Golden Echoes: Chapter 2

Lyra couldn't sleep.

It was 6 o'clock in the morning, and no matter what she did, she could not get back to sleep.
Lyra sighed as she slowly rose out of bed. Once again, she would be getting through the day on three hours of sleep. She couldn't handle this much longer; she had to get rid of her insomnia.

Originally, she had thought simply being in Johto would make her feel better. It was her home, and she hadn't seen it for little more than a year. Yet, in the fortnight that she had been home, she hadn't felt any better from the prior fortnight in Kanto.

It had been a whole month, and she wasn't recovering.

It was completely ridiculous. She hadn't felt this lost and alone since her mom was sick. And this was so much more trivial than a life-threatening illness. Your heart is supposed to heal, right? So why wasn't it healing?

Lyra slipped into the bathroom, leaving her pajamas on the bedroom floor. She turned on the water and stepped into the shower. As she lathered her hair with shampoo, her thoughts once again turned to him. How he'd seemed so happy the day before the battle. The way his face had lit up as they held hands on top of the hill. The way his cool cheek felt against her lips. The way he'd smiled- actually smiled- after she'd defeated him. He had seemed so glad those days- what had gone wrong?

No! Lyra slammed her head against the wall. I've GOT to stop thinking about him! I'll just get more depressed! Besides, I won the Indigo League, right? I should be happy! I can't let some stupid boy beat me down!

But Silver was far from just 'some stupid boy'.

***
Lyra walked down the stairs slowly and softly. A loud noise could wake her mom. Yvette was no longer battling cancer, but she was still feeling the aftermath of chemo. Her hair had finally grown back, but her face still looked sallow and she was too thin. As a single mom, Yvette had to balance both a job and housework, and often was up fairly late. To insure a full recovery, she needed to get as much sleep as possible.

After reaching the bottom floor, Lyra tiptoed towards the kitchen. Though her depression had caused a lack of sleep, it had done little to suppress her hearty appetite. Lyra still needed a big breakfast in the morning, and luckily she had learned to cook while on her long journey.

Lyra nearly shrieked as she walked into the kitchen. She quickly stuffed her fist into her mouth. There was some sort of… thing… on the table!

Lyra flipped on the light switch, and sighed. That thing was only a harmless Wingull. She really needed to decrease her paranoia. But… how had a Wingull gotten into the house anyways?

"Wingull!" The Wingull called as it flew over to where Lyra was standing. It nudged her hand with its hard beak, and proceeded to plop a letter into her open palm. It gleefully exclaimed its name one more time, and then left the house through… an open window.

Huh. I could've sworn I'd closed the window. Oh well. Maybe Mom needed a cool breeze as she washed the dishes at night, and forgot to close it.

Lyra's thoughts soon turned to the envelope in her hand. It read "For the eyes of Lyra Porter only." She carefully opened the envelope and took out the letter, scanning its contents.

Lyra's eyes widened in surprise. A Tournament of Champions? Today? Meet at the meadow north of New Bark Town? Only the elite invited?

Lyra's heart pounded. There's no way I can go. I can't just leave mom like this.

But all I've been is a burden, anyways. I just eat more food and pile up more dishes. She got along just fine for the two years I was gone. If she needs any help, Professor Elm or Ethan's mom will come by.

But, why did I just get the notice today? Seems pretty fishy…

Maybe it was a last minute thing so trainers couldn't squeeze in a bunch of extra training before the tourney. Besides, if it's a scam, what's the worst that could happen? Team Rocket tries to kidnap me? I've beaten them before; I can do it again. And if it is legit, then this could be the thing to finally make me glad again! A great battle would totally take my mind off of Silver.

What if Silver's there?

So what if he's there? HE'S the one who left ME. I've got nothing to hide from. And there might be some other really hot, talented trainer who's actually not a complete jerk.

And if I saw him again, maybe he'd explain why.

Then, it was decided. She would go to this tournament. Lyra glanced up at the clock. 7:00. The tournament starts at 8! Lyra rushed to the fridge, snatched a bagel, and popped it in the toaster. She didn't have any time for a normal big breakfast; she wanted to get to the meadow as soon as possible. While waiting for her bagel, she scratched out a note to her mother explaining where she was going. She left the letter next to the note; the whole about 'don't show this letter to anyone' seemed pretty ridiculous; it's not like her mom was going to sneak in to participate. Why did it matter so much that nobody else knows about the tournament?

***
Lyra zoomed into the meadow. She looked down at her Pokegear. 7:30. Good, she had made it there with plenty of time to spare. She raised her eyes and carefully cased out her surroundings. Her brow furrowed. There was no one else in sight. Wouldn't the people sponsoring the tournament have showed up early?

"Hurry up, Pikachu!" Lyra turned around just in time to crash into another trainer. She hit the ground with a thud, and winced as a sharp elbow collided with her arm. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with memories, memories of her first to meetings with Silver, how they'd ran smack into each other, how he'd blushed so fiercely both times. He'd been such a jerk back then. Well, he was still a jerk. She had thought that he had changed, but all that time he was pretending. Tears pricked at her eyes. How could he have said all those horrible things to me?

"I'm so sorry!" Lyra felt a heavy weight lift off of her. A hand appeared, and she grabbed it. Slowly, she stood up as the hand pulled.

"Are you okay?" Lyra gazed into the face of the boy she'd just collided with. He had a tanned face with dark brown eyes. Messy tufts of night-black hair peaked out from beneath a cap. He was quite a bit taller than her, but not as tall as Silver.

"You're crying…" The boy stated. He moved a hand toward Lyra's face. She quickly pushed his hand away, and use her other arm to brush away the tears.

"It's nothing," she said. "I was just remembering someone."

"Oh. That's good," The boy flashed her a brilliant smile. "I was worried I hurt you or something."

"Oh no. I'm used to getting knocked over by people." Lyra managed a weak laugh.

The boy chuckled. "Well, whenever I meet a girl, I usually end up destroying her bike, so just plowing you over was actually an improvement."

Lyra laughed. "I don't have a bike, so I guess you had to improvise."

The boy smiled again, and held out his hand. "My name is Ash, by the way."

Lyra took his hand, and they shook. "Mine's Lyra."

Ash let go of her hand, and put his into the pocket of his jeans. "So, are you here for the Tournament of Champions?"

"Yep," Lyra answered. "Are you entering?"

"Of course! I'm the strongest trainer in the world!"

Lyra raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really? Well, I just won at the Indigo Plateau a month ago."

"I've spent the last two years training at the Northern Academy."

"Have you challenged any leagues yet?"

"Uh-huh. Kanto, Orange Archipelago, Johto, Hoenn, Battle Frontier, and Sinnoh. Been travelling for seven years."

"Oh." I've only been travelling for two years.

"So, I'm clearly going to win."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Someone's a little arrogant," She glanced around the clearing. "And nobody's going to win if nobody shows up."

Ash shrugged. "We're just early. I'm sure everyone else will arrive soon."

"Don't you think it's a little suspicious that even the sponsors of the tournament aren't here?"

"Not really. They're probably just running late."

Lyra wasn't so sure. This whole thing was beginning to seem a little weird…

***
"Sir, Lyra Porter and Ash Ketchum have already arrived."

"Ah. I suspected they'd be early."

"Should we move in? Lyra seems to suspect something."

"Our records show she is the smarter one." The voice paused for a second. "Yes, I believe we are ready. I will go alert everyone else. Prepare yourself."

"Yes, sir."