Chapter 5- Healing Wounds
~The Power of One… the power possessed by
-Ash
Ketchum
(Location- Cerulean Gym) [♪Kingdom
Hearts- It Began with a Letter♪]
A day has passed since the Kaiser Cult has been
driven away from
“Uhh… urhh…” Ash was lying in a bed, with many
bandages over the wounds inflicted by Gold Kaiser. Though he was asleep, he was
trembling. The injuries he received in battle were nothing compared to the real
wounds that ran much deeper…
“Hmmm…” Misty sighed, sitting by Ash’s bedside,
holding his hands. “Ash…” she said sadly. Just looking at him right now made
her feel sad. She could feel he was in pain, he was frightened and trembling,
as if he was having a nightmare.
“Pika…” Pikachu sighed sadly, looking down, his
ears hung low. He understood the situation no more than Misty did. The fact
that his best friend was in such a state, with the knowledge that he couldn’t
do anything to help made him feel even worse.
“It’s okay Pikachu” Misty reached down and
stroked Pikachu’s head. “I know you’re also sad, but we can’t keep grieving
forever. We have to be strong” Said Misty, “Ash has protected us many times
before, he was always strong for us, and now it’s about time we do the same for
him. We have to be strong, for Ash’s sake” Pikachu nodded, as his ears perked
up, and Misty smiled. Her words seemed to have comforted him a little. However,
her smiled faded away, because she herself didn’t believe them.
What happened that day… she didn’t know what was
going on. She remembered she was captured, and Ash fought with all his strength
to save her. Not just Ash, but everyone, they all stood up to Gold Kaiser to
save her… but it was all in vain, they were all defeated. All of them were
going to die, just because they tried to help her. But what puzzled her even
more was what happened next. Gold Kaiser won, and he could have killed
everyone, but he left! Why?
“Aquamarine…” Misty sighed, remembering when
Silver Kaiser came to finish her off, yet Aquamarine protected her with his
life, taking the sword that was meant for her. After seeing the real him, it
made her feel guilty when she remembered how she used to see him, as being as
some violent maniac, obsessed with fighting. She had found respect for him,
yes, but it also made her sad when she saw how the person she looked down at
for so long, embodied absolutely everything that she herself lacked. Strength,
not only the physical kind, but to keep going on, fighting for the sake of his
friend, Sky Render. Fighting for someone other than yourself… that’s what Ash
was doing, while she didn’t do anything but waiting to be rescued. This wasn’t
the first time either… it made her feel ashamed, knowing that they could’ve all
died, just because she was so weak. Even though she had promised she would be
stronger, seeing Ash like this, and knowing she couldn’t do anything to help
him, it made her feel useless. “Ash…” she spoke sadly, “What could have
happened to you?”
“Do you really wanna know?” Ash spoke
“AH!” Misty exclaimed, realizing that Ash was
awake! She was about to hug him, when she stopped. She noticed something
strange about him. Though Ash had finally stopped trembling, he wasn’t normal…
“I’ve been awake all this time” Ash spoke flatly,
sitting up. “Misty, I know what you’re thinking, and I’m asking you. Do you
want to know what happened or not?”
Misty really didn’t know what to think. Ash,
though he was awake again, he was different. His expression was blank and
uncaring, his gaze was not focused anywhere, his voice had no emotion, as if he
had lost the will to live… she didn’t know what do say, and all she could do
was nod.
“Hm…” Ash closed his eyes and remembered the
horrific event. “Fine then… I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you why Gold Kaiser was
right, that I am a demon…” his voice had a slight quiver of fear in it, Misty
noticed. “I’ll tell you everything…”
(Meanwhile) [♪Kingdom Hearts II- Twilight
Town♪]
Everyone was gathered in the main practice area
of the gym, taking care of their wounds. Though they all had taken minor damage
when fighting the masses of Cultists, the real injuries came from Gold Kaiser,
who could lay waste to anyone with a single punch. He was definitely far
stronger than all the cultists combined.
“Just look at what that stupid Gold Kaiser did to
my weapon!” Brock said as he held up his frying pan, which had some large
cracks in it. “This was my favourite one! Now how am I supposed to prepare the
meals?”
“Not that it matters, I never eat anything you cook
with that thing anyways. The thought alone of something coming into contact
with it makes me lose my appetite.” Said AJ, while he applied a hyper potion to
Sandslash, “Not to insult your cooking skills, but maybe you should cook with a
pan that’s NOT contaminated?”
“What, and lose all the subtle organic flavours given
by this one?” Brock
“Please guys, can we NOT talk about this? I’m
feeling nauseous enough as it is” said Richie, clutching his stomach where Gold
Kaiser had hit him. His voice had a slight wheeze in it, and he had trouble
breathing.
“Seems like Gold Kaiser got you pretty bad” Brock
stepped over to Richie and lifted up his shirt, examining his stomach, which
was horribly bruised and dark, “Why don’t you ask Gary to heal it for you? He
can do it”
“Actually, no. That healing ability uses lots of
his energy, and Gary can only do it once per day. Not to mention, he’s already
using it…” Richie turned his head…
Aquamarine was sitting on a bench, without his
shirt on, and Gary was standing behind him with both palms placed over his left
shoulder. “OW! Hey, watch it!” Aquamarine snapped at Gary
“You watch it! I’m doing this as a favour, so
don’t give me attitude!” said Gary. Out of everyone who fought that day,
Aquamarine was the one who was hurt most. He had lost a lot of blood fighting
against Silver Kaiser after taking so many sword wounds, along with breaking
his own finger and also taking the same sword in his shoulder to save Misty.
Him being the strongest, it was important that he recovered quickly, but that
wasn’t the reason Gary was healing him…
“You’re doing a lousy job healing, and you call
that a favour?” Said Aquamarine
“It wasn’t my choice! For all I care, you can
just go and die! The only reason I’m helping you at all is because Misty asked
me to do it!” said Gary angrily
“You got some nerve to talk like that to me, Oak!
Remember, we still have a score to settle! You should be thankful for that
healing ability, because is the only reason I’m not using my good arm to
strangle you right now!” Aquamarine snapped back
“GRRRR…” the two of them growled. Everyone
sweatdropped as the two of them glared at each other, they could almost see
lightning crackling in their eyes
“Uh… do you two know each other?” said Tracey
“Unfortunately…” Gary pulled his hands back. He
was done, Aquamarine’s shoulder was fully healed. He turned to Tracey “Yeah, we
met a while ago…”
POW!
“GAK!” Gary exclaimed and fell over when
Aquamarine punched him on the back of the head. Gary fell face flat on the
floor. He was out cold.
“Seems to be working fine” Aquamarine said,
moving around his left arm which he had used to punch Gary. “I guess I’ll give
you credit just this once.”
“Hey… Aquamarine?” Richie spoke up, “Gary healed
you, so why did you do that?”
“He’s right you know. You shouldn’t have hit him.
That was just plain rude” Said AJ
“I don’t know the situation fully, but it’s easy
to see there’s some anger between you and Gary Oak. Did something happen?” said
Brock
“Anger or not, hitting your own team-mate is
wrong.” Said Tracey, “You should apologize to him immediately… or at least when
he regains consciousness.”
“GRRR… SHUT UP!” Aquamarine shouted. Everybody
gasped and jumped back, “Apologize to HIM?! Don’t make me laugh! You think
healing me and hitting him will make up for what he has done to ME?!” Everybody
stared at him, rather confused. “HE did this to my life… HE made it a disaster!
Thanks to HIM… I have seen HELL!” Aquamarine shouted, “It’s a miracle I didn’t
kill him on the spot right away!” he then sighed, finally calming down, “I’m
not gonna apologize”
“Hmm…” everyone sighed. They weren’t really sure
how strong Aquamarine was, but they knew he was far stronger than all of them
combined. Whatever he was so angry about with Gary, they didn’t know, and they
were afraid to ask. Not to mention, what he said so far was probably the best
answer they were gonna get.
“By the way” Aquamarine spoke up, breaking the
silence, “Has anyone seen Ash?”
“No, none of us has. He’s been gone since the end
of the battle” said Richie
“Hmm… that’s strange.” Aquamarine crossed his
arms, “The beating he took was about as bad as mine, and had it been him who
took the sword instead of me, to him, they would be wounds that he could just
sleep off”
“Huh?” everyone stared at him
“I’m not sure, but I think we’re beginning to see
small hints of Ash’s chosen one abilities, which may tell us which title he’ll
get when he reaches Level III.” explained Aquamarine, stepping on Gary as he
walked. “His rate of healing is incredibly fast, and been getting progressively
faster. Although sometimes, he may get crushed by an overwhelmingly powerful
enemy and fall into a coma or deep sleep, ranging from a few days to a week,
but when he wakes up, he’s completely healed.” Aquamarine remembered, “However,
Ash’s current injuries all came from the heavy blows from Gold Kaiser. He
hadn’t been impaled with any blades, and his bones haven’t been broken. Wounds
that light, Ash should have healed within a few hours.”
“Ash is that strong?” said AJ in awe, and then
looked at Aquamarine “And to think, you’re even stronger! I’m amazed those
Kaisers actually managed to hurt you!”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Aquamarine turned around
“He’s right, you know” said Brock, “Sure, we got
clobbered, but I was sure that you of all people could beat them without any
trouble!”
“Yeah right…” Aquamarine turned around and
crossed his arms, stepping on Gary again, “Just because I’m Level III doesn’t
mean I’m invincible. Beating those guys without any trouble… yeah right, if
anything, it’s the other way around”
“Huh?” Everyone looked at him, they didn’t really
understand what he was saying
“Silver Kaiser… we were about equal at first, but
he wasn’t even trying. The moment he fought a little harder, he beat me. I had
to fake my own death just to make him go away…” Aquamarine looked at his broken
fingers in his right hand. He sighed, “In the end I reached 30% and took him by
surprise and blasted him with all my strength, but if he wanted to continue, he
would have won”
“Say what?!” Everyone exclaimed
“But… that’s like saying our enemies are
invincible!” said Tracey
“They may just as well be” Aquamarine nodded,
“When I felt weakness in that punch, I knew he was trying his hardest to
restrain himself, for fear of killing me. If they didn’t hold back, they could
have killed us a thousand times over.” Aquamarine looked at them, “These two,
Gold and Silver Kaiser… they’re in a whole other level.”
***
(Location- Misty’s Room) [♪Baten
Kaitos- Hailstorm♪]
“…the sight of what came out of the Judgement
Ball was too much, even for him. Gold Kaiser had lost taste for battle and
left, but not before saying that we’ll meet again, and he would defeat the
Judgement Ball…” said Ash, “That’s all I remember.”
“AH…” Misty’s eyes were open with shock. Ash had
told her everything that had happened, describing everything in detail, from
the exact movements they made and techniques they used, to the emotions he felt
and the pain he suffered. But what scared her most was, in gory detail, what
came out of the Judgment Ball. “Ash…” Misty trembled, she didn’t know what to
say.
“The Judgement Ball didn’t cure the Kaiser Beast.
It didn’t bring him back to being a free pokémon…” Ash looked at his hand, it
was trembling. “Why did it do such a thing? Did it fail… or did I really intend
to kill him?”
“What are you saying?” asked Misty
“When I fought Gold Kaiser… I felt an
overwhelming hatred deep within me” said Ash, a tear was forming in his eye,
“Though I kept telling myself I only wanted to stop him… deep down, I wanted
nothing more than to see him dead”
“No… that can’t be!” said Misty, “You never
fought with the intentions of killing!”
“Oh really?” said Ash, “Could I have filled the
Judgement Ball with so much hatred, that even if it missed its target, it would
destroy anything it touched? What of if was one of my friends? What if it was
you?!” he shouted, startling both Misty and Pikachu. “I failed to stop Gold
Kaiser… I failed to protect my friends… and I even took away pokémon’s life!
That’s how weak I am!”
“Ash… no, don’t say that!” said Misty, as Ash
started crying
“What good is being a chosen one… when you know
how useless you really are?! How can I protect anyone when I’m so weak?!” Ash
cried, “All those times I’ve fought… I remember all those times I should have
died, all those times they killed me… but I could never die… why? Because Gold
Kaiser was right… I am a monster” he spoke quietly, “I’ve been lying to myself
for too long… How can I call myself a hero, when my enemy is the one that’s
right! That I’m capable of hurting you?!” he broke into tears, “Why do I even
exist?! Why can’t I just die?!”
Tears were beginning to form in Misty’s eyes
“No…” she said to herself, closing her eyes. She couldn’t let herself cry. She
had to be strong… for Ash’s sake! “…NO!”
-SLAP-
[♪Final Fantasy X- Someday the Dream Will End♪]
“AH…” Ash gasped, his eyes opened wide as he felt
a sharp pain across his cheek. His gaze turned to Misty. She was the one who
slapped him.
“Sorry Ash… but I had to do that” said Misty
quietly, one of her eyes were closed, and she was clutching her hand, the one
she slapped Ash with
“Misty…” Ash didn’t know what to say. The
stinging pain on his cheek faded away, but he noticed Misty’s hand, “You’re
hurt”
“Oh, this? This is nothing…” Misty said, as she
held up her hand. Her palm was very red. “Your face is really hard… hard enough
so that it hurts to hit you. It’s because you’re that strong… but it’s funny,
you know?” although her hand hurt, she was smiling as she moved her hand,
brushing it across Ash’s cheek. Unlike when she hit him, it felt very different,
“Its funny… how your body is so tough one moment… but it is so gentle and warm
the next… just like you. Heh…” she closed her eyes and smiled
“Hmmm…” Ash closed his eyes as Misty continued to
run her smooth hand across his cheek. Misty… though she would act tough, was
still very delicate. Her hands were different from his… so smooth, so soft…
“Wa?” Ash’s eyes opened, but his expression changed, back to the clueless,
innocent one he always wore.
“Welcome back… Ash…” said Misty, a tear fell from
her eye
“Misty? Why are you crying?” asked Ash, his voice
was full of curiosity
“Oh… I am?” Misty moved back and felt her cheek,
“Oh… sorry.” She wiped it away “I kept promising I wouldn’t cry. I keep trying
to be stronger, but it’s much harder than I thought…” she closed her eyes, and
more tears started to fall “I’m just not strong like you… and they keep coming
back!” she looked down and sobbed. She couldn’t help it… she just felt so weak…
“Huh?” her tears stopped when she felt Ash’s strong arms wrap around her, and
pull her close, to a tight embrace. “Ash…?”
“It’s okay Misty… you aren’t weak at all.” Said
Ash, letting her head rest on his shoulder. “You’ve been with me since the
beginning, through everything. Even without the power to fight, not once did you
ever choose to abandon me. You never gave up. In my eyes, you’re a strong
person… much stronger than me”
“Then why can’t I stop crying?” asked Misty, she
obviously didn’t believe him
“Heh… Misty, before you say that, take a look at
me” Ash smiled and moved her back a bit, so she could see his face. Misty
gasped when she saw tears were in Ash’s eyes too! “You are a strong person… and
a kind one as well. That’s why I need you, that’s why I can’t do anything
without you. You’re the one I rely on to be strong!”
“I… I think I understand now… Ash…” said Misty.
Slowly, she moved to sit on the bed, next to Ash. “I feel the same way… when I
look at you… when I’m with you… i-it’s like I’m no longer afraid… like I can do
anything. That’s because… that’s why… I love you Ash…” she gently kissed him on
the cheek.
“Misty…” Ash looked down, he couldn’t help but
blush at what she said. “Thank you Misty, for what you just said, and I feel
the same way…” He wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her close so she was
leaning on him, “I guess we both want to change ourselves. We want to get
stronger…” he leaned his head against hers, “Bit by bit… we’ll make it, and
we’ll get stronger together…”
“Pika…” Pikachu quietly left the room, leaving
the two love birds to themselves.
***
(Location- Main Stadium) [♪Final
Fantasy X- Lulu’s Theme♪]
“AH…” everyone was shocked at what Aquamarine had
told them, about the strength of the two. They already knew Gold Kaiser and
Silver Kaiser were strong, but they didn’t think they could be THIS
powerful! “But… if that’s true… and you
were only fighting one of them…” Richie trembled
“You guys actually believe him?” Everybody looked
down and saw Gary was conscious. “Ugh, what’d you hit me for!?” he growled at
Aquamarine. “And you guys, don’t tell me you’re actually buying this stuff!”
“What is that supposed to mean?!” said Aquamarine
“You calling me a liar, Oak?”
“No, I’m calling you a psycho you psycho!” Gary
glared back at Aquamarine. “GRRRRR…” They growled at each other, electricity
crackled between their eyes
“You’re saying you want another fist to the
head?” Aquamarine cracked his knuckles, “If so, I’ll gladly oblige! I’ll even
throw in a few kicks as an added bonus!”
“What’d I tell you? He’s a psycho!” Gary growled,
“Nothing you say makes sense! Kaisers afraid of killing…! Just who holds back
against a Chosen One!?”
“He’s right you know” said Tracey, “Would you
mind explaining, Aquamarine?”
“It’s pretty simple. The reason they hold back
against Chosen Ones is just that, because their opponents are Chosen Ones.
They’re strong enough so that they could kill us, even unintentionally. If we
weren’t valuable sacrifices, they would waste no time leaving us alive…” Said
Aquamarine, “While we fought, Silver Kaiser told me everything, like how he and
Gold were special…” he turned around, “They are messiahs… the ‘Chosen Ones’ of
the Kaiser Cult”
“WHAT?!” Everyone exclaimed. They already knew
how strong a Kaiser to a human was… but KAISER Chosen Ones…?! “How can we beat
something like that?!”
“There’s the problem, we can’t.” said Aquamarine
“AH…” Everyone remained silent for a few minutes,
when Brock spoke up, “Dammit… just what’s going on?!” Brock shouted, “I thought
we had practically beaten the cult when we wiped out their four warriors, I
though we were gonna win after getting strong! So why is all of the sudden, the
Cult’s winning!?”
“You liar!” Gary shouted, although he trembling a
little. “Don’t try to scare us into thinking they’re invincible, just because
you couldn’t beat them!” Gary pointed at Aquamarine, “You’re just trying to
scare me, out of fighting them! So you could go and beat them yourself, and
take all the credit! Again!” Gary pointed at Aquamarine’s shoulder, “You even hurt
yourself by copying me!”
“COPYING YOU?!” Aquamarine shouted, “Just WHAT is
that supposed to mean?!”
“You know exactly what I mean! Busting in at the
last second, making a grand entrance and saving a person!” Gary shouted, “I
already did something like that before you did, so don’t go stealing my bit and
showing off!”
POW!
“AH!” Gary exclaimed, when someone punched him
over the head from behind
“Yeah, like YOU should talk Gary!” said Ash, he
was the one who hit Gary.
“ASH!” everyone except Gary exclaimed, when they
saw Ash, Misty and Pikachu
“Hello to you too” Ash laughed, and then he
glared at Gary
“Why’d you hit me just now?!” Gary shouted
“You tell me. You’re the one who said we didn’t
gain the abilities to compete with people and show off, and now you’re getting
mad at Aquamarine” said Ash
POW!
“OW!” Gary exclaimed, when Ash punched him over
the head again. He clutched his head, and looked at Ash “And what was that
for!?”
“Hm…” Ash glared at him, “And Gary, you wanna
explain WHY you sounded so upset that Aquamarine saved Misty’s life?”
“Huh?! I’m not mad that he saved her!” said Gary,
“I’m mad at him for making me look bad, getting all the attention and showing
off! He could’ve done without that!”
“Uh-huh. So what you’re saying is… you’re mad at
him for making you look bad and stealing ‘your bit’… the exact same things you
told me didn’t matter when we’re dealing with life and death…” Ash crossed his
arms
POW!
“AGH!” Gary exclaimed when Ash punched him over
the head again
“You damn hypocrite!” Ash shouted, “You’re saying
you’d rather have Aquamarine not come at the last moment and Misty DIE? HUH?!”
“No…! That’s not…!” Gary tried to speak, but he
didn’t know what to say…
POW!
“I’m embarrassed I was ever jealous of YOU.” Ash
said after punching Gary’s head again. He crossed his arms and turned away,
“You really are the only one who actually let ‘Playing the hero’ get to his
head. When I think about it, I can honestly say that you are as a fighter, as a
Chosen One, useless”
“AH…” Gary gasped at what Ash said… upon hearing
those words, his thoughts flew over to yesterday’s events, where someone else
said the exact same thing…
POW!
“AGH!” Gary exclaimed, and fell face flat to the
ground, unconscious.
“Hmm…” Aquamarine sighed, he was the one who hit
Gary. He looked around and saw everyone was staring at him. “What? You kept
hitting him. It looked like fun!” he gave Gary a kick, “Didn’t mean to kill him
though…”
“Um… he’s still alive, Aquamarine” Ash
sweatdropped
“Really?” Aquamarine looked down, “Hey, you’re
right…” he started cracking his knuckles, “Looks like I’ll have to change that…
heh-heh-heh… GAH!”
“Will you knock it off!” said Misty, grabbing
Aquamarine’s ear and pulling
“Ow-ow-OW!!! Sorry!” Aquamarine pleaded, and
Misty let go
“Sheesh Aquamarine, what’s the big deal?” Ash
crossed his arms, “Why do you and Gary hate each other so much?”
“Do you really wanna know?” said Aquamarine
“YES!” Everyone shouted back
“Fine…” Aquamarine sighed, “It all began three
weeks ago…”
*Flashback* [♪Chrono Trigger- Spekkio’s
Theme♪]
“HAAA!!!!” Gary shouted as he darted forward, his
fist shot at Aquamarine’s face
“HM!” Aquamarine turned his body and tilted his
head, missing the punch. Gary roared as he continued attacking again and again,
with a flurry of rapid kicks and punches. Despite Gary’s fast attacks,
Aquamarine’s movements were like water, fluid and flexible, and while he didn’t
retaliate at all, not once did Gary touch him!
“Hey, what’s going on?” asked Bonsai
“Oak’s challenging Aquamarine again” said
AntiArctic, watching them fight
“Again?” said Cleft, “Didn’t he already challenge
him, like… sixty times today?”
“Seventy” answered AntiArctic
A lot of things had happened since the defeat of
Red Kaiser and Gary leaving the group. He travelled across the lands, fought
many battles, and even became a Chosen One. Right now, he was tagging along
with the Super Fiends, and challenging their (acting) leader…
“Come on! Fight back!” Gary shouted as he
continued to attack Aquamarine
“Hmmm… why? It’s not like I’m in any danger”
Aquamarine replied passively, his arms were crossed as he lazily evaded all of
Gary’s attacks. “Whoop…” he said leaned to the side as Gary lunged at him,
causing Gary to trip and fall to the ground
“GRRR…” Gary growled, getting up. “How am I
supposed to get any stronger… if you don’t take me seriously?!” he shouted,
pointing at Aquamarine
“Because you’re weak” Aquamarine said simply
“WHY YOU!” Gary shouted. It was bad enough
Aquamarine was that much stronger than him, even worse that he didn’t take him
seriously, but insulting him like that was too much! “RHAAA!” The power of one
surged through Gary’s body, and energy gathered into his hand as he formed his
aura into the rough shape of a sword, “HAAA!!!!” Gary lunged at Aquamarine…
“Hmmm… HM!” Aquamarine’s passive expression
suddenly changed to a deadly glare, and he moved swiftly. Before Gary could
even lift the sword, Aquamarine darted up close, grabbing his arm, his face
only a few inches from Gary’s…
SMACK!
“AGH!” Gary exclaimed and flew back
“WHOA!” the three Super Fiends exclaimed. It
happened so fast, but they saw what happened. Aquamarine head butted Gary and
sent him flying!
[♪Final Fantasy X- Travelling Company♪]
“Agh… ow…!” Gary groaned, rubbing his bleeding
forehead
“Hmm…” Aquamarine glared down at Gary. “I
understand how you want to get strong, and need to fight stronger opponents.
You could challenge me wherever, attack me any time, even when I’m unprepared,
I don’t mind. But what I WON’T tolerate is you using the power of one so
needlessly!” Aquamarine turned around, “Don’t even think of fighting me again
until you learned that lesson!”
“Urgh… damn!” Gary punched the ground, “I trained
so hard… to get strong, I even became a Chosen One! Now even after I reached
Level II, why can’t I beat him!?”
“Sheesh… Oak is one sore loser.” said Bonsai,
watching Gary “He may have gotten really strong really fast, but he’s
underestimating Aquamarine way too much”
“That’s an understatement. Aquamarine takes after
Sky Render!” said Cleft, “Hard to believe that hot-head has changed so much.
Not only is he that strong, but he’s actually learned to control his temper!
Best of all, he doesn’t hit us with a bokuto!”
“And let’s not forget, Oak may be talented, but
he’s still green as a fighter, and lacks ANY sort of experience” Added
AntiArctic, “Being a Chosen One is his only strength really, and even then it’s
not enough. Us, who are normal humans, only toughened after years of fighting
and experience, we could easily wipe the floor with Oak…”
“Hey! I heard that!” Gary shouted, and the three
Super Fiends all groaned, “I know I’m not that strong, but don’t call me weak
either! I know I can’t beat Aquamarine, but that’s why I keep challenging him!
It’s the only way I’ll improve!”
“Hmph… I
know you’re hanging around us just to get stronger, and since it doesn’t look
like you’re going to quit, I might as well tell you straight out.” Aquamarine
sighed, “Sparring may give you a good workout, but only if you last long and it
won’t make you a better fighter… if you could call that hissy-fit back there
sparring…”
“What are you talking about?” Gary turned around
“I’m not trying to brag or anything, but you have
to accept the simple truth. I’m too strong to be your opponent.” said
Aquamarine. “If I don’t retaliate, it’s not a fight, and if I hit you, you get
crushed. Do you really want to end your career as a fighter by risking it over
a few lousy practice matches?”
“I’m fully aware of the risks, and I don’t care
about getting crushed!” Gary shouted, “Ash suffered many defeats in order to
get strong, it’ll e the same for me!”
“Maybe, but Ash was different from you. He
actually won his battles, and fighting even before he learned about the Power
of One” said Aquamarine, “You may be a Level II Chosen One, but that’s only by
numbers.”
“And just what is THAT supposed to mean?!” Gary
said angrily
“Let’s see…” Aquamarine looked down, “You’re
rushing to get strong, you focus too much on levels and not enough on actual
strength. I can prove that fact by looking back at your battle record against
these three” he pointed at the other three fiends “Out of all the times you
challenged them, you haven’t won once without having to resort to the Power of
One… and even then, they usually beat you.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of embarrassing to have fight
him and call it a victory” said Cleft
“Normally, I’d be proud of beating a Level II
Chosen One, but let’s face it, Oak is a real pushover! Unlike Ketchum! He was
tough!” said Bonsai
“Forget tough, he was fierce, terrifying even”
AntiArctic shuddered, “Even with guys like Aquamarine, Sky Render and the
Kaisers, out of all of them, Ketchum’s the one guy you do NOT want as an enemy,
seriously.” The others nodded in agreement
“Hey, calm down Oak, they were just joking!”
Aquamarine laughed, seeing the look on Gary’s face. “Then again, I guess I really can’t blame
you…” he sighed. He remembered what it was like to be Level II, how he had
grown stronger, but not by enough. You kind of feel incomplete, like you grew
only half way and should be a lot stronger than that… That wasn’t all, but all
the emotional stress… and Ash had it even worse than him. “Yeah… Level II
Chosen Ones really are messed up in the heads… ah!” his eyes opened wide when
he realized he said the wrong part out loud
“GRRRR…” Gary growled “WHY YOU!”
“WHOA!” Aquamarine fell back, narrowly missing a
swipe from Gary. Before he could control himself, his battle instincts took
over and his body acted on its own…
WHAM!
“AAAGH!” Gary screamed when Aquamarine swung his
leg upward and kicked him on the chin. Gary was sent flipping through the air
and landed face first in the dirt
“Ugh… damn… I did it again…” Aquamarine said,
disappointed in himself for hitting Gary. He sighed and walked off. “I lost
control of myself for one second, and look what happens. If I’m not careful I
could’ve ended up killing him…”
“Agh… agh!” Gary slowly got up from the dirt and
coughed. He wiped away the blood coming from his mouth with his sleeve and
growled. That hit from Aquamarine was extremely painful, but what hurt even
more was that Aquamarine was so much stronger than him… to such an extent that
he could kill him by reflex! How could he be so strong?! Is this the power of a
Level III Chosen One?!
“See what he means Oak? That’s why you should
quit bugging Aquamarine, not just for your sake, but for his as well” said
Bonsai, “He has a lot of responsibilities as the leader, and with Sky Render
being gone, he’s under a lot of stress! The team’s been falling apart, and a
number of us have left, trying to find Sky Render! And it’s not just him who’s
missing, but Goth is gone too!”
“I guess it’s about time we tell you, you
constantly challenging us, isn’t helping. As a matter of fact, we don’t like
it. Heck, we don’t even like you.” said Cleft. “Don’t think that just because we
fight the Kaiser Cult we’re good guys. We’re wanted criminals, and the only
reason we didn’t kill you by now is because you’re a friend of Ketchum!”
“As far as we’re concerned, you’re a nobody and a
waste of time, a complete failure. Even then, instead of actually trying to get
stronger, all you do is complain that it’s not enough. I don’t know how
Aquamarine can tolerate you.” said AntiArctic, “For once he’s being really patient,
and you’re throwing it in his face!”
“Oh really?” Gary growled. “What you’re saying
is… Aquamarine is SO strong and cool, that he doesn’t have time for nobodies…
yet he has the time to call me whatever he wants, kick me around, and insult
me, just because I’m a stupid weakling” calmly, he bent down and picked up a
rock, “So now, why don’t you try telling me now… THAT I’M THROWING IT IN HIS
FACE!!!”
WHACK!
“GAH!” Aquamarine yelped in the distance and fell
over, unconscious
“Uh…” Gary sweatdropped, all eyes were on him.
“Oh… my… god…” the three Super Fiends’ jaws
dropped.
“Hey… you okay? Hello?” Gary nudged Aquamarine a
couple times, but no response, “Oh no… I did this…” he said to himself, “I have
to do something!”
“AH…!” the three super fiends gasped when they
saw what Gary did next
“Keh-heh-heh-heh!!!” Gary laughed as he drew on
Aquamarine’s face with a big black marker, scribbling insults all over
“GAAH!” Bonsai and Cleft exclaimed and ran away
“Um… Gary?” AntiArctic nervously stepped over to
Gary
“Yeah?” said Gary as he carefully drew the big
black letters onto Aquamarine’s forehead, spelling the word ‘PSYCHO’
“G… Gary? Um… I know Aquamarine’s really
forgiving, and seldom ever gets mad any more… but…” AntiArctic took a few steps
back, he really wanted to run like Bonsai and Cleft did. Just standing near
Gary was dangerous now… “Even he has his limits, and knocking him out with a
rock and drawing on his face is not really good idea… GAH!” He exclaimed and
jumped back, sweatdropping as Gary was reaching into Aquamarine’s pockets and
pulled out his wallet
“How so?” Gary pulled out all the money and
tossed the empty wallet to the side
“Well… when Aquamarine gets mad, he gets
dangerous…” AntiArctic’s eyes opened wide and he gasped, “And-I-think-you-may-want-to-start-running…
RIGHT… NOW…! GUH… GAAAAH!!!!” He turned around and ran, diving behind a large
rock
“Huh?” Gary turned around…
“GRRRR…” Aquamarine was standing up. The ground
seemed to tremble with the immense killer aura looming over him…
“GARYYYYYY!!!!!!!!”
“GAH…” Gary gasped and took a few steps back,
“Uh… umm!” he had to think fast… “OH MY GOD!” he pointed towards Aquamarine,
“WHAT’S THAT BEHIND YOU!?”
“Huh?” Aquamarine turned around, “I don’t see
anything…” he turned back to Gary… “AH!” exclaimed, when he saw Gary was gone!
“Y-YOU… GARY OAK…” Aquamarine snarled, his veins were apparent on his forehead,
his eyes were twitching. Even the ink from the marker on his face was beginning
to bubble and burn away from the immense killing aura, “GARY OAK!!!! I’M GOING
TO KILL YOU!!!!!”
“AHHHH!” The three Super Fiends huddled behind
the rock. So many explosions rang through the air, and the very earth seemed to
shake as Aquamarine was destroying everything in sight as he chased Gary
“Is he gone…?” Bonsai poked his head up from
behind the rock
“I think it’s safe to come out now…” said Cleft,
slowly looking around
“On the bright side…” AntiArctic looked in the
direction that Aquamarine was running. He sweatdropped when he saw an entire
mountain smash to pieces, “At least he gave up trying to kill Ketchum…”
everyone else nodded in agreement
*End of Flashback*
“And that is my tragic tale…” Aquamarine spoke,
he wiped away a tear in his eye. Everyone was standing around him, listening to
his story.
“That’s it?” Ash stared at Aquamarine, “PFT…
HAHAHAHA!!!!” he burst out laughing
“What’s so funny?!” Aquamarine turned around
shouted
“Where do I start?!” Ash laughed, “Oh man… Gary
got you good! That was priceless!!” as Ash laughed, others started joining in,
they couldn’t help it
“GRRRR…” Aquamarine growled, but then sighed and
cooled down. “Yeah… I guess it’s pretty funny… but not if you knew what
happened next…”
“Huh?” everyone blinked, “Why? What happened?”
“WHERE IS HE?! THAT BLUE HAIRED PSYCHO! I KNOW
HE’S IN HERE SOMEWHERE!”
“AH…!” Aquamarine’s eyes opened wide when he
heard that voice. “M… Misty? Since you’re my friend now… will you do me a
favour and hide me?” he asked, trembling
“W-what?” Misty stared at him, “Why?”
“JUST DO IT!” Aquamarine shouted. The door to the
room was opening, Aquamarine began to panic, “There’s no time!” he exclaimed,
and saw the pool, “GUH!”
“Uh…” everyone sweatdropped as Aquamarine dove
into the water, out of sight. “Huh?!” They all turned around and saw what was
scaring Aquamarine so much…
“Hm!” she stood there, a teenager around the age
of 14 or 15. Her eyes were dark blue and her long hair ran down to her
shoulders. She wore a sleeveless, Chinese design shirt that hugged her figure,
and black short pants that ended at her thighs. At first glance, she looked
pretty thin, but actually she was in very good shape. It was easy to see she
was an adventurer
“AH! PRETTY GIRL!” Brock exclaimed, and ran over
to her…
WHAM!
“GAK!” Brock fell when the girl swung something
through the air and slammed him to the ground. On closer inspection… it
appeared to be a wrecked bike
“Uh… hi… welcome to Cerulean Gym (I think)… my
name is Misty and I’m the Gym Leader. Can I help you?” said Misty, “What is
your name?”
“Hmm! My name is Keisei, and I’m looking for
someone” she said, looking left and right, “AQUAMARINE!” She shouted, “I know
you’re in here! And when I find you, you’re gonna pay for what you did to my
bike!”
“Uh…” Everybody sweatdropped. Why did this
scenario seem familiar?
With the arrival of the mysterious (and
loud) Keisei who seems to be searching for Aquamarine, the trials of Cerulean
City come to an end, but things are far from over. As Ash and Misty pledge to
get stronger together, will it be enough, with Sky Render still missing, and
Gold and Silver Kaiser, the seemingly invincible messiahs of the Kaiser Cult
are on the loose? Find out next time, on Pokémon: Eternal Legacies!
► TO BE CONTINUED