Elegantly Wasted (Multishipping, R)

[Ariel_Anderson]

Australia is the driest continent on Earth.

Nope. Antarctica is.

More likely though, she's not actually two years old.

?

When you jump down the throat of a fictional character for making a snap judgement about the weather of a place they've never been to before, you may be taking the story a little too seriously.

Nah, just bored. Nothing ever happens here (hence my location status)
But y'know... despite everything and anything I say, of all fics I'm reading at the moment, I'm enjoying this one the most. It just works for me I guess. Maybe it's slight OOC-ness eg, May's not the idiot she's usually portrayed as, they'e all much more adult. Which is good, because no-one stays young forever.

[shadow_shipper]

Maybe it's slight OOC-ness eg, May's not the idiot she's usually portrayed as, they'e all much more adult. Which is good, because no-one stays young forever.

Yeah ? well, maybe that's because this fic is the last one of a trilogy...go figure...there could have been some character development...

[Zubeon]

Quite right about Antarctica... I always forget that one because I'm only thinking of the ones inhabited by humans. Funnily enough, I'm a Midnight Oil fan...

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Chapter Ten
Company of Strangers

February 1, 10:00am
ASH

I walked out of the barber’s feeling better about one thing, but no closer to figuring out where I was or how I got there. Or why I was carrying forty-five Pokeballs when I should only be allowed to carry six.

I spent about an hour weighing up the different possibilities and probabilities and came to the conclusion that there was only one person who could be responsible for this.

Dante.

I called him.

‘Ash,’ he said, sounding surprised.

‘Yeah, it’s me. Listen, I was wondering if you could tell me why I woke up this morning in the forest with a splitting headache and forty-five Pokeballs? Also my hair looked like yours.’

‘Well, I sent somebody out to murder you – which would explain the forest and the headache – but evidently they didn’t succeed.’

‘Okay, what about the Pokeballs?’

‘What?’

‘Why do I have so many Pokeballs? Is the computer system down or something?’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’ Dante snapped. ‘You had Tracey break the law of six on your account so that you could carry more Pokémon.’

‘Isn’t Tracey dead?’

‘Ash, if this is some sort of scam, I don’t get it. You’ve already broken my legs and stolen my daughter.’

‘Daughter?’

‘Don’t play dumb with me, Ash. I’ve already tried to have you killed once in the past twenty-four hours, I’m not beyond doing it again.’

‘I’m not playing, I can’t remember.’

‘Oh yeah?’ He still didn’t sound like he believed me, but at least he hadn’t hung up yet. ‘What’s the last memory you do have, Ash?’

‘Waiting at the train station in Saffron City, talking to Tania on the phone. She was with you on the train to Goldenrod. You were going to kill Giovanni.’

‘Ash, that was two years ago. You really don’t remember anything between then and now?’

‘When is now?’ I couldn’t keep the panic from my voice now. I’d lost two years of my life?

‘It’s February 2009.’

‘Shit,’ I swore under my breath. ‘Can you come and meet me and fill me in on what’s been happening?’

‘No I can’t,’ Dante said angrily. ‘As I mentioned before, you smashed up my legs and kidnapped my daughter. I’m in no position to leave the Gym.’

‘Which Gym?’

‘Point Noir. You can come here if you want.’

‘Great, I’ll be there as soon as I can. See if any of these Pokémon are flying types.’

He had already hung up. It was only after I climbed onto Pidgeot and started the trip to the Gym that I realised he was probably going to try and murder me when I arrived. Still, from what he told me in our ten minute phone call, it wouldn’t be entirely undeserved.

February 1, 12:00PM
MAX

Dante swaggered into the kitchen as I was preparing lunch.

‘Good morning everyone,’ he said brightly, reaching into the refrigerator for a can of Coke.’

‘Wow, your leg healed quickly,’ I said, watching him limp purposefully around to sit at the bar next to Richie. His leg seemed to be back to the way it was before Ash attacked – but still damaged from the earthquake.

‘Chimecho’s heal bell does wonders,’ Dante said, jabbing a hole in the can with a letter opener.

‘So what are you so happy about?’ Richie asked.

‘Ash is coming here.’

‘That can’t be good,’ Richie said. ‘Is he coming back to finish you off?’

‘Nope,’ Dante replied with a sinister smile. ‘He called before claiming to have no memory from the past two years. I guess Falkner hit him pretty hard. I told him to come here. This way, if Falkner brings Holly back and she’s worse off than when she left, I can murder Ash on the spot and be done with it.’

‘I really wish you’d use the word “murder” less frequently,’ Richie said.

‘And if Holly’s alright… we can rehabilitate Ash and rid the world of a homicidal maniac without killing anybody.’

‘How do we do that?’ I asked, shifting a sandwich onto Richie’s plate with the knife.

‘Easy. We tell him Pikachu died a natural death. Come up with something that doesn’t leave blame with anyone Ash can take revenge on.’

‘But how can we tell if he’s lying?’ Richie asked.

‘That’s going to be less easy,’ Dante said, crunching the now empty can in his hand.

I had a brainwave.

‘We use Gallade. He should still have empathetic abilities from when he was a Ralts and a Kirlia.’

‘I knew I was keeping you here for a reason,’ Dante said with a smile. ‘Now, how about them sandwiches?’

The doorbell rang.

‘I’ll get it,’ Dante said, springing to his feet.

Odd. Normally he would make Arthur or Tony answer the door. But I suppose he wanted to intercept Ash first. After all, Arthur and Tony don’t know the amnesia story. They’d probably launch straight into an attack out of misguided loyalty.

But when Dante came back to the kitchen he had Holly in his arms and was followed by Falkner and my sister.

‘Hey Max, I didn’t know you were here!’ she hugged me and then punched Falkner in the arm. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘I did, at least nine times,’ Falkner turned and sat down at the bar. Wow. I guess he really doesn’t like my sister.

‘Wow, I love what you’ve done with the Gym,’ May said, looking around. ‘It’s like a house now.’

‘It is our house,’ Dante said distractedly. ‘Did she sleep last night?’

‘Eventually,’ Falkner grunted. ‘Your lady’s not too good with the kid.’

Unnecessarily rude, I would have thought.

‘Well, she doesn’t have any experience yet. She’ll get there,’ Dante said. May smiled at him, but at the same time she looked confused. ‘I’m going to go and put her down for a few hours. Talk amongst yourselves.’

And he left.

We sat and talked for about an hour and a half before Tania and Flannery arrived.

‘Everyone’s here,’ May said. ‘This is really going to take the novelty off of my birthday party.’

‘Oh yeah, that’s in a couple of days, isn’t it?’ Tania said as she sat down.

‘Yeah. So everyone’s met up here and we’ve got to go all the way to Petalburg.’

‘Why not just have the party here?’ Flannery asked, weighing in despite the fact that she hadn’t been formally invited.

‘Dante would never go for it,’ Falkner said immediately from the depths of his sunken chair. ‘We all know how he feels about people.’

‘But he was going to go anyway, right?’ Tania asked. ‘So he was prepared to see people. I say just ask him, May.’

‘Ask me what?’ Dante came back into the room. ‘I don’t think it was just you, May. She didn’t go down very easily today either.’

‘Ask him,’ Tania hissed into May’s ear.

‘Fine!’ she turned to Dante, who had perched on the arm of my chair. ‘Tania wants me to ask if it would be okay to have my birthday party here instead of at Petalburg. I told her it was a stupid idea, but-’

‘No, it’s a good idea,’ Dante said, sounding far away. I could almost hear his brain cogs working – the sound of a Dante plan being formed. ‘It would give the band a chance to rehearse to a real audience.’

Both Flannery and I were visibly offended by this comment.

‘Uh… the band?’ May asked, raising one eyebrow.

‘Your dad didn’t tell you? We’re playing the opening ceremony of the Gym Heroes.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘If you want to do it here, it’s fine with me,’ Dante said, getting up. ‘Just make sure you tell the other guests. And invite Tracey, now that he’s alive. I have to talk to him about something anyway.’

‘Where would we get his number, though?’ Tania asked the room at large.

‘From this guy,’ Dante had opened the door and Ash had come through. ‘Now everybody calm down,’ he said pre-emptively. ‘Max, come with me. We’ve got to run some tests on our friend Ash.’

February 1, 4:00PM
MISTY

We were hanging out at my place, and now that all of my sisters had moved out, I found myself very lonely and therefore spending more time with Brock.

‘I got a text from May just before. Apparently, her party’s now being held at the Point Noir Gym. Do we want to bet on why?’

‘I don’t know, Brock,’ I said sarcastically. ‘Do you think they’re back on again?’

‘Possibly,’ Brock replied, ‘but it doesn’t quite sit right. Those two can never get their act together. I’m surprised they tried again after the miscarriage.’

‘Surprising considering May didn’t want the baby to begin with,’ I agreed. ‘Those two are like a Greek tragedy, or a soap opera. They go all over the place but always end up together again – at least for a while.’

‘Hey, did you ever think Ash and May would really get together?’

‘Well, I always hoped they wouldn’t,’ I said in a restrained voice. ‘You may recall I was a fan of Ash before he went insane.’

‘Oh yeah… sorry. Let’s stop talking about May for a while.’

‘Okay.’

Consequently we sat in silence for a few minutes, both trying to think of a new topic that didn’t involve Ash, Dante or May.

‘Do you want to talk about Tracey?’ Brock asked.

‘Definitely not,’ I replied.

‘Drew?’

‘I don’t think either of us know enough about him to hold a conversation,’ I replied.

‘I know that he’s been seeing Dawn rather steadily since Tracey’s funeral.’

‘I don’t get that guy,’ I said. ‘Is he gay or straight?’

‘I think he’s straight,’ Brock said slowly. ‘One boy-crush doesn’t automatically make you gay, does it?’

‘What have you been hiding?’ I asked immediately. ‘Don’t tell me you were in love with Ash too?’

‘No, no way. I’m just saying – he always had a way with the ladies.’

‘Maybe that’s because he is the ladies.’

‘Ask him yourself, I imagine we’ll be seeing him at Point Noir.’

‘And now we’re back to May again.’

February 1, 8:30PM
FALKNER

Flannery and I left the Gym for the night, since we both have Gyms to run, and we have to get back to them ready for the morning. Spending all my weekends here, it’s like I don’t even own myself anymore.

We weren’t halfway to Lavaridge when Flannery suddenly said:

‘Pidgeot, land here.’

Pidgeot complied. I should never have told him to listen to anyone else’s voice. But I did, and now I stood opposite from my cross-armed girlfriend.

‘You want to tell me what happened last night?’ she demanded.

‘You won’t believe me.’

‘Try me.’

‘Nothing.’

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘See?’

‘There’s a tension between you and May. Did you spend the night together?’

‘Obviously, I wasn’t going to make her sleep outside of the cave. It was a lightning storm, for crying out loud.’

‘Alright fine, you just go on and make your little jokes. But don’t think you’re fooling me. I’ll find out one way or another.’

And we flew in silence back to Lavaridge. I dropped her off – she didn’t even say goodnight – and headed back to Violet City, wondering how in the hell I’d managed to get myself into this mess, and what excuse I could come up with that might keep Flannery satisfied.

God I’m screwed.

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I'm not making promises on when chapters will be posted anymore. But we're getting there. Stay tuned!

Z

[shadow_shipper]

I’m surprised they tried again after the miscarriage.’

enter new info...

‘You want to tell me what happened last night?’ she demanded.

‘You won’t believe me.’

‘Try me.’

‘Nothing.’

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘See?’

^^
brilliant :P



Very enjoyable, and yet, I'm still curious to what Dante will do with Ash. Seeing as obviously, we see his POV, and know he's not telling a lie, if Dante does follow his plan, I wonder whether or not Ash will find out one way or the other that Pikachu didn't die a natural death...and after all, whether Dante really did shoot or not.

I know. Patience.

But I do have some, so no problem

[flamingoozaru]

Wow, I wonder what going to happened to Ash, I really hope that psycho Ash wouldn't resurface. And more Flannery and Falkner trouble.

[Ariel_Anderson]

I’m surprised they tried again after the miscarriage.’

Oohhhhhh, now I get it!

[Zubeon]

Hey guys, I've been trying to post this for a while but for some reason the forums haven't been loading on my computer.

I’ve decided it’s time to give this trilogy a title, and I want your help in choosing.

Obviously the title MUST be an INXS song, and I’ve cut down their catalogue to ten songs that for various reasons I feel are appropriate. They are listed below in my order of preference, current as of this post. I want your opinions on the candidates, and feel free to suggest any other INXS song title you think may be suitable. But if you are suggesting something new, please give a detailed reason. That’s all for now, here’s the list:

Full Moon, Dirty Hearts
Perfect Strangers
Soul Mistake
Devil Inside
We Are Thrown Together
Calling All Nations
Burn For You
Original Sin
Freedom Deep
Don’t Change

And one more honorary title – Possibilities, from Michael Hutchence’s solo album.

But enough about that for now, here's the new chapter.

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Chapter Eleven
Two Princes

February 2, 8:30AM
MAY

I’ve got to go back to Petalburg, and I’ve got three days to do it.

It had seemed like a good idea to have the party here last night, but after sleeping on it I realised just how much work it would be to relocate everything. No, I couldn’t do it here.

I went to tell Dante.

He was already in the rehearsal room, warming up his voice, even though the schedule didn’t say for rehearsals to start until nine. Everyone else was still having breakfast – since most of them had only gotten up about twenty minutes ago – and Falkner hadn’t even arrived yet.

He had his back to the door so I listened for a while. He was singing “Heroes” by David Bowie. I hoped that the entire set list wouldn’t be comprised of songs like that, songs that spoke about the trials and tribulations of being a Gym Leader. Dante was only ever as pretentious as he had to be, and hopefully the situation didn’t warrant a full-blown series of expository songs.

‘Sounds good,’ I said after he had finished.

‘It’s too low,’ he mumbled distractedly, shuffling through pages of sheet music I could never hope to understand. ‘Technically I need to be a tenor to pull this show off properly.’

‘You’re not a tenor?’

‘Baritone. What can I do for you this morning?’

‘Well,’ I began, ‘as much as I appreciate the offer, I-’

‘No, I had second thoughts too,’ he cut me off. ‘It seemed logical but then I thought about all the work you’d have to do to relocate everything here. I’m sure you don’t need that.’

‘No, not really. I reckon it’s better if we just do it as planned, at Petalburg. And I can take Max out of your hair for a while.’

‘I like having Max around,’ Dante said, finally turning to face me. ‘He’s pretty good with Holly, and I’ve tricked him into running the Gym while I’m at the Heroes competition.’

‘Max? Run your Gym?’

‘Well he is the only person to win the Foundry Badge from me.’

‘He beat you?’ I didn’t even try to hide my surprise. The whole concept was ludicrously absurd.

‘Down to the wire, but he pulled it out of nowhere.’

‘Anyway, we’re getting sidetracked. I reckon I’ll head off later today and get everything set up, and you guys follow when you need to.’

‘Sounds good to me,’ Dante said, for the first time giving me his full attention and one of his looks that I couldn’t read. ‘We don’t really want to be living together again anyway, do we?’

A double-ended question. I hesitated, probably for too long.

‘Well, we had some good times,’ I stammered.

‘Oh, we were like glory’s gate, my darling,’ he turned back to his papers. ‘But there was no place in the world for what we had.’

‘That’s what you always say!’ I snapped, suddenly angry. ‘All the time, whenever something goes wrong, you blame it on the world, saying there’s nowhere for you. That’s a load of bull, Dante. If there’s no place for you in the world, you need to make one for yourself, because like it or not, you’re here.’

I was furious, but I could have kissed him at any moment, and he knew it. From his smile I could tell that I had been led into a trap. I didn’t say anything else. I just turned and stormed out of the room.

February 2, 10:00AM
ASH

Pikachu was dead. He died over two years ago.

How could that have happened?

Dante and Max told me that he had a degenerative liver disease that was slowly eating away his insides, so I had him euthanatized. But that doesn’t sound like something I would do. No, I would be more likely to go out hunting for Celebi or Mew or somebody, anybody who could help me. I wouldn’t give in so easily. They were lying to me.

So then what was the truth?

I quickly came to the realisation that nobody was going to tell me. They must have agreed to fabricate this story and stick to it.

But I wasn’t licked yet.

I may not remember much, but I do remember that Dante kept journals. Chances are he still does. They’ll be around here somewhere, and if I find them, they’re bound to explain what’s been happening in the past two years. Surely he’s not that out of date.

Dante had quarantined me in a spare room pending further examination. Clearly he still wasn’t convinced that my amnesia was real. He was probably also trying to stop me from doing exactly what I’m about to do.

I found Torkoal’s Pokeball and released him into the room.

‘Good to see a familiar face,’ I said. ‘Can you melt that door lock for me?’

Torkoal blasted at it with his flamethrower attack. I was amazed at the power – at times it looked as if the door was going to go up in flames. He certainly wasn’t this powerful before. I must have worked him hard in the past two years.

Finally the lock fell away and I returned Torkoal to his Pokeball. It was at about this time that I realised there was no way I could keep my wanderings a secret now, not with the collateral damage I had just inflicted on Dante’s Gym. Oh well.

I snuck out into the hall and rounded the corner and found myself face to face with an Aggron that had evidently been guarding my room. I didn’t even try to slip past it – I just returned to my room.

To find the information I required without causing an uproar was going to be difficult. As it was, the Aggron was sure to call the broken lock to Dante’s attention. He would almost certainly fit a newer, stronger lock to keep me in the dark. So do I wait here for that to happen, or do I take down this Aggron and risk it all?

February 2, 2:00PM
FALKNER

‘What are you calling me for? Are you trying to get me into even more trouble?’

‘What do you mean more trouble?’ she asked. ‘What trouble are you in now?’

‘Flannery suspects something.’

‘Suspects something?’

‘Yes. She says she’s going to find out the truth.’

‘What is the truth, Falkner?’

‘That we spent the night in a cave, watching over a baby. But you can’t expect a woman to believe that. They’ve all got this sixth sense just for jealousy.’

‘Do you think I’m someone else?’ she was clearly offended by this comment. I didn’t particularly care.

‘My point is that you calling me isn’t going to help matters for me.’

‘So you’ve chosen her then?’

‘Chosen? When was I even choosing? When was there ever a question? This is exactly why I hate women.’

‘You wouldn’t be getting so mad if there wasn’t something in your mind saying you might be wrong.’

‘So maybe that night I felt something for an hour or two. It doesn’t change anything. And even if there was more than that, nothing would ever happen because-’

‘Because of Dante?’ she asked wearily.

‘Yes. Because of Dante, and the code,’ I replied sharply.

‘What’s this code I keep hearing so much about?’ she demanded, her voice rising.

‘One simple rule with three classes. Number one – no relationships with family members. Number two, no relationships with old flames. Number three, no relationships with potential girlfriends. And you, my friend, would arguably be a violation of all three classes.’

‘How do you get family member?’

‘You’re the mother of his child. That’s a pretty close family connection.’

‘So that’s it? You’re going to suffer yourself to keep him happy?’

‘Bros before hoes. Besides, who says I’m suffering?’

‘Your voice,’ she replied, and hung up.

What the hell is going on? Why does this need to be happening? It doesn’t matter, she’s completely wrong anyway. I love Flannery.

Well, today I do.

February 2, 2:30PM
MAY

What the hell is going on? Why does this need to be happening?

Ever since I started dating Drew all those years ago I’ve had a reputation. A reputation that for the most part is completely unfounded, although from that little exchange you wouldn’t know it.

I don’t know what’s come over me lately. Normally a child is a grounding influence, a wake-up call that tells you to slow down. But for some reason, when I met Holly, it had the opposite effect. She made me feel…old, and it’s like I don’t want to waste any time. I’ve been acting on every little impulse that’s come over me. This has got to stop.

I can’t even tell if I’m actually interested in Falkner, or if it’s just the possibility. Maybe I just want to feel wanted, I don’t know. If I keep going the way I am, I’ll probably destroy his relationship with Flannery, and with Dante, and even Holly. I can see that now, but ten minutes ago I wouldn’t have cared. What’s going on?

If it’s an age crisis then I’m well and truly screwed, since it’s my birthday in a few days. Hooray, I’ll be even older! Maybe I should cancel the party. No, I shouldn’t do that.

It’s important to stick to your plans.

February 2, 5:00PM
DANTE

The Gym is rife with treachery. I’m not entirely sure where to look.

Just a few weeks ago things were good. Training, rehearsing, remaining undefeated. Then Max arrived, took the badge, and from there everything seems to have gone to chaos. I’m not saying that there’s a correlation, but that’s certainly about the time things went weird.

I’m sitting on the rear balcony with Houndoom, who’s shown his face for the first time in a couple of days. He tends to just roam the forest behind the Gym during the days, since he’s not needed here for the actual battles. It’s not uncommon for him to stay out for days at a time. The more paranoid part of me wonders if he’s been with another trainer on the side. That’s all I need.

May’s arrival had stirred up a few things in a few people. Falkner seems to be acting the most different. I must find out what went on the night he spent rescuing Holly. I certainly hope he hasn’t broken the code.

I’d hate to have to murder my best friend.

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Another shorter chapter, but if they're shorter, you'll get more of them, so it still works out in the end.

Z

[shadow_shipper]

Well this is a nice surprise, a new chapter ^^

As for the song, I'd say first "Never tear us Apart"...
It's pretty much an anthom anyway, and since the characters come back into each other's lives anyway eventually, or sometimes get torn apart by (tragic) events...so it would suit this nicely.

Then again, I remember that you used it for a chapter title sometime ago, so I'll just pick one from the list...

We Are Thrown Together

or

Burn For You

On with the chapter now...

I was furious, but I could have kissed him at any moment, and he knew it. From his smile I could tell that I had been led into a trap. I didn’t say anything else. I just turned and stormed out of the room.

He still has an upper hand on her, doesn't he ?

Dante and Max told me that he had a degenerative liver disease that was slowly eating away his insides, so I had him euthanatized. But that doesn’t sound like something I would do. No, I would be more likely to go out hunting for Celebi or Mew or somebody, anybody who could help me. I wouldn’t give in so easily. They were lying to me.

Now this was simply stupid of them...they knew he'd rather go to hunt down Mew or Celebi than kill his own friend...even for his sake...

‘Yes. Because of Dante, and the code,’ I replied sharply.

Ah yes...the code

‘So that’s it? You’re going to suffer yourself to keep him happy?’

‘Bros before hoes. Besides, who says I’m suffering?’

I hear ya bro ^^'

May’s arrival had stirred up a few things in a few people. Falkner seems to be acting the most different. I must find out what went on the night he spent rescuing Holly. I certainly hope he hasn’t broken the code.

I’d hate to have to murder my best friend.

I absolutely love the cynical/lecter part of his personality !!

Well, if they're shorter, I'll settle for more of them, which remains all the same imo...

Thanks again for the update !

[Zubeon]

Hey, this chapter's a bit shorter and a bit different to the norm, and you probably won't like it, but...too bad. It's important plot information.

Z

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Chapter Twelve
The Boys Light Up

February 2, 11:00PM
DANTE

I was undertaking some private research in my study when Ash charged in completely unannounced, and truth be told unexpectedly.

‘How did you get past Aggron?’ I demanded, spinning my chair around to face him.

‘Torkoal. You really should have taken my Pokémon away from me.’

‘But you’re not in jail, Ash.’

‘Then what’s with the guards?’

He had me there.

‘Listen, Ash-’

‘Tell me what’s been going on for the past two years,’ he said sternly. ‘What’s happened that you need to keep me locked up?’

It was at that moment that I decided to tell him. There was no point trying to keep it from him, really. Sooner or later, the truth will out. I may as well make it on my terms and eliminate the element of surprise.

‘You’d better sit down, Ash.’

He threw himself down on the two-seater I kept next to the door. ‘What’s been happening?’

‘Have you ever heard the theory of Two Characters, Ash?’

‘No. I’ve never heard of it.’

‘It’s a theory that suggests that there are only really two different types of people – two characters. Christ and Faust. Christ was tempted by the Devil and said no, and later was killed. Faust was tempted by the Devil and said yes, and later was killed. Every situation can be broken down to this level – those who fight temptation, and those who surrender to it.’

‘Okay, fine,’ Ash said impatiently. ‘Go on.’

‘When we first met, I was Christ and you were Faust. By the end of the week, we had switched places. When you came on your ill-advised rescue mission some months later, we temporarily switched places once again. The arrival of the bounty hunter, and your actions above the hole switched us a fourth time. By this point, I was Faust, and you were Christ. And then somebody had the idea to leave Sinnoh, head for Kanto to try and distract me. I bested you once again, and continued in my quest to kill my father. And this is more or less where your memory ends, is it not?’

‘Pretty much,’ Ash agreed. ‘The very last thing I remember is talking to Tania on the phone. She was on the train with you.’

‘Certainly. We reached Goldenrod and I confronted Giovanni, assisted by Richie, Falkner, and Tania. However Giovanni had outnumbered me, using Christina, Silver, Jessie, James, and that bizarre talking Meowth of his. But then all of you arrived. I well and truly had the upper hand now. Then James sent out his Weezing, and used smokescreen. Nobody could see anything. Shots were fired. You brought out Swellow to blow the smoke away and reveal the effect of the skirmish. My brother shot Pikachu. Once, in the head. If it wasn’t instantaneous, it took less than ten seconds. He was already gone when the smoke cleared.’

Ash went very white. He looked like he was about to throw up.

‘Silver murdered Pikachu?’

‘Yes.’

‘And then what happened?’

‘You became Faust. You took my gun, and you shot Giovanni dead. There was a melee. Jessie and James turned on Silver but he got away. They followed him. May dragged us away. At the funeral you revealed your plan to Brock. You planned to track down and kill every member of Team Rocket. And you very nearly succeeded.’

‘I…killed…?’

‘Many people. Not undeserving, but yes. You killed a number of people. I believe you also killed at least one member of Team Snagem in Orre.’

‘What was I doing in Orre?’

‘Working on an oil platform, and hunting down Team Rocket members. You’ve been tracking and killing non-stop for the past two years. And that’s the truth. You’re Faust, and I’m Christ. But this is a chance for you to change – abandon your revenge quest and be Christ again.’

‘But… Pikachu,’ Ash murmured. I could tell that all his initial lust for revenge was being re-ignited, and I had to smother it quickly.

‘Ash, you and I have been working on a plan to bring Pikachu back. Have you ever heard of a Time Flute?’

Ash shook his head.

‘It’s a flute that summons Celebi. I know you know who Celebi is.’

‘Do we have one of these flutes?’ he asked immediately.

‘No. You’ve been searching, but you haven’t yet found one.’

‘Then I should keep looking.’

‘No, because I have an even better idea. One far easier and more thorough.’

‘Let’s have it then.’

I tossed him the book I had been scanning before he had barged in.

‘Have you ever been to the Spear Pillar, Ash?’

‘Yes,’ he replied.

‘Did you see Dialga there?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you know what Dialga can do, don’t you? A special technique only Dialga has?’

‘The Roar of Time,’ Ash read from the book.

I leant in close. This was the clincher, where I would get his agreement or spin him off the rails again.

‘If we can work out the exact space-time coordinates of the moment Pikachu was killed, and concentrate very hard on them, we may be able to open a temporary rift. If you’re quick enough, you could leap through, grab Pikachu, and return to this time.’

‘But wouldn’t that screw things up really badly, time-wise? What about the Butterfly Effect?’

‘A load of science fiction mumbo-jumbo,’ I replied. ‘Back to the Future got it right. Time is a branching thing. An alternate reality splits from the central timeline every time there is a disturbance. We will be unaffected, but Pikachu will be here. It will royally **** things up for the other timelines, but who cares about them?’

‘But what about all the fading photographs?’

‘Those only happened in the past, remember? The newspaper article Doc brought back from the next day. The tombstone in the cemetery. None of those changed in the future, only in the past.’

‘What you’re suggesting is the most insane, half-baked, unlikely, and potentially dangerous thing I have ever heard,’ Ash said slowly, not looking up from the book. ‘Even if Back to the Future was right, which I doubt it is, since it’s an almost thirty year old movie, how could we possibly tell when Dialga would use Roar of Time, and how could we avoid being sucked in and destroyed?’

‘We don’t need to wake Dialga, just get close enough for my Ditto to get a good look at him. Then we find an isolated area, and conduct the experiment ourselves, with considerably less danger. I’ve thought this through, Ash.’

‘How do we go about finding the space-time coordinates of the moment Pikachu was killed?’

‘You leave that to me, and Metagross.’

‘Thank God you said Metagross, I thought you were about to say Mewtwo.’

‘No, that would be insane, even by my standards.’

We sat in silence for a few moments.

‘So are you up for it then?’ I finally asked.

‘If you can sort out the coordinates, copy Dialga and run the trials…yes.’ Ash cracked a grin – the first smile I’d seen from him in years. ‘Let’s do it.’

[shadow_shipper]

Well, really a tad shorter, but I'll leave a review as usual, it's always pleasant to read.

The bizarre thing in this one, besides the things written in the chapter, is that I seriously am beginning to write a fic, involving of course Dialga and Palkia...So I'll see where and what you decide to do...

Besides that, we get a clear sight of what Dante is planning, so let's see what happens next !

[Zubeon]

I found a new chapter. One of decent length, too. Could this be the start of a terrifying bout of prolific posting? I don't know. I really shouldn't have said that at all.

If no-one else is going to vote on trilogy title I'm going to go ahead with:

We are Thrown Together

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Thirteen
All Tomorrow’s Parties

February 4, 9:00PM
MAY

All the preparations were made and everything was ready. Dad had left the Gym and the house in my care for the next 48 hours. All I had to do was keep it from burning down. Again.

It was lonely, just me by myself there. I wanted someone to talk to, someone to be with. But I didn’t know who.

I knew it wasn’t Drew or Ash. The sun has definitely set on those two. Drew because he’s got Dawn now, and Ash because of what he’s done. You might be thinking that Dante’s done just as many bad things as Ash, but there’s a difference there. Dante committed his crimes out of love. Ash committed his out of hatred. It makes all the difference in the world.

Nobody here but me.

But of course that’s nonsense. I’ve got my Pokémon here.

I grabbed a handful of Pokeballs out of the drawer but stopped short of releasing them. I didn’t really want to be around Pokémon. I wanted to be around people.

Dante or Falkner, to be specific. Which one? I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

February 4, 11:00PM
FALKNER

‘We’ve been over this and over this and over it a couple more times. We’ve analysed and analysed and broken it down and every time it’s come back to this- there’s nothing going on between May and me.’

‘You went to rescue her from Ash,’ Flannery barked.

‘No, I went to rescue Holly from Ash. You remember Holly, my goddaughter?’

‘Pretty convenient, wasn’t it? That May was there.’

‘Convenient for May, not for me. It caused a lot more trouble having to deal with her all night. She’s a woefully inept mother.’

‘Don’t try and deflect this with cute remarks, Falkner. I know what’s going on.’

‘If you “know” that I’m having an affair then you really don’t know anything at all.’

‘So what’s wrong with her then?’

Trick question. Try not to answer.

‘What’s wrong with her that you don’t like her?’ Flannery persisted.

‘I never said I didn’t like her.’

God damn, I’m stupid. Wrong answer, Falkner.

‘So you do like her?’

‘I don’t dislike her. She’s a neutrality.’

‘So she was just in the right place at the right time, then?’

I snapped.

‘Alright, I’ve had enough of this. It’s pretty obvious now that no matter what I say, nothing’s going to convince you that there’s nothing going on. Nothing’s going to convince you that you’re the only one. You know what? May’s propositioned me a couple of times and I’ve knocked her back every time. You know why?’

‘Because of that damned code!’ Flannery shrieked. ‘Don’t pretend it’s because of me, it’s because you’re afraid to betray Dante, you selfish coward.’

‘That’s it!’ My voice rose to her level and blasted over the top. ‘That’s just it. I want you to leave, and don’t come back. There’s no reason to stay anymore. There’s nothing for you here.’

‘You took the words right out of my mouth,’ she screamed, and stormed from the room. I followed her at a slight distance, making sure she didn’t do anything stupid on her way out.

Dante came out of a side door.

‘What the hell is going on here? I’m trying to get Holly to sleep and you two are raging warfare down the hall.’

Flannery charged right past him without a word. When I caught up to him he held out his hand.

‘I really don’t think you should be following her,’ he said evenly. ‘You both need to cool off. Go to the bar and get a drink.’

‘You’re right,’ I mumbled. ‘I need to relax a bit.’

I turned and walked towards the lounge room, but in the silver door handle, I saw Dante slip out the front door after Flannery.

February 4, 11:30PM
DANTE

‘Hey.’

I couldn’t think of anything better to say off the bat.

Flannery was sitting on the Gym sign, just waiting. It was obvious she had been crying.

‘Hi,’ she whimpered as I sat down next to her.

‘What are you doing?’ I asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Flannery muttered. ‘Trying to work out how I’m going to get home.’

‘You don’t have Charizard with you?’

‘I don’t have any Pokémon with me at the moment. Probably a dumb thing to do, especially for a Gym Leader. But it’s not the only dumb thing I’ve done tonight.’

‘Falkner.’

‘If he would just admit it, I would forgive him. But he keeps lying to me.’

‘About what?’

Flannery suddenly got that look of somebody who had said more than they meant to. Obviously she was trying to keep something from me. But that look was soon replaced by the malicious look that comes with revenge.

‘Falkner and May are having an affair.’

‘No they aren’t,’ I said in a surprisingly deep voice. ‘Falkner wouldn’t break the code.’

‘This code again!’ Flannery stood up angrily. ‘Is that all you men care about? You’re so loyal to each other, but never to us!’

‘I don’t think you’re giving us enough credit, Flannery,’ I replied. ‘And I don’t think Falkner would cheat on you.’

‘Because of the code,’ she pressed.

‘No, because he loves you.’

‘Then why doesn’t he want to have a baby?’

Now we’re at the root of the problem – a root I should have nothing to do with. Should I tell her the truth? No, that would be a breach of the code.

‘He’s got a very good reason, but you have to hear it from him. It’s not my place to tell you.’

‘Yeah, give him time to make one up.’

She sat down again, looking defeated.

‘I see him with Holly, and he loves her. And I just can’t understand why he doesn’t want to be a father himself.’

‘Again, he’s got a good reason. You need to have this conversation with him.’

‘No. I’m done with him. He keeps lying to me. It’s time for me to move on.’

She looked at me strangely.

‘Don’t even think about it,’ I said. ‘You know how I feel, you know what I’m going to do.’

She knew both of those things, but she didn’t care. She kissed me anyway. I pulled away as soon as I could, but not soon enough to miss seeing somebody turn around and walk back into the Gym.

And everything seemed to be going so well.


February 5, 8:00PM
ASH

I walked into breakfast the next morning bursting to tell somebody what I’d seen the night before. There was only one other person in the room, in the pantry, looking for something breakfast related. They would have to do.

‘You’ll never guess who saw Dante and Flannery kissing last night,’ I burst out. ‘Wait a minute, I didn’t do that right, did I?’

‘No, you didn’t,’ replied the chef. ‘First of all, you told me what you saw straight away. I don't care who saw it, just what was seen. Secondly, I’m Dante.’

Crap.

He turned around, having found what he had been searching for. A bottle of chloroform.

‘I think we need to have another chat.’


February 5, 7:08PM
MAY

Misty and Brock arrived first, together, so the night got off to an expectedly awkward start.

Misty and I had barely spoken since Tracey’s funeral…which turned out to be a farce, by the way, in case nobody told you Tracey is still alive. But anyway, that’s not really relevant right now.

Our friendship was always a little patchy, but on several occasions Misty went to great lengths for me, and I in turn repaid her with hostility or ingratitude. Like when she led an ill-advised rescue mission after I eloped with Dante. She had meant well, but it had only made things worse for everyone. I didn’t consciously blame her for everything that happened, but I guess there was something lurking beneath the surface. Losing a baby will do that to you, even a baby you didn’t want to begin with.

I hoped that Dante would bring Holly. I had asked him not to on the invitation, but that was before I met her. Now I can hardly think of anything worse than not having her around. It’s weird, isn’t it?

Drew and Dawn were the next to arrive. I knew he would want to talk to me about Christina’s book. I had to avoid that all night. Mentally I began making a list of excuses.

Then for a long time nobody came.

I knew that Dante, Holly, Max, Falkner, Richie, Ash and Tania would all be arriving together, but I was still slightly surprised at the low numbers. I thought I had invited more people than this. I guess I’m running low on friends.

The doorbell buzzed and I let in a crowd of girls from the competition circuit and the atmosphere shifted noticeably. Now it was more of a party than a cluster of people milling around in a Gym.

But where were the others? It wasn’t that I was worried about them; it was more the fact that they were the ones I actually wanted to see. The others were just here for the sake of getting us all together again.

Come on guys, don’t be much later.

February 5, 8:40PM
MAX

We were an hour and a half late. Not very impressive.

It’s all Ash’s fault, apparently. He got really stubborn and refused to come. Dante spent at least an hour trying to convince him, but Ash wouldn’t even come out of his room. He didn’t even say goodbye. I think he’s having a tantrum, personally. Dante says he’s just being a sook.

I thought it was funny how when we arrived from Point Noir we effectively doubled the number of party guests. Looks like May’s lost a few friends over the years. But it doesn’t really matter. Everyone who counted was here. Everyone except Ash.

February 5, 10:20PM
MAY

‘Which one do you want to do?’ Richie asked, getting his guitar out of its case.

I’d asked him and Dante to perform for us a bit – drinking was losing its novelty and someone had put their foot through one of the speakers, which now spat out clouds of sparks any time we tried to use it. We agreed on live music.

‘Can we do “Breathless”?’ Dante asked quietly.

‘What about “Nature Boy”?’ Richie whispered back.

‘Nah, that’s a full band number. We’re unplugged here.’

‘Good point,’ Richie said, and sat down next to Dante on the bench. The rest of us gathered around as Richie settled into a simple, undulating guitar riff and Dante started to sing:

‘It’s up in the morning, it’s on the downs
Those little white clouds like gambolling lambs
And I am breathless over you

And the red-breasted robin beats his wings
His throat, it trembles when he sings
For he is a-helpless before you

The happy-hooded bluebells bow
And bend their heads all a-down
Heavied by the early morning dew

At the whispering stream, at the bubbling brook
The fishes leapt up to take a look
For they are breathless over you

Still your hands, and still your heart
For still your face comes shining through
And all the morning glows anew
Still your mind, and still your soul
For still the fire of love is true
And I am breathless without you

The wind circles among the trees
And it bangs about the new-made leaves
For it is breathless without you

The fox chases the rabbit around
And the rabbit hides beneath the ground
For he is defenceless without you

The sky of daytime dies away
And all the earthly things, they stop to play
For we are all breathless without you

I listen to my juddering bones
And the blood in my veins, the wind in my lungs
And I am breathless without you

Still your hands, and still your heart
For still your face comes shining through
And all the morning glows anew
Still your mind, and still your soul
For still the fire of love is true
And I am breathless without you.’

Everyone applauded – everyone but me. I got the sudden, unshakeable feeling that he was up to something – and what’s more he was losing his game. He should know by now that he can’t seduce me without INXS. Or was this his subtle way of telling me that things were truly over between us?

I made a mental note never to get involved with anyone as complex and ambiguous ever again, and went about my business at my birthday party.

February 5, 11:45PM
ASH

I was hanging. That was the first thing I noticed when I regained consciousness. My body was vertical, but my feet were not touching the ground. That only left one option – I was suspended by something from something. I couldn’t see my hands either, so I tried to move them. They felt slightly rusted metal. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I got an idea of where I was.

I was hanging from a water pipe in the basement of the Point Noir Gym. Dante had cuffed my hands together and hung me over the water main.

He has a lot to learn about keeping hostages.

Depending on the strength of the handcuffs I was hanging by, getting out might be incredibly easy. If the structural resonance frequency of the handcuffs was less than the force of water rushing through that pipe, the locking mechanism inside the cuffs would collapse, allowing me to escape.

Was there anyone left in the Gym to use the water? Yes, Dante’s two protégés. They’ll still be here. Eventually one of them will shower, and that is sure to produce the force I need to get out of here.

Oh, Dante. You’ve really done it this time. This story doesn’t need two Fausts. I think it’ll do fine with just me.

[shadow_shipper]

I'm glad I have something new to feed on ^^'

I found a new chapter. One of decent length, too. Could this be the start of a terrifying bout of prolific posting? I don't know.

sure hope so...

‘If you “know” that I’m having an affair then you really don’t know anything at all.’

‘So what’s wrong with her then?’

Trick question. Try not to answer.

‘What’s wrong with her that you don’t like her?’ Flannery persisted.

‘I never said I didn’t like her.’

God damn, I’m stupid. Wrong answer, Falkner.

It's a game you can't win.

‘You’ll never guess who saw Dante and Flannery kissing last night,’ I burst out. ‘Wait a minute, I didn’t do that right, did I?’

‘No, you didn’t,’ replied the chef. ‘First of all, you told me what you saw straight away. I don't care who saw it, just what was seen. Secondly, I’m Dante.’

Crap.

Oh sweet irony...

Everyone applauded – everyone but me. I got the sudden, unshakeable feeling that he was up to something – and what’s more he was losing his game. He should know by now that he can’t seduce me without INXS. Or was this his subtle way of telling me that things were truly over between us?

I made a mental note never to get involved with anyone as complex and ambiguous ever again, and went about my business at my birthday party.

Go find Ash then, he's pretty flat actually...

February 5, 11:45PM
ASH

I was hanging. That was the first thing I noticed when I regained consciousness. My body was vertical, but my feet were not touching the ground. That only left one option – I was suspended by something from something. I couldn’t see my hands either, so I tried to move them. They felt slightly rusted metal. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I got an idea of where I was.

I was hanging from a water pipe in the basement of the Point Noir Gym. Dante had cuffed my hands together and hung me over the water main.

He has a lot to learn about keeping hostages.

Depending on the strength of the handcuffs I was hanging by, getting out might be incredibly easy. If the structural resonance frequency of the handcuffs was less than the force of water rushing through that pipe, the locking mechanism inside the cuffs would collapse, allowing me to escape.

Was there anyone left in the Gym to use the water? Yes, Dante’s two protégés. They’ll still be here. Eventually one of them will shower, and that is sure to produce the force I need to get out of here.

Oh, Dante. You’ve really done it this time. This story doesn’t need two Fausts. I think it’ll do fine with just me.

This part made me wonder...
Didn't he forget everything when he recieved that knock ?
Since well, I assume he learned how to escape from wearing handcuffs attached to a water pipe when he was on his vindicative rampage...didn't he ?
Or did he know this stuff even before ?

Makes me wonder...

Definately worth the wait, you got me back into this, cause I admit, I was beginning to forget what happened the last few times ^^'

[Ariel_Anderson]

For some strange, strange reason, I was grinning like a maniac the whole time I read this chapter. I guess it's because they're all so much fun to watch.

[Uzamaki Hinata]

Wow, Ash loses his memory -- turns good -- is told how Pikachu died -- makes Dante mad -- becomes bad again

I swear, there will never be a time when I get bored of this fanfic, each and every chapter brings something great.

And yeah, if no one's said this before, Dante is like the BEST oc there ever existed. Seriously, he fits in to your fanfic so well. X3

[Zubeon]

I swear, there will never be a time when I get bored of this fanfic, each and every chapter brings something great.

I wish I felt that way about it...

And yeah, if no one's said this before, Dante is like the BEST oc there ever existed.

Actually, people tend to say the exact opposite of that. Though he is apparently up for a Shipping Oscar, which is interesting, given the overwhelmingly negative response to him in "Perfect Strangers". Oh well, we can only learn as much and live.

Z

-------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Fourteen
More News From Nowhere

February 6, 12:15AM
MAY

Dante and Richie played a couple more songs and then Dante got up to get a drink. After selecting a beer (imported) he made a beeline for me. I tried to get out of his way but it didn’t work. He still caught up with me.

‘I put Holly down to sleep in the Accuracy Room. I hope that’s okay,’ he said.

‘Yeah, fine. Are there enough doors between here and there so that we don’t disturb her?’

‘She’ll be fine,’ he replied. ‘She slept through Falkner and Flannery’s major blow-out last night.’

‘What happened?’ this was the first I was hearing of any fight.

‘They broke up. She didn’t trust him, he got sick of it. It’s all pretty simple.’

‘That’s too bad,’ I tried to sound neutral.

‘Well, it’s life. There’s nothing we can do except listen to them.’

‘Mmm.’

Neither of us said anything for a minute, until finally Dante spoke again.

‘You wanna get out of here?’ he asked abruptly.

‘What, right now?’

‘If you like,’ he replied, fumbling in his jacket pocket, ‘but the flight isn’t until the eighth.’

He passed me three plane tickets. Return trip, Point Noir to Perth and back again.

‘I’ve been offered a new Gym, in Fremantle. It’s in Australia.’

‘I know where Fremantle is,’ I said through gritted teeth. I actually didn’t, but that wasn’t the point.

‘The commissioner of the league is flying me out there to inspect the Gym and see if I want to take it. I asked for an extra two tickets. One for Holly, and one for you.’

I blinked at him.

‘Come with me,’ he said in a low voice. ‘The three of us, together, away from all these distractions and detractors. It’ll be just the way we wanted it.’

‘The way you wanted it,’ I corrected him.

‘You wanted it too,’ he pressed, his eyes narrowing. ‘Think about it – we can just disappear. Start a new life, just like we tried to in Sinnoh. But this time we’ll be far enough away that we won’t be disturbed. You and me, and baby makes three. What do you say?’

It was a winning move on his part. He had all the power here, and nothing to lose. He was just gambling to increase his profit. He owed nothing.

‘Well… I suppose I could come and look at the Gym with you. No commitment.’

‘Of course not,’ he said, his eyes returning to normal. ‘No commitment.’

‘Alright, I’ll come with you. But I’m not happy about this.’

‘Why not?’ he said, startled.

‘I specifically said “no presents” on the invitation.’

February 6, 6:45AM
ASH

It seems people in Point Noir don’t use the water much. That, or Dante anticipated this move and shut the water off at the main. Unnecessarily cruel to his house-sitters, but I wouldn’t put it past him.

Light is starting to filter in through the cracks in the floor above me. I can make out my surrounding a bit better.

There are some words written on the wall, in large letters. In paint. Wow, he’s gone to a lot of effort here. But it’s still too dark to read them.

The memories have been creeping back all night, starting with the whack on the head Falkner gave me. It seemed reasonable, given the danger I was putting the baby in. Why had I kidnapped Dante’s baby? That memory hadn’t come back yet.

It may sound like a cliché, but it really was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. I’d get a few in a row, and then something completely unrelated from a year ago. It was quite annoying, really. I’d rather have them return in a steady stream. But I suppose I should be thankful they’re returning at all. Or should I? I can hardly say they’re nice memories.

It’s a bit lighter now, but I still can’t read the words clearly. I can pick out a few letters here and there, but no words yet. It’s a pretty long message to have painted on the wall, whatever it is.

You know what the strange thing is? After the initial shock of being imprisoned in what is for all intents and purposes, a dungeon, I’m finding that I don’t want revenge on Dante. Yet. I’m prepared to bide my time, and let him help me sort out this Pikachu business.

And then I’ll kill him. And then I’ll be done. No more killing.

I can read the message now. What did Dante want me to know?

‘and the mercy seat is waiting
and I think my head is burning
and in a way I’m yearning to be done
with all this measuring of proof
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
and anyway I told the truth
and I’m not afraid to die’

And that’s when I realised.

He wasn’t coming back.

February 6, 10:00AM
MAY

I was woken up by the unmistakable sound of Houndoom rubbing his horns against the foot of the bed. He did this whenever we overslept. If he was trying to wake me up now, it meant he was here, and if he was here then Dante was here, and I didn’t remember inviting him to say.

That’s not to say it didn’t happen, but I certainly don’t remember it.

I sat up and looked around. My room didn’t seem any different, apart from the presence of Houndoom.

Put the pieces together, May.

He asked me to inspect a new Gym with him. I agreed. That was at about midnight, I think. The party went until three – so somewhere between three and now I left the Gym, and came home, apparently with Houndoom, if not Dante.

There are too many gaps in that memory for my liking. The only thing for it was to get up and see if he was in the house.

He wasn’t.

Houndoom followed me at a distance as I went from room to room looking for some indication of what had happened. The house was as pristine as ever. The only mess was my unmade bed. So I was pretty sure I hadn’t brought anyone home with me.

‘Max?’

No answer. His room looked untouched. That’s weird. I was sure he was coming back here to stay until the Gym Heroes contest.

I went outside. Still no sign of anybody. There was just one place left to check.

He was in the greenhouse, just looking around, his hands deep in his jacket pockets.

‘Good morning,’ he said as I walked up to him. He didn’t even turn around.

‘Morning,’ I replied. ‘Where’s Holly?’

‘With Falkner. He collected her about half an hour ago. They’re going to the zoo.’

‘Sounds like fun.’

‘I slept out here last night,’ he said abruptly.

‘So we didn’t…?’

‘No.’ He turned around. ‘No.’

‘Oh good,’ I said, relieved.

He raised one eyebrow.

‘I mean-’

‘I know. Everything is as it should be.’

‘I’m getting mixed messages from you, Dante,’ I blurted out suddenly. ‘You invite me on an overseas trip, to make a new life in another country neither of us have ever even visited, and then you sleep out on the lawn and claim that everything is fine. What’s going on?’

‘Nothing’s going on,’ he replied amiably.

‘What is in your head?’ I yelled. ‘What is in your heart? I have no idea where I stand with you!’

‘Neither do I,’ he didn’t raise his voice. I felt suddenly stupid and lowered mine.

‘Do you love me?’ I asked quietly.

‘Always, and never.’

----------------------------------------------------------------------

A prize to whoever can tell me what source Dante's message comes from.

Z

[shadow_shipper]

Actually, people tend to say the exact opposite of that. Though he is apparently up for a Shipping Oscar, which is interesting, given the overwhelmingly negative response to him in "Perfect Strangers". Oh well, we can only learn as much and live.

Perhaps he has been getting negative reactions, but as a character, he has more depth in him than most of others...
Plus...every story needs it's Faust...and imo, Ash can't be it ^^

I can read the message now. What did Dante want me to know?

‘and the mercy seat is waiting
and I think my head is burning
and in a way I’m yearning to be done
with all this measuring of proof
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
and anyway I told the truth
and I’m not afraid to die’

And that’s when I realised.

He wasn’t coming back.

Ah...

A prize to whoever can tell me what source Dante's message comes from.

A song by Nick Cave, with the eponymous title in the first line of the text...
Of course, the song takes its source in the Bible, from the Old Testament

(The later, I googled...)

[Uzamaki Hinata]

I wish I felt that way about it...

Really? I think you have a great fic on your hands and you should like it too, I mean, wow, this is the only fanfic that I've ever came back to after leaving it for so long.

And that’s when I realised.

He wasn’t coming back.

Wow... just.... wow. I mean, that has totally got to suck. And it seemed like Ash was really getting his plan together, not to mention his memory. Wow, bummer.

‘Do you love me?’ I asked quietly.

‘Always, and never.’

Hmm, seems like we're hitting in to a roadblock here, does this mean that Dante and May will never be truly happy together....?

A prize to whoever can tell me what source Dante's message comes from.

hah, I was going to ask you. ^__^

Well, another awesome chapter, Zubeon, can't wait for more.

[Ariel_Anderson]

I didn’t remember inviting him to say.

stay

....I can't really think of anything else to say....

[Zubeon]

Chapter Fifteen
Land of Hope and Glory

February 7, 2:00PM
ASH

Based on the movement of light and shadows over the tiny cracks in the floorboards that make the ceiling, I think I’ve been trapped down here for two days.

I’m hungry, and I’m thirsty, and I’m angry. Angry at Dante for doing this to me, and angry at myself for letting him.

It’s become abundantly clear during the time I’ve spent down here that Dante and I cannot co-exist. We’ve tried being friends, it didn’t work. We’ve tried being enemies, it didn’t work. We’ve tried living on different continents, and it still didn’t work. So one of us has to die, and I’m determined it will be him.

All I have to do is get off this water pipe.

My phone starts ringing. It’s been doing this on and off for two days. The first time I assumed it was May trying to find out why I wasn’t at her birthday party, but the persistence with which the caller calls suggests that it’s something much more important. I want to answer it.

I start swinging side to side on the pipe, trying to wrench it loose. It’s bolted at both ends to the roof, but it’s not thick enough to really support my weight. I’ve tried this a couple of times and had some encouraging creaks, but nothing more. But I’ve finally had enough – this time I’m not stopping until it breaks, I don’t care how hungry and exhausted I am, this pipe is coming down.

And it does.

I fall, pipe and all to the ground and stagger across to my phone. I have to do this carefully because my hands are still cuffed and I haven’t bothered to ditch the pipe yet. I get a hand on the phone and raise it to my ear.

‘Hello?’

‘Prepare for trouble! And make it double!’

Oh God. And I thought it was going to be important.

‘What do you want?’ I snarled into the phone.

‘We want you to stop interrupting the motto. It’s very important.’

‘Just get to the point, I don’t have time for the motto today.’

‘Fine,’ Jessie’s voice took over after a muffled squawk from James. ‘We’ve found silver.’

I froze.

‘Repeat that.’

‘We found Silver. He’s hiding out at the Viridian City Gym.’

‘I’ve already checked there.’

‘When?’

‘About two years ago.’

‘Do you think it’s possible that he’s moved in the past twenty-four months?’

I bit back the retort that sprung to mind.

‘Does he know that you know where he is?’

‘No, but I think-’

But what Jessie thought I didn’t find out, because at that moment I heard a rumbling, and a torrent of water gushed from the length of pipe on the ceiling, knocking the phone out of my hand and soaking me from head to toe.

Great timing.

February 7, 5:00PM
DREW

I sat with May outside a café in Petalburg, drinking the foamiest monstrosity of a coffee that I have ever encountered. She was relating to me Dante’s proposal, and a great deal of stream-of-consciousness thought about it. It would be a lie to say I was bored, but just as much of a lie to say I found this interesting.

‘So now I’ve agreed to go and visit the other Gym with him, but I’m not entirely sure that I want to go.’

‘Why do you think that is?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘You know as well as I do,’ I said impatiently. ‘If you go to Fremantle with Dante, you won’t come back. And the reason that you’re having second thoughts about leaving is because you know that deep down, you can’t say no to him, and nor can he say no to you.’

‘That’s not true,’ May protested. ‘I’ve said no to him before, and he’s said no to me dozens of times.’

‘On trivial, insignificant things, never on anything important. Think about it, May. You requested his services as an escort at the Gym Heroes competition because you were afraid of Ash, and he agreed. You confess to him that you’re using him, and he still agrees to help you. Then he falls for you for real, takes you hostage, burns down part of your house, shoots your father, and ends up in jail. You go to visit him, end up bailing him out and then you move to Point Noir with him. You get engaged, you’re only sixteen years old. You live in peace and harmony before Ash and co show up to rescue you. You refuse to leave him. There’s an earthquake. He is injured, but manages to cripple a bounty hunter before taking off to murder his father. You go after him again. Giovanni gets killed, so do Tracey and Pikachu. At the funeral, you agree to stay with him. You get pregnant with a baby you don’t want. You miscarry. One would think you would be relieved but you get pregnant again. You have the baby and leave him. Then you go back to him and the baby, agree to move overseas with him, and start a new life. Where in that story did anybody say no?’

‘I can’t begin to point out all the things that are wrong with that story,’ May said, slamming down the rest of her black coffee. ‘It’s a gross oversimplification of-’

‘No it’s not,’ I cut in. ‘That’s exactly what’s happened, from what you’ve told me anyway. The point is that Dante is a violent, deformed, disturbed sociopath, and yet you still can’t keep yourself from his side. Why?’

She thought for a moment.

‘His voice.’

‘His voice?’ I was completely taken aback. ‘His voice is the redeeming feature that continually puts you into this sado-masochistic existence?’

‘You don’t understand, Drew. You’ve never been in love.’

‘I am so sick of that argument. It doesn’t hold any worth at all.’

‘And that’s how you feel about love too, isn’t it?’ She pressed, deftly snatching the upper hand. ‘It doesn’t hold any value to you. Well for some of us, it’s the most precious thing in the world.’

‘It’s not real!’ I bellowed, getting to my feet and incidentally knocking the table over. ‘Love isn’t real! It’s just an excuse used by the weak to justify the stupid decision they make! I had never thought of you as weak, May, but I am rapidly reconsidering that assessment!’

‘Nobody lives without love,’ she whispered.

‘You can trot out as many hoary old clichés as you like, it doesn’t change anything. Love is not a real thing.’

‘If you believe love is real, than it’s more real than anything else. If you don’t believe in it, what the hell do you expect?’ She was standing and yelling now too. ‘Are you that badly damaged that you can’t understand that? Or is this all because of Tracey?’

‘This has nothing to do with him,’ I replied furiously. I snatched my coat from the back of my chair. ‘Have a good time in Fremantle. I’ll see you in a few years.’

I stormed away.

February 7, 9:00PM
ASH

I have to get out without being seen. Dante can’t know that I’ve escaped. I need to have the drop on him for this to work at all.

The biggest threat to my continued existence is the possibility of the basement flooding. Obviously I couldn’t weld the pipe back together, so instead, I used it to bash a hole through the floor and dig a pit in the soil beneath the foundations. Hopefully the water would soak in there and not cause any problems. It’s the best I can do.

As I run low to the ground away from the Point Noir Gym in the dark, I hastily make my plans in my head. First, go to Viridian City and kill Silver.

I’ll catch up with Dante at Gym Heroes.

[shadow_shipper]

Heh, it's like you've been waiting for me to come back to post lol

As I run low to the ground away from the Point Noir Gym in the dark, I hastily make my plans in my head. First, go to Viridian City and kill Silver.

I’ll catch up with Dante at Gym Heroes.

So I take it he's completely back on track with his past goals ?
Anyway, not much to say, except that it's still captivating !