Ash Ketchum: Battle of the Ampere

Ch. 29 Another Farewell

I woke up to the sound of talking and I looked at the digital clock next to my bed.  It was already half past nine.  I pulled on my pants and walked out into the kitchen.

Shauna, Zeus, Iris, and Brock were sitting around the table eating omelets.  They stopped talking as I walked in. 

"Hey Ash," Zeus said.

"Good morning," Shauna and Brock said simultaneously.

Iris looked at me sadly and disdainfully.  "Ash."

They were all dressed in the new clothes Raihan had brought, which actually looked surprisingly cool.  It was odd seeing them in clean clothing.

"You look so...normal," I said.

"I know. I hardly recognized myself," Shauna said.

I sat down at the table and looked over at Brock's plate.  His omelet had ham, onions, jack cheese, and peppers.

"That looks really good," I said.

"Iris made them," Brock said.

"I like to cook," Iris said.  "It's kind of my thing. Especially omelets. I'm also good at making crepes." 

"You make crepes?"  I said.

"She makes incredible crepes," Brock said.

"You were holding out on me," I said.

"It's not like I could have made them in the jungle," she said.

A few minutes later Serena and Korrina came into the room.  Serena had her arm around Korrina, whose eyes were puffy.  She looked as if she'd been crying all night.  Brock got up and walked over to her.  "Good morning," he said.  They embraced.

Clemont walked in.  "Something smells good."

"Omelets," Zeus said.  "Iris's specialty."

Clemont looked in the kitchen "You didn't save any for us?"

"Sorry," she replied. "I didn't know when you were getting up."

You thought we'd just let you leave without saying goodbye?" Clemont replied.

She shrugged. "Maybe."

"What time is it?" Serena asked.

"It's almost time for us to go," Iris said. "We're just waiting for Raihan."

Then Calem appeared in the doorway. Shauna's gaze followed him as he walked into the room. Their eyes met, but neither of them spoke.

"Here's Raihan," Brock said. "He's driving up the lane now.'

A couple minutes later Raihan opened the door.  "Vámonos, hermanos," he said.  He looked around at all of us.  "I will give you a few minutes to say good-bye, then we must go."

Korrina walked over to Clemont, and Serena took my hand.  For a moment we all just looked at one another.

Then Shauna walked across the kitchen to us.  She stopped just a few feet in front of me.  "I guess this is it," she said.  "Please don't hate me."

"Sha, when I was in Cell 25, I knew I couldn't take the pain much longer before I'd break.  But I didn't because you saved me.  I don't know which of us is doing the right thing.  All I know for sure is that I'll never be able to repay you for what you did for me."

Shauna's eyes welled up with tears.  I put my arms around her and she broke down crying.  "I'm so sorry, Ash. I wish I were strong like you.  I'm sorry I'm letting you down."