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A Word From the Author:

I wanted to try a new story writing/planning style for this story, one other then my usual "get an idea and roll with it." I'm actually planning this story out as much in advance as I can. Let me know if you think it affects my writing.

The Evils of Truth and Love

Chapter 1: Returning to Altomare

A Story By: G'lek

Ash leaned on the railing of the boat as it cruised towards Altomare. It had been one year since his last visit to the magical island. Ash sighed as he remembered what an adventure that had been. It had started with a young girl, really a Pokemon in disguise, and ended with the loss of a good friend.

Even through Ash had only spent a few days with the Eon duo, he had developed a close bond with Latias and Latios. The loss of Latios had crushed him, even with the knowledge that he wasn't really dead and his soul now rested in the Soul Dew. Ash pondered what the effect must have been on Latias. She and Latios had been siblings.

Dawn and Brock came to stand beside Ash. Brock had been with Ash on that day when Team Rocket attempted to steal the original Soul Dew and almost destroyed the city. He looked towards the city with a serious stare, but Ash ignored it. Brock usually had a serious look on his face. Dawn was looking eagerly, she didn't know what had happened. Ash resolved to tell her before going to meet Latias.

The boat pulled up to a pier at the edge of the city. Ash thanked the captain as they got off. The group started walking, Ash leading the way toward Lorenzo's home. Dawn was babbling about her plans to shop, take in the sights, and do everything else one could possibly do on Altomare. Brock came up beside Ash.

"So, where going to see Lorenzo?"

"Yeah. He'll probably be glad to see us."

"When are you going to tell Dawn about Latias?"

"Before we meet her for sure. And I want to meet her before I enter the race."

"Ash!" Came a familiar voice.

Ash turned around to see who was calling him. Coming up the walkway behind him was a familiar green-shirted girl with a white beret.

"Bianca! How've yah been?"

"Fine, I'm practising my painting to become a professional artist. Grandpa's been really encouraging."

"And Lorenzo?"

"He's alright. Took him a bit to recover, but he's tough."

"And..."

"You should talk to Grandpa about her." Bianca said quietly. "She hasn't been the same since that night."

"Who?" Dawn asked.

"Later Dawn." Ash brushed her off. "Where is Lorenzo?"

"At home." Bianca said. "Come on, you guys can have lunch with us."

It was a short walk to Lorenzo's home and workshop. Dawn continued to pester Bianca with questions about Altomare and the girl's own personal history. Bianca was more then happy to answer Dawn's questions, especially about good places for food and shopping. Ash reflected that all girls seemed to share the similar ground of shopping as a discussion item.

The group entered Lorenzo's home and settled in around the table. Bianca was doing some small finishing touches to her latest painting while fielding questions from Dawn. Ash admired her ability to multitask. Brock was making food, as he usually did for the group when Lorenzo came downstairs.

"Lorenzo, hey!" Ash said.

"Ash, Brock, good to see you. And who is this?"

"This is Dawn, she's a Pokemon Coordinator!"

"A Pokemon Coordinator? That's quite the ambition. It's good to meet you Dawn. Tell me Ash, how have you been?"

"Good. But Bianca's got me worried. About..."

"Ah, she told you did she?"

"Would someone fill me in, please?" Dawn asked.

"Dawn, I'm going to tell you about the history of Altomare. Long ago, an evil trainer trained two Pokemon to attack the city. They wrecked havoc until a Legendary Pokemon, Latios, appeared. He used his powers to flood the city, drowning the evil Pokemon and turning Altomare into the canal city it is today."

"But the strain was too much for Latios, and he perished. His soul became a beautiful gem, the Soul Dew. It's said that the Soul Dew keeps the waters in the city and protects us from harm. However, Latios had two children of his own, a young Latios and Latias. They were the guardians of the Soul Dew."

"How do you know all this?"

"For one, I'm the curator at the museum. Two, I knew the original Latios, and his children. When their father died, I took over the job of parenting the two. About one year ago, Team Rocket stole the Soul Dew and used it to activate the Defence Mechanism of Altomare. They nearly destroyed the city. Ash was here, with Brock and another of his friends, Misty. The DMA runs on two power sources, the Soul Dew, and a Latias or Latios."

"Latios was captured and used to power the DMA. We managed to free him, but the Soul Dew had become corrupt and died. The waters left, only to return as a tidal wave. Latios gave his life, as his father before him, to stop the tidal wave. His soul formed a new Soul Dew."

Lorenzo took a moment to collect himself, obviously still emotional over the loss of Latios. When he continued, his voice was filled with concern.

"Latias was hurt by the loss of her brother. But being a Pokemon, she understood that he wasn't really gone, only transformed into the Soul Dew. Something else has been chewing at her heart. She's become depressed. She stays in the Secret Garden all the time. She won't show herself to Bianca, and they've known each other since childhood. And I'm lucky to manage to talk her into showing herself."

"Truth is, she's dying Ash. I know she's not eating properly, I can see it on her. I've visited her at night, and I can hear her crying in her sleep, even though I can't actually find here. She's dying of a broken heart."

"That's terrible." Dawn whispered.

"We don't know what it is. She won't tell us."

"I think I know." Ash said quietly.

"Do you know something we don't, Ash?" Bianca asked.

"You remember Brock?"

"Yeah, the kiss."

"Kiss?" Lorenzo asked, mystified.

"Yeah, just before we left, Bianca gave me a picture of myself and Pikachu, except is wasn't Bianca, it was Latias in Bianca's form. Then she kissed me."

"You sure she wasn't just thanking you for saving her?" Lorenzo asked.

"This wasn't a light peck on the check, Lorenzo." Ash said, blushing at the memory.

"Then you need to go talk to her, Ash. Maybe you can help her."

"I'll try. You guys wait here, I'll go talk to her."

Ash got up from the table and walked outside. He took a deep breath and headed for Lorenzo's workshop, which had an entrance to the Secret Garden in the back. Ash walked into the mystical place where the outside world didn't seem able to reach. The weather was always perfect, the light was bright enough to make looking comfortable, but not too bright. There was never any wind to disturb the peace.

Ash looked around, remembering his way about. He slowly walked to the small pond, beside which was a swing and nearby a set of wind indicators that really indicated when someone entered the garden. They were silent at the moment. Ash sat down on the swing to collect his thoughts. Talking to Latias wouldn't be easy. She obviously cared about him in way that was more then just as friends. Ash, reviewing his feelings, knew it was the same with him, even if he hadn't realized it.

That would make things awkward. Ash didn't know the first thing about talking to girls beyond Misty, Dawn, and May and even less about talking to someone you really cared about who wasn't family. As Ash sat trying to figure out what to say, he became aware of a presence watching him. It felt familiar, and yet different. There was a darker undercurrent to the light and playful feeling the presences extruded.

"Latias, I know you're there. If you want to talk, then I'm here... If not, well, that's okay too. I won't force you to do anything."

Ash continued to sit in silence, waiting for the Eon Pokemon to make the next move. Ash actually enjoyed the peace and quiet of the garden. He was usually so busy, with so many things going on at once. It was a nice change of pace to just sit and think. He continued to think about what he'd say, how he'd talk to the Pokemon who apparently held his heart.

Eventually, Ash felt the swing move, a slow back and forth. He didn't need to look behind him to know that Latias was there, propelling the swing. Ash let the motions bring back his memories of their first true encounter on that very swing. Latias had startled him enough that he made a slight fool of himself. Now, he just enjoyed the gentle swaying motion of the swing.

"Hey Latias."

Hello Ash.

"You can talk?"

My abilities have grown since we last met.

Ash got off the swing and turned to look at his old friend. Latias had changed a great deal since their last encounter. She had grown slightly, though not by much. The biggest differences were the dark shadows under her eyes indicating poor sleep and her physical shape. She looked fragile. Her limbs were thin and she seemed to have lost weight despite her growth. She looked ready to fall apart at the slightest breeze.

Ash walked slowly up to her and give her a gentle hug, irrationally afraid he might break her if he wasn't careful. Latias returned the hug, just as gentle, but for much different reasons. She seemed incapable of putting any force into her hug. Ash knew this was a bad sign, since it meant she had lost a great deal of her strength.

Ash released her and looked directly into her eyes. He steeled himself for the coming conversation.

"Latias, what's happened to you?"

What do you mean? She asked, though Ash knew she was avoiding the real question.

"Look at you, you look ready to fall over."

Oh... I haven't been feeling well lately. It's just a bug, I'll get over it.

"Lorenzo told me everything, Latias."

H-he did?

"Yeah." Ash said, sitting down in the grass. Latias followed, laying her head in his lap.

It's just... just... I don't know. She said, sounding on the verge of crying. It's been so lonely without Latios.

"But you've got Lorenzo and Bianca. Latias, just be honest. I already know what's wrong."

Y-you... I... I've missed you, Ash. That's the truth. Since the day you left, I've missed you and it's been eating me up from the inside.

"Well, I'm here now."

But you're not going to stay, are you. You've got a dream, you want to become a Pokemon Master. You can't stay.

"I can stay for a few days. And I promise, we'll figure something out before I have to leave."

You promise?

"I do."

You won't leave before we figure something out?

"Yup."

Ash...

"Yes?"

I... I... I love you.

"I know. I love you too. I just didn't realize it at the time. It took Lorenzo telling me about what was wrong with you for me to figure it out."

I'd come with you on your journey, but I can't leave the Soul Dew unguarded. Latias said, sounding tearful again.

"Maybe Lorenzo and Bianca would have an idea. But first, we need to get you back in shape."

Is it really that bad?

Ash got up and led Latias to the pond. She stared at her reflection for a long time, shifting one way and then the other to get a complete view of her body. Ash watched as her expressing fell each time she discovered more evidence of her slow decline. Eventually, Ash couldn't handle seeing her so distressed. He pulled her away from the pond and gave her another hug. This time, she didn't hug back, but instead buried her head in his shirt and cried. Ash made soothing sounds until her tears dried.

I'm terrible. How can you say you love me?

"My mom used to say that love is about what's on the inside. If the inside is beautiful, so is the outside, no matter how it looks. Latias, just because you don't look perfect on the outside doesn't make you ugly. To me, you look fine. A little rough around the edges, but nothing some food and a good sleep can't fix."

Really? Latias asked, looking up at him. Ash couldn't help but be reminded of the younger, more childish Latias he had known.

"Really. Now lets go see Lorenzo and Bianca. They're worried about you as well."

Latias reduced herself into a field of blue motes before reforming as Bianca, minus her white beret. She took Ash's hand and nodded. Together, they left the Secret Garden to go to lunch at Lorenzo's.

Author's Note: There we go, chapter 1. I hope it reads well. In my opinion, the planning has really helped my writing have more coherence. If you think so (or not), drop me a comment. I'd love to hear your thoughts.