Moments Alone, Chapter 2, "Misty's New Profession"

By: Ellie

2001, Revised 2007

Author's notes: Here's a revised version of Chapter two. This chapter took a lot of changes, mainly because the earlier versions hadn't felt real to me. Hopefully, I've added some humanity to these characters, and a little more depth to Misty. Enjoy!

6 Years Later

"Having defeated the Indigo League, the Orange League, the Jhoto League, the Amazon League, and most recently, the Sundance League, 18 year-old trainer Ash Ketchum is on his way to even more success. The young man has collected enough badges to enter the sixth and final Pokemon League, the Mahogany League. Accompanied by his faithful, yet unevolved Pikachu and his traveling partner Brock, a Pokemon breeder, Ash is a favorite for the win. If he were to triumph and defeat the four element masters Ash would not only win the Mahogany League, he would walk away with the title of Pokemon Master,' a title not to be taken lightly. Not only does this title mean that Ash has caught all 350 Pokemon known to exist, but also that he has triumphed over each existing League on the planet. I would like to wish you good luck in your upcoming battles, Ash, from myself and the rest of the team here at TV 12. We'll be rooting for you!"

With the press of a button, the television screen turned to grey and a familiar electrostatic zap could be heard. A young woman sat back on the couch opposite the television set with a sigh. A slightly sour expression graced her young features.

"Mm," the young woman sitting next to her said. "That Ash Ketchum… he just keeps getting cuter and cuter."

"Don't remind me, Beryl," she replied, pushing her fire red hair off her forehead.

"So tell me again, Misty, why you ever left that dish of a man?" Beryl asked her.

"He wasn't a man when I left," Misty murmured. "And I guess I didn't really leave, per say… he pushed me away." She looked at her fingernails, her shiny hair now covering her eyes.

"It still stings, doesn't it?" her friend asked as she delicately tucked Misty's hair behind her ear.

"Damn right," Misty said softly, looking up at her friend.

"Well, you've just got to tell me what happened," a voice called from another room. A third woman entered the room, and sat herself down in a chair across from Misty and Beryl. "I hate being in the dark."

"Vesta," Beryl said with a hiss, "I don't think she wants to discuss this right now."

"Really? It's that bad? Are you ok, Myst?" Vesta's expression had quickly changed from inquisitive to concerned, and she moved to sit on the couch on the other side of Misty.

Misty smiled at her. "Of course I am, it was ages ago. I don't think about it much anymore. Especially since I met you guys. It's just… those feelings never really died, and they tend to rear their ugly heads every now and then."

Vesta flipped her shiny blonde hair over her sholder and grabbed Misty's hand. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Good God. This is ridiculous. I'm fine," Misty released herself from Vesta's grip and stood up quickly. "I'm gonna have a snack."

Beryl and Vesta looked at each other with concern as Misty marched out of the living room and into the kitchen. Simultaneously, they snapped up and followed her.

Misty slumped down in a kitchen chair with half of a pomegranate and started to pick at its seeds. A fourth young woman, standing at the stove, smiled at her.

"I'm making tofu scramble, do you want some?" the woman asked, shaking a frying pan with her right hand.

Misty smiled at her. "Thanks, Silvia, but that sounds just a little too healthy for me."

Silvia laughed as Beryl and Vesta made their way into the kitchen. "And I suppose that pomegranate counts as junk food?"

"Guess not. But it tastes sweet," Misty said, picking at the tiny, jewel-like seeds of the fruit.

Beryl sat down in the seat next to Misty. "Listen, Sweetie," she said softly. "You're not going to be able to avoid this for much longer."

Misty looked away from her, to Vesta poking at the tofu scramble as Silvia slapped her hand. She smiled involuntarily, considering the wonderful friendship these four women had been able to form over the last few years. She hadn't thought of Ash often, but when she did, pangs of guilt overcame her. Supressing her feelings were easier when he wasn't on television every other day.

"Can't we just pretend none of this is happening? For a little while longer?" Misty asked, her voice barely audible over the sizzles and pops coming from the stovetop.

Beryl conceded with a small smile. "Sure."

"Thanks, B," Misty said, putting the fruit down to hug her friend. As Beryl patted her on the back, the sizzling stopped.

Vesta and Silvia sat down across from them, each of them with a plate of tofu scramble. "Everything ok?" Silvia asked, unaware of the current topic of conversation.

"Everything will be just fine," Beryl said, pulling away from the hug, and regarding Misty. "We're just going to pretend for a while that we're not who we are, and that there's no reason why the ghosts of our past would begin to resurface in say… a week and a half."

Silvia's brow furrowed in thought, as Vesta sent a nod and look of understanding across the table to her red-haired friend.

Silvia dropped her fork, letting it crash upon the table loudly. "This is about Ash, isn't it?"

"Silvia," Beryl said with warning.

Silvia's head snapped to look at Beryl. "I'm sorry, B, but I just don't think that ignoring the truth is the right thing to do." She picked up her fork again, and shoveled in a mouthful of tofu scramble. Misty stared at her as she chewed.

"Silvia, she's obviously hurting here. What's the harm in letting her forget about it for a few more days?" Vesta asked.

Silvia swallowed. "The harm is," she turned her fork towards Misty, using it as a pointer, "That this sort of behavior is completely unlike Misty. The Misty I know is one of the toughest fighters on this planet, both on the battlefield and in life. When have you ever seen her cower away from anything like this?"

"Silvia," Misty started, her voice weak.

"No, Misty. This is so unlike you," her voice had softened slightly, and her gaze was focused on Misty. "I know it must hurt. You've told me before how guilty you feel when you think back to the last argument you and Ash had. But you can't run away from the truth that the two of you have to face each other again. It was going to happen sooner or later, you know that. And now you don't have a choice. The two of you are going to look each other into the eye again next week. And before you do, you're going to have to decide whether it's going to be as friends or as enemies."

Misty buried her face in her hands. She could feel the stickiness of the pomegranate adhere to her skin and hair slightly, but ignored it in favor of the darkness this protection provided. Her eyes began to sting as the truth behind Silvia's words sank in. She was right, ignoring the truth was unlike her.

Silvia continued, "and as your friend, I think we both know that it's not going to be enemies."

Misty felt Beryl's hand on her back, tracing soothing circles, as she raised her head to look at her friends. Vesta and Beryl had identical looks of concern on their faces, while Silvia looked at her fiercely.

"You know I'm right," Silvia said.

Misty nodded. "Yeah. I know."

Silvia smiled. "That's my girl."

"And you're gonna beat him next week, either way, aren't you?" Beryl, offered, grinning at her.

Misty laughed through the few tears that had taken residence in her eyes, "Of course!"

"Yeah, I'd bet Ash will have no idea what hit him when he steps up to battle you," Vesta added.

"Or any of us. But then again, nobody ever knows what hit them after a battle with the Mahogany Four," Misty said, a smile on her face.

The girls grinned. "We are magnificent," Silvia said, batting her eyes.

The table broke out in laughter, and the conversation began to shift to some of the other challengers they were going to face in the coming weeks. Misty began to daze, her thoughts lingering on Ash and what she would say to him. Would the unmistakable attraction between them become a factor? Or will that have disappeared completely over the years? The only thing she could be certain of was her confidence in herself. She'd come a long way over the years since she'd left Ash, and was proud of who she had become. Her training had been fierce and effective: she was youngest-ever member of the Mahogany Four, and was nearly unbeatable on the playing field. If Ash was all he was hyped up to be, the battle between them was sure to be epic. And maybe, just maybe, she thought, what went on between them off the playing field would be epic as well.

Continued in Chapter Three!