Pokemon Legacy: I Can't

Chapter Twelve

The next day found the gang still in the depths of Mt. Coronet. They were considerably slower than usual because of the pain that Ash was in, it did not allow them to travel quickly.

"It's going to be dark soon," Clemont said, breaking the silence that had been between the group of friends for the last hour. "Let's stop for the night and cook some dinner."

"How do you even know that?" Gary asked, his frustration at their slow pace showing through his tone.

"I have a Poketch. Surprisingly you do too." Clemont raised an eyebrow. Gary turned a light shade of pink as he glanced down at his wrist that held his green Poketch.

"Shut up Clemont." Gary muttered. Naomi giggled and pat her boyfriends head in comfort.

"Poor baby." She crooned. This caused Serena and Ash to giggle as well.

"Ash why don't you go jump off a cliff or something." Gary muttered.

"I'll do you one better Gare-bear. How about I get thrown into a stone pillar that's been around since the world was created. That oughta show me." Ash replied sarcastically.

"Right, sorry." Gary coughed, face turning even deeper red.

"Come on, I'll prepare dinner." Clemont laughed, pulling out his cooking gear. How he fit it in that bag of his was a mystery. Ash sank to the floor with a lot of grunting and wincing, sighing in relief as he sagged into the rock wall. Pikachu jumped down from Serena's shoulder and crawled onto Ash's lap.

"Hey buddy," Ash absentmindedly scratched the electric type's ears. He was irritated that he wasn't able to move faster. They would've been out of this Arceus-damned mountain by now if he could move at his usual pace. Serena sat down next to him, gingerly resting her head on his shoulder.

"I hate this." Ash muttered to her.

"I know. But you're feeling a little better aren't you?" Serena asked. Ash nodded, turning his head to kiss the top of hers. "That's good. Maybe we can move even faster tomorrow, and that's an achievement."

"How are you so positive all the time?" Ash asked with a smile. Serena shrugged.

"Sometimes it's better to just make sure you're as happy and positive as you can be in order to make the others around you feel even a little bit better." She smiled.

"You see? That attitude right there is how you became Queen, and how you will breeze through this Master Class with flying colors." Ash said softly, his breath dancing across her ear. It was enough to make Serena squirm and press her thighs together tightly.

If they weren't in present company, and Ash was 100%, she might've lost it right there. As it were, that could not happen right now. Serena closed her eyes, trying to get herself to relax. Soon, dinner was ready and then they bed down for sleep.

~~

Serena woke up suddenly, disoriented to what was going on. She listened for a second. Ash was next to her still, but his breathing wasn't deep or even enough to indicate sleep. Serena lightly touched his arm.

"What's up?" He asked softly, turning to face her. The dying fire reflected in his eyes, transforming the earthy, comfortable tones into those of cinnamon and copper, the flames creating a beautiful, molten dance of color.

"Are you in pain?" She asked. "How come you're not asleep?"

"I was thinking about what happened on Spear Pillar. It's not great for us that Team Rocketflare or whatever appeared up there and captured those Malamar." His eyes turned outward, as if he was trying to see a bigger picture that was just out of reach. "And he mentioned Giovanni, I can't get over the fact that he's supposed to be in jail, and I saw Lysander fall from the top of Prism Tower."