PokeWing Z: Dimension Rifters, Episode 50: I'll Return Someday...
A mega-crossover fic by Dustin Dixon, Caleb McGlone, and Rob Volzke

DISCLAIMER. 1, 25, MOVIE. SEASON 2'S OVER! W00T!


Three days had passed since the death of Shadow Wayne and the destruction of the Core Dimension. The location was now Amity Park, where Jack, Maddie, Sam, Valerie, Tucker, and Aimee waited impatiently for any sign of activity from the Ghost Portal, having been contacted an hour ago by Enma.
"Why am I here?" Aimee asked sadly. "It's not like I'm waiting for anyone anymore..." she trailed off, looking down.
"Enma just said to bring you along." Valerie shrugged. "For what's it's worth, while I hated your boyfriend...I didn't want him to DIE...but at least he died a hero."
"You people think THAT'S all I care about, don't you?! 'Oh, don't worry; your boyfriend was a hero!' I cared about him BEFORE his one-eighty!" she pleaded, tears in her eyes. "None of you understand...I don't want to be here for the tearful reunion bit." she said, bitterness evident in her voice as she started to turn around. As she did, she groaned, hearing the portal open, and she shook her head. As for the others, they saw Danny, Jazz, Janine, Riku, and Osaka emerge from the portal.
"Hey! They're all alive!" Tucker shouted gleefully.
Sam, Tucker, and Valerie all tackled Danny, While Maddie and Jack waited for the initial tackle to end before they tackled both of their children. Aimee started to walk off, but she stopped dead in her tracks when a familiar voice spoke up.
"...No welcome back for me? I'm a little insulted!"
Aimee's face instantly lit up, and she turned around to see Wayne smiling at her. Without a moment's hesitation, she leaped into his waiting arms, crying hard as she hugged him tight. After a minute or two of holding onto him as though she were the only thing keeping him on the mortal coil currently, she let go and then pounded his chest repeatedly.
"You son of a BITCH! You were alive and never told me?!"
"Kinda hard to call across dimensions." Wayne said sheepishly.
"I thought I'd lost you forever...don't you dare do that to me again!" Aimee sniffled.
"I won't...I promise." Wayne blushed slightly, feeling all eyes in the room on him, before muttering "I love you."
"Well, I love you too."Aimee hugged him again. Distracting herself from the spectacle, Maddie turned to her children, particularly Jazz, asking "So...where's the man of the hour? We're all set upstairs to throw him a celebration!"
"..." Jazz trailed off, turning back to the swirling vortex that the gang had exited from, staring back at it with a longing smile.
"...He's gone."
"WHAT?!"


(Title) I'll Return Someday...
(Jingle) 0:00-0:12 of "Departure: Piano Mix" from Rurouni Kenshin


"What do you mean 'He's gone'?!" Aimee was stunned. "I thought he made it out alive!"
"Of course he did. He's freaking Ash Ketchum." Danny chuckled a bit.
"Then wh—"
"He's gone." Jazz repeated. "He left to find someone..."
"Find who...?"
"Well..." Jazz trailed off, remembering what had happened earlier...


-12:00 PM—


"WHOA!" Jazz shouted, grabbing Ash by his right arm in an effort to prevent him from repeating what he had just done. Enma lay on the ground, rubbing his cheek, realizing it would be swollen before the end of the day.
"Okay. I deserved that." Enma held up his arms as if to say 'Please! No more!'
"AND A HELL OF A LOT MORE!" Ash screamed in rage. After a few seconds, he was visibly and audibly calmer. "So tell me...if this isn't yet another 'Enma Truth', then where can I fi—"


-PRESENT-


"Wait, whoa...hold on! 'Enma Truth'?" Valerie looked puzzled.
"Don't ask." Jazz stated flatly, her eyes narrowing in boredom. "There's a lot of ground to cover, so please reserve any and all questions for AFTER the story!"
Valerie held up her arms and motioned to Jazz, as if she were saying 'Please, go on.'
"Thank you. Now...actually, maybe that was a bad place to start. Let's go back before that..."


-10 AM-


"Well...?" Yusuke asked, holding out his hand to Enma, who had sweat drops forming on the back of his head.
"Er..." Enma said, grinning sheepishly as he held up his hands. "You see...seeing as you're not an OFFICIAL Spirit Detective, I can't pay you."
"WHAT?! YOU GAVE ME A COMMUNICATOR, YOU ASSHOLE!" Yusuke looked like he was about ready to punch Enma.
"Which you then gave to Wayne." This statement caused Yusuke to turn around with a murderous look on his face. "DAMMIT WAYNE, GIMME BACK THAT COMMUNICATOR SO I CAN GET MY PAYCHECK!"


-PRESENT-


"Heh..." Wayne's eyes turned squinty and he grinned widely, sliding down his left sleeve and revealing that he still held onto the communicator.
"Yes...thanks for the visual aid, Wayne." Jazz muttered.
"Wait!" Aimee interrupted once more. "How does this have ANYTHING to do with Ash leaving?!"
"I was GETTING TO IT." Jazz said, her eyebrows slanting in anger.
"Well hurry up!" Aimee looked somewhat impatient.
"Hey...tell me Aimee..." Jazz trailed off, her eyes narrowing again. "Whose story IS it?!"
"Yours." Aimee shrugged. "Sorry. Just curious."
"Well, if you'd let me FINISH..." Jazz said, then felt a rumbling in her stomach.. "...Actually...I'm kinda hungry. Did you fix anything for this celebration, Mom?"
"Actually, I did!" Jack spoke up. "Been working on my cooking to pass the time while you kids were off saving the world!"
"Universe!" Wayne corrected. "We're universal heroes, man..."
"Whatever. Point is, you all should be really proud of yourselves!"


-TEN MINUTES LATER-


Having eaten from a magnificent spread containing various lean meats, several rare cheeses, and a hearty helping of vegetables, Jazz covered her mouth and yawned.
"So...what happened to Ash?" Valerie asked.
"Well, it all started right after Yusuke chased Wayne like a bat out of hell..." Jazz said, once again letting her mind go back in time, so to speak...


-10:15 AM-


"You little punks had better not be tracking mud into my nice clean kitchen!" Delia called angrily after Yusuke and Wayne, the former of whom had started chasing the latter.
"GIVE IT BACK, YOU BASTARD!"
"NO! IF I GIVE IT BACK I CAN'T GET PAID!"
"Hey!" Enma called out, causing the two of them to stop. "What I was GOING to say is that I can't OFFICIALLY pay you anyway, Yusuke, since you're not part of THIS Spirit Detective outfit...don't want to create a time paradox or anything..." Enma had sweat drops forming on the back of his head. "Come by my office later and we'll work something out in private."
"...Oh. Oh yeah." Yusuke chuckled monosyllabically. Across from where this was happening, at the kitchen table, Jazz and Misty sat...
"Yep." Misty said, a bored tone in her voice.

"Yyyyep." Jazz echoed.

"Mm-hmm." was Delia's response from across the room.
"Believe me, these two get worse if they're unsupervised." Jazz laughed.
"Excuse me, do ANY of you three have ANYTHING to do with this conversation?!" Wayne frowned.
"Fucking chicks, man..." Yusuke muttered, before Misty stood up, walked over to him, and rewarded his comment with a knee to the groin, causing him to double over in pain.
"Yeah... chicks." Misty said, smirking as she walked back to the table, satisfied with her action.
"That looked like it hurt." came Ash's voice as he walked down to the bottom of the staircase.
"Ash!" Misty and Jazz both cried out in unison, excited to see that he was functioning relatively well after the events of yesterday...
"Hey." he greeted them both, and then took a seat between them. "Misty...you said you had something important to talk about?"
"Yes...yes I do." Misty said, smiling as she glanced over at Ash and Jazz. "I wanted to say that... I think we should break up, Ash."
"What?! Why?!" Ash looked stunned.
"I love you, and I know you love me..." she said. "But there's someone out there who was meant for you... well, actually, she's sitting right across from me."
"Misty..." Jazz looked like she was about to tear up.
"You two were meant for each other... HELL, the two of you saved the future just by admitting your love!"
"She's got a point there..." Ash trailed off, looking at Misty, then back at Jazz.
"You take good care of him, okay?" Misty said to Jazz, who smiled at her and nodded.
"What about you?" What are you going to do...?" Ash looked perplexed.
"I've been away from home for a while now...I think I'm going to return to Cerulean City for a few months or so..." Misty stared longingly out of the patio door behind Jazz. "I wonder how Daisy, Lily, and Violet are doing without me there to keep the Gym running smoothly...?"
"Who are they?" Jazz asked.
"Her sisters." Ash replied, turning to face Jazz again.


-PRESENT-


"So is THAT why he left? Cause his girlfriend dumped him?" Aimee asked.
"Would you SHUT UP and let her tell the god damn story?!" Valerie shouted.
"Right...sorry. Carry on."
"Yeah, so...Enma fed Ash some important information after breakfast that morning..." Jazz trailed off once more...


-11:55 AM-


"I couldn't possibly eat another bite..." Ash said, letting his fork drop noisily onto the plate, where it met with runny egg yolk pooling around it. "You always have made the most awesome meals, Mom."
"Thanks sweetie...how are you doing?" Delia asked.
"I..." Ash trailed off, looking down. "I miss her..."
"We all do, man." Yusuke said. "She gave everything up there..."
"Yeah...I wish Bloo and I could have done the same for her..." Mac looked down as well. "I can't believe she's gone..." Wayne sadly looked into his coat pocket, down at the control chip that once resided in Jenny's head, and it was now all that was left of her...
"She was there from the beginning..." Wayne commented. "Back when I was possessed by that monster...if I hadn't found the Rift Sword and Rift Bracelet...would she still be around, I wonder?"
"I...I wish she'd drive me to school at two hundred miles per hour one more time..." Jimmy sniffled. "Is she REALLY gone?"
"...No!" Ash pounded the table suddenly. "I refuse to accept this! I went back in time to save Jazz's life, there's no reason I can't do the same for Jenny!"
Yes...I'm afraid there is..." Enma spoke up. "That ability can only send you back five minutes."
"Well then there has to be something I can use to boost the effect!" Ash pleaded.
"I'm not saying it's COMPLETELY out of the question." Enma sighed. "But think about it...you'd be resurrecting Shadow Wayne as well...and you only got lucky when you transformed and saved us all from imminent death."
"I could do it again!" Ash shouted.
"Really? Then why don't you do it now?" Enma challenged. "Change into a Kamoa Cherubim right now."
"Alright you dick, I'll show you!" Ash angrily got up and walked to the patio door, opening and motioning for everyone to step outside with him. As they followed, Ash stepped out onto the dirt road that ran by his house. He let out a shout as his energy began to spike tremendously. He flung his head back with a loud scream, and...nothing. He lowered his head and glanced down at his hands, seeing the energy radiate from his body, noting that it was still blue in color.
"Come on!" Ash shouted, letting out another scream and throwing his head back once more. Once again, nothing had happened. "COME ON DAMMIT! TRANSFORM! SAVE THE FUCKING DAY!"
"Ash...!" Delia looked at her son with tears in her eyes, knowing that he was having a hard time accepting the loss of one of his best friends. "Ash...you can't-"
"SHUT UP!" Ash shouted, surprising everyone with his rudeness toward his own mother."I HAVE TO DO THIS! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE TO DIE-!" Ash shouted, pounding the ground furiously.
"Ash...do you really think she'd want to live knowing that THING would also be brought back?!" Enma shouted sternly.
"But..."
"SHUT UP!" Enma looked furious. "STOP THINKING YOU HAVE TO FIX EVERYTHING! SOMETIMES INNOCENT PEOPLE DIE, AND IT SUCKS!"
"Enma..." Delia trailed off.
"I lost my best friend because of the Unmaker's plotting...it was that day I stopped believing that we could forge our own paths..."
"Why? Why would that make you change your mind?!" Ash protested, flinging his arms in the air angrily.
"Because your father was the only person in this UNIVERSE who convinced me that humans carve their own path. I believed like the Unmaker many, MANY years ago...ever since the dawn of time."
"The dawn of time?!" Jazz spoke up.
"Yes. My brother and I were b-"
"You have a BROTHER?!" Ash looked shocked.
"Yes, but that's irrelevant now." Enma looked down. "He died a long time ago, leaving me alone. It's not like you...you have other Kamoa, Ash."
"You mean the one who wants me DEAD?!" Ash shouted, causing Delia's eyebrow to raise.
"Who...are you referring to?"
"...It's not important. My point is...no. I'm not. There are OTHER Kamoa out there. I hid this information in case you failed to stop Shadow Way-" Enma was cut off by the feeling of Ash's fist against his face, sending him sprawling to the ground. Ash advanced toward him once more...
"WHOA!" Jazz shouted, grabbing Ash by his right arm in an effort to prevent him from repeating what he had just done. Enma lay on the ground, rubbing his cheek, realizing it would be swollen before the end of the day.
"Okay. I deserved that." Enma held up his arms as if to say 'Please! No more!'
"AND A HELL OF A LOT MORE!" Ash screamed in rage. After a few seconds, he was visibly and audibly calmer. "So tell me...if this isn't yet another 'Enma Truth', then where can I FIND these other Kamoa?!"
"Enma Truth?" Enma looked confused.
"I assume you've been hiding things from me for the past two years, giving me juuuuuust enough information to keep me satisfied and not wanting to do what I just did. Thus, 'Enma Truth'. Now tell me the REAL truth. Where are these other Kamoa?!"
"...Here." Enma handed up a piece of map to Ash. "They use cloaking technology to keep their city safe from attack, but if you go to Mount Moon, you WILL find it in this exact spot, right dead center in the mountain range."
"Why lie about it, though?" Misty interjected, curious as to why Enma fabricated this particular lie...
"...I promised Sardius." Enma said.
"Then THAT'S what he meant when he was talking about other Kamoa!"
"You...you talked to Sardius?" Delia looked surprised.
"Yeah. Seems like a pretty cool guy. He took over my body on several occasions in order to waste some ass."
"Heh... he always did like you." Delia chuckled, a glint in her eye suggesting she knew more about Sardius than she was letting on. "Guess I had no reason to fear if he was watching over you, because Sardius was unbeatable."
"...You realize he DID die, right?" Enma said, frowning. "Not that I'm saying he wasn't strong, but there was someone out there even stronger than him..."
"Wait...we were talking about something COMPLETELY different. Jenny..." Ash trailed off.
"The other thing I was going to say about that is this..." Enma looked down, reaching into his robe and removing a rolled-up piece of paper, tossing it to Wayne. "Take that to Professor Wakeman. Jenny's control chip is still intact, so she's NOT dead. She just doesn't have a body. What's on that paper will fix that problem."
Wayne unrolled it, looking at what the paper contained. "This is...AMAZING!"
"An old mad scientist named Dr. Gero built a biomechanical android three thousand years ago. What are on that page are instructions for how to make one." Enma explained. "We're going to do more than bring Jenny back...we're going to make her HUMAN. It's the least I can do for her after all this..."
"..." Ash smiled suddenly. "That's...really nice of you, Enma."
"I wanted to do something to make up for all the 'Enma Truths' I've told you." Enma said. "I'd be lying if I said there wasn't more I was withholding from you, but all I can say in regards to that is this...you'll find your answers there at the city hidden in Mount Moon. There you'll learn who you REALLY are, and why your destiny is to fight evil..."
"Who I... really am?" Ash looked confused.
"Your mother and I could tell you quite a bit of this, but even we are limited in the full knowledge of the Kamoa Empire. It'll be better for you to hear the whole thing at once, so as not to drive you crazy with not knowing...
"How long do you think it'll take for me to reach the city?"
"About a week on foot. And that's at the base of Mount Moon." Enma explained. "I'll take you there via a rift. The cloaking technology around the city disrupts any rifts from forming there, so the closest I can bring you is the base."
"That's lousy. What the hell are they using to cloak the city?" Ash frowned.
"I cannot tell you...I don't know the answer myself. I assume it's some sort of Dimensium, but I can't be sure." Enma shrugged. "The only thing I know is that these people will be able to tell you everything your mother and I can't."
"...Very well..." Ash sighed, turning toward Jazz. "Guess this is goodbye for a while..."
"..." Jazz looked away sadly. "Are you sure you should be making a decision like this so fast?"
"...I need to know." Ash looked away as well. "I need to know who I am."
"Then why not ASK THEM?!" Jazz shouted, pointing at Delia and Enma angrily. "It's OBVIOUS they know, on account of her being YOUR MOTHER and Enma having a close connection with your father!"
"Even with everything I tell him, he'll wonder if I'm hiding something else, because of Enma here." Delia sighed. "This is EXACTLY why I said I didn't want Ash getting involved with you!" she pointed an accusatory finger at Enma, who glanced away.
"She's right, Jazz..." Ash trailed off. "Besides... they're my people. I've always wondered if there were other people out there like me... and now I know there are. I HAVE to meet them."
"I just don't think you should go!" Jazz shouted.
"I'm with Jazz on this one, Ash." Misty argued. "You don't know if these Kamoa will be dangerous or not."
"They won't be. The leader of this band is Sardius's brother." Enma explained. "He shared his ideals; I sincerely doubt he'd do a one-eighty after sixty years."
"Right...then I have nothing to fear..." Ash sighed, turning around. "Let's go."
"Ash!" Jazz called out.
"I'm going... I'll return someday. I don't know when. But I WILL return to Amity Park." Ash said, not looking back, as Enma opened a rift. "I guess this is goodbye..." he said, finally turning to face his friends, who now included Riku, Osaka, Wayne, Janine, Jimmy, Timmy, Mac, Bloo, and Danny.
"Yeah...good luck man." Yusuke smiled. "It was fun."
"Yes it was...I'll always look back on this point in my life with happiness, despite all the Enma Truths plaguing it."
"...Gonna miss you, Ash." Bloo said, no sarcasm evident in his voice.
"Yeah...you're not the annoying shit I thought you were originally. We had some good times too...like that time I lied and said you switched Jimmy's energy drink with beer when Yusuke was the one who did it."
"OH GOD DAMN IT, I KNEW IT!" Jimmy shouted.
"Can't blame a guy for trying." Yusuke shrugged.
"A-HEM...I owe a lot to you, Ash." Riku said. "Though my decision to turn was my own... watching you from Spirit World helped me realize that the decision I made was right."
"Good for you, man... you two have a happy life, okay?" Ash smirked.
"Will do!" Osaka said cheerily.
"So...I guess we won't be going to see Dead Teacher VI?" Danny joked, but inside he felt like complete crap having to say goodbye to such a close friend.
"...Guess not. We'll watch it on DVD when I get back." Ash laughed.
"Yeah, assuming you actually DO come back...but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be looking forward to your return so we could compare training progress..." Wayne smirked.
"Looking forward to it. Take care of yourself, Wayne." Ash quickly raised his right hand with a dismissive wave, which Wayne returned with the same smirk he had on his face seconds ago.

"Ash... whatever's waiting for you at this place... don't forget you have friends and family who lo- like you here." Janine commented, looking away.

"JUST like?" Wayne grinned slyly, receiving an angry elbow to the gut from his older sister.
"It's time to go, Ash." Enma said.
"...Bye guys." Ash said, turning around and walking into the rift with Enma. Right before it closed, his eyes widened. "SHIT! I FORGOT MY CL-" but it was too late...the rift had closed, leaving everyone standing there.
"...He'll come back one day." Jazz said, smiling knowingly as her hair blew in the afternoon wind.
"Yes...one day..." Delia said. At that moment, the rift to the Central Dimension opened up close by. Enma came up on Wayne's wrist communicator. "It's time for you all to go home too...step into the rift and head back to your respective dimensions..."
"I'm going with Danny and Jazz...I have someone to go back to." Wayne smiled, thinking of Aimee.
"...Very well...Riku, Osaka. Go with Wayne. You three will live in Condo Ketchum for the time being."
"Got it." Riku affirmed. Without turning back to the others, he and Osaka walked into the rift, followed by Jimmy and Timmy. Turning, Bloo held his hand to where his ear would be if he possessed such features, looked at Delia, and winked. Mac shoved him into the rift, an exasperated look on his face. Wayne laughed, muttered something about "that little blue piece of shit", and walked into the rift. Yusuke turned back, gave Danny and Jazz a thumbs up and a smirk, and wandered into the rift. Janine gave a slight wave as she walked into the rift. Danny just sighed and walked into the rift, looking a bit dejected. Finally, Jazz turned to Misty.
"He'll be back...Ash never breaks a promise...so carry on for him until he returns for you..." Misty smiled.
"I will...thank you." Jazz returned the smile.
"No...thank you. You've helped him more than you or he realizes. I think he can finally attain inner peace if you continue to be there for him."
"You brought him to me...I should really be thanking you."
"I was his past...you're his future." Misty smiled again, wiping a tear from her eye, as Jazz walked back toward the rift.
"Goodbye...friend." she said, and Misty waved, letting the tears finally flow.
"GOODBYE! I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU ALL! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!" she shouted happily, her voice cracking as the rift vanished into thin air once more...
"They were all great friends, weren't they?" Delia asked.
"The BEST..." Misty sniffled. "Well...I'd better get going too..."
"Do you have to leave so soon?" Delia frowned.
"Yes...the Gym won't run itself, you know..."
"Well, Misty...even though you and Ash aren't dating anymore...I wish you the best of luck."
"Thanks Mrs. Ketchum..." Misty hugged Delia tightly, before walking inside, grabbing a duffel bag containing her belongings, and walking away from the house, leaving Delia alone there to contemplate what was going on in her son's life...
"Sardius...you were watching all this time, weren't you? You never did give up on him..."


-PRESENT-


"So Ash isn't alone...?" Maddie asked.
"No...there's at least a whole CITY of Kamoa out there." Jazz smiled once more. "And maybe one day, I'll get to meet them. Aside from that..." she trailed off. Maddie then lowered her head. "...Am I really your daughter?"
"Of course you are!" Maddie insisted. "We've had your birth certificate ever since the day you were born!"
"Then why is it that I have Kamoa wings?"
"...I don't know..." Maddie trailed off. "When I saw that, I freaked out... but honey, you'll always be our daughter."
"Mom's right." Danny chimed in. "Wings or not, you're still my overprotective, overbearing, obnoxious sister." He then laughed.
"Yeah...I am...aren't I?" she smiled again. "I only wonder what Ash is doing right now...?" She trailed off before realizing what Danny had said. "HEY!"


"Sorry...for everything." Enma said, staring intently at Ash. "I would give you every answer you were seeking, but... this really is something you need to find out for yourself."
"I know...otherwise I'd have pressured you and Mom to tell me..." Ash sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day. "Hey... I didn't mean... to say that you were a prick... I know you were trying to protect me... if I don't make it back..."
"Don't talk like that...when I thought you died in that explosion...I cried for the first time since your father was killed."
"What was Dad like...?" Ash spoke up again suddenly, catching Enma off guard.
"He was the bravest man I knew... and he loved you and your mother very much... when the Kamoa Empire was destroyed, he took steps to ensure you wouldn't be hunted by the Unmaker..."
"Will you tell me what his name was...?"
"...That's something you'll need to discover on your own... it's part of that whole fighting evil thing I told you about..."
"Well then...see ya around, Enma." Ash turned, ready to scale the mountain.
"Ash!" he called out, causing the young Kamoa to turn around. "Godspeed, Ash Ketchum!"
"Godspeed, Enma." he smirked, turning back around.


An hour later, the festivities had concluded, and Jazz now sat alone outside on the stump, sighing as she watched Wayne and Aimee kissing across the street.
"Don't worry..." Danny said, stepping outside and sitting down next to her. "You'll be doing that with Ash before you know it."
"I hope he finds what he's looking for..." Jazz noted, with a small, longing smile.
"He will...and he'll be back before you know it...better than ever!" Danny smirked.
"Your brother's right." Wayne grinned. "Ketchum'll be back before you know it."
"I know...I know I'll see him again someday..."


As Ash scaled the mountains of Mount Moon, he could swear he heard Jazz's voice call out, saying "I know I'll see him again someday..." With a final smile, as the camera began to fade out, he once more repeated what he had said to his beloved earlier that day...
"I'll return someday..."


*SEASON 2 END*