Don’t die bunny!
Disclaimer/Notes: See an earlier chapter
Chapter 8
Ash floated in a dreamless void, not knowing quite where he was.
Morty followed him, trying to figure out if this were some elaborate hoax or… if it were real.
Yes, he believed in magic, but what ash had described didn’t quite sound like magic. More like… time bending.
With a start, Morty froze.
Could it be? Well, bored legendaries were nothing to mess around with, but-! And more importantly, if he tried to fix this, would Honou protect him?
Still, it was against his principles to leave helpless innocents to suffer.
Concentrating, Morty began to slip into Ash’s mind…
It was surprisingly easy. The boy offered no resistance. However, when he reached the inside, what he saw surprised him.
There were two doorways. One was full of toys. The second was dark and musty, with a stale odor permeating it.
Lying on the bed was a crying child.
So this was Ash’s inner mind?
Taking a closer look, he saw that the child was chained to the bed with rusty iron shackles. The bindings were quite thick.
Why was Ash’s mind like this though? Surely…
Looking up, the boy saw Morty.
“Are you here to kill me?”
“Of course not! Whatever gave you that idea?”
“I don’t mind.”
“What are you saying?”
“Death would be nice… it’d be quiet and I’d be alone like I deserve…”
“Why do you say that?”
“I’ve hurt so many people, and the worst part is, I don’t remember…”
“Why are you here? You look nothing like Ash.”
“But I am Ash.”
“Then your hair?” This child had spiky black hair, not like Ash’s long silver curls.
“Hair dye and curling go a long way…”
“Plastic Surgery…”
Morty
frowned. This was *not* normal. “Why are you here?
“Because I made a stupid wish.
I never thought it would actually come true! And I hurt everyone so much…”
“You are Ash right?”
“Yes.”
“Is there any way for you to escape?”
“Call my name…”
“What?”
“Call my *true* name…”
How was he supposed to know that? With a heavy heart, Morty cut his explorations short and faded out.
Ash slowly blinked his eyes as he woke up.
“Did it work?”
“No.”
“I guess it shouldn’t have. I deserve this.” Ash said bitterly.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Then I guess I can’t help you.”
“It’s fine.”
Leaving the gym, Ash silently headed towards the Pokemon Center.
Why did I screw up so badly?
“So there’s nothing that can be done.”
“No.”
“Thank you.” Lance said respectfully. The priestess sighed, smoothing down her green gown.
She knew Serebii acted in strange ways, but this was definitely odd.
Lance exited the shrine, sighing.
What to do?
“Moshi moshi?”
“Sorry to bother you again Lance.”
“Hi, Ash. I see you’ve gotten three badges.”
Ash shuddered. “Yes…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Whitney tried to jump me!”
“Ouch…” Lance winced in sympathy. “So how did you take it?”
“Luckily, this time I was prepared and fled.”
“Are you all right? You sound quite depressed.”
“Of course I’m depressed! I’ve ruined so many people’s lives that my own won’t even atone for half of it!”
“Ash…”
“I can’t take it any more! Why did I make this stupid wish?”
“Why would I know the answer?”
Ash calmed down a little. “Gomen ne, Lance. I’m just annoyed, and I’m taking it all out on you.”
“I know. I tried to get Serebii’s intervention, but she disagreed.”
“Huh?”
“Praying at the shrine for help didn’t work. Her priestess specifically told me that it wouldn’t do any good and I should stop wasting my time.”
“Ouch, that’s harsh.”
“Yes, I know.”
“What can we do then?”
“… WE?” Lance raised an eyebrow.
“I mean! I know we aren’t friends anymore, but you’ve helped me so much…”
“Your point is.”
“Can’t we be friends again?”
Lance smiled in spite of herself. “I suppose we can.”
“Yay!”
Ash hugged her tightly. Lance coughed.
“Oh! Sorry!”
It was hard to remember he wasn’t twelve. So hard…
I wish I had never made that wish, but things will never end that easily. Never.
For now though, he just let Lance talk quietly, not listening, just hearing the hum of voices…
Because he felt safe then, listening to her, even if they were separated by the distance of the phone line.
It was warm…
End Chapter
Completed 1/4/05