A/N: Wow, Miss Ashley hasn't screamed yet! :-D Aaaaanyway, sorry for the long delay. The previous week (including Saturday morning…) was full of nothing but exams… Spent the last two months studying but still couldn't cram all the information into my head… *sigh*… But at least I'll be more-or-less free for the rest of the year now.

Ch. 8 – Arrival

"'Pallet Town – 2 miles.'" Ash read. "See, I told you I knew how to read a map!" He announced triumphantly. His companions rolled their eyes.

After many days of travelling, they are finally nearing their destination. They did stop at some places to say hi to friends.

Before they departed Cerulean City, Ash and Misty gave Brock a few moments of living hell until he was on his knees, begging for mercy. Violet tried to prevent Misty from leaving with the same 'wanting to be alone with Ash' reason. In response, the young couple gave each other a quick kiss. As the trio started down the road, their last glance at the three Sensational Sisters showed them with their jaws dangling, speechless.

They took the same route as the one they used when Ash first set off on his Pokémon journey. Terraneon made the trek through Mt. Moon a simple task, and they're finally at Viridian Forest. Ash and Misty still quarrelled over insignificant things, but they no longer ended up in the two of them trying to rip each other apart.

"Alright, let's go!" Ash exclaimed and started walking.

"Uh… Ash, the arrow's pointing that way…" Misty said, pointing at the opposite direction.

"Oh, hehehe…" Embarrassed, Ash turned around and took the correct path, closely followed by Pikachu at his heels and Misty behind him.

Shaking his head, Brock trailed behind them.

* * * * *

"Hey mom, I'm back!" Ash called out cheerfully as he burst through the door. But before his mind could register the exact position of his mother, he was wrapped in a powerful bear hug.

"Oh Ash, why didn't you tell me you're coming home?" Delia asked delightedly. "I would've prepared a huge Welcome Home dinner!"

"Uh… nice offer mom, but not so tight please?" Ash wheezed, gasping for air.

"If you still plan on doing it, I'd be glad to help, Mrs. Ketchum." Brock offered politely.

"Thank you Brock, you're always so helpful. It's nice to see you again," She released her son, who collapsed onto the floor. "And you too, Misty." She added. "And Pikachu, and Togepi."

"Pika!"

"Togi! Togi!"

Misty smiled politely and returned the greeting, but was feeling rather strange inside. She loved Mrs. Ketchum, but when she saw the mother and son together that time, she felt a wave of pain from long ago, almost forgotten, emerge again.

'Why am I feeling like this? I've never felt like this during my previous visits…'

While she was still lost in thought, Delia and Brock headed to the kitchen and Pikachu followed them to hunt for ketchup.

Misty went out to the garden and sat down on the bench. The beautiful flowers took her mind away from the past, and allowed her to relax a bit.

"Misty?"

The redhead jumped. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" she exclaimed, annoyed.

Ash scratched his head. "Um… I was just walking normally…"

"Oh, sorry… I just have a lot on my mind…" she apologized, feeling regretful for her outburst.

Ash shrugged nonchalantly and sat down next to her. "It's okay. Watcha thinking about?"

"Nothing of interest…" she mumbled. 'Liar!'

"You look pretty bothered by something uninteresting…" Ash said, looking at her closely.

"Since when did you become so observant?" Misty asked humorously, trying to change the subject.

"A Pokémon master must always be alert…" Ash started, but caught himself. He shook his head. "No, something's bothering you. C'mon, you can tell me…"

'Please don't make me think about it…' Misty bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. She took a deep breath. "Id… rather not talk about it…"

"Well, okay…" Ash sighed and got up to leave. He understood that she has some personal matters she might not want to tell anyone, but he couldn't help feeling a bit hurt. Didn't she trust him?

Misty got alarmed at Ash's expression. "Wait Ash, don't take it that way!"

"No, it's okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to…"

"Well… I guess I'd have to tell someone sooner or later…" Misty said pensively.  "It's just that… well… I never got the chance to know my parents…"

At those words, Ash felt guilty for trying to get her to reveal something like that. He sat down again. He started slowly, "If it's any comfort to you, I never got to know my dad, either…"

"Oh?" Misty remarked half-heartedly. She didn't want to stay on the topic, but Ash continued anyway.

"I think something horrible happened to him…" he said, becoming distant as well. "Once, when I was small, I was awakened in the middle of the night. There was a noise coming from my mom's room. I went over to check, she was having a nightmare.

"I can't remember what she said, but she was calling my dad's name. I wasn't able to get her to talk about it… she just became quiet and depressed when I tried, so I just let it drop…"

"Oh Ash… I'm sorry…" Misty said quietly.

Ash smiled weakly. "The past is the past. There's nothing we can do to change it…"

It was Misty's turn to recount her story. "I don't know what happened to my dad, either…" she started sadly. "He just… vanished right before my first birthday. Mom couldn't take it… she fell seriously ill…"

At this point, her tears started cascading down her cheeks. Ash pulled her into a hug and gave her a shoulder to cry on. He glanced down at her sadly. 'Why do these things happen?' he wondered. For a while, he wished that he could also cry freely like that.

After some time, the sobbing gradually stopped but Misty did not pull away. She felt safe there, in his arms.

"Nobody told me about it, either…" she continued in a hushed voice. "I found my mom's diary when I was exploring the attic."

Ash remained silent. He was out of things to say, and didn't really know how to respond. But Misty didn't mind, she was content enough to be near Ash and to forget about her troubled past.

* * * * *

"Urgh… I can't move…" Ash groaned, lying on the table.

He had just finished his umpteenth serving of his dinner. Delia and Brock had made a magnificent feast with a little help from Mimey. Everyone enjoyed themselves tremendously, and Ash and Misty forgot about the forlornness of their earlier conversation.

"Ash, you really should watch what you give that stomach of yours…" Misty sighed while feeding little Togepi.

"Don't worry, he's still a growing boy!" Mrs. Ketchum said cheerily. "Come on Ash, have the rest of the food!" This earned another loud groan from him.

"Yeah, growing until he can't fit through the doorway…" Brock commented.

"Well, I guess even growing boys have limits," Delia said. "Come help me clear the table, Mimey!"

"Mr. Mime!" The hardworking Pokémon immediately set to work.

"You okay, Ash?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, just give me about an hour to digest…"

"Well, okay. Just stay there until you can walk." She said nonchalantly. Then she, along with Mrs. Ketchum, sweat-dropped as they watched Brock and Mimey quarrelling over who gets to wash the dishes.

* * * * *

Everybody was lounging lazily in the living room. Outside, a torrent of rain kept them from visiting Professor Oak like they wanted to, so they played a few indoor games. Pikachu joined as well.

"I win again!" Misty announced happily. Everyone else groaned and threw down their cards.

"Let's play something else," Ash suggested.

"What's the matter, Ash? Scared of losing again?" Misty teased him.

"No, I'm just getting bored, that's all!" Ash retorted defensively. Brock gave a loud cough which sounded like 'soreloser'.

"Hey Pikachu, why don't you show mom your newest trick?" Ash suggested brightly.

"Uh… is that a good idea?" Brock questioned nervously, remembering what had happened back at the mountain.

"No problem! We've been training a lot, haven't we, Pikachu?"

"Pika Pika!"

"Okay Pikachu, do your stuff!" Ash directed enthusiastically.

Pikachu closed his eyes and focused his mind. Sparks began to fly from his cheeks. Everyone gazed with wonder at the ball of electricity he made fly around the room in a distinct pattern without showing any strain.

"Y'know, this reminds me of the battle with Sabrina's Kadabra…" Brock commented.

"Hey Pikachu, do you think you can make it form a shape?" Ash asked excitedly.

"Pika…" the ball fizzled and the little Pokémon looked at Ash slightly doubtfully.

After some encouragement, he squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated hard. Everybody watched admiringly at the dragon he managed to form…

* * * * *

Some distance away, a figure sat in the darkness, illuminated only by an unnatural, dark flame behind him. He sensed Pikachu's power. Though slightly startled, he felt no fear, only fierce determination.

"He is stronger than I expected…"

*********

A/N: I know this isn't very long especially after the long gap between updates, but I wanted to get this up as soon as I could. Started writing as soon as I had time, but I'm not exactly the fastest story-spinner around… Sorry for the lack of AAMR in this chapter, but there will be an… um… 'interactive' part coming up in a few days (I promise to get it up quickly!)

~Miss-Ashley: Um… the story is more about… well… a story. The romance is just something I threw in as extras. But, I think I'll start work on an AAMR fic soon.