Authors Note: I humbly beg the forgiveness of everyone who reads this. It has been far too long since I wrote for this. But, no more! The drought of creativity is over, and my Muse likes me again. Enjoy!

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Fourteen hours later, Ash woke up in a strange room, with little recollection as to how he got there. He heard Pikachu's breathing beside him, slow and steady. That meant that they weren't in trouble with anyone. If there had been a problem, Pikachu would have woken him up, or at the least been up and about. He sat up in the bed, stretching his arms as the sheets fell down from his chest. He was still tired, but felt a lot more refreshed. Then the memories came back to him in an instant.

He jumped down from the bed, waking Pikachu up in the process. Ash ran out the door, Pikachu close on his heels, looking for someone, anyone. Just so that he knew that he hadn't been hallucinating, that Misty really was okay. He had heard that if you go without sleep for too long, you start dreaming while you're awake. He was afraid, truly afraid, that that is what happened. That or he fell asleep before they got to the gym, and he had dreamed it.

Ash turned a corner, skidding slightly on the floor, and saw her. Misty was standing by the stove in the kitchen, a wooden spoon in one hand, a spatula in the other, cooking something in a pan. She turned at the sound in the hallway, and a smile lit up her face.

"Ash! You're awake! We were expecting you to-"

Ash quickly closed the distance between them and pulled Misty into a hug, just to make sure that she was real. She felt real. She smelled real. She looked real. "You're real, aren't you? I'm not imagining this?"

He felt Misty swallow. "No, you're not imagining it. I'm real."

Ash took a half-step backwards, so he could get a better look at her. "You're not hurt?" She shook her head, and Ash smiled. "I'm so glad."

It looked like Misty was having a hard time breathing. "I made eggs. For brunch. Want some?" Ash nodded, unable to look away from her sparkling eyes. Someone off to the side coughed, breaking Ash out of his reverie. He let go of Misty and turned, finding Brock, May, and Dawn all seated around a round table. He felt his face heat up with embarrassment, pulling down his cap to hide his face. He didn't see the triumphant smile Misty had on her face as she turned back to her cooking.

Ash took a seat at the table, not really looking at where he was sitting. It happened to be the seat between May and Dawn, which caused Brock to cringe slightly. All was quiet for a while, the only sound coming from the eggs cooking in the kitchen. Then May turned slightly so that she was facing Ash. "Did you sleep alright?" she asked him, touching his arm with one hand.

His mind was still reeling slightly. "Yeah, I slept alright," he responded absently. He blinked a couple times, than seemed to come back to his senses. "But, what are you doing here?"

May shrugged. "I got a message from you. Or, it was supposed to be from you. It said to meet you here. So, here I am."

"But, I didn't send you a message."

"I know that NOW. But when I got it, I had no reason to think it wasn't you."

"So someone sent you a message in my name? Who would do that? Why?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Dawn chimed in. "That, and why someone said that Misty was hurt. It's all very confusing."

Brock nodded. "Someone tried pretty hard to get us all together. We have a couple ideas, but none of them make any real sense. Why bring us all together with stories that can easily be found to be false? I mean, it wasn't very subtle of them. As soon as we all got here, we figured out something was going on. That's why I still say it's Team Rocket. They never think things out all the way."

At that point Misty came in with the pan of scrambled eggs, setting it on the table among toast, hash browns, bacon, and sausages. "Dig in," she said as she put the spatula in the pan. Brock served himself first.

May pretended Misty hadn't come in. "We've talked about that already Brock. Jesse and James don't have the computer skills to hack into the phone lines."

"Yeah," Dawn agreed. "Plus, why would they try to get us all together? That just makes us stronger."

"And, we already have a suspect, remember?" Misty handed the plate of sausages over to Ash.

Brock rolled his eyes. "And all it will take is one conversation to prove that he's NOT a suspect Misty. Then what?"

Misty shook her head. "Trust me. He's the guy."

"Who's the guy?" Ash asked.

"Nobody, Ash. How's the food?"

Ash took a mouthful of hash browns and eggs and swallowed. "Delicious," he responded.

"Oh, I'm not so sure that 'nobody' is the appropriate word here," May said with a smile.

Ash furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? What would you say is the appropriate word?"

Misty shot May a warning glance, one that threatened retribution, and handed a piece of buttered toast to Dawn. May chose her next words carefully. Otherwise, she would be thrown out, and she couldn't have that happen just yet. "Well, he's an acquaintance of yours, isn't he Misty?"

Misty nodded slowly. "I suppose." Misty served herself last, and started eating.

"So, do you know where this guy is?"

"No, but I have a feeling that he won't be too hard to find. He's quite…distinctive." She waved her hand in the air, to brush off the conversation. She looked up at Ash and smiled. "Hey Ash, do you feel up for a swim after breakfast?"

Ash chuckled. "How about an hour after? I'd hate to get a cramp."

"Sounds good to me."

"Umm, don't you think we should try and figure this out first?" Brock asked.

Misty shrugged. "We won't be able to find him until he wants to be found. Who knows when that will be? All we can do is wait until he makes the next move." Brock seemed reluctant to accept that, but accept it he did. He didn't have much choice.

Ash looked around the kitchen for a moment, and then turned to Dawn. "Where are Piplup and Pikachu?"

She pointed out a window to a small yard. There were all of their Pokémon, eating some of Brocks food by the look of it. "They're out there. Pikachu ran out as soon as he smelled Brocks special recipe.

"What can I say? I make some good Pokéchow." Brock wanted to solve this, and solve it quickly. He knew that tensions were high, and having these three girls together was not a good idea. It was going to be very difficult keeping them from each other's throats. If he could keep them distracted, he might have a chance of keeping them alive. That, however, looked to be failing before it even started. Why can't girls fight over me like that? Brock asked himself. It didn't seem fair that Ash, who was oblivious, got all this attention from girls while he couldn't seem to get attention.

Things had started to seem friendly again. May, Misty, and Dawn weren't being quite so open in their dislike of the other girls company, and May and Dawn had to be civil, lest Misty decide they were unwelcome. Misty also had to give off the impression of civility, for the benefit of Ash. He couldn't see that the foreign girls weren't a good match for him, but Misty thought it was all too obvious. Ash just needed to be enlightened to that fact.

Ash chanced a look at the television on the other side of the room. It was on a news station of some kind. The volume was down, so he couldn't hear what was being said, but he could read the news feed rolling across the bottom of the screen. "Hey, could someone turn that up?"

May grabbed the remote and turned up the volume as everyone turned to the screen. The anchorwoman was talking.

"-olice received reports last night that terror has stricken the cities outside of Cerulean. Under strict orders from the Cerulean City mayor, the city has been blockaded off from any and all outside traffic. With more on the story, here's Ryan Durand. Ryan?" The camera switched to a man standing on one of the major roads leading into Cerulean. There were police everywhere, and the road blocks were clear as day behind him.

"Thanks Theresa. I'm here at Route 6 where all traffic to and from Saffron City has been stopped. According to our sources, there have been severe cases of a supposedly mutated strain of the H1N1 virus. In an attempt to keep Cerulean City safe from this threat, it was decided that Cerulean City be blockaded off from the rest of the general population. There will be no coming to or going from the city until word is received that everything is safe. I'm Ryan Durand, channel 4 news."

Dawn reached for the remote and turned off the television. "So," she said. "Looks like we aren't going anywhere for a while."

May shook her head and stood up. "I don't like this. I'm going out for a walk." She headed for the front door.

"Don't get lost!" Misty called after her. Please get lost, she said in her head. The door slammed closed in response. "That was rude," Misty said in response.

Dawn looked at those seated at the table and stood up too. "I think I'll go with her. See you later." She waved and followed after May, closing the door much more quietly.

"And I think I'll just…go." Brock stood up and walked out the door also, leaving Ash and Misty alone.

The two sat in silence for a while. Eventually, Misty had enough of it. "So, how about that swim?" she asked, unsure of what to do now that they were actually alone. Yeah, she had thought about it. Dreamed about it. Fantasized about it even. But for it to actually happen was sending her into a small panic attack.

Ash was equally unsure. "S-sure," he stammered. He stood up from the table. "I'll go get changed. Meet you at the pool?"

"Yeah." For some reason, she blushed, and stood up too, heading towards her room. "I'll meet you there." Misty walked until she turned a corner, where she was out of sight, and then sprinted to her room. Ohmygodohmygod, she thought to herself. What am I going to wear? She threw open her drawers and closet, going through swimsuit after swimsuit. To revealing, not revealing enough, I don't want to look like a slut, but I don't want to look like a nun. No, no, no. No no no no no! How did I think any of these were acceptable! In no time at all, her room was strewn with bikinis, one-pieces, and thongs of all colors of the rainbow and every color in between, of every design you could think of, and not one of them was good. She glanced at the clock. Crap! He's probably already there! Finally, she picked a green bikini with a silver pattern of swirls and waves. Hurriedly, she changed and, grabbing a towel on her way out, ran to the pool.

Ash was already there, and was swimming laps while waiting for her. She pulled out her hair thing as she watched him, letting her hair cascade down her back.

Ash wasn't a big guy, but he was toned. Traveling did that to a person. All the long days, weeks, months, years of walking had trimmed off all excess fat and gave him the legs of Adonis. Plus the constant training helped keep his arms and chest sculpted. She continued watching him for a while, until it looked like he was going to look up. Misty didn't want Ash to catch her staring at him. She made a short run, jumped, and did a jack knife five feet in front of him, surprising him enough that he gasped, swallowing a little water. He came up for air, coughing, as Misty swam around behind him.

She laughed a playful, cheery laugh. "You should have seen the look on your face. It was hilarious!"

Ash finished coughing and glared at her. "I'm sure it was," he said in a deadpan voice.

Misty did a fake pout. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

Ash sighed. "No, I'm not mad at you. I'm still getting over the fact that you aren't dying."

Misty raised an eyebrow at that. "Would you rather I was dying?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Than what did you mean?"

"Misty." Ash made as if to reach out to her, but stopped his hand before it went too far. He clenched his hand into a fist and brought it up to his head before putting it by his side, under the water. "Misty, you know you mean a lot to me, right? You're the best friend I've ever had."

"I don't know. May and Dawn seem like pretty good friends."

"But they're nothing like you. When I thought that you were dying, I went a little crazy. No, that's a lie. I went completely off the deep end. I almost killed myself and my Pokémon to get here to you. I wasn't going to let you die. Not even if it meant I had to give you my own heart for you to live. To me, life would almost not be worth living without you."

Misty looked at him, her heart beating. "What are you saying, Ash?"

"Misty, I…"

"…Yes?"

"I lo-"

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EARLIER

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Piplup was plotting. They were all deep in enemy territory, and had to move cautiously. Dawn had to win, at all costs. Piplup liked Ash. He was a good guy, and would treat Dawn right. That was important. Plus, with all the craziness they've gone through together, they were the best of friends. Dawn liked Ash, and Ash liked Dawn. Now the hard part was getting Ash to realize it.

A plan was hatching, and Piplup was sure it would work. First, she had to get rid of that 'Misty' character. The easiest way to do that would be to make her mad at Ash. Piplup was sure that if the provocation was great enough, Misty would forget about Ash and move on to someone else.

The little penguin looked inside, to see what they were doing, and received a shock. May was gone. Dawn was getting up and following her. (No!) Piplup squeaked. (My plans!) Brock followed after the two girls out the door, leaving Ash and Misty alone. (No no no no no! This could ruin everything!) They were talking, but Piplup couldn't quite make out what was going on.

(You may as well get over it,) a haughty voice said behind her. Piplup whirled around to find a smirking Pikachu. (Dawn really doesn't have a chance against Misty.)

Piplup glared at the mouse. (We'll see about that,) Piplup declared, stomping off. She had to stop them from being too friendly. Or, better yet, friendly at all. Looking over her shoulder, Piplup saw Pikachu looking at the two sitting at the table. They had just agreed to something and were leaving the table. Thinking she could get to the door, Piplup made a dash for it. Suddenly, Pikachu was there, on all fours, blocking the way in.

(I don't think so. Let's just let nature take its course, shall we?) Pikachu, it turned out, was way too fast for Piplup to beat. But what he said gave the blue bird an idea. She didn't let that reflect on her face though. Instead, she stomped over to where Dawn's other Pokémon were talking and sat down, crossing her wings in front of her. Pikachu watched Piplup for a moment longer before moving back to a bowl of food. He seemed engaged enough that he wouldn't eavesdrop.

(Hey, Buneary,) Piplup whispered.

(Yeah?)

(I need you to do a favor for me.)

Buneary looked a little suspicious. (What kind of favor?)

(Do you think you could distract Pikachu for me for a little bit?)

Buneary blushed and hid her face in her fluff. (Yeah, I could,) she answered around her fluff. (Why?)

(I need to get inside, but Pikachu won't let me. Could you distract him so I can get inside? And keep him distracted for a while?)

(Why do you need to get inside?)

(Duh,) Piplup said. (So I can keep Ash away from that red-haired girl. Dawn belongs with Ash, not Misty.)

(Actually, May belongs with Ash,) said a voice behind Piplup. She jumped, startled, and turned around to find May's Glaceon. What was it with other Pokémon sneaking up on her? (But I agree. Misty needs to go. You have a plan, I hope?)

(Well, sort of a plan. It's really more of a delaying tactic.)

(Delaying for what, may I ask?) Glaceon was defiantly reluctant in this partnership.

(Delaying for Dawn to realize that she left Ash alone with her biggest competition.)

(Second biggest, but yes, I agree. What do you need me to do?)

(Actually,) Piplup said, (I don't need you to do anything. Buneary here's going to seduce Pikachu enough so that he doesn't follow after me.)

Glaceon looked Buneary up and down. (You're going to seduce Pikachu? Don't make me laugh. I'll do it. At least that way, he won't laugh his tail off at your pathetic attempts.)

(Excuse me?) Buneary said indignantly. (I'm not some frigid know-it-all who's better at intimidating than seducing.) She put one paw on her hip and waved the other toward Glaceon. (I'm warm, furry, and cute. You're cold, prickly, and, let's face it, not much to look at.)

(Alright,) Glaceon scoffed. (If you think you're oh so special, go ahead.) Glaceon stepped out of Buneary's way. (Get him to take you seriously.)

(I will.) And with that, Buneary hopped over to Pikachu.

Piplup sighed deeply. Ice types were always so manipulative. Buneary didn't really stand a chance once Glaceon decided what she wanted done. Buneary had played right into Glaceons hand.

It took Buneary all of thirty seconds before she couldn't speak to Pikachu properly and hid in her fluff, hopping away, too embarrassed to look at anyone.

(Did you really have to do that to Buneary?) Piplup asked Glaceon.

(It amused me,) Glaceon said, walking over at a slow pace. She passed Pikachu, gave him a 'come hither' look, and continued walking, the tip of her tail brushing Pikachu's nose.

Piplup shook her head as she made her way to the door. Males. All it took was a pretty piece of tail and they were no longer in control of themselves, practically slaves for all intents and purposes.

Once inside, Piplup began wandering around, trying to find where Ash had gone. She stumbled through bedrooms, workout rooms, bathrooms, every room but the right room. Until, finally, she stumbled into the swimming room. And there was Ash and Misty, separated by a few feet of water.

Piplup got there just in time.

"Misty, I…" she heard Ash say.

Piplup started running toward the edge of the pool.

"…Yes?" Misty responded. She reached the edge of the pool and jumped.

"I lov-"

"Piiiiiiiiiiiiiipppp!!!!" Piplup let out a cry as she hurtled towards Ash's head.

Ash turned his head on reflex, and Piplup tackled him, throwing both of them in the water.

"Oh my god, Ash! Are you alright?" Misty reached under the water and pulled Ash and Piplup up.

Ash coughed for a bit, trying to expel the water from his lungs. Piplup holding onto Ash's neck like he was a lifeline didn't help any. Finally, he recovered enough to pull Piplup off of his neck. But as soon as he got the little penguin off, she started crying and reaching for him. "Pipipipipipipipipip!" Ash put Piplup back on his shoulder, where she clung to his neck. She made a satisfied "Plup," and glared at Misty.

Misty was taken aback by the little Piplup. "That's Dawns, isn't it?"

Ash nodded, patting Piplup on the head. "I don't know what got into her. Maybe she got scared when she couldn't find Dawn."

The mood effectively ruined, Misty floated on her back. "Let's just swim for a bit, than. Until Dawn gets here to collect her Piplup."

Ash shrugged and floated on his back. Misty propelled herself through the water until she was next to Ash, opposite Piplup. Reaching out with her hand, she grabbed Ashes. He responded by lacing his fingers in hers. There was no need for words just then. At that moment, everything was perfect.

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ANII: So, what did you think? Was it a decent return to the story? Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear from you. Until next time, Penguin King out~