Red Hot Mess

 

The slick feel of her blood glided down her back. The entirety of it felt raw and exposed, and every inch burned and felt pain all over. Another lash against her back had her arching, her arms straining against the chains that held her suspended barely above the ground, where a pool of her own blood gathered, some of it congealed already. Her arms were stretched above her and ached, and her toes brushed against the dirty ground every other second.

 

Miranda sighed. “You’re not screaming anymore. At least you lasted for so long.”

 

She was silently gasping, breathing rattling breaths and spitting out saliva and blood from her mouth. Her throat was inflamed and sore, and she couldn’t scream even if she wanted to.

 

“What a shame.”

 

Miranda walked passed her, lightly slapping her face with the cat, the leather cords stinging against Ash’s cheek. The older woman went to the door, and glanced back at her in boredom.

 

“I’ll guess I’ll have to let you heal before I can have fun again.”

 

 

She shut the door behind her and Ash was left in the room in semi-darkness.

 

Giovanni had finally managed to track this man down, but Romeo Degrassi didn’t seem bothered or worried at all. Instead, the nightclub owner looked back calmly.

 

He’d interrogated Serena’s mother thoroughly that time, getting a name out of the woman, but not a place to find him. It had taken him at least a week after to find Degrassi, and the place the man owned.

 

“Can I help you?” the man murmured, tilting his head to the side idly.

 

Giovanni slowly smirked mockingly. “Yes, yes you can. You see, I want you to answer some things for me, as well as the fact I’m looking for someone.”

 

Behind him, Archer and Serena stood at the ready and Degrassi had glanced at them several times.

 

“Very well,” Degrassi conceded. “Let’s talk in my office. Shall we?”

 

He allowed Degrassi to show them the way, all three of them ready if the other were to try anything. However, Giovanni was mildly surprised that the other did no such thing and merely entered his office and then headed to his desk, where he calmly sat down. He gestured for Giovanni to sit as well, and he warily did so.

 

“Ask away,” Degrassi said plainly. “And I will answer.”

 

“Why are you being so helpful and cooperative?” Serena’s lips trembled, in a state between fury and upset. She took a step forward, but Giovanni held up a hand, still watching Degrassi.

 

Degrassi answered the question anyway. “I didn’t get into this business for the fun of it. Once, I was drawn in because of family, and then I was stuck. And then I stopped caring through the years. The others joked around, calling on my treatment of the women brought in fitting to my name and said I was definitely the ‘Romeo’ type of pimp that worked more towards controlling through gifts and affections. And to be truthful, it is my preferred method. I hardly use or care for violence and force. I really didn’t and stayed indifferent with what I do.”

 

The man shrugged carelessly, and Giovanni felt the temptation to pull out the gun he felt pressed against his side. But then Degrassi started talking again.

 

“Then a little sweetheart walks in here –well, taken by my men and thrown into this place –and somehow the world tilts a little bit differently, and it’s hard not to get a new worldview from that, yes?”

 

Giovanni stiffened up, thoughts swirling and wondering and hoping (and yet not, because he wasn’t sure to how she was being treated).

 

Degrassi leaned back in his chair, folding his hands on his lap together and looking up contemplatively.

 

“She had the prettiest eyes. A little golden really –like melted honey that was pretty stark against her fair skin. Perhaps I’d always had a weakness for girls like her –soft, kind, sweet…innocent,” he took out a cigarette then and lit it up. “Or not. There’d been plenty of girls like that before, who cried and pleaded and I looked the other way and did my job.”

 

Giovanni could feel himself get frustrated. He felt like he was being teased with Ash’s presence, and at the fact he couldn’t figure out this man. He couldn’t figure if Degrassi was completely one of those assholes he’d vowed to take down, or if the other might have some sort of saving grace to him.

 

“But I did like her,” Degrassi admitted. “And I do suppose I have a weakness for her then. I recognized her after a bit –right around after the time I’d been teaching her how to deal with customers before it was going to be time for her to be shipped off with the others.”

 

At that, Giovanni almost lurched out of his chair to grab the other, but Degrassi had already started talking again.

 

“She was Tony’s girl –Giovanna, I think the name was. Tony’s been in a right snit ever since she’d disappeared from his group and has been giving out orders and passing out her picture, making sure to let everyone know if she was found, that she was to be kept until he retrieved her. I had been tempted to keep her around, call in short on the order we were supposed to fill, but remembering that Tony was supposed to come around here not too long after she’d gotten here, I thought she would have better luck going off with the others than to stick around and get caught by Tony,” Degrassi disclosed unhappily, taking in a deep inhale of smoke.

 

“Where is she now? Where did she go?’ Giovanni asked quietly. Because he didn’t care about anything else right now, or any other answer to any other question. Not when he was now so sure that Degrassi was talking about Ash. He took out her picture and placed it on the desk, pushing it towards Degrassi.

 

“Where is she?”

 

Degrassi glanced down at the picture, and took his cigarette and snuffed it out.

 

“What was her name?”

 

“Ash. Her name was Ash.”

 

Degrassi pushed the picture back towards him and sat back in his chair. “There was an order for a group of people, bought and paid for by Team Plasma, under the name of a Dr. Colress Achroma. He came then to pick the group up, and Ash was with them.”

 

Team Plasma. Giovanni’s hands clenched and he kept his growl to himself.

 

 

Looks like he needed a word with Ghetsis.

 

“Cyrus?”

 

He didn’t look away from his window, gazing at the night and watching the stars blinking back at him.

 

“We swept the area. There was no clues left behind. Jupiter and Mars have gone back to Sunyshore, see if there could be anything they could find out, since that’s where they found her,” Saturn continued, voice soft but serious.

 

Still, Cyrus didn’t move to acknowledge him. In fact, he wasn’t sure when was the last time he’d moved from his spot. He didn’t actually care.

 

“Cyrus, I’m sorry!”

 

 She was in that truck and was being driven away, and his legs moved without him thinking. He ran after her, but he couldn’t do anything and that was the last thing he’d heard as she rounded the corner and off to somewhere where who knows what was happening to her.

 

“…I have nothing to be scared or worried about?”

 

He couldn’t even do that.

 

And everything she’d said and done…he could have picked up the little hints. He could have figured out what happened to her, where she’d come from –and he could have protected her better, kept her safe.

 

He should have told her he loved her and that he still did and swore he always would, no matter what.

 

“You remind me of what I really am,” he murmured.

 

Just a man. Nothing more, no matter what he aimed for. He wasn’t wise, and he was really just a poor, blind fool.

 

He heard the door close quietly, but Cyrus continued to stare at the stars.

 

“You remind me what of I am,” Cyrus repeated. “Nothing.”

 

 

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the glass.

 

Giovanni hadn’t wasted time after that. He’d gotten Maximus, who was fully healed and ready to go (furious as well), and taken Pikachu with him as he’d gone straight to Unova. Degrassi had been helpful, providing information that he could use on the trafficking group, and he found that he’d somehow gained an insider and laughed to himself because it had been –in some way –Ash’s doing.

 

Fully knowing where the main Plasma Headquarters were, as he knew where all the other Teams’ bases were, Giovanni had no qualms storming in with a group of his Rockets. Intending to get to Ghetsis, Giovanni spotted Colress first and found himself storming over. He’d snatched Colress’ front and had shoved him against his desk.

 

“Where is Ash?” he yelled, feeling fury build up just as Pikachu’s body crackled with lightning menacingly.

 

Behind glasses, Colress’ blue eyes dimmed. “She should be in Sinnoh, maybe in Hoenn. Depending on how far she’s traveled.”

 

Giovanni blinked, feeling himself get confused. “What do you mean?”

 

Colress eyed him and then looked around him to see the Rocket agents hassling the other Plasma members, though the victims of the traffickers were still hanging around and being wary, but not interfering.

 

“Team Rocket, huh,” Colress muttered. He looked back at Giovanni. “We didn’t know about them. I thought they were volunteers. But then Ash let out something and we found out. So I helped her.”

 

Colress explained what he’d done, getting Ash to Sinnoh and why, and that the trafficking victims around were those they were still trying to help get home or get settled somehow.

 

“Was she fine?” Giovanni managed to ask after. “When she was here, was Ash okay?”

 

“I did my best to make sure she was comfortable and happy,” the blond firmly stated. “I cared for her.”

 

Giovanni observed the other, and understood how the other did.

 

“I’m looking for her,” Giovanni told the other. “I’ve been looking for her. You can come with us.”

 

Colress brightened up a little. “I’m not really needed here. Ghetsis has been a little uncomfortable since this has all come out, and I think he’s really just disgusted with the world in general. He’d really wanted to rule over the world and well…I think he’s finding the world lacking. Currently, he’s been aggressively taking charge of getting everyone here to help out the victims, and using the pokémon around here to sort of help them feel comfortable and all –like the pokémon therapy studies Professor Oak came up with and has vouched for.”

 

Giovanni hmmed in thought, idly adding, “Ash was why he came up with them, and had been the main subject of the studies. Where in Sinnoh did you say the ship took her to?”

 

“Sunyshore,” Colress answered immediately.

 

“Then I guess we’re going to Sunyshore.”

 

So after Colress settled his stuff there, he joined Giovanni in heading to Sunyshore. There, Serena was tasked with going with Archer in searching the city for any news, while Giovanni and Colress would head to the Rocket base there and see if any news was recovered. Before they could though, Serena and Archer had rushed back and told them that there had been a sighting of her there and that she’d gotten into trouble. Apparently someone had mugged her at gunpoint, taking the bag she’d had with her and running off with it.

 

“I gave her that bag!” Colress said indignantly. “I made sure that it would be packed with all the necessities, and that Ash would have everything she needed for the journey home.”

 

“Is the mugger still in jail?” Giovanni was scowling and counting down from 10.

 

It was like every little thing that could go wrong was going wrong.

 

“Yeah, he’s still there,” Serena frowned. “But there’s been no news of Ash.”

 

“We found out that she attempted to file a report of the mugging and her stolen backpack, but had mysteriously run off after the clerk had gone for Officer Jenny,” Archer continued on. “Afterwards, there have been no absolute sightings of her.”

 

“‘Absolute’ sightings?” Colress had caught that. Giovanni had too and waited for his second to answer.

 

Archer barely held back a grimace. “There have been some who say they’ve spotted a girl of her description, walking around in disarray and looking in poor condition. Just a few weeks ago, those sightings have stopped though.”

 

Giovanni didn’t know what he was more worried about –Ash walking around like that, or the fact that there was no more new sightings of her.

 

“At least this saves us a trip to the police station. Who knows who we can trust there anyway,” Giovanni was frustrated at this point, especially since it seemed like there was no more leads to follow.

 

Suddenly, his phone rang and Giovanni answered it in aggravation.

 

“Giovanni, it’s Ariana.”

 

“What is it?” he snapped into his phone.

 

“There’s been a gym leader that’s been trying to contact you. I’ve tried to put it off, but he’s been persistent.”

 

“Who are they and what do they want?” Giovanni pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

“He’s a Sinnoh gym leader actually,” Ariana informed him. “He’s from Sunyshore. He refused to tell me what he needed from you.”

 

Giovanni was taken aback. What coincidence.

 

“It doesn’t matter,” he said gruffly. “I’m in Sunyshore. I might as well go to see him personally, and ask what he wants.”

 

He hung up and faced the others. “It looks like the gym leader of this city has been asking after me. I’m going to go see him and find out what he wants, so you all can just stay here in the meantime.”

 

He reluctantly left them after that, heading to this gym leader who was being vague in demanding his attention. He found his way to the Sunyshore Gym quickly, where when he announced who he was, he was rapidly greeted by the gym leader Volkner.

 

“I must say that I was caught off guard when I found out you’ve been persistent in trying to contact me. May I ask what was so urgent?” Giovanni reluctantly kept to being polite, as much as he wanted to demand some answers and his temper being already short as it was.

 

“In the League meeting all that time ago, you mentioned a girl you’d been looking for,” Volkner said seriously, and Giovanni’s blood felt like ice. “There was a girl in this city that looked lost and afraid, and I tried to help her. She ran away, but then she got mugged after. I managed to find the mugger and bring him to the police, but there was a picture of her in the bag he’d stolen from her. She was in it with a few people, and Officer Jenny said she recognized the girl as the one you’d been looking for. I just wanted to let you know she’d been seen and was sort of okay at the time, if you hadn’t had any leads before now.”

 

Giovanni sighed. “The last lead I had was what brought me here in the first place. Thank you for confirming it and filling in on what happened with her. Has there been anything else that’s happened around here?”

 

Volkner shook his head. “Nothing related to the traffickers, which I have been trying to look out for. There was some vague stuff that showed some of their presence here, but nothing really and I think it was just a temporary stay. Aside from that, it’s just been some Team Galactic activity that’s been ignored. Although, just recently, they’ve been really active in being around for some reason, except no one’s had a clue what they’re up to.”

 

That caught Giovanni’s interest. “Team Galactic, you say…Thank you for your help. I think I might have something…”

 

Turning to leave, he was surprised when Volkner stopped him.

 

“Would you call me when you get her, and tell me how she is?” the blond gym leader asked hesitantly.

 

Giovanni appreciated the other saying ‘when’ and not ‘if.’

 

 

“I will,” he found himself agreeing to.

 

When he told the others what Volkner had told him, he also told them about what he thought of Team Galactic maybe having some sort of idea of what had happened to Ash after the mugging problem. He had decided he was going to go find the Team Galactic base that was there and find out for himself.

 

He took Colress and Serena with him, leaving Archer behind to be in charge and get the Rockets in that area started on what they should be doing now and watching over them. He then decided to hell with everything and that he would just stride up to the Galactic base there, and ‘knock’ on their proverbial door. It wasn’t hard, after that, to get someone’s attention and for someone to quickly come meet with him, considering just exactly who he was.

 

“What can Team Galactic do for the infamous, rich Giovanni Rocketto?” the purple-haired Galactic Commander known as Jupiter said warily, though there was an undertone showing she was stressed and tired out.

 

Irritated with it all and just wanting some answers and to find her already, Giovanni fished out Ash’s photo and held it out to the other.

 

“Have you seen this girl?” he demanded.

 

He could see, just from how immediately the woman reacted –eyes widening and lips parting in surprise –that was a yes.

 

“I have been looking for her for at least two years now,” Giovanni could feel himself reach a sort of breaking point. “I have chased her from Kanto to Kalos to Unova and now to here. I have had my Rockets hunt down and make those fucking traffickers pay. If you don’t tell me anything right now –”

 

Jupiter swallowed, blinking back tears. “I don’t know where she is,” she whispered. “We’ve been looking for her, or at least any traffickers around. Since this was where we met her and where she’d been almost desperate to join Team Galactic and get away from here, we thought coming back here and looking for clues might help find her.”

 

“I guess we know why she was so desperate to get out of here and join the Team,” Mars clenched her jaw, looking away.

 

Giovanni looked between the two women, before slumping back in his seat and covering his face with his hand. Colress took over and asked them what happened.

 

“She joined up here, and we took her all the way to Veilstone,” Jupiter remembered. “She’d worked with us a while, and was pretty out of place there and with us…but she was liked and got along well enough with most of us. She hung around mostly Saturn, Mars, and myself…and then eventually our boss,” she added hesitantly, watching Giovanni.

 

Giovanni frowned and tensed slightly, but kept silent.

 

“We were all out one day, when she was grabbed from behind by some woman,” Jupiter flashed back to then and her hands formed fists, her nails digging into her palms. “She basically took Ash from right under us, and we couldn’t do anything.”

 

“Since then, we’ve been looking for her or for anything that could help lead us to her,” Mars said dejectedly.

 

Giovanni took the photo in his hand and stared at it, looking over the familiar features of the girl in the picture, a sight he’d memorized. She looked so happy and young in the photo…her smile was so bright and her eyes was joyful.

 

“Every time it looks like she’s okay, she’s getting pushed back in a corner and getting hurt,” Serena sniffed, and he turned to see her on the verge of crying.

 

He sighed tiredly and reached over and patted the girl’s arm. He stood up then.

 

“Let’s go,” he said monotonously. “We’ll have to move on from here and find some other way to find her.”

 

“We can help,” Jupiter interjected. “We’ve been looking for her too, and we want her found and back safely.”

 

Giovanni glanced at her thoughtfully, before yielding. “We’ll head to Veilstone to meet with your boss. You should call Cyrus to tell him we’re on our way.”

 

 

He turned and started heading out with Serena and Colress, barely hearing Mars mutter “How’d he know Cyrus was our boss? No one even knew he’s apparently the freaking boss of Team Rocket!”

 

Ash wasn’t coherent. She’d been in and out of consciousness, unable to comprehend anything aside from the fact she’d been taken down from the chains. She’d then been brought to somewhere, harshly hosed down and then after she was as cleaned as can be, she knew they’d did something to her back before it was bandaged. She wasn’t sure what happened after that, because everything was blurry and she couldn’t remember anything.

 

When she awoke and was really conscious, she was dressed up in a skimpy outfit and her back was screaming at her. Whimpering, Ash blinked and slowly looked around, realizing the bumpy sensation she was feeling was due to her lying in the back of the truck on her front, and the truck speeding away.

 

“You’re awake, huh?” a man’s voice said from up front.

 

Ash immediately quieted.

 

“I’m doin’ you a favor, you know? If you’d stayed back there, Miranda would have kept at it once you were at least halfway healed. She likes you. Not a good thing obviously, and a little too much. But don’t worry –I found you a good buyer. He’ll take care of you.”

 

Ash clamped her mouth. Besides, she didn’t think her throat had recovered from all her screaming, even if she didn’t know how long it’s been since then.

 

“Just be good.”

 

She had the horrible urge to act as bad as she could, and maybe hopefully then it’ll get to the point where everything would finally be over and she didn’t have to go through all of this anymore.

 

Ash was just tired.

 

 

She stopped talking and just stared blankly up at the truck’s top.

 

Ash didn’t say anything, even when the man who’d taken her and run had finally reached the so-called buyer. Somehow, they’d managed to get all the way to Hoenn, and Ash didn’t know if her inattention took away her notice of time passing, or if she’d been too passed out before that that the trip had passed her by.

 

“She’s pretty. Quiet too. Obedient?” the buyer was tall, had pepper hair, with more gray at his temples.

 

The man who took her grinned widely. “No doubt. She’d had a good beat in that taught her to keep in line. She won’t give you trouble.”

 

The buyer nodded and looked at her critically. “I wanted someone for labor. Can she clean at least?”

 

The man’s grin faltered. “Uh…yeah, yeah. Sure.”

 

The buyer gave him a withering look, but dismissed him. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sure I can teach her and she’ll pick it up quickly.”

 

He handed the man a case that was filled with money when it was quickly opened and shown, and the man shoved her towards the buyer, who gripped her arms tightly. However, his hands loosened once the man left, and then he turned to her.

 

“What is your name?”

 

“A-Ash,” she croaked out, and her hand flew to her throat with a wince.

 

The action was noted with a critical eye. “Save your voice,” he ordered. “My name is Howard. When you can speak, you may address me as that.”

 

Ash nodded, knowing she probably looked as dismal as she felt.

 

“Follow me.”

 

 

From then on, Ash was one servant to a Howard Stone.

 

He’d been pleased with her when he found out she was a good cook. And when she wasn’t too bad at cleaning and learned to do it with a little more finesse, he’d praised her. In a sick way, Ash had actually practically preened at that, glad for something positive for once.

 

“We’re going to have a party soon. My nephew will be there –Steven Stone. Would you like to meet him?” Howard brushed her hair, taking pleasure from the simple act.

 

Steven Stone was Hoenn’s Champion, she remembered. She’d always wanted to meet him.

 

She could feel herself getting excited, but she tried not to let it be shown or to let herself feel it at all. But…

 

“Could I?” she asked, her voice quiet. Even though she’d gained more use over her voice, she hadn’t felt confident or the will to speak up anymore.

 

Howard smiled slightly at her. “But of course. You’ve been such a good girl. I will only have you set up a few things before the party, and then when you’re done you may retire to a room and wait. Wear whatever you’d like.”

 

He’d, as rewards, given her some nice dresses to wear outside of her work uniform. Ash accepted them (not really for or against them), having lost any caring for anything long before.

 

When the time came, Ash helped out where she could, and was even in charge of making the cake for dessert. She got excited for that, even though in the back of her mind she remembered who she was and what she was doing there.

 

By the time she fully remembered and it had settled in, the party was in full swing and she’d dressed herself in a simple but pretty lavender dress, crying into her hands while she sat in the room assigned to her.

 

She wasn’t even a real servant. She wasn’t hired or paid like the others. She’d just been bought off a market, and taken in by some man who could tell her to do whatever he wanted. If she was going to be bought, why couldn’t Miranda have just let Cyrus buy her –

 

“Are you alright, love?”

 

Her head shot up and she stared at the intruder, knowing the face immediately from all of the tabloids and media his face was plastered on. Steven Stone was as handsome as he was in pictures and on TV, with light steel blue hair and his pale turquoise eyes.

 

He smiled a little at her. “Hello, I’m Steven. My uncle pointed me this way. Are you okay? You were crying.”

 

Ash wiped at her eyes and gave him a trembling smile. “I-I’m fine,” she answered, still quiet.

 

“You don’t look fine,” Steven’s smile became sad as he came over. “Want to talk about it?”

 

Ash didn’t really think Howard would appreciate her telling his nephew that she was miserable being there as the man’s servant. So she shook her head instead and Steven reluctantly nodded.

 

“What’s your name?” he asked her, coming closer to her even more.

 

She couldn’t help the involuntary flinch or how she instinctively tensed up. He slowed down, but didn’t stop until he was at an arm’s length from her.

 

“My name is Ash,” she told him though.

 

“Well, Ash, why are you here and not out there enjoying the party?” his smile lightened up and he tried to maintain a friendly atmosphere.

 

“I just finished work and Howard said I can go rest,” she answered him unsurely, because she wasn’t fully sure how to answer his question. Howard hadn’t exactly said she couldn’t attend the party, but she felt uncomfortable doing so.

 

Steven’s eyebrows flew up. “You work for my uncle?”

 

Giving a hesitant nod, she watched as Steven bit his lip.

 

“Stay here, alright? I’ll be right back,” Steven left her, only to come back quickly with a wine bottle and two glasses. “Have you ever had wine before?”

 

She remembered she mostly had it to cook with, like all those times with Siebold. But she couldn’t really remember drinking it for real. Shaking her head, Steven then opened the bottle and then poured some into both glasses, handing one to her.

 

“Then drink up,” he gave her a wider, cheerful grin, and toasted to her. She hesitantly clinked her glass against his and then took an experimental sip. Finding she liked the taste, she started to drink more.

 

It was nice and felt so normal as she talked to Steven after that, going to everything from the pokémon he had to how was being a champion.

 

And if afterwards, they slow danced and he quietly and unquestioningly let her cry into his neck while she clutched onto him and he held onto her, then maybe she didn’t have to be so lost and such a mess.