"Ash, are you sure you want to travel?" Dawn asked.
"Positive. I'll be fine," Ash informed in reply. They were quiet for a moment, then Brock decided to ask what had been bugging him all day.
"Hey, what was that text from your friend about, anyway?" He asked. Ash stopped walking and sighed.
"You'll be able to guess when I tell you that she's my-" His answer was stopped short when they heard a huge crack. Brock saw the ground around Ash shift a bit, then it fell off the cliff with Ash still on it.
"Ash!" Brock was quick to jump over and grab Ash's hand so that he didn't fall. "Ash, hold on!!"
Ash looked at Brock, the usual fear in his eyes (Brock had gotten so used to seeing it if Ash was about to fall) not there. "Brock, I… don't think that I can get myself to do that…"
"What do you mean?" Brock asked urgently. Ash looked away and let his hand slip a bit. Brock gasped and gripped it tighter. Ash looked at them, and Brock saw the sadness in his eyes as he whispered, "I'm sorry."
Then he let go.
"Ash!!!" Brock yelled. The cliff was dangerously high, but Ash thankfully landed in a river that Brock hadn't noticed until then. Brock and Dawn ran to the bottom of the cliff to find him.
This can't be happening, Brock thought. Ash wouldn't kill himself on purpose, would he? …No. There's no way. It must have been that text! What the heck did it say? I'll ask him when we find him… If he's alive, that is. The thought sent shivers down Brock's spine. Could that thought be true? The cliff was really high… Brock shoved the thought out of his mind quickly. By then, they had reached the bottom of the cliff. Brock was the first to speak: "Ash!"
"Ash, where are you?"
"Please answer us!"
"Ash!"
After a while of calling for Ash and Brock thinking of horrifying things, Dawn suddenly gasped. "Ash!" She ran over to the side of the river. Brock turned to see what she saw.
It was Ash!
Brock ran over and realized that Ash was unconscious. He checked his pulse, just to be safe, and breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God… He thought.
"Come on," He said after convincing himself that Ash was alive. "We should get him some help."
"Right." Dawn stood up, and Brock followed after he picked Ash up. They ran in the direction of the Pokemon Center as Brock thought to Ash, Don't worry, Ash, you'll be okay. I promise, we'll get you to the Pokemon Center, and you'll get better. Then, we can travel again, and you'll be fine from then on. I promise.
Now he needed to convince himself of that.