Chapter 8 What goes around comes around The man in black walked along a forested path to conceal himself from being seen by the public. “All right, where are we right now Pikachu?” “Pi pikachu chuka...,” answered the electric rodent who was riding in his backpack. “No inside sources...” “pichu pika chupi...” “no idea when Team Rocket will strike next....” “chuka pikachu pipi.” “and no idea where Team Rocket will strike next,.........we suck.” “Pika chu pi chupi” “Hey! You suck!” “Pika!” Pikachu readied his thunderbolt. “Pikachu, power down, I’m sorry okay? I don’t want to fight with you, I’m just....I’m just in a bad mood.” Ash spoke calmly but sadly. “Pikachu.” “Look, now that Jessie and James are “out of the loop” I’m back to square one. And if that’s not bad enough I still have to deal with Misty.” Ash stopped walking for a moment as he stood staring at the ground. Pikachu could tell that his trainer was going through a lot right now. Ash’s emotions were getting to him as he tried to hold back his tears. He did the best he could to shake off his feelings as he continued to walk down the path headed towards the Ketchum residence. “I’m going to Team Rocket headquarters.” “Pikachu pi?!” “I have no other choice Pikachu. They still have the super Pokemon there and if I’m going to find out anything about it I will have to go to the source.” “Chu pikachu kachu” “I know it’s dangerous but that Pokemon is their secret weapon. If I can find out some information about it then maybe I could discover a weakness in Team Rockets plan.” “Pika” “But before I go anywhere or do anything that has to do with Team Rocket I have to break it off with Misty.....” Ash stopped in front of his house. “..........Why can’t things be simpler Pikachu? Why can’t they be like the old days when it was just me, you, Misty and Brock traveling around the world, battling “Team Rocket” and having fun adventures,.....go back to...to when I was.......happy.” Pikachu saw the sadness and hurt in Ash’s eyes. “Pikachu” Pikachu responded sadly as they both walked into Ash’s house. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Misty had stopped running as she was now walking through the streets of Pallet Town in somewhat of a daze. She was not aware of where she was or what time it was, and she really didn’t care. So many things had gone through her mind ever since she left the clearing and the man in black. She suddenly stopped walking as she realized she was in front of the diner that she was supposed to meet Duplica at before the whole man in black incident. She entered the diner and immediately spotted her blue haired friend sitting in one of the booths. Duplica gave Misty an annoyed look for being late, but her look immediately changed to one of worry upon examining Misty’s appearance. Red streaked her cheeks, showing signs of crying as Misty’s puffy eyes looked at Duplica as she tried to manage a smile but failed miserably. “Oh my God! Misty what happened?” Duplica asked as Misty joined her in the booth. “..........I......” “Misty!” “The man in black....he..” “He what? He what?” Duplica asked anxiously. “He kissed me,” Misty said as tears flowed down her cheeks yet again. “The man in black kissed you! You lucky bitch! Tell me everything,” Duplica ordered excitedly but then noticed Misty crying. “Misty, what’s wrong?” “What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong. I’m with Ash now, remember?! I can’t be with Ash while going around kissing the man in black.” Duplica looked at Misty sadly, understanding her situation a little bit better. “Oh. But how did this happen?” she asked worriedly. “I don’t know. First I was all excited because the man in black told me he liked me. But then I realized that I shouldn’t be excited because Ash is my boyfriend so I backed off. The problem is he didn’t back off.” Duplica listened intently to Misty’s dilemma “I told him about Ash but he wouldn’t let it go. He kept telling me how I was the one for him. His words were so heartfelt. And even though I kept telling him that I was in love with someone else he still....kissed me.” “Misty, this is not your fault, stop worrying so much. He kissed you even though you told him not to. It was against your will so he is the scumbag not you.” “No! You don’t understand Duplica. I could have pushed him away, I could have done something. But....I didn’t want to. For some reason I felt drawn to him. I wanted him to kiss me, I was glad he kissed me, I loved every minute of it....I betrayed Ash.” “Misty you did not betray Ash. Of course you loved the kiss, it was the man in black! You’ve been lusting after him just as long as any of us have. You were bound to enjoy kissing your fantasy man.” “I shouldn’t enjoy kissing anybody besides Ash. And the thing is, it’s not even that I enjoyed the kiss, it’s that...when he kissed me it was like when I kissed Ash for the first time. He really loves me, Duplica. And I....” “No Misty! This is lust, not love, lust. Get that through your head. Look, how long have you known Ash?” “8 years.” “How long have you loved Ash?” “5 years but I’ve had a crush on him forever.” Misty giggled a little as her mood began to lighten. “Are you going to tell me that Misty Yawa is giving up on the longest crush in history because of some caped freak she has known for two days?” “Yeah but I bet if that caped freak came on to you you’d be all over him in a second.” “Oh yeah,” Duplica said, picturing the scene while Misty laughed. Misty looked at Duplica who was giving her a heartwarming smiling. “Thanks Duplica.” “Anytime. Soooo, just out of curiosity. When you left the man in black, was it pretty much understood that you were rejecting him.” “I think that was pretty clear. Why?” Misty asked suspiciously. “No reason.........Do you think I have a chance with him? You know, he’s on the rebound and everything-” “Duplica!” “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was just kidding.” “I know. Now I have to figure out a way to tell Ash.” “What! Are you crazy?!” “What?” “You can’t tell him.” “Duplica, I have to. If I don’t it will be like I’m lying to him.” “You are not lying because he doesn’t even know about it.” “Yeah well I’m not exactly telling the truth either.” “Listen to me Misty, telling Ash will only cause trouble. He’ll get all jealous and it will mess up your relationship. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen.” “Don’t be silly. Ash loves me. He’ll understand.” “Misty, please for your sake and Ash’s don’t tell him. You will be risking your relationship. Please just promise me.” “........” “Misty, promise.” “I-but what if he finds out-” “He won’t find out, now promise.” “.....I promise.” “Good, now....how good of kisser is the man in black really?” “Duplica!” Duplica raised up her hands defensively. “All right, I’m sorry. No more questions about the man in black........How good of a kisser is Ash Ketchum?” Misty gave Duplica an amused look while Duplica shrugged innocently. “What?” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ash walked out of his house, now dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, with Pikachu in tow. “Now we have to find Misty.” “Pika” Pikachu said sadly as if to no one. “But before we do that, here Pikachu take this.” Ash pulled out from his backpack a miniature sized pokeball and handed it to Pikachu. “Pika?” “Keep it. Just in case something happens to me this will help you protect everyone.” “Pikachu chu pikachu!” Pikachu said defensively. “I know you can take care of yourself but this is just in case you need a little help, besides I’m not saying something will happen to me for sure. So will you do me this favor, pretty please with ketchup on it?” “Chuu” “Thanks Pikapal,” Ash said as he rubbed Pikachu behind the ear affectionately. “Now make sure to keep it safe.” “Pikachu!” Pikachu pulled a small yellow Pikachu-sized backpack out of thin air and stuffed the pokeball inside. “So that’s where you keep them. Then I’m sure it will be extra safe in there.” “Chu!” Pikachu said while doing a V for victory pose. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Misty walked down the street heading for Ash’s house. She still felt extremely guilty about what happened earlier that day but after her little talk with Duplica she was starting to feel better, but not good enough. That is why she was going to visit Ash. She really needed to see him, and talk with him, and kiss him, and just be with him. She was sure those things would make her feel much better. However, despite Duplica’s insistence that they would both be better off if she didn’t tell Ash about the man in black, Misty still felt that it needed to be said. As Ash’s house came into view so did Ash. Misty’s face lit up at the site of her boyfriend. “Ash! Hey Ash over here.” “Huh?” Ash looked over in the direction of the familiar sounding voice. Noticing the redhead approaching Ash put on a bittersweet smile. ‘Here goes nothing.’ “Hey sweety,” Misty said as she gave Ash a loving kiss on the lips, but for some reason Ash didn’t return it. “Ash? What’s wrong?” Ash looked at Misty coldly. “You know what’s wrong. How could you?” Ash’s voice expressed extreme hurt, but the cause of this hurt was unclear to Misty. “What are you talking about?” “Don’t act the fool Misty! Did you think I wouldn’t find out?!” Misty was stunned at the anger that Ash was expressing. “Find out? I-” “About you and the man in black!” Misty gasped in shock. “How?” “I saw you. I saw you kiss him.” “You....I was going to tell you Ash, honest I was but Duplica talked me out of it. She told me you would react, pretty much the way you are reacting now.” “Oh, and how should I react when my girlfriend of a day goes around kissing men behind my back!” “No but Ash let me explain, please. It’s not like that, he kissed me.” “I didn’t see you push him away!” “I know but that was a mistake, it all happened so fast. Ash, I love you, I’ve always loved you and I always will. After 8 long years we are finally together, I can’t lose you now. Please you have to forgive me.” Misty began to sob loudly. Ash watched Misty bury her face in his chest as tears also fell from his eyes onto her hair. In a nearby bush two figures known as Butch and Cassidy watched the tearful display in confusion. “Cass, isn’t he the man in black?” “Yes he is.” “And isn’t she that redhead who use to travel with him.” “Yes she is.” “So then why is he accusing her of-” “I don’t know Butch but apparently she doesn’t have any idea who he really is. And I have to say, I’m really surprised he could be so heartless. I’m beginning to like him more and more.” Cassidy gave an evil grin in Butch’s direction as she motioned for them to leave the area after just getting beeped by the boss. “Please Ash, can you forgive me?” Misty looked up at Ash with pleading eyes. At that moment Ash’s heart literally sank down into his chest as he thought of what he was about to do. “........No.” “What?” Misty said almost breathlessly. “I can’t trust you. You betrayed me once after just one day of being together, who’s to say you won’t do it again.” Ash spoke coldly but for some reason he avoided looking into her eyes. Misty couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I’m to say, that’s who. I promise Ash I will never look at another man again. Please I-” “I said no!” I don’t want you anymore.......I don’t love you. Not after what you did, I can’t...” Misty stared at him, shaking her head in disbelief. “You don’t love me anymore?.....Then you never loved me.” Misty voice was cold as she backed away from him. “What?” “Even after what I did, if you could stop loving me so easily then you were never in love with me.....No matter what you do Ash I could never stop loving you. But apparently for you to so easily say that you have stopped loving me...well...then, you don’t know what love is. Either that or you have never experienced it,...at least not with me.” Misty began to walk away. Ash was about to protest, about to say: ‘Of course I love you Misty, how could I not. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who is the jerk, the moron who got you into this mess. And now you have to pay for my idiotic mistakes with your heart.’ Unfortunately, Ash knew better this time as he kept his mouth shut, swallowing his emotions. Ash watched dejected as Misty walked away while mumbling quietly to herself, but loud enough for Ash to hear her. “I’ll always love you Ash, even though you don’t feel the same way. Loving someone who doesn’t love you back, now this I’m use to.” Misty laughed mockingly to herself. Misty was now out of site as Ash collapsed to the ground. Pikachu had been silent the whole time as he was watching from the top of the Ketchum’s mailbox. He walked over to Ash and jumped on his lap. He comfortingly patted him on the chest as Ash scooped Pikachu up and hugged him. “I do love her Pikachu...so much. I want her back, I need her.” Ash now began to sob quietly. “Pikachuu” “Ash, Oh Ash sweety.” Mrs. Ketchum shouted through the open window of the Ketchum house. Ash let go of Pikachu and quickly wiped the tears from his face. “Yeah mom?” “Prof. Oak just called. He told me to tell you to come to the lab right away, he says it’s urgent. He also said for you to where your you-know-what when you go there.” “Moooom, I’m always wearing my you-know-whats.” “No, your special outfit you-know-what. Honestly honey, you’re so silly.” Ash figured out that she was referring to his man in black attire and blushed from embarrassment. He quickly ran back into his house to change. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Meanwhile, Misty was once again in a daze, but this time she was in a daze of depression. She didn’t understand how things had gone from good to great to bad to horrible in a span of two days. She was walking along silently as she suddenly bumped into something soft. “Hey watch where you’re going red.” “Huh? Gary?” Misty emerged from her daze as she looked around her to see Gary, Duplica, Brock, and Giselle all staring at her with half confused, half worried looks on their faces. “Misty what’s wrong?” Brock questioned. “Oh nothing, really I’m fine.” Duplica gave Misty a “Yeah right” look. Misty just stared at Duplica nervously. “Well you sure as hell don’t look fine. Your eyes are all puffy, your face is red, and you look like you’re kind of out of it. Hmmm, come to think of it you look like her.” Giselle pointed to Duplica. Duplica glared at the grinning Giselle as Brock put his hand in front of Duplica just in case she decided to attack. “Um, so where are you guys going?” Misty said somewhat normally trying to change the subject. “We are going to see Gramps. I had asked him what was going on with Team Rocket but he never gave me a straight answer. So I figured if we all go together we may be able to get some information out of him.” “Actually it was my idea to get the group together and confront him.” Brock corrected. “Yeah but the idea sounds so much more intelligent coming from me.” Now Brock was glaring at Gary, even though it was kind of difficult to tell the difference between Brock’s glares and the way he usually looks. “So Mist you want to come with us?” Duplica questioned. “I don’t really feel like walking all the way back to Prof. Oaks lab.” “Uh, Misty..” Misty turned around to see what everyone was looking at. As soon as she turned around Prof. Oaks lab. came into view. ‘Wow! How slow was I walking?’ “So you coming?” Gary asked once again. Misty shrugged. “Why not.” As they walked up the hill to Prof. Oaks house Duplica managed to discreetly ask Misty what had happened. Unfortunately for Duplica Misty remained silent about her problem and only disclosed the fact that her and Ash had a big fight. Gary used his key, which was given to him by his grandfather since he was now staying with him, to get in. They quietly walked inside, being careful not to disturb the sleeping Tracey who was lying on the couch in Prof. Oak’s living room with his sketch pad still in his hand. They reached the lab area of Prof. Oak’s house and they all began to look around for the Prof. “Helloo, is anybody home.” “Shhh, you’ll wake Tracey.” Brock shushed Gary. “He is all the way on the other side of the house, he can’t here us.” They all suddenly heard footsteps coming down the hallway as they turned and looked in the direction of the sound. “It’s about time. Seriously, what does the word urgent mean to you, huh?” “What are you talking about Gramps?” “Gary?!.....What are you all doing here?!” “We came here to talk to you. Who did you think you were talking to?” Brock inquired. “Oh, I thought you were...Tracey!” the Prof. stuttered nervously. “You mean sleeping beauty back there.” Gary stated sarcastically. “Yeah Tracey who is sleeping, note to self: hire a new assistant,” the Prof. said in an annoyed tone of voice. “Listen Prof. Oak, you called us here originally because you needed our help to stop Team Rocket. Now I know you said that you and the man in black are taking care of everything but I think we have the right to know what is going on.” Duplica stated. “I see.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Hurry up Pikachu” Ash called out to Pikachu who was trying to eat a big piece of cheesecake from his paw while running at the same time. “Looks like we are going to get yelled at again. Why did Mom have to make cheesecake, it’s like she is trying to make me late.” Ash opened the door to Prof. Oaks lab which for some reason had been unlocked. As he walked in he noticed Tracey sleeping on the couch. ‘Hmmm, this should be fun.’ Ash quietly walked up to the watcher and whispered hoarsely into his ear. “Tracey, why are there drawings of my granddaughter in your sketchbook?” “Huh?” Tracey, realizing what was just said jumped to the floor and began to bow in apology. “Oh Prof. Oak I’m so sorry, honest I-I-” “hahahaha” “Pipikapi” Ash and Pikachu both burst out into hysterics. “Got ya!” Ash said while taking off his hood. “Jerk,” Tracey said as he got up off the floor while giving Ash an annoyed glare. “Come on, you have to admit that was funny.” “And you have to admit that you should have been here 10 minutes ago.” Tracey grinned menacingly. “Hmmm, and yet in such a small amount of time you still managed to fall asleep.” Ash grinned just as menacingly as Tracey thought about this for a moment. “You arrived on time and we both have been looking for the Prof. for the last ten minutes unable to find him?” “Sounds good to me.” Ash agreed as they both shook hands. “Hey, it’s a big house.” “Sure.” “So what kept you?” “Cheesecake.” Pikachu showed Tracey his cheesecake covered paw that he was attempting to lick clean, and enjoying every minute of it. “Ooooh, good excuse.” “I think so.” They were both approaching the lab area of the house where unknowingly to Tracey and the unhooded Ash, Prof. Oak was chatting with the all too familiar group of Pokemon trainers. “Prof. Oak, Ash is here to see you.” The Prof. heard his assistant call out from behind the door. ‘Ash, oh no what is he doing here?’ Misty thought as the door opened. “Ash?! No don’t!”