Outlaw

Epilogue

The famous hill in Pallet town was adorned with flowers and chairs. White chairs were neatly placed on either side of the red carpet that lay in between. Flowers joined the sides of the chairs that faced the carpet. White flower petals adorned the carpet. Everyone present stared at the front where the holy man gave his final blessings to the couple on the ground. Ash Ketchum could not believe his eyes, and never in a million years thought this day would come.

Dawn held her baby boy in her arms and rocked him slightly. She rested her head on Ash's shoulder as he responded by resting his own hand on her knee. She could feel his tension as one of the most important women in his life was being taken away from him. He knew she would be in better hands, in a better place, but sadness was still present in his body. They would still be in the same town, only a few blocks away, but he could not help to feel a great amount of distance had been placed.

The woman in the front, dressed in a plain white dress bowed to the holy man before she turned around and faced the man in the black tuxedo. He was still using a cane to walk, but if he felt any pain at all from his injury, it was nowhere to be seen. His smile was as wide as hers. He bent down and gave her a kiss. Everyone stood up and cheered for the newlyweds. He offered her his arm and she took it. They turned back to face their guests and smiled at all of them as they walked down the aisle.

A small golf cart waited for them at the end of the aisle. Ash and Dawn went around the chairs and joined the happy couple before they were to disappear from the ceremony. Ash gave his mother a big hug. "Congratulations, mom."

Dehlia looked up at her son. She never thought this would ever happen to her, her own son giving her away in her wedding. "You stay out of trouble while I'm away."

Ash nodded. "I'll be pretty busy," he said as he pointed to the sleeping baby in Dawn's arms. "He didn't stop crying until this morning!"

Dehlia smiled as she recalled when Ash cried until the wee hours of the morning when he was a baby. "Payback is wonderful," she said.

Dawn giggled as Ash frowned. "Whatever! Just don't have too much fun, ok?"

Ash's eyes went from his mother to her new husband. "Don't worry Ash. I'll take care of her."

Ash nodded as he gave Professor Oak a hug. "I know you will."

"And how about your mom, Ash? Will she take care of gramps?"

The two couples turned around and stared at Gary, who had a big, bright smile on his face. "He still has a screwed up knee. He can't take much exercise, Dehlia. If you know what I mean," he said with a sly tone.

Ash crossed his arms and refused to imagine what he had meant. Dehlia giggled as Professor Oak scratched the back of his head. "Who raised you to be such an unmannered boy?"

Gary shrugged and was going to take it a step further. He decided to stop when the hand he was holding gave him a small squeeze. He looked down at her blue-green eyes and he was down for the count. "It's their wedding, Gary Oak. Be nice, for once!"

Misty shook her head disapprovingly, and Gary winced. He hated how much power she had on him. Yet, he always felt wanted when she displayed concern for him.

"How long will you two be gone, Mrs. Oak?" Misty asked.

"Mrs. Oak." Misty thought immediately after the words had left her mouth. "It's so weird calling her that. Things have really changed in the past year, haven't they?"

"Call me Dehlia, Misty."

"Right, sorry."

"We'll be gone for a couple of weeks, max. I take it you'll watch over our home?" Professor Oak said. Gary felt a blush creep up his face. "J-just don't take longer than that! Misty and I want to get going to the Hoenn region as soon as possible."

Everyone laughed at his reaction. He was obviously as uncomfortable as Samuel Oak had been with the insinuation.

"Well, we better go now if we want to catch that plane to the Orange Islands."

Dehlia gave her son and official daughter-in-law one last hug before she hopped on the golf kart. Samuel Oak did the same to Gary and Misty. In a matter of seconds they were both gone from their sight.

Dawn heard the baby begin crying again. Both new parents cringed. "At least he didn't cry during the ceremony."

Dawn patted her son on the back to ease his discomfort. When he refused to stop crying, Dawn began walking towards Ash' home. "I'll give him food and put him to sleep. We need to sleep too. The League comes to pick us up tomorrow morning."

The Pokémon Master nodded to his wife as she began her way home; they had stayed in Ash' home in Pallet town while the wedding arrangements took place. But now they had to go back to their real home in Indigo Plateau tomorrow and resume working.

"I'll catch up with you, k?"

Dawn nodded, knowing that her husband wanted to make amends with the couple in front of him. When Dawn was out of sight, Ash focused his eyes on Gary.

"We're leaving tomorrow, but you guys are staying here, uh?"

"Yeah! We're watching over gramps' house before we start our Pokémon trip to the Hoenn region. I've heard they've got pretty awesome Pokémon over there."

"I heard that too. Perhaps you can be my eyes and ears over there? We're starting a Pokémon study back at the League. The Elite Four and I are looking forward to extend the availability of Pokémon for Gym Leaders' use."

"Of course! I ain't an official researcher anymore, but I can surely do a better job than you when it comes to researching."

Ash scoffed. "Puh-lease!"

Misty rolled her eyes at the still existing childhood rivalry sparking between Gary and Ash. "Boys will be boys."

"Anyway, ya mind if I talk to Misty, alone?"

"Even if I did, you'd still do it."

"Sounds 'bout right."

Gary shook his head. He gave his girl a kiss before heading to the front of the chairs as he supervised the people they had hired to clean after the ceremony was done. Misty followed him with her eyes and smiled at him. She then returned her eyes to Ash and smiled at him as well.

"You feeling ok?" Ash said as he pointed to his own heart.

Misty nodded, recalling the final moments in the courtroom a year ago.

Emily screamed as she turned around and saw Gary stand next to the witness podium. Her eyes shifted from Gary to Misty who was trying to reach him as well. Her fingers prepared her gun with highly skilled precision before she lifted her hand and shot. Misty tried to avoid the bullet and Gary tried to get to her on time, but all attempts were futile. A second shot was heard and both Gary and Misty hit the floor.

Ash and Dawn heard nothing more than silence coming from the courtroom. They both stood up and cringed at the scene unfolding in front of them. Maya Amherst had been shot by Gary Oak in her head. Misty fell to the floor, blood coming out from her chest. Maya had hit her where she had claimed she would.

"Misty, stay with me, ok?"

"Gary, w-where did you…?"

"The judge had one behind his desk. Ash handed it to me when I stood next to the witness podium."

In a matter of seconds real cops and paramedics appeared in the courtroom. Gary yelled at them that Misty had been severely injured. Misty smiled at him as her eyes closed.

"NO! Wake up! Don't you fucking do this to me again!"

Misty held his hand and squeezed it before she fell limp in his arms. The paramedics took her away from him and he watched as they began giving her first aid, just as she had received back in Cerulean's Gym.

Before Gary could react, she was taken away from the courtroom. He never saw her again until a week after that.

"Who could've thought that Emily's heart was a match for yours?"

"I know." Misty said while placing a hand over her heart. "She wouldn't have volunteered it either, if…if she didn't need it anymore."

"Has the League decided on a new Pokémon President?"

"Nope," Ash said as he shook his head. "We've decided on getting rid of the position. It's too much power on one person. The League will be run by the Elite Four and the Pokémon Master from now on."

"Make sure you give Bryan that big raise. If it wasn't for him I…"

Ash placed his index finger on her mouth. He had seen her bleed out, and had felt the same pain that Gary had felt all those times he thought she was a goner. She did not need to say the d-word. Bryan Gall had performed the surgery that saved her life. He now worked for the League as the members' medical doctor. Becca had joined him in Indigo Plateau.

"What about the Gym in Viridian City?" Misty asked, trying to change the gloomy conversation.

"Jen and Britt will be taking it over next month. They excelled at their training. They're ready to kick some butt."

"I'm glad. I hope my sisters aren't giving you any trouble."

"Not at all. They really came around."

Misty smiled. She turned to her right once more to see her fiancée argue with the movers. She played with her engagement ring with her thumb as she always did. Ash could not help to notice this and feel sad.

"Is he the one you want?"

Misty looked back at him, determination showing on her face. "Would you want him to be anybody else?"

"I guess if not me…"

It was Misty's turn to cover Ash's mouth with her index finger. "Perhaps it wasn't meant to be, Ash."

Ash smiled at the way she said his name. He had not heard his name coming from her in a long time. For a second, he remembered his travels with her and all of the adventures they had together as the images flashed in his mind at incredible speeds. Whoever said that humans fail to cherish their present until it becomes their past was right on the money.

"I hope you have fun at Hoenn."

She nodded. "I'll take care of him."

Ash nodded. He gave her a big hug before kissing her cheek. She slowly broke the hug, but not before whispering in his ear. "I'll always be with you, Ash."

Ash closed his eyes as he took a step back away from her. He nodded again and put on his sunglasses to cover his tears. "I better go help Dawn. That baby is a handful."

Misty giggled. He walked past her and stared at her one last time. He saw Brock join him halfway down the hill. He waved at Misty before turning back and following the Pokémon Master to his former home.

"Brock, take care of him for me," she thought, remembering how these words had been spoken by her, in this exact same place, a long time ago.

Gary returned to her, frustration plastered on his face. "How hard is it to stack five chairs at a time? FIVE CHAIRS?!"

Misty shrugged. "Math is hard for some people."

Gary sighed. He placed an arm around Misty's back and pulled her closer to him. He placed his other hand on her neck, and rested his forehead on hers. "So, gramps is gone for two whole weeks….whatever shall we do in that amount of time? In an empty house?"

"I've got no clue."

Gary kissed her forehead, then her cheek, and finally placed a small kiss on her lips. "Ready to go home?"

Misty nodded. The final rays of light coming from the sun illuminated the top of the hill. She held Gary by his waist and rested the side of her face on his chest. Gary returned the embrace and rested his chin on top of her head. She watched as the sun was replaced by the moon, and recalled that night when she thought everything was over for her.

She looked up to face Gary who had the brightest smile on his face. She could tell he was happy, regardless of the pain they had to go through to get where they were now. "Lead the way?"

Gary grabbed her hand and began carefully leading her down the hill. She looked back at it one last time before placing her eyes on the boy –man, in front of her.

"My story is now our story; and our story begins now."

THE END