.

Outta Here

"Death is not the end, but a transition. It is the beginning of a new chapter, not the end of the book."

–Peter Straub, Ghost Story

Phoebe and Misty checked the weather before leaving this time. Then there was a whirl of activity of Misty and the girls prepping the Gym for her absence—the way she should have the first time.

Daisy had followed Misty upstairs and Misty found the outfit she'd worn for her last adventure laid out on her bed beside her backpack. Misty took the pink cardigan in her hands and held it up. The soft blend had hardly been the smartest choice for traveling, but it had been the one thing to keep her warm on the chilly mornings March had offered her. She turned to Daisy.

"I stole this from you, didn't I?"

"Did you?" Daisy took the garment and held it in her hands. "Lily, Vi, and I, like, exchange clothes so much I have no idea what belongs to me and what's theirs. I didn't even notice it was gone."

"Well, you can have it back," Misty said. "I think I'm gonna go for something a little more waterproof this time."

She had a pale blue jacket that was more of a windbreaker than a raincoat. Then she slipped on some denim shorts and a white tank instead of her old camisole. Then, with her backpack swung on one shoulder, she was ready to go.

"Well, thank you, baby sister," Daisy said. "And you can borrow it anytime. You know, when you get back."

Misty smiled. It was a small thing, but sharing clothes was just another thing to bring her further into the fold with her sisters. Another thing that turned them from a threesome to a foursome.

"Alright, let's go," Daisy said.

As they headed back downstairs, final questions flew off Misty's lips. "Lily bought more Pecha Berries?"

"Yes."

"And Violet's ready to go to Rifure Village tomorrow for more Gym Badges?"

"Yes."

"And the ref is all set to come ba—oh wait, I did that one."

Daisy laughed. "Yes."

Once downstairs, Daisy surprised Misty by turning straight for the lobby.

"Oh, really?" Misty stalled. "I was actually gonna do one last pass through the Gym, I think the Pokémon could use another sna—"

"C'mon, little sister." Daisy snagged Misty's wrist—gently but firmly—and led her to the door.

When Daisy pulled her outside, their sisters, Phoebe, and Ash and Pikachu were all waiting for her. Phoebe even had her own meager belongings

"Wait…now?" Misty asked. "We're leaving right now?"

Phoebe was as steady as ever. She stepped out from the group, a smile on her face. "Yep. If you're ready. You haven't changed your mind, have you?"

Phoebe was playing mind games with her. Goading her—but Misty was grateful for it. It was just Phoebe's way of being supportive. So Misty smiled.

"Not at all. And, hey, if I change my mind about staying in a few days, then at least I went."

Phoebe's smile held for a few seconds before she let out a joyous sob. "Ugh, I'm so proud of you! Let's get this show on the road!"

"Right."

Misty took a deep breath and turned to look at her sisters. They were all wearing an expression of pride that she hadn't often seen. But she could recognize it immediately, so that didn't mean that they'd never looked at her that way before—it just meant that she didn't remember. So she stared hard at them, trying to save the image for posterity.

"Thanks for sacrificing your routine in order to take over mine. Not just now, but weeks ago when I left without warning. That was really sucky and I don't think I apologized for it before, so I'm doing it now."

"Thanks, baby sister," Lily said. "Unnecessary, but thanks."

Briefly, Misty wondered if she'd actually given her sisters the chance, actually given them warning and a true chance to say goodbye, things wouldn't have been something like this the first time around. It wouldn't have been exactly the same—the hard feelings still would have been there and perhaps a bit of teasing—but would they have been supportive? Would they have been happy for her at all?

"I'll make sure to call when I'm able to and I'll let you know that I'm settled as soon as I am," she said. "And I'll let you know if I need to come home."

"Like, you don't even have to do that, Misty," Violet said. "We'll be happy to see you no matter what."

"And, of course, there's one more thing, Misty."

Daisy took a step forward and handed a PokéBall to Misty.

"This is Noir's, obviously. In case anything happens, you should definitely hold onto it while you're away," Daisy said. "Noir, are you here?"

Misty was about to inform her that, no, Noir wasn't on second plane anywhere in the vicinity, but then, suddenly, she was. She appeared next to Misty's shoulder and then floated over to Daisy, looking at her curiously.

"Oh, good," Daisy said. "Noir, you take care of Misty, okay? We're trusting you."

Misty's heart warmed at that. Daisy wasn't only saying that she trusted Noir to watch out for Misty, but that she trusted her in general. To be a good influence and keep her promises. If Misty had been the sort, tears would have come to her eyes. Luckily, Phoebe seemed to have that covered, if her sniffling was anything to go by.

"And can we, like, assume that Ash is here too?" Lily asked. Ash stood up taller, surprised to hear his name called. "Same to you, Ash. Take care of her."

"I—I will," Ash stuttered. Misty smiled. He didn't know how to speak to anyone but her and Phoebe. Pikachu gave a little salute in agreement, which Phoebe explained for Misty's sisters.

"That's everything, then," Phoebe said. "Thanks for your hospitality, ladies. I'll make sure everyone in Hoenn hears about how great the Cerulean Gym is."

Misty's sisters bowed. "Thank you for taking such good care of our sister," Violet said.

"My pleasure!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Now let's get outta here before the sisterly love turns me into a Milcery puddle on the floor."

With that, Phoebe turned on her heel and headed out the automatic door. Misty sent one wave back to her sisters and followed, with Ash and Pikachu just behind.

For a moment, Misty was struck by how stupid they'd been to have not spent time every day on the boat.

Sure, being in Cerulean hadn't felt like vacation the way Cinnabar had, but they'd still had the boat, they'd still had water, and Misty had still had a love of both. There was no excuse for that kind of misplacement of priorities.

Aside from being poisoned, probably. Potential seasickness wouldn't have aided that particular ailment.

But now, she and Phoebe had a good few hours to spend on the boat and she was going to live in the moment for every second of it. Truly embodying Phoebe's core values.

Misty released Gyarados into the water once Cerulean began receding from sight and Phoebe turned the boat south. He'd be able to keep pace for a little while and this would likely be the best exercise he'd get for a while. They were going to travel south and then west along Kanto's coast until they reached Cherrygrove Bay. Then it would be time for a new adventure.

As soon as the boat was situated so that Phoebe didn't need to mind it every moment, she skipped over to Misty and gave a good: "Woo!"

"Woo!" Ash joined in.

"Pika!"

"What are we wooing?" Misty asked, a smile still on her face.

"Look at us!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Look where we are! Look what we're doing! Remember last time we were on this boat? Things were totally different—now we're, like, in polar opposite territory."

"Yeah, you're kinda right," Misty agreed.

"I'm totally right!" Phoebe corrected. "Noir, get over here!"

Noir floated over from where she'd been checking out the boat to Phoebe's flailing limbs.

"See? Noir's here!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Everything's changed! And it's all thanks to you, Misty!"

"I guess they have," Misty agreed.

"Nope! Your bar used to be here," Phoebe said, gesturing about a foot off the ground. "Just to the point where you could be agreeable and open to new things. Now, with both those missions accomplished, I'm raising your bar." Phoebe brought her hand far up above her head, stretching so that she was on her tiptoes and placing the bar as physically high as she possibly could. "Now some enthusiasm! Meet me up here, Misty! Woo!"

Misty rolled her eyes, about to fight back against the placement of that first bar when suddenly both of her arms were taken and she was being spun around.

Phoebe laughed. "Looks like Ash is ready to meet me at my level!"

"Of course he is!" Misty shouted as she struggled to keep her feet under her in Ash's strange dance. "You'd have to be able to fly for someone to meet you up in the stratosphere."

"Ash?" Phoebe prompted.

Next thing Misty knew, she was being lifted by her hands off the boat and into the sea-salted air.

"Ash!" Misty shouted. "You're going to dislocate my shoulders!"

A moment later, she was falling, only to be caught in his arms, one on her back, one under her knees. He was grinning at her.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Misty looked up at Ash for a moment. The smile he had on his face was so much bigger than the ones that he'd sported when they'd first met—she wasn't the only one who had changed. She'd seen him experience real moments of joy—more in the past few weeks than he'd probably experienced in the past thirty years. And, as grateful as Misty was that things were beginning to get sorted with her sisters, she thought maybe that look on Ash's face was the thing she was proudest of.

And then she realized she'd been looking at him for far too long and gave an annoyed groan, rolling out of his arms and landing unceremoniously on the ground.

"I want to enjoy my time on the boat," Misty said, adding extra grumble to her voice, "not over it."

"Ah, prepositions, prepositions," Phoebe waved away. "Anyways, how's about I teach you how to drive this thing?"

Misty's eyes lit up. "Yes, please!"

Misty did, in fact, end up spending a little more time over the boat. And next to it, riding on Gyarados with Ash as a spotter and Pikachu as a shoulder passenger. But most of the time was spent on the boat, either with Phoebe teaching her how to steer and maneuver or just enjoying the ride. She didn't go below deck once. Noir had hung out for a bit, enjoying the moments where she could fly beside Gyarados, but after a couple hours made herself scarce.

They must have been on the boat for five or six hours before Phoebe called out, "Landward ho!"

Misty was startled out of her most recent sunscreen reapplication session. There was still nothing but ocean in any direction. They'd decided to sail south of Cinnabar and hadn't seen any land since. But now, they were curving northwest and, sure enough, when Misty followed Phoebe's gaze, she could see the slightest sliver of land in the distance.

"I don't think that's Cherrygrove, but we should be coming up on it," Phoebe said, allowing Misty to grab hold of the wheel and steer toward the landmass.

"Oh…wow," Misty said.

"Feeling real?" Phoebe asked with a lopsided smile.

"Yeah," Misty said, looking wistfully at Phoebe.

Phoebe was a thorn in Misty's side, no doubt. But, really, the pain that Phoebe caused wasn't like that of a thorn. It was like her muscles the day after a good workout or the aches she'd gone through during her growth spurt at fourteen—uncomfortable at times but pointing towards a net gain.

"Don't get sad on me now!" Phoebe said, glomping onto Misty's side. "You won't be rid of me until the moment you're rid of me! And then you'll just be going to visit your friend, Brock."

"Are you going to try and make yourself hard to miss by being annoying?" Misty squeezed out, her lungs compressed by the surprising strength Phoebe held in her short arms.

Phoebe gasped, pulling away. "I would never! I wouldn't know how to be annoying if I tried!"

"…Right."

It wasn't long until Phoebe had to take over steering, gentle maneuvering them into the Cherrygrove Bay. The dock was a little further north than the city proper, providing Misty with a good view at the skyline. Despite being a port city, it wasn't that big. It was much smaller and shorter than Cerulean, at least at first glance. Misty had known that Johto had been much more rural than Kanto before the war, but she'd never seen it. She'd been to Johto before, of course, but conferences were always held in Goldenrod. Cherrygrove didn't even have a Gym—she'd certainly never been there before.

Gyarados had been returned a few hours back, so there was nothing practical for Misty to do but help Phoebe keep their eyes out for the dock. That wasn't enough to distract her from the nerves that were starting up. She hadn't felt any nerves when leaving the Gym, but had been impulsive—she hadn't had a plan beyond checking in on Brock.

"Cherrygrove is a cool place," Ash said, sneaking up behind her. "There's a stream that goes through the town where there are a lot of Quagsire."

"Really?" Misty asked, turning around to Ash with sparkling eyes. "Water Pokémon?"

"Yep!" Ash confirmed, equally excited. "They signify the water quality to the residents. And, of course, there's loads of other Pokémon too."

"That sounds amazing," Misty said, looking at the small city in a new light.

"Wanna see if there are any Pokémon swimming around us?"

Ash gestured to the side of the boat and Misty nodded eagerly, walking quickly over to the railing. First she just looked at the boat cutting through the water of the bay. The water was beautifully clear—a lovely blue-green. She was willing to guess that the water in Johto was cleaner than the water in Kanto, since they relied less on industry.

"Pika!"

"Oh yeah, over there!"

Pikachu and Ash pointed about halfway between the boat and the shore where there were a couple Tentacool bobbing by the surface. They were mostly submerged but easy to spot due to the red, gem-like circles on their heads.

Misty gasped, grabbing Ash's arm excitedly. "Tentacool are my favorite!"

"Really?" Ash asked, looking at Misty with a quirked brow. "Your favorite?"

"Yes, jerk," Misty replied, punching Ash in the bicep. "What's it to you?"

"Hey, it's nothing to me!" Ash defended. "I love all Pokémon!"

"Really?" Misty asked. "You don't have a favorite? Not even Pikachu?"

"Well, obviously this Pikachu is my favorite," Ash said, gesturing to Pikachu, who was batting his eyes at him. "But I'd like to think I like all species equally."

Misty shook her head at him, before realizing she was wasting precious time she could spend looking at a Tentacool. "Can't relate."

They spotted a few more Tentacool along the way and a couple Wingull flapping overhead. Misty was so thoroughly distracted by this that she was caught off guard when Phoebe shouted, "There's the harbor!"

They'd made it north of the city without Misty noticing. But when she brought her eyes up from the water, she could see the harbor and a number of boats both bigger and smaller than Phoebe's. And they were getting bigger every second. The minutes went quickly and the next thing Misty knew, they were up against the boardwalk and Misty was looking at Phoebe.

"Well, come on!" Phoebe said. "I wanna remember what land feels like!"

Phoebe ushered Misty off the boat and onto the dock. It wasn't the most solid ground that existed, but Phoebe still did a little tap dance on the planks before standing tall.

"A boat is so much more enjoyable when you're able to remember that it's not what the whole world feels like."

Misty looked longingly at the boat. "Can't relate." Oh, boat, her beloved. How she would miss it.

"Okay, Misty," Phoebe said, her voice settling into that steady, low place that it didn't belong in. "This is where we part ways."

"Don't you wanna come to the Pokémon Center? Maybe grab a bite or use the restroom?" Misty asked, hearing how absolutely beseeching her voice was.

"Eh, if I need to piddle I can always just lift a leg over the side of the boat," Phoebe said with a shrug. Misty almost would have thought she wasn't kidding if it weren't for the fact that Phoebe was absolutely not tall enough to do that.

Still, it made Misty laugh. A real laugh too, just managing to cover the melancholia.

"I have to keep going so that I can make it to Cianwood for a rest before continuing to Ever Grande," Phoebe explained. The two girls stared at each other for a moment more while Ash and Pikachu stayed behind. Then Phoebe outstretched her arms. "Okay, you're never gonna say goodbye, so it's going to have to be me. Goodbye, Misty. You're abso-flipping-lutely capable of anything."

"Oh, Phoebe…" Misty said, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl. "Can I call you?"

"Of course!" Phoebe said. "You can call me the minute I'm out of sight!"

"But you won't have a phone," Misty said with a laugh.

Phoebe pulled out of the hug and opened a PokéBall. Out came her Dusknoir, looking as steadfast as ever. "No, but you can always call this guy."

"You don't have to do that," Misty said. "I'm sure I'll be able to hold off until you're back in Hoenn."

Phoebe shrugged. "It's a gesture."

Then she headed back up to her boat, Dusknoir right behind her. Next thing Misty knew, Phoebe was back on deck, looking down at her and Ash.

"Hey, if you ever want to meet my sister, Lana, her urn is in my Elite Four arena!"

Misty laughed and shook her head, waving Phoebe away. "Get outta here!"

"If you insist!" Phoebe waved and headed for the bow of the boat. "Bye, Ash! Bye, Pikachu! Bye, Misty! I'll miss all of you!"

"We'll miss you too!" Ash shouted, waving her off.

"Pika pika!"

The two of them flew up to be more on Phoebe's level, then Ash doubled back down to grab Misty.

"Ash!" Misty squealed. "People might see me!"

"Do you really care?" Ash asked, softly.

If she said yes, Ash would release her and back off. No harm done. So, she smiled, raising an arm in the air to wave at Phoebe.

"No, I don't."

Even though Misty would have to head north eventually to make it to Violet City, there was no way she was going to skip out on going to the Pokémon Center. She had to pick up a map, call her sisters, call Brock, and call the Ecruteak Gym to inform them all that she'd landed safely in Cherrygrove. And, while she wouldn't be booking a room to sleep in, she definitely needed to wash the sea salt off of her skin, not to mention the many layers of sunscreen.

That all took little more than an hour. She didn't need to heal her Pokémon or grab any supplies in town, so it was just a pit stop and then she was on her way again.

Luckily, making it in and out of Cherrygrove was easy, since it was so small. No bigger up close than it had been on the water. It was nothing compared to Cerulean's or Cinnabar's tourist district or Viridian's downtown center. The closest to it in Kanto that Misty had seen was Pallet Town—Cherrygrove was hardly a city at all.

Once she'd reached the outskirts along the northern shore of the bay, she pulled out the map of Johto she'd picked up at the Center and looked at it, Ash over her shoulder.

"Well, it looks like the best ways to get to Violet are Routes 30 and 31 or Route 32," Misty said. "But between 30 and 31 is a cave."

"Yeah, that's Dark Cave," Ash said. "I remember that. That's serious business."

"Okay, Route 32 it is," Misty said, putting the map away.

"Off-roading!" Ash exclaimed. "Are you gonna ride Gyarados across the bay or walk around it to get there?"

"Eh, I just showered," Misty said, rubbing her soft and freshly sunscreened skin. "We'll just walk along the water."

"Okay."

Misty released Goldeen, Staryu, and Jellicent into the water, leaping back so as not to be drenched by the latter's new splash radius. Then they began northwest, the manicured scents of suburban life being replaced by brackish shore water and the mineral-rich rocks that the water lapped against. Once Cherrygrove was firmly out of sight, Noir reappeared, bobbing and weaving between the Water Types—Misty's own as well as the wild ones swimming by—whenever they leaped from the water. It looked like a good defensive technique Misty could try the next time they properly trained.

In a couple hours, Route 32 was right there. It could have been any route in Kanto, for all the trees and the thick section of well-trod grass. The familiarity nearly tricked Misty into feeling like a seasoned traveler—like this wasn't something she was impulsive for doing.

Misty pulled out her map again. Violet was close, but there was only an hour or so before sundown. Just like she'd planned.

"Okay, time to look for a good spot to set up camp," Misty said. "I'll look around here and you guys can search the area for Bugs while I grab firewood."

Everyone understood the seriousness of that charge, so Ash, Pikachu, and Noir flew through the trees, Noir in second plane, searching for any secret Metapod colonies or Beedrill hives that would necessitate camp being set up somewhere else. Unfamiliar with the Bugs of the Johto region, Misty didn't want a repeat of the Viridian Forest.

After the entomological all clear was given, Misty was stuck taking a few tries to get the fire started. Her fingertips were plumped from her elevated heart rate and she clumsily handled the pocket matchbook she'd packed. Finally, the match caught with a hiss, and Misty stoked the fire for a moment before unrolling her sleeping bag nearby. She wasn't going to cook tonight, only making do with a protein bar, but she'd still need the fire for warmth to sleep.

"Nette bay banette bay," Noir said, gesturing beyond the camp as Misty warmed her perpetually cold hands over the fire.

"Oh—of course, go have fun," Misty said. "Let me know if you see anything interesting."

Noir went off to explore. Usually she wouldn't ask before heading off on her own—and Misty had never expected her to. Misty would be going to sleep soon, and Noir didn't need to be around for that. But here she was, asking.

As her hands were finally beginning to heat through, Ash asked, "Um, is it okay for us to stay?"

"Of course," Misty replied immediately. "I mean, I'd appreciate you not watching me sleep, but aside from that."

"No, I more mean…is it okay for me and Pikachu to keep tagging along? With you?"

"What?" Misty's head jerked up. Ash was floating beside a tree, and his back had disappeared into it. He was looking down and Pikachu was floating around him, mouth downturned.

"Oh, just…I feel like I kind of assumed that I could come with you, but I didn't…I don't know, I should ask, right?"

It was absurd. Thoroughly absurd. Misty would have laughed if Ash didn't look so sullen.

"Ash, don't be an idiot," she said, taking a moment before she continued, because he needed to hear that. "Why would you think you're less welcome here than my house?"

"I don't know, I just…isn't it a bother always having me around?"

"Ash," Misty started, looking at Ash, searching for some sense of where this was coming from, "you've saved my life. A few times. And Pikachu got a Weedle away from me." Her eye twitched at that particular memory. "I think that you've more than earned your keep."

"Pi pi!" Pikachu agreed, flexing his muscles and looking victoriously at Ash. "Pika!"

"See, Pikachu agrees!" Misty said. "So where is all this coming from?"

"Well, you're just moving on to a new thing now and I don't want to, I dunno, be in your way!"

"I think it's pretty clear that you've been the opposite of that," Misty said. "We're friends."

"Yeah," Ash agreed half-heartedly, rubbing under his nose. "But what kind of business does a ghost have being friends with a human?"

"You are human, Ash."

Ash finally met Misty's constant gaze. His face was expressionless. "A dead human. Live humans and dead humans are practically different species."

Misty laughed lightly. "Ash, you don't have any DNA. I'm not sure that you're a species at all."

Ash threw his hands up into the air. "That's what I mean!"

"Do you want to stay?" Misty asked, voice suddenly climbing in pitch and volume. "You don't have to!"

"Do you want me to?" Ash shot back. "I don't want to be here because you owe it to me because I've helped you or because you feel sorry for me because I'm dead."

"I want you to!" Misty exclaimed, exasperated. "Dead or not, you're my second human friend after Brock. I've spent more continuous time with you than anyone else besides my sisters. You're the first ghost I've liked! What more can I say?"

Ash didn't have a direct response, which Misty hoped was a good sign. They hadn't fought since he'd brought Daniel and Fay back to speak with her that first time, so why in the world was he picking one with her?

"It's just, you and Phoebe became such good friends after only a few weeks. And Molly seemed to really like you—" Misty was about to interject, but Ash must have seen it, because he barreled forward, "—for the little bit you were together. You and your sisters have ten years of problems to work through and you're already getting better. And now you're about to meet more new people. You could be friends with any of them. But, in my state, I can only be friends with you. And that's not an insult! It's…I don't have options. But you do."

Misty was practiced at reconciling the fact that some people never see you how you see yourself. Her sisters had long seen her as a brat, first as a needy kid and then as a know-it-all teen, even though Misty had fought tooth and nail against those images. And here, nothing Ash was saying was false, exactly, but it didn't match that hard-won image Misty had built of herself. She'd never been the gregarious one, the one who made friends easily. She didn't have the friends to back that up. But, Misty wondered if, in some other universe, it could have been true.

"I would want to be friends with you if you were alive, Ash."

She stared at him, urging his eyes to come back up to hers from where they'd fallen to the ground, half dirt, half stubbed blades of grass.

He turned to her.

"If you were alive, and we met, I'd follow you for your enthusiasm about Pokémon. We'd talk every day about them. We'd be able to catch them and train them together. And we'd probably be best friends. And we can't have all of that right now, with the circumstances, but we can have most of it."

Ash was quiet for a moment, then his face broke into a smile. She didn't see ghosts smile that often, so his supernatural glow made it the brightest smile she'd ever seen. He floated over so that his legs were in the fire. If she were to reach out and touch him, she could either burn in fire, or be saved by his safe contact.

"Most of it sounds good," Ash said. "Really, really good."

A/N: Okay, this is where it gets crazy. Not for you, but for me, haha. This is the first chapter that's entirely second draft. Everything up till now was a combo of first and second draft (or just first draft) but this next arc is what I wanted to have inserted for pacing, and why it took me 7 years to get this fic out. And it was off to a rough start, haha, I cut the first 500 words of this chapter because it was awful, lol. Boring. Guess I was just getting my feet wet. I'm really interested to see how the rest of it flows, since it was all written in mostly 2020 or 2023, so you'd think it'd be better! We'll see!