*Waves to readers*

Lance: *chases Phantomness with a sword*

Disclaimer: Nope, I don’t own pokemon! However, this fanfic is non-profit, its mine since I wrote it, and I’m not infringing on Nintendo’s copyright, so there! Don’t sue, it’s a waste of time and money.

Timeline: 2 months

Warnings: Shonen-ai Championshipping (Ash x Lance), insanity…

Chapter 9: Bridge of Swords

I tried, you know, I really tried.

Ash fidgeted.

He… the fire, sprung from unseen coals, had smoldered for years and now, it was threatening to burst into flame.

It…I…I want…

No! He wasn’t supposed to want anything, at least nothing large. Small pretty things, bits of jewelry and shiny poke balls and cute pokemon, that was fine, but…

You could not love more than that.

But! My…my heart hurts…

I want him…

Ash peered through the mirror waves again. Lance was grooming Lugia, nothing wrong with that and yet…

I feel… jealous? Why?

Even with history and legend and knowledge under his belt, that did not make the way of the heart any easier.

The unown hummed.

Ash frowned. * Why… I’m not even supposed to want anything, no matter what they say, and yet… I think… when did it happen? *

He wasn’t sure if it was love. Love was hard to define and harder to catch hold of.

But if that wasn’t love… if this firestorm inside of him, constantly trying to break out and caress and possess… and if he could not stand being apart, even though it was no real touching…

What was it?

Ash sighed, as he finished writing the paragraph. Team rocket was now completely destroyed. Team Aqua as well, Magma would fall very soon if the predictions from R were correct.

They most likely were.

Then, what was left?

Perhaps the purging was complete. Did that mean he wouldn’t be able to watch him anymore? Oh, please no!
I…I like watching. It’s not real yet, but… I want to touch him, and feel him, and make him mine…

Ash sprinted for the showers. This pattern was becoming increasingly frequent, and it was losing its effectiveness…

There was simply no way to get his mind off Lance.

What is wrong with me?

He cried. The water washed his tears away, but that didn’t make the act any less real. * I want him… I think I love him… and the worse thing is, I don’t know when it happened and if I could have stopped it from happening! *

He didn’t want to cry. It was weak. But they told him to let it out, and hopefully purge himself.

He cried, he cursed, he broke things, and he threw himself into other aspects but… the ache was still there.

It didn’t stop, it didn’t leave, it was just there!
Ash was startled to wake up one morning and find fresh blood staining his sheets.

What had happened?

Memory was blurry, but… ah, should not have consumed that alcohol; still… it was too late now.

He had reached an epiphany.

It was no longer a matter of yes or no. It was a matter of time.

He had passed the point of no return.

That night, Ash silently begged Serebii to forgive him, before he began writing the new words of history. His history.

It was power.

So warm…

So soft…

How could it possibly be wrong, when it felt so right? They were one and together and nothing would break them apart.

Power leashed in those tight movements, and he gasped when the other claimed him as his own.

The kisses were gentle, like butterflies wings. So pretty…

And when he was satiated, the Dragon Master protecting him with nothing but glowing love in those golden irises, he was happy.

So happy, it was like a dream.

But he knew it was real, since he had made it real.

The unown did not scold him.

They knew it would be useless to. Their Chosen had made his choice, and that was the way things were.

Things never turn out perfectly. You make the most with what you have. Do not be too greedy…

He wasn’t, really.

Ash took good care of his lover. Such a pretty, pretty one, and he looked so good in dark colors…

He wrote in their little adventures, and he kept the world safe... for a time.

But dreams only last so long.

1 month later…

Ash was woken by the familiar scent of strawberries and cream tickling his nose as Lance walked in carrying a platter of pancakes.

“I made your favorite, koibito.” The Dragon Master said pleasantly.

Ash smiled and bit into a pancake happily. What was wrong with a little happiness on his part?

The unown web suddenly tensed.

That was all the warning Ash had before Team Magma attacked. In horror, he watched as Lance collapsed, wings shattering into fragments.

What was going on?!

Ash barely reacted, only out of shock when the Magma agents attacked him. That was when Z glowed, upping his speed so they got out of the way, and V vanished them. Then, D sent them all into the atmosphere with B’s attack.

Ash rushed over to Lance, horrified when he saw the blood.

< NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! >

How? Why? Lance had power, didn’t he?

Didn’t he?

Ash grabbed his scroll of time; he could change it, couldn’t he? Make Lance heal himself? And so he wrote in the necessary words, but…

Sure enough, Lance stood up, wings repairing themselves in a flash of silver light and the wounds closing over, but…

It was a doll.

A pretty, perfect china doll, but a doll nonetheless.

Even marionettes have masters who pull their strings.

As Ash met blank, glassy eyes, he felt nothing but mute horror, not even noticing when the pen dropped from nerveless fingers.

No….

End Chapter

4/18/04