Well this is the end of my Halloween fic. I hope you peeps didn’t think that the 3rd chapter was rushed at all...but remember that the moon is full for only two nights! This was another one that was fun to write, though it took me a long time. Since ff.net decided to shut itself down again I don’t know when I’ll get it up there...it’s so incompetent of them. Oh well....

It was quiet and peaceful in the pokemon center. Lots of trainers were sitting around, grooming their pokemon and making small talk. Misty sat on a bench, giving poliwhirl some water to keep his skin moist and sharing an ice cream cone with Togepi. Ash was next to her, quietly petting Pikachu, who was resting in his lap, using his cap as a pillow. He had an expressionless face as he stared down at the bright yellow fur of his pokemon. Misty looked at him with concern.

“Are you okay Ash?” She asked. He looked up at her and smiled faintly.

“Yeah, I’m alright....I’m just feeling guilty again, you know?” He answered softly.

“It’s alright to feel guilty Ash...but Joy said not to let it consume you, remember? You had no control over yourself....” Ash had been in therapy with a Nurse Joy that was studying psychology for a while. She had really helped him feel better about the tremendous guilt that had weighed on his mind. At first, Ash didn’t think he deserved to go on living. He believed that the lives he took should be avenged with his own. Joy, along with Misty, helped to remind him that he was not in control of his actions when it happened. They told him that he hadn’t been himself...and taking his own life would not bring the others back. They also encouraged him by telling him that most impressive of all, he had been able to overcome it. Ash was feeling better about it, and no longer believed that he should die. But that didn’t mean that the guilt wouldn’t come back to haunt him.

Ash leaned his head on Misty’s shoulder. She leaned toward him and kissed the top of his head.

“It’s okay Ash...it’s all over now. And at least we’re still together.” Ash smiled.

“Yeah...but what about Brock? Do you think he’s mad at me? I mean...after what...I did to him?” Ash constantly worried about Brock. He had been hospitalized for weeks, suffering from a great amount of blood loss due to the loss of his arm. When Ash had attacked him, his jaws had latched onto nearly his entire arm. Brock had struggled with all of his might, pulling one way while Ash pulled the other. He had shaken his head violently, like a dog does when ripping up meat. This added with the stress of the pulling eventually led to the entire limb being ripped off. Though badly injured, Brock managed to force himself into one of the steel-door closets of the center while Ash was busy with his detached arm. He was found later by Nurse Joy, lying in a pool of his own blood. It was a miracle that he survived. This was one of the things Ash felt most guilty about. Though he felt horrible about the other lives he had taken, Brock was his friend. Ash knew that a part of his mind would never forgive those actions. Thankfully, Brock was recovering well, and the hospital even had plans to replace his arm with a bionic one soon.

“Brock isn’t mad at you Ash.” Misty reassured. He knows that it wasn’t your fault, and he doesn’t blame you at all. It’s like we keep telling you. He’s been very glad that we visit him all the time. And don’t forget that the Nurse Joy he rescued comes to see him every day too. I think that he’s partially grateful to you for that Ash.” She said this with a smile.

Ash and Misty visited him every day. Until he was better, they were staying in the local pokemon center. There Nurse Joy would give Ash a therapy session for two hours every day. It looked like he was on his way to recovering from all of this. He had even gone back to training his pokemon on occasion. But for the past month he had been very tired. He and Misty spent a lot of their time up in their room, and Brock worried about what went on in there when he heard about that. They reassured him that he had nothing to worry about, but Brock, pervert that he is, remained skeptical.

Misty looked at Ash’s face and noticed that his eyelids were getting heavy. She cupped his face in her hand so that he would look at her.

“Do you want to go upstairs and rest?” She asked him gently. He smiled.

“Yeah, that would be nice.” Ash answered. Misty looked at him lovingly and took his hand. The two of them stood. Pikachu jumped to the floor and carried Pikapi’s cap for him. Togepi walked beside him, chirping happily along the way. The young couple made it upstairs to their room, where Ash relaxed himself on the bed, grateful for a pillow. Misty lay down beside him, and he immediately put his arm around her. She moved closer to him, and reached out to pull the covers over both of them. Ash used his other hand to stroke her red hair, and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“Thank you...” He said to her softly.

“For what Ash?” Misty asked.

“For everything...you never gave up on me, even when it looked like I was going to kill you. You did all you could to save me, risking your life for mine. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve gone on killing, only to wake up the next morning and have it happen again when the moon was full. You tamed the wild beast in me Misty.....only you could do that...Thank you for being there for me Mist....thank you for caring about me.”

“You don’t have to thank me Ash...I will always be there for you, and I will always care about you.” She smiled. “It’s my job.” Ash smiled too and kissed her lips.

“I love ya, Mist.” He said.

“I love you too Ash.” She whispered back. He looked into her eyes again and smiled...in an almost embarrassed way.

“You know,” He began. “When I was in my...Were-form...and I saw you for the first time...I got these feelings...they were weird. It was like....I don’t know. I think that the houndoom in my mind wanted to....you know....mate with you or something.” Misty saw that he was blushing while he spoke.

“Well, that’s natural Ash.” She answered. “You had your animal instincts, and they were very strong at the time. Who knows....maybe you will someday.” She said with a smile. She giggled as his surprised face turned an even deeper shade of red. Ash didn’t like getting teased like that. He got a mischievous grin on his face.

“Heh, maybe you’re right...” He said, giving her a full kiss on the lips. Misty was shocked as she felt his tongue slip into her mouth....When he pulled away she was dizzy. She looked at his grinning face and smiled too.

“You animal...” Misty said slyly as she grabbed his face and eagerly went back to kissing him......

****

::later that evening, somewhere far away::

“I love da look of da full moon.....” Meowth said yearningly as he gazed up at it.

“Be quiet and eat your dinner Meowth.” Jesse ordered. The two of them went back to eating their canned food. Jesse glanced over at James. He was sweating, and breathing hard.....while also staring at the moon.

“Jesse...I don’t feel so good.....”

The End!!

Hehe...typical scary story ending! No, I will not be continuing from there, sorry. I hoped you all liked this, I tried to make it slightly more...mature. As always, your comments and criticisms are appreciated. Farewell for now from the Wild Growlithe......