Chapter 26: Wizardly Rewards


It had been a few days since Luna Nova Academy was threatened by Oboneron that Ash, Akko and Diana stopped, though it came very close to a tragic sacrifice as Ash used his aura and learned magic to put an end to Oboneron, killing Giovanni in the process. Akko, using Chariot's Shiny Rod, and Diana, using the Wand of Beatrix, revived Ash. In the Nurse's Office, Miranda used a stethoscope to monitor Ash while Pikachu watched in Ellen's arms. "So far, your recovery is going nicely," Miranda mentioned. "The injuries you've suffered will take some more time, but I see you back on your feet soon enough."

"I appreciate the head's up," Ash smiled. "Still, I can't believe what happened… and why I never saw my dad ever." Pikachu and the women mulled to the information.

"When you told us yesterday," Ellen spoke. "None of us believed it. Even now, it's still hard to accept." Miranda had a thought to the case.

"Giovanni believed that with Arthur's death," she studied. "The lineage of Aaron would be dissolved. If he hadn't made love to Delia before his death, you would've been born without the latent power. It was fortunate that you carried the aura that put Oboneron to a permanent rest, as is Akko and Diana using the Shiny Rod and the Wand of Cavendish to revive you." Ash bowed his head.

"When I get back, I want to know the truth about my dad," he murmured. Pikachu palmed his side. Ellen came to Ash and palmed his cheek.

"What you are is one of us, though a wizard among the witches," she praised. "Nevermore would you be regarded as a simple boy." She kissed Ash's temple, causing a slight blush to his nose.

"Though, I'm willing to say that you are indeed the grandson that I wish I was a part of," Miranda praised. "I might die happy that someone is a wizard that I see for my many years on Earth." Ash smiled before Miranda and Ellen left. The Staff of Ki stood by Ash's bed, the same staff that once belonged to Aaron. Meowth sneaked in and came to the bedside.

"So, da boss is no longer here?" he asked. Ash shook his head. Meowth mulled. "Just great. No boss means Team Rocket will be out of sorts, Persian's without his owner, it's a recipe for disasta!"

"And I've been told that Jessie and James are being put on trial for various crimes," Ash mulled. "Not just in the country, but among the Council of Magic."

"Yeah? I mean, I'm not as innocent… Hopefully, dat Council will spare da Pokémon."

"I'm sure they'll be okay." That's when Chariot and Croix enter. Chariot sprinted to Ash, tears in her eyes.

"My son!" she cried as she hugged Ash.

"Miss Call-" he called but stopped, realizing that wasn't her name. "I mean… Chariot." Croix smiled at the sight.

"You don't know how scared we were after you emerged." They broke the hug, but Chariot's hands were still on Ash's head.

"Yeah… I mean, I'm still pretty exhausted from it. I don't know how long it'll take for me to be back on my feet."

"After what you did," Croix smiled. "You need all the rest you can get." Ash nodded to Croix's idea. He turned to Chariot.

"So, this whole time," he spoke. "You're really Shiny Chariot? You're Akko's and Diana's idol?" Chariot shook her head.

"I'm no longer Shiny Chariot," she corrected. "I'm Chariot du Nord. I'm only Shiny Chariot with the Shiny Rod Akko has." To Ash, the story about her past started to make sense.

"You were an entertaining witch who could delight crowds but they demanded so much, huh?" he remembered. "Does Mom know?"

"Yes, she does," Croix answered.

"It wasn't that I was trying to deceive you or any of other students," Chariot tried to reason. "If anyone found out who I was, and how I was a big hit as Shiny Chariot over the world… the firestorm would've been extreme. That's why I didn't want my identity to be released." Ash awed the reason behind Chariot's secret.

"That's some story," he surveyed. "I'm sorry about what you had to go through."

"Don't be," Chariot denied. "Besides, my decision may have been a blessing in disguise… Still, whether it's Shiny Chariot or Ursula, I'm still me."

"I'm glad you are… but aren't you worried? Your secret's out." Shaking her head, Chariot felt her secret's the least of her worries.

"Dear… nothing worries me more than you right now." She kissed his cheek, a mother's love given.

"Wow, dat woman wants ta treat da twerp as her son?" gulped Meowth. "I mean, da twerp's got a mom."

"Chariot and I attended classes with her," Croix clarified. Meowth gawked to the understanding.

"For reals!?" he irked. "Den… da twerp's a son of a witch!?"

("Even I found it hard to believe,") Pikachu joined. Croix came to Ash with something on her mind.

"Well, I wanted to give you this to get your strength back," she offered as she placed a tray with black tea and a bowl made of bread and a soup with an egg on top, Sunny Side Up.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's a Breakfast Bread Bowl," Croix replied. Ash and Meowth looked surprised.

"Dat's da first time I've seen a bread bowl," Meowth awed. Ash broke the yolk and swirled it with the soup.

"Not often do I agree with you, Meowth," he admitted. "I've never seen it myself." Croix had more to admit.

"You know, if I hadn't come in contact with you," she started. "I would've attacked Luna Nova Academy, mainly Chariot." Her name mentioned, Chariot's guess was on one item.

"You were still bitter that the Shiny Rod chose me over you?" she pondered. Croix nodded.

"It's a regret I hold dearly," she confessed. "I wanted to get the Shiny Rod with how much of an achiever I was. Your mother never had that same desire. Instead, she believed in fate more than power, as if to say the Shiny Rod is who decides, not the last witch to wield it. When I found you, and that you had a tome around Luna Nova Academy, I felt like I wanted to know more. Learning about you, I suddenly and slowly revealed myself from the darkness. No longer was I a threat to Luna Nova Academy as I wanted to know if the apple fell far from the tree. Part of me is glad that the apple didn't fall, but risen." Chariot's face read confused.

"I'm not sure that's how it works," she doubted.

"But I know what you mean," Ash studied. "All that could be left is you two regrouping with Mom." Croix nodded to the guess.

"Delia raised a precious wizard," Chariot teased. "And whether I'm Chariot or Ursula, I still love you so much to consider as my own son." She and Croix kissed Ash's cheeks. His face reddened from the double-peck.

"Now dat's a motha's love doubled up," Meowth teased. They left and Pikachu tore a piece of the bread bowl.

"So, what's going to happen with you and Persian?" asked Ash. Meowth shrugged his shoulders as Pikachu dipped the piece in the soup before biting into it.

"Persian's mind has been erased and dat redhead with spunk has his attention," he reviewed. Ash knew who Meowth referred to.

"Amanda? Seems kinda weird."

"But dat tall blond woman with dat Raven head isn't so keen on being around him or Meowth."

"Oh? Maybe she's not a cat person."

"Or sometin'." That's when Lotte and Sucy arrived.

"Headmistress Holbrooke said that you've been given the okay for visitors," Lotte informed. Sucy smiled, nothing sinister in it.

"I'm happy to see that you're recovering nicely," she mentioned as she petted Ash's hair.

"I'm kinda concerned about this behavior, Sucy," he mentioned as Lotte presented circular flatbread. Sucy had a cup of a milky drink with black spots on the bottom.

"Lotte, what's this?" wondered Ash.

"These are Perunarieskas," Lotte said. "Finnish potato flat bread."

"I also made some Bubble Tea," Sucy offered. "After what you did, you're the only boy that I won't mess with." she made sure of her statement with a kiss by his ear.

"This is a side of you that I might need to prepare for a little more," Lotte gulped.

"Blame him," Sucy teased. Ash giggled.

"There'll always be mushroom for you on my friends' list," Ash punned. Sucy sneered to Ash's fun.

"Any more of that, I'll have some fungus with you," she warned. Lotte and the Pokémon gulped to the two punning it off. Sucy picked Meowth up and prepared her scary face. "And you'll be coming with me." Meowth dreaded Sucy's planning. She carried Meowth as Lotte followed after hugging and kissing Ash by his eye. Hannah and Barbara came in soon enough.

"The wizard is awake," Hannah teased. They walked to his bedside. "I was worried about you." Barbara slapped Hannah's arm for the remark.

"We were worried about him!" she corrected. Hannah itched her embarrassed head.

"Me being a wizard is still hard to believe," Ash sighed before turning to the Staff of Ki. "Aaron's staff that he left in the tome, along with the Wand of Beatrix…"

"Tell me about it," Hannah huffed. "But it couldn't have been anyone else but you."

"And we believe that your mother wasn't aware that you'd be the most powerful magician on Earth," Barbara awed. "Maybe the best possible choice for Diana, even more than Andrew by far." Ash and Pikachu liked the idea. "Even then, we did kind of wish it was either one of us." This made the two in bed blink.

("You and Hannah?") guessed Pikachu. Hannah decided to speak up.

"We honestly fell for you at first sight since boys aren't necessarily a part of Luna Nova Academy," she admitted. "And you and Pikachu were so cute together. We would have been fighting each other to see who would be dating up until you saved our friend."

"So instead, we decided to help pair the two of you," Barbara added. "We helped trade advice with her, including the restaurant that you two dated in."

"So, you were the ones who decided?" realized Ash.

"Yup!" confirmed Barbara.

"But even though we lost to Diana and how you two are linked," Hannah mentioned. "We still love you all the same." She and Barbara kissed Ash's cheeks at the same time. Ash blushed as the girls kissed Pikachu in the same places, causing him to excitedly squeal. They left Ash and Pikachu blushing madly.

"The girls can be admiring," he realized.

("For sure,") Pikachu agreed. Amanda and Jasminka entered with Jasminka having a small pizza.

"Hey!" greeted Amanda. "How's the daredevil!?" Ash and Amanda bumped fists.

"Getting better," he muttered.

"I prepared a Russian Pizza for you," Jasminka offered. Pikachu looked at the pizza, befuddled. "Zis has bacon, beef and ze potato, all coated in a cheese sauce."

("Potato?") repeated Pikachu. Ash took a slice and ate it. The sweet taste of the cheese sauce made Ash nod.

"It's good!" he weighed.

"I'm glad zat you like it," Jasminka smiled. "I can give you ze recipe if you wants it." Ash nodded as Pikachu took a slice and nibbled into it. He liked the taste of the pizza.

"Let me be straight up with you, Ash," Amanda spoke as she presented Ash with a blue baseball cap. The decal had a blue man wearing a golden helmet holding a bold of lightning attached to "WARRIORS" below. "I wanted to steal you for myself if not for Diana and Akko. I mean, how often does a boy come to this school, let alone upstage a teacher and perform magic that saves everyone?"

"Right?" acknowledged Ash.

"Of course, hearing about the mischief between me, Constanze and Jasminka," Amanda continued. "You'd probably be turned off."

"Well, not really," Ash denied. "Your mischief is nothing compared to others I've come across." Amanda grabbed Ash's head and hugged him.

"Thanks a bunch, Ash!" she cheered before she kissed his temple. Ash blushed as Amanda and Jasminka left, but not before she kissed him above an eye. Pikachu continued to eat at the pizza as Wangari and Molly were next to enter.

"Hey, Wizard!" teased Wangari. "Still a little pale, I see."

"Yeah, so it's going to be a little while, but some food will help," Ash acknowledged.

"And I'm glad to have seen it in person," Molly added. "I may have lived for over 200 years, but to see a wizard come to life is a blessing." She hugged Ash while Pikachu was picked up by Wangari.

"So, what was going on in that dome?" she asked. "You and Oboneron had to have been trading blows constantly." Ash mulled to the guess.

"Well, I learned that the guy he bonded with, Giovanni, killed my dad before I knew who it was," he recalled. Molly and Wangari gawked to the news.

"Your father?" repeated Molly.

"That would mean that your father was murdered while your mother was pregnant with you," Wangari believed. "Ash, I'm so sorry for that. Maybe we can make a tombstone for him when you get back on your feet." Ash nodded to the idea.

"I wish that I wasn't cursed to live like this for the 200 years by the Time Witch," Molly confessed. "Although, I also wish that I was as strong as you to love." She kissed Ash on the bridge of his nose. After a little bit more time, Wangari and Molly left. Constanze came in. Ash and Pikachu were expecting to see her tablet on display. She came to Ash's bedside, her hands empty.

"I have a pen and a notebook for you to write," he offered. Constanze waived her palm.

"No need," she insisted. Ash and Pikachu seemed baffled. "I wanted… to come out today." Ash and Pikachu looked to each other, then back to Constanze. "I wish I was as strong and social as you, not hide behind my machines. I've been scared after being caught owning and selling the high-tech devices around Luna Nova Academy. It's why I had the tablet or the chalkboard around." Pikachu reached Constanze and palmed her arm. She nodded to the gesture.

"You've got a lot of peers around you that can help out like Akko and Molly. Miss Alepoe is great to help adjust away from all of the electronics." The idea made Constanze realize the small detail as rather interesting.

"It's… I feel like I stonewall a lot of them. I know it's my tech, but…"

"Maybe introduce them to the device's functions like I did with my PokéDex. You became interested when I brought it up."

"I guess… I was so fascinated with the magic of technology that I became so occupied… and I'm ashamed by it." Reaching, Ash patted her head.

"Everything will be fine. You've got a lot of technology that you could show and the magic that you can bring out." This brought a smile to Constanze as she grabbed and hugged his arm, her head on his shoulder.

"Danke, Ash!" After her hug and a kiss to his cheek, Constanze departed.

("She said 'Thank You', right?") guessed Pikachu. Akko and Diana soon came in with Akko diving onto Ash's body.

"HONEY!" she cheered as she dove onto Ash and hugged him before they shared a kiss together.

"You two…" sighed Ash.

"How have you been?" asked Diana. "It… must be hard after learning about your father's fate." Akko picked Pikachu up and hugged him.

"I think Mom knew that Dad died, but didn't want to tell me," Ash assumed.

"Maybe to keep you from being scared that it might happen to you," Akko believed.

"That may be," Diana pondered. "I can say that Akko and I wish to share our love to you, maybe back to the Pokémon World and to see your mother." Ash smiled through his blushing face… only to drop once he thought about Diana's future.

"But what about the legacy?" he asked. "I mean, there's no doubt that Daryl would be after the wand." Diana revealed the Wand of Beatrix as Akko brought out the Shiny Rod.

"And no doubt for its value," Diana agreed. "Of course, Aunt Daryl, Maril and Merrill would only wish to have any of the magical items to sell for boatload of Pounds."

("Those are yours!") argued Pikachu. ("Not theirs!") Hearing Pikachu's passion, Diana reached Akko to pet Pikachu.

"I don't need to change your tongue to know what you mean, Pikachu," she understood.

"And besides, they're now ours," Akko reminded. Within reach, Ash pulled the Staff of Ki to him. "The Staff of Ki, Aaron's staff before he got a new staff by Cameran Palace… Who knew he had that stored with the wand?" The wand began to react. Everyone watched as Diana loosened the grip of the wand. It began to levitate.

"Aaron, is that you?" a young woman's voice spoke. Ash blinked and looked to the wand.

"Are you… Easter Cavendish?" he asked. The voice seemed befuddled.

"Oh, you know me?" she realized. "Then, you must be Aaron's descendant. Yes, I am Easter. I held Aaron's tome because he trusted me. I helped store the Wand of Beatrix to be with the Staff of Ki. I knew that the new rightful owner of the Wand of Beatrix would emerge as well as the new owner of the Staff of Ki." Suddenly, out came a woman much like Diana in a white gown.

"You're… Easter?" gulped Diana.

"Yes," Easter confirmed. "Young lad, I heard of the troubles you've endured… but the protection of my descendant made it possible for my emergence." That's when the staff's crystals began to glow.

"Easter, is that you?" voiced Aaron. Easter seemed in awe.

"Aaron!? Is that you!?"

"It is, Easter. I'm communicating through the magic crystals like the tomb I'm encased in from saving Mew in the Tree of Beginning with Lucario. It's apparent that my descendant would be the one to find me and my items." Smiling, Ash looked to the crystals.

"Sir Aaron, thanks for breaking me out of my anger when Oboneron and Giovanni attacked," he praised.

"I couldn't have done so without the light of the Shiny Rod that struck my tome," Aaron admitted.

"But now, I wish I could be by your side again!" pleaded Easter.

"I wish for it too, and with Lucario," Aaron hoped. "Maybe our descendants will help out." Ash and Diana knew the deal.

"Easter," he voiced. "When we find a way back to the Pokémon World, we'll get you back to Sir Aaron." Diana nodded.

"Your reunion is long overdue," she smiled.

"Thank you, children," Aaron accepted.

"Promise that when we reach the destination," Easter prayed. She came to Ash and kissed him on the forehead. "And the reward will be helpful."

"We will," Akko answered. The staff and wand stopped glowing and everything was back to normal.

"I guess I have to get my butt out of bed soon," Ash plotted. Akko, Diana and Pikachu pinned him to the bed.

"Not yet!" the girls denied before Diana kissed his lips. "Not until our love is full and functional." Ash giggled, knowing the girls were concerned and didn't want to push the issue before the wand was aglow again.

"I do apologize for this," Easter spoke up. Everyone turned to the wand. "Diana, my soul may have been wandering to be reunited with Aaron, but I am a Cavendish. I have seen the other women and their wretched ways." Ash and Diana knew who Easter referred to.

"Aunt Daryl…" she mulled.

"There is a parchment that has the name 'BERNADETTE' on it," Easter mentioned. The girls blinked before realizing the name.

"THE WILL!" they all shouted. Akko addressed Easter.

"Do you know where it is?" she asked. Easter's advice would come into play soon enough.


TO BE CONTINUED… IN 2023

(Okay, that will be the last chapter in 2022, with AshMas XII starting this week. I also want to give all of the nations in Qatar's FIFA World Cup good luck in the biggest soccer/football tournament possible. Lastly, for all Ranger fans, Jason David Frank, AKA Tommy Oliver, the original Green Ranger, has passed away.)