The jeep roared to life. Kidd was already in the driver's seat and, even if it felt weird and unnatural to him, Ash was shotgun as the navigator.
Right now, Lucario was white-knuckling the dashboard, ears flattened straight back, trying his best not to panic, "I regret everything."
The vehicle tore down a dirt road at an absurd speed, suspension bouncing as Kidd whooped from the driver's seat, "See? Smooth ride!"
"This is not smooth," Lucario snapped, glaring at the speedometer as if it were a hostile Pokémon, "The ground is blurring."
"That's actually pretty normal," Ash leaned in from the back. Everyone had changed into their normal clothes, so Ash was wearing his jacket, with Mew sleeping inside it like a baby. Since Ash's chest was already occupied, Pikachu and Vee were sitting with Sorrel and May respectively, curled up on their laps.
"Not your time, Grandpa," Ash teased.
Lucario flinched at that, but didn't correct him, "I am acutely aware this is not my time," Lucario growled, claws digging slightly into the dashboard, "That is what concerns me."
Sorrel was more interested in studying Mew, because of course he was, but he was still listening. As for his Lucario, the moment he found out Sorrel had signed them up to go on another adventure with Ash, he had practically gotten on his knees and begged to stay in his Poké Ball.
Sorrel had been confused but agreed. It wasn't like they could all fit in the car anyway, since Lucario would take up an entire seat, "Well, if you really think about it, you could think of this like—" Sorrel didn't finish that sentence.
They hit a bump, nearly tipping over and almost dropping his tablet.
Max laughed from the back, bracing himself, "This is AWESOME!"
Brock, meanwhile, gripped the side of his seat with one hand and dramatically clutched his chest with the other, "To think… riding into destiny… alongside a world-famous record breaker… my heart may not survive this journey."
"Eyes on the road, Romeo," May muttered, steadying herself.
Kidd just grinned wider and shifted gears, "Relax! I've driven through deserts, jungles, active volcano evacuation zones, and things that probably should've killed me."
Lucario's head snapped toward her, "Why would you say that?"
"Hey, I've only crashed twice," she finished cheerfully.
"Twice?!" Lucario barked.
"You get used to it," Riley said with a smirk, "Probably~"
"I do not intend to," Lucario snapped.
May leaned forward, peering between the seats, "So, Riley, you're… okay with this?"
Riley tilted his head slightly, thoughtful, "I've trained on Iron Island while wild Pokémon attacked in groups," he said, "Compared to that… this is manageable."
Lucario stared at him, "…You humans are all unwell."
Ash laughed, one arm hooked casually over the back of the seat as Mew shifted inside his jacket, a tiny pink paw poking out before retreating again, "Hey, we make it work. Besides, you said it yourself, if something's happening to the Tree of Beginning that's enough to make Mew sick, we really don't have a choice, do we?"
Lucario didn't answer right away. His grip loosened just a fraction, "I suppose you have a point," he sighed, looking at Mew as it weakly looked back at him. If Mew still had its power, it could teleport them to the Tree and end this whole thing in ten minutes max, but it didn't. It had lost a lot of its power, and anyone who could sense Aura could see that Mew's Aura was growing weaker.
"Hey, yeah, I hate to cut in, but sir, Lucario, if you're gonna help, now might be a good time. The fog is getting thick," Kidd said as she slowed the jeep just a little and pointed out the window. Just a moment ago it had been fine, but now they could barely see through the dense fog.
Lucario sighed, "You have a point… very well. I shall continue doing what I can."
Lucario closed his eyes, then looked forward again, pointing with his paw, "Turn when I instruct you, understood?" he said to Kidd.
Kidd smirked, "If you can get us to the Tree of Beginnings, you could tell us to drive off a cliff and I'd do it."
"Please don't!" May and Brock said at the same time.
Kidd laughed it off, easing the wheel just a little, "Relax. Cliff-driving is strictly a theoretical option."
"That word does not comfort me," Lucario replied flatly.
"Well, none of us really have a choice, do we?" Riley replied, leaning back casually in his seat as he turned to Ash, "So, now that we're gonna be here for a while, how about we continue our talk?"
Ash sighed, then put on a smile, "Alrighty then. Ask away and I'll try to answer," he said. Inside, though, Ash was dreading this, but he'd known it could happen, so he'd made up a story years ago. It never hurts to be overly prepared.
Meanwhile, back in the castle, Ilene watched them disappear into the fog as she held Sir Aaron's staff, "May the spirit of the guardian protect them on their journey," she whispered into the staff.
She turned, preparing to see if the other Aura Guardians who had stayed in the castle could help in any way. If she had to, she would deploy them to try to reach the Tree as well. As for how they would get there… she'd figure that part out if it came to it. Hey, she never said she was a wise queen.
But then again, that raised another question, why was the Tree of Beginnings like this? What was causing it to start failing? Or maybe that wasn't the right word. But one thing was certain: this wasn't something happening by accident. The real question was why.
—
{In a base deep underground}
The circle of Cult of Darkrai members was still in the same spot. It had nearly been a year since they put themselves into a coma. Most of them were already dead, either from starvation or from whatever they were seeing in their coma.
Remember, they had all been sent into the Dream Realm, ordered by Persephone to begin collecting the shards of Darkrai.
The cult believed that Darkrai had the most potential, enough to overthrow even Giratina. It was only a matter of collecting enough shards.
You see, in every nightmare you have, there is a little bit of Darkrai. It was just a matter of gathering them. That was what this new group of cultists had been created to do. The ritual placed them in an artificial eternal nightmare, and this was clearly not the first time Persephone had sent cultists to do this. In fact, she already possessed one shard of Darkrai herself, but it was only one, and a relatively weak one. It wasn't even Elite Four level yet.
As for this group, Persephone already had the next one ready to sacrifice. She was just waiting for the last member of the current group to either succeed… or die. It was Tobias.
Tobias was the one who was still alive, but it had been nearly a year, and Persephone was getting annoyed. Still, if he had lasted that long, he might be succeeding, who knows. Either way, it made no difference to her, just as long as he succeeded. And if he failed… well, he was replaceable for a reason.
—
{Meanwhile, inside the Dream Realm}
Tobias had been chasing Darkrai through this dimension nonstop. He had almost died multiple times, but he never stopped. He kept chasing Darkrai, until something changed about a month ago.
Suddenly, Darkrai changed its tactics, and the dimension Tobias was trapped in became something like a cave, but also filled with strange blue crystals and wood. He didn't know it at the time, but it was the Tree of Beginnings… or at least the version of it Darkrai had created in the Dream Realm.
Darkrai, of course, knew this place. It had been there during the war. Do you know how many nightmares people have during a war? But Darkrai hadn't come to the Tree to try and take it over. Why would it?
Darkrai was many things, but it was not evil. It knew that if Mew or the Tree of Beginnings died, all mortals would die as well. And if that happened, where would it get its nightmares? That was the real reason Darkrai was there, although people of that era understood none of this.
They twisted the narrative when they saw it. They thought Darkrai was there to destroy the Tree, painting it as an unstable villain. Not that it cared, why would it? They were just humans, and they couldn't hurt it or cause it any real harm.
But this time, Darkrai had come to the Tree because of someone else. You see, the Dream World and the real world are far more connected than most would think, and in this case, it involved someone sealed within the crystals, none other than Sir Aaron.
When Sir Aaron used his Aura and sacrificed himself for the Tree, he was sealed inside the crystal. Sir Aaron is dead; this is not a case of him being alive and trapped within it. His spirit and consciousness passed on into the afterlife.
What did not pass on was his body. Because it was sealed, it was preserved, and it continued to emit Aura, which effectively acted as an energy source for the Tree.
Now, the reason Darkrai was here was because this arrangement had a flaw. In the act of sacrificing his life, Sir Aaron's Aura began to corrupt due to overuse. He had essentially gone from full strength to almost nothing in an instant.
When he was sealed, that small amount of corrupted Aura, or more accurately, Dark Aura, remained in his body. It wasn't much, something like a 99-to-1 ratio, but over time, it built up.
So Mew asked Darkrai to return every few years to remove the accumulated Dark Aura, from then until the end of time. And Darkrai owed Mew a favor, so it agreed. Besides, for an immortal, being told to come by every few years was like being asked to water a plant once a week, you might forget sometimes, but when you remember, you do it, and it only takes a moment.
The last time Darkrai had been here was about a hundred years ago. It had planned to collect the Dark Aura and then probably take a short nap for the next fifty years.
And that brings us to the present.
Darkrai had returned, fully aware that the strange human who had been chasing it for months was still after it. But it assumed the Guardians of the Tree, the Regis, would handle the problem. After all, whether in the Dream World or the real one, they were still guarding it
Darkrai began the process of entering Sir Aaron's body, starting to collect the accumulated Dark Aura. It was a good thing it had come today after procrastinating for ten years, another few days, and this might have become a serious problem.
But as it concentrated, it suddenly felt a thud against its back. Before it could react, it felt itself being sucked into something, and it never got the chance to remove the Dark Aura as whatever was grabbing it snapped shut.
Outside, it was none other than Tobias. He was breathing heavily. Sure, there had been guards, but you know what he did… he just ran. And that had led him here. He knew he couldn't waste this opportunity, so he pulled out the one thing he had brought with him besides his clothes, a Master Ball that Persephone had given him.
Without hesitation, he threw it. It struck the unprepared Darkrai, pulling it in before snapping shut. Tobias couldn't stop himself from grinning and laughing as he rushed forward to grab Darkrai's Poké Ball.
"This is it. I did it!" Tobias laughed like a madman. After almost a year, he finally had it.
Just then, the Regi Trio caught up, bursting into the room and aiming their attacks at Tobias, but Tobias only smirked.
"I already have what I'm after," he said. As the attacks came, he vanished right before they landed, the explosion leaving nothing behind.
—
{On the outside world}
Tobias's body slowly opened its eyes, flickering as he adjusted to being in the real world again. His hand instinctively moved to his belt, and there he felt it, a ball. The Master Ball. And inside it was Darkrai.
As he sat up, he saw Persephone standing nearby, arms crossed, watching him expectantly. Tobias smirked and held up the ball.
"Mission complete. I've collected another fragment of Darkrai."
They didn't know the problems they had just created. All that mattered to them was that they were one step closer to their goal.
—
{Back with the gang}
They had been traveling for hours, so when it got truly dark, they stopped to set up camp and make dinner.
Brock insisted on cooking, especially since Kidd was there, and Ash had no problem with that, he was busy talking with Riley.
You see, the excuse Ash used was more or less the same as before. He explained that he had only ever used his Aura, at least in Lucario's terms, for protection. That seemed to be enough for them to drop the topic of him training since he was a baby.
That explanation was accepted, but then Riley wanted to know what Ash meant by being self-taught, what he could actually do. Riley was still thinking of ways to convince Ash to stay in Rota.
Ash explained just the basics: that he could sense emotions, enhance himself, heal a little, and create barriers. He wasn't technically lying, he really could do all of that. It was just… he was lying by omission.
But again, he could use his Aura to hide his lie from Riley or Lucario noticing the spike in his heart rate, so they believed him.
That didn't stop them from looking utterly horrified, though. Healing and creating barriers were advanced techniques, so advanced that even Riley couldn't heal; his specialty was barriers.
Riley stared at Ash for a long moment, the crackling campfire reflected in his eyes.
"…You said that very casually," he finally said.
Ash shrugged, poking at the dirt with a stick, "I mean, it's just what I learned first."
Lucario, who had been standing a short distance away with his arms crossed, slowly turned his head toward him.
"Those are not 'first lessons,'" Lucario said flatly, "Healing Aura is among the most difficult disciplines. Barriers require extreme control. Even sensing emotions at will is uncommon with untrained Guardians."
"Well, I guess I'm just really good at it," Ash said, scratching the back of his head.
"…You are not normal," Lucario muttered.
"Get used to it," May, Max, Brock, and Sorrel all said in unison, wearing unimpressed looks. Even Pikachu and Vee nodded their heads at that comment.
"Well, I suppose I can give you the basic lessons of Aura," Riley said, "And since we're pretty much family, I'll be a good older cousin and teach you any one technique." He nodded confidently to himself.
Riley was confident that even with someone as naturally talented as Ash, it would still take weeks to learn any technique. That was his plan, he'd start teaching Ash, then they'd finish this adventure and save the Tree of Beginnings. Ash wouldn't be done yet, so he'd stay to learn more, and from there he'd grow interested in mastering the rest. That's how Riley planned to get Ash to stay in Rota.
Ash tapped a finger against his chin. He already knew most of what Aura Guardians taught, he was just hiding it. Heck, he even knew things they probably didn't, like the clone technique. Yeah… definitely not showing that. But there was one thing he'd never quite gotten down.
"Anything?" Ash confirmed.
Riley nodded, "Yep."
"No catch?" Ash asked again, just to be safe.
"Hey, we're family, apparently. I wouldn't lie to you," Riley said, nodding.
"Okay. Can you teach me how to throw Aura Spheres?" Ash asked.
Riley nodded and smiled. After all, that was another advanced technique. It had taken him five months to learn it, and he was considered the fastest human ever to do so, "Of course."
"Alright!" Ash said excitedly. He pulled Mew out of his jacket, took the jacket off, and wrapped Mew in it like a baby. Then he walked over and handed Mew to May before running back to Riley.
"Where do we start?" Ash asked eagerly.
"Okay," Riley said, "First, we need to extract Aura into an orb in your hand. Can you do that?" He was confident Ash wouldn't know this part.
"Oh, that? I know how to do that," Ash said as he held one hand out, a small blue orb forming in his palm. This was one of the ways Ash had tried to learn on his own, he had basically remade the Rasengan by accident, but he couldn't throw it.
Riley blinked a few times, "…Eh?"
"Yeah, I'm not completely dumb," Ash said, putting on his innocent expression, "I did everything I could think of to train. I even used a rock one time."
"A rock…? How… why would that…" Riley started muttering, but he shook his head and sighed, deciding to just continue the lesson.
Meanwhile, Lucario's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't let it show, "Rock training" was something Sir Aaron had used to help train him. Watching Riley and Ash train together, Lucario found himself getting flashes of memories from his own training with Sir Aaron.
It made his chest tighten, remembering the good times, then remembering the betrayal. He wanted to believe Sir Aaron wouldn't have betrayed him, but he had been sealed inside his staff for years. What other way was there to interpret that?
He huffed and looked over at the others, seeing them with their Pokémon out. That girl Ash had been dancing with, May, was feeding the Mythical Mew like a baby that needed pampering, while everyone laughed and joked together. He didn't hear what they were saying; he blocked it out. He didn't want to hear it.
Then he looked at the Pokémon, all eating happily, like everything was normal. He even caught a glimpse of Sorrel's and Riley's Lucarios. Sorrel's looked like an untrained child, but at least Riley's was disciplined, yet even then, they were casually sitting and eating.
He couldn't believe it. Everyone was acting like everything was fine, like everything was normal, when it wasn't. The Tree of Beginnings was in danger. He didn't know what he was supposed to feel. And worst of all, he was here with the descendants of the man he didn't know whether he wanted to hug… or tear apart.
Especially when he could hear Riley talking about how both he and Ash should aspire to be like Sir Aaron, to continue his legacy, praising all the good things he had done.
Lucario stood up abruptly, drawing everyone's attention.
"What's up?" Ash asked.
Lucario huffed, "What's 'up'," he said, attempting to mimic Ash's slang, believe it or not, people in medieval times didn't say "up", "is that you are all sitting here acting like things are normal."
He glared at Ash and Riley, "You two are not at fault for bearing Aaron's blood, so I will not attack you. But hear me well, Sir Aaron was a traitor. He ran away and betrayed me. Do not speak of him as if he were a great hero."
"Hey, that's rude, and we don't even know if that's true," May exclaimed.
"Yeah, what if you're wrong?" Kidd asked, earning a glare from Lucario.
"I will continue to comply for the sake of Mew and the Tree of Beginnings," Lucario said as he turned away, walking toward the cliff's edge, "But do not expect me to swear my loyalty to anyone of Aaron's blood."
That made everyone open their mouths, only to close them again slowly, not knowing what to say to Lucario.
So, of course, Ash did Ash things. He stood up, ran over, and stopped right in front of Lucario.
"So, you're mad, huh?" Ash said, "Or just upset?"
"Out of my way," Lucario said, narrowing his eyes.
"Nah," Ash replied, continuing on, "Let me guess, you're trying to act strong, but you're bottling up all your emotions because you don't know what to think. Am I right?"
Lucario's ears twitched sharply, "Out of my way," he repeated, Aura flickering faintly around his paws.
"Nah," Ash said again, planting his feet, "Not happening."
Lucario glared down at him, "You are testing my patience."
"Yeah, I know," Ash said calmly, "That's kinda the point."
That made Lucario pause.
Ash tilted his head, his expression serious now, no teasing, "Look… what you're doing right now? Bottling everything up? That's pretty normal these days. People pretend they're fine, shove everything down, tell themselves it doesn't matter. Pretty normal. I do it a lot."
"So, you're gonna let that stress out. Sure, we could talk, I could pretend to understand and give you therapy, but we both know that won't work." Ash waved his hands as he smirked, "So, you're mad at Sir Aaron."
Ash shifted his stance, raising his fists, "You said I look like him, right? Then how about it? You wanna let your anger out, I'm right here."
The camp behind them went dead silent.
"ASH—" May started
"Nope," Ash cut in without looking back, "I got this."
Riley stood up as well, tense, "Ash, that's not—"
"It's fine," Ash said lightly, "Besides, I took him down before, right~?" he teased, making everyone remember when Lucario first came out of the crystal and Ash had grabbed him and slammed him to the ground.
Granted, everyone knew full well that had only happened because Lucario was blind at the time and hadn't expected Ash to suddenly shove May out of the way and catch him, but still, the point stood.
And it seemed to work.
Lucario's eye twitched as his Aura flared.
"If you regret this," Lucario said lowly, "that burden is yours alone."
Ash shrugged, "Wouldn't be the first time."
Lucario lunged, throwing a punch at Ash, but Ash ducked, caught his fist, and slammed it into the ground, making the earth shake slightly.
"Come on," Ash said, "Is that the best you've got?"
He didn't counterattack, even though Lucario was wide open.
Lucario growled, leaping back up and swinging again. Ash kept dodging and deflecting. To be fair, Lucario was absolutely stronger than Ash, and Ash wasn't using his other techniques, because that wasn't the point.
Then Lucario suddenly moved in fast and landed a hit across Ash's cheek, forcing him down to one knee, and making a bruise appear on his cheek
May gasped, "ASH!"
Sorrel and Riley were already moving to call their Lucarios to stop this, but Ash raised a hand, signaling them to stay back. Brock, Pikachu, and Vee didn't even move since they figured he was gonna tell them to not get involved
Ash pushed himself up, dirt-streaked and grinning like an idiot, "See? Still standing."
"…Why?" Lucario demanded, his voice shaking now, "Why do you not defend yourself properly?"
"Because," Ash said, raising his thumb and swiping it across the bruise, healing it with Aura as it faded away, "maybe I'm not trying to win."
Then Ash suddenly sprang forward, sweeping Lucario's legs out from under him and sending the dog Pokémon to the ground.
"But then again," Ash added, "maybe I am."
Lucario grunted as he rolled and jumped back to his feet, settling into a stance once more, "So be it…"