Morning arrived to soon for all of them, except maybe Ash, who had found it impossible to sleep anyway. Each time he would doze off, not fully asleep, but not completely awake, he would picture the dead man in the elevator, or hear the screams from the pendant.

When the others awoke, moaning and stretching as they opened their eyes, Ash was already up and dressed. It was a while before everyone was fully awake and ready, especially Duplica, who insisted upon applying her makeup before they went anywhere.

The sun was well up by the time they began their journey. Moving at a steady pace, they made good time through Victory Road.

Ash's shoulder was still very painful, throbbing and becoming tighter as the day wore on. He wasn't one to complain though, unlike Duplica. She hadn't expected to do so much walking and had worn high heeled shoes.

It was steadily becoming dark by the time they reached Viridian Forest. Ash narrowed his eyes as they neared the entrance. Something felt wrong, out of place. Pikachu, who was sitting on Ash's good shoulder suddenly perked up his ears. He thrust his nose into the air and sniffed.

*Ash, something's not right,* Pikachu thought.

*I know, I feel it too,* Ash replied.

"Stop," he said aloud. He had been bringing up the rear of the group so everyone turned to look at him.

"Oh, thank God," Duplica said, plopping onto the grass on the side of the road. She took off her shoes and began carefully massaging her feet.

Misty noticed the odd expression that covered Ash's face as he stared into the forest. "What's wrong, Ash?" she asked, walking to him and placing her hand lightly upon his arm.

He shook his head, still staring through the trees, a frown upon his face. "Something isn't right," he muttered. He tore his gaze from the forest and looked at her, his golden eyes boring into her. "Can't you feel it?"

She took a step back, unnerved by the slightly haunted look in his eyes. Brock and Richie looked on, alarmed at their friends sudden change in demeanor.

The only one in the group who didn't seem phased was Duplica, who struggled to her feet, her shoes in hand. "What are you talking about? I don't feel anything."

Ash returned his attention to the forest, where a thick fog had begun to settle, weaving it's way around the numerous trees. Something in the atmosphere was unsettling. Ash finally realized what was wrong.  It was silent. Not just quiet, but absolutely silent. There was no noise at all coming from the forest. The trees were not rustling, there were no calls from wild pidgeys, no crunch of leaves by wild rattata. Even Pikachu, with his extra sensitive hearing, couldn't detect the slightest noise.

Ash had been concentrating so hard on the silence, when Richie spoke he visibly jumped. "What's wrong, Ash?" he asked.

"The noise," Ash muttered, still staring at the forest, deep in thought. The sun was almost completely down now, and the eerie glow of the moon caused the tree branches to cast long thin shadows over the path they were standing on.

"What noise?" Brock asked, becoming deeply concerned for his friend, since he didn't hear anything.

"That's the point," Ash said, glancing at him. "There is no noise. No wild pokemon, not even a breeze rustling the leaves."

They all stopped to listen and were amazed to find he was right; there was no hint of any sound.

"Maybe it's just a quiet night," Misty suggested.

"Nothing is this quiet," Richie observed softly.

"What do we do?" Brock asked. "Diglett's Cave is the quickest way to Vermilion. And the only way there is through Viridian Forest."

He was right. Taking Diglett's Cave they could be at Vermilion in two to three days. Any other way could take over a week depending on which route they took.

"This has something to do with that thing," Ash said, looking at Brock and Richie, the only other two in the group who had had an encounter with it.

Brock nodded. "Viridian Forest is where it was released," he pointed out.

"So," Misty piped up. "The question is, do we risk it? Or go the long way around."

Richie looked at Ash. "It ran from you before. There's no reason it won't again."

"It ran from you?" Duplica asked excitedly, pulling her notepad from her pocket. "Why?"

"Unless it's become stronger," Ash said, completely ignoring Duplica, who scowled and put her notepad away.

"So should we go another way?" Brock asked.

Ash was silent for a moment, contemplating his options. "No," he said decidedly. "The longer it takes us to get to Vermilion, the more time it has to get stronger. We'll go through."

As soon as they entered the forest, Duplica began to feel as though Ash's decision had been a mistake. Fog immediately began to envelop them, making it difficult to see more than two or three feet in front of their faces. Duplica quickly grabbed the closest arm she could find, which turned out to be attached to Brock. Brock, who had grown out of his girl happy days, was less than happy to have a blue haired appendage clinging nervously to his arm.

Ash, who was leading the way, commanded Pikachu to use flash. Pikachu's attack appeared as a small glow, barely able to cut through the heavy fog to give the people behind them something to follow.

The fog was thick, unnaturally so, making Ash feel as if he was breathing it every time he inhaled. Ash frowned as Pikachu's flash failed to cut through the fog before it was simply absorbed by the mist. To top off the lack of sight, the forest still remained deathly silent, giving Ash the feeling he had gone deaf and blind.

It was because of the silence, when Ash heard the coo of a pidgey, he stopped suddenly, causing Richie to run into him.

"Ash, what are you doing?" Richie asked, slightly irritated.

"Shh," Ash said, his finger to his lips, although Richie couldn't see the gesture anyway.

The first coo was joined by another, then another, and soon pidgey calls were all that could be heard. Then, almost as if on cue, the fog shifted, thinning out enough that they could see a large tree in front of them. The trunk was thick and knurled, and it was obvious the tree was quite old. There were no leaves on it at all, allowing them a perfect view of an entire flock of pidgey that was sitting in the tree. Each bird pokemon glared at them, their fierce red eyes flashing in the moonlight.

The cooing began again, only this time it wasn't a mixture of many bird calls, but rather the calls melted together into one voice, almost sounding like a chant.

Pikachu stiffened upon hearing the words. *Ash, I think a hasty retreat is in order,* he thought.

*Why? What are they saying?* Ash thought back.

Pikachu paused a moment before saying, *Kill the intruders.*

"What?" Ash said aloud, alarm evident in his voice.

The others all turned their heads towards him, surprised at the sudden outburst. Before anyone could say anything, movement from the tree that held the pidgey caused them all to return their gazes to the branches. From the shadows, onto an empty branch, strut a brown bird, similar to the pidgey, but much larger. The branch sagged as the pokemon walked further out, it's sharp talons scratching the wooden bark as it moved.

"Ash," Brock whispered in awe. "Isn't that-"

"Yes," Ash answered, getting a good look at the pokemon. "That's Pidgeot." Ash was surprised to see his pidgeot. He had come back for him once, but was unable to find him, and now he was sitting in front of him.

Pidgeot turned his head in order to glare at Ash with one red eye, long red and yellow feathers trailing from his head to his back.

"Pidgeot!" the large bird shrilly cried. The pidgey calls immediately stopped. After a long moment of silence, Pidgeot let out another cry, this one fiercer than the first.

Ash began to back away. *Pikachu, that didn't sound like an 'Ash I'm so pleased to see you' call,* Ash thought.

*That's because it was a 'Kill them all' call,* Pikachu informed him.

The pidgey began to take flight, the beating of wings filling the once still air.

"Pikachu use thunder wave," Ash called as the large group of pidgey began crashing towards them.

"Thunder wave?" Duplica cried. "Don't you think you should use somthing stronger?"

"Duplica, with Pikachu anything stronger would roast the pidgey. We want to stop them, not kill them," Ash said as Pikachu leapt to the ground, taking his position at Ash's feet. When he released the attack, the forest was brightly lit up, forcing them all to shade their eyes. Ash was amazed to find that after the attack ceased only a few pidgey had fallen from the sky, the rest continued relentlessly towards them.

"If it means them or us, I want you to kill them," Duplica said, backing away. "Definitely."

"Run!" Ash cried.

Misty and Duplica quickly made their way into the forest, becoming separated from Ash, Richie, Brock. Fog obscured their vision and they came close to running headlong into a tree more than once as they ran. They began to look for refuge from the pidgey that were relentlessly pursuing them.

Duplica's shoes were not made for running and she had tripped and fallen enough times that Misty had resorted to grabbing her hand and pulling her along. Misty didn't know how she spotted it through the fog, but she noticed a small cave cut into a large boulder on her right. She quickly changed direction, almost diving in, pulling Duplica with her.

They fell to their knees, breathing heavily, but quietly. It was silent for one excruciatingly long moment before the beating of wings began to make it's way into their hearing.

Terror filling her, Duplica opened her mouth, and would have let out a shrill scream had Misty not firmly clamped her hand over her mouth, muffling the cry. They scrambled to the back of the cave, which was turned out to be a small crevice created by a few years of erosion. Had it been a clear night, Misty was certain the pidgey would have seen them.

The pounding of the wings came to a full crescendo before slowly becoming softer. Soon, all that could be heard was the soft flapping of wings, then nothing at all.

They waited a few moments, deathly still, before Misty removed her hand from Duplica's mouth. They both slumped against the wall, relief flooding through them, panting heavily, as fear had caused them to forget to breathe.

After a long silence Duplica took off her shoes, grimacing as she revealed a number of cuts and blisters, all shining crimson in the glow of the moon.

Misty immediatly felt sorry for her. She slid her arms from her bookbag and set it in her lap. Rummaging through it she found her extra pair of boots and pulled them out, holding them triumphantly.

"Here," she said, handing the boots and a pair of socks to Duplica.

Duplica shot her and incredulous looks, but a grateful one all the same. "Do you think they're gone?" she asked as she gingerly pulled a sock on, hoping to avoid touching her fresh cuts.

Misty shrugged. "I think we should wait here a while, then head to Diglett's Cave. We'll never find anyone in this forest and we know that's where everyone is headed."

Duplica nodded as she laced up the boots. "I hope they're all okay."

~*~*~

Ash leaned against the trunk of a large oak tree, resting after battling all of the pidgey that had pursued him. Small brown lumps of unconscious pidgey littered the ground. It had taken almost all of the power he and Pikachu had before the pidgey had finally been subdued. Pikachu was now in Ash's bag, exhausted and sound asleep.

The fog drifted lazily past him, glowing a soft white in the light of the moon. The movement of a dark shape deep within the fog, caught Ash's eye and he squinted, trying to make it out. It became larger as it got closer, and it was heading towards him at a slow, but steady pace. Ash slowly stood, unsure if he should be prepared or not. The fog parted as the figure reached him, revealing his redheaded wife, appearing slightly bedraggled, but no worse for the wear.

"Ash," she said, looking him over with her crystal blue eyes. "Where are the others?"

He shrugged, then regretted the action as his shoulder shot pain down his arm in protest of the movement.

A wind began to form, whipping Misty's hair around her face. She tucked the loose strands behind her ears in annoyance. "Who has the pendent?" she asked, keeping her eyes locked upon him, as though she thought he might have it.

Ash suddenly became suspicious; Misty knew Brock had the pendent. He kept his expression impassive as he said, "I do, you know that."

His suspicions were confirmed when a grin formed upon Misty's pink lips and she reached out, grabbing him by the neck. She shoved him into the tree he had been leaning against, holding him with an unnatural strength that the real Misty did not posses. Her eyes flared and an unnatural wind picked up, blowing her hair into the air. "I was hoping you would say that," she said, but in a deep male voice, certainly not her own.

Her grip around Ash's neck tightened, making him cough and sputter trying to breathe. He grabbed her wrist as she lifted him into the air, his feet dangling helplessly above the ground. Still unable to breathe, Ash closed his eyes, concentrating all of his power to the hand he had wrapped around the replica of Misty's wrist. He released a powerful surge of electricity. Surprised, she hissed in pain and quickly released her grip around his neck. Ash fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, gasping for air.

Ash looked up, rubbing his raw neck, and saw the clone of Misty cradling her arm, her teeth gritted as she glared at him. As he watched, Misty's form began to blur and turn a light shade of gray before reconfiguring. Then a picture perfect duplication of himself stood towering over him.

"Give me the pendent!" it cried, lunging at Ash, who rolled away.

Unfortunately for Ash, Pikachu was a heavy sleeper and remained in a peaceful slumber in Ash's bag, oblivious to what was happening. It didn't really matter though, Pikachu would be of little help since he used most of his powers on the pidgey.

Ash quickly stood, his adversary doing the same. They stared one another down for a moment, each making a silent challenge to the other.

It was the first to attack, charging at Ash and leaping into the air. Ash, who was still weak from the battle with the pidgey, was unable to move out of the way before it connected a powerful flying kick to his stomach. Ash was sent flying backwards into the trunk of the tree that stood behind him. He slid to the ground, then rolled onto his hands and knees, coughing as he tried to regain the breath that had been knocked out of him. A sharp pain exploded near his ribs when his attacker sent a sharp kick to his side.

Ash cried out in pain and fell to his stomach. He lay still, too weakened from his earlier battle to conjure up enough electricity to even shock his attacker. It stood over Ash, smiling triumphantly as it took the heel of its boot and dug it into his shoulder, the one that had been dislocated the night before. "Give me the pendent," it said, pressing on Ash's shoulder until he cried out.

A rustling from Ash's bag drew its attention away from Ash. It looked on in confusion as Pikachu leapt from the bag, exhausted, but infuriated at the treatment of his master.

"Piikaachuu!" he cried, sending all the electricity he had left into a thunder shock.

~*~*~

Richie sat on the ground, breathing hard, exhausted from the earlier running. Brock stood above him, doubled over with his hands upon his knees for support, also trying to regain his breath. They had managed to lose the pidgey after a mad dash through the forest.

"Where did the others go?" Richie asked, once his breath had somewhat returned.

Brock flopped down next to him, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I'm not sure. They all ran in different directions."

A sudden bright flash from somewhere deeper in the forest informed them of Ash's location. They stood up and began quickly making their way toward the source of the flash. They knew they were heading in the right direction when they began to see unconscious pidgey littered all over the ground. It wasn't long before they reached a small clearing of trees and saw Ash. He was badly beaten, cradling an unconscious Pikachu in his arms as he sat leaning wearily against a tree.

"Ash!" Richie cried, running towards him, Brock in tow. "What happened?" Richie and Brock knelt next to him, one on each side.

"It attacked me," Ash said, wincing slightly as he spoke. "It's stronger Richie. If it weren't for Pikachu..." he trailed off, looking at the unconscious pokemon in his arms.

"We have to figure out how to destroy it," Brock said.

Ash slowly looked at him. "It kept telling me to give it the pendent," he informed them. "Where is it?"

"I still have it," Brock told him.

A look of satisfaction entered Ash's eyes. "Maybe you should let me hold onto it, so it doesn't attack you."

Brock shook his head. "I still want to examine it. I'm trying to translate it."

Ash sighed. "All right, let's go, we need to meet the others."

Richie nodded. "Hopefully they headed to Diglett's Cave."

Richie and Brock helped Ash up, and he began walking very slowly, Pikachu still in his arms. None of them noticed the dark figure who sat crouched in the shadows, watching their every move.



A/N: Hey! I would like to set the record straight, I have NOT died and this story is still being written. It's being written very slowly, but it's being written. I have had little to no time these past couple months and unfortunately I am also writing Change of Heart at the same time as this. Don't worry, each will be updated as quickly as I can. By the way, as if any of you remember, the part in the last chapter about deja vu was actually referring to the anime episode when Team Rocket called Ash claiming to be Richie. Lame, I know. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please read and review.