AN: Hey Guys, Welcome to Chapter 37 of Ten Minutes. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, but I don't expect it to be all too long of one. This chapter, nonetheless, is very important, as all chapters play a vital role in the story.
To Recap the last two chapters… well… It's been a ride of emotions for poor Ash. In just two chapters, LOS HQ Was attacked and abandoned, He watched Porter and Charles get killed by none other than Gary Oak himself after they threatened to leave the LOS and break their sacred code, Brittney Jones was a double agent for Rocket, and to top it all off, he watched his best friend and mentor, John Stamkos, die right in front of him as a result of Brittney Jones' betrayal.
Ash is in a world of hurt right now, but, with the elimination rounds of the tourney looming, how will he be able to pull himself together before he must single-handedly defeat the Maple siblings while still suffering from all the losses he's just had?
Keep Reading to find out. Enjoy the chapter, this is a sad one.
ReignZ Presents… 10 Minutes Chapter 37
LAST CHAPTER… (IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT, MAKE SURE YOU DO!)
Gary took it all in and said softly. "Good God… if everything had gone according to plan… She really would've eliminated the entire Legion in one veil swoop… maybe we should consider ourselves fortunate…"
XXXXXXXXXX
"That makes two of us." Charles crossed his arms tightly. Gary was a little surprised. They had taken the Oath of the Legion, and they should know what was about to happen to them if they didn't get what they wanted and Gary didn't bend to their orders. "You do know you'd be violating the code of the LOS… and you know the penalty for this." The two men didn't break a sweat, seemingly determined to get information.
Gary looked into Porter's eyes. He saw nothing but anger in them, as though Gary himself had been working against them this entire time, and saw him as the reason the Legion had been crippled. Ash muttered quietly to Keeghan. "What is the penalty Gary is talking about?" He saw Keeghan shaking slightly, as though something terrible was about to happen. Gary continued slowly. "You won't follow a single order from me… just because of something that Harley said?" Charles nodded and said. "You got that right Oak, we're done with this "Keep us in the dark" shit. I'm not doing a single thing for you until you let us in on everything in the Legion."
Gary replied. "You won't have to. You're dismissed." Porters jaw dropped. Charles had a stunned look on his face. He sputtered. "W-wha… what did you say?" Gary looked indifferent. "You heard me. Get the hell out." Porter immediately began to backtrack. "Whoa hold up! We've just lost more than half of our entire team and you want to terminate two of your best agent's?! Are you nuts!?" He opened his mouth again to speak but Gary cut him off.
"No no nononono… if I heard you correctly I just heard you say OUR… you're no longer permitted in the LOS. Get out of my sight. If you make one more move towards me, I will attack." Gary growled. Charles, who seemingly hadn't heard him, pleaded with Gary, knowing their bluff had been called out, "Sir! Please! We're sorry!" Gary opened a pokeball, revealing Mewtwo. He stood up.
"I said… Get… OUT!" He snapped his fingers and Mewtwo unleashed Psystrike on the two men. Porter began screaming in agony as the attack began shredding his body. Charles screamed as he was torn to pieces by the attack. The remaining people in the LOS heard the screams and were stunned to see two of their best agents dying right in front of them. After a minute of pain, Charles had died of heart failure, and Porter was just barely breathing. He saw Gary stand over him. "After all this time… you don't trust me?" Gary whispered. Porter couldn't speak, he was in so much pain. "After All This Time, YOU DON'T TRUST ME!? AFTER ALL I'VE DONE FOR YOU!?" Gary roared.
"HOW!" He punched Porter in the face, making blood fly everywhere. "CAN!" He punched him again perfectly in the nose, making it break instantly. "YOU!" He repeatedly socked him in the face again and again for each word.
"NOT!" "TRUST!" "MEEEEEEEEE!?" He punched him over and over again until finally, he grabbed Porter by his coat, pulling him off the ground, then sent a right hook perfectly across his cheek. Porter hit the ground, never to get up again. Gary whispered softly. "That… is the penalty for mutiny… and this is what happens to traitors of the code." Gary looked down at the carnage. Charles' body was totally unidentifiable. Porter was barely still looking human. He looked at his hands, and saw them caked with blood. He clenched his fists. He realized what he had to do.
Present…
The FOLT (Facility of Legendary Tournaments) was being prepared. Prepared for what you ask? The Elimination rounds of the tournament. It was finally here, this was where the strong would survive, and the weaker would perish. There would be so much popularity and "hype" around the tournament, the crowd would be roaring along with the moves, and best of all, the payday would certainly be worth it. With all these added up, nobody was as happy as one old man with a long gray beard.
Mr. Goodshow couldn't believe how fast the tournament had passed. The publicity was truly something else, and it always left him smiling. Sure, there had been incidents with Team Rocket, but thankfully and oddly, the last few weeks had been quiet for some reason. Hope that they had decided to hang up the gig, at least in Cerulean City, was high for Mr. Goodshow.
However, in one day, the reason why Team Rocket had been so dormant with activities to hurt the tournament revealed itself, just not in the way Mr. Goodshow wanted, nor expected. He had been watching the grounds crew manage the battlefield and prepare multiple ones for the various upcoming battles. He was looking forward to the matches, and was currently watching the early morning maintenance up in his personal VIP box, waiting for his scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, and maple bacon to come for his morning breakfast.
After waiting for what seemed like hours but was only in fact a short ten minutes, he heard the door open behind him. He didn't look backwards but responded. "Thank Goodness! Breakfast finally ready? Good because I'm…" He turned around and stopped short when he saw a cloaked black figure standing there. Mr. Goodshow may have accidentally crapped his pants, but thankfully, he knew who this man was, not by his codename, but by his real one.
"Ash! You scared the hell out of me!" Goodshow gasped holding his hand over his chest as though he was suffering from a heart attack. Ash chuckled and lowered his hood. "Sorry Old Man. Mind if I take a seat?" Mr. Goodshow nodded and gestured to the open sofa next to him. "Please do."
Ash locked the door quietly, but made sure Mr. Goodshow could see it so it wouldn't arouse suspicion Ash sat down calmly and allowed his body to succumb to the relaxing sensation of the sofa. Mr. Goodshow eyed Ash warily. "So what brings you here Ash? Something tells me you didn't just wanna stop by to mooch off my morning Hashbrowns…" He said with a small chuckle. Ash acted mock sad. "Awww dangit! So close!" He smiled a little as Mr. Goodshow laughed. Ash's voice became soft and serious. "No, the reason I'm here is to ask a very important question regarding the tournament."
Mr. Goodshow expected something about statistics or ruling but what Ash asked him made his eyes widen in surprise. "Is there any rule about being REQUIRED to participate with two people per side?" Charles Goodshow was running through the possible options of what may have happened in his head, and no matter what he thought, there was only one thing that all the outcomes had in common: They were not good outcomes at all.
Mr. Goodshow asked nervously. "Why are you asking this? What happened to John?" Ash bit his lip and looked around carefully before whispering sadly. "Rocket… killed him." Ash winced a little as he said this, even just saying it out loud made him tear up. Ash watched Goodshow's eyes widen in shock and then saw his shoulders sag sadly. "Oh my… Ash… I'm so sorry… when did this happen?"
Ash felt tears brimming in his eyes. "L-less… Less than two days ago. It was an ambush and John sacrificed…" Ash paused to wipe the tears from his eyes. "… sacrificed himself to save me." It wasn't totally true, because the main person John had intended to save was Porter. How ironic and demoralizing it was to Ash, knowing Porter would be killed the very next day either way. Ash remembered having to release all of John's Pokémon, only to show them that their master had passed away.
He had never seen so many Pokémon cry. Every single one of them had cried and cried, knowing their loving owner was gone. Jolteon had cried amongst the most, rightfully so, being with John since the very beginning. Delveon, however, seemingly had been dealt the most crushing blow of all. The man who saved her life was gone forever now, and she felt more defeated than she ever felt in her life. She saw the peaceful look in his eyes and wished she could be with him, and then broke down crying.
Ash had to look away from the dramatic scene so he didn't start crying himself. However, he knew that John would want his Pokémon to know the truth about him, if he were to pass away, so Ash knew he was making the right decision. The vision faded for Ash, bringing him back one again with the Shadows of Legends Tournament creator himself; Mr. Charles Goodshow.
Mr. Goodshow looked deflated. "You two had been keeping Rocket busy, hadn't you? There were reports of Alpha and Omega helping to stop the treacherous Operation Southpaw, seems like they were true." Mr. Goodshow stood up and looked outside his window to the battlefield below him. Ash watched the older man pace around carefully, seemingly debating about what he should do about the situation. "Ash, normally… I can't allow you to battle by yourself. The rules I made were public and therefore cannot be changed." Ash paled and just as he opened his mouth to argue, Mr. Goodshow held up a hand. "HOWEVER, due to the circumstances, I will make the change personally that you are permitted to battle by yourself with two of your own Pokémon at once."
The look of relief that flashed on Ash's face was imminent. He smiled. "You have no idea how much this means to me, thank you… THANK YOU!" He grasped Mr. Goodshow and hugged him tightly. Mr. Goodshow grasped back and said to him. "Ash?" Ash broke the manly hug and looked at him. "You win this. Not just for John's sake, but for your own." Mr. Goodshow gave a small smile.
Ash nodded once sadly, then pulled his hood down and walked out of the room after unlocking the door. Mr. Goodshow noticed his breakfast food was lying down on a tray outside the door. He felt one of the hashbrowns and said cheerfully. "Still warm!" He closed the door shut.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ash found himself standing on an unusual spot. He was wearing his dark cloak that represented the almighty Alpha, one of the most feared trainers in the Shadows of Legends Tournament. Ash knew that people feared him and his unusually canny style of battle, however, now, he knew that he must journey without his partner the rest of the way. His head was looking down with his eyes closed, deep in thought, deep in prayer. He focused on finding his fallen friends aura, knowing it was somewhere in heaven. What puzzled him was that it was not there. He could not sense it. What had happened to John? As his brain was running quickly through the options, he felt someone gently stroke his thumb.
He looked up and saw Cynthia weakly smiling at him. He saw that everyone was there, Cynthia, Elesa, Skyla, Jasmine, Gary, and even Daniel and Keeghan from the old Legion. They all had their arms extended and hands entwined with the person on their right and left. They had created a small circle, and what they created a circle around would make anyone shudder. It was John, the knife wound cleaned, but white outfit still on, and therefore the blood spatter still remaining on his chest.
Ash saw Skyla's eyes start to water and she lowered her head and covered her eyes to prevent tears from escaping. Jasmine looked devastated and she had a forlorn look on her face and in her eyes, as though all the life had been sucked out of her body. The veil that covered her face managed to conceal most of her emotions, but not all of them. Ash was the first to speak.
"John… told me that how Auramancers are supposed to be sent on to the afterlife from this world is by the ocean. It's said that they float on water, and that Arceus claims their bodies to forever live in his heaven." Ash looked at his fallen friend and knew he was never going to be the same. "I think… its best to say what we think about him; proper words is the proper goodbye."
Daniel nodded and began. "John… I'll admit, I didn't know you for long in the short days that they were. What I do know is that you believed in the Legion, and you believed in sacrificing yourself to save others. That is the definition of nobility, and it's my job to make sure that nobility isn't wasted. Thank you… thank you for your sacrifice." He said softly before banging his chest once in salute.
Keeghan looked around, and since nobody spoke, took the initiative to go next. "Though I knew you longer than Daniel, I didn't know you personally. All I did know was that you were Omega, the man willing to sign up for a cause he barely knew about just shortly before he was willing to sacrifice himself to save someone he had met only shortly before as well. If that isn't true honor, I don't know what is. John, may you forever rest in peace, you've earned it." He banged once on his chest as well.
Gary bit his lip then started. "John, I've known you for a decent amount of time. Not years, but months enough. I remember when I saw you two in Southpaw, and I knew Ash was lucky to have someone like you watching over his back. You didn't just teach him how to be an Auramancer, you didn't just travel with him, you taught him the true meaning of friendship. You taught him things nobody else could because there isn't anybody else like you that means that much to him. And because you sacrificed yourself to save others, you've taught him one final lesson. And while we may never know what that lesson is, we remember you for the person you are, and the noble actions you made." He banged his chest once as well.
On this cue, small footsteps were heard behind them, but Ash could immediately tell who it was by his aura. It was John's Pokémon, all of them, well, the smaller ones anyway. Jolteon saw his master and knew what they were doing. He slowly padded over to his owner and whimpered quietly "Jolteee…" He gently licked John's forehead then sat down at his masters side tears silently falling from its eyes and landing on its cheeks.
The scene was becoming too much for Elesa and she began crying into Cynthia's arms softly, who tried to comfort her. Elesa knew if she ever lost Ash she would lose her entire life, she couldn't be in a world without him. Cynthia too felt the same way. Ash was her entire world. And they also knew Jasmine and Skyla felt the same about John, and that could only mean their entire lives had ended. Jasmine was crying lightly but then began talking.
"J-John… I… I… o-oh my god I miss you! I miss you so much!" She sniffed a few times before continuing. "I'll never forget the times where you pranked Ash, or the countless hours of us cuddling on the couch next to the fire. The best moments were the ones where we always made it last, but the moment we met was my favorite at all… I'll never lose the image of the time I first saw you, I was shocked. I had never seen someone so amazing, so handsome, so polite and dashing, you were my everything." She cried before wiping her eyes with her arm. "T-these years with you have been the best years of my life… and I wouldn't have traded them for anything! Wh-wherever you are John, I hope you're happy, and I hope you'll wait for me." She lost all control and broke down crying uncontrollably, just barely being able to keep her noise down. Skyla too was crying, and Ash saw that the two probably wouldn't be talking anytime soon.
Ash sighed as he saw most of the group looking at him, knowing that this was his moment. He began softly. "John, when I first started my journey, I looked at my stop watch. That is a moment I'll never be able to forget, because I had planned to leave Pallet ten minutes earlier than I had actually been able to."
He briefly paused and then continued. "Looking back on that day, I realize I wouldn't go back and change those minutes for anything in the world. Those minutes allowed me to meet you. Those minutes were what allowed me to access my potential, and it's all thanks to you. Without you, there wouldn't be this "me." You were always the humorous one, cracking jokes, pulling pranks, always keeping the party going. It was always lively, just how I loved it. And to be honest, I miss those days more than ever right now." Ash didn't even notice everyone now looking at him, he was too lost in thought. "To be honest, had Arceus told me that I would… outlive you… I wouldn't have believed him. It was always me taking the riskier path, and you taking the wiser one…"
He pause lightly as tears slowly began to form in his eyes. "But now… you're gone, up to a different place, one with peace and only peace, a kingdom of bliss and joy under the name of Arceus himself. There's no greater honor John, but… we need you here… I NEED you here..." Ash began sobbing a little. "J-John… I just want you to know… Th-Th… Th-Thank you. Thank you for being my closest friend. Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for showing me courage. And…" He paused as tears were now streaming down his face.
"… Thank you for being you." He then couldn't take it and cried, cascades of tears running down his cheeks. The whole thing was now far too much for Ash, who felt as though he may end his life then and there. He couldn't fathom living on without his best friend, he just couldn't. Gary saw everyone sobbing and breaking down and knew what he had to do. He quietly murmured.
"Mewtwo." The Pokémon appeared quietly out of his pokeball and stared at the fallen warrior. He felt a small pang at his heart for the man who had sacrificed himself to save others. Gary saw his Pokémon speculating the situation and Gary knew it was having the same thoughts as he was. As painful as it was, Gary knew there was no turning back. "…You know what to do…" Everyone stopped crying and looked at the Pokémon, knowing what it had to do, but almost pleading that it wouldn't have to come.
Mewtwo solemnly agreed to his masters order and used Psychic to gently levitate John's body onto the water slowly. Then, as if by magic, John's body was buoyant above the water, and Jasmine watched in tears as she saw her lovers body slowly floated out to sea, confirming Ash's information. As John's body slowly faded from view, there was a whimper from the group. It was not any human. It was not any of Ash's Pokémon, which had been released to see off their close friend. It was not Jolteon, who had laid by John's side in his final moments on land.
It was Delveon, the Pokémon who had been saved by John as a baby, and evolved into something Legendary, and far earlier than most Pokémon would've evolved in the first place. Delveon was whimpering as she saw he masters form fading further and further from view. She couldn't believe this was happening all over again. She had wanted to be his, he didn't take her, she tried to end it all, and he saved her, then, she evolved for him, and now, he was gone. She cursed the fates that took her beloved owner from her, and broke down crying.
Ash watched sadly as tears streamed down his cheeks in trickles. Pikachu was perched on his shoulder, emotions attacking his body as well. Elesa was sniffing at the scene, and Skyla was crying in Cynthia's arms. Jasmine looked crushed, and Keeghan looked shaken up as well. Daniel and Gary shared looks of grim defeat, but silently vowed to make sure John would be remembered for the warrior he was, and the man he was as well. The group watched as John's body stopped floating about a hundred yards out into the ocean, then slowly sank into the deep blue sea, mother nature consuming the Auramancer that could.
John… was gone.
For a few moments, earth was silent. Everyone watched the point where John had vanished, sick feelings attacking their stomachs and turning them into knots. Gary paused then slowly turned away, and then began walking the opposite direction. Daniel and Keeghan slowly followed suit. Cynthia gently corralled Skyla in her loving grasp and comforted the red head as they walked away slowly. Skyla broke Cynthia's grip and ran off, crying uncontrollably. Elesa turned and followed them, tears still streaming down her face. Ash and Jasmine quietly watched the spot with Delveon and Jolteon standing on either side of them. Jasmine quietly took a step back, then ran off in the opposite direction, crying her eyes out. Jolteon looked back at the distraught girl and decided to follow and comfort her.
Ash and Delveon stood side by side, emotions wreaking havoc on their bodies. Delveon looked at Ash, whose cape was bellowing in the wind, and emotions swaying out of control. She saw the tears underneath his eyelids, as he closed his eyes to try and contain the inevitable. She looked at him for a few moments, before her inner rage at the Arceus for taking her precious owner away from her built up. She did not know what caused her to feel the way she did, but she would soon not regret her actions.
She formed the most powerful Sun Beam she could, and then, with all her might, cried to the heavens. "DEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOONNNNNNN!" She roared as she fired the gigantic beam of sun straight up into the sky, as though she was attempting to attack Arceus himself. She panted lightly at the amount of energy she put into the move. Ash had stopped crying and was staring at the Pokémon curiously.
The others, who were quite a ways away at the moment, stopped walking and looked back at the attack, wondering what it could've been. After a few more moments of silence, Gary gestured for them to continue back to his home, but then, they heard something, and they turned back, and what they saw stunned them.
Back with Ash and Delveon he was still curiously watching the Pokémon before smiling lightly. He said to her. "You know John truly loved you, right?" She responded softly. "Del veee Del…" Ash smiled. "He did. I know he did. His love for you was one he shared with you and only you… I'm sure he's proud of what you've become… and what you still can do to help." And then, Delveon's ears perked up. Ash took notice. "Hm? What's wrong?"
She whirled around and began circling the area carefully before Ash heard something. It was coming from the ocean. Delveon had confirmed it as well, but what was it? Ash was looking and all of the sudden, a voice he didn't recognize and a face he didn't immediately recognize appeared in his mind, whispering just two words to him.
The figure's face was the only thing in view for him. The figure's face was entirely glowing in a purple radiation of some kind, and his eyes and skin were completely gone. It appeared to be a black skull with a purple power emitting from it. The words made Ash's hairs stand up.
The skull whispered in a deathly, demonic voice. "…Rrrrraaaaaaaaaammmmmmpppppaaaaaagggggeeeeeeee…."Ash's eyes widened at the next word. "….Rrrrruuuuunnnn…"
The skull left his mind, but before he could regather his thoughts and contemplate what happened, he saw the water slowly begin to swirl in a circle. He took a step back carefully, then another step back. He watched as the water began swirling faster and faster, then formed into a whirlpool. Delveon was watching this scene with wide eyes. The duo watched as the whirlpool all of the sudden took the form of a twister in the water. They were mesmerized by the spectacle.
Gary, Cynthia, and the others had sprinted back and were watching the scene with wide eyes. Only Jolteon, Skyla, and Jasmine were now missing from the group as the rest watched everything unfold. The twister became taller and faster, catching and swirling up more and more water, and therefore making it all the more dangerous. Then, after a few moments, the twister began to rumble towards them. Ash immediately yelled. "RUN!" They all broke out in a sprint away from the hazard, in fear of being swept away from the mystical twister that had appeared seemingly out of thin air.
Keeghan turned back and noticed the twister was no longer following them, and had stalled at the very base of where the sand became the ocean. He looked and then saw a sight he thought he would never see again. He sputtered something that had been intended to be a scream, "L-l-look!" Ash had heard him, and he turned around and what he saw made him stop completely. Everyone had now stopped to stare at what they could only believe was only a mirage. There, in the swirling water about Twenty feet above the ground, was John Stamkos, his eyes closed and crossed, exactly how they had left him as they floated him out of the water. They approached the spectacle in disbelief as they saw the blood that been originally dried up on John's cloak wash away completely, as if by magic. The swirling water was still raging, but had died down considerably since the peak of its rage. John appeared to be the source of the twister, but why? Ash could barely comprehend anything anymore, and where Ash saw his friend open his eyes, he could only believe it was a dream.
'Its… it's not possible…'He thought in shock and joy. "JOHHHNNN!" He roared and ran towards the twister. The group followed him in hot pursuit. A smile appeared on John's face, which Ash noticed.
But then, he noticed something else. John's smile… wasn't genuine. It wasn't a smile; It was a smirk. Ash stopped running and stared at John, who was still hovering far above them all. The group stopped right next to Ash, watching the scene unfold. Everyone watched as the water underneath the Tornado slowly began to light up a lighter blue, and then stream up all the way to the top of the raging twister, making it a different shade of blue, and that shade everyone recognized as an Aura shade.
The only problem was, Ash recognized the shade, and it wasn't a royal blue shade, it was a darker blue, a Navy blue. His eyes suddenly widened as he realized what that meant. A deathly scream was heard at this moment. Ash saw his friend roaring from inside the twister as the Aura attacked his body. He saw John's veins light up a navy blue starting with his arms and going down to his torso and legs, then all the way up his neck and into his head. John's eyes glowed dark blue as he roared.
Then, the twister seemed to stall in midair for a moment, all time stopped. Ash saw John's head was lowered slightly, and the dark blue in his veins had seized. Everyone watched as John's body continued to hover. Then, after about ten seconds, John jerked his head up and opened his eyes quickly as though he was trying to jumpscare them, eyes entirely a navy blue. Ash didn't have time to yell anything.
In a mere instant, John crashed into the sandy beach, dark aura flooding into the aerial attack and making the ground essentially launch anyone in a small radius from where he smashed into. Upon contact with the ground, John smashed the aqua twister into the ground as well, making a gigantic wave crash as a secondary attack. Ash, Delveon, and Keeghan were sent flying by the dark aura attack, and the secondary attack smothered the rest of the girls along with Gary, Daniel, and Mewtwo.
Ash slowly got up, holding his left side in pain. Delveon wasn't too far from him, and she got up slowly as well as she saw her master as a completely different person. Ash looked around and saw all the girls and the remaining two guys washed up a ways away from them. His eyes widened as he saw Elesa, Daniel, and Cynthia appeared to not be moving. He saw keeghan lying in the sand a short distance away, and saw he was out cold. Ash looked back at John, who was looking down at the damage. The sand where John had impacted was a dark blue, a symbol that the area had been hit by dark aura. Ash watched as John looked up, eyes still glowing dark blue, and then saw his veins bursting with navy blue energy. He watched the navy go all the way to the palms of his hands, where the flared up in a fiery showing. The roar that came from his chest was enough to break all the glass in Gary's home a short distance away.
Ash took in what his friend was and realized what had happened. John was not dead. John had become something that made death look merciful in the eyes of auramancers. John had become what was known… as a Dark Rider. They were the terrorizers of all Aura users and everyone in the word… and they had just one job.
To Kill everyone who stood in their path.
AN: Told Ya It was gonna be big. If this isn't a huge incident then you're nuts. John has been turned to the dark side by mystical powers of some sort. Will Ash kill him? Will he be stopped? Will John kill everyone who stands in his way, or will he have mercy?
Please make sure you comment, follow, review, and favorite the story! If you wanna find out what happens to Ash and our hero's, make sure you come back and see the next chapter. It's a good one… see you all soon!
ReignZ