Ron the True Fan: If anyone knows the proper names of the clothing that that people in Japan's Feudal Era - and I mean the COMMON people, not the nobility - as well as what the Galaxy Team use, kindly say do so so that I can update the names. No one seems to freaking want to list it for SOME reason…Also, the same general message: more YT subs equal more chapters. And if you're already subbed, spread the word, please.
Takeshi Yamato: And obligatory plug for the vids I work with Ron on - the various subsets of the Tethys Shipyard series.
Hisui Region - roughly 0250 Hours local time - Day 3 of the Hisuian Exile
Like clockwork, so too came a violent awakening as Ash shot out of his sleeping bag, panting.
72 hours of this crap and he was already back to bad habits, Pikachu shooting awake by reflex to protect Ash from whatever it was.
Sadly, he couldn't electrocute bad dreams to death. "Pikapi…" 'Damn it, Ash, I HATE your nightmares…' groused the mouse. "Pika." 'Isn't there a way to bring them into the real world so I can electrocute them? Please? It would make everyone happy.'
"I freaking WISH." Ash sobbed, picking up and hugging Pikachu tightly. There was nothing they could do but curse Arceus for not doing what a creator god should do and nuke any and all threats before they came to BE a threat.
In the last three days, Ash had 4 hours of sleep. Four out of SEVENTY TWO.
And while 80 minutes of sleep a day was a bad thing… he'd likely sooner die to escape the insanity of his nightmares. Misty's presence was a massive balm and he wouldn't deny it. Anabel, Iris, Serena, hell, even Kyoji were massive pillars of sane stability.
Ash needed to avoid sleep. There was only one solution. And he was lucky, as he packed an emergency coffee kit: fabric filters, a metal and wooden flask and a small kettle that was made to be put on a fire.
…where was the hand-crank grinder? And the beans? …Oh, GODDAMN IT!
"We left the grinder and the beans BACK IN ARBORVILLE," he said, attempting not to scream.
His sanity juice was LITERALLY IN THE FUTURE!
…Ok. He could work with this.
Day 20, RMS Olympic - 2301 hours
In his boredom after being kicked out of the medical ward, Ash started reading a book about the magical bitter-tasting drink that got him up in the morning in spite of less than two hours of sleep a night: coffee.
He was more of a Pokemon person, but he figured he'd learn more about the thing keeping him away from the nightmares.
"Listen to this, Pikachu." Ash said as Pikachu sipped his own coffee. "Apparently, the coffee plant is native to some place called Paldia, but was introduced to Galar, then Hisui over 4500 years ago."
"Pika." 'Fascinating.' deadpanned the electric mouse. "Pi." 'And Hisui is?'
"Apparently Sinnoh's old name." Ash answered. "More you know."
Present day (I know they're in the fucking past: NO LANGUAGE WAS DESIGNED TO DEAL WITH TIME TRAVEL TENSES! [WHACK!])
Coffee had been in Hisui for five hundred years. Surely he could find a handcrank grinder and roasted beans. He didn't want to violate his rules, but Pokemon and humans weren't that close. Damos' time was long past and the divide grew until it closed about… four thousand years ago.
Oh, fuck THAT. He was NOT getting caught up in historical events if he could have a say in it.
"I guess I don't have a choice," he said, getting up.
"Goodra." 'Ash, stealing isn't exactly a good idea, morally or practically,' said the snail dragon as he sat up. "Goo." 'That's a Team Rocket thing.'
"We're four thousand years in the past and I'm going to go insane if I keep this up," he said.
It was unhealthy and they knew it, but it kept the dreams away. It kept him sane.
And it kept that unholy piece of steel, sulfur and lead in his bag, keeping him alive for one more day.
Ash's sanity would break under the weight of his guilt and blow his own head off just to end it. The coffee was an unhealthy coping mechanism, but what ELSE did they have? Serena was thousands of years away, as were Misty, Iris and Anabel. Hell, they'd take Becca or Mei at this point.
…The situation was so desperate, they'd even take Tatsuki. And she didn't have the same self-control as Serena. There would most CERTAINLY be a 'surprise' nine months down the road. But even HER heartbeat worked.
They. Had. No one.
So the only solution was to minimize the amount of sleep he had. That meant coffee.
The ONLY reason they would even REMOTELY approve of this was to keep him alive. That was it.
Hell, even Ash wouldn't do this under normal circumstances. He would earn the money for everything, or just work for it. But they were four millennia in the past. Limited to zero interaction with the environment, people or Pokemon.
Damn Arceus for making him go through this shit and damn Celebi for dumping them three and a half centuries before they could get back in less then a day!
"Pika." 'Are you ok enough to go out there and sneak around? Because if you can't…'
"I'll be ok, Pikachu." Ash assured. "There's a village not too far from here. And I saw a coffee grinder. And where there's a grinder, there's coffee."
It was unhealthy. But it was either an unhealthy coping mechanism or a bullet to the head.
And they didn't want Ash to put the gun to his temple, madness in his eyes with an unstable smile, laughing HAPPILY as he pulled the trigger.
His nightmare was everything he'd seen. Theirs was his dark madness winning and putting an end to his life. No matter what, the only time they would let him die was when he was happy, surrounded by loved ones and someone else could suffer this curse of being Arceus' chewtoy.
So, even if it was a bad idea, it would preserve his life for one more day. It was all they could do.
One day at a time. One torturous day at a time.
Near unknown settlement - roughly 0325 hours local time
The hat was left at the cave. His darker blue and black clothing would blend in better in the night.
Ash had kept up his ninja training from Aya for years, training in all the ways to sneak around and remain hidden. But even the art of moving silently was aided by clothing that was best suited for the area.
Ash hid in a bush, staring at the settlement for a moment, watching guards on their rounds.
The emblem on their sleeves was VERY familiar… But Ash ignored that in favor of hunting for a storehouse. And he found it.
"Pikachu, can you smell it?" he asked his starter as quietly as possible. The fog was coming on and he needed black gold in him ASAP.
Pikachu nodded. "Pika." 'Lots of it. We'll need a bag.' he said. 'But first we need to get past the guards.'
Ash's eyes peered into the night. He caught sight of something moving.
Long, flowing…blue?
Blue hair? Dawn? It couldn't be. He couldn't distract himself. Dawn wasn't even born yet. But his thoughts turned to hugging and cuddling with her, knowing she loved him, pressing his ear to just over her heart, the beat lulling him to sleep…
Pikachu whacked him. "Pika." 'No sleeping.' he said, seeing him nod off. "Pika." 'I could make a distraction, but that'll only work so far.'
Ash's eye then spotted something else. A cheerful something else.
No matter when, no matter where…
You could always count on Gible to be sharky and friendly. And before their nature was understood, Gible 'attacks' were common.
And unrecorded.
"Let's introduce some friends." he said before they began sneaking around the village, heading for the shark town.
The Gibles were sad. The humans didn't GET it. They weren't attacking. They were trying to make friends!
The chomp was a sacred and happy thing, something to treasure as they made sure they were appreciated. It was like a human hug!
"Hey. Gibles." called a human, making all the sharks perk up. The leader of the school walked over, staring at the human with the Pikachu.
"Gible?" 'Friend?' he asked before Ash reached out… and pet him on his nose before scratching near his fin.
"Friend," Answered Ash Ketchum, before the shark latched to his head with a mighty CHOMP!
"You know, humans don't do well with aggressive charging in for a chomp," he said to the shark. "Walk to them. Show you're not going to hurt them."
"Gible." 'But they run away,' said the shark before his eyes widened. This human understood him!
"Be persistent, but don't be too fast," he advised. "Those guys on the outskirts could use some sharky friends."
"GIBLE!" 'THANK YOU!' said the shark before he detached and started sharking, followed by a number of his township.
"Pika." 'I feel like you did something bad,' Pikachu said.
"Gibles weren't well-understood. For those guards, it's just another attack," Ash said. "And it's our chance to sneak into the village and get the black sanity gold."
Sure, he was using their desire to make friends with the chomp, but maybe one would get caught and show them the way.
…This better not be a predestination paradox. He hated those. Still, the Gibles were distracting the guards as the Gibles sharked towards the village. And he'd sneak in, getting the beans and the grinder. And if the Gibles got captured - Pokeballs were a primitive thing, but still a thing - bonus for them.
Under the cover of night and shark, Ash entered the village to the screams of 'Fukamaru!' the ancient Hisuian term for Gibles. And then he saw it, fleetingly in the village, a long mane of blue hair and familiar face.
Dawn. His Sinnohan angel. When Serena killed the vow with a word, his thoughts turned to all of them.
Misty, his Kantoan mermaid. May, the Hoennic performer. Iris, the fierce and wild Unovan.
Serena, his Kalosian princess and first love, the one with the most hold over his heart. He'd take over the world to make her happy.
He wasn't looking forward to finding out what this fucked up timeline did to Dawn. She better be ok.
Fins cut through the ground, chasing people while the Gibles begged, pleaded, for friendship. Ash wanted to scream 'Stop running! They're being friendly!' but he couldn't. This had to be just another random 'attack' by Gibles. The timeline. MUST. BE. LEFT. ALONE.
He easily got into the stores, finding a small sack of coffee beans sitting there with a handcrank grinder nearby. He quickly grabbed it and ran, getting a fleeting look from someone before he melted into the darkness.
A look from someone who might as well have been Dawn.
20 minutes later
Quilava lit the fire, staring as the kettle boiled. She wasn't happy. None of them were.
"Please quit glaring." Ash said as he ground up the beans, the aroma visibly calming him down. "I'm not happy either."
"Qui." 'Then why did you act like Team Rocket tonight?' she asked, regretting it the moment it left her lips as Ash froze.
Team Rocket stole for their boss. Stole for greed.
Ash stole the coffee for his sanity. To prevent…dreams.
Pikachu glared at her. "Pika!" 'We are NOT Team Rocket! If we were in ANY other place and time, THIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED! And you know it!' snapped the pissed off mouse. "Pika." 'I don't want to see him wake up screaming again. And it's only gotten WORSE since New Island.'
Fucking rainbow Pidgey! He was blissfully unaware of what happened to him and his dad until then!
THUMP!
All of them turned their attention to Ash, who dropped to the ground, breathing shallowly, unable to stay awake.
"Natu." 'Fuck.' cursed the parrot succinctly.
Ilex forest - Johto Region - 1650 hours local time - Day 452
Dead leaves crunched under his feet as he wandered through the forest.
Iris laid on a stump, her lifeless corpse staring him in the eyes. 'Where were you?' painted in blood on the forest floor.
Kyoji and Neesha were holding hands, even in death, fried to death. 'YOU FAILED US' at their feet.
Anabel was hanging off a tree branch…or so it seemed, a branch shooting out of her mouth, dripping blood. Misty's body floated face down in the lake.
"Ash…" pleaded Serena, dragging herself along the ground. "We…needed you…we couldn't stop him…we-"
BANG!
Ash watched as Serena's head hit the dirt, blood pooling out of her head. Then came the laughter.
"Who did this?!" He demanded. "WHO ARE YOU?!"
"Nobody." came his own voice before he was thundered, being sent to his knees before the boots of a Rocket grunt came into view. He forced his head up to see…himself, cruelly smirking, Pikachu on his shoulder and wearing the Rocket grunt uniform. "Just me, myself…and I. You screwed up so ROYALLY, little me."
"It's…not-"
"I don't care about what you think." his dark self said before steel met his scalp. "You lost everything, failure."
The Rocket pulled the trigger.
Day 5 of the Hisuian Exile - roughly 0600 hours local time
Ash shot awake, screaming. Pikachu looked around, ready to kill any threat to his brother in all but blood.
"Pikapi…" 'Goddamn it all, Ash, why can't your nightmares get out of your head and GET ELECTROCUTED LIKE A MAN?!' Pikachu demanded, worried.
It was getting WORSE. They REALLY underestimated how much Ash NEEDED the girls. They knew they needed him, but how much of it was the other way around wasn't known until now.
Shaking, terrified out of his mind, he looked around, dark bags forming under his eyes. It was back to before they went to Ransei.
"Don't let me sleep." he begged. It was pathetic, a low whisper of terror. "Please don't let me sleep. I don't want to see it. I don…"
His head hit the jacket serving as his pillow.
Natu hopped onto his head and started furiously pecking. "NATU!" 'NO NO NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! GET UP!' she squawked, trying to get him up. But it was too late. He was unconscious.
"Quilava!" 'This can't go on! And none of us have the manual dexterity to dismantle those THINGS in his bag!' she said, referring to the three objects of necessary evil: the two handguns and the rarely-used rifle.
They wanted them destroyed, but until the last Shadow Pokemon was purified, they were required. Ash, someone who hated guns with a passion, accepted it only begrudgingly.
But they were the easiest ways for him to also end his life. Eventually, he would reach for them to end his madness.
And that day was coming soon. Without Serena or the others, the nightmares were getting WORSE.
"Pikachu-Pikapi." 'Arceus, you are a cruel god that doesn't give one DAMN about the universe you created, but for once, FOR ONCE, do us a favor and send Ash back to our time. You're the supreme god and your child in human skin is going to kill himself.' Pikachu said to the roof of the cave they were in. "PIKA!" 'FUCKING DO SOMETHING FOR ONCE, YOU FUCKING BASTARD!'
"Moshimoshi?" came a slightly familiar voice. "Dare kaimasu ka?" (1)
All eyes turned to the cave entrance as someone walked towards them, sandals making light crunches on stone as artificial light from a lanturn shone on a wall.
Everyone entered defensive positions as the woman who spoke entered line of sight. The similarities were damning.
Back-length blue hair, steel-blue eyes and a face that was hauntingly familiar, yet not, dressed in dark blue robes with fluffy white cuffs and bordering, pants that were equally as blue and wearing a white cloth to keep her hair under control.
"Quilava?" '…Dawn? Is that you?' asked the confused fire-type, forgetting she couldn't understand them.
Ash then groaned, the nightmares returning, his body too exhausted to wake up.
'Dawn' retrieved a primitive pokeball from her belt. "Jamasuru na, kaibutsudomo!" she snapped in the only tongue she knew, ancient Hisuian. "Anata no sei de byōki ni natta no yo!" (2)
"Pika." 'I can't understand a goddamn word she's saying.' Pikachu groused before Goodra stepped forward before he started making gestures of calm and friendship. 'Dawn', confused, lowered her pokeball.
Goodra gestured slowly that Ash needed help. Damn his rules: they were already found out. Quilava began gathering Ash's things, the Celebis thankfully hidden behind Goodra's massive bulk.
"Qui." 'You. Ball. NOW.' she said to Ash's pixie as Goodra distracted the Dawn clone before turning to Kyoji's. "Lava." 'YOU in the bag and DON'T MAKE A SOUND.'
Knowing the gravity of the situation, Kyoji's did as she was told.
"Minna ... kare o mamotteiru no ka?" she said before cupping her chin and slowly approaching Ash. "Demo, kare wa anata ga teikyō dekinai tasuke o hitsuyō to shiteiru. itsumo komebukuro o hakondeite yokatta yo…" (3)
She hauled him up in a fireman's carry, Pikachu putting his hat and jacket in the bag, Celebi's protests being muffled.
Dawn's ancestor carried Ash out of the cave, the Pokemon following close behind.
Akari hauled the stranger out of the cave, making a beeline for Julelife Village, the Pokemon hot on her tail.
All of them screamed 'restrained power and absolute loyalty' as they followed her, especially the Pikachu. She half-feared for her life as they chased after her.
The guards almost pulled out spears as they saw the Pokemon following her.
"They belong to him, you fools!" she snapped, rushing to the headquarters, shoving the door open and heading for the medical ward.
Captain Cylenne rose an eyebrow at the action. "Explain yourself." the stoic woman demanded as Akari put him on a cot.
"I found him in a cave not a league away from the village." Akari said before checking his forehead for a fever. "He doesn't seem well. Just look at his eyes!"
The aqua-haired captain glanced. "Dark bags. A troubled one." she said before returning to her duties, just as the stranger started groaning in his sleep. "VERY troubled."
"He needs help! Call-" Akari never finished as a pair of talons connected with the back of her head, shoving her downwards, her bosom connecting with the stranger's head.
"WHAT?!" she cried, her face turning red before the stranger stilled, his breathing calming, no longer fitting. "Perverted-" She froze when she realized his head was not lodged there like some lecher, but that his right ear was pressed over her beating heart.
"Natu." said her attacker, nesting on a wall hook, looking very, VERY smug.
Her heartbeat put an end to his nightmares? …But she was promised to another when the time came.
That would have to wait.
"Amazing!" said their Galarian guest, Professor Leventon. "These Pokemon are tame, under control!"
The Pokemon Index would benefit from this, for sure.
Five hours later
Ash snapped awake, panting. To hell with this! Coffee was the solution to all his problems! Now…
He wasn't in the cave anymore, but a plain dormitory.
Ash Ketchum's enraged scream at his situation was like none ever heard. It was the scream of one who, in spite of all his attempts to stay hidden, out of sight, out of records, was seen.
Arceus fucking HATED him.
Ash's Rules of Time Travel
Rule Two: If you can't avoid it, get back immediately. The more time you spend in the past, the more chances there are of you screwing everything up.
(1) Hello? Is someone there?
(2) Get out of my way, monsters! He's ill because of you!
(3) You're all… protecting him? But he needs help you can't provide. Good thing I haul rice bags all the time…
Ron the True Fan: Kobayashi Maru at its' finest. Ash was screwed no matter what he did. He was going to get caught sooner or later. And considering he literally needs the heartbeat of one of his lovers in his ear to not have nightmares, sooner was more likely.
Takeshi Yamato: Indeed. Of course, I'm not touching any of the nightmare scenes, even to fix errors. The one thing I REALLY don't like about this fic, but it can't be helped. So they may be slightly sloppier than the rest. Anyway, now he is in civilization… and not happy.
Ron the True Fan: His hatred of people screwing with time for any reason. Think about it: he learned, the hard way, that time travel isn't a toy. SOMETHING A LOT OF YOU READERS DON'T SEEM TO GET AT TIMES. …Yeah, pisses me off a little that I have to keep drilling it into your heads. Time travel, reality manipulation, these are not TOYS. Ash HATES those who abuse them and for good reason. Accidents are forgiven as long as you go back quickly or undo the damage or no harm has been done.
Takeshi Yamato: Of course, then there's pre-destination paradoxes, which Ash hates, DTI hates… and Ash might just be in the middle of one.
Ron the True Fan: So, once more and hopefully for the LAST TIME, screwing with time and reality is on the top of Ash's 'never do' list. He won't do it. The only time it will cross his mind is ending the one doing it, like Cyrus or the Iron-Masked Fucker that shot Pac-Gible. …Poor shark…
Ja Ne!