After a whirlwind seven hours, Brock and Misty found themselves sandwiched between Sam and Hiori on a worn-out and broken leather couch in the Armada headquarters, some cheesy musical playing on the TV across the room. Other members nursed wounds and drinks, heckling the movie more than paying attention to it.
"I'm assuming this is a post-mission tradition?" Misty asked.
Sam nodded. "Yep. Eusine always picks, he has horrible taste in these kinds of things."
"Excuse you, 'Chitty Chitty Klinklang' is a classic, thank you very much."
Brock didn't even try to stop his laughter, Misty erupting into a fit of giggles at his side.
"Is it normal for Riley to bail like this after everyone gets back?" Misty laced her hands together. "How long do you think we'll go before we hear from him?"
Wes' PokeGear buzzed twice, the tall man jumping up from his chair to answer.
"Hello."
"Hang on, I'm putting you on speaker so they can hear too."
A panicked voice, unintelligible, came through the other end of the line.
"That's fine," Riley sighed, voice fuzzy. "Hey, everyone."
Hiori peeked over Sam's shoulder. "What's the verdict, Riley?"
"Good news or bad news first?"
The room went silent.
"Good," Wes said. "I think we need some good news."
"Michael's out of surgery. Tobias' bullet destroyed a good chunk of his femur. Doctors say he'll limp for the rest of his life, but he'll make a fine recovery. He'll be able to take visitors this afternoon at Sinai Ascension in Viridian."
Cheers echoed through the Armada HQ. Sam and Hiori hugged, Misty squeezed Brock's hand, Wes let out a sigh of relief.
"Also, MissingNo is dead and Giovanni is in custody," Riley said. "Our patonai did us proud."
Wes sighed, steeling himself. "And the bad news?"
"Ash and Aurian are in critical condition," Riley nearly choked on the last two words.
Misty burst into tears, the entire division pulling together around her. Brock pulled his despondent friend into a hug, other members put their hands on her and Brock's shoulders.
Mack passed a box around, fourteen hands grasping for tissues.
"What happened? Do we have any updates?" Hiori asked, eyes watering.
"It's… it's pretty touch and go. They exhausted every damn drop of their reserves to take MissingNO down. If their Lucario hadn't acted fast, we'd be planning a funeral."
"That's good, at least!" Mack nudged his way up to Wes' PokeGear.
"Somehow, with three Lucario and I giving aura transfusions, both of them survived the ride. They're currently at Sunyshore Catholic, getting as many pints of blood and IV fluid as the hospital can legally give…" the commander trailed off. "What they did was nothing short of miraculous; the fact that they survived it even more so."
Wes shook his head. "God. Do we dare ask what happened?"
"Cynthia, Diantha, and Tameranze managed to catch footage of the back half of that fight. The video should be in your inboxes in the next hour. I'll let that speak for itself."
"What can we do?" Hiori said. "And don't you dare tell us nothing."
"Lance and I are keeping watch in case the Rebel League tries to pull any parting stunts. The International Police partnered up with Garchomp and Salamence to process the Silver base. We recovered ninety percent of their active staff, including Charon and the rest of Giovanni's admins. Steven, Wallace, and their people are currently tackling all of the Rebel League's data. If you get the chance to, we'd greatly appreciate some relief shifts here at the hospital."
Armada members scattered, putting boots back on and gathering their things.
"We'll be there in fifteen," Wes said. "Four of us will go see Michael, eleven will come to Sinnoh for Ash and Aurian. We'll have a rotation schedule ready to go when we get there so you two can sleep."
"Thank God. You're a blessing, Wes."
"More like a bl-Wes-ing!" Hiori shot finger guns at Wes, his corpsmates groaning in unison.
Wes grinned and ended the call. "Who wants to check on Michael?"
"We're on it," Sam said, three others stepping forward. "Requesting permission to go attack our little brother with chocolate, obnoxious balloons, and smuggled WhataTauros."
Wes nodded. "I'll ignore the last part. Permission granted. Send me hourly updates."
Four Armada members and a Gardevoir teleported out of headquarters with a crack.
"Brock and Misty, you should go wake the trainees. I bet they'll want to go, too," Wes said.
Hiori put an arm around Misty's shoulders. "I'll come with you. Is Delia already there?"
"I'd assume so, but I'll check," Wes fired off a text message to his commander. "Everyone willing to come with?"
A chorus of "absolutely"s, "of course"s, and one emphatic "you'd have to chain me to a chair to keep me here" from Hiori answered Wes's question.
"Gather what you need and grab the trainees, we'll teleport out in ten. If you'd like to bring presents, you are more than welcome to," Wes pushed his sleeves up.
Armada members darted out of the room, leaving Hiori, Wes, Misty, and Brock alone, the cheesy musical playing in the background.
"Do you want us to come with you?" Hiori asked. "I forgot to ask before I volunteered myself."
Misty wiped new tears away. "I can't tell the trainees what happened without crying again."
"We're here every step of the way," Wes put a hand on her shoulder. "You won't have to do any of this alone."
Four Armada members- two contracted, two temporary- walked into uncertainty, arms around each other and heads held high.
Ash and Aurian woke to find themselves standing in front of the Tree of Beginning. A thick fog hung around them, the Tree's darkened silhouette looming over their heads. The sun fought to break through the mist, small beams of light ricocheting off pale blue Rota crystal scattered at the patonai's feet.
"Did we…" Ash trailed off.
Aurian frowned. "We'd better not be dead. If we are, I have a bone to pick with fate."
"More like the whole skeleton. Do you think we should climb?"
"No need," a new voice said.
The patonai whipped around to find their father, hat and staff long abandoned.
Aaron smiled, pride in his gaze. "There are so many things I could say, but I will settle for this- I am so, so proud of you both."
The patonai nearly tackled Aaron in a hug, the elder Guardian nearly crashing to the ground.
"Walk with me, there are a few things I must know. Ash, what prompted you to carve the crest into the ground?"
Ash frowned, arms crossed to ward off a chill. "I... don't know. My gut told me to go for it. The last time we drew the crest, we found the gloves, which I'm convinced is the only reason we're still alive."
"Not the blood meridian that you casually reconstructed without even knowing?" Aurian nudged her brother's side. "What's up with that, Father?"
"From what I can tell, the aura you gave and the blood you shed to keep that monster from progressing further in its mission were deemed sufficient and selfless enough to restore the meridian," Aaron said. "Did you feel the change in the air when the seal was complete?"
Aurian nodded. "It felt like fifty pounds were lifted straight off my shoulders."
"Now imagine living your life within the boundaries of such a wondrous thing. That is how you should feel, all the time," Aaron motioned for his children to sit on an outcropping of Rota crystal shaped conspicuously like a park bench. "Enough questions from me. I am sure you have ponderings of your own."
"If we're not dead, how did we survive a double Alea?" Ash blurted, cheeks flushing bright red.
Aaron paused, searching for words. "Your luck continues to transcend the boundaries of what we all thought was possible, so a lot of this is guesswork."
"You don't know either," Aurian's face fell.
Ash smiled. "Or we have a set of Guardian angels. In our case, that was you."
"Your accidental Chronicle gave us a window to help where we could. As for the rest of it… I don't know. It may have been sheer luck, it may have been the blood meridian making sure you made it out with just enough aura to stay alive… I am at a complete and total loss."
Aurian cleared her throat. "Father, if you don't mind, there's something I've been wondering. If we did survive this, and if we do wake up somewhere alive… will we be able to wield again?"
Ash took her hand. "Ri-"
"No, I need to know. Atticus lost his aura abilities through an Alea gone wrong. It wouldn't be the end of the world-"
"Are you kidding, that would suck beyond belief-"
"Anyways," she rolled her eyes, "that's weighed on me since I decided the risk was worth it. Is there any way to know for certain?"
Aaron's brows furrowed. "There is no immediate way to tell until your bodies heal. Did you sustain any severe injuries during your battle?"
The patonai exchanged a guilty look.
"I assume that is a yes," Aaron gave them an exasperated look. "You truly are my children in that aspect."
"We never do anything halfway!" Aurian flashed a thumbs-up, earning a high-five from her brother and a groan from Aaron.
"From my experience, your bodies must stabilize before your aura cores begin to heal. I imagine that you will know in a few days, but you will not be able to wield the way you normally do for a considerable amount of time."
Ash's eyebrows went up. "Are we talking years? Decades?"
"My uncle Andrew, bless the man, needed about four months before he could return to action. Though I doubt his experience was as, erm, explosive, as yours was," Aaron pondered.
"Okay," Aurian said. "I think we can work with a few months."
The world began to shift, the horizon fading into a blur of white.
"Now that the danger's over, will we still have these dreams?" Ash asked.
Aaron shrugged. "As much as I would love to reach out in this manner, I have no control over what the aura lines allow us to do from The Second Home. You have proven yourselves adept at creating Chronicles, however..."
"I know what we're doing next," Aurian traded a grin with Ash. "Thank you."
The Tree of Beginning faded over their heads.
"You still have concerns about the future. That is valid. In the aftermath of a marathon of hard decisions, you have two choices," Aaron stood from the bench. "You can either mire down in pain and regret or choose to move forward and lean into the uncertainty of what is coming. With the community I know you have, I fully believe you will recover and recover well."
The vision blurred, all that remained of Aaron a silhouette.
"Never forget that you are loved, on both sides of eternity," he said. "Walk well, my children."
Ash Ketchum blinked once, twice, then a third time, acutely aware of the needles in his arms. Hazy figures came into focus, revealing Lance, Riley, and Delia at his bedside.
"Ash, can you hear us?" Riley leaned forward.
"Yeah. What happened to Ri?"
"She's here. Hasn't woken up yet, but she's here," Delia said.
Lance crossed his arms. "She gave us a damn scare and coded when you both arrived. Cass and Raziel pulled through and saved her."
"Riley's given you both hourly aura transfusions, too," Delia gave a grateful glance towards the Armada's leader. "Don't leave yourself out of this."
"Thank you," Ash mustered a smile.
"How are you feeling?" Riley asked.
"Like crap," Ash turned his head to find his sister on an adjacent bed, IV and blood transfusion lines pumping. "How long have we been out?"
Riley passed Ash a cup of blue Feraligatorade. "Helicopter medics pulled you from the field at 04:40, it's currently 23:00 hours."
Ash nodded. "I really want to ask what happened, but we should wait until-"
Aurian coughed violently and tried to sit up, both her commanders holding her down. "Where's Ash?! Get off me, I need to find my brother!"
"Ri, it's okay. I'm here," Ash reached out for her hand. "We're alive."
Delia burst into tears and hugged her daughter, then her son.
"Thank God," Aurian swiped at her eyes. "Sorry. Is it over?"
"Lance, what happened?" Ash tried to sit up and regretted the motion. "Did it work?"
The Champion pulled a chair between the two hospital beds and sat, arms propped on the backrest. "It felt like a supernova went off in the stadium. The sheer amount of energy you two produced was felt in- what, half of Sinnoh?"
Riley nodded, leaning against a wall. "MissingNO was obliterated before it got the chance to turn against the general public. Steven said your double Alea registered as a 4.2 on the Richter Scale. He and Wallace have had several interesting conversations with scientists across the world as a result."
"Wicked," Aurian grinned. "What happened to Giovanni?
"Giovanni diAngelo was indicted and taken into custody after two unnamed G-Men agents destroyed him and his Pokemon in Stadium A," Lance barely held back a chuckle. "We've got him. He's in bad shape right now, but he's expected to survive."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Bad, as in…"
"Medically induced coma," Lance finished, unflinching as the patonai yelled in response.
A nurse ducked into the room. "Champion Luxforde, you really shouldn't rile the patients up-"
"It's okay," Lance raised a hand. "This is a mission briefing, nothing more."
"They were unconscious two minutes ago!" the nurse sidled between chairs to check the patonai's vitals. "Would it kill you to let them rest?"
The patonai exchanged eye contact. "Yes."
"... that's fair. Your hearts are still in fragile condition after what happened to you on Lily of the Valley Island. They won't talk," the nurse motioned to Lance and Riley. "There is to be no excitement. Keep them as calm and relaxed as possible."
"We probably won't be perfect patients, but we'll try our best," Ash promised. "Thank you."
The nurse offered a smile and exited the room.
Aurian took in the series of tubes and monitors attached to her skin. "I know we're in pretty bad shape, but what's the injury count?"
"No casualties on our side, but we had some close calls with you and Dragonite Reserve. Couple of career-ending injuries in Garchomp and Dragonite," Lance said.
Ash's face fell. "And Michael?"
"That bullet did a number on his leg. Sam and a few others are checking on him, he's out of surgery and doing well," Riley added. "Wes, Eusine, and Hiori are pretty torn up, we have a couple of broken bones here and there in the Armada. Despite your nurses' protests, all of them decided they'd forgo immediate treatment to check on you."
"They shouldn't've," tears ran down Aurian's face.
Lance's PokeGear buzzed twice. "Oh, this is an update for you, too. Research is processing info to get the legal team ready. We'll have lawsuits filed by the end of the week."
"Good. Will we be needed for any of that?" Ash tried to cross his arms, the IV line smacking him in the face.
Riley tried not to laugh. "Not until you heal. We'll make sure you're undisturbed until then. Both of you are incredibly lucky to be alive. You were flatlining when I got to the Island. Thank Cass and Raziel when you can, they're the reason you're here."
"What about us?" Aurian asked. "Do I even want to know?"
"Massive internal bleeding, broken right ankle, five broken ribs, sprained shoulder, fractured left arm, multiple contusions, and… somehow, a mild concussion. Amazed that your concussion isn't that bad, honestly," Lance said.
"Ash… more internal bleeding, four broken ribs, fractured a couple of knuckles and toes and probably something in your leg, and also, a concussion," Riley read off a clipboard at Ash's feet.
"Merry Christmas to us," the older patonai mumbled, earning an undignified snort from his sister.
"I'm assuming we can't feel any of that because of the painkillers," Aurian said.
Delia nodded. "You're done with the blood transfusions after this bag, I believe."
"What about our reserves, Riley?" Ash asked. "Can you see anything?"
The Armada Commander's eyes flashed blue. "It's so soon after your Alea that I can't tell what's happening. Your cores haven't shattered, though, which is good. All the aura you received was to keep you alive, nothing more. I highly doubt you'll be wielding at all in the next three months."
"Which is more than enough time to help with all the paperwork you created!" Lance exclaimed, punctuating his sentence with jazz hands.
"Oh God," Aurian put her head in her hands.
"Anyways, your friends and most of the division are here to see you. Get some rest and don't over-exert yourself. We don't want to be thrown out of the hospital again," Riley opened the door, poking his head out. "They're awake!"
Lance made it halfway out the room before he turned around. "Listen to that nurse and don't get yourselves killed, okay? Five times in three and a half years is five times too many."
Misty, Brock, Max, and Maddie burst into the room, their unanimous cries of relief and shock at their friends' injuries washing over the room like a tidal wave.
"If you weren't so close to death, I'd slap you," Misty choked back a sob. "What were you thinking?"
Max rolled his eyes. "More like what weren't you thinking."
"Max is right. We ran with our guts instead of our brains," Aurian accepted a gentle hug from Brock.
"Hold on," Brock raised an eyebrow, "Exploding a whole damn League stadium in whatever the hell you did was a gut reaction?"
"MissingNO could have vaporized the island and everyone on it halfway through the evacuation process! We figured two lives in exchange for thousands was a good trade," Ash said.
Aurian nodded. "But all's well that ends well, especially with a double Alea."
"You two are hardly well," Brock protested. "Ash, this is the most beat-up I've ever seen you, and I was there for your first five near-death experiences."
"That was two of whatever you did?" Max's jaw dropped.
Maddie raised a hand. "Not to pry or anything, but what the heck did you do?"
"Something completely and totally reckless that Dad told us never to try unless we were completely out of options," Ash said. "Mewtwo was down and out, we'd taken Giovanni down, and we couldn't stop MissingNO. I was under the impression that I was sacrificing myself so Aurian could make it out alive."
"And I was under the impression that I was sacrificing myself so Ash would survive," Aurian smirked. "Guess a stunning lack of self-preservation runs in the family, right?"
"How long will your recovery take?" Misty asked.
"Depends on how often Riley and company are willing to donate aura," Ash winced. "Full recovery will be about four months, including aura. I have no idea how long we'll be in the hospital."
Delia looked up from her crossword puzzle. "Oh, they aren't planning on letting you go any time soon."
"What will you do until you're cleared? It's not like you to sit still," Maddie crossed her arms.
"Paperwork," the patonai groaned in unison.
"We created a Wailord's butt's worth by exploding the stadium. And decimating the Rebel League's experiments. And wiping their systems with Surskit. And destroying their leader," Ash counted off on his fingers.
"Ash, we have to file a mission summary report," Aurian leaned her head back against her pillow with a satisfying whoosh of air. "Do you realize everything we have to include?"
Brock and Misty traded a glance.
"It can't be that bad, can it?" Brock said.
Aurian laughed. "Mahogany Canyon took three days. That report was fifty-nine pages. This mission was… what, a month?"
"Twenty-nine days. We have to cover every breath we breathed and how everything changed," Ash continued. "The Mahogany Canyon report took two all-nighters and a total of twenty-seven cups of coffee. This is a whole new level of bad."
Max frowned. "Can we help? There has to be something we can do."
"As much as I wish you could, this has to stay within the Armada," Aurian reached out to ruffle his hair. "This comes down to Ash and I."
"In case you haven't noticed, we're still Armada. Riley hasn't dismissed us from service yet," Misty motioned to the combat uniform she still wore. "Go back to sleep, Brock and I will write a report of our end of the invasion."
"Checkmate," Brock grinned.
Ash shook his head. "But-"
"You both nearly died out there and the first thing you want to do is paperwork?" Brock crossed his arms. "You've done enough. Let us help you."
"Fine," Ash huffed, "but you'd better get clearance from Riley before you start."
Brock smirked. "You got it. Misty, how's your technical writing?"
"Rusty?" she laughed. "Haven't written an official report since Rocket burned my Gym down."
"Perfect, we need practice. Come on, guys, we'll come back later. We should let them rest," Brock motioned the gaggle of trainers out.
The four said their goodbyes and left the patonai in their hospital room, the only noise remaining the beeps and pulses of the monitors crammed around the patonai's beds and the gentle page turns of Delia's book.
"It's too peaceful. I imagine everything out there," Ash motioned past the walls, "is in complete and utter chaos right now. I've gotten so used to the uproar that I've forgotten that peace even existed. We should be doing something, fighting to put something right again."
Aurian laughed. "We are doing something. We're healing."
"The morphine suggested that I ignore you, so I will."
"You're insufferable."
"Awesome," Ash said. "Ri, how are you doing?"
"Everything hurts and I'm miserable, thanks for checking."
Ash groaned. "Well, yeah, but… I meant up here," he pointed to his head. "I wasn't expecting the psychic mind knives."
"I wasn't either," she sighed, gaze troubled. "Ash… I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight. We did what needed to be done, but we nearly killed a man and flat-out decimated a Pokemon, even if it was artificial."
"Giovanni deserved it," Ash muttered.
Aurian put her hands up. "Absolutely. I'm not questioning that. I'm still shaking, thinking about what we did."
"If we hadn't stopped MissingNO, who would have?" he asked. "Look, I get it. I'm in the same boat. I thought finding you after Saturn's experiments was the worst thing I'd ever see, but this… this was a whole new level of hell. Seeing you this hurt-"
Ash couldn't help the tears, throat choking up when he tried to speak next. "This wasn't supposed to happen. Especially not to my sister. You deserve better than a patonai who can't protect you."
"Hey, don't think like that," she said, shifting to give him a dirty look. "At the end of the day, I chose to go through with Alea Ultima. In this case, protection and sacrifice were two sides of the same coin. Inseparable. I'd make the same choice again. What would have happened if we didn't stop MissingNO?"
"The Rebel League would have won. Giovanni's coup would have been successful. The League'd be done for. MissingNO's reign of destruction would have continued. It would've killed you, Mom, me, Riley, the rest of the Armada, Misty-"
Delia took Ash's hand. "But none of their plans came to fruition. Because you were in the right place at the right time, the largest threat to world peace since the Great War is no more. I know this may not mean a lot, coming from me, but I saw my fair share of talented patonai before your father passed."
She cleared her throat before continuing on. "Atticus and Aaron were the pride of the Guild. They were phenomenal, but they couldn't hold a candle to the way you handled this threat. Your teamwork puts the old Guild to shame. That is why you survived, not some fluke of fate."
"You're too kind, Mom," Ash sniffed.
"It's the truth!" Delia smiled. "All the shock and emotion you're feeling is very real. Don't shove it away on account of protecting each other. When given the choice between regretting the past and leaning into the future, I hope you choose the latter."
The patonai both burst into laughter.
Aurian shook her head. "You won't believe this-"
"Try me," Delia answered.
"Before we woke up, Dad told us the exact same thing," Ash said. "Well, I'm assuming Aurian had the same dream. You were definitely there."
"Tree of Beginning, all foggy and a little bit creepy?"
Ash nodded. "Bingo. But both of you are right. There's no point settling into the pain."
"Especially not when the morphine works."
"I'm not too sure what the future looks like," Ash suppressed an urge to throw a pillow at his patonai, "but we're here to see it. Let's get out of this hospital and keep on moving forward"
"Wouldn't want to do this with anyone else," Aurian said. "Double or nothing?"
"Always."
(A/N): Hello! Thank you for reading C31 of Primary Intentions! I thought I'd made it through all the rough emotional parts of the story for the most part... then the opening scene smacked me in the face. I hope all of y'all are doing well. Special thanks, as always, to thechinskyguy for his incredible beta skills.
Until next time- see y'all on the flip side! -PL