Disclaimer: Don’t Own Pokemon! A/N: Okay, so here’s chapter 4! Enjoy! Chapter 4 – Help From An Enemy I slowly opened my eyes as I looked to the left and saw a part of the wall crumbling away as a result of the bullet Jake had just fired. He smirked at me in satisfaction and lowered the gun down slowly. By the time I had realized what had transpired, I was trembling uncontrollably and breathing heavily. The maniac had almost killed me! “You bastard!” yelled Ash as he shook the bars of the cage in pure rage. “So gullible…I won’t kill her just yet,” Jake reassured coolly, “That would just be a waste of beautiful flesh.” “Pika…” I heard Pikachu growl in my defense, cheeks sparking in anger. “Ah, that reminds me,” smiled Jake, throwing the gun to the side carelessly, “The electric rat.” He pulled out a pair of rubber gloves and forcefully grabbed Pikachu by its tail and pulled it through the bars of the cage. Staring at Pikachu in disgust, he threw it into some type of containment device and closed the lid shut. “Pika pi!” it cried, looking helpless as its’ electric attacks did nothing to ensure its’ freedom. “Pikachu!” yelled Ash, “Let it go!” Ignoring Ash, Jake threw the container to Jesse and James who, up until that point, had hidden themselves within the shadows of the room. “Here, as promised,” confirmed Jake as Jesse and James looked to one another unsurely. “You three!” gasped Brock in surprise. “Team Rocket…” growled Ash menacingly. “Uh…thanks kid,” said Meowth disdainfully as it eyed Pikachu in the cage and tried to avoid the glares of both Ash and Brock. “With that distraction out of the way, we can get down to business,” sneered Jake as he approached me once more. I struggled and pulled, trying anything to free myself of the ropes that bound me to the wall, but it was no use. I knew what he was planning, that glint in his eyes said everything… “Please…please don’t…” I whimpered, surprised by the weakness in my own voice. Jake only ignored my pleas and inched himself closer to me, a lustful expression imprinted on his face. “Jake, I swear if you hurt her--” “You’ll do what, Ketchum?! I believe you’re in no position to threaten me,” hissed Jake as he came up and immediately tore the upper part of my shirt down the middle with a pocket knife. I gasped in pure shock and looked up at Ash just as Jake lowered his lips onto my neck. I bit my lower lip to suppress my tears of fear and prayed for it to all be over soon. I glanced over at Ash, silently begging for his help, but knowing that he could do nothing about it. He only gripped the bars of the cage, his knuckles turning white, as he silently mouthed my name. “J-Jake…what are you gonna do to her?” I heard Jesse stutter from behind, “This wasn’t part of the deal.” He grunted, angry to have been disturbed, and turned towards the trio. “What the hell does it look like?!” he yelled, causing all three of them to falter, “You have your money, you’ve got his Pikachu, now I’m officially relieving you of your duties! Get lost!” Turning back to me, Jake continued with his deed of completely stripping me of my dignity and pride. I looked around, trying to focus my eyes on something other than what was happening to me and almost blinked in amazement. “This is wrong…” I heard Jesse sneer. “But Jess--” “No buts James! No woman deserves this,” finished Jesse as she flicked the lid of Pikachu’s cell open. James and Meowth nodded in understanding and hit the button that would release Ash and Brock from their makeshift prison. Ash looked at them, as if unsure of what to say. Jesse then turned to Pikachu, who still occupied the container in confusion, and scowled, “What the hell are you waiting for?! Go and shock that bastard!” Pikachu leapt from the box as Ash brought himself back to reality and shook his head in determination, heading towards both me and Jake. Jake, however, was too absorbed in his actions to realize that Ash and Pikachu were free and was rudely broken out of his stupor when Ash’s fist made contact with Jake’s face. Jake was down, taking a moment to realize what had just happened. Ash snatched the pocket knife from off of the floor and started to cut the ropes around my wrists and ankles. Once free, I, literally, fell into his arms, my legs giving way beneath me. I felt so weak from the day’s events that I could do nothing but cry. I know, it sounds pathetic, but I felt helpless as I felt all signs of energy draining from me as Ash just held me tight. “Shh…Mist…it’s okay, I’m here and I promise not to let anything happen to you,” he whispered, holding me tight. He took off his jacket and gently draped it over my shoulders and shot me a reassuring look as he stood up to a very pissed off looking Jake. “You’re gonna regret that Ketchum,” Jake paused to consider his thoughts before turning to Team Rocket, “You’re all gonna regret it.” Jake pulled out another gun from the confines of his belt and aimed it at Ash. “You’ll be sorry you ever crossed paths with me,” Jake spat out. “No…” I whispered and found my strength return for a moment. I ran to Ash and held onto him in a desperate attempt to protect him, “Don’t!” I heard the gun cock and Jake smirked, “Sorry sweetie…” ‘This is it,’ I thought. Jake had won…no, I take that back, Derek had won. All those years ago when he abused me and vowed to make me his personal slave…I never thought I would ever relive that pain, but it was happening all over again. I closed my eyes and clung to Ash for dear life when… “Put the gun down,” I heard a familiar voice command. Both Ash and I looked up to see Brock holding Jake’s previously disposed gun at Jake’s head. Pikachu was propped up on Brock’s shoulder, waiting for the signal to attack. “You’re making a big mistake,” growled Jake, gun still in hand. “I don’t think so,” whispered Brock menacingly. Jake, all of a sudden, lifted his arms in defeat, the gun dangling from his thumb. He dropped the gun, however, grabbed Brock’s hand in an attempt to disarm him. Wrestling the gun from Brock’s grasp, Jake got to his feet, kicking Pikachu to the side while doing so, and aimed it at me. “See ya,” he smirked, firing. All at once I felt myself being pushed to the side in a heap on the floor as my eyes darted to my savior…Ash. I looked just in time to see him take the bullet in the shoulder and I could only watch as he fell to the floor in a pool of his own blood. “Ash!” “Pika pi!” I crawled over to his fallen body and cradled his bloody form in my arms. Pikachu, having just recovered from its blow, charged up an electrical attack not to be messed with. Releasing all of its energy into a single attack, Pikachu let loose a barrage of lightening from within the warehouse. Jake screamed in pain as the attacks found their mark and crumpled to the floor…defeated. Pikachu slumped over in a heap, exhausted from putting so much energy into an attack, but quickly dismissed it as it noticed its’ trainers condition. “Brock, get over here!” I called frantically, taking his jacket and wrapping it around the wound. Brock kneeled next to me and Ash and surveyed the scene before him. “I think he’ll be okay, we just need to get him out of here and to the nearest hospital,” explained Brock as he whipped out his cell phone, “You okay, bro?” “C-Could be better…” Ash grimaced, holding his shoulder in pain. I looked down at the man in my arms and felt the tears well up in my eyes once more. He had done it again…he had saved my life while putting his own at risk. I held his free hand gingerly, if only to let him know my thanks. Sensing my distress, he sat himself up and wiped the tears from my eyes. “Don’t cry Mist…it’s not like you,” he smiled, though I knew he was still in pain. I simply nodded at him and tried to crack a smile but found it impossible, “Why did you do that Ash?” “I did it because I…because I--” Suddenly, I heard a scratching sound coming from behind us and, to our surprise, Jake was crawling painfully towards us, gun in hand. “This…isn’t over,” he breathed as he raised the gun towards us. I held onto Ash to protect him like he had done so many times before, but soon found that it was unneeded. “Arbok, tackle!” I whipped my head around to see Jesse release her Arbok from its’ pokeball and tackle the gun out of Jake’s hand. “Now, use wrap to hold him in place until the police get here!” she commanded as Arbok did as it was told. Holding Jake in an upright position, he only growled at Team Rocket in pure anger. “Fools!” he managed to get out, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” “I would think that was obvious,” joked Meowth as he jumped atop Jake’s head. “Get off of me you mangy feline!” yelled Jake. Meowth simply scratched the living hell out of Jake’s face and, pleased with his work, jumped off leaving a very pissed off looking Jake. Meanwhile, Jesse approached Ash and Misty, a look of shame portraying her face. “W-Will he be alright?” Jesse asked, unsure of herself. Misty looked up and smiled at her genuinely, “He will be…thank you…you saved us.” Jesse shook her head and looked off to the side to hide the shame, “You would have never been in this situation had we not agreed to lure you here…no thanks are required.” Misty only nodded in understanding, knowing Jesse was sincerely sorry about the whole ordeal. “And besides, if the twerp died, we’d be out of jobs,” quipped James, “We may be thieves…but we’re not murderers.” “Yeah, sorry kid,” apologized Meowth as it bowed its head in shame. “Don’t worry about it,” grimaced Ash as he tried to sit up, “I’ve been in worse shape than this.” “Name one time,” I sniffled, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Leave it to you to joke at a time like this,” smiled Ash warmly. I looked at him with all the care and love that I could muster. This would be attempt number two on his life and I convinced myself that it would be the last. Had either Derek or Jake actually succeeded…I don’t know what I would do. Then my mind suddenly drifted to what Ash had almost said mere minutes ago. When I had asked why he had saved me, he had never given me a straight response. I was about to inquire about it when Brock walked in, cell phone in hand as if he had just hung up, and hurried to us. “The police and ambulance are on their way,” noted Brock calmly, “Maybe you three…” Brock motioned for Team Rocket to leave, seeing as the police would be there soon to apprehend Jake, but they shook their heads defiantly. “We ain’t going nowhere,” replied Meowth. “Meowth’s right. We’re prepared to take full responsibility for our actions,” added James bravely. “And besides, Arbok’s got that brat tied up,” Jesse smiled, “So I guess we’re stuck here.” Brock only smiled then nodded before turning to Ash and I, “You two doing okay?” “Yeah, all things considering Brock,” smiled Ash as he continued to hold his throbbing shoulder. Brock surveyed the scene for a moment before shaking his head. “I think we need to get that shirt off of you before it starts to cling to the wound,” sighed Brock, taking his pocket knife out. Brock cut through the middle of Ash’s shirt and carefully peeled the shirt off of his body, making sure not to injure him further. Despite the current situation, I couldn’t help but stare at his tanned and muscular frame. When had he gotten so toned? I tore myself away just in time to see Ash staring at me awkwardly, a smirk on his face. “Enjoying the view?” he asked. “Oh, shut up,” I shot back, desperately trying to hide the blush that was creeping to my face. Just then Officer Jenny and about a dozen officers barged their way in and immediately apprehended Jake without even giving Team Rocket a second look. “Let’s go kid,” said Jenny as she snapped the cuffs onto Jake’s wrists. Jake only glared at us before being shoved outside and into the cop car. I was half expecting him to say some remark about getting his revenge or something along those lines, but his glare was more than enough to scare the hell out of me. Suddenly, the paramedics rushed in and placed Ash onto a stretcher and hoisted him into the ambulance. “You go with him. I’ll handle all of this and meet you there later,” explained Brock who had placed a hand on my shoulder. “Thanks Brock,” I said gratefully, hugging him tightly. “Misty…” whispered Brock, “You almost lost him today…don’t let another day go by without him knowing.” I stepped back from Brock for a moment and gazed up at him. He knew? My thoughts, however, were distracted by the sounds of the ambulance’s siren. I quickly nodded to Brock and hopped in the ambulance awaiting the sterility of the hospital and the conversation that I knew would ensue shortly after… A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this one out, but I’ve been busy getting ready for school and all that jazz. 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