Hey again guys,

I read your reviews and thought about it. I had already realised that the romance was taking over a bit, so this is mainly a filler chapter. It's the shortest there's been for a long time. The next one will have a lot more action in, and I'm turning down the romance after this for a while.

Anywho, enjoy!

Chapter 12- False Confession

It was only when Ash thought about it, did it make him upset more. It made him want to crawl up and cry but he knew that wouldn't help. He wanted to be strong for his mother and make her proud. Her death would not be in vain. He hadn't even had time to call her and warn her about the legendaries before they had attacked her but he still blamed himself. He was the champion and was supposed to protect his family and friends. He felt like he was doing a bad job of both. Lyra and Cory would be in Johto now fighting Ho-Oh and he was just sitting here next to a sleeping May on his shoulder. They weren't answering their PokeGears either.

Sure, Ash's mother was dead, but he was going to show her how strong he could be. He was going to beat these legendaries, for her.

Suddenly, his phone rang and May jolted up beside him. He checked the screen, it was Misty. It was also 2 am.

" Why is Misty ringing this early? "

He answered it and she was already crying.

" Misty? What's wrong? " Ash stood up.

" Ash I'm so scared! " She screamed down the phone making Ash tense up.

" Why Misty? "

" I was stuck on Mount Coronet, the top! And Paul... " She trailed off and began wailing loudly to herself.

" What about Paul? Misty! " Ash shouted. May was eager to know what was going on.

" I think he's dead! " She screamed louder than before, but it was more like an animals cry. Ash stood dead still for a moment, fear and sadness flooding over him, he dropped the phone on the grass but stayed in the same position.

" Ash? What happened? Talk to me Ash? " May shook him. He ignored her and closed his eyes. He pushed her lightly out of the way and ran into the gym, leaving the phone on the ground.

When Ash got inside of the gym he started crying. He cried for his mother, Paul, Lyra and all the other people that were going to be hurt because of him. Now three people were dead because of him. Because he'd failed to protect them like he thought he should of. It was just so hard to know when and where they were going to attack. Ash decided he wasn't going to let anyone get hurt because of him.

He came to the room he was staying in and flopped down on the bed, falling straight asleep and dreaming, not about May like he had been before but about his mother and Paul.

In Sinnoh

Misty finally stopped crying and descended the mountain slowly. She was deadly silent and never took her eyes away from the road infront of her. She would kick pebbles off the side of the road infront and hold onto the wall for balance but that was all she did. It was dark but the moon lit up the road infront enough for her to walk down it. She'd cried all the tears she could muster up, even though she had only just become closer to Paul. She couldn't even feel any anger for Rayquaza, she was just too tired for all of that now.

She reached the bottom of the mountain and jumped off of a small ledge onto the grass and almost collapsed from exhaustion. It was late now and Misty was cold, hungry and tired. She was upset and confused too.

When Misty pulled herself together she began to travel around the mountain. It must have been 5am and it would take her days to circle the whole mountain. She didn't care, she just wanted to find Paul because she had hope for him and his survival.

Misty was wrong though, Paul was closer to her than she thought. He was just half a mile from where she was standing. It took her just half an hour to jog to where he lay.

" Please, Paul. " Misty shook him but she got no response. " No... " She whispered, and started crying again. She'd never seen anyone die before.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Ash's number again.

" Hey, Ash. " She sniffed loudly.

" Yeah, Misty? Are you ok? Is he ok? " He asked desperately.

" I got to the bottom of the mountain and I've found Paul. " She struggled to hold back the tears.

" And...? "

" He's dead. What do I do? "

In Kanto

Brock and Gary were in Professor Oak's labratory, planning out what they were going to do next. They had realised, due to calling friends, that Moltres was headed their way, possibly Articuno and Zapdos too. Professor Oak had more than enough Pokemon to hold off one or two of them, but if all the showed up... Gary wasn't sure they'd manage.

" Wait a second Gary, I've got a text. "

Brock flipped out his phone and stared at it's screen for a moment.

" What is it Brock? "

" There's going to be a funeral, probably for Ash's mom. Ash is just not sure where to have it. "

" I feel real sorry for Ash. I liked Delia myself. " Gary frowned. " But, we can't have the funeral here if Moltres is going to show up. "

" I'll ring Ash. " Brock dialed and waited.

" Hey Ash... About that funeral for your mom... What? Who?... This is no time for jokes Ash! ... No way... I'm so sorry, I'll tell Gary... Hoenn? Okay, we'll be there. " Brock hung up. His face was twisted like he was going to cry, but he didn't.

" What is it Brock? "

" One of Ash's good Sinnoh friends was killed and they're having a funeral in Hoenn, everyones going, even if they don't know him. " Brock mumbled.

" Oh... Poor Ash. " Gary said in a pathetic ' trying-to-sound-sorry ' tone.

" He sure does have a lot to deal with... " Brock fiddled with his pencil as the conversation suddenly became awkward.

" Well.. so do we. Now about Moltres... " And they continued their work like nothing had happened.

One Week Later in Hoenn

Everyone had gathered in the graveyard of the church as the funeral dragged on. Paul and Delia were buried already and everyone was apologizing to Ash about his loss. He really just wished they'd go away. He didn't want to cry again and it was already hard to fight the tears.

One person that didn't care was Dawn. She'd been crying the whole way through, loudly too. Ash couldn't understand why. Misty could.

May and Misty had been silent the whole way through but they looked upset.

It was at the end of the funeral when everyone gathered and saw each other for the first time in a while. Nobody said anything for a while. Lyra and Cory were here, so Ash knew that they either beat Ho-Oh or it didn't actually go there at all. Dawn was still trying to dry her tears and get over the fact that they were dead. It was mostly Paul she cared about though and she knew that sounded horrible and cruel but it was truth. Dawn had cared for Paul more than she thought she had. She only realised when Misty sent her that picture of her and Paul kissing under the tree. She realised that she loved him. Ash was just a crush, kind of. Sure, she still liked him but only as a friend. Dawn had plans. Plans for confessing to Paul once everything was over. Now she would never get to tell him how she felt and always would feel. Dawn was never really going to get over the fact that he was gone.

" Ash, I'm so sorry.. " Lyra broke the silence.

" It's OK, Lyra. " Ash looked at her and tried to smile. His mother wouldn't of wanted him to be upset like he was, but more happy like he was with May.

" Are you okay, Dawn? " Someone said from behind her. No one saw the figure and Ash didn't recognize the voice. May, however, stood deadly still, frozen on the spot.

" It can't be... Please don't be... " May muttered. Ash heard her and turned to ask her who it was. He didn't get time to because he revealed himself, smiling at Dawn.

It was Drew.

" Uhh.. Yeah. I'm fine. " She blinked a few times as if she couldn't believe he was there. May was standing behind Ash as if there were something he needed to protect her from.

" May, how've you been? " Drew tossed a rose and she caught it. Ash was upset for a moment but he couldn't figure out why.

" I heard about your mom and Paul Ash. I'm real sorry. " Drew sounded sincere, but Ash still didn't like the way he said it. Infact, Ash didn't like Drew at all. He stayed silent and didn't answer. They stared at each other with angry glares for a moment or two.

" What are you doing here? " May spoke softly and held the rose in two hands, making Ash mad, but not really mad.

" I heard about all of this and decided to check on my gorgeous May. " Drew smirked at Ash once he finished his sentence. Ash wanted to step forward and tell him how he really felt but he stopped himself in time.

" Don't start this rubbish Drew. " May threw the rose on the grass. " And leave me alone, I don't want to see you. " She shouted. Everyone else just stared at the scene infront of them like it was a drama movie. " Let's go Ash! " May grabbed Ash by the arm and dragged him off. Ash looked back, just to see Drew's angry face before he turned around to Dawn, and Ash turned to May.

" That was weird. " Lyra spat out, before being pinched hard by Cory and letting out a sharp but quiet ' Ow! '.

" Hey Dawny, can I talk to you in private? " Drew gave Dawn a rose too.

" Yeah, why not. " So she and Drew walked over to one of the benches by the church.

" What did you want to talk about Drew? " Dawn asked as she flopped down lazily on the bench. All the crying had worn her out.

" It's actually about May... " Drew trailed off and looked away.

" What about May? " Dawn hissed out the word May as if it was forbidden.

" How close is she to Ash? " Drew spat out. Dawn was confused as to why Drew would want to know or care. Dawn had to think about her answer for a while but it was pretty obvious.

" They've gone from just met each other, to best friends, to living together. To be honest, I think somethings growing between them. I'm destined to be with Ash, it's hard to explain. I've grown to care less about what he does and I'm happy that he's finally found someone to help him understand about all of...that stuff. Of course, with all the deaths Ash won't have that on his mind right now. " Dawn stopped but Drew looked at her like he was waiting for more, so she continued. " Paul told me that Ash had almost kissed May on the ship but they stopped themselves. I don't think it's love yet, I think it's just a crush or less. I don't expect much to come of it. They're just very good friends now I think. "

" Destined to be together? Oh! The legend, I've heard it. Just like me and May were destined to be together. "

" Wait, what? " Dawn struggled to keep up.

" I'll make you a deal. " Drew smiled almost eerily at Dawn, and the two began talking business...

Dawn almost forgot about Paul.

With Ash and May

May had dragged Ash out of the churchyard and onto the path outside. Ash didn't mind if they left anyway, there was too much pain to feel in there. There was too much pain anywhere. May and Ash were leaving.

They walked in silence for a while, just thinking about everything that had happened.

Ash's phone went off again.

" Are you gonna get that? " May asked him.

" It's just a text. " Ash opened it and read it. I was from Dawn.

You left before I could tell you something.

I'm afraid we'll lose contact again once I go to Sinnoh with Misty, so I wanted to tell you today.

Even though it's a bad day for it...

Dawn x

May was thinking about leaning over and peeking at the text but she realised it was rude and decided not to try it. Ash quickly texted a reply. He was eager to know what she needed to tell him.

You can just tell me via phone if you like.

And we won't lose contact, I promise.

Ash x

Ash hesitated before the ' x ' at the end, but he added it because she had. It was just a friendly gesture really.

Don't laugh at me for this Ash... but...

I love you.

The text didn't say Dawn at the end, as if she'd wanted to get the text away as quick as possible. The text made Ash stop in his tracks for a moment and May to follow suit. Love was such a strong word and Ash had never thought about it before. Did he love Dawn too?

" What's wrong, Ash? " May asked. Ash turned his phone so that May could read the text he had just been sent. It even made her speechless. What she really wanted to know was; Did he love her back?

The phone sounded again. Dawn had sent another text.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could maybe try being girlfriend and boyfriend?

Dawn xxx

The ' Dawn ' was back at the end of her text now and she had added ' xxx ' at the end instead of one x.

Dawn had said ' try ' and this got Ash thinking. What if he were to say yes and try it. Maybe he did love Dawn and didn't realise it. Ash decided his answer.

Of course, Dawn.

Ash xxx

It was all Ash could think of. It felt strange to say he wasn't single anymore. It actually felt kind of nice. Of course, none of this erased the pain his mother and Paul's death had caused.

" What's going on? " May asked again and Ash showed her the other text Dawn had sent. May was suddenly full of worry, because she knew he'd answered her. She just didn't know what he'd said. " Did you say yes? " May looked up at him. He just nodded in reply. She wanted to crawl up and cry.

With Dawn and Drew

" He said yes, Drew. " Dawn frowned. She felt bad cheating Ash this way when he had just lost his mother and a good friend. Drew was more than happy though.

" Yes! Now May is definately available! " He cheered. " Thank you Dawn. Have fun with Ash. " Drew winked.

Watching from far away but still able to see what was going on, Dialga smiled happily and returned to it's companions to spread the news.

And that concludes Chapter 12, the shortie. The next one will definately be longer and...

Dawn and Ash are dating!

Again; Tell me if you like Third of First person better in these chapters. It's real helpful.

Thank you!