Chapter 19: Into the wind.
Summary: when victory comes at a cost Ash and Salvia must find the resolve to head to a brighter future, Salvia chooses to take a new step in her life, before they head towards the next stage in the conflict.
It was quiet in the empty Pokemon Centre, Ash and Salvia were sitting in separate parts of the medical facility, not even looking at one another, feeling like they let one another down after the costly victory against the Shadow Lords, Ash had a plate of food in front of him with a cutlery set in his hands, 'that was the first time I was overcome by dark aura,' Ash thought to himself, barely able to remember the last part of the fight with Pride.
Salvia who was still in a depression after the loss of her father, on her own with nothing to say, she slowly looked up finding that Ash still had a plate of food in front of him, 'he hasn't even touched his food yet,' Salvia told herself, concerned about the trainer, knowing that the food was starting to get cold.
Dusk walked into the main foyer seeing her two friends sitting silently, "they have been depressed for three days, it is like they don't have an answer," Dusk whispered before hearing the footsteps of Paul.
Paul looked over to Ash who started eating his meal slowly, "well you didn't help, first you berated Ash, then told him he needed to embrace the dark aura," Paul reminded the Aura Master.
"Can it fool, I don't see you making any effort in telling them what they need to know," Dusk retorted viciously.
"I gave them space to think about what they needed to do next, not jump in telling them the situation as it was," Paul argued with the young woman. Paul walked towards the exit with a frown, "you know you might look like my friend, but you certainly don't have the same considerate nature she had," Paul reminded the bluenette.
Dusk turned towards the princess who pulled out a photo of her family, she walked over to her doppelganger and pulled out a seat, "you know, memories are great, it will be difficult to go forward," Dusk tried to reason with the young royal.
"I know, my father might have changed, he saved me in the fight, but he was still family," Salvia tried to cry, but nothing was happening. Salvia glanced over to Ash who was slowly eating his meal, "but I am more concerned about him, he hasn't been the same for the last three days," Salvia whispered softly, she thought back at how Ash fought against the Shadow Lords, "it was scary, Ash wasn't himself," Salvia started to picture the trainer's actions in her mind.
Dusk listened to the worries of the princess, she didn't even know what had truly happened, "I see it seems I was only assuming what had happened," Dusk confessed her own faults to the princess.
"What makes you think it was your fault?" Dusk asked the blue haired royal.
"Because I was captured, Ash and his friend saved me and yet I froze in fear as my father was killed in front of my eyes," Salvia replied with a sombre tone, she looked at the picture of her family, seeing the smiles on their faces, "I have lost that part of my life forever," Salvia stared at the picture.
"No you haven't I might have gotten in the way for the last couple of days, but I have noticed that you have someone who can make you happy," Dusk tried her best at being nice, 'man being nice, doesn't suit me at all,' Dusk started complaining to herself.
"But I don't know if he feels the same way," Salvia replied with quick glance towards Ash.
'Man she is dense, but then again, he isn't innocent either,' Dusk shook her head, Dusk got up and started walking away from the princess, she started making her way out towards the exit where Paul was talking to his pokemon.
Salvia walked away from the table, ignoring Ash, she entered the hallway, still coming to grips with her loss, "I thought I was stronger with Ash around, but in that one moment I was proven how weak I really am," Salvia reminded herself as she walked up to her door, she opened it slowly and entered her room, 'I need to get stronger,' the princess reminded herself, she closed the door and turned on the light. Salvia walked up to her bed and pulled out her family picture again, 'I will not tell Ash that I love him, not until I become a stronger woman,' Salvia announced her own little resolve to her parents.
Back in the main foyer Ash walked up to the phone, he picked up the handset and started to dial a number, 'enough is enough, time to bring my best pokemon,' Ash thought as he waited for the person he was calling to answer the phone.
An elderly man appeared on the phone with shirt grey hair and a white lab coat, he was reading a book, lowering it to see who was calling him, "oh Ash, good to see you," the professor greeted the trainer.
"Sorry I haven't called in a while Professor Oak," Ash apologised to the wise man.
"I heard about what had happened," the professor replied solemnly.
Ash lowered his vision and clenched his fists in anger, "so you know about Dawn, my mother, Johanna, Piplup and Pikachu," Ash quietly whispered, he looked up to see Professor Oak nod in sad approval.
"Listen Ash, are you still going to follow your dream?" Professor Oak asked the young man.
"I don't know, my greatest inspiration is gone, plus my partner is no longer with me," Ash retorted in pain.
Professor Oak also in shock at what he had heard, he began to wonder what Ash was going to do next, "I see, so what have you been doing over the last couple of months?" Professor Oak asked the trainer with a saddened tone.
"Me, well I have been getting my revenge against the people responsible," Ash answered the professor's question, he pulled out his pokeball and stared at the device containing his Lucario, "the reason why I am ringing you is so that way I can get five of my pokemon," Ash informed the well-respected expert on the reason for the call.
"Ash, I don't think that is such a good idea, my friend Professor Rowan was confronted by someone who looks like Dawn," Professor Oak informed Ash of what had happened, "she took a Piplup and started her act of revenge as well, she even destroyed part of the lab," Professor Oak informed Ash about Dusk's actions.
"Yeah, I know," Ash retorted softly, "but this goes far beyond revenge now," Ash argued with the professor, showing his determined expression, he started to think back about what happened to Salvia's father and then towards the loss he had suffered.
"Listen Ash, if there is something I need to know, please tell me," Professor Oak requested, but the trainer shook his head, not wanting the professor getting involved in the situation, "I see, so I guess that leaves me to ask what pokemon you want," Professor Oak stated with a hint of disappointment in the trainer.
"I am sorry Professor," Ash apologised for his silence, "can you please send Garchomp, Greninja, Charizard, Sceptile and Zoroark?" Ash requested the professor to send him the chosen pokemon, he watched as one pokeball at a time was teleported to him, he noticed the pained expression on the professor's face.
"Remember keep your pokemon safe," the elderly man finished sending the last device to the raven haired Aura Guardian.
"I know," Ash retorted quietly. Finishing the call, he placed the pokeballs on his belt and turned around to see Paul and Dusk walking in arguing with one another, "can you two please shut up?" Ash asked his two friends. He jumped out of his seat and walked towards the hallway, he looked back seeing the two leaving one another alone, the Pokemon Centre still containing but a few people, not like the usual busy facility it normally was.
Dusk turned towards the door, not wanting to bother with Ash and Salvia's problem, "I am out of here, tell those two, that if they want to catch up, I will be in Celestic Town," Dusk informed Paul, exiting the medical facility.
Paul resisted the urge to stop the Aura Master and walked over to the café, "whatever," Paul replied coldly.
Dusk walked to the western side of the city, glancing back she felt a little upset with the failure of her mission, "I had a chance to stop them, but I was too busy focusing on destroying my former teammates," Dusk whispered angrily at herself, she started making her way to the exit and back to her chase of the Dark Aura Masters.
Ash waited at the door of Salvia's room, he raised his left hand and prepared to knock on the door, he stopped his hand millimetres from the door, he lowered his hand and turned away from the door, taking a deep breath Ash started walking towards his own room, 'really I am pathetic, in one part I have moved forward, but in another area it is wrong of me to love someone who looks just like Dawn,' Ash thought to himself, feeling disappointed in his own move forwards
Ash was resting on the bed, his hands behind his head, he looked up to the ceiling thinking about his previous fight, "so I met the leader of the Shadow Lords," Ash whispered to himself, he still pictured the callous expression on his face, but also kept the image of the king's sacrifice for his daughter, "he told me to take care of her," Ash whispered the final words of Salvia's father. Ash raised his right hand into the air and started thinking about his unsettling change, "I don't remember anything after that."
Ash continued to stare at his right hand, remembering only what happened before, it suddenly occurred to him what was going on, "Dark Aura is something that is difficult to control, if that is the case, I need to ask Dusk something about it," Ash quickly sat up as his discovery about the dark aura continued to fill his mind.
Ash heard a knock on the door, "Ash, Dusk has gone on her own," Paul informed Ash about the departure of the Aura Master.
"What I had something I needed to ask her," Ash punched the wall on the left.
"She wanted to get out of here and chase down these Dark Aura Masters," Paul informed Ash, he walked away leaving Ash perplexed by the Aura Master's actions.
Ash heard another knock on the door, he approached the door and noticed that Salvia was standing in front of the entrance of the room, "want to come in?" Ash asked the bluenette.
Salvia hesitated for a moment, but lost the courage, she quickly turned and ran towards the main foyer, "Salvia, wait up," Ash called to the young royal, he grabbed his backpack and rushed towards the princess, she didn't reply to him, but was in a hurry, she grabbed a small amount of food and silently started exited the Pokemon Centre, leaving Ash to wonder what was on her mind, 'she hasn't even said a word to me,' Ash thought to himself.
Ash ran out of the Pokemon Centre in hopes that the princess would be around, luckily the city was silent after his fight with the leader of the Shadow Lords, "Salvia where are you?" Ash called for the young woman.
Salvia was alone deep in thought about what had happened, looking at the picture of her family, 'I was too scared to even move, Ash fought after my father was murdered,' Salvia thought to herself, she pictured the moment the king took the fatal attack in her place, "why cannot I not cry,? Am I hurting so much that I cannot release any tears?" Salvia started to question herself as a person, "or am I a horrible person?" Salvia started to insult herself as she walked alone through the empty tree line streets of the sea side city.
Ash watched from a distance seeing Salvia walking through the city, he was growing guilty for what had happened, 'this was my fault, if I wasn't so absorbed in my revenge, this wouldn't have happened,' Ash started to blame himself for the loss of the king.
Paul approached the angry trainer, noticing that he was watching the princess, "you know, you should tell her," Paul suggested with a serious tone.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked his friend.
"You're scared aren't you?" Paul asked the Aura Guardian as he glanced over his friend's right shoulder.
"What are you talking about?" Ash asked the lavender haired trainer.
Paul turned away from his former rival and started to leave the trainer on his own, "forget it, I know that you are scared in case something bad happens to the princess," Paul told his friend with a frown, he started walking to the eastern exit leaving Ash to think about his own problems, "but if you leave it unsaid, you will regret it later my friend," Paul informed Ash visibly upsetting the raven haired trainer with his comments.
'I don't know, Salvia wouldn't like someone like me, I have hurt her as well,' Ash thought to himself, now confused about his own feelings, "what changed? At first I didn't want her around, now, I feel like I need her around," Ash whispered to himself, trying his best to figure out where things changed for him.
The wind started to pick up, slightly causing the trees to sway, he watched the long hair of Salvia swaying in the breeze, she was walking slowly towards the beach and wasn't even looking back, "where is she going?" Ash asked himself curiously, he decided to follow and see what the princess was planning.
Salvia was standing on the sand, the waves crashing on the shore line, she had taken off her shoes and allowed for the water to come crashing on her legs, the sand seeped through her toes and the scent of the sea breeze started to make her more relaxed, "I resolved to become stronger, yet so far I have failed," Salvia told herself as the waves lightly hit her legs again, she was completely unaware of the presence of Ash.
Ash was watching the princess who remained motionless, her shoes behind her and the water crashing against her, "man she is beautiful," Ash whispered to himself, he sat down and waited for the princess to do something, 'she is ignoring me, I am here and she hasn't even looked back to see that I am here,' Ash thought to himself, he watched as the Wingulls flew overhead and the princess in the foreground with the sea in front of her and the sky starting to change colour.
"I need to become stronger….but I am scared," Salvia started to acknowledge the growing desperation of her place in the conflict.
Salvia looked back to find that Ash was watching her, Ash immediately stood up and started walking away, "he has been there as a pillar of strength for me, but I cannot rely on him all the time," Salvia said as she fell back.
"Great now Salvia knows that I am here," Ash glanced over his left shoulder, complaining about being spotted by the princess, he started walking back to the city, he looked once more this time seeing Salvia removing her backpack and seeing her walking with the bag being dragged behind her, "what is she doing?" Ash asked himself, his curiosity growing even more.
Salvia looked down at the beach with Ash in the distance watching what she was going to do next, dragging her backpack along the sand, hearing the waves crashing on the shore, she pulled out the picture from her pocket, she looked at the happy family she had lost, fighting back her tears she felt resistance slipping.
Ash watched the princess falling to her knees crying at what she had lost, he tried to look away, but found his eyes glued on the bluenette, 'I don't want to see her crying again, not in sadness,' Ash thought to himself, he looked at his hands as they began to shake, feeling angry at himself, "it was my fault as well, I lost control of this cold aura, when Salvia got hurt, I exploded with this dark aura," he reminded himself, quickly looking back to the young royal.
Salvia continued to cry at her loss, "dad, mom…." Salvia cried out for her parents, she started to hit the sand as she struggled to keep her sorrow in check.
Ash walked down on to the beach, after the princess who maintained a brave front all day had finally broken down, "Salvia, I am sorry I couldn't do more to save your father," Ash tried to comfort the princess.
Salvia turned around and buried her head in his chest, hitting his chest with her fists, "no it was my fault if only I was stronger, this wouldn't have happened," Salvia felt the trainer's arms embracing her.
"It was not your fault, it was the Shadow Lords and the Dark Aura Masters," Ash continued to assure the princess of the role that was played by the enemies.
Salvia stopped her tears, Ash moved his arms away and allowed Salvia to regain some of her composure, "thanks Ash," Salvia wiped away her tears, she turned to her bag and walked up to it, she opened the bag and pulled out a pair of scissors.
Salvia stood up as Ash watched the princess, "hey what are you doing?" Ash asked the princess.
Salvia grabbed her long blue hair and pulled it back, 'today is the death of the old Salvia and the rebirth of a new Salvia,' the princess, baring the blades, she placed her locks between the blades and proceeded to cut her.
"What are you doing?" The shocked trainer asked his friend, but the princess who had a fist full of her own blue hair, she lifted her hand and stared at her hair.
"Today I start my own evolution," Salvia raised her right hand into the air with the cut hair waving in the wind, she let go of her hair as it took off into the wind towards the sea, "today, I vow to become a stronger person, no more lacking in confidence," Salvia watched as her hair flew away into the wind.
Salvia now sporting shorter blue hair turned to Ash, he smiled at the new found resolve of the princess, "fine it is my turn to make my resolve, I will become an Aura Master, no more holding back," Ash promised the princess, he looked back to see the last strands of Salvia's cut hair heading towards the ocean.
Salvia walked up to Ash's side and tilted her head, smiling at him Ash placed his right hand on the back of head and scratched it, blushing a little before turning away, "come on we need to Celestic Town," Ash instructed the royal trying his best to hide the blushing from the princess.
"Are you alright? Your face was a little red," Salvia asked the trainer but Ash ignored her and continued on without answering, 'at least we have made a promise to get better,' Salvia thought as she watched the trainer walking a head of her, 'I want to tell him, but I cannot, even with my resolve, I still cannot gather the courage to tell him how I feel,' Salvia explained to herself about her lack of courage in one part of her character.
"Yeah, I am fine," Ash tried to lie to the princess to which paid off with Salvia walking ahead of him, 'great now I resort to lying,' Ash started to get upset with himself, he watched the princess who was now with shoulder length blue hair wearing an entirely new outfit, 'she looks great in her new outfit,' Ash couldn't stop staring at the princess' red dress, white tank top, black stockings and shoes.
"Come on Ash, time to head to the next city," Salvia called to Ash, he immediately snapped out of his trance, she turned away from Ash and started walking towards the main road towards the next city, 'Ash, one day, you will know the extent of my feelings for you, but I am going to wait until the time is right,' Salvia promised Ash silently.
Ash walked slowly behind the princess and watched her leading the way, 'when I feel like the time is right, I am going to tell you, still have no idea how you feel about me, but when the time is right for me, I will tell you,' Ash promised himself as he rushed up to Salvia's side and continued their push towards the next city to face off against the Dark Aura Masters.
(Near Arrowroot Town)
"Wrath, you head out and destroy the Aura Guardian and the Princess," Pride ordered the other Shadow Lord, who smirked at his leader and turned towards his next battle against the Aura Guardian.
"Yes Pride, those two will pay the price for their involvement in this fight, but there is also someone else that I want to destroy a friend of the Aura Guardian," Wrath informed his leader angrily, as he started to prepare for his next mission.
"Very well, but the Princess and the Aura Guardian are your first objectives, after them you have my permission to go after their friend," Pride issued his command, he watched as his ally started running away from the retreating forces, 'yes, soon I will be turning the whole Sinnoh region against the princess,' Pride smirked with great joy.
"Yeah, time to destroy, I cannot wait to defeat the Aura Guardian," Wrath grew more excited with the upcoming fight against Ash.
Meanwhile heading off towards the next city Paul noticed something in the distance, "so the Shadow Lords are on the move again," Paul hissed as he remembered his first encounter with Wrath, "he took on my Machamp, so Wrath is rather strong," Paul admitted to the power of his enemy.
Paul looked back knowing that his friends were too far away, "I am guessing that those two will be coming soon enough," Paul quickly stated with a smirk, he walked on only to be stopped by Wrath, Paul grabbed one of his pokeballs ready to face the enemy, "so Wrath we meet again," Paul calmly stated with a smirk.
"You!" Wrath growled at his first target, "you cost me my glory in Pastoria City!" Wrath yelled at the trainer, but he remained calm while the Shadow Lord continued to show his fury directed at the trainer.
Paul called for his four armed fighting type pokemon, "so you want revenge, come and take it, if you can," Paul challenged Wrath while his pokemon flexed his muscles to show his readiness for the fight, "but if you want to get to my friend, you will have to go through me first," Paul announced his intentions to fight the enemy.
"Very well you little puke, I will rip you and your pokemon to shreds," Wrath cracked his knuckles, informing Paul of his intentions in the upcoming fight.
Ash clenched his fists immediately sensing the upcoming fight, he knew something was up, so he rushed off to the fight, with Salvia following him, "Ash, wait for me!" Salvia yelled out for the trainer.
Ash stopped and noticed that Paul and his Machamp were in the midst of a fight against the larger member of the Shadow Lords, "Paul is fighting Wrath," Ash was quick to notice the start of the fight, he started to gain a blue aura before rushing towards the fight.
"Oh no, he might lose control," Salvia remembered the previous fight, showing concern for Ash, but stopped feeling concerned for Ash, "no, I cannot lose faith in him, he is going to help his friend, he will not lose control this time," Salvia confidently watched Ash charging towards the next fight, a determined Salvia watched the trainer.
Ash and Salvia make a new resolve, heading towards their next destination, but soon find themselves helping Paul fight Wrath.
Next time chapter 20: The Light of Darkness
Well we are now at the halfway point of this story, I am going to start picking things up and as I hit the chapter 30 mark, I will start to wind things up.
the good news is my friends is that I have started typing Fracture, Chapter 1 is complete with the second being almost finished, i think you guys will like it, but the release of it will not be happening until this one is complete and when I get some of the other stories done with other chapters, all that before I get really busy at the end of this year. with this story it will go 38 chapters with 1 epilogue chapter.