Haha! I'm staying somewhat steady with updates again... (Let's see how long it will last this time around...)
Chapter twenty-nine guys! I can't believe I'm nearly to chapter thirty on this story! And the story will be two years old in less than a month... Wow. Thank you for all the support you guys have given this story!
We finally get to see what's going on with Max in this chapter (I didn't mean for it to take so long to get to his POV...) There will also be some of Charizard's POV at the end of this chapter, we'll be seeing how he handles what happened to Ash...
Anyways, enjoy this chapter!
"G-g-gible..." The small Gible whimpered, nudging a limp form in the snow, "Gible gib!"
Though Max didn't feel the chill, he could have shivered at the sight that was laid before him. A howling mountain side, draped in deep white snow. The sky was blanketed in gray clouds, blocking any possible warmth the sun could have provided in the harsh winter. The wind whipped up and about the mountain, scattering the snow that was falling.
Max looked around, this dream felt off, very off. Everything looked too real, too vivid for just a simple dream. He could hear the roaring wind, and the crunch of the hardened snow as the Gible pranced around nervously. The ragged breaths from the human lying helpless in the snow sounded so real that Max tried to take a step forward in his concern, but he found that he couldn't move. He tried to let out a yelp of surprise, but he found that he had no voice. He could look around that the area that surrounded him, but nothing more than that.
The Gible tugged on the human's arm, which was covered by a simple sweatshirt. The human was not prepared for this kind of weather, with only worn sneakers and fingerless gloves covering his hands and feet. His messy raven black hair was covered in frost, and the tips of his fingers were a bright red. He shifted and sank further into the deep snow as the Gible stopped tugging, revealing that his face was also bright red, approaching the first stages of frostbite. Max couldn't make out much more of the boy's face though, not with the snow coming down so harshly.
The Gible was no better off, as a dragon and ground type he was not suited for the icy climate. The Gible paused, as if considering something, then sank his fangs right into the exposed skin on his trainer's wrist.
The human barely twitched.
"Gib..." The Gible whimpered, shivering. It was a miracle he wasn't fainted in the snow next to his trainer. The dragon type hopped closer to the human, poking his nose under the human's sweatshirt. After a moment he withdrew, a Pokeball in his mouth. For a horrible moment Max thought the Gible was going to save himself and leave his trainer alone by returning to his Pokeball, but instead he set the sphere on top of the snow, pressing the button with his small stubby arms, releasing whatever laid inside it.
"Gren?" The Greninja asked as it materialized from the white light. The Greninja looked around, confused, rubbing its arms to keep warm. It looked down at the Gible, as if it had never seen it before.
"Gible gib!" The Gible cried, pointing desperately towards its fallen trainer. The Greninja looked down, eyes widening in horror as he saw the fallen boy. He ran over to the boy's side, shaking him, but only got a small groan as a reply. The Greninja whipped around, a glowing knife-like beam of energy forming in his webbed hands. He pointed the Cut attack right at the Gible, as if demanding to know what happened to the boy.
The Gible shivered, and let out a series of cries that Max couldn't understand. After a moment of the dragon type shakily explaining what had happened the Cut attack faded, and the Greninja nodded in a mournful understanding. He slipped his arms under his trainer, hauling the boy up. The Greninja struggled, but eventually managed to support the boy with his slender form. He glanced at the Gible, who waved his small arms up towards the mountainside. The Greninja stared up the slope, a weary look crossing his face, but started to drag the boy up the icy incline.
Max watched in confusion, wouldn't it be easier to find shelter further down? Or just dig a shelter in the snow, it was deep enough to do so. But his logic was shrugged off by the strangely realistic dream, and he was forced to watch the poor Greninja haul his trainer that was as tall as him up a cold, snowy mountain.
The Gible wasn't unburdened either. He stumbled over to where the boy had been lying, picking up fallen branches and twigs that the boy must have been carrying. He placed the sticks in his large mouth, and held the Greninja's Pokeball in one of his small hands, then stumbled up after the Greninja.
After what seemed like ages to Max, and probably to the Pokemon as well, the Gible let out a muffled call to the Greninja as they reached a flatter outcropping on the mountain. Greninja was breathing heavily, eyes tired and unfocused as he looked at the Gible, who was pointing towards the mountain. He waddled over to it, dropping the sticks in his mouth and the Pokeball from his hand. He went up to an icy part of the mountain side, his little hand glowing in orange energy with Rock Smash, and he slammed it against the icy side. It shattered, revealing a cave behind the ice. The Greninja dragged the boy into it, as the Gible quick regathered the sticks and the Pokeball.
The cave seemed to be no warmer than the outside, but it was dry and wind free. There was a small glow coming from deeper within the cave, and a deep growl as the Greninja dropped the boy onto the rocky floor.
The Charizard let out another snarl as the Greninja turned, then quickly picked the boy back up. The Charizard had a sharp, angry look in his eyes as the Greninja brought the boy near him. Gible was waddling up behind him, and dropped all of the sticks and branches at the Charizard's feet. The fire type gave the small pile of wood a snort, then snatched the boy from the Greninja, gently laying him on the earth.
A small Servine came slithering out from behind the Charizard, hurrying up to the boy. She watched him for a moment, then quickly set to work getting the wet and cold clothes off from him. The Charizard swung his tail around, letting the small flame on the end of it attempt to warm the boy. As the Servine finally got the sweatshirt off of the boy, Max was able to get his first good look at him.
Ash.
Max would have jumped back in surprise if he could, but he was a prisoner to this dream and couldn't move. Ash's eyes were closed, frozen shut with his own tears. His lips were cracked and small white puffs of air drifted from his nostrils, the only real sign that he was alive. His face was a bright red, and the tips of his ears pale. Frost and snow were beginning to melt from his hair and face as the Charizard brought his tail closer.
"Gible gib!" The Gible cried, pointing to the branches he had brought up. The Charizard looked down at them, then released a small Flamethrower, setting them ablaze. All the Pokemon pressed closer to the makeshift campfire, knowing it wouldn't last long.
"Ser!" The Servine huffed, setting Ash's wet shirt aside. She set them close to the fire, trying to dry them, then scurried over to a bag. She pulled out a small worn blanket, draping it over the Ash as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Ch-charizard...?" He muttered, and the lizard brought him into a tight embrace, "H-how did I get back here...?" His voice was weak, and he looked around the cave, then into the small fire. He sighed, "There is nothing out there guys... No trees, the snow buried all the bushes or anything that could possibly be fuel..." He started coughing, "No food, we should have stopped farther down the mountain, before this winter storm locked us in."
"Vine!" Servine chirped in agreement, fishing out a water bottle from the bag, handing it to Ash.
Ash took a small sip, then set it aside without much thought, "The mountain pass is blocked off, we're snowed in. The only way out of here is flying, and we can't do that because of the storm, and Charizard isn't fully healed yet," He looked at the lizard, who snorted. Max then noticed that despite the lizard's fierce attitude, it was injured. The flame on his tail was low, a sign that he was weak, and half-patched wounds covered his scarred body. Ash settled his eyes on Greninja.
"Nin," The Greninja said, raising a webbed hand weakly. Ash looked down at his belt, and Gible waddled up to Ash, handing him the Greninja's Pokeball.
"I see," Ash said, "You let out G-greninja to get me back here. That means I have f-five Pokemon out, since Rotom isn't technically caught yet. And Elgyem is still in her coma..." Ash shivered, trying to think, "I can have one more Pokemon out until that six limit rule hits us, even though we have all the P-pokeballs... Rotom is trying to find a way around it, but..."
"Ja!" Greninja cried.
"Heh, don't worry bud..." Ash muttered weakly, "You're one of the ones I planned on releasing in an emergency, that's why you were on my Pokebelt... And blacking out in a snowstorm is an emergency, so yeah..." Ash wrapped the blanket around him tightly, "Don't worry guys, if worse comes to worse I'll stick you back in your Pokeballs, you'll be in suspended animation until released, you'll survive if I can't make it through this winter..."
All the Pokemon let out cries of protest, and the Charizard let out a low snarl.
Ash ignored them, "And perhaps somebody will find you one day then... Or Rotom could go for help," He tapped his Poketch, "Or if Elgyem ever comes out of the coma she could teleport your Pokeballs away... since she knows how to release herself from her Pokeball..." Ash's eyes were getting heavy as the small fire started to die down, "I'm pretty tired guys... I'm sorry I dragged you into this..." He blinked for a moment, leaning against Charizard.
Max only stared as he watched Ash drift off. There was no look of a killer in his eyes, or of a crazed individual. He only saw a helpless person that wasn't afraid to acknowledge that he was at the end of his rope. Max found himself trying to make sense of the dream, only for the mountain cave to melt away, and another scene to unfold before him.
Like before it featured Ash, but this time they were no longer on the icy Sinnoh mountain, but in a grove of trees with a light drizzle. It seemed to be during an earlier time than the last one, since the Servine was now a Snivy, and blood was streaming from Ash's leg, which was in a makeshift splint. Ash stumbled about, quickly shouting orders to his small Snivy.
The said Snivy was in a battle with a fierce-looking Jolteon, struggling to keep up with the well-trained electric type, and a Double Edge knocked the worn grass type to the ground. The Jolteon sprang after the Snivy with a victorious snarl, delivering a powerful Double Kick to her head with his hind legs. The sharp blows made her collapse, and Ash desperately called after her. The Snivy didn't move, and there was no sign of Charizard or any other Pokemon to come to Ash's aid. The Jolteon then turned towards Ash, firing a powerful Thunder attack at the wounded boy. Max watched in surprise as an Officer Jenny approached a fallen Ash- killer or not she had no right to attack somebody that harshly when they were wounded! The Jolteon stood at her side as she glared down at Ash.
"You're a monster!" Ash coughed as the Officer Jenny pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Max noticed at Ash's face and fingertips were tinted a dull purple- a sign that he was poisoned, "Setting me and Charizard to suffer like that!" Ash glared up at her angrily, but he seemed to weak to do anything.
"The only monster here is you Ash," The officer replied, sneering, "Jolteon, give him another Thunder."
Disbelief ran through Max as he watched the electric type attack Ash while he was already down. Dream or not, anger pounded through Max, this was the police! They were supposed to be just and fair! This was an abuse of power! Max tried to calm himself, reminding himself that this was a dream, and that he had met many honorable police officers in his lifetime, not all were like this dream Jenny.
But attacking Ash seemed to be Jenny's mistake, because a bright glow engulfed the clearing as Ash was hit with the second Thunder. The Jolteon paused, fur sparking as he turned in time to see a glowing Snivy pushed herself to her feet. She let out a hiss, growing in size as the light of evolution took hold of her weakened body. The glow soon faded, and a very angry Servine was in the place of the Snivy. A loud chirp escaped her, and she charged forward, quickly finishing off the Jolteon, who was still stunned at the sudden evolution. The grass type wheeled around to face Jenny as her fallen opponent was recalled. The police officer pulled out another Pokeball, only for the Servine to knock it away from her hand with an attack and an angry hiss. The Pokemon slunk around the officer, letting out low protective noises.
Officer Jenny glared at the Servine, but looked nervous without any Pokemon herself. Servine smirked, but then the officer whipped out her gun, aiming it right at the Servine's head. Max didn't even have time to react as the trigger was pulled, but Ash had sprang forward with a desperate cry, knocking the policewoman to the ground despite his injuries. The bullet soared through the air, hitting the Servine's tail instead of her head. Servine let out a cry as the bullet tore through her tail-leaf, and Officer Jenny threw Ash off of her. Jenny quickly re-aimed the gun, only for Servine to spring up and knock the gun out of her hand. Now weaponless and with no Pokemon, Jenny was powerless as Servine delivered a powerful Leaf Blade to the back of the officer's head, knocking her out cold.
The Servine landed, huffing as the officer went still, adrenaline from her evolution and the battle still rushing through her. She raised her head, gaze softening as he saw Ash rolling on the ground in his pain.
Servine ran over to check on her trainer, just as the scene melted away. Max sat in the emptiness for a moment, wondering what was coming next. This wasn't a dream- dreams weren't this vivid, this realistic. Dreams didn't have every last detail. What he just saw had to be when Ash was nearly captured in Johto, that had been in the news.
So was this then...?
Max's thoughts were torn away from him as one last scene took form in his mind. This time it didn't show Ash some calamitous situation, but rather him peacefully riding on the back of his Charizard in the morning light. The rocky summit of Mount Moon could be seen as the two glided towards Cerulean City. There was an empty look on Ash's face, like his mind couldn't handle the effort to decide what it was feeling. The Charizard kept looking at his trainer in concern, but rarely got a reaction throughout the flight. When he did get a response, it was was clearly a lie, but he didn't press his trainer.
Max felt nervous as they drew nearer to Cerulean, afraid of the event he was going to be forced to witness this time around.
"There's Cerulean City..." Ash muttered, looking down over it. For a second a smile flickered onto his face, only for it to quickly fade. He closed his eyes as he turned away, clenching his fists. Max wondered if Ash already had planned the crime he was about to commit, did he feel any hesitation? Regret? Did some part of him not want to do it?
"HELP!" A loud and desperate cry suddenly rang through the morning air. Charizard was instantly alert, looking about for who had screamed, and Ash's eyes snapped open.
"Is that...?" His gaze went from uncertainty to alarm, "Misty," He whispered, pure fear in his voice. And for a moment he seemed too stunned to move as he sat upon Charizard, then he started yelling, "Charizard! Quickly! Dive!" You could hear the desperation in his tone, pouring out with each word.
Charizard was already going into a dive though, racing towards where the cry was coming from. His wings were tucked in and eyes narrowed as he dove faster. Wind whipped by them as he rushed at full speed towards the ground, quickly opening his wings to land. Ash sprang off of Charizard's back as soon as he hit the ground, and the duo ran to where they had heard the cries for help. Max could have sworn he heard Ash's thundering heartbeats as he ran. They quickly turned a corner, freezing up at the sight that laid before them.
Max felt fear crawling through him as he looked at the horrid scene in front of him.
It was Misty, slashed and burnt right outside her gym. Just like the story he had been told when he had learned of the news of her death. But... but this was different. Hearing the gruesome story was one thing, and hard enough on his young mind. But seeing it... that was something completely different. If Max had been able to, he would have thrown up at the sight he was witnessing. Seeing Misty like this- someone he had always admired, someone who had connected with, someone he had been overshadowed by older siblings like him- felt like a stake was being driven into his heart. He wanted to look away, but he was forced to stare at the maimed girl. Burnt blood covered her limp form, and her skin was charred black.
Emotions pounded through Max, but he couldn't do anything. He couldn't turn away, or feel chills that should have been racing up his spine. He could only stare on as the scene continued despite the scream he wanted cry out. Misty's small Psyduck was using his Water Gun attack in a vain attempt to keep his trainer alive as she writhed in pain, but it couldn't stand up to the Pokemon attacking Misty. Max felt disbelief and horror rush through him as he saw the who was attacking Misty.
It wasn't Ash, and it wasn't even his Charizard.
The Blaziken sprang forward, launching Psyduck away with a Sky Uppercut. The duck Pokemon was sent flying, blood flowing from his slashes. Max could barely make out what Ash and the Blaziken's trainer was saying to each other. He could only stare on in his astonishment as Ash snapped an order to his Pokemon, and he watched Charizard leap into battle, not attacking Misty, but rushing to defend her.
Even with a type advantage against the fighting type, the Charizard was clearly outmatched with this opponent. The Blaziken sent blood pooling down Charizard's chin with a Sky Uppercut, but the lizard kept on fighting, desperately trying to give his trainer a chance to help Misty. Max stared at the Blaziken's trainer, he knew that face... He knew that face! Where had he seen it before?!
"Who are you!? What do you want!?" Ash screamed at the man as his Charizard was flung aside effortlessly. The man let his cold eyes fall onto Ash, a smirk tugging on his face.
"Many things, Ash Ketchum. I doubt this will be our last meeting," He glanced over at his Pokemon, "Let's go, Blaziken."
The Blaziken used its powerful legs, springing up and grabbed its trainer with ease, and soon they were gone with a few powerful bounds. Ash hesitated, as if wanting to pursue the man, but instead turned and raced towards Misty as she let out a painful groan. Fear, sorrow, and concern lined Ash's gaze as he sped towards his friend.
"Misty, can you hear me? Misty, say something!" Ash screamed at the burned girl, and Misty managed to open her eyes. She didn't say a word, only looked at Ash for a moment, a small smile appearing on her lips despite her pain, as if relieved to see a friendly face. Her lips twitched, but no noises came out as her eyelids fluttered, and her last breath escaped her lips. Sorrow welled up in Max as he watched Misty go limp, and her eyes fall shut, "N-no..." Ash muttered, processing what had just happened, "N-no!" He cried, and Max couldn't describe the look on his face. 'Fear' and 'pain' didn't do Ash's expression justice, what he saw was... was somebody breaking.
Max could almost hear his anger and guilt hammering through him as he watched tears forming in Ash's eyes. As he watched the boy he once called his idol fall apart as he stared at Misty's charred body. He could hear someone calling for Misty in the distance, but Max was still processing what he had just witnessed. He barely even reacted as he watched Brock come around the corner of the gym in time to see Ash standing over the burned remains of Misty, with a bloody Charizard next to him. Max didn't even register the conversation between Ash and Brock as he tried to comprehend what had just happened, as he tried to understand.
The final memory vanished from Max's mind as Ash whispered, "It wasn't me."
Charizard could only stare as he watched Ash's thick, red blood drip from his stained claws. A strange feeling overcame the lizard, and he felt all the rage draining from him as he watched a drop splatter to the ground. The only noise he heard was his own beating heart, pounding against his chest as he watched another droplet of blood form and fall from his claw-tips. He felt his whole body shaking as forced his gaze away from his bloody hand. His lungs burned, and he couldn't quite seem to remember how to breathe.
He had attacked Ash.
Charizard let his eyes fall onto Ash. The raven haired boy was still in the same position from when he had been knocked to the ground, lying weakly on his side as he clutched his bleeding shoulder. Charizard's claws had ripped through the thin fabric of his shirt with ease, leaving three clean gashes that blood was pooling from, despite Ash's hand covering most of the wound. His pupils were wide and eyes unfocused as he stared off into nothingness as he shook in his confusion. Tears were falling from his eyes, but he didn't seem to noticed them. Ash's breathing was short and rapid, chest rising and falling with his short gasps for air.
'I-' Charizard began, but couldn't seem to find any words. He slowly looked around at the other team members, but no one dared to make eye contact with him. Garchomp's gaze was focused on a tree, refusing to look at either Ash or Charizard, as if nothing had happened. Greninja was staring at Ash, anger in his gaze, a Night Slash formed in his webbed hands, but he didn't move, though he shot glares in Charizard's direction. Serperior was looking towards Charizard, but her maroon eyes were angled towards the ground to avoid direct contact. Her tail kept curling and uncurling in her uncertainly, not sure of what to do.
Charizard could tell that they wanted to do something, but no one dared to make a move. Charizard's heart thumped harder as he realized they didn't dare make any sort of move against him- even with Ash lying bleeding on the ground. A shiver ran through Charizard at this thought- part of him upset that they didn't do anything to help Ash- but yet another chaotic part of him satisfied with the control he had over the team. Charizard looked down at his claws once more, curling them at the sight of Ash's precious blood coating them.
Pidgeot was shaking, but seemed too stunned to do anything. Her wings were quivering, as if they were about to burst open and take to the sky. Her talons, however, were digging into the ground, like it was the only thing keeping her rooted there as she watched her trainer lay helplessly on his side. But it wasn't until someone made a move towards Ash that Charizard found himself able to move again, and the anger snapped back into him all at once, quickly overtaking his stunned mindset.
'Stay away from him!' Charizard snarled as Lucario ran towards Ash. Lucario paused, hesitating for half a second, then continued towards his injured trainer. A low growl escaped Charizard's mouth, and he sprang at Lucario, swiping the fighting type away with the back his nonbloody claws. Lucario was sent flying back, painfully smacking into Pidgeot with a grunt. Charizard stood in front of Ash on all fours, fangs bared, like he was a wild animal guarding its hunt.
'Charizard...' Pidgeot said weakly, glancing between the growling lizard and the Lucario stumbling to his feet.
Charizard closed his eyes, trying to think, but it was as if two savage Pokemon were clawing within his mind for control. One screamed at him in its rage, shrieking at him for the act he had just committed, while the other snarled softly at him that what he had done didn't matter- just as long as no one got near Ash. For once Charizard didn't know what to do- what side to give in to. His claws dug into the dirt, and fire flickered across his scales.
'You!' He spat at Serperior, who recoiled as all eyes fell on her, 'Get him bandaged up,' He snarled, the fire on his tail flickering in and out, white flames dancing up through it. He needed to think... He needed to focus... He looked back at Ash, shivers racing through Charizard as he watched Ash's blood flow. The creatures in his mind clawed and hissed again, and a low growl of frustration escaped Charizard's lips, '... Don't let another drop of his blood hit the ground,' He snarled at Serperior, '... Or else I'll gut one of you when I get back...' Charizard muttered, pupils going narrow.
Charizard allowed just enough time for his sudden threat to sink in, until he rocketed up into the sky, wings flapping furiously at his sudden take off. The air was humid and the sky rumbling with thunder, but the storm hadn't arrived quite yet. Soon the clearing was far below him as he raced through the air, his bloody claws clutched to his chest. The wind whistled past him, but still his mind wrestled with itself, and he couldn't think. He just wanted to think!
A moan of a roar filled the air as Charizard opened his jaws, quickly being swallowed up in the sound of the thunder. He went into a dive, not quite caring where he was going, just as long as he could solve the turmoil within his own mind. His scarred wings opened up like parachutes as he landed, sending up a small plume of dirt as he touched down in a much smaller clearing than the one Ash camped in. A small stream wound its way through the trees, before vanishing into the rest of the forest. Charizard let out a frustrated cry, before stumbling over the stream.
He slowly pulled his arm away from his chest, studying his claws. The blood was no longer dripping, though the scarlet still coated his three claws. Some dirt and dust clung to the blood, but not enough to cover it. The sight of his sin seemed to pain Charizard, but yet he couldn't tear his eyes away from the gleaming blood on his own claws. Usually the sight of blood would satisfy him, reminding himself his strength he had gained in the last few years, but with the knowledge that it was Ash's blood...
He winced painfully, and slowly lowered his claws towards the stream to wash away the blood, to get the horrid sight away from him. His whole arm was trembling as he brought it closer to the water, and he paused as one of his mind-creatures hissed something in his ear. What's done was done, wasn't it? He couldn't change the past, but what happened didn't change anything right now, right? Ash was still his duty for him to protect- his duty! No one else's- Ash was his alone!
Suddenly he let out a low hiss at the creek, quickly withdrawing his arm before he could wash the blood away. The stream couldn't have Ash's blood- it was his! He cradled the rescued limb, examining the blood that lined his claws, taking in a deep breath. The aroma of Ash's blood rose up, slinking its way into Charizard's snout. His mouth slowly began to water at the smell. Chills raced through him at the smell of Ash's sweet blood, and he brought the claws closer to his nostrils, letting the coppery scent run through him.
He opened his mouth, his forked tongue slipping from between his teeth. It flickered up towards his hand, slinking towards the bloody claws-!
Charizard recoiled, suddenly snapping out of foreign thoughts, yanking his hand back. He was shaking in horror. He had- He had almost- He had almost just tasted-
Charizard plunged his hand into the water, a sickening feeling rising up from within the pit of stomach. For once he was horrified at the chaotic side of his mind. He pulled his claws out of the freezing water, stumbling away, emptying his stomach not far from the stream. Even after throwing up, he still felt sick, and he dared to look down at his claws again. Only a few small flecks of blood remaining on the claws, but the smell lingered.
The sweet smell was still drifting through his nose, and Charizard let out a desperate cry, twisting and slamming his head to the ground to try to get the scent out of him. His mouth watered as he clawed at his face, but the smell seemed to be branded into his mind. A whimper escaped the fire type, and he proceeded to dunk his head into the creek, shivering as the freezing water rushed around his head.
It wasn't long before he was forced to draw his head back, steam hissing and curling up from his mouth as he took in a gasp of air. Water dripped from his mouth as he huffed, drawing oxygen back into his lungs. He let out a shaky sigh of relief, the scent of Ash's blood was gone, along with the strange hunger for it. He shivered as he recalled back on that few moments of bloodlust, the thirst that Ash's blood had awakened in him. He looked around, a fear taking root in him.
He had attacked Ash.
The two sides of his mind began fighting once more, emotions whirling through him as they clashed. Fighting seemed to be the only thing they agreed on, but Charizard didn't care about it right now. He had hurt Ash, and nothing could take that fact away.
He felt his arm slowly crawling up to his shoulder, his claws pressing lightly at his thin scales. He looked down, slowly positioning his claws to the same place he had slashed Ash, but on his own shoulder. His heart was thumping loudly, but his mind had quieted down and stopped fighting. Both of his mind creatures agreed- he deserved this. He put a little bit of pressure on the scales, hesitating for one moment-
'Don't you dare,' A soft voice whispered, and Charizard stiffened, wheeling around. Pidgeot was resting up in a tree, her feathers ruffled as she glared down at Charizard. Her amber eyes were watching him sharply, and a pulse of rage burst through Charizard.
'How long have you been there!?' He roared at her, tensing it up.
'Long enough,' She said, 'Now move your claws before you eat a Brave Bird to the face. I'm not stupid.'
Charizard didn't move, only letting the rage build up inside of him. How dare she follow him, spy on him like this?! He let the angry slowly awaken, drawing strength to his limbs, 'Don't threaten me,' He growled, 'I could tear you apart in a few seconds.'
Her feathers were still ruffled up, 'Yes. I know you're stronger than me. We all know that Charizard,' She let her gaze soften just a bit, enough to throw Charizard off and make him relax the slightest, 'But I'm not going to let you hurt yourself. Now please put down your claws,' She asked gently. A shiver ran through Charizard, and he felt the pressure leave his shoulder as his claws fell to his side, 'Thank you,' Pidgeot said in relief.
Charizard stared at the ground, drawing in huge gasps of air, '... Why are you here?'
She looked back into the direction of Ash's camp, feet stamping lightly, and a nervous look crossed her face, 'We... Well, I... I need you to come back Charizard,' She said quietly.
Charizard's claws curled, 'Why?' He spat, anger quickly returning to his tone, 'So I can slash Ash across his other shoulder?' He snarled, shaking. He quickly closed his eyes, trying to remember the moment, but he couldn't. He could remember Ash's harsh words shredding at his mind, and he could remember seeing Ash's bloody shoulder, but not the exact moment it happened.
'Charizard, I know you would never hurt him on purpose,' Pidgeot said, 'And the others must know that deep down-'
'Who said I didn't mean to hurt him?' Charizard asked quietly, quickly changing tones, ignoring the chills racing through him as the chaotic side took hold as he lied, 'I am aware of my strength.'
Pidgeot glared at him, 'I know how you feel right now,' She said, 'You feel trapped, yet exposed. It feels as if the weight of the world is on your wings, and you have to carry it yourself. But even by yourself- the world is watching you do so. You feel like you can't mess up, like you can't have on mistake or else everyone will know,' She looked down at the lizard, 'But no one is watching right now,' She told him, 'Charizard, please don't tear yourself apart for this. We need you- Ash needs you-'
'Yeah, he needs me,' Charizard said in a mock-coo, 'Shall I tie him up and rip his back open while I'm at it? Does he need that?'
Pidgeot's claws dug into the tree branch, and she closed her eyes, but that didn't stop two tears from escaping them. When she spoke again her voice was quiet, yet full of emotion, 'I once knew a Charmander,' She began.
Charizard tensed up once more, 'I don't talk about the past.'
'I once knew a Charmander,' She repeated, 'That was abused, beaten, and left in a storm to die,' Pidgeot said, opening her eyes, looking right at Charizard, 'That Charmander was young, but he had been put through so much. He learned of the harshness of the world first hand- but even after all he had been put through...' She blinked away a few tears, '... He didn't give up on the trainer that had done all that to him, and he sat in the storm that would have killed him on the small hope that the horrible trainer would return...'
'Shut up...' Charizard muttered, eyes narrowing at the thought of Damian, his first trainer. There was only a few humans that he wanted to personally tear apart, and Damian was one of them...
'There was a boy though, who couldn't bear seeing the Charmander in such a state,' Pidgeot dared to continued, despite Charizard's clear anger, 'And he braved the storm to save the small Charmander, and he provided the shelter the Charmander needed from that deadly storm. The boy saved the Charmander's life... and became his new trainer, the kind of trainer the Charmander needed, wanted. He was someone to protect and guide the fire type, he could make the Pokemon stronger. This Charmander loved this trainer, and would have given the world for him, but one day... the Charmander evolved.'
"Zar..." Charizard growled.
'The Charmeleon no longer needed a protector and a guardian, he could accomplish those things on his own with his new strength, but the boy didn't seem to realize that. He went out of his way to continue protecting and trying to train him, and perhaps the boy was a bit too controlling, but he cared about the Charmeleon. The Charmeleon though didn't need the boy any more, and would even hurt and attack the boy to try to get the message across, but the boy only remembered the helpless Charmander he saved in the storm, and not the capable Charmeleon in front of him,' She looked at Charizard meaningly, before continuing, 'It wasn't long before this Charmeleon evolved into a Charizard, but the boy still didn't realize that this Pokemon needed a friend, not a trainer...'
'What's your point?!' Charizard screamed at her, 'That I wasn't capable in the past either?! Because you don't need to tell me that, someone already made that quite clear to me!' He flinched as he thought back on Ash's harsh words.
'This went on until one day the Charizard got hit by an attack he couldn't handle...' Pidgeot continued carefully, 'And... and it was the boy's fault. He sent the Charizard into the battle, and the Charizard paid the price and was the one who took the powerful attack.'
Charizard paused, not quite sure how Pidgeot knew about that. He had battled the Poliwrath in the Orange Islands, which was after Pidgeot had been released.
'I believe it was at that moment that the boy realized what the Charizard needed,' Pidgeot said, 'And despite all the times the Charizard had hurt him, the boy put everything into helping the Charizard recover from the attack. And I know at that moment, the Charizard saw the kind of person he had been looking for- not someone to control him- but someone to be his friend, a partner. The boy and the Charizard were able to bond in a way they hadn't been able to see since the Charizard was just a little Charmander, and those two went on to be some of the strongest partners that I have ever seen.'
Charizard looked away, 'Yeah,' He snapped bitterly, 'I get it, it's my fault, I destroyed that bond, again.'
'... But many years passed, and things began to change for the boy,' Pidgeot muttered, not done with her story, 'He began to lose everything and everyone he cared for. This boy was accused, betrayed, and left alone in the storms of life for his spirit to die. That boy had been put through so much by the ones he had once called friends, but even after they had left him he wasn't ready to give up on them, and he faced the harshness of the world with open arms,' Pidgeot looked up at Charizard, 'He couldn't give up on his old friends.'
Charizard snapped his jaws together.
'But that didn't stop the cruelness the world was putting him through...' Pidgeot continued, 'And the Charizard... He couldn't stand seeing the boy in such a state. So he too faced the storms of life so he could rescue the boy, so he could attempt to shelter the boy that was just a shadow of the trainer that he once knew. The Charizard became the protector for this boy, to be his guardian from the world and to make sure no one ever hurt him again. This boy loved the Charizard, and would have given his life for the Charizard,' Pidgeot sighed, 'But soon the boy began to change.'
Charizard paused, beginning to see the parallels in her story.
'He learned to face the world, to accept his new life, and soon he no longer needed the Charizard to be trying to keep him from the harshness of the world, but the Charizard didn't realize that,' Pidgeot said, 'He still went out of his way to protect and shelter his trainer, and soon he became controlling... but he cared about the boy. But the trainer didn't need this, and would even say hurtful things to the one that had given everything for him... But all the Charizard saw was the broken boy that had lost the desire to go on, not the boy that was now strong enough to face the worse of life's trials.'
Charizard didn't say anything.
'Time went on, but the Charizard failed to see that the boy didn't need a protector... what the boy truly needed was a friend. But this continued on until today... when the boy took an attack... It was the Charizard's fault, he was the one that attacked the boy. But it was still an accident, I know he would never hurt the boy on purpose... But the trainer still was attacked, and right now he's sitting alone, hurt and confused, not sure of what to do now...' Pidgeot looked away, 'I'm hoping that at this moment the Charizard is thinking, and is realizing that the boy needs his friend back, the only person he fully trusted... I hope the Charizard will return right now to the trainer he gave everything for and prove to that trainer that he does care, and that he's sorry for the mistakes he's made... I hope that the boy and Charizard will be able to rekindle the bond they have lost...' She looked down at Charizard, tears in her eyes, 'Because I can't stand to see what was an unbreakable bond lying in ruins. Charizard, please. Forgive Ash for what he said to you, forgive yourself for what you did, and come back.'
Charizard sat there, then he opened his mouth, voice breaking, 'P-pidgeot, I can't,' He muttered, 'You don't understand... My mind... my head... One moment I just want to protect him, I want to be there, then a few minutes later...' Charizard closed his eyes, 'I don't understand, but suddenly I want to tear everything apart- no- I need to tear everything apart. I want to hurt someone for what had happened, and when I feel like that...' Charizard looked away, 'I don't even try to stop it... I love it, Pidgeot, I savor it. It's part of me, and I dunno what side to give into... Do I grab Ash and run, don't let anyone near him, including his own feelings...? Or do I let him do this? Let him try to stop Rocket...' Charizard stiffened, eyes narrowing, 'No!' He snarled, 'I can't!' He whipped his head up towards Pidgeot, 'I can't let anyone hurt him!'
'I feel it too,' Pidgeot said quietly, 'The pull, as if the wild is calling you from the inside,' She hesitated, 'But I learned that you can't listen to it Charizard, no matter what power and satisfaction comes from it, it will never help you protect Ash.'
'... I can't go back to Ash,' Charizard said, 'Not right now, not when my mind is tearing itself apart like this. What if I...? Even right now I keep swinging back and forth...' Charizard closed his eyes, 'Go back to Ash, make sure no one gets near him... Do this until I make my decision on what part of me to follow... Please...'
'Charizard, I can't do that...' Pidgeot said, and he shot a suspicious glare at her, and she shook, 'Charizard, it's Ash, he's...'
'He's what?!' He snapped, and she hesitated. He took a step towards her, 'Ash is what?!'
'He's not responding to us...' Pidgeot muttered, looking down, 'That's why I came to get you...'
'What do you mean!?' He snarled.
Pidgeot winced, 'He just sits there... He won't say anything, won't respond to us... Not even Lucario's aura telepathy... It's like he can't hear us...' She clicked her beak, 'Earlier he couldn't even look at Serperior without flinching or something... He didn't even seem to notice that she was there when she bandaged up his arm... He just stares off, his face blank.'
Charizard sat there for a moment, 'Why didn't you tell me this right away?!' He roared at her, claws tensing.
Pidgeot's wings opened, as if she were about to fly away, but she managed to keep herself in place, 'Because I didn't want you approaching him when you're like this!' She cried, 'We did everything we could, but he doesn't even acknowledge that we're there! You were the only one he fully trusted... We hope you can get some sort of response out of him, but...' Pidgeot looked away, voice hardening, 'Charizard, I swear- I will not let you near Ash if you're acting like this,' Charizard let out a snarled, 'You said it yourself- you're out here because you don't want to hurt Ash again,' She hesitated, 'But I'm afraid more harm will come to him if you're not there, but I won't let you see him if you are about to lash out again. Please, calm yourself!'
He stared at her, trying to make sense of her words. His chaotic side told him to punish her for saying such things about him, but he also realized that she was right- Ash was what mattered, and he couldn't risk hurting Ash again. He took a deep breath, trying to cage the two sides of his mind. He focused on the one thought that could keep them under control: Ash. He needed to protect Ash, and right now he needed to go to Ash to do that, but he also couldn't let his rage take hold of him when he got there. He gritted his teeth, trying to focus. He could sort out the civil war in his mind later, he just needed to help Ash.
'L-lead the way,' He muttered to Pidgeot after a minute, opening his wings. She regarded him for a moment, before taking to the air. He followed her, mouthing one word over and over. Ash. Ash. Ash. That was all that mattered, he just needed to stay rooted to that one thought- don't let any other idea take hold.
Ash.
