Disclaimer: Pokemon is not mine. I write this story just for fun.
Author's notes: I'm baaack~~
Did ya miss me? ~.^
Just kidding…
Well, didn't update for a long time, and I'm really sorry for that. Pokemon isn't what it used to be, and my passion for writing fanfics in the fandom also reduced a bit…
But no worries! I still like it enough to write fanfiction… so enjoy! :)
Oh, sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes…
The Arena/ Chapter Seven
The three of them sat in silence on the gray floor, Misty and Brock occasionally glaring at Zac, who, when he caught their glares, only shrugged it off, Wishing for Chris to open the damn door already…
"We're not moving from here until Ash comes out," Brock said quietly, yet anyone could detect the threatening in his deep voice.
Zac sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. "Yes, you told me that… what, four times already?" he said, and gave the two teenagers a bored look.
Brock shrugged, and resumed looking around the hall. There wasn't much in it. It was quite narrow, and instead of colorful pictures or green plants, doors decorated the walls. He couldn't help but wonder what was behind each one… "Say," Brock started, looking at Zac again. "Is it true? That the trainers here fight with each other, without Pokemon?"
Zac cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah…" he said, "You wouldn't have been here if you thought it's a lie, now would you?"
"And…" Misty joined in, "Is it true that they sometimes kill themselves?"
She thought she saw him jump a bit at that comment. "Well… yeah…"
"And is it true," she continued, "that Ash tried?"
Now she was sure she saw him jump a bit, and then he looked away and nodded.
She felt her heart dropping to her stomach. "O-our Ash?" she
stuttered quietly, and he nodded again. And then she started weeping into her
hands. At first, when
Brock put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, and Zac thought that his glare became more intense. "How can you work here when you know that this is what they do?" Brock asked angrily.
"How can you use Pokemon for fighting, when you know it won't do them any good?" Zac replied, calmly. No matter what Brock said, Zac remained calm. It annoyed him.
"They go up on levels," Brock replied.
Zac frowned. "So? It won't help them. They should rise in levels in the natural way, by fighting other Pokemon in the wild."
"But then they could get killed!" Brock shouted back.
Zac shrugged. "At least they would be free. Think of it; after you catch them, they spend most of the time in the Pokeball, and only come out to fight. What kind of life is that?"
Brock was about to reply, but after not finding a good answer, he decided to stay quiet. Zac smiled.
*~*~*
Ash found it amazing that he made it into Chris' office without collapsing. He felt so damn tired, and his legs felt like they could barely carry him.
He also found it pretty amazing that he didn't collapse after seeing Brock and Misty in the Arena.
Oh yes, bowing to that slime, Chris, sure was a relief to his legs.
"You're lying," Ash stated, looking at Chris with wide eyes. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be that Zac was his father!
"I never lie, my dear Ash," Chris answered and smiled evilly. "Well… almost never…"
"This can't be," Ash said, his eyes widening. "My father is a great man, who went out to a Pokemon journey!" Chris chuckled, and Ash frowned. "What's so funny?"
"Well, about that… you see-" a bit of shouting from outside cut his speech, and he frowned at the door. "Wait just a minute, Ash." Chris went to the door and opened a crack, peeking outside.
"Zac," he said, and Ash's heart
jumped. "Why are these two children still here?"
"Well," Ash heard his guardian's voice, and shuddered. "They refuse to go with me until they see Ash."
"Ash, tell them to go," Chris said, not even bothering too look back at him.
Ash took a deep breath, his head starting to hurt. He really didn't have the strength to deal with all that now. "Go," he said quietly.
"They didn't hear you," Chris said, and Ash could have sworn he heard mocking.
"Just go!!!" he screamed, closing his eyes and punching the floor.
"Ash!" He heard Misty scream. "Ash, don't do what he says!"
"For God's sake Misty, do what I say!!!" Ash hollered, amazed that his voice could reach to such loud notes.
"But Ash-" it was Brock's voice this time. Ash closed his eyes again and got up from the floor, stomping to the door and pushing Chris out of the way, finding it weird the man didn't protest.
When he peeked outside he gulped. He wasn't ready to face his friends just yet. His eyes roamed around, and when he spotted Zac he paled.
"Ash…" Brock said quietly and put his arm on his friends' shoulder, only to have it pushed away.
"Don't touch me!" Ash screamed and slapped Brock's hand away. Brock stared at him in amazement, and Ash was also quite amazed… he didn't mean to do that!
"I'm-" he said quietly, and when he saw the looks on his friends' faces he felt ashamed and looked down to his feet."-sorry," he finished.
"Ash…" Misty whispered. "Ash, what is wrong with you?" he could hear her voice cracking, and that pained him more than anything.
He sighed heavily and shook his head. "Look, guys… go with Zac to… wherever he wants you to go. I really need to stay here and… discuss things with this man behind me". Misty and Brock looked at him, confused. He could only guess that it was because they didn't except him to give up. He looked at Zac, and also saw him confused. Why would he be?
And besides that, the more he looked at him… the more he saw himself. When he realized what he was thinking he shut the door quickly, not wanting to open it until they all go away.
He heard Chris chuckling behind him, and turned around quickly to face him, his eyes as if trying to rip his body apart. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," Chris replied, smiling. "I just thought that… you're starting to believe me, is all."
"Never!" Ash screamed, and Chris chuckled again.
"Don't you think he looks a lot like you?" he asked and ruffled the boy's hair, who slapped his hand away and took a few steps back.
"Shut the hell up!"
Chris took a few steps forward, making Ash to bump into the wall. Now he had nowhere to run to. "And don't you think," Chris said while closing the distance between him and Ash, "that it's just a bit strange that he stayed by your side while you were in this coma of yours, hmm?"
"I-it's his duty as my guardian!" Ash replied, finding it hard to speak when Chris is standing so close to him.
"Oh no, my dear Ash. A guardian's duty is to walk you to the battle. Zac watched over you out of his own free will."
Ash gulped. Chris was standing really close to him now, and he was smiling a scary smile. "And just why do you think," Chris started again, "that you never heard anything from him?"
Ash felt his body starting to shake. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked quietly, looking directly into the boss' eyes.
"I only think it's important for you to know the reasons for why you grew up without a father."
"I don't care," Ash said, sounding braver. "What, you forced him to come here?"
Chris shook his head. "I do not force anyone to come here. You should know that by now…"
"Then why? Why are you telling me this?" Ash asked, sounding more desperate than he intended to sound.
"Well, you see…." Then Chris leaned forward, and whispered in his ear the most horrible words he has heard in years. He went paler and paler at every word Chris
said, his eyes widened, and he could feel his lungs stop working.
And when Chris backed away again, Ash's legs finally gave away under him, and he fell into the darkness.
As Chris heard the thud, he smiled to himself and picked Ash up from the floor. He's been waiting to test this new method. Who could have known the right person and right occurrences would just play into his hands?
"The soul is stronger than the mind, my dear Ash," he said and he left his office with Ash in his hands. Soon Ash would be his best fighter, and from there it wouldn't take long for him to quit from Pokemon training. "Break the soul, and the mind would break soon after…" Chris said quietly to himself, grinning.
*~*~*
The room was quite big, even bigger then the biggest room any Pokemon-Center could offer. It had two beds, a desk and three chairs, a shelf packed with books, a few plants and pictures, and a big window which displayed the wonderful view of the green mountain.
"This is your room," Zac said, but he didn't enter with them. "You are not allowed to leave this room for any purpose. On the screen over there you can watch your friend fight. The door over there is the closet, and the door next to it leads to the bathroom." When both teens nodded, Zac continued. "If you need anything, just… wait. I'll visit you a few times a day." When they nodded again, Zac turned around and walked out. "Oh, and by the way," he said before closing the door. "Don't eat any of food unless it comes from me directly."
"Why not?" Brock asked.
Zac looked around, and when he was sure no one was in sight he came into the room again and closed the door behind him. "The food we give to trainers here… it makes them aggressive. Not all trainers fight back. They may feel anger, but some just won't fight back. So Chris decided to give food which is used on Pokemon, in order to make them attack. To some it still takes awhile to fight back, while others do it right away. I think it depends on the blood system, but I'm no doctor…"
"Wait wait wait," Brock said quickly. "Food which is used on Pokemon?"
Zac shrugged. "Didn't you know? In order to make Pokemon fight at their best, the food, which you buy contains certain ingredients that… makes them aggressive."
"So that's why Ash acted this way…" Misty whispered and Zac nodded, confirming her suspicions.
"But I use natural ingredients to make my Pokemon food!" Brock protested. "And they still fight!"
"You buy some of the ingredients in the Poke-Mart?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, there's your answer," Zac said, and when he saw they had nothing more to ask, he turned around and left the room.
"Do you believe what he says?" Misty asked Brock as Zac left. "I mean, it sounds like… one big scheme, which was prepared hundreds of years ago and is going on until today…"
Brock shrugged. "I really don't know, Misty. It sounds like a big lie, but… when I think about it, it makes sense…"
Misty sighed and looked out of the window. "This place is creepy. I
want to get out, take Ash and run away!"
"Me too, Misty," Brock said as he joined her by the window. "Me too…"
*~*~*
He loved the spring. The way all trees and flowers blossomed, the
warm air, and the cheerfulness of everyone, now that the rain is out of the
way. Even as a little child he could adore this lovely season. There weren't
many kids left in the kindergarten's playground, and he was pretty bored, now
that all of his friends had already gone home. His mother was late, for this
reason or another.
He sat on the swing and watched as more parents came to pick up their
children, and none of those grownups was his mother.
"Hello, Mr. Anderson!" he heard the teacher exclaim
happily. "I think you'd be glad to hear that little Jane drew this lovely
drawing today…" the boy stopped listening at this point, and decided that
searching animals in the clouds would be something better to do. Oh, there
there's this little bunny-
"Hey, Ash," his train of thought was cut when Jane
approached him, probably because she was getting quite bored from listening to
her father talking with the teacher.
"What?" four-years-old Ash replied, frowning as the little
bunny looked more like a human suddenly, and then turned to look at her.
"My dad told me to tell you that your mom works until late
today, and that you can come to my house and play until she's done!" Jane
said happily.
"Why does he know?" Ash asked, titling his head to the left
in suspicion.
"They work at the same place," Jane answered, and took his
arm in order to drag him after her. "And he says that she told him to tell
you to come to my house."
"Your dad is making cakes, too?" Ash asked. He simply adored
his mother's cakes, and if Jane's father was working at the same bakery, then
lunch at
Jane's house may be a great idea…
"Yeah! I love his cakes! What is
your dad doing?" she asked as they came closer to her father.
"My dad?" Ash asked and
stopped in his tracks. He never gave much thought to the subject. Just where was
his dad? He knew that his dad wasn't living with them at the same house, for he
never saw him, but he never wondered where the guy was- he was perfectly fine
with living just with his mother.
"Yeah," Jane said and looked him in puzzlement, wondering
why her friend stopped walking suddenly. "You do have one, right?"
"I don't know…" Ash said quietly.
Jane was getting sad, seeing Ash like this. He was usually so
cheerful and full of energy, and seeing the boy sad was just… wrong!
"I know!" she exclaimed and clapped her hands. "My
father can be your father!"
"Can he?" Ash asked, smiling widely.
"Yeah! When you'll be at my
house, he'll be your dad!"
Ash nodded and both of them ran towards Mr. Anderson, who was
awaiting them next to his car.
When Ash's mother came to pick him up and take him home by the
evening, her son was already napping on the
While she was cooking dinner, Ash woke up, and came running down
happily. "Mommy! Mommy! Guess what!" He hugged her and she crouched
down to look at him in his eye level.
"What is it, hon? You had a good day?" She asked, ruffling
her son's black hair.
Ash nodded, closing his eyes in contentment and smiling. "Yeah!
Jane said her dad can be my dad! Isn't that great?"
Delia gasped, and stopped ruffling his hair. She knew that that day
would come sooner or later but she didn't think it would be that soon.
"Well,
honey…" she said quietly, doing
a pretty good job at hiding the shaking in her voice."Her dad can't be
yours…"
"Why not?" He asked sadly,
looking at her with a pair of puppy eyes, which almost made her melt.
"Well…" she took a deep breath."Because
his child is Jane, not you."
"Then who's my daddy?"
"Your daddy… your father went out to a Pokemon journey in order
to become a Pokemon Master!" Delia answered, smiling in spite of the
memory.
"He's a great trainer!"
"Then why he's never home?" Ash asked.
"Because he's on a journey-" She started, but Ash cut her
off.
"But
Delia frowned. She had no answer to that. "Well, I'm sure he'll
return someday!" she said, smiling again.
"You think he'll return if I become a Pokemon Master too?"
Ash asked, hopeful.
He was still young, and Delia was sure he won't be able to understand
the truth, so she nodded and said: "I'm sure he will, Ash…"
Ash lay on the floor in his cell, clutching his head in a futile attempt to drive those memories away. Lies, lies, lies! All were lies!
He screamed and kicked the wall opposite to him, clutching his head harder. He felt like he was going mad!
What was this horrible feeling inside of him? He felt like he wanted to explode, but wasn't sure what to do in order to calm his nerves.
So he screamed again.
He wasn't sure what made him to believe Chris' words, either... It's just that… all pieces clicked into place.
Besides, in the Arena, everything is the truth- everything clicks to place… which was all the more reason to hate that damned place.
The words echoed in his mind, and he couldn't make them go away.
Your father was not great, my dear Ash. He was a jerk…
He could have sworn Chris' voice was deeper when he said that…
Anyone, who leaves their wives because they're pregnant, is a
jerk…
That feeling was growing, and he clutched his teeth together.
He hated you from day one, Ash. He hated you before he knew who
you are. So he left…
He shut his eyes tightly, doing all he can to make those echoes stop. The words would have pained him less under certain circumstances but…
Your mother was condemned to suffer because of you…
He felt strong hands holding him, and someone was calling his name. But Ash couldn't see. He could barely feel or hear anything but
You are the cause of all pain she suffered, and of all pain your
father had suffered as well...
He remembered feeling numb back there, and he could feel this numbness again…
Your soul is worth to the Arena, for you are no better than any of
us…
And he screamed…
To Be Continued…
Author's Notes: in the last line of the last chapter, I wrote "Zac" instead of "Chris". Gomen, gomen ^^;
Hope you liked this chapter, and I'm really sorry it took me so long to update! ^^;
Please review!
-E2K