"So you take the smiles, from all of our years . . . I'll Take the Tears"
Okay, so I'm gonna start by saying that I am so sorry for just leaving this for so long. I'm not really reviving this story so much as making sure you're not left on a huge cliffhanger. This chapter ends this arc of the story, so although it's definitely not an ending, it does resolve things a little and will leave you all in a much better place. I don't really know when or if I'll be able to finish this (I might aim for an epilogue).
Disclaimer – I don't own Pokémon.
I'll Take the Tears – Escape
The mood in the Cerulean gym was a sombre one. No one spoke a word. No one knew what to say.
Daisy sighed quietly as she tried her best to comfort the young boy in his arms. He needed his mother, and Daisy was not in the position to offer him what he needed. She and her sisters had never thought much of Ashley's father, but they loved Misty and they loved Ashley, so they would never say a word against him, especially now that he was gone.
She glanced up at Violet as she came down the stairs shaking her head. It seemed Misty still wasn't eating, even with Brock in the kitchen cooking her favourite dishes. The breeder was desperately trying to entice his friend, but she showed no interest in their company or anything else for that matter. She had simply shut herself away to wallow in self-pity and guilt.
The room was slowly filling up with friends and family. Several of Ashley's cousins were now dotted around, along with the additional Slate or two and a Sketchit for good measure. All of his mother's closest friends had come to support her, and she had turned each and every one of them away. Nothing they said could pull her out of this depression and self-loathing.
Ding Dong!
The occupants of the room started at the sound of the doorbell.
"That'll be Gary," Daisy responded quietly. "Lil', could you like let him in?" she asked her younger sister. "And if he didn't bring the Pokechow with him, send him back out," she added as an after thought.
Lily nodded as she followed Daisy's instructions, however, when she opened the door she was not met by the stony blue eyes of Gary Oak, but rather the chocolate brown eyes of a tall dark haired man who seemed oddly familiar.
"Is Myst here?" he asked, his voice frantic and full of worry. "Is she okay?"
Lily shook her head, blinking at him curiously. She hadn't heard anyone use that name in so long – in almost twenty years – and it sparked a memory of a much happier Misty who almost seemed to shine in the most beautiful way.
"Where is she?" he asked again, his worry intensified by her response.
She pointed up to the stairs, her body seeming to respond automatically to the demanding tone in his voice. "First door on the right," she added.
He pushed past her impatiently, not waiting for further instruction.
Lily just continued to blink in awe as she walked back to the room. The wonder was still evident on her face and she could hardly find the words to describe what had happened.
Daisy gave her sister a worrying look. "What's wrong, Lil'?" she asked, her face creasing into a frown.
Lily returned the look with a frown of her own. She spoke dully, still barely able to articulate the events. "Ash is here," she said unsurely, not quite believing it herself.
Violet rolled her eyes, not quite understanding the significance of Lily's statement. "No duh," she replied gesturing towards their twelve-year-old nephew who looked up with interest.
"No, Vi," Lily replied in a serious tone, shaking her head. "ASH is here," she repeated, her words more heavily intoned this time. She elaborated after a few moments silence. "As in – like – Ash Ketchum."
Myst looked up at this. "My dad's here?" she asked, wondering why he wouldn't just call her like she asked him to. She supposed that her grandmother had probably panicked a little at seeing her so distressed, and her father might have gotten the wrong idea. "Where'd he go?"
The eyes of the three Sensational Sisters turned upon Myst, each of them assessing the young girl and all her qualities. "Oh dear," Lily muttered quietly. "I think I might have just done something like really bad."
"Lily, what did you do?" Daisy questioned, feeling a sense of impending doom.
"Well, he like asked for 'Myst'," she replied in a flustered voice, desperately trying to explain herself. "And I like assumed . . . oh I don't know . . . I just assumed he was like here for her. You know it would be just like her little boyfriend to show up out of the blue like this right when she needs him."
Daisy could say nothing response, knowing it was an easy mistake to make. She would have done the same.
Violet just gave them all a gentle, understanding smile. "If like anyone could get her through this, it's him," she said quietly, voicing aloud the words they all knew for themselves.
They had all tried in their own ways, but perhaps now it was time to leave it in the hand of fate. If there was one thing that could get through to her . . . it would be him.
Ash raced up the stairs to the room that Lily directed him to. It didn't even occur to him to wonder what his daughter was doing in there. All he could think of was her. It was strange – this was the first time he had turned his thoughts to Cerulean City and not thought of Misty Waterflower.
The way Delia had described her mannerisms and tone when she called put him on edge. His daughter was so strong – just like her namesake – and so for her to be so distraught he knew there had to be something wrong, and a phone call would simply not suffice to ease his worry.
He called her name gently as he entered the room, his concern intensifying as his eyes fell upon the lone figure curled up in the middle of the bed. He knew instantly that this was not his daughter, Mystique Ketchum, but a different female altogether who sent his heart racing and seemed to fill him with a plethora of emotions he couldn't begin to name or categorize.
"Leave me alone," she insisted without even looking in his direction, as he made his way further into the room. "I just want to be alone. I deserve to be alone," she added quietly.
He gasped at her words. "Misty, that's not true," he insisted quietly. Forgetting himself and the two decades that had separated them, he sat on the edge of the bed and reached out towards her, laying a gentle touch on her shoulder. "Misty, you deserve only good things."
She turned to face this new visitor – her first initiation of human contact in days. "Ash?" she asked quietly, her eyes blinking back tears. For a moment she thought he was some spectre, thrown out by her guilty conscience to taunt her. "Is it really you?"
"Yeah, Mist'," he replied gently. "It's me.
"Misty, I'm so sor-" he began, but his words were cut off as the young woman flung herself into his arms, sobbing lightly into his chest.
"Thank god you're ok," she whispered. "When I saw the news . . . when they said . . . I was so relieved, Ash."
"Hey," he responded lightly, pulling away so she could see the crocked grin rested upon his lips. "It'll take more than a volcano to do away with the Ash Ketchum."
She returned his grin with a watery smile. "You're right," she laughed. "How could I forget? You're practically invincible."
They shared a meaningful look, and for that moment it seemed like no time had passed between them at all. It was as though the years that went by were meaningless and they were just the same two kids they were all those years ago.
But the moment couldn't last. Misty was broken free of it with a renewed sense of guilt.
"I shouldn't be this happy to see you," she said, reluctantly pulling herself away from the only place that ever felt like home. "I shouldn't . . . I should . . ."
Misunderstanding her actions, Ash's features took on a look of anguish. "Misty, I know the way we left things was . . . well . . . bad," he said awkwardly for lack of a better word, "but you're still my best friend, Misty, and I hope you feel the same."
"No it's not that," she insisted. "You are, Ash. You always are."
She bit her lip nervously as she struggled to find the words. She wasn't sure how she wanted to phrase her loss.
"Didn't you just say I was your best friend," he joked lightly. "You can tell me anything, Misty."
She took a deep breath. "My husband was on Cinnabar," she said lowly, allowing Ash to fill in the gaps.
He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding with a loud 'woosh'. "I'm sorry, Misty," he told her sincerely, the words only partially marred by his conflicting emotions. He was happy that she was single (sort of) but he hated that she was sad. He was jealous that she had found someone, but glad that she had had love in her life at least until recently.
"I can't be here," she admitted painfully. "I can't deal with this. Any of this. I feel so lost and empty and being here just makes it worse."
"Then leave," he suggested innocently.
She shook her head. "You make it sound so easy, Ash," she told him with a look a amusement briefly flashing through her eyes. "I have nowhere to go."
He barely gave it a thought before he spoke. "You could come with me?" he replied, a hopeful look lighting up his face. "I have to go to the Orange Islands and you could come with me, Mist'. It would be just like old times."
"But, Ash, what about-"
"Leave that to me," he promised, cutting her off mid-protest. He knew he was breaking down her resistance. "Just say yes and I'll deal with everything. Your sisters or whatever else."
Misty studied him for a moment, almost not believing that he was real. "Are you sure?" she asked him unsurely. "Are you sure you want me with you?"
"Of course," he agreed. "Pack your things and I'll go explain."
He left quickly and headed down stairs, following the low murmur of voices to a room filled with mourners.
"Dad," Myst greeted cheerfully as she spotted him, flinging herself into her father's arms. "I was so scared, dad," she whispered into his stomach. "I don't want to lose you."
"You'll never lose me," he promised as he hoisted her up into his arms.
"Don't ever do that to me again," she admonished, whacking his shoulder to emphasise her point. "I don't like worrying about you, dad," she pouted.
"Alright," he acquiesced. "What are you doing here?" he asked her, his eyes carefully scanning the room full of familiar faces. She squirmed in his arms, which was a silent instruction to be let down from her position. She moved towards Daisy and a young boy seated on the couch, gesturing for him to follow.
"Ashley, this is my dad, Ash Ketchum," she told the boy. "Dad, this is my friend Ashley Waterflower."
Ash gaped at the dark haired boy stared back at him with a familiar pair of green blue eyes. "You're Misty's son," he said quietly, the realization coming to him quickly. "I'm sorry about your loss."
"Thank you," Ashley replied quietly.
"I think the adults should all head to the kitchen," Tracey suggested suddenly before they could all lapse into silent. He nodded at the three sisters and Gary who had arrived in Ash's absence. A brief nod from Robinson and Malachi assured him that the two boys would keep the younger ones distracted while the grownups spoke.
In the kitchen Brock was preparing more food for those gathered. He was probably getting more use out of the kitchen in a couple of days than Misty had in her thirty-five years of life. The plate of food he was carrying dropped to the floor with a loud clatter as he caught sight of Ash.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, searching the faces of the others for some sort of explanation.
"I'm here to comfort a friend," Ash replied simply, picking at a nearby plate of food with forced indifference.
"Which would be fine if it were any other friend," Tracey replied, voicing all of their thoughts aloud. "You do realize she just lost her husband."
"I know," Ash responded defiantly. "I'm not trying to do anything. I'm just trying to help."
"And how do you propose to do that?" Gary scoffed, giving Ash a knowing look.
"By being her friend," Ash told him. "She can't stay here so I'm going to take her with me to the Orange Islands."
"You can't do that," Daisy protested.
"She needs to be here," Violet added.
"I'm not asking your permission," Ash replied with a hard look. "I'm just letting you know that she's going with me."
"But what about, like, Ashley?" Daisy asked. "He needs his mother," she added in a serious tone that seemed almost alien coming from her lips.
"I know," was Ash's sombre response, "but not like this."
The words struck home with Misty's sisters and friends.
"Alright, Ash," Brock agreed. "But you bring her back at the end of this month."
"And Ashley?" he asked, almost grimacing at the thought.
"I'll tell him," Daisy offered, "but don't think that any of us are happy about this.
"Just look after Misty," she finished with a sigh. "And if you like hurt her, Ash Ketchum, so help you I will like not hesitate to make you suffer."
"I won't," Ash promised. "Not again. Never again."
~ End of Arc 1 ~