“Whispers in the Dark”
Chapter 2: Whispers in the Dark
By: crichton55
A/N: Here you are, the second chapter in the “Whispers in the Dark” saga. This chapter is considerably longer that the others, so bear with this one. I’m running out of things to say, so on with the third (technically, if you count “In the Arms of an Angel” as the prologue) installment of “Whispers in the Dark.” Hope you enjoy!
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Nobody in the small group dared to question
the way Ash was behaving on the long hike towards
Ash merely kept walking. “C’mon, guys!
We need to get to the
Ash did not reply, instead answering her by breaking into a flat-out run when he caught sight of his destination over the hill that had been obscuring his vision. His excitement was short-lived when he arrived at the automatic sliding doors, which opened as expected, an action to which Ash paid no attention. Posted on a poster in big, bold letters were the words that caught him off-guard: “All rooms occupied.”
Displeased, Ash attempted to walk back the
way in which he arrived, but another sign, posted below the “occupied” sign,
caught his attention just as the last one had.
He stared at this poster a few seconds longer, his brain starting to
emerge from his unpredictable attitude and revert back to its normal
state. He stood there, eyes transfixed
on the sign that clearly read in smaller letters, “Karaoke Contest. Tonight at
Ash’s mind whirred to life at the sudden idea of singing in the contest that the poster advertised. His brain was rapidly clogged with the vision of singing a sappy love song and dedicating it to Misty, seeing her face plastered with the love he already knew existed. He ran inside, through the automatic doors that were still permitting his entry, and zoomed towards the front desk, greeted by the all too familiar face of Nurse Joy, who smiled upon his appearance.
“Do you have a song list for the Karaoke contest tonight?” asked Ash quickly. Nurse Joy continued to smile at him, not bothering to pay attention to the fact that Ash had not said hello. “Why, yes, I do. Here you are.” She handed him a stapled set of three pages, each with a long alphabetical song list on either side. Ash thanked her and proceeded to skim across the available song names, complete with artist, while slowly walking over the collection of reading chairs and couches that sat a short distance away from the front desk. He absentmindedly sat down in a crimson red loveseat, thoroughly engrossed by the three page pamphlet of the offered songs and not fully aware where exactly he planted his hindquarters.
Misty, Brock, and Pikachu, forgotten by Ash, burst through the still open doors, each with their own conglomeration of anger written all over their contorted faces. They strode over to him, Brock not bothering to excuse himself as he bumped into a black-haired teenage girl on his way over to the collection of seats. Ash looked up upon seeing their shadows engulf him and grinned rather innocently.
Misty was the first to speak. “What the hell has gotten into you, Ketchum? Are you really that dense enough to leave us behind while you enjoy the comfort of this…Ash, why are you sitting in a loveseat?” It was then that Ash finally realized where he had ended up, for he looked at what he was sitting in, turned back to Misty, and shrugged. Misty, all anger that had been directed towards her love suddenly becoming nonexistent, giggled and sat down next to him, peering curiously at what he had been reading.
Brock, however, didn’t think that Ash’s brief and sudden runaway was all too important. But instead of demanding an answer to the two and a half hour old question of why Ash had been so in control that morning, his attention was diverted to the pamphlet that he and Misty were skimming over. “What’s that you’ve got, Ash?” He craned his head to get a better look of the center of attention.
“It seems to be true that some mice are more observant than others. Take a look at that wall over there. See that flyer? There’s one over on the sliding door when we came in…something about a karaoke contest.” Ash added, pointing to a nearby wall to his right upon seeing Brock’s confused expression. Brock sank into a state of even deeper confusion when he heard this. He looked back at Ash.
“You’re entering? Can you even sing?” teased Brock, nudging Ash in the shoulder and laughing. “Are you kidding? I can sing great!” Ash protested, giving the verbal attitude of great annoyance yet plastering a smile onto his face. Brock folded his arms, smiling as thought to say that he didn’t believe Ash. “You’ve never told us that.”
“You never asked,” Ash replied before burying his nose in the pamphlet once more.
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Ash was starting to regret his
decision. His whole body was visibly
trembling, a testament to the fear that was bottled up inside his mind,
threatening to drive him mad. The fact
that there was an increasingly large crown conglomerated together in the
medium-sized multipurpose room of the
“Our next singer will be Ash Ketchum from
“Some of you may know me, some of you may not,” he said, pausing to let the statement sink in. “I’m not here to give you an ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, however I will say this. My father once believed that true friends are the ultimate key in achieving a lifelong dream. I haven’t had many friends along my travels these last few years of chasing my dream, but three have stuck by me almost every step of the way. I thank them with all my heart and soul for always being there for me. I haven’t achieved my ultimate goal of becoming a Pokémon Master as of yet, but I intent to do so with my best friends, Misty, Brock, and last but certainly not least, my old pal Pikachu! Let’s hear it for them!” The room exploded into a frenzy of clapping and cheering, people from every corner of the multipurpose room creating as much ruckus as possible.
Ash found Misty sitting down amongst all the people that had stood up to applaud his speech, staring at him with an expression of pure joy. Tears were starting to sparkle in her aqua-blue eyes as she gazed into his eyes with a broad grin on her face, an action to which Ash winked before diverting his attention back to the crowd he once hated to be in front of.
“Finally, I’d personally like to dedicate this song to a very special friend of mine,” he continued. “I dedicate this song to someone who’s always been there for me, someone whom I have come to trust with my heart just as she has entrusted her heart with me. Misty Waterflower, this one is for you.” He turned to gaze into Misty’s eyes for a fraction of a second, winking yet again. His voice seemed to echo in the endless void of Misty’s numb mind.
Despite the lies that
you're making
Your love is mine for the taking
My love is just waiting
To turn your tears to roses
The volume of the music skyrocketed suddenly, transforming from a light beat to a loud and adrenaline pumping nightmare for guitarists. Some people in the audience were forced to plug their protesting ears at the onslaught of the new volume level. Ash’s singing voice was heavenly. Misty never knew he was that good at what he was doing in front of everyone.
Despite the lies that
you're making
Your love is mine for the taking
My love is just waiting
To turn your tears to roses
I will be the one
that's gonna hold you
I will be the one that you run to
My love is a burning, consuming fire
No, you'll never be alone
When darkness comes I'll light the night with stars
Hear my whispers in the dark
No, you'll never be alone
When darkness comes you know I'm never far
Hear the whispers in the dark
Whispers in the dark
You feel so lonely and ragged
You lay there broken and naked
My love is just waiting
To clothe you in crimson roses
I will be the one that's gonna find you
I will be the one that's gonna guide you
My love is a burning, consuming fire
No, you'll never be alone
When darkness comes I'll light the night with stars
Hear my whispers in the dark
No, you'll never be alone
When darkness comes you know I'm never far
Hear the whispers in the dark
Misty paid no attention to the solo that started up, for she was too engrossed in Ash’s flawless performance. Tears were now flowing down her cheeks as if they had been released from a faucet turned to full blast.
No! You'll never be alone!
When darkness comes I'll light the night with stars
Hear the whispers in the dark
No, you'll never be alone
When darkness comes you know I'm never far
Hear the whispers in the dark
Whispers in the dark
Whispers in the dark
Whispers in the Dark!
The song abruptly ended, the overwhelming uproar of applause blasting through the room as if a bomb had gone off, rippling throughout the room with more force than the song Ash had just completed. Misty went utterly berserk, doing everything in her power to struggle through the dense mob of people to the front of the crowd. Ash allowed the rampage of clapping and cheering to last for a few more seconds before raising his hand once more, causing the immense noise and chaos to secede from the room.
Nurse Joy whispered something to another nurse, holding up what looked like a gift-wrapped box and nodding her head. Ash noticed this out of his peripheral vision and quickly assumed that he had won the grand prize. He opened his mouth to say what had been itching to explode from the depths of his brain ever since he first woke up that morning, but Nurse Joy was the first to speak as she strode over to the microphone.
“I believe we have a new Karaoke Champion, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town...what, Ash? No more applause? Well, suit yourself. Please hold your applause. I believe Ash has something more to say,” she added to the crowd, causing several people to issue audible groans of displeasure. She pushed the box that Ash had spied a moment before into Ash’s hands and walked off stage in a huff, apparently tired of Ash’s persistent speaking.
“Thank you, Nurse Joy. I wish that whatever this belonged to me. But, alas, I cannot accept the title of Champion. (Several people gave off loud gasps of disbelief) No, that title goes to someone else. My best friend, Misty, is the real Champion tonight. Whatever is in this box, it belongs to her now,” he finished simply, walking out from under the spotlight of attention and towards the back door, motioning with his index finger for Misty, Brock, and Pikachu to follow suit. No clapping was heard as Ash and his friends turned the corner and disappeared from view.
Misty couldn’t think through the mental daze in which she had been confined. As they entered the foyer of the Pokémon Center, Ash led the group over to the collection of chairs and couches they had previously visited, turning to face Brock as he sat down in the same red loveseat. “Brock, there’s a handful of pretty girls over there in the corner. Go and have yourself some fun for a moment,” Ash teased, watching Brock’s expression light up with renewed interest as he ran swiftly over to the group of girls.
Misty bore the look of confusion as she turned to face her love. “Why tell him that?” she asked curiously with a hint of laughter in her voice. Ash smiled. “To get rid of loverboy.” He proceeded to divert his attention to the velvet box which he had won.
Misty’s heart began to pound in her chest; somehow she knew what was coming, yet the tears that threatened to flow down her cheeks did not hold back, tears that Ash wiped away gingerly with his thumb. He gazed into her blue eyes intently. “Misty, do you know why I dedicated that song to you? Do you know why that whatever this is belongs to you now?” His voice was calm, loving, and caring as he gazed further into his love’s watery eyes. Misty began to nod her head, changed her mind in mid-gesture, then shook her head, her flaming red hair that was let down to the middle of her back flowing as her head shook. “It’s because I’m not afraid anymore to admit the truth, a truth that has caused me daily emotional turmoil. I love you, Misty. I love you just like you showed that you love me with that kiss you gave me early this morning…yes, you did wake me up but I chose not to do anything.”
Ash’s voice was not quavering as he spoke, his speech still possessing the fearless quality it had during the time he stood in front of the enormous crowd of singers and trainers. Misty gasped at what Ash had told her. He had felt the kiss she had not been able to resist giving him the previous night. Her mind began to go berserk. ‘He loves me,” was all the output her mind was capable of, for she began to sob on Ash’s shoulder, a shoulder that she had longed to lean against for so long. She had never felt so happy in her entire life, happier than when she realized that the horrific nightmare she had experienced that morning had been nothing but a dream.
Ash felt the tears begin to seep through his blue vest as he raised Misty’s head up by one finger and looked her in the eye. His stare seemed to sooth her torrential downpour of tears that cascaded down her cheeks. “Ash, y-you don’t know how long I’ve waited for you to say that. I love you, too, always forever.” Her voice devolved down to a hushed whisper as the lights in the foyer went out, leaving them in almost absolute darkness. Misty nor Ash bothered to check who had turned out the lights, for they were too engrossed in each other’s gaze to notice much of anything. A bright light illuminated the room as suddenly as the artificial light had gone out, originating from the furry little mouse Pokémon standing next to Ash and Misty’s loveseat. “Pika!”
Ash leaned in and gave Misty a passionate kiss, a kiss that he knew marked the beginning of a new chapter in his life. Time started to slow down. Seconds seemed to last for hours as the newly found couple melted in each other’s arms for the first but certainly not the last time.
A loud crack echoed throughout the foyer of the Pokémon Center, followed by an ear-shattering scream, and the light went out yet again.
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A/N: Aww…I love a happy ending to a chapter and a cliffhanger to boot! I’m kinda surprising myself at how fast I’m chucking out these suspenseful chapters. Please favorite and review! I can’t get enough of those emails! Don’t expect the next chapter to be up sooner than the rest though, what with it being Thanksgiving and all that holiday commotion. Bye for now!