She didn't remember when the tears stopped. She was in a haze: time
was meaningless. All she could feel was Ash's weight in her arms, and his
blood on her skin. She had a vague idea of where she was going; her legs
were on autopilot. Doing what they would. She hoped it was towards the
hospital.
When had it gotten
like this? When the hero was the center of so many people's hate, and the
over used villains were the point of their affection? Misty didn't know.
It didn't actually matter whenever it was. The point was that Rocketshippers
weren't just content on proving the good points of their 'heroes' they
were hell bent on making Ash out to be a retarded, irresponsible, greedy,
selfish bastard. And like any fanatic, they pointed out only what they
wanted people to pay attention to. Ash's mistakes and shortcomings. It
was like some hideous anti version of "It's Wonderful Life".
Misty would admit, Ash had won some
of his battles by luck.
Namely his rematch with Brock in the rookie's first Gym battle ever,
but surprisingly Ash had forfeited that time too. What was she said so
long ago? She had signed and said. "Just when he gets a break he
decides to be a nice guy too."
Though Misty wouldn't admit it, Ash was proving
himself in the Johto Gym battles. He had realized that since Faulkner's
Pidgeot was doing the same attack over and over he could predict where
it was going to be next.
He had surprised Buggy by beating Spinerack
by Chickorita, she had said Ash was acting like his "normal" stupid self
(she had forgotten that Chickorita didn't learn just plant type attacks
and also bug type ironically didn't use primary bug type moves) and then
again even more by finding the hole in the power anti fire attack defense
Buggy had been so proud of.
He had stopped Whitney's 'unstoppable' Milktank's
roll out attack that second time with a genuine strategy.
Ash moaned temporary snapping
her out of her reflections.
"It's okay Ash, don't worry, I'm taking
you to get some help, just don't move." Pikachu followed close behind,
though in Misty's mental state she didn't really notice.
Dammit!
Why did the only road to Pallet Town, Ash's home, have to be straight thought
Viridian City, the beating heart of Team Rocket or Rocket Dan? It had become
like stepping though a nest of vipers.
It was ironic, (a lot of things were lately) Rocketshippers often talked
about how Ash constantly sidticked (sp) Pikachu on Team Rocket, and how
it wasn't fair. Heh, Ash could use any of his pokemon and they still call
it unfair. It wasn't like he was the only who sent the rockets in orbit.
[i]
"Staryu! Blast Team Rocket into the stratosphere with your water gun!" Snarled Misty.
"Dragonite? Use your Hyper Beam." Drake said flatly.
"Evee! Rage Tackle attack!" Miky shouted.
[/i]
And to top it off, they
said Jessie and James NEVER intended to kill Ash. (Don't ever use 'never',
it's too big a word) Just on occasion hurt him.
Misty thought back to the pokemon
League, and how the Rocket trio had tried to steal the Moltress Torch from
the stadium, you did not use a tank mounted flame thrower at someone at
point blank range with the intention of seriously injuries them, you did
it with the intention to kill them! Or that time when Todd had been
holding onto Ash over that drain outlet several feet up, and Jessie and
James had taken the chance to throw high explosives at him. You did not
do that to someone with the intention to hurt them. You did it to kill
them.
Even when on occasion they tried to do honest work
they couldn't resist the urge to cheat. Like during that Sunflora contest
or Plant Type Tournament when they had dressed up Meowth as a plant type.
Or when James used two pokemon at once during that pokemon entrance examine.
The only time they did seem to help was when
they fought Butch and Cassidy, who were fellow Team Rocket members, but
Misty had a feeling it was more a personal score than any sense of right
or wrong.
Ash had had such a sheltered childhood
they said, he can't but he good, Jessie and James had had such horrible
ones, they can't help but be bad. That was a joke . . .. There was a thing
called free will.
James had spent the
early years of his life being chased by Jessiebell. He had joined TR seeking
the elegance he enjoyed but couldn't stand how ridged everything in 'high
society' was. Now, he was just a dirty thief, with an even more ridged
system to follow.
She had been tormented by three older sisters
her entire life and you didn't see her running off to join a crime syndicate.
Jessie had been born into Team Rocket they said. She never had a choice.
Tradition was made from people accepting it at each generation. There
was always a choice.
The honorable Team Rocket
those guys had called them . . . they should of been comedians, at least
it was honesty work they would be good at.
There was nothing
honorable about them, she remember when they had trick Cassie into thinking
Ash had only won against her because he cheated. (Never mind he had been
in two tournaments and had been the first one to defeat Drake since he
had become Orange League Master in ten years and Cassie was just two days
into her journey)
They were doing
one good thing at least. They were costing Team Rocket the organization
a fortune in all those giant robots. The Mega Mercrow, the Arbotank, the
giant Noctowl, the Gargantuan Stantler Robot, and of course the Mecca Wobbafett.
(She wondered how many actually got all the Star Blazers spoofs in that
thing), she knew if she tried to count all the robots they had bought over
the years she would fall asleep.
She faintly heard a soft 'ding' as her sneakers went over a fake marble
floor. Heh, it was funny, she never thought about it before, but her shoes
had lighting bolts on them, even before she met Ash.
She looked around.
Her feet had delivered her to the right place after all. It was the hospital.
When she stepped into the receiving area people in doctors' uniforms came
and did a quick look over on Ash and carted him away on a stretcher.
One saw the blood on her
and asked.
"As you hurt?"
"Wha?" She said her senses waking
up.
"Are you hurt!"
"Huh? No, this is Ash's blood." Normally
that would be suspicious, but given the way she had carried him in, no
one suspected her of anything.
A nurse asked her a lot
of questions about herself and Ash, what had happened, how long ago, did
he have any allergies she knew of? She told them she was his traveling
companion and not a family member.
Pikachu hopped on her shoulders, she didn't realize how tired she was
until she landed on a conveniently nearby chair from the tiny extra weight.
She fell asleep in
the chair. Pikachu keeping watch. Under normal conditions pokemon weren't
allowed in the hospital walls. But in the emergency ward, no one had time
to deal with a yellow electric mouse.
When Misty
woke up from her dreamless sleep she had no idea how long she had been
asleep, she hadn't look at the clock tugging in Ash's almost life less
bulk.
Misty
asked what room Ash was in and was told he was in the emergency ward; those
Rocketshippers hadn't pulled at punches. She asked if she could see him
and was told he wasn't allowed visitors. Well, at least she didn't have
about someone giving him an exploding vase of flowers.
The first
thing she did once they wouldn't allow her to see Ash was call Tracy, she
had left Togepi with him and she was afraid for the little egg's life.
Tracy picked up the phone and responded no one had attacked him. She warned
him to lock the window and door and to not let anyone in except them.
Having calmed down and rested, Misty realized just how dirty she looked.
Telling Pikachu to stay out of trouble she went to the little girl's room.
Misty looked in the mirror
as she turned on the water from the motion sensitive facet, and realized
just how different from her normal self she looked. Her hair was matted
with sweet, her face dirty and tears still stained her face, but still,
Ash should have recognized her back when she saved him. Of course after
the beating he had gotten she wondered if he would recognize his own mother
Hanako (or "Delia" in the dubbed).
Misty thought back to the moment the Rocketshipper extremist had been
saying Ash wasn't worth the skin he was wearing, it was crimson haze, all
she remembered was this fear for Ash's life, and this burning hatred for
the wannabe Rocketeer.
She wondered, how different had
she appeared with that look of animal rage on her face? . . .
[i] "Eye for an eye, only makes the whole world blind." [/i]
[i] "Turn the other cheek." [/i]
How different was she really
from those monsters that had put Ash in the emergency ward? Could she really
say she was better? Now that the fire of emotions had died down in her
somewhat, she regretted hoping that she had caused that Rocketeer brain
damage. It wouldn't have proved her point. Only prove she was as low on
the evolutionary scale as them.
Character bashing, it was
just so wrong. No fictional character in history had ever deserved it truly.
There was an old saying, "those who listened to wisdom did not need it,
and those who did need wisdom did not listen."
[i] Mother wanted you to be a kind and merciful person. Do not become
the enemy. Do not do as they do. Protect those you love. But do not become
what you are fighting against.
[/i]
Protect those you love? She had
protected Ash just as whole-heartedly as she would Togepi. The boy she
had spent years criticizing, taunting, and arguing over the most trivial
things. A boy who had been willing to die to stop a senseless battle. (Ash
had told her about New Island after he had recovered his memories years
later)
She was convinced
Nurse Joy was crazy when she said it meant two people really like each
other when they fight a lot. Now she realized he hadn't understood what
she had really meant.
It was not about fighting, it
was about . . .. The fact they commutated at all. If she hated Ash so much,
why did she even bother talking? Why did he even bother talking?
She knew why she had stayed with
Ash all these years, all she had never mentioned the bike after the Kanto
League. No matter what anyone thought of her, no matter what anyone thought
of him, she did love him.
Then a VERY chilling thought
occurred to her, emergency ward was reserved for life threatening cases.
She hadn't thought of it before. If Ash was in there that meant there was
a real chance he was going die . . .
Misty washed
her face, putting her mask of determination.
[i] You aren't
going die Ash! I won't let you! [/i]
Flames, comments, suggestions on what happens next, reactions, occasional constructive crittizem, all welcome.