A/N: WOOHOO!! Chapter 4's up!! And… sorry, crappy, short chappy!! Please!! Some criticism!! 

Chapter four: 'The die is cast'


  There was left a trail of mud and water through the living room in the white house. Outside the 
rain faded away, leaving the sky covered with a heavy blanket of gray clouds.
  Almost flying over the ground, the huge black rapidash galloped through the grass, his rider 
clinging to his back. He whinnied with joy, and reared before accelerating over the plain ground.
  Richie rose, sitting straight up in the couch. His leg was resting on the table in front of him; all 
bandaged up, but it still send painful jolts through his body, every time he moved. The rage hadn't 
left his body either, and the argument with the professor and Lugia hadn't cooled him down a bit. 
He looked to the side, and caught sight of the professor sitting by the computer/videophone, 
transferring Richie's pokeballs, containing his pokemon to the local pokemoncenter. He turned his 
head again, bringing the pain to rip through his aching neck and back, and sighed, rubbing his sore 
cheek.
  Lugia stood outside the white house, and looked over the plains. He brushed back wet wisps of 
white hair, leaned his back against the white wall, and slit down to the ground. The teen closed his 
eyes and rested his head in his hands. "Shouldn't you be inside?" The young man jerked his head 
upwards, staring into the cold eyes of the Chosen One. The teen shook his head sadly, and rose 
from the muddy ground. "What's new?" This time, Ash shook his head. "Nothing. Not a single 
trail. Seems like not even the earth will help with this one. The only thing… this feeling… it 
appears all the time…" His voice faded to a whisper, and then completely trailed off. Lugia nodded, 
then cleared his throat. 
   "I have a confession. I didn't appear in your room to make jokes 'bout your pants. Something… 
bad has happened." The white-haired teen looked rather guilty, and tried to avoid the confused look 
of the boy standing in front of him. "This… thing with the dark creature… man… thing, it isn't just 
Richie, who has met it. A lot of those you've met on your journey, has been found laying 
unconscious on the ground; in their home or at a pokemoncenter. It doesn't seem like the thing's 
trying to harm…" Ash cut him off. "Whom are we talking about?" Lugia shook his head. 
"Hmmm… Some random pokemontrainers from the League, the gym-leaders from Kanto and 
Johto, Articuno was found in her pokemon-form, Gary oak… he was found this evening at Saffron 
City's pokemoncenter, Jessie and the meowth nearby the… grave, and…" He trailed off, seeming to 
be very uncomfortably. "And Misty laying in her bed." He ended. Lugia looked Ash in the eyes, 
and for a brief moment, he thought he saw a real emotion, before it faded back to the same 
insensitive look, Ash had had for the past year. "Hmmm." was his only reply. Lugia frowned, 
seeing how much the boy had changed. "Melanie and Richie seems to be the only two, who have 
been attacked by this thing, and aren't unconscious." Ash glared at the white-haired teen. 
"Melanie's in it too??!"

*** 

"The Messenger is found, and the message is soon to be delivered."
"Good. And the girl?"
"She's on her way."
"Hmm."
"The die is cast."  



A/N: Something I've been wondering 'bout: Where's the yellow rodent?? I'm not quite sure if I've 
forgotten him, or he's doing something else, outside my reach… And how the H*** are those 
voices??
Well… Don't wanna say Read & Review, coz I know you won't, but… Catios for now!!!
Birma
Irma5442@yahoo.dk