CHAPTER 37: Reunion!
"Are we almost there?" Mom calls, and I nod, pointing to the buildings in the distance in front of us.
We land quickly outside the hospital, and I have to stop myself from running in.
We slowly walk in, and I wave to the nurses as we head to dads room.
I stop mom before the door.
"Dad... he isnt the same as he was. He has trouble speaking, so make sure to pay attention." She nods, steeling herself, and I open the door.
"Chrissy?" Dad mumbles, half asleep, and she nods, heading in.
"Hey baby." She cries quietly, grabbing his hand.
Hes instantly awake, sitting straight up and pulling her on top of him.
"CHRISSY!" He sobs, holding her close, and she sobs into him.
I see Ace in the corner, and I gesture for him to follow me.
I quietly close the door behind us.
"Ace!" I hug him, and he coos happily into my shoulder.
"How have you been?" I ask, and he smiles, kissing my cheek.
He leads me out, into the hospital courtyard, where he nimbly jumps into a low branch in a nearby tree, and I sit next to him.
He leans into me, and I rest my head on his.
"It's so good to see you. How's your recovery?" He flexes his wing, quickly and effectively striking the trunk of the tree with it, causing the entire tree to vibrate.
"w-w-w-w-whoa." I stutter, as it finally comes to a stop, and he smiles again.
"That was... awesome!" I laugh, hugging him, and he chirps into my shoulder.
"Do you think... your ready to come back?" I ask, and he nods, albeit slowly.
"We would start slow, of course. Nothing more than some casual training for now, until your ready to kick some pokemon league butt!" He chirps, hopping from foot to foot happily.
"Let's go get you discharged." We head to the reception.
They agree that Ace is healed enough to come back and join me, but he needs to keep his wing safe, not using it for the time being. He agrees, I sign the papers, and away we go, back to Dad's room.
I knock, before heading in.
Mom is laying beside Dad, who is continuously kissing her hair as they hold hands.
"Hey babe." Mom sits up as I walk in, but I gesture for her to lay down.
"I think it would be best for you to stay here with Dad for now, mom. There are actual doctors here that can help you." She goes to object, but something stops her as she nods, kissing Dad's hand.
"I'm going to take Ace, though." Dad nods, smiling.
"He's the best company I could have asked for." He laughs, as Ace salutes him.
"When are you getting out of here, Dad?" I ask, and he shrugs.
"Any day now, I think. Doc says I'm doing way better, I should be out soon." I nod.
"Also, Ser. We... had a question..." Mom asks, and I nod, sitting on the chair beside them.
"So you know how you.. like, adopted two kids..." She starts, and I laugh.
"I did not ADOPT them! I saved them from that horrible orphanage!"
"Okay, okay, call it what you want, you aren't prepared to take care of those kids." Mom laughs, and my heart warms.
It's good to see her joking again.
"Okaaaaaay? And?"
"Me and you Dad... well..." She trails off, but I nod.
"They would love that." I finish, and she nods.
"But!" I exclaim suddenly, and they both jump.
"Arceus, Serena, what?" Dad asks, and we all laugh.
"You guys both have to learn sign language for Jakob." I say sternly, and they both nod.
"Of course, we discussed that to."
"I was literally gone for like ten minutes, how did you guys cover so much material!?" I say, covering my eyes and groaning dramatically, as they laugh.
"We're parents, Ser, it's what we do." Mom says, and Dad nods.
"Actually?" Melody asks, and I nod.
"Actually! They said they would love to have you!" Melody giggles, as Terrence translates for Jakob.
Really? He signs, and I nod, kissing his forehead.
I'll come visit ALL the time! I sign, and he laughs, nodding.
I would like that. He signs.
"When?!" Melody asks, and I shrug.
"Dad gets out of the hospital soon, I'll send Bane and Belle to grab them when the time comes, then they will swing by and grab you two! So don't get to comfortable!" Melody squeals, hugging me, as does Jakob.
"Now, I have some business to attend to. I'll be back!" I walk out the door, but Gardenia stops me.
Brock is in the background, calming the kids down, but I watch him cock his head so he can hear us.
"Where are you going?" She asks, and I smile.
"I can't adventure without my favorite gym trainers!"
I smile at her beaming face, and hop onto Belle.
We fly to Pallet first, to grab Ash.
It takes us the good part of a day, but we make it before sunset, barely.
I made sure to grab my house key, so I could spend the night at home before heading out again.
We land in front of Pr. Oaks' lab, and I knock.
"One moment! Oh goodness, now where did I put..." The door flies open, and Oak stands there.
I notice spare currents of electricity running through his hair.
"Ah, Serena! How are you?" He ushers me in, gesturing to his office. I notice a few of his assistants packing up for the day.
"Are you okay?" I ask, laughing as his hair is standing at a million different angles.
"Me? Oh, yes! Exuberant, really! I was testing a lightning rod theory with my dear Electabuzz, and it worked!" He laughs, his hand spazzing slightly.
Shaking my head, I laugh.
"Well, thats quite enough about me, dear! How are you? How are things going with your journey?" He asks, offering me a cup of tea, which I gladly take.
"I'm doing great, actually..."
We sit there for what feels like weeks, but was merely a few hours, as I explain whats all happened since we last met, and what I'm planning.
"So you're here for our young Ash." He says, and I nod.
"Do you have his address? I would love to go see him!" Oak nods, writing it down on a notepad beside him before handing it to me.
"Thank you, Professor." I hug him, and he laughs.
"Anytime my dear! Now, would you be a dear and show yourself out? I have a new idea regarding this lightning rod experiment, I think that..." I laugh, waving as I head out.
It's just past nine by the time I finally get to Ash's house, but all of the lights are all on, so I knock on the door.
"One second!" Delia's voice rings through the door, and I hear hurried scurrying.
"Sorry! Who is-" She goes silent at the sight of me.
She throws me into a hug.
"Oh my God!" She sobs into my shoulder.
"Hey Delia!" I hug her tightly, as she pulls away.
"But I thought... They said..." She stutters, and I show her my arm, where the bandages are from the gun-shot.
"I got shot. Dad always said if I did something stupid I'd end up getting shot." I laugh, and she gently swats me.
"Thats not what he meant!" She laughs, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"How is he?" I ask, and her eyes turn to the ground as she avoids my gaze.
"Not good. He's worried sick about you, he hasn't left his room for days." She whispers, and I hug her again.
"Can I go see him?"
"Of course, he would like that." She points up the stairs behind her, and I head up.
There's three doors, and one of them has a large board that reads POKEMON MASTERS ONLY.
I knock, and there's a sound of shuffling inside.
"Go away." He growls, and I chuckle.
"Is that how you treat old friends?"
The door flies open an instant later, and a puffy-eyed Ash stands in the door way.
"SERENA?!" He sobs, flying into me.
"Hey Ash! How's it going?" He just shakes his head in response, still sobbing.
We sit on the bed, and I notice Pikachu sleeping on top of his pillow, but he wakes up instantly when we sit down.
Pikachu flies onto my shoulder, kissing my cheek and licking Alto's face in excitement.
"What happened?" Ash sniffles, wiping his face with a tissue.
"I got shot, that part you know. But, I saved my Mom."
His eyes light up.
"Really?! Can I meet her?" He asks, back to his usual, peppy self.
"Of course! But, we are going to crash tonight, I'll head to my house, then in the morning we head for Cerulean. We need to get Misty. Okay?" He nods, his face a beaming smile.
"Now, you'd better go eat before you-" I don't even finish my sentence before he's out of the room, Pikachu right behind him.
"SEREEEEEEEENA?!"
Theres tapping at my window, so I get up to investigate, and Ash is throwing pebbles.
"ASH! ITS LIKE DAWN!" I moan, and he laughs.
"Unlock your door!" He runs to the other side of the house.
Sighing, I head down and open the door.
"Ready to go?" He asks, his face a grin, and I laugh, shaking my head.
"Let me shower and get changed, T.V remote is over there." I point as I head back upstairs.
I shower quickly, before changing and we head out.
We make it to the gym in record time, and land infront of it.
I return everyone except Mambo, who insists on sitting on my shoulder, and Alto.
We knock, and the door swings open to reveal Daisy.
"Who is i- Serena!" She flies into me, hugging me tight and knocking me over.
"Hey!" I laugh, as she helps me up.
"I'm so glad your alive!" She says, leading me inside.
"Me too!" I laugh.
"We are here to get Misty!" Ash informs her, but she shakes her head.
"She's not here." Daisy says sadly.
"What? Where is she?" I ask, and she hands me a small slip of paper.
On it is written;
Dear Daisy, Violet, and Lily,
I'm sorry. I need time to think, and reevaluate my position as a Gym leader for Cerulean City. I will come back, but I do not know when. I love you guys.
Misty
"She disappeared yesterday morning." Lily says quietly from behind us.
"Any idea where she might have went?" I ask, but they shake their heads.
"I have no idea. She's never done this before. We were actually just planning a trip to, as a family." Daisy says, and Ash's ears perk up.
"There's a cave around here, isn't there?" He asks, and Daisy chuckles.
"Lots of caves around here, Ash. You'll have to be more specific."
"Um... what was it called... it was around here, but only strong trainers and gymleaders are allowed in..." He mumbles to himself, and Lily laughs.
"Cerulean Cave?" She suggests, and Ash whoops.
"Thats it! She was always telling me and Brock how much she wanted to see a Wobbuffet!" Ash says, and Daisy perks up.
"You know, now that you mention that, she DID say something about the cave when she first got back..."
In a few minutes, Lily and Daisy have lead us to the cave entrance, and waved us by the guards.
"Be careful! Call for us if you need help!" They stand guard at the entrance, and wave us in.
I release Bea, Ash releases Tia, and we head into the deep, pitch black cave.