A/N: So I'm really sorry about how long this took to get out. What with school volunteer work, and my job… Well, let's just say that my life is really busy for me right now. I'll always endeavor to not take more than a month to update this though.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. However, I have bought most of the games.

"Talking out loud."

"Telepathy."

'Thinking.'

"Latias?" A voice called out loudly. "Latias?"

"Leave me alone…" Latias groaned back. She was having such a good sleep. The best she had had in ages, since Ash was staying in Alto Mare and her brother was alive. She was way too comfortable to do something irksome like waking up. And this meddling voice wasn't helping matters at all.

Latias scarcely heard an irritated sigh just before experiencing a sharp poke to her right wing.

"Hey!" Latias jumped up and turned to attack the source of the sharp poke with a Dragon Claw at the ready only to pause at the sight of Bianca looking back at her. She was holding up a clock and pointing to it, which admittedly, was a bit of a strange sight to see, especially first thing in the morning. "What?"

Latias stared at the numbers on the clock with incomprehension.

12:36 P.M.

"Is that…?" Latias looked out of the window. The sun was definitely high up in the sky. She slowly turned to look back at Bianca. "Am I…?"

"I think that you might be just a bit late for patrol." Bianca said ruefully.

Latias didn't even bother with responding before using Psychic to fling the blanket off of her and flying straight out of the window in a red and white blur. The passing wind from the force of her departure caused several papers to fly off of Bianca's desk and onto the floor. Bianca walked over to the window and stared after her. Latias was already nothing more than a red and white dot in the distance by the time she got there.

"Well there goes eating breakfast together…" Bianca muttered to herself.

"Well that's certainly a shame, I just finished making lunch. Or would it be brunch for you now?" A voice said from behind her.

"Good morning grandpa," Bianca said while yawning. "Why didn't you wake us up sooner?"

"I tried to," Lorenzo replied from his place by her door. "But for some strange reason, you two wouldn't wake up at all. The both of you slept right through your alarm. The alarm that I could hear from downstairs, I would like to add. You two didn't stay up that late, did you?"

"Uh, nope. We didn't stay up late. We went to bed really early, in fact." Bianca lied while staring at the floor.

"Hmm…" Lorenzo hummed doubtfully. "Well, lunch is ready for you downstairs."

"Wait, shouldn't you be at work already?" Bianca asked.

"It's the weekend before the Tour de Alto Mare," Lorenzo said in response. "You remember what that means, don't you Bianca?"

"Oh," Bianca blushed at her forgetfulness. "That's right…"

The museum would always shorten its hours right before the Tour de Alto Mare started up until it was over with. While the Tour was happening, other shops would have lots of deals and specials going on, and the museum couldn't really compete with that. While it may cause some more people to visit to visit the museum, there was a serious lack of visitors during the lunch hours and dinner hours. Because of that, the museum saw fit to limit its hours and workers during this time period. It has been working out really well since it was first proposed and no one ever complained so it stuck and became somewhat of a tradition.

"I'll be waiting for you downstairs," Lorenzo said. He backed out of the Bianca's room and started to shut the door before pausing briefly. "And try not to be any later this time. The food will get cold."

"You got it," Bianca said before pushing the door the rest of the way shut. "I'll be right there!"

Bianca could hear chuckling coming through the door. After a moment, she could hear the sound of heavy footsteps walking away.

"Now what?" Bianca asked herself as she looked around her room. There was a lot to clean up, although most of it was because of Latias's quick exit. Thankfully, she had put away the dishes last night; otherwise the heavy smell of the food would have most likely been smothering her right now. She would have to fix the bed, rearrange her closet, and a few other things. She sighed. This day off wouldn't be that much fun. But if she managed to finish everything fast enough, she might be able to go see Latias again.

"Bianca!" Lorenzo shouted from downstairs. "I meant lunch was ready for today! Not tomorrow!"

"I know!" Bianca shouted back. "I just need one more minute grandpa!"

Bianca hurriedly changed out of her night clothes and into a forest green summer dress with yellow sunflowers on it. She checked herself out in the mirror to make sure it looked ok. It seemed fine, there was just one thing missing. She picked up a matching green colored beret with yellow trimmings and put it on. "Perfect."

Smiling to herself in the mirror, she quickly made her way downstairs.

"Well, it's about time." Lorenzo stated with a hint of mirth in his as Bianca made her way over to the table.

"I'm really sorry grandpa." Bianca said regretfully. Usually on days when she and her grandfather were free, they would spend the day together eating out or wandering the streets and canals. But today it seemed that she had screwed up their usual routine.

"Oh no, you're fine," Lorenzo laughed. "We still have some time to ourselves. Since breakfast has past, we can do brunch now. And afterwards, we can go help Latias out with her patrol so we can spend dinner together out. How does that sound?"

"That sounds perfect!" Bianca exclaimed. "Really, thank you so much grandpa."

"You're welcome. Now hurry up and eat, we will have a lot of ground to cover if we want to help Latias out."

"Right." Bianca said before quickly started to eat the food her grandfather had made in order to leave faster.

"And before we leave, I want you to tell me exactly what happened last night." Lorenzo added.

"Right…" Bianca said with a bit less enthusiasm.

'Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.' Latias kept repeating to herself over and over again as she rushed to start her patrol. For the first time since, well, forever she was late for her patrol. Even if chances were slim that something would happen, it was her duty to watch over Alto Mare. She couldn't shirk her duty no matter what happened. That was something her brother had instilled into her since long ago, and it was something she swore to take to heart. It was doubly bad because she didn't realize that she was still visible until a few minutes after leaving Lorenzo's house. Luckily, no one seemed to notice and she managed to continue on without and problems.

Latias's eyes widened as she suddenly remembered something else she had to do. She stopped suddenly and turned in the direction of the Secret Garden before speeding towards it. If anyone happened to be looking up, they would have seen a flock of puzzled and agitated Pidgey flying in place looking around after being pushed by the wind left in Latias's wake as she flew in-between them. Normally, Latias would have stopped and apologize profusely to each and every one of them. Now, however, she was preoccupied with worrying about her brother's Soul Dew.

In less than a couple of minutes, she was back in the garden. She ignored all the other Pokémon that were wandering about and hastily made her way over to the fountain housing a brother's Soul Dew. She peered inside before letting out a sigh of relief. It was still there. It was safe. Almost immediately all the tension that was built up in her body flowed out as she gazed at the Soul Dew. Even though she knew her brother would be mildly upset at her, she knew that deep down she sometimes put the Soul Dew above Alto Mare. It was hard not to considering that it was her brother who watched over her for her entire life. While she may live in and guard the city, it was her brother who watched over her and cared for her.

"Hello again brother," Latias said to the orb within the fountain. "I'm here…"

Latias gazed at the Soul Dew mournfully. Even after three years, the pain still remained. Still, she had to put up a brave front. With Bianca and Lorenzo around, it wouldn't do good to worry them with her own inadequacies. She checked to make sure the water was clear and the fountain was clean. While it was almost impossible for either of those to be anything but that, she still felt better after checking.

"I'm sorry that I didn't talk to you last night," Latias started. "And I'm sorry for not coming to see you before my patrol. And for not going on patrol. And… Well, a lot of things really."

Latias sighed sadly as she stared at her brother's Soul Dew. This wasn't really helping her like it usually did. If anything, she was starting to feel worse. It was as though the happiness she had gained from hanging out with Bianca yesterday had been completely sucked away. It wasn't because she was remembering her brother again though. There was something a bit more than that. She couldn't tell what it was though, and that too was starting to eat away at her. She may as well keep talking though, for Latios's sake if not her own.

"Do you remember when I was talking about the Tour de Alto Mare yesterday? Bianca came in the middle of it, so I couldn't finish. Anyways, it's coming up next week. I don't really want to go. It wouldn't be the same without As-you. Without you there, it just seems so trivial."

Latias broke off and looked around to make sure no other people or Pokémon were around. As usual though, there were no people and the Pokémon that usually inhabited the garden were all well away from the fountain as per usual. Again though, it didn't really matter since she was talking with telepathy. Still, she had to be cautious. Cautious Pokémon always lived longer. And without her brother to watch her back, she had to be more cautious than ever.

"The rest of the patrol wasn't bad though," Latias added after a moment. "No one caught me or suspected me of being a Pokémon. The citizens of Alto Mare are all happy too. They seem even happier with the Tour coming up, so that's good. Besides that, most of the shops are pretty much the same. Do you remember Trattoria Aldini's? Bianca and I went there yesterday for lunch. It was as perfect as ever. We just had tramezzini, and it was delicious. After that, I finished the patrol. Oh! Do you remember the Tunnel of Leaves? I know I told you a while back about how people were putting padlocks on them with their initials or something like that on them. Well the tunnel has even more of them locked in there now. It's really impressive, actually. Well, I bet you would think they're an eyesore. But I like them. It's certainly romantic…"

Latias sighed as she thought back to those love locks. That was something she wished had been a thing back when Ash was here. Maybe they could have hung one up. She shook her head at the thought. She shouldn't think about things like that. It would always lead to sad thoughts.

"Sorry, where was I?" Latias asked after shaking off those thoughts. "Oh right, so the Tunnel of Leaves has gotten really full with those love locks. There are other areas in Alto Mare with those locks too, from what I saw during my patrols. Some are getting taken down because the city officials consider it vandalism. Speaking of the city officials, I saw them yesterday by the main canal overseeing the preparations for the Tour de Alto Mare. It looks like it will be even more challenging this year. They added obstacles. It should be interesting, I guess. I may have to go, to make sure that no one gets hurt. Though really, the only person who managed to be careless enough to need saving was… Ash."

And there she was again. But back to the main issue at hand. Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. Lately, more and more things could remind her of him. And the dreams she was having certainly weren't helping. They seemed to be getting worse, actually. Or better, actually, depending on the person's perspective. The dreams seemed to be getting realer too. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that they were in fact actually happening. The feelings and emotions that those dreams evoked were too strong to just be something that she had made up in her sleep. Still, the fact remained that they couldn't be real and most likely would never be real, no matter how much she wished that it wasn't that way.

"Anyways," Latias continued. "There really isn't much else for me to add. Well, the sleepover Bianca and I had last night went pretty well. Uh, we didn't stay up that late… Ehehe, and besides that, we just talked about some museum stuff and girl stuff. I doubt you'd want to hear all about that, right? I thought so. Well, it's really late right now; I should start doing the daily patrol. And I'm sorry for being late today, I overslept. It was because of Bianca though, honest. She said she would set her alarm but it didn't go off so that's why I'm late. But don't worry, I'll finish it. After all, it's my duty."

With that said, Latias turned and started to make her way out of the Secret Garden. As she neared the exit, she noticed two very familiar looking silhouettes making their way towards her. Thoughtfully, she made her way towards them.

"Bianca? Lorenzo?" She questioned once she was close enough.

Both Bianca and Lorenzo stepped out into the sunlight, both of them in their casual clothing. It was a sight that she didn't get to see that often. Evidently, they both apparently had a day off today. Both of them smiled at her as they walked closer.

"Hello Latias, I missed you this morning. How are you?" Lorenzo asked.

"I'm well Lorenzo," Latias replied with a smile at the elderly man. "Sorry for leaving so soon and without saying hello or goodbye to you. I was late for my patrol."

"I noticed," Lorenzo said with a slight grin as he looked towards a sheepish looking Bianca. "Bianca filled me in on the details. Or most of them, I believe."

Bianca gave a nod in confirmation.

"Well thanks for stopping by," Latias said as she moved passed them a bit to leave. "But I really must be going now. I'm really late for my patrol."

"Now hold on there Latias," Lorenzo waved at her to stop before continuing. "That's why we're here. We have a day off, so we thought maybe we could help you with your patrol. Is that alright?"

Latias blinked. That was irregular. Welcome, of course. But definitely irregular.

"Are you sure?" Latias asked hesitantly. "It's your day off. You should be able to enjoy it."

"And we will," Bianca stated. "At night though."

Latias stared at the two of them in confusion.

"We decided that we would help you with your patrol and then have dinner together afterwards." Lorenzo explained.

"Oh." Latias stared at them in dawning comprehension. They wanted to help her. And not only that, they wanted her to stick around with them more. "Well, if you're sure…"

"We're both sure." Bianca said with a smile. "Now let's get going. There's going to be booths and stalls set up tonight by the harbor to kick off the week of the Tour de Alto Mare. I want all of us to go there and enjoy it together."

"Well that sounds good to me," Lorenzo said. "And you, Latias?"

"I agree," Latias smiled happily as she circled around them leisurely. "I'll meet the both of you by the harbor after I finish the North section. You two can both do the South section. We should finish at about the same time."

Lorenzo and Bianca both nodded in agreement to her plan. And with that, she quickly went invisible and left the Secret Garden to finish the patrol as fast as she could. All the while, she couldn't help but feel like something really good was going to happen tonight. Although it was most likely just because of the past few happy days she had been having. Still, she didn't mind hoping that her feeling was right and that something good would actually happen. Either way, as long as she was with Bianca and Lorenzo she knew she'd be as happy as she could ever be.

OMAKE

"Are you ok?" A now very familiar voice asked.

"Huh?" Ash asked groggily.

"Are you ok?" The voice repeated.

Ash slowly opened his eyes to see Mew in front of him. Again. "Ohhh…"

"I'll take that as a yes." Mew said brightly.

Ash looked around. They appeared to still be in the forest. Though currently, there wasn't anyone around. Not even the boulder. "Did you move us?"

"Well duh," Mew said. "I didn't want you to hit the boulder as you woke up are something."

Ash was about to retort heatedly before stopping to think. To be honest, there was actually a pretty high chance of that happening unfortunately.

"So here we are," Mew added once she saw that Ash wasn't going to say anything. "Thank Chansey."

"Thank Chansey?" Ash parroted before noticing a movement to his right. He turned and was about to say something before something got shoved into his mouth. He started to choke on it.

"Here you are Latios," The Chansey said cheerfully. "One of my eggs should heal any leftover damage."

Ash roughly swallowed the soft egg and started to pant. Then his eyes widened. "Wait, your eggs can heal people?"

"I think so." Chansey said optimistically.

"You think?!" Ash yelled.

"Oh shut up," Mew said. "Does your head still hurt?"

"Well, no…" Ash replied.

"Then it worked." Mew smiled wickedly.

A/N: So for those of you who are wondering, Ash and Latias will see each other in the next chapter. Yes, the time has come at last.

Also, the Pokémon that he will be taking with him will be Pikachu (because he has to), Totodile (because he must regain his honor for losing The Tour de Alto Mare before), Bayleef (because you all seem to want drama), and a blank spot (for a certain someone), Gible (because he's adorable and attatched to Ash) and Pidgeot (because she needs to be back already).

Thank you for those of you who voted for your choices. I appreciate all of them. Really, I do. This team seemed to be the most interesting, and the reasoning behind them was sound. So yeah, I'll be going with this. The main reasoning behind these choices that I got from you isn't due to power or balance, but interaction and synergy. I feel like they will be able to interact together well. Well, eventually at least.

Now I have another question. Should Ash and Latias meet as soon as he gets off of the ferry or during the street festival somehow (accident, running into each other, noticing each other, etc)? As always, you can let me know in the reviews or PMs.