A/N: As a huge thank you to everyone who read this, and an apology for missing my deadline I set in chapter 3. Thank you so much, it puts a smile on my face to see so many people read this. Please leave a review to let me know what you like and what I can improve on. Sqcircles out!


Jay was floating. He could feel himself suspended in the air. He opened his eyes, expecting bright lights or an angry Rocket. What he saw took him by surprise. He was floating in a vast empty space. Swirling purple smoke clouds and dark shadows obscured almost everything. In front of him was an unmoving black figure. It seemed to be made of shadows, swirling and raging against their confinement.

A thousand voices spoke at once, grating and screeching in his ears. "We have watched, and we have waited. This one has a part to play in the war to come. You will come with us." It reached forward, tugging Jay and propelling him forwards. "We cannot interfere with the living world without upsetting the balance. You must take our place." They were floating through one of the clouds of smoke.

Jay opened his mouth to talk, but no words came out. The shadows turned, floating backwards in front of him.

"Calm little one, you are not dead. Your voice is silenced here in the land of those who have passed. It is for your protection. There are others who would harm you if they knew you were here."

Jay noticed that he wasn't actually hearing the voices. They were being spoken in his head. He wondered for a moment if he was losing his mind before the shadow answered him.

"You are not insane, although that is a possibility that we have considered. We are the souls of those who have given themselves for others. You almost became one of us. We will not allow this to happen yet. You are our last hope to stop the war to come."

"What about my friends?" Thought Jay. "They are good and honest people. They would help you."

"But would they ever believe you? We do not have the strength to bring them here. We could only choose one. You are the one who proved yourself worthy. They have destinies, they have power. You are the forgotten son of a farmer, important to only those close to you. You have both the most important and least important role to play." A thousand voices clamoured to be heard in Jay's head. He wasn't sure how much longer he would last.

"What is my part to play?" He asked.

The shadow leaned in close. The voices in Jay's head dimmed to a whisper. "You must give them direction." It laughed, a terrible sound that Jay would remember for the rest of his life. "A glimpse of the future to guide the hero on his way."

Images flashed through his head. First of a massive snow capped mountain range, then an abyss that stretched as far as he could see. The last image burned into his mind's eye. Ash was above him, laying over the edge of a cliff. A massive pokemon that Jay didn't recognize was bellowing at them. His arms were stretched out, hands locked with Ash's. His growlithe looked abnormally large and was breathing a full stream of fire at the pokemon.

A man Jay didn't recognize was leaning against a rock, blood dripping out of his armour and onto the rock. In front of him was an onix and a pair of staryu with their central jewels smashed and dark.

"What is this? What are you showing me?" He asked.

"The choice you must make." The shadow moved, frantically. "It is time for you to leave. Forces far greater than us have been alerted to your presence. You will not return to this place until your role has been fulfilled. Farewell Jason."

He shuddered as the shadow used his full name. He blinked once and the dark world was gone, replaced by a harsh florescent light.

His left side erupted in pain. He could barely think as he screamed in pain. He heard voices shouting and could tell there was a commotion around him. A flash of short red hair and screeching told him Misty was in the room. He didn't feel the needle in his arm, only the deadening of his senses and an urge to sleep.


Jay opened his eyes, again seeing the harsh light. It wasn't blurry this time though, and the noise seemed so much clearer. He sat up, sending pains through his whole left side. Ash was passed out in a chair, pikachu dozing on his lap. He looked down at his left arm and the cast on it.

"Hey…" His voice was weak, sounding more like a croak than a word. He cleared it and spoke again. "Hey Ash."

Ash didn't move, clearly deep asleep. Pikachu perked up at the sound of Jay's voice. He shook his master awake before jumping onto Jay's bed and curling up at his feet. From the sound of the frantic barking, growlithe was on the ground and attempting to jump up to the bed.

Ash quieted the growlithe before looking up at Jay. "You had us all worried there for a while. We didn't think you were ever going to wake up." He smiled, his grin reaching from ear to ear.

"How long was I out?" Jay asked, grimacing as he shifted weight off his left side.

"A month tomorrow. We were worried. Misty too if you can believe it." Ash said.

"I believe it." Jay answered. "I remember her being there when I woke up." Jay mumbled as he rubbed his temples.

Ash's face shifted into a more serious mask. "If you ever pull something like that again… I don't know what I'd do." Jay leant forwards to say something but Ash stopped him. "I'm serious Jay. You are my best friend. Just… Don't get yourself killed. It's boring as hell without you around." Ash finished, looking down at his feet.

"I'm in this for the long run. You don't have to worry about me running off." Jay said, trying to bring his friend's smile back.

"That's not what I'm worried about Jay. I'm worried about you biting off more than you can chew." Ash scolded. "If you had waited two minutes down in that cave, you would be fine right now. Instead, you decided you could take on the whole damn squad by yourself."

"I had to…" Jay started.

"No you didn't. That's the point. You shouldn't have tried to take them on by yourself. You ended up with three cracked ribs, dislocated shoulder, cracked skull, a severe concussion, and who knows how many bones broken in your arm." Ash sighed as he went over the damage to Jay's body. "The doctor said you might not ever use your left arm properly again. It's a fucking miracle that you're not quacking at me from all the brain damage the doctors found."

Jay winced at the last two. "I'm assuming that we made it into Pewter? I'm not chained to the bed right now, and my injuries have been tended to His attempt to change the subject was transparent, but it worked nonetheless.

"Yeah." As said, leaning back in his chair. "We're still under siege and supplies are dwindling, but it's mostly non essential supplies that we're running low on. Thank Mew that Lord Brock is a paranoid freak. He's got whole warehouses filled with supplies."

"Lord Brock? I thought we needed a Lord Flint?" Jay interrupted.

"Flint is Brock's father. Apparently he stepped down in favour of his son." His voice lowered and he leaned in. "I don't know what's going to happen. Brock left today with a force of trainers to clear the road to Cerulean. Misty and Gary went with him." Ash seemed worried by the news, shifting his view.

"Why didn't you go? It's your mission as much as anyone else's." Jay asked his friend, scratching his growlithe's head as it jumped onto the bed. "You didn't need to stay here on my watch. As nice as it is, you're needed somewhere else."

"They already had about ten trainers and about twenty of the Takeshi soldiers. They'll be fine. Apparently there's less than fifty of the Rockets guarding the road. Should be an easy battle." He said.

"Are you trying to reassure me or yourself?" Jay asked, noticing Ash's discomfort.

He frowned back. "Am I that obvious?" He got a nod from Jay as his answer. "I'm just worried. The last time we ran into Rockets you ended up in a month-long coma. I'd prefer that not happen again."

"I'm sure Gary is fine, Misty too . They're tough." Jay reassured, trying to comfort his friend. "You look exhausted Ash, did you even sleep while I was out?"

Ash looked embarrassed. He smiled sheepishly. "Maybe once or twice." He rubbed the back of his head. "Don't give me that look. I was worried."

Jay laughed. "Don't worry brother, I'm not going to hold it against you." Jay swung his legs off his bed, dangling them off the edge. "Now help me get up and get this damn cast off my arm."


Two days passed with noticeable improvement from Jay. He could walk without a crutch, and breathing didn't hurt quite as much as it did when he first woke up. The cast wouldn't be able to come off for another week and a half, and even then he'd have to be careful with that arm. His pokemon were fine though, that was one of Jay's comforts. His growlithe was growing quickly. Already it was a foot longer than it had been when they left Pallet Town. Jay couldn't help but notice that his pokemon was starting to look about the same size it had in his vision.

The two boys were standing side by side on the eastern gate. It had been too long since the lord of Pewter left with his force of soldiers. All the soldiers manning the walls were getting nervous, scared that their ruler was not going to be riding back. Ash and Jay shared their fears, more caring about Gary's safety than anything else.

The fears of the entire city were calmed by the cloud of smoke approaching the city. A huge onix was at the head of it. On the pokemon's back was the figure of a man, waving the Takeshi banner through the air. The dust was starting to clear, revealing a significantly smaller number of men returning with them.

"I don't see Gary… Or Misty for that matter." Ash was leaning over the edge of the wall, attempting to get a better view. "Please tell me they're ok." He muttered under his breath. "I fucking knew I should have gone with them."

Jay put his right hand on Ash's shoulder. "They're fine. It's just too far away for us to see them." His voice was calm, attempting to reassure Ash.

"How can you be sure of that though?" Ash said, still staring intently over the wall.

"I can just feel it Ash. They're fine. Tired, but fine. Stop worrying yourself." Jay neglected to mention the vision he had seen in the shadow world. He figured that Ash wouldn't believe him even if he did tell him.

"I see them!" Ash yelled, instantly perking up. "They're riding a ryhorn, on the left side." He was shouting, giddy with joy.

Jay craned his neck and strained his eyes. He could barely make out a pair of people riding on the back of a massive horned beast. One of them had Misty's bright orange hair shining in the sun. Jay leaned back, relieved. He hadn't actually seen Misty and Gary in his vision, but the shadow had referred to them.

He thought back to the shadow's vision. He still couldn't figure out what choice it had referred to. He had sat awake for hours at night thinking about it, but no matter what, he couldn't tell what his choice was. A tap on the shoulder by Ash drew him back to reality.

"I said, let's go wait at the gates for them." Ash said in a concerned tone. "Are you okay? You kinda spaced out there."

Jay shook his head. "I guess the concussion isn't completely gone." He started towards the stairs, motioning for Ash to follow. "Not gonna let a little headache slow me down."

Ash hesitated for a moment, looking like he wanted to say something. Then without arguing, he followed Jay down the staircase.


Lord Brock, as Jay soon found out, was viewed as a hero. To the population of Pewter City, he was the symbol of their resistance, their bloody icon. He could not and would not fall, no matter what. Soldiers were chanting his name and bashing their spears and swords against their shields. He took it all in stride, slipping down off his onix and returning it to its ball.

The man fit his reputation as a stubborn leader with the same amount of determination as a rock. He was tall, almost seven feet tall with a wide frame that rippled with muscles. The vest of combat armour and cargo pants served to give him an air of practicality. His dark brown hair was cut into a crew cut. Thick bushy eyebrows sat above eyes that were thin slits.

"Why are his eyes like that?" Jay had to shout for Ash to hear him over the crowd. He couldn't help but notice that Brock was the man leaning on the rock in the shadow's vision.

Ash looked puzzled for a second then laughed. "He spent so much time underground growing up that the sun hurts his eyes. He's gotta keep them almost shut or else he gets blinded." Ash smiled as he watched Gary and Misty dismount the ryhorn and walk over to them.

"It was a fucking ambush." Gary started. Upon seeing Ash's face turn to panic he corrected himself. "We won, but they caught most of Brock's soldiers in an ambush, some kind of poison gas. Thank mew that the trainers weren't marching in the same column as the soldiers."

"The ones with birds managed to get them out and blow the gas away before it could reach us." Misty said. Her eyes narrowed on Jay. "I need to talk to you when you've got a minute." She opened her mouth to continue, but the arrival of Brock silenced her.

"Well, look who's finally awake!" His voice was jovial, booming over the crowd.

"Welcome to Pewter my boy. I'd offer you a bed, but you've already got one." He smiled, seeming warm and welcoming. "I'd like to announce that the siege of Pewter is over. With their main camp destroyed and their agents driven back, we've won. I'll send out a few of my bannermen to clear out the remnants of the besieging army and restore contact with the rest of the world."

"Well he's happy." Jay whispered to Ash.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Brock boomed. "My city is safe. With Pewter secured, we can begin the next step." The man's grin didn't fade even a little bit.

Misty smiled, pleased with the progress. "Mount Moon." She said, drawing determined looks from Ash and Gary.

Jay swallowed, realizing what the shadow had shown him. He had seen Mount Moon, and then a cave. His choice was coming, too quickly for his own liking.

Brock strode off, the crowd parting before him. He motioned for them to follow him. "Come!" He called. "We'll discuss more in private."

The blood drained from his face and he froze on the spot. He realized what choice he would have to make. He felt a lump form in his throat. The shadow had shown him his own death. He had to choose to let go. He had to choose to sacrifice himself. He was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it.