Alter Persona
Chapter 13
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to me! I can do whatever I want with them! Bwahahahaha! No it doesn't, you fool! Whatever. Everything related to Pokemon belongs to Nintendo, 4Kids, etc. Any lawyers sent after me will be dealt with by Kyla.
"Thanks again, Professor Oak, I'll call again soon!" Misty told the elderly researcher as they got ready to leave.
"I thank you too," Ash added. "You have been very tolerant of me, housing and feeding me as well as my pokemon."
"Oh, don't worry about that, Ash. Your assistance in my research has been invaluable. Thanks to you and Misty, I've managed to get lots of things done. That alone would be enough for me to want you to keep coming back!" Professor Oak laughed. "I'll leave that room next to Misty's for you if you ever want to come back here for any reason."
Ash forced a smile. "That would be appreciated, but unnecessary. I do not wish to trouble you any further."
"Whatever you say, my boy. You're welcome here any time. Now if you'll excuse me, my research needs me," he smiled and turned, waving as he re-entered the house.
"Alright! So where will you be going next, Ash?" Misty inquired as she shifted her backpack.
"I do not know. I am a wanted man after all, and Team Rocket is probably trying to see if I'm alive. If I am, they probably would want to kill me," he answered. "I do not think that they would care if there are innocents and witnesses when they attack now. They have become a more powerful organization since they... discovered that new weapon," he hissed.
It had been close to a month since Ash had been brought to the Oak residence. Misty had been notified that her sisters were going on another performance trip, so she had to return to take up the role of gym leader again.
Ash felt that he had been a burden on Professor Oak long enough and has decided to leave with Misty. Also, he knew that since his dead, cold body hadn't been found, Team Rocket would still be after him. And he did not want to involve the Oaks in what he deemed as his battle.
Extra researching regarding his dreams had turned up with nothing else. It seemed to him that everything he could find was already found that night. It seemed like the gods were helping him, but only to that extent.
"Why don't you try to explain everything to Lance? Maybe he would understand if you told him everything you knew about Team Rocket, and told him you were being used by them," Misty suggested.
Ash frowned as he looked at her.
"What?"
"You were not present when everything took place at the museum, Mis-ty," Ash told her, stopping himself from calling by her surname. It still took him some getting used to calling her by her first name. "You didn't see what they saw, never heard what they heard, and didn't feel what they felt as I went about killing all the security guards without batting an eyelid. And I stole an important artefact no one knew the use for. Simply put, I'm not very high on the list of being forgiven by anyone, Miss Waterflower," he finished flatly.
"That was just a suggestion!" she defended herself.
"..." Ash did not reply to her retort, instead continuing on his way.
"Maybe you should pay Bill a visit," Misty spoke up again after a few minutes.
"Bill? Who's he?" Ash turned to her.
"Bill's the guy who invented the pokemon storage and transfer system. He helps Professor Oak with his research sometimes, and maybe you could go tell him that you've finally released Pikachu from the storage system," she explained.
Pikachu shot her a withering look when she mentioned that time.
"And where does he live?" Ash asked.
"North of Cerulean City, across the bridge about an hour's journey by foot," Misty told him. The moment she did, she blinked as Ash released Halgre. "What are you doing?"
"Taking us to Bill's place," Ash informed her and grabbed her hand. "Let's go, Hal," he ordered the winged tiger. The pokemon nodded, closing its eyes.
"How are we supposed to get there like this?" Misty complained. "I don't think ice type pokemon had teleport... What the hey?" she added as an envelope of icy mist began forming around them, blanketing them. "What's going on? I can't see anything."
"Would you please shut the hell up?" was Ash's reply.
Misty pouted, but did as Ash told her to. And once she did, she realised that her hand was being held by Ash's own. Her face turned red, but she continued to keep quiet.
"We're here," Ash suddenly declared, startling her a little. "The end of Cerulean Bridge," he added as the mist began to clear up.
Misty glanced around her, finally able to make out the shapes of everything around her. And stare she did the moment she realised that they were no longer along the route to Viridian City, and were instead standing at the end of the aforementioned bridge.
"How did you do that!" she demanded of Ash, looking straight into his eyes. Or rather, at the black lenses of his sunglasses.
He leaned over to her ear. "It's a secret," he murmured slowly, pulling away from her with a sly smile on his face.
Misty felt her cheeks burn again, but in mild anger this time. "Fuck you!"
The smirk widened. "I like my women offering themselves to me," he returned, thoroughly enjoying himself as he made fun of his companion.
Misty's eyes widened a lot the when her mind finally sorted out the words and assembled the implications. "ASH!" she screamed at him in anger and severe embarrassment. It didn't help at all when she also noticed her hand still holding onto his.
Ash laughed out loud for the first time since he had awakened to find himself in Team Rocket's lab. And he was enjoying himself very much, oh yes. "You're so easy to manipulate into embarrassing situations, Misty," he smirked behind his dark glasses as he turned to his pokemon. "Thank you, Hal. Take a rest," he stroked the tiger's head before returning it into its pokeball.
"What skill is that?" Misty inquired. "I'm sure that Professor Oak would be very interested in knowing more about it," she commented as they began the short walk to Bill's house.
"It is information I cannot disclose," Ash maintained. "It is for everyone's safety," he added. "Team Rocket was the first to discover the skill. Should that information leak out, they would not take it kindly, and would definitely go after the professor first, followed by you and me, and anyone else who knows," he reminded her of Team Rocket's ruthlessness.
"Oh," Misty was silenced, but continued to lead the way, even though they could see the house by now. "Hey Bill!" she announced, pressing the doorbell repeatedly once they were there.
Ash looked around. Bill's house was situated over a cliff, and boasted a lighthouse. For what use Ash had no idea. But, Bill... Ash frowned slightly as he went through the list of people on Giovanni's target list. 'Bill McDray... Researcher with regards to dragon types and the Transfer System. Target: all research information regarding Dragon Types; information regarding Transfer interception.'
"I'm coming already!" Bill yelled from behind the door as he finally opened it. "Geez! Stop making so much noise!"
"Heya Bill!" Misty grinned, finally pulling her finger away from the doorbell. "How have you been?"
Bill groaned, but his smile told the two visitors otherwise. "Should've known that it would be you, Misty. What brings you here today, and who's your friend?"
"Ash, this is Bill. Bill, meet Ash. He's the one who got Pikachu out of that trapped pokeball," Misty introduced the two men.
"Nice to meet you, Ash," Bill beamed, sticking out his hand.
Ash looked at Bill, to his hand, and back, before nodding. "Likewise."
"Sorry about Ash's attitude, Bill. He doesn't trust people easily," Misty apologised in Ash's place, earning a glare from the aforementioned man, and returning him one of her own.
Bill chuckled. "It's alright, actually. I've met other researchers from other continents and countries and some of them don't even look at you when you're talking to them. So that's the Pikachu that was released from the trapped pokeball?"
Pikachu nodded in reply, sticking its paw out.
"Nice to meet you, Pikachu. And Ash, thanks for helping Pikachu escape from his prison. I imagine you must've been bored to death, haven't you?" Bill shook the yellow electric mouse's paw. "Oh! And where are my manners? Please! Come in!" he suddenly realised that they were all standing at the door.
"So what are you working on now, Bill?" Misty asked as they entered Bill's living room which was much tidier than Professor Oak's. "We haven't heard from you for quite some time already."
Almost immediately, Bill's demeanour seemed to change from cheerful to worry. "You know that I've been studying dragon type Pokemon for some time already, right? Especially that giant Pokemon?"
Misty nodded, while Ash frowned slightly.
"Recently, I've had reports that dragon type Pokemon seem to have become very restless, often ignoring commands given by their trainers. Wild dragon type Pokemon also seem to be agitated, where some of the usual peaceful Dratini have become rather aggressive against intruders into their territory. Occasional Dragonairs have been rumoured to be heading for the Three Islands."
"I was there before! Back when some crazy guy was trying to capture Lugia..." Misty interjected. "We had to replace the element stones on the altar to calm down the three legendary Pokemon!"
"Yes, that's the place," Bill nodded in agreement. "Anyway as I was saying, Dragonairs were supposedly seen heading there. And the Giant Pokemon had also appeared here several times more since the last time I was in contact with anyone of you."
"What is this giant Pokemon you speak of?" Ash queried.
"We're not too sure, actually," Bill admitted. "It never appears unless it's a foggy day, and only if the fog's exceptionally thick. And each time we try to document it using any form of electronic device, the device either breaks down or could not record anything."
Ash nodded, filing the information into the back of his mind. "Carry on."
"Dragon Pokemon aren't the only ones behaving strangely. Normally aggressive wild Onixes became rather subdued, whereas more docile Pokemon like Butterfree seems to have become easily provoked.
"Also, some of my colleagues from the Johto region who were doing archaeological digs and observations noticed the increased presence of Unknowns, as well as their apparent restlessness. According to Professor Hale, they often band together in group, forming like this," Bill placed a photograph on the table.
Misty leaned over, observing what her researcher friend had just said. The strange creatures seemed to huddle together, forming a row of six on top and a row of three below. Other groups like that could be seen in the background.
"Do you have any idea why this is happening?" Ash questioned, regarding the photo intently. "And has anyone deciphered what the Unknowns are trying to say?"
"Unfortunately, I can't say yes to either question. But according to Professor Oak, these are signs of impending doom. And judging from what happened before, I daresay that he might just have the right idea," Bill said truthfully.
Ash didn't react, instead simply stared at the photograph emotionlessly.
Author's Note:
Heya peeps. Missed me? Ducks throw objects from impatient readers. Sorry! Sorry! I know it's been forever since I last updated. I won't bother listing my reasons since there's too many. But the good thing is that with Firehedgehog's constant reminder, my promise to her and the start of my vacation since my new school term started, I'm updating with this chapter.
Cheerz, fire-chan!
The second thing is, since this is my vacation, I'll probably be updating in a few weeks. I hope. You guys better hope that Fire buggers me enough to get my gears moving. Haha!
Enough of my yapping. Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. If not, wait for the next chapter. The plot's only getting started. Grins evilly.
P.S. I promised that I won't abandon this fic, didn't I?