A/N: Hello! Well, here it is… finally lol Chapter 6 of Broken Memories. I forgot to mention this in the last A/N, but I just wanted to say that Ash 'forgets' his hat in the cave, because I just don't see the necessity of it… and it's not like anyone else wears a hat. I guess it would make him look a bit more mature, that's all. So keep that in mind when reading. I worked really hard on this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it! It definitely has a lot more drama/action in it, and the ending is very dramatic, so please don't give up! As you can see, this is a long chapter lol Okay, enough talk. ENJOY!
Chapter 6They were sitting to the side of the clearing, across from the cave, near the trees. Misty had managed to find some berry bushes nearby and so she had taken the opportunity to take them so that they wouldn't be hungry anymore. Ash gulped down his portion of berries first and then stood up refreshed and excited. Misty decided to save the berries for another time and she put them away.
"Come on Misty, if I'm so great then let's go! The Hoenn League is waiting!" exclaimed Ash anxiously.
"Ash, slow down. If we are going to go, we need to find May first."
"Huh? Oh, May. Do we really need to wait for her? And why is she even traveling with me, with us I mean."
Ash added the last part a bit more quietly and Misty smiled to herself. She knew that deep down inside, Ash was beginning to fall for her again, just like he did the first time.
"Ash, she's your, our friend and we need to wait for her to come back here. In the mean time you should train for a bit with Pikachu."
"Uh, okay I guess. Hey Pikachu, do you want to train for a little while?"
"Pika Pi!" he responded as he perked up his ears.
"Okay then, um, hit the tree with… some electricity!"
Pikachu looked at his trainer questionably, but prepared to do as Ash had ordered it to. Before that could happen however, Misty stepped in front of Ash with an enraged look on her face.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? YOU WANT US TO GET SQUASHED BY A TREE? I WANT TO LIVE YOU KNOW!"
Ash was taken aback by her fiery attitude. He waved his hands in front of him and smiled sheepishly.
"Whoa, sorry! Geez, you don't need to get so angry."
"Me? Angry? Ash, what do you think you're doing telling Pikachu to hit the tree? Pikachu's attack would have been so powerful that the tree would have snapped in two and fallen on us, squashing us to a premature death!"
Misty finished yelling and started to regain her breath.
"Look, I'm really sorry! I didn't know that Pikachu was that strong! Ahh!"
Ash winced in pain and he reached for his forehead. Automatically Misty's face became full of worry and she went to his side.
"Oh my gosh, Ash, I'm so sorry! I forgot that you don't know anything about pokemon training. Sit down and take some deep breaths."
Ash was still wincing from the pain when he saw the flashes of light again. There was a burnt bike… a bunch of angry flying pokemon… a storm, and a flash of lightening from a yellow mouse. Then just as quickly as he saw the flashbacks, they disappeared. The pain was gone and he looked at Pikachu who was in his lap.
"Pika?"
"I think I just had a memory of you and me buddy, but I can't recall it all," said Ash with sorrow.
Misty sighed sadly and helped him get up, giving him a weak smile.
"Come on Mr. Pokemon Master, get up."
Ash stood up with her help and when he touched her hand, he winced. Before his eyes, he saw many instances where he had helped the orange-headed girl either get up a cliff or out of a hole. He snapped back into reality and then starred at his hand, which Misty was still holding. Ash quickly withdrew it and looked away.
"Did you just see some other memory?"
"Uh, yeah… my mom's cooking hehe…"
Misty gave him another weak smile and turned away. Ash sighed with relief. He didn't want to tell her that he had actually relived some memories with her in them. Hopefully she would believe the lie.
"Oh…" Misty responded with disappointment, "yeah, your mom's cooking is really good…"
Ash could sense the sadness in her voice.
"Misty I'm sorry that I can't remember everything about you, or me, or Pikachu, or May… I just get these flashbacks but they just leave me all confused, because they aren't whole memories… But we're still friends, right?"
"Right…friends…"
This wasn't fair; it was like she was going back in time. They both wouldn't be able to tell each other their feelings. She couldn't just tell Ash that she loved him and that he loved her… besides, how could he if he didn't even remember her? Misty looked away so that Ash couldn't see the tears streaming down from her eyes.
"Ash, I- I'm going for a walk. Stay here and don't get yourself into any trouble. Pikachu can make sure of that… I'll be back," Misty hoarsely whispered.
Ash shrugged his shoulders as he watched Misty walk into the forest.
..:-:..
May and Drew were walking back towards the secret room in which they had entered. She figured that the pokemon would be in there so they agreed to go check it out. After Maxie had left them alone again, May had the time to look over Drew. He had really changed since she last saw him. He was a bit taller, but still about the same height as her. His face had matured so much; there were signs of weariness and exhaustion burdened by his doing his duties for his boss. And his voice, it had grown deep and melodic, not the scrawny voice she had remembered. He had taken off the black sweater and sweatpants; his jacket was the same one, but it was a bit longer in length and his shirt was not tucked in but it hanged on him loosely. It made him look so much more mature…
Drew flipped his hair and got the last bit of dirt out of it. May cringed as the dirt flew in her direction.
"Drew! What did you do that for?"
"What? You can't handle a bit of dirt? Did you think that I'd walk around with dirt in my hair all day long?"
Scratch that. Drew looked much more mature, on the outside. Inside he was still the same old Drew, stuck up and egotistical. How could she have possibly thought that Drew had changed? She sighed and walked on ahead. They reached the room and in it were the pokemon cages. Drew walked in first to see if the coast was clear. He motioned to May and she followed him inside the room.
"Drew… look at all of the hurt pokemon…"
"I know… do you see my pokemon anywhere?"
She looked around and at one corner of the room she saw them; Masquerain, Flygon and Roselia. They were in better shape then almost every other pokemon she saw in the cages. May tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the spot.
"Drew, look, they're over there!"
May started to walk towards the pokemon, when suddenly Drew called out worriedly.
"No May! Stop!"
"Huh?"
She turned around to face Drew but suddenly a huge cage dropped down on top of her. Rolling his eyes, Drew stepped cautiously toward the cage, looking out for anything else that would cause a trigger for another trap. He made it to the cage and May grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and shook him.
"Drew! Drew, get me out of here!"
He tried to free himself from her grasp and when he finally did, he stood in front of her, folded arms, eyes closed, not saying a word. May sighed and calmed down.
"Fine. Drew I'm sorry I grabbed you, and shook you, and I would really appreciate it if you could help me get out here."
Drew opened one eye and looked at her through it. The apology satisfied him and so he opened his other eye, and then he sneered at her.
"Okay, I'll help you. But you should know that you could just as easily get out of there on your own, well, maybe if you had the brains…"
May became infuriated and snapped back at him.
"I have brains! You're the one that needs some! I bet you're just stalling for time because you don't know how to get me out!"
"Actually, I do know how, and it's quite simple really, but you wouldn't think of it for at least another ten minutes. All you have to do is use your pokemon, duh."
May was taken aback. She would have thought of it too, well eventually. She didn't respond but instead she took out a poke ball and let out her pokemon in side of the cage.
"Combusken, please use Flamethrower and aim it right in front of you at the bars."
A blast of blazing fire shot out of its mouth and the bars started to melt.
"HEY! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?"
May recalled Combusken and stepped out of the cage through the whole where the bars of the cage used to be.
"Thanks buddy," said May to her poke ball, "Oh Drew! Did Combusken's flamethrower hit your face? Oh, I'm so terribly sorry," she said sarcastically.
Drew wiped the ashes off of his face and talked in the same tone as she talked in.
"Why no! Don't be sorry, it wasn't your fault at all! I mean, I should have known that the flamethrower would hit me! Oh no wait, I couldn't have known, because someone didn't warn me!"
May rolled her eyes and was going to start walking towards Drew's pokemon, but he caught her arm and brought her within inches of his face.
"What just happened May? Don't tell me you already forgot that you triggered a trap!"
"No! I didn't forget!"
"Then why were you just about to go walk straight to the cages when there could be a dozen more of them?"
She froze and looked straight into his eyes. May could see the anger in them, and so she just looked away and said nothing. Drew let go of her arm and sighed while he took one of May's poke balls from her.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
"Something you would probably not think of."
May crossed her arms and glared at his back, mocking his words and making weird faces.
'Something you would probably not think of,' May mouthed.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Drew turned around and looked back at May. Instantly she stood upright and gave him a big grin. He eyed her curiously, but turned back toward the cages, chuckling.
He didn't know why, but for some reason he liked being around May. She was always so spontaneous in her behavior. One minute she could make you as angry as a Loudred, and the next you would be laughing at her. However he didn't want May to know this, so he just made rude remarks to her. Drew was angry with himself for his behavior before. He had forgotten all about not being nice, and he had spent so much time acting like a friend to May, that he might have just made her think he was actually nice. Deep down, he wanted her to think that, but he didn't want to get hurt when she told him that she wasn't interested in a guy like him, so he just faked his attitude all the time. And by now, he was a pro at it.
Drew threw the poke ball into the air and Combusken emerged.
"Combusken, use Flamethrower in a zigzag pattern until you've done that to every part of the space in front of you!"
The fire pokemon looked at May, and she nodded, giving him the okay to do what Drew told him to do. Almost at once, things came falling out of nowhere. May took shelter behind Drew, but when he peered over his shoulder and smirked at her, she immediately stood back. There were a few more cages and some ropes, along with several nets. The dust cleared and Drew motioned for May to walk forward.
"After you."
"My pleasure; you deserve to be the one in the back."
"Actually, it's your pokemon that is the caboose."
Drew pointed behind him and May looked at him furiously.
"How dare you! No, I'm not going to lose my cool because you made me! Combusken, please lead the way."
The pokemon did as it was told and Drew gave May a smug look while she grinned with satisfaction. They made their way over the small piles of rubble, and Drew was finally reunited with his pokemon. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of doing this before… had thinking of May's safety gone to his head? He pushed the thoughts to the back of his head as he figured out what to do next.
"Okay, Combusken, use ember on the bars of the cage, but do it lightly so that you don't burn your friends…" Drew added snickering.
May huffed, but then smiled to herself, remembering how burnt Drew's face became. Masquerain, Flygon and Roselia greeted their trainer joyfully and returned to their poke balls for some proper rest. May recalled her Combusken and they were almost at the revolving door when they heard a familiar voice.
"Very good job!" Maxie said while slowly clapping his hands, "I really never thought you would be smart enough to think of doing that Drew! I see your friend helped you to accomplish what you have wanted for so long… Tisk tisk, I really thought you would have taken advantage of the opportunity with the girl, if you know what I mean."
Drew's temper went out of control and he jumped at him, but May held him back. Maxie sneered while watching May try to stop Drew from committing any kind of violent act.
"Let go of me May!" Drew snarled.
"Drew, stop! You know that violence isn't the answer!"
He stopped trying to free himself of her grasp, but his temper was still burning hot.
"Yes Drew… listen to the girl, violence is never the answer!"
Maxie laughed maniacally and Drew couldn't take it anymore.
"Roselia! Go! Use Magical Leaf!"
Maxie stopped laughing instantly and he managed to dodge most of the glowing sharp leaves, all except for one. One of the leaves cut him just slightly over his left eyebrow, making the blood drip down to the side of his face. He stood upright and grimaced, calling out one of his pokemon.
"Go Houndoom! Use Flamethrower on them!"
The fiery dog like pokemon with horns came out of its poke ball and opened its mouth wide, letting out a swirling beam of fire. Drew looked shocked, but quickly restored his cool.
"Roselia dodge it and use Sweet Scent!"
At the last second Roselia dodged the attack and sprayed a soft pink mist towards its opponent. Houndoom was unprepared for the outcome of the attack and it became entranced by the Sweet Scent. Slowly it began to lose its guard and walk without a defense toward Roselia. Drew smirked as he watched Maxie's shocked expression on his face. Most of all, Drew was smiling at May's awed expression and how much focus she was putting on the battle.
"Roselia! Use Magical Leaf again, and aim it at Houndoom's paws!"
"NO! Houndoom! Use flamethrower again! Snap out of it! Get a grip of yourself, you lousy, good for nothing amateur!"
Houndoom began to look confused; it was attracted to Roselia's sweet scent, but yet it needed to obey its master's orders. Roselia's crisp leaves found their target, but just before that, Houndoom shook its head and snapped back and out of confusion. Maxie grinned but his grin soon disappeared. Houndoom wasn't able to snap out of its confused state quick enough, so just as it was about to open its mouth, Roselia's Magical Leaf attack hit all four of its paws, cutting them without end. Houndoom did use Flamethrower, but because of the pain on its feet, it leapt about, yelping and jumping up and down in the direction of its trainer. While it was doing this, its flamethrower attack was hitting everything in its way, including Maxie.
"You dimwit! Get a grip and stop it! AHHH!"
Maxie had now been hit by Houndoom's flamethrower in every place possible. Drew smiled, satisfied that the great leader of Team Magma now knew how it felt to be burned. May's heart was pounding; she had never seen such a tense battle, especially one that would either set them free to go, or make them prisoners. Seeing Maxie defeated, she couldn't help but boast.
"How does it feel Maxie? Being burned by your own pokemon!"
Drew looked at her and smiled to himself. Maxie was stiff and his hair was burnt to a crisp.
"You won't get away with this! You'll see! AHHH!"
Houndoom's flamethrower once again met his face and he screamed in agony, running away.
"So, I've got my pokemon and-"
"Drew! That was so awesome! You seemed like you weren't nervous at all, and you knew what you were doing, and it was so fun watching Maxie suffer like that! And-"
Drew put his hand over her mouth and looked straight into her eyes.
"So I've got my pokemon and now we should get out of here. Right?"
He put his hand away from her mouth and she frowned.
"Uhh… right…"
..:-:..
Ash sighed and looked out at the ocean. The waves were crashing into the cliff and the sun was going to set soon. Suddenly pain ran through his forehead and he saw the flashes of his memories again. There was a battle for a gym badge… a pool… and Misty was there with her Starmie… a tall blonde lady gave him a water droplet shaped badge. He snapped back to see Pikachu curiously looking at him.
"I'm okay Pikachu, everything is fine… honestly."
Ash gave him a smile but Pikachu accepted it reluctantly. He got up, but once again the pain surged through his head. A big tower… he was looking at himself and then he flew through the wall… picked up Misty and dropped her… he woke up, she was looking at him with concern… Pikachu was going towards the cliff, but sat down a few feet away from it. Ash sighed; he really didn't know what to make of all of these memories. They were so random, but yet, they must have been important events, and otherwise why would he be remembering pieces and bits of them? He sat down next to Pikachu and he smiled at him as they watched the endless oncoming waves spray the ocean mist into the air below them.
..:-:..
Misty didn't know what to do. Being with Ash was too painful. But yet, she wanted to be with him, because he was Ash, the person she couldn't live without. Her thoughts ran wild without end, when suddenly she bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking… Gary?"
"At your service," he said with a smirk.
At once Misty became cross and she backed away.
"Don't you think for a minute that you are going to get your way with me! Because you aren't!"
To her surprise, he didn't move a muscle.
"I know. I think I've learned my lesson, don't you?"
She eyed him suspiciously, but in the end she gave in.
"Fine. I'll trust you, but one false move and you know what happens!"
Gary chuckled and waved his hands in front of him.
"Don't worry, I'm well aware of your fierce temper."
"Good. So, what have you been up to all day? And why did you leave the pokemon center so early?"
"Hey, chill out! What's with the questions all of a sudden? I thought you said you trusted me?"
"I said I trusted you, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to know what you've been doing!"
"Fine then. If you must know, I was looking for new pokemon species in the forest, happy now?"
Misty looked at him doubtfully but she accepted the answer.
"Sooo," Gary said curiously, "what were you up to today?"
The question surprised her, but she answered sadly.
"We were on our way to Ever Grande City, when we stopped for a break, and then we found this cave that Team Magma was operating in… and things got out of hand, and Ash fell…"
She wanted to cry, and so she turned to Gary for comfort. He wrapped her in his arms willingly and whispered in her ear.
"It's okay Misty… it's going to be okay… tell me what happened…"
Still in his arms, she continued.
"He hit his head and now… now he can't remember anything… or anyone, including me! Gary, it's so awful! I don't know what to do…"
Gary smirked behind her back, and then the two separated.
"Misty, don't worry! You can always count on me… and well from the looks of it, Ash really doesn't need you…"
"WHAT?"
She was furious, how had she fallen for this guy's act… again? Gary pointed to the clearing that was visible a couple yards from where they had been standing. Apparently, they had walked back to Ash and Pikachu during their conversation. Ash was playing with Pikachu and his other pokemon. Misty looked at Ash, and then back at Gary, with disgust in her eyes.
"How can you say that? Really Gary…"
"Come on Misty, look, doesn't it hurt being with him? But yet you aren't really with him, because he doesn't remember you… leave him and come with me, you would be doing Ash and yourself a big favor…"
"How can you be so selfish? Really, I didn't think it of you, Professor Oak's grandson… Are you as dense as Ash? Well I guess you are, because just to let you know, no matter what condition Ash is in, I will be there by his side all the way! And nothing you or anyone else says is going to change that!"
Misty turned away from him and she started to walk towards the clearing, when a hand seized her arm and yanked her back. Gary was glaring at her and his temper was fuming.
"I go out of my way… I go out of my way to be nice to you, and yet you still refuse my kindness! Misty, out of all the people I've met, you are the only one who is just like me… your temper, your passion, no one I've met can even come close to you. I need to be with you… I need to… and now you refuse me? After all I've gone through to get you, you still chose him, even though he doesn't remember you? No, I won't let this happen!"
Misty looked into his raging eyes and then zoomed out her focus to his face, and then his raggedy brown hair… brown hair… She found herself reliving the moment when she had knelt down to help Ash, after he had fallen, and then to see the Team Magma member running away… he had brown raggedy hair… She snapped back into reality with a jolt, and gave him the dirtiest look she could muster. Then, she spit in his face. Gary let go of her immediately, and he wiped the spit off of his face.
"You… you did it! You caused Ash to fall and hit his head! You're the reason why he can't remember me!"
Gary smirked and bowed his head slightly.
"Bravo. You managed to figure it all out, didn't you? But of course, from my little speech and so forth, how couldn't you? Misty, you're so smart… that makes me want you even more."
She couldn't take it. She turned around and ran screaming at the top of her lungs.
"YOU'RE SO EVIL! GET AWAY FROM ME! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU-"
Ash looked up and saw Misty and a brown haired man interlocked in each other's arms. The man was covering her mouth and smiling at her. The pain seared through his head once more as he relived another memory. They were on an island… a handsome man… gym leader… dancing with Misty… she wants to stay… she doesn't… 'You're one lucky guy Ash'… The flashback ended and he saw Misty push the guy away and she began to run towards him and Pikachu.
"Ash! Ash! Are you okay?"
Everything had just happened so fast. His head was spinning with every kind of memory he had of the past years flooding his mind. In each one of them was Misty… but in some of them she wasn't there. Ash held his head in his hands as Misty came to him and put her hands on his back. Gary could not be anymore angrier than he was at that moment. His plan had failed; even after he tripped Ash causing him to lose his memory, Misty had still chosen to be with Ash. Ash stood up with an effort and he was backing away from her, towards the edge of the cliff. Misty was beginning to worry; he looked like he was going to explode at any given moment.
"Ash… Ash, can you hear me? Be careful! You're really close to the edge of the cliff!"
He heard her, and as she came closer to him, he waved his hand, telling her to stay back. "Misty, I love you, you know"… she smiled at him… "I know"… Suddenly, everything in his mind stopped, and cleared. Ash could see her in front of him; the fiery spirited girl he had come to love. A weak smile spread across his face, and as Misty saw this everything in her became overjoyed.
"Ash! Ash! You remember?" she said weakly not wanting to believe it.
"Misty…" Ash replied warmly, and then he chuckled. "Misty!"
She couldn't believe it. He had gotten his memory back. But before she could take a step towards him, or he could take a step towards her, a fiery dog pokemon, with a combination of orange, red and white fur came bounding towards Ash. He was shocked and had no time to react as the pokemon rammed into him, sending him flying over the edge.
"MISSSTTTYYY!"
"NOOO! ASH!"
Gary watched as Misty ran to the edge and began to call after him, while she sobbed. Suddenly, something in Gary Oak snapped. What had he done? His Arcanine had just rammed Ash into the ocean; he had just killed Ash Ketchum. He began to shake his head. It wasn't possible. No, there was no way that he had just committed a crime, and not just any crime, murder. Arcanine came back to his owner and looked at it without emotion. It had done just like his master told him to do, so why was he in such distress?
"No… no, no I didn't do it… I didn't kill Ash, I couldn't have… I… I… I killed him! I did it! I'm a murderer! NOO!"
Gary started to weep uncontrollably, rolling around on the grass like a Magikarp. Misty was also weeping hysterically; she didn't want to believe that Ash was gone.
"Ash! Ash, you- yo- you're not dead! It's not po-possible!"
She stuttered trying to take control of her sobs. Finally she got a hold of herself and wiped away her tears. Misty took a few steps back and then she got ready to sprint full speed ahead and off of the cliff, when someone grabbed her.
"GET OFF OF ME GARY! I SAID GET OFF!"
"Misty! Misty, please! It's me, May! You can't go in after him Misty, you will get yourself killed!"
May loosened her grip on Misty, and then she turned around and gave May a weak smile.
"May, I'm really sorry, but I have to… someday you will understand why… someday, you will meet a person you just can't live without, and you will stop at nothing to protect him. So goodbye May; if I don't make it, I wish you all the best of luck in life, and if I do, well then, we'll have a good laugh."
She was speechless, but she saw the determination in Misty's eyes, so May gave in. She hugged her friend and then nodded as Misty turned around back towards the setting sun and the rolling waves of the ocean.
"Don't worry Ash… I'm coming…"
And with that, she jumped into the wide, cold depths of the raging ocean.
..:-:..
A/N: To be continued! lol I do hope you liked this chapter! I want to thank you sincerely for reading my fic this far; it gives me great satisfaction to know that someone likes my writing and my stories! I know this is a big cliffhanger, but I will try my best to update soon… although that might not be for another week, because I have to go to school next week for Band… (ugh) and so it will take me a while, especially since this week I've had somewhat of a "Writer's block" well not necessarily a "block" but just a lack of enthusiasm for writing the story. So that might happen again, and it might not… but don't worry, because no matter what, I will finish this fic! I want to thank you again; you really don't know how much it means to me!
Have a wonderful day! (or night lol)