Back on schedule and very pleased at the same time. I'm having a lot of fun writing this one so I hope you all will have as much fun reading it!
Here you go, a brand new chapter for you to enjoy!
The teen is bewildered when he comes down the stairs. It's still a bit early but ever since he's been admitted to the hospital, he can't stay in bed after seven in the morning. Besides, looking at the colourful holographic red and white tinsel draped around the bannister, it's clear someone's awake already. It's highly likely to be Clair, he didn't hear Lance's door open and he's been awake for half an hour already. He's just taken a shower and he's quite proud that he's getting good at taking showers on his own too, next to being immensely thankful that Lance thought about installing a seat and adding a bar at the side, so he can pull himself up without needing to call for assistance.
"Whoa…" he utters when he sees the living room.
It's like it's gotten dipped in a tub of pure Christmas, there's tinsel everywhere and Ash loves it. It's all red and white theme and it's so sparkly and bright, it makes him feel all fuzzy and nice. He eventually spots Clair in the kitchen and by the smell, he knows she's doing something wicked in there. It's smell sweet and minty, just like a candy cane.
"Good morning," he says, announcing his arrival in the kitchen.
"Oh, good morning," Clair greets back and her smile couldn't possibly get any bigger. "How are you doing on this fine Christmas morning?"
"Amazing, I've never seen so much tinsel in a day!"
"I'm glad you like it, it's always so much work but it pays off. Cheers the whole room up."
Then again, it seems like the kitchen wasn't safe from her decorating, the tinsel made it up in here too. Some colourful baubles are dangling from the ceiling too.
"What are you doing?"
"Making candy cane flavoured toppings from those," she says and points at the muffins at the side.
"Oh, wow, that's going to be amazing."
"I figured I might as well give you a good introduction to Christmas. Though I'm keeping the door closed today, there's no need to go outside and lure carollers inside."
Oh, no… carollers… Ash doesn't know much about Christmas but the Pallet carollers are famous for their 'concerts'. It all sounds like yowling Meowth to him and he knows that none of these ladies were hearing themselves or they would have shut up a long time ago. But they didn't and alas, there were a couple of his mother's friends in the group so of course, she invited them in. He's pretty sure he's never truly been interested in Christmas because of the hours he was forced to listen to the 'carolling'. He insanely happy Clair shares his dislike for it and there's no way he's going to speak up against her, not when she's absolutely right.
"I've found some cute cereals in the supermarket today," she says as if she can feel his mood drop. "They're in the cabinet right there."
He's curious, he's only been here for two weeks now and this is basically the first time his aunt bought something for him. Ash knows he's kind of easy to feed, he knows what he doesn't like -not an awful lot, mind you- and he makes sure to tell everyone asking about those things. Like pickles, for example. The boy can't help but smile when he sees the pink and blue box, it's cereal in the shape of small pokémon.
"This is cute," he chuckles. "What are these pokémon?"
"Swirlix," Clair answers. "They're Kalos pokémon, I believe."
'Awesome,' Ash thinks and happily goes back to the table, to open the box.
An incredibly sugary scent wafts out of it as soon as he opens it. Pikachu's nose twitches in response, though it's likely to just be curiosity. Ash knows that his buddy doesn't have a sweet tooth but there's this thing where pokémon will try anything their trainer eats. And ever since his accident, that's exactly what's happened with every meal he's taken in the hospital. Not that those were so spectacular but still… He checks the box of cereal for any information on whether it's safe for pokémon to eat or not -it is-, before handing a single Swirlix cereal to Pikachu.
"Here, you can be my taste-tester," he says.
The pokémon nibbles on it and it must taste good at first but then Pikachu sneezes. A sign that it's going to be incredibly sweet.
"Not good?" Clair asks.
"Oh, I think it'll be okay, it's just, he's a spicy little guy, that's all," he chuckles as he pats Pikachu's head. "I'll see if I don't have some of these hot Pokéblocks lying around for you later."
"Chu."
This cereal was definitely one of those cavity demons his mother had been talking about but he feels good. He likes that Clair's habits go directly against what he's learnt, it's fresh to hear that you don't have to live like a saint to live at all. He wonders what it would have been like if his mother hadn't been like that… then again, there's only so long you can stay innocent while living in a town like Pallet. Though Ash knows damn well that none of his mom's issues have anything to do with his hometown. The fact her bubble burst when Red returned meant that she had such great fantasies about his return that she completely collapsed when the reality proved to be anything about ideal. Ash knows it's only got a little to do with him but he can't force himself to forget how it had all gone to hell. He was right there, after all.
"Ash?"
He jerks, nearly throwing the spoon across the room. Thankfully, Clair's right there and stops his arm.
"You okay?" she asks carefully.
"Sorry, I was euhm… thinking."
"Can I help?" she offers. "What was it about?"
"… You being really chill in comparison to my mom? I mean, you're already helping a bunch."
Clair gives him an incredulous stare.
"People tell me I'm no good with kids, though."
"They're wrong."
Her face cracks open in a wicked smile and a little laugh escapes her.
"I love how you sound so certain about it. Even though you actually don't know me or Lance that well."
"You've not hurt me yet, though."
"… Ash, I think you've just set the bar so low people might trip over it. If that's your only point to make, that we haven't hurt you yet, that's not… that much work. It also doesn't make us out as the greatest of people either."
"No?"
"No, not at all."
"… Is there something wrong with me, then? Even though I know if you're lying to me or not? That I can feel if you're angry at me or not?"
"Oh, you do?"
"I do."
"Well, alright, so you can tell if we'll abuse you or not. Still, Ash, that's not that great, does Lance know about this?"
"He does. I think everyone I've talked to knows now, everyone except you."
"I'm always the last one to know about things anyway, I'm not bothered," she shrugs. "Nevertheless, talk to us if something's bothering you, okay? I know you care a lot about us and I've noticed Lance has caught your eye. Yesterday, that attempt to get him to talk about Orre… You were trying to help him, weren't you?"
"I'm not sure if I can help," Ash admits. "I was just… trying to understand, I guess. What it was like. I didn't know it was such a touchy feeling, I had a hunch because Lance is still so angry at Scott but I didn't know he would close down like that, become so upset like that. Brandon told me it was supposed to be a safe and secure mission, I didn't know any better. I just figured later on that Scott must have been lying to everyone all along."
"He has and it has upset a whole lot of people. Be careful who you approach with your questions, Ash. Just because someone is nice to you doesn't mean you're entitled to question them."
"No, I… I'm sorry, Clair. I promise I won't mention it again."
"I'm just trying to warn you, Ash, you're free to talk about anything to us."
'Yeah, just not the things that fascinate me,' he thinks and he knows he's sounding sour but what is he supposed to do when he's told off for having talked about the thing he wanted to talk about? And then she tells him it's okay nonetheless? He's a fool in many ways but not that one that big to make the same mistake twice. He's just going to have to find someone who knows what they're talking about without being scared about it and he already knows it won't be easy, as it can't be anyone Lance or Clair know. He'll do it, though, it doesn't matter how long it'll take him, he'll find out what he wants to know.
Nothing's ever easy, though. As he's sitting there, brooding on his plan on how he could actually find this person he's relying on to tell him all about strange pokémon, Clair, of course, assumes he's being so silent because she's just told him off. She gives him a playful nudge and while it does snap Ash from his reverie, he frowns because the jab kind of hurts.
"What did you do that for?" he thinks, figuring she mustn't be that thankful that he got Lance to sleep well if she's already hurting him without good reason.
"You were making weird faces."
'I did?' he wonders as his hands go for his face.
It didn't feel like he was making weird faces, in fact, he feels like she's just lied to him. Now he makes a weird face because he doesn't like the feeling. He does trust both Clair and Lance but this morning was proving to be a test for his trust. He would much rather have her leaving him alone for now but instead, she comes to sit right next to him. She's talking about something he doesn't understand, how is he supposed to know how the pokémon league's affairs work anyway? Or is she just trying to keep him from thinking? If so, it's not working, he's already well on his way of droning it out until she mentions something he knows will affect him. He's heard Lance say something about regulations from the pokémon league, after all.
"- he's not finding it easy to breach the subject with you, though."
"Why not? I've never told anyone off for saying anything to me," he says, the statement flying out of his mouth before he realises what he's said. "Sorry," he adds, even though he knows he's going to get it now.
"I know, that's what I've been telling him too," Clair says, continuing as if he's not given a snide comment at all. "You know it's not going to get any easier, right? Or are you still willing to sleep in a tent?"
"Sure, why not? I'll have pokémon out, no matter what."
"You had pokémon with you that time too, though."
"I was inside a house too, so what point are you trying to make, Clair?" he asks. "I'm not going to be safer in a hotel room or a pokémon centre. I'll be safe if I've got other people and pokémon with me."
"You are entitled to have someone trained to help you accompany you, you know?"
"You're joking."
"Nope, not at all. It would even be in your best interest to have someone with medical knowledge accompany you."
"I'll think about it."
Judging from Clair's sigh, he can tell she knows he won't ever consider it. Honestly, he attracts so much trouble, the pokémon league doesn't have enough money to pay the poor soul they're forcing to come with him, to repay them for everything that'll happen. Ash's pretty sure he'll have to hear 'I'm not getting paid enough for this' an awful lot of time if he were to accept it and if he can save himself from that kind of stereotype situation, he will.
The cereal gets a bit better when it's been soaking in the milk -almond, he's still lactose intolerant, they all learned that the hard way- but now the milk's become awfully sweet. Nevertheless, he finishes it, rinses out the bowl and saunters out of the room, figuring Clair was best off on her own right now. Like him, actually but it's good he's come out of the kitchen when he has, Gible has somehow made his way down the stairs and is checking out what tinsel he can possibly reach.
"Gible, no," he says when the little dragon reaches out to grab some of the glittery plastic. "It's disgusting."
How the pokémon assumes he knows what tinsel tastes like is beyond him but Ash is already glad he's been able to stop Gible from destroying Clair's handiwork. He takes the little dragon in his arms and goes to sit on the couch. As he sits there, he's a bit lost on what to do, like, he can sit here and be silent but is that really what people are supposed to do on Christmas? Then again, having a bit of an argument with your family probably wasn't something people did often during Christmas but how was he supposed to know that Clair has such a nasty surprise ready for him? He knows better now, he won't breach any kind of touchy subject with either her or Lance, they're clearly more sensitive and maybe it was just an adult thing, that no one wanted to talk to a kid or listen to their rambling.
He suddenly hears a strange, snort-like noise and when he looks in the direction he's heard it come from, he sees Dialga's head poke out of the floor. Ash grins, even though he knows the pokémon's head is poking through a portal, it's still a funny sight. He does turn to look at the kitchen door because it's slightly open and the last thing he wants is for Clair to turn around and see Dialga. No adult he's met so far has reacted positively to him being a legendary pokémon magnet either, so he's not taking his chances.
However, as the boy turns back to look at Dialga, the pokémon seems to have vanished. The way Pikachu suddenly jolts off the couch tells him somethings up, though. And yes, as he moves the pillow his starter pokémon had been leaning on, he spots a much tinier Dialga head behind. Ash chuckles because somehow, the pokémon looks amused but the moment he looks away, the head is gone. Again. Another snort makes the teen look at where he's heard it coming from and he smiles widely when he sees the head poke out of the stairs. When he gets there, though, Dialga is gone. And now the snort comes from much deeper into the house.
'Better tell Clair I'm going up,' he thinks and goes to do just that.
"Oh, alright. Be careful not to go into the den at this hour."
"'Kay," he says and goes up the stairs, determined to find the Dialga again.
Clair, in the meantime, has finished her preparations for their Christmas meals and has already gone ahead and phoned the caterer they had called in for the extra food. She's a good cook but only when it comes to basic stuff. It's Lance's experience with her Christmas' dinner that made him hire a caterer in the first place. She's not at all bothered by it but she finds it a bit odd that her nephew -the older one- isn't down yet. So when she's basically done with preparing the food, Clair goes up the stairs, towards Lance's room. It's almost eleven in the morning now, she did leave him to sleep that long because she knows the man could use it but still, there are limits. And she knows he will get mad if she lets him sleep through Christmas.
"Wakey-wakey, then!" she says in a sing-song tone as she goes to open the curtains.
A silent 'what the fuck?' comes from the bed but honestly, Clair couldn't care less.
"It's almost time for Christmas lunch, buddy," she adds sunnily. "Thought you were really looking forward to it-"
This time, a very heartily meant and loud 'fuck' comes out of the bed but it left the Gym Leader to admire the blanket Ash had given Lance earlier this morning. It's a nice one, she decides and it's not until she checks the tag that she realises why Lance never wanted any of her blankets.
'Kid must really have one heck of an ability to know about that in two weeks,' she thinks, as she trudges down the stairs, hearing the man hurry through his morning ritual in the bathroom. 'It's handy, though it's going to be hard to make him happy if everyone around him keeps lying their asses off.'
With that idea in mind, she goes back down, to wait until the caterer arrives. Though she doesn't miss the sounds of delight coming from the boy's room, making her remember that Ash is just still a child after all. That there's no reason why she should be tip-toeing around him or that she should let other people influence her. This is his first Christmas celebration anyway, so they better make it count.
Lance almost curses himself. Because today, of all the days, he slept in -despite not having slept well in the past five months- they needed to wait to give the teen his gifts just because the caterer would arrive with quite a bit of food and heck, it was always a mess, had been every Christmas and now that he had ordered a bit extra for Ash, it would be no different. Nevertheless, the teen seemed able to amuse himself on his own, in fact, he didn't see the kid until one in the afternoon, after Clair had called him to come down and eat.
Another thing why Lance was so focussed on the food, he was hungry as heck. He had skipped on getting any breakfast because it was already so late. Nevertheless, it all looks nice and warm so as soon as the boy comes down, he's pretty quick to sit down and try to keep himself from scarfing most of it down. It takes a while for him to notice how Ash is playing with his food, he's made a little Jenga tower from his berry and potato fries. He's eating it, yeah but Lance never noticed the boy doing this. He's making no effort on contributing to whatever small-talk is happening, though he seems happy enough. It's very strange and seeing how Clair is watching him so closely… yep, he's pretty sure something's happened.
"I tried to breach the subject of the pokémon league regulations," Clair speaks up all of a sudden as if she knew he had questions.
"I see it went well," he comments.
"He needs to know."
"He is sitting at the table."
Ash is now looking at the two of them warily, Lance smiles at him to assure him there's nothing wrong. It only has a bit of effect, the smile he gets in returns is more a grimace but it's a response nonetheless.
"How do you feel about it, Ash?" Lance asks, determine to make this a positive matter. Even if it's got all signs of going to hell all the same.
"If I need to put someone through hell with me to leave on a journey, I'll never set foot out of Johto ever again."
The answer is clear as day but the man is confused.
"I wasn't aware they would offer an assistant to go along with him?" he asks but Clair nods.
"It's in there, they can."
"They won't."
She gives him an incredulous look.
"How are you so sure?"
"Ash's just told you how he feels about it, they'll listen to him, Clair. If he says no, they won't offer again. They're not pushy and they're not there to make trainers miserable. Besides, what good would it do to force him to take that trainer regulation if it means he'll quit being a trainer? Seems a bit contra-productive to me."
"It'd be good for him, though," she murmurs.
Lance would beg to differ, there had been no humour whatsoever in the boy's statement and surely Clair isn't that blind to notice how withdrawn he's suddenly become. He knows the kid, Ash is eager to talk, all he's ever gotten were words, after all. He can truly imagine that some of the boy's birthday's consisted of just a 'happy birthday' from his friends, not a single gift in sight. So the fact he's not engaging in the conversation unless asked is a sign he's not happy.
"We'll tackle the regulations when the time's right," he says, trying to defuse the situation. "It's Christmas, after all."
"Sure."
He's not sure what he can do to make Clair any happier now that he's basically told her to shut up about it but hell, surely she knows a couple of better subjects to talk about today? She really doesn't need to act like the pokémon league is out to restrict Ash in a way that'll leave him all tied up in rules. Sure, there's a bit of paperwork but it's there so they know what Ash's needs are. And there's no way Lance is filling out that questionnaire without the kid right there with him. Ash isn't at an age where he can be ignored and he thinks he can trust the boy to speak up in his defence when push comes to shove. He's not a coward, after all.
Nevertheless, he doesn't mind the silence if it means they'll finish all the food they got. By now, Ash's finished his second Jenga tower and Clair is well on her way to clean her plate as well so it's all good.
Or is it?
"Why did you refer to your journey as hell, Ash?" Clair asks.
"Maybe you would be best off asking dr. Knight about my hospital stay and how enjoyable it was for everyone."
"… You mean, your abilities?"
"No," the teen says. "Not the abilities."
Lance and Clair turn to look at each other and boy, he's sure going to ask the therapist about it next time. It's got nothing to do with medical secrecy either but it's still concerning. However, the man gets an inkling of what Ash means soon enough. After he's herded his niece and nephew into the living room, to watch a corny movie while he's checking up on his pokémon, he sees a strange shape in the unlit end of the hallway. He flicks on the light and it's gone so Lance frowns and flicks the light off. The strange shape is there again and it reminds him of a man who's standing there, shoulders high and hunched… Another flick of the light reveals there's really nothing there but when he dims the light again, it's suddenly standing a whole lot closer to him.
"Hell no," he says, turns his back on the unlit hallway and stalks straight into his pokémon's den.
If that creepy thing wanted to follow him in there, they're free to do so but at their own risk. Seeing how his dragons are looking at him, all on edge, tells him that it might exactly be doing that. He's not keen on it but something seems to be happening back there that's gotten Gabite and Salamance looking up in interest. And that's when he hears Ash's voice.
"What are you doing here?" the boy asks, a certain softness to his voice Lance knows he only uses on pokémon. "Did you want to play? That… You shouldn't do it with my uncle, buddy. It's okay, look, I'll show you the way to my room."
The loudest of footsteps stomp behind Ash's much softer ones and every single hair on the man's body is standing on edge because what. the. hell? Can he even talk to the boy about it? What are the chances that he'll even answer truthfully, no, no… scratch that. His nephew is the most honest kid he's ever met, he'll answer with the brutal truth and it'll leave him shaking and scared of living in his own damn house. No, he's just going to have to be strong and brave like the Champion he is and face this head-on, for his and Ash's sake. Besides, the kid's a miracle with pokémon… But it that thing in the hallway was a pokémon, he was curious to know which one.
'Arceus, help me in this quest, I'm going to need all the help I can get with this one,' he thinks.
He's already off to a good start, none of his dragons bite his hand while he's giving them their Christmas treat so after he draws it out for as long as he possibly can, he walks back out. But not without checking the hallway for a strange figure. There's nothing there, though so Lance lets out a big sigh and goes back to the living room, hoping he'll find Ash there. He does.
"Did you euhm… see something back there?" the teen asks softly, as soon as the man sits down next to him.
"I did. What was it?"
"Do you… believe in aliens?"
"Maaaybe?" he answers, drawing the word out because he's got no idea aliens actually existed but now that his nephew brings it up, there was probably an alien in his hallway a couple of seconds ago. Fuck him.
"I mean, space pokémon."
"There are pokémon in space?"
"Mm," the boy says and bobs his head once. "There are. One came down, it wanted to play. It just… doesn't have any eyes. It thought you were me until it met me."
"Play…" Lance repeats. "Being all spooky in a hallway is playing to the… alien pokémon?"
"Peekaboo."
'Dear God,' he thinks to himself and he steels himself to keep his face straight.
"An alien was playing peekaboo with me," he repeats.
"Yeah. It would have apologized but I told it to forget about it, I don't think you would've… like the way it apologises. I don't even think it knows how to anyway. Deoxys doesn't meet people or other pokémon often."
"And it's in the house?"
"Yeah, do you want to-"
"No."
"Oh," Ash says, sounding a bit dejected. "Can I go upstairs? To play with it for a bit?"
"… Sure. Christmas is about enjoying yourself with family and friends, isn't it?" he says, even though he has a bit of trouble seeing how you can befriend an alien.
Apparently, his nephew somehow managed, though he's going to have a look at who this 'Deoxys' is because he's not totally sure if he trusts the situation. His phone is burning a hole in his pocket but he knows he's going to panic if he takes a look now. Lance is getting so nervous he actually takes his phone out of his pocket and lays it somewhere he can't see it.
"What's gotten you all worked up, then?" Clair asks, plopping down in the seat Ash previously sat in.
"Do I look worked up?"
"You never put your phone to the side otherwise."
"Oh… Ash is playing with an alien in his room. Upstairs."
"I know where his room is, Lance," she says dryly. "What do you mean, an alien?"
"It's called Deoxys. Have you ever heard of a-" he stops talking when he sees her face change. "What?"
"Deoxys," she repeats. "Is that what he said?"
"Yeah."
"… Alright. Okay. It's come here?"
"Yeah, it was playing… peekaboo," he says lamely. "In the hallway," he adds.
"Do you think that's what he meant? With hell?"
"I know how I feel about it just being in the house, yes."
Somehow, he's glad that the alien pokémon showed up, though it's got everything to do with the fact Ash handed Clair her opinion back. He's pretty sure the kid had no idea what the pokémon was up to, though or that it would have come here today. Nevertheless, that alien better make sure it treated his nephew alright or else it would have something coming. His dragon pokémon had looked all too happy to have a go at it, after all.
Ash is elated when he comes back down the stairs. He never imagined Deoxys to be funny but it's just so awkward that whatever it does becomes funny. Its behaviour reminds him of how Gliscor looks so pleasantly confused about everything but at least Deoxys didn't get in his face. What was kind of sad was how confused it was on how his uncle had turned away with it. It's a lot more sensitive than he would have imagined it being, seeing it didn't meet people too often. The teen is pleased to bits, though and he's more than willing to meet the pokémon again. What he wasn't sure of, was whether his uncle wanted that as much as he did.
He didn't get a chance to talk about it, Clair was saying something on how they were already behind schedule -he didn't even know there was a timetable for what was supposed to be happening on Christmas day itself- and that they needed to open the presents now. She looks frantic but judging from how calm both he and Lance are, Ash figures she's the only one who forgot about the presents. The movie had completely drawn her in too, or so it seems.
"Ah, did you like the blanket?" he asks, beaming at Lance, who smiles at him.
"I do. It's… very warm. I might have overslept because of it."
"It's okay, if so, you must've been really tired, so it's okay for you to sleep. It's a sign you need it."
"What I want to know is why you never told me you couldn't stand the type of fleeces I bought you," Clair says and the way the man tenses tells Ash enough.
"I-It's not a fleece, though," he wheedles. "The man said something about it being a… gosh, what was it called again? Something with a 'p'…"
"Plaid?"
"Yes! Yes, that's what he told me it was, yeah," Ash nods.
"We… used fleeces on… missions," Lance mutters as he keeps his eyes fixed on the carpet.
The teen feels his heart sink, he actually feels his heartbeat at the tip of his toes. He had no idea it had anything to do with Orre at all!
"I-I thought it was because of allergies," he utters lamely, feeling completely helpless as he turns to look at Clair, who looks like she's ready to cry.
"So did I," she says and swallows hard. "Lance, why didn't you ever told me?"
"I couldn't," the man answers softly. "I couldn't…"
"It's okay, we all have something we don't want to talk about," Ash chirps, desperate to change the subject. "All I want you to remember is that this blanket is yours and that I wish you many, many dreamless nights under it."
"I hope so," Lance says. "I'll think about you, then instead."
"… If that helps you out, sure, go ahead. I'll happily punch some sleep demons in the face for you."
"You really are the only one I can imagine being willing to do that."
The man is chuckling again and it makes Ash feel less on edge. He doesn't like him all tense, it makes him feel like he's not safe here either and that could have disastrous consequences, knowing him and his abilities. The boy is happy when they all focus on the gifts, at least he knows that it's a nice feeling to get something from another person, it makes you feel remembered and appreciated. And Clair is surprised to find his gift for her still smelling deliciously sweet but she's insanely happy that somehow, he's gotten the name of her favourite product right in the short while he's been here.
Then again, the gifts he gets from both Clair and Lance will keep him busy for a while, it's a tablet and a phone, in one package. He understands they had gotten one gift for him together, this must've been insanely expensive… His mother had never wanted to buy him any electronics beyond a transceiver, she always told him he doesn't know how to care for it. But these devices come with sturdy cases and screen protectors. If these get broken inside his backpack, there is a big chance he won't be there to tell the tale either but then again, his mother's priorities were never about him or his safety. Also, he likes how it's rose gold as if Lance had no idea what colour to get but knew what he wanted to get, meaning he had been thinking about it for a while.
'Oh, wow,' he thinks when the smartphone's screen lights up for the first time.
It's huge compared to the tiny screen of his transceiver and the quality is way better too. He wonders if the resin videos will look even better now… Though he can't help but feel like his friends might have been trying to talk to him. It's been two weeks now, which is a long while to be ignored. And neither Brock nor Misty has been told he was going home, they hadn't come 'round ever since he had been rude to Gary. He gets it, they're busy, they're a bit older than him and he's always felt like he forced them to shove their normal life and routines to the side whenever he came by.
Surprisingly, he does find a couple of messages on the group chat but they don't sound aggressive or mean at all. Instead, Iris asks him if he's sure he wants to try his luck out on something as fickle as a lottery and suggest he finds something a bit more 'exiting' if he still wants to do something for Orre. Ash does want to do it, he's got his candy boxes already and Clair appears to be thankful enough to allow him a few hours behind her computer. If only to help the region become something else that his uncle remembers. He feels like that's the only thing that will be able to save Lance from the trauma he caught back there, a nightmare is just a nightmare when you're faced with a completely different reality than the one you've seen in the dream, right?
It's not something he can do on his own so Ash gingerly goes back to the page he had posed that question… and stops, because he's got sixteen million likes and over half of the comments give him the same advice as Iris. So, with his tongue sticking out of his mouth, he types another message introducing his candy boxes and barely a minute after he posts it, likes pour in, people saying it's a great idea and that they're more than willing to donate and stuff like that. Ash didn't think he would get this much traction but also, he doesn't remember having that many followers. He blinks when he notices he doesn't, it's just that there's an awful lot of people who are seemingly looking at his posts. Then again, Ash isn't that good at technology, he's never been taught how to properly use it beyond the things that seem logical and the things he's learned himself. Maybe it was another update or something that somehow is responsible for the fact the whole world is seeing his posts.
"Are you happy?" Clair asks and Ash nods vigorously.
"Absolutely! It's so easy to use to, this phone is way better than my transceiver."
"It's designed to be that way," Lance answers with a smile. "It's a newer model from the pokémon League, it'll be able to work with every other device they've produced and it'll be kept up-to-date for at least ten years so it'll be able to work with newer models produced after this."
"Wicked," the teen says, chuffed to bits with his gifts. Though he's going to read the manual of the tablet before even attempting on activating it. It looks thin and fragile and he's glad that he's got a case to make sure nothing happens to it.
He spends most of the day reading through the manual and he remembers someone having told him he should never trust a device if the manual is bigger than the device but in this case, Ash does trust it because it's not hard to be bigger than the tablet. It's not even the size of regular printer paper. The usage of the tablet sounds complicated too so he makes sure to read it all… hence why it takes so long.
The day Ash has his first appointment with dr. Knight is also the day where Lance storms around the house, cursing loudly. There seems to have been an incident at the pokémon league and it seemingly requires both his uncle and Clair to be there. Meaning he'll be left on his own. By now, the two adults know he can be trusted not to go anywhere, he's able to enjoy himself with games on the tablet and his attention get sucked in so badly, Clair had needed to clap her hands right next to him to get his attention and that just happened yesterday. No, they trust him alright, it's just the fact that Lance had things planned and so did his niece because they have been promised an entire week of leave, between Christmas and New Year's Day. Ash knows his uncle doesn't handle sudden changes to a schedule very well, just because he had been playing with Dialga in his room, doesn't mean he missed the loud 'fuck' coming from the man's room when he discovered he had overslept on Christmas morning.
At least it was still morning, the boy remembers having overslept so late the day his journey began, it had been noon. At least he can thank his Aura for not allowing that any longer, there's plenty of foreign sounds keeping him awake too. He'll never forget the first night he spent here, those dragons make a lot of noise, even at night. It even made the teen wonder how professor Oak ever even sleeps, he gets that a couple of pokémon snoring can be bad but none of his pokémon makes that much noise.
"Ash, I'm so sorry," Lance says, still a bit red in the face as he fumbles with his shirt.
"It's okay, I can handle dr. Knight on my own. And I'll have my pokémon out," Ash answers calmly, knowing that, if he doesn't make a big deal out of this, his uncle won't get too upset. "Also, you've got your shirt on inside out."
"Goddammit," the man curses and storms off.
The teen feels like whoever got the bright idea to call these two over to the pokémon league today is going to get it in spades. He knows he's going to be uncomfortable here too, Ash still feels like a guest and he knows it'll at least take an hour for Lance and Clair to get there, so even if they're going to spend fifteen minutes there, it'll already take over two hours for them to get back. Which is a very long time alone in a house you barely know. Maybe he can go on an adventure inside the house, Lance told him he's free to go wherever he wants.
"Be good, okay? We'll be back before you know it," Clair says and she kisses him on his cheeks afterwards.
He knows that she's just saying that to make him feel better, she doesn't know what's going on either and so she can't be sure how long it'll take for them to return. But they've got a job to do and some jobs require to expect the unexpected. Being a pokémon trainer, no matter if they are a regular one, Gym leader, elite trainer or Champion, sometimes required to go above and beyond.
Ash shivers when he sees the two leave and pull the door close behind him but he pulls up his brave face again, just for the sake of his pokémon. They know, though but it's the thought that counts.
"Let's go snoop," he says mischievously, his curiosity and excitement winning from his discomfort at being home alone.
His pokémon are right there with him as he goes to check what's going on behind every door. He doesn't enter Lance's bedroom or Clair's because that's just rude and he'll never disrespect their privacy like that. Besides, he's been allowed in it and there's little that interests him in there. The two are more than a bit minimalistic, Clair hasn't got much stuff in her room because it's a guest room. It's been assigned to her but she doesn't like clutter so there's not much there other than a bed and a closet. And the most glittery, obvious trashcan that kind of looks a bit tacky, if you ask Ash but he's not one to judge. If she likes it, so be it.
He finds the attic a bit too dusty to stay and rummage around in so Ash goes back to his own room, having seen the whole house by now, other than the dragon den. Lance could claim the dragons wouldn't hurt him but the last thing he wants is to have nightmares about dragons storming at him. So he leaves them be, he would rather get introduced to them when Lance is there with him. The man's pokémon were prideful, Ash knew that much so he would rather show a bit of respect and get on their good side from the start. However, as he gets to his room, the boy starts feeling like something bad is going to happen. It doesn't lessen when he goes to sit on his bed and gets surrounded by his three pokémon.
In fact, it gets worse and the teen feels like he's going to cry soon, the amount of dread he's starting to feel is too much for him to bear. He doesn't want anything to happen right now, he doesn't want Lance to come back to a worse situation he's been called into the pokémon league for. Just as he starts to cry, he hears a soft coo from right next to him and all too soon, there is a soft tongue licking his tears off his face. Ash sees the pokémon a bit blurry but he can recognise Latias alright. There's another pokémon there, a wet nose is nudging his left hand and he tries to smile as he sees Shaymin crawl on his knee. He holds all the pokémon around him close, he doesn't want them to get hurt either.
There's something outside, it's looking for him, Ash can feel it get closer and closer. The feeling of dread gets worse and he has the nastiest taste in his mouth. He can't stop his tears either, no matter how much his buddies are trying, he's stuck and he's got no way of escaping. It's out for him, it's some kind of Aura but it feels so different from his own, so bad, it's like death.
"No, no, no," he sobs as he pushes his head against Latias' soft fur. "I don't want this, I don't want it to find me. Leave, leave, leave!"
As stuck in a panic as the teen was, as the feeling comes too close for him to bear, he forgot the effect he had on pokémon. And that they did listen, alright.
Dr. Knight arrives in Mahogany, feeling optimistic about today but also a bit strange as he wonders what it will be like, seeing this boy again. He hopes Ash has found his forever home in the man, he has recently checked in with the teen's mother and well… It wasn't looking good. Instead of blaming it all on her son, though, she had shifted on to blaming it all on her husband. All that while he knows the man was nothing but apologetic towards Ash and was doing the utmost to get to grip with his own stupidity and trying to get better. Red was trying to get CPS to at least let him visit his boy again too and dr. Knight isn't sure how to feel about that either. He knows Lance is very dependable but he's betting on a lot of horses and he does care a lot about Ash but the man can't be everywhere at the same time. Then again, as the boy's therapist, he cares a bit too much too but Ash is such a special, if not sad case.
Arceus, he hates it when the nice kid made themselves nice because they didn't want to treat others like they were treated. And Ash is the perfect example of being smart and stupid at the same time, recognising the behaviour for what it was and never wanting to appear that way in front of other people and yet allowing it to continue, not realising it was bad all the same.
The man halts the moment he sees the house, it's really huge and kind of ominous. It's in a style he can only describe as traditional, pointed roof and everything. He's not visited Johto too often but he knows now that he doesn't like black lacquer on the outside of the house, it looks a bit too… evil for his liking. Then again, this was the house of a Champion and dr. Knight assumes there's been a time where Lance wouldn't have wanted anyone to visit him. If that had been the case, the house was perfectly decorated for scaring people away. Not Ash, the kid is fearless and he knows houses don't attack people. Normally, the therapist would've believed it too but there was something amiss. In fact, as he goes one step closer to the house, it suddenly disappears.
'You're kidding me,' he thought, as he saw nothing but nicely maintained lawn and the garden of the house he presumed is situated behind the Champion's house -or rather, where it used to be. 'First the kid isn't there, now the whole house is gone!?'
He would've stepped over to examine the situation if it wasn't for the strange-looking man who suddenly rounded the corner. The therapist always tries his hardest not to judge people but this one looks like a mug. There's no ifs or buts about it, this person has trouble written all over them and dr. Knight curses himself when their eyes meet. Apparently, the man was looking for Lance's house too -or Ash, his mind traitorously supplies-, the address was written on the small paper in his hands, the handwriting bad and the ink was all smudged and ugly.
"I'm looking for this house," the person says, voice gritty and he holds out the paper for dr. Knight to see.
At this point in his life, the therapist has faced an awful lot of bad people in worse situations and he remembers he's holding a town map himself, his camera slung over his shoulder. He hadn't wanted to scare Ash into bringing the hospital back into his life either so he dressed up as casual as possible. It must've worked because a man had just called him a 'fucking millennial' after he had parked his car a bit oddly while he's already pushing his thirties so…
"Eh?" he asks, making sure to sounds as confused as possible.
"This. House. Address," the man growls, aggressively taping the paper.
"Ah, tourist!" dr. Knight says happily and raises his own town map. "Sight-see!"
If eyes could shoot bullets, he would have been long dead and buried by now. Thankfully, the man just turns around, thinking him to be useless. He steps away but the therapist can still hear how 'They got it all wrong' and that 'Brandon got them on the wrong foot'. Dr. Knight remembers a man called Brandon being involved with Ash before, there was some sort of misunderstanding there… but the name gives him goosebumps because this links the presence of the man directly to Ash, not Lance. This mug had been out to get the kid and only his acting skills had saved the day. The idea leaves him reeling but the man is already on his way back to where he came from. He's still glaring daggers at him as he rounds the corner, though and dr. Knight feels a bit faint. He nearly keels over but a pair of steady hands stop him.
"Thank you," he murmurs, purely automatically. He can't even see who saved him.
"You have good instincts," his saviour says and suddenly the world clears up. "Though you ought to be careful who you anger."
"You mean, the mug?"
"Yes, that one." The man says, nodding ever so slightly. "Where do you need to go? Can I help?"
"I… the house. It's gone."
"You mean, this house?"
Dr. Knight looks over and his mouth drops open when he sees the house stand there, as if it never left.
"I swear it wasn't there a moment ago!"
"I believe you," the man says. "It's coincidental, I also need to go there."
"You do?"
The stranger doesn't offer any explanation but it's clear he's not in Lance's trusted friends' group because he rings the doorbell. The therapist has a feeling that this person is here because Ash called him. If he already recognised this strange man as trouble, the kid would've felt it coming from a mile away, there's no way the boy would've dealt with this positively. To his confusion, a young girl opens the door and while she lets them in all while smiling as sweetly as possible, she's not Lance. And she doesn't say a word either.
"… Something weird is going on here," the other man says and just as the therapist wanted to agree, he feels a hard tug on his pant leg.
Looking down, he sees Ash's Gible, trying to pull him along. Dr. Knight has met the little fellow before and just as the boy had promised, he hadn't bitten anyone, so he figures he can trust the pokémon to not lure him into a desolate place to slowly start eating him. So he follows the pokémon… straight to Ash's bedroom.
"Ash!" he calls out, startled because the boy is a mess.
"I-I'm sorry," the teen hiccups. "There… there was a-a man. I was scared!"
"I understand, I understand completely," the therapist says and holds him close. "It's okay now, the evil man is gone."
It takes Ash a while to calm down and come downstairs but by the time he's sitting in one of the couches, the girl that let the two men in is gone. The other man, who the teen calls 'Riley', seems bothered and restless. Dr. Knight takes his time, though, it's clear that Ash has been through a stressful period and the boy's complaints are very similar to what he knows a panic attack to appear as. He doesn't like how someone can make this child unravel but then the other man pipes up.
"Who was that girl?" he asks.
"Oh… That euhm… was Bianca. A friend of mine."
"Isn't half the world?" Riley sighs. "Does Lance knows you're inviting friends while he's not here?"
"He knows they come around, though."
"Hm… Alright, then. You're lucky dr. Knight was here, you know?"
"… How? What did I do to lead him here?" Ash asks and the therapist sees him getting riled up instantly.
"Did you speak to anyone about your Aura?"
"You and Brandon, duh. Who else? No one gives a damn, I can't go to anyone willy-nilly without scaring them! You know-"
"Alright, alright, you don't need to go off at me like this," the man says and holds up his hands in surrender. "It's just… something must've gotten leaked or they wouldn't have been able to find you."
"And then it becomes my fault when they somehow do, huh?"
"I do recall that man to have said something on how Brandon put them on the wrong foot or something," dr. Knight helpfully supplies as he gently rubs circles on Ash's back. He knows his patient is getting worked up because he's being blamed for things out of his control, just like he was treated in Pallet Town.
He didn't expect the other man's face to suddenly become so blank. Riley does apologise to Ash profusely and the boy accepts it, although he looks sour throughout. He soon leaves, though, excusing him that he needed to talk to someone and told the boy not to worry about the evil man returning, he would be taken care of soon. The look in the teen's eyes tells the therapist enough, though.
"He means well," he hushes. "He helped me earlier, I wasn't feeling too well. And no one helps a stranger out these days so…"
"He's supposed to help you or he'll turn into that evil man too," Ash huffs.
"… He will? That's… kind of creepy, actually."
"Being an asshole doesn't seem to have much effect, though. Dammit, why are things always my fault?"
The boy shifts uncomfortably and it's only now that dr. Knights sees a bit of green come from behind the Pikachu in the teen's arms. He sees the Shaymin sit there, with his own eyes and still…
"People usually have difficulties with their mental process of elimination and go for the easiest target. It's very human," he says, not wanting to make a scene about the mythical pokémon. Ignoring works fine too and it'll be better for the boy's mood.
"Aren't I lucky?"
"Then again, if a person throws a rock at a Tyranitar and runs before the Tyrantirar sees it and instead turns to you, trust me, it will attack you."
"Because they're moody, territorial and someone literally threw a rock at it. I didn't throw a rock at anyone. It's just the fact Riley doesn't understand what technology is like and I don't know enough to explain it to him. What I do know is that I haven't talked about it with anyone, besides even if I did, that the group chat with my friends is private so you can't see what I've sent them unless you're invited and those who have seen I've got whatever attracted that creepy asshole, have known it for over three years so there's no reason why this suddenly would happen right now!"
"Calm down. I'm not judging you."
"You better not!" Ash huffs. "I'm not in the mood."
He understands so he continues with his normal questions, he's genuinely curious about how life in this house is treating the boy. Dr. Knight is still filled with sympathy for this teen, even if he's filled with anger right now. Righteous too, which makes the situation a little worse. Still, the therapist takes pride in the fact he's professional and he will get Ash through this. Whether there's a or a little humungous legendary pokémon on his lap or not.
The thundering outcall of Brandon's name startles everyone in the room and there's an awful lot of people in there. No one can hide for Riley, though, not when he's in this mood. He's angry and for all the right reasons because if there hadn't been a creative and courageous man there to save his student, Ash could have been killed. Whatever this therapist meant by the house having 'disappeared', Riley doesn't get but he's too angry to give a damn.
"Brandon, you absolute fool, what did you do?!" he cries out and slams the door shut and no, he doesn't care there are hundreds of eyes on him.
"Riley?"
It's Lance but the man shakes him off, stalking towards the startled man. He has a dire need to make this idiot understand what he nearly caused.
"Sir, I'm going to need you to back off," an employee of the pokémon league says. "There's been a breach in the pokémon league's system and-"
"Don't I know that!? The Fallen were right there in front of Lance's house!"
"The who?" Lance asks, persistent as always.
"The Fallen!" Riley repeats, in the same tone as before because he's still agitated. "They're Dark Aura users, the only way they can keep on living is to drain Aura users! They make hundreds of victims in a single year!"
"I… I didn't document the details, though?" the man offers weakly but the Aura Guardian shoots him a burning glare.
"Oh, but I'm pretty sure you've written all about what I've shown you, huh! How large the Aura pool was, that we couldn't see the end of it! Fucking asshole, you nearly killed the kid!"
He's one split-second away from striking Brandon but Lance stops him. Good, Riley can trust Lance on being able to stop him, he's a lot stronger but hell, he wants to punish this man.
"I think you've done enough," the man says softly.
Riley's anger isn't satisfied yet but as he turns to the side, he sees a lot of glares pointed at Brandon. In fact, Mr. Goodshow suddenly stands up from his seat and gives Brandon the order to check if the breach reached his files. The man still doesn't know how it's possible for such large screens to work but somehow, the whole room gets a visual on what seems to be a diagnostic search through Brandon's personal files. And yes, there it was, the confirmation that the breach happened in his computer is clearly there and Scott storms out of the room.
"What's going on?" Riley asks, sounding a lot calmer than he feels. That must be the reason why Lance lets go of him.
"You can't hack into a computer unless you've got direct access to it, meaning someone's either broken into Brandon's home, which I doubt because the place is a maze… or Scott's computer."
"… I'll kill him too."
"You're not doing anything. You're coming home with me and you're going to rest."
"Lance, don't you get it? You could have come home to nothing-"
"You're not going to gain anything from making me angry, Riley, trust me. You don't want me to tie the kid on my middle either."
"… This kind of thing, oooooh, I hate it. I'm never talking to you again, Brandon, I can't trust you or that damned computer any longer."
"If someone broke into Scott's office, that's hardly my fault!" the man defends himself.
"You don't know what you're saying! You don't know what the kid is, you had no right to document anything! I didn't permit you, Ash didn't and I know you would never have approached Lance for it!"
"… I'll remove it."
"Like heck you are! You're going to admit it's his psychic abilities instead! You owe it to the kid to admit you've made a mistake!"
"Riley, you're going to burst a vessel soon," Cynthia says and the man nearly jumps from his skin. He curses himself as he puts a hand on his chest, if he wasn't so distraught, he would have heard her coming from a mile away.
"I don't care, this needs to be rectified. Dammit," he hisses. "I like the kid and I almost blamed him for something he couldn't have possibly- hell, if he had known any of the Fallen, he would never have lived long enough for either of us to meet him at all!"
"Yes but he doesn't, no does he? So, calm down. I'm sure Brandon will see sense and do the utmost to make sure we can actually enjoy the rest of our holiday."
There was an awful lot of malice in Cynthia's voice and it makes the guilty-looking man nod. It will take some time for everyone to gain access to their accounts again, though, Lance tells Riley that these Fallen must have a link to someone inside the pokémon league. That's why he gives the orders to let the security footage to be checked and oh, yes, they have the perpetrator in full view. It seems like this person wasn't aware there was a camera facing Scott's desk all along and now Mr. Goodshow is under attack… because it's his secretary.
"… He will be able to count on endless leave," the president says dryly but looks up at Lance. "Will he be arrested?"
"As we speak," the man answers.
"Good. Thank you, Lance. I… I will apologise to Ash as well."
"Oh, no, please, don't. It'll only confuse him, you have no idea how much he looks up to you and you don't want to link that creepy guy that apparently scared him so much to you," he says quickly. "You're better of promising me you'll find a better secretary than someone who needs to rely on helpless kids to live."
"Is that so? Is he that sensitive?" Mr. Goodshow asks. "Are you sure those regulations will help him, then?"
"I… still need to talk to him about it. Maybe I can come to you if there are issues?"
"Yes, absolutely, you can always talk to me about it, regardless of whether I owe the boy anything or not. And yes, I do promise I will find a better secretary, with your blessing, I'll allow the G-men to screen him."
"Sounds lovely."
Lance has to hand it to Riley, though, he managed to get this entire room full of people silent. He's worried, though, he knows the man for quite a while and he's never seen him this upset. Then again, his mysterious friend has an awful lot of secrets, one's he's pretty sure he's better off not knowing any of them. He does offer him to stay at the house as long as Ash remains there, he knows of Riley's desire to find a house but he's having difficulties deciding whether he'll even survive inside a house. He's already told him hotels feel too stuffy so perhaps his home, which is anything but stuffy, will prove to be a better stay for him.
Riley agrees and all too well, he deflates like a balloon once he's in the car and he doesn't let out a peep during the whole ride. Or at least, he does say something peculiar when they're almost at Mahogany.
"Did you know Ash has friends over?"
"Oh?" Lance asks because he's not at all bothered. He just didn't know the boy had any friends in Johto.
"There was this girl…"
"A girl?!" Clair exclaims. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, she opened the door for us. She left when that therapist calmed Ash down."
"What did she look like?" the man asks.
"She had brown hair and she did look kind of cute. Why?"
"Did she talk?"
"… No? Is that important?"
"I don't know. I don't think Ash is interested in romance, though."
"Hah, so looks can be deceiving, eh?" Clair chuckles. "Guess we're going to have to tell him about the Pidgey and the Beedrill, after all."
"I think he knows about that, there's only so long a kid can remain innocent while they have access to the internet," Lance answers dryly. "It's just that he told me that he's never felt like he's been in love before that makes me feel like either this was an innocent bystander or something else."
"Sure, let's go with that," she snorts.
'I feel like you need to spend a bit more time with the kid,' the man thinks as he glances at his niece.
He knows Ash's priorities lay very different from those of any other teen and perhaps it's not entirely wrong but it's definitely not right either. He wouldn't be comfortable with an overly sexual teen in the house but then again, hormones are a thing and Ash is still so short and innocent in that way. It really broke his heart to have the boy sit down next to him after one of those typical love story movies Clair like to watch and ask him what that was all about, that he didn't know if he could feel that way towards someone. Lance just told him that a relationship works very differently from those movies and that's it's completely fine if he never finds anyone, it's all got to do with whether you want to or not and if Ash is one of those people, that's absolutely okay. Ash is free to do whatever he wants, as long as he doesn't pose an unnecessary threat to others and himself.
Once back at home, Lance makes sure to get Riley settled into a room, before focussing on his nephew who still looks quite upset. Dr. Knight stayed with him and it seems like it's done wonders for their bond. He's pretty sure he's never seen Ash smile so gently at the man either but then again, it must mean the world to the boy that he had someone sit with him through this while he used to have been forced to face his world of horrors on his own.
"Thank you for staying with him, sir," Lance says, truly thankful.
"My pleasure entirely. He's a joy to be with and he's so honest as well. Also, can I congratulate you? Despite the hiccup at my arrival here, I've noticed nothing but positive things. He's got nothing but nice things to say about you and sure, there can be some disagreements from time to time but he's fairly positive about his stay here."
"I'm glad, not that I was worried because he is honest but I… want to talk to you about something."
"Oh?"
"His injury will make his journey a bit harder for him so the pokémon league has some… regulations for kids like that. I'm not sure whether he likes the idea of any help and when my niece told him he could have a pokémon league official join him, to keep him safe. He told her that they wouldn't enjoy their time with him and referred to his time in the hospital. He told us we should ask you why no one would enjoy it, do you have any idea why he would say that?"
"Ah," dr. Knight says as he shifts from one leg to another, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I can only help you with what I know but there… the hospital is a very close-knit community, there's a lot of people who see each other and face hardships together and well… rumours quickly come into play. Ash's case was no different, his eventually became sensational and I was one of the medics who blatantly told those spreading the rumours to shut up."
"What rumours?"
"The pokémon," the man answers and Lance feels like he suddenly understands because… Deoxys. "They want to play and I… I've thought about it for a long time before asking Ash why they're seeking such contact with us. Why now, of all times? And a hospital? I honestly didn't make much sense to me but Ash's response made sense. He told me that they have always been there, we just weren't looking. And they're old, they've come into contact with people often but pokémon like Dialga are very old and they've lost their contact with humanity through time. He said that they must not have known how to approach people for a long time, not until they found a direct link again."
"It sort of makes sense, doesn't it?"
"Indeed so. I think it makes Ash a very beautiful person, to enjoy the presence of such old creatures and create that possibly forgotten playfulness in them again. It's refreshing, I don't think… I would be scared of them any longer. Not when I know that they respond so tenderly to such a young boy."
That too was a refreshing take. For all the Deoxys had approached him very creepily, it had not made any move to strike him. It nearly gave him a heart attack, yeah but it hadn't hurt him. Or Ash, for that matter but that was hardly surprising any longer.
"I do like him a lot, hence why I wanted to hear your opinion on the matter. Thank you, sir, I'll make sure that he'll know that whatever regulations is made, will be one fitting for him and no one else."
"It's odd how such a special boy can't stand being treated like they are special, isn't it?" the man says and his smile looks a bit sad. "I think I can't forgive his mother for instilling that kind of doubt in him, it's very disturbing. You would think he would realise and allow it to happen, wouldn't you? Instead, he rebels and we're left wondering what we've done wrong to get that kind of reaction."
That made an awful lot of sense too but he can hardly force the teen to do something he doesn't want, right? He doesn't want Ash to start hating him, he would never be able to look at himself in the mirror ever again if it happened. But Lance knows his nephew is a kind boy so surely…?
"Well, I suppose this is my cue, then. Mind you, I think he's not just charmed Dialga," the therapist says.
"Oh?"
"I feel like it's counterpart made the house disappear, to make Ash escape that evil man."
"… Really?"
"Yes, I swear. I almost thought I was cursed to never make it to a house visit. Honestly, who even imagines a whole house disappearing, hm?"
"Well, I'll sleep better knowing Riley isn't the one who saved the day by sacrificing himself."
"Oh, no, no, I was the one who made the man leave, actually," Dr. Knight says and suddenly, Lance has found buckets full of admiration for the man. "Mr. Riley was the one who kept me from fainting, that's all."
"I owe you, sir, thank you for keeping Ash safe."
"Mr. Lance, you've done me the greatest pleasure of being there while everyone else was failing and you're proving to be a great guardian. That is all I need from you, trust me."
He agrees quickly, he can see the tears brimming in the man's eyes and Lance doesn't want to make him cry. If Ash sees it, he might even think he was being rude. The man has no idea that the boy wasn't anywhere near the living room, though, no, he's gone up, to see if Riley's okay. All the teen sees, though, is the Aura Guardian stand at the end of the bed, giving it a helpless look.
"Do… you want some help?"
Riley turns to look at him and he shrugs helplessly.
"I've not slept in a real bed for at least a decade. I… I don't know what to do," he admits.
"Let me help you, then!" Ash says cheerfully and holds out both Pikachu and Shaymin. "Here, can you hold them for me please?"
The man accepts them but belatedly realised the mythical pokémon is snuggling into the crook of his arm. His heart jumps and his worries dissipate the instant he sees that the Shaymin is enjoying itself in his arms as well. It takes a while before he can tear away his eyes from the pokémon but as he looks up, he sees a wonderfully made bed.
"You're good at it," he remarks.
"Thanks," the teen chirps. "Mom let me to it all the time, every time one or several of her friends came over, I needed to make the beds and make sure the room looked alright. She sometimes even let other people stay in my room but I had a secret bedroom in the attic. Mom never went there, despite her claim of liking every pokémon, she avoided the attic because Spinarak live there. I don't mind them, they were funny. And at least they don't snore when they sleep."
Riley puts the two pokémon on the bed and goes over to hug the boy close.
"There is a special seat in hell, reserved especially for your mother," he says and he feels Ash tense in his hold. "But don't worry, she'll feel right at home, I'm sure."
"Hell… Is that… like the distortion world? Where Giratina lives? I've been there, it's not that horrible. And there are no seats either," the teen answers innocently.
"In some cases, hell can exist inside a person's head."
"… Is that what's happening to mom now too?"
"Perhaps. What she did to you, Ash, you need to know it's inexcusable. If you ever see her again, know you're entitled to deny her any forgiveness, no matter how badly you want her to love you."
"Oh…"
"Think about it for a bit, okay? Maybe you can try to meditate a bit too, it might come in useful for our training."
"Every day?" Ash asks and he perks up at the idea.
"Every day. There are ways to deter the Fallen, after all."
"Fallen?"
"It's a story for later," he says and pats the teen on the head. "I feel like today's been hard on us both."
"Alright, tomorrow, then," Ash agrees and takes the two pokémon off the bed. "I hope you like staying here as much as you do, Riley. Though, keep your door closed, the dragons downstairs make a lot of noise."
"… Do you sleep with pokémon?"
"Yep."
"And you're bothered by the sound of sleeping dragons?"
"Yep."
"… Alright, thank you for the advice."
Riley would keep it in mind, he likes the sound of the outdoors and his room sits directly next to a tree. His skin tingles when he hears the gently rustling of the leaves… but if these dragons snore so badly, he feels like he'll keep that part of natural sounds out of his room, just like Ash suggested. He feels like he'll be able to learn a lot from his student as well and hah, isn't that ironic? It's fitting, though, it's about time he got an update too and well, there was no one better to tell you all about pokémon and life than a child so full of love for both of these subjects. Riley has no doubts whatsoever that he will enjoy his stay, even with the snoring in the background. It's only later, at night, that he realises Ash was not kidding. Nevertheless, even as he falls asleep at the sound of snoring dragons, he figures he might enjoy having an honest student this time around.
End of chapter 13