My Heart Belongs to You

Chapter 18: A Hero's Return

The next two weeks after Ash's mini emotional outburst in the backyard; he had doubled his efforts in his therapy and also made time to include meditation to keep his emotions calm despite whatever frustrations he was feeling down and out of his mind. He couldn't afford another break-down like that one nor to slack now; he had something he wanted to do; more than anything he had ever wanted for himself before.

But if he were to pull this off...he needed to be at his best. That meant he had to be back to walking on his own before the end of the month.

The only one who had any idea of what Ash was planning was Bonnie, and she had adamantly refused to include Gary, Lance or Richelle into his plans; which had them all slightly nervous. Forgetting completely that Gary's birthday was also at the end of the month, and perhaps Ash wanted to do something special for him.

Gary clearly saw the strain Ash was putting on himself; sweat poured off of his frame and his muscles quivered and were taut with tension. It was both nerve-wracking and slightly arousing to watch. Mew-Two was beside him; hovering nearby in case Ash lost balance, but never interfered with his wishes unless he felt the need.

If the psychic type pokemon had any idea what Ash planned due to their bond and connection to the other as pokemon and trainer; he also hadn't shared it.

Delia and his Gramps had been by several times in the last few weeks now that both the new lab and both their homes had been put together the way they wanted; after Ash's stunt with Giovanni. They hadn't been too pleased by what he had done, but Delia had softened some after Ash had explained to her what he had wanted to know. Samuel Oak had too; just not as much and had proceeded to giving both Ash and Gary the scolding of the century.

Gary mostly for allowing Bonnie to be dragged in; since neither of them admitted that Bonnie had asked to come nor had she said so. They all knew that would have just prolonged the amount of lecturing they got.

Though Gary knew his Grandfather was pleased to know it had not been Giovanni nor any of Delia's sisters that had instigated his parent's death. Especially now with Ash, Delia and Lance doing what they could to try and find a way for them to get Delia's sisters out and to safety.

Ash and Gary hadn't been overtly surprised when Giovanni had refused a way out; not until Darius had been dealt with and Team Rocket as whole was either shut down or made inoperable permanently.

Lance wasn't keen on letting this go as Ash fully wanted; he felt it wasn't fair to all those that the Rockets had hurt, but he also knew that Giovanni's record was not as clear as it should have been. He was by no means innocent and a victim; however, Lance had to remind himself that Giovanni, like Delia; he had grown up underneath Rocket rule.

He had been reared, conditioned and trained to take leadership of the enterprise. And Giovanni had done much of his actions to ensure his sisters remained safe from a father who was abusive; he had done much to ensure Delia was not found and that his brother kept away from her and their nephew.

So, trying to sift through what he was genuinely accusable for and what had been done to cover others was difficult.

He didn't know how long this would take, but Gary knew internally; Ash wouldn't abandon this until he was sure he had to.

--

Gary was in the kitchen with Bonnie making lunch as Ash was in meditation upstairs. The day had been relatively peaceful and Gary was thinking about asking them both if they wanted to go for drive later. He had his sports car returned to him from storage and inspected; all needed maintenance had been finished now, so the car was looking as good as it had while brand new.