Last Time On TMOM:
Both Jessie and Kidd are gone. If Ash and the others don't want to join them, they need to find Mew and fast. Can the Legendary pokemon fix the damage it had wrought?

Quote: "I think we can convince Mew to give us Jessie back."

Chapter Twenty-One: Compassion

I won't look too far ahead
It's too much for me to take
But break it down to this next breath
The next step
The next choice that I can make
-Kristen Bell

This changed nothing. Ash was even more determined to reach Mew and rescue his fallen friends. He didn't want to think about Kidd or Jessie. If he thought about it, Ash knew he might fall apart. He just had to keep moving forward and keep his eyes on the goal.

James had the same mentality. It was easy to fall into place alongside the Team Rocket member. Ash was grateful for the man's composure. He had committed himself to reuniting with Meowth. Even after seeing Kidd disappear in the same way that Jessie must have gone, he pulled the others back to their feet.

Aileen, however, was not doing well. Ash had tried to talk to her, but it just seemed like everything he said came out wrong. He tried to reassure her he was going to fix all of this. That he would confront Mew and everyone would come back. Aileen would hear him. At least Ash thought she did. But her gaze was distant and she couldn't seem to stop crying.

Ash had thought that she had been so upset because she was still frightened. That was a mistake. Aileen corrected him, reminding him that Kidd had taken her place within the crystal.

"Did you want the crystal to have taken you then?" Ash asked, his frustration getting the best of him.

"No! Of course not!" Her voice cracked with emotion. She wiped at her own tears and shook her head. "But she's not here anymore, and it's all my fault."

"Aileen, you didn't do anything wrong."

Aileen just kept shaking her head. She walked away from the rest of them, preferring Lucario's company over that of the boys. And Ash stopped trying to chase her. Instead, he took point with James. Now that he had his full belt of pokemon back, Ash stepped into the role of leader with some confidence. His sense of wave was slowly returning as well. Much as he disliked its presence reasserting itself, Ash couldn't deny its usefulness. He still couldn't feel out at easily as he had before, but he could sense Meowth and Mew just ahead.

Ash had taken Kidd's abandoned pokeballs. He didn't know what he would do with them, choosing to store them in his satchel for now. If he was right about Mew, Ash hoped he might return them to her. If not, Ash would worry about bridge when they blew it up.

Ash had paused again at a twist in the tunnel just to make sure they were taking the right path. He closed his eyes for just a moment before picking the appropriate direction.

"How does that even work, anyway?" James asked. At Ash's confused look, he clarified, "That thing you and Lucario are always doing. That magic... how does it work?"

Ash didn't know how to verbalize it. And he felt self-conscious, with both Lucario and Aileen also listening in. Lucario could answer way better than Ash could and already had.

Ash reached up to scratch Pikachu behind the ears. It was a comfort, finding his partner there again; perched on his shoulder as if he had never left. The pokemon leaned against his hand lovingly. In the touch Ash could find the words. "It's an energy that I can see... or feel. It's hard to explain. But it's a bit like seeing with your eyes closed, except further and clearer than you could with your eyes open."

"So you can see that Jessie and... that other lady with us... they are inside the tree now?"

Ash nodded, but then glanced back at Lucario. The pokemon agreed, giving a nod as well.

"Then how do you know Mew will give them back?"

Aileen was looking at the ground. Ash could tell that she still had little faith in their plan. And he was feeling put on the spot with James' question. Ash looked to Lucario, hoping the pokemon with more experience with aura might save him. But either the pokemon didn't understand that Ash wanted his help or didn't care. Ash could only hope it was the former.

"Well, I'm not sure. But... it seems like something a legendary pokemon might do."

Ash looked to Lucario again. The pokemon stared back, his face unreadable.

"Ash..." The pokemon trainer was startled when James grabbed onto his hands, pleading with him. "I just want to hear it from you. Do you think this will work? Do you believe we can bring Jessie back?"

He resisted the urge to glance back at Lucario. James had so captured his gaze that Ash could feel the intensity of his request. It was almost scalding.

Ash wondered why James had so much faith in his own opinion. Why did it matter whether he believed? Team Rocket had never seemed to care about the whims and fancy of their favorite target. And yet, here James was — practically groveling for his answer. He had been putting up a brave face just as Ash had asked of him. But the 15-year-old was starting to realize just how much faith the young man was placing in him. James was pushing forward because Ash asked him to. James was helping still because he believed in him — believed in one little twerp.

The realization was almost overwhelming. Ash squeezed James' hands back.

"I believe," Ash said honestly, meeting James' eyes. "I definitely believe it, James."

The young man bent under the weight of Ash's words. He sucked in a shaky breath and rubbed his face into his jacket sleeve before lifting his head again.

"Alright," he said, regaining his composure. "That's good enough for me."

And it was. James was back to dutifully pulling his own weight. As they took the new turn in the path, Ash had to reckon with a new thought. He had never considered Team Rocket as anything more than a complete nuisance. As a whole, they were criminals that had chased him from one end of the earth to the other, all to nab his Pikachu. Ash always felt comfortable in his open hatred of them. In fact, he barely even considered them individual people. They were always Team Rocket, a collective group of bullies. An obstacle, a wall that frequently jumped in his way when going from point A to point B.

And then, when he had been called upon to fulfill the words of a ridiculously old prophecy, Team Rocket had risked their necks to help him. Jessie had claimed that their actions were self-serving. After all, if the world ended, then that wouldn't be good for a bunch of pokemon thieves any more than it would be for anyone living on the doom planet. Ash had accepted the logic there. Rather than take their altruism as a possible redeeming quality, Ash stashed it away as a single exception. If things got really bad, like end-of-the-world bad, Team Rocket might actually be people he could call on.

And then, this whole scenario had played out. Again, Team Rocket reacted out of selfish whims. They were coming along to rescue their pokemon, no one else's. And yet, that excuse had fallen apart for James the instant Jessie disappeared. Sure, James did just want to reach Meowth. But he was helping more than what was required. He didn't need to use his pokemon to fight the amoeba from the crystal. He didn't need to jump to Kidd's aid when she was disappearing.

Ash realized that he might have been judging James wrong for a while now. The man was content to hide in Jessie's shadow. The woman was larger than life, in more ways than one. Perhaps, like the many colorful costumes they often donned, the Team Rocket facade was just another mask. Could it be possible that the people underneath could actually be sympathetic? That they could hurt or care just like anyone else?

It seemed silly to think, but Ash realized he had never considered Team Rocket as that. Human. That they could be fallible and loveable. That they could be good and evil. That there was a greyness to them that made treating them with cruelty almost as bad as the way they had often treated Ash.

James cracked that carefully built worldview. Could it be possible that James had kept his promise because it was a promise and that meant something to him? Did James keep the others from stealing Pokemon at the tournament? And now, did James trust him? Ash could see a broken young man, grieving just as Ash had been. It made Ash uncomfortable just how real he was.

It was easier to wonder about James than it was to think about Jessie or Kidd. So Ash tried to keep his thoughts on the unusual member of Team Rocket.

I hope we get a happy ending, Ash thought, dangerously close to a prayer. Although to what god Ash couldn't say. I want James to get his happy ending too. Please. Please let everything turn alright this time.

It usually did. Or at least it used to.

They found Meowth first. The pokemon had been trying to follow Pikachu. He was poking around corners, trying to find where the other pokemon had run off to.

James and Meowth's reunion hadn't been the same sort as Ash and Pikachu's. They were a different sort of team. James hugged him, their embrace speaking more of James' relief. Meowth seemed startled by the affectionate display. Without Jessie, James was at leave to display his feelings more openly, without fear of retaliation. Meowth recognized her absence immediately. He pried himself from James' arms and asked, "Why isn't Jess with you?"

The others stepped away from the conversation. Ash lingered without knowing why. Was he morbidly curious about James' answer or did he want to supply emotional support? Ash couldn't fully comprehend his own motives. He stood still, hoping to be ignored.

"Meowth," said James softly, taking the pokemon's paws in his own hands. There was no missing the tears in the man's eyes. "We're going to get her back. Don't worry. We're going to save her. Together."

He glanced in Ash's direction. Meowth followed the look, seeming to understand something unspoken. The pokemon nodded. James' proceeding explanation was brief and to the point. Meowth, to his credit, absorbed the facts with gravity. When James finished, Meowth spared one last look Ash's way.

Ash spoke, not knowing if it was because he was hoping to take the weight off his own shoulders or find answers. He asked, "Meowth, do you know where Mew is?"

"Not far," said the pokemon, absentmindedly. He gestured to the tunnel behind him. "Back there. He'll be happy to see Pikachu again."

Meowth was consumed by his thoughts. Ash didn't miss the looks the pokemon was sending both him and the crystals that lined the walls. Ash could only guess what the pokemon might have been thinking. But, Ash was grateful that the pokemon was keeping his thoughts to himself.

They all started up the tunnel again. This time, Lucario asked to take point. Despite Ash's optimistic opinion that someone could reason with Mew, Lucario still felt more comfortable facing the legendary himself first. After all, the tree was trying to kill the humans in their party. If Mew and the tree harbored the same feelings, they might face a hostile reception.

The tunnel that Meowth had indicated had a downward slope to it. After having traveled up for so long, it felt odd heading back down. Again, Ash and Aileen struggled with their poor choice in footwear. Ash had to cling to the walls to avoid sliding down the whole way. Aileen clung to Ash, making the task that much more difficult for him.

The path widened, opening out to a circular chamber. Ash stumbled on a lip at the entrance. He noticed that there were an alarming number of crystals in this room, not unlike the one that he had escaped from before. And in the center was an impressive crystal with spires that arched all the way to the ceiling. It pulsed with aura, in a rhythm not unlike a heartbeat.

"Oh no," James squeaked from somewhere behind Ash. "Is this where we die?"

Something fluttered down from the ceiling. Instinctively, all the humans ducked. This left Lucario alone to face the cat-like pokemon who had floated up to them.

"Mew?" Its voice was pleasant and small, like that of a kitten.

"We come in peace," Lucario patiently explained to the small pokemon. "We aren't here to hurt you."

Mew cocked his head to the side. Ash didn't need to understand the pokemon speech in order to get the context. And seeing the face of the dreaded pokemon kidnapper, the other humans reluctantly lifted their heads.

"He doesn't see us as a threat?" Ash asked.

Mew responded in a chorus of chirpy versions of his own name. The pokemon all nodded along with the pokemon's response. Meowth would have offered a translation if Lucario weren't already poised to do so.

"He says that he frequently visits the kingdom of Cameron. He's friends with many humans. He doesn't find any of you particularly threatening."

This was going far easier than Ash thought it would. Which didn't sit well with him. It shouldn't have been this easy. If Mew wasn't who they needed to convince, then how would they get the others back?

"If that was true, then why has his tree been attacking us?" It came out angrier than Ash had intended it. He stepped forward with a stomp and the psychic pokemon fluttered backward, startled. So focused on the pokemon, Ash hadn't noticed that the surrounding crystals had started to hum and glow. But the others did.

"Ash," James warned, leaning away from the walls.

"Can it control the tree or not?" Ash demanded, pointing at the pokemon, expecting Lucario to translate. "Why are you trying to hurt us?"

Pikachu noticed the danger long before Ash did. Clinging onto the top of his trainer's head, he only just caught sight of the crystal and the gelatinous vine that swung free of its innards. He shrieked out a warning. But Ash only just had time to turn his head.

He felt the push from behind. They knocked Ash clear, but unfortunately, took his place. The rope had wrapped around her waist. Ash screamed and snatched up Aileen's hand before she could be pulled all the way in.

"I've got you!" Ash cried, scrambling with his pokebelt for the right pokemon. His hand had just landed on Bulbasaur's pokeball when Aileen answered.

"You can't save me, Ash. Please, just let me go or we'll both be dragged in."

Most of her body was gone, sunk within the crystal. Her skin was already icy cold, and it burned, trying to keep his grip.

"No! I'm not letting go!"

"Ash, please."

"No! Shut up! No!"

"Ash, just let me save you." There were tears running down her face. He could feel her slipping through his fingers. "Let me do this one thing. I want to have done something useful."

"You idiot!" Ash roared. "You are useful! You're useful alive!"

Her fingers were like ice. He couldn't keep a proper grip, even with both his hands. He felt himself being pulled closer and closer, his sneakers unable to keep a purchase on the smooth stone floor. Half of her had already slipped into the other world. She was sinking fast.

"No. I'm not," she whispered through blue lips. "Everyone is always protecting me, saving me. I just wanted... I just wanted to save someone... to be the hero for a change."

"You don't have to die to be the hero, Aileen!"

Aileen smiled, but it was full of pain.

"The only real heroes… I've ever read about… they died long ago. They died and then became heroes... people remembered them… It's so sad but… if I have to die here, I want… I want to die a hero."

Ash screamed at the others to help, but no one was coming. Only Pikachu, who pulled on Ash's foot — trying to keep him from sliding any closer. Ash didn't dare release any of his pokemon, afraid to take his hands off Aileen for even a second.

"Ash—"

"No, no. I've got you, Aileen. I've got you!"

"Ash, I need you to listen to me."

She was almost completely gone. Aileen was treading in place, only just able to keep her head above water. Fresh tears formed in her eyes. And Ash realized, with a start, that he was crying too. He fought the tears. They wouldn't help him right now.

"I don't regret this. I don't regret anything. Not anything," she whispered. Ash choked back a sob, not believing her. She slipped under and though Ash pulled and pulled, he couldn't bring her back to the surface.

He was going to fall in himself. He still had her hand, and he didn't want to let go.

So it took Lucario, striking his hand to force free his grip. Ash couldn't help it then. He shouted and slammed his hand against the now solid crystal surface. It burned but didn't catch. And Lucario was once again there to yank Ash away.

He had the young human about the arms, restraining him but trying not to hurt him. Ash shouted and flailed, but couldn't get free. No matter how he cursed the pokemon, Lucario wouldn't let go.

"It was the princess!" Ash shouted. "You let it take her! Lucario, you let it take her!"

"She was already gone," Lucario snapped back. "You didn't have to try to follow."

Ash's aura flared. Lucario had no choice but to release the boy. The high emotion had made his aura volatile. It smoked and burned fiercely, the gold almost blinding. Lucario stood back with the others. James, Mew and Meowth all having been forced to watch the tragedy unfolding. Ash recognized that Lucario had kept them all back. Kept them all from being sacrificed, along with Aileen. Left Ash to suffer alone. Left Aileen to die.

The tears fell freely now. Ash didn't bother with wiping them away.

"How dare you lecture me, Lucario," Ash spat, his aura burning hotter. "Your stupid, high and mighty attitude. It's sick. When you'd just as happily throw yourself off a cliff if you thought it would bring you back to your own time."

"I will not fight you, Ash."

"Good. That will make this easy then!"

Ash called the aura to his hands with more ease than he ever did during their training. Lucario could only suppose that the surrounding crystals were amplifying Ash's strength. Before Ash could even think about tossing those dangerous spheres, Lucario met the boy in the middle. He grasped the boy's hands, squeezing the aura between the two of them.

Ash winced, the aura burning his skin. His human palms were not as protected as Lucario's paws. Lucario felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't intended to harm the boy, but couldn't let him harm anyone else. Which Ash would do if he flung around his energy while so emotional.

Pikachu was frantic, scrambling from human and pokemon, hoping to break them up. When it seemed like his words weren't having any impact, Pikachu thought to use electricity. It was Meowth who intervened.

"We can't get in dere way, Pikachu!" He cried, dragging Pikachu back with the others.

"Let go!" Ash spat. He struggled against the pokemon, but Lucario held firm.

"No. Just listen to me."

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say!"

Ash's aura was flaring again. Lucario sensed the crystals nearest them humming, just as they had the time before.

"You need to calm down. The crystals, they are reacting to you. They are attracted to your aura — your emotions."

"Oh, so it's my fault then." Lucario's words clearly had the opposite effect. Ash's aura only grew brighter and the crystals around them rippled with eager anticipation. Still, the boy could not wrench himself from Lucario's grasp. The boy was still a boy, after all. He couldn't match the strength of a pokemon. "Why do you care, anyway? They'll just swallow me."

"I don't want you to die! Pikachu and the rest of your friends don't want you—"

"Please," Ash rolled his eyes, obvious to the rumbling rising around them. "Don't feed me that horseshit again. You don't care about anyone but yourself. You don't care about me. You don't care about Aileen either. Are any of us even real to you?"

That comment blindsided Lucario. It took him a minute to even come up with a response, "This isn't about me."

"Clearly!" Ash had dropped his hands, releasing him from Lucario's hold. But he didn't move away, staying in Lucario's face. Yelling with his hands almost as much as with his voice. "You don't even want to be here!"

"Of course! I never asked to be here!"

"So you signed up for this suicide mission and made the best of it by trying to off yourself! You didn't have to listen to the crystal, Lucario! I told you not to listen to the crystal!"

James, Meowth, Mew and Pikachu all huddled on the sidelines, watching the argument ping pong back and forth with all the fury of a heated tennis match. James was the only one to react to Ash's accusation, the only one who knew Lucario long enough to grasp the possibility of those words. Lucario had been careful to leave out any mention of his own temptation by the crystal. James' eyes widened with surprise. Lucario felt the sharpness of the look, not knowing why it bothered him.

Why did he care what the humans thought of him? Why did he care even what Ash thought of him? Didn't he not belong to this time? Hadn't he been hoping to find a way back? Back out of wonderland and into the real world.

But staring at Ash, seeing how twisted his face was — his expression a mix of anger and grief, Lucario wondered if all of that was actually true. Who was he to say what was the actual wonderland? He hadn't known any of them for very long. But his connection to Ash had been real. Just as real as it had been with Sir Aaron — perhaps even more so.

They were so alike and yet almost exact opposites. Which was probably why Lucario had found Ash so infuriating. He had the same appearance, minus a few inches. But where Sir Aaron was serene and composed, Ash was volatile, opinionated and loud — so very loud. And yet, Lucario found himself drawn in by the boy far more than he had Aaron. The boy was honest and open and full of heart.

Lucario couldn't prove the boy existed any more than he could prove that Sir Aaron had. But something was undeniably true. Lucario wanted the boy to exist. He had flippantly admitted a desire to continue his journey with the boy, back when playing the role of sage. It wasn't a lie. It just wasn't true that Lucario saw himself taking that path.

The plan always was to die in the Tree of Beginnings; whether by his own hands or from some ancient dangers. It was what made sense. What other ending could there be for a time traveler? He didn't belong anywhere and had no way to get back. Time was immutable, unmoving.

But the boy changed things. Lucario felt his pain, saw it cracking like bolts through his aura. He knew Ash had similar plans and hated the child for it. How dare someone who belonged to this time actually consider taking the same dark path? He was selfish. He was a child.

Lucario felt for him.

And somehow, Ash had become his reason.

"Ash, I'm sorry."

Ash blinked, surprise wiping the slate clean. His aura flickered and fell, a more manageable flame fluttering only an inch or two off Ash's skin. The pokemon didn't wait for Ash to recover.

"You're right. I listened to the tree because I hoped what it was saying was true. But also because I didn't care if it wasn't. That made me a hypocrite. I hurt you and there's no excuse for it."

The tears were coming, and Lucario didn't bother with hiding them. He wept, even his telepathy wavering with the emotion. "I didn't believe any of those things I had been telling you. Didn't even care. But I was wrong. I told you to think of Pikachu. And you should. But I should have thought of you..."

Ash continued to stare, his brow furrowed. "Why me?"

"We're friends, right?"

A smile snuck its way across Ash's face. His aura receded even further. It was still as blinding as Sir Aaron's but smoldered on, contained within the boy's body. The crystals ceased humming, dimming as the wave sank back to a normal spectrum.

"Yeah," Ash replied. He paused, looking hard at the ground as if struck by a sudden thought. After a moment, he lifted his eyes to meet Lucario's own. "I'm sorry too. We were both hurting and doing some of the hurting, too. I think I just forgot that I wasn't the only one."

"We both forgot."

The others came out of hiding, sensing that the fight was over. Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms. The trainer returned the hug, "Sorry to scare you buddy."

"He wasn't the only one," James chimed in. Meowth too couldn't resist a jab.

"If dat guy killed da twerp, we were pretty sure the rest of us would be toast."

"Hey, I might have won."

"Yeah, right, sure," Meowth waved Ash off.

Mew was still there. It hung back still, looking nervously from Lucario to Ash and Pikachu and then back to Lucario. The Pokemon's appearance brought Ash back to his grief. He glanced over his shoulder back at the crystal that had consumed his distant cousin.

With a blink, Ash could still see the string of her aura disappearing into the veins of the tree. The grief was a heavy choking thing. He didn't want to accept it, even now. Especially not when something might still be done. He whirled back around to the floating pokemon. Mew recoiled.

"Please, bring them back. Our friends. You can bring them back, can't you?"

Mew rocked back and forth in the air, considering. Ash saw how its blue eyes flicked toward the largest crystal before looking back at him. Then it responded with a single soft chirp of its own name.

"He asks why," Lucario translated.

"Because we want them back," Ash said, his voice almost breaking on the words. "They belong to us. Not to you. Give them back to us."

Mew looked dubious still. He floated down to Ash's eye level, giving the boy a thorough once over. He seemed puzzled by the tears, shed by both human and pokemon. Mew gave a few more soft words that Lucario interpreted.

"He's confused at why we are crying when we don't appear to be injured."

"I thought this guy understood humans," Ash muttered, self-consciously rubbing at his own red eyes. Lucario only shrugged in response.

Since no one else was being forthcoming with an answer, that left only Ash to respond. Ash figured one of their group might have been able to come up with a response for the curious creature. Possibly an even better answer than Ash had. But they were all looking deferential to him. Ash knew why, even though he didn't like it. They expected him to work some magic here, as he often had in the past. He really hoped there was something like magic in him. The fate of their friend's lives hung in the balance.

For once, Ash hoped there was something to being a "Chosen One". If he were meant to bridge the gap between pokemon and human, let that still be the case. He prayed that the ability hadn't just vacated the instant he set the orbs in their respective altars. Let the power still reside somewhere inside of him.

"People sometimes cry when they are injured," Ash began reluctantly, feeling foolish and ill-equipped for the task. "But we also cry when our... hearts... hurt." Ash winced at the terrible explanation, sure he had only confused the pokemon further. Mew cocked his little pink head at such an angle as might still convey confusion. "You... or your tree, stole away our friends. You took them away forever. We miss them. We cry because we hurt when we miss them. You hurt us by taking them."

Mew didn't answer right away. Ash's jaw ached to keep talking, but he fought the urge to fill the prickly quiet. He let the silence hang, hoping that his last words might sink in the point far better than any additional explanation.

Ash heard a shuffling from behind him and was surprised when James knelt down beside him. He held Mew in a similar gaze, pleading with her.

"Please," was all he said.

On Ash's other side, knelt Lucario, followed by Meowth. Pikachu too jumped up on Ash's shoulder, locking eyes with the mystical pokemon. They all were beseeching him to intervene, were it in his power. Ash could only hope that it was.

Mew stared at the odd collection of humans and pokemon. He swung himself around in the air, a thing he often did when contemplating things. Mew found that flipping himself about often helped aid him in understanding other perspectives. He seemed to come upon a decision, meeting Lucario's gaze.

"I may be able to rescue your friends," Lucario translated Mew's rapid speech. "But it will consume a lot of the tree's aura. I'm not sure what would happen."

"Lucario, do you have any ideas?" Ash asked, hoping the pokemon's wave expertise could ease Mew's worries. But, Lucario could only shake his head.

"If it is anything like healing, the power needed may be immeasurable. And that's only with manifesting back a single human body. We are asking Mew to return three whole people. It's possible that the Tree of Beginnings has ample power to do this. It is also just as likely to overwhelm it."

"We have to try," James said, looking for reassurance from Ash. "Right?"

Ash nodded. James had taken the words out of his own mouth. He didn't want any harm to come to the Tree of Beginnings. But the alternative was to walk away from this place, trying nothing. Ash didn't want to accept that any of them were gone. Not when there might be a way to bring them back.

Mew gave his own quick nod of assent. He didn't seem to have much opinion on it one way or another. Ash found the little pokemon difficult to read. They were appealing to his heart, his empathy — and that didn't seem to be the reason he was moved. It seemed more a matter that they had asked it of him and he wanted to please.

Mew fluttered over to the large crystal that Ash suspected would be involved in the process. The others fanned out around him, giving the legendary pokemon a wide berth. The pokemon glided up to the crystal's apex and tapped it with his paw. Instantly, the crystal sprang to life with a brilliant glow. Mew's audience was captivated, all save for one person.

A glint that caught in the corner of his eye had distracted James. He wandered away from the others, lured by an usual shine. He spied what appeared to be a crystal cut in half. And laying on top, on the roughly hewn surface, appeared to be an odd set of gloves.

Mew cried out something from the top of the crystal. Lucario relayed the warning to the others standing with him below.

"Mew says stay away from the crystals for now. They may activate due to his interacting with the tree's core."

Ash heard and processed the warning with a small step away from the quartz-covered walls. But then he noticed James' absence. Ash whirled about on the spot, fearing the worst. He spotted the Team Rocket member halfway across the chamber, examining an odd pair of gloves.

"James!" Ash shouted right along with his equally alarmed pokemon partner.

James started dropping the gloves. And right as he did so, the amoeba latched onto him.

Ash and Pikachu were the first to James' side, the others quick on their heels. But it was already too late. James' entire hand was inside and he couldn't pull himself free. The young man shouted. Everyone shouted, begging Mew to intervene.

But Mew couldn't. He severed his connection with the crystal, but the one James touched was still pulling him in. Mew joined the others, his voice soft and somber. Lucario looked at the legendary with some alarm.

"What is it? What did he say?"

Lucario hesitated. And while he hesitated, James' forearm disappeared. The young man continued to yank at his arm fruitlessly, panic bringing tears to his eyes.

"Mew says... four is too many… to bring back."

"No, no, no no!" James cried. "Please, I don't want to die. I want to see Jessie again! Please!"

"You's gots to do someding!" Meowth shouted, his voice matching James in hysterical pitch. "Four is just four!"

"Cut off my arm!" James screamed, looking frantically between the pokemon in the room — hoping one of them might have a slicing move with enough power to free him. His eyes lingered on Ash and his full set of pokeballs. "Please, you have to have at least one pokemon who could do it!"

Ash stepped out of the way of James' grasping hands. He hadn't meant to, but the effect was immediate. James fell to his knees, sobbing. He had slipped in as far as his shoulder, and Ash knew he was running out of time.

His mind was buzzing. He could hear his own heart beating hard in his own ears. Ash felt like he was underwater, watching all the chaos playing out in slow motion.

The crystal that James was sinking into was a conglomerate with at least half a dozen others attached. Ash's mind flashed back to Kidd's death. And then flashed back further to how he had escaped the amoeba the first time. He couldn't replicate that. The tree's core had recently amplified his wave energy, but Ash knew it wouldn't be enough.

But instead of using the aura against the tree, what if he gave it what it wanted?

He realized with a start that he had already made a decision.

Ash didn't know if it was a smart one. But it was the only one he thought might have had a chance of bringing them all back.

"Mew, is the Tree of Beginning strengthened by the wave it consumes?"

Surprised at being addressed, it took the pokemon a moment to respond. But it gave a quick nod.

That was all Ash needed to confirm. Any more and the others would catch on. They would try to stop him. James' life depended on them not.

Ash picked Pikachu up off his shoulder. He gave him a scratch behind the ears. And then, he took off his pack and unfastened his pokebelt, leaving them at Pikachu's side.

Lucario watched the interaction with some suspicion. "Ash, what are you—"

Ash didn't have time to offer any answers. James didn't have time. Ash dashed about the crystal, heading to its opposite side. The jumble of crystals on this side were smaller but no less lethal. He could still see James, who had only half of his body left. The crystals on this side, despite being connected, had gone dormant, but Ash suspected it wouldn't be for long. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and grasped the nearest gemstone with both hands.

He let his aura flare to life around his body. Instead of summoning it to his hands, Ash let it surround him as he had done before. But this time, he had no intention of breaking free. He felt the cold starting up in his hands.

"Come on, come on," Ash whispered.

"Ash! What are you doing?" Lucario cried. He and Pikachu rushed over, suspecting the worst. Ash couldn't bear to meet his pokemon partner's eyes. So he focused on Lucario instead, already his breath misting. "What does this solve? Now both of you will be drawn inside!"

Ash shook his head. He was afraid to answer, afraid to lose concentration. He pushed as much aura as he had left to the surface of the crystal, begging it to take the bait. Ash could feel the crystal softening as his fingers slipped inside.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out in alarm. Ash hated himself for it, but he ignored his best friend.

"Lucario," Ash hissed through gritted teeth. "Get Mew to bring us back. All of us. My aura should make it enough."

Lucario blinked, taken aback by the request. But he didn't answer.

Ash gave out a yell of surprise when both of his hands suddenly sunk into the crystal. The pain was sharp and exacting. He couldn't feel his hands at all anymore.

Ash heard Meowth's frantic cries. He couldn't see what was going on, but he could guess. Ash pushed more of the wave out of his body, flooding the crystal with energy. He pushed and pushed, pushing James right back out the opposite side.

Ash felt it when James had pried himself free. He felt it as both the human he still was and the tree that he was slowly becoming a part of. But he couldn't stop. Ash gave it all. He stuffed the aura inside the crystal like he was pouring water into an overflowing fountain. He gave up everything. Even more than the last time. Even more than he felt he should.

He felt like an unraveling spool of thread. His wave had caught on something and was pulling away from him faster than he could hold. He hated to lose it. But he was afraid that if he didn't give it all, it wouldn't be enough. Each bit had to be enough for them. For Jessie. For Kidd. And for Princess Aileen. It let it whip away into the ether, hoping it would be enough to pull all of them back up from the brink.

"Ash stop! James is free!" Lucario shouted. "Any more and you'll—"

Ash had fallen pretty far. His arms were gone down to his elbows. And with morbidly humorous timing, right along with Lucario's final warning, Ash felt the pop from somewhere down deep. It felt wrong and unspeakably painful. As if there were a bone somewhere embedded deep in his guts that he had just wrenched free and snapped in half.

Ash screamed, but he hadn't enough air to complete it. The world seemed to fade to black before his eyes, like the curtains closing on stage. Ash crumbled to the floor, what little was left of him. He knew the others were shouting. He could see their lips twisting around his name, but there was nothing but a roar in his own ears.

He had nothing left. Ash knew had given the crystal everything. He only hoped that it would be enough. And though it felt like the whole world was telling him not to, Ash closed his eyes.

Ash was unconscious long before the Tree of Beginning had consumed him.

To Be Continued…
Please Read and Review!

Happy holidays everyone! Enjoy another chapter! We are pretty close to the end now! I'm excited! Hoping to be able to say I finished two stories in one year!

Special thanks to those who reviewed last time: MoonLightSkies16, thor94, Ai, Moss Stories, Shaveza, and juaniu1994!

Next time, Lucario has to find a way to save everyone. Can he do so without paying a cost?

Stay tuned for hopefully another update before the new year!