8. Ash's Torren Story

Chapter 5: The School Tournament

Somewhere in the world, Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother, is lying on a bed inside of a place that seems to be a gym. "Delia." A man is by her side as he is trying to wake her up.

After calling so many times, Delia manages to open her eyes. "Delia, are you alright?"

Delia's vision starts to become clear and she sees a person in front of her. It is a man with raven hair and he has a beard, he is also wearing black clothes and there is a Greninja that is beside him. Seeing Delia waking up, he shows a relieved smile. Delia gasps as she recognizes the person in front of her, and tears are coming out of her eyes.

"Adam, is that you?" Delia asks. Adam gives her an assuring smile and he nods. Delia then forces herself up in order to hug the man she loved. She can't believe it, but after separating for so many years, she finally gets to see him again.

"Please tell me it is a dream. I thought I won't be able to see you again..." Delia says while melting into the hug.

"I am sorry, ever since the Crystal is in my hands, you and Ash have to leave the Torren Region..." Adam says with a frown, but right now he should enjoy the hug from the wife that he hasn't met for a lot of years.

After the hug, she looks out the window and finds that the sky is black with visions that are about Ash's journey, including the betrayal from Professor Oak and the othersr. "Where exactly are we?"

"We are not in the world we live in, you can say we are in the dream realm, a place that is accessed from within Ash's subconscious." Adam says.

"Ash's subconscious? Does that mean those visions in the sky are Ash's memories? Just how did we get here in the first place?" Delia asks in horror.

"As you know, I was the Augur of the Torren Region, my job is to defeat the cults that are terrorizing the region. I may have defeated half of them, but..." Adam says. "The Sky Cult and the Cult of Darkrai, I wanted to protect Nora from them, but I was captured."

"Nora? Speaking of her, how is she? Is she safe?" Delia asks.

"She is protected by Celebi, so she is fine." Adam says. "But after I was captured, I also saw you guys there as well. Then Persephone, the leader of the Darkrai Cult, she uses us to perform rituals to summon Darkrai, and as we become the Sacrifice, we are here."

"The Cult of Darkrai? Speaking of them, they are the ones that kidnapped us." Delia says. Then he explains the betrayal, and Adam frowns. "I know something is fishy about Professor Oak. But how can he do that to our son?"

"I don't know. But before I can tell Ash about the Timeless, we were kidnapped. But if Ash isn't here...then..."

"Ash is still in the real world." Adam says. "Persephone wants to use Dream Eater in order to kill us, but if we are still here, that means that Ash has escaped."

Delia says, "I hope he will be fine... he is already in pain and I don't want him to suffer because of us..."

Back in Midna Town, Ash, Lillie, Nora, Gladion and Emily are back at the Pokemon Trainers' school. The students are being a little impatient until they notice their return. The teacher also says, "There you are, Nora. We are so worried about you."

"I am sorry, I forgot about the tournament..." Nora says sheepishly. "Besides, teacher. This is Ash, he is my long-lost brother."

Both the students and the teacher are shocked. Damien says, "Seriously? Nora is related to you?"

Ash says, "It is not a good story to be honest, because of my Dad's duties, our family has to split up and I went to Kanto along with my mother while Nora stayed with Dad."