The Lyoko Warriors watched, twitching, as a 10-year-old Ash began frantically pacing back and forth, spewing odd phrases like, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I wasted all those years for nothing!¡± ¡°I look like an idiot in a uniform at this age!¡± ¡°Gah, my voice is scratchy¡¦¡± and finally, pulling at his spiky black hair, cried, ¡°Oh, what am I going to do?!¡±

Ash wailed as he sank to his knees, letting go of his hair and slumping his shoulders with his head down, ¡°I¡¯m done! I really screwed up this time¡¦¡±

¡°Pikapi.¡± Pikachu nudged Ash¡¯s arm, grabbing his attention. He held up the Egg to him, pointing at the new dial that had been turned.

¡°Huh¡¦?¡± Ash was puzzled at first then his expression brightened when the light bulb in his head went off. ¡°Pikachu, you¡¯re a genius!¡± ? he grabbed the Egg from Pikachu ? ¡°If turning the dial on made me this way, then turning the dial off should reverse it!¡±

Jeremie¡¯s eyes shot wide open, waking him from his daze in alarm.

¡°Uh-oh¡¦¡± Jin frowned.

¡°I¡¯ve seen that look before¡¦¡± Aelita and Ulrich commented simultaneously.

¡°If we can fix this, we could probably fix the sky, too-ow!¡± Ash was interrupted by a swift smack on the back of his head by a metallic object. The pain from the impact continued to ring in Ash¡¯s ears.

¡°Has your brain grown smaller, too?!¡± Jeremie roared behind Ash and Pikachu, causing a chill to rush up their spines. ¡°Nothing that involves tampering with something as great as the structure of the Universe is ever that simple!¡±

Growling with frustration, Ash leapt to his feet and faced Jeremie, having to look up to meet his glare for the first time since their encounter. Pikachu followed suit. ¡°Well, at least I-!¡±

Ash was interrupted yet again, but this time by his own thoughts. Realization hit him as he took a step back to be able to see Jeremie¡¯s face better.

¡°You know something about the Egg!¡± Ash exclaimed.

Jeremie gritted his teeth and avoided eye contact. ¡°N-not really¡¦¡±

Ash stepped forward, grabbed Jeremie by the collar and pulled him down to his level, which caught the teen by surprise.

¡°Hey!¡± Jeremie yelped.

¡°Tell me everything you know, now!¡± Ash demanded.

¡°I wish I could, but I¡¯m forbidden to do so!¡± Jeremie exclaimed.

¡°Why not?!¡±

¡°Pika Pikachu?!¡± Pikachu cried simultaneously, just as angry as his trainer.

¡°Because the information is to incomprehensible for you to understand and if misinterpreted it could lead to the Universe falling to oblivion!¡±

¡°Tsch! Please, I¡¯ve been living with incomprehensible crap for the last eight years! I¡¯m an 18-year-old Pokemon Ranger, for crying out loud!¡±

¡°What does that have to do with anything?!¡± Jeremie retorted.

Ash¡¯s grip tightened on Jeremie¡¯s collar. In a low, intimidating voice, Ash replied, ¡°Do you want to see what a Ranger mission for me is like¡¦?¡±

Jeremie swallowed hard. (He had heard stories from Jack and Dinah about what life was like as an Undercover Ranger, since Jack was also one. Infiltrating bases of dangerous criminal organizations and having to even take back or steal something from them. But, this was Ash: the one who managed to cause a tear in the sky because of a tiny mishap that could have happened to anyone.) ¡°No thanks.¡± He croaked.

As Ash released his grip on Jeremie¡¯s collar, he threw him backwards with a shove, causing him to fall on his back and think, ¡°Why are kids always the scariest¡¦?¡±

¡°I think you¡¯d better spill the beans, Jer.¡± Odd frowned.

Jeremie turned to face Odd to retort, but ended up seeing the expressions of his friends matching with that of Ash¡¯s moments before.

Jeremie sighed as he growled while standing up, ¡°Damn you, Jack¡¦¡±

Ash¡¯s eyes widened as his ears caught wind of what was said. ¡°Jack knows about the Egg?!¡±

Jeremie sighed. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to dead meat later, but yeah. Way more than any of us do.¡±

¡°I didn¡¯t know this part¡¦¡± Yumi frowned.

¡°All we know was that the Egg ? if released all at once ? would cause catastrophe to break out into the Universe.¡± Jin added.

Jeremie let out an irritated sigh. ¡°Look, I can¡¯t give details, but according to Jack, in a nutshell, that Egg holds the powers and memories of the legendary Pokemon god, Ho-oh. When one seal is released, it unleashes a raw version of a portion of Ho-oh¡¯s power. That explains why you became ten again.¡±

¡°Because that was when I first saw him¡¦¡± Ash muttered.

¡°Probably.¡± Jeremie nodded, his arms crossed across his chest.

¡°So, that¡¯s all?¡±

¡°For now. You¡¯ll learn everything else on your own later.¡±

Just then, the tear exploded with a golden, blinding light, illuminating the sky. A squealing engine failing accompanied a small aircraft leaving behind a trail of smoke, crashing into a forest in the distance with a resounding crash.

As the lights faded away, the group ran to the edge of the Undine to get a closer look.

¡°What the hell was that?!¡± Ash exclaimed.

¡°I¡¯d watch your mouth, kid.¡± Odd grinned tauntingly.

Ash growled. ¡°I oughta plaster your mouth shut!¡±

¡°It¡¯s a visitor.¡± Jeremie replied, interrupting the squabble between Ash and Odd.

¡°Come on, sis!¡± Jin called as he ran over to where the NavSkids were parked. He jumped into the hatch of his own.

As Yumi followed suit, Ash called, ¡°Hey, wait for me!¡±

¡°Pika pika!¡± Pikachu cried as well as he jumped up onto Ash¡¯s shoulder as he jumped into a NavSkid.

¡°Do you even know how to drive a NavSkid, Ash?¡± Jin frowned.

¡°I¡¯ve ridden similar vehicles before.¡± Ash replied with a childish grin.

¡°Hey, where are you guys going?!¡± Jeremie hollered after them.

¡°Where else?¡± Jin replied with a toothy grin.

¡°You guys stay here, we¡¯ll be right back!¡± Yumi chimed as she closed the hatch.

Ash jumped into his own NavSkid and easily recognized the controls from the mini-sub he had to drive once over eight years ago during his travels.

He pressed a button to close the NavSkid¡¯s hatch and pressed a series of buttons before easing the vehicle out of its socket.

¡°Well, whaddya know?¡± Jin smirked, talking to his sister. ¡°He actually does know how to drive this thing.¡±

¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Ash exclaimed as he drove ahead of the Ishiyama Twins.

¡°Pika pika!¡± Pikachu cried excitedly in agreement.

¡°Hey!¡± Jin hollered after the newcomer. Just then, a window popped up on his computer screen with his sister¡¯s face on it.

¡°Is he really eighteen like us?¡± Yumi asked with a hint of aggravation in her voice.

Jin sighed. ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say like us¡¦¡±

¡°By the way, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask¡¦¡±

Ash asked as his NavSkid was being guided by a cord made of plasma by the Ishiyama Twins. ¡°What are your names?¡±

Yumi smiled. ¡°Yumi Ishiyama.¡±

Jin bowed his head like a gentleman. ¡°Jin Ishiyama, at your service.¡±

¡°My name¡¯s Ash Ketchum, and this is Pikachu.¡± Ash grinned.

¡°Pika!¡± Pikachu chimed.

¡°Oh, we know you, for sure.¡± Yumi replied. ¡°Jack told us all about you.¡±

¡°Said that you were probably the craziest person on the Espionage Team.¡± Jin added.

Ash chuckled sheepishly, scratching his head with one hand, steering the NavSkid with the other. ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t say ¡®craziest¡¯¡¦¡± ? he turned to Pikachu, irritation noted in his voice ? ¡°Remind me to have a word with Jack when we get back¡¦¡±

¡°Pika¡¦¡± Pikachu sighed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as well.

¡°There it is.¡± Jin announced, sending a visual of a totaled blue space coupe. ¡°Chances are there are probably people down there, too.¡±

¡°We should see if they¡¯re okay.¡± Ash suggested, a serious expression painted on his face.

¡°Pikachu¡¦¡± Pikachu agreed with an affirmative nod.

¡°Alright, we¡¯re going down.¡± Yumi proclaimed as she and Jin led the NavSkids at a clear landing a few meters away from the crash site.

¡°Now you¡¯ve done it!¡± a Hispanic teen with shoulder-length brown hair and bangs exclaimed at her male, red-haired partner, whose skin was quite pale. His blue eyes returned her brown-eyed glare.

¡°Oh, I¡¯ve done it?!¡± the male argued. ¡°Who was the one who reached for the steering wheel while I was driving through that rough patch in the Time Stream?!¡±

¡°What, so it¡¯s my fault now?!¡± the girl retorted.

¡°What else does it sound like, Nezzie?!¡±

The girl that the boy had called ¡°Nezzie¡± had her cheeks turn red as she punched the boy¡¯s stomach, causing a grunt to escape his mouth.

¡°Don¡¯t call me Nezzie, Matthew!¡± the girl sneered.

As the teens continued to argue over whose fault it was that the ¡°cybercoupe¡± had crash landed, the Ishiyama Twins, Ash and Pikachu stood at a safe distance, watching the feud with awkward faces.

¡°You think they¡¯re married?¡± Jin asked half-jokingly.

¡°By the looks of it, maybe.¡± Yumi replied a little too seriously.

The yelling was driving him insane, and he had a feeling that this could go on for a while. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands and rushed over to the arguing couple.

¡°Hey, guys¡¦ Let¡¯s calm down here shall-whoa!¡± Ash fell onto the ground when the teens replied angrily, ¡°Stay out of this!¡±

¡°Huh?¡± the boy blinked. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s a kid.¡±

Ash furrowed when he heard the word ¡°kid¡± and shot to his feet. ¡°Who you calling a kid?! I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯m probably older than you!¡±

¡°Oh yeah?¡± the boy laughed. ¡°How old are you, ten?¡±

¡°For your information, I¡¯m eighteen!¡± Ash retorted, ignoring Pikachu¡¯s warning nudges that tried to remind him that his years were reverse by the Egg.

The boy threw his head back and continued to let out hearty laughs. ¡°Inez, this guy¡¯s a hoot!¡±

Inez shook her head in dismay and embarrassment at both her partner and the boy before a golden glint from the boy¡¯s bag caught her eye. Closer inspection showed that it was an elliptical-shaped sphere with wings and knobs made of gold and semi-precious stones; an all-too-familiar object.

¡°Wait, Matt. I think he¡¯s telling the truth.¡± Inez replied, remembering one of the mysterious creature¡¯s abilities.

¡°Huh?¡± the boy named Matt stopped laughing with a dubious expression on his face. ¡°What makes you think that?¡±

A distance away, Yumi¡¯s cellphone began ringing. After she checked the caller ID, she answered the phone. ¡°What¡¯s up, Jeremie?¡±

¡°Info on the new arrivals.¡± Jeremie replied. ¡°One of them has a pink marble embedded into her neck. That marble supposedly holds unbelievable powers.¡±

¡°Wow.¡± Yumi blinked.

¡°Another thing.¡± Jeremie added, his voice grave.

¡°Hm?¡± Yumi inquired.

Ash yelped as a force of energy knocked him to the ground again. The girl held a knife to his throat.

¡°They¡¯re after the Egg.¡±

¡°Hand over the Egg.¡± Inez demanded in a dark tone.

Ash scoffed, scaring the teens with his sudden maturity. He glared up at them. ¡°Don¡¯t think that a knife like that is going to scare me.¡±

Inez¡¯s breath caught in her throat as a yellow blur suddenly tackled her in the stomach, knocking her back onto the space coupe.

¡°Hey!¡± Matt cried, whipping out a blue handheld device, releasing a blade made of plasma.

As his adversary performed this action, Ash back-rolled onto his feet before leaping into the air, dodging another wave of pink energy that tossed up the soil beneath him. He flipped over the teens¡¯ heads and landed on his feet on the head of the coupe. As he was in mid-landing, he spun himself around and planted his feet shoulder-width apart, having withdrawn his Universal Capture Device and the Attack top that he received during his last mission. As he clicked the top into place on his Capture Device, Pikachu joined Ash on the head of the coup.

Matt and Inez whirled around to face the two. Matt then noticed Inez had become weaker, bending a bit forward from fatigue and breathing heavily.

¡°Inez, stop!¡± Matt cried. ¡°You¡¯re only hurting yourself! Leave his to me; this is the whole reason why I¡¯m here with you, goddammit!¡±

Inez ignored her partner as her a wispy pink light engulfed her body. Ash then realized the pink marble that seemed to be embedded into her neck.

Ash furrowed and switched the Capture Device on, whirring quietly as it began charging the top.

¡°Hand over the Egg now!¡± Inez cried as she released a large wave at her enemy.

Ash and Pikachu jumped out of the way just in time as the impact of the attack impounded the coupe and sent it flying several meters back, kicking up dust along the way. They landed behind the two new arrivals and charged at them. Matt heard Ash¡¯s footsteps and whirled around on his heel, his blade meeting with Ash¡¯s gold version of the identical weapon.

Just as Inez was about to use the last of her strength to knock her adversary into the forests, Matt snapped, ¡°Inez, do something stupid, and I assure you, you will regret it!¡±

Inez grunted through gritted teeth and reluctantly called her power back and fell to the ground in an exhausted heap, breathing heavily and trying to regain her composure.

¡°What the hell do you want with the Egg?¡± Ash growled as he pushed the defense against his enemy.

¡°That¡¯s none of your concern!¡± Matt cried as he threw Ash back by two meters, his feet sliding through the dirt, leaving a trail of dust behind his trail.

Then, there it was. Some overwhelming force growing within his chest, threatening to force its way through his body. It was white-hot and shimmered like gold in sunlight. It overtook Ash¡¯s mind and the next thing he knew, the force had spread throughout his whole body and released itself as a golden aura.

Matt¡¯s eyes widened with what seemed to be fear and amazement mixed together. His blue eyes were wide and his mouth was agape.

¡°The Egg is mine¡¦¡± Ash dropped his weapon, and even began scaring Pikachu as he started to back away slowly from his trainer. His eyes shot up and faced Matt. ¡°It¡¯s definitely my concern!¡±

Ash flew over to his adversary and tackled him square in the stomach, sending him flying across the ground like tumbleweed, sending dust clouds flying into the air. Before Matt even got a chance to get up, Ash had tackled Matt again, sending him crashing into a tree and sliding down. This time, Matt saw him coming and shot to his feet. But before he could do anything, both he and Ash were pointed at with silver pistols, cocked and ready to fire.

¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Jin cried, holding his calibers threatening against the two males¡¯ heads.

Both sides of the fight were frozen, as Ash¡¯s aura began to disperse as he calmed down and Matt noticed that Yumi was cradling an unconscious Inez in her arms. Her brown eyes were stern as she stared straight through the boys.

Matt¡¯s eyes widened with realization. He kept looking back and forth and Jin and Yumi. ¡°Y-you¡¯re¡¦ the Ishiyama Twins!¡±

¡°Oh, so you know us?¡± Jin smirked, his hold on the guns not letting up any time soon. ¡°Hmph. I didn¡¯t expect us to be that popular¡¦¡±

Yumi looked down at the unconscious Hispanic female and noticed a sparkling pink marble embedded into her neck. She looked up to her brother. ¡°Aniki¡¦ Jeremie wasn¡¯t kidding.¡±

¡°Huh?!¡± Matt exclaimed, now even more confused than before. ¡°Wait, Jeremie? Then¡¦¡± ? he pointed at Ash, who was now dumbfounded, trying to figure out exactly what happened ? ¡°The kid¡¯s¡¦ Wh-why does he have the Egg?!¡±

¡°Quit sputtering already, Matt¡¦¡± Inez groaned as she began waking up. ¡°It¡¯s unbecoming of you.¡±

¡°You must be Inez Garcia¡¦¡± Yumi nodded. ¡°Which would make you¡¦¡± ? Yumi faced the red-haired teen again ? ¡°¡¦Matt Williams.¡±

¡°Motherboard contacted us concerning your arrival.¡± Jin added.

¡°What the hell is he doing here with you guys?¡± Matt growled, nodding his head to Ash.

¡°He doesn¡¯t know much about it, relax.¡± Jin frowned. Then he grinned. ¡°He¡¯s a good guy.¡±

Matt¡¯s tense muscles relaxed as he pressed a button on the blue device that he was holding, dispersing the plasma blade into thin air and hooked it back onto his belt. He held up his free hands defensively. ¡°Alright.¡±

Pikachu¡¯s ears began twitching as he caught the faint sounds of marching footsteps in the distance. They were coming closer, now being accompanied by the rustling of shrubbery being stepped on or brushed past.

¡°Pikapi!¡± Pikachu called to Ash as Jin lowered his guns.

¡°Huh?¡± Ash looked up and squinted past the trees and saw shadows moving. They were moving in a perfect rhythm, almost mechanically, as if they were an army of robots.

¡°Hey, what¡¯s that?¡± Ash furrowed.

Jin and Yumi followed Ash and Pikachu¡¯s gazes and gasped when they saw the marching figures. The sounds were now apparent to the human ears.

¡°It¡¯s the Army!¡± Yumi exclaimed.

¡°Matt, get in the NavSkid with Ash!¡± Jin commanded as they rushed to their stations.

¡°Wait, what about the cybercoupe?¡± Matt asked.

¡°We¡¯ll take care of it!¡± Jin called in reply as he jumped into his NavSkid.

Yumi put Inez¡¯s frail body in a little nook behind the driver¡¯s seat and jumped in as well. As the Twins¡¯ visors began to close, Ash, Pikachu and Matt jumped into the remaining NavSkid.

As the visor of Ash¡¯s NavSkid began to close, Matt asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

Ash looked over his shoulder with a smile and gave a thumbs-up. ¡°The name¡¯s Ash.¡± ? he nodded to his partner on his shoulder ? ¡°This is Pikachu.¡±

¡°Pika!¡± Pikachu nodded affirmatively.

¡°May I ask where you guys are from?¡±

¡°The First Dimension.¡±

Matt nodded, looking down at his feet. ¡°I see¡¦¡±

¡°Your name¡¯s Matt, right?¡± Ash asked as he pressed a series of buttons on the control panel.

Matt looked up. ¡°Yeah.¡±

¡°Alright then, Matt.¡± Ash said as he took hold of the driving controls as the NavSkid shuddered into the air. He pushed the joysticks forward. ¡°Hold on!¡±

¡°Wha-whoa!¡± Matt nearly tumbled to one side of the small pod as the aircraft flew into the air. He whirled around to see through the black tinted windows that the totaled cybercoupe was being hauled in mid-air ? with parts flying behind it ? by two plasma wires coming out of the Twins¡¯ NavSkids. Below, he could see a sea of green-uniformed men with rifles marching into the field where they were just moments before.

The three NavSkids managed to barely escape the bullets that were being shot at them from below as they sped away into the sky, the fluttering tear apparent in the blue sky.

¡°Hey, Matt¡¦¡± Ash said suddenly.

Matt looked over to the back of the 10-year-old¡¯s head. ¡°Yeah?¡±

He could see the maturity in Ash¡¯s brown eyes as he said, ¡°Whatever I did back there, sorry about that. I can see I did some damage.¡±

Matt shook his head with a smile, showing that he is brushing it off. ¡°No worries. I¡¯ve been through worse.¡±

Ash nodded before he turned back to his driving. ¡°I see.¡±

¡°Jackie! Digit!¡± Matt exclaimed as the group arrived at the Control Room of the Factory. The group rushed over to the computer, where a live chat was set up between the two worlds.

¡°You guys are safe!¡± the blue robotic bird named Digit exclaimed. He wore a red cap that had a white orb dangling on the top by a wire.

¡°Has the military arrived yet?¡± Jeremie asked the Twins.

¡°Just missed them.¡± Jin nodded. ¡°Our closest call yet.¡±

¡°Might want to tell that to Odd when he gets back from fixing the coupe.¡± Yumi added.

Ulrich sighed. ¡°How bad is it?¡±

¡°Completely impounded, thanks to Inez here.¡± Jin smiled awkwardly as he jerked a thumb towards the newcomers¡¯ direction. Inez was now cradled in Matt¡¯s arms. She had gone unconscious again on their way back from the forest area.

Jackie ? an African-American girl with short, curly black hair ? followed Jin¡¯s direction and gasped when she saw that the female newcomer was unconscious. ¡°What happened to Inez?!¡± she exclaimed.

¡°Decided to go overboard.¡± Matt replied simply.

¡°Matt, you¡¯re supposed to protect her, not let her do all of the work!¡± Jackie snapped, her voice screeching through the supercomputer¡¯s speakers. The occupants of the room had to cover their ears.

¡°Uh¡¦ I¡¯ll go check up on Odd.¡± Ulrich replied. ¡°With his work cut out for him, he might need a helping hand.¡±

¡°Alright, you go do that.¡± Jeremie nodded.

While this verbal exchange was happening, Matt had retorted, ¡°Well, you try being in my position! You try stopping this stubborn mule! Ow!¡±

Inez had just awoken and slapped Matt¡¯s face. His cheek was beginning to turn a sickly red. ¡°I¡¯m not taking that as a compliment.¡±

Matt growled as he turned his head to face his companion. ¡°I oughta drop you.¡±

¡°Do that and heads will roll.¡±

Ash and Pikachu glanced at each other, then back at the bickering teens with a timid and nervous chuckle, their grins spreading awkwardly from cheek to cheek.

¡°I take it that there¡¯s a tear in the sky in your world, too?¡±

¡°Yeah, no duh.¡± Matt replied as he placed Inez back onto her feet. ¡°Not only that, but we have a rampaging virus of our own.¡±

¡°But he¡¯s more human than that shadow we came across on our way here.¡± Inez added.

¡°XANA.¡± Jeremie frowned.

¡°Actually, his name¡¯s Hacker.¡± Inez frowned.

¡°He prefers The Hacker, though.¡± Matt shook his head in dismay. ¡°Sheesh, that guy¡¯s too full of himself.¡±

¡°No, not him.¡± Jeremie frowned. ¡°I¡¯m talking about the shadow that you encountered. His name is XANA. He¡¯s our world¡¯s ¡®rampaging virus.¡¯¡±

Ash shivered as he remembered the foggy feeling that he felt when the shadow had possessed him.

¡°He wanted me to release all of the Egg¡¯s contents.¡± Ash explained. ¡°Best way to destroy all human beings, I guess.¡±

¡°But, why Ash?¡± Aelita asked, her expression furrowed. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it have been easier to have chosen one of us, since he knows our abilities better?¡±

¡°Yeah, I mean, even Jeremie¡¯s an easier target than that, don¡¯t you think?¡± Jin grinned, saying it jokingly.

Jeremie growled as he glared at Jin, whose laugh began to turn sheepish.

Ash sighed and turned his head to face Pikachu on his shoulder. ¡°For once, I¡¯d like to be normal¡¦¡±

¡°Pika pika¡¦¡± Pikachu sighed in agreement.

Ash frowned. ¡°Let¡¯s face it. I¡¯m getting too old for this.¡±

¡°Hey, Ash.¡±

Ash stopped playing with a deck of cards that Odd had given him a few minutes ago when he announced that he was bored. (The problem was, he had never really learned how to play with them, so he ended up flipping them and speed-stacking them like an accordion.) He looked up to face the red-haired teen.

¡°Hey, Matt, what¡¯s up?¡±

Matt came to sit beside Ash, who continued the accordion trick with the cards, staring at the rapidly moving pieces of paper intently, and said, ¡°You said you were from the First Dimension, right? The world where it¡¯s so far apart from everybody else¡¯s that it has nothing in common with the others?¡±

Ash stopped the accordion trick for a moment to ponder on the question then nodded in reply before he began doing the trick again. ¡°Yup, seeing that there¡¯s no Pokemon here¡¦¡±

¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what he¡¯s called.¡± Matt blinked, looking at Pikachu, who stared back curiously. ¡°I thought he looked different¡¦¡±

¡°No, not exactly.¡± Ash sighed. He stopped playing with the cards and turned his head to face Matt. ¡°Think of it like this: the creatures ? as a whole ? in my world are called ¡®Pokemon,¡¯ just like how your worlds call their creatures ? as a whole ? ¡®animals.¡¯¡± ? he started playing with the cards again ? ¡°That¡¯s the explanation that Jeremie told me, at least.¡±

Matt nodded. There was an awkward silence for a moment, with the only noise being from the whooshing and clicking of the cards. Finally, Matt broke the silence by asking, ¡°Is there a kind of Pokemon in your world called a ¡®Legendary¡¯?¡±

¡°There are a lot Legendaries.¡± Ash replied. ¡°Why, are you looking for one in specific?¡±

Matt nodded. ¡°I heard he¡¯s one of the god-like creatures; in the form of a giant bird with rainbow feathers at the tail and red and yellow feathers on his bodice and wings that resemble a fire.¡±

Ash froze, the cards splattering across the cement floor as his eyes were widened as Matt continued his description.

¡°He has golden curls on the top of his head and green feathers around his neck that resemble a kind of necklace.¡± Matt described, stroking his chin contemplatively. ¡°And when he flies through the sky, he shimmers like gold and leaves a trail behind. Legend has it that he only appears during a rainbow.¡±

¡°Not always.¡± Ash replied suddenly, surprising Matt. The red-haired teen looked over at Ash, who was staring off at a distance, almost nostalgically. ¡°The first time I saw him, there was a rainbow. But, the second time, it was just a sunny day. You could see him better the second time, though. The Poke¡¯Dex ? a device we use to identify encountered Pokemon ? couldn¡¯t identify him. It wasn¡¯t until I confronted one of my world¡¯s professors about it that I learned that it was actually a Legendary Pokemon named Ho-oh.¡± ? he snapped out of his trance and looked over at the Matt ? ¡°People think that he doesn¡¯t exist, that he¡¯s only a myth. But, I saw him with my own eyes.¡± ? he then blinked ? ¡°Why are you looking for him?¡±

Matt sighed. ¡°He¡¯s the only being I know who can probably remove the marble on Inez¡¯s neck.

¡°What, is that thing dangerous?¡± Ash asked dubiously. Now even Pikachu was intrigued and asked, ¡°Pika¡¦?¡±

¡°Only when it¡¯s on her.¡± Matt replied, causing Ash's eyes to widen again. He then began explaining his story. "That marble wasn't meant for Inez; it was meant for me. Hell, I even left my friends and family and trained with a martial artist to find 'focus and balance within myself.'"

Ash furrowed. "What do you mean, 'it was meant for you?'"

"That marble's only reason for existence is to keep both parallel worlds of my dimension levelled." Matt continued. "At least, that's what I was told at first, until I saw the tear in the sky. After learning that it went to different dimensions, I realized that it was created to keep all of the worlds in balance. But, in order to do that, the marble needs a host." - he flashed a grin, an attempt at lightening the mood - "So, I guess you can say that I was pretty much born to save the world!"

Ash frowned in dismay. "Dude, take it from someone who's been there. That isn't something that you should be joking about."

Pikachu nodded in agreement. "Pika."

Matt sighed, his smile weakened. "Yeah, I know... But, it's easier to deal with it that way..." - he forced another smile - "But, hey. I guess this means that Inez finally got what she wished for..."

Ash stared at the wall again as Pikachu jumped down from the bed to pick up the cards. "And what would that be?"

"To be significant." Matt said solemnly.

Ash frowned deeper. "Don't we all..."

There was an awkward silence between the two teens until Ash suddenly asked, "If you were born for such a task, can't you just remove the marble yourself?"

Matt shook his head sadly. "I'll kill her if I do."

Ash closed his eyes, deep in thought. "A stubborn one, huh?"

"You bet." Matt replied with a weak smile. After a pause, he said, "Listen, Motherboard told me that the only way that the marble can be removed was to have a divine force remove it from the host's body."

"And since my world is no where related to the other realms, such divine forces exist in the physical world." Ash sighed. He opened his eyes and faced Matt with a determined expression. "I'll help you find him. And when we do, we'll persuade him to remove the marble from Inez."

Matt straightened up and faced Ash with a beaming expression. "Seriously?!"

"Of course!" Ash smiled, his 10-year-old self returning. "After all... I want a few questions that I want answered, too!"

Matt's toothy grin returned as he shook hands with Ash. Just then, Pikachu's ears twitched, causing him to drop the cards again into a messy pile on the cement. Moments later, a siren went off and the large room had a flashing red tint to its atmosphere as people bolted out from the lower level and the elevator, rushing to the upper levels that had ladders that lead to the roof.

The two males and Pikachu bolted out of their seats and joined the rush to the roof, running into Jin along the way. When they caught up with him, all three males stopped running and Pikachu ran up onto Ash's shoulder.

"What the hell is going on?!" Ash holered over the noise.

"It's a XANA attack!" Jin replied, just as loud. "Any weapons you have, now's a good time to use them!"

As Jin ran off, catching up with his sister, both Matt and Ash pulled out their respective weapons.

As they did, Matt caught Inez following the crowd. He stopped her, crying, "Whoa, wait! Where do you think you're going?!"

"If you haven't noticed. there's a crisis going on!" Inez retorted.

"Yeah, I can see that, Sherlock!" Matt shot back. "I'm asking where you're going?"

Inez twisted her arm out of Matt's grip and argued, "Don't expect me to just sit back and watch!"

As the two argued, Ash and Pikachu ran ahead a few steps before stopping and hollering back, "Matt, there's no time!"

Matt cursed under his breath. Then, reluctantly, he said to Inez, "I'd better be doing most of the work..."

Inez smiled and replied as she passed him, "Can't promise anything!"

Ash crawled up the ladder to the roof of the factory with Pikachu clinging onto his shoulder. When their heads popped out of the roof, they had the air shot out of their lungs by a strong gust of wind. They dove back in, took a deep breath, and crawled back out onto the roof.

The sky was dark again, a murky purple and black, and the tear had spat out the unending shadow once again, the strange eye insignia at its center.

But, something was different; Ash could feel it in his gut, and he could sense Pikachu's cheeks sparking dangerously beside him.

As Matt and Inez joined the others on the roof, Ash and Pikachu ran towards Jeremie, who looked up at the shadow in the sky, with his blue eyes, aniticipating something...

"So, what'd I miss?" Ash asked, perhaps a bit too casually.

For a minute, Jeremie didn't say anything until he saw something in the sky, his eyes widening in a mixture of shock and fear. He turned his head to face Ash with a stern look. "Get back in."

Ash and Pikachu stared at Jeremie in disbelief. "Huh?!"

"Take Matt and Inez and get back in, do you hear me?!" Jeremie snapped.

"But-!" Ash began to protest as Pikachu clung onto his shoulder tighter.

"Hurry!"

"Okay!" Ash exclaimed in irritation as he rushed towards the newcommers. "You two! Back in!"

"What?!" Matt and Inez exclaimed simultaneously.

"Jeremie's orders, now hurry up and go!" Ash called just before a strong force knocked him off of his feet, causing him to fall forward face first. Pikachu held on tightly to the boy's shoulder as they crashed.

The force had also forced Matt and Inez back into the factory, landing on a sack of supplies below.

Ash and Pikachu struggled back up. Curiosity had gotten the better of both of them and so they turned around and faced what had caused the release of the sudden energy. Their eyes widened with shock when they saw a familiar figure with short, blazing red hair in a blue outfit. Her blue eyes were dead, holding the same insignia as the shadow above her.

Ash's heart sank to his gut, taking his stomach with him. No... it couldn't be her... It just couldn't...

"We've got a Possessed!" Jeremie called to the Warriors.

"No..." Ash whispered softly.

"I hate it when he does this..." Jin grunted, griting his teeth and unsheathing his pistols.

The girl's dead eyes met Ash's brown ones.

"Misty..."