Locked Away, Chapter 69
Ash glared at his pale and bruised hands as he formed them into a fist and released. His hands did not feel like his own. The muscles spasmed and twitched until they eventually relaxed, then, he repeated the process. Open, close. Open, close. It may have seemed like an insignificant effort to gain strength, but his body had to go through the healing process all over again. Even though he was stronger this time around, he was still injured and had to get used to himself again
Baby steps, he reminded himself. Soon enough, he would feel normal again… unfortunately, right now, Ash felt confused, conflicted, and a little sore because of the fog looming over his head from the medication. His eyes were heavy and exhausted, but he was mortified to rest them.
Fearful that he would never wake up.
Thankfully, little aches formed when he turned inappropriately, kept him alert. With each swallow, the pain and irritation from the tube previously shoved into his throat reminded him that sleep was not welcome. Not to mention, the doctors left the damn catheter in. From a scale of one to ten, the invasive object was the absolute worst eleven.
So uncomfortable. All the time. Ash sighed. He hated it, but it focused his mind and kept his eyes open. Discomfort reminded him that he was not falsely wandering around an imaginary world, dying in a hospital room. He was here, and that was all that mattered.
Regrettably, he wasn't away from machines yet. He was still attached to an oxygen tank via nose cannula to help with his breathing. A blood pressure clip was attached on his left finger and IV needles decorated the top of his hands. Broken ribs, fractured bones; the familiar buzz of pain killers and muscle relaxers coursed through his body and kept him on the brink of passing out, but again, he focused on his hands. On the pain in his throat. On everything else but the lulling of sleep pressing at the back of his eyes.
Sitting here for the second time, in a room connected to machines he didn't know the names of, Ash realized how crazy his adventures had been. He promised Misty he would never be in a situation like this again, and yet… Ash pinched the flesh on the right side of his wrist and then twisted until his eyes twitched. For a full five seconds, he held his skin in that bind, and then exhaled, and released.
Here he was.
Nearly two full days had passed since he woke, but Ash saw only Brock, Misty, and the hospital staff—the latter most of all. They switched his room once, asked him more questions than he could think to answer, and by the time he could relax, the sun disappeared, and night twinkled from his open window. Even though the 'fresh air' was full of residual smoke from the forest fires, it was better than stale air and hand sanitizer.
He wondered if there was anything left of Viridian City, or if the entire place burned to the ground…
Knock. Knock.
Ash turned to his door and answered the familiar tap with a smile. A woman appeared on the other side, her red hair, and green eyes were always welcome. Misty's head poked in through the crack, checking to see if he was awake, and when she saw that he was, she slipped in looking strangely…large. Ash's brows rose at the exaggerated robe over her shoulders, until she brushed the robe aside and two small pokemon wriggled out of her grasp. Ash's eyes glowed in elation.
"Piakchu, togetic!" he called to them hoarsely.
He attempted to wave, but his hands only rose a few inches above the bed. The little yellow ball of fur, pikachu, pranced across the white tile and scurried up the bed frame to him while togetic floated over and rested on his leg beside pikachu. They both squealed in delight to see their trainer in one piece.
"Oh, man… I'm so happy to see the two of you." Ash hummed and closed his eyes. Despite his elation, his voice was almost non-existent and cracked when he spoke.
His eyes flashed back to the redhead, and a smile returned to his lips as he corrected himself, "The three of you."
Misty staggered to his side, still in shock but smiling. Given her own condition, she wasn't supposed to be moving around without a nurse present, or visiting other patients after sunset, but provided that she had his pokemon, she appeared to be breaking all the rules tonight. Besides, Ash wasn't going to complain that he could see them. Sitting alone was too quiet, and too many thoughts crept into his head in these barren, white walls.
Lost in thought, he nearly missed Misty tapping his shoulder with a shaky hand. She said nothing, but Ash understood her fleeting touch. She was checking that he was physically here as much as he was; she was simply a bit gentler than himself. Ash brushed his lips against her knuckles.
"No more adventures that land us in the hospital, okay?" he whispered, winking.
Misty's breath increased momentously, and her slight touch fell into a warm and overwhelming embrace. Ash whined under the joy, and she immediately released him.
"I'm so glad you're awake." She said.
"Me, too." Ash sighed. "Thanks for believing I would be."
She let that comment sink in while Ash's pokemon nuzzled into the spot right below his right rib. Following her gaze, Ash adjusted them slightly to make a bit more room on his bed so that Misty could sit beside them. She didn't take up a lot of room, only a small sliver between the railing and him. Then, as he tried to move the blankets over the two of them, she brushed his hands away and took over. She maneuvered his cords around herself in a way that wouldn't disturb the flow of air or IV fluid before she rested against the sloping pillow and took his hand. Her soft fingers found the swollen, bruised spot on his wrist, and rubbed gently in the silence.
Ash nuzzled quietly into her arm and petted pikachu on the head. Finally, he was at peace. Misty beside him and his two best friends curled tiredly in his lap, he relaxed as a sigh escaped his lips. For a minute everything else fell away; the burning of the forest, the overly sterile scent of the hospital, and the constant need to stay awake.
"So… How'd you sneak them in here?" Ash asked, breaking the quiet.
"Brock helped." Misty replied, "He distracted the nurses while I stuffed them into my robe from my window and then snuck out of my room when the nurses finally had enough of him."
Ash's lips curled into a smile. "Remind me to thank him later."
"I will, he's been a huge help for someone who used to be a stickler for the rules." She mocked playfully; eyelashes fluttered against his shoulder. She used to be, too.
"…Are you enjoying the smell of smoke?" she asked, gesturing with head to the open window.
Ash rolled the words in his mouth, recalling the distinct smell of fire from Viridian Forest, and the Sevii islands. The way her body shifted; he knew she hated the smell as it stood as a poignant reminder of everything bad that happened. Ash licked his lips, then answered:
"…Is it bothering you?"
"No," Misty lied for his sake. Another wash of silence fell between the two of them, and Ash inhaled the scent of her hospital scented hair.
"You lied, ya' know." He murmured into her hair, eliciting a 'hm?' from Misty.
"You do so like sad movies."
Misty laughed at his comment, but warm liquid seeped through his hospital gown and his heart did a flip. Oh no, he made her cry.
"…Sorry." Ash whispered sadly, but Misty shook her head while sniffling quietly.
"Don't apologize." Her voice shook, eyes squeezed shut. "I'm so glad it's over and you're alive."
Alive. She said, not awake. Not here. Not conscious. Alive as opposed to dead. He shuddered.
"I really hope so." He confessed and instinctively moved to pinch himself again. Fortunately, his right arm was held down by his pokemon companions and he thought better than moving them.
"Of course, you are…" She assured him but braced herself when she asked: "..Did you go back there?"
"No." Ash said abruptly, staring at the darkness across the room from them. It laughed silently at him, stared deep into his soul.
Her voice was barely audible when she asked: "Where did you go, then?"
"…" Ash thought for a moment to find the right words, he swallowed against the pain in his throat, wishing for once that it wasn't there because his voice broke. "…Somewhere else."
She traced her fingers up and down his arm comfortingly, and replied with furrowed brows and, "…oh."
"I wanted to be here." He clarified, chest heaving.
"I kept trying to get back, but it was like I was my own worst enemy… No matter how much I tried…I just kept falling and restarting and forgetting. Half the time I didn't know if I was here nor there…. But I made it. Eventually…"
Misty breathed a strangled sigh of relief, "You made it."
"I made it." He echoed, mostly to convince himself. He. Made. It.
Gradually, exhaustion tugged at the corners of her eyes, and her head dipped lightly against his arm. The worst of their problems behind them, rest was finally a reasonable consideration. With a nudge, Ash brushed the hair from her face and her eyelids fell. The late-night swiftly stole her consciousness.
"…you made it…" she whispered under her breath, out like a light.
She was so peaceful when she slept, unlike everything he'd gotten used to the last few months. When he closed his eyes, he still saw images of those gleaming green eyes, with an unfamiliar fire behind them, spewing nonsense. As happy as he was that he was okay, he was happier to see that Misty was okay. Or, that she was at least getting there. With Misty's slow breathing, togetic drifted to sleep as well, leaving pikachu starting up at Ash with beady, black eyes.
Ash didn't want to sleep yet, his mind wasn't ready. Pikachu read that on him and offered a quiet voice of support.
"Thanks, buddy." Ash smiled at the mouse, who returned the gesture.
"Gonna stay up with me for a while?" Ash asked, and the pokemon nodded affectionately and crept onto Ash's lap to stare out into the night sky with him. As they had in the past, and hopefully would in the future.
XOX
"You really mustn't sleep in the same bed together," Scolded a nurse who woke Ash from his slumber.
Ash started forward, but the weight of Misty in his arm and pikachu and togetic on his lap prevented him from moving. His head was killing him. Worse than it felt like it should have. His vision blurred when the nurse tried to scold him. Outside of the white noise blaring in his ears, the nurse's words were muffled and he struggled to grasp where he was, and what he was doing. He felt, that if his body was working at full capacity; he would have jerked awake and thrown Misty and his pokemon off—weird. He craned his neck. He'd rarely had nightmares before.
"That's how you'll hurt yourself."
Misty stirred from her slumber by rubbing her eyes and glaring up at the nurse. The nurse was a tall woman, with arms crossed, and a very unimpressed look plastered across her face—so many rules broken, such little time.
When the wave of nausea passed, Ash offered a toothy grin despite the crippling pain radiating through his head.
"…What can I say, I'm pretty popular?"
"Of course you are…" the nurse disregarded Ash without so much as a glance, "Ms. Waterflower, I'm going to have to ask you to return to your own room—the staff on the west wing were very concerned this morning."
"…Sorry." Misty grumbled, swatting the cords away that tangled into her hair and hospital scrubs. Thankfully she didn't pull any of them out.
When Misty slipped out of bed, the nurse hovered over her. She was far stronger than they gave her credit for, but Ash couldn't blame them for their concern. Misty cracked her neck as she turned, dipped, and planted a sweet kiss against Ash's cheek. By that point, the headache had vanished as quick as it arrived, and Ash forced himself not to wince. Maybe he'd mention it to the doctors. He tried to rub his scalp, but his arms were still mostly uncooperative.
"I'll see you later." She promised while the nurse gestured for the pokemon to follow.
"Take these with you. We need to run check-ups."
These? Ash's brows furrowed, his stomach knotted while togetic and pikachu apologetically looked to him, and then followed Misty out the door. The way she referred to them was cold, a little hostile. Though, Ash wasn't surprised. Only a few days ago, pokemon of all kinds were literally ripping through the streets and destroying everything.
"Uh, sorry… but do you by any chance know what happened with my pokemon?" Ash asked while the nurse began a scan of his charts and machines.
"Mr. Harrison is taking care of them."
"Brock?" Ash asked the pit in his stomach worsening. Infernape was in critical condition last he checked. He was curious to know how the rest of them were doing. Charizard, mostly.
"Yeah, the tall one who keeps helping Ms. Waterflower break the rules. Lift your arm please."
He was proud of his friends, and how far they've come. A smirk twitched onto his lips as he did what the nurse asked. She checked his pulse and vitals and moved his body without paying him any mind. Boy, he missed this.
"I think you'll need physical therapy—" she said as she scratched some notes onto her clipboard, "But lucky you, you seem to be recovering well. The doctor will be in shortly to follow up."
"Thanks." Ash smiled as the nurse left him.
Silence, once again. White walls suffocating him.
Bitterly, Ash inhaled. The blankets were warm with the presence of pikachu and togetic and his left arm sore from where Misty slept. His skin flushed at her lingering scent, but he exhaled calmly. They hadn't been gone for more than a few minutes, and he already missed them. Their presence settled the growing pit in his stomach somewhat. As the unrelenting, and unreasonable terror built, he twisted the flesh of his wrist between his finger and thumb and inhaled snakingly. He could get through this; he did it before.
XOX
Practice lifting his arms and closing his fist was only how he spent part of his morning; the other half was spent listening to the news and being mortified by how horrible it was. Between Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh, they had enough chaos to fill a decade, or more. If Ash's hand could reach his face, he'd have rubbed his temples in concern. Every news outlet covered the same top stories: Sinnoh's blizzard, the Viridian City fires, Hoenn's rioting, and the lightning storm that cut the power out of Johto entirely. They covered stories from the rampaging pokemon that attacked each region, to the people that either made the situation worse or improved it.
In the end, all that was left was chaos.
The sudden and devastating blizzard that swallowed Sinnoh left the region uninhabitable. Entire cities were buried beneath snow and the death count had not been declared yet. Speculation put the destruction into the thousands, but people were hopeful. Rescue teams were being put together to search for survivors, but the tone was futile and hopeless. Ash was sad for the region, but like everyone else, relieved the blizzard stopped before it swallowed up the rest of the regions as well. Thankfully, since Dawn and Iris' heist, refugees were being welcomed at the Kanto border with open arms and were dispatched to Lavender Town and Cerulean City. Pewter City would have been a first choice, but they were busy housing citizens of Viridian City. Hardly anything was left of the lush, green fields.
When Ash saw pictures of Viridian City, he was disturbed. As he suspected, the fire created by Ho-oh left little to the imagination. The fires ripped through the southern forest and tore through the entire city before morning. Even with the assistance of firefighters, water pokemon, and their trainers, the flames did not die down until the next evening. After the flames were extinguished, the coals burned too hot to check for survivors, and fences were put up.
Helicopter shots of the destruction showed the nursing home at the edge of the northern forest was a charred mess of brick and ashes. The pokemon gym and the pokemon center were mostly intact because they were built to support pokemon battles and problems. A few survivors were rescued by helicopter from the rooftops of those buildings. Ash often thought of his nightmare, running through a collapsing Viridian City, swallowed in darkness. His heart ached.
Meanwhile, Johto was mostly in a complete black out. They had auxiliary power running in some major cities, like Olivine City and Ecruteak City, but the rest of the region was shrouded in darkness. Craters burrowed where powerplants rested, and powerlines were piles of soot. Some of the residents who escaped to Pallet Town confessed to seeing a giant snake in the sky, but with everything that happened, that was the least of people's concern. Electrical engineers from Johto and Kanto were already working on the problem, but Ash worried about Gary who was in the hospital in Goldenrod, preparing for transfer. He called sometimes, but his phone access was restricted because of the power shortage.
Ash was mostly surprised when Hoenn's self-proclaimed riot leader, May Maple, shut all the borders, declaring a lock down until they were able to sort out their own issues. They could not help other people until they helped themselves. As it stood, they were the only region where their gym leaders and Elite Four members were actively trying to fix problems within the region. Unfortunately, the lockdown meant the news reporting was limited, but May expressed that she will be working with Kanto and the remaining regions as soon as they are safe to do so.
Her overthrow of the government was respectable, if not entirely crazy. Ash knew that if anyone could pull it off, it would be May. Not only did she take over, the people around her genuinely seemed to support her decisions. Clearly, their reaction demonstrated how different Hoenn's culture was to the rest of the regions. Hoenn was like a family, controlled by a puppet. They were not active participants like Kanto had been.
Finally, the region getting the most proclaim was not part of the league at all. France, previously Kalos, stepped up to welcome, and house Sinnoh refugees. As soon as they discovered that Kanto was under stress from Iris, they offered their assistance and continued helping even after Lance was removed. They were planning to bring ships of food and supplies to help the residents of Sinnoh. Their governor, Lysandre, was more than cooperative and encouraged citizens living within the limitations of the league to look at what it caused and reconsider their own stance.
Pretty shitty to use a catastrophe as a political platform, but Kanto was in no place to argue with any help they were given.
The person the news covered the most, relentlessly, was Iris. Some called into question her loyalty, her motives, and her reason for assisting Dawn. Most of the conversation was a call for the remaining leaders of Kanto to speak to them. To talk about what the plan was.
That meant Misty.
They were asking for Misty to explain everything that happened, and what the future will look like. Unfortunately. No one knew that. The future was an unwritten, blank slate. Misty could speak of promises, but the change needed to be the people, not the leaders. They were the reason it escalated so quickly, because so few people listened and participated in the world.
"If you glare any harder, you may actually hurt yourself." Misty's voice yanked Ash from his thoughts, and his wide eyes found hers, standing at his door, wearing regular clothes instead of a hospital gown.
"…H-hey." He stumbled over himself while she pulled a chair beside his bed.
"'Gettin' tired of all the bad news yet?" She asked, then tilted her head to the side.
"It's…" He paused, "It's not all bad news."
Ash gestured, "May started a revolution."
"Yeah, she did." However, her voice wasn't nearly as excited as Ash's.
Her eyes locked onto the image of Iris staring back at her from the screen, how a small reporter in the corner of the screen talked about the possibility of Kanto being held captive by Iris, who won the war without hurting a single resident. They spewed rotten conspiracy theories, and Misty finally turned the television off with the remote.
The corner of her mouth tugged to one side as she gnawed the inside of her cheek in frustration. Anger. She didn't speak, but Ash knew she was over ranting and raving. There was little she could change now. Complaining wasn't going to help anymore.
"…So… You plan on going somewhere?" Ash asked, gesturing to her clothes.
Misty sighed, "Yeah, I have to address the region today..." she trailed off, "…I can't believe I'm saying this, but people are actually tired of hearing from Dawn."
Ash's brow furrowed playfully, "…and you decided you needed to wear normal clothes? I thought scrubs were the new, cool fashion."
A smile crept slowly onto her face, releasing some of her anger. Success.
"Right, because people will probably talk about my clothes before what I say…" Misty looked down and dug her fingers into her thighs. She wished that would be the focus.
"Reports keep racking up the damage and commenting on what's happening… Lots of people have already said what happened and what is going to happen… and yet, people still want to hear from me... Weird, isn't it?" She wondered aloud as her cheerful smile melted into a pathetic one.
"Well… you were dead a few weeks ago and now you're not, so…"
Misty chuckled sympathetically, but put her head down: "…What the hell happened?"
Unsure of what else to say, Ash rested his hand on the back of her head and brushed his fingers through her hair while she sighed against his mattress. Her arms folded beneath her forehead.
"Dawn and Iris have already said what happened," she inhaled then spit venom, "But… I guess it's reasonable that people want to hear from the person that started to scream that Team Rocket was controlling the regions months ago…. Even though they all said I was crazy."
"Misty…"
Ash tried to comfort her, but she sat back up and ran her hand down her face exasperated. Arms crossed. Closed off. Stuck in her own mind, she glanced at the window. The conversation was over. She wasn't interested in hearing his lighthearted jokes because her mind was occupied with other thoughts.
"Hey, least you get to leave the hospital?" Ash said hopefully.
"On a day pass," Misty grumbled and began tapping her heel on the tile floor.
A distant gaze funneled into her eyes and he watched as she stared beyond the frame of his bed, honed onto a speck of dirt on the ground; her mind absently wandered. She went through a lot, Ash knew that. The last month wasn't easy for anyone, especially not Misty. She was trying to adapt immediately to the political turmoil thrust into her lap that encapsulated years of corruption and devastation. She had to commit to the rigorous physical therapy plan to meet recovery standards and the soul-crushing images of what she saw on the Sevii Islands. Unfortunately, that didn't touch the mind control, the loss of friends, and pokemon. She deserved to rest as much as the rest of them, but she couldn't. It wasn't fair. But… a lot wasn't fair right now.
Respectfully, Ash brushed his hand against her leg to silence her tapping heel. She recoiled instantly in surprise. Their eyes locked; reflected within was uneasiness in hers, concern in his. As quickly as it happened, it was gone when she straightened her back and glanced at the door.
"Dawn and Iris are waiting for me,"
"Misty." Ash's voice was low, expressing his concern. She could talk to him. She needed to. She cracked her neck when she looked back at him.
"I…" She started, but as per tradition at this point, Brock skittered in, practically slamming himself against the door as he burst into the scene. He saw Ash's hand loosely placed on Misty's thigh in comfort, direct eye-contact with a pungency of tension.
"Oh," he stumbled, misreading the moment, "Am I interrupting something?"
"No," And the moment was gone.
Thanks, Brock. Ash thought sarcastically but waved at the man.
"You are impossible to kill, my friend. C'mere!" Brock's voice boomed through the room as he embraced his younger companion. Ash accepted the hug but immediately regretted it.
"Ow-oww—my—Broc-ack—ribs—!" Everything!
"Sorry," Brock dropped him, which only resulted in wheezing from Ash who curled forward, realized that curling forward was not helping the pain and uncoiled to press his head into the pillow and exhale.
With horror in her eyes, Misty kicked Brock's shin in retaliation. Naturally, he grasped the railing of the bed and held his shin in confusion.
"Be careful, you idiot." She scolded Brock while Ash waved away her concern, and mostly collected himself.
"'S'fine." He groaned, but he did not look fine.
Pain compressed neatly between his knitted eyebrows. Most of the time, he didn't have a lot of pain. If he moved wrong, there were strong bouts of it—but due to the coma-ness of his coma, rather than healing tremendously, his body kicked into survival mode and kept only the necessities going. Meaning: ow ribs, ow bones. Why Arceus, why. If he was alone, and not in the presence of his beloved friends, he may have relished in the pain as a reminder—but since they were here, staring with beady eyes; he wanted it to be over as quickly as possible.
"Apparently not impossible to injure… I was starting to have my doubts about that." Brock was joking, Misty and Ash both knew that, but it didn't ease the narrowed glare they shot at him.
"I'm like a meowth, nine lives." Ash tried to sound cool, but only Misty offered a slight scoff.
"I do have to steal your girlfriend for a while," Brock explained suddenly and reached for Misty's shoulder. Like with Ash earlier, she swiveled away. Brock didn't seem to notice.
"Iris is getting tired of waiting, and I'm realizing that she doesn't have the best patience."
"Yeah, well, she saved our lives, so I guess we shouldn't keep her waiting." Misty retorted as she stood.
Part of him, deep-seated selfishness, did not want her to leave. He wanted her to stay, and talk to him about whatever was bothering her until that painful, distant stare turned back into a wild, sarcastic gaze full of care and love and…
"Bring me back snacks?" asked Ash before his mind tumbled too far away.
"You're on a restricted diet." Misty rebuked him.
"I know, but the food here sucks. Please?" Ash pouted, blinking his brown eyes at Misty whose stubborn, sour demeanor finally cracked with a grin. Impulsively, she planted a quick, but sweet peck on his cheek.
Before she pulled away, Ash whispered, "You're gonna do fine," with a wink.
"We'll see." She smirked, then moved to join Brock at the door, who had his hand fanned dramatically over his heart.
"Awwhhh." Brock cooed, and Misty scowled.
"Walk, Harrison." She growled but humor-laced her voice.
Ash used that to chime in, "I really like the little diner down the street from the pokemon center—they have—"
The door shut after a wave from Misty's hand and Ash immediately fell backward onto his bed with a loud exhale as the full wave of pain circled through his body, initiating nausea. He peered down at the IV in his hand, and the small splint he bent into the line after that wild headache earlier that morning. He did it to prevent the medication from entering his body. Maybe he was a little paranoid, but he wanted the fog hanging over him to go away, despite the pain. Hopefully, it took the dark images and white noise with it.
XOX
Generally, Misty didn't hate speaking in public. In fact, she usually took a relaxed approach to presenting that allowed her to express her ideas without getting flustered. Lately, she did not like speaking publicly because she did not want to address this particular topic. In more ways than one, she didn't feel ready. The butterfree in her stomach had long turned into zubats and she wanted to throw up. Despite Brock's supportive protests that she was going to do fine on the car ride over, she didn't feel fine.
"How ya' doin', Misty?" Dawn's voice pipped into the small room where Misty gripped the knees of her pants until her knuckles turned white.
"Fine." Misty lied and exhaled.
Misty glared at her fists, demanding that they release. They didn't. She looked up at Dawn.
"How many people are out there?"
"…A few…" Dawn shrugged as she took a seat beside Misty, "…thousand."
Misty exhaled and she finally relented. "…great."
"You know, you'll be fine. I've seen you give a few speeches and you usually do a great job." Said Dawn, but noticed Misty's shoulders were pinched as tight as ever. Dawn sighed again.
"There's nothing about the situation they don't already know. They just want validation from someone who was already apart of Kanto; don't think too much about it."
Misty's eyes finally turned to her Dawn, but her face remained positioned at the same distant angle.
"I'm not sure I'll ever be used to you being supportive."
Dawn grinned, "It is a little weird, huh? A battler and a coordinator finally getting along. You'd think the world was ending."
The way she leaned forward into 'world was ending', Misty patted Dawn on the shoulder comfortingly.
"You did everything you could,"
Dawn laughed then licked her lips. "But did I? Really? I always pushed the coordinator's agenda. I rarely bothered with anything else. I acted like a brat…"
"Well, you weren't the only one. If we could change our mistakes, we'd never learn. You did your best with what you had. Don't beat yourself up over that." Misty stood at the sound of a restless crowd outside.
"Take your own advice," Dawn mused as Misty left the small room in the silence.
Down a dark hallway, with the light at the tunnel blinding. Misty's stomach twisted into knots. With each step she straightened her posture, she chanted at herself that she was fine. She had this. She mentally practiced this for hours. She simply had to get out there, stand, repeat the same nonsense everyone else was saying, and smile. Tell everyone it was going to be okay, that they had nothing else to worry about. Brock would stand at her side in support—there were only a dozen cameras going to be out there, and the concerned look of thousands of people who lost loved ones. People wanted answers, but the answers they were given didn't sate their heartbreak.
They had answers, but there were no reasons. No reason that an organization should ever be so cruel.
Misty supposed that's what made the truth so hard. Sometimes, answers weren't good enough reasons to justify all the pain.
As she stepped onto the stage, the blinding light engulfed her as she stared out into a sea of people. Her heart didn't race. Her pulse didn't quicken. She wasn't faint, or nauseous. She was sad. Even as the crowd livened up, talking over one another, her composure never faltered. Brock looked surprised to see her standing so strong.
He shouldn't have been.
She was Misty frickin' Waterflower. She was powerful, headstrong. Confident. She was. She was. She. Was.
Misty squeezed her eyes shut and stifled a shaking exhale when she reached the podium. The first wave of discomfort hit her, the stress radiating through her body like a shock wave. She swallowed, and stared back out into the sea of faces, and blinked. Her mouth was dry as she tried to match every gaze that dared to meet hers.
Giovanni reflected in the eyes of every look of disapproval. His mocking tone, arms crossed. She blinked again, the image faded from Giovanni's smugness to acceptance, falling over a ledge. She started this.
She needed to finish this.
"…These last few weeks were…" her voice stayed surprisingly strong, despite the waves of fear palpitating through her body when she paused, "…were hell."
Misty glanced down at her notes, blurry from the tears stinging the back of her eyes. The chants that 'she could do this', that 'she was ready', dissipated as she pushed down the dread holding her heart. Her hands twisted around the wooden podium as she counted back from ten.
"I know that it's been hard…but, I'm not going to keep repeating the events that transpired. You all know it already, Champion Iris, and Champion Dawn have been more than forthcoming about who, and what caused this… So, I will not stand up here, and try to justify the actions of a madman or his organization."
"I understand that we want good reasons for why everything happened, but, honestly, I couldn't tell you. I don't know any more than they do. We want better answers… but there is no way to rationalize what happened. No excuses. Team Rocket exploited and took advantage of Kanto, of all of us."
"I wish I could say it is going to be okay without a doubt in my mind… But, I can't make that promise. There are still going to be some hurdles we will have to face as we adapt to the changing world. I do know, that we have to be better to assure this never happens again. By allowing them to make decisions behind closed doors, we gave them power."
"We aren't done yet. We still have so much to heal but we'll do it together. All the regions, working together for the first time in years."
"We can't look at what happened in the past and continue mourning it. Now is the time to build a stronger, unified future. One person cannot do everything on their own, we need to work together. Then, and only then, will it be okay."
"Thank you."
Misty's iron grasp fell from the podium, and she nodded. The crowd was silent, a little awestruck, but only for a moment. Arms flew up and questions started firing, but Misty shook her head, smiled, and walked away. She had nothing more to say.
Brock followed immediately; Dawn traded placed.
Dawn took the questions Misty did not want to answer and mostly talked about the emergency funds, the technical information, and the progress of transforming some pokemon centers into 'chip-removal' sites in the near future.
"Misty!" Brock yelled and she spun around to stare at him.
"What?!"
He hugged her and Misty exhaled and pressed her head hard against Brock's chest, tears falling as her shoulders shook violently. Showing weakness around him for the first time in years.
XOX
Ash watched the speech several times, noticing how she went off the carefully crafted essay and into her own narrative. She sounded hopeful, perhaps, but Ash knew that part of her blamed herself for letting everything happen. It wasn't her fault.
It didn't take long for Misty to return to the hospital since she didn't entertain any questions. Many people didn't take the speech well, feeling that Misty blamed them when Giovanni and Team Rocket were the evil ones. Ash saw a bit of both-sides; when evil exists, it can only grow and fester if it isn't opposed. Somewhere along the way, the people of Kanto became complacent.
Whether or not a speech saying they needed to move on after the largest destruction they have ever had was a smart move, was another question.
"My head his killing me," Misty complained while holding her hot coffee against her forehead and buckling over.
"I thought it was a good speech," Ash tried to comfort her, but she exhaled.
"They hated it. They said I was sympathizing with Team Rocket when I was supposed to be saving them." On cue, the news station transferred to Dawn answering a question about the said accusation and having to tell everyone that Misty is not sympathizing, but trying to look forward, like they all should.
"I should let Dawn do every speech."
"Well, that has been her job for the last few years, hasn't it?" When that did not cheer her up, Ash smiled, "At least they know you were honest. That will count for something once the rage dies out."
"Hopefully… if not, well, I haven't actually thought about what I would do if Elite Four doesn't work out…"
"Don't talk like that," Ash grumbled but Misty shrugged.
Life after Elite Four was a very troublesome and valid concern that burned into her mind as she watched the television screen, especially since the other three members were locked up behind bars. Moments later, Brock returned holding some vending machine snacks and another coffee. They forgot to grab snacks for Ash, and so Brock reluctantly went to get them from the machine.
"You would think after breaking into Silph Co, breaking out of the pokemon center, and being a general badass, I could get a date…"
"Is that what took so long?" Ash griped, holding out his hand for his small, sugary candy.
"You can't seriously be hitting on the poor, overworked hospital staff, are you?" Brock fidgeted from Misty's question, appearing insulted.
"I didn't say it was a good idea!" He threw up his arms for emphasis and took the seat beside Misty while handing her another coffee and crackers.
"Ash, you'll be my wingman when this is over, won't you?"
"No," Ash answered flatly, biting the package he was given.
Brock dramatically threw himself back in his chair while Ash furrowed his brows and struggled to open the package. Neither Misty nor Brock offered to help, Ash would have been insulted if they did.
"Why not? Everyone loves you." Brock gestured to him, but Ash didn't feel overly attractive in a hospital gown with more needle holes in his arm than an addict.
"If I'm seen with you, they won't be able to keep their hands off of me."
"Ehem." Misty titled her head at Brock, giving him a look.
Brock immediately clarified, "I mean, obviously they can't date him. He's just eye candy."
Ash finally opened the bag with triumph and shook his head. "Nope."
He glanced at Misty who sipped her coffee, "Take Misty?"
"What?!" Brock and Misty gasped, the latter more disgusted, nearly choking.
"She'd be a terrible wingman," Brock argued, looking at her frumpy hospital robe, "Besides, they might think we're dating and then no one will approach me."
Ash and Misty both snorted.
"Absolutely no one would think that." Misty huffed.
"Why not?" Brock pressed his hand against his chest, insulted.
"Anyway," Ash intruded before they started feuding. "No pikachu and togetic tonight?"
"No, they pat me down before I came into the hospital," Misty complained, tightening her robe around herself.
"They're sleeping at the Saffron Tower with Violet." Brock elaborated and Ash nodded, waited for a few beats...
"…and the rest of my pokemon?"
"They're there, too." Brock smiled, "…Infernape was touch and go for a bit, but Suzy is hopeful he will recover in time."
"…oh." Ash nodded and looked at Misty whose vacant gaze worried him. Her coffee cup limp in her hand and her posture slack.
"How about you, how are you feeling?" Brock asked uneasily changing the subject.
"The same, mostly." Ash responded quickly as his attention was drawn back to Brock, "I'm not ready to be put into physical therapy yet. Not until I can hold my hands above my head for ten minutes."
"How long can you do it for right now?"
"Let me just say, I am awesome at the wave right now." Ash demonstrated, but garnered no reaction from Misty, who mentally checked out.
"Least you're positive... so-" Before Brock tried to distract him again, Ash poked misty in the leg, who inhaled and snappy forward.
"What?" She blinked suddenly.
"You havin' grandma seizures?" Brock asked and Misty shook her head.
"No, sorry… I was thinking, is all."
"Should we be worried?" Ash asked and Misty snarled at him, but he smiled, proud of himself.
"Did Jessie and James ever say anything to you about where they were going to go after Sevii Island?" She asked suddenly.
Ash sat back a little and pursed his lips thoughtfully. Apparently, the trio left shortly after they washed up at Celadon Bay. Ash hadn't given it much thought if he was being honest. Outside of the headache from earlier, he tried to numb his concerns and questions by watching updates on the television. His brain hurt, yet, Misty was furious as she asked him.
"No. Taking out Giovanni was really it. Every once in awhile they talked about a tea shop, or something mundane, but...no." Ash shrugged, "I don't know where they might have gone."
"…They are known fugitives." Brock tried to rationalize, as if he'd said this a dozen times already, "They probably ran because they got scared. All previously known rocket members are being tracked down. Regardless of how they left, they helped a lot. Didn't they?"
"Debatable." Ash scoffed while setting his candy aside, "I mean, it's too late to change it now, but… I think deep down they were still..."
"Idiots," Misty finished for Ash, who could never bring himself to insult the trio, despite their imperfections.
"Doesn't matter anymore, they're gone." Ash knew she was upset, but her harsh tone still stung. Worse that he did not know how to help.
A few minutes of silence passed between the small group as they watched the television aimlessly, watching the pictures move, but having long forgotten what the words were trying to say. Misty spoke first.
"Ash, we need to tell you something…" Misty mumbled, and Ash watched her face as she straightened her robe again. So, she wasn't acting weird 'just because'.
"Tell me what?" he asked, trying to force himself to smile but Misty's face said anything but smile right now.
He didn't want to know. If he was never told, if he lived in blissful ignorance, he didn't have to know. He didn't...
"…" She looked down at her hands, her frown bringing unusual wrinkles to her young face, "…charizard didn't make it."
Ash's brows went up, his eyes narrowed rather than widened and he swallowed against the lump in his throat. He vaguely recalled the blast that sent him and Charizard spiraling into the depths of the ocean before everything went black. The rapid, sudden beating in his chest hurt.
"…Did Ho-oh…?" his voice cracked as he wracked his brain for a solution, watching her eyes for some further explanation, but she broke away to stare at her hands twisting the fabric of her robe.
"No, he… uh…" Misty tried to explain, but stumbled over her words. "He stayed behind, and if he hadn't… we wouldn't have gotten away…" She exhaled, "I would have told you sooner, but I wanted to wait until Iris came back. She told me this morning that…"
She looked up at the ceiling in attempt to keep her tears behind her eyes. She pressed her hand against her eyes as she recalled the moment with great anger and discontent.
"I'm sorry."
For an extended silence, Ash didn't speak. Perhaps his brain was finally shutting down? His ears struggled to hear anything other than his beating heart and breathing. His mind was heavy, and his shoulders threatened to swoon. Typically, he wasn't known to faint, but her voice strangled him. His hands were interesting…. curled tightly into fists that pressed half-moon indents into his palms. Funny, that morning he didn't think he would ever have his grip back.
How quickly things change.
Slowly, his eyes turned to the window.
"…I know." He said plainly. Somehow, he did. Since the moment charizard blasted them out of Mewtwo's control, he knew.
If he didn't stay, they wouldn't have made it.
"…What did Iris see?"
Misty's leg bounced anxiously, and Brock realized she was tapped out of bad news today.
"The fires that are burning on Sevii island can't be touched, and no one can reach the island. From what she saw, it's… empty. No Ho-oh, no charizard. We can't get close enough to find out for sure or not right now... The fires are too big."
No, no. no. Ash inhaled, he may have felt it, known it, suspected it... but that didn't mean he couldn't argue with it.
"But he changed—" Ash started to argue
"…Myth says that if a pokemon reaches ascension—their bodies cannot withstand that change." Misty reminded him of the old fairy tale. That's why mega evolution was not supposed to exist. There is no bond strong enough. No stone. It isn't real. She said that, didn't she?
"What does that even mean?" Ash groaned, shoulders curling.
"Regular pokemon who reach mega-evolution die. Their bodies can't take it, and they die. It's not even supposed to be possible." Brock added, "Based off the little information that Misty—"
Ash interrupted, needing his heart to calm down before it leaped out of his mouth.
"That can't be right, you had to have seen something—"
"I saw fire and blood and you dying on the deck of a boat." She glared. "I'm not arguing with you. Iris flew over the damn island and there's nothing there."
"Yeah, but…"
"Be hopeful, but don't…" Misty stood up, she had to leave, "I need air."
She left before Ash asked further questions, then Brock swooped in, trying to clear the air.
"…Misty…" he cleared his throat. "Sorry, she's… you know…"
Ash stared at his fingers, didn't speak.
"Doctor's said she's still suffering from symptoms from the shock… Don't hold it against her."
"I'm not," Ash said earnestly, closing his eyes. She had nothing to do with it. She was a messenger. Ash was frustrated he couldn't be there himself. He was mad at himself.
Defying the beating in his heart that yearned to see charizard, that wished that those last few moments had been different, Ash exhaled. What was Ash supposed to do here? He couldn't leave the hospital… he was useless right now.
Ash exhaled, "How is she really?"
His urgency to understand and support the people around him always surprised Brock. "She's managing like we all are." That was a nice way of saying that it wasn't Brock's tale to tell.
"Charizard always did love fighting, you know." Ash said, fighting the hiccup in his voice, "…I only wish I'd have been there to see it… how are pikachu and togetic? Do they know?"
"Lethargic. They were there when Iris gave the news to Misty this morning. Unfortunately, the hospital cracked down after that last stunt we pulled. Was kind of shitty news to drop on her today."
Ash smiled sadly. When it rained, it poured. Wasn't that the saying? "Do you think she'll be gone long?"
"Awh," Brock cooed, "You two are so cute."
Ash glared at him. "I just don't want her to be alone."
Ash's response surprised Brock, he was trying to be funny... but this was no laughing matter.
"I…" he hummed, realizing he misread the room, "That's true."
With nothing left to say between them, Ash stared down at his fists, collecting his thoughts while Brock awkwardly crossed his arms, and looked at the television. Their usual coping mechanism was laughter... but Ash was right, no one should be alone right now, and there were few humorous moments in this entire scenario. Eventually, maybe... but right now. Ash's frantic, devastated gaze washed waves of nausea through Brock. He'd been through a lot, and only awake for two days... It was a lot of information to process.
"...I'm sorry, I..."
"It's okay, Brock," Ash said immediately, offering the smallest of smiles when Misty knocked the door open, holding a peace offering of hot-cocoa.
"Thought I was on a restricted diet?"
"I asked the nurse, she said it was fine so long as it isn't too hot." Resigned, it took her a moment to smile at Brock after handing the beverage to Ash.
"So, Brock. Why don't you tell us how you broke into Silph Co?"
"Oh, man." Brock clapped, eager to tell the story with his regular theatrics, "I was like a spy."
Just like that, Ash buried his own fears and concerns behind Brock's story while Misty silently listened beside him, one knee crossed over the other. Misty positioned herself beside Ash's bed, leaning her right elbow against the mattress, and cradling her head. She'd heard this story before, based on her expressions alone. She did lighten up a little as Brock exaggerated his escape from the pokemon center, elaborated on his amazing skills; how he saved everyone. Not to diminish anyone else who helped, but to ease the mood. In the end, his success was known without a story because the tower was gone, and Lance was in jail. Despite some hiccups, he was victorious. Of course, minus the part where Iris and Dawn came to his rescue.
By the time Brock finished reiterating the speech Clemont spewed at Lance, Ash noticed Misty's head bob to the side. Guess he was worried.
"She's asleep," Ash whispered, peering at her face.
"Good, she needs it."
"Yeah, and so do you." Ash told Brock who nodded.
"It is getting pretty late." Brock agreed. "I guess I can finish my story about how I saved Kanto later..."
"Go home to your fancy tower." Ash exhaled, but followed with a forced grin, "But don't forget to visit tomorrow. I get so lonely here in my white walls."
Brock snorted, "I won't. Misty wouldn't let me… maybe I'll bring the sisters tomorrow and a board game. That'll liven everyone up."
"I said I wanted visitors, not friendship ending games."
"Oh, it'll be fine." Brock waved at him, "I'll bring Evidence and Domination."
"That is the friendship ruining game."
"Only if someone doesn't trade properties or looks at other people's cards."
"Can't you bring a card game?"
"Oh, strip poker?" Brock winked, eyebrows wiggling.
"Go home." Ash demanded and Brock left, but his laughter echoed down the hallway back into the room.
"…Glad he's back to normal," Normal, what was that? It'd been so long since any of them had a regularly scheduled life. Ash was sure that Brock was faking as much as he was.
Finally, in the quiet of the room, with the cloud-covered moon beaming shrouded light into his room, he squeezed his eyes shut. His eyes burned like fire; he wanted to cry—but he had nothing left. Sighing, he leaned against the headboard and returned his despairing gaze at Misty. Her chest rose and fell with each breath and he should have probably woken her, told her to lay down in her own room… but he was selfish and twitched his fingers to touch her elbow and sighed pathetically, turning the television off.
The smell of smoke wafting through his cracked window offered no reprieve. When Ash closed his eyes, he knew sleep wouldn't come. Images of charizard trembled through his mind, and he clung to those moments, trying to relive the many times he saved Ash from a tight spot, right until the final moment. There were so many, he'd never be able to remember them all, and as a result, Ash felt pathetic. Hopeless. He was in denial to believe that they'd all make it.
…they all should have made it.
Ash failed, didn't he?
Ash relived the nightmare of Ho-oh's violence, trying to discover some way that the situation could be different. Some way that Charizard was okay… In many ways, he'd never believe completley until he saw it himself—but with everyone suffering, was it fair to ask for that? Misty sounded so sure… Ash's shaky breath eventually disturbed Misty's sleeping, and she shifted, drawing him from his thoughts.
"…My neck." She grunted, rubbing her aching muscle as she sat back to stretch.
"…How long was I out?" She glanced at Brock's empty seat.
"When did he leave?"
"Two hours ago?" Ash answered honestly, a bit surprised as he glanced at the clock.
Misty's irises were barely noticeable behind her puffy eyes, but she looked a little less exhausted. The raging hurricane in her eyes was only a minor tropical storm now. Instinctively, Ash moved over.
She exhaled, "I'll get in trouble if I stay in here again."
Misty argued while brushing her hair from her face. She complained about not wanting to get in trouble, but her actions were the opposite. She moved from her seat, to lean against the edge of the bed, and then sluggishly laid beside him. This time, he noticed, she didn't bother to move the IV line like she had before and he winced when her left arm wrapped around his torso.
"You're gonna be unbelievably sore and dehydrated if you keep pinching that line." She muttered into the crook of his neck, her breath sending small shivers down his spine, and causing the hairs on his arm and neck to stand.
"…You're gonna be sore and dehydrated…" he mocked and mimicked her in a playful voice, trailing off when she exhaled onto his neck.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.
"No, you?"
He smiled ironically and squeezed his eyes shut. Charizard's image burned into his cornea, and Mewtwo's mocking voice rang in his ears. Least they were being honest.
"No."
She inhaled, "Match made in heaven."
"Thought we were in hell?"
"We are in hell." He felt her smile against his skin and finally exhaled.
"You're gonna get in trouble."
"What's once more? I'm not hurting anyone." She whined while he covered her up with his blanket once again, a lopsided smile over his lips. He was getting used to the pain and tried to roll onto his side to face her, but that wasn't happening. She snickered and flattened her hand against his chest while he looped the stunted IV cord over the top of her to at least cradle her in the crook of his arm. Not terribly comfortable, but she was close.
"Stop moving. You'll hurt yourself." Her words were slurred, but she hardly moved to discourage him.
"Coming from you, that's rich."
"I've done my due diligence, thank you. Physical therapy twice a day. They let me play in the pool on Tuesdays." Her eyes were closed when he looked at her. He exhaled and closed his own.
"I never got a pool." He joked but she was already asleep by the time he answered and her coffee-fueled scent enveloped the stagnant and smoky hospital air. Usually, that might have made his stomach turn, and eventually, it probably would again, but right now… he embraced the scent, and he kissed her on the forehead.
He'd take the silence with her, over the silence alone.
Recovery was a long road, not as simple as he imagined it a few years ago, but he was finally taking his finale steps.
Author's Note:
I feel the need to point out that speech crafting is like, a literal job and I was way over my head. I spent way too long on a portion of this chapter that was 400-ish words. In the end, I scrapped all versions of a 'speech'. At this point, I just want to finish this.
NINT