( Note: '''…''' means it's Latias's telepathic voice talking. )

Chapter 2: Together again.

When Ash arrived in Alto Mare and disembarked his boat ride, he almost thought that his wobbly knees would give out beneath him. It had taken him three weeks to journey back here and most of this time he had been enjoying himself. He missed Brock, Pikachu and the others of course, even a little more than he had thought he would, but apart from that he was more relaxed than before he left.

It hadn't been until these last couple of days, when he had started to get close to Alto Mare, that his thoughts and questions had caught up with him. He thought he could handle Latias not returning his feelings, but what if she didn't consider him as a friend, or didn't even remember him anymore?

But she kissed me. Yeah, and then you left, Stupid, Ash thought to himself.

It really was just typical, wasn't it? Ash, the now somewhat famous Pokemon trainer who always took extraordinarily good care of his Pokemon, had now fallen in love with one. How silly can you get?

Ash blushed a little at this thought and then looked around, worried that anyone had seen it. He was now standing at a busy marketplace in the centre of town, not far away from where that water race had started last time he visited.

The warm sun was beating down on him, as he thought about how to find that garden. He couldn't just wait here and hope that Latias herself or Bianca would show up taking him there. He thought he remembered the way, so just maybe he could find it himself. Maybe. He took off his cap, wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, put the cap back on and started walking.

***

It wasn't until late in the afternoon when Ash finally found his way to the entrance to the secret garden. Slightly out of breath, he now stood there looking around. It was an almost surreal feeling to be back here again, in a place most people didn't even know existed. Though at this moment the garden appeared to be deserted.

Ash started walking along the paths. He wanted his appearance to be a surprise so he didn't call out to see if anyone was there. He had almost given up on finding anyone, as he rounded a bend and looked into a distant corner of the garden.

His heart almost skipped a beat as he saw a young girl sitting alone on a stone bench. At first he thought that it must be Bianca, but he couldn't see her face so well as she was hunched down with her head between her hands, tears slowly falling to water the ground beneath her.

As he walked closer he could see that it wasn't Bianca, although there was some resemblance. Suddenly, his shoe made a slight noise on the gravel of the path, and the girl turned her head and looked at him.

Ash looked into her eyes. Was it…

"Latias…?"

***

Latias had the house to herself that day since Bianca and her grandfather was out of town on some errand and wouldn't be back until evening. She woke up early in the morning, and the weather was sunny and warm, but still she didn't feel happy.

Looking at herself in a mirror she practiced transforming between different human shapes for a couple of hours, as Bianca had told her to. Although the image of her best friend was still the human form Latias felt most comfortable with, she understood that it wouldn't be so easy for Bianca having a duplicate of herself running around all the time.

At first Latias had copied the looks of other young girls in the town, but lately she had tried to create an image all her own. The last few days she had come to like a shape with dark brown eyes and dark purple hair, cut similar to Bianca's but a little shorter; and a figure about the same height as her friend but slightly thinner.

The problem was that all the different girls looking back at her from the mirror had sombre expressions on their faces.

Walking out into the hidden garden, she sighed softly. It was quiet and peaceful – the only sounds that could be heard were from the fountains and perhaps the singing of some distant bird Pokemon. Latias changed into her true shape and flew across the garden, landing at the secluded northeast corner. This was her favourite spot during days like this … and there had been many days like this lately. Days when she would feel down and empty, like something was missing in her life.

Of course something was missing. Her brother Latios had left her for a greater cause, just as she knew he would sooner or later. That was his destiny. But that wasn't the problem.

Latias knew that Bianca had noticed her friend looking unhappy from time to time, and she probably suspected the reason for it. But Latias hadn't spoken to Bianca or anyone else about it, because she was ashamed. Ashamed, since she was just a Pokemon (albeit a so-called "legendary" one, whatever that meant) and a Pokemon was not supposed to fall in love … with a human.

Again transforming into her new human form, Latias sat down on the lone stone bench in this remote part of the garden. She stretched out her arm in front of her and rubbed it softly with her other hand. '''This isn't the real me,''' she thought. '''So why do I want it to be?'''

'''Because I want Ash to love me,''' she admitted to herself.

That was a dumb idea, of course. Why would Ash love her, even if she became a real human? She hadn't yet become sure about her feelings when Ash was about to leave and the next moment he was just gone. '''But maybe he wasn't sure about his feelings either. And I didn't tell him anything,''' she thought to herself but still knowing that it was just wishful thinking.

Ever since that day, when she had kissed Ash goodbye and he had left with his friends, she had been like this. On lonely days she would just sit here and feel miserable and today was worse than usual. Without warning, tears started to fall from Latias's eyes, running down her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands and felt the warm liquid drip between her fingers.

Not even changing to her true form would do anything about the tears. Even Pokemon cried from time to time. '''In particular stupid, wishful Pokemon like me,''' she scolded herself while the quiet sobs made her body tremble.

Suddenly, Latias could hear the scraping sound of someone walking towards her. She looked up, afraid to see that Bianca had come home to find her like this. When she saw Ash standing there she couldn't believe it. She wiped her eyes with her hands and looked again.

"Latias…?"

As if shot from a cannon, Latias rose and ran towards Ash. He spread his arms and caught her as she leapt into them. Then she buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed.

'''Ash, you've come back to me!'''

Ash stumbled backwards a couple of steps when he caught the girl in his arms, but he regained his balance. "Were you crying for me?" he whispered in her ear.

She nodded slightly. '''After you went away … it hurt so much inside. I thought I could be strong, but…'''

Ash gently pulled away a little and looked at her tearful face. He felt a little weird, hugging a girl he had never seen before, but… "I felt it too," he said. "That's why I came back."

Latias inched forward slightly and kissed Ash softly. Ash responded and though the kiss tasted salty from Latias's tears, it was the best thing he had ever felt.

'''I love you, Ash,''' Latias said in his mind.

"I love you too," Ash whispered, breaking the kiss. He looked at her for a few seconds and said "I want to see the real you."

Latias blushed slightly but when Ash nodded to show that he really meant it, Latias transformed back into her real appearance. She couldn't really kiss in this form, but Ash nevertheless cupped her cheek and reached up placing a small peck on her nose. Then he reached out and wrapped his arms around the Pokemon, rubbing her back gently. Sighing contentedly, Latias nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck. Then she rested her paws on his shoulders and folded her wings forward around his neck.

***

From inside the house, Bianca and her grandfather was looking out through a window. They had come home just a short while ago and Bianca had been about to run into the garden looking for her Pokemon friend, when her grandfather had called out to her.

"Maybe you shouldn't go out there right now," he said softly as she joined him by the window.

She looked questioningly at him but when she looked out into the garden, toward the northeast part where he was pointing, she understood. In a few seconds she could feel her eyes water from her mixed feelings. This probably meant that Latias would leave her and her grandfather to go with Ash and so she would loose her best friend, but at the same time she felt so happy for Latias now that Ash had come back.

"True love knows no boundaries," her grandfather murmured, putting a hand on Bianca's shoulder. Blinking back tears, she looked up at him shortly and then back out into the garden, where human boy and Pokemon girl were clinging to each other as if they would never let go.

The End

Make a wish
It's up to you
Find the strength inside
Then watch your dreams come true
You don't need a shooting star
The magic's right there in your heart
Close your eyes
Believe
And make a wish