Disclaimer: Before we start I don't claim to own any of these characters because that would be stupid; they are most likely owned by Nintendo and 4Kids etc. I am just writing this for fun, no money is involved.
Part 1 of A Path of no Return by PerrinsAxe
Anything between [] is an authors' note.
Anything in Bold Italic is a thought of a character
As in most of my fics the ages are as follows:
Ash: 13
Misty: 14
Tracey: 16
Set in Ash's house after the Orange League
Recap: Ash, Misty and Tracey are relaxing at Ash's house when a call comes in from Professor Oak. It turns out that strange things have been happening in Lavender Town and Professor Oak wants Ash to find out what has been going on. So accompanied by Misty (Tracey stays behind to work beside Professor Oak) Ash journeys toward Lavender Town and a new adventure.
AN/ OK, there is a Pokedex reading in the following chapter. Just to let those of you who do not play Pokemon on the gameboy know that I did not make it up. It is the actual Pokedex excerpt from the gameboy.
A Gastly Encounter
Ash was being very careful around Misty; it was not often that they had travelled alone, and he did not want to ruin their time together.
At least when Brock or Tracey where here there was someone to separate us. But now I feel as if I have to walk on eggshells around Misty: just one wrong word and we could be fighting for hours.
The two had not been talking much since they left for Lavender; and in the silence Togepi had nodded of to sleep in Misty's arms.
"So what route are we taking to Lavender?" Misty asked, breaking the repressive silence.
"Oh, I thought that we would pass through Viridian, then Pewter, Cerulean, Saffron and then onto Lavender." Ash replied.
"Talk about a roundabout route." Misty sighed.
"Yeah, I know. But it's the only way doesn't mean that we have to find Lavender by compass; and last I checked neither of us were very good at that."
"Hmm, I suppose."
With that the conversation died; both the teens were nervous about being alone together. The only times they had been alone were very short and filled with arguments; neither wanted the past to repeat itself.
"Hey, I've just realised something." Ash commented.
"What?"
"Well, we haven't been seen Team Rocket [he does not mean the whole organisation, just the usual three] for a while. I wonder what happened to them."
"Yeah you're right. They must be up to something by now."
"Maybe their what's behind all the weird stuff in Lavender?"
"I don't know Ash. All they ever seem to be interested in is pokemon, especially Pikachu here."
"Pika" (Idiots) Pikachu replied.
"Anyway, I don't think that they would be able to stage something this big; I mean you heard what Professor Oak told us about what has been happening. It seems too subtle to come from those three clowns."
"Yeah, you're right Myst."
I Love it when he calls me that!
"But that's what worries me." Ash admitted.
"How do you mean?" Misty asked.
"Well if it was Team Rocket; we would know how to deal with the problem. We could just find where they are hiding and Pikachu could just blast them out of town."
"But since it can't be Team Rocket we don't know who – or what is behind it. It could be anything." Misty finished.
They were both silent until Ashs' midsection made an angry noise.
"Hey Misty its about lunch time do you want to stop and eat something?" Ash said blushing
"Yeah OK." Misty replied looking at her watch. "There's a nice shaded spot over by that tree." Misty said while pointing to an old Oak tree just beside the road.
Both Misty and Ash ran over to the tree and where glad to give their legs a break.
"Hey!" Ash shouted, as he looked onward. "Isn't that Viridian city up ahead?"
Misty looked up. "Yep, it looks like its only 10 minutes away. But we should get something to eat before we go any further."
"Pika!" (Agreed!)
Giovanni was annoyed. The recent low membership rates had left him understaffed. The Team Rocket Headquarters was almost empty. He had been planning overtaking Saffron city for a while now. Strategically it was very important to the growth of Team Rocket. Not only did it have big businesses, but it was also the hub for a number of other towns. Yes, Saffron will indeed be important.
The only problem that came with overtaking a city however was the sheer manpower it required. At that very moment many of Team Rockets members were currently situated in Saffron City, waiting for the right moment. Months of planning, finally coming to a head; Saffron city will be mine!
The only Team Rocket members who were not currently situated in Saffron where the ones on missions of equal importance; as well as 3 other members who were currently scrubbing dishes as punishment for another botched attempt at stealing a Pikachu from a mere child. There has to be some other option! Someone else to do this mission.
You see Giovanni was in a quandary. For the last few days he had received multiple reports from Lavender Town of strange goings on. Giovanni never liked being left in the dark about any particular subject; and recent events at Lavender had intrigued him. Unfortunately he did not have any Rocket members other than Jessie, James and Meowth to look into it for him. They'll blow it; like every other time. But do I have a choice?
Giving into necessity Giovanni pressed the intercom button on the Telephone in front of him. This would give him a direct link with the internal speakers in Team Rocket Headquarters.
"Jessie, James and Meowth report to my office immediately."
Letting go of the intercom button he sighed to himself. " I know I am going to regret this."
"Jessie, James and Meowth report to my office immediately."
James gulped. "What do you think he wants with us?"
"Do you think he found out?" Jessie asked worriedly while pealing of her rubber gloves.
"Lets hope not." Meowth added. "Anyway it wasn't really our fault. And Giovanni is an understanding guy."
"I don't think we're talking about the same person Meowth; if he has found out, we will be in serious trouble." James moaned.
They walked down the corridor leading to Giovanni's office in silence. When they finally reached Giovanni's' office Jessie slowly turned the gold handle, and slipped in as quietly as possible.
Giovanni looked up from some paperwork on his desk and levelled his full attention on the three. Giovanni did not have chairs for guests in his office; he said he preferred his guests to stand.
"Ah, Jessie, James and Meowth." He said while stroking a Persian beside him.
None of the three spoke. No one dared speak to Giovanni without first being asked a question.
"I have a mission for you three."
"Yes sir." They repeated, each breathing a sigh of relief.
"I want you to go to Lavender Town; I have had reports that some strange incidents have been happening there recently and I want you three to investigate it for me. When you find the cause of it – and you will find the cause – you will report back to me; make no attempt to either help or hinder it. In fact, don't go near it if you don't have to."
"Yes sir. We will leave right away. You can count on us to bring you reliable information about the cause of the strange events." Repeated the three simultaneously; each eager to be away from Giovanni.
"Just make sure you don't screw up again." Giovanni sighed as he turned toward the wall.
Ash could not help but stare at Misty as they rested
I just can't stop looking at her. She's so beautiful; how dare anyone ever call her scrawny! Maybe I should tell her that; so she knows. Yeah, I should tell her she looks nice. After all, it is possible to think someone looks pretty without feeling something for them…. Ha! Who am I kidding? I don't have the guts.
Pikachu was resting on Ashs' shoulder and licking away the last of his ketchup from the top of the bottle. Pikachu could always tell what Ash was thinking.
"Pikapi, pika." (Ash tell her) It whispered in his ear.
"I can't do that Pikachu; not right now. Maybe sometime later." Ash whispered back.
"Pika, pikachu." (It's always later) Pikachu mumbled.
Ash was gulping down the last of his sandwich as he heard a noise coming from behind them. Both he and Misty looked around their shoulders to locate the source of the noise.
"Hey whats that?" Ash asked.
"It sounds like a motorbike." Misty replied.
As the mysterious rider approached they could see that the cause of the noise was none other than Officer Jenny on a motorbike.
Officer Jenny stopped and pulled the bike up to park beside where Ash and Misty were eating.
"Hey, It's Ash and Misty right?" Officer Jenny asked.
"Yeah, how did you remember?" Ash asked.
"So far you've come to Viridian City two times. The first time you blew up the Pokemon centre, and the second time the Pokemon gym got destroyed."
"Oh yeah! I kind of forgot about those." Ash blushed.
"It almost seems like trouble follows you everywhere young man."
"Yeah I know." Ash smiled. "For the past two years she hasn't let me alone." He chuckled while looking over at Misty.
"Very funny." Misty replied sarcastically. Then turning to Officer Jenny she said, "Not so much trouble, more like Team Rocket."
"Well that might soon be coming to an end." Jenny replied.
"How's that?" Ash asked.
"I not really allowed to say; but reinforcements from Police forces are going to Saffron for a major bust. You see we got some information that Team Rocket was planning something big around those parts, so we are going to close in on them just before they get up to anything."
"So you're headed to Saffron right now?" Misty asked.
"Yes. The rest of my group has already left."
They were all silent for a moment until Officer Jenny finally noticed something.
"Oh, I'm so sorry; I didn't even realise I was interrupting something."
Both Ash and Misty blushed.
"Oh no, it's nothing like that officer, you see we are headed for Lavender and are just taking a break."
"Lavender?" Officer Jenny asked in surprise. "Haven't you kids heard of the strange things that have been going on there recently?"
"Yeah; Professor Oak sent us to check it out for him." Ash replied.
"Oh well, if Professor Oak thinks you can get to the bottom of it, then I'll think so too."
"Thanks."
"Hey I tell you what. Lavender is quite a journey from here; I could give you a ride to Saffron if you wanted; Lavender Town is less than a day away from Saffron City."
"You would!? That would be great!" Misty almost shouted. "Come on Ash! Hurry up." Misty said while cramming the rest of her lunch into her backpack and gathering Togepi in her arms.
[OK people; things get a little close here but don't go getting excited on me. This is a PG rating!] Ash got into the sidecar first and opened his legs, letting Misty sit between them with her back to him. Ash then wrapped his arms around Mistys' waist to stop her bumping about on the ride. [I couldn't get more innuendo into that if I tried!]
"Come on in Pikachu."
Pikachu jumped onto Mistys' lap beside Togepi.
"Are we all buckled in?" Officer Jenny asked.
Misty felt a warm bubble inside of her as soon as Ash put his arms around her.
"Yep." Both Ash and Misty replied.
With that Officer Jenny put her foot to the floor and sped of on journey to Saffron City.
Meanwhile Team Rocket where also journeying toward Lavender Town on their customary Meowth blimp.
"I wonder what's been happening at Lavender to get the boss interested in it."
"Who cares what's been happening James, as long as we stay out of its way. We just go to Lavender and check in at a hotel until all of this is over with." Jessie replied.
"Dats a very brave attitude there Jess." Meowth told her sarcastically.
"I mean it you little furball! My hairdresser told me to stay away from stressful situations."
"Why is that Jessie?" James asked her.
"He told me; that…oh!" she sobbed, "He told me that stress can make your hair fall out!!"
"Oh No! You don't think it would happen to me too?" James asked, his hand going instinctively up to his precious hair.
Meowth jumped up and scratched at their faces.
"Shut up the both of you! You know dat we have to act as if nothing is different. We are going to complete this mission." Meowth snapped at them. "Now we better start preparing for what we are going to do. Lavender is only a few hours away."
The traffic in Saffron was surprisingly light, so Ash, Misty and Officer Jenny where able to make good time through Saffron city towards the Pokemon centre.
"This is our stop." Ash said as Officer Jenny pulled up to the Pokemon centre.
"Thanks for the ride Officer Jenny."
"Oh that's OK Misty; any time for you two."
Pikachu jumped from Mistys' lap onto the ground. Misty then lifted Togepi and set it down on the ground beside Pikachu.
"It's been nice seeing you kids." Officer Jenny said as Ash and Misty finished getting out of the sidecar. "Good luck." She then pulled away and drove of.
"Ahh." Ash groaned. "I think my but has gone numb."
Misty decided on a bit of boldness.
"Maybe you want me to massage it better for you!" She giggled
"Pika, pikachu!" (Yeah go Ash!)
"Togy togepri?" (What's a but?)
[Pikachu is the only one who can understand togepi] Pikachu suddenly fell down at Togepris' remark.
Ash blushed and looked at the ground "Very funny Myst." He told her sarcastically.
"I'm glad you liked it." She replied.
Silence ensued.
"Misty, what time is it?" Ash asked her.
"It's five to three." She replied
"Maybe if we hurry we can get to Lavender by tonight, it's only a few hours away."
"Why are you so eager to get away from here?" She asked him.
"Well, with all the trouble from Team Rocket, I just don't want us to somehow end up getting caught in the middle."
"I guess you're right." She admitted.
Ash midsection again made an angry noise, not unlike to the noise it had made earlier.
Ash put his hand behind his head and turned to Misty.
"Of course we should stop at the Pokemon centre while we are here. You know and call Professor Oak." Ash said. "And maybe we could get something to eat." He mumbled out at the end.
Misty just stared at him.
"You do know what they say about travelling on an empty stomach." Ash defended then walked of toward the Pokemon centre.
"No Ash, what do they say?"
"They say that… it; uh." Ash stuttered, apparently not knowing either. "They say that it isn't good for you." He concluded feebly.
Misty just stared at him some more but could no longer hold it in. She burst out laughing.
What's happening? I thought she was going to hit me; then she just starts laughing!
When Misty had finally recovered from her 'fit of the giggles' she walked up to Ash and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Ash," She started looking into his eyes. "If you want to stop to eat just say so."
He was about to reply when his stomach made another noise.
"Impatient isn't it?" Misty asked him.
Ash just laughed.
A Gastly, Haunter and an old Gengar gather around to talk.
"Gassstly, gas?" (Is he coming?)
"Gen, gengar, gar, gengar." (He is coming; indeed he will be here soon.)
They were silent for a few moments.
"Haunter, haunt, haunter?" (What if he cannot do it?)
Another Gengar entered; this one younger than the first.
Gengar, gen, gen, gar, gengar." (Then I will take care of it) The younger Gengar said.
"Gaasstly, tly, gas, gastly! Gas, gastly, gastly! Gaasstly, gas, gastly!" (We all know what you plan to do! The loss is too much! You must not do that!)
"Gengar, gen?" (Would you prefer the alternative?) The older Gengar replied.
"Haunter, haunter, haunt, haunter." (What must be done, will be done.) It said regretfully.
They were all silent for a moment.
"Haunt, haunter, haunt." (Humans are becoming more frantic.)
"Gas, gastly, gastly, gas." (Do not blame them, they do not understand.)
The Haunter looked up at the sky; it looked perfectly clear.
"Haunter, haunt?" (Will there be one tonight?)
"Gen, gengar, gengar, gar, gen." (The worst so far.) The older Gengar replied.
"Gastly, gas, gastly." (I will go out to meet him.)
The remaining three-ghost pokemon sighed; each dreading the inevitable. One question was present in each of their minds: 'How can a boy stop this thing'
Everything at the Pokemon centre had gone as planned. Ash had called Professor Oak and told him that due to some unexpected help they were now going to be in Lavender that night. Nurse Joy had of course also given them something to eat much to Ash's delight. Ash and Misty were walking together on the road to Lavender, but unlike earlier in the day, they were not silent and afraid of each other; instead they were having a good time reminiscing about the past.
"Remember how Brock always used to fall for almost every pretty girl he met." Misty giggled.
"Almost!?" Ash laughed.
"Well yes! He didn't go gaga over me did he?"
"No, I guess you're right." Ash concluded.
Misty silently gasped. "Ash, do you realise that you just admitted that you think I'm pretty?"
"I did!?" He asked surprised. "Hey, that's no fair you tricked me!"
"You still haven't denied it Ash." She said still smiling.
"I guess not."
Ashs' insides were doing back flips; he couldn't believe that admitting to Misty that he thought she was pretty could feel so good. Strange, it's as if there is a huge weight of my mind.
He thinks I'm pretty!
Misty looked over at Ash, his face was down turned, and he was of a distinct scarlet colour.
"I think you're kinda cute too Ash." She said almost silently.
Ash looked up at her, they were now both blushing furiously.
It's time to tell her. He inwardly pushed himself. No; later. Telling her you think she is pretty is enough for one day.
Deciding to change the subject Ash said: "Do you remember the last time we went to Pokemon Tower?"
"How could I forget it? You almost died."
"Actually I did; for a while. But everything turned out OK."
"We should be coming across Pokemon Tower quite soon. We'll see it before we get to Lavender. Do you think we should have a look around there?"
"Not yet. I think we should concentrate on getting to Lavender and finding a hotel for the night. We can deal with Pokemon Tower tomorrow."
"I was hoping you would say that." Misty said relieved.
"Hey, speaking of Pokemon Tower; there it is." Ash pointed.
"There are some people down there. I wonder what they are doing."
"Lets go find out." Ash told her as he started to run toward them.
"Wait up Ash." Misty shouted as she ran of after him.
When Ash and Misty arrived they saw four Pokemon trainers attacking a wild ghost pokemon. The Gastly appeared to do nothing to defend itself, even though it was being badly injured.
"Hey stop that!" Ash shouted
"Yeah! What did this Gastly ever do to you?" Misty followed.
"Mind your own business you little squirts." The biggest trainer said.
"Who are you to come here and tell us what to do?" Another female trainer said.
"These ghost pokemon are the reason behind all the strange things that have been happening around here."
"So we decided to stop them."
"So you just take the law into your own hands?! That's despicable!" Misty shouted.
"No real pokemon trainer would ever do something like that!" Ash told them.
"Ha! You've got it all wrong kid. We'll show you what a real pokemon trainer can do. Dugtrio, Marowak, Drowzee, Abra; get those kids." He ordered the four pokemon who broke of from their attack on the Gastly to face Ash, Misty, Pikachu and Togepi.
Dugtrio and Marowak dug straight underground.
"Ash we have to get up into the air!"
"Yeah, right. Charizard go!"
The familiar red beam of light shot out of the pokeball and took on the shape of Charizard who had only fairly recently started to obey Ash. Ash and Misty ran over to Charizard and got on it's back.
"Charizard take us into the air!" Ash commanded it.
Charizard and its' passengers soared up into the air out of the reach of Dugtrio and Marowak.
"Aha! I've got an idea." Ash said.
Reaching behind his back to his belt; Ash pulled out a pokeball and threw it toward were he and Misty had been standing.
"Snorlax go!"
Just as Snorlax materialised on the ground Dugtrio and Marowak concluded their underground attack and pushed out of the ground where Ash and Misty had been standing. Dugtrio and Marowak were expecting only two kids, but instead of that they got the full weight of Snorlax bearing down upon them, and instead of injuring the target, they only injured themselves. Snorlax felt something uncomfortable underneath it and got up to take a look. It found an unconscious Marowak and a dazed Dugtrio.
"Marowak return." Yelled one of the trainers.
"Dugtrio use your Hyper Beam on those brats!" Another yelled.
"Charizard dive!"
As Charizard made another high-speed manoeuvre Misty flung her arms about Ashs' waist and clung on for dear life. The Hyper Beam from Dugtrio shot high.
"Misty; fire attacks aren't good against ground types. Call out one of your pokemon."
"You're right. Staryu go! Attack that Dugtrio with your water gun!"
An exhausted Dugtrio and its trainer noticed the attack, but it was to late as Staryus' jet of water knocked Dugtrio unconscious.
"Ha ha! Looks like your Dugtrio's all washed up!" Misty shouted down.
"Dugtrio return."
"Snorlax, use your Body Slam on the Abra and Drowzee!"
"Staryu, help it out with a spinning tackle!"
Snorlax and Staryu started forward on their attacks against the two psychic pokemon.
"Ha! Don't you know that brute power won't work against Abra and Drowzee? Let me show you. Abra, Drowzee use a combined confusion attack!"
Snorlax and Staryu suddenly stopped moving, as a blue nimbus surrounded them. Then just as suddenly, they shot of in the opposite direction from which they came; and crashed down to earth a few yards away.
Ash reached behind his back and pulled out another pokeball.
"Pidgeot go! Pikachu get onto to Pidgeots' back."
Pikachu leaded down from Ashs' shoulder onto Pidgeot.
"Pidgeot use your quick attack!"
Pidgeot and Pikachu shot of toward the Abra and Drowzee; neither of the pokemon even seen them coming. The quick attack had weakened both of them.
One of the trainers looked up at the Pidgeot and noticed something strange. Where's the Pikachu? Looking back at Abra and Drowzee he could see that Pikachu had hoped onto the ground behind the two psychics.
"Now Pikachu give them all you've got!"
"Piikaachuuuuu!!" It screamed as it let of a massive thunderbolt attack.
Both Abra and Drowzee had been knocked out for the count by Pikachus' electric attack; and were lying on the ground until their respective trainers called them back.
"Do you think beating us will be that easy!?" The bigger trainer spoke up.
"Hey man do you want to take a look around?" Ash mocked.
The trainer looked around and a look of worry descended upon his face.
"It seems you're all alone." Misty laughed.
"I think you're friends got the right idea and took off."
"Now why don't you do the same."
"Grr, I'll get you for this!" He shouted as he ran of.
"We did it Misty!"
"Yeah, we sure did! But what about that Gastly? I hope it's alright."
"Charizard take us down."
When Charizard touched down on the ground Misty and Ash climbed of its back.
"That was a great job Charbuddy." Ash said as he called Charizard back into its pokeball.
"Pikachu." Misty called.
"Where are you Pikachu!?" Ash shouted.
When they heard a 'Pika' for a response they ran over to where it came from. Apparently Pikachu had already found the Gastly and was currently sitting beside it.
"Ash it's in pretty bad shape."
"Pika, pikachu, pikapi?" (Is there anything you can do?)
Misty felt a wriggling in her backpack and suddenly remembered that Togepi was still in there from when she had hidden it in her bag during the fight. Taking the backpack of her shoulder she let out Togepi who immediately waddled over to the injured Gastly. While her backpack was open she also saw a Super Potion she had bought a few weeks back.
"Hey Ash. Would this Super Potion do it any good?" Misty asked.
"It might; though I've never used one on a ghost pokemon. It's worth a try."
Misty sprayed the super potion onto the Gastly. Much to their relief, its injuries suddenly did not look as serious.
"Hmm," Ash said while reaching into his pocket. "I wonder what Dexter says about Gastly."
Pulling out his Pokedex and removing the flap he directed the sensor toward Gastly.
"Gastly, a Ghost/Poison type pokemon. Almost invisible, this gaseous Pokemon cloaks the target and puts it to sleep without notice."
"I hope it'll be alright."
"Mmm." Ash replied.
The attack from humans and their pokemon came as a complete surprise to Gastly. He had been waiting for the one human that the High Elder Gengar had spoken of. Gastly had thought that it might be in the group of four humans, but as they got closer he realised that the human was not in that group. His hopes dashed he turned away expecting them to pass. The next thing he knew he was under attack, four other pokemon were attacking him. Gastly prepared to defend itself but the words of High Elder Gengar came back to him.
"Do not fight the humans; for any reason."
Trying to reason with the pokemon also proved fruitless, as they were completely loyal to their trainers. Gastly had almost given up hope when more two humans arrived. Not more. Gastly then lost consciousness.
It woke up again as the center of attention for 2 latecomers. Worried about what they would do to him next, he started to try and move away from them. But his aching fatigue kept him back.
"Woah. You can't rush yourself like that you're very weak." One of them with a Pikachu on its shoulder told him.
"It's almost as if it's scared of us."
"Wouldn't you be after what its been through."
The human with the Pikachu on its shoulder turned its head from the other human to him.
"Hi, I'm Ash and the annoying one here is called Misty." Ash said jokingly.
"Ash, if there wasn't a sick pokemon here I would hurt you so bad."
"I'm not sure if it would do any good." Ash laughed. "I think I'm developing an immunity toward mallet blows to the head."
"Maybe I should test that."
"Ahh!" Ash put his hand behind his head. "I don't think you need to do that Misty!"
"Pika! Pikachu, pika!" (Hey you two.) Pikachu scolded.
Now assured that the humans would do him no harm Gastly started to pay more attention to them. Ash and Misty were definitely the ones that High Elder Gengar had spoken off. The feeling he was getting of them was unmistakeable, although there was still something strange about it. The feeling seemed to fluctuate without any apparent cause. Gastly examined them more closely in the hope of finding the cause of this anomaly. [The last few lines were very Star Trekky, eh?]
"We've got to get Gastly to a Pokemon centre."
"But Ash it's getting dark."
"Sure Lavender isn't that far away."
"Have you forgotten about all the cliffs in this area Ash! Or what about the freak storms. 35 degrees or not Ash I don't want to be caught in the middle of one of them!" Misty shouted.
"Misty, if we don't get Gastly some help then it might not make it through the night!"
"Do you really think its that bad?" She asked; all hints of previous anger had disappeared.
"I don't know for sure." Ash hung his head. "I just wish I could help more."
They were both silent until Misty picked up her bag and swung it around her shoulder."
"Where are you going Misty?" Ash asked
"You're right Ash. I don't want to risk the chance of a pokemon losing its life just because it was a little dark out." She put her hand on his shoulder.
Gastly had been in a state of semi-consciousness the whole time; but that single touch had made the feeling from the two increase dramatically. His interest aroused, Gastly fully merged with the world of the conscious and looked at Ash and Misty. But Misty withdrew her hand from Ashs' shoulder and suddenly they went back to normal. Just the way they were when Gastly had first seen them. Just my tired mind playing tricks on me.
Misty was worried. They had only been walking for 10 minutes and Lavender was still another 20 away; however the conditions where deteriorating rapidly. The light had faded as night set in, and all warmth from the air had gone, replaced by an icy chill; but the conditions were still calm.
Ash had found it difficult to carry Gastly in his arms because it kept drifting away. The only place where it was possible to carry Gastly was in the pokeball. Though he promised Gastly that he would be let free again when he got better.
"Haunt, haunter?!" (Where are they?!) Haunter asked in a worried tone.
"Gengar, gen, gengar." (Gastly said he would meet them.) The Old Gengar replied.
"Gen, gengar, gar, gengar." (If something has happened this world is doomed.) The younger Gengar added in a deathly voice.
"Haunter, haunt! Haunt, haunter, ter." (Gastly was right! You seem all to eager to do your bit.)
"Gengar." (Revenge.) It shrugged.
"Haunter, haunt?" (You said there was one coming tonight?) Haunter asked the Old Gengar.
"Gengar." (The worst.) It replied.
"Haunt, haunter, haunt." (Then I must go and check on them.) Haunter said while heading for the humans.
It came quickly and with no warning, the previously calm sky opened up on them. Ash and Misty were forced to walk into a blinding rain with a terrible wind behind it. Darkness enshrouded everything, like an impermeable layer over life; as if the darkness was an entity itself, and not just the simple case of a lack of light.
"Ash I can't see you!"
"I'm right in front of you Misty! Just grab my hand!" He shouted back to her.
A sudden blast of lightning momentarily lit up the area letting Misty look at Ash. He seemed worn, his hat was drenched and his clothes just hung on him I probably look just as bad; then she realised something was missing.
"Ash where's Pikachu?" She shouted. They both had to shout otherwise they wouldn't be heard over the wind.
"We agreed it would be easier to get to Lavender in one piece if he went in his pokeball."
"Oh." Misty said relieved.
They were both silently walking against the wind and rain, which now seemed to be turning to hail.
"Don't worry Misty, we're nearly at Lavender."
"Ash, we don't even know if we're going in the right direction!"
"That's not my fault! I can't see a thing!"
"If only we had some light."
"Aha! I could call out Charizard. He'd be able to light the place up for us."
"Ash don't be dense! What do you think all this water would do to Charizard?"
"Oh. I forgot about that."
"So what's the plan?" Misty asked him.
"I think we should keep on going, it doesn't matter what the direction is as long as we keep moving."
"I agree. I don't think we would last the night out here. We have to try and find someway out of the storm." She shivered
Ash and Misty trekked onwards into the face of the storm; occasionally they would stumble on an unseen rock or tree branch.
"Ash we must have gone of track. All this stuff wouldn't be lying around on the road."
"Yeah." He was about to turn around and face Misty when a sudden gust of wind pushed him backwards. Worried about taking her with him Ash let go of Misty and fell backwards; banging his head on a rock.
It was pitch dark and neither could see the other; the onslaught of the rain had stopped, but a hazy mist covered the area, reducing visibility even further.
"Ash! Oh Ash where are you?"
Not hearing any response she started to walk toward where she remembered Ash last, but found nothing.
Ash I hope you're all right. I don't know what I'd do without you.
Misty started to become worried. She had no idea where Ash was and couldn't just leave him out in the storm; but it was very unlikely that she would find him by searching aimlessly; which was currently the only method available to her.
She continued on with her search through the storm. Misty was not going to give up on Ash.
Haunter could feel it coming only minutes beforehand; the kids on the other hand would have been taken completely by surprise. Dread seeped into Haunters' very soul; as the only chance they had rested inside that storm. Before plunging in, it looked over the area. There where two kids inside the storm; and no way to tell which one High Elder Gengar had spoken of, the only way to be sure was to get to both of them, which would prove an immensely difficult task.
Ash woke up to a pounding headache and a howling pokemon.
"Gaaaassssstly!" It screamed.
"What are you doing?" Ash asked groggily; then suddenly realised. It was calm; the storm had stopped. Ash lifted his head up and looked around; it was still dark, the rain had obviously started again while he was out and he could hear the howling of the wind, but could feel none of it. It suddenly dawned on Ash that Gastly was protecting him from the storm. The protected area seemed to be quite large; large enough anyway to hold Charizard. So Ash reached to his belt and pulled out Charizards' pokeball.
"Charizard go!"
When Charizard materialised it looked warily at the storm, which seemed to be coming in all from all directions. Then Charizard pulled its tail in front of its body and put the flame under the cover of its wings.
"Don't worry about it Charizard; Gastly here is holding the storm off us. I need you to be as bright as you can so that we can see where we are going."
"Char." It growled as the flame on its tail doubled in size.
"Thanks. Isn't this great Misty? Now we can finally get out of here."
He heard no reply.
"Misty?" Ash turned around looking in all directions; but no matter which way he looked she was nowhere to be seen.
"MISTY!!" He called at the top of his lungs. But still he got no reply
"We have to find her! Gastly are you able to move while keeping this up?" Ash asked now panicking
"Gastly." It nodded although it sounded strained.
"OK then lets go."
The rain had seeped through her clothes and seemingly into her bones as well, as the cold made her shiver. Misty had looked all over for Ash, but to no avail. Repeatedly calling out his name had made her throat hoarse and yet she wanted to shout more, even though she knew it wouldn't do any good; as the wind could carry her voice miles away from Ash.
Over the past few minutes Misty had gone through a wide range of emotions; at first there was fear for herself, then for Ash. After that there was regret for not telling Ash all the things she felt and thought about him, for not taking the chance and diving of the deep end; now she might never get to tell him how the very sight of him in the morning could fill her with optimistic hope for the rest of the day; no matter what the circumstances. Even the storm hadn't been so bad; at least until Ash was gone.
But now however Misty was angry; partially at herself, and partially at Ash for being so brave and determined and all the things that had made her fall in love with him. But she was mostly angry at the world, at the world that gave her love on one hand, and pulled him away with another. A cruel mocking world which would split them apart if it had its way.
NO! I'm not going to let it win! First I'm going to find Ash, and when I do, I'm going to hit him and then kiss him! Just you wait and see.
Misty was muttering angrily not paying anymore heed to the storm, but in her irritated state she did not notice the salty tang in the air increasing.
They had been wandering aimlessly for about 10 minutes, but had still not found any trace of Misty. Gastly was visibly weakening and Ash was wondering how much longer the exhausted ghost pokemon could continue its efforts.
Hopelessness was starting to take over as he realised that Misty might be in trouble and he could do nothing to help her; tears ran down Ashs' cheeks and as always when that happens his nose started to run. With the back of his hand Ash rubbed at his eyes and made a sniffling sound; just catching at the salty tang in the air.
I must be getting close to the cliffs. Best to back away from here before something else happens.
Ash turned around and was about to walk in the opposite direction when he suddenly heard someone screaming in terror from the direction in which he had been walking.
"AAHHHHH; ASH!!"
Misty!
Left, right, left, right…… It was the only thing that kept Misty going; the routine of putting one foot in front of the other, not caring where she went; just as long as she got there. But little did she know that her meandering steps would only take her one-way.
"AAHHHHH; ASH!!" She screamed as the ground disappeared from under her feet.
The inexorable plunge downward had begun and before Misty even had the chance to close her eyes the darkness overtook her as she gave into what must have been death.
Ash could hear Mistys' heartbreaking scream as she plunged downward, and immediately ran of toward the source of the noise. But Charizard easily glided in front of Ash and blocked his path, not allowing its trainer to endanger his life.
Pikachu apparently had let itself out of its Pokeball as it walked over beside Charizard with tears in its eyes; none the less it still remained as firm as Charizard and would not let Ash past.
Ash ran straight at them, as if hoping to squeeze past but they became entangled in a rough embrace as Charizard held Ash in place, but carefully as not to hurt the grief stricken boy. Ash struggled against them until the scream stopped; it echoed around the cliffs for a moment until all was silent again. The scream marked a significant punctuation mark in Ashs' life; the full stop as his life crashed down around him, like the few remaining drops of rain from the storm which had finally blown itself out.
It got what it came for. Ash thought cynically.
Is this the end? ….. Not a chance! Just how exactly do I plan to write an AAMRN if Misty is dead? What is the story behind the Gengar looking for revenge? And will Ash be able to help the ghost pokemon? All questions answered in the next episode of Dragonba – sorry the next instalment of a 'Path of no Return?'
A/N OK; I'm sorry this took longer to write than I said it would, but I have revamped the story line as I do not like handing out pieces of bit meal. What you have just read was originally going to be written over three parts but I decided to merge them all together which is why it took me longer. Also I will be introducing some new characters in the next part, I'm not sure how many as yet, but I am open to suggestions; if you want to be a character, or know of an idea just tell me about it in a review and I'll consider adding it. (Remember to include name, pokemon, description, etc.)
Any comments? Or you just want to get in contact? If so then my e-mail address is PerrinsAxe@nandomail.com