Chapter 3

Ash walked slowly down the stairs, feeling wobbly and uneasy with his footing. He felt drained, exhausted, even though he had been resting for nearly two days. He peered around at his surroundings, his weary mind remembering where he was, at Cameran Palace. He saw the blood stains and trails that still stained the castle floor. The odor of death and war still lingered in the air like a heavy blanket, but that too was starting to fade, thankfully. A large portion of the castle was being used as a medical center, for those that had been wounded during the fight. He guessed bitterly that a part of the castle would soon become a morgue, waiting to inform the families. A glade just outside the walls was turning into a cemetery, he recalled. The invaders didn't get that luxury though. Their dead were being placed into a mass grave, a pyre in some areas. Those that still survived got medical care, but they were placed at the bottom of the priority list.

The aromas of the dining hall filled his nostrils and his stomach growled once again, reminding him why he was awake and down here in the first place. All Ash had to was to follow the smells and find the food, maybe his friends along with that. Dawn did say that they were having dinner. Pikachu chirped behind him, announcing his presence. Ash paused mid-step and knelt to Pikachu's level. "Hey buddy," he greeted, giving the mouse pokemon a scratch behind one of his ears. "You hungry?" Pikachu nodded eagerly, then glanced down as his stomach growled. Pikachu flushed, embarrassed. Ash laughed, the first laugh in many days, and picked Pikachu up, the mouse pokemon going to his usual perch, on Ash's shoulder. He went back to his quest for finding this dinner that Dawn mentioned. As he went down the stairs, he came across an empty place in the hall, just in front of a stair case. The floor was scorched, with a dark spot on the wall across the staircase. The faint stains of blood were still there, splattered on the wall and on the stone stairs. Ash suddenly remembered that that was where Blaidd made his last stand, to let he and his friends make it to the top of the staircase.

He finally found it, a small table surrounded by his friends, the ones who came with him and the ones who saved him. They all looked weary and worn, the adventure taking more from them then he had realized. The adventure had stolen away all their innocence, the harsh realities of war and death bared open like an open wound. A twinge of guilt went through his core and he wondered what would had happened if he hadn't decided to go with Blaidd. Misty was the first to notice him, flashing a wan smile as he entered the room. Max was the first to say something though.

"Hey Ash, feeling better?" he asked, scooting closer to his sister, May, to provide room. Ash's mouth started to water involuntarily as he saw the plates loaded with food. Fruit picked from Rota's orchards, fresh cheeses and baked bread, along with slabs of meat were piled onto the table.

"Now I am," he joked weakly, too exhausted to be his usual cheerful self. "That is a lot of food," he added, still eying the spread.

"Apparently they say that they usually have a lot more than this, but because of, well, you know..." Drew replied, trailing off at the mention of the previous events. He couldn't bring himself to actually say it out loud.

Ash nodded and found an empty chair, placing him between Max and Misty. He grabbed a roll and some cheese. He wanted to grab more, but his stomach wasn't feeling up to it.

"Do you remember collapsing?" Misty asked.

"Nwf wlly," Ash answered around a mouthful of roll. Seeing her disparaging look, he swallowed his bite. "I said not really."

"You toppled over like a tree," Gary added, grabbing an apple. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Thanks, I think."

They ate in silence, each with their own thoughts. While they had been mostly spared from the actual fighting, they saw the aftermath. The wounded and dying would haunt their nightmares, for as some of the more 'fit' trainers, Lady Rin had asked them to help with the cleaning and disposal, along with the tending to the wounded. It was an ugly experience.

Blaidd came down shortly after Ash did, shrouded in a voluminous royal blue cloak. It was as if he were still caught between being human and being a pokemon. He sat down at the head of the table and picked up a pear. He nibbled on it, thinking.

May broke the silence. "So, now what?" The rest of the table shot her a questioning look. "I mean, what do we do now? Do we just act like everything has gone back to normal or is there something more to this?"

"I don't think it could ever be 'normal'," Dawn added softly, to where no one could hear.

"I think Ash should be the one to explain." Blaidd said, picking at the pear's stem.

Their faces turned to Ash and he flushed. "Umm..."

"Well, are you just going to sit there like a slowpoke?" Gary prodded, resting his chin on one hand. "Or are you going to tell us? I'm dying to hear this."

Ash took a deep breath and launched into his story. "We're, I mean, I'm going to Orre next. When we were in that room, I had a vision. I'm supposed to go to Orre next, to restore the balance of Aura."

"Orre?" Max queried.

"Region west of Johto," Drew responded. "A place with a whole lot of nothing." Max noticed the tightness in Drew's voice as he answered.

"Oh."

"What do you mean, 'I'?" Misty demanded.

"I'm not going to drag you guys into this. I already did enough," Ash explained. "I just thought that this was going to be some little adventure, but now it's turned into something huge, and I don't want to have you guys get hurt."

"Don't give me that Ash Ketchum. After all the stuff we've been through you, the last thing I want you to do is to go off somewhere by yourself and end up getting killed along the way. You have a horrible way of attracting the wrong kind of attention."

"But..."

"She's right, you know," Brock interjected. "We're just not going to leave you somewhere and say 'hey, have a good time saving the world! Hope you don't get killed!' Plus, you're wallowing in self pity."

"I'm not," Ash denied, crossing his arms. "I don't want you guys to get hurt, that's all."

"Then if we do, that's our fault," Misty said. "Not yours. You didn't make us go on this journey with you, what makes you think that we're leaving out to dry on this one?"

"Well I..."

"I'm not leaving you." May added.

"Me neither." Max echoed his sister's sentiments.

May looked over at Max. "Max, are you sure?"

"Positive!"

"I want to go too," Gary idly looked at his nails. "Sounds like fun."

Dawn sighed. "Which means that I have to go too, to make sure that you don't get in trouble." At this, May and Misty exchanged glances, May breaking out into giggles.

Drew, on the other hand, seemed to have enough. "Excuse me," he pushed the chair out and left the room at a clipped, yet brisk pace. May looked on with concern.

"Was it something I said?"

"I don't know," Brock said. "But maybe you should check on him. Maybe it's just me, but he's been like a tight coil all day."

"I noticed that too. I should go check on him." May got up from her chair, going after him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Drew took in a deep, shuddering breath as he stared out into the wide open spaces of the balcony. Looking northward, the landscape was quiet, pristine, perfect for his tumultuous, chaotic mind. His world, once just like the quiet landscape, was now changing at a much faster pace than he wanted. The cool breeze ruffled his tea green hair and he ran his fingers through it, feeling fit to burst.

He had seen more in the past couple of days, cleaning up the mess and tending to the wounded and dying, than he would had if he were a doctor. He looked down at his hands, imagining the dirt and blood that had covered them just a little while ago. He didn't want this kind of life; he was happy just being a Coordinator, content with competing and showing off his pokemon, not turning them into weapons, like his absol had done to that mightyena. They were friends, not weapons of war, resorting to their primeval instincts. He leaned against the railing of the balcony, watching the sun's rays dip the mountain range in shades of violet, vermillion and orange. The sky was starting to darken as well, as were his thoughts.

Why was he so vehemently against going to Orre with the others? Was he even against going to Orre in the first place? He felt so confused. Maybe he was against going to Orre; that would make sense as to why he had left the dinner table in such a hurry.

"Am I a coward for not wanting to go?" he wondered to himself. "I mean, I don't feel like a coward, or does a coward feel at all? Maybe I'm just afraid. Yeah, that would make sense...I think." He knew he wasn't a coward, but at the moment, he felt like one.

"But I wasn't a coward when I faced down that Salamence," he closed his eyes, remembering. During a contest, a trainer's salamence had gone berserk during the appeals round. No one knew why, but at that moment, no one cared. They just wanted to flee. The creature had then decided that it was going to make Drew its next target, who was sitting in the stands at that time. He froze at first when he saw the beast barreling down at him, frothing maw and baleful eyes boring into his own, but he managed to summon his Flygon and the pair fought it out, until the trainer finally get the furious dragon back into its ball. "I was scared, but I wasn't a coward, I don't think. I wasn't scared when I asked May out either. Nervous yes, scared no." He frowned. So why was he scared then? He hissed in frustration, unable to sort his own feelings out.

"Drew? Drew!" Drew turned to find May standing there, concern etched on her features. If people could read each other like a book, May was like a picture book, in a good way, of course. "What's the matter? Why did you run off like that?"

"It's not any of your concern May." Drew faced the mountains again, not wanting to look at her, knowing that she would try to figure it out. She was naturally curious and discerning, when she wanted to be.

"Don't be like like that Drew, I was only trying to help."

"I don't need help." That was a lie, he knew.

"Then why did you run off?"

"Because."

"That's the best answer the eloquent Drew can give me? Because?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Running away isn't going to solve anything." May walked over to where he was, watching the sunset deepen the sky into glorious twilight.

"What makes you think I'm running away?" He defended.

"I can just tell." May turned to face him, placing a hand on top of his. "I have nightmares too you know. Of the dying people, of the boy in the tower."

"You do?"

"Of course, who wouldn't?"

Drew was silent for a moment, incapable of finding a decent reply. He watched May from the corner of his eye. She looked so vulnerable at that heartbeat in time. "I guess I'm scared."

May perked up. "Of what?"

"I dunno, that's the thing. I want to find out what I'm scared of, but I can't. Maybe I'm scared about going to Orre, maybe I'm scared that something could happen to-" He stopped, suddenly realizing why he was frightened. It wasn't that he was frightened for himself, but for his friends and loved ones. It hit him like one of Pikachu's thunderbolts. It made so much sense, especially since he had brought up the memory of that incident of the waterfall. He didn't want his friends, or her, for that matter, to get hurt, or worse, like the boy in the tower.

Dead.

"To what?" May gently inquired.

Drew shook his head. "Nothing May. It's alright." He started to walk away, until something clenched his wrist.

"Don't just walk away like that Drew. You can't just wave away this sort of thing you know." Her gripped weakened, and the emotions in her eyes echoed that of his own: confusion and fear. "What are you afraid of?"

"Not 'of', for. I guess—I guess I'm afraid for us, our friends. We saw the battle, what they were willing to do. If we go to Orre, will we be safe there, or will they follow us there too? Maybe I sound like a coward, maybe I am a coward, but I-I just want this to all go away. I don't want to dream of blood and death anymore. I just want things the way they were, you know?"

"I don't want to dream of it either anymore, but," she took a deep breath, trying to place her feelings on an even keel. Drew's words were a mirror image of what she, perhaps everybody, were thinking. "But if we don't do something to make it so everything can be normal, then who?" She hugged herself tightly. "Drew?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you be going then? To Orre? I mean, I understand if you don't and all that..."

Drew mulled it over for a moment. He flashed a smile, a tired and possibly forced smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Somebody has to leap over waterfalls."

May suddenly clung to him. "Thank you." The sudden movement startled him, but he began to relax.

"For what?"

"For coming." She rested her head on his chest, taking comfort in his warmth. "And for talking."

"Um, sure, no problem May." He wrapped his arms around her, his head on top of hers, the result of a recent growth spurt. At least he didn't have to be scared alone.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ash went out into the courtyard, searching. It was nearly dark, with the first few stars peeking from the nighttime veil. Unfortunately though, most of them were blotted out by the brightness of the pyre burning just over the other side of the castle wall, the funeral for those who had attacked the Palace. He was looking for something, but amid the chaos, it was difficult to tell.

A happy roar soon let Ash know what he was looking for. His Charizard, side, chest and thigh bound in fresh white bandages, bounded towards his trainer as fast as he wounded leg would let him. Ash wrapped his arms around the dragon's neck, elated that his pokemon had made it through the battle relatively unscathed. Charizard hissed a little though, as Ash pressed on the flesh just next to his right shoulder. Ash backed off just a little, half expecting Charizard to let loose a gout of fire. Instead, he only covered Ash in a thin layer of soot and smoke, then licked his face with his raspy tongue. Ash would later describe it as being licked by sandpaper. Very rough sandpaper.

"Charizard, You're okay!" Ash pulled back to look the mighty dragon in his dark, almost black eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay." There was at least one bright piece of news in his otherwise hectic life. Charizard grunted and plunked himself down on the grass, enveloping his trainer with his wings, flinching only slightly as the scab on the joint of his wing pulled slightly. It was like being hugged by a furnace or a kiln. The trainer took comfort in the mighty beast's warmth.

"So," Ash said to Charizard. "Ready for another adventure?"

Charizard looked quizzically to one side, then the other, before making his decision, nodding vigorously, eager at the prospect of a new adventure. He then belched a trickle of flame to the sky, his flame still weak after the expenditure at the bridge. It had drained away at a lot of the internal storage of his fire and it would take some time to recover. Not a lot, thankfully.

Ash pulled away from Charizard's enveloping embrace and pulled out the dragon's pokeball, the one Gary gave back to him.

"We'll be leaving tomorrow." He held up Charizard's ball. "Wanna go back into your ball?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Char!"

Ash grinned, then recalled Charizard back to his ball. He clipped the ball to his belt, already feeling better mostly.

Tomorrow. Almost an eternity away. He shook his head and headed back inside and to his room, to try and get some more rest before the long day ahead.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I hope that didn't seem too OOC, but it sort of makes sense why they would act that way, well...in my head, at least. After all, they did just experience a HUGE battle and saw a bunch of dead(please hold all Sixth Sense jokes until afterward) and dying people after that. Plus, for someone like Drew, who hasn't been embroiled in their numerous adventures, it had to come to a pretty big shock for him. That's my story and I'm sticking to it lol.