Clone Trouble

Misty woke up. She wiped a dirty lock of hair from her eyes and looked around.

"Toge?" she heard. "TogEpi. Toge togEpi pi."

She saw her newly transformed Togepi waddle up to her. It’s voice. It sounded much like a small child’s… most like a diglett’s.

"Togepi?" wondered Misty.

"Toge! Tog! Tog tog pi! TogEpi!" said Togepi and hugged Misty the best it could.

She picked up Togepi, getting used to its skin-textured shell, covered in natural mucus.

"Where are we?" she wondered out loud.

The place looked familiar… like she’s been to the place before. Familiar trees… the sky was covered with black clouds and only a little bit of the red sky showed… Red sky?!

Misty realized it was an exact replica of the island she and Ash landed on. She darted her head around, looking to see if all the gloominess had to do with a full moon.

No. It wasn’t a full moon… she saw a black sphere in the sky. It was a new moon. Then it couldn’t be the same island…

"It’s just like the island Ash and I left, but reversed… Ash. Where is he?" Misty asked again out loud, even though only Togepi could hear her, but couldn’t answer.

She remembered he was shot back and away from her. The thought made her heart shatter. She was away from him. They were separated… never to see each other’s darling faces until a miracle happened… if it would.

But… maybe he was not blown back to far! Misty looked back and forth, calling out Ash's name.

"Ash! Ash! Ashy-boy!…"

No answer. A cold wind flew by, letting her long hair wave with it. She heard rushing water nearby, and knew that’s where Neia’s river was. She began to use her ears to find her way to the clearing.

Misty walked over logs and trees that were cut down. Moss covered most everything, but was mostly brown. She protected Togepi from the sharp leafs and twigs.

After struggling through the forest, she heard the rushing water more clearly, and could even smell it, but it wasn’t the same… somehow.

As she came into the clearing, she rushed to the large river and peered in with a longing to jump in, but when she saw it, she jumped back.

The river’s water… it was clear and she could see through it, yet it was so dark, and there were no signs of life.

"TogEpi Epi gEpi," said Togepi sadly.

"The water…" Misty let her fingers run through the water, making tiny waves form around them.

She looked at her reflection in the water. She saw her dirty hair that almost looked brown, rather then a healthy bright red-orange. She saw her blue-green scales creep up her neck, the tight fitted black shirt that wrapped around her upper torso and legs. Her feet felt like rocks and she lightly placed her hand on one, not sure if this was reality… but it must have.

Misty, for some reason, dipped her feet and legs into the rough river. She was calm, but inside, very surprised when she saw that, like a water sprite, her feet and legs turned into a fin and tail. The tail was a very, very dark viridian color- since it was night, it almost seemed black. She then let her whole body go underwater. Togepi instinctively jumped in with her, forming small fins under it and over it for the dorsal fins. Misty looked at her long tail that swished about in the water. It was much longer then any of the water sprites- probably twice as long as her own body. Her fin at the end was translucent and the imprints on it ended in spirals. She thought the water was enchanted so she and Togepi could breathe, but realized they had gills, and must have been using those. She pressed her fingertip against one of the folds and felt some water getting pushed into her so she immediately let go, letting the water go out.

She swam around, remembering everything, but there was no life… or was there? She saw some figure looming in the shadows below her. She narrowed her eyes to get a better look, and saw part of a creature heading towards her. Misty widened her eyes as she saw what looked like a dragon… and something else, shimmering. As it became clearer, she saw that the dragon’s wings didn’t look much like the type for flying, but they were more of a weak type of wing that was webbed for better swimming. Its arms and legs were what were powerful, as it swam using all fours and its tail with the yellow diamond end. It had webbed feet and ears, and curled golden horns. Its scales were blue and its stomach and the inside area of its legs were silver. She noticed what was sparkling so much. It was carrying a round crystal that pointed outwards on two opposite sides, almost guarding it, in its mouth. Though she could barely see all of it, since it was so small compared to the dragon. One tooth almost covered it.

Though this was no time to admire the beast, it was time to run from it, since it was coming towards them. Misty swam up, grabbing Togepi, who was just as scared. She launched up in the air, and as her tail and fin came out of the water, it changed back to her scaled legs, feet, and tightly fitted black pants. She landed on the bank of the river, panting and gasping, dampened from the dark water.

She saw the dragon burst out of the water. Its small red eyes fixated on her. She looked back with fear. The water dragon growled a little at first, but after a while, it seemed to turn soft on her.

The dragon snorted out warm air as it dived back into the water, but it had tossed the crystal from its mouth to Misty. She caught it in both her arms and let it lean a little on her torso, dazed at what happened. Though the crystal wasn’t what you’d call a little trinket. It must have been half the size of her whole body.

"TogEpi toge toge?" wondered Togepi and it looked at the crystal.

Suddenly, Misty felt something going into her body, from the crystal. First, the crystal glowed blue, then the aura surged through her hands and all around her. She closed her eyes, letting in the power. Her hair rose a little bit, and her mouth gaped open a little as her head turned upwards. Finally, the aura died down after completely surrounding her, and Togepi.

The crystal faded away, and Misty opened her eyes.

"What? What was that?" she wondered.

"Tog?" said Togepi, in just as much wonder.

Misty got up and walked away from the river. She walked across the clearing of dirt and leaned against the same tree Ash and Misty usually hung around. Though it was wilted with no leafs and jumping onto any of the branches would just make it break off and shatter into pieces of bark.

She buried her head in her arms and started to cry.

‘I don’t get any of this. All I wanted to do is to get home, and now I land here, separated from Ash…’ she thought to herself.

Misty broke into a gush of tears. Her nightmare had come true. They were away from each other! And to think, that the night before they were thinking of how bad it would be for them to be separated. Besides, they loved each other dearly; probably more then life itself, since they would give life up for each other.

Misty continued with her rain of tears, until hearing a familiar voice.

"Misty? Why are you crying?"

She shot her head up. "Ash? Ash is that you?!"

She turned her head to the left and saw him, standing there with Pikachu, who seemed to glow… but that wasn’t important. It was him! It must have been him!

"Ash!" cried out Misty and she ran over to hug him.

"Misty…" he said and hugged her back.

But it didn’t feel right… Some how, it just didn’t seem the same.

Misty pushed Ash away.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Sorry, it was to hard of a push. I just… don’t feel like a hug…" she said, then thought to herself, ‘From you’

"Well, I- I’m glad I found you," she said and forced a smile, "I thought I’d never see you again."

"And I’d be lost without you," added Ash.

"TogEpi! Toge ge pi!" chirped Togepi and it ran to Pikachu.

"Pika?" wondered Pikachu and stared at the little creature.

"Pikachu, can’t you see it’s Togepi?" asked Misty.

"Pipipi? Pi! PikA-chu!" Pikachu smiled and spread his arms in happiness.

"So where do you think we are?" asked Misty.

"I truly don’t know," he said, looking around.

"It looks much like the island we just left… but everything is dead and creepy," Misty shivered.

"The island we just left?" repeated Ash.

"Boy, do you have a loss in memory. Did you get hit in the head?" Misty asked and ran her hands through his hair to see if any bumps had formed.

"No, I didn’t get hit in the head," he said, blushing from what she was doing.

"Oh well. It must have been from that transformation thing we went through, but it’s just a guess," said Misty, "Well, we better find a more decent place to rest, since there doesn’t seem to be anything here."

"I think I saw a good place close to here," said Ash, "while I was looking for you."

Misty followed Ash through the forest, not sure of where he was taking her. They walked for a while and Misty started getting tired of following him through all the twists and turns.

‘I’m positive we’ve never been to this neck of the woods, so how does he know this place so well?’ wondered Misty.

"Here we are," said Ash and he stepped aside to let Misty see the clearing- if that’s what you’d call it.

There was a gigantic tree in the center. Its roots that partly stuck out of the ground were even taller than they were. It twisted its way up, going through low black clouds. Not one branch was shown, and its lowest branch was above the clouds, leaving just the trunk.

"When did you see this, Ash? Wow…" Misty stared in awe at the giant tree.

Misty looked to Ash, "Well, Ash? We only landed here a few hours ago, so how could you find this place in such a short time?"

He didn’t answer; Misty stared in suspicion.

"Well, lets see if we can go in there," he said and started walking to it.

Misty shrugged off and slid her arm around Ash casually. Though, when he usually didn’t when she did this, he did- he blushed.

Misty noticed this and mistook it for just heat from sickness.

"Ash, are you feeling okay?" she asked and gave him a small squeeze, making him blush more.

"Yes, I’m feeling fine!" he replied happily.

Misty’s eyes widened menacingly and she immediately scrunched her hand like it hurt.

She then noticed his cheeks wear off the redness.

‘He was blushing! Ash never blushes like that! Something tells me, something more then the transformation changed him,’ Misty thought to herself.

She shook the thought off and followed Ash inside a giant hole in the tree. Inside were stairs that spiraled up the trunk, and occasionally, there were doors that led to different rooms.

"Maybe somebody lives here…" said Misty cautiously.

"Naah…" said Ash, "This place looks deserted."

"Are you sure?"

Ash nodded, and he started walking up the spiral staircase. Each step made a loud creaking noise and sometimes, a bit of the soft stone it was made out of chipped off.

Misty reluctantly followed him up, clutching Togepi harder in replacement of Ash himself.

She looked down at Pikachu, who seemed to act normal, except for the fact Togepi kept getting scared around him, and Pikachu made a light growling sound in return.

"So, Ash, you seem to know a lot about this place," she said, looking around at the wooden carvings on the inside of the tree.

She turned to Ash, with a look on her face saying, "So, are you going to reply to this statement, Ashy-boy?"

"Well, we were on the island same to this, so I would know where what was where," he said.

"But we never been to this place," said Misty.

Ash froze, "Well, I have… it’s just that… you were… asleep."

"Oh," said Misty and Ash sighed, "But you could have at least taken me with you."

"Yeah, but you were so peaceful, I didn’t want to disturb you!"

"That’s sweet of you Ash," said Misty and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Again, he blushed.

Misty placed her fingertips on her lips. Ash… he felt so cold! There was no magical warmth, and Misty never felt the mood he was in, like she usually could.

"Ash, are you sure you’re feeling okay?" asked Misty.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well…" she tried searching for the right words, "it’s just that- it’s just that… you seem so cold; and I don’t seem to feel too comfortable with you as much as I used to. Are you sick?"

"No, I can’t say I am," he said.

‘This isn’t the Ash I know…’ Misty thought to herself.

"I think it’s okay to go into this room," said Ash, placing his hand on a doorknob.

"I hope this is a good one," he said.

"Enlighten us…" Misty said under her breath.

He turned the knob and pushed open the door. Inside was a room with a small futon, and a small table with four cushions around it to sit on. The walls and ceiling were more like a dome, then straight, flat wooden walls. There were no cobwebs, or signs of age, though, so how could it be abandoned?

"Well, guess that means this place is already in use. Come on, Ash," said Misty and she stepped back a little.

"Oh come on, Misty. I’m sure the owner of this place will be nice enough to let us stay a little," said Ash, grabbing her arm tightly and forcing her in.

Misty snagged her arm away, clutching it from the pain of Ash’s uncaring grip.

She sat down on the futon, resting her chin in her hands. Ash sat down next to her… err- lied down.

"I think we better get a good night’s rest," said Ash, and gestured for Misty settle down too.

Misty hid her face of disgust and worry, and stood up.

"I think I’ll just sleep on the floor," she said softly and laid down next to the bed, grabbing a cushion for a pillow.

Togepi hopped from the futon, mainly to get away from Pikachu, and cuddled up next to Misty as usual. She gave him a small hug before closing her eyes slowly, and gradually falling asleep… though not for long.

Misty woke up in the middle of the night. She looked around the room. She shivered because of her poor choice of no blanket, which Ash greatly hogged that night.

Ash… what was with him? Every time Misty kissed him, he’d blush very deeply, in which he never used to do. There was no meaning in it, and it felt like there was something missing… of course there was. How could she be so blind? What Neia had told her earlier! A psychic link. What had happened to it? It just vanished suddenly!

Hmm… of course, on the other hand, if the link was hidden, and you could never tell if it was really there, how did Misty know?

She ran her hand down her arm, feeling the scales… scales? And what about when her legs and pants suddenly turned into a fin and tail?

"Maybe there was a little water sprite inside her all along."

The thought came into her mind.

"Maybe there is…" she said silently.

The next morning, Ash woke up, carefully stepping off his bed so he didn’t step on Misty. Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder and they both walked around Misty.

Ash knelt down and Pikachu hopped off to the side. He nudged her a little, so she woke up.

She opened her eyes, seeing Ash looking down on her.

"Morning," she said softly.

"I’m sorry if I was too hard on you," he said.

Misty forced a smile and said, "It’s okay, Ash," she said with a little force on the word "Ash". "You know I’ll always love you, Ash."

He frowned, and it looked like he just realized something. Misty had anticipated this… or at least the beginning of it.

"Rrrrrr… I can’t take it anymore!" he bellowed out. The word that was alien to him, flowed through his mind.

"Ash? Ash is that you?… When did you see this, Ash?…Well, Ash?… Ash, are you feeling okay?… That’s sweet of you Ash… Ash, are you sure you’re feeling okay?… Come on, Ash… You know I’ll always love you, Ash… Ash, this… Ash, that…"

"I see now," his eyes started glowing, "that you don’t love me, you only love this ‘Ash’ kid!" it looked as if he were starting to crack his skin open.

Another bellow let out his true form, of a winged, black monster with four arms, and his skin shined greatly, even though there was no light. His red eyes gleamed at her fiercely, then it almost seemed he smirked.

"Well, with this outburst I guess you now know my true form, and that I was wrong to think you’d ever love me."

"No. I knew you weren’t Ash ever since I realized so last night. Though you are right about something, I only love Ash, and not you; never," she replied.

"Well, we’ll see about that," he said and with his muscular top left arm, he grabbed Misty.

"Let me go!" she screamed.

She covered Togepi, and tried to settle him down, since he had started crying. She then looked at Pikachu, who was not Pikachu any more. He turned into some flying reptile and buzzed around the giant monster.

The monster flew down the fleet of stairs with Misty under his arm. He threw her onto the dirt outside, and bent down to open some sort of wooden passage on the ground.

Misty shook her head, dizzy from the monster’s careless toss.

"You’ll love me if I have to make you," he hissed.

"Never!" shouted Misty and stood up in a fighting position, and she started to glow blue, like when she had the crystal.

The monster lunged at her, but backed away immediately when he saw what she did.

Streams of water shot out from her, then circled her like seven swirling ribbons. They swirled and twisted together in front and she took control of the water with her hands, then she burst it out at him.

He was soaking wet, not to mention he was stinging from the cold, hard water hitting against him.

Misty’s eyes widened.

"My lord…" she said and ran as fast as she could, not knowing where she was going.

She knew that monster would come after her, but she ran away just to slow him down. She aimlessly ran into the forest, clutching the scared Togepi in her arms.

**

"Misty! Misty! Misty! Miiiiiiiistyyyyyyyy!!!" called out Ash. He walked through the forest with Pikachu, looking for his lost love.

He walked around, stumbling over logs and shrubs in his path.

"Misty!!!"

"Pikachu! Pika!!"

Ash slumped down on a log. He rested his head in his hands, kicking the dirt up. Ash sighed and let his arms down, hanging his head so his face was looking at his boots.

"Oh, Misty, where are you?" he said silently.

Pikachu’s ear twitched a little and made a sad face in sympathy.

All of a sudden he heard some heavy footsteps coming towards him.

"Huh?" he wondered and looked up.

There was a quick rustle in the top of a giant tree that made him jump back a little.

Ash stood up, and walked to the tree in curiosity. Pikachu ran over, sniffing the trunk carefully, then stepping away slowly.

A large green dragon’s head poked out, roaring so loud, it made Ash’s hair wave back, and he covered his ears.

Ash scrambled back until his back hit the log he was sitting on earlier. The dragon raised itself up showing all of its body. Its wings were slender, but powerful so it could fly easily, unlike the water dragon Misty met before. The tips of the larger scales, toes/fingers, the tip of its wings and tail, and the webbed spikes around its neck was aligned with gold. Its tail swished rapidly, stirring some dead leafs and dirt. Its breath was hot, but it didn’t breathe fire- in fact it seemed to have more of an electric feeling embedded in it. In its right claw, it held a crystal, but it was a different shape then the round one of Misty’s. Its flat, cylinder shape widened as it went up, then it pointed with a tip. The dragon was a little bigger than the one Misty met, and so you could see the crystal that well, but you could see the sparks that seemed to immerse out of it.

The dragon made another roar, until getting a good whiff of Ash, then it backed away. The dragon tossed the crystal it held zealously to Ash, who caught it before hitting the ground. The dragon snorted and flew upwards, lifting its magnificent body into the air. It reached the height it was pleased with and turned so its body was stretched horizontally, then beat its wings and started flying swiftly out of site.

Ash stared at the huge crystal in his arms. Then sparks started flying out of it.

Electricity surged out of it and through his hands and arms; it covered his body, not to mention Pikachu’s. He shut his eyes closed willingly, for this feeling was much harder on him then the encounter Misty had. The electricity surged through them for a minute before dying down.

Ash’s upper torso dropped limply on his lap as the crystal disappeared from under him.

"Eeuuhh…" he opened his eyes and saw Pikachu exhausted, lying down on the ground in front of him.

"Wha-?" he forced himself up and rubbed his head.

Though, he soon fainted again from exhaustion.

**

Ash woke up to the faint sound of somebody crying. He wondered about the dragon, but not for long. A person was a person. That person might be able to help him! Ash ran towards the source of the cry, but nearly fainted when he saw who it was.

"Misty?!" he held his hands to his temples.

The redhead stopped crying and looked up.

"Ash?"

"Misty!" he ran over to her, giving her a large and loving hug.

**SLASH**

Ash let go of her and backed away. Misty cocked her head to the side, "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing…" he said and forced a smile.

‘There’s something different about her… well, it must be what happened to her! What’s with the scales?!’ he tried to think of an excuse for him.

"W-what happened to you, Misty?" he asked, gesturing to Misty’s "new look".

"I may as well ask what’s happened to you. Our form changed while in the portal. Don’t mind the scales…" she said, gently brushed the side of her left arm.

Ash placed his hand on the arm she brushed, "It doesn’t matter what form you’re in. I’m just glad to see you again," he said and hugged her, but it still felt different… no, not physically, mentally. There was something about her…

"Pipipi! Pikachu pika!" said Pikachu, greeting Togepi.

"TogEpi! Togrrrrrrr…" growled Togepi.

"Pi?" wondered Pikachu and slowly backed away from Togepi.

"What’s wrong with Togepi?" asked Ash.

Misty got a face of worry. "Ehh… um- Togepi! Behave yourself!" she ordered sternly.

Togepi blinked once and sat down with a smile.

Ash blinked twice. "Uhh… yeah…" he said under his breath and backed away a little.

"Pika…?" said the confused Pikachu and followed Ash’s suit.

"So," said Ash, digging the tip of his foot into the soil a little, "Where do you think we are?"

"I really don’t know," she replied, "We should take a look first, maybe."

"So far I’ve been walking around for miles and haven’t seen anything but dead trees, black lakes, dirt, and a green dragon that almost bit my head off!" wailed Ash, "How are we supposed to know where we are by just walking around more?"

"A dragon?! Almost bit your head off?! Oh, are you okay?" asked Misty hugging him like there was no tomorrow.

"Well, yeah until it gave me this huge crystal, flew away, and I don’t even know what’s going on here."

"Pika pika!" agreed Pikachu.

"Oh, you poor, poor thing!" said Misty, hugging him even tighter.

"Misty, please! I can’t breathe!"

At this she let go and kissed him instead.

‘She’s burning and freezing at the same time!’ Ash exclaimed in his head and he abruptly forced his mouth off hers.

"Misty you’re freezing cold- but so hot, you’re burning me!"

"Why, thank you," she said, wrapping her arms around him.

"Not that kind of ‘hot’!!! I mean you’re actually burning me!" he touched his lips, and it felt so hot he had to take his hand off.

"Eeerrrrr…" he cried in pain.

"Oh, Ash, are you okay?" asked Misty, sliding her hands to his waist.

"Take your scrawny little hands off him!" they heard a voice.

They turned their heads to a flowing river nearby, though saw nobody. Then they saw a girl jump out of the water as graceful as a dolphin, then in a semi-circle she landed back in. It went by so fast, they couldn’t tell who she was.

They saw a flicker of black and red under the water, then she popped back up again.

Ash could believe his eyes.

"Misty?" he wondered.

She leaped up from the water, then in midair, she let her deadly dark blue fin and tail turn into her "normal" legs and pants. She landed on the bank of the stream with Togepi by her sides.

"What do you want?!" asked Misty… or whichever Misty it was that Ash met first.

"I should be asking you that," said her counterpart, "What do you want… with my Ash?!"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," she said.

"You know darn well what I’m talking about! Rrrrrr…" she raised her hands and the water behind her rose up along with them, "…rrrrrRRAAA!"

She shot her arms forward and the water was hurled at Misty.

What was this? Her skin was melting? No- one layer of her skin was melting.

Out of the creamy peach skin and blue scales, was a fiery red form. The togepi next to her also showed its true form, which resembled that of a flame. The girl, if you’d call her that, was burning with fire, but seemed to be in great pain from the water this other Misty had thrown at her.

"Wa- what’s going on here?" asked Ash in fright.

"That’s what I’d like to know," said a voice.

They looked up, seeing the monster that Misty encountered earlier.

"You!" cried out Misty.

"Hey, toots," he said, "Now just look at what you did to my sister," he said gesturing to the dead monster, who’s real skin had also died out and melted.

"Toots? Sister?" repeated Misty.

"Yeah, Misty-babe. She’s my sis, and soon, you’ll be my girl!" he said.

"What?!" yelled Ash.

"Pipe down, kid. Go back to the swamp you came from," said the winged monster.

"Grrrrrr…" Ash then felt some strange power inside him. He glowed of a golden color, and closed his eyes to get ready for something… something he wasn’t sure of what was going to happen. "Deynatsu… Dragon rage!" he shouted and a beam of electricity was shot out from his arms and hands. The electricity took form of a dragon, and it flew into the beast, making him squeal in pain.

He hit the ground, hard, like a rock. Bits of electricity made their ways in and out of the monster’s body before dying out.

Ash panted and looked in front of him at the almost fainted monster.

He wiped the blood off his mouth and grinned, "That’s a lot of power for such a little baby."

He charged at Ash, ramming him into a dead tree, knocking it over on him. "EEUUUAAA…" he cried out in pain.

"Ash!" cried out Misty and she ran over to him, pushing away the tree trunk as much as she could.

"Well," said the monster, "I suppose, that even though I love you, I’ll kill you. You’re not my type, anyway," he lowered his head and started to charge at them.

"No…" she said as the monster neared her, "…no…" there was enough hatred for her to pour out on him, and she wouldn’t stop now, "…NO…" she squinted her eyes, knowing the right time for him to come, and she waited, until finally… "NOOOOO!!!!"

Misty sprinted up brought her arms forward to her and around here, formed a barrier of blue that chilled the air around it.

The monster crashed into it, and as he trampled down, his body turned to ice. With a crash, his body broke into pieces, lying on the ground with no life left.

Misty started crying. She had killed both of them… not exactly on purpose… but she did. Misty turned her head to Ash, who was breathing, but unconscious.

"Ash… Ash…" she shook him in between sobs, "Ash, please… wake up."

"Mmmmissss…" he tried gathering his strength to say her name, but gave up with words and opened his eyes first.

"Ash!" she hugged him tightly. "You are Ash, right? Where’s Pikachu?"

"Pika!" said Pikachu, running over with Togepi.

"TogEpi! TogEpi! Tog! Tog!"

They both stood up wearily.

"Well, I hope I’m still Ash- but I’m not sure if you’ll call me that in this," he said pinching his yellow/gold shirt.

Misty ran her hand through his hair and kept an eye on his face.

"Misty, what are you doing?" he asked.

"I’m seeing if you’re really Ash," she replied.

She looked into his eyes that glimmered hazel and brown. There was truth in them- those were his eyes; anybody could tell that. She took her hand from his hair and brushed them along his cheeks. There was no unusual warmth, just his own body head.

Misty smiled, which made Ash smile and they kissed.

To Ash, hers was warm- not too warm- but warm, and a small chill entered his breath.

They let go of each other, also gasping for air. Ash released the breath of chilled air that entered from the kiss.

"Misty, I was just wondering…" he said.

Misty turned to him, waiting for him to finish.

"What was with the…" his voice trailed off, but Misty knew what he meant since he ended with his hand fluently waving.

"Tail and fin," she finished.

Misty sat down, wrapping her arms around her knees from being reminded of her tail.

"I don’t know…when I go into the water… it changes."

Ash sat down next to her, "A lot like a water sprite," he said.

Misty nodded and leaned her head on him. She looked up and saw the lighting bolt scars down his cheeks.

"What’s this?" she asked, brushing her fingers along the scar.

"I got it in that portal before we were bounced here. It still hurts sometimes," he said, placing his hand over Misty’s.

She raised her head up and kissed him, and he returned it.

As they let go of the lip lock, Misty still held onto him and nuzzled the left side of her face on his chest and he hugged back.

"How are we going to get off this island?" asked Ash.

"I’m not sure. I don’t even know where the portal is," replied Misty.

"I don’t even know where we are."

Then it clicked into Misty’s mind, "It’s an exact replica of the island we just left."

"Huh?"

"The island we left… with the sprites… You’ll notice familiar sites here. We’re on the same island, but the mood is reversed," said Misty.

"I… never noticed," he said, looking around.

"You landed farther away. We’ll go tomorrow- right now we need some sleep," said Misty.

"How can you tell it’s night?" asked Ash, "It always looks the same to me."

"I just… know," she said. "Besides, I hear the crickets."

"And it just got colder," said Ash as a breeze blew past them.

"It did?" asked Misty, who didn’t feel a difference in the temperature.

Ash looked at her oddly, but the glare was interrupted by another chilled breeze and he shivered, even though his shirt had long sleeves.

Misty knew it was her liking to cold, but knew that Ash would realize it soon, too. She wrapped her arms around him, trying to keep him warm, but she thought this might just make him colder because of her clammy skin.

"I’m sorry. You’ll need to find out another way keep warm," she said, reluctantly unwrapping her arms. She wished to cling onto him longer.

"Maybe Pikachu," he said, "Pikachu!"

"Pi?" wondered Pikachu and he trotted to Ash.

Ash patted Pikachu’s warm head, "Chaaaaa…" said Pikachu, smiling.

Ash took some nearby sticks and twigs and placed them into a pile like a campfire’s.

"You’re no charizard, but can you zap that pile of sticks?"

"Pika," he said as a yes and lightly emitted electricity into it, starting a fire.

"Heat…" said Misty softly and stood up.

"Misty? Where are you going?" asked Ash.

"Tog. Tog togEpi, pi tog pi," said Togepi and stood up two.

"You can sleep by the fire. I must be in the water for a while," she said, walking towards the river.

"Huh? How come?" he asked, getting up and hurrying over to her.

Misty picked up Togepi and replied, "I need the water to moisture my body for a while. I’m amphibious, if you want to put it in any other term. A goldeen can’t stay out of water forever, you know," she turned to Ash and kissed him, "I’m sure you can sleep alone like you did before, Ashy-boy."

"Ashy-boy?" he repeated.

Misty laughed at his every reply to the name and walked to the riverbank. She got into a jumping position before leaping in. Ash stared in disbelief as her legs and pants shifted into an incredibly long mermaid’s tail in midair. She managed to arch over like a dratini when leaping out and in, so it came out as a dive. The last of her that he saw was the tip of her fin going under. Togepi ran over and dived in, resembling a poliwag.

"Chaaa…" said Pikachu sadly.

Ash walked back to the pile of twigs that were lighted by Pikachu. He felt his forehead where Misty had kissed him, and when he looked at his hand, it was covered in frost.

Ash lay down by the fire and sighed. He slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

**

Ash woke up by a splash of water on his face. He bolted up, looking around and saw Misty with her palm facing him. He shook his head, wiping off all the water.

"What was that for?" he asked, still a little drowsy.

"You wouldn’t wake up," said Misty, taking her palm away from him, "We should get breakfast."

"Yeah, I’m starved!" said Ash jumping up at the mention of food.

"There’s just one problem," said Misty.

Ash frowned, "What?"

"Where?" she asked.

They looked around, seeing nothing but dirt and dead trees and bushes.

All of a sudden, they heard a noise from behind them. Misty and Ash turned around, seeing a huge, black rabbit. It had red eyes glowing; long, sharp teeth; and its fur ruffled at the site of them.

"What is THAT?!" screamed Misty.

The 4-foot rabbit stared at them, snarled, and enthusiastically bit off a nearby dead bush, still keeping an eye on them. It chewed it up like tobacco then swallowed it hard.

"I-I think we better run as fast as we can, away from it," said Ash, stepping back.

"Nope," said Misty.

"What do you mean?"

"That," Misty pointed to the black rabbit, "is going to be our breakfast," she said.

"You must be kidding!" exclaimed Ash.

"It’s the only thing we can eat around here, okay?" she scolded.

"Well, maybe there’s something a little less vicious around here…"

"Piiii…" said Pikachu, cowering behind Ash’s leg.

"Okay then," said Misty, "We won’t eat it. We’ll skip breakfast and try finding a way off of here right away."

Ash’s stomach growled, "It’s times like these that make me want to become a vegetarian," he said.

"You can… once we get home," she said.

Ash stood there silently.

"Well…?" asked Misty.

"What?"

"You’re supposed to kill it," she said.

"Wha- you mean- well- how?"

"Shoot," Misty muttered, scolding herself for not thinking of that first, "… What was that… attack you did yesterday?"

"What attack?"

"To that monster!"

"Oh… eh… yeah… I forgot," he said slowly.

Misty blew a strand of hair from her face with an upturned lip. "There are sometimes," she said, "when I just don’t know why I love you, but," she slid her arm around him, "somehow I do."

Now both of their stomachs growled, "Where’s Brock when you need him?" wondered Misty. "Anyway, we better be going," said Misty and grabbed Ash’s collar.

As they walked through the forest, with their pokemon of course, Ash noticed Misty was walking on the rough ground barefoot.

"Umm… doesn’t it hurt when you walk?" he asked.

Misty shook her head, "No." There was a slight pause. "But thanks for caring, Ashy-boy."

"Ashy-boy?" he repeated as he always did, still wondering why she called him that half the time.

Misty laughed a little. "Ash, you’re good for a little laugh sometimes," she said.

"Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Misty got a small sweat drop. "It means you’re funny."

"In a good way? Or a bad way?" he asked, still unsure.

Misty opened her mouth to say something, but ended up kissing him instead.

"Think," she said and lightly knocked her fist against the side of Ash’s head.

They heard the sound of rushing water nearby. It was now getting familiar to them.

"It is like the island we just left," said Ash as they stumbled over the bushes and saw the clearing they were in a couple days ago.

Misty nodded, "Though I wish there was more than just stumps and dirt… and the river… its all black."

"Tog…" said Togepi sadly.

"Pika…chu…"

"And its not like we have our sleeping bags with us," said Ash.

"I would have taken them if I knew we were going to end up in another dimension," said Misty.

There was a pause and they exchanged glances until Misty spoke up.

"The ground," she said simply.

"What?"

"The ground," she repeated, "We’re camping on the dirt. It can’t be that bad. It’ll just be a little cold. Maybe we can start a small fire," she said. "It’ll almost be like when we were traveling and camping out," she said to put it in a positive way.

Ash nodded, "You’re right," he said.

"I’ll get the firewood," said Misty and she walked into the forest, leaving Ash behind.

She jumped over bushes while picking up assortments of twigs and branches, then saw a figure in front of her.

Misty dropped the sticks and knelt down in front of the shadow with her head down.

The figure loomed forth. It had no face- it just wore a man’s mask and a cloak covered the rest of it. It seemed to levitate in the air.

"Lord Ukem," she said.

"Is it working?" asked the figure in a low voice.

"He doesn’t know how to use his powers yet. He’s right in the palm of my hands," she said and her eyes glowed blue.

"Toge!" agreed the togepi next to her.

"Mmm!" they heard.

Behind them, Misty sat in a small metal cage with a gag in her mouth and tied up with a tough rope. Beside her was Togepi, tied to one of the poles.

"Quiet, little girl! You’ll see your little boyfriend sooner or later," hissed the figure, and then he mumbled, "Just not for long."

He turned back to the other clone of Misty, "We’ll allow no ‘love’ on this island."

Misty continued to struggle out of the rope, but still couldn’t. The harder she tried, the tighter it got.

"Now," said the figure to the clone, "Bring him here; while he’s weak."

"Yes, sir," said the clone.

"Dismissed," said the figure called "Ukem".

The clone stood up and gave a small bow before picking up the sticks and twigs, then headed back to Ash.

"Hey, Ash?" said Misty to him when he got back.

"Huh?" Ash turned his head up to her, "What is it, Misty?"

"Can you come here for a second?" she asked.

"Sure. Why?" asked Ash as he came to her.

"Oh… just something I want to show you," she said.

‘Gee, I wonder what she wants to show me. Maybe it’s something that’s actually nice in this-" Ash’s thoughts were interrupted when he saw Ukem looming over him.

"M-Misty… who is this?" he asked in fright and turned to Misty, but saw her eyes glowing blue.

"Well, gee Ash. He’s just the one who created me," said Misty.

"Wh-a-a-t?" he said slowly.

"MMMM!!! MMM!!" Misty screamed through the gag in her mouth and tried spitting it out, "MMMP--ASH!"

"Huh?" Ash looked behind Seiyn and saw Misty in ropes.

"Wha- another Misty?! Again?!" he shouted out.

"Pika!" shouted Pikachu in disbelief.

"Foolish boy," he heard and whirled around to the dark figure above him.

"Who are you?"

"Love makes warmth, and warmth is for the living. You and that girl must die," he said and the eyes of the white mask glowed red.

"Me and…" he gulped, "Misty?"

"Awe, did little Ashy-boy get scared?" teased the clone that poked him from behind.

"But if you’re not really Misty, how did you know…" Ash trailed off.

"Everything that she knows? Well, I also have her memories besides her looks. Just to make me realistic, Ashy-boy… of course, it’s not like I really love you. You seem so…" she said with a sarcastic tone of thought, then her eyes grew even more brighter, "DISPOSABLE."

Ash winced at her words, but then became more angry then scared.

"I should have known you were acting a little strange," he said, wiping her saliva off his nose. "You needed to go in the water… the real body of Misty is still inside her and the scales are just for her protection. But you… you were made amphibious! You fake! You fraud! Ichk! You kissed me about three times!"

Misty, watching the fight closely, narrowed her eyes thinking, ‘You’re both going to get it…’

"Grrr… I can’t believe what I’ve been through! I’m sick of these damn clones!" his voice echoed throughout the forest and his eyes glowed. "Pikachu!"

"Pikapi!" Pikachu got in a ready position with his tail in the air.

"Lightning rod!" Ash shouted out.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"Deynatsu… Dragon rage!" he shouted and shot his arms out, but in the sky.

The dragon of electricity shot out of his arms and bolted in the sky.

It immediately exploded and a thick blast of electricity was aimed at Pikachu.

Pikachu soaked it up, gathering the electricity.

"Pika- CHUU!!!"

The electricity fired double at the clone of Misty and the clone of Togepi next to her and they both screamed out loud with electricity surging through their clammy bodies.

"What? How can this be happening?! His powers were supposed to be forgotten! A fluke!" Ukem shouted out. He growled and snorted out, "You’ve won this first round- but the next will be your last."

Ukem’s eyes stopped glowing and he faded away. Ash heard him, but most of his concentration was on that clone of Misty.

"I’ve had enough of you!" Ash yelled and muttered something, then shot out a smaller bolt of electricity in the sky.

It shot down another beam to Pikachu and from there he took it and gave a last zap at the clone.

"Kachu!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs before exploding in a jumble of smoke, metal, water, and fake skin. Water splashed everywhere, covering the surroundings and a little hit Misty, who was still in the cage.

"Ash?" he heard and shot his head up.

"Misty!" he ran towards the large cage where Misty was still tied up with Togepi.

"TogEpi! Epi!" chirped Togepi.

"Aouh- Misty, how do I get you out of here?" he said, pulling on the metal bars of the cage.

"Ash…" she said to answer, but Ash was too busy trying to pull open the bars. "…Ash……ASH!"

"Huh?" Ash looked up at her.

"I would be able to slide the top off if my arms weren’t tied up," she said.

"Oh!" Ash said in surprise and pushed off the top of the cage.

Though the cage was high, and Misty couldn’t just jump out, so Ash climbed up a little and leaned over, trying to balance on one hand while he tried undoing the ropes.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t balance himself and almost fell in. His reflex was to stretch out his arms, which partly helped. His hands gripped on the other side of the cage, while his thighs were resting on the other.

"Misty, whatever you do… don’t tickle me!" he said.

"I promise, but what I’m about to do may hurt you, more then it will hurt me."

"What are you going to do?!"

Misty didn’t answer. She stretched herself up and rammed Ash’s chest so he was knocked off and landed on the ground.

"Owe! My back! My chest!" Ash yelped.

"Sorry," she said.

Ash climbed up once more, maintaining his balance this time. He reached his hand down in back of Misty and pulled the correct end of the rope. It dropped down limply from around Misty and she stood up and climbed over the cage with Togepi.

"Pipipi!" cried Pikachu and he ran to Togepi.

"TogE! TogE!"

"Ash!" Misty said just above whisper since the rest of her throat was swelled up from trying not to cry.

They both kissed. Though, this one actually meant something- they were finally back with the real them.

"I guess I have a lot to tell you," Ash said.

"Hm," Misty smirked and put her hands to her waist, "I’m a lot like a water sprite, Ash."

Ash wondered what she meant by this, until it snapped in his head.

"Funny," he said sarcastically.

Misty laughed a little while she pinched him on the arm and he yelped.

"Hey! What was that for?" he asked.

"For kissing that clone of me 3 times!"

"But how was I supposed to know it wasn’t you? I mean, well I mean the clone of you, not the you you- err, I mean, well- ack. How was I supposed to know it wasn’t you?"

"By this," Misty rubbed her finger on his forehead and when he saw her finger, it was covered in frost.

Ash was about to protest again, but Misty grabbed his arm before he could say something.

"Now come on. Let’s get out of here," she said, grabbing his arm.

"Where do we go?" he asked.

"Well, there is one place I’d like to investigate," said Misty.

"Where’s that?" he asked.

"Neia’s river," she replied and they both set off, back to their old and new clearing.