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 2 of A Path of no Return by PerrinsAxe at PerrinsAxe@nandomail.com
If you haven't already, then I would suggest you read the Prologue and Part 1.
Anything between [] is an authors' note.
Anything in Bold Italic is a thought of a character
If speech marks are filled with bold writing then the character is not saying the words aloud, but as a thought into the mind of another. [I wish I could do that!]
As in most of my fics the ages are as follows:
Ash: 13
Misty: 14
Recap: Ash and Misty are heading toward Lavender when Officer Jenny offers to give them a ride to Saffron, less than half a day away from Lavender – cutting weeks of their journey. As Ash and Misty are heading to Lavender from Saffron they pass Pokemon Tower, home to the dreaded ghost pokemon, but find a Gastly in need. Saving the Gastly from its attackers, Ash and Misty discover that it may not survive the night without getting to the Pokemon Centre. Knowing this our heroes headed on toward Lavender in the thick of a sudden storm; things looked bad, then got worse as they got separated and Misty fell of a cliff in the confusion [talk about a –wait for it! –Cliffhanger!!]. Is this the end? Read on and find out.
A/N – Yet again more Pokedex readings; all are taken from the Gameboy and are not made up.
Without You?
Gone; she's gone. The only one that really mattered. I can't believe it; that suddenly she's not here anymore. No one to bicker with, to travel with…. to love. I was the one who dragged her into this; if it weren't for me she'd probably be safe in the Cerulean gym; if only I had of paid her back for that bike, then she would have left and this would never have happened.
The storm had died out; leaving a hazy fog around the air which even Charizards' light could not penetrate. Gastly had passed out under the strain of holding up a shield, and Pikachu was tending to it with damp eyes.
Strange; I thought I would be acting differently than this. Ash had always thought that if anything ever happened to Misty he would go crazy, but then realised that he was barely awake; recent events had really taken it out of him and the only thing that he could think of doing was sleeping. Misty had been his only reason for continuing; but even she was gone now.
Ash did not want to go to sleep; he knew that in the morning the full realisation of what had that night would come to him. The bone-aching fatigue he was feeling however caught up with him, and he drifted off into a cold and fitful sleep.
"I hate Lavender!" James squealed to Jessie as he was watching TV.
"What is it now?" She sighed.
"Jamesy boy here is worried dat one of those freak storms like last night will come and get him." Meowth mocked.
James turned to hurt Meowth but Jessie interrupted the both of them.
"There was another storm last night!?" She asked incredulously.
"Yeah; close to Pokemon Tower." James answered her.
"You know Jess; dat place with all the ghost pokemon." Meowth told her.
"I know what it is furball."
"There is a report on the news about it."
Jessie turned to look at the TV screen.
"- hit outside of Pokemon Tower just last night, adding to the belief that ghost pokemon are the cause of the recent strange events in Lavender Town. At the moment however it appears as if no one has been hurt.
"On other news…" It was at that point that Jessie turned of the television.
"How did we ever get ourselves into this?" Jessie sighed.
But James and Meowth did not know an answer either.
Professor Oak had something on his mind; like some thought eating away at the back of his head, just looking for the chance to be remembered. Ever since Ash and Misty had left, he had felt as if he had heard something about Ghost Pokemon once that might be useful to them.
As he thought more about this, Professor Oak was not paying attention to where he was walking and banged his leg against a table, which sent a Pokedex skittering to the ground. It landed facing upward with the flap open.
*Bing* The Pokedex sounded, obviously opening at a random archive.
"Haunter, a ghost/poison type pokemon. Because of its ability to slip through block walls it is said to be from another dimension."
With that Professor Oak ran to the phone in his office.
Ash woke up with the sun stinging his eyes. Charizard and Gastly were not present so Ash assumed that they must have returned to their pokeballs; Pikachu on the other hand lay beside him
"Misty…" Ash quietly sobbed
He wanted to scream, to hit the ground in frustration and loss; but could not summon the energy. He had just received a night's sleep, but was still emotionally drained.
"Pikapi?" (Ash?) Pikachu asked him questioningly while rubbing sleep filled eyes.
"Yeah Pikachu." Ash mumbled back.
"Pika Pikachu." (I'm sorry.)
"No Pikachu it wasn't your fault." It was mine.
Both human and pokemon gave way to an awkward silence, until Pikachu realised something.
"Pikapi!" (Ash!) It said in fright. "Pikachu, Pika, Pikachu!" (Mistys' pokemon!)
Ashs' head, which until then had been buried in his hands, shot up.
"That's right Pikachu; they were in their pokeballs. Maybe they are still OK."
Ash got up and put slung the shoulder strap of his backpack over his arm. He was eager to be off to check on Mistys' pokemon.
I can't let something happen to them as well. It would be as if I was failing her all over again.
"C'mon Pikachu!" Ash called as he rushed of.
"Pikachu!" (Wait up!)
Ash and Pikachu looked around for an easy way to reach the bottom of the Lavender cliffs, but to no avail. It turned out that the easiest way available was far from easy; the path was narrow, loose rocks were precariously positioned along the sides and the fall was almost as steep as the cliff face itself.
"Pikachu, pika, pikapi." (You can't go down that Ash.) Pikachu warned.
"I have to." Ash replied as he walked onward.
Pikachu grabbed Ash's leg and tried to pull him backwards.
"Pikachu, pi, pika, pika, pikachu, chu, pikachu." (It's not worth the risk, we'll find some other way down later. A few minutes aren't going to change anything.) It groaned as it struggled to pull Ash back.
"But what if they do? If Misty had have been safe for just a few more minutes then the storm wouldn't have died out and none of this would have happened." Ash shouted as he looked down to face Pikachu.
Ash then turned to look at the path ahead and then mumbled under his breath.
"I've already let her down once; I can't do it again."
"Pikachu, pika, pikapi!" (It wasn't your fault Ash!)
But Ash was undeterred as he continued down the precarious path.
Ash quietly wept to himself as he was walking, so as not to alert Pikachu who was continuing on from behind its trainer.
"Gen gen, Gengar?" (How is she?) The old Gengar asked.
"Haunter. Haunt haunter, haunter." (Still unconscious. But she believes she is dead.)
"Gengar, gengar, gen gengar." (She would be if it where not for you.)
"Haunt, haunter? Haunter haunt." (What of the other? High Elder Gengar.)
"Gengar. Gen, gengar." (He is approaching. We must meet him.) High Elder Gengar said as it disappeared from view.
I hope this boy is the one; for I feel nothing in the other. It just has to be him.
Ash had been afraid all the time during his descent; not for himself but that he would eventually find Mistys' broken body; cold and lifeless.
I don't know if I can take it. But I'll try; for Misty.
Pikachu and Ash gratefully reached the bottom and sate down to give their tired legs a rest. They both looked out over the water ahead.
"Where do you think they are Pikachu?"
"Pika, pikachu." (I don't know.)
After Ash had eaten a sandwich and Pikachu had drained a tomato ketchup sachet it had picked up from a restaurant, they continued around to the corner to where Ash believed Misty had landed. Steeling his heart for what he may see, Ash walked around the corner fully and looked at the base of the cliff. There was nothing.
"I guess this is going to take longer than we thought Pikachu."
"Pika." (Yeah.) It agreed solemnly.
Misty certainly did not want to be wakened up; she was having an altogether marvellous dream about Ash. They were at a dance; she was in a very nice white evening dress that seemed not just to hang on her frame but dance with the music as it swayed. Ash looked stunning in the tuxedo he was wearing, the black of his outfit accentuating his dark eyes.
I've often wondered what colour his eyes are closest to. Certainly not black, and brown is too dull; no, they're more like chocolate! Yeah, and everyone knows that chocolate is one of the nicest things in the world. Definitely chocolate.
Anyway, Ash and Misty had been dancing for what seemed like a few hours when they walked outside, so they could be alone together.
Ash sat on a wall, but to Misty the wall looked cold and uninviting, so she sat on Ashs lap instead. They were just about to kiss when the interruptions started. Misty felt herself being pulled out of her dream; as consciousness approached; she could hear the twitter of Pidgeys and smell the salty tang of sea air.
It's not FAIR!! She thought to herself. I never get to kiss him!
"Wake up" A voice spoke inter her mind
"No!" She replied rather sullenly.
The voice seemed taken aback.
"Now send me back to sleep before I wake up!" She demanded. However, the sheer ridiculousness of her words hit her as soon as they left her mouth. She already was awake.
"Thank you." The voice said obviously ignoring her most recent statement. Its' tone spoke of volumes of humour.
"Just what is so funny!?" What is this thing? Why is it talking to me? How is it talking to me?
"It's nothing." The voice replied; obviously still amused.
Then it hit Misty what the voice found so funny.
"You were PEAKING!? That's DISGUSTING!!!!" She screamed. "And couldn't you maybe have waited for just a minute?" She added almost as an afterthought.
"You need to get up now; someone is coming and we have to meet him."
"Ash!?" She spoke without thinking.
Once again the strange voice ignored her.
What happened last night? I fell of something. Surely this can't be real.
"What happened last night?" She asked "Didn't I fall of something?"
"Yes you fell from the cliff face to your right." The voice remarked without seeming concern.
"B.., but, but that means that I'm dead!" She wailed. "It can't be true! It just can't I didn't want to die! You have to send me back. You…"
"You are not dead." The voice interrupted.
"But you just said…"
"Falling will do you no harm." It stated. "Just as long as you don't hit the bottom at the end of the fall. I've noticed that humans don't tend to bounce very well."
Misty sat up silently taking in all this new information.
"Now hurry up so we can get moving."
"Wait a minute…"
I'll answer all your questions on the way; just hurry up." The voice sighed.
Misty got up; slung her backpack over her shoulder and took the dozing Togepi into her arms.
Ring, ring, ring. Telephone! Telephone! Ring, ring, ring.
Nurse Joy picked up the receiver and an unexpected face flashed on the monitor.
"Hello Professor Oak, this is Lavender City Pokemon Centre, Nurse Joy speaking. How may I help you?" She asked politely.
"Hello Nurse Joy; can I speak to Ash and Misty please; its rather urgent."
"I'm sorry Professor, but Ash and Misty are not here."
"They're not?" He seemed startled. "That is strange; Ash told me that he was heading for Lavender City Pokemon centre on the phone yesterday. They were coming from Saffron and should have reached you last night."
"Hadn't you heard Professor? There was a huge storm last night between Pokemon Tower and Lavender Town!"
"Oh no! They might have got caught in the storm! I'm coming down right away!"
Professor Oak went to put the receiver down.
"No wait Professor they might have seen the storm coming and stayed in Pokemon Tower, or maybe they just haven't reached the Pokemon Centre yet. Those two know how to take care of themselves. If they don't show up here in another few hours then I'll give you a call."
"OK. Thanks Nurse Joy." And with that Professor Oak hung up.
"So let me get this straight. I know that there was a storm last night; and I know that I fell of something. You're telling me that I fell of that cliff face; but I'm not dead because you caught me before I hit the ground."
"Yes." The voice replied.
"Then what are you? You've got to be more than a voice; otherwise you wouldn't have been able to stop me from falling.
Instead of answering her; the air around Misty grew darker and gathered together as a concentration of a dark gas. It ten took form as a large head and two hands that were not seemingly connected to the head.
Hey I remember that from the last time Ash battled Sabrina! That's a Haunter!
"Hey you're a Haunter!"
"That's quite amazing." The Haunter replied, its inwardly directed voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to tell me earlier?" She asked, rather annoyed that the ghost Pokemon seemed to pass everything of as a joke.
"I would have, but you gave me no time with all of your stupid questions."
Misty rather charitably let that one slide.
"So, who did you say we were going to meet?" She asked.
"Your 'friend'" Haunter said, placing a special emphasise on friend.
Under normal circumstances Misty would have badly hurt Haunter; but she was too preoccupied with meeting up with Ash.
"Hurry; we must catch up with High Elder Gengar."
They had searched for about 20 minutes and still found nothing. Ash was beginning to give up hope of finding anything.
Surely she must be around here.
The desperation of the search only added more troubled thoughts into Ashs' confused head. The sudden loss of Misty weighed heavily upon him and he believed that his mind was still partially numb to all that had happened in the past few hours; otherwise he wouldn't be in a fit state to do anything.
Pikachu had been quiet during their search, which suited Ash, as he wasn't in the mood for talking; but now it spoke up.
"Pikapi, pikachu pika!" (Ash there is something out there!).
"What is it Pikachu?"
"Pikachu?" (I don't know) It sounded nervous.
Ash hadn't seen anything but totally trusted Pikachu. If it said there was something out there; then there was definitely something out there.
"Do you think it might be Misty?"
"Pika pikachu, pi pika pikachu." (No, this is moving but I can't see it.)
Ashs' hand went instinctively to his waist and found Charizards' and Gastlys' Pokeballs. There wasn't anything alive that wouldn't be scared by Charizard in a rage; and Gastly might be able to tell him what exactly the threat was.
Tossing the Pokeballs into the air he called out Charizard and Gastly.
"Charizard be on your guard; there is something out there and we don't know what it is." Ash turned to Gastly. It really does look worn down. "I'm sorry; I know you're weak Gastly but can you tell me what's out there?"
Gastly turned from Ash and looked to the spot that Pikachu was staring at.
"Gastly! Gastly! Gastly!" It shouted
Rats! I wish I understood it.
Ash knelt down beside Pikachu.
"Do you know what its saying?"
"Pikachu, pika pi, pikachu." (It knows the other Pokemon and is calling out to it.)
Ash listened for a response.
"Gengar." Came the reply.
"Hey it's a Gengar! Come on out here Gengar; we're your friends." Ash shouted.
A dark patch appeared in the air a few metres from were Ash stood. The stain in the air gathered together as a concentration and took form as a Gengar. Gengar then floated over to Gastly and put its short hand on Gastly. When Gengar pulled its hand away Gastly no longer looked tired or worn down.
"Waa!" How did it do that!?"
Both Gastly and Gengar floated over to Ash so they were looking face to face. Now that Ash was closer he could see that the Gengar looked old; and that by Gastlys' position it respected the old Gengar very much.
It's probably the leader of the ghost Pokemon around here.
"You seem upset." Ash didn't know how but he did know that the Gengar was speaking into his mind.
"Yeah; you see it's my friend." I've got to be strong. I don't want to drop down and cry, but that's all I can think of doing. Maybe if I just say what happened I could get through this.
"She - she…well the storm last night..." Ash was trying to say what happened but each time his throat would swell up on him and he would come to the brink of tears.
"And she – well that is… Ahh the storm!" He wailed. "It took her away from me." Ash sobbed. "I tried I really did." Ash sniffed. "But I still couldn't help her."
The next thing Ash knew he was on his knees releasing what had been pent up inside of him; what had been eating at him from the inside. He then felt Pikachus' hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks Pikachu."
Gengar and Gastly spoke quietly to themselves so as not to disturb Ash.
"It is not him either. This confuses me; I have been following these two for a while; and now everything changes." Gengar said into Gastlys' mind.
"Where is the other? I think you will be surprised. For a while I did not understand it but now I do; if you bring her here you will see."
"She is already on her way; Haunter is bringing her to us."
"What of Shadow?" Gastly asked.
"Who knows? He does not answer to me, but fear not; he will be here. That I can guarantee."
"You must watch him; he will come only to gain his own revenge."
"Which is exactly what I offer him."
Misty was getting annoyed with the Haunter that floated just in front of her. The last Haunter she met – although fairly strange – was nice and funny at times. It would always try to be funny. It seemed that this Haunter was similar only in the fact that it tried to be funny; whereas the other Haunter had pulled faces and practical jokes, this one made smart comments and seemed to delight in making fun of her.
"High Elder Gengar and your friend are around the next bend."
Mistys' heart started pumping faster; but then it always did when she was close to Ash. She had decided on her way here that when she saw Ash she would calmly walk up to him; there was no need to make a fool of herself. Anyway; he will be so surprised to see me! It'll sure confuse him. She giggled wickedly.
The sight that met her however was not as she first pictured it. Gastly and Gengar where apparently talking to themselves but that is not what caught at Mistys' heart. Ash was on his knees; crying. He sounded devastated; as if he had no reason to hold back any more and he would just let it all out.
The previous plan went out the window when Misty started to run toward Ash. She saw Pikachu look up and wished she could have a picture of the look on its face; 'total shock' could not have described the half of it. Ash however did not look up; his face was still down turned. He doesn't know that I'm coming.
The distance between them seemed as nothing; and she covered it in what seemed an amazingly short time. Before she knew it she was entangled in Ashs' arms and holding him close to her.
"It's OK Ash. I'm here." She whispered soothingly into his ear.
"It's OK Ash. I'm here."
I must be dreaming. This can't be real; it's Misty, but she died.
Ash opened his eyes and the rest of his senses to the world around him. Enwrapped in a tight embrace Ash looked at first to the side and his eyes were met with Orange hair that seemed not to glow in the sun; but with an inner light of their own; just like Mistys' always had. Ash then looked down. This girl was wearing a yellow t-shirt with red suspenders; just like Misty always wore. Ash then buried his head into the girls' hair; the smell of her hair made him feel warm and slightly giddy. Just like Mistys always had.
Pulling away from the embrace he looked the girl in the face. Indeed, just as his heart had told him; it was Misty.
"Misty…" It was all he could say.
"I'm here; I promise I'll never leave your side again."
They once again hugged; this time even more fervently than before.
"I love you Misty." Ash whispered so as she wouldn't hear.
"What did you say Ash?" She asked.
"Oh, I just said that I was really worried about you."
The Satellite link with Saffron opened and the monitor on Giovannis' desk flicked on and gave its owner a look at the Saffron position. Giovanni picked up the handset and placed the speaker to his ear.
"What is it Cassidy; you know I don't like to be disturbed?"
Giovanni was silent for a moment while he listened to Cassidy on the other end.
"That bad? I'm coming down myself; and I'm bringing my own Pokemon with me; then nothing will be able to stop us! In the meantime however your main goal should be the Pokemon Centre; in a prolonged fight you would eventually lose because your pokemon would grow tired. Put everything you've got into getting control of the Pokemon Centre. I will be along shortly." With that Giovanni put down the receiver and gathered his pokeballs.
This is going to be fun.
Officer Jenny cautiously stalked down the ally with a Growlithe silently following at her heels. She was wary of any Rocket members that might try to take her by surprise. Team Rocket had been seriously underestimated; which is why Saffron was still under siege. Many believed that they simply did not have the strength for a full take over of a town as large as Saffron; that Saffron could be a trap to round up Team Rocket once and for all.
Original estimates predicted that a squad of police officers aided by the K-9 unit (A team of highly trained Growlithes) would be enough to eliminate the Rocket threat within a day or two.
If surprising their opponents had been a test; Team Rocket would have passed with flying colours. Intelligence had failed once again; as it turned out that Team Rocket had a very well organised and complicated hierarchy. The K-9 unit and its trainers had expected to meet a rag-tag group with rather mediocre Pokemon skills; and no firm leader. Instead they faced of against a highly skilled and disciplined group that would have wiped the floor with the K-9 unit if it were not for a timely evolution for one of the Growlithe. The Arcanine had given the rest time to retreat and regroup until it escaped also.
It feels like they are holding back; as if they've got more in reserve.
After the first humiliating defeat the police had recruited local Pokemon trainers as deputies; preferably anyone with Pokemon levels of over 50 and those who had Indigo League experience.
Some had viewed this as the last stand; the local pokemon trainers were the last desperate outcry from the police; and that it would make little difference in the end.
However this timely intervention from the trainers of Saffron brought the police forces from the brink and put them on a fairly even footing with Team Rocket.
One of the main equalisers had been the Pokemon Centre; and even though Team Rocket had more Pokemon and at higher levels, the Police had the Pokemon centre which more or less guaranteed quick rejuvenation for their pokemon.
Hearing a sound from behind her Officer Jenny quickly turned her head; and squinted her eyes to see what may be in the dark shadows behind her. But hearing nothing she passed it of as her nerves getting to her.
"Officer, Oh officer can you help us?" A cruel female voice mocked.
Officer Jenny turned around again but this time saw the outline of a figure standing in the shadows.
"Yes we seem to have some trouble." Another gruff voice said coming from her other side. They had her surrounded.
"You see we have just got some new Pokemon and we want to see how they would do in battle." The woman said.
"Who are you?" Officer Jenny asked.
"What's that you say? You'd be happy to help us!? Why that's very nice of you!" Both of the Rockets laughed.
"Since we're all such good friends here; my name is Cassidy, my friend over there is Butch; and you would be…wait its on the tip of my tongue…"
"HISTORY!" Both Cassidy and Butch laughed as they pulled out their pokeballs.
"Machamp go!" Butch shouted.
"Golduck go!" Cassidy said as she threw the pokeball.
Growlithe was trying to protect its trainer from both sides at once; and so was having to react to each feint the other pokemon made; in case they hurt its trainer.
"Growlithe use your Roar attack."
Growlithe opened its mouth and let out a deafening sound which echoed around the surrounding buildings; but at the end of the Roar attack Officer Jenny was surprised to hear Butch and Cassidy laughing."
"You think the whimpering of that little fire-pup is going to scare us!?" Butch asked, "Take this! Machamp Hyper Beam!"
Machamp stood unmoving for a moment but then let out an amazing incandescent beam of light, which headed straight toward Growlithe and Officer Jenny. Fortunately however it moved slowly enough to allow Growlithe and Officer Jenny to dive to safety.
Rubble was blown into the air as the Hyper Beam attack smashed ineffectually into the ground.
"Now Growlithe get it when it's weak! Use your flamethrower attack!"
However Officer Jenny did not know that Golduck and Cassidy stood right behind her.
"Ha! Now Golduck; use Ice Beam!"
A powerful ice attack was released and Officer Jenny felt a chill run down her spine as the beam narrowly missed her; but Growlithe was not nearly so lucky. The Ice Beam had hit Growlithe in the back; its sheer power demonstrated by the fact that Growlithe was completely frozen over.
No! It could die if I don't get it to the Pokemon Centre.
"Uh waiter?" Butch said in an overly stupid tone. "My hotdog is cold."
Both Butch and Cassidy laughed as they threateningly approached Officer Jenny who was still cradling the frozen Growlithe.
This news report just in. A ruthless Pokemon gang known as Team Rocket who use and steal pokemon for money has invaded Saffron City; Police are currently advising anyone near that area to stay away from Saffron City, as the Rockets are extremely dangerous.
In other news; later investigation of the evens outside of Lavender Town has uncovered evidence that a young couple may have been caught in the recent storm while journeying from Pokemon Tower. Police forces are said to be stretched thin but did say they would look into the possibility at the soonest convenience.
I have been Rosaline McMortimor, and this was the evening news. Good night.
What will happen to Officer Jenny now that Butch and Cassidy have her surrounded? Who or what is Shadow? Now that Misty has meet up with Ash, will she kiss him like she said? Just what are Jessie, James and Meowth up to? Will I get to introduce new characters? And what will become of Saffron City? Some of these questions will be answered on the next instalment of a Path of no return entitled: "A Path of no Return – Part 3 Explanations.
A note to WilliamKim07 who e-mailed me: I'm sorry I didn't e-mail back but each time I tried I got a message saying that your address wasn't recognised. If you'd still like to get in touch send me another e-mail address.