10 Minutes, The LOS Chronicles Chapter 48: The Legacy of Drakel Ketchum, a pokémon fanfic

Hey Guys! Welcome back to the story, and this one features chapter 48 of 10 minutes! The story is moving slowly but smoothly, week by week we're getting a little bit closer to finishing this story. That being said, as I've mentioned before, I'm nowhere close to being done. At this point, as I'm pretyping this chapter, the story is around 135,000 words, and Chapter 41 is the most recent chapter to be posted. So, I'm not exactly sure how many words will now be out by the time this chapter is uploaded, but I always think about it, seeing how much progress I've made on the story.

As for this chapter, I'm sorry to say that this is a little bit more of a filler chapter, and that this chapter only exists for one reason. Even though that reason is a dynamic one, and one that is crucial to the rest of this story's plot, I still feel a tad bit guilty about having another filler chapter. And also, my apologies for the length of this chapter as well. It is a dramatic drop off from how long my last few chapters have been, so my deepest apologies for the total length, I can assure you the next chapter will be longer than this one.

Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter either way, and if you're new, please follow and favorite the story! If you aren't new or even if you are, please make sure you review the story and let me know what you think! It's very much appreciated! And with that, let's dive into the chapter. Hope you enjoy!

ReignZ Presents… 10 Minutes Chapter 48

Last Chapter…

He cleared his throat and spoke shakily.

"I believe Giovanni is not the leader of Team Rocket." Everyone let out a collective gasp of surprise. Ash immediately turned to look at John, who too looked beyond surprised. Gary questioned. "Hold up, what makes you think that? Haven't you seen him recently? If you've been feeding information to the LOS as Savior for years now, how would that motive drive you if Giovanni was still leader?"

Daniel bit his lip and hesitated. "Truth be told… I have not seen my father in over 8 years." Everyone let out another gasp of shock. "W-what? Are you serious?" Ash exclaimed. Daniel nodded solemnly. "At first, he would go on these "business trips" with some rather shady people… I didn't think too much of it at first because I was so much younger back then, and a bit clueless… but then…"

He hesitated. "One day, my dad was supposed to come back for a huge meeting, and then, all I saw were people panicking, running around and screaming. I had no idea what was going on, but then, admins calmed everyone down and told everyone that Giovanni had been forced into permanent hiding, but would still voice call with them every so often to give them their orders. Nobody suspected a thing, because at the time, there was a group called the KSO, the Kalos Special Ops were hot on Giovanni's trail, and it had not been really surprising to hear that Rocket management was protecting its leader."

Daniel got up and began pacing slowly. "But then… the months began passing. Months turned into years… and by this time, KSO was long off Giovanni's scent… but… he never came back." He paused for a moment, and let tears fall from his face. He sobbed softly as Gary whispered softly. "That means Giovanni isn't just gone as the leader from Rocket… he's dead."

John couldn't believe this. All this time, since he had met Ash, Giovanni had not even been their enemy, because he was dead?

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Keeghan cut in. "Speaking of suspicion… that brings us to our second piece of news." Everyone was watching keeghan as he spoke calmly.

"As it turns out… I was able to figure out what type of item Clemont was attempting to get." Keeghan opened up the computer that he had with and after typing on it for a moment or two. He spoke and waved his hand into the air to project what he was seeing on the computer. It appeared to be a list of transactions from an offshore bank account.

"There's a good amount of money missing here from this account." He said. Cynthia spoke. "How… how much exactly?" Keeghan spoke. "Over half a billion dollars." Everyone gasped yet another time before John spoke with complete confusion. "W-what could they possibly have spent so much money on?"

Ash interrupted as said. "Plus, why on earth are they so hellbent on winning this tournament then? The winner only receives a million dollars! Well that and…" Everyone looked at Ash who whispered in shock. "The Victoria Region! Are they…" Elesa said, shock laced into her voice. "They're going to drain the Victoria Region of every resource… that's going to pay for all these expenses…"

Ash was still bewildered. "But what on earth costs that much?"

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Suddenly, realization dawned on John's face. Something… as if by magic, clicked into place. A piece of the puzzle may have been solved! John turned to everyone and spoke excitedly. "I just realized something!" Everyone listened and John spoke. "When Cynthia and Jasmine visited Clemont a while ago, Clemont said that he didn't feel safe allowing them to reverse the effects of those security camera's! He said the technology was so recent that he couldn't allow anyone else to view it until it became public knowledge."

Ash now understood where John was going with this. "You think Clemont was working on this project while Cynthia and Jasmine were there and was scared that if they kept pressing for details, they'd find out about what he was building for Rocket? But… that means…"

Ash whirled to John in shock. "You don't think… he purposely told Cynthia and Jasmine about Serena to derail us from getting closer to their master plan?"

Cynthia murmured. "Giving him all the rest of the time he needed to finish building the machine…"

Jasmine softly continued. "While we were fed up with Serena… he knew that it would lead us on a wild chase and without any evidence we couldn't do a damn thing! But… he doesn't know Ash and John survived… so he didn't know that we would actually make that connection in the first place! So his intention was probably to purely mess with our minds and derail us from their real plan! Guess we got a little lucky when he gave away a key member of Rocket, the only thing it did was connect him and Serena."

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Skyla took a deep breath, and asked the feared question. "Keeghan, if you haven't made a mistake about what this device is, and what it does… what is Rocket going to use this device for. Keeghan was silent for a moment before answering grimly. "If I got it right… this device will allow Rocket to communicate with each and every planet, searching for allies, reinforcements before we can finish them off."

John's voice was barely above a whisper. "You're telling me… that Rocket is trying to summon reinforcements that are not of this world?" Keeghan bit his lip and said. "To be frankly honest… they could summon forces not of this universe. Who knows who they will establish a communication with… and… who knows if they've already done so with someone already."

Ash's eyes were closed, and he was in a deep thought process. He couldn't believe Rocket was going this far just to take control of the Pokémon world. His aura flared angrily, he couldn't let this happen, he had to stop them, no matter the cost! And then, in one fluid burst, Ash's aura flared a royal blue so bright everyone had to cover their eyes to prevent the light from blinding them.

Ash felt the flaring die down and he looked around in bewilderment. He sat there for a moment, contemplating what just happened. He stared at John, who too had a shocked look on his face. Then, he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the door to their apartment burst open, and a familiar looking man was standing there. However, it was Ash who found his voice first.

"Mr. Heredin?"

The man spoke calmly and collected. "Which one of you is Ash Ketchum? We need to talk."

Present…

That was how Ash currently found himself standing in a room with so much technology that it was staggering. The people that were manning these pieces of technology were dressing in black combat armor, combat armor that Ash knew he had seen somewhere before, but where exactly he couldn't place it.

And then he recalled. Heredin, the man who had come for him, was a member of the… "Greetings Mr. Ketchum!" Ash broke off his train of thought and looked at the man. He was about 6 foot 1 with dark brown eyes that could pierce through year if they really want to. He had short black hair and a muscular body, although, he appeared to have some of those dark hairs graying. His face showed off his clearly defined jaw, so in short, it would be a little bit of a surprise if he didn't have a female in his life.

He saluted. "Commander Matthew Heredin, Kanto Special Ops, at your service." Ash looked at the man for a moment before holding out his hand, and Heredin shook it firmly. He motioned for Ash to follow into a room in which Ash could only presume was his office. Ash followed him inside, and sure enough, they were in a room that was oddly smaller than he would've presumed for a commander. The room itself had a black bookshelf filled with different books, a desk with three computers on it, a window behind the desk, and other various items.

Ash closed the door behind him and Heredin looked at him, almost with a calculating glance. Ash cocked his head gently to the right, bewilderment filling his eyes to the brim. Heredin stopped his glance and sighed. "You certainly have your father's eyes don't ya?"

Ash's brain lost all coherent thought. He was shocked by these words to the core of his being, never in a million years did he expect that to come out of the man's mouth. Heredin could clearly see the shocked look that he was emitting and Heredin spoke quietly. "You never knew your father Ash, I'm sorry to hear that." Ash opened his mouth to speak but Heredin held up his hand and Ash was silenced. "You don't need to say anything Ash, don't worry."

Ash tried to find his words. For a good few seconds, he was speechless. This man in front of him perplexed him to no end whatsoever, for starters, how did Heredin even find him, let alone who to look for, and how did he know his father? How did the KSO become involved with Rocket in the first place? Was it his father who…

His train of thought was cut off as Heredin spoke. "You must be confused, and have many questions. Please, ask them, it's why I was to talk with you in the first place." Ash shook his head, which was already spinning rapidly. He didn't know where to start, in all truthfulness. "I… how did you even know it was me? How did you know where to find me?"

Heredin nodded slowly and spoke after a moment of contemplating. "I knew it was you because I knew your father closely." Ash pursued that thought. "You knew my father?" Heredin nodded and smiled softly. "Your father, Drakel Ketchum, was my closest friend. He and I became very close over the years."

(AN: Made Up Name, I did a little research on who Ash's father is, and there are far too many different choices and theories for my taste, and I don't feel like having to establish anything to a specific theory, so Drakel is purely made up. Pronounced Drake-el.)

The gears in Ash's mind had begun to turn and rotate. "Wait, but that would mean—" Heredin smiled and spoke. "Your father was one of the best agents here at KSO, because like me, he had a special talent that many of our agents did not have then, and do not have now… the ability to harness and wield aura."

Ash's eyes bulged in shock; his father had been an Auramancer! "B-but… my mom said my dad was drunk lunatic…" Heredin's eyes widened in surprise and frowned. "W-what? W-why would she think that? Your father loved your mother to his dying breath! Why would she say such a thing?"

Ash murmured quietly. "Perhaps every time I mentioned him, it just ate away at her soul…" Inside, though, that only sounded like an excuse. The more he thought about it, the more it perplexed him; why would his mother just spread lies about his father, no less for when he had seemingly died in the line of duty? He was beyond confused at her actions, and realizing what he had died doing made no sense whatsoever to why she chose to disgrace him like that; Ash was very hurt by her. But then, something came to him.

"That's how you were able to find me! You tracked my aura!" Heredin's frown left his face and was replaced by a small smile. "You're just as perceptive as your father too, it would seem." Ash was confused. "Wait, come to think of it, how come you were able to even tell it was me though? We met before, how come you couldn't tell then that it was me, since we were so close to one another then? You know, back at Prism Tower?"

Heredin looked at Ash for a moment or two, staring at him with narrowed, curious eyes. He saw by Ash's posture that he was telling the truth; he honestly had no idea what had happened, he could just tell by staring at him. Heredin, after another moment, finally spoke. "The reason I couldn't tell it was you was because your aura hadn't fully developed yet, therefore, your unique core was still unidentifiable and I couldn't tell it was you."

Ash blinked. His aura core hadn't fully… developed? What did that mean? He pondered this for a moment or two before suddenly, he gasped. Just before Heredin had burst into the room…

FLASHBACK FROM LAST CHAPTER…

Ash felt the flaring die down and he looked around in bewilderment. He sat there for a moment, contemplating what just happened. He stared at John, who too had a shocked look on his face.

FLASHBACK END

Ash spoke. "That flare up that I had, that was my aura core being fully developed!" He exclaimed. Heredin nodded. "When your core was mastered, it means you have officially mastered aura in a sense of power. Aura can be used to do many, many things in our lives, and people are finding new ways to use it every day, in a power sense, however, your aura will not continue to get stronger purely on its own. You must now train it unlike never before." Heredin said.

Ash scratched his head. "Even though when I aura core was finished developing, how did you know it was me, and how did you get there that fast?" Heredin answered. "I read your father's aura core many years ago, and I knew it from the inside out. When he died, I knew a piece of me had died as well, he was my closest friend, after all. But, when I heard he had a son, it was my goal to train you when you became of age, which was supposed to be 15 for you."

Ash spoke quietly. "Supposed to be?"

Heredin grinned. "You met Mr. John Stamkos, another young auramancer in training, which was completely unintentional. Give it another 10 minutes and he may have not even been at the Pokémon center with you." Ash looked stunned. "You… you were there?" Heredin chuckled. "No, I was not there. However, I had an agent of mine looking out for you along the way from your journey to the first Pokémon center with your little… encounter with the Cerulean Gym leader. He was about to intervene in the escalating argument when Mr. Stamkos stepped in. He is a fellow Auramancer, and he could sense the building Aura in John, so, he let things happen."

Ash had to admit, it did explain a bit. "So what happened when my aura fully developed not too long ago?" Heredin bit his lip before speaking. "When I felt the burst of power, and sensed its core, I could practically see your father. However… with that being said… I couldn't believe it at first, I was shocked. After all… everyone presumed you and Mr. Stamkos dead after the Cruise ship was sabotaged. The moment I recovered, I teleported to the source of the aura and confronted you."

Ash blinked. "You can…"

"—Teleport? Yes, and quite easily as well. If you put in the hard work, you will be able to, in time." Heredin smiled. Ash paused, carefully considering his next question. "Why did you need to take me here?"

Heredin nodded and spoke. "As you already know, this is the KSO headquarters. We have noticed the increased rate of activity from Team Rocket as of recently, and we have decided to try intervening. We've gathered what information we could, but, we had no concrete proof."

Ash smirked a little. "Until you got the anonymous tip with information."

Heredin grinned like a madman. "I was ecstatic, fueled with adrenaline and primed for a good move. I never would've guessed someone like Clemont Citron to be working with Rocket, but it served as a good lesson to not just Kalos, but to the entire world that anyone could be working with Rocket, and that they need to be taken seriously."

Ash bit his lip, remembering the conversation beforehand with Daniel, all the conversation details coming back to him. This man, Ash could just sense, was on the right side, and for that much, Ash knew he could trust him with this information.

"I have information I think you should probably hear… I have it on good authority that Giovanni is likely not the leader of Rocket anymore… and hasn't been for years." The look on Heredin's face showed the utter astonishment Ash had projected. He sputtered. "Y-you said w-w-what?" Ash took a deep breath and then told everything to Heredin.

He explained everything that he had learned from Daniel, telling him about the woman from Daniel's earlier life. He explained the fact that Giovanni hadn't been heard from in ages, nor seen in ages and the fact that KSO nearly two decades earlier had been on Giovanni's scent. He told him that even after KSO was off Giovanni's heels, he never emerged. He explained "The Purge" of Rocket Admins, the ones loyal to Giovanni. He explained every bit with as much thoroughness and detail as he could, well, the details that were necessary, anyway.

When he was finished, he had put Heredin into a state of silence. This was all very new information to him and he really quite frankly was unsure of how to take it. He stared at Ash for another moment or so before he said quietly. "I just can't believe all of this, you really are much like your father was Ash, of that, believe me." Ash cocked his head a little. "What do you mean? How are we alike?"

Heredin just smiled at him. "You have very similar thought processes, you and him. His mind was always on the future, always being one step ahead, your mind is the same way. You've already figured out so much, so much in fact that's its really quite impressive. You've already found out that Giovanni is no longer the leader of Rocket, you've managed to find allies to support you in your battle against Rocket, and you've truly grown into an ambitious, fiery, powerful, and self-assured young man."

Ash smiled at the man and spoke quietly. "I really appreciate that, thank you."

Heredin smiled back. "Look Ash, I just wanted to let you know in person that you have the full support of the KSO no matter what happens. If this "Out of World" army truly does come to fruition, then we'll be right there beside you, backing you up the whole way. Now that your aura development is complete, you have a good handle on every ounce of power you control, and now can wield it to face off against Rocket. May you use it well." Heredin said.

Ash nodded his head, and all of the sudden, Heredin snapped his fingers, and WHOOOOOOSH! Ash felt himself zip through some sort of barrier, and he was teleported right back into his suite's living room, where everyone was still sitting. Everyone was taken completely off guard by his random and sudden appearance. John immediately sprung up and out of his seat, Daniel fell backwards in surprise, Keeghan flipped over the small table in the middle of all of the seats and crashed down to the floor with a loud BANG! All the girls were momentarily frightened, but the only person whom was usually there but not currently present was Gary.

"ASH! You scared the hell out of us man!" John sputtered with a completely exasperated tone. Ash took a deep breath and then explained to everyone what Heredin had told him, about how his father was an agent of KSO, how Heredin recognized the sudden burst of aura development and was able to match it to Ash's when it looked like his father's, how the KSO would back up him and the LOS if they needed help against an intergalactic invasion of sorts, and everything else they spoke about.

The girls were staring amongst one another, Daniel looked perplexed, Keeghan seemed to understand and John had an odd look on his face. "Well, while you were gone, Gary told me he's waiting for you in the other room, I don't know what it's about, but he seemed really serious about something. Just letting you know." John told him quietly.

Ash nodded and then walked into the neighboring room, and saw Gary sitting in the chair directly across from the door, and he motioned for Ash to sit down. "Ash… we need to talk."

XXXXXXXXXX

A boy with shaggy black hair was sitting in a chair directly across from the headmaster of the school. He didn't appear nervous, but he did appear worried. He was very hesitant to speak, in worry of what would come if he chose to speak. "Uh… sir… why did you call me here?" The old man sighed. "I called you here, my boy, because my fears have been confirmed. Tom has indeed found a way to breach into different worlds."

The boy was shocked. "B-but sir, won't it take him years to figure out how to actually get through and back, let alone hold the portal open long enough?" The old man sighed and wiped his glasses off for a moment before continuing.

"On the contrary… I believe he is nearly prepared already to try and break through to another world. We must act quickly and soon if we are to stop him before he dooms us all." The young boy sat there, letting the words sink in. "I need you, my dear boy, to make your final preparations and be ready to leave at a moment's notice. I will know if Tom tries to breach at any moment because this world's magic balance will fall drastically off balance for as long as the portal is open." He sighed for the umpteenth time.

The boy hesitated and rubbed his forehead and then asked the question that he dreaded most of all. "Sir… if he does manage to open the portal, and if we can't stop them… what will happen?"

The man was quiet for a long time, contemplating something to himself. The boy stared at him expectantly for a moment or two, before thinking maybe his headmaster had fallen asleep. He opened his mouth but the old man quietly gave his answer.

"Then we will need a miracle."

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AN: Again, sorry for the smaller chapter. Most chapters I try to make 4,500+ words, this one is gonna likely be under 4,300 after everything is set and done, so that's a little disappointing in my eyes but nothing I can do because the next chapter is a BIG one! If I tried to merge the two chapters, things may not have ended well, because I have no idea on how long it will be. As per usual, I am expecting it to be around 4.5k words.

Nonetheless I hope you liked the chapter, Heredin may or may not develop further into this story… but… a big announcement here should be here, and I mean a GIANT one at chapter 53. It, obviously, has something to do with the way each of these chapters has ended. Keep on reading, because the fun is only just beginning.

Please make sure you follow, favorite, and review the story! I always respond to reviews, usually within the day, so please let me know what you think! Next chapter should be a week from today, get ready for it, because it will knock your socks off.

Thanks guys, see you soon!

ReignZ