DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon! That's all I hafta say, right? Good!
A/N: Okay, I'd just like to warn everyone that this story has sixteen chapters that I won't post all at once, cos otherwise the readers would be bogged down. So here it is, chapter 1...enjoy! :)
A giddy feeling shot through Misty as she watched Ash win another battle. What was this? It's not right! He owes her a bike.
A bike. That's why I'm here? one side of her mind asked.
You know damn well why you're here, the other side argued.
"Toge, Togebree!" Her Togepi cheered in her arms and she sadly smiled. If only he knew...if only he could figure it out...then she wouldn't have to tell him...
"Hey Misty, pretty impressive, huh?" Ash asked as he walked up.
Misty's quick wit once again took her over. "The only impressive thing about that was how fast you moved." She inwardly cringed. Yeah, you're really gonna win him over with remarks like that...
But Ash took the remark coolly. "Think what you like, but I'll show you. When I'm a Pokemon Master, you'll have a shrine of me in your room back in Cerulean" he replied.
Misty glared. If she was back home, she would've had a shrine of him up long ago. "If only you knew..." she muttered.
"Huh?" Ash questioned.
Misty quickly shook her head of strawberry hair. "Nothing." Then she decided to ask him something daring as they walked back to the temporary house they had rented for the Orange League. "Ash...do you believe in love at first sight?"
"Oh no, here we ago, another romantic swooning takes place" Ash sighed.
Misty whacked him on his already ruffled hair. "I'm serious! Tell me, do you believe in it, or not?"
Ash shrugged his reply. "Why would you ask me something you should be asking one of your giggly friends in Cerulean?"
"Fat lot of help you are" Misty scowled and Ash grinned a boyish grin that only two people in the world warmed up to. His mother and Misty.The two people who loved him the most. And he only knew one half of it.
"Can we eat? Battling's hard work" Ash explained, and Misty groaned. At least I hadn't been that obvious, she thought positvily.
"You can, I'm not hungry" she shrugged.
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Not hungry? Is that humanly possible?" he wondered aloud.
"You bet it is, you've just never experienced it" Misty said as she turned the doorknob to the house.
"Well, Pikachu and I are gonna get something. Don't forget to feed Togepi!" Ash reminded her.
"As if I would forget to feed Togepi!" Misty yelled, offended. Ash quickly left, not wanting to face the wrath of Misty he had experienced one time too many.
As he shut the door, thinking of his dinner, Misty sighed. "Is that all he ever thinks about? Food?" she asked herself, wishing that Brock was here. He had been good to talk to, until he left for stupid Velenzia Island. He left thinking everything would be okay between those two.
How wrong was he.
"Okay Togepi, what is it tonight? Bread bits? Sausage snipplets?" Misty asked her beloved Togepi.
"Toge" Togepi said simply, pointing to the bread.
"Okay" Misty agreed and began breaking a piece of bread into small sections that Togepi could get its mouth around. As she fed the almost crumbs to Togepi, her mind wandered. Why was she feeling like this at the age of ten? Was that humanly possible?
Togepi sensed Misty's distraction and broke the silence. "Toge Toge, Togebree!" it said happily and Misty shook her head.
"Sorry Togepi, I'm a bit spaced out" she explained, feeding it another piece of bread.
As Togepi started chewing quietly, the phone interrupted all thoughts, feelings and occurances that had happened in the last five minutes.
"I wonder who that is?" Misty asked herself as she walked to the phone. "Ash probably lost the way to the restaurant" she realised, grabbing the Orange League booklet that would have directions to the restaurant.
"Okay Ash, take a left at the main road" she answered.
"Misty? Is that you?" a voice replied.
Her ears instantly registered the voice and she put the phone on video phone. "Daisy? Why are you calling?" she asked with a tinge of worry in her voice. Her sister wouldn't be calling unless something was wrong...
"You have to come here straight away. It's Mom" Daisy started.
Misty stared at her sister on the small screen. "Mom? What's going on?"
Daisy started crying, a sound so rare from any of Misty's family. "Come on, Daisy, you have to tell me!" Misty said desperatly. Daisy collected herself and Misty listened carefully.
"Mom's been diagnosed....with, um...terminal cancer." Daisy burst into heartfelt tears again, and Misty tried to absorb the news.
"No. Daisy, no..."
"She has two months. You have to come here straight away!" Daisy yelled at her little sister.
"Are you sure about this?" Misty choked on the words. Terminal. The word throbbed in her mind like a sore finger.
Daisy nodded. "We went to every doctor in town...they can't find a cure, they can only offer chemotherapy."
Misty, too, burst into tears. "Mom can't...she can't..." the words couldn't come, but the two sisters understood. "Where's Lily and Violet?"
"They're with her at the hospital" Daisy explained.
"Well, where are you?" Misty asked through her tears.
"I'm back home, getting a few of her things...when can you come here? The Gym will pay for you to fly out" Daisy offered.
Misty considered. "I don't know..." Come on, your mother is dying! her mind screamed at her and she cringed in guilt. "...when the next flight is" she added.
Daisy sniffled and wiped away a tear. "Find out and get here. Mom's been asking for you." This didn't help Misty's water cascade, and the tears fell like a weak water gun attack.
"I'll be out there as soon as I can" she promised.
"Thanks, Mist. See you soon..."
"Daisy, wait" Misty said, and Daisy refrained from hanging up. "Tell Mom I love her. Don't tell her I'm coming out yet. Let me surprise her." Daisy nodded, and the two sister's hung up.
Misty's whole body shook as she sat herself down on a chair and cried, ignoring Togepi and everything else around her. The salty tears hit her bare legs and blotched her creamy skin.
Unaware of the events going on, Ash had been eating himself half a restaurant with Pikachu's help.
"The food here is great!" he exclaimed, mouth full of roast chicken.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
"Excuse me, Mr. Ketchum." A waiter had tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around.
"Yeah?"
"I believe you have a phonecall" the waiter announced. Ash gave him a puzzled frown and walked over to the phone, which wasn't a video one.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Toge Toge, Togebree!" was the reply he got.
He jumped back in surprise and listened. "Togepi? How did you call?"
"Toge!" it yelled, frustrated. It was smarter than anyone else imagined, especially considering its pyschic abilities. It had pyschically told the waiter to get Ash, but now it had run out of energy doing that, and could only say its name.
"Okay, what's up?" Ash asked. Then he heard it. Someone was sobbing. And it could only be...
"Where's Misty?" Ash inquired. Togepi rattled off some Togepi language that Ash couldn't pick up, so he interrupted. "Just stay there, I'll be there in a sec." He quickly hung up, told Pikachu they were leaving and ran out.
"Pika Pi! Pikachu?" it asked as they ran towards the house.
"I think something's up with Misty. Togepi was on the phone" Ash explained. Pikachu frowned as it ran beside him, but it shrugged it off. Ash ran faster. Misty was one of his best friends...maybe he was starting to think of her as more than just that...but either way, he couldn't just leave her crying all by herself.
He burst through the front door a minute later, but Misty didn't even hear him. She was still sobbing, her head wrapped in her arms and her hair loose and ruffled.
"Misty! What's wrong, what happened?" Ash asked, as he ran up to her. He was shocked at the sight. Tomboy Misty never cried unless something really bad had happened.
Misty lifted her tear-stained face and sniffled. "Ash...I have...Mom...gotta go..." She was half-delirous with fear and pain and sadness, and couldn't make sense of what she was trying to say.
"Okay Misty, calm down, what's wrong?" Ash asked calmly.
"Mom's sick" Misty said suddenly. "Very sick. She....I can't...mom is gonna die, Ash! She's gonna die in two months!" she yelled, grabbing a hold of Ash's shirt and shaking him as she spoke.
Ash took away her hands and looked at her gently as a fresh batch of tears took control of her. "I'm so sorry, Misty..."
"Don't be. It's not your fault" Misty whispered.
Ash went quiet. "What does this mean?" he asked cautiously.
Misty sighed. "I have to go back. To Cerulean. Tomorrow."
Ash's eyes went wide and Pikachu nearly fell over in shock. "Tomorrow? Are there flights tomorrow?" he asked hopefully. Maybe there wouldn't be. Maybe she could stay, so he could have someone to celebrate his victory with...
Misty nodded. "Yeah. At twelve. I just have to pack..."
"Don't worry about that now. I think you should just get yourself to bed" Ash suggested, and Pikachu nodded its agreement.
"Are you crazy?! Go to bed?!" Misty shouted at him.
"Yes, you can't sit out here crying all night, it's not good for you" Ash said, and Misty reluctantly gave in. It was true.
"Alright. I'll go to bed" she said shakily. Ash took her hand -- Misty didn't even notice -- and helped her to her bed. As she lay down, her eyes were half closed and Ash wrapped the blankets around her. "Ash..." she weakly called out before he left. He turned around at the door. "Thankyou" she whispered.
Ash smiled. "Goodnight, Misty" he farewelled, and closed the door behind him, as they both thought of tomorrow.
A/N: Woo-hoo, chapter 1 complete! Not what you thought it would be? Too predictable? Tell me, I love reviews and I haven't had any for AGES! Haha, thankyou! :)
A/N: Okay, I'd just like to warn everyone that this story has sixteen chapters that I won't post all at once, cos otherwise the readers would be bogged down. So here it is, chapter 1...enjoy! :)
A giddy feeling shot through Misty as she watched Ash win another battle. What was this? It's not right! He owes her a bike.
A bike. That's why I'm here? one side of her mind asked.
You know damn well why you're here, the other side argued.
"Toge, Togebree!" Her Togepi cheered in her arms and she sadly smiled. If only he knew...if only he could figure it out...then she wouldn't have to tell him...
"Hey Misty, pretty impressive, huh?" Ash asked as he walked up.
Misty's quick wit once again took her over. "The only impressive thing about that was how fast you moved." She inwardly cringed. Yeah, you're really gonna win him over with remarks like that...
But Ash took the remark coolly. "Think what you like, but I'll show you. When I'm a Pokemon Master, you'll have a shrine of me in your room back in Cerulean" he replied.
Misty glared. If she was back home, she would've had a shrine of him up long ago. "If only you knew..." she muttered.
"Huh?" Ash questioned.
Misty quickly shook her head of strawberry hair. "Nothing." Then she decided to ask him something daring as they walked back to the temporary house they had rented for the Orange League. "Ash...do you believe in love at first sight?"
"Oh no, here we ago, another romantic swooning takes place" Ash sighed.
Misty whacked him on his already ruffled hair. "I'm serious! Tell me, do you believe in it, or not?"
Ash shrugged his reply. "Why would you ask me something you should be asking one of your giggly friends in Cerulean?"
"Fat lot of help you are" Misty scowled and Ash grinned a boyish grin that only two people in the world warmed up to. His mother and Misty.The two people who loved him the most. And he only knew one half of it.
"Can we eat? Battling's hard work" Ash explained, and Misty groaned. At least I hadn't been that obvious, she thought positvily.
"You can, I'm not hungry" she shrugged.
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Not hungry? Is that humanly possible?" he wondered aloud.
"You bet it is, you've just never experienced it" Misty said as she turned the doorknob to the house.
"Well, Pikachu and I are gonna get something. Don't forget to feed Togepi!" Ash reminded her.
"As if I would forget to feed Togepi!" Misty yelled, offended. Ash quickly left, not wanting to face the wrath of Misty he had experienced one time too many.
As he shut the door, thinking of his dinner, Misty sighed. "Is that all he ever thinks about? Food?" she asked herself, wishing that Brock was here. He had been good to talk to, until he left for stupid Velenzia Island. He left thinking everything would be okay between those two.
How wrong was he.
"Okay Togepi, what is it tonight? Bread bits? Sausage snipplets?" Misty asked her beloved Togepi.
"Toge" Togepi said simply, pointing to the bread.
"Okay" Misty agreed and began breaking a piece of bread into small sections that Togepi could get its mouth around. As she fed the almost crumbs to Togepi, her mind wandered. Why was she feeling like this at the age of ten? Was that humanly possible?
Togepi sensed Misty's distraction and broke the silence. "Toge Toge, Togebree!" it said happily and Misty shook her head.
"Sorry Togepi, I'm a bit spaced out" she explained, feeding it another piece of bread.
As Togepi started chewing quietly, the phone interrupted all thoughts, feelings and occurances that had happened in the last five minutes.
"I wonder who that is?" Misty asked herself as she walked to the phone. "Ash probably lost the way to the restaurant" she realised, grabbing the Orange League booklet that would have directions to the restaurant.
"Okay Ash, take a left at the main road" she answered.
"Misty? Is that you?" a voice replied.
Her ears instantly registered the voice and she put the phone on video phone. "Daisy? Why are you calling?" she asked with a tinge of worry in her voice. Her sister wouldn't be calling unless something was wrong...
"You have to come here straight away. It's Mom" Daisy started.
Misty stared at her sister on the small screen. "Mom? What's going on?"
Daisy started crying, a sound so rare from any of Misty's family. "Come on, Daisy, you have to tell me!" Misty said desperatly. Daisy collected herself and Misty listened carefully.
"Mom's been diagnosed....with, um...terminal cancer." Daisy burst into heartfelt tears again, and Misty tried to absorb the news.
"No. Daisy, no..."
"She has two months. You have to come here straight away!" Daisy yelled at her little sister.
"Are you sure about this?" Misty choked on the words. Terminal. The word throbbed in her mind like a sore finger.
Daisy nodded. "We went to every doctor in town...they can't find a cure, they can only offer chemotherapy."
Misty, too, burst into tears. "Mom can't...she can't..." the words couldn't come, but the two sisters understood. "Where's Lily and Violet?"
"They're with her at the hospital" Daisy explained.
"Well, where are you?" Misty asked through her tears.
"I'm back home, getting a few of her things...when can you come here? The Gym will pay for you to fly out" Daisy offered.
Misty considered. "I don't know..." Come on, your mother is dying! her mind screamed at her and she cringed in guilt. "...when the next flight is" she added.
Daisy sniffled and wiped away a tear. "Find out and get here. Mom's been asking for you." This didn't help Misty's water cascade, and the tears fell like a weak water gun attack.
"I'll be out there as soon as I can" she promised.
"Thanks, Mist. See you soon..."
"Daisy, wait" Misty said, and Daisy refrained from hanging up. "Tell Mom I love her. Don't tell her I'm coming out yet. Let me surprise her." Daisy nodded, and the two sister's hung up.
Misty's whole body shook as she sat herself down on a chair and cried, ignoring Togepi and everything else around her. The salty tears hit her bare legs and blotched her creamy skin.
Unaware of the events going on, Ash had been eating himself half a restaurant with Pikachu's help.
"The food here is great!" he exclaimed, mouth full of roast chicken.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
"Excuse me, Mr. Ketchum." A waiter had tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around.
"Yeah?"
"I believe you have a phonecall" the waiter announced. Ash gave him a puzzled frown and walked over to the phone, which wasn't a video one.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Toge Toge, Togebree!" was the reply he got.
He jumped back in surprise and listened. "Togepi? How did you call?"
"Toge!" it yelled, frustrated. It was smarter than anyone else imagined, especially considering its pyschic abilities. It had pyschically told the waiter to get Ash, but now it had run out of energy doing that, and could only say its name.
"Okay, what's up?" Ash asked. Then he heard it. Someone was sobbing. And it could only be...
"Where's Misty?" Ash inquired. Togepi rattled off some Togepi language that Ash couldn't pick up, so he interrupted. "Just stay there, I'll be there in a sec." He quickly hung up, told Pikachu they were leaving and ran out.
"Pika Pi! Pikachu?" it asked as they ran towards the house.
"I think something's up with Misty. Togepi was on the phone" Ash explained. Pikachu frowned as it ran beside him, but it shrugged it off. Ash ran faster. Misty was one of his best friends...maybe he was starting to think of her as more than just that...but either way, he couldn't just leave her crying all by herself.
He burst through the front door a minute later, but Misty didn't even hear him. She was still sobbing, her head wrapped in her arms and her hair loose and ruffled.
"Misty! What's wrong, what happened?" Ash asked, as he ran up to her. He was shocked at the sight. Tomboy Misty never cried unless something really bad had happened.
Misty lifted her tear-stained face and sniffled. "Ash...I have...Mom...gotta go..." She was half-delirous with fear and pain and sadness, and couldn't make sense of what she was trying to say.
"Okay Misty, calm down, what's wrong?" Ash asked calmly.
"Mom's sick" Misty said suddenly. "Very sick. She....I can't...mom is gonna die, Ash! She's gonna die in two months!" she yelled, grabbing a hold of Ash's shirt and shaking him as she spoke.
Ash took away her hands and looked at her gently as a fresh batch of tears took control of her. "I'm so sorry, Misty..."
"Don't be. It's not your fault" Misty whispered.
Ash went quiet. "What does this mean?" he asked cautiously.
Misty sighed. "I have to go back. To Cerulean. Tomorrow."
Ash's eyes went wide and Pikachu nearly fell over in shock. "Tomorrow? Are there flights tomorrow?" he asked hopefully. Maybe there wouldn't be. Maybe she could stay, so he could have someone to celebrate his victory with...
Misty nodded. "Yeah. At twelve. I just have to pack..."
"Don't worry about that now. I think you should just get yourself to bed" Ash suggested, and Pikachu nodded its agreement.
"Are you crazy?! Go to bed?!" Misty shouted at him.
"Yes, you can't sit out here crying all night, it's not good for you" Ash said, and Misty reluctantly gave in. It was true.
"Alright. I'll go to bed" she said shakily. Ash took her hand -- Misty didn't even notice -- and helped her to her bed. As she lay down, her eyes were half closed and Ash wrapped the blankets around her. "Ash..." she weakly called out before he left. He turned around at the door. "Thankyou" she whispered.
Ash smiled. "Goodnight, Misty" he farewelled, and closed the door behind him, as they both thought of tomorrow.
A/N: Woo-hoo, chapter 1 complete! Not what you thought it would be? Too predictable? Tell me, I love reviews and I haven't had any for AGES! Haha, thankyou! :)