Loved. That. Movie. Anyone else with me? Rockin' movie. Probably because it had Arceus, and that makes everything better.

Game Over

He stopped crying as quickly as he could (which was only a minute or two at most, he was proud to say) before he opened the cabinet door. He expected to see Brock or Dawn or Daisy or his mother by Misty, or breaking in to see him, but there wasn't anyone there. Well, no one but Misty, who was sobbing pretty loudly all things considered. That made him nervous. Shouldn't she have been getting mad? Shouldn't she have clobbered him the second his head poked out the door? That's what she would have done normally. Well, he guessed. This had never happened before, so he wasn't quite sure how she would normally believe in a situation like this.

"Oops, she broke," Mesprit sighed, either appearing in the room or having been so silent before Ash hadn't noticed. It made him jump either way, and made him boldly crawl from his closet to glare at the now present trio. "I hate it when that happens. Don't worry though, Azelf can fix it. This has happened a lot before. She's only a little broken after!"

Understanding who the 'she' was Ash jumped to his feet and stood defensively in front of the girl – who was still crying – Pikachu on his shoulder. He braced himself, tightening his shoulders and bending his knees to spring forward if need be. "What did you do?"

"We did not do anything," Uxie said highly, refusing to look down at him. "Your little mate was the one who did it. She was so terrified she managed to throw me out of her mind. She broke into my mind, in fact. Not the first time it has happened in risky situations like these, but it is rather unpleasant and I would much like an apology for the very rude intrusion."

"How'd she break into your mind? You're a lot stronger than-"

The creature sighed, and spoke slowly as if Ash was stupid by potato standards rather than by human, "Any living creature with a brain could have done it. It is not difficult when I am so restraining my powers as to not harm a person. We were intertwined, she managed to get the upper hand, and now she has to deal with the psychic powers that no human could handle, even though any human could quite easily obtain it."

"All people have psychic powers?"

"It is very complicated, but I shall try-"

"Everything's psychic, kinda, in the sense that they can get psychic energy in them, like conductors! Most things just can't use it. Since she doesn't know how to use it, there's just a lot of psychic power getting channeled through her and it hurts, like if there was a bunch of electricity going through," Mesprit explained.

"Yes, perhaps in an oversimplified way that is what is happening, but-"

"Why would being psychic hurt? Lots of people are, and things are even flying around," Ash asked, still standing guards. "Why's she crying?"

"Instantly becoming psychic and being intimately connected to every creature and the planet can be a bit stressful. Let me break the psychic connection we are currently sharing, which she made because she pushed too hard, and let her return as normal as she'll ever be. Every second you wait holds more torment and a greater chance of her going insane. Do not make me leave your friend in pain."

"Pikachu?" he asked uncertainly.

(I don't think they're lying, Ash. Either way, we know Misty can break out now. So even if they are being tricky it'll be okay.)

Mesprit floated a bit closer, talking quickly with a happier lilt in its voice. "Well, any of your friends could of, if they have the right motivator. You have to be scared out of your mind to do it. Or not think. I have to say, I never saw anyone do that before. I did not know you could break from being that stupid. That's awesome."

"Daisy!" he cried, stepping aside to let Uxie tend to Misty, though mostly just to try and get a look at the couch the girl was still sprawled out on, fast asleep. "And Mom n' Brock and Dawn! They're all dead or something! What happened to them?"

"Oh, nothing. They're just knocked out."

That didn't calm him down in the least, his voice only going higher in pitch and getting quite a bit shakier. "Why'd you knock them out?"

"They were very distracting. You needed to focus so you could mate with her." It crossed its little arms irritably. "You were supposed to mate. A normal boy would have mated. I knew we should have just made the two of you fall madly in love. And now it's too late! Arceus came and ruined all our fun! We're not allowed to me again. Apparently you're not supposed to mate yet. Not the right egg and sperm and all that. It's all about timing with getting the right baby."

"Don't I get to chose when I'm ready to mate?"

"Technically yes, but Arceus and a few other all-powerfuls have already chosen every point of your life. They know how it works, how everyone works, and easily know what to do to get a certain result. In this case, for you to mate with her and get the right child to be the next Chosen One."

He calmed a bit, his curiosity caught. "My kid will be the next Chosen One?"

"Yeah. Maybe skip a generation or eight but it'll eventually happen."

"So I don't have any choice?" he asked, a little disappointed that fate wasn't nearly as exciting as it seemed to be.

Azelf smiled affectionately. "Well, you do as you know it. The concept of choice is an illusion. A nice one, and nothing wrong with thinking of the world that way, still an illusion though."

"Choice is an allusion?" he asked.

"Illusion. A trick. Allusion is a reference inside a literary or media device to another literary or media device, in its loosest definition."

Ash glared up at them. "So, I'm going to have a baby with Misty? I don't have a choice?"

"You have a choice, but you don't have the choice in making it."

"I don't get it."

Uxie snorted. "I did not expect you to, as you are not the smartest boy ever created. If nothing else about you, I know that much. Still, Misty is fine now. Unconscious, but she will wake up in a few minutes like everyone else. Good luck with it all, Chosen One. Try not to be too moronic."

They vanished and he blinked at the place where they had been, feeling very confused. He wasn't so confused as to how they suddenly vanished, as things did that every so often in his universe, but about how he didn't have a choice in having children with Misty, or a choice in anything, and how becoming suddenly psychic could somehow hurt. Finally, he turned to the little mouse beside him. "I have no idea what just happened, but I don't want to have a baby."

(You probably will. Most people do. After all, people wouldn't be here if they didn't make more of them,) she said lightly, leaping to his shoulder and nuzzling his cheek. (Why don't you celebrate a little? You saved the day! After you almost destroyed it, as usual, but you did save it.)

He stared at the girl on the floor in front of him. Then, he gulped painfully and took a nervous step back. "Misty's going to kill me when she wakes up."

(Always the negative with you. Can't you ever look on the bright side?)

"I wonder what being psychic was like."

(Even just being able to focus would be nice.)

"Feeling everything all at once would be scary," he mused, voice and body trembling, "A lot of people would go crazy. I'd go crazy. Hope Misty's not. Daisy wouldn't like that."

(You better be rambling because you're nervous and not because you're a complete moron who doesn't care.)

"Pikachu, I'm feeling lightheaded. I think I might faint."

(Why?) she gasped, looking at him strangely. (We've been through much worse than this before!)

"I really think she might kill me. Really. I've seen her mad over really small stuff compared to this. It's the dying a virgin thing all over again. I'm too young to die. I've never even seen a real girl naked. You know what's even more important? I've never won a championship. I never beat the Elite Four. I'm nowhere near close to becoming a pokémon master. I still haven't caught them all."

(One of your goals is seriously catching them all?)

"Okay, so I don't exactly catch a lot of pokémon, but I might have if I wasn't going to die," he moaned, sinking to the floor and burying his head in his hands. Pikachu poked at him, doing her best to console him, though he wasn't keen on moving and was quite exhausted from the wild week. He sat like that for quite some time, until he heard a quiet groan beside him. Looking up revealed Misty rubbing at her head and looking a little irritated.

She bit her lip for a second, then whipped her head around fast to look at him. The action was more than enough to make him jump, and her voice asking, "Do you have any idea what's going on?" was enough to bring him to his feet, looking around awkwardly before finally dropping his eyes down to his feet.

"Do you?" he asked hopefully.

She narrowed her eyes. "You, I'll get to. First, we have to go to your attic. The Legendaries have been staying up there with Meowth. They stole him when they heard him making plans against us, and Kara Kingsley just had a baby in the Hoenn region. It hurt, because it was in the field and it was a breech birth and they had to turn the baby around inside her." She blinked. "I've got little bits of people in my head. Wow, this is creepy."

"Are you still all psychicy?"

"No, thank Mew." She rubbed her head again, as if that might shake the remnants of experience and memories she'd never had that had stuck inside her head. "Thanks for crying, by the way. It got me scared enough to break through. Well, until my head exploded. Acreus, that was horrible. My head's still reeling."

He leaned closer. "How'd you-"

"Like they said, I got scared. I freaked out real bad, then everything was clear, then I cried, then my head exploded. Nobody else got really scared, just angry. That was the problem." She looked at him to see if he got it. He hadn't, so she sighed and continued, "You had to be scared to break free. No matter how much you said you loved me it wasn't going to do anything, not even if you meant it. They just wanted us to have sex so we'd make a chosen baby thing, but it's not the right time so they're not going to keep trying anymore."

He nodded. "They told me that."

"It was sex, stupid, or scared stupid. Nothing else would have done it. I got out of their control because of you. Even though it was your fault to begin with, I'm at least going to thank you for being the one that fixed it. Even if you had no idea what you were doing." She got to her feet as well, and strode off towards the stairs, pausing for only a moment to look back over her shoulder as him. "Everyone else should be waking up soon. No more than fifteen minutes tops."

"How'd you know about Meowth?"

"Scary psychic moment. We really should get him out. No one else knows where he is."

He blinked. "They kidnapped him?"

"Yup. They heard them planning to steal Pikachu, and even though they wouldn't mind stealing her too they couldn't because she was so important to your they figured you would have dropped dead if she wasn't by your side. So they kidnapped him. They wanted to go back for Team Rocket, but then I was a cheerleader so I'd be rooting for the other side so you'd just jealous and hopefully sleep with me because you were so jealous."

"But what about everyone else?"

"Friends and breeding stock. You could live without us better than you could live without Pikachu. I'm the breeding stock, in case you haven't guessed." She glared, crossing her arms at him. "You, however, shouldn't be the all important Chosen One because you're an ass who has no feelings for others and should be thrown off a cliff into a pit of poison types."

"Misty, I didn't mean it! Mist, please," he whined as she stormed off, spinning sharply on her heel and stomping up the first couple of steps. "Ugh! You're so impossible! I wish-"

"Wish whatever you want!" she screamed, turning back to him. "It's not going to do crap because the Legendaries are gone!"

"I'm happy about it!" he shouted back. "I don't want you to change every day! I want you to be you!"

She growled in the back of her throat, hands gripping the railing with all her might. Her mouth opened once or twice, looking for the best words to say, but had to settle for a venomous, "That's such a lie" before continuing up the stairs once more.

He followed her, scowling. "It's not. I wouldn't have wished you back if it was!"

She gave a half sigh, half sobbing sound and threw herself against the railing, rubbing at her temples. "I know, but I hate you right now. After everything you did to me…after everything you did you just can't…Can't you just shut up and let me yell at you until I feel better? You already did enough, can't I just have this!"

He curled up his fists in front of his face, leaning forward in a terrible fighting stance. "No! I'm sorry so you can't yell at me! That's the way things work!"

Her hands pressed harder on her temples, hoping that it would be enough to counter the shouting match she was in. It only made her head throb harder which only ended up with her getting angrier. "Yes I am, you ass! You screwed up and badly so I should be allowed to yell at you as much as I want for being a screw up, moronic, complete jerkface idiot! After everything you did to me I'm allowed to hate you for that much! I'm allowed to hate you for a little while."

He didn't think about what he had to say, as usual, and tried his best at the words that he thought she wanted to hear. "Misty, I'm sorry I didn't realize that I liked you for who you are and-"

"You think I'm mad about that?" She shouted, clenching her fists. "You think I care about this after school special be-who-you-are crap? Who cares about that? I'm going to be the same person whether you like me or not! The whole world doesn't revolve around your opinion of me! How can't you see the problem?"

"I just don't!" he cried back. "It's not about me liking you?"

"No, Ash, it's the mewdamned respect you should have for me as a living being! I was your doll! You did with me what you wanted and I didn't have any say! For a day or two I could understand, but for over a week, Ash? Day after day you would come up with new personalities like this was a game! It's not! I have feelings and thoughts and dreams! Who are you to chose who I get to be? Don't you think it should have been on my head?"

He narrowed his eyes. "It's not like I came up with them on purpose! And what did you want me to do? There wasn't much-"

"You could have told me" she shrieked, her arms wrapped around her stomach and she bent in half, trying her best to hide any tears that might have been fighting into her eyes. "Instead of running to Brock you could have told me! I remember everything and the one time you told me it was a joke! You could have wished the very first day for me to be whoever I want to be. You never did!"

"You're right."

"No duh I'm right! And I don't want-"

"-to see me. I get it. What I did was wrong and you shouldn't forgive me for it, but I really…" He cleared his throat and rubbed at his watering eyes. "I was being stupid and I didn't mean to do that to you. You should hate me."

She stopped and slammed her fist against the railing bars, groaning darkly. "I don't hate you. Your human social skills are on a borderline autistic level, Ash. If I couldn't put up with this I would have left you long ago."

"That's not comforting."

"It's not supposed to be. I'm only telling you the truth. When I signed up to travel with you I knew you came with your own special brand of insanity. It's not a surprised and it's not anything you haven't done a million times before in little ways. You seriously have to have everything spelled out for you to figure out how to have some sympathy. It's just a big screw up so I'm extra mad."

He swallowed and stared at her, still bent in half but looking a bit more relaxed now, more like she was hanging with exhaustion. "But how could you do that? How could you forgive me after everything I put you through? You said I used you like a doll!"

"And you did. And I hate you," she agreed softly. "But I'm getting better at forgiving and I can't take anything you do wrong seriously. You never mean it, you just screw up at everything. I don't really hate you for this and I'm going to come back normal as ever." She sighed. "I'm just really mad at you and I hate that I'm going to end up forgiving you even though I really don't want to. It's frustrating because I let you get away with murder. I should have had you killed long ago."

"Oh." He paused awkwardly. "So why haven't you?"

"Why do you think?" She snorted, shaking her bangs from her eyes as she stood back up. "You heard it often enough this week."

"That you hate me?

"That I like you." Misty rolled her eyes, though on their rolling journey they managed to catch Ash's confused expression. She stared at it for a moment, feeling her face become redder and redder as his only became more and more baffled. "I told you all week! You had to know!"

He blushed. "The Legendaries were-"

"And I just told you!" she gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth in a very teenage fashion. She started to race up the steps once again, with an even more teenaged kind of cry of, "Oh my Mew I'm going to die!"

Being the hero, Ash raced after her, catching her elbow and shouting "Wait!".

He spun her around, causing her to trip, landing hard enough to bruise her back on the uneven surface of the stairs. Ash, clutching to her elbow still, was dragged down on top of her, slamming his forehead against hers but refusing to roll away. She had frozen, staring up at him like he had walked in on her naked, and he fought the urge to do anything romantic. He wouldn't touch her face or fix her bangs or kiss her, especially not on the lips. Not even if he had to stop and refocus himself because his body was so intent on doing just that.

"You don't have to…to be embarrassed because you like me," he said awkwardly.

"That's easy for you to say. You don't like someone who doesn't like you back. You're not an idiot who keeps falling for the same guy six years running no matter how hard she…" She breathed in quick and squirmed beneath him, but her back was caught against the rails and her arms were pinned too strangely to push him off. "Can't you just promise not to make fun of me and let me go?"

"I'm not going to make fun of you, but you're just going to run away if I let you go. I'm still not good at this, but I think we should at least talk about it."

"No, we shouldn't. I'm happy just leaving it alone."

"But we should-"

"Unless you're going to say you like me back, there's nothing to talk about!"

He stiffened uncomfortably, mouth dropping open for a second (to respond with an ever convincing silence) before moving back, hanging his head with a sigh. "Fine. There's nothing to talk about. Let's go get Meowth."

"I don't want to get that stupid cat anymore!" she shouted, hugging her knees to her chest. She screamed at first, but her voice softened as she went on, her head falling to rest on her folded up knees. "You go do it! Just leave me here you insensitive jerk! I hope you fall out the stupid window up there and crack your stupid head open. Because I hate you."

"Misty, please-"

"I don't want to talk to you," she said, her voice cracking. "Don't you think this has been hard enough on me without your stupid rejection to top it off? It's one thing to think it but it's another to go and say it out loud."

"What do you want me to do?"

She turned her head quick and kissed him, only a second on his lips before breaking away and glaring down the stairs. "I want it to mean something because I'm me, not just because I'm a girl. I want you to like me, but you can't do that and it's not your fault." She dropped her head again. "And more than anything else I just want to go to sleep, because I'm tired and I'm sick of all this stupid stuff happening whenever you show up."

She thought it might have been nice to put his arm around her, or touch her shoulder, but he wasn't quite sure. Instead, he sat there awkwardly and tried to think of what to say. He still didn't think he had any feelings past platonic for her and her sentiment of being just a girl only went to reassure him that he didn't. Still, his heart was pounding loudly in his chest and he felt guilty that he would rather kiss her than hug her.

"Is there anyone you like?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Do you have a crush on anyone, if you don't like me? You like girls now, so…so if you have a crush on someone it's okay. I won't try to kill her or something like that. I mean, I know you think I'm crazy and I know that I'm kinda crazy but I swear I'm not that crazy." She bit her lip to hold back some tears, then continued, "I just want to know if there's a reason why it couldn't be me."

"I definitely don't like anyone."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I think so."

"So you don't get especially excited to see a girl? I mean, you don't look forward to it or think about calling her or arranging to see her or stuff like that?"

"I get excited to see you more, but that's because I was always closer to you than any of the others. We hung out the most, and you were the first one there, so we spent the most time together." He said, getting comfortable as he imagined this would be quite a long conversation.

"Yeah, but you don't think about kissing me more than you do any other girl. There's got to be someone you play favorites with."

"I don't really think so. It's mostly been you, because you're the only one that's actually done it." He paused. "Well, I guess we always got real close, so I thought about it some more then. I never got that close to other girls."

"But not more than any other girl," she said, brows knitting together.

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"And…and if you think about girls nak-"

"I don't think about that!" he cried, which was most likely a lie, but he certainly didn't want to discuss it with her if it wasn't. "Okay, I don't ever picture you naked. I mean, it freaked me out enough when you came down like…"

He swallowed, his eyes slowly drifting down. Her outfit hadn't changed, he realized. He still saw that white underwire bra. He still really saw and really focused on that white underwire bra, and a second later he'd been slapped across the face and Misty was hiding in the upstairs bathroom, ranting to herself (and, had he been listening to any of it, the boy on the other side of the door) about Ash being a horrible pervert.

"I can grab a shirt for you! One of my shirts! Something really, really loose!" he promised, wishing his face would stop feeling so hot. "I'm sorry!"

"It's not your fault! It's those damned legendaries!" she cried. She opened the door enough to peak her head out. "And excuse me, Mr. Pokémon Master, how'd I end up like this if you don't think about girls naked? Did Brock talk you into wishing this up? Or even better, Pikachu!"

Ash glanced at the mouse, who had been hovering at the top of the stairs for quite some time, enjoying the show. "I've…I've thought about you a couple times, honest, but it's not like I do it on purpose! I can't help what I dream and it's not like I…like I…" He flushed scarlet. "I can't help thinking about this stuff! You have to think about it too!"

"Of course I do," she said quietly, blushing riding up her cheeks as well. "I…I just…it's kinda embarrassing but a lot of times, when I'm feeling like…that. But, you know, I know I like you because most of the time I'm…I'm thinking of you."

"Really?" She nodded. "Um, am I good at it?"

She gave an embarrassed little yelp and slammed the door, leaning heavy on it. "Get a shirt for me, you pervert!"

"Right, I'm sorry, Mist! I'm go-"

"Mist. There you go calling me Mist, Ash! You're encouraging me and you don't even mean it!"

"I'm not encouraging anything! What's wrong with calling you-?"

She poked half her face out the door once more. "Are…are you absolutely sure you don't have a crush on anyone?"

"Positive."

"Not…not even on me? Because it sort of sounds like you might. I'm not saying you do, or anything, but…I mean, can't you even consider it? It sorta sounds…oh, dammit, Ash!" She slammed the door shut. "Could you just go get a shirt for me?"

"Right," he said, stumbling to his feet.

He darted back to his room and, for a second, reached for her red bag. Then paused recalling the last time he had gone into her bag. He'd found many different feminine things that he had liked and disliked, and then he'd gotten his head smacked in. Her bag was out of the question, especially with the mood she was in now. He turned on his heel and went back to his drawer, shuffling through until he found a shirt that smelled like fabric softener instead of grass (because girls tended to smell more like fabric softener and less like grass), and walked back to the bathroom, knocking twice and jumping when her hand darted out and back in quicker than he could see, the shirt seeming to vanish from his hand.

A moment later she was back out, tugging at the shirt she had on with a frown. "It's big on me."

"You don't want me to go in your bag, do you?" he snapped. "Last time I did you-"

"It's not about you getting the shirt, Ash," she whispered, tugging at the edge of it. "The shirt's big on me, and not just because it's a boy's shirt. You're not taller, but you're…your shoulders are all broadened out and you've got biceps and…and I don't know where we're standing anymore. I've was always in control, Ash! I was older and smarter and even though you may have pouted and got your way every once in a while I could still take you. I don't know if I can take you."

"You can still-"

"Look at yourself, Ash." She stared at him, and he looked down at himself as if there would be something crawling on him. "You're not a kid. It would be hard for me to win. I mean…if I don't win, does that mean that you're in control now? This whole week you controlled me without a problem and I don't think I can handle this. I'm Hester Prynne, Ash. I can't go back to society wielding their power over me because my scarlet letter goes from able to adulteress!"

"What?"

"Right, you don't read. It's about-"

"No, not that. I ignore you whenever you talk about stuff I don't know." He frowned. "What's the whole 'control' thing?"

She frowned back. "We've been in a power struggle for years, you idiot. This is one of the few times you managed to be in control. You're bigger than me and definitely a better trainer than me and you're probably stronger and faster and the only thing I've beat you at is smarter but if you've finally got the brains to not try to enter a battle of wits with me it's not like I'm ever going to be able to win anymore. What am I supposed to do?"

"I didn't know we were fighting for control. I thought we were just arguing."

"That's what the arguments were about!"

"I thought the arguments were about whatever we were arguing about," he said awkwardly. "Was it supposed to be about something else?"

"Yes!"

"Oh." He paused awkwardly. "Well, you're smarter than me."

"Fat lot of good that did. The only way I was able to get out of this was to be stupid or scared. Being smart has been so helpful lately. All I can do is solve riddles. When was the last time you needed help solving a riddle to save the world? Or just to do your freaking taxes?" she growled.

"You're probably still stronger than me. I still don't know how to fight anyway, so you'd probably still win."

"I wouldn't."

"What are you being so hard on yourself for? I thought you thought you were so much better than everyone else. That's what you were always saying."

She shrugged and looked away. "Better than you. I know I am, but that doesn't mean I don't get worried sometimes, especially when I'm not the one in control anymore. I hate not being in control. It makes me feel like I'm back with my sisters and they're making me do whatever they want and I can't do anything about it."

"So what if you're not in control? I'm not your sister!"

She looked up at him under her lashes. "You're an awful lot alik-"

"Who cares who has the control? I mean I was never fighting for the stupid control! I thought we were friends, not…not things that fight for control!"

"Warring nations?"

"See? Smart!" he said, throwing his hands toward her. "You're smart. You're smarter than I am, even if I win at other stuff, what's it matter? We're friends. I'm not going to control you and you're not going to control me. Why can't we just be friends?"

She smiled a bit. "You're talking about being equals."

"Yeah, I guess."

"That's really good in a romantic relationship," she said softly, then blushed. "Not that we're in one. It's good in a friendship too! I just…Ash, I don't know. I want to kiss you and kill you at the same time! And before it always used to tilt towards killing you but the older I get the more I just want you to stop being an idiot that can't figure out how to use a decimal point by putting my lips over yours so you'll stop talking."

"I know the feeling," he said, then repeated, eyes a little wider, "I know the feeling."

It was quiet for a moment, right before Misty broke it. Ash's final statement was hanging in the air above them, too big and too obvious to leave alone.

"It's so safe here, in Pallet. It's like a nursery. It's sweet and pure and beautiful, and we're all alone in this country cottage because everyone's still sleeping. And…and if we're going to resolve this, it's now. I've got to…got to say that I love you, because I do. And I have to say that…that there's so much to talk about, and so much we have to work through, and that you're just…such an idiot." She laughed breathlessly, nervously. "But I have to trust you. I have to stop thinking of this whole thing as a game and think of it as…as something real."

"I have to think before I speak," he muttered.

"Yeah."

"And I need to stop lying about wanting to see…" He blushed. "I need to tell you that I want to kiss you, too."

"And you need to realize no one can hear you say you like me, and that if you do and you're not ready it can stay right here. No one but me will ever know you'll like me, we can talk about it in shadows or never talk about it again, or maybe we'll get together when you're ready. But…"

"But you have to know," he finished.

"But I have to know. I know you've told me before, but not really. Not without all the stuttering and I don't know's and blushing. Just look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me right now. Don't tell me if you think you can love me one day or can't ever love me, just tell me what you feel right now." She swallowed. "So I can get over you if I have to. Because if you don't, I really do have to."

He took a deep breath.

Truthfully, wishes and denials gone, he answered.

And once they had had a brief conversation they trotted up the stairs to release Meowth. He'd been slashing at the door to the attic, which was locked from the second floor. They stopped for a moment just below it, listening to the now frantic scratching. With the Legendaries gone, nothing was keeping him quiet, and hearing the footsteps had only encouraged him. He added cries for help to his scratching. The two below exchanged looks, and Misty courteously allowed him to be the one to hop up and hit the latch, immediately moving out of the way as it flew open, Meowth landing hard on the ground.

"Hey Meowth!" Misty chirped, leaning forward to the panting pokémon. "You want us to help you find Team Rocket? They shouldn't be too far from here. They came around here not too long ago looking for you."

He looked up, eyes round with fright, then raced away with a frightened yelp. Down the stairs, out the door, tail raised high and fur puffed out as if that would save him from the embarrassment. There was a loud thud as he crashed into the door, then the sound of the door handle rattling, and finally the door creaking open. The sound was perfectly matched by the near hysterical giggles of the two teens, who found themselves unable to stop until they were caught by several of the previously sleeping others.

"You guys alright?" Brock asked as they calmed.

"Meowth was stuck in the attic," Ash giggled, pointing to the pull down door that was laced with scratches. "When he tried to get out he ran into the door."

"But you're all back to normal?" he pressed, looking back and forth between them. "Misty's not changing and everything's settled?"

"I'm not changing and Ash is dumber than ever," she said lightly, grinning at the boy across the hall, then back to Brock. She got to her feet with a stretch. "It's nice to be back. The other me's haven't been keeping up my workout routine though. My body's all tight. You couldn't have wished for someone with an athletic personality?"

He shrugged. "I had bigger things on my mind, and some of them should have been athletic. The cheerleader one should have."

"Too much of a stereotype, apparently. She just starved herself instead of working out and stretching to keep limber."

Brock put his hand on her shoulder, one eyebrow raised suspiciously. "Misty, are you really back to normal?"

"Sure, why don't you think so?"

"It just seems like you should have killed him by now."

She beamed and winked. "Don't worry, Brock. I'll get back at him some way or another."

It doesn't seem like much of an end, one would imagine, but it's hard to find one. Where could the line be drawn? Perhaps it should end with Misty talking to Daisy, sorting out their issues. Maybe it should end when the starring couple has the time and courage and ability to date one another, or when they're married, or when they've popped out a few children. Maybe it should end with Ash going on his journey again and Misty heading home.

Or maybe the very course of it should have changed. Perhaps Ash should have been making out with Misty at the end of this, realized they were in eternal love and made his confession. One would imagine that at least what Ash had said should be written down, but that can't be shared. There were secrets in that hall that only the house heard, that Ash and Misty never did share with anyone else, as it never needed to be told. Maybe all of that's enough to make a stomach turn, and it would be better if Ash ended up with May or Misty with Brock or if there was simply no romance at all.

But it ends here, because anything further starts another story.

To talk with Daisy opens up old wounds, brings up a mother in a mental ward and a father in a coffin. To talk about dating leads to the ever changing highs and lows that come from a couple as exciting as this. To go to their marriage brings up all the debates, what Misty wanted, what Ash wanted, what Delia and the Sensational Sisters chased after in the union. To talk about the children opens up thousands of stories, being children of Ash Ketchum. To go on about his journey or Misty heading home only leaves it all hanging.

No, the story was of the Legendaries and their plan. The story was of how cocky a Chosen One can be, and him getting a bit of a better grasp of how far to go with the near unlimited power he obtained. The story was of the game that came to a close the second Misty decided to start a new one, to get her revenge. The story itself was weak and frail, made only strong by the hundreds or even thousands of little tales the filled it out. To find an ending suitable for every one of them would be impossible and, besides, it does take place in Pallet. It's hard to find an ending there.

After all, Pallet is a place for starting things.

You know, I already know that a lot of people aren't going to be happy about this, but I'm satisfied with it all. I wrote this over and over and over again, and you know what the problem was? Trying to get them together. When I first wrote this I was never really going for it. In fact, for the longest time before I started writing, it was just friendship. Later on the relationship was added, but at the root of it all it was friendship. It was about Ash treating people as people.

Of course, the biggest reason for writing this is the reason that's always ignored. In fanfic after fanfic I've read these where Ash or Misty or Bob or Jill or whoever makes a wish that the other person would do this or that, and then the person who wishes realizes "Oh, I don't want their love if it's not real!" Er…what about the fact that you just turned someone into your doll and stripped them of all basic living creature rights (because I wouldn't do that to my turtle, let alone another human being)? And, in return for doing this, all you can say was, "I wished for the wrong thing"?

That's just plain sick to me, and I honestly couldn't look at any more of these before I pitched a fit. The sheer irresponsibility, disregard for personal freedom, the ridiculous hubris of it all. It's emotional and mental slavery for Artemis's sake! I just don't know how so many people write this and can't think of that. I mean, it's no different from drugging someone! It's sick as hell, and this fic is my protest.

Stab me with flaming swords if you must, but after a month of writing this as best as I can, I am one hundred percent satisfied. I will take your criticism, I will use it for future stories, but I am content in this.

Happy Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Bodhi Day, Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, Festival of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun, and any others I might have missed! ;)

Hugs and Love,
Natty