A/N: Hey guys! Sorry that it's been a little while since my last update. I originally had planned to have this up a few days ago, but life got in the way. Well here it is, the start of part II. I hope that you guys enjoy.

I personally cannot wait for Friday for ORAS to come out.

Until next time,

Sarah

P.S. I went back and added chapter titled to part one.

Part II

Chapter One: Onward to Cerulean

"Ash Ketchum, did you get us lost again?"

Ash was looking at a map, terrified to look Misty in the eye. They had been in the Viridian Forest for two days at that point, unable to navigate to Pewter City. It echoed the first time that the two trekked through the dense forest. This time, however, they were older, although maybe not exactly wiser. Ash knew that there were no excuses this time—there had been no Team Rocket, samurais, or Beedrill to distract him. He was no longer a novice trainer. What it came down to was his poor sense of direction.

"You're not really lost if you on an adventure," he said with much chagrin.

"Oh I knew that I should have taken the map from the start!" Misty exclaimed in anguish. "Now we're lost again! Why do I even listen to you, you idiot?"

"Hey! I wasn't the one who decided to walk to Cerulean. We could have gone back with your sisters, but noooo. We had to take the long way."

"Well how exactly would we have gotten my bike in the back of Daisy's car?"

"You could have just left it."

"Left it!" Misty exclaimed. She had Ash by the collar and was in his face. "Do you remember how many years I had to wait for that bike?"

"All right, that's enough you two," said Brock, reprising his old role of mediator.

Since Pewter City was on the way to Cerulean City, Brock had decided to join the two budding lovebirds on part of their journey. After two days of hearing them squabble, Brock regretted not hitching a ride with Misty's sisters. According to Ash, they had been getting along in Pallet Town, but seeing them together made Brock skeptical. When they were not arguing, they were taking little teasing jabs at each other, which would then lead to another spout of bickering. He thought his days of preventing them from killing each other were well past him. Apparently, he had been wrong.

"You know I don't have to take this," said Misty. "I can find my way to Pewter City on my own. Come find me when you get there."

"Misty, wait!" Ash said as she stormed off.

He tried to stop her, but she ignored his pleads and continued walking. Ash would have followed her if Brock had not held him back, advising to give her some space to cool down. Ash did not understand why they had been fighting since they left Viridian. Misty still had her fiery temper, but it had not been until they got to the Viridian Forest that he received the full brunt of it. Old emotions were stirring inside him. Over the years, his desire to be the best had waned. With Misty by his side again, it was returning, causing Ash to wonder if it were all to impress her.

Ash sighed as the two men stopped to have some lunch. Brock's cooking had only gotten better, and Ash questioned if he was making the correct career choice. Pikachu was contently eating his Pokémon food, while Brock made them some sandwiches. The two ate as they discussed how Brock's studying was going. They were almost finished, but Misty had not returned.

"We should probably save some for her," Ash said.

"Since when do you give up food for Misty?" His friend asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well uhh…you see…" Ash stammered, not sure how to respond.

"No," said Brock in disbelief. "It can't be."

"What?"

"You like her."

"It's not like that," Ash said, waving his hands in defense. "She's been so nice to me lately that I thought I should do the same."

"Suuureee."

"Besides," he continued, ignoring Brock's comment. "Even if I did like her in that way, I wouldn't be ready for anything like that, not after…well you know."

"Ash, you can't let something like that get you down for too long," Brock said. "Look at me. They push me down, and I get right back up."

Ash was going to say that it was not quite the same when there was a high-pitched scream in the distance. The two paused their conversation. It did not take long to register what was happening. Misty was in trouble.

Wasting no time, Ash leapt to his feet, breaking into a run. Pikachu ran closely behind, and upon catching up with his trainer, jumped on his shoulder. It was his fault that she had wandered into the forest alone. If she were hurt, he would never forgive himself.

Ash dashed through the woods, following the sound of her whimpers. When approaching a clearing, Ash spotted her orange hair popping out of low bush. There was a large Beedrill attacking the bush with its stinger. Misty was doing her best to avoid the attacks. He quickly moved into action, knowing how scared she was.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Pikachuuu!" Pikachu shouted, sending the electric attack toward the Beedrill.

When Pikachu was finished, the Beedrill dropped to the ground, stunned. Ash rushed to the bush, Pikachu behind him. He parted the branches with his hands, looking for Misty. He found her crouched, holding her knees. She was hyperventilating with tears falling from her eyes. After all these years, she remained petrified of bugs. Ash had not seen her so upset.

"Mist…" he muttered before offering his hand to help her out into the open.

Still crying, she held his hand, and he gingerly pulled her out of the thicket. She stood rooted for a moment of brevity before throwing her arms around him, startling the young man. When he held her, he noted that she was trembling. Ash squeezed her tighter as she was racked with sobs.

"Ash! Misty!" Brock called to them, finally catching up to the scene.

He had briskly cleaned up camp before rushing in the direction Ash had headed. He had all of their bags in his arms. Brock dropped them down, panting. Being around those two was certainly exhausting, in more ways than one.

Ash could only acknowledge Brock with a silent nod. Misty continued to cling to her best friend, too terrified to release her grip. Brock raised an eyebrow at the pair, and Ash replied with a reproachful gaze, his cheeks reddening slightly. He stroked her hair, inhaling her scent. His heart was pounding from the incident. He had almost been too late. Any longer, and she would have been badly wounded for sure.

"I'm so sorry, Misty," he whispered in her ear. "I won't leave you alone like that ever again."

The three friends exited the Viridian Forest the following morning. Misty could remember a few times where she had been more relieved, one of which was the time inside the Pokémon Tower. That was a different type of relief, however. She was cheerful as they walked into Pewter City, tugging Ash along by his arm.

"Hurry up," she said to him. "We need to get to Brock's so we can have breakfast. I'm so hungry."

"What's so great about breakfast at Brock's house?" Ash asked.

"Who do you think he learned to cook from?" Misty replied. "His mother's food is even better than his."

"Ohh I get it," said Ash, breaking into a sprint. "Well then I'll meet you there."

"Hey!" Misty yelled, dashing after him. "I bet you don't even remember the way!"

"Wait up you two!" shouted Brock.

"Pikachu!"

"It's so nice to see Brock's friends again," Lola said as she plopped a plate of pancakes down in front of them.

The rest of Brock's family had already eaten. Lola was happy to make a second batch for the wary travelers. Even though Brock was well into his adulthood, his mother continued to spoil him, trying to make up for the time she had been gone. Forrest remained at the table, eager to talk to Ash about Pokémon.

"Ash I'm so sorry to hear about your—ow!" Lola began to say until Brock gave her a quick elbow in her ribs. "Is that any way to treat your mother?"

"Sorry to hear about what?" asked Misty.

"I don't know what she's talking about," said Ash, turning his attention to Forrest. "How are things at the gym?

"Great!" Forrest exclaimed. "I have some new rock Pokémon. Do you want to come to the gym after and see them?"

"Sure," said Ash, his old enthusiasm returning. "We can go right now if you want! I'll just take this stuff to go. C'mon Pikachu!"

"Pika!"

"Hang on a minute," Misty said, but it was too late. The two young men were already on their way out the door. She grumbled, taking a bite of her pancakes. She always was left behind by everyone. Her sisters did not include her at all, until recently. She had found happiness traveling with Ash and Brock, but as with everything in her life, that had been finite, a time that fluttered in and out of her life like Ash's Butterfree. If she were to tell him how she felt, even if he reciprocated them, how long would that last? He would grow tired of her in time, as did everyone else.

"Don't worry, Misty," Brock said, "We'll be back soon!"

"Not you too!" she called as he left as well.

Misty spent a great portion of her morning helping Lola around the house. Brock's mother insisted that she help with rearranging the furniture and redecorating. For the girl who had no interest in such activities, it was torture. Lola bored her with wallpaper patterns and new china sets. She sat there, wishing to be back in Cerulean, battling a challenger. When the boys returned from their escapade, she insisted to Ash that they should continue on their way. He was hesitant, wanting to spend some more time with Brock before they left, but eventually, thanks to Misty's pleads, agreed.

They said their goodbyes to Brock and his family before continuing on to Mt. Moon. The two strolled along the path in relative silence. Misty led the way for most of the afternoon. Ash went along at a much slower pace, observing her gate. She was wearing shorts and a yellow tank top similar to the clothes she wore in her youth. She had her long hair in her signature side ponytail. Ash stared at it as it swayed in the breeze. Although she was lovely no matter what she did, he would admit to himself that he preferred it down. Sensing his gaze penetrating her, she whipped her head around to see him. He pretended to be interested in some wild Rattata running by their feet, his cheeks bright pink.

As it the daylight was waning, they decided to set up camp for the night, exhausted by the events of the past few days. At dinner, Ash complained about Misty's cooking, saying that he missed Brock already. This led to another argument, and Ash immediately offering an apology, fearful that she would storm away again. He did not believe that he could handle coming to her rescue all of the time. She raised an eyebrow when he conceded the fight. She stammered her acceptance, and he was once again in her good graces. After cleaning up and extinguishing the fire, they rolled out their sleeping bags and settled for the night.

"Hey Ash," she said as they lay close to each other.

"Yeah?" he said, rolling onto his side to face her. He propped his head with one of his arms.

"I just wanted to say…never mind. You'll think I'm being silly."

"No go on."

"Um…thanks for saving me yesterday," she said sheepishly. Even in the dim moonlight, Ash could see the slight color in her cheeks.

"Don't worry about it. I feel bad that I was the reason you took off in the first place."

"I should have known better," she said. Ash was astounded that she admitted being wrong. He was still, allowing for her to continue. "I wasn't thinking. I got wrapped up in my emotions, and I forgot where I was…to be honest, I was on my way back when the Beedrill attacked me."

"I knew that you hated bugs, but I've never seen you so scared of them. How come?"

"I think it got worse because of the nightmares," she whispered.

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah," she said, her eyes moving from his face to the stars dancing in the clear sky. "They started not long after I left you and Brock. I would have these nightmares where I was lost in the forest. I tried to look for you, but then these bugs would start to chase me. It was always the same. I would run away, screaming for you to come and save me. It only ended when I would wake up. It used to be all the time, but now it only happens to me occasionally. I guess the worst part about yesterday was that it was almost like my nightmares were becoming real."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I had no idea."

"It's okay, Ash. There was nothing you could really do about it if I had told you, so there was no point putting that on you when you were so busy with your training. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

It should not have been that way, Ash believed. His guilt increased the more he learned about Misty's life without him. He should have fought to have her by his side. He thought that she would have been better off without him holding her back from her dreams. Yet, she had missed him as much as he missed her. He had been wrong to assume otherwise. They could have had so much time together, instead of their paths diverging. He would change their course, and make up for all the times he was not there for her. He decided it would start then. He scurried his sleeping bag with him inside over, so he was up against hers. He draped an arm over her, tugging her close to him, her head resting on his chest.

"Ash what are you doing?" Misty said, her heart thumping wildly.

"I won't let the bad dreams get you, promise. Now let's get some sleep. It's late."

It required some time for Misty to relax under his grip. She was touched by his sweet gestured. The years had matured the Pokémon trainer. Perhaps there was a chance that he would be in it for the long term. She would have to spend more time with him to be sure before she revealed her affections for the man. As she nestled against him, she knew that this was a start.

"So like what took you so long?" Daisy asked the two when they arrived at the gym the following afternoon.

"We got a bit side-tracked," said Misty as a flier hanging on the bulletin board behind her older sister distracted Ash.

"Um so when did you decide that I was going to be in one of your productions without asking me first?"

"What!" exclaimed Misty, snatching the paper from the board.

The flier had an old picture of Misty that had been used for the mermaid production done years ago. This time it promised of the return of the production, starring Misty Waterflower and Ash Ketchum. According to the flier, the production was slated to run in two weeks. Misty shot her sister a dirty look.

"What's the big deal? I'm not doing this again!"

"Aw come on Misty, you know that we're going to like start slowing down soon. This will give us one last boost before winter."

"Yeah, but why do I have to be the star again?" she whined.

"I hate to admit it," Daisy said. "You've actually become quite popular you know. The rest of us are getting older, and you're in your prime now. We got the idea when you told us that Ash was staying for a while. We thought that pairing you with a famous trainer like Ash would create a sold-out show for sure."

"I'm not that famous," Ash muttered, his face gaining a little more color.

"Give yourself more credit. What do you say? Will you do it?" Daisy asked with her hands clasped together.

"Oh I guess," he said. "It could be fun…as long as I battle with some cool water Pokémon like last time."

"It's a deal!" she exclaimed before turning to her younger sister. "So lil sis, what do you say?"

"Oh fine," Misty huffed, before stomping off. "C'mon Ash, I'll show you where your room is."

Ash trailed close behind her, excited for the first time in weeks. He was starting to become like his old self. There was an emotion stirring from his gut. It grew stronger when learning that he was going to star in a show with the girl in front of him. He was aware that the coming weeks were going to be interesting. For some unknown reason, he was elated, grinning, as s