Okay, so I'm back. So glad that this arc is coming to an end. I really want to move on, and I look forward to advancing onto some new chapters.

Sorry it's been a while, but I can say that I have some prewritten chapters so chapters "SHOULD" be coming along. Not "WILL" "SHOULD."Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for the support and reviews. Let it commence.

Chapter 12: A Coming Storm

Ash was gasping for breath, coughing away the smoke and dust that was floating in the train cabin. He couldn't see, and his eyes only saw a flurry of lights. He squinted as his vision slowly returned. A room. No, a cabin. A train cabin. He was in the train, a very damaged and very beat up train. The glass viewports were shattered and the walls were covered with dents and cracks. He felt a sudden tingling sensation. It hurt. Glass shards were on the ground. Slowly, he lifted his body upwards and away from the floor. He tried to stay calm as he saw small slashes on his scarred fingers and palms. Even in his disoriented state, he felt each shard as he pulled the glass fragments from his skin and flicked them to the ground. The train was on the ground, this thought came to mind. The train was no longer airborne. What happened?

He looked to his left to see Dawn starting to wake. He didn't want her to be hurt, his stomach felt sick at the mere thought. He crouched on his legs, thankful that the glass didn't pierce through his shoes, or any of his clothes for that matter. He checked for injuries where he could. He had a bruise on his left arm, and he felt more exhausted than someone who just a marathon, but otherwise he seemed unharmed. His neck hurt a bit though and he felt a little stiff. His bones didn't seem broken, to his relief. How, he wouldn't know.

Wait a minute, I was using aura, he realized. Yeah. Aura. The train was crashing.

Images flashed back.

"Come on, Ash, you're almost there." Dawn shouted over a terrible screeching noise. Glass had shattered in all directions and they shut their eyes to avoid the shrapnel. The train had crashed down. Somehow, the train had freed itself from the Magnet Rise.

"I can't hold it much longer." He said in protest.

"ASH LOOK AHEAD!"

He remembered a cliff. The train had been sliding towards it. Sudden adrenaline came to his body as he became very fearful very fast. He needed to do something, now!

He screamed. "THE AURA IS WITH ME!" Blue light was expelled from his body. Stop! Stop! Stop! The screeching got worse and louder. Stay focused. Stay focused! He knew that the aura was controlling, but he felt the urge to give to nobody. He would be the aura's master, and he felt power rush through his body as if he was being zapped with thunder. It almost hurt, even when he knew that the aura was yielding to him and giving him the power he needed to do what was necessary The power to fight the train in it's wild crash. Ash could barely contain the aura within him. The screeching intensified. He thought of his friends. He wished he could have said goodbye to them all, or at least even Dawn, but he couldn't react in time. There was a sudden stop and jolt. He remembered flying forwards, thinking about his first day as a Pokemon trainer, and then, nothing.

He shook himself from his memories. A noise had made him snap back into the present. Dawn was groaning as she herself started to regain consciousness. He rushed to intervene.

"Easy, Dawn." He said with concern. "Everything's all right."

She moved to rub her eyes but Ash caught the hand. Last thing he needed was scratching her eyes due to glass shards on her skin. Holding her again was exhilarating. He felt a surge of energy fill his empty and drained body. As if his very life-force was rejuvenated. He kissed her hand, softly drawing in the warmth it provided, like a river filling a dry stream.

"Is it over?" she asked almost drearily.

"Yeah." Ash answered simply. "We did it after all."

She stood on almost wobbly legs and pulled her arms around Ash to support himself. They smiled as the dust settled around them. There was triumph for what felt like the first time in weeks. The fire had passed them over.

"You know, you still manage to bring some joy to these eyes. I thought I'd seen everything, legendaries battling for control of the world, my own Pokemon dying before my eyes, my friends leaving to go on new journeys, yet somehow I find myself surprised."

"And why is that?" she said with a teasing grin, her strength being followed by her charming wit.

"You still look beautiful." Ash grinned.

"I'm thankful, Ash Ketchum." Dawn replied as their faces connected. They kissed, lips locking around each other, soft hairs brushing against delicate skin, and comforting arms embracing one another. They wanted the moment to continue. No worries. No discontent. No surprises. No battles.

No Pikachu!

Ash broke off from the kiss, turning his head in multiple directions. He called his name. No response. Fear fell back onto his shoulders, full force. His heart was hammering as he crawled his way out of the window, barely registering Dawn's calling voice behind him. However, what he did registered sounded less like "Ash" and more like "Piplup."

The sudden outcry of "Pika, Pikachu," was the only thing that managed to pull him out of his senses. This didn't calm him enough, since he had no idea where the sound came from, but at least it assured him that Pikachu was still alive.

"Hey, Pikachu? Where are you?" Ash called.

"Piplup?" Dawn followed. "Piplup?"

A high pitched cry from a mouse coming from the train caught their attention. They followed the noise and proceeded towards the cliff. Ash got a bad feeling as they approached, which was both refuted and supported by what he saw. A penguin swinging off the tail of a mouse who was clutching to safety bar of the front locomotive.

"Uh, Piplup, maybe you shouldn't be swinging on Pikachu." Dawn said cautiously.

"Hold on, guys." Ash said. "I'm coming." Ash carefully ducked his body under the flipped locomotive towards the dangling Pokemon. He made sure not slip on the metal beam so that he would reach the Pokemon safely. Such a situation was almost normal, and he was unnaturally at ease. Years of dealing with villains and adversaries had done that to him.

"Ash, wouldn't it be better to use Staravia?" Dawn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"But don't you want your daring hero to be impressive?" Ash teased back, walking forward on the small chrome beam.

"I just don't...I don't want anyone else getting hurt today." she said somewhat sadly. Ash lowered his head in acknowledgment. So much had happened in one day, some good, but not all. He released Staravia and had his bird Pokemon carry Piplup to safety. He outstretched his hand and Pikachu, now free to climb up the train, crawled up his arm. Pikachu gave a cheerful cry of relief and Ash couldn't help but smile back. He traversed back to the cliff, not wanting to remind himself of the dangers he and his friends faced.

"Do you think it might be over?" Dawn asked at last as Piplup and Pikachu played just a few meters away, far from the cliff.

Ash wanted to say that it was, that there wouldn't be anymore problems from here. Once, he might have been naive enough to believe such a statement. However, he couldn't say such a thing without lying to himself. He was about to say, "I don't know, Dawn," but he stopped himself. He didn't want to sound so uncertain, especially when he knew that it was very likely that danger continued to await him.

"Whatever happens," he said with a frown, "We'll be together. We're in this together. You, me, Pikachu, Brock, and..."

Where's Shaymin?

He voiced this question to Dawn and she pointed to the back of the train. She also seemed to accept the answer he gave earlier. She squeezed his hand for reassurance, which was quickly squeezed back. Then Ash proceeded to walk towards the back of the train. What he saw was both expected and shocking.

The train could hardly be called that anyone. It resembled a wrecked plane that had been destroyed by a storm's violent winds, or a house that had been blazed by a terrible fire. The walls were crumbled and reshaped into bent plates of steel, the windows were shattered into irregular fragments. Signs of battle were still visible, and the hole in the roof was now the primary door to the interior. However, all of this was unable to capture Ash's interest. All around, people were being escorted into ambulances, some had casts on their limbs. Many were babbling senselessly to a health official while some were just staring into the ground solemnly. Ash feared the worst. He half expected someone to say something to him, yell even. Instead, he just got cold stares from some and depressed gazes from others. This stung greater than any insult could have. He almost felt ashamed.

"Hey, Ash." said a voice at last. Brock's voice. Ash spun around and faced both him and Looker. They both looked rather uninjured.

"Guys," Ash asked nervously, not willing to waste time, "How bad is it?"

Looker cleared his throat. "Nobody was killed today." This made Ash feel instantly better and he felt a huge weight leave his shoulders. He didn't know if he could forgive himself if something happened to these people. "However, some have broken bones, one has a concussion, and a fair amount of people were knocked unconscious."

"Well, I know how that feels." Ash said back. "Me and Dawn are okay," he quickly added so as not to cause unnecessary worry. He'd seen too much of that for one day.

"People are being evacuated to hospitals. You helped save these people, Ash." Looker said with a grin.

"But, but-"

"He's right Ash. We saved all these people. It could have been a lot worse." Brock added. "We might not even be here if it we failed."

Ash knew he was right. He looked back at the passengers and felt a wave of uncertainty return again, yet when he looked back at Looker he saw confidence and faith in those eyes. "I wish they would see it that way."

"Fear is a powerful force. It can make you brave or it can make you the opposite. One day, they will realize how indebted they are to you. I feel the same way as you sometimes, but you know how I move past it." Ash shook his head and waited. "True strength is gained by facing hardship."

Those words had so much power that it was nearly overwhelming. Looker seemed so wise at this moment. Ash almost wished he was his mentor, he certainly could have used one.

"I'm going to continue to talk to the authorities about Zero. A manhunt is soon to begin if we put everything in order. He'll be brought to justice."

Ash nodded. Perhaps Zero would no longer be a threat after all. It would have been a relief to think this. Maybe it really was over.

He knew it wasn't. He almost chided himself for even attempting to give in to such an idea. As an old saying went, the battle may have been over, but the war was still being waged. Zero was still at large. Perhaps put under pressure, but still very much a danger. He saw no reason to voice this, as he was pretty sure they were thinking similar thoughts. Instead, he asked a new question.

"Hey, have you seen Shaymin?" Ash asked. He felt some guilt for how he acted earlier and worried if he too was feeling regret for what happened. He needed to do what his friends had done for him. He needed to ease the guilt. Ease the pain of regret with the promise of hope.

"He flew off towards the trees." Brock said, pointing to a hill with a single tree overseeing a river. "I thought maybe you should talk to him."

"Okay," Ash said, "You sure you guys will be okay?"

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Brock said.

Ash nodded before leaving the train and the wreckage that surrounded it. He hoped that Shaymin would be in a mood to talk. Then again, after all that has happened, perhaps it would be best to give the Pokemon some space. The thought almost had him pause in his search before he considered that even a legendary Pokemon might need company. With what might be a coming storm up ahead, it was important to be ready. Words of comfort might be needed now more than ever. He secretly hoped he was wrong.

The forest hillside was emanating with peace; peace that was so conflicting with what had happened; so conflicting from the turmoil inside. Such words came to mind as Shaymin rested on a lonely tree branch that jutted out from the truck of a single elder tree, a branch that found itself leaning towards the sky; away from the ground that sought to pull it to ruin. He should have been happy, and part of him felt inclined to be such. Instead, he felt as if he was on the edge of falling like a broken branch. His spirit felt as if it would crash to the ground so suddenly and that he would be too slow to stop himself.

This thought conflicted him however. He won, didn't he? They won. They stopped stopped the train...They foiled Zero's plot and defeated the Magnemite. They rescued passengers from them.

They rescued them from Shaymin.

He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts from his mind. No, you can't blame yourself. A voice that couldn't be carried off by the winds of suppression growled and rose. The voice told him that he was lucky. Lucky that nothing happened. Unlike at the station. Those who were scorched by Giratina in the chaos he caused. The chaos that nearly caused Dawn's-

"No!" Shaymin exclaimed internally. "No, stop it! This isn't helping and you know it. You can't blame yourself." He forced these thoughts to fill his mind. The wind became a hurricane and the thoughts of worry were forced away. With it he forced away the desire. The desire for things to be put right. The desire for the past to change. The need to feel peaceful. The need to be free of consequence.

He resigned himself to thinking of nothing. Just staring into the distance. A distance that carried a small stream that followed trees that rustled leaves towards a larger river which rode through forests of greenery. He found himself put into a peaceful trance. Just as the sky gave him freedom, the ground promised security. Just as the winds carried his spirits, the Earth fueled his energy. He distantly heard the sounds of steps coming behind him, and he didn't bother to look back. He knew who it was.

"I had a feeling you'd hang out in a place like this." Ash spoke with a grin of satisfaction. "I guess you Grass types are all alike."

"Well when you live in trees and foliage your whole life, I guess you no longer notice."

"Well in that case I suppose I never imagine what life without Pokemon battles would be like." Ash teased. They shared a laugh together before Shaymin touched down next to the trainer. They were silent as they caught their breaths, trying to contemplate who would be the first to break the silence. Shaymin wondered if Ash enjoyed the feeling. He seemed to be one who lived a life of constant action. Shaymin by contrast, normally had a rather routine existence. To him peace and quiet sometimes was almost as expected as the rising of the sun. What was peace to Ash Ketchum? A moment of relief? A pause in excitement? A chance to catch one's breath just in time to need another?

The words of the human pulled him into focus. Simple words that carried clarity. "We did it Shaymin."

"I almost don't believe it." Shaymin replied. "It seemed so slow and yet so fast."

"Well, hopefully, we won't be seeing Zero again." Ash attempted. At this they both frowned at the idea. Pleasant in appearance but too good to be true. Shaymin did his best to ignore this feeling and simply took the statement for what it was. He was moving forward.

"Hey, sorry for snapping at you earlier." Ash spoke. "I was out of line."

"Hmnf, I'm pretty sure I can say the same thing." Shaymin managed. "But I forgive you, just in case."

"Likewise." Ash grinned.

"Do you think it's over?" Shaymin asked without pause. He couldn't help but ask. He needed to hear some confirmation from someone else if he was going to believe such an idea. He wanted to hear the words, everything is going to be alright. He needed to hear that.

Instead, Ash said. "I hope so."

Shaymin looked to the ground in resignation. So much for wishful thinking, he thought.

"But I do know this." Ash said suddenly. "Whatever happens, we're all in the same boat. We're in this together."

This uplifted Shaymin higher than any promise could. He believed this without hesitation and it felt good. Ash smiled too and they watched each other for some time before Ash rose again. Shaymin was about to join him when a new thought came to mind. One that filled him with confusion and sadness. Ash paused and immediately his smile turned into a look of worry.

"We're not going are we." Shaymin said. "I guess I'm on my own."

"What?" Ash asked. "What do you-"

"The flower garden." Shaymin said. "I guess we won't get there after all. I mean, the train is wrecked, I have no idea where we are, and you guys have helped me far too much already. I guess it's all up to me."

"Woah woah, wait a minute here!" Ash said defensively. "I've been in situations much more challenging than this. Getting you to one patch of flowers isn't battling an army of Deoxys, and you forgave me remember? We're not done until we're done."

"But Ash, we don't even know how to get there. I was navigating by memory when I first encountered you guys." Shaymin protested, flying to Ash's eye level. "From here getting there could take days, or even weeks. By then the other Shaymin will have probably left without me."

"Shaymin do you want to travel the dark and spooky woods by yourself?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow. "You seem to want to. I mean forests tend to have giant birds, and those birds would love to eat some flying salad bar if they thought you tasted-"

"Okay, never mind, you can come."

They left the lonely tree and back towards the busy scene that they would rather leave than go back to. Shaymin's eyes stared ahead with grim determination. The quest wasn't lost yet. Ash still wanted to help him, and Shaymin wasn't going to try to convince him otherwise now. Instead, he decided to accept it and hope for the best. He would be the stream that merged into the river that entered the woods. He hoped he was ready for the threshold crossing. He could only wonder what would happen as far off, in the great distance, far from his vision or anyone else' for that matter, a certain river flashed purple with distortion for a few moments before the ripples faded into silence with the reflection of the passing of a dragon's tail.

There, done. Added a little AshxDawn for anyone who wanted it and some character building. Get ready to say goodbye to Looker. I hope he was okay to add for this story. Major stuff is on the horizon. Hope to see you soon, and remember, review and PM me whenever. Until then, sayonara.