Author's Note - Well this is an R rated story, an AAMRN really, with the first appearance of my made up pokèmon, the Lupè. (Yes I have Copyright on it!)
    DISCLAIMER: Anyway, I don't own pokèmon or the characters except Ndoki, Leah, Abbey, the Lupè breed and any other things (characters, pokèmon,) that aren't part of the pokèmon Co. But can you imagine what I could do if I actually did own pokèmon? Kind of scary once you think about it . . . I don't own Backstreet Boys Drowning just to let you know . . .
   
So, enjoy my fic and please R/R!!!


'Say a Prayer' An AAMRN Saga
                 Chapter 1 "Remember"
        PART ONE - TRIALS

    He runs his hand through his raven hair, having to stop to untangle a knot. He has not taken a shower in days, and cannot remember the last time he had eaten. He assumes he forgot how. He'd forgotten most things in his life on that day. Now he guesses there's only one reason he's not dead.
    Anna.
    He manages to smile in memory of his little girl, who is now five and one-half. But then stops, because thinking of Anna and smiling remind him too much of her.
    Her.
    Sometimes, he thinks that it could have been him, or she's in a much better place, or she wouldn't want you to act like this. But it never quite gets to his head.
    "Honey? Can I come in?" He doesn't speak, doesn't breathe. His mother lets out an exasperated sigh.
"Really, you're twenty-nine!" He hears her thunderous footsteps trail down the hall. A child's replaces her voice.
    "Daddy? Daddy, can I come in? I'm scared!" A little girl, small for her age, runs into the dark room rubbing her eyes and flings herself into the man's arms. " Daddy! I want mommy!" She clings to his shirt, which has grown loose from his lack of food. Tears spill from her clear blue-green eyes and the man strokes her raven hair, like his own. 
    "I know, Anna. I know." His voice is cracked from the little water he accepts. Anna looks up at her dad.
    " Daddy, you sound weird. Are you okay?" He hugs her tightly.
    " I'm fine. I promise." She buries herself in his chest and sighs.
    " Where's mommy, daddy? I thought she be here now. I miss her!" He squeezes her, fighting to keep control. His throat tightens. When he doesn't answer, she grows quiet.
" Daddy? Is mommy ever coming back?" Finally, he cries. He holds her tight, and the tears stream down his face, not to be noticed by anyone but the air.
              *
    Later that day, he decides he'll go for a walk. He sneaks past his elderly mother, who is playing with Anna. He stops a moment to watch, but quickly dodges into a corner and slips out the front door. While walking, he looks wincingly at the ground. It is dead, as far as he can tell. Old wrappers and sewage lay strewn all over the place and charred tree stumps and plants cover the ground. They're mad, he thinks. Barking mad. All of them. He hears someone walking behind him and stops to turn around.
    " Hey," he says with a half smile. The woman acknowledges him and nods.
    " Hey." He stops so she can catch up with him. They walk in silence. " Hey, you know, I'm, eh, really sorry. And I know it would be stupid to ask if there was anything that I could do . . .?" He turns away, trying to smile.
    " I guess it would be pretty pointless." She smiles lifelessly.
    " Yeah . . ." She stares at the ground. " So what're you doing out here? Just walking?" He nods.
    " Pretty much. You"
    " Ditto." She sighs. This is a pointless conversation, she thinks despondently.
    " Dit?" A pink glob sticks its head out of the purse she's holding.
    " No, I meant same here. Not you Ditto!" He laughs, and it feels good. He hasn't done something like that in what seems like forever. She smiles at him. " It's good to hear you laugh. I bet you haven't done that in a few." He nods.
    " You can bet on that. I haven't really found the time . . ." She throws her arms over her head.
    " There's always time for laughter." He sighs.
    " I guess you're right." She pokes him lightly in the arm.
    " Well, duh!" He laughs again. She is happy that she's made him laugh. Her expression turns serious as she looks back at him. " How's Anna coping?" His eyes glaze over and she blinks for a second, wondering if she's said the wrong thing. She doesn't want to push into his life.
    " Fine I guess. I don't know really. I don't think she quite understands that she's never coming back." His eyes fill with tears and he quickly ducks his head. But she sees it.
    " I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that." He shakes your head.
    " No, you wanted to know." She sighs. She hasn't realizes that it has been this hard on him.
    " I know this probably's wrong, but I think I know how you feel. Maybe not completely and totally, but I do have a sense of how you feel." He blinks his golden eyes, remembering that her parents had died not long before.
    " I understand." His pocket wriggles and a pokèball springs out.
    " Pika-a-a-a!" A Pikachu sprawls on the ground and stretches. He blinks. He had forgotten it was in his pocket.
    " Hey Pikachu! I'm sorry buddy." Pikachu completely ignores him and jumps into her arms. She laughs.
    " Hey there, Pikachu! Long time no see!" Pikachu "pika-s" in reply. She rubs his head. " You are so sweet!"
    " Pikachu, return." He replaces the pokèball back in his pocket. " Sorry buddy." He rummages through his pockets and finds some more pokèball back in his pocket. He throws them out one by one. The first one is a Golduck. The second one's a Blastoise. The third one's a Seaking. The next one's a Kingdra. The fifth one is a Starmie. And the last one's a Togetic. As soon as he sees the Togetic, he freezes. He knows whose pokèmon these are. She comes up behind him.
    " Wow. Those are some pretty tight pokèmon. Whose are they?" He tightens his grip over the last pokèball and speaks her name for the first time in what seems like eons.
    " Misty's."
                        *
    After returning her pokèmon to her sisters, he flies back home on his Pidgeot. He walks inside fast and runs up to his room. Slamming the door behind him, he decides to take a shower. The hot water runs down his back and he rubs his sore knuckle. He is surprised that pokèball didn't break.
    Pokèball.
    He rams his fist into the ceramic tiles. One of them split splits his knuckle open. Damn you Misty. He cries this over and over again in his head. If she hadn't died, he would have become the pokèmon master. Now he couldn't stand to even look at a pokèmon, none the less battle with one. As the blood runs over his hand, he can't help wondering if he still had time. If he could still become a pokèmon master. The stinging water splashes onto his cuts. Sure, his pokèmon would need a lot of de-rusting, but he could get that done pat. But then, would she be in his mind every day? When he was battling the elite, would she still be in his mind, no matter how good he pushed her image out? His eyes narrow as he secures a towel around his waist. No, he wouldn't let her.
    " Dinner!" Tonight, he decides. I think I'll try dinner. Today is the first day of a fresh start, a new beginning. Nothing, not even Misty, is going to take it away. After he gets dressed, he slowly walks downstairs. He hears Daisy's laughter and Violet's talk. As he enters the room, he feels all eyes turned on him. His mother rushes up to him and hugs him. " Oh, I'm so glad you finally decided to eat! I thought you were going to fast yourself to death! Here, eat something! Have something to drink! What happened to your hand?"
    " I cut it." Embarrassed, he takes a seat by Lily. She is picking at her food.
    " Daddy! Daddy, daddy, DADDY!" He smiles as Anna jumps into his lap. He hugs her close as his mom sets some noodles and sushi in front of him. He picks up his chopsticks and gingerly picks up some noodles. The numb pain of hunger slowly, ever so slowly, disappears. He feels full. His mother is smiling widely at him.
    " I am so happy you decided to come down from you little cave up there. I was so worried about you." He smiles faintly.
    " Hmm." Lily still hasn't eaten anything. He looks questionably at Daisy and she rolls her eyes and shrugs. He shrugs back and excuses himself from the table. He walks back up to his room and opens her jewelry box. He pulls out five pokèballs and turns them around slowly in his hand. He smiles. He walks outside into the cold night and calls them out. " Go Charizard, Pikachu, Pidgeot, Bulbasaur, Wartortle, and Suicune!" They all look at him in surprise. Charizard roars thunderously. He smiles again. " Time for training."
                        *
    He yawns. It is past four, and he can start to feel the sun on his back. He recalls his pokèmon and trudges into the house, up to his bed. After sleeping for five hours, he wakes up to his bed being rocked. He opens one eyes. " Gahh, Anna! What're you doing?" She giggles.
    " Grandma says to wake you up for breakfast." He looks over at his clock. 9:34??? He groans.
    " It's too early." She hesitates and giggling, starts bouncing again. He sighs. " Okay, okay, I'm up!" She stops and hops off the bed. He pulls on a black muscle shirt and some socks before heading down the stairs. He stretches his arms above his head and walks into the kitchen to find his mother standing with a scowl on her face.
    " Young man, where were you last night?" He stops stretching sheepishly.
    " I went outside and fell asleep. It's no biggie." She scowls even more.
    " No biggie to who?" He frowns.
    " Just get off my case mom."
    " Who knows what could've happened to you!" His anger rises.
    " Nothing could have happened to me!"
    " How would you know?"
    " I just do! It's not like I'm ever going to do it again!" His mom's face softens.
    " I've been worried about you ever since she was assassinated. I never knew what you would do, how you act, what you'd say . . . I didn't know you at all." His face doesn't soften. It hardens instead.
    " It's not like I could control that." He sees this conversation is getting nowhere. He swiftly walks out the door just as the thunder starts. As the rain falls, he cries. But he knows that this is the last time. He will never cry again. Never. " Pikachu. Go." The Pikachu looks at him sympathetically and cocks his head. It jumps into his lap and nudges his shoulder. He slowly strokes his yellow fur. " Now it's just me an' you, Pikachu." Pikachu's eyes fill with tears. " We can win, Pikachu. I know we can." Pikachu suddenly "smiles" and nods his head. He smiles back and hugs it.
                        *
    Back at the house, she sits in one of his chairs. His mother paces around worriedly. His mother claims he has been gone for two hours. She taps her foot and chews on one of her perfect lilac nails. Why would he have just run off like that? She didn't understand. When they were little, about ten or so, he struck her as the most confident person she knew. A person that could achieve anything. Who set a goal, and didn't stop until it was accomplished. But now he struck her as a concealed wall. No one knew what was behind it. And no one had the key. She grits her teeth. Except her. She could break open that wall in seconds. But that would be ironic because she is what made the wall in the first place. She has caused him so much pain . . . His mother stops pacing.
    " If he doesn't come back in twenty minutes, I'm calling the police." She sighs.
    " Ma'am, I'm sure he'll be home. Just be patient." A thunderous roar of thunder threatens to keel the house over. His mother peeks out the window.
    " I know. I wouldn't be so worried if the weather weren't so bad." She sighs. She has to agree with her there. The lights in half the house were already out and the few that were left were flickering. " The generator can't keep the few lights we have going forever. It'll have to let out soon." Suddenly, the door bursts open and a shadowy character looms into the room.
    " Pika?" The two women stand up quickly and his mother rushes towards him. He sighs as she squeezes him.
    " Mom, I was gonna come back. You of all people should know that."
    " Yes but as I said, I don't know you anymore. It's like you're a complete stranger." She frowns and lets go of him. " You weren't even this bad when your father died."
    " That's because I was so young. I can hardly remember him, even now. It's not like it was just yesterday when he was still alive." His mother is angry and he can see it in her eyes.
    " I've had enough with the way you've been acting lately. I think it's about time you let go of her! You'll have to eventually. She is causing you too much pain. Let her go, dear." He explodes and takes a step from her, eyes narrowed.
    " I don't exactly remember you taking dad's death lightly. For weeks and weeks after, you would stay up past midnight crying. I remember walking down the halls to my room, and falling to sleep by the sound of you crying. Did I ever tell you that you needed to shut dad out of your life?" He is breathing heavily. His mother is shocked and so is she. She has never heard him speak like that. To anybody. She is suddenly mad at her. See what you've done to him?, she cries silently in her head. See? Look what you've made out of him! She suddenly feels her heart ache. It's because he loves you so much. It's not fair. Tears suddenly cloud her vision. If you hadn't traveled with him, he would've been mine. He wouldn't be yelling right now. No. He would be happy 'cause I'm not dead. You hear me?! She breathes heavily. She thinks she's lost he sanity. She's talking to someone that's dead. Dead . . . She smiles wickedly. Well since you're dead, I think I'd better retrieve what's rightfully mine. She has her eyes set on him. I've been such a good friend over these years. Such a good friend. But now, who needs friendship. She chuckles to herself and clears her throat as another clap of thunder echoes around the room. He blinks his copper eyes in surprise. " Oh, hi."
    " Hi," she says sending him a dazzling smile.
    " What're you doing here?" Realizing how rude he must've sounded, he smiles sheepishly. " I mean, I didn't expect you here." She grins.
    " I got caught in the storm and I missed you." He grins back.
    " I missed you too." But around the corner, unknown to them, Daisy, Lily and Violet are listening attentively. Daisy snorts.
    " That, like, lying b-" Violet claps her hand over her mouth. Daisy gives her a dirty look. Lily taps her chin.
    " I thought she was, like, here because she just, like, well, felt like it." Violet nods.
    " You're, like, right. She came before the storm, like, hit." Daisy, still wearing that dirty look, scowls.
    " I think she was, like, jealous of her. Like, y'know?" Lily taps her chin again.
    " You're, like, so right. I can't believe it! That, like, lying bi-" Violet angrily smacks her hand over Lily's mouth. Daisy snorts again. Violet shakes her violet hair, no pun intended. 
    " You two are, like, adding too much, like, details. But I seriously, like, think you are absolutely, like, right about her being, like, jealous." Daisy punches her right fist into her left palm.
    " We can't, like, let her get away with it. She, like, is moving really, like fast. She's seducing him, like, already with that, like, 'I miss you' crap and that, like, incredibly stupid grin. I mean, who would like, fall for it?" Lily and Violet exchange looks.
    " Uh, like maybe he would?" Daisy shoots a murderous look at Lily.
    " Fine, but I, like, mean we've got to, like, make sure she doesn't get away with it. How about it, like, sisters! You with me?" Lily and Violet nod and they all cheer quietly and plan what their first move is going to be.
                        *
    He stares blandly at his coffee. Why his mom made him coffee, he's not entirely sure. He hates coffee. Especially black coffee. She sits next to him, trying to keep warm. Since the power has gone out, not only does it make it difficult to see, but also since the temperature has dropped into the low fifties and it is incredibly cold. He sheepishly slips his arms over her shoulders, and not known to anyone, Daisy, Lily and Violet growl as they see this. Surprised, she looks over at him. He grins at her and winks. She tries to appears sheepish and timid, but inside she can't help but congratulate herself. That was almost too easy! Now it will only be a little while . . . just a little more time . . . He stares at the contents of his cup. It's about time you've moved on. He winces. She can be forgotten, you know. He looks up and feels a tug on his shirt and someone calling his name. He looks down at her and she stares up at him. Slowly they move together and kiss. While her heart is crying in joy, his is crying in pain.
                        *
    Daisy smacks her forehead. They are back in the room they are staying in.
    " I can't, like, believe he did that. I really, like, can't." Lily sighs.
    " I know. He is, like, so gullible it is not even, like, funny." Violet's stomach growls.
    " Hey people? I'm, like, totally starved. Let's go get some, like, food." Daisy sighs and stands up hesitantly.
    " Okay." They tiptoe into the kitchen and find that they aren't there. " Now where have they gone?" Violet shakes her head and looks at the clock.
    " Whoa! It's one in the morning! No wonder I'm hungry! We didn't have dinner." Daisy nods.
    " Well let's do what we came to do, and get to bed."
                *
    He is gasping hard. He knows he should have stopped it before it got out of hand. He tries to think of something else. The pokèmon league begins in . . . He sits up hurriedly. It's in three days! He's got to train! He slowly slips out of bed, quiet not to make a sound, as if to wake her. He pulls on some clothes and walks outside to train. He trains until Daisy comes out to tell him it's breakfast time. He notices she doesn't smile back at him. He frowns to her back. Then shrugs it off and walks into the kitchen. She smiles up at him as he walks in. He smiles back, feeling a bit better. His mother looks at him suspiciously.
    " Well you sure are in a good mood today." Lily snorts. He ignores it.
    " Well the l-" He stops, realizing he hasn't told anyone about him entering the pokèmon league. Violet looks up at him.
    " The what?" He gulps.
    " Well, I, uh, well I kinda, well, ergh . . ." His mother puts her hands on her hips and taps her foot.
    " The what mister." He slides down in his seat.
    " The uh, well . . . -" The doorbell rings. He exhales loudly, relieved. His mother sends him one more look before going to answer the door. It is raining, like yesterday, but much colder. The wind pounds his skin like little daggers. He reluctantly opens one eye to glance at the door. A shadowy figure is standing there. His mother cocks her head.
    " Why hello. What can I do for you?" Before she can answer, the figure pulls something out of its cloak and points it at her. Something that looks amazingly like a gun.