AN: I gotta say guys, I REALLY struggled with this chapter. I used to get so many reviews for this story and I only got one on the past two chapters and those were my favorite so far (and a good chunk of the story to be honest). I'm losing confidence here guys! Help me out! Still like it? Don't like where it's going? Let me know! PLEASEEE! I write much faster the more confident I am if that's incentive at all.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters. Just the random plot bunnies that my mind creates.
Chapter Warnings: Language; mentions of blood, gore, death; lots of talking this chapter
Pairing: Ash x Gary
Chapter 35 - Father
Three days. Three days of sitting at Ash's bedside, waiting for him to wake up. Gary refuses to leave the room. To abandon his partner's side.
After threatening to send him back to his cell, the bald Rider managed to at least get him to walk around the room occasionally to prevent him from getting to stiff "in case he needs to defend himself."
That certainly doesn't bode well to our stay here.
The thought didn't do much for his nerves. His body was exhausted from constantly being on alert, slipping into a defensive posture whenever someone entered the room. Thankfully, the recovery room had an attached bathroom so Gary didn't have to travel far when nature called.
Pikachu has yet to leave the bed. Barely eating, barely moving. Just constantly curled up next to its master for comfort. Waiting for the raven to awaken. Just as he is doing in his chair with Eevee curled up in his lap.
Gary holds Ash's hand whenever possible. Massaging warmth and life into the cold limb. Every small twitch sends his heart into a thunderous beat. Green eyes flying to Ash's face, expecting to see warm chocolate orbs sparkling back at him. Every time that he's met with tan eyelids, his hope falls a little further.
Ash's dark eyebrows are almost constantly scrunched now. Eyelids pressing tight together. Muscles tight and twitching under pallid skin, damp with sweat. He's having a nightmare.
Gary desperately wants to crawl into the bed and comfort his partner. But with a guard coming in randomly every once in awhile, he can't risk it. Who knows if that will be the tipping point to either him getting sent back to the prison or even warrant his execution.
So Gary sits in his chair. His torso bent forward to rest against the edge of the bed as he dozes. Long fingers linked tight with limp tan ones.
His eyes ache from lack of sleep. His body hurts from sitting in this stupid fucking chair for so long. But it will be worth it as long as Ash wakes up.
And then he does.
Feeling a strong warmth grip his hand tight, Gary jolts out of his light sleep. Sleepy green eyes struggle to focus in the dim light of the room.
Tired brown orbs lock onto his. A small smile lighting up the raven's drained features. A slight sheen of sweat dots Ash's pale forehead.
But Gary has never seen a sight more beautiful. Because Ash is alive and smiling at him.
"Ash…" Gary whispers. Relief floods his body. Overflowing in abundance as he fights tears of joy.
Ash squeezes his hand again which Gary immediately returns. He wraps his other hand around their conjoined ones, squeezing tightly in disbelief.
"I came back to you." Ash whispers.
Chocolate orbs drop to their hands at the sound of the jingling chains. The raven's face scrunches in confusion at the restraints. Staring blankly at them as if he just can't process their presence on Gary's wrists.
"What did you do now?" Ash sighs in tired acceptance. Gary freezes at the question. Shit. How the hell am I supposed to explain all of this?
Gary opens his mouth to respond but the tell-tale swish of the sheet covering the entrance alerts him to another presence in the recovery room. He quietly sighs in relief at the sudden distraction.
He watches the now familiar figure of Ash's doctor strut into the room after flipping the lights on all the way. Tall and thin, with short purple hair and sleepy brown eyes, she stares at various charts in her hands. A low cut orange top and a short black skirt can easily be seen through her open white doctor's coat. Stopping at Ash's bedside, she blinks in surprise at the open brown eyes studying her curiously.
"Oh...you're awake." She blurts out in surprise. Her deep, smooth voice floats through the small room. "My name is Professor Ivy. How are you feeling Ash?"
"A little stiff and tired." His partner promptly responds. "Like I slept in too long but otherwise I feel fine." Ash's voice trails off into a whisper at the confused, analyzing expression on the woman's face.
Crossing her arms over her ample chest, she hums in thought. "Hmm interesting. I would have expected more pain since we ran out of pain suppressants a few days ago…" She trails off as she looks over the raven once more. Ash begins to fidget uncomfortably with the observant gaze locked on him. The doctor shrugs and begins to remove the various tubes and sensors embedded in the raven's skin.
"Well I might as well explain some things, right?" She proceeds to explain how the venom thickened his blood which was essentially what saved his life in the end since he didn't bleed out. How Ash's right lung had collapsed and Crimson's Dragonite had to constantly direct pure oxygen into his working lung to keep him alive. How his heart had stopped over and over again and how Pikachu and the other healers and medics had to fight with everything they had to keep it steadily beating.
Having already heard her explanation a few days ago, Gary watches Ash's face as Professor Ivy describes all the gory details. Brown eyebrows scrunch in confusion as tan fingers rub the wound subconsciously. Green eyes narrow at the familiar movement. The action almost completely identical to the various times his own scar itches or pains him. His fingers twitch. Wanting to trace over the scar bisecting his torso.
Don't be ridiculous. There is no way his wound has scarred yet. It hasn't been long enough for that.
He's pulled from his thoughts by the shrill beeping of one of the machines by Ash's bedside.
"What?! I've been in a coma for a week and a half?!" Ash yells out in a panic.
Blankets are ripped off of his tan body as Ash attempts to rise. He struggles to untangle himself from the various cords monitoring his vitals. Gary quickly stands to assist the doctor in holding down his frantic partner.
"Where are my pokemon?! Is Larvitar okay? I need to give him his medicine!" Ash shouts. Brown eyes wild and wide with concern. A surprisingly strong grip, at least for a coma patient who just woke up, latches onto Gary's arm as Ash looks to him to soothe his fear and tell him that their pokemon are alive and well.
But he can't tell Ash that. He has no words of assurance because he has no idea where their pokemon are or even if they are alive. Helpless, he turns toward the older woman as words catch in his throat.
"Your pokemon are fine. We're taking good care of them. See?" She gestures to the sleeping Pikachu and Eevee curled up together at the end of the bed, completely oblivious to the situation. "Now let's get you back into bed, hun. You shouldn't be moving around yet. Your wound can reopen."
Ash completely ignores her as he darts for his starter. The electric mouse jerks from its sleep but quickly Tackles its trainer once he realizes that Ash is awake and petting him. Woken by the excited squeaks of the electric type, Eevee jumps into the raven's lap as well.
Gary can only smile at the scene before him. The relieved and happy looks on all three of their faces in their impromptu cuddle session fills him with warmth. Hearing a familiar scratching noise to his left, he turns to see Professor Ivy calmly taking notes on the scene before them, much like Gramps would have done.
Once the pokemon have calmed down enough that they are no longer jumping all over the injured raven, the woman steps forward to examine his injury. Gary stares as she slowly begins to unwind the long white bandage.
Inch after tantalizing inch of tan skin is slowly revealed. Green orbs lock onto the exposed flesh. Gary clenches his jaw tight, torn between unabashedly checking out his partner and having to look at the gruesome wound again that almost stole Ash away from him.
The bandages, now tinted red with blood, begin to fall away faster as Professor begins to tug at them as she mutters under her breath. "But that's impossible…"
The wrap finally falls away revealing a large dark circular scar spreading over Ash's right pectoral. Jagged black lines spiral out wickedly around the edge. The dark tint of skin almost covering the rough appearance of the miraculously healed wound. If Gary didn't know better, he would think that Ash just got a creepy looking tattoo instead of being skewered.
Glancing quickly to red-stained bandages, Gary looks back up towards the confused look on his partner's face. Ash slowly touches the scar on his chest. It doesn't start to immediately bleed or seem to cause him any pain that a week old impalement injury should have. In fact, it looks almost as old as his own scar that bisects his torso.
"The Mark of the Sun…" Their attention is pulled from the mysteriously healed wound to the noticeably paler woman at her whispered words. Her brown eyes are blown wide in fear and reverence.
Mark of the Sun? What the fuck? Gary turns to analyze the scar once more. I mean...sure it kinda looks like a sun but what is she freaking out for? Who cares how it healed as long as Ash is alright...He was just probably hit with enough of Chansey's healing power that it just healed this fast. That's all.
Green orbs blink in shock as the woman darts from the room at a dead sprint. "I need to get Crimson and Hunter. Stay here!" She calls back to them hurriedly. His gaze is pulled from the door as a tentative hand rests gently on his bicep.
"Gary," Ash's gentle voice pulls his full attention back to the raven. "I have something to tell you."
Noticing the serious look on the raven's face, Gary sits back in his chair as he waits for his partner to continue. Green eyes lock with brown as he gives Ash his undivided attention.
"When I was in the coma, I saw...something." Ash explains slowly. Tan fingers fidgeting as the raven's gaze drops to floor.
Gary listens quietly as Ash quickly recounts his strange out-of-body experience starting with the endless black river and ending with the meeting with the legendary pokemon.
"Arceus touched me right here." Ash states as he points to the center of the scar. "All of a sudden, nothing hurt anymore and I was just filled with this...warmth...and he called me the Chosen One..."
Gary stares at the strange sun-like mark. It makes sense that he couldn't hear anything in his memories since the first thing people tend to forget are other people's voices. But how can he see things that he has never seen before? Can you dream inside of a memory when you are dying? And how can be healed inside of a dream? I was here the whole time and it was a gaping hole just this morning when Professor Ivy changed the bandages. No one else came in and Arceus certainly didn't appear out of thin air. This makes no damn sense.
Professor Ivy interrupts his musings as she storms back into the room with the bald Rider and Ash's self-proclaimed father in tow. Gary immediately moves in front of Ash to block him from view. The trio stop to stare at the protective gesture.
"I told you!" The woman speaks excitedly, pointing to the two of them with a small, dainty finger. "Just like the Prophecy says. If we thought they were candidates before, this and the Mark confirms it!"
Prophecy? What the fuck is she talking about? This isn't some stupid ass fairy tale.
The two Riders look over him silently. Assessing. Calculating. Judging. Ash's calloused hand rests on his arm once more. Stepping reluctantly to the side, Ash is revealed to the three older Riders.
The men gasp in shock at the sight before them. Mouths hanging open as they stare at the newly formed scar. Ash breaks the tense silence with a quiet question.
"What Prophecy? What's this have to do with my scar? And, not that I'm complaining, but why didyou guys save me anyway? Riders and the League are enemies as far as we know."
Professor Ivy opens her mouth to respond to Ash's question but the bald Rider immediately grabs her arm. Her jaw slams shut so fast that Gary can hear the click of her teeth from the other side of the small room. They both silently turn to the masked Rider, as if waiting for permission to speak. The man continues to silently stare at Ash as if he can't bring himself to look away.
"Ivy, Hunter. I would like a few minutes alone with them please." The man states slowly, his deep voice rough with emotion.
So the bald Rider's name is Hunter? So that makes Ash's "dad" Crimson? Who the fuck calls themselves Crimson? Ash said his dad's name was Frank.
The two leave silently as the man continues to stare at them. Ash fidgets nervously from his place on the bed at the charged silence.
The Rider sighs heavily as he plops down onto Gary's chair. It's as if all the life has just been sucked away from him, leaving a tired, middle-aged man behind. The man slowly pulls the mask down revealing his stubble-lined face.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
Ash stares curiously at the face in front of him. Thick black hair, slightly longer than his own, sticks out haphazardly, as if he just went flying. A thin scar crossing his jawbone sticks out starkly from the dark prickly shadow dusting the bottom half of his face. His nose and jawline are both sharp and defined. Ash can tell those dark brown eyes are locked on his face but he continues his perusal. He's handsome for an older guy, why does he hide his face? The other rider didn't so it can't be a required thing like we thought before.
His gaze slides up to lock onto the dark chocolate orbs, only several shades lighter than the blackest of nights. Faint laughter lines crinkle at the edges, as if he was once a joyful man before all the happiness was sucked out of his life, leaving him to never chuckle again. An unpleasant tingling in his gut forces him to break the staring contest.
I know I've seen those eyes somewhere before...but where?
Gary moves to stand close to his side, providing comfort and security with his presence alone.
"I do believe I owe you both an apology. Especially you Ash. Especially you." The man's words trail off quietly as he stares at the sheets in front of him. Ash looks up at him, completely confused at the strong fighter's almost depressing behavior.
"Um," He begins intelligently. "It's alright? I mean, we are enemies so I can't really hold it against you for battling us."
The man visibly flinches at the way he calls them enemies causing Ash to pause in confusion. We are enemies aren't we? "Plus, for some reason, you saved me so, in all honesty, I should be thanking you. So...thank you for saving my life."
Two sets of brown orbs lock with each other. One determined and thankful while the other still seemed to radiate hesitation and reluctance.
Several moments pass in silence as they wait for the Rider to respond. The man continues to fidget nervously in his seat. Obviously wanting to be anywhere but there but knowing he has to get their conversation over with.
"I will explain everything...but first, I have a story for you...if you will listen." The man slowly states. Ash briefly smiles as he settles himself against the headboard with the pokemon in his lap. His partner slowly sits down on the edge of the bed next to his knee. Body tense, ready to intercept any attack the man might think to launch at them.
Noticing Gary's posture, the man sighs heavily before scooting the chair back several inches. He slouches back into the chair, head tilted up towards the ceiling.
Dark brown orbs radiating sorrow and loss stare at the rock above, not seeing the rough surface but instead focusing inward, towards the inner torment of his mind. Ash knows the look well, having seen it on his own face many times while looking in a mirror.
"As with most stories, this one centers on a young man. A very foolish man from the north who was born and raised in the middle of a vicious war." The Rider began, his blank face staring unseeing at the ceiling. "His family was poor so they had no choice but to live outside of the protection that his small hometown offered. They didn't have much to their name and there were days when he had to go without food just so his younger brother could have something small to eat. For it is the duty of an older sibling to watch out for their younger brother."
Ash feels Gary tense next to him, no doubt reliving memories of his older sister. Ash slides his hand into his partner's, offering silent comfort which the brunet gratefully accepts with a rough squeeze of his own. The Rider pauses, staring at their conjoined limbs but thankfully doesn't comment on the action. The dark brown gaze rises to the ceiling once more as he continues his tale.
"The man never let his family's situation bother him. He taught himself how to hunt and forage for food at an early age by watching the pokemon in the forest near his home. His family soon began to rely on him just for survival. And he reveled in the power and sense of belonging it gave him. The feeling of being needed and supporting others gave him a purpose in life."
The Rider pauses to stare at his battle worn hands. Small white lines, each with their own story, run over the tan surface. Each small hardened patch of calloused skin proving just how hard the man has trained over the years. Hands very similar to his own and his partner's.
"Over the years, as the taxes increased from the never-ending war, he began to train his little brother and the other boys in the town how to navigate the forest so they too could support their own. In turn, they taught him and his brother how to fight and how to battle against stronger pokemon. Lessons they had learned in the school that his family couldn't afford to send them to."
Combat lessons from his years at the Academy flash through his mind as the man's story comes to life. The best way to attack and defend against each type of pokemon. The species most likely to be present in the northern forests where the man lived.
"He caught on quickly, seemingly having been born to fight and defend. He helped out on guard duty whenever he could spare time. Protecting his town against the pokemon that have become bolder and more aggressive over the years. He even got his family a small house inside the low wooden walls for his efforts. Giving them the protection they desperately needed with the increase in attacks."
A small smile crosses the Rider's face pulling one onto Ash's own. I wonder if this story is really about him. His reactions sure seem to be genuine.
"And then the soldiers came. Camping outside of their little town on their march to the front line. He watched from the shadows of the forest he had come to know so well. He saw the way they expertly commanded their pokemon against the fierce beasts that have been plaguing his town in the recent years. How the pokemon followed every order without fail as they worked together to battle against each other in mock battles and invisible enemies as they ran through various drills."
"He was enchanted. More than anything, he wanted to be like them. To be able to catch pokemon and protect his family and hometown. To have a powerful team at his disposal instead of just a rusty knife and some sharpened wooden stakes."
Ash can relate to the man. He remembers when he was younger, before they began their combat classes, the younger students used to watch the older soldiers in awe as they battled each other on the field next to the younger cadets' barracks.
"So on his 21st birthday, he left his brother in charge of the town's defenses and departed with a few other men to join the military. For a few months, he trained harder than anyone, quickly earning the respect of his fellow cadets and the eyes of the commanding officers. The called the man a prodigy and promoted him right out of boot camp. He was given a unit of his own and sent off into battle."
Never mind. Ash thinks quickly. This story can't be about him. No League soldier would ever become a Rider. There's no way. They are enemies...but they still saved me...He pushes his confusion to the back of his mind as the Rider continues.
"But the front line was nothing like his romanticized ideas of battle. There was blood and guts everywhere. Mixing together to form a bloody slush with the muddy ground. Bodies of pokemon and soldiers lay everywhere. The smell of rotting corpses and burnt flesh assaulted his very being. He had never regretted any decision before, but in that moment, on the edge of that battlefield, he wanted nothing more than to throw down his sword and run back home."
The description paints a vicious picture in Ash's head. His empty stomach lurching as the scene overtakes him with frightening force and for once, Ash is grateful that he hadn't eaten in a while because there is no way he would be able to keep it down at the moment. He's glad that he and Gary have yet to fight in such a large scale battle. Just fighting a few people at a time is hard enough.
"Frozen in place, he didn't hear his soldiers asking for orders or the explosions going off in the distance. It wasn't until another soldier staggered forward with an ash-covered pokemon in tow, that he was snapped out of his strange daze. Blood dripped down the blond officer's face as he looked them over. The soldier joined their unit without question, looking to him for orders."
"It was then that the man led his team into battle. It seemed to last forever. A never ending nightmare of adrenaline and terror. But nightmares end eventually. As the sun rose after countless days, a white flag fluttered in the distance. Their enemy had surrendered."
"They won that battle but the war continued. What little soldiers he had left joined the squad led by the officer that fought with them the first day. The man learned a lot under the blond soldier. He quickly became one of the man's closest friends."
"But then that battle happened. The bloodiest skirmish in the whole damn war. So many lives were lost...pokemon and human. The man was heavily injured in the last days of battle. Hell, his pokemon practically had to carry him away to the Medic Tents."
Various history lessons quickly run through his mind. Bloodiest battle in the war...if he is talking about the War on Johto than the skirmish with the most casualties was the Battle of Blackthorn City. Johto's dragon-type Gym Leader caused massive destruction to Kanto's forces before she was defeated in a battle against her cousin, Lance, who eventually went on to become the Champion of the newly established Pokemon League that the League Army formed.
The sound of a throat clearing pulls Ash out of his thoughts. The admonishing look in the Rider's eyes, like one a parent would give to their disobedient child, causes Ash to fidget in place. The silence continues for several moments before the Rider continues.
"It was in the Medic Tents that the man met the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. Long auburn hair pulled into a low ponytail behind her dainty neck. Beautiful brown eyes like molten amber, full of hidden mirth. She strolled into the Medic Tent like she owned the place, all 5 feet 4 inches of soft spoken authority. She just had this...way of making stubborn soldiers follow her instructions without even having to raise her voice above that quiet tone she was known for. Her medic skills were unprecedented. She was able to somehow heal the most gruesome injuries."
"She was beyond scary when she was pissed off but even then she was gorgeous. Many of the soldiers fell for her, including the foolish young man. He fell hard but he was the only one that could make her laugh. Not just that polite little smile she gave to every soldier that hit on her, but full out chuckles. Even her pokemon took a liking to him even though it was probably the most protective pokemon he had ever seen before. Always trying to help out with every little thing…"
The Rider pauses once more. The expression on his face full of love and longing. Without a doubt, Ash can now tell that this story is about the Rider's own past. No one can make an expression like that if they were just describing some random person they have never met before. But that would mean he was a soldier at one point right? And now he's a Rider? I don't understand.
"Where was I going with that?" The Rider suddenly asks, having noticed that his memories paused his story telling. He stares at the ceiling briefly to regain his train of thought.
"Right." He nods in satisfaction, having apparently remembered what he wanted to say next. "So after he was released on medical leave, he offered the woman to come home with him, back to his small hometown in the north. She refused of course. Who would just leave with a random stranger they had only known for a few weeks? But she offered him something in return. She gave him her address and told him to visit her once he healed."
"And he did. As soon as he was fit for travel, he sent in his resignation letter to the military and began his journey. He traveled for days to reach the small little town in the south. A town so small that he passed by it multiple times without even noticing. A town so tiny that it didn't even have a protection wall circling its borders. There he found his medic, working at a nearby lab with a renowned professor to improve her already remarkable healing skills."
Ash leans forward slightly, listening intently to the words ebbing and flowing from the Rider's mouth. For some reason, he couldn't pull away. With every sentence uttered, he became even more engrossed into this miraculous tale that's being shared with him.
"And there, in that tiny town, smaller than even his own hometown, he stayed. He couldn't leave, not after he found his angel once more. After much coaxing, she eventually became his and his alone. They were happy together. He would guard the town and help train the pokemon at the lab and she would work as the professor's assistant, healing and taking care of all those who came to her in need."
The Rider smiles softly, dark eyes hazy as the scene passes through his mind. Ash stiffens at the familiar feeling coursing through him. A town in the south, working with a professor, no wall...it can't be Pallet. There's no way. A Rider has never lived there. We would've known if there was one.
"So the man, body full of nerves and love, got down on one knee and proposed. But the woman, with the eyes of molten honey, refused and ran away in tears. The man was devastated. They were so in love and yet she rejected him. Why was she crying if she truly didn't want to be with him?" The Rider asks rhetorically. The story made all the more devastating by the completely tortured sound of the man's voice.
"He ended up following her secretly through the forest, using all the skills he had learned since he was little. He finally found her in a clearing. She took of the large pendant necklace she always wore and touched the circular object. In a burst of light, a Dragonite appeared out of thin air."
Brown eyes widen in shock and stare at the man sitting in the chair next to his bed. She was a Rider?! But she was working with the military! So they are both soldiers and Riders? What the hell is going on?
"He could only stand there in shock as the woman fell into the massive dragon's arms. Seeking comfort from the large pokemon as she sobbed into its chest. His heart clenched in his chest as she told the pokemon how they have to leave. How she has to give up her love to fulfill her mission."
"The man slowly approached them then, hands raised in a non-threatening gesture. The dragon eyed him warily but gently spun the woman around. She collapsed in shock at the sight of him. Without thinking of his own safety, he dove to cradle her against his chest. Tears streaked down his own face as he begged her not to leave him. That he will travel to wherever she needs to go as long as he is with her."
"The woman embraced him as words poured out of her small mouth. How she is a part of ancient clan dedicated to keeping the peace of the world. How the pink mark on her hip, the one that he had become so intimately familiar with, is not a tattoo but a bonding mark with her Dragonite. One that allowed him to evolve from Dragonair and grace her with her healing talents. One that granted her a position of power in her clan."
"She spoke about the legendary prophecy of a warrior who will save them all. How she was sent out to find a candidate to be tested by her elders. She found one but she ended up falling in love with her target. A soldier who is working for their enemy. The enemy who even now is trying desperately to find him and bring him back into its clutches."
Ash can only sit there completely dumbfounded as he's assaulted with all of this new information. His brain unable to process the words coming out of the Rider's mouth. Merely absorbing them for later contemplation as everything he thought he knew about the Riders is blown apart into little pieces.
"She spoke about how she is pregnant with his child." The Rider continues. "How she was planning to run away in the middle of the night back to her people. How she will raise the child with all the love she can muster as a reminder of the love she left behind. How the elders would send another to observe him and see if he is worthy of the Trial. How she will never see him again."
The Rider's voice breaks. The man takes a deep breath, clearly fighting tears as he struggles to regain his composure.
"The man took all this in as he held the woman to him. Once more he offered her the beautiful ring he showed her just hours before. He reaffirmed his love and his vows. He told her that they would just hide from everyone in that small little town. From the military and her clan. They will be happy there, just them and their child."
"This time, against her better judgement, she accepted. Overcome with her feelings for the man, she forced reason to the back of her mind and decided to believe in the vision he had painted of them."
"They were married soon after and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. That night, just after sunset, meteors fell from space above. A few of the smaller ones broke apart in the atmosphere, creating a fine layer of dust in the red tinted sky. The man said it reminded him of the beautiful destruction of a volcanic eruption. The woman only smiled at the sight. She held the baby in her arms as the dust slowly fell to the earth. Just as ash drifts down to the ground after the mountain erupts."
The strange constriction around his chest squeezes his heart painfully. The machine behind him beeps in warning at his increased heart rate. Flashes of forgotten memories flash through his mind.
A woman holds a small child in her arms, whispering to him softly as they stare out at the sunset. "You know pumpkin, you were born on the most beautiful night. The sky itself exploded in happiness when you were brought into this world. But even as the shooting stars shot across the sky, they still weren't as lovely as my little Ash." The woman bops the boy on the nose causing him to burst into giggles.
Dark chocolate orbs framed by deep laughter lines. The swirling mirth and mischief clearly visible in their endless depths. Eyes that filled him with such warmth and comfort.
He can feel the worried gaze of his partner on him but Ash can't look away from the man sitting in front of him. The Rider still won't look him in the eye. He needs to see them. To see if they match the ones in his near death experience.
This can't be what I think it is.
"She turned to the man and said that their baby should be named after this sight. This glorious display of nature's power. The man agreed and for a few years, life was perfect. Their boy was strong and healthy. His little smile chased away all of the anxiety and fear that came with hiding from two powerful groups of people."
"But then the worst came to pass. In the newspaper, there was an article. A story about how a small town in the north was demolished by an 'unknown force.' It was the man's hometown."
"He immediately left. Flying north as fast as his pokemon could carry him. The town was completely gone. Just a black charred circle of earth was all that was left of the place he grew up in. There were no survivors. His family, his friends and neighbors...all just...gone."
The Riders voice picks up as he begins to talk faster, obviously getting to the end of his tale and wanting to finish it already. Ash's body aches at the tension that has taken ahold of him. Dread fills his body at what's coming next.
I don't want to hear anymore.
"Heart heavy, he flew back home. Yearning for the comfort of his wife and child. He arrived to a sea of fire and destruction."
Flames raging out of control. Unbearable heat. Unbelievably hot and stinging. Evaporating the sweat right off of his body. Leaving red, irritated skin behind.
"He searched desperately for his family but couldn't find them. Their house was in ruins but he knew where they would have gone. So he sprinted for the lab with his heart in his throat."
His mother pulls him behind her as they zigzag through the streets. Avoiding burning pieces of wood and burnt corpses. His boots slosh through liquid that practically glows in the crimson flames. Large dark shapes dart in and out of billowing black smoke. A large white wall appears out of nowhere. She quickly types a few numbers into the keypad next to a steel door. Once open, she drags them inside.
"The door was blown to pieces. He walked in slowly and saw his wife on the floor in a pool of blood. Her torso almost completely blown away from the power of the attack that hit her. His son and her dragon were nowhere to be found."
The townspeople cry out in horror as young Gary opens the door before promptly collapsing. A beam of light slams through the open doorway and right through his mother's torso. Leaving a gaping, bloody hole behind. Large enough for him to see through.
"Ignoring the pleas of the professor, he flew to where her clan lives. Demanding answers and the whereabouts of his child. They recognized him as his wife's candidate and would tell him nothing until he completed their Trial."
His wife was a Rider. She was killed in an attack on her hometown that lay to the south...just like his mother...
"In a fit of desperation, he agreed. He took their so called Trial and somehow completed it even though it almost killed him. The elders were impressed for he was one of the very few outsiders to complete the test, but he still failed. He was not the legendary prophesied warrior his wife spoke of so reverently."
"I told you! Just like the Prophecy says. If we thought they were candidates before, this and the Mark only confirms it." The doctor's voice echoes harshly around his skull.
"As promised, the elders told him the Prophecy and how they were betrayed by one of their own. The clan's enemy thus gave these candidates a name. The Dragon Riders. The enemy believed that the man was the legendary warrior and his skill in battle only strengthened their theory. So they attacked his hometown and his new home in an attempt to kill him before he can bring them to ruin."
"The elders told him how the enemy knew that they had failed in his execution and thus kidnapped his own son. To be trained to fight against him and other candidates like him. To cover up their misdeeds, they raised orphaned children to be killing perfections. All in an effort to keep their power."
Gary sits stiffly next to him as memories of the Academy race through Ash's mind. All the harsh training and missions. The way they were pushed harder than the other cadets. But that would make me the man's...No...
"There was nothing the man could do. The clan refused to assault the enemy in direct combat and he couldn't take them down on his own. For the first time in his life, he was powerless. His wife and child...my wife and child...were taken from me…"
The Rider slowly lifts his head. Their gazes lock causing the air to freeze in Ash's newly repaired lungs. Those eyes, the same shade as the ones that looked over him while he lay in the black river. Those eyes, now no longer full of laughter and mischief, but now reflecting the torment and pain held within.
Ash remembers those eyes.
"I promised myself that if I ever had the chance to see my son again, I would apologize with all my heart for everything I put him through. I would apologize for not being there to save him or his mother. I would apologize for leaving him to be raised by someone so cruel and demanding."
"But I also would want him to know that I always looked over him from afar. Helping him where I could. Sending him my love and hoping beyond hope that he could feel it."
Those eyes...they were the eyes of his father.
"I could do nothing to save Delia but there was no way I could let you die too Ash. That's why I saved you on the roof...I am so sorry, my son."
Tan, battle worn hands reach for him. His heart thunders in his ears. The screeching of the heart monitor attacks his senses. Yet the man reaches for him. Hope and sadness radiating from those dark eyes.
No. I can't be his son. Everything would have been my fault then. All the pain we had to go through since we were little. All the harsh training and amount of people and pokemon we have killed. All of that to give me the training to take out what the League considered to be a high profile target. All because I am his son.
Panic surges through him. His breath comes out in short pants. The hands are inches away now and his brain automatically shuts down.
Ash slaps the hand away forcefully. Leaning back, he slides away as far as possible on the small bed. As far as he can get from the man before him.
Ash freezes at the hurt and rejection radiating from the older man. The Rider slowly stands and walks toward the covered exit. He pauses but doesn't turn around. Seconds later, he walks out without another word.
His father leaves him once again.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
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Next up: Chapter 36 - Prophecy
