Whispering Darkness
Part 3
By Crysta

Disclaimer: I own the story and Crysta, nothing else. Nintendo and Gamefreak own whatever isn't mine. 

Note: Last part I mentioned something about POV's. That still stands. K?

**********

Crysta tossed a book aside. It narrowly missed Ash and instead brained Tracey. Pikachu laughed.
"He'll be fine. These old books have healing powers of their own. Now, if I could just find that stupid book 
- !"
Ash dodged another book which Crysta cast aside. Then, Crysta gave a yell.
"Yes!"
"What?"
Crysta climbed down the ladder and brandished a book. Ash read the title emblazoned on the cover.
"Ye Olde Herbal Remedies. That's interesting."
"And it has what we need to know. Come on!" Crysta dragged him back into the room with Misty.

**********

"Well they all seem to be fairly common. Some even grow in the back yard. We should be able to do it."
Ash read the title of the potion. "Being a potion for curing stun-spore induced problems."
"It's highly volatile, but we ought to be able to control it."
"I hope it does blindness. Yes, look! There's a list, and blindness is on it."
"I should have thought blindness would be at the top." Crysta slammed the book shut. A cloud of dust flew 
from it. Ash jerked back.
"Don't worry, the dust will do you good." Crysta carried the book aside. Then she beckoned for Ash to 
come over to her. Ensuring Misty couldn't hear her, she began to speak.
"I said we could find all the herbs. I lied slightly. One we can't."
"What? Which one?" Ash asked. 
Crysta frowned. "The flower."
"The. fire daisy?"
"That's the one. What the writing in Latin at the bottom said was that the fire daisy blooms only once a 
year. That's just it. I don't know which night."
Ash fell backwards. He climbed back up to his feet. "Don't you know anything about when it blooms?"
Crysta plucked a book. The cover read "Flowers of Magic and Mystery"
"Huh?"
"Ash, it's a book on magic flowers and their properties. It's bound to have something on the Fire Daisy."
"Great idea!"
"Here it is. 'The Fire Daisy blooms only once a year in the Forests of Fire, which can only be accessed 
from Cinnabar Island. The flower blooms on a different night each year. To help you predict the pattern 
for your chosen year, here is the pattern of the first 21 blooming dates.' There's a list of dates. It means 
there's a pattern and if we find it we can work out the night it'll bloom this year."
"I hope we haven't missed it!"
"Chill Ash, the dates are all in April, and it's only March now."
"Phew!"
"Yeah yeah." She waved a paw dismissively. "I'll copy down these dates and try to find the pattern."
"I'll help." Tracey offered.
"Me too!" Ash called over. Pikachu nodded his support.
"Thanks. Let's get on it!"

**********

Tracey flung his pad down in frustration. "It's no use!"
"Getting mad will not help." Crysta retrieved the pad and studied the dates. She tracked them with a red 
marker on the calendar.
I sighed. I was getting tired, and we hadn't discovered the pattern.
"I think, I may have got it."
I turned to look at Crysta. "Huh?"
"Look." As she spoke, she indicated red dots on the calendar. "The jumps are in a sequence. There's three 
jumps of ten days, then four of five. Using this, we can figure out the date it will bloom this year."
"Great." I said, almost asleep. It was late. The sun had set. Pikachu had already fallen asleep. Crysta had 
put him in an area for pok‚mon where he could sleep safe and sound.
Crysta smiled softly. "Come on, we need some rest."
"Sounds great. I said. Misty was asleep on the couch. Crysta was thinking.
"I only have one guest room and one couch. How about if Ash takes the guest room, Misty the couch and 
Tracey gets the floor.
"Hey!" Tracey said.
"That's OK, I think me and Misty can fit in the guest room together." I told her.
Crysta mumbled something about double beds. I ignored her and picked Misty up carefully, trying not to 
wake her. She moaned softly and put her arms around my neck. I grinned. Crysta made a soft whistling 
noise, and Tracey winked. I felt my face going bright red. Crysta winked at me.
"There's an en suite bathroom. You can wash your face in there."
Tracey grinned. "See you tomorrow Ash."
"Night." I said. Crysta nodded and walked into a room which I assumed was her bedroom. Tracey laid on 
the couch, getting comfy.
A pillow smacked him in the face and a blanket followed. Crysta grinned in the doorway.
"Enjoy."
"Thanks." Tracey mumbled, plonking his head on the pillow and putting the blanket over his body. 
"Night."
I've always wondered how Tracey can fall asleep the second his head hits the pillow.
"Night Ash." Crysta's voice carried softly in the room.
"See you in the morning." I said. Then, being careful not to disturb Misty, I went into the guest room and 
laid her on the bed.

**********

I must have dozed off. Anyway, when I woke up I found myself lying on someone. The smell was 
unmistakable. That was Ash's aftershave.
OH MY GOD! I'm lying on top of Ash!
I tried to slip off him and onto the bed, but something stopped me. I realised what it was almost instantly. 
Ash. His arms were around me, holding me close. I smiled softly.
I could sense he too was smiling. I don't need to see, my other senses have been improved to compensate 
for the loss of one. Gently, I leaned closer and found Ash's cheek. I gave him a soft kiss and snuggled 
down again.
"Misty, what was that for?"
He was awake!
"Well, um." I said, not knowing how to get out of things.
"You gotta have an explanation. Can it be the fearless Misty likes me after all?" he joked. He didn't know 
how close he was.
"Something like that." I mumbled. Ash was blushing. I knew because I could feel the heat from his face.
I wasn't prepared for what happened next. His lips met mine and he kissed me gently. I was shocked, 
more than Pikachu could ever shock me. That kiss had felt electrifying. I smiled.
"Oh Ash." I whispered, hugging him. He pulled me closer. I never wanted to leave that moment.

**********

"I'm glad you woke us up." Ash groaned, rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, thanks." Tracey was almost asleep again.
Crysta had found the date. 
"I'm sorry for waking you all. To make up, I'll make breakfast!"
"Great!" Ash perked up a little. He was half dressed. He was only wearing his T-shirt and his pants. His 
feet were bare and he hadn't brushed his hair yet, so he hadn't put his cap on. Tracey was more or less the 
same. His band that held his hair back was gone, and he looked half asleep. They all did. 
Misty sighed. "Another early morning."
"Early mornings and late nights seem to be our speciality." Ash sighed.
Crysta rolled her eyes. "The Fire Daisy will bloom in two days.
Ash sighed. "Give us a little warning!"
"This year the cycle starts over, and the first is the chosen date. Sorry for the short notice."
"S'okay." Tracey said. He'd started to wake up a little now. 
Ash led Misty over to the table. Tracey followed. Crysta dished up. More pancakes. She herself had a 
boiled egg.
"What's with the egg?" Ash asked.
Crysta blushed a little. "Mom told me to go to work on an egg. It works. When I don't have an egg, I can't 
think all day."
"Strange." Tracey said softly. Crysta held something out to him.
"I believe this is yours. I found it last night in the pile of books."
"Thanks." Tracey took the sketch pad.
"I thought the last sketch was beautiful." She told him.
"You. you looked?"
"It was open at that page. I'm sorry if you didn't want me to see it."
"No, that's. OK."
Crysta considered things for a second. "If you give me a copy, I can add colour to it. It'll look even better."
Tracey blushed. "Sure!" he said. 
"That sounds great." Ash said. Misty just kept eating.

**********

Ash was getting dressed. He slid his gloves on. Crysta tapped the door. Ash turned. 
"Come in."
Crysta pushed the door open and slid through it. The door swung shut behind her. Ash looked over to her.
"Did you want to talk to me about something?"
"Yes. It's about this."
Crysta showed him the copy of the sketch Tracey had copied. It was the one of Ash and Misty.
"That's you and Misty, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"I thought so."
Ash looked at her. "Is there something wrong?"
"You love her, don't you?"
Ash nodded.
Crysta smiled. "I thought so."
Ash sighed. "Last night. this morning. She thought I was asleep and kissed me."
"I rest my case, Ash."
Ash rested a soft gaze on her. She smiled at him. "You and her will be a perfect couple."
"You think?"
"I'm positive."
"I'm surprised."
"I knew it when I first saw how she let you guide her when I saw she was blind. I have to go now. We 
leave in five minutes. Keep my words in mind, that's where our conversation took place."
Ash looked at her. Crysta nodded. "I've been using psychic powers all along. Hurry, five minutes."
The door swung shut. Ash thought about what she had said. Had she meant it?

To Be Continued