.

Grudge

"Monsters are real, ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."

–Stephen King, The Shining

It turned out that a few days relaxing on the beach and soaking in hot tubs was exactly what the doctor ordered. After having taken a dip in the ocean, Misty and Phoebe were lying on beach towels from the hotel, catching some rays—heavily sunscreened in Misty's case.

They'd spent the last week or so exploring the island and taking care of the last of the ghost requests, all surprisingly successful, though some were trickier than others. And as they worked time and time again, Misty began to think, as she had when she'd mediated the reunion between Ash and his Pokémon, that maybe she should have been doing it like that the whole time.

All that was intermittent with trips to the beach and the island's famed hot springs and a few other tourist attractions. Then, when Misty would get antsy, she'd go off to whichever part of the beach was least crowded—sometimes undocking the boat for just such a cause—and train her Pokémon. Phoebe had usually been happy to join. They'd had a few more Battles and Misty had even won once.

There was something about vacationing, though. All of Misty's bruises were healed and her skin looked healthier than it had back at the Gym. It had a bit more color to it and her vitamin D levels were probably the best they'd ever been. Misty couldn't even feel any lingering presence of her concussion.

Misty had also been spending more time with Ash and Pikachu. Quicker than Misty would have given them credit for, Ash and Pikachu were meandering around the island with Misty and Phoebe. Actually, it was harder for Misty and Phoebe than it was for him, because they were the ones who had to hold themselves back from drawing too much attention to the fact that they were talking to and spending time with invisible beings. But that was much easier to do with two people, who theoretically could be talking to each other, than one, so Phoebe had gone ahead encouraging the behavior.

In short, this was a life that Misty was content to live. As hesitant as she had been to join the tourist crowd, Misty was pleased to discover that everyone was just doing their own thing. She was a tourist, after all! Everyone was there on some sort of vacation or holiday that they were dead-set on enjoying, as Misty and Phoebe were. Although, said vacation was becoming longer than Misty had expected.

But now was not the time to worry about that. Rather, it was time for Misty to flip over so that her front didn't tan more than her back.

Then, out of the blue: "Have you ever thought about the mythos surrounding Banette?"

Misty cracked an eye open to see Phoebe still lying fully relaxed, her eyes closed and her arms folded beneath her head. She hadn't been worried about tanning or burning, so her skin was bare save for her suit, sarong cast off to the side.

"No, I haven't," Misty replied, her voice quiet as she closed her eye again. "Why?"

Misty knew why. Over the past week, Noir had made herself plenty known to Phoebe. Every once in a while, even during the day when they were out and about, Noir would peek in on them. Noir definitely thought that she was being sneaky, and to most, she was. But Phoebe was astute at noticing Noir, often spotting her with a slyly pursed lip and an arched eyebrow. Sometimes Misty only even noticed Noir's appearance via this smug look on Phoebe's face, finding it easier to take note of a moment of silence from the other girl than Noir's surreptitious appearances.

It was a little embarrassing, frankly, that Phoebe had such a good sense towards Noir when it should have been Misty, right? And if Misty was that mediocre at scouting Noir out, did that mean that Noir had been doing this kind of peeping in on her for years and Misty hadn't ever noticed? Probably.

Noir hardly ever stuck around, though. She never spent more time with them than she had their first night in the hotel room. As it was, she just popped in, as if to keep tabs on the two of them—or really four of them, since Ash and Pikachu hung around so often now—only ever staying for a chat at night, alone in their room, like Misty was used to. Phoebe rarely spoke with her, mostly because Noir showed little interest in doing so. It wasn't that Noir seemed to dislike Phoebe; if anything, Noir held more of a curiosity from a distance. And Phoebe echoed that by watching Noir silently with an implacable half-smile on her face every time she showed up.

Long story short: Noir had piqued Phoebe's interest.

"Just 'cause. So, do you know anything about it?"

"Nope. Didn't know they had a mythos."

"Well, they do," Phoebe said. "And it's pretty interesting."

"Okay, go for it."

"To start off with, Banette seem to come about one of two ways," Phoebe began, her voice low and calm with leisure as opposed to her usual high-energy squeal. "Either they evolve from a Shuppet—which is how I got mine—or they are formed from energy, never having gone through the Shuppet stage."

"Formed from energy?"

"Yes, negative energy. Some say that it's pure hatred, some say that it's a personal cursed energy. Either way, it's seen as bad. And this energy permeates a discarded doll, animating it as a Banette. So, I guess my question is: how did you first meet Noir?"

Misty furrowed her brow, moving an arm and resting her cheek on it. "Like if I remember if she was a Shuppet or a Banette?"

"Anything. Everything. I'm just curious."

"Well, I was about five…" Misty began slowly, trying to think the memory back into existence. "And she's definitely always been a Banette. I wouldn't have even known a Shuppet if it was staring me in the face before last week."

"So, do you think she's always been a Banette?"

Suddenly, Misty's eyes flew open, an image jogging into place. She pressed her arms into the towel, pushing her body up until she was sitting, staring forward.

Phoebe, hearing Misty's rustling, shifted as well, lifting her neck up and blearily opening an eye. "What's up?"

"Smoke," Misty stated, causing Phoebe to look wildly in all directions. "I remember smoke. I was playing with some dolls and then there was dark smoke. Around one of the dolls. And blood red eyes. And then Noir was here. And…and I think we had a tea party."

"Ah, so method number two," Phoebe reasoned, moving to lie back down. Then, a moment later, she shot back up, fully seated. "Whoa, wait, really? You saw a Banette manifest? Oh man, that's so cool. I would love to see that."

Misty frowned, still looking out at the ocean thoughtfully. "It doesn't sound like it's a good thing."

"Oh, I haven't even told you the half of it yet," Phoebe bubbled, lying down once again. "This hatred that fills them is supposedly born from a grudge. A grudge against the one who threw it away."

At that last part, Phoebe put her hands up and wriggled her fingers, trying to give her voice a spooky edge to it. Misty, however, was too distracted by the contents to be caught up in Phoebe's theatrics.

"Threw it away? I definitely was not playing with a doll from the garbage."

"Well, or discarded. Or forgotten. Whichever sad and lonely fate you want to subject it to. But what I don't understand," Phoebe continued, taking on a more serious tone, "is why Noir is then so fond of you. Because if she came from one of your dolls, then in theory you should be the one that she hates."

"I don't get it," Misty said, turning sharply to Phoebe. "You're talking about this like it's some old wives' tale, but you also seem to believe it. Is this real or is it just some superstition that you like?"

Phoebe was glib. Misty had learned that quickly. Don't take Phoebe too seriously, she's just acting on her whims. But this was Misty's best friend she was talking about, saying she was born from some evil energy. So Misty needed to take out her pro-grade weed whacker to cut through all of Phoebe's woolgathering.

"Have you ever heard a Pokémon myth that wasn't true?"

"I don't know," Misty snapped, her volume and pitch forced up by frustration. "I don't really keep track of that kind of thing."

"Well, I do," Phoebe stated. "And with Ghost Pokémon especially, they often end up being achingly true, at least to some degree. Banette's is one of the most interesting ones that I've come across, so, yeah. I believe it. So, I repeat: what's up with Noir? Did you have a forgotten doll or anything?"

The hot, angry feelings made the burning island sun feel like it was coalescing through some kind of prism focusing right on her face. Piercing straight through that was a sounding truth ringing around Phoebe's words.

"The doll wasn't mine," Misty realized, her eyes wide and her spine taut. "It belonged to my sisters."

Phoebe pointed excitedly at Misty. "That's it! Now, do you think that Noir harbors an all-consuming grudge towards your sisters?"

Misty thought carefully on the words for only a moment before her life flashed in rewind. Fast. Things that had always seemed so normal—a normal progression…or regression—between her and her sisters suddenly threw Misty into doubt. Those disconnected, severed relationships between Misty and her sisters…had they been natural? Or premeditated by Noir? Because the more she thought about it…

"Oh my God."

Finally, Phoebe was looking a little concerned. "Misty, are you alright?"

"Uh," Misty pulled her legs to her chest for a moment and then pushed herself to standing. "No, no, I don't think that I am. I think I need to take a walk."

"Oh, okay…" Phoebe said, sitting up and watching as Misty grabbed at her belongings. "I'll be here or at the hotel if you need me."

Misty nodded, but Phoebe's words poured like fine sand from her ears, only a few gritty bits sticking. She slipped on her clothes and tossed her backpack over one shoulder. Her feet began guiding her away from the beach before she remembered that that's where all of her least favorite things lay. The bustling tourism district was hardly the place for one to go to clear their mind. So, abruptly, she turned on her heel, sure that Phoebe was still watching her, and headed straight for the water.

She walked through all of the kids playing beach ball and adults sunbathing until their skin dried into leather. She walked until the water was up to her thighs, her flip-flops on all the while, slapping against her heels with the shuck that sloshed water between the rubber sole and the high arch of her foot. Then, with all her might, she heaved one of her PokéBalls into the water, making sure it landed past any of the people body surfing. Then she swam out in that direction, soaking through her clothes and everything in her bag.

Gyarados appeared out of the water, causing a great many shrieks to rise from the people on the beach. She climbed up Gyarados's thatched scales until she was settled on his back and then steered him forward and out further into the water, for the sake of the beach-goers. The many Water Pokémon further out in the surf rushed to split on either side of Gyarados, aware of where they lay on the food chain. For once, Misty didn't much notice them. She was going to get away. And, fortunately, in her time thus far on the island Misty had learned of a few places to do just that.

Misty had never ridden on Gyarados's back before. She'd climbed on him and messed around a little at the Gym, but never had she traveled like she was doing now. All she could do was hold on with all her might and remember that the water below was better than what was behind them.

They quickly covered miles as they coursed the perimeter of Cinnabar like Misty and Phoebe had been doing on the boat all week. They surfed in tandem with some of the island's Flying Pokémon—a Pelipper painted as a streak of blue and white here, a flying purple blur cut over there. The view of the island changed from beaches to buildings, to jungle, to the volcano before she gestured for Gyarados to begin heading inland.

A week ago, Misty had hated the volcano. The thought of it had been terrifying—a sheer opposite of what she had come to the island for. Since then, it had become the area most guaranteed to lend itself to seclusion—at least the part that wasn't taken over by tourists photographing themselves on the mountain.

But Misty and Phoebe had found many spots that seemed like they hadn't been traversed by humans for a long time. There were more wild Pokémon, mostly Grass Types from the jungle, but also a great many Rock and even Fire Types from the volcano. This was where Phoebe and Misty had fought their more obscure Battles with Ash and Pikachu. Pikachu had become the ultimate opponent against them, because he could see Ghosts when they went into second plane, but he didn't have a Type disadvantage towards them like a normal Ghost on Ghost Battle.

Now, Misty just needed their secret Battling spot to be alone. At a time like this, she would have liked to be with Noir, but Noir was currently the last soul in the world she wanted to see. Misty was used to being independent, had been for years. Or at least she'd thought so. But now, she just wanted someone to talk to. However, at the same time, she didn't want to talk about it at all. She just wanted someone because…

She didn't know. She just did.

Somewhere along the way, Misty had sat on a rock, warm in the afternoon sun. Her legs were folded up to her chest and she was holding them tightly, letting her chin rest between her knees. She didn't know how people usually did this whole 'calmly clearing their head' thing. Usually, Misty just got angry and yelled at her sisters but that wasn't an option here. Besides, she wasn't quite angry. She was more…numb.

"Misty?"

Misty looked up. She swept her bangs out of her eyes and Ash and Pikachu were before her.

"I tried to come from the front so I didn't sneak up this time."

"Thanks." Misty smiled, but it came across weakly and she knew it.

Ash cocked his head at Misty. "Everything okay?"

Misty shook her head. "No, it's really not."

Pikachu leapt from his perch on Ash's shoulder and crawled over to Misty, nuzzling against her leg. Misty smiled a little more and pulled him into her lap as she straightened out her legs. Ash squatted down beside them and grinned at her. "Oh, come on. It can't be that bad."

Misty almost scoffed as she scratched the top of Pikachu's head but she couldn't even manage that. "No, it's really that bad."

"Oh," Ash intoned as he moved to sit across from Misty. "Well, do you wanna talk about it?"

"No," Misty answered immediately. "I think I just want to be angry."

"Angry?"

"Yeah," Misty said, settling into the idea. Anger was invigorating. It had energy. "I wanna be mad."

"Okay then," Ash agreed—more readily than Misty would have expected. "Hit me."

Misty turned sharply to him. "What?"

"Hit me," Ash repeated, putting a fist to his abdomen.

As Pikachu snuggled contentedly in her lap, Misty realized that she was in the minority, being the only one out of the three of them who thought the idea was crazy.

"It won't hurt," Ash assured her. "Well, it will, but not much and it won't last."

Pikachu seemed to agree and hopped off Misty's lap just long enough to slap Ash across the face with his tail to emphasize the point. He landed easily and curled up again on Misty's thighs. Meanwhile, Ash rubbed his cheek but was still grinning.

"See?"

"You really want me to hit you?"

Ash shrugged. "If it'll make you feel better."

Misty focused, trying to work her emotions into a froth. Anger, anger—she could do this! It was messed up that she'd never known that Banette could form out of dark energy. It was messed up that any Pokémon could do that! It was messed up that none of this was her fault, yet she was the one stuck feeling crappy for it. That there wasn't a solution in sight that would make her feel better. It was all fucked up.

All the emotions pooled into Misty's fists, practically burning as they begged her to release some of the anguish inside. Her body was screaming at her to agree and, before she knew it, she was setting Pikachu on the ground and standing up, Ash eagerly hopping up after her.

"You better not be underestimating my strength," Misty warned as she prepared herself and took an offensive position.

Ash shifted his legs wide, one foot a little further in front to steady his stance. Pikachu scampered behind the back foot and held onto his calf to give a little more support. Ash then puffed out his chest and slapped himself in the ribs. "Give me your best shot."

Misty squeezed her fingers. "You asked for it."

Then Misty threw her right fist forward, heaving it into Ash's gut as he let it knock him back a bit, doubling over at the impact. He winced, but smiled, his voice coming out only a little choked as he said, "That was your best shot?"

Misty was falling for the taunt, but she couldn't help but give a little shout as she sent her arm forward again, this time hitting him more in the side.

"Come on! That was worse than the first one. Keep 'em coming!"

Before she knew it, Misty was unleashing a barrage of punches with both arms, pummeling Ash like he was a punching bag, and he stood there smiling and egging her on the whole time.

It wasn't long before Misty grew winded, taking a step back and surveying her handiwork. Ash was holding the spots she hit, rubbing the sections that would have formed bruises if his body were capable of sustaining any real damage. Pikachu climbed up to his shoulder and licked his cheek as though to kiss it better.

"Did I hurt you?" Misty huffed out.

"Nope, you punch like a girl."

Misty reared back, ready to have another go at it, this time aiming at his face, when Ash put his hands up in defeat.

"Just kidding. Believe me—you pack a punch a Hitmonchan would be jealous of."

"Chaa."

Misty nodded approvingly at both of them. "You bet I do."

"Do you feel better?"

It was a surprise to find that, indeed, something of the weight that had suddenly been piled upon her was now released. "I do. I'll keep this in mind as a grade A method of stress relief."

Pikachu began chattering something that made Ash laugh. "Pikachu says it works even better if you can shock me."

Misty laughed too, the rumbling of her chest shaking away a few more of those gummed up feelings until she felt almost human again. After they settled, Misty thought that Ash would then ask her what all that had been about. They had been sharing more the past few days, at least casually speaking, and so she'd come to expect a little more pry out of him. But he didn't say anything, instead looking content that he had helped her feel better.

Still, Misty felt compelled to at least volunteer something. "I'll tell you later. I just don't want to think about it yet."

Ash nodded. "Okay. Just call me later if you need anything."

Misty was about to agree before she quirked her eyebrows and asked: "Call you?"

"Yeah. Like just now."

Misty's face remained blank. "I don't understand what you mean."

Ash frowned, clearly neither understanding what the other was talking about. "Didn't you call me here?"

"No, I don't think so. You mean like how I call N…" Misty cut herself off. "You mean like how Phoebe and I can call Ghost Pokémon?"

"Yeah. I felt you calling me. Back on the boat when we were first coming here, too." Ash turned to Pikachu. "Didn't you?"

Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"Oh," was all Misty could say. "Well, I didn't mean to. Either time."

Although, now that she thought about it, she had been thinking about how she wished Ash, Pikachu, and Noir would show up before she left town. And just before this she'd been thinking about Ash and Pikachu and wanting someone to talk to. Was that all it took?

"Oh," Ash echoed, and Misty couldn't help but notice that he looked put out.

"But I'm glad you came."

The words spilled out before Misty realized it and wasn't surprised by their truth. Despite the dull pain in her fists from hitting Ash, she knew that everything else was better than it had been because Ash and Pikachu were there with her.

"Okay then," Ash said, his smile back. "Still, call me if you need me."

Misty nodded, albeit a little uncertainly. The idea seemed strange but, then again, a week ago the idea that she could 'call' anything had been completely foreign.

Then she changed her mind.

"Actually, why don't you come with me?" She gestured back to the coastline. "We're gonna be going on a trip, I think."

Ash raised his eyebrows. "A trip?"

Misty nodded. "Yeah. Let's go get Phoebe."

Another jaunt on Gyarados's back around the island came and went quickly. Not quick enough, as holding onto Gyarados—especially a second time—took a lot of muscle, even with Ash helping her out by holding on to her back. This time, to be kinder to beachgoers, she had Gyarados sink low into the water when they approached the beach and kept him far from the shore. Misty then released Staryu to ferry her back to the shallower part of the water.

Misty pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary—from her soaked clothes, to the ghosts that only she knew were walking behind her—as she tried to find where she had left Phoebe. An hour or so had passed but, lo and behold, Phoebe was still where Misty had left her, now leafing through a trashy magazine.

"You're back!" Phoebe exclaimed, skillfully ignoring Ash. Phoebe usually didn't put as much effort into that kind of ruse as Misty did, but she did try to stay subtle when they were in a populous spot. "You seem better?"

It was an observation and a question as Phoebe looked Misty over. Misty nodded. "Somewhat. I have a lot to think about but, first, I need something from you."

Phoebe looked more alert, as though she was ready to stand at attention. "Anything."

"I need you to get the boat so that we can go to Cerulean."

"Cerulean?" Phoebe asked. "Now?"

Misty nodded, her face somewhere between grave and fiercely determined. "Now."

Phoebe hesitated for a second, looking between Misty and Ash before she stood up and grabbed her stuff. "Let's hit the boat!"

They couldn't be quite as hasty as Misty had intended. For once, she was the one who was being impulsive and Phoebe had to rein her in. Before they could head to the boat, Phoebe led them to the hotel to check out and get their stuff. Then, without any remaining ties to the island, the four of them made their way to the boat.

"Okay, according to my map, we just cover Kanto's southern seaboard until we turn north," Phoebe began after starting the boat out of Cinnabar. "Then we can make it most of the way to Cerulean before the water gets too narrow for my boat. At that point we can just anchor it and use your Water Pokémon, yeah?"

Misty nodded, her arms crossed as she looked out at the ocean. "Yeah, sounds about right."

"Ash, you wanna be my second in command? You probably know Kanto's landscape better than anyone."

"Sounds good!"

After that, the boat fell to silence, save for the sound of the waves lapping against the side and the constant hum of its motor. Misty knew it was because of her, but she couldn't help her pervasive bad mood any more than the others could help being affected by it.

"You ready to tell us why we're going to Cerulean?" Ash asked hopefully as he, Pikachu, and Phoebe joined Misty against the boat's railing.

Misty could hear Phoebe opening her mouth to speak, but Misty said, "Not a word," before she got the chance to add anything. "I'm sure you think you've filled in the blanks, but you don't know what I'm actually feeling, so just give it a rest, okay?"

It was harsh. But Misty didn't need Phoebe spouting positivity to her or theories to Ash. Much as she was trying not to think about the situation, and much as taking out her anger on Ash had helped, her mind was growing jumbled again. And she didn't want to talk about it at all until she felt some of that control coming back.

"Actually," Phoebe said slowly, making Misty cringe, "I was just going to say that the clouds ahead are pretty dark. So we should be careful."

Misty glanced up and noticed that Phoebe was right. The cloud cover had come in quickly and it only grew darker as she looked on. It made the water foreboding—steely instead of glittering and lively. Hard and metallic instead of breakable by a lithe body and a perfect dive. But it didn't necessarily look like rain yet, and the air certainly didn't give off that telltale feeling of humidity that Misty was used to before a storm, so she wasn't too worried.

"We can always just head to the coast and dock for a while if it gets stormy out here," Misty suggested, just to put it out there. "Since we'll be traveling along it and all."

"Solid plan," Phoebe agreed as she headed back to the helm. "We're only a few hours off Fuchsia, so it should be fine."

Misty looked ahead at the clouds. They did not look like something she wanted to sail headlong into. But she needed to get to Cerulean before she lost her nerve. But that was why she was so willing to take on the threat of a storm. And, of course, it didn't matter to Ash or Pikachu. But this was Phoebe's boat. And she was surprisingly quiet.

"You're not worried?" Misty asked. She peeled herself away from the water and looked at Phoebe, who looked as insouciant as usual.

"I know we haven't known each other long, Misty. But I've never seen such desperate emotion in your eyes as I have today." She smiled blithely at Misty. "So, how could I say no?"

"But I'm being kind of…"

"Unreasonable? Sure. But that's okay sometimes. And we'll be paid back for going along with this when you give us the gift of sharing what's going on. I only feel bad because maybe I shouldn't have told you what I told you this afternoon."

Ash and Pikachu had taken a step back, but Misty had noticed them edging closer as she and Phoebe spoke.

"No, I needed to know. I…"

Misty looked between Ash, Pikachu, and Phoebe, their looks of curiosity and compassion breaking down her walls faster than she could make sense of. With a heavy sigh, Misty went over and picked up Pikachu for the sake of distraction.

"Noir has always hated my sisters," she started as she focused on Pikachu's coarse fur between her fingers. "I never really realized…I knew she favored me, but I never thought much beyond that. I thought that was only fair, because my sisters are ditzes and irresponsible. But that's what it is. She hates my sisters. And I never got along with my sisters but now…now I think that maybe Noir has been pushing me away from my sisters. Like we never even had a chance to become close after Noir came into my life."

Misty took her hand off of Pikachu, clenching it for a second just to let the tension and physical exertion of squeezing dissipate the anguish that was growing in her chest.

"My sisters are the only family I have. I could have been friends with them. Geez, I could have actually had friends if we'd been able to get along. But if Noir's been sabotaging this from the start, then…"

Misty couldn't do anything but shake her head, pulling Pikachu close to her chest in a hug, but mostly just so that she could hide her face against his. Abruptly, there was a touch of dampness on her cheek and for a moment she thought that she had let herself go and started crying. But the water was cold, drawing goosebumps to her flesh, and she looked up to notice that the sky had darkened considerably in just the last few minutes.

"This," Misty couldn't help but exclaim, thrusting a hand up at the clouds, "this is what my life has been because of her. Dark and suffocating and I just…I need to tell my sisters now. Everything."

Phoebe and Ash both looked shocked at Misty's revelation. "Are you serious?" Phoebe asked.

Misty held Pikachu closer as the wind picked up and started blowing through her sweater. "I've been living a lie long enough. They need to know why we've never gotten to be sisters."

"I'm sorry," Ash said, looking between Misty and Phoebe, "but I'm still not entirely sure what's going on here."

If Misty's hands had been free, she would have smacked herself on the forehead. "Right. Phoebe, you fill him in on what you told me before. I…don't really want to rehash it."

Phoebe gave a thumbs up. "You got it."

Purely for her own sanity, Misty walked back over to the railing, going back to stroking Pikachu. She started at the head and languidly covered the back until she got to his tail, which was too narrow and jagged to pet. The rain was picking up and, combined with the wind, covered Phoebe's voice completely, despite her being only a few meters away. The water was growing choppier by the second and the boat was beginning to rock beneath her. Not so much that it felt off-balance, but it was enough to be unsettling.

Then, all at once, the rain turned into a complete downpour, drenching Misty as it passed right through Pikachu's body and onto her. For a second, she thought about how strange it felt to be touching a dry Pikachu while her world melted to water, but before she could ponder that for long, the boat thrust to the side and Pikachu went flying out of her arms and overboard.

A shriek erupted from Misty's lips but only a second later, Pikachu floated back up, looking only a little surprised, but obviously no worse for wear. Misty quickly walked back to Phoebe and Ash, taking note of how slippery the floorboards now felt beneath her feet. "We're not going to make it to Fuchsia, are we?" she shouted above the gale.

Phoebe had both hands on the helm, grunting as she shouted, "Nope. We're on our own."

Misty noticed there was now a distinct layer of water at her feet, soaking through her sneakers. She cringed as a crack of thunder pierced the air.

"Uh, Phoebe? If there's thunder, then there's gotta be—"

"Lightning. And we're the only thing on the water."

The fact that they hadn't spotted the lightning meant that it hadn't been too close. But just moments later, a bolt of lightning tore violently through the dim clouds followed by an even louder thunderclap. "Is it too late to turn around?"

Ash, who had floated high in the sky to get a better vantage point came down and shook his head. "The storm's headed west. We'll have better luck making it through the storm than getting back to Cinnabar," he shouted.

Another flash of lightning and another thunderclap, this time right on top of it.

"We're in the middle of it!" Phoebe shouted as she gripped onto the helm with all her might.

Misty shivered, and not just because she was drenched and freezing. "And we might not make it out."

A/N: Dun dun DUNNNN! Jk, of course they're making it out. This fic is 51 chapters-ghost story or not, they're not dying at chapter 20. But how will they do it?

It's hard to believe that this fic has been in public for six years, and this chap is only coming out now, because this chap is...kind of the whole thing! This is the premise. And now you know! And I think now we realize that Misty is a bit of an unreliable narrator too, lol. I wonder if y'all will notice what things in the narration are "real" and what is just Misty's perception. I guess all narrators are unreliable in that way, though.

Tbh, the Cinnabar chaps are the cringiest part for me to reread, so I'm GLAD this is over. I remember liking the next chap! We'll see if that continues, haha. Hopefully you liked the bit of AAML in here. I'm not the shippiest writer, but I'm trying! I was actually better at it 6 years ago than I am now, lol.