Ash's Gift
By MegamanZero
Part Three: The Plan is Set

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Pokemon. If I did I would be making a whole lotta green, wouldn't I!?

Warning: Violent content ahead! Not for the faint of heart or stomach!

Ash: 15    Misty: 16    Brock: 20    Duplica: 15
Jamie: 16    Gary: 16    Jesse and James: 21

Story Recap:
    Last time on "Ash's Gift" Jamie told the rest of the group his sad story. After Ash decided that he would help the strange boy, they realized that Team Rocket was hot on their trail after Jamie let loose his discharge and made haste to leave. But after being bombarded with a badly thrown Pokebomb, Ash and Jamie entered the Rage! It is now revealed that Ash is a Superior too! But what will happen to Misty and Brock and the Pokemon when the two rampaging Superiors are finished unleashing their wrath on the Hunters?

* * * *
 
   
Blood...kill...rip...power. 
   
These thoughts flowed through Ash's brain like a broken record. He could feel the power. He marveled at how it electrified every cell in his body and coursed through his very being.
   
Blood...kill...rip...power.
   
Violence. Violence is what he thirsted for. Carnage is something that he couldn't bear to live without. Kill something. Anything. So sweet...
   
Blood...kill...rip...power.
   
He wanted to use his power. He wanted the warm feeling of freshly spilt blood on his hands. The euphoria of ripping something apart was too much for him. The time is now. Ohhhh, it would be so wonderful to kill. Those two will do just nicely.  Oh yes, just perfect...

* * * *
   
"Vileplume, Stun Spore, NOW!"
   
"PLUME!"
   
Rudy's Vileplume let loose a thick brownish cloud in Ash's direction. The Spores hit the Superior head on. Ash's blinked once in confusion as he was enveloped in the gaseous neurotoxin.

"Vileplume, SLEEP POWDER!"

"VILE!"
   
Jim's Vileplume shot forth a blue dust towards Jamie. Jim winced at the horrible hissing sound Jamie emitted as the powder consumed him.
   
"Alright, direct hit!"
   
"Yeah, it's mission accomplished!"
   
Their smiles then became gapes of horror as the clouds cleared. Ash and Jamie were still standing, wearing huge grimaces. The kind of faces that made grown men want to crawl under the covers and scream for their mommies. And that's exactly what the Hunters wanted to do right now. 
   
"Uh...Rude? Th-th-they're-they're not going down!" The Superiors advanced toward them. The Vileplumes screamed and disappeared back into their Pokeballs. It was then that both Hunters truly envied their standard issue Pokemon.
   
"Don't you think I know that!?" Rudy shouted back, his voice shook and trembled with fear. They were getting closer. He fumbled for the stun baton on his belt. "Stunners, now!"
   
Yup, we're dead! Rudy thought grimly. Oh, we are sooooooo dead! Man, I'd give up sex for a one way ticket into that Pokeball. What were we even thinking going up against TWO Superiors! Commander, oh how I hate you...
   
Ash roared and sprung forward towards Rudy, his red eyes an ominous precursor to the blood that he would see. Rudy cried out as well and swung the stun baton with all his might, bashing into Ash's head. There was a loud FZZZT! as the electrified rod mad contact with his skull. Rudy screamed in horror as he witnessed the stun baton snap in half against the Rage-influenced teenager's head. Ash hissed angrily; the weapon, even though set to Kill, infuriated him even more. All Rudy saw was a blur of movement as Ash shot his fist forward. Rudy felt his jaw shatter and his brain crash around the inside of his cranium as he flew into the tree behind him with a sickening SNAP! His jaw was so badly damaged that he couldn't even call out his fiancé's name. Rudy's last thoughts were of her and how much he loved her. He closed his eyes and mentally screamed her name as he felt two powerful hands close around his skull.

"RUDY, NO!!!" Jim wailed as the monster cracked his partner's head open like a coconut. "OH GOD NO!"

* * * *
   
Commander Slade Morton's excellent hearing picked up the unmistakable sounds of death-screams. He concluded proudly that he had made the world a better place by sending them on a suicide mission.

"Stupid Inferiors." he sneered as he stepped out of the edge of the woods and onto the road. "Here that, Ashura? That's the sound of a new beginning." He was referring to the unearthly roars coming from the woods.

A mirror image of Ash gave an oily smile. "Yes, it is, Commander. My brother and that Jupiter are real animals, aren't they?"

"Oh, yes, Ashura. They are. And now that Aries has experienced the Rage, it means the Gene is no longer dormant. Now we can commence the experiment."

Morton breathed a sigh of relief as they walked down the road. "Hmmph, and to think that the Gene has taken this long to activate. He MUST be the Ultimate that we're searching for. He shows all the signs." A dreamy sort of smile spread over Morton's handsome face. "After the experiments are done, we can commence Operation: Purity."

Ashura only grunted in response. He was well aware of the fact that he was abducted at childbirth by the very man he was walking with. He knew that the only reason that his brother wasn't taken too was because the Gene didn't even exist in his body yet. By the time that they figured out that he was a Superior as well it was already too late. His mother had taken Ash and moved him to a tiny town known as Pallet Town where they would never find him.

She was wrong. Oh yes, she was wrong! After Aries had left home to train Pokemon it was easy to track him down. All with the help of his two favorite Inferiors. The only two that he believed deserved to live. That bumbling blue-haired man and that unpleasantly loud strawberry-red haired woman. What were their names again? Oh yes, Jesse and James.

It was almost disturbing at how well they could track him and his friends down. Ashura put aside the fact that two Inferiors had accomplished what him and his entire race would never have done. They had finally found Aries, the one and only Ultimate Superior.

Aries. One of the only people Ashura had a healthy fear of. He had observed what his twin brother was capable of, even as an Inferior. Even when the Gene still lay as useless chromosomes in his body, he still showed incredible power as a Pokemon Trainer. Richie and Duplica knew firsthand what he could do. And they didn't even know the half of his abilities. That's why they needed him.

They needed him because of what he was. Because of the very blood that coursed through his veins. Because of the one Gene that resided in each and every one of his cells.

Ashura gritted his teeth and crushed the rock that he held in his palm into sand. No one would keep him and his people from their proper places as the rulers of the Earth! Not his mother, not his brother, not Jupiter. Not even that scrawny redhead that followed Aries around.

Ashura muttered a curse under his breath. He was amazed and disgusted at how his twin brother could fall for a worthless Inferior girl. It was almost like a college professor dating a monkey! Ashura mused about how wonderful it would be to snap her neck like the twig she was. Another thought crept into his mind.

In order to rid the world of that stupid animal, he would have to deal with his brother first. A Superior defending his mate was a force to be reckoned with. Ashura decided that she would be worth more to him alive. Using her as bait to get to his brother registered in his head as the perfect plan. That is, if Aries hasn't already killed her. He was in the Rage after all. 

Thoughts of his mother ran through his mind. Damn bitch, he thought to himself. Damn heretic bitch. How could she believe that our kind and those weaklings could live in harmony? They were nothing but useless animals that needed to be wiped off the face of the Earth.

Stupid woman. Damn her. Damn Inferiors.

The only good Inferior was a dead Inferior. He knew it. The Commander knew it. Richie knew it. His whole kind knew it. Well, all except for those two raging animals in the woods wreaking havoc and his idiotic mother. Speaking of idiots...

"Where IS that idiot Richie with our transport!?" Ashura yelled. "He's probably stopped off at some village and raped every single Inferior girl in it! If he thinks he can goof off during a mission, he has another think coming..."

"Patience, Ashura. I'm sure Richie will be here with the transport. Even if he HAS ravaged a few Inferior girls." Morton's dreamy smile became even wider as he listened to the screams emanating from the forest. Once the Cause harnessed the awesome power of the Rage, he mused, there would be no stopping them. All they needed was Aries. They would deal with Jupiter later.

"Sir, I'm worried about Duplica." Ashura said. The thought of her out in the woods with two Superiors in the Rage sent shivers up his spine. He worried about his mate. She was one of the only things in the world that he cared about besides the Cause.

"Ashura, that must be one of the most foolish things that has ever escaped your mouth." Morton chided. "Duplica is a fully capable warrior and trainer. Her Ditto has never been stronger, and her martial arts skills are at their peek. Right now her job is to rid the area of any unwanted guests." He put his hand on Ashura's shoulder in an almost fatherly way. "She'll be alright. If Aries and Jupiter find her, well, she CAN run incredibly fast."

Ashura smiled as he thought of his mate. Slender body, yet so powerful. Deep blue hair, voice like an angel, and that killer instinct of hers that he loved so much. He cared for her something fierce.

"Furthermore," Morton continued, "she IS armed with a Phase Disruptor. The Stun setting on that gun is very powerful. Powerful enough to take down a Raging Ultimate."

Ashura blinked. "But sir, if we can stun them, then why can't we just do it NOW?"

An amused chuckle burst from the Commander's lips. "Ashura, my boy, we're not even in that phase of the mission yet!" He chided, much like a father scolds his young son. "We're on recon right now. Have a little patience. You'll get to see your brother soon enough." Morton's grin twisted into a horrible grimace that made even Ashura wince. "And the Runaway will finally get what he deserves."

Suddenly they both noticed the two headlights looming towards them down the road. "Ah perfect!" Morton cried, clapping his hands. "There's Richie now!"

And the two genocidal Superiors made their way across the road towards the car. Ashura could make out Richie's visage in the mirror. He laughed inwardly as he noticed the wide smile of satisfaction spread across the corrupted teen's face.

* * * *

Ash awoke with a start. He felt as though he had the worst headache in his entire life. He moaned painfully as he struggled to get off the ground, wondering foggily why his eyes saw everything with a reddish tint.

He looked about his surroundings. The fire had been put out, thanks to Squirtle and Todadile. Ash breathed a sigh of relief when no Pokebombs flew at him again.

Ash's thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sounds of weeping. He turned around to see Misty huddled up by Brock and the other Pokemon. Through the redness he saw tears soaking her eyes and face. She had Togepy cradled in her arms, who had passed out in nervous shock.

Then Ash screamed inwardly when he remembered what happened.

The thoughts of murder, the screaming, the blood...it all came back to him with such force that he stumbled back onto his bottom. A single thought lurked through the depths of his mind.

...I've just killed someone.

He looked over by a charred tree. Ash nearly vomited when he saw the crushed corpse of the Hunter crumpled up by its trunk. Ash looked in another direction is horrified disgust only to see another man impaled onto one of the tree branches.

Ash jumped in surprise as he felt a hand rest down upon his shoulder. He breathed a sigh of relief when he turned around and saw Jamie. An awkward silence rose between them. Then Jamie spoke up.

"So......" he finally said, "you're like me, I guess."

"Yeah." Ash replied, out of breath. In his mind he hoped against hope that this was all some kind of weird dream and that he would wake up. He would wake up to find his friends sleeping next to him; no burnt forest, no corpses. Sadly, his hopes were shattered when Jamie pinched him sharply on his shoulder as if he was reading his mind.

"Sorry, Ash." Jamie said, his glowing red eyes showing the slightest hint of condolence. "I wish it were a dream, too. But it isn't. Really, I'm sorry about all this, Ash."

"So I'm just like you." Ash said, his head hanging down. Tears leaked out of his own glowing eyes. "A freak."

Ash pushed backed away from Jamie. The glowing in Ash's eyes became brighter and much more intense. "A FREAK!" he repeated.

Ash expected Jamie to either attack him or give him a verbal beating. What Jamie did totally caught Ash off guard. Jamie only pointed towards Misty, who was shell-shocked and frozen stiff. "Your mate needs you." he said simply. His face was expressionless.

Ash backed up from him even more. Mate?? MATE!? What was he talking about!? Ash could've dwelled on this. He could've just stood there and wracked his brains on the strange thing that Jamie had said. Instead, he walked over and tried his best to calm down a now very hysterical Misty.

What a night... Ash wondered as he comforted Misty, who was screaming very loudly. What a NIGHT.