Chapter 15: Not This
Misty took the needles from Ash, & put them into a small pocket on the mermaid skin, and then curled up in that blanket. It didn’t feel that warm to her, just there for effect. Then she felt some warmth coming from it. "Ash," Misty gasped nervously, "the blanket is heating up!"

"Do you like it?" he asked questioningly.

"I do, but are you controlling it?"

"Yeah."

"That’s all."

"5 seconds to opening.". Misty felt a lump in her throat. It wasn’t her air- she knew she had plenty. It was her nervousness. Nothing felt right- she had a sense that something was about to go wrong.

She should have known, but by the time the attacker (Violet) & the knight (Lilly) were fighting, an arrow had nailed her in the left arm. Ash gasped when he saw this & got out to see if she was fine. "Ash," she said softly as her eyes closed, "the check on my bed is yours… if I die."

Lilly wasn’t happy. "I can’t believe you aimed right at her! You were supposed to attack me, not her. If you had won, you’d have easy pickings on her."

"Now calm down. It doesn’t matter who’s to blame. We’re really all to blame. All that really matters is that Misty is hurt & she needs help. Violet, get Daisy on the phone & tell her to tell the crowd on the P.A. to leave due to an injury." Ash got those 2 calmed down & spoke to who he should have been the whole time. Misty. "Misty, do you need a Super Potion?" he asked, sad & worried.

"Yes.". And that was faint. Ash got her to sit up using his left arm & put the bottle to her mouth. Misty drank it in, realizing this could be how it ends. Lilly & Violet left & got out underground, leaving Ash to tend to Misty. The crowd dispersed & left. "Misty, don’t give up."

"I think I’m fine. Ow!" She tried to move the fractured (but she didn’t know that) left arm of hers & didn’t get a pleasant response. "Don’t move that arm!" Ash gasped. It was already wrapped tight, but Misty was so strong she could still move it. There was a phone where the T.V. monitor was. He called for an ambulance, and, when they came, took Misty.

Chapter 16: Recovery
They let Misty choose who would go with her. She reluctantly chose Ash. Misty had her upper arm wrapped up, and after they let Ash in. "Misty, how do you feel?" Ash asked, worried.

"Weak.". Ash was expecting 1-word answers.

"Did they ask how this happened?"

"Not yet."

"Ash, you need to leave.". Dr. Zinth told Ash. "Ash, there’s 1 last thing. I knew him since I was 4 & was getting shots." Misty reminded.

Ash only chuckled nervously, then left with Butterfrees in his stomach. He walked back to the Cerulean Gym with a bad face on. He slowly walked into the guest room that was assigned to him. He only left to eat, go to the bathroom, & sometimes sub for the sisters for Gym battles. Ash never lost. He promised Misty he’d call her everyday, & he kept his word. It was usually a latenight call, but sometimes he’d call her at lunch.

2 months go by, and Misty is finally well. It’s July, right in the middle of summer. Ash was there to see Misty have her cast removed. The skin right around it was paler than what her skin normally was. She flexed it, and it felt as strong as it usually was. The doctor said she could leave today, and she was eager to get outside & take a deep breath of that fresh air outside. Once they packed up & ate something, they left for the mountains that were northeast of Cerulean.

Chapter 17: Glistening
Misty had cashed that check Ash gave her & spent about $500 of it to get some warmer clothes. Then she met Ash at a snack bar in the northeastern part of town. Once they caught up with each other, they left. After they had only gone a ½ mile, they saw a lake. "Ash, let me handle this one. Go, Lapras!". It had been a long time since she had been swimming, so she told Ash something he was way unprepared for: "Ash, you ride Lapras. I’ll just swim over to the other side."

Ash couldn’t believe it. He thought he was the (sometimes) stupid person between himself & Misty. He knew he was usually right, but he thought, "This isn’t Misty. She’s usually got some more common sense than that." He took a deep breath. "Misty, don’t do this. I think the water is too cold to swim." Ash said with a sense of determination in his voice & on his face.

"Let’s see. Lapras, how cold is the water?"

"Lap lap ras. <It’s not cold at all.> Ras lap ras ap ra. <Anyone could swim in it. It’s really salty.>"

"Misty, what did it just say?" Ash asked, bewildered. He couldn’t understand any of Misty’s Pokémon.

"It said, ‘It’s not cold at all. Anyone could swim in it. It’s really salty.’ You’re worried about my arm, I know."

Ash stared open-mouthed at her. He thought, "She really does care about me- my feelings. I’ll bet in her diary there’s tons of love letters that she’ll never send to me. But that doesn’t matter. We’ve already admitted our love to each other." "I see. I remember the time we got nailed by Dragon Rage. You screamed after we let go of each other, ‘You guys’ll float easier in the salt water!’ I know why Lapras mentioned that." Ash got his tent out & got in to change. So did Misty. Once they got out, they put their tents in their backpacks & started swimming. Ash & Lapras promised they’d keep an extra eye on Misty to make sure she could cope. Misty dove in excitedly, more so than any other time she went swimming.

Ash could see a smile on her face. And he knew. He knew Misty hadn’t been in the water for a couple of months. She was excited, and everyone around her felt (& knew) that. Ash & Misty both swam to the surface to get a breath, but the salt water basically did that for them. It was a bit of a shock for both of them, but they had swam in oceans before, so they a knew (to an extent) how that felt.

Only Misty had known this was coming. You needed to be at a certain depth to stay underwater, but if you came up to a certain point, you couldn’t fight it. Ash was still a little concerned for Misty, so while they were there (at the surface) he spoke to her. "Hey, Misty, how’s your arm?"

"It’s fine, Ash. Nothing’s wrong. Thanks.". She took heart to Ash’s kindness & hugged him. She didn’t expect to sink, and they didn’t.

Chapter 18: Love
Ash & Misty finished swimming over to the opposite shore of the lake. You could see that there were 2 rocky shores to this lake, and 2 sandy beaches. They got both their tents out, but it was getting cold fast, so they would just sleep in Misty’s tent after they ate dinner. Ash cooked that night, and handed Misty a bowl. "Thanks, Ash. It’s nothing like Brock’s cooking, though.". Then she gasped. She just insulted him!

Misty hung her head & peered blankly into the bowl with a spoon sitting it. "It’s okay, Misty. I forgive you.". She wasn’t expecting that.

"You do?"

"Of course I do. No one we’ve met’s ever cooked like him."

Misty softly put the bowl of soup on the ground. "Ash!" she exclaimed, & then hugged him. They were lucky Ash still didn’t have a bowl in his hands, otherwise they’d have soup splattered all over their shirts. "It’s okay. This has been a big day for you, Ms. Waterflower." Ash said calmly.

She let go of Ash in shock. "How’d you know my last name was Waterflower?"

"I remember when you got your Pokédex. It said: I’m Dexter, a Pokédex program by Professor Oak for Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City." Misty got that blue Pokédex out of her backpack & also got her diary out. She opened the Pokédex. It said just what Ash had recited a second ago. She quickly slurped the rest of her soup down, & got a little on her shirt. She giggled, getting Ash’s attention. He giggled too, then she walked off to get a new shirt on. Before she walked into her tent, she said, "Ash, you can look at that diary."

"But-" Ash stammered in disbelief.

"It’s okay. I want you to see all it took for me to admit my love.". Ash was fighting back the tears. "She trusts me. She really does love me." Ash pondered. He was almost finished eating. Once he finished, he got into Misty’s diary. Ash looked at the inside front cover. It read:

(Author’s note: Underlined text was a blank when Misty bought this when she was younger. That’s why the font is different there- it’s Misty’s handwriting.)

Ash started reading some of the love letters Misty had never ever sent to him, and then realized she had picked a good time to admit it. A few seconds before they really needed each other (If you don’t know what I’m taking about, read the last few chapters in my first fanfic.) Misty walked out with some long pants on & a short sleeve shirt. "Ash, now do you know what how difficult it was to tell you?"

"Yes. And I only read the inside front cover & it hit me."

Chapter 19: Misty’s HM03
Ash & Misty fell asleep to Jigglypuff’s song in each other’s arms. They both had sweet dreams with each other in them. When they woke up, Ash heard a roar in the distance. He snapped awake, pulling the blankets (a little bit) off of Misty. Ash picked her up with 2 arms, getting her awake. "Ash, what’s that noise? It’s coming this way!"

"Misty, I don’t have a clue what’s coming, but I think we’d better put our packs on!" Ash grabbed both their packs (which were lying by their feet) and handed Misty’s to Misty (if you understand that). She put her hands on his shoulders & put her chin on her right hand. Then they felt themselves in mid-air and they screamed. Ash felt himself squish Misty into something, & then felt her head fall limp into his neck. "Misty!" he screamed. Ash turned around in horror, and saw her fall flat on her face. Ash knew she needed a Revive, so he used one on her. When she woke up, Ash gasped. "Misty, I’m sorry."

She grunted in pain. "It’s okay, Ash. You didn’t mean it. Now come on. We need to figure out what caused that.". She coughed, then absentmindedly patted Ash on the back. Ash smiled at her, then put a serious face on. Once they were out, Misty put her tent back in her backpack quickly. Ash had to hold his own (while she was doing that) against an angry Onix. "Bulbasaur, Squirtle! Attack together! Razor Leaf & Water Gun!"

"I’m ready, Ash! Misty calls Staryu! Surf!" That did it. 3 Pokémon that were strong against Onix beat it. Ash & Misty called their Pokémon back. "Misty, there’s something I’ve been needing to ask you. It’s not about our love, but our Pokémon. How did you get HM03, Surf?"

"It’s been a loooooooong time since I won that HM." Misty got her Surf HM out of her backpack. It was a light blue box with Silph written over the front. HM 4 was also visible over the front. "I won this from the Safari Zone."

"When?" Ash asked in awe.

"When I had just started training. I wanted to find a good move for my Pokémon. Starmie. Daisy gave it to me. It really liked me too!" Misty gazed into Starmie’s ball.

"Tell me how you got the HM." Ash said.

"I was riding my old bike around the Safari Zone. I had seen a sign advertising that contest. The first person to find the Secret House wins a copy of the HM03- containing Surf. That’s what the sign said. I started riding around there, and found a lake. On the other side I saw it. The secret house. I got my tent out & changed into my swimsuit. Starmie came with me. While I dove under water to see what was in the lake, I felt something coil around my right leg. Then both my legs. Then . It was a Dratini, trying to drown me for some odd reason." Ash was fighting tears. Misty went on. "Starmie stopped once it realized I wasn’t following it anymore. Then it saw what was happening to me. It used Water Gun & the Dratini let go of me. The last thing I knew was Starmie was carrying me to the surface, and then I blacked out.". Ash gasped. "Once I woke up, I saw this box on my chest. This was the box. Starmie was flat on its back next to me. I never knew who put that box on me, but I immediately used it on Starmie."

Chapter 20: The Chase Shows Its Face
Ash & Misty kept walking along through the mountains northwest of Cerulean. They’re both hoping to get some Rock or Ice Pokémon, but they haven’t found anything yet. "Misty, ya feel something?"

"I do. And hear."

After 5 minutes of standing there doing nothing, they both screamed. "What’s an Onix doing here?!?!?!?!" Misty cried.

"I don’t know, but this feels like that time on Lookout Mountain!" Ash yelped. "That’s it, I’m battling! Go, Squirtle! Water Gun! <while Squirtle does that> Hey, Misty, I could use you over here!"

She winced & sweatdropped, then sighed. "Misty calls Lapras!"

Ash looked over his shoulder as Misty put her battle face on. "Lapras?". He felt like when Brock beat Team Rocket with his Vulpix. "Freeze that Onix with your Ice Beam!" Ash reluctantly called his Squirtle back. Lapras froze it solid! Misty had a nice look on her face, until she saw that signature red of a trainer calling back a Pokémon with a Poké Ball. "Hey, Ash, do you recognize that guy?"

"He looks familiar, but I don’t know who he is.". That person Ash & Misty saw was on an overlooking cliff. He put the ball in a vest pocket & left. "Let’s go after him!" Misty exclaimed, and then she ran off, scanning the area for a trail to get up there. She kept running swiftly along, but was disappointed when she saw there was no way up. "Ash- never mind. Think we should use Bulbasaur to get up there & chase him?"

"You’re right. Bulbasaur, go! <groans from having to throw the Poké Ball almost straight up> Pull us up there with Vine Whip!". They got back to back against each other. Once Bulbasaur had pulled them ½ way up the cliff, someone pushed Bulbasaur off the cliff. "Misty, I think this it!" Ash quickly turned himself around and hugged her. "I think so." Misty sobbed, "Sorry."