I'll follow you anywhere. Written by omnimech50 Description: Misty gets trapped inside a computer. Will Ash be able to get her out and tell her his feelings? Legal stuff: All the characters in this story belong to Nintendo, Game Freak, 4Kids and any other companies that have the legal rights. I don't own them so you guys don't have a reason to sue me. Ash had a headache. He had a headache because he ran into a rock wall. He ran into the rock wall because he had tripped over a root. He tripped over the root because a Tangela was chasing him. He was being chased by a Tangela because he fell into its bush. He fell into the bush because he was being chased by Misty. Misty was chasing him because she was angry. She was angry because Ash had convinced Tracey that they had to let their pokemon out to get some fresh air. Tracey had let out Venonat very near to her. So she chased Ash, who fell into a bush, who got chased by a Tangela, who tripped over a root, who ran into a rock wall. Worst of all, this was Ash's birthday. Ouch. "Misty, will you stop already!! I said I was sorry!" "Just like you said sorry about the bike you still owe me!" "I'll pay you back soon, I promise!" "Hmph, you've been saying that for months" Ash was VERY worried. He still had only $1600, barely enough to buy them their next meal. He needed some money to pay Misty back, and he still didn't really want to pay Misty back. And it wasn't just the loss of cash. He noticed that he had begun a tendency to try and be around Misty more and more. Maybe he was in love.... Sure, and maybe you need to have your head examined. "Maybe I should tell her how I feel" Ash mumbled, taking a short quick glance at Misty, who had calmed down a bit but was now ahead of both the future Pokemon Master and the Pokemon Watcher. "pika PI ka Chu? Chu pika pika chu chu PI pi ka chu" said Pikachu, meaning "What was that Ash? I heard you mumble something like 'Mabe I clould fell mer clow I beal.'" "Nothing, I didn't say anything" said Ash, turning a beet red. Tracey knew from the mouths of both Misty and Ash that they liked each other, so he just smiled and stayed away from both when they were in this mood. Misty had Ash on her mind. She didn't like bugs, but she had forgiven Ash and was keeping up the act to keep him from knowing her secret. She was in love! She had already told Tracey and made him, after a few whacks on the head with her mallet, promise not to tell Ash no matter what. "togi togi trrrrrrreeeeeeeee" said Togepi meaning "Mommy thinking about Daddy again?" "No" she told Togepi, though she was thinking out of the mouths of baby pokemon.... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash & Co. arrived at a tall, scientific-looking building (I couldn't think of a proper adjective, so sue me). Ash knew that these scientists sometimes needed pokemon trainers as assistants. Ash thought that he needed some money quickly, so he prepared to go inside and see if he could be an assistant for one of the experiments. As luck would have it, he could. "Well, there is one experiment they need someone for..." "Great! How much does it pay?" "Let me see...... $200,000" "Hurrah! I'll take it" "But the experiment..." "Later!" Ash grabbed the piece of paper the receptionist was holding and dashed to the elevator. He went to lab 5E, a rather small, plain one. As he knocked on the door, he wondered what the receptionist was trying to tell him. Probably just that I could get an easier job at the next pokemon center. As the door opened, he looked inside and saw that all that was in the room was an easy chair and a bunch of men and women crowded around a computer terminal. He saw that the man who opened the door was looking puzzled, so he told him that he was the assistant pokemon trainer. The man looked hopeful, and then sad when he told him. "So... what's the experiment?" Ash asked The man replied "We created a pokemon that was a blend of Porygon and Mew. We were hoping to create a pokemon which could fight computer viruses with ease. However, the pokemon decided that it was unhappy with this idea, so it took over some of our computer functions and created a virtual world for itself. We need someone to go into the computer system and try to reason with it." During this speech, Tracey and Misty caught up to Ash and heard most of the explanation. "I can beat that pokemon with just Pikachu!" Ash shouted. "Somehow, we can't transfer pokemon into the digital world without killing them in the process. You'll have to do it on your own." "errrrrrr........ummmmmm... maybe not" "Oh, Ash, you're such a coward! I'll go reason with it." "OK Miss...." "Misty" "OK Miss Ty, please follow me." "NO, IT'S 'MISTY' AS IN ONE WORD" "Oh, sorry. Please follow me." Misty followed the Doctor into the room. The Doctor told her to sit down in the easy chair and relax. "You need to pick an object which you can use to wake yourself up with once you're in the digital world." "I think I'll pick.....My sisters" "Focus on that while we send you to the digital world" "OK" As the doctors hooked Misty up to the machines, Ash wondered if he would ever see her again. He almost said something, but he bit his lip at the last moment and forgot what it was. Misty looked like she had just fallen asleep while the machines hummed around her. But Ash knew better. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Misty found herself in a field in the middle of a forest. Hmmm...... just like Viridian forest. Misty saw a dot of light that was zooming around about 5 feet in front of her. As she moved towards it, it seemed to coalesce into a shape. The shape the pokemon took was a cross between a Mew and a Porygon. It had some hard angles, and some soft curves. Vaguely cat-like, but also like something Misty couldn't describe. The whole pokemon glowed with a light that seemed to be all of the colors at once, without being ugly or white. "Hello, what are you doing here?" Misty was shocked, she had expected a pokemon that had either a mechanical voice, or that said only its name, or both. But she didn't expect this voice, it seemed so smooth, so full of life. "I'm Misty, I came to help understand your problems" Misty said, a little nervous. "Oh, is that so? I think I was doing fine on my own, thank you very much." The pokemon said, angrily advancing on her. Misty was a bit frightened, she suddenly was facing this incredibly powerful pokemon who had just spoken to her in the most angry, hostile, irritated voice she had ever heard. The worst part was, she didn't have anything to protect her besides her clothes and a 35 millisecond head start "I...I...I just hoped I could help you," Misty stuttered. "Well, I do not need help at all, so go away!" the pokemon answered back, "just go away!" "Please, just try to talk to me about it" Misty said, her confidence growing as she realized a plan that might help the pokemon. "I just feel.....out of place. Sorry for yelling at you earlier - I just do not like that subject. I feel like I'm being used for a menial job when I could be so much more." The pokemon lamented. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Misty consoled the pokemon for hours, and they eventually agreed that the power of the pokemon should not be used for any purpose. The temptation to use it for evil was too great. The pokemon and Misty eventually agreed that the pokemon should meld into the lab's computer system, therefore doing the job it came into being to do while not being able to be separated from the computer. And if it couldn't be separated, it couldn't be used for evil. Misty watched as the pokemon slowly melded into the virtual world and disappeared. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Something's wrong, the frequency of the virtual world is changing." "If it changes too much we may not be able to get her out." "Paul, get over here, we need your help." "Too late, she can't come back now." Ash and Tracey watched in stunned silence as their best friend disappeared from the face of the earth, a computer program in a computer. How's Brock gonna take this, or Misty's sisters, or Ash? Tracey looked over at Ash, and saw that he wasn't there any more. Rather, he was over at Misty's side, weeping into her shoulder as he rocked back and forth. "Misty, Misty please wake up. Come on! Wake up. You can't be dead, you must have some kind of joke going with the scientists. Please wake up..." Ash collapsed into the chair with the only part of Misty still in the material world. "Do you know what her full name was? We need to notify her family." One of the scientists asked, pain evident in his voice. "Misty Waterflower," mumbled Ash. "There must be something you can do to bring her back." "Maybe......hold on a minute." The scientist took out a pad and a piece of paper and started scribbling down calculations. After a few minutes, he looked up at Ash, a smile on his face. "If you went in now, you could probably get her back in time for dinner," he said "However, you could be trapped in there with her." Ash's eyes lit up like Pikachu's Thunder attack. "I'll go," Ash said quietly "it's the least I can do." The scientists hooked Ash up to the same type of machinery and got him to pick Tracey as a trigger for getting back. Ash drifted off into the virtual world and went to find Misty. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Misty watched a shimmer in the air as Ash suddenly appeared out of the air. She had been trying for a while to get back to the real world, but this was the first time since she went into this forest that she saw something else from the real world. "ASH!!!!" she cried, rushing up to him and embracing him in the joy of knowing that she hadn't been forgotten. Ash was stunned. He had Misty in his arms, just like he'd dreamed about. After a moment, Misty pulled away, and Ash saw happiness in her eyes. "What happened? I can't escape from the virtual world. Why can't I get out? Why are you here?" Misty bombarded him with so many questions so fast that he needed some time to collect his thoughts. "I'm here because the frequency of this world changed and trapped you here. I need to help you get out." "Why did you come?" "Are you kidding! I'll follow you anywhere." It was Misty's turn to be stunned as what Ash told her sank in. She was as good as dead to the real world. "How can you help me get out?" "I don't know, the scientists never told me. Just focus on getting out and remember your sisters." "Okay" Ash and Misty held each others hands as they focused on getting out of the computer-generated forest. Nothing happened. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash and Misty tried again and again, with no luck. Finally, they decided to just enjoy the life in the virtual world, and not focus on getting out so much. Their attempts to get out reduced, and then stopped altogether. They built a house out of mud and grass. They ate well; the forest grew food and provided water. They were so happy there that both of them fell in love with the other. One day, Misty decided to tell Ash. They had the occasional argument, once Ash had even stopped speaking to her for a couple of days. Those couple of days were almost pure torture for Misty. But they always apologized and it was in the past the next day. Misty thought that life could only get better if she told Ash and got it out in the open. It had been nibbling at her for so long.... She would tell him, even if her heart shattered after his reply. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash decided that he had to tell Misty his feelings for her. He had resisted for so long, he thought he could hold out forever. But the almost ideal life in the virtual world had broken his resistance to a million little pieces. Almost two months had passed and he couldn't hold out any longer. He would say those three words, whether she broke his heart or not. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash went out to get some flowers, claiming he needed something to drink. Misty thought that she was extremely lucky to get Ash out of the makeshift house at just the right time. Ash gathered a few roses, and a couple of other flowers that were apparently just a creation of the pokemon that had created this world. He tied them all up with a few long grass stems and arranged them so they looked nice. Misty decided that for this special occasion, she should let down her hair. She took out the scrunchie she had used and threw it into the corner. She ran her fingers through her hair, and laughed at her nervousness. Today would let the weight of uncertainty off her shoulders, even if she learned what heartbreak felt like. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ash came back to the house and snuck inside so that Misty wouldn't see him. He sat down on one of the chairs that they had made together. Just then, he saw Misty come through the door. Ash had always thought that she was cute, but today she was beautiful. Ash cleared his throat, and she jumped around, startled. She saw the flowers in his hands and a surge of elation sped through her body. Ash walked up and started talking. "ummm.... Misty.....I....I......Iloveyou" he said, finally getting it out in one short spurt. "I love you, Misty" Misty was Thunderstruck (no Pikachu pun intended). Ash loved her? Come on, you need to reply "I...love you too Ash." She said. "I've loved you ever since that day when you died for a while at Pokemon Tower." They both smiled, and looked up into each other's eyes. They hugged each other, and moved closer, their eyes closing. When their mouths met, they each felt an electric shock race through both of them. The kiss was just a light touch of lips at first, but it quickly grew into being passionate. And as both of them grew happier by the moment, they felt a tingling sensation...... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ They woke up to find themselves back at the laboratory. The computer console was being manned by only one technician, and he had pulled up a chair and fallen asleep. Ash and Misty smiled and intertwined their hands. The computer console gave a small "BEEP" intending to tell the tech that both of the pokemon trainers had returned to the world of the living. The tech groggily looked up and saw them both sitting there, on the verge of tears from all the laughing they were doing. The tech sprang up, shouted "THEY CAME BACK!!!" and danced a jig. After everyone had calmed down, they called the scientists and Tracey and Pikachu to tell them the good news. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "PIKA PIKA CHUUUUU!!!" Pikachu shouted, leaping into Ash's arms. "Hey guys, glad to see you made it back." Tracey said from the door, an idiotically wide grin on his face. Tracey noticed Ash and Misty holding hands, and his smile grew impossibly wider. Pikachu couldn't see this, as he was squashed against Ash's chest, lightly shocking him because he was so happy. When Pikachu turned to look at Misty, she looked slightly electrified too. Pikachu looked down and saw that Ash and Misty were holding hands. "Pi ka PI ka ka chu?" Pikachu asked, looking slightly puzzled. Pikachu's words, when translated, became (Ash, did something happen between you and Misty?) Ash grinned and squeezed Misty's hand. "Yes, Pikachu, something did happen." After Pikachu and Tracey finished grilling Ash and Misty for details, Misty asked the question that both trainers wanted to know. "So, what's been happening while we were away for a couple of months?" Everyone looked at them like they had lost their minds. "Months? You were asleep for an hour." Send all mail, good or bad to paulv@ipinc.net