Disbelief

Three figures stood at the height of a tiny island, simply hoping for the best. The redhead of the trio, Misty, had hoped things would turn out fine. Her aquamarine eyes stared at the ocean, watching how the waves were slowly growing with fierceness. As she listened closely, there was a strong presence of the wind howling as if it was trembling with panic. This was the last thing to pop into her mind since spending time at the Orange Islands. Their friend, Ash, seemed to fit the puzzle of the legend and become the chosen one. It was his mission to gather the stones from three islands and unite them to stop nature's rage.

Chaos was not far from the trio. The three legendary birds were at large, causing destruction everywhere. The determined Ash had set off to get the final stone from the most dangerous island where the three birds resumed their fight. Despite protests, he insisted and left.

And now she and her friends were waiting. What more could they possibly do than wait?

She could tell Ash was under tremendous pressure due to being the chosen one. Her eyes grew sad knowing how the weight of the world was on his shoulders. She gently cradled Togepi as a source of comfort.

"Please hurry."

"Let's hope… the legend is true," Misty heard Melody say.

Just then a familiar voice called out to them. The trio brightened to see Ash and Pikachu safely riding Lugia. They had made it. Misty felt relieved seeing how she saw Ash waving to them.

But then she saw something strange. Blue sparks suddenly surrounded Ash, Pikachu, and Lugia. Was it electricity? Whatever it was, it seemed to disrupt Lugia's flying. She couldn't tell what exactly was happening.

'You can do it, Lugia,' she cheered in her thoughts. After all, Lugia was a legendary Pokemon.

And then it dawned to her it must be one of Lawrence III's machinery. He was still out there. Her eyes grew wide in horror as the device proved to be too much for Lugia. She watched the three fall into the ocean and in a blink of an eye, came back out. Lugia was fighting. Just as quickly, she saw a beam of light reach far into the distance, causing destruction. Misty assumed Lugia scored a direct hit on Lawrence III. Was that Aeroblast? Again, she couldn't tell.

Soon enough, the three had once again fallen into the ocean. Her hands held onto her baby Pokemon tighter than before. Her heart quickened. No one else said anything. She didn't know what to do but continue to wait.

'Ash, get Squirtle out to help,' she said in her thoughts. She was sure Ash knew what to do. He wouldn't be that stupid, right?

As the ocean grew more violent, lightning was becoming more common than ever before. The cyclones surrounding the ocean didn't seem to improve. Instead, they were roaring. Misty's eyes frantically watched the waves, searching for any sign of the three.

It started to dawn on her that perhaps she was wanting to believe nothing had happened to Ash. He had always taken down any challenge that came along his way. Somehow, he always managed to win. He always got back up. The redhead felt chills running down her spine, slowly coming to realize Ash was not conscious. The thought of Ash dying haunted her thoughts, but she could not face that.

Not after all the adventures they had gone through. Not after the arguments, laughter, and sadness. Not after all that hard work.

'It can't be,' she thought. The young gym leader continued to stare at the ocean. She was in complete disbelief.

"Here, take this."

"Huh?" Misty was completely taken aback by Melody's voice. The redhead had an eerie feeling Melody was thinking the worst as well.

"Legend or not, Ash can't do this alone."

The brunette gave her a hard stare, offering her ocarina. The redhead stared back, lips slightly parting. Melody was right. It was completely unrealistic to assume Ash would be able take on this duty. Part of her felt in pain for not realizing this sooner. She had to do something.

After a moment of recollecting her thoughts, Misty shook her head to decline Melody's offering. Instead of a scowl, the redhead smiled at the brunette. She had managed to calm down after the initial shock. "No, you'll have to play Lugia's Song. I'll go look for him."

She then stared off at the ocean. "And Ash is never really alone because he's got…" she turned back to face Melody, "… me."

Misty could tell Melody understood her words as the two grasped hands in agreement. The two were finally getting along. After all, Ash was her burden. She was in charge of him whether anyone liked it or not.

There was no way she would allow Ash to die.