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 3 of A Path of no Return by PerrinsAxe at PerrinsAxe@nandomail.com
If you haven't already, then I would strongly suggest you read the Prologue, Part 1 and Part 2.
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 [almost 14]
Misty: 14
Recap: After the storm had passed Ash had thought Misty gone forever; as she had fallen of the cliff face. But later discovered that Misty had been saved by Haunter; a ghost pokemon. Now Ash and Misty are back together again the ghost pokemon prepare to tell them what they must do. Meanwhile in Saffron the police seriously underestimated Team Rocket and the city is under siege. The K-9 unit was overrun and the police now relies on local pokemon trainers to battle Team Rocket. Officer Jenny and a Growlithe were searching the area when Butch and Cassidy surrounded them. A battle ensued which ended up with Growlithe being turned into an ice cube because of Golducks Ice Beam attack. Is this the end for one of the many Officer Jenny!? [I'm a poet and didn't noet! HaHaHa!]
AN/ All Pokedex readings are taken from the Gameboy game.
Explanations
"HaHa! Now Machamp use your submission attack on that weakling police officer!"
Officer Jenny could just watch as the Machamp got closer and closer with each step. Its feet made a crunching sound against the rubble the earlier Hyper Beam attack had made.
When it stood directly in front of Officer Jenny it reached out for her with its two lower arms. Just then however, as if blown in by the wind; a blackish mist enshrouded the Machamp causing it to fall asleep.
What could have done that? Officer Jenny thought relieved.
But the Mist did not stop there; it then moved onto the frozen Growlithe, which still lay in Officer Jennys' arms. Afraid that it would put her to sleep as well Officer Jenny slowly backed away from it, leaving the Growlithe. The black stain in the air then totally covered the Growlithe so that it was no longer possible to see it; the mist concentrated around the Growlithe making a shade of total jet black.
Butch and Cassidy both watched dumbstruck as this force moved in and disrupted their plans; neither could move or say a word.
"What is it?" Officer Jenny asked.
But she got no reply.
When the mist had finally finished it moved away from the Growlithe and floated a few feet up into the air; so that it was level with Officer Jennys eyeline.
"Now's the time to show them what you really are!" A young woman's voice shouted from above them.
The mist seemed to become even more concentrated and gradually took form as a floating head and two hands.
"Is that a Haunter?" Officer Jenny asked.
"Teleportation!" The young woman shouted.
Suddenly a young woman with long black hair and a stern look on her face appeared in front of Officer Jenny.
"Who are you?" Officer Jenny asked startled.
"I'm Sabrina the local gym leader. I'll explain more later but you've got to take Growlithe and I'll get you out of here."
"Uh, thanks." Officer Jenny looked towards Growlithe. "Hey! It's not frozen anymore."
"Thanks to Haunter here." Sabrina replied.
"Grr, I'm not going to let you get away with this!" Cassidy shouted. "Golduck freeze them all now!"
Golduck stepped forward and prepared to use another Ice Beam attack.
"Kadabra, Disable!" Sabrina said calmly.
Just as Sabrina had done a few moments beforehand; Kadabra appeared out of thin air and surrounded itself and the Golduck in a strange blue coloured nimbus. Officer Joy waited with baited breath to see if Golduck would release its attack; but it just stood there not moving at all.
"Good work Kadabra. Officer Jenny, why don't you pick up your Growlithe so we can get going?"
"Oh, OK." Officer Jenny knelt down and gently picked up the still unconscious Growlithe from the ground.
"Butch do something; we can't just let them get away!"
"Our pokemon may be down; but we're not, lets get'em ourselves!"
Butch and Cassidy both started to run towards Officer Jenny and Sabrina; but Sabrina was too fast for them.
"Teleportation!" Sabrina shouted once again; this time bringing herself, Officer Jenny and all of the Pokemon out of danger.
Pikachu and Togepi were dancing around; Pikachu because it was happy to see Misty alive and Togepi because it was too young to know any better.
Ash and Misty had released one another from the tight embrace; but did not lose contact; Ash was still in a state of some disbelief and holding Mistys hand took that disbelief away; it made him feel secure. And of course they would both take any excuse they could get to remain in contact with each other; even though they wouldn't admit it.
Misty smiled and looked at Ash. "Do you think we should interrupt them?" She asked referring to Gastly, Haunter and Gengar who were seemingly engaged in some kind of conversation that neither Ash nor Misty could hear.
"Yeah; I don't know about you, but I think they know something about what's been happening around here."
Ash and Misty walked hand in hand up to the three ghost Pokemon.
"Indeed that is surprising; yet it should not be." High Elder Gengar remarked
"Then the both of them are required for this?" Haunter asked.
"Yes when they are apart it fades to nothing; but when they touch…" Gastly answered.
Gastly noticed Ash and Misty approaching and turned to face them; the other ghost pokemon noticed this and did likewise.
"Ash, Misty. Gastly has told me of your deeds in saving it from its attackers." High Elder Gengar said.
"Ahh that was nothing." Ash replied. "Uhh, how exactly are you doing that?" He asked referring to how the Gengar was communicating with him.
"All ghost pokemon have psychic abilities; all I am doing is thinking into your mind." Gengar passed it of as if it was nothing. " As I was saying; you risked yourselves to save another. That is a very brave thing to do. We must repay you in some way; as proof of our gratitude. If there is anything you desire just ask me and I'll see what I can do."
Ash whispered in Mistys ear; after a moment she nodded her head.
"Well there is something; you see we were sent to Lavender by Professor Oak to investigate all the strange things that have been happening around here lately. If there is anything that you could tell us that might help then that would be really great."
"I am afraid Ash that you will have to do more than investigate it."
"What do you mean?" Both Ash and Misty asked.
"Our meeting was not one of chance. I have been following you two for quite a while; in fact as soon as this particular trouble presented itself I searched this world and others for those that had the ability to stop it. You two were the only candidates I could find."
"Us!? Why us?" Ash and Misty asked.
"We are not sure; but even now we can feel the power within you. The ability is definitely there."
"Wait; what is it exactly that we have to stop?" Misty asked.
"Not much is known about it; but Shadow knows details of its creation."
"Shadow?" Ash asked.
A black mist whipped around Ash and Misty; then finally stopped moving as it formed itself into the shape of a Gengar.
"I am Shadow." The Gengar said.
"But you look like a Gengar." Ash remarked.
"I was not always a wild Pokemon; I once had a trainer and she nicknamed me Shadow. I rather like it so I still use it."
"OK then, what do you know about this thing we have to stop?" Misty asked.
"This might be easier if a few things were explained to you first. Ash take out your Pokedex and use it on us."
"If you say so." Ash said dubiously
Ash pointed the sensor of the Pokedex to Gastly.
"Gastly, a Ghost/Poison type pokemon. Almost invisible, this gaseous Pokemon cloaks the target and puts it to sleep without notice."
He then moved onto Gengar.
"Gengar, a Ghost/Poison type pokemon. This pokemon likes to make shadows under the full moon and laugh at peoples fright."
And finally Ash pointed the sensor at Haunter.
"Haunter, a Ghost/Poison type pokemon. Because of its ability to slip through block walls it is said to be from another dimension."
"OK, now what?" Ash asked.
"What the Pokedex said about Haunter is true for all ghost pokemon."
"What that you come from another dimension!?" Ash exclaimed.
"No, but we are able to slip through dimensions without much difficulty." Shadow replied."
"Hey Ash, I remember that from a few years back; there was this crazy scientist who said that ghost pokemon had spoke to him in a dream and told him that they can sort of pass from one dimension to another. But most people just thought he was crazy."
"But what's this got to do with us?" Ash asked.
"They certainly are suited for one another." Haunter slyly remarked. "Neither of them stops asking questions."
Ash and Misty tried ignored the Haunter but they both blushed a little.
"So what has all this other dimension stuff got to do with us? And how is it affecting Lavender?" Misty asked Shadow.
"There was power created by scientists in another dimension. After years of studying the genes of Pokemon they found the gene that determines the pokemons' power. They called it Gene X. The scientists used this gene and created a new Pokemon which had over 100 times the normal amount of Gene X found in other Pokemon. However they had little experience in creating Pokemon from scratch. Sure they had created Porygon; but that was just computer code; and they only altered Mew to create Mewtwo. This was the first time they had tried to build a Pokemon from nothing."
"Well, couldn't they have put the Gene X into a Pokemon type that already existed? Then they wouldn't have to make it from scratch." Misty asked.
"They tried that at the start, but due to the massive presence of Gene X the Pokemon never survived; none of the Pokemon could hold that amount of power. So they decided to build there own that could."
"That's terrible." Ash commented.
"Not as terrible as what happened later. They left something out. All pokemon are basically good; they just do what their trainer tells them to. If a Pokemon does evil things it is because its trainer told it to do so. Not because the pokemon is evil, because they in fact have concepts of good and evil built into them. The Pokemon these scientists created does not have those concepts. It roams the world without cause and without any kind of emotion. Or a brain for that matter"
"Well that doesn't seem so bad. As long as it doesn't hurt anybody." Ash said.
"But its very existence hurts the people and Pokemon on each world. When it passes over a certain area that area starts to have dramatic climate changes, Earthquakes and Volcanoes form where they have never been before; tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters that don't even have names occur. All of this because of its power."
"Couldn't it learn to control it?" Ash asked.
"Why should it bother? It doesn't care about anything." Shadow paused for a moment. "This must be disturbing news for you but there is still more to come."
"What?" Misty asked.
Shadow looked over at Gengar and Gengar nodded as if approving.
"This thing does not think of anything but its own survival; the only basic instinct it has. To do this it knows it needs to be powerful; so that nothing can hurt it."
"But I thought you said it already was the most powerful thing that ever existed."
"It is; but it has no discipline. Its' power is wild and erratic; it knows this and so is trying to become more like a person. Unfortunately its mind is terribly simple and it can conceive only one idea at a time."
"Well that's good isn't it? That it's trying to become more like a human; that means that when it does it will control its power and all the storms and stuff will stop. Right?"
"It would be if it was smart enough; but its not. It can only grasp one idea, one feeling, one emotion. And once it has hold of it, it will never let go. That's our problem."
Ash looked at Shadow dumbly.
"So if it takes the wrong idea; something like hate or revenge, then will it stay like that forever?" Misty asked.
"Yes."
Ash finally caught on to the catastrophic consequences of this pokemon hating everything.
"That would be terrible; but how do we stop it; how do we make it decide to make the right choice?"
"We do not know." Shadow admitted. "However we do know that it is attracted by power. This leads us to assume that it will choose a feeling that is powerful; something just like revenge, hate, greed. The list goes on."
All people and Pokemon were silent as they worried for the future.
Ashs' head had been down-turned but he now raised it with a smile on his face.
"Well this thing better watch out; cause Ash Ketchum's coming to catch it!"
High Elder Gengar, Haunter and Gastly sighed in mushroom cloud fashion, Misty knocked Ash on the head numerous times with her mallet and Shadow sighed.
"We're all doomed." Shadow said under its breath.
Professor Oak had journeyed to Mrs Ketchums' house in a panic. He didn't know how she was going to take the news that her son might be in serious trouble.
I know what she's going to do. First she is going to faint; then when I wake her up she's going to kill me.
Professor Oak stepped up to the front door of the Ketchum house and pressed the doorbell, which responded, with a little tune. A few moments after the tune stopped the door was opened and Mrs Ketchum stood inside.
"Oh, Professor Oak what a pleasant surprise!" She said in a happy tone. "Why don't you come inside and I'll make you something to drink."
"Uh, thank you but I'm afraid what I came here to do is urgent."
"And what would that be?" She asked.
Well, Mrs Ketchum, you see; Ash and Misty might; well they could be…"
"What?" She asked sounding more concerned.
"Did you hear the news report on this morning that said about the storm outside of Lavender?"
"Why yes; but that shouldn't worry you Professor; Ash and Misty won't make it to Lavender for another week at least."
"That's not quite the case. You see; Officer Jenny gave them a lift to Saffron just yesterday, then Ash called me from the Saffron pokemon centre and said that they were definitely leaving Saffron and should arrive in Lavender by nightfall. I called the Lavender Town pokemon centre but they haven't seen Ash or Misty either last night or all of today."
"What does this mean?" Mrs Ketchum sounded upset.
"I think that Ash and Misty may have got caught in that storm."
"WHAT!!" She screamed
"Now Mrs Ketchum the important thing to do now is not to worry."
"NOT TO WORRY!? NOT TO WORRY!? MY LITTLE BOY AND HIS FUTURE GIRLFRIEND COULD BE HURT AND YOU TELL ME NOT TO WORRY!?"
"Future girlfriend?" Professor Oak sounded confused.
"MISTY!"
"Oh yeah."
"Well what are we going to do?" Professor Oak was glad to note that Mrs Ketchum had stopped screaming. "I know we should call the police." Mrs Ketchum said.
"I tried that already; but they say they are stretched thin enough as it is; they just don't have the men to go and look for some lost children."
"Aha! I've got it! Someone who is bound to want to help Ash and Misty!"
"Who?" Professor Oak asked.
"If you'd be quiet maybe I could remember his phone number." Mrs Ketchum snapped.
Sheesh, I always thought that Mrs Ketchum was a calm person.
The ghost Pokemon had spent a few hours explaining details of the new pokemon to Ash and Misty.
Strange it doesn't seem that long. Ash thought to himself.
With the details out of the way, Shadow and Gastly were leading Ash to a safe place to spend the night; it was a cave, off the coast that although close to the sea did not fill with the tide as it was protected by the ghost pokemon.
Misty softly squeezed Ashs' hand indicating that she wanted his attention.
"Ash I don't want to sleep in a cold dark cave." She whispered.
Ash was about to reply when Gastly cut in.
"In fact the cave is neither cold nor dark. It will be suited to your needs."
"Oh." Misty replied.
Ash looked down at his hand; his fingers intertwined with Mistys'. The gentle squeeze she gave him had warmed his whole arm and made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Looking up again he could see that Mistys' eyes were locked on his face; Ash blushed and looked away. He then felt Mistys' hand losing a grip on his own as she slowly pulled her hand away.
Ashs' heart hung like a lead weight in his chest. What have I done? Does she think I don't want to hold her? Ash cursed himself for looking away; at least until he felt something moving around his waist and finally resting on his hip.
Looking to his side he could see that Misty had put her arm around his waist; and was trying rather unsuccessfully to conceal a beaming blush. In a form of unspoken answer Ash lifted his arm and placed it around her shoulders.
I'll never leave your side Ash; never. Just like I promised.
Annie could only look on as the first wave of wild pokemon attacked the trainers who were not in the shield held up by Haunter, Gastly and the Abra she had caught only a few days ago. Her eyes and mind silently swept the terrain looking for Jake. She was about to give up when she saw Magneton; one of Jakes' pokemon. Magneton was out in the front lines and it wouldn't go out there without Jake.
She searched the area around Magneton with her mind until she found Jake.
"Jake honey, you have to fall back. There is no way you can fight them off. Please come back to me."
There was no way for him to talk back to her as he was not a psychic like she was; so Annie couldn't tell what he was going to do. All she could do was watch.
Annie started to wish that she were strong enough to teleport so she could immediately remove Jake from danger; but the aching reality came to her. She wasn't powerful enough to teleport. Annie was born a psychic, and although she was not powerful she could still bend the odd spoon.
When she was young her 'friends' – although not bothered by spoon bending – became wary of Annie for other abilities of psychics; such as the ability to read the mind of another. Worried by this her piers started to avoid Annie and call her names behind her back; sometimes they would even throw things at her.
By the time Annie was ten she was a recluse; of mind and of body. She rarely left her house unless she had to; and did not make contact with anyone else of her own age in case they too would turn on her. At least until Jake arrived. At the time she lived in an unknown village not far from Vermillion. Jake was eleven and was a pokemon trainer who was passing through her village on the way to Vermillion to get his 5th badge.
Her mother had just lost her job and to help pay the bills the spare bedroom had to be used as a Bed and Breakfast for anyone passing through. As it was late when Jake arrived into town; and there were no other lodging options, he spent the night in Annies' spare bedroom. Jake and Annie became quick friends; and try as she might, Annie could never keep Jake out of her thoughts. The guard that she had built around herself for the past few years vanished whenever Jake was near.
Instead of leaving the next day; Jake stayed.
*******Flashback*******
This is it She thought Time to tell him what I am. Time to scare him away.
Annie was preparing to tell Jake that she was a psychic; that she could (and secretly had done) walk into his thoughts whenever she wanted and none of his innermost secrets would be safe; that if she wanted, she could know more about him than he knew.
Annie softly knocked on Jakes door; quietly hoping that he wouldn't answer.
"Come in." Came the reply
Annie turned the handle and pushed the door open.
"Ahh Nightshade come on in and sit down."
She smiled at the use of his nickname for her. Jake had called her nightshade ever since they first met. He said it was deserved because there was nothing darker than her hair.
"Jake, I've got something to tell you." She said. "You see, there is something about me that I haven't told you."
"What's that?" Jake asked.
"And I'll completely understand if you never want to speak to or see me again."
"Nothing could be that bad." Jake smiled.
"Well you see…I'm a psychic."
"I know." Jake stated without a hint of surprise.
"You know? But, but, who told you?" She spluttered.
"You've never had any tuition have you?" He asked
"No."
"Thought not." He smiled. "You see; you weren't very subtle."
"You mean; you know that I…"
"Went through my thoughts? Yeah."
"I promise Jake it was only that first time; I wanted to make sure that you wouldn't hurt me or my mum. That's all." Annie was starting to sound desperate.
"It's OK."
"It is?" She asked softly.
"Yeah."
*******End Flashback*******
That had been 5 years ago. She had never known anyone like Jake before. After her confession he stayed a few more days; and the night before he left, he asked her to come with him. She had accepted gladly and left with him the next day; not intending on becoming a pokemon trainer but just to follow Jake.
However it was the same day they left that Annie caught her first Pokemon. A young Gastly tried to sneak up on Jake and Annie; not knowing what Annie was.
*******Flashback*******
A strange flicker caught at the corner of Annie's' eye. This was the third time in the last few minutes. She stopped walking.
"What is it Nightshade?" Jake asked.
"Didn't you see it?" She asked.
"What?"
But she did not reply; instead she reached out slightly with her mind and immediately found what she was looking for.
Not really knowing how she did it she started talking with it.
"Hello." It seemed a good place to start.
"Oh my." The Gastly seemed flustered.
"Show yourself; we're friends."
Slowly a dark gas cloud with eyes and a mouth formed a few feet away from were she stood.
"Wow! What is it?" She asked Jake.
"It's Gastly! A ghost pokemon. Ghost pokemon are quite rare and have the abilities of a psychic. It looks pretty young too"
Annie smiled; this was the first time she had seen Jake surprised by anything.
"Hey Nightshade! Catch." Jake said as he tossed her a pokeball.
She caught the pokeball but was unsure of whether to use it.
"I don't know Jake. What if it doesn't want to…?"
But she was cut of as the Gastly moved up to her and nudged the pokeball in her hand. The pokeball opened and pulled the Gastly inside.
"Has that answered your question?" Jake laughed. "So, are you going to nickname it?"
"Nickname?"
"Yeah, some trainers nickname their pokemon; I guess some of them think that it makes their pokemon feel special."
"Oh, I've got the perfect name!" She squealed happily.
Tossing the pokeball into the air she called for Gastly to come out.
"I was thinking Gastly; would you like 'Shadow' to be your nickname?"
"Gastly! Gastly!" It nodded excitedly.
"Well then Shadow it is."
*******End Flashback*******
"Nightshade, Hello. Nightshade, wake up hon." Jake was waving a hand in front of her face.
"Oh sorry, guess I was daydreaming."
"Tell me about it." He laughed. "Anyway, everyone is safe; the wild pokemon gave up when they came up against the barrier held by Gastly, Haunter and Abra."
"You nearly weren't." She scolded.
"Be careful there Annie; someone might think you actually care about me." He teased.
"Let them think." Annie replied as she wrapped her arms around Jakes' neck and kissed him full on the lips.
Officer Jenny reappeared at the pokemon centre with Sabrina standing beside her.
"You had better get Growlithe rejuvenated; its not frozen anymore but it's still weak."
"Yeah." Officer Jenny said as she silently passed Growlithe onto a waiting Nurse Joy.
"Uhh, listen thanks for your help out there Sabrina; I think its safe to say that I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for you."
"I'm just sorry I couldn't help your cause earlier, but I've had a few other more serious things to deal with."
"More serious!?" Officer Jenny asked.
"Quite a bit more serious I'm afraid. You've heard of all the strange events going on around Lavender?"
"Yeah; but that's caused by the ghost pokemon right?"
"No; something else is causing it; I can't tell what. But there are two things that I've managed to find out."
"What?" Officer Jenny asked
"First of all that it is by far the most powerful pokemon that has ever lived. And secondly; it's heading for Saffron."
The word 'cave' did not do justice to what was presented before Ash and Misty. Even after the reassurances from Gastly; both the teens had believed the cave was going to be cold, wet and dark. That was not the case. The cave was bone dry except for a small pond in the middle that was filled with crystal clear water. The base of the cave instead of being rock was a soil that somehow thrived on the salty water. The light inside the cave was dazzling; millions of pieces of quartz lined the walls reflecting and amplifying any light that touched them; and even as the light from outside faded it seemed to remain inside the cave.
"This place; its…magical." Misty said awestruck.
"How can something like this exist down here?" Ash asked Gastly.
"Ask Shadow. He created it."
Misty turned to Shadow.
"You created this!?" She asked startled.
"You seem surprised."
"Well, I guess I would never have expected you to create something like this. I have to say; it's beautiful."
"I wish I could say that it was all my idea but it's not. All I did was create it; the original idea was my trainers. She would often dream of a place like this; somewhere quiet and beautiful. When I was forced to leave her I created this; to help remember her."
"Where is she now?" Ash asked.
"She is where we are going tomorrow."
"You mean that she is in the same world as that new pokemon?" Misty asked.
"Yes." Shadow paused for a moment, then turned to Ash and Misty. "You two had better get some sleep; you'll need it."
Ash started to set up his tent with some help from Misty; this was the first time they were totally alone all day as Pikachu and Togepi were playing in the water with the rest of Mistys' and Ashs' pokemon.
"Thanks for the help Misty." Ash said as he pushed the last peg of the cover sheet into the ground.
"Ahh, that's OK." She replied as she pined down the guide ropes.
"I can help you put up yours now if you want." He offered.
"Nah, not now."
Ash reached down into his backpack and pulled out his sleeping bag and carry mat. [For those of you who don't know a carry mat is put down on the floor of the tent as it is more comfortable and it stops any damp seeping through the base of the tent onto the sleeping bag.]
Ash looked at the closed zipper of his tent; with a carry mat in one hand and his sleeping bag in the other, Ash decided to ask Misty for some help.
"Ahh, Myst could you help me with the zip?" Ash said referring to the zip door.
"Yeah." She knelt down on the ground and pulled the zipper up opening entry to the tent.
"Thanks." Ash said as he made his way in and placed the carry mat on the ground. Then unrolling his sleeping bag; Ash unzipped making it just like a normal duvet and laid it out on top of the carry mat.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" She asked him.
"Nah. I thought I'd just lie down for awhile."
They were both silent for a moment.
"Mind if I join you?" Misty asked slightly nervously.
For an answer Ash patted at the ground beside him and shuffled over slightly.
Misty smiled and lay down beside him.
For a while the young couple lay in the awkward silence; but when that silence broke they said anything that came to mind; some thoughts and stories that they thought they would never tell anyone where released and they both laughed over funny stories about there lives before they met each other.
Misty looked over at Ash; her face was a beetroot red after laughing so hard at a story Ash had told her about a time when he got a voltorb super glued to his hand at Professor Oaks lab. It had kept shouting "Voltorb, Voltorb!" and Ash had been running about shouting equally loud: "No Voltorb, No Voltorb!"
Misty sighed; and tried to get her breath back.
"What time is it Ash?"
"Oh, its 11 o'clock." He replied. "I guess we better get to sleep; I get the feeling that Shadow is the 'early morning rise and shine' type of ghost."
"Yeah I suppose so." Misty sighed.
"I can help you set your tent up if you want."
"Hmm." She sighed and got out of the tent.
Ash was just about to get up when she came back in again with her sleeping bag under her arm.
"Would you mind if…?" She asked nervously.
"Not at all." Ash smiled.
Misty unzipped her sleeping bag and laid it over both herself and Ash. In that position she quietly dozed of to sleep.
Ash on the other hand was still awake; and was currently debating with himself whether to put his arm around Misty.
What if she wakes up? What do I say then? I definitely shouldn't do it; nope some other time maybe, but not now.
Ashs' arm however had a different point of view and rather selfishly ignored that decision. His hand slipped slowly under the curve of her soft neck and came to rest on her slender shoulder.
I did it! And she is still asleep!
However Ashs' silent jubilations were cut short as Misty half opened her eyes and looked out through a dreamy haze. She looked toward Ashs arm and back toward Ash; until finally her face cracked and a contented smile formed. Ashs heart jumped a beat as that smile spread. Without saying a word Misty reached out with both hands and wrapped them around Ash; gently pulling them closer together.
AN/ Ok, I'm going to make this clear so nobody will ask. Any of you perverted people out there – yes you with the red face (don't be ashamed it happens to the best of us sometimes!!) – no they did not!! Ok, this is PG!!
Hurray! Part 3 is over!! Now comes Part 4 where the real action begins. Who are Annie and Jake and what do they have to do with the story? What has happened to Jessie, James and Meowth? (Did I forget them? – Not a chance!) Who did Mrs Ketchum call? How do Ash, Misty and Shadow plan to deal with this new super powered pokemon? When will Giovanni arrive in Saffron? And will Sabrina's aid in the battles make any difference? All these questions answered in the next instalment of "The Path of no Return – Part 4 To another world"