Chapter 67 Banished from the Village
The next day, Ash and Serena are woken up by some commotion outside of their quarters. Serena mutters, "Who in the right mind would be so noisy..."
"I don't know." Ash mutters, and Pikachu just wants to zap whoever is outside making that noise.
But after dressing up and looking outside, they are shocked to see the sky has changed colors, and everyone is looking up in the sky.
"Ash! Serena!" Akari yells to them as they rush to the Galaxy Hall. And on the balcony of the hall, Commander Kamado has made up a decision after seeing the huge space-time rift.
Inside the lab, Ash and Serena want to know what is going on, and Laventon says, "Some sort of dreadful energy seems to be pouring from the rift in space-time...Now the entire sky has gone red!"
Cyllene walks into the lab and says, "I've word from the Commander. You're to report to his office at once."
Ash and Serena frown and nod, then they go to the office to see that both Adaman and Irida are also present.
Kamado starts, "Hrmmm...The way the sky has changed...It is ominous. Very ominous indeed."
"What's this about, Commander?" Adaman asks.
"You did call us here to discuss the quelling of all the nobles...didn't you?" Irida asks.
"That can wait. There is a more pressing concern here that must be addressed. The first strike of that strange lightning, the one that drove Kleavor into a frenzy...It struck the night that Ash and Serena fell from the sky, did it not? It only seems natural to think that the two events might be linked in some way."
Ash and Serena don't like where this is going, and Kamado yells at them. "Who or what are you really, Ash and Serena?!"
Ash says, "Well...we...we came from a faraway place and we have become the Survey Corps members..."
"Indeed, you've done all I ordered." Kamado says. "But that does not answer the question of who you really are. You came from the rift - as did the lightning. You're connected to these frenzies, are you not?!"
"We're not..." Serena weakly replies, but Kamado continues, "Did you think to gain our trust by quelling the frenzies you yourself brought about? And having gained our trust, what then? What is it you're really after here?"
"We just want to help...so we can go back home..." Ash mutters.
"Hold on, Commander..." Adaman says, trying to help his sworn brother. The same goes with Irida, who wants to help her sworn sister. "There's nothing to suggest Ash and Serena have wronged us!"
"Exactly. And besides, do you really think they've got the sort of fearsome power it'd take to make all this happen?" Adaman asks.
"Let me ask you in turn - can you prove beyond a doubt that he is free from guilt?" Kamado asks. "These people - these strangers appeared out of a rift in space-time! Who here can guarantee they are who they say? Who here can guarantee they are to be trusted?"
"But that's...No one can do that! You're asking us to prove a negative!" Irida complains. "How is anyone supposed to prove the absence of all doubt?!"
"Come on - let's be reasonable. What are Ash and Serena supposed to do, then?" Adaman asks.
Kamado thinks for a while and he says, "They will be given the chance to investigate this latest disaster...But not as members of the Galaxy Team. They remain suspect unless they can clear their names. There are those in our village who cannot trust strangers like you who fell from the sky. And so I must ask you to leave. You are no longer welcome in the Galaxy Team. Considered yourself banished from this village until you can explain why these calamities keep befalling our good people...No - until you've restored our world to its rightful state and proven your innocence beyond doubt! Is that clear, Cyllene?"
Ash and Serena gasp as they are banished from the village, but then again, they are in the past, so this might be happening to them sooner or later. Cyllene says, "Yes, sir."
"How can you act so heartless?! Don't you believe in Ash and Serena?" Irida yells.
"Do not attempt to intervene on their behalves! I will do what I must as the commander of the Galaxy Expedition Team. But I have not forgotten your deeds, nor the...unusual skill you have displayed. That is why I have chosen to let you walk out of here free rather than clap you in chains." Kamado adds.
Ash and Serena are a little relieved to know that they didn't get chained up, or even worse, be decipated. But still, they know for sure that their quarters are where they can secretly meet Lillie and the others...if they can't return to the village, how are they supposed to get in contact with them?
Back outside, Laventon and Akari are shocked to learn that Ash and Serena are being banished. "You're to be...expelled? From the village?" Laventon asks.
"What? Why?" Akari asks.
Cyllene says, "Orders are orders. Let's go."
While walking on the road, Ash and Serena notice a lot of people looking away from them with sad faces, including Arezu, Choy, Anthe, Dagero, and so on.
"So this is the walk of shame, huh..." Ash mutters.
"I really don't like this feeling..." Serena also mutters, with sadness in her eyes.
The guard Ress says, "We can take it from here, ma'am..."
Cyllene says, "Understood. However, the decision was mine to accept these strangers as members of the Survey Corps. It is only right that I should personally escort them from the village and to the Fieldlands Camp."
Akari says, "I'll also see them off."
Laventon says, "As will I, naturally."
Ash and Serena frown to see that their sworn big brother and big sister aren't with them, but then again, Kamado kept them inside his office for what business they have to attend. Cyllene says, "I allow it."
Ress nods, "Then...I'll mark you all down as bound for the Fieldlands Camp. Safe travels..."
After arriving at the Fieldlands Camp, Akari is still angry as she mutters, "I can't believe the boss would do this...You were acting on his own orders when you quelled the frenzied nobles..."
"Quite right! Moreover, even if you did happen to fall from the sky, that hardly gives you the power to turn it red!" Laventon says. "This is utterly intolerable - and, I might add, absurdly unscientific! As a man of science, I must fight such illogical thinking tooth and nail!"
"You must not." Cyllene says. "You will only cause Ash and Serena more pain if you are driven out as well for defending them."
Ash and Serena frown, and Cyllene says, "However, there are others who might offer help. You've been an aid to both the Diamond Clan and the Pearl Clan."
"Of course! Perhaps Adaman or Idia might take you in?" Laventon asks. "Though I'm afraid they've both already returned to their respective settlements..."
"Perhaps you could try to go find Lian first? He's likely to be at Grandtree Arena." Akari says.
Ash and Serena nod, and Cyllene says, "Don't die alone out there. That's an order. I will ensure you have all you need to complete the survey the commander has tasked you with. If I might offer my advice. In this life, you will meet with both admiration and abuse from others. How others choose to view you is a choice only they can make. You cannot make it for them. All that truly matters is that you hold firm to your own values."
Laventon says, "What of the dream I first shared with you on Prelude Beach? To complete the Pokedex? That dream simply won't come true without you..." Laventon says.
Ash and Serena then leave to find Lian, on the way, they manage to contact Lillie.
"What do you mean you've got banished?" Lillie gasps. "Just because you came here through Arceus' orders and then you got banished?"
"I don't think this is Arceus' fault, though..." Ash says, "Maybe this is why Arceus wants to send us back to the past...because we have to find a way to return the sky back normal?"
"So what are you guys are going to do now?" Lillie asks.
"We're going to see if the Diamond Clan and the Pearl Clan can help us. Even though I don't think that would happen." Serena says.
"Why? The leaders of both clans travel with you, and they already treat you as siblings." Lillie asks in confusion.
"That's the problem. If they try to help us, their clans might be in danger because of us." Ash says. "But that doesn't mean we can't try. By the way, where is Mom?"
"Ms. Ketchum said that she has to leave somewhere, she only left a message, though." Lillie sighs.
"I see...so we couldn't contact her right now..." Ash frowns as he ends the call.
"Just why are our lives full of miseries..." Serena frowns, "First, we were killed by people we thought to be friends, and now we were being exiled from the village that we lived in for months for nothing we've done."
"Come on, Serena. Don't give up until it is over." Ash says. "I'm feeling the same thing as you. I hated everything as well, but we don't have a choice. We have to prove that we are innocent and we are not the ones that cause this."
Serena nods at Ash's words says, "At least we still have this."
Serena takes out the Pokedex, and Ash says, "Yeah, we've managed to finish the first 224 Pokemon inside this book. If I remember correctly, all that's left are the Legendary and Mythical Pokemon."
"We don't need to worry about them attacking us if we are more careful." Serena says. "And it is a good thing I still have the Celestica Flute. We can still call the Noble Pokemon to give us a ride to the Grandtree Arena."
"Yeah." Ash nods as they decide to call Wyrdeer to take them to the arena to see if Lian is there.
At the same time, Delia is now looking at the red sky as she remembers what just happened, the woman in front of her claimed to be her ancestor and brought her to the past where Ash and Serena are located. She is happy that she can be on the same timeline as Ash and Serena, but she didn't know why she would be here if Ash and Serena are the ones to write the history of the Sinnoh Region.
"How do you like the tea, Delia?" The woman asks.
"It is nice..." Delia replies. "But are you sure Ash and Serena will come here eventually?"
"I'm sure they will come here." The woman frowns. "Just look at the sky. According to our almighty Sinnoh, the time where they get into their darkest time has finally happened."
"And are you sure that I'm not interfering some time and space stuff just by coming here?" Delia asks.
"Don't worry about it. You're not interfering. It is very complicated to explain why, though." The woman sips on the tea again.
Delia frowns a little and she is still worried about Ash and Serena.
I'll end the chapter right here, and welp, Ash and Serena are banished from the Jubilife Village, and each party has their own concerns about Ash and Serena. The next chapter will be finding the Dimaond Clan and the Pearl Clan to see if they can stay with them.