This one is a bit of a filler, but kinda necessary to set the scene for the final chapter, so I'm going to try and update twice this week to make up for it (no guarantees however). Also, there will be a preview chapter after the final chapter with a few bits and pieces you can probably look forward to in the following arcs.

_Recap_

Episode Title: The Twelve Labours of Hercules
Closet town/landmark: Cerulean City Gym (still)
Distance travelled: 0km
Pokemon mentioned: Ten
Labours completed: Five
Water fights that merged into a heated make out session with love interest/best friend: One
Water fight merging into a heated make out session with your incredibly hot love interest/ best friend: Priceless

Ash: The Last Stand – Star Cross'd Lovers

"Misty!" a loud voice cried, ruining the serenity of the moment.

"Sounds like you're wanted," Ash said lowly as he kissed her cheek.

"I'd rather stay here," she replied, somewhat distracted for obvious reasons.

"I'd rather you stay here too," he told her honestly, smiling goofily as the redhead snuggled into his naked chest, making herself comfortable. "Keep doing this," he added softly.

Misty lifted her head, leaning up for another kiss when the voice called again. It was much closer this time. She quickly jumped to her feet, leaving a very confused Ash suddenly wondering where all her warmth had gone.

"There you two like are," Violet said as she spotted her little sister and the object of her affections in the gyrados habitat.

She looked at the two curiously, especially Misty who was soaking wet and dishevelled in way completely unrelated to her water log. Ash sat on the floor wearing nothing but his sodden jeans, with his arms rested on his knees and a longing look on his face. Despite the fact that both seemed drenched through to the bone, the pair looked very hot and flushed.

Violet rolled her eyes, the look on Misty's face confirming her suspicions. The blue-haired twin made a mental note of all the people she would have to pass this news on to (Brock, Tracy, Lily, Daisy, Delia, Professor Oak, Gary, Nana Rose, and several of the Joy's to start with), but filed it away for later. Misty's eyes begged her not to say anything, probably worrying more about what she would say if pressed rather than Violet's questions.

"Misty you've got a challenger," Violet said simply, kindly refraining from asking the two questions persisting in her mind. Firstly, what were they doing in here? And secondly, where was Ash's shirt? There was a third question, but that one was not to be spoken in front of Ash but rather to saved for when the four of them (the Waterflower women that is) could set aside some time for some important sisterly chat.

"Oh, okay," Misty replied quietly, glancing back disconsolately at her best friend. She tried to convey to him how much she wanted to stay, but nothing seemed to get past the frightened look in her eyes, and so she left with Violet with her message un-transmitted.

"I'm so sorry, Misty," Violet whispered sincerely trying to put a comforting arm around her baby sister. "If I had known . . ."

Misty shrugged her off, quickening her steps in an attempt to loose the burnet. "I don't know what you thought was happening in there, but you're completely wrong," she said tightly, not daring to meet her sister's eyes. "Obviously you think you walked in on something, but you didn't so I don't know what you're apologising for."

"Well then I'm sorry that nothing happened," Violet answered her. "You know we're all rooting for you, baby sister."

"Yay me," was Misty's dark reply as she strode into the gym to face her challenger.

Gym battles had never been something that had interested Violet, but out of uncharacteristic concern for her sister, she silently took a seat on the sidelines. Although she didn't realize it, it was the first time she had watched her sister battle since Misty officially took up the position of gym leader.

The battle in question did nothing to showcase Misty's abilities as a gym leader. Even Violet with her limited experience and interest could tell that her little sister's head wasn't on the battle, but rather on a certain raven haired trainer with a suspiciously absent shirt. If not for Gyarados' own instincts, it would have been a rather pathetic loss.

Violet frowned as Misty absently congratulated the challenger on a great effort, trying to recall details of the battle to compliment the stranger on even though her mind was elsewhere. Violet was somewhat impressed by Misty's ability to compartmentalize.

"Misty, do you like mind if I take the next battle?" she asked, trying her best to make it sound like Misty was the one doing her the favour and not the other way round. There could be nothing worse for Misty than having her sister being sympathetic. "I was hoping to get some battle experience for Vespa."

"Sure. Whatever," she said, recalling Gyarados and not even thinking to look sheepish at Violet's false belief about Vespa's battle naivety. She just left, not even stopping to wonder what Violet would think of Vespa's apparently 'natural' battling ability.

Her thoughts were elsewhere; she was completely consumed with thoughts of the boy she loved.

She silently admonished herself for being so forward. Why on earth couldn't she be coy and sweet like other girls? Why did she have to go and pounce on him like he was a particularly juicy piece of meat?

'What must he think of me?' she wondered painfully to herself. She tried to imagine the worst-case scenario, but she couldn't even nail that down. There were so many terrible possibilities.

What if he thought that a kiss was just a kiss? Regardless of his own thoughts on the matter, what if he had taken her actions for something purely physical, thinking her to be just one of those girls? She wasn't the kind of girl who went around just kissing any old boy – it had to mean something, it had to be special – but maybe her actions said otherwise. She wasn't just kissing some boy – she was kissing the boy with all her heart, the only boy there ever could be and she hoped that he had seen that.

But then again, she didn't. What if she had said too much in her kiss? It was one thing for her to kiss him and tell him that she wanted them to be more than just friends, but she knew Ash wasn't ready to hear exactly how much she liked him. She wasn't even sure he could handle 'like', but love was an entirely separate matter and she knew that he wasn't ready to hear those words.

No matter what, a kiss changed things – several kisses, even more so. They had taken a step in their friendship/relationship that could not be undone even if she wanted to. It was just a question of how. Maybe they'd become boyfriend and girlfriend and live happily ever after, or maybe it would just become too awkward and be the end of their friendship altogether.

Even if it did lead the direction she wanted – to her and Ash becoming a couple – they could never know how long that would last, and if it didn't last forever, what would become of their friendship afterwards? She wondered if she would be truly willing to sacrifice their many years of friendship for something that may be short lived and would inevitably bare the end of it when it died.

But there was something more than that, something bigger than the two of them. Ash had a choice to make, and as much as she hoped he would, there was nothing to guarantee that she would be his choice in the end.

She closed her eyes, letting an errant tear fall slowly down her cheek. It would be the only tear she would shed on the matter. The rest of them would have to find them selves some other outlet.

'Please, Ash,' she willed silently. 'Please choose me.'

"Misty," Ash called as she entered the battling arena, hoping for the chance to talk to her about what had happened. In spite of them spending almost an hour making out, he hadn't had the chance to tell her that he liked her, and until he did things would be left uncertain.

"Like hey, Ash," Violet replied, greeting him on entrance. "You should see how totally awesome my vaporeon is. He's like a complete natural at battle. Today was like the first time he's battled, and he totally wiped the floor with this kid. And he like knows all these totally awesome attacks without me even training him. Totally incredible, right?"

Ash smiled tightly, doing his best not to laugh at Violet's exclamation. Although some Pokémon were natural battlers, he knew for a fact that Violet's vaporeon wasn't one of them. Not that he would be the one to tell Violet that Misty had been secretly training Vespa and using him in battle – he knew where his loyalties lay.

"Uh, where's Misty?" he asked, trying his best to change the subject. Violet sent him a sympathetic look that made him frown. "Is she alright?" he asked worriedly.

"She's totally fine," Violet replied quickly. "She like had some errands run."

"Ok," Ash replied, unconvinced by Violet's lie. "Did she have anything else she wanted me to do today?"

"Nope."

"Well, I guess, could you tell her that I was looking for her when you see her?" he asked hopefully. "I really need to talk to her."

"Totally, Ash," Violet said enthusiastically, smiling brightly to cover up the look of worry that flashed through her eyes. She couldn't seem to shake off the sense of foreboding she got about their current events.

Ash sighed loudly. "I'll just be at the Pokémon centre," he told her sadly. "So if she . . ."

"Of course," Violet nodded, understanding the words he didn't say.

Ash just sighed again as he went away. That just proved it: Misty was definitely avoiding him.

It took him awhile to figure it out, but it was clear enough now. There's no way she would willingly let one of her sisters take over her gym leader duties, and especially not Violet who was undeniably the worst trainer of the three sisters. The real question was why, and it was in the midst of discussing the matter with Brock that he worked that out.

The two were talking that evening on the couches in the Pokémon centre and Ash reluctantly retold the turn of events to a rather eager Brock who took in every detail with a look of thoughtfulness and contentment.

Ash couldn't help but sigh again as he came to the down-heartening conclusion. "I know Misty cares about me," he said soundly, "and I know Misty never does anything she doesn't want to do and . . . well . . . she kissed me too, didn't she? But I think as much fun as it was, it was a heat of the moment thing never to be repeated," he said sadly, his body slumping into the couch disconsolately.

Brock made to cut in with protest, but Ash continued. "I think she's regretting it now that we're out of our bubble," he concluded, a sad, wistful smile etched ironically on his lips. "Just pretend like you don't know, ok? For Misty's sake, pretend like it didn't happen."

"Ash," Brock said, trying to comfort the younger boy, "I think you're underestimating how much she cares for you. This is Misty we're talking about – there must be something else. You know she isn't like that."

Ash shrugged, his gesture seeming to say that he didn't believe Brock. "No, I get it," Ash said.

"I don't blame her for it either. Just look at me," he continued, gesturing disdainfully to himself. "She's beautiful, and accomplished . . . she's practically an adult, and I'm just some kid that owes her a bike. I was stupid for thinking that we could ever be more than just friends."

As much as he tried to rebut Ash's words, Brock could think of nothing to console his friend. He had never seen Ash so sad in all the time they had known each other. Ash looked like he had just lost the most important battle of his life, and it seemed fitting analogy.

"C'mon, Ash," Brock encouraged, "you can't give up yet. You two have been through so much, shouldn't that count for something."

"I'm not giving up," he said solemnly, "but I know when I'm fighting a losing battle."

"Ash," Nurse Joy cut in before Brock could say anything more. "I've got another message for you from Misty Waterflower."

Ash nodded as he took the note from her, his sadness restraining his previous eagerness. The few short sentences written on it did nothing to improve his mood:

Meet me at the gym at noon (no earlier!)
You can have your battle.
~ MW

It was the one thing he had wanted since his arrival – the one thing he had been working so hard to get – but now it was almost unwanted. Perhaps it was because it felt like it was a tactic to get rid of him. Maybe it was because when he read her first sentence he had hoped she had wanted him for something else.

Regardless, it was the first time in his life he had ever approached a battle with anything less than full enthusiasm and determination, and even though Ash tried his best to appear indifferent about the whole thing, something about that worried Brock immensely.

The older boy crossed his fingers and prayed for the best. He had no idea what the outcome of this battle would be, but something told him that tomorrow was going to be a very eventful day.

~ to be continued ~

Total filler, but necessary filler. Hope you liked all the same. Here's a little laugh after a kinda angsty chapter.

Alternative punch line . . .
Finally finding, in the immortal words of Gary Oak "something more interesting than Pokemon and it happens to be in red there's shirt"