Categories > Anime/Manga > Pokemon > Return to Grace
Chapter Two: Destiny
4 reviewsRichie relives painful memories through his dreams, while Ash and Misty Try to escape from a group of Abominations.
2Moving
AN-The Next chapter is finally done; I actually rewrote it twice because I didn't like the first two drafts. This chapter is a little longer than the other ones and is starting to live up to its M rating. Also concerning Ayden (since I've gotten a few emails about him) I decided to kill him off because I was a little worried that he was the type of original character that would take over the story and I really wanted to focus on Pokémon characters. I'm sorry if any of you really liked him.
Anyway sorry about the delay, hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner. I hope that everyone enjoys reading as much as I enjoyed writing this. I also want to thank everyone who's reviewed so far, you guys are truly awesome.
Warnings- this fiction is very violent and gory, if that bothers you than please don't read. It is also AU.
Disclaimer- Pokémon and all of its characters and worlds belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. Anything original in this fiction belongs to me, but feel free to use it.
Return to Grace
Chapter Two: Destiny
It was never intended to be a suicide mission...
There were obligations that had to be fulfilled, children that needed to be saved. At first it had been so simple, just a typical search and rescue mission. An orphanage, one of the many that had been built soon after the arrival of the Abominations, was under attack. When they had gotten there it was quite clear that most of the children would not or had not made it.
Richie was determined, he always had been. If he was able to save just one of those kids then this whole fiasco would be worth it. His team may not have been the strongest in the Pokémon League, but they had the most heart. Most of them were kids that had escaped from Team Rocket, truly wanting to make up for the crimes of their pasts. They just needed a chance to prove themselves and this was as good of chance as any.
He had divided them into two teams, Red and Blue. The last time he had been in charge of a mission there had been five teams: Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold and Silver. But the League had only been able to spare six recruits for this mission. It should be enough; Sparky had mastered the Flash attack. And if all else failed he had a pocket full of flash grenades.
"Okay guys, this is a stealth mission. I want you to be as quite as possible. If you're spotted by an Abomination use the Flash attack, or if your Pokémon doesn't know it use one of your flash grenades.
"Whatever you do, do not attack them. They're faster than you and they will not hesitate to attack. Find as many of the children as possible and try to avoid any contact with the Abominations. Remember safety comes first; I want us all to get out of here in one piece.
"Red Team, you're taking the top floor. Blue Team, you're on the main floor. I'll be taking the basement. I don't want any of you splitting up, there's safety in numbers. Let's find these kids as quickly as possible. And remember be quiet," Richie said, feeling like a real military commander. He had been a commanding officer in the Pokémon League for seven years now. He had been one of the first people to start fighting and one of the younger Pokémon masters, but he was still one of the lower commanding ranks. He never liked to say it, but he knew that the reason why he was one of the lower ranks was because people almost expected him to pull a disappearing act like Ash had.
When they were younger he had been the superior trainer. He was proud of his friend when Ash had achieved every goal that they shared. He never once questioned Ash's actions when Ash had left the Pokémon training world. It, in fact, gave him the opportunity to take Ash's place as the top trainer. Of course when everything went to hell, he was an easy scapegoat. Most of the people that felt betrayed by Ash's absence, considered him an Ash Ketchum clone that they could take their hate out on. Richie didn't care though; all that mattered was that he was helping the people. Real heroes needed no thanks. Most of the other League members didn't like taking on trainers who had been in Team Rocket, for fear for betrayal. Richie decided that his scorn was part of his purpose in life; because he was really the only one who could help these kids turn their lives around.
"Are you going to be all right alone, Commander?" Scarlet, head of the Red team, asked him. Her big blue eyes were almost too trusting.
"I've been doing this for nine years, you don't have to worry about me. Just focus on keeping your team safe and finding those kids." He patted her on the shoulder, noticing that she was shaking. "You'll be fine, you're one of the best trainers I've seen in a long time," he reassured.
"Thanks Commander," she said, a little more confident. She ran off to her team, looking like a real leader. If things went well, he was going to recommend a promotion for her. Although he had a feeling that any request he made regarding Team Rocket abandonees would be politely turned down. Oh well, it was the thought that counted.
"You ready?" he asked Sparky, who was perched on his shoulder.
"Pika," Sparky said enthusiastically, Sparky had always lived for a challenge.
The stairs that led to the basement were soggy and felt like they would crumple under his weight. He could hardly hear anything, just water. He didn't know if it was an incredibly smart tactic by the children or if an Abomination had burst the water tank in an attack. Either way he wasn't going to be able to use Sparky. Before Richie took another step he made sure that Zippo, Happy and Rose's Pokéballs were at the front of his belt. He took a deep reassuring breath and continued his journey into the basement.
The water was up to his waist and appeared to be getting deeper, but there was no light so it was hard to tell. After a quick scan for luminescent eyes, Richie decided to take the risk of calling out.
"Hello," he called out, making sure that his voice could only be heard in the basement. There was no response, he half-swam a little further into the basement. He pulled his waterproof flash light from his waist and scanned the area, looking for any sign of life. The water was coming from a ruptured pipe. It looked like it had been hacked open with an axe, definitely not the work of an Abomination. The water was making way too much noise for him to hear anything of importance, people or Abominations.
"Hello!" he called out over the water flow. If there was an Abomination in the basement, it would have attacked him by now. "Is there anyone down here?"
The basement wasn't very large; he could see most of it from his current position. The only part he couldn't see was underneath the large water flow. He might as well check it out. If he were a kid and hiding from Abominations that would be where he would hide. Being careful not to disturb the water he walked to the water flow. The closer he got the better he could make out the shadows.
"Don't be afraid," he said, walking through the water flow.
"Who are you?" one of the children asked, a little boy with big brown eyes and a blood-spattered face. He was holding two smaller children above the water.
"My name is Richie, I'm a member of the Pokémon League we're here to rescue you." The other four children looked ecstatic at this news.
"Are the Abominations still out there?" the boy with the brown eyes asked, he looked about two years older than the rest.
"I don't know, the rest of my team is scanning the building looking for the rest of..."
"No!" the boy shrieked. "We're the only ones left, the others were killed by the Abominations. They're different from the others...they're bigger than the others and they have a really good sense of smell. We're hiding down here because they can't smell us under the water," the boy cried. As if on cue the screaming started.
Blood curdling screams echoed through the entire building. Richie wanted to join the children under the water flow, but he knew that he had to be there for his team.
"We're getting out of here," he said, pulling Zippo and Rose's Pokéballs from his belt. He handed them to the boy, who looked at them with amazement. "Have you ever used a Pokémon before?" he asked, although he was doubtful.
"No."
"They're a Charizard and a Swellow. Once you get outside just throw the balls and they'll protect you until I get back. Come on!"
The first thing that hit him when he made it to the top of the stairs was the smell. There was no sound, just the irony scent of fresh blood. As grim as the thought was he hoped that the scent would be strong enough to keep these new Abominations off of their trail until the children were outside.
"Do you know how many of the Abominations there were?" he asked the boy. From what he had heard there were forty children living at the facility and fifteen caretakers.
"There were two of them, ones' that no ones seem before," the boy whispered, tears making tracks in the blood on his face. It seemed odd and terrifying that there were only two of them, Abominations were so effective in their killing because they hunted in packs.
Riche quickly scanned the front entranceway for the Abominations, he saw nothing. He knew that he should just leave with the kids and call for back up, but he couldn't just leave his team when they had so much faith in him. He walked the children to the front door.
"I'm going to do a quick scan of the building. You see that van over there," he pointed to the van that they had arrived in; it was armoured and could stand a good beating. It was the safest place. The group of kids nodded. "Go into the van and stay in there until I get back. I'm going to give you the keys. I want you to turn the van on and turn on the outside lights; it's the red switch next to the radio. There's a phone in there too, the emergency number to the Pokémon League Headquarters is one on the speed dial. I need you to call for back up." He pulled the keys out of his pocket and handed them to the brown-eyed boy. "Can you do that?" the boy nodded. He made sure that they made it to the van before venturing back into the building.
The lack of noise was disturbing, even the sound of the water seemed to fade. All he could hear was the faint sound his boots made as he walked across the hardwood floor. Richie cringed as he walked into a room that had once been a playroom. The walls were covered in blood; he could even make out chunks of flesh that were stuck to the wall with force. At the other end of the room he could make out a breathing shape. He ran to it regardless of the noise he made.
"Scarlet," he whispered, kneeling by her broken form. Her body was torn open, her one remaining arm trying to keep her innards from escaping her body. A loop of grey intestine was wrapped around her wrist. It took all of his effort not to be sick.
"Commander," she choked, "we tried Richie, we tried so hard." She was delusional; her blue eyes were dancing wildly.
"Are there any other survivors?" he asked; trying to sooth her, keep her mind off of the pain until she died.
"We tried Richie...Commander Richie, we tried but they were too strong," her voice was a shallow whisper laced with pain and fear. "They're cruel Commander so cruel, they'll make you watch while they suck the flesh from your bones." She started to cough, bloody phlegm sticking to her lips. "I'm so sorry Commander," she said warmly, her eyes clear for a moment.
"This isn't your fault Scarlet...Scarlet." She wasn't dead, but her eyes had become terrified and wide. Her breathing started to become erratic, her mouth moved but nothing came out.
He could feel their presence before they grabbed him. He hadn't heard them or smelt them; he could just fell the displacement of air before he was violently grabbed from behind.
"Sparky run!" he screamed, struggling in the large clawed grasp. He had never faced an Abomination that was this large before. He couldn't quite see his attacker, but just from the feel of its slimy skin he knew that he didn't want to.
Sparky darted off of his shoulder and under a nearby table. He wished that Sparky would run, but he knew that the little Pokémon wouldn't leave his side, just hide out until he could make himself most useful. The second of the two massive Pokémon came into his vision; it was big and ugly with hungry eyes. It had two sets of arms, one massive set and a smaller set that was more human like but with large razor sharp talons. Like all of the other Abominations that he had seen, this one had blood red eyes with black soulless centres. The Abomination's large body gave the illusion that it was slow, but this was one of the fastest beasts that Richie had ever seen. It's skin was glistening with a sheen, at first he thought it was sweat but his muscles were starting to constrict where the other Abomination was touching him. His muscles were tensing into paralysis, but he was still able to feel everything. These creatures were cruel, they were going to make sure that he was going to feel every little thing they did to him and there was nothing he could do about it.
His mind went into full-blown panic. He started to struggle frantically, only causing his body to tense and stiffen faster. The creature in front of him grabbed his arm with one of its smaller arms, slicing open his wrist in the action. The other Abomination started to close its large slimy first around him. It wasn't until he heard his ribs cracking that he realised that his senses had become hyper aware. The pain in his chest was immense, more than it should have been. In other battles he had broken bones and none of them hurt like this. It was almost as though someone had taken a dull knife and was trying to drill into his bone, slowly grating away at the enamel until it could scrape at his marrow.
A warm liquid filled his mouth. He had never been good with blood, particularly his own. He could feel his consciousness waning, but he knew that he had to stay awake. If for no other reason than to keep the Abominations occupied until the League sent back up. Those kids were counting on him.
'Keep thinking,' he demanded of himself. A few years ago he had terrible insomnia all because he couldn't keep his thoughts quiet. He hoped now that he would be able to keep his mind occupied and off of the pain.
He glanced quickly at Sparky, who was slowly crawling towards the Abominations. He shook his head trying to get the attention of his Pokémon, if anything happened to Sparky he would never forgive himself. Sparky either ignored his protests or didn't see them, either way the small Pokémon continued to edge its way over to the Abominations.
The grip on his body tightened and he was forced to spit the blood out of his mouth. A groaning chuckle sent chills up his spine, they were laughing at him. The grip on his arm tightened and he could have sworn that the Abomination was smiling at his pain. The moment he looked into those deadly red eyes he was hit with a fear that he had never felt before. The creature was completely aware of the situation. He had always thought that they were soulless creatures that were hell-bent on destruction; he had liked to think that they weren't aware of what they were doing.
It started to tighten its grip on his wrist; he started to panic. The only thing he could really concentrate on was the coppery taste in his mouth.
'No,' he thought, trying to focus on anything but the pain. 'It's not copper it's iron. If I had copper based blood then my blood would be green...right?'
He screamed out as the Abomination started to twist. The tension started to build and his bone started fracture in a spiral manner. He tried to gasp for air as he could feel his bone splintering and burrowing into his flesh. The Abomination looked past him to the monster that was holding him, something passed between them. Richie had a feeling that these pain filled moments could be his last. The Abomination that was holding him tightened its grip to the point where he couldn't breathe; the other Abomination continued to twist his wrist, slowly pulling.
Sparky ran to his breathless groans darting between the two, trying to create some sort of a distraction. A look of pure bitterness enveloped the eyes of the Abomination, it jerked his arm. He was hit with instantaneous shock as he felt his flesh and muscle separate from his bone, he couldn't feel his arm. He looked frantically for Sparky, only to witness the Abomination smack his poor little Pokémon with his...arm. Everything stopped for a moment and he took in the sight of his mangled shoulder, his arm was completely gone. All that was left was a bloody and mangled socket of a shoulder. He couldn't feel the pain, but he tried to scream regardless.
Sparky stopped, his yellow fur splashed with blood. Their eyes met and Richie could feel his eyes tearing up at the look in the little yellow Pokémon's eyes. It was a look that broke his heart, one that said both goodbye and /I'm sorry/.
"Sparky!" he choked. He was starting to feel dizzy from blood loss and the torrent of emotions running through his body.
"Pikachu!" Sparky yelled as wave after wave of the Thunder Wave Attack started to escape Sparky's body. It didn't paralyse the Abominations, but it really irritated them. The room blurred as he was thrown to the floor. Richie thought that he might have bounced two or three times, but he was too dizzy to be sure.
It was almost like he was watching a horror movie. If Richie had had the capability he would have covered his eye and watched through his fingers, like a child would have. The Abominations pursued Sparky with unnatural speed and grace, things that creatures of their size should not posses. Sparky lured them under a slightly dilapidated part of the ceiling.
"No!" he screamed as Sparky started gather energy. Richie remembered when he was a trainer, right before Ash had won the title, that Sparky and him were starting to come up with new attacks. The most powerful of these attacks was Thunder Beam, which caused too much damage and drained too much energy. Richie could feel his hair starting to stand on end from the energy. He wanted to close his eyes, he didn't want to see this, but his eyes refused to close.
The ceiling started to collapse. A large support beam speared one of the Abominations; the debris crushed the other one. Sparky wasn't fast enough to make it out from underneath their falling bodies and was crushed, the air slowly being trodden out of his body. Maybe if he had been able to move, he might have been able to save his Pokémon...his best friend. Tears freely rolled down his cheeks as he watched Sparky struggle for breath.
"I'm sorry," he choked out. He doubted that Sparky heard it. Emotional pain struck him deep in his chest as he watched for a very painful five minutes as Sparky's struggles slowed and finally stopped.
"Sparky," he cried, his voice a broken whisper. He looked at the broken ceiling and begged for a piece of it to fall on him. He could hear footsteps and didn't care if it was someone to help him or an Abomination to finish him off. It was all over now.
"Sparky!" he yelled, cold sweat running down his forehead. He looked at his settings; he was in the Pokécentre infirmary in Lavender Town. It was just a dream. Something cold touched his forehead, he winced at the touch.
"Where's Sparky?" he asked weakly.
"Go back to sleep Richie, it was just a bad dream." Nurse Joy's voice was soothing to his ears. She calmly wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaving the damp cloth to cool him down. Things slowly started to come back to him. The mission, the failure, Scarlet and Sparky's deaths; it was the same nightmare every night.
It had happened six months ago. It felt like it had happened yesterday, Richie wondered if he was ever going to get over it. Of course after the whole ordeal had happened, he had been promoted. He wondered if it was because of his bravery or if it sounded good to the public that he had sacrificed so much for a small group of orphans. It wasn't like it mattered much; Richie knew that he wouldn't be seeing a battle anytime soon.
They said that he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It basically meant that he was a liability to any mission and that he had to stay put. It didn't matter if he felt that his purpose in life was to wipe out every last Abomination on the planet, he had to stay put.
'You might do something brash,' Brock had explained to him a week after it happened. The only reason why he had tolerated the news was because Brock was a friend, if one of the Elite or any of the other Gym Leaders would have said it, he would have flipped out. He didn't need them to think that he was crazy; he just wanted to help. Was that really so much to ask?
Out of all the things that had happened, they had fixed his arm. It took the most brilliant minds at Devon and Silph to develop an artificial limb. They said that it was the least they could do considering the fact that he had provided them with the bodies of an unknown species of Abomination. He sincerely hoped that they found a weakness; it would make his quest a whole lot easier. The arm suited him just fine. Sure the colour was a little off and he couldn't really feel it, but it worked all the same. The one advantage of this new arm was that when firing a gun his trigger finger never got tired. He hadn't found the strength to face his other Pokémon yet, so the only place that he found solace was at the shooting range.
Sometimes Officer Jenny would come and visit him. He knew that it was all an analysis of his psyche, just to make sure that he hadn't gone completely insane. He didn't want to feel so spiteful, but it was hard when people who had once respected him talked to him like a child.
'It's all right Richie. Be quiet Riche. You can help the others later Richie.' And so on and so on. He just wanted to make things right, his last thread of sanity depended on it.
"I think I might be able to help tomorrow Joy," he said, feeling his mind drifting. Due to the painkillers he still had to take, he was sleeping more than he ever had before.
"We'll see Richie, we'll see," she said, pulling the cloth off of his forehead. He'd help solve the problem, even if it killed him. It was his purpose, his destiny.
~~~*~
"Ash," her voice was solid, but laced with shock. She instantly put the gun back in the holster at her waist.
"I..." he trailed off for a moment, cheated joy filling his chest. "I thought that you were dead."
"I could say the same about you," he couldn't tell if she was angry or if it was the shock in her voice.
"Do you have any idea the grief I went through?" Ash asked, wondering if it was the exhaustion that was causing him to lash out. He briefly looked over to Pikachu, who was rolling his eyes at the display.
"I thought that I'd take a page from your book and disappear for a while," she said angrily, placing her hands on her hips. If it had been any other time, he would have snapped back at her. But after he had abandoned everyone that he cared about, all he could feel was guilt.
"You know what's funny?" he asked, trying to avoid her scrutinizing gaze.
"What's funny Ash?" she asked, a hint of anger still lingering in her voice.
"This was how we first met." He started to laugh. Ash couldn't remember the last time that he had laughed, at least ten years since it had been sincere. Although he did wonder if his laughter was induced by insanity, exhaustion or genuine happiness that he wasn't alone. She rolled her eyes, but her smile was beautifully honest.
"It's good to see you again Ash," she said, adjusting his old hat.
"I've missed..." A loud howling broke through the air, causing his body to ice over.
"We've got to get the hell out of here," Misty said, quickly packing up her stuff. When they were younger she might have been afraid, it looked like she had done a lot of growing up since the last time that they had seen each other. Ash wondered if he had grown up too.
"What do you think it is?" he asked, grabbing her discarded fishing rod. It was harder than he thought with his cut up hands.
"Doomwolves," she said calmly, "we've got to hurry their really fast."
"I've never heard of them," he said, picking up Pikachu.
"They mostly live in forests and tall grasses, they'll eat us alive," she said, grabbing her red backpack. "Come on we'll take my bike."
"Your bike?" the last time Misty had offered him a bike, Pikachu had zapped it accidentally while they ran from a swarm of Spearows.
"Yeah my bike and if you wreck this one Ash Ketchum I'm going to leave you for the Doomwolves," she said as she guided him to the most dangerous looking motorcycle that he had ever seen. It was large, black and looked like it could seat two.
"It wasn't my fault," he defended.
"Pi Pika," Pikachu said, hopping onto Misty's shoulder.
"See, Pikachu agrees with me," she said, briefly sticking out her tongue.
"Yeah right, he's just jumping on you because you're dryer than me." He crossed his arms, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. His clothing had just gotten to the drying point where it stuck to his skin, itchy and wet.
"Sure, sure Ash," she said as she put her backpack into the bikes storage compartment and pulled out two helmets. "Here," she tossed him one of the helmets, "trust me with the way that I drive, you're going to need it."
"Should I be worried about this?" he asked, looking at the black helmet.
"If you feel like worrying," she said, rummaging around the compartment some more. "I always bring a spare jacket just in case I wipe out." She handed him a thick and worn leather jacket.
"Why do I need this?" he asked, although he was grateful that the prospect of dry clothing.
"If we wipe out it's all that's going to protect you from the ground ripping your skin off," she stated bluntly.
"So you're saying that there's a chance we might wipe out," he teased as he pulled off his soaked coat.
"Just put the damn jacket on," she snapped, taking his wet coat and putting it in the compartment. She pulled on a similar jacket and a pair leather pants over her jeans. He doubted that if she had an extra pair that they'd fit him.
Another howl broke through the air. They were getting closer.
"Come on," she said, grabbing his wrist. "We don't have much time." She got onto the bike and reached into her jacket pocket. "When they get close enough throw this," she said, handing him a small dark object close to the size of a Pokéball.
"What is it?" he asked, taking it from her out reached hand. He put it in his pocket, putting on the heavy bike helmet.
"It's a flash grenade. Doomwolves won't hesitate to snap at you while you're on a moving vehicle. The only way to effectively get them to stop is a Flash attack or a flash grenade and since Pikachu looks a little worn out, it's probably best to use the grenade," she said as she pulled on her helmet, the last part of her explanation was almost muffled.
Pikachu hopped off of Misty's shoulder and crawled into the dry leather jacket, snuggling against his damp chest.
"Oh sure, come back when you can mooch off of my dryness," he scolded as he got onto the back of the bike. Pikachu licked his chin and he smiled despite the situation.
"You're going..." Misty paused for a moment. He couldn't tell if she was trying to avoid his eyes from the darkness of her helmet visor, "going to have to grab onto me. We're going to be going really fast and...and after missing you for ten years I don't want you to fall off." She quickly started the bike. "Not that I shouldn't push you off for abandoning everyone," she added angrily. Ash couldn't help but note that, as it always had been with her, it was an affectionate anger.
"No problem," he muttered, awkwardly wrapping his arms around her waist. Misty put the motorcycle into gear and they started their bumpy descent.
Through the dark view from his helmet, he could make out the yellow luminance of the Doomwolves eyes. As the motorcycle started to pick up speed he realised with something very akin to horror that the Doomwolves were in fact able to keep up to them. He pulled his right arm from Misty's waist and placed his shaking hand in his pocket. He clutched the grenade tightly in his hand; it gave him a false sense of hope. But hope was hope, regardless whether or not it was real or not.
"Don't throw it yet!" Misty yelled, although due to the speed her voice was a whisper in the wind. He could feel panic striking each and every one of his nerves. He could feel their bitter eyes watching him, finding each and every one of his insecurities and tearing him apart for them.
One of the Doomwolves was too close for comfort, gaining speed at an alarming rate. Ash looked into its deadly eyes; big mistake. A horrible growl escaped from the Abomination's mouth, which looked decayed and rotten, and lunged at them. Misty turned the biked sharply and Ash ducked as the Abomination flew over their heads. It snarled viciously as it sailed over their heads, landing with a sickening thud and a nauseating yelp. Ash briefly looked to where the Abomination had landed, through what little light was available he could see the Doomwolf's shadowy form limping, he could hear its agonizing cries.
'They feel pain like everything else,' he thought as Misty took another stomach cringing turn. It was getting harder to hold onto her with just one arm, he knew that he was going to slip. A sharp pain shot through his leg as one of the Doomwolves managed to grab onto him. He could feel its large jagged teeth sinking into his flesh, warm blood trickling down his leg.
"Hang on Ash!" Misty screamed, swerving away from an Abomination that had jumped in front of her. He frantically kicked his leg, causing the bike to jerk around.
"Throw the grena-" before she could finish the Doomwolf jerked its head to the side and Ash was thrown from the bike.
A cold and icy panic filled her as the weight on the bike decreased. Misty wrenched her neck around and watched in horror as Ash and Pikachu were tossed from the bike, both of them bouncing a couple of times before landing close to the pack of Doomwolves.
"Ash!" she screamed as she turned the bike around, riding right into the heart of danger.
'If the fall didn't kill him the Doomwolves will get to him before you even have a chance!' her practical side screamed at her.
"No I'm not losing him again!" she screamed, fearful tears stinging her eyes. Misty revved the bike forward as hard as she could, a hopeless attempt at trying to lure the Doomwolves away from them. Her heart started to sink and her blood started to cool as the scent of spilt blood hit her nostrils.
The Doomwolf instantly let go of his leg as he started to fall. Everything went painfully slow, it felt like time was slowing to a halt. It used its large hind legs to jump at him again, scantly missing his throat by a few millimetres. He could feel the beast's fetid breath on his neck and face, he was nearly sick at the smell of rot and grime. As the ground started to get closer and closer he grabbed onto the Abomination. They crashed to the ground, the Doomwolf breaking his fall. They bounced three times, the snapping of the beast's bones and the ripping of its flesh sent a cringe-inducing chill down his spine.
He rolled off the broken body of the Doomwolf, even though he had been wearing the helmet his head was spinning. His leg was bleeding badly, blood loss was making his head spin all the more. He pulled his helmet off and pulled the jacket tighter around Pikachu. He remembered Ayden dying to try and protect Pichu; it wasn't an option he was going to do the same for Pikachu. Pikachu squirmed under the thick leather; he held the jacket shut tightly. As the Doomwolves slowly approached, seeming to revel in tension that they were creating around him, he looked into the eyes of Abomination that had broken his fall.
Its yellow eyes were a web of pain, sickness and insanity. It growled at him, foam and blood spurting from its decayed mouth. It was a creature that knew nothing but pain and hatred. Regardless of the obvious intelligence and evil in those eyes Ash pitied the creature, he pitied the whole species. These were pitiful monsters created by man to wreak panic and destruction upon an undeserving world. The delighted growls of the surrounding Doomwolves taunted him. A smile crossed his lips and Ash wondered if he was going insane. He reached into his pocket; he had lost far too much to give up now.
The flash grenade was still in his pocket, he clutched it tightly. The dying Doomwolf gave him a quizzical look; its bloodshot yellow eyes were wide and sane for a single moment.
"I have a promise to keep," he said, tossing and activating the flash grenade.
The flash was immense and painful to his own eyes even thought they were closed, but he knew that it worked. The Doomwolves yelped in pain, he could hear them skittering off in all directions. He took a deep breath, knowing that any Relief would be sort lived. He opened his eyes to see if there were any Abominations waiting to pounce on him. He couldn't see anything. Other than the occasional flash of bright and random colour, everything was black. He panicked, frantically looking around for any trace of vision...any hope that his sight was still there. He could hear the loud thud of something round hitting the ground and frantic footsteps that approached him quickly.
"Ash," Misty said, her voice relieved. He could feel her arms wrap around his waist tightly. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, holding him tight.
"Misty." He jerked around trying to see her, he needed to see her. Pain shot through the cuts on his hands as he moved them to her face. Gently he ran his fingers over her face, a little relieved that the helmet was gone. Her skin was soft under his fingertips and damp... "Are you crying?"
"Ash, are you all right?" she asked, her voice etched with concern.
"I can't see anything," he admitted, completely disoriented.
"You were too close to the flash," her voice was full of disbelief. "It should be temporary, but those grenades are made extra..." he moved his hand over her mouth.
"Shh, you can tell me later, let's just get the hell out of here."
Misty helped him put his helmet back on and helped him onto the bike. He had never felt so helpless in his life, but never so grateful to be alive. Misty started the bike and they rode off. They were traveling at a more stomaching speed and he felt a little more secure knowing that he wasn't seeing the scenery speeding by. Pikachu gently snoozed against his chest, he felt content that at least one of them could have at least a moment of peace.
To be continued...
Anyway sorry about the delay, hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner. I hope that everyone enjoys reading as much as I enjoyed writing this. I also want to thank everyone who's reviewed so far, you guys are truly awesome.
Warnings- this fiction is very violent and gory, if that bothers you than please don't read. It is also AU.
Disclaimer- Pokémon and all of its characters and worlds belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. Anything original in this fiction belongs to me, but feel free to use it.
Return to Grace
Chapter Two: Destiny
It was never intended to be a suicide mission...
There were obligations that had to be fulfilled, children that needed to be saved. At first it had been so simple, just a typical search and rescue mission. An orphanage, one of the many that had been built soon after the arrival of the Abominations, was under attack. When they had gotten there it was quite clear that most of the children would not or had not made it.
Richie was determined, he always had been. If he was able to save just one of those kids then this whole fiasco would be worth it. His team may not have been the strongest in the Pokémon League, but they had the most heart. Most of them were kids that had escaped from Team Rocket, truly wanting to make up for the crimes of their pasts. They just needed a chance to prove themselves and this was as good of chance as any.
He had divided them into two teams, Red and Blue. The last time he had been in charge of a mission there had been five teams: Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold and Silver. But the League had only been able to spare six recruits for this mission. It should be enough; Sparky had mastered the Flash attack. And if all else failed he had a pocket full of flash grenades.
"Okay guys, this is a stealth mission. I want you to be as quite as possible. If you're spotted by an Abomination use the Flash attack, or if your Pokémon doesn't know it use one of your flash grenades.
"Whatever you do, do not attack them. They're faster than you and they will not hesitate to attack. Find as many of the children as possible and try to avoid any contact with the Abominations. Remember safety comes first; I want us all to get out of here in one piece.
"Red Team, you're taking the top floor. Blue Team, you're on the main floor. I'll be taking the basement. I don't want any of you splitting up, there's safety in numbers. Let's find these kids as quickly as possible. And remember be quiet," Richie said, feeling like a real military commander. He had been a commanding officer in the Pokémon League for seven years now. He had been one of the first people to start fighting and one of the younger Pokémon masters, but he was still one of the lower commanding ranks. He never liked to say it, but he knew that the reason why he was one of the lower ranks was because people almost expected him to pull a disappearing act like Ash had.
When they were younger he had been the superior trainer. He was proud of his friend when Ash had achieved every goal that they shared. He never once questioned Ash's actions when Ash had left the Pokémon training world. It, in fact, gave him the opportunity to take Ash's place as the top trainer. Of course when everything went to hell, he was an easy scapegoat. Most of the people that felt betrayed by Ash's absence, considered him an Ash Ketchum clone that they could take their hate out on. Richie didn't care though; all that mattered was that he was helping the people. Real heroes needed no thanks. Most of the other League members didn't like taking on trainers who had been in Team Rocket, for fear for betrayal. Richie decided that his scorn was part of his purpose in life; because he was really the only one who could help these kids turn their lives around.
"Are you going to be all right alone, Commander?" Scarlet, head of the Red team, asked him. Her big blue eyes were almost too trusting.
"I've been doing this for nine years, you don't have to worry about me. Just focus on keeping your team safe and finding those kids." He patted her on the shoulder, noticing that she was shaking. "You'll be fine, you're one of the best trainers I've seen in a long time," he reassured.
"Thanks Commander," she said, a little more confident. She ran off to her team, looking like a real leader. If things went well, he was going to recommend a promotion for her. Although he had a feeling that any request he made regarding Team Rocket abandonees would be politely turned down. Oh well, it was the thought that counted.
"You ready?" he asked Sparky, who was perched on his shoulder.
"Pika," Sparky said enthusiastically, Sparky had always lived for a challenge.
The stairs that led to the basement were soggy and felt like they would crumple under his weight. He could hardly hear anything, just water. He didn't know if it was an incredibly smart tactic by the children or if an Abomination had burst the water tank in an attack. Either way he wasn't going to be able to use Sparky. Before Richie took another step he made sure that Zippo, Happy and Rose's Pokéballs were at the front of his belt. He took a deep reassuring breath and continued his journey into the basement.
The water was up to his waist and appeared to be getting deeper, but there was no light so it was hard to tell. After a quick scan for luminescent eyes, Richie decided to take the risk of calling out.
"Hello," he called out, making sure that his voice could only be heard in the basement. There was no response, he half-swam a little further into the basement. He pulled his waterproof flash light from his waist and scanned the area, looking for any sign of life. The water was coming from a ruptured pipe. It looked like it had been hacked open with an axe, definitely not the work of an Abomination. The water was making way too much noise for him to hear anything of importance, people or Abominations.
"Hello!" he called out over the water flow. If there was an Abomination in the basement, it would have attacked him by now. "Is there anyone down here?"
The basement wasn't very large; he could see most of it from his current position. The only part he couldn't see was underneath the large water flow. He might as well check it out. If he were a kid and hiding from Abominations that would be where he would hide. Being careful not to disturb the water he walked to the water flow. The closer he got the better he could make out the shadows.
"Don't be afraid," he said, walking through the water flow.
"Who are you?" one of the children asked, a little boy with big brown eyes and a blood-spattered face. He was holding two smaller children above the water.
"My name is Richie, I'm a member of the Pokémon League we're here to rescue you." The other four children looked ecstatic at this news.
"Are the Abominations still out there?" the boy with the brown eyes asked, he looked about two years older than the rest.
"I don't know, the rest of my team is scanning the building looking for the rest of..."
"No!" the boy shrieked. "We're the only ones left, the others were killed by the Abominations. They're different from the others...they're bigger than the others and they have a really good sense of smell. We're hiding down here because they can't smell us under the water," the boy cried. As if on cue the screaming started.
Blood curdling screams echoed through the entire building. Richie wanted to join the children under the water flow, but he knew that he had to be there for his team.
"We're getting out of here," he said, pulling Zippo and Rose's Pokéballs from his belt. He handed them to the boy, who looked at them with amazement. "Have you ever used a Pokémon before?" he asked, although he was doubtful.
"No."
"They're a Charizard and a Swellow. Once you get outside just throw the balls and they'll protect you until I get back. Come on!"
The first thing that hit him when he made it to the top of the stairs was the smell. There was no sound, just the irony scent of fresh blood. As grim as the thought was he hoped that the scent would be strong enough to keep these new Abominations off of their trail until the children were outside.
"Do you know how many of the Abominations there were?" he asked the boy. From what he had heard there were forty children living at the facility and fifteen caretakers.
"There were two of them, ones' that no ones seem before," the boy whispered, tears making tracks in the blood on his face. It seemed odd and terrifying that there were only two of them, Abominations were so effective in their killing because they hunted in packs.
Riche quickly scanned the front entranceway for the Abominations, he saw nothing. He knew that he should just leave with the kids and call for back up, but he couldn't just leave his team when they had so much faith in him. He walked the children to the front door.
"I'm going to do a quick scan of the building. You see that van over there," he pointed to the van that they had arrived in; it was armoured and could stand a good beating. It was the safest place. The group of kids nodded. "Go into the van and stay in there until I get back. I'm going to give you the keys. I want you to turn the van on and turn on the outside lights; it's the red switch next to the radio. There's a phone in there too, the emergency number to the Pokémon League Headquarters is one on the speed dial. I need you to call for back up." He pulled the keys out of his pocket and handed them to the brown-eyed boy. "Can you do that?" the boy nodded. He made sure that they made it to the van before venturing back into the building.
The lack of noise was disturbing, even the sound of the water seemed to fade. All he could hear was the faint sound his boots made as he walked across the hardwood floor. Richie cringed as he walked into a room that had once been a playroom. The walls were covered in blood; he could even make out chunks of flesh that were stuck to the wall with force. At the other end of the room he could make out a breathing shape. He ran to it regardless of the noise he made.
"Scarlet," he whispered, kneeling by her broken form. Her body was torn open, her one remaining arm trying to keep her innards from escaping her body. A loop of grey intestine was wrapped around her wrist. It took all of his effort not to be sick.
"Commander," she choked, "we tried Richie, we tried so hard." She was delusional; her blue eyes were dancing wildly.
"Are there any other survivors?" he asked; trying to sooth her, keep her mind off of the pain until she died.
"We tried Richie...Commander Richie, we tried but they were too strong," her voice was a shallow whisper laced with pain and fear. "They're cruel Commander so cruel, they'll make you watch while they suck the flesh from your bones." She started to cough, bloody phlegm sticking to her lips. "I'm so sorry Commander," she said warmly, her eyes clear for a moment.
"This isn't your fault Scarlet...Scarlet." She wasn't dead, but her eyes had become terrified and wide. Her breathing started to become erratic, her mouth moved but nothing came out.
He could feel their presence before they grabbed him. He hadn't heard them or smelt them; he could just fell the displacement of air before he was violently grabbed from behind.
"Sparky run!" he screamed, struggling in the large clawed grasp. He had never faced an Abomination that was this large before. He couldn't quite see his attacker, but just from the feel of its slimy skin he knew that he didn't want to.
Sparky darted off of his shoulder and under a nearby table. He wished that Sparky would run, but he knew that the little Pokémon wouldn't leave his side, just hide out until he could make himself most useful. The second of the two massive Pokémon came into his vision; it was big and ugly with hungry eyes. It had two sets of arms, one massive set and a smaller set that was more human like but with large razor sharp talons. Like all of the other Abominations that he had seen, this one had blood red eyes with black soulless centres. The Abomination's large body gave the illusion that it was slow, but this was one of the fastest beasts that Richie had ever seen. It's skin was glistening with a sheen, at first he thought it was sweat but his muscles were starting to constrict where the other Abomination was touching him. His muscles were tensing into paralysis, but he was still able to feel everything. These creatures were cruel, they were going to make sure that he was going to feel every little thing they did to him and there was nothing he could do about it.
His mind went into full-blown panic. He started to struggle frantically, only causing his body to tense and stiffen faster. The creature in front of him grabbed his arm with one of its smaller arms, slicing open his wrist in the action. The other Abomination started to close its large slimy first around him. It wasn't until he heard his ribs cracking that he realised that his senses had become hyper aware. The pain in his chest was immense, more than it should have been. In other battles he had broken bones and none of them hurt like this. It was almost as though someone had taken a dull knife and was trying to drill into his bone, slowly grating away at the enamel until it could scrape at his marrow.
A warm liquid filled his mouth. He had never been good with blood, particularly his own. He could feel his consciousness waning, but he knew that he had to stay awake. If for no other reason than to keep the Abominations occupied until the League sent back up. Those kids were counting on him.
'Keep thinking,' he demanded of himself. A few years ago he had terrible insomnia all because he couldn't keep his thoughts quiet. He hoped now that he would be able to keep his mind occupied and off of the pain.
He glanced quickly at Sparky, who was slowly crawling towards the Abominations. He shook his head trying to get the attention of his Pokémon, if anything happened to Sparky he would never forgive himself. Sparky either ignored his protests or didn't see them, either way the small Pokémon continued to edge its way over to the Abominations.
The grip on his body tightened and he was forced to spit the blood out of his mouth. A groaning chuckle sent chills up his spine, they were laughing at him. The grip on his arm tightened and he could have sworn that the Abomination was smiling at his pain. The moment he looked into those deadly red eyes he was hit with a fear that he had never felt before. The creature was completely aware of the situation. He had always thought that they were soulless creatures that were hell-bent on destruction; he had liked to think that they weren't aware of what they were doing.
It started to tighten its grip on his wrist; he started to panic. The only thing he could really concentrate on was the coppery taste in his mouth.
'No,' he thought, trying to focus on anything but the pain. 'It's not copper it's iron. If I had copper based blood then my blood would be green...right?'
He screamed out as the Abomination started to twist. The tension started to build and his bone started fracture in a spiral manner. He tried to gasp for air as he could feel his bone splintering and burrowing into his flesh. The Abomination looked past him to the monster that was holding him, something passed between them. Richie had a feeling that these pain filled moments could be his last. The Abomination that was holding him tightened its grip to the point where he couldn't breathe; the other Abomination continued to twist his wrist, slowly pulling.
Sparky ran to his breathless groans darting between the two, trying to create some sort of a distraction. A look of pure bitterness enveloped the eyes of the Abomination, it jerked his arm. He was hit with instantaneous shock as he felt his flesh and muscle separate from his bone, he couldn't feel his arm. He looked frantically for Sparky, only to witness the Abomination smack his poor little Pokémon with his...arm. Everything stopped for a moment and he took in the sight of his mangled shoulder, his arm was completely gone. All that was left was a bloody and mangled socket of a shoulder. He couldn't feel the pain, but he tried to scream regardless.
Sparky stopped, his yellow fur splashed with blood. Their eyes met and Richie could feel his eyes tearing up at the look in the little yellow Pokémon's eyes. It was a look that broke his heart, one that said both goodbye and /I'm sorry/.
"Sparky!" he choked. He was starting to feel dizzy from blood loss and the torrent of emotions running through his body.
"Pikachu!" Sparky yelled as wave after wave of the Thunder Wave Attack started to escape Sparky's body. It didn't paralyse the Abominations, but it really irritated them. The room blurred as he was thrown to the floor. Richie thought that he might have bounced two or three times, but he was too dizzy to be sure.
It was almost like he was watching a horror movie. If Richie had had the capability he would have covered his eye and watched through his fingers, like a child would have. The Abominations pursued Sparky with unnatural speed and grace, things that creatures of their size should not posses. Sparky lured them under a slightly dilapidated part of the ceiling.
"No!" he screamed as Sparky started gather energy. Richie remembered when he was a trainer, right before Ash had won the title, that Sparky and him were starting to come up with new attacks. The most powerful of these attacks was Thunder Beam, which caused too much damage and drained too much energy. Richie could feel his hair starting to stand on end from the energy. He wanted to close his eyes, he didn't want to see this, but his eyes refused to close.
The ceiling started to collapse. A large support beam speared one of the Abominations; the debris crushed the other one. Sparky wasn't fast enough to make it out from underneath their falling bodies and was crushed, the air slowly being trodden out of his body. Maybe if he had been able to move, he might have been able to save his Pokémon...his best friend. Tears freely rolled down his cheeks as he watched Sparky struggle for breath.
"I'm sorry," he choked out. He doubted that Sparky heard it. Emotional pain struck him deep in his chest as he watched for a very painful five minutes as Sparky's struggles slowed and finally stopped.
"Sparky," he cried, his voice a broken whisper. He looked at the broken ceiling and begged for a piece of it to fall on him. He could hear footsteps and didn't care if it was someone to help him or an Abomination to finish him off. It was all over now.
"Sparky!" he yelled, cold sweat running down his forehead. He looked at his settings; he was in the Pokécentre infirmary in Lavender Town. It was just a dream. Something cold touched his forehead, he winced at the touch.
"Where's Sparky?" he asked weakly.
"Go back to sleep Richie, it was just a bad dream." Nurse Joy's voice was soothing to his ears. She calmly wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaving the damp cloth to cool him down. Things slowly started to come back to him. The mission, the failure, Scarlet and Sparky's deaths; it was the same nightmare every night.
It had happened six months ago. It felt like it had happened yesterday, Richie wondered if he was ever going to get over it. Of course after the whole ordeal had happened, he had been promoted. He wondered if it was because of his bravery or if it sounded good to the public that he had sacrificed so much for a small group of orphans. It wasn't like it mattered much; Richie knew that he wouldn't be seeing a battle anytime soon.
They said that he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It basically meant that he was a liability to any mission and that he had to stay put. It didn't matter if he felt that his purpose in life was to wipe out every last Abomination on the planet, he had to stay put.
'You might do something brash,' Brock had explained to him a week after it happened. The only reason why he had tolerated the news was because Brock was a friend, if one of the Elite or any of the other Gym Leaders would have said it, he would have flipped out. He didn't need them to think that he was crazy; he just wanted to help. Was that really so much to ask?
Out of all the things that had happened, they had fixed his arm. It took the most brilliant minds at Devon and Silph to develop an artificial limb. They said that it was the least they could do considering the fact that he had provided them with the bodies of an unknown species of Abomination. He sincerely hoped that they found a weakness; it would make his quest a whole lot easier. The arm suited him just fine. Sure the colour was a little off and he couldn't really feel it, but it worked all the same. The one advantage of this new arm was that when firing a gun his trigger finger never got tired. He hadn't found the strength to face his other Pokémon yet, so the only place that he found solace was at the shooting range.
Sometimes Officer Jenny would come and visit him. He knew that it was all an analysis of his psyche, just to make sure that he hadn't gone completely insane. He didn't want to feel so spiteful, but it was hard when people who had once respected him talked to him like a child.
'It's all right Richie. Be quiet Riche. You can help the others later Richie.' And so on and so on. He just wanted to make things right, his last thread of sanity depended on it.
"I think I might be able to help tomorrow Joy," he said, feeling his mind drifting. Due to the painkillers he still had to take, he was sleeping more than he ever had before.
"We'll see Richie, we'll see," she said, pulling the cloth off of his forehead. He'd help solve the problem, even if it killed him. It was his purpose, his destiny.
~~~*~
"Ash," her voice was solid, but laced with shock. She instantly put the gun back in the holster at her waist.
"I..." he trailed off for a moment, cheated joy filling his chest. "I thought that you were dead."
"I could say the same about you," he couldn't tell if she was angry or if it was the shock in her voice.
"Do you have any idea the grief I went through?" Ash asked, wondering if it was the exhaustion that was causing him to lash out. He briefly looked over to Pikachu, who was rolling his eyes at the display.
"I thought that I'd take a page from your book and disappear for a while," she said angrily, placing her hands on her hips. If it had been any other time, he would have snapped back at her. But after he had abandoned everyone that he cared about, all he could feel was guilt.
"You know what's funny?" he asked, trying to avoid her scrutinizing gaze.
"What's funny Ash?" she asked, a hint of anger still lingering in her voice.
"This was how we first met." He started to laugh. Ash couldn't remember the last time that he had laughed, at least ten years since it had been sincere. Although he did wonder if his laughter was induced by insanity, exhaustion or genuine happiness that he wasn't alone. She rolled her eyes, but her smile was beautifully honest.
"It's good to see you again Ash," she said, adjusting his old hat.
"I've missed..." A loud howling broke through the air, causing his body to ice over.
"We've got to get the hell out of here," Misty said, quickly packing up her stuff. When they were younger she might have been afraid, it looked like she had done a lot of growing up since the last time that they had seen each other. Ash wondered if he had grown up too.
"What do you think it is?" he asked, grabbing her discarded fishing rod. It was harder than he thought with his cut up hands.
"Doomwolves," she said calmly, "we've got to hurry their really fast."
"I've never heard of them," he said, picking up Pikachu.
"They mostly live in forests and tall grasses, they'll eat us alive," she said, grabbing her red backpack. "Come on we'll take my bike."
"Your bike?" the last time Misty had offered him a bike, Pikachu had zapped it accidentally while they ran from a swarm of Spearows.
"Yeah my bike and if you wreck this one Ash Ketchum I'm going to leave you for the Doomwolves," she said as she guided him to the most dangerous looking motorcycle that he had ever seen. It was large, black and looked like it could seat two.
"It wasn't my fault," he defended.
"Pi Pika," Pikachu said, hopping onto Misty's shoulder.
"See, Pikachu agrees with me," she said, briefly sticking out her tongue.
"Yeah right, he's just jumping on you because you're dryer than me." He crossed his arms, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. His clothing had just gotten to the drying point where it stuck to his skin, itchy and wet.
"Sure, sure Ash," she said as she put her backpack into the bikes storage compartment and pulled out two helmets. "Here," she tossed him one of the helmets, "trust me with the way that I drive, you're going to need it."
"Should I be worried about this?" he asked, looking at the black helmet.
"If you feel like worrying," she said, rummaging around the compartment some more. "I always bring a spare jacket just in case I wipe out." She handed him a thick and worn leather jacket.
"Why do I need this?" he asked, although he was grateful that the prospect of dry clothing.
"If we wipe out it's all that's going to protect you from the ground ripping your skin off," she stated bluntly.
"So you're saying that there's a chance we might wipe out," he teased as he pulled off his soaked coat.
"Just put the damn jacket on," she snapped, taking his wet coat and putting it in the compartment. She pulled on a similar jacket and a pair leather pants over her jeans. He doubted that if she had an extra pair that they'd fit him.
Another howl broke through the air. They were getting closer.
"Come on," she said, grabbing his wrist. "We don't have much time." She got onto the bike and reached into her jacket pocket. "When they get close enough throw this," she said, handing him a small dark object close to the size of a Pokéball.
"What is it?" he asked, taking it from her out reached hand. He put it in his pocket, putting on the heavy bike helmet.
"It's a flash grenade. Doomwolves won't hesitate to snap at you while you're on a moving vehicle. The only way to effectively get them to stop is a Flash attack or a flash grenade and since Pikachu looks a little worn out, it's probably best to use the grenade," she said as she pulled on her helmet, the last part of her explanation was almost muffled.
Pikachu hopped off of Misty's shoulder and crawled into the dry leather jacket, snuggling against his damp chest.
"Oh sure, come back when you can mooch off of my dryness," he scolded as he got onto the back of the bike. Pikachu licked his chin and he smiled despite the situation.
"You're going..." Misty paused for a moment. He couldn't tell if she was trying to avoid his eyes from the darkness of her helmet visor, "going to have to grab onto me. We're going to be going really fast and...and after missing you for ten years I don't want you to fall off." She quickly started the bike. "Not that I shouldn't push you off for abandoning everyone," she added angrily. Ash couldn't help but note that, as it always had been with her, it was an affectionate anger.
"No problem," he muttered, awkwardly wrapping his arms around her waist. Misty put the motorcycle into gear and they started their bumpy descent.
Through the dark view from his helmet, he could make out the yellow luminance of the Doomwolves eyes. As the motorcycle started to pick up speed he realised with something very akin to horror that the Doomwolves were in fact able to keep up to them. He pulled his right arm from Misty's waist and placed his shaking hand in his pocket. He clutched the grenade tightly in his hand; it gave him a false sense of hope. But hope was hope, regardless whether or not it was real or not.
"Don't throw it yet!" Misty yelled, although due to the speed her voice was a whisper in the wind. He could feel panic striking each and every one of his nerves. He could feel their bitter eyes watching him, finding each and every one of his insecurities and tearing him apart for them.
One of the Doomwolves was too close for comfort, gaining speed at an alarming rate. Ash looked into its deadly eyes; big mistake. A horrible growl escaped from the Abomination's mouth, which looked decayed and rotten, and lunged at them. Misty turned the biked sharply and Ash ducked as the Abomination flew over their heads. It snarled viciously as it sailed over their heads, landing with a sickening thud and a nauseating yelp. Ash briefly looked to where the Abomination had landed, through what little light was available he could see the Doomwolf's shadowy form limping, he could hear its agonizing cries.
'They feel pain like everything else,' he thought as Misty took another stomach cringing turn. It was getting harder to hold onto her with just one arm, he knew that he was going to slip. A sharp pain shot through his leg as one of the Doomwolves managed to grab onto him. He could feel its large jagged teeth sinking into his flesh, warm blood trickling down his leg.
"Hang on Ash!" Misty screamed, swerving away from an Abomination that had jumped in front of her. He frantically kicked his leg, causing the bike to jerk around.
"Throw the grena-" before she could finish the Doomwolf jerked its head to the side and Ash was thrown from the bike.
A cold and icy panic filled her as the weight on the bike decreased. Misty wrenched her neck around and watched in horror as Ash and Pikachu were tossed from the bike, both of them bouncing a couple of times before landing close to the pack of Doomwolves.
"Ash!" she screamed as she turned the bike around, riding right into the heart of danger.
'If the fall didn't kill him the Doomwolves will get to him before you even have a chance!' her practical side screamed at her.
"No I'm not losing him again!" she screamed, fearful tears stinging her eyes. Misty revved the bike forward as hard as she could, a hopeless attempt at trying to lure the Doomwolves away from them. Her heart started to sink and her blood started to cool as the scent of spilt blood hit her nostrils.
The Doomwolf instantly let go of his leg as he started to fall. Everything went painfully slow, it felt like time was slowing to a halt. It used its large hind legs to jump at him again, scantly missing his throat by a few millimetres. He could feel the beast's fetid breath on his neck and face, he was nearly sick at the smell of rot and grime. As the ground started to get closer and closer he grabbed onto the Abomination. They crashed to the ground, the Doomwolf breaking his fall. They bounced three times, the snapping of the beast's bones and the ripping of its flesh sent a cringe-inducing chill down his spine.
He rolled off the broken body of the Doomwolf, even though he had been wearing the helmet his head was spinning. His leg was bleeding badly, blood loss was making his head spin all the more. He pulled his helmet off and pulled the jacket tighter around Pikachu. He remembered Ayden dying to try and protect Pichu; it wasn't an option he was going to do the same for Pikachu. Pikachu squirmed under the thick leather; he held the jacket shut tightly. As the Doomwolves slowly approached, seeming to revel in tension that they were creating around him, he looked into the eyes of Abomination that had broken his fall.
Its yellow eyes were a web of pain, sickness and insanity. It growled at him, foam and blood spurting from its decayed mouth. It was a creature that knew nothing but pain and hatred. Regardless of the obvious intelligence and evil in those eyes Ash pitied the creature, he pitied the whole species. These were pitiful monsters created by man to wreak panic and destruction upon an undeserving world. The delighted growls of the surrounding Doomwolves taunted him. A smile crossed his lips and Ash wondered if he was going insane. He reached into his pocket; he had lost far too much to give up now.
The flash grenade was still in his pocket, he clutched it tightly. The dying Doomwolf gave him a quizzical look; its bloodshot yellow eyes were wide and sane for a single moment.
"I have a promise to keep," he said, tossing and activating the flash grenade.
The flash was immense and painful to his own eyes even thought they were closed, but he knew that it worked. The Doomwolves yelped in pain, he could hear them skittering off in all directions. He took a deep breath, knowing that any Relief would be sort lived. He opened his eyes to see if there were any Abominations waiting to pounce on him. He couldn't see anything. Other than the occasional flash of bright and random colour, everything was black. He panicked, frantically looking around for any trace of vision...any hope that his sight was still there. He could hear the loud thud of something round hitting the ground and frantic footsteps that approached him quickly.
"Ash," Misty said, her voice relieved. He could feel her arms wrap around his waist tightly. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, holding him tight.
"Misty." He jerked around trying to see her, he needed to see her. Pain shot through the cuts on his hands as he moved them to her face. Gently he ran his fingers over her face, a little relieved that the helmet was gone. Her skin was soft under his fingertips and damp... "Are you crying?"
"Ash, are you all right?" she asked, her voice etched with concern.
"I can't see anything," he admitted, completely disoriented.
"You were too close to the flash," her voice was full of disbelief. "It should be temporary, but those grenades are made extra..." he moved his hand over her mouth.
"Shh, you can tell me later, let's just get the hell out of here."
Misty helped him put his helmet back on and helped him onto the bike. He had never felt so helpless in his life, but never so grateful to be alive. Misty started the bike and they rode off. They were traveling at a more stomaching speed and he felt a little more secure knowing that he wasn't seeing the scenery speeding by. Pikachu gently snoozed against his chest, he felt content that at least one of them could have at least a moment of peace.
To be continued...
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