Darkest Night - Amourshipping

Darkness Surrounds

Pushing yourself further than you ever have before, experiencing pain and hardships you had never thought possible, having your life completely turned upside town and your dreams taken away from you, Ash has experienced it all. However never before has Ash been helpless to help one of his own Pokemon, never before has he had to watch one of his loyal friends lay unconscious and be completely powerless to heal them. The convenience of going to a Pokemon Centre and having a smiling Nurse Joy there to check his Pokémon over is now a thing of the past, all Ash can do is wait and hope that Lucario has the strength to pull through on his own.

Tearing his eyes away from his injured partner Ash looks over the rest of his group and his eyes stop on the golden haired beauty laying near him, still resting peacefully. As his eyes stop on Serena, a feeling of calm and relaxation which is quickly followed by a slight giggle. "Serena may be the perfect girl for me" Ash thinks to himself "But I have no idea how I'll ever get any sleep beside her with how loudly she snores". Almost as if she heard him Serena begins to awaken and after a quick stretch she notices Ash staring and smiling at her. "What are you staring at me for?" Serena says, getting embarassed and starting to blush "Does my hair look weird?". Ash continues to grin at her and replies "It's nothing Serena, having you around just makes me miss Snorlax a little". Serena starts to get a little cranky at Ash's words once again and she starts to huff "I don't snore" Serena replies simply. "I believe that stalactite you shook loose from the cave roof last night begs to differ" Ash jokes causing Serena to come up and whack him playfully. "Well if I snore like a Snorlax, you most certainly eat like one" Serena laughs, enjoying these few playful moments with Ash who replies "Thats true, together we make a Mega Snorlax".

After eating a simple breakfast and feeding their Pokemon Ash and Serena both walk over to check on Lucario "He looks a little better and seems to be breathing easier" Serena says positively while looking at the injured Pokemon. "I think the potions helped but he is still pretty injured, I just hope Lucario wakes up soon" Ash replied as Pikachu comes up and takes his usual perch on Ash's shoulder. "You worried about Lucario too Pikachu?" Ash asks Pikachu who nods and stares down at his fallen comrade. "Lucario will be fine Ash" Serena insists while giving Ash a comforting hug "Have you been trying to connect to him with your Aura?". "Yeah" Ash informs her "I was trying to talk to him the entire time you were asleep and all i got back was silence". "Can you try again Ash?" Serena insists "I feel like I could have done something to prevent this". "It's no one's fault Serena" Ash tells her "Lucario wanted to protect us and it's exactly what he did". "I know, you have a very loyal Pokemon in Lucario" Serena says with a few tears in her eyes "Can you try again please Ash?". "Of course I will" Ash replied as he concentrates on the Aura within him and reaches out to Lucario once again.

"Lucario are you here, can you hear me" Ash thinks as he concentrates on the aura bond that he has with Lucario "Please Lucario, we are all worried about you". Ash once again waits to see if Lucario will respond and as he's about to give up he senses something. Ash focuses on the presence that he's felt and instantly recognises it as Lucario, though even through the Aura bond Ash can sense how clearly hurt and weak he is at the moment. "Lucario you're here" Ash exclaims happily as he begins to feel Lucario open up to him once again. "Master" Lucario replies weakly "I'm so sorry Master, I wasn't strong enough". "I told you before Lucario you have nothing to be sorry for" Ash informs Lucario happily "I'm so glad to have you back Lucario". "It was my job to protect you and Mistress and I failed, there is no greater dishonour than that" Lucario continues "I cannot forgive myself for this failure".

Ash tries to talk to Lucario again but feels himself being pushed out of the aura link and when he opens his eyes again he finds himself looking at Serena and the others once again. "You had your eyes closed and were glowing blue for a while" Serena tells Ash once she sees his eyes open up "Did you find anything out about Lucario?". "He's there" Ash announces and sees Serena visibly relax "He's blaming himself for what happened with Lunala, I think he is using his aura to hide away on his own for a while". "Aww poor Lucario" Serena says sadly while looking at the Pokemon "His pride has taken a big hit from what's happened hasn't it". "I think it runs deeper than that Serena" Ash says to her "I guess we will just stay here until Lucario feels ready to talk again". "Well if we are going to stay here for a little longer, we'll need more firewood" Serena tells Ash "Delphox and I will go get some while you stay here in xase Lucario wants to talk". "Are you sure?" Ash says uneasily "I don't like you going out on your own. "I won't go far" Serena assures Ash "Besides Delphox will be there to look after me, won't you Delphox?". Delphox nods and walks up to her trainer ready to embark on this endeavour "Ok, just stay safe and don't be gone to long" Ash says as he gives in. Serena walks up to Ash and gives him a quick kiss goodbye "I'll be fine, I think you're forgetting that you're the reckless one in this relationship" Serena says jokingly as she and Delphox begin to walk away.

"Brrr it's cold out here Delphox" Serena shivers as she walks out of the cave in search of firewood "Lets collect what we need fast". Serena and Delphox spend the next few minutes collecting firewood with Delphox using her branch to illuminate Serena's path and to help keep her warm. "We might just collect a little more from across that clearing over there before we had back ok Delphox?". Serena and Delphox head out unaware of the danger that is lurking beneath their feet. The clearing they are currently walking over is in fact a lightly frozen over creek and every step they are taking is making the ice weaker and weaker. A cracking noise is heard by the honey blonde beneath her feet and as she looks down the thin ice finally gives away and she is instantly dropped into the freezing water and swept away by the water current before she can even yell out.

"I hope you forgive yourself soon Lucario" Ash thinks to himself as he looks over to where Lucario has been laying to find the area empty "Lucario!!!".