Ash had lost the track of time.
Then again, a lot of things had changed over the past few minutes. His threshold for pain had increased manifold times, his new constant was what he considered to be suicidal past few years ago.
The shock waves had changed the chemistry of his body, mind, and soul. He didn't know how he was still alive, by this time he should've been dead.
Maybe he was still dying, he'd heard from Gary that after a person dies they still had 7 minutes of brain activity left, maybe the dreams he was seeing was his leftover brain activity.
"What I'm going to do, Charlie Blue!" He saw a man exasperate in pain, he looked an awful lot like Ash, he had the same hair, eyes, and even body. Except Ash has two thunderbolt scars on his cheeks and the man had one.
He was sitting in an empty bar that looked old, almost like the one he'd seen at the Raider Manor. Sitting next to him was another man perhaps the same age, he looked like Gary a lot except for his hair which hung like a mullet over his head.
"How would I now?" The man named Charlie said, "I gave you my supply didn't I?"
"And I used it!" He looked drunk, "but... Charlie!"
Charlie patted the man's back, "I want to say it'll work out for the best but..." he took a deep breath before bursting into a laugh, "...it's hilarious!"
He looked at Charlie with a grotesque expression. "Laugh all you want, I can't wait to see your face when this happens to you."
The smile on Charlie's face disappeared, "Did Beth say something? She did, didn't she? Fuck!" He grabbed a handful of his hair and buried his face on the table.
The man smacked Charlie's head, "No Beth didn't say anything! My Diane did! What am I going to do?!"
"I don't know!"
"I mean, I can't be a father! I've barely grown up! I don't even eat my vegetables and Dex... Arceus, Spandex is going to get so jealous, and... oh Arceus the war! What if... what if something happens to me?"
Charlie sighed and put his hand affectionately on the man's back. "Nothing will happen to you, Jamsie. I promise it."
Jamsie and Charlie... thought Ash, why are my father and Charlus doing in my neuron induced hallucination?
The scene shifted dramatically, Ash found himself in a lavish hotel room. The sheets on the four-poster bed were all white and the drapes and the chandeliers were decorated in delicate golden work.
Ash saw a certain honey blond sitting at the corner of the bed, her hands were clutching a certain paper of sorts. She looked in shock, almost as if she was shaking. Ash walked a little closer to her, he had a feeling who it was but if he could just...
Before he could step up, the woman got up quite angrily and threw the paper across the room. It skidded along on the clean floor and ended a few inches away from him. Ash bent down next to it and saw the front cover.
It was Ash and Misty, a picture snapped by a Paparazzi. Ash was standing behind her, holding her waist as they watched the sunset, Misty's head was resting on his shoulder.
The headline was 'Spotted: Blossoming love in the Cerulean City!'
It had been such a long time that Ash had forgotten about the little headline, ever since he won the Indigo Plateau master league, he'd found out that people were especially very interested in learning about his love life. It was Misty who'd warned him.
The thought of her sent a wrenching down his gut, the horrible break up they'd suffered was still giving him nightmares.
The woman now had her hands wrapped around her neck as if she was supporting it, she took a few breaths and tried to recompose herself.
It almost seemed to be working but then she screamed on top of her lungs.
She turned around and tore off the bed-sheet, the curtain, and several vases that were lavishly decorated. She took down the drapes, the curtain rod fell with a thump echoing all around the room. She broke the mirror in a fit of anger along with several other breakable things.
Finally, when she stopped, black lines ran down her face, her eyes were full of tears, and her hair askew.
The girl was Serena, back when she still had the honey in her hair.
"That... that... that son of a!" She screamed before breaking into a cry.
Ash's heart did somersaults as he remembered the passive behavior Serena had when he'd told her about Misty. It was because she had already known.
Serena took out her phone when her cry was over, she composed herself by taking a few deep breaths. She then took out her phone and dialed a certain number.
A smile crept upon her face as she said, "Hello Clemont? I would like to reconsider your offer, I'd love to go to the Cafe with you."
The scene changed again and this time, Ash found himself back in the room with the electric chair and the screen. He wanted to say that the shocks had stopped but Ash had no idea at all. His whole body was numb and his eyes were unfocused.
"...is he dead...?"
"What no!"
"Look at him!" He felt a warm hand around his face, "he's... the bridges are closing in!"
"He's not dead! He... he has to live!"
"His breathing... it's..."
"What are you implying, Serena? You want to leave him for dead?!"
"What no! I'd leave you here sooner than I'd leave him!"
"That's the spirit! Help me get him up!"
The two voices were Gary and Serena, Ash could recognize their voices even on the bridge of death. He was hearing their voices, it could only mean one thing that he was alive.
His neuron induced hallucination wasn't real, it was the Unown messing with him like before. It meant that it was near, the ancient relic that they were after, the one his mother had warned them about.
But Gary and Serena didn't know, he had to tell them but he was too weak to even open his eyes.
Soldier through, he told himself, it'll all be over in a second.
He shot his eyes open, he was leaning against his friend for support and the room was buzzing red. It created a vivid headache but Ash soldiered through.
"Un... own..." he said but no one heard.
"Un... own..." he kept repeating but his voice was overpowered by the blazing alarms.
Ash then tugged whatever he could get his hands on.
"What the—" said Serena as she turned, "Ash? Oh my God, you're alive!"
He kept on muttering the word, this time, Serena brought her ear closer to his mouth.
"What's he saying?" Asked Gary.
Serena hesitated to answer, "Unown."
"It's here?!"
She nodded, "It was messing with his mind earlier... but there is no time, we have to go."
But Gary didn't bulge, he knew the seriousness of the situation but he also knew that if they let it slide this time, they'd never be able to catch it again. After all, he'd witnessed its mighty dimension. If it was able to create such a complex dimension all by itself, there was no telling what would happen if the apocalypse got their hands on it.
"Ash is right, we have to find it."
"Ash is deranged!" Argued Serena, "if we don't get him—"
"I'd he wakes up and realized that he suffered for nothing! That will destroy him! You know how he is!"
Serena bit her lip, seeing Ash in the condition he was in was tough. It had rattled her to her core. She didn't care about the Apocalypse of the world, all she cared about was Ash.
She didn't want to live in a world he wasn't in.
Just as she struggled to search for answers, a certain yellow light buzzed in front of her. Her jaw dropped open as she pointed towards the source.
"I don't think we have to..."
In front of them was the stelae, glowing in a certain yellow light. The letter omega was burning across its surface.
"What is happening?" Asked Gary.
The intensity of the light increased manifold times that it caused their eyes to close. By the time they opened, the stelae were gone, and in its place was a small stone in the shape of omega.