When we left off last, Sara had called in Zack and Amanda to try and break Milo out of the abyss he left himself in when Melissa moved. Will Sara's plan work or is Milo so far down that the only one who can bring him back is Melissa?

This chapter and the rest of the story will be dedicated to the memory of Arthur Rankin Jr., Jules Bass and Maury Laws. Thank you for making the Christmas season wonderful for generations and may you all Rest In Peace.


It was the Thursday after Labor Day 2016 - the start of a new school year at Jefferson County Middle School. Most everyone was excited to see friends old and new. One person wasn't - that was Milo Murphy. He was alone in Ms. Murawski's homeroom, head down in his desk. The desk next to him, in his mind, would always belong to his childhood best friend (now girlfriend) Melissa Chase. But in his heart, he knew that Melissa wasn't coming back for a while. She was in Nashville, following her dreams.

In his mindscape, Milo wanders through visions of his past and present. All his memories of his friends and family are stored here. Strangely enough, he sees visions of Melissa in her new home in Nashville, making new friends at her new school - boys all over her, but rebuffing each of them. He would look to his gold half-heart locket periodically. "Melissa, I wish you were here with me..." Milo said to himself, sighing. "I'd need a Jirachi right now to make that a reality, but he's just a character from a popular video game franchise...plus he won't be back for another 984 years," Milo lamented. "Ash Ketchum, what would you do in a time like this?"


No sooner than he asked that, Milo saw a tall, raven black-haired boy, just about his age, wearing a blue hoodie, a black shirt, blue jeans, red and black sneakers and black fingerless gloves. Atop his head was a red and black hat with a blue Pokeball symbol and on his right shoulder was his trusty Pikachu. It was without a doubt his animated idol - Ash Ketchum.

"Ash? Is that really you?"

Ash gave a nod. "It is. Of course, you know my pal Pikachu..."

"Pika Pikachu!"

"Wow...it really is you! I just thought you guys were video game and cartoon characters!"

"Milo, word to the wise - we're in the mind. Anything and everything is real here, including us. What you see here is your memories, visions, your fears...what you don't know is that you can also see your future in the mind."

"My future? Like the distant future?"

Ash shook his head. "Not too distant. At most 3-5 years."

"So I can see if Melissa keeps her promise to come back in time for senior year?"

Sensing Milo's change in attitude, Ash smiled. "Would you like to?"

"I need to know, Ash. I just need something to look forward to, even if it's far in the future."

"Well, let's be off - our time target: Summer of 2020, 4 years into the future..." Ash said as they flashed into the future through Milo's mindscape.


"Why's everyone wearing masks?" Milo asked, seeing a majority of Danville wearing face masks.

"A virus from China hit the US hard - Danville was the epicenter of the pandemic in the spring, right as Melissa returned from Nashville...got her old house back too...turns out her mom got transferred to your high school after the principal's retirement following your junior year."

"A pandemic?" Milo freaked. "But that means...no, not Melissa!"

"Afraid so...Melissa got the virus while she was recording her 2nd album."

"Does...does she make it, Ash?"

"Not sure. I'm afraid this is about as far as the vision goes."


"Ash...you've had friends leave before. How have you handled it?"

"Milo, let me tell you something. A good friend left me once...a few years ago. She was a Gym Leader, had a trio of beauty queen sisters. After my journey through the Johto region, her sisters won a trip around the world, so she got called back to her Pokemon Gym. I didn't see her for a while, but I still keep in touch with her often, especially when I go back to Pallet Town after my journeys. And Milo, much like my various hats are symbols of my travels, that locket you keep around your neck is a symbol of your bond with Melissa. Keep that close to your heart and she'll always be with you. Now I think you better get going, bell's about to ring."

"Yeah. Zack and Amanda must be worried sick...and thanks, Ash. You too, Pikachu."

"Milo, if you ever need any help, we'll be right here in your mindscape..."


With that, Milo woke up and gasped.

"Hey, Milo!" Amanda greeted cheerfully.

"Look who's finally up and about!" Zack added.

"How long was I out?"

"I'd say about 20 minutes..." Amanda assessed.

"Guys, you won't believe this, but I saw the future in my mind..." Milo told Zack and Amanda.

"The future? How is that possible?" Amanda asked.

"And what future? Near future? Far future?" Zack questioned.

"I'm not sure how it's possible, but I saw 4 years into the future..." Milo started. "And Melissa does come back...gets her old house back too..."

"No way!"

"Milo, that's awesome, dude!"

"But something bad happens to her just before she returns...she gets sick with a mystery virus that turned into a pandemic. Unsure if she makes it...Man, why is it that whenever something good is going to happen, Murphy's law is right there to yank the rug out from under me?"

"We'll think of something, we have to..." Amanda said to Milo.

"A step at a time, Amanda..." Zack added in, soon going into song.


(Key: Normal text = Milo; Bold Italics = Zack; Underline = Amanda; Bold Italic Underline = Zack and Amanda; Bold = all 3)

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you'll be walkin' across the floor

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you'll be walkin' out the door!

You never will get where you're going

If you never get up on your feet...

C'mon, there's a good tailwind blowing!

A fast-walkin' man is hard to beat

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you'll be walkin' across the floor

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you'll be walkin' out the door!

If you wanna change your direction

If your time of life is at hand

Well don't be the rule, be the exception!

A good way to start is to stand...

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you'll be walkin' across the floor

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you'll be walkin' out the door!

If I wanna change the reflection

I see in the mirror each morn

You mean that it's just my election

To vote for a chance to be reborn!

Put one foot in front of the other

and soon you are walkin' across the floor

You put one foot in front of the other

And soon you are walkin' out the door!

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you are walkin' across the floor

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon...you'll be...walkin'...out the door!


"WE GOT MILO BACK!" Amanda cheered.

"Yes, but for how long? He's bound to start thinking about Melissa again sooner or later and when he does, he might be too far gone to recover without her," Zack feared as Ms. Murawski came in to begin class.


Meanwhile at Parton Junior High in Nashville, Melissa Chase was starting her first day of school. New city, new school, new surroundings...she felt like an outcast. She looked at her own half-heart shaped locket. "Milo...I wish you were here with me. I wish I was back in Danville..." Melissa said to herself as a girl who looked suspiciously like Amanda came running in. It was actually one of her cousins.

"Hey! You must be new here - Melissa, right?"

"Yeah. Hi."

"My cousin Amanda's told me a lot about you. Ilana Lopez, 8th grade, cheer captain."

"I tried out for cheer as well, made one of your co-captains."

"Guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other this year!" Ilana cheered, looking to Melissa's locket. "You've got a nice locket there. What's with the half-heart shape?"

Melissa blushed. "It's a gift...from my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend? Who's the lucky guy?"

"It's my childhood best friend...Milo Murphy..."

Ilana smiled. "I had a feeling you and Milo were meant to be."

"You did?"

"I will admit that it was kinda cute for Milo to be crushing on my cousin, but I could tell Amanda was guilt-tripping herself for swiping him from you. Sometimes a girl just knows. So where is that boy toy of yours?"

"He's...a thousand miles north...in Danville. I moved here over the summer. Now realizing that it was a mistake to move away from him, but I have a dream to follow - to become the next Taylor Swift."

"Oh. Well, I'm sure that Milo's proud of you, Melissa."

"I also have a promise to keep...I want to be able to graduate high school with Milo..."

"So it's like he's your Troy and you're his Gabriella..."

"Yeah," Melissa confirmed as the bell rang.

"We'll talk more later. Mr. Walsh will flip if we're late to class. Forgot to mention, I'm into psychics...may just give you a little reading during lunch period...see what's in your future..." Ilana teased.

"Hopefully it holds me returning to Milo..."

"You'll find out soon, Melissa!'


So, Milo meets his animated idol in his mindscape and sees a future vision of Melissa returning only to find that a mystery pandemic is about to take hold and victimize Melissa. As for Melissa, she makes her first friend in Nashville, a cousin of Amanda's who appears to have psychic abilities and can predict Melissa's future. What does Melissa's future really hold? We'll find out soon enough!