Admittedly it's a little easier to update when all other spare time projects are cancelled...but don't expect updates to come this quickly very often, it's merely because this is the end of a movie that I'm hurrying this one along. Also keep in mind something else, there will be a mentioning of something that you may or may not agree with, I ask ahead of time you keep flames to yourself. With that in mind, here is the last chapter of Arceus.
_
Chapter 60
Misty's POV
Well now I know what that weird blue energy was...Dialga had sent us back in time in order to essentially try and change history! But when we got there, we were immediately attacked by a Heatran and were surrounded by several men in guard uniforms of the current time period. Before we could even try and fight back, a Bronzong landed in front of us and used 'Hypnosis' on all of us before Ash and Pikachu could start the Counter Shield. The next thing we knew, we had been locked in a jail cell and separated from our Pokémon, with no way of getting out.
But that wasn't even the weirdest part, as if it could even get much weirder than it was already...locked in the jail cell with us, was Damos! Sheena's ancestor and the man responsible for our current predicament! Or so we thought...when we accused Damos of being the one planning to betray Arceus, Damos became livid at the mere thought that he would do such a thing. He explained that the entire reason he had been thrown in jail was because he was planning to return the Jewel of Life to Arceus, and his assistant Marcus was responsible for his imprisonment.
Then I remembered something, the name Marcus was familiar. Marcus was the name of the man who ordered Bronzong to hypnotize us, and the guard outside, who just happened to be a friend of Damos's, explained that Sheena was safe and was currently speaking to Marcus. Now the idea that the guard was a friend of Damos's seemed unfathomable to me, especially since he wasn't exactly about to just let him out. But I understood why: He wasn't sure if returning the Jewel of Life was the right thing to do, plus he had a family to support and it wouldn't look good on his job resume if he just let Damos out. What we won't do for our families.
After speaking with Damos for a while, Ash suddenly yelped in pain and went down, and when he stood up, his eyes were glowing with the power of aura...it was Riolu! Remember I said we had been separated from our Pokémon? Riolu was one of the Pokémon. Riolu was looking for Ash using his aura, and once he apparently found him, he cut off the connection. Now that was weird, because Ash's eyes never started glowing like that any other time their auras connected. Ash suggested it was because Riolu's aura was getting stronger as the Emanation Pokémon got more experience. I wasn't totally convinced, but given the current circumstances, I decided it wasn't worth pursuing.
After all that, Damos explained the story of how he met Arceus, and how the Jewel of Life came to be. Sheena had already told us this same story, but this time it was in the perspective of Damos himself, and it gave us a totally new way of looking at what happened. This whole time we thought it was all Damos's fault...when in reality that couldn't be further from the truth. Damos then stood up as if he was going to leave, and the next thing we knew a Pichu had popped up from the under the ground with a key hanging around its ear, and our Pokémon weren't far behind. Once we "escaped", since the guard didn't make it a huge point to try and stop us, Damos took off up a flight of stairs to try and stop Marcus, and we followed closely behind. I just hope this doesn't come back to bite us.
Normal POV
"Damos, how are you going to stop Marcus?!" Ash asked as they ran.
"It isn't Marcus I'm after! I must warn Arceus of the impending danger before he falls into Marcus's trap! If Arceus enters the shrine, I fear the worst." Damos replied. Damos then stopped in his tracks, much to the shock of everyone else.
"What's the matter?" Brock asked.
"It may already be too late...I can sense Arceus has appeared!" Damos replied. The teens gasped and began chattering worriedly amongst themselves. Damos then spoke up again, "Quickly, if there's any chance at all to save Arceus, we must hurry!" Damos ran as fast as he physically could, with the teens trailing as best to their ability.
Meanwhile outside, the solar eclipse had reached its pinnacle, and Arceus had indeed appeared. The Alpha Pokémon flew to the shrine, and slowly entered. "It is time to return the Jewel of Life." Arceus looked down upon a platform where a figure was approaching him. But as he was expecting Damos, he was surprised to find a girl holding a staff in her hand, "Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Sheena! Here is the Jewel of Life!" Sheena shouted.
Arceus flew lower to confront the young woman, "Where is Damos?" he asked.
"He isn't coming." Sheena replied.
"Did something happen to him?!" Arceus exclaimed with concern for his friend.
Sheena looked away from Arceus for a moment and frowned, "He was going to betray you." she said sadly.
Arceus was shocked by this, "It can't be!"
"It's true! But I have the Jewel..." Sheena gasped in horror when she opened the scepter...and found that the Jewel of Life was no longer in her possession. "No!" Sheena was forced to just stand and there and watch as Arceus gave out a cry of pain as he was suddenly bombarded by hundreds of electric attacks from every direction.
"You have...deceived me!" Arceus snarled, glaring furiously at the poor girl.
"No, that's not true..." Sheena dropped the scepter and let it fall into the water below, "I've been deceived." Sheena was helpless to do anything as Arceus was mercilessly attacked, and then from above, a strange liquid like substance smothered Arceus and sent the Alpha Pokémon careening downward. "Arceus, no!" she cried.
Arceus fell to the bottom and tried to move, but the liquid had instantaneously become solid, effectively holding him in his place, "What's this?" he growled.
By this time, Damos, Ash, and the others had appeared on the scene. "No, we're too late!" Ash exclaimed.
"Look, there's Sheena!" Brock pointed down to a lower platform where Sheena was watching in horror, "We've got to help her!"
"I see Marcus!" Misty pointed above Sheena, who was now glaring with rage at the man who had fooled her.
"The Jewel of Life is right here...but I'm not just going to give it back to you." Marcus said to the Alpha Pokémon as if he could hear.
"You!" Sheena seethed, "How could you do this?!"
"Many thanks for telling me all about the future dear," Marcus chortled. "Because now history's about to change!" Marcus signaled for more of the liquid to pour down on Arceus, and it was then Sheena realized Marcus's plan.
"You're going to bury Arceus alive!" Sheena looked around in horror as the Pokémon all continued to attack under orders, and the Silver Water continued to fall onto Arceus, "Stop it, please, all of you!" Sheena then gasped as the Silver Water found its way onto her platform, and she backed up in fear of being smothered.
"That platform won't hold!" Brock shouted.
Damos didn't wait any longer, he hurried to where Sheena was standing, and just as she was about to fall to her painful demise, Damos grabbed the woman's hand and pulled her to safety, then he led her away from the danger.
"Damos saved her!" Dawn exclaimed.
"But now we're back to our original problem!" Misty pointed out.
By now Ash had had enough. "I'm gonna take Marcus out!" the trainer snarled and ran off to confront Marcus, "And I'm gonna get the Jewel of Life back before it's too late!"
"Ash, wait for us!" Dawn called. Ash didn't respond of course. "Come on Misty, let's give him some help!"
Misty nodded and turned to Brock, "Brock, help Damos and Sheena!"
"Right!" Brock separated from the two girls, just as they went to follow Ash.
Meanwhile, Sheena was trying to regain her bearings after almost being killed on the spot. "Are you hurt?" the man who saved her asked.
"Who are you?!" she cringed in fear when the man reached for her hand and helped her stand, Sheena tried to fight him as best as she could, but to no avail. Suddenly however, a feeling of peace washed over, as her heart was connected to the man's. She stopped resisting as she realized just who this person was. "Damos..." she sighed, "I now know this wasn't your fault."
"You must be Sheena, the girl the children keep talking about." Damos realized.
"Right..." Sheena looked back outside at what was happening, "I did something foolish." she scolded herself.
Damos shook his head in disagreement. "It wasn't your fault either...if only I had known Marcus would betray me this way."
"We must do something!" Sheena exclaimed.
Damos nodded in agreement, and the two hurried to find a way to get to Arceus. However after turning a corner, they found themselves in grave danger as a river of Silver Water came gushing towards them, "There's no way out!" Damos shouted.
"Sudowoodo, let's go!" Luckily for the two, Brock had just appeared to come to their aid. With a salute, Sudowoodo awaited the breeder's orders. "Use 'Hammer Arm' on the ground! Stop that stuff!" Using his newly learned move, Sudowoodo pounded the ground and caused the ground ahead to crumble, leaving the Silver Water to harmlessly fall below. "Good work! Return!" Brock returned the rock-type to his Pokéball, "Damos! Ash, Misty, and Dawn are heading Marcus's way!"
Marcus was busy watching his glorious plan coming to fruition, and gazing upon the beauty of the stolen Jewel of Life. "And now Michina will forever flourish..." he said to himself, "The end of decimation."
"At what cost?!"
Marcus turned to see Ash, Pikachu, and Riolu all growling at him. "You? But how?"
"I dunno what you think you're doing, but if you think you're doing something noble you are dead wrong! How could you betray Arceus like this after all he did to help you and the people of Michina?! It makes me sick! Now you give the Jewel of Life back to Arceus right now or you're gonna be sorry you ever met me!" Ash snarled.
"It's too late for that!" Marcus replied as he backed up a few steps with his Bronzong by his side, "It belongs to us now! Heatran!" Marcus ordered the fire/steel-type that had been hanging on the ceiling to attack, and the Lava Dome Pokémon unleashed 'Fire Spin' on the trainer below and his Pokémon.
Ash and his team managed to dodge the attack, "Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu acknowledged the order and fired. The electricity hit its target, and Heatran fell from the ceiling and back onto the ground after the hit.
"Enough of this! Heatran, Bronzong!" Responding to Marcus's order, Heatran and Bronzong prepared to launch 'Fire Spin' and 'Flash Cannon'.
"Uh oh!" Ash and his Pokémon braced themselves for the incoming hits, but they never came as the attacks were deflected by a 'Water Gun' and a 'Bubblebeam' from behind. Ash turned to see Misty and Dawn behind him, their Pokémon ready for battle. "Thanks guys!"
"Look out!" the two girls shouted suddenly.
Ash turned back around only to see Bronzong hurtling towards them with 'Gyro Ball', and the Pokémon Trainer dove out of the way holding Pikachu and Riolu in his arms, "Guys, out of the way!" Ash shouted as he saw Bronzong keep going to try and hit the two girls. Luckily they were ready and they also dove out of the way, and watched as Bronzong swung back around to land next to Marcus.
"I'm sure one day you all will thank me!" Marcus said.
"Thank you?! What for?!" Misty asked incredulously.
"Because I am saving the future!" Marcus replied.
"Saving the future?" Dawn asked.
"Arceus will perish here!" Marcus exclaimed, "Which means there won't be a way for Arceus to appear in the future ever again! I am changing history!" The whole time they were arguing, Arceus was growing weaker and weaker as the electricity continued to bombard him and the Silver Water continued to rise around him. "Now we end this! Heatran attack!"
"Piplup, 'Bubblebeam'!"
Piplup fired just as Heatran unleashed 'Fire Spin' and the attacks negated each other. "Now Vaporeon, 'Water Pulse'!" Misty ordered. Vaporeon launched the follow-up attack and knocked Heatran back just as Bronzong prepared another 'Gyro Ball'.
"Ok, that does it!" Ash looked down at Riolu and closed his eyes, "Time to fight back Riolu, use 'Counter'!" Riolu nodded at Ash and leaped ahead to confront the incoming Bronzong.
"No Ash! Use Pikachu instead!" Misty shouted worriedly. But Misty felt like biting her tongue when she saw Riolu's body gain an orange outline, and the next thing she knew Bronzong had been sent flying into Heatran. "I forgot about 'Counter'." she said sheepishly.
"Ash, combination time!" Dawn shouted. Ash looked back and nodded at her. "Piplup, use 'Whirlpool'!"
"Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt'!"
The two attacks combined and went flying towards Heatran and Bronzong, but Heatran managed to activate 'Protect' and deflected the attacks, then it fired 'Hyper Beam' at the teens who just barely managed to dive out of the way. Once they started to get up, Bronzong fired 'Flash Cannon' and the teens flattened themselves against the ground and watched the shiny beam just barely fly over them. "That was too close." Ash thought with a silent gulp.
Meanwhile, Damos, Sheena, and Brock watched in horror as the hundreds of Pokémon continued to attack relentlessly. "If this keeps up, Arceus is doomed!" Brock exclaimed.
Damos growled and looked at Pichu, "Pichu, take your friends and help the other children!" With a nod, Pichu, Cyndaquil, Chikorita, and Totodile all ran to help Ash and the others. Then Damos turned to Sheena, "Sheena, take my hand!"
Sheena nodded and took the hand of her ancestor, and together they combined their power to try and get through to the hundreds of Pokémon, "Transcend the confines of time and space!"
With their combined power, Damos and Sheena managed to connect their hearts with the hundreds of attacking Pokémon. "Everyone..." Damos began, "Arceus sacrificed himself to save us all, and our entire land."
While Damos communicated with the attacking Pokémon, Heatran and Bronzong had been wearing down the teens' Pokémon. "Come on guys, we can't give up now!" Ash encouraged. Heatran and Bronzong blasted 'Fire Spin' and 'Flash Cannon' once more, but this time the attacks were deflected by a 'Water Gun' and an 'Energy Ball' from behind. "Misty, was that Staryu's 'Water Gun'?"
"No." Misty replied in confusion. The teens looked behind them and saw Pichu, her friends, and an army of Rattata they had recruited on the way backing them up. "It's Damos's Pichu! And she brought the cavalry with her!"
Pichu scampered over to Pikachu and smiled, "Pichu pi pi chu?" (Need some help?)
"Pika chu, pika pika pi ka chu." (Pichu, I'm proud to be your friend.) Pikachu smiled back, and the spiky-eared Pichu blushed slightly and coyly looked up at her larger counterpart. "Pika pika chu!" (Let's take them!)
Back with Damos and Sheena, they were still desperately trying to get the Pokémon to stop hurting Arceus. "Please, do not destroy Arceus. Everyone stop your attacks!" Sheena exclaimed. Finally their message seemed to get through, as one by one all the Pokémon stopped firing.
"What?!" Marcus looked down and saw that all the Pokémon had stopped attacking. "What's happened?!"
"They stopped attacking!" Dawn exclaimed in shock.
Now with one task completed, Damos and Sheena moved on to their biggest challenge: Getting through to the heart of the Alpha Pokémon himself. Using their combined strength, Damos and Sheena managed to get close enough to confront Arceus beyond time and space, but the sheer rage and hatred inside the Pokémon's heart vehemently repelled the two humans. "Arceus..." Damos begged, "Please, look at me!" Arceus did, but doing so only made his rage grow stronger, and the two humans were blown back by the Alpha Pokémon's rage. On top of that, the connection between Damos and Sheena was broken, leaving Damos to confront Arceus by himself.
"It's Damos." Marcus snarled to himself.
"He's mine!" Seeing an opportunity to strike, Ash charged towards Marcus and reached for the Jewel of Life, unfortunately Marcus had gotten his arm up and gained leverage up on the Pokémon trainer.
Marcus threw Ash off of him and sent the trainer to the ground, "Heatran, Bronzong, take care of this meddlesome child once and for all!" he ordered.
"Pichu pi chu!" (Don't do it!) Pichu cried. Now Heatran and Bronzong were beginning to have second thoughts about whose side they should be on, as they glanced at one another to see if either one would follow through on the order. After seeing that neither of them were going to make a move, they stood down. "Pichu, pi pi chu!" (Pikachu, let's free them!)
Pikachu nodded and unleashed 'Iron Tail' on Heatran's obedience collar, freeing the Lava Dome Pokémon from its restraint. Once that was done, Buneary moved in on Bronzong, and used 'Dizzy Punch' to shatter the lock on its collar. "Pika pika chu!" (Let's take him!)
Now all the Pokémon surrounded Marcus, staring him down with threatening looks in their eyes, "This can't be...Heatran, Bronzong, can't you see they've deceived you?!" Marcus's pleas fell on deaf ears, it was clear that the two Pokémon were through following his orders.
"Marcus, you're mine!" Ash charged one more time, and this time instead of merely reaching for the jewel, he dove towards Marcus and tackled the man to the ground. Ash once again reached for the Jewel of Life, but once again Marcus had the advantage, and he used both his legs to kick Ash off of him.
"I suppose I'll have to handle this myself!" Marcus got up and grabbed the Pokémon trainer by the collar of his shirt and walked over to the edge of the ledge to throw the struggling trainer down to his death.
Ash refused to go down that easily, his hands were still free so he reeled back with his fist and pounded Marcus in the eye, which got Marcus to drop him just before he got too close to the edge. "You'll pay for what you're doing!" While Marcus recovered, Ash continued his assault, and began to punch Marcus in the face over and over again, "Give back the Jewel!"
After about the fourth consecutive punch, Marcus snarled, blocked the next incoming punch, and answered back by swinging the hand holding the Jewel of Life at Ash's eye. Ash spun around and fell to the ground, holding his eye which was now in searing pain after being hit by what felt like a rock. "You're all fools! You truly believe that saving Arceus will save the future?! The only way to do that is to end Arceus's very existence!"
Ash wobbled back to his feet and took his hands away from his now swollen eye, it was barely open a slit now. He took a deep breath and answered back, "You're the fool Marcus, Arceus is the one who saved your land in the first place, without him you probably would've starved to death...and you repay him with murder. You don't deserve to have the Jewel of Life, and I'll die before I let you keep it!" Ash moved in one more time, and this time he decided to try a flying kick. Marcus was caught off guard and stumbled backwards, and that was when Ash went for the tackle again. On the way down, Ash grabbed Marcus's wrist and punched the Jewel of Life out of the man's possession at last, letting it fly freely. "Misty!"
Misty ran to catch the Jewel of Life before it fell, but even with a desperate dive she failed to reach it in time, as it fell into a metal track that surrounded the area and began to roll down to where Misty saw a hole that led to who knows where. "It's gonna fall!" she shouted.
Dawn and the other Pokémon began to chase it, but it was moving too fast for them to catch. It started to fall down just as Chikorita got there and used the leaf on her head to try and pull it back up, unfortunately she just wasn't strong enough, and she watched in horror as the Jewel of Life fell down the hole. Reacting fast, Dawn looked over the edge to see if there was an opening to where the Jewel would come out, and she saw a hole in the wall below that she saw a mysterious green glow that was gradually growing stronger. "Ash! It's gonna come out of the wall!" she shouted.
Ash nodded at Dawn and acknowledged, then he looked back down at Marcus, reeled back his fist and unleashed an uppercut to the man's jaw with all the strength he could put into it. Satisfied with that, Ash ran to the edge, "I hope I know what I'm doing!" Ash took a leap of faith and plummeted downwards, and the trainer managed to grab hold of a log that was sticking out of the wall, and he used the swinging momentum to swing his legs up and catch the Jewel of Life between his feet. "I got it!"
"Ash, are you ok?!" Misty shouted.
"Yeah Mist! But I could use a little help!" Ash replied with a strained voice, as he began to grow fatigued from hanging.
"Hang on, help is on the way!" Misty summoned Gyarados and used the water dragon's body as an elevator, and managed to jump down to a ledge underneath Ash. "Ok Ash! Drop it!" Ash nodded and let go of the Jewel of Life, and waited with baited breath to see if Misty would make the catch. Misty did, but not before she accidently juggled it a little trying to get a good grip. "Caught it!"
"Good job Misty!" Ash cheered. Now Ash looked down and let go of his handhold, and he fell down to the ledge Misty was standing on, losing a balance a little before ultimately recovering. By this time, Pikachu had joined the two humans. "Now there's only one thing left to do." Taking the Jewel of Life from Misty, Ash began leaping from log to log to get to another platform where Brock and Sheena could see him. "Hey guys! We've got the Jewel of Life!" he shouted.
Upon hearing Ash's voice, Brock and Sheena turned their attention to the Pokémon Trainer in the distance, and saw that he did indeed have the sacred gem in his possession. "Return it to Arceus! Quickly!" Sheena cried out.
"Right!" Now Misty and Pikachu had joined him on the platform, "This is it Mist, you with me?"
"Like you have to ask." Misty replied. Ash chuckled and the three began making their way towards Arceus.
"No, I've got to stop them!" Marcus had since recovered and tried to make a break for it, but he was immediately stopped by a threatening 'Bubblebeam' at his feet.
"Where do you think you're going?" Dawn sneered.
Ash, Misty, and Pikachu finally made it down to where Arceus had been half buried by the now hardened Silver Water. "Arceus! Look, I brought you the Jewel of Life, so please take it!" Ash said, holding the Jewel out to the Alpha Pokémon. Much to their horror however, Arceus didn't move a muscle.
"Ash...his eyes are all glazed over..." Misty gasped.
"No..." Suddenly more Silver Water came pouring out from above, and the trio had to leap up to higher ground in order to avoid being buried alive. "There's gotta be something we can do." Ash said. Suddenly however, Pikachu's body seemed to start fading away. "What the...Pikachu?!"
"He's fading away!" Misty exclaimed. Then the redhead examined herself as well, "I-I'm fading away!"
They weren't the only ones being affected by whatever was happening. "What's happening to me?!" Dawn panicked.
Marcus then began to chortle evilly, "You're disappearing! With Arceus no more, there's no reason for you to have come here! With any luck, your very existence will soon be erased from all of history, since it's quite clear at this point that it's been dramatically changed."
"No Arceus, you can't die!" Ash held out the Jewel to the now almost completely buried Alpha Pokémon, "You can't leave this world hating us! I won't let you!"
"Ash it's...it's no use." Misty whimpered, "Arceus is non-responsive, he couldn't accept the Jewel even if he wanted to listen to us."
"So what am I supposed to do?!" Ash spat back desperately, "I can't let history just change like this!"
Just then, Pikachu's body began to disappear completely from the feet up, "Pikapi...Pikachupi..." with that, Pikachu was gone.
"PIKACHU!" Ash then noticed that Misty was disappearing now, "No, Misty, not you too!"
"Guess it's my turn now." Misty sighed sadly.
"No, it's not over! I won't let you die!" Ash looked back at Arceus and yelled at the top of his lungs, "ARCEUS!"
By now Misty had almost completely disappeared, with her upper torso half gone and everything below it gone as well. "Ash, look at me." Misty pleaded. Ash bowed his head and began to sob before turning his head to his ever disappearing girlfriend. Seeing Ash so heartbroken finally got her to open the floodgates of her own tears, as she got up close to Ash. "I don't know what's going to happen...but I want you to remember something very important."
"And what's that?" Ash choked, his voice cracking badly.
Misty smiled sadly and pressed a kiss on his lips before her mouth disappeared, "That I'll always love you." That was the last thing she said before the redhead's existence was completely erased.
"I love you too..." Ash fell to his hands and knees and just sobbed, mourning the death of his two best friends with whatever time he had left. He was now aware that his body was disappearing now too, but he didn't care. He would've rather taken the fall by himself than fail to save his friends...which is exactly what he had done. "Misty...Pikachu...I'm so sorry."
But all was not lost, not yet. Damos was still going up against Arceus's rage, and he had just penetrated the shield of anger Arceus had put around himself in an attempt to prevent Damos from reaching him. But the determined man refused to give up, and he kept slowly pushing forward, until he finally managed to touch the Alpha Pokémon's head. "ARCEUS!" Damos closed his eyes as the contact he now had with the Alpha Pokémon caused a blinding light to shine...seeing through his eyelids that the light had faded, Damos opened his eyes and saw that Arceus's rage had seemingly disappeared. "Arceus?"
Arceus's eyes slowly went to normal, and the Pokémon looked up to see Damos smiling at him, "Damos..."
Damos nodded in relief, "The Jewel of Life...please take it."
Back with Ash, the trainer hadn't moved from his original spot, as his body had almost completely disappeared...but then through the corner of his good eye, he noticed the Jewel of Life had begun to glow brighter than usual. "Wha...?" Ash watched as the Jewel of Life floated over to Arceus and transformed back into the five life plates Arceus had used to create it. The plates went through the Silver Water as if it was air, and entered back into Arceus who was now glowing in a brilliant white light. Ash sighed and for a brief moment felt happy that Arceus had gotten the Jewel back...but he soon became sad again, as the reality that it had happened too late to save his friends hit his heart, and he buried his head into his arms and continued to sob.
"Ash..."
"That voice..." Ash was wary to look up, he thought he might be hallucinating, and that when he looked up what he thought he heard wouldn't be there. When the voice called him again, Ash risked looking up, and sure enough, there she was, with an electric-type perched on her shoulder. "M-Misty...Pikachu..." he breathed.
Misty knelt down in front of the trainer and caressed his face, wiping away the tears that had fallen down his cheeks, "We're back."
Ash's heart began to swell almost beyond what he could handle, and he sat up and embraced his two friends as tightly as he could, "You're alive! You're alive..." Ash began to laugh, he was overjoyed to see that history had been reverted back to its original state, and his friends along with it.
"Ash come on!" Misty laughed, "We just got back from one death, don't choke us to another!"
"No way Mist, after watching you both disappear like that, I may never let go again." Ash did however loosen up a little, he certainly didn't want to hurt them. As for the others, they had returned to normal as well.
"We're alive!" Brock cheered.
At this point, Damos had fallen to his hands in knees in exhaustion. He crawled to the edge of the ledge and looked down to see Arceus begin glowing brightly, and the Alpha Pokémon burst out of the hardened Silver Water with a surge of blinding energy that reached all the way up to the top of the temple. Arceus raised his head and saw Ash, Misty, and Pikachu watching in awe. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I-I-I'm Ash..." the trainer stammered, "And this is my partner Pikachu, and my girlfriend Misty." Suddenly though more Silver Water came flowing out of the walls, and it began to rise once more, "There's nowhere else to run!" Just before the trio could be buried alive, a forcefield surrounded them, and they began to rise up into the air with Arceus, "Arceus, you saved us..."
Arceus came up close to them as they rose up, "Ash, Pikachu, and Misty, are you the ones who saved my life?"
"It wasn't just us!" Misty replied. By this time, Arceus had placed them back on the platform with Damos, Sheena, and Brock, just as Dawn and all the other Pokémon came running in to join them. "You see? Each and every human and Pokémon here did everything they could to save you!"
Arceus looked on at the humans who had sacrificed so much to save his life, then Damos stepped up to speak. "Arceus, please forgive me."
"I already saw it in your heart." Arceus assured, "It's alright." For a moment at least, there was peace. But then the last of the Silver Water came bursting through the walls and caused the temple to begin to crumble, everyone inside, humans and Pokémon alike began to fall down to what would've been a slow and agonizing death, until Arceus utilized his full power and stopped everything. The Alpha Pokémon's glowing form had all of his life plates hovering around him, as he caught the Silver Water, the falling humans and Pokémon, and the debris of the temple. He then disintegrated the harmful debris and Silver Water in order to keep it from doing anymore damage, and then placed the humans and Pokémon back onto solid ground. "You are no longer slaves," Arceus said referring to the hundreds of Pokémon, "Be free!" With a wave of green energy, Arceus destroyed the obedience collars restraining all of the surrounding Pokémon, and the creatures rejoiced in their freedom.
"Amazing." Dawn breathed.
Misty then realized something, "Wait a sec, where's Marcus?"
Damos had the answer. "I no longer sense his presence...he is no more." Despite being betrayed by his former underling, Damos couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that Marcus had died as a result of his efforts. Marcus was at one point a trusted friend, and despite everything he had done, he believed that Marcus did what he did in an attempt to save Michina from a fate he sincerely feared would come to pass. Of course he didn't condone the man's actions, he merely understood why he had taken them.
"So..." Brock tried to break the silence, "Are we done here?"
"Yes, our mission has been completed." Sheena replied.
"My friends..." Arceus said, getting their attention, "If you would all join me outside for a moment." Arceus led the humans out of the temple and hovered in front of them once more. "I have used up all of my strength, so for now...I must rest...farewell Damos...and you as well, Ash, Pikachu, Misty...all of you." After saying his piece, Arceus turned and flew off into the sky where he opened a portal to his dimension.
"Well gang, we did it!" Ash said.
"Yes, and now the time has come for us to take our leave." Sheena added.
That statement brought sadness to the young Pichu who was perched on Damos's shoulder. "Pi pi chu pi." (I'll miss you all.)
Pikachu's ears drooped, "Pika pika chu." (We'll miss you too.)
"Bun!" (Hey!) Buneary remembered what she had been trying to tell Pikachu earlier, and motioned for the electric mouse to join her on the ground. Pikachu complied and the rabbit whispered something in his ear.
Buneary's suggestion brightened Pikachu up considerably, and the electric-type hopped back onto Ash's shoulder. "What's up Pikachu?" the trainer asked in confusion. Pikachu whispered his request to the boy, who seemed shocked what was being asked of him. "Are you sure buddy?" he asked. Pikachu nodded in response. Ash smiled and pulled off his backpack.
"What's Pikachu saying Ash?" Dawn asked curiously.
Ash didn't respond, and instead just pulled out an object that was very familiar to him, Misty, and Brock. "Damos, have you ever seen one of these before?"
Damos wasn't sure what was happening either. "Yes," he acknowledged, "But we haven't been able to figure out if they actually do anything, I have noticed that some appear to be differently shaped and colored, but I've never known why."
"See, this is called a Thunderstone." Ash explained, "It helps certain Pokémon evolve and become stronger, like my buddy Pikachu."
"Incredible!" Damos was then given the stone, but was unsure of what to do with it. He touched Pichu's head with it, and was surprised to find that nothing had happened, "How does it work?"
"It won't work on your little Pichu," Misty explained, "At least not yet, but one day Pichu will evolve into a Pikachu like Ash's, and then if she really wants to, you can use the Thunderstone to make her become a Raichu, which is the most powerful Pokémon in her evolution line."
"See, Pikachu wants to give Pichu something to remember us by." Ash added.
Once Ash said that, the Pokémon all gathered into a corner away from the humans so they could talk uninterrupted. "I don't understand, why are you giving me an item that could make you so much stronger?" Pichu asked.
Pikachu chuckled, "I don't want to evolve." he said, "Oh sure, I would be a lot bigger and stronger, but I really have no desire to become a Raichu. I can get stronger the old fashioned way, with hard work and training. You could too! But that doesn't mean that one day you won't want to evolve...I just wanted you to have something to remember us by."
"I didn't need a stone for that." Pichu replied in adoration, "I'll always remember you, all of you. The fact that we've become friends in such a short time is amazing, and I'm sad that I'll never see you all again."
"Me too." Pikachu replied with a sad smile.
"That goes for me too Pichu." Buneary spoke up.
"Really?" the Tiny Mouse asked.
"Yeah...we've had our differences, butted heads a little...but I'm gonna miss you too, I can tell you're gonna do great things in your lifetime, and I figure that Thunderstone will help you along."
Pichu sighed, "I figured out it was because you were jealous of how close I was getting to Pikachu a while ago, just for the record."
Buneary was stunned by that, "Are you serious?"
"Of course! I told you, just because I'm a Pichu doesn't mean I was born yesterday. I know what jealousy looks like. I am sorry if I offended any of you by what I did." Pichu replied.
"No," Buneary said with a shake of her head, "If anything I should be the one to apologize, I severely overreacted and I had no right to treat you the way that I did. I just wish now there was some way I could go back in time and change things."
"Uh, we kinda already did." Vaporeon commented.
The entire Pokémon group began to laugh at that, then Pichu spoke up once more. "Thank you...thank you all!" Pichu said happily, "You all have given me the greatest gift I could ever ask for, and I'm not talking about that stone...I have enjoyed your friendship from the beginning, and now you've freed my other friends so that I'll never be lonely again...I am forever grateful."
When a soft sniffling was heard, all the Pokémon turned their attention to Riolu, who they expected to be crying from all the sadness in the air. But they were surprised to see that Riolu was in fact looking at Piplup. "Piplup...you're crying?" Buneary asked.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Piplup spat before turning around to hide his face, "I just have something in my eye, that's all."
"Yeah, they're called tears." Staryu chuckled, "Don't worry Piplup, we all feel the same way."
"Well before we go, how about one more Pika-shake, for old time's sake?" Pikachu held out his tail for Pichu, and the Tiny Mouse Pokémon happily sparked hers with his. But then immediately after, Pichu scampered over and embraced Pikachu tightly, not wanting to let go. "I'll miss you Pichu, you behave yourself ok?"
"I will." Pichu nodded, just as Pikachu and the others began to sparkle. "Oh no...already?"
"Sorry, but we had to go sometime." Pikachu sighed. Reluctantly, Pikachu released Pichu from the embrace and gently played with her spiky-ear to get a giggle out of her, "One day you'll meet another Pikachu or Raichu, and he'll be ten times better than me! You deserve the best."
"Not possible, I've already met the best. But, maybe I'll get to meet someone close enough." Pichu replied with a sad sigh.
The Pokémon joined their humans who had also begun to sparkle as Dialga's power overtook them. "Dialga is calling." Sheena said, "Time to return to the future."
"There's so much more I wanted to speak to you all about." Damos sighed sadly, "But to be able to meet my future children...I am grateful. Farewell." With that, the group disappeared right in front of Damos and Pichu's eyes. Damos sighed and looked into the distance, "The future...wow."
Back in the future, the group appeared in the same place they disappeared from, "Are we back?" Brock wondered. They looked up on a ledge and saw Giratina groaning in pain, "It's Giratina."
Sheena then looked down below and saw Dialga down for the count. "And Dialga!"
And finally, Dawn noticed Palkia. "Palkia too..."
"But then..." Misty spoke up, "Where's Arceus?" A sudden battle cry got their attention, and they saw Arceus charging up one final blast, "There's Arceus!"
"But why is he still angry?!" Dawn exclaimed worriedly.
With a mighty roar, Arceus sent his 'Judgment' attack into the sky, and the falling blasts of energy came hurtling down to destroy all life on Michina. "No!" Ash yelled, "No Arceus, no!"
Arceus heard Ash's voice and looked down, and the Alpha Pokémon stopped the attack, "Who are you?" Time seemed to stop for a moment, as history caught up with what the group had done in the past, and the events of what happened so long ago flashed in the Alpha Pokémon's mind, "Ash..." Upon Arceus's realization, the damage that had been caused as a result of the battle between the four legendary Pokémon slowly began to undo itself.
"History's been corrected...wow..." Brock commented, just as the dark clouds that had been rolling overhead cleared and allowed the sun to shine back through, and the three fallen legends were instantly revived, as was Arceus as his missing life plates were restored to where they belonged: within him.
"Everything's back to normal!" Ash exclaimed.
"Thank goodness." Dawn sighed in relief.
"Wait a minute!" Brock had realized something, "We returned the Jewel of Life in the past...which means this place should be totally desolate!"
"Arceus?" Sheena assumed the Alpha Pokémon had been responsible for Michina's continued abundance despite the lack of the Jewel of Life's assistance.
"This isn't my doing." Arceus replied, "Your ancestors dedicated their entire lives to cultivating and restoring this land. This place was brought back to life by the efforts of people and Pokémon alike."
"I understand!" Sheena laughed in delight.
"Sheena, we did it!" Ash replied.
"Sheena!" that was the voice of Kevin, who had just noticed the return of Sheena and the others. He bounded up the steps to meet her and immediately placed his hands on her shoulders, "Thanks goodness you're alright."
"Oh Kevin..." Sheena happily leaned into the man's embrace, much to the horror and dismay of a certain Pokémon Breeder.
"I had a sneaking suspicion those two were more than just friends." Misty giggled.
"Why can't I ever get past 'just friends'?" Brock groaned.
"Oh hush and let them enjoy their moment." Misty whacked the already depressed breeder in the back of the head, which only added to his suffering, "By the way Ash, nice shiner."
Ash suddenly remembered his fight with Marcus, and touched his hand to his black and blue eye, which he recoiled at once he felt the pounding pain from touching it. "Well...I'll look on the bright side, at least I still have my eye." he sighed.
By this time, the sun had begun to set, painting the sky with brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow. Arceus turned his attention to the three lesser legends he had battled with, "I wish to thank you three for trying to stop me from carrying out my mindless revenge...you are all quite worthy of your roles in creation."
The legends nodded at Arceus, and then flew off into the sky to return to their given dimensions, with the humans below all waving goodbye once more. "Sheena, look at this!" Once the legends were gone, Kevin called Sheena over to a large stone with engravings in it, the teens followed to get a look as well.
"Wait a sec...that looks like..." Ash gasped.
"It's us!" Dawn finished, just as awed.
"Damos must have left this here knowing we would see it!" Brock figured. The engravings showed how Sheena and the others assisted Damos in saving Arceus and returning the Jewel of Life, giving them all a permanent place in the now glorious history of Michina.
Sheena got up close to the carved out drawing, "There's something written here..." she began to read the message, "To all of my beautiful future children who taught me how to believe, I offer you now all of my sincerest hopes and wishes that the future world will become more and more beautiful...and that is exactly the kind of world you'll find yourselves in..." Sheena's voice began to crack near the end of her reading, as she was deeply moved by the message left behind by her now long dead ancestor Damos and began to cry tears of joy, "Thank you Damos." she laughed through her tears.
"Pika pika chu?" (And Pichu?) the electric mouse asked.
"Oh, right," Ash replied, "Sheena, was there more to the message? Maybe something from Pichu?"
Sheena looked at the drawing once more and pointed something out, "It isn't long, but it's definitely from Pichu. Look." the group saw an outlined carving of Pichu's head, spiky-ear and all, with a small message next to it. "It says...thank you." Sheena read.
"There ya go buddy, I'm sure Pichu had a great life, and it's thanks to you." Ash rubbed his Pokémon partner's head, and the electric mouse also started letting loose tears of joy.
"Ash." Arceus's voice got the attention of the humans and other Pokémon, and they ran up next to him. "This world of yours...is truly a magnificent place."
"Yeah...it is, thanks for making it for us." Ash replied.
But instead of nodding, Arceus was stunned. "I did not create your world, my Master is the One responsible for such a glorious masterpiece such as this."
The humans were shocked by that, "You mean there's a Pokémon out there even more powerful than you?" Ash asked.
Arceus chuckled, "My Master isn't a Pokémon, He is a being that transcends all knowledge and understanding, and He put me in charge of protecting this world...however I'm afraid I have much to answer for after what I've done."
"Are you gonna be ok?" Misty asked.
"There's no reason for you to worry, my Master is a forgiving, benevolent being...He created this entire world...all of you as well, and nothing happens without His permission...the Creator of all things...the Creator of this world..." Arceus then began to fly off into the sky, "And now...it is with great joy that I finally come to understand...that I am truly a part of His glorious creation." with that, Arceus disappeared into a portal, with the humans and Pokémon below shouting farewells to the Alpha Pokémon.
With the breeze blowing softly and the sun setting ever lower, the group looked into the sky where Arceus had disappeared, pondering the words the Alpha Pokémon had spoken. "A being beyond all understanding..." Misty said.
"The Creator of all things..." Brock added, "Do you think it's possible that one day we'll get to meet Him?"
"Who knows Brock? The way Arceus talked about Him, we may have already and not even realized it..." Ash grabbed his head and groaned, "Gah...brain pain."
"Hence why he said 'beyond understanding' you goof!" Misty replied.
"Well I understand one thing." Dawn sat down on the ground and exhaled loudly, "I am exhausted! Can we go home now?"
"It's a loooong walk to Twinleaf Town." Misty replied.
Dawn decided to change her statement, "Can we go to the Pokémon Center now?"
The whole group laughed as Ash and Brock helped the coordinator back to her feet. "I want to thank you all for your help." Sheena spoke up, "Me, Kevin, and all of Michina are forever in your debt...without your help Arceus would've destroyed all of mankind, but you changed all that. We're forever grateful to you all."
"Aww, it was no big deal." Dawn shrugged nonchalantly.
"No big deal?!" Ash said a little too loudly, "We all almost died!"
"You 'almost die' all the time, why are you getting all worked up over this time?" Misty asked in annoyance.
"Because!" Ash lost much of his fire suddenly, "Because...this time I almost lost you." Ash took the redhead's hands and stared earnestly into her gorgeous green eyes, "Mist I was devastated, watching you and Pikachu just disappear like that...I mean my heart...well...I realized what it means to have your heart broken."
"Oh Ash..." Misty caressed his face for a moment before leaning in for a gentle lip lock, much to the disgust of the fatigued and cranky coordinator.
"Oh sure, and how would he feel if he watched us vanish into oblivion? I doubt he'd wanna swap spit with you or me." Dawn huffed, Piplup now squirming in her too tight grip.
"Now Dawn, you know that's not true...well, the spit swapping part is but...you know Ash would feel just as bad if it had been either one of us and..." Brock then caught what Dawn had said, "Wait a sec, are you saying you want to kiss Ash?!"
"I didn't say that!" Dawn vehemently denied, "I was trying to make a point! Can't they wait until after we're checked in and I'm in a nice warm bed before they give us a display of their undying love for each other? I mean seriously, talk about bad timing!"
Finally their kiss came to a reluctant end, "Ok Dawn, we're done here, feel better?" Misty asked.
"Not particularly. I still don't see a bed in front of me." Dawn replied.
"I can see that Dawn is eager to get some well-deserved rest, so we won't keep you any longer." Sheena bowed in respect to the heroic teenagers, "Thank you all once again for your help."
"You're welcome Sheena, glad we could make a difference." Ash replied with a smile.
"We're gonna miss you guys, hope we see you again soon." Misty added.
"The feelings are mutual," Kevin nodded, "Good luck to you all on your journey."
With that, Sheena and Kevin parted ways with the teenagers, who had since returned all their Pokémon (with the obvious exception of Pikachu and Piplup) and finally made it to the Pokémon Center by nightfall. "Finally...cushions." Dawn staggered over to a nearby couch and groaned in exhaustion as she plopped face first into an arm pillow, "Nobody wake me until ten years ago." she said through the pillow.
Unfortunately for Piplup, who was wrapped in Dawn's arms, he was now being crushed by his trainer who had forgotten to let go before falling face first onto the couch. "Piiii pluuuuuup!" (Get off!) Piplup squirmed and shouted for help, and while the squirming was getting him nowhere, his cry for help did reach someone.
"Pikachupi," (Misty,) Pikachu tugged on the redhead's ankle to get her attention, "Pikaka pika chu pi Pi-Kachu." (Dawn's sitting on Piplup.)
"Oh boy. That can't feel good." Misty went over to the couch and yanked on Dawn's shoulder, but Dawn resisted. "Come on Dawn, up up." Now she tried to life Dawn by lifting her up by under her shoulder, but that didn't work either. "Good grief." Misty mumbled, "Are you aware you're suffocating Piplup?"
"Go 'way." she mumbled in response.
"Pi pi plup pi pluuup!" (Get me outta here!)
"I'm not in the mood for this. Ash, gimme a hand here." Misty went back to pulling until Ash arrived and grabbed Dawn's other shoulder, and together the two lifted her up off the couch, letting her dangle just slightly above ground.
"No! Let me sleep in peace!" Dawn whined. Piplup just took deep breaths of much needed oxygen.
"Let's go Dawn, bed's just a few yards away." Ash assisted the redhead in getting the drowsy, droopy, and limp coordinator to their room, and upon reaching their destination, Dawn escaped their grasp and gave one last burst of energy just long enough to leap onto her bed. "For an exhausted person she sure moved fast."
"Pip pi plup." (Tell me about it.) Piplup had been smart enough to break free of Dawn's grasp before she landed on the bed this time.
"I would say that was fueled by desperation." Misty replied, "And while I'm not nearly as crazed as Dawn," Dawn gave a dry chuckle at that comment, "I will admit I am dead tired too...just from coming back from the dead."
"And by the way Dawn, I would be just as hurt if it had been you or Brock." Ash was amused when he witnessed Dawn's head shoot up from the pillow, the coordinator now looking quite alert.
"You heard that?" she asked nervously.
"How would you like to swap some spit with me Dee Dee? Might make you feel better." Ash laughed mockingly.
At the sound of the ever annoying nickname, Dawn was now ready to pounce on Ash and beat the living daylights out of him. But then she came up with a much better plan, one that would get revenge on not only Ash, but Misty as well. "This'll teach them not to mess with my sleep." With a mischievous smirk and a naughty glint in her eyes, Dawn spoke up, "Ok then Ashy, as long as you're offering free kisses."
Ash stopped laughing immediately, so did Misty as she had joined in on the laughter. But she definitely wasn't laughing now. "You're not serious are you?" Ash asked in shock.
Dawn responded by puckering up and closing her eyes, "I'm waiting for my goodnight kiss." Dawn had to choke back a giggle, seeing their faces was just too funny.
Ash looked around the room for no apparent reason, just trying to think of something to do...but all that came to mind was to follow through on what he had been dared to do. He was smart enough to know Dawn didn't really want a kiss from him, but he sure as heck wasn't gonna let her get the last word, so the only way to one-up her would be to do the one thing she'd least expect. "This is gonna be weird."
When Misty saw him take just one step towards Dawn's bunk, she quickly got in his way and spread her arms out. Ash didn't know whether to be scared or grateful, seeing as she was furious to the nth degree. "Don't. You. Dare." she hissed quietly.
"Look, I don't want to do it!" Ash defended, quickly getting his hands up, "But I can't let her beat me!"
"You won't." Misty smirked evilly and grabbed a Pokéball. At this point, Ash was scared of what might happen, was she about to unleash Gyarados on Dawn? Misty caught his expression and sighed, "No Ash, it's not Gyarados." Ash noticeably relaxed after getting that affirmation. "She'll get a kiss alright, but not what she expects." Misty called out the Pokémon of choice, and Ash had to stifle a laugh that was now begging to come out.
"What's the hold up? My lips are getting tired!" Seconds later, lips came into contact with lips...really strangely shaped lips, "Something's not right." Dawn opened her eyes a little to see what was going on, and they widened to the size of dinner plates once she saw an all too familiar face in front of her. Dawn shouted through the forced kiss and jumped back all the way to against the wall, spitting and hacking in total disgust and horror, "Psyduck?! Really?! You jerks! That is the most vile thing I have ever done!"
Psyduck meanwhile hopped out of the now hysterically laughing redhead's grasp and eagerly waddled over to Dawn for further affection, which he was foolish enough to assume was real. Seeing that only made Misty and Ash and now even the other Pokémon laugh harder than ever, "Psyduck's in love! I can't believe this!" Misty cackled, pointing a finger at Dawn and clutching her stomach.
"Dawn used 'Attract', it's super-effective!" Ash almost fell over backwards from laughter. Needless to say he was more than happy with the way things turned out.
"Psyduck please, don't take that the wrong way!" Dawn whined as the duck hugged her leg affectionately, his stubby little tail wagging back and forth. "Oh what's the use?!" Dawn hobbled over to the bathroom door and pounded on it as hard as she could, "Brock! Are you finished?!"
Brock opened the door and revealed that he was. He then noticed the laughter of the others and the dismay of the coordinator in front of him, but even that wasn't the most confusing thing. "This may seem like a stupid question..." the breeder began, "But why is Psyduck attached to your leg?"
"Because Misty made me kiss him! Now if you'll be so kind as to move over, I have to wash my mouth out with soap!" Dawn's sad attempt to be polite was further betrayed when she shoved Brock out of her way and slammed the door behind her. However Ash, Misty, and the two Pokémon got one last burst of laughter in when they heard Dawn through the door, "No Psyduck! I am not giving you another kiss!"
"You guys do very strange things when I'm not around." Brock shook his head and headed over to his bunk.
"Hey look, in our defense, she started it!" Ash replied, pointing at the closed door.
"I wasn't here, I don't care, I'm tired, goodnight." That was all Brock said before he pulled the covers up over himself.
"Looks like we got away with it then." Misty figured. She had seconds thoughts though when Dawn came back out with Psyduck desperately clutching her leg, "Still?"
"Yes still!" Dawn growled as she hobbled over to her bunk. She laid out and tried to shake Psyduck off, but the enamored Pokémon refused to let go. Dawn whined loudly and turned her attention to the redhead, "Look, you win ok? Uncle, aunt, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa! Whatever you want me to say just get him OFF!"
"That's all I needed to hear." Misty replied all too sweetly for Dawn's tastes. "Ok Psyduck, maybe you and Dawn can have a date tomorrow, return!" Misty called back the Duck Pokémon and allowed Dawn to have her leg back. "Let that be a lesson to you, don't even think about trying to mess with my man."
"I wouldn't dream of it." Dawn laid on her side facing away from the others, but she quickly turned back around, "Although if I did dream of it, it would probably be a nightmare!" Dawn turned around once more and soon fell asleep.
"Well...it's just you and me Mist." Ash was suddenly snared into a kiss by his redheaded girlfriend. It took him a moment, but he was able to adjust and enjoy the surprising action. After a moment, the kiss was broken. "What was that for?" Ash asked, slightly out of breath.
"Well you were actually thinking about kissing Dawn, so since that kiss was gonna go to waste, I figured I'd take it. They are after all meant for me." Misty then kissed Ash again, and broke it not long after, "And that was meant to make up for even thinking about kissing someone else."
"I...don't suppose there's another reason, is there?" Ash asked cheekily.
"Lemme mull it over for a while." Misty patted Ash's head and walked by him, grabbing her pajamas and heading to the shower for a much needed clean up.
"Worth a shot." Ash just shrugged. Being technically alone, since Dawn and Brock were asleep, and Piplup and Pikachu had already left the room to give themselves their own baths, he began to think about the day's events. "Gotta admit...I am exhausted. I wonder if all the time travel made us actually stay up for longer than just one day...it feels like I've been awake for thirty-six hours straight..." he yawned and stretched and sat down on the edge of his bunk. He began to rub his eyes but he quickly pulled his hand back when he was given a nasty reminder of what happened a while back. "I wonder how long this injury's gonna last." he grumbled in his head. It had been a very emotional day to say the least. Meeting up with the most powerful Pokémon in existence, losing his friends and then getting them back again...the trainer was simply drained. "I wonder if Misty would give me a massage if I asked real nice." the thought made him smile.
Finally Misty returned, "Ok Ash, you're up."
"Hey, I don't suppose you'd be willing to give me a back rub? I've got a knot right about here." Ash reached behind and pointed to where his alleged pain was.
Misty got up close to the trainer and smiled, "Maybe I could...lemme mull it over."
"You're already mulling over another reason to kiss me." Ash replied with a frown.
"True. But it's necessary, a girl has to be sure about these things." Misty got by Ash and laid down on the bunk, much to Ash's disappointment.
"I'll just take that as a no." Ash sighed and grabbed his pajamas.
"I didn't say no. Don't put words in my mouth." Misty wagged her finger in disapproval. Ash responded with an annoyed smirk and then went to shower. "I'll put words in my mouth." Misty giggled, she had no intentions of giving in to her boyfriend's desires, but thinking about what had happened over the course of their latest adventure, she began to have second thoughts. "Maybe Ash does deserve to be pampered a little, it's not like he'd ever tell me no if he had a choice." Misty then heard the water stop running in the shower, and minutes later, Ash came out, still obviously disappointed.
Ash got in the bed next to Misty and turned his back to her, giving a sad sigh in the process. Moments later however, he was surprised to feel Misty kneading his back with her slender fingers. "Mist?"
"I mulled it over. After everything that happened today, you deserve a little special treatment." Misty then bent over Ash and reached to kiss his nose, "I mulled that over too."
With a smile on his face, Ash eagerly turned onto his stomach and let Misty work his back, "Oh man, that feels awesome." Ash moaned when Misty hit a tense spot on his back, "Wow...I'm tighter than I thought, that kinda hurts."
"You want me to stop?" Misty asked.
"Nah, it's the good kind of hurt." Ash inhaled and exhaled, allowing the last bit of stress from the day's events leave him as Misty continued to rub and massage his aching back. "Thanks Misty, I really appreciate this." He didn't realize it, but his fatigue combined with Misty's massage, he was beginning to doze off.
"Aw Ash, you know I'd do almost anything for you." Misty expected a response, but was stunned when she didn't get one. "Ash?" Misty stopped massaging for a moment to look over and see why Ash had neglected to answer her. She smiled sympathetically when she found that Ash had fallen asleep. She shook her head and leaned over to kiss the top of his head, "Goodnight Ashy, sweet dreams." she whispered. Ash seemed to smile in his sleep, which made the redhead's heart swell a little. To think that just a few years ago Ash didn't even understand the basics of love...and now it felt like they'd been together since day one. "I love you so much." Misty nestled under the covers and masterfully tossed a Pokéball at the light switch, plunging the room into a soothing darkness. She caught the ricocheting ball and placed it back where she got it, and happily dozed off with another day full of adventure finally through.
_
A/N: Well there you go. The idea that Arceus is omnipotent is laughable to me, he can't even stop a meteor without needing rest afterwards? So I made it so that Arceus merely watches over the world instead of being the creator of it. Anyways, as I said before, don't expect updates to come this frequently very often, maybe a little faster than they had been before this whole mess started, but I'm still a very busy man...and somehow, I enjoy that too. Well, until then dear readers. Enjoy