TDBigJ's message: *Head in hand, sleeping* *Awakes with a jolt* Wha? Whoa! Wha? Sorry about that guys, my week's been kind of busy. Yeah, I know, you were expecting me to say: "Another uneventful week." Yeah, actually, this week's been different. At the beginning of the week, I applied for two jobs and today, I had to meet with my job coach at 9:30 in the morning and had a job interview this afternoon so yeah, it's been a hectic week for me. I plan on applying for more jobs in the next week so I will be pretty busy when the final chapter rolls around. And a little thing that I thought was going to be doing with the final chapter will actually not be happening (Don't worry, it has nothing to do with the plot of the chapter). I was actually going to be releasing it a day early because there is something my family and I are doing next weekend and I thought we were going to be leaving Friday morning but I found out earlier that we are actually leaving next Saturday morning, so I will be releasing it on time next week. I bet you guys would like a chapter a day early but looks like it will be the usual time. Anyway let's get to the responding of reviews for the final time this story. It's so hard to say goodbye to this story, but that's what happens when you write for some time. Well, here you go.
49ers (Guest #1): Read on and you'll see. No, she won't, don't worry. Thanks for the review!
Oliverqueen01: I bet the finals are awesome right now. I'm happy Sasha is women's champion and Finn Balor I've been wanting to see for a while. Sorry if I played with your heart. Glad you liked the chapter. Your story is ending soon too? That's a coincidence. Thanks for the review!
Bryce (Guest #2): Let's hope so. The only help they can give him right now is hope and faith, let's do both and see if he gets well. Thanks for the review!
Espeon44: Let's hope he will be okay. They will most likely graduate and she most likely won't leave Dawn, it wouldn't be right. Thanks for the review!
Wolves22 (Guest #3): I probably won't go that far into the future, but I appreciate the suggestion. Thanks for the review!
Guest #4: I was planning to post the crossover fic within a week or two after this story ends, so in the next two to three weeks, I hope that's not too long for you. Thanks for the continued support. Thanks for the review!
Klay (Guest #5): Probably not but he will make an appearance in this chapter. Maybe not. Read on and see, but do you think it will be any other way? Like above, the best they can do is hope and have faith. Thanks for the review!
Brig nodrm2347: Yeah, I had this part of the plot for some time now and I felt like the last few chapters needed some drama as the last story did. We'll see if Ash wakes up in time. Let's hope so. Yeah it does make them seem like a strong couple, doesn't it? I know, only two chapters left? I'm hurting myself. I haven't really caught up with the anime but I'm working on it. Thanks for the review!
Shadic4566: Let's all hope for Ash making it, and everyone making it through their finals. Thanks for the review!
Mad Ass Dragon: I'm surprised that you liked the chapter. Seeing as you described it as a dark twist and you like dark twists. Luckily this isn't a dark fic, I don't think I could write one of those. I don't really want to disappoint you and make you lose respect for this fic. But don't worry, Ash won't be perfectly fine 100%. As you said that's a fairy tale type ending and I don't want that. It would be too cliché for something like that to happen. Ash's injuries will actually be described in this chapter and furthermore. So I hope that when you find out what his injuries are, you won't be disappointed. I'm not sure if you want Ash alive or not, but based on the kind of writer I am, which way do you think I will heading? Thanks for the review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or it's characters, they are owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and… whoever else.
A day had passed, and Ash still hadn't woken up. Serena was really beginning to grow worried. She feared that he was going to take a while to get out of this state he was in. All of his friends had differing levels of sadness. It was really starting to get bad. Serena thought when would Ash get out of this? How much longer would it be? She really wanted these questions to be answered soon, because she didn't know how much more of this she could take, plus the others, they couldn't go through more either.
Last night, she was the only one who stayed by his side throughout the night. The rest of his friends, Delia, and Grace had gone home at different times last night. Delia wanted to stay but trusted Serena that she would keep an eye on Ash and make sure to call her if he had awakened during the night. She had spent the whole night sitting in the chair next to Ash's bed with a blanket wrapped around her to keep her warm. Pikachu had stayed next to Ash on his left side just so he could be close to Ash's heartbeat and have a faint sound of it near his ears. Every time she woke up from her sleep which was only about a couple of times during the night, she looked at Ash, still in his forced slumber. That was some serious psybeam that hit him. She didn't think that what had happened would cause him to be like this. He had been hit by many Pokemon attacks before this and only got off with as much as a sprained ankle and/or wrist. Why was it now that he went into a micro coma? Maybe psychic attacks have a whole bunch of power. Who knows? Maybe only the experts would know, that's for sure.
It was Saturday night, 9:30 to be exact. A few of Ash's friends had gone home but most were still there. She had gone out of the room to see who had stayed. Dawn, Ally, Brock, Clemont were just a few that were still here, but the likes of May, Shauna, and Barry had gone home. The ones that went home had either something to do or had been told by one of their parents to stay as long as they wanted but to be home at a reasonable time. The people that were the closest to Ash were willing to stay until at least between eleven and midnight just so they could get a little studying in before they had to turn in.
The ones that had a strong friendship with Ash were the ones hoping for his recovery the most. Dawn, considering Ash a brother after their travels in Sinnoh despite their bickering at some times, didn't want to leave Ash's side either. Brock, Ash's most loyal travelling companion having travelled with him in five regions, couldn't stay away from who was perhaps his best friend. Brock wished that he could tell how soon it would be until Ash woke up. He was a doctor but he was a doctor for Pokemon, so he really couldn't tell on a human. He was hit by this the hardest behind Serena. He's known Ash longer than anyone here, with the exception of Misty, and he couldn't stand the thought of him either gone or injured to the extent of being paralyzed.
Pikachu was hurt from this as well. His best friend ever was in a terrible state and he couldn't help but feel like this was his fault. If he hadn't leapt up in the air to hit Alakazam with a volt tackle, Ash wouldn't be in this state. Pikachu spent the whole night by Ash on his bedside. It would bring Ash joy if he saw him by his side like he always has been. If only his other Pokemon were here, they'd be by his side all over the room as well in support of their unresponsive trainer.
All of Ash's friends had gone up to his bed to be there for him. Only a few were given permission to even lay a hand on him. The doctor didn't want Ash to suffer any further injury or interrupt the state he was in by excessive touch on him, especially his injured parts.
The impact of the psybeam and him hitting a brick wall had left Ash with a few cracked ribs, a pulled hamstring, bruises on his torso, arms, and legs, and the reason why he was unconscious, was that he could have suffered a severe concussion. It wasn't confirmed but the doctors said it was most likely due to that. The doctor also said Ash was lucky that the cracked ribs he suffered weren't bent far back enough to puncture his lungs. The hit had to have been at least ten times harder in order for him to lose air. The possible severe concussion that he had gotten would cause his vision to be a little blurry by the time he awoke.
A couple hours had passed and most of the rest of the others had made their way home. Only Dawn and Brock had remained, but even themselves were getting tired. They thought that they would get home now and get to bed before they fell asleep here and their parents would jump their case in the morning of where they were all night. So they went into Ash's room and told Serena they were heading home and goodnight. Once they left, Serena grabbed the blanket that was given to her the previous night and wrapped it around herself. Pikachu was on the seat next to the windowsill looking out at the blue and sparkle lit sky. He wished Buneary had stayed but she had to head home with Dawn, so he was only kept company by Serena at this time. Serena had motioned her hand to have Pikachu come over and lay on her lap. The yellow mouse bounced down onto the floor and trotted his way over to Serena and jumped up into her lap. She started petting the electric rodent's head with a slight smile.
"You're just as saddened by this as me, aren't you Pikachu?"
Pikachu nodded his head. "Pika."
"I'm just crossing my fingers for him. It could be days, weeks until he wakes up. He'll probably miss graduation and the start of his new journey." She looked down at him and gave him a quick kiss on the top of the head.
"Don't worry, Pikachu. Ash will pull out of this, I know he will, and you do too, right?"
"Pika pi!"
"Let's just hope it's tomorrow, but for now, let's get some sleep. I'm getting pretty tired." She said and closed her eyes and Pikachu did as well. They drifted off to sleep, hoping for the best tomorrow.
It was noon the next day and every single one of Ash's friends had come back to visit him. They had done little studying for finals the last few days. The doctor had told them they were done checking up on Ash and that they could see him. Everyone went into the room and saw how Ash was doing. He was still unconscious. The white bandage that surrounded his upper torso and his left shoulder looked like it was pressed on. The doctor must have checked there.
"Any signs of improvement doc?" Max asked.
"Not really. He's still about the same as he was yesterday. We still can't tell when exactly he will wake up, but I reckon it won't be too much longer, that much I know." The doctor explained and left the room.
Every single person in the room reminisced the times they had with Ash. Dawn remembered how they would always high five to congratulate each other, May remembered the half ribbon she split with Ash in the final contest in Kanto, Barry remembered all the times he said he would fine Ash, and regretted it, Brock remembered all the times he battled alongside Ash and the gym battle they had years ago, Max remembered the promise Ash made at the end of their journey in Kanto: the promise that they will have a battle once Max started his journey, and Clemont remembered the explosive gym battle they had a couple summers back. All of them remembered the one thing that Ash did a lot with them. They all had faith that Ash was going to wake up soon, there was no doubting it.
But then one person who everyone thought would be the last person to come and see Ash, had come to see him: Paul.
"What are you doing here Paul?" Dawn asked.
"Just thought I'd pop in." Paul answered.
"There's got to be a better reason than that Paul. You hate Ash. Why would you come here to see him?" Dawn asked.
"I may have always called Ash pathetic, but that doesn't mean I want him dead or see him dead. I'm not that kind of person." Paul explained. "I wouldn't wish that on him or anybody."
Brock, Dawn, or Barry never thought they would see this from a guy like Paul. What happened to Paul? He was a little different than his usual self.
"Gee Paul, I never thought I'd see you like that." Brock stated.
"I guess you really do have a heart." Dawn commented.
"Maybe." Paul added. He walked up to Ash's bedside and looked at him. Paul never thought he'd see Ash in a situation like this. Paul may have always shown resentment towards Ash and his training methods, but he didn't expect to ever see Ash in this state. On the inside, Paul felt something. He wasn't quite sure what it was. Something he would never really feel or show, especially towards his biggest rival. But maybe, just maybe, he was having a change of heart.
"What do you feel Paul? Anything at all?" Barry asked.
Paul closed his eyes and leaned his head downwards. "Regret."
Everyone present suddenly got confused. "One more time." May said.
"Regret. That's what I'm feeling." Paul replied.
Now seeing was believing. Paul actually had admitted that he regretted what he had said about Ash before. It wasn't something he ever thought he'd feel or say, but he did.
"Maybe even a little bit I have some remorse for the way I've treated Ketchum for the last few years. Seeing him like this, it just makes me see him in a different light. Even though he's my rival, I want him to get better. Besides, who else would push me harder to win a battle?"
He opened his eyes and looked at Ash. He was about to leave but had one thing to say before he did. "Get well Ash. See you in Alola."
After that, Paul turned around and made his way out of the room, but he stopped when he reached the doorway. "See you there too, Serena." And he left the room. Serena was caught a little off guard there. Paul said he would anticipate when he saw the couple in the upcoming summer journey.
It was now 11:00 pm and everyone except Serena had fallen asleep. Ash had been out for two days now and had not even regained consciousness once. She felt that Ash was going to take ages to get out of this, but she would be by his side until he awoke, no matter how long it took. She wouldn't care if she missed school because of this. She wouldn't care if she missed finals. She wanted to be there when he opened his eyes. If he missed finals, she would too, because if he wouldn't pass Senior year, then she wouldn't. She didn't want to leave him out.
As soon as everyone had fallen asleep, she took the blanket off of herself and placed it on the seat as she stood up. She walked into his room and checked on him again. Still unconscious as she thought. As he lay there, in his current state, she rubbed the top of his head once again as she waited for the moment he'd respond to her words. She kissed the tips of her fingers and placed her hand on his forehead. His forehead felt warm. At least he wasn't suffering anything other than what he had now, at least she hoped.
She sat down in the chair next to his bed and grabbed his idle hand that was barely staying up on the bed. She then felt his wrist to check if his pulse was still beating. Luckily it was so he wasn't going to be leaving her anytime soon. She knew that but wanted to make sure. She wanted to feel like he was going to wake up soon, any moment now, but at the same time, a heartbeat could mean anything. Even the doctors couldn't determine when he would exactly wake up.
After spending a few minutes by his bedside, she went outside his room to the wide open space where the large window that had a view that would make you see the whole city. They were about halfway up the hospital so she had a pretty good view. But a view like this wouldn't cheer her up this time, but at least make her feel a little better, but not completely. She looked at the dark night sky and all the stars that occupied it. She really wanted a shooting star to come by at this time but what were the odds? There were still so many stars in the night. The hospital was very quiet as it was late and the visitors were either back home or here asleep, and the employees were home as well or catching up on some late night work.
She continued looking on into the night sky and all it's bright lights. She thought she would do this now rather than wait. She looked for the brightest star she could find and closed her eyes.
"I hope Ash is fine and that he will see the light of day again." She thought to herself.
After that, she opened her eyes and walked back to fetch her blanket and went back into Ash's room and covered herself with the blanket. She took one last glance at him before falling asleep.
The following day Ash continued to stay the way he was, much to the disappointment of his friends. He didn't even flinch once when someone was present in the room. His heart was still beating, he was lightly breathing, showing signs that he was still there.
After much waiting that day everyone had left again when it became dark out, leaving Serena and Pikachu by their lonesome. Serena had been in the room all day like she had been. She exited the room and went back out to the wide open space outside his room that she was in last night. She looked outside to see the usual nighttime skyline.
Serena had closed her eyes after looking at the night sky. The wish she made last night was something she would hope would come true soon. She would be there until Ash had his first breath back into consciousness. She waited for every waking moment until he did.
All the moments she had with Ash in the last year and a half replayed in her mind. Every single one of them. She cherished them all. The bad times. The good times. Whenever she was there for him, he was there for her. Their friendship slowly blossomed into something more within only a mere few months. She hoped that it would last the rest of her life. She just needed to wait… for him.
But within a few moments she felt something warm wrap around her stomach. It felt like someone's arm, but whose? She also felt someone's chin lay on top of her shoulder, but again, whose? She opened her eyes and slowly moved her head to the right. When she saw who it was, she gasped and was taken by surprise.
"What? No "hey you're awake?"
"ASH!" She shouted and slammed into him with a hug, causing Ash to grunt due to the pain.
"Hey, hey, easy. I've got cracked ribs here." Ash said, squinting his eyes shut. Serena immediately realized the pain he was in and let go.
"Sorry about that. I almost forgot you had injuries."
"It's cool."
Serena placed her hands on her cheeks. "Oh my, I can't believe you're finally awake."
"Yep. Doctor said I was out for two days. Two days of hell if you ask me." Ash commented.
"It may have been for you, but it has been as well for me. I've been hurting since the moment you went unconscious, sitting by your side every second until you woke up." Serena explained.
"Do you literally mean every second?"
"Literally."
"Wow, I'm surprised you could hold out. That cheers me up a bit."
"Not just me, Pikachu did as well." She said, picking up Pikachu and holding him in her arms. Ash smiled at his best pal and slowly reached out and stroked his head.
"Thanks a lot, buddy."
The three of them then looked out at the night sky, admiring the beauty of the midnight blue, glimmering lit horizon. All of a sudden, a shooting star shot across the sky.
"Look a shooting star. Make a wish." Ash stated, seeing the light of the shooting star, despite his blurred vision.
Serena leaned her head on Ash's good shoulder. "Don't need to. It was a little late." She lifted her head up and pecked Ash on the cheek and put her head back on his shoulder. The two plus Pikachu returned their gaze to the outside. Serena and Pikachu were happy that their future Pokemon master awoke, and Ash was happy that he finally got to see the light of day again, even if it was nighttime.
Things were all right again. And the two of their bonds had strengthened just over a two days time, all it took was a little hope and strength to make it happen.
Now all they could do was see what the future had in store for them.
Author's note: Well how about that? Our hero has awoken from his unconscious state alive and well. Like Ash said, not 100%, but he'll live. I wouldn't kill Ash off. I would have no idea how I would write the final chapter of this story without him in it. Never in forever would I kill Ash off in a story, that's not who I am. I'm not evil, that's Team Rocket's job. The worst I would have happen to him is severe injuries maybe a few broken bones at least but no way in hell would I kill the guy off. What did you guys think? Are you happy that Ash saw the light again? I sure am. That should just about do it. Next chapter will be the final chapter: The epilogue. And since the next chapter will be the epilogue, there won't be a preview this chapter. We really wouldn't need it would we? I will see you guys in a week for the final installment of "Love You Now, Love You Always", where we will see what the characters do during their first summer out of school. Until then…
TDBigJ out!
Stay away from the fairy dust Jerry!
-Ritchie Goodman, The Benchwarmers
