Disclaimer: Don’t own Pokemon! A/N: Okay, so here’s chapter 7 up and running! Enjoy! Chapter 7 – The Ultimate Sacrifice The heavenly light that had once engulfed the room was slowly starting to dim. Ash, who had shielded his eyes the whole time, rubbed at them furiously in order for his vision to return more rapidly. He could hear the moans of his friends as, like him, their energy had been almost completely drained, however, one question still remained. ‘Where’s Misty?’ thought Ash as he brought his hands from his eyes and looked around frantically. His eyes came to rest in the middle of their circle, a lifeless form on the ground, a heavenly glow surrounding her body. It was then that he realized that he could move and that his wound had been healed completely. Ash rushed to the fallen body and knelt down carefully, tears threatening to fall. He gently lifted Misty’s head and laid it to rest on his lap as she continued to glow. “Mist, please wake up. It’s all over now, we can go home, back to our lives in Pallet. It’ll be just like the old days,” he whispered caressing her cheek as his tears dropped down to her face, looking as if she were crying too, “Please Misty…” “Misty, oh no…” cried Alex, who had just rushed over, Jason hot on her heels, “There’s no way...” Brock and Pikachu also solemnly walked over to their fallen companion not wanting to believe the horrible reality that had just unfolded before them. Brock knelt down next to Misty and placed his fingers against her neck, feeling for some kind of pulse, anything that would indicate she was still breathing. After several seconds of silence, he looked to a hopeful Ash and shook his head solemnly. “Pikachu pi…” “No, this can’t be happening,” cried Sakura, “It wasn’t supposed to end like this.” Li, at a loss for words, merely closed his eyes and sighed sadly. The prophecy, he remembered, said nothing about death or sadness. He knew, however, that it would be Misty not Ash that would save them, but he had no idea of the costs involved in being successful against Aki and Marissa. Suddenly remembering their foes, Li quickly scanned the room, but found no sign of the duo anywhere. ‘Guess the prophecy was right in some respect,’ thought Li angrily. Hikara stepped up to Ash slowly and placed a gentle hand on his trembling shoulder in an attempt to soothe him, but to no avail. “Ash, I’m so--” “Save it…I don’t want to hear that you’re sorry this happened or that it wasn’t even supposed to happen to begin with. The fact of the matter is that it did happen…this time it’s real and I can’t do anything about it,” he sobbed, hugging Misty’s small lifeless frame, “I don’t understand why she felt the need to do this, to sacrifice herself to defeat Aki…” “I did it to save you…” Ash slowly lifted his head up at the voice and hesitated for a moment before turning around. There, standing before him immersed in a heavenly glow, was Misty. She, however, was not wearing the same clothes with which her fallen body had on. Instead, she wore robes of white, was slightly transparent, and had the same glow her lifeless body emanated. “M-Misty…why did you…” “I did it because I love you, and I would do it all over again if I had to,” she answered, taking a step closer to him, “I have no regrets about what I did, except that…except that, after this, I’ll never see you again.” “No! You didn’t have to do this; you didn’t have to sacrifice yourself! There must have been another way,” cried Ash, gripping onto Misty’s lifeless body even tighter. “Ash, I…” “There was no other way Ash, you need to understand that. She did what she had to do,” spoke Hikara who, in turn, received a menacing look from Ash. Ash gently laid Misty’s head back down onto the ground and stood to face Hikara. Tears were still streaming down his face as he looked down upon her. “No, there was another way,” he breathed, “I would have sacrificed myself, it didn’t have to be her!” “But it didn’t happen that way Ash. You need to get that through your head--” Ash, having heard enough, grabbed Hikara by her collar and shook her violently. “Ash stop it!” yelled Brock, “That won’t change a thing and you know it!” Ignoring Brock’s pleas, Ash continued to stare at Hikara feeling nothing but anger. But was that anger really directed at her or had she only provoked it? No, if he truly thought about it, the only person he was angry at was himself. “Ash, please, don’t do this,” pleaded Misty who had placed a gentle hand across his chest. He merely stared at her, gripping Hikara’s collar. Then, dropping his head in defeat, he released her and turned away. Brock nodded his head in approval knowing full well that Misty had always been able to knock the common sense back into Ash when he lost his head. Placing a hand on Ash’s shoulder, Misty spoke, “Ash, it’s not her fault, and it’s not yours either. I made this decision on my own, even if you had known what I was about to do, I wouldn’t have let you stop me.” Turning to face her, he slowly nodded, knowing that there was no reasoning with her. Besides, he knew there was nothing he could do now. She would be gone in a few moments and he would have nothing left but his memories to soothe him. “I just wish it didn’t have to come to this,” he whispered, dropping to his knees and holding his head, “I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, I was going to ask you to marry me when the time was right!” Misty let out a small gasp and then suddenly remembered the last letter she ever received from Ash before she had thought he had died in the rockslide. She remembered reading the hints he had left her about proposing and sighed sadly. She wanted so badly to have made that a reality, but now that was impossible. Suddenly, realizing that she would never marry Ash, nor have the chance to mother his kids, tears started to make their way down her face. Though she knew it would do no good to cry, it made her feel better about her decision. She knelt down to Ash’s level and tried to caress his face, but found it useless because she knew he couldn’t feel her touch. “Ash, I’m sorry,” she whispered, “But know that I love you and will always love you.” He looked up and into her tear stained face and nodded. “I love you too, more than you’ll ever know,” he whispered back. Sighing contently from the sidelines, Satoshi stood before the group. “Ash, son, I know that I haven’t been there for you much, but I need you to know that I am still your father and will always be your father,” he smiled, walking up to the couple, “I am very proud of what you have become and what you’ve done today. I haven’t given you much, so let me grant you this one present to make up for the times where I couldn’t be with you.” “Satoshi, what are you talking about?” questioned Hikara. “Hikara, this whole time I’ve been teaching you, training you to be strong…why did you think I did it?” he asked her knowingly. “I-I suppose to help defeat Aki and my sister,” she guessed, shrugging her shoulders. “No, I was not training you as an apprentice, I was training you as a replacement,” he answered. “I-I don’t know what you mean,” she stuttered, “Where will you be?” He put a gentle hand on Ash’s shoulder and sighed, “I grow tired Hikara, all I want is to finally be at peace and rest.” “But I’m not powerful enough--” “You are fully capable of handling the job,” Satoshi interrupted. “And your powers? What becomes of them?” she asked. “I would think that is clear,” he said, smiling in Misty’s direction. Understanding dawning on her, Hikara simply nodded. “Ash, I needed to know for sure that you would risk anything for this girl and now I know that to be true. I know that real love exists here, so please, accept this as a gift from me as a token of my appreciation and love for you,” he explained. “But, what are you--” Satoshi held a hand up to stop his son and said, “I love you Ash, please tell your mother that I love her too.” “I love you too dad, but--” Again Ash was interrupted, but this time by a bright light engulfing the entire room. He soon, however, found the environment around him changing. His body seemed to be lifted up and carried to a distant location, everything spinning around him. Suddenly the sensation stopped and he landed on what felt like grass. Lifting his head up, he scanned his surroundings and found his friends scattered around doing the same. They were back in Pallet Town in his front yard, that much was certain, but what had become of Satoshi, Hikara, and Misty? “Ash?” A soft voice coming from behind nearly stopped Ash’s heart. He froze, afraid to turn and be faced with something that he didn’t want to see. A harsh reminder of what had happened mere moments ago crowed his mind, but soon his fears were put to rest when he felt a pair of trembling arms encircle his abdomen. “Ash, I was so scared I would never see you again,” cried Misty, “I-I…” Whipping himself around, Ash quickly engulfed her in a tight hug, afraid that someone would take her away. He had never felt so happy or relieved before in his life and, as his tears of joy started to fall, he knew that he had truly been blessed. “Oh Misty…I-you’re okay…you’re alive,” he sobbed, burying his head into her hair, taking in her scent and forever engraining it in his mind. Releasing the hug, but still grasping her by the shoulders, Ash looked into her eyes and wiped the few stray tears that still remained. He smiled at her genuinely and lightly caressed her cheek. “I would’ve given anything to have you back….I would have sacrificed my own life for you, you know that,” he explained. “Ash, of course I know that. That’s why I couldn’t let you do it…I knew you’d risk anything to keep me safe, but I just couldn’t let you do it…not this time,” she whispered. He nodded his head and slowly stood up, lifting her with him. “But, I still don’t understand…how?” he asked. “Isn’t it obvious?” smiled Misty, “You’re father sacrificed his powers…to save me, to make you happy.” A small gasp escaped Ash’s lips as realization dawned on him. His father had given up his powers to Misty…in order to save her. Which meant he no longer existed as the master of light…but then who… “Hello Ash,” came a voice from behind. Ash and friends turned to look and, out of thin air, Hikara materialized. “Glad to see your alive and well Misty,” Hikara smiled, “I’m happy to see all of you actually.” She looked about the group and saw nothing but confusion, however, a look of relief also adorned their faces. Relief that evil had once and for all been defeated, and that Misty’s life had been spared. “Hikara…my father?” asked Ash. Hikara shook her head solemnly, “He loved you Ash. He would’ve done anything to see you happy.” Ash sighed sadly, knowing that he would never see his father again. “Don’t look so glum Ash, you’re father is happy where he is. Just know that he’ll always be with you, watching over you,” she assured, “You’re journey through life has only just begun, and he knew that. He lived a long life, but he knew that you were far too young to give up on love.” Ash smiled, looking down at Misty, gripping her hand. He knew he would spend every waking moment with Misty, and he had his father to thank for that. Although he was gone, Ash could still feel his father’s presence surrounding him and it soothed him. “I know…I owe him so much,” whispered Ash gratefully. “Ash, you owe him nothing,” Hikara corrected, “You were his only son, his pride and joy, you’ve all defeated Aki and my sister, and peace has finally been restored. Trust me on this.” Ash nodded and looked at his friends. Though they were weary, all seemed to be in good spirits. Brock was nodding his head in approval, Pikachu on his shoulder. It was waving its’ paws in the air, happy that Misty was alive and that the battling was over. Li and Sakura, on the other hand, stood side by side smiles adorning both of their faces. Alex, who was completely confused but glad that her friend was alive, only smiled, tears in her eyes while Jason aimed to console her. Alex walked up to the couple and patted Ash on the back. “Darren, I mean Ash, or whoever you are,” she laughed, “I feel like I should reintroduce myself to you.” “I already knew who you were from the start Alex, before I even met you,” answered Ash. Alex, giving a confused look, only cocked her head to the side, “What do you mean?” “You have a brother named Darren, don’t you?” questioned Ash. Alex nodded, leaving Ash an opening to continue, “He’s a good kid.” Alex, still confused, racked her brain for an answer until something inside her clicked. The rockslide all those years ago…was it possible that her brother’s savior, the one she had been searching for, was under her nose the entire time? “The rockslide…it was you…you saved him,” she breathed, tears starting to form in her eyes once more. “What?!” gasped Misty, “Is that true Ash?” He merely nodded, “Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday.” Unable to control her emotions, Alex rushed up to Ash and hugged him gratefully. After all these years, she finally knew who she could thank for bringing her brother back. How could she ever repay him? “Ash, I don’t know what to say, but…thank you. Thank you for saving him, for everything,” she cried. Ash returned the hug and nodded, “Your welcome.” “Hey, what are we sitting around crying for?” announced Brock, “We should be celebrating our victory!” “What do mean ‘our’?” teased Misty. “Haha, okay okay, your victory,” he smiled, “In any case, Aki’s defeated and you’re alive. I say that’s cause for celebration.” “You’re absolutely right Brock,” nodded Hikara. “Alright, everyone inside! I’m going to make the Brock special!” he announced, bounding through the doors of the house. Everyone cheered in unison as everyone but Ash and Misty walked into the house. “You coming Ash?” asked Misty. “I need to go visit someone first, you go ahead. I’ll catch up,” he smiled, kissing her forehead. “And let you out of my sight? No thank you,” she teased, grabbing his hand. Smiling at her, he led her towards the back end of his house where a small secluded area amongst various trees made Misty gasp. There was a tiny pond with various types of fish swimming in it and, sitting in the middle of the area, a marble shrine glistened in the sunlight. Ash knelt by the shrine and bowed his head, “Dad, thank you…for everything. You’ve given me my life back and I couldn’t be happier. I love Misty so much…I-I don’t know what I would have done if I lost her.” Misty knelt beside him and held his hand. “I really don’t know what to say…but I’ll never forget what you did for me or Misty. I love you dad and thanks,” he finished. As the breeze blew through Ash’s hair, he thought he could vaguely hear his father saying ‘I love you too son’ but quickly dismissed it. He stood up, feeling renewed and refreshed. He gently cupped Misty’s face in his hands and prepared himself for something that he had longed for the past 7 years. Slowly, he leaned in as she did the same. All at once he closed the gap between their lips and relished in the feeling of her soft lips upon his. He savored it, never wanting the moment to end. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled away slightly and rested his forehead against hers. “Misty…I can’t stand being away from you…if I’ve learned anything from this ordeal, its to not let life pass you by,” he whispered, “I love you so much…will you marry me?” “Oh, Ash,” whispered Misty, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, “Of course I will.” Smiling, Ash planted another kiss on Misty’s tender lips, holding the kiss slightly longer this time around. It was amazing that at the beginning of all of this, they had thought that they had lost one another, only to be reunited later. Now, they would soon be married and nothing would be able to tear them apart. Breaking the kiss, Misty gently caressed Ash’s face as he melted at her touch. “Ash, I love you.” “I know…” With Aki and Marissa finally gone and the peace restored, Ash knew that he would finally be able to live his life. No more fighting or living in constant fear, instead, Ash and Misty’s souls would become one and their destinies intertwined. For the both of them, love truly shone through darkness, and neither would ever forget how close they came to losing it. The End… A/N: Okay, hope you all liked it! I will be putting up an Epilogue explaining exactly how Ash escaped the rockslide. Please review and AAML for life!