Half Human ~ghost writer~ waverider@bickettweb.com AAMRN 1 Disclaimer: Just like everyone else, I don’t own Pokemon or any of the characters. Never did, never will. Words in asterisks (*like this*) are flash backs. ~~~ Ash walked with heavy steps, as if he had blocks of led instead of feet. He walked silently through the woods, overlooking what just happened. ‘Misty, Pikachu,’ he thought. ‘Where are you?’ “What has happened to everybody?” He said aloud, without thinking. “Ash, you take a game of hide-and-go-seek too seriously,” a girl with flaming red hair said after she jumped out of the bushes with a yellow electrical mouse. “But Misty, you’ve been hiding for hours.” Misty sighed heavily. “You know, Ash, for a pokemon trainer, you’re pretty dense. How would I be able to climb up a- what was that, anyway?” “A Sudowoodo.” “WHAT? HOW WOULD I GET UP THERE?” She shouted. “YOU SAID YOU WERE A MASTER OF HIDING!” “YEAH, BUT I WOULDN’T DO SOMETHING SO STUPID!!!” Ash looked around. “Where’s Brock, anyway?” Misty started looking around, too. “I don’t know. There aren’t too many places he could have gone.” Ash stared at a clump of bushes. “Hey, Misty, don’t those bushes look...phony?” Misty stared at them, too. “Yeah, they do.” Without warning, Ash dove into the bushes. “Ash! What’s gotten into you?” Ash slid through the bushes and landed on a natural slide. He slid so far, and the path was very winding. “Ash!” He heard a voice, so distant calling his name. “Ash, really. Where are you?” Then he hit solid ground, and was in a land he could only dream of. “Misty, its okay. Jump into the bushes and you’ll slide down a slide. It’s okay!” He shouted. “God, this guy is gonna drive me nuts,” she muttered as she jumped into the bushes as Ash did. She hit the same sloped terrain, and experienced the same ride as Ash had. “WHOOOHOO!” she shouted as she slid down. Then, she landed on the soft grass of this beautiful area. “Misty,” Ash said urgently. “Where’s Pikachu?” Just as he said that, Pikachu tumbled onto the grass. Then, Pikachu started running ahead to a house. “Wha-?” “Ash, come on!” Misty said as she grabbed Ash’s hand and started following Pikachu. “Ash, Misty!” Brock was waving to them. When they got there, and greeted Brock, A girl with blue pig tails stepped out of the house. “Duplica!” Ash said, startled. “What are you doing here? Long time no see!” “I’m training out here. Hey, you guys want something to drink?” Duplica said, hopefully. “Sure,” Ash replied. “Hey, wait a second, who’s that?” Ash said as another Ash stepped out. “Hi, I’m Ash from Pallet Town. What’s your name?” the other Ash said. “DITTO!” Duplica shouted. “Don’t do that anymore!” Ditto changed back into its original shape. “It scares people. Sorry about that,” she said. “Ditto has been scaring me lately. Whenever I wake up, Ditto is in my room imitating me. Whenever someone comes over, Ditto imitates them. I know that Ditto just likes the fact that it can change form, but this is too much.” “Yeah, that can start to get frustrating,” Ash replied, kindly looking at Duplica. “Duplica, what is this place?” Misty anxiously asked. Duplica looked around. “Well, I’m not exactly sure myself, but I know that whoever comes here sees it in a different way.” “What do you mean?” Brock asked. “Misty, how do you see this place?” Misty looked around. “I actually think that this place is scary. I feel so...unsafe.” She replied edgily. “Ash?” “This place looks pretty cool. Everything is a different color.” Ash replied confidently as he edged toward Duplica. Duplica continued. “You see? Everybody has a different idea. Some people might say that this is the ugliest place in the world, but that doesn’t change anybody else’s thoughts. Come inside, you’ve had a rough day,” she said as she ventured into the house. Misty couldn’t sleep that night. She was so confused. Ever since they met Duplica again, Ash has been acting more interested in Duplica than anything else. Misty pulled on her clothes in the moonlight-filled room as Ash slept soundly in his bed. “Duplica,” he murmured in his sleep. Misty ventured out into the night. “Duplica, it’ll never work out between us...” he murmured as she left. She placed herself on the edge of a massive lake illuminated by the moon and cried silently. ‘Ash doesn’t know I exist. I’m invisible.’ She thought. Ash woke up and noticed that Misty was gone with her pajamas on the ground, and her shoes missing. “Misty,” he whispered. “I’ll find you.” He pulled on his jacket and slipped his shoes on. As he was at the door, he ran into Duplica. “Duplica,” he whispered. “Ash,” she said. “Where are you going?” “I don’t know. I think I’ll only be gone for a few minutes.” Just then, they heard a scream. “Misty!” Ash said as he ran out side. He saw a figure on the lake lying down. He rushed forward. Then he saw what happened. There, standing tall was a giant Ursaring with a bloody claw. Its eyes were glowing red. Right then, it ventured back into the woods. It was clear that it was possessed by something. Then, his gaze turned back to Misty, a lifeless figure lying on the ground, crimson staining the grass. Ash picked her up as her blood seeped onto his hands. “Ash,” she said wearily as her eyes fluttered open. “Shhh,” Ash said, desperately trying to soothe her, to help her feel no more pain. “Duplica! CALL THE HOSPITAL!” he shouted without the faintest sense of hope in his voice. “Well, Misty definitely isn’t going to leave anytime soon. She has a very deep wound with a bit of poison mixed into her blood. She’ll be fine in a week, though. We can get the poison out of her system,” the doctor explained. “That’s good to hear,” Ash replied, though his spirits were still down. The doctor examined Ash’s expression. “Hey, kid, you okay?” Ash just nodded. “She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” Ash nodded again. “Doctor, when will I be able to see her?” The doctor gave a meaningful look. “Well, I’m sorry to say this, but she’s not ready for any visitors quite yet. Besides, if she means so much to you, I’m not sure if you’d want to see her in the condition she’s in.” Ash nodded. “I understand, Doctor,” He said as he sulked out the door to meet Brock, Duplica, and Pikachu. “He said she’s gonna be alright,” he said to them, “but she doesn’t want to see anybody yet.” “It might be for the best,” Brock said, trying to comfort Ash. “Pika...,” Pikachu added. Ash looked at Duplica, trying to contemplate her expression. She looked as if she had mixed feelings; sad for Misty, wondering what could have had the heart to do that to her, relieved that Misty would be okay, but she also showed a hint of happiness and satisfaction that Misty was unable to get out of the hospital for a week. “Duplica, what’s wrong?” he asked. Duplica looked like she was getting VERY annoyed. “Ash, I need to talk to you,” she savagely answered. “Privately,” she added as she pulled Ash outside and down an alleyway. Then, her eyes softened, as did the rest of her beastly expression. “Ash,” she said softly, “I never thought this would happen.” Ash, feeling very confused, didn’t know what to say. “Didn’t think...what?” he asked after five minutes. Duplica pushed him against a wall, pinning him there. “Don’t you see, Ash? Everything’s falling apart for me!” She said as the faint trace of tears lined her eyes. “What do you-?” “What I mean is, Ash,” she replied before he could finish. “When you left, things just...weren’t the same. I couldn’t let you leave, but I did. I never thought that you’d really leave,” she said softly, “and especially with Misty!” she added savagely. “I guess I’m saying that...I love you, Ash Ketchum,” she said before she pressed her lips against his, kissing him long, hard, and deep. When she let go, Ash was extremely shocked. He didn’t know what to say or do, especially what to think, and to top it all off, he didn’t want to hurt Duplica’s feelings. “Duplica, I...I...really don’t know what to say,” Ash stammered, “I mean, you’re nice and all...but...I-I’m afraid that I don’t have the same feelings as you do.” Duplica pulled back, and looked away, as if she had been torn. “No! Duplica! I didn’t mean it like that-I-,” he stammered. “No,” Duplica replied weakly. “No- I- I understand,” she answered, “Really, I do,” she added when she saw the disbelief in Ash’s expression. “You love her, leaving me an anthropomorphic Ditto still.” “Anthro...pomorphic?” Ash replied, quite astonished. “Yes,” Duplica answered. “Why do you think that I took such interest in the art of imitation? When I was young, I went into the laboratory that my father had in the basement. He was running a test to see how a Ditto can transform, so he made a potion that can turn any life form into a Ditto when he needed one... *Young Dominique was wandering passed the wonders that her father’s laboratory held. She saw everything in there, from Pokemon eggs to skeletons. She still wanted to know why her father was spending so much time down in the basement, working continuously. Then, she saw something that caught her eye. It was a glinting pink liquid that looked a lot like the juice that Dominique loved. “Daddy must have known that I would be down here. He knows I get thirsty,” she thought as she downed the unknown liquid. A tingling sensation filled her body, and all of her senses. Something new ran through her veins. Her bones were softer and more flexible. New thoughts entered her mind and frolicked through her innocent brain. She thought of being something else, and when she looked at herself, the laboratory was a little bigger, talons replaced feet, and feathers cascaded down her arms as she felt her bones hollow. She had turned into an anthropomorphic Pidgey. Then, she thought of being herself again. Her bones took regular shape, talons morphed back into feet, and the feathers morphed back into skin. “Duplica,” she thought. “My name is now Duplica.” * “...and I was what I know I was eventually destined for,” Duplica concluded. Ash was stunned. “So...you are only half human?” he asked. “Yes,” Duplica sniffed. “Here, I’ll show you what I mean,” she said as she began to glow. Duplica started getting a little shorter, her hair faded into blue, scaly skin (the rest of her skin followed), her jaw enlarged in length as shiny white razor teeth jutted out of her top jaw. Claws replaced her fingernails, and circular markings appeared around her eyes. Ash stared at the anthropomorphic Totodile. “You-“he began. “I know,” she replied. “This is as far as I get.” Then, she changed back into the regular Duplica.