-Story Progress Note-
Thank you so much for making this story reach 4,000 hits! I can't even believe how great you've all been about this story, so thank you so much! 8D

Hey there readers! At long last here's Chapter 6 of "What's Left Unsaid"! I apologize for the massive wait, but this story went on hiatus as I was working on school stuff. I'm not quite out of the woods on that yet, but I'm open enough to start writing again. In other news, I'm planning to restart my 100-part story soon. I'll let you know in the next chapter when that's coming out! (Also, Betamax16 gave me a great idea for a third story during my hiatus, and CrimsonAsh310 from Serebii (if I remember right) gave me a good one-shot idea. Now it's all up to how much I can actually write XD)

Anyways, I've made one major change to the format of my story. Annotations are now going to be randomly interspersed with the actual chapter. By that I mean that, after every major break in the story, the annotations for that section will be posted. Hopefully that makes it easier to keep track of the various notes. :) If you liked the old format better, please let me know in a review!

In more story-oriented news, the focus (which until now has been about Ash and Dawn almost exclusively), will now spread out a bit. This is usually the point in other stories where I tend to lose interest, so I'll do my best to keep close to the central plot ;)

And, as always, read, review, and enjoy!

Anyways, on with the show!

Chapter 6: "The Broken Night!"

"Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetime, is certain for those who are friends." – Richard Bach

The water seemed to go on forever, stretching into the horizon. The creeping sun was the only reference point, its arch passing smoothly over the path to the missing companion. Somehow, deep down, she knew where he had gone. The sun was her guide.

She had long since gotten tired of flying: not of the sensation, but rather the physical effort. After all, she was still young, her wings weak. Looking for a spot to rest, she had happened upon a boat.

There's an overused saying: that every thousand-mile journey starts with a single step.

It's supposed to mean that everything big starts with something small, something easy, and something insignificant. But it's also true that after everything big comes something small. After each journey, the story does not just end, no matter how neatly it might seem to be packaged. To be sure, the glitz and glamour is no more, but the life, the person, the story, remains. Some might call it the epilogue; others might call it a waste of space. But those first, dirty steps after the last are perhaps the most important. Those are the steps she takes now.

When you've finished such a long journey, your only journey, what do you do? Why should you keep walking?

What's the point?

Do you reinvent yourself? Do you start again down a similar path? That's what he did. Perhaps that's what it takes to move on, but does it devalue the old to start a new? Do new friends weaken memories of older ones? Does quantity inherently defeat quality? Do the old ones even matter anymore?

Perhaps if she were older, she would ask those questions. Perhaps she'll learn to ask a few; or maybe not. It's all up to the steps she takes as she walks back down the ill-lit path. It is night, yet she charges ahead as if she was yet wise enough to ask those questions. Or perhaps she did not notice the time, the dark sky, or the music of the forest [1]. Her mind was elsewhere, after all.

A single light shines vaguely somewhere above a clean, hardwood floor, casting a cautious shape over the room [2]. It sits unattended, stoically and statically watching over an opened scrapbook.

The dark air is absolutely quiet, an eerily unrecognizable state for the common room. In the vacuum, the steady, unnatural, and weak buzzing of the light bulb seems oddly amplified, its otherwise inaudible presence spotlighted by the sudden lack of competition.

Suddenly, though not hurridly, a person makes her way down a lit stairway. She works across the room, guided, not by the deceivingly far-off light, but by unconscious memory. Reaching the other side, she finds the switch, even in the dark, casting a truer light over the area.

As her light illuminates her waiting face. Casting the occasional, pensive glance out the window, she makes her way back across the room to a crowded mantle.

Despite the treasure trove of trophies littering the shelf, a relatively plain object catches her eye. It is a simple blue picture frame, decorated at the corners by that oh-so-common red and white circle. She picks it up, turning it a bit to better catch the light.

The picture itself is of two young friends, standing together on some brick pathway. Behind them, a large, four-part stadium sits dormant, unlike the trainers who stand before it. Both are smiling wide, evidently enjoying some un-captured moment [3].

They look so happy. It's hard to believe it's only been a week…

"She's grown up so much." The voice that came out seemed sad, almost mournful [4]. Surely, it wasn't out of place, but it wasn't quite what she had expected. She was happy her daughter had progressed so far; Dawn was truly following her dreams. Despite the joy, the mother and voice knew that it had come at a significant cost.

She glances again out the large window frame, past the patio, past the perfect landscaping, to the main road through town. This time, she finally spots what she was looking for. Far off down the path, her young daughter slowly returns. Her head is down, her gait slow and forced, but she is there.

Sighing at the sight with combination of relief and grief, Johanna sets the picture frame back down and moves a little closer to the glass.

Dawn stood on the dark path, her body just outside the bright edge of a streetlamp's light. A red light flashed out, recalling the Bunny Pokemon who stood beside her. Pausing momentarily, she collected herself and continued on down the path, passing briefly through the light.

Reaching the door of her house, she stopped and pulled out another Pokeball, quietly calling out the trapped Piplup. The newly freed Penguin Pokemon seemed shaken by his release and blindly, violently flailed about.

Laughing half-heartedly, Dawn opened the door, a sorted smile on her face.

Flashback

Warm…

They were by the lake, a light breeze passing over the shore. It was still warm. Just a bit. [5]

The sun was setting now over the horizon, making the air feel vaguely chilled, but they continued to sit as before. They were leaning against each other, by the tree, the lake, and the forest. But he was shivering; he wasn't wearing his jacket anymore.

The breeze was blowing. It got a bit colder.

Maybe I can warm him up. It wouldn't hurt to get a little closer.

She smiled and shifted, wrapping her arm around him. He felt cold, but his body slowly warmed up, at least where I was holding him. It felt so good, that I almost forgot.

Forgot that the wind was going to take him away.

Annotations part 1:

[1] I might have gotten the name wrong, but it's the music Nando points out in his intro arc to get Ash and Dawn to appreciate nature.

[2] Odd word choice? You bet. I mean that shallow light in dark areas makes you aware of the shapes of the objects around you, but you can't be entirely certain. It's an odd image, I know.

[3] If you don't get it yet, watch DP 189, and look for the scene when Ash and Dawn are describing their life goals to Brock. Uncaptured means the photograph didn't capture the whole scene, just a freeze-frame.

[4] Scientists will tell you that the voice you hear when you speak is not the one others hear. Scientifically, it has to do with the resonance of your bones, vibrations your ears pick up from sources other than the air. Your voice sounds truer and deeper to yourself than to anyone else. In the context of this story, perhaps that is true emotionally too.

[5] This section is a flashback to Chapters three and four, when Ash and Dawn are sitting together by the lake.

He was on a boat again.

It was still light out, the setting sun casting everything in a red tint as it dropped into the endless sea.

He was lying on his back, staring past the reddish ceiling into nothingness. Pikachu was sitting across the narrow cabin, his back against the humming refrigerator, looking down at the ketchup bottle in his stubby arms.

It was just like when he first arrived in Sinnoh – minus Aipom of course.

She had been an unusual little find, Aipom. The troublemaker had always loved playing around with his cap, dancing around with nearly a care in the world. After coming to Sinnoh as a stowaway, she eventually settled down into a (slightly) more mature Ambipom.

But she was no longer with him. Maybe he should stop by to visit.

There really wasn't anything unusual about the room, but something still felt off. The room was typical: bland, small, and crowded. But there was, somehow, something different about it this time.

Sitting up slowly, he scanned the room once more, his eyes dancing over each object in the typically drab room. Soon, however, a flash of red from just beside him caught his eye. Reaching over to pick up the bright fabric, Ash could feel the memories wash over him. It had only been a few hours now since he had left Sinnoh. Just a few hours since Dawn… since… since she had run off.

Why was she so scared? It was… it was just a kiss on the cheek.

Just a kiss, yeah right. Sure, he wasn't exactly foreign to them [6], but something seemed different about this one. Ash set her scarf back beside him on the bed.

A few minutes passed in silence as the boat hummed along through the water, continuing the long voyage back to Kanto.

Speaking of which…

He sat up in the bed, turning to face his companion. Raising his had up to feel for his hat, he asked, "Where do you think we should go next, Pikachu?" Ash had been thinking about this for a while, ever since Dawn had asked him as they walked to the lake. "I think it might be fun to–"

Ash's hand, reaching behind him as usual, caught a handful of hair. He didn't have his hat anymore.

"Pikaka."

"Oh. Right."

He let his body fall back on the bed again, taking in a deep breath as he settled in. Typically, this would be the time when he'd be excited about embarking on a new journey to a new, unexplored region. He'd done it so many times now he had almost lost track, but again, something seemed different this time. Sure, he was excited to see what he could do in a new environment, but something kept nagging at him.

"Pikaka." The voice was a little louder now, but not quite forceful. More demanding, like Pikachu was a small child throwing a temper tantrum.

"No Pikachu," he said with a sigh. "We just left, we can't go back. I guess we'll have more time to decide later." He closed his eyes, trying to get comfortable, but Pikachu was being adamant again.

The Mouse Pokemon dashed over and snatched up the deceptively light scarf.

"Hey!" Ash shot up, staring at the yellow mouse that now stood just across the room, resting the cloth in a misshapen pile on his head. Pikachu seemed to be trying to change the scarf's shape, but his arms couldn't reach high enough to grab the cloth. Eventually, he gave up and turned back to Ash.

"Pikapi?" He tilted his head to the side, eyes furrowed, as if trying to stare Ash down. Ash laughed a bit, vaguely recognizing the blob as his missing hat.

Pikachu shook the scarf off his head and deftly tied it around his neck, or what passed as such, pulling his hair into a familiar and distinctive shape. "Pikaka?"

Ash chuckled a little. It was a decent impression. Pikachu's ears weren't quite long enough to finish the shape of Dawn's hair, but it was still about as close as any other of Pikachu's impersonations. However, the electric rodent didn't seem too pleased by the reaction.

"ChuuuuuuuuuuuPIKA!" [7]

"Ow!"

It was going to be a long boat ride.

[6] Three previous kisses: Melody (Movie 1), Latias/Bianca (Movie 5), and Chikorita (Her debut episode)

[7] Yep, that's iron tail again. Pikachu really knows how to get his point across, huh?

That's it for now. Again, sorry it too so long, but this is what I've got so far. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon!