Chapter 6: Exposed
– Paul's POV –
That meeting was a complete waste of time for Paul. They didn't even ask him questions. In fact the only one they even spoke to was the idiot and he didn't even realize what'd happened to him. Now he'd have to wait even longer before they spoke to him, if they even still wanted to.
Paul watched Ash walk ahead of him with his eyes narrowed. Ash was smiling and chatting with the cheery girl, Dusk or whatever her name was, and the older perverted one. They both looked at their raven haired friend in worry once they'd left the room but Ash brushed it off, acting like he was fine. From his point of view though, Paul could see how tense Ash's shoulders were.
When Ash spoke about the attack and how it felt… the way he described his pain… it was so real. He could see the whole scene in his head, like he were watching it happen all over again. Except Ash didn't know the whole story, he didn't know what he did or that both he and the girl saw it. Paul wasn't sure the tall one saw it too but she definitely did, even if she wouldn't admit it.
Why wouldn't she? He knows she did. Sure neither of them is certain exactly what they saw but why was she in such denial of it? He stared at the back of her head and she must have felt it because she turned and looked at him curiously so he diverted his gaze quickly.
They finally made it back to the small waiting room where the younger Oak and the woman had been left behind. They both stood when the four trainers returned and immediately walked over to the group of three while Paul once again took his seat in the corner.
He would have happily sat there in silence until Cynthia returned or he was called in for questioning but that troublesome girl walked over and sat down next to him.
"Hey" she said softly.
"Hn" was all he replied. He was not interested in whatever conversation she had in mind.
She studied his face for a few moments and he wondered whether she would decide to take his response as a sign to leave him alone or if she'd be stubborn and try to continue talking to him. Naturally it was the latter.
"You ok?" she asked tentatively. Her question surprised him. It wasn't something he was asked a lot. In fact the only one who did ask was Reggie and he rarely received any kind of response from Paul.
"Shouldn't you be asking your friend that?" he returned with raised eyebrows.
She looked back at Ash who was chatting with his mother, the tall one and young Oak. He was telling them a story of some sort of adventure he'd had, using his arms to make big gestures and Pikachu jumping in where Paul guessed he'd left out details, not that anyone could understand the pokémon.
"I don't think I'm the one he needs to talk to" she finally answered.
Paul didn't respond again and instead also looked at the cluster of people. Ash was smiling while talking to his mother and friends but something was off. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes like it usually did. In fact looking closely, Ash looked downright awful. He moved stiffly, probably still feeling his injuries and restricted by the bandages hidden by his shirt. He also had dark shadows under his eyes. He hasn't been sleeping Paul thought. He wondered if he'd slept at all since waking up in the hospital. Then he remembered he didn't really care.
Dawn sighed beside him which interrupted his thoughts. "When he talked about getting hurt I…" she broke off, unable to finish whatever she was about to say. Paul figured that she less likely came to talk to him about his feelings rather than she'd really come to talk about hers.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He wasn't good at this sort of thing. Nor was he interested in it. Why would she come to him of all people? They weren't friends; that was something Paul avoided like the plague. In his opinion, friends were quite useless. He travelled too often and too far to have friends in his hometown and making friends on the road was pointless since you basically never saw them again. He had acquaintances, and trainers he respected, but friends?
It dawned on him that she was probably waiting for some sort of response from him when the door opened again and Cynthia poked her head inside.
"Well done you four. Ash you were fantastic thank you" she smiled and then turned her attention to Paul.
"Paul can you, Dawn, and Brock come with me? We're ready for you now." She said, smile now gone.
He pushed himself out of the seat, and headed to the door. Dawn and Brock hesitated for a moment before following. Cynthia led them down the hallway but instead of returning to the large room they were in before, they turned a corner into a completely different corridor. They took a few more turns before they finally reached a door and Cynthia gave three light knocks.
"Come in" called a voice from inside.
Cynthia opened the door and gestured for Paul to walk in first. Stepping into the room he found himself in an office like setting. There were three small chairs sitting in front of a large, wooden desk and behind that desk sat the Kanto-Jhoto Champion whom they'd just met, Lance.
Lance indicated to the three seats, inviting them to sit down. Paul grabbed the one on the left, which also happened to be conveniently closest to the door. Dawn sat in the middle and Brock on the other end.
Cynthia closed the door behind them and walked to stand next to Lance. The two champions looked at the three trainers seriously and Paul narrowed his eyes at the two of them. "Why aren't we being questioned with the rest of the council present?" He asked suspiciously.
"We'd rather avoid any unnecessary... discussions with the council members" Lance answered, evading the question.
"What do you want then?" Paul asked irritably.
"We just want to get your side of the story" Cynthia replied calmly. Dawn and Brock nodded, satisfied with the answer, however Paul suspected there was more to it.
"Let's start with you Brock" Lance spoke his eyes turning to the eldest of the three. "You've known Ash the longest correct? Tell me about him and what happened that day".
Brock nodded "I met Ash six years ago, he'd just started his journey and beaten me for a badge at the Pewter GYM which I was the leader of. I decided to travel with him and pursue my dream of becoming a pokémon breeder" Brock explained. Paul rolled his eyes. This was stuff they probably already knew. Why were they bothering with it? Lance and Cynthia both just nodded at his words, listening intently.
"We've been together a long time," Brock continued. "I wasn't with him for all of his travels, we separated from time to time when I'd go back home or when he went to journey the Orange Islands. We ended up together again in Sinnoh, and soon enough we met Dawn. On the day of Ash and Paul's battle…" Brock broke off, struggling with the words.
"When the smoke bomb hit I wanted to run down to help but some Team Rocket members challenged us to a battle. We fought them off" he said gesturing to Dawn "and then that Galactic guy, his voice was on the speakers. He said he was going to make an 'example' out of Ash and then he ordered his Salamance to attack. I didn't see much of what happened. There was an explosion and the dust got in my eyes. When I could finally see again Ash was on the ground."
Brock's eyes were watering now but he wasn't finished speaking. "I ran down to check on him. He was really hurt but I was just glad he was alive. The medics came then and I checked on Pikachu. Then I saw…"
"Yes?" Lance encouraged.
"The ground…where Ash was standing, it was burned… in a perfect circle. I don't know why but it was" Brock finished.
Lance simply nodded at his story and turned to Dawn next.
"And you?" he asked.
"It was like Brock said" she said, avoiding eye contact with anyone. "We were fighting Team Rocket when that guy attacked Ash and he…" tears were slowly running down her cheeks and Brock offered her a hand to hold which she gratefully took. "Ash he… when he was hit he… he…" she stuttered helplessly.
"What did you see?" Lance pressed, now more urgently than before.
"He stopped it himself" Paul interrupted, fed up with her pathetic attempt to regale the event.
Lance and Cynthia turned their attention to him, their eyes steeled on his face and expressions dark. "He what?" Lance asked.
"He stopped it himself" Paul repeated "when the hyper beam hit him he pushed it away".
Cynthia and Lance exchanged glances. "What do you mean pushed it away?" The blonde asked.
"The explosion happened because some sort of force met with the hyper beam attack. It's like in a pokémon battle when two attacks collide and they create an explosion" Paul explained. "When the smoke cleared Ash was still standing and he had this… blue glow surrounding him. Then he collapsed. She saw it too" Paul finished throwing a look at the girl beside him.
"Is this true?" Lance demanded turning to Dawn again.
"Umm… I'm not sure but that's what it looked like" she replied softly still avoiding his gaze.
Cynthia and Lance exchanged looks again and finally nodded to one another. "We thought so" Cynthia sighed. So they knew all along Paul thought. "We managed to extract a video recording of the attack and we saw what you and Paul witnessed" Cynthia said addressing Dawn. "The blue glow you saw. We believe it was Ash's aura" she said, eyes searching their faces for their reactions.
"Aura?" Dawn asked her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Like when Ash was able to communicate with that Riolu?" she asked.
"Ash could talk to a Riolu?" Lance asked surprised.
"Well more like he knew how Riolu was feeling and Riolu could project images in his mind. Kellyn, he's a pokémon ranger who was with us at the time, said it was because their aura was a perfect match to each other. But what has that got to do with what happened at the league?" Dawn asked.
"Ash can use aura" Brock jumped in before Lance or Cynthia could answer.
"You knew?" Lance asked sharply.
"We've come across it before" Brock answered hesitantly, drawn aback by Lance's sudden advance. "Once when we travelled to the Cameron Castle we met the Lucario of the Aura Guardian Sir Aaron. The Tree of Life and its guardian, Mew, were dying. The only way to save it was to transfer aura to Mew so it could save the tree. Ash, who freed Lucario from Sir Aaron's staff because his aura was like Sir Aaron's, used aura to save Mew. Lucario also used its aura and ended up sacrificing itself to save all of us" he concluded sadly.
Paul was taking this all in and it was very complicated. Aura? Lucario and Mew? What kind of trouble was that loser getting himself into?
"So Ash has manipulated Aura before? Then why didn't he know that he'd used it to protect himself?" Cynthia asked curiously.
"hmm… well aside from that time and when he was able to communicate with Riolu, Ash has never really used aura. Even in those times he didn't use it much or know how to use it. When he was trying to save Mew and the Tree of Life he was using Sir Aaron's gloves which help control aura so I don't think he knows that he can use it to that extent" Brock theorized.
Paul agreed with him. It was definitely plausible although he was still having a hard time believing Ash could use such an awesome power. Dawn too looked shocked at learning Ash had encountered this before.
"Ok I think that will do then" Lance muttered. He looked at them seriously, grabbing their attention.
"Do not speak a word of this to anyone especially not to Ash" he said sternly.
"But why?" asked Dawn "shouldn't we at least tell Ash? And what about the council? Don't they need to know too?"
Paul was wondering that himself and listened intently for the champions answer.
"Ash is in serious danger because of this incident. Aura is an ancient power that was believed to be extinct and if people find out he has this power, they'll want it for themselves which means trouble for Ash. Furthermore some of the council members haven't ruled out that Ash could have lent a hand in the attack on the league" Lance explained.
"That's ridiculous! Ash would never help Team Rocket or Team Galactic! He was trying to stop them anyone could see that!" Dawn argued angrily. Brock also voiced his protests at this.
"Yes we know" Cynthia held up a hand to settle the younger trainers. "But not all of the council members see eye to eye".
"What's important is keeping this quiet. It'd be better for Ash to remain unaware of the situation as well. It will only cause him stress and he still needs to heal besides an emotional upset could cause his aura powers to awaken again" Lance spoke seriously.
"Alright so we don't tell anyone what we know. What are we supposed to say when people ask then?" Paul asked, finally rejoining the conversation.
"Follow Ash's story and say there was an explosion and you didn't see anything else" Lance replied. "and another thing, the council is placing Ash under League protection which means he won't be able to leave for a while. This should also be kept from him. He shouldn't know that he is under protection or he'll start to ask why he needs to be"
"So you're not going to let him leave? What about his pokémon journey?" Dawn asked.
"It's best that Ash stay here where we can watch him" said Lance.
"Ash isn't going to like that" Brock said, crossing his arms in disapproval.
Lance sighed "we know. But there's nothing else we can do. You'll all have to stay as well."
"Wait what?" Paul suddenly shot up from his seat. "You're telling me I have to stay here as well? Why? For how long? That loser's the one in protective custody not me why should I have to stay and have my every move watched too?" He demanded.
"You all have to stay here because if people want Ash they'll want you too" Lance shot back, voice raised. "You will stay for as long as I say you will. We're done here." Lance turned his seat so he was now facing away from them. Paul wanted to continue to argue but Cynthia shot him a warning look.
Paul growled under his breath, this wasn't a fight he could win. He slammed open the door and stormed off down the hall while Brock and Dawn walked slowly behind him.
– Ash's POV –
Ash was glad to finally escape the gaze of the council members. He hadn't realized how complicated the league hierarchy was. He just sort of figured they organized the Indigo and Silver conference every year and that was it. Although he supposed it made sense that they'd be in charge of other matters. After all Lance solved that problem with the Red Garyados and they had the G-men too.
He'd been in the middle of telling his mom and Gary about the pokémon he'd seen and captured in Sinnoh when Cynthia knocked on the door and called for Paul, Brock and Dawn. His body tensed when they were leaving the room and Brock shot him once last worried look. Ash didn't like that they weren't questioned together. It was weird that they got to be there for his interrogation but he couldn't be there for theirs. He was in the middle of wondering what kind of questions they could be asking when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"You alright Ash?" Gary asked, concern on his face.
"yeah I'm fine" he said and then took a deep breath to relax himself.
Gary studied him for a moment apparently not satisfied with his answer so Ash pulled his face into a grin in an attempt to reassure his childhood friend.
"How 'bout it Gary should we have a battle for old times sake?" Ash challenged hoping to distract the brunette.
Gary narrowed his eyes but smiled "I'm always up for an easy win Ashy boy" he taunted.
Ok that got on Ash's nerve "Oh yeah? We'll see about that right Pikachu?" he held up his fist and turned to his trusty partner.
"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed in agreement.
"Oh no, no battles for you young man you need your rest!" Delia grabbed her son by the ear.
"But mom!" Ash protested. He hated when she did that.
"No buts! You're nowhere near fully recovered and you need to sleep!" She said sternly.
"But I'm not even tired!" Ash insisted. That wasn't true. Actually he was exhausted. After he'd woken up in hospital he was put on a long boat ride, then a plane and immediately brought to the Indigo Plateau where he still hadn't had a chance to rest. Plus that battle with Cynthia really took it out of him. He probably could have slept on the boat, he had a room with a bed after all, but sleeping wasn't really appealing after learning he'd been in a coma for three days straight.
"Your mom's right Ash" Gary sighed, also disappointed but taking it much more maturely. "You should rest. We already arranged to stay the night since it's already so late and you're not all that fit to journey back to Pallet Town"
"We're staying? Can't they take us back in a helicopter?" Ash asked, disappointment slowly filling him more and more.
"They're not a taxi service Ash we have to walk back" Gary sighed once more.
Great. First night back in Kanto and he wasn't even going to be sleeping in his own bed.
"It's only for one night Ash, it could be fun! Let's go find our rooms ok?" Delia said gently, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Ok" Ash gave up. "C'mon Pikachu"
Pikachu jumped up from his perch on one of the chairs and climbed onto Ash's shoulder. He then followed Gary and his mom to a service desk they had passed earlier. Gary walked up to the desk and the woman sitting behind it looked up from her computer. "Hi I'm Gary Oak and this is Delia and Ash Ketchum, we were wondering where we will be staying? Cynthia told us there were rooms organized for us" he asked politely.
"No trouble Mr. Oak I'll just look that up for you" the lady smiled and clicked away at her computer. Ash tried to stifle his giggles at Gary being called Mr. Oak but he must have heard him because Gary stomped on his foot without even turning around.
"Ahh here it is!" she woman turned to them again with her 'I'm happy to serve you!' smile plastered on her face. She pointed to her left "go straight down that hallway until you reach the elevator. Your rooms are on level 10. Mr. Oak and Mr. Ketchum you're together in room 1001 along with a Mr. Brock Harrison and Paul Shinji. Mrs. Ketchum your room is next door in room 1002 and you'll be sharing with a Miss Dawn Berlitz" she instructed and held out a couple room keys.
"Great thanks" Gary grabbed the keys and flashed her his trademark winning smile which made the girl blush. Ash rolled his eyes, Gary could be such a flirt.
Gary handed him one of the keys "You can go to the room, I'll wait for the others to come back"
"I think I'll wait too Professor Oak hasn't come back yet either" Delia chimed in.
"What? How come I'm the only one who has to go to bed?" Ash whined.
"Because we've both gotten a full nights rest and haven't been in hospital recently" Gary retorted and started walking back the way he came.
"Sorry honey but we'll all be back as soon as the others are finished" his mother promised and gave him a kiss on the forehead before walking after Gary.
Ash sighed. Usually he'd argue more about this sort of thing but he really was feeling tired. "Ok Pikachu looks like it's just you and me"
"Pikachu"
Ash walked down the hall to the elevator and pressed the button labeled 'floor 10'. The elevator shot up making his stomach drop. The doors dinged and opened revealing a fancy corridor with beautiful dark wooden doors with gold numbers lining up each side. "This place looks more like a five-star hotel than a League building" Ash commented in awe and Pikachu nodded in agreement.
Their room was the first on their left and Ash excitedly opened the door. The room was a moderate size, furnished with four poster beds, two desks each with a set of drawers, and a large red armchair in the corner. There was another door in the room which Ash guessed led to the bathroom. He could use a shower but now that he had seen that comfy looking bed his fatigue seemed to increase.
Ash chose the farthest bed on the left and lay down not bothering to change his clothes. He flung his bag on top of the desk and kicked off his shoes. He took off his hat and jacket and put them on top of the desk too. Pikachu curled up at the end of the bed and Ash lay for a moment thinking about the meeting with Lance and the pokémon council.
He didn't like the way they looked at him. Like he was… different. Especially that old man who yelled. He once really admired Lance and aspired to be as strong a trainer as he was but this whole situation made Ash's head spin. Was Lance on his side or not? Ash decided trying to figure everything out now would just give him an even worse headache so he closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.
Begin dream sequence
Ash found himself on a battle field facing Paul and his Electivire. Huh? Where am I? He wondered. Oh yeah the Sinnoh League! I'm gonna win it for sure! Pikachu ran onto the field and Ash called out attack after attack, enjoying the thrill of battle.
Suddenly everything went dark. He couldn't see anything. "Pikachu?" Ash called with no response in return. His lungs began to burn and he clutched at his throat. Then a man appeared in the darkness.
"Fine. Then we'll make an example out of you" a voice rang out so loudly that Ash covered his ears in pain.
What's happening? Where am I? Ash was panicking. This scene felt familiar and he was frightened.
"Who are you?!" He cried out to the man standing before him.
"Salamance Hyper Beam!" The voice ordered.
A huge beam of orange light lit up the darkness. Ash screamed.
– Pikachu's POV –
Pikachu decided to wait until Ash had fallen asleep before it tried to rest itself. It didn't take long before Ash's breathing evened out, clearly tired after the day's events. Ash's mouth was open and his breath came out in little puffs. Satisfied that his trainer was now resting peacefully Pikachu closed its eyes, also keen to get some sleep.
Pikachu was only asleep for a few minutes when it started. Ash was fidgeting in his sleep and the movement woke it up quickly. It was immediately on alert. Ash kept twitching, his eyebrows knitted together and his lips pulled into a frown. Was he having a nightmare? Ash started groaning and his movements got more aggressive. Pikachu jumped off the bed and onto the desk before Ash could kick its face.
"Ughhhh" Ash moaned. His face contorted in what looked like a mix of pain and fear.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu tried waking up its trainer but its cries were drowned out by Ash's groaning.
Ash's teeth were now clenched and his fists balled up as he cried out. Pikachu was just about ready to wake him up with a light thundershock when a blue pulse travelled down Ash's body.
"Pika?" Pikachu twitched its ears in confusion. Another blue pulse occurred and Ash twitched again in response. Everything was still for a moment and Pikachu lowered its ears thinking that perhaps it was over now but then a particularly large one formed which made Ash groan louder. It was hurting him.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried out again in concern. It couldn't use a thundershock to wake him now. It would only hurt him further. Ash was thrashing in his bed now and yelling in pain. He was covered in sweat and the blue pulses were now being accompanied by strange blue sparks which became larger and more frequent.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu gasped. It had to get help. Pikachu bolted to the door and broke it down with a quick attack and ran to the elevator. It would take too long to get to the tenth floor and then back down to the first. Pikachu spied a sign that pointed to a set of stairs and went in that direction instead. Using agility Pikachu sped down the stairs faster than the elevator ever could.
It ran past the service desk, the woman calling out a "Hey!" in annoyance but Pikachu ignored her heading straight to the waiting room where the others would be.
Pikachu burst into the room where Ash's mom and Gary were supposed to be and was surprised to find the others had finally returned but Delia was nowhere in sight.
"Pikachu! I thought you were going to sleep with Ash? Are you looking for Delia? Gramps finished up his meeting too and they both went to get something for everyone to eat. Is Ash too hungry to sleep or something?" Gary reached down to pet the electric pokémon behind the ears but Pikachu backed away. "Pikachu what's wrong?" he asked confused.
"Pikachu Pikapi pika chu chu pi pika!" it cried out in a panic trying to convey its message. The trainers all looked at each other in confusion but Brock suddenly looked up in understanding.
"Is something wrong with Ash?" he demanded.
"Pi! Pika chu pi pikapi chu chu chu!" Pikachu immediately took off down the hall and the others followed behind it.
Pikachu led them to the elevator, knowing they wouldn't be able to keep up on the stairs. Gary pushed the button for the tenth floor and they waited impatiently for the elevator to rise.
– Gary's POV –
"C'mon hurry up!" Gary shouted slamming his fist on the buttons. He should never had left Ash alone. What had happened? Was he attacked by Team Rocket? There weren't any alarms going off. Maybe it was the council? Were they going to arrest him after all?
The elevator finally reached their destination and Pikachu was the first to get off, Gary at its heels. They could hear Ash already. Pikachu ran into their room though the broken door and up to Ash's side. Gary followed in after it, glancing wearily at the broken remains of the door and freezing at the sight of Ash. He heard the others gasp behind him.
"Ash!" three different voices cried out at once and they ran to his side. Only Paul stayed behind in the doorway, looking at the scene with a grim expression.
"Oh Ash wake up!" Dawn cried trying to take one of his hands but it was wrenched out of her grasp when Ash had another fit of trashing.
"Move over" Brock pushed the others out the way so he could examine Ash.
"What's happening to him?" Dawn asked tearfully.
"I think he's having a nightmare but I don't know what the blue stuff is" Gary responded trying to help Brock hold Ash down. He cried out in pain and retracted his hands when he touched the blue sparks.
"Pikachu pika pi!" Pikachu growled from his spot on the table.
"Don't touch him" Brock ordered holding up one hand.
"It must be Ash's aura" he murmured.
"Aura?" Gary asked "what do you mean his aura?" Gary demanded. He knew little about aura. Being a researcher specializing in ancient pokémon he'd come across the term before but didn't know all that much about it. He knew Riolu and Lucario used aura to communicate and create aura spheres but beyond that he was lost.
"No time to explain now just help me out!" Brock shouted and held Ash down again as he started thrashing around again. Gary immediately rushed to his side and grabbed Ash's legs, ignoring the pain that shot up his arms every time that weird blue light pulsated down Ash's body.
Slowly Ash stopped flailing his arms and legs. His moans had now turned into whimpers. The blue sparks began to recede and he had curled into a feeble position.
"Ok I think he's calming down now" Brock panted, wiping sweat from his brow and releasing his hold on Ash. Gary did the same and for a moment the room was silent. Pikachu cautiously moved from the table onto the bed and sniffed his trainer.
"Pika" it sighed and curled up against Ash's side, relieved it was over now.
"What the heck just happened?" Gary asked bewildered.
Brock and Dawn avoided his gaze while Gary turned from one to the other demanding an explanation.
"We might as well tell him" Paul spoke from the doorway, grabbing everyone's attention. "He's seen it so there's no point hiding it now"
"Tell me what? What happened to Ash?" Gary got up from the floor and stalked over to Paul and gave him his best glare.
"It's a long story" Paul replied not backing down.
"Then you'd better get started" Gary snapped.
Ok how was that? Did you guys like Pikachu's perspective? I know some of you wanted a battle this chapter and to find out more about Team Rocket and the Council's plans but it'll all be in the next chapter which hopefully won't take long to get up! Also how long do you prefer the chapters? And please don't think I'm hating on Paul here cuz of his attitude, I love Paul! Thank you for all your reviews! I tried to answer as many as I could bar the ones that don't allowing private messaging. Please remember to review!