hopefully we can convince him to join us."

~*~*~

It was late that night before Ash and Gary had a chance to talk.

"Their operation is pretty large," Gary said, pulling his shirt off. He was 
grateful that his clothes had finally dried.

Ash, nodded from his seat on his bed. He was already changed, wearing black 
sweatpants and a black T-shirt. He seemed distant, staring at the wall.

"Ash?" Gary asked as he finished changing. He had removed his jeans and was now 
wearing more comfortable black sweatpants and a large gray T-shirt.

Ash pulled himself from his thoughts and said, "They could actually do it."

Gary furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "Do what?"

"Defeat Giovanni."

Gary stared at him from across the room, saying nothing.

Pikachu hopped from Ash's lap as he stood up. "I mean, if they get the Elite 
Four to join them, I think they could do it." He paused and looked at Gary. 
"What if we joined them? We could overthrow Giovanni."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed, excited about the prospect of quitting Team Rocket.

Gary stood, slightly stunned at Ash's idea. He recovered from his stupor. "And 
if we loose? He will do what he threatened and the past six years will have been 
for nothing."

Ash sighed, looking at the floor. "I'm tired Gary, tired of being a Rocket."

Gary sadly shook his head. "I know, so am I." He paused. "Let's wait and see 
what happens with the Elite. Don't commit to something before we know what's 
going on."

Ash sighed again, he really didn't know what to do. He walked to the door, 
opening it.

"Where are you going?" Gary asked, watching him curiously.

"I don't feel like sleeping right now," Ash said, before walking into the 
hallway and pulling he door closed behind him.

He blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the sudden lack of light 
the hallway provided. He then began to walk, not really certain where he was 
heading. His bare feet made no noise on the cold linoleum floor. He stopped at a 
window and watched as a cloud slowly began to cover the moon. It wasn't long 
before his ears picked up a light, almost inaudible noise. The soft rustle of 
clothing led him to believe he wasn't the only one walking around the gym at 
night. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a female form walking towards him. He 
remained where he was allowing her to come to him.

A sweet aroma began to waft into his sense of smell. He turned his head to see 
Erika standing next to him, not looking at him, but staring out the window.

She was beautiful, especially when the cloud that was covering the moon shifted, 
bathing her in a soft glow. She was wearing a silk robe, cream, like her 
complexion. She lacked her red headband; her hair was pulled up into a sloppy 
bun, loose strands of hair sticking out.

They stood in silence, both staring out the window. Erika broke the silence 
after a few moments. "Was there someone else?" she asked, still not looking at 
him.

"No," he said plainly.

"Then why?" she asked, turning to him.

"I can't explain," he told her softly.

Erika studied him, her green eyes full of hurt and betrayal.

Ash closed his eyes, not wanting to meet her gaze. He had hurt her, and he knew 
it.

After Ash had joined Team Rocket, he had moved around a lot. He and Gary were 
stationed where they were needed. He had been at Viridian, Lavender Town, 
Cinnabar Island. For a while they were even stationed in a small room on the SS 
Anne. When he had gotten the call, telling him to pack up and head to Celedon, 
it hadn't phased him in the least. Just another assignment. Ash had been 
nineteen at the time.

Being in a new city always made Ash restless. A few nights after their arrival 
in Celedon, Ash, unable to sleep, left the new apartment he and Gary shared and 
went for a walk. Gary and Pikachu had remained in the apartment, neither really 
feeling like heading out into the brisk night.

Ash had wanted coffee. True, coffee was not the best thing for a man who was 
having trouble sleeping, but he liked coffee. Ash recalled stumbling upon a 
quaint little coffee shop, empty, save for a beautiful young woman, who sat 
alone at the counter, staring into her coffee mug. He had joined her and struck 
up a conversation. Any dream of sleep Ash had had was shot, for they talked well 
into the morning. As soon as he had given her his name she remembered him as the 
young boy who had saved her gloom years ago.

They had started out as friends; two lonely people keeping one another company. 
It wasn't long before they progressed from friends, to a couple, to lovers.

Ash didn't know why, but he never told Gary about Erika. He had kept her a 
secret, she was something special, something he didn't want to share. Erika 
intrigued him, maybe because the only female he ever really had a lot of contact 
with was Misty. But Misty was more of a tomboy, with a quick temper, and a mean 
left hook. Erika was more delicate, she was like a flower that must be handled 
gently, lest it would wither and die.

Then, he had received another phone call. His skill had captured the attention 
of Giovanni and he and Gary were to move to Cerulean.

It was one of the hardest decisions he had to make, but in the end he had left 
her without so much as an explanation. One day he was there, the next he was 
gone. He had thought it better to simply leave, rather than try to explain where 
he was going. In short, he was a coward.

"Was it me?" Erika asked, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Ash looked her in the eyes. "No," he said sincerely.

Her expression became angry and she shoved him hard against the wall. That in 
itself was a feet, considering she was almost a head shorter than him. "Then 
what the hell was it?" she cried. "It's bad enough you left without so much as a 
note, but now you don't even have a reason why!"

Ash was contemplating an answer when the window they had been standing at 
moments before shattered. Ash threw himself around Erika to protect her from the 
thousands of flying glass shards. When he looked up, two muscular men dressed in 
black stood before them, red R's emblazoned across their chests. The dark made 
their features impossible to make out.

Ash watched as they each released a rope, the he realized what had happened. 
They had repelled down from the roof and swung through the window. Soon the two 
men were joined by others, who had run up the stairs after apparently using the 
conventional entrance of the door. Now there were about seven Rockets all facing 
them, all armed with rather large guns.

One of the two men that had repelled in spoke. "Satoshi Ketchum, you and Shigeru 
Oak are under arrest for treason to Team Rocket."

Ash narrowed his eyes, curious as to how Giovanni could have possibly known that 
treason had crossed their minds. Erika stood in stunned silence, confusion 
settling over her.

"What's going on?" Ash heard an angry voice call from behind him. The lights in 
the hallway suddenly flicked on, causing Ash to shade his eyes from the sudden 
brightness. He glanced over his shoulder to see Misty, closely followed by 
Brock, quickly walking towards them. Both were in bathrobes and appeared to have 
been roused from sleep.

"Team Rocket!" Brock cried when they reached them. He took a protective stance 
in front of everyone, including Ash. "What do you want?"

One of the Rockets, a blonde man with blue eyes spoke. Ash noted it was the same 
voice who had declared him under arrest. "We want nothing to do with you. Stay 
out of it and we will leave you unharmed, for now."

Brock growled slightly, looking as though he had no intention of staying out of 
it. Ash placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let me handle this," he said, stepping 
forward again.

"Where is Shigeru?" the Rocket asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I don't know," Ash lied.

"Agent Satoshi, do not force me to have you shot," the man said, impatience in 
his tone.

Brock and Misty exchanged worried glances.

"What the hell!" an annoyed voice called. "Can't a guy get any sleep around 
here? People yelling, lights going on, Team Rocket Agents repelling through 
windows."

Ash looked behind him to see Gary sauntering towards them, pushing his way 
between Misty and Brock, Ash's bow in hand. Ash rolled his eyes. "Could you be 
anymore conspicuous, Shigeru?" he asked, taking the bow from him.

"What would you have me do, Satoshi?" Gary asked, a smirk on his face. "Fold it 
up and hide it behind my back?"

"Do you take anything seriously?" Ash asked.

"Not really," came the reply.

Brock, Misty, and Erika stood a few feet behind them, completely confused. Why 
were they calling one another Shigeru and Satoshi? They watched as Gary and Ash 
began to bicker.

"What the hell are they doing?" Brock hissed to Misty, who shrugged as she 
stared at them.

They weren't the only one's confused though. As Brock watched, the Rockets 
slowly began to lower their guns, unsure of what to do.

"It certainly took you long enough to get here," Ash snapped.

"I was sleeping," Gary retorted, a slight whine in his voice.

"Could you be more of a child?"

"Me a child? Honestly, you act like you are THREE!"

On the word three, Ash took a running start and used his staff to vault over 
head of the Rockets. At the same time, Gary whipped his gun from the holster and 
steadily shot each gun from the Rocket's hands until every Rocket was unarmed. 
One man quickly reached for his dropped gun, but Gary shot the ground, only 
inches from the man's hand. "Do it and I'll shoot your hand off." Gary smirked 
as he cocked the gun.

Brock, Misty, and Erika's jaws dropped. "It was a diversion," Brock said, 
realizing what had happened.

The Rocket's turned on Ash, seeing him as the lesser of two evils since he had a 
wooden stick, while Gary had a gun.

Brock headed foreword to help, but Gary reached out an arm and caught him 
against the chest, stopping him. "Better let him handle this alone," Gary said 
to him.

"But," Brock said, protesting. "It's seven against one."

"Believe me," Gary said as he lowered his arm. "Seven is no big deal."

Ash spun his bow to keep the Rockets back, the same way he had done with Misty, 
as he slowly backed away from the advancing attackers. Two Rockets suddenly 
lunged at him and he used his bow to his advantage, jabbing one in the stomach, 
while hitting the other with a well placed high kick to the head. Each fell to 
the floor with a grunt.

The five remaining Rocket's began to second guess themselves. They had heard of 
Satoshi's skill. This time three Rockets charged at him, obviously not learning 
from the mistakes of their teammates. Ash dodged one and smashed his bow into 
the back of his head. He crashed to the ground, unconscious. Ash then used his 
momentum to swing his bow, knocking the feet out from under the second. The 
third was older, wiser, and better trained. He stood a good distance away, 
making sure he was out of reach of Ash's bow. Unfortunately he was the perfect 
distance for Ash to take a running start. When he was a few feet away from the 
bewildered Rocket, Ash planted the staff to the ground and his momentum carried 
him foreword, allowing him to slam both feet into the man's chest. The man 
grunted and fell, unceremoniously as Ash landed gracefully next to him.

Now the only two conscious Rocket's remaining were the two who had repelled 
through the window, one of them the apparent leader. They stood facing everyone. 
Ash was carefully watching them, his back to his friends. The leader sneered 
"I've had enough." Without warning, the quickly pulled hand guns from their 
jackets, each aiming at Ash's forehead. Ash heard Gary quickly click the safety 
off his own gun.

"Consider carefully," the leader called to Gary, his blue eyes shining almost 
triumphantly. "Whichever one of us you shoot, the other will kill your partner, 
before you can do anything about it."

Gary hesitated, his gun still aimed at the blonde haired leader. The leader 
waved his gun at Ash. "Go stand back there with your partner," he said, a grin 
forming on his face as he glanced at Ash's bare feet. The floor between Gary and 
Ash was littered with broken glass.

Misty, Brock, and Erika stood behind Gary aghast and helpless as Ash began 
nonchalantly walking across the glass. They cringed, although the glass didn't 
seem to have an effect on Ash as he joined Gary. He leaned against his staff as 
he lifted a foot and brushed it off, revealing a foot with not so much as a 
scratch.

The leader narrowed his eyes at his failed attempt at torture and he kept his 
gun pointed steadily at Ash's forehead. They were in a stale mate, no one could 
move without someone being shot. Ash sighed and leaned against his staff like 
one would a walking stick, almost as if he was bored. The leader, seeing this as 
a sign of resignation, grinned and said cockily, "Any last words before we take 
you to Giovanni?"

"Only two," Ash said, shrugging. He paused, then said, "Thunder wave."

The two Rockets seemed confused until a yellow pokemon sprinted from behind 
Misty, Brock, and Erika, where he had apparently been hiding. The Rocket's 
confusion became fear when they saw Pikachu's brown eyes narrowed viciously, and 
his cheeks sparking. "Pikachu!" he cried as he released a powerful thunder wave 
at the Rockets. They fell to the ground, unconscious, joining the rest of their 
team.

Ash fell to one knee in order to pet Pikachu. "Nice job," he said softly. The 
pokemon climbed upon his shoulder and Ash stood up, turning slowly, his bow 
still in hand. "Time to face the music," he muttered to Pikachu.

When he turned he saw Gary holstering his gun, and behind him stood Brock, 
Misty, and Erika, all visibly upset. If they had had any doubts, Pikachu made it 
obvious of Ash's involvement with Team Rocket. Misty was the first to find her 
voice. "You're in Team Rocket?" she asked softly. She sounded like a child who 
had just discovered the truth about Santa Claus.

Ash nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.

Misty cast her gaze to the floor.

Ash looked at Brock, who was avoiding his gaze. "Brock..." he began, before 
trailing off.

"I thought I knew you," Brock said softly, pain obvious in every syllable he 
uttered. "But I was wrong. You have betrayed us and you are more of a stranger 
now than when I first met you."

"Brock," Ash said, trying to explain, but Brock cut him off.

"Just go."

Ash cast his eyes to the floor, then back to his friends, who were all actively 
avoiding eye contact. He sighed, then without another word he turned and left, 
without so much as going back to his room for his belongings, or even his shoes.

Gary, on the other hand remained where he was, angrily glaring at them all. 
"You're supposed to be his friends!" Gary cried infuriated, upset at the way 
Brock had treated Ash.

Brock removed his gaze from the floor and glared at Gary. "That is not the same 
Ash we knew," he said stonily.

"Bullshit," Gary said forcefully, startling them all. "He's still Ash Ketchum 
from Pallet Town, a good man, with a good heart."

Misty and Erika said nothing, but Brock was hurt and angry, and Gary was only 
proceeding to piss him off even more. "Anyone in Team Rocket has no heart."

"How dare you!" Gary cried, almost in a rage. "You have no idea!" He lowered his 
voice, although his gray eyes were still flashing with anger. He pointed a shaky 
finger at Brock. "Ash thinks of you as his older brother, or even the father he 
never had, and you judged him without even giving him a chance to explain."

Brock suddenly shot an accusing glare at Gary. "I bet you're the reason he 
joined," he said, taking a step forward. "You always were no good, Gary, you 
probably tricked him into joining."

"If you only knew," Gary said through gritted teeth. He turned, preparing to 
leave before he did something he would regret, namely shooting Brock. He 
stopped. "He didn't have a choice you know," Gary said, his back to them.

"Everyone has a choice," Brock replied softly.

Gary closed his eyes and shook his head at Brock's stubbornness. "You know what, 
you are right. Ash isn't the same person you knew. The day he joined Team Rocket 
a part of him died. He was forced to join an organization that stood for 
everything he was against." Gary paused. "He is losing himself more every day, I 
can see it when I look at him, talk to him. The Ash you knew *is* dead, and this 
one, he's barely holding on to life anymore." With that he walked away, leaving 
them alone with the seven Rockets Ash had rendered unconscious.



A/N: Well, this one took a lot longer, but it is probably the longest chapter I 
have ever written for any story. And yes, it is possible to walk on glass, I've 
seen it done live. What did you think about Ash and Erika? I don't know where 
that came from, it just popped into my head. I don't even know if there's a 
shipping for it. Anyway, I thought I'd leave the choice up to you all, do you 
want to see Ash and Erika get back together, or shall Ash and Misty give it a 
go? Please review, it's all I have to live for. (Well not really, but I LOVE 
reviews all the same!).