..Only One..
Temporal Tower
…
Ash struggled to break free while the Dialga continued to ready its attack. The strange man had gone silent, seemingly welcoming death. Ash looked at the legendary Pokémon once more and wondered why it was taking so long to release the attack. Whatever the reason was, complaining was out of the question. He quickly assessed the situation and played a scenario in his head. He could stay there, take the attack, and see what would happen. He could also try to cut the ropes and escape. Of course, Ash preferred the latter option.
"There's only one problem." Ash thought to himself. "Do I also free that man?" Freeing him was possible, but it would also make their escape more difficult. The man would definitely be a liability, mainly because of the man's weakened physical state.
Ash looked at how he was tied up once again. Luckily, he could freely move his fingers. Those little movements can easily allow him to cut his ropes with his artificial arm. He pointed his index finger at the ropes and absorbed air from his wrist. He released a thin and sharp stream of air in hopes of cutting the ropes. Feeling the ropes getting loose, he did the same thing a few more times. He got himself out of the ropes to see the pack of Sableye taking cover. Instinctively, he dove and threw his body on the ground.
The sound of an explosion came thundering from behind him. He looked at the pole he was tied up at, and saw that the pole had been demolished by the attack the Dialga released. "Huh, that's some timing I've got." Ash said while getting back on his feet. He looked at the strange man and noticed his head was bleeding because of the fragments shot out from the explosion. He prepared his arm for another go.
"Alright, here goes!" he shouted. He released a burst of sharp air on the ropes, chipping it on various spots, enough to break it with his hand. Ash got the man out of the ropes and carried him over his shoulder, making a run for the gate. The pack of Sableye started to go after them.
"Tsch, this guy's heavy." Said Ash while struggling to keep his body balanced. He passed the gate without any resistance, however, the Sableye were determined to keep them at the tower. Ash noticed a couple of explosions coming from behind him. He looked back to see that the pack of Sableye started to shoot a barrage of Shadow Ball. Ash tried to run faster in order to dodge the attacks; however, he found it hard to do because of the extra weight he was carrying.
The amount of Shadow Ball decreased shortly after, and Ash decided to take another look back. He saw that the Sableye were running to take shelter. He saw a bright light coming from the direction of the Dialga. Quickly turning around, Ash saw the room he was held in. He made a dash for it and jumped in the room. The earth shook from the attack, causing debris to fall.
Ash looked around the room for his bag that he had to leave because of the Sableye. After finding it in the corner of the room, he looked outside to find the way to the Dialga was sealed by a landslide. "I guess I am very lucky." Ash commented upon seeing the blockade. "We should have more time to escape from this place now." He lifted and carried the man over his shoulder once more, heading out towards what seemed to be the way out. He walked for a while before reaching a dead end. It was an open space, looking out to the horizon. He looked down to see how high up he was located in the tower. "Damn, that's a long way down."
"Ugh.."
"Ah, you're awake. Good." Ash felt the man move. He rested him on the walls to let him recover.
"What.. happened?" the man groaned as he touched his head.
"Fragments from the explosion." Ash answered. "You got knocked out cold."
"That.. so? How did you get us out of there..?"
"I've got a couple tricks up my sleeve." Ash said while showing a grin. "But we're still not home free. Do you know the layout of this tower? Where's the way down?" Ash asked giving the man water from his pack.
The man drank the water and gave a big sigh. "The only way down.. was where the Dialga is.."
"Damn it! Now where are we supposed to go?" Ash said in frustration.
As if on cue, rumbling sounds were heard from where they came from. The Sableye were starting to blow the landslide apart to make their way to Ash and the injured man. He looked over the cliff again. "What's down there?"
"..Water. The water is as solid as a rock.. because of paralysis.. Why? You planning to jump down?"
"Yeah, something like that.. I guess. But, normally, from this height, it would be impossible." Ash said while trying to measure the height mentally. "From this height, we'd be dead the moment we touch the water. We'd reach the terminal velocity in a flash." He explained as he lifted the man on his shoulder again. "However, we just don't have the time."
"What.. in the world are you doing?" the man asked with a frightened look. "Surely you don't plan on jumping, knowing the risks?"
"Well, I still have a trick up my sleeve. Quite literally." Ash walked to the edge of the cliff. "And don't call me-"
"Shirley..? Yeah.. Haven't heard that one before."
"Here we go!" Ash shouted.
10:30 PM
International Police Headquarters
Missing Persons Division
"One more person to the list." An officer said while skimming over a report he just got from his co-worker. "We usually get little kids on the list, but a young man..?" He continued while scratching his head. "Now this is- Wait, do I smell alcohol?" he looked up to see a well-dressed man leaning on the wall drinking his infamous Camus. "Mr. Kozenikata, what are you doing here? Goofing off again?"
Kozenikata took a sip of his Camus. "It's my break time. And also, call me the Looker, boy. Have you forgotten my code name?" he asked.
"No, uh.. Looker, sir."
"What have you got there?" the Looker took the piece of paper from the officer. "Ah, what do we have here.."
"Uh, Mr. Kozenika-" the officer said before receiving a glare from the Looker. "I mean, the Looker, sir, I have to give that to the Missing Persons staffs."
"I'll hold on to this for a minute.. Run on along now, I'll give it to them later."
"O-Okay.. Well, have a good day then, sir." The officer went out of the Missing Persons office.
"Well, now, I guess I'd better get back.."
"Brother Kozenikata!" his assistant called him. "Where have you been? You have lots of work to do!"
"Ah, yes, yes. The work of a hard-boiled detective is never done.." The Looker mumbled as he made his way to his office. He opened the door to find an unusual object waiting on his desk.
"Brother!" His assistant shouted. "T-that's a time bomb! What do we do?"
The Looker gave a chuckle and looked at the bomb carefully. "Detectives are constantly living next to death. However, if you are "hard-boiled", such dangers are commonplace.."
"But, the time is already less than thirty sec-"
"C-c-c-calm, calm, calm your pants, idiot!"
"Brother, it's your hands that are trembling. And didn't you just pee in your pants?!" his assistant shouted in protest.
"Heh. It's not just that." The beeping was getting louder and louder, signalling the bomb's time was running out. "Even my chest hair is trembling!" The explosive's timer beeped even more rapidly.
"What does that have to do with the bomb?!"
The bomb popped, revealing a series of confetti. The Looker moved closer and took the letter that was placed below the confetti bomb. "What, it's only a letter from a friend."
"Brother." His assistant called him.
"Ha?"
"I think we may need to clean the floor.."
Dark Hills
…
"You feeling better?" Ash asked while doing daily maintenance on his arm.
The man was eating the food he had been given by Ash like an animal. "Yeah, feel like a new person already. Thanks a lot for the food. Man, I haven't eaten anything for days, these things taste amazing."
"No problem." Ash replied. "So where exactly are we?"
"This place," the man said while eating. "Is called Dark Hills." He continued. "Got its name from how it looks after the event."
"The event?"
"The moment the world was paralyzed." The man said while putting his bowl down, having finished his meal. "Aah, that's some good food."
"Wait a minute. The entire world is paralyzed?" Ash asked in confusion. "When did that happen?"
"Huh? You really don't know?" the man asked in surprise. "Where have you been the last ten years?"
"Ten.. years?"
"Yup."
"I.. don't get it. Before I came to this place, the world was still fine! The only place where time had been paralyzed was in Treeshroud forest!" Ash shouted in frustration. He grabbed his bag and took out the research papers he had been reading anytime something weird happened.
The man noticed the report and quickly snatched it from Ash to take a better look. "You.. where did you-" The man suddenly fell down.
"Hey! Hey! What happened!" Ash said while looking at the man who had unexpectedly gone out cold. "Shit.. he fainted." Ash went and looked in his bag to look for water. "And we're running out of water.. Damn. Where can I get some water? All the water we passed on the way here seemed to be frozen."
"I know a place.." the man said, struggling to sit down.
"Oh? You're up already?" Ash commented. "That was fast."
"It was just a Dimensional Scream, nothing serious."
"Dimensional Scream? I've heard that term before.."
"In any case," the man interrupted Ash's train of thought. "I understand what's going on now."
"What is it?"
The man got up and started to stretch. "This isn't really the place to talk. Follow me, I know a good spot."
The two gathered their belongings and started walking again.
"Are we there yet? We've been walking for two days now." Ash complained.
"Just a little more. We're almost out of the Dark Hills." The man answered. "My place isn't that far away from here."
Ash sighed. "If you say so.."
The past two days had not been very eventful. There was one instance where they were nearly compromised by the pack of Sableye chasing them, but thanks to the man's knowledge of the area and Ash's quick wit, they had evaded the pursuers. However, despite the fact that they had lost the pursuers, a new problem surfaced. The two were running out of rations. In a world where everything was frozen in place, there was little to none edible objects in their paths.
"We're here." The man claimed.
Ash looked up to find a place where there was color, a place where time had not been frozen. The grass was green, the sky was blue, and he could feel the wind blowing. "This is.."
"The only place where time hadn't been frozen. My place is over there, c'mon."
They entered a small shack in the middle of the open field. The man told Ash to sit down while he went to get some food and drinks. Not long after, the man returned with some.
"So, I guess it's about time I explain to you what is going on here." The man started.
"I guess it is." Ash replied.
"From the Dimensional Scream I had, I saw your past. From the papers I took. You were carrying it with you an awful lot, weren't you?" he asked.
Ash raised an eyebrow at his claim. "Yes, I did. And what do you mean my past?"
"The Dimensional Scream enables me to either look into the future of an object I touch, or the past. However, I can't really control it. It happens randomly, and I cannot choose whether I want to see the past or the future." The man explained.
"The past.. and the future.." Ash mumbled. "I've had something along the lines of a dizzy spell, followed by a vision. Could that be a Dimensional Scream too?"
"It might be, but as far as I know, I am the only one with this ability in this world. However, that brings me to my next point." The man paused.
"Which is..?"
The man took out a Pokedex from his pocket. "This." He opened the index page of the Pokedex and showed Ash the date. "This is the current time."
Ash's eyes widened in surprise. "No way.. This is six years in the future?"
"Yep. You're in the future, friend." The man continued. "That left me one question to ask. If you are, as you say, six years from the past, was it?"
"..Yeah."
"The fact that you were captured by Dusknoir and were brought here to be executed, that could only mean one thing. You were trying to gather the Time Gears." The man stated.
"Yes, yes I was." Ash answered.
"However, I find it a bit hard to believe that you claim to come from the world six years prior. The world ended ten years ago! Time suddenly froze at random places, so people went to investigate. They discovered the existence of Time Gears, and were trying to stop the world paralysis. But Dialga had already gone insane. He turned into a Primal Dialga, only interested in self-preservation. He captured all the people that were trying to stop him and executed them. That Dialga, and his minions, along with that bastard Dusknoir. Creepy Pokémon that's able to talk."
The man looked outside his window to look at the gray mountains. "It couldn't be helped, the rate of the paralysis was too fast.. In only a few weeks, the whole planet was paralyzed. Miraculously, I escaped the paralysis, somehow. I tried to return the planet to its former state for a long time.. Before I finally realized that the ten years I've spent were completely useless. Throughout those ten years I met some survivors, rounded them up, and tried to collect the Time Gears. When we've finally collected them all, we went to Temporal Tower to try and lift the paralysis, but it was useless. The Time Gears had lost their power, and my comrades died up there by the hands of the Primal Dialga."
Ash could only stay silent hearing what the man had to say about the current world.
"I managed to escape.. Just barely. At that moment, I realized that doing anything here, in the future, would be useless. So I looked towards the past." The man explained, now seated down at the table again. "I went back in time, ten years back. I found a man who was seemingly interested in gathering all the Time Gears with me. So I explained the situation.. Where I came from, the fate of the future.. Everything."
Ash gulped upon hearing this. "Was that man Cyrus?"
"Indeed it was." The man said while lightly tapping the table in frustration. "I needed help to get the Time Gears, and he was the only man I could think of who was crazy enough to believe in the nonsense I was spouting. I may have had a conflict with him in the past, but thankfully, he didn't recognize me. Using an alias, I was able to start the journey to collect the Time Gears again. However, Primal Dialga found out what I was up to.. and well, I was brought back here by Dusknoir to be executed. And then I met you."
"..I see."
"So let me ask you this one question." The man looked at Ash. "I have interfered with this planet's past. I have freed a criminal who was not supposed to be freed."
"Whoa, wait!" Ash interrupted the man. "You freed Cyrus from prison?"
"Indeed, it was I." The man stopped Ash from talking any further. "Let me finish. As I was saying, I have interfered with the past. Seeing as you come from six years prior to now, the world has not ended in your time, where it should have ended ten years ago. In your time, it would be four years. Somehow, I've delayed our planet's paralysis. But I'm sure that it will not stop there. If we leave your time be, the same future will be happening again and again. So here we are." The man dropped to his knees and lowered his head. "I beg you! Please save our planet!"
Ash was dumbfounded at how the man was acting. Ash smiled and offered his hand to the man. "Please don't kneel to me. You don't have to ask, after hearing your story and witnessing this horrible sight, I would be happy to commit myself to the cause."
The man took Ash's hand and smiled. "Thank you, young man. I am glad I met you." The man stood up and tidied up the table. "Then it's settled. We're going back to your time."
"..Right!" Ash agreed happily.
"Oh, by the way, I never did get your name." The man said.
"Ah, that's right." Ash offered his hand for a shake. "Nice to meet you. My name's Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town."
The man's eyes widened in surprise. "That's..." Suddenly, the man broke into a loud laughter. "This is a very interesting encounter we had."
"How so?"
"My name is Ash Ketchum. From Pallet Town. Nice to meet you." the man said as he shook the hand of a speechless Ash.
A/N: Sorry for the longer update time. Final exams are coming.. not looking forward to them. I haven't done a long author's note at the end of a chapter for a while, so there's one in this chapter. If you don't like random nonsense.. then, well, I'm not forcing you to read this. But before I get started, I'm going to get a drink.
Ash: "Looks like he went to get a drink."
Future Ash: "Seems that way."
Ash: "Let's play around with the story for a bit."
Future Ash: "We can do that?"
Ash: "Suure we can. Why not?"
Future Ash: "Alright then. For starters, let's change our names in this conversation. I'll be the focal point."
Past Ash: "What?"
Ash: "There, much better."
Past Ash: "Hey no fair! I'm the main character in this story, I'm changing it back."
Future Ash: "Oh, fine."
Ash: "Much better."
Future Ash: "Speaking of which, didn't you have a name for the attack with your arm? Why didn't you say it?"
Ash: "Oh, Acer Ventus? Yeah, I kinda forgot. Maybe because he gave it such a dumb name."
Future Ash: "Let's change that, then. How about.. Rasengan? Sounds cool."
Ash: "That's from Naruto. We can't do that."
Future Ash: "How about Bankai?"
Ash: "Bleach. Taken."
Future Ash: "Hmm.. How about Tenryū no Hōkō? It means Sky Dragon's Roar."
Ash: "Alright. You're just doing it on purpose now. Stop breaking the dangerous fourth wall!"
Alright, Here comes the rambli- What the hell? What happened to the precious fourth wall?
Ash: "Ah. He's back."
Future Ash: "He's back indeed."
You guys broke the fourth wall!
Ash: "He's mad."
Future Ash: "He's one mad bro."
Get back in character. Now.
Ash & Future Ash: "Okay.."
That's the first and last time the fourth wall will be broken. ^^
