Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters. Just the random plot bunnies that my mind creates.

Chapter Warnings: Language

Chapter 13 - Return

No. Not again.

Fire. Burning. Destruction. Screaming. The acrid smell of burning flesh.

Ash is brought back from his haunting memories by a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he sees Gary's Fearow taking shape on the ground. The brunet hops on its back and its wing are spread wide before Ash can even grab Pidgeotto's pokeball.

"Gary! Wait!" He calls out in desperation, knowing that if Gary gets a head start, he won't be able to catch up.

Ash is nearly blown off his feet by the force of the beak pokemon's powerful wingbeats.

Dammit.

Quickly calling out Pidgeotto, he hops on her back with Pikachu tucked between his legs. Ash directs her after Fearow who is alreading speeding away to the south west.

For the three hours, the gap between the two steadily increases until his partner is just a small dot ahead of them. Dammit! Pidgeotto is getting tired already. She still can't carry me for very long. Her flight muscles haven't fully recovered from her injury.

We won't be able to catch up to him.

A worried look crosses his face causing Pikachu to squeak up at him and rest a tiny hand on his leg. He sends a small quick smile at his starter. Sensing eyes on him, he glances up to see a big black eye turned towards him as well.

The bird pokemon launches forward in a quick burst of speed that lasts for only a few minutes. Leaning closer to his panting pokemon, he shouts over the wind. "Don't strain yourself Pidgeotto! If you hurt your wing now, we will all die from the fall! You're doing your best! We will catch up eventually!"

Pidgeotto looks back with a slight glare in her large eyes. Shit, I think I just pissed her off.

Each wingbeat seems more powerful than the last, he can now pick out Gary and his pokemon apart. He can feel the shudder in the wings below him, straining with their weight and the ferocious pace.

Pidgeotto squawks as her body suddenly begins to glow white. She's evolving?! Ash's legs spread as her body thickens out. Her wings extend with each beat, spanning nearly 20 feet across. The short plumage which had ended at the back of her head elongates to almost half the length as her new, bigger body.

As the light dies, she screeches out victoriously and darts forward. Ash quickly tucks the long red and yellow plumage under his arm to keep it out of his face. He leans forward closer to Pidgeot's neck as the air screams by him.

Ash looks ahead. He can barely make out the rapidly approaching shape due to biting wind forcing tears out of his eyes.

I'm coming Gary. We're doing this together.

xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx

Gary is furious. There is no fucking way those damn Riders would attack again. Not without him there. Pallet Town just finished reconstruction a few years ago for fucks sake!

He needs to get there NOW. His town needs him. Gary ducks closer to Fearow's neck and urges it to a greater speed.

The brunet stiffens as a high pitched screaming noise drifts to him over the wind. He nearly falls of his pokemon as a cream blur shoots right by him. Wide green eyes jolt forward as he follows the massive Pidgeot streak in a circle around him. A grinning Ash seated on top. She's even bigger than Fearow.

Gary's eyes narrow in determination. Nothing holding them back now. He ducks closer as they speed ahead, Pidgeot and her trainer keeping pace with them.

I'm coming Gramps.

xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx

Darkness has taken over the sky well before they land. Guns at the ready, they slide off their exhausted flyers who are recalled for a well-earned rest.

Pallet Town is quiet as the duo slowly walk down the main street towards Professor Oak's Pokemon Lab. Pikachu runs in front of them. Sniffing the ground every few feet.

It's quiet. Not a sound can be heard. Sporadic porch lights illuminate the road in patchy sections. The soldiers stick to the shadows. Emerald and chocolate eyes slowly scanning the area for any movement. Nothing keeps their attention for long as they search for the source of the distress signal.

Walking backwards to keep an eye on his partner's blind spot, Ash hisses out softly. The brunet freezes next to him. Ash peers into the gloom to lock in on the slight movement that caught his attention. Seeing a small purple curled tail stick out from a bush, he gives the hand sign to continue. Just a Rattata.

They arrive at the Lab without having met a single soul. Not surprising since it is well after midnight but it's still way too similar to Lavender Town for comfort.

On edge, they quickly split up and search either side of the sprawling complex. Ash strains his eyes, peering into the nearby trees and the large field behind the lab.

Nothing.

Ten minutes later, he meets back up with Gary. Hoping over the low fence, they quickly cross the open ground and reach the back door of Professor Oak's living quarters. With a quick hand motion from the brunet, Ash stands on the right side of the door with his rifle at the ready. Gary reaches out to try to handle. Locked.

Keeping close to the wall, they quickly run around towards the front. Ash watches his partner glance up at a dark room as they pass under it. Professor Oak's room.

Gary repeats the process at the front door. Also locked. Ash keeps position as his partner reaches down to remove a loose brick from the sidewalk. A small smirk graces his face at the key taped to the underside.

Sliding the key into the lock, the door silently opens. Ash quickly jumps in and scans the room.

"Clear." He whispers.

Gary immediately heads up stairs as Ash continues through the first floor. Empty. Hearing a small sound behind him, he whips around to see the ashen face of his partner. Ash's heart speeds up in horror but somewhat settles at the small shake of his partner's head.

Gary points to a metal door in the den. The Lab. Bringing up the rear this time, Ash glances around at all the large machinery.

It's different from what I remember. More advanced looking.

Seeing a light ahead, the two slowly turn the corner to see a large cluttered work desk. Papers scattered everywhere. Jars of something perch precariously at the edge.

The duo freeze when a person in a long, white lab coat walks into view. Short gray hair decorates his head. The stark white light highlighting the wrinkles upon his face. Slate eyebrows narrow at a sheet in his hands.

"Gramps!" The relieved voice of his partner rings over the humming of the nearby machinery.

The old man jumps in fright from the sudden noise. With a hand over his heart, he turns towards the duo with a startled look painting his face. At the squinting eyes, the duo step into the light with wide smiles on their faces.

Professor Oak eyes widen in shock and rushes toward the two young men. He flings his arms around them with tears in his eyes.

"Gary! Ash! You surprised me. Let me get a good look at you."

He pulls away slightly to glance over Ash and his partner. His smile widens.

"You are both so big now. You barely came up to my shoulders the last time I was allowed to see you two and now look how big you are! Even you have an inch or so on me Ash." The professor chuckles heartily at the indignant look on his face.

"What are you doing up so late Gramps? And what about the distress call? Is it the Dragon Riders? We rushed over as fast as we could when Commander called us."

Professor Oak casts a confused look towards his grandson. Ash looks over to see the wild look in his partner's eyes.

Please don't be the Riders.

"What distress call? I called yesterday to request some help for a project I had...oh wait. I may have entered the wrong code again…" Professor Oak glanced off to the side and stared at the wall lost in thought.

Both of their jaws drop open in astonishment. How can someone so smart be so scatterbrained sometimes? "Are you serious?! We thought something happened to you! Did you lose the code sheet I gave to you?" Gary asks. His handsome face contorted in anger and concern.

Gary threw his arms in the air and scoffs loudly at the sheepish look on the older man's face. He spins on his heel and marches back towards the house.

"I'm going to bed!"

Ash watches his partner storm off. At the harsh slam of the door, he turns to see a sad look on the old man's face.

"How is he doing Ash?" Black eyes gaze at him imploringly. Ash hesitates. I can't lie to him. He is basically my grandpa too.

"He's...doing better I think. There's been a few times I have even see him smile." Ash explains with a soft smile of his own gracing his face. "I think these last two weeks away from Base have helped a lot. Having pokemon of his own. Catching and raising them…"

A hand drops onto his shoulder. A small smile adorns Professor Oak's face. The hand steers him back toward the door.

"Thank you for everything Ash. You are a good influence on my troubled grandson even though you went through just as much as him. Now go get some rest. We can talk more in the morning."

With a quick hug, Ash returns back into the house and heads upstairs. He pauses at Gary's room but hears nothing. He enters the next room. His old room. Slowly pulling off his uniform as his muscles complain in protest. Stiff from the stressful day and the long hours of flying, he revels in the familiar feeling of his old temporary home.

Turning off the lights, he crawls into the small bed and falls asleep curled up with Pikachu.

xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx

AN: I have no idea how long Pidgeot's wingspan is. Due to her almost 5 ft tall standing height and weighing almost 90 pounds, she has to have a large set of powerful wings to even get her off the ground let alone close to the speed of sound. Largest wingspan of birds capable of flight on record today is almost 12 ft so I went from there. Plus if you look up of those relative size charts, Pidgeot is bigger than Fearow by a little bit. And Pidgeot has mystical pokemon powers to help her fly faster.

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Next up: Chapter 14 - Project