Chapter 30
"Why's mom's car outside?" Ariel asks her grandmother. The girl had woken up and made her way downstairs for breakfast when she noticed her mother's car still in the driveway.
Delia had noticed it too, but she got a text from Misty last night explaining where she is. "She didn't take it." The older woman isn't sure how to tell her granddaughter that Ash and Misty are together. What if Ariel blabbers it around, and the media catches wind of it?
Sitting at the table, Ariel yawns. "Why? She doesn't have flying Pokemon." How would her mother travel back to Cerulean City. Besides, Ariel knows her father took Charizard last night.
Brock finally makes his way into the kitchen. He had also been surprised to see Misty's car still outside last night. However, after a lot of teasing on his part, he found out where she is. Winking at his goddaughter, Brock says, "She's on a secret mission. She'll tell you all about it when she's back."
Ariel's eyes shoot open in shock. That's what her dad is doing too! "Is she with dad?"
Delia worriedly looks at Brock who handles the situation well. "Is your dad on a secret mission too?"
Ariel enthusiastically nods and ruffles Pikachu's head. "Yeah! That's why he left Pikachu to watch me!"
"Well, while we wait for your parents to come back, your grandma and I get you all to ourselves!" Brock high fives her.
"Yay! And the Oaks will be back tonight!" Although Ariel does love spending time with her parents, she never feels like she has enough time for everyone she loves, especially since they're mostly in Pallet Town. Ariel already gets Monday with both of her parents. Because they're gone this week, she'll be able to catch up with her grandmother, uncle, and friends.
After breakfast, Delia is tending to her garden while Brock is in the living room getting his research ready. Ariel curiously sits down with Pikachu. "Okay, Uncle Brock, where are my parents?" She could tell her grandmother didn't want to talk about it, but Uncle Brock never keeps secrets from her.
Grinning mischievously, Brock shows Ariel the recent text message he got from Misty last night: Gone. Take care of Ariel, and don't drive my car.
"Where'd she go?" pouts the girl.
"C'mon, Ariel. I thought you had your mom's smarts." teases Brock.
Pikachu sighs because he's already figured out everything. He is upset he can't be there to make sure Ash and Wisty don't kill each other because Pikachu doubts Charizard will do anything. "Pikapi pi pika pikachupi."
Ariel's eyes open wide in shock at her uncle. "They're on a mission together?"
"Yup! I thought you would've figured that out from breakfast."
"Wait. But why? How? Is it a mission from the League?" whispers the girl.
"The League knows they hate each other. If it was a mission from the League, then your parents wouldn't have been paired together. If your parents were on the same mission, then it'd be a mission for all the gym leaders too, so I would've known." Brock winks at her. "And I don't know anything about it. Your parents are on their own secret mission alone together."
Ariel tackles Brock in a hug. "Oh my Mew! Uncle Brock! This is awesome!"
Chuckling, he ruffles her hair. "I know! We can ask them all about it when they're back."
Ariel grins at Pikachu. "You hear that, Pikachu? Operation: Family Reunion is back in business!"
"What about Operation: Bye Bye Melody?" Brock curiously asks.
The girl shrugs. "Melody hasn't come around since me, Lauren, and Jace tricked her. Dad thinks she's mad at him." While Ariel and her friends wish they can play out more plans on Melody, they are glad they don't have to interact with her. Also, with Melody not here, then Saturday dinners aren't as awkward anymore.
Brock nods as he tries to figure out what Melody must be up to. Melody is too territorial to allow Misty to be near Ash without her. Even if Melody is upset she got caught being mean to the children, she wouldn't completely skip out on Pallet Town meetings. Ash also isn't the type to stay mad at others. Thus, Brock is concerned about what Melody is doing if she's not here.
Somewhere in Kanto
"So what's this plan of yours? Search the region for Team Rocket?" Misty boredly asks. After a brief argument on the roof, Charizard took off with both adults on him. He's already a member of Ariel's team, so this is his contribution to getting her parents together, much to Ash's dismay.
"I didn't invite you." He's sick of her. He hasn't said anything to her pertaining to what he's doing besides for finding Team Rocket. Ash has a plan. He just doesn't want her in on it.
"Why? Are you actually lying and just making up an excuse to leave Ariel again?"
"I never left her before! I'm always there for her!" Ash glares behind him.
"Really? Need me to refresh your memory?" Misty challenges him.
"I left you. I never left Ariel."
"You weren't there for her first 4 birthdays. Mew, I really thought you wouldn't be there the day she was born."
"She's my first child. Of course I'm gonna be there." Ash returns to looking ahead.
"You're lucky I was in labor for hours, else you would've missed her birth."
Groaning, he exclaims, "Look! Are you gonna keep talking about the past or are you gonna shut up so we can find Team Rocket?"
"Seeing as how you're flying to who knows where for who knows how long, I'm gonna let you hear about how much of a deadbeat you are, and we'll find Team Rocket." She hates his attitude. The fact that he's getting so defensive and avoiding her statements is because he knows she's right. He was never around before their divorce.
Ash has repeatedly tried to get Charizard to land so they can ditch Misty, but the orange lizard knows better than to do that. Now, they're too far away from Pallet Town for Ash's conscience to allow him to ditch his ex.
After a couple of silent minutes, Misty asks, "What's your bright idea?"
"To ditch you in Cerulean City."
"Uh uh. I'm coming with. If you really are looking for those damn Rockets, then I need my revenge too." No one hurts her baby and gets away with it. Misty was going to wait until Ariel left for her journey before hunting down the Rockets. That'd give the authorities a year to do their own investigation. With Ariel gone, Misty would have more time looking for those who harmed her, although Misty had her own fears about letting her daughter go on a Pokemon journey with those Rockets still out there.
"Stop talking to me like I'm lying to you." Ash annoyedly tells her. "I've never fucking lied to you."
"Yeah. Cuz you never fucking talked to me." How can he lie to her when he never answered a call or text?
Rolling his eyes, Ash groans loudly again. This is going to be one long trip. He knew he should've left earlier or waited until she left his house before he said anything to Ariel. However, Ash never expected Misty to be talking to his mother for so long. "I never talked to you cuz all you ever did was nag at me."
"Yeah! Because you were never home! You never called or responded to anything I left you! All your fucking broken promises! Why were we even married when you were never there?" She glares at the back of his head.
He throws his hands up in mock defense. "Whoa. Maybe you should call Rudy to answer all of your needs? I'm sure he'll still come rescue you once I ditch you."
Misty grabs the back of his shirt angrily. "That's all you ever have to say. 'Rudy this' or 'Rudy that'. That's all you have on me, and it's a lie. I never cheated on you!"
He turns to face her again as well as free himself from her hold. "I fucking saw you!"
Misty sees intense anger in his eyes, though that's not all. She spots a tiny bit of pain, like he had hidden it with his anger. "What are you talking about?" She hisses at him.
Flashback
"I'm glad we were able to come home early this year." Ash whispers to Pikachu as they walk the block to their home. He had Charizard land away from the house, so he can surprise his wife. Their fourth wedding anniversary is in a few days, but he managed to finally get time off to celebrate with her. It'll be the first anniversary they celebrate together, and he's happy he got extra days to spend it with her.
"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu excitedly exclaims from his shoulder, making Ash hush his partner.
"Shh! Pikachu! We're supposed to be surprising them!" Another reason Ash is so happy to be home early is because he gets more time with his daughter. She's only three, and very adorable.
"Pikaaa." Pikachu now quietly says. The mouse is eager to finally see Misty and Ariel again. He knows Ash has been working hard to get more time off from the League, especially since Misty keeps asking him to come home. Ash would want nothing more than to be home with his family. He hopes to keep this momentum going, and maybe he'll even get a good chunk of summer off.
When Ash and Pikachu are a few houses away from their own, the man stops in his tracks. There are two cars in the driveway. They only own one. They have no need for two. Ash quickly walks forward, but then freezes when more of his house comes into view. There, on the front porch, are his wife and daughter. However, they're not the only ones rocking on the porch swing together.
"Pikapi." Pikachu worriedly looks at his trainer. He knows about Rudy constantly helping Misty out with Ariel.
Ash has somewhat of an idea, but the man likes to think his wife is faithful. Nevertheless, with Ariel sitting in the middle, Rudy is on her other side. The three of them look like such a happy family. If Ash and Misty weren't famous, then no one could tell that Rudy isn't Ariel's father. Ash clenches his fists angrily. Just what is she doing? This is their anniversary week!
Feeling his heart sink, Ash turns to run. He can't watch that anymore. All of his excitement of finally coming home to his family is gone as pain replaces it. The betrayal hurts too much. Pikachu had fallen off of Ash's shoulder to chase after him. Ash doesn't care where he's going. He just wants to get as far away from that as possible.
Why is Rudy at his house? Why is Misty so close to him? Why is she allowing Rudy to be around their daughter like she's Rudy's? Ash has been working tirelessly to give her the time she's always wanted, but she chooses to cheat on him instead? Rudy is so comfortable with her, especially in front of their house. Ash can tell it's not Rudy's first time there. The raven haired man figures Rudy must've been inside before, which means, Rudy has been home alone with just Misty and Ariel.
Calling out Charizard, who is confused because they're not at Ash's house, the man climbs onto his fire type. Pikachu has caught up and leaps on Charizard too. "Take me back to the League."
"Char." Charizard looks at Ash curiously.
"Now, Charizard!" exclaims the heartbroken champion. Charizard knows to listen to Ash, especially an emotional one. Charizard will find out from Pikachu later what happened, but for now, the fire type will take Ash back to the safety of the League.
Flashback Over
"You were there?" whispers the woman in shock. He's never made it home for an anniversary before.
Despite them being separated now, and him not loving her anymore, Ash still feels the immense amount of pain and betrayal he had experienced that day. "Yeah."
"Why didn't you say anything before?" This is her first time hearing about that day from him.
"I don't wanna hear your excuses. And then we were going through the divorce, so I had no reason to tell you since we were already splitting." he shrugs.
She can't read him because he's sitting in front of her. He's facing the sky ahead, and she's facing his back. Sighing, Misty tells him, "I never had romantic feelings for Rudy."
"Stop lying."
"I'm not." To Ash's surprise, her tone isn't cold. It's sincere. Looking down at Charizard's back, she adds, "Rudy and I became close friends when he came to Cerulean City for a gym leader's conference. You were never around, so I had time to meet up with him as friends. That's all we were."
"You expect me to believe that?"
She lets out a heavy breath. As much as she hates to admit it, he's right. If she had saw the same thing with him, she'd assume he was cheating. "Rudy never came inside the house while we were married. We were always outside or in public."
"I don't believe it."
"I know." She looks up at the sky. "I wouldn't believe me either if I were you."
After some time, Ash mutters, "You should've never agreed to be his friend." Rudy had confessed to Misty a long time ago, thus Misty knows Rudy has feelings for her. There's no way they can be friends when Rudy has romantic feelings for her!
"You should've been home then!" She quickly says, and Ash can hear some pain in her voice. "I was lonely! He made me feel important and wanted! He prioritized me!"
"Even if you never slept together, that's emotional cheating." Ash knowingly points out. Glaring at the back of his head, Misty smacks it, much to his annoyance. "Hey! What was th-"
"You're a dumbass!" Emotional cheating, her ass. How can she emotionally cheat on him when she was still in love with him for years after the divorce? She was still in love with him throughout their sour marriage, even though he ignored her. She was still in love with him when he forgot about her. Mew! She knows she still has some deep feelings for him she's spent years burying. It's why she still loved him after he forgot about her during his travels when they were younger.
"That's all you ever have to say!" Ash turns his head to glare at her. "You just call me names because you know you're wrong!"
"I could never fucking cheat on you! Even if you cheated on me, I couldn't do it to you!"
Ash can see a lot of hurt in her glossy angry eyes. "I don't believe you."
"You don't believe I loved you?" He breathes out deeply through his nose. This is not a conversation he wants to have. They don't love each other anymore. When he turns back around, she exclaims, "I've loved you since we were 10. I could never fucking cheat on you."
"Whatever." Her words and her actions don't line up. If she loved him, she should've never hung out with another man who they know has romantic feelings for her.
Soon, Charizard lands, and the uncomfortable couple get off of him. Ash thanks him for the trip before returning him. Misty looks at the small house they're in front of. "Where are we?"
"Two Island." he mumbles and walks up the steps to the front door.
Following, she asks, "Why?" Who does he know on Two Island? However, she shouldn't be surprised by the vast amount of people he knows, even before he was the Champion.
When Ash opens his mouth to answer her question, the door swings open to reveal no one. "Hey! It's da twerps!" Ash and Misty follow the voice where they look down and see the small white cat grinning up at them.