Title: Ai no Nana Genre: General (AAMRN/JAJRN/Pokémon x Sailormoon Crossover) Rating: 12 (PG-13 for Americans) Author: Serenity Windchimes (TsukinoDeynatsu) E-Mail: star_princess@kittymail.com Website: http://www.stas.net/5/stardust Comments: This is my second attempt at a fanfic, my first having never made it to the web through a) lack of finishing and b) it confused me and I knew the plot. The title is Japanese, I'm pretty sure it means Flower of Love. This fic will be updated mostly on my site, if anybody actually finds the prologue interesting enough to finish. The names will switch from Japanese to English as most characters in this fic speak Japanese, but mostly Pokémon will be English, Sailormoon names will switch more often and all of the actual Pokémon will be English. Please be kind and all feedback is appreciated. Even flames. @}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}-------- @}--------@}-------- Prologue: Intertwining Destinies @}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}-------- @}--------@}-------- The urgent whispers echoed around the dark room. Each whisper seemed to become louder and louder, making the possibilities of being discovered greater. Finally, the head of the table stood up, silhouetted against the silver screen behind her. Instantly the room became silent, every youth waiting for her commands, longing for an explanation. She searched the room for her friends. Though dark, she made out every face and expression, each one hoping for some kind of release. She sighed. This was usually the kind of situation she shied away from, not too keen on the responsibilities of leadership. But now was one of those times. She had to be strong, her friends were counting on her. And this time, the pressure was even worse. "So?" The inquisitive voice broke the silence. The leader looked across to the youngest of their group, a small girl with dark purple hair. She seemed less nervous than the others, she noted, perhaps because she'd been friends with death? No, she was calm because she had to be. It was her personality, the leader decided, and nothing would change that. It was who she was. But now was not the time to think about her friends, now was the time to be their leader, the one to point them in the right direction and then get lost herself. That was her own personality, and nothing would change that, either. "Have you spaced out again? We _need_ your decision. Or have you forgotten to make one??" This voice was filled with jealousy and love. Her best friend and biggest rival. She looked at the speaker for strength, smiled at her and sighed. Now was the time. "There's no other option, I'm afraid." She began. Everybody eagerly leaned forward in their seats, their leader was finally going to take charge! But the upwelling of hope was almost enough to make her cry. She didn't want to disappoint them. Not now. Not after all that had happened.............. "We have to bring in the outsiders." Everybody sat back in a slight shock, but two, - a girl and, perhaps, a boy? - stood up angrily and stared at their leader. "What do we need them for? We have our own powers!" The more masculine of the two obviously had no use for the word 'subtle'. Her fears were well known by all, but there was no way they were becoming public. That would be an insult to her male pride. This opposition brought the leader to desperation. She knew that these particular two would not trust any stranger, even herself at one point. It seemed to be their belief that no-one had powers except themselves. "We need the help!" She cried. "We've been fighting for years, none of us have lives anymore, and I don't know how long I'll keep letting you down like this! Maybe if we _all_ combined our powers, we can -" "But how can we trust them?" The more girly of the two gently cut her off. "We cannot trust those we do not know, and maybe they have no powers. Or they will turn against us -" "Shut the hell up." It was _her_ turn to get angry now. "I've know the 3rd high since I was tiny and she's the sister I've never had. She would never turn on us. The other highs have been friends to me since almost as long with the only exception being my brother. I've known _him_ " she spat the word out as if referring to a traitor, " and his sister for about 6 or 7 years and she would never hurt anything but _him_. It was common knowledge for years that _he_ had it in for us, it was really no surprise when he turned traitor." She stared with contempt at the girls before her, and suddenly a whimper arose at the back of her throat. She fell into her chair and started shaking. The pressure had finally got to her, and she couldn't ignore it any longer. Her surroundings became blurred as she started to cry, each heartwrenching sob bringing her closer to..... the blackness? What was that? She became alarmed, even opened her mouth to scream - did she manage it? - but soon she gave into the security washing over her. As her surroundings faded out, so too did the cries of alarm and shock. She watched them run to her and watched the darkness approach from behind them. She turned to meet the being behind her, the face speaking silent words with no mouth, and finally, she felt the cold touch of the darkness. She held her arms out to it, welcoming it to pacify her, and soon she was lost in the black, the deep echoes of emptiness and, feeling no emotion, finally let go and slipped into the world of nothing. As she floated into the depths of darkness, she suddenly became afraid. Was this... death? The thought alarmed her. She started to struggle, but soon gave into the calming sensation of the empty currents, all thoughts of life and death gone from her mind. Maybe she should stay here. Where was here? Does it matter? Her thoughts, she realized with a start, were loud. She needed to be quiet, she knew that from the time before...... before....... She couldn't remember. That doesn't matter either, she decided. "My darling, my daughter, please, don't give in." The voice seemed to come from her own mind. Wait, where was her mind? And was this person her...... mother? Who was that? A flash of white light filled the area, so bright she closed her eyes. When she opened them, there, in front of her, was a young woman, no, possibly she was 30, although she looked younger. Maybe the white hair made her look older?? She looked at the woman more closely. She was wearing a white, sleeveless dress with a small bow on the front and her hair was whiter than snow. She realized with a shock that they had the same hair. That should mean something, she thought, but I can't remember what. She tried looking past the woman, towards her destination, and suddenly became aware of the fact that there were no boundaries. She turned in all directions and could hear nothing, could feel nothing but the cold... and was that warmth, too? And could see nothing but the grays, whites and the never ending blackness. She turned her attention back to the woman.... no, not woman, more important than that..... why couldn't she remember anything? "Come with me, my darling. You needn't be here, it's not right for you." The lady - was that right? Lady? - reached out her hand to the dazed girl. "Come on, take it!" She smiled. "You have a whole life to live and a world to save, please trust me." The girl started to head towards her mother. Every bone in her body was screaming at her to run - This will only lead to more pain! - but this felt so right, and finally the warmth was taking over, restoring her memories and emotions. Maybe now she had it all back, she could stay?? She didn't want to return to the outside world. That place was hard. As she was about to put forward her question, she hesitated. Maybe.....? "Come, touch my hand." She smiled at her daughter's hesitance. "You're friends are waiting for you." The girl leaned forward and grabbed her hand, pulling her mother forward for a much-needed cuddle. She turned her bright eyes towards the queen, and, whispering what might be her last words to her mother, thanked her. With all her heart. The mother smiled at her child - for she was still her child, no matter what the age - and pulled her out of the darkness, releasing her into a world of colours and senses. Her princess welcomed back the world of pain with first smell, then touch, taste - was that blood? - sight and finally, sound. As the blurred figures in front of her became more focused, she heard the words that made her scream. "Usagi! Usagi-chan! Please, Usagi-chan, please wake up! He's here!" @}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}-------- @}--------@}-------- The small child on her lap gurgled happily, causing its newfound friend to squeal with laughter. The boy beside her smiled at his friend - more than that? He doesn't know yet - and watched as his other friend, a tall, dark, strange 19- year-old studied the map that hung off the wall. He shook his head. How could he stay inside on such a beautiful day as this? There were daisies growing in every field - was there even grass in there? - and the sky was as blue as Australia, according to some. Some being the red-headed girl sitting next to him with a baby on her lap. He shook his head again, who would've figured Misty was the mothering type? Certainly not him, and the two were as close as they could possibly be. Without being in a relationship. Something struck him and made him sit up with a start. Today was too peaceful. What was missing? Dogs? Cats? Cats! Team Rocket hadn't put in an appearance! Well, that was one thing to look forward to, rated below 'Afternoon Detention' on the scale of exciting things. He was about to voice these thoughts to Misty, but she looked so peaceful maybe it was best not to. The sun was setting behind her and she was totally wrapped up in that baby - damn, he forgot his camera. That would've made a good shot, if taken at the right angle. Or doesn't the light have to be behind you.....? The cry that followed the thud made Ash break his chain of thought. Misty had dropped the baby. He leant forward to grab him, but she was there in front of him, holding the kid and walking up and down, gently stroking his head to calm him. "Misty!! How could you be so irresponsible!!! You don't drop infants!!" Finally, something had taken Brock away from the map. Ash had prayed for that all afternoon, but this was not the right way. He could see, somehow, that she was cut-up about dropping Tom, but obviously Brock couldn't. Maybe he should stop this before - "I didn't do it on purpose!" Misty spun around, still calming the little boy until she was face to face with Brock. His eyes were red and fury was dripping off his tongue. _He_ couldn't see the tears behind her eyes. "Joy left you in charge of her baby - her _baby_ - for 10 minutes while she had a shower and you let her down like this! You bitch! Why can't you just hold onto the kid, or sit down! You stupid little bitch!" Misty stepped back, shocked by his words. Ash joined in her stunned silence, even Tommy realized that now wasn't a good time to yell. The only sound that broke the silence was Brock's heavy breathing, punctuated every so often with a grunt of rage. He started to step forward, leaning in with malice. Misty seriously thought he was going to hit her, and started backing off. She couldn't fight with Tommy in her arms! Maybe Ash could... Where is Ash? "You stupid li - " "Leave her alone!!" He was cut off mid-sentence. Ash's anger seemed to rival his own, and Brock backed off, seeing how he wouldn't be able to get to _her_ without going through _him_ first. Why didn't he want to get to her anyway? Ugh, his head hurt - Something told him to leave, but stay anyway. What did that mean? Maybe that....... "Pikapi! Pikachu pi-chu-ka!" All 3 teenagers looked towards the young lady and yellow Pokémon that ran out of the door, shocked expressions on their faces. The pikachu ran straight for its trainer, intent on finding out the source of the disturbance. Nurse Joy, however, stood at the door and surveyed the scene for a moment. First of all, there was Misty. The 16-year-old was not wearing the same scruffy attire of her past, preferring to switch her clothes every day. She wore a pair of white pedal pushers, a blue tee-shirt and her longish hair was in a ponytail with a ribbon, a la Michuru. She wore nothing on her feet save for the blue nail polish which also resided on her finger nails, giving the girl a beach look. In her arms she still clutched the baby - the nurse thanked god for that one - but on her face was a scared, shocked expression, and one could see the tears behind her eyes. Joy switched her gaze over to Brock, or 'the hormonal squinty-one', as her family jokingly referred to him. Fire danced in his eyes, which kept flicking from Misty, to Ash and then herself in turn. He gave her the impression that he had let out a secret, though which one was unknown to her. He was covering up his vulnerability with rage. Unlike Misty, he had not 'Got with the times', and still wore mush the same outfit as before, the only thing being different was the waistcoat was gone. The shops must have stopped selling them, she mused, after all, he _is_ 21 now. Finally, her gaze was transferred to Ash. He was hardly recognizable. The constant walking over that last two years had obviously done him some good, he looked more a man now than she ever thought possible. He was at least a foot taller than Misty, and only a couple of inches shorter than Brock, and gaining that fast too, by the looks of it. She wasn't surprised to see him in front of Misty - it was no secret that they had something going on - but he was evidently not mad enough to hit his brother _yet_. She guessed that Brock had been threatening Misty about something, and Ash stepped in before it got too bad. He too had changed his clothes, wearing blue jeans and a red top that he was steadily growing out of, making him seem the more formidable male. She smirked. At least until he found a new top. As she walked over to pick up her son, she noticed something in the faces of all three - relief. She took her baby and turned to walk back into the house, when it happened. They cracked. Brock started crying first. "I'm so sorry, Misty, I just couldn't see..... not again....." He spun around and ran into the house quickly followed by the nurse and her son. Ash and Misty stared after him in shock, not quite believing what they had seen. Then it was Misty's turn. She started to rock backwards and forwards on the balls of her feet - ever so slightly at first - and finally she collapsed on the ground in a sobbing heap, crying for all she was worth, slipping in and out of consciousness due to shock. She knew she shouldn't have done that, let alone in front of _Ash_, but she couldn't control it. Just like the leader collapsed under her pressure, so Misty collapse underneath her own. As her vision blurred, she could just make out Pikachu standing there, mouth and eyes wide with shock. Where was Ash? Did he run? Couldn't he have stayed and helped her? This thought made her cry harder. Maybe he didn't care, he couldn't. Not now. She returned her gaze to the Pikachu, and realized with a start that she couldn't hear its words. Its mouth was moving, but no sounds came out. Was that good or bad? Could she even decide that? She stared hard behind the Pikachu - What was that? Was that Ash? No, that was black, black..... What was it? It was coming closer, whatever it was. She heard a piercing scream, was it coming from the hole? The voice was familiar, her.... family? No, not one of her sisters.... her 'Sas'? Could she remember who that was? As the blackness came nearer, she was given the sensation that someone else was there, in it, someone...... someone had the same circumstances as her, maybe? She lifted her arms to the blackness, her Sas _was_ in there, she'd be safe there - did Sas need _her_ help? That she had to find out - and suddenly, as the black washed over her, the warm familiarity disappeared, and she was alone. Every way she turned, she could only see black. All she could feel was cold, all she could hear was silence. The silence bugged her. Silence doesn't sound like that, she thought. Silence is...... a tone? Yes, it was a tone, but this was just empty. Nothing was there, and, even though she strained her ears, listened through, accepted and ignored the other sounds, she could hear no silence. Good or bad? Bad, she decided. Very, very bad. She had to get out of here - but how? The way she came in seemed as god as any, but wasn't that black, now? She spun around upon seeing a white light, and stared at it in recognition. There was a boy inside it - obviously, he didn't know he was there - and the only thing she could think of was 'he came back for me! But who is he?' The light fizzled out, almost as if the boy had been trying desperately to reach her on an untrained mind....... Untrained mind? Where was she coming up with this stuff? This meant something............... She couldn't think what. And why was she feeling warm? Who was there? The flash of white returned, and this time it was even brighter. Misty did not shield her eyes. This time it would bring help. The lady inside was beautiful, snow white hair and gorgeous complexion, but for once she never noticed that. Her mind was working....... A natural reflex made her curtsey to this woman. Misty thought about this for a few seconds, trying to make the connection between weird whit hair and respect.......... OMG! It couldn't be her queen! She was dead! But hadn't the princess seen her? She looked at the lady, the woman who had once been her second mother. The woman just smiled. Misty's tears, the ones she couldn't use, suddenly spilled over her cheeks as she ran towards her queen. "Queen Serenity!" She flew into her arms, sobbing, happy for the warmth that encased her. Queen Serenity just held her, holding the child - the baby- girl - until she was calmed. She smiled down at her, and nodded her head. "Goodbye, darling, go back to him, he's waiting for you......" Misty was rushed through the layers of black and coldness, finally emerging into a world of colour, finally realizing why she was warm - safe. Ash's arms were around her, and he was crying. @}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}--------@}-------- @}--------@}-------- So? What do you think? This took me a long time to write - I was up until 3 this morning from about 11:30, and I just wrote the last Ľ or so in about ˝ an hour. If I don't get feedback, I probably won't finish it. Silence actually does have a sound, believe it or not. This is common knowledge among the people with trained minds (witches that can actually do stuff, meditators, yogis etc.) and I happen to have one. I used to hear it all the time when I was young, and then my mum told me what it was and how to hear it and now I hardly ever do. It's a very high-pitched tone, and, when you hear it, it doesn't seem to have been heard with your ears. It's actually very loud, could probably drive you crazy if you don't like high, continuous noises. To hear it you have to listen to all of the sounds and accept them, then listen through them until you hear it. Feedback will be highly appreciated, I probably won't finish Chapter 1 unless I get some. star_princess@kittymail.com is the addy. This is really irrelevant, but have you ever heard the song Imagine by John Lennon? One line is Imagine no possessions, wouldn't the world be better if that was true? Just a thought. © Serenity (Windchimes), Saturday, 6/1/01, all rights reserved. :P Smile!