Disclaimer: Pokemon and co. doesn't belong to me . . . . blah blah blah . .
.


Authors Notes: Here I am again and all ready for season 2 of this fic for
the few of you that'll probably come banging on my door to demand I
finish this already.
In this chapter is a guest POV.  As usual, Feedback would be greatly
appreciated!  And so would suggestions for the final chapter of my fic
Forever.  I kinda got writers block on that one.



Ketchum: The Journey Continues
Season 2

Down Victory Road - Part 2
Chapter 19


~~~~~~Hydra's POV~~~~~~

Interesting.
The Charizard refuses to sleep, although he pretends to.  He can sense
that I'm here.
He looks at several pokeballs before selecting one and releasing it's
occupant, a Primeape.
*Stay here and keep Satoshi warm, I need to stretch.* He rumbled to her
before wandering off.  I continued to watch the sleeping human.  No
doubt, his connection to all pokemon is very strong.  I feel I can trust
him.
The Primeape does her best to keep the human warm, he curls into her fur
while she adjusts the blanket.
*Who in the name of the Fire God are you?* I jumped and whirled to face
the Charizard that had somehow snuck up on me. *And why in the name
of the Underworld have you been following us?* He glared suspiciously. 
I glared right back.
I do understand that the darkness of this road makes some pokemon
extremely nervous, usually they perceive threats that aren't there.
In the Charizard's eyes I saw all that and more.  He was seeing me as a
threat to his trainer.  And in his eyes I saw a shadow, it haunted him. 
Perhaps he encountered a rouge pokemon that once injured his trainer.
*Answer me!* He hissed.
*I am Hydra, I want to learn more about your trainer.  There is something
about him . . .* I answered cooly.  He was beginning to lose his temper.
Fire pokemon are notorious for their short fuses.


~~~~~~Candy's POV~~~~~~

I watched anxiously as Inferno and the strange pokemon seemed to size
each other up.  I knew this was going to turn ugly, but I couldn't leave
Satoshi.  I had to be here to keep him out of the crossfire.
Inferno's always been quick to get angry, his protectiveness over Satoshi
increased that.  Then there was the incident with the Warrior of Normal I
heard about, and the darkness of this cave does nothing to soothe nerves. 
In fact it only frays them even more.
I debated whether or not I should wake up Satoshi, but I couldn't let him
see this.  However someone was bound to get hurt if either one attacked.
Plus there was always the fact he was impossible to wake when it wasn't
morning.  But maybe . . .
*Charmeleon, please wake up!*


~~~~~~Inferno's POV~~~~~~

I roared and lunged at Hydra, my nerves were frayed and I was tense.  He
lunged too.  We both screeched to a stop when a Flamethrower shot
between us.
*I'm surprised at you Inferno.*
Oh Fire God, help.
It was Charmeleon, and he looked less than pleased.
*If you want a fight this badly . . .* He shrugged as he settled into a ready
position.
*Look, Charmeleon.  Surely you can understand why I'm so tense.* I
tried pleading.  Trying to ignore Hydra's baffled look.  He relaxed.
*Of course I do, travelling with Satoshi makes you expect trouble at
every turn.  But that's not always true Inferno.*
*It's just that since that the Warrior of Normal incident . . .*
*You've been edgy, I know.  Go wait with Candy and heat up some
water.  I'll join you shortly.*
I nodded, defeated and walked over to Candy.  She looked unusually
guilty.  I eyed her.
*Let me guess, you're the one who woke him up.*
She nodded.
I grumbled and heated up the water for when Charmeleon got back.

Sighing, I asked Satoshi to put me in my pokeball that morning.  He
looked confused but he did it.
I admit I totally lost it last night, I shouldn't have challenged Hydra last
night.
Well, at least I know now that he won't hurt Satoshi.


~~~~~~Musashi's POV~~~~~~

I was bored.
There was nothing to do except walk!
<"My friend, perhaps you could tell me the legends of this era.">
<That's a good idea Machop!  Ummm . . . thing is there aren't that many
legends . . . that I know of anyway.>
<"Surely there must be one!  How do you entertain the little children?">
<One word, television.>
<"I see . . .">
<I know!  How about I tell you the myth of Mewtwo?>
<"Mewtwo?">
<Yeah, Satoshi often says that Mewtwo is just a figment of someone's
imagination.  But I think it's real.>
<"Oh?">
<About twenty some odd years ago Team Rocket was trying to control
the world.  Deep in a jungle they found an ancient city dedicated to Mew. 
People say they found a Mew in there and took some of it's blood.  From
it they created Mewtwo, the most powerful and intelligent pokemon
alive!  But Mewtwo was too powerful and too vicious to control and it
destroyed the lab it was created in.  Some say it went on a rampage,
stealing pokemon and cloning them to show up the originals from which
they emerged.> I paused. <No one knows what happened after that.>
<"That's . . . frightening.  To think that one so evil is capable of
manipulating and corrupting the blood of one so . . . pure.">
I nodded.
<"I hesitate to ask this but . . . can the humans of this era actually do
that?">
I winced, I really didn't want to worry her by telling her . . .
<I . . . some can.>
I felt her shiver.
<But don't worry, Team Rocket's not dumb enough to repeat their
mistakes!> 
I hope.


~~~~~~Machop's POV~~~~~~

I sigh as I stare into the fire with Musashi's eyes.  This world that's been
thrust upon me is so . . . strange.  Almost frightening.
There are all these . . . wonders.  So far from what I once knew.
And yet, I can't help but wonder if humans have evolved in their own
way.  They like to think they know all they can about pokemon.  But they
don't, there's so much they don't understand about us.
I give a wistful smile as I remember my life, my old life.  Every morning
my human and I would work the field, harvesting, plowing, planting
seeds.
He and I understood each other, we were bonded.  We knew each other
so well . . .
But then the war came.
A battle between human and pokemon began to rage, It was horrid. 
During those few years so much blood had been spilt, so many lives taken
needlessly.
I remember some pokemon had stormed our small house, I tried to fight
them but they were too strong.  
Held firmly in the vines of an Ivysaur I'd been forced to watch as a
Scyther laughed as she decapitated my friend.
I don't know how long I cried after that.  All I know is that I refused to
obey them.  So they tied me to a boulder and dropped me into a spring.

The next thing I know I wake up in Musashi.
She's very kind, she helps me whenever I need it.  Even if it's just a hug
in our dream.
She reassures me about the strangeness of this era.
I'm sure Charmeleon is almost as content with Satoshi as I am with
Musashi now.
I say almost because I don't truly believe he'll feel content until the
Rockets are gone from Satoshi's life, permanently.
If I'm not mistaken, the same applies to Inferno, both feel an almost
overwhelming need to protect him.
This applies to Musashi as well.
Me, however.  I know they will look after him.  
Tomorrow, we'll be on the last leg of our journey through this road.  
I settle Musashi's body into a comfortable position before drifting off to
sleep.


~~~~~~Raptor's POV~~~~~~

Even inside my pokeball I can feel Father's feelings and strong thoughts.
He's a little scared because it's so dark.  I don't like the dark that much,
but if I have to I'll fight in it.
Father's in a battle, I feel my pokeball move and suddenly I'm released. 
Facing a Hypno.
Couldn't Father have used Makaar?
I felt his head shake more than I saw it, Makaar must be too weak to
fight.
At Father's call I leapt into battle with a Slash, the Hypno tried to
headbutt me.  I'm agile though, he missed me.
*What are you?*
<*I'm . . .*> I leaped and pinned him on his back.  Then I went nose to
nose with him.
<*Raptor.*>
Since he was unable to battle, his trainer recalled him.  I looked at Father.
<*I want to stay out.*>
Father smiled and nodded.
I stayed close to him as he walked, it didn't seem so dark when I was
with him.
"Hey Raptor . . ."  I looked at him.  "Can I speak telepathically to you?"
I wasn't sure if Father could, if he were another Raptor then yes.  
<*I don't know.  Sorry Father.*>
He shrugged and looked around the area. 
"We'll stop here for lunch.  You guys must be starved."
Lunch sounded good.

The six of us that hadn't fainted yet ate from our bowls.  Satoshi was out
of Revives so he was trying to avoid battles.
I wondered how Father's friend and Machop were doing.  Had they
already made it off this road?
I finished eating, so did Rare Beauty and the others.  Together we all
began pestering Father to play us a song if we weren't going to get any
candy.
<*Please Father?*>
*Come on Satoshi, play!*
*You know we're not going to leave you alone until you do.* Makaar
chuckled.

"Okay okay!  Stop ganging up on me, I'll play!"
We all cheered as he pulled out his clarinet.

I had learned a new trick a while ago, if I extended my senses I could
discover what was going on in the area around me.
It's easiest to do when Father's playing, it helps me relax.
Feeling my way around the cave revealed nothing that unusual, a lot of
Zubats, some Sandshrews, Arboks, Gravellers, Machops, Machokes,
Onyxes.  They had all stopped what they were doing to listen, pokemon
tend to do that when Father's playing like he is now.
But I had a bad feeling, so I pushed a little further.  I only had a second to
act.
<*Father look out!*> I cried as I pushed him out of the way of the
coming Fire Blast.  I wheeled to glare in the direction of the bad attacker.
*You!  What did you think you were doing?!* Inferno roars.  Does he
know this Charizard?
*Following Master's orders.*
Inferno and the bad Charizard faced off.  We all stepped in front of Father
to protect him.