"A burglar?" Ash's father wondered. "Again? And what about the dog?"
"Well, I guess they must have missed him," May tried to joke. Nobody laughed.
"Still, your son and his friends were very brave when they used their Pokémon to drive him away," Petach smiled.
"Careful, Petach..." Ash murmured, so quiet that his parents couldn't hear him. "You can't fool the whole world, you know?"
For a while, Petach angrily glared at Ash... but only for a short moment, then he laughed nervously.
"Sir, could I ask you a few questions?" Officer Jenny then asked Bruce.
"You don't need the children for that, do you?" Ash's mother asked. When the young police officer shook her head, Deliah lead ash and the others back inside.
Before he left, Ash took one last look at Petach and Officer Jenny. He then noticed how the policewoman frowned while looking at the floor. And when he followed her eyes, he saw one of the tiny clay insects that had formed the protective circle. It had taken a few short steps, and then fell back on its backside, once again as lifeless as the clay it was made of. Petach quickly made a movement with his hand, and Jenny shrugged and ignored the tiny figurine.
Ash frowned at the Egyptian and followed his mother and friends inside.
Inside, Deliah took a look at her son and said in a worried voice: "You're all wet! What happened to you?"
"W-well, when the burglar broke in, he opened one of the windows... and snow came in," Max nervously explained.
The four friends looked at each other. Even though they couldn't freely speak about what happened, Ash was determined not to tell his mother what really happened... Ash wasn't really sure if she would believe him.
"You all must be freezing," Deliah said. "I think it's best if you all take a nice shower, or a warm bath."
"Yeah, that's a good idea," May nodded. Her teeth were chattering, and the others were shivering as well... although Ash didn't know if he was just shivering because of the cold or because a 1000-year old mummy had tried to kill them just a few minutes ago...
He agreed to let his friends use the bathroom first. Later, when he was coming out of the shower, he felt much better.
Later, when he came into the living room, he realized that Officer Jenny was still there. His mother was just offering her a cup of coffee.
"Ash!" his father said. "You feeling better?"
Ash nodded and sat down next to his friends. May leaned over to him and whispered: "Say, shouldn't we tell them what really happened?"
"And risk being marked as crazy kids by Officer Jenny?" Ash whispered back. "No, thank you!"
Brock sighed. "As far as I am concerned, I am crazy... crazy with love..." He had hearts in his eyes when he looked at the policewoman.
Max pulled his friend's ear. "Cut it out, Romeo!" he grumbled.
Ash's father then cleared his throat. "Well, now that you all..." He interrupted himself and frowned when he saw how a small, yellow and purple-furred Pokémon had entered the room and lay down on the floor, cleaning her front paws.
"Why is this little monster in the house?" he asked.
"Hey, Bast is no monster!" May protested. "She saved our lives!"
When Bruce looked at her curiously, Ash snickered and said: "Um, I guess 'saved our lives' is a bit over the top... but she was the one who warned us when the burglar broke in."
"Bast?" his father wondered.
Ash shrugged. "I think the name fits..."
Bruce sighed. "Fine. I admit defeat, she can stay. After all, it won't be for long..." He turned to Officer Jenny. "Well, I hope my answers were of any help."
"We'll see," she said. "I think this was about it. I really must be going now. My superior officers will wonder where I am."
She stood up, thanked Ash's mother for the coffee and turned to leave... but then she looked at Ash and smiled. "Say, you want to accompany me to the door?"
"Wh-whaaaat?" Brock gasped. But the others were surprised as well, Ash included.
"Um, I guess I can do that," he finally muttered. He looked at his friends, shrugged and followed Jenny to the door.
At the front door, Jenny turned around to face him. "That must have been frightening, right?" she asked. "Then again, as a Pokémon Trainer, you are used to unfriendly fellows..."
"You can say that again," Ash nodded. He was a bit confused as for why the young woman wanted him to come along. Did she suspect that something odd had happened after all?
Jenny pulled a small card out of her breast pocket. "Here, my address. My private number is on the backside... in case you'd like to call me."
"B-b-but why??" Ash asked.
Jenny smirked. "Because I have the feeling that something is not right here. Just keep it, okay? And if there's something more you'd like to tell me... just give me a call!" She winked at him, then she left.
For some reason, Ash suddenly felt as if the older woman had just hit on him...
This night, Ash had a bad dream... He dreamt that he was walking along a dark underground corridor. It was so dark that he was only able to see his surroundings dimly.
And something was behind him. Every time he turned around and took a look, he couldn't see anything, but he could feel that something was there, chasing him through the darkness. And it was coming closer.
Ash screamed as he sat up in bed. His heart was pounding, and sweat was running down his body. He knew it had just been a dream, but for some reason, that didn't calm him down. On the floor, he heard soft snoring... his scream, surprisingly, hadn't woken Brock from his slumber.
Pikachu raised his head, looking at his friend with worry. "Pika pi?"
Ash sighed. "I'm fine, Pikachu..." he muttered
He felt something heavy on his legs. When he looked down, he saw that Bast had decided to recline on his feet.
The door opened, and Ash blinked when bright light shone into his eyes. Bast hissed as the light rudely awakened her, and she jumped off Ash's bed and out of his room.
May peered inside. "Ash... are you okay? I heard your voice..."
"Yeah, I'm fine..." Ash muttered and rubbed his temples. "I just had a bad dream..."
"I can imagine, after this night..." May sighed. "By the way, good morning! Your mother wanted me to tell you that breakfast is ready... and if you want to try your luck, you might want to wake Brock as well."
"Yeah, I'm surprised I didn't wake him," Ash snickered.
Later, he and Brock went downstairs to have breakfast. May and Max were already sitting at the table, together with Ash's parents and, to Ash's annoyance, with Petach. Anubis and Bast were eating out of two dishes of different sizes on the floor.
"Good morning, Ash!" his father smiled. "Sit down, we have a few things to discuss."
"Oh, really?" Ash asked as he and Brock sat down. "What is it?"
His father gestured at the papers that were lying in front of him. "Well, it looks I can't stay for much longer... you remember how I told you about this big contract my company made with that huge corporation in Egypt? Well, looks like they need me on-site, so I can take a look at the project..."
Ash sighed. "I guess that's okay..." he murmured. It wasn't the first time his father had to leave for a long trip around the world, but it still bothered him to know that it could take a couple of years before he'd be able to see him again.
"That's not all," Bruce continued. "See, your mother is coming with me..."
Now Ash looked at his parents with big eyes. "Wh-what? But how? Since when? And when will you leave?"
"Today, I'm afraid," Deliah told him. "Sorry, Ash, but going to Egypt has been a dream of mine for a very long time... and when your father invited me to come along, I couldn't say no. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I completely forgot..."
"A journey to Egypt, right now?" Max whispered into his sister's ear. "Is that a coincidence?"
"I received a message from the construction site in Egypt yesterday," Bruce explained. "And they need me urgently, that's why we have to leave right now. But Mr. Petach was nice enough to offer his help... he wants to take care of everything in our absence..."
"I have to take care of a few business matters in Viridian City first, but afterwards, I could bring you kids back to Hoenn," Petach smiled.
"Oh, and it's just a mere coincidence that you are headed to Hoenn as well, right?" Ash asked. He didn't like this new turn of events one bit.
"Not at all, I would actually have to make a detour," Petach replied in a serious voice.
"How noble of you..." Ash grumbled.
"Ash, honey, please behave!" his mother sighed. "I know you'd have loved to stay for one or two days, but you don't have to take out your frustration on Mr. Petach."
"So you're saying I'm supposed to stay here?" Ash angrily asked and stood up from his chair. "Together with him? No way! I'd rather walk to Vermilion City and take the next ferry!"
"Now listen here, Ash..." his father frowned.
"NO, I WON'T LISTEN!" Ash shouted as he ran outside. Pikachu jumped up in surprise and ran after him. "Chu!"
"Ash, wait..." May shouted.
"Let me talk to him," Petach said as he stood up as well.
'Just great...' Ash thought. 'The one person I did not want to talk to...'
For a moment, he pondered if he should leave for now and pay Professor Oak a visit... after all, the scientist was like a mentor to him... but then he heard a sharp bark and saw how Anubis came running past him, blocking the way outside. Pikachu glared at the Houndoom, but Anubis bared his teeth once.
Petach was standing behind them. "Please, Ash, I'm here to help you... let's talk, okay? Only five minutes, that's all I'm asking for. Listen to me for five minutes, and afterwards, you can do what you wish. I promise!"
Ash glared at him and stayed silent for a while. Finally, he nodded. He didn't have any choice, did he?
Petach seemed very glad to hear that. "Wonderful! Let's go upstairs, into your room, shall we?"
They walked upstairs, followed by Anubis and Pikachu. Ash still wondered what kind of connection there was between the Egyptian and the Houndoom. It seemed to him like Anubis was acting as Petach's enforcer or something like that.
In his room, Ash sat down on his bed, while Petach sat on a chair. Pikachu hopped up on the bed as well, while Anubis lay down in front of the door, effectively blocking the only exit.
"What do you want from me?" Ash finally asked.
Petach was hesitating. "I know you and your friends have a right to know the truth," he then said. "But I can't tell you everything... not yet."
Ash felt tired, all of a sudden. He wished that his life would return back to normal, and that the only worries he had were how he was going to win the next Pokémon Battle.
But he felt like he had left his known world and entered a new, dangerous one, right after he had visited the museum in Dustia City.
"I told you the story about Akhenaten and his murderer," Petach started. "You must have noticed by now that it is much more than just a story."
"Oh, really? What in the world gave you that idea?" Ash asked sarcastically.
Petach sighed. "I understand your anger... I really wish I could have explained it in some other way. But things don't always work out as we wish they would. I'm afraid I underestimated my enemies."
"Your... ENEMIES?" Ash wondered.
"You could call them the other party in this game," Petach said.
"Game?" Ash gasped. "Don't you think this is a bit too serious to be a game?"
"Everything's a game, in a way," Petach answered. "What may seem deadly serious to us humans looks merely like a way to pass time for the gods. And maybe there are even beings that are standing above them... but I digress. I admit, I made a mistake. I thought I had more time, but that is not the case."
"Time for what?" Ash asked.
"Time to bring you, your friend and your parents to safety," Petach said.
"My parents? But what..."
"Please listen, Ash," Petach said. "And try to believe me that I am telling you the truth. The prophecy I told you about last night will come true, either way. Sometimes, destiny is just too strong for humanity, and can't be changed. Still, destiny may be relentless, but it's never cruel. It knows no difference between Good and Evil. It will happen, but it is up to us how it will happen. I knew for a long time that Akhenaten's curse will come true, and I thought I had enough time to protect innocents from danger. Now I know I was wrong."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash murmured. He was a bit confused.
"Akhenaten's curse will come true, every word of it," Petach explained. "The dead will rise and the traitor will be allowed to die. But there are many ways how this can happen... it can be a night of horror and tears, or it can be the peace which the wanderer had longed for for all these years."
The dead will rise... those words sounded like they were right out of a cheap horror b-movie, but the way Petach spoke them made them sound dark and menacing.
"I can't explain why you and your parents are in danger right now," Petach said. "But you must believe me that I tried to protect you. maybe I should have come to you much sooner, but now we're here, and that's what counts. And they will return.
"What?" Ash gasped, and Pikachu looked alarmed as well. "You... you're saying that this mummy isn't the only... the only creature that's after me?"
"I'm afraid not," Petach replied. "And now that they know who you are and where you live, they will come back for you soon. It's not just you who is in danger, Ash, please understand that!"
Ash looked down at his feet for a while. He couldn't hear the voices of his friends and parents from up here, and everything was very quiet for a moment.
"Is that the reason why they have to leave so early?" he finally asked.
Petach smiled. "I admit that I... had my hands in it, it's true. I didn't like doing it, but it had to be done. I don't think my powers are enough to protect you, your friends and your parents at once. As long as the day of resurrection hasn't come, you will be a danger to them."
"But why?" Ash asked. "I... I haven't done anything. I didn't even know about anything of this a few days ago. Why is it me they want?"
"Because you have something they need," Petach answered. "Something of great value. Not for you or me or any other living human... but for the gods and the dead."
"What... what could that be?" Ash wondered.
"It wouldn't change anything if I told you," Petach said. "You wouldn't understand. But there is something you can do. As soon as your parents are safe, I can bring you to a place where they can't reach you. When my plan succeeds, they will lose any interest they have in you. Believe me!"
In Ash's opinion, it was getting harder and harder to trust the Egyptian. But what choice did he have? He thought of his friends and parents.
"Do you promise that nothing will ever happen to them if I do what you want?" he asked.
Petach nodded. "I promise. It's only you they want. And I will protect you. Last night, he took me by surprise, but that won't happen again."
"Then I'll go with you!" Ash said.
Pikachu looked at his friend and trainer in surprise. "Pika?"
"It's the only way, Pikachu..." Ash muttered and stroked his pal's soft fur. "I don't want to endanger Mom, Dad, Brock, May or Max just because some undead monsters are after me..."
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(Posted Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:48)
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