Chapter 5: Ice Cave...
(Ash's POV)
"Huh?" I tried to look up but I felt so stiff and cold that I found myself unable to move. "What happened?"
I felt something soft and warm touch my cheek.
"Please Ash; don't give up on me...don't give up on us." It was that voice again.
"Misty? Is that you?" I murmured, barely able to move my mouth.
"Ash..."
--
My eyes snapped open, my face flat against the frozen ground. Painfully, I tried to lift myself up but my left leg refused to obey my commands. I turned my head back towards my feet. A rather large block of ice had landed on most of my lower body, the majority of its weight resting on my left leg. It felt numb, almost lifeless.
I groaned and began to push against the ground with my arms in a vain attempt to push the block off of my body. It kept a firm grip on my leg, very much like a stubborn Clamperl.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu hopped over to my side.
"Pikachu, buddy..." I said in a horse voice. "Could you help me out?"
Pikachu nodded. He hopped up and cleanly cut the block into smaller pieces with an Iron Tail attack.
"Thanks." I patted his head and began to push the smaller pieces off of myself. I looked down at my leg. It seemed to be holding up fine even though
it was quite stiff. I began to rub it a bit,
I forced myself to stand and began to look around. Misty's body was nowhere to be seen.
"Pika-chu...Pikachu-Pi... " Pikachu sighed.
"Don't worry, Pikachu." I began to limp along in no particular direction. "We will find Misty."
"Pika?" Pikachu looked up at me.
"I will find Brock too." I added.
For some reason though, I couldn't stop worrying about Misty. Brock could take care of himself. In fact, he would be probably safer without me around. Misty, on the other hand...what if she was hurt? What if she had fallen through the ice, into the freezing water below? I didn't want to think about what could have befallen my friend.
"MISTY...!" I yelled out into the frozen wasteland. "BROCK...!"
"Pika-chu...!" Pikachu ran out in front of me. "Pikachu-Pi!"
I sighed and sat down on the icy ground.
"What's the use of calling for them?" I muttered. "They can't hear us. Our
voices become lost in the wind."
"Pika...?" Pikachu laid a reassuring paw on my shoulder.
I felt something large and bulky in my pocket.
"OH!" I shouted excitedly. "Of course...! The radio...!"
I quickly pulled it out and switched it to Misty's frequency. To my dismay the batteries were almost dead.
"I hope this works." I said nervously and switched the radio on.
For about half a minute, the radio only picked up static...unable to find Misty.
Then,
BEEP
"YES!" I smiled and called out into the receiver, "Misty! If you can hear me, please respond..."
No response...
"MISTY!" I yelled. "SAY SOMETHING!"
"Pikapi...!" Pikachu pulled my shoulder, pointing in one direction.
"What is it, buddy?" I asked him, unsure of what he meant.
"Pikachu-pi...!" Pikachu replied.
"Where...?" I asked, frantically.
Pikachu pointed again.
"How do you know she is over there?" I questioned him.
"Chu...pika..." Pikachu pointed to his ears.
"Oh...so you heard her radio, did you?" I smiled
"Pika...!" Pikachu nodded then hopped off in the direction he had pointed.
I groaned and pulled myself back onto my feet. I limped over to where Pikachu had stopped and was digging.
DIGGING?!
I quickly fell to my knees and helped Pikachu, pushing away the snow and ice.
After a few minutes, I gradually began to see a form in the ice. It was curled up and lying on its side. It hardly moved, only barely shivering.
"Misty...!" I pulled her body out of the pile of snow and ice. "Please speak to me."
I wiped the snow out of her face which appeared still and expressionless.
"Hurry, Pikachu...!" I called to my friend, "You have to find somewhere
warmer...somewhere I can tend to Misty."
Pikachu nodded and ran out into the sea of white. The brave Pokemon was risking his life to save my friend.
I looked back down at Misty's still form. She was only slightly warm and her breathing was shallow. I knew that if we didn't do something fast she would freeze to death.
"Pikapi...!" Pikachu ran back, pointing towards one of the ice mountains.
"Okay, buddy..." I sighed. "Help me move Misty, will you?"
I managed to lift up most of her weight by lifting her up by her shoulders. Pikachu lifted her feet up off the ground so that they wouldn't drag. Slowly, I managed to bring her with us over to the ice mountain where Pikachu pointed out a small ice cave.
"In there?" I asked perhaps a stupid question.
Pikachu nodded and in we went.
It seemed pretty odd how there was a tunnel in the middle of an ice mountain. It was certainly not natural since the walls showed obvious signs of scraping and rubbing. I could only wonder what had caused those scratches.
For now, however, I had enough on my mind.
I laid Misty down on the icy floor then pulled out Cyndaquil's Pokeball.
"Cyndaquil, try to warm up Misty." I ordered. "I will try to put up the small shelter Brock told me to bring. I just hope I figure out how it works."
Cyndaquil nodded and fired up his fire quills. He walked over next to Misty, but not so close as to burn her.
I pulled out the shelter supplies and looked over them stupidly. I picked up the manual and began to flip through the pages.
"Great..." I mumbled. "This is going to take a while"
(Brock's POV)
I opened my eyes, and saw two figures lying down before me.
One had dark hair and wore a Pokemon League cap. The other had red hair.
They were huddled close together.
Neither of them appeared to be moving.
Wait...!
"Ash...?" I took a few steps towards their still bodies. "Misty?"
I leaned over and shook them gently. "Guys, wake up!"
No response.
"Guys...!" I yelled just as something on the floor caught my eye. It appeared
to be a small book.
--
My eyes snapped open, this time for real. I pulled myself up into a sitting position, my back aching.
"Gah...My back..." I groaned, taking a look around. "What happened?"
"Ash...?" I looked to the right.
"Misty?" I looked to the left.
"Where are you guys?" I stood up, pain still flaring up my back.
"Brock...Brock, can you hear me?" I heard my radio sputter.
I quickly reached into my pocket and drew it out, switching it to two-way speaking.
"Yes, I hear you Professor." I spoke into the receiver. "How are you?"
"Brock, I'm doing fine but this is very important." Even though the radio's weak signal slightly distorted Professor Oak's voice, I could still hear the sternness in his tone.
"Yes?"
"Brock, there is a blizzard coming most likely due to the increased activity we have stirred up. You need to bring Ash and Misty back to camp before things get any worse."
"Uh... about that..." I stuttered, unsure of what to say.
"What is it, Brock?"
"We have been... separated..." I said.
"You need to find them...and quickly too!" Professor Oak replied. "If you don't bring them back by nightfall, the blizzard will set in and the temperature will drop far below zero. I doubt that they will be able to survive those conditions."
"Subzero..." I repeated. "Got it. I will find them Professor, even if it kills me."
Without waiting for a response, I switch off the radio and began searching around for my friends.
I look towards the icy mountains off to my left.
"If Ash is smart, which I'm very doubtful..." I muttered to myself. "He would find Misty and take her to the safety of those mountains. Even though they do pose a risk, they can at least provide some protection from the wind."
With that in mind, I began to jog towards the nearest icy mountain, ignoring the pain that ran up and down my back.
"Please be safe, Ash..." I panted. "Please be alright, Misty..."
I shook my head, thinking about how horrible life would be without them.
"I will never forgive myself if you die because of my mistake."
I looked up at the sky, which had already begun to darken. Gray clouds began to form as the wind began to pick up. The air became colder and the wind got fiercer and worse. I wrapped my scarf more tightly around my neck and pressed on.
Snowflakes began to appear, swept along by the wind and melting into my parka.
"Please hang in there, guys." I mumbled, "I'm coming..."
The icy mountain loomed before me; its dark shape casting a shadow across my face. I looked around for any sign of Ash or Misty. But I couldn't find anything.
"Where are you, guys?" I sighed.
(Misty's POV)
My eyes creaked open. I saw a dark figure leaning over me...getting closer and closer to my face.
"Ash...?" I murmured
The figure jumped back as if it had seen a ghost.
"H-Hey..." It stuttered. "I'm glad you're awake, Misty. I was beginning to
worry about you."
I pushed my head up off the ground with my elbows. After managing to sit up, I rubbed my eyes and looked over at...Ash.
"Ash...?" I blinked. "What happened?"
"Long story short...that explosion buried you with snow and ice then Pikachu and I saved you." Ash grinned.
I raised one of my eyebrows, "That's it? You just saved me? Isn't there more to the story than just that?"
"Well, that's a long story," Ash replied, getting slightly annoyed.
"I'm not going anywhere," I crossed my arms.
"I will tell you all about it later, ok?" Ash didn't seem in the mood for an argument. Which was odd, since he ALWAYS seemed to be in the mood for an argument
"Where are we?" I asked, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. "It looks like we are in an-"
"Ice cave..." Ash smiled. "Yep, Pikachu found it."
"Hmm..." I rubbed my chin. "What were you doing when I was asleep?"
"Uh..." Ash became nervous. "Nothing!"
"Oh really...?" I tried to stand up but my legs were a bit too stiff. "I'm not buying it, Ash."
Ash looked around uncomfortably but didn't answer my question.
"Ash..." my eyes narrowed.
"Okay, okay...!" Ash threw up his hands. "I was going to try PCR on you!"
"WHAT?" I yelled.
"You wouldn't wake up! Even after Cyndaquil had thawed you, you still wouldn't wake up. I tried all sorts of things: tickling you, poking you, rubbing your face and hands...nothing worked!"
"It's CPR not PCR, you dolt!" I yelled, making another attempt to stand up.
"Besides, you don't give CPR to someone suffering from extreme cold exposure!"
"How am I supposed to know that?" Ash quipped, crossing his arms. "You should just be thankful that you're still alive!"
"Humph..." I closed my eyes and turned my face away. "I think you just wanted to take advantage of me."
"WHAT?" Ash's eyes bulged. "Whatever gave you that idea? I'm not like that!"
"I wouldn't put it past you." I gave him a weak smile.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash gave me a puzzled look.
"Pikapi..." Pikachu pulled on Ash's pant leg.
"Not now, Pikachu." Ash looked down at his friend briefly. "Can't you see I'm arguing with Misty right now?"
"PIKA...!" Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and pulled his ear.
"OW!" Ash glared at Pikachu, "What was that for?!"
Pikachu pointed over to the far side of the cave.
There stood before us a small heard of Mamoswine, with irritated looks on their faces. The biggest of the group, presumably the leader, walked up to Ash and bellowed.
"Pika pika, pikachu pi pi chu!" Pikachu said to Ash.
"Huh?" Ash looked over at the Mamoswine stupidly.
"Pika pika, pikachu pi pi chu!" Pikachu repeated.
Ash turned pale.
"What did he say?" I asked, pulling my legs underneath me.
"He said...that the Mamoswine wants to challenge me." Ash didn't turn to look at me.
"To what...?" I asked; a bit concerned.
"A...challenge of endurance..."
"What for...?" I snapped
"Because we are trespassing on their territory, that's what for!" Ash yelled back.
The Mamoswine took a few steps closer and Ash walked up to it.
"Um...Misty..." Ash gulped. "If anything happens to me..."
"ASH...!" A cold chill ran down my spine as the Mamoswine opened its mouth and attacked Ash with an Ice Beam.
Ash was thrown backwards and slammed his back against the side of the ice cave. I crawled over to him.
"Hey...Ash...can you hear me?" I call out to him.
Ash slowly opened his eyes.
"Ash...?" I called out again, taking hold of his shoulders.
"Huh?" his voice was weak and shaky
"Ash, please don't leave me. This isn't how it's supposed to be." I pleaded as desperation and panic was beginning to set in.
My eyes began to water and I let a single tear fall from my cheek and splatter on his face.
Ash's eyes began to close...
"ASH...!" I screamed, and began to shake him.
"Pikachu...pi!" Pikachu hopped over to Ash's side.
"No!" I cried out. "Please no..."
The Mamoswine leader nodded and walked back to its herd. The rest of the Mamoswine herd followed it back into the darkness of the inner corridors of the ice cave.
"Huh?" Ash mumbled. "What happened?"
I reached out and stroked his cheek with my right hand.
"Please, Ash...don't give up on me...don't give up on us." I said softly.
"Misty? Is that you?" He murmured as his eyes closed once again.
"Ash..." I laid my right hand on his chest, unsure of what to do.
--
Ambezua: I know. I switched POV quite a few times in this chapter. But I thought it would be necessary to show all the different things that are going on at the same time.
Ash: Fine with me!
Misty: That was a LONG chapter.
Brock: Tell me about it. I'm going to have to start demanding benefits!
Misty: You? Make demands?
Ash: Ha, Misty's right. If anyone is going to make any demands, it's the star of this story.
Misty: And who would that be?
Pikachu: Pika...pikachu!
Ash: Not you, Pikachu... ME!
Misty: (rolling her eyes) Right... How would you like to SEE stars?
Ash: I might, it depends on--(Ash's eyes grow larger)--wait a sec...
Misty: (clubs Ash with her mallet) Too slow, Pokemon Master...
Ash: (groan)
Ambezua: Anyway, I hope you all won't flame me too bad for my change of pace. Please R&R! Oh...and Misty...I need Ash for the next scene, so don't beat him up too badly.
Misty: Sure, I will finish him later.
Ash: Looking forward to it...
Brock: (shaking his head) You two...
Summary: Ash manages to crawl out of the snow alive. He radio's Misty's radio. Ash and Pikachu take her to an ice cave, where Ash begins to set up a camp for them.
Meanwhile, Brock hears from Professor Oak. He warns Brock that they must get back soon, as a blizzard is beginning to form. Brock tells him about Ash and Misty. Professor Oak replies sadly that they must be found in less than two days, if there is any hope of saving them.
Misty wakes up, and immediately jumps to conclusions. Ash and her argue for a bit, then find themselves surrounded by a heard of Mamoswine... One of their leaders challenges Ash. Ash manages to survive an Ice Beam attack from the head Mamoswine, earning their respect. Misty tends to Ash, desperately pleading for him to be okay...