Aren't i just the worst? As an actual Amourshipper i was rather conflicted about pairing Ash with Lapis, but i eventually decided to make what i call Mirrorshipping the official ship of this story. Funny enough, the idea for Mirrorshipping actually came from a piece of Amourshipping fan art i drew, Ash came out perfect, but my sketch of Serena looked more like Lapis Lazuli in my opinion, and the idea for this story then came to me. Anyway, we now continue our tale. *POKEMON AND STEVEN UNIVERSE ARE NOT OWNED BY ME*
Ash could only stare at the girl on the ground, surrounded by the other eight teens looking down at her.
"Well she has pokeballs on her belt" Brock said upon examining her for wounds "she's from our world"
"Do you know her Ash?" Steven asked his friend
"I uh, yea" was all he could say
James took the unconscious girl by her elbows "we'd better get her to the barn" he suggested
"NO!" Ash screamed to him, causing James to drop Serena back onto the sand. "We're taking her to the Temple!" he dictated to the group.
"But the barn's closer" Brock told his friend with confusion.
"We are not taking her to the barn!"
"Why?" Steven asked, "isn't she your friend?"
"Don't you see what's going on?" James said on Ash's behalf "this girl is Serena, the girl who has feelings for Ash, and obviously we can't take her back to the barn with Lapis there"
"So this girl was your first actual kiss?" Sour Cream asked
Ash nodded
"Well he's right," Jenny intervened, "the path to Ash's place is a walk straight through town, do you know how bad it'll look seeing a bunch of people, eight out of nine of them guys i might add, carrying an unconscious girl in the middle of the night? Steven's place is a walk behind the cliff so nobody will see us."
"You've got a point there" Jamie agreed with her, "so how are we gonna carry her?"
The group crowded around her with everyone getting at least one arm around her and lifted Serena into the air with their combined strength, Ash and Buck lead the group to the beach house. Somehow Serena fell their grasp back into the beach.
"Seriously guys there's nine of us carrying one person how do we keep dropping her!?" Brock angrily asked the group
Buck kicked the door to the beach house open and the group sat Serena down gently on the couch.
"Is she going to be ok?" Steven asked
"I think so," Ash said feeling Serena's forehead "you guys should go, she's gonna have plenty of questions, so Steven and I should be the first people she sees"
"You sure?" Ronaldo asked
"Yea, i'm sure"
"Alright, we'll see you later then" Buck said as he, Sour Cream, Jenny and Ronaldo left.
"Hey Jamie, can you stay for a second?" Ash asked
"Uh sure what do you require from me?" he asked dramatically
"Are you still looking for a roommate still?"
"Yeah, you seriously don't want your oldest friend living with you?"
"It's not that, it's that, it's just that i don't want Serena living with Lapis given our current situation, you're a trustworthy guy and i think you and Serena could get along well." Ash explained.
"I'll consider it" he said as he started walking out the door "good luck with your predicament Ash"
"James and I should probably fill in Peridot, Lapis and Pikachu about this" Brock said as he and James followed leaving Steven and Ash the only ones to watch Serena.
As Ash and Steven waited for Serena to wake up, the leader of the Crystal Gems entered the living room.
"Howdy boys" Garnet said rubbing her hand into Steven's hair "your friend is looking good Ash" she said addressing the unconscious Serena on the couch.
"Garnet, i need you to use your future vision to show me what this fate has in store for me." Ash requested.
"Sorry Ash, you know my rule, i only use my future vision for my friends when they're lives are in danger. But i could give you temporary use of my power" she told him
"Ok, how does that work?" he asked
"Like this" Garnet told him as she leaned down to him and kissed him on his forehead. A few sparkles appeared over his face, and soon he was able to see everything. Hundreds of possibilities for himself, Lapis and Serena flashed before his eyes. Some had him choosing Lapis, some had him choosing Serena, some had him choose both, one had him leave both of them for Brock of all things, the craziest one had to be the one were Lapis left Ash for Serena. The hundreds of possible futures continued past him and he heard himself screaming from the overabundance of futures.
"Ash! ASH!" Steven screamed bringing him back to reality.
"Ash i'm so sorry" Garnet said with sympathy "if i had known there were that many possibilities i never would've let you see that."
"It's ok" Ash said trying to catch his breath.
Serena finally began to stir and open her eyes, slowly sitting up on Steven's couch. "Ash?" she asked
"Hey Serena" he addressed her handing her a glass of water. "Here you're gonna need this, trust me."
Serena took the glass and took a polite sip, then she leaned it back and gulped the glass's entire contents at once. She handed the cup back to him panting heavily. "What happened? Where am i?"
"You're a long way from Kalos Serena" Ash said sitting in the chair across her, Steven sat down next to Serena on the couch. "Remember that time i went through to another dimension and met an alternate version of me? Well it's kind of like that, except we're in a completely different world, no alternate versions of us, no pokemon. Instead, we wind up in the middle of an alien rebellion against a homicidal empire of rock women bent on destroying the earth. Apparently Arceus has a plan for me to save this planet with the rebellion and you have someplace in this plan."
"Alright, i'll buy that. So who are these guys?"
"I'm Steven" he introduced himself. "And that lady over there" he said referring to Garnet
"I am Garnet, leader of the Crystal Gems" she proclaimed. Just then, Pearl and Amethyst returned from the concert. "And this is Pearl and Amethyst"
"What?" Pearl asked confused. Garnet and Ash filled the two Gems in on the Serena situation.
"Think it's time you showed her your roommates? I mean, she's staying at the barn with you guys right?" Amethyst asked
Ash felt sour in his stomach at the very thought of Serena and Lapis in the same room together. "Well, including Pikachu, there's already six of us living there, i doubt there's enough room in that little barn for all of us now, but don't worry Serena, i found you a place to stay with my friend Jamie"
At the mention of not being able to live with Ash, she gave him a look of disappointment.
"Don't sorry Serena," Garnet reassured her "Jamie's a great guy, you'll love living with him"
"Shall we introduce her to the others?" Steven suggested
"I think i'd like that" Serena agreed, much to Ash's dismay.
He and Steven lead her towards the barn, Ash feeling Butterfrees in his stomach with every step forward. Once they all appeared at the barn, Ash stepped before the two. "Just to let you know Serena, James from Team Rocket is here to"
"WHAT!?" she shouted "you mean to tell me you let James live with you but not me!?"
"Well, James was here before you, and besides, he has disowned Team Rocket and is now a good person. And again, I'm sorry, but we can't let you be here, there's like no room at all. Alright, i'm gonna let the others know you're here, why don't you show Steven your pokemon" he said as he pushed the barn door open and closed it behind him. He saw Brock, James, Pikachu, Peridot and Lapis were all talking in the back of the room.
"How is she?" Brock asked
"She's ok. She's outside ready to meet you guys"
"Well then let's meet her" Peridot said, pushing open the door for Ash. they were greeted to the sight of Steven and Serena playing with three pokemon outside. "You must be Serena" Peridot said "I am the great Peridot"
"Nice to meet you Peridot" she said shaking her hand
"I'm Brock, it's nice to finally meet you"
"Well, you know me i guess" James shrugged with an awkward smile
"Ash tells me you're not with Team Rocket anymore" she said with a distrustful look on her face
"That's correct, i'm a new man, right Pikachu?"
"Pika!" the mouse pokemon announced to agree with him, as be began to run around with her panda like pokemon.
"What pokemon are these?" Peridot asked
"Meet Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon"
"Wow," Brock admired Sylveon's ribbons "these pokemon are very rare, you really care about your pokemon Serena"
The part Ash was dreading finally came when Lapis approached her "i'm Lapis Lazuli, it's nice to meet you"
"Nice to meet you to"
"I like your blue thing" Lapis complemented her ribbon
"Thanks, Ash gave it to me. I love your dress"
Lapis looked at her with confusion as she didn't know what a dress was.
Ash felt a small sense of relief seeing Lapis and Serena becoming friends, Steven tugged on his shirt and dragged Ash to the side of the barn.
"Please tell me you told Serena about you and Lapis" Steven said with worry.
"Yea i'm about to tell her" he said, "i was gonna tell her once she adjusted to this world."
"Ash can i talk to you about something" he suddenly heard Serena say from behind him
"Yea, what's up?" he asked nervously
"It's about what happened at the airport, when i kissed you"
"Serena i"
"No Ash, i need to get this off my chest. I love you Ash Ketchum. I have been since the moment we met when we were four." tears were streaming down her eyes and her face was redder than Ruby. Ash was now at the most difficult part of his journey, he had already made his choice.
"Serena, i do care about you alot, and i see you as close as family" he began to say to let her down gently, but clearly Serena took it the way he didn't, as she suddenly grabbed him by his jacket collar, and dragged him into a deep kiss.
Almost instantly he pushed his friend off "NO SERENA! That's not what i meant! I do think of you like my sister, but i can't return your feelings, what i'm trying to say is. Serena, i have a girlfriend, and her name is Lapis Lazuli. That's the real reason i didn't want you living with us, i didn't want something like this to happen. I'm sorry Serena, but my heart belongs to Lapis"
Steven stared in awe as Serena looked like her world had crumbled.
"I'm sorry Serena"
"No Ash, I should apologize" she said with her voice thick with tears "I had no idea, and Lapis seems like such a sweet girl, I couldn't do that to you. No matter how I feel. I'm so sorry Ash. I didn't mean to try to come in between you and her."
He was surprised by how mature Serena was about it "thanks Serena" he said taking her into an awkward hug.
As they walked back to the barn, Ash noticed Lapis had gone off somewhere, and Peridot had begun to charge at him with a furious look.
"YOU MONSTER!" She screamed as she began hitting and clawing at Ash's legs. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HER?!"
"And you call me untrustworthy" James snarked with a mad look as well
"What are you guys talking about? What did I do?" Ash asked
"I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU DID ASH KETCHUM!" He heard Lapis shout from the truck. She flew down with her eyes red and puffy, a thick stream of tears was running down her face. "I TRUSTED YOU! I LOVED YOU! AND WHAT DO YOU DO WITH MY LOVE? YOU KISS HER!" She screamed at him.
"WHAT?! No Lapis that's not what"
"Don't play dumb, I saw you and Serena kissing!" She screamed with tears falling a down her face.
"Lapis" Serena tried to add "I didn't know about you guys and kissed him, Ash told me everything and I'm so sorry"
"It's true Lapis I saw the whole thing" Steven explained
"Please believe us Lapis!" Ash cried out, tears beginning to fall down his face. "Please Lapis, please remember the promise I made that I'd never hurt you!"
"Well you betrayed your promise" she said with a stone cold expression. "I thought you were different than the others Ash, you no better than Jasper was to me" With that, she left the group and flew to the top of the silo.
"Please Lapis!" Ash cried, making one last attempt to get through to her
"JUST GO!" she screamed at him
Ash obeyed her command and began to walk away without a word, Pikachu following him trying his best to comfort him. He took one last look back at the barn to see Serena was running away crying in the opposite direction of him. Steven gave him a look of pity and sorrow as Ash turned around and walked off.
Ash just walked the streets of Beach City, not knowing where he was going, not caring about the time that passed, he knew he couldn't go back to the Temple because Serena probably went there as it was the only place she knew how to get to. He also couldn't go to The Big Donut or Fishstew as it was now 11 o'clock and both were closed. He just walked through the city streets before he finally broke down in the middle of the street crying on his knees.
"Is this what you want from me Arceus!?" He screamed at the sky "you wanted her to leave me?! So you send your little pawn Serena to do this!? DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU!" He screamed and cried
"Ash?" he heard a familiar voice ask from behind him. He turned to see the person talking to him was the last person he wanted to talk to at the moment. Lars.
"Go away Lars" he said wiping tears from his face
"You look terrible" Lars remarked, "what are you doing in the middle of the street?"
""I TOLD YOU TO GET LOST!"
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu scolded his best friend for treating Lars like that
Ash took a deep breath "sorry Lars, if you must know, Lapis dumped me after one of my friends kissed me. Now I have nowhere else to go"
"Geez, that sounds like it really sucks Ash" he said with a nonchalant attitude, the exact reason why Ash didn't want to talk to him. But he saw Lar's face change to imply he was thinking. "You said you needed a place to stay?" He finally asked
Ash nodded
"Well, I live just up the street, you can crash at my place for the night if you want" he said like he didn't know how to ask Ash.
Ash really wanted to say no, he truthfully only let Lars hang around him because he thought Sadie was cool, but where Sadie went, Lars went. Besides, he hated the way Lars treated her and Steven, but then again Lars was right, he did have nowhere to go.
"Sure Lars, thanks"
Lars gave him an attempt at a friendly smile as he helped Ash on his feet, he lead him and Pikachu to a small looking townhouse Ash had passed while still in his daze. He sat him down on the living room sofa as he went to the kitchen to make them hot chocolate.
"Thanks Lars" Ash said still crying on the sofa.
"It's no problem, i'm just a cool guy like that"
Ash ignored his arrogance and just sipped his drink.
"So, your ex kissed you in front of Lapis and now she's pissed huh?"
"She's not my ex. But you're right about the pissed off part. I don't know what I'm going to do Lars, Lapis was my everything. I've only been away from her for like two hours now and I'm a wreck. I'm not sure if I can go on without her." With that, he broke down sobbing again
Lars, not sure of what to do, just placed his hand on Ash's back and awkwardly rubbed it. "Uh, there there, it's gonna be ok" he said "just let it all out and" his improvised speech was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. "Give me a sec Ash" he said as he left to answer the door, leaving Ash alone with Pikachu, who also began to try to comfort his trainer.
"Look he's here" he heard Lars tell someone outside "I don't know if you're really what he needs right now but who am I to judge? Come on in" Lars and the new arrival both then entered the living room to face Ash.
"How did you know I was here?" He asked Lapis and Serena
"We didn't, we went door to door until we got lucky" Lapis explained, sitting down next to him on the couch and placing her hand on Ash's knee. "Steven told me everything, and Serena seemed sincere, so I thought i'd find you"
"Lapis I'm so sorry that happened. Please forgive me. I've already lost you once, I can't go through that again. I mean look at me, I've been away from you for less than two hours and I'm a mess, I can't live without you Lapis Lazuli." Ash begged "I love you" he said taking her hand.
Lapis's already puffy and red eyes began to tear up again, "And I you Ash Ketchum. And I beg of you to forgive me for not letting you explain and just coming to conclusions like that. And for comparing you to Jasper. I love you to" she said pulling him into another kiss.
Ash felt the immediate spark between them reignite, and he knew she was who he was meant to be with. Once he pulled away, they turned to face Serena.
"Serena, I forgive you, and I would be honored to have you living with us at the barn" Lapis said
"Thank you, but I don't think that'd be best for me. I don't want to cause anymore trouble that I've already caused."
"Uh just have a three way and get it over with" Lars suddenly said with annoyance, ruining the moment of friendship.
"LARS THATS GROSS!" Serena scolded him
"I don't get it" Lapis said, not understanding what a three way was.
"Don't worry about it" Ash reassured her
"So what are you going to do now Serena? Where will you live?" Lapis asked her
"She can stay at Steven's place for tonight, then i'll ask Jamie about giving her a room to stay at" Ash explained "you're gonna be here awhile Serena so i'd recommend you find a job here in Beach City."
"I might be able to pull some strings with the owner of The Big Donut and maybe get you a job there" Lars insisted "can you bake?"
"I sure can! Thank you Lars!" Serena exclaimed wrapping him up into a hug
Ash smiled as Lars tried his best to play off his blush from the sudden hug Serena gave him, he honestly was surprised by how considerate and kind Lars was starting to become, he was definitely not the same Lars Ash met and hated six months ago. They all wished Lars a good night and escorted Serena back to the Temple.
"I'll figure out the Jamie situation in the morning, goodnight Serena" Ash said
"Good night Ash, Lapis"
The two walked back to the barn holding each other's hands as Lapis rested her head on Ash's shoulder the entire way back.
"Glad to see everything turned out alright" Brock said after welcoming them home.
After he and James went to sleep, Ash took Lapis and carried her bridal style to their mattress bed and gently set her down. Snuggling back in with her after she settled.
"I'm glad we got all that behind us" He said kissing her forehead
"Promise me we'll never fight like that ever again?"
"Promise"