Last Time On Hia:
Unwanted affections, arguments, breaking news broadcast, stopping a runaway and dead birds.
Quote: "Alright. You win. We'll go together."

Chapter Two: Disguises

Some people long for a life that is simple and planned
Tied with a ribbon
Some people won't sail the sea 'cause they're safer on land
To follow what's written
But I'd follow you to the great unknown
Off to a world we call our own
-Michelle Williams

It happened way quicker than Ash would have liked it. Everything seemed to fall neatly in place as soon as he had given his consent. He was swept up in it. What had started out as a solo (possibly one way) journey, had quickly become a collaborative project amongst his compatriots. They salvaged what was left of the morning by starting a plan of action. Things were discussed over hurried breakfast. Between glasses of orange juice, scattered bagels and a single slowly emptying tub of cream cheese- they mapped out every role and route.

Ash could have tried to insert himself into the process more. But that single surrender to both their and Mew's dearest wishes had stolen the rest of his energy. He hadn't slept well. His head buzzing and eyes burning for sleep, it took all he had to focus on making a simple breakfast. He fell into the task, scowling when he had to scrape what was left of the cream cheese from the sides of the tub. He'd occasionally pipe into the conversation when a question was directed his way. But despite this journey being his own personal quest, it seemed to have ceased needing much of his opinion on it once his friends were involved.

Ash sat at the far of the end of the table, idly sipping on orange juice and trying to think of nothing. Fortunately, his head felt too full to do much more than operating the most basic of functions. He stared at the wall while Pikachu, who had leaped from his shoulder to the table to chew on pieces of his bagel, watched over the proceedings.

Gary was taking point. That was to be expected as it was his idea that they were following. Something about procuring them a ride to the edge of Kanto. From that point on, several options were juggled. Team Rocket had a surprising amount of input to provide. In their journey chasing Ash and Pikachu around the world, they had amassed an impressive network of underground methods of travel. Apparently, there were places where a Meowth hot air balloon was too conspicuous, imagine that.

By the time Ash had picked his plate clean, most everything was settled. It was Misty who had noticed Ash first. She had looked up from the collection of hand maps that they had strewn across the table, zeroing in on the young man this whole venture was for. She saw the disheveled hair and dark circles under his eyes for what they were.

"Why don't you get some rest, Ash? You look exhausted."

Ash was leaning a little too much against his hand. He shook his head in weak protest. But a single touch on his arm was enough to do him in. Misty led him gently from the table and back to the neighboring room of sofas and armchairs. Gary couldn't help leveling a barb at the young man as he was led past.

"How on earth were you going to manage to stay on top of Pidgeot this morning?"

"Adrenaline," Ash quipped back without his usual venom. He was a little too tired to keep being mad at his friend this morning.

Ash plopped into the nearest couch. He thought that having performed her good deed, Misty would be on her way now. But she lingered, wringing her hands with her eyes looking anywhere but in his direction. Ash was too tired to stand being this uncomfortable. He rolled over, pressing his face into the couch's back. It was better than trying to pretend that everything about her didn't still bother him. He knew he didn't have any merit to his feelings. Ash and Misty were never a thing and never would be. He was a fool for thinking otherwise. And yet the feeling still burned out a hole in his chest.

It would probably hurt for a while. Especially since Ash couldn't talk to anyone about it. After all, he was the only one stupid enough to think that Misty would wait around for him. The only one selfish enough to hope she wouldn't move on.

He could still feel her eyes on him. She probably wanted to say something and Ash just wasn't in the mood to hear it. He pretended to be asleep, staring hard into the pillows and wishing she'd just leave him alone. A soft breeze signaled her eventual exit. And as Pikachu curled up on the soft throw pillows by his head, Ash found his eyelids finally starting to droop. He didn't want to dream of anything this time. But before he could rely that message to the other soul currently occupying his body, he had fallen asleep.


It was too much to hope that he wouldn't dream. The dream started in Ash's own head. There were normal things, human concerns, interwoven into things that were undoubtedly Mew's influence. In this dream, he still seventeen, sitting on his mother's shaggy carpet that he used to play on as a child. It was important to note his age; the height and body he occupied in the dream. Because he wasn't acting like himself.

Misty and Brock were on his either side, similarly sitting, similarly waiting for the dream to commence. And although Ash was himself at his current age, he started to play a familiar childhood game. One where he'd crawl across the carpet, underneath coffee tables, and across the couch pretending to a be a pokemon. A talking pokemon, of course. It was exhausting pretending to speak in nothing but strings of "bulbas" or "char char". Through the course of the dream, Ash went from his standard pokemon favorites of Charmander and Bulbasaur to suddenly being addressed as Pikachu by Misty.

Oh yes. I'm Pikachu, Ash thought. And that was that.

Misty and Brock played no pokemon. But neither did they find it strange that Ash was pretending to be one. They walked alongside Ash, playing themselves in the similar roles they had had on his pokemon journey. Misty, the unwanted tag-along nag and Brock, the older brother who looked out for them. There was no one to play Ash.

Ash hopped up onto the couch, looking across the room and out into the south windows that opened into his childhood backyard. That's what dream Ash did. But there was a second reality folded over the first, the one dream Ash was playing out in his imagination. In his imagination, he had just perched himself on a nearby tree and was surveying the road ahead.

"I can't see the next town," Ash called down to the other two.

"Perfect. So much for sleeping indoors tonight," Misty harrumphed.

Brock touched her shoulder and smiled. "Hey now. The weather is pleasant enough. Camping outdoors again shouldn't be that terrible."

"You say that now, Brock," Ash said jumping down from the tree lightly. "But the weather could change between then and now. I wouldn't jinx us."

Brock made a face at Ash. Probably wondering if the "little pokemon" was actually going to whip out a storm in his imagination just to make this game a little more interesting.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Ash returned the look with a smile.

Ash had meant to step over the coffee table but as he did, things changed. The way things suddenly do in dreams. He wasn't Pikachu. Not anymore. He was spinning, swimming, floating out into the center of the room. His feet lifted off the floor. He was suspended in the air out in front of them. All pretense of imagination had been discarded. This was reality. This was solidly his living room. He was himself. And his friends were themselves- staring up at him in horror.

"No, wait. This is-"

Misty covered her eyes, cried out and looked away from him. Brock, however, couldn't stop staring.

"This is just pretend!"

He could feel the color drain from his face. He had tried to reach out to Misty, at least to her. She was his best friend. His one true companion through everything. If anyone could understand what he was going through; if anyone could see past it… She pulled away from him, fell against the couch's armrest, trembling. Brock might have comforted her if he could just stop staring. The sight of his horrible powers had turned him into an unfeeling statue of stone.

Ash could feel Mew's power burning from his eyes. He tried to blink it back like tears. And then there were tears, they spilled down his cheeks traitorously.

"I'm still me."

But even he didn't believe it.

The roar was back again. It rushed over him like a wave, washing away everything. Misty disappeared last, her tearful expression the last Ash could see before it was dissolved in the white. Ash touched down in the white space. A small red ball tanged against the ground not far from where he stood. Ash didn't react. He expected it. It rolled unacknowledged across the sandy white expanse.

Ash didn't want to turn. He knew what was waiting for him. It wouldn't be any of his friends. There was only one thing that ever met him in such a place. But he knew, like a band-aid, he needed to rip this off sooner or later.

Ash took two deep breaths and then, at last, turned to face the monster that was waiting for him.

He was just as frightening as Ash remembered him. The creature, more shadow than form, hung a few feet above Ash's head. And thanks to Mew's second senses, Ash could feel the energy just as surely as he had seen it before, radiating off the creature. He didn't want to talk to it. His voice broke before he could even begin to form a sentence.

"I am the most powerful Pokemon in the world," the shadow creature boomed through its shapeless mouth.

"Perhaps," Ash's voice replied. "But you are only a memory."

Ash hadn't spoken. Mew hadn't stolen control of his voice as she had done before. His mouth was still and yet he heard his own voice somewhere outside himself. Ash was quite startled when an identical version of himself stepped up alongside him. Well, almost identical. He had appeared the same height at first, the more that Ash focused on the lookalike, the other young man transformed. He became younger and younger until he was undoubtedly a child version of his current self. A ten-year-old pokemon trainer who, despite his short stature, held himself in such a way that made him seem ancient. His eyes held that knowledge again. The knowledge that Ash knew now had been stolen from him, from the very shadow that was haunting him now.

"A memory?" Ash repeated after himself helplessly.

His younger self smiled almost sympathetically. "He can only hurt you if you let him."

"I… I know I'm dreaming," Ash said, becoming surer of it now that he had spoken it out loud. "But soon… soon I will meet him. I will meet Mewtwo."

Younger Ash cocked his head at the older one and chuckled, "Silly. You've already met him."

"He tried to kill me."

"He didn't." The smile was gone from the boy's face now.

"Mew told me-"

"He didn't try. They killed us both."


Ash threw himself back into waking. He gasped out as he resurfaced, nearly throwing Pikachu from his own resting place. Face dripping with sweat, for several seconds Ash couldn't do anything more than just hug his knees. The words buzzed in his ears as if they had actually been spoken outside his dream. It was a statement that made absolutely no sense. How could he have possibly been killed?

Ash let his eyes fall closed again. He found comfort in the soft even breaths and thumping of his heart. And as he waited, reality became more solid than the gripping world of his dreams. Its words began to lose their power.

It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare, Ash whispered under his breath.

The particulars of the dream were already starting to fade away. But the words remained, hauntingly stubborn. Ash tried to push them away; will them into forgetfulness. But they were stubborn and immovable. They killed us both.

"Are you alright, Ash?" Ash's own lips whispered. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Ash rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He dropped his legs down from the couch, surveying the room in his now more conscious state. The sun was coming in from the windows brightly now, spilling in warm streams out onto the dull ivory carpet. He couldn't see anyone around. Daylight must have pulled everyone into their daily tasks.

"You can't see into my dreams?" Ash asked idly, not too eager to relate the particulars of this nightmare just yet.

"No. Not yet."

The yet left a bad taste in Ash's mouth. He decided he'd rather not have Mew explain.

Pikachu groggily pulled himself up alongside him. Ash gave the sleepy pokemon a kind scratch behind the ears before lifting him back up onto the familiar perch of Ash's shoulder. Mew might have been waiting for a response or perhaps she sensed that Ash wasn't wanting to talk. She didn't press the topic, letting Ash rise and stretch.

After a quick stop in the bathroom to splash some water in his face, Ash decided it was time to return to the world of the living and actually figure out what had gone on without him. He padded barefoot down the halls, peeking into rooms that might have been occupied by his missing friends. His mother had already packed the night before, ready to leave this morning; inevitably taking both Professor Oak and Tracy with her. Ash suspected Misty and Gary probably hadn't relayed the details of his escape attempt to her. If they had, she would have surely delayed her departure to give him a talking to. And that would have been as awkward as it would have been unwanted. He had lived the last few years pretending he didn't have a mother. It was much too soon to have her suddenly occupying that role in his life again.

He had been trying to pretend a ton of things lately. That he didn't need anyone in his life. That he didn't resent the constant meddling of the legendaries. And likewise that he didn't secretly relish the horrible adventures he often found himself in- nightmarish as they often were. And now he had a new thing to pretend too.

When he walked into the correct room, at last, Ash caught sight of her hand resting over Gary's. It was slight, a gentle comforting brush. Gary returned the touch with a smile. And Ash immediately felt like he was intruding. They had been sitting together, stitching up a long canvas that appeared pieced together with whatever scraps of durable fabric they had available. Of its purpose, Ash couldn't even begin to hazard a guess. He cleared his throat and tried not to enjoy how quickly the two pulled apart.

"Ready to be useful," Ash said, keeping his eyes solidly on Gary.

"Well, the best the way to start is to change all that," Gary said, gesturing to all of Ash. Ash couldn't help the sour expression that took over his face.

Misty nudged Gary in the ribs. Ash tried to ignore how playful and natural the action seemed. "He's teasing you, Ash," Misty said. "Gary just means that we need to get you in a disguise."

"Do I have to? I could just… put on a hoodie or something."

"Heh, are you serious?" Pikachu piped up. For a second, Ash had forgotten that he could understand Pikachu now. The bodiless voice suddenly coming from his shoulder was disconcerting. Ash pushed against his pokemon's face; not enough to knock the pikachu from his shoulder but enough to annoy. Pikachu mumbled around his offending hand.

"I'm not wearing a dress," Ash retorted.

"We weren't suggesting that," said Misty. "Team Rocket has a better idea in mind."

"Yeah besides… you'd make an ugly woman."

Ash flipped Gary the bird. Misty grabbed Ash's offensive hand and dragged him towards the exit. "Come on. No dresses, I promise."

They stepped around the canvas and out the door. They hadn't made it that far down the hall before Misty had dropped his hand.

"Why do you do that?" Misty asked.

"Do what?"

Misty shot him a look. "You've been hostile to Gary ever since we got back."

Ash ducked around the glare, careful to avoid her eye. She'd surely be able to read him like an open book otherwise. "I have not."

"You have too."

"We're just guys. It's a guy thing. You're reading too much into it."

"No, I'm not," Misty had grabbed his arm again, stopping in the middle of the hallway. Ash felt cornered, her grip on his arm way too tight. He kept his eyes on the floor as she continued. "I know you, Ash. I can tell when you are upset. Gary worked just as hard as anyone else to get you back. Are you seriously still mad because we had to trade those blueprints to get you back? Because you shouldn't be. We all made that decision, not just Gary."

Ash yanked himself free of her. But it didn't help the cornered feeling. The hallway stretched long and empty on either side of him. Yet he couldn't take either path. Misty had blocked him with nothing more than her presence; her expectation. He hated her and yet he didn't want to disappoint her. He didn't want to be something less in her eyes.

"It's not that," Ash mumbled.

"Then what is it?"

Ash finally let his eyes meet her own. There was no spark of recognition in them. No matter how long he let his gaze linger on her too green eyes, down her flush cheeks and to her soft pink lips. His own lips burned from a wish to meet hers. Feelings that he thought must have been so plain on his face were completely lost on her.

Because she didn't feel the same.

Ash let his eyes fall once again. "It's nothing. I'm just being stupid."

Misty seemed mostly satisfied with that answer. She lightly smacked the back of his head. "Well, then knock it off."

"I'll try."

They reached Team Rocket's makeshift quarters too soon. The trio shared the same exam room that had been done up for James. As with all the other rooms in Professor Elm's laboratory, it was meant to accommodate pokemon not human patients. But somehow they had made it work. It certainly not as comfortable a set up as James would have gotten from a hospital, but, in their situation, beggars couldn't exactly be choosers. Ash let Misty enter first, reluctantly trailing in after her.

The room was rather narrow. Ash wasn't sure where Jessie was sleeping. There was one cot stretched across the center of the room, pressed flush against the far cabinets. It was here that James had evidently been patched up. But besides the cot, there didn't seem to be any other furniture in the room.

James shared the bed now with his teammates, all three of them pouring over their limited supplies that they had dumped out on the cot between them. Assorted plastic bags of rations, what looked like cosmetics and a surprising collection of hair dyes were just a few of the items Ash caught sight of before Jessie hastily swept them up in her arms.

Realizing who had entered, the trio relaxed- Jessie dropping the objects in a noisy messy clatter back upon the bed.

"I brought you your sacrificial lamb," Misty joked, pushing Ash out in front of her. Ash would have shot her a nasty look in return, but he was much too preoccupied with the thought of being smothered with that large collection of make-up Jessie had close at hand.

"Finally! I'd thought he had tried to run off again… come on, Twerp. Time for your makeover."

There wasn't much room to maneuver. Upon yanking at Ash's arm, all Jessie managed to do was drag the young man over the cot. Pikachu gracefully abandoned his master's shoulder for the bed before Ash could be run into it. He stumbled, knocking over several of the tubes and cylinders scattered across the sheets. They spilled out over the floor. Jessie didn't seem to mind, kicking them aside as she pulled him down just next to a waiting James. The young man hadn't bothered to rise from the cot throughout the whole exchange. Besides, with his injuries, Ash suspected both he and Meowth were probably there on a conciliatory basis.

So Ash's surprise was pretty great when it was, in fact, James who grabbed Ash's chin and began thoughtfully examining his face like an artist examining a waiting canvas.

"Yeah, I'd say we definitely need to do something about these shadows under his eyes. It's too defining. They'd recognize him right away."

Jessie nodded thoughtfully over James' shoulder. And Ash tried his best not to feel like he was a dish being fancifully prepared for dinner.

"W-wait wait. Ground rules first!" Ash held his hands out in front of himself as if they might actually provide a sufficient barrier against the onslaught of the coming makeover. He instinctively reached up to tug at his hair that was admittedly getting a bit shaggy in the last couple weeks. But he preferred it that way as opposed to whatever Team Rocket might have in mind. "I can put on a silly wig for you guys but no haircuts. No dying my hair. No piercings. Nothing permanent."

James shook his head. "No can do."

Before Ash could protest James' declaration, Jessie took up the explanation for him. "Wigs can come undone. All it takes is a single careless brush or snag to reveal your identity to everyone."

"We'd know dat better den anyone!" Meowth chimed in.

Jessie continued as if he hadn't spoken, "The risk is too high. We have to make sure your disguise is something that can't be peeled off like a mask. It has to look natural."

"We can relent on the 'nothing permanent' clause. But a haircut isn't permanent, is it?" said James with a soft smile. He was trying to be kind. Ash just wasn't much in a mood to be thankful.

"Just… don't make me bald."

"A bald teenager aint exactly da look we were aiming fer."

When Jessie reached for a contact case, James caught her hand. "Nah. Too much chance for irritation. It'd end up giving him away if he was rubbing at his eyes too much, shifting it around."

"Ah right," Jessie nodded, shoving the case back into her bag.

"Awww. I was hoping to see how Ash would look like with blue eyes," Misty called out from the doorway.

Before Ash could twist around and glare at her, Jessie had already shooed the redhead away, closing the door tightly shut in her wake.

"Alright then. Let's get started. Ash, take off your shirt and let's get your head under the sink."


Misty wasn't ignorant of Gary's attention of late. She hadn't exactly discouraged the flirting. It was kind of nice. The sort of normal she hadn't had in her life in a while. It was polite, always so polite. Nothing more than just holding hands and soft sweet compliments. Just like when they first started dating. If Misty just closed her eyes, she could pretend she was back there. A younger soul whose only concern was that she might not actually like Gary back as much as he liked her.

Misty hadn't talked to Gary about it. But she had a feeling that Gary didn't actually want to start back up where they had left off. He had taken their break up far harder than she had. It was kind of hard to take it hard when it was your own fault. Sure, for a few weeks, she hadn't wanted to do much of anything but lounge around the house in sweatpants and shovel down bowls of ice cream. But she sprang back into life with the help of her sisters and the demanding duties of a pokemon gym leader. Gary didn't have any of that. He wouldn't talk to her for months afterward. And when she tried to call, leave messages, none seemed to reach him. She couldn't blame him for being angry. But she hadn't wanted to stop seeing him. After all, once Ash had disappeared, Gary had quickly become one of her dearest friends.

There was a part of Misty that considered that maybe what was really getting to Ash was the relationship between her and Gary. He had been gone for so many years. It was entirely possible that such a friendship was jarring to him. Gary was his longtime rival and Misty his longtime traveling companion. Some worlds weren't supposed to overlap. Misty quickly brushed such a thought away; deeming it too childish. Perhaps a younger Ash would have thrown a hissy fit over Misty's choice in friends. But Ash was seventeen years old now. And he had way more pressing concerns occupying his thoughts than old childhood squabbles.

After having been shut out of the room where Ash's transformation was to take place, Misty decided not to return back to Gary's room. She wasn't really in the mood for more stitching. She wasn't really good at such a menial task. Her fingers were starting to cramp and she had already stabbed herself with the needle a good deal more than she'd like to admit.

Instead, Misty took a turn down into the basement of Elm's laboratories. It was here, after descending a set of rather poorly lit stairs, that Misty had discovered a series of water tanks. They were meant to house ailing or homeless pokemon. Elm and his fellow researchers rarely captured their own research candidates. They were almost entirely pokemon rescued from poor situations that they'd study while restoring back to health. Unlike Professor Oak, Elm didn't have as many pokemon trainers attached to his labs. Thankfully it wasn't too difficult for Elm to make the connections necessary to take overstock from the other pokemon professors of the nearby regions. He always managed to get his research completed.

There were a few unoccupied tanks in the corner. These were perfect for her own purposes. Misty tossed her pokeballs over the rim, releasing her small team into the water. She only held onto Togetic's, the solitary member of her team that wasn't a water type. Vaporeon took to the water quickest, trilling happily as she spun past Starmie and Magikarp.

Misty upended a nearby plastic crate and sat down to watch her pokemon for a while. Nothing calmed her more than watching the joy her pokemon expressed from being the water; all splashing and happy bubbles. The only thing better would be jumping into the water herself. Unfortunately, Elm's tank wouldn't accommodate any humans. It wasn't Cerulean gym after all.

And it was then, within the pleasure of the moment, Misty allowed her mind to settle. Ever since Giovanni had come to them, urgently warning them about Ash's probable plans to run, Misty hadn't allowed herself to take it all in; all the strangeness that had followed them since rescuing Ash from White Ice's clutches. Things were different. And not just a normal passing of time difference. The Ash she had met in Viridian City's pokemon center was a completely different person than the one they had rescued. She had been feeling it for a while now. It was a different air- a strange heaviness around him that she hadn't noticed before.

At first, Misty thought it had just been her imagination. It had been several years since she and Ash had been in each other's company. Their brief reunion in Viridian wasn't enough to reveal all of Ash's new character. And yet, that Ash was frustratingly familiar. Just as stupidly optimistic and careless. She loved how much he trusted, that blind faith that things would always work out.

This man was different. He seemed burned, closed off. Even his eyes seemed darker. Misty wrapped her arms around herself to fight a sudden chill. The memory of them, those eyes with their more intelligent gaze, was a bit unnerving. Since when did Ash look at people with such scrutiny, such sharpness? Ash was just as handsome as he had been before. He held himself as tall around others but, left on his own, he became skittish and fidgety, always looking one second away from either fight or flight. More than once, Misty had caught him muttering under his breath to himself. She hadn't recalled him ever having that habit before.

White Ice had done something to change him. For that alone, Misty could never forgive them. But there were plenty of reasons to despise White Ice. Giovanni had laid out the reasons plain that previous evening, right before they had massed together to confront Ash.

"He was tortured," Giovanni had explained. His voice far more gentle than Misty could have expected from him. "The anxiety, how he keeps spacing out. He is probably suffering from what happened to him."

"How do you know this?" Gary breathed. Misty had the same question but she couldn't ask it herself. She felt like she was going to be sick.

"He told me himself."

"Why would they do that?"

"Because they are evil! Those fucking bastards!" Misty finally spit out, unable to keep the emotion from her voice. Her voice cracked but she was too angry to cry. Giovanni acknowledged her response with a nod.

"They probably thought he had information. Or they wanted to keep him compliant."

"I'm betting on the latter," said Gary rather unhelpfully.

"True. Ash doesn't exactly have the best track record with patience. I'm sure he wasn't exactly willing to wait for a rescue."

"Why didn't he tell us? Why only you?"

Giovanni couldn't quite meet Misty's eye. He did look appropriately guilty. "If I were to guess, he probably doesn't want to relive it… Or he's ashamed. Or perhaps maybe… he just isn't ready to have you know. Isn't ready for how you might treat him. I don't know Ash as well as the rest of you but even I am pretty sure he wouldn't enjoy being treated like he's… broken."

Misty hadn't really liked any of those answers. But it would be just like Ash to hide when he was hurting. He did that when they were kids too. A paper cut would leave Ash rolling around in the dirt, whining like a baby. But then when breaking an ankle, he'd limp and drag himself for hours without saying a word. It was really one of the most infuriating things about him.

This wasn't a broken ankle. And Misty didn't know how to help him. She didn't even know if she could. Not if Ash wasn't willing to talk about it.

Somewhere deep down, Misty suspected that wasn't the only reason Ash had become so distant. There was something fundamentally changed in him. Something he hadn't dared to tell them about yet. And Misty was terrified to find out the source of.

Was that why he needed Mewtwo? Was it to undo what had been done to him?

Misty pulled herself up onto the crate, tucking in her legs and resting her chin on top of her knees. It felt somewhat better, holding herself in tighter. As if in these last few hours she had been coming slowly unraveled. And if she felt this way, Misty didn't want to know how the others were doing. Besides, she needed to stay strong. If she wanted to be a proper support for Ash, she couldn't let him down as she had before. No more breaking into messy tears. No more falling apart when the situations demanded actions from her. She wasn't going to be any else's damsel in need of rescuing.

A long time ago she had promised to be there for Ash. It felt like a hundred years now. That promise still held. No matter what had happened. No matter what deep dark secret Ash was still holding back. Misty was determined to stay here, close in his footsteps, just as she had always been.

After all, Ash needed all the people looking out for him as he could get.


Misty eventually dragged herself back up the basement steps and into the main laboratory. While she had been hiding, the sun had begun to slink down from its high point in the sky. Warm golden light was pouring in from the far windows, painting the walls yellow. Misty longed to go outside and bask in it. But she had shirked from her responsibilities long enough.

After a quick stop by the kitchen for a handful of magikarp cheese crackers, Misty decided to check back in on Ash. Maybe they could make a small lunch before returning to packing and stitching and whatever menial task Gary had set up for them next.

The door was ajar. Misty took it as a sign that they must have finished up. She peeked around the door frame, ready to announce her return to the occupants in the room. But the sight that met her eyes stopped her voice up in her throat.

She almost didn't recognize him. Misty supposed in that way, Team Rocket had done their job. For one thing, Ash didn't have a shirt on. Something he quickly remedied as soon as he had spotted her face peeking from around the corner.

His hair was white. Not only was it white, a stark brilliant shade in such startling contrast to the color it had been before, but they had cropped it short. The sides of his hair had buzzed tight to his skull, leaving only a loose mop on top. The length on top fell loose over one side, into his eyes. Ash kept trying to push it out of his face.

It was a punk haircut and completely unlike anything Ash would ever inflict upon himself. And yet, Misty felt the hot blush crawl across her face before she could think to look away.

"Don't laugh!" Ash spat before she could say anything, hastily yanking his baggy black tee back over his head. "It wasn't my idea!"

"Of course it wasn't your idea. It's brilliant," Jessie simpered from over his shoulder.

Misty took a few more steps into the overcrowded room. She was far more careful in keeping her eyes off of Ash. Even though she yearned to look again, to take it in. Especially with his shirt off. Ash was far more toned than Misty ever remembered him being.

"It's not brilliant. I look like a clown."

Pikachu, who had been watching the exchange from the cot that currently still divided the room, chimed in with a few chuckled out comments. Ash responded by pushing the pokemon off the bed. That just make Pikachu laugh harder.

"So um.. Maybe I'm just not that well versed in the art," Misty began tactfully. "But, why is dyeing Ash's hair a more brilliant shade… less conspicuous?"

"He'll look like a criminal," Meowth said cheerfully.

"He already is one."

Ash winced and Misty instantly regretted her bluntness.

"Well, riddle me this, twerpette?" Jessie said, stepping casually across the cot to land on her side of the room. "When's the last time you've taken public transportation?"

"Um… last month?"

"Good. And when you did, if someone dangerous looking… Team Rocket looking… jumped on the train, how many people started to take a close detailed sketch of his features? How many openly stared so that they could describe him appropriately to the police later? Hell, how many don't immediately vacate the nearby seats to get away from him?"

Misty frowned. "So you're saying… because he looks like he's dangerous, less people will look at him?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. The majority of people avert their eyes when a Rocket member walks into a room. They don't want any trouble. We'll use that to our advantage."

"Best place to hide someone is in plain sight," James wisely chimed in.

"I still look like a clown," Ash grumbled.

"Oh, we'll put a few fake piercings in your ears and nose, slap on a washable tattoo, and no one will dare laugh." Jessie then reached over to fluff his hair, completely defeating the point she had been trying to make.

Ash smiled back like his mouth was full of knives. If only he hadn't made that face. Now Misty was laughing and feeling pretty sorry about it. At least, Ash didn't hold it against her. He just threw a damp towel at her face.


It hardly needed to be said that Ash hated his new look. When passing by a hallway mirror, he had been given a start- still not recognizing himself in the glass. It didn't help that anytime anyone saw him they had to make such a big deal about how different he looked. Gary actually dropped his half-eaten sandwich on the floor when Ash had finally gone into the kitchen for something eat. Ash wanted to pick it up and shove into his stupid bewildered face. Instead, he just sighed and tried to ignore it, and the inevitable teasing that came along shortly after.

At least Giovanni had the decency to neither stare nor acknowledge the change. He simply affirmed it with a nod and then continued with his business. If only everyone had just accepted the change as gracefully.

Misty didn't think Ash could tell she was staring. Ash could. And it was starting to grate on his nerves. He knew it was hideous but he didn't think it merited that much staring.

Finally getting a moment to himself, Ash quietly slipped out a side door to eat his hastily made ham and mayo sandwich out on one of the stoops that opened out into Elm's expansive property. Like Professor Oak's laboratory, Elm's was perched on the precipice of an expansive forest. But Pallet town was surrounded by scraggy young trees and heavy grassland. This was a Johto forest, thick and gnarled. The trees were pressed together so tightly, it was difficult to see more than a few trunks in.

Ash munched on his sandwich, trying to ignore how cold his neck felt, bereft of its shelter of hair. Pikachu pawed at his hand, trying to beg for bits of crust. Ash was only too happy to oblige.

"So you wanna talk about it?" Pikachu said, grabbing up the bit of offered bread.

"About what?"

"About what's eating you? Who else? Pikachu pi."

Ash took a larger bite out of his sandwich as an answer. Pikachu sighed, leaning his head against Ash's thigh. "Come on. Even she could tell you're being moody."

"I am not."

"She's coming with us now. You can't just keep pouting anytime she's around. It's gonna get old real fast."

"I told you. I'm not pouting."

"I'm not going to argue with you, Pikapi."

"Good. Then don't."

"Pikapi…"

Ash shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and dusted off his hands on his shirt and jeans. Mouth still full of bread and meat, Ash couldn't answer Pikachu's probing questions. And neither could Mew, whom Ash had felt stirring in the back of his consciousness at the start of this unwanted exchange.

"If you aren't going to fight for her, then let her go," Pikachu spat at last. "Stop pining after her like a mopey human."

Ash choked down what still remained in his mouth, swallowing hard. He cast Pikachu a sour look. "I am a mo- a human. Mostly human."

"It's an expression."

"You have pokemon expressions about humans? You have… negative pokemon expressions about humans?"

"You have expressions about us," Pikachu shrugged. "Turnabout fair play."

Ash shook his head. He jumped off the stoop, stretching out his arms and keeping his eyes on the forest and away from the laboratory behind him. It was far easier to look at.

"I'm not pining after her."

"Oh please." He could practically hear the pokemon rolling his eyes. Ash knew better than to acknowledge it.

"I know she is with Gary."

"Do you? Have you asked her?"

At this, Ash paused. He frowned down at his pokemon sidekick. "I… No. But… I can't just- that would be…"

"What?"

"Rude," Ash finished lamely.

"I don't know much about human social conventions but I'm pretty sure Pikachu pi wouldn't attack you for simply asking about her boyfriend."

"It is when her boyfriend happens to be my best friend… who dated her without telling me."

"May I say something?"

"Absolutely not," Ash retorted before his lips even stopped moving. Mew, however, continued unheeded.

"You have feelings for this fellow human, yes? Misty?"

Ash threw up his hands in aggravation. Since he wouldn't answer, Pikachu took it upon himself to answer for his master.

"Yes. He does."

"Then why not let her know? I could talk to her, if that would be-"

"No!"

"Then, you. Give her the choice of suitors. If the choice is too difficult, you and Gary may contest for her love. As Pikachu said, you seem awfully reluctant to fight for her. Why is that?"

Ash ran his hands down his face, mumbling into them. "Humans aren't like pokemon. We don't fight each other for dates."

"Well technically pokemon do not spar for 'dating' rights. Its for the right to mate with the other-"

"Oh my god, please stop!"

"Isn't that the human's end goal too?"

"I said stop!"

"I forgot that that word upsets him," Mew said to a grinning Pikachu. His pokemon partner slinked nearer, finding far more enjoyment in Ash's discomfort than the other two.

He scrambled back up onto Ash's shoulder all so he could lean in and whisper, "Mate mate mate!"

"Pikachu, I have never regretted being able to understand you more."

"Mate mate!"

Before Ash could knock the offending pokemon off his shoulder, the door opened. And who should step out but the very person they had been talking about. Speak of the devil and she shall appear. Ash shot ramrod straight, looking very much like a stantler caught in oncoming headlights. If she hadn't been suspicious of his one-sided conversation before, she certainly would be now.

Misty stepped cautiously off the back steps, her eyes lowered and words just as soft and careful as her movement. As if she was afraid of scaring him off. And maybe she would.

"Hey."

"Uh… Hey."

Misty held her arms behind her back and tried to casually look around. The action seemed rather stiff and rehearsed. But at least she was trying to look normal. Ash was still frozen where she had caught him.

"So… what are you doing out here?"

"Nothing," Ash answered a bit too quickly. "Just- just thinking. I was just about to go back in-"

"Oh okay."

Misty stepped aside as if to let him pass. Ash found himself hesitating. It wasn't just because of the expectant looks that Pikachu was giving him. Much as Ash didn't want to admit it, there was a definite part of him that wanted to end whatever this awkward dance was between the two of them. He had hoped that the best the way to end it would be the same way as before. He'd simply run away. All the awful butterflies and burning feelings were easier to deal with if you could just stay away from whatever caused it. So, at thirteen years old, his answer was to walk away. It seemed that even four years later, his answer was still to walk away.

He owed it to himself this time to try.

"Misty I-"

"It's okay, Ash. You don't have to tell me anything. I told you, you can talk to me when you're ready."

It took Ash a moment to realize that she had misunderstood. He shook his head.

"No, I mean. Thank you but no, that's not what I wanted to talk about."

"What is it?"

She was looking at him so earnestly that Ash's courage faltered again. Somehow Ash realized that no matter how she reacted, no matter if she accepted him or rejected him- this would change. The soft expectant smile, the casual way she was leaning away from him, even how comfortable she was with him. She trusted him. The way she looked at him would change, split into a few possible outcomes. Disgust and pity or acceptance and love. He could see each expression just as clearly on her face as the one she currently had. Ash wasn't sure he was okay with any sort of change. He liked her just as she was. Just as she had always been.

Ash inexplicably found a smile slip across his face. This is fine, Ash realized. I'm okay with just this.

"Nothing," Ash smiled, shaking his head. "I just wanted to thank you, you know? For everything. You're a good friend, Misty."

Misty returned the smile warmly. Ash's heart still skipped a beat at the sight, but this time, he didn't mind so much.

"I don't know why you are thanking me. I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done if our roles were reversed."

"But still… it means a lot to me. That you all were trying so hard to save me. You especially, Misty. No one else would have been there if not for you."

"I just called for help. I didn't do anything more than what anyone else would have done."

Ash lightly pushed her shoulder, a playful gesture. One he wanted to take back as soon as he had done it. It was a test, to force himself to be more comfortable with this; this new normal he had decided on. "You need to learn how to accept a compliment," Ash smiled.

"Ha. I guess I do. I'm sorry, Ash. Yes, you're welcome," She smiled again and Ash felt like his heart might burst. But that smile was all his and he could be quite happy with it.

"Well then… I guess," Ash said hesitantly as he stepped around her to head for the door. "I'll see you back inside."

Misty gave a backhand wave. "See ya."

Ash closed the door behind him. And it was only after he had left that the smile fell from Misty's face.

"What are friends for?" She muttered into the dead air.


To Be Continued…
Please Read and Review!

Hey all! Sorry for the super wait. There are a few pre-written chapters following this one. They just need editing before release. So look forward to more following this update!

Special thanks to those who have reviewed this new story so far: remisolleke, JesusChrist, A Person, suttonrose, AshKetchumForever, YumeTakato, thor94, and Shaveza. I love and appreciate all your feedback!

And next time on HIA, Ash and co secure transport for their journey to Mewtwo.

Happy holidays! Please look forward to chapter three sometime next month!