Title: Goodbye
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Ash/Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #94, Good-bye
Rating: PG
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

Warnings: Shonen-ai, AU Special-verse

They dragged him before the council in chains, and the guards cuffed and kicked mightily, as if damaging him would undo the devastation the Elite Four had caused. The Champion was the only one with any pity in his eyes, had the Dragon Master but eyes to see it. As it were, he stood proudly, and flicked his golden gaze around the assembled peoples.

“Lance Dragyn. You are charged with, well, just about everything.” The judge said, before rattling off a long list of crimes. “How do you plead?”

“Oh, Guilty your honor.” Lance smirked. “It would make no difference even if I pled innocent.”

“You do know what sentence awaits.” His defense lawyer said hastily. “Nothing but death.”

Lance nodded, and closed his eyes. With that, the court burst into wild applause.

Red watched, feeling pity. He was sure that Lance was not evil, just severely misguided, but no one else did.

Lance would be dead by tomorrow morning anyway. Lethal injection was the quickest way to go.

He put the incident out of his mind and tried to forget about it.

He couldn’t.

That night, he went to visit Lance. He found his once-friend-and-perhaps-more sitting in his cell quietly, meditating. Red palmed the keycard, watching as the doors slid closed behind him. The guard was snoring quietly in the hallway, sleeping off Venusaur’s Sleep Powder attack.

“You should not be here.” Lance met his eyes. “Think of your reputation.”

“I don’t give two figs for my reputation right now, Lance! Not with your life on the line!”

“You do realize that you’re being monitored while you’re here. You might say something you regret, Champion.”

“I care not for that either!”

“You may wind up… relieved of your position, to put it mildly.”

Red shrugged, as he pulled Lance into a kiss. “I don’t care any more. Without you, does it really matter what happens to my vaunted reputation?”

“Mm… pity.” Lance said, as the kiss broke. “They saw that.”

“As I said, I don’t care. They can kill us both if they like.”

“Oh, I don’t think they would kill you. They would possibly send you to an endless stream of counselors and the like.”

“How boring. What we have to put up with…”

“Mm.”

“Do the chains hurt?”

Lance rattled them. “I can’t feel my hands.”

“Hm.” Red said, before he smiled and released his Aerodactyl. The fossil dragon’s wings glinted in the light.

Aerodactyl grinned toothily, before cutting him free from the wall. Lance raised an eyebrow.

“And the cameras?”

“Oh, those? Heh, I’ve got the override password so I turned them all off.”

“But Red… if I escape, you can’t go back.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you. You left me behind once, and look what happened!” Red said, referring to Cerise. “This time, I’m coming with you, no matter where you lead.”

“If you insist, then I’m heading to Four Island to catch up with Lorelei and Agatha.”

“I knew you’d have a backup plan.” Red smirked. “Now let’s see… I think I’ve got… these are yours, right?” He handed over five ultra balls as Lance checked quickly.

“Yes.”

“Shall we?”

The two of them soared into the night. One good Hyper Beam had blasted the walls open, but even as alarms rang, they had already fled.

“You don’t really mind?”

“No.” Red reassured Lance, and he didn’t even hate Lorelei for freezing him solid. It had all been for the good of the pokemon, and now, it was time to finish it.

He clasped Lance close to him, feeling the Dragon Master purr, and nodded.

It was not Cerise Island, but it would have to do, and as long as they could generate energy from the badges, did it really matter where they held their call?

Not so.

And Lugia heard, and bathed Kanto in destruction.

End Fic

Completed 8/23/06

This fic could have gone two ways. Someday I will write angst where the second option was chosen…