Chapter 16: A Medley of Red and Blue

The doors to the gym swung open and thudded harshly against the walls. Normally this would've irked the redhead who stamped on through the opening, but it was she who had done it. And she could've cared less if the walls got a little marked up today. Not with all that was parading through her mind at the moment. She tugged a very meek looking Ash behind her. He knew this side of her. She wasn't just angry with him; she was furious, livid, and downright terrifying. She pulled him to the living room and slung him to the couch, where she stood imposingly over him with a glare that could've put her Gyarados' intimidation to shame. Even in that ravishing contest dress, Misty could come across as being the last thing he might ever see if he said something wrong.

For a few moments, her eyes just bore into his. Ash was unsure what she was doing, if she was just trying to unnerve him, or if she didn't have any idea of what to say. Truthfully, he was somewhat grateful, as he didn't know how he was going to answer any of her questions.

"So... how long have you two been together?"

Misty asked with question with such nonchalance and with such a tone that did not match her facial expression that the question was far more unnerving than he felt it should've been. Yet he managed to stutter out an answer, "About five months, I think."

"Hmph," Misty grunted, "And you planned to tell me, when?"

The intense gaze that Misty put forth only seemed to grow stronger with every second he delayed his answer. Yet the pressure only seemed to push him further and further away from being able to formulate any sort of response beyond the movements of a silent mouth. He could almost see the world falling apart and bursting into flames around him, and he knew he could blame no one but himself.

Growing increasingly frustrated with Ash's lack of response, but still managing to maintain her seemingly serene form of anger, she rephrased her question, "Did you ever plan to tell me?"

Finally, miracle or not, Ash managed to blurt out an answer, "Yes!"

Misty raised an eyebrow and muttered sarcastically, half to herself and half towards the man she was interrogating, "I guess I would've only found out by the time I got an invite to your wedding..."

Her words stung Ash deeply, more than he thought possible. The idea that he would've broke break the news to Misty in such a callous way sickened him and he hated that she he thought he would be so low. But he reminded himself that, either way, he lied to Misty; that in effect, he was just that bad a person. He wished he had been honest with her from the start. Had he been, perhaps none of this would've occurred and he would still at least have Dawn.

And then there's Dawn to think of...he mused. Suddenly the jab about a wedding seemed all the more painful when he realized that his future with Dawn was most certainly turned to dust. He hadn't even contemplated marrying the vibrant woman he loved so much. Now that the very possibility of it was gone before he had even had nary a thought on the subject tore at him from the inside out.

"So let's get a few things straight, Ash," Misty continued almost methodically. She was surprised she was reining in her emotions so well. Between the events of the day and all that been revealed to her, she felt she was close to a mental breakdown. But she was determined to stay strong. Part of it was habit. She hated looking weak in front of anyone; especially Ash. There was a time where she could talk to Brock about her problems, but ever since he graduated and became a Pokémon Doctor, his spare time became sparse. Thankfully, Dawn had come into her life, and she had someone she could confide in with her insecurities and problems.

Misty inwardly winced as Dawn crossed her mind. She too had betrayed the gym leader's trust, and that fact nearly broke her as much as Ash's actions had, if not more.

But the redhead cleared her head and began to speak once more, her tone steadily rising, "So, you didn't bother to tell me that you and Dawn are together, even after I told you how I felt about you! Even after I told you I'd wait for you. Did you plan to just lead me on?"

Ash's head lowered dejectedly as he shook it in denial to her sharp inquiry. He tried to raise it again, but couldn't look her in the eye so turned his head away as he answered her, "I wanted to tell you. But..."

"But what?" Misty urged, her patience already strained, and not improving at the preamble to his latest excuse.

He sighed and went on, "I just couldn't bear to tell you. I knew it would hurt you. And after your confession at the club, I didn't want to put you through more pain. Not with what you had to endure already."

Misty's scowl twitched, as though the anger on her face and pervading her mind wanted to seep away. He lied to her, but it was done with what the young man felt was the best of intentions. But still, she found it hard to let go of the fact that the two people she trusted most in the world had pulled the wool over her eyes. With that, her anger returned, and finally surfaced in full force.

"So! You think I couldn't handle it! That poor little Misty couldn't handle some bad news! Please! I've been dealing with bad news all my life! I basically had to look out for myself, and had to keep the gym in shape before I was even ten! My sisters could care less about raising me! So I left! Struck out on my own and made my own way! It was tough, but so was I!" she paused, and her eyes narrowed as her powerful stare grew tenfold, "Then you come into my life! You fried my bike! Drove me up the wall! Made me fall in love with you! Then I have to leave you because my sisters decided that their careers were more important than me! So here I am, my dream on hold while I carry on my family's obligation, counting away the days until I might get to see you again!" at last, her eyes lost their composure and tears began to form, streaking down her face. She turned away to hide it, wiping them away in an attempt to maintain her strong presence. But she knew it was a futile effort. So instead, she whipped around to face him once more and finished her rant, "Then, of course, I realized there was no way you could love me! Not after all those years of you treating me as nothing more than a friend! Then you come sailing back into my life with Dawn on your arm, you reject me, lie to me, and then I almost die!"

She heaved out a breath while Ash stared on, mouth agape and unable to muster a response. Not that she would've let him. She let out a final string of words against him, "So next time you think I can't handle something... think again. Against all I've been through, it's nothing."

Ash's finally managed to close his awed jaw, only to finally reopen it with a small but firm statement, "You've just given me every reason why I don't want to cause you any more pain."

Misty's left eyebrow raised in apparent confusion. She reviewed the small but poignant reply several times in her head, and realized that logically, his words made sense. She didn't agree, but it made sense.

She pushed out another deep breath, feeling some of her anger ebbing away, due both to exertion from her long-winded lecture, and from his retort. She told him, sternly, but with much less hostility, "I- ugh... I get why you did it. But if you really love me, like you say, you wouldn't lie to me. You would've told me either that you're in love with me, or that you're in love with Dawn."

Ash's brow furrowed as he cast his eyes to floor once again in apparent shame, "But I love you both."

The anger that had subsided quickly re-emerged and she growled, "No more lies, Ash. Whether you're lying to me, Dawn, or yourself, you are lying right now."

Ash's eyes took on a determined glint and finally, he was able to meet Misty's hard gaze and returned it in full force. She was mildly surprised by this, but even more by the conviction in the words that followed, "I am not lying about that. I would never lie about that. I love Dawn. I love you. I don't know how it's possible. If it weren't, it would make everything simpler. But all I know is that it's real. I love you both."

Misty's eyes grew wide as he finished. Ash spoke his last sentences with the raw dedication and purpose that he had always reserved for his declarations to become a Pokémon Master; perhaps more so. It was strange to hear such words ring from someone she had long since deemed to be romantically inept.

But her mind made a leap of logic and she instinctively lunged forth with a question, "Then why didn't you tell me so in the club when I laid my feelings out for you!?"

"I wasn't sure then..." his confident voice wavering and returning to more unsteady tones, "I know I felt something when you were about to kiss me... but I remembered Dawn. And I loved Dawn then and I still do now."

Her mind clicked and she mentally scolded herself, Of course he wouldn't cheat on Dawn. He might've felt something, but this is Ash we're talking about. Loyal to a fault... barring lying to me I suppose.

Again, her anger ebbed slightly. Between not wanting to hurt her and betraying his relationship with Dawn, he was in a tight spot. Part of Misty still wanted to simply be angry at Ash, but the more reasonable part of her recognized his dilemma. But she still didn't understand.

"How... how do you love me? After all this time, why now?" she asked, utterly perplexed.

Ash tried to open his mouth and gestured his arm as though he were about to speak. But no words came out. He tried this several times, but to no avail.

"Seriously? You say you love me but you can't even tell me how or why?" Misty inquired disbelievingly. She was beginning to doubt his declaration again.

Ash's fingers buried themselves into his tangled mess of black hair and he stood up for the first time in the entire conversation. He paced around trying to get the words he so desperately wanted to say, "I- ack! I don't know, Misty! I always thought of you as a friend! A really good friend! There were times on my journey I thought about you a lot. I always..." he paused for a moment and dug into his pants pocket and rifled through it with an almost panicked intensity. He sighed in relief when he happened across the keepsakes he sought and pulled them from their hiding spot, "I always needed to look at these to remember that everything would work out. That no matter how hard things got, at the end of the day, I could always call you and work it all out. That if I got beaten, that you could always point out something really obvious I was missing, or just... ugh."

Ash stuttered as he gripped the pair of objects in his hand tighter. Misty stared longingly at the items, like she was seeing a ghost or Togetic once again. In his hand was a pink handkerchief with yellow and red stitched designs; the very same object he gave Ash before she went her separate way from him. Wrapped within it was the lure of her younger likeness she had sent him whilst he challenged the battle frontier. Her heart couldn't decide whether or not to burst from her chest in shock or stop dead entirely from seeing him so attached to the sentimental pair of gifts.

"And this was all I had after you stopped taking my calls and answering my mail. It was the closest thing I had to seeing you or hearing you. I thought it was just because I really missed you, and wanted you to travel with me again. But after this week. I- I think it might be for a different reason," Ash rushed through his explanation, finally having gotten his thoughts straight.

But he was far from done, and Misty was so enraptured by the return of her mementos and his speech, she couldn't even conceive of interrupting him. So he continued, "Then I got to see you again. To be honest, I think it started with the battle we had. It reminded me of our journeys together and how much I missed being around you. Then we danced at the club, and I just saw you under the lights. You looked... really good. I don't know how else to say it."

Misty blushed slightly. Despite all that had happened, she had always wanted to hear him say something akin to that, and see her in a way that wasn't the innocent look he seemed to only regard her with in the old days.

"And then you told me that you loved me. And we were so close together. I felt this strange feeling. I wasn't sure what it was at first... but then I realized it was the exact same thing I felt with Dawn. And that actually scared me a bit."

Misty's face contorted slightly at this last tidbit of information and she grew indignant, "And what's so scary about loving me?"

"It's not like that, Misty!" Ash backpedaled, "I thought it meant that I was betraying Dawn! That's what scared me! And the fact I liked the feeling and actually kinda wished I let you kiss me only made me feel worse about it!"

Misty's face flickered with conflicting emotion. She admired Ash for having the integrity to remain loyal to Dawn, even through all the temptation and mixed feelings he was struggling with. As Dawn entered her mind once again, she couldn't help but feel dejected. Through all the feelings Ash had for her, his love for Dawn managed to stay his impulses. Misty realized, at that moment, Dawn was the true target of his affections, and as a result, she really began to doubt something she thought had become a certainty within in the last half an hour. She steeled herself for the worst possible answer and strongly, though calmly asked Ash, "Do you really love me then?"

Ash was taken aback by the direct question. Especially because he thought he had established that he did in fact love her. In his paralyzing pause, Misty seized the opportunity to speak once more, "I mean... if you really did love me, and had no doubts, you would've told me sooner. You would've let me kiss you. You wouldn't have let me suffer like that."

"Misty, I-," Ash tried to interject.

"No, Ash," Misty raised her hand, her voice dropping to near-whisper as she realized the reality of the situation, "Love means that you don't deceive one another. Love means that you treat me with respect and kindness. But what you've done shows me that you might really like me, maybe more than a friend. But it's not love."

Parts of her mind screamed at her to deny what she was saying, and what she was about to say. Deep down, she knew that now, she was the one lying, but her iron resolve, sadness and anger overrode the rest of her instincts and she continued lowly, "And because of that, I'm not sure if I really love you anymore."

Ash's heart felt like it plummeted into his stomach and was dissolving from the inside out. He never felt so wounded. It was as though he was struggling to hold on to a lifeline at sea, and it was suddenly cut, leaving him to float away into a stormy ocean. After he recovered from his shocked state, he protested, "Misty... please. You don't mean that! I really do-"

"Don't," Misty cautioned, anger seeping into her speech again, and a new torrent of tears streaming down her cheeks, "Don't lie to me anymore. Don't lie to yourself anymore. You need to look, and I mean really look deep inside yourself. Yes, I'm an important part of your life. I see that. But..." she paused and nearly broke then and there, "I've never really been the object of your affections. So if you really don't want to hurt me anymore; leave me and go back to Dawn."

She pointed towards the gym doors in the adjoining hall. Ash couldn't move. He didn't want to leave Misty the way she was right now. He didn't want to leave their friendship in tatters and he certainly didn't want her to be left with the idea that his love for her was nothing but a falsehood he somehow conjured.

Misty averted her eyes from Ash as she jabbed her finger towards the door again and yelled this time, "Go!"

Ash slowly hoisted himself from his spot on Misty's couch and mustered all of his willpower to comply with her wishes. He wanted to give her a parting hug, but she shot him a look of such pain wrapped in a veil of anger that he couldn't bear to approach her. He knew he was the cause of all of it, and that knowledge almost crippled him. As he finally turned his back to her and shuffled quietly towards the door, Misty finally managed to turn her gaze back to the man and stared. It was only when he was ready to grasp the door handle that Ash made his solemn reply.

"I know you still love me, Mist. I know I was wrong to lie, and I deserve whatever I have coming to me for it. But that doesn't change how we feel about one another. I'm not lying to anyone anymore, myself or you. I love you. And to be honest, now that I look back, I probably always did in my own naive way."

With that, Ash quickly pulled the doors of the gym open and strode out the doorway. As soon as he left, Misty sank slowly into the couch fell into a fit of sobs.

Dawn ran as fast as she could. It wasn't easy, considering that she was still in her fancy contest dress. Having overheard from one of the staff at the contest that Misty had literally towed Ash out of the building, she knew that the pair would end up at the gym so they could talk. She drew many strange looks from the people on the streets of Cerulean as sprinted in her outfit. But she hardly cared. Only two people were on her mind right now: Ash and Misty.

It wasn't long before she arrived, panting heavily from her exhausting jog that brought her to the doors of the building in Cerulean that had once brought her comfort and relief. Now the Gym stood before her as an imposing force, reminding her of the daunting task before her. She realized that she had come to cherish her relationship with Ash more than anything else in her life. She still loved coordinating, and wanted to become a Top Coordinator, just like her mother before her. She wanted to contribute to the world's beauty and wanted to show the world just what she and her Pokémon had to offer. She never envisioned anything becoming more important than that. That had all changed when she walked into her house in Twinleaf Town in the dead of winter and saw Ash sitting on her couch.

No, she wasn't about to let the man who had so handily won her heart slip away. As forbidding as those gym doors looked, Ash and Misty lay beyond them, and she was never one to back down from a challenge. Dawn steeled herself strode confidently towards the gym. Her mind was a mess, but she still managed to wrangle it together well enough to press on. She knew she needed to act now. She knew that in some way, clouded or not, Ash still loved her. She just needed to help him remember.

Dawn gingerly opened the door to the gym's entry and gently stepped inside. She may have been determined, but she wasn't about to make a racket. Though it may have been Misty she was contending with, she still respected her, and sincerely hoped that they would still be friends at the end of all this. Her soft-spoken footsteps pattered through the oddly quiet hallway that led to the living room. Dawn noticed just how eerily silent the building was and wondered if she had assumed wrongly that the pair came here to discuss the revelations thrust on them that day.

That was until she heard a sob.

Dawn's curiosity took over and she proceeded to the living room and found a redheaded woman lying on her side upon the couch. An immediate flashback overtook Dawn's mind as she realized that this was exactly how Misty found her after Ash flew off into the storm only days earlier. Misty had been so kind to her then. Her stomach knotted itself further when she also recalled that it was when she first had to lie to Misty about her relationship with Ash. This was not what she expected to find. She had fortified herself, filled herself with fire from Zoey's words, and was ready for a fight for the man she loved. Instead, all she found was a weeping Misty. For reasons she couldn't comprehend, Dawn found herself growing less concerned with winning Ash back in favour of mending fences with the distraught gym leader.

Dawn took a few steps forward and gave a soft call of her friend's name, "Misty?"

Misty's head turned from its spot imbedded in the pillows of the seat and she made eye contact with Dawn. Misty could see sympathy radiating from her aqua irises. Misty made a sound that combined a distressed whimper and a feral growl and turned back into the pillows, hiding her grief-stricken face from the blunette. This did not discourage Dawn, however, and she sat softly on the cushion that was only half-taken by the gym leader's curled legs.

"Misty, I-," Dawn began.

"Why are you here?"

Dawn was taken aback by the sudden, sharp question Misty launched at her moments after Dawn started to speak. Dawn composed herself once more and answered, "I think you know why, Misty."

Misty shuffled slightly in her position on the couch, the folds of her contest dress ruffling slightly at the movement before giving her gruff reply, "I'm not sure what to believe about you anymore Dawn, so you'd better just tell me straight."

Dawn knew this was the kind of response she was going to get. She had no illusions about the fact that she had wronged Misty. At the same time though, she hoped against all odds that she might get a gentler conversation from her best friend. She bowed her head and in a voice barely above a whisper she spoke out remorsefully, "I know I can't undo what I've done. I know my apology won't mean anything to you. But I am really sorry I lied to you. I'm sorry Ash lied to you. It was a mistake – my mistake – and you shouldn't blame Ash for it. I told him that keeping our relationship a secret after your confession, at least for a little while, would be for the best. We didn't want to-"

Dawn was about to continue but she was distracted from her train of thought by a movement on the couch next to her. Dawn shifted her gaze back to the redhead who now eyed her with a cold stare. Misty picked up where Dawn left off, "-Hurt me? Is that what you're going to say?"

Dawn paled for a moment at how easily she had been read and nodded in confirmation. Misty sighed heavily and let out in an exhausted tone, "Seems like neither of you have any confidence in me at all. Who can I trust now, if not my friends? Just my Pokémon, I guess."

Dawn realized what she meant. Being friends with Misty for years now, it dawned on her just how foolish the notion was that she needed to protect the older girl. The woman she had come to know was tough and proud, and certainly didn't need anyone betraying her trust to spare her any pain. Dawn didn't know why her first instinct was to lie to her best friend, but she had, and now she regretted with a shame that seemed to push all desire to reclaim Ash from her mind.

"At any rate, I know you're not here for me. You're here for him."

And just like that, Misty's harsh comment caused Ash to instantly surge back into her consciousness. But, unlike before, she couldn't see Misty as her competition for the raven-haired man. She was, in a sense, a victim of the combined emotions of all three of them. While Misty certainly had feelings for him, she hadn't done anything truly wrong, and she was suffering unjustly. Dawn wanted to offer support to the downtrodden redhead, but given the scenario, she didn't know if she even had to right to do so.

"Well, you're a few minutes too late, he's already gone," Misty finished.

"So... he really loves you?" Dawn inquired, trying to hide the worry in her voice.

The grim look Misty gave Dawn upon hearing the question clearly indicated that Dawn was unsuccessful. Yet, Misty struggled to give an answer, and settled for a vague retort, "No, not really."

Dawn's face screwed up into a confused look and she asked again, "Not really? What's that supposed to mean?"

Misty, for the first time since before her semi-final match that day, let out a chuckle, though it was hollow and lacked the vibrancy her laughter usually carried. Misty looked to the door down the hall which led out of the gym and her tone turned wistful, "You're the one in a relationship with him. You should know how emotionally dim he is," Misty let that comment sink in for a moment, and noticed that Dawn still wore an expression of bewilderment. So she continued, "I don't know how much better Ash has gotten better at reading and understanding emotions in romantic situations, but if you're his first girlfriend, I can't imagine he's that much better than he used to be. He says he loves both of us. I honestly doubt that's possible. If he really loved me... he wouldn't have lied to me. Even if it was your idea."

The wheels in Dawn's head began turning as she took in Misty's words. But still, she had a hard time believing that he didn't love Misty. As much as it pained her, Dawn knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was true. She countered Misty, "I think he really does... unless everything he's ever had with me is a lie."

"And how do you know it isn't? Didn't he lie to you about loving me just as he lied to me about being with you?"

Again, Dawn had to pause for a minute to think it over. Misty made a good point. The crushing sadness over the fact that Ash hid these feelings for Misty from her over the past week was overwhelming and it made her doubt everything Ash had given her in the last few months. Did Ash truly comprehend love? Was he so love-dumb that he mistook feelings that were similar to, but not actually love for the real thing? The very idea of either of those questions made Dawn almost queasy, and she decided not linger on them. She tried to focus on all the things that mattered between her and Ash. The way he spoke to her, the unconditional support, his romantic gestures, the way he made love to her, the look in his eyes when they met hers.

The look in his eyes.

That was all Dawn ever needed to know. It was what assured Dawn of his love for her, and at the same time confirmed a truth that Dawn wished she hadn't learned. It was that same longing gaze that set the whole day's calamity in motion that culminated in this moment.

"No Misty. He really does love you. I don't know how or when it happened, but he does."

Dawn's firm conclusion seemed to throw Misty off-balance for a moment before she asked the coordinator the all-important question, "How do you know that for sure?"

Dawn turned her head and finally met Misty's gaze. Sapphire orbs met sea-green as they intently focused on one another and Dawn spoke without hesitation, "The way his eyes speak. The way I saw him look at you today. There's no way that isn't true love."

There was a strange connection made in that moment. The words and gaze of Dawn combined and pierced deep into Misty's soul. Her heart and mind wrestled one another in an attempt to bring order to chaos that spread throughout her body. On one hand, she wanted so desperately to believe the man she wanted for years had finally developed feelings for her. On the other, the cold logic of reason stood as a bulwark, trying desperately to block it all out so that she wouldn't have to face what would inevitably come next.

Dawn could see the conflict in her face and body. Misty trembled apprehensively. As much as the redhead said she could take the pain, it wracked her body like nothing else before. The idea that she could be so close to having everything she wanted, but so close to losing it all in the end. Her mind pleaded with her to spare herself the pain of false hope.

But Misty couldn't. Not even if there was a ghost of a chance that he truly felt that way about her. She dove into her memories and scoured them for the signs she needed to confirm what Dawn was telling her. It didn't take her long to find it.

She flung herself back to the moments after her first round battle against the Mothim trainer earlier that day and remembered the embrace she shared with Ash. She took Dawn's words to heart and immediately focused on the point at which she found herself gazing into Ash's deep brown eyes and seeing a fire. At the time, the temperament of the flickering flame only served to confuse her, but given the new context of his situation, she realized that his love was all too real. He had to hold it back, but like a fire raging in a hearth, it was controlled yet still radiant.

The last vestiges of the wall that Misty built around her heart finally crumbled. The redhead took a deep breath, attempting to clear her mind and she croaked out the words she had wanted to hear herself say since this whole debacle began, "He really does love me."

Dawn nodded to Misty. The blunette knew she could've taken the easy way out. She could've let Misty believe that Ash didn't really love her, and easily claimed Ash. But she couldn't bear to lie to Misty anymore. She couldn't let Misty wallow in the shadow of despair created by the lies the gym leader surrounded herself with. She owed Misty at least that, and much more.

"But..."

Dawn raised her gaze to the gym leader once more as Misty's voice rung out into the once silent air that hung between them.

"... even if he does love me, I can't do anything about it. You're his girlfriend. He gave himself to you in a way that he never felt he could to me, or anyone else. You broke through that mental barrier that kept him from understanding romance in any sense. If you forged that kind of bond with him..." Misty paused, unsure of exactly how to conclude her statement, "If nothing else, that at least means you've earned him."

Misty's bleary-eyed statement struck Dawn in such a way that she couldn't possibly believe what she was hearing.

"I mean... I'm not going to take him from you Dawn. If our friendship means anything at this point, it's got to be at least that, right?"

Dawn continued to look upon Misty, a stunned expression plastered on her face. Dawn never conceived of her confrontation with Misty taking this turn. She had come in, expecting a fight, only to be disarmed by Misty's state. Then after all that, Misty was giving Ash to her freely. Even though this whole encounter was about a man that Misty had loved for a over a decade, she apparently treasured their friendship enough to let him go.

Dawn stuttered a few incoherent noises, trying to speak before her mind could straighten itself out. At last though, she forced out a simple question, "Why?"

"Hmm?" Misty cocked her head towards the flustered coordinator.

"Why would you be willing to do this for me? Why would you be so charitable after I was so horrible towards you? I lied to you, kept things from you, I-"

A small smile crept up on Misty's face and she raised a finger to interrupt the blue-haired woman. She began tentatively, "I love Ash. I may have doubted myself, even lied to myself about it. But, when I was at my lowest, you showed me what the truth of it was. This isn't the first time you've done this for me. You've helped me through some of my most trying ordeals since we've known each other. Time and time again I would call you, and you'd help me see things straight, help keep me positive when everything else around me was pushing me into despair. This week alone, even though you weren't honest with me, you were sincere in your efforts to make me happy. I know you lied to me. But you only did it because you really care for me."

"Misty..." Dawn breathed out in amazement.

"I don't care how much I love, Ash! I'm not sacrificing our friendship for it! Yeah, I'll be mad at you for a little while for you keeping something so big from me, but our friendship is just as important to me as Ash is!" Misty paused, her voice dropping from its former intensity and coming out as barely a whisper, "Just promise me you won't do it again. Promise that you'll tell me everything. Promise that you'll trust me to be strong enough, just like I trusted you with everything I've ever told you about my life."

Misty's passionate request touched Dawn's heart in such a way that she never thought someone other than Ash could. She found her hand unconsciously drifting towards Misty's and the two linked almost naturally. Misty noticed, but she accepted it without a second thought, relishing in the powerful bond the physical contact offered. Even though Dawn had come here to win Ash's heart, she found herself almost forgetting about him as she took in the sight of Misty, who had, in her eyes, surpassed even Ash in terms of sheer generosity. She couldn't refuse the woman, even if she wanted to. A tear slid down her face and Dawn spoke the only two words she knew she could give Misty in that moment.

"I promise."

As if propelled by the words themselves, Misty lunged forward onto Dawn and wrapped herself around the coordinator in a hug that made even Dawn's seem tame by comparison. The blunette reciprocated without hesitation, drinking in the warmth of Misty's gesture. Dawn found herself almost at a loss for thoughts, let alone words. This transcended friendship by and far, and she failed to find a word that described their bond in those moments. Gratitude, happiness and relief were just terms that seemed to fail to describe her feelings by several orders of magnitude. Yet, through all of it, a heavy sadness weighed on her mind and heart. She withdrew from Misty and looked at the gym leader's face, wet from tears, yet still carrying a small smile.

"Misty... I can't believe you would do this for me. But what about you?"

Misty let out a heavy breath and cast a solemn gaze to the doors of the gym that had been Ash's exit a while earlier.

"Like I said... you managed to get him to recognize what love is first. How you managed that... I'll never understand. But, since you were the one who did it, you two must have very powerful feelings for each other. I'm not going to come between that. I just wish I had found out how to do it back when I was traveling with him."

Dawn's heart felt like it was cracking within her chest. Seeing Misty like that was almost too much. She wanted to do or say something to repay Misty's kindness, but before she could say anything, the gym leader looked at her with a new resolve and told her strongly, "Let's go find Ash! I said some things I shouldn't have! And he should really be a part of these discussions!"

Before Dawn could even acknowledge this new task, she was towed upwards by Misty and dragged towards the double-doors marking the entry to the gym.

"Uh! Wait! Do you know where he went?" Dawn managed to question in a panicked tone.

Misty stopped dead in her tracks, and a look of sheer annoyance passed over her face. She had been so determined to find the man that she actually went ahead and nearly emulated Ash himself, acting without thinking.

"Er... no," Misty nervously admitted, earning an exasperated sigh from Dawn in the process.

But Misty's face lit up as she remembered something crucial, "But Pikachu is still here! He can find Ash!"

The two women detoured from the hall leading to the exit to the main battlefield pool, around which several of Dawn, Misty and Ash's Pokémon seemed to be engaged in a conversation. The mood seemed somber, and the girls had no doubt that the Pokémon likely had some idea of what was going on. Upon seeing the two humans enter the room, Pikachu ended his conversation with the circle of creatures and bounded up to them, letting out a concerned set of words, "Pikaka? Pikachupi?"

Misty let her small smile widen as she looked on Ash's first Pokémon. No matter how much Ash caused her frustration or heartache, she would always have a soft spot for that little yellow mouse. However, the look quickly faded as she realized what she needed to ask of Ash's partner, "Pikachu, I need you to help me find Ash. Can you sniff him out for me?"

Pikachu let out a determined cry of his name and immediate dove into the hallway from whence the girls came. He put his keen nose to the floor tiles and began eagerly sniffing, attempting to pick up the scent of his trainer and best friend. It didn't take him long before Pikachu picked up on Ash's trail.

"Pika-pika, Pikapi!" Pikachu called to the girls who eagerly pursued the electric-type. Pikachu, sprinting, but not so quickly as to outrun those whom he led, quickly burst from the gym, following the strong scent of the young man. Once more, two finely dressed young women ran through the streets, drawing more looks from all those they passed by. Pikachu guided them, occasionally stopping to confirm the scent and to pick up on it once more, whilst the girls caught up, almost having fallen behind due to their attire and the crowded streets. After making their way through the market district, they came upon the first major landmark on their journey.

"The contest hall!" Dawn exclaimed, dragging Misty along with her into the elaborate building while Pikachu continued on the course set by his sense of smell.

Pikachu led them onward through the now mostly vacant building. The contest had ended nearly two hours ago by the point, and only cleaning crews remained. However, the halls were filled with the new sounds of loud footfalls as the three of them tracked down the raven-haired trainer. At last, Pikachu stopped and perked up before a door not far from the coordinators' waiting room.

"The men's change-room," Misty commented dryly, "Of course. I forgot I dragged him back without letting him grab his normal clothes."

Without regard for the gender restriction of the room they were entering, they rushed into the room, only to find themselves disappointed at its apparent emptiness. No men, no Ash, and no luggage.

"He must've gotten it already and run off!" Dawn observed dejectedly.

Where would he go next then?" Misty pondered to herself quietly.

"Pikachu! Try and see if you find out where he went afterwards!" Dawn ordered Pikachu.

Despite not being his trainer, Pikachu eagerly complied with Dawn's instructions, and vacated the room to search for another scent trail.

"Oh no... I've done it again haven't I?" Misty fretted, wringing her hands together in nervousness.

Dawn watched as Misty paced back and forth, clearly distraught and filled with regret. The coordinator laid her hand on Misty's shoulder and halted the nearly-panicking gym leader. She soothed Misty, "No need to worry, Ash will be fine. We'll find him. Besides, I'm sure he knows that you didn't mean what you said."

"What if he goes on another crazy trip around the world for another four years! That isn't good for him! Me and my big mouth did it again! Because of me, he's going to abandon-"

"MISTY!" Dawn cried out forcefully, stopping Misty's self-critical rant before it could consume her, "We'll find him! We'll talk to him! Everything will be fine," Dawn let out a deep breath and embraced Misty, pulling her close in an attempt to comfort her. Misty, though initially on the verge of hyper-ventilating, began to calm down as Dawn's reassuring warmth spread throughout her body, she felt better. This wasn't the first time it had happened, and she was beginning to notice just how easily her anxieties fell away when the blunette was in her arms. Misty was unsure why this was happening, but she had begun to acknowledge the other woman as something greater than a friend, but what she was exactly, she couldn't yet say. Even with the lies and the ruse that Dawn had laid on her that week, Dawn had seemed genuinely repentant for her actions, and even seemed to take a greater interest in the gym leader's interests, regardless of how they clashed with her own. That, if nothing else, seemed to warrant some trust and comfort.

The coordinator continued with a calming voice, "We'll find him. Pikachu is with us. He'll find Ash. Ash won't leave without Pikachu or his other-"

Dawn's eyes shot open in realization and she looked up to Misty who seemed to have come to the exact same conclusion upon hearing Dawn's words. "His Pokémon are at the gym!" they both excitedly told one another in unison and quickly vacated the change room, making only a slight detour to grab their own previously forgotten clothes from the women's change room before striking out back into the now dusk-lit streets of Cerulean. Pikachu, pausing only for a moment to give the girls an incredulous look, followed those he once led, keeping pace with the two women who now seemed to know exactly where his trainer was.

For what had to be at least the third time that day, the doors of the gym slammed open unceremoniously. All three of them were exhausted, having run across the city twice in the span of less than an hour. Regardless, they refused to lower their pace, as they were eager to finally catch up to the man that had now driven them to run their pseudo-marathon.

"You check his room! I'll check the battlefield!" Misty instructed, already turning to her new destination. Dawn nodded in understanding and proceeded to the residence portion of the gym complex. Dawn, nearly tripping due to her formal footwear, hastily scrambled up the stairs and burst into Violet's room, where Ash had been allowed to stay for the duration of their visit.

To her horror, she found absolutely no evidence that Ash had even been there, save for the messy bed.

"No need to worry, no need to worry, no need to worry!" Dawn chanted to herself, trying to steady her jumbled thoughts as she repeated her mantra in an effort to maintain a cool head. Her pace, however, betrayed her nagging fears at the back of her mind as she quickly met up with Misty at the base of the stairs.

"His things are gone!" Dawn informed Misty with some apprehension.

"His Pokémon are gone too!" Misty added, a bit less collected than Dawn.

"Pikaka! Pikachupi!"

"Azu-Azumarill!"

The two young women found their attention drawn to this new attraction. Pikachu, followed by an overly frantic Azumarill, entered the living room and called out to the two humans. Pikachu motioned towards the small blue water-dweller, who held a folded piece of paper in his stubby little arms.

"What's this?" Misty inquired of her water-type, taking the paper as Azumarill eagerly thrust it towards her.

Misty unfurled it, finding a somewhat lengthy, if poorly handwritten, letter. Dawn, standing beside Misty as she unveiled the mystery object, immediately gasped and whispered to the redhead, "It's Ash! I'd recognize that writing anywhere!"

"Twelve years and it hasn't gotten any neater," Misty droned.

Well! What's it say?" Dawn urged, tempted to snatch the letter to read it herself.

Misty read it aloud for the two of them:

Hi Misty, and Dawn if you're there too,

I don't know where you two are. So I'm giving this to Azumarill. Since I don't know where either of you are, I guess I'll just have to hope that the two of you are still friends and that you'll let Dawn see this letter as well. If not, then I don't really have a backup plan so this won't work out too well. If nothing else, please tell Dawn what this letter says.

Anyways, I doubt that either of you are really happy with me right now, and I'm not sure if either of you want to see me, or speak to me for that matter. The fact is, I really hope you are, because I really need to clear the air. But first, I need to clear my own head. So I'm going to get some sleep, then take tomorrow to think long and hard about this. I'm not going to tell you where to find me, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't try right now. I think we all need the time to cool down.

But, I will tell you where to find me tomorrow evening. I will be waiting to speak to the both of you at the lighthouse on Cerulean Cape. I think talking to you both somewhere away from where all of this trouble has been happening might be helpful.

I hope both of you realize how much I care for you, and I don't want to hurt either of you. I really want both of you to be there so we can sort this all out. If nothing else, I still want us all to be friends. I don't know much about solving these kinds of problems, but I know I'm going to try my very best. I hope you will just give me a chance.

Please come,

Ash

P.S. Please bring Pikachu with you. I was actually kind of worried when I didn't see him at the gym, but then I realized he was probably with you.

Misty scowled at the letter and mumbled in annoyance, "How wonderfully cryptic of him."

"Well... at least we'll know where to go to see him," Dawn pointed out, trying to keep a positive atmosphere.

"Well... I'm not feeling very patient!" Misty cast a glance over to Pikachu and smiled broadly, "Thankfully, we have Pikachu. He can sniff out Ash again, since he was here recently!"

Pikachu looked suddenly conflicted; his ears folded down and let out a discontented whine. He, just as much as the girls, wanted to reunite with his trainer. At the same time, he also heard the letter and clearly remembered the portion that asked that he be left alone to think. Pikachu took a moment, then vehemently shook his head, denying the gym leader her request.

"What?! Oh come on, Pikachu! We really need your help!" Misty wailed.

Pikachu grunted his name out and turned his head from Misty, now clearly determined to honour his trainer's wishes. Dawn, of course, moved forward to Misty's side yet again and counseled her, "No need to worry, Misty. We'll get to see Ash tomorrow. For once, Ash seems to be right about something. Time is our friend here. We can sort this out after some well-earned rest."

Misty was about to protest, but then she looked on Dawn's reassuring face. The coordinator's shimmering blue eyes, soft smile and, given the situation, optimistic outlook, seemed to quell the tumultuous whirlpool of emotions still swirling in her. Misty's gaze softened and she let out a heavy, though relieving breath, "Ok... you're right. Thanks, Dawn."

"Let's get some food, then maybe we'll call it an early night. I'm sure we could use the extra rest," Dawn recommended with a small cheeriness in her voice.

Misty nodded and strode towards the kitchen, eager to satisfy the hunger that now seemed all too apparent to her after their physical excursions. Dawn watched Misty as she disappeared around the corner, and she couldn't help but wonder just how the older girl could be so hung up on talking to Ash, yet was willing to let her have the raven-haired trainer. Dawn had no doubt that Misty was sincere in her promise. So it only made her wonder just what had transpired before she had arrived at the gym earlier that afternoon. She could only guess, and hoped to find out when she, Misty and Ash would meet again at the lighthouse the next evening.

A/N: Hi everyone. I would like to take a moment to once again thank you all for your wonderful reviews and continued support of this story, and to also apologize for the large gap between updates recently. It's a busy time of year for me, and the delay was only compounded by how difficult I found this chapter to write (probably my biggest challenge to date, to be honest). I wrote four separate drafts for this chapter, trying to get it to feel exactly right. I'm honestly not sure if completely I'm satisfied with it, but I felt quite guilty for not updating in three weeks, so I decided I had to post this before I ended up writing another two drafts.

I thank you all for your tremendous patience and I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the ones to come. While I can't promise that I'll be able to stick to my regular schedule like I used to in my earlier updates, I'll try not to make you all wait another month.

Happy Holidays and Happy Reading,

Undercityrezident