Chapter 4— The Price of Saving Cerulean

Misty lay shivering on the cold, slick tile beneath her, too weak and afraid to move. She had not slept that night; she could not; she had whimpered and cried out in anguish till her voice grew hoarse and then was reduced to only whispers. She had tried to put behind her the loveless marriage she had been forced into, the lonely country cottage where she had spent so many hours thinking of her lost love. All of it had faded; she had tried to begin anew; but now the past came back to sting her in the face, and the feeling wasn't pleasant.

"How could he be so cruel?" she whispered into the empty room, and no reply came to her. The tears now came back to her, though they had subsided for several hours; as flashes of that night came over her, and she recalled the intense, stinging pain, and the cruel, vicious touch of her husband. The husband whom she had never loved: whom she could never love; but the one whom she was bound to by duty, by law, by honour.

In spite of her weakness she managed to crawl across the tile where her clothing was heaped in a pile, and she slowly dressed in the middle of the hall, her lip trembling pitifully and more unshed tears glistening in her soft-coloured eyes. Still, she could not bring herself to stand; and she wanted to escape: but she could not. She had been beaten, bruised, poisoned: not only physically but mentally as well. Oh, why had she ever parted from her one true love, the only one who still had a place in her battered, abused heart? She cried out his name—"Ash"—with some vain hope that it might summon him; that she might be saved from her lover's own flesh and blood. It seemed impossible that they were related.

She tensed and recoiled into the corner when she heard the steps of Charcoal descending the staircase; and soon enough, much to her utter terror, he was before her, with an evil grin dancing across his lips, and his hands stuffed into a long, leather trench-coat.

"I see you have gotten dressed," he grunted: "now, come with me, wife; I will take you to where you are needed."

He forcefully grabbed Misty's arm and dragged her up, and it took all of the energy within her to walk with him as she leaned against his tall frame (not out of affection, but out of necessity). She yelped in pain at his tight grasp, and whimpered at her intense throbbing headache and feverish sensations, but to all this she only received reprimand; and so she was shamed into silence.

"Where are we going?" she managed to ask him. At first she did not think Charcoal heard; but at length he responded sharply:

"To save your city, wife: Cerulean City."

As he pronounced the word 'wife', he spat it as if it were a curse; and then he tugged at her limp arm even more vehemently than before, and bade her to quicken her pace.

"Save…my city?" she repeated blankly, and he tightened his painful grip and she let out a muffled howl of agony. They exited into a disturbing scene. The city was lit by a strange green glow and a huge riot was starting outside the gym. The residents not rioting were staring up at a tall figure of a man, and a floating Pokémon that fluttered beside him, their eyes full of fear as their brain tried to process the extent of the man's evil.

Misty gasped. She recognized him. Recognized him from so long ago…

4 years ago

Misty clung to Ash tight, barely able to conceive what Brock was saying.

"I must leave," the man said solemnly. He stretched out a hand, revealing a blackening scorch mark on the back of his hand. Ash bit his lip and shook his head, as if that would make it all go away. Misty only clung desperately to her lover, not wanting to lose one of her closest friends.

"There must be another way," Ash questioned, stepping towards Brock. Brock jumped back.

"No. No. This mark will expand…it will feed on my soul until I am consumed by deep evil. If I stay with you, I will kill you. Do you understand?" he asked. Misty shook her head. No, she didn't understand any of it. None of it. It didn't make sense. He never explained what happened. Why was all of this happening? Why wouldn't he give them the chance? Ash could defend them both. Pikachu sat in the grass, tail and ears drooping considerably.

"I must go," he said and turned without a formal farewell and walked away into the setting sun. Misty at that point burst into tears and buried her face into Ash's side and the man wrapped an arm around the sobbing young woman, as their friend left them forever.

Present day

"Brock," she gasped. Suddenly, a large portion of the gathered crowd dropped to the floor screaming and writhing, as if they had been suddenly and painfully electrocuted. Misty leaned forward and saw that the floating figure was…Celebi!

"Celebi?" she asked faintly. Celebi had always been so good though…so pure…what had happened?

"Give me your Misty Waterflower otherwise I will destroy this entire city and kill you all! We've been waiting for three days! Where is she?" Brock roared. Charcoal smirked evilly and pushed her forward. Tears streamed down Misty's face.

"That's your cue," Charcoal hissed in her ear and then began to laugh sinisterly.

LS: gasp
Me: Yep. Gasp.
LS: What will happen?
Me: I dunno, you write the first part of the next chappie, remember?
LS: giggle Oh yeah.
Me: Just don't tell anybody. We've been surprising everybody so far, so don't ruin it!
LS: I won't. I just hope I get the chance to write some AAML next chappie…
Me: Me too T.T
Both: Review, and AAML forever!