A/N: So round two? things explode. Sorry? Also this title? Not my favorite
Ping
They hit the fork at noon and each go their separate ways. Brock to Pewter, Misty to Cerulean and Ash to Pallet. They promise to see each other again and to write and call. Misty gives Ash a kerchief and Brock gives him lunch and then they split. He stands and stares until Misty is just almost out of view, drawn only when his pokedex pings. It's Misty, or more accurately a picture of her sticking out her tongue. "Stop staring and get on the road. It'll be dark before you're home" it's captioned. Ash laughs and waves once more before turning on his way. She's right, of course, and his mother will worry.
His pokedex pings again half an hour later. A picture of her leaning against her bike and fishing, Togepi asleep beside her. The caption almost dares Ash to find himself in that river and destroy her bike once more. Ash sits down to eat and send her a picture of his own meal when Team Rocket appears and his vision fills with light and smoke. His pokedex pings.
There's a pit.
ping
Falling.
ping
Smoke.
ping
Pikachu cries.
ping
Pain
And nothing.
He has to get out. But everything is choking. And thick. His arms are heavy. He needs….
Air?
The kerchief! He wraps it around his face and suddenly, air coming in, he can think. He has to get out of the pit but the walls are smooth. If only he had something to help him climb. Cutlery! Brocks lunch had a spoon and a knife. He makes his way to the top, somehow, and retrieves Pikachu. He's sore. Every muscle aches but Pikachu is safe and Pallet is in sight. Another ping and he trudges forward, falling into his house. It's only hours later, after his mother has fussed over him and Pikachu and his visited the labs and bathed that he thinks to look at the messages. There's one from Misty saying she's back on her way and another saying she's home. Then one from Brock with the word home and nothing else. Ash sighs in relief that they've both made it and lays down on his bed to finish the chronicle that seems to be Misty's entire day in bite size segments. He misses her, briefly. There's not a day on his journey that he's been without her and he's glad, at least, to be able to share this day as well.
An image of the Dewgong sign having fallen down and solely the word sigh. Her sisters must have left without even bothering to fix the place up.
A hastily taken image of what looks like Nurse Joy in a suit? It's captioned with "just my luck, the league rep is here to asses me…thanks for warning me Daisy"
A picture of Gyarados in a cage with no words. And then a break between messages for maybe an hour. Ash clicks through wondering if he's lost any but the next one in the series is Misty atop Gyarados with a smile. Ash smiles to see it, despite her love of water pokemon the large sea creature had always seemed to terrify Misty. He yawns as he clicks to the last message, a video of Misty in her room.
"Hey Ash," she starts. She lays her head on her arms and Ash is shocked to see bandages run the length of them. She looks at the screen and winces apologetically. "Oops? Yeah. So don't get worried but I may have been hit with a few poison stings today." she shrugs and water flies at the camera making her lean forward to wipe it off. Ash blushes to see it, she may be his best friend but he's 14 and there's only so much restraint he can exercise. "I'm ok though see?" she stands and twirls showing more grace then she usually possesses. She only knocks one glass off her desk. "It was this whole thing with Team Rocket but they're gone. I'm safe and all of the Pokémon are with Joy getting a checkup." She smiles again, laying her head back down on bandaged arms. Ash's eyes begin to droop. "Well night Ash…I guess I'll talk to you when you get around to it." She says, and Ash feels guilty. He should message her, though maybe in the morning. She leans forward to cut off the camera and Ash begins to turn off the screen when suddenly she says "Oh! And the best part? I'm officially THE cerulean gym leader! Arceus it's weird to tell you this. I keep meaning to turn around and then…you're not there…and Brocks not there. And sleeping in beds? Weird. Comfy, but weird. Oh well. Night for real Ashy-boy." and the screen cuts before Ash can even process the nickname. Momentarily he's annoyed and then excited but mostly tired. He closes his eyes…
…and opens them three seconds (and 3 hours) later to his pokedex pinging rapidly. Messages pouring in. his Mother is knocking on his door loudly. She knocks two, three times and then swings it open.
"Ash, dear are you awake?" he nods numbly. It's not like her to be this worked up at midnight. "Ash, your friend…Misty? She's not the cerulean gym leader is she?"
"She is Ma, why?" Ash chokes out, throat rough with smoke and sleep. His mother gasps and places a hand over her mouth. She pulls her son out of bed and down the hall to the one tv they own. The tv showing the wreckage of the cerulean gym. For a moment Ash can't make it out. He can hear the news crew describing the mess, the fire brigade discussing the damage and everyone wondering about the loss of life. But it's words. It's the Dewgong sign that catches his eye. Still standing, albeit crookedly, where Misty had fixed that afternoon. It's the only thing untouched in a field of burning parts.
"…thought to be the actions of the Team Rocket terrorist group…the only resident at this time was Misty Waterflower, the youngest in the family and current official leader of the Cerulean Gym. No information is known at present about her condition…" Ash glances at his pokedex, hoping that one of the messages is from her. There are 200 and none of them from her address. 10 alone are from Brock asking if he's heard but most are from friends they've met on the way hoping someone known something. Anything. The phone rings and he's in the kitchen answering before he realizes he's walked there.
"Hey Ash," a tired voice says and his eyes snap to the screen.
"Misty?" he questions. And it's her. Her hair is down and slightly singed, tinged black at the very edges. One arm is in a sling, fingers barely poking out of white cast and she's wearing what looks like a flowered dress—very different then the yellow and red he's used to seeing her in. but it's her. Slightly dirty, very worn but very there. His mother comes running at the name.
"Yeah," she coughs as his mother sees her on screen.
"Misty dear are you alright?" his mother asks. Misty nods, slowly as though the gesture hurts.
"Yes. The gyms … and we can't….can you…I need" She stops and starts but Ash's mother is answering before he even pieces together what she means.
"We're coming to get you. Where are you?" She's using that tone that can't be brokered with, though Ash doubts Misty will try. He's never seen Misty so close to tears and he's seen the girl cry.
"The cerulean center." Misty says, "But I don't…"
"Nonsense. We're coming. I'll take Samuel's car" And she's out the door before Ash even process that she's talking about Professor Oaks vehicle.
"I'll see you soon Mist…" Ash says and on the screen she nods.
The drive is tense. The radio reports that Misty's alive as they drive and that no Pokémon or human life was lost in the blaze. Ash's mom hums as they drive, chanting under her breath about the horrors of an organization that would go after a young girl like Misty. Ash doesn't tell her that she's defeated them before and had earlier that day. He doesn't tell her that he'd fought with them. He just clutches Pikachu and watches the forest pass by.
It takes them ten minutes before Ash and his mom are rushing through the doors. It's eleven before Misty is in his arms. She's not even sure what has happened until Pikachu coos at her from his other shoulder.
"You couldn't just run the gym peacefully?" he says, sitting next to her as they await his moth and the Joy coming to an agreement about Misty leaving.
"Where'd the fun be in that?," She bites back. "Besides I couldn't leave you on your own too long….who knows what you'd get into." Her head falls on his shoulder heavily and her eyes drift shut.
"Of course Mist," he replies yawning. "Someone has to look out for me." He leans his head atop hers, eyes shutting. They should call Brock and everyone else. Misty's fine and they should all know. But that, that can wait until morning.