OMG.

GUYZ.

IT'S POTTERMORE TIME!

And that is all I care about, thank you very much.

I'm beta testing :D Got in day two and got an awesome username called AsphodelLumos so I changed my username on the site to accommodate it and my life would be complete… if it wasn't for the stupid Welcome Email taking weeks to come! But I'll wait. I'll always wait. Always.

Anyway, that's all I care about.

Reviews:

IcecreamNuke: Haha, isn't it? So very original :P Good to know you and Red share a taste in nicknaming pokemon! Thanks' for the review!

zerOtodona: I SHIP RED/LYRA.

I just ship SoulSilver more :3 Maybe I'll write some of ^that later on! So I do agree with you on a certain level! Thanks for the review!

FluffyMareep: I love Red to! Who can't? He's like… a hero of the Pokémon franchise in my mind! Sorry this chapter took a while to come up. I blame it on Pottermore. It is possessing my mind. I haven't even gotten in and I'm already addicted! Thanks for the review!

Sapphiet: I know. I mean, after she beats him so many times, over and over, he must start to at least respect him. Respect leads to friendship. Friendship can lead to feelings. I'm going to bring Ho-oh in again, closer to the conclusion! And Ho-oh didn't exactly take her to see Red, he just happened to drop her off there :P Lyras swearing is a part of her character! She'd be OOC in my mind if she didn't xD LANCE IS ALL BAMFITY BAMF BAMF! (Needs to write some Fanfiction on Lance)… and I have a feeling you are really going to dislike this chapter… Thanks for the review!

Splitheart1120: HAHA POOR ETHAN ALWAYS GETTING DEATH WISHES. I also doubt you will like this chapter. OMG YOU ARE ALL GOING TO KILL ME BUT THANKS FOR THE REVIEW ANYWAY.

Izzzie: Yep, yep! A stuck-up legendary? At least it's away from all the bad guys! Isn't Lance just adorable? :3 Thanks for the review!

As you may have noticed in some of the above replies, I mentioned that YOU ARE ALL GOING TO HATE THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE-… BECAUSE-… BECAUSE I CAN'T TELL YOU! It makes no sense what happens at the end. I mean, this kind of shit doesn't happen in the real world. I tried to edit it so it sounded half realistic, but really the only reason it happened was for plot.

I'm sorry.

I don't own Pokémon :Disclaimer.

Chapter 11

New Bark Town was silent and subdued, most of the windows shuttered. Even the breeze that usually ran through the town had dulled down into nothing more than a tickle of wind on your cheeks at random times. This town was my home, and I knew everyone that lived here like I knew the back of my hand. The death of me was a tragedy no one had expected here.

As soon as Dragonites feet touched the ground, I jumped off his back, limping towards my moms' house. Ethan could wait, at this moment I had to show my own family that I was still alive, that I hadn't died on them.

I didn't bother knocking, just bursting through the door and finding my whole family sitting on the tent, hands clutched together. Mom and Kris and Morty, even though Morty was adopted. For a moment, no one looked at me, then Kris slowly looked up, squinting at me as if I was a dream.

Then, slowly, her eyes widened, "Lyra?"

Mom's head jerked up and she leaped to her feet, "Lyra!" I noticed her tear stained cheeks and puffy, red eyes. She'd been crying over me, when I'd barely ever seen her shed a tear over anyone. Rushing over, she collided into my arms, taking no recognition of my injuries and wrapping her arms tightly around my ribs, sobbing into my chest.

"M-my little girl, I-I th-thought you were d-dead!" I wrapped my arms back around her, burying my head in her hair, which smelled so familiar it almost made me start crying to. I hadn't been put through what they'd been, but at that moment I felt their grief like it was my own and it broke my heart.

A barrage of questions assaulting me next, after another round of hugs and sobbing.

"Where have you been?"

"Were you really carried off my Ho-oh?"

"Who found you?"

No one looked convinced when I took them that I had, in fact, been carried away by Ho-oh, and looked even less convinced when I said that Red had found me, since he was only a legend in Johto, and no one besides me had seen him, except maybe Lance and any past champions.

So, I dropped the subject, and just let them revel in the fact that I was alive. Mom kept touching me, running her fingers over my cheek or twirling my hair around her index finger, as if she expected me to disappear at any moment. Kris was crying, snot running all over the place, while at the same time trying to swear her head off at me, and failing miserably. After a while of this, Morty pulled her away and she sobbed into his chest, shaking.

"Guys, I'm fine."

Mom stepped back, looking me over and scowling, going from a mother in shock to a mother that was about to give a whiplashing in a minute, "Like hell your fine! Your covered in bandages, have bruises all over the place and your hairs been singed off to your chin! And you're wearing Lance's shirt!

I sighed, "I couldn't just prance around half naked, mo-"

"I don't agree with you wearing another man's clothin-"

"It's Lance, one of my best friends-"

"Doesn't matter, he's still a man!"

We glowered at each other, and it felt so good to be arguing with my mom, like old times. I leaned back first, giving a chuckle. My mom pulled me in for another hug, and we clung to each other.

"Johto must be freaking out, the bell tower blown to smithereens and their champion missing." I looked over my shoulder at Lance, and he chuckled, nodding.

"You got that right. Everything on the news is either about you or Team Rocket. I think it's the first time in the last few weeks that I haven't seen anything about the election," Lance turned, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a phone, "Going to call Wendy," And out the door he went.

Pulling away from my mom, I did my best to straighten out Lances shirt, then turned towards the door, "I gotta go see Ethan. Supposedly he's locked himself up in his room."

My mom nodded, and Kris muttered from against Morty's chest, "No one can get him out."

I personally thought that he was being immature about the whole situation. No point in mourning until I had either been found or my body had been. But I guess that was love. It hurt a little to think that I wouldn't be feeling the same type of things for Ethan if he vanished.

Mom took my arm, leading me outside. Lance stood outside the door, on the badly cut lawn, his cellphone held a little ways away from his face and a grimace twisting his mouth. I could hear Wendy roar over the line, nothing but gibberish for me.

I gave him a wave, smiling brightly. He glared back at me and me and my mom pranced by, heading towards Ethan's house. As we got close, the door burst open, and out came Ethan's mother, hurrying towards us. I let her pull me into her arms, hugging me tightly to her chest.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're okay! Everyone thought you were dead, but I knew you weren't. Lyra Kotone's always been stronger than that!" She smiled at me, and I returned the gesture, pushing her away but leaving a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks for believing in me, Miss Gold. I heard… there's been some trouble with Ethan?"

Miss Gold nodded frantically, "Yes, yes! He won't leave his room, hasn't left since he was released from the hospital. I'm worried about him, he hasn't eaten anything… To think… he won't even open his door to his own mother," Worry and guilt fought across Miss Gold's face, and I knew that she was thinking that she should be closer to her son, be able to connect with his grief.

"I'll get him out, no worries, Miss Gold," I walked past her and into the house. Ethan's house wasn't one that I was familiar with, since it had only been built a few years back and I barely ever got to visit with my duties as Champion keeping me busy, but I did know where his room is, and I took his stairs two at a time.

The two moms followed me up the stairs, but stopped at the top, watching me walk towards Ethan's door, which was closed. For a minute, I idled in front of it, suddenly feeling awkward, before reaching up a fist to knock, and getting ready to say som-

"Go away! Just go the fuck away!" Ethan's voice was filled with tears and anger, and I flinched automatically. I'd never heard him use that tone with me, not once. I hovered outside the door, then strengthened my will and called out.

"I don't think so, Ethan Gold. Stop being a child and get the fuck out here. I'm not dead."

There was a scuffle from behind the door, and then it flew open. Ethan stared at me as if I was a ghost, his eyes wide. His face had a clammy look to it, and he was standing in his boxers. Automatically, I flushed, but then took notice of the bandages wrapped around his chest and arm, the bruises on his face.

Stepping forward, I touched them lightly with my fingers, "You're hurt…"

Ethan took in a shuddering breath, and I noticed the tears shining in his eyes, magnifying them, "You're alive," His hands rose up, hovering over my shoulders as if he couldn't believe it, or didn't know what would happen if he touched me, then he grabbed me.

His lips were alive on mine, and my head spun wildly. I blushed brightly, knowing that our mothers were watching, but I could help wrapping my arms around his chest, hugging him tightly, the suddenly resurfacing memories of him almost dying making me shake. Ethan realized this and pulled his lips back, and just held me as tears fell over my cheeks, brought up by drama.

I sobbed into his shirt, stuttering out words, "G-goddamn you! W-what were you t-thinking, f-falling o-out of the c-carriage like that and not even… not even bothering to call out your own f-fucking Pidgeot!"

Ethan laughed breathlessly, hugging me tighter, "I should be the one yelling at you! Do you have any idea how terrified I was when I saw the Ferris wheels tipping over… with you in it!"

I also laughed, my fingers running up and down his bare back, feeling as if he'd disappear at any moment, "Well, I'm here, and I'm fine."

"And so am I… I guess I owe Ho-oh one."

I nodded, then said in an awkward voice, "I realize this reunion is very heart touching, but can you hold onto me a little less tightly? I'm hurt to."

Ethan let me go abruptly, as if expecting me to break into a million pieces if he didn't, and I almost fell over, before glaring at him, "I didn't say drop me, dip wad."

Ethan stared at my face, greasy, unwashed hair falling into his wide eyes, "I-I'm sorry… it's just… you're alive!"

I gave a smile, grinning up at him, "Yes, yes I am!" Then we both laughed, and I hugged him again, revelling for just a moment the feel of him in my arms, without worrying about the consequences.

"Wendy's late," I rested my chin on the palm of my hand. Me, along with my family and Lance and Ethan, all sat around Ethan's kitchen table. Supposedly, Wendy had announced that she was coming over right away, though not before getting in contact with the search parties and calling them over. So far, she was over twenty minutes late.

Ethan's arm was warm around my waist, and I didn't push him away, not today. I felt like I was about to make a huge realization. Life was just too short to not experience love because other things stepped in your way. I'd seen that in the last two days.

Lance sighed, still looking exhausted, "She'll be here. She's always 'fashionably' late, as she likes to put it."

That was true, and totally Wendy. Even in the middle of a country wide crisis, Wendy wouldn't rush. Not even to see her best friends beat up face, her best friend that had vanished for two days. I kind of liked that about her, even if this was one of the times that it got on my nerves.

Bang!

The door slammed open, hitting the wall and shaking the windows beside it. Wendy stood there, looking frazzled and windblown, her hair a wild, tangled mess around her head. It was the messiest I'd ever seen her and after her eyes scanned the room, they met mine. The two of us just stood there for a few moments, then Wendy clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Oh Arceus! Your hair," I blinked. Was that seriously the only thing she was worrying about right now, even though I'd almost died?

Wendy hustled on around the table, not even giving Lance a look. Were they fighting? Standing beside me, she took my hand, already starting to inspect my body, "These nails will take weeks to get back into pristine condition, and you're probably going to have scars, not that you didn't already have enough! Oh! How about a slanted hair style, like… this," She tilted her hands where they now rested around my face, but I knocked them away with a hand.

"Wendy, isn't there more important things we should be discussing?"

I watched as Wendy went from annoying friend to the Champions Agent in less than a few minutes, "Right. Johto's in a state of alert and panic, mostly because of you being missing, but once everyone finds out that you're fine, they'll calm down, though you'll probably be called in for more interviews than you can handle. Don't you worry about that, though, I'll take care of those."

I sighed, "I more meant info on the terrorist attack, Wendy."

Lance stepped in here, "As you already know, the Bell Tower was blown up September Third, at two in the afternoon. Almost fifty people were killed, but because people aren't normally allowed into the Bell Tower, most of the casualties were produced by falling rubble or amusement parks malfunctioning in the heat. Most of Ecruteak is mourning the loss of their sanctuary."

I swallowed, thinking again of Ho-oh, "Okay, has any suspects been caught?"

Lance stayed silent, and Wendy murmured from over my shoulder, "Suicide bombing."

I flinched. For some reason, that just seemed hasty. Lance reached up to run a hand through his hair, "Ten minutes before the explosion, the guards at the Bell Tower called in a disturbance, something to do with five men breaking and entering into the building. There was only two guards, so they could only go after so many, and before back up could arrive it was too late," Lance shrugged his shoulders.

I'd taken to fiddling with the bandages around my thighs by now, staring at the table, "People must be freaking out…"

"You have no idea," Lance muttered.

My body was aching and I felt exhausted, "I… I think it's about time that I headed back to the mansion. To rest and stuff."

Lance nodded, standing up, "I'll fly you there. We have guards with Pokémon set up around the perimeter, so you should be okay."

Two days ago, this would have irritated me, but I was finally starting to see the sense in the little things, so I just nodded and stood. Ethan's arm fell from around my side, and I looked down at him. As soon as I paid even the slightest bit of attention to him, he rose to his feet, pressing his warm lips against my cheek.

"I'll… I'll see you later, then?"

I paused, and looked into his familiar brown eyes, then nodded, "Yeah, I hope so."

Lance was standing beside the door, so I headed towards him, glancing back at Ethan as I reached the door, than looking over at my family, "Well, I'll call you all tomorrow, okay?"

My mom stood up, walking over to me again, "You better," She gave me another hug. I'd never been hugged so much in my whole life. Lance, getting impatient, took me by my upper arm, leading me out the door and out of the arms of my mom.

I glared at him, "Don't be so rude. My mom just went through a very traumatizing experience."

Lance didn't return my glare, and only replied with a goddamn reasonable response, "And I want to get you back to that mansion before dark, when the bullies come out to play."

Grumbling under my breath about sarcastic men and how much I hate them, I let Lance lift me up onto his Dragonite, clinging to its sleek body with my arms and legs, though I was sure that Lance would never let me fall.

In the air, we didn't talk, and I just marvelled in the sunset, which was casting gorgeous reds and purples across the baby blue sky.

"You don't have to tuck me into bed, Lance," I felt incredibly silly, lying in my bed and getting the blankets pulled up to my chin.

Lance smirked, "Even if you aren't showing it, you're hurting. This'll make it easier for you. There's guards outside protecting the house, but I'm not staying the night. I'll be down around twelve to take you out to the hospital in Blackthorn tomorrow to get your injuries professionally checked out, so be ready."

I sighed, rubbing my hands up and down my silken pajama skirt underneath the blanket, rolling my head around on the pillow, "Okay, I will be. I'm tired, like, exhausted, so go away, will you?"

He chuckled, turning and walking to the door, "Whatever, just get some rest. I'm sure you'll be having to answer a lot of questions tomorrow."

Lance clicked the lights out on the way out of the room and I heard him shuffling around out at the door, before the door slammed closed. Turning my head, I stared out the window at the now dark sky, only the slightest bit of red staining the horizon. Clouds gathered in the distance. It was going to storm tonight.

I rolled over, my sore muscles aching, and closed my eyes. I was going to try and get some rest, and hopefully have sweet dreams.

Dark clouds gathered high above, and my heart pounded violently against my chest. I reached a hand out, trying to grab something, anything, but there was nothing but darkness all around. I couldn't breathe through it, my chest felt as if it was filling up with sand, and I kept coughing violently. The palms of my hand came away stained with blood whenever I covered my mouth.

I tripped over some unseen obstacle, crashing to my knees, landing on a rough, rocky surface. Except there wasn't a surface. Only an endless, black abyss, stretching on and on with star winking at me in the distance. It was beautiful, yet it terrified me to no end.

Then, in the distance, came a slow growing red light, expanding and streaking across the sky, so brilliant in the darkness that I had to squint my eyes and cover them with my hand. A figure arose from that light, hair matching the fiery shades, dress in white.

I stumbled back to my feet, moving towards the figure, calling out in a breathless voice that made no sound, "Help! Can you help me? I'm lost!"

Then, I recognized this person, and I came to a stop, staring at them. Blood splattered the front of Silver's tux, which was the purest form of white I'd ever seen, and the crimson liquid streamed from the corners of his mouth, trickling down his cheeks in tears. A series of gaping slashes split open the front of his tux, creating a bloody 'R'.

I inhaled sharply, only causing me to cough violently again, and for the first time I noticed the form fitting white dress I had on, only if because of the blood that dotted the front. I moved with jerky footsteps towards Silver, and watched as he tipped forward, falling.

His face fell past mine, his lips a bare, copper tasting whisper across mine, and suddenly he wasn't Silver. Instead, he was Ethan, collapsed on the ground, once arm stretching out and grabbing my ankle, but the fingers were limp, and his skin was the pallid color of a corpse.

I screamed.

I jerked awake violently, coughing and trembling. Tears ran down my cheeks and all I could hear the white noise, the sounds of the rain pouring down outside drowned out.

My head fell into my hands, and I shook violently, "Only a dream, it was only a dream."

I'd never had many dreams, and couldn't even remember many of my nightmares, yet this one stood out vivid and sharp in my mind. I kept expecting to see blood on my fingers, or to be wearing that hauntingly familiar white dress, but when I looked they weren't there.

I stumbled out of bed and to my feet, bumping against walls as I rushed from my room. The kitchen's light was still on, so I didn't have any troubles finding my way around. My whole body was shaking.

I sat down at the table, pressing the palms of my hands to the table and staring out at the storm raging outside. Lightning flashed in the distance, thunder rumbling after a few moments. Unconsciously, I started counted.

One gyarados, two gyarados, three gyarados…

Bang, bang, bang!

I nearly jumped out of my skin, my hand flying to my throat and my eyes bulging. The door rattled at the violent knock, but I could only see a dark figure from the window. Automatically, I stood, then dropped back down into a crouch. What if it was someone bad? Someone… hurtful?

I snuck up to the door, pausing as they knocked again, this time louder and more urgent. Rising from my crouch, I peered through the peephole, and nearly cried out in relief, before yanking the door open.

"Thank god it's only you!" I stared at Ethan, who was standing drenched on the door step. Lightning cracked down, lighting the sky up around him and surrounding him in a halo of light.

"I love you," My insides trembled as he said the words, and I had a feeling I should have leaped at him and kissed him at that moment, but instead I just reached forward and yanked him into the house.

"Goddammit, Ethan. You'll catch a chill. What are you doing here? How did you get by the guards?" I fussed over him, pulling him farther into the kitchen. I needed to get him some better clothes.

He stared at me with wide eyes, as if he was just seeing me in a new light, "I was worried. I thought you might have disappeared again."

"I'm right here," I shivered as Ethan's hand came up to touch me cheeks, his fingers brushing lightly from the corner of my mouth to the side of my face.

"You were crying," His voice sounded wondering, and for a second I wondered if he was drugged up, or had been drinking, but there was nothing on his breath, I was close enough to tell, and Ethan wouldn't do drugs.

"I-… I had a nightmare," I looked away, glaring at the wall, but Ethan just shook his head in wonder.

"You're beautiful."

Okay, never mind. He might very well be drugged. Feeling flustered, I pulled him down the hall and into one of the spare rooms, and the one Lance was using when he stayed here, and turned to the dresser, yanking out a shirt and pants.

"W-we got to get you into some dry clothes."

Ethan just stood there, and I grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulling it up, before instantly flushing. This didn't used to be awkward. When we had just been friends, if he had been sick or I had been, we would have done these type things without a second thought, yet now my hands stalled.

Then, steeling my will, I pulled his shirt up and over his head. Ethan didn't react, still staring at me with a speculating look on his face. I stepped back, swallowing.

"I-I'll turn around while you take off your pants, then I want you to put on the dry clothes."

Ethan slowly shook his head, then look up at me, his eyes sparking with a lucid expression, "You almost died. I almost died. I know you like me, and I thought that you might have realized that we were meant for each other earlier today…"

Sometimes you have to make decisions that will alter the whole course of your life, and this was one of those times. Ethan stood before me, alive and well, but that might not last forever. He could die any day, and I didn't want to miss out on the beauty of the world any longer.

So, for the first time that I could think of, I kissed Ethan.

It wasn't gentle. It was rough, with all my pent up frustrations thrown into it. I ached and pains ran through my body, yet they all seemed to be washed away by a rush of adrenaline. This was where I was meant to be. In Ethan's arms.

My fingers spread across his bare back, sculpted beautifully, and his longer fingers wrapped around my waist. We took a few steps back, and suddenly my back was pressed against the wall. His tongue delved into my mouth, and my head spun, and I rode up into the stars on a rush of excitement.

For just a moment, we broke apart, and Ethan laid a trail of kissed across the arch of my chin, his tongue giving me such a rush that I almost couldn't stutter out, "T-this i-isn't a good i-idea."

Ethan's own quiet and breathless voice came close to me ear, "Let's just live in the moment, just this once."

And I agreed, so I didn't panic or pull away when he claimed my mouth with his again, the pressure on my lips making my lips ache so badly that I wanted to cry out. My fingers, of their own accord, reached down to his belt, pulling at it until it came loose, and I flushed bright red, not realizing what I was doing.

My skirt rose up, and Ethan's finger played patterns and songs in the explosion of fire. Anytime his fingertips nicked a sensitive spot I gasped, and before I knew it I was more than half naked. His head down in the crook of my neck as he lifted me, my legs wrapping around his waist. He turned me to the bed, but I stopped him, putting as much volume into the words as I could.

"W-we c-can't."

Ethan slowed down, and started to release me, but I clung to him, "N-not that. Its Lance's bed."

Ethan barked out laughter, then turned and left the bedroom, still kissing my neck. I'm surprised he didn't run into a wall. My bedroom filled with light with each strike of lightning, but I didn't hear the thunder any longer. Ethan didn't comment on my mess of blankets, only slowly lowering me down onto the bed, leaning over me and for a long moment we just stared at each other.

I knew that Ethan was waiting for consent. He wouldn't go any farther if I didn't want him to, but for once I couldn't listen to reason. I wanted to listen to this burning desire, so I nodded, and then we were kissing again, and his fingers released magic, his throbbing heat almost making me go wild with need.

The night was filled with passion and lightning, nightmares and fears and tears, and I didn't regret one minute of it.

…I'm sorry.