Ash woke the next morning to Pikachu repeatedly poking his stomach.
"Morning, buddy, what's up?"
"Pi-picha, pikapi kapi ka."
Ash frowned. "I'm the first one up?"
"Pi."
He looked around the campsite and found that Pikachu was right- Brock and Max were snoring, Misty was curled up in a ball on top of her sleeping bag, Maddy lay flat on her stomach, and Aurian slept in her usual position- straight as a twig.
"Ri? Ri?" Ash crept over to his patonai's sleeping bag and gently shook her awake.
Aurian jumped a bit, picked herself up, and stretched. "Mornin'."
"Hey, we're first up and we've got about two hours before our battle. What do you want to do?"
She frowned. "We could get some sparring practice in."
"Not a bad idea. Aura or no aura?"
"How about mixed?" Aurian answered, running a brush through her hair and pulling it up into a chaotic bun. "We can trade off on who uses what."
Ash smiled. "Sounds like a plan. Pika, you're here with everyone. Tell them where we are, yeah?"
"Pi-pika!" Pikachu saluted his trainer and ran to sit on top of Ash's pillow.
The patonai grabbed their backpacks and slipped into the forest, making sure they were hidden from sight.
"Ten bucks says that Pikachu will be asleep by the time we get back," Ash laughed.
Aurian groaned and turned onto a smaller path. "Have a little faith in your starter! He'll be fine."
"Anyways," Ash said, marking off a boundary line, "shall we begin?"
"Wait," Aurian answered, her eyes glowing. "Something's coming. Climb, now!"
The patonai scaled a pair of fifty-foot aspens at lightning speed as two figures arrived off of an overgrown and unnoticed path.
"You have the enhancers?" a feminine voice asked from beneath a crimson hood.
A second figure nodded. "Yes ma'am. Here they are."
The crimson hood came down and Faith Sorenson took two vials of a sickly green liquid from the other man. "My thanks, Charon. These will go to good use."
Charon? Aurian asked. As in Galactic's Charon?
Plot twist, Ash said. Who are those going to?
"It's no problem, Lady Crimson. One for you and one for Midnight's Heir."
Tobias, Ash breathed. That has to be Tobias.
"Understood. Pass on my thanks. That is all," Faith said, pulling her hood back up and vanishing into the shadows of the trees. Charon followed close behind and soon their footsteps echoed throughout the forest.
The patonai leapt down from their hiding place after waiting for three minutes and tried to process what they'd seen.
"We need to call Lance," Ash said.
"Later," Aurian replied, crossing her arms. "After our battles. He's probably in League meetings right now. Shall we pick up where we left off?"
"Don't expect me to go easy on you," Ash growled, pushing aside his worry. "Bring it on, Braveheart."
Max woke to eerie noises coming from the forest.
"Pst, Maddy!" he said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "You hear that?"
"Yeah," she said, pulling her shoes on and pulling her hair into a bun. "Want to go investigate?"
"Let's get the others," Max said, starting the process of waking the older trainers.
The rest of the group jolted awake when a huge crash echoed throughout the forest.
"Are we under attack?" Misty asked, throwing her bag over her shoulder.
Brock shook his head. "No, this feels different. Let's track the source and then act."
Pikachu ran to Misty. "Kachupi! Pikapi kapi chaa pikachu kacha pi!"
Misty frowned as Pikachu jumped onto her shoulder. "Red and Blue are in the woods? But why on earth..."
Blue light flooded the forest.
"Come on!" Max said, dragging Maddy forward.
The group followed a half-overgrown trail into the heart of the trees. Brock lost track of how long they'd walked until the path emptied out into a fifteen foot by fifteen foot clearing, where the patonai were currently giving their all in a sparring match.
Misty held her breath as Ash landed a hard kick to Aurian's shoulder. She retaliated with a blast of aura to Ash's ribs, sending him flying backwards. It almost looked like a dance- deadly accurate and strangely beautiful.
"Oh!" Aurian exclaimed, dodging a left hook from her patonai and skidding back a bit on the wet ground. "Morning, guys!"
Ash grinned. "Pikachu sent you?"
Pikachu ran to his trainer and jumped on his shoulder. "Pika!"
"I'll take that as a yes. You guys want to go get breakfast?"
Max nodded. "Yes, please!"
Ash took point, leading the group out of the forest and back onto the path.
"Hey Blue- any particular reason you two were fighting in the forest?" Maddy asked.
Aurian smiled. "We can't let up on our training just because we're undercover. We have to stay sharp. If we slack off even the slightest bit, we'll lose our advantage. You wouldn't stop training a few days before a big Gym match, would you?"
"Who won that one?" Max blurted.
"Curiosity killed the Meowth?" Brock asked, chuckling at the blush overtaking Max's face.
Ash frowned at his patonai. "You definitely got the last word with that aura jab."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Aurian answered, a smirk crossing her face.
"Dammit," Ash muttered.
Aurian laughed and stretched upward to pat her patonai on the top of his head. "Keep trying and you'll almost be as good as me, yeah?"
"You guys keeping score?" Misty tilted her head.
Aurian grinned. "Fifty-nine to fifty-five. I'm getting my lead back."
"Whoa," Maddy gasped. "How long have you been keeping score"
The group turned back onto the main road to the Center.
Aurian bit her lip, quickly running through the math in her head. "Started- what, a month or two after we met?"
"After initiation but before Sinnoh," Ash answered, absentmindedly stroking Pikachu behind the ears. "Right at the start of hand-to-hand training with Koga and our Commanders- but that's a story for another time."
Max groaned. "Really? Come on, you could spare one story, couldn't you?"
"Maybe," Ash said with a wink. "Patience, Maple. I know you're eager to hear about what you missed out on while I was gone but it'll take days, maybe weeks, to tell all our stories."
"Some of them aren't completely appropriate for everyone present," Aurian muttered.
Ash rolled his eyes. "Thanks for killing the mood!"
"Hey, I'm being honest! We do have a few PG-rated stories we can tell over breakfast," Aurian held the door for her friends.
The group piled into a corner booth, ordered, and waited anxiously for the alert that signified the release of battle times for the day.
Ash was halfway through a massive stack of apple-cinnamon pancakes when his Pokegear rang. Aurian set down her fork and pulled up the notification.
"We're together again," she said. "You go eighth, I'm on right after."
"Thank God we're not battling each other," Ash groaned, wiping his mouth.
Aurian nodded. "You're against Jimmy. That one'll be hard."
Ash paused, deep in deliberation. "Typhlosion'll be out there for sure..."
Max smiled at his mentor's mutterings between overlarge bites of pancakes. Ash would find a way. He always did. Even when hope seemed gone- when Jirachi appeared, when Deoxys wreaked havoc, at the Tree of Beginning, at the Temple of the Sea- Ash Ketchum made things work.
This was no different.
"Who are you against, Blue?"
Aurian gulped. "Anabel."
"No!" Misty cried, nearly dumping syrup into her lap in surprise. "You can't be serious!"
"I'm afraid so. I hate fighting psychics but I'm hoping she'll sense my nature and understand my apprehension. Looks like Cass will have to sit this one out," Aurian groaned. "Red, any strategies for me?"
"Chandelure'll be good. You'll be fine as long as you keep your head."
Aurian nodded, albeit a bit uncertainly. "I feel bad for Touko. She's up against Tobias."
"The impossible trainer," Brock muttered. "How's she going to pull this off?"
"I'm afraid she won't," Ash said.
Maddy shook her head. "She has to, Red! Isn't she strong enough?"
"Touko's good. I've only seen her battle a few times but something's off in her rhythm. It takes her too long to respond to trick plays and surprises. She forms a strategy and refuses to budge from it until it's too late," Aurian answered, standing up from her end seat. "We need to head out. Ready, team?"
Ash grinned. "Ready as we'll ever be. Come on, guys!"
"I hate waiting rooms," Max said, pacing across the worn-out green tile. "They don't block out the noise."
The crowd outside hummed with elation at the spectacle soon beginning. The two sides of the stands were currently engaged in a spirit war, passing time until Ash and Jimmy took the field in battle.
"Any plans?" Aurian asked.
Ash nodded. "I've got a few from the front half of the Handbook. He'll be expecting me to play Pikachu so I'm preparing for a Rhydon or another similar ground-type. You?"
"I'm working on it," Aurian said with a frown. "I'm considering pulling a Johto out there."
"You wouldn't," Ash's jaw dropped. "Have you no mercy?"
Aurian shook her head. "It's not like that! I can't take any chances here and that's my only foolproof psychic-type plan. Give me some time to think, all right? I might be able to come up with one on the fly."
"We're a bit lost," Maddy said. "Anyone care to fill us in?"
Ash frowned. "Psychic legion attacked us four months ago. Flew by the seat of our pants and miraculously made it out alive. Blue's planning on using our exit strategy against Anabel. If she does, it won't be pretty."
"You think she'll go easy on me?" Aurian asked, hands on her hips. "This is the Top Twenty, Red. If you haven't noticed, everyone's bringing their A-plus game. So am I. We have a mission and we made a promise to people back home. If I have to pull out plans from the last chapter of the Handbook, I will- without hesitation. Why won't you?"
Ash bit his lip. "Dammit."
"Exactly. You know what to do; we've trained for this our entire lives."
The arena door opened and the roar became deafening.
"Go on!" Aurian yelled, pushing her patonai out the door. "Make a scene!"
Max and Ash looked at each other, shrugged, and entered their boxes.
"On my right is Kanto's Crimson Menace, Red Aronshu!" Lance called.
The crowd erupted into raucous cheers. A group of girls in the front row screamed and waved imitations of Ash's hat in his direction.
"On my left is Johto's Fire, Jimmy Hardt!"
Jimmy and his Typhlosion emerged from their end of the stadium to a roar from the crowd.
"Trainers, this battle will be three-on-three with no substitutions and no held items. May the best man win. Choose your Pokemon!"
"Girafarig!" Jimmy said, tossing out his first team member.
Ash thought long and hard. "Gabite, I choose you!"
The land shark appeared with a low growl and a slight shuffling of its feet.
"Begin!" Lance yelled.
"Girafarig, Double Team!"
Ash bit his lip. "Wait for it and go on defensive. Strike when certain."
Twenty copies of the psychic-type materialized. If Gabite was caught off guard, he didn't show it.
"Dragon Tail on the ground, draw him out!" Ash called.
Gabite's attack left a crater ten feet in diameter, dismantling all of the copies and nearly sending the real Girafarig flying.
"Calm Mind!"
Ash shook his head. "Oh no you don't. Thunderbolt!"
Gabite slipped around the crater and let loose a powerful discharge of lightning, nailing the psychic-type in the stomach.
Brock and Misty watched from the stands, hearts skipping a beat every time that Gabite pulled off an impossible dodge or nearly nailed a powerful attack.
"Dear Lord, Red's got his work cut out for him. That thing's fast," Brock said.
Misty nodded and crossed her fingers. "He'll be okay."
"Never said he wouldn't be," Brock laughed. "But look at him go! This is the first time I've seen him smile like he used to since we got here."
Ash grinned like a little kid as he and Gabite methodically broke down Girafarig's defenses.
"Gabite's getting tired," Misty said. "Red needs to finish this, quick."
At her words, the two Pokemon in the ring met in a powerful clash of Giga Impacts, creating a massive flash of light and forcing their trainers to look away.
Girafarig lay unconscious on the ground, Gabite panting heavily over his opponent.
"Round Two!" the referee cried.
Jimmy shook his head and released a Kangaskhan with a cry of "Earthquake!".
Gabite couldn't move fast enough to escape the full brunt of the attack. He fell and did not get up.
Ash smirked and sent out a Blastoise.
"Skull Bash!" Ash cried. Blastoise leapt forward at a surprising speed and connected his skull with Kangaskhan's with a nauseating crack.
"Counter it with Thunder!"
Ash gritted his teeth. "Deflect it with Rapid Spin number four!"
Blastoise returned into his shell and launched himself into an irregular rotation pattern. The Thunder bounced off of Blastoise's shell and left a gaping hole in the wall behind Kangaskhan's head.
"Double Edge!" Jimmy yelled. "Finish the job!"
"Hydro Cannon!"
The attacks met in a plume of water vapor and purple light, revealing an unconscious Kangaskhan.
"One hit?" Misty asked. "Damn, that Blastoise is something else. I've never seen one move that fast before."
"Wait, something's off here," Brock said. "Look at the field!"
The field around the downed Kangaskhan glowed a menacing purple with the last remnants of Gabite's Dragon Tail.
Misty couldn't hear herself think over the roar of the crowd.
"He rigged that Dragon Tail to create land mines," Brock said, jaw towards the floor. "I've only ever read about that strategy!"
Jimmy's Typhlosion took the field. Ash withdrew a visibly exhausted Blastoise and replaced him with Pikachu.
"Hey, Blue?" Maddy asked. "I know we should be rooting for Red and all but I can't stop wondering what 'pulling a Johto' means."
"Never apologize for asking questions," Aurian answered, "and that's something you'll find out shortly. All I'll say is that it involves a certain ghost-type friend of mine. I'm shocked that Red managed to pull off those Dragon Mines, that's something he's been working on for months."
The two fell silent as Pikachu and Typhlosion met in a flurry of sparks and embers.
"Pikachu's got this," Aurian said, watching Pikachu dodge a lethal Flamethrower.
Ash's starter ran in circles around the Typhlosion, who settled for blasting the small electric-type with continual waves of fire. One singed Pikachu's tail but he kept running through the pain, generating enough static electricity in the air for something bigger.
"Thunderbolt!" Ash called. A deafening crack resounded through the stadium and encircled the Typhlosion in a sphere of electricity. Jimmy frantically called for his starter to knock down the walls but even a Blast Burn couldn't break him out.
Ash grinned. "Gotcha. Volt Tackle!"
Pikachu collided with his creation and the sphere imploded, taking Typhlosion down and leaving the fire-type in a three-foot deep crater.
"Our winner is Red Aronshu!" Shauntal cried. "Congratulations!"
Ash shook Jimmy's hand and walked back to the waiting room to meet Aurian, who greeted him with a high-five and a hug.
"Knock 'em dead," he said. "You'll be fine."
Aurian grinned. "A certain friend of mine's getting some play time today."
"Seriously?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "I trust you, Braveheart. Be careful."
Max and Ash raced out of the waiting room to meet up with Brock and Misty in their seats. By the time they got to the stands, both trainers were down one Pokemon and battling their hardest.
"Espeon, Psychic!" Anabel cried.
"Azul, guard yourself and retaliate with Earthquake!" Aurian cried.
The Empoleon sent shockwaves through the ground and followed the attack with a quick transition into a Metal Claw.
"How's she doing?" Ash asked.
Misty bit her lip. "She's struggling with that Espeon. I think Anabel's attacks are taking a toll on Blue as well as her team."
Ash shook his head and slipped into aura sight, confirming Misty's suspicions. "Dammit. She'll pull through, I know she will. We won't make it out of the melee round unless we're together."
"Really?" Brock asked, wincing as Empoleon took a hit. "That's not something I'd expect you to say."
"Sure, we can fight independently, but we've gotten to the point where we can read each others' minds and relay off of that, no words needed. We cover each others' backs and I'm not keen on going into the type of battle where people have died without her to keep an eye out for me," Ash answered.
The four yelled at the top of their lungs as Empoleon managed to land a critical hit on Espeon with a nasty Hydro Cannon.
"She's gonna take it!" Max yelled. "Go Blue!"
"Close it out, Aqua Burst!" Aurian cried, fists clenched and shoulders tensed.
Brock frowned. "Wait, what's an Aqua Burst?"
Ash grinned, getting up on his feet to cheer for his patonai. "You'll see."
Empoleon formed a massive sphere of water in its beak, spun forward past a barrage of attacks from Espeon, and detonated the sphere of water with a Metal Claw, sending white-hot droplets into Espeon's face.
Anabel withdrew a fainted Espeon and replaced him with a beautiful Musharna.
"Azul, you're on break. Madigral, you're up!"
"Madigral?" Max asked.
A Spiritomb appeared, a chilling wail filling the stadium and rising over the raucous crowd.
Anabel gulped. "Musharna, Hypnosis!"
"Take it!"
Spiritomb fell asleep and retreated into its stone.
"Sleep Talk!" Aurian cried.
Spiritomb retaliated with a massive Dark Pulse that missed Musharna's head by mere centimeters.
"Rock Tomb!" Anabel ordered.
Aurian shook her head. "Nope. Sleep Talk, again!"
This time, Spiritomb's aim was true. A pitch-black Shadow Ball nailed Musharna in the gut, sending her flying into the wall.
"Musharna, Toxic!"
Spiritomb woke up from its forced Hypnosis, much to Aurian's relief. "Taunt!"
The ghost moved into position, artfully dodging a stream of poison. As Spiritomb entered Musharna's personal space, it conjured up a scary face and stuck its tongue out, sending the psychic-type into a rage.
"No, Musharna! Snap out of it!" Anabel groaned, putting a hand to her head. "Thunderbolt!"
Aurian grinned. "Dark Pulse!"
The attack connected with its target and Musharna floated back down to earth, unconscious.
"And the Sinnoh Sharpshooter, Blue Katrian, will move on to the Melee Round! Congratulations!"
Aurian moved across the field to hug Anabel and then put an arm around her trainee. They jumped the fence at the bottom of the stands to go join their friends.
"Graceful," Ash noted, embracing his patonai. "We did it!"
Aurian beamed. "See you in the Melee round, partner."
"Since when do you have a Spiritomb?" Max asked. "I didn't see you bring it out on our first day."
"Spiritomb's an odd fellow," Aurian quietly answered as Tobias and Touko took the field, knowing that the roar of the crowd would drown out their conversation. "Red and I met him during our tour of Sinnoh. He originally belonged to Saturn and rebelled against his master when he saw what Galactic was doing to me during the Red Chain incident. Spiritomb attacked his own trainer and helped Ash break me out. He's stuck with us ever since."
"Whoa," Maddy breathed. "Strong sense of justice. Wouldn't want to get on his bad side."
"We're trying to figure out why he did what he did but Spiritomb's not very open about talking about his past," Ash said, wincing as Tobias called on a Latios to battle with.
Touko released a Haxorous.
"Good choice on Touko's part," Brock noted, wiping his forehead. "She'll have a good shot at taking that Latios down."
Four minutes later, the crowd went wild as Touko and her Haxorus managed to topple Latios with a combination of a Dragon Dance and a spectacularly-timed Dragon Tail to the stomach.
"One down, two to go," Ash muttered. "Who's next?"
Tobias casually tossed out a Heatran. Touko gritted her teeth and pressed on, Haxorus fighting until he fell of exhaustion. Her next choice was a Samurott, who fought bravely against the Legendary.
"I think she might pull this off," Aurian said. "Look, Heatran's starting to show fatigue."
Heatran's Flamethrowers grew steadily slower and Samurott finally found an opening, ramming a combination Hydro Pump and Shell Blade into a crack in the Legendary's back.
Tobias cursed as he recalled Heatran.
"This won't end well," Ash muttered. "I've seen that face before and nothing good follows it."
Aurian took her patonai's hand as Tobias released his Darkrai.
"Dark Void!" the impossible trainer cried.
Samurott didn't have time to evade and was knocked out by an infuriated Darkrai.
Touko shook her head. "I didn't want things to come to this, but... Keldeo, you're on!"
The crowd gasped as the little Legendary took the field, orange mane flowing in the wind.
"Shadow Ball!" Tobias ordered.
Touko bit her lip. "Sacred Sword!"
The attacks collided in a blast of light and energy, sending both parties rocketing back towards their trainers.
"Darkrai's injured," Ash said. "Look, Blue. His side's bruising."
Aurian drifted into Aura Sight and confirmed Ash's observation. "My word, she might have a chance. Go Touko!"
The group upped their cheering efforts as the two Legendaries met once again in a collision of nightmares and determination. A sinking feeling crept into Ash's stomach and clawed at his nerves.
"Crap, he's been playing her!" Ash yelled. "It's a feint!"
Touko took an opening and sent Keldeo crashing forward with another Sacred Sword pointed straight at Darkrai's heart. Darkrai launched a devastating Dark Void at point blank range, knocking Keldeo unconscious and slamming him into a wall.
"That's all she wrote! Our winner is Tobias Langley!" Shauntal called, voice shaking.
Mixed cheers and boos floated up from the crowd.
Lance cleared his throat. "All right, here are your Top Ten! The Silent Shadow, Assunta Misaki! The Crimson Menace, Red Aronshu! The Sinnoh Sharpshooter, Blue Katrian! Kanto's Sweetheart, Faith Sorenson! Thunder's Scion, Lieutenant James Surge! Unova's Pride, Vergil Aeolian! The Mastermind, Jon Dickson! Johto's Own Tyson Threadgill! Hoenn's Star, Morrison Beaty! And the Undeniable, Tobias Langley! Congratulations to all! The melee battle will begin tomorrow morning at ten. See you all then, and goodbye for now!"
Touko shook her head as she exited the stadium, cradling an exhausted Keldeo in her arms.
The group sprinted down from the stands to meet their dejected friend.
"You okay, Touko?" Misty asked.
The Unovian trainer shook her head. "I don't know where I went wrong. I planned everything about this battle and that damn Darkrai still wouldn't go down!"
"Touko, look at me," Ash said, putting a hand on Touko's shoulder, "you're one of two people in recorded history who managed to take Tobias down by two. Two! That's unheard of!"
"I know, but I wish he hadn't been so cruel on Keldeo. I don't know what he's dreaming but we need to heal him, fast!" she said. "Would the Center have anything to help us with this?"
Aurian shook her head. "That was an absolutely nasty Dark Void. It's worth a shot. Come on, we have a Legendary to save!"
"Hang in there, little guy," Touko murmured, running her hand through Keldeo's mane. "We'll get you back to normal."
Ash's world turned to grey as he took a peek at the struggling legendary. Keldeo's aura, normally a bright, vibrant orange, was now a faded burnt-grey.
This isn't looking good, Ri, Ash said. You seeing what I'm seeing?
Aurian nodded. Yeah. Looks like that Dark Void is destroying Keldeo's aura from the inside out. The only way this can be healed is via an aura transfusion from a healthy Pokemon... or from a Guardian. Normal Centers can't do that, looks like it's up to us.
Think Lance will give us override to use our powers in public? Ash asked, holding the Center door open for the group.
Better to ask forgiveness than permission. Come on!
Touko burst into the emergency room. "I need a Pokemon Doctor, now!"
Two Nurse Joys ran to the distraught trainer's side and whistled for a Chansey. The pink Pokemon wheeled a stretcher over and rushed Keldeo back into surgery.
Brock helped Touko over to a chair, where her trainee, Melody, took her hand.
"Arceus, I hope we're not too late..." Touko sighed, tears running down her face.
Aurian slid into the chair next to her new friend. "I promise we aren't, Touko. None of this is your fault! I'm surprised that Tobias is still legally in this competition, what he did to Keldeo borders on abuse!"
Ash slipped out of the waiting room and into a closet, quickly pulling on his G-Men combat uniform in a shadowy corner.
He poked his head out of the door and was met with a frightened nurse-in-training.
"Sir, you can't be back here..." she trailed off when Ash showed her his G-Men badge.
"Pardon me for scaring you, miss, but I know how to save that Keldeo," Ash pleaded. "Please, let me help!"
The nurse frowned. "Do you have medical training?"
"I do, and I know exactly how to combat that Dark Void," he said, releasing a few sparks of aura from his fingertips and showing her his identification badge.
She nodded. "Understood. Come with me!"
The unlikely duo sprinted down the hall and barged into the room where Keldeo laid, preparing to go into surgery.
"Stop the procedure!" the nurse yelled. "This man can help us!"
Ash raised his badge and showed the Armada symbol on the back of his case and the medical staff nodded.
"I'm amazed that Keldeo is still alive," the lead doctor- Kamiko- said, wiping her brow. "Internal injuries are severe and that Dark Void seems unbreakable."
Ash smiled. "I'm pretty sure I can break it. If not, I have a friend who can help us out."
He stretched his fingers, rolled his neck, and extended his right hand. Blue waves rolled off his fingertips and enveloped the Legendary. Ash could feel bones reknitting and Keldeo's body becoming whole again, much to his relief. He reached for the arrowheads around his neck and drew on those reserves in addition to his own personal power. Ash felt a bit faint when he finished, but it was worth it.
Keldeo opened his eyes and blinked at Ash.
"Are you the one that saved me?"
Ash nodded. "The staff here stabilized you first but yes, I helped out a little."
"My gratitude to you, Aura Guardian. May I see Touko now?"
"I believe so. Doctor Kamiko, Keldeo is asking for Touko. May she come in?"
"I don't see why not, as long as she's gentle. Nurse Madison, would you please go get her?"
Madison nodded. "I bet she'd like to meet you, sir, if you have the time to stay."
Ash bit his lip. "May I please use your restroom first?"
"Of course. Out these doors, down the hall to your right. Should be the last door on your left," Dr. Kamiko said. "Team, we need to finish up the x-rays we planned on doing to make sure that Keldeo's completely healed..."
The Crimson Menace followed the signs and found the bathroom.
Aurian, everything okay out there?
Ash, Touko's an absolute wreck. She's hysterical. How's Keldeo?
He smiled. Used aura to heal him and he should be perfectly fine. The doctors are running some diagnostics but it should be like nothing ever happened.
Aurian sighed in relief. Oh, I know she'll be grateful. You're in uniform, right?
Yeah, I'm taking out my contacts now. If she asks for a name, which name should I give?
His patonai stopped to think. Shadow should work.
Gotcha, I'm heading back in now. I'll let you know when we're done, okay?
Ash finished his business, put his contacts in their case, and strode back to the room where Touko was waiting, Keldeo resting on a hospital bed.
"Dr. Kamiko says that you're the one who saved my friend," Touko sighed, furiously wiping her eyes with a tissue. "I don't know how I can thank you, sir."
Ash smiled and shook her hand. "I've been in your situation before, miss, I completely understand what you're feeling right now. Is there anything else I can do for you while I'm here?"
Touko bit her lip. "Could I at least know your name?"
"My superiors call me Shadow," Ash said.
Touko frowned. "Your superiors?"
"Here, this should explain," he replied, passing over his G-Men badge.
"Armada..." she trailed off. "Wait, weren't you the people who protected the Girl's Forum from that Andan Alliance yesterday?"
Ash swelled with pride. "That was us. We were happy to see that everyone made it out unharmed."
"That was definitely a bit of a blindside, Shadow. Thank you again, I don't know how I can repay you for this."
"Don't worry about any form of payment, just keep spending time with Keldeo. That should be payment many times over," Ash said. "I have to go now, miss. It was a pleasure meeting you."
Touko and the medical staff waved as Ash walked out the door and back towards the bathrooms, where he changed back into civilian clothes, put his contacts back in, and dropped out the window to meet his friends back in the waiting room.
"Sorry for the delay, guys, something came up," Ash said, rejoining his friends. "Where'd Touko go?"
Misty grinned. "Keldeo's been healed! She went to the back to meet the man that did it."
Brock shot Ash a glance and the aura user nodded, confirming the Pokemon Doctor's suspicions.
"He's gonna be all right!" Touko said, coming back through the doors. "I'd like to stay here with him for the night but Keldeo should be discharged by morning, thank the lucky stars above. Thank you for helping me through this, everyone, I greatly appreciate it."
"All's well that ends well, right?" Aurian replied, hugging her fellow competitor. "If you need anything, let us know, okay?"
Touko nodded. "Will do. See you guys tomorrow?"
"We'll drop by before these two," Misty pointed at Ash and Aurian, "have their melee battle. Stay safe!"
The group left the Center and went back to the campsite, where Ash immediately lit a fire to ward off the chilly November air.
Max put a marshmallow on the end of a stick and held it over the fire, his Ralts levitating one over the flames. "Red, why did Tobias go all out on Keldeo when he knew he had the victory in the bag?"
Ash frowned. "My best guess is that he felt threatened by the presence of another Legendary and wanted to prove his dominance, so he and Darkrai made that decision together. How the little guy survived, I'll never know. He was on the brink when we got him to the Center."
"You saved him, didn't you?" Misty asked, arms wrapped around her knees. "With aura?"
"I won't brag about it, but yes. Took a lot of my reserves but I pulled it off."
Aurian tossed her arrowheads to her patonai. "Here, take these and refuel. You're more in need of them than I am."
"I can't," Ash shook his head. "These are for you to use whenever you need. I don't break my promises."
"I'm using it on you," she growled. "Take the damn arrowheads and fill your reserves. We can't have you walking around on empty."
"Okay, okay, I'll take half of one. Deal?"
"Deal," Aurian said. "Brock, pass me the chocolate, will you?"
Misty watched Ash place the arrowhead in the center of his palm and concentrate. Blue ley lines came out of the stone and encircled his hand.
"What does it feel like?" she asked.
Ash smiled at her curiosity. "It's warm, and it tickles a little bit."
"Tickles?"
Ash finished replenishing his reserves and formed a small aura sphere. "Here, you can hold it if you want."
Misty held her hands open as Ash handed her the sphere.
"This is absolutely bizarre," she said, shifting the aura from one hand to the other. "And you can just... produce this on your own? No effort or anything?"
Ash nodded and gave Aurian her second arrowhead back. "No one's entirely sure where aura comes from. For Blue and I, it's always been there. We just had to be trained to draw on it and form it to the shape we want it to take."
"What else can you do with aura?"
Aurian sat down on Misty's unoccupied side. "We can create weapons, make energy blasts, store backup reserves in the arrowheads we keep around our necks. We're our own portable flashlights when missions go dark."
"We can also transfer our energy to something else to keep it alive and functioning. That's how Sir Aaron won the Great War but lost his life, that's how Aurian saved me when we first met, that's how I saved her after Sinnoh and Galactic, that's how we rescued Keldeo. It's a great risk every time the transfer is undertaken. If the resistance between your aura and the aura you're trying to transfer to is too great, you'll die before you finish."
"Resistance?" Max asked. "Like what you did at the Tree?"
Ash nodded. "Yeah. Resistance is determined by how far apart the frequencies are between the transferer and the transferee."
"Since Red and I have nearly identical frequencies, we can switch with each other with virtually no trouble. If I wanted to heal my team, it would take a little more of a push. If I needed to heal one of you, it'd be hard for me to manage it on my own," Aurian said, fidgeting with her arrowhead.
"Has anyone ever had identical frequencies?" Brock asked.
Ash frowned. "It's almost impossible. Riley said we were the first two he'd ever seen that were this close together. He studied every book he could find to see if there was another instance but he couldn't find anything. As far as we know, we're the first people in recorded history to have nearly identical frequencies."
Misty let the sphere evaporate out of her hands. "Can anyone be taught how to use aura?"
"Yes and no," Aurian said, biting her lip. "With a bit of concentration and a lot of practice, almost anyone can sense auras. A small group of people can see auras and an even smaller number can wield it."
"How many aura-sensitive people are there in the Armada?" Brock asked.
Ash frowned. "Me. Blue. Riley. Sam can see. Lily's not technically a G-Men member but she can see aura. Hiori can sense. Michael can see since he has his hidden monocle of awesomeness. Six out of thirteen isn't too bad, right?"
"You're forgetting Lance," Aurian interjected. "He can see them."
"How many wielders are there in the world?" Misty asked.
Aurian sucked in a breath. "As far as we know, there are three: Red, Riley, and I. There might be more that haven't been trained yet but we have no idea if that's possible or where they'd be.
"Blue, how many girls were there in the past? I haven't heard of any lady Aura Guardians," Brock asked.
"I'm one of two recorded girls to complete the entire Guardian process. The other was Sir Aaron's sister, Annabeth," Aurian shrugged. "We're not sure why the numbers were so incredibly low."
"This is very off topic," Max said, typing on his Pokegear, "but they've just released statistics on the Top Ten. Looks like Red, Blue, and Faith are the only members who haven't won a League. Tobias and Assunta have each won four, Tyson, Morrison, and Surge have won two, Vergil and Jon have won one. Eight guys, two girls, youngest is seventeen," he nodded at Aurian, "oldest is Jon Dickson at forty-two. Median age is twenty-eight."
"Almost eighteen," Aurian said with a grin. "Cool. Anything else interesting?"
Max squinted at the screen. "All but one have competed in the Kanto and Johto Leagues. Most popular circuit is the Four Great Regions Tour, followed by the Fifth Circuit. Most Pokemon used have been from Kanto and Sinnoh. Unova's a close second."
"Do you guys have a strategy for tomorrow?" Maddy asked.
Aurian crossed her arms. "Go in. Kick butt. Make the top four."
"Like, actual strategy," Maddy said. "Something we could learn from?"
"We'll be tag-teaming tomorrow for sure," Ash said. "We'll most likely find the most powerful people in the ring other than Tobias and Faith and take them down before we even think about facing that Darkrai."
"Are you going to be okay tomorrow?" Misty asked. "With Tobias and all..."
Ash smiled at his friend's concern. "I will. It's been almost three and a half years and I think I've healed to the point where I'm ready to exact my vengeance. Justice is coming his way and I can't wait to be its arbitrator."
"It's getting late," Aurian said, "and we need to be on top of our game tomorrow. Are all of you guys staying out here with us tonight?"
"Why not?" Brock asked. "It'll be just like the glory days."
"Better not pull out that drying pan, Brock." A triumphant grin spread across Ash's face.
Brock blushed a shade comparable to a bad sunburn. "That was ONE time, Red! One time and you're never letting me hear the end of it. At least I can do simple multiplication!"
"Shut up!" Ash replied, face burning almost as red as his contacts. "See you all in the morning?"
The group muttered variations of "good night" and fell asleep one by one.
"We need to call Lance," Aurian said, offering her earbuds for her patonai to use. "Now's the time to do it. There's no way he's wrapped up in League meetings right now."
Ash nodded and pulled out his Pokegear. "Let's make it quick. We need as much rest as possible before tomorrow morning."
A minute later, Lance's familiar face appeared on the screen, hair pulled back in a ponyta-tail.
"It's late, you two. What's up?"
Aurian cringed. "We overheard something today that you might like to hear... and what's up with your hair?"
"This?" Lance said. "I'm trying something new. How is it?"
"Terrible," Ash deadpanned, ignoring the horrified look on Lance's face. "Stick to the spikes, Dragon Master. Blue and I were sparring when we stumbled upon Faith Sorenson consulting with Charon from Galactic about a so-called Pokemon Enhancer for the competition. There were two vials- one for her, one for someone named Midnight's Heir. We think that's Tobias."
"Pokemon Enhancers, you say?" Lance asked, fingers steepled against his chin. "Now this is another terrifying plot twist. This is a far cry, but did they talk about ingredients?"
Aurian shook her head. "Only thing we know is that it's an acrid green and is in a vial about three inches long. It could be concealed pretty much anywhere and we don't know if they were planning to use them today or wait until the Melee round tomorrow."
Lance frowned. "I personally think that Tobias used his enhancer today. How else could he have plowed through that Keldeo so quickly?"
"But that wouldn't make sense," Ash protested. "He'd be more likely to ensure a spot in the top four by using it tomorrow. Unless..."
"Unless?" Lance asked.
Aurian's eyes lit up. "Unless that's a new recipe for the melee and they've had other enhancers the entire length of the Tournament. It'd make sense why Tobias has always been in such a league of his own and how Faith's come from nowhere to the top of the betting pools."
"Understood. Are you two prepared to deal with them tomorrow if necessary?" Lance said.
Ash bit his lip. "Yes and no. We'll leave Tobias and Faith to deal with Assunta and Harrison. We'll go from there, unless they decide to attack us first. Then we'll open the gates to hell."
"You're considering using that specific entry from the Handbook?" Lance asked, eyes wide.
Aurian nodded. "We're running out of ways to stay inconspicuous. We don't have a choice, sir. If we want to stay in this competition, we need to start taking things seriously, and that means using the moves we've come up with in life-or-death situations to carry into sudden-death tournament battles."
"You two stopped being conspicuous long ago," Lance replied with a smile. "I'll get Research onto checking into these enhancers you stumbled upon and we'll get back to you soon. Good night."
The patonai crawled back into their sleeping bags.
Aurian lay awake a bit longer than she meant to, staring up at the stars and picking out different constellations while the smoke from the dying coals colored the air.
The threat of Melee Day hung over her head. She was scared, yes, but ready to face off against the other eight trainers in the ring in the morning. She'd been training for something like this for three years.
You still up? Ash asked.
Aurian nodded. Yeah. Can't stop thinking about tomorrow.
We'll make it through, I know we will. Tobias will, no doubt. Who's gonna be the fourth? Ash asked.
Aurian frowned. That's where my planning falls short. We're all wild cards here, Ash. I haven't seen half of the Top Ten battle. You think that was on purpose?
Wouldn't be surprised if it was, Ash replied, twisting a strand of overlong hair between his fingers. They're trying to test how we can strategize on a first impression and with split seconds to do so. Lucky for us, that's what we've been doing for the past few years. We kind of specialize in flying by the seat of our pants.
I'm kind of terrified about facing both Tobias and Faith together tomorrow, Aurian said. I have a feeling that they'll be using those enhancers we saw in the forest today and it won't be pretty.
I get it, Ash said. You're the most reliable on guesses like this.
My gut is a lie detector, she replied with a mental laugh. Anything goes wrong and I can feel it.
You think that's connected to aura somehow? Ash asked.
Aurian shrugged, then thought better of it when she realized that Ash couldn't see her action. Don't know, don't know. Who do you think is second in power behind Tobias?
Assunta, Jon or Vergil, Ash thought. If each of us can take one of them out of commission tomorrow, we'll have a good start on that strategy of ours. Dibs on Jon.
And I call Vergil. Done. We really should rest up, if that's possible, Aurian said. See you in the morning, patonai?
G'night, Ash muttered, rolling over onto his stomach and trying to ignore the knot growing within it.
(A/N): Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for reading chapter 19 (19!) of Primary! It's review response time:
thechinskyguy: Couldn't have done this without your help. Thank you, friend!
Michael: I may or may not have screamed when I read what you wrote. Thank you, your words are what pushed me to finish this chapter!
There's not really an excuse for how late this chapter is. I got caught up in college things and audition music but hey, the chapter's done and I have a good portion of 20 and 21 written. Let me know what you liked, what you didn't like, what I can improve on, what went well. And as always, don't forget to read, review, and share if you liked the chapter!
PL, signing off!