Chapter 1:

Ash stared across the water from the bow of the boat. The sunset was sparkling against the water, painting the sky a rosy pink, and the sea a tangerine orange. Pikachu rubbed up against his legs.

"Pika!" He chirped happily. Ash reached down and picked Pikachu up, cuddling with the electric mouse pokémon.

"We were so close buddy…" Ash whispered forlornly.

"Pika…" After being defeated by Tobias during the Sinnoh league, Ash planned to go home to Pallet Town, visit with his mother, and wait for the next journey. He turned towards the ferry, a feeling of success flowing through him. He gave Dawn one last high-five.

"No need to worry, Ash!" She said, just as cheerily as usual, except for a hint of sadness. Ash smiled, not willing to believe that it might be their last time meeting. "I'll become the top coordinator in Sinnoh, you'll see!" Ash nodded.

"Of course you will! I know it!" He then stepped towards the ramp. Suddenly, the usher stopped him with a hand.

"I apologize, sir, but pokémon are to remain in pokéballs at all times on the ferry." The man wore the typical blue jacket of an usher, and the blue cap sat snuggly on his head. Ash looked up towards the man's face, which was covered by the brim of his cap.

"What do you mean? Pikachu can't walk with me?" The man, eyes shadowed under brim, shook his head.

"That is correct sir. Again, I apologize." Pikachu looked up at Ash, small frown tugging on his features. Ash sighed, and returned Pikachu to his pokéball. The usher moved his arm from the ramp, and Ash noticed with a small sense of surprise that the man had only four fingers. The usher was missing his right pinkie. Ash hurried up the ramp, tucking Pikachu's pokéball into his belt. There were others on the boat, of course, all going to Sinnoh, like Ash. He wondered idly if they were going home to their mother's as well. He smiled at the thought of seeing his mother again after almost a year. The boat's foghorn sounded above, and it lazily crawled away from the dock. Ash ran to the back of the deck, leaning out over the back end, towards the land. There, amongst the bustle on the dock, was that white beaning he was looking for.

"Dawn!" He called out. Dawn whirled around, gazing out across the water like Ash had done. "No need to worry!" He called out across the expanse. She waved, and he imagined that he saw her smile. Suddenly, he had the urge to swim to her, to stay with her just one more night, to say goodnight just one more time. He went so far as to brace his hands against the rail, but stopped himself. The next boat didn't leave for a week, and his mother was waiting for him, anyway. Ash's arms relaxed, and he released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. With a sense of great loss he didn't quite understand, Ash retired to his bunk in the bowels of the ship. He slept in a bed for the first time in a year. He slept so deeply, in fact, that he didn't hear the rumbling of the engines, or the ever-so-quiet tick-tock that faintly sounded from every vent.

~lnnl~

Ash was thrown from his bed, hull shuddering around him. His ears rung from some loud noise. He heard the sound of water rushing, and slowly stood up. His legs were shaky, and he had landed on his left arm strangely. Ash watched as the floor slowly tilted throwing him once again off balance. He slammed into the wall next to the door. The desk in the room slid towards the same wall he was against. He pulled his legs up just in time, now lying up against the wall. The desk slammed against the wall, throwing the door open. Ash watched in horror as his possessions slid towards the open door. He lunged for his belt, stomach clenching up in fear. His fingers brushed against the fabric, but his most prized possession literally slipped through his fingers. He opened his mouth to scream, to cry, but his throat closed up from fear and sadness. Then, the water rushed up through the door, bubbling up in a malicious surge. It filled the room quickly, and Ash sucked in air just as the water rose over his head. He was tossed around the room by the vicious current. The blanket from his bed wrapped around his right arm and torso, binding the two together. Ash thrashed about, a burning slowly developing in his torso. He saw his wallet shoot past his eyes, and the pain in his chest crescendoed. He opened his mouth and painfully inhaled a lungful of water

I'm drowning, was all he could think. Slowly, his vision blackened, and his thrashing became less violent. Then, a dark miasma appeared before him. He felt as though he was peacefully floating, and felt that he could breath again. Everything around him was silent. Then, a Darkrai appeared before him. Then, the Darkrai spoke.

"Hello, Ash Ketchum." Ash couldn't speak.

So this is death, he thought. Just hallucinations for eternity… The Darkrai continued speaking.

"I am here to take you away to the afterlife. Yes, I am a Darkrai, but I am also the Darkrai. There's a difference. I am the first. The divine. Collector's edition, if you want to think about it that way. Lugia wanted to be your patron, but I challenged him to Rock-Paper-Scissors. He agreed, then immediately realised he could only do paper with his flippers, but I just laughed and laughed and laughed. Anyway, you are going to die here. I would normally just take you away to eternal rest, but I am really impressed with how you defeated my kin. You saved him, seeing as Tobias released the Darkrai after you defeated him. Excellent work, by the way. Now, seeing as you are super special, Arceus's 'Chosen' and all that jazz, I am giving you a choice. Come with me now, or never die until I decide that you have redeemed your death. I mean, of course, that you make my resurrection worthwhile by bettering the world and the significantly shorter lives of those around you. The choice is up to you." Ash thought about the offer. The pain was still blossoming in his chest, a pain so pure he could barely think. He wanted it to stop. He opened his mouth to answer, but then he saw it. It was his wallet, a simple fold of leather, floating motionless in the water. But peeking out of the simple pouch of cloth and leather, was a picture. A laminated picture, so it was waterproof, but Ash was only concerned with what the picture was of… or more accurately, who. It was a picture of Dawn, from her first competition as a coordinator. Ash closed his mouth, taking a minute to notice how adorable Dawn looked. He thought of being on the road with her and Brock, but especially of her. He thought of lying next to her in their sleeping bags, listening to her breathe, in and out, in and out… Ash turned back to Darkrai.

"I want…" He thought carefully. Darkrai conveyed no emotion, but spoke before Ash could finish.

"You want to come, don't you. Good choice… Excellent choice, really. That's what everyone picks. I'm not really surprised." Ash shook his head, decision made.

"I want to stay." Darkrai froze, and looked intently at Ash.

"Are you absolutely sure? You won't get to change any time soon." Ash nodded, steeling his resolve. Darkrai let out what Ash could only call a sigh. "Alright, Ashy. Get ready, cause even if you can't die, you can still feel everything." Darkrai drifted through the water, silver hair floating ethereally behind him. "This is about the girl, Dawn, isn't it?" Ash nodded. Darkrai looked deep into Ash's eyes. "Ash, it's entirely possible that you will out-live this girl. That you will live on after she has withered away to nothing. Are you absolutely, positively sure that this is what you want?" Ash nodded.

"I just have a few things I need to know." Darkrai didn't speak, and so Ash took that as permission to speak. "Will I age?" Darkrai nodded. Ash sighed with relief. "Okay." The thought of being with Dawn until he was old scared him, but also made him strangely… Happy. "Finally," Ash paused, and again Darkrai waited for his response. "Can I have the wallet and the picture?" Darkrai held out the wallet.

"Of course. When you take the wallet, I'll be gone. But when your mind is calm, and you ask for me, I will be there. Also, something else you need to know." This time, Ash was the silent one waiting for a response. Darkrai's eyes turned up in what looked like a smile. A twisted smile. "Team Rocket was responsible for the bomb on the ferry. This was a scheme to steal pokémon." With that, Darkrai thrust the wallet into Ash's left hand, and all the chaos returned to his senses. His chest burned even more ferociously, but he persevered. He unwrapped the blanket with just his left hand while still gripping his wallet and the precious photograph inside. He swam through the halls, past closed doors and a cart with small snacks floating around it. Ash burst up onto the surface minutes later, coughing up blood and water. He could feel his lungs emptying and simultaneously repairing themselves. It was uncomfortable to say the least. He looked around, and saw the lights of divers down in the water, amongst the wreckage fifty feet below. The boat had apparently sunk directly onto a large sandbar. Nothing a floating boat would ever think twice about, but close enough to the surface for easy recovery. Ash finally saw the boat, black and emblazoned with a red R. He climbed up onto the deck, clothes dripping onto the cold boards. For once, he was glad that he had worn his dirty clothes to bed. He shivered in the cold sea wind. He began to walk to warm up, and to try to think.

What am I going to do? He thought to himself. They will never take me with them… Then, faintly outlined by the light of the moon, he saw it. It was the metal edge to a space in the hull of the boat. A strongbox. Ash realized. He didn't know how he knew, the thought just popped into his head. He lifted the circular handle and yanked it open. The door swung open easily, with a slight creak of rust. He lowered himself into the dusty space slowly. It was warm, wet and dark. He laid down in the dank place, and pulled out of his soaked jeans, his ruined wallet. Slowly, reverently, he pulled out the photo of Dawn. It had been laminated so as not to be ruined by water. He stared at the blue-haired girl in the photo, and a single tear ran down his cheek. He soon fell asleep, and was tormented by dreams of drowning, only he wasn't himself. Ash, instead was a small yellow mouse. And before he woke up, he watched a raven-haired youth swim up, into the light of the moon.

~lnnl~

And that's the first chapter of my new fic, Beyond Death. Questions, comments, and criticisms are all appreciated. I hope you enjoyed. I will try to upload once every week or so, but that may be stressed or even broken a little bit. This is TheWyrm signing out for the first time ever!