Okay, this is the end! A big *hug* to everyone who reads this. You're
all awesome! (And you're even MORE awesome if you review!...Hint...Hint...)
Brock entered the bedroom he still shared with his two friends,
expecting
to see it empty. He hoped that Ash had bought Misty's apology; he was
sick
of them fighting. He saw Misty sitting on her bed with her face buried
in
her hands, her shoulders shaking. "I'm assuming it didn't go well," he
observed
unhappily.
"I've tried everything," Misty said softly into her hands. "I don't know what
else I
can do."
Brock tried a suggestion. "Just give Ash some more time..."
"I have. He's had more than enough time. If he doesn't come
around now,
he never will," Misty replied bitterly.
Ash came into the room just then. "You're STILL crying?!" he asked
Misty
with exasperation.
Brock glared at him. "You're the one that did this, Ash. You and
Misty
used to be so close, but look at it now..." He looked as if he had just
made
an important decision. "I'm tired. I'm tired of the fighting, and
tired of
trying to make you friends again. It's obvious that neither of you
want to
continue our Pokemon journey. I'm giving up. I'm leaving for home
tomorrow.
You can do whatever you want, but I'm not going to stay here and watch
my
two best friends ruin each others' lives. I'm giving up." Brock
climbed
into the top bunk of a bed and layed down. "I'm going to sleep. I
don't
want to hear any arguing tonight."
Ash layed down on the bunk below Brock, and Misty layed down on the
bed
she was sitting on across the room.
"I'm giving up too," Misty said to anyone who would listen. Brock
was
done talking for the day, and Ash didn't care to ask what she meant.
Misty began crying softly again.
"Oh, shut UP already!" Ash excaimed impatiently.
"Ash..." Brock warned.
Everything was silent for awhile. Brock fell asleep quickly, and
Misty
cried herself to sleep slowly. Ash sat awake.
He looked over at Misty, and watched her sleep peacefully.
He couldn't help remembering a time not so long ago that
he
had been trying to put out of his head. He remembered a kind, funny,
pretty
girl who had been his best friend. They trusted each other and had
loads of
fun together. She had a bright smile and a sweet laugh, both which she
gave
often. He cared for her deeply and hoped they'd be together
forever.
What's the point, he thought, of being angry? I'm over my dad's death...
actually, I wasn't really upset about it to begin with. I was just panicing
and looking for somebody to blame. She's been trying so hard to save us,
and I've been holding her down.
Now he knew what Brock had meant when he said that he wanted things
to go
back the way they used to be. Ash was tired of being angry. He was
ready to
accept Misty's apology.
Misty's ragged breathing and sniffling started up again. "Misty?"
he
asked, realizing that he hadn't said her name in ages. She didn't
respond;
she must have been crying in her sleep. Ash decided he could wait
until
morning to tell Misty that he wanted to be friends agian, and let
himself
fall asleep, happy for the first time in months.
Misty woke up and looked at the clock. It was nearly 3 in the
morning.
If she was going to do it, she had to do it now. She stood up from her
bed
silently, knowing that if she woke anyone up her plan would be foiled.
She
took out a pen and some paper and scribbled a quick note. Misty put it
on
her pillow, then turned to her friends to say her goodbyes that only
she
would hear.
"Goodbye, Pikachu," she whispered to the yellow mouse at the foot
of
Ash's bed. "Thank you for sticking by me no matter what. Take care of
Ash
for me.
"Brock, thank you for trying to patch things up. I know you were really
trying. I'm sorry it didn't work. I don't blame you for giving up.
"Ash..." Misty turned her sleeping former-friend and paused to catch her
voice.
All she could choke out was, "I'm sorry..." She blew him a quick
kiss and
glided out of the room unheard.
Ash woke up about half and hour later. He felt great now that he
wasn't
angry anymore. He looked across the room at Misty, only to find her
gone.
Must've gone downstairs to get a drink, he thought, then saw the note
on her
pillow. He crossed the room and picked it up.
"I couldn't take any of it anymore, so I had to go. You'll be
happy to
know that none of you will ever hear from me again. I'm sorry I didn't
say
goodbye. I've given up." It was signed "Misty."
Ash read the letter three times, trying to figure out what it
meant. She
must have gone home, Ash decided. But why had she left all of her
things
here? He read the last line again. "I've given up." He remembered
Misty
saying the same thing before she started crying and fell asleep.
Then it hit him.
"Oh no!" he exclaimed out loud. "She wouldn't....Would she?
Pikachu,
wake up!" He grabbed Pikachu and ran downstairs and outside with him.
Placing him on the ground he said, "Pick up Misty's scent!"
Pikachu didn't know why he was doing this, but he was eager to help
his
friends. He sniffed the ground, searching for the familiar scent.
"Pika!"
he exclaimed when he found it, jumping up and down.
"Good job Pikachu. Now follow it, and hurry! We don't have much
time,"
Ash said urgently.
Ash ran after Pikachu as Pikachu sniffed the ground. Ash prayed
that
they wouldn't be too late.
Misty stood next to the cliff where the tall waterfall was. This
was a
very pretty place, but Misty hadn't come to observe it's beauty. She
peeked
over the cliff, listening to the roar of the cascading water that
crashed
onto the jagged rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. This was
perfect;
there'd be no way she could jump over the cliff and live to tell
about
it. The sun would be coming up soon. She had to jump now or never.
She
stood at the very edge of the cliff and decided she would dive
head-first.
Misty took a deep breath and whispered, "Now..."
"Misty, stop!"
Misty whirled around to see Ash standing a few feet away, Pikachu
at his
side. "All right Pikachu, we found her!" he said to the monster.
Misty was angry that he was there; she didn't want an audience
watching
when she jumped. But now she had no choice.
Ash began to walk slowly towards her. "Okay, Misty...Lets get away
from the cliff now..."
"Take one more step and I'll jump," Misty said firmly.
"Don't do this, Misty. I know you don't want to jump over that
cliff,"
Ash said gently as he took another step towards her.
"Watch me!" Misty shouted. "One more step, and I'll throw myself
over!"
Ash stopped. He was about four feet away from Misty. He decided to
risk reaching out to grab her.
Misty ducked from his reach, turned to the cliff and jumped before
she could change her
mind.
She felt the rush of falling for one brief moment, then she felt a tug
on her
hand as she jerked to a stop. She hung over the side of the cliff, dangling
over the rushing water and jagged rocks. Misty looked up to see
Ash
gripping her hand for all he was worth.
"Don't worry, I have you," he said.
Misty smiled. "This is perfect!" she exclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" Ash asked as he tried to pull her up.
"Let go, Ash. I know you want me to die. Now you can kill me
yourself.
Just let go of my hand and let me fall." Misty looked into his eyes, her
own eyes gleaming. She seemed to be almost possessed by a whole new person.
"What!?" Ash exclaimed. "No, I'm not letting go of you!"
"C'mon!" Misty coaxed. "I took revenge for Giovanni killing my
parents;
now here's your chance to get revenge for me killing him. You want to
see me
fall down this cliff and crash onto the rocks; don't deny it."
"Stop it!" Ash shouted.
"You won't get caught," Misty continued, ignoring Ash's denial.
"If you
drop me and run now, you can still get back to bed before anyone wakes
up and
realizes you were gone. They'll think I did it on my own. It'll be
our
little secret, except I won't be alive to tell it to anyone."
"Misty, you're not going to fall over that cliff if I have any say
in
it," Ash said firmly.
"Then I'll have to do it myself." Misty began squirming,
trying to release her hand from Ash's grip. She put her hand up to pry
his
hand off of hers, but Ash caught it with his other hand.
"There, now I have both of your hands," he said triumphantly.
"Listen to
me. I want to be friends again. I accept your apology from last
night. I
admit that I was taking this too hard, and I was way too harsh with
you. I
know it'll be difficult, but lets try to put all this behind us so we
can be
friends again and have everything the way it used to be. I'm sorry for
everything. I'm sorry I've pushed you so far as to make you think you
have
to kill yourself. My dad's death doesn't matter to me anymore. The only
thing that matters to me right now is
making sure
you don't make a huge mistake. We can save our friendship if both of
us put
enough effort into it. We have to put this whole mess behind us. So
I'm
pulling you up whether you like it or not."
There was silence for a minute, then Misty looked up at Ash and
said
meekly, "Pull me up."
Ash summoned what was left of his strength and yanked her up over
the
edge of the cliff. Pikachu cheered from nearby.
Ash and Misty knelt facing each other. Ash looked at her nervously,
afraid she would try to jump again. "Are you okay?"
Misty looked into his face and saw the old Ash that she knew and
loved.
He really meant what he had said about wanting to be friends again.
She
burst into tears and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his
shoulder.
Ash just sat, unsure of what he should do. He thought about how
close he
had just come to loosing his best friend and held back his own tears.
"I'm sorry..." Misty whispered between her tears, "I'm so, so
sorry."
Ash wrapped his arms around her, letting his own tears fall freely.
"I'm sorry
too.
Lets put it behind us now."
"I shouldn't have-"
"Just forget about it."
Misty hugged him even tighter and whispered, "I still feel like
there's a
huge hole in my heart."
Ash's realization of how much he had actually hurt Misty continued
to
sink in. "Then take a piece of mine. It's going to be okay, I
promise."
Before he could change his mind, he kissed her gently on the cheek.
Meanwhile, in the nearby bushes, Pikachu shoved a paw in his mouth
to
keep from laughing. He rolled around with silent laughter, then ran
away to
a safe distance to let his laughs out.
Neither Ash nor Misty could recall how long they stayed in their
embrace,
but eventually they both broke away. Side by side, they silently
walked back
towards the Pokemon Center as the sun began to rise.
"Imagine the look on Brock's face when he sees that we're friends
again,"
Ash mused. They both laughed, then fell silent again.
"Ash?" Misty asked.
"Yeah?"
She smiled shyly. "Thanks."
Ash smiled in understanding. "Anything for my best friend."
Misty raised an eyebrow. "I'm your best friend?"
Ash said, "Of course. You always have been. You are now. You
always
will be."
At that moment, Ash and Misty both realized that the events of that
morning had brought them closer together than ever before. They both
smiled
at each other.
As the two friends reached the edge of the woods overlooking
Viridian
City, Ash took Misty's hand. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.
Misty grinned widely as tears sprung into her eyes again.
"Everything's going to be fine."
A/N: Yeah, I know what you're all thinking: "Darnit, Mito! They
didn't hook up!" Well, I thought that it would be to predictable to
make them get together. But it was still shippy, yes? Well, thanks
for reading. Keep on rockin' in the free world, and AAML 4ever!!
all awesome! (And you're even MORE awesome if you review!...Hint...Hint...)
Brock entered the bedroom he still shared with his two friends,
expecting
to see it empty. He hoped that Ash had bought Misty's apology; he was
sick
of them fighting. He saw Misty sitting on her bed with her face buried
in
her hands, her shoulders shaking. "I'm assuming it didn't go well," he
observed
unhappily.
"I've tried everything," Misty said softly into her hands. "I don't know what
else I
can do."
Brock tried a suggestion. "Just give Ash some more time..."
"I have. He's had more than enough time. If he doesn't come
around now,
he never will," Misty replied bitterly.
Ash came into the room just then. "You're STILL crying?!" he asked
Misty
with exasperation.
Brock glared at him. "You're the one that did this, Ash. You and
Misty
used to be so close, but look at it now..." He looked as if he had just
made
an important decision. "I'm tired. I'm tired of the fighting, and
tired of
trying to make you friends again. It's obvious that neither of you
want to
continue our Pokemon journey. I'm giving up. I'm leaving for home
tomorrow.
You can do whatever you want, but I'm not going to stay here and watch
my
two best friends ruin each others' lives. I'm giving up." Brock
climbed
into the top bunk of a bed and layed down. "I'm going to sleep. I
don't
want to hear any arguing tonight."
Ash layed down on the bunk below Brock, and Misty layed down on the
bed
she was sitting on across the room.
"I'm giving up too," Misty said to anyone who would listen. Brock
was
done talking for the day, and Ash didn't care to ask what she meant.
Misty began crying softly again.
"Oh, shut UP already!" Ash excaimed impatiently.
"Ash..." Brock warned.
Everything was silent for awhile. Brock fell asleep quickly, and
Misty
cried herself to sleep slowly. Ash sat awake.
He looked over at Misty, and watched her sleep peacefully.
He couldn't help remembering a time not so long ago that
he
had been trying to put out of his head. He remembered a kind, funny,
pretty
girl who had been his best friend. They trusted each other and had
loads of
fun together. She had a bright smile and a sweet laugh, both which she
gave
often. He cared for her deeply and hoped they'd be together
forever.
What's the point, he thought, of being angry? I'm over my dad's death...
actually, I wasn't really upset about it to begin with. I was just panicing
and looking for somebody to blame. She's been trying so hard to save us,
and I've been holding her down.
Now he knew what Brock had meant when he said that he wanted things
to go
back the way they used to be. Ash was tired of being angry. He was
ready to
accept Misty's apology.
Misty's ragged breathing and sniffling started up again. "Misty?"
he
asked, realizing that he hadn't said her name in ages. She didn't
respond;
she must have been crying in her sleep. Ash decided he could wait
until
morning to tell Misty that he wanted to be friends agian, and let
himself
fall asleep, happy for the first time in months.
Misty woke up and looked at the clock. It was nearly 3 in the
morning.
If she was going to do it, she had to do it now. She stood up from her
bed
silently, knowing that if she woke anyone up her plan would be foiled.
She
took out a pen and some paper and scribbled a quick note. Misty put it
on
her pillow, then turned to her friends to say her goodbyes that only
she
would hear.
"Goodbye, Pikachu," she whispered to the yellow mouse at the foot
of
Ash's bed. "Thank you for sticking by me no matter what. Take care of
Ash
for me.
"Brock, thank you for trying to patch things up. I know you were really
trying. I'm sorry it didn't work. I don't blame you for giving up.
"Ash..." Misty turned her sleeping former-friend and paused to catch her
voice.
All she could choke out was, "I'm sorry..." She blew him a quick
kiss and
glided out of the room unheard.
Ash woke up about half and hour later. He felt great now that he
wasn't
angry anymore. He looked across the room at Misty, only to find her
gone.
Must've gone downstairs to get a drink, he thought, then saw the note
on her
pillow. He crossed the room and picked it up.
"I couldn't take any of it anymore, so I had to go. You'll be
happy to
know that none of you will ever hear from me again. I'm sorry I didn't
say
goodbye. I've given up." It was signed "Misty."
Ash read the letter three times, trying to figure out what it
meant. She
must have gone home, Ash decided. But why had she left all of her
things
here? He read the last line again. "I've given up." He remembered
Misty
saying the same thing before she started crying and fell asleep.
Then it hit him.
"Oh no!" he exclaimed out loud. "She wouldn't....Would she?
Pikachu,
wake up!" He grabbed Pikachu and ran downstairs and outside with him.
Placing him on the ground he said, "Pick up Misty's scent!"
Pikachu didn't know why he was doing this, but he was eager to help
his
friends. He sniffed the ground, searching for the familiar scent.
"Pika!"
he exclaimed when he found it, jumping up and down.
"Good job Pikachu. Now follow it, and hurry! We don't have much
time,"
Ash said urgently.
Ash ran after Pikachu as Pikachu sniffed the ground. Ash prayed
that
they wouldn't be too late.
Misty stood next to the cliff where the tall waterfall was. This
was a
very pretty place, but Misty hadn't come to observe it's beauty. She
peeked
over the cliff, listening to the roar of the cascading water that
crashed
onto the jagged rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. This was
perfect;
there'd be no way she could jump over the cliff and live to tell
about
it. The sun would be coming up soon. She had to jump now or never.
She
stood at the very edge of the cliff and decided she would dive
head-first.
Misty took a deep breath and whispered, "Now..."
"Misty, stop!"
Misty whirled around to see Ash standing a few feet away, Pikachu
at his
side. "All right Pikachu, we found her!" he said to the monster.
Misty was angry that he was there; she didn't want an audience
watching
when she jumped. But now she had no choice.
Ash began to walk slowly towards her. "Okay, Misty...Lets get away
from the cliff now..."
"Take one more step and I'll jump," Misty said firmly.
"Don't do this, Misty. I know you don't want to jump over that
cliff,"
Ash said gently as he took another step towards her.
"Watch me!" Misty shouted. "One more step, and I'll throw myself
over!"
Ash stopped. He was about four feet away from Misty. He decided to
risk reaching out to grab her.
Misty ducked from his reach, turned to the cliff and jumped before
she could change her
mind.
She felt the rush of falling for one brief moment, then she felt a tug
on her
hand as she jerked to a stop. She hung over the side of the cliff, dangling
over the rushing water and jagged rocks. Misty looked up to see
Ash
gripping her hand for all he was worth.
"Don't worry, I have you," he said.
Misty smiled. "This is perfect!" she exclaimed.
"What are you talking about?" Ash asked as he tried to pull her up.
"Let go, Ash. I know you want me to die. Now you can kill me
yourself.
Just let go of my hand and let me fall." Misty looked into his eyes, her
own eyes gleaming. She seemed to be almost possessed by a whole new person.
"What!?" Ash exclaimed. "No, I'm not letting go of you!"
"C'mon!" Misty coaxed. "I took revenge for Giovanni killing my
parents;
now here's your chance to get revenge for me killing him. You want to
see me
fall down this cliff and crash onto the rocks; don't deny it."
"Stop it!" Ash shouted.
"You won't get caught," Misty continued, ignoring Ash's denial.
"If you
drop me and run now, you can still get back to bed before anyone wakes
up and
realizes you were gone. They'll think I did it on my own. It'll be
our
little secret, except I won't be alive to tell it to anyone."
"Misty, you're not going to fall over that cliff if I have any say
in
it," Ash said firmly.
"Then I'll have to do it myself." Misty began squirming,
trying to release her hand from Ash's grip. She put her hand up to pry
his
hand off of hers, but Ash caught it with his other hand.
"There, now I have both of your hands," he said triumphantly.
"Listen to
me. I want to be friends again. I accept your apology from last
night. I
admit that I was taking this too hard, and I was way too harsh with
you. I
know it'll be difficult, but lets try to put all this behind us so we
can be
friends again and have everything the way it used to be. I'm sorry for
everything. I'm sorry I've pushed you so far as to make you think you
have
to kill yourself. My dad's death doesn't matter to me anymore. The only
thing that matters to me right now is
making sure
you don't make a huge mistake. We can save our friendship if both of
us put
enough effort into it. We have to put this whole mess behind us. So
I'm
pulling you up whether you like it or not."
There was silence for a minute, then Misty looked up at Ash and
said
meekly, "Pull me up."
Ash summoned what was left of his strength and yanked her up over
the
edge of the cliff. Pikachu cheered from nearby.
Ash and Misty knelt facing each other. Ash looked at her nervously,
afraid she would try to jump again. "Are you okay?"
Misty looked into his face and saw the old Ash that she knew and
loved.
He really meant what he had said about wanting to be friends again.
She
burst into tears and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his
shoulder.
Ash just sat, unsure of what he should do. He thought about how
close he
had just come to loosing his best friend and held back his own tears.
"I'm sorry..." Misty whispered between her tears, "I'm so, so
sorry."
Ash wrapped his arms around her, letting his own tears fall freely.
"I'm sorry
too.
Lets put it behind us now."
"I shouldn't have-"
"Just forget about it."
Misty hugged him even tighter and whispered, "I still feel like
there's a
huge hole in my heart."
Ash's realization of how much he had actually hurt Misty continued
to
sink in. "Then take a piece of mine. It's going to be okay, I
promise."
Before he could change his mind, he kissed her gently on the cheek.
Meanwhile, in the nearby bushes, Pikachu shoved a paw in his mouth
to
keep from laughing. He rolled around with silent laughter, then ran
away to
a safe distance to let his laughs out.
Neither Ash nor Misty could recall how long they stayed in their
embrace,
but eventually they both broke away. Side by side, they silently
walked back
towards the Pokemon Center as the sun began to rise.
"Imagine the look on Brock's face when he sees that we're friends
again,"
Ash mused. They both laughed, then fell silent again.
"Ash?" Misty asked.
"Yeah?"
She smiled shyly. "Thanks."
Ash smiled in understanding. "Anything for my best friend."
Misty raised an eyebrow. "I'm your best friend?"
Ash said, "Of course. You always have been. You are now. You
always
will be."
At that moment, Ash and Misty both realized that the events of that
morning had brought them closer together than ever before. They both
smiled
at each other.
As the two friends reached the edge of the woods overlooking
Viridian
City, Ash took Misty's hand. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.
Misty grinned widely as tears sprung into her eyes again.
"Everything's going to be fine."
A/N: Yeah, I know what you're all thinking: "Darnit, Mito! They
didn't hook up!" Well, I thought that it would be to predictable to
make them get together. But it was still shippy, yes? Well, thanks
for reading. Keep on rockin' in the free world, and AAML 4ever!!