Chapter 10 - Coincidences

Ash woke up to the sound of a door creaking. Opening one eye slowly and groaning, he was only able to see a part of a dark blue cape exit the room before the wooden door closed; leaving him all alone in the room that he was temporarily staying in. He couldn't move; his body felt too heavy to do so. What happened to me..?

Everything was such a blur, and trying to remember it made his head throb. The boy recalled Umbreon summoning the huge wave that could engulf a house...heading straight towards him...the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by water; suffocating water. Then what? Who...saved me? He couldn't help but feel skeptical; his vision was foggy along with his thoughts. One thing surfaced though, he was tired; dead tired. Closing his eyes, the onyx-haired trainer was about to fall asleep before a voice stopped him.

"That was a close call, wasn't it?"

Ash was surprised; but his body reacted much slower and didn't show much signs of it at all. "W-who..."

"It's me, the person that sent you back in to the past." the voice replied; echoing in his head. It didn't sound like he was in the room or anywhere near him. "Te-telepathy?"

"Correct. Are you alright, Ash? You took quite a beating from the riverbed before you passed out."

The riverbed...his entire body ached; as if recalling how much pain he felt that day. The teen gritted his teeth; enduring it and waited until the pain subsided once more. "I apologize, I shouldn't have mentioned that."

"It's...okay..." he replied weakly. "Boy, if anybody...would see me now...they would scold me for being so reckless..."

"You are talking about your traveling companions, is that right?" at the state he was in, Ash couldn't nod, and so he simply said yes. "It must be nice to live a life like that with no worries." before he could say any more, the door made a small noise again; Ash could sense the voice's presence disappear as a figure entered the room; a lady with long blond hair. "Oh, Aiden, did I disturb you?"

"N-no...I was awake when you came in, Lady Rin." she smiled; as if relieved. "I was worried that I may have woken you up. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." he replied; feeling a small amount of his strength returning. "Was Sir Aaron here a while ago?"

She nodded. "He was very worried about you as well even when he performed first aid on you. I've never seen him that on edge before." the queen laughed lightly. "He really cares for your safety, Aiden. Next time you should be careful with what you do so that this would not happen again or you might give him a heart attack."

"A-a heart attack?" perhaps that was a little too far, but if he was that worried about him, it would be best to take it easy for now then. The teen didn't want to cause the Aura Guardian any more trouble than he already has. "What about Lucario?"

"He's fine; he wasn't hurt when the wave engulfed you...or so I've heard from Sir Aaron. On the other hand Sir Aaron has been slightly injured, but yours were quite severe compared to him."

"Oh..." that was all he could say; there wasn't anything else he could say. "I know you need to rest, so I will be leaving now. Don't do anything reckless like leaving the room, alright?" the teen nodded. With that, the queen left the room with a face that seemed reassured at the same time even more concerned. Ash didn't like it; everyone was worried about him and he couldn't do anything to soothe them. He always hated times where he couldn't do anything at all.

To be honest, he kind of missed training with his pokémon, traveling and all. He missed Pikachu, Dawn, Brock, and everyone else. Being alone made him remember many things before he got here; it could almost be called his past life. Almost.

No, I can't let that go. I can't. I have to remember that my goal here is to save Sir Aaron. After that, I'm going back...

He looked at his right hand; his palm bandaged and his fingers exposed. Slowly, he closed it in to a fist; his hand was trembling while doing so. "Will I really be able to go back..?"

It feels like an eternity since I've seen my friends.

-o-

The sound of breaking glass echoed in the room. Pieces of what once was a large vase lay on the floor; broken. Umbreon growled softly; his arm covered in small scratches since he used it to shield his face. The teen's expression didn't waver and shook off the pains reverberating from his body. "I'll get him next time, Father." he said firmly.

Another growl could be heard inside the large hall. "There is only one more next time, Umbreon." a voice responded; much lower and menacing than Umbreon's. The figure couldn't be seen in the shadows; but anyone could tell that the man was huge. He sat on a throne made of plain white marble; his hands were resting on the armrests of the chair. "If you fail, I will choose her soul instead of his, is that clear?"

"Yes, Father."

"I expect you to get the boy before the war day. You are dismissed." Umbreon then made a small bow towards the man before leaving the room; his fists were clenched and he was gritting his teeth. When the figure was out of sight; he punched the nearby wall; his gold eyes glimmered from rage. "That man...Aaron...will pay..!"

"You shouldn't take your anger out on an innocent wall, brother." a voice said calmly.

"I don't care, Espeon. I have to get the boy as soon as I can. If I don't..." his voice trailed off; the black-haired teen hesitated. "How could you be so calm with this? You're the one-" the violet-haired girl suddenly teleported right in front of him and placed her index finger over his lips. "Shh...it will be okay."

"It...it won't. Not until I get Ash. Only then...you'll be out of danger." she frowned; her brother's determination was somewhat frightening. "Umbreon, have you seen Eevee?" she asked.

"Eevee? Why are you suddenly asking about him?"

She sighed deeply. "I haven't seen him since you got back. Did you fight with him?"

"No, of course not, sister. But," he scowled and moved away from the girl; turning away. "He failed his task on keeping Aaron at bay. If he didn't let him go I would've had that boy! We're moving behind schedule because of him! I could sense Father's trust in me dimming because I lost him. That brat should be glad I didn't tell about his own failure." out of the blue; he grinned like he just had an idea. "They should be injured by now; I know that wave took out a lot from the both of them. Now would be the perfect time to strike." he walked away from Espeon to the entrance; his confidence returning. "Don't worry, sister. I'll do everything in my power to stop you from being the sacrifice."

"...I...I know you will, brother."

-o-

Eevee watched silently as small children with their pokémon companions were playing tag and people were doing their usual daily activities: working, resting, chatting...it was the picture of a peaceful village. He sighed deeply as he rested his hand on the rough trunk of the tree. He didn't belong here; yet why was he standing on the border line of the forest? He was tempted to take another step; to explore this place he never been to before; but Father had forbade the boy from going out of the forest unless he was on a mission. And normally it was Umbreon that took these missions. Eevee had just recently turn twelve; not that his 'family' cared. Umbreon was able to sneak in to the village, steal a cake, and celebrate his birthday with Espeon though. That was back then when he still trusted his Big brother.

He didn't belong there, yet he desperately wished that he was like those pokémon; to live a simple life with a loving family. It sounded like a very distant dream.

"Hey, kid, what are you doing here?" a voice suddenly asked behind him. Eevee nearly jumped in surprise yet quickly turned around to see who snuck up on him. It was a young man with spiky brown hair and a simple dark blue kimono; something that he normally saw only katana-wielding people wear. The man frowned when the boy just stood there in a battle pose; waiting to counter any attack he would throw. "I'm not an enemy, kid. I just asked you a question."

"Huh? Uh, well..." he awkwardly stood straight and thought of what to say. "No reason..."

You should beware the ones that seem friendly to you the most, Eevee. Those are normally the ones that betray you in the end.

The stranger grinned. "I don't normally encounter someone here in the forest as young as you. My name's Trevor, what's your name?"

"E-ee..." should I tell him my name? But if I told him my name was Eevee, then that would make him suspicious..."E-e-ric."

"Eric, hm? Well I hope we'll meet again. If you excuse me, I have to be going somewhere."

"W-wait, by any chance do you know Sir Aaron?" the man stopped in his tracks and glanced at the child. "Huh. I didn't know he was so famous around here." the same smile was still on his face; it somehow felt uplifting. "Yeah, I know him. Are you one of those kids that admire powerful guys like him?"

"S-something like that..." he stuttered.

"You want to meet him?"

"I guess-I mean, of course I do!" Eevee tried to act energetic; like how a real kid would be excited to meet his hero. That seemed to convince Trevor as he walked back to him and outstretched his hand. "I'll take you to him then; he should be at the castle right now."

The younger brunette stared hesitantly at the hand in front of him. The only people that he ever held hands with were his older brother and sister; no one else. What if he was someone that likes kidnapping children? What if he's going to hurt me..? What if he's lying? Should I trust him?

The man noticed him looking unsure. He chuckled and patted his head; which surprised Eevee so much he flinched. "You don't need to be so tense, kid. See?" out of the blue, a small Aura Sphere formed in his other hand and showed it to Eevee. The boy couldn't help but gaze at it; the swirling bright and dark blue colors mixed so well that it was mesmerizing. "They say only people with good hearts have the ability to do Aura Sphere; like Sir Aaron and his two students. I, myself, was a student of an Aura Guardian; Sir Aaron and I both had the same teacher." the energy ball faded slowly; dispersing in to tiny particles that floated around them. "Our teacher was amazing and was like a second father to us. Sadly, he passed away right after we both graduated from his training. It was then Sir Aaron and I went our separate paths; he decided to become an Aura Guardian himself while I went in to traveling the world. Traveling was nice, but at some point I couldn't help but come back here to Rota."

Eevee listened silently the whole time Trevor told him his story. The sky blue particles had disappeared in to the air. "Oh, I was rambling again. I'll show you the way to the castle now, okay?"

"...yeah. Lead the way." he responded with a smile of his own.

Big brother is wrong. Even if many people are strangers to me; it doesn't mean that they're all bad.

A/N: YESSS...DOUBLE DIGITS...and I'm back from inactivity, people! Well, kinda. I'm sorry that this was pretty short; but I ended it here so that the next chapter might be filled with action and surprises. :D Think of it like a break from the last chapter (and I has a cold. I hate colds.)

Please Review? 8D