Yes! I’m interspersing chapters in by popular demand.

Who wanted Yellow’s reaction? ^-^

*INTERLUDE 1*

“Hi Red!”
Red sighed inwardly. He had been managing to avoid Yellow for quite a while, but it looked like his time was up.

His fingers slipped to the necklace underneath his shirt as he touched the gem for reassurance.

It glowed, sending tendrils of energy snaking through his body. Healing him in case any danger presented itself.

Ash forced a smile. “Hello, Yellow.”

Chu, her pikachu, began batting her eyelashes at Pika, who looked panicked.

“Could you help me train?”
“Train?”

“Yep!”

“… I suppose.” Red said reluctantly, just glad it wasn’t a date she was asking for.

“Cool! Let’s go!”
Ash followed, not knowing what he might be getting into. But there were no looming feelings of gloom and destruction, so maybe it would be all right.

The key word of that phrase being maybe…

All in all, it did not start badly. They worked on fighting off wild pokemon for a few hours, and that was fine.

But then, while they were taking a break, Yellow asked the wrong question.

“Red? Will you go on a date with me?”
Ash choked. “What?”
“A date.”

“I know what a date is, but, why are you asking me?”
“I like you.” Yellow said. Then, she switched topics. “Plus, don’t you owe me a favor?”

“… I do?”
“Sure! I took care of Pika for you while you were frozen in ice, and I defeated the Elite Four!”
Ash froze, hands straying down to play with the chain again. < Lance? >

< Why do you want my opinion? This is completely your choice. >
< I-I know. >
< If you do not love her, simply say so. >

< B-but! >
< Trust me, leading her on will only make it worse in the long run. >

< H-hai… >

“But Yellow, I don’t want to hurt you.”
Yellow looked confused. She was still laboring under puppy love. “I’m not hurt. But I will be if you don’t agree!”
Red frowned. * Guilt me now, is she? *

“I don’t think I should go on a date with you because I owe you.”
“WHAT?!”

Yellow seethed. “You already have a girlfriend?!”

“N-no! Nothing like that!”

“Then why not?” She stamped her little foot angrily. “Didn’t I do a good job when I saved the world?”

Ash listened to Lance’s ironical laughter. < Save the world? She could have condemned the pokemon to more suffering and death by her own actions. >

He sounded very amused. < This girl is too young and naïve for her own good…>

< What? >

< When I battled her, she tried to tell me that I couldn’t destroy. Foolish! She had seen the results of pollution and habitat destruction herself, yet refused to acknowledge their truths. Too bad. Her eyes were always blind. >

“Red? RED!”

Ash snapped back to himself, as Lance quit talking.

“You’re spacing out. I saw it! Your eyes went blue.” Yellow looked suspicious. “You must have been hit with a ghost-type attack!”
“What? No I haven’t!”

“I’ll save you Ash!” Yellow cried. “Kitty! Confusion!”

“No! STOP!” Ash’s mouth widened in a silent scream as the waves blasted into his skull, trying to destroy.

But there was nothing there.

In a rage, the currents delved deeper and deeper, probing but causing who knows how much damage.

Lance’s eyes widened. * She might kill him at this rate! *
He forcibly took control.

As the last vestiges of blue light faded away, Yellow screamed. “YOU!”
“Nice to meet again.” Lance said nonchalantly.

“You’re dead!”
“Well, as you were the one that killed me, I’ve come back to haunt you.” Lance answered, enjoying the hysterics she was going into.

It wasn’t the whole truth, but she didn’t need to know.

Lance idly assessed Ash for damage, and disrupted the psychic waves so they couldn’t damage him.

Ash seemed still okay, no mental damage done.

So close…

He shifted, becoming spirit form as Ash regained control over his body, looking like a wreck.

< Shh… don’t worry, Aibou. I’ll heal you. >

And the power of the viridian forest hearkened to its child’s call and cleansed and recovered the poor Red.

Ash clung onto Lance tightly, even though his hands just went through the spirit. < Itai… >

< Poor little one… >

Yellow stared at the tableaux they created in horror. “Red! You like him!?”

Ash wasn’t really in a condition to answer though. His mind was still reeling from the earlier psychic shock.

Pika put aside his dislike for Lance long enough to fry Yellow with a grand Thunder. Bastard! I trusted you! Now you turn on my master!

Stop! Chu cried, jumping in the way.

And you! You evil pokemon, why didn’t you stop her!

Pika’s rage intensified, as another Thunder knocked out both Butterfree and Chu. Yes, Lance had hurt his master. But this was completely different!

And Yellow hadn’t apologized at all!
Pika’s attack didn’t stop until Yellow was a messy heap of agony, lying there. He hadn’t killed her, but hopefully, it would serve as a warning.

Pika would protect his master. And since Lance was doing the same in his own way, Pika would put aside their differences to the shared goal.

End Chapter

And Yellow did not approach Red for a long time after that…

Started 3/12/04, Completed 3/14/04