The Master of Mirage
Chapter Seven – Behind the Mask
"Mew."
Ash's eyes snapped up above them at the soft sound. Professor Oak shifted a bit to look in the same direction, and there they saw the small form of the Mirage Mew hovering over them. Ash could feel the difference between Mew and what was being formed in front of them, and it only proved how much of a monstrosity this thing was going to be.
"The first creation, a failed specimen, a flaw," Mirage Master spoke up. "Mew was to be my first masterpiece, but it is weak and soft. The data I had did not reflect its power. It was emotional, it didn't listen. It was useless."
Ash reached his hand up, and the Mew floated down to him, pressing the top of its head against his hand with a smile and a purr. "It's not flawed," he mumbled. "It feels more real than anything else here."
"Feels real?" Professor Oak repeated slowly.
Ash nodded, but then wished he hadn't because of how much it hurt. "The Mirage Pokemon, they don't feel right. There's something wrong with them. Mew's different though."
This exchange went unnoticed by Mirage Master, who was too eager about the creation that was starting to form. He spun around, his cloak moving around him impressively as he said, "Observe the strongest Pokemon the world has ever seen." He turned back, his cloak flying open as he spread out his arms. "Behold, Mewtwo!"
Ash already knew what was coming, but as light and energy exploded around them, he had to cover his eyes and cringe at the feeling. It was horrible. Instinctively, he fought back against it, his own aura pushing the twisted energy away from him and Professor Oak. Windows shattered, but none of the glass hit them, bouncing harmlessly off of the invisible shield he had created around them.
The light was almost too bright, the energy too strong. Professor Oak silently urged him to actually get off of the metal table, and with some difficulty, Ash managed to get up and get his footing, stumbling back away from the source of the negative light. His shield faltered and fell, but luckily, the falling glass had stopped.
"Ash!"
"Pikapi!"
"Riori!"
Ash's eyes snapped open again, and he twisted around, his eyes falling on May first, wondering why she was there. Then his Riolu jumped into his line of sight, followed by Pikachu, who grinned and looked behind him.
Ash looked around Professor Oak, and he was certain that he forgot how to breathe as his eyes met worried sea-green ones.
"Are you guys okay?" May called out to them, and while Professor Oak called out to them encouragingly, Ash was frozen.
"Ash?" Misty called out to him, obviously worried. He truly did look like hell with blood and bruises all over him, his entire demeanour being one of defeat. She could feel her heart beating loudly as he stared at her with stunned eyes. Though they were in danger, and it was entirely out of place, Misty just stared at him and took a step forward.
Ash felt like he couldn't breathe, like he was being strangled, and yet he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Surely she was an illusion of some sort? But he knew her aura, even if he never thought about it before. He knew hers, and all of his friends and his Pokemon, but Misty's was different.
Ash lurched away from Professor Oak and literally threw himself at Misty. She stumbled back as he hugged her tightly, a shuddering breath escaping his lips. May took a startled step back away from them, but then looked a little more than amused as Misty's arms went around Ash, and they both hugged each other.
"I thought you were dead." His voice was shaking, cracking as he spoke. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. There was nothing I could do."
"I know, I know," she muttered, rubbing his back. "I'm alive. I'm here. And you did save me." Still keeping the closeness between them, Misty took out his pokeball and then said, "Snorlax broke my ball before may pulled me up. I would have died if you didn't bring him. You saved me."
Ash stared down at the pokeball and let out a bark of a laugh suddenly. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so relieved that he wanted to break down and cry. She was alive. He was about to say something about Riolu being there too when the Mew that had been silently hovering in the room let out an alarmed cry.
It glided behind the two girls, pale blue eyes wide as it stared at the glowing chamber as the violet light retracted back into it, compressing into a familiar silhouette. Familiar to both Ash and Misty, that was.
"No," Misty breathed out, any thoughts of a heartfelt reunion instantly vanishing.
"He dug through my memories for data on aura, but he found them instead." The guilt was clear on Ash's face, but there was no time to address that as the light faded away, leaving a Pokemon that had the same faint glow to it as all of the other Mirage Pokemon they encountered.
"What is that?" May took a step back, sapphire eyes widening with alarm.
"Riori."
"Pikapi."
Pikachu and Riolu both moved by Ash's legs, and he reached down and took both Pokemon into his arms, feeling the exhaustion from Pikachu and the sheer determination from Riolu. Little thing was a fighter apparently, but he didn't stand a chance.
Misty suddenly gasped and sidestepped as the Mirage Pokemon that surrounded them earlier appeared before them again. None of them moved to attack them though.
"This is no ordinary Mewtwo! Behold its power!" Mirage Master pointed in their general direction, and Mewtwo's violet eyes snapped open. A shadow ball that was visibly stronger than the one hurled at Max earlier on grew in its hands before he threw it not at them, but at the other Mirage Pokemon.
They all cried out in pain before their forms shattered into small dots of light that faded. As much as Ash didn't like their presence, it was still disturbing to see any type of Pokemon in that much pain.
Mew let out a horrified cry, flying out over where the Pokemon had been moments ago and looking around for them, but they were all gone. Professor Oak threw his arm out in front of Ash, pushing him back behind him a few steps. The motion made him dizzy, because he really wasn't okay, but he didn't protest it any as he felt both Misty and May tug him back so he was between them.
Dark laughter echoed off the metallic walls of the room. Mirage Mister held his hands in the air like a presenter. "You are looking at perfection! And now, you will experience it too!"
Mewtwo formed another shadow ball, but this time, Professor Oak was not going to let any of them get harmed. He had already failed them enough in that respect today. "Dragonite! Twister!" He threw his pokeball forward, and his powerful Dragonite emerged. Its high pitched roar echoed as it used its wings to form a twister. The current slammed into the shadow ball, and the two attacks exploded midair, smoke filling up the room as Dragonite landed at Oak's side again.
"You think your Pokemon are strong enough to defeat Mewtwo?" Mirage Master's voice pierced through the smoke.
"No," Oak mumbled under her breath as he turned to the children. "Hurry, we need to run now." It was never his intention to defeat Mewtwo; it was his intention to give them cover to run.
They wasted little time hurrying out of the room, and Ash could have sworn he felt a spike of rage coming from Mirage Master. Now wasn't the time to think on that though. They had to run.
They rushed down the stairs and towards the door when Ash stumbled to his knees. It was only the alarmed cry of his two Pokemon that caused the others to notice. Misty let out a gasp of his name and ran back to him, kneeling down beside him. "Come on, you need to get up."
"I feel like I'm going to be sick," he admitted. "Everything hurts." He let go of Pikachu and Riolu, who stood close to him with obvious worried expressions.
Misty looked up at Professor Oak with almost helpless eyes. "Is there anything we can do for him?"
"Some Pokemon have healing abilities that do work on people," Oak noted. "Unfortunately, none of mine do. We'll have to carry him."
"That'll slow you guys down," Ash said. "Keep going; I'll get out. Take Pikachu and Riolu with you."
"Absolutely not," Professor Oak snapped, startling all of them. "Right now, out of all of us, you're the only one with something that Mirage Master might value. If anything, you're the one who has to get out."
"Mew mew."
They all looked up as Mew hovered over them. A frown appeared on its face, and it floated down in front of Ash. He didn't feel anything negative coming from it, so he didn't flinch away as Mew reached out and placed a small paw on Ash's head.
He let out a gasp as he felt a rush of energy surge through him. The pain and fogginess from his head started to fade, and the ache from his limbs all but vanished. He looked at Mew with surprised eyes, and the Mirage Pokemon smiled, quite happy with itself.
Pikachu sniffed him and smiled. "Chaa." He looked at Riolu. "Pikapi cha pi pika pikachu."
"Riolu ri!" The baby Pokemon smiled happily.
"Thank you." Ash managed to push himself up with little trouble. Of course, Mew was a Mirage Pokemon, so it would have been stronger, and it would have known every and all moves, so a powerful healing one was definitely in the mix.
Misty touched his arm where there had been a cut that was completely healed over, staring at it in awe. Mew flew over to her next and touched her hand that was heavily bruised from both Machoke and her fall. It stung for a moment, but as the skin cleared, it felt good as new. "You didn't have to." She glanced over at Ash, as he lifted up her arm to inspect it himself. He balanced Riolu in his other arm as Pikachu climbed up onto his shoulder. She rolled her eyes slightly, but with a genuine smile on her face.
"Mew mew mew, mew mew mew." It pointed towards the stairs and then started to fly down, motioning for them to follow. Between the time Ash had first fallen, and now, only a couple minutes had passed, but those were minutes that they really needed to make up.
"Come on," Professor Oak encouraged, deciding that Mew wouldn't have healed Ash and Misty just to drag them back into another trap.
The four of them ran, following Mew with Dragonite trailing behind them. The dragon Pokemon could easily overtake them with its speed, but he was making sure nothing came behind them. The very familiar gateway came into view, and every one of them expected to be stopped before they could get over the threshold. They managed to make it though, relief rushing through all of them like they had just escaped some sort of horrible horror movie.
Ash thought back to what they saw in the loading dock and held Riolu close to him, taking a second glance at Pikachu. It really could have been a horror movie. They could have been slaughtered, and Misty, he thought she had died. He looked over at her again, taking a deep breath. She was alive, and that was what mattered.
He couldn't shake off the horrible feeling that they weren't out of the woods yet though. Well, he wasn't going to try to shake off the feeling. The last time he did that turned into a disaster.
"May!"
The brunette twisted around, an annoyed groan escaping her lips as she rushed forward, meeting her younger brother half way. "Max, you were supposed to stay hidden!"
"But I saw the windows explode up there." His worry was palpable, and he actually allowed himself to hug his sister tightly. May let out a huff and hugged him back for a moment, watching him carefully as he stepped around her once he caught sight of Professor Oak. Whatever question he might have had died on his lips though. "Mew?"
"It's a Mirage Pokemon," May explained to her brother. "But he really helped out Ash and Misty." Her sapphire eyes flickered around the area. "Did you hear anything from Brock yet?"
"Do you see him anywhere around here?" Max asked sarcastically.
May was about to snap back at him when the loud, groaning sound of scraping metal echoed through the air. They all covered their ears, though that did little help to stop it all. That horrible sound was the only warning they got before missiles were launched from all of the towers.
"What's going on?" Ash asked, not that he expected anyone to have an answer. None of them could move before one of them hit the ground not far from them, but they didn't explode or cause any damage; they just stuck in the ground. They all just stared at them for a moment before the tops pealed open like metallic flowers, the gemstones inside lighting up brightly.
Instantly, Ash was on edge again and a shudder from Riolu, as well as a high-pitched 'chaa' from Pikachu let him know that they felt the same. Riolu, he could understand, but Pikachu's reaction threw him off a little bit. That didn't make sense, unless when his own aura was connecting to Riolu's earlier, that pull her felt from Pikachu was connecting them in the same way. There was no time to think on that though, because he knew exactly what was coming.
"Professor," May spoke up, her voice squeaking slightly. "What do we do?"
The old man's eyes looked around him, and opened his mouth to speak but Ash interrupted him. There was a fire in his eyes as he said, "We do what we came here to do and fight this system!"
"You're brave boy, I will give you that." Mirage Master's voice echoed from the gate of the laboratory as he walked towards them, Mewtwo gliding along eerily at his side. "But so very stupid to have such a gift wasted on you. I will spread my Mirage System across the world, and then everyone will bow down to me."
Ash watched carefully as the masked man revealed a controller identical to the one Doctor Yung had used earlier, focusing on his hand. A bit of a smirk appeared on his face when he saw what he expected to see there, something that gave everything away.
He didn't get the chance to say or do anything though. The vibrant orange lights of the Mirage System lit up again, forming new creatures that made his skin crawl. Entei, Articuno, and Zapdos all glared at them viciously, and even Ash knew that their Pokemon didn't actually stand a chance against them. The Legendaries themselves were powerful, but if he could alter them to do anything he wanted them to do, that was an entirely different story.
"Finally! All my many years of hard word are coming to fruition! I will create an army of Legendary Pokemon!"
"Who is this maniac?" May muttered as she held Max close to her.
"Doctor Yung."
May, Max, and Misty all looked at Ash with confusion, but Professor Oak actually seemed quite proud that he had caught on too. Even Mirage Master seemed completely taken back that he actually knew this.
"How hard did you hit your head?" Misty demanded.
"Yeah Ash. We saw the Aerodactyl carrying Doctor Yung off."
"We did, but what we didn't do is physically interact with Mirage Master. It wouldn't be hard to create an illusion in a place like this. It's what it's built for, after all. Holograms and illusions of reality," Professor Oak explained, his harsh blue eyes never once looking away from the masked man. "The more I was around him, the more I realized that it was him."
"His hand is hurt," Ash said. "Where the remote blew up." He held Riolu and Pikachu closer to him. "Plus he's the same. I can feel it."
"You can feel it?" The masked man laughed hysterically as he reached up, tossing his hat aside before removing the metal mask and it hit the ground with a thud. Suddenly, Doctor Yung's periwinkle eyes seemed much more malicious than they had earlier. "You know, I think I'll keep you here. There's still much I could learn from you."
Misty actually growled, taking a step forward and holding onto Ash's arm while glaring at Doctor Yung, as if daring him to make a move towards the raven-haired boy. The Mirage Pokemon might have been powerful, but Misty was pretty sure she could take him out any day of the week.
"I am curious about how you knew though, Oak."
Professor Oak shook his head. "It was easy to figure out. When Mew appeared for the first time in the lab, you called it a flawed specimen. You knew the system inside and out, and no one who could have just stumbled upon this place would have had that power over it!"
"The Pokemon!" Ash yelled suddenly, brown eyes narrowing with anger as he jerked out of Misty's grasp. "In the crates! You experimented on all of them to figure out more about them! You murdered hundreds of them." A thought occurred to Ash as he said that. If Doctor Yung had experimented on Pokemon, testing things on their physical bodies to get the Mirage System right, then how could he perfectly make Legendaries from a memory? Sure, he said the memory was turned into data, but Ash was pretty sure he didn't know everything about them.
Meaning his memories weren't complete, which meant that the Mirage Pokemon couldn't be complete either! Not really! He was honestly a bit surprised with himself for piecing this all together.
"I see you found my disposal site. They were a sacrifice in the name of progress."
"You're sick!" Misty cried out. "Pokemon are not experiments!"
"I don't understand," Max mumbled behind them. "Why is everyone just yelling at each other and not doing anything?"
"I think..." May trailed off thoughtfully. Though Professor Oak, Ash, and Misty hadn't said a word about it, it was like all three of them had formed a unit working towards the same goal, one that she was cluing in on too. "I think they're distracting him."
"I should have known you'd do something like this," Professor Oak snapped angrily as the Maple siblings whispered behind them. "After what you did years ago with your experiments and the League took your researcher's license away until your probation was over! Your methods were too reckless! Too dangerous to Pokemon!"
"Those who refuse to do challenge what's right and what's wrong are weak failures. And that's why the League will be the first to fall! You were all blind!" A maniacal grin appeared on his face. "But you won't be blind anymore." He hit a few buttons on his remote, and the three Legendary Pokemon rushed forward.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped from Ash's arms, glaring harshly at the Entei that rushed towards them.
"Wait!" Ash called out suddenly. "Go for Articuno instead! It's part flying-type! Hit it with Thundershock!" He held onto Riolu tighter, as the baby tried to jump out of his arms. "No, I don't think so."
"Let's go, Gyarados! Take out Entei!"
"You too, Combusken! Try to hit Zapdos!"
With some quick thinking, Pikachu jumped over Entei, using his head to launch himself at Articuno, electricity sparking around him and shooting at the legendary. Articuno flew in a circle to avoid the attack while charging an Ice Beam that Pikachu couldn't dodge. The little electric Pokemon let out a cry of pain as it was thrown back to the ground harshly.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out in horror and tried to run to his partner, but Professor Oak stopped him from throwing himself into the fray.
At the same time Pikachu was fighting Articuno, Gyarados and Combusken made their own moves.
"Fire Spin!"
"Hydro Pump!"
Fire and water shot through the air towards Entei and Zapdos, but both proved to be much too quick. Zapdos flew through the fire, and much to their shock, turned its attention to Gyarados. It unleashed a powerful Thunder attack, rendering Misty's strongest Pokemon useless almost instantly. As this was happening, Entei jumped over the water and slammed its body into Combusken's. The smaller Pokemon let out a cry of pain as it was thrown backwards and skidded on the ground.
"Gyarados!" Misty rushed to her Pokemon's side, hugging the crest on its head best as she could as it twitched in pain. As powerful as Gyarados was, he was a water and flying-type, meaning he had four times the weakness to electric attacks, let alone one from a juiced-up Zapdos.
May knelt on the ground beside Combusken, cradling her very first Pokemon with unshed tears of pain and frustration. Max hurried to her side, staring down at him with worried eyes.
"Dragonite! Use Hyper Beam!"
"No!" Ash cried out, but it was too late. Dragonite's powerful attack streaked towards Mewtwo, and the one thing Ash feared would happen, did. Mewtwo simply held out his hand, and the attacked crashed into an invisible barrier. He wondered, for just a moment, why Professor Oak seemed so shocked before it occurred to him that very few people even knew Mewtwo existed, let alone encountered one.
Mewtwo shot through the Hyper Beam and just punched Dragonite in the face, slamming it into the ground where the dragon-type became just as helpless as the rest of theirs
Ash took the distraction to rush forward and grab Pikachu, who was twitching in pain, frost sticking to his once soft fur. As Ash hurried back to where his friends were, he couldn't help but notice that Doctor Yung really did seem to know a thing or two about Mewtwo.
His dark brown eyes glanced at the lifelike-feeling Mew, and he wondered briefly why it hadn't done anything. The Mirage Mew looked like it was contemplating something, but it was also waiting.
"What is that thing?" Max asked, eyes flashing up to Ash.
"I've never seen something so powerful," May added, trying to keep the fear from creeping into her voice.
"It's very unfortunate that I can't let you leave here," Doctor Yung spoke up. "The others that I brought here, none of them left, but you came so very close."
"Others..." Professor Oak whispered. "What have you done?"
"Pokemon aren't the only expendable things that come into my laboratory."
Ash felt like he was going to be sick again. The image of those dead Pokemon rushed in front of his eyes, and he couldn't believe that someone would do that on people too. They truly had stumbled onto a horror movie, and the sadistic, mass murderer just revealed himself.
"But be honoured, for you got to experience the power that Pokemon were meant to have. You get to see a glimpse of the future!"
The sickness twisted into anger, and Ash looked around at Max, passing him Pikachu and setting Riolu on the ground. "Keep them here."
Without any thought to what he was doing, or what he was going to do, Ash ran out in front of everyone else and yelled at the madman. "You're wrong! You don't know the first thing about any Pokemon, let alone these Legendary ones!"
Back at the Tree of Beginning, Ash's aura had been more dynamic, more out of control since it was just newly released, and all of the natural aura flowing around there made it react in stronger ways. Now though, there were no rocks, but he could feel it pulsing through him angrily. After everything Doctor Yung had done, after thinking that Misty was dead, he couldn't take it anymore. A pale blue light started forming in his hand, and Doctor Yung's eyes went wide for just a moment.
"Mewtwo! Get rid of him!"
The Mirage Mewtwo shot forward and was about to hit Ash before the boy could even think about doing anything to stop it, but he didn't need to, not at that moment. Mew proved to be faster than any of them believed, flying in between the two of them and forming a shield that stopped Mewtwo's attack.
"Mew?" Ash muttered, a bit surprised, but the Pokemon ignored him. Pale pink eyes were narrowed as pink surrounded it before a psychic attack was launched at Mewtwo. Mewtwo retaliated with pale blue light, and the collision forced both of them and Ash backwards. The aura sphere that he had been creating fizzled out, but the power was still rushing through him almost painfully.
That wasn't really what attracted his attention though. Both Mew and Mewtwo were charging up their attacks again, and Ash was taken back through time and space to a still slightly faint memory from a few years ago. The scene was so familiar that it sent shivers up his spine.
"Ri rio!" He jumped with surprise as the baby Pokemon darted out by him, running between the two pokemon and holding up his hands like he wanted them to stop.
Horror rushed through him as he sprinted forward without another thought. "Riolu!" Pink and blue light shot at each other just as Ash threw himself over the baby Pokemon in hopes to shield him with his own body. The power that was rushing through him earlier lashed out around him, colliding with both of the attacks.
Ash could feel the heat and the power swirling around him, but this time, Mew and Mewtwo didn't hit him. Slowly, his eyes opened, a visible, pale blue shield pulsing around him. He was breathing heavily, and Ash was sure that he heard Professor Oak, Misty, May, and Max yelling at him, but he didn't move. Instead, he cradled the shaking Riolu in his arms and glared at Doctor Yung.
Ash had dealt with a lot of horrible people in his life. From the constant annoyance of Jesse and James, to the bullying of Gary Oak (okay maybe he shouldn't have been grouped with horrible people, but it's not like anyone else needed to know Ash's thoughts), to people to tried to kill Legendaries, disrespected Pokemon, destroyed things without a second thought, and so much more. The Collector, Team Magma, Team Aqua, and so many more were people that he'd encountered before, but none of them infuriated him quite like Doctor Yung did.
There must have been something in his eyes, a look that didn't quite fit, because Doctor Yung suddenly blinked with surprise before he said, "I think it's time for another lesson." He hit a few buttons on the remote, and then the screams started.
Mew cried out in agony as it started to deteriorate, breaking back down into data. Shrill shrieks from Articuno and Zapdos echoed around them, and Entei's pained roar was loud enough to make anyone shudder.
Instead of going into the Mirage System like Aggron did earlier though, all of the data started flowing into Mewtwo.
"There isn't a Pokemon on this planet that could defeat Mewtwo! And now, nothing will ever be able to!" Doctor Yung held out his hand. "Finish them off, Mewtwo!"
In a horrid display, the faces of all of the Pokemon and some others that they encountered that day started growing out of Mewtwo as he was enveloped in a dark, pulsing smoke.
Riolu whimpered in Ash's arms, and he knew why. Everything about this creature was twisted and wrong, and Ash actually flinched as Mewtwo fired attacks from every face on its body.
"Pikapi!" It wasn't just Pikachu, Gyarados, Combusken, and Dragonite that attacked. Ash hadn't noticed all of his Pokemon leaving their pokeballs, but they were attacking along with all of Misty and May's Pokemon.
The attacks collided midair, but Mewtwo proved to be far too strong, throwing the entire group back onto the ground.
All of them were in so much pain, shaking and shivering, that Ash could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He had to do something, he just had to.
"Riolu, run back to them, please," he told the baby Pokemon, who seemed hesitant, but nodded his head. The barrier around them fell, and the little Pokemon ran back as Ash stood up, facing the twisted, demented form of Mirage Mewtwo.
"This is wrong!" Ash yelled at him. "That's not a Pokemon! Not anymore!"
"Mewtwo, show this boy how much of a Pokemon you really are!"
The same psychic attack from earlier launched at Ash, but he held up his hands and willingly conjured a shield. He skidded back a few steps, but it held despite the sheer power coming from it. Ash knew that he had to do something though, because he wasn't strong enough to keep this up forever. He concentrated on Mewtwo, trying to feel him out to see if there was some weakness somewhere. How Ash knew how to do this was beyond even him, but he was going to trust his instincts.
That's when he felt it. It was small, but it was there.
"Mew," he whispered, and using the attack almost like a connection, a bridge to this twisted illusion of Mewtwo, Ash's aura reached out and touched the small, surviving piece of Mew that he could feel.
Mewtwo's attack stopped, and it grabbed its chest, gasping and shaking. A moment later, a vicious orange glow appeared around Mewtwo as Mew appeared above it, a look of pure concentration on its face.
"Mew's holding it in place!" Professor Oak's voice broke through Ash's slightly confused mind as his barrier fell away. "Its data must have survived within Mewtwo! We need to do something now!"
Ash's eyes darted around, landing on the machines that were powering the Mirage System. Almost like a series of flashbacks were rushing through his mind, small moments that he all but ignored before hit him again and again. He rushed forward, an aura sphere appearing in his hand as he slammed it down into one of the gemstones.
Pain rushed through Ash as the machine blew up under his hand. He fell to the ground, gasping in pain as he held his burned, bleeding hand, barely able to open up his eyes to watch the results of his actions. He was glad he did though. The whole system was connected together with energy, and the chain reaction was spectacular. Machine after machine blew up, and a bit of satisfaction rushed through him when he saw the remote blow up in Doctor Yung's good hand. The chain reaction didn't just end there though. It streaked through the laboratory, destroying every piece of machinery that was created in order to work the Mirage System.
Light surrounded Mewtwo as it vanished in an agonized shower of data. The same couldn't be said for Mew though. It smiled at everyone broadly, and Ash could feel that bit of realness that he had always felt in the Pokemon reaching out to him. It was happy; it was thankful. It was okay with disappearing. The tiny Pokemon vanished peacefully without a single regret.
Fire and smoke filled the air, and Ash slowly looked up when he felt someone kneel beside him. Despite the fact that he was exhausted, and he was in pain, Ash smiled at Misty, his smile growing as Pikachu and Riolu both jumped onto his lap. She didn't say a word to him; she didn't need to. At that moment, he was still so in-tuned with his aura that he could feel her worry and her relief.
"Yung," Professor Oak said as he approached the man, who just stood there staring at them, "you need to answer for all your crimes. You're coming with me."
A dark smile passed over Doctor Yung's face. "I think I'll pass. There is much work left to be done." He turned with a flourish of his cape when a shadow passed over them all and a massive figure landed between the burning lab and Doctor Yung.
"No, I don't think you will." Standing atop his larger than average Dragonite, Lance stared down at the madman sternly. "I might have missed the party, but you're not going to repeat it."
Ash recognized the duel-champion, and relief rushed through him. He moved onto his knees, holding Riolu and Pikachu in one arm as he used the other one to pull Misty into a sort-of hug.
They were all alive, and it was over.
Sky
