Ash felt his body shake. Then, it felt like every cell in body was suddenly lit on fire when Pikachu shocked him.

"Hey! Get UP!" A familiar voice snapped at him.

As the agonizing buzz of the electricity subsided, Ash heard a familiar voice repeat, "Get up!"

Ash was yanked to his feet so quickly, he nearly lost his balance. When his vision finally cleared, his eyes discerned the face and brown eyes of Tessa Blanchard. "Wow," Ash shuddered in agony, "Tessa, did you really have to-"

Tessa grabbed Ash by his collar and snarled, "How do you know my name?" She demanded. "You one of Gail's boys?!"

"Gail?" Ash nervously turned the name over in his mind, "Oh, you mean Gail with the Druddigon?"

Tessa's grip on his collar tightened, "What does she have?!"

"Yeah," Ash smiled, "Gail hides her face all the time behind her fan and-"

Tessa took another hard look at Ash. The Gail that she knew rarely hood her conceited face. "Gail Kim? You know her?" She further questioned.

"No," Ash shook his head. "Kim?" Scratching his chin, "If her family name is Kim then she's probably Korean and I'm not Korean, I'm Japanese so-"

Tessa shoved Ash back into the bed, "Then you're useless to me." Turning away and walking to the descending staircase, "Thanks, Pikachu."

"Pika-pika!" The mouse delightfully waved.

"Whoa!" Ash leapt to his feet, "Hold on a second. Can you at least tell me where I am?"

Tessa ignored his request, "Figure it out for yourself, kid."

Ash glanced at Pikachu, "Strength in numbers. Let's follow her Pikachu."

"Pika?" The mouse questioned.

"Who knows what's in this place?" Ash persuaded, "And it doesn't look like she has a pokemon to protect her." Ash then remembered the muscular physique of Tessa, "Not that she needs it," He muttered, "But who knows?"

"Pika," The mouse nodded in agreement, climbing onto Ash's shoulder.

"Okay." Ash smiled, "Let's go." Ash skittered down the stone steps and entered the house's family room the truth hit him like a bolt of lightning.

His eyes spotted the petrified Cherubi in the corner of the home.

* Cherubi, the Cherry Pokémon. All of the nutrients needed for evolution are contained in its small ball. Cherubi becomes redder as it is exposed to sunlight, and is almost ready to evolve once the smaller ball buds.* The Pokedex summarized.

"This is ATLANTIS!" Ash blurted in realization.

Tessa ceased her trek in the doorway. She spun around and stared at Ash. "What?" She stared at him. "Are you high? Atlantis isn't real. It's a made up-"

"No," Ash shook his head. "Tessa-" Approaching her.

The Diamond Princess defensively grabbed Ash's arm and slammed him against the wall, "You've got three seconds to tell me how do you know my name? Are you some crazed fan?"

"No," Ash grunted as Pikachu looked on. "Look, you know Pikachu," he growled in pain, "If I wanted to hurt you, I'd have Pikachu shock you already."

Tessa pressed her forearm into the back of Ash's neck. "Talk? How do you know my name?"

Through grunts of pain, Ash explained all he knew from the time of the pharaohs. With each word he spoke, Tessa's posture relaxed bit-by-bit until she finally released him and stood with her arms crossed glaring at the young man from Pallet Town.

"It sounds like a wad of horse-shit to me." Tessa admitted. "But," she paused and studied Ash's tawny-brown eyes, "Somehow I have a gut feeling everything you're saying is the truth." She bit her lower-lip, "Pokemon being real? Okay, does that mean Digimon are real too?"

Ash shrugged, "How would I know that?"

Tessa covered her mouth to hide a rare giggle, "I just thought you'd know more about your competition. Aren't Pikachu and Agumon mortal enemies?"

"Agu-what?" Ash turned to Pikachu. The mouse shrugged in confusion. "Well, whatever it is Pikachu and have more than enough power in us to beat it." Ash cheerfully smiled, "Isn't that right buddy?"

"Pika," The mouse cheered in agreement.

So pokemon, like all life on Earth originates from Africa and I'm actually a reincarnated Princess from some Forsaken Place?"

Ash scratched the back of his head, "Well, yeah and here and Atlantis was where we-" Ash gasped, fearing he may say too much. Did Tessa need to know that detail? Probably not. Would it help their current situation to know? Would it even matter now?

Tessa stared at Ash for a long while.

(Does she know?) Ash wondered as his soul remembered how soft Tessa's lips felt.

Tessa's posture hardened, "Be straight with me, Ash." She demanded, her eyes piercing through Ash's body like two bullets.

Ash hesitantly nodded. "Err, okay," he nervously responded.

"I really want to know the truth about this, understand." Tessa snapped.

Ash winced, "Erm, okay."

Tessa stared at Ash, "When you and I were here in our previous lives-"

Ash gulped nervously.

"Did we-" Tessa probed. "Did we battle eachother?"

Ash smiled, "Yeah, of course we did. We had a very good one. It felt very good and-"

Tessa eyed Ash suspiciously, "Why are you acting so weird, Ash?"

Ash bit his lower lip. "Oh, I'm just still a bit dizzy from coming down from Killing Moon."

"Killing Moon?" Tessa inquired, "What's that?"

Ash was surprised, "So you weren't on Killing Moon with us? Then, what do you remember before waking up here?"

Tessa and Ash's stomach's both growled with hunger. "We can walk and talk." She suggested.

"So you were in Mexico?" Ash gawked.

"My boyfriend and I were touring an Aztec Temple and I felt sick and dizzy. I thought it was maybe the food or the water." Tessa explained, "I figured I'd just wait til we got back to the hotel to lie down but," she slapped her hands together, "I was out like a light and I woke up here." Tessa exhaled, "I thought it was my boyfriend playing a prank on me, at first. The more and more I looked for the guy that woke me up, the more my mind told me it wasn't Daga. Daga wouldn't just kick me, roll me over, look at me and walk away like that asshole did."

"So some guy kicked you, looked at you and just left you?" Ash mused, "Didn't even try to help you?"

"No," Tessa shook her head, "But maybe he knows where Daga is. All I know is that someone else is here. There's life in this city somewhere. I just have to find it and get answers."

Then, a sultry voice from down the road called, "Hey, wait!"

She stood outside of a small Atlantian golden-brick house. She didn't run because that would have been unlady-like for her to run while wearing heels on her feet. And kicking off heels and running would have been VERY ho'ish indeed. Instead, she walked quickly and with a purpose and with each click her heels made on the gravel, Ash's heart skipped.

Lacey Evans wearing a black-and-white zebra-striped dress, forearm-length gloves and a pearl necklace approached them. "You don't know how good it feels to see a friendly face."

Ash paused and looked away immediately.

"Friendly face?" Tessa thought, "Who else have you seen?"

"Just some scoundrel with terrible manners." Lacey rolled her eyes, "He just kicked me, rolled me over-"

Tessa cut her off, "—He looked at you and walked away."

"Yeah," Lacey nodded, "How did you know?"

"Because the same thing happened to me." Tessa nodded, "Was he tall?"

"I don't really remember." Lacey admitted, "I was just coming around but I think he was-"

"Black guy?" Tessa inputted.

"Yeah but," Lacey continued on, "I think he's looking for someone and we're not who he's looking for. Judging by the way he's going about everything. He's definitely not a civilian," Lacey thought, "He's likely ex-military or connected in some way."

Tessa suddenly turned to Ash, "Hey!" She snapped, "Why are you acting creepy again?"

"Creepy?" Ash defensively shifted, trying his best to not look at Lacey.

"You?" Lacey eyed him suspiciously. "Have we met before? You look mighty familiar?"

"No, no," Ash shook his head, "I don't think so." Trying his best to dismiss his soul's feelings for her.

Lacey clutched her heart. What was the strange emotion she was feeling at that moment? She'd never felt it before.

"Anyway," Tessa sharply hissed, "ignore him. His balls haven't dropped yet, as you can see. Which way did that asshole go?"

Lacey pointed, "That way." Pointing to their left. "Do you know him?"

"No," Tess shook her head, "But he's going to know me soon enough. I need answers."

(Tall?) Ash thought as the followed. (Black guy? Ex-military? I think I know someone like that.)

The trio walked through the desolate city of Atlantis, passing numerous stone houses until they final reached an abandoned beach covered in white sand.

"Wow," Ash happily pointed, "This place must've been great for summer getaways and-"

Then, his soul resurrected old memories. The ancient getaways of the Portugal Heir and her meeting with the Pharaoh of the Far East, the roots of Japan and Portugal's long and historic relationship.

Ash shook his head.

"And what?" Lacey turned to him.

Ash looked away and said nothing.

"You're a mighty shy one, hon." Lacey giggled.

"He was here." Tessa pointed to the sand, "Footprints. Looks like he's wearing combat boots," she noted.

Lacey injected, "If he was here, he wasn't alone," her eyes discerned not one but hundreds of different boot tracks of different sizes. "And unless," kneeling down and plucking up the shell casing of a bullet, "he has a gun then I doubt it was him."

Ash thought for a moment. "Prince? He usually carries a handgun on him?"

Tessa turned to Ash. "You know him?"

"If we're talking about the same guy," Ash innocently nodded, "Then, yes, I do."

Lacey held up a handful of bullet casings and shook her head, "These aren't handgun casings. Look at how long they are. These are rifle and shotgun casings."

Ash's eyes inspected the leftovers from gunfire, "I don't know much about guns. Well, I don't know anything but what were they shooting at? There are no holes in any of the buildings or anywhere?"

Then, a flurry of voices spoke to them, "They…were infidels…with evil in their hearts…they were not The Chosen-"

Ash, Lacey and Tessa all turned to eachother. "Erm, you guys are hearing that too, right?"

"Quiet!" Tessa hissed at Ash. Then, the Diamond Princess gulped and bravely strode forward, "We're not here to cause any trouble. We just wanna all go home. We're just lost."

"You were lost,"Hundreds of different voices spoke at once, "Now…you are home."

Lacey held her breathe as she held up the rifle casing. As a Marine, Lacey knew all too well which guns likely were firing these weapons. Although, these bullets could have come from any country, she had to know. "Do you know what happened here?" Holding up the cases. "What happened to the men and women that-"

"They will be come apart of US now," The haunting voices responded.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to quake. Swift tremors shook the earth, then, the sand around exploded as body-after-body was hoisted into the sky.

Lacey's body began to shake at the sight of the uniforms. Clad in camouflage, faces painted black, empty rifles dangling from their bodies were dozens of US Marines. Amongst the bodies were other NATO troops as well.

The bodies glowed shamrock-green and in an explosion of dark energy, the bodies vanished.

From the sky, a being of swirling violet fog with green crescent-shaped eyes and jagged mouth resembling a carved Halloween jack-o-lantern descend towards them.

*Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokemon. A Pokemon that is formed by 108 spirits. It is bound by a mysterious spell as punishment for its misdeeds.* The Pokedex elucidated.

"A pokemon?" Ash clutched his pokeball.

Then, the Spiritomb evanesced and vanished before their eyes.

"All outsiders with evil in their heart will be punished," The haunting voices shouted.

"Then that means," Ash thought aloud, "What are we?"

The voices didn't respond.

"Hey?" Ash frowned, "Don't be like that. We're just trying to understand things."

Tessa called to the Spiritomb, "Have you seen a tall man, brown-skin with-"

"Yes, we have," The Spiritomb responded, "He's in the bathhouse. Not far from you now."

(Prince?) Ash smiled, "Let's go!" He hurried.

"Ash, hold on!" Tessa snapped, "Do you even know where the bathhouse is?"

"Oh," Ash scratched his head, "Hold on," searching his memories, "Actually, I do know." He nodded, "It's in the center of the town. This way," he pointed.

Tessa cleared her throat and asked,"Why do you answer my questions but ignore his?"

"He is an outsider," The Spiritomb responded.

Lacey searched for the Pokemon but it was nowhere in sight, "And we aren't?"

"You are of this land." The Spiritomb answered.

Lacey shook her head. How? It didn't make any sense to her. She was American, a United States Marine. She'd never seen or set foot in this place a day in her life.

Tessa looked at Lacey. Both were dumfounded and confused by the spirits answers.

"You both," Ash exhaled, "I know it all sounds crazy but a lot happened in your previous lives and in mine."

Lacey gave Ash a perplexed stare. She didn't have the slightest idea of what he was talking about.

"Walk and talk." Tessa suggested, "Before he gets away again."

Ash led the way, explaining as much as could with each step he took. Lacey's body language told Ash she was dismissive of Ash's 'fairy tale' of rebirth, reincarnation or the thought of African pharaohs ruling and controlling the world with the power of pokemon at one point in history.

Lacey yawned, "It all sounds loony to me." She admitted.

"I know," Ash admitted, "So would Pokemon have but look at them now, they're real aren't they."

Lacey exhaled, "There's no historical records of any of this though."

"There are." Ash admitted, "Just not in America or in Europe. There lots of ancient texts that China holds that they aren't quite giving up to the rest of the world yet."

Lacey shook her head, "I mean, even if it is true why would any of it even matter now?"

Ash exhaled, "Why is it so hard for everyone to believe that black people used to rule the world? I mean, Africa's the beginning of all life in the world. Doesn't it make sense that they went around the world and started civilizations? Why is it hard for people to think about that and accept that? Even in modern history there's enough evidence sprinkled in from Australia to even my country for me to-"

Lacey shook her head and said nothing to retort.

Tessa broke the silence by pointing to a large building with pillars outside, "That the place?"

Ash took one long and immediately knew, "Yeah, it is."

Tessa cracked her knuckles, "I'm going to show him."

Ash gave Tessa perplexed gaze, "You keep telling yourself that. I mean, if we're talking about the same guy then-"

Tessa turned to Ash, "Don't be such a wimp, Ash. It doesn't matter how big the guy is. He kicked me while I was down. I can't forgive that." Marching forward.

"Pika," Pikachu cheered.

"Wow!" Ash gawked. Part of him wished that someday he could have the bravery that Tessa had in the face of adversity. Women were so much braver and stronger than he was brought up to believe them to be.

"Ash," Lacey carefully pried, "I didn't mean what I said like that. I just meant," She struggled, "I was never taught any of those things. I wasn't trying to be racist I was-"

Ash carefully shrugged, "No one accused you of being racist, Lacey. I was just-"

"RACIST!" A crackling voice shouted, "WE GOT A RACIST!" Suddenly, a man with tattered clothes and a dirty baseball cap darted out of the bathhouse. "Who's a racist?!"

Tessa was frozen in place. She hadn't even reached the steps yet and this strange man had swept past her with the speed of a Ferrari. "How?" She gawked.

"Crackhead speed." A deep voice explained. "They're uncatchable." Prince yawned as he strode pass Tessa, "Ezal!" Ignoring her as he walked, "Don't make me have to chase you!"

Tessa was frozen for a moment. She had no idea how to process what had just happened. Her intent was to surprise the man, and hit him with a hard haymaker and maybe break his jaw. As he walked past her, he didn't seem menacing or like the angry asshole that kicked her. Was it the same guy?

"Aaahh naahhhh, brotha man!" Ezal waved to Prince, "I'm standin' here and waitin' to hear from tha," leaning closer to Lacey, "Otha man bout dis racism!"

Lacey examined the crackhead, "For someone dressed so badly you actually smell good."

"Huh?" Ezal cringed, "I'm I supposed to stank just because I'm black! Am I supposed to starve just because I have nothing! What I learned is…if you was born here…you gon die here."

Lacey looked at Ash, "What is he talking about?"

"Why would I know?" Ash shrugged. "I mean, Paige was born here and she's still alive, right?"

Ezal leaned close to Ash, "You know what I mean as a man of color, Ash. It's these Becky's that keep holdin' the brothas down and keep em away from the sistas and-"

Prince glared at Ezal, "Enough of the Farrakhan bullshit, Ezal. Take me to her."

"Ya see," Ezal pointed at Prince, "That's what I'm talkin' bout right there. Rather than be in the arms of his Nubian Queen, he's leaving her for a white girl!"

Prince crossed his arms and glared at Ezal. He lips said nothing but his piercing stare said all that it needed to.

"But you know what," Ezal shrugged, "It's your prerogative," he sang. "Follow me. Everybody's talkin-all this stuff about ya-why don't they just let you liiiiiiiive," Ezal sang as he walked.

"South?" Prince stared at Ezal. "That's the direction I came from." He realized.

"That's where your girl is," Ezal smiled mischievously.

As Prince stared down the crackhead, Ash turned to Tessa, "Hey, Tessa, you okay?"

Tessa regained her focus, "I'm fine." She inhaled, "He's not the same guy." She lied.

"You sure?" Lacey leaned forward examining Prince, "He looks like the same guy to me."

"Look," Tessa shook her head, "He's not the guy. The guy I'm looking for is shorter than that. Plus, he has a Pikachu."

"A Pikachu?" Ash thought.

"And the guy that rolled me over didn't have dreads and was a lot shorter." Tessa explained.

(Shorter black guy with a Pikachu? Oh wait! Is she talking about Trey?) Ash realized.

"You sure you want them white-she-devils with us, Prince?" Ezal asked.

"I don't care." Prince shook his head, "Walk and if you're taking me to Sasha, you're a dead man."

"Like The Undertaker," Ezal cackled leading the group south, "We'll find your girl. Don't worry." Ezal smiled.