Disclaimer - Everything you're about to read belongs to someone else. You know, except for the total compilation of ideas. That would be mine. Yup yup.
Author - Chibi / Warlordess
Notes - Okay guys, this is a weird one. I think it definitely qualifies for the fantasy genre I picked for it. Plus it's almost sickeningly romantic. Ugh, I hope I come out of this one unscathed. Even if you don't understand something or don't like or appreciate it, I hope you'll stick it out til the end and also - maybe, just maybe - give me a review and tell me what you thought.
So, without further ado. . .
New Note - I changed a few things up in this chapter after posting it. I don't like doing it, but I forgot a short conversation I wanted added in here so that I could have a short reflection on it during the finale next chapter. Therefore, to anyone who read this chapter during the first eight hours of posting it, I ask that you skim through it again and find what you (and I, unfortunately) missed the first time around.
Thank you, and I'm sorry for the mess!
OoOoO
Title - "Undine's Thread" / part four
OoOoO
"Nurse Joy, where are you keeping their Pokemon?"
Ash turned on his heel and stared at his older friend, not noticing that the Pokemon Nurse had done the same, a more-than-shocked expression on her face.
"But. . . how did you know?" she pleaded, mouth slightly agape. She hadn't revealed anything to them on accident, had she? She couldn't help the slight pang of guilt she felt. Misty had indeed come to see her a few days ago, along with her sisters. They had told her that it was temporary but that they couldn't manage to hold on to their Pokemon and take care of themselves as well while they looked for a new place to live so they were curious as to whether they could leave them in the Center's care for an extended amount of time.
Joy had been uncomfortable with the idea at first. A Pokemon's place was with their trainer after all. But Daisy, Lily, and Violet had told her there really was no other choice and that they'd have to release the Pokemon otherwise. And Misty. . . had seemed so upset about it, so much so that she couldn't even find the tears to shed. So Joy had accepted the duty and taken the twenty or so PokeBalls into her custody. Afterwards, Misty had asked her not to tell anyone that they'd done such a thing, perhaps out of shame that she had had no other choice in the matter, or even worse, perhaps because she wouldn't make another choice.
"It was pretty easy to figure out. A couple days ago, another friend of ours was handed one of Misty's Pokemon, a baby water-type named Azuril. It was his Marril who birthed her after all so I guess it only seemed natural to Misty that the two of them be brought back together if she couldn't keep Azuril, herself. So I thought that if there was a chance she had already done such a thing with another of her Pokemon, then she'd probably do something similar to the rest of them." Brock further explained his theory. "She gave them to you."
"Nurse Joy!" Ash exclaimed loudly, though his tone was more pleading than it had been the day before. "She did, didn't she? Misty gave you her Pokemon? And you didn't tell us before? Now she's gone missing and you knew something about it and you didn't say anything!"
"Mr. Ketchum!" she shouted at him, finally losing her temper, "I've had just about enough of your outbursts! Now if you want to ask me about what happened, I will tell you since you were obviously very close to her, not to mention you know most of it already anyway. I already mentioned that there were confidentiality issues. Misty begged me not to say anything to anyone and, when she handed me the note to give to you, she probably meant that she didn't want you to find out what she'd done."
"Why? Why would she keep something like that from me? Like it would mean anything to me! It doesn't! Misty's still my best friend!"
Things grew awkward for a few seconds as he finally quieted down and realized everyone was staring at him.
"Pikachu Pi pika pi pi pi chu Pikapi." Pikachu attempted to console his trainer, wrapping his tail around the boy's head as if to protect him.
"Would you two follow me please?" Joy finally managed to respond, making sure that there were no other trainers approaching her for assistance before turning and walking towards the door leading to the nursing quarters.
Brock and Ash did as they were told and walked steadily behind her, keeping their eyes open and looking at everything they were seeing for the first time. To the right were the ICU centers used to treat gravely injured Pokemon. Straight ahead was the recuperation area, rest after surgical procedures or else small scratches and burns were treated on site. And to the left, where the lot of them were heading, was the pick-up area. Pokemon were kept here after treatment until their trainers came to take them back.
"So. . . these are them?" both trainers asked in hushed tones as they approached a small shelf area in the back. About a dozen PokeBalls were lined up in neat little rows on plush surfaces. A gold-plated tag hung above them all with the words Property of Cerulean Gym printed across.
"Yes; Dewgong, four Goldeen, Gyarados, Psyduck, Horsea, two Luvdisc, Corsola, Seel, three Seaking, three Magikarp, Staryu, Starmie, Politoad, and two Shellder. . . They were all brought here two days ago by the Sensational Sisters. There was another letter accompanying them with dietary needs but that's about it."
"I know that this is what she said she wanted but. . ." Ash started, looking hopelessly at Brock. Things seemed to be getting bleaker and bleaker for them. "This can't be right. Misty would never give up her Pokemon without a fight. I mean. . ."
"Well, apparently she fought for almost a year, even though she knew that she couldn't appeal against the Indigo League. And she didn't give them up, did she?" Brock asked. "Isn't it only for a few days? Maybe we should just sit here and wait for her to come back for them? And then we could give her a nice talking to about all this."
"Yeah. . . Maybe. But. . ." It didn't sit right with the raven-haired trainer, but he feared voicing his opinion to a brick wall would continue to get him nowhere and so remained silent. Besides, he wasn't in the mood to yell and kick and scream just to get some more attention at this point. He glanced at all of the Pokeballs lined up against the wall beside him once more.
He hadn't realized that Misty had so many of them. It was hard to tell since they technically belonged to her entire family and most of them had remained at the gym, taking place in her sisters water ballets, the whole time she'd been on the road. All of these Pokemon, suddenly without a trainer, a friend that they'd come to respect and grow stronger with. . .
Ash felt a sense of nostalgia flitter its way through him and promised himself that he'd go visit all of his Pokemon when he returned to Pallet Town once all this was over.
"Hey, Ash, let's go get something to eat. It's around noon and we woke up too late for breakfast. You've gotta be hungry by now, right?" Brock asked him as casually as possible, his own stomach groaning from the lack of sustinance.
The younger of the two of them opened his mouth to claim he somehow wasn't completely starving but was cut off by the moan of his own abdomen as it demanded to be fed.
"Never mind. . . You're right, I guess." Though it greatly pained him to admit that there were other things just as important as whatever was going on with Misty. He turned to Pikachu, "Hey buddy, you wanna get something to eat?"
"Pika cha!"" the electric mouse exclaimed, utterly delighted after holding in his hunger for the better of the past three days.
"Alright then, I'll let Nurse Joy take you for an hour or so so she can set you up with something good."
Pikachu leapt willingly into the nurse's arms, who smiled down at him before Ash, attempting to be as polite as possible after everything he'd put the poor woman through, made way for himself and Brock.
"Ah, excuse us, Nurse Joy. . ."
Feeling somewhat dejected and melancholy, he let his legs automatically steer him in the direction he and Brock had originally come from, back out into the lobby and towards the archway leading to the trainer dorms. At the end of the far west side was the cafeteria and, luckily for the two of them, it had just reopened for lunch.
From the start of the very short line, to picking the few things Ash thought he might have the energy to eat, to paying and finding a place to sit down. . . It all seemed like a waste of time to him and he wondered why Brock would force him to worry about such a monotonous task at all but felt like he'd given up being bothered by it.
Of course, once he realized how he felt, the anger took over again. He couldn't believe that he was turning out like the rest of them, even if it was over such a trivial matter. Misty's sisters, who'd just let the League walk all over them and force them out of their home; Marina, who'd given in just because the League was using underhanded tactics to force her to take the job; Nurse Joy, who hadn't even tried to convince Misty that she was making the wrong choice in backing out and leaving her Pokemon behind; and then there was Misty herself, who'd decided she wouldn't tell her friends what was going on and who'd let things escalate for nearly a year, trying to handle it all on her own, before she too had realized it wasn't worth it.
Even though, deep down, Ash knew it must have been one of the most difficult challenges she'd ever faced, he was sure he couldn't forgive her for letting go so easily. He'd never lost anything that important before, of course, had always somehow managed victory over whatever trials he was due to face. . . In fact, the only exception to that rule was when he'd competed in the annual League tournaments.
Top sixteen in the Indigo League.
Top eight in the Silver and the Ever Grande Conferences.
Top four in the Lily of the Valley Conference and the Unova Summit.
Unofficially, sure, he'd won the Orange League and Battle Frontier and he was grateful for those small victories, but they never seemed to mean anything when compared to the big picture. They could never compare to his grand dream.
Suddenly, for just a moment, he thought he might understand the process of thought that had pushed Misty down the path leading to her disappearing act. As much as he couldn't agree with it, as sure as he knew he'd never do the same as her, he couldn't help wondering if she'd felt that weight over her head and that stone lodged in her throat the entire eight months she'd attempted to ward the Indigo League council off on her own.
But why did it have to be on her own anyway? He still couldn't help wondering what she seemed to be so scared of!
"Okay, so should we get down to business?" Brock asked him out of the blue as he laid his own lunch tray on the table and took a seat across from him.
"Uh," Ash started, blinking bewilderdly at his friend, unsure of just what was going on, "and by that you mean. . . ?"
"Look," Brock began with a sigh, ruffling a hand through his hair and wishing he could find all the right words to say, wary of the possible reaction he might receive, "we should put together all of the facts before we move any further. I mean, we've found out quite a lot, even if it doesn't feel like it. Maybe it's time to sit down and think the rest of our not-a-plan through."
"You really think we have time to sit down and-" Ash interrupted, but it wasn't long before he, too, was cut off.
"-We'll make time, then," and the older trainer did just as he'd suggested, however he found that his appetite was swiftly leaving him at the same time, though he attempted to put something down anyway. "We need to think on everything we've learned. So. . . The Indigo League began pressuring the Sensational Sisters to nullify their contract a minimum of nine months ago. They found a replacement talent in a trainer named Marina from the Orange Islands. Misty, who had become aware of the League's plans late in the game, attempted to fend them off however, for unknown reasons, she never alerted us to anything. And now, months down the road, when words gotten out and she can't keep it a secret anymore, she's willingly handed the gym away as well as given Nurse Joy her Pokemon, minus Azuril, who was returned to her mother. She only made an attempt to contact us when she was sure we'd heard about what happened from another source. . . According to our phone conversation with her, she is only taking a breather after losing something important to her and will be returning soon.
"So I guess the only question we can really answer now is this: do we believe her?"
Ash sat there, chewing on a bite of turkey sandwich that had long since lost its original texture and taste. A part of him wanted to yell out in negative, of course not, how could he, why would he ever believe his best friend would be okay about this, but he was pretty sure Brock would stab him with the plastic spoon that sat on his tray if he didn't think calmly and rationally about everything and come to a valid, unexploitable conclusion.
Finally, he swallowed, having mulled everything around and around in his mind.
"I can't. I just can't believe it, Brock."
"Is it really a matter of you can't, Ash? I need you to be honest here. And I want some proof."
"I. . . I don't know if I have any. I just know none of it seems right. What is she really running from? Why did she try to fight it on her own? Even if she knew she couldn't win, there's no way she's still stubborn enough to keep us out of it. We are her best friends. I won't let myself think any less of what we have. And maybe it's just that she doesn't seem to be thinking clearly. I mean, what experienced, seasoned trainer in their right mind would leave all of their Pokemon behind when traveling around the region? She could have been attacked by something in the wild! Even if she'd only taken one as a last ditch effort of self-preservation. . . but this doesn't make sense to me. Plus, she didn't look right when she called. She dodged a few of our questions that should have been rather easy to answer. She wouldn't tell us where her sisters were, she wouldn't explain why she was out of breath. I mean, she told us she hadn't been running beforehand but that doesn't really. . . Hey, are you smirking at me?" Ash faltered suddenly, finally noticing the smug little smile that had been creeping on Brock's face for the past few moments of his explanation. "What's up with you?"
"Oh, nothing. I do think it's interesting that, for someone claiming they didn't know of any evidence to support their theory, you managed to fit a lot of loose pieces together in one formal statement." There was another sigh as that same confident smirk washed away from the rest of his features. "Another thing; I think it's safe to say she never planned to tell us anything at all until she was well on her way."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, we've been thinking that maybe she was struggling with some semblance of embarrassment or her ego or something that led to her fighting against the League on her own. But Misty's a smart girl. Plus it's all too convenient. We didn't hear anything about this for almost a year, but in three days time, we band together, reach Cerulean, make contact with the only two locals who've seen her recently, and discover a heaping mess of suspicious things. . . Not to mention her suddenly running off overnight. No, it's too much to be coincidence. Misty knew that the news broadcast about the gym was going to be on TV that day and she knew we were back home. She counted on the chances of us seeing it and coming to find her. She made sure she'd be gone before we got here and left us a bunch of cryptic clues and a wild goose chase to boot. The letter and the phone-call? They were her last ditch attempts at keeping us at bay. This entire situation started simply enough. It only became a mystery because she made it out to be one."
"You're telling me that she wanted to keep everything from us from the beginning? She was never going to tell us anything at all? So if this hadn't somehow been a big deal. . . If nobody had thought to write about it and air that news segment, we never would have known and she would have been okay with it." Ash couldn't help gaping openmouthed as he put the last of the possible pieces of their puzzle together. However, within the next thirty seconds, he was able to shake himself out of it and leap from his seat, shouting, "Gah!" and pointing at his older friend in an accusatory sort of way.
"Look, Ash, I'm sure Misty has her reasons. I'm sure she could tell us all about them, really-"
"-I don't care about that anymore! I just thought that. . . It almost sounds like we're finally on the same page here!"
"Uh. . . I guess."
"You're on my side for the first time since we started this stupid thing!"
"Well, hold on, that's a little bit unfair. It wasn't like there was ever really a time when I was against you-"
"-Brock, if we agree on all of this then why are we still sitting here?" Ash huffed down at him from where he stood and the future breeder couldn't help the blank stare that consumed his face in response.
"Ash. . . Where do you propose we go from here? I mean, Misty could be anywhere at this rate."
"Not anywhere," the boy pouted, "but I guess I see your point. . ." And he finally sat back down again.
"Don't give up just yet-"
"-I would never, especially now-" Ash began, misinterpretting Brock's words as a more serious accusation than the what he had meant for them to be. Alas, the older trainer let it go.
"Maybe we should just think about it. We talked to Misty only a couple hours ago. Chances are she hasn't gotten very far from where she was this morning."
"Brock, we only talked for a little while! Less than ten minutes! Even if we were on video, even if we were able to see her, I don't think we would have gotten much. We should try eliminating the cities closest to Cerulean and work our way outward. I mean, she's probably still upset about the gym so maybe she went somewhere that would cheer her up."
"To take a leaf from your book, I don't think we have time for something like that. It can be our Plan B but, c'mon, your short-term memory can't be that bad. It's only been two and a half hours since we talked to her, Ash. You're telling me you can't remember anything?"
The raven-haired trainer slowly shook his head, his lips pursed as he tried to force together a video reel in his head and play it out again for his minds eye.
"Just relax and think about it. . ." Brock leaned back in his chair and attempted to do the same. "I remember. . . Buildings in the far back. . . And Carrier Pidgey. I didn't see any trees at all so it was probably an urban area, maybe near the water."
"Water?" Ash tried not to dwell on the word too much as his eyes closed and visions swam before him. He attempted to find something concrete, something telling, but he continued to be distracted by familiar blue-green eyes and red hair, a pale complexion and a frustratedly furrowed brow. Of course, even at a time like that when he was so obviously worried about her, Misty couldn't help but be angry at him for something insignificant. "Water. . ." he murmured again, and felt the pricklings of something as wooden boards floated into his line of vision.
Square, wooden boards (as well as some made of reenforced steel), shaped like boxes, stacked one on top of the other. . .
"Crates."
"Crates?"
"Yeah, and. . ."
Head. . . Game. . . Her head wasn't in it. . . She didn't have what she wanted. He could relate. Though, for what reason, he couldn't quite explain. He shook himself away from the thought but was drawn back to the first one instead. Her head wasn't in the game. Why wasn't her head in the game? Argh. . . There was something very important about that sentence!
"Wait, why wasn't your head in the game? I thought you loved being the gym leader. . ."
And then a fog horn had sounded in the background.
"A boat! Boats! A shipping yard!" he finally exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement. The next conclusion came easily to the both of them.
"Vermilion City!" the two shouted in unison, on their feet once more and running to find Nurse Joy again.
Ash was first to get there, nearly ramming himself into the counter because he was far too agitated to stop running. It was the last thing he would be doing now that he finally knew where to go next.
"Oh, Ash, Pikachu was just getting ready to come find you," the PokeNurse said with a soft smile, apparently all prior tresspasses on his part forgiven, as Chansey wheeled the electric mouse towards the lot of them, a formality that could have otherwise been ignored. Noticing his slight gasp for air, she furrowed her brow and asked the obvious question. "Are you alright?"
"Pikapi, chu ka pika?" the small Pokemon asked, leaping onto his trainer's shoulder.
"Nurse Joy," Brock started instead, speaking over Ash's concerns for the time being, "I know that you're supposed to hold them but. . . do you think we could have them instead?"
Joy and Ash stared at the resolved expression on the future breeder's face.
"Brock?"
"Are you talking about Misty's Pokemon?"
"Misty didn't give up without a fight, Ash. Neither are we." Brock guaranteed with a certain look in his eye before he turned to face the Pokemon nurse again. It seemed as though he'd finally come around.
"I - I really shouldn't. . ." Joy somberly stated with a hand over her mouth as she seriously considered it. "Look, I'm worried about Misty too after everything you've told me to do with her running away. . . And the last thing she needs is to be attacked by a wild Pokemon without anything to defend herself," she paused here as the reproachful thought went through her mind, knowing that Ash and Brock had clearly thought of the same thing as they were nodding their heads furiously at her, "but they were her Pokemon and she clearly wanted them kept here. I can't simply give them away to you, even if you are her friends, and even if you have a better plan of what to do with them for the time being."
"Are you saying we're untrustworthy? I mean, it's not like we're members of Team Rocket or anything!" Ash attempted to defend himself, wondering if it was even worth wasting their time on this.
"I'm not saying that, Mr. Ketchum, and don't take that tone with me again." There was a brief moment of silence followed by a truly exhausted sigh. Nurse Joy raised two fingers to her temple and began to massage softly. "It's not that I can't trust you with her Pokemon. It's obvious to me that you're truly great friends of hers and that you'd treat them just fine, considering how well your own Pokemon are doing. . . I simply can't hand you somebody - anybody - else's Pokemon without concerning myself with where you'd be taking them and what you'd be doing with them."
Ash thought that Brock had worded it best.
"We'll take them where they belong. We promise."
About half-an-hour later, the two of them (plus Pikachu and an extra twenty or so PokeBalls between them) were finally on their way, taking the southern trail towards Saffron City. It had not taken much longer to convince Nurse Joy to play along with their scheme, however there'd been some paperwork needing filled out as well as an update to Ash's Pokedex and a hard copy of Professor Oak's excess traveling visa on hand just in case they were stopped and asked any questions.
The visa permitted them to keep more than six Pokemon each on hand along with stating that Ash was to have no permission using the Sensational Sisters' Pokemon since they had not been properly traded or gifted to him by their trainers while the Pokedex ensured that those aforementioned Pokemon weren't sent automatically to Professor Oak himself, thanks to the PC storage system.
Ash couldn't figure out at first why they had to have Misty's Pokemon with them, after all, she'd made it safely to Vermilion City if their resolution was right.
"Misty knew that the news broadcast about the gym was going to be on TV that day and she knew we were back home. She counted on the chances of us seeing it and coming to find her."
She knew they'd come and she'd only decided on running away to avoid them. . .
"You're telling me that she wanted to keep everything from us from the beginning? She was never going to tell us anything at all?"
She would have been okay with them never looking for her. Why. . . ? How could she possibly think like that? If she were any best friend of his, she should know that Ash wouldn't let her get away without trying anything and everything at his disposal to get her to change her mind.
And suddenly he knew why they had to have her Pokemon with them.
"Misty begged me not to say anything to anyone and, when she handed me the note to give to you, she probably meant that she didn't want you to find out what she'd done."
Because she knew they'd be able to do something with that knowledge. They could use it against her, get her to change her mind about the choices she'd made. Misty loved her friends; she was transparent like that, so she was keeping things from them probably because she thought it was for their benefit.
Misty also loved her Pokemon. It had been one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do, handing them over to Nurse Joy for an indefinite amount of time and walking away. They were going to need all hands on deck in order to pull this off. If they couldn't convince her with their own words that she'd made a mistake and that they could help her undo everything she'd tried to keep them out of then they'd have to rely on her Pokemon to get the message across.
"Brock," Ash started with a shallow gasp for air as he kept running, his lungs in desperate need of more than what he was giving them though he continued to ignore it. "We're getting close, aren't we?"
"Yeah, we'll probably be there within the hour," Brock breathed back at him, eyes staring straight ahead with the level of determination Ash hoped he too was capable of showing at the moment.
"Brock. . ."
"What?"
"I didn't get to ask you this before. . . I didn't wanna think about it and we'd just made some more progress so it seemed stupid of me to stop us from going. . . but I need to ask it now. What did you mean this morning when you said Misty had made everything out to be a mystery?" the younger trainer finished with an apprehensive bite to his tone. Of course he hadn't wanted to consider it, even though, looking back, it had been rather obvious. Misty had been keeping them both at arm's length this entire time.
"Like I said," Brock gasped back at him again, "the phone-call, the letter waiting for us at the PokeCenter. . . They seemed too coincidental to me. She knew we'd be coming. She was always trying to hold us just far enough back that she could remain one step ahead of us. And the phone-call," he faltered here with a bitter laugh that he made sure to turn purposely into a cough, though it wasn't soon enough for Ash not to notice.
Something was wrong.
"What about it?" he wondered skeptically. He couldn't remember anything too telling about the talk they'd had with Misty earlier that day.
"Ash, if you were going to take a few days to yourself, even if you went as far as to need a few days away from us, your friends. . . would you go anywhere at all without Pikachu or your other Pokemon?"
Something was very wrong here.
Ash felt his legs turn into even more of a gelatin mold than they'd been from the past few hours of running down the pathways leading to Vermilion City. Slowly his pace slowed down until he'd come to a complete stop.
"I. . . No. And not just because they're my friends too and I want them around no matter what. . . but because it's irresponsible to go anywhere without a Pokemon to help you out of a jam, right?"
But then, it had been the case for awhile, hadn't it? He had simply taken too long to notice.
"Exactly. The letter, the gym, the hotel, her sisters, her Pokemon, the phone-call. She never said it in so many words, but I'm pretty sure Misty was trying to tell us goodbye today."
Ash gulped, his breath heaving and sweat dripping profusely from his brow. He didn't bother wiping it clean and Pikachu, who'd been running beside the two trainers for awhile now, leapt back onto his shoulder to hear the rest of what they had to say, even if the small electric mouse couldn't fully understand it all.
"Goodbye for. . . for now." But not for forever, right?
"Sorry guys, it's my fault. . . I'm sorry." But there were far more important things than that to worry about! Why waste time apologizing?
"I promise that. . . I'll be fine so could you guys just take that information to heart and. . . go back home?" But how could they do that? And how could she lie to them? How could she possibly ever be crazy enough to say goodbye?
"Ash," Brock began anew, waiting for the younger trainer to snap out of his reverie and pay him some attention again, "I know you don't want to think about it, but there's also something else we should be concerned about here. If she's left her Pokemon and won't speak about her sisters, and if she really was trying to say goodbye. . . it's possible that Misty might be planning to do something else too."
Something else.
"What do you mean by that?" Ash gaped, praying he was hearing it all wrong and yet knowing he couldn't possibly be. Brock was right, though. . . There was no way he could ever imagine Misty doing such things.
"Like, to herself. To permanently solve the problems she's been experiencing." The future breeder attempted to softly explore the subject, afraid that the word would be too harsh for Ash to comprehend. However, when the younger of the two continued to stare blankly at him (a ruse, he was sure), he drew breath and let the word fall past his lips anyway.
"I'm talking about suicide, Ash."
"No."
"I know you don't want to hear it, I know you don't think anyone would be capable of doing something like that to themselves, but we've got to consider all possible avenues and outcomes! And it seems likely to me that Misty - who has lost a lot over the past year and who's been too scared to come to us, who won't tell us about her sisters and who freely gave up her Pokemon to Nurse Joy as well as leaving us with a cryptic message and telling us not to find her or else - it seems likely to me that she would look that way!"
"No, Brock, just. . . just no! Misty would never hurt herself, that's crazy! She's too strong, way too proud and stubborn, for that! I don't care what's wrong with her lately, I don't care about the league or her sisters or her Pokemon or how it all looks from here or there! Misty. Would. Not. Hurt. Herself. And I can prove it as long as we can get to Vermilion City ASAP!"
He did as suggested, turning on his heel and continuing the way they'd been planning to go before, his human and Pokemon companions following after him and hoping to all that they could think of that he was right in his assumptions. They didn't speak anymore about the subject, something Ash continued to block out of his head altogether even as the hours continued wearing on and on. He focused on barring it all from his mind, wishing it were simpler to do, even as the facts weighed against him.
He could feel Brock's eyes boring into him from behind but ignored that too
He couldn't see it, wouldn't even consider it. Therefore, it would not come to be.
The sun was just beginning to set as they breached the northern entrance to Vermilion City. Even from where they stood, they could already see the ships and ferries in the distance, standing on the glittering waters and waiting to move out. It had taken them over seven hours of near-constant running to reach their destination as fast as they had and somehow they were absolutely certain that they didn't have much time.
Ash offhandedly wondered if they should check the PokeCenter or the local motels before running off to the pier but shook it off. Chances were Misty wasn't looking for anymore witnesses to her disappearing act. If she vanished again, she'd probably do so more discreetly this time around. He wasn't going to give her more time to take advantage of that opportunity.
Pikachu, just a little bit faster than his trainer, leapt from Ash's shoulder for the first time in the past hour and ran ahead of them, further south and hanging a sharp left towards the boardwalk. Crowds of people began to filter before them all, dominating their collective lines of vision and keeping them from moving at their topmost speed.
Ash felt a great sense of urgency as he excused himself through what seemed to be the endless stream of people taking in the many shops and the small amusement park that existed on the Vermilion Pier. Brock, still slightly taller than him, and Pikachu, much smaller and able to scurry around everyone's feet, were milling their way through the crowds faster than he could and he gritted his teeth at the disadvantage.
A few minutes later, the three of them had made it through the entertainment end of the boardwalk. They finally stopped to catch their breath, wondering where to go next. All that stood before them were shipping crates and large cargo fleets. A few random sailors were walking by in uniform, preparing to go home for the day.
"Hey, ya guys need somethin' from 'round here?" an approaching man asked them, holding up some orange cones to place at the division of the two different halves of the pier. He laid the five of them down on the ground, wiping at his brow, before turning to face them again. "Business is about ta close down for the day. S'not much fun ta be had here anyways."
"Oh, uh, sorry. . . We're looking for a friend of ours. We thought she might have been lost."
"Well, chances are she ain't out this way. Girls love them stuffed animal prizes though. Maybe she's waitin' for one of yous guys ta go win her one."
As the sailor pointed them off in the opposite direction again, Ash, Brock, and Pikachu took in their surroundings. There were a few hundred freights stacked up along the docks as well as about eight ships lined up in a neat row on their left. And if they looked far enough down the pier, they could even see. . .
"Ash," Brock muttered, Pikachu's ears pricking up as he listened in too, "isn't that a payphone?"
Ash squinted, raising a hand to his brow to block the last vestiges of bright sunlight from his eyes.
"Yeah, it is."
That meant Misty must have made the phone-call to the Cerulean PokeCenter from there. The two of them were just beginning to wonder how they were going to sneak their way further down the business end of the docks when Pikachu beat them to it, going rogue and taking off on his own.
"Pika!" he called out at them, leaping around the sailor, who'd leaned down with outstretched arms, trying to stop him from getting past.
"Argh, hey, wait a minute!" the man tried, turning on his heel and holding up a fist in irritation.
"Oh no," Ash said with a clear hint of sarcasm to his tone, "my Pikachu seems to have run off. I guess that means we'll have to go get him back!" And he and Brock ran past the sailor too, who was not very keen on following the three of them after a long, hard day at work. "Sorry about this!"
"Just be careful, will ya?" the man claimed, staring after the three of them and wondering if he should chase them too. Thankfully they slowed their pace a bit as they decided to get a better grip of their surroundings. Slowly, suspiciously, he finally turned back to the task at hand and began to lay the hazard cones out along the length of the boardwalk.
Pikachu was on the payphone in moments, sniffing at it for anything familiar. And boy, did he find what he was looking for. Better yet, that very familiar scent (even after all this time) was still in the air, and he craned his neck to the left to get a good look at the very last extension of the pier, his sense of smell already telling him exactly what, or who, he'd find there.
"Pikapi!" he called again to his trainer, who was right behind him as he leaned back on his hind legs and used his front paws to gesture to the two young men. Ash and Brock came to a sudden stop before him and he pointed out towards the water again.
Ash turned with bated breath, nearly squinting his eyes shut for fear that he'd get a good look and she'd vanish before him again. But there she sat, wearing the same exact clothes they three of them had expected, her hair tied up on the side of her head, sitting with her legs dangling over the side of the docks, watching the sun set as if she didn't have a single care in the world.
But it was her.
"Misty. . ."
They'd found her.
"Ash, let's go," Brock confirmed with a hand on his shoulder to urge him forward.
It was definitely her.
So sure Ash was that he couldn't keep himself from shouting with all of his might, his throat dry and his heart and fists clenching up, his lungs rasping like crumpled paper bags but, true to the character he'd been supporting all day, he chose to ignore his own discomfort.
"MISTY!"
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Notes - Oh, man, I finally finished this chapter! Thank goodness! Only one more to go, everyone! I can't wait! Hopefully it won't take as long to finish the next one since I basically wrote it all out in my notebook anyway. I just have to type it up and add some details. It should be fun!
All of that being said, I do want to make a quick apology. As you guys know, things happen that cause distractions (especially to me, of course) and it's hard to write on a regular basis. I had some slight writer's block, plus I've been working seventy hours a week, plus I just finished finals, plus - alright, I'll stop. I think you get the idea, yeah? I know this took awhile to post, but at least I can say I'm moderately proud of it.
Well, anyway, this chapter was supposed to be quite a bit shorter than it turned out. After much debate, I decided I'd post that spoiler for that Misty fic I told you all about last time since I did promise you. I hope that everyone likes it and can tell me what they think.
If you are NOT interested in reading a spoiler to my AU Misty project (mentioned in the notes from the previous chapter of this fic), please feel free to either scroll down and review now or else click the back button!
This scene is supposed to take place in the middle of Team Rocket's attack on the Viridian City PokeCenter. You guys may remember some of this from the episode, Pokemon Emergency.
OoO
"You know, maybe we should throw some of these. . . Team Rocket keeps gaining and Officer Jenny may take awhile to get here. . ." Misty muttered to him. He nodded again and tossed one forward to the ground, causing it to open up and a Pidgey to appear.
"Quick Pidgey, use gust!" Ash ordered but before the Pokemon had the chance, it caught sight of Ekans and Koffing advancing on it and panicked, automatically fleeing back to the Pokeball of its own accord.
"Good going, wanna try that again?" Misty asked even as Team Rocket, finally catching up, entered the room behind their own Pokemon team.
"Grr, fine! Go Pokeball!" Ash responded, pitching a second one forward and watching it pop open again. This time a Rattata appeared but the same thing happened. It saw nothing but a giant snake in front of it and got scared.
"These Pokemon are still young. Their trainers haven't had them very long. . . You probably won't stand much of a chance with what you'll find in here." Nurse Joy explained to them in a whisper.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Ash responded in a yelp.
"Yeah, we can't beat them this way!" Misty continued to say, getting scared as well. And then she felt the anger bubble up within her because of it, because she couldn't stand the thought of being so scared. But she'd never been in this situation before. . .
She had no idea what made her do it. Maybe it was the silence that followed her shout, or else the fact that nobody seemed to know what to do, or else it was those clowns laughing at her in a way that clearly said they were looking down on her, but she finally lost her mind and stepped forward too.
"I guess I'll have to take this into my own hands! Grab Pikachu and get outta here! I mean, after all," she stopped short before turning to face Team Rocket again, "isn't it your main priority?"
"Well, yeah, but. . . you can't just expect me to-"
"-Pokeball, go!" Misty yelled over Ash, tossing her one and only Pokemon out into the fray. It was a rather useless and reckless response to the situation but, hey, Nurse Joy had told them to cause a distraction, right?
Her precious Goldeen appeared before her for everyone to see. Jessie and James' faces immediately paled at the hilarity and they began muttering about how pathetic an attempt it was for her to make.
"Hey, I can't really leave you here when-"
"-Kid, I said get out of here and save your Pikachu! Besides, we both know that water-Pokemon aren't exactly adept at fighting land battles." she continued, as if in acceptance.
Something about her tone must have reached him for he accepted Pikachu back from Nurse Joy and took off around Team Rocket and back towards the lobby. They let him go without a fight. After all, as they'd said before, they weren't interested in his puny little Pokemon.
"Ekans, take that goldfish down with your bite attack!" Jessie commanded with a wave of her arm. As if she were dismissing Misty and her Pokemon.
This caused the redhead to glare in frustration and she couldn't help herself from saying what she said next.
"Goldeen, horn attack!"
Even though the fish Pokemon was flopping around and wishing to return to its Pokeball, it heard the call of its trainer and knew it had to obey. The horn on its head immediately began to glow and as Ekans slithered around, it flipped forward and dug the appendage into the snake's side. It continued to jab repeatedly as its opponent hissed in pain before finally backing off, even without Jessie's consent.
"What are you doing, Ekans? This isn't over!" But her Pokemon had already simpered around her and her partners and took off down the hall, apparently feeling it would have much better luck going after the unconscious rodent after all. Koffing exited too, perhaps to assist. This finally caused Jessie, James, and their Meowth to retreat, leaving Misty to return her Pokemon with much thanks.
"What should we do now?"
"I have a feeling we're not completely done here. Luckily the Pokeballs are nearly all transfered to Pewter City's PokeCenter so I think they'll be safe but. . ." Nurse Joy fell silent for a second as her Pikachu power source all stopped their rotation and quirked their heads to the side before running from the room as well. "Looks like we're all that's left. We should go check up on your friend!"
Oh, right, that Ash kid. . .
"Hey, wait a minute, I already said he's not my friend!"
Unfortunately as they sprinted back to the lobby area, there came the sound of another explosion and dust and dirt and debris flew at them from everywhere as the building shook from the instability.
"What's happening?" Misty screamed, her voice trembling. She covered her head just in case but there seemed to be no point. Walls began crumbling and the foundation ricocheted from the ferocity of. . . whatever it was that had just happened without her.
Suddenly the entire roof was blown clean off by a crackling bout of electricity, so much so that there was nothing left for her to be worried about, nothing left to fall on her or hit her at all. Misty was almost sure she could see the sun starting to shine from beyond the smoke.
She slowly inched forward until she and Nurse Joy could grab the frame of the archway leading to the front of the PokeCenter. They dared a peek at what was left and their eyes fell on Ash and the dozen plus one Pikachu standing there alone, her bike mysteriously perched upside down beside them all. And as they stared, Ash collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, the impression of everything that had just taken place finally catching up with him.
He sighed in relief as Pikachu leapt into his lap, fully recovered and excited to see its trainer. He couldn't help laughing in response as he patted his Pokemon on the head. Misty was pretty sure it was similar to how she was feeling now that Team Rocket had disappeared.
What a relief to know that they had all made it through the night.
An hour or so later, Officer Jenny came rushing through what should have been a set of front doors, which had been completely obliterated and left with nothing but rubble, glass shards, and a couple feet of the walls around them.
"Nurse Joy, I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner, I was dealing with a few other calls across town. Please expain what happened!" Jenny stated authoritavely as she bowed in respect and forgiveness. Joy, simply happy that the Pokemon were indeed safely transferred, calmed the woman down and reassured her that, despite the state of her PokeCenter, everything was fine thanks to the two kids sleeping where they sat, in chairs on the left hand side of the lobby.
Ash and Misty were approached as well, asked to explain their sides and hands in dealing with what had happened and also to give descriptions of Jessie and James so that they could be faxed out to Jenny's other relatives across the region.
After a wholesome breakfast and a few words of thanks from Jenny, they were ready to go.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, uh. . . What was your name again?" Ash asked sheepishly with a laugh and one foot out the door.
"It's Misty. . ." she replied, brow twitching in frustration. "And don't even think about it, Mr. Pokemon Master!" She threw an arm out and yanked him back by his collar, only letting him go when she was sure he wouldn't attempt escape again. "Don't think I've forgotten about my bike! I want you to pay up right now! No more excuses about your Pokemon or your journey or your financial situa-"
"-I already told you that I'm just starting out and I can't afford that kind of thing right now!"
"See? That. That's what I didn't wanna hear anymore! If you can't pay me now then I'll just keep following you around until you do!"
"Wah! You can't be serious!"
"Since you seriously trashed my bike and then you seriously tried to get out of paying for it, yeah, I hafta be serious too!" she claimed while poking him in the chest at every enunciated syllable. "Or else I could trash something important of yours and then we'll be even?"
"Fine! Just not my hat!"
"I'm not interested in your dinky hat!"
"That's only 'cause you don't know what it's worth!"
"Do you want me to destroy your hat?"
"I just said no, so-"
"-Then stop trying to tell me how much it's worth!"
"Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I just wanted to thank you one more time for everything you did last night before you left." Nurse Joy smiled and bowed to them before standing tall again. "Also, I've been meaning to ask you something, young lady."
"Uh, me? What is it?" the redhead replied, perturbed at the request.
"I thought I heard it earlier but I can't be sure. Could you tell me your name again?"
"My name? My name's Misty."
"I thought so. I only ask because I received a call a couple days ago from a girl who might be a relative of yours. She said she was calling all the Centers in the region to ask about her youngest sibling named Misty who'd run away from home. And she wanted to ask you something. . . Ah, what was it. . . ? Oh yes! She said she and your other sisters wanted to know if you were ready to give up yet and go back home. Though I'm not quite sure what she meant by it."
Misty seemed to blank out for a few seconds. Perhaps she didn't know what the message meant either. But as Ash and Joy stared her down, waiting for a response, they were sure that a fire had been stirred up in her spirit.
"Oh. Is that all? That's nothing. They're just joking around. They knew I'd be around this way and lied about contacting all the other Centers. They only wanted you to tell me that as a joke. You know, like haha-funny? A joke."
"You already said that, the joke thing, I mean." Ash reminded her, but she snuffed him out with a quick glare.
"A joke. Just a joke." she repeated, and he was pretty sure at this point that she was doing so to convince herself, not them.
"Anyway, it was no problem helping to defend the Pokemon against those thieves last night, I'm sure." Misty replied with an immediately sunny smile. Then she continued, "I'm sorry to ask this, but could I borrow a pen real quick? Oh, and a piece of paper too."
"What are you. . ." Ash began but was cut off by the expression on her face.
"Oh sure, one moment. . ." And it truly was only one moment before Joy returned with what she'd been asked to receive and Misty accepted the two items into her hands. Then she stuck the pen between her lips and folded the piece of paper in half before tearing it in two and beginning to write on one of the pieces.
"Here," she said without proper explanation, shoving both pieces of paper and the pen at Ash, who stared dumbfoundedly at it until she sighed exasperatedly and decided to use more words. "One half has my name and address on it, as well as the cost of the bike. If you happen to earn enough money to pay me back, you can mail the total amount to that house number under my name."
"O-kay. . ." the raven-haired boy replied, apparently still confused. "So what's the other piece for?"
"That's for you to give me your full name and address. Nurse Joy here will witness it because if I decide it's been too long and go looking for you there and you've lied to me about where you're from, I will personally see to it that you're hunted down so I can beat you up and press charges for destruction of property."
"Uh, shouldn't I be able to press charges too if you're going to beat me-"
"-Claiming justifiable response." Misty replied shortly and didn't say anything else, pushing everything into Ash's arms and watching him quickly scribble down what had better have been the correct house number in Pallet Town, probably fearful for his personal safety. Joy stood behind her, a soft frown hanging on her lips but clearly unable to intervene seeing as nothing violent or uncalled for was happening at the moment.
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And that's the end of that! I couldn't figure out which scene I wanted to place here so I just took two that I'd been considering and made it one long one. I hope it was worth the read! All comments would be much appreciated!
