Title: No Rest after Death
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Red/Ash)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #97, Writer’s Choice (What If?)
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks. Anime-verse

Warnings: AU, fanon, Shonen-ai, near-death situations, anti-Palletshipping

They were dancing the same steps millennia ago, and he felt the smirk curve his lips as Ash stared at him in abject disbelief. He knew the fates as well as his lifeline, and he knew – without knowing – that his audience was ready.

It would be so simple to do…

The metal was bright and hot beneath his skin and he felt the laughter of a hundred thousand betrayals ring harshly in his mind. He added a mental tally to the list, another stab of remorse, little more than dull pain now, before he spoke.

“Ash…”

“What is it?” The Champion asked, fearing Lance had lost his mind. Ever since the Dragon Master had caught him with Gary in the bushes things had not been the same between them. He had sensed a distance, a withdrawing, but it had been so hard to pinpoint, and Lance had been as impeccably polite as ever. So proper and polished and elegant, but the emotion beneath had vanished…

Something was wrong. He didn’t need to be a genius to figure that out! He only hoped Lance wasn’t going to murder him right here. It had been foolish, following the Dragon Master out at night, after dark, but seeing him dancing, with the blades in hand had been worth it, until the dance had wound down and Lance had seen him.

“You will take care of my dragons for me, won’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Ash blinked, honestly perplexed.

“Do you know the legend of the Sacred Sword?”

“Oh, that?” Ash seemed almost relieved at the change in topic. “Sure. It’s a legendary weapon that can defeat any evil. Why?”

“Wouldn’t you like to have it for your fight against Team Rocket?”

Ash nodded enthusiastically. “That’d be great! You know where it is, Lance?”

“Mm.” The Dragon Master said quietly. “But there’s a price for it.”

Ash gulped. “A price?”

“Yes. Everything has a price, Ash. Perhaps you have been lucky… no, you are lucky. You have your devotees willing to die for you, to keep you safe…”

“… Um, I don’t understand.” Ash said, confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“What price would you pay for the Sacred Sword?”

“You mean, money?” Ash blinked. “I’m pretty wealthy…”

“No.” Lance shook his head. “Say, if I asked you to sleep with me for the Sword, would you do it?”

Ash hesitated at that. It was just sex, and he was good at that, since, well, he and Gary had screwed around a lot, but Lance was older and probably bigger than Gary was and it might hurt but…

“I…”

“No?”

“I don’t think I should.” Ash said. “That would be cheating on Gary, right? And he’s my boyfriend now…”

“So precise. So perfect.” Lance agreed. “And we were never any more than friends.”

“Of course we’re friends!”

“Then… our friendship will be the cost. It’s lighter than I expected.” Lance sounded almost relieved, which made Ash more confused.

“Lance? Why are you asking me this now? I’m sorry, but…”

“It’s all right.” Lance told him. “I won’t touch you. Please back away. Yes, that should be far enough.”

Ash obeyed, wondering what on earth the Johto League Champion was doing. He watched as Lance closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of his chest.

Was he going to pray for the Sword?

“Forgive me, Father.” Lance murmured, before searing pain raced through his body. He ignored it as he continued to trace two fingertips down his torso, collarbone to navel, collapsing to his knees with relief as the handle of the sword began to emerge from his chest, bright silversteel coated with blood.

Ash watched this all with dawning horror, even as Lance continued to pull. He tried to ignore it, but his eyes were riveted to the sight, as Lance finally withdrew the blade fully, a plain, sharp thing.

The Dragon Master turned to him, and though his eyes were hazy with pain, Ash saw sharp determination mingled with an emotion he couldn’t quite identify. Lance held out the Sacred Sword, a faint smile on his face.

“Take it.”

“N-No…” Ash stammered. “You…”

“Be happy.” Lance whispered, before his eyes closed. “I was a fool… to fall in love… again…”

“You can’t die!” Ash cried, surprised to find tears running down his cheeks. Sure, Lance was a friend and of course he would cry now that he was dead, but…

Wait…

Frantically, he ignored the Sword and reached for Lance, trying, and yes, it was faint, but it was there…

A pulse…

Within seconds, an emergency medical team had shown up, and miraculously, they managed to get Lance on life support. It was a great shock, then, when the Dragon Master woke up months later and realized he was not dead.

What in Lugia’s name had gone wrong? He was supposed to die to give up the Sacred Sword, and Charlotte was already dead with the Sacred Shield, so why…?

Why was he still alive?

Why couldn’t he just forget it all…?

For that matter, how could he feel his heartbeat? He sacrificed everything for the Sword, all his organs. So why was he still alive and breathing?

He sat up slowly, cautiously, feeling a familiar presence in his mind. < Father? >

< Child. > The voice was warm, and familiar, and he sighed.

< Why am I not dead? >

< I am at a loss. > Lugia replied gravely. < I fully expected you to die. We all did – the dragons were preparing to sleep until the next cycle. Yet… you survived. >

< But that’s impossible. > Lance said. < I no longer have the Sword within me. I cannot live without it. >

< It is indeed perplexing. > Lugia agreed. < However, the most prudent thing to do would be to observe for a time. >

Lance sighed. < Very well. And soon it will be December… I could hardly deny my dragons one last ceremony while I still live… >

< You have always been dutiful, Child. If only it did not come at such a high price…. >

< I find the price not difficult to pay when it is required. > Lance replied bitterly. < If he loves me, I gladly die for his sake. If he loves me not, I have no reason to live. >

Lugia said nothing more, and Lance slowly eased himself out of bed, wrinkling his nose at the hospital garments he now wore. A thought shifted them to familiar black silk. Death and shadow and all those beautiful things… his cloak billowed behind him as he opened the window and slipped out silently.

It was all right. He would endure.

November passed. December. It was January and snow was falling softly. He made no effort to conceal his presence, a black blot in a frozen wasteland of white. The snow brushed his cheekbones with kisses and caresses he would never receive. He balanced a snowflake on a fingertip, watching as it melted into water.

“You’re not dead!”

“No.” A single world, spoken, and Ash felt his blood run cold. Lance was… different now, very different. He was wearing his normal clothing, leaning against his Aerodactyl in a field of snow, but something about him…

“I was worried!” When he’d realized that Lance was missing from the hospital – and he had to be alive, because Ash didn’t think anyone would try to steal a body – he had been ecstatic, but at the same time, he had felt strange…

Sure, he was relieved Lance wasn’t dead, but…

What had Lance meant, that he was lucky it was only friendship he was losing? Lucky he hadn’t died!

Friendship was important, wasn’t it? So what could matter more?

“So you were.” Lance said, quietly. “You need not worry for my life any longer.”

That was true, but why did it sound like a lie?

“Did you keep the Sword at least?”

The Sword? Oh! Ash nodded. “Yes. I have it with me.” He indicated the little pendant around his neck. A tiny sword-shaped pendant dangled there. Convenient.

“And are you happy?”

Ash nodded enthusiastically. Of course he was happy!

Lance felt something shatter inside of him at that moment, but he barely registered it. He had already broken so much he was surprised he was alive. He took Ash’s hands in his, ignoring the surprised look from the trainer, and kissed them, once, before he stepped away.

“Then everything will be all right.” Lance murmured, a lie, but Ash was still dazed so he barely registered the Dragon Master’s words. Lance whistled to his Aerodactyl, and they were gone before Ash quite knew what had happened.

Somehow… he felt like he as missing something very important, but what?

He went home, and smiled, but that night, he woke up crying. He bit his lip to try and stifle his sobs, but it wouldn’t stop. The pain… it hurt so much…

He left his house, glad that he hadn’t been sleeping over at Gary’s tonight. Thinking of Gary made him frown. Gary and Richie had been spending a lot of time together, and Ash was sure they were having sex, and even though it shouldn’t bother him it did because Gary was supposed to be his boyfriend but then Gary had said just rivals worked better, so Ash hadn’t complained about it, because he was nice.

Lance… Lance was nice too, wasn’t he?

No. Nice was the wrong word. Lance was brilliant and powerful and probably knew a lot of things Ash hadn’t learned yet, but…

But something was wrong with Lance, and it wasn’t just the fact that he used to have a Sword in his chest.

Ash frowned, but the pain actually seemed to help him think, and he gasped as something flashed in his mind.

Fall in love… again…

Lance was in love? Well, that was interesting. Maybe that was why he was so moody. But if so, who was it? Maybe it was Lorelei or that new girl, Karen?

But that didn’t make any sense! Shouldn’t Lance have given them the Sacred Sword? It was important after all! Unless…

“Lance is in love with me?” Ash blurted out, surprised. As if in answer to his words, the pain in his body crested, sharp, before it faded away completely.

How strange.

But… but that couldn’t be! Right? Lance didn’t fall in love, and besides, they were both boys, but…

Well, if Lance loved him, why did he go away? Did he not love Ash any more? Maybe he ought to ask.

He wrote his mom a note, left Pikachu snoozing on his bed, and released Charizard. It might take a while, but he was fairly sure he knew where Lance was hiding out. After all, Lance had taken him once.

Seafoam Islands…

Alas, Lance was not there. Neither was Whirl Islands his place of residency. Ash finally decided on Mount Silver, and sure enough, found the Dragon Master there. Lance was watching clouds, eyes half-closed, dragons sleeping contentedly nearby, and Ash felt something strange inside of his chest.

Then Lance turned to face him, and Ash had to stifle a gasp as he caught sight of Lance’s eyes. They were flat and dull, almost… brown, nothing like the bright gold he was used to. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Lance’s eyes when they’d met in the snow, either…

Had Lance not looked at him on purpose?

Lance smiled when he heard Ash gasp, almost as though he had been expecting it. “Now you know, Champion.” He said quietly. “It looks like you finally figured it out.”

“I…I think so.” Ash colored, but plowed on regardless. “You’re in love with me.”

Lance shook his head, and it was Ash’s turn to feel something break inside of him. He could almost see sharp broken bits and it didn’t feel nice at all!

“I was in love with you.” Lance corrected. “Now, we can go back to being friends just like you wanted.”

“But…” Ash protested. “That’s not what I want now!”

“Well, it’s too late then, isn’t it?” Lance asked. A strange smile curved his lips. “I was supposed to die, you know.” He said, almost conversationally, “But it seems that fate threw us a curve ball. I’m rather enlightened now, and as a result, I can see that you do not need my presence at all. My only existence is in the Sword, and without the Sword, I am nothing.”

“That’s not true!” Ash cried. “I do want you!”

“You only want me because Gary is gone.” Lance said. “No need to look so shocked – I heard all about it, though I won’t reveal my source. But cheer up. You’re still young and it won’t take long to find another boyfriend.”

Ash blinked. “You mean you’ll…?”

“Dear Lugia, no.” Lance said. “I’ve heard that Drake’s rather attracted to you, and Bruno’s always up for fun. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

Ash’s eyes widened, and he goggled at Lance, his mind trying to process what the Dragon Master was saying. “Why…”

But Lance was standing, and walking away, and Ash ran after him as fast as his legs could carry him. He wasn’t sure what Lance was doing but…

Lance stopped, suddenly, and Ash almost ran into him, before he stopped himself and looked around. Then he paled. They were near the edge of a sheer drop and he had no idea how Lance had found this but he didn’t want to know.

“It’s so ironic.” Lance muttered. “But this proves it. You’ll never love me alive, so all I can hope is that you’ll love me dead.”

And time seemed to slow, before the Dragon Master threw himself over the edge. Ash heard screams, but he wasn’t sure if he was the one screaming or if it was someone else and suddenly there were feathers and he had wings but he didn’t care because he wasn’t going to let Lance die!

And time stopped.

“So that’s how you did it.” Lance said, and he sounded too amused for someone who was trying to die and was now floating in midair and Ash wanted to slap him so he wouldn’t try it again but he was scared to. “You used your power without awakening your other self. Clever. And since time falls under Serebii’s control… you saved me.”

Ash took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down, and grabbed Lance’s arm. “I won’t let you die.”

“That’s selfish of you.” Lance retorted. “Why should you control my life?”

He could not answer, and the confident blaze in Lance’s eyes told him what the other thought.

“If you don’t love me, I don’t have to love you back.” Lance’s voice was going colder, almost as though he was sliding into someone else. “So it’s simpler to end things and try again next time. There’s no point in walking through glass again.”

“But!”

“You have no right.” Lance hissed. “Find someone else to play with, when your heart desires, and may Lugia forgive me.”

And Ash saw bright red blooming over Lance’s black attire, and the Sword buried in his chest, and realized what had happened.

“It…”

“It’s mine, after all.” Lance murmured. “Flesh and blood and bone. I called, and it answered, and one day…perhaps you will, before it’s too late.”

Ash cried.

End Fic

Completed 3/6/07

So basically, I was thinking, about how Lance always dies when he calls the Sacred Sword, and well, what if he didn’t? ^^

Lance is obsessive towards Ash, even though Ash probably doesn’t deserve it! *Cough* Oh well…