Chapter 23

"Hey, Dillon."

"Hm." he mutters without looking up from the firepit. Everyone is off training or doing their own thing, but Dillon has chosen to remain by the fire.

Sitting down awkwardly beside him, the redhead silently gazes at the flames with him. The crackling and the embers are really enticing, especially since Amy isn't sure what to say. When Dillon wraps his jacket around her shoulders, Amy curiously looks at him as he returns to his seat. Yes, the night is chilly, but she's not that cold. Although, the jacket does make her feel more comfortable. "Thanks." She whispers.

He nods, indicating to her that he heard it. After a couple of silent minutes, Amy finds the courage to open her mouth again. "Dillon, I'm s-"

"Don't be." he cuts her off, making her meet his serious gaze. "I am an asshole. You're right. I do have problems with dad and Aurora and Granite...I have problems with everyone."

"No!" Amy quickly stands up to rush over to him. "I was mad, Dillon!"

"But you're still right." He chuckles sadly while putting a hand on her head.

"Well, we don't have problems, Dillon! We always argue, but we always make up too! I love you!" her eyes gloss over and she hugs him tightly. "I don't hate you. I'm sorry I said that."

He sighs while rubbing her back. "I told you not to apologize."

"Mom says to always apologize when you say something mean." she buries her face in his chest. "And I said some very mean things. I don't wanna be in a world without my big bro."

Smiling warmly, Dillon rests his chin on top of Amy's head. "I don't wanna be in a world without you either, Amy."

When they pull away, Amy gives him a big grin. "I like this Dillon a lot."

Chuckling, he returns to looking at the flames. "Me too, Amy."

Hours Later

Dillon looks up from the fire as Ash returns from training. Amy had gone to sleep because of her eventful past few days as a captive. Bonnie and Clement have also went to sleep. Serena is still out training. Clement mentioned that it's because the Grand Festival is happening soon.

Ash spots the lone awake person, so he walks over to sit by Dillon. "Not tired yet?"

Shrugging, Dillon looks back at the dwindling fire. "I don't really get tired."

"It's hard for me to wake up." Ash sheepishly laughs. Pika and Pikachu are curled up beside Amy. Something about Amy draws Pikachu to her, though he isn't sure what it is.

"I know." Dillon breathes out.

"What?" Ash couldn't hear Dillon's quiet voice.

Looking back at Ash, Dillon gives him a small smile. "Uh. I wanted to thank you for saving Amy earlier."

Ash nods as a huge grin breaks out on his face. "I said we'd help you rescue her! Of course I'd protect her!"

"I appreciate it." Dillon has been spending the past few hours since Amy left to sleep to think about everything that's happened. Even though he hated Ash for years and he still has some resentment towards Ash, Dillon realizes his father will always pull through in the end. Ash cares about people, and not just people he knows, but all people and Pokemon. Despite this young Ash being very different from the Ash Dillon knows as his father, Dillon knows that both Ash's are similar in their caring natures.

Sighing, Dillon has been in conflict with himself. A part of him has avoided any deep talks with his father due to his own fear that Ash won't forgive him. Or that Ash may still treat Dillon differently. Dillon was an asshole. It's not like their family can go back to what it was before Ash left. And while Ash is to blame for the start of their family's brokenness, Dillon only added more to it by being a delinquent. However, Ash has never blamed him, unless Ash may be thinking it. Dillon has been too scared to confront his father for fear of them just breaking their family again, which they can't do because of Lok.

"My dad left me too." Dillon's thoughts are broken by Ash's voice. He looks over to see a sad smile on Ash's face as Ash gazes up at the stars. "I used to hate him so much that I'd get into a lot of trouble." Ash chuckles in embarrassment. "Then I saw my mom crying to Professor Oak about me, and I realized my dad isn't the one who broke our family." Ash sighs and his chocolate brown eyes meet Dillon's blue ones. "It was me. My mom and I are a family without him, but my actions were breaking us up."

"Same. I was hurting my mom and Amy." Dillon admits.

"But I see you're not hurting them anymore. Well, at least not Amy." Ash's smile would normally irritate Dillon, though he finds some comfort in it right now. "It'll be hard, but I'm sure you guys will be just fine without your dad."

Dillon smiles slightly at Ash. "We were, but he's back. And he's here to stay." The future teen stands up. "We like it better with him around too." He extends a hand out to Ash. "Thanks, Ash." For everything.

Ash takes the hand to shake it. "I'm happy to help!"

Before Dillon can inform Ash that he'll be going to sleep, a bright green light emerges in the campsite. It's bright enough to wake all of the sleeping people, and even Serena notices it as she returns from training in the woods. Once the beam is gone, everyone removes their arms that had been shielding their eyes, and they see nothing in the beam's place.

"Pichupi!" Pikachu exclaims in fright as he ruffles through the now empty sleeping bag. At this, Ash realizes the boy he was just speaking to isn't in front of him anymore.

"Where are Dillon and Amy?" Clemont exclaims with worry.

Ash, though, has been through this before. He just smiles at his concerned friends. "Celebi took them home." He looks down at the hand that was just shaking Dillon's, and he smiles. Although Dillon was a bit of a jerk when they first met, Ash sees the good in him. Dillon is really trying to change, and he cares about people and Pokemon. Ash hopes they meet again some day.

20 Years Later

"Maybe we should split up? This forest is huge." Jane mutters to her companion. They have been searching Ilex Forest for a few days now to no avail. It's like there is no trace of Amy or Dillon. The two aren't picking up their calls either.

Jane and Romeo have gotten to know each other a lot better during these days. While they do argue a few times, it's not as bad as it once was. Jane's normally nice nature is showing to him, and Romeo's caring side is showing to her. Jane has learned Romeo only gets upset when Dillon is brought up, though Romeo is still searching for Dillon too. Romeo knows Jane means well now when she speaks about Dillon, so he's been trying to control his temper against her.

"And what are we gonna do when one of us gets lost?" Romeo knowingly asks her, making her sigh.

"It'll take weeks to find them if we don't split up. What if we're all just walking in circles around each other?" The girl really hopes her friends are okay, but she gets more worried as time goes on.

Romeo lets out a breath and walks over to his panicking friend. He places his hands on her shoulders to make her look at his sapphire eyes. "Take a deep breath, Jane."

She shakes her head, but she can't free herself from his hold. "Let me go! We need to keep looking!"

"You can't look for them if you're not calm." Romeo gives her a serious look. "Take a few deep breaths."

"Romeo-"

"Please, Jane." His insistence makes her reluctantly close her eyes. Breathing in through her mouth and out her nose, Jane does this a few times until she feels Romeo's hands off of her shoulders. Once she opens her eyes again, she is greeted with a warm smile by him, which somehow makes her look away as her face flushes. "Now, we can find them!"

Jane finds herself taking a few more deep breaths to make her blush go away. When she looks up, she sees Romeo and Houndoom searching ahead, so she runs up to catch up with them. "Thanks, Romeo."

"Stop thanking me. They're my family. I have to look for them."

"I was also thanking you for letting me come along." she mutters.

His face heats up slightly out of shyness. Rubbing the back of his head, he chokes out, "Uh, yeah. You're their friend."

"Are we friends?" She raises an eyebrow at him. The question makes their faces flush.

"Are we?" he repeats.

She shrugs and turns to face the path ahead. Those sapphire eyes of his are making her heart beat too quickly for her liking. "Well, if you disappeared, I'd drop everything to go looking for you too. So I guess we're friends."

Unfortunately for him, Romeo's face only heats up more. He finds himself reaching out his hand to pull Jane back to him. When she faces him, her breath hitches in her throat as the two stare into each other's eyes. "We're not friends." he breathlessly tells her.

She can't pull herself away from his mesmerizing eyes, but she has her voice back. "Then what are we?"

Before he can respond, a blinding bright green light causes them to raise their arms to shield their eyes. Once the light is gone, the two open their eyes, and Jane's jaw drops in shock. "Celebi!" she exclaims while watching the legendary Pokemon flying off.

"Celebi?" Romeo curiously asks.

Groaning makes both teens look at the ground where they spot two large lumps and one small one. "I hate time traveling." the girl says in annoyance.

"Same." agrees the boy who rubs his head.

"Piiii." the yellow lump nods weakly.

"Dillon!" Jane shouts with joy and tackles the boy in a hug, which he welcomes. He's happy to be back in his time. There's a lot he needs to do now that he's here, and he thinks he knows why he was sent back in time.

Romeo frowns when he sees Jane hugging Dillon. Her crush on Dillon is still strong, and it irritates Romeo. He feels an ache in his chest. Groudon, it's not fair. What does Jane see in Dillon? He's mean. He's cold. He doesn't talk at all. But Romeo has been kind to Jane. Romeo thought they hit it off well these past few days. Seeing Dillon's and Jane's interaction now just reminds the male coordinator that nothing has changed. Nothing ever changes. Dillon always gets everything.

"Romeo?" Houndoom is attending to Pika, so the redhead curiously looks at her cousin. "What are you and Jane doing here?"

Dillon groans, "Don't tell me we only traveled up to the point where you two were traveling through Ilex Forest together?"

Jane shakes her head as she looks into his frustrated eyes. "No! You're back! We've been looking for you two for days now!"

"Your contest!" Amy exclaims in shock. "We missed it!"

Jane smiles slightly at them. "No. We left before the contest started, so you guys missed nothing!"

Amy frowns at this. "I'm sorry we made you leave your contest." Dillon nods.

Before Jane can reassure them that there will be more contests, Romeo speaks up, "I'm leaving."

Jane knows Romeo doesn't like being around Dillon, so she nods. "I'll go back with Dillon since we all can't fit on Noctowl and Salamence."

Just hearing his name annoys Romeo more. Of course Jane would latch back onto Dillon now that Dillon is back. "Do what you want."

Amy doesn't notice her cousin's mood because she also attributes it to him hating Dillon. Plus, Amy is tired since her sleep was interrupted by Celebi. "I'll fly back on Noctowl. My Pokemon and I are exhausted."

"I'm going to Azalea Town." Dillon noticed that this is the part of the forest closer to Azalea Town than Goldenrod City.

"Why? We all just reunited, and you're gonna leave?" Jane worriedly holds his arm, especially now that she notices the bandage on it.

"I have something to do. Don't wait for me." Dillon lightly pulls his arm away and he gives Jane an apologetic smile. "I don't think I'll make it to your contest this weekend. I know you'll do awesome though."

His smile makes her heart skip a beat despite being upset she can't compete in front of him. Nevertheless, a reason Jane likes Dillon is due to his independence. She knows he would never miss hers or Amy's competitions unless he had to. Therefore, she doesn't want to hold him back from anything he wants to do. Nodding, Jane returns the smile. "It's okay, Dillon. I appreciate the support!"

The older teen then looks at Pika who reluctantly hops on his shoulder. Pika has an idea what Dillon is up to, and Pika loves it, but the mouse is tired. This has been an exhausting few days. "I'll catch up with you guys later! Romeo, take Jane back with you!" Dillon then rushes off, leaving his scowling cousin to glare at him.

Jane turns her attention to Romeo. "Thanks for the ride." She grins at him not knowing how he's feeling.

He nods and returns Houndoom before calling out Salamence as Amy calls out Noctowl. "Let's make this quick."

The Next Day - Azalea Town

"Thanks, Uncle Gary!" Dillon smiles at his uncle over the video phone. The boy had just arrived in Azalea Town, and the first thing he did, much to Pika's annoyance, is call Gary.

"I'm sorry I couldn't see you when I was in Goldenrod City the other week." Gary sheepishly laughs.

"It's okay. I'm sure I'll see you some time."

"Are you taking Coal to the Charicific Valley?" Gary asks. He knows how Dillon wants to only use Pika in Johto, so he's confused why the boy asked for Coal. Gary figures it's because Dillon is near the Charicific Valley since it's between Azalea Town and Violet City.

"Charicific Valley?" Dillon repeats with confusion.

Nodding, Gary tells him, "Yeah. Your dad had Charizard train there with Liza and a bunch of other Charizards. It made Charizard really strong."

Dillon has never heard of that before, but then again, he didn't get to ask his dad much about Ash's journeys. Shrugging, Dillon replies, "If you don't want him at the lab anymore, I guess I can do that."

"You know I wasn't saying that, Dillon." Gary groans, which makes Dillon chuckle lightly. Dillon's playfulness and smiles still faze everyone who used to know him.

"I might do that. I know Coal likes getting stronger. He'll prefer training there rather than lounging at the lab." Dillon grins. "No offense, Uncle Gary."

Gary sighs at the comment. "None taken."

"Thanks again, Uncle Gary! I'm gonna head out now."

After the two bid goodbyes, Dillon rushes out of the Pokemon Center where he lets out Coal. The black lizard curiously looks at his new surroundings until his eyes land on his trainer and friend. Pika leaps onto Coal's shoulder. "Pichu!" Coal grins at the warm welcome.

"Hey, Coal." Dillon rubs Coal's neck. "I'll leave you to train at the Charicific Valley when we come back to Johto." Coal gives Dillon a confused look. They're in Johto? Back to Johto? "But first, can you take me home?"

I don't know if I ever make it clear, but Dillon was sent back in time to learn how to appreciate Ash again. It helps him get closer to his father. That's why he leaves right away after making peace with past Ash. Dillon knows it too, so he quickly leaves for home. :P