Saving Ash's Afterlife

Chapter 2 - ... Dead?

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Stupid alarm clock!" Slam!

... Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Argh!" Slam! ... Slam! Slam! "There..."

"Pi! Pika-pi!"

"What's wrong with Pikachu?"

"Idk, Lily."

"Hey, Daisy, I think he's, like, trying to get to Misty."

"Piii! Pika!"

"Hm... maybe, Violet. He is her boyfriend's Pokémon."

Misty rolled her eyes.

"Okay, Pikachu. I'll open it up for you."

The youngest Waterflower sister pretended to still be asleep. Pikachu hopped onto her bed and shook her shoulder.

"Ow, little buddy!" she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "What's up?"

"Pi-Pikachu, pika-piii!" the little mouse Pokémon screamed frantically, eyes tearing up.

"We don't know, Misty." Daisy sighed, brushing her hair. Pikachu began to tug at the redhead's arm.

"Maybe you should, like, follow him." Violet suggested, handing Misty her clothes.

"Hurry up and change, you don't want to go see him in that." Lily giggled, gesturing to Misty in her skimpy pajamas.

Misty chuckled and took her traveling outfit. "Thanks for taking over, guys."

"No prob! We, like, need to give you a break!" Violet sang, brushing past Lily and Daisy.

"Ttyl!" the girls squeaked in unison, then rushing to their separate bathrooms.

Misty scoffed and changed, Pikachu still acting like a nervous wreck. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and nodded to the little guy. "Take me to him," she whispered to the Pokemon.

~~~

The girl rode on her bike after Pikachu, who was going twice her speed. Rushing through routes and cities to keep up with him was very tiring. By the time they entered Pallet Town, Misty just let her bike crash.

Gary and Umbreon ran up to the girl. Gary's lab coat was mud-stained and his face was red. "Misty, it's horrible. He went to Lavender Town late last night and... I wish I was nicer to him while..." Gary managed to say before choking back sobs. Umbreon let out a few distressful cries before Gary ran past Misty into Route 1, wiping away tears with his wet sleeve.

Pikachu sat on Misty's shoulder, clinging to her head. "P-Pikachu?" Misty whispered, worried. He jumped off and ran to the Ketchum house. Every building had their shutters closed and doors locked. Misty followed Pikachu, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

Mrs. Ketchum, face red and glossy with tears, opened the door with her free hand. Under one arm were three boxes of tissues; Mimey was holding his own two. Looking inside, Misty found the floor strewn with tissues. "Oh, Misty." Delia cried, putting an arm around Misty and drawing her close. "Thank goodness you're here. Are you okay, dear?"

Misty looked confused. "I-I don't know what happened, ma'am."

"Mr. Miiime..." Mimey cried, wiping its eyes and slinking into the kitchen.

Delia blew her nose loudly. "Come inside, dear. I'll tell you." she sniffed, closing the door and taking her to Ash's candlelit bedroom.

Misty's heart shattered when Delia picked up a framed picture of Ash, for she suddenly knew. Her eyes welled up with tears as she broke free of Delia's embrace and fell to her knees. "... Dead? H-How?" she sobbed, face hidden in her hands.

Mrs. Ketchum sat in Ash's desk chair and blew her nose a few times. She then drew in a shuddery breath in attempt to calm herself down. "He went to Lavander Town... to get supplies for you two. No one was there with him as a witness... All we know is that it wasn't because of a Ghost-type Pokemon this time-" she took a pause to blow her nose. "- and Pikachu went for help... but when they got there it... it was... too late!" Delia began to sob uncontrollably.

The redhead gasped, standing up. "W-Who would do such a thing? And to Ash?" she mumbled, cradling Pikachu like a comforting toy.

Delia set the picture down and turned to Misty, wiping her eyes. "You were very special to Ash. He would want you to take care of Pikachu from now on. Now, honey, Ash would be very grateful if you... visited him." she whispered calmly, putting a hand on Misty's back.

Misty's heart hopelessly fluttered inside. Butterfree flew around inside of her at the comment of her being "very special to Ash." But now he was gone and Misty was broken. Who would do such a thing? Why him of all people? How did he die? she thought, feeling pain that she feared would never leave. It was like a Scyther had sliced right through her heart and a Raichu was constantly shocking it in attempt to keep her alive.

The girl knew her best friend's mother was right. She just had to visit Ash to say goodbye. But that would just lead to her coming back every day of her life to "visit" him, right? She felt that in many ways it was her fault that he died. I wasn't there to save him! If I was there, we could've avoided it! I could've at least been there to die with him! I could've died instead! she told herself in a scolding way.

Misty looked up at Delia, her eyes red and glossy. She nodded and stood up with Pikachu, walking out of the house silently. Delia waved a quick goodbye and shut the door. With Pikachu on her shoulder, Misty took her bike and rode to the Lavender Town cemetery.

---

Poor Misty :(

Find out what happens next in the next chappie tho ;D

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