Chapter 19: The aftermath

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NOW – ALOLA

Almost immediately after Ash fainted, he was already blinking back awake, staring up at Kukui with wide eyes like they had never seen each other before.

"Ash?" Kukui asked carefully. Maybe these bouts of weakness and confusion were still aftereffects from the blast. "How are-"

Ash suddenly pushed up onto his hands and scooted back, until he was flat against the fall, breathing hard with his knees pulled in front of him protectively. He kept staring at Kukui, though his eyes flickered around the room quickly, taking in Pikachu sleeping at the foot of the bed and the rest of his pokemon milling about the room.

"Professor Kukui?" he asked hoarsely. He coughed, winced, and drew his hands closer to his face, observing them intently. Turning them around and inspecting the little scars and scratches on them.

Kukui forced himself to sit back, relax his shoulders and speak calmly.

"Yes, Ash. It's me."

Ash looked up again, and this time Kukui could clearly see there was something different about him. Something like…

"I'm back", Ash breathed – and then he smiled, wide and bright and so, so familiar. "I'm back!"

Pikachu's ears twitched, and in seconds it was up and jumping over Ash, squealing in excitement. "Pikachu!" Ash laughed, just a bit hysterically, as the pokemon licked all over his face and hands. "I missed you buddy!"

Kukui could only stare. "You're…"

Grinning, Ash pushed Pikachu away and leaped forward, wrapping his arms around Kukui's shoulders. "Professor", he mumbled into the crook of his neck. "Missed you too."

Kukui instantly teared up in relief. He hugged Ash back, trying to steady his hiccupping breathing as he held his dearest student. "Do you mean…" he murmured, "that everything is back to normal? You are now back to your own time?"

Ash nodded wordlessly against his shoulder. Judging by the wetness Kukui could feel there, Ash had started to cry silently.

"Oh, man", he mumbled after a minute, still not pulling back. Pikachu crawled between them, and Ash took a deep, shaky breath. His shoulders were trembling minutely. "I-I just…"

"It's okay", Kukui said quietly, brushing a hand down his back. "You're okay."

Ash said nothing. And Kukui held him tighter.

They were in no hurry. They could take this little moment to themselves.

That was – until Burnet, followed by Nurse Joy, burst back into the room in a panicked frenzy.

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Once everyone had calmed down, Ash demanded to know all about everything. Why he was in the hospital wing, why Kukui had bandages around his hands, what had his younger self done and said, had he done something stupid, what happened with Miriam… Kukui was out of breath explaining all of it to Ash, who absorbed everything with little comment, just nodding and smiling softly in that knowing, relieved way of his. He asked about Mewtwo, and Lance, and Tobias, and someone called Kellyn. He asked about Brock and May and Max and if Kukui had heard anything from someone called Kidd Summers.

At some point, Kukui had to stop him. Laughing breathlessly, he grabbed Ash's shoulders and gently but firmly pressed him back against the mattress. "Let's continue in the morning, alright?" he suggested. He still couldn't tame the grin that had lingered on his lips for the past hour or so. "We still have much to discuss, but we both need rest – you especially. We haven't even begun to talk about what happened to you while you were gone."

Ash's smile fell considerably at that. He eyed Kukui, yawning into his palm. "I guess so", he muttered reluctantly. "Well, good night, Professor."

It was almost comical how eager Ash was suddenly to drop the subject – if Kukui didn't know what that entailed. It certainly hadn't been an easy couple of days for his Ash, either.

Still, he kept smiling reassuringly. "Sleep well, Ash."

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The next morning, after the kids had had a chance to visit Ash, Kukui returned to Ash's bedside with Lance and Tobias in tow.

Ash was sitting up, playing with and caring for his pokemon and looking almost completely recovered already. The slight fever he'd sported had broken during the night, and Nurse Joy was confident he could be released after his midday checkup later that day.

"Hello, Ash", Tobias said.

"How's it going, Ash?" Lance greeted as they walked into the room. Ash grinned, clearly happy to see them.

"Hi Tobias! And hi Lance, nice to see you again", he said, before pausing. "Wait… how long's it been even? 'Cause I was with you and Kellyn and the others like yesterday."

Lance chuckled. "Been a lot longer for me, for sure. But hey, look at you! Glad to see you've recovered well after that scare you gave us."

Ash waved his hand vaguely. "Well, I don't really know what happened to me here with Mewtwo and all. But now that Professor Kukui told me what happened, I think I'm starting to also remember bits of it – and Mew told me that the way it messed up with our memories wouldn't be perfect or anything. I sure hope I'll remember everything I did at some point."

Kukui sat on the edge of his bed, and Pikachu crawled onto his lap, crooning softly. Lance and Tobias took seats next to the bed, and Lance exclaimed, "So it was Mew! I thought it might've been that sneaky cat. Though we have theorized that Mewtwo did its fair share of memory wiping under Miriam's orders as well."

Ash gnawed on his lip. "What's gonna happen to her?" he asked. "Miriam, I mean?"

Lance shared a heavy look with Tobias. "Life in prison, most likely. She is considered extremely dangerous by all standards, including but not limited to hunting and experimenting with legendaries, the creation of Mewtwo, and the variety of other shady businesses she was involved in."

"My sister needs time to think long and hard about what she's done", Tobias murmured. He sighed dourly. "I'm sorry, Ash. I wish I had acted sooner. Maybe some of this could've been prevented."

"Maybe", Ash agreed. "But it turned out alright in the end, right? I think…" He smiled lopsidedly, looking like he'd just thought up a private joke. "I think it could've turned out much worse, too."

Lance nodded. "You're most certainly right. Team Enigma wasn't even the only black-market organization you helped to take down that night. We also caught a man called Dirk Simmons, also known as 'Pokemon Hunter D', an aspiring pokemon trader, and were able to go rescue dozens of wild pokemon from the warehouse he worked at."

Kukui raised his brow. Ash remained tight-lipped, so Lance continued, "It's quite of a funny story, actually. The day after the Enigma raid, we found out we also had him in custody, but no one could remember why we had him. We knew he wasn't an Enigma grunt, but we nor him had any idea why he'd been at the scene that night. Luckily, he gave up enough information that we were able to track down his base of operation. From there we found plenty of evidence of illegal activity to convict him of illicit hunt and trade straight away."

"I have gained back a large amount of my memories from those days, but not all of the details", Tobias added. "We were going over these events with Lance recently and I suddenly remembered Dirk attacking that pokemon center with someone else. He and his partner sold you to Team Enigma, didn't they? To gain access to Mew?"

Eyes widening at the edges, Ash glanced at Kukui, who stared back feeling disturbed by the new information. Avoiding his gaze, Ash nodded quickly. "Something like that, I guess. He was with Hunter J, and they were trying to catch Mew, but their plans got messed up by, um. Me."

"Hunter J?" Lance yelped. "Wait, really? I thought she only worked alone."

By this point, Kukui had totally lost the thread of the conversation.

Ash shrugged. "He worked for her, but I guess it was only for a short while. She left him the second she realized he was about to get caught."

"Right. That sounds more like her", Lance snorted. "Too bad we can't confront her about it, since she went missing years ago, whilst working for Team Galactic in Sinnoh." He gave a pointed look to Ash which Kukui didn't particularly like. Ash stared back and kept a straight face, but at this point Kukui knew it didn't really mean anything.

Lance huffed in amusement and stood up. "Well, thanks for the info, Ash. I think that's enough of us interrogating you for now. Rest up, won't you?"

Ash smiled cheekily. "Yeah."

Tobias stood up as well. "Congrats on the league victory, by the way", he said. "Your battle skills have definitely improved from the last time we battled during the Lily of the Valley conference. We should have a rematch sometime soon."

Ash let out a startled laugh. "Yeah, for sure!" he grinned. Tobias pressed his lips together, hiding a smile himself, and followed Lance out of the room.

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Later that day, Kukui found Ash sitting by the edge of the outer deck with Pikachu, watching the ocean while fiddling with his Z-ring absentmindedly. Kukui wandered over and sat down next to him, and Ash simply smiled at him sideways before looking back into the horizon. His eyes were red-rimmed, like he'd been crying, but he seemed to have settled down.

"How are you doing?" Kukui asked softly. He felt slight worry when Ash shrugged but didn't answer anything else. Kukui hummed. "It's been a bit much, hasn't it?"

Ash nodded. He seemed to mull over something for a minute, and Kukui waited patiently.

"A lot happened while I was in the past", Ash eventually said. He sounded calm, but Kukui could hear a slight tremor in his voice. "It's just a lot to think about."

Kukui let out a breath. "I'm sure it is. Just know I'm here if you need to get anything out of your chest."

Ash lowered his head. Pikachu pushed its head against Ash's hand, and Ash scratched it behind its ears until Pikachu squealed in joy. Ash was still looking down when he said, "I never told you about Lucario, did I?"

Kukui, surprised, shook his head. "No… But I know about it now, obviously. You were… Your younger self was very worried about it."

Ash grimaced slightly. "Right. I- I probably didn't know what happened to it." He looked up at Kukui sharply. "Did I know? That it had died?"

Kukui's heart lurched painfully. So it was true. Ash had seen Lucario die.

"Ah, not for certain", Kukui told him gently. "There was a moment, after you'd just tried a Z-move, when you suddenly seemed to get a feeling that something bad had happened to it. Afterwards, you told me how you and Lucario had worked hard to save Mew, nearly dying in the process yourself."

Ash nodded, lips pressed together tightly. "I had a really strong connection with Lucario", he said after a moment. "It taught me a lot about me and my aura."

"It sounded like a great friend", Kukui murmured, and Ash gave him a thin, grateful smile.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Ash took a deeper breath. "I failed that Z-move, didn't I?" he asked. "The one you mentioned?"

Kukui looked at him amazed. "You remember that?"

Ash nodded hesitantly. "It's weird. Kinda like remembering parts of an old dream or something. Um, it's like…" He indicated with his hands vaguely, "You know that feeling when you're not sure if something really happened to you, or if it was just a really vivid dream?"

Kukui hummed in agreement. "Oh, yes. And when you try to think harder about it, the memories just keep slipping further away."

"Yeah." Ash pursed his lips with an annoyed look on his face. "Mew really messed with my head that day. Now I have two different memories of Lucario dying." His voice cracked at the last words.

He sighed, and Kukui's heart broke for him. "I'm sorry, Ash. That must be hard."

Ash shrugged slightly, eyes downcast. "I mean, I've lived with its death for a long time already. I dunno why it hit so hard seeing it all over again. I only knew it for a few days anyways, and I know it's gonna be happy to be with its friend Aaron again. I guess it was just…"

He quickly rubbed his eyes, turning away slightly so Kukui lost sight of his face. "Um. Sorry."

Kukui leaned his elbows against his knees and squinted into the far ocean. Breathed in the salty winds.

"Nothing to apologize for. You should take all the time you need to process it."

Ash nodded, and a peaceful silence fell over them again.

After a long while, Ash broke it.

"Who's Manu, anyway?"

And Kukui buried his face into his hands, groaning long and deep.

Fucking Manu.

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THEN – KANTO

Ash woke up to Pikachu nudging his face, feeling totally disoriented. He realized quickly he was still inside the main chamber of the Tree of Beginning. He must've passed out soon after Lucario's sacrifice. Kidd Summers was sitting up next to him, patting down her clothes in mild confusion.

"How… What…"

Ash stood up carefully, looking down at himself. Something felt off, but he couldn't really place what. The biggest thing on his mind was Lucario's death, and it ached in his very soul to remember what had happened to it. How it had only gotten a short moment to stay in this time, before sacrificing itself for the life of Mew and the Tree.

Ash had been able to see a lot of himself in Lucario, and they had only just met. He would miss it greatly.

Mew floated down from the ceiling, a curious look in its bright eyes.

"Mewew", it crooned.

"Hi, Mew", Ash greeted it softly. "Is everything okay with the Tree and everything now? What about my friends?"

Mew nodded emphatically. It floated towards an entrance that led out of the chamber and onto one of the outside ledges of the Tree.

"This way?" Ash asked. Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder, and he and Kidd followed Mew outside.

They had to blink to adjust to the bright daylight, but once they got used to it, the view that opened around them was brilliant. For a moment they just stood there, taking it all in. And then, turning around Ash spotted three familiar figures standing uphill, looking back at him in confusion. Ash took off running, waiving at them in relieved joy.

"Hey! We're here!"

"It's Ash!" May exclaimed.

"They're okay!" cheered Max, and soon after they sprinted down the hill to meet them halfway.

"Thank gods you're alright", May said, looking Ash up and down. "We just woke up on the floor over there and none of us have any idea what just happened!"

Max looked around, a frown forming on his face. "Wait… Where's Lucario?"

His heart twisting in his chest, Ash looked down for a moment. "Lucario…" He took a deep breath.

Lucario's last words played over in his head.

I… I have to go, Ash. Aaron… is waiting for me.

Ash looked up, into the luminous blue sky. Breathed in the fresh air and felt the aura that lived in every nook and cranny of the wonderous Tree. It was painful, but still, he smiled. "Lucario left to go be with a friend."

Brock inhaled sharply. "You mean..."

"Oh Ash", May whispered. "I wish there was something we could've done to help it…"

If Ash had been stronger, he could've stopped Lucario from taking over and giving its all to save Mew. If Ash'd been stronger, maybe he could've been able to save them both.

He said nothing.

"Maybe it's for the best", Brock said quietly. "But… it's hard to believe Lucario is really gone."

No… Lucario isn't gone… Ash thought. He pressed his hand to his chest, where he could feel that familiar warmth, that strange, intense feeling he'd gotten more aware of after meeting Lucario. He looked up, determined.

"Its aura is with me."

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That evening, when they had said goodbye to Kidd and Queen Ilene, collected the rest of their belongings from the Cameran Palace, and were walking along the long bridge away from the castle, Ash suddenly stopped, unable to take another step.

Brock, May and Max walked ahead for a bit before stopping as well, looking back at him in concern.

"What is it, Ash?" Brock asked. Pikachu hopped off his backpack and onto the stone railing, looking up at him with a tilted head. Ash sighed, shaking his head.

"I dunno… I've got a weird feeling about all that happened. Like I've forgotten something really important."

"Like what?" May asked.

Ash shrugged. He felt fine, physically, maybe even more so than he'd expected after all that had happened at the Tree. The thing that weirded him out the most was that he was wearing his spare set of clothes, with his other set completely missing, and none of them – not even Brock – had been able to remember when he'd ruined his other clothes so completely that they had needed to be thrown away.

They all were missing large chunks of time as well. Queen Ilene said they had been gone for days, but none of them could remember half of what had happened. Kidd had suggested that perhaps Mew had something to do with that – maybe it and the Tree had kept them unconscious while it repaired itself so they would be safe to leave afterwards, and it did make a lot of sense.

Apparently, Mew were some of the most mysterious creatures ever encountered in the pokemon world.

"I dunno", Ash admitted. "It's just been a weird day."

Brock chuckled. "I mean, that's nothing new."

"I think we've had weirder", May agreed.

"Definitely", said Max, and all their deadpan looks made Ash burst out laughing, worries mostly forgotten.

"I wonder if we're gonna see Mew again", he mused after a moment.

There was something strange about it. About the way it had looked at Ash after he'd woken up.

"I hope so", Max said cheerily. "It was awesome!"

Ash stared over the lake, frowning before shaking his head sharply. "Yeah", he said, lifting his head. Focusing. What happened was in the past. There was lots to do and lots to see, and the only way to get there was forward.

"It was awesome", he agreed, more certain now. "Lucario was awesome too."

"Lucario might be physically gone", Brock said gently. "But its spirit lives with you, Ash. You still have the chance to show it the world and all the adventures that are waiting for us."

Gazing over the endless forests of the Kanto region, thinking about all the things he wanted to do next, Ash couldn't help the familiar excitement bubbling inside him.

"Right, well", he told the others. "There's still lots to do in Hoenn. Let's start heading back there!"

Lucario had done what it thought was right, no matter the consequences. And that was a lesson Ash would carry with him for the rest of his life.

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NOW – ALOLA

The following day Kukui, Burnet and the students took a boat back to Melemele Island.

Kahuna Hala was waiting for them at the docks, greeting Kukui with a hefty pat on his shoulder.

"Welcome back", he said with his booming voice. He smiled after Ash, who looked so incredibly happy to be back on the Island, running ahead with his pokemon in tow.

"Don't run too far, kid!" Hala called after him, making Ash turn on his heels. "I have some visitors waiting for you."

"Not Manu, right?" Kukui asked with more terror in his voice than was probably reasonable. He just really didn't want to deal with Manu right then.

Hala laughed loudly. "No, not Manu. Come on."

He beckoned with his hand and started leading the group up the hill and towards the pokemon school.

"I wonder who's there", Lana said to Ash as they trekked ahead of the group, always being the most curious ones out of all of them. "Do you know?"

Ash shook his head. "No idea."

Hala chuckled. "I got a list from Champion Lance of people you might want to see, Ash. Let's see if I got everyone right."

Kukui could see the wonder on Ash's face as he turned to stare up at Hala. "A list? Wait…"

He grinned from ear to ear. "No way! Is it Brock and May and Max? Who else?"

Hala made a gesture like he was zipping up his lips. "You'll see soon enough."

After that, Ash took off half running, and Kukui had to stride in double speed to keep up with him. As they arrived at the edge of the school yard, there was a surprised shout of "He's here!" and then a small group of cheerful people were rushing towards them to greet Ash.

Kukui only recognized Brock, but there was also a girl around the same age as Ash, and her younger brother – so May and Max. Next to them were a young man in ranger clothes – Kellyn, maybe? – and a woman in casual clothes that looked deceptively much like a Nurse Joy.

"It really was you!" the ranger exclaimed, pulling Ash into a sideways hug under his arm. "You are the reason Sinnoh is free of that damned Team Enigma! Oh, my god. The events of that week have haunted me for years. I never could remember all the details from it." He nudged the woman by his side. "And Abby even less, we found out."

The woman, Abby, nodded shortly. "I'm sorry to tell you I don't remember much about you at all, Ash. But, Kellyn has talked my ear off about you, so I'd love to get to know you for real this time!"

Ash laughed at that. "For sure! Nice to meet you, Abigail!"

"This is messed up", Max complained. "You have memories that we don't. I was told I was kidnapped back then, but I can't remember even that!"

May grimaced, hitting him on the shoulder. "It's a good thing you don't remember that. And I'd like to not be reminded of it either, thank you very much."

Max made a face at her but changed the subject. "Anyway, this is the pokemon school, right? Man, it's so big!"

Ash grinned brightly. "Yeah! I've had a great time here. And Professor Kukui is the best teacher you could ask for!"

Taken aback by the sudden compliment, Kukui rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Oh, well, thanks Ash."

"I think I wanna go to a pokemon school next year", Max decided, and May rolled her eyes.

"Well, I think it's not yet your decision to make, lil bro."

While Max blew raspberries at his sister, Kukui took a step back and just observed everyone for a moment, absorbing all the good energy and the laughs and the cheerful chatter around him. Burnet sneaked her way next to him, wrapping her arm around his.

Kukui smiled down at her, and Burnet leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing contently. They watched as Ash burst into a full-body laughter at something Kellyn had said.

"We're gonna be okay", Burnet said quietly. "Aren't we?"

Kukui nodded against the crown of her head.

And then something caught his eye.

Turning his head, he inspected the yard and the tree line, but there was nothing unusual. Burnet tugged on his arm, and Kukui turned back, a warm feeling spreading in his chest.

He could've sworn that he saw, from the corner of his eye, the shape of Mewtwo watching over them.

"Yeah", he whispered. "We're gonna be okay."

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Thank you for reading!

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