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Loyalty

Chapter 11: Danger

Later... Ash, Misty and Gary were at Pallet Town discussing their next course of action. Ash thought Gary might be able to come up with an idea. They were all sitting outside in a sunny day that looked much calmer than it was. The information in the Rocket database was nothing Ash did not already know from what Coral revealed. He wasn't even sure where to start and Misty, despite being the one possessed, held no communication with the spirit inside her.

"Do you think Agatha might be able to help?" Gary suggested. The situation was surprising to say the least, but Ash really did have a knack for getting caught up in legends and the supernatural.

"Maybe..." Ash considered going to her for help, this was different from a situation concerning a ghost pokemon, but there was a sort of ghost involved.

The plan could not be placed into motion, as a loud noise pierced the air unexpectedly. There was a loud bang and a sharp pain overtook Misty as she collapsed to the ground in a growing pool of blood. All heads turned towards the source of the noise where there was a woman holding a gun, red hair, blue eyes... The woman stepped back and broke into a run with more agility than a pregnant woman should have.

Ash considered going after her, but Gary was already on the chase, ordering his pokemon to stop her. Yet a cloud of smoke overtook the area and when Gary managed to get through, she was nowhere to be seen. He was quick to put his pokemon on the job of searching every inch of the Oak lands, Pallet Town and the surrounding areas.

"Misty! Hold on!" Ash attempted to use his aura abilities to help her, but it wasn't completely effective.

"Make way, princey!" Laiki arrived out of seemingly nowhere. Though her job was treating pokemon, she had a fair amount of knowledge in human medicine as well. "Aren't you glad I disregarded what you said about not spying on Gary? I bet you're glad I'm here now!" She was swift in her actions, providing much needed first aid, though it was only temporary. It wouldn't be enough to help Misty recover completely, but it would be enough to keep her alive until she could be taken to a hospital.

xoxox xox xoxox

The whiteness of the room was asphyxiating, he hated hospitals. At least Misty was stable, Ash consoled himself in that. Her face was pained yet serene as she slept with machines keeping track of her vital signs. "Keep an eye on her." Ash headed towards the door of the hospital room in Viridian City where Misty had been moved via helicopter.

Gary and Laiki stood aside to grant him exit. The flirty blond woman replied with more cheer than the situation should merit. "Will do!" She linked her arm with Gary's, pulling him too close for comfort.

Gary slipped away from her grasp, "I'm pretty sure Misty is as safe as she could be here in Rocket territory, unless Giovanni dictates otherwise. But if it'll make you feel better, Laiki and I can take turns guarding her."

"Or we could guard her together," Laiki suggested with a wink of her green eyes.

Gary grinned with the look of one who had already grown accustomed to having to fend off such advances from this particular source. "Not happening."

Feeling reassured despite their antics, Ash nodded in gratitude, "thanks guys."

Out in the hallway, just outside the room, Gary stopped Ash for a short moment longer. "Where are you going?"

"To get to the bottom of this," Ash's face was set in strong determination.

"I don't think that woman was really Jessie," Gary pointed out. "She shouldn't be able to move like that with how close to giving birth she is. Something like that would leave her panting out of breath in her current condition."

Ash nodded in agreement. "That wasn't Jessie, but if I'm going to find out who it was and why she did this, so I can make sure to give her what she deserves, the real Jessie might have a clue."

"Revenge," Gary theorized, which caught Ash's attention. "She could be someone who wanted to get revenge on Jessie by framing her and provoking you to anger against her. Who has a grudge against Jessie?"

Ash thought about it for a moment as a look of realization invaded his face. The answer was as clear as day. "Jessiebelle..." Realizing the implications of this, he moved closer to the window and called out Charizard, aiming the red beam outside. The large pokemon appeared in mid air, flying next to the window. "Jessie and James might be in danger!" Ash exited via the window and jumped on Charizard's back, with Pikachu on his shoulder as always. He had no time to waste.

xoxox xox xoxox

Charizard landed in front of Jessie and James pokemon daycare center, which was in reality a small checkpoint for Team Rocket. It was also their home away from home for they spent most of the time at the main Kanto base in Viridian anyway. Everything was quiet and calm; it was in fact too quiet. Usually the yard would be filled with small pokemon running around playing under the watchful eye of a more experienced pokemon from Jessie and James, sometimes Meowth himself.

Ash recalled Charizard into his pokeball, thanking him for the ride and went for the front door. Rather than the chimes of the little bells on the door as it open, he got nothing, the door was locked from the inside. He tried again. "Jessie! James!" There was a click and a few steps back. James stepped aside to allow Ash passage. The scene inside the front counter room of the day care center was not a favorable one at all.

Jessiebelle was there, holding a small Eevee hostage at gunpoint. The little one was terrified. The other pokemon had been placed in pokeballs at Jessiebelle's command. Jessie was glaring at her from a corner of the room as if she wanted to rip her look alike's head off. If not for the hostage she would have tried and, angry as she was, possibly succeeded. "I thought you would come and I beat you here. I guess that detour caused by Misty slowed you down, didn't it?"

Ash gave her an even deadlier glare than Jessie, if that was even possible. "Why are you doing this?"

"Revenge..." Jessiebelle stated simply and bitterly. "Don't you know I'm doomed? I invested in Team Rocket some time ago as you might have heard. Giovanni found out I've been leaking information to the police. I was the one who told Jenny all about how to get to Delia and Giovanni knows. I was also the one who built a connection between Jenny and the Azure Alliance. Their original anonymous informant was me, before I passed on the duty to Jenny. She was my pawn you could say... But it's all over, Giovanni knows it all. I'm sure Team Rocket will come hunt me down soon."

"If you're angry at Team Rocket, then why didn't you shoot me? Why did you shoot Misty?" Ash shouted with challenging anger. His opponent was armed, but it didn't faze him in the least. His eyes at that moment were very much like his father's eyes.

"I hold no grudge against Team Rocket, I only hate that traitor," she motioned towards James with her gun, then to Jessie, "and the witch that stole him from me!" Then she aimed the weapon at Ash, who showed no physical reaction to it. "They are stupidly loyal Rockets. Do you know what would hurt them more than even their own deaths? Sorrow for their precious leader, the death of his son; but it wouldn't work if they couldn't see it. That's why I had to make you follow me, I knew you would find me if I gave you a clue in the form of my disguise."

Jessie and James' eyes grew wide in realization. "You plan to kill Ash!" James exclaimed with great worry and fear.

Jessie fumed, "now listen here, you sad excuse for a copycat, we're not going to let you lay a finger on the twerp!"

"Would you sacrifice your precious little pokemon then?" Jessiebelle's gun was once again aimed at the Eevee's head. That Eevee was the child of James' Growlithe, Growlie, his life long companion and Jessie's Flareon Flare, a pokemon she got from Ash. "Why don't you make the choice for them, Ash? Are you going to forsake this sweet little pokemon? It's just an insignificant Eevee, I'm sure your father could give you a hundred more if you just ask him nicely."

Ash remained silent, his bravado starting to fade. He wasn't afraid for himself, but he was terrified for Eevee, Jessie, James and the other pokemon. That Eevee was the child of the Flareon he trained since she was an Eevee. He later gave her to Jessie so that she could be with Growlie. Besides, no life was insignificant. He couldn't throw away Eevee's life; he couldn't cross that line, for he feared it would be the point of no return. It was a border that his father had surely crossed years ago, a border that he never wanted to cross himself. "Let Eevee go, your fight is with me."

"How stupid, putting your life on the line for just one pokemon," Jessiebelle mocked. "You are truly pathetic; your father would be ashamed!" A loud bang pierced the sound waves and a bullet Jessiebelle's head, the glass window behind was shattered and all eyes moved from the collapsing corpse to the man standing at the window.

Everything happened in a split second. Jessiebelle lost her grip on Eevee and the gun. She fell lifeless to the floor, blood gushing out from the back of her head, mixing with the crimson of her hair. She fell, Eevee fell, the gun fell. The pokemon hit the ground narrowly avoiding being caught under the weight of the dead body. The small pokemon scrambled towards James, who was the nearest safe person. Simultaneously a second shot rung out as the gun hit the floor and went off on its own.

Giovanni stood at the window, face set in disapproval. He looked like he was about to scold Ash for his foolishness but he spoke no words, he froze in place, the whole room froze as if the world was moving in slow motion. The second gunshot, the accidental gunshot of Jessiebelle's discarded weapon caught Jessie at an odd angle piercing her belly though not deeply, the bullet brushing her abdomen and coming out diagonally.

Jessie gasped, her voice was caught in her throat and she did not have the strength to scream. Her hands automatically went to her belly as her knees gave out and she fell to the floor in a growing pool of blood. It all happened in seconds, yet it felt like an eternity that would never be forgotten. James was by her side immediately calling her name, but she heard nothing, everything was a distant echo for her. All that Jessie could focus on was her own agony.

Ash rushed towards her with a glow in the palms of his hands. He pushed his power to somehow connect to the lives that were in danger, to Jessie and to her children. He held on to those lives with his own as tightly as he could, begging them not to let go. Everything was a blur. The ambulance arrived quickly, the paramedics summoned by Giovanni surrounded Jessie, giving her the best first aid science could provide. Ash didn't let her go the entire time, he kept his power focused on her, focused on those small flickering lights that were startled almost out of existence. He blocked out the rest of the world, he was unable to hear any of their voices, he kept his focus strong, he held on for as long as he could, until he was so exhausted that all he saw was darkness.

To be Continued

I added another one shot to the "Endless" collection which links this story to "Don't Give Me Diamonds" explaining the origin of the alternate timeline.

See you on the other side of the cliffhanger!