This part was written by Annabelle Faline (Annie). Part 4: Shattered 
Masquerades, Cloud of Deception 


"...but why should we stop here? For all I know, you are only saying yes to save 
your girl, and you would run away as soon as possible," Giovanni continued.
"No! Ash! Do something!" Misty screamed.
"Nurse Jesse, please move his gurney into an upright position so he can see 
everything," Giovanni said, sadism showing clearly in his voice.
Ash felt his bed move into an upright position. He could see Jesse holding a 
remote, which was moving the bed. Giovanni was sitting down, stroking his 
beautiful feline. His eyes were cold and emotionless, and Ash shuddered. 
James was standing by Misty's gurney, hands bare, a mask covering his face. A 
black rose was woven into his blue hair. His green eyes were thoughtful, almost 
as if he were wondering what he would do next.
"You may continue, James," Giovanni said. He was looking right at Ash.

~~~~~~ 
James could feel his status rising as he mercilessly hit the girl with the 
prong, and he had stopped when Giovanni spoke as a matter of curtosy. Right now, 
he wanted to hurt the redhead for every time Team Twerp had made him blast off. 
And now he had an opportunity. He found what he needed: an injection that would 
make Misty's senses so acute that she would feel a shift in the air current. It 
was made from synthetic extracts from certain kinds of Pokemon, and it really 
worked. He knew of reluctant would-be members who had to go through this 
ceremony, and he knew it was very effective in creating converts.
He was holding the injection in the air, watching Ash coldly. The words just 
poured out of him. "Do you love her?"
"What do you mean?" Ash whispered, his voice shaking. He was looking at Misty. 
Tears ran down the girl's burnt face. She winced as each tear fell.
"You know what I mean, Ash. I know you're not that dense," James replied coldly. 
Why did Ash play the idiot all the time? Was it just for attention?
"Yes..." Ash whispered.
"Good," James replied. "Then you will enjoy this."
He injected the serum into Misty, then turned toward his assortment of torture 
devices. He finally decided on the red-hot poker. He pressed it into the skin on 
Misty's shoulder. She screamed at the top of her lungs. It was a wail of pain, 
anger, and despair. 
And the tears ran down her cheeks into the evil burn mark. It would probably 
leave a scar. And after a while, she was no longer screaming out loud, and she 
sobbed openly. Ash was as tortured as she, for he really did love her.
He felt sadistic pleasure at this, and he almost laughed. She was breaking, and 
he was crashing down into the Hell that James had lived in for years. It was too 
perfect...


~~~~~~ 

Brock was wandering aimlessly, searching for Ash and Misty. Ash had been gone 
for seven days, Misty for three. He had just decided to go look for them because 
he had been too busy chasing one of the Joys around to realize they had 
disappeared. He had been walking around for a day and a half because he needed 
to find them.
"ASH? MISTY?" he called. 
There was no reply. But he did see something else by the side of the road. It 
was a girl, and she was at a broken-down telephone booth. 
He ran up to her. "Hello! My name is Brock! Are you having trouble, miss? Do you 
need a big, strong guy to help you?"
The girl turned around. She had beautiful frizzy dark auburn hair that fell 
halfway past her shoulders, and her eyes were almond-shaped, the irises cool 
black orbs. She was fairly pale, and she was wearing a skirt that looked like it 
had been made from a gauzy, leaf-like material. The shirt was made of the same 
fabric, only the sleeves were poufy. 
"Oh... hello, Brock," she said. "My name is Fae, and I do need help. I was 
walking in the woods and lost one of my Pokemon, my Chickorita. Team Rocket 
stole her. I was hoping to call for help, but the telephone was broken."
He shook her hand profusely. "Fae is a really beautiful name! It's the sound of 
golden bells ringing in my heart, the sound of cool water running down 
waterfalls, the sound of a Jigglypuff's song!"
Fae giggled. "Poetic."
Brock smiled, spurred on by her apparent affection. Little did he know that she 
was an elf who worked for Team Rocket, one of their prettiest recruiters and 
team members. She had been sent on a mission because of her beauty; She had been 
sent to find the boy named Brock and bring him to Giovanni.
"Well, miss, I'll find your precious Chickorita. I will bring it back to you or 
you will have permission to shatter my heart yet again!" he vowed.
"I'm flattered," she said. "But may I come with you? I can show you the exact 
clearing where Team Rocket spirited my prized Pokemon away."
"Yes, miss. I will follow you."
They went off into the sunset, on a path that led to a forest, and a forest that 
housed the Team Rocket headquarters. 

~~~~~~ 
"STOP!" Ash screamed. "DON'T HURT HER ANYMORE! I'LL DO ANYTHING! DO YOU HEAR ME? 
ANYTHING, FATHER!"
Giovanni raised is hand at James, which was a hand signal to hold the torture. 
"Do you swear on your love for Misty?"
Ash looked Giovanni, his father, in the eye. "I swear, Father."
Giovanni narrowed his eyes at Ash, almost like he was listening to something 
that nobody else could hear. "Very well. Nurse Jesse, unstrap the boy. Bring the 
girl to the med station."
The next thing Ash knew, he had fallen from the gurney and was lying on the 
floor. He quickly got up. Giovanni watched him coldly. "Come with me, my son."
Ash obeyed, following Giovanni at a respectful distance. He could see Pikachu 
and Misty being rolled away to the Pokemon/Human treatment facility, and he 
wondered what would happen to them. Oh well, he was with Giovanni now, and he 
couldn't think back on his love for her. If they killed her, they killed her.
"You owe me, my son," Giovanni said as they walked through the halls. Team 
Rocket personnel gave them a wide berth. "I could have killed them."
"Why would you do that?" Ash asked, his mind full of curiosity.
"Because it amuses me. I like to watch the torture... it is most invigorating, 
don't you think so, my son?"
Ash shrugged. He figured that he would let his father do the talking, for he had 
no idea what was wanted of him now that he had joined Team Rocket. 
"I will expect you to work for me, Ash. You know what that is. You are a fine 
trainer, and being one of my Pokemon Catchers would do some good for you. I 
checked your files. You were in the top sixteen, and I will make you a member of 
the elite squad because of that. You will get to keep your Pikachu, but Pikachu 
will have to do my bidding or I will give it to another trainer."
Giovanni opened a door, and inside was a room. The security camera was in plain 
sight, and Ash suspected that there were others that were less discreet in the 
room. It was clearly Ash's bedroom.
"I have given a message to your mother. She knows that you are with me now, and 
her protection against me has been futile."
"But what about my Pokemon, Father? I know I have Pikachu, but the others...?" 
Ash asked.
"You will get them when I know that you are trustworthy, and then only the ones 
that I don't think will be suited for someone else. Two of my Pokemon Catchers 
have retrieved all of your pokeballs at Professor Oak's home. And, by the way, 
your clothes are in the dresser, as are many of your personal things. I found 
them in your backpack. Get cleaned up and report to my office in one hour."
Giovanni turned to leave Ash in the room. "Oh, and by the way, you will be 
working with James and Pikachu. Misty will be with Jesse and Meowth."
As soon as Giovanni was gone, Ash sat down on his bed, head in hands. What had 
he done to deserve this? He had always wanted to help Pokemon and their 
trainers. Now he couldn't ever show his face in polite society again. His dream 
of being the greatest Pokemon Master in the world had been shattered - by his 
father.
He heard a knock on his door and walked over. He opened the door. A Team Rocket 
member was standing there with his Pikachu. It was obvious by the design of the 
uniform that this member was working in the medical center.
"Your Pikachu is all better, sir," the person said with reverence.
Ash smiled, and the nurse/doctor relaxed. "Thank you."
The med left Pikachu in Ash's arms, and Pikachu started to awaken when he closed 
the door. 
"Pi-ka..."
"Pikachu... we've just joined Team Rocket. He would have killed you all to 
convert me... it's better this way. Please, Pikachu, understand... I didn't want 
you to get hurt.
Pikachu jumped onto Ash and hugged him. "Pi-pi-pika-pika."
Ash smiled at Pikachu. "We'll go the distance, no matter what we do. It's me and 
you forever."


~~~~~~ 
James was sitting in the large cafeteria with Jesse, eating doughnuts. He still 
couldn't believe it. Their group was being split up because of the arrival of 
Giovanni's son and girlfriend. 
"Well, Jesse, Meowth, it's been nice working with you. I know I've had my share 
of blunders as a person, but I really enjoyed being partners with you," he said.
Jessie looked at him from across the table. "I enjoyed being with you, too, 
James. Maybe some day we can get together and blast off into the sky, just like 
old times. If I see you again."
Meowth said nothing. He was playing with a ball of string. 
"Well, now I have to work with the redheaded selfish brat," Jesse said. "At 
least I will have Meowth with me. The redhead needs to change her hairstyle. She 
has no sense for beauty. I can't believe she is my new teammate. Maybe I can 
convince her to get her act together."
"You're complaining?!" James asked. "I'm the one who gets put in with Ash and 
his Pikachu, two I have never worked with before in my entire life! We have Team 
Twerp to deal with. And I bet he'll screw up the motto. I still get to keep my 
lines, right?"
"I suppose. I mean, we've kept the same lines for a long time. Why change it 
because some brat comes in?" Jesse replied.
James looked thoughtful. "Well, with those two on our side, we can really soar 
above the rest of the crowd. We'll practically be the Boss's hands if we win 
enough."
"Yes, and we're now associated to the Boss more. Maybe he won't yell at us as 
much," Jesse said. "And we may get a pay raise, maybe even a vacation!"
"Yeah..." Meowth voiced. "I hope you twos aren't gettin' all 'thusiastic about 
dis mess. We got the two main twerps on ousside, but what 'bout dat Brock kid?"
James waved that off. "Oh, this one member is going after him. She's really 
successful, even though she is just a recruiter."
They both laughed. 
James would make it to the top like he had always dreamed. He would really make 
it for himself, and his idiotic parents wouldn't have any role in getting him up 
there. After so many years of biding his time, he would have his own personal 
revenge... and success.


~~~~~~ 
Meanwhile, Giovanni was watching his security systems. He smiled to himself as 
he saw Ash comforting the Pikachu. He stroked Persian thoughtfully. Soon it 
would all be his, and Ash would lead him to the highway of success. The kid was 
lucky.
There would always be a Team Rocket, and there would always be a descendant of 
Giovanni at the head, of that he was certain. It would all be his. He would have 
limitless power. It would be the world's darkest hour.
He laughed darkly. "Mine," he whispered. "Mine."