A Matter Of Destiny by Laura Kamida Rated PG for Violence and Language
It was all happening much too fast. Misty's mind was spinning as she punched a man in the face. She
couldn't believe that all this was happening. "Ash!" she called. "Brock! Where's Ash?" Brock was
fighting against two guys. What were these guys doing there? Who were they? Why did they want to
hurt the three of them?
Yesterday, Ash, Misty, Pikachu, and Brock had been in a huge thunderstorm when they happened upon this
strange building.
**~~FLASH BACK~~**
The rain was pouring down incessantly. Misty slipped and fell into the mud. A bolt of lightning struck
and the thunder clapped.
"This is getting dangerous!" Brock yelled. Ash nodded into the gale force winds and grabbed Misty's
hand to pull her out of the mud.
"I can see the outline of a building ahead," Ash said. "We should go there to weather out the storm."
"Let's hurry!" Misty called.
They ran in the treacherous muddy path until they reached the building they saw. It appeared to be a
large wearhouse or perhaps an old factory building. In any case, it was dusty in there and the place
had no heat, but it was adequate shelter from the storm.
They were all soaked, and Brock started a fire in the middle of the floor with some old newspapers he
found in the corner and a match. Soon the fire was roaring in the abandoned building and it provided
warmth for the weary four.
Ash pulled Pikachu out of his backpack and set the sleeping Pokemon by the fire to warm it up. Ash
pulled his soaked shirt off and set it flat by the fire to dry. Misty knew it shouldn't be a big deal,
but she couldn't help from slightly blushing. She had a thing for him, and he probably knew it, the way
she acted... but for some reason at that moment she wondered why she had never acted upon those
feelings... he might even feel the same way about her.
Brock went off to explore the old building. "Be careful," Misty warned. "Who knows what kind of things
could be here... There could be holes in the floor or something..." she wasn't sure about the building
or what was within, but secretly she was glad that he was going. She was alone with Ash.
**~~END OF FLASH BACK~~**
Some man held a knife to Misty's throat. She shrieked. She closed her eyes, ready for the cold blade
to slip across her throat. The man's hands were pushing down, choking her. She could hardly breathe.
She was praying for her life when suddenly the pressure was relieved. She opened her eyes to see Ash
over the man on the ground punching him in the face. Misty sighed.
**~~FLASH BACK~~**
"Look what I found!" Brock called from a hole in the floor overtop of where Ash and Misty were sitting
by the fire. He tossed blankets down and they thudded on the floor, releasing dust across the floor.
Ash stood up, and went over to pick up some of the blankets. Misty watched as his shoulder muscles
and back muscles flexed as he picked up 3 of the heavy shop blankets. Stop it! she commanded
herself. But she couldn't resist watching him. He was incredibly attractive.
Misty didn't even notice herself shivering until Ash walked back over to her holding one of the
blankets. It had been shaken out, and the dust was still floating around in the air. "Cold, Misty?" he
asked with a tone of humor in his voice. Her teeth chattered in reply, and he sat down beside her,
wrapping the blanket around her and holding it in place with his arms. Around her.
Misty tried to act non-chalant about it, but her mind raced. Her eyes went all around the building as
she mentally yelled, ASH HAS HIS ARMS AROUND ME!
**~~END OF FLASH BACK~~**
Misty's foot went into a random man's stomach and he doubled over in pain. The man had backed her up
to the broken window, and she picked up a piece of shattered glass. Holding it to his throat
threateningly, she demanded, "Who are you!" It was not a question, now was not the time for
questions. The man looked at her in a stunned silence. "Don't think I won't do it," she growled.
"You all have incredibly bad timing."
**~~FLASH BACK~~**
Misty was watching Ash sleep. She hadn't even remembered falling asleep, but they apparantly had fallen
asleep right next to each other. She didn't dare move, because his arm was right on top of hers, and
she didn't want to wake him. The peaceful tranquility was keeping a warm smile on her face. She never
wanted the moment to end, the memories of last night, holding each other to keep warm, fresh in her
mind.
However, fate did not want that to happen. The two boys were awakened by the sound of glass shattering.
One of the big windows of the abandoned building shattered and the glass scattered across the floor on
that side of the room. Ash bolted straight up and Brock jumped about a foot.
"What was that!?" Misty gasped. Suddenly she knew. Her eyes widened as 5 or 6 men jumped into the
building.
Ash stood up, ready to fight, a Pokeball in hand. The men had knives, and one had a gun. Ash put his
Pokeball back into his belt. "I won't risk my Pokemon getting hurt or killed for this. Pikachu, get in
the Pokeball!" Pikachu refused. "Pikachu, now!" Pikachu must have sensed the urgency of the situation,
because it went in obediently.
Misty growled in anger at the intruders. Well, she thought to herself, at least they didn't
come last night... but I wish they hadn't come at all!
She heard a gunshot. She screamed. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. The shot had missed its
target, which strangely enough, was her! She fell to her knees in fear, but stood up as Ash yelled,
"GET THEM!" and charged forward.
**~~END OF FLASH BACK~~**
So, even though they were outnumbered, Ash, Misty, and Brock continued to fight against the men. It
seemed hopeless, though. Misty couldn't kill anyone, even if they were about to kill her. She dropped
the piece of glass and it broke. The man who she was about to attack lifted his knife above her head.
She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Ash fall, hit hard by the man who he had protected her
from before. "NO!" she yelled. She turned to the man who was about to stab her. She kicked him with
all the anger she felt inside for Ash being hurt and hit him right between the legs. He fell to the
floor, writhing with pain.
"Nice one, Misty," Brock said, as he punched a man in the face. The man was thrown backward and fell.
Misty ignored him and ran to Ash's side. She tried to wake him up, as he was knocked out, but the
man who he'd been fighting attacked her. He held her down and put the knife to her neck again. She
grabbed it from his hands and stabbed him in the chest with it. It had happened in a split second, but
Misty couldn't believe she had done it. She had really stabbed someone.
"Ohhhh..." the man moaned in pain. She pulled the bloody knife from his chest and pushed him aside. He
fell to the ground in a heap. She looked at him. He wasn't breathing.
She gasped, and started to breathe rapidly, her hands shaking as she stared, gaping, at the dripping
knife she held in her hand. She had just killed someone! She could hardly believe it. Someone else was
running toward her and her unconcious friend. The man with the gun, which was long empty and not
reloaded. She threw the knife at him and it hit him in the face. The cruel blade was embedded in the
skin of his cheek and he yelled in pain, falling to his knees to remove the knife from his skin. Misty
couldn't bare to watch as blood flowed freely from his wound. The metallic clatter as the knife hit the
ground did not stir her face.
Misty shrieked, knowing the man was back on the attack and going to get her, but the man slumped over
dead on the other side of Ash. Misty looked into the dead man's face, the blood still oozing from the
gash she herself had made. Her eyelids snapped shut tightly as her eyes moved farther. His skull was
bashed in from the back. Her eyes started to tear up as everything hit her at one time. She looked up
to see Brock standing over the dead body with a wadded up blanket in his hand. He dropped it and there
was a loud thud.
Misty flinched and grimaced. "What was in there?" she asked quietly.
"Bricks," he replied solemnly. The two stood in silence for what seemed like forever. Finally, Ash woke
up.
"Oh, Ash!" she exclaimed. Tears of emotion fell from her eyes on her friend's still-bare chest.
"They're all gone," Brock said. "There were six in all. Misty killed one of them, I just killed one,
another one of them ran, and two of them were knocked out. Plus the one Misty kicked is still laying
over there."
"Why were they after us?" Misty asked, more to the air than to one of her companions. It didn't matter
how much she asked. They wouldn't know any more than she did.
"We'll never know," Ash replied quietly. They heard footsteps at the door.
"Wrong, twerp," Jessie said. "Prepare for trouble!"
"Make it double," James added coolly.
"Shut up, you fools," a voice boomed.
"Sorry, Boss!" Jessie and James whimpered simultaneously, begging for forgiveness. Giovanni stepped in
front of Jessie and James.
"You're even good as a teenager, Misty Waterflower," Giovanni said. "Six of my best assassins
defeated. That's next to impossible," he said.
Misty stood up, as did Ash. "Who are you? What do you want? How do you know my name? Why are you
trying to kill us?"
"Not all of you," Giovanni countered. "Just you." He lifted a pistol and pointed it straight at
Misty's face. She gasped, as did Jessie and James.
"She was the one we were supposed to get all these years!?" James yelled.
"We thought it was the boy!" Jessie screamed.
"I've had it with you two!" the boss roared. "You MORONS!" He moved his arm and shot,
not looking to see where it was going.
But he hit his mark. One of them, at least.
Jessie fell to the floor. "No!" James yelled. He fell to his knees and tried to hold her in a sitting
position. Misty's mouth fell open as she looked at the evil bullet wound embedded in Jessie's stomach.
Jessie's face went white and her desperate eyes met Misty's. Jessie opened her mouth to try and speak.
She looked down at her stomach, the blood spurting from it like a fountain. She closed her eyes for
the last time and fell back, limp, in James's arms.
"Jessie!" James said, "Jessie!"
Misty heard a gunshot. She screamed and turned. Giovanni was on the ground, shot with his own gun. The
gun lay about a foot away from him on the ground, and Ash stood over the body silently.
"Ash!" Misty gasped. "You...!?"
"It was an accident," Ash said, looking back and forth between the dead body of the Team Rocket boss
and the gun. "He was aiming, I grabbed the gun, I tried to wrench it out of his hands, and..." It was
as if he could hardly believe he could do such a thing. He looked up at Misty. "But... he was going to
shoot."
James stood up. He backed up against the wall. His face was pale with fear and sadness. His green eyes
dodged back and forth between the three. "I -- I..."
He bolted from the building.
Misty couldn't take it anymore. She fell to her knees in exaustion. Ash sat beside her, putting his
arms around her. She surrendered to her fatigue and fell back into his embrace.
**~~LATER THAT AFTERNOON~~**
It was hard for him to accept all that had happened: the leader of Team Rocket was dead, Jessie was
dead, he, Misty, and Brock had actually killed men, but despite it all, Ash thought he was falling even
deeper in love with Misty, who had shown even more resilience and courage that day than he had ever seen.
The thoughts spun in his mind.
The group decided that they would stay in the same building for the night. Misty slept on a few of the
blankets while Brock and Ash ridded the building of the bodies. The men who had been unconcious were
dragged out and they probably woke up later and ran off.
When he walked back into the building he saw Misty sleeping, curled up on the blankets in the corner of
the room. He sat down beside her and brushed her hair out of her face. It had been such a long time
since they were little, and he had realized that she was more than just a friend to him. But he knew
if he had told her when they were kids, there was no way that it would have lasted. He wanted to tell
her now. He knew this was the right time.
He gently touched her face to wake her up. "Misty," he whispered. "Misty..."
She woke up, stretched, and yawned. "Ash...? What's the matter?"
"Nothing," he said gently. "Nothing at all. I just wanted to talk to you."
She sat up and pushed herself to the wall. She rubbed her eyes. "What's up?" she asked non-chalantly.
"We've known each other for a long time..." he stopped because Misty started to giggle.
"Huh?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. She smiled and didn't say anything for a little
while. Then she put her hand on his cheek.
"I know what you're trying to say Ash," she said. "And I agree with you." She leaned forward and
kissed him.
She smiled and leaned back. "Is that what you were trying to tell me?"
Ash blushed a little bit and nodded sheepishly. "I guess I'm not very good at saying what I'm
thinking," he admitted.
"You did fine," she said. He scooted back so he was sitting beside her.
"So," he began. "What does this mean?"
"I don't know..." she drifted off. They looked at each other and smiled lovingly. "And... I don't
really care."
They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed tenderly.
"I want this to last forever," she said, and kissed him again.
**~~THE NEXT MORNING~~**
"Uh, you guys?" Brock called. "We should get going now, don't you think?"
Ash quickly got up. "Yeah, I guess..." He and Misty had been talking quietly and kissing all morning.
He pulled Misty up and pulled her close to him. She giggled.
They walked out of the building.
"Hey you guys! Look!" Brock pointed to a figure running toward them.
"Not another Rocket..." Misty moaned.
But it was a girl. She looked about Misty and Ash's age.
"Oh, I finally found you!" she said, out of breath. She looked at Ash as if she knew him... well. "I
was afraid that I was looking in the wrong place." Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Who are you?" Misty demanded.
"My name's Annabelle," she said, extending her hand. Misty took it suspiciously.
"I'm Misty. Misty Waterflower."
Annabelle smiled warmly. A little too warmly, as if there was something lurking behind that
innocent grin. Misty was instantly against this girl. "Nice to meet you Misty... You're so amazing. I
can hardly believe I'm meeting you," the girl gushed. Misty lifted an eyebrow.
"My name is..."
"Ash Ketchum. I know."
"Huh?" Ash, Misty, and Brock uttered in surprise.
"How... how do you know us?" Ash asked.
"I guess I should explain myself," she said. "It's a long story."
She took a deep breath, tossed her dark hair back over her shoulder and began, green eyes sparkling
sweetly:
"Ash and I were 16 years old. We lived in the year 2029. We were in love, and we were engaged." Misty
gritted her teeth. Annabelle continued, bubbly and cute, "Misty here was an integral part in the
disbanding of a great terrorist/crime organization, Team Rocket. She was 41 years old when she had
Giovanni thrown in jail. But, he somehow managed to get out of jail. He went back in time to when
Misty was a baby to kill her while she was young so he could escape his fate. I learned of this and I
sent myself back to 2013 when Ash, my fiancee, was born."
Just keeps throwing that in there, Misty thought bitterly.
"I sent him back to the time when Misty was born so he would be raised in that time. I knew he
was the only one who could kill Giovanni, because he's so brave, so strong, so wonderful
and kind, and
so very..."
"Yeah, yeah," Misty said, and then covered her mouth.
Annabelle blushed. "Well I do love him," she continued, looking at Misty. "Anyway, then I went
back to 2029. I knew when Team Rocket started to disappear from the newspapers, then Ash had completed
his mission and I could bring him back. And he did it! I knew he could. I knew he would."
"So...?" Misty said.
"Time for us to go home, Ash," Annabelle said, linking her arm in Ash's. "We have a destiny to
fulfill."
"What!?" Ash, Brock, and Misty all said simultaneously.
"Don't you understand, Ash? You're done. Your purpose here has been fulfilled. You can come home with
me now! Isn't that wonderful!?"
"How do we know you're not just lying!?" Misty demanded, shoving Annabelle. She stumbled back a couple
feet. "How do we know that you're not... some henchgirl for Giovanni just trying to get to Ash. Or
me... or Brock. You're probably just some girl off the streets that wants Ash... well, prove yourself
or get out of our way!"
Annabelle looked at Misty calmly. "Misty, I'm truly sorry you are taking this so hard, but I am the
real thing. I will prove it." She walked back over to Ash and placed two fingers on his head. He closed
his eyes slowly and was lulled off into a trance.
"What are you doing to him!?" Misty cried, charging toward Annabelle. She lifted her arms to strike,
but just as she was about to bring them crashing down upon this evil girl, Ash grabbed her arm.
"Misty," he said softly. "I... remember."
Annabelle smiled at him. A fiancee's smile. A lover's smile. Misty's heart fell as she realized she
was going to lose him. For all time.
"What if I don't want to come back?" Ash asked solemnly. Misty cheered silently and her heart raced.
He wanted to stay! To be with her!
Annabelle's jaw dropped. She seemed taken-aback by even the thought that Ash would not be coming back
with her. She looked at him strangely. "Well, what does it matter what happens if you don't come
back?"
Misty put it bluntly, "Are you dense? He's saying he doesn't want to come back with you."
Annabelle's eyes welled up with tears and she looked at Ash. "Is that... true!?"
Ash lowered his head and looked at the ground in shame. "I love Misty."
Annabelle lifted her chin up high. She looked up at the sky, as if it was Heaven's fault her fiancee
wasn't hers anymore.
Misty smiled, making sure neither Annabelle nor Ash saw her. She didn't want to be mean, but she
thought that Annabelle was getting her just desserts. If she hadn't sent Ash back when he was a baby,
he would have known he was going back to her the whole time and he wouldn't have fallen in love with
Misty. Misty secretly thanked Annabelle for her mistake.
"You," she replied, stammering still over the thought of her beloved and her parting ways forever,
"would screw up the future... I suppose. Everything that was ever destined to be, would be ruined!"
"Maybe this was the way things were destined to be," Misty spat.
"I highly doubt that," Annabelle said angrily. "Destiny never meant for you to be with Ash.
He was destined to be with me! We aren't supposed to change destiny!"
"Then you never should have sent him back," Misty shot back.
"Me sending him back saved your life!" Annabelle said, her voice escalating with her fury. "You have
no place to tell me that I shouldn't have done what I did!"
"I would rather have died than lose him now!" Misty yelled. She leapt forward, tackling her adversary
to the ground out of pure anger. "It's your fault!"
Annabelle clawed at her eyes and shrieked. Misty slapped her across the mouth. Annabelle kneed her in
the stomach. Misty clasped her hands around Annabelle's throat and squeezed it as hard as she could.
The young woman gasped for air. "Uhhhhhhhhhh..." she moaned. Her eyelids fluttered.
Suddenly Misty felt a pang of regret. She couldn't kill this girl. She was young. She didn't know the
concequences of what she did. Misty released her grip from Annabelle's neck.
"Ash, I know you love her, but don't you care about me at all!?" Annabelle demanded.
But Ash was gone.
"This is your fault," Misty growled, running down the path after him.
~*~
"Ash, what are you going to do?" Brock asked, finally stopping Ash from running.
"I don't know," Ash admitted. "I love Misty... but Annabelle and I have history... or should I say
future... I don't want to screw up everything..." He was out of breath from his run.
"They were fighting..." Brock said, pretending to be lamenting. "Maybe one of them will kill the other
one!"
Ash punched him in the gut. "I don't need that kind of talk," he said.
Brock sat down on a large rock and tried to catch his breath back. "I'm sorry!" he wheezed. "I didn't
know that gaining a girlfriend made you lose your sense of humor."
"You know I didn't mean it Brock..." Ash said. "Damn it!" he yelled at nothing in particular.
Misty ran to him, out of breath from racing Annabelle to him. "Ash..." she breathed.
"Misty... I have to go."
Her eyes moistening with tears, Misty nodded sadly. "I had hoped you would stay with me..." she
replied. "But I understand. You don't want to mess with destiny."
Annabelle ran up to them quickly.
"Annabelle," Ash said gravely, "we'll go back tomorrow..."
Annabelle smiled and threw her arms around Ash. "Oh, Ash, I knew you still loved me! I knew you would
come back to me."
Misty roughly yanked Annabelle back. "He's not going for you," she hissed. "You would be so lucky. Now
get away from me. I never want to see you again."
"Meet me here tomorrow," Ash said, looking around at the trees. "I don't want to see you anywhere near
us until then," he said.
"O- OK..." Annabelle stammered. She walked away slowly, taking one last look at Ash, with pouty lips,
as if to say I can't believe you're letting little old me walk away from you...
Misty picked up a rock about the size of a Pok ball and was about to sling it at the girl but Ash took
it away. "Don't be mad at her..." he said. "She loves me as much as you do..."
"Impossible," Misty replied.
**~~THAT NIGHT~~**
The stars were shining brightly and the moon was full. Ash and Misty were sitting in the grass, with
the redheaded girl laying across the brunette's lap. They were both silent, thinking about each other,
not knowing what to
say to console the other.
"I've said goodbye to a lot of people," Misty finally said, her voice starting to give out. They were
watching the stars twinkle mystifyingly above them. "But I never imagined I'd ever have to say goodbye
to you."
"I know..." Ash said.
"Do you realize... where you'll be going, I won't even have the comfort of knowing that you are
watching the same stars that I am. You won't be in a place where I can find you. You'll be... in a
whole different universe."
Ash put his face into her hair and gently kissed her head. "I know..." he said, not knowing how to
soothe her, not knowing why everything was going wrong.
"Do you love her?" she asked suddenly.
"It doesn't matter," he replied solemnly.
"Well, do you?"
"Misty, I have to go back. I'm not going back because I love Annabelle. I'm going back because if I
don't, I'll be screwing up destiny."
"I want to know if you love her," Misty said plainly. She turned her head to look into his eyes. And
she had her answer.
"You do...!" she gasped, jumping up and running off. "I thought you loved me, Ash Ketchum! I thought I
was the only one you loved!" He could hear the tears in her voice as the love of his life ran
away from him. The love of his life, not the one of Annabelle's Ash Ketchum. Why can't she
realize that I'm NOT THE SAME PERSON!?
"I love you both!" he yelled futily. "I love both of you... but I want you," he said, more to
himself, more to the wind that blew by slowly, than to who it was intended to, his true love, his only
love, the one who ran away from him. "You're all I want."
He slammed his fist into a tree, ignoring the pain. "Why!?" he yelled at the sky.
"WHY DO I HAVE TO FEEL THE WAY I DO! I WISH I'D NEVER COME HERE! I WISH NONE OF THIS HAD EVER
HAPPENED! I wish..." he drifted off... "that I didn't have to leave."
**~~THE NEXT MORNING~~**
Ash pulled the letter he had found at dawn out of his back pocket again and read it.
Dear Ash,
It's so hard to write this... I dreamed of being with you for so long that now that you'll be gone
forever it is tearing my heart apart. I... don't know what to say to you that could possibly explain
what I'm thinking... Hopefully you know. I just wanted to tell you that I know you love me. I ran off
last night because... I was upset. But I understand now. You can't help that you were with Annabelle
for so long... and I know it's impossible for you to choose between us. And, since you have to go with
her... I guess it's not that hard of a decision after all... I wish it didn't have to be this way, but
if I saw you again, trying to explain, with all the goodbyes... I couldn't take it. I want to keep in
my mind the way were were before. Like in the warehouse. Remember me that way, the redhead that stole
your heart, not the redhead that ran off because she wanted your love. I love you so much.
Love forever,
Misty Waterflower...
Ash read the words to himself over and over again. He knew she wasn't a sad goodbye person, she
couldn't take it... but he wanted to tell her how he felt like she got the chance to tell him.
Annabelle was coming back. They were about to leave to go back to the future... the prison where
Ash didn't want to go. Why did he feel like saving Misty had become the wrong thing to do!?
"Destiny is what happens. Not what you think is supposed to happen," Annabelle said softly, running
her fingers through Ash's hair. "You'll remember all the things we love about each other. You'll be
happy, I promise."
Ash drew back. He turned his head away rebelliously. Annabelle furrowed her eyebrows and frowned.
Then, he looked back up into her eyes, a spark of realization hitting him.
"You're right!" he gasped.
She smiled. "I knew you would see it my way. We'll be so happy together Ash. I know it." She touched
her necklace and the process of the time travel began. Suddenly Ash let go of her hand and snatched the
necklace from her neck.
"Ash!?" Her body started to fade as the time travel process had already been initiated. "No!" she
screamed as she realized what was happening. She was going back, without him. He threw the necklace to
the ground and stomped it until it was broken.
Annabelle was sobbing. "No, Ash...!" she drifted off as she realized she was defeated. She had been
ruined by her own plan. She had been planning to destroy the necklace as soon as they were taken back
to 2029. She knew he wouldn't want to stay so she wanted to keep him there.
"I realized you were right. Destiny is what happens. Not what you think is supposed to happen."
"I hope you're very very happy with her," Annabelle said bitterly. "I knew you loved her."
She disappeared, never to be seen again by Ash.
"Now I have to find Misty," Ash said to himself. "I don't think that'll be too hard." He knew exactly
where she was going. "Pidgeot, I choose you!" Pidgeot appeared from the Pok ball and Ash hopped on his
back. "We have to hurry!"
~*~
Misty was running as fast as she possibly could toward Pallet to tell Ms. Ketchum her son was never
coming back. She wasn't sure why she was running... no one or no thing could or would catch her...
except the pain of a broken heart, which was going even faster than her, waiting to attack her at
every step.
She couldn't take it anymore. Everything had finally caught up to her. She fell to the ground, not
ashamed to let her tears fall to the ground. She sobbed, her whole body heaving with every breath, all
her frustrations and pains unleashed to the air.
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She gasped and turned around. Her eyes widened.
"Don't cry Misty," Ash said. He extended his hand to her.
This only made her cry harder. Ash had destroyed part of time, part of the future, to be with her. She
took his hand and pulled him down close to her. He put his arms around her and hugged her fiercely.
She kissed him over and over again. She was so surprised to see him her emotions overwhelmed her.
There was no need for words. There was nothing to say. They both knew exactly what the other one was t
hinking. She tightened her arms around him, as if to hold him close to her forever, to never let a
nything come between them again.
