Chapter 6! *Cheers*

Disclaimer: I own the plotbunny, the Triple Guardianship, and Destiny. Nintendo owns pokemon.

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for personal thoughts, and italics for pokemon speaking, rare though it is.

Timeline: 1 week later

Chapter 6: Annoyances

“Vulpix! Now!” Ash said.

Erika stared in disbelief as her Vileplume went up in flames. “Vileplume! Return!” She turned to the trainer.

“Well, Red. You have defeated me, so I confer on you the Rainbow badge.”

“Yatta!” Ash cheered.

Sabrina clapped quietly.

“I did it, ‘nee-chan!” Ash said, jumping up and down and hugging Vulpix tightly.

“So you did, Red. That was wonderful.” Sabrina said, not using telepathy for once. Ash beamed.

Erika blinked. When had Sabrina ever not used psychic communications? And why was she traveling with this kid, anyways? Red had just called her his… older sister? Woah! Sabrina had siblings? They did look kind of alike. Weird.

So far, Sabrina had gotten another two angry phone calls from Misty before she had figured out how to block the number on her cell phone.

However, it didn’t seem to help, as she had received an angry letter by Pidgeot mail.

Misty was really going to have to be dealt with, preferably soon.

Why couldn’t she just get the picture? It wasn’t that hard.

It wasn’t Ash.

They all had to let the ghosts of the past leave, after all.

“Onee-chan!” Ash said happily, jumping on her. Sabrina barely managed to land gracefully.

“Red…”

“Sorry! But I’m so happy!”

“I’m sure you are.” Sabrina said, as she levitated them off.

Ash beamed. “Maybe I can become a pokemon master after all!”

< Oh, very likely, Red. >

A few days later, Ash was happily polishing his new Marsh and Soul badges.

< You’re doing great, Red. >

< Hai, Sabrina nee-chan! > Ash said, grinning from ear to ear.

< You even beat me. >

Ash beamed some more. < I love you, Sabrina nee-chan. You know that, right? >

Sabrina gave him a smile in answer as well as a hug.

A few more months passed peaceably enough, as they finished exploring Kanto. Sabrina spent a week or two in the Evolution Valley with Ash, recuperating and enjoying the rest. They were watching the large eevee herds gambol in the pastoral setting.

Ash yawned as he munched on a handful of blueberries.

< Tired? >

< Nope! > Ash said. < Just enjoying these! >

Sabrina’s eyes crinkled up in a half-smile as she smoothed down his messy black hair.

< Kawaii ko. >

“Want a berry?”

Sabrina laughed at the handful of mushy sweets. < I’ll pass, but thank you. >

She leaned back on the grassy, verdant turf and closed her eyes, listening to the faint strains of birdsong.

Lance came out, carrying a swatch of bandages in one arm and a bottle of green antiseptic liquid in the other. “Did you by any chance see a Minun go by?”

Both shook their heads.

“Ah, well. I was trying to give it an injection to make it sleep so I could bandage it up and then off it fled.” The dragon trainer explained, as she climbed onto Aerodactyl’s back. “Guess I’ll have to search from the air.”

Ash giggled.

Sabrina groomed her Alakazam as she wondered what was going to happen now. They had already finished touring Kanto, and Red was obviously not the Ash Ketchum she had known, so there was nothing to report to Misty.

“Maybe something will happen on its own?”

“The wheels of fate always turn strangely.” Charlotte whispered, startling Ash so he jumped into the air.

“Eek!”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

Ash stopped hyperventilating and tumbled to the ground with a loud oof. “I’m ok…”

“Sure you are…”

Ash popped another berry in his mouth. “I’ll recover.”

Sabrina chuckled.

Soon, Lance returned, carrying a struggling Minun.

Ash chirped to the irate little mouse, managing to calm it down so it could be bandaged up.

< Interesting. > Sabrina mused.

< Huh? >

< Nothing, Red. >

< Ok! > Ash said, popping more berries into his mouth as the juice ran down his chin.

Sabrina sighed and took a handkerchief out of her pocket. < Red, you’ll get all dirty. >

< But it’s fun! >

< I’m sure it is. > Sabrina said dryly as she wiped off his chin.

Ash wriggled like a puppy, making Sabrina wonder again how old he was. He still acted like a child a lot.

“Red, how old are you?”

“Almost twelve.” Ash replied as he closed his eyes happily.

“Oh?”

“Yep! Why?” Ash brushed a piece of grass off his jeans and blinked.

“No reason, just a little curious.”

“Oh.”

< Awfully quiet today. >
< Mmm… >

Ash quickly ran off after a particularly interesting pokemon who caught his eye.

Sabrina laughed flippantly.

She always felt younger around him. Perhaps this was what she really needed from life. He was someone to take care of and nurture. Instead of the other way around, Sabrina could handle responsibility.

She got up and went after him to make sure he was all right.

She found Ash and the Murkrow up in a tree.

< Are you sure you can get down, Red? >

< I hope so! >

< Me too. >

They stayed up there for about half an hour, before Ash bade his new friend goodbye. Murkrow preened and waved with a wing.

Good-bye, Chosen One!

Ash ignored the second part but waved happily.

Sabrina did not. The wheels in her mind started to tick.

< Chosen One? Are you sure? > Haunter asked in a suppressed whisper.

< Yes. That’s what Murkrow called him. >

< But – if that were the case, Red would have to be Ash! >

< That’s the problem! He isn’t! >

The two debated what to do.

It wasn’t as if they could bring him back to Misty; that was a definite no-no.

And yet, Sabrina wasn’t ready to leave this dream.

She wanted Ash, if it were really he to stay the way he was now. Happy.

* Since when did I care so much for him? * She wondered ruefully.

There was no right answer to that question.

She supposed she did.

“Dragonite… Hyper Beam.” Lance said calmly.

Kenneth looked like the hyper beam had hit him instead of his fallen Graveler.

Lance grinned slowly, as she pulled a very sharp sword out of midair. The hilt was silver; the blade was ice.

“For trespassing in this sanctuary, your punishment is death.” She said. “Blizzard Strike.”

Kenneth had no time to cry out before he was torn from his life.

The dark guardian smirked. “Foolish ones…”

End Chapter!

Started 10/26/03, completed 2/14/04