Chapter 5

Nightmares

Screams echoed, resounding louder and louder until it felt as if he were drowning in them. Humans. Pokemon. They blended in a cacophony of death and destruction that burned him to the bone. Pain radiated across every inch of his skin, both inside and out.

"Pikachu," he hissed through gritted teeth, "Hold on, I'm coming."

Darkness blinded him, eating away at his every fiber. It didn't matter though. He could, and would, fight through this pain, deafening himself to the screaming to find his friend. A blast of light blinded him, forcing him to close his eyes. When it faded, he opened them once more to find the familiar electric mouse standing in the middle of a broken battlefield. The pokemon was hurt and exhausted, his lightning bolt tail nearly dragging against the ground.

Dread filled his gut and, without thinking, the trainer took off at a run. He had to reach Pikachu as soon as possible. Something was coming, and it wasn't anything good. A massive blue beam broke the darkness. The trainer's eyes widened. He wasn't going to make it. Pikachu was going to die, and it was going to be his fault.

The beam struck before he could reach the electric type, a scream of agony piercing his soul.

"PIKACHU!"

Terror… agony… hazel brown eyes shot open. Ash sat up in a frenzy, the movement sending a bolt of pain cutting through him. He doubled over, gasping for breath while he waited for the waves of agony to subside. His memories were fuzzy, extremely so. Where had he been? What was he doing? That nightmare hadn't felt like a regular nightmare. It felt as if he were looking through another person's eyes, watching a memory that wasn't his. Burying his head in his knees, Ash tried to calm down, tried to catch his breath, and take in his surroundings.

"—out of it!" Words reached his ears. He heard them as if through water; muffled, broken, and barely understandable. Still, the fact he could hear them at all caused a confusing spark of hope to flare in his chest.

"Pikachu." Where was his mischievous starter? Normally, the pokemon would be at his side, shocking him repeatedly to get his attention. A solid weight landed in his lap, soft sparks making his muscles twitch in that familiar way, and Ash set a trembling hand against the yellow ball of fur. He could only stare, instinctively scratching along the mouse's back the way he loved.

Pikachu rolled over, bearing his belly for better scratching, a soft "Chaa." escaping him. Ash sighed in relief, wrapping his arms tightly around the electric mouse. While Pikachu squeaked in surprise, he didn't shock Ash like he normally would. Unbidden, a sob rattled through his chest, the sound escaping his mouth as little more than a gasp as he hugged Pikachu that much tighter. His entire frame shook and shuddered, tears racing down his cheeks. Ash had thought for sure his best friend was dead, his failure as a trainer ending the life of the electric pokemon. Yet, here he was, enduring Ash's tight grip to reassure the boy he was still alive.

Was his nightmare just a nightmare? The blast must have been powerful, so very powerful, to pull such a pain-filled scream from his starter. The electric mouse was stubbornly resilient, very little could hold him back when he made up his mind. But to hear Pikachu scream like that, the echo of it made fresh tears fall.

They sat like that for a time, the only movement the tears trailing down Ash's cheeks, before he unwound his arms from around his pokemon, wanting to look at him. Bandages covered the electric type's chest, winding around his small arms and coming up to cover the top of his head. When Ash saw Pikachu's eyes, however, he frowned, gently touching the scabs stretching across former chocolate brown orbs. Now though, what Ash could see of those eyes was a foggy-grey and clear liquid slowly seeped into the dirty, matted fur.

"I did what I could, but he was in such bad shape when I got him, I didn't want him letting loose an attack that could end up hurting him more." Hearing the murmur, Ash looked up to find wildly spiked, auburn hair shadowing viridian eyes in the light of the dying fire. The injured trainer blinked, not having expected to find himself face to face with Gary Oak of all people.

Ash opened his mouth, ready to ask a question when his throat burned like he'd swallowed a Flamethrower. He began coughing, choking on air as Gary ran off, reappearing a few moments later with a canteen. Once the coughing fit subsided, Ash accepted the container and took a sip. The water only helped a little, barely taking the edge off the pain.

When at last he was able to take a deep, steady breath, the injured trainer looked to his rival. "What happened?" He wanted to ask. "How did we end up here? Where even is here?" Ash knew he needed to try and talk again but, knowing what awaited made him hesitant.

He almost missed the way Gary's lips quirked into a small smile. Almost. Having spotted it, Ash stared at Gary with imploring eyes until the young Oak sighed and sat down beside him. "How much do you know or remember?"

Ash's memories were foggy at best, and black, fragmented mirror shards at worst. There were a few things he knew for sure though. Gary was a rival, and Pikachu was his best friend and first pokemon. Beyond that… "Nothing." He thought bitterly, his hold on Pikachu tightening. "What should I be remembering anyway?" Shaking his head in reply to Gary, Ash's attention diverted to Pikachu when the pokemon gently pawed at his hand for more scratching. With Pikachu's presence calming him, the adolescent was more than happy to comply.

Gary frowned, his eyes narrowing in thought before he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back. "Ash, what was your Mom's nickname for me growing up?"

Running his hands over the stripes on Pikachu's back, Ash attempted to seek out the answer. It didn't take long. No more than a couple of minutes passed before some of the foggier shards fell into place and the silhouette of a woman appeared. The details were blurred, and the only colors were black and white, but something told the trainer this woman was his mother. Having found that bit of information, Ash dug deeper, his brows furrowing in thought until another one of the shards fell into place, this one regarding Gary. He chuckled, the sound resembling a huff of expelled air.

"Gare-Bear. Such a cute name." Realizing he wouldn't be able to speak it, Ash looked around for something to write in the dirt with. He was about to pull a stick from the fire when the other trainer grabbed his wrist, and his attention, once more.

Ash arched a brow at him in question and Gary shrugged, letting his hand fall back into his lap. "You know I can hear you, right?"

"What?"

Gary's frown made a frightening one hundred and eighty-degree turn. "Yeah. Your mouth might not be moving but I can hear every word you're saying. It's really weird, but also kind of cool. Mew used something like it when they brought you here." Yet another piece fell into place, causing another memory to surge forth. Ash wanted to recall it but, by the time he figured out it was a memory, it was already gone again. It left Ash more than a little upset he was having such a hard time recalling the simplest of memories.

"Three-toed politoed tied the tire to the tree." Ash didn't know where the tongue twister came from, it just popped into his mind, but it was fun to say. It also seemed to distract Gary, his grin changing to a small smile.

"I can't believe you remember that. It's been forever since we came up with it." He shook his head, chuckling under his breath at the silly direction their conversation was taking before turning viridian eyes to meet Ash's hazel once more. "While it's good to know you at least remember some things, it's worrying you don't remember others. What's your full name?"

What was his name? He knew his first name, it was easy to find in his mind, and Gary had called him by it, but that was it. There was a blank that gave the injured trainer a very uneasy feeling. When he shook his head, Gary tilted his in thought, before spitting out another question. "Home town?"

"P-Pallet Town?" Even to himself, that answer sounded more like a question. He should know what his hometown was. Every trainer who traveled knew where their home was.

Gary picked up on his hesitance, giving the injured trainer a searching look before apparently deciding to move onto the next question. "What pokemon was your starter?"

"Pikachu." Ash scoffed, and it sounded like he was choking on a cough. Within his arms, the electric mouse tilted his head in Ash's direction, small sparks visible around red cheeks. They were too small to even hurt, instead traveling through Ash's muscles and leaving behind a tingling numbness that reminded the trainer of a kind of hug.

"Who gave you your starter?"

It took him a minute to think about that one. He knew Gary, and he recognized the image of the man in the white lab coat who'd given him Pikachu, but the dots just weren't connecting. Until more shards fell in place at least. The word Professor came to mind, and Ash wanted to jump for joy when the name came to him. "Professor Oak, your Grandfather."

Why it took so long to figure out the man's profession, but not his relation to the trainer in front of him, Ash wasn't sure. Either way, the dilemma had been solved. Or so he hoped.

Once again, Gary frowned, his eyes narrowing in the firelight. "Ash, who are your parents?"

Ash knew the answer to that question or, at least, he felt he should know. Turning his attention inward, he tried to search for that silhouette he'd seen earlier. After a moment, he found it but...there was only one. Besides his mother, where he knew a second silhouette, if not a full picture, should have been, there was nothing. Even more startling than that though, was the significant lack of a name for his mother.

When he tried to search for it, he stumbled across the field of shards, their edges appearing deadly sharp within his mind's eye. The trainer shivered, hugging his pokemon closer. "I-I don't know. I can't remember." Tears stung the back of his eyes again, sudden and horrifying grief welling within his heart at the loss of such seemingly innocuous information.

"Pikapi." Hearing the soft call, Ash looked at the electric type in his lap. Pikachu was sitting up, setting his paws on Ash's chest and, even though the trainer knew his pokemon was most likely blind, he still had the impression the little creature was trying to look him in the eye.

Ash smiled bitterly, reaching up to scratch behind his ears. "I'll be okay." He wanted to reassure the mouse. In response, Pikachu sighed and smiled, leaning up to push into the hand. There was so much missing, so many different parts at work, that Ash couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. After a moment, he looked back at Gary. There was part of him, hidden amidst the fields of shards, that said he and the Oak boy shouldn't be getting along as well as they were. Another part of him, the part that stood solid, told him his name, and that his partner was Pikachu with such confidence, told him this felt right. "Gary, what happened? How did I end up here?"

"I...don't know for sure." The other trainer stated hesitantly. When a black and gold fox-like pokemon stalked up from the darkness to settle in his lap, Gary seemed not to notice, instead absentmindedly scratching behind her large ears. "I was sitting beside the fire with Umbreon when she started to act up. The next thing I know, the pokemon Mew came out of the forest, talked to Umbreon, and then started talking to me. She said she had been looking for me, and when I asked why, she said it was because you had gotten caught in the middle of a feud. She asked that I take care of you and Pikachu, since they couldn't and, after I agreed, they left."

He shrugged, his lips pulling in another frown. "You were, and are, badly injured from what I can tell. Nothing dangerous, Mew saw to that, but I can't take the two of you back to Azalea Town until daylight. This forest is a pain to navigate during the day, at night it would just be an exercise in futility."

"Mew?" Hearing that name caused a portion of shards to rise from the shattered fields. Ash's brows furrowed as he thought. It was a pokemon, he knew that much, but it wasn't just Mew. Two forms came to mind, one a small pink cat-like pokemon and the other a bipedal gray creature almost his height. "Mew and...Mewtwo?" All this thinking was giving him a headache. Shuffling his hold on Pikachu, Ash raised one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose in the hopes of warding off the additional pain. In doing so, another handful of shards fell into place, these carrying words along with them.

"Ever since I started my journey, Team Rocket has chased after us, trying to steal Pikachu and my other pokemon from me. I know others aren't as lucky to have kept theirs, and I want to put a stop to it." Those words...They were his.

"I-I made a vow to stop Team Rocket in exchange for...something."

A soft snort caught his attention. He looked at Gary to find the other trainer arching a brow, amusement dancing in his viridian eyes. "Before you go running off toward more trouble, Ashy-Boy, maybe you should focus on getting better. Pikachu's in no shape to fight, you don't have any other pokemon and, quite frankly, you look like a simple breeze could knock you down."

"I'm stronger than that." Ash glared at the Oak boy, a small spark of anger igniting in his chest. He wasn't weak, and if Gary thought he was, then the boy had another thing coming. "I'll prove it to you."

Gary arched a brow, crossing his arms. "How are you going to do that? You can't even stand up."

"Watch me." With that, Ash set Pikachu aside and, ignoring the flares of pain igniting across his body, slowly got to his feet. Remaining on his feet, however, was a different story. A wave of lightheadedness struck him, followed by a bout of nausea. Once those faded, the stubborn boy grinned. "See, I told you I'm—" He never finished the sentence. Darkness rose from the depths of his mind, stealing his consciousness away with the power of a Gyrados' Hydro Pump.