Hi guys!

I sat on this idea for months until I figured out how to actually write it. I also wrote almost 3 000 words for this fic before realizing it wasn't what I wanted and started again from the scratch.

But here we are, finally! I really hope you enjoy it.

.

SET AFTER MY OTHER FIC, TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER

Move: Nature's Madness

The user hits the target with the force of nature.

.

.

Ash

.

For Ash, coming back to Alola with Greninja and with his Aura and with the memory of dead Lysandre is… different.

The first morning back in Alola, Pikachu wakes him up by pawing on his face and sparking him with static electricity that makes his skin tingle and his hair stand up on end. Ash blinks blearily, his head feeling stuffy and his body heavy from deep sleep. He sits up slowly, but regardless of his efforts to move carefully, the change in position makes his head spin – he knows he's still recovering and will be for a while longer, but it annoys him, nonetheless. It's been three days since he got out of the hospital and he feels more than ready to get back to normal life already.

Ash glances out of the window and sees that the sun has risen a while ago, the sky vibrant blue with the tropical brightness of Alola. Ash fights against an urge to pull the blanket over his head and go back to sleep, and instead looks down. On his lap, Pikachu is looking at him with scarily perceptive eyes and Ash hides his face for second by running a hand through his tangled mop of hair.

"Mornin', Pikachu", he mumbles through a yawn. Pikachu's tail whips around eagerly, and Ash can't help but smile at its excitement. He hears the Professor shuffling around in the kitchen downstairs, and he glances around the loft – his second home – and it hits him then that he's back. Really back. Safe.

"It's so great to be here again, isn't it?"

Pikachu coos happily. Ash gets up, slowly, carefully, and pulls on his sneakers and changes his shirt. He grabs his hat from the nightstand, rolls his shoulders and grimaces how stiff and sore his right one still feels. He's had a lot worse, for sure, but this will definitely make performing Z-moves uncomfortable for a while.

Well, he shouldn't complain, really. Lysandre, for one, is dead, after all. You don't get much more hurt that that.

Ash climbs the ladder down carefully and by the time he turns around at the bottom Kukui is already standing there, watching him with warm eyes.

"Good morning, Ash", he says, and he smells like breakfast food and coffee and affection. "I hope you slept well."

Ash chuckles, suddenly embarrassed by the late hour. "I did, thanks Professor. Man, sorry, I slept so late! It's probably way past midday already."

He rubs the back of his neck and Kukui purses his lips, a strange look passing on his face before it's replaced with a bright smile. "Don't worry about it!" he grins. "Come on, the food is just about ready. You must be famished!"

"Thank you, I sure am!"

Kukui hands him a plate and on his way to the table Ash walks by a window and leans forward to look through it. It's open, and when a breeze of salt-laced wind blows in and ruffles his hair and the sunlight hits his face and he hears the ocean waves hitting the rocks on the far side of the beach, it's like a shock that runs through his body and his Aura is suddenly awake.

He's vaguely aware of dropping the plate, the porcelain smashing against the floorboards and the carefully prepared breakfast flying everywhere. Kukui and Pikachu's voices are drowned out by something much louder, something much more intense, and he stands absolutely still and just listens.

The power – the energy of Alola crashes through him like a wave from a tsunami, encapsulating him, and even though it overwhelms his senses, it also feels familiar, somehow. He realizes then that he has always been able to feel it, to some extent. Now, with his newly released Aura it's thousand times stronger, like what he heard before had been the sound of a single instrument playing and now, finally, he is hearing the whole orchestra.

He's had a few days to practice living with his Aura, but back in Kalos he had still been so tired, so exhausted, and his Aura had remained mostly dormant, just brimming under his skin but not reaching out unprompted. He had though he had it more or less under control. After successfully using it against Lysandre, and living through the following days… Nothing really had changed, right?

But it's dawning on him now that he does, indeed, not have it under control.

At all.

An actual shock of electricity runs through him then, and he finds himself on the floor. The world snaps into sharp focus and Ash blinks away his confusion. Alola is still singing to him, but it's faded now, farther away. Kukui looms over him and Ash looks up, eyes blown wide and hair sizzling.

"Ash?" says Kukui, and it sounds like he has been repeating the word for a while now.

"Uh", Ash answers, rubbing a shaky hand down his face.

"You with me?" the Professor asks, cautiously.

Pikachu is nudging his leg and Ash sets his hand on its fur without thinking, the move as natural as if the pokemon is an extension on his own body. It's a silent thank you, and he knows that Pikachu understands. It never enjoys shocking Ash, but it won't hesitate to do it if it deems it necessary.

"Y-yeah", Ash chokes out, scrambling to stand up.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

Kukui hovers next to him, slightly closer than is normal, like he's preparing to stop his fall at any moment.

Ash hesitates. "I… My…" He shrugs helplessly. "My Aura, uh, it did something, I guess?"

The Professor quirks an eyebrow but his shoulders relax, and he steps back, smiling.

"Your Aura, huh?"

It's not really a question, but Ash knows how curious Kukui is, and how interested he is in the topic. And, now that he's got his Aura somewhat back under control, he can also sense the excited energy emanating from the Professor, the need to know more, to understand.

Kukui is also the person who currently knows most about his Aura, so he may as well try to explain it. He might learn something, too.

"Yeah", Ash says slowly, leaning against the kitchen counter. He glances at the floor and at the mess he made on it, before looking back up at Kukui. "I dunno why it didn't happen sooner, or in Kalos or anything, but there is this… this melody? In Alola? I dunno how to explain it any better, Professor, but it suddenly just hit me really hard and for a moment it was the only thing I could focus on."

"A melody? Could it…" murmurs the Professor, eyes far away. After a moment, his mouth stretches into a grin and he looks at Ash with bright eyes. "Yes, it must be! Ash, what you are hearing must be the life force of Alola!"

"Life force?" Ash intones.

At Ash's blank look, Kukui smiles even wider and continues: "Nature's power, Ash! Alola is famous for the harmony and balance that exists between people, pokemon and our beautiful nature! The sea, the forests, the vegetation… it all holds enormous power in and of itself! And the way we all live together and cherish that balance here in Alola, it lets us all share and gain that energy from each other. And Aura is… it's the essence of every living creature. It's the energy that exists in everything, though only few have the capabilities of controlling it. It's truly amazing, Ash, what you can do…"

He has moved closer again, and he stares down at Ash with a frantic glint in his eyes and Ash takes an instinctive step away, his spine digging into the countertop. He blinks and -

Lysandre steps forward, his eyes wide with wonder. The room is still and unmoving around him, almost suffocatingly so. "Is that… your Aura?" Lysandre asks, sounding genuinely astounded. He advances on Ash slowly, cautiously. His arm reaches towards him, greedily, wanting to control, wanting to dominate –

His hand slides on the countertop and he stumbles backwards, the words slipping through his lips before he can stop himself: "Stay away!"

"Pikapi!"

Ash slaps a hand over his mouth and stands up with his back ramrod straight, dread pooling in his stomach. "I'm sorry!"

He lets his hand drop and looks at Kukui, his pulse thundering in his ears. "I'm sorry", he repeats. "I didn't mean to- You don't… I-"

"It's okay", Kukui says, and his voice is very gentle. "I got too excited and I startled you. I'm sorry."

He steps to the side, picking up a towel on his way. Ash knows he tries to look casual, but he can see his hands trembling, the muscles in his jaw working. And even more clearly, Ash can sense the alarm and the concern that surrounds the Professor like grimy, awful blanket.

It's almost exactly the same as what happened in the park in Kalos, and Ash hates it. He feels like he doesn't know himself anymore. He wasn't like this before; he hasn't ever been this…

(afraid)

"I'm not like this, usually", he says out loud, and Kukui stills. His fingers tighten around the towel and he looks at Ash with an unreadable look.

"I'm not scared of you or anything, Professor", Ash continues resolutely, since he might as well finish what he started. "I dunno what's gotten into me lately, but it's got nothing to do with you. So don't worry! I'm sure it's gonna pass soon and then I won't do stupid stuff like that again."

He nods firmly. That's what's going to happen. He's decided.

Kukui worries his lip for a moment.

"It's not 'stupid stuff'", he eventually says. His voice is quiet and serious. "Ash, it's perfectly normal to feel anxious or on edge after a huge event like what you just went through. It's true that sometimes these feelings and reactions pass with just time, but sometimes it helps if you can talk to someone about it. Sometimes those negative emotions and fears coil up so tightly inside of you that they won't just go away on their own – they might even feed on each other and get worse, if left alone."

He breathes out, slow and steady. "Sometimes it takes years to recover, even with professional help."

Ash glances at Pikachu, and the pokemon looks back, ears lowered and eyes wide.

"…Years?"

"Did your doctor speak to you about therapy, Ash?" Kukui asks softly.

Ash nods. "Yeah, like how I'm gonna visit a nurse at some point and they are gonna move my shoulder in every direction and see it if works all right."

Kukui's lips twitch. "That's physical therapy you're thinking about. I mean psychotherapy. That is aimed to improve your mental health and help you work through your problems or any troubling thoughts that might impair your daily life. There are professionals out there who have been specifically trained to help people recovering from traumatic events, people exactly like you."

Ash bounces on his spot, fidgeting with his Z-ring. He looks to the side, through the open window. "Man, I dunno about all that", he sighs, and his voice sounds faint in his own ears. "I could just talk to you, right? Or to my friends, if I gotta. But really, I'm just fine."

Kukui tips his chin, his shoulders dropping. "All right, I believe you." He smiles. "But think about it, okay? If you ever feel like it's too much to handle on your own. And of course, you can talk to me anytime you want, about anything. I mean it."

"Yeah, okay", Ash agrees, and he smiles too. It feels genuine, and a pocket of warmth spreads though his body. "Thanks, Professor. It's good to know I'm not going mad or anything. Usually it just isn't like this for me after… well, after anything that happens."

He thinks how he has died before, (almost), and he has always been perfectly fine afterwards. This time shouldn't be any different.

Kukui looks like he doesn't really grasp what he means, but he smiles anyway. "You are definitely not going mad. But I know what you must be, and that's hungry! Come on, let me clean this up and you can eat from this other plate. It's probably gotten cold already, but it should still be good."

Ash takes the offered dish uncertainly. "If you're sure…"

Kukui kneels down and begins wiping away the food and shattered pieces of porcelain. "Of course I'm sure", he says, and it leaves no room for argument. Ash sets the plate down and picks up a bag of poke chow. He pours it in three cups and takes out his poke balls.

"Come out, everyone! Breakfast time!"

Litten, Rowlet and Lycanroc pour out of the poke balls with excited shrieks, first tagging him with licks and affectionate nudges and then crowding around the poke chow. Pikachu chirps happily and rushes to join them, while Greninja stands back and looks around with curiosity in its sharp eyes. Ash sets another cup of poke chow on the table and pats the sofa next to him, gaining Greninja's attention.

"Welcome to Professor Kukui's home, Greninja! I will show you around soon", he grins, "but let's eat first!"

.

Kukui disappears at some point while they eat and returns with newly re-activated Rotom Dex. It dashes across the room and almost hits Ash square in the head in its excitement.

"Ash!" it squeals. "You're back! Professor Kukui told me I was offline for a couple of days and you came back already! Bzz! I was so worried! Are you okay? What happened?"

Ash hurries to empty his mouth and grins at Rotom. "I'm just fine! Great to see you again, Rotom Dex!"

"Don't get too excited, Rotom Dex", warns Kukui from the kitchen. "We only just came back yesterday, and Ash needs a lot of time and space to rest. I think it'd be best if you don't ask too many questions in the meantime."

"Bzz, I understand completely! I won't ask Ash about anything personal, and instead I will let him recover in peace!"

"Thanks, Rotom", say Ash with a chuckle. "I will tell you what happened sooner or later, don't you worry. I guess I just need some time to think it through by myself, first."

"I totally understand! Hey, who is that pokemon?"

Rotom surges up and snaps a picture of a confused Greninja. "Updating… Oh, A greninja! I have never seen one before! You must be the pokemon Ash was talking about!"

Greninja waves its hand.

"Ninja."

"Yeah, Greninja is my great friend I got in Kalos! I think you'll need to do a lot of updating, Rotom Dex, once you see what me and Greninja can do together." He grins, his fingers curling with excitement. He turns to his team of pokemon. "Hey, have you guys finished eating yet? I wanna show Greninja around already!"

Ash jumps up and his blood pressure drops. His vision blurs and sparks with dark spots and he sways, presses a hand against his forehead and promptly sits back down with a huff. He can feel Kukui's long-suffering look on the side of his head and he looks up with an embarrassed grin.

Kukui is smiling lopsidedly at him.

"Try that again, but with more care this time."

Laughing, Ash stands up, and his pokemon gather around him, tails wagging and eyes sparkling. "Alright!" he starts, pumping a fist. "Let's go out and show Greninja around!"

They rush towards the front door. "Be back before dark!" Kukui calls after him.

Ash waves, grins over his shoulder and shouts: "I sure will!", and then he's off, fickle, like the wind from the far ocean that's promising a storm incoming.

.

.

The Professor

.

He's not back before dark.

Kukui spends the day working, updating his lesson plan – when half of your class misses a week of school, there's no way to stay on the normal schedule – cleans the house and makes dinner for two. The food is left sitting cold an untouched on the stove, lone and waiting.

Sun sets and the sky gets dark and Ash is not back yet. Rain is starting to trickle down and the winds are increasing and sadly, the weather forecast was not wrong this time, either. Despite the bad weather, Kukui is sitting on the porch, debating whether to alert the police force for an island-wide search or if he should wait just a few more hours, when he gets a phone call from Lana, of all people.

"Hi, Professor", she greets, appearing on the screen with a reddish face and windblown hair. "Just thought you might wanna know that Ash is staying over tonight."

The relief is a physical thing, though Kukui does his best to keep his expression neutral. "He's at your house?" Lana nods, so Kukui continues: "Could I talk to him? He didn't say he was going to meet anyone today, so I was starting to get worried."

(Possibly the understatement of the year, but she doesn't need to know that.)

But then, Lana hesitates, and it makes warning bells ring in Kukui's head at full force.

"Uh, he's already asleep", admits Lana, looking to the side and worrying her lip. "He was kinda… well, I'd rather not wake him up, if that's okay."

Shit.

"Okay, what happened?" demands Kukui, and he has to work hard to keep his voice steady.

Lana throws her hands up, shrugging. "Nothing – well, I dunno, really. About half an hour ago, when me and Mallow were on my dad's rowing boat, fishing near the coastline-"

"You were out fishing?" barks Kukui. "This late?"

"That's not the point here, Prof..."

"Right, okay, so what then?"

"So, suddenly Ash appeared out of the forest with Pikachu and Rotom Dex and Greninja. He sat down on the rocks and when we paddled closer, we saw that they were all sweaty and dirty, and Ash told us he had a huge battle with Tapu Koko and he thinks that something big is about to happen soon…" Lana pauses, waves a hand uncertainly. "It was weird, and we were obviously a bit worried. He was all pale and kinda didn't make much sense, so I invited him over – and Mallow was gonna stay the night anyway. We made him eat a sandwich and he conked out almost instantly after that."

"Okay, good, okay", breathes Kukui, since he doesn't know what else to think or say.

"Yeah", says Lana. "He really needs to take a shower, but I think he's pretty much fine otherwise."

"How about Pikachu and Greninja?" Kukui asks. "Were they hurt? Do they need to be taken to a pokemon center?"

Lana shakes her head. "They seemed fine. Dirty and exhausted like Ash but I don't think they were injured. And I bet Ash would've taken them to a center himself if they were."

"You're right, he would", Kukui agrees. He takes a deep breath, trying to sort through the jumbling mess of his thoughts.

He comes to a decision a moment later. "Alright, so, if you're sure everything is fine for now, maybe I should come by in the morning and pick him up. I'll drive by and ring the doorbell at about eight o'clock, okay?"

Lana nods. "Sounds good." She yawns, big and unapologetic. "We'll be fine. Don't worry."

"I can't help it, you know", Kukui says with an edge of a smile. "Have a good night and see you in the morning."

"Good night, Professor."

Kukui stares at the darkened screen until his stomach grumbles angrily, making itself known after a full day of negligence. He tugs at his unwashed hair and shuffles to the kitchen to get a serving of cold pasta for one.

It's going to be a long night.

.

He's dozing off on the sofa when the shrill sound of the home telephone wakes him up.

It's still dark outside, the closed windows rattling with gusts of wind and heavy downpour, and he checks the time as he shuffles to the phone – it's half past five in the morning.

"Alola… Mallow? What's wrong?"

She's in her pajamas and her hair is plastered against her face and neck, soaking wet. Her eyes are wide and red-rimmed and she's speaking before the image even properly loads.

"He's gone, Professor!" she yelps. "Rotom just woke us up and, and – Ash is gone! We don't, we didn't see-"

Kukui's pulse picks up and he leans closer to the screen. "Hold on, just take a deep breath and start from the beginning. Mallow. It's all right."

"Yeah, okay, um…" She brushes the wet strands of hair away from her face, closing her eyes for a couple of seconds.

"So, Ro-rotom said it woke up from sleep mode just as Ash and Pikachu were leaving the guest room… Um, it followed them outside and saw Ash talking to Tapu Koko and Tapu Fini..."

…Tapu Fini? The guardian deity of Poni Island?

Kukui has no idea how his face looks right then, but it must be a sight to see judging by Mallows expression. She waves her hand, fidgety and anxious.

"Rotom didn't hear the whole conversation, but it heard Ash saying something like 'you want to take me to Poni Island?' And then, uh…" She shrugs, eyes wide. "Apparently, Tapu Koko grabbed Ash and Tapu Fini grabbed Pikachu and then they just… flew off!"

Kukui feels like he's still dreaming. He shakes his head. "Tapu Koko… took Ash? To- to Poni Island?"

Mallow nods glumly. "Yeah, that's what Rotom Dex says. Of course, Lana and I ran outside immediately, trying to catch up to them. Lana is still out there, looking… But it's pitch-black and raining like crazy and the wind is so strong… I'm sorry, Professor! We let him disappear like that…"

Kukui's stomach drops. "No no, don't think of it like that! This is in no way your or Lana's or anyone's fault. If the Tapu are involved…"

…Who knows what is going on, he finishes silently, his mind going mile a minute trying to work out a reasonable explanation, anything, that would explain this.

Her shaking voice brings him back to the present. "Wha-what do we do, Professor?"

He looks her sternly into the eyes. "You don't do anything. Get Lana back inside and stay inside. I will take care of this from now on."

"But-"

"Don't." Kukui sighs. "Look, I promise I'll tell you what's going on as soon as I find something out. But until then, I just need you two to stay safe. Can you promise me that?"

Mallow nods shakily. "Y-yeah, okay."

"Good." He attempts a smile, and Mallow does, too. Kukui says: "Try to get some rest. We will find him, don't worry. I'm sure Ash is just fine."

"Yeah. Thank you, Professor."

They end the call and Kukui slumps down on his chair, massaging his temples.

He just needs a moment to think. There's a storm raging outside, so no ferries are moving… There's no active Island Kahuna on Poni Island… Who should he contact first, then?

Alerting the actual police is sounding a better plan of action by the minute.

The frustration – the feeling of helplessness, it makes him irritable, and when his mobile phone rings then, he picks it up without looking.

"What is it?" he snaps.

"Hm, charming", drawls Burnet's voice. "Did I interrupt your beauty sleep, Professor?"

Kukui curses silently. "Ah, no. I'm sorry. What's up, Burnet?"

"Ooh, very exciting things!" she gushes. Kukui can hear a flurry of background noises on her end, machines beeping and people shouting. "We just got some very promising readings on our ultra-wormhole research! A large spike of energy alerted our systems, and we were able to pinpoint it over the far southwest of Alola. Kukui, it looks like it's really happening this time!"

...What?

Kukui blinks. Then he blinks again, since Burnet's words are still not making any sense.

"I-I think I misheard you", he stutters. "What did you just say?"

Burnet laughs – a sound that usually is music to Kukui's ears but this time, it's making his foot tap anxiously against the floorboards.

"Sweetie, you must be really tired", she chuckles good-naturedly. "I'm telling you that an ultra-wormhole is about to appear over Poni Island!"

.

Note: You might remember from TWAS that this story is set at the end of season one of Sun and moon, so no ultra-stuff has yet happened in canon!