Just to prevent confusion... This chapter is written from a different
character's perspective. The first two chapters were from Ash's journal,
but from this point on, the characters basically take turns writing
chapters.
I've tried to start this story in ten different ways, but not a
single one seemed right. So I shall begin thus: the words do not exist,
in the English language or any other, to express what Ash Ketchum and
his friends have meant to me. Travelers from a world I can never enter,
linked to this one by a portal that I cannot see; they have touched me
and left their own indelible mark. Ever since the horrible curse touched
my beloved Gwynne, I wasn't sure what gave me the will to live, but now
that I have met Ash and his friends, I am glad I found that incentive.
Which makes it all the more ironic that I was forced to leave Ash to
such a horrible fate...
Yes, that will do for a beginning...
POKEMON: The Portal - Chapter 3
I don't know why I told Ash about Gwynne's fate. I hadn't mentioned
it to anybody since it happened. I suppose it was because Ash had been
so honest with me, a complete stranger who had attacked him at first
sight. A horrible mistake on my part, but now that he understood the
nature of the world that he had entered, he had found it in his heart to
forgive me, and I did everything I could to make it up to him. As we
traveled back toward the site of the portal, I asked Ash to tell me
about his world. Namely, I wanted to learn all that I could about the
strange creatures called Pokemon.
"It's simple," explained Ash. "Pokemon are... well, it's easy to
understand but hard to explain. Let's put it this way. There are animals
in your world, right?" I nodded. "Pokemon are sort of like animals, but
most of them can fight if they have to. Humans can catch Pokemon in
these Pokeballs." He held one of the balls in his belt up as a
demonstration. "We call them out whenever we need to, and they fight for
us. That way, humans don't get hurt in the fights."
"But don't the Pokemon get hurt?" I asked.
"Not really. They go unconscious when they get too weak from
battling. Then you just take them to the Pokemon Center to have them
healed."
"Ah, they have curative magic at these Centers?"
Ash shook his head once again. "There's no magic in my world,
remember? It's all technology. There are machines in the Pokemon Centers
that can rejuvenate Pokemon to full health in a matter of seconds." He
shrugged. "But there probably aren't any machines in your world, are
there?"
"We have machines," I explained. "They take most of the work out of
curing herbs for potions. But there probably aren't any potions in your
world..."
Ash laughed, a friendly laugh. "Our worlds are more alike than I
thought."
Suddenly, I felt the familiar sense of impending danger. Werewolves,
at least three of them. "You're about to meet something that may make
you eat those words," I warned him, summoning a magic staff. The
werewolves leaped from the trees not seconds later, and I cursed myself
for letting the conversation distract me so. I quickly prepared a fire
spell, and let a small tongue of flame appear in front of the
werewolves. Unfazed, they advanced on us, proving that they were
domesticated rather than wild.
"Run!" I shouted. "I'll hold them off!"
"No! I'll help you!" Ash threw one of his Pokeballs, which summoned
a great red dragon. Although I trusted Ash, I couldn't prevent myself
from taking several steps away from the beast, and even the werewolves
hesitated in their relentless stalking. But Ash had the creature under
his control. "Charizard, Flamethrower!" he commanded, and the dragon
responded by breathing fire upon the attacking werewolves. The
werewolves barely flinched as the flames rolled past without so much as
singeing their fur.
I quickly cast a lightning spell, watching closely as the jagged
stream of electricity arced neatly around the werewolves, continuing
straight on until it faded several feet beyond. Sure enough, runes of
protection glowed faintly on the wolves' fur as my spell crackled
through the nearby air. "These werewolves are protected!" I shouted,
raising a wall of stone between us and the werewolves. "Our magic won't
touch them!" I grabbed my magic staff in both hands and prepared to use
it as a striking weapon as the werewolves charged around the wall and
attacked us from two sides.
I had expected Ash to take the opportunity to run while I held off
the werewolves, but his dragon wasn't through yet. "Charizard, Slash!"
he ordered, and the dragon lashed out with its huge claws, tearing
werewolf flesh and spilling a gallon of blood onto the path. I swung my
staff at the werewolves coming from the other direction, crunching bones
with every swing - having magically enhanced my physical strength, of
course.
Fortunately, whoever had cast the protective spell over these
werewolves had neglected to protect them against physical attacks - an
understandable oversight, since there was no way that two men, however
strong, could have defeated six werewolves without the benefit of attack
magic. It was Ash's Charizard that enabled us to survive the assault.
But even though we had emerged almost unscathed, I knew that we were not
safe.
"Someone wants us dead," I gasped, short of breath from the exertion
of the battle. "Someone with strong magical power. To control six
werewolves and keep up just as many spells of protection takes more
power than I could channel in a week."
"Why would anyone want to kill us?" asked Ash.
"I don't know. It is possible that this attack was targeted at you
by a powerful sorcerer who sees you as a threat."
"Why would I be considered a threat?"
"To an observer, your ability to summon Pokemon might be confused
with the ability to summon familiars. Even the most powerful magicians
cannot summon two familiars, but you can summon up to six with ease. I
know that I would feel threatened by such a display of power."
Ash held out one of his Pokeballs, pointing it toward the dragon.
"Great work, Charizard. Return!" A red beam emerged from the Pokeball
and surrounded Charizard, drawing it into the tiny ball. "It's just
natural for me to call out my Pokemon when I'm attacked. There's no
magic about it."
"A powerful, eccentric magic user wouldn't see it that way. And if
he did, that just makes it worse. A non-magic user who can summon six
creatures would be a great threat indeed, especially if he were to learn
magic..." Ash nodded thoughtfully, and we hastily continued on toward
the portal.
"Pika! Pi!" chirped Pikachu, the oversized mouse that rode on Ash's
shoulder.
"Can you understand what it's saying?" I asked out of curiosity.
Ash shrugged, careful to avoid dislodging Pikachu. "She was my first
Pokemon, and we've spent a lot of time together. I can't really
understand what she says, but I get the basic idea. She says that this
place looks familiar to her."
I nodded. "We're nearing the place where we first met."
"Pikaaa..."
"Pikachu's nervous," explained Ash. "She smells something in the
air."
I concentrated, searching for signs of danger. It was faint, but
there was a detectable hint of trouble. "We should move quickly. The
sooner you get back to your world, the less chance of any more
encounters with the dangerous side of mine."
"I actually enjoyed having a real battle," said Ash. "I never
realized how tame a Pokemon battle was until now. Being in a truly
life-threatening situation makes me feel more alive!" He took off his
red cap with the odd forward brim and let the breeze blow through his
short black hair. "I'm beginning to like this world a lot."
"Have you forgotten the danger, Ash Ketchum? There's a magic user
out there somewhere who wants to kill you! The only way to keep you safe
is to get you back to your world."
"I still have my Pokemon," he pointed out. "They can handle
anything."
"That's as may be, but the point is moot. You're not staying in this
world indefinitely, remember? Once we reach the portal, you're returning
to your world, and that will be the end of it. It's my fault that you
were drawn into this world so completely in the first place, and I'm
going to see you safely out of it. But there my obligation to you ends."
"I know... and I appreciate the help. But as long as the portal
stays open, I'd like to come back and visit sometimes. There's danger in
this world, but there's also adventure. I might try to learn some magic,
and learn to fight hand-to-hand, like you did against those werewolves."
"The world you described to me is a world of peace," I argued,
hoping to dissuade Ash. "These are troubled times in my world, and you
have no place in them. I would not see you killed needlessly because of
your inexperience. Believe me, there are dangers here that even your
Pokemon cannot protect you from."
"Pika, pi pikachu!" exclaimed Pikachu, holding her head high. I
needed no translation to understand that Pikachu's pride would not allow
her to let any harm come to Ash.
The edge of the forest came into view, and Ash ran ahead to reach
the clearing where I had first seen him. As I exited the forest, Ash
turned back to me with a quizzical look on his face. "Are you sure this
is the right clearing?"
"This is exactly where you appeared." I pointed to the spot where I
had first seen Ash, but his disappointment only grew. It was the right
clearing, no question about it, but the portal was not there. Ash fell
to his knees, and Pikachu patted him on the cheek reassuringly. I didn't
know what I could do, if anything, to soften the terrible blow that had
been dealt. For Ash Ketchum, there was no way home.
"How could this happen? Why isn't it here?"
I placed my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ash. It is because I
attacked you that I had to carry you so far from the portal. Apparently,
it could only remain open for a short time, and that time has expired."
Ash sullenly pushed my hand away. "It's not your fault, Dominic. I
shouldn't have come through the portal in the first place. I was -
distracted, that's all. I had a fight with a friend, and I wanted to get
away. I guess I went a few steps too far." He tried to force a laugh,
but tears began to form instead.
"If the portal opened once, it will surely open again," I said.
"Such is the nature of magic in this world. We must simply wait until
that time comes."
"How long do you think it will take?" he asked. I did not know the
answer to his question, but I was - rather unmercifully - spared the
difficulty of trying to explain this to Ash by the intervention of an
evil sorceress - obviously the source of the trouble I had scented
earlier.
"It will take far longer than the amount of time you have left to
live," threatened the sorceress as she appeared before us, her crimson
robe rising around her body like a shield as she faded into view. Ash's
lips curled into a sneer, and Pikachu's cheeks sparked.
"Ash," I warned, "don't let your temper cloud your judgment! It's
folly to directly attack a sorceress!"
"Who are you?" he asked of the sorceress. "What do you want with
us?"
"Isn't it obvious?" replied the sorceress. "I want your magic belt."
Ash grabbed one of the Pokeballs from his belt. "If you want this
belt, you're going to have to fight me for it!"
I grabbed Ash's shoulder and held him back. "It's not wise to
challenge a sorceress, Ash. Even I would think twice before issuing such
an ultimatum."
"Triesha accepts your challenge," said the sorceress, raising her
hand. A fireball formed in her hand and grew as she spoke.
Ash quickly threw the Pokeball to the ground. "Charizard, go!" Once
again, the huge dragon appeared, the flame on the tip of its tail dim
compared to the fire in Ash's eyes. "Flamethrower attack!"
Triesha effortlessly caught the flames and absorbed them into the
fireball in her hand. "An interesting fire attack, but hardly effective.
Perhaps I overestimated your power. Allow me to demonstrate the proper
use of flame." She launched the fireball at Ash, but Charizard stretched
out a wing to intercept the attack. Ash gasped as the flames caught in
the leathery hide.
"Wartortle, I choose you!" he shouted, throwing another Pokeball.
The large turtle with cannons on its back that I had seen in the cave
emerged. "Try your Water Gun!" Wartortle took aim with its cannons and
fired, not at the flaming wing as I had expected, but at the sorceress.
The water splashed against an invisible barrier in front of Triesha, but
the sheer force of the water pushed her backwards. Triesha grimaced and
held her arms out in front of her, reversing the stream of water and
redoubling its force. The heavier stream of water overwhelmed the turtle
and knocked it onto its back.
The dragon, meanwhile, had beaten out the flames in its wing and now
inhaled deeply, preparing to breathe fire on the sorceress once again.
She turned her water on the dragon, hitting it full in the snout and
extinguishing its flame. The dragon collapsed beside the turtle,
unconscious. Ash held out the two Pokeballs; I hadn't seen him pick them
up, but they were in his hand when he needed them to be. "Wartortle,
Charizard, return!" he shouted, and the red beams drew the Pokemon
inside.
"Your familiars are weak, Ash," taunted the sorceress. "Hand them to
me; I will teach them to be strong."
"You have no choice, Ash," I told him. "She's far too powerful. My
magic will do nothing against her protective spells."
"No!" he shouted. "I won't ever give up! Pikachu, Thunder!" Pikachu
gave a battle cry, and lightning filled the sky around the sorceress.
But once again, Triesha plucked the electricity from the sky in her bare
hands and hurled it at Ash. Before Pikachu could intervene, the
lightning spell caught Ash and threw him several yards backwards, where
he landed in a smoking heap on the grass.
"I enjoyed that," Triesha mused as Ash painfully rose to his feet.
"But such pitiful opponents do not amuse me for long." A ball of light
took shape in her hands. "Now, hand over the belt before I grow bored
and finish the job of killing you!" But Ash's eyes were focused beyond
the sorceress, staring into empty space behind her. She turned to look
over her shoulder, but there was nothing there.
"I'll cover you, Ash!" I shouted. "Run away, and don't worry about
me!" I summoned power from the elements and prepared an ice spell.
Triesha, who had not yet seen my full power, bolstered her defenses and
braced herself against my spell. While she was so occupied, Ash darted
around her and ran toward the spot where he had first appeared the day
before.
"No! You will not escape!" shouted the sorceress, turning to attack
Ash. While she was distracted, I quickly cast the ice spell, and
crystals of ice began to form under her skin. It took her no time at all
to reverse the effect, but the counterspell broke her concentration,
allowing Ash the time to reach his goal. To my utter astonishment, he
vanished as soon as he reached the place where the portal had been.
Triesha's expression metamorphosed rapidly from surprise to
understanding. "The portal is not of this world," she whispered, barely
audible to my acute hearing. "We cannot see it or use it, but he can do
both." Her voice rose to a shout, presumably meant to carry across the
void from one world to the next. "If you choose to escape through this
portal, I cannot stop you! However, your magician friend will suffer in
your stead." I hastily erected a protective spell, but I knew that it
would not be nearly enough. The pain lanced through my body, and I fell
to the ground, flat on my back, unable to move a muscle except to scream
in pain.
Suddenly, I received a temporary reprieve. The pain receded
slightly, and I forced all of my willpower into pushing the wall of pain
back enough that I could lift my head to look. Ash had reappeared - had
come back through the portal to rescue me, even though his own life
would be forfeit as a result. I could not let that happen... I lashed
out with a force spell, throwing Ash backwards through the portal.
Before Ash could return again, I felt for the magic of the portal, found
a strange aura that was not of this world, and sealed it as best I
could. Then the pain returned as the sorceress returned her full
attention to me.
"Foolish magician. Trying so hard to deprive me of what I want...
you obviously have a death wish." The words formed into a cruel smile
within my mind. "Triesha is only too happy to oblige." The pain grew
until it consumed my every thought, and I felt my mind being torn apart
as the world faded to blackness...
---------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to "Whose Line is it Anyway?" where we make things up as we go
along, whether they make sense or badger.
JOHNNY BRAVO: *sigh* The only woman I ever really loved... and she's
gone. I wonder if I'll ever get over - Hey! Nuggets!
JACKIE CHAN: Oh, sorry. I broke your spy camera! (pause) SPY CAMERA?!
My webpage: http://www.rose-hulman.edu/~katinamp