Misty groaned as her alarm clock blared and her eyes fluttered open. Blindly, she extended her arm and rolled over, hitting nothing but an emptiness beside her. Realizing the occupant who had been there was gone, she curled her fingers into a fist and slammed it against the blankets.

As she pulled herself out of bed and threw on her robe, the previous night's events flashed through her mind. It'd started as one of their trivial arguments over wedding plans but had quickly snowballed into a full-out fight about how Ash never had time for them anytime. How it felt like ever since they got engaged, he'd been pulling away and how it was starting to seem as if they both wanted different things. She'd made an effort to follow the age-old advice of never going to bed angry, but Ash had made it very clear that it would not be the case when he laid out his sleeping bag in the spare bedroom and shut the door.

The smell of coffee dragged her from her bed, and for a moment, she hoped that she'd walk into the kitchen and that he'd be sitting at the kitchen table waiting to talk with her about last night. Instead, she found a half-full coffee pot and a note sitting beside it.

I'm sorry about last night. Let's talk when I get home, okay?

I love you, Mist

Ash

She tried to hold back, but a small smile graced her face as she poured herself a cup. Maybe not all was lost after all.

While she waited for her coffee to cool a little, she flipped on the TV and switched over to the local morning show. As usual, the hosts of the show prattled on about the weather forecast, local upcoming events in the area and the special guests they would be having on the show. Today's guest was a local actress whose film would be released at the end of the week.

"We're sorry for the interruption folks, but we have breaking news just in from the Indigo Plateau," the female host announced. Misty rolled her eyes in annoyance. More than likely, the breaking news was some scandal involving the Elite Four members or the officials of the Kanto league. "We've just received word that a bomb has just gone off at the Indigo Plateau. Much is still unknown about the situation, but our correspondent, Josh, is out in the field. Josh?"

Misty stared wide-eyed at the TV, her coffee spilled in a puddle all over the floor. The camera shifted to Josh, but Misty wasn't listening to anything he was saying. She didn't know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't massive clouds of black smoke billowing out of the Pokémon League tower. Emergency vehicles were already on the scene, but the firefighters and nearby water pokémon were clearly struggling with fighting the blazing fire.

A jolt of electricity coursed through Misty and she jumped back to life. She rushed to the bedroom and threw off the sheets and pillows as she searched frantically for her cell phone. Ash. She needed to get a hold of him. She needed to get a hold of him now.

The phone rang and rang and rang as Misty scrambled around her room, throwing on a t-shirt and the nearest pair of pants she could find. She called again, thinking maybe he was screening her call, but he still didn't answer. She left a voicemail, asking him to call her right away. Shit! she cursed as she tried for a third time to reach him only for it to ring and ring until his voicemail finally picked up.

Hi, you've reached Ash! I'm not here right now, but leave me a message and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can. Pika! Pika!

"Ash!" she yelled into the phone as she snatched her keys off the table and raced out the door. "I saw the news. I'm on my way, but please call me and let me know you're okay." Misty paused to bite her lip, gnawing so hard that she drew blood. "Please," she whispered into the phone. "I love you."

oOo

Misty leaped off her bike, the spokes still turning as she pushed her way through the crowd and closer to the pokémon League Tower. She lifted her shirt over her mouth to block out the toxic smoke that had engulfed the surrounding area and she could feel the blistering heat of the fire. Around her, officials barked out orders and sirens wailed as red and blue lights flashed. Paramedics raced past her with stretchers and oxygen masks, and firefighters in full gear carried axes and battering rams as they rushed into the building. She craned her neck to see if any of them were carrying Ash, but the possibility terrified her.

She tried to get closer, but a police officer stepped in front of her, extending his arms to prevent her from going any further. "Miss, this is a restricted area. I need you to leave immediately. It's not safe."

Misty moved to push past the officer, but he continued to block her path to the building and to Ash. For what felt like hours they danced around each other before the officer finally grabbed her waist and forced her away from the building. "Please!" she begged him, still continuing to try and break free. "My fiance's in there! I need to find him. He's not answering me. I need to know he's okay!"

"I'm sorry miss, but I can't let you through. It's very dangerous and the building could collapse any second."

By now, tears fell freely down her face, and although she could hear the sympathy in his words, the officer escorted her away from the building and over to where a crowd of bystanders had gathered. People stood huddled together with their eyes fixed on the horror in front of them. Some gripped tightly to each other while others closed their eyes and murmured prayers under their breath. Even surrounded by a crowd of people experiencing the same emotion as she was, Misty still felt alone. She pulled out her phone, praying she would have a missed call from Ash, but the screen remained blank. Dialing his number once more, she pressed the phone to her ear and listened. When the phone rang until his voicemail cut it off, Misty's body went stiff. When the phone beeped to prompt her to leave a voicemail she stayed silent.

Then, as her body slowly started to reanimate itself, gasps and screams assaulted her ears as Misty and the crowd of people surrounding her watched in horror as the pokémon League tower collapsed. Fiery debris fell from the sky and thick, black smoke raced toward the crowd. Pandemonium broke and Misty was knocked down and nearly trampled before some good samaritan pulled her to her feet. But as everyone raced away from the building, fleeing the falling debris and smoke, she raced toward it, caution tape and authorities be damned.

Under the cover of the smoke, Misty scaled the pile of rubble and fell to her knees before she began tearing away at the piles of concrete and stone. When her body grew tired, she pressed on, relying on the adrenaline coursing through her body. She cursed herself for being so careless and leaving her pokémon at home.

She was so focused on finding Ash that she didn't notice the pair of arms that wrapped themselves around her and pulled her away. Immediately, she fought back, screaming and flailing like a person gone mad. "Let me go! My fiance's in there! I have to find him. I'm not just going to let him die!"

No matter how hard she tried to fight back, her body had grown too weak to put up much of a long-term effort. Eventually, she gave in, instead, falling motionless as she let herself be dragged further from the tower and further from finding Ash.

She was placed in the back of an ambulance with a blanket thrown over her while someone else pressed an oxygen mask to her face. Around her, paramedics muttered something about how her body was in shock and that she may be suffering from smoke inhalation, but nothing they said mattered. Ash was missing, and while she refused to even consider it, he may never be found.

"Misty?" The familiar voice snapped her back to reality and she whipped her head around to see Brock racing toward her. He was dressed in scrubs and his stethoscope was hanging around his neck. The paramedics eyed him wearily, but when she seemed to indicate that she knew him, they stepped aside and let him pass. "Misty, what are you doing here? Are you okay?"
She opened her mouth to reply, but the words caught in her throat. Her stomach plummeted as it dawned on her that she may finally have to say the words she'd refused to say since she saw the news story. "I...Ash...he...he had a meeting today….at the league...and…." She couldn't finish, but that was all she needed to say for Brock to understand. Her friend's concern morphed into shock and his eyes watered as he fought back tears.

He reached forward and pulled her into a tight embrace. "He's okay," he muttered in her ear. "We'll find him, don't worry. He's okay. He's going to be okay." She could never know if Brock was right, but in that moment, his comforting embrace and words of confidence were just what she needed. Minutes passed as she sobbed into his shoulder and he gently stroked her hair, never letting go of her.