Ash jumped back in surprise. He looked at his arm and then directed his attention to the Soul Dew. He gently rested his hand on the Soul Dew again. "That was rude of you." Latios stated. "How is this even possible? I did this on a whim!" "Don't ask me. I was just as surprised as you were. You're simply full of tricks." "Maybe it's because of my aura…" "Your aura?" Ash shook his head and then realized Latios couldn't see him. "It's nothing, maybe a story for a different time." Silence followed this statement for a few short seconds. "I sense an inner turmoil. It appears as if you have started walking upon the path I warned you of." Latios said calmly. "Yeah, but I want to make everyone happy, so I'll try my hardest to figure everything out." "It's not about figuring anything out Ash." "What do you mean?" "The path you are on is not that of knowledge, but that of understanding." "What are you talking about?" Ash asked confused. "I would tell you, but you have company." Ash felt something in his mind disappear. He didn't know how or why, but he could tell his conversation was over with Latios.
"Didn't he say something about company?" Ash asked to himself putting his glove back on. "Who is "he"?" "Aggh!" Ash reeled backwards at the sight of Latias beside him. He put his hand up to his chest. "Arceus, you scared me!" "Who were you talking about just then and why were you touching the Soul Dew?" Ash quickly waved his hand back and forth. "Oh nothing, just an idea that I had! It didn't work so there's no need to worry!" Ash said trying to smile. "You still haven't answered the other question." Latias said. "Umm, I was talking about, uh, Pikachu! Yeah, Brock told me Pikachu would be coming with us!" Ash exclaimed. Latias stared at Ash for awhile before giving up on her interrogation. She instead questioned Ash on a different matter. "Ash, is our relationship, um, stressful for you?" Latias asked. Ash stood up before he answered. "Of course not! Why would you-" Ash thought back to his earlier conversation with Misty. "You saw Misty and me didn't you?" Ash asked, already knowing the answer. Latias nodded guiltily. Ash took her hand and began walking. "You don't need to worry about anything. I'm sure Misty will accept our relationship sooner or later." "What if she doesn't though? I don't want to cause problems for you Ash." "And you won't. Let me handle everything and I promise it'll be alright." Latias stopped moving, bringing Ash to a halt as well. She stared deeply into his eyes. "Promise?" Ash smiled deeply. He gave her a kiss on the cheek before answering. "I promise."
[Author's note: Bit of a short chapter here, but I felt like I had a good place to leave off. Ciao!]