Phantomness walks in.
DISCLAIMER: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfic belongs to me. Don’t take my work. It belongs to me under international copyright laws, so taking it is PLAGIARISM.
Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks
Red = Ash from ancient China, Ash = anime Ash.
Started 9/8/04
Chapter 9
Needles… scary.
If it were up to Ash, he would have left the cave. These people were scaring him… a lot! Lance was blind, but that didn’t seem to mean much.
It had been another day of rain.
Please let the storm die down soon…
“I miss them.” Red said, out of the blue, glancing at Lance almost daring him to challenge the statement. “They shouldn’t have died.”
“No, but _you_ sold them out.”
Red nodded miserably. “I’ll never forgive myself for it. They only wanted to train me to be the best, and then I repaid them with death…”
“Let it out, Red. Keeping it bottled up inside of you will just result in another Misty incident.”
Misty blinked. “?”
“So sorry. I meant Karen’s niece.” Lance said, feeling her eyes on him. “Pity, wasn’t it? At least you saw the truth eventually.”
“I wish you hadn’t done that.”
“Well… I had to beat the truth through your thick skull, dear. Wasn’t easy!”
Red stuck out his tongue, but sighed.
Why’d they have to die… well, he’d better not think about it now; that would just make him more depressed. Something else please comes to mind… Wait! Without a pokédex, he couldn’t transfer pokemon… unless…
“Say Ash, I just got an idea. Can I borrow your pokédex?”
“… Sure.”
Red turned it on and dialed Oak’s lab. It took about ten minutes, but then the man came online. “Oak, I’d like to get some of my pokemon.”
“Sure, which ones?”
“I’m only carrying three. Get me Espeon, would you?”
A transfer
later, Espeon was there, and then teleport got them safely off. Ash stayed
behind. He still needed to find his two poke balls!
That showed dedication.
Espeon stretched, letting her muscles contract and relax. Ahh… so nice to be out in the sun…
< Hi Master Ash. >
“Nice to see you too, Espeon.”
Espeon licked his face, and then proceeded to demand a grooming. Red quickly went to work, grinning.
Peace.
He really did love his pokemon, as friends. Not the way he loved _Lance_, that was different… but…
He cast another glance at Lance, who seemed wholly absorbed in drying his Aerodactyl with a towel. Ah well…
He shouldn’t ask for too much affection, after what he _did_ he was surprised Lance hadn’t killed him!
Really.
< So, what’s wrong? >
“Hmm?”
< I sense you two aren’t doing well… is he angry with you? >
‘Not as much as I deserve.” Red sighed. “Espeon, I _killed_ them!”
< You’ll have to be more specific, Master Ash. >
“Just read my mind, please…” Red closed his eyes as Espeon began to scan. She nodded, after a few minutes of checking turmoil.
< I can understand why he would be angry… >
“I hate myself. Why did I have to be so stupid? After all those years of training, I didn’t grow anything mentally. Damn it all!”
Espeon left Red alone while he ranted.
But he cried… yes, he let himself go and cried, and so crying begins the healing process, although the guilt may stay forever…
He couldn’t blame them. They had always been trying to look out for him, keeping him dedicated. Misty and Sarah had both been intrusions…
But Sarah they hadn’t killed. That he knew… as for Misty? Well, it was his fault! Ignoring eyes to gain love?
Foolish!
He was such a _stupid_ child…
Lance stood up. He had been watching the sea, without really looking at it. Espeon had teleported them back to Pallet.
Ash and Co. had gone to his house. He had also invited them for dinner, so for the sake of respectability, they were going.
Free home-cooked, fresh food was very appealing.
“So what do you think of them?”
“Red or Lance?” Brock asked, grooming his Geodude – well, polishing it more like. Ash frowned.
“Red.”
“He seems changeable. From what I can see, he’s a trainer with considerable skill… but there’s something going on between him and Lance that doesn’t look very good.”
“Lance scares me.”
“He’s kind of cute,” Misty mused, “Except for being blind…”
Not that that impeded his battle ability any… she was impressed, but he wasn’t that cute…
Now if Red could only stop moping, he’d be pretty hot. But for some obscure reason, she was reminded of Ash every time she looked at him. Peculiar.
“Hey Ash, you’re not related to Red are you?”
“… Not that I know of?”
“Dinner’s almost ready, dears.” Delia said, brimming with hospitality as she set down a freshly roasted, lemon-basted chicken, fluffy white biscuits, and a plate of green beans and carrots to provide fiber and vitamins.
Red and Lance came in. They both wore black jeans and t-shirts, although Lance had added a black cloak that swirled around his shoulders like so much fog. Interesting. They politely thanked Delia for inviting them, sat down, and the meal began.
Ash wondered how long Lance had been blind. He had absolutely no problem using silverware, and…
Wait a minute…
Even though Red and Lance weren’t talking, it didn’t mean they weren’t communicating. As it were, if Lance wanted something he couldn’t reach, he’d glance in Red’s direction and Red would fetch it for him. Interesting.
However, the food was more interesting, so that was what Ash applied himself to.
Misty had her own thoughts. What was Red’s secret? Why was her name involved? Had she ever met him before? She couldn’t remember…
It wasn’t as if Misty were a _common_ name, like Mary…
Intriguing. She vowed to find out the answer.
End Chapter
Completed 9/8/04
Phantomness: I know I’m drifting again. Bloody hell…
Lance: *sighs*
Kairo: *yawns*