Sleepless in Cerulean
The biting wind brought Misty to shudders. A storm brewed out past the horizon of Cerulean Cape, she knew for certain, though she could not see it. Farther out to sea, the winds stirred the water something fierce, as if it were at war with armies unseen. There were no Pokemon illuminated by neither the lighthouse nor the moon, but she could hear their wails beneath the waves. The cacophony of cries had a hint of wrongness to Misty's ears, as though nature itself was unnatural.
She pulled her yellow jacket tight. It was the wrong day for moonlit strolls on the beach, yet she couldn't bear to return to the gym just yet. Despite it all, the sand beneath her bare feet, the crashing waves, and the sea breeze still soothed her nightmare-addled mind.
The disharmonic song she could do without, however. It wasn't like it was the first time she'd heard this odd music of theirs, either. Such an occasion was only mere weeks ago, around the same time her nightmares started. Around when Ash made it back from wherever he last was, but she didn't sit upon that thought too much.
But she took a seat on that lonely, empty beach anyways, covered in little more than her pajamas and jacket, and tuned her ears to the rushing tide to drown out that song.
It did little to help in the end.
Misty made her way back to the gym in the following hours, where she saw the lights of the kitchen burning bright, along with the strong aroma of caffeine. There she found Daisy nursing a cup of coffee on a counter, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. Daisy, in turn, acknowledged Misty with a nod.
"Couldn't sleep either, huh," Daisy said as less of a question, but rather a fact. "So, like, what's got you up?"
"Nothing," Misty replied, maybe a bit too hasty. She relaxed on a stool across from Daisy. "I just couldn't sleep, so I went out to the Cape to tire me out a bit, I guess."
Daisy nodded and took a long pull from her mug. "I love Tracy and all, but like, he keeps muttering gibberish in my ear all night long. It gets so annoying." She sighed. "And it's not like he's always done this. It was only like a couple days ago that he started talking in his sleep."
"Have you talked with him about it?"
"Yeah, he says he'll try to stop or whatever, but it's not like he can do anything about it while he's asleep." Daisy gave Misty a smile, and the younger girl saw something she didn't quite like in her sister's eyes. "But enough about my problems, what about your boyfriend? Isn't he back in Kanto now?"
Misty's cheeks reddened, but she stilled her emotions. "First of all, I don't get why you guys keep on calling Ash my boyfriend. The joke's not even that funny. Second, maybe he's back now, but in a couple weeks he'll be off to Arceus knows where again."
"Then why don't you go over to Pallet and say hi? Talk to him while he's still here, you know?"
Ever since she heard he was coming back, Misty had been debating herself about making the trip. She always did every year. No matter how much she fought her head over it, her heart always won out in the end, even if it broke just a little afterwards. Sometimes, they would actually meet and catch up a little. Talk about the places he's seen, the people he's met, the battles he's fought. Once upon a time, she would've been at his side for all of those. But those days were long gone, replaced by sleepless nights at the gym and a monotonous routine of battles and badges. Most times now, however, she would find their paths uncrossed, hers missing his by just mere moments. She didn't know which one hurt more.
But she felt a pull to Pallet. A voice inside urged her to go, which she desperately tried to quiet down, but the more she fought with herself, the more she ached. The pain gnawed at her chest whenever the nights were quiet and her thoughts swirled almost violently as they threatened to explode out. Nights like those, where company was hard to find and comfort even harder, were worse than whatever she felt when Ash would inevitably walk away, galivanting off on another journey while she was anchored at Cerulean.
And Arceus did she ache whenever he stepped on some boat going to some island too far from home, knowing that she was merely a footnote in his story, tucked away in the first chapter and long forgotten by the time the more important parts come around. So maybe she should make the walk and finally talk about what's been tearing her heart into pieces. Or maybe she would be better off never knowing. Merely living vicariously through her fantasies without ever getting a proper response, rejection never even a possibility.
Every year, she thought she had finally gotten over the oblivious boy in the red cap, whose kind heart was matched only by his passion. Every year the pain never failed to lessen, no matter what she tried.
She shook her head and fought off a couple tears that might have escaped. "No," she said and let the word hang between the two for a few moments. "Not this time around." She hung her head low, and she saw Daisy frown behind the mug. "The gym's going to be really busy soon, and I can't ditch my responsibility every time Ash's head pops up. Besides, someone has to figure out why all the water Pokemon have been acting up lately."
She didn't lie about that part. It seems they've all been a bit anxious lately, both wild and the ones inside the gym. In the dead of the night, when the aforementioned song seeped through the walls and the faint sounds broke any attempts at a peaceful, she would find her Pokemon thrashing in the pool, as if trying to escape. Psyduck bore the brunt of it. Often, even when all was quiet, she would find the poor thing screaming bloody murder and running around like his head was aflame.
Daisy groaned. "Tell me about it. If it's not Tracey and his mumbling, it's the damn Pokemon going crazy in the pools. You know Officer Jenny showed up while you were out because Gyarados scared everyone half to death in the middle of the night."
"I've talked with Brock about it, but he's busy with his family and according to him, 'a bunch of upstarts trying to get their first badge,' you know."
"Ain't life great?"
"Just peachy."
A smile crept its way onto Daisy's face, the frown from early gone, and she said nothing, but her eyes held little mirth to complement it. Despite herself, Misty felt a similar smile grow. The two broke out into a quick laugh, but it was short-lived, replaced by an awkward quiet that said more than their words ever could.
The coffee mug now lay empty between the two.
No one moved.
The only sounds Misty heard were the refrigerator and the ticking of the clock, which now read half past three. A wave of fatigue suddenly hit her once she realized the time, but she dreaded the loneliness of her dark room and the possibility of falling into that same damn dream.
"It does get better right?" Misty found herself asking.
Daisy spared her the same smile from earlier and opened her mouth, but no words came out. No words of wisdom, nothing that inspired hope within Misty. Just a mere sigh. Her hesitation to answer was an answer in itself.
Despite herself, Misty repeated the question.
"It does. Maybe it takes some time, but it does get better, and we'll look back at this and smile."
No matter how hollow those words sounded to Misty, they were good enough for her. Hope was hope, even if it was false, and maybe it will come back to bite her, but that was a problem for the future. For now, she could smile at her sister to ease both their minds before Daisy would go off to sleep, maybe resting a bit easier knowing that she helped out Misty when she needed it.
But now Misty sat alone. Nothing to do but contemplate the storm of thoughts still swirling through her head.
It seemed as though her own cup of coffee was long overdue.
AN:
I don't know whether the beginning, middle, or end of the story is the hardest to write, but if it's anything as hard as writing a satisfactory start, I might never even finish this. Hell, this isn't even that satisfactory to me. It's 'finished' for now though, pending any rewrites that'll happen as I look back on this in disgust. Especially the ending to this chapter. It just doesn't feel like it flows well and ends abruptly. Also the dialogue between the two sisters felt a bit fake to me. Like it was more for exposition rather than a usual conversation, but c'est la vie. Que sera sera and all that.
Anyways, yea this is I guess an AU of sorts, where the legendaries are just more legendary than they are in canon, along with the gang never meeting any of them. So like none of the movies ever happened. As for ages, we'll say that Misty is like 18-19 and go from there, it's not the most important tidbit but some people care about it.
Feedback and all that is appreciated