Chapter Eight
Ash the others rushed inside to see what had happened. Oak was just satnding there as though his front door and one of his walls weren't missing.
"Sam, was that Brad?" Delia asked.
"Yes, it was," Oak answered.
"Why did he come back? Did he do this?"
She pointed at the wall and Oak merely nodded.
"But why?" Delia asked.
"He wanted the Azure flute," Oak replied. "I think he believes the romours about it."
"What romours?" Ash asked.
Oak looked at them and smiled.
"Ah, yes, Phione," Oak said. "In all the commotion I'd almost forgotten. Ivy should be here soon, so why don't you guys be seated, I'll go and get Tracey."
Everyone except Delia was puzzled as to why Oak was just pretending that nothing was wrong.
"Delia, who's Brad?" Dawn asked.
Delia sighed and didn't respond for a few seconds. She finally turned to look at Ash.
"Ash, Brad is your father," she said.
"M-My f-f-father?" Ash stuttered.
"Yes, Ash, your father. He left just after I fell pregnant with you. Today was probably the first time he's ever seen you in person."
"In person?" Max asked.
"Ash was all over the news remember," May said.
"Oh, right."
"Anyway, I don't know why he'd come back after all these years," Delia said.
"Neither do I," a voice said.
Oak had returned with Tracey, who looked as though he'd only just woke up.
"Professor, where's your wall?" Tracey asked.
"Heavy sleeper you are," Oak said. "Never mind about it, I'll get someone to fix it. I just want you to sketch Phione for me. I don't believe one has been seen in almost two hundred years."
Tracey noticed the little blue Pokemon in Ash's lap and practically teleported to a seating position about a meter in front of them. Phione just stared at him while he began to sketch it.
"It's remarkable how much it looks like a Manaphy," Tracey said.
"I believe that's because the two are like brother and sister," a female voice said.
Professor Ivy had walked in through where the door used to be.
"Oak, when I said you needed a makeover for your lab, I didn't mean like this," she said, looking outside through where his wall used to be.
"Ah, yes, well," Oak said. "I was going for something drastic, so I called in some external help, I think they might have overdone it a little."
She smiled and turned to look at Ash and Phione. She took a few steps closer and knelt down. Phione turned to look at her now.
"I'll need to take it back to my lab for a few tests," she said. "They're harmless, I assure you. I just couldn't transport the equipment here."
Ash nodded and looked down at Phione.
"Phione, you're going to have to go with this woman, OK?" Ash told it.
It bounced up and down and Ash handed it to her.
"I'm going to have to be going now," Ivy said. "It was a pleasure. And congradulations on your victory Ash."
She walked out the entrance and once she was onboard, her helicopter took off. Oak shook his head and looked at Delia and the others.
"Perhaps you should head home Delia," Oak suggested. "I'm sure the kids have some questions for you."
Delia nodded and headed out the entrance, followed by Max and the others. As soon as they reached the bottom of the hill, May grabbed Dawn and Ash's arms.
"Why don't you two go on ahead," May suggested. "I want to discuss something with these two."
Max and Delia nodded and headed off for Ash's house.
"Ash, I need to know something," May said.
'Now?' Dawn thought.
"Ash, I need to know who you like more, me, Dawn or Misty."
"Gah," Ash said, caught entirely off-guard.
Dawn looked first at May, before averting her Gaze to Ash.
"I want to know too," she said.
Ash looked between the two, completely stunned. He started to think about it. They would never stop asking him. He was afraid that he was going to lose whoever he didn't choose as a friend.
"I..." Ash started. "I....I like....."
He looked at May, then at Dawn and finally at his feet. 'What should I say?' Ash thought. 'Who should I be with?' He took a deep breath and looked up.
"(Due to popular demand) I like Dawn," Ash said, a smile appearing on Dawns face, while May looked sad. "I'm sorry May, but, I like Dawn more." (A.N: Amusingly enough, I was going to put Dawn and Ash together. But the idea of asking the readers was a good one, and I would have stuck by whoever you chose.)
May smiled sadly. She wanted Ash to be happy, but she had hoped that it would've been with her.
The black helicopter flew off out of Pallet Town. Brad looked at the pilot.
"There's something I have to do first," Brad said to him. "To make my son actually need to become a part of this. Take us to Cerulean City."
"Ay ay sir," the pilot said, turning the helicopter left.
'It's time you learnt how the real world is Ash,' Brad thought, smiling.
(A.N: I know it's shorter than usual....but you'll have to deal with it.)
