First, an announcement: I'm driving from Indiana to New Jersey tomorrow,
so don't be too surprised if I don't send a chapter that day. It depends
on when I wake up and how tired I am. Also, I am aware that the spelling
is atrocious in the first two paragraphs of this chapter. The reason
will be apparent.
At times, Ash and I might have appeared to be in love, even when we
were still kids, to the people we met vhen we were on good terms with
each other. At other tines, we would have seemed to be bitter rivals.
Ana at other times, we might have passed for brotler and sister. But
those who really knew us well all the time would have known that we were
just best friends. That was before Ash lost to Gary in the finals of the
Pokemon League Tourrament. The experience really sobered him up, anc he
looked to me for support during the first few weeks after his dream
died. During that time, the feelings of friendship we had for each other
blossomel into love...
Now, since Ash found the portal and brought the rest of us through,
we've saved each other's lives more times than I can count, and our love
onlv qrew each time one of us put our life on the line for the other. He
knew that I would always be there when he needed me, and he'd alwoys be
there for me. But the thought that I was the one to betray that mutual
trust...
I'm sorry if the above is difficult to read... my tears are making
the ink run and blurring some of the letters. I'm sitting up now, so the
tears are running down my burning cheeks instead of falling onto the
paper... Oh, how I wish Ash had never found that wretched portal! But
the purpose of writing this is not to wish the situation away; it is to
try to discover any important clue we might have missed, any indication
that it might not be too late...
POKEMON: The Portal - Chapter 4
I hadn't slept the night after Ash disappeared. I hadn't even
intended to go to bed, but Brock found me while I was combing the forest
a third time and forced me to give up my fruitless search. I hated Brock
at that moment, for having driven Ash away, even though it really hadn't
been his fault - Ash had taken one of Brock's comments the wrong way,
and the two of them had gotten to arguing. When Ash stormed out, I gave
him an hour or so to cool down and come back to forgive Brock, as he
always did. But when he'd failed to return, I'd begun to get worried,
and knew that something had to be wrong. No fight could ever be enough
to keep my beloved Ash away from me for that long.
When I came downstairs the next morning, it was all I could do to
stand up. I hadn't had the nerve to look in a mirror all morning,
knowing that I would have unsightly bags under my eyes and disgraceful
hair. When Brock saw me, he knew instantly that I hadn't slept, and
helped me get to the dining room table. He knew what love could do to a
person; if ever he was out late on a Pokemon hunt with Ash, his poor
wife would be in tears when he got home.
That morning, she was still asleep, and Brock didn't want to wake
her, and so he had cooked breakfast himself. I've always loved Brock's
cooking, but I don't remember what it was that he served me. In fact, I
probably didn't even notice. I ate without tasting the food, and ignored
Brock's questions entirely until he grabbed me roughly by the shoulders
and shook me. His strong grip hurt me, but I resisted the urge to cry.
"Misty, what's the matter with you? I know Ash has been gone a long
time, but tuning me out isn't going to help us find him. I'm trying to
figure out where he might be, so help me out, OK?"
I weakly nodded. "I searched all of the places where he usually goes
when he's upset. He wasn't at any of them. And he never stays away
overnight without telling me, no matter how angry he is. I just know
that something horrible has happened to him."
Brock put his arm over my shoulders to comfort me. "Ash can take
care of himself. He's a great Pokemon trainer, remember? I know he'll be
back soon." I took Brock's hand in mine and squeezed it tightly, and he
squeezed back. He wasn't quite Ash, but he was a true friend when I
needed him to be. Before I knew what I was doing, my face was buried in
his chest, and I was crying.
I don't know how long I cried like that, but when I looked up,
Brock's wife was sitting across the table from us, not saying a word.
Her face was a bizarre combination of jealousy, because Brock was paying
attention to me and not to her; and sympathy, because she knew what I
was going through. She'd been in my place many times during her
courtship with Brock, and that had only lasted a short time.
Brock had first met Suzy in her salon on Scissor Street while he was
traveling with Ash and me. He'd always been a ladies' man, but he was
all business with Suzy, the greatest Pokemon breeder in the world. He'd
asked Suzy to take him on as her pupil, but when Team Rocket kidnapped
me and Suzy aided the rescue effort, Brock's skill at handling Pokemon
convinced her that she still had a lot to learn. Suzy left on her own
Pokemon journey, entrusting her precious Vulpix to Brock for
safekeeping.
Several years later, we met Suzy again, and she and Brock spent
months studying each other's methods and learning how to improve their
techniques together. As they began to capture one team trophy after
another for their accomplishments, they developed strong feelings for
each other, feelings which rapidly took on the wonderful hues of love.
It wasn't long before they were married and living in the very house
that they currently allowed Ash and me to share until we could afford a
wedding and a house of our own.
Of course, that wedding would never take place without Ash. Suzy
knew what was wrong already and assured me that Ash would be showing up
at any time. I was about to say something that I probably would have
regretted when a knock at the door interrupted me. I threw my chair
aside in my haste to reach the door, knowing that it wasn't Ash, but
hoping against hope that it was.
"Misty! Am I ever glad to see you!" shouted Ash as I opened the
door. He reached out to put his arms around me, but I stepped back
indignantly out of reach.
"Where have you been?" I shouted, the sheer force of my voice
pressing Ash backwards. It took an incredible effort on my part not to
smack him in the face as my prior fear gave way to anger.
"I've been trying to get home, believe me. I thought for a while
that I'd never get back, and I'd never see you again, but here I am at
last. Please don't hate me."
I could feel the ice in my heart melting, but I wasn't ready to give
in to love just yet. "How could you run off like that and not tell me
where you were going?"
Ash's head drooped. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
The anger returned. "Try me," I challenged him.
"I found a portal to another world and went through it. Before I
knew what was going on, I was attacked, and I had to fight my way out
with the help of a friendly magician. There was a sorceress who wanted
to kill me and steal my Pokebelt, but the portal opened just in time and
I escaped."
"You're right," I said coldly. "I don't believe you."
"Pika, pika pi chu! Pikachu pi!" shouted Pikachu in Ash's defense.
Suddenly, I didn't know what to believe. Pikachu would never lie to me,
and yet Ash's story was so farfetched that I simply couldn't accept it.
I felt torn between my feelings for Ash and my sense of logic. I
collapsed into Ash's arms, and for the second time that day I buried my
face in a strong chest and cried my eyes out, finding a fresh supply of
tears after I thought I'd run out.
By the time I'd finished, I had found the words I was looking for.
"I'm so glad you're home, Ash. I was so worried..."
"I know. That's why I came to see you before I go back there." I
stared up into his eyes, hoping to see a smile, but his expression was
deathly serious.
"What are you talking about? Go back?"
"Dominic, the magician who saved my life, was captured by the evil
sorceress, and it's all my fault. I tried to get back to help him, but
something threw me back through the portal and sealed it behind me. I
know the portal will open again, and I have to go back to try to help
him. I owe him my life."
"Then you're going to leave me again?" I didn't have to try very
hard to put on my most pathetic face, the one that always makes Ash feel
sorry for me. But this time, it wasn't going to work, and I could see
the determination in Ash's face.
"I'm sorry, Misty. It's not easy for me either. I don't want this to
be the last time I ever see you. But I promise you I'll come back once
my work there is done." He stepped back and really looked at me for the
first time. "Misty, you look like you haven't slept for days."
I suddenly realized that I was still in my pajamas, and felt Brock
and Suzy watching me from behind. I self-consciously adjusted my top,
but as I did so, I noticed that Ash's clothes were singed, and his skin
was blackened as if by smoke. "What happened to you? You look like you
escaped from a burning building!" Of course, in typical Ash Ketchum
fashion, he ignored my concern and expressed his own instead.
"Were you up all night, worrying about me?" He put his arms around
me, and this time I didn't try to back away. "I can't bear the thought
of you doing this to yourself every night while I'm gone."
I was so overcome with conflicting emotions that I wasn't thinking
clearly. That's the only explanation I can come up with for what I said
next. "Then take me with you."
Ash was shocked, but that wasn't surprising; I was just as shocked
as he was. "Misty..." he began.
Before Ash could say anything, Brock stepped forward and cleared his
throat. "Maybe we should all sit down and talk about this together. I'm
sure Ash has had just as horrible a night as you have, Misty. He needs
his rest."
It was my turn to lower my head. "I'm sorry, Ash. I was so upset
that I didn't even think about how you were feeling. I know you have
your reasons, whatever they may be." A horrible thought occurred to me.
"But please, tell me the truth - is it another woman?"
"I already told you the truth," was his reply. "But I promise you,
you're the only woman I'll ever love." As if to prove his point, he took
my head in his hands and kissed me. In the heat of passion, I failed to
notice that he hadn't actually denied my suspicion, although as it
turned out, it was indeed false.
Before I could break the kiss, my feet had left the floor. Ash
picked me up, our lips still lovingly locked together, and carried me
into the kitchen. By the time we got there, I was feeling as refreshed
as if I'd had a full night's sleep; it didn't matter to me just then
what Ash might have done that had made me so upset - I loved him more
than anything.
While Suzy put some food in front of Ash, Brock pressed him for the
full story. Between mouthfuls, Ash described in vivid detail a world
devoid of Pokemon but filled instead with magic. He described the acidic
rain and the mysterious creatures - if they were in fact creatures at
all; he didn't seem to know much about them - called Dark Ones, the girl
who had been turned into a plant and the evil sorceress named Triesha
who had attacked Ash and his friend Dominic, hoping to steal Ash's
Pokebelt.
"Sounds dangerous," said Brock. "But I understand how you feel.
Dominic was as great a friend as you could have hoped for. But from what
you've told us, you're not even certain that he's still alive. If he did
sacrifice his life so that you could escape, going back there would just
make that sacrifice pointless."
"Even if he is alive," asked Suzy, "how do you intend to help him
without any magic of your own? If your Pokemon's attacks can't harm that
sorceress, you don't stand a chance!"
Ash was crestfallen. "I hadn't thought of that... there's no way I
could ever beat Triesha on my own. I'll have to find someone with magic
powerful enough to defeat her."
"And where do you plan to sleep? What will you eat? How do you
expect to survive in a world that's completely unfamiliar to you?"
"You're right, Suzy. I wanted so much to help Dominic that I didn't
even think about whether or not I could actually do it. My going there
would only make things worse, wouldn't it?"
"You're lucky you have friends like us to set you straight," I
chided him.
"Friends like you," mused Ash. "That's exactly what I need."
"I don't like that glint in your eye, Ash!" said Brock. "Whatever
you're thinking, I think it's a bad idea!"
"But Misty said it herself!" argued Ash. "You two were Gym Leaders
for a long time, and Suzy's the world's greatest Pokemon breeder!
Together, the four of us could defeat anything, in any world!"
"I wish it were that easy, Ash," said Suzy, "but I have a feeling
that no Pokemon would be powerful enough to stand up to that sorceress.
Besides, even with our qualifications, you're the best Pokemon trainer
at this table. You're the greatest Pokemon master in the world!"
"Second greatest," he reminded her. "Gary beat me ten years ago,
remember?"
"That's still quite an accomplishment. My point is that Pokemon
aren't going to defeat a powerful sorceress, no matter how great the
trainer is."
Suddenly, I had a thought. "There might be a way, though! Special
attacks like fire and electricity are close to magic spells, but
physical attacks might work. Brock has some Pokemon with powerful
physical attacks."
"I should have thought of that myself," said Ash. "That was how we
beat the werewolves."
"Werewolves," groaned Brock. "Ash, do you have any idea how
farfetched this whole thing sounds? I didn't want to be the one to ruin
your fantasy, but I don't believe a word of it. I think you probably
just got attacked by a really tough Fire Pokemon in the forest and got
knocked unconscious, and dreamt the whole thing."
"Pika! Pi chu pikachu!"
"That's right!" Ash shouted defensively. "Pikachu was there too, and
she saw everything! Tell them, Pikachu!"
"Pikaaaa, pi pikachu pika pi pikachu!"
"Of course Pikachu agrees with you, Ash. She's your Pokemon. For all
I know, as close as you two are, you could have had the same dream."
Suzy turned away while Brock spoke, hoping to avoid being drawn into the
discussion. Seeing this, Brock turned to me. "Misty, what do you think?"
I really didn't know what to say. I didn't think Ash or Pikachu
would lie to me, of course, but Brock's explanation was the more logical
one. I just slowly shook my head as the ambivalence became a spike
driving through my heart until I began to cry for the third time that
morning. Ash reached toward me, but I pushed his hands away and turned
my back to the table, only to find myself staring into a pair of soft
green eyes.
"Why are you crying, Misty?" asked Megan, Brock's older daughter,
with all of the innocence that comes with being a five-year-old in a
peaceful house outside Pewter City.
I rubbed a hand through her long dark hair (just like Suzy's, I
thought) and wiped the tears from my eyes. "Sometimes people cry without
knowing why," I said. "Just because something hurts them inside, even if
they don't know what it is."
"Is it because of Ash?"
I glanced up at Ash, who immediately stared out the opposite door.
"No, it's not because of Ash. It's because of me."
"Why are you making yourself cry?" I hesitated to answer, knowing
that Ash was listening. I desperately searched for a way to phrase my
answer that wouldn't sound as if I was giving up on Ash.
"I'm just not sure exactly what to believe in right now," I said at
last.
My attempt at diplomacy failed miserably. Ash stood up and glared at
all of us with a vengeance. "Fine! See if I care whether you believe me
or not! I'll just go back myself and if I never come back, so much the
better! At least maybe then you'll believe me!" He stormed out of the
kitchen without looking back.
"Ash, wait!" I shouted. The front door slammed, and I had to
forcefully choke back my tears once again. "Brock, we have to follow
him! We can't just let him disappear again!"
Brock nodded. "I'll go. You can't go in your pajamas. I'll bring him
back here and apologize."
"No, I have to apologize too. I don't care what I'm wearing; I'm
going with you."
Brock grabbed a box of cereal from a cabinet. "I'll leave a trail of
cereal for you to follow, then. Hurry up and get changed, and then
follow me."
"MY cereal!" screamed Megan as Brock set off on Ash's trail, leaving
me to run upstairs for a change of clothes. Minutes later, I was fully
dressed and racing down the stairs, nearly tripping over Brock's younger
daughter Cindy halfway to the front door.
"Missy go bye-bye?" asked Cindy as I grabbed the door handle.
"Yes, Misty go bye-bye," I answered. "But I'll be back soon." It was
a lie, however; I would soon be leaving not only that house, but that
entire world, for much longer than I had expected.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to "Whose Line is it Anyway?" where we make things up as we go
along, whether they make sense or badger.
JOHNNY BRAVO: *sigh* The only woman I ever really loved... and she's
gone. I wonder if I'll ever get over - Hey! Nuggets!
JACKIE CHAN: Oh, sorry. I broke your spy camera! (pause) SPY CAMERA?!
My webpage: http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~katinamp