Chapter 4: First Contact

I first started this story because CrazyYanmega, another well known MorpheusShipping writer, suggested someone really should write a fic about what would have happened if Ash didn't manage to hold on to Angie's hand until help arrived, when that evil spirit tried to suck her into it's dark world. So, what if...? Read it and find out. This story also involves MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you really don't like that idea, perhaps you should stop reading here. The rest, I hope you'll enjoy this fan-fiction.

Ash quickly opened his eyes. That voice he had just heard... it sounded too familiar. He turned around, and looked straight into a face he had been longing to see so much!

"Angie? Is... is it really you?" Ash asked, still in disbelief over what his eyes saw.

"Well... I think so," the young girl answered.

"But... how?" Ash started.

Then Ash realized there was something far more important than why Angie was here, and apparently she did the same. Ash started running towards Angie, and at the same time, she started running as well. A few seconds later they held each other in a tight embrace, that seemed to last forever. Even though technically Angie hadn't been away that long, Ash had missed her so much, he squeezed her too hard, and Angie started gasping for breath a little.

"Ash... I've...missed... you also... but, I... can't...breathe..." she stammered.

"Oh, sorry!" Ash apologized, as he let go of her instantly.

"It's okay..." Angie reassured, smiling at Ash, after seeing the little guilty look in his eyes. "I... I've missed you too..."

Although Angie was glad to get some air again, somehow at the same time she also regretted that Ash wasn't holding her anymore. Ash took a good look at his latest rival and close friend, to see if her adventures in the spirit world had harmed her in any way, but Angie seemed unscathed, except for a little mud stain in her shirt. That had been caused when Dusknoir held them down on the ground, with it's psychic powers, to prevent them from getting sucked in. Ash remembered this spot all too well, since he had been playing the scene when Angie disappeared over and over again in his head, and he had seen that same spot on her shirt then as well, before he lost his grip on her hand for good.

"Now, you just have to tell me all about where you've been, and how you got back here!" Ash said, as he had regained his cool again.

"Well, there isn't that much to tell, actually," Angie started explaining, "when you had to let go, I was expecting horror and pain, since that spirit seemed so evil, judging by the way it had lured us into it's trap. But I could see nothing around me but darkness."

Ash listened attentively, and nodded that he wanted to hear more.

"I could walk around freely, but I never saw anything, and after a while I stopped walking, since I could not even be sure if I was actually moving, or if it was all an illusion," Angie continued.

"Uhhh, creepy..." Ash remarked, shivering.

"So finally I sat down, and tried to rest a little," Angie spoke. "At first I was startled by some evil laughter every once in a while, but then all became quiet, so I guess I must have dozed off then. No idea for how long, since you really don't have a sense of time, when you are surrounded by nothing but darkness."

"That sounds awful!" Ash said, trying to stop that single tear that was trying to show itself, as he was getting a bit emotional hearing what Angie was telling him. "But I still don't understand how you came here."

"Well, me neither," Angie said, "but when I woke up, there was a bright light ahead of me, like when you're in a very dark room and suddenly someone opens a door to the room next door, which has all the lights on."

"Weird..." Ash commented.

"That's exactly what I thought," Angie continued her story, "but somehow it felt good, not like an evil trick this time, so I got up, and walked towards that bright, well lit opening... and suddenly found myself here!"

"So, after all that effort that spirit took to drag us in both at first, and then just you, you were simply able to walk out of that world?" Ash said. "You didn't have to fight, or at least run?"

"Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are," Angie replied, "but still this is exactly how it went."

"Well, anyway, I'm so glad you made it back," Ash said, as he closed his eyes, feeling happy his friend was back again.

Suddenly Ash heard Dawn calling him.

"Hey Ash, is everything okay?" the young coordinator asked him.

"Couldn't be better," Ash said, as he opened his eyes again, with a grin on his face. "Hey guys, Angie is back!" he cheered.

"What did you say?" Dawn asked, as her eyes suddenly grew very big.

Conway and Brock, who were standing next to Dawn, also looked very surprised at Ash.

"Can't you see her?" Ash said, surprised as well, "I was just talking to her and..."

Ash turned around, but instead of looking at Angie's face, there was nothing...

"You were talking alright," Brock said calmly, "but it seemed like you were talking in your sleep..."

"Huh? Say what?" Ash said, totally clueless now.

"It is very common after a great loss, to suffer from delusions," Conway started to give a scientific explanation.

"It was no delusion!" Ash shouted, "she was here! I held her! She was here!!"

"Denial is also a symptom..." Conway whispered to Brock and Dawn.

Ash looked around, with a lost look in his eyes, but there was no trace of Angie. She had disappeared just as unexpectedly as she had showed up to him. "Or had this all been an illusion, like Conway had just suggested?" Ash wondered in his mind.

"I... I guess I must have been dreaming then... " Ash sighed, as he let his head hang down.

Still, deep inside, Ash was not fully convinced...

(to be continued...)

Chapter 4 already. This felt a little different for me to write, than any of my previous stories, in which all usually ends well. But on the other hand, this poses a refreshing challenge. Perhaps needless to say, this story doesn't tie in to my other work, since my other stories are all linked to each other in a way, being part of one big MorpheusShipping storyline.

As always, I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.