Chapter 5- Forever Farewell
Part 1- Heir to the Elite
Authors Note: This chapter may contain some abstract language. Pronunciations to the sentences, or word(s) will be described at the end of each part of the chapter.
Close your eyes, open your mind, and give in to your dreams. Falling into an abyss of never-ending spiraling metallic colors, Ash was plunging into yet another unexplainable dream. Perhaps it was caused from the earlier days event of when Gary Oak had told him that he was the next heir to the Elite. But how could he be? It was Gary! He was only eighteen and not even qualified to be a Master, or was he? He made it past the Indigo League and received first place, and was accepted to the Indigo Plateau so anything at this point was possible.
He breathed in the fresh air of the sky and blinked a few times before observing himself in the strange environment. This time he was standing on a cliff side above an ancient sanctuary, which closely resembled a small temple of some sort. Seven blue-rock pillars surrounded the small sanctuary. Each one contained a small dugout area that connected to each pillar, which was probably used for bathing or some sort of foreign ritual. Facing the sanctuary was a wide sapphire sea that shimmered from the light of the sun. Ash could see something in the close horizon, but it wasn't exactly clear.
He looked around himself for any signs of human life form, or any life form, but nothing was there; only Ash and the strange sea sanctuary. The sun was beginning to set as he could hear a very soothing hymn whisper softly through his ears.
"I know that tune," he told himself, continuing to search for its origin, "But I can't remember where I heard it last." He massaged his temples but nothing in resemblance was striking his brain. The song continued to flow through his ears and the curiosity was beginning to get to him. His eyes flashed a deep red of fury as the sun had gone down for the night.
The night was clam as ever and stars danced through the skies like fairies in a Shakespeare forest. And just before the tide was reaching in on the beach below, three shots of fire, ice, and lightning erupted from the clouded objects in the distant dark night. Ash jumped to his feet and now the music was beginning to grow much louder to the point where he had to plug his ears to avoid deafening. The mysterious clashes of the elements continued to pound and the sanctuary below the cliff began to lighten. The rock pillars began to glow within and thick green ooze sprouted in the carved dugout's surrounding the whole sanctuary. Ash watched in amazement as he could see something form within the center of the glowing pillars. Jet-black cloths began to appear from nowhere. It stretched from pillar to pillar as another figure was being revealed before his golden brown eyes. He could see two hands tied to the cloth, and slowly a male body was being revealed. The man was naked and his long brown hair fell before his bright red eyes. They were glowing a brilliant aura of red and suddenly the man's head looked right up at Ash.
Ash fell back with fear. He held on tight to the grass of the cliff and could see the eyes staring at him viciously. He looked once more and saw that all of the mans limbs, including his head, were bleeding. But the blood wasn't red— it was black. Obviously the man was dead or in zombie form.
He opened his mouth to reveal his jagged teeth. He licked his lips and wailed at the man standing up on the cliff. His voice was scratchy, just like the Pikachu's in the recent dream, but he wasn't speaking English. It sounded as if his tongue was speaking like a serpent. "Mille kaile. Ondorogja se phuz!" Came the deep chuckling voice of the dead man.
"What are you saying?" Ash shouted to the corpse. It began to laugh at him intensely.
The corpse opened its mouth and released what looked to be a thick black fog, much like the dark plague from Abraham. The fog expanded into a demon form and flew straight towards Ash with its humongous hands stretched out. It's mouth opened and showed a deep dark hole of blackness. Ash cried as the hands reached for his face and shook him violently.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Ash bellowed and the dream was finished.
"What do I want?" Came a sweet voice in front of him. It was Misty. She was showered and ready to eat her breakfast. "I just came to tell you that breakfast is ready—are you okay?" She asked, pulling the covers away from his sweating abs.
Ash reached around his face with his hands. He looked down on his bare chest and could see that it was all just a dream and everything was going to be all right. He gasped and sat up beside Misty. "Yah— I'll be fine, I think…" He said, rubbing his head and slipped into a black tank top.
"Okay then!" Misty replied, pursing his lips nervously for his sake. "You know this isn't the first time you've woken up breathless and gasping for air. Maybe we should call the doc—"
"I said I was fine! So drop it!" Ash interrupted her rudely. Misty shrugged her shoulders and went on with her own business.
After cooling his nerves, and slipping into a half decent unwashed set of clothes, Ash looked into the mirror and buttoned up his shirt before going downstairs to join his mother and Misty at breakfast. With Pikachu tagging along behind him, Ash approached the mail drop at the front hall. Letters were scattered all across the floor. Most of them were clearly fan-mail wishing Ash good luck on his upcoming battle, and the rest were just either bills or notices from the Head Elite. He shuffled through them, picked them up, and unboxed them in his hands. Proceeding to skip through them curiously, he stumbled on a rather unusual letter. The writing was very neat and the envelope smelled like Pokemon foods. He threw the letters down on the table and scanned the nameless letter. Delia watched him read it blankly.
"Ash," she said, "Why is there no name on that?"
His eyes narrowed puzzled. "I have no clue." He began tearing away the seal and reached in for the triple folded letter. Once he saw the writing he recognized whom it had belonged to immediately. "Brock."
Misty dropped her fork. Delia's eyes brightened.
"Brock?" Misty spat then swallowed her food with embarrassment.
"That's right!" Ash replied, gazing down on the text. "Want me to read it?" Misty nodded.
Dear Ash,
It's been over three years since we've talked and I think it's about time we started again. Word has it that you are going to be competing in this century Genesis Battle. Once I saw it on T.V I couldn't believe it. You have matured greatly. I just wish I could have been there to see it. So what level of training are you currently fighting on? Celadon News says you've reached the Leading Level. Congratulations!
I've been tied up for a while here at the Celadon University. A new discovery has been made at the shores of Cinnabar Island, but I'm not to speak of it, some confidential thing. By the way, Suzie says hello. And if you didn't know, Suzie and me are co-workers right now. We've opened up our own breeding center right in the core of Celadon City, nearby the Gym. Cool eh? My Pokemon are doing great and I expected yours are doing even better.
Well, I have to cut this letter short because I am needed, once again, at the University. Professor Oak needs me to investigate the breeding secrets of the…well never mind about that, but I will be at Center Earth to watch you fight. See you there, and give my regards to Misty and your Mother!
Sincerely,
Brock Slate.
"Oh that Brock was always so polite! I knew he would make it in the breeding industry." Delia began happily. Ash gave her a small look of jealousy. "Oh Ash, I'm sure you'll do fine one day as well— just win that battle okay?"
"What do you think I'm training for?" He answered with his fists tightening. No one seemed to be recognizing how far he had come in training in just a few months. "Besides, if I don't win, or if it's a tie, I'll be heading off to the Archipelagos with you by my side!"
Misty smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Yea— I miss Brock, don't you Ash? Although his constant flirting with women drove me nuts, I still wish he was around to help…"
Ash could sense of feeling of deep passion with Misty. Did she have a small crush on him over the years, or was it just a sense of losing another treasured friend?
"He did keep things in-line. I'll give him that." Ash replied and took a stand to the table. "But I'm here now, and I'm sure everything will be much better."
"Pika!" The small mouse smiled.
Delia looked down onto the pile of letters on the table. She happened to notice the monthly letter from the Elite Government had arrived. Each month they would send of a recognition letter reminding Ash of his battle and the rules which consisted with it. He was to use only one Pokemon in battle. To Ash's luck, he had Pikachu, but he still wished that his Pokemon would give into their feelings and forgive him for the abandonment. Now they were abandoning him and it felt like he had lost his Pokemon— more like best friends, forever. Everyday in the cool month of November, Ash would walk up to the quiet laboratory on top of Pallet. There, he would try to talk to his Pokemon and all he could receive was a polite nod from them. The mothering Magnium was the only one who showed him the true affection he craved. A small tear feel from the corner of his eye when someone every happened to mention him in his past years with his Pokemon. It could be an early life crisis he was facing? Or maybe it was all in his head? After all, he was a champion in the making, and his thoughts of his Pokemon were soon beginning to fade away into the deepest parts of his mind, giving room to the new thoughts of his future.
"Ash, listen to this!" Delia said unraveling the parchment from the envelope. It was neatly written in a calligraphy font, giving more to the mystic style of messaging. "'As you already know, the battle at Centro Terra is only one month away to the current day. Before the centennial event shall occur, we advise you and your relatives to come and take advantage of the offerings the Government has placed at the Centro Terra Resort, located not too far away from the ancient palace and fighting grounds. There, you shall be assigned to a deluxe five-bedroom penthouse, overlooking the outskirts of the mountains. Our maids will clean the room daily and a free-of-charge room service will be displayed before you. We feel this is a very important day, so we feel that you deserve to be treated like Genesis himself. Your check-in time will be at 7:00 pm on the following day after Boxing Day. Our compliments are yours for the taking and we are honored to have you with us. Good-bye and have a safe and joyous Christmas holiday.'"
Delia was in her glory, as well as Misty. They're minds and thoughts were directed towards the hotel spa. They could feel the strong hands of the men reaching to their skin, relaxing them to their fullest potential. They could see themselves overlooking their balcony under the starry sky and out into the mountains. It was more like their honor to be staying at a luxury resort at a free cost of stay.
Delia noticed another important notice, which was attached at the bottom of the signature. "There's more." Misty jumped and spread her fingers evenly around the edge of the table with anticipation. Ash was becoming annoyed of her constant over reacting. "'P.S. Please note that a private helicopter will arrive at 8:00 pm the day before because you are to be flown to the Celadon Airport and board the next flight to Centre Earth. The traveling time to destination will be at least twenty-one hours maximum. Please feel free to bring any personalized item, although entertainment will be provided in a closed off private unit on the plane. Thank-you, and any further information will be addressed to you shortly.'"
"Sounds a bit far stretched just for a battle," Ash said ungratefully, "Like come on, its only for one night!"
"Nothing can please you can it?" Misty barked realizing Ash was thinking rather inappropriate thoughts about her. "Pervert."
"I didn't say anything!" Ash snickered. Pikachu rubbed her teeth together, disapproving of his masculine ways of thinking.
"You didn't need to!" Misty shouted, smacking him at the back of his thick haired head.
As the days became much more shorter than ever, winter was soon approaching, as well as the Ketchum households favorite holiday. Christmas. Delia and Ash had done their annual activity of putting up the Christmas lights around the roof-ridges and placing the candy cane fence along the snow covered front walkway. As the midnight fire blazed in the fireplace, warming Ash's sleeping body on the couch, he was beginning to drift slowly off to sleep. His recent castings of odd and unusual dreams were becoming more vivid, showing him things that made absolutely no sense. He had told his mother about them and also went to the doctor, which was not much help. All he got was a blank answer and a bottle of mild sleeping pills without a disturbance of dreaming. So he decided to take it upon himself and research n his dreaming. One book he read told him it was the early sign of a rare case of sleeping disorder and the other, an indescribable message from nowhere.
Once again, Ash could feel his body falling into a bright hole of multicolored lights. They flashed before his eyes and penetrated into his body. It was like the rainbow itself was cleansing him. Only this time, it felt good and relaxing. As he landed softly on his feet he could see himself standing under a cathedral ceiling supported with seven marble pillars. Stretched across them were long strands of silver and indigo silk materials, which feel dimly to the dark exit of the room. The silk danced along the marble floors and opened up to reveal a large patio overlooking a vast mountainside and starry sky. The patio was neatly decorated with wild and gemstone flowers. Long vines of blue-purple flowers dangled from each end and tip. Encrusted within them were small diamond rhinestones. Ash took one to his nose and breathed in their fresh tropical aroma.
The moon was full, revealing yet another shadow behind him. Ash turned around to see a beautiful woman standing before him. Her red hair fell past her backside and down to her waist. A thin blue trimmed gown lied against her body and under her long liquid shawl. But the most beautiful part of her was how her eyes closely resembled the ocean and the sapphires placed neatly in her hair. Around her eyes was a silver sparkling layer of thin make-up, identical to the shimmering diamond tiara in her hair. She puckered her rose red lips and smiled dreamily on the young man beside before her.
"Misty?" Ash asked, trying hard to focus somewhere away from her beautiful body and gown. It ran past her feet and was cut jagged from the bottom and up the side where it was tied neatly at her waist.
Her eyes became glassy. "Yes?" Her soft voice came and ran smoothly through his ears. She raised her long right pale arm and ran her palm through his thick black hair. Ash could feel a small crystal lily embedded in her palm. Silver dust came out from its pours as she waved it through his hair.
Ash was in his glory and he couldn't help to recognize that he was also dressed elegantly in a Japanese style indigo coat, matching pants, and a long silver-silk cape. Around the cuffs and neck was a particular design of oval shaped wave-like circles. Inside them was a round cut crystal gem resembling something like a sea creature. His top left ear was also decorated with a silver hoop ring.
"What are you doing here?" He breathed quietly.
Misty closed his mouth with her ruby painted fingernail. Then she stretched out her hand and fingers, running them across a hardly noticeable scar that went from his right eye to his lips. She had a look of pain on her face until she closed her lips and placed them against his. For minutes she kissed his gently. Ash let in to her seduction and kissed her back more forcefully than she had done. Together they stood on the balcony, hand in hand. The moon was shining as the atmosphere was changing and clouding Ash's eyes from the romantic dream. The vision of Misty was disappearing. Her bright blue eyes shined brilliantly as multicolor flashes of light surrounded him until he could feel himself back at home on the couch.
"Ash?" Whispered a melancholy voice. "It's past three."
Ash rubbed his eyes and glanced over at the stairwell. Sure enough it was Misty. She was standing in her nightgown with her hair on ends. She looked rather hideous compared to the outstanding beauty in the dream.
"Okay, I'm coming." He answered, turning off the gas fireplace and walked up the stairs with the night maiden.
After the strange events and dreaming for the past few weeks before Christmas, Ash decided it would be best to go to the library and try to see if he could find what the dreams could have meant. He took out all of the dream books and documents but none of them had any explanation to the dreams, or should we say, nightmares. Still, the serpent sound from the corpse sent chills up his spine every time it crossed his mind.
"There has to be some sort of explanation!" Ash said, looking across the room to the local Pallet Town Doctor.
"Well dreams can be quite confusing as you already know." The doctor replied, twirling his thumbs back and forth. The self-conscious mind obviously wasn't his field of expertise.
Lying calmly on the dark maroon fainting couch, Ash looked up to the jagged ceiling of the office to try and put the clues together.
"What's wrong with me?" He asked himself repeatedly. And yet his head was filled with unanswered questions. Someone had to know what was going on.
"Doctor?" Ash called with his eyes shut and relaxed. "Could these dreams I'm having possibly be predicting the fu…?"
"Future?" The doctor interrupted, sweeping the words out from his patient's mouth. "That could be so, but it could also be an overload of information or too much excitement." He suggested, rubbing the stubble on his chin.
"Well I have been training night and day. Perhaps that's my problem— not enough sleep?" Ash answered.
Now it made sense for the both of them. Ash got up from the couch and fixed his gelled spiked hair. Giving his doctor a friendly nod for goodbye, he opened the door and walked out of the clinic calmly and feeling sure about himself and the dreaming. Meeting Pikachu outside in the cold, they walked down to the post office, which wasn't that far away from his house along the main road.
Holiday bells rang as the glass door to the local post office opened. Ash wiped off the excess snow from his boots and made his way up to the main desk. There, a very strict and tall man who took his government job quite seriously greeted him.
"May I help you?" The man asked with a very coarse voice.
"Uh— yea, Ash Ketchum." He replied, rubbing his head.
The clerk scanned Ash and realized exactly who he was, except grown into a man, and a very good one too. He continued to observe Ash making him feel very uncomfortable about the situation.
The man made eye contact with Ash and prompted himself up. "Oh, s-sorry about that sir. I just recognized that you were Ash Ketchum who will be fighting in Genesis."
Ash bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders. "That's me…can I get my mail please?" He said very quickly, becoming tired of his constant fame and attention.
The man jumped up and ran to the back, returning with a handful of confidential letters and documents. He passed them to Ash; helping to notice that they had came from the Elite Government in Viridian. Ash took them from the man, gave his regards for Christmas and left the store as soon as possible because a fresh new wave of snow was about to fall upon the town. Running up the cold main road with his frostbitten fingers clenching to the letters, he could feel the snow falling on his back. It was harder as usual and the sky began to rumble just as he stepped into the front yard of his home.
The door opened and Ash practically threw himself in because he could no longer stand the freezing temperatures of the outside world. Hanging up his coat and placing his boots neatly on the shoe rack, Ash flipped through the letters quickly and came across his mother and Misty sitting in family room.
"Hi mom, Misty." He announced.
There was no answer.
"Hello?" He continued.
Delia looked up from the arm of the couch and signaled with her finger for him to keep quiet.
"I just got back from the post office…" Ash said, however being cut off from his mother's interruption.
"Be quiet Ash, and sit down!" Delia cursed with her eyes narrowed to the television screen. Ash was becoming quite confused why neither his mother nor Misty would speak a word to him. He glued his eyes to the screen and watched the camera zoom in on the Viridian News reporter.
The news reporter began by bowing his head to the audience, but it was more in a way of utter respect.
"Viridian News at six brings you live news from the Indigo Plateau." The man said, shuffling through his script papers.
Now, Ash's attention was gained. The screen changed to the Indigo Plateau assembly and all Ash's eyes paid attention to was the Elite Four, except it wasn't four, it was three. In the center of assembly sat the head of the Elite, Lance, then Bruno, Loreli, and Agatha was missing.
A voice over of the reporter came and examined the assembly. "As you have already noticed, the spot of the fourth member of the Elite Four is unoccupied. As unbelievable as it sounds, Agatha was assassinated just one hour earlier today."
Misty cupped her hand and held them over her mouth. Delia sat up straight. Ash's body was twitching terribly.
"The suspect has not yet been clearly identified, but the murder seemed to be arranged very carefully because no fingerprints or particles of evidence was found. Now, the world waits as Lance Dracon speaks." The voice over finished and the camera shot right up to the center podium where the middle-aged man stood very briskly to the assembly.
As moved closer to the T.V with disbelief.
"Good day Masters, Trainers, and everyone else listening. Our fourth member, Agatha Pyscha was killed just one hour earlier from now. This deeply saddens our Elite and now we stand at three. Our hearts are with our sister, but also with the future member of our Elite." Lance explained, bowing his head, trying to hold in his pain. "We have carefully read over the history records of our trainers and we have finally came to a conclusion of who would be the next member of Elite. And that one remarkable individual is no one other than Master Gary Oak of Pallet." A picture of Gary appeared.
His heart— beating faster than usual was about to collapse if it continued to rapidly pound within his body. His head ached and his legs gave out. The room started to spin before his eyes. And there he lied, lifeless on the family room floor on his bed of sprawled envelopes.
- End Of Part 1
Well it's been a long time since I've written. If it's bad, tell me because I'm still a bit rusty on the keyboard. I'm just posting this now because I've been so incredibly busy with schoolwork and activities. I hope you enjoy this; part 2 will be up in a while. Thanks again for reading and reviewing.
-Aki.
Pronunciations:
"Mille kaile. Ondorogja se phuz!"
(Milla-kelly. Ondo- rocha si-fuss)
Okay, this is where part two concludes this chapter. Sorry for any grammar mistakes or poor fonts on this because I lost everything on my old computer so I had to download the first part of the chapter from the site. Enjoy this because this is the chapter where it starts to introduce the darkness of the story. *Pouts* I have such a long way to go in this fic!
Anyways, here we go…
Chapter 5- Forever Farewell
Part 2- The Departure
For a few minutes after falling straight to the ground and on his feet, Ash sat on the carpet with his fingers digging deep into the tiny cracks. His mind must have been deceiving him. There's no way in hell that Gary; GARY, out of all people would become the next and fourth member of the mighty Elite Four. It's not possible. As much as Ash didn't want to cope with it, he was forced to face the reality of the accomplishment his rival had made before him. For years Ash had always tried harder to be the best trainer ever to come from Pallet, but obviously Gary had smashed those dreams and hard work into pieces in the matter of seconds. A few seconds which scorned Ash from now and until the day he would die.
"That little bastard! I hate him!" Ash roared, pounding his fists on the floor.
"Why Ash? He really is a good trainer yanno…" Misty interrupted. "You're not so flawless yourself. You've made some mistakes down the road. Hell, I was there to witness most of them!"
"Defending him as usual Misty?" Ash answered rudely. "In our last years together you were always defending his poor sick bad ass attitude. Why don't you just go follow him around?"
Misty quivered her lips and ran away from yet another fight, which would probably result in massive long-term side effects. That was all Misty needed, to separate again from Ash for another three years or even more. Delia stood by a close side of Ash with her arms crossed and an angered look upon her face.
Ash turned around and scanned his mother's emotions, which were quickly brewing inside of her. "Haven't you got anything to say?" He snapped. "You usually do so I'm just asking."
Delia took one good look into her son's identical golden brown eyes. With a quick jolt, she reached for his tight collar and scrunched the material in the palms of her tightly closed hands. Ash began to tremble. Delia had never looked this angered with him.
"You have to screw up everything don't you, Ash? Like you have a perfect status level of training for your age. Hell, you're even fighting for Genesis!" Delia said with a rough and twisted voice. She crunched her front teeth and made sure Ash wouldn't be able to overpower her with his bold flexibility and strength. "So because of your jealousy over Gary, you take your problems out on Misty? ("She provokes it!") You don't see what you have in front of your eyes Ash. You're blinded with your training. You need to take time to realize that your hurting that woman every day by not understanding how she feels about you and your hiding behind a wall that only you can break down!"
"Sure Mom, this whole thing is about Misty! Misty! Misty! Misty! She constantly meddles into my business and insists on starting arguments with me! Just defending Gary in my presence is enough to set me off and she knows that. Everyone knows that!" Ash thundered before his Mother. He grabbed her hand and forcefully ripped it away from his shirt.
Delia stepped back and began to see someone else inside of her son's body. "Ashura."
"What?" Ash blurted surprised to hear that word.
Delia put her hands on Ash's head and gazed into his eyes very deeply as if she was looking for something deep down inside of him. "I can see it in your eyes, Ash. You have that provoking stare your father once had whenever I wanted to speak with him. All he cared about was his training and improving his skills to become a Master. He had no time for me, and neither for you."
"What are you talking about? I'm nothing like him! But maybe if you gave him a chance to train on his own time then maybe he wouldn't have left you in the first place!" He answered wrongfully. His blood pressure shot up like a gun as he awaited the reaction from his mother.
A small teardrop cascaded down the reddened face of Delia. She began to relive the memories of how her husband, Ashura, never spent time with her and Ash. Always miles away training and mastering his skills, Delia sat alone at home with no one but her small infant child she dearly loved. Whenever she asked him to spend time with her, he agreed, but came up with a lame excuse to throw it off at the last minute due to training complications. So she was left at home for years to raise Ash herself into the man, or to be more precise, a troubled young adult. Finally on a dark winter morning, Delia awakened and found herself alone in her bed. Lying next to her was a short and sweet note upon Ashura's absence. Never to return to the Pallet house, or to his family, Ashura Ketchum was fading in Delia's lonely heart, with only Ash to live for.
"M-Mom… I didn't mean to s-say that." Ash whispered shortly.
"The day you walked out of that door to begin your journey, I feared you would turn into your Father and follow along his footsteps. And now my nightmare has come true. You're doing just as Ashura had done in his early years of mastering." Delia explained her feelings, beginning to shut out her son.
Ash choked and was nearly speechless. Now you've really done it Ketchum. "B-But Mom—"
"No buts! You know damn right what your Father not only did to me, but yourself. Think about the pain your causing. I wont have it. Not in this house for the second time. I've put up with enough of this bullshit and I can't handle it any more Ash. So before you set out again on your journey after Genesis, don't you dare hurt me or especially Misty again!" She concluded, slapping him across the face and ran up the stairs to grieve alone, once again, in her bedroom.
Ash stood at the bottom of the stairwell. Rubbing his burning face. He put the recent episode behind his back and set out into the kitchen to make amends with Misty. Before walking into the kitchen where Misty was probably sitting, twirling her thumbs and speechless, he started to come up with the most understandable explanation for his behavior just a few minutes ago. All he needed was another woman in the house in tears for his wrongful actions.
As he had predicted, Misty was in the kitchen, but not exactly sitting. She was racing through the cupboards and pulled out several cans of non-perishable foods. She stacked them carefully under her chin and jolted herself towards Ash's unwelcome presence. Before Ash could say anything she raised her hand and narrowed her eyebrows warning him to stay away. Ash followed the frantic woman through the family room, dining room, and even up the stairs.
"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" Ash suggested calmly.
Misty sneered and walked into Delia's room, slamming the wooden door in Ash's face. A faint whisper was heard through the under crack of the door and Misty came storming out once again. Like a toddler following his mother, Ash followed Misty. Closer and closer she led the dog to the door and suddenly halted in front of the man.
"Finally, you've stopped. Now would you pl—" He said, being interrupted by Misty's puzzled looks.
"Stay? I don't think so!" She shouted, opening the door.
Ash stretched out his arm and slammed the door from stopping her from escaping. "Where do you think you're going?"
Misty forcefully pushed the large muscular body away from her meek self. "Back to the Islands! And don't you dare defy the Orange League Of Islands and not return, Ash. They've had it up to here with you not being there. Your presence is that of the essence to the Islands and we are expecting you to return two months after Genesis!" She growled, finally taking the door from his grasp and letting herself out. Pulling her long thick blue robes over her face and body, she ran up the front pathway, opened the picket fence and ran away from the Ketchum home.
"Dad. I-Is that you?" Came the small and quiet voice from the top of the bunk beds.
It was in a cold and very dark room the young adult resided in. Tall, thick, muscular and bold, the boy of eighteen stood up in his hot bed and looked down to the door where a small shaded figure was standing in the door well.
"Yes it's me, Ash." The man replied with a rough and battered voice.
Ash's heart began to pound faster than it ever had before. Filled with life again as if he were reborn, he glanced down on his Father, Ashura Ketchum, with great joy.
"Well don't just stand there!" Ash said excitedly, pushing himself down from the top bunk.
"Foolish boy," Ashura hissed. "I'm not here for you!"
Suddenly Ash's heart sank. Of course he wouldn't be there for him. After fifteen years of abandonment why would he return? He had no practical reason to. Ash seized for his Father's hand. He could see the reflection of the midwinter moonlight in his identical brown eyes. The eyes narrowed as they looked upon Ash.
"What?" Ash choked, holding his upper chest with his hand.
"Good-bye." Ashura whispered and then turned his back again on his son.
"Dad! Please come back! Don't leave me alone!" Ash cried and ran for his Father who was nowhere to be seen. He fell to the ground as if the fall was never ending. Crying and praying for his Father, he dreamt a hell he feared.
"HUH!" Ash panted, sweating in his bed. He took one last look at the door well just to make sure it was a dream. Nothing was there. "I am foolish."
After three years without his Mother, this wasn't the one Ash was expecting. The house was lifeless and quiet. He couldn't smell the fresh aroma of the coffee grinds brewing in the coffee maker or the sweet smell of bacon. All he could smell was the pine needles on the dark Christmas tree, which wasn't lightened with all of Delia's favorite ornaments and strings of lights. At first he thought he was dreaming. He pinched himself several times but realized that he was the only one standing in the bottom floor of the house on Christmas day. Unopened and neatly wrapped presents lied under the tree and called out to Ash to open them. But he resisted the temptation and made way to his Mother's room on the top floor.
The door opened with its familiar cold squeak and Ash could see Delia lying under ever cover of her bed. Without noise he quickly leapt to the bedside and suddenly Delia rolled over but still asleep.
"Merry Christmas…Mom." He whispered gently in order not to frighten her.
There was no reply. Not even a blink of her eye. All she had to give was a single teardrop and a short sniffle from her nose. Ash wiped the tear from her face and held back his emotions.
"Come on Pikachu." Ash whispered once again. He expected to walk out of the quiet room with Delia by his side, but only left with Pikachu. Pikachu nudged her tiny face into his pajama pant leg and comforted Ash just like always when he was down and feeling depressed. "That's okay Pikachu, there won't be any Christmas in this house today."
Shutting the door behind him, Delia watched slyly and turned back over in her bed. Crying her self to sleep and away from her son was truly living a nightmare she had been dreading for the past three years. She called out quietly various times to him but not loud enough for him to hear through the floorboards on the ceiling. Trapped in her despair she fell asleep through the day she and Ash always anticipated.
The front doorbell rang through the lively and awakened Ketchum house. Ash and Delia raced back and forth through the house to gather any last minute forgotten pieces of luggage. Fastening his wristwatch, Ash stumbled over the various packed suitcases and opened the door to a tall man dressed elegantly in a strapping black tuxedo style suit. Most likely he was the Chauffer to take him and his Mother to the Viridian Airport.
"Aye, hello there! You must be Master Ash Ketchum?" The man said brightly sticking out his badge, which closely resembled a silver feather.
"Would exactly say 'Master,'" Ash replied feeling quite good about him self.
The day had finally come. It was the twenty sixth of December and the day was bright and beautiful. Perfect in fact for a journey to center earth. The Chauffer grabbed the suitcases and pulled them down the pathway to the large stretched limo just directly outside of the picket fence. To Ash's surprise, nearly the whole town population of Pallet waited there in the cold for Ash's last and possibly the final departure from Pallet. Once the entire luggage was packed into the trunk of the brilliant black limo, Ash, Delia, and Pikachu gave their regards to the citizens of Pallet Town. People of all ages cheered his name loudly and praised Ash for his succession in training. Some people even compared his success to being better than the famous and fourth member of the Elite. Ash blushed as he waved his last goodbye to the people from the limo sunroof. This was the way to go, Ash thought to him self repeatedly.
Few words were spoken along the way to the airport. Delia sneaked glances on Ash and smiled lightly until Ash's wandering eyes caught her. She wanted to speak with him more than the world, but the moment wasn't right and her nerves were holding her back.
Ash caught her looking again. Her lips were moving but no words were shared with him. "Do you want to say something, Mom?" He asked.
Delia paused then sighed shortly.
"Thought so." He continued.
"Would you just wait Ash? God." She finally answered for the first time in twenty-four hours. "Of course I have something to say."
"Well, spit it out! You wouldn't talk to me Christmas day and I'm still waiting." Ash curled his lips and crossed his muscles.
Delia gave him a look of utter impatience. Ash uncurled his arms and waited. "I wanted to talk to you yesterday Ash. For years I wanted to talk to you and be with you on Christmas day, but I couldn't because you weren't there. And this year once again you weren't. You're being yourself Ash and it's starting to scare me. You always loved coming home and now it feels to me that you are doing it only for what's right." She explained.
"And what's next for you? Are you going to run away again after Genesis to train or go back to the Islands? You're future resides within those Islands and so does mine." She continued.
"It depends totally on what happens after Genesis. I don't want to be stuck in an archipelago of tropical islands for my life. I want to see the world and discover the vagabond inside of myself." Ash said, raising his voice and carried on the conversation with Delia.
"Well this time I'll be there at your side Ash. I'll be living on the same Island as you and practically in the same house." Delia repeated taking out a small pamphlet like blueprint to a small house by the oceanfront on Pumelo Island. The blueprints were small and large enough for Delia. It was a two-flight home just like the one in Pallet, except for a mountainous field in the backyard; there was a vast sparkling ocean of blue water. "It's home."
Ash picked up the blueprint and envisioned himself at a home just like in Pallet where he would spend his future years with his Mother. Of course he would have a house of his own on the island near the stadium, but it was nothing without his Mother and he slowly gave in to the offer of a lifetime.
For the remaining two hours, Ash and Delia sat in the limo and had a quality chat they hadn't really had for three years straight. They discussed plans for moving after Genesis had taken place and laid out their ideas on the new home. It was to look the same on both exterior and interior except hardwood floors would be laid instead of carpet. Delia had always wanted the hardwood floors but could never afford the cost. A single mother of one with only a single day job of cleaning was just enough to put food on the table and shelter Ash and herself through the years. But she saved her money for her son and soon hoped that one day he would support her as she did for him. And that's what Ash was about to do. Her dreams were coming true at last. The constant worrying of the whereabouts of Ash was soon to come to an end.
A few hours later they found themselves boarding the private silver tone jet in the runway of the Viridian City International Airport. Before Ash was boarded two men wearing black suits greeted him respectfully. There, they presented him with a folded silver silk cloak, which made Ash's boy sooth when his fingertips touched the folds.
"Master Ketchum, you are presented to wear this hooded cloak uniformly when entering the ancient city of Genesis. Before your arrival to the palace you will be given your final gift of assurance. Enjoy your flight." The men said synchronized like robots. The tension of their voices frightened Ash as he boarded the jet.
"Thanks…" Ash stuttered. Pikachu sat quietly and curiously on Ash's left shoulder.
Once he was seated and buckled in safely with his Mother, the jet was ready to take off for the long twenty-four hour flight to center earth. The jet engines roared fiercely as the jet wheels began to slowly move the jet along the long and narrow runway. For never being on a jet or plane, Ash was taking the turbulence quite well. Pikachu had perked her ears up on end. The constant shaking and acceleration of the jet was scaring her. But Ash comforted her and held her in his hands to protect one of the only friends he had in the world.
"Please stay seating in your destined area, for the jet will be in the air within seconds. The estimated arrival time for center earth is tomorrow afternoon at 1 o'clock pm. Enjoy your flight." The Pilots voice came on the intercom throughout the jet.
Ash held his Mother's hand tight as they soared off into the sky leaving their past, present, and future of Pallet behind their innocent backs.