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

Summary: AU. Enraged by Lance’s death, Red exacts his revenge. Meanwhile, a new computer game has come out…
Title: Love is the Fire in which we burn

Chapter 1

 

            He rushed to the lip of the volcano, hoping, praying, and wishing that he was not too late. The other trainers were too busy fussing over Blaine and Yellow and their pokemon to notice him, but…

            No. There was nothing. The surface was utterly calm and undisturbed…

            He had no illusions. They had all seen the evidence as an Aerodactyl and its trainer plummeted into fiery doom.

            His chest ached, and he looked away, hurriedly wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve. He didn’t want to cry, nor was he supposed to!

            It would completely ruin everything. So he walked back down and released his Gyarados and no one noticed anything out of the ordinary…

            Gomen nasai…

 

            The ride back to Pallet was surprisingly quiet. Green and Blue kept shooting him knowing looks and Yellow’s chatter was driving him crazy. It was then that he started to put the pieces together. The clothing looked familiar… ah.

            So she was that girl he had saved back in Viridian. How ironic, he’d saved her life only for her to ruin his.

            He smiled at her and imagined metallic golden eyes and red hair, and it was so easy to make her blush, especially when he noticed the thread tied around their pinkies. How quaint.

            She was too young for him, though, but he could wait. He always could. Meanwhile, he watched pokemon burn to death.

 

            “I don’t understand.” Erika kept saying. “All of a sudden, after that large glowing pokemon vanished, they all caught on fire and … and…” The normally self-possessed grass master looked to be on the edge of a nervous breakdown. The city was littered with empty shells, the inhabitants long lifeless.

            In Cerulean, Misty found piles and piles of ashes, remnants of ghost pokemon, and in Pewter, Brock had to deal with the flame-broiled Machops and such. As for the dragons that had attacked the other cities, not a trace was seen. They had all vanished into thin air, but the damage they had done was…

            Real.

            So why wasn’t there any evidence?

 

            “Red?”

            “Yes, Professor?” Red asked, walking into the lab. Two weeks. Two weeks since his heart had burned in the flames that brought his love his death. Two weeks of useless challengers ground down into the dust, his pokemon matching his mood with vicious battling skill…

            “I was just curious.” Oak replaced his reading glasses with a frown. “I’ve heard some… unpleasant rumors.”

            “Like what?” Poliwrath had used Amnesia to wipe the minds of those he defeated, so they would only remember defeat, not how it happened.

            “Is it true that you’re going out with Yellow?”

            Red choked. “What?”

            Oak blinked and than shook his head. “Looks like I was wrong…”

            “I am not going out with Yellow! Whatever gave you that idea?” He demanded incredulously.

            Oak looked surprised. “It’s nothing. She’s a rather nice girl… I was just worried about you.”

            “Worried about me?” He unconsciously rubbed his wrists.

            “Yes, Red. You still haven’t fully recovered from the pokemon attacks Lorelei used on you. You shouldn’t be battling under this condition!”

            “All right, Professor.” Red said quietly, not wanting to waste breath arguing. “I won’t do anything reckless.” He sighed as he left the laboratory. Checking his mailbox, he found several fan letters, a advertisement for Net Balls, and a CD Rom. It looked like some kind of new computer game…

            Well, why not? While he waited for his body to heal, he couldn’t train, so that might just be the thing to make life more interesting…

 

            He installed it in five minutes and the screen lit up with beautiful holographic images. They had good graphics… and this was a free trial! Well… that was interesting. Checking the pamphlet, he found that there were many other add-ons he could purchase, but for now, he had a basic game.

            Interesting…

            He got busy creating a holographic character, and on a whim, made it resemble her, almost. A bit taller, with long red hair tied up in gold-washed leather, golden eyes and a sly smile, dressed in a dappled gray-green cloak over black clothing.

            And because he felt lonely, he added himself, input pictures of him, easy enough to find with all those fan sites, and watched as a second character was created to go with the first. Perfect. Protector.

            He felt the world around him fade away… and time slowed to a standstill.

 

            “Red, wake up!”

            “Mm?” He asked sleepily.

            His companion was shaking him. He stirred in his bedroll as he blinked sleep out of his eyes. Gorgeous sunrise sky met his eyes.

            His companion was already putting on her armor; light chain mail hidden underneath a warm black cloak. “Those orcs are still following us, Red. We have to hurry. I know they stopped for the night but… they’ll catch up to us soon enough.”

            “Lance?”

            “Did you hit your head or something last night, Red? Come on!”

            Weird dream, Red decided. Weird, but good!

            “Coming, Lance.” He belted on his greatsword and hurriedly clambered into his heavy boots and breastplate.

            Lance and Red raced through the forest, keeping an eye and ear out for pursuit. Lance’s enhanced elven hearing picked up no sounds though, and after a few moments they stopped to rest. Red took a few gulps form his waterskin as he slumped against a tree. “Do you think we ran far enough?”

            “I hope so.” Lance said. “Do you remember what happened last night?”

            “Not really.”

            “I don’t either, except for a lot of fire. I think we might have burnt down something…”

            “Oh no. I hope it wasn’t a village.”

            “If it was, at least it was a village of orcs. No one can fault us for destroying that.” Lance smiled. Red’s breath caught as he stared at her.

            “Lance… I know this isn’t the time, but can I kiss you?”

            “What for?”

            “To make sure you’re real…”

            “Of course.”

            The kiss vanished the last of his suspicions, and his tenuous grip on reality slipped further away.

 

End Chapter

Completed 12/23/05

Lance is a girl. Why? Because I have more fun that way sometimes!