Twilight

The sun was low over the west horizon, casting twilight shadows throughout the forest that
surrounded Pallet Town on two sides. A breeze blew, ruffling the autumn colored leaves that
embellished the beautiful woodland. The wind also rustled the spiky cherry brown hair of a
young boy. The boy was sitting with his back against a tree at the edge of a small clearing with a
meadow. He wore a long sleeved shirt, dark blue in color but hemmed at the bottom with gold.
He also had on dark blue jeans and tan boots, along with a pendant in the shape of a yin yang in
green and yellow on a black cord around his neck. He was watching the orange sky attentively
with his deep sapphire eyes, a small worried frown on his face.

"Where is she?" He asked the wind sadly, his frown deepening. "She should have been here an
hour ago."

The boy heard a twig snap behind him and stood up then turned to face a mewtwo about a foot
taller then he was. The newly arrived pokemon was light blue with a darker blue tail and bright
green eyes. The mewtwo gave a faint smile to the boy then said, "Hey Gary."

Gary smiled slightly as well then replied, "Hey Jake."

The two gave each other a high-five, then Gary leaned back against the tree, though not sitting
down. Jake sighed then asked, "Is it ever possible to sneak up on you?"

"Nope, not really," Gary answered a small smile forming. It was quickly replaced by a frown as
he said, "Joey isn't coming tonight, is she?"

Jake looked down, his foot brushing the fallen leaves on the ground. "I don't think so. She's in
real big trouble this time."

Gary frowned deeper, cursing to himself. "It's all my fault," he blamed himself out loud. "If it
wasn't for me, she wouldn't be in trouble. Is she ok?"

"Last time I checked on her she was scared, but unharmed," was the mewtwo's answer. "My dad
has her locked down in his lab again."

"What about you?" Gary asked. "Will you get in trouble for meeting me?"

The blue pokemon shook his head. "No, I was actually told to go outside. Dad didn't want me to
see what punishment Joey was going to get."

The brown haired boy fought to stop himself from cursing. "It's not fair, Jake."

Jake sighed. "I know it isn't," he replied. "But that's the way it is."

"Do you know how much trouble she's in?" Gary asked with concern, staring down at the
ground.

The mewtwo sighed again. "A lot. Dad caught her trying to sneak out to see you this afternoon
on top of her punishments from sneaking out last week. She'll be lucky if she gets allowed out of
the lab by this time next week."

Gary made a fist in anger and regret. "I shouldn't have told her to come today. It's all my fault."

With a slight grin, Jake remarked, "I seem to recall Joey planning the meeting between you
two."

"Yeah she did," Gary replied painfully. "But I still agreed to it."

"Please don't blame yourself for this, Gary," Jake requested with a calm outlook.

The brown haired boy looked up and stared Jake in the eyes. "But I'm the one to blame for all
this."

Jake gave a sudden unexpected smile. "You really do care about my sister, don't you?"

Gary made a faint smile as well as he answered, "Yeah I do. I don't care about humans and
pokemon not being able to have a relationship. Just another stupid rule that adults made."

Before Jake could reply, a high-pitched scream filled the air, causing both to direct their gazes
toward the sky. Before the other could react, Gary ran out into the clearing and caught a small
lavender mew that had fallen from up above the trees. He held the pokemon gently in his arms as
she sobbed into his shirt. Jake caught up to him and looked over his shoulder to the small crying
mew.

"Are you ok, Joey?" Gary asked worriedly. She was usually upset when she came to see him as
of late, but never crying. After she didn't respond, Gary noticed that she was cradling her arm,
and that the arm was bent at the wrong spot and in the wrong direction. He kneeled down in the
grass and gave her a small hug. "Don't worry," he assured her.

Jake knelt down next to Gary and noticed the mew's arm as well. He winced as if it were his
own injury then announced, "It's broken."

Gary gave him a sly look and replied, "Thank you master of obvious."

The mewtwo gave him a flat look back. "I can fix it, but the bone needs to be set back into the
right position first, and that will be even more painful."

Gary gave the mew a slight nudge, and she looked up to him with tear filled blue eyes, lighter in
colour then his own. "You heard Jake right?" he asked softly.

The mew nodded, then flinched in pain and whispered, "Please make it stop hurting, Gary-
chan."

"We will," he replied, "But it will hurt more at first. You can hold onto me if you want."

Through a wince Joey nodded. Then Jake softly took her twisted arm in his two three-fingered
hands, causing the mew to whimper softly and grip her good paw around Gary's forearm. The
boy lightly winced from the sharp claws lightly digging in through his long sleeved shirt.

Jake took a deep breath then said, "I'll count to three." Joey gave another faint nod in reply.

"One."

Crack! Gary didn't know whether he flinched from the sound of the bone being replaced or from
the sharp claws sinking into his arm. Joey gave a sharp yelp as her arm was quickly twisted back
into its proper alignment. She began to cry again, but Jake held onto her arm and closed his eyes.
A white light surrounded the injured area for a few moments before fading away. After looking
over her arm once more, the mewtwo set the limb at Joey's side and sat back.

The mew's tears quickly subsided. After a few minutes she released her grip of Gary's arm and
sat up while still being held. She looked at her now healed arm and smiled, then wiped most of
the tears away from her face. Following with a glare to Jake she said, "I thought you said you'd
count to three!" Her voice held a touch of anger.

"You seem back to your old self," Jake replied smugly.

The mew gave him another glare, then looked up to the human who was holding her gently. "I'm
sorry I couldn't be here on time like I promised."

Gary smiled down to her and replied, "It's alright. I would have understood if you hadn't come."

"But I promised I'd meet you," the mew retorted. "I didn't want to break my promise."

He gave her a hug, lifting her up off of his lap. "You don't have to worry about keeping
promises. Your safety always should come first."

"What happened to your arm anyway?" Jake asked cautiously.

Joey sighed and gripped Gary's arm softly with her paws. "Tac broke it," she replied sadly. "He
broke it for punishment of trying to leave this afternoon. Which reminds me, he tried to follow
me when I finally escaped, so he'll probably be here soon."

Both boys nodded, knowing that they'd have to soon depart as soon as a pokemon gave the
signal that they were going to be caught. Joey sighed deeply, then used her transform attack to
take the shape of a barefoot human girl in blue jeans and a green t-shirt with purple hair that
fell loosely to halfway around her back. But she kept the purple cat ears and long tail of her mew
form unintentionally. Jake transformed as well, taking the form of a boy around the age of 12.
He wore jeans the same shade as the ones his sister wore, but with a blue shirt and a black
jacket. His hair was the same colour as Joeys, but shorter and kept in a small ponytail at the back
of his neck.

"This is kind of like a meeting of the old gang," Joey remarked, still sitting on Gary's lap with
her arms wrapped around his neck.

With a slight laugh, Gary replied, "Yeah, but Ash isn't here." He didn't mind Joeys affection.
He had his arm around her waist.

"And there's a lot more danger involved then just being grounded for a day," Jake added,
sticking his hands in his jacket pockets.

The mew gave a small discouraged sigh and leaned her head on Gary's shoulder. "I'm tired of
all the danger," she said sadly.

Jake looked at her and replied, "But there's no way we can convince Dad to let you outside
anymore. He knows that you'll just run off."

"I was thinking of that." Joey gave Gary a tighter hug.

Gary gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I think I'm going to run away," she replied while looking down at the grass.

"But haven't you already run away?" Jake inquired, as confused as Gary.

Joey sighed again, slightly frustrated with the puzzlement of her two male companions. "I mean
really running away. Leaving Pallet Town and not coming back."

Gary looked at her in surprise, then hugged her tighter. Jake was watching her with a deeper
shock. Astonished, he asked, "But why?"

"I can't stand getting punished anymore. It's not fair. I don't want to train all the time, I want to
be with you and have fun," she explained, adding the last part mainly for Gary.

Jake could only continue watching his sister in disbelief. "But that would mean leaving us two,"
he protested, still with shock in his voice.

Joey looked to him, her eyes sad. "I know, Jake, but I think it's for the best."

"You're right I think, Joey," Gary added thoughtfully. "I'll be turning ten in a few weeks, so I'll
be heading off on my pokemon training journey. Unless you want to come with me as my
pokemon?"

Joey stared up into his eyes, a small smile on her face. "You know I'd love to, because I could
always be by your side. But I can't, because if I did, Tac would hunt you down until he got me
back and probably hurt you as well. I have to go off alone."

Jake was watching the ground with a melancholy look. "Where will you go?" he asked sadly.

"I don't exactly know," The mew replied. "Maybe I'll become a pokemon trainer like Gary with
Lucky by my side!"

Gary smiled at Joey's enthusiastic tone. "Then we'd be rivals, silly." Then he gave a sigh and
said, "I'll miss you."

Joey smiled and gave him another tight hug around the neck. "I'm not gone yet," she countered
in an innocent voice.

A bird pokemon called out from the forest, and both Joey and Jake sighed simultaneously.
"Dad's heading this way," Jake announced with a bleakness to his tone.

Gary frowned slightly, then hugged Joey for a last time before letting go of her. "You'd better go
before you get caught. That would be the last thing we need."

Joey transformed back into her small mew form and looked up to the sky, her blue eyes
reflecting the increasing twilight. "Yeah," she sighed. "I'll meet you on the walkie talkie then,
right?"

Gary smiled to her, petting her shiny lavender fur. "Of course," he replied with a smile.

Transforming back to his original form as well, Jake stood up and firmly took Joey by the arm.
"See you later, Gary."

The boy gave them both a warm smile and simply answered, "See ya." Then he watched Jake fly
off toward the north east, carrying Joey with him by her arm. The mew kept her eyes on him as
she was dragged away, a small smile on her face.

When the two were gone from sight, Gary gave a tired sigh. His shirt was still damp from where
Joey had been crying. She was so innocent. It puzzled him to think of how anyone could be so
cruel to her. He felt a sharp pain in his arm that has just recently surfaced, and pulled back his
sleeve. He gave a small wince when he saw his forearm coated in a faint layer if blood, resulting
from the four deep gashes he has received from Joeys claws. She wasn't so innocent after all, he
figured she could be extremely dangerous to her enemies if she needed to.

It was the best choice she could make, running away from Pallet Town. If she stayed here, Tac
would use her and Jake as weapons for who knows what. It was hard to think of two of his best
friends hurting anyone intentionally, especially Joey. He was kind of glad she was leaving. It
would assure that she was safe. But it would also be hard on him, because he cared for her so
much.

Hearing a twig snap behind him, and quickly stood up and turned to the source of the noise. At
the edge of the clearing he saw a man who was observing him carefully. He wore a long lab coat
with a plain black shirt and jeans underneath. His dark brown eyes watched him from behind a
pair of glasses, and his dark hair was loosely pulled back into a pony tail, much like the style
Jake wore. He was around the age of 25, but Gary knew him to be much more then an average
person.

"So this is where you two have been meeting," he mused, mostly to himself as he began walking
into the small meadow. The increasing darkness made the man look more dangerous then he
seemed in the daylight.

Gary didn't move, though the gaze that the man had fixed upon him was intimidating.
Confidently he took a small round object that was attached to his belt underneath his shirt. It was
white on the bottom and red on top with a small silver band between the two. With a small turn,
the ball enlarged until it fit the size of his hand. Trying to hide the fear in his voice, he
demanded, "What do you want, Tac?"

Tac only looked at the object that Gary held. Ignoring the boys question he gave an amused
smile as he stopped about a yard away from the other and crossed his arms. "Aren't you a little
young to own a pokemon?" he asked with a small chuckle.

"I'm almost ten," Gary retorted with a sharp glare.

"Almost ten isn't good enough," Tac stated simply. "If your grandfather or any authorities catch
you with that, you'll never be able to become a pokemon trainer."

Gary glared harder, a small anger forming in his mind. He knew that Joey's father was right.

Tac smiled at the boys reaction, but it was gone in a flash as his face turned into a glare much
darker then Gary's. In an ominous tone he asked, "Now where is Joey?"

Gary met Tac's stare, though in truth he wanted to run. But he would never back down to
anyone, especially not this person. "I don't know," he replied cautiously. "She left awhile ago."

Disappointment showed on the older mans face. With a slight frown he looked Gary over, taking
in everything as if weighing him. After setting his eyes back on Gary's face, he said, "Alright
then. Well since you two seem to have a way of communicating that I haven't found yet, the next
time you chat, tell her that the next time she leaves without permission, she'll be locked up in
the basement until she forgets what sunlight is. She seems to listen to you."

With another sharp glare, Gary tightened his grip on the pokeball.

"I wouldn't want to battle if I were you," Tac announced calmly, taking on a small lecturing
tone. "You won't be able to take it to the Pokemon Center unless you want to lose your privilege
to become a pokemon trainer. And abra's don't have any attacks other then teleport, so you loss
is inevitable."

Gary looked at him in surprise, but it was gone in an instant when he scowled at Tac. "How did
you know I had an abra?" He asked demandingly.

Tac gave him a small smile. "That is none of your concern. Now would you like to try your odds
in a battle against me? Do remember that I have 18 years more experience then you."

Going over the odds in his read, Gary frowned and reluctantly put the pokeball back onto his belt
underneath his royal blue shirt.

"A smart decision. One of the first lessons in any battle is knowing when to give up," Tac
scolded, half to himself. With a deep sigh he added, "Before you go, heed my warning."

The boy glared at him with a bit of sly attitude. "And what's that?" he asked.

Gary gave a sharp yelp in pain as Tac gripped down on his wrist tightly; He hadn't even seen the
older man move. But Tac looked down on him, his eyes darker then Gary had ever seen them.
"Do not meet Joey again," he ordered. "Forget about her and go off on your pokemon trainers
journey."

Struggling to keep a bit of dignity, Gary countered, "What if I don't?" Then he flinched as the
grip on his arm tightened to the point when he thought the bone would snap.

"Then I will not hesitate to eliminate you," Joey's father replied, his voice darkening with every
word.

Gary couldn't hide his fear any longer. He stared up at Tac, nearly falling to his knees but being
held up by the strong but painful hold on his arm. In a scared shaky voice he repeated,
"Eliminate?"

"Yes, eliminate," Tac answered, letting go of the boy's wrist and allowing him to fall down onto
the grass, holding his arm in pain. He had done the same to Joey earlier that day, though she had
already broken her promise not to see Gary again. Perhaps the results would be different if he hit
the problem from the other side. He glanced down to Gary, who was still down on his knees.
"You will not interfere with my plans again," he said icily. It wasn't a suggestion, nor a question.

Gary stood up, ignoring the throbbing in his arm temporarily. "What are you going to do to
Joey?" he asked, more meekly then before.

Tac only glanced to him, then focused on the sky above, which was beginning to show a few of
the brighter stars. "She will receive the punishment she deserves for disobeying me. But you
should not concern yourself with it." Grimacing at the wind that passed he added, "I suggest you
go home now. And do not forget what I said, because I am not one to kid around."

Gary glared at the adult, but when Tac looked at him again, he only frowned slightly and walked
to the tree line, running when he was out of sight of the meadow.


Writers notes: Not authors notes, writers notes. *sweatdrop* Anyway, I just wanted to give some
information about this fic. It's from a flashback in my notebook story that I wrote on my
birthday. Or maybe it was the Monday after my birthday? Something like that. Yeah . . . I think
that's the only thing I wanted to note on. Anou . . . Someone please send feedback or
something? I need to know if I suck or not! joey@philkpress.com is my email address.
Ok . . . Nyo!

(c) Joey Oak              February 14, 2002

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