Author's Note: Well, at least this update didn't take as long as last time xD Inspiration to finish it came from rewatching 'The Legend of Thunder', which is also what made me a QuestShipper :P

Disclaimer: If I ever get round to owning Pokémon, then chances are you'll hear about it, which would make this disclaimer unnecessary.

Intuition

Chapter Nine

It was rare to find anything in life to bring genuine shock to Professor Rowan. In his long life, he'd seen and experienced many things, so much so that his connection to the emotion was dulled.

But inevitably, no matter how prepared he could be for any situation, there was always something left to catch him off guard. It just had to be irony that the very occurrance was the one he'd promised to himself and others would not, under any circumstances, have the chance to happen.

That said, waking up to find two empty beds, then soon after discovering that the teenagers whom had previously occupied them were flat out missing when their lives were potentially in danger .. it went without saying that the very scene fitted itself easily into the category of the few things that could give the professor a heart attack.

Though in this particular scenario, the silver lining brought non fatal results. If only just.

"What do you mean, they're gone?!" Samuel Oak spluttered, looking uncharacteristically fearful. Recieving news that your only grandson was missing was unlikely to ever go down well with anyone.

Professor Rowan had reluctantly delivered the news as soon as he could, having rushed to the video phone the moment he'd determined that the two teens were, in fact, gone. Every pokémon at the lab had searched both the grounds, the interior of the building, and even the entirety of Sandgem Town, and no trace of either Ash or Gary had been found, no matter where they looked, nor how many times. Soon enough, there was no denying it.

"I mean exactly that," the Sandgem professor determined, looking every bit as flustered as the other. "Ash and Gary are gone. I've searched for them all over the lab, and they're both gone."

If any colour had previously lingered in Professor Oak's already pale face, then it quickly vanished. The professor himself looked in danger of passing out. He opened his mouth a little, as though he were about to say something, but then closed it. He opened it again, repeated the process several times in his shock, resembling a Magikarp in slow motion, until finally;

"Bu .. wh .. how?" He managed to speak, his voice strained. "How did they leave .. you said you'd be watching over them!"

"And I did!" Rowan protested. "I just didn't suspect they'd up and leave in the middle of the night, especially not on the same night Gary may have begun suspecting something."

Professor Oak's jaw seemed to lock in place, his entire body clearly tense. " .. you're sure they left of their own accord?" He asked after a slight pause.

The other nodded. "Their pokémon are missing, no signs of struggle, not to mention the security footage .. " He let out a lengthy sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "No doubt Gary was suspicious after the phone call, and since Ash went with him, I see no reason to argue that he told Gary all he knew."

The elder Oak frowned stiffly. "I should have guessed Ash wouldn't have kept it a secret from him," he half mumbled, mostly to himself.

"I warned you."

Immediately following the statement, a pair of dark blue eyes glared at him through the screen. "This isn't the time!" Professor Oak snapped. "You can yell at me later, even rub it in my face, but right now .. do you know when they left?"

He recieved a half shrug in response. "According to the cameras, it wasn't long after midnight."

Dark blue eyes narrowed in thought. "Depending on how they're planning to get back, they may already be in Kanto."

"So it's obvious what the first step in the plan is." At the questioning look he recieved, Professor Rowan went on, "At this point I wouldn't say they're much further than Cerulean City. If they're not, then it's still the first place they should arrive at. Get Officer Jenny to look out for them, and the gym leader, if you can."

Professor Oak nodded slowly. "Right. Okay then, I'll do that, and you .. " He trailed off, unsure of how to finish the sentence.

"I'll see what I can do here," the other concluded. "On the off chance that beast did figure out where they were, then it's likely it will be paying a visit."

Intuition

If Ash had to guess, then he would have easily believed that days had passed since he and Gary had departed from Sandgem Town. But even in his sleep deplieted state of mind, he could logically work out that it couldn't have been more than twelve hours. Judging by the warmth of what could only be the sunlight beating down on him, he could easily figure that one out, despite having spent most of that time in a deep sleep.

Feeling the sun radiating on his already tanned skin was creating a blissful warmth, especially in the sense that he was currently in his most relaxed state of mind, being those few moments in which he was gradually regaining consciousness. Though honestly, he didn't want it.

Ash was comfortable, not caring where he was, who was with him, or indeed, what he was doing. Though slowly, gradually, he became aware of his surroundings, all without having to open his eyes. He could tell simply by what he could feel.

Balancing out the would be overbearing heat up above was a gentle, even breeze that softly brushed his messy raven hair from his face, and ruffled his clothes. He seemed to be sitting on something soft, and possibly fluffy - though it was hard to confirm that fact through his jeans - and was leaning back against something both warm and soft, but also firm.

He sleepily searched through his mind for possibilities of what it could be, being admittedly too lazy to simply open his eyes and check. But after a few lazy, and fruitless guesses, he simply breathed out a contented sigh, and allowed his body to relax in order to let sleep take him once more.

Unfortunately, something, or someone, seemed to disagree. No sooner had Ash slumped back comfortably against whatever he was laying against, did an incessent something start jabbing him in his right side.

Moaning sleepily in protest, he tried to bat it away with a limp hand, only to have the annoying ministration transferred to his face. And needless to say, being poked in the face was undoubtably a sure fire to make someone wake up in a foul mood. That being said, Ash was certainly no exception.

Groaning grumpily, he turned his upper torso to the left, away from whatever it was, and buried his face in the rough fabric that touched his left cheek as he did. He sleepily murmured "Five more minutes, Mom," purely out of instinct, but then became increasingly aware of the quick rise and fall of what he was laying on, accompanied by what he could only assume to be laughter.

As the situation became more and more confusing in Ash's half conscious mind, he was quickly alerted by the sudden hot breath on his exposed ear, followed by the words, "Sorry to disappoint," spoken in a smooth voice that Ash knew all too well.

His mind suddenly fully awake, Ash's eyes snapped open, and he hesitantly looked up, wincing as he was momentarily blinded by the harshness of the sun's rays. He blinked rapidly in the following minute to allow his eyes to focus, and soon enough, a pair of emerald green eyes, and an infuriating smirk came into view.

"Gary?" He mused groggily. "What're you - " But he cut himself off as soon as he remembered the events from the night before. And following the small revelation was the realisation of the position he was in - the soft, yet firm thing that Ash had been sleeping against was none other than Gary's chest, and his face was currently partcially buried in the same Oak's jacket.

More or less the same position he'd been in for the previous few hours.

With a yelp of shock and embarassment, Ash jerkily scrambled up into a sitting position and scooted forward as far as he could, getting as far away from Gary as was currently possible, while the latter continued to laugh at the younger's discomfort.

Not risking turning to face his rival out of fear of being teased futher for his burning face, Ash stuttered out, "Sh - shut up, Gary!"

This, of course, did nothing to Gary, who proceeded to do the exact opposite, continuing to chuckle at Ash's embarassment. "Jeez, Ash," he teased, "I didn't think you'd get so worked up about it."

If it were possible, Ash flushed a shade deeper. "Well .. you're the one who didn't wake me up!" He argued back.

Though Gary's laughter calmed down, Ash didn't need to look in order to confirm that he was still smirking. "You don't think I tried?" He asked. "You really think I liked being crushed under your weight for Arceus knows how long?"

Ash lowered his head, growling under his breath. "You just did it to embarass me .. "

But Gary wasn't fazed. "Just tellin' it as it is, Ashy," he stated. "C'mon, is it really my fault that you sleep like a Snorlax?"

Wanting nothing more than to end the conversation right now, Ash simply pouted. "Just shut up .. "

"'Snore' being the adjective word - "

His temper peaking, Ash spun round so fast and violently, he very nearly threw Fearow off course. "I don't snore!" He insisted.

Gary just continued to smirk. "Whatever you say, Ashy boy."

Now, Ash was never one to let his former rival have the last word on things, regardless of whether or not he had something in mind to counter the previous statement. But just as he has opened his mouth to snap back at Gary, an eager caw from Fearow swiftly cut him off.

In that instant the argument was momentarily forgotten, and Ash turned back to face both the direction Fearow was flying them. He leaned forward, using his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight, squinting in an effort to make out what Fearow had spotted in the distance. It soon came into focus, revealing itself to be a large stretch of land, growing rapidly in size as Fearow continued to get closer.

"Looks like we're here." Gary said, then added under his breath, "Finally."

Ignoring him for once, Ash instead sat back and asked, "Is that Kanto?"

Gary rolled his eyes at his former rival's choice of question. "Why not take a guess, Ash?" He quipped sarcastically, making the younger shuffle in front of him, a scowl on his face.

"I was just asking .. " He mumbled.

Choosing to pass on another remark to Ash's weak response in favour of keeping his mind on the job at hand, Gary held on to the younger's shoulders as they came closer to the cliff's edge, and Fearow began it's descent to land.

Taking Gary's unspoken advice, Ash circled his arms around Fearow's neck and held on tight, unwilling to allow the risk of accidently falling off.

As flying type came close to land on the cliff's edge, Gary's grip on Ash increased instinctively for a subconscious reassurance, and soon enough, Fearow had made a safe landing, lowering itself close to the ground in order to let the two trainers.

"That's that, then," Gary mused, letting go of Ash and swinging his leg over to one side, easily jumping off to land on the rocky ground. "You coming?" He directed back at Ash, standing up straight and smoothing his clothes out.

"Uh, yeah," he replied, automatically attempting to copy Gary's movements. He pulled both his legs to one side, and with a half hearted jump, he slid himself off.

Unfortunately, it was his bad luck that Fearow had just so happened to choose that very moment to shake it's wings out; a natural thing for a bird pokémon to do after a long flight, yet creating just enough movement to jolt Ash. With the trainer and the scenario combined, it was really no surprise when Ash lost his balance and crashed to the ground unceremoniously, landing more or less face first in the dirt.

For the following few seconds, everything seemed to freeze as those present absorbed the scene they were involved in. Then, as Ash had also predicted in this particular scenario, came the muffled sound of repressed laughter from not too far away. As always, that laughter belonged to the teen still steadily on his feet.

Hastily rolling over onto his back and scrambling to his feet, Ash quickly brushed himself off, trying to pretend that his face was any other shade that it's current beet red.

Once he was decently dusted, Ash shoved his hands in his pockets, looking anywhere but towards his former rival. "So," he coughed, "you, uh .. you ready?"

Gary, who was almost convulsing with poorly contained laughter, took the next full minute to steady his breathing, before taking a deep breath and managing to say, "Y - yeah. You?" Following his confirmation, he bit the inside of his cheeks in an attempt to prevent himself from laughing.

Ash, who could have passed out from the heat gathering in his face, cleared his throat. "Okay, so .. let's go." He said.

As if taking sympathy on his unfortunate rival, Gary recalled Fearow without a word, and clipped the poké ball back on his belt, all without tainting Ash about his infamous clumsiness. Although whether that had anything to do with his attempt to not laugh was left a mystery.

Noticing the silence that was creeping over them, Ash cleared his throat. "So, uh, what's the plan when we get to Pallet?" He inquired.

Gary, apparently trusting himself to speak properly, replied with, "Well, if we can get through Cerulean without attracting attention, we can go through Mt. Moon without having to worry about getting caught. Then I guess we'll wait until dark and use the cover to fly straight to Pallet." He looked up at his former rival. "Anything you'd like to add?"

Ash thought for a moment. "Well, what do we do when we get there? Won't Professor Oak just send us right back?"

Gary shook his head. "I doubt it. At least not at first, anyway. If this thing, or whatever it is, is near Pallet, then sending us back to Sinnoh will risk us being followed, so Gramps won't have much of a choice but to let us stay. At least for a while," he explained.

" .. I guess you've really thought this through, huh?" Ash said, rubbing the back of his head.

Gary shrugged. "I know my Gramps," was his simple reply.

Ash exhaled deeply. "Okay then .. what if we run into this thing?"

"I wouldn't think so." Gary said, starting to walk away in the direction of Cerulean. Ash noticed this a moment later, and quick ran to catch up with him. "As long as it doesn't find out we're heading back, I don't see any reason for it to leave Pallet."

Ash nodded slowly. "That makes sense, I guess .. "

Gary grunted. "Well, now that's all cleared up," he sent a pointed look towards the younger, "I just thought I'd give you a heads up - since you're no lighter on your feet than you were five years ago," Ash pouted at this, "if you get caught, then I'm leaving you behind."

Snapping his head towards his rival, Ash blanched, "What? Why?!"

Gary sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Because, I'm getting to Pallet one way or another, and if you're gonna put that at risk, whether it's intentional or not, then this partnership is over. If you'll recall, you're only here because you so blatantly blackmailed me, so you don't have anything that I require to make this journey easier. Hell, if you weren't here I'd probably be back by this evening."

Ash raised a skeptic eyebrow, feeling hurt at his rival's words. "So, why are letting me stay right now?"

"Because you wouldn't stand a chance alone. And with that thing out there wanting to kill you, I'd give it about five minutes before it finds you."

Now glaring at the researcher, Ash countered with, "I can take it!"

Gary suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression somewhere between annoyance and amusement. "Really? You'd take on some unknown, murderous beast head on, without a second plan should all else fail?" He inquired in an almost teasing manner. "Forgetting that it already took you down before, and the fact that you currently have five pokémon to back you up, what do you plan on doing if you lose?"

Ash opened his mouth to reply, before falling short of a possible retort. Seeing no way to win this argument, Ash simply turned away, silently fuming while his rival smirked.

"My thoughts exactly." He finished, resuming walking. Ash reluctantly followed, staying a few paces behind.

Intuition

Since arriving in Cerulean, an hour had passed slower than a Slugma could move, during which neither teen had said anything to one another. The moment their pointless, earlier conversation had come to an end, they'd both wordlessly chosen against attempting to converse with each other, preferring the silence.

Ash wasn't sure if he should feel insulted by his rival's lack of interest in him, or not.

Though either way, the matter was greatly overshadowed by the incessant rumbling of his stomach. It wasn't quite mid day yet, but it was still well past breakfast, and that gave him reason enough to complain. He thought so, at least.

"So hungry .. " Ash groaned, dragging his feet across the ground, doubled over in an attempt to quench the growing hunger pains in his mid region. "Need .. food .. "

On the other hand, Gary, who was keeping a steady pace a short distance in front of them, rolled his eyes at his rival's one track mind. It was right about now that he was sorely regretting his decision to sneak out the back way rather than take a chance and climb out his bedroom window. Maybe then he'd have avoided the burden of having his former rival as a travelling companion.

He sighed to himself at the younger's natural ability to make rash decisions. Hell, if Gary had just told him that they'd have to skip breakfast, Ash likely would have stayed put.

But then again, he probably still would have pulled out the blackmail, and they'd both still be in Sinnoh.

Rubbing his temples wearily, Gary decided that for now, he could at least focus on the positive of the situation. Even though he was stuck with Ash for Arceus knows how long, at least he was making - albeit slow - progress.

"Hey, Gary?"

The researcher let his arms fall to his sides. "What?" He asked.

"When're we gonna get lunch?"

A muscle above Gary's eye twitched in irritation. "I don't know," he spoke through gritted teeth. "You should have thought about that before we left."

Ash huffed softly. "How can you stand it?"

Gary turned slightly so that the younger was in his line of sight. "What?" He asked, "Being hungry?"

Ash nodded as his stomach growled again.

Smirking inwardly, Gary turned away before answering with, "Survival of the fittest, Ashy boy."

That did it.

"I'm not weak!" Ash insisted in near outrage, instantly straightening up and glaring at the back of Gary's head.

Gary chuckled to himself. Perhaps this way, the trip wouldn't seem so long ..

"Prove me wrong," he challenged.

Intuition

The minutes continued to pass uneventfully, and while his stomach refused to cease it's whining, Ash himself was, for once, following up on his rival's childish set challenge.

It was quite the miracle to behold.

But though Gary was subconsciously finding himself mildly impressed by this, it was obvious that Ash's sudden lack of communication didn't have much to do with any of their childhood reminest banters. Rather, Gary knew that his mind was already occupied by something much more serious.

Gary could see it. Hell, he could feel it; Ash was radiating such a dismyll aura of dread and despair so heavy and thick, a Parasect's Poison Powder would be easier to ignore in comparison.

The similarities of the two moments in time were increasingly becoming much more alike that Gary could manage; almost to the point that he wanted to yell as loud as he could force himself to, then turn around and throw himself off the cliff's edge.

With the thought in mind, Gary very nearly gave an involuntary shudder; as drastic as it sounded, he really couldn't bring himself to doubt the idea happening in reality.

Of course, during those tear filled nights when Gary would cry for his parents, those days when he would push everyone away, not caring how he hurt them, and the times when he rejected help from anyone who was willing, Gary knew that Delia alone could not have helped him recover. Even with his Gramps' and Daisy's help, he doubted things would have been different.

As much as he didn't care to acknowledge it, Gary knew that it was Ash who had been the one to help him through it all. It was Ash who had been the one to bring him out of his consuming depression, Ash who had held his hand during the times when Gary could do little more than just cry.

Ash who had been so darn persistent that Gary had physically exhausted himself in trying to find the non existent way to push him out of his life.

And yet ..

Gary sneaked a look at his once rival, who was so caught up in his own misery that Gary could have whacked him across the head and he wouldn't have noticed, and couldn't begin to find a reason to deny the slight pang of guilt currently manifesting in his chest.

He knew he should do something to help his friend out. Even a word of comfort or reassurance that things would work out sooner or later would suffice more than his silent presence.

But no. While Gary hated himself for it, he just couldn't. He wasn't someone to issue false hope, even if there was a fair chance things would work out for the best, and while now it seemed selfish not to ignore his pride in favour of doing something to cheer up his friend in need, in the end, Gary knew anything he did now would end up coming back to hurt him.

Sure, he could assure Ash that Delia would pull through, that Professor Oak was currently working on a sure fire way to make all this a thing of the past, but Gary just knew - he knew that eventually, things wouldn't work out. Delia would meet her end, innocent people would be killed, and whatever this beast wanted, it would get. And Ash would be worse off than if Gary hadn't comforted him.

Maybe it didn't make much sense, but Gary had enough experience on the matter through his life to know that whatever positive thing he had to say, soon enough the exact opposite would happen. Like during the time Ash was upset because his dad had left, and Gary had assured him that he would come back. And he never did.

Sure, it sounded like the obvious thing, but Gary just couldn't forget the constant look of hope on his young friend's face, how he would run to the front door the moment he heard a knock. But soon enough, Gary became painfully aware of the fact that Ash's father was never coming home. And the slowly decreasing hope in Ash hurt Gary worse than he could have ever thought possible.

Ash's once shining hope had come crashing down, causing him the pain Gary had felt so many years ago. The pain that still lingered, refusing to go away.

And Gary just couldn't bear it. He could make things better now, but ultimately, it would make things all the more worse later.

He always did.

"Hey, Gary?"

The sudden, soft break of the silence prised Gary from his musings, and he looked over to see Ash giving him a bemused looked. The older grunted to show his attention was on the younger.

"D'you .. " Ash hesitated for a moment, biting his bottom lip. Gary almost wished he'd started some type of argument to keep Ash out of his inner thoughts. " .. you don't think mom will really .. die?"

Gary stopped right where he was, his emerald eyes locked onto Ash's sienna. "Why are you asking me that?" He was honestly a little unnerved by how blunt Ash was being right now. Not to mention his choice of question.

Looking as uncomfortable as Gary felt, Ash just shrugged. "Just .. wondering, that's all."

At this, Gary felt a shiver work it's way down his spine. Right now, Ash looked so .. vulnerable, so different from the brash, overconfident trainer Gary knew. It was almost creepy.

He placed a hand on the raven haired boy's shoulder. "Ash .. " He started, wanting to be honest with him. "Gramps said her injuries weren't so bad. And if I know your mom, then she's not going down so easily."

Ash looked up at his rival with a mixture of confusion and distrust. "But, what if - " He suddenly jolted when Gary's grip on his shoulder increased to an almost painful hold.

"She's not going to die." Gary said firmly. "Screw what happens, she won't leave you."

Ash just stared, unsure of how to react. The hesitance lingered in his eyes, which Gary noticed seemed to be holding more moisture than usual; the first notable sign of tears before they fell.

Directly, it wasn't his fault, but Gary felt like kicking himself. He'd rather be forced to listen to Ash's incessant whining than risk being near him when the water works started. Ash may have been the more sensitive of the two, but he could usually hold on to his emotions. Still, when he started and the tears began to fall, he wouldn't be stopping any time soon.

The researcher sighed, resisting the urge to run a hand through his hair. "Just .. don't think about it right now," he said, his tone taking on a gentle tone that was so rare to him. "Worrying about all the bad things isn't going to help. Let's just get back to Pallet, and then we'll focus on that, okay?"

Ash was hesitant; that much was obvious. He seemed to be physically debating whether or not to bite his lower lip, while mentally, he was thinking everything through. Emotionally .. Gary couldn't be sure, but it wasn't a healthy choice.

Ash was scared, and his body language showed it. It was just a matter of whether or not Gary noticed the signs, however subtle they may be.

Eventually, he gathered enough strength to break the silence, yet he had barely begun his sentence, Gary suddenly jolted forward, instantly moving at twice the speed he usually would, grabbing hold of Ash's upper arm and holding it in a vice grip. Ash's yelp of shock never passed his lips, as Gary's other hand was quick to clamp down on the trainer's mouth, muffling any sound he could make.

"Shh!" Gary hissed, roughly pulling Ash off the pathway and into the thicket of bushes. Had he not collided with Gary's form, Ash would have found himself crashing to the ground - again.

The sudden collision didn't faze Gary, who kept hold of Ash, pressing him against a nearby tree and keeping them both out of sight from any non existent passerby.

Had Ash been able to speak, he would have questioned what the hell Gary was doing, but his rival was tense and still, his eyes looking away from Ash, but clearly unseeing, while his hand remained where it was, the pressure beginning to edge over to pain. So much so that Ash struggled in his limited space, his own hands trying to prise Gary's from his face, his screams of protest muffled, but audible.

"Just shut up, would ya?" Gary suddenly snapped quietly, so only Ash could hear.

Sensing the rarely used urgency in his rival's tone, Ash, wanting to survive the day in one piece, chose to obey his former rival for once, ceasing all movement and sound. Instead, he studied Gary, who seemed to be anticipating something. Though what it was, Ash couldn't begin to fathom. Instead, his attention was spiked as he noticed how the space between him and Gary was gradually falling from existence, while the researcher seemed not to care.

Once again, a handful of minutes passed with nothing to show for it, and all tension gradually left Gary's body, seemingly reassuring him so that he slowly removed his hand, restoring Ash's ability to speak, which the trainer immediately put to use;

"Gary, what was that for?" He half demanded in a hushed whisper.

The researcher, though less tense by a very reasonable ammount, had yet to put his guard down, continuing to search his line of sight, limited by the greenery, cautiously. "I thought I heard something," he said.

"Like what?" Ash couldn't keep himself from asking.

"A trainer," Gary said simply, then continued his explanation just as Ash had opened his mouth to inquire further, "Someone's definitely training nearby; I heard them tell their pokémon to use Hydro Pump."

Ash frowned, confusion filling him at the statement. He couldn't recall hearing anything himself, though Gary did tend to have the senses of an Absol at times. Even so, he strained his ears, trying to hear any sound from the apparent mystery trainer.

Eventually, when no voice from either a human, nor a pokémon was heard, he stated, "I don't hear anything," earning him an exasperated sigh from the researcher.

"Obviously you wouldn't if you keep talking," Gary whispered harshly, the volume of his voice reminding Ash to keep his own voice down.

"Do you still hear them?" He inquired, his voice hushed.

His movements slow, Gary shook his head, but just as his lips parted for him to speak, the silence was shattered by a distant, "Flamethrower, Gyarados!" somewhere from behind Ash.

Both teens stared sharply towards the said direction, the distinct roar of the pokémon following the clearly spoken command.

"I definitely heard that," Ash spoke unneccesarily, his eyes wide from the sudden exclaimations.

Gary, on the other hand, let go of Ash and stepped back onto the path. "It doesn't sound like a battle," he said, "so let's keep moving, then they probably won't know we were ever here."

Ash gave no verbal reply, instead nodding as he waded his way through the thick grass, back onto the gravel pathway. Gary held onto his wrist, leading Ash along and moving them both stealthily away from the apparent training session, staying in the cover of the trees, yet close enough to the path to watch for any passersby.

Both teens stayed silent, even their breathing being forcably muted to a lower level. Ash kept up with Gary's rapid pace, staying as close as he could without causing any inconvenience.

Emerald eyes were narrowed and hardened in determination as Gary maneuvoured through the greenery, moving with such fluent movements, one would be sure he could find his way through Cerulean Cape blindfolded.

But eventually, he froze in mid action, the sharp lack of movement almost causing Ash to collide with him, but thankfully he managed to catch himself at the last moment.

"Whoa, Gary, warn me next time!" Ash exclaimed, though remembering to keep his voice hushed, loud enough only for Gary to hear. But when the researcher showed no signs of offering a reply, he questioned, "Why'd you stop?"

Had Ash not been looking, he would have missed seeing Gary give a subtle shake of his head, emerald eyes calculating.

"Gary?" The trainer repeated, his gaze following his former rival's, but noticing nothing. "Did you hear something?"

But before Gary could reply, a voice suddenly cut through the heavy silence, making Ash's heart stutter. Though it wasn't for the sudden noise, but rather the fact that he recognised it all too well.

"I've found nothing yet, sir," the voice announced to a second person. "Are you sure they've yet to cross through here?"

Of all the people to encounter, they had to come across Officer Jenny.

"Seems most likely," said the second person. "But even if those two don't arrive here, we're not running the risk of letting them slip through. Keep a sharp eye out, understood?"

"Yes sir," Jenny replied. "I have Arcanine trailing the area, so we won't miss their scent. Should I update the professor?"

"There's no point at this stage," the other dismissed. "Until the next hour, or if there's any change, we should focus on the search."

"Understood."

The conversation was promptly ended, and the sound of two sets of feet walking in opposite directions gradually faded out into nothing.

"Shit!" Gary hissed under his breath.

"Does that mean they're looking for us?" Ash questioned, though he was already certain of the answer.

"Seems like it," Gary responded, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. "This is just great .. "

Ash frowned in thought. "We can still get there, right? We got this far, and - "

"The situation has changed a little, Ash," Gary snapped back, his voice still quiet. "We didn't need to avoid anyone while in the skies, did we?"

"So what?" Ash retorted. "Are you giving up now?"

Gary's expression darkened. "Absolutely not," he said firmly. "But do you see any way out of this little predicament?"

Normally, Ash would have yelled back the first thing that came into his head, but just as he'd opened his mouth to speak, another voice cut him off.

"Hey, did you hear something?"

Both teens froze, their heads snapping towards the sudden sound.

"I think so .. are there any trainers around here?" A second voice inquired.

"Just a few. Only those with permission are allowed up here right now, and they're mostly up at the lake."

"Hmm .. it might have been a pokémon, but I'm not risking it."

The micro second the statement was finished, a blast of light burst through the thicket of leaves, immediately followed by a sound Gary knew well.

"Shit," he hissed, dashing in the direction they had just come, never letting go of Ash. "We have to move!"

"What do you - ah!" Ash yelped, narrowly avoiding being struck across the face with a branch that, to him, appeared out of nowhere.

"Just run!" Gary half shouted, his grip tightening to the point that his nails were beginning to dig into Ash's skin.

While Ash would have questioned it, an almost echoing howl shook the area, the sound dying out to make way for the sound of heavy, rapid footsteps. Something was on their trail, and it was catching up fast.

Out of instinct, Ash turned his head slightly to see what was gaining on them, only for Gary to sharply change direction, making them both stumble through Ash's lack of attention. The very action was what caused the ground to disappear beneath their feet.

His head spinning, all reasonable thought in Ash's mind was hard to grasp as he was quickly thrown off balance, falling to what would have been the hard, grassy covered earth, but instead tumbling down the muddy slope Gary had been aiming to avoid. And having been holding on to his former rival, Gary had little time to react before he fell after Ash, the both of them falling unceremoniously down the slope, which seemed almost unending from their point of view.

At least until they both broke through the surface of what couldn't be anything other than a lake. A deep one, at that, as both were completely submerged before they could draw in a breath.

Cool, stinging saltiness of the water obscered Ash's vision, through which he could see nothing but the transparent depths that surrounded him.

Blinking rapidly in a futile attempt to clear his vision, Ash looked around wildly, the shock and suddeness of the situation having scrambled his mind enough so that it was hard to tell up from down. His gaze almost immediately fell upon Gary who, from what Ash could make out through his blurred sight, looked nearly as confused as Ash felt.

The need for oxygen was becoming much more prominent as the seconds ticked past, and Ash immediately scrambled for the surface, knowing where it was only because he was following Gary's lead. But as the bright surface became ever closer with each stroke of his arm and kick of his leg, just as the very tips of his fingers grazed the warm air above, a sudden force gushed past somewhere beneath the water. The strength of the motion seemed to grasp hold of Ash, dragging him back down into the watery depths.

A gurgled yelp escaped Ash's mouth, the sound muffled by water and coming out as little more than an air bubble, depleiting his already low air supply. He felt his arms flail about against his will, his chest tightening and his lungs already suffering from the dry burn.

Forcing his aching body to move, he tried to swim. Up, down, he didn't know. He just needed to move, the momentary panic of drowning cancelling out all rational thought, while his vision became dotted with black. But those panic stricken thoughts were quickly dashed themselves when Ash felt something circle round his waist, pressing his back against something as water continued to rage around him.

His body was struggling, fighting to draw in oxygen that was not obtainable. He pressed his lips tightly shut, willing himself not to fill his suffering lungs with a substance that would swiftly kill him.

He wouldn't. He couldn't. He ..

.. broke through the surface of the lake the very moment his self control caved in. Fresh, addictive air filled Ash's senses as he inhaled deeply, gulping down the almost sweet tasting oxygen.

Beside him, he heard sounds nearly in sync with his own, the obvious notes of someone other than himself struggling to catch their breath.

Whatever had been around his waist lingered, and as his heart slowed down, breathing becoming easier, Ash managed to prise his eyes open, looking down. Someone's arm, latched firmly around him, and he trailed his along to whomever it was attached to, it wasn't long before his own sienna eyes met a pair of disoriented emerald.

"G - Gary - ?" The trainer couldn't help but splutter through a series of quite painful coughs. While Gary himself seemed about as close to full recovery as Ash had been roughly ten seconds ago, his eyes blinked rapidly, trying to focus.

"Ash?" He spoke, his voice sounding strange through Ash's water logged ears. "What are you doing here?" Despite the absurdity of the question, it wasn't why Ash stared. Either he was developing psychic powers, or Gary had learn to speak without moving his lips. "Ash?" As well as sounding .. feminine?

Those emerald eyes no longer focused on Ash, instead squinting at something behind the trainer. Following his gaze, Ash turned around, the action awkward due to floating in a lake with only a disoriented researcher as means of support. But still, the feet was managed. Yet what Ash saw definitely wasn't something he was prepared for. Or someone to be more accurate.

"Ash?" The voice asked again, only this time the source was recognisable. And as the floating colours that made up Ash's vision finally shifted into place, he couldn't stop his eyes from widening as surprise filled him.

A pair of jade eyes stared back into his own, the face on which they adorned framed by silky waves of fiery hair. The sight was enough to make Ash's voice function.

" .. Misty?"

Author's Note: It was an Arcanine - that's what they were running from. It's just easier to say it outright in an author's note, haha. Also, more build up; how thrilling. Anti-climatic, but I'm setting the stage for a little later on. Also, it's short, but it just seemed like a good place to cut it off. Or I'm just that lazy :P

So .. nothing more to say here, so I guess all I can say is I hope you enjoy!