Hullo again everyone! Hopefully this wait wasn't quite as long and I hope you like this chapter.
By the way, there is some, not quite random, but kind of oddly placed flashback in there. I figured, I've been getting away from the mushy AAML goodness, so I thought I'd add a quick fun one to lighten the mood before it all gets darker. So… just thought I'd tell you that.+
Sorry it took so long! There's two scenes I was sooo stuck on! If you want to know, just read the end notes I guess. Here's the responses to the reviews:
Reviews:
Gladdecease: Lol, I was going to elaborate on Ash's reaction, but I didn't want to dramatisize it too much, you know? I'm glad you got it! There's nothing major hidden in everything, go ahead and e-mail me what you think the plot is and I'll tell you if you're right or not Yea, I thought "Nemo" was clever. I wanted it to be a guy, but I couldn't think of any guy names relating to water or a flower! So I had to go with a nickname. Rather clever, you think? Lol, too bad I can't take credit for the name. (Although, I think there was a captain Nemo before there was a fish, anyone know?)
WeridDutchGuy/swampthing: Cool name! I like. Hm… I suppose they could be here to get Ruby and Joey together, yes, that would be a side effect, ne? But that wasn't the MAIN reason they were sent, but it is part of it I suppose Anyway, congrats on your new account! Are you going to write stories?
Joshua Deming: A new reviewer! (Huggles) Glad you liked it! Of COURSE Ash and Misty are together! The creators did that for us deep thinkers (my lit teacher would laugh at that) P Lol, hey, maybe that wasn't the original idea, but it certainly should be now! Anyway, as for another pokemon, he might get a loner from the league or something, he doesn't really have time to go out and get something, maybe it'll be a Pikachu, But not THE Pikachu, I have plans that I can't tell you! HA HA Haaaaaa… sorry. Anyway… Psyduck! Yes! I forgot about Psyduck! Hmmm… where to plug Psyduck in… AH-HA! I got it! Psyduck will be in here eventually! (No, really! I have an idea!) Thanks for the review!
IGAF: Aww, I'm talented? (Huggles) Thanks a bundle! Yes, I'm a Christian, it's nice to see Christians who are very nice reviewers (Insert smiley face that doesn't show up anymore) Glad you like it, and hope you enjoy this chapter too! Thanks for reviewing!
Amber Myst: MWHAAA! You're right, I will get to it, in fact, it's the last chapter (yes, I actually have the last chapter written long before the rest of the story. Ha ha…) lol, yes, I thought the jealous thing was cute, I may add some in this chapter…. Thank you sooo much for your faithful reviews!
Etherelemental: That's a problem? Hm, well, I know this one was a while, but if it still doesn't feel like a while, then good for you! I've never actually read the manga, so I wouldn't know the personality, besides, who wants the name "Yellow"? Of course, I can make someone look like that if you want. Hm… close? Yes, chapter wise, probably another six months or so when you go by updating, although, after this, I only have one more chapter to go, then the last one which is already written. YAY! I'm excited! Thanks for reviewing!
Neogirl7900: Yea… I did notice the paragraph issue, I would like to point out that it's not entirely my fault, has gotten rid of my spacer things (i.e. asterisks and the squiggly lines), so hopefully this will be better now. I feel flattered that you liked my stories especially! I try to make them different, but somehow they do end up the same, I guess that happens when you have the common theme of AAML in them? I'm sorry they're out of character, I do usually try to keep them in character, but then they did get older and they can't stay the same through all that's happened to them, you know? I tried to add some scenes from when they were younger, however there's also the changed Ash and Misty in there too, so please bear with the slight un-characterness ) (Blushes) Hee hee… thanks. I'm glad you think so to! Why swear unnecessarily when you can just add funky words like 'curse you, you big cheeseball head!' Okay… so most people don't say that, but you get the idea. I'm glad you appreciate it, I do try to keep in clean. Thanks a bunch for your reviews! Hope you like this chapter.
Second Chances.:Part 10; Pride:.
"Ash! You're such an idiot!" It was dark out. Night had fallen just an hour ago. They were traveling in the woods, much longer than they should have been, and Misty wasn't too thrilled. She stood in front of Ash with her hands on her hips. Her hair was up in it's side ponytail but her usual outfit had changed somewhat over the years. Her sleeveless yellow top had changed into a cerulean blue long sleeved shirt with her gym logo on the front and khaki jeans. Her outfit was unusually dirty and desperately needed to be washed. "Why didn't you turn when I said to? I'm tired and I want to rest in a bed, eat fine foods, not worry about bugs!"
"Aw, come on Misty," Ash held his hands up defensively. "The map didn't say to turn, so I didn't."
"Ash! Where did you get this stupid map?"
"From these two merchants. They were kind of weird though, one was a guy who sounded like a girl, and the other was a red-head, she reminded me of you." He paused and thought about the merchants even more. Something was very odd about them; he just couldn't put his finer on it. " Their pokemon was pretty weird too…"
"ASH! Never except anything from strangers! You shouldn't have been so cheap! Why couldn't you just get it from the store?"
"Chill out Misty. It's okay."
"OKAY! Brock had to leave early to get his pokemon to the pokemon center! We should've been there a while ago to meet him! He's going to be worried about us!"
"Not really, he knows my ability to get lost" Ash argued, "Besides, he's probably too absorbed with nurse joy to notice."
Misty sighed. He was right about that, but still, she wasn't happy about being lost. "Whatever Ash Ketchum. I'm going to look for firewood." With that said, she turned to the nearest break in the trees and stomped off to let off some steam while Ash and Pikachu set up camp.
"I can't believe that idiot! Why does he have to be so—"
Snap-
Misty looked down at her feet. The ground was strangely unstable. She frowned and slowly backed away, but that little bit of movement caused the ground to give way to reveal a large hole. Before she could think of anything else, the first thing she did was screech, but as she felt herself getting deeper, a hand reached out and grabbed her arm, saving her before she fell to the bottom of the hole. The hand dragged and pulled her up out of the hole until her butt was firmly planted on the ground. Once safe, she tried to calm her breathing down as she muttered her thanks. "Thanks, Ash. Why were you following me, I guess it was a good thing, but-" Misty look up. That wasn't Ash. "Um…"
There was a boy standing over her who looked to be about her age (15). He had the classic blonde hair and intense baby blue eyes. His lips were curved upward to form a smirk on his handsome face as he knelt down to her level. "My name's Caleb, not Ash, and yours is…?"
"M-Misty." She stuttered.
"Misty." He repeated. "It's nice to meet you. It's very odd to have a random hole in the ground like that, I wonder what that's from." He smiled at her. "However, it's just as odd to have a pretty girl like you wandering around in the woods like this all by yourself. Do you need help? Should I escort you back to the city?"
For a moment, Misty forgot all thoughts when the word 'city' was mentioned. "Oh, that would be great!" Then she remembered, "Oh, wait, I have someone else I'm traveling with. Can he come to?" Caleb winced he she mentioned 'he', but he slowly nodded his head just as footsteps were heard rapidly approaching and a familiar voice calling Misty's name.
"MIIIIISTYYYYY!"
"PIKACHUPI!"
"I'm over here!" Misty called, waving her arms about. She moved to push herself off the ground, but before she could fully push herself, Caleb put of his hand to help her up. Misty gave him a gratefully smile and accepted his kind offer. "Thanks," She blushed. This was the time that Ash chose to appear from the bushes. He saw Misty's hand held gently in Caleb's, with a blush very evident on Misty's cheeks. Ash frowned and cleared his throat. Misty and Caleb both pulled away from each other, an instant reaction, but the damage was done and Misty scolded herself for being ashamed. Ash wasn't her boyfriend after all!
"I just came to see if you were okay." Ash explained. "I heard your scream."
"Pika!" Pikachu confirmed as he stepped closer and closer to Caleb, sniffing his feet.
"Thanks, Ash." Misty smiled, she really was grateful Ash was showing some concern. "Oh," She turned to Caleb. "Caleb, this is Ash, Ash, this is Caleb." Both boys nodded their greeting, not bothering to make the greeting anymore civil than that. They stared into each other's eyes, trying to silently intimidate the other, even if it was unknowingly. Misty chuckled nervously, sensing the tension. "Ash," She tried to break the unnerving silence, "Caleb knows the way to the city. He was going to take us there."
"I don't need him to show us." Ash said quickly. He crossed his arms, not bothering to hide his dislike.
"You don't have to come." Caleb was equally thrilled.
"Ash," Misty whined, "Please, he can get us there tonight." Ash turned to Misty, his normally smiling face was frowning, his eyes dead serious.
"Misty, I don't want to follow this guy. I don't like him."
"Oh Ash," misty scolded, "You're just upset he was the hero for once and not you!" Ash was silent. Was he? Was that why he was upset? This guy was obviously hitting on her, and was he staring at her just now? Oh, no. He wasn't letting Misty out of his sight.
"I don't care." Ash still kept his stance. Caleb growled deep in his throat. He could see Misty was going to give in to Ash. No, he wasn't going to give up without a fight!
"Come on, Misty," He encouraged, "I'll get you to the city. I promise I wont get you lost. We'll be there in an hour and then I'll buy you dinner."
"I'M making dinner," Ash growled, his hands were now forming fists at his side. "And she's staying with you! I'm not letting her wander around with a creep like you!"
"At least I'm not a shrimpy, freak, loser!"
There was a silence. Ash was brimming with anger. Pikachu was beside him, it's cheeks crackling with energy just waiting to be let loose. However, Misty was the first one to react. Her head was bent down and she slowly walked over to Caleb. His face was smug, he'd really annoyed Ash now. Will Misty finally go with him?
Misty finally stopped in front of him. Caleb's face still retained his grin, but before he could comment, Misty slapped the grin right from his face. The slap echoed through the forest, startling nearby pokemon, and people. Ash was off to the side, still angry, but more shocked than anything. "Misty?" He ventured.
"Nobody insults Ash but me." She seethed. She was glaring up at him, her cerulean eyes piercing through his blue ones. Caleb's hand went up to touch his sensitive cheek. To add insult to injury and to finish off her moves, Misty added a good mallet bashing for effect. Once that was done, she turned on her heel and marched back to Ash. "Let's go back to camp." Ash was quick to agree, happy to leave the jerk behind them, and there was another strange, happy feeling inside him that he couldn't explain … yet.
Bonk
Bonk
Bonk
"Joey"
Bonk
"Joey will you stop?"
Bonk
"JOEY!"
Bonk
"JOEY DON'T MAKE ME TAKE THAT BALL AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR NOSE!"
…
"Thank-you."
Bonk
"THAT'S IT!" Ruby threw down the book she was so calmly trying to read and stomped over to Joey. Joey grabbed his favorite little red bouncy ball and fled out the door that he was hitting the ball against – right into Catrinna. "Oof!" Joey bounced to the floor while Catrinna regained her balance after being shoved so rudely. She sighed as she glared down at Joey as though her were a little termite just begging to be squashed. "Watch where you're going."
"Me?" Joey frowned, scrambling to his feet. He stood tall; trying to regain what dignity he had left. "You're the one prowling around my area like you own the place!"
"I DO own the place, idiot!"
Joey scowled. Okay, he walked right into that one. He folded his arms and did the only thing he could come up with – he stuck his tongue out at her. "Yea, well just wait till I'm trained! I'll beat you anytime!"
Catrinna rolled her dark eyes and shifted her weight so that it rested on one leg, and with her hands on her hips she impatiently asked, "Where's Ash?"
Joey's scowl deepened and he leaned against the door, an unconscious sign of rebellion. "Why do you want him? I can answer any questions you want!"
"This isn't about question, moron. Now where is he?"
"I-"
"Jo-o-o-o-ey!" Ruby yanked open the door, sending Joey falling backwards beside her. She blinked with surprise, just staring at him on the floor. Joey slowing sat up rubbing his butt. Ruby, realizing she was going to get yelled at, quickly shifted the blame, "What were you doing out here, idiot?"
"Me? You're the one who made me fall on the floor. What is this, pick on Joey day?" Joey was now getting to his feet, still rubbing his sore butt.
"You're the genius who was leaning on the door! I heard you talking. I wanted to make sure you hadn't officially lost it. Speaking of which," She finally turned to acknowledge the now scowling Catrinna (Who was completely miffed that someone who DARE ignore her, THE pokemon master). "Oh, hello. What do you want?"
Catrinna cleared her throat. "I want to see Ash."
"Ash?" Ruby thought a minute, trying to recall something Misty had mentioned to her just an hour before, "He's in downstairs in the cafeteria with Misty."
"WHAT!" Catrinna raged. "You mean I came all the way up here wasting my time with you losers and you don't have the decency to tell me he's not even here!"
Joey leaned in closer. "We're not losers! Why don't you talk to us instead of Ash! We're just as good as he is!" Ruby nodded her two cents, leaning in as well. Catrinna only leaned in farther to emphasize her point.
"Why would I want to talk to losers like you?"
"We're not losers!" Joey shouted.
"Brilliant comeback." Ruby rolled her eyes at Joey then turned to Catrinna. "We're not the losers miss 'high-and-mighty'." Ruby leaned in even farther, pulled her bottom eyelash down and stuck her tongue out. Catrinna also leaned in, almost nose-to-nose with Ruby sticking her tongue out and pulling on her bottom eyelash.
"I'd rather be high and mighty than losers!" It suddenly occurred to Catrinna that people were beginning to stare. It also occurred to her that SHE was the pokemon master. SHE was supposed to be mature, and SHE was sticking her tongue out at them losers. Once she stood up and resumed her high poise, Ruby and Joey also noticed the staring. They also immediately stood straight up, each looking in opposite directions. "Look," Catrinna sneered. "I'm going to speak with Ash. I'll see you tonight." That said, she turned heel and headed towards the cafeteria, ignoring the redness in her cheeks, and the sudden curving upward of her lips. After all, she thought, I'm still allowed to be childish once in a while.
"Alright, misty, we're about to go into another battle, most likely full of memories and blood and guts, you think you're ready for this?" Ash raised an eyebrow and Misty, calmly sipping at the coffee he ordered.
"I'll be okay, Ash." She whispered quietly. She stared into her cup of hot chocolate. She didn't want to relive any of it, but for the sake of others not living what they had to, she would. She raised her eyes to look at Ash. "What about you?"
Ash shrugged. "Feels just like old times." Ash grinned and did a quick peace sign before returning to his coffee.
"Is that good or bad?" Ash shrugged. He slurped his coffee, rather loudly, hoping to get a reaction out of Misty. Nothing. He sighed and placed the coffee cup down onto the saucer and reached across the tiny table to take Misty's hands in his own.
"I'm worried about you. Will you be okay?"
"I'll be fine." Misty smiled, assuring Ash, and herself. "We were sent on this mission for a reason, and so we have to do it."
"Misty," Ash sighed and pulled away. He looked out the large window showing the busy outside. "Do you ever wonder if God knew what he was doing when he sent us on this mission? Why would he make us go through this again?"
"Because we know what we're doing." Misty was confident in her answer, and that made Ash feel better. "He knew that the others would be rash, and because of the rashness the battle would last longer than needed, more lives would be affected and less bloodshed."
"You're right." Ash sighed. "I just wish it wasn't always us."
"Anyway," Misty changed the subject, her mood changing as well "You know what we haven't done in a while?" a smile made its way onto her face as she leaned in, her eyes became half lidded and the smile became more seductive as she leaned in farther, waiting for Ash to catch the hint. Ash's eyes lit up as her smile slowly seeped onto his face, she waited for him to catch on…
"A Pokemon battle!" Misty felt herself collapse on the table, her hot chocolate spilling, but she took no notice. The smile fell as quickly as it had appeared on her face. Ash blinked, not quite sure what he had done wrong. They hadn't battled in a while, right? What was wrong? He leaned back into his chair with fear as Misty rose from her collapsed position. Flames her flickering from her eyes and her hands were balled into fists at her side. "ASH KETCH-"
"ASH!" Misty shifted her glare from Ash to the evil person who had interrupted her scolding. Ash sighed with relief. "I want to talk to you." Catrinna stormed up to Ash, ignoring Misty's full glare following her every move.
"About what?" He asked calmly. At the moment, nothing was more intimidating than Misty, he found himself silently thanking Catrinna for her timing.
"You challenged my authority in front of the whole meeting, that's what!" She was fuming.
"Oh, that." Ash rolled his eyes. I hope I wasn't this controlling when I was young…
"THAT!" Catrinna shrieked, she whirled around to return Misty's constant glare on her back. "And you, stop glaring at me!" Misty's eye twitched, but nothing changed, so Catrinna decided it wasn't worth it and turned back to Ash. "Yes, THAT." She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "Remember, I'm the one in charge here, not you. I'm the pokemon master for a reason. If you challenge me again, I'll be forced to show you my position in a pokemon battle." Ash's face lit up as Misty's darkened.
"Really?" He shook his head, forcing himself to stay focused. "Right, I had to, it was the truth, I was just trying to help you along."
"I don't need help!" She seethed. How DARE he! SHE was the one who worked this hard to get to the top! Who was he to tell HER what to do and see if SHE needed help. "Fine," her eyebrows drew together. "This will be good practice anyway." She stood up straight and folded her arms across her chest. "I challenge you to a pokemon battle."
"Alright," YES! "But I only have one pokemon."
"We'll both be using one pokemon that is randomly chosen for us. Now, meet me in my personal arena in fifteen minutes and –"
"Wait." Both eyes turned to the speaker.
"Misty," Ash whined, "I know you're mad at me, but please let me battle!"
"I want to battle you." Misty stepped up to Catrinna. Her glare was more challenging than threatening this time.
"You?" Catrinna frowned. "I don't really care, as long as I battle one of you."
"Good, because I'm going to but those flames out on you're shirt!" Misty smirked. Catrinna growled, her composure forgotten. Ash sighed and rolled his eyes. Oh yes, he was staying out of this one. This, was a true cat fight.
"We'll see who wipes whose flames out, carrot top!" Misty's eye twitched and she leaned closer, her hands reaching back for her old friend.
"Carrot top! Why, you old crow!"
"LADIES!" Ash laughed nervously, quickly stepping between them. "Let's go to the arena shall we?"
"fine"
"fine."
Both girls stuck up their noses at each other and turned towards the door, ignoring the others' presence. "This is going to be an interesting battle." Ash muttered and quietly followed them.
"This is a one on one battle, both pokemon are randomly chosen, no items allowed." They made it to the arena without too much damage. Misty was on one side of the field, pokeball in hand. Catrinna was in the other, picking a pokeball from a rack, and then assuming battle position. Ash was on the sidelines, he offered to be the referee, but apparently Catrinna didn't quite trust him enough, so he was stuck as the cheerleader for Misty.
"I'll start," Catrinna let a sly grin. Whether it was her pokemon or not, she sure knew about all the pokemon here, she was sure to have the advantage. "Pokeball, GO!" The familiar red light appeared in the arena and revealed and new pokemon that Ash and Misty had never seen before. Look like a cross between an Umbreon and a Persian. It was all black with random purple shapes on it's fur. It had a catlike body and it had a yellow moon on its forehead that began to glow.
"What pokemon is that?" Ash whispered to himself.
"It's a Crescent." Ash jumped at the sudden voice behind him.
"WAAA!" It was Joey and Rose, both giving him odd stares. "Don't do that! How'd you know I was here?"
Joey rolled his eyes. "News gets around fast." It was then Ash noticed the growing crowd behind him.
"I guess battles are big around here?"
"Why does Misty get to battle her?" Joey pouted, "I wanted to fight her!"
"Oh, grow up." Ruby smacked him from behind the head, "GO MISTY!" She cheered.
Misty narrowed her eyes. She was in trouble. She didn't know any of this pokemon's moves, what type it was, or if there were even any new attacks. "Well," she mumbled, "It could be worse, I could have a new pokemon I don't know anything about and look like a total idiot, THAT would be bad." She looked at the pokeball in her hands. "Well, here goes." She threw it. "GO POKE'BALL!"
"VAP!" Misty almost laughed with glee. Her specialty! Water pokemon! "You're in trouble now!" Misty smirked over to Catrinna's direction. She only smiled. "Don't be so cocky yet. There's no advantages, so that just means it'll be an even bigger win for me."
"Don't underestimate me!" Misty warned. Inside she was thrilled to be battling again. 'So this is why Ash wanted to battle so badly'
"BEGIN!" Came the announcer's voice. Neither pokemon trainers paid any attention to their growing crowd.
"Start us off, Vaporeon," Misty shouted her orders, "Use a water gun!" Water poured from Vaporeons mouth straight at Crescent.
"Agility!" Catrinna commanded. Crescent narrowly avoided the water surge. "Good, now use Shadow ball!" Crescent came to a halt and opened its mouth, drawing in hair as a big ball of blackness formed, then once Crescent decided it was large enough, it went straight towards Vaporeon. Vaporeon, who was peeved in the first place that this cat dodged it's water attack, also made sure to dodge this shadowball, barely of course, but it managed it with a quick attack that hit Crescent right on.
"Alright!" Misty cheered. "Now, try using Hydro Pump!" Vaporeon twitched then looked back at Misty, blinking it's beady blue eyes. Misty's own started to tear up with anime tears. "You don't know hydro pump!"
"On!" Vaporeon bobbed its head with acknowledgement.
"HA!" Catrinna used this pause to her advantage. "Crescent show it you're Shadow swipe!"
"Shadow swipe?" Misty questioned. What the… Suddenly, there was no more Crescent! Both Misty and vaporeon looked around, totally confused. There! Misty spotted a movement behind Vaporeon. "There, behind you, Vaporeon! I think it's turned into a shadow!" Indeed it had. No sooner had vaporeon turned that a dark, shadowy claw came out of nowhere and gave Vaporeon a few good swipes before giving it one final blow that threw Vaporeon back a few feet.
That was painful, "Are you okay, Vaporeon?" Misty shouted. Vaporeon nodded and slowly got to its feet. "Surf, please tell me you know surf!" Misty begged. There was a mischievous light in vaporeon's eyes as it shouted out it's name. Out of nowhere, a wave of water appeared behind vaporeon. Vaporeon jumped up and let the wave carry it away, blending in with the attack. Crescent began panicking, how was it supposed to dodge this huge wave? It was, well, huge! It took up all the dodging area.
"Crescent, try and swim!" Catrinna cried out. It was too late! Crescent was buffeted by the wave and thrown into a wall when it was done.
"Great!" Misty cheered, "Now use you're water gun!" Caporeon opened it's mouth an a surge of water hit Crescent, once again throwing it against the wall. Crescent was seriously hurt, and Catrinna was ticked off.
"Alright, time to finish this now, Crescent, use midnight storm!" There was a hush in the crowd. Suddenly, the bright arena was no longer bright. It was totally pitch black. Misty couldn't see anything.
"Vaporeon?" She called out. She heard a weak and frightened call. Vaporeon was shook up, but no harm hand befallen it, yet. Misty squinted her eyes and looked up. She could see a crescent mood in the ceiling. She tried to look out into the arena again, and she could see the crescent now! Right now, the crescent reminded her of an umbreon, but you couldn't see anything but the odd shapes on the fur of the pokemon, it didn't seem to light anything up so she could be aware.
Rumble
Misty's head shot up. The moon was gone now and the wind was beginning to pick up. This was odd, a storm? Inside the building? It was raining now and the wind was still blowing, harsher this time. In a flash, Misty could sense what was coming. "Vaporeon, move! Just keep moving around!" She cried out desperately. She still couldn't see, she only hoped that vaporeon had heard her over the rumbling sky. Suddenly, for only a brief second, the arena was lit by a flash of lightning that touched the ground right where vaporeon had been. This wasn't the end. Even as the water kept coming down, soaking everything in its path, the lightening became more frequent and unpredictable.
"VAAAAP!" Oh no! This was it. A stray lightning bolt had hit vaporeon. Misty winced as the storm finally died down and the rumbling moved to a distance and the wind slowed to a breeze till finally there was nothing. The arena's light slowly began to return, revealing a fainted vaporeon and a panting crescent.
"The winner is, Catrinna and her crescent!"
There was a cheer in the crowd. Really, they didn't care who won, all they cared about was the awesome battle, well, they did care about the pokemon master's wrath if she would have lost, but that was besides the point. Misty sighed deeply as she recalled vaporeon. Maybe she shouldn't battle with pokemon she knew nothing about…
"Hey," Catrinna walked over to Misty, a smug look dominating her features, but still, she stuck out her hand as a peace offering. "You weren't half bad. You gave me a run for the money, as it were." Misty smiled gratefully and accepted the extended hand. "I don't think I'd mind fighting with you today," Catrinna continued, "Although," She winked, "don't know if I'd want you guarding me." Misty opened her mouth to retort, but she sighed and nodded. She was beaten. Catrinna had proven herself more knowledgeable, but it was still fun.
"Alright." Both girls smirked at each other with fire blazing in their eyes, "Now that I've had a battle, I'm fired up and ready to go!"
"Go to sleep, honey."
(flash)
"Mommy, I'm worried."
(flash)
"The house is surrounded!"
(Flash)
"Go, Pikachu!"
Red
"We started this together, we're going to end it together."
Blood
"ASH!"
Red Blood
"Did I miss?"
So much…
"He's dead…"
…Blood
"Misty?" Cerulean eyes popped open to stare into worried brown eyes. "You okay?" Ash leaned back, but didn't move his gaze. Misty ignored the question and looked around, trying to get her bearings. They were inside a helicopter once again. They were on their way to fight the battle before them. Troops had been sent out before them to infiltrate the main base, people more skilled at that sort of thing than they were. (Ruby had said it was because they were quieter than Joey and Ash and they didn't take Misty and herself because they didn't want to hurt the boys' feelings.) Ruby and Joey had gone in another helicopter, somewhere, they were going to meet up with them when they got there. Ash and herself were in the passenger seats of the helicopter, apparently she had fallen asleep on Ash's shoulder and just now he had woken her up.
"Myst?" Ash repeated, "Are you okay?"
Misty smiled reassuring both Ash and herself. "I'm fine, Ash. Just a bad dream."
"Memory, or dream?" Ash's eyebrows bunched together.
Misty bit her lip and turned to look out the window, ignoring the question. Ash looked at her moment, then turned to look at the window closest to him. He sighed, frustrated at her unwillingness to talk, and still worried at the same time. How many bad memories would this bring up?
"This isn't going to be a good memory." Ash gagged slightly. A houndoom from the other side was gnawing on a man's forearm, not letting go even as the man yelled and squirmed, tossing the pokemon about, but the houndoom wouldn't let go. Ash cringed and looked at the owner of the pokemon. "Toby! Let him go! You've beaten his pokemon already!" The owner turned his cold stare to glare at Ash. He was shocked to find that man smiling!
"This is payback, master Ketchum! You know what they did to my family." Ash swallowed, remembering the devastation on that village caused by the rockets.
"But," Ash grasped for the right words to say, "Right now you're being no better than they were."
"No!" Toby snapped. "I'm better than them! I don't attack innocent people! This is war! These monsters don't deserve to live!" Tears streamed down Toby's cheeks, memories seeping into his brain.
Ash was feeling tears prickle his eyes. He knew Toby, Toby was a kind boy before all this. He was a big family man. He had two parents and a little sister. While Toby was away, rockets had invaded his land and his parents resisted, so they were taken prisoner, his father shot and who knows what to his mother and sister. Now he was no longer the sweet boy. "Toby…" Ash sighed, "You're doing the same thing they did. He may have a family somewhere." He swallowed. He hated to bring this up, not only was it cliché, but it was almost below the belt to bring it up, but it had to be done. "You're parents were good people. They wouldn't be doing this; they knew it was wrong and so do you. I don't think you're parents are proud of you right now. Would they be smiling at you right now?"
Toby ground his teeth together, but he didn't say anything. Finally, he ordered his Houndoom to let go. There wasn't much left of the arm. Toby walked over to the man and glared at him even as the rocket was crying, cradling his broken arm. Toby sneered and kicked him in the stomach before turning and walking down the hall to continue his purpose.
Ash sighed, glad that that was over. "ASH!" Ash turned, there was Misty, racing towards him, Togetic not far behind. Her hands were covered in blood, as was her shirt. "Ash, the south wing is secure." She panted and slowed to a stop in front of him. Her eyes unconsciously trailed his body searching for any injuries, any blood. "Are you okay?"
Ash nodded, eyeing misty carefully. She'd been acting odd lately, especially more so as the war progressed. She was so paranoid and began freaking out every time she saw blood anywhere near him. "I'm alright." He assured her.
"Ash," Her gaze stopped at his side. "You're coat's red! Let me see!" She franticly lifted the coat to check his shirt, no blood.
"Misty," Ash sighed, "That was probably from someone else, I'm fine! I promise! What about you? You're covered in it." He almost regretted asking when her eyes glazed over, recalling the most recent memory.
"There was a really big battle in the main office – that's in the south wing. There were at least fifty rockets. A – A lot of out men were damaged, so I was helping patch them up." She stared at her hands. "There was so much blood." Ash cringed. He thought she would do better at healing than having to be in the middle of battle, but some how it seemed to make it worse. He told her to come back to combat, but she refused, she felt she could be more helpful this way, even if it was tearing her apart. "There was this guy," She continued, "His last pokemon was beaten by a scyther, and the scyther, he – he…" Misty paused, letting the tears roll down her cheeks. Ash held her in his arms and rocked her back and forth. It seemed that she always saw the worst things. It occurred to him that there wasn't much of a better scene in this room, so he gently lead her out and into the wide open for some fresh air.
On the way out, he passed men running back and forth, none seemed to notice the couple. They were all on their side, apparently, their raid on the base was successful, bloody, but successful all the same. Ash held Misty's head close to his chest as he led her out, praying the war would soon end.
"Ash? Hey, Ash, snap out of it!" Ash turned and smiled at Misty. There she was, as normal as could be. Somehow, heaven and granted that the general amount of those war memories would be erased form both of their minds, or at least the details, but now that they were getting closer to another war, it was all coming back. Ash still smiled. Misty was still Misty. She was okay and smiling –worried, but smiling at Ash, something she rarely ever did in their last few years. Suddenly, he had the urge to hug and kiss her. So he did.
Misty screeched and pulled away from Ash, scrambling to the other side of the helicopter. She was making him snap out of his daydream when he suddenly decided to randomly hug and kiss her! She felt a blush rush to her face, but she shook her head. Why was she blushing? They'd been married for over 85 years now! Why should she be embarrassed? Oh yes, she remembered…
"Ash, you moron!" The blush was still on her face, Ash gleefully noticed. "I was waking you up! What was that for?"
"Because you're you. Now what did you want?" Misty scowled and stood up. It was then Ash noticed the helicopter was no longer moving.
"We're here, idiot." Ash's eyes widened as he slowly turned, finally noticing the draft. The door was open, and there they were. Joey, Rose, Catrinna, Nemo and a few other people he didn't recognize. Rose was laughing her head off and Joey was whistling, yelling out things like "You go boy!" And "Maybe we should leave you in a room together!" Catrinna had her arms crossed and her eyes rolled in the other direction, but a small smile was on her lips. Nemo was behind her, smiling, but slightly mourning the loss of another pretty lady. The other members of the crowd that Ash didn't recognize were whistling, making comments, or just plain laughing.
Ash could feel his face becoming redder by the second. His mouth gapped open like a fish as he groped for some excuse. Catrinna finally shook her head and saved him the embarrassment (much to the disappointment of everyone else) "Look people," She snapped, "We've got a war to fight, okay?"
"Catrinna! To your left!" Ash shouted the warning. The war had already started once they'd gotten there. Most of the rockets were already settled, planning a large attack and then spread out. It was a good thing that they got them all at once, hopefully this would end a possible long war, well, at least that's what Ash was hoping. He quickly scanned the battle area. He doubted if people were truly ready for this. They were expecting pokemon battles, but in times like this, desperate rockets started pulling out knives and sometimes guns.
Catrinna ordered her Charizard to use his flamethrower to burn the razor leaves to ash. She was irritated, he could tell. She only called on Charizard in dire situations. She wanted to end this. Already, many of the people that they had brought with them had fallen. He knew she was feeling responsible for them. His eyes were full of pity, but he chose to say nothing. Catrinna didn't seem like the person who wanted pity. She was strong, she was much like her great-grandfather, Drake.
The long hallway stretched out in front of him. He gulped a little and took a step foreword. He always hated hospitals. Everything was so – white! Every once in a while he would glance at the numbers by the door. 508… 510… He would be at the end, wouldn't he? 516… He passed an old woman who was screeching her heart out, screaming something about 'help me' and pulling on the poor nurse's hair. Ash almost stopped, but the doctor in the room sighed and motioned for Ash to move on. (Hey, my grandma was by one of these people, I'll tell you sometime…) 520… There! So he was wrong, second to last one. He quietly stepped in the sterile room. "Hey." Ash whispered. Misty peaked around his shoulder. Drake was laid out on the bed, his breathing was short and irregular and Ash was worried that any wrong move would set something off.
"Drake?" Misty slowly stepped past Ash and pulled up a chair beside Drake's bed. "Are you awake?" Ash took a deep breath and moved closer to Misty, standing behind her, watching the heart monitor. A smile spread on Misty's face as Drake's eyes slowly blinked open.
"Hey, Ash, Misty. How're you guys doing?"
"I should ask you the same thing." Drake's mouth twitched and he turned away from Misty's gaze.
"I'm fine, thank-you. How 'bout you Ash?"
"I'm alright. I missed you in the meeting today."
"Yea?" Drake turned to look at Ash, grateful for the change in topic. "How was it?"
"It wasn't bad, Lt. Surge flirted as usual of course." Ash grinned at the memory. Drake, as well, chuckled, but his chuckle sounded more like a gurgle of blood.
"Oh, Drake!" Misty sat up, rigid in her seat for worry. "Maybe you shouldn't take, you're throat…"
"It doesn't matter!" He snapped. "It's not going to get better so no use cryin' about it!"
Silence.
Ash knew, he was sorry for Drake too. Apparently, Drake was diagnosed with lung cancer. He still had a year or so left according to the doctor, but in a reacent fight, Drake went to much and hurried the little devil along. Ash felt a great well of sympathy for this great man, but, because he was a great man, he didn't want any pity. He had his pride and he was strong. He would deal with it without breaking down and he would go along for the ride.
It was getting too silent for Ash's taste. He started whistling a little and studying the place. He turned his body slightly, not noticing the vase that was in the way of his elbow. With a loud crash it was all over the floor. Misty snapped to attention at the sudden noise, then realizing who and why, her attention turned to Ash. "Ash, you klutz!"
"I'm sorry – hey, I'm not a klutz! That vase wasn't there before!"
"Sure," Misty stood up from her chair only to kneel down and try to pick up the broken pieces of glass. "It just magically appeared right behind you without us noticing."
"Exactly! Wait, Misty, you're not funny!"
"Well," Misty smirked, "Drake thinks I am." Indeed, Drake was chuckling in his bed. It hurt to laugh, and yet, it felt good in his heart, so Ash looked at misty with the old twinkle in his eye and it began.
"Well, maybe Drake was laughing at you not with you." Misty stood up, tossed the contents in her hand into the garbage, and then moved to stand in front of Ash.
"Maybe you're just an idiot!"
"Am not!"
"Are to!"
"Not!"
"Are too!"
"Not!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
"Too – wait," Misty crossed her arms and turned her head away, speaking in a high tone, " this is just proving you're an idiot by having this conversation." Ash grinned,
"Oh, and who else am I having this conversation with, myself?"
"I wouldn't doubt it!"
This conversation went on for a while, doctors and nurses came in once in a while to check on the noise, then shook their heads and left. Once doctor tried to shush them, but Drake just continued to laugh and motion for the doctor to let it be. So the doctor nodded and left, but closed the door behind him. Not only was Drake enjoying this, but so were Ash and Misty. Neither of them had let go of their older, more mature selves in a while and just had an all out childish argument, and they were having fun!
Drake was laughing, he appreciated it more than the sentimentality because he was strong, and boy did it feel good to laugh.
Drake also died two weeks later, and at his funeral, Ash said, with tears in his eyes, that his strength helped him live life to the last minute.
" – up. Hey, are you listening to me?" Ash blinked out of his memories and turned his attention to Catrinna. This room was clear, for the moment, her Charizard still remained out of its pokeball, stopping any rocket that would attempt to come in the room. It was fortunate, Ash thought, that this room was big enough for Charizard to fit in.
"I'm listening." Ash answered.
"Good." Catrinna still held her air of authority. "You four," She pointed to a group to their left, "Go to the right. And you four," She pointed to another group, "Go to the left. And you people," She was now looking at Ash, Misty, Ruby and Joey, "Are coming with me down the center."
"what, you actually want us to come with you, you old hag?" Joey stuck his tongue out, masking his surprise. Catrinna made a fist with her hand and held it in front of Joey's face.
"You're the only ones left – and don't call me old, I'm seventeen, thank-you!"
"Whatever. Let's just go." Ruby rolled her eyes, stepping towards the center hallway. Her movements were halted by the painful roar from Charizard. All five turned and saw A block of ice that had once been Charizard. There was a moment of shocked silence. Then footsteps were heard, slow, deliberate footsteps. From behind the block of ice, there appeared one lone man with a pokeball in his hands. He wore the traditional black rocket outfit with a red R on the front. Over the outfit was a long, black trench coat reaching to his ankles. He had untidy black hair and stubbles on his unshaven chin. A smirk was present on his face as he studied the group's shocked expressions. "Nice to meet you all, you appear to be the leaders of this whole 'take-over' situation, are you not?" Catrinna was the first to react.
"Who are you and what have you done to my Charizard?" Catrinna took a step foreword to let him know who was talking. Her hands were in fists held to her side. She was angry and confused by this man's actions, how had he defeated her Charizard so easily? The man only let his smirk grow wider, if only to irritate her more.
"My, my, aren't you a rude little girl? What happened to proper instructions? I usually like to know who my opponents are before I destroy them."
"Answer my question!" Catrinna was furious at his attitude. She took another step foreword. She was now in front of the other four, her body in a posture ready to attack.
"My, you are rather hard to talk to." He scanned the group, as if looking for his next target. "You," He gaze stopped on Ruby. "You look like you would answer me. Care to tell me you're name?" Ruby stepped back. Even under the intense gaze of his blue yes could she feel the power of this man.
"I-" Joey stepped in front of her, stopping her sentence. His green eyes were angry and determined. He reminded Ash of himself.
"She doesn't have to answer you." Joey growled. He wasn't happy about this man just stepping in and looking at them like they were playthings. Not just that, but he was threatening Ruby and that, Joey wouldn't stand for. "Who are you to order us around like that?" The man's smirk faltered for just a second.
"You all are very uncooperative, aren't you?" He glanced around the room. Ash stood with his arms folded across his chest and Pixit sitting on his shoulder, ready to defend her master. Misty was beside him, equally challenging. Togetic was floating in front of her, waiting for the man's first move. Joey was still in front of Ruby, but Ruby was gaining more confidence and she peeked from behind Joey to glare defiantly at this man who dared to intimidate her. His gaze rested on Catrinna, still in front of the group. Her dark eyes were glowing with anger, yet curiosity. Who was this man that radiated such power?
"I'll ask again," Catrinna hissed, "Who are you and what did you do to my Charizard?" He turned to look at her frozen Charizard as if it were the first time he noticed it.
"It is a magnificent creature, isn't it? Yes," He turned back to smile at Catrinna, "you did a good job raising it."
"Get to the point already!" Misty snapped.
"Yes, yes, if you insist on being to rude. My name is Anthony. I am the second in command of all the rockets, more of the fighter if you will." He made a slight movement as though to bow before he continue. "Now, if you will be so kind as to tell your names and your involvements."
"Why do you care?" Ash asked, he was curious. This was certainly an odd rocket.
"I told you." He sighed, impatient with all their questions. "It's no fun just right out defeating your opponents! I would like to know a little bit about you before I kill you." Ruby wrinkled her nose.
"You're weird." Anthony cleared his throat.
"I wish to battle one of you. I don't' care which one; you'll all get your turn. You," He stared into Catrinna's dark eyes. "Are you the pokemon master?"
"I am."
"Very well, I challenge you." Catrinna's eyes narrowed dangerously. She reached behind her to grab a pokeball.
"Fine. What are the rules and how many pokemon?"
"Rules?" Anthony laughed. "What rules?" Then the laughter was suddenly gone. His eyes held a glint of madness as he stared her right in the face. "The rules are that there are no rules."
Yay! I decided to stop here. I felt bad it's taking me forever to finish this. But the good news is that there is only two more chapters and the last one is written, which really is more like an epilogue that resolves everything. SO, we have one more major chapter! YAY! Hope you all liked this one.
Ack… this chapter took me forever! I'm not good with battle scenes and I just couldn't think of a good Drake flashback. Sorry if it was kind of pathetic, I really thought it needed to be in there, but grrrrrr! Stupid Drake… Anyway, but wasn't that last attack from Crscent soooo cool? I'm so proud of it! HA HA Haaaaa…. What?
I DO have plans for an old pokemon in the next chapter, and also I have to fill in some flashbacks about what happened with some of their friends, so look forward to that, obviously there's the second in command battle, as well as the master dude battle but the master dude's battle will be different. (Don't worry, I have the general plot idea of the next chapter, it's just filling it in, that's the problem)
SO in the next chapter we have a bunch of flashbacks, a few major battles AND you find out what happens with Ruby and Joey and such, and it's the chapter before the epilogue. Question you ask yourself, when will you find out what happened to Ash and Misty? HA HA HA HA HA! You'll just have to wait and see, I don't want to spoil it for you. You have to come back for that. So Please, do come back, even if it takes forever and a day to get it out. Hey, at least this chapter was long(er), right?
no timeline, sorry folks, is having seriously irritating issues.
Hey, I know it's slightly shameful, but I started another story… heh heh… but I told myself I had to finish this chapter before posting it! It's not an AAML, if fact, it's not even pokemon. It's for Naruto, a SasuSaku if anyone is interested, the first chapter is done and so is the plot, so look foreward to it if you like that anime and pairing.
(Not that I'm doing any promotions for my toerh stories... (Insert innocent whistles)
Smile Jesus loves you