Author’s
notes: I apologize
for the extreme lateness of this chapter.
My computer kind of imploded in on itself a couple of weeks ago and
decided that for it to work again each and every program had to be reinstalled.
Well, that’s what you get for using Windows XP. However, I have managed to pull
myself together and now present to you the fifth chapter of ‘Inside’. I don’t
think I need to tell you anymore what to expect in this fic, you all seem to be
enjoying the cussing and the gore and the huge amounts of angst that I’ve
layered on. Heck, we’re all demented little freaks, aren’t we?
Disclaimer:
(Sung to the tune of
‘Without Me’ by Eminem)
“Now this looks like a job
for me,”
“ Everyone say on the count
of three,”
“Pokemon and Team Rocket
don’t belong to me,”
“They belong to Nintendo and
Satoshi Tajri.”
My mouth was a crib and it was growing lies.
I didn’t know what love was on that day.
My heart’s a tiny blood clot, I picked at it.
It never heals; it never goes away.
I burned all the good things in the Eden eye.
We were too dumb to run, too dead to die.
Meowth
stirred, his small body trembling in the chilly pre-dawn air as he fought
vainly to remain wrapped in the warm, tangible blanket that was slumber. But
the merciless pull of consciousness was stronger, and within moments he found
himself fully awake and alert, cursing the coldness and his innate ability to
never be able to sleep past five.
Not to
mention the smell.
That was
the true culprit of his awaking. For a Pokemon as sharp-nosed as he, a scent in
the air was sometimes all that was required to bring him to full alertness,
whether it be the tantalizing odor of food or the sharp warning of approaching danger.
Having such a keen nose had its advantages of course, but it was at times like
this that Meowth wished that his olfactory sense were as dull as that of a
human. And not only because it had roused him from his much needed sleep.
He inhaled
deeply, and nearly gagged. It was truly suffocating, washing over him in an
invisible tide, making his head numb and his gut twist. In his wandering life
with Team Rocket, he had seen and experienced a great deal. Tasted and seen and
smelt many different things: Pokemon, humans, places, foods, wonders and
horrors alike. But never in his existence had he encountered anything like
this. It was so…unearthly. So unnatural that for a moment the cat feared he was
losing his mind.
The stench
hung thick in the air, and every time he took a breath it was like he was
inhaling mud. It was a foul smell, reeking of everything that the cat feared
and hated. It was alien to him, yet at the same time it was horrifying
familiar. It was the same one that he had detected on James the day before,
except now it was so much more powerful, and he could recognize it for what it
was. He felt his fur stand on end and despite himself he hissed. He knew this
scent. It was the scent of death.
And yet there
were others mixed with it as well, all of them bad. No, evil, that was a better
way to describe it. So many malignant odors washing together to form one
terrible kaleidoscope of filth that Meowth knew he would never be able to
identify them all. But he knew that it was bad, and that was enough for him.
What he didn’t know was from what the trail had originated, be it Pokemon or
human. Although he was certain that no living creature on this earth could ever
emit such a deathly scent.
He cocked
his head to the left, sniffing, and realized with horror that the odor hung
strongest around the small makeshift tent that Jessie had erected the previous
day to ward off the rain that had, in the end, never come. Without thinking, he
launched himself, body tense, teeth and claws bared, putting on a brave front
of anger but inwardly fearing for his teammates safety. Throwing back the flap,
he was greeted by a serene Jessie quietly snoozing, her expression peaceful.
James’ sleeping bag was empty.
Meowth was
relieved for an instant, then the smell, twice as strong in here as it was
outside, hit him and he struggled to hold back the urge to vomit. James’
unexplained absence registered in his brain, and he panicked. Where the hell
was he? Why was the smell so much stronger in here? Had something happened?
Something bad? Something as horrible as the stench permeating his every
thought?
There was a
sound of crunching leaves behind him, and on pure instinct he spun, claws at
the ready.
James
looked down on him silently, not a flicker of emotion passing over his face as
he regarded the obviously on edge feline. “Good morning.”
He should
have been relieved, but the presence of his friend caused him to recoil. The
smell was overwhelmingly powerful on him too, rolling off him in thick, noxious
waves. It seemed to ooze out of every pore in the young man’s skin. Before he
could stop himself, he drew himself up to his full height and snarled at him.
James’
expression remained unwavering. He didn’t even blink, just stared at the
scratch cat with eyes that were hollow and empty, like two coins pushed into
clay.
Meowth
forced himself to calm, resorting to breathing through his mouth and pushing
away the overwhelming urge to flee. He didn’t want James to see how terrified
he was. Commanding his body to relax, he looked up and forced a grin.
“Hey ya,
Jim. Sorry ‘bout that, youse kinda startled me.”
James did
not smile back. “I couldn’t sleep. I went for a walk.”
“Yeah…I was
wondering where youse gotten to…” His sentence trailed off as he swallowed
nervously. Being this close to him confirmed what he already knew. James was
the source. He had first detected it in his room at headquarters, but the scent
had been so faint he had chosen to ignore it. But that day, after the fight he
had started with Butch, he had gone into his room to offer some small words of
comfort. And it had been there. Still weak, but getting stronger, starting to
make it’s presence known. And when they left Viridian it had followed them,
followed James. Growing on him like a disease. Masking his own natural scent
and making him seem like a stranger to Meowth. A stranger who reeked of
everything unclean and unholy, so unlike the gentle young man Meowth had grown
so fond of.
He heard a
voice above him. James was speaking.
“I’m going
back to bed now.”
Meowth
nodded in response. “Yeah. Dat’s a good idea. Couple more hours of sleep will
do ya a world of good.”
James said
nothing, simply stepping over him and crawling back into the tent.
Meowth did not
go back to sleep. He remained sitting in front of the tent, his thoughts
troubled. He understood very little about what this all meant, but he
understood one thing. Something evil was coming.
And it was
coming out of James.
**
“We should
arrive at Viridian tomorrow morning.” Brock announced grandly from behind huge
map he was currently smothered in.
Misty
groaned. That meant they had to spend another night camped out in the middle of
the forest. Not just any forest, mind you. But Viridian Forest, where
practically every bug Pokemon in existence lived, their sole purpose in life to
torment her and keep her awake at night. Not to mention that they’d probably
crawl into her sleeping bag and bite the inside of her ass the first chance
they got. She shuddered. God, I hate insects.
Ash’s own
moan of disappointment mirrored her own. “Are you sure?”
“Yep.”
Brock’s voice was muffled as he struggled to fold the map into a much more
reasonable size. “Unless you want to walk all night. Although if we did try to
do that we’d probably get lost and end up back in Pallet.”
“Grand.”
Misty dripped sarcasm. “Another glorious night of sleeping under the stars.”
“Hear,
hear.” Brock finally gave up on trying to fold the map and settled for shoving
it into his bag the way it was. “But it’s only one more night. I’m sure we’ll
survive.”
“Oh well.”
Ash sighed in resignation. “Let’s get moving then.”
They
started walking at a leisurely pace, enjoying the soft late morning sun and the
gentle caresses of the sight breeze coming in from the west. There was
obviously no point in rushing now, even Ash had decided to cool his heels and
take it slow. After all, another night in the forest wouldn’t hurt. It was
really quite a beautiful place after all.
They
traveled in silence for several minutes; the only sounds between them an
occasional chirrup from either Togepi or Pikachu. Finally, Ash attempted to
strike up a conversation.
“Well, last
one before the big league.”
“Yeah.”
Misty agreed. “I must admit, when I first met you and you told me you were a
trainer, I thought you wouldn’t even get this far.”
He didn’t
know whether to take that as a compliment or to be greatly insulted.
“Uhh…thanks.”
“Hah!”
Brock gave him a hefty slap on the back, so hard it made his entire body go
numb. “You know we’ll both be rooting for you.”
A smile,
unbidden, graced the young boy’s lips. He was well aware how lucky he was to
have such loyal friends. “Thanks. I know I’ll need it.”
“By the
way,” Misty said suddenly. “Who’s the leader of the Viridian Gym anyway?”
Ash
shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Misty
regarded him with a confused look. “You don’t know?” She found that rather
vexing. Ash had known practically every facet about all the other gym leaders,
even right down to what brand of toothpaste they used. And that was a tad
disturbing because it included her and Brock as well.
“Yep.” He
turned to look behind at Brock. “Do you know?”
“No. Some
woman who went by the name Madame ‘B’ used to run it about ten years ago. Then
she disappeared and the current guy stepped up to run it. Apparently, very few
people have even seen his face.”
Misty
frowned. “How strange. What type does he use?”
“Not sure of
that either. I heard once that he has a Persian, but that could just be a dumb
rumor.”
“It doesn’t
matter.” Ash cut in suddenly. “ Me and Pikachu will beat him anyway, isn’t that
right, little buddy?” He gave the yellow rodent an affectionate rub behind the
ears, causing it to give a squeak of pleasure.
Misty
snorted, but managed to hold her tongue in check.
They
continued on in silence for a little while longer. Suddenly Ash spoke up again.
“Hey, you
know what I’ve noticed?”
“What?”
Misty replied, trying not to sound too interested.
“Team
Rocket. We haven’t seen them in like, over a week.” He looked over at Brock for
conformation. “Haven’t we?”
“Yeah,
about that. What’s your point?”
“Oh,
nothing really.” He gave a short laugh. “Maybe they finally decided to give up
on chasing us and went to bother some other kids instead!”
“Maybe.”
Misty said quietly.
Then the
ground collapsed underneath them.
**
“Yes!”
Jessie crowed, exultant. Good old pitfalls. When in doubt, dig a hole.
She turned
to face her two comrades, eyes gleaming. “We’ve got ‘em now! I told you it
would work!”
Meowth
fidgeted nervously. James didn’t even bother to look up at her.
She felt
her smile vanish from her face. “Did either of you even hear what I just said?”
She bit out sharply, irritated.
The cat
jumped, and regarded her with wide eyes, like she had just slapped him. James
continued to stare listlessly at his feet.
“S-sorry
Jess.” The Pokemon’s usually confident and cheerful tone was edgy, laced with
anxiety and….fear? She watched, incredulously, as he cast a nervous glance in
James’ direction and then scrambled hurriedly to stand beside her, his
movements jerky and almost spasmodic, so unlike his usual gracefulness.
“What’s
gotten into you?” God, first James and now him. And people say that I’m
moody.
“Nothing.”
“Good. Now,
we have a Pikachu to steal.” She looked back at James. “You coming?” She
snapped, a bit harsher than she had intended, but…fuck it. She was sick to
death of still continual moping as of late, especially since he seemed loathe
to tell her what was troubling him so. The idea that her closet friend did not
trust her enough to open up to her was hurtful, to say the least.
He lifted
his head, and Jessie felt an involuntary tightening in her chest. His usually
bright, piercing eyes had been reduced to little pools of dull despair. He
avoided her gaze, choosing instead to stare intently at the base of the tree
next to her, his expression solemn, his entire body hunched slightly, as though
he were trying to hide from her. The sudden urge to cry seized her, but she
managed to push it back.
That’s
it. As soon as we’re done here, whether we get the fucking rat or not, we’re
going back to HQ. And you will tell me what’s wrong, even if I have to force it
out of you.
“Let’s get
this over with then.”
Even before
they reached the pit they could hear the twerps arguing.
“Ash! You
are such a jerk!”
“What? What
did I do?”
“You jinxed
us!”
“Aw, cram
it!”
Jessie
heard Misty hissing with rage. “I’ll show you where to cram it!”
“Will you
both shut up!” Brock’s usually calm voice was overwhelmingly loud.
Good
God, even the twerps have the shits this morning. Their over-zealous bickering brought a welcome
smile to her lips. She glanced back to see if either of her teammates were as
amused as she. And of course, they both still looked like they were attending a
funeral. Better skip the motto.
The sound
of fingernails struggling to find purchase in the gritty dirt caused her to
look back in just enough time to see Ash clamber out of the hole, his boyish
features red with anger. “Team Rocket!”
Misty
emerged a moment later, looking equally pissed off. “You guys are so gonna get
it this time!”
She sneered
at them, falling easily back into her role as the heartless villain “Try me,
you little twerp.” Reaching behind her for her pokeballs, she grabbed them both
and threw them high into the air. “Arbok, Lickitung, time to battle!”
Her beloved
poison type emerged first, unfurling her beautiful coils and hissing
menacingly. Lickitung followed suit, although he did not look half as
threatening due to his comical pink appearance. Out of the corner of her eye
she saw James throw his own pokeballs. Weezing appeared without incident,
billowing thick gas and moaning. Victreebel emerged with a high-pitched shriek,
turned, and then promptly chomped down on the upper half of her trainer’s body.
Jessie
closed her eyes in pain. She could hear the twerps sniggering to themselves. When
will he wake up and train that thing properly? Someone had to teach it that
love biting was not the most appropriate way to show affection for one’s
trainer.
The twerps
were ready to begin; Ash stood in classic battle stance, poised and ready.
Pikachu was fired up too, sparks of electricity crackling from the pouches on
his cheeks.
Jessie
issued her command, confident and ready. “Arbok! Poison sting attack!”
Arbok
reared up, her hood flaring out, making her seem twice as imposing. She opened
her jaws wide, preparing to send out a deadly barrage of poison darts, when a
sudden terrified wail caused the battle to grind to a halt.
Jessie
looked over her shoulder to locate the source of the sound, seeing James still
struggling inside Victeebell’s gaping maw. Usually when the plant Pokemon
clamped down on her trainer, a look of dazed contentedness would glitter in her
eyes. Now she was thrashing about, screeching in alarm. She spat him out, and
he landed in a heap on the hard ground, damp with the sticky fluid contained in
the Pokemon’s giant bell. She expected him to simply get up, wipe himself off
and get stuck into the battle, but it appeared he had other plans.
Balling his
hands tightly into fists, he stalked towards the now obviously frightened
creature, which tried unsuccessfully to squirm away from him. He caught it by
the single vine alighted above the bell, pulled and twisted it savagely towards
him. Victreebel screeched in obvious pain, eyes bulging in disbelief and
terror. But James refused to relent, wrapping the vine around his wrist,
pulling it so taut that Jessie was certain that it would snap. There was a
flicker of cruel amusement in his eyes.
Jessie felt
sick; never before had she seen such brutal savagery towards a Pokemon. Out of
the corner of her eye she could similar repulsed expressions on her enemies
faces, as they stared in dumb-founded horror.
He was
yelling now. “You stupid animal!” He lifted his arm higher into the air,
pulling Victreebel up so that their eyes were level. The grass type trembled in
fear, causing him to smirk.
“Don’t you
ever do that again.” His tone was low
and dangerous. “And if you try it, I swear to God I will kill you.”
Jessie had
seen enough. Mustering all the authority she could, she cried out. “James! Stop
it!”
His head
jerked as he looked at her, lips drawn back in a sneer. “Fuck off.”
She stifled
a gasp, tears stinging the backs of her eyes as the hurtful words struck her.
Never before had he spoken to her in such a way.
Ash brushed
past her. “Hey! You leave it alone!”
He pulled
even harder. Victreebel screamed in agony. “Just try to stop me, shithead.”
“Fine!
Pikachu, thunderbolt attack!”
But the
electric mouse was frozen, rooted to the spot. Ash looked down to see his
friend shaking, yellow fur bristling with fear, ears laid flat against his
head.
“Pikachu?”
He looked
up, small black eyes large. He looked as though he was almost pleading with his
trainer not to be sent into battle.
“What’s
wrong, Pikachu?”
The Pokemon
shook his head and scurried behind Ash’s leg, clinging to the fabric of his
jeans and trembling. Togepi was reacting in a similar fashion, withdrawing into
its shell and whimpering. Misty gave him a worried look.
“Ash…what’s
going on? Why are they acting like this?”
“I-I don’t
know…” Looking around him, the young trainer saw that all the Pokemon were
bristling with fear, shrinking away and pressing themselves against their
respective trainers, all except Weezing and Victreebel. The floating gas
Pokemon ducked quickly behind Jessie, while Victreebel struggled vainly to
escape from her master’s cruel grip.
“They’re
terrified of him…” Ash heard Brock whisper from behind him.
Shaking
with repressed tears, Jessie boldly stepped forward. “James, please!” Her voice
cracked, the tears working their way into her tone. “Please! Just…just let it
go…please!”
He averted
his eyes to her, momentarily distracted. She saw his expression soften for an
instant…then twisted into an evil leer. He pulled his arm taut, stretching the
vine to its very limit. Her horrified response seemed to delight him.
Meowth
could take no more. He had been stiff with fear from the scene before him and
the awful smell of the Bad Thing, but he could not stand idly by and watch as a
fellow Pokemon was tortured. Baring his claws, he crouched low and then leapt
high into the air, towards James head. The sudden impact of the cat colliding
with the back of his head caused James to stagger, but he did not release
Victreebel. Meowth swiped viscously at his face, leaving bright trails of red
on his cheek. James howled, letting go of the vine and grabbing Meowth by the
scruff of his neck. Meowth bit his hand before he was batted away, landing
gracefully on his feet. Victreebel squirmed away, vine hanging limply, and went
to press herself against Jessie, seeking comfort. Jessie could felt the green,
leafy body shaking uncontrollably. Meowth joined a moment later, leaping into
her arms, digging his claws into her flesh.
“It’s…it’s
coming…”
“What?” She
asked. But the cat said no more, instead burying his face against her breast.
There was the sound of sobbing, and she looked up to see James crying, wiping
his face with the back of his gloved hand, smearing blood and tears across his
skin. The blind rage from moments before had completely melted away, and there
was no cruel smirk on his lips or hurtful words coming from his mouth. He
seemed to be utterly confused and frightened, and he glanced around with pained
eyes. His gaze fell on them, on her, and he instantly shrank back, burying his
face in his hands to hide himself from their accusing stares. With a choked
cry, he turned and fled, staggering awkwardly towards the trees. Jessie opened
her mouth to call out, but her throat was dry, and no sound came out. It didn’t
matter anyway. He was already gone.
In her
arms, Meowth visibly relaxed. The other Pokemon calmed also, except Victreebel,
who still shivered.
She felt
three pairs of eyes on her. She turned to meet Brock’s oriental gaze. “What the
hell just happened?”
She
blinked. How was she supposed to know?
They waited
patiently for her answer. A thousand responses whirred in her brain, but in the
end she settled on just one word.
“S-sorry.”
She didn’t
even know what she was apologizing for: their attempts to steal Pikachu, James’
brutal actions or her own inadequacy in offering an answer.
Without waiting
to see their reaction, she turned and slowly began walking away, respective
Pokemon following after her. Her enemies’ burning gazes remained on her until
she reached the trees, and finally she allowed a wave of relief to wash over
her as she was enveloped in the comforting darkness. Only then did she allow
herself to cry.
Alone
again, the three trainers remained still, surrounded by a deathly silence. It
was finally broken by Ash, whose simple, heartfelt utterance spoke for all
three of them.
Woohah! You
like, yes? If you liked that then you’ll LOVE the next chapter! I
guarantee it. But guess what…YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR IT!!!!!!
BWAH HA
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I’m so evil! ^.^)
