Chapter 44:
"How many more transfusions does she need?" Silver asked, later that night.
"Considering the way her body's reacting to the antidote, I think she'll need two more transfusions before we flush out the poison completely," Jason replied, staring out of the window.
"Have you decided which Shrine she should visit first, Jason?'' Silver's gentle voice resonated in the silence of the glass walled cabin
"We have in all, seven shrines to visit – Fire, Earth, Wind, Light, Sound, Darkness and Water," said Jason. "But seeing that she has already visited the Shrine of the Water Goddess, we've got six more to tackle."
"I see…"
"Tomorrow, we're moving on to visit the Shrine of the Earth Goddess. Since the element earth compliments water, I suppose that would be a good place to start. We don't know how the Spirits are going to treat her – we can't guess who's really going to be welcoming and who's going to be outwardly hostile, so I figured out that starting with an element that gels with her should be the right thing."
"Good thinking…"
Jason didn't say anything.
"You're sure she is the right girl, arent you?" Silver asked quietly, after a long minute of silence.
"Do you have any reason to believe otherwise?"
Silver shrugged. "The Goddess gave her heart and soul to the Prince before," he said. "Isnt it a little weird that she should give herself to another man?"
Jason turned around to meet his brother-in-law's eyes. "Silver, Misty hasn't given herself to any man."
Surprise flitted through Silver's eyes. "You're kidding me?"
Jason shook his head. "Why would I?" he said firmly. "It has been… checked." He turned away.
"But – but the video -"
"-was played to fool us," Jason suggested, "or probably, they did that for real. But it didn't go beyond kissing."
"I spoke to her and she didn't even try to deny it…" Silver shook his head in disbelief. "She even flushed with embarrassment when I mentioned it…"
"Beats me…" Jason shrugged, and cleared his throat. "But we know so much for sure now – Misty is pure and untouched by any human hand-"
"-hand?"
Jason coughed and glared at his brother-in-law. "It's her innocence that radiates from her eyes, loud and proud, there for anyone to see it if only they looked."
A small smile crept through Silver's face. "If eyes are the windows to look into someone's soul, I'd say Misty is the girl with the most beautiful soul in the world."
"I haven't known her for long, but from what I understand, she is a lot like Delia," Jason said quietly, a smile playing on his lips as his mind went back to fonder memories of the past. "She's open and welcoming, always trusting everyone to have something good in them…"
"…and then valuing them for what good they have instead of seeing the bad within them," Silver completed. "I understand what you mean. She is a lot like Delia."
The two of them sat in comfortable silence for several minutes.
"You remember what the Elite Four Leader said to the newspaper after her supposed funeral?" Silver said slowly.
Jason nodded. "She will be missed, but the goodness she's left behind will continue to live in the hearts of the people who love her," he quoted. "Whether he meant it or not, what he said is true. The goodness she's brought about in people will always live on…"
"She made me realize that its time for me to make amends…"
Jason stared at his friend. "With Crissy?"
"With her too – but mainly with Gary." Silver sighed. "She made me realize that I didn't want to regret, never trying to make amends… I did try calling him up a couple of times, but somehow or the other I couldn't get through. But that's not going to stop me though. I'll keep trying till I talk to him… And once all this is over, I think I might finally go home."
Jason remained silent.
"You know what, Jas, I think you should make up with Ash as soon as you can." He gave a dry chuckle. "Look at both of us – fathers in a sense, but our sons don't want us." He shook his head in comical exasperation. "But you're still better off in a way – your wife still loves you."
Jason gave him a long look. "Small consolation."
"Put yourself in my shoes and you'll correct that statement you just made."
"Sorry."
"Its okay…"
Again a long, pensive silence hung in the room.
This time, it was Jason who broke the silence. "Why don't you ever talk to Delia?"
"Somehow, I can't bring myself to face her…"
Jason gave an exasperated sigh. "You sound like a cheating husband who's finally feeling guilty."
Silver grimaced, pressing his hand to his left cheek. "Your wife slapped some sense into me that day… I cant face her until I've made attempts to mend what I tore."
"So like your father to talk in poetry," Jason said wryly. "I'm just glad Delia doesn't do that all the time. I'd have gone crazy if she did…"
Silver laughed. "I wonder if Gary does it…"
"I wonder if that's what made Misty like him?"
"She does like him, doesn't she?"
"She surely likes someone, but right now, its hard to bet who."
Silver leaned back in the couch and closed his eyes. "All these years, I never felt anything close to paternal – not when we had a new recruit here under my wing, not whenever I chanced being around small Pokémon or kids, not even whenever I thought about Gary. But then this girl suddenly comes here and there I go feeling like she's my daughter to love and protect."
"Sounds ridiculous, but I agree with you," Jason said, leaning against the window pane, staring out into the night. "But… I think I can understand why you feel like that. You really loved her, didn't you, Sil?"
A long silence followed.
"I still do…" he finally replied quietly. "And Misty reminds me of her."
"A lot."
"A lot," Silver agreed.
…
"Gary…" Kiyora whispered in his ear. "What's wrong?"
Gary didn't answer. He wanted to forget what he had just heard. It all had to be a dream. It just had to be a nightmare he had. It couldn't be true… There was no frigging way it could be true.
"What did Crissy Lakewood tell you, Gary?" Kiyora's voice urged in a gentle, caring way.
Gary cursed mentally. The gentle touch of her arms around him, the soft swell of her chest against his cheek, and the gentle voice in his ear – it all made the truth glare in his eyes and brain.
Sabrina and Max had silently nodded to Kiyora and slipped out of the room, deciding it was better to let them work out this family matter in private. They had caught on enough of the conversation – even though it was only Gary's side – to know that the matter was personal.
"There's something you don't know…" Gary said quietly. "Crissy Lakewood is my mother."
Kiyora's jaw dropped.
"Shocking, isn't it?" Gary pushed himself from her arms. "Sorry for behaving like a fool… I'm sure you must think I'm rather pathetic for a researcher…"
Kiyora blushed scarlet. "no-no I really-"
Gary looked at the door, through which Max and Sabrina had vanished a several minutes ago. "Would you mind calling them in?" he said to Kiyora, wiping his face with his sleeve. "Thanks to my mother's advice… I found the missing link we were looking for."
"Missing link?" Kiyora's eyes widened.
"Yes," said Gary. "And I have to call Lance – he must know about this as soon as possible."
"What do you mean, Gary?"
Gary reached for the phone, as Sabrina and Max came into the room. "Max, Sabrina, I have to talk to Lance first… Just listen to what I say. Its important information…"
…
"Misty's what?" Lance almost dropped the phone.
"Misty's will," Lily's voice trembled. "L-Lance…"
B – E – E – E – P!
B – E – E – E – P!
Lance's cell phone vibrated, as it beeped. Who's the damn guy calling me now? He glanced at the screen irritated. Gary?
"Lily, I'm getting another call – from Gary –" Lance said hurriedly. "I was going to meet him in some time now – but it seems like he's got something important to say –" why the heck is he calling me now anyway? It better be nothing bad… "I'll call you in a couple of minutes, ok?"
He ended the call and answered Gary immediately.
Before he could even say hello, Gary's voice flooded urgently through the phone.
"I finally found it, Lance – THE MISSING LINK!" Gary's voice sounded excited and agitated at the same time. "I found the link, Lance! The link to Misty and Jason!"
"you what?"
"Jason – he's doing everything under Giovanni's orders!" Words just tumbled out of Gary's tongue, too fast to even let Lance understand what he was saying.
"Gary… you're too fast – I cant understand-"
It took a few seconds, but finally, he heard Gary sigh on the other end. "Jason joined Giovanni after he quit," Gary finally spoke in a deliberately slow tone. "He's been doing everything on Giovanni's orders, Lance. He took Misty, had Drake give her the antidote and everything on Giovanni's orders!"
Lance frowned. the news was certainly enlightening, giving him a new way to look for his sis-in-law, but there were too many questions he had first. "How do you know, Gary?"
"My mother gave me call," Gary's voice said briefly. "I'll explain later. But she told me that my dad and Jason, both joined Giovanni-"
"WHAT?" Lance couldn't believe his ears.
"Get someone to inquire about Jason Ketchum and Giovanni's connection!" Gary snapped from the other end. "Just inform everyone, ok?"
"but we're meeting in some time, right-?" Lance was again cut off abruptly by Gary's urgent voice.
"I'm going home," he cut in. "I have to talk to Jason's wife, and the sooner I do that, the better for all of us. I should have done that before…."
Lance heard the regret in his voice, but refrained from saying anything about it. He knew that feeling too well and nothing that anyone else said to comfort him took the regret away. He'd regretted the decision to involve Misty in the scoop the moment things had gone out of his control and whatever people might say to justify his actions, the regret was still there in his heart, never letting him forget that if it wasn't for him, Misty might have still been enjoying life somewhere else, away from all worries and danger.
He sighed. It couldn't be helped. What's done was done and he could only hope to keep things from turning worse.
"Before you cut the line, I have things to tell you too," Lance said grabbing the opportunity to speak the moment Gary's voice trailed away. "I already had Jason investigated, Gary. In fact, I just spoke to Lei-"
"-who-?"
"-Lorelei-" Lance corrected, wincing. "Lorelei," he said again slowly. "I had her dig everything up about Jason, but trust me Gary, she found nothing linking Jason even remotely to Giovanni."
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?" Lance questioned back. "I mean, are you sure that your mother isn't mistaken about this?"
He heard Gary sigh on the other end. "Believe what you want," he said finally. "I don't see how my mother could be mistaken about something that my father himself told her – that too on the day they divorced." He paused. "And she also told me that my father and Jason joined Giovanni to look for some cure for Misty… It seems they were friends with misty's parents."
"Misty's parents?" So it is true then, thought Lance, the fact that Jason was friends with Misty's family.
"Yes," Gary agreed. "So Giovanni has been connected to Misty for a long time now…"
Lance scratched his chin where a faint stubble had started to grow. "I get your point," he said. "I'll have Lorelei check it out."
"That would be great." Gary sighed again on the other end and Lance wondered if he was just sounding relieved. "Oh, by the way, I think you should get in touch with Sabrina and Max," he said further. "They've invented some sort of device that helps Sabrina sense Misty's presence – they have a lot to say on how they figured out that Misty just went missing. They found traces of teleportation around the site when Sabrina looked around that same night."
Lance's heart leaped. "Does this mean you've located Misty's whereabouts?"
"Not quite – the device kinda has a flaw…" Gary's voice trailed. "We were hoping you could help with that…"
Lance's initial excitement died but the hope it lit within his heart continued to shine. Maybe this could help them find where she was. he was no maestro on devices and things like that, but he had some experience doing it. Maybe if he tried, he could get it right…
"Tell Max to see me tomorrow for breakfast – or better I'll talk to Sabrina tonight and fix it. I'll do my best to help with that too."
"I just hope things work out…" Gary's voice trailed away. "and I trust you can tell Grandpa and Drake that the meeting's off?"
Lance frowned. "You don't want to talk to your grandfather and personally tell him about it?" Then as if realizing how rude it sounded, he hastily added, "not that its difficult for me to tell him. I just thought that since you both are family, you just informed your family first before outsiders…" Damn. He shouldn't have opened his mouth at all. Lance grimaced. He was behaving like a total idiot now – so unlike his usual image.
There was a moment of silence before Gary's voice fell into his ears again. "Its not always like that, Lance," he said awkwardly. "Sometimes, families just don't stick together… In any case, I have to hurry home and talk to Delia about it before Grandpa has the opportunity to forbid me from doing it."
"Why would Professor Oak forbid you to talk to Delia about this?"
"Like I said before, families don't always stick together, Lance. My family fell apart long ago – the reason wasn't Misty though but Ash's family fell apart because of her."
"I don't-"
"Ash's dad joined Giovanni to find a cure for Misty. He stayed away from home for her sake – Ash doesn't talk about his father… And neither do we. Talking about Jason or my parents is taboo in the Oak and Ketchum household. Grandpa wouldn't want me to talk to Delia about this because it will rekindle all the things that are painful and thus, best left forgotten in the past. Moreover, when Delia knows that we suspect Jason for having caused Misty pain, its not going to be pretty…" There was a pause and a shudder in his voice that made Lance shudder too, though he had never met Delia Ketchum in person. He wondered what sort of a person she was.
"By the time you'll have told my grandfather, I'll be half way home. I'm determined to ask her about Giovanni, Lance, even its going to hurt her… Just hope that she has information helpful to us."
Lance understood his reasoning. "Good luck. And don't worry about things here, Gary. I'll do my best to handle them."
"Thank you."
"One more thing…"
"yeah?"
"Does Ash know that Misty's alive somewhere and that we're working to find her?" The thought had crossed his mind loads of times and he had always forgotten to ask others if Ash had been informed. "He and misty were close, so the news that she died probably hit him worse… I wonder how he's coping all alone, after everything he's been through."
Gary's voice sounded grim and regretful. "Sadly, no. no one's ever had the opportunity to inform him – now that you mention it I feel bad that I didn't go see him…"
"Would you mind if I arrange for it?"
"Arrange for it?"
"I'll make sure Ash gets news about what's going on."
"How will you do it?" Gary's voice sounded doubtful. "Judges arent supposed to interact with participants, right?"
Lance found a smile spreading on his lips. "Don't worry. I'll have my Fiancée or one of her sisters to pay him a visit. I know exactly how I can pull it off…."
"Good luck to you too then. I gotta go now – or I'll miss my flight. Later…."
"Yeah, later… Keep in touch though. And I'll call up the others now and tell them the meeting's off."
"God bless, Misty, wherever she is."
"Yeah, God bless her…."
The line went dead and Lance flumped on his bed, tired. He had learnt new things and now he had more work to do. First thing was to call up Professor Oak and Drake and tell them the news. Then he had to call Sabrina up and fix a time for them to meet. And then finally, he had to make a call so he could send message to Ash that Misty was alive…
Heaven knows he has a right to know the truth. Its unfair to let him believe she's dead when she's somewhere, probably wishing and waiting to be rescued… Well Ash Ketchum, don't fret. Just hold on to that will of yours and, do what Misty expected of you….
…
"Where is He!" I wave my hands about. I'm so distressed. "Please tell me! Where is He!"
I hear something from the depths of my cavern. Was that someone's reply? I call out again. I realize its not. It's just the echo of my voice, bouncing off the cold walls of my home.
"SOMEONE!" I scream again. "ANYONE!" I so desperately need to talk. "I want to know where he is!" I scream again. "I want to know why he doesn't come here anymore!"
But my home is still silent. Strangely home doesn't feel like home anymore. I wipe the salty water that fills my eyes.
"I want him…" I cant talk properly – my throat is all choked. "I want to talk to you!"
But it is so quiet…. I can only hear my own voice.
And the sea waves that fill my home.
My heart beats fast and I want to scream. But my throat just wont allow me to cry out. The pain is unbearable.
Half of me tells me that I've waited long enough, that he is not going to come back.
But the other half wants to know why.
"Where have you gone to, my Prince!" I cry out again. "Why didn't you tell me that you weren't going to come back?"
The pain in my heart is too much. Will it ever stop? Being who I am, I know that he is alive and safe. I know he is not ill. But if he was safe and healthy, why was he away from me?
If only he had told me he wasn't going to come back…
If only he had given me a chance to say goodbye…
I know he loved me, that he loves me still… But even so… there must be a reason why he is away from me. But why isn't anyone here to tell me what the reason is!
I lower myself into the dark waters, but the waves don't wash this pain away. I call for my water babies, but yet, they don't ease the loneliness that has captured my soul.
The tears keep coming and the tender beings that love me are terrified. I must stop this or they will start to worry over me, which is wrong. I am their mother, I should be the one worrying about them, not the other way round…
But what can I do about this? My home feels like a prison – even the waters I love being in now feel so alien and dull. I want to break free, find him and ask him why.
I cry again, because I know I cannot leave my place. I am a Goddess – giver of life. I cannot leave home, I cannot go after him, I cannot die. I can do nothing to ease this pain that stabs my heart.
I don't close my eyes, afraid that I would only dream of him and what could have been if he hadn't left…. I cant bear to look around me either, because then I see him – I see his ghosts all around me from my own memories…
"My precious Goddess…" his voice echoes in my heart, my mind!
I see him sit on my favorite seat, I see him swim beside me in the waters. I see him everywhere!
"NOOOOO!" I cry again. I mustn't dwell on that – its only giving me more pain….
But what do I do? What do I do without him in my life?
After experiencing companionship and love once, even if briefly, how can I convince myself to go back to the world of solitude I was living in?
I don't want to go back. I don't want to forget the man who taught me the meaning of care. but if I don't try to forget, how am I going to try and live all eternity without him…?
I sigh. And tears fall from my eyes again. I must forget, but I must also know why.
I must know why he left, I must know who made him leave.
I wonder again if I displeased him. But that cannot be, because I know he brought me back home. he saved me.
My heart beats for him, for his love. And now, my heart still beats – in fact, it beats even faster. Doesn't that mean that he loves me still?
I want to weep, but it seems I'm well beyond tears. I want to call out to him, perhaps he will hear my pain and come to ease it, but no sound agrees to leave my throat. I want to splash my hands in the water, but they are too tired for me to move them. My body feels so stiff and broken, I cant even think clearly.
Is the pain I'm feeling physical? Am I hurt somewhere? Or is this the pain within my heart? I don't know, I cannot even distinguish between the two now…
All I know is that it hurts everywhere… and I ache to hear his voice. I ache to see his smile…
I am a Goddess, I remind myself. I must not give in to these worldly pleasures. My destiny is nurturing the world in isolation. It is wrong to deter from my responsibility.
But what am I to do? Try as I might, all I see before me is an endless eternity with only the ghosts of my beloved for company. What is an endless future of peace and bliss when it is without him being a part of it?
I try to seek courage in hoping that someday, sometime, he would visit my home again and smile at me the way he did the last time I saw him. Perhaps, he would apologize for not visiting for a long time, because he had his people to take care of and look after. Perhaps, he would say that he was just testing my love for him. Perhaps he had gone on a tour to distant lands for some important work.
Perhaps….he is married to someone else…?
It hurts me to think of that, but not as much as it hurts to know that he is not coming.
But I want to keep hoping that he will come one day and…
"We'll sit on my favorite seat and laugh the whole nightmare off…" I whisper to myself.
My heart knows that this is not going to happen. But I have to preserve my sanity. I must fulfill the responsibilities that nature has bestowed upon me. I must protect the innocent. I must breathe life. and therefore, I must not lose myself to insanity.
Neglecting those dependent on me would be far worse than isolation.
I wish I could pray for courage to the Gods and Goddess but whom am I to pray to? Tears find me again. I am helpless. All I can do is wait.
A couple of years? A hundred years? A million years?
I can wait. I will wait.
I know he will find me. If not today, then next year. If not after a lifetime, then after a million years.
"He will come for me," I speak to myself again and my voice is steady and firm. I am confident now, now that I have made my decision. "A million years are nothing to an eternal being… I shall breathe life to his soul again and he will find me someday…"
I rise from the dark waters. Yes. I must wait. I must be patient. I must wait for the right time and find the courage to do so in his warm memories that fill my soul and mind.
And then, I will find out why he had to leave…who made him leave…what made him leave…
My heart continues to beat, but now I'm in peace. The pain is there, but now it doesn't bother me much. The pain is more like a reminder that somewhere, out in the world I have never seen, He lives, breathes and smiles, biding his time to return to me again.
"I will wait for all eternity….My Prince…"
Misty awoke to a stinging pain on the back of her head, her eyes swimming in the galaxy and her head throbbing all over. What the heck was that!
She was lying on the floor in a heap, sweating, panting, the pain in her heart so intense, that she felt it was going to stop beating. He clothes were soaked and her hair, a tangled mess. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand which felt as sticky as any other part of her.
Her heart thudded faster, pounding against her chest. she pressed her hand to her chest to quiet it, afraid the whole world might hear its beating. She pushed her hair away from her face and closed her eyes, remembering her dream again, clear and precise.
Dream? She asked herself.
'Memory…' the voice within her corrected. 'We saw a part of my memory…'
Misty looked around her – a notepad and a pen lay on the floor, upturned and strewn. They must have fallen when she fell. She switched on the small lamp and held the notepad to its feeble light:
You're Gone…
I know I took you for granted,
I believed you belonged to me;
Not for a moment did I ever think,
That someday you might just leave.
I awoke to find you gone,
Without even so much as a good bye;
Without any explanation,
Without saying where or why.
With silent steps in the dark,
You sneaked past me without a second glance;
While I was fast asleep, dreaming of you,
You didn't even think of giving us a second chance.
It broke my heart to know you weregone,
Not for a few days butforever;
I withdrew to myself from the world because,
Life… meaning… wasover.
Misty stared at the page… Did I write this song? Is this why I saw the dream?
'I told you it's a memory,' the voice replied impatiently. 'It is weird…isn't it?'
It was so real, the pain is so real… Misty clutched her heart again, still feeling it thud violently. Did this really happen to you?
'I guess so… I had forgotten… it all happened so long back…'
But that guy you called Prince-
'-that guy we both called Prince' the voice corrected her.
Yeah – him, he looked so much like…so much like… Misty couldn't trust herself to voice it. She must be going crazy – or probably her own love for him had just mixed up the dream or memory or whatever it was. it couldn't be him. There was no way –
'-That Prince looked like your Ash…' the voice spoke. 'Maybe…that's why Ash seems so familiar to me. I probably recognized his soul even if I'd forgotten about all this…'
Misty massaged her temple. I don't know… I don't know what to think…
'The two of us seemed to have been through similar fate, huh?'
I suppose so…
'That song you wrote… Its beautiful…'
Misty drew her knees to her chin, sitting where she had fallen. She tried to think clearly, but the heartbreak, the loneliness, all from the memory had left her weary. The influence was so strong, that Misty could still hear the voice echoing off the memory in her mind.
The voice seemed to have withdrawn to herself, maybe to contemplate on what had happened. Misty didn't know and a part of her didn't want to know. If the memory was true, then, was that why she felt such a strong bond for Ash? she didn't know what to think.
The pad lay forgotten on the floor as Misty continued to shed silent tears, though for what real reason she herself couldn't understand.
…
To be continued…
Hi guys. Sorry for the late updates. Its just that I wait for the right kind of inspiration or 'mood' to write the chapters. I write only when I find the right mood and enough time to type it out.
Thanks for reading and reviewing. ^_^ thanks for sticking by my story and for waiting.
I also regret to inform you that I wont be updating for a month – till 20 june – because I've got my exams and I really have to prepare for the theory and the practicals.
I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. And please do review when you find enough time.
** By the way, I still haven't decided what the ending should be – so I've decided to ask the readers and reviewers to tell me what sort of ending they desire. Whether it's a happily-ever-after with Ash or Gary or if it's a sad i-have-to-save-the world sacrifice or something like that….. the possibilities are endless and I already have a lot of them, but it would be great to know what my readers want.
Also if you have any constructive criticism, any corrections, or additions in the story – if you find something you want to be explained more clearly or mentioned, then please do let me know. It would be great to have your inputs and support. **
Thanks everyone.
Lots of love,
Mist7
