By Mishakal
A/N: Part two. Hah! It's done! Well, some of the predictable stuff starts in here. *sigh* Anyway, I hope you'll like it despite its unoriginal plotline. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! *sniffle* You love me, you really love me! *notices that most people have skipped the a/n and gone right on to the story* OK, so you love my stories! Well, close enough.
Disclaimer: If any lawyers happen to think I'm infringing on copyrites, they can have my 35 cents and my pack of jumbo nerds. But not my Pokemon videos. *hugs them protectively* Those are MINE!
Part 2: A Possessive Illness
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Brock asked uneasily. "Shouldn't we be taking Ash to a doctor?"
"Well, you heard those people back there!" Misty waved her hand in the direction of the village they'd just passed through. "There's no hospital around for miles. I don't know about you, but I don't want to break my back carrying him around for that long! This will just have to do!" She turned to knock on the door of the cabin.
Brock half-smiled. Misty's motives were clear. She didn't like to admitt that she actually cared about Ash, but to someone who knew her well, the flippant remark about not wanting to break her back just didn't cut it. She wanted help for Ash and she wanted it now -- not after traveling, and possibly hurting him more.
The door creaked open and a tall, auburn-haired man of about 30 peered out at them. "Are you looking for medical help?" he asked, glancing down at Ash's comatose form.
"Yes." Misty looked hesitant. "Are... you the healer?"
He smiled. "Let me guess: you were expecting an old crone in black clothes with 20 or so cats prowling around." Brock and Misty glanced at each other sheepishly. "Well, you're not the first. Come on in, and I'll do my best for your friend." He held the door open and allowed them to carry Ash inside. "My name is Daniel, by the way."
Misty and Brock set Ash down carefully on a cot just inside the "office". "Can you help him?" Misty asked anxiously.
"Hmm..." The healer examined his unconscious patient. "What exactly happened to him?"
"I don't know." Misty wrung her hands nervously. "He was having some kind of nightmare and it woke me up. But when I tried to wake him, he was burning hot and wouldn't respond at all. Then he sat up and yelled really loud..."
"...and Misty screamed," Brock added for good measure.
"And then," Misty continued, glaring at Brock. "He said he was fine, but when he tried to walk he fell unconscious again. And we haven't been able to wake him since," she finished, gazing sadly at Ash.
"Melanna..." Ash mumbled, tossing uneasily. His face scrunched up. "... no... not that... so far away..."
Daniel looked up sharply. "How long has he been talking like that?"
"Since he had that nightmare," Misty answered. "Does it mean something?"
"It could." The healer grabbed a book off one of his shelves and began flipping through it. "Melanna is the name of a village princess who lived about two or three hundred years ago. She died in her early twenties." He paused, but continued flipping through the pages. "Under, er, unusual circumstances."
Brock frowned. "Interestin story, but what does this have to do with Ash?"
"Everything!" Daniel straightened triumphantly. "Aha! Here we are! Your friend is suffering from a very rare fever. This particular fever is so rare that only one case has been seen before -- 265 years ago."
"So what do we do?" Misty asked.
The healer shook his head. "Hope for the best. This particular disease, I'm afraid, has no known cures. As I mentioned before, there's only been one case recorded."
"Yeah... so what did they do then?" Brock asked. "What happened to the guy who was sick?"
The man sighed. "They didn't have time to study it, you see," he said slowly. "The patient only lived 3 days after catching the fever."
Misty couldn't believe her ears. "What!?" She tried to lunge at the doctor, but Brock restrained her. "Are you telling me you haven't got any medicine for Ash!?"
"Take it easy, young lady," Daniel said, in a futile attempt to calm her down. "You see -- "
"I don't see!" Misty broke free of Brock's hold and marched over to where Ash tossed restlessly on the cot. "You listen to me right now, Ash Ketchum! If you dare to even think of dying, I'll knock you into the next century!" She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Now wake up before I get really mad!!!!"
"Misty..." Brock moved forward, but Daniel held out a hand. He was watching the scene curiously.
"Uh..." A groan escaped Ash.
Misty was relentless. "You... still... owe... me... a bike!" she shouted, in time with her shaking of Ash's whole upper body.
"Ai... yi... yi... Mis... ty... sto... pit...!"
Misty dropped him in surprise. "You're awake!"
Ash glared at her. "Who could sleep through that?" He looked around suddenly, and forgot Misty altogether. "Hey... where are we?"
"We took you to a healer," Brock explained.
"A healer?" Ash blinked. "What for?"
"What for? You've been unconscious!" Brock looked at him incredulously. "Are you saying you don't even feel sick?"
"Mmm... no. I feel fine." Ash looked over at Misty, who was slowly simmering. "Hey, what's wrong with Misty?"
"What's wrong? What's wrong!?" Misty loomed over Ash, fire in her eyes. "I've been worried sick, and you feel fine!? You're supposed to be dying!!!"
Ash blinked. "You want me to die?"
"Arrgh!" Misty raised her fist. "You little...!"
"Wait!" Daniel zipped in between Misty and Ash. "He's still in a delicate condition! Be careful!"
"Delicate condition?" Brock restrained Misty. "But Ash says he feels fine!"
"I do!" Ash protested. He looked back at Misty, who seemed on the verge of ripping him to shreds any minute. "Uh... I mean, I feel sick." He pretended to flop back theatrically, shutting his eyes. "Ohh, I think I'm dying." He opened an eye to see if Misty was feeling less homicidal.
The healer ignored him. "You feel fine becaue you're not the one who has the disease!" he announced, as if that explained everything.
"What... but..." Brock scratched his head in confusion.
"This is getting re-e-eally stupid," Misty informed them, almost ominously. "If Ash doesn't have the disease, who does?"
"I'll get to that," the healer said placantingly. "Let me finish that story I started, and I'll explain." He looked around to make sure that no one would interrupt. "All right, good. Where was I? Ah, yes, Melanna." He cleared his throat.
"At 16 years old, Melanna was elected a village princess. It's a primitive sort of custom, but it set her more or less above most others in importance. When she was 20 years old, Melanna fell in love with a simple village boy, Gared. It was the typical situation: two star-crossed lovers so preoccupied with each other that they could not even comprehend the world around them."
Misty had lost her angry look, and her eyes were shining. "That's so beautiful!" she sighed.
"What's beautiful about having your brains slowly leak out your ears whenever you see some girl?" Ash muttered.
Misty glared at him. "You'd need a brain first to have it leak out your ears!"
"Shh!" Brock glared at them. "Let him finish!"
"Thank you." Daniel straightened. "The problem that the two encountered was, predictably enough, rank. Gared didn't consider himself worthy of Melanna because she was a princess and he was only a peasant. So he set off to train pokemon and become great."
"Sounds like Ash," Misty commented.
"Well, I'm not in love with some stupid girl!" Ash retorted.
A look from the healer silenced them. "On his way back to claim his princess, Gared somehow picked up this fever. He insisted on traveling still, but didn't make it back to the village. About a mile from the limits, they found his body."
"Oh, that's sad!" Misty's eyes showed sympathy.
"Yeah!" Ash agreed. "What happened to those poor pokemon he was training?"
"Ash!" Misty glared.
"I don't know about the pokemon," the healer answered. "But Melanna went mad with grief. The day after Gared was found, they discovered Melanna at the foot of the cliff she'd thrown herself off of."
"Oh!" Misty's eyes filled with tears.
"That's a real sad story," Ash said. "But what does it have to do with me?"
"Where were you when you first fell unconscious?" the healer asked, ignoring his question. "About a mile out of town, maybe?"
Brock and Misty glanced at each other. "About that," Brock admitted.
"You were close to where Gared was buried," Daniel remarked. "And when you two carried him through the village, did he say or do anything odd?"
"Actually, that's when he started talking about 'Melanna'," Misty said, biting her lip.
"I did?"
Daniel nodded. "You do not have the disease," he said, with finality. "But you are carrying the spirit of one who died from it. And the results will be the same."
Don't you guys just hate me?
So, is anyone enjoying this so far? *crickets are heard chirping*
Well, I guess that answers that.
C'mon, people, REVIEW!!!! I don't want to be hearing any crickets, so speak up! (Hah, I know I'm in a weird mood -- oh well...)
C'ya!
~Mishakal~