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A Dark Night	By : PokemonPr0nPal3000 Category: Pokemon > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 30773 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
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
- 6
- 7
A Dark Night
By Pippy Pika
— — — — — —
Author’s Note: I want to thank all of my reviewers. Your reviews and input are the reason this story got past Chapter One. It was originally a one shot, with no plot in mind; you reviewers made me sit down and decide on what it would be. It has developed into quite the little monster, hasn’t it?
I’d like to thank you all for making me write what ended up being a very challenging story. I still feel like some of my best work is in this piece (and I should probably turn it into a book like Shades of Grey; God knows my version would be better, and less offensive to the BDSM community.) I’m actually publishing a new story, Nebula, at the same time as this chapter’s release. I’ve spent about nine years working on it, and I would love it if you guys would read it and let me know what you think. There won’t be gaps of updates, either, as it’s finished from top to bottom. I usually have my stories completely written before publication; as I said, this one sprung on me. And before you ask, yes, Nebula is just as dark as A Dark Night, if not moreso. Just in a different flavor. I’m no one trick pony.
As for any returning posts on this story, I never got Ash in a maid costume (a true sin), so I might write a series of vignettes titled ‘Afterhours,’ covering some of the sex scenes I never could figure out how to squeeze into the main plot. That, however, entirely depends on you guys.
Anyway, say hello to…

— — — — — —
Chapter Seven: The End
— — — — — —

Dawn stared at her hands. The nurses had wrapped her knuckles again, with a stern warning to stop biting through the bandages, but for Dawn, this was impossible. Any time she heard the wheels of a gurney whirl through the double doors of the Emergency Room’s entrance, or outside the wail of an ambulance siren, or the receptionist as she called out a name that wasn’t hers…
Dawn lifted her hand to her mouth and began to bite. Already, the bandage was beginning to turn red. May glared at her, but Dawn paid no attention. Finally May jumped out of her chair and pulled Dawn’s hand out of her mouth.
“Stop it,” she snapped. “That’s not helping!” When Dawn didn’t respond, May sighed. “I wonder what’s going on? We’ve been here all day! Do you think—”
“They’re probably…giving him medicine, or something,” Brock muttered. Dawn’s eyes darted to his hands. He was playing with a small key. “He’ll be…fine.”
“Well, yes, of course he will,” May said, though she wouldn’t meet anyone’s eye. “It’s just…” She trailed off, and finally ended the sentence with, “He’ll get better. H-he always gets better. Doesn’t he?”
Dawn started biting at her knuckles again.
Miss Dawn, I think Mr. Ketchum may do something drastic soon…
He’s fine, he’s fine, he’s fine!
Bite, bite, bite…
The situation may be more intense than you realize…
He’ll be better soon so you leave us alone!
Bite, bite, bite…
Just go to your stupid contest and leave me alone! If it weren’t for you…
Bite, bite, BITE…
Go ahead and run, girl. But you’re only making it worse.
Bite, bite, bite. SNAP.
Dawn blinked. The bandages around her hand had snapped in half, and draped off her knuckles like red and white banners; goblets of ruby red blood began to seep and drip down her wrist. She stared in fascination as each drop began to run from the wound, across her watch, down her arm…
“Dawn, not again! Miss, I’m sorry, can—”
Little red gems. Running. Always running. How come they never stopped running?
“I know—thank you, I’ll do it this time, thank you—”
“No.”
May turned and frowned, bandages in hand. Dawn stood and picked up her bag, throwing it over her shoulder in one smooth motion, ignoring the droplets of blood that left tiny red stains on the yellow fabric. May sighed.
“Dawn, get over here. We need to wrap your hand…again…”
“No.”
May blinked, and cocked her head. “Dawn, you can’t just bleed everywhere, it’s a hospital, give me your hand—”
Dawn took the bandages that had been around her hand and wrapped them around once again. Good enough; the bleeding was stilled. Blood no longer ran down her arm. “No more running,” she murmured. Unnoticed, Brock stared at her, a strange look on his face.
“Dawn! Dawn, get over here!”
For the first time, Dawn met May’s eyes. “I’m not running,” she said simply. “Not anymore.”
With that, she exited the waiting room, leaving the others behind.
Go ahead and run…
Well, if she was going to run, she knew who she was going to run to. And she’d find out what was going on, and why, and then she would fix it.
No need to worry, Ash, she thought as she walked out of the hospital and into the bright sunlight. I’m here. I’ll do it. I’m not going to run anymore.
— — — — — —
Orange rays of light filled the park as the sun began to set in Technicolor glory, but Paul didn’t notice a second of it. Instead, he stumbled onto a park bench and tried to think. This was far more difficult than it sounded, as each thought pounded into the next, only to get railroaded to the side with horrible memories, then interrupted with more thoughts. ‘To think’ became a verb that he dearly wished he could focus on, or perhaps even do.
Whether he’d wanted to admit it or not, ever since last night he’d been running on nothing but pure rage. Now he’d cooled down, and he had nothing—no leads, no one to talk to, and nowhere to go. God knew there was no way he could go public with what Brock had done, not with those pictures. It would destroy both his and Ash’s reputation—well, what little was left of Ash’s, and quite a lot of Paul’s. Pictures, for God’s sake! Of that! If those were released…
No. He couldn’t think about that. What he had to think about was that he wasn’t going to let the bastard get away with it. That was the difference, that’s what would make it go from rape to sex. He’d help. He’d get Ash out of whatever the fuck was going on and then the slate would be clean.
Paul ran a hand over his face. God. Last night…
No. He had to do something. But what could he do?
Well, the girl was useless. Worse than useless; she couldn’t see what was in front of her, and didn’t want to. She’d mentioned that there was a Jenny involved…that might have potential, but his reputation! What would happen if he admitted his part in last night’s events? Would the officer charge him along with Brock? Maybe he deserved it. Ash’s face…and taking him like that, when the boy had begged him to stop…but no, he was trying to help Ash now. That evened it up, didn’t it?
Trying was for weaklings. Winners were the ones who did things. Which set him back at square one.
Find that Jenny…or maybe talk to that brunette that had followed the blue haired one around yesterday. But what if the brunette was as useless as ‘her’? It would be another waste of time, and Paul had a feeling Ash didn’t have much time. He seemed so…so…whatever the fuck he’d seemed last night, it didn’t seem like there was much left. Something bad was going to happen soon, and Paul was the only person who knew enough about the situation to stop it.
Paul groaned. For once he wished desperately he could confide in his brother, or someone, and get some guidance, but explaining the situation—oh, God! What had he done? But he hadn’t known! But did that make it any better? He’d still done it, he hadn’t said no—hell, he couldn’t forget how much he’d enjoyed it! And Ash’s eyes—Ash’s face—his body—
“But I didn’t know!”
A jogger jumped as he breezed by, and picked up the pace just as he passed Paul. Paul sighed. Now he sounded crazy. He wondered if Brock did this on purpose. Not just to torture Ash. To torture him. God. If he just didn’t care about these sort of things, then it wouldn’t hurt…
Then again, if he didn’t care, he wouldn’t feel horrible right now, and if he didn’t feel horrible, he’d be Brock…a monster…
“Y-you…”
Paul looked up, and to his utter shock saw the blue-haired girl before him. Her hands were wrapped in mostly white bandages, though reddish-brown stains covered her knuckles. Her hair was mussed, and her hat lopsided. She was panting, and leaned over on her knees to catch her breath.
“I—I’ve b-been looking for you…” She took another few breaths, then tried again. “Y-you’re hard to find…”
“What do you want?” he snapped.
“I…you said not to run…” She straightened, and stared him straight in the eye. “I’m n-not running. I told Ash he didn’t need to worry. I—I think I lied to him. I want…I want to help him. He’s—he’s not fine and I think you know why. I want you to tell me!”
Paul stared at her, a little shocked at the girl’s determination. Where had it come from? This was nothing like the delicate waif of yesterday!
Then Paul actually processed her words, and a pit of dread began to form in his stomach. “What do you mean about he’s ‘not fine’?”
The girl looked down. “He took Potions.”
Alarm bells began to clang in Paul’s head. “Yeah, but—”
“Pokémon Potions. He’s been—asleep—all day. He w-wouldn’t wake up w-when we found him. N-nothing woke him up. We were in the waiting room but…but…” She stared at her boots. “I can’t help him there.”
“He…took…a lot of Potions?” Paul repeated slowly.
He remembered the snap. And the whimper. And the promise of more. What happened after Paul abandoned him?
“Y-yeah. He was all…b-banged up. M-May said he got in a, in a fight and he—and he wouldn’t go into a hospital to get help because of me! A promise he made me! Why would he do that?! I’m not that important, am I?!” Paul watched as the girl began to bite on her knuckles. She didn’t cry; didn’t shed a single tear. “Why did he do that?! It’s just a stupid promise! He said, no need to worry, I won’t fight, and then he does this and now he won’t wake up!”
The bandages began to bloom red, and he understood why they were there.
“…Stop,” he said after a moment, and pulled her hand away from her face. “He didn’t do it because of you. And he didn’t get in a fight.”
The girl stopped, and stared at him. “B-but…I saw the bandages—”
Paul winced. “He didn’t get them from a fight. But…he…he won’t wake up?”
“The…the doctor said…he overdosed…but he’s just asleep. A—a coma. And they haven’t said anything since.”
Paul sat perfectly still, too stunned to move. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. I knew he would do this. I knew something would happen. I should’ve been there. Should’ve looked out for him. It’s not her fault. It’s mine.
He stared at her bloodied hand, then met her gaze. Her back became ramrod straight, and she stared directly into Paul’s eyes.
“You know more than I do,” she said, for once not stuttering. “I know you do. You act like you do. Are you going to tell me? Or am I going to have to find someone else to help Ash?”
Paul had a reputation…a goal…a career…
And a—friend—who was dying in the hospital because Paul had kept his mouth shut.
“I’ll help,” Paul muttered. “But we need to get something from Brock first.”
— — — — — —
May waited endlessly in the hospital’s lobby, reading the same pamphlet for the fifth time. She tried not to bite her lip, and tried to focus on the wonders of getting vaccines regularly. But the words began to blur as tears gathered in her eyes. God. Why couldn’t she stop remembering? The bottles, all over the floor. The slur in his voice. The vomiting. She knew Pokémon Potions had painkillers in them, but only druggies used Potions for that. Not Ash. Not her Ash…
But he had…
Across the room, Brock sat in his own daze. He couldn’t believe this. He’d gone from being the strong tree whose roots held everything together, to a loose leaf in the wind, subject to any and all forces that applied. How could he have lost control? He owned Ash, and Dawn was so browbeaten that she wouldn’t have noticed a thing even if they fucked in front of her face, which they nearly had—but no. He glared at May, though she didn’t see it, as she was looking halfheartedly at a pamphlet in her hands. She was the random factor that had changed the equation. If she hadn’t arrived, everything would still be as it should be, and he wouldn’t be sweating in an uncomfortable plastic chair, wondering about what the hospital would do when they saw Ash’s scars! And she was there when it happened? How could she be so stupid?! He would never have allowed Ash to get this far, not if he’d been the one to walk in—
Brock turned the key to Ash’s collar in his hand. Fortunately he’d gotten the thing off before the paramedics came; it would be bad enough with all the scars without a collar to top it off. It hurt, because he liked the collar, but he knew what conclusions people would come to should they see it. But…no. Ash would never say anything, not if he knew Onix was still out there. And Dawn was too useless to do anything. He glared at May. She was the problem. An interloper, a fool who’d allowed everything to go wrong as soon as she arrived.
“Why didn’t you stop him?!” he snapped suddenly. Venom poured out of him and dripped into each word. “You were there, weren’t you?! You got there before us! You gave him more of the damn stuff! What were you thinking?!”
“I—he said he was sick, Brock!” May answered, clearly trying not to cry.
“And you believed him?!”
“He wasn’t a liar when I last saw him!” she snarled. “It looks like things have changed since I left!”
“Yes. They have.” Brock stood up, and shouldered his bag. “I need air.”
“Me too,” May growled, picking up her own. “Ladies first.”
Brock glared at her, then stomped out of the waiting room. After waiting a few minutes, May sighed and sat back down. She wanted to leave, just like Brock and Dawn. But Brock was right—she had been there. She had abandoned Ash, ignored the signs.
She sighed and picked up her pamphlet. She wouldn’t abandon Ash. Never again.
— — — — — —
It was dark when Dawn returned to the Pokémon Center. Now that Ash was no longer around she and Brock could go freely in and out—and after the event in the hotel, Dawn knew she would never darken those doors again. However, when she arrived, she saw Brock and May arguing furiously in the lobby; everyone stared, but neither participant cared. Dawn ran between them and pushed them away from each other.
“What’s the matter?!” she cried. May glared at Brock, then grabbed Dawn’s arm.
“We’re going. He can have his own room,” she snarled.
“Wait! Why?!”
“Because he’s a bigger jerk than I remembered! You shouldn’t be around him! Let’s go!”
Get the camera. Just get that, but don’t look at the pictures, okay? If you get that, we can undo everything.
What do you mean, ‘undo’?
Just—just get the camera. And don’t look at anything, for Ash’s sake. I’ll explain it all after you get it…I’m staying in the hotel. Just tell reception my name. They’ll let you in.
“Stop!” Dawn yelled, and pulled her arm free. She looked around, but Brock had disappeared. “May, why did you—”
She stopped at May’s face. The girl was pale, but her eyes burned with fury; her face was grimaced into a snarl.
“You’d better keep away from him,” she growled. “I thought he was a good guy, but he is not. You need to stay away from him.”
“I know that,” Dawn snapped. “But I can’t right now. I—he has something of mine.”
May stopped. “What? On top of everything else he’s stealing from you?”
“Um…yes. He…stole my camera. I was gonna steal it back tonight, but now…”
May groaned and rubbed her head. “I had no idea. I’m sorry. It’s been a very, very long day. Maybe I can help you get it back…”
Dawn smiled. “Really? We—I’d appreciate it.”
“Sure. We’ll just wait till it gets late…then Glaceon can sniff out what room he’s in and we’ll grab it out of his bag. He’ll notice if we try right now.” She grinned, though there was no pleasure in the smile. “I’d love to see his face tomorrow when he finds out he doesn’t have it! Serves him right for being a thief!”
“So would I,” Dawn said softly. “But let’s get it first.”
— — — — — —
“He overdosed on Potions,” she said flatly. On the screen, the doctor nodded. “How do you overdose on Potions? I take them for headaches!” The woman’s fury was almost a physical force; the doctor forced himself to not take a step back.
“These are different. Human Potions are made with a small dosage of Bitter Herb and flavoring. Pokémon Potions have another ingredient: barbiturates.” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “Pokémon have a far higher tolerance for painkillers than humans do, and as Potions are usually used during battle, each Pokémon Potion has to have some level of barbiturates in it. The amount depends on the weight of the Pokémon…and as they’ve never shown any addiction symptoms, barbiturates are actually quite safe for Pokémon to use.” He sighed. “For humans, Pokémon Potions are…the opposite. We do warn the trainers, Ms. Ketchum. That’s why the Nurse Joys regulate Potions.” His tone hardened. “How he got so many bottles is…a better question. Ms. Ketchum, it could be worse.”
“Worse? Worse than my boy in a coma? How could it possibly be worse?”
“He could have died.”
Silence. Then: “I’m coming.”
— — — — — —
“Ms. Ketchum?”
Delia woke with a start, and saw a nurse in blue scrubs patiently standing beside her. Ash stirred in bed, and his eyes opened. Delia waited for him to look at her, but no. His eyelids sank shut, along with Delia’s hopes. All day. All day he’d been like this! The doctors said the stirring was a good thing, it meant he was coming out of the coma, but what did they know? Was it their child on a hospital bed?
“Ms. Ketchum?”
Delia looked at the nurse. “Yes?”
The nurse smiled sadly. “It’s nine o’clock. Visiting hours are over.”
Delia’s eyes narrowed. “Not for me.”
“Ms. Ketchum, I promise we’ll call the second he comes out of it. But please, go get some sleep. We’ll take care of him.”
“Take care of him?” Delia’s voice grew shrill. “Take care of him?!” She stood up, shoulders shaking. “I will take care of him. I will be here when he wakes up. And I will take him home when he opens his eyes!”
The nurse hesitated. “Ms. Ketchum…” She sighed. “I’ll go get Dr. Porterfield.”
Delia sat down. “You do that.”
— — — — — —
Terrier stared at the piles of folders before her. Variously colored lengths of string were pinned from folder to folder, some spiraling outward, some inward. Each folder had a picture of a girl on top—except for one. A photograph of a boy.
She groaned. She knew the girls were connected, that much was obvious. Varying in age, between ten to thirteen, all with long black hair and dark eyes—and all attacked within the last two months by an Onix. This Onix was clearly going after a certain kind of girl, and that couldn’t be an accident. Wild Pokémon did not have types. She sighed. The girls looked similar, but not by much. But it was here. The answer was here. She could smell it. What did these girls have to do with Ash Ketchum? Why—
“Hey, Terrier! I bought you cocoa!”
Terrier looked up to see her cousin holding two mugs. She sat down on a folding chair and handed one to the officer.
“Thanks,” Terrier said, taking a deep swig. “I needed that.”
“Doing arts and crafts?”
“No, I just think better when I can map things out…usually. What am I missing?! What do they have in common with that boy?!”
“You still think he’s got something to do with this?”
“I know he’s got something to do with this. I was certain this had something to do with the girl he travels with, but they don’t look like her very much…just the long hair. But it’s all black…”
Jeni leaned over the table and looked closer. “Terrier? Did you read these?”
“Of course I did!”
“You need to reread them. These pictures aren’t in color. This kid—Samantha—her hair is blue. And…so is this girl’s, and this, and—” Jenni narrowed her eyes. “You said wild Pokémon don’t have types. These girls all look the same.”
Terrier held her breath, then let it out. “That’s it,” she breathed. “That’s it. It’s a threat—it’s blackmail. They all look like Dawn! And most of them underage.” She smiled grimly. “I’ve got him. But just to be sure…do you know the number for the Pewter City Police Department in Kanto?”
“Offhand? Of course not. But I can look it up for you. Why?”
“He used to be a Gym Leader.” Terrier stood up, and downed the rest of the cup. “Let’s get going. I need to find out if their gym is missing an Onix.”
— — — — — —
“Ready?” May whispered. Dawn nodded, and May threw her pokéball.
“Glaceon, find Brock! He’s in one of these rooms.”
Glaceon nodded and began to skulk down the hallway, sniffing at each door. At the fifth it stopped, and pawed the doorway.
“Glaceon,” it said firmly. May gently turned the knob, and the door clicked open. May jerked her head and quietly walked in. Dawn followed, trying not to bite at her knuckles. They couldn’t screw this up. They just couldn’t…
May looked around in the dark, then pointed. Brock’s bag was thrown on a chair and the young man lay asleep near it, snoring loudly. The girls looked at each other, and Dawn grabbed it and opened it. May began to fish inside the main bag; Dawn attacked the pockets.
Then May pulled the camera out. Dawn gasped, but May held a finger to her lips. The two sneaked out, then closed the door.
“We did it!” May squealed. “Turn it on, I want to see your pictures!”
Dawn snatched the camera and hid it behind her back. “They aren’t any good,” she said quickly. “I’m just learning with it.”
“Aw, c’mon! Lemme see! Just one?”
“No, really, that’s not a good idea—”
Glaceon knocked the camera out of Dawn’s hands, and before Dawn could retrieve it, May grabbed it from the floor. She turned the camera on.
And stared.
“Y-you took this? You…took…these…?”
“What…?” Dawn peeked at the camera’s screen, curious.
The hallway was silent.
“It’s—not actually my camera,” Dawn said quietly. “It’s Brock’s. Paul asked me to get it. He told me not to turn it on…”
“Is he…the other boy?”
Dawn bit at her knuckle, then turned the camera off. “We got the camera. I think we need to talk to him.”
May had fire in her eyes. “Yes. Yes we do.”
— — — — — —
“You—WHAT?!” Paul fell against the bed, pale as a ghost. He didn’t move when May advanced and shoved the view screen at him. He stared at the picture, horrified.
“What did you do?!” May snarled. “Why does Brock have these—things?!”
Paul stared at Dawn, a look of betrayal written all over his face. Dawn bit at her knuckle.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “May turned it on. And…” She hesitated. “W-what happened?!”
Paul sat still, trying not to hyperventilate. No. He hadn’t wanted to see those pictures. He wanted to destroy the camera. Not see these, not have that girl see these, not remember last night, not remember his face, not remember those eyes, not…
Paul covered his face with his hands.
“I didn’t know!” he cried, his voice muffled. His shoulders shook as he tried not to sob. “I didn’t—I thought—I thought he was okay with it—but—he—I didn’t know! I didn’t! That bastard lied! I didn’t know!”
“Didn’t know what?!”
“I didn’t know he didn’t want it!” Paul screamed. “I would never have touched him! I wouldn’t! I WOULDN’T! I thought he was okay with it! But he wasn’t and now I’ve—I’ve—oh, God, I’ve—” Tears formed; he angrily brushed them away. “Why did you have to look at that thing?! I told you not to!”
“You didn’t tell May,” Dawn said quietly. “But who lied?”
Paul took a shuddering breath. “Your friend. Brock. He—they came to a goddamn club, for God’s sake! Why wouldn’t I—he said that—but Ash was gagged and I thought, I thought it was okay, I don’t know why I did, I should have checked, I’m, I’m sorry…” He looked down, refusing eye contact. “I—I have to make it up to him. I have to make this right. All I wanted to do was destroy those pictures and tell the police. That’s it. But you had to look at that damn thing. You had to know…”
“Is this why…Ash took all those potions…?”
“P-probably. I—I should have stopped him. I was so angry. I didn’t know what to do. But Brock said he’s been doing it for months. He just wanted to fuck with us…because he could…”
“M…months?!” Dawn gasped. “How?! I’ve been with Ash the whole time! I would’ve known! I would’ve seen—”
“Well, you didn’t,” Paul spat. “Somehow he was doing it, right under your nose—”
“‘A trainer who’s in trouble’…” May whispered. Then, louder: “She said it. Right in front of me! A trainer who’s in trouble! I knew—I knew something was wrong! But I…I didn’t want to think…”
Dawn cocked her head. “May, what are you talking about?”
“I know who to go to. A Jenny. She knows about this! She said it, she said there was a trainer, she said she’d seen friends hurt each other! She said he was fourteen! She knows what’s going on!”
“That must have been—that must have been the Jenny following me around last night!” Dawn cried. “I remember! She kept asking about Ash, and Brock!” Dawn lifted her hand to bite at her knuckles once again. “I told her to go away.”
Paul stood, his eyes narrowed. “A Jenny knows? And she’s never done anything before now?!”
“She said, she, she couldn’t, because the trainer was of age,” May stuttered. “And Ash—he is. She…she knows.”
“Let’s find her,” Paul snapped. “Now!”
— — — — — —
When Terrier got off the phone, a smile spread across her face. She glanced at her cousin, who snoozed in a chair. Terrier gently shook her awake.
“Jeni, I was right! Jennifer confirmed it! Pewter City Gym is missing an Onix—the Gym Leader traded it to Brock a couple months ago!”
Jeni yawned. “So that means…?”
“That’s right when the attacks started, Jeni. Wake up! We have it!”
Jeni yawned once more. “I suppose. It’s thin though, real thin. A guy asks to trade a Pokémon from a Gym and that means he’s the reason these girls are getting raped? I know you see it, Terrier, but a judge won’t.”
Terrier slumped her shoulders. “I thought I had it. I thought…”
Jeni sighed. “C’mon, cuz. Let’s go home. You need sleep. It’ll all make sense in the morning…”
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Terrier glanced at Jeni. “What…?”
“Someone’s at the door.” She groaned. “It’s past midnight! We’re closed. Crime may not sleep but we do!”
The knocking only grew louder, more frantic. Terrier looked at her half-awake cousin, and shook her head.
“Jeni, you head home. I’ll take care of this.”
“Terrier, leave it alone, they’ll come back in the morning—”
“It’s fine. I’m not going to sleep anytime soon anyway. Go.”
Jeni sighed, shaking her head, but retreated out the back door as Terrier walked to the front. Through the glass doors she could see the silhouettes of three people. Just to be safe, she released both of her Growlithes. Now armed, she went to the front door, and unlocked it.
“Normally we’re closed, but I’m already here. How can I…” She trailed off as she stared at the three, then caught herself. “Miss—Miss Dawn? What—why are you here at this hour? You should know better!”
“Can’t wait,” the lavender-haired boy beside her replied brusquely. “We have to talk to an Officer.”
A brown haired girl nodded. She looked vaguely familiar, but Terrier couldn’t place where she’d seen the face. “Yeah, her name was…what was it…I think it was…” The brunette hesitated. “Um...Tear something. Sorry, I’m forgetful when I’m tired—”
“Terrier?” Terrier asked, shocked.
“That’s it!” the girl said, snapping her fingers. “Terrier!”
Terrier blinked. “My name isn’t Terrier, but…it appears you are looking for me.”
“We’ve got…something to tell you,” the boy said. “You’d better let us in. If you’ve been following Ash, you’re going to want to hear what we’ve got to say.” He took a deep breath, clutching a camera in his right hand tightly. “All of it.”
Terrier studied the trio, then nodded and recalled her Growlithes.
“Come on in,” she said. “I’ll make cocoa. And you can tell me everything.”
— — — — — —
A brilliant rainbow of colors splashed across the sky as the sun rose, burning the night away. However, in Ash’s hospital room, Delia noticed not one sunbeam straining to be seen through the glass windows. She was too focused on her son.
Ash had opened his eyes. Delia took in a deep breath, waiting.
They remained open.
“Ash?” she asked hesitantly. “Honey?”
He glanced around the room, and his eyes settled on Delia, sitting up on her cot.
“Mom…?” he asked, confused. Delia gasped.
“Ash!” she cried, and pulled him into a close hug. “Honey, you’re awake!”
“I’m…what?”
Delia frowned, and pressed the ‘summon nurse’ button on the bed. “Don’t worry, honey, the doctor’s coming. You’re safe.”
“Safe?” the word felt foreign in his mouth.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight ever again!” Delia cried. “Drugs? You? How could you?” She lifted a hand to brush hair away from Ash’s face; Ash flinched. She frowned.
“Honey? Are you—well, of course you’re not all right…” Wondering at his frightened expression, she pulled him into a hug. “Honey, I’m not mad,” she said softly. “I just wish—you hadn’t done this. But it’ll be fine. You’re going to come home, okay? I don’t care about the Conference.”
“I don’t either,” Ash whispered, and leaned into his mother’s embrace. The doctor arrived—though oddly enough, he arrived with a police officer. Delia stiffened.
“Is something wrong?” she asked coldly. The officer cleared her throat.
“Ms. Ketchum? My name is Officer Jenny. While Dr. Porterfield is checking up on your son, I’d like you to walk with me.” When Delia glanced at Ash, the officer added, “Don’t worry. I’m not here to arrest your son. And no one will bother him when you’re gone.” She caught Ash’s eye, and smiled gently. “Absolutely no one, except this doctor and your mother, is allowed in this room. You’re safe now. Do you understand, Mr. Ketchum?”
Ash hesitated, then nodded, slowly. Jenny smiled. “Great. Ms. Ketchum, please walk with me. I will explain everything to you.”
“Explain?” Delia looked at Ash, who bit his lip.
“Y-you…probably…should talk to her,” he said slowly, still trying to piece together what her presence meant. It probably meant he was in trouble. He sighed. He had never not been in trouble, but…did that matter, anymore?
You’re safe now.
Surprisingly, a forgotten emotion burned. He—hoped—the officer meant it.
“All…all right,” Delia agreed uncertainly. “Honey, I’ll be just down the hall. Call for me if you need me.”
As the two left, the sun continued to rise. Light shined onto Ash’s face.
He took a deep breath.
It looked like it might be a good day.
— — — — — —
In real life, there’s never a fairy tale, closed book happy ending. In real life, when the darkness beckons, the damaged succumb. In real life, wounds cut so deep that the injured can never heal.
But sometimes, in real life, with friends, family, and that so elusive of emotions, Hope, people can become well.
Sometimes, even real life can be happy.
— — — — — —
Thanks for the ride, guys. See you in Nebula!
- 6
- 7
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A Dark Night