Hey everyone! Here's Chapter 9! Sorry I didn't get it up yesterday but it felt short and I thought I would add another flashback. I think you'll like it. ;) Anyways, I will put another chapter up today cause I ran out of time yesterday to do so and I will put my announcements and stuff like that there. Favorite and follow if you liked it, and review it if you want to. Those are always appreciated! Thanks for reading!

Thanks,

Court

Chapter 9

Flashback

Pain. So much pain. Voice curdling, back-bending pain. Why is it so pain...? Ash's eyes fluttered for a moment, noticing the familiar face of Pikachu before closing again to a deep sleep.

"Vitals steady on all monitors, Professor!" Tracy was watching the monitors. "Ash's brain waves now indicate a sleep similar to Cilan's. He just needs to sleep it off and he will be good to go."

"Thank you, Tracy. Pull up the brain scans for all subjects." Oak was under a lot of stress, trying to remain his composure. The machine he was sitting at beeped. He opened the drawer, pulling out the warm papers. He compared them to each other. These brain scans all show the same amount of activity in the same parts of the brain, suggesting that they are all injured in the same way. And since Ash and Cilan have both regained consciousness briefly, the science suggests that they will soon regain consciousness. Suddenly the brain scans rocketed off the charts, producing a high pitched beeping from the machines. Ash and Cilan bolted upright, eyes wide open, tearing off the electrodes off the terminal, startling the pokémon sleeping on their friends beds.

(Ash's Point of View)

I suddenly woke from the worst dream of my life. I sat upright and opened my eyes. I opened them as wide as I could and I slowly began to see colors, outlines, and flashes around the room.

"Ash?"

Professor Oak's voice. My brain triggered my memories, morphing the scene before me.

The alarm clock went off. My mom came into the room, talking about how I had to hurry if I wanted to get to Professor Oak's lab. I grumbled and pulled the blankets tighter around me. My mom wrestled them off and pointed me to the bathroom. I emerged fifteen minutes later, freshened up. I grabbed my jacket and hat and ran out the door.

"Ash?"

I ran, ran faster than I have ever run before. Soon, I burst through the doors to the Pokémon Lab. Professor Oak looked up and smiled with an apologetic look on his face. My heart dropped. I had missed it. A lab assistant walked up to Oak.

"Sir, what do you want to do with the Pikachu?" They exchanged fervent words. At last, Oak walked over to me.

"Ash, there is someone I would like you to meet."

"Ash!"

A girl's voice this time.

"Ash?"

Two girls. M. They start with an M. Misty and May! Of course! Once again my vision blurred and I found myself once again traveling through my memories.

A bright yellow flash of light illuminated the bike briefly, blocking it from view. When it stopped, we looked at the bike. It was badly charred and black from soot. The red haired girl grabbed my ear and pulled, hard.

"You need to get me a new bike, now!"

"I don't have any money!" I replied, pushing her off of my ear.

"Then I will just have to travel with you until you get me a new bike!" I looked at her funny.

My vision flickered again,bringing another scene before me.

We had just arrived in Terracotta Town before we all left to go our own ways. May saw a sign for a Pokémon Contest and she decided to sign up. I thought I would sign up too because it didn't require a Contest Pass. May and I both made it past the appeals rounds with flying colors and wound up battling each other for the final match of the contest after we trounced the other opponents who were competing. We shook hands and began the battle.

My vision cleared. I saw a group around me, including Professor Oak, May, Misty, and Tracy. I started to sit up but Oak held me down.

"Please rest, Ash. Everyone is fine."

I looked over at the three other beds and saw Iris's puffy purple hair, Cilan's well groomed green hair and Dawn's shining blue hair, spread on the pillow like a fan. I got up, pushing Oak out of the way. I stumbled over to her bed, leaning on any support I could find as the blood rushed to my head causing my vision to blur. I stopped long enough to regain my vision. I saw a chair standing next to the bed and sat down heavily on it. Her hand was hanging off the bed slightly, so I took it in my hand, squeezing it gently.

I sat there, waiting. I felt a warm, small hand on my shoulder. I looked up and I saw May, tears welling in her eyes, filled with worry for her best friend. With my other hand, I covered her hand on my shoulder, patting it. I felt pressure on my hand. I looked at May but she was staring off into the distance, lost in thought. I felt it again, stronger this time. I realized it was Dawn. I got up and sat next to her on the bed. She opened her eyes slowly, cautious to not let the sudden brightness blind her. I looked into her sapphire blue eyes, my mind triggering another memory.

The sun shone down on to the water making the waves shimmer with light. A crystal clear voice laughed as the owner pulled me along.

"Come on, Ash!" Dawn yelled as she pulled my arm towards the city by the sea. I smiled and began to run with her. Brock's voice came from behind us.

"You two go and have some fun! I'm going to go shopping and then to the Pokemon Center!" He waved us off, smiling. I managed to stop myself long enough to yell back at him.

"Thanks, Brock! You're the best!" I turned around and chased after the blunette who was slowly escaping me as she ran towards a massive Ferris Wheel in the center of the town. I chased her forever, but my stamina was greater than hers, allowing me to grab her from behind and pull her towards my chest.

"Um, Ash?" I froze, mortified, looking at the slender girl that I had trapped in my protective grip. What was I thinking? That's the weird romantic thing that Brock would do. I let go of the surprised coordinator and she turned around to look at me. I thought I saw a bit of a blush receding from her cheeks as she looked up at me. She giggled, melting my anxieties away, telling me that it was okay and that I might be welcome to do that once again. We walked side by side for a while, the silence slightly awkward. Dawn saw a weird booth-like contraption and dragged me towards it.

"Come On. Haven't you been in a photobooth before?" I was right! It was a booth. That explained why it looked so much like, well, a booth. I shook my head and she drug me into the booth and sat me down next to her.

"Okay, a photobooth is a camera which takes photos with a delay between the pictures. This allows the subjects, us, to change our expressions." Dawn explained this new fangled contraption to me. I nodded thoughtfully.

"Let's do it!" We were blushing furiously as we laughed and pulled some funny faces.

"Normal photo!" The two of us posed for a genuine photo.

"Now, I've got an idea!" the young coordinator whispered in Ash's ear, making him shiver. I looked at her, not sure what to expect. She pecked me on the lips and I stiffened with surprise. Does this mean... She likes me? Not Kenny or Paul? She held it long enough for the camera to get the picture. She pulled away slowly, her bangs tickling my nose as I stayed frozen. Dawn giggled at my discomfort.

"What? Is that your first kiss?" She kept giggling at me. I flushed with embarrassment. Her jaw hit the ground, gaping at me while it's owner was left speechless.

"NO. WAY. Even after traveling with Misty and May?" I nodded, not trusting my voice to speak. She leaned in.

"Then let's do it right." She kissed me this time, deeply. I was frozen for a second and then kissed her back. She put a hand on my neck and pushed my head harder into hers. She lightly bit my bottom lip, moaning slightly with pleasure. I kissed her even harder, slipping my tongue into her mouth. She pushed back with hers and started giggling. We broke apart, missing the sparks that flew between us. We both blushed and rested our foreheads together.

"Well your contest is tomorrow, we should get to the Pokemon Center so you can prepare." I broke the silence, hating myself for it. She nodded sadly and we climbed out of the booth. We started walking back to the Center when Dawn grabbed my hand. When I looked down with a questioning look, our eyes met and she asked a silent question. I nodded at the blue haired beauty and we walked back to the Center, hand in hand.

After training with Dawn and dinner, I retired to the room, looking to talk with Dawn about some training tips. I opened the door, knocking on the door frame.

"Dawn?" I looked into the room and saw a note on my bed. I walked over and read it.

Hey Ash,

I went to go and watch the sunset at the outlook near the booth ;).

Come join me?

Dawn

I walked up to the outlook and heard a sniffle from my best friend who was standing at the outlook. She was silently crying. I put on an encouraging smile despite my anxiety over my upcoming gym battle and put my hand on her shoulder. She turned around and hugged me, crying onto my shirt. I hugged her back, patting her back.

"Dawn, you'll do great. You have a great routine and you've been traini-"

"Ash?" I looked down at the girl who was wrapped in my arms. She was looking at me.

"Shut up." She leaned up and our lips met.

I returned to the present, looking into her shimmering blue eyes. I wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"Dawn..."