Jack, recovering quickly, moved his head away so that Ash's next punch landed on the floor. Rolling over the younger boy, he attempted to aim a punch but Ash got up quickly. Jack followed suit and they circled each other, measuring up their opponent. Ash was shorter, but fairly strong and more agile whereas Jack was more cunning and experienced.
Ash charged at the older boy, who side stepped and brought his knee up to Ash's stomach. Ash doubled over, but not before he tripped up his opponent and brought him crashing to the ground. Slowly, Ash got up and ran forward at Jack, who had just stood up. Jack, not being prepared, was pushed to the wall as Ash striked out at him, blow after blow. Each blow was filled with hatred and anger, despair and jealousy, loss and love. When Jack finally got away, he stood calmly with a gun pointed at Ash. "Stay away from me," he said dangerously. Ash froze, his feet seemingly rooted to the ground. He pointed at Misty, "You, come here right now or your little playmate will pay... with his life."
Misty stood, backing up against the wall, not wanting to walk closer. Walk you fool! No! He'll... he'll hurt me! So what? If you don't go, Ash will be the one who gets hurt, and for your mistake as well! If he didn't sleep with Keya... Well, you went out with jack, didn't you? You wanted to get back at him and you did. This is the consequence you must take. No... You love Ash, don't you? Yes... You don't want to see him hurt, right? Yes... Then you know what you have to do.
Misty finally began to edge towards Jack. Seeing this Ash cried out, "No! Misty! Stay where you are!" She ignore him and continued, putting one foot in front of the other, only concentrating on walking forward, so she was surprised when a hand grabbed her arm and refused to let her go. "No! I won't let you do this, not because of me," he said, looking directly into her eyes. Misty's own suddenly filled to the brim with unshed tears. "Ash..." she whispered, "I never meant for... for this to happen," she said through sobs. "I know. Listen to me, don't go," he said firmly, but she shook her head. "I can't, I have to go..." she mumbled and slipped her arm from Ash's grasp.
"No!" cried out a voice, and all three of them looked out of the window to see Mia and Keya jumping in through the opened window. "Don't walk any closer, Misty, the gun's empty!" called out Keya. Growling, Ash lunged at Jack who, knowing he was outnumbered, tried to run away, but Ash pushed him so that, losing his balance, his head hit the decorative wall lamp and he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
"Misty!" sighed Ash as she ran into his arms, sobbing. "Ash, I'm so sorry, I'm... I'm..." she said, her sobs breaking up her sentences. "Shh," he said comfortingly, "Everything's alright now." Misty shook her head. "No, no it isn't," she murmured into his shirt, "I shouldn't have... I..." Ash cut in before she could continue, "It's over. It's all in the past, except for one thing..." he said, trailing off. Misty looked up at him, "What?" she asked softly. "Do you forgive me?" he asked gently. "Yes," she said, placing her head on his shoulder. "Do you forgive me?" she asked. Ash pulled her away gently to look into her eyes. "Look at me, Misty. I swear to you, I never blamed you from the start," he said with such force that she couldn't do anything but nod.
"I'll always love you, ok?" he said tenderly. Misty's tears began to fall. "And I you, forever and always," she promised. "Forever and always," he agreed. Their lips met and they shared the one kiss they would never forget and treasure for the rest of their lives.
"How romantic," sighed Keya. "Mmm..." agreed Mia with a smile. Keya turned to face Mia, "You reckon we should break them up?" she asked. They took another look. "Nah," they both said in unison, shaking their heads. Then, quietly, they jumped out of the open window where Pidgeot was waiting to give them some privacy.
"They are so right for each other, don't you reckon?" asked Keya, turning around to face Brock. He smiled back, "To think, a few weeks ago you were planning how to break them up," he said with a grin. Keya kicked his leg and he laughed, putting his arms around her waist. "Honestly, do you have to sit in his lap, Keya? There are 5 extra chairs," pointed out Mia with a roll of her eyes. Keya stuck out her tongue. "Just wait till you get to about 15, Mia darling. At that age, you wouldn't even ask such a silly question," she teased lightly.
When Ash and Misty finally returned to the hotel room, the others clapped as soon as the door opened. Ash and Misty turned different shades of red. "Congratulations," said Brock, thumping his friend on the back. Ash blushed even further, "What about you?" he argued back. Brock looked and Keya and they just grinned. Gary nodded to acknowledge a job well done, and Ash nodded back as a sign of thanks. "Yay! You go bro!" cheered Mia happily, throwing streamers into the air and skipping around the room, making them all laugh.
You've been such a good friendI've known you since I don't know when
We've got a lot of friends,
But they come and go
Even though we've never said it,
There's something that the two of us both know
Together, forever no mater how long
From now, until the end of time
We'll be together and you can be sure
That forever and a day
That's how long we'll stay
Together and forever more
Always gone that extra mile
Depended on you all the while
Even in the good and bad times
You will see
From now until our journey's end
You know that you can always count on me
Together, forever no mater how long
From now, until the end of time
We'll be together and you can be sure
That forever and a day
That's how long we'll stay
Together and forever more
No matter where our destiny leads
I'll be there for you, always come through
And that you can believe.
"So where are we going now?" asked Mia. Ash shrugged, still beaming. He'd come first in the Jhoto league, Gary and Mia second and third respectively. Keya had dropped out, wanting to pursue a career in designing clothing, a dream she'd never thought would come true. She and Brock had left soon after cheering their friends on, for Paris so that Keya could begin to fulfil her ambition.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to travel the world," admitted Mia, shocking her friends. "I've always loved Pokemon, you understand that, but there's so much more to this world," she said softly. "I want to travel and learn more about Pokemon, but if Keya's going to attempt to make her dreams come true, so shall I. I'm going to agree to the 1 year contract that Idol records offered me. It'll get me started, at least," she continued. Looking up, she laughed at her friends. "Hey, I'm not leaving forever, it's just a year. Besides, nothing's finalised yet," she added softly. She looked down at the ground, not wanting to show them that she was afraid.
"When will you come back?" Gary finally managed to say. Mia shrugged. "I don't actually know. I might continue travelling after the contract is over, or I might come back and study under Professor Oak," she said in an uncommitted tone. There was an awkward silence that seemed to shut out Ash and Misty. Ash didn't say anything; it just didn't seem like the right time to put on his protective older brother act. "I'll be waiting for you right here," promised Gary. Mia's eyes filled with tears. "I promise I'll come back," she said, on the verge of crying. "Forever and always?" he asked. "Forever and always," she assured. He gave her a light kiss on her forehead and turned to Misty and Ash.
"What about you two?" asked Mia, brushing tears from her eyes and trying to smile. "We're going into the next area. Apparently there's another competition Ash wants to enter, and I want to be by his side when he wins it," she said, putting her head on Ash's shoulder, who blushed. "Good luck and take care, Mia," Ash said, "I hope you fulfil your dreams and become what you want to be. Remember, nothing is impossible, ok?" Mia smiled at her brother. "Yeah," she said, not daring to say any more for fear he'd break down.
"Well, I suppose I'll see you all in a year if all goes well," she said, forcing a laugh, "Bye!" Turning, she was about to leave when Gary grabbed her hand. "Wait!" he said, "Take this." He handed to her a small heart shaped white-gold locket. Inside, was a picture of Gary and her. Giving him a hug, she whispered, "I'll be back soon." Gary gazed into her eyes, and she his. "Yeah, I know," he replied softly as she turned away for the first time in many years. "Bye," he murmured softly, tears beginning to form as he watched her walk away. As she'd turned away, Gary didn't see her tears begin to fall as she wondered whether this was the right path to take. 'He promised he's be waiting and I believe him,' she thought to herself, 'Always and forever'.
Misty smiled sadly as Mia turned away. She did notice Mia's tears. She noticed Gary's as well. She noticed the heartbreak that seemed to take place and the promise that hung thickly in the air, waiting for it to be fulfilled. She herself had finally had her dreams fulfilled, her wishes come true, and her hopes... Well, she still had many hopes, but one of them had happened. She clutched tightly at Ash's arm at the thought, smiling up at him. He smiled back. Life seemed to seep back into her soul with just that one smile. "Another day, another hope," she said softly.
((Hey all!! Well, Misty's Hope has finally finished... man... I spent 1 ½ years on this fanfic. It was my first ever that actually succeeded in getting finished, as you many have guessed.
I'm terribly upset that it has ended, actually, because I'm pretty certain there won't be as many fantastic reviewers for any of my other fics I hope to write.
I might plan on a sequel for this, but at a later date. I want to write my Lily/James fanfic then maybe I could continue with this.
Oh yeah, please review? It's the last chapter and I'd love to hear how you all thought this fanfic progressed! I personally read through the whole thing and just stared in horror at my grammar and dodgy storyline, written based on whether I was depressed or neutral.
Well, thank you for reading this and I appreciate all of you who reviewed. Thank you very much for supporting my story and giving me the will to continue writing!!))