Hello, loyal readers! I'm back with another new chapter! I kept you guys waiting so long for a while, so I'm really putting them up now while I'm still on break! I've only got a week left (sobs) but hopefully in the next week I'll be able to get at least one more up! Until then, let's enjoy this one! It's a really good one, too ;)

LAST TIME: Dawn stays to watch Michelle compete in the Honeydew Contest. Clarisse is competing as well, and although she has hit a losing streak, she is determined to meet Michelle in the finals. This comes to fruition, and although Michelle loses to Clarisse in the finals, the young coordinator is complimented by her longest rival, who insists that Michelle has really grown as a coordinator since their first encounter.

Chapter 49: Stormy Skies, Telling Lies

"I can't wait until we get home!"

"Yeah! I bet Mom is going to have all kinds of delicious food for us to eat!"

"I hope she makes her noodles again. Those really are some of my favorites!"

Brandon smirked as he watched his two friends happily chatter about what home cooked meals might be awaiting them once they finally reached Cerulean. It had been so long since he'd broken up a fight between the two siblings, and he really couldn't complain about it. It was nice to see the two getting along. Besides, there really was no reason for any strife. Aiden had seven out of his eight badges, and despite just coming off of a Contest loss, Michelle's confidence had skyrocketed thanks to Clarisse's earnest praise. Besides, she was only one more ribbon away from the Grand Festival. It was nerve-racking for the girl, he was sure, but she wasn't showing any of her weaknesses. She had certainly grown since leaving for her journey. And so had Aiden. Both were far more mature and skilled than they had been nearly one year ago.

"I can see it! I can see the city!"

Aiden and Brandon both chuckled as they pulled up alongside Michelle, who was standing on her tippy toes and staring over the ledge that overlooked Cerulean City.

"I'm so excited!" Aiden cheered.

"Come on, guys!" Michelle urged, running down the path. "Mom's gonna be so happy and excited! She loves it when we come home!"

"Pi!" Pichu squeaked happily from her shoulder.

Aiden and Brandon took off right after her, trying their best to keep up with the girl. Aiden was doing a better job than Brandon, probably fueled by his matched excitement to Michelle's. They ran straight through downtown, past the bustling people on the streets and the stores that were quickly lighting up with the oncoming night setting in.

At the rate the group was running, they reached the Ketchum residence in no time flat, all three of them stopping on the front yard to examine the house with their own eyes.

"It still looks the same!" Michelle giggled, her emerald eyes twinkling as she took in the yellow siding and white shutters.

"I guess it's a good thing Dad didn't blow it up or anything," Aiden quipped.

"Come on, Aiden, have a little faith in your dad!" Brandon remarked. "If he were to have blown up your house, don't you think he would've gotten that done already?"

"Good point!" Aiden laughingly agreed. "He's had eleven years. Guess he's not just going to do it now."

"Oh, I can't wait anymore!" Michelle shrieked, running towards the front door. "Let's go inside!"

She grabbed the handle and swung the white door white open, standing in the doorway with a beaming expression. A loud gasp sounded from the kitchen, followed by the pounding of feet across the floor. Misty was soon standing before Michelle, but oddly enough, when she first saw the girl, her expression fell for a brief moment before being forced back up.

"Mom?" Michelle murmured, her shoulders sagging. "Are you not happy to see me?"

"Oh, oh no, sweetheart," Misty crooned, striding forward and wrapping her older daughter up in a tight hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it seem that way."

"Were you expecting someone else?" Aiden piped up, earning a sad smile from Misty.

"I didn't think it was going to be you two at the door," Misty admitted, reaching out with her other arm and pulling Aiden in. "But I'm so happy that it was. I've missed you two so, so much, you have no idea."

"Where's Dad?" Michelle asked, turning her eyes up towards her mother.

At this inquiry, Misty's grip on the children tightened. Aiden and Michelle exchanged bewildered glances, obviously sensing that something was wrong.

"He's…not home right now," Misty replied, her teeth clenching at the end of her sentence.

"Where is he?" Michelle tried again.

"Don't worry about it, Michelle," Misty assured, rushing her words out as she spoke. "It's not a big deal."

"But-"

"Oh, Brandon! I'm so sorry!" Misty cried, quickly interrupting whatever it was her daughter was about to say next. Letting go of her two older children, Misty hurried over to Brandon and gave the boy his own hug, allowing the young breeder to throw his friends a highly confused look. "I always end up going right to the twins when you three show up. It's so terrible of me!"

"It's alright, Mrs. Ketchum," Brandon chuckled nervously. "You're excited to see Aiden and Michelle! It's understandable."

"I still feel terrible about it," Misty replied with a giggle. "I'm just finishing up dinner now, so I hope you're all hungry! There's lots of different things to eat tonight."

As Misty retreated back into the kitchen and left behind three very confused young trainers, Elizabeth appeared at the top of the stairs, gasping once she saw her two older siblings and their best friend standing in the foyer.

"Denny! Shelly!" She squealed, flying down the stairs and jumping onto her unsuspecting brother's back.

"Jeez, Elizabeth!" Aiden yelped, throwing his arms around the little girl to keep her secure. "Ugh, that wasn't safe at all. Glad to see you're learning from me!"

Elizabeth scoffed at her older brother's devious smirk. "I'm not bad like you."

"Whoever said I was bad?" Aiden quipped, letting his younger sister back down on the floor. "I prefer to call it adventurous, thank you very much."

Elizabeth shuffled over to Michelle and leaned on the older girl's legs, staring up at her with an innocent, curious look. "Shelly, is Aiden bad?"

"Yes, of course he is," Michelle replied with a giggle.

"No I'm not!" Aiden argued.

Elizabeth herself giggled and ran over to Brandon, holding her hands behind her back as she fluttered her eyelashes at the breeder. He chuckled and knelt down, giving Elizabeth a small wave. "Hey there, Lizzie!"

Elizabeth blinked and tilted her head to the side, letting out another laugh. This one, however, seemed to be more teasing than anything else.

"Elizabeth, you remember Brandon now, right?" Michelle queried.

"No!" Elizabeth squeaked, leading her older siblings to fall right on the floor.

"Ah, she's just being a silly little thing!" Brandon laughed. "I know you remember me, Lizzie."

"No I don't," Elizabeth pushed.

"Elizabeth, why do you always do this with Brandon?" Aiden groaned. "You've known him since before you were born!"

"Nuh uh!" Elizabeth argued, narrowing her emerald eyes.

"Brat," Aiden muttered under his breath.

"Okay, everyone, dinner is ready!"

Elizabeth's face lit up as she started her dash towards the kitchen. The little girl, however, was quickly stopped in her tracks by a contemplative Aiden, which did nothing but annoy the small child.

"Hey!" Elizabeth shouted.

"Settle down, shrimp," Aiden commanded. "I've got a question for you."

Elizabeth huffed and turned her head away, folding her arms across her chest. "I don't wanna answer it."

"I'll get you a nice, big bag of candy if you do."

Elizabeth beamed and turned her head back towards Aiden, lowering her arms to her side. "Okay! Tell me!"

"Mommy is acting very strange," Aiden began. "Have you noticed that?"

"Yeah!" Elizabeth chirped. "She cooks all day! And looks out the window. Sometimes, she calls Grammy and cries."

"Cries?" Aiden repeated incredulously.

"Mom cries?" Michelle muttered.

"Yeah, but she stops when she sees me," Elizabeth murmured. "She 'tends she wasn't crying! And then we play."

Once again, Aiden and Michelle exchanged glances. Something definitely wasn't right with their mother. But what was it?

"And where's Daddy?" Michelle asked her younger sister. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at the inquiry, sending a vicious chill up Michelle's spin. "What's with that look?"

"She's not gonna answer your questions unless you promise to buy her candy," Aiden explained.

"Pi-chu," Pichu grumbled from Michelle's shoulder.

"You've got to be kidding me," Michelle grumbled.

"I'm se-ious," Elizabeth threatened.

"Alright, fine," Michelle groaned. "I'll get you some candy. Now, tell me where Daddy is."

"I dunno," Elizabeth replied with a shrug. "He never comes home anymore! Only sometimes. I miss Daddy lots."

"Did Mommy and Daddy get into a fight?" Michelle pressed.

Elizabeth frowned at this and shook her head.

"She'd be a lot more upset if they had gotten into a fight," Aiden reasoned. "Both Elizabeth and Mom, I mean."

"Guys, come on!"

The four children all looked up and found Misty standing in the doorway of the kitchen, her arms folded across her chest and a partially stern, partially confused look on her face.

"Sorry, Mom," Aiden and Michelle apologized together.

"Mommy!" Elizabeth gigged, running towards her mother. "Did you see Aiden and Michelle?"

"Of course I did, sprinkle!" Misty crooned, forcing a smile onto her own face. "I was very glad to see them."

The entire family, plus Brandon and sans Ash, headed into the kitchen to eat. Misty and Elizabeth were perfectly fine, but the reaction from the three older children was anything but normal. They couldn't help but to gasp, in fact, at the sight of all of the food laid out on the table. Two separate dishes of pasta, a large bowl of salad, three different meats on three different trays adorned by potatoes, and a basket full of freshly baked rolls. A pitcher of fresh lemonade also sat front and center, along with butter for the rolls and freshly grated cheese for the pasta.

"That's…a lot of food," Brandon commented, not able to find anything wittier to say.

"Mom never ever cooks this much," Aiden chimed in.

"Lizzie did say Mom's been cooking a lot more than usual," Michelle tried. "I just didn't realize how much."

"I don't think any of us would be able to realize that," Aiden mumbled.

"And if it's only been her and Lizzie for dinner, it doesn't make any sense," Michelle hummed.

"Sounds like we've got a mystery on our hands," Brandon concluded.

"Yeah, and not the fun kinds of mysteries like the ones I read about," Michelle groaned, referring to her love of literature. "This one seems pretty serious…"

XXX

After finishing their (very plentiful) dinner, the young trainers all headed upstairs to prepare for bed. They were all exhausted from their long travel and wanted to get some extra sleep. Besides, Aiden and Michelle could sense that their mother wasn't exactly in the mood for socializing anyway, even if they were her own children.

Not long after settling into their beds, however, the trio was awoken by the loud crashing of thunder, accompanied by a sharp burst of lightning. Although in different rooms, they all popped up simultaneously and ran out into the hallway, meeting up in a close knit, frantic circle.

"That was terrifying!" Michelle cried, hugging Pichu against her chest.

"Don't be a baby, Michelle," Aiden muttered, refusing to admit to the fact that he too was shaking like a leaf.

"Now's not the time to argue, guys," Brandon sighed. "None of us are going to get any sleep with that storm going on outside."

Michelle bit her lower lip in contemplation before turning on a heel and striding towards the stairs. "I'm going to Mom."

"Don't do that!" Aiden hissed.

"I'm not sitting up here by myself!" Michelle yelped. "That was the loudest thunder I've ever heard. And I've watched some of Dad's most intense battles! I'm going downstairs, whether you like it or not."

Aiden huffed and watched as his sister went with a scowl on his face. When she was halfway down, however, another clap of thunder sounded, and sent the boy running after his twin. Brandon, on the other hand, just chuckled in response and followed after his friend so as to not be left behind.

As soon as the three reached the bottom of the stairs, they caught sight of Misty sitting on the couch, her arms folded and resting atop the couch back as she stared out the window, her emerald eyes following the water that streamed down the window from outside.

"Mom?"

Misty gasped and whipped around, holding a hand over her heart. That, as Aiden and Michelle knew, was one of their mother's nervous ticks. Just like when their father rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, you guys scared me," Misty breathed, allowing her shoulders to sag forward.

"Sorry, Mom," Michelle earnestly apologized. "We didn't mean to. We just got kind of…scared, was all."

"I understand," Misty replied with a sweet smile. "It's okay. To be honest, I'm surprised all of this noise hasn't woken up your sister yet. She's a tough little girl, but when she gets scared, she really gets scared."

"And thunder is one of those things, right?" Aiden murmured.

"Ever since she was just a baby," Misty murmured, slowly nodding her head. Suddenly, a tiny smile appeared on her face, and she continued, "Your dad has always been the best at calming her down when it comes to big storms like these. He would climb into bed with her and tell her it was just a bunch of Pikachu up in the sky having a great party with all of their electric type friends, and they had all gotten carried away. I've tried telling her that myself, but…it never works. She only listens to him when it comes to that."

The three trainers continued to watch on as Misty's gaze slowly turned over her shoulder so she was looking outside the window once again. Her smile faded very quickly, and her eyes became forlorn. It was obvious that talking about Ash had struck a nerve.

At that moment, another wallop of thunder boomed, this one strong enough to shake the house. Misty finally looked away from the window to see if the three older kids were okay. Other than being visibly startled, they were all in one piece.

"MOMMY!"

Elizabeth came charging down the stairs, her own green eyes flashing with immense fear. Jumping into Misty's lap, the little girl whimpered and buried her face into her mother's chest, trembling and refusing to look up as the storm continued to rage outside. Misty sighed and began to rub the girl's back, making a valiant, though useless, attempt to try and comfort the child.

"It's okay, Elizabeth," Misty whispered. "Don't you remember what Daddy always tells you? The electric Pokémon are having a party! This must be a really fun one."

Elizabeth moaned and shook her head, earning another sad sigh from her mother. When everything seemed to have calmed down, Elizabeth finally looked up and pulled away slightly, her cream colored pajamas printed with little pink bows coming into full view as she peeked up like a scared little baby Pokémon.

"Mommy…I want Daddy…"

"I know, sprinkle," Misty sighed, hugging Elizabeth and snuggling her cheek atop the girl's head. "I do too…"

At that moment, a strike of lightning hit, and all of the lights in the house flickered off. Everyone gasped, save for Elizabeth who chose to scream instead.

"Sweetheart!" Misty gasped, holding the little girl closer to her. "It's alright, it's alright…"

"Mommy, I'm scared!" Elizabeth cried, her sobs audible even with her face buried in Misty's chest.

"There's nothing to be scared of, baby girl," Misty hushed. "The thunder and lightning isn't going to hurt you. You're safe inside."

"But-but the lights…"

"It'll be fine," Misty promised. "You won't need the light when you're fast asleep."

Aiden, Michelle, and Brandon watched on in amazement as Misty successfully coaxed the child back to sleep in practically no time flat. Elizabeth was still shaking and whimpering every few seconds, but at least she no longer seemed to be awake and experiencing the traumatic fear that had overtaken her before.

"You're good, Mom," Aiden commented in a low whisper.

"Thank you," Misty giggled sadly. She kissed the top of Elizabeth's head and lay the girl down at the end of the couch, covering her with a fluffy pink blanket that had been draped over the back of the couch. "I think we should all stay here in the living room together. I may be an adult, but this storm is even freaking me out."

Michelle furrowed her brow as she watched Misty look over her shoulder and out the window. Pain was evident on the woman's face, and not physical pain. No. This was emotional pain, and Michelle could see it plain as day.

Even in the dark.

"Maybe I should ask about Dad again," Michelle murmured so quietly that only Brandon and Aiden could hear her.

"No, don't do that!" Aiden warned, his eyes narrowing.

"But I think that's why Mom is so freaked out!" Michelle hissed back. "Dad's still not home. She's probably worried about him."

"Dad can handle himself just fine," Aiden scoffed. "He's the bravest, toughest guy I know. He doesn't need anyone to worry about him!"

"Well, of course Mom is going to be worried about him," Michelle bit. "They're married! And they have us! That's a perfectly fine excuse to worry about him."

As Aiden opened his mouth to fire back another argument, the sound of a door creaking open caused those gathered in the living room to glance up with a look of fear. The door was soon blown open by a powerful gust of wind, circles of violent rain drops flying in with it. A dark, almost shadowy figure pushed against the wind and rain to enter the house, protecting their face with an arm. Turning around, the figure managed to push the door closed against the gust, letting out a sharp breath and sinking against the wood in an exhausted fashion.

From the couch, Misty jumped up and held a hand over her heart. Her eyes were flickering, and her mouth was hanging open, as though she were frozen in place. She watched as the figure struggled, though managed, to get itself upright and lower its arm, revealing the shady visitor to be none other than her overwhelmed husband.

"Ash!" Misty gasped, running up to the man and jumping into his waiting arms. "Oh, I was so worried about you…"

"I knew that storm was gonna freak you out," Ash murmured, burying his face in the crook between Misty's neck and shoulder. "I'm okay, I promise. I'm just tired. But I'm okay."

Misty sniffled softly and tried to hold back tears as she hugged Ash more tightly. Ash felt her arms constrict around him, and with a delicate smile, he too tightened his embrace.

"Ash…" Misty whispered again, her voice sounding breathless and coming out like a near moan.

"It's alright, Misty," Ash promised, "you don't have to let go. I'm right here."

As the newly reunited couple hugged, Ash's poke gear fell out of his pocket and tumbled to the floor. Seeing as it didn't make much of a sound, Ash and Misty were too busy with one another to notice it. Michelle, however, had. Getting to her feet, she strode over to her parents and bent down, picking up the device and unlocking it after a quick, sideways glance at her mother and father.

What she found inside were a series of text messages, most of them from Lance. They were all very long and very detailed. They seemed, in fact, to be more fit as e-mails than texts. What each and every one had in common, however, was a strange, singular phrase that Michelle had never seen or heard before.

"Dad," Michelle prompted, sounding hesitant to break up her parents' happy reunion, "who are the G-Men?"

In one fell swoop, Ash released Misty and snatched the poke gear out of his startled daughter's hands. He was giving her a wide eyed stare, one that looked so terrified that Michelle's heart couldn't help but to race.

"Michelle, why would you look at this?" Ash breathed, his voice strained and shaking. "I understand having to tell Elizabeth not to do those kinds of things, but not you! How could you?"

"I was just curious, Dad," Michelle mumbled. "Aiden, Brandon, and I just came back home today, and…and we could tell that something wasn't right. Mom was upset. And Elizabeth was just confused. No one would tell us what was happening. And…I was scared, Dad. I wasn't just curious. I was scared. I thought something bad was going on. You weren't here, and no one would tell me where you were. But I didn't want them to know I was scared. I was afraid something bad had happened to you. I thought you were hurt."

Ash sighed and lowered his arms to his sides, taking a single step forward in order to now embrace his older daughter. "Oh, Michelle. I'm sorry. I didn't know how much it would bother you. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to find you three home so soon. I didn't think any of this would affect you. I'm so sorry."

"Ash…"

The Pokémon Master turned around and found Misty staring up at him with a very serious expression; one that perfectly matched the tone of her voice.

"What is it, Misty?"

"We have to tell them."

Once again, Ash's eyes widened. "But Misty!"

"No, no buts," Misty warned. "It isn't right. They have to know, Ash."

"But it's-"

"Confidential, I know," Misty interrupted hastily. "But there are aspects to this that even I don't know about. You're not giving away your secrets. But they need to know what you're up to. It isn't right to keep the whole thing a secret from them. So, please. Just give them enough. Give them what you gave me."

Ash sighed and allowed his shoulders to sink as he raised a hand to run his fingers through the tangled black mop of hair on his head. "Alright. Fine. I will."

He walked over to the couch, where he caught sight of Elizabeth sleeping at the end of it. Smiling, he bent over and kissed the young girl's head, letting out a soft chuckle as she shook her head in her sleep. Being extremely cautious, Ash took a seat on the opposite end of the couch, trying to look at Aiden and Brandon through the darkness. Michelle had managed to make her way back over to the group, but Misty was still standing hesitantly by the front door.

"I think I should get a flashlight," Misty suggested quietly. "It's too hard to see without any light."

"Should I begin explaining without you?" Ash asked through a sigh.

After a moment of deliberation, Misty slowly shook her head. "No. Just…just wait for me. I have to make sure you explain this the right way. I don't want any exaggeration or over dramatization."

As Misty carefully stepped into the kitchen, Ash smirked and rolled his eyes. "Oh, when am I ever overdramatic?"

"A lot."

The Pokémon Master shook his head and looked down at his son, whose shining brown eyes were just visible through the near blinding darkness. "You've just got an answer for everything, don't you?"

"Yeah, sure," Aiden replied with a laugh.

"So, when did you three get back?" Ash asked conversationally.

"Just today," Brandon replied. "Late this afternoon, actually."

"I hope you managed to get here before the storm started," Ash commented, looking over his shoulder and staring out into the night. "It's a fierce one!"

"Yeah, we beat it," Aiden confirmed. "It was nice outside when we came home. I didn't know we were gonna have such a big storm."

"The wind and the rain are crazy," Ash murmured. "I may be strong, but I thought I was gonna get blown away! I could barely see on my way home. How long has the power been out?"

"Not too long," Michelle chirped. "You came home like ten minutes after it went out."

"I'm going to assume your little sister was pretty freaked out by the whole thing," Ash guessed.

"Yeah, she really hates big storms, huh?" Aiden queried.

"It's one of the only things that throws her off," Ash confirmed. "For her whole life, in fact. I have no idea why. It's kind of strange, when you think about it. I'm surprised your mother was able to calm her down! Not because Misty's not good at that kind of stuff, of course. Elizabeth's just always had a tendency to shut everyone out besides me when it comes to these storms."

"That's what Mom said," Michelle giggled. "But somehow, it worked!"

"Maybe Elizabeth knew you weren't going to come home, so she had to rely on Mom no matter what," Aiden theorized. This brought a definitive frown to Ash's face, and an instant dulling to his eyes.

"Did she say anything about me?" Ash murmured.

"She said she missed you a lot," Aiden answered. "And that you haven't been home so much lately."

Ash turned his attention away from the window and instead placed it on little Elizabeth. She was still fast asleep beneath the pink blanket, and as badly as he wanted to, Ash knew that waking her up was wrong. Especially after Misty had worked so hard to soothe the little girl in his absence. But he missed her so much. Maybe even more than she had missed him.

"Dad, where's Pikachu?"

Ash reluctantly tore his eyes off of Elizabeth and looked down at his older daughter; the one who had asked the question.

"Oh, he's with Professor Oak and the other Pokémon," Ash replied easily.

"Why isn't he with you?" Aiden prodded.

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen you without Pikachu," Brandon added.

"It all has to do with this…this thing," Ash sighed, slowly shaking his head. "I don't want to put Pikachu in harm's way. He means too much to me to do that. Besides, he's getting older, as much as he hates me saying it. He's still a great battling partner, but he's not as spry as he used to be."

Several beams of light were soon shining through the doorway, coming closer and closer as Misty moved further into the living room. In her hands, she held five different flashlights, and handed one off to each of those gathered, saving one for herself.

"There, that's a little better," Misty mused, sitting down on the couch between Ash and the sleeping Elizabeth. "It'll do for now."

Shifting his flashlight in his hands, Ash took a few seconds before slowly raising his eyes to the three children sitting before him on the floor. "So…the story."

"Yeah, I wanna hear it!" Aiden cheered excitedly.

"Shh, Aiden," Misty warned. "We don't want to wake Lizzie up."

"Sorry," Aiden apologized, dropping his voice to a whisper.

"I'll tell you where it all began," Ash murmured, furrowing his brow in deep thought. "That's the best place to start. It was ten years ago…"

Now we're going to find out what exactly caused Ash to give all of this up in the past! Next chapter is going to be one big, revealing flashback, so stay tuned for the big reveal!

Until then, leave your comments, let me know what you think is going to happen next, thoughts on this chapter, all that good stuff!