Ash\'s Revenge

Chapter Two

It was likely that the whole of Pallet Town heard the scream. Inhuman it sounded, the shrill cry of a grown man echoing and reverberating through the house at the early hours of the morning, the sun barely visible above the horizon. Ash didn\'t even realize what was happening. All he knew was that he just ran into something lying on his living room floor right next to the front door… and that something was screaming at the top of it\'s lungs.

“Jesus Christ Brock! What the hell is wrong with you?” Ash whispered through gritted teeth. He kicked the twenty two year old Pokémon Breeder in the shin, and another wail came from his dry cracked lips.

“God…” He moaned and managed to roll over. There were stains all over his shirt, a burnt out cigar still in his pocket and a half full bottle of Corona in his hand. He sat up and scanned his surroundings. “I lost it all…” He mumbled. Bringing the bottle to his lips, he drank deeply of its yellowish contents, and then spit it out when he realized that it was in fact his own urine. “Ugh…” Brock continued to spit up on the floor, barely missing Ash\'s neatly pressed work pants. He looked up and tilted his head to the side, and would have looked quite serene was it not for the cigar ashes smudged on his face. “Pauline?” He questioned slowly.

“Dude! What the fuck?” The young man was so enraged he didn\'t know what to do. He quickly checked his back pack to make sure that Pikachu was still sound asleep inside, safely nestled away from the complete and utter asshole on the living room floor.

Ash gave him yet another kick, this time in his midsection. The older boy yelped again and this time began to choke violently. In the blink of an eye there was greenish vomit all over the hard wood floor, and Ash could have sworn that is was tinged with blood. Overcome with anger, he grabbed him by the open collar of his shirt and pulled the coughing drunk into a kneeling position, ripping the sorry excuse for an article of clothing in the process.

“I want this mess cleaned up before my wife wakes up.” Ash growled, once again through gritted teeth. “If I find out that she saw you or anything else in this condition, I will see to it that you are burned alive by Charizard.” He shoved him roughly out of the way and opened the front door. The ebony haired young man paused before stepping over the threshold and without facing his former best friend, gave him one final warning. “And if you ever fucking smoke in my house again, well… let\'s just say castration seems to be in your immediate future.”

He closed and locked the door gently behind him, hoping that his encounter with Brock had not woken his wife. He knew that when he arrived at work, he would call his beloved several times during the day. Ash was more than disgusted. He couldn\'t understand how a once respectable man like Brock could become so totally irresponsible. Drinking and smoking all night long, and then he had the God damned nerve to say that Ash wasn\'t responsible. He walked down the path to the front gate and locked that as well. The young father to be was more than thankful for the dead bolt he put on his and Misty\'s bedroom door; the Gods only knew what the breeder would do in such an intoxicated state. If one hair on her head was misplaced he would kill him. Things had gone far enough with Brock babying the red head. Misty was completely capable of doing things on her own, and when she did need help, she would ask one of the Pokémon and then go to Ash for assistance. Ash was glad that Gary and Tracey had won all of Brock\'s money. The two men were excellent card players, so he knew that Brock was outwitted fair and square. Next time he saw the twins, they would probably be sporting brand new outfits. Ash admired the homosexual couple; everything they did was for their family. Not that they were scrounging for money either, but they didn\'t think twice about spending large amounts of money on their adorable and talented adopted children.

As he continued his walk to work, Ash thought about his own child and wondered what he or she would be like. He was saving every penny he earned, knowing that he wanted to provide everything he could for his own family. Money was tight since he purchased his home; he no longer had the income he used to with traveling around and challenging other trainers. Sure, he was making a decent salary for a kid who never went to high school; nevertheless, his lack of education might only complicate things along the way. He needed another form of income. He couldn\'t allow Misty to work, unless of course she really wanted to, but he didn\'t want her to over stress herself. She was in her third trimester, and movement would only become more difficult. Making up his mind as he approached the automatic doors, Ash knew he had to tell the Breeder that either he pay rent or get out, preferably the latter. The little old house with it\'s Scandinavian furniture and air still reeking of chocolate chip cookies, only had two bedrooms, and Brock had not been invited to stay… he simply did. The baby would need their own room, the first few months in Ash and Misty\'s bedroom were fine, but privacy was necessary, and he didn\'t want the baby growing up needing to be in the presence of mommy or daddy in order to sleep. He was thinking about the prospect of his child\'s psychological state, as well as the future of his sex life. Brock was twenty-two years old; he should be living on his own. Supposedly, he had that fantastic job at a major breeding center in Viridian City. Last night Ash over heard him mention that he wanted to buy a car, not just any car mind you, but the new Jaguar S-Type. Just how much money was the bastard making anyway?

Ash walked into the Pokémon Center through the sliding automatic doors. Already, there were four little boys lined up with four little Pokémon in various stages of healing. There was even a poor little Bellsprout, no more than twelve inches tall, on a tiny set of crutches fashioned together from chopsticks, the creative handy work of Pallet Town\'s very own Nurse Joy.

“Mr. Ketchum?” A boy with red hair and freckles squeaked.

“Yes, I\'m Mr. Ketchum.” The boy was just starting out, all but ten years of age.

“My Bellsprout… can you and Pikachu help her relearn her Tackle attack? She hasn\'t been able to do it so good after the accident.” He looked hopeful, and tears were beginning to form in his determined bright green eyes. They all reminded Ash of himself at that age, only six years ago. God… how time does fly.

“Of course I can help you.” Our hero gave him a reassuring and warm friendly smile, hoping that this is what it would feel like to be a father. He took off his backpack to wake up his best friend. The yellow electric mouse yawned and squinted his eyes when the bag was opened the rest of the way. He peeked outside and “pikad” brightly when he saw his trainer. The four little kids all grinned happily upon seeing the adorable Pokémon.

“Hey buddy? Did Brock wake you up before?” Ash inquired of his best friend.

(Nope…) Pikachu yawned, and then under his breath mumbled: (asshole).

And thus, Ash\'s day at work began like it always did with trainers not much younger than himself begging him to help their recovering Pokémon relearn their forgotten attacks through physical therapy. Each injured Pokémon was allowed half an hour each to work with Pikachu and Ash. When he was finished with the four youngsters monsters, and they thanked him by jumping up and down praising his “nearly Pokémon Master status”, Ash retreated to his desk in Nurse Joy\'s office.

“Good morning Ash!” She greeted him cheerfully; her name wasn\'t Joy for nothing.

“Hey Nurse Joy, how\'s it going?” He sat in his chair and turned on his computer.

“Oh, everything is just wonderful Ash! I have excellent news! We just received that grant money I applied for! And because of your fantastic work in physical therapy, they\'ve offered us a much larger amount then what I originally applied for!”

“That\'s great Joy, wow… now we can offer the best treatment possible for sick Pokémon.” Ash was stunned, he had only been working there for three months, and yet everyone was amazed by his techniques. Six full years of training in the real world had really paid off.

“I have even better news Ash, we can start paying you more, I\'m raising your salary to twelve dollars an hour.”

“Wow really?” He was very surprised to say the least. He could certainly use the extra cash, what with Brock practically freeloading and all. He wondered if the “breeder” actually was breeding. He wasn\'t contributing anything to the mortgage, bills, or other expenses. The only thing he did was cook and clean on Mondays when he didn\'t go to work. He was an obsessive housekeeper and that was all.

“I must say Ash, you\'re a true miracle worker, I\'m very impressed, you\'ve made me want to rethink my own therapy techniques.”

“Thanks…” Ash smiled and blushed, he was very proud of himself.

“It\'s really amazing to see what obstacles you\'ve overcome. You\'re so young but you let nothing stand in your way. And I must say Ash, you are the most responsible sixteen year old I\'ve ever met.” Nurse Joy smiled and lowered her voice. “I\'m also happy that you decided to keep the baby. Other boys your age take life for granted, believing that just because they created it, that they can easily destroy it as well. I don\'t want you to ever think that Ash. What you and your wife have, it\'s truly a blessing, never take life for granted.”

All he seemed to be able to do was nod his head in response. He had never even considered abortion regardless of how young they both were. He helped create this life and he had the responsibility to take care of it. He was glad that someone was supporting him. Brock sure as hell wasn\'t. Asshole. He was jealous nothing more, and nothing less. The guy was simply a horny little bastard. All he wanted was sex. Even at sixteen Ash knew that a relationship was not about that. Anytime he touched, kissed, hugged, Misty it wasn\'t about the incredible feeling it gave him, it was about showing her that he loved her, letting her know physically how much he cared for her. He wanted Misty to feel every ounce of love he held for her. The only people he knew that could possibly understand were Gary and Tracey, they knew what real love was, they experienced it everyday. Brock was incapable of loving anything. He didn\'t even care for his Pokémon anymore. He left them at the lab for Professor Oak and Tracey to tend to. Although Ash had given up on training, for now at least, he made sure that they were well attended to. They stayed at home with Misty and her Pokémon, making sure that Brock didn\'t do anything he wasn\'t supposed to on Mondays. Sometimes, the breeder would purposely bring all of Ash and Misty\'s Pokémon to the lab, including Togepi. That made Ash really angry, especially since he still had not broken the news to either his mother or the professor. To be perfectly honest, he was angry at Professor Oak for dating his mother. He was his childhood role model; he just couldn\'t see the elderly gentleman with his beautiful middle-aged mom.

“So Ash, how is Misty by the way? Does she still get morning sickness?” Joy asked after she took a sip of her mint tea.

Ash smiled pleased to share his happiness concerning his wife\'s pregnancy.

“Sometimes, yes. But God…” He sighed sitting back in his chair, his arms behind his head. “He belly\'s getting so big, and we\'re beginning to feel the baby really move around now. It\'s just amazing watching this life grow before my eyes.”

“I know what you mean Ash… it\'s a wonderful experience. Few people understand the significance and the sheer joy of it all.”

“I don\'t understand how anyone can tell us it\'s a bad thing…” His voice was a soft whisper. “That\'s all Brock tells us… he yells at us everyday. “I know we\'re young but… that doesn\'t mean he should make us feel bad, especially Misty, she\'s so sensitive now. He keeps saying that the baby is a mistake; I refuse to let my child grow up thinking that they\'re not wanted in this world. Doesn\'t he realize what saying things like that can do to a kid?”

“It sounds like someone needs to have a serious chat with that young man.” Nurse Joy sounded irritated. “I know you\'re young, sixteen really is too young to begin a family, but you\'re taking what life dealt you, and you\'re doing a fantastic job of making the best of it. You\'re a great kid Ash, and you\'re going to be quite an incredible father.”

Ash went home that evening feeling a lot better than he had in a long time. Even Pikachu seemed to be in higher spirits. The yellow Pokémon bounded home ahead of his trainer just to tell the others about the great day he had. He walked into the living room to find Misty seated quietly on the couch, a large book was open on her lap, and in her hands she held two knitting needles. Next to her, Togepi, and Corsula held yarn wrapped around their arms, patiently waiting for Misty to begin her knitting. Pikachu was perched on the arm next to the two other Pokémon. The adolescent walked stealthily over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her from behind the couch, as he kissed her forehead tenderly.

“Hey Mist, how are you feeling?” He whispered into her hair, tickling her cheek with the very beginnings of facial hair on his chin.

“I\'m fine.” She giggled slightly. Pikachu took the needles from her hands and placed them on the coffee table in front of her, along with the book.

“And how\'s our little one?” Ash gently placed both hands on her tummy and began to make small circles softy messaging her skin through her clothes.

“The baby\'s fine Ash. I think I felt a kick today.” She didn\'t sound as excited, as Ash would have thought. He certainly was, but his wife seemed withdrawn, something was definitely wrong.

“Is everything alright Mist?” He came around to the front of the couch and sat down next to her. The Pokémon knew that the couple wanted some privacy to talk, so they went out into the backyard to play in the sandbox. Ash hugged her tightly, running his hands slowly down her back. “Did that bastard say something to you?”

Brock was in the kitchen, cooking dinner like he always did on Monday nights. So Ash had to whisper, he wasn\'t in the mood for having a verbal argument with the breeder. He faced his wife, and there were tears in her eyes.

“Baby, what the fuck did he do to you?” It was heart braking, Misty looked seriously scared, as if she had been threatened.

Her voice was a soft whisper, as she struggled to say the words, Ash was afraid of what his wife was going to reveal to him.

“I heard him over the phone…” She began, leaning her head on his shoulder to speak directly into his ear. “He was talking to Tracey.” She started to sob… unable to go on.

“Shh… Mist, it\'s ok, just tell me what he said.” Ash was trying his best to comfort his wife, but he was growing steadily angrier.

“He said it really loud on purpose so I could hear him.” Snuggling closer to him, she continued her story. “He said, that when the baby was born he was going to make sure they did a partial birth abortion.” Misty sniffed and made a little choking noise. “Then he explained how they did it…”

Ash was outraged. That fucking bastard was scaring his wife to death, and the God damned asshole knew it wasn\'t good for the baby! What the hell was wrong with him? Was he seriously that jealous that he had to make their life a living hell? The adolescent just couldn\'t figure it out. He knew that Brock was jealous, but to pull some shit like that, making Misty hysterical on purpose? Something was going on, and it had to be stopped.

“Misty… listen to me.” He gently brought her face up to look into her eyes. “He\'s doing this on purpose, you know that. He\'s doing it to us because he\'s jealous ok? He could never do any of the things he says. He\'s a scared little boy, remember that.” Ash took his red head wife into his arms, soothing her slowly with each caress. “Brock can never have what we have, we have something very special, and no one can take that away from us… no one. If anyone even tries to hurt either of you, I swear to God…” He buried his face in Misty\'s soft hair and whispered, almost inaudibly. “… I\'ll kill them…”

To Be Continued...