Aftermath
Part of me won't go away
Everyday reminded how much I hate it
Weighted against the consequences
Can't live without it so it's senseless
Wanna cut it out of my soul
And just live with a gaping hole
Take control of my life
And wash out all the burnt taste
I made the problems in the first place
Part of me, Linkin Park
Nathea appeared in the Hall of Origins. The Legendaries and Arceus turned to her.
"It is done."
On this, she took her regular form. Cresselia looked at the pond.
"What you did was extreme. Do you think Ash will be alright?"
"Extreme situations require extreme measures. Don't worry. I just locked Ash's Aura powers for twenty-four hours. Once the time limit expires, he will be as good as new."
"Not sure." Mesprit frowned. "I can sense his emotions are in turmoil, even unconscious. When he'll wake up and realize what he's done, he won't be happy."
Yveltal's shadowy presence suddenly filled the room. The God of Death landed in front of Arceus and took his human form.
"Remember this song, Father, for it will be played at the end of times."
He then left for Kalos. A shiver ran through every Legendary present. Nathea smirked.
"Wonder who'll get to pick the teams."
Simon was sent to Azalea Town to receive immediate treatment. His wound was lethal, but Silver controlled his Aura well enough to prevent a too great blood loss as the doctors operated on the boy. Once the wound was patched up, they put him under a dome filled with regeneration-speeding radiations, the same technology used to heal Pokémon after a fight but applied here to humans.
"He will get a scar." A doctor frowned.
"His younger brother will be the most scarred of the two. He basically sent an army of gods against a little girl! He's bound to feel guilty about it."
Indeed, when he woke up, Ash was in a bad mood. Not only was his body sore, but the memories of the previous night hit him like a tidal wave of horror.
"Arceus, what have I done!?"
He curled on his bed, his head in his hands, tears on his face and his body shivering a storm.
"I sent an army of Legendaries against a little girl! What the … What's gotten into me!? Why … Simon! Is Simon …"
He jumped from the bed and rushed to the main room of the manor where the group had settled. Silver had just returned and was talking with Oak and Delia. The boy barged in the room.
"Professor, how is Simon?"
Oak looked at him. He was still in pajamas and his hairs were even more disheveled than usual. Silver smiled.
"I'm back from Azalea. Simon is safe. They spent half of the day performing deep surgery while my ice limited the blood loss. He's recovering in a healing dome, now."
Ash let go of his breath and fell on his knees. Delia came to her son and hugged him. Ash cringed at the touch and looked at her.
"I'm … sorry for last night. Seeing Simon wounded like that … He's my brother. I love him. So … I snapped. Hard. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone this far. Not as far as … that. I can't believe I sent half of the Council against Molly! It wasn't really her fault. She just wanted a family … She'll have one, right? You said you wanted to take care of her …"
"I still do. I used this morning to arrange with Skyler for Molly's adoption. I just finished signing the papers. I will take care of her until we find out about Spencer and Alicia."
"Molly's parents … Right! I wanted to ask the Council about it!"
Leaving his mother's embrace, he fled to the garden and summoned the Heart Flute. Red and Misty were surprised to see him in his PJs, and even more when Lugia's song echoed through the air. Ash wanted to call Lugia. It was Arceus who answered. Everyone was stunned when the celestial goat descended from the sky.
"It was an impressive display of power that you showed last night, Ash Ketchum."
"I shouldn't have." The boy retorted. "Molly hurt Simon, but it was an accident. I overreacted."
Arceus frowned.
"Your song affected all of us. The weakest of us were scared. The strongest joined you. It seems I underestimated your true potential."
"Not the Legendaries." Ash uttered. "I should have stuck to regular Pokémon rather than involve the Council. You praise my power, Creator God … but if you think I misbehaved, I will take your punishment without complain.
"I am indeed unhappy that you affected so many of us with such intensity …" The creator growled. "But you're young and Mew spoke in your favor: you indeed had a valid reason to be angry. You seem to be taking after Silver on this: the best way to rile you up is to target your family. I feel more forgiving toward you than I feel toward Silver."
Ash looked away. Arceus starred at him.
"So, what do you want?"
"The fate of Molly's parents. Are they alive at least?"
Arceus sighed.
"Not her mother. Alicia Hale lost herself in the Unown dimension and was consumed by its powers. Her father is still alive, but not in this world."
He guided the boy to the water place and breathed on the water. A window appeared that revealed a strange, almost Escheresque world.
"The Reverse World. Spencer Hale managed to escape the Unown dimension unlike his wife. He landed in there. Now he is staying with Giratina and the young boy that is the reborn Troban, Nathea's brother."
The window revealed Spencer making a sketch of the panorama as Giratina flew around, a young boy with grey skin and white eyes on his back. Ash looked at Arceus.
"Can he return to our world?"
"No. This is his punishment for studying a power he has no idea to handle. You have seen what his daughter did. The power to manipulate reality is dangerous and the Unown are the key to this power. Spencer Hale will stay in the Reverse World for putting his mortal nose where it doesn't belong. And I am being merciful."
Ash sighed. Arceus had his temper and he knew it well.
"Will he get out one day?"
"He will, but not before several years."
"Thank you."
Arceus nodded and disappeared. The boy returned to his mother.
"Professor Hale is stuck in the Reverse World. Arceus won't let him out before several years, as a punishment for studying the Unown from so close. Alicia lost herself in the Unown dimension … She will never return."
Delia looked down.
"This is sad … But at least Spencer's alive and he will return. This is more than I hoped for. Thank you, Ashie-dear."
Ash looked away.
"… How is Molly?"
"She's playing with Snubbull, your Spinarak and Brock's Pokémon. How do you feel?"
"Bad. I'll go back to my room."
"Well, not before cleaning up. Come on, Sweetheart. To the bathroom."
Ash silently followed his mother and let her take care of him. There was a huge bundle of guilt in his throat that made it hard to breathe so, as soon as he was in the bath, he hugged his knees and put his head in it, the water allowing his tears to run free. Outside the bathroom, Delia listened to his choked sobs.
'What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?"
He was a Chosen, the Chosen with a Golden Heart. He was meant to be the kind one in the duo. And yet he had snapped so badly his song had affected the entire Legendary Council and sent half of it on the warpath … against a little girl who had no control over her reality-bending powers and just wanted a family. He remembered it all with crystal clarity, the terrible song roaring across the Sea of Crystal and through the air, the frightening glow of Yveltal's Oblivion Wing, the efficiency with which the Legendaries tore through Molly's crystal army …
'This is what I can do. This is me at full power on a bad day. Frightening. I never knew I could do that and it scares me more than Arceus's fury. I can't believe … I can't believe I, as a Chosen, could've gone over the edge like that.'
Last night had been a living nightmare. The boy prayed with all his heart he would never have to do this again, at least not before he met the Chosen with a Silver Soul. He finally left the bath and let his mother dry him.
"I'll go back to my room."
Nodding, Delia gave him a new pair of pajamas and a big hug. Ash half-returned it.
"Sorry. I'm scared. I can't believe I went so far last night. I'm sorry … It wasn't me. I would've never done that, I promise!"
"It's alright, Ashie-dear. It's alright. You had a reason to be furious. No one blames you. Who would after seeing you so guilt-tripped like that?"
"But I did wrong! I went too far! Molly's just a little girl …"
"In possession of a power nothing short of a Legendary army could stop."
"You don't understand …" Ash uttered. "I almost killed her. I didn't just tear her army apart, I had her before me, right there at my mercy! If Nathea hadn't stopped me, I would've shot her with an Aura Sphere! I would've killed a little girl! By myself! I can't … believe I did that …"
Delia shook her head. Ash was heavily distraught. She had never seen her son so sad before. It made it hard to find the words. But maybe Ash didn't need words at the moment. His mind was too full of guilt and sadness to hear words. She rubbed his back.
"You're right, it wasn't you. I know you would never do something like that. But now you know how far you can go. You know your limits. And I know you won't go so far again. I know you will never give in to your anger like last night." The woman smiled. "Consider it a lesson. Harsh, but still a lesson. About your powers … and about control."
Ash softly nodded. He fell on his bed and had a half-smile when Pikachu and Fraxure rolled against him. A lick on the cheek told him the Pokémon weren't mad at him. Sighing, he closed his eyes. In the main room, Silver looked at Delia.
"How is he?"
"Sad. He feels he made a mistake by giving to his anger and unleashing the Legendaries against Molly. He also told me he almost killed her."
"That's true. Mewtwo told me about the fight. He had Molly at his mercy and only Nathea prevented him from doing something he might regret."
Delia frowned.
"Silver, Ash is scared. He has seen how far his powers can go and it frightens him. I know too little about Aura to help him, but you can. And you are the Herald of the Council. You are Ash's mentor. I can comfort him as a mother, but you'll have to comfort him too, explain things in a way I cannot because I don't have your knowledge. Ash is my son, and I will take care of him like a mother would when seeing her son distraught. You fill the holes I left in that."
It was an order and Silver knew it. When it came to her son, Delia had a parental instinct as big as his. That she stayed in Pallet Town while Silver traveled with Ash didn't change a thing.
"Don't worry, I will. Ash is like a son to me and there are things only I can explain. I'll wait until he awoke from his nap."
Still, the Ancient headed to Ash's room to check on him. This is how me met Molly, who was back from playing in the garden.
"How is Big Brother?"
"He feels guilty for nearly killing you. Right now, he is very sad … and scared. He didn't know his powers were so great and hates himself for using them like that. What about you? How are you feeling?"
"Fine. I heard Delia will be my new mommy. What about Daddy?"
Silver looked away.
"He is safe, but the Legendaries trapped him in an other world for studying the Unown too closely. He will stay so for several years. You mother … I'm sorry, your real mother is gone for good."
Molly looked down, obviously sad. Silver rubbed her cheek.
"Aren't you scared of your new big brother?"
Molly looked away.
"I hurt his own Big Brother. I understand he was so mad. And yes, he was scary then, but his friends said he's someone really nice, and he feels bad about hurting me. I guess it's alright, now."
Silver breathed. This would make things easier. Molly grinned.
"By the way, look what I got!"
A creature appeared behind her that made the Ancient jump.
"Entei!?"
The Legendary Beast purred.
"Darkrai and Cresselia used the remains of the Unown powers to return me to life. Molly needs a father substitute since you are always with Ash, and I am her favorite Legendary."
"She swallows half of Greenfield in crystal and she gets a dream Legendary as a present … I'll never get the Council's logic. Well, all good, I guess. Gotta check on Ash now."
The boy was still sleeping. Silver passed his fingers in his black bangs and gave him a small kiss. Pikachu and Fraxure turned to him and he gave them a nod. Ash awoke around midnight and found a platter with food on his bed table. It was light, and it was good because the boy didn't feel hungry at all. Just very, very exhausted. He then wandered through the manor like a lost soul, peeking in Molly's room to make sure she was safe, and quickly backed away when Entei turned to him. He headed to the garden. The sky was clear and a soft breeze cooled the summer air. Ash looked at the stars, diamonds discarded on a navy blue blanket. Falling on his knees, he cried. After several minutes, the Heart Flute appeared in his hand. His Aura powers were several hours away from returning, but the boy still put the instrument to his mouth. And played.
The melody flew along the breeze, soft and gentle, a whisper almost. It made its way in the dreams of the manor's inhabitants and, as Ash played louder, so it increased. Sorrow found its way in the notes, first inaudible, then louder and louder until the music felt like a eulogy. Ash shifted its fingers and the eulogy became a full-on requiem that made people cry without knowing why. Several inhabitants awoke with tears on their face, others started having nightmares, and every Pokémon around gathered to find out the source of the melody that wrenched their heart dry of tears. Silver awoke with a mumble. He was dreaming about Mewtwo petrifying Ash and the following events, until he understood the song in his head was not part of the dream. He growled and went to the window. Waking him in mid-sleep always left him cranky as all so the culprit was in for big trouble … Unless said culprit was called Ash Ketchum. The Ancient put some clothes on and grabbed his cape.
Ash was playing his sorrow song when something warm and soft fell on his shoulders. A cape, black and holding a familiar scent. The boy turned to see Silver kneeling behind him. The Ancient held his son, his head in the crook of his neck, his cape wrapped around his body. It was comforting.
"Don't cry, Little Ashling. All is fine. You don't have to worry. All is fine."
Ash leaned deeper in his mentor's embrace and let himself be nursed back and forth, as if he was a little child.
"I'm so sorry …"
"Molly forgave you. Everyone forgave you. Stop blaming yourself. If you feel you did something wrong, you will have the time and chance to atone for it later. I will be there. I will take care of you. Always have."
Ash burrowed his head in his chest.
"I'm scared too."
Silver chuckled.
"No wonder. That was a pretty impressive rampage you went on! I've never seen a Chosen sic an army of Legendaries on someone like you did. Yveltal even said your song will play again at the end of times. That's saying a lot …"
Ash shuddered. Silver caressed his head.
"Don't worry. I can understand you're afraid. It's good. At least you know you can do it, and you won't do it again. As Delia said, you learned a lesson. Your powers are genuinely impressive, and they can cause a lot of pain." The Ancient smiled. "But you know what? You're a good person. If you can cause a lot of pain, you can cause an even greater happiness. Because that's who you really are. You make people happy. Because your heart is of pure gold."
Ash looked at him and, for the first time, hope showed in his eyes.
"The others, they really forgave me?"
"You had attenuating circumstances. No one blames you. I promise. They just assume you take after me for some things. Except you can be even worse than me in some cases. After all, we don't have the same powers."
Ash softly nodded. Silver brought him back in his room, only for the boy to cling on his sleeve.
"Stay with me …"
Silver didn't say no. Going in his underwear, he rolled under the blanket and held the boy close. They slept like this through the night. When Ash awoke next morning, it was quite late already and Silver had left. He had also put a note on the bed table, saying he was in the main room with the others. Ash made a quick stop by the bathroom and went to the living room. The group was there, eating a late breakfast. Silver smiled.
"Told you he'd come."
The boy peeked inside. Ethan, Kriss and Red were here, as well as Gary, Misty and Brock. Delia was speaking with Skyler and Professor Oak, Molly on her knees. Entei was purring behind and raised his head when the boy looked. Ash took a small step.
"… Am I allowed inside?"
"Why wouldn't you be?" Oak asked. "Of course, you are!"
Ash looked at everyone else, gauging their reactions. Sensing no hostility, he tip-toed to a seat next to his mentor. It was obvious he didn't trust his friends yet. Unlike his usually warm and open self, the boy behaved timidly and silently. He as wary, that much was obvious, and never looked at any of the teens at the table in the eyes. Molly looked worried and Misty and Brock didn't feel good either. There was a barrier between Ash and his friends and they didn't know how to break it. It was Molly who made the first move. The girl left Delia's lap and went to Ash, something sparkling in hand. Said sparkly thing turned to be a flute made out of crystal.
"Mommy said you like playing flute, but you only have a magical flute. I used the last of the Unown powers to shape it."
Ash was dumbstruck. Molly was the last person he expected would come to him, much less give him a present. The flute was beautiful, shining under the light like a jewel. And indeed, he didn't sense any magic around it. It took him a moment to realize what this fact implied.
"My powers are back!"
"Nathea sealed them for twenty-four hours. The time limit expired while you were sleeping. You're back at full strength, Little Ashling."
A violent shiver ran through the boy.
"I'm not gonna use it anytime soon! If that's what I can do at full power, I'd rather use a small part of my potential than repeat that fiasco!"
"I hope he won't go into another 'I don't want to fight' phase yet again …" Misty groaned.
Brock turned to her, intrigued. Misty explained.
"During our journey in the Orange Islands, Silver told us how Adrian, the previous Champion, died fighting team Dead Star. It was ugly enough that Ash decided to plain out avoid fighting for almost a week. In the end, Silver and Tracey's Scyther knocked him out of it. The Rocket Rebels we were fighting never saw anything coming." She looked at Ash. "You do that again or something similar and I don't care you can blast me to kingdom comes or send your Legendary pals against me, I am kicking your ass from one side of Johto to the other! Got it?"
Ash looked away. Gary massaged the girl's shoulder.
"Things are different here. Back in the Orange Islands, Ash didn't want to fight because he didn't want to cause pain …"
"And it's the same here! I don't want him to stop using Aura or his Chosen powers just because he once unleashed Hell on a little girl! It was a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. Hey, I bet it won't even be the worst he'll do! It's just that, instead of throwing away what made him cause the mistake, he should learn to harness it better so not to make such a mess the next time."
Silver smiled.
"She's right. As I told, you, you have the potential to do the worst and the best. You feel bad about the pain you caused in Greenfield? Next time, use your powers to make people feel good. Create, restore in such an epic way people will forget the Greenfield Incident and remember this instead. I know you can do it, Ash. This is in your nature not just as a Chosen but as Ash Ketchum the Trainer too."
Ash let the words sink. For the first time, a small smile crossed his lips.
"Do something good? I think I can do that. Something pretty … like the flute Molly created." He looked at the group. "Are you alright, guys? I'm sorry I went so far beyond the line."
"It's alright." Brock smiled. "We know you're not like that."
"Yeah." Ethan grinned. "Besides, it was to avenge Simon. I can let that go by."
Red munched his toast.
"Still, remember me not to get on your bad side. For someone who tried to play mediator between me and Lance, you can go to some nasty extremes and I'm not keen on seeing such a thing again."
Kriss chuckled.
"Someone got humbled!"
"I wouldn't say so." Gary smiled. "Instead, I'd say he learned there's a Trainer in Johto he should be wary of. For more than one reason …"
Red shrugged.
"In any case, I have to go back on my journey. I'm looking forward to meeting you again."
"You're not staying?" Misty asked.
"I feel better on my own. Still, it was nice traveling with you."
Ash nodded softly.
"I'll look forward to meeting you too, Red." He turned to Molly. "Will you be fine with me as your elder brother?"
The girl nodded.
"I'll go live in Pallet Town until Daddy returns or I'm old enough to become a Trainer in two years. I'll be fine. Mommy told me a lot of things about it."
Ash smiled. He trusted his mother to take care of the little girl and knew his Pokémon would watch over her too. He and the group stayed a week in the Hale manor. They paid a visit to Simon, who had been taken out of the healing dome to recover naturally. A nasty side effect of the dome was that it shortened the lifespan when used too often, so while Pokémon used it semi-regularly with various levels of intensity, use on a human body was strictly regulated. Ethan and Kriss chose to stay at their friend's side until he awoke.
"Given I remained unconscious for two months when I got my scar, I guess this is gonna take awhile."
"It doesn't matter. We want to be there when he wakes up. Still, it's nice to see you're so close despite being only half-brothers."
Ash's eyes narrowed.
"Family is family, no matter how thin the bond. Simon isn't simply my half-brother. He is my brother, period. And now, Molly's my sister too. Go after them and, well, you've seen what I did at Greenfield."
"I thought you said you would never do it again." Kriss raised a brow.
"Sure, it won't be something so over the top. But it still won't be pretty, that much I can promise."
Everyone believed him. Ash used the time at the manor to train with his new flute. The sonority was excellent and gave birth to melodies that were pleasant to the ear without having the heart-enrapturing properties of the Heart Flute. It was beautiful, period. And it was all the boy wanted. Creating pretty melodies and improving his control over Aura in a non-lethal way made most of the boy's time. Totodile especially loved dancing on the tunes that came from the crystal flute and learned Rain Dance almost by accident. He was happy when Heracross finally left the Pokémon Center in full shape and celebrated his newly-gained ability to turn human. Finally, the time came to leave.
"Alright, here we go. We have the Ilex Forest to cross. It won't be a short trip … nor do I expect it to be boring, given everything people say about it."
Misty nudged the boy.
"Knowing you, I won't be surprised if we once again end up involved with some kind of weird conspiracy or with the local Legendaries. I think it's … Celebi, who comes from there?"
"Indeed." Silver smiled. "The Ilex Shrine is dedicated to Celebi. If we're lucky, we'll get to see one."
"And if we're unlucky, some crazy madman will try to catch it for being a Legendary like it happened at Shamouti."
For the first time since the Greenfield Incident, Ash laughed clearly. This caused Misty to do a double-take. She hadn't heard her friend laugh so honestly in ages.
"That's the thing when you travel with a Chosen. To us, weirdness is normalcy and 'peaceful journey' is a concept that's totally foreign to us."
Brock chuckled.
"I don't mind. This makes more interesting stories to tell my siblings when I get home."
"I don't mind it either." Misty sighed. "Not always."
And here is the next chapter. Yes, that was fast. But it's also shorter and I have time to spare (Enough that I started a new Yu-Gi-Oh story at th same time, this one in French. So, those who are interested better grab their dicos, Google Trads and other French-(your language) translators ...). That apart, yeah, no fighting in that chapter but a certain amount of - understandable - angst. And the journey continues. Yeah, next movie in two chapters. Short, isn't it? Also, thanks to all who wished me Happy Birthday!
- magical fan18: no, Molly osn't scared of Ash. In fact, she likes him enough to give him a new flute.
- Birdy1210: Noctowl caught next chapter, you're right about the Rebels rather than Giovanni's faction going after the clones and Whitney is going to be a merciless opponent and not bratty at all. Just very confident (and rightfully so).
- MidnightFenrir: that's because he's back courtesy of a pair of Legendaries ... and yes, he'll stay with Molly and Delia.
- Mythical-Iaf: next movie in two chapters. Bide your time ...
- Siggimondo: I am a poet. This chapter wasn't posted on my birthday for nothing. Keeping a coherent universe is one of the few things my parents forced onto me when I started writting. That's what allowed me to create an entire universe for a series of original novels (which is the universe Silver comes from, by the way). Red is more at ease with Pokémon than with humans, that's for sure. After all, Ash is just twelve ... That part? Simple physics. Yeah, you can bend reality. But we're pals with the local GODS. (blushes hard because she isn't used to so much flattery) Now you're exagerating. Comparing me to the King of Duels is really going to far ... How I come up with all that? Imagination. Lots of it. And a logic that makes it awesome and yet coherent. Don't forget the awesome. For a name, I was thinking about the March of You Are So Very, Very Dead. Ouch, brain damage ... Try saving some for the rest of the story (if some of your mind remains, at least). And prepare yourself because I don't really know how I will handle next movie yet, but you'll need protection for the chapter AFTER (The movie will be a two-parter. First, the movie, then my sequel to it). So ... get ready for this.
- Samster687: it was only a temporary lock.
- San child of the wolves: Ritchie in a movie? Not a bad idea ...
- thli1693: nope, not Red.
- Nightshadegirl: looks like I answered half of your questions in that chapter ... Ash will catch a Legendary with the GS Ball but, since it's a plot point, I won't talk about it. And the language Silver uses is a language I created for the universe he originally belongs to. It's the language used by the local Demon race.
- MidnightHunter563: Don't worry, Misty won't let him ...
- JediMasterDraco: oops, I didn't have access to Bulbapedia when I wrote that part ...
- jac norwood: one of my next updates will be Chronicles of Oak's Corral. They will appear here.
- nightrunner30: the Legendaries have a pretty weird mentality that's similar to that of Greek gods, hence the reason people question their logic several times ... And you have your answers. Also, it won't be Ash who will stop the tidal wave in Alto Mare ...
Okay, done. Now, on to my next story ... See you soon!