Chapter 436

"Miracle Mile"

At the start of their trek, the tower on the horizon was a foggy hue of white painted by the blanket of clouds billowing at its crown. Hours later, as they closed the distance between the tower and themselves, Ash's eyes could make out the true colors of the tall tower.

The tower wasn't a single solid color but a combination of several bright colors splashed with darkness. There were shades of orange that reminded Ash of the sun on a perfect day. Those shades of orange were spotted with flecks and strokes of black. As were the teal color that overpowered majority of the structure.

Alexa covered the roof of her eyes, shielding her pupils from both the sun and bangs of her blond hair, ensuring she had an unobstructed view of the tower, "That looks like labradorite."

"Laba-what?" Ash had never heard the word before.

"What that tower might be made of," Alexa explained, "It's the same style and color of labradorite."

Behind the tower, a massive sea of blue could be seen. The sky as well as the ocean amongst the structure. The Labradorite Tower was likely very close to the ocean, possibly on a beach similar to a lighthouse perhaps.

"Man," Roman stopped and stared at the sky, "The sun feels nice doesn't it?" He smiled.

Brock exhaled lazily, "Yeah, it does," staring at the orange-yellow sphere in the heavens, "Wouldn't it be nice to just relax on the beach with a beautiful woman. Or just watch some girls play volleyball right about now," he daydreamed.

Misty slothishly smiled, "A day at the beach would be great. Just us, the water, the sand, and the pokemon would have a good time too," joining in the daydream.

"You know what I realized," Brock continued, "We spent so much time focused on things and being upset about things that in the end don't add to our happiness in anyway. Me," pointing to his sternum, "chasing Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. I mean, I don't know if an official or a career-woman is the type of woman I need to be with in the end."

"Well," Roman scratched his beard, "You were a lot younger at the time, right?"

"Yeah," Brock admitted.

"Well," Roman added, "Think about it. When you're young what guy is actually seriously thinking about settling down with a girl?" He offered. "Sure we think about having a girlfriend or taking a woman to bed. Seriously being with her for the rest of our lives, arguing, compromising and all the stuff that goes into a real relationship is the last thing on a young man's mind."

Brock and Ash collectively nodded.

"That's so true," Ash lazily agreed, "Man," stretching his arms, unbothered by the extra grip Pikachu had on his hair and ear, "I never thought life could feel so good."

"Pika, pika!" The mouse chirped happily.

Misty pulled her ginger hair into her signature southpaw-ponytail, "You're right about one thing, Brock."

"One thing?" Brock mused.

"Oh," Misty coughed, "I mean all of it but I really think what you said about us being upset over things that just don't matter anymore is very true." She turned to Ash, "Forget about the bike, Ash. I just," She paused, "I never thought about how to say how I really felt before."

Ash scratched his head, "I forgot about it a long time ago. It's not like I was going to buy you a new one," he admitted. "I was hoping you'd eventually forget about it too."

Normally, Misty would be furious and ready to strangle Ash, but, she simply smiled at him, "Don't get me wrong, we've been through so much together but that doesn't mean I'll forget the thing that linked us together from the start."

"And," Ash slothishly exhaled, "Forget about what happened in Brazil, Misty. I mean," Ash lazily shrugged, "You were doing what you had to do to save your sisters right?"

Misty smiled, "Thanks for forgiving me, Ash. I was worried about how awkward things would be between us."

"Well," Roman stared at the barren dirt ground beneath his boots, "What I focused on that doesn't matter in the end would be twitter. All the trolls on the internet that didn't want to acknowledge me when I wrestled."

Alexa nodded, "Me too. Twitter is so annoying."

"Yeah," both wrestlers agreed.

"Man," Roman exhaled, "So this is how it feels to be at peace, huh?"

Alexa smiled, "Isn't it great?" Looking at each of them, "After being at war with yourself, life and the world, you're finally at peace, right?"

"Yeah," Everyone cheered.

Then, Alexa's gaze became serious, "but we have something to do for him."

Everyone gravely nodded.

"Because," Alexa continued, "if he comes…it'll all be over."

Ash, Misty, Brock and Roman nodded.

"We're at peace now." Roman muttered, "And I'll fight to protect that peace. I'm just glad to feel this way."

"Everyone should feel this way." Brock smiled.

"Yeah, they should." Ash agreed as they strode closer-and-closer to Labradorite Tower, all happily under the spell of The Fiend.