Chapter 43: Dear My Friend

"Is that the end?"

Mordecai's stone gaze didn't waver as he nodded. "Yes," he nodded. "After that, the two gym leaders of Kanto rushed him here to the Ferrum Hospital."

His companion, an elderly man with a youthful appearance, turned back and looked at the young man as he slept. His wild raven hair was more untamed than usual, as he hadn't been able to do it in a week. He only wore his undershirt and his boxers, while the rest of his clothes were neatly folded on a table by the side. His red cap sat on top of them.

"How long has he been here?" the man asked.

"A week," Mordecai replied. "He's been in a coma the whole time, though the staff's measurements indicate that he's in no danger of death."

"Extraordinary," the other man breathed in amazement. "And this Nazo stone you speak of...do you believe –?"

"I don't know what to think of it," Mordecai interrupted. "The power it contains reminds me of another power I once knew well. But it is still a mystery to me. Indeed, if I may be truthful, I have only told you what I myself know of this, though I hope those who sacrificed so much to save our world will fill in the missing details."

"I see," the man nodded. "Then I suppose there is nothing left to do here. The boy will recover his strength soon enough. I will go to Pallet Town and wait for you there. You say you and Cynthia have unfinished business here in Ferrum?"

"Yes," Mordecai nodded. "Take care of yourself, Willow."

"Of course, old friend," the man nodded. Then, with that, he turned and walked out briskly, followed slowly by Mordecai.

Inside the hospital room, the young man's eyes fluttered. He blinked rapidly as the light of the hospital blinded him briefly. "Mm," he grunted. "Hm...huh?" His eyes were fully open now, glistening auburn. "Wha...where am I? What –"

"Ash?"

He blinked and slowly sat up, grimacing slightly as he did so. "Ugh!" he grunted. "My back."

"Ash!"

"Huh? Waaah!" Ash suddenly cried as he felt someone smother him with a tight embrace.

"I'm so glad you're awake," the person's voice said again.

"Misty?" Ash said, wriggling out of her embrace. "Where am I? And how did I get here? The last thing I remember –"

"You passed out after you defeated that monster," Misty explained. "Brock and I brought you here and haven't left your side since then."

"Oh," Ash whispered. "How long has it been? A few hours?"

"Actually, it's been a week," Brock replied.

"What?!"

"Whatever that energy was, it really took its toll on you," the former gym leader went on. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Well, my back's a little stiff," the trainer mumbled, stretching his back out a little to get rid of the kinks. "I guess that makes sense if I've been out for a week. What happened since then? Last I recall, I was staring down at that dark void. Then it disappeared, and then...everything went black…" His face fell as he slowly remembered what had happened.

"Well, it's like we said," Misty replied cheerily, not noticing her best friend's sudden change in mood. "We rushed you back here and stayed with you until now."

"Anything else?"

"Not really," Brock shrugged. "Communication with outside regions is difficult here, so we haven't really gotten much of an update."

"There was that Mordecai guy out there," Misty said. "He was talking to that other old guy for the whole week, telling him what happened."

"Well, it is a long story, right?" Brock chuckled.

"I guess so," Misty chuckled with him. They turned to Ash, only to see that his back was turned to them, slightly hunched over. She blinked, puzzled. "Ash?"

"Is everything okay?" Brock asked.

For a moment, there was silence. Then Ash turned his head slightly to look at them. "I, uh…" he started, trying to hold his emotions back. "I need to be alone for a while," he said. He then turned to face them fully. "Thanks for sticking around for me, by the way," he smiled. "You guys really are the best."

"Of course, Ash," Misty smiled. "You know you can always count on us." With that, she stood up. "See you later."

"You gonna head back to Pallet Town soon?" Brock asked as they started to walk out.

"I don't know," Ash shook his head, turning away again. "I really don't know."

If he had eyes, Brock would have blinked in confusion. Before he could ask another question, however, Misty gently but firmly pulled him out by the arm. She quietly closed the door behind them and walked away to give him privacy.

"That was strange," Brock mused.

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Ash isn't the kind of guy who doesn't know what he's going to do next," he said. "Normally, after an adventure like what we had, he'd talk about going back home and seeing his mom again. He's always excited about that. Why would he not know what he's going to do next?"

"Hm," Misty mused. "You're right. That isn't like him at all. And he said he wanted to be alone…"

Back in his room, Ash sat on his bed and looked down at his hands. They trembled as his eyes glimmered. He blinked rapidly as though fighting tears. There hadn't been a sound since Misty and Brock left. But as his emotions began to take hold, one word escaped his lips:

"Sonic…"

With that, the young man held his head in his hands as he burst into tears, moaning that same word over and over again. "Sonic...oh, Sonic!"

"This is where he was last seen," Mordecai said as he brushed his battle-worn hand over the dirt for the seventh time. They were in the shadow of the meadow.

"Then...he's really gone?" Cynthia whispered, her face sad.

"It appears so," Mordecai sighed. "Sonic the Hedgehog is no more."

Over to the side, Tails was on his hands and knees, sobbing and pounding the ground as the tears muddied the ground. Amy had her head in her hands, sobbing just as hard. Knuckles simply stood there, arms folded and eyes closed. A tear fell from his eye every now and again.

"What should we tell them?" Cynthia asked her partner.

"Why should we say anything?" Mordecai snapped back. He pointed to the grieving creatures from another world. "It's clear they've heard enough."

"Yes," she said. "It is." Then a glimmer on the ground a short distance away caught her eye. "What?"

"Hm?" Mordecai looked up. They walked over to it and found a diamond, clear as glass and unscratched, buried in the dirt. Cynthia picked it up and dusted it off. It glowed suddenly for a moment, blinding them, then it returned to normal.

"What is this?" she wondered.

Mordecai smiled softly to himself. "The Nazo stone…"

Several hours had passed. It was night again, and the serene call of that mysterious Pokemon could be heard if someone listened. The moon was full tonight, shining brighter than ever before. Then again, maybe people thought that was so because of the darkness that plagued them for so long. Whatever the case, it was full.

Although he was clear to go, Ash remained in his hospital room, sleeping in his usual sprawled out manner. Despite this, his face sported a perpetual grimace.

A dark figure walked in, unseen and unheard. It looked at his sleeping form and slowly walked up to it. Then it placed its hand on his shoulder.

"Wake up," it whispered.

Ash's eyes immediately shot open. "Huh?"

"Are you hurt?"

Ash turned over in his bed, his back still sore from being in a coma, and blinked. "Shadow? Is that you?"

The black hedgehog nodded. The young trainer reached over and turned on a lamp. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to check on you," Shadow replied. "I heard you had recovered from your coma. I didn't believe it at first because you hadn't gone home, but it seems I was correctly informed."

"Yeah," Ash sighed.

"So why are you still here?"

"I…" he started, but then he turned away, still laying on his side. "I don't want to talk about it."

"It's Sonic, isn't it?" Shadow said without hesitation.

"Leave me alone."

"I didn't come here to pester you, Ash."

"Good. Then leave."

"I can't do that, either."

Ash turned back to the hedgehog in annoyance, and he made it clear with a glare. "Look," he said, "I'm having a hard time right now, okay? One of my best friends just died a week ago, and I haven't had time to grieve. I want to be alone."

"I know," Shadow nodded, holding something out to him. "That's why I came."

Ash was about to retort when he saw what Shadow was holding out to him. "A Chaos Emerald?"

"We've been searching for them all week," the black hedgehog explained.

"Did you find them all?"

"Yes," Shadow nodded, pulling up a sack and dumping out its contents. Ash counted the emeralds, but something wasn't right.

"Only six?" he blinked, looking up at Shadow in confusion.

"Yes."

"You said you found them all."

"I did," Shadow replied. "And I wasn't lying."

"What do you mean?"

"Hold the emerald in your hand," Shadow instructed, placing the dark blue emerald in his hand. "You'll see what I mean."

"No," Ash shook his head, giving it back. "I was told not to do anything of the sort for another month, as it might knock me into another coma."

Shadow looked irritated for a moment, but then his expression softened in understanding. "Then keep it with you," he said. "When you're ready, do as I said. Oh, and take this, too." He handed him the diamond. Ash held it in his palm, seemingly admiring it.

"Where did you find this?" he asked.

"We found it while searching for the emeralds," Shadow replied. "I thought you might want it back."

"I don't know," Ash mused. "The power it holds is...immeasurable. I think it's even greater than the Master Emerald. If it fell into the wrong hands, the whole world could be threatened."

"I know," Shadow said again. "That's why I'm giving it to you: to protect it. If you find someone else who can do that better than you, then let them have it. But right now, you're the only one I trust to take care of this."

"Oh," Ash said quietly. He sighed and stood up. "Well, thanks...I guess." He walked over to his clothes, still sitting neatly folded on the table. "I guess I'll be going, now."

"Wait."

"What is it?" Ash asked as he picked up his pants and put them on.

"It's about May."

"May?" Ash perked, his eyes becoming more lively than they'd been all day. In his grief for Sonic, he'd forgotten all about her. "How is she?"

"She's still in a coma," Shadow replied. "But she's slowly recovering. We're not sure how long it'll be before she wakes up again, but I'm confident she'll be okay."

"Have you been watching over her this whole time?" Ash asked, putting on his overshirt and picking up his gloves.

"I was until Cynthia and that Mordecai guy called me back to Ferrum. Since then, I had Serena keep watch over her."

"Serena!?" Ash exclaimed. A smile slowly broke out on his face as he realized what that meant.

"Yes."

"Okay," Ash said softly, completing his attire by putting on his cap. "Thanks, Shadow. Will I see you around?"

"More or less," the hedgehog shrugged. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," the trainer mused. "I guess I'll start off by going home. I'm sure Mom's really worried about me."

"Take care of yourself, then," Shadow replied. "I'll take care of May for you."

He smiled genuinely at Shadow. "Thanks, Shadow." He bent down and extended his hand to shake. Shadow took it, and then Ash stood up and walked away. As he was about to go out the door and back into the world, he turned back one more time. "So long, Shadow," he called back softly. "Until we meet again."

"So long, Ash," Shadow nodded, then turned away and disappeared. Seeing this, Ash turned and walked outside. The door closed softly behind him.