Ashes in May Ch. 19 The Sea Temple Pt 1
Hey, ya'll I'ma back with two new chapters this time! Yep, it's a lot of content, so it may be a bit before the next posted chapter. I'm not necessarily busy, but I can't be using all of my ideas at once ya know. Plus, it is good to have a break a read other stuff too. Lol, hope yall like it.
ON THAT NOTE, IVE GOT SAD NEWS!
See, a few days ago to the posting of this chapter I got a very rude comment, and I quote, er er hmp, ":lol make it ash and gary and I unbookmark and delete this s*** from memory. AshXGary is literally the worst pairing in the fandom. Kill all gay people in the world, black lives DONT matter, white power."
Okay, screw you. Firstly, I warmed you that this story would have such things in it. I said it in the first chapter and in other chapters also. I even put the ships in the summery in the site and I put it in the tags for the Archive of Our Own. Second, why must you go throwing black people under the bus. They are just kind and caring people like other people. Hispanics, Asians, Black, White, etc. all of us are human. Equal! Third, white power huh…you must have a big head, huh. Sorry, but you might want to see a medic for that. Hot air can be lethal, might want to get that checked.
Submerged under seas of Alola, not too far from Melemele island was the great Sea Temple, Samaya. The waters were dark deep down in the depths. Sea dwelling Pokemon all looked refuge within the temple from the storm and it was there at the temples port that Ash laid unconscious. With a bit of effort, the water Pokemon managed to hall him up onto the dry stone, a task not so easy for Pokemon with fins or flippers. This of course led to many attempts where Ash somehow always ended up being rammed against the side of the walkway, bouncing off, or simply rolling back into the water. It was a wonder how the boy had remained unconscious after the Pokemon threw him around like a beach ball. In the end, they had Wailmer used Hydro Pump to rocker him into the air while a Primarina waited on the walkway to catch him. Admittedly not the best or safest course of action not to mention the rough landing but it would have to do. Once that was done, they waited…waited…waited and waited, but he would not wake. Manaphy was very concerned knowing that it had used its powers to put him in a trance-like state: Manaphy after years of practice had been fully able to control its powers, so it just didn't understand why Ash didn't wake up. It got to the point that Manaphy began to freak out and was jumping from place to place yelling, other time rolling around the walkway holding its flipper to its head looking crazed. Sometimes, it would jump into the water then jump into the air yelling, other times it was rolling around again saying that it had killed Ash. It even tried giving Ash's face a few, quick but strong, slaps with its flippers. When Manaphy did that the other Pokemon moved back a little with expressions akin to saying, 'Ooookaaay, thaat happened.'
Manaphy's crazy though was broken when a Chinchou that have had enough of its freak out, because Manaphy kept bumping into it, gave the mythical a small Thundershock. "Manaaaah," it cried as electricity flashed, and when it was over Manaphy laid with whirly eyes with a coat of ash on its skin. "Ma, ma, na, pheee, napheee," the water type grumbled with an adorable pout before jumping into the water to rise itself off. Having washed of the soot it came back to Ash trying to think of what to do. It was then that a melodic cry sounded through the waters and echoed through the temple's corridors. With a few startled cries all turned to the edge of the water barrier surrounding Samaya, from there a waterspout erupted from the barrier. In the blink of an eye, water burst falling into the temple's bay revealing the guardian of the sea itself. It sang a sweet sound as it flew over to the walkway landing silently beside Ash and Manaphy. Legends surrounding this great beast said that it slept deep within the ocean because one flap of its wings could cause a forty-day storm. Okay, it is true that it has the power to cause such a storm, no denying that, but many thought that Lugia caused a storm with every movement of its arms, which simply isn't true. Lugia is a powerful legendary Pokemon that has lived for millennia, it is foolish to believe that it didn't have complete control over such an ability. Lugia was a Pokemon who seldom created such storms, and in many cases, it had to be done to maintain a certain balance within nature. Anyways, the silver beast landed and tucked in its wings but remained standing.
"Prince of the sea be calm. The chosen one is not in any physical harm; he is however trapped within his own mind," Lugia spoked using its psychic abilities to read Ash's mind and body, "His aura had become unstable and is keeping him in a state of unconsciousness. I cannot wake him for if I do his very own aura will attack him. Our friend, it seems, has been confronted by many powerful emotions recently…"
Manaphy nodded as it calmed, "Naaa?" Though it was concerning that Ash's life energy was keeping him asleep, Manaphy seemed to be more steady seeing that Lugia didn't appear distraught about this. The large flying type coed and chuckled, "I am concerned, but as you know I have dominion over souls and my power can affect them. Do not fear young Manaphy, he will wake within a few days. Come let's take him to a place to rest." With that Lugia used its powers to gently lifted Ash's body into the air then guided him through the halls of the temple, Manaphy following behind through the various water routes. You may be thinking how can such a larger Pokemon like Lugia move about the temple, well first the temple is downright huge and to be honest it could have been made - for giants at any rate. Also, Lugia's streamline and almost serpent-like flexibility helped it maneuver through any tight corners. Not long after Lugia set Ash in one of the many hundreds of rooms within the temple after that Lugia left Ash in Manaphy's care. So, began the wait for Ash to wake up from his sleep.
[Day Five of the Storm]
The room in which Ash was sleeping in a was a rather small room made of stone like the rest of the building and had engravings and old painted walls. It was a simple room at its finest and a storage shed and its worst; still, it was livable. It is big enough for a single bed that could hold two people. Uh, bed is not the right word…it more liked a glorified futon. See the bed frame was literally a talk block of stone with a small futon-like mattress on top as for the glorified part it was wonderful carvings in intricate designs with people and Pokemon engraved all over the stone slab. Ash laid there for days deep in slumber with a beautifully woven blanket that Manaphy had graciously pulled over Ash. It had done this because it had noticed that the young aura users had been shivering relentlessly and wore nothing but shorts. Every so often Ash would toss and turn or shook his head, though, for the most part, he was still and silent. Over the next few days, Manaphy would come to check on him and would use its Aqua Ring to help give Ash's body energy as the boy could not eat. However, are the storm above raged on so did the main clash inside Ash's head.
Manaphy had been napping when it was suddenly thrown across the small room by a burst of energy. When it got its bearings, it looked up to see a sphere of energy surround Ash as he squirmed, turned, and tossed around on the bed gripping his head with a pained expression. The boy was clearly in pain and crying from it. His teeth gritted and his eyebrows scrunched, he would try to curl himself into a ball hoping to escape the pain but no matter what position he was in he was hurting. Suddenly, his aura flared again and the sphere around him began to flash colors of blue, periwinkle, and purple, then it began to pulse and with it pulse his life energy for flash red or brown. (For example, imagine the sphere that Nebby uses to evolve into Cosmoem). Manaphy was now on high alert and was a bit afraid, it had never seen this before. Ash cried out sending a pulse of energy out into the air slamming to Manaphy with more strength than the first time. "Naaa! Mana!" it cried as it was hit by the aura then from the impact against the wall. By now the blanket that covered Ash was tossed away from him as he struggled to remain calm. Manaphy got back up and jumped up as close as it could, determined to help so cautiously it reached out to the sphere of hyperactive aura and the moment it touched it, a flash of memories appeared in its mind and powerful emotions tugged at its heartstrings. Images of May, Pikachu, his parents and little brother, Gary, and his region all came into view in its mind as it was rocked to the core by the torrent of all kinds of emotions. Some with so much joy that could make your cheeks hurt from smiling, sense of accomplishment, or victory. Brotherly love and bonds of friendship all the way through to passion and love all of which was followed by a sense of worry, doubt, guilt, and regret. Just as fast as it touched the sphere it pulled away more shell shocked than ever. Ash one of the few humans Manaphy had come to trust was experiencing something so core shattering. Dawning a looked of determination, it nodded its head with its flipper to its chest in silent promise to help Ash out of this. The small mythical Pokemon may not have the cosmic power over souls and their attributes but it did have some power over the heart that it shared with Ho-oh who held dominion over the heart.
Taking a deep breath then let it out slowly it let it power out. The legendry's antennae began to glow a reddish-pink color that then speared through the unstable aura. The aura backlashed with a few pulsed that cause Manaphy to cry out with each hit, but it would not be deterred. It urges with energy to allow its move to reach Ash's heart and the moment it did Manaphy connected with Ash using his heart as a way into his mind and/or soul. In that moment allowed its heart to bond with Ash's and began to sing.
"Aww, huaaw! Aww, huaww," it sang allowing it legendary power to flow and connect to not only Ash but Samaya as well, "Huaaawww, hoaww aww!" It wasn't long before the temple responded as it began to hum the same tune Manaphy chanted. "Mmmhhhmmm, mmmMmm," came the sound as it vibrated gently through the stone structure. The temple recognized the water types' wishes and felt the presence of the one who saved it. Mysterious powers began to course through the small water channels without the building and converged at Ash's humble room. The powerful energy overflowed into the room that immediately worked to dispel the unstable and violent aura of the guardian. With its abilities amplified by Samaya Manaphy called out to Ash, call him to the world of the wake and out of his chaos. "Mana, phee!" From within his turmoil, Ash heard a call. He felt his heart react to the voice and he willed himself to reach for it. Once again, he was call and he recognized a bond was tugging at him; at first, he didn't remember the bond but soon he understood. The bond pulling at his heart was a familiar once, one between a human and the prince of the sea. From his chaotic voice, he cried out, "Manaphy!" His voice echoed as it was empowered by his aura before he shot up gasping heavily. He looked around couching as the sudden intake of air left his throat dry and aching. He found himself in a small room with nothing but the small glow a few crystal gems imbedded in the beautifully crafted walls. His hair cling to his for head and neck due to sweat as was his body. In retrospect, it was a bit gross considering he was covered in sweat from head to toe, but nevertheless he quickly noticed that his aura was bound as if being contained. He huffed and couched a few more timed before he realized that he was not alone. There before him was none other than Manaphy. Thought his exhausted heaving he smiled at it, "I guess, I owe for saving me from myself, huh." "Mana, naa, an, mam naphee, phee nama phee…" it replied with a pout a nod crossing its arms. Both stare at each other for a moment before Ash chuckled breaking the silence, "I'll find a way to repay you then, but I'm so glad to see you. It's been so long, I've missed you." The small sea dweller giggled before launching itself into the human's arms. "Phee, pheee, phee," it coed as it gently nuzzled against the man's chest. Ignoring the fact that the man was soaked in sweat, though in hindsight Manaphy wouldn't have knowledge of sweat due to it being a marine Pokemon and the fact that the sweat was salty warm water, all things considered.
Ash felt his mouth dry and reach one hand up to rub his dry eyes while holding Manaphy in the other arm. Lifting his gaze up again he looks over the room he was in and deeply wondered how he had gotten there and when had he gotten there. He calmed his breathing as a few of his nightmares replayed in his mind. It's not like it was easy to forget after all that's happened. He'd be a liar if he said that his stomach didn't feel hollow and his chest was tight enough, he could have sworn that he had a Donphan on his chest. Not to mention the way heat radiated off his body and how sweat literally streaming over his skin.
Ash patted Manaphy's back as it pulled away. "Phee, nana manaphee?" it questions looking up at the human. The trainer gazes at the water and quisitive look before getting a more or less understanding of what it said. "I'm okay…just a lot has happened last night," Ash said with a sad grin as he gently patted Manaphy on the head. Manaphy was taken aback by his words because it had definitely been days since he had last been conscious. "Mana, mana phee, phee? Manappee nana phephe ma ma," it exclaimed using its arms to gesture that it had been five days since he had fallen into the ocean and brought to Samaya. Ash however just smiled not fully understanding. All he got was that it was something along the lines of time and ocean and nothing else. "…Hey, buddy, I know there's a lot to catch up on but is there somewhere in the temple where I could take a shower. I'm way too gross right now and I have a feeling I threw up a few times. Manaphy looked at him as if to say, "That is an understatement," but proceeded to point towards the door. Ash got up with the small water type shuttering as his feet drained of heat due to the cold stone beneath his soles. He shivered slightly and stepped out into a hallway that looked much like how he remembered from before. The halls main had blue inspired themes with azure blue for higher on the walls and a green-blue color for its walkways. A marvel to say the least and it brought a bit of nostalgia back to the days where he was traveling with Brock, May, and Max. Of course, they didn't have time to truly enjoy the temple because of circumstanced, but it was still amazing to save a temple as a bit like a city that flowed through the oceans of the world invisible to the human eye, from sinking and ending its legacy. Wow, that was a lot.
Anyways, Manaphy gave directions in terms of pointing in which was Ash should head and eventually they reached a pair of doors that images of Clamperl and Huntail with a bunch of foreign symbols all around the doors. Ash looked around that on the other side of the was channel that cut the hall in two was another pair of doors with Clamperl and Gorebyss. So, Ash easily deduced that the doors he was standing by were for men while the other was for women. Ash reached out to pull on the door, but it wouldn't open, he tried again and got the same, nothing. He gritted his teeth and pulled with all his might to the point he was huffing and puffing only for the mythical to roll its eyes and push the large door in with easy. Ash dropped to the floor feet in the air, "Oh, right. If you can't pull, you push…haha, yeaaaah…." Once recovered they entered and found what looked like a locker room of sort. There were no lockers or benched but there were ancient woven baskets in a cubby shelf along the four walls, with another door at the end of the room. In one corner of the room was a pile of fabrics that resembled towels, but where rather thin and clearly hand woven. He looked them over noting they were in many different colors though were faded, probably due to their age. He gathers that passed those doors was the bathroom, but for now, he decided to strip what little clothes he had on. Now, firstly he remembered that he was shirtless and without shoes, not much of a problem considering he lived in a tropical paradise while most men would forego shirts and shoes, for crying out loud he dad was middle-aged and still walks around shirtless, though his dad is a handsome man who kept fit and is always training while researching so it wasn't cringe worthy. His brown cargo shorts on the other hand were a problem because at the moment they were nothing but rags really. Even though they were made of durable material they were torn and damaged. For example, apart from small holes here and there, there was a large rip from his thigh up right to where the end of the zipper was. If it wasn't for the fact that his zipper was zipped and that he was the only human, there he would have shown a lot. The matter got worse in terms as when Ash dropped his shorts, he flushed a deep red when his boxers literally felt apart at the seams when he bent down to pick his shorts up. 'Wow, just like that huh? At least it only me and Manaphy. It would be so embarrassing if this happened in front of other people,' he thought as he picked up both shredded articled of clothing, 'Still, I can see why they felt apart. That storm really mangled me around like a chew toy.' He briefly thought back to the way the wind cut his skin or how the waves slammed him onto the jagged cliffs then dragged him over the rigid ground. It was a wonder how the seams ever lasted this long after that wash and rinse cycle. Looking back up and Manaphy was gone meaning he had probably gone ahead and jumped into the water by now.
Ash balled the fabric then tossed it into one of the many baskets before doing some stretches. His muscles burned and begged him to stop but he ignored it. Just by the way his muscles reacted to the stretching he deduced that he had been immobile for at least a day or two. He still wasn't sure how long he'd been there, but he was sure to find out soon enough. After, stretching the muscles in his arms and torso he began with his legs satisfied that his upper body was now looser and feeling a little less sore. The black-haired teen squatted down feeling his muscled tense and balancing on his toes he leaned his left leg out to the side sighing in relief as he forced his muscled to stretch and loosen up. Then he switched to the other leg, again he balanced on his toes as he stretched the muscled in his long leg. He'd deny it but he gave a groan of satisfaction as he felt his body relax after stretching, eventually he laid back on his back arms behind his head as a cushion and his legs spread out. Yes, you could bring up the thought that he was laying entirely bare on a floor that hadn't been clean in centuries, but at this moment, it was not at the top of his forethought. It was a feeling just short of euphoria as if his muscled trembled and loosened sending a good feeling though his entire body. Not to mention the tingling feeling he felt between his legs due to the stretching as it now laid over his hip. He reached down and gave himself a few tugs before feeling his dick grow a bit before things got out of hand (Or the reverse, lol), he jumped up landing his feet on the stone tiles beneath and made his way into the next-door room.
Upon entering he realized that his room was huge with a large heated bath in the center. Momentarily, Ash forgot about his chubbed cock and went to explore. From his spot he called out Manaphy who was blissfully floating around on its back in the warm water, he told it that he was going to explore the bath with a simple reply from the water type. The room was elegantly designed in a way that accomplished sophistication in terms of luxury but also a certain uniqueness of an ancient temple. (For a reference I took inspiration of the ancient roman communal baths, the fancy one though. Also, some architectural designs from the Disney movie Atlantis the lost empire. A combination of the two is sort of what I imagined). The main room was large and had many columns and trimmings while at the further ended it was built more like a natural waterfall, you know, one of those strong current waterfalls but with a lesser incline angle. Later, he would notice that the waterfall fed warm water into the bath while further out from it you got the cooler the water. That was also mysteriously cleaned and filtered even if bathed in.
He continued to walk around when he found the actual facilities. There were other rooms where there were private pools that could fit about four or five people. As he went on he also found that on one of the walls there were a few old wooden levers making him very curious as to what they did so he pulled on the first and found out the lever he pulled, caused the water to grew colder or hotter. The second one was on and off switch for something that was really interesting. He found that when he flipped the lever up, he turned on what he called the shower because water began to rain down from above like a shower. Cool. As for the other three levers, he didn't get the chance to check them out as he slipped on the wet floor landing hard on his ass. The young man hissed at the impact of his butt with the ceramic tiles getting up rubbing his hurt hip and cheeks. Hey, falling on stone hurts, it not like on the ground where there is soft dirt or grass. Finally deciding to give up his exploration he walks around the pool towards the waterfall. He was sure there were other cool surprises to the place, but he'd look later. For now, he reached the warm side and stepped in. It wasn't all that deep and it was about two feet in depth or around the height of his knee and close by the waterfall, it was about three feet. Along the entire edge of the bath, there was a small ledge that served as seating, finding out that sitting on it left the water level just under his belly button and due to that his crotch very much exposed through the clear water. Nevertheless, he sat down on the edge of the bath with his legs bent over the edge and feet in the water. Manaphy swam over and gave as a splash of warm water before jumping out. Ash looked confused watching it waddle away, "Ey, Manaphy, where are you going?" "Na, na, phy," it replied for happily bouncing away with greater speed.
Ash could easily understand all of his Pokemon, but when he caught new Pokemon it took a while for him to fully understand them and as for Manaphy he didn't understand what it had just told him. Still rather confused he shrugged his shoulders looking at easy. Well, until Manaphy aura was far enough away did Ash's face contoured into something much less at ease. Not now he felt his arms in his lap his hands held each other in a strong grip. 'It's your fucking fault that Professor Oak is dying and May's badly hurt. How do you feel now Champion of Alola? Protector of Alola and its people and Pokemon?' Ash heard Drew's awful voice. The man's voice was a putrid thing that barked and backed in his head. Reminding him of everything that had happened that night.
"How did all of this go to hell?" Ash hissed shaking his head, "It had been so great…winning that contest by May's side."
'If Oak dies it will be your fault; if May loses that baby it will be your fault. If May dies, you will be solely to blame, KETCHUM!' again Drew's voice made itself know.
This time Ash felt the ache from how hard he clenched his jaw how he wanted to refute those words. How he wanted to call him a liar, still, he knew it was true. He had idiotically let the people he loved most go out into a typhoon!
"What kind of lunatic does that?!" Ash yelled bring his forehead to his hands, "I should have sent them home! I should have told them I could handle it alone…"
'You send her out in that storm. He got hurt for you. They're dead.' Ash's heart began to beat rapidly, yet his body chilled, "N-No…NO!" The trainer cupped his head as the migraines began making his head heavy. These thoughts becoming thick and muffled with just the word, 'dead,' screaming within his mind. He tried and tried, begged himself to believe that they were fine. Fresh tears began to come from his shut eyes. Yell his own memory replayed the moment when Gary had stopped moving, the sound of the heart monitor going flat. The way Gary's eyes rolled back and how everything happened in slow motion.
"Gary's heart stopped for crying out loud!" Ash yelled gripping his hair, "A-And May, ahhhgg, she's fighting for life too. How could she not, the force from just a hit…"
"You are solely to blame..."
This time it was as if those words had become real, setting real fear in Ash causing him to pull his legs up and curled himself into a ball. He buried his face a deep as he could wanting to escape such pain, such guilt. First, it had been his mom, he had caused it all. He had brought that same misfortune to his best friends. He just wanted it all to go away… If felt like he was drowning for hours suddenly he felt warms. He felt his heart slowed and the weight of his chest lessened. 'Calm, rainbow hero. Let your heart become steady and aura flow gentle,' came a different voice a voice that was hot like fire, 'Breath, young human for one came only due so much with such a state. There are things to come that will test your strength. Remember, who you have become. User of Aura know that the lives of which your strife is for, are still with a beating heart. Now rise…' Slowly, Ash began to regain his senses as his body became active. He quivered for a moment as he uncoiled letting his feet dip into the warm water. He leaned over to see his reflection before his focus shifted slightly as he noticed the reflection of the ceiling above. Alola's first champion rose his sights to the dome above him as he says how it beautifully displayed an image of the celestial sphere. The Pokemon trainer smiled softly as a memory came to him, a memory back when his mom's death was recent, and wounds were still fresh. A day that had helped Ash remember that he, May, and Gary had promised to always shine and always remember…
[Flashback]
It was not secret that secret to May or Gary that Ash had become a recluse. He had become a silent shell of his normal over-energetic carefree kid. Instead, he preferred to stay alone with Pikachu in his room. It had been a while since Ash had come close to smiling. His Pokemon missed seeing Ash and many were heartbroken to hear that Ash had become so downdraught. So, one night, Ash found himself being taken into the woods with Pikachu, Gary, and May. Eventually, they would all be laying on the ground staring up at the big deep blue sky littered with thousands of twinkling starlights. Gary and May would point out the constellations of the Zodiac. Taurus: known as, "The Charging Force," depicted but the wild bull Pokemon Tauros. Gary laughs saying he wouldn't want to be in the way of a charging Tauros to which as giggled never taking his eye away from the constellation. "Funny because I run for my Tauros when I see them, and they charge at me!" "Pipika chu!" added the started making Ash laugh louder. May and Gary turned to each other looking skeptical but ended up laughing. "Hey, Ash, let's make a promise," May spoke to the boy in question. Turning to her he replied, "What promise?" May sat up looking at Pikachu and Gary, then Ash, "This. Let promise to always have each other's backs. If anyone of us is ever hurt we help each other. We don't just hide from it, we fight together, you Pikachu, Gary and I. All of us here are family, we'll be here for each other!" May smiled so brightly Ash swore she was lighting up the area. His heart fluttered at the sight of her and his face grew warm. Ash felt light and felt giddy as he replied, "Yea, I promise. I promise to help you whenever you need it. (Turns to Pikachu then Gary) The same goes for you and Gary. You guys are the best friends I could have asked for!" Now it was Pikachu who squinted his eyes at how bright Ash was. "Pikaaaachaaa!" Pikach proclaimed bringing his fist to his chest, proudly promising the same. In a flash, they all turned to Gary expectantly each waiting for him with wide happy grins. "Oy vey. You dorks," was his replied getting, 'heehees' from them, in no time he had to succumb to their adorable smiles. Gary was the oldest of the three at 13 and a part of him thought this was silly, but his soul urged him to except. "Yeesh, of course, I promise!" Gary answered with mock disbelief, "You both of nothing without the great Gary Oak-ah woah!" Upon saying that all three of them had launched themselves into a soft tackle pushing him back onto his back. Gary opened his eyes to see Ash and May on his chest looking at his cheekily and Pikachu that same, using both of the younger kids' shoulders as a perch. "Oh, look at the great and powerful Gary Oak now…" May giggled. "Mmhmm, see like he was taken down by dorks and a little Piiiiikachuuu!" Ash mocked with a toothy grin. May outright laughed at this, her heart spread warmth through her, this, this right now was what she always knew was the best of them all.
[End of Flash back]
"…for now I just need to relax…(Inhales/Exhales)…and hope that May and Gary made it out okay, hopefully." Once he was squeaky clean, he stepped out of the water shaking the water out of his hair. "Good thing I got out when I did," Ash thought as he made his way towards the makeshift locker room, "I just starting to look all pruney." Soon enough he got there to retrieve what little clothing he still had left. Pulling on and tying up his ripped cargo shorts only to remember that his shorts were ripped and because he wasn't wearing any underwear his privates were more than a little exposed. The aura user sighed looking around for anything he could use as clothing when he spotted the fabrics in the corner of the room. Finally, he smiled as picked up the pieces of cloth noting that they were about the size of a smaller towel but would enough to keep himself covered. "Yes!" he exclaimed as he dusted the fabric a bit before wrapping it around his hip, "Mmm, it's a little loose…Oh, I can use the tightening string from the shorts as a belt." Pulling out the string from the tattered shorts he tied it around his hips and, 'towel,' making sure to keep it in place. Looked down Ash blushed as he was honest with himself. The fabric towel thing was small very small it was barely big enough to just reach halfway down his thigh. For crying out loud, he hoped he wouldn't need to bend down anytime soon or he might just moon anyone behind him. After, adjusting the towel as low as possible to cover his manhood as best he could Ash walked over to the exit pulling the doors open with a smile on his face feeling more refreshed than he had in a while.
Well, only for the smile to turn into a jaw drop and hands coming up to comedically cover his nipples upon looking at who was directly in front of him. A chuckle rumbled from Lugia who was very much amused by the small human's reaction to seeing it. "Forgive, me for startling you, little human." At this Ash's jaw closed and his cheek puffed out much like Elio, "Hey, I'm not small, I really tall for a human…" "I suppose that is true, young chosen one, but for a guardian such as myself, you are very small," the legendary spoked with a smile as if it were commonplace for legendary Pokemon to speak with humans. Lugia tiled its head with curiosity of sorts and asked, "Young man, why would you be startled by my presence, when a Guardian of Aura such as yourself would have sensed my strong aura the moment I was within range?" Ash was thrown aback by this as he realized that he in fact hadn't noticed Lugia's life energy when he normally would have felt it immediately. Lugia, of course, already knew that the boy's aura has not been under his control for a few days and it was only thanks to Manaphy that his aura had been stabilized. Ash rose his hands gazing down at them before shutting his eyes, "…Concentrate…(Inhales, Exhales)…Aura Sphere…" Ash focused on tapping into his energy then drawing out his powers through his arms and pooling it in his palms. Within the boy's palms up Lugia watched as a wisp of light blue aura swirled in his hand before forming a ball of life energy.
Ash's eyes suddenly shot up looking at the dive Pokemon heaving but never letting the Aura Spheres dissipate. Lugia observed closes how Ash's eye glowed a vibrant electric blue. It was impressed with that since for Aura Guardians it was a sign of mastery over aura manipulation. Now, a user could keep their eyes from glowing as it could give them away during battle or missions and such, right now because it knew Ash wasn't in complete control over his aura, it let his glowing eyes to be on display. "Wow, I haven't had this much a struggle to use my aura in a long time," Ash said with a half-smile. The avian legend hummed before telling Ash to follow it and so Ash came into step behind the Pokemon of silver as it led him throughout the temple. To the champion, it was easy to notice that Lugia was a large creature and while it was within the halls it kept its wings folded tucked up against its sides. It was impressive how limber it was. Though it did make sense since Lugia was an ocean-dwelling Pokemon. 'I wonder what Lugia wants to show me,' the Chosen One asked himself.
Okay-kay-kay, so here's the Sea Temple Pt. 1. I hope it was okay.
STAY SAFE OUT THERE AND BE CAREFUL. NO ONE WANTS TO BE SICK AND HURTING SO BE CAREFUL BUT LIVED HAPPILY.
Hahaha, look forward to many things to come, AS THE JOURNEY CONTINUES!
A bond between the king of the sea and prince of the sea.
