Master of the Birds

Chapter 6

Delila had woken up early in the morning to a pleasant breeze and warm sunshine but something had still felt off to her, as if she was missing something important. she had realized what she was feeling when she went to wake ash up for breakfast only to find his tent empty and her little boy missing, professor oak and his arcanine had helped her look everywhere as they followed his sent up to the volcano but then they lost it in the caves.

the two had quickly run to the police station after that and reported him missing, that had been over twelve hours ago and the sun was beginning to set as Delila waited anxiously at the police station hoping and praying that her son would be alright.

"miss ketchum, professor oak" a police man called from the front desk causing Delila and oak to jump to their feet and rush up to meet him.

"have they found my son?" Delila asked desperately to which the officer nodded his head getting a relived sigh from the worried mother.

"they found him pretty deep in the caves and he seems to be unconscious right now but other than that and a few burns the boy looks just fine, they can either bring him to the hospital on the island or they can have him flown to the hospital in Veridian city"

"I think it would be best to take him to Veridian, I mean no offence but they simply have better equipment to deal with any problems should ash have an internal injury or infection" professor oak said while Delila nodded her head silently beside him, the officer nodded not offended since he understood that they were a small island that didn't have the same resources that a major city like Veridian could call on. with ash on his way by ambulance to the airport Delila and oak made their way to the air strip as well so they could travel with ash and so they could be there just incase he woke up on the plane.

as they waited for the plane to take off Delila couldn't help the feelings of worry and shame as she constantly looked behind her to see the sleeping face of her son who had been strapped in so there was no risk of him attempting to get up if he woke during transport. she knew she shouldn't be blaming herself and professor oak had been telling her the same thing for  the last few hours as he tried to calm her down after the shock she had received the first time she had seen ash lying on the stretcher as they lifted him on to the plane.

it didn't help her guilt though as she thought about all the things she could have done to prevent him from going out and trying to wander around in the jungle along, the fact that he had made it all the way into the caves of the volcano with out anyone noticing him would be the fuel of her nightmares for weeks, what if he had come across an aggressive fire type? what if he had gotten hopelessly lost in the caves? what if the volcano had erupted on top of him?

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a few hours later that feels like a century the plane finally lands in the Veridian air port, Delila and oak are rushed with ash to the hospital where the doctors are quick to start examining ash and trying to see what might be keeping him asleep. thankfully the doctors are able to reassure Delila that he's simply asleep because of stress and that he would wake up in an hour or so, the bad news is that there's nothing they can do for the strange burn marks that covered both of his palms and spread along his chest. 

Delia sat there at her child's bedside as she held his hand simply staring down at the frankly beautiful ice like designs that the burn had made on her son's skin while she waited for him to wake up. professor oak had left a few minutes ago to check in with his lab and to get some food for them, knowing that ash would be hungry once he woke up no matter how long it took for that to happen and it would be better for them to have something for him to eat on hand.

"hello Delila" a voice spoke from the door, she was almost too exhausted to even turn around to see who had just entered the room but hearing that familiar voice saying her name gave her the strength she needed to stand and face the man who had just invaded her son's hospital room.

"what are you doing here Giovanni" it wasn't a question, the two of them knew that it was an accusation against the man that was standing before her looking just like he always had. his short dark brown hair was slicked back while the dark black three piece suit was complimented with a red tie and his polished shoes gleamed in the hospital lights, not a hair was out of place and Delila couldn't help remembering her thoughts about this man so many years ago when his near inhuman perfection began to scare her. 

"I had heard that you were in town, that you had arrived with an injured child. one too young to be some passing trainer that you rescued out of the goodness of your heart" the question was there but Delila refused to acknowledge it, she had kept her son safe and as hidden as she could from Giovanni.

she had never been able to prove or explain her aversion to the Veridian city gym leader, according to all those who met him Giovanni was a decent if slightly cold man who simply didn't express his thoughts or feelings often. there were some who saw him as slightly strange but they often chalked it up to it being a social situation and as a man nearly obsessed with Pokémon and their training it wasn't exactly a shocker that he had a hard time interacting with other people when Pokémon weren't involved.

Delila however had been dating Giovanni and got to see a side of him that he kept hidden from the world, it had started off wonderfully. she had been one of those who had brushed off his strange comments and mannerisms as simply being awkward at first, it couldn't have been easy to train both his Pokémon and himself into such shape and his prowess in battle had to have a price wither it was Giovanni's time or his social interactions.

but after a year of dating he had offered for her to move in with him, at first it had been everything she had ever dreamed of but after a few weeks he simply couldn't hold the mask anymore and she began to notice him doing strange things. there were calls in the middle of the night that she brushed off as work calls, he was the CEO of a major corporation after all and that meant that he needed to work at odd hours even if that meant getting a call at three in the morning.

she had really become suspicious when he began disappearing at odd hours and not returning, sometimes he was back in hours but other times he would be gone for days and all she would be told was that he had gone to do some work and that she was to remain inside. other than the secrets thou his issue with control was one of the biggest problems in their relationship, she was rarely allowed out of the mansion with out him and even when she was Giovanni always had some of his men following her around and spying on her.

he would say it was for her own protection but eventually she had snapped and simply left one night taking a bag of her cloths and a few essentials, it was only enough to make it to pallet town where she had been taken in by professor oak. while the elder man didn't understand Delila's aversion to Giovanni he respected her wishes not to be in a relationship with the man any more.

it was nearly a month later that she found out she was pregnant and she knew exactly whose it was but she wouldn't tell him, she had fallen in love the moment she heard the news from a nurse in the small family run clinic that resided in pallet. she had escaped the prison that Giovanni had been building around her and she wasn't about to let her son fall into that cage either.