Chapter 9: Magical Ash
Seeing flowers bloom from the path he walked on and having Pikachu on his shoulder like always, Ash reached Miranda's office and reached for the door. "Ash, is that you?" asked Miranda. Ash and Pikachu gawked to Miranda's detection. Ash didn't knock on the door once.
"Yea- Yeah!" he answered.
"Come in," Miranda welcomed. Ash and Pikachu entered the room where the teachers held their discussions. "Ash, did you come to me because you felt a change within yourself? I suppose that's why I felt your presence approaching." Ash gasped to the question.
"I-I don't know, exactly…" he stuttered. "Pikachu and I headed to the lake to get some stress out and the students told us about the trail covered in flowers. The flowers weren't there when we walked down it." Akko, Amanda, Hannah, Barbara and Diana arrived at the door where they placed ears onto.
"Flowers on your trail?" wondered Pisces.
"Pretty much," Ash shrugged, Samantha's head bobbed to Ash's briefing.
"It starts to check out," she believed. Ash and Pikachu blinked in confusion.
"We're worried about it since yesterday when you opened the tome," Ursula pointed out. "…The 'Unopenable Book' per say." Ash blinked to the name given.
"Tome?" he repeated. Anne sighed, her bias to Ash still apparent.
"Not that I want to answer to this… boy," she hissed. "But, a tome is another name for a book, just on a bigger scale. Apparently, what you found was an ancient tome written long before Luna Nova Academy was realized."
"Hell, we're still trying to wrap our heads as to why this tome suddenly reacted to you when every magic on the face of the Earth couldn't make a dent on the tome's locking mechanism," Nelson huffed while spinning a finger by her temple. Pisces had a thought.
"Perhaps, it has something to do with your family history," she guessed.
"Or how you were able to read it," Ursula added. Crossing his arms, Ash pondered to the possibilities.
"Why I was able to open this book," he muttered to himself. "This 'tome' as you call it, I wish I had an answer. However, I did see the words as clear as day." Anne wasn't satisfied with Ash's answer.
"For someone who's a boy and not affiliated to magic," she scoffed. "Hearing you read the words from that is a joke." Miranda saw something else.
"Do not think Ash doesn't know what he's talking about when we have witnesses to this and the damage it caused in the library," she pointed out. Anne gritted Miranda's take.
"Besides, you're the Linguistics teacher," Ursula added. "You may have better knowledge to the tongue the tome's speaking." Anne mulled, thinking it would be a waste of time.
"I don't like it, but I have nothing to base it on," she growled. "Go ahead and read the tome if you can." Ash nodded as Pikachu jumped onto Ursula's shoulder. He opened the book and his eyes were aglow. Watching, the staff grew curious.
"Zoolna yhan golay byne gahan hofanta," he read. As he read, his body was aglow. The teachers sensed something coming. That's when a force began to shake the room. Pisces could only watch as others felt the shaking and tried to stay balanced. Ursula rushed to Ash, closed the tome and palmed his shoulder. The tremors stopped and everyone settled down from the chaos upcoming.
"We don't want another haywire moment so soon," she urged. Ash settled down and his eyes returned to normal.
"Right," he agreed. Hearing Ash's reading, Anne cupped her chin.
"I recognize that language," she studied. "In fact, it's an awakening incantation of the acceptance to the tome. If I recall, this language was lost around a thousand years ago." The others blinked to the timeline.
"A thousand?" repeated Ursula. Anne sighed to the lack of information.
"It's all that I have now," she murmured. "But there were special wizards tied to the language. What it contains, we have yet to see." The girls outside were starting to wonder about the case.
"Headmistress, what do we do?" asked Pisces. Miranda's arms were crossed and eyes closed.
"This may need a council about it," she thought before turning to the trainer. "Thank you, Ash. You're dismissed for now."
"We have a lot to talk about," Samantha advised. Ash nodded and headed for the door as the girls realized he was exiting and stepped aside. Ash opened the door with Pikachu on his shoulder. They were surprised to see the girls awaiting him.
"Girls?" he wondered.
("A welcoming party?") wondered Pikachu. The girls came to Ash, still concerned.
"Did you learn anything?" asked Diana.
"We're all anxious," Amanda told.
"Not much," Ash muttered. "Right now, Miss Finnelan is suspecting that the book- I mean, tome had to have been written around a thousand years ago."
"Oh, a millennium?" gasped Akko. "Ten centuries? A hundred decades?" Amanda smacked Akko in the head.
"We get it!" she snapped. "It was written a long time ago!" Akko whimpered in pain.
"Miss Finnelan also said that it was a language that died as well," Ash added.
"Interesting," Hannah hummed. Barbara had another piece of witnessing to brief.
"What about the glowing?" she pointed out. Ash blinked, unsure of what was brought up.
"Glowing?" he repeated.
"Yes, when we reached you in our bid to apologize," Diana reminded. "You were imbued in this veil of blue light." Ash looked to his hand, the one that unlocked the tome.
("She's not lying,") Pikachu confirmed. Ash began to ponder.
"Could it be my aura?" he wondered. "It hadn't been active since saving that Riolu from Hunter J in Sinnoh." The girls irked to the guess applied.
"Aura!?" they repeated in unison.
"Yeah, it's a long story," Ash mentioned. "Especially with a knight and a Lucario." Akko grew highly interested to the concept.
"Tell us!" she urged. "Let's go into the dining hall!" She led the way as the rest followed. Night fell and Ash and Pikachu were back in the tower. Krookidile had Alcor on his arm. Ash, Ursula and the Pokémon ate dinner to which the trainer was given the tome back.
"I get to have this?" he asked.
"You're the only one who can read the tome," Ursula informed. "Somehow, the language stems from olden times, but that's all we can decipher without you." Ash opened the tome and skimmed through the contents.
"I get that… I still feel like having this being a book for me is asking a lot."
"Perhaps, but after what happened yesterday and today, none of us are sure on many items, including its seal." Ash could only picture on the outcome. "By the way, what was that story you told the students?" Ash irked to the change of topic.
"About Sir Aaron and his Lucario?"
"Yes. It stems to reason that this aura is connected to you, especially how this Lucario mistook his trainer for you." A giggle came out of Ash's lips.
"It was a surprise. I-It's kinda remarkable at what has gone on before our time, doesn't it?"
"In a way. The history is something that we tend to focus on for the future at times." The thought made Ash agree.
"Now, if only my history with Miss Finnelan could work out for the future. I'm surprised that she actually helped out."
"Well, she's the Linguistics teacher. She'd have a better understanding of the languages used."
("Which did help determine the age of it,") Pikachu squeaked. Ash and Ursula giggled to Pikachu's insertion.
"Pikachu, who asked for your opinion?" teased Ursula. Pikachu itched his blushing head from the retort. Before long, it was time to sleep. The next day, Ash and Pikachu came to the lake once more, hoping to get a better chance to understand the tome.
"Hopefully, we have enough open space to keep everything safe," Ash assumed.
("Yeah, after the last two times,") Pikachu murmured. Ash stood and opened the tome.
"From all we know, there might be a spell that takes us home," he believed. As he set himself to read, Constanze, Jasminka and Amanda arrived to see Ash and Pikachu setting themselves.
"Yo, trainer!" greeted Amanda. Ash and Pikachu turned to the girls arriving. Constanze brought her tablet out for Ash to read.
THEY GAVE YOU THE BOOK?
"Well, Constanze," Ash started. "It's a tome. The teachers clarified."
"О, действительно? (Oh, really?)" gasped Jasminka. "So, zis tome iz one zat was couldn't be opened?"
"Pretty much," Ash confirmed. "And yet, only I can read what's in here." Amanda wanted to see for herself.
"Come on, pretty boy," she urged as she came to Ash's side. "Let's see." Ash opened the tome where Amanda took it and looked inside with Constanze and Jasminka hovering over. Amanda blinked to the contents. "Yeah, this is something I can't read."
"Da, za words are as useful as a stick," Jasminka struggled. "Constanze?" A headshake was Constanze's reaction.
"See what I mean?" pointed Ash.
"Totally," Amanda sighed. "But I'm highly interested in how you read this." Constanze and Jasminka nodded in interests. Amanda handed Ash the tome back. He brought it to the lake, steeling himself for the power. His eyes glowing blue again, Ash found the words to say. "Gwimzll Ulnzgrilm!" The book became aglow and so did Ash as winds circled around him at a high speed. Pikachu and the girls stood back as the winds grew in power. Ash saw what he was surrounded in, awing the power. 'Did I just summon surrounding winds? Not bad… but how to stop it?' That's when he gripped the air, touching the swirling winds with his fingertips. The winds dissipated. Ash seemed surprised with the result. 'Whoa… This is… awesome! I know magic! Let's see…' As Ash flipped through the pages, Pikachu and the students gasped to what they just seen.
"Did he… just perform magic?" questioned Amanda.
("I-I think so!") squeaked Pikachu. Ash looked to the book, still befuddled at what he said.
"Okay, let me try this," he studied before sticking his hand out. "Yil Lu Trosgrmt!" Words spoken, air circulated before a ball of electricity emerged at the palm of his hand. Seeing it, Ash brought the ball to himself and showed Pikachu and the girls.
"Невероятный! (Incredible!)" gawked Jasminka. While not understanding the student from Russia, Ash approached the group.
"It's like I'm holding Pikachu's Electro Ball," he compared.
("Scary enough,") Pikachu agreed. Constanze held her tablet to Ash for him to read.
COULD YOU GET RID OF THAT BALL, PLEASE?
Her face shown fear and Ash saw the problem. "Oh, right," he realized. "Pikachu, hit it with your Electro Ball."
("Can do!") prepared Pikachu. Ash tossed the ball up before Pikachu flung Electro Ball. The two orbs crashed into each other, exploding in midair but free from reaching anyone.
"There!" sighed Ash. "Out of harm's way."
"But this is incredible!" cheered Amanda. "You went from just helping Luna Nova Academy with no magic learned at all, and now you have magic in the palm of your hands!" Ash awed the feel of magic that he now possessed. Meanwhile, Ursula had returned to the tower after time outside.
"Oh, that Akko," she sighed. "Never a dull day with her." Alcor flew to his owner with a photograph in beak. Ursula saw it, curious to what was on it. "Was this in Ash's pile?" She looked to the photograph and paused, her eyes about to bulge out of her head. "It- It can't be!" Her body froze as a voice came to her head.
"I hope that one day, I can visit you with a family," a young woman's voice came out. That's when her mind pictured herself at a younger time without glasses and red hair. She was with a young auburn-haired woman. Both were wearing the school uniforms.
"That would be something," Ursula hoped. "But we need to make sure Anne doesn't find you. Did you see how jealous she was about what kind of witch you became in the last year?"
"Speak for yourself, Chariot! You practically gave me a run for every pence I earned!" The girls laughed. "But still, when I have a child and can reach you again… Is it okay for you to be my child's godmother?" Chariot awed the request. She gripped the auburn-haired's hands.
"I would be honoured!"
"Thank you so much! I promise one day that it will happen!" The flashback ended as Ursula dropped the photograph. She looked blankly ahead, disbelief holding herself in place.
"It looks like you," she murmured. "But is it really?" Outside, Ash prepared himself once again, this time with Akko, Sucy, Lotte, Diana, Hannah and Barbara joining. Pikachu watched from Lotte's head. Eyes glowing blue once more, tome opened to a new page, Ash prepared his last spell.
"Khvll Lu Zorglmrev!" He yelled as he held his hand in the air. Swirling winds spun around Ash's feet before his body started to rise. He was off the ground with his toes pointed to the ground. Pikachu and the girls awed Ash's ability to levitate from the ground.
"I'd say we have a new rising star!" joked Akko.
"That's for sure!" agreed Hannah. Ash relaxed as he replaced his feet to the ground. He took deep breaths from his time.
"Whew!" he huffed. "I might need more practice." Diana came forward and used a towel to wipe some sweat off of his forehead.
"Yes, but you've made astounding progress in only a full day," she complimented. Ash giggled as Sucy and Lotte joined.
"Who knows," Sucy started. "I could teach you some rather unique spells to scare some people to crap their trousers." Lotte sighed, not sure how to reason with Sucy.
"There are times where she scares me so much," she muttered.
"I thought we'd all be used to that," Akko shrugged. Barbara came to Ash as Constanze headed back to the dorms.
"But you did give us something to be on the look out for," Barbara praised. "Anyway, the sun's on its way down."
"Yeah, let's retire for the night," Amanda agreed. Jasminka came by with a bag as Pikachu rejoined Ash.
"Zis is a little snack," she offered. "Some Chak-chak." Looking inside, they saw ball-shaped snacks.
"Nice!" favored Ash. "Thanks!" Jasminka smiled before Ash and Pikachu headed back to the tower. Entering, the two spotted Ursula sitting by the table. There was no food on the table. "Miss Callists? Is something wrong?" Ursula looked to Ash, curious.
"Oh, Ash…" she gasped. "Sorry, I was… lost in thought."
"Hey, I've been like that, too," Ash giggled.
("No biggie,") Pikachu assured. Ursula gave a smile to Ash.
"By the way, I was able to learn magic by the lake from the tome you gave me," he claimed. "It is hard to pronounce it at first but as soon as I could, I made a lot of stuff happen. Akko's calling me a star in the making." Ursula laughed to Ash's bragging.
"That's incredible!" she awed. "Anne may not approve of you being a new magical user, but Delia might." Ash and Pikachu blinked, hearing Ursula mention Ash's mother's name.
"Delia?" he repeated.
"Oh, I found this picture of a woman who looks a lot like a friend named Delia," Ursula claimed as she presented the photograph Alcor found. Ash looked to the photograph, seeing his mother.
"Oh, I showed Akko, Diana, Lotte, just about every student this picture of my mom," he clarified. "And yeah, her name's Delia." Ursula gawked, now believing the name.
"Ash…" she hushed. "You mean to say that… you're Delia's son?"
"Yeah," Ash confirmed. "But… hold on a second… You know my mom?" Ursula's arms wrapped around Ash as Pikachu jumped onto the table with the Chak-Chaks.
"Oh, Ash…" she cried. "I know Delia and her wonderful smile anywhere! She's one my most dearest of friends… and not only that, she was also my classmate." Ash and Pikachu's eyes widened in surprise.
"Classmate!?" repeated Ash. "You mean my mom is a- is a-" Ursula nodded.
"Yes, Ash," she prepared. "Your mother was a student here at Luna Nova Academy. Your mother… is a witch!" Jaws fell like anvils at Ursula's confession.
("NO WAY!") snapped Pikachu. Ash froze at the confession. His mind raced to understand the truth. Nothing came out of his mouth, nothing came in. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he collapsed in Ursula's arms.
"Ash!?" she called out. She realized Ash had become unconscious. No one had a clue about Delia Ketchum. No one but her close friends knew about it. Her own son didn't know about his mother, about Delia Ketchum, a witch from Luna Nova Academy.
TO BE CONTINUED...