Title: Bathing in Artificial Light
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Ash/Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #15, Bathing in Artificial Light
Rating: PG-13
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, fanon, angst

It’s not until after he is dead, that Ash realizes what is wrong. For some reason, Gary got yanked through a set of gates as soon as they died, which didn’t hurt all that bad, but the pokémon guarding all the paths just looked at him for a second before they yelled for Serebii.

That surprised him, but he’s seen Serebii before, and she floats near him, putting her hands on her hips as she scolds, like a mother hen.

“What were you thinking? This is why I try to write the fate-lines! Now you’ve gone and messed up all my planning!”

He just kind of blinks at her, and then she slaps him so hard his head spins, which is very weird, but he lives with it, and then… he remembers.

He falls to his knees as the impact of, well, everything, blasts through his head, and he glances down at Earth, as if he can see Lance just by force of will…

He can.

The Dragon Master is wearing silversteel armor, but Ash can see through it, and he pales as he looks at the lines of blood cut into his arms. Lance’s eyes are perfectly calm, pristine gold, but Ash watches at night as he opens his cabinet and takes out the pills, two at a time, and he knows that Lance is killing himself slowly.

The whole balance has gone out of whack, and it’s all. His. Fault.

Well, to be truthful, part of it is Lance’s fault for killing him, but Ash finds that he can’t blame the other guardian for doing that.

Serebii takes him back farther; so he can watch other memories, older memories, and he pales as he listens to Lance speak.

Lance really wants to die, doesn’t he?

It’s not long before Lance starts to dissolve. It’s not easy to do, but as he’s the only guardian living, and the last is gone, there’s nothing else he can do to stop it, and as the threads curl about his body, Ash fancies that he smiles bitterly.

It makes his heart hurt.

But at least next life, he’ll have a chance to make things better. He hopes.

For now, he just watches, and wishes he could reach out and touch, and brush those tears away.

But he can’t.

End Fic

Completed 11/11/06

Yeah, I decided Ash need some redemption… after what I put poor Lance through… takes place after Themes #35 and 44.

I hate Palletshipping, kk?