1. Ash's Story (Part 8: Ancient Sinnoh and Ultra Dimensions)

Chapter 30

We wake to some commotion outside our quarters. "Who in their right mind would be so noisy?" Alice mutters, rubbing her eyes.

"I don't know," I respond quietly. Pikachu crackles, seeming ready to zap whoever is causing the disturbance, while Espeon is trying to calm him down.

Dressing quickly and looking outside, we're stunned. The sky has shifted colors, and everyone gazes upward.

"Ash! Alice! Rei!" Akari's urgent call propels us to the Galaxy Hall. Commander Kamado stands on the balcony, having made a decision upon witnessing the colossal space-time rift.

Inside the lab, we want to know what's going on. Laventon explains, "Some sort of dreadful energy seems to be pouring from the rift in space-time...Now the entire sky has gone red!"

Cyllene enters briskly, stating, "I've word from the Commander. You're to report to his office at once."

We exchange frowns, acknowledging her words. We head to the office to find Adaman and Irida already present.

Kamado starts, "Hrmmm...The way the sky has changed...It is ominous. Very ominous indeed."

"What's this about, Commander?" Adaman inquires.

"You did call us here to discuss the quelling of all the nobles...didn't you?" Irida adds.

"That can wait. There is a more pressing concern here that must be addressed. The first strike of that strange lightning, the one that drove Kleavor into a frenzy...It struck the night that Ash, Alice, and Rei fell from the sky, did it not? It only seems natural to think that the two events might be linked in some way," Kamado remarks.

Alice, Rei, and I exchange worried glances as Kamado directs his attention toward us. "Who or what are you really, Ash, Rei, and Alice?"

"Well...we...we came from a distant place and became members of the Survey Corps..." I start to explain.

"Indeed, you've done all I ordered. But that does not answer the question of who you really are. You came from the rift - as did the lightning. You're connected to these frenzies, are you not?!" Kamado presses.

"We're not..." Alice weakly replies, but Kamado persists, "Did you think to gain our trust by quelling the frenzies you yourself brought about? And having gained our trust, what then? What is it you're really after here?"

"We just want to help...so we can return home," I murmur.

"Hold on, Commander..." Adaman tries to intervene, joined by Irida. "There's nothing to suggest Ash, Alice, and Rei have wronged us!"

"Exactly. And besides, do you really think they've got the sort of fearsome power it'd take to make all this happen?" Adaman asks.

"Let me ask you in turn - can you prove beyond a doubt that he is free from guilt?" Kamado challenges. "These people - these strangers appeared out of a rift in space-time! Who here can guarantee they are who they say? Who here can guarantee they are to be trusted?"

"But that's...No one can do that! You're asking us to prove a negative!" Irida protests. "How is anyone supposed to prove the absence of all doubt?!"

"Come on - let's be reasonable. What are Ash, Alice, and Rei supposed to do, then?" Adaman questions.

After some contemplation, Kamado declares, "They will be given the chance to investigate this latest disaster...But not as members of the Galaxy Team. They remain suspect unless they can clear their names. There are those in our village who cannot trust strangers like you who fell from the sky. And so I must ask you to leave. You are no longer welcome in the Galaxy Team. Considered yourself banished from this village until you can explain why these calamities keep befalling our good people...No - until you've restored our world to its rightful state and proven your innocence beyond doubt! Is that clear, Cyllene?"