So, a professor was some kind of scholar. That's was Lucario deduced upon meeting Professor Cerise. As this man in front of him was certainly not a military leader in anyway. With his thin white coat, pair of purple spectacles and overall diminished stature, that much was clear.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Professor Cerise said, shaking Sir Aaron's hand.

"I can say the same Professor," Sir Aaron said, "And I must thank you again. I know taking us in must be burden on your work here."

"Oh, pff," Professor Cerise waved him off, "It's not a problem really. This was built to have more staff but we haven't really hired anyone else yet. So, we have the space. Besides if someone is threatening one of my employees, I'd like to have the expert on the situation close by. Which you will probably have to better explain now that we can have a face-to-face conversation."

"I'll explain best to my ability however even I'm afraid that Mew wasn't fore coming with her own explanation," Sir Aaron said.

"Well, no one's perfect," Professor Cerise said before turning to Ash and Goh, "So, that's the giant Magikarp?"

"It's simple humongous!" Exclaimed a younger man with blond hair and spectacles.

"But apart from its size it seems like a normal Magikarp," Spoke a blue haired woman.

Their coats were similar to that of professor Cerise's. A students or fellow professors perhaps? Lucario wasn't really sure how this new hierarchy worked. Professor Cerise was clearly the one in charge of this manor. However what purpose did these two, serve? They were both younger than Professor Cerise, that made him think they were lower in status compared to him. But the coats spoke otherwise. The future was confusing.

"Ri olu (yeah, too bad we can't eat it)" Spoke the pup.

Raboot and Pikachu looked at Riolu oddly.

"Boot Ra Raboot (of course you would think that)" she said.

Pikachu just blinked.

The Magikarp suddenly jumped up high out of the water. Breaking through what must have been a very expensive glass roof and then crashing back down into the lake. A wave of water rose up and drenched all the adult humans and, sadly, Lucario. Though, out of the corner of his eye he saw Ash and Goh running away.

The jackal Pokémon suppressed a growl of discomforted. His fur was now completely soaked through. Wetter then wet. He hated when his fur was wet. Sure, it was fine if it was just his paws, but he felt awful when it was his full coat. It started out refreshing in this case, as the water was cooling, but he knew that it would warm as it dried. Making his fur uneven, along with causing his skin to feel sticky and itch relentlessly. Hopefully these humans had some future form of a towel to make the process quicker.

Professor Cerise coughed, taking his spectacles off and attempting to dry them on his wet coat before realizing it was futile, "Nice bellyflop I'm impressed."

"He certainly reached new heights," Sir Aaron said wringing out his hat.

"I'm going get some towels and spare clothes," the blue haired woman said, before turning to Sir Aaron, "Any preferences?"

"Oh, no. Whatever you have with be alright madam," Sir Aaron said.

"So, you guys are like related?" The blond asked, "Like thousands of years apart relatives?"

"That's what Mew has led me to believe," Sir Aaron said, while Ash shrugged.

"That's pretty wild considering how much you both look alike. I mean sure, Ash is more tanned and your eyes don't match, but your noses are very similar," The Blond rambled.

Ash and Sir Aaron shared a smile.

"Alright! Ren, I get you're excited!" Goh chimed in, "But we do have team rocket deal with. Were you guys able to find anything on Professor Gen?"

"Right, Right," Professor Cerise said, "Uhm...Gen...Gen. It rang a bell for me when I you told me over the phone, I just wasn't sure where I heard it from. Then you mentioned Professor Oak and things started to click. She was studying under Oak at the same time as me, but I was starting while she was in her last year, so I can't say we were close."

"So, what do you know about her?" Ash said.

"She was hard working, very smart, but very secretive. I know that she had been working with Eevee genetics, but that's all I know. Last I heard was that she had funding elsewhere so she left to further her research there," Professor Cerise said.

"Was she married or had any children?" Sir Aaron asked.

"Not sure about any kids, but I know she was engaged when she left," Professor Cerise said, "It had been such hot gossip around the lab that everyone talked about it. None of us even knew that she was dating someone."

"When was this?" Goh asked.

"I was in my early teens, so about 30 years ago," Professor Cerise answered.

"How old was Riley, Ash?" Goh looked to his friend.

"I mean I didn't really get a chance to ask him, but I'd say maybe twenties. He was definitely an adult by the time we met," Ash said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Time line would match up then if Professor Gen is his mom," Goh said, "But that could just be a coincidence."

"Maybe we should take this inside," Professor Cerise said, "With the roof broken who knows what drone could fly in here and listen."


Sir Aaron would be lying if he said that the young child inside of him wasn't jumping with excitement when they exited the train to see a modern-day city. The town above had been quite different from the small village that used to stand in its place all those centuries ago. Everything seemed so foreign. It was hard to believe that it had once been so small that most travelers would pass it up. Sir Aaron only ventured in it to...to...Well he couldn't remember why, but it must have been important as he would have no other reason.

The manor that Ash's employer owned was something out of a story book. The large crystal glass dome, perfectly cut bricks and overall outward appearance spoke of wealth and stature. Clearly resources such as these in the future days were not just reserved for royalty or nobles. Still some other buildings in Vermillion weren't as large as the laboratory so perhaps there was still a difference between the ranks of Professors and their workers and the commonfolk. It seemed as if his descendent had done well for himself to stay in such a place.

Inside was just as magnificent. The varnished wooden floors, smooth painted walls and metal contraptions that sparked even more questions that, if he were still young, would be flowing out of his mouth like a flooding river in a storm. But it had been many years since he was child, and it was not the place nor time to do so. He held his tongue for now, but logged each one he had in his mind to ask later.

Professor Cerise was not the elderly wise men or grey scholar that Sir Aaron had expected. Instead, the knight had been greeted by a man who was probably just a few years his elder. This made Sir Aaron wonder just that type of training was needed in order for one to achieve the title of professor and how long it usually took. The only kind of scholars that Sir Aaron knew a great deal about were the Aura Sages who stayed in the libraries in the Hisui Temple.

Once a young user completed their basic control training, they were given three options. To train either as a Guardian, Sage, or Healer. Sages studied Aura, being it be the history of the magical energy or the innerworkings of it, and they rarely ever left their Libraries. Healers ran the hospitals and cared for the riolu or other Pokémon on the grounds. They only left the temples when they're skills were needed by civilians during disasters and wars or when requested by royals. Guardians were the most mobile and the reason as to why all users were called Guardians by the non-user populace. They acted as the protectors of the Guild, clans and non-users, often leaving their homes to travel the world. Guardian was the route that Sir Aaron had taken. Not only due to his explorer's heart but also due to the fact he was expected to take over his father's place in Rota's royal court and he couldn't do that in the other positions.

Still all the routes that an aura user could take would take in an average of 15 years to complete training for. Maybe longer or shorter by a year or two depending on the user but it would still take years of study. Where a modern Pokémon Professor landed, Sir Aaron wasn't sure. But Professor Cerise spoke of starting his study 30 years ago, and only recently opened his own laboratory (according to Goh and Ash), so it must have taken some time.

Cerise himself however, was someone that Sir Aaron was quickly growing to like. The man this calm relaxed nature to his aura. Something that the knight greatly appreciated considering the circumstances. Openly curious and friendly, Sir Aaron could see the reason as to why Ash took up work underneath this man. Not to mention he didn't speak in riddles like the old sages of Sir Aaron's youth so loved to do. Thank Arceus.

The assistants that worked under the Professor, were also people that Sir Aaron approved of. Ren was a bright and cheerful young man from what he's seen, and Miss Chrysa had a kind heart offering towels and fresh clothing after he was soaked through.

"So," Ren started, working on a device that Sir Aaron made note of to learn about later, "I have been looking into Amanda, but things I haven't really gone that deep into it yet. And sadly, Amanda Gen is a pretty common name. So, this is going to be a long search."

"Anything you can do to narrow it down?" Goh asked.

"Well, I was waiting to see what the two of you," Ren gestured to Sir Aaron and Ash, "looked like next to each other. In order to rule out some of them. I mean she's probably going to look like you right? She's another blood relative?"

"Apparently," Ash said, "I met her brother, and Riley looks a lot like Sir Aaron."

"I have to admit, I was quite startled when Mewtwo revealed to me Riley's capture. Not even my own sister looked as similar to me as he did," Sir Aaron stated.

"Lorelei also looked similar to the two of you. Her eyes were on the light side, and her hair was dark," Professor Cerise chimed in from behind his magic floating glass scrolls.

"So, I can probably rule out any blonds," Ren said, tapping a modern-day quill on the table top for a moment, "Unless she dyes her hair..."

"Is there any way you can help find her Lucario?" Ash asked, from his spot on the couch, "You did lead us to Pikachu when he was missing."

It was more complicated than that. Lucario's ear flicked. I never actually honed in on Pikachu's Aura. I looked for Mew's. Mythicals are easier to identify due to their vast amounts of power.

"Wait if you were looking for Pikachu?" Goh asked, "Why not just looked for Pikachu?"

Pikachu was currently kidnapped by Mew. Considering I had no idea what Pikachu's Aura was like. Looking for Mew was the logical solution.

"That actually makes a lot of sense," Ash said, "Guess you can't really look for something if you don't know what you're looking for."

"Is that the reason as you have been having such trouble with locating her?" Sir Aaron said.

Partially Master. Her aura should be that of the user, and I suspect that hers would be similar to yours and Ash's however, she seems to be getting lost.

"You've stated this before. What do you mean by that?" Sir Aaron asked.

Just what I say. It's a drop of water getting lost in the sea. I don't know what's happening.

"Could it be the population difference between your time and now that's messing with you?" Professor Cerise asked, moved one of the floating glass scrolls with his two first fingers.

Pardon?

"Oh, yeah...That would be a problem..." Ren said rubbing the back of his neck.

"You see due to medical advancements. Things like childhood death and plagues have been mostly prevented and people usually live longer lives. This causes the population to rise," Chrysa explained.

"There's not anything wrong with your looking, there's just a lot more to look at," Ren said.

"It's a complication that I wasn't expecting. Usually, users can identify each other with great ease. If there are enough non-users in the world to drown out any actual users. Then that would mean our numbers are even smaller than I anticipated," Sir Aaron said.

"We're not really all that common though, right?" Ash said, now with Yamper in his lap and rubbing the yellow dog's belly, "I mean the only people beyond you and Lucario I knew who could do it was Riley."

"While true, aura users are a rarer variant of human, they are still possible. There were several aura bloodlines that produced powerful users that were part of the guild. However, in this era Mew claimed that many of them had lost their gifts. I had hoped she was exaggerating," Sir Aaron said.

"Is that a normal thing?" Goh chimed in, "Aura bloodlines just dying out?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Bloodlines would maybe have a few unlucky dormants born every now and again, but I have never heard of one dying out," Sir Aaron said, "The Grandmaster and other elders were very careful to keep track of every marriage between each bloodline and how many children were born from them. They knew we were outnumbered and they didn't want our gifts to be lost to the world."

"So, you guys are like really into genealogy?" Ash asked.

"Not all of us. I'm only aware of all this due to my father being very concerned with our line remining pure," Sir Aaron gently shook his head.

"Good, because I know little to none about mine," Ash said.

"I doubt it matters now Ash," Goh said, before looking, "Arranged marriages aren't really a thing anymore by the away."

Sir Aaron nodded, happy with this knowledge. He was never fond of the tradition and it was common place in any family that had high enough status. So, being the son of one of the royal court members of Rota meant that he watched this happen to almost all of his peers, and they never seemed to end well. The image of his own parents' happy marriage crumbled whenever they were in private, and Emily's flat-out rejection of the practice also influenced his opinion.

"Speaking of things that aren't really things anymore," Professor Cerise started, "We probably need to start catching you two up to modern days, and getting a cover story straight."

"Cover Story?" Sir Aaron raised a brow before his eye drifted to the ground, "Well, I do suppose we'll be needing that."

Do we truly?

"I'd say you do. With Team Rocket actively hunting you it's not a good idea to stay in one spot for too long," Professor Cerise said.

"Traveling usually means meeting new people," Ren said.

"And it not like you can say you've spent the last 700 years in a rock," Ash said.

"Well, you are the experts in this era. What do you suggest?" Sir Aaron said.


The world around him was burning. The sky drenched in red.

Bronze flames licked the strange metal towers that surrounded him. Roots that gleamed as if they were covered in shining blood, curled and strangled the collapsing structures. The smell of smoke and disaster hang heavy in the air. Embers swirled and danced to the symphony of the burning, while a chorus of frightened screams completed the choir of death.

Where was he? What had happened?

All he needed to know was that he needed to run. To move. Some feeling, maybe an instinct was bouncing around inside of his head. Hard and fast. Making his limbs twitch with desire to flee. To survive. But where would he run to? He didn't know where he stood or where was safe from the hungry festering flames. There was a cry as metal melted from the heat, beams from a tower behind him crumbling and collapsing with a shriek. Who built a tower out of metal?

He barely had time to run, to get out of the way. Heat swelled with the kicked-up dust, and it choked him, further threatening to suffocate him. His foot tripped on the smooth stone slab that was part of the road, sending his body to collied with hot rock. The scrapes on his hands and face stung and burned. Like they were just as much on fire as the village around him.

Then there was a second shriek.

It wasn't another tower falling. It was of a Pokémon. It's voice high, but strong and proud. He barely had enough time to look back, before his breath was sucked into his throat and got stuck there. Standing behind him, was a large red and black Pokémon. It slithered on a tail, with a fan of frills perched atop its back. The singular visible eye, glaring at him. It shrieked again, concentrating energy in front of its face.

He barely had time to flinch before the Pokémon fired its attack, and out of nowhere a shuriken of bright blue intercepted it. Making the world light up in white.

He closed his eyes...

And Sir Aaron opened his eyes with a choked gasp.

The knight swallowed thickly, calming his breathing. Icy eyes looked around the dark bedchamber, familiarity taking a moment to come back to him. Eventually though, he recognized the chamber that Professor Cerise allowed him to use during his stay at the research lab. The stacked double beds (the railing of the upper bedding above his head), small draw-set on the opposite wall, the perfectly clear crystal window, and thick rug on the floor. Though the rug now had been moved, as Lucario had at some point in the night stolen it from its place. The jackal Pokémon was now curled up in a tight ball in the corner of the room with the rug.

Sir Aaron smiled fondly, and shook his head fondly at the sight his Pokémon partner. The knight had been all too eager to sleep in a proper bed after centuries of sleeping in a rock. The mattresses of modern times were different than the ones he grew up sleeping on, but no less comfortable. Soft yet firm, and the sheets were wonderfully soft. Lucario, however, was never a fan of sleeping on soft things. Back in Rota Lucario usually slept on a mat on the stone floor with a fluffy pelt to curl up with. So, Sir Aaron wasn't surprise when the Pokémon opted for the wooden floor, though he might have to ask if Professor Cerise had any heaver blankets so that Lucario didn't have to use the rug.

The knight sat up and looked at the window over his shoulder. The moon was high and sky dark. It must have been late, or rather really early morning. There was clock in the room, and once he looked at it confirmed his suspicions, but he wasn't used to having one in his bedroom so it was more of reflex to look at the sky.

His thoughts returned to the nightmare. That blaze of fear and dread. It had been a while since this happened to him, but the knight knew the dream wasn't one of his own. Nightmares were something that Sir Aaron wasn't a stranger to. They'd happen to him every now and again, usually they were about a war with a woman calling his name, but he couldn't recognize her voice or remember her face. But that been when he was younger. Though, before those dreams started, when he was only a child who was sent to train in Hisui, he learned of another type of nightmare.

Shared dreams.

It wasn't a really well-known phenomena to the non-user community, but sometimes when two or more Aura users were near each other they would share visions in their slumber. It most commonly happened when one user was young and didn't know how to keep their dreams in their own mind and nightmares were shared more than any other type of dream. Due to the strong fear that someone feels during a nightmare it was easy to reach out to another mind for stability and comfort.

Sir Aaron learned long ago how to identify his own dreams from someone else's. Fire had never been a fear of his, the bloody roots were like nothing he had seen before, and he certainly didn't recognize anything else in the dream. It felt too raw, too real, to be something from his imagination. The conclusion he drew was that it wasn't his dream.

It was Ash's.

That was the only answer. Ash was the only user Sir Aaron had been around for years (centuries?), besides Lucario. Only his dreams could leak into the knight's mind. Sir Aaron sighed, and rubbed his face, before quietly getting out of bed and leaving the room. Though, Lucario usually slept like he was dead so there wasn't really much need to be that quiet anyway.

A quiet and light sweep of the manor, and Sir Aaron sensed all occupants. Almost all of their auras subdued with slumber. All except one. Goh, Raboot, Pikachu, and Riolu were still in their bedroom and apparently, Professor Cerise, Chrysa, and Ren didn't actually live on the manor's grounds, only worked on them. However, Ash was noticeably missing from his room. Sir Aaron didn't have to look for very long to find his young descendent.

Ash was sitting at the dining table next to the kitchens. The lad leaning on the top of it, his chin pressed on his folded arms. He looked exhausted, rings resting under his normally cheerful brown eyes, and his hair was far fuzzier then usual from a fitful sleep. Sir Aaron's heart began to ache at the sight.

"Ash?" Sir Aaron asked quietly as he entered the room.

"Hum?!" Ash shot up, jumping in his seat and aura flashing wildly due to being startled.

Sir Aaron kept his face neutral, but flinched mentally. The lad was clearly shaken. The nightmare must have meant something. Something that Ash didn't want to remember, but it still haunted him.

"Aaron?" Ash mumbled.

Sir Aaron smiled. It had been decided earlier in the day that the knight would drop his title in public. Apparently, knighthood wasn't something that happened anymore. Of course, Lucario would still use it due to force of habit, but the boys seemed to swap back and forth. Frankly, he didn't mind. None of his family usually used his title in private anyway, so it wasn't that strange for Ash to refer to him informally.

"Are you alright?"

"It was...I just had a bad dream. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Oh, you leaving your chambers wasn't what woke me," Sir Aaron said taking a seat in the chair next to Ash.

"You were already awake?"

"Well, no. It was more of your dream that woke me. It happens to Aura users sometimes, sharing dreams. Especially if they're related by blood."

"Oh..." Ash's eye grew comically wide, "You saw all that?"

Sir Aaron nodded.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize. You're young, inexperienced and didn't realize it. If you want to learn, I'll teach you how to control them."

Ash nodded, and swallowed, "Uhm Goh can't see them, can he?"

Sir Aaron shook his head, "No, you can't reach out to non-users in that way."

Ash nodded, seeming relieved.

"Mind if I ask what it was about?" Sir Aaron inquired carefully.

Ash was silent for a moment, but eventually, "It was about Kalos."

Kalos? If someone had asked Sir Aaron about the region earlier that day, he wouldn't know what they were talking about. However, Professor Cerise had explained it to him because the region was where he was sending the boys to for their next assignment. Sir Aaron and Lucario would be joining them for safety (as they needed to keep moving to make it harder for team Rocket to find them) and to keep the boys out of any other trouble. Ash had mentioned that he had been in the region before. Perhaps it was the trip that triggered the nightmare.

"Kalos?" Sir Aaron prodded.

"There was a disaster there, last year."

"You were there when it happened?"

Ash nodded, "I was competing in...well it was kind of a tournament."

"Like the one you'll be competing in Shalor city?" Sir Aaron asked recalling the excitement Ash expressed once Professor Cerise informed him of the event.

"This one was a bigger deal, but same sport," Ash's aura dulled with pain, "It was kind of crashed, by this group known as team flare. They took control of the legendary Zygarde, destroying cites and hurting people. Their leader, Lysander captured me, and Greninja, one of my Pokémon. We had gift you could say, Lysander wanted it for himself. He tried to take it. It hurt. He made me watch, as the friends I made in Kalos fought for their lives. It's not really my happiest memories," The lad flashed a false smile, tears shimmered in his dark eyes, and aura rippled slowly with pain.

For a second, it wasn't a cheerful young man that sat in front of Sir Aaron. Ash looked like one of the young knights or squires who returned from war missing a part of themselves. The passion and determination that burned in those young brown eyes, now flickered where it once flared. It didn't seem right for a face so youthful to look so worn. Oh, how to fix this?

"And what happened to this Lysander?" Sir Aaron asked.

"We stopped him, and his grunts," Ash said.

"We?"

"Me and my friends, and a couple of others."

"Goh?"

Ash shook his head, "I hadn't met him yet."

"Then who?"

"Well, there was Clemont, he's an inventor and the gym leader of the Luminous Gym. Bonnie, Clemont's little sister. Alain. Professor Sycamore. Mairin. Shauna. Trevor. Tierno. Sawyer. Diantha," Ash's eyes grew fond, "And Serena."

Sir Aaron smiled, immediately recognizing the flare of adoration in Ash's Aura. He had seen it happen a number of times, whenever the young Guardians in training would fancy a daughter of an elder Guardian or one of the maidens who were learning to be a healer. Clearly this Serena had caught Ash's eye. Whether he knew it or not.

"Sounds like you were very close with all of them," Sir Aaron said.

"Yeah," Ash's gaze became somber once more, "We were."

"Have you kept in touch with any of them? I know for a fact that those phone devices can connect people from far away."

"Well, first I can barely use my phone. And second. I don't think it's a good idea for me to stay in touch them...I mean I would love to talk with them, and if we bump into each other at some point, I'll say hi and we'll talk, but reaching out?" Guilt churned the lad's aura, "I don't want to put them in anymore danger then I've already put them through."

"What? Why'd do you think that they would be in danger around you?" Sir Aaron asked almost baffled.

"Cause that's what always happens. I meet people, we become friends, we go on adventures and things are great. Then...then some maniac on a power trip with a half-baked plan based on cave paintings and a weird legend comes in, trying to destroy the world!" Ash sighed, "Team Flare and Team Rocket aren't the only psychos I've had to deal with.

"When I met Riley, we had to fight off a group called Team Galactic. They had a machine that made all the steel type Pokémon on Iron Island go into a rage. Even after we managed to force them off the island, they weren't done. They wired everything with bombs. They-They were going to kill everyone. No one died obviously, but Riley...I don't know what he did to stop it, but he looked half dead when he crawled out of the rubble.

"Sometimes it just feels like it I'm followed by disaster and I just don't want anyone to get hurt or worse by being around me."

Sir Aaron raised a brow at that. Seemingly, surprised by that statement.

"Ash?" the knight said drawing the lad's attention, "Why do you think that?"

"You said it yourself; Aura Guardians attract unwanted and dangerous attention. I used to think that all the weird stuff around me was due to dumb luck, but clearly there's more to it"

Sri Aaron reached a hand out and gently gripped Ash's shoulder, "Ash, aura users tend to get the attention of legendaries and mythicals, not, as you call them, nutcases. I don't know why you've seen so many with in your lifetime, but nothing that are the acts of other people is your fault."

Ash shrugged, "It still feels like it."

"It might, but it's not. In fact, from what you told me, you did everything to stop them."

"It hadn't been enough in Kalos. Over 5 million people and Pokémon still died."

Sir Aaron was silent for a moment, the number of those who perished that day turning over in his head and churning his stomach. How far spread was that disaster for that many to die? The only thing that Sir Aaron could think of that would kill so many was a war. To think Ash had been in the middle of that. The nausea in his stomach twisted stronger with concern and fear. How easy would it to have been for Ash to have been one of those lost?

"You couldn't have Ash," The knight started, "Even if you tried. And their deaths don't rest on your shoulders either way."

Doubt flashed strongly throughout Ash's Aura, followed by a blanket of guilt. That wasn't right. Sir Aaron couldn't help but want to bring back the cheerful life and enthusiasm that burned in Ash like starlight. But how?

"You know, I didn't know it would work," Sir Aaron said.

"What?" Ash said.

"The Tree of Beginning. I didn't know if it would be enough to stop the war."

"Then why did you do it?"

"It was all I could do. I knew that it was the only chance I had of keeping my people and kingdom safe. Still, I didn't know if it would work and I knew that I probably wouldn't see the outcome of my actions."

"You were wrong about that last one," Ash mumbled.

Sir Aaron huffed a quiet laugh, "Yes, I guess I did misjudge that. However, the fact still stands. I didn't know. I didn't know if it spared my home. I didn't know how many it saved, by the time I made it to the tree the armies already clashed. I know some were already slaughtered on that battlefield. If I had been faster, they might have lived, but I couldn't have. I did all I could. Just as you did Ash. All those lost. They aren't your fault."

The lad suddenly surged forward wrapping his arms around the knight. Sir Aaron didn't hesitate to return the hug. He could feel the young one lightly trembling in his arms and for a moment there wasn't a lad of sixteen only a scared child who had seen enough evil to last beyond his life time. A strong protective urge came over Sir Aaron. Where it came from? He couldn't be sure, maybe it had to do with Ash being his newest apprentice, maybe it was the fact that they were the only two users for who knows how far, or maybe it was something else entirely. All that matter was if Team Rocket or any other force of evil tried to harm the child in his arms, he'd go and die again if needed.

"You're not a danger to anyone Ash. It was never you fault," Sir Aaron said again

Ash nodded into the elder's shoulder. The warm, long overdue, embrace ended after a few moments. Sir Aaron let go, but kept close to lad whose eye still shimmered lightly with tears.

"So, the Tournament you were competing in..." Sir Aaron eventually asked.

"Yeah?" Ash sniffed.

"Did you win?"

All tension and heavy emotions bled out of Ash as the boy huffed a surprised laugh and then playfully winced, "No, no I didn't. I got to the finals but Alain beat me. I was so close! All those months of training just to trip at the finish line," He explained with over dramatic gestures.

Sir Aaron chuckled at the youthful antics and smiled seeing the passion and joy return to the lad's aura, "That does sound like a set up for disappointment."

Ash shrugged, "I got over it. Wasn't the first time I lost a league. Besides Alain kind of needed a win at the time. He had it rough for a while."

Sir Aaron nodded, "Well, I guess we should return to bed. We need to be rested tomorrow's journey."

"Yeah, I guess. Have you ever been to Kalos?"

"I might have. The Aura Guardians had branches all over the world, and we often had to travel between each other, but I'll need to look at an actual map. If I have, it would probably have a different name at the time, but I might be able to recognize the land masses."

"I guess it would be hard for you to recognize anything. You lost your whole world..."

"Don't feel sorrow for me, Ash. I wasn't really losing as much as you believe," Sir Aaron stood up from his seat.

"What about your family, friends, or your Kingdom?"

"Lucario was really the only true friend I had left at the time of my death. All my peers moved on and built separate lives from our youth. My kingdom had and still has my loyalty, but my knight vows were made to Lady Rin and well...only meant to last a life time."

"I guess those vows didn't include getting stuck in a rock for centuries?"

Sir Aaron chuckled again, "There was no clarification about this kind of situation, but I doubt Rota still needs me with all the culture changes. As for my family, I wasn't very close with either of my parents, and I had never married. I was close with my sister however."

"Sister? Riley's some number of greats grandma?"

Sir Aaron nodded, "I do miss her, but I know she would be pleased with the fact that I will watch over her descendants."

"Was she an aura user too?"

"No, Emily took after our mother, who was Dormant."

"Dormant?"

"A child born from an Aura bloodline but doesn't have any gifts of aura."

"Oh," Ash yawned.

"Well, now it is certainly time for bed."

Ash nodded sleepily, stumbling as he stood up.

"Come now, let's not fall over," Sir Aaron said steadying the lad.

"Hey don't worry about me, if I'm still tired tomorrow, I can just sleep on the ride there," Ash said through another yawn.

"Right, I forgot that Professor Cerise lined up...what's it called again?"

"Plane."

"Plane right," His brows furrowing.

"You alright?"

"Yes, I'm just still having issues understanding how a metal structure can take flight like a pidgeot."

"Don't worry I still don't get them, and I grew up in a world with planes. You just need to accept it."


A/N:

Hello! Everyone one!

So, yeah, I noticed in the anime that Ash never talks about his past, unless prompted, at least later on in his adventure. So, I took that and made it angsty. I hope you all can understand our hero's reasoning.

Here lies in this chapter is also several Aura headcanons. I hope y'all enjoy them. There will be alot more coming. I love worldbuilding!

Next time on "The Aura is with Us" Kalos, Korrina, and more confusion.