Chapter 36 – The Guard Angel
"Where am I?" he asked
He opened his eyes and realized he was standing, he looked around but didn't recognize that place, in fact he didn't remember anything since he opened his eyes, it wasn't even a place at all, it was a bunch of white all over it, there were no furniture or people, no buildings nor signs to give him a clue of what was that place. He tried to force his brain to remember what had happened previously that moment… but nothing came to his mind, actually now that he stopped to think, he didn't even know who he was, his name or where he came from. It was like he had just born at that very place, wearing those very white clothes. He started walking, trying to reach somewhere, he walked and walked but nothing changed, he kept walking for almost an hour but still, no life ahead
"Where is this place?" he asked
"Hello Ash" said a voice behind him
He turned around and finally saw someone… a man, he was wearing the same kind of clothes of his, he was tall, had brown hair and blue eyes, he should be around thirty, was thin and somehow that person reminded him of someone… it was like they had already met before
"Who are you?" he asked "Where is this place?"
"Well… you died" he answered
"What?" he asked
"That's what you heard. You have just died" the man said
"I don't remember dying" he said
"That's normal. At this very moment your soul along with your memories are leaving your body back on earth and coming here" he said "As time goes by you'll star remember everything"
He looked at the man and then to the floor… was he really dead? And if he was… why did he die?
"What is this place?" he asked "Is it heaven?"
"No. This is the transfer area" he answered
"The… transfer area?" he asked
"That's right… when you die you come here to wait until your soul leaves completely your body"
"Why?" he asked
"Well… to be true, you are not officially dead until all your soul leaves your body" he answered
"Poison…" he said
"Excuse me?"
"I was poisoned" he said
"Exactly… you are starting to remember" he said
"I was trying to do something…. The world… I was trying to save the world"
"Actually Ash… you did save the world" he answered
"Ash… that's my name" he said "Ash Ketchum"
"Very good"
Who are you anyway?" Ash asked "You look familiar… have we met before?"
"I guess so… I'm your guard angel" he said
Ash looked at him surprised, his guard angel? Maybe that's why he seemed so familiar to him
"I'm here to guide you to your place" said the angel
"And what place is it?" Ash asked
"It's not decided yet" he answered "But since you saved the world… many times actually, I can assure you you'll have a good place in here"
Ash looked at the floor once more and then rose up his head to look to the sky, it was also white, and he couldn't help but let a tear roll down his face
"Are you sad for being here?" the angel asked
"It's just that I feel like… I left many things undone" Ash said
"Well… dying as young as you are… it's not a surprise" he answered
"I'm starting to remember things from my life…" Ash said
"What things?" he asked
"Places, faces, moments" he answered "It's all mixed up… why?"
"You are remembering the only things that mattered in your life" the angel said "Tell me about them"
"I remember a woman waving goodbye to me…. She seemed both sad and happy for some reason" Ash said "I thinks it's my mother… yes… it is my mother"
"What's her name?" he asked
"Delia… Delia Ketchum" he said crying "And she's alone now"
"Death does not come without pain" he said "Even if this pain does not affect you"
"There is another woman… she has red hair and she is yelling at me" Ash said "Maybe she is my sister… No… I do not have a sister, she is a friend… Misty is her name"
"Tell me more about her"
"She is nice, a good person and one of my best friends" Ash said "She tried hard to teach me all about life…like a sister should do"
"She seems nice" he said
"There's also a man, tall and calm, and just like Misty, he seems to be like a brother to me" Ash said "Brock… I remember now. Boy how womanizer he was"
Ash started laughing as he remember his first journey companions
"You seem to have at least two good friends" said the angel
"There are more" Ash said "I remember another one, his name is Tracey, and he likes to draw. There is another one… that I remember from early in my life… my first rival Gary, and his grandfather… Professor Oak, one of my mentors"
"What else?" he asked "What else do you remember?"
"My goal… I wanted to be a… Pokémon Master… That's right… I live in a Pokémon world, I have many of them… and one of them is my best friend… Pikachu"
"Your best friend is a Pokémon?" he asked
"Of course… he understands me better than anybody; he's been there for me since our first day together, since the beginning of our journey through the regions, we share the same goals"
Ash felt a press in his heart, what made him put his hand in his chest, more tears came out of his eyes, he looked at his guard angel and noticed that he was smiling
"What's happening with me?" Ash asked
"Not only your memories, but your feelings are coming back to you as your soul leaves your body back on earth" said the angel "And what you are feeling now is the feeling of missing your friends and family"
Ash then started to remember everything, since Pallet Town until Kalos, his other friends like Max, Iris, Cilan, Bonnie, Clemont and many others that somehow were part of his life just like places and moments like all his gym battle, leagues and even his training with his master Lance. All that he narrated to his angel guard who patiently seemed to enjoy every minute of it
"You seem to have lived a wonderful life Ash" he said
"There are three other people" Ash said ignoring his angel "Three girls that have completely changed my life forever"
"Who? Were they also your friends?"
"Yes… but they are different" said Ash
"How different?"
"All of them shared the same feeling for me" Ash said "They loved me and somehow I loved them all"
"Love? You mean like girlfriends?"
"That's right" he answered "I admit that I always found them very attractive… and I fell for all three. May was one of them, I met her in Hoenn and I was kind of his teacher. I taught her all about Pokémon… she was beautiful and I would be lying if I say that I never pictured us together"
"Why didn't you stay together?"
"Life separated us. She went one way and I went another one… she never thought about me as nothing more than a friend back when we were travelling together, so I decided to forget this feeling and move on with my life" said Ash
"What happened next?" asked the Angel
"I met Dawn" Ash said "A coordinator with the most beautiful hair I've ever seen. She conquered my heart with her smile and that stubborn way that reminded me of myself. I thought we would end up together but…"
"But?"
"She also left. And I don't blame her… she received a very good offer about her Buneary and I would never ask her to miss this chance because of my crush on her… I didn't even know if she felt the same about me but… if she did at that time… maybe things would have finished differently" Ash said
"I see" he said "You said there were three girls… who is the third one?"
Ash looked at him and smiled like he was enjoying remembering her
"Serena" he said "She changed everything"
"How so?"
"I found May attractive; I had a crush on Dawn… But I loved Serena for the first moment I saw her… and I'm not talking about when we met in Santalune city… I loved her since we met in Pallet Town when we were young. I just hid this feeling deep inside until I realized what it was… but the true is that I love Serena. We never argued, we always stayed by each other's side no matter what. We got happy together, we got sad together… we were made for each other… and…."
"And what Ash?" he asked
"And I miss her" Ash said crying "More than anything else… I miss her"
The angel moved closer to Ash, staying just a few steps to him
"It's never easy to lose someone dear to you" he said "And I assure you that she is suffering as much as you are right now"
"This is not fair" Ash said "She fought by my side all that long… she waited for me for years… she risked her life and now… when we were finally going to stay together… this happens"
"What does she mean to you?"
"Everything" Ash answered "Maybe if I had realized before… I wouldn't have gone training with Lance"
"Why not?"
"I went to train with Lance because I was feeling incomplete…I had just lost another league, coming so close that time, I thought that there was something missing in my life, something that was avoiding me to fulfill my dreams. But in the end… it wasn't something, it was someone… and it wasn't missing… it was there all the time. It was Serena. And because of me… we will never be together again"
"But you should" the Angel said "Would you like to?"
"To what?"
"To be with her again?" he asked "I can do it"
"What?" Ash asked
"I'll be true to you Ash; I wasn't supposed to be here. You were supposed to wait here until you get judged and be placed in the afterworld" he said
"Are you allowed to do such thing?" Ash asked
"No. I'll probably get punished, I may even lose the right to be you guard angel after this but… as your guard angel…I must care for you and now the right thing to do is to send you back. You do not belong here… at least not now" he said
Ash looked at him and finally realized who he was
"I knew I knew you" Ash said "How could I forgot?"
"It's okay Ash. You had no reason to remember me at first" he said smiling "How was your mother?"
"She misses you dad" Ash said "Just like I do"
"Look at you… You are no longer that little boy I left in Pallet Town years ago" he said "You're a man now and… I'm so proud of you"
Ash hugged his father and cried on his shoulder, he had so few memories of him that he couldn't remember a happier one than being with him that moment
"I'm sorry I went away" he said "I regret until today leaving you and your mother. If I hadn't gone away… I wouldn't have gone for real"
"You were following your dream; just like I followed mine" said Ash "I don't blame you"
"But you can trust me that I love you and your mother… I love you two very much" he said
They remained for almost five minutes in that position, just hugging and not talking, just feeling each other's warmth and love
"Now… it's time for you to go back" he said
"Can you really do that?" Ash asked
"As I said… you are not officially dead until all your soul leaves your body completely" he said "And at this very moment you are at the Elite Four's Hospital trying to be… resuscitated by doctors. I'm just going to give your heart a little help"
Ash's father than stepped back and touched Ash's chest with his both hands
"Goodbye my son" he said
"Goodbye… dad"
Ash then felt a strong shock in his chest, and all the white vision turned into a black one, he soon realized his eyes were closed however, he continued to feel the shocks until he managed to open his eyes, being hardy able to breath he saw someone who looked like a doctor, he did not know where he was and his mind was all confused, but he could hear voices
"He's breathing" someone said
"His vital signs returned" another person said
"He's alive" he heard a third person saying
And then he slowly closed his eyes again, but this time to only sleep
Ash woke up lying on a bed, he rolled his eyes through the place and noticed it was a hospital room, he tried to move but realized there were many electrodes attached to his body, it was the same room he woke up last time when Serena, May and Dawn rescued him from Pluma Island
"Hello" he said "Is someone here?"
"Ash… you're up" said a voice
Ash looked to his left hoping that voice to be Serena's but it turned out to be May's
"May… you're here" he said smiling
"Of course I am" she answered "Neither of us left you side since we arrive here"
"We?" Ash asked
"Yes. Me, Serena and Dawn" May said "We take shifts since the hospital just allow one person inside the room"
"Serena is not here?" Ash asked
"Well… actually she wanted to be here full time, but we made her understand that we are also your friends… so she kindly accepted to share the time" May said
"I see" where is she now? Is she okay? How did you manage to leave Mt. Silver" Ash asked
"Too many questions Ash" said May smiling "I'll explain everything. After we left the Temple of Dragons, you passed out, we thought you had died because Lance couldn't feel your pulsation, but it turned out to be only a "side effect" of the poison. So after that we four carried you down Mt. Silver…"
"You carried me?" Ash asked interrupting May
"That's right" said another voice from behind them "And it wasn't easy"
"Dawn" said Ash turning to the door where the blunette was standing with his best friend Pikachu on her head
"Hey buddy" said Ash as Pikachu jumped to Dawn's head to his Master arms "How are you?"
Pikachu smiled and answered with his traditional words "Pikachu" showing he was very good
"Hey sleeping boy" said Dawn "How are you feeling?"
"A little dizzy" he answered
"That's because you were more drugged than a Rapidash in treatment" Dawn said
Ash laughed at Dawn's commentary, he loved her sense of humor
"You two seem very happy for being around someone who almost died" Ash said
"Don't take us wrongly Ash" said May "We only got calmed when doctors said your life were no longer in danger"
"Yeah" said Dawn "You should've seen the three of us when we arrived here four days ago"
"Four days?" Ash asked
"That's right… you've been sleeping for almost four days now" Dawn said
"So…" Ash started a little embarrassed "Where is Serena?"
"You really want to see her don't you?" asked May
"Well… I…" Ash started but soon noticed that May and Dawn were both laughing at him
"Why are you two laughing?" Ash asked still blushing
"It's okay Ash" said May "We already know"
"Know what?" asked Ash
"About your little confession to Serena" said Dawn
"She told you?" asked Ash
"Not exactly" said May
"What do you mean?" he asked
The two of them looked at each other and blushed in embarrassment
"Well… do you remember that we saw you and Serena falling down between the second and first temple?" asked May
"Yes" Ash answered
"Well… as you know we decided to go after you two when that happened, that's actually how we managed to save you two from falling into the ends of the temple" said May
"Yes… you're welcome by the way" said Dawn smiling
"Anyway… at the middle of the way we saw you two… kissing" said May a little sad
"So you asked Serena about it?" asked Ash
"Asking is not how I would say it" said May
"We kind of obligated her to tell the true otherwise we would beat the hell out of her" said Dawn
"What?" asked Ash surprised
"But of course we were kidding" said Dawn
"I wasn't" whispered May
"Anyway" said Dawn "We know you have made your choice so…."
"We're fine with that" completed May
Ash smiled at them, he knew there was a "competition" going on between May, Dawn and Serena, but since his priorities at that moment were completely different, he decided to not give that too much attention. But in the end he was kind of happy to have three beautiful women fighting over him, it made him feel somehow special
"Thank you two and… I'm sorry" said Ash "We're still friends?"
"Of course we are" said May "You still are the most important person to us"
"So… as your now officially friends only… We'll support you with your choice" said Dawn "Even though it's not the correct one"
"What?" asked Ash
"Just kidding" Dawn said smiling
"Thanks again May, Dawn… you are still my best friends and you are very important to me" Ash said
May and Dawn hugged Ash and kissed his forehead, they were smiling to him, but the true was that their hearts were still healing from being broken, although they liked Serena… They couldn't help feeling sad and defeated by her
"Well... we'll go and find Serena for you" said Dawn
"Yeah… you two probably have many things to talk about" said May
May and Dawn took Pikachu from Ash's arms and left the room to look for Serena, while they were away, Ash thought about everything that happened the last days, he could consider himself lucky to have survived all that and now he was going to rest until he decided to restart from where he stopped when he left to train with Lance
"Hello Ash" said a voice interrupting his thoughts
Ash looked to the door and standing there the one that changed his life forever, the woman he most loved in the world
"Serena" he said
All right guys… I know that I said that this was going to be the last chapter, but it got longer than I expected, so I decided to write another chapter that will end this story once for all (LOL). So do not miss the last chapter, on 05/21/16.
See you!