Right, here is another chapter, not reworked, but reformatted. Enjoy. Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Pokémon. I might if I get as far as I want to when I'm older i.e. becoming a big bod for Nintendo, but then the franchise would probably be proper dead! Misty's Journey by Misty's Double. Chapter 4- The Return of Ash... *Updated* *~*~*~*~* Last time, we saw Misty being taken away to hospital, in a coma, and poisoned by Arbok's Poison Sting, all because of Team Rocket's stupid plan to capture Pikachu, when Ash isn't even there. Now on with the story... *Goldenrod District Hospital waiting room* Ash, Brock and Jo have only just arrived at the hospital, after finding out about Misty. It's about 6am. They enter the waiting room together. "This brings back painful memories," Jo said to nobody, remembering when Misty near enough drowned in her own pool in Cerulean. Ash didn't answer. He was just sat on the chair, staring at the opposite wall. On the other side of the room were Beth and Mark. They noticed Ash, and Beth whispered "Mark- I think that's Ash. Shall we leave them to it, because Misty will understand if we leave her, if she comes to." "Okay, we'll go to the Pokémon Centre for some sleep then. At least Misty's got someone with her now." Mark replied. The two got up and walked out of the waiting room. Ash was still staring at the opposite wall an hour later, when Brock asked "Ash, do you want anything to eat? I'm off to go get something for me and Jo." Ash still didn't reply. "Ash. Come on. Staring at the wall won't help Misty or make the doctor come any quicker. Answer what Brock just asked you!" Jo said angrily. "Hmm." Ash replied. "What? Ash, say yes or no!" Jo fumed "Yes! I want a double cheeseburger, right? Now leave me alone!" Ash retorted. He settled back down, and stared at the door. "Ash, just stop being so lame, okay? Make some use of yourself instead of staring. Go ask the receptionist or someone about Misty! Just, stop being useless! It won't help Misty!" Jo angrily replied. Ash then began to sob, and his shoulders began to shake. "Ash, what's up? I'm so sorry. I'm just worried. Is it something I said?" She comforted. "No... it's just... I'm worried about... Misty... what if she doesn't pull through?" Ash said between sobs. "Ash, we're all worried. We've just got to stay strong... for Misty." Jo replied while putting an arm around his shoulder. "Yeah." Ash said, picking up an issue of Pokémon Trainer Monthly. He wiped his face with the back of his hand before he flicked through the pages, and stopped on a page with an article titled: 'Team Rocket 00 Agent found murdered'. "That's not a surprise." A voice came from behind the two. Brock was looking over their shoulders. "By the way, I've got your food." He continued. "All right, cheeseburgers!" Ash said. They all ate their food, and when the novelty of cheeseburgers wore off Ash, he carried on looking at the magazine. "Here Ash, is there anything on water Pokémon in that magazine?" Jo asked to make conversation. "Yeah, there's something about caring for Gyarados..." Ash stopped, as it reminded him of Misty. "Oh... Look Ash. Why don't you come with me to ask a nurse about Misty?" Jo asked "Alright. We'll be back soon, okay?" Ash said. The two got up to go when Dr. Barton came through the door. "Hello, oh you three must be Ash Jo and Brock. I'm Dr. Barton, Misty's consultant." He began "Hello. What's wrong with her then?" Ash asked nervously. "Well, we've managed to stabilize her, and we know the full extent of injury near enough now. If you'd like to follow me, I'll show you the extent in x- rays." He replied * * * * "Okay, if you look here, you will see that Misty has broken her lower arm below the elbow just here" Dr Barton said pointing to the x-ray "And she's fractured the ulna and broken her radius above her wrist. Also, she's broke the bone just above the elbow, shattered most of her hand, broken her thumb, and had a bad knock to her shoulder, all on her left arm." "Is that all?" Ash asked "Well you know about her being in a coma, and being poisoned, don't you?" "We didn't know she had actually been poisoned. Would we be able to see her?" Jo asked. "Not right now. She's just about to go into surgery for mending her arm. It's going to be quite a long operation, because we practically have to pin her arm together again. Her hand will be the biggest problem though. I'll come to see you once she's out of theatre." Dr Barton said leaving the room. "I take it we have to go back to the Waiting room then." Brock said sarcastically * * * * Misty was laid on a hospital bed; all of her left arm was heavily plastered apart from her hand, where she had a tube going into her hand feeding painkillers through. She had another tube, a tube down her throat with a ventilator attached, and a drip to feed her in her right arm. Behind her was a machine that kept track of Misty's heartbeat. Ash was sat right next to her, holding her hand in his. Misty wasn't anything like the Misty he knew. She looked too pale to be alive, and her lips were tinged with blue. Her eyes didn't have that glimmer and her hand was cold. She looked like a zombie. "Please Misty, be alright." All of a sudden, the rhythmic steady beeping of the machine, which kept track of her heartbeat, began to beep much faster. Ash looked up, and noticed her heart rate had dangerously increased, and then suddenly the quick beeping became one beep. Ash couldn't believe what he had seen. She had flat lined (heart stopped). "NO! MISTY!" Ash shouted as he pressed the emergency button. Dr. Barton rushed through the door. "She's in cardiac arrest. Quick, bring the defibrillator here!" He shouted. They began shocking her back to life, but no use. After several attempts, they announced she was dead. It was too much to be taken in. "I'm sorry Ash. There was nothing we could do for her. The poison count was too high, and it was too much for her body to take." Dr Barton announced to Ash "NOT MISTY!!! NOOO!!!!" "Ash, are you alright?" Ash opened his eyes. He was sat up in the waiting room, with Jo looking at him worryingly "I'm, I'm fine." He muttered. "I guess it was just a nightmare," He continued, wiping the beads of sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. He sighed and leaned back into the chair. "You dropped off about 3 hours ago." Brock said to Ash. "Here, do you want a milkshake?" "Alright then. How long do you think Misty's going to be in theatre?" "I don't know" Jo replied. "I reckon another hour. They'll have fun with Misty's hand. I mean, every bone's broken! She's gonna have to go through a lot to get that working again." Jo said Ash sat slurping at his milkshake, still looking shaken about the nightmare he just had. "Ash, are you sure you're alright?" Jo asked concerned. "It's just, what if my dream meant something? What if Misty does die?" "Well, what happened in your dream?" "I don't wanna talk about it" Ash replied glumly "Ash, talking about it will make it better. Trust me." Ash sighed. "I was sat with Misty, thinking about something, when she flat lined, and died right in front of me..." Ash faltered, "It was so real!" Ash sobbed as he began to cry again. "It's okay, it won't happen." Brock comforted, while Jo put an arm around Ash. He nudges it away. "But what if it does happen? You can't promise that my dream won't come true! Nobody can!" Ash began to thrash about. "Ash come on, calm down!" Brock shouted. "Brock, I'll get a nurse." Jo said, leaving the room. "Nobody can say she'll be alright! Nobody knows! Not even the doctors are sure!" "Look Ash, people do come out of comas you know," Brock started "But Misty could be different! She'll end up dying, just like my... DAD!!!" Ash shouted as Jo and Nurse Joy came into the room. There was an eerie silence in the room. "Ash, will you please calm down. You're not helping the situation at all." Joy said, entering the room. "Tell me, do you really think Misty will survive?" Ash said "I'm not sure, but I think so" Joy replied "There! Even Joy isn't sure! That was the same answer when my dad died! 'Oh, we think he'll be alright' was the answer after Team Rocket had shot my dad, just for stopping them steal Pokémon!!! And guess what, he didn't survive!" Ash carried on while Joy left the room to get something. "Joy's gone to get something to send him to sleep." Jo answered Brock's puzzled look "How can you be... sure the same... won't happen... to Misty? Hey?" Ash sobbed when Joy returned with a needle. She went up to him, and stuck the needle in his arm. He hardly noticed, until he began to feel drowsy, and keeled over onto the floor asleep. "I'm so sorry, Ash." Joy said. She turned to Jo and Brock. "He'll be out for a few hours. I'll get a trolley to take him to a bed." She left the room. "I never knew how Ash's dad died, and that's told us why he's acted so badly since he found out about this incident." Brock said. "Yeah, but when he's okay, and we're sure Misty's alright, he'll be going for Team Rocket, and I'm going to back him all the way!" Jo continued *~*~*~*~* A few hours later, Jo and Brock went to see Ash, as he was awake to talk to him. "Ash, are you alright?" Jo asked "Mmm I'm fine," He answered "Why exactly did Joy give me an injection?" "She said you were mentally and physically exhausted, and you were posing as a threat to us." Brock answered him "Yeah, I guess I was..." "Anyway, Joy told us that Misty's out of theatre, and she's doing okay..." Jo sighed "Really?? Can we see her yet?" Ash started asking "I'm not sure. We'll go get her," Brock said as he left the room. "Ash, I'm really sorry for the way I acted to you earlier on... I can be so stubborn!" Jo said "Guess that makes two of us then. Misty says I'm too stubborn most of the time. She even says I'm too stubborn too die." He replied "What?" "I've been close to death three times since I started my journey... I was 'killed' in Lavender Tower when a chandelier fell on Pikachu and me; Before the Indigo league, Mewtwo and Mew turned me to stone, and I survived; and I've drowned on Lugia's back! And all those times I 'died', I've survived." Ash told Jo. "How come you came to drown on Lugia's back Ash? It's not very often you come across Lugia anymore is it?" "True. I was the 'Chosen One' at this traditional island ceremony on Shamuti Island in the Orange Islands. Come to think of it, Misty saved me in the Orange Islands, and when Entei threatened to kill me and Pikachu," He continued "Hey, where's Pikachu???" "Oh. We took her to the Pokémon Center. It's strictly no Pokémon here." After Jo said this, Brock came in followed by Nurse Joy. "Well, can we see Misty?" Ash asked enthusiastically "Not quite yet. I'm going to give her a check-up, and then you may see her. But, only one person may see her at a time. She's in Intensive care at the minute." Joy replied *~*~*~*~* "So, who should go see Misty first?" Brock asked "I think Jo should, coz she hasn't seen Misty in years." Ash said "Ok, then Ash." Jo agreed "No, I'll go last. Brock can go next." He corrected "Fair enough." Brock replied. The trio waited in silence until Joy entered the room to say they can go see Misty. They followed Joy to the third floor, and when you passed every room, you could hear the machines monitoring people's heartbeats. Finally, they stopped outside a room. All the blinds were closed so you couldn't see into the room. "I'll be back in a moment." Joy said as she entered the room. A few moments later she exited and said to the group: "She's okay to be seen to, but we've still got someone in with her to keep an eye out for tell tale poison signs, so don't get in the way." Joy warned "Okay, thanks Joy." Ash thanked "It's my job." Joy replied as she walked off. "Okay, I won't be too long in there, Brock." Jo said, as she entered Misty's room. As soon as she entered, she gasped when she saw the state Misty was in. She had tubes coming out of her in all directions, and her skin had a grey tinge to it. "Oh my god!" Jo gasped, as she burst into tears, and ran out of the room. "Jo, what's up?" Brock asked "Misty... she looks... horrible!" Jo sobbed "It's alright Jo. She'll get better, I'm sure she will." But Brock wasn't sure, because when he went into the room, he saw what Jo meant. When he passed Ash, he managed to say "Ash, brace yourself when you go in there. I'll be outside getting some fresh air if you want me. Jo'll be with me too." "Er... okay." Ash said, as he entered Misty's room. What greeted him was worse than he expected. Ash ran over to Misty's bed, sat down, and cupped her hand in his. "Good God! What have they done to you Misty?" He said. He felt Misty's hand. It was stone cold. In fact, looking over the lifeless body before him, there didn't look like there was any warmth anywhere in her body. Her face was grey, lips were blue, and in fact, she looked just like she did in Ash's dream. She had a ventilator attached, and other tubes hooked up all over. Ash sat there for the next half hour, barely moving, just staring at the fragile body in front of him, with her hand in his. Nurse Joy came in again, and said "I'm sorry Ash, visiting time's over." "But please can I stay for a little longer?" Ash pleaded "I'm not sure. I could get the sack, so I'll ask Dr. Barton. I'll come back with him, because he'll need to check her anyway." She said as she left the room. She came back a couple of minutes later with Dr Barton. "So Ash, you would like us to extend the visiting period for you?" Dr Barton asked "Yes please" "Well, I'll give her a check up. Joy, what are the results from the last check?" "Here," Joy passed Dr Barton a clipboard. "Hmm, Misty's heartbeat was weak until 20 minutes ago, where it strengthened, and now it's weak again. This is interesting... Ash, will you just hold Misty's hand for a moment?" Dr Barton asked "Sure," Ash said as he held her hand again "Just as I thought! Misty's heart rate strengthens whenever Ash holds her hand, so she's improving!!! Ash, I give you permission to stay here as long as you want." Dr Barton said "It's good she's improving, because the sooner she wakes up, the sooner we can get the poison out of her system!" He added "All right! Thanks." Ash replied as Dr Barton left the room. "Joy, what did Dr Barton mean about 'the sooner she's awake, the sooner we can work the poison out of her system'?" "Well, because Misty's in a coma and the antidote doesn't work until *all* the symptoms show, so we can't use it. The symptoms don't show until the patient's conscious." "What are the symptoms?" "Well it begins with tiredness, exhaustion and aching limbs in all cases, then with a poison sting I think it progresses to rapid temperature changes; minor illnesses due to the poison attacking the immune system; and the last symptom is close to the effect of a Vileplume's Stun Spore- lack of energy, bad fever, and temporary paralysis of limbs. Also, from the second symptom, you generally fell unwell and weak." "How long does it last for?" "6-14 days, but longer if untreated" "I just don't want to see her suffer. At least I'll know what she'll feel like towards the end..." Ash said as Joy left the room. Ash stayed with Misty for 3 days, having Brock and Jo come with food and drink for him. He hardly left Misty's bedside in those 3 days. Ash had just spent another day next to Misty. It was getting late, so Ash went up to the window to watch the sun set. The window faced the sea, and the water reflected the beautiful sunset (In Goldenrod, there is sea to the west of the city in the games). Ash opened the window to let some of the fresh air in. He leant on the window ledge and looked out to the sea. 'How long is it going to take until Misty's back to herself?' Ash thought. He continued to look across the ocean, where on a fishing ledge there was a Pokémon battle taking place between a Croconaw and Tentacruel. While he was watching this, he heard Joy come in and check Misty over. Afterwards, she came over to Ash, leant on the window ledge and looked out at the sea along with him. After a few moments she turned to him. "Hmm, you're looking forward to the Johto League, aren't you?" "Yeah, I'm nervous too. I just want to go all the way, but it didn't happen in the Indigo League. I'm scared it's gonna be a repeat of the Indigo." "It's okay, all trainers are nervous at some point. And besides, I'm sure you've improved since the Indigo League, plus, if I remember rightly, was it you who won the Orange League?" "Yeah it was. I guess I've improved... Misty didn't moan at me as much the past year..." Ash replied. "Mmm hmm. By the way, Misty's condition has improved dramatically in the past few hours- we're going to remove the tube from her throat, because she doesn't need as much assistance with breathing anymore, and her heartbeat's much stronger." "Does this mean she's recovering yet?" "She's not out of the woods yet, Ash. She is still in a coma, remember? We will begin considering improvement when she's breathing independently, and because her pulse's stronger, it means that the poison is circulating faster than it did, so the symptoms will show earlier. *Pager beeps* Oh- an emergency. Nice speaking to you Ash, I'll see you later." Joy called as she rushed out of the room. Ash continued looking out of the window, where the sky was beginning to show tinges of purple. A flock of Pidgeys flew past the window. As he watched them, he heard a slight rustle from behind him, but he ignored it. He focused on the battle, which had caught his attention again, as there was a flash of light from a Pokéball. A short time after, another rustle came, followed by a low groan. Ash couldn't ignore this, and when he turned around, he gasped, and ran over to Misty's bedside. "Misty, how do you feel? What happened?" Ash asked in a rush. "Mmm." The only answer he got was a moan. "Are you okay?" Ash still didn't receive an answer. Ash went to get Brock and Jo from outside when Misty summoned all her strength to say "Don't leave me Ash!" "It's alright. I'm just off to go fetch Brock and Jo. Stay awake until we come back!" Ash called. "Ohh," Misty moaned again 'Why the hell is he here while he should be training his Pokémon for the Johto League?' She thought. *~*~*~*~* Well, that's this chappy finished! I've started the next one, titled 'Misty's Recovery'. I am determined to post the next installment before I go on holiday to sunny Cornwall... at least, I hope it'll be sunny... ^_^; Please review, and if you do, I *might* send you a preview of the next chapter! ^_^ Anywayz, see ya! ~*Misty's Double*~