Jason Creight awoke in the middle of the night on the back of his
Charizard.
The air was pleasantly cool tonight; not cold enough to make Jason want a jacket, but not warm enough that he felt the need to remove his sweater.
He cracked his eyes open, and felt a surge of contentment at the image he'd opened them to. Kelly's head rested comfortably on his chest, and beyond her head he could see the awe-inspiring sight of a clear, starlit sky.
He gently wrapped his arms around Kelly, feeling the steady rise and fall of her body as she breathed the regular breath of deep sleep.
Jason smiled, then looked at Charizard. Even from on its back, he could see the expression in its eyes, if not in its face. Charizard was singularly determined to reach the goal Jason had set for it, or go as far as it could while moving at a pace that was regular enough for them to get some sleep.
That pace was beginning to pick up somewhat, however, and Jason looked up to see why.
Ahead lay what was considered one of the greatest technological marvels of the millennium.
The Selto marina.
Selto was the small region, where, as trainers from that area liked to say, "The sea meets the sky." It was the southernmost land one could find north of the expansive Southern Sea. Selto was renowned for harboring trainers who battled day and night, gambling anything and everything they desired.
But Selto really was nothing more than a small sprinkling of islands across a relatively small area. The islands weren't large enough to support many people, and no one had ever heard of Pokemon living there, besides water types; consequentially, Selto operated on a "King of the Mountain" system. Each island accomodated only one person, and that person earned it by toppling the last one who lived there.
The battles were rumored to be of titanic proportions.
Jason briefly wondered if there would ever come a day when he would be good enough to enter into the ranks of the Selto trainers.
For now, though, he was content with battling in the Atlantis League.
Each island in Selto was connected to all the others by the marina, consisting of massive wooden bridges, concrete lookout towers, and floating marketplaces. Small, cozy motel-type buildings also littered the area; however, the rooms within them were usually reserved for trainers planning to stick around for a while, for whatever reason. Jason felt a small swell of pride at having remembered to keep their reservations for one such motel in one of his pockets; they would be needed in a few minutes.
He reflected more on the past of the Selto marina. It was rumored that this was where the Atlantis League had its roots, but thus far, no one could provide evidence to that effect, except, of course, the gym leaders.
The marina had been constructed nearly two hundred years ago in a massive cooperative effort by architects, construction workers, Pokemon masters, and of course, Pokemon. When the marina had finally been completed, trainers and businessmen alike had rushed to it, eager to get their hands on a piece of the so-called "Selto pie."
And, Jason noticed, looking at it now, it was just as active as it had been when it had first been opened.
Torches along the bridges and within the marketplaces burned brightly, giving Jason and Charizard all the light they needed to make their landing. Jason nodded. "All right, start taking us down. Slowly, please."
As Charizard complied, Jason gently took Kelly's shoulders into his hands and shook her as lightly as possible. "Hey, Kelly, time to wake up. We're here."
She yawned and began to stretch, then looked up into Jason's eyes and smiled. "What a great thing to wake up to."
Jason's eyebrow rose. "Really? That's news to me."
She giggled, and planted a light kiss on the tip of his nose. "At least it's good news."
"I suppose so. But, as my elementary math teacher always said, 'No news is good news.'"
"We'll see about that."
It was at that moment that Charizard alighted on one of the empty bridges. Kelly slid off its back, then detached the harness that kept Jason's wheelchair on Charizard's back. The harness was really nothing more than a huge Velcro strap, but it did the job, and neither Jason nor Kelly was going to argue the results.
After unfolding the chair, she helped Jason climb into it, which took a little bit of doing; despite Charizard's broad back, it only had so much back, and Jason nearly toppled off while sliding into the chair.
He sighed and recalled Charizard. "You deserve a good rest after that flight." Then he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out his biker gloves, which he donned. He looked up at Kelly. "Shall we get to our rooms?"
"By all means," she responded.
It was a pleasure for Jason to move his wheelchair across such a smooth surface; going out into the wild had always been rough because half the time, the chair's wheels were sinking into mud, getting caught in potholes, or bumping up over rocks. Jason had built up a considerable amount of muscle in his arms from getting the chair out of such entrapments, and just moving around in general, and he took pride in that muscle.
*But,* he added ruefully, *no matter how much arm muscle I build up, it'll never replace using my legs.*
He glanced up at Kelly, who was yawning at that particular moment. She caught the glance, turned to him, and half-smiled. "What?"
He paused, wondering whether he should answer or not. He went for it. "I was just thinking... how much I'd love to be able to stand again."
He heard Kelly's breath catch in her throat.
And he abruptly realized that even after Oak's stern advice...
...he'd still not told her about Creight.
He sighed. Now was as perfect an opportunity as he was ever going to get. "Kelly, we need to have a serious talk."
The expression on Kelly's face changed to one that Jason recognized all too well... she was going to get defensive. "Why?"
Jason wanted to be careful in wording his explanation. "Because," he slowly responded, "you've had a dream that you've not told me about. One that was so vivid, you were sure it was real. And in the reality of that dream, I came to your room on my feet."
She stopped in her tracks, causing Jason to clamp his fists around his wheels' rims. *That got her attention.*
Silence reigned between them for several moments, during which time Jason saw Kelly's expression contort as her emotions roiled through her heart and mind. Those emotions showed in her eyes so very clearly that Jason felt a pang of guilt at having even brought the subject up in the first place.
When she spoke again, it was barely above a whisper. "How could you know about that?"
He was afraid she'd ask that. "I promise to tell you everything when we get to the motel."
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Within fifteen minutes, they found their motel and registered. When they got to their room, they found it to be with sparse accomodations: a small-screen TV, small dresser, two single beds, a bedside table between them with a radio clock mounted on it... the usual for a motel.
Jason was the first one in, and he immediately got to unpacking. The first Atlantis League ship wasn't going to come in for two days, and he was going to make the most of the accomodations. He piled his clean clothes into one drawer and his dirty ones in another, then parked his wheelchair between the bed on the left and the wall and climbed onto the bed.
Kelly, meanwhile, hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door handle and locked the door, then came in and followed Jason's example. She didn't think she'd ever understand Jason's priorities; unpack, then have a serious talk? *Shouldn't the serious talk have precedence?* she asked herself.
But, in all truth, she understood what he was doing, if only in part. *He probably figures it's bad to finish a chat with, "Well, let's get unpacked."*
That was, as a matter of fact, precisely what Jason was thinking. He wanted to have all extraneous activity finished before getting into the subject matter. He pulled his PokeGear off, muted its alarm, and placed it in the bedside table's drawer. Next to that went his Pokedex, and his capture ball belt ended up hanging on one of his wheelchair's handles.
Kelly also put her PokeGear and Pokedex in the bedside table drawer, and she handed her capture ball belt to Jason, who hung it next to his own. She then sat down on the edge of Jason's bed and waited for him to get situated next to her. He did so.
"Okay, Jason," she said, her voice stronger this time. "Time to spill it. How do you know about that dream?"
He sighed. "First thing you have to understand, Kelly, is that this is all tremendously complicated. To an extent that I really hate the story myself."
She shrugged. "You hate the story about how you became a trainer in the first place. Doesn't matter now. Tell me."
"Okay, okay. It started the day before Ash's homecoming party..."
***
Jason was even more reluctant to tell her how the entire thing related to her supposed "dream," but he couldn't stop just for that. So he plunged through it as well as he could.
"He wanted to see you again. He hadn't seen you in ten years. All he had left were his Pokemon, and he'd already released all of them. Even his Dragonite. Gyarados and Gengar were..." Jason shuddered to think of the look in Creight's eyes as he had imparted that tidbit to his younger self.
Kelly was trying very hard to take all this in. She could tell that Jason really didn't want her to try and drag it all out of him. Not when what it had to do with her "dream" was becoming so obvious.
"So my dream," she said slowly, "wasn't just a dream, was it?"
Jason blew his breath out his nose, and shook his head. "It was real. All of it. He really did go to your room." He tilted his head, knowing this next one would have the fullest impact. "And he really did say he loved you."
Kelly, who had been looking at her toes by this time, let her head sink, as she took in the measure of Jason's words.
"And I think he did, too."
She looked back up at him, her gaze suddenly filled with anger and frustration. "You 'think' he did? What the hell's that supposed to mean? He was you, wasn't he?"
"I keep telling you, he was nothing like me by that time."
She glared. "I guess not. At least he cared enough to come back... why didn't you care enough to stay behind in the first place?"
He rested his elbow on his right leg and let his head fall into his hand. Kelly had never shown anger when the subject of him leaving Pallet Town had come up before. Only sadness. "That's not my point. And besides, those two times are totally unrelated."
"Are they? If you hadn't left, you wouldn't have--"
"The offer to repair my legs would have come anyway, Kelly. And I probably would have taken it with even more vigor than Creight did. And Daniel would have seen that as the perfect opportunity, and I would have become Creight."
"Okay, then, let's move on to another tack. He said he loved me, and you don't *know* whether he did or not?"
"No. I don't."
"Then I'll ask you flat out."
*Oh, no... don't ask that...* Jason knew it was coming. He could see it a mile away, coming with all the speed of a bullet.
"Do you love me?"
Jason saw the full implications of the question as it was asked.
It was the most important question he had ever been asked in his life.
And he was trapped.
He didn't know how to answer.
If he said no, their friendship could very well end right then and there.
But if he said yes...
...it would be a lie.
Nanoseconds ticked by as slowly as hours as Jason tried to think up a million different responses, only to curse himself for not being prepared for the question before she'd asked it.
He had asked himself that same question a million times since that entire business.
And he had yet to come up with an answer.
But he couldn't stall this question. Not this one. It was too important.
He only had one choice.
And one choice... really was no choice at all.
"Yes."
Jason felt his heart rip in two as soon as he said it.
It was the most important question in his life.
And he had answered it with a lie.
He felt the two pieces of his heart rip into shreds as he watched all the confusion, anger, frustration, and sadness slip away from Kelly's eyes and expression. Suddenly, her eyes shone with hope and eagerness, and her tightened jaw now hung slack.
For a moment, the hope disappeared and her former expression took its place once more.
And once again, Jason saw what was coming.
*What cruelty is this...?* he asked himself.
Kelly spoke.
"Say it."
And Jason was trapped again.
If he said it, he would be lying once more
If he didn't say it, she wouldn't believe his first response.
*Boy, I've had *this* coming, ever since I gave Gyarados that damn TM.
How will I ever forgive myself for this?*
And before he even realized it, he gave his response.
"I love you, Kelly."
And the hope and eagerness returned to Kelly's eyes, stronger than ever. A smile spread across her face.
Her reply was a whisper.
"I love you, too."
She wrapped her arms around him, leaned forward, and kissed him passionately.
He responded to the kiss, even as his heart was reduced to molecules within his chest.
*God... lie after lie... how will I *ever*live with myself?*
He could only hope that there was an honest answer to that question to be found.
Kelly did not break the kiss; neither did he. As much as Jason had not wanted to lie to her like that, kissing was the part of their relationship he enjoyed the most, and it was getting more intense; the kiss became longer and deeper than either of them had ever gone before.
All thoughts of guilt and lies and mistakes disappeared from Jason's mind as he took control of the kiss.
Neither of them was sure which one had pulled the other into a lying position on the bed... only that it had been done without breaking the embrace.
And, truth be told... they didn't really care.
The bed was where they stayed.
***
The next morning, Kelly was the first one to awaken from her deep, peaceful slumber. She turned to her right, where Jason still lay, sleeping silently. Neither of them had slept under the sheets. The sheets hadn't even been shifted, though wrinkled they most definitely were.
They hadn't slept with each other, not in the sense normally associated with that phrase. For Jason, it wasn't possible; everything from his waist down was paralyzed, and that included a rather vital organ for such an activity. Kelly thought that was just as well. She kenw that if it had gotten any more intense last night, they probably would have slept with each other, or would have tried; that was a place that, even now, even with him, she wasn't sure she wanted to go.
*But if I love him, why am I reluctant?* she asked. She sat up and sighed. *Wish it was as easy as the movies. I'd know right away whether I really want to sleep with him.
From being tired to going to the brink of ecstasy, and back to uncertainty. Why couldn't we have both died last night? It would have been so much easier...*
That last came unbidden, and Kelly didn't really take the thought seriously. She knew that as long as she and Jason were together, they could go back to that cliff whenever they wanted.
She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower faucet. As she stripped off her clothes and climbed in, she reflected on the events of the previous night.
Kelly felt a small pang of guilt at having made Jason tell her he loved her. She'd been able to tell it from the look in his eyes; he'd seen the question coming, but he wasn't prepared for it. It was that "Stantler caught in the headlights" look that she was so familiar with, especially from him.
Hearing him say it first had made it so much easier for her to say it back.
That was why she'd wanted him to say it.
She hadn't just wanted to hear a "yes." It wasn't enough. She had to hear it.
And he'd said it.
But with the same look as when he'd said "yes."
*He was so eager to get away from his own guilt that he almost forgot about us,* she thought. This disappointed her, but she understood to a certain extent.
*But until he starts facing his mistakes, instead of running away from them, he'll never forget them... or forgive himself for making them.*
This was a fact that had lodged in her mind ever since Jason had first told her about the incident at his family's marina. He had unilaterally caused a chain reaction that had utterly destroyed his own family. He had been assumed dead, a status that remained in place even now; news of his feats in Kanto and Johto did not go as far as the Orange Islands.
*But if he were to show his face there today,* Kelly wondered, *would he be recognized?*
She didn't think he would be. And she thought it would do him good to return. Maybe he could compete in the Orange League...?
*But he has to do what *he* thinks is best for him. It's not for me to decide,* she told herself, as she rinsed.
*Whatever he chooses, I'll stay with him.
I'll stay with him because I love him.*
***
Jason woke up to the blazing sun pouring in through the sheer curtains drawn across the window. He squinted through the light, and looked around the room for Kelly.
He didn't see her, but he heard the splashing of water in the bathroom. *Must be taking a shower. Sounds like a good idea to me.*
For a moment, he thought about the night before.
*I lied.
She asked me the one question that might very well have made or broken our relationship right then and there.
And I lied.
And now, because of that lie, she's admitted that she loves me.
Oh, God, why did I ever open my mouth?*
Jason forced himself into a sitting position and moved across the bed until he was sitting on the foot. From here, it was easy to reach the dresser; he pulled out a change of clothes from the "clean" drawer, put the clothes on the bed, then moved around the edge of the bed again until he was next to his wheelchair.
*Why do I do this to myself?* he wondered. *Why do I keep trying to distract myself from my mistakes? Why do I keep running away?*
As with Kelly's question last night, he had no answer.
He wondered if he ever would.
Jason looked back at the radio clock, which read 9:10 A.M. He'd slept late, all right... and from the look of things, so had Kelly. It didn't even look as if she'd used her own bed last night, but just slept next to him the entire time instead.
*Because she loves me.
And because I don't know if I love her.*
Jason refused to let himself be further paralyzed by thoughts alone. They'd said what they'd said, and whether or not what they said was true was up to time to figure out.
In the meantime, they'd both come here with a purpose.
Jason was determined to do his best in the Atlantis League.
And, along the way, maybe he would find some answers to the questions he was constantly asking himself.
***
Jason and Kelly spent most of the day browsing the expansive marina and its marketplaces. At times, it almost felt as if they were prowling around a treehouse, as many wooden bridges and platforms as they were moving across. Kelly said so, and Jason agreed wholeheartedly.
"But there's one notable exception," he added. "The fact that this entire place is wheelchair-accessible."
"Lucky for you," she responded.
"Well, not only trainers pass through here," Jason continued. "This entire marina is one heck of a tourist attraction. And I imagine a lot of overseas trading is done here. There've got to be some people passing through with injuries or some such that would need crutches or a wheelchair."
"I'd imagine so," she answered.
Already, Jason's mind had drifted from the subject, back to the Atlantis League. Oak had told him that there was no info on the types of Pokemon used by the gym leaders, and that he couldn't even find the name of the Atlantis League champion.
*Guess that means I'll have to improvise,* he thought. *Use my best Pokemon of each type for gym battles, and for trainer battles use Pokemon that have less experience. As usual.
But there are nine elements. And I can only use six. Hmm...*
"Hey, Jason, come take a look at this," said Kelly, turning and starting up a brisk pace toward one of the kiosks.
Jason raised an eyebrow and followed her.
When they got to the kiosk, they saw a respectable-looking man standing behind the counter. He smiled politely. "Something I can help you with?"
"Just looking for the moment, thanks," Jason responded. He looked up at Kelly. "So what is it?"
"Well, take a look." Kelly indicated the glass case inset below the counter.
Jason saw a considerable collection of several different types of capture balls, ranging from ordinary Poke balls to Ultra balls, and from Fast balls to Heavy balls. All of them looked expertly crafted. He wondered, if he bought one of those, whether he'd be reluctant to throw such a perfect piece of craftsmanship at a Pokemon, or into a battle arena.
He looked up at the salesman. "How much do each of these run?"
"Two hundred apiece."
Jason's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Back home, an Ultra ball costs six times that much."
"Costs six times that much just about anywhere," the salesman acknowledged. He leaned forward. "But then again, they cost more because there's more Pokemon to be found anywhere else. Around here, all you can find are water types, and even then, most of those are Magikarp. You might get lucky and catch, I dunno, a Poliwag or Horsea or somethin', but for the most part, wild and valuable Pokemon around here are few and *very* far between."
"So why sell them here?" Kelly asked.
"Cause no trainer wants to be empty-handed or armed with a weak ball when one of those valuable Pokemon *does* come floatin' around. And the balls can be bought in bulk around here a lot more easily than wherever it is you two come from."
"So you get good business?"
"Mediocre, most days," the salesman responded. "But sometimes, there'll be a trainer or two that can't resist the deal."
"Who's your supplier for the custom ones?" Jason asked.
"Lotta the time, I am. I've built a lot of the ones you see in that case. Some, though, I get traded in from trainers who don't need 'em, and some others I get imported all the way from Johto. Guy named Kurt makes 'em night and day. Those are the best ones."
For a brief moment, Jason saw an image of Tommy superimposed over the salesman, though the two looked nothing alike.
Jason knew this was a deal too good to miss. He pulled out his Pokedex, activated the digital checkbook, and checked what he had in savings. Of course, he had far more than enough to pay for what he wanted to get; he just wanted to check the total. Then he patted the sack hanging underneath the left arm of his wheelchair, where his empty capture balls normally resided.
*Almost empty. Guess I'll have to fix that. These'd make great subjects for tech research.*
"I'll take five Ultra balls, and... two of each custom ball," he said, handing his Pokedex to the salesman for verification.
"Thought you'd know a good deal when you saw one," said the salesman, accepting the Pokedex and linking it to his register. He rang up the total. "Twenty-two hundred here... all right, there you go."
After the transaction was finished, Jason and Kelly were once again on their way through the marketplace. Jason's thoughts were not so much on the merchandise as they were, of course, on the Atlantis League. That left Kelly free to explore what she wanted. She even goaded him into buying a few things for her.
When Kelly glanced toward one particular kiosk, however, she quickly turned the other way and didn't look back.
Jason caught this, mired in his thoughts though he was, and turned toward the kiosk that had caused such a rude reaction.
*LaHora, Inc.
We Deal In Rare Pokemon!*
His teeth ground almost audibly upon sight of that sign.
He quickly followed Kelly's example.
*Even now,* he thought, *people still sell Pokemon for money.
Sooner or later, it's gonna have to stop.
Pokemon are living creatures. They shouldn't be kept in cages.*
For an instant, Jason wondered if his efforts all those years ago had been in vain. His family had been ruined, yes, but their fall could have heralded the spawning of smaller corporations of the same type.
He didn't want to think about the implications.
He looked at Kelly for reassurance. When Kelly returned the gaze, he saw a measure of sympathy in her eyes. "I can only imagine what you have to live with every time you see something like that."
"I live with it," he responded. "Not very easily, but I do live with it."
She patted him on the shoulder, giving him all the reassurance he needed.
Already, he felt better.
Maybe their love life wasn't certain.
But their lives had been forever changed by the other.
And they were thankful for it.
Jason Creight reflected on.
To Be Continued
The air was pleasantly cool tonight; not cold enough to make Jason want a jacket, but not warm enough that he felt the need to remove his sweater.
He cracked his eyes open, and felt a surge of contentment at the image he'd opened them to. Kelly's head rested comfortably on his chest, and beyond her head he could see the awe-inspiring sight of a clear, starlit sky.
He gently wrapped his arms around Kelly, feeling the steady rise and fall of her body as she breathed the regular breath of deep sleep.
Jason smiled, then looked at Charizard. Even from on its back, he could see the expression in its eyes, if not in its face. Charizard was singularly determined to reach the goal Jason had set for it, or go as far as it could while moving at a pace that was regular enough for them to get some sleep.
That pace was beginning to pick up somewhat, however, and Jason looked up to see why.
Ahead lay what was considered one of the greatest technological marvels of the millennium.
The Selto marina.
Selto was the small region, where, as trainers from that area liked to say, "The sea meets the sky." It was the southernmost land one could find north of the expansive Southern Sea. Selto was renowned for harboring trainers who battled day and night, gambling anything and everything they desired.
But Selto really was nothing more than a small sprinkling of islands across a relatively small area. The islands weren't large enough to support many people, and no one had ever heard of Pokemon living there, besides water types; consequentially, Selto operated on a "King of the Mountain" system. Each island accomodated only one person, and that person earned it by toppling the last one who lived there.
The battles were rumored to be of titanic proportions.
Jason briefly wondered if there would ever come a day when he would be good enough to enter into the ranks of the Selto trainers.
For now, though, he was content with battling in the Atlantis League.
Each island in Selto was connected to all the others by the marina, consisting of massive wooden bridges, concrete lookout towers, and floating marketplaces. Small, cozy motel-type buildings also littered the area; however, the rooms within them were usually reserved for trainers planning to stick around for a while, for whatever reason. Jason felt a small swell of pride at having remembered to keep their reservations for one such motel in one of his pockets; they would be needed in a few minutes.
He reflected more on the past of the Selto marina. It was rumored that this was where the Atlantis League had its roots, but thus far, no one could provide evidence to that effect, except, of course, the gym leaders.
The marina had been constructed nearly two hundred years ago in a massive cooperative effort by architects, construction workers, Pokemon masters, and of course, Pokemon. When the marina had finally been completed, trainers and businessmen alike had rushed to it, eager to get their hands on a piece of the so-called "Selto pie."
And, Jason noticed, looking at it now, it was just as active as it had been when it had first been opened.
Torches along the bridges and within the marketplaces burned brightly, giving Jason and Charizard all the light they needed to make their landing. Jason nodded. "All right, start taking us down. Slowly, please."
As Charizard complied, Jason gently took Kelly's shoulders into his hands and shook her as lightly as possible. "Hey, Kelly, time to wake up. We're here."
She yawned and began to stretch, then looked up into Jason's eyes and smiled. "What a great thing to wake up to."
Jason's eyebrow rose. "Really? That's news to me."
She giggled, and planted a light kiss on the tip of his nose. "At least it's good news."
"I suppose so. But, as my elementary math teacher always said, 'No news is good news.'"
"We'll see about that."
It was at that moment that Charizard alighted on one of the empty bridges. Kelly slid off its back, then detached the harness that kept Jason's wheelchair on Charizard's back. The harness was really nothing more than a huge Velcro strap, but it did the job, and neither Jason nor Kelly was going to argue the results.
After unfolding the chair, she helped Jason climb into it, which took a little bit of doing; despite Charizard's broad back, it only had so much back, and Jason nearly toppled off while sliding into the chair.
He sighed and recalled Charizard. "You deserve a good rest after that flight." Then he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out his biker gloves, which he donned. He looked up at Kelly. "Shall we get to our rooms?"
"By all means," she responded.
It was a pleasure for Jason to move his wheelchair across such a smooth surface; going out into the wild had always been rough because half the time, the chair's wheels were sinking into mud, getting caught in potholes, or bumping up over rocks. Jason had built up a considerable amount of muscle in his arms from getting the chair out of such entrapments, and just moving around in general, and he took pride in that muscle.
*But,* he added ruefully, *no matter how much arm muscle I build up, it'll never replace using my legs.*
He glanced up at Kelly, who was yawning at that particular moment. She caught the glance, turned to him, and half-smiled. "What?"
He paused, wondering whether he should answer or not. He went for it. "I was just thinking... how much I'd love to be able to stand again."
He heard Kelly's breath catch in her throat.
And he abruptly realized that even after Oak's stern advice...
...he'd still not told her about Creight.
He sighed. Now was as perfect an opportunity as he was ever going to get. "Kelly, we need to have a serious talk."
The expression on Kelly's face changed to one that Jason recognized all too well... she was going to get defensive. "Why?"
Jason wanted to be careful in wording his explanation. "Because," he slowly responded, "you've had a dream that you've not told me about. One that was so vivid, you were sure it was real. And in the reality of that dream, I came to your room on my feet."
She stopped in her tracks, causing Jason to clamp his fists around his wheels' rims. *That got her attention.*
Silence reigned between them for several moments, during which time Jason saw Kelly's expression contort as her emotions roiled through her heart and mind. Those emotions showed in her eyes so very clearly that Jason felt a pang of guilt at having even brought the subject up in the first place.
When she spoke again, it was barely above a whisper. "How could you know about that?"
He was afraid she'd ask that. "I promise to tell you everything when we get to the motel."
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Within fifteen minutes, they found their motel and registered. When they got to their room, they found it to be with sparse accomodations: a small-screen TV, small dresser, two single beds, a bedside table between them with a radio clock mounted on it... the usual for a motel.
Jason was the first one in, and he immediately got to unpacking. The first Atlantis League ship wasn't going to come in for two days, and he was going to make the most of the accomodations. He piled his clean clothes into one drawer and his dirty ones in another, then parked his wheelchair between the bed on the left and the wall and climbed onto the bed.
Kelly, meanwhile, hung the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door handle and locked the door, then came in and followed Jason's example. She didn't think she'd ever understand Jason's priorities; unpack, then have a serious talk? *Shouldn't the serious talk have precedence?* she asked herself.
But, in all truth, she understood what he was doing, if only in part. *He probably figures it's bad to finish a chat with, "Well, let's get unpacked."*
That was, as a matter of fact, precisely what Jason was thinking. He wanted to have all extraneous activity finished before getting into the subject matter. He pulled his PokeGear off, muted its alarm, and placed it in the bedside table's drawer. Next to that went his Pokedex, and his capture ball belt ended up hanging on one of his wheelchair's handles.
Kelly also put her PokeGear and Pokedex in the bedside table drawer, and she handed her capture ball belt to Jason, who hung it next to his own. She then sat down on the edge of Jason's bed and waited for him to get situated next to her. He did so.
"Okay, Jason," she said, her voice stronger this time. "Time to spill it. How do you know about that dream?"
He sighed. "First thing you have to understand, Kelly, is that this is all tremendously complicated. To an extent that I really hate the story myself."
She shrugged. "You hate the story about how you became a trainer in the first place. Doesn't matter now. Tell me."
"Okay, okay. It started the day before Ash's homecoming party..."
***
Jason was even more reluctant to tell her how the entire thing related to her supposed "dream," but he couldn't stop just for that. So he plunged through it as well as he could.
"He wanted to see you again. He hadn't seen you in ten years. All he had left were his Pokemon, and he'd already released all of them. Even his Dragonite. Gyarados and Gengar were..." Jason shuddered to think of the look in Creight's eyes as he had imparted that tidbit to his younger self.
Kelly was trying very hard to take all this in. She could tell that Jason really didn't want her to try and drag it all out of him. Not when what it had to do with her "dream" was becoming so obvious.
"So my dream," she said slowly, "wasn't just a dream, was it?"
Jason blew his breath out his nose, and shook his head. "It was real. All of it. He really did go to your room." He tilted his head, knowing this next one would have the fullest impact. "And he really did say he loved you."
Kelly, who had been looking at her toes by this time, let her head sink, as she took in the measure of Jason's words.
"And I think he did, too."
She looked back up at him, her gaze suddenly filled with anger and frustration. "You 'think' he did? What the hell's that supposed to mean? He was you, wasn't he?"
"I keep telling you, he was nothing like me by that time."
She glared. "I guess not. At least he cared enough to come back... why didn't you care enough to stay behind in the first place?"
He rested his elbow on his right leg and let his head fall into his hand. Kelly had never shown anger when the subject of him leaving Pallet Town had come up before. Only sadness. "That's not my point. And besides, those two times are totally unrelated."
"Are they? If you hadn't left, you wouldn't have--"
"The offer to repair my legs would have come anyway, Kelly. And I probably would have taken it with even more vigor than Creight did. And Daniel would have seen that as the perfect opportunity, and I would have become Creight."
"Okay, then, let's move on to another tack. He said he loved me, and you don't *know* whether he did or not?"
"No. I don't."
"Then I'll ask you flat out."
*Oh, no... don't ask that...* Jason knew it was coming. He could see it a mile away, coming with all the speed of a bullet.
"Do you love me?"
Jason saw the full implications of the question as it was asked.
It was the most important question he had ever been asked in his life.
And he was trapped.
He didn't know how to answer.
If he said no, their friendship could very well end right then and there.
But if he said yes...
...it would be a lie.
Nanoseconds ticked by as slowly as hours as Jason tried to think up a million different responses, only to curse himself for not being prepared for the question before she'd asked it.
He had asked himself that same question a million times since that entire business.
And he had yet to come up with an answer.
But he couldn't stall this question. Not this one. It was too important.
He only had one choice.
And one choice... really was no choice at all.
"Yes."
Jason felt his heart rip in two as soon as he said it.
It was the most important question in his life.
And he had answered it with a lie.
He felt the two pieces of his heart rip into shreds as he watched all the confusion, anger, frustration, and sadness slip away from Kelly's eyes and expression. Suddenly, her eyes shone with hope and eagerness, and her tightened jaw now hung slack.
For a moment, the hope disappeared and her former expression took its place once more.
And once again, Jason saw what was coming.
*What cruelty is this...?* he asked himself.
Kelly spoke.
"Say it."
And Jason was trapped again.
If he said it, he would be lying once more
If he didn't say it, she wouldn't believe his first response.
*Boy, I've had *this* coming, ever since I gave Gyarados that damn TM.
How will I ever forgive myself for this?*
And before he even realized it, he gave his response.
"I love you, Kelly."
And the hope and eagerness returned to Kelly's eyes, stronger than ever. A smile spread across her face.
Her reply was a whisper.
"I love you, too."
She wrapped her arms around him, leaned forward, and kissed him passionately.
He responded to the kiss, even as his heart was reduced to molecules within his chest.
*God... lie after lie... how will I *ever*live with myself?*
He could only hope that there was an honest answer to that question to be found.
Kelly did not break the kiss; neither did he. As much as Jason had not wanted to lie to her like that, kissing was the part of their relationship he enjoyed the most, and it was getting more intense; the kiss became longer and deeper than either of them had ever gone before.
All thoughts of guilt and lies and mistakes disappeared from Jason's mind as he took control of the kiss.
Neither of them was sure which one had pulled the other into a lying position on the bed... only that it had been done without breaking the embrace.
And, truth be told... they didn't really care.
The bed was where they stayed.
***
The next morning, Kelly was the first one to awaken from her deep, peaceful slumber. She turned to her right, where Jason still lay, sleeping silently. Neither of them had slept under the sheets. The sheets hadn't even been shifted, though wrinkled they most definitely were.
They hadn't slept with each other, not in the sense normally associated with that phrase. For Jason, it wasn't possible; everything from his waist down was paralyzed, and that included a rather vital organ for such an activity. Kelly thought that was just as well. She kenw that if it had gotten any more intense last night, they probably would have slept with each other, or would have tried; that was a place that, even now, even with him, she wasn't sure she wanted to go.
*But if I love him, why am I reluctant?* she asked. She sat up and sighed. *Wish it was as easy as the movies. I'd know right away whether I really want to sleep with him.
From being tired to going to the brink of ecstasy, and back to uncertainty. Why couldn't we have both died last night? It would have been so much easier...*
That last came unbidden, and Kelly didn't really take the thought seriously. She knew that as long as she and Jason were together, they could go back to that cliff whenever they wanted.
She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower faucet. As she stripped off her clothes and climbed in, she reflected on the events of the previous night.
Kelly felt a small pang of guilt at having made Jason tell her he loved her. She'd been able to tell it from the look in his eyes; he'd seen the question coming, but he wasn't prepared for it. It was that "Stantler caught in the headlights" look that she was so familiar with, especially from him.
Hearing him say it first had made it so much easier for her to say it back.
That was why she'd wanted him to say it.
She hadn't just wanted to hear a "yes." It wasn't enough. She had to hear it.
And he'd said it.
But with the same look as when he'd said "yes."
*He was so eager to get away from his own guilt that he almost forgot about us,* she thought. This disappointed her, but she understood to a certain extent.
*But until he starts facing his mistakes, instead of running away from them, he'll never forget them... or forgive himself for making them.*
This was a fact that had lodged in her mind ever since Jason had first told her about the incident at his family's marina. He had unilaterally caused a chain reaction that had utterly destroyed his own family. He had been assumed dead, a status that remained in place even now; news of his feats in Kanto and Johto did not go as far as the Orange Islands.
*But if he were to show his face there today,* Kelly wondered, *would he be recognized?*
She didn't think he would be. And she thought it would do him good to return. Maybe he could compete in the Orange League...?
*But he has to do what *he* thinks is best for him. It's not for me to decide,* she told herself, as she rinsed.
*Whatever he chooses, I'll stay with him.
I'll stay with him because I love him.*
***
Jason woke up to the blazing sun pouring in through the sheer curtains drawn across the window. He squinted through the light, and looked around the room for Kelly.
He didn't see her, but he heard the splashing of water in the bathroom. *Must be taking a shower. Sounds like a good idea to me.*
For a moment, he thought about the night before.
*I lied.
She asked me the one question that might very well have made or broken our relationship right then and there.
And I lied.
And now, because of that lie, she's admitted that she loves me.
Oh, God, why did I ever open my mouth?*
Jason forced himself into a sitting position and moved across the bed until he was sitting on the foot. From here, it was easy to reach the dresser; he pulled out a change of clothes from the "clean" drawer, put the clothes on the bed, then moved around the edge of the bed again until he was next to his wheelchair.
*Why do I do this to myself?* he wondered. *Why do I keep trying to distract myself from my mistakes? Why do I keep running away?*
As with Kelly's question last night, he had no answer.
He wondered if he ever would.
Jason looked back at the radio clock, which read 9:10 A.M. He'd slept late, all right... and from the look of things, so had Kelly. It didn't even look as if she'd used her own bed last night, but just slept next to him the entire time instead.
*Because she loves me.
And because I don't know if I love her.*
Jason refused to let himself be further paralyzed by thoughts alone. They'd said what they'd said, and whether or not what they said was true was up to time to figure out.
In the meantime, they'd both come here with a purpose.
Jason was determined to do his best in the Atlantis League.
And, along the way, maybe he would find some answers to the questions he was constantly asking himself.
***
Jason and Kelly spent most of the day browsing the expansive marina and its marketplaces. At times, it almost felt as if they were prowling around a treehouse, as many wooden bridges and platforms as they were moving across. Kelly said so, and Jason agreed wholeheartedly.
"But there's one notable exception," he added. "The fact that this entire place is wheelchair-accessible."
"Lucky for you," she responded.
"Well, not only trainers pass through here," Jason continued. "This entire marina is one heck of a tourist attraction. And I imagine a lot of overseas trading is done here. There've got to be some people passing through with injuries or some such that would need crutches or a wheelchair."
"I'd imagine so," she answered.
Already, Jason's mind had drifted from the subject, back to the Atlantis League. Oak had told him that there was no info on the types of Pokemon used by the gym leaders, and that he couldn't even find the name of the Atlantis League champion.
*Guess that means I'll have to improvise,* he thought. *Use my best Pokemon of each type for gym battles, and for trainer battles use Pokemon that have less experience. As usual.
But there are nine elements. And I can only use six. Hmm...*
"Hey, Jason, come take a look at this," said Kelly, turning and starting up a brisk pace toward one of the kiosks.
Jason raised an eyebrow and followed her.
When they got to the kiosk, they saw a respectable-looking man standing behind the counter. He smiled politely. "Something I can help you with?"
"Just looking for the moment, thanks," Jason responded. He looked up at Kelly. "So what is it?"
"Well, take a look." Kelly indicated the glass case inset below the counter.
Jason saw a considerable collection of several different types of capture balls, ranging from ordinary Poke balls to Ultra balls, and from Fast balls to Heavy balls. All of them looked expertly crafted. He wondered, if he bought one of those, whether he'd be reluctant to throw such a perfect piece of craftsmanship at a Pokemon, or into a battle arena.
He looked up at the salesman. "How much do each of these run?"
"Two hundred apiece."
Jason's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Back home, an Ultra ball costs six times that much."
"Costs six times that much just about anywhere," the salesman acknowledged. He leaned forward. "But then again, they cost more because there's more Pokemon to be found anywhere else. Around here, all you can find are water types, and even then, most of those are Magikarp. You might get lucky and catch, I dunno, a Poliwag or Horsea or somethin', but for the most part, wild and valuable Pokemon around here are few and *very* far between."
"So why sell them here?" Kelly asked.
"Cause no trainer wants to be empty-handed or armed with a weak ball when one of those valuable Pokemon *does* come floatin' around. And the balls can be bought in bulk around here a lot more easily than wherever it is you two come from."
"So you get good business?"
"Mediocre, most days," the salesman responded. "But sometimes, there'll be a trainer or two that can't resist the deal."
"Who's your supplier for the custom ones?" Jason asked.
"Lotta the time, I am. I've built a lot of the ones you see in that case. Some, though, I get traded in from trainers who don't need 'em, and some others I get imported all the way from Johto. Guy named Kurt makes 'em night and day. Those are the best ones."
For a brief moment, Jason saw an image of Tommy superimposed over the salesman, though the two looked nothing alike.
Jason knew this was a deal too good to miss. He pulled out his Pokedex, activated the digital checkbook, and checked what he had in savings. Of course, he had far more than enough to pay for what he wanted to get; he just wanted to check the total. Then he patted the sack hanging underneath the left arm of his wheelchair, where his empty capture balls normally resided.
*Almost empty. Guess I'll have to fix that. These'd make great subjects for tech research.*
"I'll take five Ultra balls, and... two of each custom ball," he said, handing his Pokedex to the salesman for verification.
"Thought you'd know a good deal when you saw one," said the salesman, accepting the Pokedex and linking it to his register. He rang up the total. "Twenty-two hundred here... all right, there you go."
After the transaction was finished, Jason and Kelly were once again on their way through the marketplace. Jason's thoughts were not so much on the merchandise as they were, of course, on the Atlantis League. That left Kelly free to explore what she wanted. She even goaded him into buying a few things for her.
When Kelly glanced toward one particular kiosk, however, she quickly turned the other way and didn't look back.
Jason caught this, mired in his thoughts though he was, and turned toward the kiosk that had caused such a rude reaction.
*LaHora, Inc.
We Deal In Rare Pokemon!*
His teeth ground almost audibly upon sight of that sign.
He quickly followed Kelly's example.
*Even now,* he thought, *people still sell Pokemon for money.
Sooner or later, it's gonna have to stop.
Pokemon are living creatures. They shouldn't be kept in cages.*
For an instant, Jason wondered if his efforts all those years ago had been in vain. His family had been ruined, yes, but their fall could have heralded the spawning of smaller corporations of the same type.
He didn't want to think about the implications.
He looked at Kelly for reassurance. When Kelly returned the gaze, he saw a measure of sympathy in her eyes. "I can only imagine what you have to live with every time you see something like that."
"I live with it," he responded. "Not very easily, but I do live with it."
She patted him on the shoulder, giving him all the reassurance he needed.
Already, he felt better.
Maybe their love life wasn't certain.
But their lives had been forever changed by the other.
And they were thankful for it.
Jason Creight reflected on.
To Be Continued
