~Rated PG-13 for mild language, violence, blood & some romance~
I will go ahead and warn you all: This is no ordinary Pokemon story. To tell you the truth, Pokemon are rarely used. And, I'll admit, Ash does seem a bit out of character, but that's what has been 'taught' to him in this story, so yeah...
Completely fan-made; I do not own Pokemon.
Deadly Alliance
Prologue
Join them or die. Those were my choices. Those were the only choices I was ever given.
Everyone; friends, family even strangers, all were gathered to see what my decision would be. It wasn't exactly a no-brainer, but it wasn't the hardest question there was, either.
"What's your choice, Ketchum?" he boomed, stepping up so that his large, somewhat muscular figure overshadowed me. I merely glared at him. I wanted to fight back so much, but I couldn't. I had already tried - and failed. By now, I could hardly keep my head up to look at him. Every muscle in my body was aching; I just wanted to collapse and tell them to wake me up when it was all over. But, I couldn't. Despite this, though, I felt my legs give way underneath me and fell to my knees.
He snapped his fingers, and immidietly two Rocket men were on either side of me. Each grabbed one of my arms and jerked me back to my feet, whereas he enclosed his fingers around my neck, holding me up that way. My arms fell limply to my sides as they were released. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted
those three. The three who had caused me so much trouble over the years, the three who had always managed to get on my nerves at least twice a day, the three who had turned me in.
Jessie, James and Meowth, who were thought to be the lowest of the low, the worst Rocket agents out there had captured me. It was like it had all been so easily planned out...
The fingers tightened their grip, complicating my breathing.
"I said, what's your choice?"
When I didn't answer I felt the grip loosen before I was shoved back to the ground. A small groan escaped my lips as I came in contact with the cold, hard concrete.
"Well, what about her, then? Will you do it for her?" I looked up to see that he had seized a girl from the crowd. But, not just any girl. This girl was one I really cared about, one I had grown fairly fond of and close to. This girl was May, the Hoenn beauty who had appeared in my life and changed me forever.
"Ash." I was snapped away from my thoughts as I heard what seemed to be her voice whispering my name hoarsely. As I looked up, my eyes locked on hers. She was completely terrified, yet somewhat determined. "Don't give in to him, Ash. No matter what he does or says, don't do it."
He had wrapped his arm around her neck by now, and was holding her so tightly I knew she probably wouldn't last any longer than one more minute.
"Silence," he hissed into her ear. "Make your choice, Ketchum.
Now!"
I swallowed dryly. After all those years of defeating him, foiling every plan he had ever come up with, it was brought down to this. For once my choices had changed. 'Join them or watch my
friends die.' Either way, it was a losing battle.
"Ash..." I looked back up to May's pleading eyes, now clouded with pain.
"Let her go," I said softly, attempting to fight my way to my feet. Around me, a handful of Rocket grunts each whipped out a Pokeball.
He stared at me with cold, unforgiving eyes. "Should I take that as a no?"
A sharp pain seemed to tear through my heart as his grip grew even tighter on May's neck. This pain then grew worse as I saw a Rocket grunt emerge from the shadows with Pikachu. Bruises covered its tiny yellow body, and a large gash could be seen above its right eye. Its fur was matted and stained with blood from the numerous cuts on its body.
"Pikachu..." I whispered; my stomach tied itself in a knot at the sight, and for a short moment, I felt as though I was going to be sick.
"Last five seconds, boy," he growled, leaning down, closer to my face. "What's your choice?"
"Let them go." I spoke more firmly than before. He raised an eyebrow. With a regretful sigh, I added, "I'll join you."
A grunt escaped May's lips as she hit the ground, having been released. A satisfied smile spread across his face, and he snapped his fingers again. Two more Rockets appeared at my sides and yanked me to my feet.
"I'm glad you see it my way now," he grinned, turning toward a bunch of Rockets behind him. "Prepare the `copter." They nodded, and at once were off.
"Ash, you can't just surrender to him!" I turned to look at May, who was struggling to her feet. She started to say something else, but I held up a hand, silencing her.
"I already have," I told her quietly. I could hardly stand the look on her face. But what was it truly of? Anger? Hatred? Sorrow? Betrayal? Or all four? I started to say something else, but a sharp pain was felt in my neck, stopping me. I could feel my conciousness slipping away. I did, however, manage two last words before passing out:
"I'm...sorry..."
~~~
Alright, gonna say this first off: Please DO NOT bash the dern fic just because Ash is joining Team Rocket. And if this seems a little cliche, I'm sorry. But, IMO, the story gets a bit better as it goes on. And, if it's successful, there's a couple of one-shots attached to it that could possibly clear things up.
But, anyway, please R&R, and I'll have the next chap up ASAP! :)