The Past is Never Past

Episode 5

Written by: Drk Knght

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A/N: I do not own Pkmn; however, if you don't recognize some of the characters from the game or t.v. show then that is mine.

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Misty woke up with a start as her eyes suddenly burst open and she sat up after a somewhat restless night. Her breathing came in short breaths as her mind rapidly recalled to her the events of the previous day. The small amount of sweat that had collected on her forehead was quickly wiped away by her hand as the fatigue of sleep began to slowly wear off.

Streaming particles of light from the sun shone through into the room from a nearby shaded window revealing a dance of small particles of dust and dirt that floated effortlessly in the air. The filtering light and the stillness of the air brought some degree of comfort to the troubled young girl.

The floor of the room was layered with a soft-colored tan carpeting and the walls were colored a slight light bluish hue while the ceiling finished the room with a common white color.

Misty swung her legs around the bed on which she had slept on and rested them on the carpeting. Her bare feet compressed into the flooring and the carpet fibers were soft and smooth to the touch. It was almost as if this was new carpeting or something.

She stood to her feet and wobbled for a bit but managed to stay upright. After stretching her muscles and joints Misty walked over to the window feeling the luscious carpeting squish between her naked toes. She pulled back the curtains, slowly at first, allowing her eyes the opportunity to get used to the increase in lighting. Finally, she pulled the curtains fully apart allowing her adjusted to behold a new sight. The sight that Misty saw was breathtaking and she visibly gasped back some air for through the window was the sight of an endless and vast blue ocean that stretched on as far as the eyes could see. Being a water Pokémon trainer and seeing such a magnificent sight just simply astounded the orange haired beauty.

Misty continued to gaze out the window in amazement at the beautiful sight of the ocean which dazzled her eyes when suddenly a voice from behind her startled her.

"It's beautiful, is it not?"

She jumped suddenly and turned her head around to the source of the voice only to lay her eyes upon her rescuer who was leaning on the inside of the door pane with his arms crossed and one of his feet propped up against the door pane, his toes pointing down. The early morning sunlight shone into the room from the window and a luminous glow was cast upon his face. This caused his face to shine and his sandy and slightly messy blond hair to shimmer with a manly type of beauty and grace. He looked more handsome now then he had ever looked before and Misty had a great difficulty in finding her voice.

As he started to move from his position and walk over to where she was, Misty began to feel her body trembling with excitement but also anticipation. Why am I trembling so much? she thought as she felt her hand literally shaking uncontrollably. I have to get myself under control. Just as long as I don't look into his eyes…

He came right up next to her and his majestic, ocean blue eyes instantly connected with hers and she knew she would not last much longer. She felt her knees go weak and her spine give way as she nearly melted in his compassionate gaze.

He lifted his hand towards her in a motion that seemed like he was going to wrap his arm around her and she felt goose bumps ripple across her body even though he had not even touched her. His fingertips reached over and lifted her drooping shirt up over her exposed shoulder. When his fingers lightly brushed up on her shoulder and his arm against the back of her neck, a shiver ran throughout her body and she looked down and realized that she may have been showing off more of her body than she realized.

"You looked cold." His gazed shifted from her to the open window and his hand began to drop from her shoulder, or it would have if it had not been for Misty's hand that reached up and rested upon his hand. The blond male looked back at Misty and she gave a pleading look for him to leave his arm wrapped around her.

"I am… or I was a little cold until you…" she froze in mid-sentence when she realized that her face was colored a rosy colored shade of embarrassed pink.

"Yeah…I kind of figured," he replied understandingly and to prove his understanding of her he pulled her body closer to his own in a tighter, much warmer one-armed embrace.

She responded by gingerly wrapping her arm around his lower back. Misty had never been this close and this intimate with any guy before and she could not help but feel slightly nervous.

"I hope that you slept well and that I wasn't too loud out there."

Misty looked up at him and questioned his comment first with a wrinkle expression that involuntarily made its way onto his face. "What do you mean? You didn't wake me. I got woken up by a…" her voice trailed off and Misty fell silent, recalling the horrible nightmare that she just had which had really happened.

"…by a bad dream," he finished. "I, Bryan, would be a fool if I didn't say that something like what you've gone through would be traumatizing. I've known many a person whose life is haunted by the memory of their past, whether they created it themselves or whether it was forced upon them. Here, if you'll allow me," Bryan whispered gently in his voice that flowed with love and compassion found in only a few good men as his free hand lifted her chin up, "Let me put your mind at ease." He slowly began to close the gap between their lips, waiting for any signs of hesitation from the girl. When he found none at all, he enclosed his lips over hers and expressed his compassion through action.

Misty was caught in a rapture that she had previously known little to nothing about. Her soul fluttered as their kiss lingered for the longest time. Her arms wrapped around his strong, manly figure as she continued to get lost in her state of nirvana on earth. She then began to run her hands up and down his back and give him a massage with her fingertips as she continued to kiss back in earnest and in gratitude for this was exactly what she needed to take her mind of her nightmare.

Bryan kissed her back as he too wrapped his arms over the girl in a protective sort of embrace not wanting any more harm to come to this orange haired beauty. He then pulled her body in closer to his and soon they were together without any gap between them. The deepening kiss that ensued from this action from Misty indicated that she really enjoyed the feeling of them being close together. Bryan ran his hands up her back and to her shoulders feeling the pleasure build up inside of him.

Reluctantly, Bryan broke the kiss and allowed his eyes to meet the desirous and grateful gaze of the Cerulean gym leader Misty. He leaned his forehead up against the top of her head and gently kissed her.

"I went to the trouble of preparing a little bit of food. I would be honored if you'd accompany me to breakfast," Bryan said in a gentle soothing tone that seemed to wash away all fears and cares and replace them with peace.

"I'd love too, Bryan," Misty answered as she looked up and into his azure ocean colored eyes. If she did not get lost in his gaze every time she saw him…She could not hold back the feeling anymore and she leaned up and began to kiss him once more.

This time, Misty put in more passion and desire into that kiss than she had ever thought possible from herself. She had never felt like this ever before and it was addicting. The taste of his lips, the smell of his body, the warmth of his embrace — whatever the driving force was, Misty knew what she wanted, what she desired. And she wanted him.

Bryan was caught slightly off guard by the second kiss but returned it just the same and felt that something was different about the way she was kissing him. She exhibited a lot more passion and desire than in the first kiss and she began to pull his body in closer to her own. He could tell exactly what she wanted: she wanted them to come together and make love. However, he did not wish for her to lose herself to him completely like that because he wanted her future husband to have the honor and pleasure of that.

Much to Misty's disappointment, Bryan pulled her back away from him which effectively broke the kiss that they once had shared. She gazed into his eyes pleadingly for him to continue showing her love and affection but his mind had been made up.

"Come. Let's go and eat."

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The conversation between the two trainers was mostly dominated by the water gym leader Misty, but Bryan would add a comment here and there to keep himself involved and active in the conversation. He did not mind letting her talk about her life and about some of the exciting times and adventures she had gone through. It was actually quite refreshing from his boring life.

As Misty recalled her many adventures, she mentioned the name of Ash Ketchum many times and each time she mentioned his name, Bryan picked up on something that seemed to spark in her eyes. Like the spark of a first love or crush. Though she did not directly say so, it seemed like this Ketchum character had left an impact on her ever since his Pokémon had singed her bike and she'd followed him for repayment. This young trainer from Pallet Town held a special place in Misty's heart that would never be replaced and that he himself could not fill.

Being a trainer himself, Bryan was always interested in prospective rivals and something about this boy intrigued him so he decided to inquire more about this rising star of a trainer named Ash Ketchum.

"So this 'Ash' character of yours, were you two close? Was he a good trainer?"

"Hmmm…Yeah, I guess you could say that we were close. But really, the only reason that I traveled with him in the first place was because he owed me a new bike. And I was going to get it no matter what it took," Misty replied with a satisfied grin as she finished the last portion of her breakfast. "And he was a really good trainer too. He took great care of his Pokémon and they in turn showed him undying friendship and love unlike anything I've ever seen in Pokémon." She paused for a moment and, once again, Bryan noticed that spark of love for the boy flash in her eyes. Misty suddenly perked up and glanced at her empty plate and then to him. "By the way, this meal was actually really good. I can't believe you made it all by yourself. I mean, you're a guy after all. It's just kind of surprising."

"Why, thank you. I'll take that compliment, I think." Bryan stood up and offered to take Misty's plate which she gladly handed over to the blond. He turned around to place the dishes in a pan of hot water and continued to speak. "When you spend most of your time alone, you get to try new things and figure out what tastes good and what doesn't."

"Yeah…So, how long have you been here…alone?" Misty inquired. "I don't really know much about you except that you're an exceptional trainer and that your Pokémon love you just as much as Ash's Pokémon did. Maybe you're an even better trainer than Ash was."

"Exceptional? I don't know about that," Bryan replied humbly; however, he knew full well that it was true. No trainer alive had ever beaten him in a match. And that's how he intended it to stay. "Just because I haven't been beaten by anyone doesn't mean that…oops," he said, feigning a slip in speech that had been done on purpose in an attempt to sidetrack her from her original question.

"You've never lost a match?!" Misty exclaimed in disbelief.

"Oh dear," Bryan said aloud with a degree of regret in his voice. But mentally he was rejoicing that his plan to distract her had worked.

"You're kidding, right? I mean, I don't think that there is anyone alive who hasn't been beaten at least once in their lifetime! There were a few trainers who were undefeated who challenged Ash and had lost! There's no way in…"

"There is a way." Bryan turned around and fixated his gaze with her eyes, trying to convince her though eye contact that it was true. "I have remained undefeated since I first officially became a trainer. And I'm proud of my record and no trainer, group, organization, team, gym leader, or syndicate has ever been able to withstand my might," Bryan said with a clenched fist and a smirk of confidence on his face as he began to recall his many confrontations with trainers and syndicate operations alike, all of them ending with common results, with him being victorious.

"Really? Wow!! Your friends and family must be really proud of you," Misty commented in amazement as she started to consider the thought that maybe, just maybe, he might be telling her the truth.

That comment from Misty caught Bryan by surprise. The blond trainer fell silent and his countenance visibly declined nearly instantly the moment Misty made her comment. But he quickly recovered some of his lost expression and managed to answer in a weak tone, "Yeah…I'm sure they are…"

Misty, though she acted like a blonde and acted oblivious to things and people around her, did not miss the sudden fluctuation of expression that crossed on the boy's face. She suddenly got concerned that she had spoken out of turn and said something that brought up painful memories in his mind.

"What? What'd you mean? Your parents must be very proud of you and how successful you seem to be now," Misty reasoned. "Obviously you've won a few key matches and have acquired enough money to live here on your own."

"This is true. However, not everyone appreciated my decision to become a Pokémon trainer in the first place," Bryan said with a cold tone as he recalled the memory of his decision which he tried so desperately to put away. Now he was being forced to bring it up and confront it.

"I'm sorry," Misty replied with a sympathetic tone. "I had no idea. I didn't mean to hurt you in any way or mean to bring up painful memories. I just…"

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault," the male trainer interrupted, stopping Misty from saying anything more that would jeopardize the integrity of the tense situation. "A lot of stuff happened with my friends and family but that's in my past. I would have preferred that those decisions I made earlier on in my past hadn't gotten you involved now but…"

"You mean that…you mean that everything that's happened to me these past few days has been from…from your past!?" Misty exclaimed with caution mixed in her sentence as to not make things worse.

"Well…um…kind of…" Bryan stuttered. "It's not that I didn't want to tell you…It's just that…it's in my past and I've accepted it in its entirety. And it's not that important anyways." Even though he spoke in a calm and collected tone of voice, Misty could tell that there was something hidden in his voice more than just a reluctance to say more.

"What happened to you?" Misty asked concerned for the boy she'd begun to admire in so many ways other than looks.

"I…I can't tell you," Bryan said as he shut his eyes tightly and turned his gaze away from her own.

"Why not? I'm here to help and I'm concerned for you. You've helped me more than I could ever repay you for and now that I can help you won't let me. Please, Bryan," Misty strode over to the blond and placed a gentle hand upon his shoulder. She immediately felt his quivering body and knew that this issue had roots deep in his soul. "Please, tell me."

Bryan turned his head to look into Misty's large pleading eyes and felt that she needed to know what he was planning to do. He took a deep breath and tried to quell his quivering spirit and body long enough for him to tell her what she wanted to know.

"After today, Misty, you will know me no longer," Bryan whispered in a voice that was weak and lacked the power and confidence it once had when he confronted Beth in Cerulean City.

"What? What do you…" Misty was silenced when a finger from Bryan was placed over her lips.

"Please, allow me to explain," Bryan replied motioning her to sit down. She took a seat and Bryan did the same and continued with his discussion. "A few years ago, I met a young girl whom I became great friends with. We were both trainers and had so much in common and it seemed like nothing could tear us apart. However, something began to change in the way she looked at me and the way she acted around me. I couldn't figure out what it was until it was almost too late. At the time, I was at odds with the local criminal organizations who wanted me to be eliminated for interfering in their work. They tried everything to try to bring me down, even sending hoards of their grunt trainers at once to eliminate me had failed. I couldn't lose. However, they finally found the one weakness in my nigh impenetrable defense, that girl. They had paid her a considerable amount of money to turn me in so that I could be 'taken care of.' And because of it, I nearly lost my life."

Misty could not believe what she was hearing. This was why he had been hesitant to speak to her about his past. And the way he spoke about it gave the impression that it still burned a hole deep into his soul making him regret what he had done.

"I barely escaped with my life. After that, I vowed to never allow myself to get that close to anyone again. But…hmph…that didn't seem to last very long. You see, after a while, I met another girl, Hikari, whom I became infatuated with. I had helped her a little bit in her journey but soon found out that her life was in danger because of my previous engagements. Who else would it have been then that first girl who had betrayed me. In the end, I had to erase any traces of my existence from Hikari's mind to keep her safe."

"You did what? How'd you erase her memory?" Misty asked in great confusion and apprehension at what he had done. Her body stiffened slightly when she heard that he had erased someone else's memory. The mere thought of it was…frightening. That simply was not possible…was it?

"I did what I did to protect her from me and my past. If I had not, then she would have come after me and would have endangered herself even more and her safety would be in jeopardy. I cannot fight a battle flawlessly and try to protect someone at the same time. I can do it, but it just becomes…"

Bryan paused in the middle of his sentence and turned around and stood up. Something had caught his attention and the way he moved his head about slightly was nothing less than alarming. He seemed to be listening carefully for something but Misty had not heard anything at all.

"What's going on?" Barely were the words out of her mouth then a hand enclosed over her mouth silencing any more words or scream that she would have made. Misty was startled and looked up to see that it was Bryan's hand over her mouth and that he had his finger over his mouth to signal her to be quiet.

Bryan released her and stealthily skulked over to the nearest window to take a look. From his crouching position, he popped up just enough to look behind the curtains to see what had alarmed him. He looked for a few moments but saw nothing and things seemed to be all right. Suddenly, his body visibly began to tense and he shivered with the arrival of millions of tiny visible nubs of fear speckling across his entire body. He now saw what had had alarmed his keen sense of hearing before.

Without wasting a moment, Bryan dashed from the room and disappeared into an adjacent room leaving Misty sitting at the dinning table very confused. She shook her head and wondered what could have possibly…

Misty then saw it. When Bryan had looked through the window before it had been at an angle where she could not see what he saw. But now, what he saw moved and was directly aligning itself with their position. Through the window, Misty perceive one small dot which turned into several small dots which then seemed to multiply in number. Soon, it seemed like the whole sky was littered with an ever increasing number of flying…Pokémon!! And they were closing the gap quickly!!

The orange haired gym leader suddenly felt the fear that had once assaulted Bryan; but unlike him, the fear paralyzed her stiff. She did not know what to do! She had never seen so many Pokémon flying in the sky in such a small area in all her life! The aerial spectacle of dots was close enough now that there appeared to be something, or someone rather, sitting on top of the Pokémon, each wearing the same or similar clothing.

As if on que to answer the question of the situation, Bryan appeared with her personal items and with a few items of his own, namely his Pokéballs. Bryan shouldered his own bag and turned to help the paralyzed girl put on her shoes. Misty soon was broken of her paralysis and responded by taking over putting her shoes on her feet. She was about to ask what was going on when Bryan answered her question before she could even ask it.

"They are coming for me and they are seeking blood. Such is the nature of my life. Such is life at the top. Such is the way of a Pokémon master. This is why I had to do what I did to protect people like you from my past and my present. Go! Leave now while you still yet live."

Misty shook her head and responded, "No, I won't leave you in your time of need."

"You can and you must!! Remember what I told you before…I can't guarantee your safety in this coming battle! This will be hard enough on my own. I cannot risk having you around as a distraction from my battle and I can't allow you to fight my battle for me. Now, please, go!!"

Misty knew that she had been bested and that no amount of talking would convince him otherwise. She nodded and grabbed her gear and looked one last time into the ocean blue eyes of her rescuer and hero.

"Good luck," Misty spoke gently as she leaned up and kissed Bryan on the lips. Their lips parted from each other and Misty reached up and stroked his cheek before she turned towards the back door and ran out.

Bryan stood up from his kneeling position and watched her as she left and regretted ever having his life involving her. She was not a bad girl but because his life put her in danger was his greatest regret and he knew what he would have to do once his work was done.

Once the door had shut on Misty, he clenched his fists and turned his head towards the front door and to the source of his newest dilemma. He then turned his whole body around and stepped forward with his right foot and stood for only a second before reaching behind him on his belt and pulling out six Pokéballs.

"It's time you know who you're dealing with," Bryan retorted in a cold tone to the approaching enemy who obviously could not hear him. But in a moment, they would. And, by god, they would regret it.

The sight of what was about to come was going to be more spectacular to view from the air and the approaching enemy had the best seats in the house, so to speak. A spark of light flashed outside the house and the lone Pokémon figure of Dragonair came into view. Then two more flashes shone briefly and two more Pokémon appeared, a black shiny Charizard and a shiny green Salamence, along with the figure of their master. He stood there and was confronted with extreme odds in favor of his enemy yet his did not back down. A shouting command from the master trainer initiated the aerial combat, or aerial slaughter, however you wished to look at it.

"Agility, Wing Attack, and Extreme Speed!!"

The three Pokémon glanced at one another and then suddenly disappeared in a blur of motion set at a speed so fast that they could not be registered by the naked eye. A few seconds passed and the three Pokémon suddenly reappeared high in the air above the first rank of this great aerial army.

It seemed like nothing had happened and that the attacks from the three dragon Pokémon types had been ineffective. The leader of the assault laughed out loudly and shouted to his comrades, "Ha!! Take him down, men!!" A second passed and nothing happened and the leader of the group looked back in confusion. Suddenly, every single Pokémon and trainer that had been around the leader had exploded in a cloud of black smoke. Then out of the dense black clouds that was formerly occupied space by a Pokémon and its trainer fell from it, some grunts towards the ocean and possible salvation and a few others towards the land and towards the end of their life. Not all of the troops had been eliminated, though.

The remaining grunts who were still aloft began to engage the three Pokémon of Bryan's creating a vast scene of speckled explosions across the heavens that dazzled the eyes and boomed in the ears. The aerial battle had nearly been over before it had even begun. But now, the remaining grunts that were left were desperately trying to defend themselves from the skilled training that Bryan's Pokémon obviously possessed.

The leader looked around enraged that a majority of his troops had been so soundly defeated so quickly and efficiently. He then glanced down upon the single young master that had bested his first battalion of grunts. Just as he was about to lash out in anger towards him, something more interesting caught his eyes. Standing slightly off from the house was the recognizable figure of an orange-haired girl who was watching their battle with great interest. He instantly thought of a plan and he knew exactly what to do.

With one hand to grab something from behind his back, the man started his Ferrow in a sharp-angled nose dive straight for the orange haired female. He pulled out from behind him a Pokéball and summoned the creature known as Scyther. The green bug Pokémon appeared and accelerated its body down towards the girl and readied his scythes to cleave the girl in half as its trainer had instructed.

Misty saw the leader of the aerial assault squad dive straight down towards her and she was ready for a fight. She was not going to let Bryan fight this battle on his own and she wanted to help in any way possible. But the moment that the bug Pokémon appeared, Misty realized that she still feared the bug type variety and she was suddenly frozen still and her body refused to respond to her actions to run away or at least do something.

Bryan beheld the events unfold before his very eyes and he was most pleased with his Pokémon's efficiency of dealing with the vast majority of the enemy. He then switched his gaze towards the leader and was curious as to why he was suddenly making a nose dive towards the ground. When Bryan looked across to what he thought was the intended destination, he saw the orange haired female he had told to run away standing there paralyzed from her fear of bug types.

"Misty!! Nooo!!" he yelled to her trying to break her paralysis by his words. He was too far from her to reach her in time and his three fastest Pokémon were busy fighting off the remnant of the aerial grunts. Despite the extreme distance between them, Bryan darted as quickly as his legs would allow towards the female. He knew that he would not make it to her in time and he knew that he would be forced to watch as his past brought upon Misty mortal judgment.

The Scyther was now in range and as he slashed out with his scythe, Bryan's voice consumed the air as he was forced to watch this horrific scene unfold.

"MISTYYYYYY!!"

Bryan was thrown backwards a bit from the force that radiated from when Scyther nearly impaled itself into the earth. The air was suddenly filled with dirt and flying grass particles and the sound of Scyther's body crashing into the ground permeated the environment and rumbled the ground where upon Bryan stood. A thick cloud instantly veiled the entire scene and Bryan had to cover his nose and mouth in order to not inhale the flying debris.

Nooo!! I've failed her and now she has paid the ultimate price…

Bryan closed his eyes and fell to his knees in utter defeat. He buried his head into his knees and wept silently knowing that it was his failure that had caused the death of someone whom he admired and who had admired him.

Squinting through the soil and soot that floated about in the air, Bryan gazed through tear filled eyes to the crater where Misty had once existed on the earth. He made out the visible silhouette of a battered but still battle-worthy Scyther; however, much to his dismay, he could not see any signs of Misty anywhere. Nothing from that small crater resembled anything close as to having any previous human existence.

Bryan began to scan the area more thoroughly but still found nothing, that is, until he glanced upwards and saw the silhouette of a Pokémon he recognized as an extremely rare-seen sight in this part of the world. The entity had a column of dust jetted off from its airborne path down towards the crater.

The figure resembled a fox that stood upright like a human but had black colored calves and black colored forearms, both of which transitioned into a majestic colored blue. The Pokémon's torso was colored a bright shade of yellow and its tail was bushy and blue like the other blue sections of its fur.

"Lucario…" Bryan gasped in wonder as the Pokémon dropped down to the ground and landed with ease and a degree of grace as if it were being judged in a Pokémon contest. The Pokémon had its arms wrapped around itself which looked very peculiar, that is, until Bryan took a closer look. Upon a closer inspection, the blond noticed that Lucario carried someone in its arms. It was Misty and she was all right!!

The Pokémon gently set the girl down on the ground and nodded to her as if confirming to himself that she was safe before he turned towards the sight of the crater and the Scyther.

Bryan was not the only one who was in awe and disbelief at what had just occurred. The leader of the assault grew even more furious and was ready to thrown down his life to take the boy down when he suddenly heard a ringing echo throughout his skull. It took a moment for him to recognize that his head was ringing because he was receiving a call from headquarters on his earpiece.

Placing his hand up to his ear and pressing the receive button, the man listened to the caller and recognized the voice of the other person as that of his superior who had ordered the attack. The man nodded for a few moments and finally responded with an extremely reluctant answer to his newly assigned orders.

"Very well. I understand. Over and out." The man glanced down from his Ferrow and saw that his work here was vastly unfinished and it pained him to have to obey his new orders from the boss. But if what the boss said was true, then retreating for the moment would be the best and most advantageous option to them. He swooped down and reached for a Pokéball and recalled his bug Pokémon back to himself.

"We'll meet again, Bryan. And next time, you will not survive. I guarantee it," the man threatened as his Ferrow slowly took flight and disappeared from view.

Misty watched as the assault that had seemed vastly impossible to escape and avoid had been conquered by a trainer who had only used four Pokémon, three of which flew down to him and were recalled back into their respective Pokéballs after they had soundly defeated the remainin grunts. But as Misty gazed at the fourth Pokémon, she simply fell in love with the majestic beauty that it seemed to radiate. The voice and touch of her rescuer finally brought Misty back into reality.

"Misty!! Are you all right?! Are you hurt?"

She turned towards the speaker and gazed into his loving compassionate gaze as his arms wrapped around her and checked her for possible injuries. "No, I'm not hurt. Thanks to you and your Pokémon. Especially…" Misty turned to point towards Lucario but saw that the fox Pokémon had disappeared from view. "Where is he?"

"Who?" Bryan inquired already knowing what she was asking yet needing confirmation.

Misty still continued to inspect the entire area all around them for that Pokémon which had actually saved her but she was disappointed when her search failed to yield pleasing results. "Where is the Pokémon that you sent, that fox Pokémon, that actually saved me? Did you recall him already? I didn't even get to thank him."

The vital piece of information that Bryan needed to hear from Misty's mouth finally revealed itself. She thinks that I sent that Pokémon? I wish I could say that but it wasn't me. Just where did it come from? And where did it go? But more importantly, who sent it? Questions filled Bryan's head as he began to plot his next course of action. His concentration was disturbed when a hand waved in front of his face.

"Hello, earth to Bryan? Are you there?" Misty called out to him as if he was a million miles away. And, in reality, he was, in his mind.

"Ohh…Sorry…I'm just…uh…deep in thought," Bryan replied as he stammered through his sentence trying to refocus his mind on the task at hand. As his eyes fell upon her face and upon the look of deepest sincere concern for his well-being through her large captivating eyes, he felt his expression visibly fall as his next action weighed down heavily upon him.

"What's wrong? You don't look right?" Misty inquired with a greater concerned look pasted onto her lovely face. "Is something troubling you?"

What he had to do in order to protect her safety was the one thing that troubled him the most at that very moment. It had been difficult in each case that he was forced to do what he was about to do. In each case, he had grown to a level of attachment to the subject where it was difficult to say goodbye and to let go. It was never something he had ever wanted to do; but in order to protect himself and her from future mishaps, he had to do it. It was his duty, even if it did mean that he would be forgotten.

"There is…" Bryan admitted, his gaze not being able to hold to her own. "Do you recall when I told you about protecting people from my past?"

"Yeah…" Misty replied, not knowing where this conversation was headed.

"And about how I was forced to erase the memory clean of my existence?"

"Yeah…But what does that have to do with…" Misty stopped suddenly when she realized what he was implying with his statement. "No…" she gasped.

"Misty. You have no idea how badly I am torn with my decision and I am reluctant to even go through with it," Bryan replied in his calming tone that was mixed with visible sounds of doubt and conflicting emotions.

"But…are you really going to…erase my memory? Isn't there another way?" Misty said with apprehension as she backed away slightly. She glanced into his drooping eyes and read the body language that he portrayed and came to the conclusion that he was actually going to go through with his intentions.

"I'm sorry. But in my experience, it has been the only way to protect people from myself and of the past which I've acclimated thus far," Bryan responded reluctantly and sorrowfully as he reached behind him to pull out a small spherical object into view. He pressed the small button on the front and the spherical object increased in size to about the size of a softball.

Misty looked on with confusion as to what he was doing but she was more fearful about what was about to happen. She was about to lose the memory of the man who had saved her life multiple times and whom she began to fall in love with. Misty could not stand by and let him continue with this without a debate.

"I…won't let you…I don't want to forget about you. I've been with you this far and I want to stay by your side in the times when you need help the most. In times like these. You shouldn't have to face this trial alone and I love…" Misty gasped for a second realizing what she was about to say.

"Love…is something I cannot afford." Bryan took a step forward and wrapped an arm around the girl and lifted Misty's chin up so that he could capture her lips with his one last time.

The moment their lips met, Misty instantly felt all of the conflicting emotions that had shattered this man's heart. She felt his resentment for the decision he was going to make and his sorrow that had been buried deep within his heart. Misty was suddenly overwhelmed with all of Bryan's emotions and felt overburdened. She began to wonder, How does he carry around so much pain and not be crushed underneath its weight?

Their lips parted all too soon and Misty felt a burden being lifted off of her shoulder's as her lips left Bryan's. He was just a boy and yet, he carried a tremendous load which he concealed deep within his person to never let out. The pain in his heart would have been far too much for Misty to bear and she desired now more than ever to ease his aching heart.

"However, if perhaps I can resolve my past issues and we meet each other again someday, perhaps then…we can be friends once more. Goodbye, Misty." His words issued such agony that it probably hurt him more saying them than it did Misty hearing them. Bryan released his hold on the girl and turned around and slowly began to walk away. Without turning his head, he threw the Pokéball into the air and out of the blindly flash of light appeared a Haunter of rare color. It sparkled and shone with a light bluish tint of color and it registered, almost telepathically, with its master what was required of it.

The eyes of the Haunter glowed for a second and Misty was soon mesmerized by the spell that it cast upon her. Within a moment, Misty felt herself getting groggy and standing up became more difficult because her knees suddenly went weak. As she slowly fell to the ground she felt herself being forced into unconsciousness. It was only then that she realized what "spell" was being used against her. A second later, she was fully asleep on the soft grass of the estate of the Pokémon master.

Haunter hesitated for a moment as if waiting for his que to act. He turned around and waited until Bryan gave the okay signal.

Bryan never once turned around for he knew that if he did, he would probably stop his Pokémon. This mind wiping was the hardest moment he had ever encountered. Each time that he was forced to perform this ritual the harder it seemed to become. And with Misty, it was extremely difficult; hence, one of the reasons he did not look on her. He began to feel himself becoming more emotionally attached to Misty than he ever did with the previous girls whose memories he had erased.

"Misty, please forgive me. Though you are asleep and your memory about to be wiped, know that I do this with great regret. But I do this only for your continued protection and safety. And I'll do my best to protect you from now on as I live in the shadows of your memory." Bryan turned his head only slightly to his Pokémon and gave the nod of approval to his Pokémon to continue. "Do it. Erase only the memory of me, nothing more, nothing less."

As Haunter acknowledged and greedily began his careful and delicate memory wiping, Bryan walked off towards the clear waters of the ocean and to the beachhead and tried to use his own technique of forgetting his involvement with the girl. But he knew that no matter how hard he would try, his memories would always haunt his dreams.

In order to clear his head of Misty, Bryan simply filled it with more questions that he could not answer…yet. I can't be sure but I think that I recognized the leader of the party that tried to attack me. But, it couldn't be. I thought I got rid of him long ago. What was he doing here? and why did he join the ranks of my enemies? And how did they get so many others to join their cause? The battle scene played back in his mind and he closed his eyes as if trying to perceive more from his memory of the fight. Lucario…Who could have sent him here? There are so many factors about this that I can't analyze or explain.

Bryan sat down in the soft granules of sand and gripped tightly a bundle of sand in his hand. As he lifted his fist up and slowly released the sand he growled in frustration at the man who had attacked him home and endangered his loved one, "Sven Ralson…what are you up to?"

To be continued…