I never planned on doing this particular arc. It has kind of got away from me as I just kept on writing. Hopefully it ties up some of the story so far and it ends up resolving itself.
Cheers for the reviews. They mean a lot.
Chapter 31- Flowers can be very deceiving.
Lance and the Elite Four were sitting around a table in Goodshows office with Blue and Charles discussing the upcoming League Tournament. They were sifting through documents detailing the challengers who were due to participate in the event when all of them suffered the most severe headache they had ever received. After several minutes they had managed to recover when another spike lanced through their heads. It took them at least ten minutes for them all to recover. Just when they thought they were ok Blues pokegear went off making them all jump in surprise.
"Hello dad" Blue said "did you feel that too? What do you mean it was Ash? What do you mean Ilene has Red? You're not making any sense Dad so calm down and explain."
The others looked on in concern, Charles looked intrigued as he had no idea who this Ash was. The name was familiar though, but he couldn't recall. He simply had to wait for the call to end. Blues demeanour though was very concerning as he was getting steadily horrified as the call went on.
"I'll head there now" Blue said hanging up and standing up. Turning to the rest he said "Ash Ketchum has lay siege to Rota. Ilene has Red."
"What?" Charles said standing up "who the hell is Ash Ketchum, and why has he attacked Rota?"
"Ash is Red's son" Lorelei said also standing up.
"Champion Red?" Charles asked confused "I've not heard that name for over a decade now. I wonder what became of him."
Looks of concern came over every member of the Elite Four at the statement.
"Charles" Agatha said slowly "he died in the explosion to Viridian Gym remember? He was fighting the Rocket Boss and died when the building collapsed."
Waving his hand in dismissal Charles said "no he didn't. I distinctly remember him coming to me saying he needed time off to be with his family just before that happened."
"Charles" Blue said "we held a funeral for him here at the Plateau. You were there too, remember?"
"Yes" Charles said "I remember. It wasn't a funeral though; it was a celebration for Red where I unveiled his statue that was to be placed in the hall of Champions."
"No, it wasn't" Blue said angrily "It was a funeral. We were all there. We all were part of it. Delia and her newborn son Ash were there too. It was clearly a funeral. We are still feeling his loss. What are you playing at?"
"My faculties are still all here, thank you very much" Charles said angrily looking around at the concerned faces "I know what I presided over. It was part of Reds plan after all."
"Red's plan?" Lorelei asked, "what plan?"
"To root out Team Rockets leader" Charles said shocking them all "Red knew that he had to hunt him down. He was the one to suggest Blue as his replacement, which has worked out well for all involved."
"Red abandoned his family?" Blue asked shocked.
"No" Charles said "at least not to my knowledge. I've not heard from him since that time though. I do wonder from time to time where he is."
"So why would Ash attack Ilene?" Agatha asked.
"The time flower" Bruno said as recognition dawned on his face "I went rooting around trying to find out information on his disappearance. And the only item left behind at Viridian Gym apart from his cap was a strange crystal looking thing that was quickly taken out of police storage and relocated somewhere else. There was no name attached to the forms to release it either."
"Why were you rooting around?" Charles asked furiously "you knew that you were not allowed to do so, all of you signed that contract."
"And not one of us are able to recall why, nor can we recall what we signed" Agatha said acerbically "can you?"
"Of course," Charles said still looking angry "we all signed an NDA disclosing what happened at Cinnabar Island and Viridian Gym."
"And none of us know what happened at Viridian Gym" Blue said still angry "so why don't you enlighten us."
After a minute of thinking Charles said "you know, I can't seem to remember. How very strange."
"Convenient you mean" Blue said "get the folder out. I think it's time we all read what we signed, don't you."
Confused Charles stood up and went to a panel on the wall. Scanning his hand and eye on a panel a doorway opened behind the wall and he walked inside. They could hear him muttering as he looked in various cabinets. Finally, though he came out with a very thin manilla folder and placed it on his desk. Putting his glasses on he opened it, and they were all shocked to see instead of various reports a single piece of paper. Reading it aloud Charles became very angry.
"Dear Elite Four and friends
I'm sure you were all expecting to see a piece of paper in the folder informing you just what you signed. I have to say the NDA was a stroke of genius on Charles' part as I've been able to live my life very comfortably these past years because of it. I knew someday though that the game would be up, and I would be on the run again, this time chased by everyone in Kanto. Which is why I'm not in Kanto. I am however putting plans in place that will keep you guessing for hopefully years to come. Reds disappearance could not have come at a more convenient time, for me anyway. His death was needed. He was far too meddling and honourable to appreciate what I accomplished. I just wish I could have been the one to do the act. Sadly, I was locked up at the time. It was a minor inconvenience. One that was rectified not long afterwards.
I'm sure you were all wondering just why you are unable to recall what happened, or what you signed. That was by design. Did you really think I wouldn't put a failsafe in every single one of my creations? Mewtwo is a work of art, one whom I alone control and when it is time to come out of the shadows then I will do so. Until then keep floundering away. I will watch on with amusing interest.
Until that time my friends.
H. J. Fuji
"Fuji?" Agatha said, "that man is behind all of this?"
"No" Charles said "he's the right-hand man of the Rocket Boss. But Hanori seems to be the brains behind a lot of this. And if he's in control of Mewtwo then he's in control of a very powerful psychic Pokémon that has the ability to teleport great distances and apparently manipulate minds. I suspect Mewtwo was the one to help Rocket escape Viridian Gym."
"None of this explains where Red has gone though" Blue said, "he gave you no indication where he was going?"
"No" Charles said "I went ahead with the plan to unveil his statue and promote you to the Champion position because Red wanted it. I thought he was missing from the event because he was busy or had found a lead. You all knew how flighty the boy was, I thought this was more of the same. The original question stands though, why would Reds son attack the Queen of Rota."
"Reds disappearance was a strange one" Bruno said "as I said I felt compelled to help Ash and Delia to find out what happened to Red, we all share some of the blame for keeping her in the dark for over ten years. Ash found out a lot of information on his own, pieced together from articles he found online or in various places. He suspects you are hiding the murderer or information about what happened at Viridian Gym and is determined to unveil it all to the public. If I were you, I'd release that statement to the press or Ash himself before he becomes Champion, because believe me he will do so."
"He still has to beat all of you" Charles said looking worried.
"He'll beat us" Agatha said firmly "he's already cleared the gym challenge in record time despite taking a month off due to spend time with Delia. The last two battles he has had he's beaten Blaines Elites without knowing and faced Giovannis Elites too and won. He's heavy favourite to win the league this year."
"Getting back to my point" Bruno said "when I went searching for information, I came across a curious report about what was recovered from the gym. The officer at the time reported a 'strange crystal' being boxed and processed. This crystal was then taken out of storage a few weeks later and it disappeared. I told Ash this and he confirmed it was a Time Flower. Something that Rota and its Queendom know all about."
"My dad told me he was recently given some information that Ilene is in possession of the Time Flower and has kept it a secret for over ten years." Blue said "Delia and Ilene already cannot bear to be in the same room as each other due to Ilene trying to claim Red for herself despite knowing Aura Guardians marry for life. On top of that she had her right-hand man Sir Riley attack Ash when he was six to see if he had Aura, another way to try and claim a Ketchum."
"Because of Queen Rin and Aaron Ketchums affair, I suspect" Charles said leaning back and shocking them all "don't look so surprised. I've known all about Rins secret for years now. It's not exactly a secret really either. It's well documented if you know where to look. So, she tried to claim Ash too then?"
"Yes" Blue said "only it didn't work. Delia sued Rota and won. Delia taught Ash about aura while as compensation guardians from Rota trained him. Ash is more powerful than any guardian has ever been, which was another sore point against Ilene. Her ancestors have long wanted a Ketchum to infuse aura with into their bloodlines, and if they couldn't do that, they tried to make them subservient to the reigning Queen. She enslaved Red under the guise of Aura Guardian and tried to keep him and Delia apart. It didn't work. But the resentment from Delia stayed and was passed on to Ash. He refused to become a guardian and has actively fought against Ilene and her household. And there is nothing they could do about it. Ash is too strong to confront directly."
"And now he has attacked Rota?" Charles asked.
"Yes" Blue said standing back up releasing his Alakazam "we need to go and stop him from doing too much damage. I seriously doubt any prison we put him in could hold him either. No, we need to do this peacefully. And quickly." Nodding the others all stood up too.
"I would like to come too" Charles said as he pocketed the paper from before and walked over to the wall where he closed the door. "I would like to explain to Ash and Delia where we messed up."
Nodding to Alakazam there was a bright purple flash, and the room was suddenly emptied.
Elsewhere
The amount of Aura expelled from Ash was felt across Kanto. Several Legendaries nearly fell out of the sky as they felt the Chosen Ones anger. The Lords and Ladies of their species immediately halted what they were doing and headed as quickly as they could to where the spike was felt. The second spike just made the need more urgent.
They were all very concerned as something like this hadn't been felt in well over a decade. And before that it had been centuries. That had resulted in the Aura Wars.
Mewtwo was putting the finishing touches in his laboratory when he felt the spike. Looking up he grinned. It seemed the games were about to begin. Sending out a mental message he finished what he was doing and contemplated viewing what was going on. Deciding against it he continued finishing his project. He could not allow anything to deter him from his goal. He had already taken care of the other Mewtwo. He was far superior and the scum who had tried to create a new one was quickly dissuaded from trying again, they were now a part of his staff creating the same machines on his island. He was unique.
He did wonder what happened to the Mew that was being used to create a copy of himself. All anyone could tell him, despite hours of torture was that it had been moved to a different facility and that it was doubtful it would survive that journey. He did wonder if he should feel empathy for his 'sister' but decided that as he didn't know her then he didn't care. Plus, Arceus should have intervened if she wanted her saving. It was yet another point against the supposed Deity. Soon humankind would feel his wrath, and any Pokémon that helped would be eradicated too. He grinned as his loyal Dragonite landed behind him.
Ash
It had been a long time since he was allowed to release his Aura out the way he was doing now. It felt so freeing. He had been purposely keeping it reined in for years now, to keep Ilene from knowing how strong he actually was. Landing in the courtyard he released his Pokémon and told them his plan. He kept Bagon in her ball as she was a liability at the minute as she was untrained and would stand no chance against rotas guardians. His Pokémon and himself had made quick work of the guardians who had been patrolling. He didn't know that his aura being unrestrained was having a negative effect on anyone inside the palace. All he knew as he marched towards the ornate double doors was that he was still unchallenged. They came to the hallway leading to the banquet hall and saw a lone Lucario standing guard at the door.
"Stand aside Lucario" Ash said quietly "I have no quarrel with you."
"You are a threat to our Queen" Lucario said rushing forward with a Bone Club ready. Pikachu immediately rushed forward with an Iron Tail and deflected it before Ash fought it. The poor Pokémon had no chance against the two and was quickly defeated.
"Charizard, Ivysaur and Wartortle. I want you three to guard the hallway. No one passes, any force necessary guys, Charizard you're still on Blast Burn restriction. Machoke with me please."
Standing facing the double door he could feel a mass of Aura congregating together on the opposite side of the door.
"Mum" Ash said as he began to gather his hand together creating a ball of Aura "please stand behind me." Soon enough the ball became the size of Ash himself and with a roar he launched it at the doors which quickly became splintered wood. The impact blew them clear off their hinges while the aura sphere rushed forward taking out the assembled group of Lucario. Stepping over their unconscious bodies Ash took in what was in front of him. Riley and several aura guardians seemed to be in acute pain holding their heads, several dignitaries were quite clearly frightened, and Ilene was terrified. He felt his mum move around him and watched on in amusement as she grabbed Ilene by the hair and threw her to the ground.
"I will ask you this once and once only Ilene" Delia said growling "where the fuck have you put my husband?"
"I don't know what you're on about" Ilene said clearly distressed before crying out in pain as Delia grabbed her hair and yanked it before delivering a vicious slap to Ilene's face.
"I will ask again" Delia said grabbing her by her hair "and I better not have to ask a third time. Where is my husband?"
"I don't know" Ilene screamed in agony as Delia threw her down and kicked her in the ribs.
"You are the one who stole his time flower" Delia said grabbing her again "now, you're really trying my patience here Ilene. This will be the last time I will ask you. There will not be another. Where is my husband's Time Flower?"
Ash watched on amazed at how vicious his mum was being. Clearly, she also had some pent-up anger against Ilene which was very justified as far as he was concerned.
"I don't have it" Ilene said crying "I don't have it."
"Right" Delia said standing up and dragging her by the hair out of the doorway "Ash, I'm borrowing Charizard for a few minutes. I'll be back soon." Curious Ash took one last glance around and noticed Riley was starting to come too. Before he could Ash delivered an Aura infused punch and knocked him out. He quickly followed his mum who had just finished explaining what she was doing to an amused Charizard. He followed them out into the courtyard and was amazed when Delia climbed onto Charizard, who had grabbed Ilene and they took off into the air.
Several pops gained Ash notice. His Pokémon immediately tensed up expecting a fight. Ash knew who it was instantly.
"What are you doing here Blue?" Ash asked, "let me guess, Sam rang you."
"Yes" Blue said walking forward followed by his fellow elites and stopping ten feet away. "He expressed concern for you and your mum about some information you received."
"Yes" Ash said looking up "we're about to get some more information any second now. I'd advise you to move as you're all in the splash zone."
"What splash zone?" Charles asked as they all looked up "and who are we looking at?"
"Oh" Ash said casually "that's my Charizard with my mum. In his hands is Ilene. I fear if she doesn't tell my mum soon where she has hidden my father Rota will be having to find a new Queen."
"That's Ilene?" Lorelei asked shocked "why is she up there?"
"Well soon she'll be down here" Ash said smiling "all she needs to do is tell us where my dad is. It's not difficult."
"We'll have you for murder boy" Charles said.
"No, you won't" Ash said laughing "accidents happen all the time. You have no proof she didn't want to go for a ride with mum and Charizard and if she happens to fall then who can say it wasn't an accident?"
"You have just told us" Charles said blustering.
"Hearsay" Ash said smirking "you're lucky I don't ask Charizard to do the same to you given your part in my father's disappearance."
"Charles didn't know" Bruno said looking at Ash "we were all duped."
"A likely story" Ash said shaking his head "and I suppose he said that his mind has been wiped too?"
"It has Ash" Bruno said, "all of us have been played by Fuji."
Before anyone could say anything Charizard landed with a sobbing Ilene and a driven looking Delia.
"Reds time flower is hidden behind a panel in her room. Come on. I want my husband back." Delia said.
"You will be going nowhere" Charles said firmly "we will be arresting you for what you've done here. Blue, Elite four arrest them that's an order."
Before anyone could move though several screeches could be heard from above. Everyone looked on in amazement as three Legendary birds landed in the courtyard.
"Chosen One" Zapdos said telepathically so everyone could hear them "what ails you?"
"This woman has known what has happened to my father for over ten years now and said nothing" Ash said pointing to Ilene. "we're here to retrieve his Time Flower to find out what happened the day he disappeared. These five have just been ordered to arrest us to stop that happening."
Immediately the three birds looked sharply at the five in question. "That will not be happening. Go and find your father while we have a nice chat with these five" Moltres said hopping forwards and towering over them. She was quickly backed by Articuno and Zapdos who did the same blocking off their vision.
Nodding Ash and Delia entered the palace and made their way to Ilenes room. She had given Delia detailed information about where her room was and how to access it. So, Ash followed his mother's directions and soon enough they were at a very ornate door. Opening it he let his mum lead the way over to a bookcase, she removed a few books to find a panel with a strange slot on it. Opening her hand Ash was surprised to see a ring in her palm. Delia placed it into a slot on a panel and the bookcase moved sideways. Both of them took a deep breath and entered the hidden room where they were amazed to find many chests lining one side of the wall, the back end was full of cubbyholes with various scrolls in them and the last side was filled with mannequins with various dresses and staffs and swords. Ash walked over to one of them as he felt a distinct pull coming from a staff, that was part of an Aura Guardians outfit. As he was about to take hold of it, he was distracted by his mum calling his name. coming to himself he gave the staff one last look before heading over to a chest that his mum had opened. As he stood beside her he took a look inside and felt himself gasp. There on a cushion was a Time Flower.
"I can't grab it mum, it'll activate" Ash said, "You'll have to pick it up."
Nodding Delia took out a cloth she had brought from home and carefully wrapped the Time Flower in it and placed it in her bag. As she turned to leave, she noticed Ash still being distracted by the staff.
"What's wrong Ash?" Delia asked, "since we entered here you've not been able to take your eyes off that staff."
"I'm not sure mum" Ash said as they both walked over "but for some reason my aura is pulling on the staff, in particular the gemstone on top."
Before Ash could say anything, Delia grabbed it and walked out of the door. She pulled the ring out of the panel and watched as the bookcase slid back into place. Ash quickly followed her back outside where a very scared Ilene was hiding behind the Elite Four as Lorelei tried to tend to her. Riley was there too holding onto his head where a bruise had quickly formed.
The legendary birds noticed Ash and Delia walk back out and moved aside as they walked towards the gathered group. Evidently the guests Ilene had didn't want to stay inside the palace and had made their way outside to be with their Queen.
"We have the Time Flower" Delia said as she crouched down beside a clearly terrified Queen "for over eleven years you have known about the last moments of my husband and never said a word. During our negotiations a few months ago, you never once mentioned that you had his time flower. Out of pure spite you let Ash and I suffer just because you wanted my husband for yourself. What I did to you, you fully deserved. You're lucky that I didn't kill you for what you've pulled."
"You're going to be arrested" Riley said walking forward "you attacked our Queen!" Many approving voices from the crowd shouted their agreement. That was until Ash glared at them.
"Nothing will happen to them" Blue said walking forward "As Champion I declare this need to know only. Ilene has disgraced her office with what she has done. How long do you think she'll still be Queen when the public finds out she could be complicit in the death of the last Pokémon Master? Because believe me, should Ash and Delia be silenced I won't be." Turning to Delia and Ash he continued "as for you two you will pay for the refurbishment of everything you have destroyed today. Before you say anything just know that while I agree getting Reds Time Flower back was necessary, the way you went about it was very wrong. My father is in some distress at home because of your actions."
"Your father has nothing to do with this Blue" Ash said "but we will apologise. As for your terms I accept. Just send me a bill."
"We do not accept" Riley said furiously "you attacked our Queen! That cannot go unpunished! A fine is a slap on the hand."
"Riley" Ilene said in a quiet voice "we accept the terms." Riley spluttered with outrage as did the crowd around her, but their Queen had spoken. Standing up she walked towards Delia who took a defensive stance and glared at her. "As for me I can only apologise for my actions. I admit I wanted a piece of Red with me, I was devastated at his death. I have loved him since I first met him. But he belonged to another, and I resented that. When I found out he left a Time Flower from an agent we had in place in the police department I knew that it needed to be here. If it comforts you any, I was never able to activate it, nor can any of the guardians here."
"It does" Delia said glaring at her "we accept Blues terms. I hope we never meet again Ilene."
"You're not going anywhere with Sir Aarons staff" Riley said walking forwards "that does not belong to you. It is an heirloom of Rota."
"So that's why you are drawn to it" Delia said looking at Ash "your aura is resonating with it because he's your ancestor, and this was his staff."
"It resonates with you?" Riley said looking confused.
"Yes" Ash said walking forwards to his mum "the gemstone in particular is calling out to me; I have no idea why though."
"Usually when that happens it's because of a message has been placed inside the gemstone" Riley said looking at Ilene "but this staff was found outside the Tree of Beginning. Who would he be leaving a message to?"
"Only one way to find out" Delia said handing the staff to Ash. As soon as he touched it the world turned blue to everyone who were briefly blinded by a flashing light. Everyone took a step back as in front of them the light grew bigger. Eventually it died down and in front of them a Lucario had appeared.
Gasping it took a breath and pulsed its aura out in order to centre itself. After a minute Ash felt the aura retreat back into the Lucario. As it stood up it looked around and its gaze came to rest on Ash. Ash could see the moment fury had taken over the Lucarios mind and immediately he shifted into a defensive stance. It was very necessary as without warning Lucario launched himself at Ash and attacked him. Ash let his aura flow and take over him as for the next few minutes he countered everything Lucario attacked him with. Ash knew he could have ended this fight whenever he wanted to but as it was a new opponent, with a much different fighting style than the rest of the Rota Lucario he found himself enjoying the fight. It was when an Aura Sphere launched at him that nearly hit his mother that Ashs demeanour changed, and he started to viciously fight the Lucario who was incredibly surprised to find itself on the back foot. Soon enough it had lost when Ash caught his legs with a sweep and was placed into an arm bar/choke hold. Lucario knew it was beaten but it was still furious. He was also helpless though and stopped moving. As soon as he was released, he tried to get up but a foot on his chest stopped him.
"I have no idea why you attacked me Lucario and quite frankly I don't care. You fought well though. I have very little doubt that you would wipe the floor with every guardian here at Rota. I, however, am not your enemy." Ash said removing his foot and holding out a hand.
Lucario took the time that Ash was speaking to centre himself again. When he was let go, he grabbed Ash's hand and got back onto his feet. Looking around he was amazed to find he wasn't in Rota, or certainly not the Rota he remembered.
"What year is it, Sir Aaron?" Lucario aske shocking them all that he could speak human. "And why did you betray me?"
"I am not Aaron" Ash said looking at Lucario who sharply looked back "and it is the year 1999."
"1999" Lucario said shocked "but how?"
"It has something to do with time and years passing" Ash said sarcastically earning a snort and a mild glare from Lucario.
"You have some nerve Sir Aaron belittling me" Lucario said.
"I am not Sir Aaron" Ash said "I am his descendant. My name is Ash."
Looking around at the assembled party he stopped when he saw a beaten-up Ilene. Rushing over to her he said "Queen Rin? Who did this to you?"
"I am not Rin, Lucario" Ilene said smiling sadly "I am her descendent, Ilene. You mentioned Aaron. Was he the one to seal you?"
"Yes" Lucario growled "the coward abandoned the Queen, fled the war and sealed me in the staff before I could stop him."
"That makes no sense" Riley said "we found his staff outside the Tree of Beginning. There was clear evidence that he went inside but we could not gain access to it."
"The coward fled the war" Lucario said "he was angry his child had been taken from him, so he decided to go and be with her rather than do his duty and protect Rota."
"That's not possible" Ilene said shocked "the accounts from Queen Rin say he did something at the Tree of Beginning that stopped the war, disappearing at the same time. His actions are what led Malokei to flee from the battle."
"So, it's true" Delia said after a minute's silence where people gathered their thoughts "Riley and Rin did have a secret child. One that eventually led to my husband Red and Ash."
"So, it would seem" Lucario said looking at Ash "how does it feel knowing your ancestor was a coward?"
"It doesn't bother me" Ash said shrugging his shoulders "his actions were his own, I am not accountable for anything other people did. And as it was nearly a millennia ago you have no way of proving he was a coward."
"Then I will find proof" Lucario said as he drew himself up. Looking at Riley he said "if he went inside the Tree of Beginning then I will find a way inside and locate his body. If his body isn't there, then that should be proof that he fled. Agreed?"
"Agreed" Riley said smirking at Ash.
"You forget Riley" Ash said, "no matter how much you want this to be true I am still more powerful an aura user than you will ever be." Looking at Lucario he said "I will go with you. I want absolute proof before you cast aspersions on my family name."
"Very well" Lucario said.
Turning to his mum Ash said "Go home. I'll be there as soon as I can. I'll phone you when I'm done with this situation. Frankly I don't care about Aaron, but I know Dad would."
"Actually, we would all like to know what happened to Red" Charles said "I've kept out of this so far as we found some information that you and your mother needed to know this morning. We have all been duped by someone we had no idea had the capability to do so. Your mum will be well looked after at the Plateau, I give you my word."
"Mum" Ash said "it's up to you. They can't force you."
"I'll go with them" Delia said, "we need information still and this time flower might be what we're looking for."
Nodding Ash hugged her before turning to Lucario. "Want me to meet you there?"
"How are you getting there?" he asked in reply.
"I planned on flying on Charizard" Ash said "I want to get this over with. And it's very late at night. I planned on camping outside the tree tonight and heading inside in the morning."
"I shall meet you there then" Lucario said as he took off running in the direction of the tree.
"I'll take the staff with me. It could unlock something in the Tree. I'll bring it back, don't worry" Ash said as the crowd gasped in outrage "I don't need a staff to fight with, and it doesn't mean anything to me."
Ash recalled all his Pokémon that had observed the interaction and kept silent. Everyone except Charizard. He thanked the Legendary birds for their assistance and vowed to repay them at some point before he climbed on Charizard and flew off into the night leaving Blue to transport the Elite Four, Charles, Riley and Ilene with them leaving a crowd to disperse muttering about what had happened.
Charizard quickly overtook Lucario as he didn't have any obstacles in his way and within the hour, he had landed just thirty feet away from the tree. Getting their camp ready was now down to an art and they were all recovering and eating, chatting amongst themselves about what had happened and what they were set to do tomorrow. Before he went to bed, he left some food out for Lucario and went to sleep. A few hours later he felt an aura source get nearer and then stop outside their camp. Knowing Lucario had arrived at their camp Ash fell back asleep.
The next day Ash and his team had a quick light training session to get the blood pumping. Lucario just observed them, quietly impressed at the efficiency they all trained with. Especially Ash fighting hand to hand with Machoke. There wasn't a single movement wasted from either of them and Lucario could see how he had been beaten. Ash was a much better fighter and stronger aura user than Aaron.
"How did you get so strong?" Lucario asked suddenly "Sir Aaron was widely regarded to be the strongest aura user there had ever been at the time. In fact, he was the leader against the filthy abominations and their leader because they were nearly equals."
"That's quite a long story and starts with Aaron himself" Ash said sitting down and making their food. "Aaron and Rins daughter was taken away in secret for several reasons. The main one was to hide their relationship. Rin was due to be married off, Aaron was her right-hand. They knew that any children they had would be illegitimate, so Helen was taken away for her safety. Aaron threw himself into the war and protecting Rota. Rin married and had her own legitimate family, but the rumours continued. Fast forward half a century and on her death bed Rin expressed her regret for not being able to raise her first born daughter and the shame she felt from her affair with Aaron. Of course, this created rumours and soon enough fear because if Helen came forward, or any progeny she had did then they could have some sort of claim to the throne of Rota however tenuous. So Rins daughter and granddaughter came up with a plan. They would try and ensnare any Ketchum into becoming their right hand thereby making sure the Ketchum line would die out because they would be constantly kept busy. It didn't work and the rumours became legend, and the Ketchum line was never found. For Three hundred years my ancestors remained hidden until one day my Great-great-great grandfather died young leaving his son without any way of teaching him Aura. So, he made his way to the only place he knew of that taught it. Rota.
As you know Aura Guardians mate for life, and my ancestor had already found his mate before he left. Which was very lucky as the Queen at the time fell in love with him. She was furious that she couldn't have him though. He was a peasant, and she was of a higher station, it was forbidden. But she had read the scrolls of her ancestors and knew that this boy could claim the throne if he wanted. She was also very envious of aura users in general and knew if she had come from the line of Aaron AND Rin then there was a good chance any children she would have could have aura powers. She decided to try and seduce him. Unfortunately for her he could not be swayed and once his training was up, he went back home to his mate. The Queen of Rota never forgot about what she could have had, and it festered into anger and jealousy. Every Queen since then has been given secret commands to try and make this happen as it would dispel any rumours of Rin having a secret child and Rota would have a Queen who could use Aura.
Now we come to the current Queen, Ilene. She lusted after my father and hated the fact he had chosen my mother. She sent him on many errands, often as far away as possible from each other hoping that Red Ketchum would forget my mum. He never did. And soon I was born. Six months afterwards my father disappeared, something we are trying to uncover the reasons for. Ilene knew that with my dad gone she had no chance of fulfilling her ancestors wishes. She knew I was alive though and sent her right-hand man to keep an eye out for me in case I displayed any aura usage. Sadly for her she quickly became frustrated as I never did and she over-reached. I was attacked by the Aura Guardian you met when I was six. He pretended to try and teach me about Aura and that a way of finding out if I had it was to touch a person and see if it activated."
"That's absurd" Lucario said interrupting, getting up and pacing looking furious "every aura guardian can sense another aura user if they're close enough. Every one. Using the 'sense' is part of the initial training, or at least was when I was around."
"It still is" Ash said nodding "I however had no one to tell me this. I was in a coma for over a week recovering while my aura settled in my body. The reason I am so powerful is because I am one of Arceus' chosen. My body needed to adapt to play my role in saving her world. Riley doing what he did gave her the chance to intervene and give me the gifts I needed without breaking her edicts. From that moment on I used Aura at all times until it became second nature. Soon I surpassed every guardian that trained me from Rota. It was part of a deal my mother made as compensation for not suing Ilene personally. For five years I was trained by the Lucario of the kingdom and for the last year of that I was unbeaten, something which remains to this day.
Ilene stole my fathers Time Flower as a way of getting back at my mum eleven years ago. Yesterday we retrieved it and then released you. And here we are now. As I told you before I don't particularly care if Sir Aaron did run off to be with his daughter in secret. You can call that cowardice if you like, I don't."
"There was a war on" Lucario said "An Aura Guardians duty comes before family. Always. He taught me this himself. For him to go back on that word, and then seal me away proves he was a hypocrite."
Shrugging his shoulders noncommittally Ash stood and packed up leaving Lucario to go over what Ash had just said.
"You said the Aura Guardian attacked you?" Lucario asked as they walked towards the tree "why wasn't he beheaded as is tradition?"
"It WAS tradition, maybe" Ash said, "but to do so would admit Ilene's guilt and culpability in her actions concerning me."
"It seems Honour no longer means what it once did" Lucario growled causing Ash to laugh.
"I met Ilene for the first time with Riley not far from the palace when I began my journey. I pretty much said the same thing." Ash said laughing.
"What you said was 'Is it honourable to force someone to do something they do not want to do simply because your Queen commands it?'" Pikachu said.
"He is correct" Lucario said. The next twenty minutes they walked around the tree in silence as they looked for an opening. They eventually ended up back where they started.
"Didn't the guardian say the staff was found outside around here?" Ash said.
"Indeed" Lucario replied nodding.
Extending his aura Ash was surprised to get a ping back not ten feet away from him. Walking over to a bush he moved the branches to the side and was amazed to see another Time Flower.
"Well, I think we've found where you were left" Ash said as he knelt down with Lucario quickly joining him. "Shall we activate it?" receiving a nod Ash placed an aura infused hand on the Time Flower and it lit up. Immediately their conscious was transported back nearly 800 years. They watched on as Sir Aaron met up with Lucario and sealed him in the staff before he could react and then fly off on a Pidgeot. Ash was disgusted by the act and said as much.
"You were his friend, he owed you an explanation. I don't care what he went on to do he owed you that much. Sealing you away was cowardly"
"Ash" Pikachu said, "you try that with me, and your unborn descendants will feel the pain" Ash just laughed and scratched him behind the ears.
Walking up to where the entrance used to be Ash extended his aura. Suddenly his aura resonated with the rock formation just in front and a doorway thirty feet high opened up as the rocks parted. As they were about to walk through Ash felt a huge spike in aura from below. Warning Lucario he jumped out of the way as from underneath a huge Pokémon came barrelling out from the ground and launched a huge Hyper Beam at them.
"It's a Regirock!" Ash shouted calling everyone out as he leapt out of the way. "Guys, we need to take it out. Do what you can!"
The next few minutes was a jumbled mess of attacks. The Regirock was clearly very strong, but the numbers game soon caught up with it. In its desperation it launched another huge Hyper Beam at Ash who was grazed as he jumped out of the way. Ivysaur who had seen it happen had already used Sunny Day and used a Solarbeam which hit the Regirock and threw it into the side of the Tree. Amazingly after a minute another Hyper Beam came steaming through the dust. Gathering as much power as it could Ivysaur used another Solarbeam and matched the attack. He could feel though that they were too evenly matched, which while amazing in itself wasn't enough. Making a decision he gritted his teeth and threw off his Everstone. The light blinded everyone involved except Regirock who used the time to try and recover and used another Hyper Beam. From the light stepped Venusaur who roared his name and used the biggest Solarbeam he had ever used. It easily overpowered the Regirock who was at this point very tired from spamming attacks, and it was smashed in the face by the attack. Ash made a decision and threw a Pokeball at the Regirock. The ball began to shake but after a minute it dinged and quieted.
Shaking his head Ash rushed over to Venusaur and hugged him. "I'm so proud of you, you didn't need to do that but thank you Venusaur. It seemed Evolution has healed your petals too."
"We don't have time to mess around" Venusaur's deep voice said. "You caught the Regirock?"
"Yeah" Ash said picking up the pokeball. He took out his Pokedex, clicked a button to suspend the transfer and scanned it
"Regirock, Pokedex Number 377, The Rock Peak Pokémon. This Pokémon is genderless and has the ability Clear Body. Regirock was sealed away by people long ago. If this Pokémon's body is damaged in battle, it is said to seek out suitable rocks on its own to repair itself."
"I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it though as I swore I would never have a legendary." Ash said.
"It's one of the guardians of this place" Lucario said coming forward looking puzzled. "It attacked because its job is to keep people away from here. They've never been able to be reasoned with either. Only Mew keeps them in line."
"Mew?" Ash asked surprised "there's a Mew here? I forgot about that"
"Yes" Lucario said "or at least there was when I was around here last time."
"In that case I'll release it before we leave." Ash said, "I'd do it now, but I can see it attacking us again."
"A wise decision" Lucario said "why not keep it though? I've never heard f a trainer giving up a legendary before."
Snorting Ash recalled everyone and began walking into the huge canyon that had opened up. "People who use legendaries are crap trainers. They rely purely on the power of the Pokémon and offer very little strategy wise, often just tanking their way through battles. Not only that but Legendaries play a massive part in maintaining the balance of the world. I will not be the one to disturb that balance. If Regirock is here, then it is here for a reason."
"You are remarkably like Sir Aaron" Lucario said momentarily forgetting his anger "he once told me something similar. 'There is no skill in using a Pokémon that is predestined to have enormous power in a battle. It just shows the lack of skill and manners'"
"To quote you, he wasn't wrong" Ash said stopping as they walked out of the canyon onto a cliffside. There before them stood the tree in the distance, all around it various families of Pokémon were milling about, going on with their lives.
"It's not actually a tree" Lucario said as he too took in the scene "it is a gigantic rock structure that resembles a tree because of the various forests surrounding it that look like branches from afar."
Overcoming their awe Ash led them down the slope and into another tunnel. He had underestimated how long the journey was going to be it seemed as it took another twenty minutes before they exited. Before them was several walkways made out of what looked like crystal. The drop though was easily several hundred feet.
"Does something seem odd to you?" Ash asked Pikachu "ever since I set foot in this place something has felt off."
Before he could answer Ash, Pikachu and Lucario witnessed a bridge collapsing of its own accord.
"Something is definitely not right" Ash said as they carefully walked along one of the crystal bridges. "It seems they're crumbling, but how. And why?"
They walked through tunnel after tunnel and seemed to be heading right down to the heart of the place. As they walked into a spacious cavern Ash decided to have a rest and eat. Releasing everyone he gave them their lunch and they chatted about where they were.
"Ash" Venusaur said ambling over to a wall "this place is dying."
"What do you mean?" Ash asked as he and Lucario walked over.
"The walls are crying" Venusaur said as he felt the wall with his vines "something has happened to disrupt the essence of this place."
Extending his Aura, he understood what Venusaur meant. "It does seem to be dying. I wonder if I could heal it?"
"Not on this scale" Lucario said sharply "only Mew would have the power to do so."
"And she's missing. I can't imagine her leaving here and letting this place die." Pikachu said.
"How do you know she's missing?" Lucario asked.
"As Pikachu just said, she's been here for centuries. This is her home. Would you let your home die?" Ash replied
Walking back to the group Ash felt another huge aura spike from a tunnel just off to the left.
"Guys" Ash shouted as he threw an Aura Lance in the direction "Contact"
Immediately they all jumped up and threw attacks in the direction Ash had sent his. Hearing a groan of pain, they carried on. Whatever it was, was tough as from the dust came a Hyper Beam.
"Another one of these things?" Ash said thinking it was another Regirock. It wasn't as through the haze came another golem preparing an Ice Beam. It was a Regice.
"Damn" Ash said sending another Aura Lance which sent it spinning off to the side "Machoke, you're up for this one. Charizard is too cramped in to properly use any fire attacks. We'll distract it, but close quarters combat will be needed."
Machoke decided to skirt around the area waiting for the opportunity to come to him. It did as Pikachu tripped it up with an Iron Tail and he jumped forward and started punching and kicking the Regice into submission. For a good minute he didn't let up hitting it with super effective attacks. Finally, he powered up one last attack and hit Regice with a devastating Cross Chop sending it flying unconscious. Ash threw another pokeball which shook violently. After several tense minutes it dinged and stopped shaking.
Ash and the gang let out a breath they didn't know they'd been holding. Taking out Dexter again he suspended the transfer system and scanned it
"Regice, Pokedex Number 378, The Iceberg Pokémon. This Pokémon is genderless and has the ability Clear Body. Regice's body was made during an ice age. The deep-frozen body can't be melted, even by fire. This Pokémon controls frigid air of minus 328 degrees F."
"I think it's safe to say that we need to be on the lookout for a Registeel too" Ash said laughing "come on guys. The sooner we get to the heart the sooner we can find out what happened to Aaron and possibly Mew." recalling everyone he packed up and set off again.
For the next hour they steadily followed the tunnel downwards being careful to not touch anything. Finally, they came out into an area with what looked like a huge lake that was full of Pokémon. On the other side of a small bridge lay another tunnel that glowed.
"I think we've found the heart guys" Ash said quietly looking around "there's a huge concentration of Aura on the other side of that bridge that isn't moving. As he set off over it, he felt yet another spike of Aura from below. "Another Regi guys." Ash said releasing everyone and rushing to cross the bridge. Safely reaching the other side their path became blocked off by a Registeel. Strangely enough though it hadn't attacked yet. Wondering what was happening Ash fell to his knees as a wave of pain hit him, causing all his Pokémon to surround him in concern. All the Pokémon that was in the cavern stopped what they were doing and made their way to the Ash but stopped around ten feet away. As one they all looked to the tunnel. Ash struggled with getting to his feet but eventually he managed it. Observing the Pokémon around him Ash became very concerned. Whatever that was came from inside the tunnel. Warily Ash made his way over to the Registeel who silently observed him. Without saying anything it turned and walked off into the tunnel. Ash, Pikachu and Lucario followed silently wondering what was going on. They cave into another cavern that took their breath away. Hundreds of crsytals made up what looked like the inside of a cave, but there in the very middle was a crystal structure that was turning black. Several feet away was another mini crystal structure. Lucario seeing this rushed over and gasped in shock as on top of the crystal lay a pair of very familiar gloves.
"Sir Aarons gloves" Lucario said picking them up "what are they doing here?"
Ash walked over, took them from Lucario and felt the gloves aura focus crystal start to pulse as it resonated with his aura. Glancing down he noticed a Time Flower at the base of the crystals. Kneeling down he placed his hand on it and immediately they were all flooded with Sir Aarons last act. He sacrificed his life and aura to give Mew the ability to quell the fighting that was going on outside. Ash saw armies stop fighting each other as one side of the army collapsed holding their heads while the other side stood tall. He watched on as several people gathered a man who was dressed in royal purple robes and take him away from the battlefield leaving their army behind. Ash recognised him straight away. This was the defeat of Malokei. And Aaron had been the one to stop it. Aarons words at the end made Ash gasp as his echo looked right at him and said "My descendent. This was destined to happen. I was one of Arceus' chosen and I bore the burden quietly until the very end. I found my mate, sadly it was not to be as she was chosen for another. Holding my daughter was the proudest thing I've ever done, letting her go was the hardest. Hopefully one day she'll know my story and forgive me." Closing his eyes he refocused and roared as his Aura left him and ultimately took his life.
Coming to he looked at a devastated Lucario.
"He was a hero" Ash said quietly "he never abandoned Rota. He saved everyone." putting the gloves on Ash felt a strange sort of calm settle over him. This was quickly shattered though as another wave of pain hit him. This time though it knocked him down. Once again, he struggled to his feet. The pain seemed to come from the heart itself. They had ignored it in favour of watching Aarons last act but as he made his way over, he gasped. There on top of the crystals on a slab of pure blue crystal was the body of a Mew.
