Powers Neither Knows Not Dragon Rider The moon. At times, it seems insignificant. But other times, it’s beautiful, mysterious, and romantic. Tonight is one of those nights. And, even more beautiful, are two kids, sitting together, watching it make its lonely trek. “Ash? Hello! Anyone home?” The girl, Misty, asked her companion. Ash jumped at her voice, breaking his trance. “Yeah…” he said quietly, looking at her, and then back up to the moon, as though not wanting to miss a second of the giant orb’s journey through the sky. “You’ve been kinda quite lately. You Ok?” Misty asked, gazing at his face worriedly. “I’m fine, it’s just that…” Ash sighed and trailed off for a moment before continuing. “You’re gonna think I sound stupid, but, I feel like something’s gonna happen soon.” His voice died in his throat, and he averted his gaze from the moon to the ground. “That’s not stupid. I feel the same way sometimes. Like, right before we got to Shamuti Island.” Misty put a comforting hand on Ash’s shoulder, and took a good look at his features. Worry was the most noticeable, but traces of fear were there too. She smiled. ‘Even if Ash doesn’t tell me what he’s feeling, I can always tell from his eyes.’ She thought. “Really?” Ash asked. The worry had not completely died from his face, but relief could be seen clearly. The usual spark of determination returned, as bright as always. “Thanks…” he murmured quietly. “That means a lot to me.” “What are friends for?” Misty asked, though not completely liking the phrase. “No, more.” Ash said without thinking. “What do you mean?” Misty asked, hiding her hopefulness successfully. Ash jumped slightly when he realized what he said. “Um… well… you know, you’re my best friend. No, wait. Best HUMAN friend.” he smiled, and petted the sleeping Pikachu, being careful not to jar Togepi. Misty smiled, but felt her heart sink. ‘Guess not…’ “Come on, let’s get back to camp” Ash said, hopping up. Misty merely nodded, and gently picked Togepi, who gave a small grumble of ‘toge’ but did not wake. Ash cradled Pikachu in his arms, gazing at his first Pokemon with pride. Together, the two teens headed back to camp, to get a well-deserved rest. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next morning, Ash, Misty, Aurora and Brock were packing up, ready to keep on their trek to Pallet town, for a quick vacation from training. They were each planning to keep one Pokemon out, for they were crossing through the middle of Viridian Forest, where mysterious disappearances happened most often in all of Kanto. “Ready guys!” Ash yelled, his usual full-of-energy self. Aurora and Mewy, hyper that morning, bounced around yelling ‘Let’s go/Mew mew!’ at the top of their lungs. Misty and Togepi gave a simple ‘yup’, and Brock and Vulpix gave two yawns and sleepy ‘whatever’s. “Then let’s go!” He yelled, walking forward at a fast pace. Four hours later, Aurora and Mewy had the lead, playing I-spy. “I spy with my little eye, something that begins with an ‘n’.” “Hmmm, is it…no…um…OH! Nothing!” Mewy spoke telepathically. “YUP!” Aurora cried happily, smiling from ear to ear. It was true. They had been walking for hours, and not one thing had changed. They weren’t even lost, just bored. “You know, it’s more exciting when we’re lost…” Ash said thoughtfully, looking around. “Then go get yourself lost.” Misty grumbled. The scenery was getting her irritated, and a good argument with Ash always did the trick. “What’s your problem?” Ash asked. “You.” Misty replied, giving him a glare. “Well, at least I’m not stuck-up.” “Idiot.” “Scrawny.” “Hat-boy.” “Carrot top.” “Baka.” “Ugly” “Moron.” As the two continued their insults, they didn’t notice that they were getting farther and farther away from the group. Or that their Pokemon had run ahead of them. Or that they had gone off the trail. Or that Brock had the map. By the time they had finished, they were lost. “This is your fault.” Misty sneered, still agitated. “How so?” Ash retorted. “You, you… I don’t know!” Misty shouted. “Well, it’s getting dark. We should set up here, and look for everyone in the morning.” Ash sighed. This was going to be a long night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash and Misty, once again, were staring up at the moon, this time from camp. The moon was full tonight, and twice as beautiful as the last night’s. Misty sighed. It was so romantic. Ash lay back, using his hands as pillows, gazing up at the sky. The stars were bright, and the constellations were easy to see. “It’s really nice out tonight.” Ash said quietly, mentally kicking himself for his dumb choice of wording. ‘Why couldn’t I say something cool and impressing for once?’ he silently asked himself. Misty turned around, their eyes meeting. “Yeah…” she agreed. Ash tried to look away, but found he couldn’t. Misty’s eyes. What color were they anyway? Green or blue? He debated with himself, feeling more and more at ease, and more and more sleepy. He felt peaceful. He felt…. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Misty gazed at Ash, her blue-green eyes staring into his soft brown ones. Something told her to hold them there. Suddenly, Ash’s eyes turned from brown to black, and his eyelids drooped. His face neutral, and his usual energy seemed to have vanished. “Ash?” She asked, a slight bit of worry escaping her voice. No response. “Are you OK?” Misty tried again. “Yes.” The answer held no emotions, and his face remained the same. “Are you sure?” She was getting freaked out now. “Yes.” Again, no emotions anywhere. “What’s…” Misty stopped as a memory resurfaced. She remembered back when Melvin the Magician’s Execute had used hypnosis on Ash. The same thing had happened. ‘I wonder…’ “Ash, could you get my bag for me?” Misty asked. “Yes.” The reply came, and Ash got up, and retrieved the bag. A devilish smirk appeared on her face. She had no idea how this had happened, but she certainly wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Misty had made Ash do all the things she always wanted to do. Whisper sweet things in her ear, cuddle with her, and sleep in each other’s arms. She had even got him to talk with feeling (by ordering it). Now, since it was morning, they were looking for their lost pals/sister. It turned out they hadn’t strayed far from the path at all, and the footprints from yesterday had not blown away. So, they walked (or, in Misty’s case, got carried) down the trail at a swift pace, trying to find everyone. When, 30 minutes later, when they found Brock cooking breakfast, and Mewy and Aurora talking, Misty immediately told Ash to quietly get in the bushes. “Okay, when we reach camp, act normal, with feeling and everything.” She ordered in a whisper. “Yes.” Was the reply, but this time with his emotions noticeable. “But before we go, let’s go do a little spying.” Misty said, curiously looking over at her friends. The two slunk around camp, to hear what Aurora and Mewy were gabbing about. “So what do you think Ash and Misty are doing?” Aurora asked, looking up at the clouds. “Probably kissing!” Mewy psychically shouted. “Yeah, and that would mean we win!” Aurora smiled and gave her furry pink companion a high-five. The two gave identical laughs and sent evil glances at one squinty-eyed breeder. Misty decided to make their appearance then. “Win what?” She asked, stepping out. Ash stood up behind her, and gave a little wave and a smile. “DARNIT! I had a bet going with Brock that you two would come back kissing.” Aurora crossed her arms and pouted, but gave her brother a good look over, making sure there were no lipstick marks anywhere. But, what she found was more disturbing. She decided to wait till later to talk about it. “Hey guys! You got back just in time for lunch.” Brock yelled over, picking up the bowls and waving them for emphasis. “Oh, Aurora…you owe me twenty smackers.” He gave a cheesy evil villain laugh, and began pouring the soup into bowls. Aurora snickered as she got a bowl. “Yeah, you sure look diabolical in a frilly pink apron.” She teased. “Who says ‘smackers’ anymore?” Mewy questioned. Aurora shrugged. Everyone sat down, and began eating. Aurora snuck another look at her brother. He was eating at a fast pace, but the energy just seemed so…fake. A long forgotten memory popped up in her head. She suppressed a gasp, and sent a psychic note to her furry pal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that morning, Aurora had finally got to talk to Misty alone. She was sitting outside of camp on a fallen log, and waiting for what Aurora had to say. Aurora paced slightly, trying to come up with the right words. “So how did you do it?” Aurora asked, stopping in front of the redheaded teen. Misty felt her heart catch in her throat. “Do what?” “Put Ash under hypnosis. Was it Staru or Starmie. Or maybe Politoad.” She gave a good look over at the older girl. She looked like a Stantler caught in the headlights of a car. Misty sighed. Might as well tell her the truth. “None of the above. Ash and I were talking when he went under. I don’t know how it happened.” She left out the part about the small voice in her head, or that they had been staring into each other’s eyes. Aurora nodded slightly. Just as she had thought… “Okay, I won’t tell anyone, but you’ve got to be responsible with this. Don’t make the poor kid do anything horrible. He is my brother after all. And if I get wind of anything big, then you’ll be the sorry one.” She left her threat hanging and walked back towards camp. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, all went normally at camp. Or, at least as normally as it could with Ash like he was. Brock and Pikachu were both getting suspicious of Ash. He had turned down lunch, and a chance to train his Pokemon. His excuse was that he was ‘tired’, a physical impossibility with Ash. He usually stayed up ‘till ten or eleven at night, and slept in late. What did he do with his free time? Hangout with Misty. Aurora and Mewy were also acting different. They had uncovered a book from Aurora’s backpack, and were reading it intently. Occasionally a whisper or two would escape one of them, but usually they used their psychic connection. “Dinner ready!” Brock yelled. He glanced at Ash, who was staring up at the sky, his eyes half-closed. He didn’t seem to of heard him. Brock walked over to him and said, “Ash, dinners ready.” At first, Ash made no indications that he had heard, but after a second or two, he seemed to realize what Brock had said and sat up. “Dinner?” He asked. Brock nodded. “Alright! I’m starved!” Ash hopped up and ran over to the fire, taking his bowl. Brock made a note that he sat next to Misty. ‘Maybe he really was tired.’ Brock thought. He smiled. ‘And maybe tonight I won’t have to worry about a fight between him and Misty!’ The very thought made him smile harder, and he walked over to his friends. “Brock?” He heard Aurora say. He looked over at her. She was completely tangled in twine. “A little help here?” She moaned, sending a glare at Mewy. They pink Pokemon was carrying a ball of twine and snickering uncontrollably at it’s trainer. “You will pay for this one!” Aurora growled, glaring daggers at her fluffy companion. Brock sighed, and got the scissors out of his bag. With a few cuts, Aurora was free, and chasing after a fleeing Mewy. Brock looked over at his other friends. Misty was laughing hard at the sight of the two goofballs. Ash was smiling, but not at the clowns of the camp. No, he was staring at Misty. But, along with love, worry and anger could be seen. It was though he was anxious about something. Brock shook it off. Probably just something in the stew. He wasn’t too fond of onions, and there were certainly a lot in the recipe… Misty turned to Ash. Both had just finished dinner, and were cleaning up their bowls. “Hey Ash, can we talk for a minute? I mean, outside of camp.” “Sure.” He replied as he stood up. He reached down to help Misty up, and the two went into the forest. “Hey guys!” Brock yelled to the other two companions. Their noses were once again stuck in the book. They looked up at the sound of his voice. “Yeah?” Aurora asked. “You wanna come with me. I think a little spying is in order.” He looked for Pikachu, but saw the electric mouse fast asleep. Brock looked back at A&M, who were putting the book back in Aurora’s bag. “Have we ever turned down a chance to spy on someone?” Mewy asked, smirking evilly. “In other words, were in.” Aurora confirmed. The three friends snuck into the woods, following their pals/brother. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash and Misty were once again in plain view of the moon. But tonight, that wasn’t the main topic of discussion. No, Ash was the topic… “Ash, do you love anyone?” Misty asked, looking Ash strait in the eye. It had worked before, right? She was surprised when there was a pause. He almost seemed to be struggling with himself. “Yes.” The answer finally came, once again in monotone. Misty was startled for a second, the remembered that without Brock and the others around, he would talk like this. “Who is it?” She asked, not even bothering to keep the hope out of her voice. No one was around anyway. Ash opened his mouth to answer, but quickly shut it. His eyes flashed between brown and black, and his mouth was pulled into a tight grimace. He shut his eyes firmly, and gritted his teeth. “H-h…” He began. Misty’s eyes widened. Whose name started with an ‘h’? Maybe it was someone from Pallet… “H-how c-c-could y-you?” Ash forced out, glaring at the girl he had formally called his friend. “H-how could y-you c-control m-m-me like t-this?” He asked furiously. He closed his eyes again, as if fighting off pain. He opened his eyes with a jerk. Pure sadness and anger were clearly painted in his eyes, which had how stopped switching. They had firmly set themselves back at brown. “Ash…?” she mumbled, and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. “D-don’t touch me!” Ash yelled, his voice getting stronger by the second. He jumped up, glaring at her. If looks could kill Misty could be more than dead. She would be cremated. “To think it was you I loved.” His eyes filled up with tears, and he ran in the opposite direction of camp. Misty sat, frozen on the spot. Did he just say… And than she… And she actually did that… She suddenly realized the full extent of what she had done. She had taken advantage of the boy she loved. Just as that sunk in, a loud yell filled the air. Misty immediately recognized it as Ash’s. “ASH!” She yelled, bolting towards where he had disappeared. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Come on, let’s go.” Aurora whispered, running after the two former lovebirds. Her face was a mixture of worry and anger. Her two friends were right on her heels, almost as frantic as she was. Aurora pushed through the foliage, running at a break-neck speed. It wasn’t long before she reached the sight. She gasped and took a step back. Ash lay sprawled out, his jacket torn, and cap off. Both were soaked in blood, as was his hair. His cut head lay up against a large rock, which was smeared with blood. Misty had flipped him over, so he was lying on his back. She was sobbing on his chest, murmuring ‘I’m so sorry Ash’ over and over. Aurora looked at the trail of footprints leading to where he lay. There the real story was. Ash had been running at a speed faster than Aurora’s. He had tripped over a branch and hit his head hard. Aurora shook her head. It was almost too horrible to bear. To see her brother… Aurora didn’t notice when Brock and Misty came and gasped at the bloody site. Nor did she feel Mewy land on her head. She didn’t even see when Brock went over to Misty to comfort her. She was staring at her brother, lying in a pool of his own blood. Aurora was snapped out of her horrified trance when Brock said, “We need to get him to a hospital.” “I’ll do it.” She volunteered. Ignoring the confused looks of her friends, and Mewy’s cries of ‘NO!’, she grabbed the necklace from under her shirt. “TELEPORT!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash woke up, moaning groggily. His head felt like it had been pounded by a sledgehammer. He sat up, letting his vision focus. When the world stopped spinning, he could see the room was empty, other than his sister. Suddenly he realized something; ‘Wasn’t I just in Viridian Forest?’ Aurora opened her eyes, and turned down the volume on her mp3 player. “So, Sleeping Beauty awakes?” She teased, giving him a smirk. Her face quickly turned serious. “How are you feeling?” “Like I’ve been hit by a train.” He moaned. Ash flopped back on the bed, but only succeeded in making the pain worse. Aurora laughed. “Yeah, but pain’s good! It means that nothing was seriously damaged.” She frowned. “Do you remember what happened?” She asked, a bit of worry creeping into her voice. “Not all of it, just up to the point where I ran away from Misty…” he trailed off, trying to remember. “How long ago was that?” He asked. “About three days ago.” She answered. “But that’s nothing compared to how long you’ve slept when you had an accident before!” “Yeah…so what did happen?” Ash looked up at her. Aurora’s eyes were closed, as though living a horrible memory. “You were running really fast, and you tripped. You’re head hit a big rock hard. You’re lucky you aren’t worse off.” She trailed off there. “But, anyway, I have a great idea!” Her eyes lit up, and she bounced a little in her chair. “What is it?” Ash asked. “You could fake amnesia! It would be the ultimate guilt for Misty! Plus, you’re a good actor. This shouldn’t be too hard. When they come in, just act like you just got up, and pull the prank from there on out!” Aurora eyes lit up in a devious light, as she formulated her plan. “We don’t halfta tell Brock, but Mewy will have to know, that way if the doc. gets suspicious, Mewy can lie to him.” “Not a bad idea…” Ash said, liking every part of it. “But let’s not tell Brock. We don’t know if he could keep the secret.” “Okay! Lay back down though, I can hear them.” Ash laid back, as though unconscious and Aurora continued listening to her music. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Aurora had said, the rest of the party came in. Aurora opened one eye and said. “About time you guys got back. Did you bring the sandwich?” Misty sighed. “Yeah, here it is.” She tossed her the sandwich, which Aurora hungrily gobbled down. Through her snacking, she watched as Misty walked over to Ash. “I’m so sorry Ash…,” she said, a very familiar line now. Aurora looked warily at the heart monitor. The beating increased slightly, but not by much. Suddenly Ash’s eyes twitched, and he slowly opened them. He sat up and looked around, before Misty threw her arms around him yelling “ASH! You’re Okay!” Ash’s face was one of confusion. “Where am I?” He asked, looking around him. “Viridian Hospital. How are you feeling Ash?” Brock asked, grabbing a chair and sitting next to the bed. Ash looked from Misty to Brock, as though startled. “Who’s this Ash guy you keep talking about?” He asked, confused. Misty detached herself from him. “You’re Ash!” She yelled, her voice getting high- pitched. “No I’m not! My names…um…er…” He trailed off, looking at the white quilt covering him, as though his name was written there. “Oh no! I’m so sorry!” Misty cried, leaning on his shoulder and sobbing hysterically. Ash looked a bit startled, but tried to comfort her a bit. “It’s okay. I don’t even know what you did.” He said softly. This only made the girl sob harder. “Um, can I get some help here?” He asked Brock, looking extremely uncomfortable. Brock went over to Misty. “It’s okay Misty. You never meant for this to happen.” he soothed, patting her on the back. Gradually her sobs died down. “So what now?” Ash asked quietly. “OH! I know!” Aurora shouted. Misty and Brock looked up at their friend, while Ash gave a startled look, as though he hadn’t noticed her. “What?” Brock asked. “You’ve gotta hit him on the head hard enough to knock him out!” She gleefully replied. Seeing the glare of Misty she added, “It always works in the movies…” “Pikapi!” Pikachu cried, slipping through the doorway. He jumped up on the bed and gave him trainer/best friend a hug. “Um…hi?” He voiced weekly, looking even more uncomfortable than before. He looked at Misty and Brock, who gave each other ‘oh no’ looks. “Pikachu…Ash sorta has amnesia…” Misty began slowly, knowing she was already on thin ice with the electric Pokemon. Pikachu was not thrilled when it learned what Misty had done. Pikachu, very startled by this turn of events, cried “PIKACHU!!!” shocking Ash on accident. When the light died down, Ash was laughing (much to everyone’s surprise). “That tickles!” He cried, smiling from ear to ear. Aurora laughed too. “Good thing Ash is immune to electricity by now, or else we would be in deep water.” “Pikachu…” the little Pokemon apologized. “It’s alright.” Ash said. Pikachu smiled and hopped up on his shoulder. Ash looked like he was going to say something, but instead just smiled and patted the electric rodent on the head. “Pika!” Pikachu suddenly cried. He ran to the corner of the room, where Ash’s backpack lay. He rummaged through, before pulling out Ash’s hat. He gripped it firmly in his mouth, and hopped back on the bed. It spat out the league hat in Ash’s lap, and then hopped back on his shoulder, smiling happily. “What’s this old thing?” He asked, examining it in his hands. Misty gasped. Ash had to have the world’s biggest case of amnesia to not remember that old cap. Quickly she regained her composure and told him, “Well, if you need anything, give us a call.” “Uh, first I think I need to know your names…” he said quietly. “Oh, right! I’m Brock, and this is Misty.” Brock introduced. He had stayed quiet all this time, but decided to talk again. “Wait.” Aurora said quickly. Both of the humans and Pikachu stopped and looked up at her. Even Ash looked up curiously. “I think I need to explain something. There’s a prophesy explaining all this. It was in that book I was reading. ‘Thy whom the Chosen One’s heart belongs Thy who will help him right what is wrong She will have powers neither knows not Be careful, least you break the Chosen One’s heart’ It goes on after that to talk about the details.” She finished quietly “What details.” Misty asked. “Like what the powers are and how they can be unlocked.” Aurora said simply. “Go on.” Misty encouraged. “Alright. It wasn’t hypnosis really. More of, the conscious part of his mind shut down. He was listening to his heart completely, so he obeyed all of your orders. As for unlocking them, it was very specific. You two would need to be alone, it needs to be a full moon, no clouds can be in the sky, and you need to make eye contact and keep it there. After a few seconds he wouldn’t be able to move his glance, and well, you know the rest.” She looked over at her brother and gasped. The others followed her gaze. Ash was once again unconscious, lying on his back. “What happened?” Brock asked, staring at his friend in horror. “Maybe everything just over whelmed him.” Misty offered. “No, I think it was the prophecy…” Aurora mumbled. As soon as she said that, Ash gave a small moan in his state, and a sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead. He turned over in his sleep, mumbling something under his breath. His heart rate jumped up, and his eyes twitched under his eyelids. “It’s almost as if he’s having a nightmare.” Misty breathed, watching Ash as the poor boy tossed in the hospital bed, league hat falling of the edge. “Could this be trouble?” Brock asked. “Did somebody say trouble?” a not-so-mysterious voice called out. “Then make it double.” another called out. “To protect the world from devastation” “To unite all people within our nation.” “To denounce the evils of truth and love.” “To extend our reach to the stars above.” “Jessie.” The redheaded criminal stepped out of the shadows. “James.” The male of the group stepped out next, smirking. “Team J and J blast off at the speed of light.” “Surrender now or prepare to fight.” “Meowth! That’s right!” The scratch-cat Pokemon jumped up, landing perfectly between his two companions. “What do you want.” Aurora growled. This was NOT the time. “Wait, Aurora. Why are you two wearing normal clothes?” Brock asked, looking them over. “Yeah, and what’s with that whole ‘team J&J’ thing?” Misty questioned. “Well, we…” James began. “…sorta…” Jessie continued. “…quit Team Rocket.” Finished Meowth. “And we wanted to tell the twerp.” Jessie stated, crossing her arms. “But wit what happened to ‘em, we couldn’t.” Meowth, popped up, landing on James shoulder. “’The twerp’ has a name.” Aurora mumbled. She had never quite forgiven them for that one day… Jessie ignored her, and walked up to Misty. “That was a horrible thing you did!” She yelled. The others in the room blinked at this rare display of emotion. James gave a jealous ‘humph’ and looked away. Aurora laughed. “You sounded just like mom when you said that!” Suddenly, she opened her eyes in shock. “Oh man.” She groaned. “We never called mom, and we were supposed to be in Pallet two days ago!” She ran out of the room, towards the phones. Misty followed her. The face of Mrs. Ketchum appeared in the vid-phone. She smiled and cried. “I was so worried! What kept you? And where are you?” She asked in one breath. “Um, well… were in Viridian Hospital.” Aurora began weakly. “WHAT!” Mrs. Ketchum’s face was all you could see, because she was pressing her face against the camera. “What happened?” Misty was about to say something, when Aurora stopped her. “Ash and I were having a race, and he tripped. He hit his head on a rock.” She gave an ‘I’m-not-in-trouble-am –I?’ smile. Mrs. Ketchum sighed. “Is he alright?” She asked. “As far as we can tell, yes. Except for one thing. He, has amnesia.” Misty replied. “Well, as soon as he can, you get him over here.” With that, the screen turned black. Aurora turned to Misty. “You owe me so big its not even funny. I’m gonna be in so much trouble when we get to Pallet!” She moaned the last part. “Why’d ya cover for me anyway? I thought you were mad at me.” Misty asked quietly, looking down at the tilled floor. “’Cause my brother likes you. Plus, you can’t judge a person by one mistake. Just be warned. You EVER do that to my brother again, I’ll hit you so hard you won’t be able to see strait for a week.” Aurora turned on her heels and walked back towards the emergency ward. “Wait! There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you about. What was with that necklace? Where’d ya get it? And, can I see it?” Misty asked, clearly liking the small piece of jewelry. Aurora sighed. “It’s not a necklace. It’s a relic. All guardians have one. By fate we find them. Each has it’s own unique power. Mine has teleportation. I think that’s it, right?” “Can I see it?” Misty repeated. “Oh, right! No.” The last word was sudden and final. “Why?” “Well, unless you want to be a solid block of ice, I suggest you don’t get near it. Plus, I’m sorta supposed to keep it a secret.” Aurora laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. Misty shivered slightly. Being turned into ice was not the way she wanted to go. “Let’s go back.” She said. Without waiting for an answer, she walked down the hall at a fast pace. Almost as soon as Aurora and Misty entered the room, Ash began to stir. He opened his eyes slowly, and looked around. With a sudden jerk he popped up, knocking Pikachu of his chest. “TEAM ROCKET?” he yelled. He instinctively reached for his pokeballs, but quickly saw that they weren’t there. Instead, he picked up Pikachu and hugged the furry rodent closer to him, glaring at the three former-thieves. “Sure, he recognizes Team Rocket, but not us.” Brock sarcastically, rolling his non- existent eyes. “Calm down Twerp, we quit Team Rocket.” Jessie said, crossing her arm. “Yeah, and even if we’s didn’t quit, we wouldn’t try to take Pikachu when your like ‘dis.” Meowth confirmed, nodding it’s furry head and crossing it’s paws. “We’re criminals, but not evil.” James piped up, smiling widely. “Sure didn’t stop you when I was in the hospital.” Aurora growled. “That was different.” Jessie said. She quickly changed the subject, with “So I guess your amnesia ended pretty quickly.” “What?” Ash asked, a genuine look of confusion crossing his features. “You don’t remember?” Misty asked, tilting her head slightly to the right. Ash looked towards her, and immediately his eyes hardened. “No.” He responded coldly. Misty took a surprised step back, but forced a smile. “Guess not.” She joked in a shaky voice. “I walk alone, I walk alone…” Aurora sang quietly, singing while watching the display. The song make not fit perfectly, but it sure worked somewhat well. She stopped her display when she saw the strange looks of the other members of the room. “What?” She asked innocently. “Okay… I think we’ll leave now before it gets any weirder. Oh, if you wanna know what happened, we tapped it.” James said, making for the door. “Tapped what?” Brock asked. “The whole thing with the Twerpette and the prophesy, right until Ash passed out.” Jessie told him, holding up a tape. “Oh, I’ll take it. I can make copies, and edit it and everything. I could even make a music video out of it.” Aurora’s eyes sparkled as she thought of the possibilities. “Send us a copy, would ya?” Meowth asked. “Of course. You guys tapped it after all.” Aurora told them. “Can we go then?” Ash asked. He slid out of the bed, only to fall on the floor. “Ow…” he murmured quietly. Misty sighed, and bent down to help the boy up. “You’ve been out of it for three days. I think your legs need a little time to start working again, before we can leave. Plus, you hit your head pretty hard.” “What?” Ash asked again. “Yeah, when you were running from Misty.” Aurora confirmed with a nod. She waved to ‘Team J&J’ as the left through the door. “Oh.” Ash said simply, and took Misty’s outstretched hand, allowing himself to be picked up. For a second, their eyes meet. But Ash, finding the situation a little too familiar, pulled out of it, and let go of her hand. “Okay.” Brock said quickly, trying to break the uncomfortable moment. “Let’s go to the food court. We can grab a bite to eat, then grab our Pokemon from the ‘center.” “Let’s go!” Aurora shouted happily at the prospect of getting Mewy back. She bounced to the door, opened it, and bounced down the hallway. “Okay…” Ash and Misty said at the same time. They looked at each other. “So, am I forgiven?” Misty asked quietly. “You would be, if I had heard an apology.” Ash stated simply, crossing him arms and looking down at her. Wait a minute, looking down… “And when did I get taller than you?” He asked. “I already apologized!” Misty yelled. “When?” Ash spat. “When you first…oh, right.” She trailed off, and looked down. She lifted only her eyes and murmured a quiet “Sorry…” “Then your forgiven.” Ash stated simply. Misty went up and to hug him, but he quickly side stepped. “Forgiven, but not trusted. I loved you, and you used that against me. It’ll be a while before I trust you again.” With that, he walked out of door. “Ash, wait!” Misty yelled, running after him. Brock deciding to give the two a minute before he followed, grabbed Ash’s cap and bag. Making sure everything was with him, he walked out after the former lovers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash sat down next to Aurora, who was chowing down on a bag of Cheetos. “Where’d ya get those?” He asked. Aurora, her mouth full, just pointed to the lunch line. At the end of the two metal islands (of which held hot foods) was a table of goodies. While Ash had his back turned, Misty sat down, huffing slightly. “Ash…” She began. Ash jumped slightly, and turned around. “What?” He asked roughly. “I was just wondering something. If that happened to you, what would you of done?” A slight bit of anger escaped into her words. “Well, Misty, let’s give him a multiple choice.” Aurora said, full game-show-host style. Brock (who had finally joined the group) was with her, his hair having a poor attempt at laying back. “A” Brock began. “Try to get Misty to do a couple of things you had always wanted.” “B” Aurora continued. “Try to snap her out of it.” “C. Look around for what caused this.” “D. Get up and leave her there.” “So, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?” Both shouted in unison. Aurora held up a microphone in his face, and Brock nudged him a little. By now, Ash and Misty’s sweatdrops were so big, you couldn’t see the back of their heads. Ash shook it off, and replied with, “Probably, C.” He answered. Misty glared at him. “So, now an Execute or something is more important than me?” She asked “Yup.” Was the simply answer. “Ouch, burn!” Aurora whispered to Brock, smirking wildly. “I’m gonna go get some snacks.” Ash said, getting up and heading towards the goodies table. There was silence for a moment in the group. “Uh, Misty?” Brock began. “What?” She snapped. “Maybe you should lie off on Ash for just a little bit. I mean, he’s bound to still be really ticked off at you. Well ask him again in a few days.” Aurora finished for him. “But, I think I have a way to make it a shorter time…” She trailed off, and a devious smirk plowed it’s way onto her face. “What?” She asked. Aurora motioned for everyone to get closer. “Alright, here’s what we gotta do…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When Ash got back (his arms filled up with goodies) his first question was, “Has anyone seen Pikachu?” Aurora rolled her eyes and pointed to the table holding the condiments. There, atop of a napkin dispenser, was a ketchup coated Pikachu, happily licking his paws. “Remind me to get him later. So, where did Misty go?” He asked this gruffly, but it was obvious he cared. “I let her have the rest of my Cheetos, and the powdery stuff got on her shirt. She went to change.” Aurora told him, as she watched the electric mouse un-cover itself from the red goop. As if on cue, Misty walked in, wearing a shimmery blue shirt, and a white mini skirt. She sat down next to Ash, saying “It was the only thing I had that I could travel in.” She shrugged. “Does that mean were leaving today?” Ash asked. “Yup.” Brock told him. “We’re off to Pallet.” “That reminds me. Mom called, and said that the Prof. invited her to spend a week in the Orange Islands, so we’re home alone. She sent me a house key, so I finally have a use for my Keychain!” She smiled happily, and did a little hyperactive dance. Luckily, they were alone in the cafeteria. “Let’s go get our Pokemon.” Misty said, getting up. Ash hopped up next (his energy back after a meal) and the others followed.. Everyone filed out of the ‘center, stuffing their pokeballs in their bags. Mewy, like Pikachu, stayed out, sitting happily on Aurora’s head occasionally poking her, making the angered trainer yell out. Misty was staying unusually close to Ash, and every time their hands touched, a blush made itself known on the young boy’s face. Pikachu, who had to be dragged away from the ketchup, had shocked everyone until Ash gave him one of the ketchup packets in his bag. “So, how long till we actually get to Pallet?” Aurora asked Brock, trying to look over his shoulder. She jumped up and down in a failed attempt to see over the older boy. “We’re here.” Brock said, looking up. They were standing on a hill, looking down on the small town. “Alright!” Ash yelled, running down the hill. One gloved-hand rested on his hat, while the other on Pikachu. The others ran after him, with almost as much enthusiasm. With a sharp right, they stood in front of the Ketchum home. Aurora rushed ahead, zipping a keychain out of her bag. With a few twists, muttered curses, and random shakings of the door, they were in. Immediately, Ash and Pikachu attacked the kitchen. Within a matter of seconds, a large pile of food was set up. Misty and Brock joined him, while Aurora did some looking around. While in the living room, she found a note. “Hey guys,” Aurora cried, running into the kitchen. “Mom left a note. It says ‘Kids, Will be back on the 23rd. Have fun. Mimmie is having a vacation at Prof. Oak’s lab, so clean up. Love, Mom/ Ms. Ketchum P.S. Ash, Don’t forget to change your you know what!’” By the time Aurora had finished, everyone, excluding Ash, was laughing. “MOM!” Ash shouted, snatching up the note, and ripping it into shreds. “Why does she always do that?” He moaned, sitting back in one of the kitchen chairs. “Ummm, ‘cause she’s a mom?” Aurora guessed. “Got it in one.” Brock told her, looking through the fridge. He sighed and looked up. “Hey guys, were gonna need to do some shopping. Were practically out of food, and if you want a real dinner…” he trailed off. “Ash and I will go!” Misty offered, grabbing Ash’s hand and raising both up, causing yet another blush to appear on the boy’s face. “Y-yeah…” He stuttered, hiding his face with his cap. “And Aurora will help me start with the cooking!” Brock announced. “Say what?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “So, what else do we need?” Misty asked her raven-haired companion. The boy looked down at the list, his eye’s scanning for unchecked items. “Er…Some fruits, and vanilla ice cream.” Ash announced, giving the list another look. “Then come on!” Misty exclaimed, grabbing the boy by the hand. Ash blushed again as he was pulled into the grocery store. Grabbing some apples and oranges, Misty speed towards the frozen section, grabbed the ice cream, and practically ran towards the register. “Misty! Stop!” Ash yelled, laughing hard. Misty ignored him, and quickly paid for the items, before rushing out of the store. “What was that about?” Ash asked, still laughing. “I was trying to get you tired, so I could race you back.” Misty announced. “Plus, I was bored and it was fun.” She turned to Ash, who was trying to catch his breath. “I hate to ask so soon, but am I forgiven?” Misty asked. Ash seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, before saying, “Yeah, your forgiven.” “YEAH!” Misty yelled, hugging her friend. “THANK YOU!” “Uh…your welcome.” Ash said, hugging her back, and looking slightly startled, but happy nonetheless. The two walked (Both completely forgot about the race) back to the Ketchum home, friendship renewed. ^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_ ^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^ Epilogue- one month later “’Night guys!” Misty yelled, taking her and Togepi into the tent. As she set up her sleeping bag, she found a note rolled up in. It said ‘Misty, meet me in the clearing –Ash.’. Misty took the now-sleeping Togepi and put it on her sleeping bag, then headed out. As she passed by the boy’s tent, she could hear Brock muttering “Now ladies, calm down. Brocky loves you all.” Stifling a giggle, she passed the tree that housed Aurora and Mewy (They had said something about they boy’s snoring, and they wanted to be as far away as possible). Though you could not see them through the leaves, all was quiet, saying that they were asleep also. Finally, she got to the clearing. Ash was sitting on a fallen log, staring up at the moon. Misty realized with a start that it was full, and that there were no clouds in the sky. “Hey.” Ash greeted, taking his gaze from the moon, to her. Misty smiled and sat down next to him. “I bet your wondering why I wanted to be with you tonight.” He said, looking back at the moon. “Well, yeah.” Misty acknowledged, looking at his features. No fear or worry could be seen, only calmness, with a bit of anxiousness. “I have a favor I need of you. I need you to look me strait in the eye for about a minute, then ask me this question.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. “But Ash, that’ll…” “I know what I will do, that’s the point.” He gave her a look of pleading, as if he was already ready to just bolt. Misty sighed. She never could resist that face. “Fine.” She finally agreed. Ash murmured a quiet “Thank you” before proceeding. He took her hands and looked her dead in the eyes, determination sparkling in his own. Within the minute, his eye’s turned black, and his emotions vanished. “Ok, let’s see then.” Misty said. She looked at the paper. There, written in Ash’s messy handwriting was ‘Ask me; who do you love?’ Misty stared at the paper. That was the question that got her in trouble last time. But, Ash told her too say it… “Okay Ash, who do you love?” Misty asked, keeping his eye’s locked in hers. This time there was no fighting, no pause. In fact, the kid seemed downright happy to spit it out. “Misty.” Was the answer. Misty gasped, but it soon began to make sense why Ash had done this all. He, like Misty, didn’t have the courage to say it on his own, but with a little push… “Okay, now, how do we break the spell?” She asked, hoping Ash had an answer. Which he did. Instead of answering, he turned the paper over, where the answer was written. ‘To break the trance, we need to kiss’ It said. “Well then, here goes.” Misty said, smiling. She leaned forward and kissed Ash right on the lips. At first, there was no response, but after a minute, he began kissing her back. The two reluctantly parted. “Now there’s a way to be woken up.” Ash joked, his eyes bright and smile wide. He leaned forward again, and Misty followed. There lips were a centimeter apart when… “GET A ROOM ALREADY!” Aurora shouted, jumping out of the bushes, and scaring the two lovers out of their minds. “Hehehe… I’ve always wanted to say that.” She laughed nervously, backing away from Ash (whose fists were raised) and Misty (whose mallet was out and at ready) “RUN!” She shouted, as she and Mewy (who had been smart enough to stay hidden) dashed away from the pair. Ash sighed and turned to Misty. “So, where were we?” He asked. “Right about here.” Again with the kissing. “WELL, IF NOT A ROOM, THEN AT LEAST A TENT!” “AURORA!!!!!!!” ^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_ ^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^ Hi everyone! Guess whose back. Back AGAIN! Mega’s back. Run away (or something like that! ^_^;) So anyways, a few comments. #1, I know a couple of the scenes are short, but mainly they were just quick chats between peps Yes, peps. You got a problem with that? Second, Things moved a little fast between stuff. If I had gone normal speed, we would be looking at something the size of “Pokemon Master” (by Ace Sanchez!)! Believe me, you don’t want that. Though I’m sure you all miss a description of Ash snoring for eight hours. Third, Aurora: What the hell? Basically, she based one me, but as Ash’s little sister, and an Elemental Guardian. The E.G. thing relates back to the world my little mind lives in, where I’m Aurora, and my pals are the other guardians. I have EARTH POWERS!!! ^_____^ Uh, yeah. Off topic. Also, I bet you’re wondering about that whole Team Rocket thing. Well, I’m not gonna tell you. YET! That’ll be in another fanfic. So you have to wait. Just like how, I have to wait for Harry Potter 6. (Coming out July 16th, 2005) I’m rambling again aren’t I? So what was I saying again? Oh! Ages, so some people don’t bug me about them (though reviews are still welcome ^_^) Aurora: 13 Ash: 14 Misty: 15 Brock: 18 James: 21 Jessie: 21 Mewy: 3 Others: unknown That ‘unknown’ kinda makes you wonder, don’t it? So, until next time, el quesa es bueno! (The cheese is good.) Megamew