Author's Note: Point-of-View Change
Misty's Point-of-View
I set my face as neutrally as I could as we made our way to the exit of the dome. I was afraid to put on any expression lest my real feelings come crashing out.
How did I really feel?
Terrified. Numb.
Why?
Because a law of the universe had been broken.
At least it felt that way. Regardless of how much Ash had grown while we'd traveled together and how much I hoped he continued growing afterwards, there were things about him – his essence, if you will – that I'd always felt as immutable.
His clumsy foolishness. His enthusiasm. His stubbornness. His spirit. His devotion to his friends. His Pokémon. Pikachu.
Where'd it all go?
While I was usually good at hiding my more vulnerable feelings, this was really testing that ability. But I was determined to hold it together and get to the bottom of this. If I had to physically shake Ash back to his old self, then so be it.
I clenched my fist. We'd established that something must've happened to Ash's Pokémon but I knew there was more to it than that. If that was all there was to it, the Ash I know would've done everything possible to solve whatever the problem was. And if it wasn't enough he would've come here to ask his friends for help.
But we'd been right in front of him and he didn't even acknowledge us. He was making no apparent effort to do anything about whatever the problem was. Which meant…
I had no idea. For once, I felt like bashing myself in the head with my own mallet. Deduction and piecing things together was Brock's arena. I resolved to solve this the way I solved most of my problems, especially with Ash.
A good-old, head-on confrontation.
We were passing through the exit turnstiles near the doors to the dome. I turned to everyone else.
"Guys." I felt a pang as I saw many of them snap out of thoughts that couldn't be far from mine. "I've had enough of this guessing game. The best way to get to the bottom of this is to confront Ash, and I think we should do it as soon as possible."
I looked across their faces and caught apprehension on May's and worry on Dawn's before Brock stepped forward.
"You're right, Misty." Good old Brock. "The only way to know for sure what's going on is to talk to him." He paused. "For better or for worse."
Shrewd old Brock. He'd hit on what had been my only qualm with my own idea. The fear that if I confronted Ash, I would find something I couldn't do anything about. Watching from afar and guessing, I could always bank on the chance that what I deduced was a misread. If I confronted him, I wouldn't have that security.
"We can't be afraid," Dawn said suddenly. Holy Ho-Oh, had she read my mind? "As long as we know something might've happened to Ash, we can't stand by and do nothing."
Nods all around. Tracey spoke up. "I agree, but how do we find him? We could wait until tomorrow morning's Seminar to catch him, but –"
"We don't have to," Max cut in. I looked at him, surprised. I hadn't expected him to talk. He was younger than the rest of us and I knew he looked up to Ash a lot; what was going on had surely hit him hard. Max continued speaking, softly but firmly. "We can just ask at the desk for his room number. They've got to have it there."
Wow. I should've thought of that. May squeezed Max's shoulder, smiling. "Good thinking, Max."
Max only nodded silently. I made a mental note to pummel Ash when this was sorted out for causing all this worry.
We moved as a group to the front desk. The lady was the same as before, and I noticed her apprehension as Brock approached at the head of our group. I gave Brock a nudge and moved in front of him so I could speak with the lady instead. Under any other circumstances he would've been indignant, but he allowed it now.
"Excuse me," I said in my best polite voice. "How could I get the room number of someone staying here?"
The lady looked at me. "You should probably ask the person." She deadpanned.
I heard Brock snicker and silenced him by casually crushing his foot.
"Well," I said, trying to remain polite, "we can't find him." I couldn't help a little quip. "Hence the need for his room number."
The woman shrugged. "You'll have to look around for him, then. I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to give out any of the information that I have about any of the people here without authorization. Strict orders. Considering the nature of the people gathered here, I hope you can understand."
The official, Gym Leader side of me understood, but that wasn't the part of me in control. "But it's just a room number! Please, it's really important."
"I can't, I'm sorry," the woman said.
"Please," I begged. "It's about a good friend of ours."
The woman didn't seem to budge. We turned and were about to leave when she suddenly called us.
"Wait!" I turned so fast I got whiplash. The lady looked unsure of herself, but she sighed and muttered, "I'm a sucker for friendship." She picked up a paper from the desk and made a few motions on it with her pen.
"I'm not allowed to give out the information myself under any circumstances. But you can get it yourself if you're authorized." She held out the paper she'd scribbled on and I saw it was a campus map. "We're here," she pointed to one circle, "and the Camp Director's office is here," she pointed to another circle. "If this really is important, you can go there and try to convince him to give you whatever information you're looking for. But be careful – I hear he can be temperamental."
I took the map and gave the most grateful expression I could. "Thank you so much." I said emphatically.
She nodded, smiling kindly. "Good luck!"
After I thanked her again May and Dawn went up and showered the woman with so much gratitude she blushed. After they'd thanked her sufficiently to last a few lifetimes, we all made our way out of the dome.
"Well, that was nice of her," Tracey said.
"Yeah, it was," I agreed. "But don't get your hopes up yet. She said this Director guy we're going to is a hard guy to please. We'll have to be smart about this."
I bit my lip, observing the map. The office was on the other side of the compound, a good ten minute walk from here. "Alright, here's what we'll do. Tracey, Brock, and Max, you guys look around campus for Ash. In half-an-hour, with or without Ash, get back here. May, Dawn, and I will see the Director and meet you guys back here then. Sound good?"
I could tell most of them couldn't see why we were splitting up, but it must've sounded like a reasonable enough idea, because everyone agreed and we split off.
As soon as the boys were out of earshot, Dawn asked, "Is there a reason you sent the guys to search and us three girls are going to see the Director?"
"Yes," I said cryptically, grinning slightly. "Can you guess why?"
"Yeah," said May, smiling. "You think even a grumpy, middle-aged man won't be able to resist the begging of three young, beautiful girls, don't you?"
I grinned fully. "That's right." Hey, sue me if I thought it was necessary to pull out all the stops on this one. I decided to lighten the mood. "After all, what man could?"
It was the wrong thing to say. The same name flashed across all our minds at the same time. Dawn laughed and said it reflexively: "Ash, that's who." There were few truer statements, and we would've laughed over it together gaily under any other circumstances.
Dawn shut her mouth as soon as the words came out; May and I managed weak laughs. We walked the rest of the way in silence.
When we reached the Director's Office we stood outside for a moment, sizing it up. The building was modest and rather inconspicuous. If the lady hadn't circled it on the map and we hadn't been looking for it, it would have just been another building on the campus. The three of us walked in.
…Well, the inside was conspicuous. Or rather, conspicuously inconspicuous. The interior was painted completely black, giving the building an intimidating feel. There was no interior design: zero furniture, no wall décor, only a gray desk in the middle of the room behind which I could see a door, the only thing in the room that was a different color. I noticed dryly that it was painted red. Were they trying to be creepy?
The desk in the middle of the room was staffed by a young lady who looked far less approachable than the woman from the dome. Once we walked in her head snapped up from what she was doing and she stared at us intensely as we walked to the desk.
It was kind of freaky, so I averted my eyes and acted like I was looking around as we walked up. I noticed something weird. Unlike the rest of the campus, notably the main dome, this building didn't have the name or logo of Future Trajectories, Inc. anywhere in it. That was weird – this was the Director's Office, so you'd think it'd be presented prominently here.
"Can I help you?" A sharp voice cut through my thoughts and I felt May nudge me from behind.
"Uh, yes." I berated myself. I had to focus and be on my best behavior to get what I wanted. "Can we speak with the Director, please?" I smiled widely.
The woman's face remained set, unaffected by my usually irresistibly charming nature. "Do you have an appointment?"
Uggh. "No, but –"
"Then come back when you do." The woman cut in harshly.
May and Dawn were whispering to each other behind me. I was about to ask them what it was about when they both moved forward towards the woman, smiling brightly.
"Actually, I think our friend here might be mistaken," May said in as perky a tone as she could manage, putting a hand on my left shoulder.
"Yes," Dawn put a hand on my right shoulder, leaving me bewildered. "We think we actually did set up an appointment – could you check the system for us, please?"
The woman looked suspicious, but she turned to her computer. I looked at May and Dawn in turn. Their grips on my shoulders were tight with anxiety, and their faces looked hopeful. But what were they thinking? There was no way –
Of course! The lady from the dome! If she had access, she could've…
"Hm. There does seem to be an appointment here. That's funny, I didn't see it before." The woman looked bewildered. May and Dawn visibly relaxed next to me and their hands dropped off my shoulders. I made a mental note to give the dome's welcoming desk lady a profuse thank you and several hugs when next I saw her.
But the secretary's face had now reset to its default stony expression. "But there are only two names listed under this appointment." She squinted. "I have here a May and a Dawn. There are three of you." She looked at us pointedly.
I realized what happened. The dome lady must only have thought to put in the appointment after we left, so she couldn't get our names. What she did remember were the faces of Dawn and May, who'd been in her face thanking her generously. She must've matched the faces to the names using the pictures in the database, and set up an appointment for the two of them with the Director. A bummer for me, but Dawn and May would get to talk to him, which was more than enough. Boy, what a lifesaver!
"Yeah, I'm just tagging along with these two. Uh, that's why I didn't know there was an appointment or anything. Yeah." I said stupidly. Dawn turned her face to the side and suddenly coughed a cough that I suspected wasn't really a cough.
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Alright, then," she said, looking at May and Dawn. "You may go in. You have fifteen minutes." She motioned to the red door behind her.
May and Dawn thanked the lady – more than I would've done, let me tell you – and met eyes with me before moving to the door at the back. They knocked and then there was a moment of silence; then a gruff, muffled response and the two walked in, shutting the door behind them.
Waiting was torture.
Because the interior of the building was so boring, I was forced to just stare blankly at the walls the whole time. Twice I started tapping my foot in impatience. Both times the secretary glared at me, and I reluctantly stopped. I then began pacing back and forth, hoping intensely that May and Dawn would be successful. I felt the secretary's glare again, but I ignored it. I would go crazy if I stood still.
Fifteen minutes must have passed, because the secretary stood up abruptly, double-checked her computer, and began walking towards the red door.
Oh, no. If she interrupted them we'd never get the information. I had to stall.
"That's a beautiful skirt you're wearing!" I blurted.
The woman stopped her hand from knocking on the door, turned towards me, and narrowed her eyes.
"I'm wearing pants," she said.
Before I could think up of something clever to bail me out of that one (yeah, right), the door opened and May and Dawn strolled out, looking pretty pleased. As Dawn shut the door behind her, May looked at me happily and I knew they'd gotten it.
They walked across the room, thanked the secretary again, and began pulling me out the door.
My happiness got the better of me: "Well, those are some nice pants!" I yelled to the secretary. I could feel her glare smoldering on the back of my head as the door shut behind us.
"So you guys got it?" I asked as I kept up with May and Dawn's speed walk. "Was he hard to convince?"
May snorted. "Not at all, once Dawn started spilling her guts to him. I'm not sure if he gave us what we wanted because she sounded sincere or because he wanted her to stop talking."
Dawn blushed. "Well your combined 'Please, Mister' and puppy-dog eyes approach wasn't really working," May blushed, "and I didn't want him to kick us out, so I just jumped in and told the truth about the whole thing."
I laughed. "Well, guys, the important thing is you got what we needed. Nice work."
The boys were already back in front of the dome when we got there. No Ash. So he probably wasn't roaming the campus, then. Hopefully that meant he'd be in his room.
"We couldn't find him around the compound," Brock reported as we walked up. "Did you guys get it?"
"Yup," I said proudly, putting my arms around May and Dawn, who grinned.
"Well, where's his room?" Max asked eagerly.
"Building 1, top floor." May said
We began walking towards the first housing building as Dawn filled in the details. "The Director told us that attendance here was so good that since Ash checked in late and the regular rooms were filled, he was given a room they weren't expecting to use. He told us it wasn't numbered, but it would be the room in the back right corner of the top floor."
We walked into Building 1 and got into the elevator. Max moved his finger up to the topmost button and pressed it. The elevator began ascending.
I tapped my foot impatiently. Surely elevators in this day and age could be faster than this.
As if on cue the elevator gave a 'ding' announcing we were at the top floor. The doors opened and we all spilled out silently.
Suddenly my mouth felt dry. I felt my heart beating in my chest a hundred miles an hour. I rubbed my dry lips with my tongue.
It was only Ash. Why was I so nervous?
Without a word we all walked towards the back right corner of the floor. We found the numberless room without a problem based on its location and stood outside it silently.
Unlike the other rooms on the floor there was light spilling out from underneath the door of this one. There was a good chance he was here.
For some reason though, we weren't doing anything. That's when I realized I was at the head of the group, directly in front of the door. They were waiting for me to knock.
I raised my fist to knock but found it trembling. I remembered my cheetah-for-a-heart and my dry mouth and knew I wouldn't be able to do anything even if Ash opened the door.
I cleared my throat and moved out of the way, pushing Brock in front of the door.
"You traveled with him the longest and you were one of the last of us to be traveling with him." I said lamely. "Maybe you'll get through to him."
Brock nodded, not caring that I'd made an excuse. He took a breath, raised his fist, and knocked firmly three times on the door.
I could feel everyone holding their breath. Then, footsteps coming towards the door.
The cheetah in my chest sped up.
I heard the lock in the door slide out and the knob turn, and then the door opened.
We all let go of the breath we were holding. Or was it just me? I couldn't tell.
It didn't matter. There was Ash.
He was standing in the doorframe straight and tall, looking at us. Seeing him close up for the first time in so long threw all my qualms to the back of my head and dipped me in nostalgia.
The messy black hair. The deep brown eyes and intense stare. The little Z's on his cheeks.
Everyone else must've been thrown back into memories as well, because nobody said anything.
"Hello," Ash said nonchalantly.
Brock, as usual, was the first to gather his wits.
"Hey, Ash! It's good to see you."
Brock extended his hand to Ash; Ash took it and they had a firm handshake.
"Everyone's been eager to talk to you." Brock said cheerily, moving aside for the rest of us.
One by one, we moved in, greeting Ash and shaking his hand, telling him how glad we were to see him. Although I was nervous before, when I was in front of him, talking to him, shaking his hand, it all disappeared. I felt comfortable, at ease, happy.
Funny thing – we organized ourselves in order of when we'd met him. After Brock I went (technically I met him first, but meh), then Tracey, then May and Max, and finally Dawn. I noticed that Dawn tried to move her hand to do something other than a handshake, but when Ash didn't follow she flushed and quickly returned to the shake.
Having been reunited, we all stood outside his room, smiling like a bunch of idiots.
Brock spoke up again. "Well, Ash, won't you invite us in?"
Ash looked at Brock. "Uh, yeah, why not?" He motioned us inside and closed the door behind us.
We took various places around the room, our eyes fixed on Ash as he moved about. When we'd settled, he stood in the center of the room, scratching his hatless head with one hand.
"Something the matter, Ash?" Brock said, moving towards him.
"Uh, yeah, actually," Ash said, his hand now resting on the back of his head.
I noticed that on the other side of the room Dawn was fidgeting a lot and looked rather put off.
Brock stood in front of Ash now. "Well, what is it?"
Ash resumed scratching his head. After a few seconds he dropped the hand and bit his lip.
"Pardon me if I'm being rude, but…"
'Pardon me'? I wanted to laugh aloud. Since when was Ash so polite?
Brock actually laughed. "Don't worry about it. Go ahead – what's eating at you?"
Ash raised his head and looked Brock straight in the eye.
"Have we met before?"
Author's Note
Next Update: 07/14/13, by 7:00 AM UTC