AN: I know that this story is getting a bit out of hand length wise, and I know a lot of you are getting impatient with me. I'm sorry for dragging this fic soooo long. I think that there will be a couple more parts, and then I kinda need to end it =( Sorry to those who never want it to end, and sorry to those who wish I had ended it sooner. But to all of you, thank you a trillion and a half for sticking with me on this story! And now, we return to our story already in progress...






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Misty's Awakening
Part 20
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The rain slid down the roof and off onto the ground below with what seemed to be no friction, splashing on and adding to the puddles beneath the patio.

Misty closed the door quietly behind her. She found the wooden railing with her hand, and held to it as she walked out to the edge of the patio.

She knew that the patio was several feet above the ground, and it gave her a pleasing view of the forest that lay beyond the grassy field. The roof extended over it, so she wasn't even touched by the rain. She took in a breathe of cold air and savored it...it was so revitalizing to step outside of the crowded hall for a break.

She couldn't help but think over the day's happenings in her mind as she stared into the rain. She wondered, too, about how much longer it would be before she and Ash could leave. She felt as though they were missing something that they could only find out there, traveling. Like they had before...

She shook her head faintly. She wanted him to be completely happy. She didn't want to hold him back anymore from his Pokemon Journey, not for another day. Maybe she could talk to him about it when he met her out here on the patio.

What would she tell him? That she was so tired of living in the now and was ready to start into their future together? That was how she felt. She had known him as he was for only a few weeks, but now that she thought about it, she'd known him for years, and always loved him. The first time she saw him, she'd found him oddly cute. That's why she'd never left. How many times she'd tried to convince herself to stay just a little longer to see if he'd give her a sign, she didn't know anymore, but she could never make herself leave until that day...

And not that she thought about it, she probably would have ended up with Ash again. He'd always been there, in his strange way, for her to fall back on, even if things didn't always go so well. And he *had* gone after her...

How many times had her thoughts fallen back to this? Too many. But now they were so much closer. So...hadn't it all been worth it?

Yes.

She sighed. All of this, and now, very soon, it would be just her and Ash. They'd both worked hard for this.

Her head ached, and she decided to sit down by the railing on a bench. She curled one of her legs up to her chest, and continued to watch the rain shower over the darkness. The skirt of the violet dress whipped softly against her leg in the wind, and she closed her eyes for just a moment, losing herself.

Why had love come to her so easily? It didn't seem right.

But she'd been lucky, despite everything that had happened.

'Stop,' she told herself. 'I'm thinking about this too much.'

She waited.

She opened her eyes, and saw a flash.

"Hnh?" She looked out into the trees. There it was again-- a flash of red light.

She brought her leg down, and stood up against the railing. The light came back, this time flashing again and again like a strobe light.

She squinted, but it seemed to always be flashing. What was it? She followed the railing down the stairs and onto the wet grass. Shielding her eyes from the rain with her hands, she walked carefully towards the trees.

The light grew brighter as she came closer to the forest, it seemed, and she made her way over the rise of grass in the moonlight to get an even closer look. Her shoes slipped and she fell onto the hill, but she took them off and, slowly, stood up again.

She was drawn to it. Even the chill of her bare feet against the wet grass didn't slow her down, and as dizzy as she already felt, she didn't feel like stopping just yet. Not until she knew...

She shivered, her silky violet dress becoming heavy with moisture and sticking to her legs. The wind blew the rain into her, her hair whipping into her face and neck. She watched the light...watching...watching...

And with one last flash, her whole field of vision became red. Crimson flooded her sight, and she felt as though sand was weighing her feet down. She felt sick in the pit of her stomach, and her feet stumbled uselessly. She tripped over her skirt blindly and tumbled helplessly down the rise and into a group of aspens.

She clung to the small trunks of the trees, trying futiley to stand, but she couldn't make her legs work. The rain that fell in her face looked as red as blood. She shivered as black took over the red.

Everything was dark.

She thought she heard a voice calling, but she knew that she was just imagining it...like she had imagined the light...

Just ten minutes ago she'd been dancing. . .

The wind whisked away her consciousness, and she could remember nothing more.

~ ~ ~ ~


The car waited outside in the rain, the crepe paper and silly string sticking to it damply as the rain ceaselessly fell. Ash came out from the hall, along with the others, and looked for her face.

He hadn't found her out on the patio, and he hadn't seen her anywhere inside. But when the Bride and Groom had announced their leaving from the reception about fifteen minutes later, Ash realized that she must have left to take part in the car decorating. He had smiled, and gone outside with the others in the rain.

He bid farewell to Brock and Violet, and, after all the good-byes had been given from the guests, the car made off into the rain.

The crowd dissembled, and Ash found himself waiting. What kind of a game was she playing on him, making him have to search for her?

But annoyance made way to worry.

People were beginning to leave. Cars drove out of the parking lot, and people said good-bye to Ash. He smiled faintly and wished them well. But...

Standing outside, he felt so cold...

His heart leapt, and he ran out to the back of the reception center in the rain. He needed to check one more time. There was something that felt very, very wrong.

Glancing over, he climbed the stairs and up to the patio. Still, she wasn't there. He turned.

He looked out over the grassy field, and beyond a rise he saw the foliage of a small group of aspen trees...


~ ~ ~ ~



Nothingness.

She was lost in an ocean of cold darkness, drowning. She couldn't even cry out. She'd forgotten how, anyway...

Misty didn't know where she was, or who she was, or why she was there. She hadn't been awake to feel the strong arms urgently lift her and shake her, the tears that had mingled with the rain on her skin, the blood that had run out from her wounds and onto the white shirt of the boy who had taken her away from the trees in his arms.

She hadn't heard the siren calling dangerously in the distance growing ever nearer, nor had she felt her body being lifted onto the stretcher. For all she knew, none of these things ever happened or existed.

Now, she just *was*.

And she *wasn't* really anywhere, not that she could tell.

A strange rhythm pulsed, but she didn't know what it was. It continued on and on...and on....it was all that she knew of the conscious world. The rhythm went on....


~ ~ ~ ~



The boy in the white shirt sat, listening to the beeping of the heart monitor. The ripped violet dress, now stained with blood as was his shirt, lay draped over a hospital chair. It was still wet.

He drew his hand through his damp hair nervously. The girl in the bed looked so cold, despite the pile of blankets that already covered her. So cold, and so still.

Just like he'd found her.

It had happened way too fast, and now he didn't really believe that it had happened at all. But there was no way to deny it.

Maybe he should have been watching her. He should have told her to lay down the moment she had felt weak. He knew that he'd told her to take it easy...but why had she walked off in the rain? She knew that if she got too cold that....

He didn't let himself think about it anymore. There wasn't any point.

This wasn't fair. Not so much unfair for him, but for her. Hadn't she been through Hell already? Why this, why now?

He clenched his fist, laying his head down on the blanket near the weak girl. He began to cry into it, sobbing, and he almost wished that she could hear him.

He heard someone enter. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves and looked up to see the guest.

"Ash...honey, you're so tired." Ms. Ketchem looked at him by the bed and sat down.

"I...I know." He bit his lip and stood up.

"Here, I brought you some hot cocoa. It might lift your spirits."

"Thanks." He took it, not really wanting to drink it, but he took a sip to be kind. "What are the Doctors saying now?" he asked tentatively.

His mother sighed. "Well, they're worried about hypothermia, as well as problems that were already present with the relapse. They're not sure what triggered it. They can't for sure say why..." She thought it wise to stop, knowing that Misty was hanging by a thread, and that Ash already knew. He didn't need to hear about it anymore. She wished he wouldn't ask.

"How...how long?"

"How long?"

"She's going to...well, I mean, isn't she? She...she was barely alive..." Tears were coming down in streams again.

"Ash...no one knows. There's still a chance."

He looked at the deep brown liquid in the mug. "She wouldn't just let herself die, would she...?"

Ms. Ketchem shook her head.

"She doesn't even realize we're here...I can't even tell her good bye..." He stared dreamily at the mug, but looked up suddenly. "Mom...can I see the car keys?"

"Huh? But, Ash, you're not just going to leave..."

"No--I've go to do one thing, really quick. Please...the car keys!" he stood up frantically.

"Sweetie, I'd just assume you-- "

He rushed over to her purse and drew from it the keys to the car. "I'll be right back...watch her."

"Ash!"

But he was out the door.



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...To be continued....
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AN: Forgive the cornyness, but keep with me here....

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