That One Fateful Night
Bleed from the Heart
Ash stared off into the distance, at where he thought the helicopter might still be. Ash had almost felt he would lose it again, but Anna's words kept ringing in his ears.
"Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."
His heart was filled with grief and despair, but he knew he had to save Misty, or should he say his new fiancé.
Ash kept replaying the whole scene in his head. How he couldn't do anything to stop Giovanni. How Misty was taken away. How she had yelled the one thing that made him the happiest guy in the world.
"YES! I WILL MARRY YOU!" she screamed as tears ran down her cheeks.
Those words had finally made his life complete; now all he had to do was get her back. But how?
Ash then remembered Anna had given him her number when he wanted to infiltrate Giovanni's base.
He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small piece of paper.
"Well I guess now is a better time then any," he said softly as he dialed her number on his cell phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey Anna, I think I'm gonna take you up on your offer."
"Hehe I'm already packed. Meet me at Professor Oaks lab in thirty ok?"
"Alright. Do I need to bring anything?"
"Bring yourself, and your pokemon in case we get in really deep shit." Then she hung up.
Ash, realizing he already had everything, began the long walk to Professor Oak's hilltop lab.
As he climbed the steps leading up to the lab entrance, his mind kept wandering to that moment when he had proposed to Misty. Bending on one knee, professing his love, and the tears of joy streaming down both their cheeks.
Ash then noticed he was crying, so he quickly dried his eyes as he knocked on the door.
Ash was then greeted was his longtime friend, Professor Oak.
"Oh hello Ash. It's great to see you," he said with a weak smile. He obviously knew of Ash's situation, and his attempts to hide it were in vain.
"Great to see you to Professor."
"Come on in, Anna is already here."
Ash walked in, and was led into the living room by Professor Oak. Sitting on a coach sipping a cup of tea was Anna, who obviously was waiting for awhile.
"Took you long enough," she said with a grin.
"Well I walked here," Ash said confidently.
"Oh alright Mr. Physically Fit. Everything set?"
"Yeah, at least I think I got everything I need," said Ash with a slightly puzzled look.
"Well I came extra prepared." She tossed him a gun from out of a bag on the floor.
"A gun! But Anna I…."
"You're going to need to kill some Rockets, so you might as well give them a quick death. Don't think you can use your pokemon in combat against Giovanni at THIS level. He's ready for you Ash and me as well. He knows what I'm planning. Don't think he's going to let us walk right into his base and save Misty and Brock."
After hearing this tirade of words, Ash became somewhat despaired.
Seeing the look on his face, Anna tried to cheer him up. "Geez Ash, I was just kidding. Only use it in an emergency. Use those kick ass martial arts moves of yours and you'll be fine."
"Hehe you think so?" he said blushing slightly.
"Oh most definitely." She took a look at her watch. "It's about 5 P.M. We'll storm the base at midnight." Her face then softened as she looked at Ash. "So get some rest Ashy Boy, don't want you falling asleep on the job." She gave him a wink as she headed into an adjacent room to snooze.
"Don't call me that!" he yelled in vain, as Anna was already out like a light. "I hate that nickname…." he muttered to himself as Professor Oak laid out a cot for him.
Anna awoke at around 10 P.M. She slowly crept into Ash's sleeping quarters. She then silently walked across the floor until she was standing right above him.
"Wow he sure is cute when he's sleeping…" thought Anna. "Wait, did I really just think Ash was attractive?" Her face had become extremely red, but lucky for her no one was around to see.
But still her thoughts carried on. "Anna, don't tell me that you're falling for this kid. I mean he already has a girlfriend, a child." She heaved a deep sigh. "I just wish someone could love me now just as much as he loves her."
She then bravely knelt down beside his sleeping form, and placed a soft kiss upon his lips.
Ash awoke quietly, but he did not open his eyes. But he did feel someone's lips pressed against his, and lost in his dream, he wrapped his arms around the person, deepening the kiss.
Anna was not prepared for this, and despite all the signs in her head telling her no, she went along with it.
Ash broke off slowly, and opened his eyes.
Still in a dreamy daze, he quietly whispered, "Misty…..it's really you."
But then his fantasy came crashing down, and the image of Misty's shining face above him, was replaced by the shocked look of Anna.
"ANNA! Did I….we…..?" He kept stuttering out of complete shock.
Anna meekly responded, "Yes Ash, we kissed. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. You just seemed so cute sleeping and….when you thought I was Misty….." She had gone completely red in the face.
"Anna….I love Misty. While the kiss was nice, it's Misty who's carrying my child." He tried to sound as stern as possible.
"Wait a minute," he thought. "Did I just say that kiss was nice? Yeah it was…..but she's not Misty. Oh please don't tell me I'm starting to like Anna!" The sheer horror of the thought caused him to immediately turn away from Anna.
"Ash I'm sorry…I….I….it was not my place. Let's just forget it, ok?" she said with a sincere look of apology on her face.
"Alright. Whatever you say." His face had become dark and emotionless at the mention of Misty's name.
Anna saw this, and walked over to him, embracing him. Ash instantly recoiled at her touch, which inside, broke down Anna a little.
"Ash I'm sorry. It's getting to be that time, I believe we have some friends of yours to save." She put on a weak smile, in hopes of cheering him up.
He said nothing in response, his eyes remaining cold and dark in disposition.
"Fine. Show me the way," he finally replied.
"Alright." She turned to Professor Oak. "Thanks for the food pops."
"You're welcome, and please don't call me that ever again," he said rolling his eyes.
"Whatever you say," she said with a smirk.
"Thanks again Professor," Ash said quietly, still showing no emotion on his face. "Professor, can you take care of Pikachu?" he said as the furry yellow creature jumped off his shoulder.
"Anytime. And I'd love to take care of him while you're gone. Now you go save our favorite red-head," as a huge smile was spread across his face.
"Come on Ash!" Anna yelled from outside.
"Coming!" he shouted as he ran out the door.
"Ready to ride to Giovanni's base in style?" she said with a grin. She motioned to a pair sleek black motorcycles on the curb.
Ash grabbed the matching black helmet off the seat, and swung his leg over the bike.
"Does Ashy boy need some help riding the big bike?" she said in a mocking voice.
"Ashy boy will be just fine. Now get on your bike and get going so I can follow you," he quickly responded with annoyance in his tone.
"Geez alright." She tied her hair back in a ponytail and slid the helmet on over her head. She then revved the motorcycle, and pulled out into the road, Ash following quickly behind her.
Ash stared off into the night sky, enjoying the peaceful view. But the silence was soon broken by Anna's shouts coming from inside his helmet.
"HEY ARE THE MICROPHONES WORKING?" It sounded to Ash as if she was yelling at the top of her voice.
He grimaced at the shrill sound of her voice through the microphone. "Yes Anna, they're working fine, no need to yell."
"Oh sorry! We're about three miles from his base. If you take a look at your GPS system I've sent you directions and…."
But her speech was cut off by the loud revving of Ash's engine as he sped off into the distance.
Ash figured out how to shut off the microphone, so he continued speeding down the asphalt towards Giovanni's lair, where his entire life lay in his clutches.
"ASH SLOW DOWN!" Anna yelled in vain. "Damn him and his big heart," she said rolling her eyes, and revved up the engine to follow Ash.
Ash looked down at the digital map. Only half a mile away. Lucky for him the roads were deserted, so he could go as fast as he wanted. But he wondered, shouldn't they have passed at least one car? But no ever since he and Anna left the Professor's lab, they had not encountered a single one on the desolate road.
But what was also intriguing Ash was the route they took. They took major highways until, as the computer demanded, he turned onto a back road. It was as if Giovanni was barely trying to hide his presence.
He sped along until finally, the computer on his bike said in a calming female voice, "Destination reached."
He took off his helmet, as Anna pulled up quickly beside him.
"Well we're here," she said quickly. But Ash gave no response. She looked over at him, and a feeling of awe and anger was in his eyes as he gazed upon Giovanni's "Death Fortress".
She tried to comfort him as she lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah it's pretty daunting. But it's so big just to hide the countless troops and booby traps inside." She turned and saw his eyes were still cold and dark.
"That doesn't matter. I'm going in there, saving Brock and Misty, and killing the man who imprisoned them."
He looked at her, and she grew a puzzled look after a moment or two.
"What are you looking at me like that for?" she said in a confused tone.
"I'm waiting to go in," he said bluntly.
"Oh, yeah. Well there are two main entrances. Here, take a look."
She pulled out a holographic projector, and it was a 3-D map of the compound.
"You enter here," she said pointing to a spot on the map, "and I'm going to break in here," as she pointed to a spot on the opposite side of the building. "Now here's where it gets tricky."
She pressed a button and the map changed to the inner workings of the base.
"I'm going to save Brock, leaving you free to get Misty," she said pointing to two rooms. "But if I know Giovanni, which I do, he will probably have a ton of soldiers guarding the cells, so it won't be easy."
She saw him motion to the pokeballs on his belt, ready to call them out.
"Ash, don't bother using your pokemon," she warned. "It's too easily noticeable. Go in there and kick some butt," she said giving him a thumbs up.
He gave a weak smile. "OK I think I got everything, let's go," he said as he spoke with confidence in his voice.
"Good luck Ash." Anna gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and he went a little red.
"Same to you Anna," he shouted as he ran to his entrance.
"I'm coming to save you Misty," he softly whispered as he headed into the base.
The door closed behind him, as if he was expected. But just as the door closed, a voice was heard coming from the walls around him.
"Welcome Ash Ketchum, welcome." The mocking voice of Giovanni resonated throughout the hallways. "And a hello to you too Anna. So good to have you back."
"Dammit, he already knows we're here," Ash said through gritted teeth.
"Good luck to you both trying to rescue your friends," Giovanni said, his voice still ringing in Ash and Anna's ears even after he stopped.
Ash then began running down the halls according to the path Anna had mapped out for him.
"Misty….where are you..?." he softly whispered
As he rounded a corner, he was met by four or five Rockets.
"There's the boy, get him!" one of the grunts shouted.
They all charged at Ash, but he dodged to the side, slamming the head of one into the wall. His body then buckled on the ground in a heap.
But Ash's victory was short lived, as a swift blow was dealt to his abdomen and face, causing him to collapse. He began to bleed from the gash on his face, but he shrugged of the pain.
Ash spat the blood from his mouth, kicked two of the guards hard in the groin, resulting in their crumpling to the floor.
Ash knocked out the last one, and continued on, a trail of blood marking his path.
Ash rounded a corner, and according to Anna's map, Misty's cell was right at the end of the hall.
He ran down the hallway, and lying on a cot behind steel bars was his Misty.
"Misty…." He softly whispered.
She stirred from her restless sleep, having heard the soft whisper of a familiar voice.
"Ash...?" was the only answer she could muster, being so weak from imprisonment.
He ran up to the cell, as Misty slow rose to her feet, meeting him near the bars. They did not notice the horde of grunts advancing down the hallway.
He took a hold of her hand through the bars. "I'm right here Misty," he said in a calming and reassuring voice, "and I always will be."
"Ash…..I'm so glad you came…." she replied weakly.
"Misty, what has Giovanni done to you?" He gazed up and down her body, gaunt from lack of nourishment, her hair every which way. But it didn't matter to him how she looked. She would always be his angel, always and forever.
"I hate to break up this touching reunion, but the boss has given orders to have you eliminated," one of the grunts said in a disdainful voice.
Without saying a word, Ash ran up and kicked one of the grunts right in the face, breaking his nose and causing blood to spill all over.
"Ooh that's gotta hurt," Ash said with an evil grin.
The twelve or so guards charged at him, but Ash was too quick. He slid along the metal floor, taking out the legs of at least three of the grunts.
"What the hell…how is he so fast?" Famous last words, as Ash smashed his head against the wall. A loud crack was heard, and then his body lay still.
But the remaining guards had advanced on Misty as Ash was busy. They had opened the cell, and one struck her across the face.
Ash turned and saw what they were doing to her.
"MISTY! GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BASTARDS!" he shouted.
They backed away from her. Misty touched the bruise on her face momentarily, but then turned to Ash. Such rage and anger in his eyes.
Ash ran up and kicked one of the guards in the face. He didn't get up. But Ash's angry rampage didn't stop there. He made sure none of the guards could stand. Punching, kicking, blood flying, bones breaking.
"Ash….stop….I'm fine," she said, her voice quavering, full of fear.
But he could not hear her. He beat the guards into submission. The remaining guard tried to run, but Ash was too fast.
Ash ran to catch him, and threw him back against the wall.
Tears were streaming down Misty's face, caused by the violent actions of Ash.
"Ash….stop….please..."
But he was too caught up in beating the crap out of the guard. Kicking him, punching him, until finally, Ash drew out his gun, aiming it at the man's head. The guard crawled into the corner into a fetal position, fearing for his life.
Ash cocked back the hammer, his finger flirting with the trigger.
"No one hurts Misty and gets away with it," he said, his voice full of hatred and malice.
"ASH THAT'S ENOUGH!" Misty ran over, swatting the gun out of his hand. She embraced him, tears covering her face.
"But Misty…he hurt you!" Ash was trying to escape Misty's grip, but only halfheartedly.
"I know, and you punished him enough. Please, I don't want another person's blood on your hands because of me." She looked into Ash's eyes, showing a face of sincerity.
Ash's face softened at the realization of what he had done. Holding her tight, he gazed around the room, witnessing the carnage he had wrought.
"Misty…..I'm so sorry. I couldn't control myself. When I saw them starting to hurt you…..I couldn't take it." Tears began streaming down his face.
He backed away, looking at his hands in disgust.
"These hands…..injured many people today. I even killed a couple of soldiers. I'm a monster!" he shouted. He then buried his head in his hands.
But Misty stepped in, prying his hands from his face, and wrapping her arms around his neck. (Think of slow dancing, she's not choking him)
"Ash…..it's ok. I knew you were only trying to save me, but please, don't kill any more people." She leaned in, and they shared a long and passionate kiss.
"I missed you Ash, and I'm so sorry I left you," she said choking back tears.
"Same. I was nothing without you Mist." He kissed her softly on the forehead. "We have to get going; Anna should have saved Brock by now."
Misty froze on the spot. "Anna….that woman is helping you?"
"Yes, and trust me, I got to know her and she's a nice person. Now let's go."
He took a hold of her hand, as he led her down the halls to the rendezvous point with Anna.
Ash came upon an open room before what was supposedly Giovanni's office. He looked across to the opposite hall, and saw a person carrying another weakly down the hall.
The figure soon came into few. Brock was carrying Anna, but he was limping. Blood was flowing from cuts on his arm and both his legs, and there were numerous bruises on his face.
"Brock!" Ash and Misty both shouted, rushing to help their friend.
"Brock you're a mess, are you alright?" Misty asked in a quavering voice.
But Ash wasn't paying attention to Brock. He was cradling Anna in his arms.
"Ash, what's wrong with Anna?" Misty said with a worried look on her face.
"She lost a lot of blood back there, I'm surprised she's alive now," Brock stated.
"Anna…..you've given so much to reunite me and Misty," Ash whispered softly.
"Even though she did split us apart," Misty said in a slightly annoyed voice.
"Yes she did, but she was only doing what Giovanni wanted so she wouldn't get killed. And you know Mist, I think our love needed that test. To see if we were really meant to be." He took her hand in his, gripping tightly.
"Yeah Ash, you're right. I never thought of it that way. And she did save Brock." She looked down at Anna's silent body with pity and sorrow.
"Brock, watch out for Misty and Anna. Anna may be unconscious, but she's still alive."
Ash began to head for the door marked with a Nidoking symbol. But Misty quickly ran to his side.
"I'm coming with you," she said defiantly.
"Misty, it could get ugly in there. You might get…."
She interrupted him. "I know the risks Ash, but I'm coming with you. I'm never going to leave you again."
"But Misty…."
She cut him off again. "No buts about it mister. I'm coming."
Ash heaved a huge sigh, but then a huge smile spread across his face.
"Alright, no sense in arguing when I know I'm gonna lose," he said giving her a quick wink.
"Brock, you'll be ok watching Anna?" said Misty giving one last look back.
"Yeah I'll be fine," he said holding Anna's unresponsive form in his arms. "You three be careful in there ok?" he said with a grin.
"Three? But there's…." Ash sounded puzzled, but Misty took his hand, placing it over her stomach. "Oh, yeah. Don't worry Brock, these two will be safe as long as I'm around."
"Good luck, Ash, Misty." He then leaned up against the wall from exhaustion, Anna's unconcious form pressing up against him.
"Take care Brock," Misty said.
She took Ash's hand, and together, they marched through the door to Giovanni's inner chamber.
The room was dark, and dimly lit, save for a few weakly burning torches in the corners of the room.
Suddenly the lights turned on, and Ash was blinded by the sudden change in intensity. A soft laugh could be heard.
A man standing in front of a wall of computer monitors was the one laughing. He turned around, and Ash stared into the face of his oppressor.
Giovanni began to clap, slow and mocking.
"I congratulate you Mr. Ketchum, Ms. Waterflower, at making it this far. I guess I need to hire some new guards. Good minions are so hard to find these days." An evil smirk was spread across his face.
"Giovanni, this is it. You've tampered with my life for far too long. Hurting my friends, family, even driving me to the point of suicide! It's finally time for you to feel all the pain I do."
His eyes immediately lost their sweet chocolate disposition, instantly replaced with such hatred it was like staring into the face of the devil himself.
Misty turned to Ash, placing a calming hand on his shoulder.
"Suicide? Ash what happened when I was away?" she said with a deeply worried look on her face.
"I'll tell you later, but now, Giovanni has to die."
But Giovanni's face had darkened, his eyes burning with malice and hatred against Ash.
"How dare you…..how dare you accuse me of not feeling pain. You have no idea what your family did to me…..how they….destroyed me!" He slammed his desk, causing it to smash into thousands of splinters.
"What did my family do to you!" Ash yelled in a confused tone.
"Why don't you ask your pathetic bitch of a mother." A woman was dragged into the room by a grunt, and thrown to the floor at Ash's feet.
Ash kneeled down, and examined the woman. He recoiled in horror at the realization of who it was.
"MOM!" He cradled his mother's body in his arms, trying to get a response.
He checked her pulse, her breathing. To his relief she was alive, but she was bleeding from numerous lacerations all over her body. Countless bruises were also visible on her flesh, and one of her eyes was black.
"Mom…..what did he do to you!" Tears were streaming down his face.
"Mrs. Ketchum……." Misty knelt beside Ash, wrapping an arm around his shoulder for comfort.
"Thank God she's alive. Why did you hurt her you monster!" Ash screamed at Giovanni in anger and frustration.
"I just repaid her for all the pain she put me through. All those sleepless nights, standing out in the rain, waiting for a woman who would never show, because she was off in some love motel fucking some wannabe pokemon master!" Giovanni was beyond frustrated, as he punched one of the TV monitors, causing it to shatter and his hand to bleed profusely.
"Don't you dare talk about my mom like that! My mom would never hurt anyone!" Tears of anger flowed from his eyes.
"ASK HER! She's not dead." Giovanni turned his back on the two weeping teens.
Delia began to stir. She weakly opened her eyes, and blinked continuously because of the bright lights.
"Ash….Misty…?" she replied softly.
"Oh mom you're ok!" Ash hugged his mother even tighter.
"Mom, tell me, tell him, that you never hurt him! You'd never hurt anybody!"
"Ash…..I….." She turned away, ashamed.
"You what?" he said with a puzzled look.
"Go on Delia, tell him of what you did. How you betrayed me for some loser."
"Sam was no loser!" she screamed, numerous tears streaming down her face. But then her face softened, and she looked up at Ash.
"Giovanni is right Ash, I did hurt him. There is something you must know."
"But mom, I have to kill…."
"It can wait, you need to know, and it's obvious that this is why Giovanni led you here. So let me tell you about how Giovanni was involved in our family's past."
She took a deep breath, and began her story.
"Giovanni, Sam, and I use to be the best of friends in college. Training our pokemon together, spending every day together. But you see, both Giovanni and Sam always had a crush and me, and I kept bouncing back and forth between the two of them, unable to decide. I mean, they were both my best friends, and if I picked one, I would be hurting the other. So eventually I told them both that I had to take a break from all this competition, as their fighting over me was damaging our friendship."
"Ha, and I would have won you in the end, if it wasn't for that…." But Giovanni was quickly interrupted.
"You very well could have won my heart Giovanni, but please, let me continue."
"Fine," he grumbled, turning his back on the conversation yet again.
"Well one day, Giovanni had asked me to meet him for dinner at a fancy restaurant. Being a sucker for things like that, I readily accepted. Little did I know of what would happen later that day."
"He just happened to be in the right place at the right time…..damn you Sam…." Giovanni murmured.
"Ahem. As I was saying, something that day happened which changed my life. I was walking to the restaurant to meet Giovanni, when I got attacked by some thugs. I tried to fight back, but they were just too strong. But then, out of nowhere, here comes Sam. He chased them all away, and left a couple marks I think they'll never forget. But as they were running, one of them fired a shot, aiming for me. Sam shoved me aside and took the hit in the arm. Nothing fatal, but he had risked his life to save me, twice that day. He got bandaged at the hospital, and was released late that evening, as the wound was not severe. But I had completely forgotten about Giovanni and dinner."
"I waited for five hours for you to come!" he shouted angrily.
"I know, and I already apologized!" She turned her attention back to Ash.
"You see Ash, after Sam was released from the hospital, he, proposed to me. And I guess we got a little carried away with the moment, and we uhhhh, expressed our love," she said blushing.
"Oh," was all Ash could say.
"So Ash," Giovanni butted in, "your mother ditched me for some loser just because of a noble act. I was going to propose, but he stole you away from me!"
"He saved my life Giovanni!" Delia yelled. "What did you do? Try and impress me with your inheritance! That's not how you win a girl's heart!"
"Hopefully Ash you can see how much of a whore your mother is. She lied to me about marrying Sam or I, and she goes and stands me up."
"Ha! All I can see now is that my mom made the right choice, because if she went to dinner with you, I might be your son! And if that were to be true, I'd probably have to shoot myself!"
"Well your mother and I did sleep together a few times, so you may very well be my son," he said with an evil grin.
(Sorry about the Star Wars reference, but couldn't help it. )
"Ash is not your son Giovanni! He has Sam's eyes, ebony hair. How on earth could you even consider that! You know Ash is Sam's son, and you're jealous. So is all this some sick, twisted way of stealing a son for yourself!" Delia ended her rampage.
"I brought Ash here so maybe some light could be shed on his mother." He then turned to look at Ash. "I'm sorry Ash, but after hearing all that and still not getting it, I can't let you escape from this place alive."
Giovanni pressed a button and the exits to the room shut tight.
"Hopefully you've enjoyed your time here, but now you have to die."
Giovanni drew out a gun and immediately shot Ash in the arm.
"ASH!" Misty screamed, rushing toward him. But he raised a hand, ordering her to stop.
"Misty….gasp….don't come near me….wheeze. Get you and my mom to safety!"
Without saying a word, she backed away, huddling close with his mother for safety against the door.
"HAHAHAHA NONE OF YOU ARE SAFE! I'LL MAKE SURE NONE OF YOU HAVE ANY CHANCE OF ESCAPING!" His maniacal laughter rang through the hall. He slammed a button, and a calming female voice began to reverberate through the compound.
"Self-Destruct Sequence Initiated. Base will self-destruct in fifteen minutes. Have a nice day,"
"HAHAHA GOOD LUCK ESCAPING NOW!" Giovanni shouted.
Ash ran over to the door, shooting the electronic lock. The door instantly opened for the trio to make their escape.
"NO! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE!" Giovanni looked to be on the point of insanity. He shot Ash in the back of the leg as he was running to Misty and his mother. "You're not getting away that easy."
The shock of the bullet knocked his leg out from under him. Dragging himself across the floor, he drew toward his mom and Misty.
"Mist….mom….get out of here now. He can escape at any moment; I need to make sure he doesn't get out of here alive." Ash turned and fired a bullet Giovanni, hitting him in the arm.
"Honey no! You need to stay alive! Forget about him and let's get out of here!" said Delia with distress in her voice.
But Misty was remaining silent. Alarms were going off everywhere, but she was in her own world. Ash was going to leave her. She knew she couldn't do anything about it, but she had to try. She wasn't about to give up her husband-to-be without a fight.
Suddenly snapping back to reality, Misty flung her arms around Ash.
"Ash….don't leave me….please. I can't live without you….I need you. I can't bear for us to be apart again." She was still able to cry, even after all the tears she had shed that day.
Ash held her close, and spoke softly. "Mist, I have to. You know I have to. Now I don't have much time, he'll be conscious any minute now," he said, looking back at Giovanni's lifeless form.
"Ash…..if you really believe you have to, I won't stop you," his mother said through sobs. "You're just like your father. Don't ever forget how much I love you, my Ash."
"Thanks mom. I love you too." He then tried to stand, but instantly collapsed. Misty bent down to give him support.
"Ash…..please…..let him get away, so you can live!"
"Twelve minutes remaining."
"Mist, there's no time. You know I have to do this. Here, something to remember me by." He took off his beloved official Pokemon League hat, and placed it on her head.
Knowing the meaning behind this, Misty began to cry even harder.
His mother limped over and he gave her a hug. He then turned back to Misty. He lifted his hand to her cheek, wiping away her tears.
"Misty…don't cry. I don't want my last memories to be of you crying. Now here, take care of my pokemon ok? Pikachu should still be at Professor Oak's." He handed her his pokeballs, containing the pokemon who had been his friends, partners.
"Ash….I can't possibly…."
"Please Misty." Giovanni began to stir.
"Ten minutes remaining."
"I have to go. Bye mom."
"Bye Ash," she gave him one last kiss on the cheek, and ran for freedom.
"Goodbye, Misty…..my child. I will always love the both of you. Mist, raise our kid well."
"You know I will. Please Ash…." She kept begging, even in these last few minutes.
"No Mist." He took a deep breath, then continued. "Misty Kasumi Waterflower, I love you with all my heart and soul, and now I will give you the only thing I have left, my life."
"ASH NO!" she screamed.
"What's the point of living if you have nothing to die for?" he said, giving her a big smile and a wink.
He embraced her, giving her one long, last, and final kiss.
"I love you Misty. Goodbye..."
"I love you too, Ashton Satoshi Kethcum……"
"Now go." He gave her a light shove, and the door closed behind her.
She ran to Mrs. Ketchum and Brock and Anna, who were already escaping. They made it out safely with five minutes to spare.
Anna directed them to the motorcycles (basically pointed while Brock carried her) and they drove as far and as fast as they could, to escape the blast.
Back in the base:
"Giovanni, just you and me now." He shot him once in the neck.
Giovanni said nothing, but shot Ash in the chest, a seriously fatal wound.
He coughed up a vast amount of blood, and with one last breath, Giovanni whispered, "Goodbye Ash, I'll see you in hell." And he died.
Ash lay in excruciating pain, hearing the computerized voice count down his minutes to live.
"Three minutes remaining….One minute remaining….Self-Destruct imminent…."
Ash drew his last breath. "Goodbye Misty, have a great life. I love you."
But just as explosions could be heard all around him, he felt his body stir slightly. He looked and saw a shadowy form over him. He could not make out who or what it was because the lights had gone out.
His body became surrounded by a blue aura, and then it all went black.
Anna, now conscious, Brock, Mrs. Ketchum, and Misty all looked back the base as they saw it explode in a huge cloud of ash and smoke. (No pun intended)
"Ash……" they all whispered.
Misty pulled his hat down, to hide her eyes.
"I will always remember you, Ash Ketchum. You will forever remain in my heart," Misty whispered, as the last possible tears she could muster fell down her cheek.
Phew done. So sorry about the long delay, but I wanted this to be good. Check back after you read this b/c I'm going to edit some things like I always do. Anyways, no flames please, this story is FAR from over. So trust me, please. Reviews are welcome as always, as they help me become a better writer. Go on, review. It's that little button the left.
