A/N: Hey, here's my new chapter, I hope you like it, and keep sending reviews with suggestions.

Disclaimer: No pokemon owners here, sorry.

Sickness of the Heart:

Chapter 2: Deep Illness

Ash didn't need to be told twice as he bolted out of the office leaving Daisy in tears on the other line. For once, even Pikachu had to exert itself to catch up to him. He shot through the crowd leaving his ticket behind. He had no more need for it. He sped to his house in record time bursting through the door, scaring his mom half out of her wits.

"Mom! I need to borrow the car, now!" he shouted as he grabbed the keys off the counter. "B..But honey, you're scarring me, and you're barely old enough to drive! W..Whats going on?" his mother managed.

"No time to explain, something has happened to Misty, I'm headed to Cerulean City," and with that flew out the door and sped off in the family car, leaving his mom quite surprised at first, but then relaxed.

"Ahh, that's my Ash, always helping a friend in need," She smiled to herself and continued with the house chores.

Ash on the other hand was feeling extremely tense. "What if something happens and I lose her, I wouldn't be able to continue on," He thought to himself. A lone tear slipped down his cheek as his foot pushed harder on the gas pedal.

The sparkling Cerulean City came into view, yet to Ash, it did not have it's usual radiant glow. It was a gloomy city filled pain and sadness, nothing happy about it. As he passed the cheery people on the bright streets, he longed to join them. They had nothing to worry about, and could relax with not a care in the world. He did not even know of what or how bad Misty was, but he could tell by the look of Daisy that it had to be horrible. Skidding could be heard for blocks as Ash arrived at the Cerulean Gym and hopped out of the car. He grabbed Pikachu and ran up to the door. He knocked twice, but didn't have the patience to wait, so he let himself in.

He couldn't believe what he saw. The gym was trashed, looking as if it had been unkempt for weeks, perhaps even months. "Hello? Is anyone here?" Ash asked with a raised voice. He entered the main arena area and looked around. "Pika, Pika?" Pikachu cried. He was just about to leave and check the office when he heard muffled sobs. He turned around to the stands and in the top row he saw Violet crying with her hands to her face.

"Violet?" Ash managed. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She looked extremely hurt and sad.

"A…Ash? Ash! Hurry, Sh..She's this way!" and before he could even think, he was sprinting toward the hallway that Violet had headed down. When he caught up to her, she had stopped in front of a brown door that was labeled, "Misty Waterflower's Room." "She's in here, please; try to convince her to get to the hospital! She's just too darn proud!" she choked out.

"What? She refuses to go to the hospital? And I thought I was dense. I'll talk to her," he responded.

Violet nodded, and headed back towards the main gym area. Ash turned the knob and slowly slid open the door. What he saw made tears stream down his face. He couldn't control them even if he wanted to. Inside the room that had water pokemon dolls and ocean wallpaper was Misty lying on the bed as pale as can be. The area around her eyes was pink, and her lips were a grayish red color. She looked so peaceful sleeping, like a fallen angel. Ash's tears were now pouring down like drops and his cap was covering his eyes. Even Pikachu who was now on Ash's shoulder had to look away.

"M…Misty," he choked out in between sniffles. He couldn't stand to see his best friend in such a state.

Misty's eyes fluttered for a second and then slowly crept open. "A..Ash?" she managed surprised. Ash slid up a chair and sat down, tears now sliding rapidly sliding off of his face.

He took her by the hand and whispered, "Misty, I'm here for you, and I won't be leaving until you're one-hundred percent better."

"Th..Thank you Ash," She whispered back, looking as though she could slip back into dreamland at any second.

"Misty, I want what's best for you, but you have to trust me and let me get you to a hospital," he barely managed

. Her eyes momentarily closed as she considered it. She had no better friend than Ash, and she would do anything for him. "A..Ash, I T..Trust you," and with that she slipped back into unconsciousness. Ash then put both of his arms underneath her and carried her limp and delicate body out of the room and towards the entrance to the gym, Pikachu following close behind.

On his way outside he passes Misty's three sisters, who were stil quietly sulking when hey saw him. "D..Did she actually agree to go to the hospital?" Lily asked concerned. "Yeah, but I need to get her there right away," he responded. "Th…That's great, we'll be by later to check up," Violet added. Ash nodded and headed out to the car, and carefully lied Misty down in the back seat and buckled her up, and Pikachu hopped into the passenger seat.

It was quiet drive to the hospital, and Ash frequently glanced over at Misty to make sure that she was okay, and every time, Ash had trouble taking his eyes off of her. This was his first chance to actually admire how much she had changed. She had a nice tan and her hair was down and had a hint of a curl at the end. She was taller and when he had seen her eyes, they were a beautiful shade of cascade blue. She was so beautiful that she could rival her sisters. No, she was beyond beautiful; Ash could barely keep his eyes on the road.

As they arrived at the hospital, Ash pulled up and parked the car, and went over to Misty's car door, and just as he opened it, Misty began to breathe heavily and quickly. Ash felt her wrist and realized her heartbeat was too fast.

"Pikachu! She's having a seizure!" he cried. Immediately, Pikachu's cheeks began to spark up. "Pikachu, no! A thunder bolt won't help anything now!" He picked up Misty, and darted into the building labeled Emergency Room, not even bothering to shut the car door.

As he burst through the door he screamed, "Please, someone help, she's having a seizure!" As the people in the room looked at him, so did the doctors.

In seconds they had put Misty down on a stretcher and rushed her down the hallway into a private room. Ash sat down with his face in his hands. He couldn't believe it. He was going to lose his best friend not to a becoming stone that could be cured with pokemon tears, no, he was losing her to a dumb disease. That was it. Pikachu was trying to comfort him, but it was to no avail. He was crying like a baby now. But before he could think anymore, a doctor came out of the room and presented himself to Ash.

"Here it comes, the shock of my life, she's died before I could even tell her my feelings," but he was cut off by the doctor. "Sir, your friend has come down with an extreme viral infection. We aren't exactly sure of the survival rate because it seemed that she had been suffering from it for a while now." "Darn Misty's sisters, she might be fine right now had they dragged her in," he thought, but no, they couldn't be blamed, they tried their best. The doctor began again, "There is one complication though," Ash looked up. "Your friend, she's… She's fallen into a coma."

A/N: Oooh, crazy chapter, I hope you liked it, I enjoyed writing it. R&R please!