Chapter 4/Final: It Only Hurts Everywhere
Brock, Calista, Dawn, and Pikachu had arrived at the hospital, where Ash was listed to be in. Inside, doctors were operating on Ash, hoping to mend the bones in his busted up body. The red light was on, above the door to the operating room. The four were hoping for good news to what could've been, according to the video, a vicious, unprovoked attack by Paul. A half-hour later, a middle-aged brunette doctor in a lab coat approached the four, with a clipboard on hand. It seemed he had the latest word on Ash's condition. "Are you Ash's friends?" he asked.
"We are," Brock replied. The doctor found an empty seat, next to Pikachu, and rested his body down. He reviewed the notes on his clipboard, before looking at the worried group.
"The name's Dr. Harband, and I did take Ash's x-rays. Your friend was...assaulted, I heard?" Brock and Dawn nodded. " And he was knocked off the mountainside?" More nods. "I see. Well, the injuries look worse than what we presumed." Concerns rose. How bad was it? "He's got a slipped kneecap, caused by a tear in the medial crucial ligament, in his right leg. He's also got a mild dislocation in his left shoulder. He's not, by any chance, left handed, is he?" Yeah, that could play a role in his adventure, right?
"No, he's right-handed." Never mind. Harband seemed cleared up.
"Okay, then. The worst had to have been his rib cage, obviously. This kid's got so many breaks, I'm surprised that none of his 13 ribs had punctured his internal organs." 13 ribs? Paul must have had that Electabuzz hit Ash in the sweet spot. "There is good news to this." The number 13? What could be good about 13, as in 13 ribs? "The breaks were clean, thus, we had gone into surgery to refit the ribs." So, the doctors had gone, to repair Ash's rib cage, hoping that he could recover quickly. The good doctor flipped a sheet over, and saw something else. "There was one more injury, he did suffer." Was it serious? Everyone held their breath.
"Is it that important?" Dawn gasped. Let's just hope that it's not career-threatening.
"Well, the only other injury he suffered, was a minor pierce in his groin." Anyone with a straight face after hearing that, is taking this story way too seriously. Brock began to fidget quite badly, as the girls squinted. A pierced groin? Nasty.
"Will it effect is...um..." That, though incomplete, seemed like a serious matter. However, Harband chuckled. It would appear that he didn't see this as a big deal.
"No need to worry. A specialist worked on it for a few minutes, and it's good to go. Unfortunately, your friend might need to stay in ICU for a week. Two weeks tops." That would be plenty of time for Ash to recover. The four understood the doctor, confirming what was best for their friend.
"Thank you, doctor," Brock acknowledged. "When is it okay to see Ash?" They thought that they could tell Ash, the good news.
"Right now, with the successful operation, he's heavily sedated. Come back, tomorrow." The four agreed, but as they exited, Calista looked on, at the light. She didn't want to leave Ash's side, since confessing her love to him. Still, complying to doctor's orders, she left to join the rest. The next morning, in an ICU room, Ash woke up to the morning sun. His surgically-made body was covered in a gown, as a female in a nurse's outfit entered.
"Good morning, Ash?" she greeted. "How are you feeling?" How do you think, he's feeling? He just got out of surgery. Do you have to imagine that he was as sore as a pitcher's arm, after a complete game of baseball, nine innings worth
"I've been better," Ash shrugged. The nurse walked over, passing a stand with an IV pouch attached to Ash's vein, and brought out a stethoscope. She listened to Ash's heartbeat, as well as placing her fingers on his wrist. A minute later, she removed the stethoscope.
"Pulse is normal, which is good. By the way, you think you can eat?" Bet you, Ash hasn't had a bite for some time, so some food should be considered sufficient. He nodded, allowing the nurse to exit the room...almost. She turned around, re-eying Ash. "Oh, your friends are here. You want to see them?" They had been seriously worried about him. Once again, Ash agreed, letting the nurse go...and having Brock and Dawn enter. They were glad to see Ash, up, not about yet.
"Hey, how's the cliff diver doing?" Brock joked. Ash laughed, still sporting his sense of humor. Dawn was less than enthusiastic with that kid around.
"Brock, don't tell me, you forgot about the tape?" she scorned. "Paul and his Electabuzz nearly killed him." Oh, come on, Dawn. He was just trying to lighten the mood.
"It's okay, Dawn," Ash chuckled. "Brock means well." He was thrilled to see Brock and Dawn, again. That's when he noticed that someone was missing. You know, short, redhead, archaeologist...we know who. "Where's Calista?" Ash began to worry about the girl who had taken care of him, the instant he was assaulted.
"She's still asleep, and Pikachu's watching over her," Brock noted. "She's been so worried about you, she stayed awake throughout the night." Ash sighed in relief, but rather concerned, knowing that Calista was worried sick about him.
"I kinda wished that I let her sleep with me." Brock wasn't sure about that kind of response, but Dawn's eye began to twitch...like someone on a caffeine high. She swung her head to the side, thinking that Ash was being selfish.
"What do you see in that scrawny girl?" she snapped. Temper, Dawn.
"She, and her Baltoy did help me out. Letting her, be with me, would be the least I could do." Nothing selfish about that. Dawn turned back to the injured trainer, wanting to know more about Calista. Apparently, she believed that this wasn't the first time Ash had met her.
"So, have you met this girl in a recent adventure?" Ash wasn't too shy to talk about his past. There was a time that he and Calista met, before running into Dawn.
"As a matter of fact, we met during my time in Hoenn, when I got separated from Brock and the siblings, none related to him, in the Kiri Kiri Mountains." In the Kiri Kiri Mountains? And Brock was there, too? That's when Brock remembered the place, as well.
"Yeah, that foggy area," Brock blurted out. "Me, May and Max ended up losing Ash in there. We didn't go chasing after him until the fog cleared up." Sounded like whatever happened to Ash, Brock didn't want the same thing to imply to the other two names.
"Well, I met an older lady, first, singing about a song, called 'Baltoy's Path.' After he vanished I saw Calista's Baltoy, spinning toward a cliff side. Pikachu and I stopped it, before going off, when Calista arrived, and claimed the saved Baltoy. She told us (me and Pikachu) that she was searching for a civilization, dedicated to Baltoy. We got back to where I saw the grown woman, and found her at that same spot. We traveled down a secret tunnel, and entered that civilization, filled with the history of Baltoy's past. That's when we found a time machine, which looked like alien markings on a stone plate. The woman requested Calista to have Baltoy do Rapid Spin, and when it did, the machine was activated. The woman told both of us, that the ultimate treasure in the universe was..."
"Love?" Love? We all need love, once in a while, but was love the ultimate treasure in the universe? Dawn disagreed...with a slamming punch to Brock's head? Man, just say that you didn't like that answer.
"Oh, please," she grunted. "It's rather obvious. It's Pokémon that's the ultimate treasure in the universe." Pokémon? Was it really, the treasure? Ash thought both answers were wrong.
"Boy, aren't you two off the mark," he groaned. "The ultimate treasure in the universe is actually...time." Time? That's the ultimate treasure? Brock and Dawn were shallowed up in disbelief.
"How's time the ultimate treasure in the universe?" Ash was prepared to explain his memory of what happened.
"Well, we all live one life, thus, we take benefit of how we use it. No one understands that, since when it comes time, what we have and what we lose, will forever be etched in time. We're not permitted to change the past, nor see the future to predict what we need to do. What we have now, is what we need to live with, regardless of what the future has in store." That was a very interesting insight. Brock and Dawn seemed awed about what Ash was taught, by the older woman.
"I guess I should have let you speak out, since you were there, and not us," Brock confessed. "For time to be the ultimate treasure in the universe, holds true to so much more than any human would even consider." Good point. Ash seemed fascinated to pass the knowledge to his friends about the retrospect of time.
"Speaking of time, did the doctors say how long I'm projected to be in here for?" The surgeons never said anything?
"A week or two," Dawn replied. "The ribs cleanly broke, and there was no real serious restructuring to your shoulder or knee." Hearing that "good" news, Ash chuckled a bit. "I don't know if you should be laughing. You did have a baker's dozen broken ribs." Ash became silent...for a bit.
"That much, huh? Wow. Paul really got me, good." Brock heard Paul's name, and responded to it.
"About that, Paul was arrested and charged with attempted murder, by illegal use of a Pokémon," he stated. "In this district, there is no age limit to being charged with an adult crime, so Paul's gonna be suffering for sometime. In addition, his license for being a trainer has been permanently revoked, due to the crime." So Paul was going to jail for a long while. Ash had a pretty good feeling about why.
"I know, he really hates the way I train and raise my creatures. Did he say the same thing?" His excuse wouldn't fly, no matter what it was.
"Actually, he said nothing. At least, you don't need to worry about him, anymore." True enough. So Paul gave no word on his actions. Still, that was a cowardly act to do. "Besides, the tape will be used as evidence at his trial, so we won't be able to see it for sometime." Like they really need it for anything else. Then, the nurse entered the room, wheeling in a tray with pancakes, sausages, bacon, milk and orange juice. Seeing the food, Brock and Dawn realized that they needed to leave, so that Ash could eat in privacy. "Well, we'll leave you to eat. Don't choke, okay?"
"Sure." Brock and Dawn left the room, as Ash ate. A couple hours past his breakfast, Ash was lying down. Something was still going through his head. Was it Calista? Suddently, there was a knock. Ash looked. There she was. "Calista?" Calista walked over to Ash's bedside, wondering, how he was feeling.
"You okay?" she asked. Ash chuckled a bit.
"A little better, seeing you." Calista smiled, appreciating the response. He took a deep breath, before continuing. "I been...thinking about what you said, before EMTs carried me off." Must have been when Calista confessed to loving Ash. "I want to take care of you, like you took care of me, for as long as time permits us to." Was this his real reply to Calista's confession? Grasping his hand with a pair of hers, she was willing to hear if he loved him back.
"You...you mean?" Ash nodded. He was honest, as he clutched her hand, gently.
"It's you, that I've been thinking of, since leaving Hoenn. I do love you, very much." Her eyes glistened in happiness, as she joined Ash in bed, and they put the lip-locking on. Oh yeah. Pikachu, who was with Brock and Dawn at the doorway, was happy to see its trainer get some love. It was the only one, sadly. Brock was distraught, seeing the kiss Ash got, and jealous. Dawn was also jealous...seriously. Her face was that of wanting to tear Calista away from Ash. Well, that week went by pretty fast. Ash's injuries healed up faster than the surgery itself. Ash, along with Brock, Dawn, Calista and Pikachu, exited the hospital. The journey would go on, in addition to the newest member of the team. That meant dealing with Team Rocket, still, and more Pokémon to capture. Fast forward to a couple of months later. Ash and Calista, along with Pikachu were on their way to Pallet Town. There Calista could confront someone named Prof. Oak, and share information about her archeology adventures. Ash had more than Prof. Oak. He was carrying a trophy. There was something carved on the trophy base.
POKÉMON MASTER OF THE SINNOH LEAGUE: ASH KETCHUM, CHAMPION.
Ash was the champion of the Sinnoh League. About time, too. However, in reality, Ash had three trophies: the one in his arm, the one on his shoulder...and the one holding his hand. The past united them. The present helped each other out. The future...would be something that can only be made, between them. Time was the ultimate treasure in the universe. The time that they wanted to share together...was a dream come true.
THE END