Disclaimer: D-I-S-C-L-A-I-M-E-R- a note, which disclaims something.

 

Author’s Notes: first of all, thanks again for the reviews. They are the only things that make me want to keep writing, so… review some more ^^;

It’s good for your health!!!

 

I watched the episode when Misty leaves, and let me tell you- the Japanese could have done a much better work with it! >_<

It’s not that touching…

 

And one last thing: did you notice that in the 4th movie the scenery is European? Is that supposed to mean something? Is the Pokemon world in Europe?

Ah, so many questions, so little time…

Ok, I’ll shut up now  ^^;

 

Enjoy your reading! :D

 

 

 

The Arena/ Chapter Four

 

 

It was a peaceful night in Pallet-Town. The town’s people were already asleep; the only sound was the sounds that the crickets emitted…

One young woman sat on the green couch, her heart pounding madly in her chest as the seconds passed. Very soon now, she’ll know…

She picked up the small device from the wooden table with a shaking hand, gulping as she took a look…

…And then sighed in relief. It was now confirmed.

 

She was pregnant.

 

She squealed. In nine months, her first baby shall be born. What will be his/her name? Will it be a boy or a girl? Will he/she look like her?

 

The hand on her shoulder cut her train of thought, and she turned around. Her husband, Zac, stood behind her, still half asleep. Her squeal probably woke him up.

 

“Waz up?” He slurred, the tiredness taking over his voice.

 

Delia grinned. “Oh, honey! You won’t believe it!” she showed him the kit. “I’m pregnant!”

 

These two words woke him up fully, and his eyes widened. “What?” he whispered, not believing.

 

“You heard me! I’m pregnant! We’re going to have a baby! Oh, isn’t it wonderful?” Delia hugged him tightly, wishing to share her joy with him.

 

Zac didn’t return the hug, though. He was frozen in place. “No,” he said coldly.

 

“What?” Delia asked, not believing her ears.

 

“No, it’s not wonderful. As a matter of fact, it’s terrible!” Zac shouted, pushing Delia away from him. She stared at him, shocked beyond words. “I don’t want a baby to run around the house and cry, scream, poop, whatever! I want to be just with you…” His eyes softened, as if he tried to convince her in his opinion. He didn’t understand the bond between a mother and a child, even if it’s still in her womb.

 

“How can you say that?! This is our baby! How can you not love it?”

 

“Look, Delia,” he held her shoulders gently. “I love only you. I have no room in my heart for a baby. I want to be only with you. The baby would only interfere!”

 

“Sure you have room in your heart! Just like I have!” he held her tighter. “Stop! You’re hurting me!” she pushed his arms away and fell on the couch from the recoil. “I am keeping this baby and that’s it!”

 

Zac was furious. She preferred the baby over him? And here he was, getting ready to leave for a Pokemon journey. “Fine then!” he yelled. “If you’re keeping this baby no matter what, then I’m leaving no matter what! It was fun, Delia. I hope you have a good life with the… evil little thing!”

 

Delia gasped. “You jerk!” she shouted. “Get out of here! We don’t need you!”

 

‘We…’ Zac thought bitterly. He huffed and opened the front door, making sure that it’ll bang loudly when he’ll shut it. It certainly did. He thought that women loved that kind of cheesy talking… guess Delia didn’t.

 

Delia jumped slightly as the door shut behind him, and then fell to her knees, sobbing. What had caused this? She was sure that they were in love… she was so happy with him. Why did he run away? She looked down at her stomach and wiped her tears away, smiling as she thought about her baby… the baby, who will grow up without a father in his/her life. She began to cry again.

 

Zac never returned, and when Ash was born, Delia decided to change her last name. Ash would not carry the last name of the person, who didn’t want him.

 

 

Zac sighed heavily at the bitter memory. He indeed became a trainer, and a successful one at that. He encountered Chris six years after he left, and was amazed by Chris’ ideals. He admired the older man. Zac gave up on Pokemon training, of course, and he helped Chris with the Arena. One of the former employees in the Arena was their neighbor once, and he told Zac about Ash. He could only tell that it was a boy, though, because he moved to Saffron two days after Delia gave birth to her first and only child. She named him after a week.

 

Zac found himself thinking a lot about the baby after he left, and especially after ten months, when he was sure that baby was born. Even if he wanted to return home, he couldn’t now. He couldn’t face Delia or his friends… they all must have thought he was a jerk. Heck, even he thought so. Who can blame him?

And now, when he knows who his son is… he knows what he must do.

 

 

*~*~*

“I need to talk to you,” Zac said, standing straight and tall in front of Chris’ desk.

 

Chris cocked an eyebrow at his friend. “Oh? What about? You seem troubled… are you sick? Need the day off?”

 

Zac took a deep breath to calm his nerves and lowered his head, his bangs hiding his eyes. “My son-“, he started, and could feel Chris smiling inwardly. “- Is in here.”

 

“Really? That’s great! I do need some new people to work here…” Chris wasn’t a very good liar, and Zac knew what his intentions were. He knew very well what Zac meant.

 

“No,” Zac replied, feeling very uncomfortable. “He’s one of the trainers.”

 

Chris chuckled. “Oh really?” Zac jumped slightly, feeling the annoying sarcasm in Chris’ voice. “Are you sure? We all remember what happened last time, you know, when that trainer-“

 

“Don’t say that!” Zac screamed, lifting his head to look at Chris for the first time.

 

“Why not?” Chris asked, pretending to be innocent, although he knew that Zac wasn’t buying it. “Remember, I didn’t punish you for what you did. You knew very well the rules, and yet-“

 

“I know, I know!” Zac cut him again. He knew where this was going, and he didn’t want to be swept into a sad memory again. “And this time I’m sure! It’s not like last time! This time… this time…” he couldn’t finish.

 

Chris smiled. He always had that influence on people. “You know, Zac. You were sure last time, too. You remember what happened to that trainer, don’t you? Part of it was because of you.”

 

“No it wasn’t!” Zac yelled, hitting with his fists on the desk and glaring into Chris’ eyes. “None of this was my fault! How could I have known…” he stopped and looked down again. “It was his decision…”

 

“And you know, I had to explain to the boy’s parents what happened,” said Chris, his voice serious.

 

“Please… stop…” Zac begged. He didn’t want to remember. He tried to forget what happened three years ago.

 

“And the police became involved,” Chris continued, “Because the parents didn’t believe that a wild Pokemon attacked their son. It’s good that the police didn’t find anything. The Arena is still a secret. And it’s all thanks to little Zac, who proved to me that even if the police did find the Arena, they wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it. Because the trainers agree with what I’m doing, even if they don’t like, just like Pokemon don’t like to fight. No one likes to fight. A lot of people don’t like the idea of battles, and if the police would arrest me, then they’ll have to arrest every Pokemon trainer in the world for Pokemon abuse,” Chris finished.

 

Zac’s eyes widened at the mention of the name “little Zac”… the kid, who was one of the first trainers in the Arena… the kid, who he once thought was his son… the kid… the first kid, who killed himself because of the Arena.

 

 

They had the same name. Mary told him that he looked exactly like him, too. The kid’s eyes were blue, but nobody knew Zac’s eyes color, so she couldn’t tell. That kid was strong, one of the top trainers in the Arena. Zac thought that Delia named her child after him - her husband. Oh, how wrong he was…

 

He loved the kid. Little Zac always had a smile on his face, didn’t matter when. As the days passed, Zac was more and more convinced that little Zac was indeed his son, and he treated him like one. One night, he even took him out of his cell to a nearby hill, even if it was against the rules. The Arena is a big building in the middle of a blooming field… Chris said that he loved ironies, so he built it there. He would never forget how happy little Zac was when they got there. He played there all night long, as Zac watched him from the side, laughing at the boy’s antics. He felt like he was making up for all those years he wasn’t with his son.

 

“You know, Zac,” little Zac told him then. “My mother told me once, that if you write our names like that…” he picked a stick and engraved something in the ground.

 

“Z-A-K-H…” Zac read the letters slowly. “Then what?” he asked, curios.

 

“Zakh,” little Zac repeated. “In Hebrew, it means ‘clean’ or ’pure’.” He looked down, and Zac’s eyed widened as he saw the kid’s smile disappear. “Ne,

 

Zac,” the kid said quietly. “Am I… pure?”

 

Zac laughed. “Of course!” he said. “You are the purest guy I know!” he hit him slightly on the shoulder. Little Zac was always so full of energy, and he had a strong sense of justice, too. As soon as he realized what was going on in the Arena, he fought without resisting. He agreed with Chris’ ideals.

 

“Thanks,” the little boy whispered and looked at him, his eyes shimmering with tears. “That’s all I needed to know.”

 

He knew that night, what he was going to do as soon as he got back. That’s how Zac found him the morning after - the knife beside him, and his blood on the floor. The boy couldn’t live with the guilt.

 

It took a while for Zac to come out of the depression he got into over the little boy’s death. He was only ten year old…

 

He was the first trainer to kill himself, and many came after him. Chris told the parents that a wild Pokemon attacked him, and that he witnessed it. They didn’t believe him and called the police. The police didn’t found anything about Chris, so they told the family that a wild Pokemon did attack little Zac.

 

Only then Zac found out that little Zac wasn’t his son.

 

From that day on, Zac always smiled, in the memory of the boy he lost.

 

 

He promised to himself never to get too close to another trainer, so when Ash came, he treated him like any other trainer, even if he did feel some kind of a bond between them…

 

“So you know,” Chris continued something that Zac didn’t hear, “that even if your son is here, I can’t do anything about it… besides, you can’t be too sure, right?”

 

Zac turned around and walked away, tears in his eyes. He was positive that Ash was his son, and he knew that he can’t lose him to the afterworld. What would Delia say? And Zac knew that he wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt again. He only hoped that Ash loved life, and wasn’t thinking about doing anything rash… 

 

 

*~*~*

Ash walked hesitantly into the big lobby, a guard accompanied him. He wondered where Zac was… not that he cared or anything. Zac could fall from a cliff and die for all he cares. Today was his first social gathering, and he hoped to see Jason again. He had to ask him something.

 

As he entered, sounds of talking and laugher filled his ears. Trainers stood around the food-loaded table, some laughed, some talked and some just wandered around

aimlessly.

 

The guard pushed him inside, and closed the door behind him. “Hey, watch it!” Ash called after him, but he was pretty sure the guard didn’t hear him. He huffed.

 

“I know that voice!” Ash smiled as he recognized the person, who said it.

 

“Jason!” Ash called, running to the other boy.

 

Jason laughed. “What’s up, man? I heard you won your third battle! So you’re in level six now?” he asked.

 

“Yup,” Ash answered with a smile. He wasn’t proud of this fact, but he had to admit that the cheerfulness in the room got to him.  “I’m getting closer to getting out of here!”

 

Jason gave him thumbs-up, and Ash returned the gesture. They both smiled.

 

“I won two battles. Just one more win and I’m in level five! Then I’ll have only one level to rise!”

 

“Cool!” Ash said, smiling. He was happy that his friend could get out of here soon. “Say, Jason… why are there girls here, too?” Ash asked.

 

Jason laughed at this. “Didn’t you know? Girls can be trainers, too. They just don’t fight us, because boys are stronger. They fight in another rink.” He explained.

 

“Oh,” was all Ash could reply with. Then he remembered what he meant to ask him earlier. “How come nobody knows about the Arena? I mean. It’s such a big

building! So what if it’s in the middle of nowhere?”

 

“I think that the position of the building is perfect. Just think of the irony! Flowers all around, while inside intense battles are going on… besides, it’s a private ground that Chris purchased. There’s a fence around, and the building is hidden by the trees. You can only see this place from the air, and even then the branches hide the roof. Everyone assumes that it’s just a big house…”

 

“It sure looks like this from the outside,” a new voice joined the conversation.

 

“Allen!” Jason seemed happy to see the other boy. “Allen, this is Ash. Ash, this is Allen, a friend of mine.” Jason introduced them. He seemed too jolly-happy for both boys’ taste.

 

“Nice to meet you,” Ash said, bowing.

 

“Ash?” Allen repeated the name as if it was sacred. “The strong one? Is that you?”

 

Ash put his arm behind his neck sheepishly. “Yeah…”

 

“Man, I hope I won’t fight you,” Allen said. He knew he’d lose against a strong opponent like Ash. Ash merely sweatdropped.

 

“People sure are happy,” Ash said, smiling as he saw everyone happy around him. He was just so depressed the last few days…

 

“Of course,” Allen said. “Everyone is in their cells all day long and only come out when it’s time to battle. These gatherings do good to our injured souls - to be let out once in awhile and not battle.”

 

Ash’s eyes widened. He suddenly remembered all those times, when he released his Pokemon to play with each other or just to rest in the sun. They stayed out all day long, and even then they sometimes refused to return to their Pokeballs. He understood now perfectly why. His Pokemon knew exactly what would happen the next time they’d be released, and because of that they refused to return.

 

“You okay?” Jason asked. “You don’t look to well…” he took a closer look at him, trying to figure out what was wrong.

 

“It’s nothing, really… I just thought of something…” Ash said, trying to drive these thoughts away. And just when he was starting to forget where he was!

 

Jason and Allen didn’t believe him, but let it go at that.

 

 

The gathering was over five hours later, and everyone was back in their cells. On his third battle, Ash didn’t wait long until he fought back - he did it immediately. He figured the sooner that battle was over, the better. That battle was indeed over quickly, and Ash didn’t have to go to the clinic. He wasn’t severely injured. His fourth battle is supposed to be today.

 

It had been three and half weeks since he got there. Misty and Brock should be worried by now. Well, he sure hoped they were…

 

It’s amazing what happened to his soul in such a short time. He couldn’t believe the things he’d done to his best friends, the creatures he loved the most, even more than himself - his Pokemon. He made them suffer like that… he couldn’t understand why they didn’t just run away when they could…

 

Then it hit him. They couldn’t. If they tried to run away he’d return them to their Pokeballs. He remembered all those times when he left his Pokemon behind… they cried. Did they cry out of happiness? He was such a fool to think that they cried because they had to leave him - their trainer!

 

Then why Pikachu didn’t stay with the other Pikachus? Maybe because he wasn’t in a Pokeball… he wasn’t trapped all day long. He was kind of free. And Ash was pretty sure that Pikachu loved him. Thanks to the Arena, though, he began to doubt it.

 

Ash found himself sobbing in his cell many times before, when he suddenly understood things. He found himself doing it again now. He buried his head in his hands and wept… the guilt was too much for him to handle.

 

The door opened, and the lunch was thrown inside. Ash waited for it, and not because he was hungry.

 

With a shaking hand, he lifted the knife. It gleamed in the dim light of the cell. He could see that the knife shook along with his hand. He sniffed and pressed the metal against the skin of his left wrist. He winced at the searing pain, but pressed harder. The blood oozed down to the floor, and after awhile, Ash felt like he was floating.

 

The time was near. ‘I’m sorry, everyone… I’ll be watching you from above,’ was his last thought before he blacked out.

 

 

 

To Be Continued…

 

 

 

 

Author’s Note: BWAHAHAHA! I’m evil >:)

;-; school starts in a week… I’ll hope I’ll have Chapter Five before it happens…

*sigh*

 

About the Zakh thing- the “kh” should be pronounced lie “teCHnique”. I think that they have this sound in Spanish, too. And the part where Zac remembers about little Zac should be in italics… I have no idea why it isn’t >_<

 

Thank you, AragornEstel, for editing.

 

 

 

 

-E2K