"We should probably start heading back. The others are probably wondering what is taking us so long." Lucario said as he stood up, faced toward the way out of the Tree of Life and started walking.
"Yeah. Let's go." Ash said as he followed Lucario toward the exit, silently thinking of other alternatives that would keep Lucario from having to sacrifice himself just as his master had done so long ago.
Meanwhile with Brock and Misty, it was about midday and Brock decided to pull out supplies to cook up some lunch. Misty, on the other hand was wondering what important talk that Lucario and Ash had to have.
"Hey Brock?" Misty asked as she walked over to him with a look of worry plastered on her face.
"What's up Misty?" Brock asked as he was cutting up some ingredients to throw into the pot.
"Do you think Ash will be ok when this journey completed? I'm worried that something really bad will happen and that it may change Ash in some way." Misty said as she kept thinking negatively about the things that could possibly happen to Ash.
"Misty, I think Ash will be fine when everything is said and done. We have traveled with him for long enough to know that he will be able to overcome whatever hardships are possibly going to come. All we need to do is believe in him to make the right choice and help him in any way that we can. That's about all we can do for him." Brock stated as he finished cutting up the ingredients, started the cooking fire and turned to Misty with a reassuring smile and a thumbs up.
"Yeah, you're right. I know that Ash will make the right decision when it comes down to it. Thank you for the reassuring words, Brock." Misty stated as she smiled and gave a thumbs up.
Back with Ash and Lucario, they emerge from the Tree of life and make their way over to Brock and Misty while smelling the amazing scent of Brock's cooking. As they got closer, Ash walked over to Misty and smiled as he reached over to hold her hand. Misty noticing this, also held his hand and wrapped her other arm around Ash's arm that was holding her hand. She and Ash felt a wave of warmth and comfort from being in each other's company. Whereas Lucario walks over to Brock and starts chatting about cooking probably.
"I missed you." Misty said teasingly as she blushed and smiled while taking in as much of Ash's company as she can.
"Misty I wasn't gone that long now, but I missed you too." Ash jokingly stated as he started chuckling as Misty's playfulness which was something that he needed to help lighten his mood up after that demoralizing talk with Lucario earlier. But this would not keep him from thinking up of any way that he can keep everyone safe.
As Ash and Misty sat down chatting about other topics, Brock had finished cooking lunch and had Lucario helping him bring over everyone's lunch. They all ate their fill, stood up and stretched.
"Your cooking is amazing as always, Brock!" Ash exclaimed as he smiled and gave Brock a thumbs up showing his usual appraisal of the chef's dishes.
"Thanks Ash." Brock said as he chuckled at Ash's usual antics when it comes to food. Lucario gave a nod of approvement at Brock's dish as well. Brock smiled as he gathered up all of their materials and started packing it up.
A few minutes later, the group finishes getting ready to head out again. Ash and Misty are standing hand in hand while Lucario stands near Brock.
"So Lucario, are we heading into the Tree of Life or is there somewhere nearby that we have to head to?" Brock asks as he turns to face Lucario.
"We will be heading into the Tree of Life, yes. However we will be going further in than Ash and I have earlier." Lucario stated as he looked back to face Brock and then faced towards the Tree of Life.
After hearing this, Ash's expression grew a bit darker. He was the only one who knew what Lucario was planning to do and the only one who could try to keep anyone from being lost forever. Misty took notice of this and pulled Ash over near the trees to find out what was on Ash's mind.
"Hey Ash, is everything alright? You seem like you have something on your mind. Do you wanna tell me what's wrong?" Misty asked as she looked Ash in the eyes with a look of worry and concern for her lover's well-being.
Ash looked back into Misty's eyes and seemed hesitant to address that fact that Lucario planned to sacrifice himself in order to restore the Tree of Life and the balance it held both of his hands as her way of reassuring that Ash could tell her what was troubling him. Ash proceeded to take it a deep breath and relaxing his nerves, then he explained the whole situation with Misty. While listening to what Ash was telling her, all Misty could currently do was nod her head as she tried to keep a grasp of how Ash must have been feeling since he came back with Lucario. Once Ash was finished explaining everything to Misty, she had let go of his hands and gave him a tight hug.
"Ash, thank you for telling me all of that. If you wouldn't have told me all of this, I probably..no most likely would have been worried sick about you for the rest of the way on this journey. But now it's my turn to help you out, if you need me to help out with anything, I will be by your side 100% and give it my all." Misty said as she looked Ash in the eyes again and gave him the biggest smile that she possibly could give.
"Thank you, Misty. I feel a lot better now that i got that off my shoulders and that I'm not alone on this." Ash said as he smiled back and gave Misty a quick peck on the lips. To which she replied with a kiss back.
After the two of them dispelled all of those worries that had been building up, they walked back over to Brock and Lucario. As soon as they all gathered up, the group started to make their way into the Tree of Life.
What will our group encounter as they delve deeper into the Tree of Life? What secrets does it hold? Will Ash and Misty figure out a way to keep everyone safe on the rest of this journey? Find out in the next chapter of Ash X Misty: A Pure Love!