{Back in Lavaridge Town}
When they got back to town and Ash rejoined May, Max, and Brock, Flannery immediately gave them a tour and led them to one of the private hot springs so they could all relax now that things were back to normal. But of course, Ash had an issue, even if they split into different sides, the guys' side would still had Max, and everyone knew Ash didn't really want to show his chest anytime soon.
So he took one of the private baths. Brock immediately vouched for him, since he knew about Ash's scar, saying that Ash sometimes got dizzy if the water was too hot, and that at least in a private bath he could adjust the temperature a little.
Of course, that was total BS, but the girls and Max believed it, so Ash headed off to a private one.
A few minutes later, everyone was back out and relaxing again. May was stretched out on a towel near the edge of the pool, her feet dangling in the water.
"I swear," she sighed, "if we had this back home, I'd never leave."
Max nodded, already half-asleep where he sat, "I'm not moving. If someone needs me, they can wait till tomorrow."
Flannery laughed, leaning back against a wooden pillar, already changed into clean clothes instead of her burned and dirty ones, "That's Lavaridge for you. Hot springs fix everything."
Nearby, Brock sat comfortably with his eyes closed, arms folded behind his head, looking completely at peace.
A few minutes later, Ash rejoined them, drying his hair with a towel. Since it was still damp, it fell in front of his eyes, forcing him to tie it back into a small bun.
"I swear, I need a haircut."
He took off his jacket and set it aside to dry, revealing a fitted black T-shirt. Pikachu and Vee followed him out, their fur soaking wet, and immediately ran off to shake the water out.
Pikachu shook himself like a fuzzy little hurricane, spraying water everywhere. Vee followed suit, only slightly less chaotic, earning an immediate yelp from May, who got hit with the worst of it.
"Hey! Watch it!" she laughed, shielding her face with her towel.
Ash smirked, flopping down beside Brock and stretching his arms over his head, "See? This is why Pokémon shouldn't be allowed near towels."
Pikachu stuck his tongue out, "Pika."
Brock cracked one eye open, "Worth it," he said lazily, "I haven't felt this relaxed in weeks."
Flannery nodded in agreement, staring up at the steam drifting toward the sky, "Yeah… after everything that happened, this is nice."
Then she paused, realizing she should say something, after all, Ash was here for a Gym Badge.
"Actually, there's something I should tell you guys."
That got Ash's attention. He tilted his head, "What's up?"
Flannery pushed herself upright, resting her elbows on her knees, "I'm gonna have to close the Gym for a few days."
May blinked, "Really?"
"Yeah," Flannery said with a small sigh, "After the attack, the Rangers want to do a full investigation. They're rounding up the grunts we caught, checking the tunnels, the whole deal. I can't exactly run matches while they're swarming the place, against 'Association' policy," she added, using heavy quotation marks.
Honestly, last year when Chairman Rose offered her the chance to come to Galar and take over the Fire Gym there, if it hadn't been for her wanting to preserve the Lavaridge Gym, since it had belonged to her grandfather before, she might have accepted. After all, most Gym Leaders in Hoenn hated the Pokémon Association.
Max frowned slightly, "So no challengers at all?"
"None," she confirmed, "At least until they give the all-clear." Then she added, rubbing the back of her neck, "And on top of that, I'm planning on calling a meeting with some of the other Gym Leaders so we can talk about this whole Team Magma and Team Aqua situation." Flannery scratched the back of her head; she didn't fully understand what was going on yet.
Brock nodded approvingly, "That's responsible." He knew the protocol for this kind of thing, being a formal Gym Leader himself.
Ash nodded as well, "Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate."
"Tell me about it," Flannery groaned, then glanced back at him with an apologetic look, "Sorry, Ash. I know you just got here, and after you saved me, and the town, and everything, I really would've liked to give you your battle."
Ash waved it off immediately, "Hey, don't worry about it. The badge can wait. It's not like I'll die if I don't get it. I can wait."
That earned him a genuine smile, "Thanks. Once things settle down, you'll be the first challenger I call." Then she grinned, "You're gonna be my 200th victory since I became Gym Leader. You should feel honored~"
"In your dreams. I'm not planning on losing, even for you," Ash shot back with a smirk.
"Well, the feeling's mutual. Don't think just because you saved my life and I owe you that you'll get an easy battle from me," Flannery puffed out her chest, "I didn't get this far by handing out wins, I'll tell you that!"
They glared at each other seriously for a moment before Flannery finally broke, snorting, "Okay, okay, that's enough of that. How about we get something to eat? I can show you Lavaridge's specialty!"
"Lead the way," Ash said, saluting.
"I'm up for it," Max said immediately, revived at the mention of food.
"And he calls me a glutton," May muttered under her breath as she stood up and stretched her arms behind her back, "I'm down. Let's do this!"
"I'll pass. I want to… catch up on my reading…" Brock said, not suspiciously at all. He was definitely not planning on copying one of his people, a certain toad sage from the studio next door.
Ash rolled his eyes, grabbed Brock by the back of his shirt, and dragged him along, "Come on, Jiraiya, you're not getting out of this that easily."
"No, wait, Ash, you don't understand, it's important research!" Brock yelled as he was dragged away. For his own sake, thankfully May and Flannery didn't understand what he meant by research.
—
{The Next Day}
Ash was sleeping in. After hanging out with Flannery the day before, they'd gotten a hotel she recommended and gone their separate ways for now, since Flannery had Gym Leader duties to handle, starting with finally cleaning up the Gym.
Ash wanted to sleep in, so that's exactly what he did. Pikachu and Vee were curled up on either side of him, warm and comfortable, since he wasn't planning on challenging the Gym anyway, it was closed.
But as Ash slept on, Pikachu's ears suddenly perked up. He lifted his head, eyes focusing on something familiar hovering above them. Without hesitation, he leaned over and started shaking Vee awake.
Vee was far groggier and clearly didn't want to wake up. When Pikachu kept at it, Vee swiped halfheartedly at his paw, but Pikachu didn't stop. Begrudgingly, Vee sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"Vee?" [What do you want?]
Pikachu just pointed upward.
Vee followed his paw, and froze.
Hovering above them, Mew was laughing silently, holding a poster and an invitation in its tiny hands. Mew put a finger to its mouth, signaling Pikachu and Vee to be quiet, before dropping the paper directly onto Ash's face and turning invisible.
When the paper flapped against his nose, Ash stirred, lifting a hand to his face and pulling it off.
Ash squinted blearily at the paper in his hand, one eye cracked open while the other stubbornly refused to cooperate.
"…Mail…?" he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.
He lifted the sheet just enough to glance at it. Fancy script. Gold trim. Way too bright for early morning. His brain refused to engage.
"Later," he muttered decisively.
He crumpled the paper into a loose ball and flicked it over the side of the bed, then rolled onto his side, dragging the blanket up and burying his face in Pikachu's fur.
Pikachu stiffened.
Vee's ears twitched.
For exactly two seconds, everything was peaceful.
Then the paper was picked up, smoothed out, and flew back, smacking Ash square in the face.
"Ow—!" Ash jolted upright, hair sticking out in every direction as the blanket slid down to his waist, "What the—?"
"…Okay," he said slowly, rubbing his cheek, "That's rude."
Pikachu clapped his paws over his mouth, barely containing his laughter, "Pika—!"
Vee wasn't doing much better. Even as he tried to act like the more mature of the duo, he still had to fight back a snort.
Ash picked the paper up again, holding it farther away this time, like it might bite him.
"'Festival of Aura… Rota…'" he read aloud, squinting, "'You are hereby invited, blah blah,"
His eyes slid shut mid-sentence.
"Nope," he decided, "Still too early."
He tossed the paper again, more firmly this time, watching it sail cleanly into the trash can by the door.
"Ha," he muttered, satisfied, and flopped back down.
For a moment, it was peaceful again.
Then the trash can rattled.
The invitation floated up out of it, unwrinkling itself midair before shooting forward and smacking Ash directly in the forehead.
SMACK.
"OW—OKAY!" Ash shot upright again, fully awake now, pointing accusingly at the floating paper, "That one was personal!"
The invitation hovered in front of him, bobbing innocently.
Pikachu was openly laughing now, rolling onto his back, "Pika pika!"
Vee had to turn away, shoulders shaking, to hide just how hard he was holding back laughter.
Ash grabbed the paper midair, clutching it like it might escape again, "Alright, fine, fine, I get it! You're important! You win!"
And Ash could swear he heard the familiar laughter of a certain pink cat. He sighed, "I should have known…"
He got out of bed and went through his morning routine, since it didn't look like he was getting any more sleep. Once he was dressed, he headed down to the shared living room of the place they were renting and finally sat down to actually read the letter.
It was an invitation to the Festival of Aura in Rota.
Ash really didn't want to go to Rota.
Why, you ask? Simple: his Aura was basically a beacon to other Aura Guardians. It was the same reason he'd never asked his mom or Professor Oak to send him there in the first place. If he went, there was a very real chance they wouldn't let him leave.
And he knew there weren't any Aura Guardians watching him right now. Ash was very good at sensing Aura, good enough that he could detect another Aura Guardian from miles away. So that raised a question.
Why did he get an invitation?
The easy answer was Mew.
Mew had probably intercepted one of the invitations and flown all the way out just to give it to Ash, purely because Ash was, unfortunately, Mew's favorite person to mess with.
The harder question was why Mew wanted him to go.
As much as Ash wanted to chalk it up to trolling and call it a day, he knew better. Mew wanted him in Rota for a reason. If he remembered correctly, the disaster at the Tree of Beginning only happened because Pikachu got kidnapped by Mew, but knowing Pikachu, that part alone wasn't exactly a concern.
The real problem came later. The Tree had to expend massive amounts of energy to save everyone who was being digested, himself, the Regi trio, and Lucario included. But if they never went into the Tree in the first place, then that danger never happened.
And Ash wasn't planning on going anywhere near the Tree.
So why would Mew need him there?
As much as Ash wanted to believe this was one of those problems that would solve itself without him, he also remembered just how much this world liked kicking him in the teeth. If Mew was pushing him this hard, that meant he couldn't ignore it.
With a quiet sigh, he started making breakfast.
Before long, everyone else began filtering downstairs and sitting at the table. Ash served them, and they ate happily.
Brock, who was pouring himself his morning coffee, paused when he noticed the paper sitting on the counter. He leaned closer.
"Hey, what's this?"
"Oh, right. I forgot about that," Ash lied smoothly. He made sure to sound casual, "It's an invitation I got a few days ago. It's for the Festival of Aura over in Rota. It's happening in a few days, I think."
"The Aura Festival?" May clasped her hands together, "Oh, I've always wanted to go there!"
Max shot her a side-eye, "You seem to have 'always wanted to go' to a lot of places we end up going to…"
May nearly fell out of her chair at getting called out. But as a professional older sister, she'd rather die than admit she just liked spending time with everyone and prove him right.
"Well," she said defensively, "I just have a really long list of places I want to go."
"Sure…" Max replied, "Can I see this list?"
"Nope, it's secret, and it's all in my head," May said proudly.
"On that, we can agree," Max muttered under his breath.
"What was that?!"
"Nothing."
Ash shook his head at the sibling squabble, "Anyway, I got the invitation. If we want to go, we can. We've got time, especially since Flannery closed the Gym." He walked over to the counter and set another plate of his special pancakes down.
May immediately stole it.
Ash slid back into his chair with his own plate, watching her shamelessly claim his pancakes without even pretending otherwise.
"…You know," he said mildly, taking a sip of his drink, "normal people ask before committing breakfast theft."
May, already halfway through her first bite, waved him off, "You made them. That means they're community property."
"Don't think that's how that works…" Ash said, a small smile creeping onto his face.
"Nope," May said, straightening up with mock dignity, "I hereby declare that I, Queen May of the Maple Dynasty, shall pardon your war crimes so long as you pay sufficient tribute." She even slipped into an exaggerated Galarian accent.
Ash rolled his eyes, "Ignoring the fact that I'm pretty sure I haven't committed any breakfast-related crimes… what's the tribute?"
"I demand more of your pancakes," May announced dramatically, "with extra maple syrup."
Ash snorted, "Sure. What do you want me to feed you next?" he said as he stood up anyway and went to make more.
"Don't tempt me," May huffed, continuing to eat without pause, "Or I'll extend your punishment."
"You know," Max said, shaking his head, "part of me misses when you at least tried to act normal." Max shook his head, since now May was lost to the weirdos, but then again that also might make his plans easier
May gasped, "Betrayal."
"So," Ash said, flipping another pancake, "about Rota, do you all actually want to go?"
"I'm down!" May shot her hand into the air instantly.
Brock paused, thinking it over, then pulled out his phone and started scrolling, "Rota's pretty close to Pewter, actually. That means I could visit my family."
"Well, Mt. Moon's between them," Ash said, plating the pancakes, "but yeah. I can just have Abby teleport us to Pewter. From there, we go through Mt. Moon and head to Rota."
"That sounds awesome," May sighed happily, "I've heard the Festival of Aura is beautiful."
Ash returned to the table with a fresh stack and set them in front of her, "Alright then. We'll go. Let's just clean up first, and I'll grab Abby, wherever she is. I swear, that girl does her own thing most of the time."
"Okay!" May and Max said in perfect unison.
Ash and Brock exchanged a look and sighed at the same time.
"Definitely siblings," Brock muttered.
Ash just smiled.
—
{In Team Rocket's Base}
Enid, Jay, Helena, and Domino were sitting at a table, and across from them sat D, casually working on his computer, not saying much.
The four of them didn't really know what to say in a situation like this, especially after what they'd asked him directly.
When they'd finally asked, "D… do you hate us?"
They'd expected so many possible answers. They expected him to say yes. And maybe, deep down, that was what they wanted to hear, because if he said it, if he blamed them, if he told them it was their fault, that would have been easier.
But he didn't.
Instead, he answered with a simple, "No. I don't hate you."
After everything, after the state he'd been left in, after being mind-controlled and forced to fight them, after his face had been blown apart, they blamed themselves. Because of their meddling, because they hadn't listened, they felt like they'd only ever gotten in his way.
What made it worse was that he didn't elaborate. He'd just said that, then gotten into the helicopter. They'd been too stunned to ask a follow-up.
And that was how it led to this, sitting across from him now.
D finished the report he was writing and sent it to Matori. Thanks to their work, Team Rocket had managed to open relations with the Mirage Kingdom.
Only then did he finally look up at the squad.
Enid avoided his eyes. Helena wrung her hands together. Jay tried, and failed, to look casual. Domino stared him down like she could force the truth out of him by sheer will.
"So," D said at last, "is there anything you all want to say? Or are you going to keep pretending you don't all look constipated?"
They flinched, not expecting him to start the conversation. Enid gulped and finally looked up at him.
"Why don't you hate us?"
"…You want me to be angry?" D raised an eyebrow, his one good eye sharp.
No one denied it.
"That would be easier," Helena admitted quietly, "If you were mad, at least we'd know where we stand."
Jay swallowed, "Yeah. I mean, after everything… if you said we screwed up, we'd take it. We deserve that."
"It's our fault," Domino said, "We should've just listened to you when you told us to stay out of your way. Now because of us, you—" She stopped, her eyes flicking to the mask covering his face.
D's visible eye flicked briefly to the mask, then back to her.
"Domino," he said calmly, "finish the sentence."
She clenched her jaw, "…Now because of us, you got hurt. Again. You warned us, and we didn't listen."
D nodded once, "Okay," he said, "Now listen to mine."
He exhaled, like he'd been holding that breath since the helicopter.
"I'm not mad."
"I'm just tired," D continued, his voice steady but lower now, "That's what people don't understand. I'm not mad at anyone. I'm just… done. Done dealing with situations that rob me of my peace. Done dealing with people who don't try as hard as I try, don't put in the effort I put in. I'm just done. That's it."
The words landed heavier than anger ever could.
Helena's eyes stung. Enid swallowed hard, staring at the tabletop. Jay looked like he wanted to argue, then realized there was nothing to argue with.
Domino was the only one who didn't look away.
"…So we hurt you," she said quietly, "And you're just, what, over it?"
"No," D replied immediately, "But I'm also not going to punish you guys for it, especially for something I barely remember."
"I… well, it's just—" Helena stopped short, "Wait… barely remember?"
"Yeah. I barely remember what happened while I was mind-controlled. I remember bits and pieces, and I know Mr. Archer said he remembered everything, but I don't," D lied smoothly.
"I… that changes so much…" Jay ran a hand through his hair, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"No one ever bothered to ask," D said flatly, "You were all too busy treating me like I'm made of glass. Yeah, I have to wear this stupid mask, but I'm not fragile."
"I… I guess you're right," Jay admitted, rubbing his arm, "None of us really asked how you were doing…"
And suddenly, Enid realized something.
If D didn't remember what happened… then he didn't remember when she'd tried to apologize.
A small, ugly part of her whispered that she was the main character, that she didn't have to apologize, that D should be the one coming to her, begging, kissing her feet.
She crushed that thought immediately.
Because she did remember what she'd said.
And the idea that the last thing D remembered of her was calling him a freak, telling him they weren't friends, made her chest tighten painfully.
"D…" Enid said, taking a deep breath, "I… I'm sorry."
She bowed her head so fast she nearly slammed her forehead into the table.
"I'm sorry I called you a freak. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry I said we weren't friends. I'm sorry for everything I said, I was just being a stupid idiot."
"Please… forgive me, even if I don't deserve it." Her voice wavered, "I want us to go back to being friends."
D was quiet for a moment after she finished. Then he sighed, softly, and leaned back in his chair.
"…Enid," he said, "I forgive you."
Her head snapped up so fast she nearly collided with Jay's shoulder.
"Y–you… what?"
"I forgive you," D repeated, slower this time, like he wanted the words to sink in, "I was never mad at you."
That hit harder than anything else.
For all of them.
For so long, it had felt like a cornerstone of their misadventures, that D was angry at Enid for what she'd said.
And now he was telling them he never had been.
Enid's shoulders trembled, "But…then why?" she asked, her voice cracking, "Why did you pull away before everything went wrong? Before you got mind-controlled? You barely talked to me. You stopped hanging out. You looked like you didn't even want to be there anymore."
Domino narrowed her eyes slightly. Jay went still. Helena leaned forward.
D tilted his head.
"…Because I thought you didn't want me around."
"Eh?" Enid blinked.
"I figured," he continued quietly, "after what you said, you didn't want to hang out with me anymore. Plus, whenever I showed up, you looked annoyed, or distracted."
Enid's breath caught, "That's not—I—I didn't mean—" She thought about how to explain that it was just her trying to act cool to make D approach her, but she didn't know how.
D shook his head, "It's fine. Just next time, just talk to me, okay?"
Enid looked down but nodded slowly.
D then closed his computer, "Well, it was nice to make up after everything, but Matori sent another message for me to go to her office, and we really can't keep her waiting. Talk to y'all later," he said, walking off with a wave.
Now, everything he said was pure BS, he just made stuff up as he went, but if they were gonna keep being weird around him, it was better than holding a grudge he didn't care about.
Besides, now it was about time for a real mission they'd be part of. After all, remember that Ash put something in Professor Cozmo's bag, that was a tracker, and D had his phone connected to it. The reason was that he now knew Cozmo knew too much. Team Aqua were holding him captive, so it looked like he would need a little rescue party.
Now D just had to wait for a time he knew Archie was out of the base. The Admins shouldn't be that big of a problem, the real problem was Archie, so he had to either wait or create an opportunity for Archie to get out.
But thankfully, that's what D did best: make opportunities.