Chapter 7: Let me heal you

A few weeks of uneasy silence passed between the two, which was difficult since they were sharing a body, but Lance simply didn’t say a word during the whole time.

Ash rubbed his necklace sadly.

Truth be told, he missed the trainer. Even though Lance had been quite bitter last time they had talked, he liked having the trainer around.

Normally, Lance would keep him company. He was lonely, now.

“Lance?” Ash whispered. “Are you still here?”

The crystal in the necklace had overnight turned dull and cloudy.

“Lance?” Ash asked again. “I’m not mad… but please, don’t leave me alone!” To his shock, he began to cry.

It wasn’t fair.

Lance really was a friend.

All of a sudden, he felt Lance’s arms around him as the trainer placed a finger on his lips. “Yes, I’m here.”

“Lance!” Ash cried, hugging the trainer tightly. “I’m sorry for making you sad. But please, please, don’t leave me alone!”

Gently, the Dragon Master brushed his tears away.

“I’ll always be with you, Ash. You are my entire life.” Lance said, simply holding the younger teen.

“Y-you didn’t come…” Ash said, voice muffled. “I called and called, but you didn’t come…”

More tears soaked into Lance’s shirt. Rivulets ran down his cape, staining it with dark red. Like bloody fingerprints.

The pain of the soul in picturesque format

“You really missed me, didn’t you.” Lance said. It was not a question, but a statement.

Ash continued to sniffle as Lance ran semi-incorporeal fingers through his hair. “You’re my only friend…”

That admission hit the dragon trainer like a falling out-of-tune piano. “What?”

“Blue and Green don’t have any time for me anymore….” Red confessed. “They have each other. I barely talk to them.”

“And Yellow doesn’t really count…”

Lance suddenly felt very, very guilty.

“I’ve been spending all this time complaining about the fact that I’m a spirit… I never thought about how much of a burden I am to you.” He told Ash.

“No! I don’t mind!” Ash defended. “But… if you’re here… can’t you stay with me?”

The spirit bit his lip. “You like having me around?”

Red nodded fervently as he clung tighter to Lance.

Sighing, the dragon master nodded. “All right. I will never leave you like that again. Fair?”
“Fair.”

They shook hands, and Ash finally stopped his crying.

Pika peered at them from behind a chair.

He couldn’t really understand his master’s attachment to this… outsider.

Are you angry? Poli asked.

Yes! I mean, look! Lance is hurting him! Pika yelled. If he wasn’t a ghost I’d shock him to death!

Pika. Aerodactyl said. I recall you fought against him?

So? I still dislike him. It has nothing to do with the past.

Perhaps. Venus put in. But one may never be sure…

What is that supposed to mean? Pika yelled, cheeks sparking.

What if you’re jealous? Eevee asked.

And why would I be jealous?

Well… Aeroy stretched wings. I think they’re good for each other.

But he made Ash cry!

True, but I think he sincerely regrets it. This came from Gyra. Besides, can’t you see that Ash needs him around?

Pika scowled. That’s what I dislike the most.

The two stayed side by side, with Ash in Lance’s embrace, for a long time. True, their friendship had been damaged, but like all things, it would heal in time. And now, the strength of their hearts had been proven.

Three weeks later…

“Aerodactyl… Hyper Beam.”

Four Nidoking went flying. Ash watched in awe as Lance’s prehistoric dragon flew back to his trainer, beaming.

“Sugoi…”
Lance smiled, still resting his fingers on Ash’s arm. The necessity of contact remained, but Ash honestly did not care.

The trainer burst into loud, noisy, curses.

“Shut up.” Lance said. “Instead of doing that, you could be getting your pokemon to a Center.”

‘Worthless things! They can’t even beat one lousy pokemon!”

Lance’s eyes began to shine with a blue fire. “Don’t say that…”

The trainer glared. “You cheated. But then, I should get better pokemon.” With that, he stomped off, leaving his pokemon fallen on the ground.

Ash winced as he felt a tingling in Lance’s fingers. That was not a good sign…

The next thing Carl knew, was a whirlwind of silver flames.

Lance glared at the fainted and badly burned trainer. “Be glad I spared your worthless life. Treating your pokemon like that. You deserved death.”

Red did not flinch.

After all, Lance hadn’t killed the trainer. And maybe it would teach him a lesson.

“Ash?”

“Hm?” Ash asked.

“Those Nidoking shouldn’t be left in his hands. But they were trainer-raised. He bought them at a breeding center and they can’t be released into the wild. Could you?”
“Oh!” Ash grinned. “Sure! I already have a lot of Nidoran family members that I caught in the Safari Zone.”

“Good. They deserve a better trainer.”

Ash colored faintly at the compliment. Lance recalled Aerodactyl, after checking him over and ascertaining no damage had been done.

“Shall we go?”
Ash nodded. It had been a long day, and Sandshrew had been glad to evolve into a very powerful Sandslash, while he had caught a Magmar.

So with all the other training it had done, it had been a good day’s work.

Lance took Ash’s hand, before using his powers to teleport them home.

End Chapter

Started/Completed 2/27/04