Seven Days of Terror

Okay, so I basically rewrote this chapter because I was convinced to bring May back. If you don't like it, then really all I can say is deal with it. I like it better this way, and you guys probably will, too.

Seven Days of Terror

by Perfect Purity

Chapter Eleven: Retribution

With Shelly's command, Magnezone and Mamoswine charged forward with amazing speed; Weavile, still much quicker, jumped in Ash's way and fired a quick shot of Ice Beam at the mammoth, temporarily halting his pursuit. Magnezone, not restricted to ground travel, soared over Mamoswine and headed straight for May, intent on finally releasing all its excess electricity. Weavile, noticing Magnezone's movement, ran straight for it, its left claw glowing bright white.

May knew she wasn't going to get out of this alive. How could she? Even if she did manage to survive the Pokemon's attacks, Shelly would kill her herself. She sighed. This wasn't like her to just give up, Even if she couldn't see, she could, in theory, turn right around and run back into the forest... right? The path was completely clear - Weavile had seen to that. She could just run, run, run... maybe the other Pokemon wouldn't chase her, she thought. She felt bad about leaving her friends to die, but Ash was right - she was completely useless to them right now. She had to do what she could to stay out of their way and maybe, just maybe, they'd survive. Oh, she was probably ruined either way - Shelly knew she couldn't see where she was going, and it was likely she'd just run into a tree, someone else, or even worse, one of Shelly's Pokemon.

Even with the odds stacked against her, she decided to run for it... and didn't get to take a single step. She nearly fell over when Weavile leaped onto May's shoulders. "Weavile fen!" he shouted as he raised a Protect shield with his other claw. The attack hit the barrier with enormous force, causing both of them to tumble into the sand. Ash immediately ran to May's side, scooped her into his arms, and fled into the forest.

Weavile was barely on the ground before he rose to his feet and threw his charged Focus Punch with all of his strength. Magnezone fell to the ground instantly, put out of commission in a single blow. Smoke poured from the large crack Weavile had made in its face. While he would have preferred to crush Magnezone into pieces for what it had nearly done, he knew that simply knocking it out would have to do for now.

"Mr. Mime, Swagger," Shelly commanded calmly, safely behind her Pokemon. "Target... him," she said, pointing at Tracey. Tracey looked at Shelly and then made the mistake of locking eyes with Mr. Mime, unknowingly locking himself in Mr. Mime's psychic gaze.

"You're a murderer," Tracey found himself saying to himself. "A cold-blooded killer."

"That's... that's a lie..." he muttered. "A lie! She forgave me!"

"Don't kid yourself. Sure, she told you she did, but then she took it back! Doesn't sound very sincere to me..."

"Shut up!" Tracey shouted, unable to look away from Mr. Mime. Was he the one talking to him? It couldn't be... this other voice, it was undeniably Tracey's, but something about it was... odd.

"Tracey, snap out of it!" Brock yelled, rushing to his friend's aid. "Come on, pull it together!"

Tracey did not hear him as he was too deeply pulled into Mr. Mime's trance. "It's your fault she tried to kill herself. Don't you realize that? All her pain, all her sadness... it's all because of you... her death would have been on your hands if Ash hadn't intervened."

Finding that his words were falling on deaf ears, Brock made a dive for Mr. Mime, but didn't even get close - Mr. Mime effortlessly stopped him cold and flung him backwards into Tracey, sending the two of them crashing to the ground, ending his trance hold on the Pokemon watcher. However, this was fine, as the attack had done its job and the results were about to be made known.

Volbeat, seeing Ash flee into the jungle, gave chase. He quickly caught up to the teen, using a well-aimed Signal Beam to bring him down. He collapsed on top of May, quietly urging her to feign unconsciousness as he did the same.

Volbeat flew around the pair briefly, wondering what to make of this. Did he really knock out those two with a single hit? He didn't think he'd hit the girl at all, but there she was, unmoving. Maybe she'd hit her head when the boy dropped her... Deciding it was wiser to aid his Trainer than waste his time here, he left the pair alone and flew back into the fray.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Weavile took a moment to consider his options. His new friends would have no chance against the rest of Shelly's Pokemon, and beating them all himself would be quite a task. Volbeat was the only one with a true type advantage; this combined with the fact that Volbeat was a new face, and could fly, made for a very dangerous situation.

Mr. Mime was at the biggest disadvantage type-wise, but that wasn't saying much. After all, Mr. Mime had also been trained by Giovanni, and Weavile himself had been the recipient of some of Mr. Mime's powerful Fighting-type attacks. However, Mr. Mime's biggest strength - his incredible psychic power - would be entirely useless against him. Surely that had to count for something.

Mamoswine looked to be the toughest opponent, besting him easily in both power and durability. Weavile groaned at the thought of having to fight Giovanni's Mamoswine. That was one fight he would be thankful to win. Still, he decided to attack Mr. Mime first. Not only was Mr. Mime closer to him, but Weavile remembered that all of Shelly's Pokemon would be life-threatening to his new friends. After seeing him toss Brock like a rag doll, it suddenly became very clear what needed to happen.

He dashed towards the mime, promising to make it quick.

Mamoswine, bored of sitting still, looked over at Tracey and Brock lying on the ground. He began to charge an Ice Beam attack, but Shelly stopped him. "Wait! Just watch. This is gonna be great." Mamoswine reluctantly but obediently did as he was ordered, returning to Shelly's side to watch events unfold.

When Tracey came to, Mr. Mime's Swagger had already worked its magic. With surprising strength, Tracey shoved Brock off of him, bringing him out of his daze. Tracey lifted the breeder off the ground and punched him, hard, in the gut, causing him to double over in pain. "T-Tracey, what are you doing... snap out of it..." Tracey grabbed Brock by his hair and yanked him to a standing position briefly before he delivered a hard blow to his face, breaking his nose. Realizing that talking him out of it was no longer going to work, Brock tried a more direct approach at getting Tracey to go back to normal.

Infuriated even further by this dude who seemed to be laughing at his hits, Tracey decided to make him hurt some more. He went to punch him again, but this time the other guy caught his fist.

How dare he. With a scream, he pushed as hard as he could into the other guy's palm, determined to make him break.

Volbeat saw the fight between Brock and Tracey and right away knew what was going on. He flew over to the two of them, intent on hitting the one getting beaten by Confuse Ray for some real fun. As he fired the close-up ray, Tracey saw him out of the corner of his eye, and he slammed the small creature with a back-ended fist. Volbeat tumbled to the ground, feeling the pain from getting his face smashed in. Lesson learned, he thought to himself as he struggled to get his bearings.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Mr. Mime saw Weavile dash for him, and within seconds a barrier was put up. Weavile snickered - typical defense by a Pokemon at a disadvantage. Mr. Mime began to charge a powerful Focus Blast, but did not anticipate Weavile completely shattering his constructed barrier with a well-aimed Brick Break with one claw, followed by a powerful, dark-enhanced Night Slash with the other. With no time to react, the dark attack tore clean through Mr. Mime's neck, separating his head from the rest of his body.

Mamoswine growled. All this action was happening around him and he was being held back from the fight! He looked over at Shelly with menacing eyes. He could easily tear all of these humans apart! Why was she holding him back?! Weavile had already incapacitated Magnezone and Mr. Mime was obviously out for the count. It was either him or Volbeat next, and there was no way he was going to sit and watch any more of his friends get massacred. He voiced his discontent with another growl, one Shelly could not possibly ignore.

Shelly ignored him anyway, having just witnessed Mr. Mime's demise, and for the first time since arriving, felt... afraid. She looked at Weavile, who flicked off some of the blood that now stained his claw. "Never should have let him out of my sight," she chastised herself. True, she hadn't expected Weavile to defect, but she'd had the power of numbers and strength on her side. How could one Pokemon take out two without breaking a sweat? She glanced over at Volbeat, who'd just been smashed by Tracey. She couldn't rely on him now, and from the look on Weavile's face, she knew that he'd be coming after her soon enough - perhaps she was next?

No way was she finding out. "Mamoswine, get him!" she cried, making a dash for the door. Weavile quickly blocked her path and slashed at her, but Mamoswine shoved the woman out of the way with his enormous tusks. Weavile looked up at his old friend, trying to figure out an efficient method of attack. Deciding he'd use his blinding speed to his advantage, he quickly circled around the larger Pokemon, intent on delivering a powerful Brick Break from behind. Volbeat had other plans, however - he fired an intense Signal Beam right at Weavile, downing the Dark-type in one blow.

Wasting no time at all, Mamoswine lifted his front legs high off the ground, intent on crushing the vermin below him. Thinking quickly, Weavile threw up a Protect before the crushing could happen. Mamoswine hit the barrier and lost his balance, toppling over with a mighty thud. Volbeat had to quickly dash out of the way of getting squished himself. Weavile immediately sprang into action, punching Mamoswine's underside with a flurry of Brick Breaks in attempt to make the enormous creature faint.

Volbeat was not about to sit there and allow his teammate to get beaten so easily. He flapped his wings as hard as he possibly could, hoping he could muster the energy needed to effectively use the technique. At first, nothing happened - Weavile continued bashing Mamoswine's belly with increasingly stronger jabs of Brick Break. Before long, however, the Bug Buzz began taking its toll; Weavile felt like his insides were burning. He stopped his assault, clutching his stomach in pain, using one hand to fire off Ice Beams at the flighty little bug in an attempt to get him to stop the attack. Volbeat was able to dodge them fairly easily, making it clear that Weavile's aim was suffering.

It was then that Weavile caught Shelly out of the corner of his eye, simply watching the battle unfold, and Weavile came up with a plan. It was a dirty trick, one that Giovanni had taught him to utilize in case the chips were down, and Weavile was hoping Volbeat, not having been trained by Giovanni, would fall for it. He did his best to charge a bit of power into the next Ice Beam, though the searing pain from the Bug Buzz was nearly enough to make him keel over on the spot. He fired a shot, but deliberately missed. The attack hit the door of the house instead, making a clean hole right through it.

Volbeat panicked after seeing the attack on his Trainer - exactly what Weavile was hoping for. With the last of his strength, he fired another shot directly at Shelly. Volbeat flew directly in front of her and attempted to use Light Screen to stop the attack, but he was not fast enough. Volbeat was hit dead on, frozen solid by the powerful attack. He fell to the ground, completely crystallized.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Meanwhile, Ash and May were still lying on the ground just inside the forest. "Keep still, May," he whispered, taking a chance by looking at his surroundings and was appalled to find that Tracey was laying into Brock with everything he had, stomping repeatedly on the other man's chest, neck, and face. Without a second thought, Ash scrambled to his feet and dove into the Pokemon watcher, sending the both of them tumbling to the warm sand below.

"What are you doing?!" he screamed as Tracey slowly came back to his senses. "What's gotten into you?!"

"My head... what in the world..." Tracey sat up slowly, trying to remember what had happened. He looked towards the house and saw Weavile, Volbeat, and Mamoswine engaged in combat, with a fearful-looking Shelly keeping her distance from them. He looked to his left and saw what he did not yet know was his handiwork. "My god. Brock... what happened?" He rushed to the man's side, surveying the brutality he'd done.

Ash was appalled. Was this his idea of a joke? "What are you talking about, Tracey? You happened! I look and see you're beating the shit out of Brock for some reason I don't even know! Look at your hands. That's his blood on your hands! You're seriously gonna sit here and play dumb with me?!"

"Ash, I swear, I don't know! Brock's my friend! Why would I ever--" He stopped as he thought back to the last thing he remembered. "Wait a minute. The last thing I remember is Shelly telling Mr. Mime to..." he looked down at Brock's bruised, bloody, unmoving form and raced to find a pulse on him.

"What? Told him to what?" Ash asked.

Tracey looked like he was going to cry. He tried adjusting his fingers several times, assuming his positioning had been incorrect, but could not find a pulse no matter where he searched. "He's dead," Tracey murmured, torn at now being directly responsible for the ending of two lives. "I killed him," he declared, visibly disturbed by what he had done. "Swagger... the Swagger, I - god, Ash, I don't know what to say," he cried, unable to look away from the destruction he caused.

Ash didn't know what to say, either. What could he? He knew that Tracey was still recovering from the guilt from killing Misty's Vaporeon, and now Brock's blood both figuratively and literally stained his hands as well. There was no way Tracey would ever be the same. He glanced over at May, who still hadn't gotten up, and quickly became worried. "Tracey, listen. Don't go off and get yourself killed, all right? We need you. I need you. Pull it together for just a little longer, and we can all go home. Okay?"

Tracey nodded through his tears. What had he done to deserve having to suffer through this? To not only take two lives, but those of his friends?

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Shelly pulled Volbeat's Poke Ball from her belt, and with a sigh, brought Volbeat back into the ball. She considered her situation. Magnezone lie in a smoking heap on the ground, alive but unconscious. Mr. Mime was missing a head, so he wasn't going to be helping... ever. Luxray was dead, too. For crying out loud, were all the casualties on her side? Mamoswine was the only one of her Pokemon who was even capable of battle, and even still, he'd been severely weakened. She looked at Weavile, who lay sprawled on the sand nearby, knocked out by Volbeat.

Volbeat... Shelly thanked her lucky stars that though Volbeat was frozen and unable to battle, he was still alive. Unlike the rest of the Pokemon she'd been loaned, Volbeat was the only Pokemon she'd taken with her on her assignment. In fact, Volbeat was one of her first Pokemon, having received him as a gift before she joined Team Aqua. Yes, she was thankful for his safety, and proud he was able to hold his own.

She looked for any human casualties. By the water's edge, Tracey sat on his knees, staring at Brock, who lay unmoving on the ground next to him. Judging by Tracey's behavior, Shelly assumed that the Swagger plan was a total success.

Then Shelly realized that Ash and May were both gone. She couldn't remember if May had actually been hit by that Thunder attack - it was so bright... She recalled Weavile leaping onto May's shoulders right before the attack fired. The next thing she knew, May was gone. "Ash must have taken her into the forest," she surmised.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Ash hurried back into the forest, where May continued following Ash's given direction to the letter. Watching her stare blankly into the sky like that sent a chill down the young boy's spine. If it weren't for her pink skin and visible signs of breathing, Ash would have thought she was dead.

He grabbed the girl's hand to pull her to her feet. "It's okay now," he soothed the trembling girl as he drew her into a firm embrace. "You're safe."

May threw her arms around him. "R-Really?" May stammered. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," he confirmed, hugging her tighter. "You're safe, May. It's over."

Hearing the sounds of Pokemon being recalled, May clutched Ash tight. "Did you hear that?" she whispered. "What was that?"

"Shh, calm down, May. It's just Shelly feeling bad about getting whipped by Weavile," Ash assured her. "I need to get back out there and check on Tracey, okay? Stay here." He kissed the girl's forehead and left her alone in the forest.

Having just put Mamoswine and Magnezone back into their Poke Balls, Shelly was preparing to turn around and head for her boat when Ash stopped her.

"Why, Shelly?" he asked, slowly walking towards her. "I just don't get it. Why? How could you take the lives of my friends without any remorse? First Misty... then Max... blinded May and nearly killed her... you manipulated one of my friends into killing another... even Jessie! She was your friend, Shelly! What could you possibly be getting out of all of this?"

"Money, sweetie," Shelly said, putting her hands in her pockets. "That's all there is to it."

"And May... why? What could she possibly have done to deserve such treatment? She's innocent, kind and sweet... one of my closest friends. She didn't deserve what you did to her. Why? Why single her out?"

Shelly looked up at the sky briefly answering Ash's question. "Listen, kid. Like I said, it's nothing personal. This is just a job to me. I was warned not to socialize too much, but Jessie and I ended up becoming friends anyway."

Shelly sighed. "Sometimes I wish we hadn't. It certainly would make my task a lot easier. May is nice, and innocent too, as you say. I decided to... destroy that. Letting her live the day I attacked her was an impulse decision that, I have to say, I am quite pleased with. Not only did she have to struggle to just get by, but she was living in constant fear knowing that her attacker could have been any one of us."

"What do you mean? We'd never--"

"I was in disguise when I did it," Shelly explained. "Disguised my voice, too, just to throw her off. And to complete the destruction of her mind, I made her witness her own brother's death... I really messed her up. She probably wanted to die after listening to that."

"And Misty?" Ash inquired. "What terrible things did you do to her before you killed her?!"

"I didn't kill Misty. Jessie did."

"You lie," Ash seethed. "You admitted to it!"

"Oh? When did I say that? I said I was responsible for her attack. I told Weavile - not that little ingrate lying there, but the other one, his brother I think - to attack Misty. Sure, I guess you could say that I indirectly tried to kill her, but she survived. Jessie is the one who went into her room last night and killed her, not me. I assume it's all in that letter she wrote... I didn't read it because she was my friend and I respected her privacy. Right before she died, she asked me to let you know the truth, and that's it. Jessie killed Misty, not me."

It was then that Ash saw James out of the corner of his eye, peering through the hole in the door. He quickly focused his eyes back on Shelly and prayed that she did not catch him looking.

"Pretty convenient explanation, now that Jessie's dead!" Ash accused her.

Shelly nearly blew up at the young lad. "Are you fucking deaf? Jessie was my friend! You really think I wanted to kill her? Of course not! I hated it because she was my friend!" She calmed down a little after that. "I tried to make her death as quick and painless as I could. Meowth's, too. I even apologized to both of them right before they d--"

Just then, James burst through the front door. "You bitch!" he screamed, rushing at her with a large knife. Shelly had barely any time to react, only having sufficient time to turn around before James plunged his knife into her stomach. The redhead staggered backwards a few steps, bewildered at what just happened.

"You fucking bitch," James growled as he pulled the knife from her body. He punched her once, hard, in the same spot he'd stabbed her, sending her straight to the ground. She clutched her stomach tightly and coughed violently, staining the sand dark with her blood. James forced her onto her back and knelt over her, knife in hand. "You... you disgust me. You don't deserve to live."

"Listen... listen, James. Jessie-"

"You have no right to speak her name!" he screamed, plunging the knife into her again. James brought the knife to her throat and pressed the blade against her flesh. "Tell me where she's buried," he growled.

Shelly would have laughed if she were able. "S-stupid man," she croaked. "I'm dead any...way... s-suffer with me."

James' eyes went wide with horror. "No! Don't you do this to me!" he pleaded with the dying woman. "Please," he added, tears coming after realizing what his haste brought. "Please, tell me."

Shelly said nothing, already having succumbed to her injuries.

Remembering what Shelly had said about Jessie's letter, Ash turned Shelly over and carefully removed it her back pocket. Finding two pieces of paper, he unfolded them and, seeing his name at the top of one of them, began to read.

Ash:

If you're reading this letter, then I succeeded in taking the life of Misty's murderer.

Yes... I killed her. I'm sorry you won't be able to ask me the question I know you want to ask me, and I'm more sorry I won't be here personally to give you an answer, but I pray you will read this and learn the whole story.

Before I say anything more, you need to know something. James and I... we've been sent here to kill you. Giovanni ordered us to come here, and offered us a big fat raise if we could complete the mission he gave us. From the very start, James expressed his doubts, bringing up some very valid points about Giovanni's sincerity. I simply dismissed it as paranoia, too blinded by the money signs Giovanni put in my eyes and worried myself about being thrown on the street if we failed.

I had no reason to refuse. I couldn't lose. Sure, I'd never killed before, but I assured myself it would be no problem. As it turns out, that wasn't further from the truth. When James came to me with his doubts, I couldn't shake them out of my head. I had horrible nightmares nearly every night.

Shelly and I became friends through our love of torture - in particular, torturing guys who cheat on their girlfriends. As you know, we spent a lot of time together... just girl talk, really. She said she felt relaxed at the waterfall, and it reminded her of home. I made it a point not to tell Shelly about our mission, despite the fact that I trusted her. I couldn't risk her telling you.

The morning before Misty died, I woke up from a particularly vicious nightmare. I still get chills thinking about it, so I'll spare you the details. Shelly told me that you came to check on me, though, and I thank you for your concern. For the past few nights, these nightmares had me scared silly - I even started bringing a knife with me to bed. When Shelly asked me about it, I told her about our mission. I was so moved by her kind words that I told her everything. However, I also told her that I would stick with James, who offered to take me in - even quit Team Rocket and get honest work - if Giovanni kicked us off the team.

I thought that was the end of it. Neither of us had planned on following through with Giovanni's orders, so please don't be angry at James for keeping you in the dark. If not for my sake, then his, because I'm sure he isn't taking my death lightly. Anyway, Giovanni actually contacted me after I told Shelly that I was aborting the mission, and he told me all sorts of lies about James in order to make me hate him, and even offered me even more money in exchange for my cooperation.

Of course, I believed his lies, and got suckered in with fat sacks of money. I told Shelly that the mission was on, and she even agreed to help me by even killing a few of you so I wouldn't have to. I felt relieved that I could trust her.

That night, I learned that Shelly did some horrible things to May. At the time, I didn't really care, but now I see how totally wrong I was to go along with her. Please offer May my sincerest apologies.

I decided that same night that I would start killing. I was a bit nervous, but Shelly had offered me words of wisdom and courage, and I was set. I went to Max's room first, but... I couldn't kill him. Even my conscience objected to it. Shelly had given me strict instructions not to kill May, and the only other one I felt comfortable going for was Misty. Her room was next to mine, so that helped, too.

I went in, just looking at her sleeping, trying to steel my nerves and get it done. She woke up as I killed her... gosh, that was horrible. As she lay there, dying before my eyes, she asked me the same question you're probably asking me: why?

I looked in her eyes. She didn't look angry. I think I would have felt a little better if she did. Alas, she looked... sad. Betrayed. I realized that... this wasn't right. This was a human life I was taking! Unfortunately, I realized it too late, and Misty died.

You can hate me if you want. I hate me, too. I'm sorry... I can't say it enough.

James was shocked to learn what I did, and when I confronted him about what Giovanni had said, James convinced me that they were all lies. Then I told him that I did kill Misty, and that I didn't want to do it anymore, and he supported me in that decision. He came up with a plan to escape. Unfortunately, I won't be around to see that plan in action. I hope it goes well.

I won't dare to ask for your forgiveness, Ash, but maybe you'll accept my corpse as justice done. An eye for an eye, as they say.

I'm almost out of paper, so I'll cut this message short. Get off this island as soon as you can. Shelly is a danger to you all.

And I know it doesn't mean much now, but for what it's worth, on behalf of James, myself, and Meowth, I'm sorry for the years of torment we put you and your friends through.

The other piece of paper is a letter addressed to James. If he doesn't have it already, please see that he gets it.

Jessie

"Hey, James," Ash said to the blue-haired man, who was still on the ground staring at Shelly's body.

"What is it?" he asked, not bothering to look up at him.

"Here," Ash answered, offering him the second sheet of paper. "It's a note from Jessie. Probably a suicide note. I mean, that's what mine sounds like."

"What?!" James said, surprised. He snatched the paper from Ash's hand, almost tearing it in his rush.

"Yeah, I got one too... it was very interesting. We'll have to talk later. I'm going to go check on May."

James nodded as he tried not to break down while reading.

My dearest James...

I also wrote something for Ash. It's on the other piece of paper. Would you please give it to him if he doesn't already have it? Thanks. Now then...

I don't know where to begin. I have so much I want to say, but when I put the pen to the paper, the words won't come.

I suppose I'll start by apologizing. I've been doing that a lot lately. I'm sorry that you had to see me like this, but... I believe it's for the best. I've done a great wrong, James, one I can't ever forgive myself for.

I'm scared. I'm actually trembling right now. Next to me is the knife that will be buried inside me by the time you read this letter. I leave it in the open to serve as a reminder of what I did and what I need to do to atone for it.

I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first... your suspicions. At first, I worried only about myself. Team Rocket is all I have. What's a few lives to ensure my own well-being? When I heard what we were being rewarded, I was sold. And then you and Meowth came to me with your crazy ideas... I dismissed it as paranoia, but in reality, I was the one who was paranoid. I was afraid of losing everything... losing you.

My life before I joined Team Rocket wasn't a pretty one. I wish I could tell you everything, but I'm afraid I don't have room, or the time, to do that. You know a few things, though, and I hope you of all people could understand my wish to stay on Giovanni's good side.

I used that as my reasoning to block out your attempts at convincing me that what I'd agreed to was wrong. Considering who it was we were ordered to kill, it would have taken a lot to make me see the light. I never would have imagined that actually completing the task I was given would have such a profound impact on my life.

I'm sorry for making you try so hard getting me to believe your story. Part of me has always wanted to believe you... the part of me that knows that you've always looked out for me... the part of me that knows how much you love and cherish me and would rather die than see any harm come to me. But the other part of me... the doubting part, the scared part... that part kept me from believing anything you said straight away.

That's also the part of me that believed Giovanni's filthy lies about you. I can't begin to apologize enough for this. It was in that vulnerable state that Shelly took advantage of me and manipulated me into telling her everything, and it was also the time that I swore to myself I would complete the mission without fail, with the help of someone who I thought was a real friend.

I have to tell you this as well. While I may have been the one to kill Misty, everything that has happened to May was Shelly's doing. Shelly is also the one who ordered Weavile to attack Misty. I tell you this because I think Shelly won't hesitate to kill the rest of them once I'm gone, and she will probably try to kill you, too.

While Shelly may have given me the gun, so to speak, I was the one to pull the trigger. I was a fool, and with this knife, I will pay the price for my foolishness.

However, I want to at least spend one last, glorious day with you. When night falls, however, I will kiss you goodnight for the last time.

Don't make the same mistake I did. Get these kids out of here before anything else happens. I'll miss you... and Meowth, too. I pray that he is safe. If you see him alive again, please offer him my apologies as well.

Be strong. Be safe. I love you.

Jessie

James closed his eyes, clenching the letter tight in his fist. So that's why she'd wanted to spend so much time with him today... why she didn't want to leave his side for even a moment. He turned his saddened gaze to the sky. "Why couldn't you trust me?" he asked. "I... I can't believe you thought this was the answer."

He looked at Shelly. Was she really going to tell him where she'd buried Jessie? He admitted to himself that he had acted rather swiftly. It wasn't like there were a lot of places she could have done it. Could she have lied about killing her?

"No," he thought as he walked towards where the others were standing. "I don't think she'd lie, but..." James saw Tracey hugging Brock's body and guessed what had happened. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"No! He's alive," Tracey cried, holding Brock's upper half up for James to see. Indeed, it seemed to be true; he weakly opened an eye and held a thumbs up before letting his hand fall limply back to the ground. "He's alive..."

"What happened to him?" James asked.

"Shelly happened,” Ash answered. “She ordered her Mr. Mime to hit Tracey with Swagger. Tracey did the rest."

"I can't believe she'd do that. Swagger on a human. Honestly..."

"Yeah," Ash said plainly. "Unfortunately, Tracey really did a number on him. Think you can find out enough about what's wrong with him so we can get him on his feet? I want to go home. I have a bone to pick with your boss."

"As do I," James replied. He knelt down next to Brock. "Brock, can you speak?"

Brock nodded. "Hurts though," he groaned through a small gap in his mouth.

"I see," James said, his mind running through his knowledge of injuries. "Tracey, what exactly did you do to him?"

"I have no idea," Tracey remarked, disheartened that he'd caused so much damage. "I'm sorry. I don't remember anything about it."

"Not a problem. Okay, Brock, you probably have a broken jaw. Looks like you have a bit of swelling... I'm going to put my hands on your face, and just feel your jaw bone, okay? Let me know if you feel any discomfort."

A nod as James did as he said he would. "I’m glad to see May’s all right."

“Long-term injuries notwithstanding,” the young coordinator said with a smile.

"Heh. Yes, of course," James said, finishing his examination of Brock's face. "Brock, it does appear that your jaw is broken; however, while I do have some knowledge of medicine, I'm not an expert in the field by any means. When we get back to Kanto, I'll take you to the hospital in Saffron City before we go pay a visit to Giovanni. Tracey, would you go into the house and get some ice? Wrap some ice cubes up in a cloth or something, it'll do. If Giovanni has any ice packs here, bring that instead, but don't forget the cloth."

"Right. Got it." Tracey scurried to his feet, anxious to help.

"Okay, Brock, where else is hurting a lot?"

"Chest," he muttered. "Can't breathe deep."

"Ah, this one's easy. Broken ribs. I treated Jessie for this a lot. Normally, you just take it easy for a while and the bones will heal by themselves, but it looks like Tracey really did a number on you. It's entirely possible that the damage is far worse on the inside. Now you'll definitely want to get yourself checked out. Can you stand?"

Brock nodded, slowly getting to his feet, being careful not to exert himself too much. "Ready."

Just then, Tracey returned from his task. "Here you are," he said, presenting James with the item.

"Wonderful. Thank you," James replied. "Brock, here. I'm sure you know what to do with it," he said with a chuckle.

Brock nodded, placing the makeshift ice pack on his cheek. He sighed inwardly. What a vacation this turned out to be... at least now their troubles were over. He felt bad that he wasn't able to do more to help, but he still felt happy that he'd been able to keep Tracey's attention during his confusion, preventing him from doing damage to anyone else, including himself.

Ash rose to his feet and dusted himself off. "Oh, Weavile!" he exclaimed after spotting the Pokemon lying face down in the sand. He rushed to the Pokemon's side, hoping he was still alive. Turning him over, he found no external damage. Could he be...?

A groan. Yes! He was alive! Weavile clutched his stomach with one of his claws, still badly injured. "You're alive!" Ash exclaimed. "I... I can't believe it!" He ran over to Shelly's body and tore Weavile's Poke Ball from her belt. "I'll get you fixed up when we get back home. Take a nice, long rest. You've more than earned it. You saved us, Weavile. Thank you."

A slight grin from Weavile as the ball's light enveloped him, sending him back to the ball. Ash minimized the ball and put it in his pocket, overjoyed that there was another survivor. He'd seen enough death for one lifetime...

"We should get our things together and get out of here," James said, walking towards the door. "I don't want to wait three days for Giovanni's men - if they're even coming at all."

"Oh. Oh, yes, that reminds me, James. Says here,” Ash began, holding up Jessie’s letter to him, “that you two were sent here to kill us! What’s up with that, James?!”

“Ash, calm down,” May pleaded.

"It’s okay, May,” James assured her. “He has every right to be angry.” He sighed. “Yes, what she said is true. We were sent here to kill you." He kept talking before Ash could object. "However, you should know that I've been against this plan since day one. I'd been trying to figure out just what Giovanni had planned, and I wish I could have told him sooner about Shelly. We might have been able to save some lives with that information. I have it all written down in my diary. If you want to read it, be my guest. It's in my room. But you need to know that I had no intention of following through with this mission. I'm on your side, now more than ever."

Ash took a moment to think about this. He sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry I went off on you. I'm very stressed out right now, you know?"

"I know. You don't have to apologize. Now then, what do you guys say we get out of here?"

With agreement from all, the group headed back into the house to gather their things, not bothering to move Shelly or her Pokemon.


~ End of Chapter Eleven ~