Hey all! DarkSlash9 here with another chapter of Pokemon: The Fellowship of the Aura! Teehee! I bet none of you expected an update this quick. Well, truth is, I had about 5,000 words of this one already written when I released the last one. But, in hopes of making up for how long Chapter 19 took to come out, I kept that a little secret. I'm just so sneaky, huh?

Anywho, this chapter is the beginning of the end. Unfortunate, I know, but it's the truth. But it's also a good thing, because this final arc of the story is what I've been most excited for since the start. This chapter serves to set the scene for it all, but I think it's a pretty good one. I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it!

Really, I don't have much else to say up here. So, without further adieu, enjoy! ;)


XX


[Snowpoint City: Snowpoint Salon & Sauna...]

The morning sun shone brightly through the windows of a cozy, square room, but such radiance did nothing to awake the young woman lightly snoring on one of the two beds. Despite the troubles and confusions that had swarmed her mind when she'd lain her head to rest the night before, she'd entered a deep, undisturbed sleep, void of restlessness or discomforts; the merit of sleeping in an actual bed for once. Alas, even the most turbulent of souls had found much-needed pacification in the embrace of a good night's sleep. With her locks of wavy honey blonde hair sprawled about, and her body snugly nestled under a weighted blanket, she was the epitome of rest, a sleeping beauty too elegant to wish an awakening upon...

But there were things to do, and the brunette standing at her bedside knew that.

"~Sereeeenaaa..." cooed none other than May Maple, gently poking Serena's cheek. "~Wake up, sleepy-heaaaaad..."

At the sound of May's voice, Serena's eyes shot open; a somewhat abrupt reaction considering how quietly May had called her name. She was instantly met with the sight of May leaning over her, a warm smile on her face. With the conversation she'd overheard the last night still fresh in her mind, Serena's face quickly adopted the color of a ripe tomato as she looked at May with wide, slightly bloodshot eyes.

"Good morning!" beamed May, with a grin.

Before answering, Serena eyed the bed behind May, which was vacant and neatly laid. She then resumed eye contact with May.

"Good... morning..." she stammered, with a fraction of the energy May's greeting held. "...Where's Rosa?"

"She and Max went into town real quick to buy a Focus Band for Paul. They'll be back soon." answered May, sitting on the side of Rosa's empty bed. There was a white, styrofoam container in her hands, and she was holding it out to Serena. "Once they get back, we'll be regrouping with Ash and the guys."

Instead of replying, Serena looked down at the container, a blank expression on her still-reddened face.

"You missed the continental breakfast they had downstairs, so I put something together for you. Can't continue the adventure on an empty stomach, right?" explained May, opting to just put the box on Serena's lap instead. "I made you some blueberry waffles. They also had a cute little apple cutter thing down there, so there's some apple slices in there, too."

"Thanks..." murmured Serena, opening the box.

Indeed, there were two blueberry pancakes, eight identical apple slices neatly arranged, as well as a fork, knife, and a packet of blueberry syrup. Still a passionate cook at heart, Serena couldn't help but marvel at the tidy presentation of it all. However, as she reached for an apple slice, she paused, unable to ignore the sapphire eyes that seemed to be watching her every move.

Once again, eye contact was established.

"...(•́‿•̀)..."

"...(•́_•̀)..."

"...Thirsty?"

"Wha-"

Before Serena had even finished her word, May pulled two juice boxes out of her cloak.

"I didn't know whether you'd like apple juice or orange juice better, so I just got both." stated the brunette, tossing Serena both cartons.

Her reflexes sharp even when steeped in crippling awkwardness and morning grogginess, Serena caught both items, one in each hand. Unable to withstand the unintentional intensity of May's gaze any longer, she looked back down to her food, placing the cartons beside the to-go box. Having been aware of Serena's red face and timid behavior since the moment their interaction had begun, May tiled her head.

"Are you feeling alright?" she inquired, reaching over to place a hand on Serena's forehead. "You're not sick are you? If you are, I'll totally convince everyone to put things on hold until tomorrow so you can get some more slee-"

May paused when Serena quickly leaned her head back, evading the hand sent her way in hopes of checking for a fever. Noticing the completely innocent confusion in May's expression, Serena closed her eyes and sighed.

"I'm okay... I just have... a lot on my mind." she explained, feeling a bit guilty. "I just need a little more time to decompress... alone. I'll meet everyone downstairs in a couple minutes, if that's alright."

May retracted her hand, her face returning to its standard friendly demeanor.

"Sure."

Without another word, May got up and left the room. However, right before she closed the door, she heard Serena adjust her throat, gaining the brunette's attention one last time.

"Thanks again... for the food." spoke the honey blonde, chewing some blueberry waffle.

May smiled, closing the door.

"No prob."


[Snowpoint City...]

"Max?"

"Yes?"

"What's on your mind?"

Max turned to Rosa, raising an eyebrow. In return, Rosa let out a silent huff, pursing her lips.

"Why does everyone always give me that look when I ask that question?"

"One can only wonder..." drawled Max, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I'm thinking about today."

"Well," began Rosa, looking around. "It's snowy, windy, colder than Paul's personality; Typical Snowpoint City climate if you ask me."

"You know that's not what I mea-"

"Yeah yeah... Man, your sense of humor is non-existent." sighed Rosa, brushing some snow off her visor. "Okay, let's try again. What about today are you thinking about?"

"Why don't you just chec-"

"Wow! You are unbelievably difficult!"

"Alright, fine. I'll talk. Goodness gracious..." groaned Max, pulling the recently-purchased Focus Band out of his cloak. "There's a lot happening today, and I'm unsure about almost all of it. I don't like being unsure about things. Let's start with Ash's plan to get us into the Corridors of the Aura. The Lustrous and Adamant Orbs are linked to Palkia and Dialga, who control space and time, respectively. If Paul uses them, it won't make it any easier to get there, since the Corridors are in a different dimension."

"Actually, they will help." countered Rosa, wiggling a finger. She loved explaining things to people. "Ash doesn't have a way with words, so I understand your doubts. Here's the real sense behind it all: Paul transporting us all there isn't such a monumental task just because he has to take all 8 of us to the Distortion World. He has to take us specifically to the Corridors, a specific space within the Distortion World. Not only that, but he has to take get us there at our current placement in time, you follow? With the orbs, he'll be able to get those two aspects of the job done with relative ease. Even the large number of us he takes should be easier, due to the enhanced spatial abilities he'll have."

"I see." muttered Max. "Alright, let's say we get there. Who knows what'll happen when we tell the Aura Guardians there about May's... condition? It's something that, as far as I know, has never happened before. Maybe I'm just a pessimist-"

"You are."

"I'm a pessimist," corrected Max, scowling at Rosa. "So I can't help but imagine a scenario where they deem her weird second Aura pool as a dangerous anomaly and kill/imprison her. In the event that they don't, they'll probably run some sort of investigation. No matter what they uncover, I doubt it'll be good... According to what we've gathered and seen, that power inside her isn't something to be messed with. She absolutely massacred the Dark Guardians that attacked our camp while everyone was away, and when you tried to browse her memories yesterday, you got choked out by... Rachel."

"Now that's much more reasonable of a concern..." agreed Rosa, glancing at the skies above. "But hey, she's a member of the Fellowship, chosen by Arceus. If you're a pessimist, then I'm an optimist; the way I see things, I doubt they'd kill her if there wasn't any other possible option on the table."

"I know... but I'm still just... scared." admitted Max, a somber look in his eyes. And I know May is too, deep down. She's just not letting it show. Even without reading her Aura, I can tell. She's my sister, I know her. She internalizes a lot of things... that's always been her problem."

"You and I both know May doesn't want anyone worrying about her like this." replied Rosa. "She's not my sister, but I know her too - a bit better than you do actually... when it comes to certain topics..."

Max turned to Rosa, radiating the purest skepticism.

"How so?"

"Oh look, we're back!" exclaimed Rosa, pointing to the building the pair of teenagers had been walking toward over the course of the entire conversation. "I wonder what May and Serena are up to... heheheh..."

Max looked up, and sure enough, they were indeed back at Snowpoint Salon & Sauna. But he didn't really care; of course they were back at the SSS, that was to be expected. Such an obvious observation was in no way worth ignoring his question. Unfortunately, Rosa would briskly walk into the building right after putting her hand down, never giving Max the chance to ask again.


[Sunyshore City: Outskirts...]

Waiting: it was all Ash, Gary, Paul, and Nate could do as they found themselves - once again - baking in the hot southern Sinnoh sunshine. The rest of their night had gone quite smoothly; they ate their burgers, checked in to a nearby hotel, showered, and slept. Though, the final action on that list was really only done by the latter three of the list. Ash had spent most of the night trying to sleep, yielding less than favorable results. Every time he'd found himself finally drifting off into unconsciousness, he woke up. There were simply too many thoughts bouncing around in his mind. Eventually, he gave up on it entirely and opted to hang out on the roof of the building, dubbing himself the night watch that no one really asked for. Even then, his senses weren't sharpened for the sake of identifying any incoming threats. He'd just stared at the stars until sunrise.

Even now, in the morning, he was basically doing the same thing. Ever since the gang had reached the exact spot the Fellowship had split up at the previous morning, our hero had been laying on the ground, gazing at clouds.

"They'll be here any minute now..." he thought, rubbing a hand over his tired face. "What am I gonna do...?"

"You say hello to Serena, Max, Rosa, and our newly revealed to be bisexual goddess. Duh." answered Pikachu, stationed just a few feet away. "You do realize you're baaaaasically proving May's reasoning for not telling you about it to be completely right, don't ya? She knew this would happen."

"Okay, but-"

"Ashy-boy." called Gary, who was leaning against a tree.

Ash shifted his gaze to Gary, narrowing his eyes. In response, Gary rolled his own.

"You do realize your reaction to this all is exactly why May didn't tell you about it sooner, right?" inquired Gary, folding his arms.

"So I've been told." muttered Ash, speaking his first words of the day. "Look, I'm just-"

"Pathetic." finished Paul, whose back was facing everyone else. "You're just pathetic."

"Thanks." replied Ash, monotone.

"I wouldn't say he's pathetic, but he's definitely making a big deal out of nothing." noted Gary, closing his eyes. "Big whoop, May swings both ways. One of those ways is still focused on you, while the other is on someone you ALSO have the hots for. If anything, this should make your whole romantic crisis easier, if you play your cards right. Keep being puzzled and butthurt about her secret and you'll ruin everything, just when it finally got interesting."

Completely lost on what Gary was getting at, Ash sat up, raising an eyebrow. But instead of Gary explaining, the next sound to be heard was Nate, who was sitting on the ground crisscross applesauce, snapping his fingers. Once he gained Ash's attention, Nate held one finger up with one hand, and two fingers up with the other. He then touched the one finger to each of the two fingers repeatedly. After a couple seconds of that, he put the tips of the two fingers to the sides of the one finger, forming a triangle. Then, to end his presentation, he put both hands together, touched all 10 fingertips to their corresponding pairs, and arched all fingers but the thumbs downward, forming a heart.

...Ash stared at Nate, his face blank.

"I don't follow."

Gary and Nate promptly sighed in unison.

"Denseness of this level should be a goddamn crime..." groaned Gary, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's saying that you could probably end up-"

Just then, a lavender light invaded the area, silencing Gary before he could finish his sentence. When it died down, four more people and a Gardevoir had suddenly appeared right in front of Ash, each of the hooded persons garbed in the royal blue cloaks of the Fellowship of the Aura. As soon as they'd arrived, each of them removed their hoods, revealing their faces.

"Howdy!" greeted May, looking around. "How'd the hunt go?"

Gary, being the only one to answer, chuckled.

"It was full of things we didn't see coming." he answered, with a smug smirk.

"Was it?" asked May, finding no hidden meaning in Gary's words. "Sounds interesting!"

"Interesting indeed..." agreed Gary, his eyes slowly travelling to Serena. "'Sleep well, Serena?"

"Yes, actually..." answered Serena, quietly.

Gary slowly nodded his head up and down, still smirking.

"I'm proud of you."

While Serena blinked her eyes in clear confusion, Rosa let out a low hum, noticing the cryptic nature of Gary's behavior. Without a moment's hesitation, she looked at each of the boys, running quick, surface-level scans on each of their minds. It didn't take long for her to discern what was truly going on, and when she did, she couldn't help but let out a mischievous little giggle. The cat was out of the bag, and the funniest part was that May, the bagger of the cat, had not the slightest clue of its escape.

Hearing Rosa's giggle, Max turned to her.

"What?" asked the bespectacled teen.

"Nothing..." sighed Rosa, fighting back more giggles. The poor sap didn't even know the cat had been bagged to begin with; to Rosa, that was even more hilarious. "I just... thought of a funny joke."

"Is that so?" questioned Max, not believing her. "Well then, lay it on me. I'm all ears- AGH!"

Max's sudden exclamation was caused by someone aggressively shoving him away from Rosa, in an effort to steal his spot next to the psychic brunette. The assailant's efforts were met with success; Max had fallen face first onto the ground, giving the newcomer the perfect opportunity to pull Rosa into a tight embrace. Meanwhile, Max grumbled countless creative profanities under his breath while still face-down on the ground. The younger Maple sibling didn't even have to look to know who had attacked him; there was only one person who would do such a thing.

"~So warm..." sighed an elated Rosa, happy to find herself wrapped in Nate's arms. "More, please..."

Beyond willing to comply, Nate squeezed Rosa a little tighter, lifting her off the ground a bit. He then put her down, reached into his cloak, and presented the drawing he'd made for her at Bernie Berger's Bangin' Burger Bistro & Bar, a toothy grin on his face. Rosa marveled at the illustration, instantly falling in love with the piece. However, it appeared Rosa wasn't the only admirer of Nate's work.

"Woah, that's such a cool drawing Nate!" complimented May, walking over. "Did you do that with crayon-"

"Ow."

May quickly looked downward, realizing she'd accidentally stepped on something... or rather, someone. He had tan skin and brown eyes. Most would say he was the most important and powerful person in the area, but they way he was looking up at her, as if she'd grown a second, third, fourth, and fifth head... he didn't seem so high and mighty. Just low and timid.

"Ash?" questioned the brunette, bringing a lone fingertip to her bottom lip. "Why are you... y'know... sprawled out on the ground? Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost-type."

At the sound of May's inquiries, Serena walked over to Ash as well.

"What's wrong?" she asked, also casting her gaze upon the raven-haired Aura Guardian. "You haven't said anything since we got back... You look tired."

And there they were, two blue-eyed beauties staring down at the most romantically-inept young man on the planet. For a few seconds, he looked back and forth between the two of them, eyes wide. He could feel his cheeks reddening, and his heartbeat hastening. The stares were more than he could handle, not that he could really handle much to begin with, at the moment.

"C'mon, Ash..." he thought to himself, feeling a completely self-imposed pressure. "Act natural..."

"I'm... admiring the beauty... of my surroundings." he lamely uttered. "Lots to see."

...

"You ARE pathetic..." sighed Pikachu, walking away.

"Hm," hummed May, hands on her hips. "Well, you're not wrong, I suppose."

After her response, May quickly glanced at Serena, before returning her gaze to Ash. Though the movement was quick, it was 100% caught by both people in her immediate vicinity. While Ash simply resumed his speechless staring at the skies above, Serena looked to the grasses below, her face reddening to the same degree as Ash's, if not, more.

Catching both reactions, May folded her arms.

"Why is everyone so red today?" she asked, pouting.

"Maybe they're suppressing the anger of our time being wasted by these ridiculously cutesy reunions when we've all only been separated for 24 hours." droned Paul, walking over. "Are we ready to do this thing, or what?"

"Oh, that reminds me..." said May, pulling the Lustrous Orb out of her cloak. "Here you go!"

With a quick underhand toss, May lobbed the Lustrous Orb into Paul's hands, prompting fearful gasps from Gary, Paul, Nate, and Ash. Unfortunately none of them could do anything to intercept the pass in time, and natural instinct prompted Paul to catch the orb instead of evading.

"Oh dear..." echoed Lucario's voice, right before the chaos ensued.

And ensue it did. Much like the night before, once the orb came into contact with Paul and his energy signature, a violent torrent of dark energy erupted around him. The force of the sudden blast was enough to knock everyone present off of their feet, with Ash, May, and Serena getting the brunt of it. Like rocks skipping across a lake, they tumbled and bounced across the landscape, only coming to a halt when Ash found his footing and wrapped both young women in each of his arms, holding them tightly. Gary, a quick thinker, had grabbed on to a low-hanging branch of the tree he was standing under, while Nate quickly grabbed Rosa and dropped to the ground, keeping her safe.

The only one with no means of protection was Max, who had, somehow, been blown away further than anyone else. Even after the column of Chaos Badge darkness had subsided, he was still rolling across the ground, finally coming to a halt via his body crashing into a boulder some 100 feet away. Even though the eruption had ended, he opted to stay down, wondering why his life was the way it was.

"Pain..." he moaned, not moving. "Pain everywhere..."

"What... was that...?" uttered Serena, eyes wide.

"Not sure, but something tells me it was my fault." half-laughed May, picking some grass clippings out of her hair.

"Yes and no." replied Ash, letting go of the girls. "That was going to happen anyway... just not so suddenly."

"Regardless, it did, and now, we're ready to go." announced Gary, walking over to Paul. Before helping the dazed purple-head to his feet, he pulled an energy drink out of his cloak. "Drink up, champ. It's time to rock and roll. Hey, Max?!"

"Whaaaaaat?" cried Max, still on the ground.

"Focus Band! Gardevoir! Bring 'em both over here!" commanded Gary, while Paul drank the energy drink.

Max slowly rose to his feet, shooting a venomous scowl at Gary as he did so.

"Nope, no one's gonna ask if I'm alright. I only crashed into a huge-ass rock at a high speed, no big deal..." he muttered, regrouping with everyone else. "Of course nobody fucking cares... As long as I do what I'm told... Jerks..."

Max handed the Focus Band to Paul, who, after downing the last drops of the energy drink, tied the item around his forehead.

"How do you feel?" asked Gary.

"Like a million bucks." replied Paul, hints of sarcasm in his voice. "Let's just get this over with. Everyone ready?"

"Yup! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ"

"Yes... (._.)"

"Yeah. (•_•)"

"Mhmm. (^◡^) "

"... (^ω^)"

"I'm always ready. (•ˋ◡ˊ•)"

"Seriously, are any of you gonna ask if I'm okay? (ಠ_ಠ)"

...Nate sneezed.

"You're all terrible people." grumbled Max, releasing Gardevoir. "*sigh* Whatever. Gardevoir, take us to Spear Pillar."


[Dark Order: Main Headquarters...]

Under the pale, cold lighting of a laboratory stood a man of science like no other, standing over an operating table. Nothing but the cyclic beeping of a cardiogram could be heard throughout the room, the slow rhythm - while undoubtedly irritating - bringing relief to the white-haired doctor gazing down at his patient through shining lenses. At first glance, the patient's burned, smelted flesh would have made him believe otherwise, but low and behold - Captain Kurt was still alive.

Mending his damaged body was the real concern.

"You damned fool..." sighed Doctor Feinberg, removing his glasses. "You spoke so valiantly at our meeting, but now look at you: less then 36 hours later, you're barely breathing."

For a while, Feinberg continued standing beside Kurt, waiting for an answer he was absolutely positive wouldn't be coming for at least a day or two. He was confident in his ability to return Kurt to a level in which he could go about his daily business again; he didn't, however, have the same high hopes when it came to returning the purple-haired behemoth to fighting shape. The damage he'd sustained was simply too great.

If the Doctor were a simpleton, he'd have wondered who could've dealt such a devastating beating to the most sturdy man in the Dark Order. But he wasn't a simpleton. He was a man of hard logic and objective reasoning. There were only two possible culprits. The first was the Chosen Guardian - possible, but given the circumstances, improbable. Kurt was prideful, not dumb; If he'd found himself in heated battle with the Dark Order's chief foe, he'd have surely called for assistance from other Grand Disciples, without fail. Such a hypothesis would have been especially so when factoring in the Chosen Guardian's fellowship fighting alongside him.

Feinberg closed his eyes, lowering his head; the way things seemed, Ash Ketchum wasn't the Order's only foe anymore. The only other man possibly capable of rendering Captain Kurt to a half-dead pulp was...

"It'd be unwise to make such assumptions without hard, undeniable proof." mused the Doctor, putting his glasses back on.

Without another thought, he walked out of the room, leaving Kurt to... recover. Perhaps he was just holding on to a small bit of hope, in fear of the massive disappointment the confirmation his suspicions would bring him. Or perhaps, he was just being thorough, following a logical course of action before making any drastic moves. For once, he truly didn't know what his next steps were to be, save for the ones taking him away from the operating room and towards his main office.

When he got there, his actions were simple. Stationed at his desk were a set of monitors, along with what was likely to be the largest keyboard on the planet. There were many buttons he could have pressed, but only one of them held the function he sought. After typing a couple of sentences, he pushed that particular button, prompting the words "GRAND DISCIPLE MEETING REQUEST: PENDING..." to flash in bold, red letters across every single monitor.


[Sinnoh Region: Spear Pillar...]

"Huh?" uttered a Dark Guardian, feeling a sudden vibration in his pocket.

"What is it, Kiko?" asked another Dark Guardian, standing nearby. "A message from HQ?"

"Yeah, Frito." answered Kiko, pulling a small device from his pocket. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the screen, but then widened when he read the contents. "Woah, it's been a while since I've seen one of these."

"One of what?" inquired a third Dark Guardian, walking over.

"One of the Grand Disciples has requested a Grand Disciple meeting." explained Kiko, eyebrows raised. "You know what that means, right, Chico?"

"Not really..." replied Chico, the third Dark Guardian. "I've been in the organization for about 10 years, and that's never happened."

"It means all Dark Order operatives, no matter the rank, are to stay where they are and not make any moves further than what their last orders were." called a fourth Dark Guardian, who was quite some distance away.

"That's exactly right, Mojito." confirmed Kiko, putting the transceiver back into his coat. "Something big must be happening."

"So we're supposed to just stay here on Spear Pillar and do absolutely nothing for an indefinite amount of time?" spat a fifth Dark Guardian, seated comfortably on a large rock. "Fantastic. This entire mission just became an even bigger waste of time."

"Hey! You watch your mouth, Enrico." snapped Frito. "Our orders to secure and encamp Spear Pillar came straight from Captain Kurt. If you think they're so stupid, why don't you go tell him that yourself, big shot?"

"No 'if'. I do think they're stupid." retorted Enrico. "Why are we even here? What did we actually secure? Nobody hangs out around this cosmic knock-off of Stonehenge to begin with. We're elite Dark Guardians, Frito. This was a mission for grunts, not us. Not to mention that, Cheeto, Nino, Beebo, Dominico and I had plans tonight. We were going to grab a bottle of Tito's vodka and watch the NBA playoffs."

"Hey, why wasn't I invited to that?" asked yet another Dark Guardian, arms folded.

"That's because you don't fucking fit in, Tyler." snapped Enrico. "You loser, why are you even here-"

Just then, a brilliant display of lavender light graced Spear Pillar, silencing the battalion of Dark Guardians. The shine was so bright that they all closed their eyes, only opening them when the light died down. Much to their universally shared surprise, a sight different from before presented itself to them upon resuming their unquestionably diligent watch: eight people dressed in blue, looking just as surprised as they were.

"Oh." uttered Gary, looking around. "A welcoming party."

"Holy cow, there's like, 20 of them. Why are they even here?" questioned May, scrunching her face up in puzzlement. "What are the odds they'd know we were headed here?"

"Slim, but evidently, not slim enough." muttered Max. "I guess we'll have to take care of them firs-"

Max was cut off by a Dark Aura Sphere nailing him square in the face, the attack being sent faster than he could've reacted to mid-sentence. For the second time that day, he found himself tumbling across the ground, but since the terrain was stone instead of grass, it hurt even more than the first occurrence. However, just like his earlier tumble, he found stillness via a collision into a nearby boulder.

"Max!" cried May, turning around. "Are you alright?!"

Max looked up, blood trickling down from a fresh wound on his forehead.

"Oh now you care..." he seethed. But then, a look of terror overtook his face. "May! Watch out!"

May turned back around, just in time to see two massive blasts of Dark Aura barreling towards her. Her reflexes honed from Ash's training, she quickly braced herself to tank the incoming attacks, only to witness two figures leap in front of her. One was Rosa, who quickly ignited her eyes with a lilac psionic glow and put her hands forward, casting Reflect. The second figure was Ash, who put one hand forward, grabbed hold of the blast several times larger than his body, and cancelled it out with his own Aura blast of equal strength. A plume of dust and smoke quickly enveloped the entire landmark, limiting everyone's vision.

Within the smokescreen, Rosa immediately fell onto all fours, slightly tired from sending such a dense attack back at their attackers. Meanwhile, Ash pulled his staff off his back, while Pikachu hopped off his shoulder. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, a serious look in his eye.

"These ones are strong." he stated, plain and simple. "Paul, Max, get to work. Gary, Serena, Rosa, Nate; cover them. May, you're with me."

"I am?" questioned May, almost surprised she was chosen.

"Yes." answered Ash, walking deeper into the dust cloud and out of everyone's sight. "Let's go."

May nodded and jogged into the danger zone, following Ash and Pikachu into battle. Meanwhile, Gary ran over to Max and helped him to his feet, while Nate did the same with Rosa. Once Max was brought over to everyone else, Gary dropped the bleeding teenager next to Paul, who had already closed his eyes, sat down, and began tapping into the Chaos Badge's energy. Despite the stinging pain on his forehead, Max pulled himself together and placed his hands on Paul, channeling healing Aura into him. Satisfied with this, Gary turned to everyone else, his game-face on.

"Alright," he began, pulling his trusty gun out. "Nate, create a ring of fire around us. Rosa, stay alert; if any stray blasts of Aura come our way, it's up to you to reflect them. If any enemies come our way, I'm makin' swiss cheese out of their fucking bodies. If any of those bastards are slippery enough to make it through all that, that's when we're counting on you and your Pangoro, Serena. You'll beat the shit outta them, we clear?"

Everyone nodded, immediately heeding Gary's orders. After a couple of deep breaths, Nate lurched forward and exhaled a Flamethrower, only stopping when he'd created a circle big enough to completely surround the Fellowship. Rosa stood beside Nate, eyes glowing as she waited for any incoming projectiles. Gary stood with his gun in hand, a finger patiently nestled around the trigger.

And then, there was Serena.

Sure, she took a knife out and released Pangoro, but there wasn't much other prep she could've engaged in; she was always poised to defend herself. As the sounds of battle cries, husky grunts, and pained yelps sounded throughout Mt. Coronet, she found her mind wandering to the two people who had fearlessly entered the center of the disarray. Ash had said the enemies were powerful, and the look in his eye had made it clear that he meant it.

He'd taken May with him. But, in light of recent days' events, Serena wasn't jealous. That emotion no longer ruled her. Instead, she found a different one clouding her thoughts: worry.


"Ngh!" grunted Ash, receiving a punch to the face from one of the elite Dark Guardians. "These guys are no joke..."

"Release me." suggested Lucario.

"RAWWWWSHNUHGGLRR!" bellowed Charizard, also wanting in on the fight.

"Don't have to tell me twice." muttered Ash, retaliating the Dark Guardian's blow with a fist of his own.

While the Dark Guardian reeled back from the superior force of the hit, Ash released the two pokemon. As he materialized, Lucario skipped the formalities and went straight into Mega-Lucario form, delivering a swift elbow to the foe's gut, prompting blood to spew out through their gritted teeth. This gave Charizard the perfect opportunity to glide forward, grab the Dark Order elite by the head, and fling him as far as his strength allowed. Both pokemon then turned to Ash, nodded, and delved deeper into the smoky battlefield, leaving our hero to his own devices.

Given a brief moment to plan his next course of action, Ash quickly felt for Pikachu's aura.

"Pikachu, where are y-"

"BUSY!" interjected Pikachu.

Indeed he was. The Mouse Pokemon found himself in the midst of a heated series of clashes, his Iron Tail against an elite's Dark Aura cloaked forearm. Growing tired of the repeated exchanges, the electric rodent decided to switch things up leaping backwards and into the air, hurling an Electro Ball at his foe. Unfortunately, the projectile would only end up being evaded by the Dark Guardian, via a smooth sidestep. The elite then returned Pikachu's serve by shooting a Dark Aura Sphere at yellow furball, who managed to narrowly dodge it.

But unfortunately, the battle was a brawl, not a 1-v-1. Before he had time to react, a different Dark Order elite shot him out of the air with their own Dark Aura Sphere, resulting in the electric-type plummeting to the ground.

"Cheap-ass bitch..." wheezed Pikachu, dazed from the direct hit.

As he struggled to stand up, the two Dark Guardians ran towards him, intent on stomping him out until there was nothing but blood and fur. But that just wasn't in the cards. Before they could, one of them found a Bone Rush spear lodged clean through their chest from behind, courtesy of Mega-Lucario. Meanwhile, the other found his world quite literally flip-turned upside down due to an unexpected sweep kick from Ash, who quickly obliterated their body afterwards with a barrage of tiny Aura Spheres emulating machine-gun fire.

Saved by the duo, Pikachu stood up.

"These guys are kinda... GOOD." he noted, rubbing his head. "If the Dark Order's had dudes like these the whole time, why have they been sendin' the most dookie-crumb dunces our way for most of the quest? Food for thought, eh?"

"Questions for later." replied Mega-Lucario, jumping into the air so Charizard could swoop down and give him an airlift. As Charizard carried him off, he left Pikachu with some knowledge: "If you have time to ponder such things, you have time to get up and continue the battle."

"I'm wondering the same thing, but Lucario's right. Now's not the time." added Ash, gripping his staff. "If you can't handle yourself alone, stick with me. We work better as a team anyway."

"True that, homie." agreed Pikachu, hopping onto Ash's shoulder. "Get ready, I'll light you up."

"Go for it." spoke Ash, running towards the nearest Dark Guardian he sensed.

As Ash ran, both his and Pikachu's eyes took on an azure glow, the latter covering both of their bodies in a coating of Aura-enhanced thunder. Once their next target was in sight, Ash removed one of his hands from his staff, releasing a flurry of electrical swipes to the unsuspecting foe's face the moment they'd turned around. Much to Ash's frustration, the Dark Guardian didn't go down from the first few strikes, but it was obvious they weren't going to be able to tank them forever. So Ash kept smashing the charged staff into their face, throwing out each swing faster than the previous one.

"I hope I wasn't wrong to bring May into this..." thought the raven-haired Guardian as he delivered one final backhanded swing, defeating the elite.

...

Meanwhile...

...

"HuuuuuuUUUHHRRRAGHHHH!" roared May, bringing two Aura-fueled hands together to drop them on the noggin of an enemy that was likely to never wake up again.

Once the elite crumbled to the ground, May took a second to put her hands on her knees and catch her breath; never had her lungs ached so much. Even with her recent power increase, as well as her training under Ash, the men and women she found herself trading blows with were beyond anything she'd dealt with so far. She'd even attempted to take advantage of her Maple bloodline by tapping into her frustration at being punched, kicked, and blasted so many times, but even that did little to better her experience.

"Jeez... *gasp* louise..." she panted, pulling herself together. "I- ooop!"

In the blink of an eye, another Dark Guardian appeared before the brunette, in an attempt to kick her in the head. Luckily, even in her tiredness, May had enough wherewithal to duck. Seeing an opening after the success of her maneuver, May grabbed hold of the enemy's grounded leg, lifting them off the ground by it. With another mighty roar, she then slammed the elite onto the ground over and over, the Dark Guardian's body making craters in the ground with every smash. Sensing another one already on the way, May, still holding the now limp elite by the leg, spun around, building up momentum. When the timing was just perfect, she let go, sending them hurtling through the air and right into the incoming foe. Her aim was good, resulting in both enemies laying entangled on the ground. But, just for good measure, May charged a large Aura Sphere in her hand, launching it right into them, securing the kills.

However, such thoroughness would be met with unfair consequences. The moment she even thought of finding someone else to fight, she found two arms linked under her own, putting her into a Full Nelson hold.

"You stupid little shit..." cackled the Dark Guardian, charging a Dark Aura Sphere on the back of May's head. "You're done."

"So you'd think." wheezed May, wincing at the discomfort of the situation.

The Dark Guardian narrowed their eyes in confusion, only to widen them in absolute horror as their Dark Aura Sphere dissipated, a feeling of frigid cold suddenly overtaking their arms. The feeling quickly proved itself to be more than just a feeling, as actual frost began to spawn on their arms. The rate of the sudden cryogenic phenomenon quickly hastened, with full-on ice suddenly creeping into existence. The freeze was deep, rendering the Dark Guardian's arms unusable.

"Wha... What have you done to me?!" they cried, mortified.

Instead of receiving an answer from May, they were able to deduce the explanation through a small lump slowly crawling itself up May's cloak, poking its head out from under May's collar.

"Glaceon. Freeze Dry." ordered May.

Without skipping a beat, Glaceon released an arctic chill from her mouth, aiming it directly at the Dark Guardian's face. As soon as the first particles touched the enemy's face, their entire body flash froze from the head downward, creating an ice sculpture where a living being once stood. With the coast clear, May powered up her Aura and freed herself, shattering what was left of the Dark Guardian in the process. While Glaceon climbed out of May's cloak and hopped onto the ground, May shook the residual ice crystals off, letting out a sigh.

"That was a close one..." she mused, looking around. "I don't know how much longer I can stay on my own like this..."

May then looked up to the ring of fire burning at the crest of Spear Pillar, biting her lip. In all honesty, she hadn't expected things to go on for as long as they were.

"Paul's really taking his time..."


"Damn Paul! You're really taking your time!" hollered Gary, ducking for cover as Rosa reflected a wayward Dark Aura Sphere coming their way.

When he stood back up, he was met with the sight of the first Dark Guardian able to sneak their way to the rest of the Fellowship. Without hesitation, Gary fired three shots at them, bringing the trespasser down. After firing one more shot to make sure they were taken care of, Gary turned around.

"Seriously, buddy." he persisted. "Almost done?"

"He doesn't have to answer you." intervened Rosa, glaring at Gary. "There's already a load of noise around us that he has to ignore so he can focus. I'd imagine the last thing he needs is your incessant yapping."

"She's probably right." chimed Max, still funneling Aura into Paul.

"Well excuuuuuuse me, princess." sassed Gary, lolling his head from side to side. "I'll try to quiet down as I continuously fear for my life with no clear end in sight."

"By all means, do try." grumbled Rosa, reflecting another stray projectile. "Arceus forbid you make me happy for once... prick."

Gary's face contorted into the most hostile of scowls.

"You're an annoying little twat, y'know that?"

"'Takes one to know one."

"Does it, though?" questioned Gary. "I know I've got a sharp tongue, but at least I found my spouse/partner/whatever the normal way. Genuine, real love is what Leaf and I have. Your boy-toy just sticks with you because he can't effectively communicate with anyone else. Talk about taking what he could get! You think he'd stay with a smartassed twerp like you if he had other viable options?"

...

...Serena helplessly looked around, taken aback by how the situation had escalated so much in so little time.

"Low blow." chimed Max, still funneling Aura into Paul.

Rosa turned to Gary, eyes wide open in indignant disbelief, but also shining with what seemed to be the glint of fresh tears moments away from falling. Both Gary and Serena's eyes widened; the look in Rosa's eyes was one of unmistakably real killing intent, of the violent sort. Even Nate, who had also been offended by Gary's words, looked at Rosa in complete and utter fear, gingerly putting a hand on her shoulder in an effort to remove the straw that had already succeeded in breaking the camel's back. But Rosa simply shrugged the hand off, her fists balled so hard her knuckles turned white. With each step she took towards Gary, her body began to shake more and more, the livid brunette barely able to contain her aggression.

"You better take that THE FUCK back before I FRY your stupid, rude, insensitive shit-clump of a brain into-"

Rosa fell silent, for right when she'd taken the last step needed to get her within Gary's personal space, the brown-haired source of her ire vanished in a plume of black energy. Having a front row seat to Gary's sudden blip out of existence, Serena opened her mouth to ask what had just happened, but never got the words out. The same thing happened to her before she could. Rosa unballed her fists, a portion of her rage subsiding in favor of astonishment. Speechless, she turned around, towards Nate. But he was gone too. Fearful, Rosa turned to the only two people left: Max and Paul. But the moment she laid her eyes upon them, the same oblivion claimed her, whisking her away as well.

Max looked over his shoulder, having sensed the disappearance of all their auras. He then turned his head back to the back of Paul's, letting out a snort as he did.

"You may have just saved Gary's life." he noted, letting go of Paul.

Paul simply exhaled, wiping drops of sweat off his chin.

"Hmph."

And with that, the two of them vanished in plumes of black essence as well, leaving the top of Spear Pillar completely uninhabited.


[? ? ?]

"After several lifetimes apart, that was the reunion I got?"

A private world of nothing but pitch black. Through an area bridging the gap between existence and elsewhere limped a tan man in a skin-tight, sleeveless undershirt, with his belt holding down the burnt remains of the bottom half of a black trench coat.

This world represented many things to him; transportation, isolation, the darkness he'd willingly immersed himself in longer than most could possibly fathom... it was his world, and none had ever stepped foot in it. But even the sheer nothingness cradling his damaged body could not sway his mind from what he'd experienced before he'd begun his latest trip into such a void...

...

~The previous night...~

Still rendered immobile by the sight of Entei, the legendary beast, Commander Alexander did nothing to prevent the torrent of lava descending upon the ring of Sacred Fire entrapping him and Captain Kurt. Unimaginable heat encroached upon every inch of his body, but he couldn't help but think: he felt no burns. He felt no anguish, no agony. The only stimuli his senses truly picked up on were the dying screams of an unown ringing through out his mind.

M... The Mask.

By the time he'd realized what was happening, it had been far too late. The M unown had expanded across his entire body, shielding its master from the guaranteed death the molten rock would have granted him. Sadly, it seemed the pokemon's sacrifice hadn't fully gotten the job done. No longer possessing the life to continue its action, the M reverted to its natural unown form, allowing the last droplets of lava to sprinkle upon the Commander's uniform.

Hissing in pain, Alexander slapped off the remaining chunks of magma. But the damage had been done. His body had sustained burns, 60% of his trench coat was no more, and he stood under the volcanically clouded night sky... permanently unmasked. But the worst truth of them all laid in the fact that, as he'd stepped out of the column of lava... Kurt had escaped.

At a loss for words, Alexander gazed up at Entei, his forest green eyes conveying far too many emotions to name. But Entei held no such hesitations. His work done, the Volcano Pokemon turned its back on the Commander, leaping away to parts unknown.

...

Alexander groaned, falling to his knees as the pain of his burns became too much for him to continue muscling through. With his hood burned away as well, his long unruly, raven hair cascaded down his shoulders, painfully brushing against the scars of his unforeseeable defeat.

He needed help, and he was almost to the one place where he could get it. But he simply couldn't continue - the sting was too severe.

Just then, he felt a vibration in his pocket. Too pained to even consider reaching into it, he opted to adjust his throat instead.

"Message... playback..." he sputtered, his voice raspy and tired.

His transceiver beeped, accepting his voice signature.

"MESSAGE FROM: DOCTOR FEINBERG, GRAND DISCIPLE OF MASTER BRECHT

ATTENTION, MY FELLOW GRAND DISCIPLES. IT IS WITH GREAT DISPLEASURE THAT I INFORM YOU OF AN ATTEMPT MADE ON THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN KURT, THE DISPIRITING. THE ASSAILANT REMAINS UNKNOWN, BUT THE KNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES BEHIND THE ATTEMPT HAVE LEAD ME, OF SOUND JUDGEMENT, TO CALL FORTH A GRAND DISCIPLE MEETING. KURT HAS SURVIVED THE ENCOUNTER, BUT IS CURRENTLY UNABLE TO RELAY THE DETAILS OF HIS STRUGGLE. I AM CONFIDENT I WILL BE ABLE TO RESTORE HIM TO SPEAKING CONDITION BY TOMORROW EVENING. BY THEN, THOSE OF US THAT REMAIN IN THE WORLD OF THE LIVING ARE TO BE PRESENT AT THE MAIN HEADQUARTERS. ALL OF US.

END OF MESSAGE."

...

Alexander lowered his head; the Dark Order was no longer his. There was no possible way for him to prevent Captain Kurt from telling the remaining Grand Disciples of his actions the previous night. Not in his current state. Even Feinberg, the most loyal and obedient of the Grand Disciples, had grown wary of him. The countdown to his impending expulsion from the Order had begun the moment Kurt had managed to slip away, still holding on to his accursed willpower to the very end of their duel. For a moment, Alexander cursed his own carelessness, only to realize that such a trait wasn't the true entity at fault.

"Entei..." seethed the Commander, collapsing into the shadows.

His eyes slowly drifted into unconsciousness... only to quickly open themselves. No. It wasn't over. He still had a mission to accomplish, and demons to face.

"H... H..."

At his command, an H unkown appeared before him, looking down at its master with the same blank stare every unown held.

"Heal..." he sputtered, not having the strength to meet the pokemon's gaze.

The H unown complied, gliding back and forth over his body. As it did, white sparkles of otherworldly energy fell upon him, soothing the pain of his severe burns. The unown did not have the power to restore him completely. Far from it. But it was enough to allow him to walk again.

That was all he needed.

As previously stated, he was almost there. The next few minutes felt like a fever dream as he found himself limping towards a destination he thought he'd never find himself returning to. There was only one person who could help him now, and it wasn't a Dark Guardian, a Black Magic user, and certainly not a Grand Disciple. It was just a woman, one he hadn't seen in over 20 years.

"This'll be... interesting..." he mused, reaching what he alone could recognize to be the end of the path.

With a frail hand, he slid open a fissure in the infinite darkness, opening a gateway just large enough for him to walk through. The light of the Sun poured in as the dirt roads of a small town in western Kanto became visible through the opening. With a deep breath, he stepped out, the gate closing behind him. The former Commander of the Dark Order, Alexander, looked around, a nostalgic look in his eyes.

"Heh..." he chuckled, despite the pain. "'Place hasn't changed at all..."


[The Corridors of the Aura...]

"Sir Tobias?"

"Sir Aaron."

"They'll be arriving any moment now."

"...I see."

"Shall we greet them? Sirs Riley, Hylus, and Branford are already in the main hall."

Sir Tobias turned around, meeting Sir Aaron's expectant stare.

"We shall."

With a content nod, Sir Aaron turned around and walked away, gently humming a tune as he did. Meanwhile, Sir Tobias gave the window he'd been staring out of for the past several hours one last hard, stoic glance.

...

...

...

"Allllllright," drawled Sir Riley, staring at the center of the main hall, with Sirs Hylus and Branford standing beside him. "Absolute disarray ensuing in 5... 4... 3... 2..."

Right on time, 8 shadowy columns of black energy burst into existence in the main hall, each one spitting out a member of the Fellowship of the Aura. Four of the eight members - Serena, Nate, Rosa, and Gary - simply stood still, eyes darting around in a desperate attempt to identify where they were. Two of the eight, Max and Paul, weren't nearly as confused, but the latter was certainly exhausted from the feat he'd just pulled off. Lastly, there were the final two to appear: Ash and May. With the both of them having been whisked away in the midst of fierce combat, neither had even realized they'd been taken to another dimension, only coming to that realization when both of their fists collided with the body they'd both materialized around: Gary's. Ash's fist had found a home right in Gary's abdomen, while the back of May's hand had knocked the back of Gary's head.

Rendered completely unconscious by this turn of events, Gary collapsed onto the ground, motionless.

Beyond pleased with what she'd just seen, Rosa turned to Paul, smiling.

"Thanks."

Paul, looking a few sudden movements away from throwing up, glanced at Rosa, giving her a quick nod.

"Hello, heroes!" greeted Sir Aaron, entering the main hall with Sir Tobias in tow. "I'm Sir Aaron, this is Sir Tobias, that's Sir Riley, the muscular fellow over there is Sir Branford, and him? That's Sir Hylus. We are like, TOTALLY STOKED to welcome all of you to the Corridors of the Aura!"

"Ugh..." groaned Ash, closing his eyes. "Somehow, I forgot about Sir Aaron's attempts at using modern slang..."

"Never gets old..." sighed Pikachu.

"Well well well..." sang Sir Riley, approaching Ash. "Look who's rollin' with a whole gang of goons now."

"Riley." greeted Ash, managing a small smile. "Good to see you, man."

"Cut the friendliness." snapped Riley, his demeanor abruptly switching. "You know what I'm here for."

Ash sighed.

"I don't really feel like rapping today... Got a lot on my mind."

"Ah. Bitchmade. Got it." dismissed Riley, walking over to May, Serena, and Rosa. "And who might you lovely ladies be?"

"We know who they are." interrupted Sir Tobias, gently moving Sir Riley out of the way. He then zeroed in his black, overbearing eyes on May and May alone. "And we know why you're here."

"Eheheh... You do?" asked May, made quite uncomfortable by the weight of Tobias' gaze.

"You do?" echoed Ash.

"We do." confirmed Sir Branford, standing in the background. "We've watched your entire journey so far through our glass ball. The same one we used to stalk ya all your life, Ash."

"Interesting... I figured we'd have to explain everything when we got here." mused Max, cupping his chin. "So you already know about what's happened to May?"

"Indeed." answered Sir Aaron, a serious look in his eyes. "It's quite the anomaly."

"You're not gonna kill her... are you?" asked Max.

"Pfft, yeah, that's exactly what we're gonna do." answered Sir Riley, rolling his eyes. "Only a Debbie Downer Negative Nancy pessimist would think we'd do something that extreme. She's a member of the Fellowship of the Aura. Arceus would probably extinguish our auras with zero chances of eventual reincarnation if we ever even considered doing something like that."

"Oh wow, who woulda thought?" chimed Rosa, sending a snarky smirk Max's way.

"Hold up; You thought they'd KILL me?" questioned May, giving Max an incredulous look. "WHY would that be your go-to assumption?!"

"It wasn't an assumption," growled Max, lightly pushing May's face out of his. "It was a fear-"

Suddenly, a major quake shook the entirety of the Corridors, silencing both Maple siblings, as well as gaining the attention of every single person present. While all the members of the Fellowship immediately got into battle-ready mindsets, the Guardians of the Corridors simply looked to the ceiling, significantly less alarmed than Ash and company. The tremor only lasted for a couple seconds, but it was massive enough to warrant immediate questions.

"Uhhhh...?" uttered May.

"What... was that?" asked Ash, eyebrows furrowed. "That wasn't happening the last time I was here."

Ash looked to Sir Tobias, while everyone looked to Ash, and subsequently looked to Sir Tobias. In response to all the stares, Sir Tobias closed his eyes and walked to the nearest window. Figuring that following him was the closest thing to an answer they'd get, the Fellowship did just that, with everyone (except the still unconscious Gary Oak) walking towards the rose windows of the hall.

As soon as they all got close enough to the window to see what lied beyond it, unprecedented chills ran through the spines of everyone, each of them freezing in their tracks. As far as the eye could see, a blood red essence swirled around the Corridors, appearing both mist-like and flame-like in composition. It had no end; the dark, swirling "skies" of the Distortion World were completely overshadowed by the sinister cloud. In a manner that could not be deemed as anything other than sentient, it thrashed about in violent jolts and unpredictable patterns, like a manifestation of concentrated madness. Whatever it was, it didn't seem to like being stared at by Ash... for the moment the Chosen Guardian had pieced together just what he was looking at, the nebulous apparition rammed itself into the Corridors, causing another tremor.

"That..." began Sir Tobias, looking Ash dead in the eyes. "Is Master Brecht."

"His Aura's grown more and more agitated every day since the seal's been broken." added Sir Riley, eyes glowing. "Due to Arceus' barrier preventing him from entering, it's hard to sense him, but with sensory sensitivity like mine... I can feel his impatience grow by the hour. He doesn't seem to happy you guys are here."

"Now that you mention it..." muttered Max, alighting his own eyes. "I can sense it... it's just so massive, I thought that was just the general feel of the Distortion World."

"...And you're absolutely... positively... wholeheartedly certain he can't get in here?" asked Rosa, grabbing Nate's hand.

"Worry not, little one." comforted Sir Aaron. "This is the safest place to be; the barrier is impenetrable from the outside. Try as he might, Master Brecht will never set foot within the Corridors of the Aura."

"And even if he did, my guy Ash here would whip him real good." added Sir Branford, rustling Ash's hair. "It's what we trained him for, right?"

Everyone looked to Ash, who was still looking out the window. Without turning around, he respectfully removed Sir Branford's hand from his head before giving a level-toned, one-word reply.

"Right."

...

"Annnnnywayyyyy..." drawled Sir Riley, not a fan of tense silences. "How about we get you guys situated? We know the gist of what's going on with May, but we'd like get more information out of Paul and Rosa, specifically. The glass sphere can only tell us so much. We'd like some first-hand descriptions of the circumstances surrounding May's strange changes before Rosa and I run a second analysis."

"...Come again?" asked Rosa. "You want me to go into her head and get choked out... again?"

"Sir Riley will accompany you this time around." revealed Sir Tobias. "None of us have the level of Aura Control he has. If he links his Aura with yours, he should be able to project himself into May's mind to help defend you from any dangers. His laid-back demeanor may make you think otherwise, but he's a powerful Aura Guardian. No harm will befall you with him at your side, I can assure you of that."

Rosa gulped, looking to the checkered floors of the Corridors.

"If you say so..."

"Paul, Rosa, come with Sirs Riley, Tobias, Branford, and I." beckoned Sir Aaron, walking towards a nearby hallway. "Sir Hylus, after you help them wake the rude one on the floor over there, show them to the guest rooms."

"This archaic place has guest rooms?" snorted Paul, following the Guardians down the hall, with Rosa in tow. "That's surprising."

"Ah. I see you're a rude one as well." observed Sir Aaron, his voice getting fainter and fainter with each step. "Young people these days..."

With the group splitting off into two, the only (conscious) ones left in the main hall were Ash, May, Serena, Nate, Max, and Sir Hylus. For a while the only thing Sir Hylus did was stare, looking at everyone. Then, he slowly turned around and walked towards Gary, pulling his Ocarina from his belt. With a blank expression, he crouched beside Gary, playing a six-noted jingle on the woodwind instrument. As a result, a tiny storm cloud spawned over Gary's head, unleashing several waterdrops on the brown-haired Researcher's head.

Within seconds, Gary's eyes fluttered open.

"What the fu-aaAACK!"

His song complete, Sir Hylus grabbed Gary by the collar and mercilessly dragged him towards a hallway different than the one the rest of the Guardians had taken Paul and Rosa down, only pausing for a moment to look over his shoulder at Ash and the others, nodding at them to follow. As much as Gary cursed, wriggled, and kicked, Sir Hylus's grip proved to be unbreakable as he continued to drag him down the hall, with a very entertained Nate and an equally amused Max following.

"Well..." sighed Ash, having finally turned away from the window. "Let's follow them, I guess..."

Ash began walking, but stopped when he realized that neither May nor Serena had joined him. Wondering why, he turned back around. Serena, who hadn't spoken the entire time, was looking at May... who hadn't spoken in quite some time either. But, unlike Serena, May wasn't looking at anyone... or at least, anyone she knew. She was still looking out the window, gazing at the gargantuan mass of Dark Aura swirling around the outside the Corridors. The way she peered into it, her face completely straight... it almost seemed like she was in a trance.

Mildly disturbed, Serena looked at Ash, silently telling him to say something to the brunette.

So he did.

"...May? We're going."

"Huh? Wha?" stammered May, quickly turning around with a startled look on her face. "What are we doing?"

"We're following Sir Hylus to the guest rooms." clarified Ash, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh! Yeah!" beamed May, returning to her bubbly self. "Sorry, I kinda spaced out there..."

Ash and Serena glanced at each other, then back at May, both of them sporting the same looks of... concern. In response, May chuckled, walking past the two of them and towards the hallway.

"Keep staring at me like that and I'll start blushing." she joked, referencing the multiple rosy cheeks she'd taken note of all day.

She then broke into a jog, leaving the room before neither Ash nor Serena could muster up a reply. It wouldn't have mattered whether May had jogged or walked away, though. They both just stood there, staring at her form as it faded away into the dimly lit hallway Sir Hylus and the others had walked down. They weren't aware of it, but they were both thinking the exact same thing, verbatim.

"I can't tell which one of us she said that to."


[Pallet Town: The Ketchum Residence...]

The kitchen; Delia's favorite place to be. Such a sentiment did not lie in foolish gender roles imposed upon her by a patriarchal society, but by the life she'd lived ever since her one and only son had left home to chase his dreams, all those years ago. Despite the company Mr. Mime provided, the loneliness of being the only human being in the house had always been an obstacle she had to beat down into submission. Hobbies were the name of the game, and cooking had become her most valuable player. But still, the subdued sadness of becoming an empty-nester so early into motherhood had always ate away at the back of her mind, threatening the fall of a tear or two whenever she let herself think about it too much. Luckily, there was Mac and Cheese to make.

At this point in her life, she couldn't let herself continue to be saddened by Ash's departure. He was a man now; tall, strong, and independent. He had his own things going on, and the weight of the world on his shoulders. At least, she mused, he'd come to visit her a week or two ago. That was more than she could have said about other men in her life... other men that she'd loved.

With a light sigh, she bent over and placed the Mac and Cheese in the oven.

"Mime! Mime!" sounded a sound she knew all too well. "Mime mime mime mime mime mime mime MISTER MIIIIIIIIME!"

Delia quickly stood up, eyebrows furrowed. Indeed, she recognized the voice to be Mr. Mime's, but there was something undoubtedly bizarre about his tone. That, and the fact that she'd never, in her life, heard Mr. Mime holler that many "mime"s in one sentence. Something was clearly up.

Removing her apron, Delia walked into the foyer, where she found Mr. Mime waiting for her, a frantic expression on the humanoid pokemon's face.

"What is it Mr. Mime?" asked Mrs. Ketchum, looking around. "What's wrong?"

"MIME MIME MIME!"

"...You're scaring me."

Mr. Mime facepalmed, hobbled over to Delia, and forcibly turned her body in the direction of the front door. Given a new vantage point, Delia gained some semblance of an idea of why Mr. Mime was acting up: through the windows of the front door, a tan figure with black hair could be seen. The windows were clouded, so she couldn't exactly see who it was, but the color scheme of their body was more than enough to tell her who was standing on the other side.

With a giddy smile, Delia skipped over to the door, unlocking it in record time.

"~Ash!" she sang, swinging the door open. "Visiting again al...read...y...?"

Delia trailed off as soon as she realized that she was looking into dark green eyes instead of brown ones with the same amber shade as her own. Her deduction of who was at the door was half wrong and half right. It wasn't Ash, but she certainly knew who the injured man standing before her was.

"Delia." uttered Alexander Ketchum, leaning against the door's frame to support his weight. "The yard looks amazing..."

"..."

Unable to think of anything else to do, Delia slammed the door shut as quickly as she'd opened it, effectively knocking Alexander off his feet. She then, without a word, briskly walked right back into the kitchen to set the oven timer for her Mac and Cheese.

Back to cooking.


And that's that!

Y'know, I could sit down here at the bottom of the page and spout a bunch of cryptic mumbo jumbo and goofy foreshadowing about what's coming up, but that wouldn't be any fun, would it? Naw. If any of you leave any questions, I'll do my best to answer without spoiling in a PM response, as per usual.

I would like to say I'll have the next chapter out as quickly as this one came, but that's just not going to be the case, unfortunately. I've got a pretty busy couple of weeks ahead of me. But I'll write when I can, I can at least promise that. Here's to hoping I get Chapter 21 out before the end of the year. If not, I'll see ya in January!

Smell ya later,

~DarkSlash9