Oliverqueen01- How's it going everyone? Hopefully your week went good. It's been another eventful week especially for pokemon fans around the world and including for me which will be explained at the end. Anyway you're not here for that you're here for the chapter. So here it is. Anyway disclaimer time.
Xion:Oliverqueen01 does not own Pokemon or anything else made reference to in this story, They belong to Nintendo, Game Freak, TPCI and DC comics and other companies respectively please support the official release.
Oliverqueen01: Thank you Xion umm... Do you want to go eat some ice cream?
Xion: *Blushes Intensely * S-Sure! *
Oliverqueen01: Yay. *Goes with Xion while everyone is reading*
Chapter 8: Things you can't outrun
Ash was staring at the sky near the lake where he, Pikachu and Greninja saw Ho-Oh a few weeks ago. He was there alone because he wanted to clear his head due to all the thoughts he was having recently.
"It's been almost 3 weeks since Serena came back into my life. So many things have happened since then maybe this was the sign that Ho-Oh trying give me that day? Professor Oak did say that Ho-Oh works in mysterious ways. Even so..."
He picked up the letter that Lillie had written to him confessing her love for him and looked at it once again. He sighed what was he to do? On the one hand he could get rid of the letter right here right now and be done with it.
He then thought of Serena and the look on her face was shock, anger and sadness rolled up into one. He then scratched his head and yelled.
"What is wrong with me?!"
The wild bird pokemon around him flew in the air flying for their lives when they heard him scream at the top of his lungs.
"Serena is my friend... but why am I thinking this way about her now? It doesn't make any sense. I mean she's really beautiful and all but... I don't like her like that. But if I don't then why did I ask her to be my date to the wedding? And why have I been so adamant about helping her? It is because shes just my friend or do I actually have feelings for her?"
He then took a look a the letter from Lillie once again.
"Then's the matter of this. All my time in Alola and not once did I pick up on Lillie's feelings towards me until reading this. Lillie reminds me a lot of Serena but she's a blonde hair green eyed girl who was deathly scared of pokemon until I arrived there. She's also beautiful like Serena but... even if I did feel that way about her would I want her or Serena?"
"GAH! WHY ARE FEELINGS SO COMPLICATED?!" Ash yelled at himself again.
After he calmed down again Ash decided to start walking back to home. He decided to take the long route home to clear his head some more. As he was walking through the busy part of pallet he decided to do some window shopping. He thought that it would help somewhat help take his mind of his current situation. As he was walking while looking through his phone when all of a sudden he bumped into someone.
"OW, WHAT THE-"
When Ash took a look across from him he turned white as a ghost. In front of him was someone he wasn't expecting to see again for a while.
"Lillie!"
Lillie opened her eyes at the sound of her name. When she opened them she blushed furiously.
"Ash!"
The two of them hugged each other for a good minute and a half. Neither of them had seen each other since Ash's adventure in Alola. People around them started to stare which was cue for them to break the hug.
"It's good to see you again... What are you doing here?" he asked in shock.
"Well...since my mother is unfit still to run the Aether Foundation... I'm running it in her place with help from Ms. Wicke and Gladion. It's also a vacation for me after everything that happened back then." Lillie answered shyly.
"I see, how is your mother anyway?"
"She's still recovering from merging with Nihilego even after all this time. The poison toxins did more damage than everyone initially thought. When your friend Professor Bill examined her he told me that it will be a while before all her brain activity returns to normal."
"Well hopefully she'll be back on her feet soon." Ash told her with a smile.
"Hopefully, So what are you doing these days?"
"I'm just taking a walk clearing my head of things. I'm also helping with a friend with something to which I'm actually going to be late for and he'll most likely kill me being late."
"Well don't let me keep you. You still have my number right?"
"I do."
"Great, then I'll see you around."
As Lillie hugged Ash goodbye and ran around the corner to the next block. Ash frantically unlocked his phone and texted Gary and Lana. He was going need to tell them what had just happened.
At PTPD...(Pallet Town Police Department)
Barry and Lana were in Barry's lab or she affectionately called it the "Loftobtory" eating lunch.
"So, when do you get off tonight?" Lana asked while eating a piece of Sushi.
"If I'm lucky... 6:30 but if Mr. Grumpy pants aka Julian shows up then 7. I swear how do I put up with this guy? Some days I just want to scream at him for being so damn grumpy." Barry answered while sipping his drink.
"Maybe you should try bonding with him, find something you two have in common."
"The only thing we have in common is the fact that we work here oh and the fact that he doesn't like me because he apparently can't trust me."
Lana took Barry's hand into hers.
"Barry... you'll find something in common. Trust me."
Barry smiled at her. He thought to himself that he was truly lucky that Lana was so sweet and caring towards him. He didn't know what he would do with out her.
Lana's phone then chimed. She unlocked her phone and saw a text message from Ash it simply read:
911! Code Red Emergency! My Place now!
Lana's face then turned into a shocked look. Lana knew that Ash had to be in serious trouble if he was texting that way to her. This gaze did not escape Barry's notice.
"What's wrong?" Barry asked concerned
"It's Ash, somethings wrong."
"Oh my Arceus is he okay?"
"I don't know, I'll know when I get there." Lana said grabbing her bag.
"Do you want me to come with you? I could just let the captain know-"
"No, I want you to stay here and work on TRYING to get along with Julian. That and I want you to think up the most amazing time for us tonight. I'll be waiting to see what your brilliant cooked up for us."
Lana quickly gave Barry a kiss on the lips and promptly left.
"Ya... I'm truly lucky to have you in my life."
Barry smiled to himself as he cleaned up his work area and got back to work.
Lana made her way to Ash's apartment and saw Gary's car outside in the parking lot. She knew that if Gary was here too then it was really serious. Once she made her way to Ash's door she knocked and he let her in. When she came inside she saw Gary sitting in the living room with a glass of water in front of him. She sat down next to him.
"Okay Ash what's the big emergency?" Lana asked
Ash turned to Gary who simply nodded his head.
"It's about Lillie."
"What about her?"
"She's here... In Kanto."
Lana giggled.
"That's it? So why all the big fuss if that's just it?"
Ash then handed Lana the letter Lillie had wrote to him so many years ago. When she was done reading it she placed it on the table and rubbed the sides of her head. Her face had a look of shock and disbelief.
"Oh man."
"Lana be honest with me... did any of you know?" Ash asked
"No. I mean we all had out suspicions that she did and we all joked around about it but to see it here all written like this definitely confirms everything. Ash... what are you going to do about this?"
"I don't know." Ash expressed flatly.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"It's complicated."
Lana sighed as she turned to Gary.
"What did you tell him to do? I'm assuming that you already knew about this." Lana asked Gary
Gary nodded before he spoke.
"I told him to get rid of it somehow. it would be trouble if a certain someone found it and reads it. then Ash here will be in the metaphorical doghouse for the rest of his life."
"Who is this certain someone Gary?"
"Serena."
"Why would it be trouble if Sere- OH. She likes him doesn't she?"
"Ya. Now do you see why it would be trouble?"
"I do. But there's still a problem for both of you."
"How so?"
"There's a saying in the world perhaps maybe both you have heard of it. there's just things you can't outrun. Sooner or later she'll find out about the letter and Lillie's feelings then she'll be furious that she can't trust either of you. But for you Ash... whatever feelings she has for you will be completely gone if you don't tell her."
Ash looked at Gary.
"Lana has a point you know. If we don't tell her... We'll lose her." Ash expressed to him.
"Ya... So what are you going to do?"
"I... I think I need time to figure out everything."
"That's fair Ash you should take time and figure out your feelings towards both of them to see which one you click with more. But... one thing still bugs me." Lana interjected.
"What is it?"
"You said Lillie's here on behalf on the Aether Foundation?"
"Ya... why?"
Lana rubbed the side of her head.
"Who in the world did she come meet? Because you would figure it would be your grandfather Gary."
The three of them looked at each other and wondered the answer to that question.
Meanwhile...
Lillie was sitting in her hotel room after meeting Ash. So many feelings were going through her right now. She wondered whether Ash had read her letter or not. She also wondered how her mother was doing. All of these thoughts were keeping her occupied until there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal Hunter wearing a grey suit with a black tie flanked by a pair of security guards.
"Wait here." He ordered them.
The Guards nodded as they stood outside the door.
"Mr. Zentani. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"Likewise Ms. Naya."
The two of them shook hands as they sat at a table near the entrance of the hotel room.
"So Ms. Naya, how was your trip?" Hunter asked
"Tiring to say the least. Running the Aether Foundation on my mother's behalf is also quite exhausting even with the help of my brother and our caretaker. There's so many business partners to keep happy and whatnot." Lillie answered
"I know that feeling all too well." Hunter joked.
The two laughed before they went into serious mode.
"So, I had you fly out here because as you know my late father made sizable contributions to the foundation. This year the automatic funding is set to expire which brings me to the crux of the situation: give me one good reason why I should continue his legacy and keep funding the Aether Foundation."
Lillie gulped before she spoke.
"Well as you know... the foundation is in a bit of a rebuilding process after the ultra beast Nihilego possessed my mother and caused the events of years ago. But the mission of protecting pokemon remains the same. We only aim to help pokemon all along the Alola region and at the end of the day it's our duty to help the world to be a better place for people and pokemon alike."
Hunter took in what Lillie said to him and thought about it for a while.
"That is fairly convincing Ms. Naya I will give you that and I'm tempted to give the money to you but on one condition."
"What's that?"
Hunter had a evil smirk on his face before he spoke.
"I'll reveal it at a later date. So for now sit back and relax and enjoy your time in Kanto."
Hunter then left with his bodyguards in tow. Lillie dropped on the floor in shock.
"That smirk... it can't be good. It's the same smirk mom had when Nihilego was controlling her. Nebby... wherever you are right now I hope your seeing this and have some kind of sign to lead me out of this situation. I really could use one right about now."
Lillie then got off the ground and headed to the bathroom. She figured a long soak in the tub would help her mind off her situation right now.
Meanwhile...
Ash was sitting on his couch thinking over his situation. Gary and Lana left hours ago. He was doing a lot of going back and forth about telling Serena about the whole Lillie situation. He also knew that what Lana had said to him and Gary was also true that there were things in this world that you can't outrun and this was a prime example of one. He looked over at Pikachu in the corner sleeping. Ash smiled to himself as he quietly stepped over to Pikachu and gently touched him not waking him from his sleep.
"Sometimes buddy I wish I could just trade places with you."
He was about to head back into his bedroom when he heard a knock on the door.
"What the heck, who's knocking on the door at this hour?" he thought to himself.
When he got to the door and opened it he found Serena standing in front of him.
"Hey, how did you find where I live?" Ash asked in surprise.
"Gary told me. I bumped into him at the coffee shop where I met Lance that day. I was getting a treat for Braxien, Pancham and Sylveon and he was there getting a glazed doughnut for Leaf who was craving it. Anyway he told me that you live near the coffee shop so he gave me the address and I came here." She explained with a smile.
"I see, well then where are my manners? Come on in."
Serena took off her boots as she entered Ash's home. The first thing she noticed was the white walls filled with pictures of Ash during childhood. She also noticed the way how he kept his house tidy and neat.
"Not a total slob." Serena said to herself giggling.
"So do you want anything to drink or eat? I think I still have a cup of soup or leftover pasta in the fridge." Ash asked
"No thanks, I had a coffee at the coffee shop."
"Alright then."
Ash then next to Serena on the couch. Serena noticed the look of conflict on his face and decided to cheer him up.
"Okay you what's wrong?"
"Nothing why do you ask?"
"Ash I've known you since childhood. I can tell when somethings bothering you because you always make this weird face where it looks like you're staring off into space and your face does this twisted look. So out with it, what's wrong?"
Ash sighed. He knew that he couldn't tell Serena the truth just yet he still needed time to figure out everything. He also knew that the longer he held it in the more it would eat him alive and he needed a definite answer on who to go for. So he came up with a plan in his head.
"Serena... have you ever been conflicted about telling someone something and you want to tell them but you don't know how they would react once you tell them?" he began
"All the time. If only I can tell you how I feel." Serena thought to herself
"Ya I know that feeling. It's the worst one to have. Does it have something to do with what's bothering you?"
"In a way yes."
Ash then grabbed Serena's hand which caused her to jump and blush a little.
"The thing is.. I-I-"
"I what?"
Serena's mind and stomach were backflipping at the moment. What in the world could be going through Ash's head right now. As she was trying to figure it out she noticed his face slowly creeping towards hers. Then she came to the obvious answer to which she now her heart was racing along with the rest of her body.
"Is he about to...?"
Their faces were inches apart with both of their eyes closed. They could practically feel the others breath on the other. They were about to connect to the others lips when all of a sudden there was a loud knock on the door.
Ash sighed. He was almost about to figure out his feelings for Serena with that kiss but noooooo something just had to interrupt him. He got up from the couch and headed towards the door for the second time that night. Serena on the other hand was completely freaking out about what happened.
"W-Was Ash about to kiss me?! D-does this mean that he?"
Serena was about to continue her thoughts when she heard a large crash on the floor. The crash was so loud that it awoke Pikachu who instantly ran to Ash's side. When Serena went to see the source of the crash she found a very shocking sight before her.
On the floor was Ash passed out with swirls in his eyes, Pikachu was net to him spamming Thunderbolt to wake him up to no avail and in front of them standing in the doorway was a girl unknown to Serena but really well known to Ash and Pikachu. The girl in the doorway had a worried look on her face while holding her white dress.
While all this was going on Ash had only one thought running through his head
"It's official. My luck is the worse."
Oliverqueen01- Well then that happened. Anyway have of all of you been? I hope your week went well as well for this coming week. So... the tittle of this chapter was named after an episode of The Flash of the same name. So an interesting development has happened with Lillie. What is thing Hunter will make her do? It will be revealed in the future. Ash and Serena almost kissed but that got nixed by Lillie showing up unannounced at Ash's apartment. What will happen? You'll have to wait until next chapter to find out :p. Also the conflict in Ash is something I felt that needed to be added because if this was real life he would be doing the same thing minus the whole thing in his apartment. Anyway if anyone has been keeping up with the sun/moon anime can someone fill me in on whats happened past episode 5 because that's where I stopped. XD Anyway enough of me babbling time to get to the reviews.
Reviews/Questions/Comments
Klay (Guest)- Becky Lynch? My favourite female wrestler these days. Thanks for the review.
Espeon44- Will he get one? He came close too but Arceus said otherwise. The kiss will happen for real near the end of the story. Got to go through everything else first. Thanks or the review.
Armorshippingfan- Yup I don't think there's anyone better than Leaf for Gary. Well at least in my eyes. Ash asking Serena is actually based off when he asked her to join along when he started travelling in Kalos. As for Lillie and her appearance? We'll see based off the ending of this chapter. Thanks for the review.
RenegadeReviewer- Yah the Gary/Leaf thing is something I like writing that isn't Ash/Serena because I always felt in the games if you played as her that Gary/blue/Green or whatever you want to call him was always the perfect partner for her. Serena does need to make a move, Ash is starting to but the ending to this chapter ended that. Thanks for the review.
Amour guest- Yes yes, keep up the amourshipping stuff and all that good jazz. I will don't worry about that :p Thank you for the review.
Anyways that does it for this chapter along with reviews/questions Remember if you liked this, favorite, follow and review and if you want share it with people you know who will like it.
Until next time this Oliverqueen01 signing off :)
It doesn't matter if you're the slowest kid in gym class or the fastest man alive. Every one of us is running. Being alive MEANS running - running from something, running to something or... some one - and no matter how fast you are, there are just some things you can't outrun. Some things always manage to catch up to you. - Barry Allen "The Flash"
