Chapter Text
Why was I born this way?
Why was I granted this power?
Was it a mistake?
Did I make mistake?
Yellow’s eyes slowly came into focus and settled upon Lance, his face lit by the soft glow of a campfire. Yellow wasn’t sure how’d she’d come to be here, in a strange but familiar place and in Lance’s presence. He looked broken, she’d never seen Lance this way, but she’d felt this feeling from him before. Without the noise of their battle and time away from it all, as she looked upon him, Yellow felt something twisting at her heart.
Above them was a star lit sky, underneath was the ruins of the island where they’d fought. Had Lance remained here since then? The dirt ground felt uncomfortable on her feet as she took a few steps towards him, making Yellow realise that her feet were bare and that she was wearing her night clothes. Was this a dream? This wasn’t where she’d gone to bed. Or was this a path that had connected them both to each other?
“Yellow?” Lance let out in surprise, anger tinged the end of her name. She froze in place as he called upon her. Shame consumed Yellow, knowing she’d walked into something she shouldn’t have. Although it hadn’t been her choice. His expression turned from anger to confusion as he looked on at the frightened girl before him in her pyjamas.
“Lance…”
His name softly stumbled from her lips, disarming him completely, his legs suddenly felt like jelly as he was faced with the person who had defeated him just weeks earlier. The man fell to his knees, a groan escaped his lips as he hit the dirt ground. Without question, Yellow quickly moved to his side.
“Why are you here?” He let out under his breath, his hands dug into his thighs as he tried to keep himself steady.
Yellow watched him with careful eyes, they darted around his figure, unknowing what to do or say to the weakened villain before her. Why was she here? The trees of the Viridian Forest suddenly flashed through her mind. Did the forest call her here? To help him? The thought sent a shiver down her spine, help Lance? The man who wanted to end it all?
“I don’t know.” She whispered back, tears filled her eyes, from fear and empathy all twisted into one.
The ability to feel what Lance was going through was so overwhelming, that it forced tears to run down her cheeks. It was almost as if it wasn’t her own. But it felt unbearable. Lance didn’t notice the tears, not yet, her presence alone was too all consuming, it confirmed his worst fear. He had been brought before her, somehow, in their twilight, to be judged. As he knew he deserved. She had brought him to purgatory, to suffer for his crimes.
But then he felt a hand upon his shoulder, it was emanating an incredible amount of warmth. Yellow’s fingers gripped gently on to him, her eyes closed as her expression changed to one of intent. What was she doing?
“Get off!” He commanded, as he moved away from her, guilt preventing him from allowing her to continue her healing. But without warning he awoke violently back where he’d gone to bed at base. Lance suddenly grabbed at his shoulder, the intense warmth still remained.
Yellow watched the sun come up, a lukewarm cup of tea between her hands. Her eyes felt heavy but the dream had prevented her from going back to sleep. Hours had already passed by but every time she tried her heart would begin to race. She looked to Viridian Forest in the distance from the window of Professor Oak’s spare room where she’d been staying for the past few days. The trees looked different now. Her home looked as if it had been taken over by a gloomy energy. Lance.
Viridian Forest was the path that connected them but was it responsible for these dreams?
The tea was set down on a nearby desk, one that held her many sketches and her Pokédex. Yellow took a seat and began to scribble away in her sketchbook.
Graphite flames formed on paper. Her hand moved ferociously as the sketch came to fruition, her mind raced as she tried to put together the meaning of it all. Where was he now? Was he still at the island? Was he in the forest? Yellow’s hand slowed and her gaze went back to the tree tops out the window.
He was a monster.
No, he was blind. Blinded by the beliefs of the elite four and his own twisted ideology. Yellow’s grip around her pencil tightened as she thought of all her friends and all the Pokemon and what they endured that day. Kanto had nearly turned to ruins.
The lead on the end of her pencil snapped against the paper. Yellow grimaced before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Lance’s expression at the campfire went through her mind and so did his inner turmoil.
Could he be forgiven for what he’d done? Could she-
“I don’t want your forgiveness, Yellow.”
Yellow flinched as she found herself back at the camp fire with Lance. Except it was now it was dawn and the fire was now in embers.
“Then why do you keep calling me here?” Yellow asked, her brows firmly furrowed.
Lance’s head snapped towards her, “I didn’t.”
“You did.” She shot back.
Lance looked as if he were about to say something but he paused instead, his eyes averted Yellow’s as he became consumed with his own thoughts. Yellow looked on at the tortured soul, waiting for him to come back round to her. His head went into his hands as he sighed in frustration.
“Are you here, at Cerise?” She said as she knelt down at the fire with him.
“No.”
“Where are you, Lance?”
“Where are you?”
Yellow held her breath. It wouldn’t be wise to tell him the truth. Silence hung in the air for a moment before Lance looked up at her with curiosity.
“You must be close to the forest.” He concluded.
“Are you?” She quipped back.
Their eyes remained locked onto each other as they waited for who would answer first. The dragon trainer’s expression began to soften as he realised she actually looked a little bit afraid. How could the one who defeated him be afraid? It did something to his chest to see her like that, it felt weighed down with lead. And so, he exhaled and looked back into the fire.
“Yes.” He said quietly, looking defeated by his own admission.
Yellow unfurled her hands, not realising she’d been gripping them tightly until now. “I can meet you there.”
The aforementioned man remained still. Lance couldn’t help but wonder why she kept using his name like that. And so softly too, her voice was like butter every time she said it. But they weren’t friends. They were enemies, weren’t they? And now she wanted to meet in person? “No.” He said firmly before his eyes then flickered back to her for a moment, perhaps a silent plea to ignore his words.
“Why not?” Yellow persisted. The forest could help them. The forest could help him. She couldn’t help but note the fear in his eyes, it was hiding behind his pride. “Then we could see if this is… real.”
It was then Yellow extended a hand across to Lance, slowly, it went from her side to in front of him. He looked at her again but then his eyes went to her open palm that was extending towards him. He had no idea if this was real or a series of tortured dreams created from his own self loathing psyche. But still, he was surprised that despite his protests, her hand edged closer to him, would it be as warm as it was before? He felt his own hand extended towards her’s, it was as if both were static, a charge built between them as their hands were millimetres apart before Lance suddenly stopped. Lance looked at her hand with caution, realising that she had tried to heal him with the same hand, it struck a paranoid nerve that went right through him. Yellow extended her hand out further and after a deep breath from Lance, so did he.
A loud knock made the pair jump apart and Cerise Island suddenly disappeared and Yellow was back at her desk, pencil still between her thumb and finger. Yellow could still see Lance but now he was somewhere else, sitting on his bed, in a room that was presumably his.
“Yellow… I can see you. The real you.” Lance stumbled through his words as he saw Yellow at her desk. “Can you see me?”
“Yes.” She said breathlessly, her chest visibly rose and fell as the situation overwhelmed her.
The knocking returned, Professor Oak asked through the door if she would like some breakfast. Yellow dropped her pencil and Lance disappeared.