Chapter 19: Touya's Secret

Gate opened up in front of the mansion. Cesca and Laim watched as Ash, Linze, Elze, Yae, Hildegard, Bajra, Tempest, Wukong and the Pokémon returned. "Master Ash, you have returned successful, I take it," Laim believed.

"We did," Elze confirmed. "And we didn't have to drop any blood to prove it." Ash revealed a broken blade.

"Apparently, it was in a previous struggle and this sword got embedded in the dragon's tail," Ash briefed.

(Flashback to Reflet)

Ash, the girls, the beasts and the Pokémon arrived at the cave, a large dragon snarling and roaring on occasions. "This must be the dragon we're suppose to take care of," Yae believed. Wukong, Tempest and Bajra transformed into their bigger forms.

"It doesn't appear that reasoning with it is possible," Linze gulped. "Look how angry it is."

"There's no question that it will thrash anyone who comes close," Wukong warned.

"Indeed," Tempest squawked. "Stay back. We'll stop it!" The Divine Beasts rushed in where they stood to battle the dragon. It unleashed a flame from its mouth, Bajra standing in the path and taking the fire. Tempest cawed before flapping her wings hard. The dragon swung its spiked tail. Wukong brought out his staff and blocked the tail from striking. However, it caused the dragon to roar in pain.

"You don't hear that from a block often," Ash gulped. The dragon swung the tail again, causing the Beasts to leap and fly clear. Jigglypuff saw something and hollered to Linze.

"Jigglypuff, what is it?" she asked. Jigglypuff pointed to the dragon's tail. Elze looked to the tail and noticed it being unusually large in a spot.

"Look at that!" she pointed out. Ash and the girls turned to the tail and noticed the irregular growth.

"Is that tail swollen?" guessed Hildegard. Linze figured about the dragon's roar.

"No wonder the dragon's been on a rampage on Reflet!" she realized. "The tail's got an infection! Something is in there that's causing the dragon pain!" That's when Linze had an idea. "Let's put the dragon to sleep! Jigglypuff, I need you to Sing to the dragon!" Jigglypuff gasped to the thought.

"Of course!" realized Ash. "Jigglypuff can sing to the dragon and put it to sleep before we work on taking care of the tail!" Linze nodded before turning to Jigglypuff.

"Can you do it?" she asked. Jigglypuff nodded before Linze lifted her wand. " I wanted to try this new defensive spell. Come forth, Water! Protect us within the watery wrap: Bubble Shield!" Bubbles formed around Ash and the girls with Pikachu on Elze's shoulder. Jigglypuff performed her song as it took affect. The dragon and the Beasts began to fall under the spell of Jigglypuff's Sing. After a minute, Jigglypuff stopped as she observed the dragon and the Beasts asleep. The bubbles around Ash and the girls faded. "Jigglypuff, you did it!" Pikachu added to the praise. Jigglypuff awed the approval before the girls and Ash reached the infected tail.

"I think I can just slice the tail off," Yae suggested. "Don't dragon's tails grow back?"

"It depends," Linze shrugged. "We don't know if the infection is an illness or a foreign object that's somehow still in the tail."

"Maybe I should use that Null spell first to see if I can draw it out," Ash suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea," Elze agreed. "If it doesn't work, we'll sever it."

"And that will be my job," Yae offered. Ash reached the infected area and put both hands on it. A moment later, Ash opened his eyes.

"APPORT!" he called. A flash occurred. A second later, Ash removed himself before seeing the broken blade in his hands. "Check this out." The girls observed the broken blade, noting some rust on it.

"That's part of a knight's sword," Yae surveyed. She unsheathed her sword and compared the two different blades.

"Oh, that's telling," Ash believed. "So, what would a knight be doing here and confronting the dragon?"

"Indeed," Hildegard agreed. "I asked the captain of their squad and all hands were on deck. However, I believe that it's a thief that tried to attack the dragon." Pikachu looked confused to the detail as the dragon's tail slowly shrunk, the swelling starting to leave.

"Suddenly, I'm not surprised," Linze shrugged. Pikachu squeaked to a finding. Turning, the group found a cache of treasure. "Of course, with this horde, anyone could try their hands to take this gold." Ash found something and picked it up.

"I'm not much for jewelry, but this necklace is gorgeous," he mentioned. The girls came to and saw a necklace which had a skinny gold chain and the heart pendant glistened in an emerald-like pink coral-color as it had another heart intertwined and upside-down.

"It is," Hildegard agreed.

"But something seems odd about it," Linze mentioned. Everyone turned to Linze with Jigglypuff asking.

"What do you mean, sister?" wondered Elze.

"I mean that I might've seen this necklace before," Linze pondered. "I just can't put my finger on it." The curiosity became obvious.

"Doesn't Touya's library have books about rare accessories?" questioned Hildegard.

"It does," Linze confirmed. "Let's Gate back when they wake up." The dragon woke and looked to the tail, finding it healing gradually. It turned to the humans and Pokémon.

"Thank you…" it growled. "The pain my tail gave me brought my control to the side. As my tail heals, I must atone for the rage." Ash and the girls seemed pleased with the result.

"We're happy to help," Elze accepted.

"Tell me, where did you acquire the song of sleep?" the dragon asked. Jigglypuff seemed perplexed to the maneuver. Linze hoisted her Pokémon.

"She came to us," she claimed. "She's mine." The dragon nodded to the claim.

"Such a unique creature…" the dragon awed. "Again, I thank you." The Divine Beasts woke before they regrouped.

Shown the necklace, Laim awed the jewelry. "This is indeed a unique necklace," he studied as Yumina and Lucia also came to see.

"What's this about a necklace?" asked Lucia. Laim shows the finding from Ash's job. "Oh, that's a gorgeous necklace!"

"Agreed," Yumina awed. "Was this from your job?"

"Yep," Ash confirmed. "At least Reflet will breathe easier, unless another thief decides to bite off more than he can chew." Everyone irked to the idea.

"Anyway, I'm going to look for any information on the necklace," Hildegard mentioned. Ash accepted as he handed the necklace to Hildegard. A little while later, Touya used Gate to transport himself and Ash to a hangar.

"So, this place is the Hangar with these Frame Gears," Ash awed.

"Trust me, you may feel like you want to ride in some of them," Touya warned. Out of nowhere, a girl tackled Ash from behind.

"Gotcha!" she shouted. They fell as Touya gasped. The girl was a redhead with gold eyes. She wore a blue dress with black leggings and dress shoes. "Oh, a human my size! I wanna keep him forever and ever!" Touya lifted the girl off of Ash, breaking her vice-grip hug on him.

"Okay, Monica," he sighed as he lifted the girl. She flailed to being denied holding Ash. "I told you that's not how you treat guests."

"LEMME GO!" she cried repeatedly. Ash recovered and faced Monica.

"So, is this another gynoid like Rosetta and Cesca?" he believed.

"Yeah, unfortunately…" sighed Touya. He pointed to the her left sleeve, the number "28" printed. Monica gave up before Touya put her down. "This is Fredmonica, the administrator of the Hangar of Babylon."

"Touya, did you have to bring him up here, and not let me fall in love with him?" cried Monica.

"Hold on, let me get you a real playmate," Touya excused before using Gate again. He vanished for a moment before returning with Pikachu. Seeing the Mouse Pokémon, Monica's excitement heightened.

"It's even better!" she cheered as she took Pikachu. "Hold on, I know where to go for fun!" Pikachu gulped to Monica's idea as they left. It also left Ash and Touya to explore inside the hangar. Inside, the hangar was at least twice as large as the structure outside.

"Okay, it feels roomier than it looks!" awed Ash.

"Spatial magic is the reason," Touya briefed. He reached one garage door and pressed the button, causing the door to slide up. Inside was a giant mechanical exoskeletal armored suit. "And here it is, a Frame Gear."

"Whoa, that's awesome!" gasped Ash, stars in his eyes.

"It makes you wanna ride it, right?"

"Can you blame me? You don't come across these and not want to at least touch it, let alone ride one."

"Tell me about it, they don't scale to Gundams or Zoids that I read in mangas." The names made Ash blink.

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Well, my origin…" This made Ash confused. "I don't want you to tell anyone, not even Pikachu." Ash nodded, hoping his words clear confusion. "You know how Yae and I refer to our last names first, yet I'm not from Eashen? That's because I'm originally from Tokyo in a different Earth than this." Ash gasped, not expecting this from Touya. "One cloudy night, I wished goodnight to my friends for another day at school where I was a 1st-year student. I was just thinking about going to school the next day when I was struck by a bolt of lightning." Another gasp lisped from Ash.

"Wait, so you were killed!?" A nod came from Touya.

"I know, hard to believe. In fact, it was determined that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time when that bolt of lightning struck me." Confusion formed on Ash's face.

"So, wait… if you were killed by a lightning strike, how are you here?"

"When I died, my spirit met God who apologized for killing me. He even said my death was untimely and that what happened, happened. He was not going to let it go and actually resurrected me to this world…" He showed his smartphone. "And with my smartphone." Skepticism formed on Ash's face.

"Let me see if I understand: you died back in your home, but you were given a second chance here in Brunhild?"

"Like I said, hard to believe… This is why I check my smartphone about what goes on back home like news, sports, entertainment… The only stipulation is that I can't contact anyone back home. Not my friends, not my family…" Realizing, Ash nodded to the claim.

"That makes sense. I believe that after you died, your family gave you a funeral. Your body's six feet under." A nod came from Touya. "Honestly, your second chance at life is working too much in your favor." Touya sheepishly giggled to the remark.

"I try to keep it as subtle as possible. I mean here, not only do I have several girls by my side, but a place I can actually live without much concern. Besides, you know about that woman you and Sue confronted during your date?"

"Yeah, didn't she go by Karen?"

"That's actually the God of Love. She's one who recognized you and Sue as an item." The detail made Ash gawk.

"Wait, I was blessed by the God of Love!?" The thought made him blush. "Okay, I feel weird…"

"It's okay. Besides, let me show you something from my world… like basketball."

"Sure…" Using his smartphone, Touya found a highlight of a game. "Utah and... GS?"

"The Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors. This is a good highlight." He pressed on the screen.

"And they get him the basketball because a lot of good things will happen," a voice from the highlight spoke. "Not just with him scoring, but they also open up-" Noise came from the smartphone and Ash's eyes bugged out. Cheers came from the smartphone as Ash staggered from the highlight.

"OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH MMMMAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!" another voice shouted.

"Hello!" the first man gasped. Laughs came from the smartphone as Ash's mouth moved without a sound, his lips saying "Wow!" He shook his head, his jaw hanging low.

"Not fair!" he laughed.

"Timeout… in Baron's house!" the second man voiced.

"Of course, he got called for a technical foul for lifting his jersey," Touya added.

"Take the technical foul, that was awesome!" cheered Ash. Back in Brunhild, Ash and Pikachu came to the Silver Moon Inn. Micah saw the pair.

"Oh, finally taking up my offer?" she guessed.

"Not quite," Ash denied. "We came to see if you needed help." Micah giggled to the thought.

"I didn't post a job offering, but I think I can offer you something to do," she thought. "Follow me." Pikachu hopped onto Micah's shoulder. They traveled to see some cooking performed, beds made, windows washed.

"Oh, I see. It's a lot like with Brock."

"Really? Who is this Brock?"

"He was a former Pokémon Gym Leader in Pewter City who took care of his brothers and sisters when his dad left for Pokémon Training, but he came back as a failure. Brock became a cook, a seamstress, pretty much like Charlotte or Renne if he wore that outfit." The image made Micah giggle. "Of course, he's been after girls like I am about Pokémon… though, he tends to go after women who are slightly older than him."

"Oh, really? So, he prefers someone with as much maturity as he does."

"I guess… There are a couple of girls in Touya's group that he would go after like Hildegard and Leen."

"Oh? Do you have a picture like on Touya's smartphone?" Pikachu dug into Ash's pocket before bringing out a picture of them with Misty, Togepi, Brock and a curly brunette. Micah pointed to the curly-haired brunette. "That's him, right?"

"Nope. That's a photographer named Todd." His finger pointed to Brock. "That's Brock." Micah nodded to the idea.

"Well, I can see if there's a way to coax him to be with me." The idea made Ash and Pikachu hesitant. After helping Micah and the inn, Ash and Pikachu returned to the mansion where Pikachu regrouped with Linze and Jigglypuff.

"They're searching the library still for that necklace we found?" asked Ash.

"I'm sure they're finding out about what to look for," Touya shrugged. "It is a rare treasure for sure. By the way, you didn't tell Micah about my past, right?"

"Nah, more of my past," Ash assured. Without warning…

"ASH!" shouted Sue. Hearing, Ash and Touya turned around, only to find Sue reaching and tackling Ash to the ground.

"Sue?" gulped Touya. Not hurt, Ash sat up with Sue on his lap.

"Honey," he called when he saw Sue's face reading fear. "Honey?" Sue's face was in Ash's.

"Ash, help me!" she cried. "I need you to marry me!" Ash blinked to Sue's panicked wish.

"We're already engaged," he reminded.

"No, I need you to marry me, now!" she clarified. Ash and Touya gawked to the sudden demand. What could Sue be going through that she wanted Ash to have the marriage now?

TO BE CONTINUED...