Story Notes:
DISCLAIMER: Pokemon and all associated characters are copyright Nintendo. Story and original characters are copyright me: MrPirate461, CommanderW, and/or any other aliases I may use in the future. No copyright infringement is intended.This is my first story here on AGNPH. I was going to wait until I finished it to post, but I changed my mind. As a result, Chapters 1 and 2 are already finished, and chapter 3 is almost done. Note that updates will happen as they happen; I have a lot of things to balance, so chapters may take a while to write. Please tell me if you like it; the bigger my ego is, the faster I write!Minor updates to Chapters 1&2; cosmetic on both, and something so it will mesh with my next fanfic in the series.
Chapter 3
Friends Forever
Laia awoke from a haze born from the unholy union of pain and painkillers. The effect was not dissimilar to what she imagined swimming through a lake of molasses would feel like. As her head cleared enough to work properly, her first thought was, 'Where am I?' She looked around, gaining some sense of her surroundings.
She was on a bed, crisp sheets and pillowcases of an unknown material rustling with every movement she made. The ceiling was a solid white. To her right, there was an array of machines and monitors that displayed unknown information, presumably on her condition. To her left...Ash?! Yes, there was Ash, sleeping on a chair, with that same wide open posture she remembered from that night in Altomare.
That night. The night everything went wrong. The two humans, Annie and Oakley, had kidnapped her brother and stolen the Soul Dew, using them to power the DMA, which should never have been created in the first place, much less ever activated. She and Laos had tried to argue, but neither of them knew how to use their telepathy at the time, and their other methods of communication never seemed to work.
With Ash's help, and that of his friends, they had managed to rescue her brother and stop the DMA. However, the Soul Dew had taken too much, so when Annie touched it, it shattered, causing all the water in the city to flow out, then back in as a giant tidal wave. Her brother died stopping it, leaving behind a new Soul Dew in the process.
That day, Ash left. She gave him a parting gift; a picture that Bianca had intended to give to him anyway, but had forgotten. Along with the picture, she gave him two more things. The first was a kiss. The other was her name. She had just figured out how to speak to people telepathically; she suspected that it was a result of her absolute, total need to talk, not just to communicate but to talk with Ash.
A sudden sound snapped Laia out of her reverie. Ash had woken up. She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, overcome with a sudden need that he not see that she had been studying him. "What happened to you, Laia?" He...remembered. Even after all these years, he remembered her name.... "Why were you out there, and in that condition? The first time I saw you, as that girl, all I felt was a need to help you. Then, when I first saw who you really were, I was struck by how perfect you were. So pure, so innocent...almost like a child. I don't know why I felt, and still feel, this way, but - when we were going through the canals to rescue your brother, I realized that there was nothing I wouldn't do for you, nothing that I could do that might hurt you.
"When your brother died, I felt it. It was as if everything you felt bled over to me. Then, yesterday...I felt your pain. The closer I got, the worse it was. When I touched you, it was as if there were a thousand million knives piercing every inch of me. I have no idea how I got you into the car and then the Pokemon Center -" So that was where she was. "- but I did. I do know that I wouldn't be able to stand losing you."
Laia sprang up and grasped him tightly, exclaiming ~Oh, Ash! I wouldn't be able to stand losing you either. I - I missed you so much!~
Ash, surprised by her words as by her sudden movement, soon regained his senses and hugged her back. After a moment, he said, "So did I, Laia. So did I."
*~*~*
Bianca and Keldan set up camp in the woods outside Slateport. "Keldan, can you still sense Laia?" she asked him.
~Yes. I can. She is not broadcasting nearly as loud as she was, but since I'm closer, I can still pick up a faint trace of her.~ Anticipating his companion's next question, he said ~Laia is doing fine. I am getting a sense of deep contentment with only a faint underpinning of pain.~ He paused for a moment
~Bianca, do you have my Pokeball with you?~ the shiny Latios asked.
"Yes, I brought yours and Laia's. Why?"
~I think that it would be better if I traveled in my Pokeball from here on out. There are too many people to fly you anywhere, and while I can go on my own, invisible, I don't want to get separated. You should be able to walk to Lilycove from here; I'm pretty sure that that's where Laia is.~
"Well, OK, but..."
~I'll be fine.~
Bianca sighed. "Keldan, are you hiding something from me?"
~What? No. I wouldn't hide anything from you.~
"Uh huh." She sighed again, sorrowfully, then spoke, her voice tinged with hurt. "Keldan, I don't know what you're hiding from me, but what I do know is that you must you must have a good reason not to tell me, and then deny that there's anything to tell. Whatever it is, I know that it's not my place to pry, so I'll let you tell me when you're ready."
After a short wait, her voice once again cheerful, she said, "Do you want to go in the Pokeball tonight, or do you want to wait until tomorrow morning?"
~I think I'll go in tonight, just to be on the safe side.~
"Sounds fine to me." Bianca dug in her pack, pulled out a custom-made Pokeball that was green with a gold triangle on top and gold on the bottom, held it out, and said "Keldan, Return." With a flash of red light, Keldan was sucked into the Pokeball. Bianca slipped into her sleeping bag, and in a few minutes, a dreamless sleep.
*~*~*
Alenna awoke, feeling very refreshed. At first, she could not place where she was. Then she remembered: the Gate, meeting Ash, Professor Oak, retrieving Laia. That meant she was in a Pokemon center, which seemed to be the equivalent of a Waystation that also healed Pokemon, which made sense considering what Professor Oak had told her about Trainers. Laia was in one of the recovery rooms, Ash was with her, Professor Oak...huh. He probably went back to where he had been staying.
After putting on some clean clothes from her pack, Alenna headed down to the front desk. "Nurse Joy, is there anywhere nearby to get some food? I'm starving."
"Well, There is a cafeteria attached to the Center. But be warned, the food isn't free." 'Not exactly like a Waystation, then.' Oh well.
"In that case, could you show me to where Ash is?"
"Of course, right this way."
Nurse Joy led the way, down several halls, the twists and turns soon leaving the still-groggy Alenna quite confused. The Nurse stopped outside a door, saying "Here it is. Go right on in." Her pager went off. "Oh, excuse me, I seem to be needed at the front desk. If you need me, there's an intercom in the room."
"Thank you!" Alenna called after the retreating form. She turned to face the door, pushed the 'Open' button, and began to walk into the doorway. Suddenly, she froze, then began to grin. Now she knew what Ash had meant, back in the cafe.
*~*~*
A sound made Ash look up. Alenna was standing in the doorway, grinning. "I'm sorry, was I interrupting anything?" she asked.
"Um, heheh...no?"
~Not yet, anyway~ Laia said, causing Ash to blush. She continued. ~And yes, that was to you only, even though you do look cuter when you're blushing.~ Of course, this only made Ash blush even more fiercely.
Ash sighed and let go of Laia, suddenly quiet and reserved. "Alright, you found us, now what do you want?" This made Laia blink, she had never seen him act like this, though admittedly, she had only known him for about a day, and rather an odd one at that. Still...it must have been because Alenna interrupted them like that - regardless of what Ash had said, she was interrupting something. Laia, too, felt a little put out, and for her, that was unusual.
Alenna spoke. "I was hungry, and I wanted to get some food. I don't have any money, for obvious reasons, and Professor Oak isn't here anymore, so..."
Ash nodded. "Here," he said, digging into his pocket and pulling out some money. "Get something for yourself. I'd like a burger, and Laia...?"
~I'll have the same, please.~
"Alrighty then, two burgers coming right up!" Alenna walked off, the door automatically closing behind her.
*~*~*
As Bianca had said, Keldan hadn't been telling the whole truth about his reasons for going in the Pokeball. He could have paralleled Bianca through the woods, invisible. He could also assume human form and walk with her. However, he needed time alone, without interruptions or distractions, to think. Flying through the woods took concentration, while walking next to Bianca had its own set of problems, some of which were part of the reason for his need to be alone and look back on all the stuff that was happening.
Everything was just going by so fast. He had noticed himself and Bianca becoming closer for quite a while now. They had just meshed...
*~Flashback~*
Keldan was off playing by himself. None of the other Latis would have anything to do with him because of his coloration, and Laia was in one of her moods, which translated into him having no-one to play with. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bianca. He'd seen her around before, and had been introduced to her when he got here, but he'd never paid much attention to her, preferring to play with Laia. He wandered over, curious as to what the human was doing.
Bianca was standing in front of a piece of white stuff on a wooden frame, frowning at it. Keldan hovered close, peering over her shoulder, waiting to see what would happen. Nothing. He started to get bored, and wondering whether Bianca was awake, he poked her. She jumped backwards and sat down hard, yelling, "Don't startle me like that!" More than a little startled himself, Keldan drew back, waiting to see what she would do.
After taking a moment to collect herself, she stood up and went over to the frame. Keldan worked up his courage and went back over to Bianca, though not as close as he was before. She looked at the white stuff, then at Keldan, then back at the white stuff, a thoughtful look on her face. "Keldan," she said, "could you go stand - or whatever - over there, and hold still for a while?" The shiny Latios cocked his head to the side and gave a questioning cry. Bianca sighed, and proceeded to explain painting to her would-be model.
Excited both by the chance to do something for Bianca after startling her and by the attention, Keldan was more than happy to help. Giving a nod and a happy cry, he went and (stood? Floated?) where the girl had indicated. With a happy smile, Bianca got to work.
*~End of flashback~*
Since then, Keldan had posed for quite a few paintings, sometimes by himself, sometimes with Laia. However, Bianca was considerate enough not to do any romantic scenes with them, instead getting two of the others to pose for her. During these sessions, he had listened to Bianca talking about many things; school, friends, her grandfather...and Laia. He could tell that Bianca cared a lot for their Latias friend, and shared his worry over Laia's moping.
As a result of all this, a bond grew between them. Keldan hadn't much noticed it at first, but it steadily became stronger, reaching the point where the high point of Keldan's and Bianca's day was when she got back from school. Now...Keldan was torn by conflicting emotions. Part of him was happy being Bianca's friend and wanted to keep it that way. But another part of him, which was gaining in strength every day, wanted them to be something more....
*~*~*
Far away, a shadowy figure sat on a rooftop, thinking. 'I killed the Chosen One. Through a miracle, he came back to life - and then saved mine, years later. I owe him more than it is possible to imagine. It is time to repay my debt.' Filled with new conviction, the figure slowly stood up, then began running and jumping across the rooftops toward his destination, heading for the place he knew his savior to be. The slightest hint of a smirk crossed the figure's face as it faded away into the night. 'Soon, Ash, we will meet again. And this time...I'll be sticking around.'Chapter End Notes:You'll notice that this is now a series; yes I do plan on adding more stories to it - I've started one already. Please review