Well guys, this is it. This is the final chapter of Poke Reunion, not including the epilogue. For those who might be wondering, yes, there will be an Ash/Leaf spin-off since I think I set a nice plot for the next story, tentatively called Love In A Hopeless Place. It might change, it might not. I wanted to thank you all for sticking with me but I'll save the emotional sappy stuff for next chapter which will be an epilogue. I really do hope you like this chapter because I put a lot of work into it and I think it turned out quite nicely. Of course ask me in a year and I'll tell you it sucks, but as of right now, I like it.
Now enough of my insistent rambling, and let's get on with this final chapter! Hope you enjoy!
~Deepika
Chapter 12: The Final Day pt 3
It was a long and treacherous run through the woods; especially in a nice dress and heels. But fashion was the last thing on Misty's mind as she, Leaf, and Pikachu all made their way to the clearing that no one had knew existed. The others had already begun the search for Gary while the two girls were going to confront Ash. It was a long shot, but Misty figured that if both she and Leaf were to try to reason with Ash, he would finally listen and leave them alone.
Misty had to pause and catch her breath as she and her two companions finally reached their destination. It was a beautiful clearing, and if Misty hadn't had anything else of importance on her mind, she might have stopped and taken the time to soak up all the good aura of the nature. There were a couple of shadows that passed through the trees and it didn't help if the whole clearing was pitch black. Leaf called out her Happiny and made it use flash so the whole forest was illuminated. The first thing that caught Misty's eyes were the speckles of blood on the grass. Bile rose up in her throat as she realized that there could only be one person whose blood could have been spilled that night. She knew Gary was strong, but Ash was not only strong, but crafty as well. He knew how to use pokemon combinations like no other and that fact alone scared her. Leaf looked just as speechless, terrified that her brother in spirit was in danger. A small whimper escaped Misty's lips as she furiously looked around the clearing in desperate hopes of finding either Ash or Gary.
"Misty? Don't worry, Gary's strong. If anything, I'm sure we can find some of his pokemon and they'll lead us to him, ok? No worries," Leaf tried to reassure her friend as the two girls were practically numb to the core. A rustle in the trees made Misty's ears perk up and a low growl to escape her throat. Pikachu scampered in front of the girls as if to offer them his protection. Leaf grasped the redhead's arm as she braced herself and said redhead for the possible danger that was about to approach them. The rustles got louder and louder until Pikachu called its name and Ash came running out of the forest and called out Pikachu's name in relief.
"Pikachu, there you are buddy!" Ash cried, relief coating his words. Pikachu growled and let the electricity spark in its cheeks and hopped back out of Ash's reach. Hurt flooded through the raven hair's eyes as his first and most loyal pokemon rejected him. "Hey, buddy, what's wrong?" Ash asked. Misty bristled at his words; how dare he act as if nothing had just happened? It was apparent that Ash hadn't realized that he and Pikachu weren't the only ones in the clearing. Misty glared dagger at his ignorant form and cleared her throat loudly. Ash's head shot up and his eyes immediately softened when he saw the redhead he had fallen in love with.
"Misty..." he whispered and stood up, completely ignoring Pikachu. "Misty, oh god, I really tried to help Gary, but those wild pokemon were too much. I had no idea they would go so wild, but I guess Gary wasn't strong enough to ward them off. I tried to help him, but he really got himself tied up in a knot. I'm sorry," Ash said and he once again ignored the fact that she was shaking and the tears pouring down Misty's face wasn't due to the fact that Gary was 'dead'.
"How dare you? It's bad enough that you're lying to me, but to scorn Gary's name when he was clearly taken advantage of by your own pokemon?" Misty took one look at Ash's shocked face and bitterly laughed. "Oh, so you didn't think that I wouldn't find out about how you lured Gary into the forest? That he had every intention of trying to make things right with you? That you completely ignored him and then instead asked your own pokemon, who had no idea who he was, and attack them? Shame on you Ash, how dare you stand here in front of me and act as if nothing happened?"
"I-I...but..." Ash stuttered, clearly taken aback by the force of her words. Leaf felt tears well up in her eyes. She felt her heart neatly break into two as she looked at the man that she loved. She was terrified of the man, terrified of how he was acting, and how lovesick he looked. How could she have ever fallen in love with a man like this? Someone who would willingly sabotage a perfectly good relationship just to rekindle something that he hadn't had the guts to admit it was extinguished? Misty took one look and Ash's blubbering face and scoffed.
"You disgust me Ashton Ketchum. You know, when we were younger, I used to look up to you, used to think that you were god. You were everything that I wanted to be, everything that I wanted in a man. I wanted you for the longest time and I was on cloud nine when I realized that you and I could be together forever, as cheesy as it sounds. But then you changed, you let your fame and your title get to you and you became this monster that I didn't recognize. Not many people know our secret, Ash, I know for a fact that even Leaf doesn't know. When she was helping me recover from what you did, she just thought it was a nasty breakup. Let's hope that when she does find out, she'll still like you. Because let me tell you something Ash; Leaf is probably the only one who actually likes you as a person right now, and you've given all of us a reason to hate you now," Misty ranted, her eyes blazing and her fists clenching. The way he was looking at her made her uncomfortable but she was beyond pissed with this monster of a man.
"Misty, why don't you understand that I love you, more than Gary could ever love you? What made you choose him over me? I've been with you longer; I've made you happier than any girl on this planet!" Ash cried and Misty felt like pulling her hair out in frustration.
"Do you not remember five years ago Ash? Does hitting me in a drunken stupor bring back any fond memories?" Misty spat sarcastically. Why was he acting like this? Was he so blindly 'in love' with her that he didn't remember what he did in the first place to send her away and right into Gary's arms? Leaf looked onto the conversation with horror chilling her whole body. She knew that Ash had done something bad, but she had never expecting him to become the abusive type that Misty was screaming about. When she had met him in the bar that one night, he had been a wreck and she had been pissed at Misty for the longest time, wondering why the redhead had left the raven haired pokemon master; well, it was no question now. "We had everything Ash! We had the perfect love story and you had to go and ruin it!"
"But Misty, I love you! Why can't that be enough for you? To forgive me for the things I know that I did wrong? Why are you punishing me for this?" Ash asked softly, not understanding Misty's words. Misty sighed in return, carefully choosing her words so he would understand and not blow up on her.
"Ash, you're in love with our past, not me. We had everything- you ruined it, but somehow, your brain is making it so you think that I did something. You have to understand that I've moved on with Gary now. You have to understand that there is no us anymore, and the sooner that you understand that, the sooner you will realize how incredibly stupid and immature you are acting. Gary has been nothing but sweet and supportive towards me and I'm thankful for that. Perhaps if you hadn't let all the fame and power get to your head, we could have had a nice future by now. We would have had a family by now. Why can't you accept that we're on two separate paths now? I love Gary; I'll love him now and I'll love him forever," Misty whispered softly. Ash shook with fury as he fingered his pokeball. Misty didn't notice this as she had her eyes trained on his shaking figure, but Leaf did and was about to call out to her when Ash called out Oshawott to use a deadly hydro pump directly on the redhead. Not knowing who the redhead was, the water pokemon unleashed it.
"Misty!" Leaf shrieked as Misty had a delayed reaction and couldn't react. "Leafeon, leaf storm, intercept that hydro pump and hurl it back to Oshawott!" Leaf cried. It all happened in a blur; Leafeon was suddenly out of her pokeball and was using leaf storm. The hydro pump coincided with the leaf storm creating a beautiful storm with the water swirling in it, making it seem like a water and leaf tornado. Pikachu had cleverly dived away and stood next to Leaf, standing tall and proud against his best friend and master.
Oshawott stood no chance against the deadly attack. Even if the water pokemon wasn't particularly weak against the leaf storm, Leaf's Leafeon was so strong that it could do a mighty amount of damage. The little otter pokemon fainted on contact, scratches covering its entire body. The three humans stood shell shocked as everything happened in a flash. Leaf was panting, the adrenaline having left her body and Ash and Misty were glaring daggers at each other. Misty finally gave up and exhaled softly. A little nudge at her feet. Misty looked down to see Umbreon beckoning its head for her to follow. She instantly recognized it as Gary's Umbreon and quickly hollered at Leaf, who nodded back to Misty, before going to follow Umbreon- Ash made no inclination to stop her.
Leaf stood where she was, her eyes trained on Ash's figure, making sure he wouldn't pull anymore tricks on her. Her eyes had turned a deadly green color and she felt a seed of hatred implant itself in her heart. This man had single handedly destroyed a woman while destroying every relationship he could have possibly had. Tears streamed out of her eyes and Leaf berated herself for ever falling in love with a man like this. She wasn't made for love; she would never have the happy future that all her friends had. There was no love left for her.
Ash stared at the woman in front of him, the woman who had helped him get through his darkest days. The look on her face made him want to go curl up in a ball and just hide away from her and everyone else. Leaf had been the only one to stick with him and for that, he would be forever thankful. But when she looked at him like he was the biggest monster on the planet, it sent a painful jolt through his heart. He didn't like her looking at him like that; like he was the biggest jerk on the planet. Which, admittedly, he was, but he wouldn't ever admit that out loud. Ash opened his mouth to say something but words wouldn't come out. Her piercing gaze was unnerving him and he didn't like that one bit. The other thing he didn't like was Pikachu standing beside Leaf, betrayal swimming in its gaze. Pikachu had never looked at him like that. Realization hit him; he had probably lost the trust and love with every person this planet including his first pokemon.
Misty, Vaporeon, and Umbreon ran through the forest, the two eevelutions leading the way. Umbreon had found Gary, and by the looks of it, it wasn't pretty. Worry surged through Misty and caused her to push herself harder than she had ever pushed herself before. Images of worst case scenarios flashed past her eyes and it took all of her to not fall down on the forest floor and just break down.
The acrid smell of blood was the first thing that hit her. Words were lodged in her throat as the two pokemon cringed. Tears welled in her eyes and Misty silently berated herself for crying so much. She was the strongest Waterflower of the four. She was the soon-to-be Mrs. Oak; she was the water mermaid. Taking a deep breath, Misty forced herself not to gag and followed the pungent smell. The pooled tears finally fell onto her chin and then her dress as she caught sight of her beloved fiancé.
He had clearly been tossed through the forest which was evident of the vine indents on his dress shirt, or what was left of it, at least. His clothes were torn to shreds and revealed the rest of the scars that were left by a brutal vine whip attack. His head rested on a log; at first, Misty didn't see anything wrong until she saw the pool of red surrounding his head and the dried blood that crusted on his forehead. The poor man was clearly knocked unconscious and was being attended to by his loyal pokemon. Arcanine had a guilty look on its face as he lay protectively by his master and let the flames warm his body. Aerodactyl was patrolling the sides while Blastoise and Electrive stood vigil and had their cannons and electrical sparks, respectively, ready to fire at any given moment. The pokemon all looked up as Misty, Vaporeon, and Umbreon approached them and they all braced for attack until they realized who it was. Not even a heartbeat passed as Misty rushed over to the love of her life.
He looked like he had lost a lot of blood and the pokemon had done everything they could to help him using their basic knowledge of healing. Misty knew that she had to get Gary to the hospital but there was no way she could carry him all on her own. She called out her pokemon who were caught up with everything after a few moments. Misty gently cradled Gary's head and felt for a pulse. It was faint, but present nonetheless, and she felt a surge of hope and relief wash over her body. It was then that Misty noticed that one pokemon hadn't been called out, whose pokeball was stored in the secret compartment of Gary's yin yang necklace. Pressing the center, there was a flash of blue and a confused Lucario appeared. After closing its eyes and reading everyone's mind and aura, it looked down to see Gary in Misty's arms.
Misty looked at the pokemon, the desperation in her eyes nearly unnerving the normally calm pokemon. "Lucario, please help us," Misty brokenly whispered; she could practically hear Gary's lifespan start to diminish and she couldn't lose him- not now, not ever. Lucario noticed the grave looks on his companions' faces and nodded.
Can you gather all of the pokemon together? Lucario asked in his telepathic voice. Misty jolted a little from the surprise intrusion of a stranger's voice in her head but shook it off.
"Yes. Are you going to teleport us?" she asked and Lucario bared his teeth in a smile. The pokemon listened to Lucario and gathered around Misty and Gary.
I am going to use my aura sphere which will encase you. Then I shall use my psychic powers to teleport you to the hospital. Is that all right mistress Misty? Lucario asked and Misty blushed at his formality.
"Just call me Misty, Lucario. And that would be perfect," she nodded solemnly. Lucario closed his eyes and held out his paws. Misty watched with awe as blue energy began to gather in his hands until he was holding a giant blue bubble that he put around them.
Imagine where you want to go to. I will read your mind and transport you there. Lucario instructed. Misty nodded and closed her eyes imagining the LaRousse hospital. Lucario scanned her mind for the image and then transported her.
Misty felt a whoosh whiz past her and it then hit her that she was floating invisibly in mid-air. The pokemon all looked around with undisguised awe and looked down upon LaRousse City, noticing that the people looked to like tiny ants to them. 'Hang on Gary; help is on the way,'
May closed her eyes as a dizzy spell overtook her. She thought she could hide it but when Drew looked at her with utmost concern, she shook her head. This was a disaster and it was all Ash's fault. Everything she had worked so hard on preparing, he had ruined in a few single hours. It just wasn't fair how Ash always got everything he wanted. Tears welled up in her eyes but she angrily brushed them away. Gary was missing and this was no time to be crying. A call on her Pokedex jolted her out of her thoughts. Seeing that it was Misty, May braced herself and beckoned her friends over to her.
"It's Misty," she said and she answered the Pokedex. "Hello? ...Misty, Misty, calm down, I can't understand a word you're saying! ...Gary's what...in the hospital? ...Where is he? Oh god, we'll be right over," May gasped as she called out Altaria. "Guys, Gary's in intensive care at LaRousse Hospital," May choked and Drew hopped up behind May on Altaria.
"We'll meet you guys there. Come on Altaria, let's go to the LaRousse Hospital," Drew commanded the pokemon he gave to May for her birthday. The blue and white pokemon crowed in response and took off.
The flight to the hospital was tense and scary. May had no idea how her two friends were doing, although Gary was the main concern in the current situation. This shouldn't be happening; they were all good people who had done nothing wrong to the world- hell, she had even saved it a couple of times. May felt a hand on her shoulder lightly caressing her skin and she leaned back into Drew's embrace as tears flooded and spilled from her eyes. Altaria landed at the hospital and May felt slightly awkward when she had to walk into the LaRousse Hospital in a fancy cocktail dress but when she remembered the situation, she immediately shook her head and walked in. Her footsteps faltered as she nearly collapsed in another dizzy spell. Drew caught her in time, his emerald eyes clouded with worry.
"May, since we're here..." he said but May glared at him in a way that had him shutting his mouth in a heartbeat.
"Gary is our main concern, I'm fine Drew," the brunette huffed, sending a steely glare in his direction. Drew glared in return but kept his mouth shut knowing that once May had something in mind, she wouldn't give it up. Finally giving up, he pulled his brunette love into him causing her to let out a small squeal and snuggle into his warm embrace. Drew rested his chin on the top of her head; he would find out what was wrong with his wife...but right now, Gary's life was in stake.
The constant beeping for torture for her ears and Misty felt like ripping her hair out of her head. Gary's face was scarred, bruised, and crusty with dried blood and the rest of his body wasn't better. His tux that he had grumbled about spending so much money on was ripped into tatters and when they had tried to remove the clothing, Misty had refused, not wanting her fiancé to go through any more pain than he had to, even if he was unconscious.
A sob ripped through her throat and for the second time in her short life, she felt helpless. The man she loved was gone, so close from being torn from the world that had been nothing but kind to him- why it had suddenly turned on him, she had no idea. The tears started to fall and she gasped a breath in as the line on the heart monitor went flat for a moment and then exhaled when it began to beep again. The light gleamed on her engagement ring and Misty felt like chucking it somewhere, the damn thing being a reminder of why Gary was in this mess in the first place.
The doctors had told her that his body had been treated like garbage and that he was lucky to have survived a fall that great. He had broken several bones in his body and his left leg may have sustained permanent damage. The man who had greatly valued his looks and body might disappear forever; the thought of an un-egotistical and un-prideful Gary shocked her to the core, but she knew that she should be happy he was still alive.
Everyone had come to visit her in the hospital room that the young redhead refused to leave, Leaf being one of the first ones. Tears had overtaken the brunette and with a shaky voice, Gary's soul sister had explained everything that had happened after she had gone to find Gary. May and Drew were next with May practically sobbing about how it was all her fault and Drew skillfully hiding his glassy eyes while mourning for his friend. A woozy Dawn and stoic Paul were next, followed by Soledad and Harley and then Marina and Jimmy. But no one seemed to make things better.
It was all Ash's fault and the bastard even had the nerve to come and visit her in the hospital in Gary's room. It had taken all of Misty not to get up and give the s.o.b the beating he deserved. Luckily for him, Professor Oak (senior) had shown up and given Ash the most disappointed and stern looks she had ever seen on the elder professor's face. Ash had immediately fallen silent and left the room, shame crossing his own face. And then Misty had one of the biggest mind blowing moments ever- Professor Oak had collapsed in the extra chair and broke down, crying more tears than she had ever seen a normal man cried. It's not like it wasn't unnecessary, but the fact that Gary had caused one of the strongest men she had ever known to be overcome by tears was just simply shocking. After some good persuasive arguments and even more convincing puppy eyes, Misty had finally gotten the older Oak to go to the hospital cafeteria and eat something.
"M-Mist?" His groan shook her out of her thoughts and caused the tears to resurface all over again. Misty sobbed freely as she grabbed his hand as gently as she could and hold his cold hand to her cheek relishing its increasing warmth. Simply overcome by her raging emotions, she leaned down and pressed her lips to his. All she could hear, feel, see, and smell was Gary; he overtook all rational thinking in her mind and her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest.
"Oh my god, oh my god," the redhead chanted as tears continued to pour down her eyes. Gary's eyes were foggy and confused, the only thing anchoring him to consciousness was the fact that the love of his life was here with him and her touch was sending electrical shocks down his spine. After blinking a few times and taking a deep breath, Gary started to focus on his surroundings. He realized that he was surrounded by a four white walled room and the constant beeping told him that he was in a hospital. The brunette looked up at his fiancé in question as she tried to get a hold of herself. She had let go of his hand so suddenly that it had actually begun to feel cold again.
The rational part of her mind began to work again and Misty scrambled for the glass of water sitting on the little side table. She held it up to his lips while gently caressing his head and Gary slowly sipped while relishing her touch. The last thing her remembered was getting hit by Venasaur's sleep powder and the rest was just black. When he finally had enough water he made a small noise that caused Misty to jerk and retreat back fully. The look in her eyes screamed right at him and he smiled with the energy he could muster to tell her that he was alright.
"Baby, what happened? It feels like that weekend in Goldenrod City all over again," Gary softly groaned, secretly begging for Misty's touch once more. A watery smile graced her quivering lips and her body trembled yet she unconsciously reached for Gary's hand and lightly stroked the top of his hand. Ten minutes later he was caught up and his face was horrified and hurt flooded his eyes. An overwhelming sense of betrayal passed through Gary's entire body as he tried to come to terms with the fact that his childhood best friend had, frankly, tried to kill him just to be with a girl. Granted, she was an extremely special girl, but all that trouble just for one person.
"Gary? Please forget about him; he isn't worth your thoughts," Misty's small voice trembled and Gary's scared face softened as he realized how hurt she probably was. The man she had once been in love with and the boy she had known for so long had betrayed her just as much as said man had betrayed him. A content sigh passed his lips and he painfully bent his head down to brush his lips over her hand.
"Fine Mist, you win, but one day we'll have to face the fact that Ash will always be part of our lives, some way or another," Gary conceded and resisted the urge to laugh as he saw his love pout. She gently pressed her lips to his. It quickly became heated and their fingers intertwined each other only for them to jump apart as the door burst open and ten people were anxiously waiting at the door having partially heard the whole conversation. A blush stained her cheeks as Misty tried to hide her face in Gary's hospital blanket. Gary's eyes twinkled with amusement and a wave of relief passed through every single one of the people in the hospital room. Leaf was the first one to run and engulf him in a hug that warmed everyone's heart and Gary met his grandfather's glassy eyes, admiration and love swirling in the older Oak's eyes. A laugh bubbled past his sealed lips and suddenly everyone was teary and laughing. Misty finally recollected herself and lifted her face off the smelly hospital blanket and as she looked around to her friends and family, she couldn't help but think that no matter what happened, what hardships they faced, everything would be alright.