Huh. Here comes another impulse write.
...I certainly like deathfics. But you already know that, right?
Well, anyway, here you go, folks. More of my specialty!
What's Wrong with Ash?
a Pokemon fanfiction
"Clemont?"
The boy didn't answer his sister's call. He stared at his shoes as he walked down the sidewalk, away from the hospital, back to the gym and to his room. His private sanctuary. His escape from the world.
"Clemont," Bonnie said again, more urgently.
He held his silence. He might have responded, but the words stuck in his mouth.
"Clemont, why won't you talk?" Bonnie asked, sounding desperate. "Clemont?"
"What is it, Bonnie?" he finally responded, trying not to let her hear the waver in his voice.
The little girl frowned up at her big brother. Something was wrong, she knew that, and she was going to find out what it was.
"Clemont... what's wrong with Ash?"
Clemont's breath hitched. He froze midstep, stumbling a little, but righted himself and forced his feet to keep walking. Right foot, left foot. Not that hard.
"I... I don't know, Bonnie," he whispered, unable to manage anything more.
Bonnie's face fell.
"I saw him by the river. He looked hurt. Is that why he's in the hospital, Clemont?"
Clemont felt as though his body was made of lead. The very effort to stand and walk was too much.
"Yes." His voice cracked.
He'd kept everything from his sister. She couldn't know the truth. She was seven - that was too young to know about the horrors of the world.
The truth was hard for even Clemont to accept. He'd said his goodbyes. He knew he wasn't seeing Ash again. But he couldn't accept it, no matter how clear the facts were.
It was three days ago that it happened.
"I'm going to go train out on the bank!" Ash had called, waving to Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie.
"Okay!" Clemont called back. "Don't be too long, alright? I'm making dinner!"
"You got it!"
Clemont closed his eyes. He hated how well he could remember it. That afternoon. That awful afternoon.
"Where is he?" Serena asked, worried. "He should've been back by now."
"It's no big deal," Bonnie giggled, rolling her eyes. "I bet he got lost."
"Where could he have gotten lost to?" Serena replied doubtfully. "It's an open meadow, with sharp banks and a river, and almost no trees."
"Ash gets lost everywhere," Bonnie said matter-of-factly. Serena laughed.
"Well, if you're worried, why don't you just go get him?" Clemont put in.
"Okay," Serena replied brightly.
"Can I come?" Bonnie asked excitedly. "I like the river!"
"No, you stay with me," Clemont replied. Bonnie pouted, and Serena left to find Ash.
"I see the gym!" Bonnie said brightly, pointing ahead. Clemont nodded, numb. His eyes were glazed over. He was drowning in memories.
They heard Serena scream.
Oh Arceus. That scream. It was a piercing scream - bloodcurdling. Clemont's hands shook at the memory. Last night, he'd had a nightmare, and woken up to the sound of that awful screaming in his head.
They ran. And they found him - Ash, who'd been mangled by the jagged rocks, whipped around mercilessly by the currents, and washed up on the banks, limp and lifeless. Pikachu, unconscious, was in his arms. Serena was sobbing, leaning over his body, desperately shrieking his name.
"ASH!"
Clemont's breath was coming heavily. They'd gotten him to the hospital. He wasn't dead - couldn't be. And there was hope, for just a little while, just two short days...
Until today. Until a half an hour ago today.
"I'm sorry. Your friend - he's not going to make it. He'll be dead before morning."
That was what the doctors said. Serena hadn't been able to take it. One look at Ash, barely recognizable, teetering on the brink of death - just one look, and she fled. Clemont stayed. He watched the heart monitor slowly beep out. He watched the slow, shuddering rise and fall of Ash's chest.
And then he left, with a sinking feeling in his chest. He wondered if this was how it felt when your heart broke. Does your heart break when you lose a best friend?
Clemont didn't know. He didn't care.
Ash was dead. Arceus, Ash was dead.
Clemont put his face in his hands.
"Clemont... what's wrong with Ash?"
Oh my. That was sad. Kinda creepy, too... oh, well. It was on impulse (yet another one of those) and it was interesting to write. Hope you liked it!
TACAEJ FANS: update is on the way, hopefully this weekend!
OTHER RANDOM PEOPLE WHO ENJOYED THIS FIC: if you liked this, I have some other fics you might also like, considering the fact that sadness and death is my specialty. I also like action. Which makes for a nice ongoing story, like my current one, so check it out! (...please?)
Anyway, yup, see you all later, whether in the next TACAEJ update or in my next random impulse one-shot! XD