Chapter 1o: The Sky Garden & Null Magic

Gate had opened in a new land. Touya and Ash appeared in a land full of greenery: flowers, plants, grass, moss, all arranged on plots surrounding walkways. "Whoa, this is the Sky Garden?!" gulped Ash.

"Yep, the Sky Garden of Babylon," Touya confirmed as Linze, Yae and Yumina holding Pikachu came by. "This is where I met Cesca and soon took possession of it."

"We're actually on a floating island above the grand ocean," Linze mentioned.

"Wait, so this garden is flying?" realized Ash.

"Yeah, pretty cool, huh?" smiled Yumina. Ash and Pikachu gawked to the information.

("You never told me when I was here before!") squeaked Pikachu to Touya. The young patriarch itched his head to the claim.

"I don't know what you said, but I think it's about not bringing it up," he assumed. "Anyway, after meeting Cesca, I registered as the Sky Garden's new owner and one of the structures of Babylon." Ash journeyed around.

"A place like this is something my mom would be jealous of," Ash believed.

"Oh yeah, isn't your mom a gardener?" guessed Linze. "You've told us before on how she has a garden around your home."

"I did, but this is like so many times the size of what we have," Ash confirmed.

"I hear ya," Touya understood. "Though, Cesca has a funny way of interacting. You heard how she mentioned a few… 'interesting' words, right?" Ash nodded. "Dr. Babylon might've been programming her to be… provocative. It was bad enough that she had me peek underneath her skirt to find no underwear. In fact, when she registered me, she kissed me." Ash and Pikachu gulped to the occurrence. "It was her way of getting a biological sample. Heck, I believe that she may be a better kisser than I would be."

"I don't know," Yae sneered. "Cesca may need some lessons after Ash and Sue had their moment." Yumina and Linze giggled to Yae's point. Ash blushed in embarrassment. They reached a patio where they took a seat.

"I find it remarkable that you're the second person in history to have all six attributes of magic," Linze spoke. "Null Magic is something anyone can do with the right enchantments."

"While it doesn't sound hard, it can be for those who don't have magic and need a magical item," Yumina mentioned. "Take Elze for instance. She can't perform magic and relies on Touya's ring to summon Null Magic."

"It's not that I don't understand," Ash replied. "I do wish that she had at least one attribute like Wind."

"We understand," Touya nodded. "Still, we can help out with Null Magic. Here's a list of them." He gave a list to Ash.

"Let's see…" he read. "Modeling, Cure Heal, Slip, Gate… Ooh, Long Sense…"

"You want to try Long Sense?" believed Yumina.

"I do, but I want to start with something simple like Slip," Ash changed his mind. Touya nodded to the request.

"Slip is pretty easy," he mentioned. "It's what I used to save Sue the first time." He held his arm out at Pikachu who was on the table. "It goes like this: SLIP!" A circle flashed below Pikachu's feet when he suddenly slipped onto his back. He hit his back, a harsh thud echoed.

"Are you okay?" wondered Ash. Pikachu waived to Ash.

"Slip doesn't originally hurt anyone, but the surface they land in can be fatal," Touya warned.

"So, beach sand is safe?" guessed Ash.

"Speaking of beaches, we need to take you out to the beach where Touya started when he found the Sky Garden," Linze wished. "I can bet your Pokémon will like it there." Pikachu became excited.

"Okay, let me see…" hoped Ash. He closed his eyes and pictured something in his head. He mimicked Touya's movements. "SLIP!" A circle flashed around Yae's feet before she slipped onto her backside. She hit the ground before she rubbed her buttocks. "Sorry… I didn't want to hurt Pikachu."

"I thought it was because you didn't want to see Linze's or Yumina's panties," Yae winced. Linze and Yumina grabbed their skirts and pulled them down.

"The last thing we need is someone like Touya seeing us in our undergarments!" shrieked Yumina. Ash sighed, not wanting to know. Touya itched his embarrassed head.

"Let's move on…" he mulled. After a minute, everyone was set. "Long Sense allows you to boost your senses. It can allow you to see farther, hear from long distances, even smell more potent fragrances." He turned to Pikachu. "I want you to run around for a minute to hide. We won't watch." Pikachu agreed before running off. After a minute, Touya had both hands by his hips and open palms down. "LONG SENSE!" A new circle flashed around Touya before it flashed all over.

("Nice flowers now that I had a chance to look,") Pikachu awed. Touya heard Pikachu and turned to the direction.

"He's this way," he determined. Everyone followed Touya.

"Does Long Sense help with healing?" asked Ash.

"Long Sense does more than that," Yumina clarified. "It heightens your sight, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting." Ash seemed intrigued to the Null Spell.

"That can help for when Team Rocket attacks," he believed.

"There you go!" agreed Linze. "You can get the drop on those three while setting up a trap for them." Ash sneered to the idea.

"I wanted to give them a taste of their own medicine," he plotted. They continued to look around when Ash felt some familiarity with the bushes. "Suddenly, I feel like it's Alto Mare over again." Linze heard and turned to Ash.

"Did this have another race?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I finished last in it," Ash admitted. "Totodile had trailed off the track and we crashed. Misty won with her Corsola."

"I guess you can't win 'em all," Yae joked.

"But it was something similar to this place that reminds me of a hidden garden within the city," Ash continued. "Not to mention its guardians, Latios and Latias."

"More Pokémon, I bet," Yumina guessed.

"We saw them with a human friend they trusted in Bianca," Ash added. "Of course, it didn't help that Bianca's hair looked similar to Latias's. They guarded the gem of Alto Mare: the Soul Dew. However, it was stolen by two lesser-known agents of Team Rocket who used it to power the AMD, or Alto Mare's Defense mechanism. After Latias disabled it to save her brother, Latios, they used the remaining power to stop a tidal wave from destroying the city. Sadly, it was too much as Latios passed on. We grieved for Latios, knowing now that it was watching Alto Mare as the new Soul Dew to replace the one stolen and destroyed." Everyone around Ash gasped to the story.

"Latios died protecting the city he called home," Yae shuttered.

"It does sound painful to hear, Ash," Touya murmured. "Pokémon have a fair share of life like us humans." Ash nodded to the claim.

"Well, when we left, I received an illustration from Bianca who thanked us for all we did to protect Alto Mare," Ash concluded. "Then, I was kissed." The girls gasped.

"Wait, so Sue isn't your first kiss!?" wondered Yumina.

"Well, I didn't know if it was Bianca or Latias since Latias tends to morph into Bianca," Ash shrugged. "Still, she got me on the cheek." The girls realized the location and laughed.

"On the cheek, not the lips?" awed Linze. "That means Sue's your real first kiss." Ash giggled as well. They soon resumed and found Pikachu by some wild flowers. The colors and styles of flowers made Ash awe the garden more.

"These flowers…" he hushed. "They're beautiful…"

"Aren't they?" agreed Yumina. Ash and Pikachu continued to see all sorts of beautiful flowers that would make several bouquets. Finally, Pikachu pointed to a white rose.

"Is that a white rose?" realized Ash.

"They are," Touya confirmed. "They do need special care." Ash had a further look at the roses.

"Mom would lose it seeing these," he giggled. "Is there a chance I can bring some to Mom when we do find the way back to her?"

"Not these, but I can do you one better," Touya denied before presenting his hand to them. "APPORT!" Suddenly, a flash in Touya's hand. He revealed seeds. "There you go. These seeds can be planted."

"Nice," Ash praised. After the lesson of Long Sense, Touya had one more in mind.

"Now, Mirage is an interesting Null Magic," he started. "For Mirage to work, you need to visuallize what you want to make an illusion of. Watch." Touya had both arms out. "MIRAGE!" A white circle appeared from in front of Touya to the ground. What emerged was Yumina in turquoise lingerie. Ash, Yumina and Pikachu gawked. Yae and Linze whacked Touya over the head with fans.

"We see what you want, Touya!" snarled Yae.

"Rather insensitive to who's actually here with us!" snapped Linze.

"Sorry!" whined Touya. Ash had a crack of the Null Magic.

"MIRAGE!" he chanted. Like with Touya, circles emerged to show Misty appearing.

"Ash, who's this?" wondered Yumina.

"This is Misty, the one who said I was stupid and can't find love," Ash introduced.

"I see…" intrigued Yae. "She's a bit on the scrawny side."

"Not to mention the tuff of hair on the side like this," Linze equated. "And… are those straps?"

"Yeah, these are fashion choices that don't make a lot of sense," Yumina mulled. "Why not wear a normal shirt or shorts like the rest of us?" Ash sighed as Misty's mirage vanished.

"Yeah, no kidding," he mulled. "Okay, let's try this again. MIRAGE!" The same spell occurred and now a young chestnut woman appeared with a pony tail, a yellow blouse under a pink button-down shirt and blue skirt.

"Is this your mother?" guessed Touya.

"Yeah," Ash smiled.

"Well, I know what she looks like now," Yumina smiled.

"She looks somewhat gorgeous for a simple look," Linze awed.

"At least you know who I'm family with," Ash explained as his mother's mirage vanished.

"Alright, how about we return to the mansion," Touya offered. Everyone agreed before he used Gate to return. At the mansion, Ash used Mirage once more before the rest of the girls.

"Wow, so that's your mom," Renne awed.

"It's easy to see where Ash gets his charm from," Hildegard teased. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the sight.

"If we do find a way to your home, we would like to meet her personally," Leen wished.

"Sure," Ash accepted. Outside, Sue played with Kohaku when a pigeon swooped in.

"A carrier pigeon," Kohaku believed. Seeing a tiny capsule, Sue opened it before pulling out a small note.

"It's from Mom," she realized. She started to read the note before going back inside.

"Still, this ability seems to be something unique for trapping Team Rocket," Elze sneered. "If we can mimic Pikachu's speaking pattern, they'll fall every time." The group giggled as Sue came over.

"Ash, you're being invited," she announced. She gave the note to Ash who read it.

ASH-
WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW YOU MORE. YOU, PIKACHU AND SUESHIE CAN COME ON BY AT ANY TIME. WE WISH TO SEE YOU SOON.

-DUCHESS ELLEN OF BRUNHILD.

Ash awed the invite. "Let's go there tomorrow," he suggested. Sue awed the quick invite.

"Sure!" she agreed. "Honestly, I would've wanted you to learn Gate. I want to see more of your Pokémon."

"In due time, Sue," Ash promised. "After all, Melody, Bianca and Latias have nothing compared to us." Sue blinked to the claim.

"What do you mean?"

"You took my lips. No one else has. They just got the cheek." Sue became elated and hugged her crush. The girls giggled to the sight. Still, Ash was going on another journey… or a quick Gate to reach the Duke and Duchess.

TO BE CONTINUED...