Title inspired by the Janet Frame autobiography of the same name - this is a book I would highly recommend to anybody interested in literature and/or mental health.
Now I don't want any of you forgetting the thing I did last chapter when I stripped her of most of her powers. In fact I'm going to allude to it continuously just to remind myself, which should keep us both on track.
DISCLAIMER: I'm sure many of you are sitting there wondering, who is this Virgo person, and what on earth could she possibly own . . . well I'm just going to let you ponder that until the next chapter. What a cliff hanger, right?
On Angels Wings – Wrestling With My Angel
She was his angel and she felt useless as they all stood before Sabrina waiting for the Haunter to appear.
"I choose Haunter!" Ash called again, looking anxious when the ghost still refused to show itself.
The doll just laughed. "Does this mean you forfeit?" the doll asked, its eyes beginning to glow.
"No, never," Ash replied, knowing what was on the line this time if he didn't succeed. Sabrina wanted some new dolls to play with. "Pikachu! I choose you!" he called instead.
Pikachu nodded at his partner, willing to do whatever it took. They would fight, even if it would only end in defeat.
Misty shook her head. There was no way that Ash was going to defeat Sabrina like this. The only way to defeat a psychic Pokemon as strong as Sabrina's Abra was a ghost Pokemon.
Or to defeat Sabrina herself. And with her powers almost stripped away, there was only one way that Misty could do that.
She sighed. She couldn't just stand there doing nothing and there was only one thing she could do.
Misty fell suddenly to the ground into a dead faint. The move distracted all the match players as Sabrina went to call her first Pokemon.
"What did you do to her?" Ash asked angrily as he glared at the small figure holding a Pokeball in porcelain hands.
"Nothing," the doll replied innocently. It's mouth widened into a cruel smile as it looked at Ash from behind its bangs. "You don't know do you?" it asked cruelly. "You have no idea."
It then turned to look at Misty who had walked unseen onto the battlefield.
"I don't know what your trying to do here, Tenshi," it muttered, glaring at the angelic figure. "But you won't succeed. Natsume is mine," it said greedily.
"Natsume," Misty heard Brock mutter, but thought nothing of it. Right now she had to get inside Sabrina's head and destroy that little doll.
Misty concentrated as she forced her way into Sabrina's mind. The Pokémon battle began to wage while everybody was unaware of the psychic battle taking place between the angel and the mortal.
With great effort Misty forced her way through Sabrina's barriers. Inside Sabrina's mind she could hear Brock's voice reverberating – that name kept repeating itself over and over again.
A hollow giggle echoed as Misty walked through the darkness. She had no idea what she was looking for. All she knew was that if she found it that would be enough to free Sabrina of that stupid doll.
A red door appeared in front of her, the only thing that she could see in the darkness of Sabrina's mind. Misty tried it but it wouldn't open. She knocked lightly, trying anything she could think of and whispered the name she kept hearing all around her.
"Natsume," she called quietly, "may I come in?"
The door slowly opened and a beautiful little girl pulled her inside and shut the door behind her.
"It's safe here," the little girl told her as she handed Misty a stuffed Abra to hold onto.
"Safe from what?" Misty asked her, looking deeply into the little girls crystal blue eyes. She bent low and tucked a stray strand of dark ebony hair behind the girl's ear and smiled a soft smile.
"From the cold," the little girl replied. "It's safe here. It can't hurt us in here."
"It's alright Natsume," Misty said softly, taking the little girls hand in her own. "Do you know what I am Natsume?"
The little girl nodded. "You're an angel," Natsume said quality. "Are you here to save me?"
"In a way," Misty replied kindly. "I have to save my friends," Misty told her, "but I think you're the only one who can help me. But I'm going to need you to be brave. I need you to tell me what you're hiding here from."
"I'm hiding form what's out there," Natsume whispered quietly. "From the world. It was the only way. I had to become strong and the only way to become strong was to hide the weakest parts of me away. But it got too strong.
"It ok," Natsume continued. "It's safe here."
"Mommy and daddy were so angry," she said, her eyes becoming blank. "They didn't love each other and so I had to do all the loving for all of us. But they were so angry and I only wanted to make them happy.
"And when they saw what I could do, they were happy. So I did everything I could to make it stay that way. But I just kept making them unhappy," she said unhappily, referring to this part of herself who was shut away where it was safe. "So I went and hid so that they could all be happy."
Misty smiled sadly as she wrapped her arms around the small child. What little of the life she had known before she became an angel was not all that different from Natsume's. They were the same, only Misty had been given a second chance and Natsume was alone.
Her blue eyes stared sadly into Misty's and Misty slowly began to realize what it was she needed to do. Natsume was a part of Sabrina that she had kept hidden in order to allow her power to grow, and with Natsume out of the way the doll took over. Sabrina became cold and Natsume sunk deeper and deeper into the recesses of Sabrina's mind. And if Misty could just awaken that part of Sabrina somehow, then everything would work out.
"What made you happy Natsume?" Misty asked softly, her smile warm and open.
The little girl blinked, almost returning the angels smile. "Takashi made me happy," the girl said quietly. "But he got scared of all the things I could do, and he left. Everybody left, but Takashi was the only one who mattered.
"He doesn't even recognize me anymore," she added sadly.
"He . . ." Misty started, but stopped as the pieces fell into place in her mind. She was surprised she hadn't worked it out sooner – he was in her head after all. "Takashi," she muttered quietly.
Of course Brock was Takashi. That was exactly the kind of coincidence you expected when Ash was around. In fact she was sure Brock had even mentioned it if she thought hard enough.
"He told me your name," Misty said softly encouraging the small girl. "Tell me a story about Takashi."
Natsume smiled, her eyes brightening from Misty's encouraging words. She thought for a moment as she decided on a story. "I'll tell you how we met," she said brightly. "How Takashi stole my dolly so he could marry it. And then when I told him he couldn't have it he said he'd marry me instead."
Natsume laughed, the sound ringing through the dark area's of her mind. The whole thing seemed to light up at the sound. And suddenly instead of sitting face to face with a little girl, she was staring into the face of fifteen year old with bright blue eyes and a musical laugh.
Misty rolled her eyes jokingly. "He hasn't changed at all," she laughed which caused Sabrina/Natsume to laugh once more.
"He was dead set on marrying something that day," Sabrina laughed, her eyes seeming to almost twinkle.
"It's ok for you to go back now," Sabrina said suddenly, becoming serious. "I'm ok now, and I think Ash is starting to worry about you."
"Are you sure?" Misty asked, looking at Sabrina with concern.
Sabrina nodded. "He was the only one who loved me for me and not for my powers," she said, waving her hands about sarcastically. "And they were the very thing that drove him away. So I separated the parts and grew stronger and colder until there was nothing really left. But I understand that now, and I'll be ok."
Misty nodded as she left Sabrina's mind and returned to her own body. She woke up slowly trying her best to look like someone who had just fainted rather than someone who had been astral projecting.
Ash's nervous chocolate brown eyes stared into her own. "Are you ok?" he said softly to which she nodded in return. He sighed in relief. "You missed everything Misty," he said pointing to the battlefield where Abra lay laughing to himself. "Pikachu was almost out and then suddenly Haunter appeared and started making faces at Sabrina. And then both her and Abra started laughing and Abra was completely out of commission, so we won."
Misty smiled to herself as she stood up. 'You don't even know the half of it,' she thought. "I can't believe I missed the entire battle," she muttered aloud, looking sour. "That's the last time I'm skipping breakfast."
"So Brock," she said, turning to him with a knowing smile. "That old man was probably Sabrina's dad right? And he knew your name, without us even saying it. Before I thought it was because he was psychic, but the way he said it was like he knew you. So if he knew who you were, then maybe you know Sabrina."
"She . . . I," he started his cheeks turning red. "The doll called her Natsume. Before my mum died I had a friend called Natsume who we used to visit in Saffron."
"Do you think it's her?" Ash asked, looking at Sabrina and not quite being able to imagine her as the innocent and scared little girl that Misty had met in her head.
"I don't know," Brock said slowly.
"You could always ask," Misty suggested. She looked over to Sabrina and rolled her eyes, indicating to the psychic that she would have to be the one to make the move.
Sabrina laughed as she made her way over to the trio carrying the Marsh badge. "Here Ash," she said as she handed it to him. "A rather unexpected turn of events, but a well fought battle all the same."
Ash smiled, proudly cradling his latest badge in his hands. "Thanks," he replied modestly, "although I think it's really Haunter who did all the work."
Sabrina looked at him oddly for a moment then turned to Misty who just rolled her eyes once more. The two shared the smile of two people who knew what had really happened when no one else was even close to aware – something akin to dramatic irony. She smiled as she gave Misty a quick hug, something which surprised the two boys.
She then turned to Brock and smiled shyly at him. "You remind me of someone I used to know," she said softly, tilting her head to the side as she carefully studied his face.
"You too," Brock said softly, returning her shy smile with one of his own.
"Takashi?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in curiosity.
He nodded slowly. "Natsume," he smiled back as he carefully embraced her in a hug. "I almost didn't recognise you," he sighed happily.
She shrugged as she pulled back to study his face once again. "It's been a while," she smiled. "You look almost exactly the same."
Brock smiled thoughtfully, his arms still wrapped around her. "I missed you Sabrina," he told her softly. "And I'm sorry I got mad at you. It wasn't your fault and I'm sorry I didn't tell you that sooner."
"I'm sorry too," she replied softly. "I shouldn't have done what I did. You were right Brock."
"So," Misty drawled as they left the gym, waving at Sabrina as a sinister smile formed on her lips, "I guess you and Sabrina are close."
"I guess so," Brock replied obliviously, his eyes yet to leave Sabrina's as he waved goodbye. He didn't see the smile that rested on the angel's otherwise perfect features.
"So is she like the love of your life or something?" Misty asked with that same sanctimonious smile poised on her lips as the four of them finally turned their backs on the psychic.
Brock scowled slightly, mentally scolding himself for not seeing this coming sooner. "Just because a person has a close friend that happens to be of the opposite sex does not mean that they are in love with them," he replied plainly, not giving Misty the satisfaction of seeing him blush and stutter even though the urge was there.
"Evading the question much?" Misty joked, noticing the faintest of blushes on the older boys cheeks. "You can't tell me that you were friends with her for four years and don't 'like her' like her."
Brock's blush deepened, and Misty smiled at her victory. Teasing Brock over his various crushes was one of her favourite activities, although she did feel a little cruel in these particular circumstances as she suspected his feelings might have gone a little deeper than a mere crush.
"How about I ask you the same question when you and Ash have been friends for four years?" Brock asked, his own smile morphing to match Misty's as her jaw dropped to the ground. He was pleased to the see the smug look fall off her face. "Although four months might be more appropriate in your case," he added smugly as Misty's eyes widened.
"What about me and Misty?" Ash asked, alerted to the conversation by the sound of his name. He had been too busy admiring his latest badge to really pay attention to Brock and Misty up to that point.
Brock's smile widened as he saw the fear flash into Misty eyes. He could see her silently begging him to keep his mouth shut in spite of her mentally insisting that there was nothing to tell. He glanced at Misty with a victorious smile as he replied.
"Nothing. I was just saying how close you two are . . ."
~ to be continued ~
I really had wanted to use that last part in Brock: A Short History but it just hadn't worked with that story (it's no fun teasing someone when they actually are in love with the aforementioned person and have confessed said love in a very touching scene), so I'm very pleased that I was able to work it into this one. Although, the scene wasn't really as shippy as I would have liked, but I'm not sure I could have worked in a romance without having to go against everything we know about Brock – I want this story to be kind of consistent with cannon to the greater extent. By the time I finish all my stories currently on fanfiction I will have written three versions of this episode (the Brock-centric version, the angel-centric version, and the CCS version - although you have to admit it was a pretty good episode).
Quick translation here because I'm sure some of you aren't really sure: Tenshi=Angel in Japanese. Not really sure why I brought the Japanese names in here – I think it was because I didn't want it to be immediately obvious to Brock that Sabrina was the girl from his past. I am totally loving the idea of Sabrina and Misty being allies, although it's something more in my head than anywhere else.
I'm going to try and work on some more chapters for this story, but it might be awhile before you see another chapter because I need to do some planning before I update again about what I would like to include in the story and what I want to leave out e.g. I'd love to include the second Movie in this (it's one of my favourite Ash and Misty moments) but I'm not sure I want to include the Orange Islands in this story.
Please review and let me know what you think of things so far. I have written the start of the next chapter, but I haven't decided where to take it to yet.