I hope some of you will read this and remember the definition of rewrite.
Around six in the evening, the electrical network failed, causing darkness to spread all over the regions. Yes, not just Kanto or Johto, whose networks were connected and the first to deactivate but also all the others, including even the faraway regions of Oblivia and Galar. Not that they knew of each other's miseries, there was no news shared in between them, no internet to share stories with family, friends or even enemies. There were no means of communication whatsoever and while humanity lamented over that fact, the greater force that was the cause of this worldwide mayhem was quite pleased with it. They didn't care about petty stories or drama, they needed a mistake rectified quickly. Something that could not be captured of film or posted stories about, for it would endanger them all.
It was much easier to dull the senses of all humans than to deal with each of them separately… even if this oppressive, almost tangible darkness wasn't the most subtle of options, it still got the job done. Some incidents would most likely be shared by people once the hold on their ways of communication was loosened, but there was no proof supporting their experience and mere words would not be enough. The most important part was that the plan had worked and now, it was time to let morning come and start over as if nothing happened. No matter how long it would take, humanity would always forget, no matter how dire or severe the situation. They would know, they had been there to see these the world make the same choices, good or bad, over and over again.
"… Good morning, doctor."
Dr. Martin eyed the dishevelled looking nurse for a moment.
"Is it?"
"Nothing you would like to hear, doctor."
"Try me."
"… There were incidents."
Nightshift nurses in the paediatric department often had their hands full with all kinds of strange demands and behaviour, so the man was not too worried. The number of times these poor men and women had needed to be treated for scratches and bites from rogue kids was saddening but some people just didn't know how to teach their children anything, not even respect. However, as he gave her another look-over, he didn't notice any kind of injury on her except for the usual tiredness dulling her eyes.
"Such as?"
"Perhaps you could take that to the therapists, doctor. They… have been talking to each other, rounding up evidence and the like."
"Evidence?" the doctor repeated indignantly. "I wasn't aware I was suddenly working in a police department?"
"I told you that you wouldn't like to hear it, doctor," the nurse sighed, clearly not wanting to deal with this.
"You're completely right about that. And I will take it up to the therapists."
"… Yes, doctor."
Despite the nice, warm morning sun having woken him up, dr. Martin's good mood was as good as gone upon hearing that over sixteen grown-ass adults had been congregating in one of the meeting rooms. There was indeed a small pile of 'evidence' on the table and it had infuriated him to the point where he had just left. He had more important things to do than to watch people slowly demoting themselves to a level far beyond the mental capacity of their patients, after all.
By the time the man had reached the silent ward, he had already calmed down somewhat. He was still internally grumbling about what he had just witnessed, though, even as the doctor prepared some papers to get some scans and tests done later today. With the news and internet back in order, as well as all the rest that had suddenly stopped functioning properly, he was ready to start sending information around. Last night, when the power had gone out and the emergency generators had activated, it had been mayhem and now they had a large amount of work to catch up on.
"You look like you need to lay a large, square egg."
"You would too if you were me," the man commented, not looking up from his papers.
He desperately needed this young patient's MRI-scans done, if not an fMRI-scan, as he did want to see what exactly would still be in working order in case this boy woke up.
"Are you a doctor?"
"I'm not wearing this name tag for show."
"… Are they rare?"
The man pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering why everyone had suddenly lost their ability to think and understand questions harder than one plus one equals two. He let out a deep sigh as he straightened… only to see the confused look of a patient he hadn't thought to ever see awake.
"Nooo… I… I don't think so," he answered hesitantly. "You're in a hospital, I suppose you're going to see several more today."
"Really?"
"Yes, I believe you will."
Whether or not he would be very comfortable with it, the boy would have to go through the planned fMRI-scan and there was always plenty of medical personnel there. But the doctor was insanely curious to check just why Ash had managed to wake up, despite all the injuries this poor kid was sporting. That his patient was conscious and able to speak was nothing short of a miracle, though Ash seemed a bit too calm for his liking. His pupils were extremely dilated as well but dr. Martin belatedly realised this child was still getting the same amount of medicines administered as if he were in a coma.
He made sure to lessen the amount of sedation the IV was offering the teen's body. No one should be given any kind of medicine if they didn't need it and from the looks of it, Ash seemed alright enough to contently watch him move around. Further tests would determine whether he was okay, but for now, dr. Martin was pleased to see the boy's ability to focus on him.
"How are you feeling, Ash?"
"I don't know. How do you know my name? What's your name?"
"I'm your doctor, I'm supposed to know your name. And I'm Jane."
"… Like from the jungle?"
The man suppressed a chuckle as he nodded. It had been a good while since anyone had compared it with a woman this innocently.
"Yes, just like that."
"Lovely," the boy answered, in a particular girly way he could only have picked up from his mother or one of her friends.
The door suddenly opened, of course without knocking. No one knocked on the door at the silent ward, there rarely was anyone in there to it answer anyway.
"Jane, I need to tell you I played no part in that meeting you just walked out of."
"Dr. Knight, please-"
"No, I won't have anyone slandering my name-"
"Are you a doctor too? What's your name?"
The man looked down at the boy in the bed, blinking a couple of times.
"I'm… Oscar Knight? I'm a… therapist?"
"… Like full moon night or the knight saving princess knight?"
"With a 'K'?" the therapist answered bewildered but frowned when the boy chuckled. "What's so funny?"
"O.K.," Ash answered, looking pleased as punch with his deduction. "Good initials for a therapist."
"Thank you," he answered. "Do you remember yours?"
"Of course," The boy replied, frowning quite heavily for such an innocent question. "A.S.K., Ash Satoshi Ketchum."
"Does that mean I can ask you anything, then?"
"… Who's anything?"
"Err…"
There was a short, cautious knock on the door -possibly someone who had heard voices inside the room-, but the child's ears seemed to work perfectly as he turned to look at it.
"… Is that anything?" he eventually asked, pointing at the door with his finger. "Oh, but no, that's a nurse," Ash added, as it opened and revealed a woman pushing a cart inside.
"Ah, hello, dr. Knight, dr. Martin. Is it alright to disturb you for a while? It's time for me to change his bandages."
"Of course, we will step out for a second. Mind you, we will be moving the patient shortly. To a more entertaining area."
She gave him a strange look, but upon turning towards the bed and seeing the boy look at her, a delighted smile appeared on her face. The nurse was very sweet towards Ash and the teen had perfectly mirrored her delight as well. It was all rather strange, yet dr. Martin wanted to bet that his findings would be even weirder.
"That's… This doesn't fit with what you or dr. Deare told me. Or Mrs. Ketchum." The therapist stated.
"I can't explain this either. I won't complain, though and I'll stick to making sure I've given him a full check-up before deeming him completely healthy."
"Of course, of course."
"So, what did you want to say, Oscar?" dr. Martin asked as he went to lean against the wall. "About that meeting?"
"That I had no part in it. I didn't even know what they were doing until one of them came to me, to moan about your reaction."
"What reaction? I didn't do anything, I turned around and walked away."
"Yeah, perhaps you should've listened to them for a bit."
"… Are you going to tell me there's actual merit in their nonsense?" the man asked, lip raised in disgust at the mere idea of it.
"The night nurse knew such reactions were going to come at her. You should take some time to watch the video she's shot last night."
"I was told they just had security footage, though?"
"No, one of the night shift nurses in charge for this hallway is scared as heck of the dark. She told me she grew up with her grandmother who unfortunately started to suffer from dementia at an early age and the poor woman often had nightly delusions and well… Years of having woken up by screams and her grandmother looming over her bed seemed to have done a number on her."
"And she just brought a camera with her to work?"
"A 4K Go-Pro with night vision, yes. She usually straps in on when doing her rounds, so she can look back at the footage and sleep in comfort when she sees nothing happened."
"Let me guess, she didn't even try and go to sleep this morning, did she?"
"No, Jane, she didn't leave the hospital at all. She's being treated for shock, she saw some things happen right in front of her but she caught way more on tape than she anticipated. And it messed up her confidence to work here, so it might take a while before she will come back."
"... Do I want to see it?"
"Do your medical tests first, please, Jane. I wouldn't want you to be biased by what you'll see."
"Tch. Fine, then. It better be good, though, or else I'm going to throw a fit and you're going to regret having told me to watch it, Oscar, I swear," the doctor said, starting to feel a bit huffy due to the fact everyone was scared of his reaction to what the nurse seemingly had caught on video.
"Yes, yes."
"Did you get anything from the boy's birth record, though?"
"Oh! That's right, I got into contact with the midwife who helped Mrs. Ketchum give birth and I was kind of shocked to learn that… well… There wasn't much to be said from electric appliances fourteen years ago, but the sky went just as dark as it did yesterday."
"… Really?"
"Yes."
"Doctor?" the nurse asked, startling the two because they hadn't noticed the door opening behind them. "Doctor, you need to see this."
"What is it?"
"Please, just come along."
Dr. Martin nodded, though only went inside the room after giving his colleague a dubious look. He wasn't at all pleased by the hysterics around his patient and he wasn't willing to let any superstition harm the boy. Though no matter how sceptical his take on life and it's extra-ordinary events were, he couldn't talk his way out of the sudden, miraculous healing of Ash Ketchum's life-threatening wounds. He made a mental note to keep his face in check because the boy seemed to be aware that something was wrong. But how could anyone not have been impressed by the fact that the horrible, infected gash on the little boy's face was now just a scar? Granted, it was a very clear, broad white line horizontally crossing his face, but it was so much better than before.
"Ah, but what an improvement it is!" dr. Knight stated happily as he reverted into his therapist role, playfully darting to the other side of the bed, the kid's eyes following him all the way. "My, didn't the nurse do a good job at removing that evil bandage? I didn't think there was such a cute kid underneath all that."
"… I'm cute?"
"Never seen anything cuter."
Ash gave the man a doubtful smile, which didn't sit well with dr. Martin, who was very aware of the fact that the lack of sedation would be showing just exactly who this boy was. Nevertheless, the teen seemed calm enough, so he would wait to give his final judgement of the situation until he got the results of his test.
Lance knew he had come in too late to ask the professor to relieve him of duty when he got faced with Gary Oak -who looked worse for wear. He wasn't looking his best either, no matter how comfortable the bed had been, no matter how nice the guestroom Delia had so kindly prepared for him was, darkness had become his biggest weakness. Good thing they had been looking at Ash's baby pictures all night before the lights went out, it had at least given him something nice to think about… even though his pessimistic streak had conveniently alerted him that he was guilty of having blown off the kid just like everyone else had.
"He's busy, sir," Gary said softly, with a voice that sounded as if he had been screaming all night long. "It might take a while."
"Ah… Would you mind if I waited for him? I need his approval or signature to leave."
"Not at all, sir, you can take a seat in the living room and wait for him there."
"Thank you. I euhm… Are you alright?"
"I will be, sir, but it will take some time. Thank you for asking, though."
Lance merely nodded, knowing that the teen deliberately kept him at arm's length. Who wouldn't, after all the years he had spent mastering the art of looking as intimidating as possible? It didn't bring him any comfort that he had an option to let people know he was related to Ash, it would've been much easier if someone else would spoil it to the others. Lance barely had the reputation to be talkative, so how on earth would he ever casually mention the kid was his nephew, huh? Not to mention the reactions he might get, as he knew he was guilty of being ignorant. He felt guilty not having followed up on his brother's family, despite knowing Red had been seeing an alternate version of reality and with him only having Clair and his ever-so-grouchy father left as family, he wondered why he hadn't automatically taken the effort to go and check up on Delia.
Perhaps it had something to do with Team Rocket, but that was an easy excuse, wasn't it? The group wasn't completely disbanded, but they weren't as active as they used to be. In these last fourteen years, Lance would've had plenty of opportunities to… you know, go and introduce himself. And then, when he had met Ash for the first time... well, he just wished things could have done differently. If only he had known. If only Red had trusted him enough to tell him why he had left Pallet Town.
The man blinked in surprise when a loud noise snapped him out of these dark thoughts. Hurried footsteps came closer and Lance went to check what was going on, purely on instinct. He wasn't prepared so see Delia barrel towards him, thankfully able to skid to a halt in front of him.
"Are you alright?" the man asked, noticing her ecstatic if not a little crazed kind of expression –a vast difference from how she had looked earlier.
"The hospital called!" she exclaimed, tears of joy brimming in her eyes. "He's awake! Ash woke up!"
"Really?" he asked, happy but also confused as the woman had only told him last night about the issues the child could have if he would ever awaken.
"Yes!"
"What's all this racket!?" the professor exclaimed, startling the two when he suddenly pulled his office door open. "I'm trying to have an online conference!"
"Samuel! Ash woke up!" Delia repeated. "He's alright!"
"Well, that's great, but as per usual, he's got the worst timing possible," the man huffed. "I can't help you, Delia, I'm incredibly busy. I can't postpone such an important meeting just because you need a ride to the hospital. For goodness' sake, woman."
Her face fell at the speed of a Dive Coaster. Lance didn't blame her when she whirled around and sped out of the laboratory. Professor Oak didn't seem to think he had done anything wrong, though.
"Oh, what is it now? Surely you understand, Lance, I can't just drop everything for something as simple as that? Public transport exists for a reason and I'm just too important to the community to give priority over anyone. Ash is just a friend to me, I'm pleased he's alright, but there are limits."
"I would have understood if Delia had mentioned a ride, man," Lance answered as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Come on, we both know she would've asked eventually."
"If there were Olympic games for jumping to conclusions, you would get the gold," the Champion huffed. "If she knew she could have gone to visit him straight away, do you think she would've come to tell you first, professor? Do you really think she cares as little as that?"
"What…? No, of course not."
"I suggest you stay in your lane, then. If she needs a ride, I'll be the one giving it to her. So you can… go and play your oh, so important part of the community."
"Ash is nothing more than the victim of a terrible case to you either," the professor grumbled.
"Not quite, the O positive blood type is often passed through generations. My father has it, I have it, my brother has it… And my nephew has it."
"… You're related?" the man asked slowly, giving the Champion a confused look. "Why didn't I know about that?"
"Would it have stopped you from talking smack about Delia-"
"I stopped the talk about her. You're not going to blame me for that."
"If you had let me finish, I was meaning to say Delia and her son, but I suppose you've always forgotten the kid in the end."
"So have you."
"Ignorance is bliss and I wasn't cussing out anyone. Go on, go back to work, professor, I'll take care of the matter at hand."
"As long as you're not going to ban me from seeing the boy."
"I'm not Ash's father," Lance replied dryly.
"Oh."
"But I can always tell Red to get into gear again, I mean, having a young kid in his life would do him some good, I think."
"He's never going to listen to you, Lance, Delia tried."
"She's not a qualified inspector, though, is she?"
"… Good luck, then. You'll need it."
"I've never backed down for a challenge. Mind how you go, professor, I'll be keeping a close eye on you. Some therapy might do you some good as well."
Professor Oak grunted at that and turned around to disappear back into his office. Lance, however, shook his head and stalked outside. He was slightly pissed at the dismissal and how the man had behaved towards Delia. This whole situation was giving him a bad taste in his mouth too, all this cynical behaviour going around this town. It was a miracle this place had produced a trainer like Ash, who had looked so… Well, perhaps that was it, that the boy had also been keeping up appearance, just like all the rest of these two-faced people in Pallet Town. He could only hope that the boy would be honest with him and that he didn't need to use his examiner-tactics to sway the teen into talking to him. Because no matter what, everything depended on Ash being honest… and okay. And the man had a funny feeling that the latter could be the hardest thing to achieve here.
Ash found himself stuck in the bed. Not in a bad way, mind you, these people just had some might fine pillows. His balance wasn't all there yet, they had noticed that much when he had been placed inside that tunnel with those interesting lights floating around in it. Once they had pulled him out of the tunnel, he had rolled off whatever he had been laying in, straight in someone's arms. Ever since that incident, there had been a steady influx of pillows, which caused him to get lodged inside this comfortable mess that hardly resembled a bed any longer. He wasn't complaining, it was warm and these pillows were a sign of care. He had dealt with stranger ways of showing care than someone trying to smother him with pillows, so Ash decided to just roll with the punches. People who cared were rare enough, so there was no need for him to get annoyed when he was feeling all nice and fluffy.
There was a niggling feeling in the back of his head, as if he had forgotten something important, but whether or not he was still a little drugged with sedation, he just couldn't bring himself to care about it. He would much rather snuggle into the pillows and catch some z's, than worry over something he couldn't remember. He did frown ever so slightly when he saw this pretty detailed plush toy of a Dialga at the nightstand -or whatever the heck those cabinets next to hospital beds were called. But it didn't take too long before the warmth lulled him to sleep and the idea he might feel more awake after a nap, lured him into the comfortable embrace of sleep. He wasn't aware of much, but a sudden outcall of his name snapped him out of his nap. Ash was startled to find himself dropping into the bed, getting pelted with pillows. He could only give the startled looking nurse a sheepish look as he looked at her from underneath several pillows.
"Err… Hi?"
"Are you alright?" the woman asked, quickly coming to his aid to help and get the pillows off him.
"I dunno what happened," the teen answered.
"You were floating."
"Was I?"
"You were," she persisted. "We'll have to rethink our pillow plan," the nurse added, as if people started floating in the air every day. "Can't risk you getting smothered in them."
Ash stared at her.
"Does this happen often or…?"
"You're a little weird, dearie."
"Oh," he said, because he couldn't deny it.
Looking back at the nightstand, he found it empty, while he had fully expected to see the plush toy.
"Where did the Dialga go?"
The nurse looked at him with wide eyes.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"There was a plush toy…" he answered hesitantly, confused and slightly worried because the nurse's reaction made him feel like an idiot.
There wasn't a toy on that cabinet, but the boy would swear he had seen the Dialga right there.
"You haven't been gifted any plush toys, Ash," the nurse answered patiently. "But if you like them, we can always bring some in?"
"A-ah, no, it's just… never mind. It's probably the sedation."
"You're no longer getting any, Ash."
… Yeah, alright, he would settle with the 'being a little' weird part. Hallucinating detailed, plush toys into your room wasn't the end of the world. The floating part, however, was kind of bizarre and he wasn't sure what to make of it.
"Is there anything I can bring you?" the nurse asked. "I would hate you to be bored."
"Err, perhaps some paper and crayons? I dunno…"
Ash wasn't the greatest artist and his hands didn't have the strength they used to have -even though he had no clue as to why he was here or why he felt so weak- but he hated being bored as well.
"Alright, I'll get you some, then. Let me prop you up so you're sitting up first, though."
And as she did, lifting him as if it was nothing, the teen became aware of what this niggling thing in the back of his head had been trying to tell him. He must've looked mortified when faced with the space where his left foot used to be, because the nurse was softly calling out his name.
"Ash? Can you hear me?"
"W-what do I do now?" he whispered, because he quickly realised he couldn't travel in this kind of state.
"Relax, dr. Martin is trying to find a solution to this."
"Is he going to stitch it back on, or what?" the boy asked, highly upset.
"Don't be rude, Ash, we are doing the best we can for you. Perhaps we can even try and get a replacement, a prosthetic limb."
"That exists?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, only to discover at this moment he had somehow taken hold of the woman's hand.
"Of course, if you have questions about it, you should ask dr. Martin."
"I… I'm sorry. I don't understand."
"I know this must be confusing to you, Ash, but trust me, it'll come to you in due time."
The teen looked at her, bit his lip but eventually nodded. The nurse could have sworn the boy looked like he had wanted to say something but had decided against it. But then again, it wasn't her job to pry into his trauma's, she was already up to her knees in the supernatural territory, closer than she found comfortable. Still, this was a nice kid, frightened by what had happened but also by what had changed.
"Quick question, did you know you can float?" she asked.
"No."
"Is there a possibility you could have floated before, without you noticing it?"
"… I probably would've been on my way through the ozone layer by now, so no, I don't think so. Did these pillows float along with me?"
"Yes, they did."
"Yeah… I don't think a sleeping bag would've helped much to stop me. No, I'm pretty sure it's never happened before."
"I see," she said. "Well, I'll get you the crayons and paper, alright?"
"Thank you."
Ash was left alone for a good while but he couldn't bring his head around the fact he couldn't remember how he had lost a part of his leg. Yeah, he had gone in to touch the remainder of his leg and he had sighed in relief at finding his knee still intact. The sudden stop was startling enough, because his leg did end almost straight under his knee and it made him shiver. What had happened for him to-
The boy sat up, a sudden bout of nausea hitting him as he remembered the book he had been reading, innocently sitting on the couch. There had been a strange noise at the backdoor and he had turned to look at it and this… this thing had come-
One thing was certain, the nurse had stellar reflexes, having zoomed towards the bed the instant he felt like vomiting. She had pushed this cardboard thing in front of him and it didn't look big enough to do the job, but it would have to do, because Ash couldn't stop himself. At least the nurse didn't scream bloody murder, because his head was killing him right now.
"Perhaps you're better of laying down a bit longer," she hushed, taking the cardboard tray put of his shaking hands and placing a fresh one in them.
"I-I'm sorry," he uttered.
"It's alright, Ash. You're okay. Just lay down for me."
The teen did but found no rest as he laid there. He didn't want to think about the memory but it somehow kept popping up and by the time Ash had curled up in the bed, trying his best to ignore his evil brain trying to make him face the memory anyway, dr. Martin had come back inside the room. The man had gotten an update from the nurse about what had happened and despite the fact he wasn't at all happy about the floating bit, he refused to drop the case. He still needed to see this video dr. Knight was going to send him but he would be damned if he let this kid to his own devices, just because he couldn't stomach it. Besides, he was just sceptical about the supernatural, but if it played out in front of him, he would just need to accept it and move on.
"Ash?"
The teen peeked out from under his arms, having crossed them in front of his face, as if scared about something.
"Are you okay?"
"I was better off sedated," the boy whimpered.
Dr. Martin winced in sympathy. He lowered the bar at the side of the bed and went to sit next to the boy.
"What made you sick, Ash? I mean, I can do a check-up, but I don't think anything's wrong with your body."
"Isn't there?" Ash croaked, voice breaking. "I'm missing a part, what's right about that!"
"Just because you're missing something doesn't mean it suddenly becomes wrong," the doctor answered patiently. "I know you're scared, but that's completely normal."
"… Is it?"
"Yes, of course, you would freak out when you're met with a situation you've never been in before. But it's not only that, you can't avoid advancing in life without facing it on a day-to-day basis. Anyone would find that scary."
The boy nodded slowly. A bit too slowly, so on pure instinct, the doctor reached out to touch his patient's forehead.
"You're little warm… How are you feeling?"
"Just upset. Sorry."
"Mm… I'll see if I can urge dr. Knight to be on standby."
"Okay."
It never was a good sign that a teenager had fallen silent and the man didn't know how to feel about the boy's lack of complaining. From what Ash's mother had told him, dr. Martin would have expected a lot of trouble keeping the kid inside of this room, but perhaps this was in effect from the brain damage. Even though it had all miraculously healed, there was still a chance something would affect the boy but for now, he would leave it at that. There was a reason why he wasn't a therapist himself and as such, made sure Ash was comfortable and somewhat okay… before preparing himself to receive a possible over-excited mother.
Ash, however, sighed deeply once dr. Martin had left the room and if there had been anyone in the room, they would have seen him trying to smile again. He knew that the doctor meant well and he genuinely enjoyed the idea that a stranger cared as much as this man did, but he didn't really understand why he was here still. In the short while he had been aware of himself and his surroundings, he had understood there was nothing bodily wrong with him. All he saw were people with these tentative, relieved smiles. It didn't sit well with him that the nurse had tried to play off the loss of part of his leg as if it wasn't that big a deal. Yeah, great that they could replace it but he would rather have not lost it at all.
'This is all messed up. Including myself,' he thought as he pulled a pillow into a hug.
All he had wanted to do was to be at ease, at home and rest up before going to a different region and have fun over there, but there was always something out to rain on his parade, wasn't there? Perhaps there was an unwritten rule in the universe stating he wasn't allowed a time-out? Not to mention the fact the teen wasn't at all happy about the floaty bit he had just gotten to learn about, he wasn't that fond of stuff flying around or moving on its own. He would blame Gary and his cronies for having forced him to watch all those scary movies when he hated horror and the like with a passion and heck, now that he thought about it, wasn't it already bad enough he had needed to deal with his Aura? Which had seemingly gotten an invisible okay to start acting up at such a bad time?
There had been so much on his mind, worries he couldn't stomach all on his own and he had just broken down once. He hadn't gotten upset because of the food his mother had dropped, but more because her reaction had consisted out of grabbing her coat and leave the house. Leave him. Even while she had noticed he hadn't been feeling alright. She wouldn't have tried to sit down with him and start small talk otherwise. His mom only cared when he wasn't smiling, after all, hence why he was trying to put on his brave face and smile his way back home, where he knew he would feel comfortable. Even with the knowledge that something had come to take him from it, Ash felt oddly confident that it wouldn't happen again.
He blinked when he looked up at the nightstand and saw the Dialga toy again. There was no way he would bring it up with the nurse again, he didn't want to test the woman's boundaries in case she would really leave. But it intrigued him, so with all the strength he still had in his arms -not much, but he made do- he hoisted himself up and placed a delicate kiss on the toy's head. Ash knew he had been in a bad way, the doctors had looked at him as if he had grown a second when he had spoken up and the nurse had seemed so surprised that there was nothing but scar tissue underneath the bandages that had been all over him. He just didn't know the extent of it and he wasn't sure whether he could trust anyone to tell him about it either.
He slowly sank back in the bed, groaning as the effort had taken more energy out of him than expected. The toy stayed where it was until a nurse came by, with some food. This time, as he had seen the Dialga leave, Ash was convinced it was a real pokémon… but that brought him to the question of why it was here. It wasn't until his mother arrived, as well with an unlikely visitor, that the teen realised that he wasn't even supposed to have made it at all. Lance, who he knew to be a Champion and an important figure in the superior police force and just a very busy man, seemed concerned to find him moving and able to converse normally and his mother… She was well on her way to dislocate several bones, but he wasn't going to be a hypocrite and push her away. He had wanted her hugs for so many years, it would just be silly not to settle for it, no matter what the circumstances were. No matter if his mother had been expecting to find him cold and unresponsive.
As his mother calmed down from her initial outburst, the teen noticed his smiling calmed her down. Which was funny as the awkward looking man seemed suspicious of his attitude. Ash made no effort to say anything to Lance, though as he had no idea why he was there and besides, his mother was all over him. Even if he had wanted to say anything to the man, it would have been impossible.
"I'll bring Pikachu with me next time, okay?" she said, gently brushing her hand through his hair.
"Is he okay?"
"Yes, I can go and pick him up at five in the afternoon."
"And Mimey?"
"Oh, he's his cheeky old self, sweetie, don't worry. He came in a bit earlier today, but only because the Chansey inside the pokémon centre were getting tired of having to haul him back inside the recovery room. He kept teleporting out of it."
"Good," the teen nodded, relieved to hear that he was the only one to suffer from lasting effects. "That's… very good."
His mother ended up talking a bit more about how everyone in Pallet was waiting for him to return -even though Ash knew she was lying because there weren't a lot of people who cared about him- and squeezed him a bit more, before she eventually left, chased out by dr. Martin who claimed 'his patient needed the rest'. Now that he wasn't sedated, though, he could hear the conversation ongoing in the hallway. It made him feel even worse hearing about something they should have discussed in front of him, because it was his life and well… He turned away from the door, gripped the pillow again and tried to sleep off his feelings. It usually worked to brighten his mood, no matter what had been going on. Ash made sure to snake his arm around the railing around the bed and stick his foot under part of the railing on the other side of the bed, so he wouldn't be floating up this time around. And with that, he tried to forget everything that bothered him, from the creepy creature phasing through the back door of his house, to Lance's upset exclamation from the hallway just now.
"Did you see that?" Lorelei asked, having gone to stand next to Agatha after they had gotten together for an update.
Ever since that global disaster cutting off all communication, they had been seeing each other more often and soon enough, Mr. Goodshow would be organising a get-together of all regions, but as for now, it had just been the elites from Kanto and Johto. And they had all gotten a good look at Lance's far-away expression.
"It's not polite to meddle, dear," Agatha answered calmly. "You know how much angles the man has."
"It looks like he's cut himself on one of them. Perhaps it's a relapse from Orre trauma? It has been dark for a pretty long time before."
"I doubt it."
"Mr. Goodshow wasn't pleased to have gotten ignored like that, I bet Lance hasn't heard a word of the entire meeting."
"Which would have been a shame if what was being said was interesting," the elderly woman said. "What are you trying to get at, Lorelei?"
"I messaged Clair and she's fine. So there's no reason for Lance to be upset and I really don't want another Red in the pokémon league."
"That's uncalled for. These men didn't sacrifice their life for your safety to get disrespected like that. I suggest you educate yourself before you start firing off assumptions, girl."
"I'm just saying, Lance is a lot smarter than Red, it could be a disaster if he… you know, got caught 'round the bend."
Agatha tried staring Lorelei down, but deep down, the woman understood her worries. If anything happened to Lance, chances were that the situation would quickly become a hot potato, but still, he wasn't armed and he had taken leave from police work. Yes, she had seen him leave a bit more often and while he didn't stick around in the past either, Lance left with a clear destination in mind these days. So whether he was back in therapy or seeing a woman, something was going on. Lorelei's attitude was uncalled for, though as she had been tardy in even picking up on the man's changed ways.
"I will go talk to him," she relented. "But be warned, I don't want you to take part in this unless I say so. If he is suffering from something, he might react violently and I don't want you to fall victim to it. Lance would never forgive himself and that way, we could lose the two of you."
"And you just consider yourself cannon fodder, then?"
"He can try and lay a hand on me," Agatha answered sourly, the orb in her cane glistening eerily. "I cannot guarantee it will be returned to him after making contact."
"… Right. Try and secure a piece for Mr. Goodshow to talk to later, okay?"
"I won't make any promises."
While Lorelei was debating on whether it had been a good idea to involve the vindictive woman into this situation or not, Agatha made her way towards Lance's office. He usually went to sit in it for a good hour, to leave at a quarter past twelve, so she still had half an hour to talk to him. She made a point of being polite and knock, so that he would realise she meant business and if he didn't like it, well… sucks to be him, then.
"… How can I help you?"
"Perhaps you can help yourself in telling me what's swaying your mind so heavily for you to have ignored Charles three times this week."
"Oh, you're just being curious," the man said, clearly relieved.
"So you have nothing against that? Good, then I'm listening," she answered, sitting herself down in the chair in front of Lance's desk.
"I assume you know Delia Ketchum? You must've seen her during the time you took frequent visits to the pokémon laboratory back in the days."
"Ash is my godson, try and make a better assumption, Lance."
"… Is he? That… complicates it a bit."
"In what way?"
"Emotional. I've only figured out he's related to me and I can barely stomach seeing him this way."
"What way?" she asked, getting irritated. "It's unlike you to be so vague."
"Thanks to the communication failure, news of his accident hasn't rolled out yet but I'm considering stopping it in total," Lance answered. "He was terribly hurt, Agatha but he pulled through and worst of all, he somehow got aware that he wasn't supposed to have made it out alive. And as if losing part of his leg wasn't bad enough, the insurance company is denying the request to pay for his prosthesis and the thing is so expensive."
"Carrying the world on your own shoulders again, Atlas? It's about time you learn to ask for help, Ash may be crippled for life, but no one asked you to pay that entire load yourself."
"But that's the thing, even if I went to ask around for money, the kid's a teenager. He's going to need adjustments over the years, if not a completely different prosthesis, for when he's done growing."
"Again, there's no reason to look at it with such short-sightedness. We can check to see if there are people who are willing to aid and perhaps make a fund for the boy after we know there is enough interest. From what I knew, several of us were in front of the TV when the Vertress Conference was ongoing, just to see one person."
"Money's too tight to mention," he sighed. "Especially around me."
"Ye of little faith. This isn't about you, this is about Ash. That you are related to him doesn't change my view of him, he's performed alright on his own and if I see any change in that, I could hold you accountable for it but other than that, I suggest you get over yourself. You're not Ash's father."
"Oh, I know. About that, what would you think about me trying to prove that Red's suspicions that Delia was unfaithful to him were delusions of his?"
"Unless Arceus asked him to go and sit on that mountain like a new-found Moses, I think it's about time he came down again," Agatha answered dryly. "But I wouldn't necessarily let him have any responsibilities, especially not towards Ash. The man's been on that rock for over a decade, I would be amazed if he can still act like a human being after that time. But letting Ash see his father like that isn't on the top of my list of priorities, because between him, you, Delia and myself, I'm the only one with experience dealing with children."
"True. I'll leave it to you, then. Still, you're convinced Red is Ash's father?"
"I was there to see Delia take on the job at the old coot's laboratory and leave it when she found herself pregnant. I may or may not have walked in on the moment Ash was conceived, Red never was a subtle person and Delia was all too happy to give in to his needs, no matter what moment, what time. There really wasn't any other man around Delia at the time she became pregnant and there was no big, bright star over their ranch, so I have no doubts the boy is his son."
"Good."
"But if you think I haven't told Red about that, you're mistaken. He doesn't listen to me. I think we're going to have to come up with exceptional, unshakeable proof that those two are related to ever convince him."
"I might be lacking people skills, but I'll be damned if I let myself get bested by hallucinations. God, the frigid attitude of the people in Pallet nearly got me, Agatha, it's unbelievable."
"Love is the first thing to go during a crisis, next to art and music. I noticed first hand when my relationship with the town went down the drain."
"Yes, but the professor can be kind of an asshole from time to time."
"What's this? Sympathy? From you?" she asked, her suspicion growing rapidly.
"He lapsed in character right in front of me," Lance answered. "I'm sorry for not having realised he wasn't all that we thought he was sooner."
"He's not a bad man."
"You're not a bad woman either."
"… Thank you," she said, because hearing it from one of the most stoic people around did mean a lot to her. "I'll let you know whether I've been successful in raising awareness for a possible fund for the boy."
"That would be great. Do you want me to send you the location of where Ash is staying? He's allowed visitors, he's just not… very happy. His doctors thought it was a bad idea to let him see his starter pokémon at all, as they think that the two won't be able to be separated once they meet each other again. I say it's bullshit but no one listens to the opinion of an uncle. Anyway, I'm sure he'll like some diversion, so if you're wanting to go...?"
"Yes, I would like that. Is there only a certain amount of visitors allowed?"
"No groups larger than five."
"I'll keep that in mind. Good talk."
"Yeah."
Agatha left the room feeling less than pleased, because she would have thought Delia would have at least confided in her. She hadn't known Lance to be family either. But then again, with the trouble with Team Rocket, they had been asked to keep their distance… at what cost, though? She had met Ash a couple of times, the kid was a delight, she would go to quite a length to have someone with such a radiant attitude and smile inside the pokémon company. But with Ash barely recognising her as an elite trainer, Agatha had no grounds to stand on. Now, however, the road was open for her influence and she knew he had left his mark on several people. It wouldn't be so hard to breach the subject of needing financial help for the boy, if only she knew exactly what was ailing the teenager. So Agatha planned her visit, making sure she had everything she needed to make Ash feel as comfortable as he could feel in a hospital and left.
The teen woke up the next day with a head full of doubts and pain. He had barely gotten any sleep at all and those past two hours of sleep hadn't been blissful at all, filled with bad dreams and nightmares. Ash was still confused because they had told him they were going to move him to a different room, but he was still in the same one. Dr. Martin hadn't reacted to his floating either, plainly ignoring his questions whether that was normal or not. His life had become one big, white mess and Ash was hating every minute of it as one hour felt like an eternity here. He had been awake for a week now and yet he felt like he had been here for months already, knowing the nurse's by name and knowing when to except the cart coming through the hallways.
"How are you doing?"
Ash looked up, seeing Brandon of all people stand next to his bed, face as stoic as ever.
"… Brandon?"
"I am sorry, Ash. This should never have happened to you."
"Err… Yeah, thanks."
"How is your Aura doing?"
"Euuhm… Fine?" the teen answered. "How do you know about-"
"Were you using it when the creature came?"
"No, I was crying. Look, Brandon, how did you even get in?"
"The door was open," the man said, pointing at the door which was slightly ajar.
But he couldn't have come in that way, the door made a very particular squeak when opened about halfway and a man of Brandon's size wouldn't be able to squeeze through such a small gap.
"I think it is important for you to know an Aura user can only die once."
"… What are you trying to say?"
"No need for another attempt, I said what I had to say. Take care of yourself now, Ash."
"I can't, I'm stuck here-"
"Allowing others to care for you is taking care of yourself as well. Do not resist what is meant to happen."
"Are you saying this was meant to happen to me?"
"You will find I am quite capable of resisting emotional blackmail, Ash, I feel nothing when you try and put words into my mouth."
"You're not Brandon," the boy hissed.
"And you are not quite yourself either, but who am I to judge?"
Ash felt the hair in his neck raising, getting riled up by this attitude. But he refused to turn away from this rude, imposter-Brandon.
"Ah, but that is at least one part of your true self. Defiance, a part I have always enjoyed about you. Go on, tell me what you feel."
"Screw you, I don't have to tell you anything when you already know more than I do!"
"Knowledge would not solve your issue, believe me. It certainly did not solve mine."
"I don't see you stuck in here."
"Is that an offer?"
'Hell no,' the teen thought.
"If you know I am not Brandon, you might just speak up your mind, Ash."
"I… I can't."
"Then you can anticipate my arrival here every day, this exact hour, as of now," Imposter-Brandon said and walked out.
"Really?" Ash whined. "Just what I needed, another prying person in my life."
He sighed and figured he would be best of getting used to these weird visitors. If only there was a way Ash could be sure it wasn't a hallucination, though… But he didn't know that previously today, dr. Martin had seen the video the nurse had shot and was severely impressed by what he had seen. As sceptical as he was, those subtle shadows messing with the poor woman had been exactly the kind of things he would truly consider supernatural. He liked horror a lot and objects moving randomly, along with doors opening on command were exactly the freakiness that seemed real enough to pass as real. And the best part was, this couldn't have been a trick with strings, as a dozen nurses walked passed and none of them had found or encountered anything. But the worst part of the entire video was that he had heard the noise of one of the heartrate machines flat-lining. And it had come from his strangest patient's room, which he couldn't get out of his head, the beeping stuck in his mind as it was truly the most horrible situation to encounter as a paediatrician.
Just now, as he rounded the corner to go into the hallway of said boy's room, he got passed by a person who was not supposed to be here. However, as this man walked passed the doctor, it took a while for him to register the intruder, his mind still focussed on the horrible movie. And by the time dr. Martin had registered the man and had turned around to say something about him not being allowed to be here, he was gone. As if he had vanished into thin air.
"… What the ever-loving Furret is going on here?" the doctor muttered, blinking as this was his first-ever experience with the supernatural since he started working here.
It was coincidental it needed to happen right when this strange teen was staying here. His priority now was to have dr. Knight come in and talk to Ash about the floating, because according to the results of the test, the boy had indeed gotten healed. Dr. Martin would have placed a bet on it that a Psychic-type pokémon had been involved in it, mostly because no one else would think humans have a fully, hundred percent active brain. No one had, except for Psychic-type pokémon. Some psychics had elevated activity but never a hundred. Ash was possibly able to float due to this strange, healed brain of his and could be suffering from it right now, as his body might not be used to it and act strangely under the stress of it all. But first, he needed to see the boy, as it could be possible this person had just visited him, despite it being against the rules of this hospital.
"Ash? Ash, are you alright?" the man asked, hurrying over towards the bummed out looking boy.
"Is it possible I'm seeing people I'm not supposed to see?" Ash asked.
"If it's about that tall, broad-shouldered man in the army green overalls, I saw him too."
"Oh…"
"Do you know him?"
"No. Not really no," the teen answered dryly, because he was still utterly convinced that this had been someone wearing the man's face.
Granted, Brandon had the social skills of a Tyranitar during mating season, but he would never be so crude about this. Ash knew he was sensitive, more than before and he got all sorts of cues he had never noticed before… and this morning, he had gotten the brilliant idea to just… try some things and oh boy, he had regretted it the moment he had started. But still, no matter what, this person had been an intruder and the teen didn't like the fact this git had been so confident about their blatant disrespect for the rules of this place and had walked right by dr. Martin as if he didn't even care that he was seen.
"Well, he's gone now. Never got to the end of the hallway, so let's just leave it at that."
"What do you mean, not to the end of the hallway? Did he jump out of the window?"
"I don't know what he did, I turned around and he was gone. Besides, there are no windows or door at that side, just walls and ventilation hatches."
Ash didn't like the situation and his expression made the doctor laugh.
"I understand why you're so vexed, it's not been so long since I would've been very mad about that kind of thing happening to me."
"What happened then?"
"I changed my mind," the man answered.
"… Fair enough."
"How are you doing, though? Any changes from yesterday?"
"Euhm... Yeah, there are some changes. I somehow turned into flipping Mathilda," Ash answered hesitantly, yet still upset about many things. "But then, next thing I know some creep appears in my room, so I'm not sure how I feel right now."
"… What do you mean, Mathilda?"
And as an answer, Ash turned off the light. When he turned it back on, the doctor was staring at him, but the boy stared right back at him.
"… Well, shut the door and call me Marie…" the man uttered as he turned to watch the lights.
"... Alright then, doctor Marie," Ash answered and the door closed with a gentle click. "I didn't know you were into roleplaying."
Dr. Martin let out a short, hysterical giggle as he whirled around to see the closed door.
"I'm really not," he answered. "Promise me you won't pull this on any of the nurses? Please? They're already superstitious and the last thing I need is them getting a confirmation there's something strange going on. I'll never hear the end of it."
"I don't know what to answer when you ask me how I'm doing, so I figured I could just show you what I was doing before you came in."
"Please don't do it again."
"Okay."
As if on cue, a gentle knock on the door signalled the arrival of someone and it seemed like dr. Martin felt a bit dubious about it. He went and opened the door himself, startling the nurse who had a cart full of toys with her.
"… Is it okay to play a game with him, doctor?"
"Oh… Yes, I suppose so. Do come in, I'll leave you to it," he answered before turning back to the boy in the bed. "Alright?"
"Yes, doctor," Ash answered.
The nurse was all too happy to approach the boy, but the doctor figured talk had gone around already. Ash would probably be the most looked after kid in this entire hospital, because for all these people scared of stuff they didn't understand, they were very interested in seeing it. The boy, in turn, seemed happy enough to have something to look at but then again, dr. Martin figured it wouldn't hurt to have dr. Knight run some tests on how Ash picked up certain colours and signals. Heaven knew what kinds of things he was thinking already, because the doctor noticed the teen had no issue keeping up with his comments.
"So, do you play any instruments?" the nurse asked.
"… Do heartstrings count?"
Dr. Martin chuckled as the woman spluttered in response, offering him a flute instead. He could appreciate the boy's sense of humour and comedic timing. There was no way he was any good at playing heartstrings, though, or else he would have gotten plenty more visitors by now. So the man figured the teen just enjoyed messing with people and in all honesty, it wasn't the end of the world. Not as long as it was all in good nature, of course.
The doctor reconsidered his opinion a little after one in the afternoon, when he saw two unlikely people come into the lobby. He had just picked up some test results from external companies at the front counter and it seemed like his staring had caught their attention.
"Are pokémon not allowed inside this hospital, doctor?" Agatha asked calmly.
Normally, dr. Martin would have answered that it all depended on where they were leading the creature towards, but he could already guess where they were going. Besides, that Haunter was quite good at giving him the puppy-eyed look, so he would've relented anyway.
"I'm sure Ash will be pleased to see one," he responded dryly. "Room 37B, second floor, silent ward."
"… Thank you," the woman answered and went on her way.
He did not attempt to stop an elite trainer and she meant well. The Haunter was carrying a large bag in its large claws and inside it was a large, plush toy, so dr. Martin figured it would be alright. If not, he knew he would hear about it, Ash had figured out which buttons caught the nurse's attention the fastest a while ago. And the girl silently trailing behind Agatha might look very subdued but she must be feeling strongly for the boy, the look of concern on her face was clear enough and well… the Haunter listened to her, so there was no reason to worry.
The two women were indeed concerned, mostly because the news of Ash's accident had finally rolled out in the news and while his identity was being protected, they knew of the details of the accident. Lance had reported everything to them, mostly because he didn't have anyone else to talk to about the feelings he had about the boy and his misfortune. Sabrina and Agatha weren't the most social people of the pokémon league either, the former commonly known as a shut-in, but Lance hadn't been surprised to hear she knew Ash and that she was very concerned for his safety and wellbeing and happily welcomed her into their little pity-party.
"Thank you for taking me," the girl said softly.
"My pleasure, dear."
She didn't need to know the history Sabrina had with Ash, the fact the Gym Leader had voluntarily reached out to her, the moment news of the boy's accident got out in the open, was enough for her. She had also brought the cutest poncho and Ash wasn't a big lad at all, so he would find some use for it. It was just painful to see the boy sit in that bed, staring aimlessly out of the window.
"Good afternoon, Ash," Agatha stated, to catch his attention.
She got it and the teen seemed confused yet happy to see them.
"H-hi? It's, oh- it's been ages since we've last seen, hello!" Ash said in greeting. "Hiya, Haunter!"
"It's good to see you too," Sabrina piped up as the pokémon happily waved at the boy and went to hover over the bed. "We were very worried about you, after reading about the accident in the newspaper."
"I read it too. Lance came to ask me if they should keep out my name, but I'm not sure whether that helped. There's only a couple of trainers from Pallet town right now and Gary and Green are alive and accounted for. Anyone with a brain could figure out it was me, but I'm not too worried about it."
"The article itself is vague, though. Do you know more about it?" the elderly woman asked, pulling a chair close to her and sitting herself down right next to the bed.
"Err… Yeah, I do. I've been trying to remember, along with dr. Knight, so if you really want to, I can talk to you about what I know. It's not much, though."
"Perhaps you would like a friend to keep you company while you do that," she said and held out her hand towards Haunter, who happily handed her the bag.
The pokémon had nearly hit Ash with it a couple of times too, so the teen was curious what was inside of it. His expression of surprise when the large plush Gengar was placed in front of him.
"Oh, wow, that's…"
"Do you like it?"
"I love him! Thank you, Agatha."
"My pleasure, dear. Now, give him a good squeeze and tell your auntie what happened."
"… Auntie?" Ash asked.
"You're my godson but you might as well call me that. Godmother is a mouthful, after all."
The boy's smile grew at that.
"Has Lance told you he is your uncle already?"
"No? He is?! Why does no one ever tell me anything?"
"I feel like Team Rocket's mischief played a large part at that. Lance only realised he was related to you after he met your mother, but I needed to keep my distance because they wanted to protect you from them."
"Protect me from Team Rocket?" Ash uttered but chuckled. "Yeah, that didn't really work out. They've been hounding me since the first day I started as a trainer. I think they would've more rather stayed clear from me if you had been close to me, but well, that ship sailed a long time ago."
"… We have a lot to talk about."
They had plenty of time and while dr. Martin occasionally came to check up on what was going on, he had no qualms in them talking so calmly. He was pleased to see the boy open up so willingly, he had already feared Ash was suffering from one of the effects of emotional neglect. Hence why dr. Knight had been trying to aid the boy in trying to explain himself better as it had often shown Ash had been incapable of conveying his feelings. He was happy to talk, so that wasn't the issue, he just didn't know what to say. Perhaps it had been a good idea not to bother these two ladies, as they were proving to be a vital part in helping to get the boy to open up.
End of chapter three.