A/N: My apologies for the long wait, everyone. I have been quite busy with personal life. Plus, I have recently also been having complications with my Internet connection, so that further hindered my progress with this chapter. But finally, my dad fixed the connection, and I had enough time to work on this chapter!
ENJOY!
P.S.: I must warn you that updates will get a bit more sporadic, since I am being more devoted towards working on "Separation" as well as my "Legend of the Aura", whose preview you guys saw in Chapter 24. Plus, I've got a couple of English projects to work on at school as well as driving lessons. So, please forgive me if the wait for Chapter 27 is longer than this one. I'm gonna be very, very, VERY busy for the next couple of weeks.
Ketchum City
Ash, Nate, Hugh, Yancy, Lucario, and the other Pokémon continued running down the walkway, not noticing that more Cryogonal were following them.
"What do we do once we get to Ho-Oh?" Hugh asked. "How are we supposed to bring it back to full health?"
"Well, we don't have a Rainbow Wing, one of only two methods of reviving Ho-Oh," replied Ash. "Which leaves..."
Nate's eyes widened in shock and apprehension, for he knew exactly what Ash was thinking. His worst fears were confirmed the moment he noticed the glint of sadness in Pikachu's eyes as the Mouse Pokémon continued to sit on Ash's shoulder attentively. The only other way to revive Ho-Oh was to offer the Aura force of a person completely capable of harnessing its power...at the cost of his or her life. To think that things might come down to this...
"You...can't possibly by serious..." Nate said as he glanced at Ash, his voice barely audible. "Are you?..."
Before Ash could respond, Lucario suddenly stopped, gasping in shock. Nate looked at the Aura Pokémon in confusion.
"Lucario, what's wrong?" he asked.
"There are more Cryogonal behind us..." Lucario replied gravely. In a panic, everyone began looking around at both directions of the walkway as well as up at the rooftops, expecting swarms of Kyurem's Cryogonal to suddenly appear and overwhelm them in any second.
Finally, after a couple of minutes, Hugh growled in frustration and twirled around, as did his Pokémon. A determined glint flashed across his eye for a second.
"Oh, I've had ENOUGH of this!" he exclaimed. "These Cryogonal have gotten on my nerves for long enough! You guys go on ahead! I'll hold 'em off from here!"
"Hugh!" Nate cried in protest, but Hugh glared at him, a smile etched on his face.
"You keep going, Nate. This is your destiny, not mine. Go, go, GO! GO!"
At that moment, a gargantuan swarm of Cryogonal appeared on the walkway, heading towards Hugh. However, the blue-haired Trainer pointed at the swarm.
"GO GET 'EM, GUYS!" he screamed. All of his Pokémon roared in response before firing a variety of attacks at the Cryogonal swarm, successfully repelling them as Hugh looked back at the others again. "I SAID GO!" Hugh then flashed another smile at Nate, but the other Trainer noticed that it was one of sadness. "Nate, you do me a favor. In case I don't get out of this alive and you do, tell Carrie that I love her so much and I'm sorry I never got to see her become a Trainer."
"Hugh..." whispered Nate.
"GO!"
Nate prepared to protest again when he felt someone grab his arm. He looked over his shoulder and saw that it was Ash, who was smiling at him.
"He'll be alright," he said. "Leave him. We have to be somewhere."
Knowing that it was no use to argue for any longer, Nate took one last look at Hugh before following Ash, Lucario, and Yancy down the walkway. Hugh watched them as they all rounded a corner and vanished out of sight: first Lucario, in the lead as he used his Aura-sensing ability to detect Ho-Oh; then Yancy; then Ash; and finally, Nate, his best and longest friend...his brother... He began to remember all of the times he spent with him during their childhood...
"Hi! Do you wanna play with me?!"
"Sure! What's your name?"
"My name's Hugh! What's your name?"
"My name's Nate!"
The Trainer smiled, knowing that he had faith in Nate, before glaring back at the Cryogonal, who were now battling his Pokémon.
"GO, EVERYONE!" he roared. "FOR HO-OH AND THE FUTURE OF THIS WORLD!"
The Cryogonal began to close in as Hugh's Pokémon continued to attack...
"You think Hugh will be okay?" Nate yelled as he continued running alongside the others.
"He's a strong and determined fighter," Lucario replied. "He'll be okay. For now, let's have our focus solely on Ho-Oh. We cannot afford distractions."
"Are we getting closer, Lucario?" asked Ash.
"Yes, we're getting close... His Aura's faint, but he is close by. But we must be quick!"
The group entered another walkway and began running up a set of concrete stairs as fast as they could. However, before they can complete their trek up, the four stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing the walkway ahead: it was filling up with more Cryogonal that headed towards them. Bolts of electricity sparked out of Pikachu's red cheeks while Nate's Pokémon readied themselves for battle and Lucario formed an Aura Sphere between its paws.
"More Cryogonal coming..." moaned Nate. He then looked at Lucario. "Is there another way to Ho-Oh, Lucario?"
"Yes," Lucario replied, gesturing to another set of stairs wedged between two nearby buildings, "but you must be quick, Nate. Cryogonal could fill up that passage any moment now." The Aura Pokémon promptly fired the Aura Sphere at the Cryogonal, briefly repelling the newest swarm. He then glanced at Ash, Nate, and Yancy, nodding unflinchingly. "You all go on ahead. I shall hold them off from here for as long as I can."
"WHAT?!" Nate exclaimed. "NO! Not you too, Lucario! No, we need you to track down Ho-Oh for us!"
However, Lucario shook his head. "You do not need me to track down Ho-Oh for you, Nate. You can do that yourself."
"Wha-" However, Nate stopped short, realizing that he possessed Aura-wielding abilities. And yet...he never used them to track down someone...
"All you need to do is focus on your one goal."
Nate glanced over his shoulder and saw Ash looking back at him. He was smiling slightly as he closed his eyes.
"Remember what I taught you, Nate," he said. "The only thing you have to do to master the Aura is to focus on one particular goal. And you know what that is."
Knowing fully what his father meant by that, Nate nodded and closed his eyes, allowing the whole of his focus to shift on finding Ho-Oh.
Within minutes, the entire world reappeared through the darkness, only everything was outlined by a light-blue aura. Nate looked around, stunned by the fact that he could perfectly see everything despite having his eyes closed. Then, he instinctively looked ahead of the staircase Lucario pointed out to him. A distance away, he was able to sense a large yet increasingly-faint mass that was Ho-Oh, surrounded by the Genesect Army...
He looked over his shoulder and saw Ash, Yancy, and his Pokémon staring back at him, the former's eyes now wide open. They too were outlined in light-blue.
"Let's go, Nate," Ash said, nodding.
Nate nodded, took one last look at Lucario, who nodded approvingly as well, and then dashed up the stairs, feeling Ash, Yancy, and his Pokémon following him.
"We're coming for you, Ho-Oh," Nate thought. "Just hang in there for a little longer..."
Elsewhere...
"Come on, we've gotta find Nate!" Hilda exclaimed as she, Rosa, and Kelly led the group as they all rushed into Ketchum City, passing all of the destruction that laid waste to all of the buildings and stands. "Rosa, please tell me you can still sense Nate somewhere in the city..."
"He's still there somewhere..." Rosa said as she squinted her eyes, as if attempting to adjust her ability. "But...he's moving quickly..."
Gary stared towards the horizon intently. "He's heading for Ho-Oh..." he said conclusively.
Nate, Ash, Yancy, and Nate's Pokémon continued running down the walkway, with the former two sensing more Cryogonal closing in. However, Nate wasn't all that deterred by the presence of Crystallizing Pokémon; all he was focused on was Ho-Oh. Getting to him was his only priority-
"NATE!"
Nate suddenly opened his eyes, cutting off his connection with the Aura, and twirled around. To his horror, he saw Yancy sprawled on the walkway yards away, scarlet blood streaked across her elbow and leg, a tinge of blood pooling on her lip, her foot looking rather loose, and she was crying softly. He noticed a block of concrete that was sticking up on the walkway, inches away from Yancy's loose foot. Nate gasped as he felt the Cryogonal closing in. His Pokémon all sprung into action, firing numerous attacks in an attempt to ward off the Cryogonal, but they were all repelling the attacks with Light Screen.
"YANCY!" he screamed, just as the swarm of Crystallizing Pokémon indeed appeared.
Yancy looked over her legs, seeing the Cryogonal as well, and then looked at Nate. She shook her head, sensing what the Trainer was thinking.
"DON'T COME BACK FOR ME!" she screamed over the roars of the Cryogonal. "GET TO HO-OH!"
"YANCY-" Nate began, preparing to run towards her, but Ash abruptly grabbed his arm.
"NO, NATE!" he screamed. "IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT NOW! WE HAVE TO KEEP MOVING!"
"BUT-"
"NOW!"
"GO, NATE!" Nate glanced back at Yancy, who had an arm stretched out towards him. "GO!"
Nate could do nothing else but start sprinting away and look behind him, watching as the Cryogonal closed in on Yancy, despite the best efforts of his Pokémon to hold them back, and buried her underneath the gargantuan mass of the swarm. He closed his eyes the moment he saw that terrifying sight; he struggled to hold back the pain and anguish of potentially losing her. Then, Nate tried to refocus on Ho-Oh, but it didn't take long for his efforts came to naught.
What if... What if Yancy didn't make it?... If she didn't, then...it was all his fault... He let her come along...
"It's not your fault, Nate," Ash's voice said, a little distantly, even though he was still holding his arm, a foot away from him...
Nate only nodded subtly as he continued running with his father, allowing Ash to continue tracking down Ho-Oh.
After running for several more minutes on the walkway, Ash, Nate, and the Pokémon turned a corner and immediately spotted more Cryogonal headed towards them. Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and promptly fired a Thunderbolt attack at the Cryogonal, driving the Crystallizing Pokémon back and allowing Ash and Nate to take cover behind a nearby wrecked food stand while Nate's Pokémon joined Pikachu in repelling the Cryogonal swarm in a battle.
"There is no other way to Ho-Oh," Ash commented, letting out a frustrated sigh. Then, he peeked through a hole that was left in the stand's frame so he could observe the Cryogonal. "This is the only walkway that leads over to him..." He glanced at Nate, who was still staring at the concrete absentmindedly. "N-Nate?"
"She's...She's gone..." the Trainer moaned.
Ash closed his eyes, knowing what Nate was feeling. Then, he replied, "She might be gone, Nate-"
"You saw what happened back there!" Nate cried.
"Nate, in all of my experience, I have learned that you cannot judge a book by its cover. Remember when I told Felix that I thought he was dead? I really did. I saw him fall off a cliff after being thrown backward from an explosion during a battle with Hilda and Hilbert. I seriously thought he was dead. That is, until I saw him attacking you and your friend with his Sky Soldiers. I've learned that when you're a Ketchum, surprises are around every corner when the moment is right."
Nate looked at Ash, his eyes shimmering. "But what if Yancy actually died, then?" he asked. "It's my fault if she did! I let her come with us! I didn't tell her to get to safety! I didn't protest when she went along with us! I just...I just LET her come with us! I didn't say a word-"
"If Yancy did die, then..." Ash hesitated. "Well...I honestly can't help you there, Nate. But I've had the same experience as you did, dozens, hundreds...millions of times before. I've seen too many people die because of me. You only saw one, but I probably sound insensitive at this point." He scoffed at himself and slightly shrugged. "I mean, I can only hope you cope with your experiences better than I did. But..." He smiled slightly. "-I have faith and confidence in that."
"But...Yancy-"
"I don't know how Yancy is so special to you, and we obviously don't have time to talk about what between you and her," interrupted Ash, "but one thing is for sure, Nate: she wouldn't want you to beat yourself because of her. She left the Sky Soldiers because she understood what you were standing for. She knew all of the risks that posed with trying to control the natural processes of life. She would want to continue moving forward with what we're doing."
Nate looked back down at the ground, sighing sadly. "I guess so..." He sighed again, more longingly this time. "I...I guess...I know...how you felt now..."
Ash's eyes widened. "Oh no, Nate! If you think what you are feeling right now is exactly how I felt, then you've obviously underestimated everything that's ever happened to me ten years ago! I've seen more than just one person I care about so much die in front of me, just because of whatever decisions I've made."
"Nevertheless...I know now..." The Trainer closed his eyes, small droplets of tears flying in the air. "I now know why you were what you were all of those years ago..." He opened his eyes again and looked back at Ash, tears still dripping down his cheeks. "I...I underestimated everything... I've relied too much on those old storybooks of mine..." A hollow echo of a laugh escaped Nate's mouth as he looked back down at the ground once again. "This is not a fairy-tale..."
"It's reality," completed Ash, looking down at the ground with an emotionless expression on his face.
"You cannot possibly believe everything around you has the makings of perfection, Ash Ketchum. It's reality, not a fairy-tale..."
Ash clenched his fist as he continued, "I learned that the hard way as well, Nate." He looked back at his son. "But just because this is reality does not mean we must lose faith in it. You've never lost faith in what you believed in, and that determination, so much like me, and yet in the face of reality, is what inspired me to come back, to return. And now, I'm gonna do exactly what you told me to do. Go with the flow. Never worry about what's ahead, or what's behind us.
"And this time, I'M NOT GONNA FAIL TO DO THAT!"
His outline now enveloped in light-blue, and his pupils glowing yellowish-gold, Ash stood up from the wreckage and began firing Aura Spheres at the Cryogonal, aiding Pikachu and Nate's Pokémon in driving the swarm back. Nate watched as the Crystallizing Pokémon all began to retreat.
"COME ON, IS THAT ALL YA GOT?!" Ash roared as he continued firing Aura Spheres.
A Shiny Cryogonal suddenly appeared from the gradually retreating swarm and began firing Ice Beams at Ash and the Pokémon. Nate gasped the moment one Ice Beam hit his Gigalith, despite its best efforts to dodge the attack; the Compressed Pokémon was encased in a thick sheet of ice within seconds.
"You will NOT interfere with our master's goal!" the Shiny Cryogonal shouted, using telepathy for communication.
Pignite attempting to use a Fire-type attack to melt the ice imprisoning Gigalith, but the Shiny Cryogonal quickly cut its attempt off with a powerful Blizzard that also overwhelmed Ash, Pikachu, and all of Nate's other Pokémon, with the sole exception of his Cryogonal, which responded with another Blizzard. However, its Blizzard proved to be no match for that fired from its Shiny counterpart, and Cryogonal was flown backward, being struck incessantly by patches of snow.
Least affected by the Blizzard, Pignite fired a Flamethrower at the Shiny Cryogonal, which it dodged, but in the process, it stopped its Blizzard.
"PIKACHU, USE THUNDERBOLT!" Ash commanded, pointing at the Shiny Cryogonal.
"PIKA-CHUUUUU!"
However, the Shiny Cryogonal used Light Screen, which deflected Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Nate's Cryogonal, recovering from the Blizzard, then fired an Ice Beam at its opponent. Immediately, the Shiny Cryogonal counteracted it with its own Ice Beam, which caused a small explosion of ice shards.
"Foolish weaklings!" the Shiny Cryogonal exclaimed before firing another Ice Beam at Nate's Cryogonal, hitting and briefly immobilizing it. "You will surrender the Pixie Plate to our master in due time! I recommend you do so immediately to spare yourselves of a painful downfall!"
"NEVER!" Ash shouted.
"PIKACHU!" added Pikachu aggressively.
"As you wish, fools," snarled the Shiny Cryogonal as it prepared to fire an Ice Beam.
An Aura Sphere suddenly appeared out of nowhere, hitting the Shiny Cryogonal and interrupting its attack.
"WHAT?!"
Ash, Pikachu, and the other Pokémon watched as Nate leaped into the air from the stand and fired three Aura Spheres in quick succession. The Shiny Cryogonal tried to dodge all of them, but wound up being hit and wounded by all three. Nate and the Shiny Cryogonal landed on the concrete walkway at the same time.
"I've had enough of your constant interference," Nate snarled angrily at the fallen Cryogonal. "We have a world to save, and if you continue to try and stop us, then everything you know will fall, and you shall die." He then looked up at the rooftops of the buildings surrounding the walkway, which were all filled up with multiple Cryogonal, all seemingly in shock at the downfall of their leader. "And that goes for ALL of you. Tell your selfish master that!"
The Shiny Cryogonal suddenly flew into the air and tried to freeze Nate with an Ice Beam, but the Trainer merely stretched out an arm, an Aura Sphere in place.
"Don't you dare," he continued. "I can hit you with Aura Spheres for all day if I have to, I know I can defeat you easily. But if you continue this, heed my words! Ho-Oh is dying, and because of your attempts to stop us, to serve your master, it WILL die, and the world WILL fall. Do you wish to come along with it?!"
"But...we must serve our master..." the Shiny Cryogonal replied, its Ice Beam disappearing. "He desires the Pixie Plate-"
"For what? To ensure that he has the upper hand against an emerging type that is stronger than it? Does he prefer THAT over the end of everything we know?" Nate's eyes narrowed menacingly. "How could you all live with yourselves, serving someone who has such terrible preferences?!"
"He is the strongest Dragon of them all..."
"There comes a time in your life, in ANYONE'S lives, that there will always be someone better than you, and you must deal with it. What else can you do?"
The Cryogonal all remained silent, especially the Shiny one.
Just then, before Nate could speak again, everything suddenly became colored a scarlet hue: a beam of white-hot flames was being fired into the sky. As it did, Nate suddenly felt a stab of pain at the back of his head, and in the background, he could hear a screech of pain and agony... He instantly knew...
"DAD!" he cried, looking at Ash.
"I felt it too, Nate!" Ash exclaimed. He then glared at the Shiny Cryogonal. "If you wanna experience the end of the world, then good for you! It shall happen in just a few minutes! But if not, then I recommend you all step aside and pray to Arceus that we succeed in stopping this impending calamity!"
The Cryogonal fearfully looked from the beam of flames to Nate. Before the Shiny Cryogonal could get a chance to speak, the same pained screech, no longer in Nate and Ash's heads, erupted into the atmosphere. It was so loud that Nate and Ash both screamed and covered their ears, the other Pokémon flinched, and any windows that remained intact shattered suddenly, spraying everyone with a gleaming rain of glass shards.
"ARGH, I CAN'T HEAR!" screamed Nate over the screech.
"SO LOUD!" Ash roared.
"WHAT IS THAT NOISE?!" screamed Hugh as he covered his ears, alongside his Pokémon and the Cryogonal he was battling.
Lucario roared, collapsed to the ground, and crouched over as he covered his ears. The Cryogonal were also flinching and collapsing to the ground.
Rosa, Hilda, Kelly, and the others were all yelling out in pain as the screech assaulted their eardrums.
Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem were all roaring out in pain as the screech reached their area.
All of the Pokémon belonging to Ash's community all wailed and cried out in pain as some flinched and collapsed. The only one who was unaffected by the loud screech was none other than Felix, who was cackling sadistically and triumphantly over the high volume.
"THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA IS FINALLY UPON US, AT LONG LAST!" he roared.
Temporary cell #002318
The holding cell of Wayne Ketchum
The Silver Town prison
Wayne could hear the screech from the confines of his prison cell. Sitting up on his bed, he glanced longingly out of the window.
"Looks like things are about to come into full circle..." he whispered. Then, he grinned slightly. "This should be very interesting..."
Ketchum City
The screech finally stopped, and Ash and Nate stood up, watching as the beam of flames slowly dissipated. Nate glanced at the Shiny Cryogonal.
"What do you say about THAT, huh?" he demanded. "Are you gonna let this happen? Are you still gonna follow your master like this?"
The Shiny Cryogonal's body seemed to bow in shame. "And to think," it replied, "our master had full confidence that this would be...inconsequential."
"Well, does it look inconsequential to you, Cryogonal?" Nate's eyes softened. "Let us go, please. Once we're done...we'll give the Pixie Plate to Kyurem."
Ash's eyes widened in surprise. He didn't expect Nate to make such an offer, especially since he still needed the Pixie Plate for protection from Arceus. However, knowing that they had to be quick if they were to reach Ho-Oh, he decided to play along with his son in order to allow themselves to progress. Sighing, he then nodded in agreement. The swarm of Cryogonal, including their leader, all hovered in the air, emotionless, but evidently considering the offer.
Finally, the Shiny Cryogonal hovered closer to Nate, its eyes flashing menacingly.
"You will live up to your word?" it asked.
"Without a doubt," Nate replied. Ash nodded subtly in agreement.
The Shiny Cryogonal glanced at its cohorts, then at Nate. It replied, "Go. Find him."
A/N: Yeah, here's the newest chapter! I really didn't like writing this one, but hopefully this did some justice for you all. Next comes the ultimate showdown of showdowns, where Nate and Ash finally come to Ho-Oh's rescue! Whatever will happen in that chapter? Stay tuned!
I'd like to thank those who reviewed:
Legionary Prime: You'll find out who the traitor is, and yes, Rosa is Lyra's daughter, and therefore, Nate's cousin. Shocking, huh?
Fireminer: Quite a philosophical evaluation you've got there. :)
Alpha B. A. 7: Yeah, not as soon as you'd hope. But rest assured, I will not forget about the story until I finally finish it (and it's not far off from that)!
Anthony627AA: Yep, not as soon. But hopefully you enjoyed it all the same!
woodland59: Here it is! :D
JZuCuadra: Yes, yes it will be... ;D
random girlz: Well, congratulations! You hit the 200-reviewer mark correctly! :D
BlueLightningXD: I'll see what I can do. I tend to focus too much on details and not sounds, a total pet peeve of mine.
eracman920: ...I don't see how Ash's height has anything to do with the story...
Well, hope you enjoyed this late chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!