Chapter 5
Collecting

By.TexemonOfficial

Author's note: Hey y'all, Tex here. I just wanted to apologize for this chapter's lateness, I wasn't expecting my turn to fall on a week that I had to take three exams and write a two-page essay. BUT, me, being the crazy awesome dude that I am, pulled it off just in time! So, without further ado, let's get this chapter started, shall we?
*Sorry for any grammatical errors that you may encounter.

(Ian's pov)

I was staring out the train window watching the trees go by. I'm not sure why, but I find it to be a calming thing to do before a mission.

"Attention passengers, we will be arriving in Pallet Town shortly." Said the conductor over the loud speaker.

'So it's almost time.' I thought.

We arrived at the station a few minutes later. I grabbed my satchel and got off the train. I then walked out of the train station and took a seat on a nearby bench. I looked to make sure no one was around, before pulling out a tape recorder.

"Mission log, the time is 7:35 a.m. and I have just arrived at the target's reported location, Pallet Town. As of now, I can't sense either of the two targets, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before one of them gets careless. I will begin by mingling with the locals, then set a few traps. Updates will come as more information is obtained, Ian out." I said.

I put my recorder back in my satchel, and start walking toward what looks liked down town.

'I swear; I will not rest until I kill every last vampire.' I thought with a serious and almost angry look in my eye.

(Ash's pov)

"Ahhhhh! Ash help me!" Serena yelled, she was trapped in a cage.

"Don't worry Serena, I'll save you!" I said, running toward her.

"Not so fast Ketchum!" Said a very familiar voice.

I turned my gaze upwards to see Gary, clad in a suit of evil looking armor.

"Gary, you fiend, what do you want with Serena!?" I yelled.

"Mwahahahaha!! You fool, she was just bait. I knew that if I took her, you would come. Now I have you right where I want you. Prepare to die Ketchum!!" Said Gary, drawing his sword.

"Bring it on Gary!" I yelled, drawing mine as well.

We charged at one another.

"YAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" We both yelled.

Our blades clashed and the fight began. I parried strike after strike, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Finally, I got my chance. Gary swung his sword downward, but I dodged, rolled around behind him and slashed him across the back.

"Gahh! That was a cheap trick Ketchum!" Said Gary angrily.

"You mad bro?" I said with a smirk.

Gary's forehead twitched.

"That's enough out of you! Let's end this Ketchum!" He said, rushing towards me.

I braced myself for his attack, but then made a quick glance behind me. I wasn't far from the edge of a cliff. If either of us fell it would be game over for sure! Then, I had an idea. As Gary took a swing at me, I side-stepped and ended up behind him.

"Checkmate." I said, as I gave Gary a hard kick.

He stumbled forward, lost his balance, and fell off of the cliff.

"Noooooooooo!!!! This isn't the end Ketchum!!" He yelled as he fell.

I spun my sword around and sheathed it. Then, I turned my attention to my princess.

"Ash, you won!" Serena said excitedly.

"Serena, hang tight, I'll get you out of there!" I said.

I ran over and pulled a lever, lowering the cage. When it reached the ground, I busted the lock and opened the door. Serena jumped into my arms.

"Are you alright?" I asked, trying to sound cool.

Serena smiled warmly.

"I am now, thank you my hero." She said as she cupped my face.

She leaned in for a kiss. We were just inches apart and- OW!

I opened my eyes and started rubbing my head.

"Aw man, of course I had to fall out of bed. That dream was going so well too!" I mumbled.

I got up off of the floor, stretched and laid back down on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I remembered the awesomeness that went down last night. Gary had better think twice before he messes with me again. I guess that's where that dream came from. But, the ending...

'Wait, did I really almost kiss Serena in my dream? Could it be that I.....like her? No, that can't be, I mean, she's a vampire, vampires can't love, right? Besides, someone as beautiful as her would never go for a guy like me anyway.' I thought with a sigh.

I roll over and notice the time on my clock. It read 7:40 a.m.

"Oh crap, I'm gonna be late!" I said.

I jumped out of bed and hurried down to the kitchen. When I got there I saw mom washing some dishes.

"Morning Mom." I said a little happier than usual.

She raised an eyebrow, noticing the difference.

"Good morning Ash, you seem unusually chipper today. Did something happen?" She asked.

Oh man what do I say? I can't just tell her what happened with Gary.

"Let's just say, progress was made." I said.

She looked like she was about to ask me what I meant, but she just smiled and nodded. She probably thought I was talking about video games.

"Well that's nice. Now hurry and eat your breakfast or you'll be late for school." She said.

So I finished my breakfast, got dressed, and headed out the door. I made it to the entrance of the school, and just out of habit I got nervous. Then I saw Gary standing by the entrance. Was he waiting to bully me, even after what happened? I kept walking, trying not to look scared. Then he turned to me.

"H-hey Gary." I said.

He walked up to me, I was expecting to be punched, but what he did made my jaw drop.

"G-good morning Sir!" He said.

'No way...' I thought.

"Would you like me to take your bag for you?" He said almost like he was a servant or something.

A lightbulb came on in my head, and a smirk came onto my face.

'Ohhh, I'm gonna have some fun with this!' I thought.

"Yes Gary, yes you can." I said.

For the rest of the day, Gary and some of the other guys that bullied me acted as my lackeys. Carrying my stuff, bringing me food during lunch, it was awesome. I was expecting to fall out of bed again, but nope this was all real. After school, I relieved Gary of his services for today, and headed home.
'Okay, I thought yesterday was awesome, but this takes the cake.' I thought to myself.

Something else then came to mind.

'Serena and Miette said I owed them a favor for all of this, I wonder what that could be?' I thought.

I was apparently so lost in thought that I wasn't even watching where I was going and accidentally bumped into someone.

"Ooof." We both said.

"Hey watch it!" He said.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry sir, I should have been paying more attention!" I said.

He simply sighed.

"It's no big deal. Hey, can I ask you something?" He said.

"Um, sure what is it?" I replied.

"This might sound like an odd question, but you wouldn't happen to know of any vampires around here, would you?" He asked in a serious tone.

I froze for a second. Who is this guy? I can't just tell him about Miette and Serena. I had to bluff.

"Seriously, vampires? That's ridiculous, vampires don't exist." I said.

I couldn't tell if he bought it or not. But then he smirked.

"I've gotten that a lot today. Sorry to bother you." He said as he walked away.

'What was that all about?' I thought to myself.

It was getting late, so I decided to just shrug it off and I headed home. When I walked in, my mom was on the couch watching tv.

"I'm home!" I said.

"Oh welcome home Ash, how as your day?" She asked.

"My day was great!" I said happily.

Mom looked shocked, she had never seen me in such a good mood after school before.

"I'm headed up to my room." I said.

"O-okay, I'll call you when dinner is ready." She said.

I nodded and went up to my room. I opened the door to find I had two familiar guests.

"Hey Ash!" Serena said.

"What took you so long?" Said Miette.

The two spooked me a little.

"Uwwaa!" I said, falling on my butt.

"Ash, you okay!?" Mom called.

"Oh uhh, yeah, just tripped!" Replied.

I quickly closed the door.

"What in the world are you two doing here so early!?" I asked.

"Hey Ash, it's good to see you too." Miette said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes.

"Okay fine, it's good to see the two of you too. Now what is it you want?" I said.

"We are here to collect." Said Serena.

"Collect?" I asked, a little confused.

"You did say you owed us a favor, or did you already forget?" Miette said with her hands on her hips.

"Oh yeah, that. What is it you want?" I asked.

The two vampires looked at each other and smirked.

"Well.." Said Serena.

Miette then points at me.

"You are going to take us out on a date!" She said.

Huh....

HUH!?!

Author's note: And there you have it folks. I really hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. I wasn't exactly sure what to do at first, but last night this hit me. And again, sorry for the delay. Anyway, good luck to all of the future writers!

Next chapter goes to TheNameIsMark