"Hey

Mystiscia

"Hey! What are you doing in here?!" A voice yelled from above her. All the imaginary people disappeared, and she jerked up. At the balcony near the paintings, a young man with black hair was running down the steps. Misty jumped up and dashed for where she'd entered. As she ran for the stairs, Pikachu ran down them.

"Pikachu! Come on, pal, let's go!" She said as she neared the yellow mouse.

The Pikachu responded in its language, but Misty didn't understand. When she passed it, it turned around and followed her. "Hey, no, wait! I'm not going to hurt you!" He shouted after her. His 2 older companions were following after him, but they were a bit slower.

Misty stopped at the top of the stairs and spun around. "Hey, ok, how did you get in h-he-here…"The man trailed off and stared at her. A stray ray of light hit her face and the face in the painting behind her- a portrait of the Waterflower children.

Two older men rushed up behind the first, and both leaned over to catch their breath. "Now, child," Tracey started, closing his eyes, "This place is no place for a girl." He finished as looked over at Ash.

"Guys, do you see what I see?" He asked them quietly.

"What?" Brock looked around behind them, but Ash pulled on his arm.

"No, at that girl," Ash pointed to Misty. "Do you see-"

"I see it!" Tracey cried. He ran up to Misty and grabbed her hands. "Y-y-you look just like Mystiscia! You're just who we're looking for!" Tracey babbled on and on about how she was perfect for the part, but Misty was just plain confused.

Seconds later, Brock pulled Tracey away, saying how he was scaring the young woman.

"Thanks…I think…" Misty told Brock as the two older men walked behind Ash.

Ash walked up the steps, and stopped a couple below Misty. "A Pikachu….cute…" He picked up the mouse and deposited it in Tracey's arms.

"Are you Ash?" Misty asked quickly, staring intently at the black-haired man.

"Well, it all depends on who's asking," He said with a cocky smile.

"Well, I'm Misty. I'm looking for traveling papers…" Misty replied as Ash started walking up to her. "They say you're the guy to see, but I can't say who said it," She whispered. He was inches away from her face, with a smile on his face. He started circling her, and she spun around. "Wh-what? Were you a Hondour in your past life?!" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I'm sorry, Meesty-"

"M*i*sty," She corrected.

"Yes, well, I'm sorry Misty, it's just…well, you look an awful lot like…" He trailed off and shook his head. "No, never mind…now- you said you were looking for travel papers?" He smiled sweetly at her.

"Yes. I'm wanting to go to Goldenrod," She replied.

Ash stepped back in shock. "Goldenrod?" He asked. "Why do you want to go there?" He asked after he gathered his composure.

"Tracey and Brock were playing with Pikachu, putting it and laughing. "Oh, such a sweet Pokémon!" Tracey said, pulling out his small sketchpad.

"Yes, yes. Cute Pikachu,." Ash responded, petting Pikachu on the head. "Now, Misty, is it? Do you have a last name?" Ash asked calmly as he walked up to the same level as her.

"Well," She turned around and scratched the back of her head. "I know this is weird, but…I don't have a last name, or, at least, I don't remember my last name," She turned back around to face Ash, her eyes staring at the ground. "I was found wandering around when I was 9, and I was brought to an orphanage…."

"And, before you were 9" Ash questioned.

"Look! I have very few memories of my past, ok? I know it's crazy, but I think I had some sort of amnesia or something. I have only a few things from my past, and I can only put one of them together. And the answer to the puzzle lies in Goldenrod- I know it," She stated determinedly.

"Yes, that's…perfect," Ash whispered. "Brock, the tickets?" He spoke up.

"Ah, yes." He put a hand into his coat, and pulled it out with 4 tickets in his hand. He handed them to Ash, who never turned around to face his friend. Brock merely put them in Ash's hand, and went back to Pikachu.

"Now, Misty, we just happen to have an extra ticket to Goldenrod," He waved the tickets in front of her. "But, the fourth is for her- Mystiscia," He motioned to the redhead in the painting.

"Oh…." Misty said, disappointedly.

Ash took Misty by one arm, Brock by the other, and Tracey followed behind them. "We're going to reunite the Grand Duchess Mystiscia with her Grandmother," Ash told her as they led her up a set of stairs.

"You do look like her," Brock told her, motioning to the painting that Ash stopped in front of- one of Mystiscia and Lorelie. "The same green-blue eyes."

"The Waterflower eyes," Tracey said.

"Natalie's smile," Ash continued.

"Nicholas's chin," Brock said, putting his hand under her chin.

"Ooh!" Misty got annoyed, and started waving her hands around to get them to back away. Brock grabs one of her hands and examines them.

"And Natalie's hands," He said, looking at Ash.

"How old are you?" Tracey asked.

"19," Misty replied, pulling her hand out of Brock's grasp.

"Same age, same characteristics…" Ash murmured.

Misty started laughing. "Are you trying to tell me I'm Mystiscia?"

"I'm telling you that I've seen hundreds of girls, and none of them are as close to the description as you are! Just look at the paintings!" Ash threw his hand out at the painting hanging nearest them.

"There's no way I'm a princess, I mean, it's crazy!" Misty said, a muffled laugh coming from her lips.

"Why?" Ash asked quietly. "You don't know about your past or how you forgot your memories."

"And no one knows what happened to her," Tracey said from behind, motioning to the painting.

"You're looking for your family in Goldenrod," Brock continued.

"And her only family is in Goldenrod," Ash finished.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted. Misty looked at the Pokémon, confused.

"Well…. I dunno! It's kind of hard to think of yourself as royalty when you're sleeping on a cold, hard floor….but, sure. Yeah, I guess every little girl would wish she was a princess."

"Somewhere in this country, some little girl is," Brock said quietly, getting a glare from Ash. "And that girl probably craves for a family and love." Ash rolled his eyes at his friend.

The younger man cleared his throat and pulled away Tracey and Brock. "We'd really love to help you, but the last ticket is for the Grand Duchess," Ash said as they walked away. They walked down the stairs, and Misty turned to the painting. She sighed, and touched the dress on the painting.

Ash pulled Tracey and Brock down the stairs, and let go a few steps down. "What are you doing?! We're walking away to soon!" Brock hissed to Ash, who merely smiled.

"I'm sure Ash has some good reason for making us loose the only decent girl in all of Kanto!" Tracey whispered back to Brock.

"Why split a fourth of the money?" Ash asked, keeping his head held high. "Just…just slow down a bit," He held onto the two's arms, slowing their pace down the stairs. "Now," He looked at his watch, "Three, two, one," He held out the correct fingers, then waved it in the air.

"Ash! Wait!" A female voice yelled through the palace. He turned around and looked up at the woman running down stairs to meet the trio.

"I-I'm sorry, are you calling for me?" He asked nonchalantly.

"If I don't know who I am, then who's to say I'm not a Princess or whatever?" She asked as she strolled down the stairs.

"Yeah, go on," Ash coaxed.

"And if I'm not this….Mystiscia, then the queen lady would surly know, and it's all an honest mistake! Right?" She looked at the three, who all nodded their heads mechanically.

"But, if you are the Grand Duchess, you'll have your family and your true life back," Tracey encouraged, holding her 2 hands in his.

"He's right, you know. Either way, you get to Goldenrod," Ash said, a small smile on his face and his hand to his chin.

"Yep!" She replied with a smile.

"It's set, then," Ash said as he stuck out a hand. Misty took it, and shook, but crushed his fingers. "Ow!" He pulled free and examined his hand.

Misty sighed and rolled her eyes. "Wimp…" She muttered. Ash shook his hand, but glared at Misty.

"May I present, Her Royal Majesty, the Grand Duchess Mystiscia," Brock said, giving a deep bow and waving his arms out. Misty giggled at his antics.

"Oh, fine," She said, playing along, she curtsied, and laughed. "Pika-pal, we're going to Goldenrod!" She picked up the yellow Pokémon, and swung it around a bit.

"What are you talking about? The Pokémon stays," Ash said, picking Pikachu out of Misty's grasp and placing it on the ground behind them. Of coarse, Pikachu fried him with her thunder attack, making Misty laugh.

"No, Pikachu goes," She replied, taking Pikachu back in her arms.

"Not if it's going to attack me on the whole trip, it's not," Ash chased after her, bickering.

"Oh, she's only defending herself!" Misty replied, following Brock and Tracey.

"No, that was a direct attack on my life!" Ash shot out, pointing at the mouse.

"Pika!" Pikachu replied, stand up in her mistress's arms and pointing at Ash. "Pika pi pikachu! Pi pi pika, chu pi chu!"

Ash and Misty both looked at her with confusion written all over their faces. "Huh?" They both asked.

"Cha!" Pikachu sigh, and lay back in Misty's arms.

"It's alright, Pikachu. We can rest on the train," Misty told the Pokémon, resting it in the crook of her arm.

No one noticed the small cat in the opposite corner of the room. "Meowth! That's not the real Mystiscia! She's dead! Like the other Waterflowers! I mean, she was killed, am I right?" He spun around to face the reliquary that was next to him. It glowed, and mist shot out of it. When it cleared, a minion had come out of the tube and sat next to Meowth. "Aah!" He spun around, and watched as the evil object started to rise in the air and take off. He quickly grabbed a hold of the handle as it shot off, disappearing and reappearing in another world

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A/N- Aah! Help me out here! I don't really want to write about the bad guy (When I'm reading fanfics, I normally skip over them and read the romances ^^), but it's a must…..so….don't expect the next part anytime soon, k?

I hope you like it, please tell me in the review box, k? It helps to have reviews, trust me.