Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
Italics: Thoughts unless showing a time jump. Normal text is Ash's and bold is the King of Pokélantis's
Ages: Ash and Misty- 15 going on 16
A/N: Sequel to Lingering Darkness. Read that before this or you might be confused. I only wrote this because a few people asked for a sequel to Lingering Darkness so here it is. Because this was not planned, it is going to be short and rushed. Enjoy.
Ash's POV
In Kanto…
"Alright, buddy. We finally made it back to Kanto. Now, we just have to get to Cerulean City and find Misty" I said to Pikachu. Pikachu shook its head in agreement. I left the city and headed towards Cerulean. Don't waste your time. Misty can't help you. It's a possibility she can.
Sometime later…
"We're here!" I shouted to the sky. I ran down the hill towards the Cerulean Gym at full speed. I couldn't wait to see Misty after all these months. She is so amazing. And bossy. "Hello?! Hello?!" I yelled while banging on the doors of the gym. The sign said closed, but someone still had to be home.
"Hold on!" a voice said from in the building. I waited patiently, hoping to see Misty's beautiful face. I was greeted by Daisy's instead. I ground my teeth in frustration that it was not the girl I came to see. Be angry and annoyed with her. No, I have to calm down. I took a deep breath and put on a smile.
"Hey, Daisy" I greeted the blonde when she opened the door.
"Ash, right?"
"Yeah, you remembered."
"Kinda, but it's like hard to forget when Misty doesn't shut up about you" Daisy stated with a slight smile on her face. "Come in. Misty's out by the pool with all the Pokémon."
"Thanks" I said before heading towards the pool. Dumb blonde. She can't even talk right. My feet carried me down a familiar corridor then to a room. Inside, I saw the most beautiful sight ever. Misty was in a green bikini, swimming around with the Pokémon in the pool. "Wow" I breathed out in awe. Misty spun around and looked at me. She's gorgeous.
"Ash!" Misty shouted in surprise, the good kind. A huge grin broke out onto her face as she jumped out of the pool and ran towards me. I opened up my arms and she enveloped me in a hug, soaking my clothes. "It's so good to see you. I missed you" Misty cried. She looked up at me; a light blush dusted her cheeks. Someone likes you and that is not good. Get rid of her. She is just a weakness.
"I missed you too, Mist" I cooed.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were travelling with May, Max, and Brock."
"I was" I said sadly.
"What's wrong?"
"T-T-They left me. That's why I came here. I need your help, Mist. Something's wrong with me. I think you're the only one that can help me" I said desperately on the verge of tears.
"What can possibly be wrong with you? I mean, what isn't wrong with you? Ever since I've known you, you've been flaws all over but that's what made me fall in…never mind" Misty started. She insulted you. Hurt her like she just did to you. No, she was playing around like always. Like we used to. I think. I hope. Maybe not.No matter how hard I tried to convince myself she was joking, I couldn't do it. My blood boiled with anger.
"Gee, Mist. I come here to ask for help and all you do is say that I have a million things wrong with me? I thought you were my friend! You are supposed to help me make things better not worse. Do you see what you did?! You are just making things worse not better. I shouldn't have come here. It was a waste of my time just like you" I growled out.
"Ash, I—" Misty began. Hurt was obviously evident in her tone of voice. Good, she deserves it.
"Pika" Pikachu growled out. NO! He looked at me angrily before giving me a small shock. My muscles tensed up the relaxed then tensed up. My body trembled and twitched from the electricity coursing through my body. I collapsed onto my knees and drew in shaky breaths. My body spasmed a few more times before I could move.
"Thanks bud. Keep up the good work" I said while petting Pikachu. I looked up to see Misty fuming with anger.
"What the heck was that just now? Ash Ketchum, you have a lot of explaining to do" Misty shouted angrily. This girl has guts.
"Like I said before, something is wrong with me. While I was in Hoenn, I was possessed by the spirit of the King of Pokélantis. He was an evil dude that was hungry for power. We thought he was taken out of me, but I'm starting to have doubts. Or if he was, his anger and greed for power is still inside me. I easily get angered, and I do occasionally physically harm people. I was thinking that you could help me control this. You are the strongest, bravest person I know. I want you to help me get through this. I believe in you. I trust that you will help me and give it your all" I explained in a little speech. Misty stared at me. She must be letting everything sink into her brain. She pondered on my wish for a moment before sighing.
"Ash, you are my best friend besides Brock, so I would be stupid not to help you. I was really touched when you said you thought I could help you. But just so you know, I won't go easy on you. If you get angry with me, I will get angry with you. If you get physical with me, I will get physical with you, but it will be worse than you can imagine. Do we have a deal?" Misty stated.
"Deal. And one thing, I just want you to know that no matter what I say, I don't mean it. Pikachu will help you out too. Our goal is to control the darkness within me" I clarified. We can stop my dark side together. Or make it grow.
"Right" Misty said.
"So when do you want to start?"
"How about today? The gym's closed for the rest of the day."
"Okay, sounds like a great idea. Oh, and before I forget, can I stay here at the gym while we try to get rid of or control this thing?"
"Ash, you don't need to ask. You're always welcome. So how exactly are we going to try and control your 'dark side?' I mean do we live our lives normally or try to activate it or what?" Misty asked me.
"I think we can try to activate it, but we can also just hang out and do everything like we normally would" I suggested.
"Alright, should I try to make you angry?"
"Go ahead, but remember that I said that I don't mean what I say and that I do sometimes try to hit people. I don't want you to get hurt emotionally or physically" I confessed, blushing. She is a weakness. She makes you soft. Get rid of her. She will never be able to help you.
"Hmmm? Where to start? Oh, I know" Misty stated excitedly, pounding a fist on the palm of her other hand. She looked at me cheerily before her eyes locked onto mine and her face turned serious and angry at the same time. "How could you?! You are such a jerk, Ash Ketchum. I spent years…years, travelling with you then you just give me a new bike and say I can stop travelling with you now! Couldn't you tell that I actually enjoyed travelling with you and that I might have actually travelled with you because I wanted to? Then before I know it, you are off to another region and you replace me, your best friend, with another girl. Do you even consider other people's feelings?" Misty shouted.
"Whoa, Misty I—" I started. I didn't know if she was making this stuff up or if this was how she really felt but I was dying inside from guilt. Feel bad. Get angry. Make her feel better.
"Don't you even try to deny it, Ash? I know that you were relieved when I left. I bet that you were like 'I am so glad the annoying runt is gone. I couldn't stand her. I mean who likes only water Pokémon anyway?' Well, you know what? I don't care what you think. I don't care if you feel bad right now or not. There is no excuse for what you did!"
"Mist, let me explain. I—" I tried again.
"Don't you dare try to say you're sorry! I hate you!" I must confess. That last line really stung. I physically cringed. However, I was getting angry that she wasn't listening to me. I had to tell her what I felt.
"Misty, I—" I tried one last time.
"No, Ash. I—" Misty began this time, but I cut her off.
"Will you just listen to me?!" I yelled, clenching my eyes and fists shut. "Arceus, do you ever stop talking? You're so annoying. Is that all you ever talk about? Your problems? Well that is just pathetic, Misty. I never thought you would be that kind of person. Looks like you're just like everyone else. Selfish and irritating. Why do you even exist in this world? This world doesn't need people like you" I rambled. She is a joke. I opened my eyes and looked at Misty. I could see clearly see the pain on her face, but it quickly disappeared after a few seconds. She shook her head as her face turned red from rage.
"Arceus, Ash! Are you even trying in there?! Are you going to keep talking to me like that or are you going to calm down and fight off that evil spirit? Sheesh, do you even have a brain?" Misty commented. She was right. I didn't even try to stop myself from talking or saying mean things. Whenever my 'dark side' comes out, I feel like I am still myself and nothing has changed. I need to get a grip and realize when I'm being taken over by the spirit's power or not. I focused really hard on controlling my actions but nothing happened.
"Why you little, runt? Nobody talks to me like that. Not even you, Misty. I try to put up with you, but I don't know if I can. I can't stand being around you." Misty stormed up to me. Her finger started to poke me in the chest.
"Listen up, Mister Pokémon Master. If you ever call me a runt again, then only Arceus knows if you'll see the light of day tomorrow." Tough. I mentally sighed. I have to give it one more try. I need to calm down or get Misty or Pikachu to snap me out of this before things get any worse.
"P-P-Pikachu, please h-help" I managed to get out through grit teeth. My face was still morphed into one of anger. Pikachu looked up at me from the ground by Misty and nodded. He shocked me with a thunderbolt, and I passed out. I woke up to see Misty's face over mine. My head was in something warm. I reached back with my hand and touched skin. My head must be in Misty's lap.
"Are you okay, Ash? Did I do a good job?" Misty asked proudly. Why is she so smug?
"I'm fine, and you did great. But, did you really mean what you said?" Misty smiled and her eyes shone.
"Only a little bit of it. I did feel bad that you didn't really notice that I travelled with you out of my own free happiness but the other stuff like hating you and the replacement stuff was a lie."
"Good, I don't know what I'd do if it was true" I stated truthfully.
"So, did you improve any?" Misty asked with curiosity lacing her voice.
"I think so. I've never been able to speak once my 'dark side' is unleashed."
"Then we're off to a great start. Hopefully we can work on getting you out of your trance without having to knock you out with a thunderbolt. Right, Pikachu?"
"Pika chu" Pikachu exclaimed. I smiled. I have such great friends.They won't stick around. I'll get worse and they'll leave. They won't stick with me. I'm weak. I need to become strong without them. Even if it means hurting my own self.
A/N: When the King of Pokélantis thinks stuff, Ash thinks that he is thinking those things. He thinks that those are his thoughts. Review or flame.