Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of original characters, ideas, and places, belong to Nintendo.

Credits: Vanika, Silvanus, and all locations involving Nara belong to me.

AN: Yes, I am giving you the next chapter:D No waiting to find out what happens after that cliff hanger, haha. Even though I could be evil and withhold this a while..naaaaah. 8D So here we are. I actually quite like how it went, except the ending of the chapter is rather iffy. o.0 I might come back and rework it a bit.

Warning: No those adult scenes aren't in this chapter either. Go forward a few more chapters and it'll be in there, when I get that chapter up. Ha.

- Chapter Seven: A Close Call -

Waiting until he couldn't hear the running footsteps, Ash quickly kneeled down on the ground, getting the trembling girl in a hug. Are either of you harmed? Silvanus landed next to them, curling his wings against his back and sitting on his hunches.

"Vanika, where is Vanika?" May asked, leaning toward him, her voice shaking. Silvanus tilted his head. I do not know. I haven't seen her. Growing more hysterical by the minute, May grabbed the confused dragon. "You have to find her! She's hurt, she's probably…"

Breaking down, she started crying, bent over and hiding her face in her hands. Silvanus backed up several paces, folding and unfolding his wings edgily and uncomfortably. "Go," Ash said, "find her."

Without comment, Silvanus took to the air once again, disappearing into the upper branches of the trees. With nothing to say that would be of any help, Ash sat in grim silence, rocking the teary, wailing girl. Even Pikachu didn't make a sound, not sure if it would be best to stay, or to leave.

"Vanika…" May whimpered, shuddering, "Vanika…mommy…I want my mommy back…"

"She'll be fine." Sniffling, the brunette stared at Ash, her green eyes clouded and bloodshot, disbelieving. She shook her head.

"No, no, he shot her, he shot her. She's dead…" May said, a new wave of tears falling. Ash, strained, forced a reassuring smile, squeezing her.

"Vanika's alive, and she'll be okay," he repeated, "Have I ever lied to you?" May shook her head, rubbing her runny nose with her sleeve, and curled up into a ball, shivering again. Ash looked back toward the forest.

He certainly hoped it wouldn't have to be that First Lie.

- - -

His wings beating against his back as he flew, Silvanus streaked between the trees and branches, his head down to guard his eyes from the onslaught. He listened closely for some sign of the other dragon; a whimper, a yell or call, something to warn him of her presence. Vanika! Vanika!

Soaring higher, Silvanus scanned the forest below, his eyes darting from here to there. As he passed by one of the smaller clearings, he felt a weak mental tug; it was barely noticeable, like someone whispering from across a room. Going into a nosedive, he rushed past the leafy treetops and landed. Scurrying, he crossed the clear ground, coming upon the fallen Vanika.

The leaves Pikachu had placed over the wound were soggy from blood, the ground around her stained and glistening. Silvanus looked around for some form of help, his eyes falling on nothing but empty air. Seeing no other options, he nudged his nose under her, working until she was hanging on his back loosely.

Rather then risk flying, Silvanus took to a quick trot, using his wings as a sort of belt to hold Vanika on as he crossed the uneven terrain. There was no time to waste in getting back to the cave, if he was to keep her alive for long. Do not die!

- - -

Misty awoke with a start, her eyes wide and unfocused as her mind tried to comprehend the yells and screeching. She crawled out of her sleeping bag, and got up to stretch out. "Brock, wake up!" she said, kicking the man in the side gently.

He mumbled under his breath, rolling over and putting his head under the pillow. The redhead watched him, not at all amused, and kicked him again, harder. "Up!" Misty repeated, as she walked out.

She froze at the entrance, her heart caught in her throat at the sight. Silvanus was sprawled out on the ground, Vanika's bloody form next to him, panting heavily. Take care of her, he ordered, his own Mind link weakening as exhaustion started to take over.

"What happened? Where are-" she started as Brock groggily appeared next to her, looking unhappy with being awaken so early. Silvanus cracked an eye open. Vanika, hurt. Ash, May, lake, neither hurt.

The eye shut again, and the Link closed down. Misty pointed to the dragon pair, going at a run toward the direction of the lake. "Get them inside and get ointment or something on her if you could, please."

When Brock nodded his consent, she wound her way around the first trees, disappearing from his view. Misty wondered what had actually happened to cause both of the reptiles to be in such states – one too tired to even lift his head, the other on the brink of death.

Coming out on the sandy, rock shore, Misty looked around the lightless beach. "Ash? May?" she called out, walking along the sloping lake, keeping away from the small tide.

At the first sound of footsteps, she turned around to glance at Ash, who was coming up behind her, carrying the young girl that was May. "What are you doing out here?" he asked, his unease obvious even to Misty.

"I came to find you two. What happened?" Ash shook his head.

"Walk and talk; we need to get back to the cave. I'm not sure myself, actually…" Ash admitted, "Just that, there was a man that showed up, quite a nasty one, threatening to kill May then me when I wouldn't get her to tell him something…whatever it was. When Silvanus scared him off, May said something about Vanika being hurt or dead and has been crying nonstop ever since."

Misty stared at him, alarmed. "Why didn't either of you wake me and Brock up?" she yelled, ignoring when Ash winced.

"I don't exactly think either of us thought much about waiting around for everyone else. The only reason I was up was because she accidentally fell on me or something in her hurry to get up and out after Silvanus and Vanika," he replied, "so when Pikachu came back saying to go to the lake, I just went, no questions asked." Misty sighed, exasperated.

"And if something had happened to either of you, no one would have been up to do anything about it," she said, her shoulders drooping, but dropped the subject afterwards; there was no point in dwelling on the smaller details. When they came up to the cave, Ash left Misty to attend to Silvanus, vanishing into the dark hole that was the cave.

"I think there is very little I can actually do." Brock looked up at Misty, as he gently pulled Vanika's wing out to its full span. "I can maybe patch it up and keep putting ointment on the wound to help it heal, but other then that, she's on her own. Though, with the amount of blood she has most likely lost…"

"We just have to hope she pulls through," Misty said grimly, as Ash returned alone. They didn't even acknowledge his presence, watching the slow, shallow breathing creature that was at that very moment in an almost coma-like state.

"Would it be better if we took them inside?" the younger boy asked. The breeder nodded, taking the injured female gently in his arms to carry her inside. Misty did the same with Silvanus, getting help from Ash with the awkward weight.

As they set them down to bed for the night, Brock pulled the dark-haired teenager to the side. "Listen," he said, keeping his voice low, "I think maybe it would be best, that if something does happen to…to Vanika, that maybe the trip for the tournament be put on hold until next year."

Ash turned his head away, closing his eyes at the solemn thought. The aftereffect of the dragon's death would surely be less then pleasant on all fronts; and just the thought of such a kind creature perishing because of one man's greed brought a bitter taste to the mouth. "Yes, I would say so…let's hope that doesn't become the case, though."

- - -

The next few days went by slowly, in a near silence that not even Silvanus dared to break unless he really needed to. In the cave, Vanika continued to heal, her breathing only slightly more natural then the night of the raid, and her wing healing slowly, the blood flow stopped.

For most of the time, May sat idly, barely moving, staring ahead with glassy eyes that were unfocused and unresponsive. The rest of the time was spent doing the necessities of life, though the same moody, glum feeling remained.

"Ash, I don't like this," Misty said softly on the fourth afternoon. She kept her head down, not daring to even look around. "First Vanika, then May now too. Can't you do anything?"

He shook his head ruefully. Ash had actually tried everything he could think of, and all of them had appeared to fail. "I can't. I think…I think we are just going to have to wait this out," he replied.

They fell into the tense silence again, neither of them feeling any amount of cheerfulness; it seemed like there wouldn't be any to feel for awhile. "I'm going for a walk."

Giving both girls a lingering look, Ash stood and stepped over the growth that was part of the barrier of the clearing. The air was warm, smelling faintly of wood and flowers, in the inner workings of the forest. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he slowly and quietly wove around the trees, staring down at the ground.

Even the forest itself seemed to be grieving in its own way, as the atmosphere was not the same as the normal, peaceful one it normally had. At that moment, it felt more constricted and compacted, as if someone had taken the whole of the forest and dropped it into a box and shut the lid. Never before had it felt so, and it bothered Ash more then a little.

Feeling something hard under his shoe, Ash bent down to pick up the hardcover book that had been lying on the ground. Brushing the dirt and grime off of it, he looked at the ripped cover. It had no title on it, and looked like one of the blank books one could buy in a stationary shop or a bookstore.

Finding a place to sit at the base of one of the trees, Ash opened it to the first word-filled page, and scanned through it. At first it looked like just a history of Wicker City, until it started talking about the forest, and how it had received the name Wicker Maiden Forest five years prior to that moment.

It went on in great detail of many men and women returning from trips into the forest severely beaten up, with stories of two vicious reptilian creatures and a girl that had attacked them from no where. Most of them involved looking for a Treasure that was rumored to reside within the forest walls, something of great value and worth. Some of them listed the girl as being 'a spirit,' 'ghost,' 'wood nymph,' or 'elf,' among other such terms and names.

Ash's eyes widened, everything in the book coming together; the 'two vicious reptilian creatures' were no doubt Vanika and Silvanus, and the spirit girl was most likely May. "Weren't those guys that we saw here when we first came here looking for treasure?" he asked out loud to the trees.

He wondered what started the stories of there being such valuables in the forest, and whether they held any truth at all. Ash shook his head, shutting the book with a quiet snap, and setting it aside. Leaning his head back, he shut his eyes to block out all of the surrounding scenery; regardless of whether or not there was something people would want inside the sanctuary, they had no right to enter with the intent of taking it.

The snap of twigs alerted him to someone or something approaching him. Ash looked over, opening his brown eyes slightly, widening them to saucers at seeing May being the one that was about. She took a seat next to him on the mossy ground, not speaking a word in greeting.

May turned her head to glance at him, alert for the first time in four days. It became apparent what she wanted, and Ash moved to let her get closer, pulling her onto his lap. Holding onto each other, it almost seemed serene, the stress and ice of the last days just starting to melt away.

"Do you love me?" The question startled Ash, for the sheer fact of how out of place it sounded. May looked at him expectantly, the green eyes that had been so lifeless lately bright again. He didn't know quite what to say; it most likely wouldn't be a good idea to try to dodge the question, but it could also prove fatal trying to answer.

"I'm…" Before he had to come up with a good reply, a weak, shaky voice spoke up, one that was all-too welcome and they both were happy to hear: Vanika's. Don't… stall… tell… truth. You'll… be… happier.

There were no other statements from her, her Link once again broken off. They sat in silence, neither wanting to say anything, until Ash finally spoke up. "I…I think I do, but…" He paused, weighing over what he wanted to say. "…what about you?"

It was May's turn to hesitate, the situation still hanging heavily over her, and the importance of her answer becoming obvious in her mind. "I'm, I'm going to have to say I'm the same. I'm not quite sure, I don't know what that feels like really," she admitted, her cheeks turning red.

"Maybe there is no set way it feels…like, it's different for different people," Ash said, wondering himself how it worked. It was one of the times he wished he could ask someone for help; he knew, though, he was on his own in figuring out what to do and say.

"What do people do when…when they love each other?" she asked, earning a smile from the young man. He shrugged though.

"Oh, lots of things…."