A/N: Here we are! Another update from moi! (yay) lol It took me a while to write this… let's see, about three hours? Or maybe more… I don't know… but I know that I'm really glad I was able to update within a week! Okay, since I know you just want to read the chapter, and not me babbling, I'll leave you to it!

..:-:..

Chapter 8

"Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, Guardian Princess."

"Would you stop calling me that? My name is Misty, not Guardian Princess."

"Princess, you have finally come home. Welcome!"

The pokemon didn't show any facial expression, but from its tone in its voice, anyone could tell it was thrilled.

"Misty is no Princess, buddy," said Ash somewhat angered.

"Yes she is; Misty is the Guardian Princess of the Seas and all its creatures. Just look for yourselves."

Ash and Misty turned around, and examined the painting on the wall more closely. After a while, they both realized that the woman, who was surrounded by a whirlpool of water, had flowing orange hair and turquoise eyes. Misty gaped at the picture and reluctantly turned around to face the pokemon.

"It's… it's… me…" said Misty trailing off in awe.

"Uh, I'm really confused, could someone explain what's going on here?" asked Ash with a screwed up look on his face, while he looked quizzically from Misty to the pokemon.

"Alright, I will tell you everything. First of all, let me introduce myself. I am Kyogre, protector of all water pokemon."

"Whoa! That's so cool!" Ash interrupted with a wide grin on his face.

"Ash! Don't interrupt him! That's rude!" Misty retorted while Ash gave her a smug look, but stayed quiet.

"Thank you princess. Yes, I protect all the water pokemon, but I have been asleep for hundreds of years. And now I have finally been awakened, all thanks to you. We all have been waiting for you to come home, to come and help us restore what is left of our home. It's your spirit I felt calling out to me when you were in need of help. I am protector of all water pokemon, but you Misty, are the Guardian Princess, who rules over all the water pokemon, including myself, Kyogre. You can see for yourself, as I'm sure you have already seen, that the painting on the wall foretells of your arrival."

Misty stood there staring at him. This must have surely been a mistake. How could she be a Princess, let alone a Guardian Princess? Yet, the painting had looked exactly like her, there was no doubt about that. She still wasn't satisfied; it was just all too bizarre.

"I can tell you are reluctant Princess."

She stared at him even more.

"How did you know that?"

"We have a connection. Like I stated before, I felt your spirit was in need of help, and so you awakened me. Alright, let me take you home then."

"What? Where are you going to take us now? Isn't this her home?" asked Ash, clearly annoyed.

"No young fool. This is merely the temple of the Princess, where she could come to enjoy herself."

Ash looked around at the small cavern and chuckled to himself.

"This stinky place? How could Misty enjoy herself here?"

"Ash! That was really uncalled for! I'm sorry Kyogre about Ash, he can be like that sometimes." Ash's sarcasm faded away instantly and he sighed, deciding to not ask anymore questions and just listen. "Could you please show us where my home is?"

"You can go there yourself. Just touch your hand on the hand in your painting. Go on."

Misty turned away from the pokemon and looked at herself. She looked so elegant and mesmerizing, making it hard to believe it really was her, but she knew that knowledge now, so she couldn't doubt it any longer. She stepped towards the wall slowly, and cautiously put her hand up to the hand in the painting. Suddenly, she felt warmth from her hand shoot out and into the wall. The outline of the image backed away and separated in half, both sides sliding into the walls, and then disappearing. It formed an archway and beyond it was a passage. Not too far down it, Misty could see some light and she smelled a nasty aroma.

Ash squirmed and pinched his nose.

"I almost died, and now I get to sniff this nasty stuff? What a day!"

Misty smiled and laughed at his comment. Then she saw Kyogre waiting patiently, and she became serious once again. She nodded, and stepped forward. Kyogre disappeared into the water and Ash and Misty began to walk down the path.

It was horrible. From the passageway, Misty could see rocks, a cliff, something she assumed used to be a waterfall, and an ugly creek with slime and sludge in it. The creek must have been the source of the smell. As they approached the supposed home of Misty, she saw that something extraordinary was happening. Wherever she stood, she felt the warmth spread again, and this time, it changed everything that she was seeing with her own eyes.

As she approached the creek, the slime and sludge disappeared, and crystal clear running water started to flow. That was when she looked up and saw what was happening all around her. The rocks in the cliff were now a new solid gray, instead of the old and dirty brown. The spot where Misty had thought a waterfall would have flown, it now did, and the lush sound of the water falling into the creek lulled her senses. A soft breeze came in, and it ruffled the newly grown green grass.

"This place is amazing!" cried Ash enthusiastically, replacing his sarcastic tone.

Misty stood there speechless; of course Ash didn't understand what had happened, he was dense like that. This all happened because of her; she truly was the Guardian Princess, and she had returned home, purifying it as she did. Suddenly, a large wave surfaced from the creek as Kyogre popped out of the water. Following suit, all kinds of water pokemon appeared; all of them thrilled that their princess had saved their home.

"Kyogre, this place is beautiful!" Misty said as she greeted him again.

"Yes, all because of you, Princess."

She didn't know what to think; all she did know, however, was that somehow she was the Guardian Princess and this was her home. Her thoughts became distracted as Ash pulled her by her hand.

"Come on Misty! What are you waiting for? Let's get in the water!"

"Ash! Are you crazy? I don't even have my bathing suit!"

"So?"

He smiled and took off his shirt. Ash jumped into the water, but his face became instantly shocked.

"Misty! You won't believe this, but I can't feel the water! Well, actually I can, but I also can't… You've got to get in here! It's unbelievable!"

Misty bit her lip, but ended up smiling. Ash, so predictable, to do the things she would normally consider for twenty minutes before doing, while he did it in a second. So she jumped in the water and she too became stunned. She could somehow feel the water, but yet she was dry. Misty looked at Kyogre and he nodded.

"Yes Misty, this water is magical; you helped create it, so therefore you will feel everything you normally would, without even getting into a bathing suit."

"Wow… Misty. …Thanks!"

"Ash, why are you thanking me?" asked Misty curiously.

"Because now I can do this…"

Right then, Ash started to splash Misty with the magical water in the creek. Misty felt the rush of water on her body, but she was completely dry. She laughed, finally feeling carefree and no worries bothering neither her heart nor her mind. Misty returned the splash and the water fell on Ash. They spent the time laughing and joking around in the magical kingdom that was Misty's home. Soon, they came out of the water.

"Pikachu, how did you like that?"

"Pi, Pika Pi!"

Ash did a double take.

"What? Pikachu? How did you get here?"

Ash reached to pick up his pokemon, when suddenly he vanished into thin air. Ash was shocked and looked around everywhere.

"Misty did you just see where Pikachu went?"

"No, he just vanished… Kyogre? Did you see where Pikachu went?"

The water pokemon sighed and explained.

"Pikachu was never here… it was an illusion. He is still on the cliff, waiting for his master to return…"

Ash bit his lip and winced. He had left Pikachu up there, thinking that his trainer still didn't have his memory back, and that he could possibly be dead.

"Misty, we have to go back now. Everyone must be worried sick about us."

"Oh my gosh, you're completely right Ash! We just left without a single word! Kyogre, can you take us back now?"

"I'm sorry Princess, but you must stay here; stay here in your home."

"What? Misty can't stay here!" Ash yelled angrily.

"But Kyogre, my home is in Cerulean City; my sisters are there, and the gym is my home."

"Princess, you saw for yourself, the power that is held deep within you. Your warmth and presence helped restore our home, and the home of all the water pokemon here. Without you, our home will go back to the wasteland it was before you came here. So you see, you must stay and live here forever."

Misty was so taken aback that she stumbled a bit, and Ash had to catch her.

"Live here… forever? But… Ash… my sisters… I…"

She was getting weak and her head started to emit pain into her forehead. Ash held Misty, while he started to yell at Kyogre.

"You can't separate us! That's just not right! How can you be so cruel? I almost died out there, and now you want Misty to live here forever? You can't do this!"

"Dear child, you would have died, if not I saved you and the Princess. What is not right, is you being this rude towards me. The Princess will stay here, and that is because it is where she belongs."

"NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO US! YOU…"

Kyogre let out a silvery mist from the blowhole in its back, and it showered onto Ash and Misty. Instantly, Ash's eyelids began to droop and he and Misty fell gently to the floor, fully asleep.

"I'll give you one last time to be with the one you love, but the Princess will stay," said Kyogre to the sleeping couple, as he dove into the creek and disappeared.

..:-:..

"Pi-ka! PIKACHU!"

"ASH! MISTY! WHERE ARE YOU?"

May frantically called out to the depths of the ocean where her friends had been carried away moments ago. It was still nighttime and she didn't know what to do. She couldn't see anything, and she had no one to help her.

"Need some help?"

She jumped up, shivers going up and down her spine. Her heart ticked at a hundred beats per second as she turned around and faced Drew.

"What are you doing here? I thought you…"

He flipped his hair and his emerald eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

"Why do you always greet me with a question? But to answer you, yes I left, but I heard you freak out, so I decided to see what trouble you had gotten yourself into."

May's temper rose dramatically, going from frightened to fully angered.

"I didn't get myself into any kind of trouble! And there's a reason why I freaked out! Ash and Misty were taken by that huge water pokemon!"

Drew cut out his act, and became worried as well.

"What? Are you sure? Where are they?"

"Boy, you sure seem to question me just as much as I question you."

May snickered at him, but he rolled his eyes.

"Can you just tell me what happened?"

"Yes, I can. You left, and then all of a sudden, the water pokemon somehow pulled Misty towards it, and then Ash ran after them. The water pokemon took them both, and then disappeared into the ocean."

"Wow… what would the pokemon want with Misty?"

"I don't know! But there are more important things to think of than that! We need to figure out a way to save A-, save Ash and Misty…"

May caught herself and Drew seemed not to notice. She didn't want him thinking that she still liked Ash. Sometimes inside, she sort of felt a twinge of heartache, but it was dwindling away rapidly. She was moving on, but now that Ash was in danger, the heartache was more visible to her, just a tiny bit. But now that Drew was here, she felt a lot better, and she didn't want to mess that up.

"Well, honestly, I don't think there is anything that we can do, other than to wait."

"W-whhaatt?" May yawned as she questioned him.

"See, you're tired. We should make a camp for the night, and get some rest."

Behind them, there was a clinking of wood, as Pikachu started to pile pieces of wood on top of each other.

"Pika, Pika Pi!"

"See May? Even Pikachu knows that we can't do anything, but wait, so let's just turn in for the night."

She looked at him skeptically, but eventually agreed that he and Pikachu were right. Drew couldn't believe that he was still with May, but he felt obliged to, now that she was all alone. Soon, they all had enough firewood, and then May took out her poke ball.

"Combusken! Come out and use Flamethrower on the wood!"

"Com-busken!"

It nodded its head and did as it was told to do. Immediately there was a flaming fire and Combusken went back inside its poke ball.

Drew chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"No, nothing, it's nothing," Drew said still smiling.

"What is it?" May demanded.

"Well, if you really want to know… I just thought it was funny that you thought of using Combusken so quickly… I thought it would take you a while to figure that out…"

"I'm not stupid Drew! I know how to light a fire, I do it every night with Combusken!"

"Okay then…" Drew flipped his hair and started to pat the grass down.

"Uh, Drew what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to sleep! So is Pikachu, look."

She looked to the other side of the fire, and saw that Pikachu had already curled up and started to sleep.

"Yeah, I know that, but I mean, what are you doing sleeping on the bare ground?"

"May, it's called, 'Drew does whatever he wants,' got it?"

"Oh come on, I know that you wouldn't want to sleep on the bare floor; that's just crazy!"

Drew turned away from her and he tried to get into a comfortable position. May looked at him, but shook her head and went to work with her sleeping bag. If he wanted to be that way, he could just stuff it.

May got into her sleeping bag and cuddled herself in it, as the cold wind blew the fire out. Drew began to shiver and chatter his teeth. May couldn't help but feel guilty so she decided what to do. She got out of her sleeping bag, and unzipped the zipper, making it become two. Drew was still shivering, but when he felt the warm sleeping bag on his body, he sat up with a jolt.

"What are you doing?"

"It's called, 'Drew doesn't know when to ask for help, and May knows when Drew is like that,' got it?"

She smiled at him and then went back to her position, and covered herself with the other half of her sleeping bag. Drew was shocked at her sincerity. She didn't have to give him half of her warmth, but she did. In his heart, something poured out, but he shook his head and denied what he felt. He covered himself with the sleeping bag, and tried to fall asleep.

..:-:..

Misty woke up first, and decided not to wake Ash up. She smiled as she saw him sleeping, spread out on her legs. She patted his hair and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Ash smiled, but turned away, and off of her legs. He was obviously deep in his sleep. Misty stood up and thought about going for a walk in this kingdom, her 'home'.

Overnight, trees sprang up from the ground, and flowers began to fill the fields of grass. She was amazed at the beauty of this place; the beauty she had created. On her way back towards the spot where she left Ash, she met a family of water pokemon. Kingdra, Seadra, and some Horsea's were playing in a pond. As she approached them, they all turned their attention towards their Princess, and they greeted her enthusiastically. The parents sprayed water over her, so that it formed an arch above her head. Then the baby Horsea's sprayed puffs of misty water towards her. Misty smiled and laughed at the presentation they were showing her. They were grateful that she had returned, and that she had restored their home to this wonderful paradise. She decided to stay with the pokemon and play along with them for a while.

After spending time with every water pokemon she had met on the way back to Ash, and after each one of them gave her some kind of special show, she sadly returned to Ash.

"Misty! There you are! I thought you had disappeared!"

She ran into his arms and began to cry. Ash returned her embrace warmly, and he consoled her gently.

"Misty… it's okay… you know that you have to leave this place; it's not your home… and he can't keep you here…"

Misty lifted her head from his chest and tears streamed down her eyes. Ash quickly wiped them away and ran his hand through her hair, and then kissed her softly. Misty caved in to his love, but then reluctantly pulled away.

"Misty? What's wrong?"

"Ash… oh Ash…" Misty said, barely a whisper.

"Ash… I have to stay…"

"…Misty… don't say that… you don't mean it… that pokemon has gotten into your head! Do you hear what you are saying?"

"Ash, please. Don't make this any harder than it already is…"

Ash shook his head, not wanting to believe a word she was saying.

"NO! You are not staying here! You are going to come back with me, and we will always be there for each other!"

He pulled her by the arm towards the creek. He had to get them out of here, and before Kyogre came back.

"Ash… please stop this!" Misty said, tears streaming down her face again.

"I won't! I'm not going to lose you because some pokemon says you're a Guardian Princess!"

"But Ash! I am!"

He stopped in his tracks and let go of her arm. Ash turned to look at her. The tears had dried on her face, and she stood in front of him firmly planted to the ground. Behind her, water pokemon were gathering in support. Then, he heard a wave rush ashore, as Kyogre made his presence known.

"Ash, I've come to take you back. Pikachu is waiting for you; and so is your mother."

He turned angrily towards the Protector of all water pokemon.

"My mother? My mother is waiting on the cliff with Pikachu?"

"No, but she will be expecting to see her son come back from the Hoenn League… and that is victoriously."

Ash didn't know what to say anymore. He had hit a weak spot. He winced as he heard the words that Kyogre spoke to him. The Hoenn League would be starting today, and he needed to get there in time to register. But Misty… how could he leave her here? How could he just leave and not see her ever again?

"Ash… you have to leave…" Misty spoke quietly as she looked at him with mixed emotions.

He stepped towards her and looked into her eyes to try and figure out what she really felt. Ash leaned in for a kiss, but she closed her eyes, and turned away, making Ash only give her a kiss on the cheek.

"Misty… please come with me… you belong with your family and friends… you belong with me…"

"I'm sorry Ash… but I have to stay here… they all truly need me… I am the Guardian Princess of the Seas and all of its creatures… and I have to accept that fact… goodbye… Ash…"

She turned and walked away before he could even hug her.

"MISTY!"

He called after her, but instead she began to run. Ash watched as the fiery girl he had come to love, left him.

"Come Ash, we must leave now."

Ash wiped away his tears, and walked up the pokemon's fin, and onto Kyogre's back. With one last look at the paradise, he sighed with a heavy and shattered heart. Kyogre dove into the creek and they disappeared.

..:-:..

A/N: All right, I know… somewhat of a cliffhanger (Please don't shoot me!) lol But what I can say, is that this fic is nearing its end… so not many more cliffhangers, good deal? lol I hope you enjoyed that chapter, although I know it's sort of hard to enjoy something sad… but that's how it is… if you have an opinion of that, then review! Reviews can sometimes change the way I write my story, so do it! I greatly appreciate it if you would… Other than that… I will most definitely update at the latest next Saturday, but I might even be able to do it earlier… because I know what it's like to wait for someone to update hehe…

Thanks for reading and have a great day!