PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, the Movie: Chapter 9
A special Dimension Rifters movie by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke
"I knew it…" Ash said, lowering his head. "When you said she died…you didn't actually mean…"
"She's been in a coma for a week now. The actual day is March 26th, 2012. On March 19th, she went into a coma from which the doctors said she'd likely never awaken from." Older Ash explained.
"Wh..." Jazz trailed off, tears running down her face. "Why?! WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?!"
"I figured it out the second you protected my past self from me…I even told you why when we parted ways in Amity Park." Older Ash gazed intently into Jazz's eyes. "I'm sorry…perhaps you were trying subtly for the past seven years to tell me you wanted us to be together."
"I did this because…because you rejected me?"
"That already happened!" Ash shouted. "I rejected her in the shelter we stayed at overnight!"
"…You IDIOT!" Older Ash pointed his finger angrily at his past self.
"What?! Look here buddy, I chose my obligation to Misty! She's been by us since we turned ten!"
"Look at what that obligation got us." Older Ash walked over to a window and pulled away the curtains, pointing out at the barren wasteland. "See all that space? There used to be buildings there, with people living in them. There's nothing left. There wasn't enough left over of those people to bury…take a good, hard look, Ash…that's the future you JUST chose. I took the exact same path. Misty DIED. We felt ALONE for FIVE YEARS, just suffering and wallowing in self-pity. Jazz was by our side the ENTIRE time…and I had never realized what she thought of me…"
"…" Ash looked horrified. "No... that can't be... the future is what WE make of it! It's not decided by WHO I choose to be my girlfriend! IT'S NOT!"
"Maybe not... but that's irrelevent now. Now the only thing left to do is die so that this future doesn't come to be…" Older Ash said, drawing his Rift Sword.
"No…" Jazz stated unsteadily. "I made the Time Anomaly. I'M the one who needs to die."
"What?!" both Ash and his future self exclaimed in shock.
"She's right." Wayne said grimly. "Killing yourself MIGHT erase the existence of the Time Anomaly, Ketchum. But killing Jazz would DEFINITELY erase it."
"We have to decide quickly. I can sense the Time Anomaly's energy again…" Riku said, eyes wide. As soon he finished speaking, the Time Anomaly appeared as if to dick around with him. It looked quite a bit different now, though, or rather, it's head did. Rather than being an amorphous humanoid, Jazz's face now adorned the front of it. It surprised everyone again by speaking in perfect, fluent English.
"Why are you here? The creator sleeps. You are disturbing her sleep."
"She's been trying to wake up, that's why you kept disappearing." Older Ash stated. "I can't allow you to continue to exist!" he shouted. "You're an abomination that should have never been created, and there's only one way to fix that!" he turned to Ash and stabbed him in the stomach with his Rift Sword. Everyone gazed on in horror as time seemed to slow to a complete halt. Ash staggered backward, then collapsed to the floor in a heap, blood pooling from his open wound. Older Ash did the exact same thing. Jazz continued to stare on in horror, sputtering for a few seconds, before letting out a scream.
"Ash! NOOO!" she wailed, running over immediately to the Kamoa teenager's side. "Don't die! PLEASE don't die!" she shook him, and after a few seconds, Wayne spoke up.
"Nothing's happening…which means either he's not dead or his death didn't change anything…"
"Why did you…? You could have killed the creator…!" the Time Anomaly even had an expression of shock on its newly-formed face.
"He'd rather die than cause harm to Jazz." Riku said solemnly. "Because…"
"…Because…" came Ash's voice, as he reached up and grabbed Jazz by her left hand.
"You're alive!" Jazz exclaimed happily, as she used her free hand to wipe away her tears.
"…Because I love you, too. It's not right…I shouldn't feel this way, but…"
"…You can't help how you feel…" Jazz repeated what Wayne had told her the night before in shock. "Did you overhear my conversation with Wayne?!"
"Yeah…yeah I did." Ash admitted. "And I realize…no matter how much I'm trying to do the right thing…I have very strong feelings for you…"
"It's NOT right…I know you have a girlfriend, but still…" Jazz said, tears in her eyes.
"The hatred of time itself…I can feel it…disappearing." the Time Anomaly spoke.
"…" Wayne gazed on, before getting a determined look on his face and walking over to Ash, placing his hands on Ash's wound. As a green aura began to transfer from Wayne onto the open wound, it miraculously closed up.
"Ketchum…Danny believes in you." Wayne quickly explained, surprising Ash with a smile.
"Wayne…"
"This kid was the sole protector of Amity Park before you guys showed up, and he defended it from a ghost ARMY. That's to be admired…if he has faith in you…so do I. You have to live…"
"You…we…have good friends, Ash." the Time Anomaly spoke up.
"Why are you able to talk so plainly now?" Ash asked.
"I'm standing in the same room as the creator. In this room, my powers are unlimited, much like that of the Ash from this time."
"So he could have killed you when fighting you elsewhere, but…"
"He would essentially be killing the creator, since I am an extension of her."
"I knew it." Ash said. "There was a lot of stuff that didn't make sense to me at first. It started coming together when my future self told me he had unlimited power. I knew for a fact you didn't...at least, not outside of this room. The only thing that made sense was that it was someone he cared about deeply who was behind your existence. From there, I figured Jazz."
"You're smarter than Enma gives you credit for."
"Wish I felt like it at times…"
"You're as smart as the creator gave you credit for…" Ash just smiled in response.
"So now it's over…" Riku sighed in relief.
"I sincerely doubt that." came a voice from out of nowhere.
"That voice…!" Ash said, his eyes widening in terror. In the next instant, everyone realized that it was, in fact, NOT over just yet. The true horror had only begun, as Shadow Wayne appeared and quickly went intangible overshadowing the Time Anomaly, who let out a tortured scream as the face of its creator seemed to shrink back into the endless nothingness that constituted the rest of its body. After a few seconds, the laughing face of the hybrid of Shadow Wayne and Dan Phantom sprouted instead, and the new, horrifying being began to charge a Distortion Wave.
"No…fucking…way…" Wayne said, eyes wide at this monstrosity.
"We have to get out of here!" Ash shouted. At that second, Older Ash roused into consciousness...
"Uh…what's going on?" he asked, still seeming to be in a daze. Apparently realizing that he was still alive, he reached down and felt where his wound should have been, only to discover that it was no longer there. "Is this…the afterlife? Is that where I am?"
"Not YET." Shadow Wayne laughed.
"YOU! How did you survive?!"
"It was a simple matter of going intangible. While you didn't kill me, I was quite weakened after that…but…I was surprised to find something out. You never slew my body in this time period!"
"Wait…you have a BODY?!" Ash shouted.
"Of course I do. Did you honestly think I was some soulless puppet sent to haunt Wayne's nightmares for all of eternity?!" the being snorted.
"Who are you…really?!" Older Ash shouted at the thing.
"I'm afraid the time for questions has passed!" the being finished charging his Distortion Wave. "Now who should I hit…?" he glanced at the five people standing before him, using his left hand to pick through the group. "Eeny, meeny, miney, YOU." he finished, pointing at Ash. Suddenly, the Distortion Wave was upon the younger Ketchum before he could even react. However, before it could connect with him, he was shoved out of the way by…
"UGH…!" Wayne slowly dropped to his knees, an agonized expression on his face as he did so.
"WAYNE!" Ash shouted, his eyes widening tremendously. Riku gazed on in sheer horror at his former friend, who was gritting his teeth and wincing as he gave out one last message to Ash…
"I…hated you with everything I could muster…but that time I got drunk at your place and said I respected you…that was true. If anyone can save us…it's you."
"Wayne…!"
"Sorry I couldn't be here…until the end…" and with that, Wayne turned gray and dropped to the ground, leaving Ash looking stunned.
"You impressed me." Shadow Wayne admitted to his former vessel's grayed 'corpse'. "You actually resisted the temporal displacement long enough to give Ketchum a final goodbye…"
"Ash…" Riku said, unsteadily. "You have to leave now…you have to draw him out of here…"
"…Right." Ash spoke up after a minute of blankly staring at Wayne.
"I'm gonna follow Wayne's footsteps here…I'll never forgive myself if I let him be the only one to suffer between us."
"You can't help how you feel." Ash said, smiling again.
"Right…Wayne is…my best friend." Riku admitted, returning the smile.
"On the count of three…"
"One…"
"Two…"
"THREE!" the two of them said in unison as Ash scooped Jazz into his arms and charged out of the open door, while Riku let loose with a double Fist of the Mortal Flame. In the meantime, Older Ash turned to Riku.
"You're a noble man, Riku."
"No more than you, 'hero'." Riku smirked, as the being hit the wall. "Make sure he does what he has to. We won't be able to now…"
"Yeah…" Older Ash said, saluting Riku quickly before running out of the room and following Ash. Riku quickly returned the salute and turned back to the being, who already had a charged Distortion Wave shooting forward from his outstretched hand.
"…Right behind you, Wayne…" he said, as the hallway beyond the room lit up in a bright flash of red, signifying that the five heroes had been reduced to only three now…
