Chapter Ten: Behave And you could have it all My empire of dirt -Johnny Cash Ash opened his eyes. He stared for awhile, up at a popcorn freckled ceiling before he realized that he wasn't in a pokemon center. Centers had metal vaulted ceilings domed with the curve of the roof. He should know, he had spent many times in several different kinds of them. This ceiling was flat and square. A hospital then? He sat up from the bed too quickly. His head spun and his body ached as if it hadn't been used in years. Ash's eyes burned painfully too. No amount of watery tears cleared them of sensation. When he tried to wipe the tears from his eyes, the left side of his face flared up in pain. He groaned, bent over his knees and bit into his tongue. Even his teeth hurt. What happened? Ash rose more slowly this time. There was a sink across the room from where he had been laying. Carefully he got up from the bed. He hadn't seemed to have even bothered slipping under the neatly drawn covers. Ash gripped the porcelain bowl and glared through his one good eye at his reflection. He was sporting a fantastic purple bruise on the left side of his forehead. It was bandaged neatly. Ash could tell when he touched it that the bruise was still fresh. He hissed through his teeth at the pain and withdrew his hand. Was he hit by a bus again or something? "Oh, you awake now?" Ash turned, startled by the voice. By the door, or rather by the bars since the door appeared only to exist as a locked gate, stood a very familiar looking blonde. "Clark-" "No. Lewis actually," replied the boy nonchalantly. "We're identical. Save I got a mole on my neck that he don't..." Ash blinked and unconsciously reached up to touch his bandage again; as if by doing so he could remember what was going on. Lewis noticed the action, guiltily. "I'm uh- sorry 'bout that, by the way. I didn't mean to kick you so hard. I just kinda panicked when I saw you by the door. Reflex, really. I got reprimanded pretty bad for that one." "You do things like that a lot?" muttered Ash starting to remember now. Were they on some sort of aircraft? He remembered peeking through a door... "Ah yeah. I'm a rather jittery guy. Unlike my brother. We're really sorta like night and day." Ash peered at Lewis through the bars. But wait? Wasn't this the guy the held Misty hostage with a knife? "Are you sure you're the same guy that helped kidnap me?" Lewis laughed, "Yup. That's the way my brother prefers me. I act that way to please him. Was I convincing?" "Very." "Ah yeah well," smiled Lewis sheepishly. "Sometimes I wonder if I should have been an actor." "Probably would have been a more credible line of work." Ash glanced around him. They didn't appear to be on the air craft anymore. And even though the door was barred, the room seemed pretty comfortable. It wasn't lush but the floor was carpeted. He had his own sink and mirror. A small toilet area was connected with its own small private room away from prying eyes. He had a sheeted bed and what looked like his own control of a radio and icebox. Not to mention a nicely supplied bookshelf. Ash even recognized a few of his favorite titles hidden there with some old comic books. "Where am I? Where's Misty?" "Your girlfriend's fine. We left her back at gym. Might have a bit of a bonk to her head but nothing serious. As to where you are, that don't matter much. You'll be free to go soon." Ash looked back at Lewis disbelievingly. "You kidnap me and then let me go?" Lewis just shrugged. "Your friends'll pay the ransom. Our boss is sure of it. Once they do, you'll be free to go. So long as you stay here and wait- no harm shall come of you. You're our guest after all." Ash blinked. It sounded like there should be catch. He looked around him once more and then asked, "Will you... feed me?" Lewis made a face, "Of course we'll feed you. What kind of stupid question is that?" "Well iunno. I've just never been- I mean. I never expected my kidnappers to be this hospitable." Lewis smiled and tapped his own forehead knowingly, "Just remember. Don't try to leave this room." He turned and made his way back down the hall. Ash watched until Lewis had left his line of sight. Ash strangely felt guilty. Unlike his brother, Lewis seemed nice enough That is, if you looked passed all the kidnapping and kicking in the face things. But Lewis' warning had come too late. Ash had already started coming up with a plan on how to get out of the room. He thumbed the pokeball hidden beneath the folds of his glove. &&& &&& &&& &&& &&& &&& Gary looked over the railing as Delia laid Misty down, gently bracing her head and neck. It seemed she had practice dealing with such things. Misty didn't stir. "Will she be alright?" asked Gary in certain concern. "She'll be fine, the poor thing. The shock to her system just passed her right out..." Delia glanced briefly over to the pokeball wrapped up in the innards of Ash's hat. "Dangerous things, those psychic pokemon." "How long have you been here?" This time it was Giovanni who spoke. Delia took quite a deal more time in answering him. She tenderly pushed back Misty's bangs from her face and said, "Long enough." Giovanni sent a swift nod to Stephan, who had been still cautiously examining the Aerodactyl's carcass. "I don't think we can do anything to save it," said Stephan. "Yes, yes. Please. Take the rest of the day off, Agent. Don't worry about the... mess. I'll get it cleaned up myself." Stephan looked a little doubtful but said nothing. Instead he gave his left handed salute and took his leave. Gary knew Giovanni and Delia would wait for the extra pair of eyes and ears to leave before speaking. And sure enough, as soon as Stephan was gone, Delia rose back to her feet. "How dare you do this to this poor girl." "Poor girl? Didn't you see what this poor girl did to my pokemon?" "I can only imagine what you did to push her into such a state. She's terrified of that Golduck. Didn't you hear how Cerulean gym had to close down temporarily because a pokemon attacked one of the sisters? It was all over the news for heaven's sake." Gary was given a start. No, he hadn't heard that. Had Misty been hurt by this pokemon before? "I did not force her to use that pokemon against me. I simply did not want to lose the battle." "So you bullied her." "I was bullied into battling in first place!" snapped Giovanni jutting his thumb in Gary's direction. Gary blinked, taking a moment to realize that Giovanni was motioning to not only him but to the gun still in his grip. "Gary, dear. Why on earth do you have that thing?" said Delia, in a noticeably softer tone than used on the gym leader. Gary wasn't sure if that was because of who he was or if because of what she suspected he was holding. "T-this? This old thing?" Gary laughed lifting the gun up. Before Giovanni could react, Gary pulled the trigger and sprayed a jet full of water into the gym leader's face. The man sputtered and coughed, running a hand down his face as if it would help any. "You mean to tell me you held me up with a water gun!" spat the dripping Giovanni. "Pretty funny, huh?" "Honestly John. I can see the plastic tab on the back where you fill it with water from here," said Delia, hands on hips. "I wasn't freakin' looking for authenticity!" "Maybe you should have," Gary shrugged half heartedly when Giovanni sent the boy another vicious glare. "I'm just saying." "Where is Ash?" Delia interrupted again. Both Gary and Giovanni's eyes went back to the woman below. Her gaze was unrelenting. "He was kidnapped," Gary said, faltering slightly when Delia looked to him. "At least... That's what Misty told me." "By who?" Delia glared at Giovanni. Again, he looked away. "Some White Ice members," continued Gary. "I don't quite understand it myself." "Was it that woman?" Delia spat. Her livid gaze holding onto Giovanni. The man still refused to look at her. But he did incline his head in a small meek affirmation. "Oh god," Delia shaded her eyes. "What woman?" "What else did Misty say, Gary?" said Delia completely ignoring his question. Gary felt a bit ousted but chose wisely not to point it out, "Misty said they left some sort of ransom note with two demands. Location and-or blueprints. We were trying to muscle information out of Giovanni here because for some reason- the ransom note was left for him." "Of course it was left to him," Delia answered with a huff. She crossed the gym floor in quick strides before coming just beneath the balcony. "Why? Why was it-" Gary hesitated, tongue pressed against his upper teeth. Delia kept addressing Giovanni by his first name. Suddenly it made sense but Gary still couldn't believe it. "Either come down or let me up," Delia snapped impatiently rapping on the side of the metal elevator. Neither made any move towards lever. Gary gripped hard to the railing and stared at Ash's mother down below. He couldn't voice the question itched at the tip of his tongue because he was afraid of the answer. Gary couldn't even find the courage to speak until Delia's eyes met with his own. "How do you know Giovanni?" Delia sighed and pushed some of her auburn hair behind her ear. "Delia, I refuse-" "It is not only your secret to tell," retorted Delia. Giovanni guiltily adverted his gaze when Gary sought his eye. There was a moment of long hard silence. Giovanni sat down and dug his nails into the arms of his armchair, as if to restrain himself. Persian didn't dare duck out of its hiding place. "Giovanni is Ash's father," said Delia at last. There was another silence, this time heavy with the information given. Gary felt like he had just taken a blow to the chest. "Are you sure?" said Gary breathless, not realizing that the shock was restricting his airflow. "Pretty darn," replied Mrs. Ketchum, Gary noticed, rather sarcastically- rather nonchalantly. Gary tightened his grip on the railing. "Does Ash know?" "I don't believe so," said Delia casting a spiteful look Giovanni's way. Giovanni looked straight ahead, unblinking. "He doesn't. At least not to my knowledge." "Gary..." As if reading his thoughts, Delia moved closer to the wall. She reached out almost as if to touch him. As if he needed calming. Even though she was several feet below, Gary still recoiled. Was he in shock? Yes, probably. And yet, Gary felt guilty for his emotions. This wasn't his mother. This wasn't his father. He was an Oak. But yet he felt as if the foundation of his life, his childhood, had collapsed from underneath him. "No way," he muttered. "No way. You said he was dead." "Gary, dear-" "You said he was dead!" Gary shouted. "You lied! You lied to me! You lied to... to Gramps! You- You made me lie to Ash!" Gary didn't care that Giovanni was right behind him. The man shifted uneasily in his chair. "I knew. I saw him..." He jutted an thumb in Giovanni's direction. "...that day of the accident. I knew who he was-" "Gary!" Delia was in tears. But Gary pressed on. "When that car came...! He almost died and you still lied-?" Gary stopped when a hand gripped his shoulder. He was startled to see Giovanni standing there. Giovanni gave Gary's shoulder a gentle squeeze and said, "That's enough." Gary sniffed in surprise. He was even more startled to find tears running down his face. That was funny. He was angry, not sad. Why in the world was he crying? Gary rubbed his face roughly on the back of his sleeve. "Why didn't you tell him?" "I tried," Giovanni walked over to the lever and finally pulled it. There was a clank and then slowly the elevator lowered for Delia. She hesitated, and finally met Giovanni's eye. "He was never old enough to understand." "He's old enough now." "Yes. But what good would it do him? Learning that his father is his potential worst enemy, trying to steal his pokemon. I am ashamed of myself and inherited career," He straightened and looked back to the younger pokemon trainer. "Ash didn't need to bear my shame." "But that's not what you said before," Gary snapped. The elevator had begun to rise. Now Delia was the one to avoid the men's eyes. "I'm wiser now." "You're lying. That's not the reason!" Gary sent a glare Delia's way when the elevator came to a stop. "At least that's not the only reason." Giovanni smiled wryly. "Perhaps not." Gary looked furiously from one parent to the other before angrily pushing past them both into the elevator. Delia turned about and opened her mouth to protest- but Gary interrupted her, "I'm going to see to Misty." Delia's eyes met with Giovanni's. The two said nothing as the elevator crept down to the ground floor again. It wasn't until Gary's quick footsteps echoed across the gym's floor, that Delia spoke. "Will she kill him?" Giovanni scraped some of the peeling flecks paint off the railing bar with his fingernails. He rubbed the pieces between thumb and forefinger before answering, "No." "But she will hurt him, won't she?" Giovanni again didn't meet Delia's eye, "Yes." "What are the items on the ransom note, John?" Giovanni watched as Gary lifted the limp redhead halfway into his arms. He was waving, what Giovanni supposed were some sort of smelling salts under her nose. The boy probably had a whole unusual kit of emergency aids from and for his travels. Just as Ash had. From this distance, Giovanni couldn't tell if it was retrieving the girl from unconsciousness or not. "John. What does Andromeda want?" Giovanni fixed his dark eyes on that of his biggest weakness- the cause of his biggest mistake, creating even more weakness. It was because of her that he spent money protecting what they had created. And now, her son would ruin him even further. All because he loved her. "The blueprints for a machine that can siphon the abilities from a pokemon and transfer it into a manageable energy," At Delia's blank stare, Giovanni added. "With it, Andromeda could use a thunderbolt. Cause earthquakes. Control minds. Anything within a pokemon's power would be within hers- so long as she has a host to steal the abilities from." "Then what was the second option?" "The location of the ultimate host," said Giovanni darkly. "Mewtwo." To Be Continued... Please Read and Review!