Ash sighed as he tossed and turned in his bed. He flipped on the light and checked his watch. It read 11:39pm. "I never should have brought her up here to sleep with me," he said to himself. "Now I can't sleep without her." He stood up and was walking to the window when he felt the ship shudder. It was a faint sensation, but it was there. Ash looked up to see the lights quivering. "What?" he said. He looked back out the window in time to see a huge, dark shape pass by. He squinted at it to see what it was. One thought came to his mind - It's an iceberg...
He heard a pounding on his door. He ran to it and pulled it open. Tracey was there, looking like a ghost. "Did you feel that, Ash?" he asked.
Ash nodded. "And I saw it...It was an iceberg..."
Tracey bolted past him into the room and leaned out of the window. "It was an iceberg," he said. He turned back to Ash, eyes wild with fear. "Do you know where they keep the lifebelts in these staterooms?"
"Tracey, calm down!" Ash said. "We don't even know if we hit it!"
"We hit it, I know we did!" Tracey said. "What else could that have been?"
"Tracey!" Ash cried. "Sit down, I'll get you a drink! You need to calm down!"
Twenty minutes had passed when there came another knock at the door. Ash crossed the room and pulled open the door. "Yes?" he said.
A steward stood on the other side. "Sir, the captain requests that all passengers proceed to the boat deck with their lifebelts, immediately. You may find them..."
The rest of the words went unheard as Ash went to look for them.
* * *
Meanwhile, Misty groggily opened her eyes to the sound of her sisters voices. "Misty, get out of this bed right now!" Daisy ordered.
"What is it?" Misty groaned. She had had enough trouble getting to sleep with them lecturing her about her newfound relationship with Ash.
"Brock and Gary think that we've hit something," she said. "The stewards are starting to panic, and there's water coming into the cabins out front."
Misty sat up, sighing.
"There's no time for that!" Lily said. "The ship is going down, I can feel it!"
Misty felt her heart sink. "But the Titanic's unsinkable!" she protested.
"Well, obviously, it isn't, because we are going to sink!"
Sure enough, a steward threw open their door. "Get up and get your lifebelts on!" he commanded before moving on to the next cabin.
Misty jumped out of her bunk, noticing that there indeed was a slant in the floor. She looked outside. They were stopped dead in the water. She pulled on one of the dresses that Ash had given her - the white one she had been wearing that day - and her heavy coat. She had heard that it was getting cold out. She tucked her hair underneath a kerchief and followed her sisters out of the room. The four of them met up with Brock and Gary at the gate to the second class area.
Brock turned around. "They're not letting us through," he said. "They say there's no reason for panic and that we'll have our chance later..."
"What does that mean?" Misty asked, beginning to pick up on just how serious they thought the situation was.
"It means when the first-class people take all the boats, they'll let us up there to watch them float away as we go down with the ship!"
Misty clambered towards the front of the mob, hoping against hope that Brock wasn't right.
* * *
Ash was glad he'd brought his coat, but not glad about the situation. All around them, lifeboats were being uncovered and loaded. He looked at Tracey. Speaking was impossible because of the roar coming from the ship's funnels, but he could tell by the look on the artist's face that they weren't going to end up back in bed.
An officer waved to Ash and Tracey, beckoning them to come forth. "Would you like to get into this boat?!" he called.
Tracey bit his lip, his sense of chivalry too strong to just take a woman's place in the boat.
"There are no more women willing to board!" the officer shouted. "And this may be the only chance you have to get on a boat!"
Tracey looked at Ash. The teenager nodded and they began to climb into the boat. Ash had one foot in when he remembered something. "Oh, my god..." he said. He looked at Tracey. "I have to find Misty!" he yelled.
"Ash, come on, just get in the boat! She'll get out on her own!"
Ash shook his head. "I can't take that chance, Tracey!" he cried. "I have to find her and make sure she's okay!" He stepped back onto the deck and disappeared into the crowd before anyone could stop him.
Tracey sighed and sat down, volunteering to help the officer in the boat row as soon as they hit the water.
* * *
After about half an hour of running amok through the hallways, Ash finally found the gates where most of the steerage passengers were gathered. And, as if by some strange miracle, Misty was there in the front of the crowd. He ran down to the officer. "Why are you trapping them like that?" he said.
"It's our orders," one steward said.
"Well, forget your orders!" Ash nearly yelled. "These are living people you're caging up!"
A moment of debating and the steward opened the gate. "Women only," he called.
Ash reached through out and pulled Misty through. She practically collapsed into his arms, sobbing. "I didn't think you were coming!" she cried.
Ash buried his face in her hair. "I almost didn't," he said. "But I couldn't let you drown on this ship, not after all I promised you I would do."
Daisy, Lily, and Violet stepped up to them.
Ash let go of Misty.
Daisy forced a weak smile. "Thank you," she said. "We never would have gotten out of there if you hadn't come..."
Violet waltzed up to Ash. "So you're the man my sister is so in love with," she said. "I've never seen her so happy..."
Lily smacked her sister. "This is no time for that!" she hissed. "We have to get off this ship!"
Ash took Misty by the hand and began to head for the stairs until Misty stopped. "No," she said. "We have to find a way to get Brock and Gary out of there...I can't let them die..."
Ash spun around. "Misty, no!" he cried.
"Ash, this is mylife!" Misty called. "I can't turn my back on it, no matter what you can give me, and I won't!"
Ash was shocked, but nodded. "Okay," he said. He pointed down a hall. "There's a smaller gate down there. Get them to go over there, and I'll try and convince the steward to open it!"
Misty watched as he ran off. She ran back to the gate and whispered the directions into Gary's ear. He nodded in understanding and repeated it to Brock. They began to shove their way back down and Misty bolted in the direction that Ash had run. She found him arguing with a steward as several families pleaded in several different languages to be let through. Brock and Gary joined the group a moment later.
"Please," Misty begged, putting on her 'helpless steerage girl' act. "They're my best friends...you have to let them through...please..."
The steward, rather young and obviously naïve, sighed and took out his keys to open the metal gate. As soon as the gate had opened, Ash and Misty took off towards the Boat Deck.
* * *
Checking the clock on the wall, Ash saw that it was nearing 1:30am. The ship was at a pronounced angle by now, making it hard for them to walk straight. Misty was beginning to panic despite Ash's best efforts to calm her. They had taken several wrong turns and were now lost in the second class area of the ship.
Finally, Misty collapsed to the floor, unable to run anymore. Ash kneeled at her side. "Misty, we have to keep going!" he pleaded. "We have to get off the ship!"
Misty shook her head. "We're going to die on this ship," she moaned. "Even if we make it to the top..."
Ash halued her to her feet. "The last thing we need right now is for you to give up!" he cried. "I swear to God, I'm getting you off of this ship, and there's nothing that's going to stop me from doing that!"
Misty looked at him, seeing the determination in his eyes, and nodded.
Ash looked around, noticing how quiet it seemed to be. Everyone was probably either trapped below or on the Boat Deck already. His eyes fell on a sign that said 'To Boat Deck'. Resisting the urge to laugh, he pointed to it. "There we are, Misty, we're safe!" he cried.
They ran out onto the deck, but what they saw didn't comfort them at all. The Boat Deck was a zoo, people finally realizing that the ship really wasn't unsinkable and that it was going down.
Ash looked around for a boat, but there were none. "Oh, god," he said. "We're too late!"
Misty grabbed the arm of the first person she saw. "Are there any boats left?" she said.
"There's a few all the way forward," the man replied. "But they are filling up fast."
Ash took off running, Misty in tow. They reached the boat, and Ash shoved his way past the men in order to get the officer's attention on Misty.
Misty suddenly realized that the officer wasn't going to let Ash onto the boat. She spun around. "Ash, I'm not going without you!" she cried over the crowd.
Ash looked at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes. "Yes, you are!" he said. "I'm not letting you die on this ship!"
"Ash..."
"Misty, keep quiet and get on the boat!" he said. "It doesn't matter about me. The important thing is to get you off and make sure you live!"
Misty!" a voice called from the boat. Misty looked over to see her sisters already crowded in the back of the boat.
"You see?" Ash said. "You have family there! They want to see you survive! I want to see you survive! Please, don't be a fool! Take this chance!"
Misty was torn. She had no clue what to do. She wanted to survive, but she didn't want to leave Ash. She couldn't, not after all they had been through on this voyage.
Ash finally decided that drastic measures were in order. He pushed her towards an officer, who immediately picked her up and deposited her into the boat. Misty's sisters pulled her to them, throwing their arms around her, breaking down into tears.
Ash closed his eyes as the ship gave another shudder. When he stepped back, he found himself face-to-face with Brock and Gary. Both men looked like the planet was about to blow up. But Brock perked up the second he saw Ash. "Where's Misty?" he asked. "Did she...where is she?"
"She's in the boat," Ash said.
"Thank god," Brock said. He sighed. "Look...this may be my only chance to say this...but...I'm sorry for judging you the way I did...Misty really does love you...I shouldn't have tried to stand in her way...none of us should have. You've made her so happy the past few days..."
"I only did what my heart told me to do, that's all," Ash replied.
Gary was watching the rising water. Finally, he tugged on Brock's arm. "Come on," he said. "We have to get out of here!"
Ash checked his pocketwatch. It was nearing two in the morning. The ship didn't have too much longer, he could tell by the angle of the deck. As he followed the two steerage men towards the stern of the ship, he could hear the band playing one last song - "Nearer My God To Thee". It seemed like everyone was clambering to the stern.
Gary suddenly tripped and fell. Ash grabbed onto a rail and grabbed his hand. "I've got you!" he said. He hauled Gary back to his feet and they continued climbing.
The lights flickered once and suddenly went out completely. The groan of stressed metal rose from the bowels of the ship. Ash looked around, seeing the wooden deck begin to bend. "We've got to jump over the side!" he called. "The ship's splitting apart!"
Brock and Gary looked back and nodded. The three men climbed to the rail and jumped, intending to get as far away from the ship as possible. The water tore into Ash's body like a bunch of knives, it was so cold. He could hear the ship splitting as he swam frantically for the nearest lifeboat.
"Ash!" a male voice called to him. He turned to see Brock struggling with something. Closer inspection revealed that it was Gary, lifeless in the water.
Ash swam back and took one of Gary's arms, helping Brock haul him away. The cold of the water was already numbing his senses, but he wasn't going to let someone just drown.
* * *
Misty watched in absolute horror as the Titanic's stern lifted into the air. She had seen the ship split in half and the bow go down. Now, the stern was hanging in mid-air, as if someone had decided to torture the people on board some more. She could hear screaming and the sound of furniture and such dislodging and plunging towards the watercoming from the massive ship, which was no more than twenty feet away from them. There were no lights, just a massive black hulk against the starry sky. She swallowed back hysterics and continued to watch. She couldn't make out people in the crowd at the stern, but she was sure that Ash was in there somewhere.
She heard Daisy crying beside her and turned to her. It hit her then that Brock and Gary must have still been on the ship. She turned back. Somehow, it was impossible to show sympathy at that moment. Her eyes were fixed on the ship as it began to sink into the dark ocean. She had to remind herself to breathe. Please, Ash, please tell me that you got onto a boat...I can't live without you...I just can't...please...
A second later, the Titanic disappeared into the depths of the Atlantic ocean, on her way to a watery grave. Misty felt tears gathering in her eyes. She turned to Violet and the two of them collapsed into each other's arms. Misty let her tears free, knowing that she had just lost her first true love.
***
Salt water stung Ash's eyes. He could barely swim anymore, the cold had robbed him of all his senses. He and Brock were still pulling Gary towards the nearest lifeboat, but it kept rowing away despite Ash's cries.
Finally, Brock noticed what seemed to be a table floating in the water. He swam out, grabbed it, and pulled it close. "Here," he said. "We can put him on this."
They pooled their strength to haul Gary onto the table, which barely floated under his weight, and they grabbed hold of the edges.
Ash tried to rub the stinging out of his eyes. He soon realized that it wasn't just salt water, but tears. He could just imagine Misty, in that boat, thinking that he was gone with the ship. The image of tears running down her angelic face was enough to tear his heart out.
"You really do love her, don't you?" Brock's voice startled him.
Ash looked at him and finally nodded. "Yes, I do," he said.
Brock looked away. "So did I, once," he said. "But it was never meant to be...I've learned that."
"What do you mean?"
Brock looked at the young man. "If you make it through this, you'll know that you and Misty were meant to be together."
Ash nodded and motioned towards Gary. "What happened to him?"
"I don't know...he must have hit his head...I don't think he'll make it...the cold will get to him before he wakes up..."
Ash sighed heavily. "Brock..." he said, surprised that he could remember his name. "When we get out of here...I promise I'll pull some strings and I'll get you and Misty's sisters on your way to a better life."
Brock nodded. "That would mean so much to all of us." He forced a smile. "Are we invited to the wedding?"
"What wedding?"
"Yours. I'm not stupid. I know that you and Misty are going to get married."
Ash couldn't help but smile. It was amazing how something like this could bring enemies togwther and turn them into friends. "Of course you are," he said.
* * *
Misty was shivering so bad that they had to haul her onto the rescue ship. the Carpathia, in a makeshift swing. She was immediately led to the area where they were keeping the steerage passengers. She retreated to a deck chair and wrapped the blanket she'd been given around her. As she listened to the agonized cries of the women around her - most of whom were now either widows or childless - she gave into her own despair. Her whole body wanted to sleep, but it was also playing some kind of cruel trick on her by denying it to her. Ash...she thought. You're gone...forever...my first love...gone...I loved you so much...
There was a sound behind her and she spun around. Tracey stood behind her, tears in his eyes.
"Is Ash..." Misty couldn't bring herself to say any more.
Tracey sighed. "I don't know," he said. "I just got onto the ship. I wanted to make sure that you were okay..." He swallowed back some tears. "I'm so glad to see you're okay..."
Misty shook her head and collapsed into his arms, sobbing pathetically into his shirt.
Tracey sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "Misty...Ash asked me to give you this in case he didn't make it...he wrote it just after we hit the iceberg...I don't know if he made it or not, but..." He handed a sheet of slightly wet paper to her.
Misty let go of Tracey and opened the letter. In a barely legible scrawl it read...
"Dearest Misty;
Did I ever tell you how beautiful your name was? I don't suppose I ever did. Well, it is a beautiful name, and you're a beautiful woman. The past few days...they've meant so much to me...before you, I was adrift at sea in a sense. I had no idea where my life was going. I felt like I was standing in a crowded room, screaming at everyone I saw, but getting nowhere. Then, that day when I walked down and I asked you to accompany me to dinner, I felt like I was finally getting what I wanted. Some people may say that it never would have worked out, me being so 'upper class' and you not so, but I never cared once. I never once sat down and asked myself if there was someone in my own class for me. I worried about you, most of the time. I worred if you would make it in such a stuffy world. But as I watched you threaten to end your life just to save mine, I knew that it was meant to be. We were soulmates, I know we were. But this has happened now...I doubt very much if I will make it - women and children first is the rule after all, and there sure aren't enough boats on this ship for everyone.
If you're reading this, chances are Tracey has survived and he has given you this letter. I don't know what will become of you, but I don't want you to be sad. I understand if you cry for me, since our love was so young, yet so strong, but I don't want this to end your life. I want you to move on and succeed. I want you to find a man that can make you happy. I want you to have lots of babies. I want you to watch them grow into beautiful mirror images of you.
So, chances are, this is goodbye. Always remember that I love you more than life itself, and I want you to know that I turned down a chance to board a lifeboat and survive just so I could save you. Love makes you do crazy things. Please never forget me, Misty. And tell Tracey that he is my best friend and I'll never forget the friendship he has given me throughout the years.
Ash"
Misty felt tears running down her face as she looked back up at Tracey and fell once again into his embrace. She missed him so much already. But one thing came to her mind. "How did you make it?" she asked.
Tracey sighed. "I got onto a boat...one of the first ones..."
"But you're soaking wet," she said.
Tracey nodded. "I wanted to go back after the ship went down...but no one else did...so I jumped out to look for survivors...almost froze to death in the process. I left that note with someone...but I got back into the boat before we were picked up..." He stared at his feet. "Ash turned down a chance to get into a boat to save you, you know."
"Yeah," Misty said, reading the last few lines of the letter again.
"I guess I'd better get back...they'll put me on the list of the dead if I'm not there..."
Misty nodded.
"Misty, I'm sorry about this," Tracey said, resting a hand on her shoulder before heading back to the other first-class passengers.
* * *
Misty dragged herself towards the dining area. A steward had pleaded with her to eat something and she had finally agreed. But she knew that it was futile - her heart was broken, and nothing could ever repair it again.
She managed to force down a bowl of soup and then headed back out to the deck. She stared out at the ocean, praying that, if Ash had died, that he hadn't suffered. So many women...so many widows. "Ash and I weren't married," she whispered to herself. "So why do I feel like a widow?" Because Ash was your only true love, her mind replied. She dropped her head into her hands and burst into tears once more.
She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. "Misty," a strikingly familiar voice whispered into her ear.
She spun around to come face-to-face with a dark-haired man. Her jaw dropped. "Ash?" she said.
Ash was standing there, smiling at her. "We made it," he said.
Misty let out a small cry and threw her arms around him. "Oh, my god, Ash, you're alive!" she cried, bursting into happy tears this time. "How did you make it?!"
Ash held her as tightly as he could without strangling her. "Brock and I...we made it to a lifeboat...they pulled us in..."
Misty sobbed helplessly into his shirt. But then a thought came to her. "What happened to them?" she asked.
Ash gulpled back his own tears. "Brock is down in the infirmary. He's got a nasty bit of frostbite. Gary...he...passed away...in the water last night..."
Misty closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "But you made it," she said, wrapping her arms back around him.
"I love you, Misty," Ash whispered.
"I love you, too," Misty said. And with those words, they shared a passionate kiss that drew applause from several people nearby.
* * *
Rain was pouring down on New York as the Carpathia pulled into the harbour. Ash stood on deck with Misty, one arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders and one hand holding an umbrella over them. Tracey stood beside him, and Brock stood at Misty's side. Daisy, Lily, and Violet had refused to leave the third class dining room, where most of the steerage passengers from the Titanic had been sleeping.
The Carpathia, a small passenger liner that had been on her way to the Medditeranian when the captain had gotten the distress call from the Titanic, chugged over to the Titanic's berth and the crew lowered the lifeboats that it had recovered from the site of the sinking. The boats would later be stripped clean by souvenir hunters. The small liner then steamed to her own berth. Pure chaos ensued. Even though the sky was black and the harbour dark, it seemed like daylight with all the flashes from cameras.
Misty clung to Ash for dear life as they made their way towards the gangplank that led into the sea of reporters. Somehow, the prospect of getting on a lifeboat and descending into the unknown seemed less scary than walking through the crowd of reporters screaming out for blood...
Ash looked at her. "We can stay here for a minute if you want," he said. "Probably wouldn't let you off yet anyway."
Misty frowned. "Why?"
Ash motioned with his eyes down at the clothes she was wearing. "I know you hate to be reminded, but you still are a steerage passenger to everyone else." (Titanic fact: The Carpathia let the Titanic's survivors off by class - first class first, second class second, and third class last)
So they stayed until the crew began to let steerage passengers off. Misty hesistated. She looked back at Brock. "I'll probably never see you again," she said. "So..."
Ash put a finger over her lips. "Misty, I'm not the kind of person to just stare down my nose at the less fortunate," he said. He looked up at Brock. "I'm sure we can work something out. After all, my family does own the local newspaper where I live. I can pull some strings and get you working there if you want."
Misty looked over at Tracey, remembering his offer for her. "You never said it was Ash's family's newspaper," she said.
Tracey shrugged.
"I'm not sure how I'd respond to that life," Brock said. "I think I'd prefer to stay the way I am."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "I'm not saying that you'd be a millionaire like me," he said. "I'm just offering this so you and Misty can keep in touch. It's not fair to break friends up."
"What about my sisters?" Misty asked.
"I have it covered," Ash said. "Now, let's get off of this ship. I never want to see another boat as long as I live..."
Misty kept a strong hold on Ash's arm as they descended into the crowd. Nothing was going to tear her away from him again. They had stared fate in the eyes and laughed. Their love had survived.
A love against all odds.
THE END
A/N: To all people who thought that either Ash or Misty was going to die: Gotcha! Hey, like I said, the Titanic is my life's passion (well, besides Pokémon) and I'm so sick of love stories where one of the lovers dies...Misty should consider herself lucky. There were only six women who were reunited with their significant others after the Titanic sank. And I know I killed Gary, but it just wouldn't be real if everyone survived (I should have killed off Daisy, Lily, and Violet....I HATE them...)
He heard a pounding on his door. He ran to it and pulled it open. Tracey was there, looking like a ghost. "Did you feel that, Ash?" he asked.
Ash nodded. "And I saw it...It was an iceberg..."
Tracey bolted past him into the room and leaned out of the window. "It was an iceberg," he said. He turned back to Ash, eyes wild with fear. "Do you know where they keep the lifebelts in these staterooms?"
"Tracey, calm down!" Ash said. "We don't even know if we hit it!"
"We hit it, I know we did!" Tracey said. "What else could that have been?"
"Tracey!" Ash cried. "Sit down, I'll get you a drink! You need to calm down!"
Twenty minutes had passed when there came another knock at the door. Ash crossed the room and pulled open the door. "Yes?" he said.
A steward stood on the other side. "Sir, the captain requests that all passengers proceed to the boat deck with their lifebelts, immediately. You may find them..."
The rest of the words went unheard as Ash went to look for them.
* * *
Meanwhile, Misty groggily opened her eyes to the sound of her sisters voices. "Misty, get out of this bed right now!" Daisy ordered.
"What is it?" Misty groaned. She had had enough trouble getting to sleep with them lecturing her about her newfound relationship with Ash.
"Brock and Gary think that we've hit something," she said. "The stewards are starting to panic, and there's water coming into the cabins out front."
Misty sat up, sighing.
"There's no time for that!" Lily said. "The ship is going down, I can feel it!"
Misty felt her heart sink. "But the Titanic's unsinkable!" she protested.
"Well, obviously, it isn't, because we are going to sink!"
Sure enough, a steward threw open their door. "Get up and get your lifebelts on!" he commanded before moving on to the next cabin.
Misty jumped out of her bunk, noticing that there indeed was a slant in the floor. She looked outside. They were stopped dead in the water. She pulled on one of the dresses that Ash had given her - the white one she had been wearing that day - and her heavy coat. She had heard that it was getting cold out. She tucked her hair underneath a kerchief and followed her sisters out of the room. The four of them met up with Brock and Gary at the gate to the second class area.
Brock turned around. "They're not letting us through," he said. "They say there's no reason for panic and that we'll have our chance later..."
"What does that mean?" Misty asked, beginning to pick up on just how serious they thought the situation was.
"It means when the first-class people take all the boats, they'll let us up there to watch them float away as we go down with the ship!"
Misty clambered towards the front of the mob, hoping against hope that Brock wasn't right.
* * *
Ash was glad he'd brought his coat, but not glad about the situation. All around them, lifeboats were being uncovered and loaded. He looked at Tracey. Speaking was impossible because of the roar coming from the ship's funnels, but he could tell by the look on the artist's face that they weren't going to end up back in bed.
An officer waved to Ash and Tracey, beckoning them to come forth. "Would you like to get into this boat?!" he called.
Tracey bit his lip, his sense of chivalry too strong to just take a woman's place in the boat.
"There are no more women willing to board!" the officer shouted. "And this may be the only chance you have to get on a boat!"
Tracey looked at Ash. The teenager nodded and they began to climb into the boat. Ash had one foot in when he remembered something. "Oh, my god..." he said. He looked at Tracey. "I have to find Misty!" he yelled.
"Ash, come on, just get in the boat! She'll get out on her own!"
Ash shook his head. "I can't take that chance, Tracey!" he cried. "I have to find her and make sure she's okay!" He stepped back onto the deck and disappeared into the crowd before anyone could stop him.
Tracey sighed and sat down, volunteering to help the officer in the boat row as soon as they hit the water.
* * *
After about half an hour of running amok through the hallways, Ash finally found the gates where most of the steerage passengers were gathered. And, as if by some strange miracle, Misty was there in the front of the crowd. He ran down to the officer. "Why are you trapping them like that?" he said.
"It's our orders," one steward said.
"Well, forget your orders!" Ash nearly yelled. "These are living people you're caging up!"
A moment of debating and the steward opened the gate. "Women only," he called.
Ash reached through out and pulled Misty through. She practically collapsed into his arms, sobbing. "I didn't think you were coming!" she cried.
Ash buried his face in her hair. "I almost didn't," he said. "But I couldn't let you drown on this ship, not after all I promised you I would do."
Daisy, Lily, and Violet stepped up to them.
Ash let go of Misty.
Daisy forced a weak smile. "Thank you," she said. "We never would have gotten out of there if you hadn't come..."
Violet waltzed up to Ash. "So you're the man my sister is so in love with," she said. "I've never seen her so happy..."
Lily smacked her sister. "This is no time for that!" she hissed. "We have to get off this ship!"
Ash took Misty by the hand and began to head for the stairs until Misty stopped. "No," she said. "We have to find a way to get Brock and Gary out of there...I can't let them die..."
Ash spun around. "Misty, no!" he cried.
"Ash, this is mylife!" Misty called. "I can't turn my back on it, no matter what you can give me, and I won't!"
Ash was shocked, but nodded. "Okay," he said. He pointed down a hall. "There's a smaller gate down there. Get them to go over there, and I'll try and convince the steward to open it!"
Misty watched as he ran off. She ran back to the gate and whispered the directions into Gary's ear. He nodded in understanding and repeated it to Brock. They began to shove their way back down and Misty bolted in the direction that Ash had run. She found him arguing with a steward as several families pleaded in several different languages to be let through. Brock and Gary joined the group a moment later.
"Please," Misty begged, putting on her 'helpless steerage girl' act. "They're my best friends...you have to let them through...please..."
The steward, rather young and obviously naïve, sighed and took out his keys to open the metal gate. As soon as the gate had opened, Ash and Misty took off towards the Boat Deck.
* * *
Checking the clock on the wall, Ash saw that it was nearing 1:30am. The ship was at a pronounced angle by now, making it hard for them to walk straight. Misty was beginning to panic despite Ash's best efforts to calm her. They had taken several wrong turns and were now lost in the second class area of the ship.
Finally, Misty collapsed to the floor, unable to run anymore. Ash kneeled at her side. "Misty, we have to keep going!" he pleaded. "We have to get off the ship!"
Misty shook her head. "We're going to die on this ship," she moaned. "Even if we make it to the top..."
Ash halued her to her feet. "The last thing we need right now is for you to give up!" he cried. "I swear to God, I'm getting you off of this ship, and there's nothing that's going to stop me from doing that!"
Misty looked at him, seeing the determination in his eyes, and nodded.
Ash looked around, noticing how quiet it seemed to be. Everyone was probably either trapped below or on the Boat Deck already. His eyes fell on a sign that said 'To Boat Deck'. Resisting the urge to laugh, he pointed to it. "There we are, Misty, we're safe!" he cried.
They ran out onto the deck, but what they saw didn't comfort them at all. The Boat Deck was a zoo, people finally realizing that the ship really wasn't unsinkable and that it was going down.
Ash looked around for a boat, but there were none. "Oh, god," he said. "We're too late!"
Misty grabbed the arm of the first person she saw. "Are there any boats left?" she said.
"There's a few all the way forward," the man replied. "But they are filling up fast."
Ash took off running, Misty in tow. They reached the boat, and Ash shoved his way past the men in order to get the officer's attention on Misty.
Misty suddenly realized that the officer wasn't going to let Ash onto the boat. She spun around. "Ash, I'm not going without you!" she cried over the crowd.
Ash looked at her, an unreadable expression in his eyes. "Yes, you are!" he said. "I'm not letting you die on this ship!"
"Ash..."
"Misty, keep quiet and get on the boat!" he said. "It doesn't matter about me. The important thing is to get you off and make sure you live!"
Misty!" a voice called from the boat. Misty looked over to see her sisters already crowded in the back of the boat.
"You see?" Ash said. "You have family there! They want to see you survive! I want to see you survive! Please, don't be a fool! Take this chance!"
Misty was torn. She had no clue what to do. She wanted to survive, but she didn't want to leave Ash. She couldn't, not after all they had been through on this voyage.
Ash finally decided that drastic measures were in order. He pushed her towards an officer, who immediately picked her up and deposited her into the boat. Misty's sisters pulled her to them, throwing their arms around her, breaking down into tears.
Ash closed his eyes as the ship gave another shudder. When he stepped back, he found himself face-to-face with Brock and Gary. Both men looked like the planet was about to blow up. But Brock perked up the second he saw Ash. "Where's Misty?" he asked. "Did she...where is she?"
"She's in the boat," Ash said.
"Thank god," Brock said. He sighed. "Look...this may be my only chance to say this...but...I'm sorry for judging you the way I did...Misty really does love you...I shouldn't have tried to stand in her way...none of us should have. You've made her so happy the past few days..."
"I only did what my heart told me to do, that's all," Ash replied.
Gary was watching the rising water. Finally, he tugged on Brock's arm. "Come on," he said. "We have to get out of here!"
Ash checked his pocketwatch. It was nearing two in the morning. The ship didn't have too much longer, he could tell by the angle of the deck. As he followed the two steerage men towards the stern of the ship, he could hear the band playing one last song - "Nearer My God To Thee". It seemed like everyone was clambering to the stern.
Gary suddenly tripped and fell. Ash grabbed onto a rail and grabbed his hand. "I've got you!" he said. He hauled Gary back to his feet and they continued climbing.
The lights flickered once and suddenly went out completely. The groan of stressed metal rose from the bowels of the ship. Ash looked around, seeing the wooden deck begin to bend. "We've got to jump over the side!" he called. "The ship's splitting apart!"
Brock and Gary looked back and nodded. The three men climbed to the rail and jumped, intending to get as far away from the ship as possible. The water tore into Ash's body like a bunch of knives, it was so cold. He could hear the ship splitting as he swam frantically for the nearest lifeboat.
"Ash!" a male voice called to him. He turned to see Brock struggling with something. Closer inspection revealed that it was Gary, lifeless in the water.
Ash swam back and took one of Gary's arms, helping Brock haul him away. The cold of the water was already numbing his senses, but he wasn't going to let someone just drown.
* * *
Misty watched in absolute horror as the Titanic's stern lifted into the air. She had seen the ship split in half and the bow go down. Now, the stern was hanging in mid-air, as if someone had decided to torture the people on board some more. She could hear screaming and the sound of furniture and such dislodging and plunging towards the watercoming from the massive ship, which was no more than twenty feet away from them. There were no lights, just a massive black hulk against the starry sky. She swallowed back hysterics and continued to watch. She couldn't make out people in the crowd at the stern, but she was sure that Ash was in there somewhere.
She heard Daisy crying beside her and turned to her. It hit her then that Brock and Gary must have still been on the ship. She turned back. Somehow, it was impossible to show sympathy at that moment. Her eyes were fixed on the ship as it began to sink into the dark ocean. She had to remind herself to breathe. Please, Ash, please tell me that you got onto a boat...I can't live without you...I just can't...please...
A second later, the Titanic disappeared into the depths of the Atlantic ocean, on her way to a watery grave. Misty felt tears gathering in her eyes. She turned to Violet and the two of them collapsed into each other's arms. Misty let her tears free, knowing that she had just lost her first true love.
***
Salt water stung Ash's eyes. He could barely swim anymore, the cold had robbed him of all his senses. He and Brock were still pulling Gary towards the nearest lifeboat, but it kept rowing away despite Ash's cries.
Finally, Brock noticed what seemed to be a table floating in the water. He swam out, grabbed it, and pulled it close. "Here," he said. "We can put him on this."
They pooled their strength to haul Gary onto the table, which barely floated under his weight, and they grabbed hold of the edges.
Ash tried to rub the stinging out of his eyes. He soon realized that it wasn't just salt water, but tears. He could just imagine Misty, in that boat, thinking that he was gone with the ship. The image of tears running down her angelic face was enough to tear his heart out.
"You really do love her, don't you?" Brock's voice startled him.
Ash looked at him and finally nodded. "Yes, I do," he said.
Brock looked away. "So did I, once," he said. "But it was never meant to be...I've learned that."
"What do you mean?"
Brock looked at the young man. "If you make it through this, you'll know that you and Misty were meant to be together."
Ash nodded and motioned towards Gary. "What happened to him?"
"I don't know...he must have hit his head...I don't think he'll make it...the cold will get to him before he wakes up..."
Ash sighed heavily. "Brock..." he said, surprised that he could remember his name. "When we get out of here...I promise I'll pull some strings and I'll get you and Misty's sisters on your way to a better life."
Brock nodded. "That would mean so much to all of us." He forced a smile. "Are we invited to the wedding?"
"What wedding?"
"Yours. I'm not stupid. I know that you and Misty are going to get married."
Ash couldn't help but smile. It was amazing how something like this could bring enemies togwther and turn them into friends. "Of course you are," he said.
* * *
Misty was shivering so bad that they had to haul her onto the rescue ship. the Carpathia, in a makeshift swing. She was immediately led to the area where they were keeping the steerage passengers. She retreated to a deck chair and wrapped the blanket she'd been given around her. As she listened to the agonized cries of the women around her - most of whom were now either widows or childless - she gave into her own despair. Her whole body wanted to sleep, but it was also playing some kind of cruel trick on her by denying it to her. Ash...she thought. You're gone...forever...my first love...gone...I loved you so much...
There was a sound behind her and she spun around. Tracey stood behind her, tears in his eyes.
"Is Ash..." Misty couldn't bring herself to say any more.
Tracey sighed. "I don't know," he said. "I just got onto the ship. I wanted to make sure that you were okay..." He swallowed back some tears. "I'm so glad to see you're okay..."
Misty shook her head and collapsed into his arms, sobbing pathetically into his shirt.
Tracey sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "Misty...Ash asked me to give you this in case he didn't make it...he wrote it just after we hit the iceberg...I don't know if he made it or not, but..." He handed a sheet of slightly wet paper to her.
Misty let go of Tracey and opened the letter. In a barely legible scrawl it read...
"Dearest Misty;
Did I ever tell you how beautiful your name was? I don't suppose I ever did. Well, it is a beautiful name, and you're a beautiful woman. The past few days...they've meant so much to me...before you, I was adrift at sea in a sense. I had no idea where my life was going. I felt like I was standing in a crowded room, screaming at everyone I saw, but getting nowhere. Then, that day when I walked down and I asked you to accompany me to dinner, I felt like I was finally getting what I wanted. Some people may say that it never would have worked out, me being so 'upper class' and you not so, but I never cared once. I never once sat down and asked myself if there was someone in my own class for me. I worried about you, most of the time. I worred if you would make it in such a stuffy world. But as I watched you threaten to end your life just to save mine, I knew that it was meant to be. We were soulmates, I know we were. But this has happened now...I doubt very much if I will make it - women and children first is the rule after all, and there sure aren't enough boats on this ship for everyone.
If you're reading this, chances are Tracey has survived and he has given you this letter. I don't know what will become of you, but I don't want you to be sad. I understand if you cry for me, since our love was so young, yet so strong, but I don't want this to end your life. I want you to move on and succeed. I want you to find a man that can make you happy. I want you to have lots of babies. I want you to watch them grow into beautiful mirror images of you.
So, chances are, this is goodbye. Always remember that I love you more than life itself, and I want you to know that I turned down a chance to board a lifeboat and survive just so I could save you. Love makes you do crazy things. Please never forget me, Misty. And tell Tracey that he is my best friend and I'll never forget the friendship he has given me throughout the years.
Ash"
Misty felt tears running down her face as she looked back up at Tracey and fell once again into his embrace. She missed him so much already. But one thing came to her mind. "How did you make it?" she asked.
Tracey sighed. "I got onto a boat...one of the first ones..."
"But you're soaking wet," she said.
Tracey nodded. "I wanted to go back after the ship went down...but no one else did...so I jumped out to look for survivors...almost froze to death in the process. I left that note with someone...but I got back into the boat before we were picked up..." He stared at his feet. "Ash turned down a chance to get into a boat to save you, you know."
"Yeah," Misty said, reading the last few lines of the letter again.
"I guess I'd better get back...they'll put me on the list of the dead if I'm not there..."
Misty nodded.
"Misty, I'm sorry about this," Tracey said, resting a hand on her shoulder before heading back to the other first-class passengers.
* * *
Misty dragged herself towards the dining area. A steward had pleaded with her to eat something and she had finally agreed. But she knew that it was futile - her heart was broken, and nothing could ever repair it again.
She managed to force down a bowl of soup and then headed back out to the deck. She stared out at the ocean, praying that, if Ash had died, that he hadn't suffered. So many women...so many widows. "Ash and I weren't married," she whispered to herself. "So why do I feel like a widow?" Because Ash was your only true love, her mind replied. She dropped her head into her hands and burst into tears once more.
She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. "Misty," a strikingly familiar voice whispered into her ear.
She spun around to come face-to-face with a dark-haired man. Her jaw dropped. "Ash?" she said.
Ash was standing there, smiling at her. "We made it," he said.
Misty let out a small cry and threw her arms around him. "Oh, my god, Ash, you're alive!" she cried, bursting into happy tears this time. "How did you make it?!"
Ash held her as tightly as he could without strangling her. "Brock and I...we made it to a lifeboat...they pulled us in..."
Misty sobbed helplessly into his shirt. But then a thought came to her. "What happened to them?" she asked.
Ash gulpled back his own tears. "Brock is down in the infirmary. He's got a nasty bit of frostbite. Gary...he...passed away...in the water last night..."
Misty closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "But you made it," she said, wrapping her arms back around him.
"I love you, Misty," Ash whispered.
"I love you, too," Misty said. And with those words, they shared a passionate kiss that drew applause from several people nearby.
* * *
Rain was pouring down on New York as the Carpathia pulled into the harbour. Ash stood on deck with Misty, one arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders and one hand holding an umbrella over them. Tracey stood beside him, and Brock stood at Misty's side. Daisy, Lily, and Violet had refused to leave the third class dining room, where most of the steerage passengers from the Titanic had been sleeping.
The Carpathia, a small passenger liner that had been on her way to the Medditeranian when the captain had gotten the distress call from the Titanic, chugged over to the Titanic's berth and the crew lowered the lifeboats that it had recovered from the site of the sinking. The boats would later be stripped clean by souvenir hunters. The small liner then steamed to her own berth. Pure chaos ensued. Even though the sky was black and the harbour dark, it seemed like daylight with all the flashes from cameras.
Misty clung to Ash for dear life as they made their way towards the gangplank that led into the sea of reporters. Somehow, the prospect of getting on a lifeboat and descending into the unknown seemed less scary than walking through the crowd of reporters screaming out for blood...
Ash looked at her. "We can stay here for a minute if you want," he said. "Probably wouldn't let you off yet anyway."
Misty frowned. "Why?"
Ash motioned with his eyes down at the clothes she was wearing. "I know you hate to be reminded, but you still are a steerage passenger to everyone else." (Titanic fact: The Carpathia let the Titanic's survivors off by class - first class first, second class second, and third class last)
So they stayed until the crew began to let steerage passengers off. Misty hesistated. She looked back at Brock. "I'll probably never see you again," she said. "So..."
Ash put a finger over her lips. "Misty, I'm not the kind of person to just stare down my nose at the less fortunate," he said. He looked up at Brock. "I'm sure we can work something out. After all, my family does own the local newspaper where I live. I can pull some strings and get you working there if you want."
Misty looked over at Tracey, remembering his offer for her. "You never said it was Ash's family's newspaper," she said.
Tracey shrugged.
"I'm not sure how I'd respond to that life," Brock said. "I think I'd prefer to stay the way I am."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "I'm not saying that you'd be a millionaire like me," he said. "I'm just offering this so you and Misty can keep in touch. It's not fair to break friends up."
"What about my sisters?" Misty asked.
"I have it covered," Ash said. "Now, let's get off of this ship. I never want to see another boat as long as I live..."
Misty kept a strong hold on Ash's arm as they descended into the crowd. Nothing was going to tear her away from him again. They had stared fate in the eyes and laughed. Their love had survived.
A love against all odds.
THE END
A/N: To all people who thought that either Ash or Misty was going to die: Gotcha! Hey, like I said, the Titanic is my life's passion (well, besides Pokémon) and I'm so sick of love stories where one of the lovers dies...Misty should consider herself lucky. There were only six women who were reunited with their significant others after the Titanic sank. And I know I killed Gary, but it just wouldn't be real if everyone survived (I should have killed off Daisy, Lily, and Violet....I HATE them...)