A/N: I'll be honest; I wasn't quite sure how to write this chapter. I think I managed it well enough though. It's back to Latias now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. However, I have bought most of the games.
"Talking out loud."
"Telepathy."
'Thinking.'
Latias groaned mentally as she trudged back to the Secret Garden while eating some pocky she'd picked up during her patrol. She made sure to take the narrow alleys and side streets to avoid the citizens of Alto Mare as she wasn't really in the mood to be around people. After spending the whole day patrolling Alto Mare she was ready to have dinner and go to sleep. She absentmindedly avoided the passersby while gazing at the ground in thought. Her psychic powers helped her notice whenever someone was getting close so she could sidestep them, along with their emotional state and thoughts if she focused enough. Though currently she was only using the bare minimum of power required to do it, not really caring to check who exactly was around her or her surroundings. After another long and uneventful day she just wanted to get back home to the Secret Garden and stay alone with her thoughts.
'I should have finished ages ago…' Latias thought irritably. She knew she could have finished a lot earlier had she not ran into the Tour de Alto Mare Committee partway through her patrol. She had decided to tail them for a bit, out of minor curiosity and to see if they may need her help. Of course, that was a wasted effort. This early before the Tour, they didn't really have to do much. It would be a waste to prepare the canal now as it'd only get messed up in the days before the Tour started. Not to mention the fact that it would only pointlessly delay traffic for longer than needed. The entire time she just floated by and watched them hand out flyers and bicker about random things like colors and bets and who stole who's pocky. 'So petty.' She thought to herself, feeling slightly guilty as she finished the pocky.
She kept moving, deciding even if she did want to hurry home to just walk. If only to keep her mind a bit more preoccupied to avoid depressing thoughts. After lunch with Bianca, she barely paid attention at all to anything for the rest of the day. She barely remembered the patrol. It had all passed in an uninteresting blur. Still, she was confident that she didn't miss anything important. If only she hadn't seen that sign. That reminder. Then again, most things would bring him to mind. Seeing an electric type Pokémon, or a black-haired boy with a hat, or a blue/white shirt. Well, just about a lot of things really.
Latias blinked and stopped. She looked around and realized that in her scatterbrained state she'd wound up on a bridge. The bridge. A few people walked around her, grumbling as she had suddenly stopped in front of them. She paid them no mind as she walked over to the side of the bridge and looked toward the right, seeing Ash in her mind's eye over on the road looking at her in vexation. Without meaning to, she was back in the place where she'd met Ash when he was looking for her. She smiled slightly at the thought of that moment. It had warmed her heart, to see him out of breath from running around Alto Mare in order to find her. To think they had the same idea at the same time. Maybe it was fate?
'Though if it was fate, then why would he leave?' Her mind unhelpfully asked her. Latias sighed as she leaned against the railing and looked down at the water, staring at her unhappy reflection. She really shouldn't dwell on these thoughts. Though, she didn't really have much else to dwell on after all this time. Looking up, she saw that the sun was quickly setting and decided to get a move on.
Taking one last look at the spot where she had once seen Ash stand, she quickly turned and started to make her way back to the Secret Garden. Most other people seemed to be going home too, as the streets and were busy with people hastily making their way to their destinations. She easily made her way through the crowd and quickly walked into an alley before taking an abrupt right turn, deciding to take the same route she'd taken when she had Ash follow her back when she guided him to her the Secret Garden. A quick pang shot through her heart. She bit her lip and leaned against the wall, trying to force it to subside. After a few moments she took a shaky breath and kept going. "Not here, not now." She muttered.
She made her way to the end of the alley and took a left, glancing around to make sure no one was around. After the incident, she always made sure to be the most careful when going back home. Sometimes she'd even take 20 or even 30 minutes just to be sure if she was feeling paranoid. The people had thinned out and the noises grew softer as she kept walking until eventually there was no one around or voices to be heard. A rarity in this city, but then again, not many people ventured purposely near the true heart of Alto Mare. The disguised dragoness continued on and took another left and kept walking until she reached a familiar looking arch. The Tunnel of Leaves, a lesser known area of Alto Mare, at least it was to the tourists. She looked behind her, recalling the sight of Ash running right behind her in order to catch up to her. There was no one there this time however. Another pang shot through her heart. Luckily, this time she was able to ignore it better.
Latias walked into the tunnel and glanced around, quickly noticing some new locks on the arches. She shook her head at the sight. Yet, inwardly, she did think it was pretty sweet. It was something that had been done before, yet lately it was getting more popular. Love locks. She'd noticed one a couple of years back and decided to ask Bianca about it. According to Bianca, some humans with significant others would put their initials on a padlock and lock it onto something to signify their love. While the gesture was a bit lost to her, the sentiment behind it was not.
She admired the new locks for a bit before stretching out her psychic senses in order to check if anyone was around. Another habit she'd gotten into after the incident. It seemed no one was around for several blocks. Even the local Pidgey, which would usually use the bird bath by the Secret Garden, weren't around. Then again, she was later than usual. Still, she had to use her time wisely. It wasn't often it was quiet around her. Usually there'd be people or Pokémon or just noise from the city jarring her thoughts. She sighed and decided it was about time to get back to the Secret Garden. She'd dilly-dallied enough. She started to jog, mindful of keeping up appearances just in case as she made her way to the illusion wall that separated the Secret Garden from the rest of Alto Mare. Turning back, she slowly walked backwards into the illusion, staring at the dimming city as she finally arrived back home.
Bianca sighed in satisfaction as she stretched on her bed. She was dead tired after spending most of the day walking and talking to practically every person that walked into the museum. She'd didn't even bother to change her clothes and just walked over to collapse on her bed the moment she entered her room. Her feet had felt like they were dying near the end of her shift. Luckily, most people didn't feel like going to the museum near dark so the last shift of the day passed with relative ease. The only problem was closing. Still, as the curator's granddaughter, she had to be sure to put in as much effort as possible.
She rolled over and noticed that she'd left her easel out by her desk. There was an unfinished drawing on it too. For the life of her, she couldn't recall just what it was that she'd intended to draw. There was nothing but a bunch of random lines and squiggles on it. She sighed and looked back up at the ceiling, deciding it didn't really matter now. There were more important things to worry about. Like Latias.
Lunch had started off rocky with the mention of the Tour de Alto Mare event coming up. Bianca couldn't help but wince as recalled the tone of voice Latias had used when she mentioned it. She had sounded so… empty. She was sure Latias would be sad at the reminder. But Latias didn't give any emotion or outward reaction at all when she brought it up. That was worrisome. Especially for a being like Latias, who was usually so outgoing and expressive. In the past, she'd always beg Latios to allow her to go see it. And she'd decided to skip it last year. It's not like Bianca could exactly blame her though.
After the incident, Latias had gotten really bad really fast. Then she'd steadily gotten better, after 3 years. Latias still wasn't as happy as she used to be, but she was close. At least, it seemed that way. Though now she thought that it seemed more like Latias was just going through the motions, not really being there at all. Like a ghost.
Biance sighed in frustration and turned over again. This was going nowhere. The only way to fix it would be to talk about it with Latias. However, Latias wouldn't talk about it and deny it. So… that won't work. 'What to do… what to do…' Bianca thought worriedly. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps approaching her door.
A loud knock quickly grabbed her attention.
"Bianca!" Her grandfather's voice sounded through the door. "Are you not going to eat dinner tonight?"
"Sorry grandpa," Bianca answered, slowly sitting up. She really didn't want to leave her bed. But she really wanted to eat too. "I'll be down in a bit."
"That's fine," Lorenzo said. "Take your time; your food is in the fridge. I'm beat after all the restoration work I had to do in the museum today. So I think I'll be heading to bed early tonight."
"Ok, goodnight grandpa." Bianca called out.
"Goodnight dear." He replied before walking away.
Bianca could hear his steps get softer as he walked away. Once they were gone she got out of bed and made her way downstairs. Her grandfather was kind enough to leave the lights on and a plate and cutlery on the table for her. Smiling at his thoughtfulness, she opened the fridge and looked inside to see what she had to work with. There were a few local cuisines, yogurt, veggies, a few fish, and leftover pizza. Bianca frowned as she pondered her choices. In the end she decided to go with the pizza. There'd be far less preparation time involved. She reached for it, but then hesitated. She stared at the fish dish at the bottom of the fridge. Remoraid Mantecata. Or in English, Remoraid with Cream. It's a softened, dried, salted Remoraid that is prepared in olive oil, garlic, parsley, and creamed in a blender. Latias's favorite.
She stared at it when an idea suddenly hit her. There was one more thing she could try to get through to Latias. She made a snap decision and grabbed the dish out of the fridge and carefully placed the Remoraid Mantecata into the toaster oven to slowly warm it up. Next, she'd have to go get Latias. Nodding to herself, she went to the closet and grabbed a jacket and her signature white beret before quietly running to the door and slipped out without alerting her grandfather. Only one thing was on her mind. Latias.
Latias moved through the darkness of tunnel, slowly moving forward towards the light at the end until finally she'd arrived back home. She stopped suddenly and released her disguise, blue sparkling lights danced across her form until they faded and in their place was the red and white legendary dragoness in all her glory. Or at least, so a human would say.
Latias flexed her wings and quickly flew a few laps around the Secret Garden in order to see if anything was amiss. Luckily it seemed like everything was fine. Even the other Pokémon that would sometimes stay the night in the garden had all seemingly left for the night. No, she suddenly noticed some strange colors in the trees. Some were apparently staying, a few Butterfree and a Yanma or two.
Finally she brought her attention to the middle of the Secret Garden and flew over. As she neared the fountain she gazed down in sorrow as she saw all that was left of her brother. The Soul Dew. She stared at it for a few moments, working up the courage before beginning to talk, as she had done every night for the past 3 years.
"Hello again, brother," Latias started, moving a bit closer to the Sould Dew as she talked. "Sorry I didn't stop by to say goodbye this morning. I was a bit distracted. Bianca came to visit finally. It's been a while, it seems like she's quite busy these days between work and her art. Anyway, we had lunch today at Tratoria Aldini's. You would have loved it! They had the best tramezzini. Well, fine, I've never had it anywhere else so I can't really compare… But I'm still sure they made the best." She trailed off a bit, looking down to see if there was any reaction from the Soul Dew. But like always, there was nothing.
Latias looked down and waited another moment before continuing. "The patrol was really boring. Nothing happened at all. I shouldn't complain, it's good that the citizens didn't need help. It's just…" She bit her lip and decided to continue anyway. "Something happened. I saw a sign saying that the Tour de Alto Mare is coming up. I got distracted all day because I kept thinking about the last one I went to. That we went to. I skipped last year, it didn't seem like I should go there without you. And now, well I'll probably skip this year-" A peculiar feeling suddenly came over her as she felt someone approaching the Secret Garden.
Latias's head turned towards the entrance as her body instinctively turned invisible. She glared towards the entrance as she flew closer, slowing as the sound of footsteps reached her ears. The person walked closer and as they exited the tunnel Latias saw to her relief that it was just Bianca. She was seemingly out of breath though. Latias dropped her invisibility and quickly flew over to her friend in concern.
"Is something the matter? Are you ok? What's wrong?" Latias fired question after question as she circled Bianca, concern written all over her features.
Bianca sat on the steps and took a breath before replying. "In order? No. Yes. Nothing."
Latias blinked and stared in incomprehension. "Wait, then why are you here? Shouldn't you be in bed by now?"
"I could say the same to you," Bianca retorted. "It seems like we both got back pretty late today."
"Seems so," Latias replied. "Still, it's pretty late for you to come here. There must be some reason."
"Ok, you caught me," Bianca turned and looked right at Latias with some hidden emotion beneath her eyes. "Since lunch went well enough, I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner together too."
"What?" Latias asked.
"I was wondering if you would like to come over to my place for dinner tonight," Bianca reiterated. "Like old times, remember those sleepovers we used to have?"
Latias did recall those sleepovers. When she was younger, Bianca would sometimes sneak her over to her house so they could play and eat and hang out together without her brother or Lorenzo bearing down on them. She smiled a bit at the memory before realizing what Bianca had said. "Wait, now?"
"Have you eaten yet?" Bianca asked.
Latias could feel her stomach rumbling at that reminder. Luckily, it wasn't loud enough for Bianca to hear. "No, I haven't."
"You haven't eaten, I haven't eaten. Seems perfect then, no?" Bianca grinned a bit. She was glad to see that Latias seemed to at least be considering it.
"It's getting late…" Latias said, though she was clearly not that reluctant to say yes.
"That's the beauty of a sleepover. You don't need to leave late at night. You can stay till the morning." Bianca crossed her arms and stared at Latias, daring her to come up with another reason.
"The Soul Dew." Latias said, glancing over at the fountain.
"It's been ok so far," Bianca said quietly as she too stared at the fountain containing Latios's Soul Dew. "I'm sure it'll be fine for one night."
Latias nodded. Bianca was most likely right. After 3 years with no one even coming close to the Secret Garden, she did feel like there was a good chance one night couldn't hurt. Besides, after nearly 3 years with no breaks, she deserved one night of fun. Though she would leave before sunrise to come back and check. And she would stay and talk to her brother again in the morning to make up for leaving. She turned towards an expectant looking Bianca. "Ok, you win. Let's have a sleepover."
Bianca smiled and jumped up to give Latias a big hug. "Yes! Oh, it'll be so much fun. We can eat in my room, tell stories, catch up some more, and you can tell me all about that dream you had this morning."
Latias blushed furiously. "That's the real reason you wanted me to come over, isn't it?" She accused.
"Nope, it's just a bonus." Bianca grinned disarmingly as she started to walk towards the exit.
"I'm beginning to have second thoughts…" Latias muttered as she followed Bianca, turning invisible again as she didn't feel like putting on the Bianca illusion again. She took one last look at the fountain housing the Soul Dew before it was out of sight as she entered the tunnel.
The trip back to Bianca's house was quick enough. Luckily, she lived pretty close to the Secret Garden. Though that had always been necessary considering her family's relationship with the Lati. Finally, the house was in sight. Bianca crept closer to the front door, glancing at the window's constantly to ensure that her grandfather hadn't gotten up while she was away. Luckily, all the lights except the ones in the kitchen appeared to be on. She slowly opened the door and tiptoed, in, leaving it open a bit longer than necessary to allow Latias to come in behind her. A quick nudge to her shoulder gave her the cue to close the door. Immediately the dragoness became visible again.
"It's just like old times." Latias said wistfully.
"Yeah," Bianca whispered back in agreement. "You know where my room is, right? Go there; I'll be up in a moment with our food."
Latias nodded and started to move before a familiar scent reached her nose. "Wait, what's that smell?"
"You'll see in a few minutes," Bianca whispered frantically as she pushed Latias to get her to move faster. "But get upstairs first. Silently!"
"I'm going!" Latias pouted as she quickly moved and flew up the stairs to Bianca's room.
'Close…' Bianca thought before heading to the kitchen and quickly removed the Remoraid Mantecata from the toaster oven before it burnt. It seemed like they'd gotten back just in time. It looked only slightly crispy. Just how Latias liked it. She quickly put it on a plate and left it on the table to cool as she got out the leftover pizza to warm for herself.
After they fished, she made her way upstairs with both plates in hand and slowly pushed open the door to her room, wary of what mischief Latias may have gotten into while she was out of sight. Bianca sighed in relief as she saw her room looked exactly as she'd left it, except for the red and white dragoness in her bed whose eyes were fixed on the plate in her left hand. Smiling at Latias, she made her way over and placed both plates on the bed.
"Here you go, Latias." Bianca said as she offered the plate to her friend.
"Remoraid Mantecata?" Latias asked as she stared at the dish. She had to make a conscious effort not to drool as the smell of the dish assaulted her nose.
"It's still your favorite, right?" Bianca asked teasingly.
Latias just nodded and leaned down to take a tentative bite and moaned a bit as the delicious flavor seeped through her mouth.
Biaca chuckled at her reaction and got up to bring back some drinks for the two of them. She came back shortly with some cups of water and placed them on the ground before leaning up against the bed post and watched Latias take a few bites of her dinner before getting her attention.
'This is it; I need to make sure to not come on as strong as I did back at the Trattoria Aldini's.' Bianca thought before saying. "So how was patrol after I left?"
Latias swallowed her food, even though it wasn't really necessary since she was had telepathy, she felt like it would be rude to eat and speak at the same time. "It was boring. Nothing really happened."
"Oh? Well if you're lucky, this summer may pass with no major incidents like last year." Bianca said.
"Ugh, don't mind me of that when I'm eating." Latias complained, shuddering as she felt the phantom feeling of sewage on her body.
"Sorry," Bianca chuckled as she took a bite of a pizza before continuing. "So do you mind if I ask you something personal?"
Latias stopped eating and turned to look at Bianca, sensing some nervousness in her. "Of course you may."
"Do you… Have you ever thought about leaving Alto Mare?" Bianca blurted out. She winced internally. That wasn't what she had in mind to ask Latias, but it was probably better than what she wanted to ask.
"Leave?" Latias cocked her head and stared back at Biance in perplexity.
"I mean, like take a vacation." Bianca hurriedly added. Internally though, she laughed at the thought, considering that Alto Mare was considered one of the best vacation spots in the world.
Latias thought on the question. She didn't get where it had come from. However, she'd be lying if she'd never thought about it. She had wanted to travel the world. Go off on her own and see the sights. It didn't really matter where. Anywhere would be fine with her as long as the people were nice.
"Latias?" Bianca poked her shoulder.
"Huh? Oh, sorry," Latias turned her attention back to Bianca. "Sometimes, I'd like to. But I can't leave the city. There's no way I could leave the Soul Dew."
Bianca nodded, taking a sip of her drink. She was about to ask something else, but Latias continued.
"Like Kanto. That may be a fun place to travel to." Latias added, lost in thought.
"Oh…?" Bianca smirked at her. "Isn't that where Ash is from?"
"A coincidence." Latias said, pouting at the look on Bianca's face while internally trying not to turn red. She hurriedly took another bite of the fish and started to chew to avoid saying any more.
Bianca, thankfully, decided not to pursue that rocky path. For now.
They continued eating in silence. After a while, they'd both finished and were full. Bianca grabbed there cups and plates and put them on her desk before walking to her closet and grabbing her nightwear. "I need to go and change. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back." Bianca then left, closing the door behind her.
Latias looked around, wondering if there was something she could do while she waited. Unfortunately, there wasn't really much there she could play with. So she decided to just lie in the bed and waited for Bianca to return.
After taking notice of the unfinished drawing on the easel, she thought back to that one time she came into Bianca's room to grab her drawing of Ash and Pikachu. She winced as she recalled how Bianca got a bit upset at her for doing that. It was an oversight on her part. Of course it was rude of her to give something someone else made to another person, even if they were a friend. Still though, luckily Bianca had wanted him to have it too. It would've been really awkward had that not been the case. Still, part of her wish she'd kept if for herself. If only to have a constant reminder of him nearby, maybe pinned to her tree. She shook her head at the thought. No, it was better off with him.
She turned at the sound of the door opening and saw Bianca walk back in.
"Ready for bed?" Bianca asked.
"I guess so," Latias replied, moving over for Bianca to lie down next to her. "Do you mind sharing? We're both a lot bigger than the last time we did this."
"What are you talking about? There's still enough room." Bianca said, motioning to the space they had.
Bianca then reached over to turn off the light. The moonlight filtered in through the transparent curtains, giving them enough light to still see each other well enough even this late at night.
They both lay there for a while in silence, the only sounds filling the room was their light breathing. Both of them were wondering what to say next. Eventually, Bianca broke the silence first.
"Latias?" Bianca asked.
"Yes?" Latias turned to see Bianca looking at her with an expression akin to worry.
Bianca moved a bit closer and draped an arm around Latias's neck. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit you as often as I used to. I just want you to know I'm still here. If you ever need me, just come and get me. Whether I'm at work or whatever, if you ask I'll come."
"O-ok," Latias looked at her in minor confusion. "I know that, Bianca. And if I do need you I'll definitely tell you."
Bianca breathed a sigh of relief and gave Latias a tight hug. "Thanks."
'That's my line.' Latias thought fondly as she returned the hug as best she could in her position.
After a moment they released each other and smiled.
'This is good enough. Right now, this is plenty.' Bianca thought as she gazed at Latias. Already it seemed like Latias was a lot less tense and on edge than she usually did. Maybe soon Latias would be as bubbly and talkative as she used to be. For now though, Bianca planned to take things slow.
Latias smiled inwardly as she felt the emotions rolling off of her friend. At this distance it was really easy to read Bianca's emotions. Happiness, fondness, and contentment. She herself mirrored these emotions. It really was just like old times.
"So, we're getting some new art work at the museum soon. Some are even from the Kanto Region," Bianca said, stressing the Kanto Region part with a wink which caused Latias to huff and turn away. Bianca chortled quietly. "Do you not want to hear about it?"
"I do…" Latias groaned, turning back around.
"Ok, so they're mainly a bunch of scenery…" Bianca started. And for the next hour she talked about all of the new art that was coming to the museum until eventually they both drifted off to sleep, unable to stay awake anymore. Outside, a blue swanlike Pokémon flew by; its pink eyes gazed at them through the curtains before it silently continued on.
OMAKE
Ash's eyes slowly opened. There was a dull pain inside is head as he struggled to get up. Eventually, he managed to. He looked around in confusion.
"So you're finally awake, huh?" A voice sounded around him.
"What?!" Ash yelped in surprise as he looked around to see where the voice had come from.
"Above you." The voice said with mirth evident in its tone.
Ash looked up and felt his jaw drop at the sight before him. A small, pink feline looking creature floated before him.
"Mew!" Ash exclaimed.
The Mew before him smirked. "Well, it's good to see that you don't have amnesia. I was worried that you may've suffered some brain damage from trying to Tackle that boulder. Then again, maybe you already had brain damage considering you actually tried to Tackle a boulder."
Ash blushed and turned away. "What are you talking about? It was a Luster Purge attack!"
"I'm pretty sure a Luster Purge would've broke that boulder." Mew retorted, pointing to the still standing boulder.
Ash decided, then and there, that that boulder would be his new rival.
"Still, don't worry too much. You did do some damage to it, I doubt that boulder will ever forget you." Mew said, trying not to snigger.
"What?" Ash questioned, thoroughly perplexed with Mew's strange remark.
Mew's response was to simply point at the impression of Ash's face on the boulder's side before breaking down laughing.
A/N: So what did you guys and gals think? Good? Bad? Mediocre? I'd really like to know your thoughts. lol
Latias's day is now finished. Next is going to be Ash's evening.
I hope you all are liking the omakes. I got the idea to have Mew be there after reading A Pink Surprise by Uranium235.
So, a question to you, my readers. Again. Who should go with Ash to Altomare? I'd like reasons for your choices. I should mention that 2 spots are already filled. Pikachu (because he has to) and Totodile (because he must regain his honor for losing The Tour de Alto Mare before). You can submit by review or PM (submissions by review will be given more thought *wink wink nudge nudge*).