That One Fateful Night

Who Are You?

"Misty….Misty!" Ash yelled. "Misty please wake up!" Tears poured down his cheeks as the crowd of Rockets laughed and jeered at the crippled trainer. Gary turned away from the depressing sight, hiding the single tear which escaped his eyes.

"Well, I battled him like you ordered, sir. Misty was the judge as planned, although it's not like she had any other choice, seeing as how the crowd had her at gunpoint," Gary whispered into his microphone in contempt.

"Oh come now Gary, you know they had it coming to them. Now, finish them off," Dr. Nanba ordered.

"Ex...excuse me sir?" Gary said confused.

"I said, finish them off. We have no need for vermin like this infecting our hideout. Kill them or you'll never…"

"Okay I'll do it!" Gary butted in. "Just…hold up your end of the deal." Gary switched off his microphone.

"Sorry Ash, Misty," he said to himself as he pulled out a gun.

Ash gently lay down Misty's unmoving body, and turned to face Gary.

"Why Gary…why?" Ash said, with such a pleading tone it ate right through Gary.

He took a deep breath, and then raised the gun, pointing the barrel at Ash's head.

"Had to be done Ashy boy," Gary said as maliciously as he could, as his finger danced over the trigger of the gun.

"KILL HIM NOW!" screamed a voice over the stadium loudspeakers. The crowd of screaming Rockets instantly died down.

Immediately Gary pulled the trigger, his head facing away so he would not have to witness the death of his best friend.

Ash huddled down, expecting the rush of instant death, the feeling of white-hot lead, but it never came.

He opened his eyes, and a large pokemon was in front of him, a blue force field protecting him, Misty, and Pikachu.

"Mew…two?" Ash said weakly, as he stared at the all-powerful psychic pokemon.

"Ash, hold on tightly to Pikachu and Misty then grab my tail," Mewtwo commanded.

Ash did as he was told. He hugged Misty and Pikachu to his chest, and grabbed hold of Mewtwo's tail.

"DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!" Dr. Nanba shouted over the loudspeakers

All the Rockets began to surge onto the stadium.

"Hold on tight Ash," Mewtwo said as they began to rise into the air.

Bullets rained down on the psychic pokemon, but his barrier held.

"HERE WE GO!" Mewtwo shouted.

And in an instant, they had vanished.

"DAMMIT! How could you let them get away!" Dr. Nanba screamed.

The group reappeared on the front lawn of the Ketchum residence, as Mewtwo collapsed on the ground, obviously very exhausted.

Mrs. Ketchum, who was gardening at the moment, turned towards Ash, obviously very shocked at the sudden appearance.

"Oh Ash, Misty, you're back! I knew you could do it Misty! Hey, what's wrong Ash?" she said as she noticed the tears still fresh on his face.

"Mom, Misty could be dead for all we know, we have to hurry and get her to a hospital!" Ash shouted.

"Oh my gosh let's go then! And bring along your creepy cat-looking friend with us while you're at it." Mrs. Ketchum said as she rushed into the house to get her keys.

Ash hoisted Misty's unconscious form into the car, and belted her in. He did the same with Mewtwo, although his gigantic tail did prove to be quite a problem.

He climbed into the car, and his mom sped off to the Pallet Hospital, with Misty lying soundly in the back.

"Hang in there Mist," Ash said to himself.

They arrived there within 5 minutes (Thanks to Mrs. Ketchum's shortcuts and bat-outta-hell driving style) Ash carried Misty into the emergency room, where he had to sign in.

"Name please," the clerk said, without even looking up.

"My fiancé is about to die, so get me some help now!" He felt for a pulse, and it was fading fast, becoming slower and slower from the great loss of blood.

The woman looked up, and her eyes grew the size of dinner plates.

"Oh my God why didn't you say so! Bring out a gurney fast!" she yelled to some unknown nurse in the back.

Ash gently laid Misty down on the stretcher, as fear and panic crept through him.

He ran alongside the stretcher, as Misty had to be rushed immediately into surgery.

"It seems she's suffered some severe lacerations on her body, and one of her lungs seems to have been punctured. She's lost a lot of blood too." The doctor could see that the news was only dragging down Ash further into despair. "We can help her of course, but she'll have a long recovery ahead of her when she gets out."

He was very tempted to say if she gets out, but he knew it would just make things even worse.

Ash was forced to sit in the waiting room, where he paced back and forth.

Mrs. Ketchum played with Amy, while Mewtwo hovered in deep meditation.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Ash's head.

"Mewtwo, you can save Misty! I mean you've saved me before, so you can save her, can't you?"

Mewtwo immediately turned his head away, as if he had nothing to say but bad news.

"What's wrong, can't you help her?" Ash pleaded.

"I'm…too weak right now. Transporting all of you used up the last of my strength. I won't be able to heal her…"

"So then rest up and you can heal her then!" Ash said with a glimmer of hope.

"It takes a lot of energy for me to heal someone Ash, and I'm afraid that by the time I regain enough strength to do so, it may be too late," Mewtwo said with a downcast look present in his eyes.

Ash let out a loud yell of frustration, then sunk back into his chair.

"Misty…I never should have left your side…" Ash muttered to himself. He pulled his hat down so as to cover his red and swollen eyes.

Hours passed, although they felt like years, as Misty remained in the operating room, clinging to life. Ash still had not removed his shirt, which was soaked through with Misty's blood. A reminder for himself on what the consequences of leaving her.

A doctor soon emerged and walked toward the frantic pokemon trainer.

"Well, how is she?" Ash asked, a bit louder then normal. (I'm being nice)

"She's stabilized, but she'll have to undergo numerous procedures as she suffered some nasty wounds," the doctor said in a grave sounding voice.

"So I'm not able to see her yet?" Ash said with sadness in his voice.

"No not yet I'm afraid. She'll have to be looked on very closely for the next couple days. I suggest you go home and get some rest Mr. Ketchum." He noticed the fear and worry in his eyes, and instantly tried to reassure him.

"She's going to be fine, you have my word. It's just going to take some time to get her there, that's all," the doctor said with a sheepish grin.

"Thank you doctor," Ash said as he turned away and walked towards his mother.

"Well, what did the doctor say?" Mrs. Ketchum asked reproachfully.

"He said she's stable, but they'll have to keep her for a couple more days to do some more operations. We're not allowed to see her quite yet," Ash said with a disappointed look.

"She's going to be okay honey. Now let's go home and I can make you your favorite meal!" Mrs. Ketchum said, hopefully trying to cheer up her son.

"I'm sorry Ash. I'll try and get up to strength as quickly as possible to insure Misty's safety," Mewtwo said as Ash walked past.

"Thanks Mewtwo," he said very quietly.

Mrs. Ketchum climbed into the car, along with Ash, and Mewtwo. Pikachu was soon discovered to still be alive and was sleeping soundly in the backseat.

Ash leaned against the window, as rain began to steadily fall from the sky.

"Misty…" was all he could say to himself to keep him from going insane.

They soon reached the Ketchum residence, where Mewtwo was told he could stay for as long as he needed. (Yeah I'm making him male. And yes I know he is genderless)

Ash immediately ran into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Mrs. Ketchum knew to leave her brooding son alone; although this time she called up some friends to keep Ash company.

Luckily Brock and Anna were staying in Viridian, and they were over within the hour.

Ash slammed the door behind him, and threw himself onto his bed. Tears streaming down his face, he removed his jacket and lay it next to him.

Misty's blood had dried, but he would not wash it just yet. Her blood had been spilled because of him, because he had left her. He could never forgive himself for leaving her. So he never would again, that is if she took him back.

"It happened just like my dream..." Ash whispered to himself. "I knew how it was going to end, but I kept denying it could end like my dream."

He began pacing around his room, trying to figure it all out.

"Misty wasn't able to refuse judging, she was surrounded by Rockets. But how could they have known that the judge would have been hurt?" he pondered thoughtfully.

He heaved a great sigh, and fell back onto his bed. He stared at the blood-soaked shirt for awhile, and then softly drifted off to sleep.

What seemed like only a second later, his door was thrown wide open and he was instantly trapped in a bone-crushing hug which could belong to none other than Brock.

"Hey Brock…I…can't…breathe" Ash said as he struggled against Brock's embrace.

"Oh, sorry man," Brock said apologetically as he released his vice-grip hold on Ash.

"Is she…going to be okay?" Brock asked with a worried look on his face.

"The doctors said they need to perform some more operations, but she'll be as good as new after a good long time to heal."

"Well that's good. Maybe we can go visit her tomorrow?" Brock asked hopefully.

"They said she won't be allowed to have visitors for awhile, they'll let us know when we can see her again," Ash said unemotionally, his eyes still cold and dark.

Suddenly, a girl with flowing brown hair popped her head into the room. She noticed Ash's gloomy and unfeeling look, and instantly rushed over, hugging him and placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Oh Ash I feel so bad for you," Anna said wholeheartedly. Ash just stood there, staring at the jacket which still lay on his bed.

While Ash was gazing at the jacket, Anna shot Brock a dirty look which clearly meant, "Give us some time alone or I'll kill you." Not being a moron, Brock went off to help Mrs. Ketchum with the cooking.

Anna didn't know why, but she had become increasingly attracted to Ash the more she spent time with him. (Maybe the fact that she was carrying his other child)

She loved how Ash had trusted her, even though she had worked against so many months before. She loved how he cared for ALL of his friends, how he had treated her so well after all that she had done. And how could she not love those chocolate brown eyes of his?

But most of all, Ash reminded her so much of her old fiancé. He had that never-give-up attitude, who would always fight until the bitter end.

She knew he loved Misty, but that didn't stop her from wanting him, needing him. She knew that what she was doing was wrong, but she was tired of being alone.

"Ash…Misty will be okay, won't she?" Anna said as she took his hand, putting on a sad puppy dog face.

He seemed to snap out of a trance, as his eyes finally locked off of the blood-soaked jacket.

"She will be…she has to be okay," he said very quietly.

He noticed Anna holding his hand, but he didn't care. It was good to have a comforting touch at the moment.

Suddenly, Ash broke down and threw his arms around Anna, sobbing into her shoulder. (Very un-Ash like, I know)

Anna seemed quite shocked at this, but she only embraced him tighter.

"Anna…what if I lose her?" he sobbed. "I've already lost her a couple times before…but this time it could be for good!"

"Ash, she's going to make it! Misty wouldn't die that easily on you. She loves you, she won't give up on you," she said reassuringly.

"If I lose her…I don't know what I'll do," he said as his face darkened, his eyes directed toward the ground.

"You won't lose her, but even if you do, you'll be able to find someone else," she said with a slight smile.

"Wait, did I just say what I think I said?" Anna said to herself. "He loves Misty, and I'm not helping! But he…he's so much like how James use to be…"

She stared out the window, deep in thought. Ash held onto her tighter, and then she did the unthinkable; she lifted his chin, and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

Ash let out an almost inaudible gasp.

"She's kissing me! This is so wrong…but why am I enjoying it?"

He wrapped his arms around her, deepening the kiss.

Seconds, minutes, hours could have passed but the two didn't notice a thing, that is until Brock walked in.

"ASH WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" he shouted at the top of his voice.

As if coming out of a trance, Ash immediately broke off of Anna, releasing his embrace.

Tears streaming down his face at the realization of what he had done, Ash ran out of the house. He ran as fast as he could to his special place where he went to think.

He ran out of the woods and into a clearing, near a crystal clear river which was fed by a rushing waterfall.

This place was special because this was where a certain red-head fished him out of the river. Where he had stolen her bike, and where their relationship began.

Anna stood in surprise, glued to her spot on the hardwood floor.

Brock shot her a look great disgust, and ran off to find Ash, knowing exactly where he'd be.

"What have I done?" Anna whispered softly to herself as she eyed Ash's blood-tainted jacket, and broke down in tears.

"What did I do…why on earth did I make out with Anna, when the love of my life is struggling to survive in a hospital!" Ash said with increasing anger as he threw rocks into the river.

"Because Anna was smart and got you in a vulnerable position?" Brock said with an "I told you so" look on his face as he stepped out from the cover of the trees.

"Brock! How'd you know I'd be here?" Ash said in a very shocked voice.

Brock, seeming to have completely ignored Ash, walked over to the edge of the river and dipped his hand in the water.

"This is where you met her, right?" Brock asked with an inquisitive look at Ash.

"Ye…yeah. How did you know?" Ash responded, very confused.

"She showed it to me. She came here after she fought with you. (When they were near Pallet of course. Duh) She said that she only had to see this place, and be reminded of the day she met you, to forgive you for whatever you had done that day. You really changed Misty's life Ash," Brock said calmly as he laid a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Silent tears rolled down Ash's cheeks as he walked to the river's edge, staring at his reflection in the clear blue water.

"I don't know what got into me Brock. One second we were talking, the next we were kissing. What have I done…?"

"Something really stupid, that's for sure," Brock responded bluntly.

"I know I need to tell Misty…but she'll never forgive me for this! I mean she forgave me once for doing things with Anna, because they weren't my fault. But this time, I did it of my own free will. There's no way Misty would want to marry me now…" Ash said with a dejected look on his face.

"Now I admit you'll have to make a good apology to her, but don't count yourself out just yet. Misty bore your child because she loves you. She wants to marry you because she loves you. Do you get what I'm saying? SHE LOVES YOU. You just need to show her how sorry you are and how much YOU love HER," Brock said sternly.

"I know, and I will. I need to prove to her that Anna meant nothing to me, that I felt nothing from the kiss, which I didn't," he quickly added as he saw the look on Brock's face.

But someone else was in the cover of the trees that they did not notice.

Anna turned and ran, new tears falling from her face as her heart broke in two.

"You're so stupid Anna! How could you ever think he would like you! Now all you did was hurt him and Misty, what you've always been doing. I've hurt Ash too much; he's better off if I wasn't around. I'm even carrying his second child…but should I tell him?" she thought to herself as she continued to run.

"Well I guess now I just have to wait until Misty is allowed to have visitors, and then I can beg for forgiveness," Ash said with a slight smirk on his face.

"And hey, if she dumps you, you can always hook up with Anna," Brock laughed with a stupid grin on his face.

Ash shot back a glare of extreme disgust and Brock immediately shut up.

The two walked back to the Ketchum residence in silence, Ash's thoughts solely on Misty.

"Please forgive me Mist…you just have to," Ash thought to himself.

They were greeted back at the house by Mrs. Ketchum playing with the now one month old Amy. (Yes Misty was looking for a long time, and yes I skipped a lot of Ash's ridicule by the Rockets)

"Oh hi honey, thank goodness your home. There's a letter here for you from the Pokemon League. I think it has to do with your court date," Mrs. Ketchum said with uneasiness present in her tone.

Ash tore open the letter, and read, as a look of nervousness grew more present on his face the further down he read.

"What is it Ash? How bad is it?" Brock asked with great concern.

"I have to be in court one week from today. You, Misty, Anna, and mom have to be present as you will be asked to be witnesses. If I lose this case I face five to ten years in prison and a ten million dollar fine," Ash said calmly.

"Five to ten years? There's no way they can put my baby in prison!" Mrs. Ketchum shouted, frightening Amy, who began to bawl.

Ash picked her up, and cooing softly, got her to calm down. Eventually Amy fell asleep in Ash's protective arms.

"Misty won't be healthy enough to go," Brock said in worry.

"Yeah I know," Ash said crestfallen, "but she has to come, otherwise she'll get in trouble too."

And just at the moment, the phone rang, and Ash quickly picked it up.

"Hello? Already! Wow that's great! I can come right now? I'll be right over!" Ash said excitedly as he hung up the phone.

Grinning from ear to ear, he proudly said, "She's gonna make a full recovery and we can go see her now!"

They all piled into the car, Amy's baby bag in tow, as they rushed to the hospital to visit Misty.

They arrived at the ICU, where they had to wait to see her.

A doctor came out, and asked to speak to Ash in private.

"Mr. Ketchum, while your fiancé is going to make a full physical recovery, she may never be the same person again," he said with a grim look on his face.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, puzzled.

"Go see for yourself…" the doctor said quietly, as he motioned for Ash to enter Misty's room.

Brock and Mrs. Ketchum motioned to get up, but the doctor raised his hand.

"Only he should see her at the moment." Seeing the look on their faces, he quickly added, "Oh but don't worry you can visit with her afterwards."

Ash pushed open the door and saw the love of his life watching TV from her bed.

He immediately ran over, hugging her, tears streaming anew from his eyes.

"Oh Misty, thank God you're okay!" he cried.

He let go, and noticed the puzzled look on her face.

"What's wrong Mist?" Ash asked confused.

"Who are you?" Misty responded flatly.

OOOOOO cliffhanger haha! Yes Sarah, these are in italics now, happy? Well sorry I took so long to update, was in California visiting family for a couple weeks. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, and please review! I always love to hear how I can get better. Oh and if you have free time, please check out How Much Can Happen In a Year? By Karoi Chan (as if you don't know about this story) That fic was the one which inspired me to write mine, so go check it out. Go on, review. It's that little button on the left.

P.S. Sorry for some spelling or grammatical errors as I tried to write this as quickly as I could.