Chapter 44: Stars
The journey back home was slow and solemn for Ash. Shortly after he left the hospital, his Pokemon had returned to him. He recalled them all except for Pikachu, who resumed his usual place on his shoulder. He was concerned for his trainer's well-being, as the young man said nothing on the journey. His eyes were perpetually covered by the visor on his hat. Wordlessly and without any change in expression, Ash walked from the Ferrum hospital to the nearest harbor, where he got on a boat for home. The ride was slow but peaceful.
When he arrived, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. He walked through town, showing no signs of excitement at being home as usual. He saw his house and didn't pick up the pace. Before he knew it, he was on his front doorstep. He looked up so his eyes were no longer hidden and rang the doorbell. He heard a shuffling inside, then a lock turned. Then the door opened.
His mother stood there, a mix of surprise and relief on her face at seeing him home. He gazed directly into her eyes, not bothering to hide his sadness. He didn't have to look up to see her face either; he had grown so much, and he was now just as tall as she was. They looked at each other a moment more. Then Ash stepped forward and put his arms around her, leaning his head on her shoulder. She gasped, slightly surprised at his affection, but she smiled softly as she returned his embrace.
And so they stood there, mother and son, reunited once more. Both of them had small tears in their eyes, but for different reasons. That didn't matter in the moment, though. All that mattered was that, even if it was only for a day or two, they were together again.
"You seem anxious," Mordecai said as he and his friend, Willow, ascended the small hill outside of Pallet Town.
"I am," Willow nodded. "You remember our observations some time ago when we discovered the stars had changed?"
"Yes," the old man nodded. "Have they changed again?"
"Perhaps," he replied with a shudder. "Take a look for yourself."
Mordecai looked into Willow's telescope. His eyes widened in shock. "I...I don't believe it."
"It's quite a sight, isn't it?"
Mordecai shot up quickly. "The constellations have completely rearranged!" he breathed. "But...how can that be?!"
"This monster you told me of," Willow said, "Dark Gaia, you called it – its dimensional rifts are the only thing that could have caused this. Its dimension has completely subverted everything we have ever known."
"Then perhaps the darkness won after all," Mordecai hissed thought clenched teeth. "This subversion of time and space could tear apart reality as we know it!"
"We have only one option. We must locate Dark Gaia's dimension and destroy it."
"But how?!" Mordecai exclaimed. "How can we find this dimension without further subverting time and space?! And even if we did find it and entered it...what would we find there?!"
The two elderly men continued to discuss their frightening find. Little did they know that Mordecai's question actually had an answer.
A certain blue hedgehog had already found it.
"Okay, let's see," Ash said to himself as he browsed the store shelves. "Black olives? No. Oran jelly? Nah. Hm...oh, here it is!" He picked up a small jar. "Tomato spice. Heh...this reminds me of that one time I accidentally ate a tomato berry. Remember that, Pikachu?"
"Pika pikachu," Pikachu chuckled, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Yeah, that was embarrassing," Ash blushed slightly. He shrugged and put the jar in his basket. "Man...when was the last time I went shopping for Mom?"
"Pika," Pikachu shrugged.
"Well, you wouldn't know. It was before I became a trainer." He smiled as he picked another item off the shelf. "I hated it back then, but I guess that's no shock. I don't like sitting still and behaving." He put the basket down as he bent down to pick an item off the bottom shelf. "But now...it feels kinda nostalgic." He smiled to himself with a chuckle as he stood up. "I didn't realize I missed this so much. Kinda strange, huh?"
"Pikachu."
He chuckled as well, and they walked over to get in line. As the line moved along, the customers in front of him dropped a toy Pokedex.
"Oops!" one of them exclaimed.
"Here, I got it," Ash grinned, bending down and picking it up.
"Oh, thank you – wait, Ash?!"
"Huh?!" he started. "Iris! What are you doing here?"
"Uh," Iris stammered. "I was...going shopping! I'm going to go home soon, and I wanted to get food for the journey."
"Oh!" Ash smiled. "Well, that's a lot of food for one plane ride, doncha think?"
"You rubbed off on me," she winked at him. They chuckled. "So, how have you been?"
"Uh," Ash started, but his expression saddened a little as he went on. "I've been recovering."
"Recovering?"
"Yeah. I fell into a small coma after that last battle with that monster. I'm better now, but I'm still recovering. Plus, losing Sonic really hurt."
"Yeah," Iris nodded sadly. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Ash smiled softly. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault."
"I know. It's just...as far as being friends with creatures from another world goes, you two were best buddies. I'm sure it hurt when we lost him."
"Yeah," Ash nodded, his smile gone. "I have to remind myself every day that if he were still here, he'd want me to go on with my life and chase my dreams."
"That'll be fifty Pokedollars," the clerk interrupted him. He handed him a wad of cash and took his stuff and left with Iris.
"Well, I wish you the best," she smiled at him.
"Thanks Iris," he replied. "I know we don't hang out that much anymore, but I still think you're a good friend."
Iris grinned and hugged him. "See you later, kiddo!"
"See you later, Wild-style."
"Hey!" she shouted indignantly. "You know that's copyrighted, right?!"
"Like I care," Ash grinned, adjusting his hat. "No copyright law in the universe is going to hold me back!"
They laughed at that. When their chuckles subsided, she smiled at him. "Goodbye, Ash."
"Goodbye, Iris," he said. "Take care of yourself."
"You, too," she nodded. Then she walked away, and so did Ash.
Next time: a new beginning!