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Wayward	By : suomynonakun Category: Pokemon > General Views: 3388 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
It occurred to Ash, right about the time a beefy fist slammed down between his shoulder blades, that they really should have come up with a code word or something to use in case they ever returned to visit Bruno. Practically seeing stars, he none too gracefully went chest first into the ground. A low grunt from above him was enough to warn him that his attacker wasn't done, and he rolled over in time to catch the foot speeding toward his face.

He struggled a few moments to keep the huge foot from crushing his skull. He was able to push the leg upward and knock the larger man off balance, then used his foot to sweep Bruno's leg out from under him. He went down hard.

"Missed you too, Bruno," Ash groaned.

Bruno sat up quickly, looking down at him, and Ash couldn't help but sigh in relief as recognition entered his expression.

"Little Ash?" Bruno said, turning to look at the rest of the group who were standing by the entrance to the cavern. Ash had been the one "lucky enough" to enter first. An angry looking Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee were blocking Gary, Misty, Brock, and Erika from going any further. Gary had a pokeball in his hand and Pikachu was sparking at his feet. "And Gary."

Ash tried not to roll his eyes. He wasn't six foot eight thousand or whatever Bruno was, but he wasn't exactly little. (His height had always been a bit of a sore spot, even after he'd finally hit his growth spurt.)

Bruno eyed the three strangers with them. "What are you doing here?"

"Just in the neighborhood," Gary said. "Thought we'd drop by."

"Bruno," Ash said, rolling over to his hands and knees and slowly pushing himself to his feet. He really needed to stop jostling those ribs. "You remember Misty, Brock, and Erika? They used to be gym leaders."

Bruno stood as well and narrowed his eyes as he looked at them a little harder, the only light coming from Pikachu and a small fire in the corner of the cavern. He finally seemed to recognize them. His hard face suddenly broke into a grin and he laughed. "Ha! Sorry boys. You two had me worried there for a minute. Thought Team Rocket had finally caught up to me." He clapped Ash so hard on the back he stumbled forward, grimacing.

Recalling his two pokemon, Bruno said, "So what brings you two back here – wasn't expecting company or I would have tidied up."

Ash gave a small grin at that. Bruno had made his home in a cavern – there was a small fire pit for cooking and big flat rock he could use as a table. Aside from that there was a sleeping bag rolled out next to a large pack. That was it. Simplicity at its finest. Ash knew if Bruno began to run out of food, he'd send some pokemon out to forage for him, and on occasion, if they were in the area, Ash and Gary had been known to leave him care packages inside the cavern they'd entered from earlier.

"These folks have something they want to ask you," Gary said, making his way into the cavern now that Bruno's pokemon were out of the way. Pikachu too, scampered over to his trainer.

Bruno raised an eyebrow. "Well then!" he said to them. "Go on. Haven't had anybody to talk to but my pokemon in years."

Misty cleared her throat, clearly not sure what to make of him. He had after all just viciously attacked Ash – no matter how pleasant he seemed, he was not a man to be trifled with.

"We've started a rebellion," she explained. "And we're hoping you will be willing to help."

She explained it all to him, everything they'd done so far, the recruits in the Safari Zone, the few pokemon they'd managed to obtain (with Gary and Ash's help, Gary reminded them all), and the hope that with the Elite Four and their pokemon on their side that they'd be able to throw Giovanni from power once and for all.

"That's a pretty lofty dream," Bruno said when she'd finished, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But I like the sound of all that better than just sitting here training for nothing until I die." He clapped his hands once and said, "All right, let's do it." And without another word he went over and started to roll up his sleeping bag.

The gym leaders looked somewhat confused that it had been that easy, but Ash wasn't all that surprised. Bruno was bored. He'd spent most of his life, including his time in hiding, training himself and his pokemon; but training only went so far when you didn't have anyone to test your strength against. The entire time they'd stayed with Bruno on their first visit to Rock Tunnel, he'd challenged Ash and Gary to a fight or a pokemon battle every day.

Bruno was ready in no time at all, and he lumbered back up to them, giant pack on his shoulders after dousing the fire. "Just have to get Onix and we can go," he said.

"Uh, Bruno," Ash said, a little sheepishly. "About your Onix…"

After a side trip to collect Buno's onix from the cavern Ash had lost him in, they were once again on their way. Unfortunately, the large man would never fit through the tight tunnel they'd come in through, so they were going to have to risk leaving from one of the more traveled entrances. Not many people came into Rock Tunnel anymore – there wasn't much of a point with the ban on pokemon - so they hoped to pass through unnoticed.

Gary and Bruno were in the lead, Ash behind them with Pikachu back in his proper spot on his shoulder. They'd decided to use the south entrance, planning to follow route ten for a bit before cutting southwest to approach the Safari Zone from the north.

"Bruno," Erika said as they were getting close to the exit. "Is there any chance you know where any of the other Elite Four have taken refuge? The more help we have the better our chances are."

Bruno "hmmm'd" for a moment, clearly thinking. "I don't know how happy they'd be with me, if I told you, little missy," he said, tapping his chin. Then he grinned. "Then again, what could they possibly do to me? Agatha's the easiest to get to – but I don't think she'll be very easy to find. I have an idea where Lorelei might be, but it's just a hunch, mind you. And Lance… well Lorelei will know where he is."

"What do you mean that Agatha's easiest to get to but hard to find?" Misty asked.

"She's in Lavender Town," Bruno said. "Just down route ten. She's been there since the takeover."

Ash and Gary exchanged looks. "No way," Gary said. "We were sent there to look for her years ago, didn't find a trace of her."

Bruno shrugged. "Can't say it surprises me. But she's there."

Ash frowned, wondering how the hell they could have missed her. They'd combed that town top to bottom.

"Then she must be a ghost," Gary said. "Because I'm telling you, we would have found her."

"And done what?" Erika asked. "Turned her in?"

Gary glanced over his shoulder at her. "I didn't say that," he replied with a bit of a scowl.

"Erika…" Brock said looking between them.

Ash was only half listening to the conversation. Then she must be a ghost. He let out a sudden laugh, surprising them all, and effectively distracting them from the slight tension that had begun to build. "I know where she is."

"Oh no," Misty said, as the group stood in front of a dark tall tower that somehow managed to look like the devil if you gazed at it from the right angle. "I am not going back in there."

"Pikachu," the yellow pokemon on Ash's shoulder said, almost sounding like he was agreeing. His ears were flat and he looked very uneasy.

It had grown dark by the time they'd finally reached their destination, and an unnaturally thick fog had settled around them almost from the moment they'd entered the town.

"We looked in the Pokemon Tower, Ash," Gary reminded him. "And that was before it had gotten this bad. No way she's been in there this whole time."

"What happened to this place?" Brock asked.

What had once been noises of ghostly laughter, which they'd mistaken as frightening when they'd traveled here as kids, had been replaced with loud moans and screams that could be heard even from outside. These sounds actually were frightening, and seemed to be full of anger and pain. A shiver of fear ran through Misty.

"What do you think happened to the pokemon Team Rocket confiscated after the takeover?" Gary said. "A lot of them died. In terrible ways."

"Many of their spirits found their way here," Ash said, grimly. "And very few of them are happy."

Misty had heard stories over the years about the Tower. Harmless pranks like the ones she, Ash and Brock had experienced as kids by bored but playful ghost pokemon began to take a darker turn as more and more pokemon were cruelly experimented on and killed by Team Rocket. Several people had been killed – one even falling from the top floor of the tower. Lavender Town began to slowly empty out over the years as the people living there became more and more nervous by the increasing violence, and eventually the tower was boarded up and the town abandoned, becoming an actual ghost town.

"And you want to go in there?" Misty said, not liking the idea one bit.

"Do you guys want Agatha to help you or not?" Ash said.

"Ash, how the hell do you know she's in there?" Gary said, sounding exasperated. "We've already looked here and never found her."

"She's here," was Ash's reply. "You guys can stay out here. I'll go get her."

"Yeah right," Gary said. "Anytime you go somewhere on your own you get yourself into trouble."

"I fall off a building one time and you never let me hear the end of it," Ash said, shaking his head.

"You what?" Brock asked, but the two men ignored him.

"Because it wouldn't have happened if you'd just waited for me," Gary said.

"Fine, come if you want," Ash said with a shrug. He approached the boarded up door, and took hold of one of the planks of wood that were nailed over it. Gary was right behind him.

Bruno shrugged and followed, not appearing too worried about the ghosts. Misty, Brock, and Erika watched as the three of them began ripping the boards from the door, and Misty shivered as she remembered the last time they were here. They'd found Ash lifeless under a chandelier. And that was apparently the harmless version of this tower.

The doorway was soon revealed, and Misty took a breath and followed with the other two rebel leaders, coming up behind Ash as he reached for the handle. The door opened with a loud, long creak and the screams they had previously heard abruptly stopped. The silence made her even more nervous.

"Is this really a good idea?" Erika whispered.

Gary snorted. "Who are we kidding? It's a terrible idea."

"Pikachu, flash," Ash said and the little pokemon began to light their way. Ash entered and Gary was right behind him with a hand on his pokebelt, clearly ready to release one if he needed it. The rest of them slowly followed. Pikachu hadn't left Ash's shoulder, tail up and eyes alert, scanning the room for threats.

"You guys don't have to come," Ash told the rest of them.

Misty shook her head. "We're doing this for the rebellion, it's only right we're here."

Ash sighed, and continued into the Tower. The place was in an even worse state than when Misty had been there last. Everything was rotting: the floors, the curtains, the walls. Furniture was toppled over, and there was a dark stain near the bottom of the stairs that she was fairly certain was blood. The only noise that could be heard was the sound of their soft breathing and the creaking of the floorboards as they walked.

Ash led the way to the stairs, and the rest of them followed, though they weren't exactly sure where they were going or why. It wasn't until they hit the third floor that any of them spoke.

"Uh… guys?" Erika said from behind them, voice shaking.

They turned to see one of Gary's guns floating in midair, pointing at the group. (Erika had been holding onto the pistols, as the rebels still weren't quite comfortable arming the two former Rockets despite allowing them to have their pokemon back.)

"Oh shit," Gary said.

They could see the trigger slowly pulling.

"Everyone down!" Ash cried, and they all dove to the floor as the first shot was fired.

Along with the sound of the gun was the crack of a pokeball opening, and a quiet, "Bree!"

"Umbreon, Payback, now!" Gary said as he ducked.

The black pokemon started to glow purple, and simultaneously a purple light surrounded the gun. For a moment a wavering form could be seen and then there was a scream. The gun dropped to the floor as the blur flew off in the opposite direction.

Gary stood and picked up his weapon from the floor, checking it over.

"Gary," Erika said, looking nervously between him and the weapon.

Gary saw this and rolled his eyes. "For the love of – Ash is a black belt. He doesn't even need a weapon to kill you people. We have dangerous pokemon willing to fight for us. Neither of us have ever attacked any of you - in fact we've both saved your asses, several times, even when we were with Team Rocket. Will you please just all unbunch your damn panties and cut us a break?" He did not give his gun back. In fact he held out his hand, clearly expecting his other gun and holster.

"Gary," Ash said, as he stood from where he'd dropped to the floor. "Just—"

Brock's hand had slowly gone to the pokeball attached to his belt.

"No," Gary interrupted Ash. "If we wanted them dead, we'd have killed them already. This is bullshit." When Erika made no move to hand over his things, he shoved the gun into the waistband of his pants, turned and stalked back the way they were originally heading. "Umbreon, let's go." He disappeared around a corner, his pokemon trotting after him.

"You're really a black belt?" Misty asked Ash.

Ash shrugged and Bruno laughed. "He's gotta be, if he can beat me in a fight." He clapped the smaller man on the back so hard Misty winced. "We used to spar all the time in the Tunnel. We were tied for wins when he finally left."

"I still think you let me win," Ash replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No chance, little Ash," Bruno said.

Gary stormed back into view a few moments later. "I don't know where we're going," he growled, crossing his arms over his chest. "But I'm still pissed, so no one assume otherwise."

Ash shook his head with a small smile and continued to lead the way. He was looking into rooms as he went, until he finally seemed to spot something he was looking for. The room he lead them into appeared to have once been a ballroom of some sort. There was a dusty wood floor and what was once probably a very beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling, though now it was covered in cobwebs.

"What are we doing in here?" Erika asked as Ash pulled to a stop in the center of the room.

"Finding Agatha," Ash replied. "I'm going to need some space." He spread out his arms to indicate a large area of the floor, and the rest of group stepped back to give him room. "Pikachu, you too."

The pokemon seemed to hesitate, chattering something at his trainer, but eventually hopped off his shoulder and over to sit next to Gary's umbreon.

"What is the plan here?" Gary asked.

"I'm going to go get her," Ash said. "The rest of you should probably go back outside, but since everybody felt the need to come in, I guess you should all be ready in case any more pissed off spirits make an appearance."

Gary opened his mouth, but Misty spoke first. "Why can't we go with you?"

Ash pulled out a pokeball, releasing it in a corner of the room. The large form of Charizard appeared and he yawned, sharp fangs showing and smoke billowing lightly from his muzzle. Ash shrugged. "Because I'm not totally sure it'll work." Before any of them could argue, he said, "Charizard, slash," and pointed up at the chandelier he'd positioned himself under.

Misty suddenly felt her stomach drop as she realized what he was trying to do. The pokemon snorted an agreement, and took off flying, slashing at the large heavy light fixture with a sharp claw. "Ash – no!"

But it was too late. The chandelier fell with a crash, and for a long moment there was nothing but a stunned silence in the room. Then the spirits began to scream.

This would have been easier if he'd had Haunter with him. But without a ghost pokemon, Ash couldn't think of any different way to get to Agatha. So that left him with no other option but to try and have another out of body experience.

What? It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Based off the look on Gary's face, some kind of hybrid between horrified and angry, it might not have been. He'd seen his friend try to make a run for him, but the chandelier had come down too fast. Then there was blackness. And then, there was Gengar.

"I was wondering if you were still here," he said to the fuzzy purple pokemon that had basically just yanked him out of his body. He was floating a few feet above himself, and took a look down. Ouch. He'd feel that bump on the head when he woke up.

"Gengar?" the ghost said, looking far more worried and much less playful than Ash remembered him.

"I need to talk to Agatha," Ash said.

Pained shrieks suddenly filled the air, somehow louder than when Ash was in his body. Gengar put his paws over his ears, shaking his head. "Gengar!" he turned and fled the room, flying through the wall.

"Shit," Ash muttered, following him.

Flying was weird. Going through walls was weirder. But by the time he'd flown into the hallway, Gengar had disappeared. Looked like he was on his own. He went through another wall, appearing in a dark sitting room.

He was about to keep going when he spotted movement in the corner. "Gengar?" he said.

The ghost moved, floating up but not moving any closer. Ash cautiously moved toward it. What he saw, however, was not Gengar. It was not even a ghost pokemon. It was a spirit. It looked like it had once been a houndoom, but it's entire left side was burned horribly, the skin hanging in thick strips and bones showing. One of its horns had been ripped off. Ash looked at it sadly. This was his fault – these experiments, the horrible torture these pokemon had been put through at the hands of Team Rocket – he'd made it all possible.

The spirit was suddenly snarling, looking particularly menacing without lips on half of its face. It rushed through the air at Ash, ghostly jaws snapping, and he found himself wondering if spirits could hurt other spirits.

He remembered Gengar's sudden terror at the sound of the other spirits and decided that it was probably better not to find out. He turned and flew out of the room as fast as he could, but the houndoom was right on his heels. He started flying through walls, in and out of rooms and hallways, the houndoom still trying to sink his teeth into him.

He flew into another room and came to such a sudden halt that the houndoom crashed into him, and they tumbled through the air. The spirit managed to get its jaws around Ash's arm and, out of body or not, Ash felt it when those teeth sunk in. He clenched his jaw tightly in an attempt to keep from screaming.

The houndoom, though, was the least of his worries. The room he'd just entered was full of spirits. There were dozens, maybe even a hundred. Cries, screams and snarls began to fill the air as they noticed him – all horribly disfigured pokemon, burned, bloated, missing limbs, or with extra ones attached (Suzie's early splicing attempts he was sure).

For a moment, just a brief moment, Ash simply… stopped. He deserved this. These pokemon deserved to kill him.

But then, from some ways away he suddenly could make out the sound of Gary's voice. "Ash, you son of a bitch!"

It snapped him out of it, and he flew up and through the ceiling, the houndoom still latched onto his arm, and now with a trail of violent spirits following close behind. If they could hurt him though, he hoped that the favor could be returned. Feeling a little guilty, he lifted his free fist as he flew, bringing it down hard on the houndoom's head. With a yip the spirit's jaws released him, and he flew toward the room he'd originally been aiming for, not exactly sure what his next move would be.

He entered the room – the ghost pokemon's playroom. It had no door, the only way in was to be a spirit or to be pulled in by a spirit. He was sure this was where Agatha would be. But he didn't have time to look for her, as spirits poured through the wall after him.

They descended on him, and he put up his arms in a pathetic attempt to ward them off.

A screech, different than the cries of the spirits, filled the air, and Ash watched as the entire horde went quiet and stopped suddenly, some only inches from him. They slowly turned and left the room.

It grew silent again.

"Who are you?" The voice was female, sharp and authoritative.

Ash, still floating, spun in a circle, scanning the room for her. It looked much the same as the first time he'd been here. There were toys everywhere, several slides and little jungle gyms, and a merry-go-round that was spinning. That's when he spotted her, standing on the merry-go-round, holding onto one of the bars as it slowly turned. There was a golbat perched on the top, and Ash had a feeling he knew where that screech had come from.

"My name's Ash Ketchum," he told her as she spun out of his sight. "We've met before."

When she came back into view she stepped off the merry-go-round, keeping her distance and eyeing him. "Yes. I remember. The last Pokemon Champion. I don't see many human spirits in this tower," she said. She was old, but aged well, there was a youthfulness to her attitude and she appeared sharp as ever. She still carried her cane.

"I came to ask you to help some friends of mine," Ash said.

"Help them in what way?" Agatha asked.

"They're attempting to fight back against Team Rocket," he said. "They've begun a rebellion, but are sorely lacking in pokemon. We know you escaped with yours."

"I did," Agatha agreed. "But I won't use them in that manner. You've wasted your time coming here."

"You won't use them to fight for freedom? You want to stay here in this tower the rest of your life?" Ash asked.

"I've lived a full life. I'll stay here and keep my pokemon safe, not fight in a gruesome battle – perhaps even a war - that will likely lead to the death of even more pokemon," she said.

"If you think not doing anything will keep pokemon from death or pain, you're mistaken," Ash said. "I know what Team Rocket does. Leaving them unopposed won't save pokemon – it just allows them to do more experiments, more torture."

Agatha frowned. "And how do you know this?"

Ash hesitated for a moment. "I was one of them. I've seen it, first hand."

"You worked for the enemy you now want me to help fight?" Agatha said, and her wrinkled face twisted into a harsh smile as she shook her head. "You were the League Champion, Ash Ketchum. Your job was to protect the pokemon and the people who looked to you as an inspiration. You were the model of what a trainer should be - you were what they aspired to. You didn't fight then and you're looking to me to fight now?"

Ash fell silent at her words, staring at the merry-go-round as it spun. "I can't change what happened. I can't right all the wrongs I've committed. But I can sure as hell do the right thing now." He met her gaze. "I'm done hiding. I'm going to fix this world or die trying." It was a vow, not to her, but to himself. He wouldn't be able to atone for his sins. All he could do now was move forward, and for the first time in a very long time, he felt like he was going in the right direction.

Bruno was the one who pulled the heavy chandelier off of Ash's still form. "Ash, you son of a bitch!" Gary said, kneeling down next to him and immediately assessing his injuries. He was always doing this - stupid, rash decisions that very often almost wound up getting him killed.

Pikachu scampered to his trainer as soon as the chandelier was out of his way. He sniffed at Ash before nudging him with his little paw, ears flat on his head as he said, "Pikapi?"

"Is he…?" Misty asked, sounding a bit fearful for the answer.

Gary felt for a pulse. Slow, but there. "No," he told Misty. He pulled a pokeball from his belt and released his alakazam. "Recover," he said to the pokemon, nodding at Ash. Alakazam began to glow.

"Will that work?" Erika asked quietly.

"It's not as effective on humans as it is on pokemon, but it'll work," Gary said.

Howls and shrieks suddenly filled the air, but they seemed to be further in the tower, not near enough to be an immediate concern.

Gary moved to a sitting position, his back to his friend, and waited.

"Why did he do that?" Brock asked, shaking his head as he stood looking down at Ash.

"Because he's Ash," Gary replied. "He's always doing things like this."

"Like falling off buildings?" Erika said, referring to the conversation from earlier.

"He's reckless," Gary said with a shrug, eyes surveying the room, not his friend. He had to be ready if they were attacked. Ash's charizard was snorting in the corner. He looked a bit displeased by the turn of events. He'd just done what Ash had commanded, but it was obvious he hadn't realized what would happen until it was too late. Just like all of them.

"He's always been that way," Misty commented quietly, kneeling down next to Ash.

Gary snorted. He knew that. It was worse now, however. He'd watched it progress from some kind of hero complex to a blatant disregard for his own life. Sometimes Gary couldn't help but wonder if Ash had a secret death wish. Gary worried that one day his friend was going to do something truly stupid and he wouldn't be there to keep his ass alive. And if that happened, he honestly wasn't sure what he'd do.

The screaming in the distance stopped. The tower became eerily silent once more. They stayed there in silence for probably fifteen minutes.

"Maybe we should get out of here," Erika nervously piped up.

"Go ahead. I'll bring Ash as soon as he's healed enough to move," Gary said, eyes still scanning the room.

The suggestion was met with silence. Gary guessed the rebels were pondering the odds of him just taking Ash out another way and making a run for it. If Gary wasn't heading for the Safari Zone anyway, he might have done just that.

Brock finally spoke. "Misty, Erika, Bruno, why don't you head out? I'll wait and help Gary with Ash."

"I think we should all stay together," Misty said, looking up from her position next to Ash.

Gary turned to finally check on Ash's injuries. Alakazam's recover was slowly healing him - the bump on his head was fading, and when he lifted up Ash's shirt, even the bruise from his rib injury he'd gotten when fighting that monster in the gym had almost disappeared. Gary had wanted to use this technique on him days ago, but since he'd only recently been allowed to have his pokemon, they'd had to wait.

"We can move him soon," he announced. Right as the screams started again. Much closer than before.

"Soon being now, I hope," Bruno said, for the first time showing that maybe he wasn't as okay with these ghosts as he'd seemed.

"What's the matter, old friend?" a new voice said from the doorway. "Afraid you won't be able to punch through spirits?"

Everyone's heads snapped in her direction. Agatha stood, leaning on her cane, smiling wryly at Bruno, a golbat flapping by her shoulder.

"Agatha!" Bruno boomed. "I knew you'd be here."

"I understand you have a rebellion you'd like me to join," Agatha said.

"How did you…" Misty began, but then glanced down at the unmoving Ash.

"Quite a risk," Agatha said, looking from Ash to a space next to her as if she was talking to someone invisible. "Looks like you weren't just waxing poetic earlier. But it's not your time yet. You still have things to change." She gave a nod and her eyes seemed to follow something that only she could see, all the way over to Ash's body.

Gary couldn't help but start as Ash quite suddenly opened his eyes.

"Ash!" Misty said, just as surprised. "That was one of the stupidest-"

"Sorry," Ash said, cutting her off as he sat up. He was looking at Gary when he said it though.

"You're an idiot, Ash," Gary said, standing and dusting off his pants. Then he reached down and offered his friend his hand, which Ash accepted letting Gary pulled him to his feet.

A/N: Still alive! Hope you enjoy!
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Wayward