This is the one hundred forty-sixth chapter in Pokemon Heroes. Important info at the end. Gary FINALLY returns, and Misty plays a big role in this chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the songs.

(Opening song)

Misty walked into the kitchen.

She took out a tray from the pantry and placed it on the counter. She also took out teacups, washed them, and then placed them on the tray.

She went over to the stove, with a teapot in her hand. She placed it on the fire, and after a few minutes, she saw water vapor escaping from the spout, and heard the whistle noise.

She stood there, just watching the steam go into the air, and then immediately disappear.

She hadn't been able to be herself for the past few weeks.

Ever since the day Gary entered Red City and attempted to kill a friend of hers, she hadn't been able to think of happy thoughts at all.

She could only think about whether or not HE was okay.

She knew that her uncle, Sephiroth, had been the one who changed Gary. When she spoke to him about it, he threatened to kill her. Ever since, it seemed that he had forgotten his raging outburst. He spoke to her normally. She didn't mind that. She still cooked, cleaned, and accepted missions that he gave to her. But she had noticed that Sephiroth had been giving her a bunch of missions, especially before or after he told Gary about something he wanted the boy to do. Even so, she does it faster than she's normally supposed to, just to get back before Gary. She didn't trust him in the cabin alone with her uncle anymore,

Sometimes she saw him returning with blood falling from the edge of his sword.

This gave her a chill, and she quickly snapped back into reality after she heard the teapot giving off a high pitched sound. She turned off the stove and took the teapot, pouring some of the hot tar into the teacups. When they were both filled, she placed the teapot away and held the tray on both sides.

She walked out of the kitchen, but stopped quickly before she bumped into Gary. She turned to him, and he glared at her before walking away.

She frowned, but then nodded.

"Wait for me, Gary. I'll bring you back."

Gary Strikes Again

While balancing the filled teacup on the tray, she walked carefully toward her uncle's study room. It was just around the corner, but she stopped after hearing faint voices.

"We shall proceed then."

That was her uncle, and he obviously was talking to Gary, since she and Gary were the only other people residing here.

"Where?" Gary asked.

"Within the Teakwook Forest. They are passing by there currently. It doesn't have much people or Pokemon there, so there won't be distractions. But the forest is heavily covered with trees. You can use that to your advantage."

"You're telling me to sneakingly kill them."

"Yes."

"Tch. Then how the hell do you expect this to be a fair fight?"

She heard her uncle sigh.

"We've already established this. You'll take care of Ketchum AFTER you take care of the princess."

"Do I leave now?"

"Go right ahead."

Misty peaked into the room, and she saw her uncle toss a scroll over to Gary.

"If you don't succeed, then that's fine. This is only a step on the staircase."

"I will succeed."

Gary stood and walked out of the room, not even acknowledging Misty.

She watched him walk down the hallway down to the door.

She already felt sweat coming down from her forehead.

"May. Ash."

"Misty!"

Misty straightened up and subconsciously entered the room at the call of her name. She walked over to her uncle's low table and placed the tray on it. Her uncle smiled and took his teacup, bringing the edge close to his mouth.

"Where is Gary going?"

Misty asked this question, but she knew full well what he was planning to do. Sephiroth stopped his movement and turned to her.

"He's going out on a simple mission. That's all."

"May I go with him?"

He took a drink and placed the cup on the tray.

"You may not. I've already got a mission for you."

"Uh-huh," Misty said, and her glare was centered at her uncle, who was looking down at a newspaper.

"There is a secret area within the Pinwheel Forest," he said. "I don't require you to go in. I just need you to take care of the guardians that are placed around it. I'll send Gary out to take care of that area later. You understand?"

"Yes. When do I head out?"

"Now."

"Alright."

Misty turned around and stepped halfway out of the room.

"Misty."

Her uncle's call stopped her. She did not turn back though.

"Be careful," he had said. It didn't sound worrisome. It sounded more like a warning.

"Alright," said Misty. She then walked out. She headed for the door to the outside. She opened it slowly and stepped out. She saw a portal just closing up near the entrance. When it was gone, she shut the door behind her and walked a little away from the door, but then stopped.

Her fist shook, and her heart was pounding against her chest.

"Like..." she said through her clenched teeth.

She then slammed her foot on the ground and raced into the forest.

"...hell I'd do that!"

She kept on running until she got to the shore of the island. She looked behind her, and she didn't see anybody nearby.

"Good."

She opened up her bag and took out a scroll. This scroll was made by her uncle, but Misty had taken it away the night he was resting after hearing her uncle mumble things about Ash. Right now, he thought he misplaced it and had made another to give to Gary.

If Gary was heading toward Teakwook Forest, then this scroll was going to send her there as well.

"There might be a chance it won't, but I just have to take my chances."

She opened it up, and from it opened up a black portal.

Without any hesitation, she jumped in.

While the portal closed up behind her, Sephiroth exited the forest. He watched it close, and then he sighed.

The portal opened up in a clearing within Teakwook Forest. Out came the spiky haired brunette carrying a sword strapped to his back.

Sephiroth had always opened up portals far away from the targeted spot in an isolated area, just so people wouldn't find anything suspicious about a boy exiting them. That meant that Gary's target was somewhere within the forest, and he'd have to go find them.

The portal closed up behind him. He closed his eyes and looked toward the sky. He stayed motionless for a while as the wind blew on him. He breathed in and out calmly, taking in every sound from the forest. He heard Pokemon scattering about, he heard something fall from a tree, and he heard the Pigeottos flying away. He stayed completely quiet.

Then, he heard a faint "pika" in the distance, and his eyes shot open, and he looked in that direction.

"Found you."

With his power, he raced at an amazing speed into the forest while covered in electricity. His mentor was true to his word, for the forest was heavily dense with trees and shrubs. There was hardly a path. He swiftly dodged trees and shrubs, and then he made a sudden stop. He jumped up into a tree and looked out from the leaves.

Finally, on a narrow path, he saw his target.

Ash was leading the group, followed by May, Dawn, and Brendan in the back. May seemed to be complaining about something, and Ash seemed to try his best at ignoring her. Brendan was rubbing his head as Dawn looked as if she was scolding him.

Even though his target was May, his focus was Ash.

He had made sure to cover his scent thanks to a fragrance Sephiroth gave him, so Pikachu couldn't detect him as the kids walked below the tree and continued on.

Gary was slowly placing his hand on the handle of the sword on his back.

Then, his senses were triggered, and he took out the sword to strike at what was coming at him, but he was too late after Misty had charged at his gut and they both tumbled down the tree.

They hit the ground hard, making noise. Gary quickly sat up and listened after hearing the kids stop.

"What was that?" Dawn asked.

"Probably a Pokemon," said Brendan. "Let's keep going."

The kids walked on, and Gary sat where he was for a few more minutes. Then, his glare turned to the girl on the ground beside him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" he said, trying his best to whisper. Misty sat up and rubbed her head.

"Stopping you."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm preventing you from killing innocent people for no reason."

"No reason?" said Gary, and he brought his face closer, making his glare have more of an effect on Misty.

"Didn't Sephiroth send you on a mission?" he asked.

"He did, but now I'm here."

They glared at each other, staying quiet. A long time had passed. They didn't say a word. They just stared.

Finally, Gary turned away and stood.

"You stay here."

"You're not going back to Ash and the others."

"And who are you to tell me that?"

"I'm telling you this because I care about you! You won't be satisfied by doing this."

"You better not get in the way," said Gary, and he proceeded to walk into the forest. "If you do, I won't hesitate if you get caught up in the crossfire."

He walked on, but he stopped immediately after hearing Misty's soft, calmed down voice.

"You don't have to do this. You don't have to walk this path the way my uncle is showing you. There are other ways. You still have time to change."

He paused, and then he walked in, and Misty was now standing alone. She was silent and still, and then she let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm lucky to still be alive."

She then turned serious and ran after Gary.

If he was so persistent in hurting them, then she'd be persistent in stopping him.

Gary was quickly trying to find the others again. It seemed that they had strayed off the path and were heading in a new direction.

"If only Misty hadn't interfered, I would've had this job done already."

He kept going until he got into a fork in the road. There was a narrow path left and right. The ground was completely covered in leaves, and many Pokemon walked past this area, so it was impossible to find them by tracking them down.

He took out a Pokeball and released Skarmory. The Pokemon screeched and extended its wings after being taken out of its Pokeball. It turned to Gary.

"Fly into the sky and report to me if you find any humans walking in this forest."

Skarmory nodded and soared up into the sky. As soon as it got up there though, a Scyther came from the forest and tackled Skarmory, sending the both of them down to the ground.

Gary looked on astonished, and then he quickly ran off in the direction of his Pokemon.

"Gary!"

He heard Misty calling out his name from behind.

Now his anger started reaching its peak.

"If she keeps yelling like that, that Aura Guardian will know I'm in the area!"

Misty must've been the one that released her newly caught Scyther to attack Skarmory. She was trying to sabotage his mission.

"Like hell!"

He finally got to the area the two Pokemon were in, battling it out while trying to get the other one down. He took out his sword.

"I warned her!"

He rushed to Scyther and delivered a high powered kick at its face, sending it deeper into the forest. Gary stood before his Skarmory, holding up his sword.

"Go. I'll take care of him."

Skarmory nodded, and it soared up into the air.

Scyther reacted quickly and used Air Slash to send sharp air at the Pokemon. Gary jumped and tore through the attack with his lightning covered blade. He then got on the ground and used lightning to launch him at Scyther. He elbowed it, and then delivered an uppercut within his lighting covered fist. This pushed Scyther back a little. Gary then moved and delivered lightning fast, lightning covered attacks at Scyther. Scyther couldn't try blocking or dodging him. Gary was just too fast.

Gary then moved behind Scyther and elbowed the Pokemon on the back of the head, sending it down forward. He then placed his hands together and released a surge of electricity on his arms over his head. He rammed the attack on Scyther's head, sending it to the ground hard, creating a large destructive wave that sent trees to the ground.

Gary got on the ground and looked at Scyther. The Pokemon struggled to speak, but then it stopped. It was now unconscious.

Gary looked around at the destruction he caused and groaned.

"They must've heard that."

He quickly ran into the forest. He had to find Ash and the others quickly before they exited the forest, or else he would fail his mission.

Gary's hand turned into a fist, shaking while staring at his Skarmory, unconscious, on the ground. It looked like it had gone into a battle, but it didn't seem too hurt. It was placed on a pile of leaves to make it comfortable.

"What kind of joke is this?!"

He knew that Misty must've been the one that had ONCE again sabotaged his mission. Without Skarmory, he would have an even difficult time finding Ash and the others.

"Pika."

He heard it once again, and his vision quickly turned to the source of the sound. Quickly, he created an electrical spear in his hand, and he tossed it in the direction of the sound, pushing and burning every tree that was in the area. A second later, an explosion was heard.

He quickly returned Skarmory and ran in that direction.

When he got there, he saw a whole spacious, blackened area. The trees were destroyed in the area, but there were no bodies. He had thrown it to strike the kids before they got any further, just so he could strike them down and get this done with quicker.

He looked around, and then a saw something burned in the distance. He walked over to it, and found a log on the ground, and when he flipped it over, a burned recording was attached to it, plus ears that resembled a Pikachu were attached to it as well.

"Gotcha!"

From the ground, a Psyduck broke from the burned leaves and raised its hands as its eyes turned purple. Gary had found himself rising up into the air, and his body wasn't listening to him. He was also covered in a purple aura. Psyduck was using Psychic.

Misty had now walked out from the forest with an angry look on her face.

"You should've been nicer to my Scyther," she said. "I was even nice enough to make a nice bed for your Skarmory. It was tough though. It took out my Gyarados, Starmie, and Staryu. Politoed barely beat it after it was weakened after battling. You should be thanking me for being nice."

Gary was only glaring at her, not saying a single word.

"Well...we're heading back to the island," Misty continued. "I know my uncle will be furious at me for disobeying his orders, but this was absolutely worth it. If it was worth to stop you, then I regret nothing."

Gary's teeth clenched, and then he began to speak.

"You..."

Misty's ears were all open.

"...just keep on finding ways to die."

A surge of lightning was released from his body all at once, causing Misty to cover her face with her arms. One bolt of electricity struck Psyduck, electrifying it to the point until it fell to the ground unconscious.

"Psyduck!" called out Misty.

Gary, who had now broken free, landed on the ground. Misty was about to notice him, but he had already appeared before her and took her by the collar. He rose her up into the air while holding on tightly, causing Misty to struggle at getting free from his grasp.

"Gary! Gary, let me down! Gary!"

His hand had went for his blade that was strapped to his back, and his fingers were tempted to grasp the handle and cut her down.

But something in the back of his mind forced him to think it over.

He quickly tossed Misty to the ground. She hit her head hard, causing a gash to form on her forehead as a stream of blood instantly came out. She touched her forehead to slow down the bleeding.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone!" yelled Gary as he turned to her. "This is my business, not yours. Stay the fuck out!"

"I can't just give up!" yelled Misty as she turned to him. "I won't stop until you quit doing this! I'm not going to allow you to do this! I'm going to help you change back!"

"You talk like you can save me."

"That's because I know I can," said Misty. "This is not you, and I'm going to make you realize it!"

Gary turned away from her.

"This is a path I chose," he said through his clenched teeth. "This is a path to help me get stronger! This is the only way to achieve that! After that, I'll-"

"You're just being a total dick!" yelled Misty. "You talk about being stronger, but all I'm seeing is senseless murders you're committing! You don't have to do this! You don't have to be this way! What would your grandfather think if he were to see you like this!?"

His eyes widened, and it slowly began to fill up with fury.

With a roar, a surge of electricity left his body, and it all headed for Misty.

It struck her, and she yelled out in pain before she was blown away toward a tree. She collided with the tree hard, and then she fell to the ground facing down. Her face was turned to Gary, and her eyes were open, but she was motionless.

Seeing her like that, Gary's furious face was replaced with horror.

He turned away and quickly ran into the forest.

He forced himself to believe she was unconscious.

She was, in fact, conscious but paralyzed. She wasn't paralyzed by the electricity that traveled within her. She was paralyzed with pain.

Every part of her body ached. She wanted to cry, but she didn't have time for it.

She started to rise up, but then she fell right back to the ground with her face buried within the burned leaves.

She heard footsteps nearing her. She believed it to be Gary.

"You really are one hell of an idiot, you know?"

Her eyes widened, for the person standing before her was her uncle, Sephiroth.

"He almost killed you," he continued. "You're lucky to even be alive right now. Well, that's what you get for interfering in the first place."

Misty hadn't spoken.

"I'm quite upset that you decided to willingly disobey me just so you help Gary, even when he didn't need your help. This was a big waste of your time and my time."

Misty's teeth were grinding against each other.

"You used to be a good girl, following orders and abiding by the rules. Now, you've just grown to become a nuisance. Tell me right now, why have you turned out this way?"

Misty refused to answer.

Sephiroth waited for her, and then sighed.

"I didn't need to hear your answer anyway."

He then went down on one knee to get closer to Misty.

"I'm not dumb," he said. "I saw you enter my room and steal that scroll. I've noticed your ways to prevent Gary from being alone with me. But you're wasting your time. Gary cannot be saved. The Gary you once knew that you could call your friend is no more. He is now someone who will do anything for power, no matter what's at stake. Your attempts to save him are foolish. Giving up now will only help you in the long run."

Misty's clenched fist hit the ground, and she used it to help her get her body up. Sephiroth watched, not stopping her in the slightest.

"Bullshit," he heard her say. "You just keep on spouting out bullshit."

She got to her legs getting up, but they wobbled about. Pain was still coursing through her body, but she endured it.

"There is still time to save Gary! You may think it's too late, but it isn't. I saw it with my own eyes! I saw that face he made after he struck me! It was fear, regret, and concern. He was worried that he might've killed me! The Gary you see is not like that! That's my Gary!"

She limped forward, heading in the direction Gary went.

Sephiroth stayed where he was, not turning to her.

"If he hurts you, don't be expecting me to be by your side."

"I'm not even counting on it."

Misty kept limping, and she finally got into the forest.

Sephiroth had said nothing.

Misty's body was still limping. Her body was in extreme pain, and her mind wasn't thinking clearly. She could fall at a drop of a dime. Her vision was getting hazy as well.

But the only thing that kept her going was Gary.

She was going to find him, and she was going to stop him.

She stopped after feeling the ground shake, forcing her to grab onto a tree. She then heard a large explosion, and from the area the explosion was from, she saw lightning and aura rise up into the sky, and then disappear.

Misty watched until the ground stopped shaking.

Her teeth were pushed tightly against each other, and her fingers held on to that tree tightly.

"I'm too late," she thought.

But this wasn't the end of it.

She pushed herself off the tree and limped quickly toward the battle, ignoring all the pain in her body.

(Ending song)

Next Time on Pokemon Heroes: On their way to leave Teakwook Forest, Ash and his friends are suddenly attacked by Gary. With no Misty to help them, Ash has to take this into his own hands, but how much does Gary have to act to make Ash believe he's really out for May's blood? How will this confrontation end, and what will Ash do about this problem with Gary? Next Time: Blissful Ignorance.

That was that chapter. Misty's attempts to help Gary is more and more difficult, but that doesn't stop her from trying.

I actually went on a haitus for Pokemon Heroes in December. I just didn't have the time for it. Now it's January (by the way, I hope you had a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!), and I have plenty of time. To apologize, I will post a chapter every two days. I did them, but I just didn't proofread them, and they were so sloppy that I couldn't post them.

Also, my profile is now updated and the main spotlight is May. A ton of interesting info is on there about Pokemon Heroes, so go check it out!

Read and Review please :-)

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