Disclaimer:  I don't own Pokémon or "The Shining."  Thank you so much for reading my story.  I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! 

Midnight! Pokéball Go!

by Spruceton Spook

Part 17:

The Aftermath

            "Brock!" Ash screamed loudly, directing the shout to Brock's ear.  Surprisingly, Brock turned to face him, anger flaring in his eyes. 

            "Brock, listen to me!" Ash shouted firmly.  "Just shut them out of your mind!  Shut them out of your mind and they won't bother you!"

            Misty and Jessie tensed nervously as Brock stared speechlessly at Ash.  Suddenly, he eyes rose and the look of hate slowly faded.  It was replaced almost immediately, however, as Brock turned back in the direction of the bartender.  The invisible fiend jumped back in surprise.

            "Close your eyes, Brock, and it'll go away!" Ash informed, tears spilling out of his eyes.  "You know I wouldn't lie to you!  Never!  We love you, Brock!"

            Misty nodded, even though Brock was not looking at her.  Even Jessie nodded nervously.

            Brock's eyes closed without warning, which send a wave of relief through Ash and Misty's bodies.  Gripping Ash and Misty's hands tightly, which he had not let go of since they first embraced, he clenched his teeth and prayed to God that what Ash was saying was true.  Frightened, he opened them again, and looked past Jessie to see nothing but an empty hallway.

            "Brock?  Brock, are you okay?" Misty asked, extended her hand to his face.  She pulled his head around to meet hers.

            Brock smiled.  "I am now, Misty," he replied with a huge sigh of relief.  "I am now."

            Ash, Misty, and Brock hugged tightly once again.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

            Minutes later, the four kids sprinted down the stairs, Misty hobbling along a bit slower.  Every time Brock looked behind at her, his face fell, and he felt like he wanted to die for what he had done. 

            "Misty, here let me help you," Brock said, holding his arms out.

            Misty smiled softly.  "It's okay, I can do it."  But Brock insisted, so Misty allowed him to carry her down to the landing.  Brock squeezed her body lovingly as she smiled into his face.  Her friend was back. 

            Brock was still in shock, nonetheless.  Carrying Misty and noticing that Jessie was not moving her arm greatly agitated him.  He vaguely remembered attacking Team Rocket shortly before; it was so spontaneous that he did not know of the damage that he caused.

            They finally reached the landing of the stairs, and Jessie ran immediately to James.  He sat on the ground in the same position in which they left him, and his face lit up as soon as he saw Jessie.  This quickly changed when he saw Brock.  Jessie could see that he was frozen in fear.

            "No, James, it's all okay now," Jessie whispered, stroking James' hair.  "We--we did it. He's okay now."

            James looked at the Twerp Trio, who smiled affirmatively.  Brock just stared down at the crippled James, and their eyes met.

            "Oh my God, what have I done?" he muttered, cringing back in shock. Misty and Ash were right behind him to support his quivering body.  They wrapped their arms around him and held him tightly. 

            "I'm so sorry," he said again, looking truthfully at James.  Jessie stared down at James' face.  She wanted him to accept the apology, but James looked too phobic, too angry to even hear of it.

            Brock was going crazy with guilt.  He started to whimper softly and James' eyes softened.  He looked up at Jessie, who nodded that Brock was serious.

            James looked back up at Brock.  "It-it's okay," he said ultimately, shifting his eyes to the floor. Jessie knew that James didn't know about the hotel and its power, which she barely knew anything about, either.  But she would tell him as soon as she got the chance, helping him to realize that Brock wasn't who he was at that time.         

            "Guys, we have to get out of here," Ash said suddenly, bringing all of them back to earth.  "Now," he added with great emphasis.

            Without a second thought, Ash and Misty bolted to the caretaker's quarters where they grabbed all of their belongings.  Misty gasped a huge sigh of relief when she found Togepi resting quietly where she had placed him on the bed. 

            "Come on, Togepi, we're leaving," she said, picking up the Pokémon and cradling him in her arms.

            Coming out of the quarters, Misty collapsed to the ground, holding Togepi up so that not to crush him.  Pain shut from her leg up her spinal cord, making her wince radically.  She had been applying too much pressure on it in the last few minutes of gathering her things.

            "Oh my God, what happened? Are you all right?" Ash asked fearfully, dropping the bags and rushing to help her.

            Misty smiled softly, one eye still clasped shut.  "Just my leg.  It's. . .okay."

            "Here, let me take the bags," Ash offered, and took the three bags that Misty had been carrying.  He left Togepi in her arms, and helped her up.

            Returning to the main lobby, they found Brock and Team Rocket standing in opposite sides of the room.  Both looked at Ash and Misty as they entered, Ash's arms full of bags.  Brock rushed immediately to Ash and took most of the bags.  He was being overly friendly and cautious in that manner around them, hoping that every little thing would make up for what he had done.

      "Let's get out of here before anything else horrible happens," Misty exclaimed, and along with Jessie, James, and Meowth, they exited the Fireside's Warmth Hotel, not glancing back once.  The snow had thankfully stopped, leaving a fresh five inches on the ground. The cold, however, still existed thoroughly, but none of them barely cared at all about it -- Ash, Misty, and Brock especially.

            "Going home," Ash said happily, shaking his head in disbelief.  Tears of joy filled his eyes, and he turned his head to Misty, then to Brock.  They smiled back down at him, and without another word spoken between them, finally began on their way back to Pallet Town.

            They walked on for about an hour or two, Team Rocket walking right beside them.  Jessie had James' arm draped around her shoulder as James staggered on.  Words rarely passed between the two groups, but finally Brock couldn't take staring at James suffering anymore, and offered his shoulder to help support James.  Although James was a bit weary of it, Brock grabbed his other arm and he and Jessie helped the boy keep up.  A few times James had to stop, where Jessie and Brock let him slowly sit on the ground.  Ash and Misty waited patiently for James to regain his energy, and they would be begin again shortly after.

            As the sun began its decent in the western sky, the kids were relieved to discover a small cave in the woods along the road they had been traveling on in the direction of Pallet.  Team Rocket had announced that they were heading that way as well, seeing how it was the closest town with a hospital to attend to James.  It was relieving to hear that considering Ash, Misty, and Brock were confused as to why Team Rocket weren't off on their own. 

            Brock started a small fire in the cave, and although it wasn't the raging, warm fireplace of the Fireside's Warmth Hotel, it satisfied them justifiably.  Misty grabbed a few cans of soup from her bag, and offered some to Jessie, James, and Meowth, who accepted the meal with smiles of gratitude.  The group ate in silence, until Brock broke it after breaking into tears.

            Ash and Misty immediately rushed to his side to comfort him while Team Rocket looked on.  Brock was still in his state of continuous apologies when Misty suddenly professed that she was happy, and couldn't have possibly been happier.  This surprised Brock, but it ultimately calmed him down, knowing that Misty was not mad at him, although she had every reason in the world to be.

            "I'm just glad to have you back," Misty said, hugging Brock tightly.  "I'll never be mad at you, ever."

            Brock smiled and took a sip of his soup with a shaky hand.  He looked around at his friends and Team Rocket, and he suddenly realized that he was happy, too.  He didn't care if he ever saw the Fireside's Warmth Hotel ever again, or any hotel for that matter. 

            After dinner, Brock pulled out the trio's sleeping bags, which Misty took up in a tremendous hug.  Ash laughed and she stuck her tongue out at him playfully.  Ash thanked Brock as he handed him his sleeping bag, and in no time, the five kids and three Pokémon fell into deep slumber by the warmth of the bonfire.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

            The next morning, Ash, Misty, and Brock and Jessie, James, and Meowth stood on the outskirts of Pallet Town at a fork in the road.  It was a beautiful, mild day, and Ash was practically hopping in place, anxious to be home.

            "Guess this is good-bye for now,"  Jessie said almost sadly, smiling softly at the kids.  "I have to get James to the doctor."

            She held James's hand, who was standing beside her a bit hunched over, but supporting himself, a huge improvement from the day before.

            "Well, I hope everything goes okay," Ash said.

            "Pika pika!" Pikachu added, twitching his ears around.

            Jessie and James smiled down at Pikachu, then returned their gazes to Ash, Misty, and Brock. 

            Brock looked sadly at the ground.  "I'm sorry," he said again, nervously shifting his eyes to Team Rocket.  "If the bill's high. . .I'll--I'll pay.  I promise."

            Jessie waved her hand.  "Don't worry.  We have insurance from Team Rocket.  Thank you, though."

            Suddenly, Brock extended his hand to James, who cautiously shook it.  "Take care," he told James, and James nodded in approval.

            "I will," he replied. 

            Team Rocket nodded a good-bye, and turned down the opposite road leading to Pallet Hospital. 

            "Bye!" Misty called to them, waving her hand high.  "Thank you, Jessie," she added, and Jessie turned to wink at her. 

            "Have a nice holiday!" Ash told them, and they returned the wish to them.   Ash could sense now that there had been a change in their relationship, and an important one at that.  He did not totally convince himself that they would not run into them again with the intent of battle, but he felt better about them.  Maybe they would realize that someday they could be friends.  Ash breathed out a heavy sigh, and turned to Ash and Misty.

            "Come on, guys!" he said with a jump.  "I can smell Mom's cooking from here!"

            Misty laughed and pushed him.  "I'm sure you can!" she smiled, and the three headed towards Ash's home. 

            Misty was still limping, but the pain had subsided considerably.  Occasionally Brock would apologize to her, up to the extent where she would simply push him away jokingly, telling him that everything was fine. About half a mile from Ash's house, Misty suddenly popped an interesting question to Ash.

            "What are you going to do with the hotel, Ash?" she asked quietly, tripping all of a sudden.  She grabbed onto Brock's shoulder, who helped her to her feet.

            Ash looked to the ground sadly, but then glanced up to Misty with a small smirk.  "What hotel, Misty?" he asked, a grin spreading across his face.

            Misty lowered her eyes.  "I don't get it."

            Ash shrugged.  "I don't know. It's not mine."

            "What?" Brock asked, shocked.

            "I never signed the deed," Ash declared with a smile.  "As far as I concerned, we were never there.   Mr. Vrenden still owns the damned place."           

              Misty's mouth dropped into an astonished smile, and she shoved him violently, but friendly.  "You little sneak!" she cried.  "Good thinking!  Guess your not that dense, after all."

            Ash snickered and looked at the sky proudly.  Owning a hotel was not his cup of tea, anyway.  He was destined to become a Pokémon Master, and that was all he was concerned about.  He glanced at each of his friends and at Pikachu, who as soon as he saw Ash's smile toward him, hopped into his arms.

            A block away from home, Brock suddenly began to cry.  Ash and Misty looked at each other with worry. It was going to be a while before Brock got back to normal, and Ash and Misty were ready to help him along the way.

            Misty turned to Brock.  "What's the matter, Brock?" she asked softly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

            Brock sniffed back tears and looked to the sky.  "I just realized I left my only photos of Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny in the Presidential Suite!"

            Ash and Misty face-faulted, then immediately returned to their feet.  Exchanging glances of relief and humor, they knew that everything was back to normal. 

THE END

Thanks to all of you who read and enjoyed my story!  I really appreciated all of your wonderful reviews!  This was my first fanfic EVER and I feel, thanks to you, it was a success.  I'll have another story soon, and I hope that you'll like it as well.  But most of all, I want to thank my friend Christine, who convinced me to write this story.  I had a lot of fun!!!!

                                                                                                            ~Spook