Chapter 29:

Insect

Silver turned in his sleeping bag, the unrelenting rocks and roots poking out of the ground below woke him again. He sat up.

Was there any spot he could sleep without something poking him in the back all night long?

He sighed, before getting out of his bag, and dragging it over to the foot of a nearby tree. He got back into the bag, leaning his back against the trunk of the tree. The bark was rough against his skin, even through his shirt. However, he found that, even after so long, he still slept better in a seated position than flat on his back.

He draped his jacket across his shoulders like a blanket and closed his eyes and attempted to sleep again. His fingers subconsciously wrapped around the odd, old Pokéball he wore on the chain around his neck.

He was almost asleep again, when a sharp tugging at his neck jolted him back awake.

"Wha…?" He murmured groggily.

A Murkrow had the Pokéball charm in her beak, and was trying to fly off with it. Before he could stop the Pokémon, the clasp of the chain broke, and the Murkrow flew off with its prize.

Silver cursed bitterly, jumping out of his bag, stumbling slightly in its folds, before dashing after the Murkrow.

No, damn it. You can't have that. I need that. It's all I have left.

Silver stumbled over an upturned root, but managed to keep the Murkrow in his sight. The bird Pokémon seemed to be flying leisurely, content in the fact that Silver—as a mere human—could not get at her or the prize she had stolen from him.

No! Silver thought again. No! Come back here! I need that. I need that! I can't lose that. Not now. Not now.

Not paying attention to where he was going, Silver yelped in pain as he stumbled and tripped over the remains of a rotting stump. He landed face-first into the soft dirt. He cursed again, spitting out chunks of dirt.

"Damn it!" He clenched his eyes shut. "Damn! Why am I such an idiot?"

He balled his hands into fists, and hit the ground with his forehead.

Something poked at the top of his head. Silver looked up to see the Murkrow standing just in front of him. The necklace chain was still held firmly in her beak. Silver reached out for it, and the bird Pokémon hopped backwards just out of his reach.

"Give that back!" Silver said. "Please! I can't lose that!"

It's all I have left.

The Murkrow chirped happily at him, flapping her wings to hover slightly above the ground.

"No," Silver said, shaking his head gently. "No, I don't want to play. Especially not with that. That's… that's very important to me. Please… just give it back."

The Murkrow gave a loud caw, landing just to hop up and down repeatedly.

"Please?" Silver was getting desperate.

The Murkrow stopped hopping and tilted her head at Silver. Now that she sat still, Silver could tell that this Murkrow was slightly smaller than others of her species.

"Come on," Silver said. "If you give it back, I'll give you some of the food I have back at the camp. Promise."

The Murkrow tilted her head the opposite way, before giving another happy chirp.

Before either of them could move towards or away from each other, a large, black and blue creature dashed out from the undergrowth, grabbing the Murkrow in its jaws. The Murkrow squawked loudly as the Luxio made off with it, dropping the chain before they vanished back into the forest.

Silver blinked, before stumbling to his feet and walking to his now discarded necklace. Relieved to have it back in his possession, Silver snapped the chain back together and slipped it back on his neck. He grasped the Pokéball that hung from it, giving a deep sigh. He looked over towards where the Luxio had taken the Murkrow. He hesitated, before groaning in frustration.

"Damn it!" Silver said, running off into the undergrowth after them. He caught up to see the Murkrow struggling to escape; the Luxio's jaws were clenched shut on her wing, despite the bird Pokémon's desperate attacks. Silver reached for Red's Pokéball, only to curse bitterly upon realizing that he had left his belt back at the camp. Instead, he leapt at the Luxio, punching the Electric feline Pokémon on the nose.

The Luxio yelped in pain, releasing its prey. The Murkrow quickly fled out of sight up into the cover of the trees. Furious at the loss of its meal, the Luxio turned on Silver, jumping up to bite him on the forearm he lifted in reflexive defense. A jolt of electricity ripped through Silver's body, which went rigid, and his throat refused to let him make a sound. Once the attack ended and he was released, Silver stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. The tingling sensation gradually faded, replacing itself with a dull throbbing in his skull and lower back.

"Damn… it," Silver groaned. He rubbed his head. He gingerly looked around slightly to see that the Luxio had left and would probably not be back.

A loud chirp rung through his senses, making him bolt upright into a stiff, sitting position. The pounding in his head intensified as the Murkrow returned to land upon it.

"Hello," Silver said in a flat tone.

The Murkrow gave another, much softer chirp before hopping to his shoulder. She gently nuzzled the side of his face with her beak.

"Yeah, yeah," Silver said, giving her a light pat on the head. "You're welcome. I guess."

The Murkrow made a soft muttering type of sound, opening and closing her beak dramatically.

"What?" Silver raised a brow. "Oh, yeah. I guess I did promise you. Come on." He stood up, the Murkrow staying solidly on his shoulder. "You're way too comfortable on there, you know."

She chattered happily, nuzzling his ear with her beak.

"Of all the Murkrow in the world," Silver muttered as he stumbled through the woods back to camp, "I have to find myself stuck with a cuddly one." First a Totodile, now a Murkrow. Do I just attract them? He tried to ignore the urge to smile—just a little.

Arriving back at camp, Silver quickly retrieved his pack and pulled out a small tub of Pokémon food. He opened it and offered the contents to the bird Pokémon. She ate from it gratefully, and earned a scowl of disapproval when she nipped at his earlobe affectionately.

Why do I get the feeling that I'm not getting rid of you? Guess I'll have to come up with a name, then.

After giving an exaggerated sigh, Silver looked away from the Murkrow. Refusing to make eye contact, he reluctantly scratched the underside of her beak. She chirped happily.

"Huuuuuhn, wha'?" Brendan yawned, half-waking to lazily sit up at look in Silver's general direction. "What's that? What's going on?" He asked rather slowly, his head nodding a few times with the pull of sleep.

"Nothing," Silver sighed, before relenting and giving the Murkrow's head feathers an affectionate ruffle. "Just go back to bed."

…

…

"Hey, Misty?" Aura looked over to the pale-faced teenager currently trying to merge her entire body with the Lucario's arm. "Could you please not rip that off? I'm kinda right-handed."

"What?" Misty barked suddenly, jerking on Aura's arm unintentionally. Aura yelped, causing the teenage girl to flush slightly. "Oh. Sorry. I just…" A loud, clattering sound from beyond the wall behind them caused her to trail off and jerk away from it in horror. Aura yelped again as the action caused another yank on her arm and shoulder.

"You know what?" Aura sighed, before burying her face in her free hand. "Never mind."

"Hey, guys!" Ash bounded into the sparsely decorated room, a goofy grin on his face. "You'll never guess who I just ran into!"

"More bugs…" Misty muttered too low for anyone but Aura to hear.

"I know one bug you're not afraid of, Misty!" Ash said. The words were hardly out of his mouth when a large blur flew in circles above his head before landing on it.

"Freeeeee!" The Butterfree gave a cheerful greeting. He had a yellow bandanna wrapped around his neck.

Misty jerked away in instinct, giving Aura's arm another sharp tug.

"It's my old Butterfree!" Ash said. "You remember Butterfree, don't you, Misty? You liked Butterfree."

"Free!" Butterfree flew to Ash's outstretched arm. He looked at Misty, before giving another cheerful cry in recognition of an old friend.

"I…" Misty tried to find her voice, before she gingerly started to reach out towards Butterfree.

"FREEEE!" Another, pink-colored Butterfree soared in and flew in rapid circles around the room.

Misty shrieked and turned sharply into Aura, nearly tackling her in a terrified hug.

"Or, maybe not." Ash gave his old Butterfree a gentle pat on his head while the bug Pokémon's mate slowly calmed down. "Maybe this was too much, too soon." The pink Butterfree landed on Ash's head.

"How do I get myself into these things?" Aura mumbled to herself as she tried in vain to peel the teenage girl off of her pelt. "Misty, you're gonna impale yourself on my chest spike if you keep doing that."

"What?" Misty looked up at her. "Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine," Aura grumbled, looking away pointedly. She turned to Ash. "So, you said this Butterfree used to be on your team?"

"Yeah. I caught him as a Caterpie at the beginning of my journey, just after Viridian City. He evolved quickly, and I let him go a while later with a bunch of other migrating Butterfree."

"That was, what, over six years ago, then?" Aura asked. "He's acting as if it's only been a few months."

"What does that mean?" Ash asked. "It doesn't matter if it's been six years or sixty; we'll always be friends. Right, buddy?" He gave the bug Pokémon a large grin.

"Freee!" Butterfree agreed cheerfully.

Aura tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes. Always?

"If you say so," she said after a long pause. "Where did Pikachu and Nyx go?"

"I'm not sure," Ash said with a shrug. "The Sage—what was her name? Hera? She said she wanted to talk to them privately."

"That's weird." Aura said. She tried again to pull out of Misty's grip. The teenage girl did not relent; in fact, she seemed to cling even tighter to Aura, muttering under her breath.

"Hey, Misty," Ash asked, concern heavy in his voice, "are you okay?"

"Huh?" Misty looked at him as if he'd only just appeared in front of her. "I'm fine. Fine. Fi-fine. I'm fine." She made a strange hiccup sound, before muttering to herself. "Bugs."

"Chosen One." A powerful voice announced the arrival of the Sage.

Ash turned sharply to face the large Vespiquen in the doorway behind him. Hera now wore a large, heavily jeweled collar made of gold with silver detailing. The two Butterfree flew off into the hallway anxiously, as if the Sage's presence made them uncomfortable somehow.

"Oh, hey," Ash said, "can I ask you something?"

"You apparently don't need my permission to do so."

"What?" Ash blinked. "Never mind. Can… I mean, I think… Misty's going to go insane here. She's going to snap if she sees one more Bug. No offense." He added in a quick, nervous tone.

"And your point?" She asked flatly.

"W-Well," Ash stammered. "She… If she'd be happier, I think she should be able to come with me."

"With you? You mean on your Test?" Hera asked. "Absolutely not. It is forbidden for any other human besides the Chosen One to be at any Shrine."

"But—!"

"No, Chosen One. You must take this Test alone," Hera insisted. "I'm sorry, but it's the way it must be. She made her choice to endure her fears here. You must now respect that choice."

Ash turned and looked at Misty. She was still gripped with terror, glued to Aura's pelt. The Lucario turned her head to Ash.

"Have you seen Jerzy?" She asked. "I swear to Arceus, if he's stealing from my pack, I'm gonna tear his—!"

"Wait," Ash said, turning sharply back to Hera. "Where are Pikachu and Nyx? I thought they were with you?"

"They're coming."

As if on cue, Pikachu suddenly bounded into the room and onto his trainer's shoulder.

"Hey, buddy!" Ash said cheerfully. "What's up?"

"Hera just needed to talk to use about our part in your next Test."

"But," Ash looked at the Sage again, "I thought you said I had to take it alone."

"You do, Chosen One."

"I don't understand."

"Nyx, perhaps you could demonstrate?" Hera motioned behind her.

The Shiny Umbreon sulked into view from the shadows. He avoided Ash's gaze.

"Nyx?" Ash tilted his head in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"…I—I…I'm sorry about this, Ash. Deeply sorry." He finally looked up, locking his gaze in Ash's just before the Umbreon's eyes began to glow pink in a Secret Power attack.

"What?" Ash blinked a few times, trying to shake the pounding headache that suddenly threatened to pull him under. "Why would you…why…Nyx, wh…?" Ash stumbled forwards, slurring his words. He eventually fell to the ground, his world swirling into darkness.

…

…

Ash groaned, rubbing his forehead gingerly as he came to.

"What hit me?" Ash looked around. He was in an intersection of several, winding dirt tunnels, dimly lit by torches secured to the walls. "Oh, yeah," he said as the memory came back. "What the hell, Nyx? What'd you do that for?" After a long moment of silence, Ash finally realized that he was alone.

Suddenly very awake and alert, Ash jumped to his feet. He turned around in sharp bursts, looking about rapidly, determined to find someone there.

Ash.

"Who's there?" Ash barked, doing a sharp one-eighty. "Where are you?"

A long silence followed, which Ash broke by clearing his throat. He rubbed his arms nervously for a brief moment before stumbling over to one of the torches mounted on a tunnel wall. He fumbled with it for a few moments, but he eventually managed to remove the torch from the wall.

Ash raised the torch to light the tunnel closest to him as much as possible.

Ash.

"Who are you?" He yelled down the hallway. "Where are you? What do you want?"

Ash… The voice echoed in his head. No. Voices. There were several voices speaking in vibrating whispers.

"What do you want?" Ash repeated, a slight edge creeping into his voice.

Come…come this way…

"Where?" Ash turned around again, moving the torch around rapidly, trying to find the source of the voices. "Where are you? Where do you want me to go?"

Come… The voices were louder now. Come, Ash… Ash turned about in multiple, sharp bursts, hearing the voices much more clearly when facing down a specific tunnel. Other than this apparent difference, there was nothing else special about the tunnel to separate it from the others.

"Hello?" He yelled down it. "Are you down there? Who are you?"

There was a long pause, the silence kept at bay only by the sound of Ash's heavy breathing. He started to walk quickly down the tunnel the voices seemed to be coming from.

"I'm coming!" He yelled, unsure if they could even hear him after all.

He stopped sharply at the sound of water splashing beneath his feet. He almost fell over from his disorientation in the low light.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed as he corrected his balance. The motion allowed the light from the torch to reveal the sheer cliff mere inches before him.

Ash yelled, jumping backwards in shock. He slipped on the wet stone and fell onto his back.

"Holy—!" Ash stared at the apparently endless drop. "That was way too close!" Wait. That voice! Or voices. Or whatever. They led me down here. They tried to kill me! A surge of indignation jolted through his chest as he carefully got back on his feet. What a terrible thing to do! Those jerks!

"But, where do I go?" He asked aloud. He rested his free hand against the stone wall to his left. He leaned his weight into it, only for the stone to give way under the pressure. Shouting again, he fell into the new gap in the wall, and down into a dark chasm. The torch tumbled down after him, illuminating the fall, the firelight reflecting off of a sticky substance on the walls.

Damn, Ash cursed to himself as he continued to fall. That's just wonderful. What the hell is even going on?

He felt a gentle force gripping briefly at his arms and wrists, letting go almost instantly before grabbing at him in vain a few moments later. He looked over at them to see that they were strains of some sort of sticky, yellow substance, strung between the irregular walls like strands of a spider web.

Hey, that might actually be useful! Ash grinned. He reached for the falling torch. He didn't know how much further the shaft went, but he knew he was running out of time. He managed to grab the torch safely, and swung it below him to illuminate the strands below. Honey? Sap? Whatever it was, he reached for one with his free hand. His grip held, and he swung by it towards the wall. Before he could make full contact, however, the strand broke near his hand and sent him downwards again. His sideways momentum still resulted in him slamming against the wall, however, in a sickening, wet sound as the stuff all over the wall splashed around him. He felt his fall slowing by the sensation in his gut lessening, but the substance from the wall splashed onto the torch, dousing the flame and leaving him in utter darkness.

Okay, Ash thought to himself after the goop covered his face and cut off his air supply. This is actually kinda disgusting. I really hope I don't die like this.

A few moments later, Ash noticed that his stomach had completely settled. The goop had stopped his fall, and he was simply stuck to the wall. On the other hand, he couldn't breathe, and his chest was starting to hurt. A lot.

Break out, and maybe fall to my death, or stay and definitely suffocate to death.

Ash… come down to us… Ash…

And the voices are back, Ash groaned. Why should I trust you? You almost killed me before.

No, we did not. The fall was much shorter than this one, and ended with a series of webbing to slow your fall before dropping you safely in a pool of water.

Ash started to mentally protest, but his chest burned with desperation. He forced himself away from the wall, breaking through the strange substance. Air exploded into his lungs as he felt himself being dragged down through the darkness again. The fall was brief, however, broken almost immediately by the surface of a pool of some sort of cool liquid. Ash swam across its surface until he found the edge. He pulled himself up onto the stone ground and lay back against it, breathing slowly.

Okay, maybe I was wrong.

Now you trust us. The voices almost sounded amused.

"So," Ash started, picking at the thin coating of the strange substance that still stuck to most of his skin and clothes. "What exactly is this stuff?"

You don't want to know.

"No, really. Is it honey, or—?"

Something similar, in essence. It's made in a similar manner, and it's similarly used to feed young Bug types. Beyond that, you don't want to know.

Ash realized he had no idea how honey was made in the first place. Other than by Beedrill and Combee, that is.

So, it's edible? He mused. He gave his hand an experimental lick—

—And regretted it instantly. The bitter taste left him coughing and cursing as he searched in vain for something to wash it out with.

The pool. He reached for the liquid, cupping a large amount in his hands.

Stop. The voices warned. It's the same thing.

But it feels just like water, Ash didn't believe them, pouring it into his mouth.

He coughed it right out again when he discovered that they had been absolutely right. And now his mouth felt dry and his throat burned, causing his eyes to water.

I need water.

There's a small fountain in the Shrine, the voices whispered. Follow us.

How? Ash asked. I can't see a thing.

Feel your way around, the voices said. We'll tell you when you're going the right way, or the wrong. Trust us.

Ash hesitated.

Well, not trusting you has just gotten me into more trouble. What the hell.

Ash stumbled slowly to his feet and slowly felt around for a wall to keep his hands against for balance. He closed his eyes; there was nothing to see in the darkness anyway, and trying was just giving him a headache.

Alright, he sighed. Lead the way.

For several long minutes, the voices whispered directions, leading him through many twists and turns, sloping up and down a few times, and even making him crawl through a few, undersized shafts that he could barely fit through. At one point, he didn't catch a warning in time, and clunked his head against a drop in the stone ceiling.

Just when he thought that he would never make it to the Shrine, that the voices really were trying to kill him after all, he felt and saw a burst of bright light through his eyelids.

Open your eyes, Chosen One.

Ash had never thought he'd be so relieved to see the familiar set up of intricately detailed walls and metal statues he'd gotten so used to over the past few months. But, the greatest relief was what he saw against the far wall, beyond the Orb Statue.

A simple, carved marble pool of water, with a simple, tall fountain in the center, the spray permanently darkening the golden walls behind it. He laughed enthusiastically as he ran towards it and leapt in. Water splashed everywhere, the sound so loud it was nearly deafening, but he didn't care. He was just thankful to get a bit of the weird goop off of his skin and clothes, and more than thankful to get that terrible taste out of his mouth. He eventually lay back against the edge of the pool, breathing slowly and deeply, enjoying the cool, stillness of the water.

"Okay," he finally said, dragging himself out of the pool. Water dripped in torrents from his clothes and hair. He lethargically circled back around to the front of the room while paying much more attention to his surroundings than before.

As always, the walls were made of carved stone, or at least appeared to be. This stone had a golden color to it, however, a bit like sandstone, but much brighter in hue. Instead of the usual torches, there were chunks of strange, yellowish-orange crystals of irregular shape and size that glowed with a bright, warm light.

Amber, maybe? Ash thought to himself, walking up to one and gingerly placing a hand against it. Fortunately, it was cool to the touch.

He looked over to the corner where he knew a Hikaru statue would be. Unlike the ones he had encountered already, this one depicted the young Hikaru not as a Riolu, but as a Lucario, made of silver. He was standing in an awkward position, as if he'd never stood on his own before. His face was carved with great detail, making his expression clear: he was staring at his own palms with great confusion.

Maybe this is what he looked like right after evolving, Ash thought. I wonder how soon after Hikaru's… after his defeat that the Temples and Shrines were set up, with these Statues.

Half-curled up slightly behind the statue on Hikaru's right was a silver statue of a Dragonair, her eyes shut in laughter.

The Dratini evolved, too?

The statue to Hikaru's left was that of a human—the Traitor—his hand resting on the Lucario's shoulder. He was older than before, likely somewhere in his early teens. His face was gentle, his jaw line barely defined beyond childishness, his medium-length hair tied back in a low, loose, short ponytail. He appeared to be wearing long pants, boots, and some sort of long poncho with no sleeves, the metal mimicking the folds of cloth as it draped over his outstretched arm. But, what stuck out most was the warm expression on his face, the light laughter that Ash could almost hear.

This is the guy who betrayed Hikaru? Ash felt confused. The Traitor? But, he looks so… good. He almost hit himself immediately upon thinking it. What am I saying? Of course he does. That's how he was able to betray Hikaru in the first place—he trusted him. Yet…

Ash stared at the statue.

He even kinda looks familiar. Like we could have been friends, or cousins or something.

Hikaru's words from before echoed in his mind.

Or brothers, Ash added with a deep grimace. He turned away from the statues in the corner to face the ones in the middle of the room. In the very center was the main Shrine statue—like the Hikaru statue in the corner, this one was of a Lucario instead of a Riolu, kneeling on both knees, and he held the Orb much closer to his chest. As usual, he was surrounded by appropriate statues of varying metals: Volbeat, Caterpie, Wurmple, Beedrill, Ledian, Heracross, Yanmega, Ninjask, Kricketune, Venomoth, and others. Ash was glancing from each to another when the golden Scizor behind the Shrine statue caught his eye. The Bug Pokémon statue stood in a solid, firm stance, and seemed to stare straight at him, one claw slightly raised. It made Ash recall the statue of the Rhyperior he'd seen in Ground Temple Shrine. However, this one didn't comfort him; it sent a chill down his spine. He gulped.

Ash looked at the Orb in the Shrine statue's hands. The Bug Orb. It was a swirl of a sandy brown and a pale, light green, and—as usual—it was a strange mix of transparent and opaque. Ash stared at it for a long moment, flexing and relaxing his hands. Once he was satisfied that his hands weren't still sticky from… whatever that stuff had been, he walked up to the Orb.

Let's just get this over with, Ash inhaled deeply before grabbing the Orb firmly with both hands.

He slammed his eyes shut almost instantly in response to the usual waves of pain that erupted through his arms to the rest of his body. A flurry of overlapping, unintelligible voices raged through his head.

Shut up, he thought in response. Shut up!

Ashura. A single, powerful voice spoke through the flurry, causing the others to soften drastically in volume.

Who are you?

I am the One and All, she said in disinterest. You are but a Part.

What do you mean? Ash asked. The pain had subsided, other than the mild throbbing in his head from the continuous, though muted, flood of voices.

You are of little consequence, if you are of any at all.

I'm the Chosen One, Ash retorted, insulted by her words.

You are but a fragment of history that has endured, nothing more, nothing less. Humans with your abilities were once common enough to be of little note. Just as you still are. They simply performed their purpose, using their ability to assist the overall population and—more importantly—to further the goals and follow the commands of those in charge.

Ash's mind was filled with a series of images, flashing by quickly, with most of the identifiable ones being that of large groups of people and Pokémon moving together. They were so close together and moving in such a uniformed manner, that it quickly became hard to distinctly identify any individual, the images quickly becoming seas of swirling colors. Ash shook his head.

But…

Selfishness only ever causes pain. The voice insisted. Look at the poachers and rogues who live outside of the constructs laid down by society's leaders. No, all must work together, in complete unison, under a single voice for guidance.

But…

Even villains and brainless idiots are less aimless and far more powerful and useful when united under a powerful leader, when they become simply cogs in a machine, rather than as rogue agents. Look at the Team Rocket you've encountered so often. Individually, each Grunt is capable of doing little but disrupting life for small groups at a time. But, unified by a powerful enough leader, and they can carry out complicated and successful operations. They can be an actual threat.

…That makes sense, Ash admitted.

Now, imagine that force, that unity, but channeled for a much more… constructive purpose. That is what we must become. This is what you must become a part of. The greater whole. You've already seen how combining with others can be of great assistance, if not an outright necessity; you would not have survived your trek through the dark labyrinth behind you if you had not allowed yourself to blend and conform with those who helped guide you here. In fact, defying this almost lead to your death. Twice.

Ash tried to make a reply, but had trouble forming a complete thought with the buzzing of the background voices still in his mind.

You are just a part of the whole of this world. This cannot be changed. You must accept this, or perish. Your powers do not change the fact that you are but a single drop of water in the seas. The seas require there to be many, many such drops of water, but in the end, they do not matter individually. They are not special. And neither are you.

Was she right? Ash felt everything becoming fuzzy. Could she be…?

"Pikapi." A familiar voice broke the trance.

No, Ash retorted firmly. We may be able to do more when we work together, but that doesn't make us mindless drones. We don't have to sacrifice who we are, and being a part of a team doesn't mean you throw away your identity. I am still me, no matter what. I am an individual and I am special. Because I choose to be. I have a choice.

I am Ash Ketchum. I am the Chosen One. I choose to work with my friends, my Pokémon, to better myself. I have chosen to accept my destiny, to help people. I don't do it because some control freak took over my mind and made me. We may have flaws and mess up, but the very fact that we are all different allows us to make up for that. Our differences make us stronger.

You are wrong. I will not let this Element control me. I am the Chosen One. This is what I choose.

The voices suddenly stopped whispering in his mind. Before the waves of pain could start again, Ash lifted up on the Orb with all his might, pulling it clean out of the Shrine with a loud pop!

Ash fell back onto the floor. He looked at the Orb in his hands.

Well, that was… Ash's thoughts trailed off. Well, at least it didn't hurt as much this time. And I'm not even tired. I guess this gets easier after a while. He lifted his left hand, the metal gauntlet flickering into view. The Orb shrunk to a more manageable size and he slid it into its appropriate slot. That's seven. Seven total Elements, out of… eighteen? Yeah. At this rate, we'll be done before my next birthday. He smiled, looking over to his right.

"Pikachu?" He blinked at the yellow Pokémon. "How long have you been here?"

"A while. Hera said you would need a guide back through the tunnels to the main Temple areas."

"Sorry I didn't notice you before," Ash said nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

"You did when it mattered most." Pikachu smiled. Ash ruffled the top of the Pokémon's head.

I… maybe.

"Let's head back," Pikachu said, running over to the tunnel entrance. "You smell funny and need a bath, anyway."

"Hey!" Ash said in false indignation. "That's not my fault! I didn't know that I'd have to deal with this… weird goop."

"Just give us a light, will ya?" Pikachu fought back a laugh.

What? Ash looked at him for a long moment. Oh. He remembered, raising his left hand again. He focused on one of the Orbs, and it began to emit a white light. Flash. Right. That would have been useful a while ago. I need to try to remember these things better.

"Lead the way, buddy," Ash said, trying to hide his disappointed scowl as he followed the Electric Pokémon back into the tunnels.

…

…

"I'm really, really sorry."

"It's okay," Ash reassured the Shiny Umbreon.

"For the umpteenth time," Aura added in a low growl from the corner of the room.

"Hera said you had to start off totally lost and alone," Nyx kept rambling, unaware the others had said anything. "We needed an easy, safe way to knock you unconscious while you were taken to—I had to be the one, to make sure you weren't really hurt! Hera suggested using her Aide to use Headbutt on the back of your skull or something, but I couldn't let—!"

"Nyx!" Ash snapped. "It's okay. Calm down."

"You could have been killed!"

"That's never been the case before," Aura said dryly. She tried to adjust Misty's death grip on her, but the teenager was all but welded to her pelt.

"Good point," Nyx relented. "But, this time it would have been my fault."

"No, it wouldn't," Ash said. "If I had died on the Test, I'd have died whether you helped me get to it or not."

"Yeah, he certainly doesn't need any help getting his ass in trouble," Aura said with a dark chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Ash grumbled.

"So, where are we going next?" Aura asked.

"Yeah, isn't Hera supposed to—?"

"I asked her to give us space," Aura interrupted, "to try to… ease tensions."

Ash tilted her head at the Lucario in mild confusion. Aura pulled at Misty's arm, which was wrapped around her neck, to try to adjust the teen's grip to allow for easier breathing.

"Oh."

"The Ghost Element is next in the cycle," Nyx supplied. "The Spirit Temple is somewhere in or around Mount Pyre. That's in Hoenn, unless I'm mistaken."

"No, you're right," Aura said. "It's in Hoenn."

"Mount Pyre?" Ash asked. "I've never been there."

"It's a bit like the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town," Aura explained. "It's a burial ground and shrine for deceased Pokémon. Makes sense that Ghosts would be able to gather and hide there. Only the most reckless or outright stupid Trainers are willing to battle there; just being in the mountain's shadow tends to make most very nervous."

"Why?" Ash asked.

"No clue." Aura shrugged. "I've never been there before."

"Neither have I," Nyx said.

"How will we find the Temple there?" Pikachu asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Nyx admitted. "From what I've learned about the Ghost Sage by meeting him at Hikari's Keep, it seems that the Temple will find us or… something."

"That makes no sense," Aura said. "How can a place find anything?"

"I don't know. I didn't speak to him long. He really unnerved me."

"Me too," Aura agreed. "Though I recall he was one of the Sages who voted to leave me alone, back when I was at the Keep. Which was a pleasant surprise; I would've expected him to vote to have me killed."

"Some of the Sages wanted to have you killed?" Ash gaped at her.

"Only a couple," Aura said. "Most of the… negative votes were to simply chase me out of the territory or to hold me at the Keep until a better decision could be made. And even those only had a couple votes. Most of the Council voted in my favor."

"What exactly happened when you were at the Keep?" Ash asked.

"A lot." Aura said firmly. "I heavily suggest that we leave first thing in the morning." Aura pulled at Misty again, but the teen's death grip was as unbreakable as her blank stare. "You also smell," she added with glare at Ash.

"Yeah," He said nervously. "I fell into… actually, I don't know—"

"And I don't want to know. Just, go take a shower already." She paused. "And scrub your clothes while you're in there."

"Yes, Mom," Ash scoffed as he walked out of the room into the Temple hallways.

"I'm not the mom here," Aura muttered to herself, absent-mindedly ruffling Misty's hair. She looked over to her right, where Jerzy had suddenly materialized. The masked Rattata scratched at the back of his neck under her glare. "And wherehave you been?"

…

…

A/N: You don't want to know. Don't even ask.