Hey guys. It's been a half a year, sorry about that. School and life just gets to you and the right balance to give myself time can be a bit of a challenge. Also, finding the right tone and mood for this chapter was a big struggle, but definitely worth it. Now, let me address a few things since my last update:

My Username has changed. Hopefully, this is the one I stick to for a really long time.

The rating changed to T because I wasn't sure where death would have been rated.

Shippings... there will be Pearl and Amour hints, but I'm not gonna say which one will be there at the end. For GeekChic, I doubt it will be an endgame ship.

This fanfic is going on AO3 and Tumblr as the same username.

April 1st, this is the anime's 20th anniversary, so cheers for Ash being 10 for 20 years! YAY! Now Enjoy!

Our Time and Space

Chapter 3

Sunlight glared through a window and into a bedroom. The intense light settled at the head of the petite bed where a girl slept. She slightly opened her eyes to the glare before turning to the other direction. A few minutes later, it dawned on her that she needed to leave soon, so she got out of her bed and walked towards a drawer for a change of clothes.

The girl wiped her eyes as she looked at herself in a hanging mirror. She blinked her eyes a few times, realizing that she was wearing her old pink, yellow-striped pajamas.

Unusually, she ignored that her blue hair was messy and said to herself, "It's finally time, Dawn."

After a long hour of brushing, fixing her hair and getting dressed, she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror one last time. She was wearing her black vest with the white shirt underneath and her pink short skirt. A Pokétch was on her left wrist while the other sported a wristband with two lilac beads attached. She also had pink boots that reached to her knees with black socks sticking out. With a final tug to her dark pink scarf and a pat on her white hat, she finally left the bathroom.

Dawn stepped on the blue carpet and glanced around the room. It was a small, white room with the window and drawer positioned to the left of the messy bed; across from it was a small desk and the hanging mirror. To the right of the bed was a small bathroom and across from that was a door to the outside. The window rocked slightly from side to side as it showed the wide blue ocean; this let Dawn know that the ferry was still moving.

The bed rustled until a blue penguin Pokémon came out from under the bed sheets.

"Good morning Piplup," greeted Dawn.

"Piplup." Still tired, he flopped and smushed his face onto the floor.

"Come on Piplup, we're gonna be in Kanto soon." No response.

"Don't you think we should get some food before that?" Dawn said as she heard his stomach rumble.

Dawn came out of her room and stood at the railing of the boat as she took a deep breath. She exhaled and turned to see her partner walk outside as well before jumping into her arms. They went to go get breakfast and before they knew it, an announcement came to say that they've arrived in Kanto.

Dawn and Piplup saw the mainland get bigger as the boat got closer to the nearest dock. They were the first ones to leave the boat as they each took their first steps in Kanto.

"So this is Kanto," the girl said quietly. Piplup gave a mixed response.

"Piplup lup lup. Piplup."

Dawn nodded.

"Yeah. If only we came for a better reason."

Clemont was sitting between Bonnie and Serena on the airplane. Bonnie called dibs on the window seat, and the boy decided to sit next to his sister; that left Serena with the aisle seat. What he didn't expect, however, was both leaning onto him while they slept. Even Dedenne ended up sleeping on his leg.

Bonnie's head rested on his arm with some drool slowly oozing out her mouth. She was lightly snoring with some of it getting dangerously close to his shirt. Her hand also laid on Dedenne's back from petting it before it decided to nap on her brother's leg.

On the other side, Serena had her head on Clemont's shoulder with her hat placed on her lap. He could hear her peaceful breathing, even through Bonnie's snoring. The boy observed Serena's clothing; she wore this outfit at the beginning of their journey, back when she had long hair.

Why not wear the other one you had?

Clemont thought about the blue ribbon she wore with that outfit, remembering that it was important to her.

I think it was from Ash.

The booming voice from the speakers stirred the girls up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be arriving in Saffron City of the Kanto region momentarily. Please fasten your seatbelt and have all electronics turned off. The weather is cloudy with a chance of rain. Thank you for flying with us and hope you have a great day."

Bonnie woke Dedenne up, telling him that they're almost in Kanto. They both covered the window with their face to see the region. When Serena was awake, she rose from Clemont's shoulder and brushed her hair with her hands before placing her hat back on.

"Sorry for sleeping on you," she said to the boy.

"I didn't mind," Clemont replied, "at least you didn't drool on me as well."

His eyes were on a dark blue spot on his clothing.

The plane finally landed and the group left the plane then the airport with their luggage in town. The first thing they noticed as they came outside was the livelihood of Saffron City with cars and taxi cabs. As impressed as they were, it didn't change their glum mood. In fact, it began to rain lightly.

Fortunately, they noticed a sign that had their names on it by an old man with an umbrella in the other hand. The man, who was also standing by a car, was none other than Professor Oak. They hurried towards him as he awkwardly gestured them to come over.

"Are you Ash's friends from Kalos?" When they confirmed with nodding and yes-es, he opened up the trunk. "Then let's get out of the rain and into the car."

The drive to Kanto began mostly in silence, thanks to Professor Oak talking about the time for the funeral and other helpful advice to navigate through Pallet Town. It wasn't hard for him to notice their mood, so he decided to change topics.

"I've heard great things about the Kalos region; from its beauteous cities to the wonderful Pokémon residing there."

Clemont helped his icebreaker and said, "Oh yes, it was amazing to see the different landscapes and festivities each city had."

A small smile was forced from Serena. "The clothing there is nice too."

"It was fun to explore it," Bonnie added.

"I'm sure it was a brand new experience for all of you," the Professor said, "there will always be good and bad times in life, but which will be remembered? The smiles or the strife's?"

It was as if the words echoed for all of them. The way from Saffron to Pallet Town was long and crossed through other cities and towns. The trio looked through the windows as they passed through Kanto and spotted Pokémon they've never seen before, for a bit over an hour. Then the horizon began to show a small town in the distance—Pallet Town. However the sky was dyed orange as they approached it, so the Professor suggested to stay at an inn close to Ash's house.

Upon arrival, they said their 'goodbyes' and 'thank-yous' to the Professor and Clemont exchanged info with him. After watching the Professor leave, they went to check into the inn.

After much-needed sleep, they got ready for the day—meaning they were all dressed in black. They followed Clemont, who had directions from the Professor.

After a few wrong turns, they eventually found themselves at Ash's house. By then the clouds began to darken, making the place look grimmer. Gloom surrounded the house in the form of Pokémon faces. They were surprised by how many people were there solely from looking through the front windows, though Serena was the first to express this.

"Woah. This place looks crowded." They noticed how everyone had the same type of clothing as they wore.

"I guess we shouldn't be too surprised that he made these many friends based on how he . . . was," Clemont said. He noticed his sister was admiring the foreign Pokémon instead.

She asked, "Could all of them be Ash's Pokémon?" She never noticed the saddened face Serena made.

"He did mention catching many Pokémon from other regions," Clemont said, "but it's still wondrous to see them."

The trio noticed the front door was open; Bonnie carelessly walked through, but her brother made sure to knock before entering with Serena following suit. The room was filled with people quietly talking to each other. Some talked while standing near the window next to the door while others sat on the stairs. Clemont noticed Professor Oak sitting down on the couch talking with others.

He noticed the trio looking out of place and walked up and greeted them. Clemont also introduced himself, Bonnie and Serena, to everyone close to the couch. A girl wearing a black bandana over her brown hair was named May. She had apparently traveled with Ash through Hoenn along with her brother and Brock, who was in another room. Sitting next to May was her green-haired friend and rival Drew who held a rose in his hand as if he was twirling it around. Next was a dark skinned girl with massive purple hair tied at the end was Iris. Leaning against the couch was the grandson of the professor, Gary Oak, who was a junior professor himself. His brown hair was slightly covering his face and his current serious expression made him seem more adult-like.

They also learned that the woman sitting next to the Professor was Ash's mother, Delia. She was auburn-haired and auburn-eyed, wearing black clothing like everybody else and a tissue box on her lap. She gave a welcoming, yet sad, smile when she spoke.

"Are you the ones who traveled with my son in Kalos?"

Serena felt sweat in her palms. "Y-yes."

"Would you mind telling me a few stories you have with my son from there? I've always enjoyed it when he told me the adventures he's gone through, e-every time he came back . . . home," she ended with a sob.

"Not at all," Clemont answered. He looked at girls by his side. "I can tell them a few stories by myself if you want. Feel free to talk with the others around here."

"Are you sure?" Serena wished she could share some stories with Ash's mother herself, but she knew that she'd feel too uncomfortable to say a word.

"Of course. I don't mind at all." The boy sat down next to a tan, purple haired girl named Iris. She was actually bringing up Ash's Unova adventures before the trio arrived.

As Clemont told stories of their adventures together, he noticed Delia's eyes began to water.

"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Ketchum," he politely said.

"I'm fine," she responded. "It's just, I. . . I. . ."

Tears began to fall down from her cheeks. May brought the tissue box closer to Delia as everyone attempted to comfort her. As Clemont watched this, Gary came closer and spoke to him quietly to keep his words between them.

"How're you holding up?" Clemont turned to him. "I know that it's probably overwhelming for you guys, especially since you don't know anyone here."

The blond nodded.

"A bit. Although, it's overwhelming in general to see everyone like this at all I imagine."

"You're not wrong there," Gary agreed. There was a silence between them that was neither awkward nor comforting as the mourning mother's sobs began to slowly simmer down. Again, Gary spoke up.

"I don't know how everyone feels, but I'm sure you guys did the best you could out there." He caught Clemont's eyes widening quickly and an exhale along with it. It seemed his eyes were a bit wet.

"Thank you, Professor Oak. It's really appreciated." His glasses were lifted to dry his eyes.

"Gary. That's reserved for my grandfather."

"It's the others that I'm concerned about however," Clemont explained. Their conversation halted when Delia seemed to pick herself up again.

"Sorry about that." She said. "It's—It's—"

"No, no. It's fine. Shall I resume?"

Bonnie wanted to go see the Pokémon all by herself; so she quietly made her way back outside to introduce herself and possibly comfort the mourning Pokémon. As she got closer, she noticed a green lizard on its hind legs with a leafy tail. A boy her size with glasses was talking to it, so she greeted him with a "Hello." He turned back, surprised by an unfamiliar voice to see a girl his age. While she wasn't smiling, she did seem friendly enough to answer back. His eyes though still had a tint of sadness in them.

"Hi there. My name is Max and this is Sceptile."

"Sceptile," the grass-type nodded.

"I'm Bonnie. It's nice to meet you." She looked around the area, noticing how all the Pokémon were quietly interacting in groups like the people inside the house. Some of the Pokémon, like the flamed-headed monkey, were crying with others such as Bulbasaur trying to comfort them.

"They're acting no differently than we're acting," Max pointed out.

She nodded. "It makes me want to help them."

"That's actually what I'm doing," Bonnie looked back at Max, "Ash meant a lot to them as much as they had to him. I'm trying to talk to each and every one of them to see how they're doing."

Her eyes widened for a brief second. "That's very thoughtful. Would you like some help?"

Max was caught off guard by the offer. "That'd be great."

Meanwhile, there was a circle of people that Serena wanted to join in but as she got closer to them, the fear inside her racked up again and she turned around. Plus, she accidentally bumped into a few people and could've sworn to see them give her a dirty look or two.

So she tried to talk to someone nearby. Sitting on the stairs was a blond boy. His green scarf was the only thing that peaked out of his dark and wrinkled suit. His dull, orange eyes were looking down at the floor as if the wooden planks were the only thing that mattered. In an attempt to lighten his mood, Serena gave a weak, "Hello."

Silence.

She was unsure if he even heard her, but before making a response, the boy's head silently creaked towards her direction. Those gloomy eyes did nothing but blink at her.

However, those few seconds slowed down for Serena as she took in his expression. The puffy streaks of skin on his cheeks, the thick, dark linings underneath his eyes. They only stayed half open, but it was plenty for her to see; the dark holes inside, as if something pierced his soul, leaving him empty.

The pounding of Serena's chest felt louder to her. She slowly backed away, eventually walking through the door for fresh air. She leaned against the side of a corner of the house outside. Now that Serena was away from most of them, she gave a big sigh that relaxed her but also felt disappointed with how she was behaving.

It's not our fault, the girl insisted. Slowly, her heart began to calm down.

"So . . . why are you out here?"

The harsh voice startled her as she looked around to see a guy with purple hair leaning as well on the other side of the corner. He kept looking forward with a straight face that intimidated her.

"I-I could ask you the same thing." Despite the intimidation, she couldn't help but find that first sentence a bit rude.

He shrugged. "Fair enough. I'm here because I don't think I'd feel better talking to them. The atmosphere is too depressing and tense."

"Yeah. It's all . . . nerve-wracking for me to even talk." As if on cue, the air suddenly felt tense and silent again but she felt compelled to offer an ice-breaker to stop it.

"So, how did you meet him?"

He finally looked at Serena. "He found me while trying to find his lost Pikachu. He never liked the way I caught and trained my Pokémon and I found his way more bothersome than it was worth. We didn't get along and usually fought each other."

"If that's true, then why are you here?" His eyes softened as if he was looking back at something before saying his next line with genuineness.

"I can't help but respect him. So much that it'd have bothered me if I didn't come." His face was back to being severely stoic again as he began to take his leave.

Before he left, he said, "The name's Paul. It was nice chatting." Serena watched him as he walked away, unsure whether it helped her or not.

Serena felt bad for not listening to the speeches since she really didn't want to take them all in and end up bawling.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder; she turned to see that it belonged to a pretty girl with blue hair. Serena wasn't sure why, but she finally felt comforted for once since arriving at Kanto. Maybe it was because although her blue eyes had tears in them, they shined; as if they gleamed with hope itself. Maybe it was the small smile this girl gave her, with the sole purpose of comforting Serena despite making her streaks of tears more noticeable.

Maybe because she knew that this girl was feeling as much pain as she felt from the death of their mutual friend. Serena began to notice that her own cheeks were wet as well and she wiped them both as she returned the blue-eyed girl a smile of her own. Even though this bond was born from mutual pain, Serena was glad she was able to connect to at least one person.

While the details weren't all heard, she was able to tune in every now and then. A girl with short, orange hair and green eyes named Misty talked about her experiences of traveling with him as a beginning Trainer and how they used to argue with each other so much.

She concluded, "When I look at this coffin, I expect him to just come out or something. I still can't believe he's gone." The ending barely was barely heard before Misty broke down. Her breathing became erratic when a boy with brown hair her age came up to her and began to hold her tight. Her head buried into his shoulder before a muffled noise came out. They began to walk to their seats as the next person came up.

Brock was older than most companions and therefore taller. He had eyes that looked stoic along with brown spiked hair. As Ash's longest companion to travel along with, he was able to see him grow from a beginning trainer to a mentor for others. He couldn't be anymore proud of his progression. Serena next remembered Gary talking about his rivalry with him and how the faults he had were justified in his desire to help others. Next was a girl with the bandana, May, who saw him as a teacher and admired his battling techniques.

Her attention became full when the girl next to her stood up. It never crossed her mind that she could have been another traveling companion. She stood up in front of everyone and Serena was able to hear her voice.

"My name is Dawn. I traveled around Sinnoh with Ash and Brock. I learned a lot from him . . . but at the same time, he was able to learn from me despite being more experienced. We'd also fight, makeup, and fight again. But eventually, we'd come back right to each other and compromise. And we'd push each other forward out of any pinch we were in."

She looked at her hand as if remembering something.

"We always knew that our time together was limited. It might have made us sad at the time, but . . ." Her hand closed up and was brought close to her chest.

"The smiles we had together will always be treasured. I think everyone here can relate to that."

As Dawn walked down, Serena kept her eyes on her—blown away by her speech. Before sitting down, Dawn gave a quick reassuring smile. Even when Cilan, the green-haired, green-eyed Pokémon Connoisseur talked about Ash with cooking metaphors, Serena was still replaying that speech Dawn gave.

When they asked if anyone else wanted to speak, Clemont walked up in front of everyone since he knew his friends wouldn't be able to speak up there. Compared to everyone else beforehand, he was nervous; Serena could tell that from the way his legs were slightly shaking. Suddenly she felt bad to put him in the situation.

Maybe I should say something.

However, the thought of standing up there also made her legs tremble. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by Clemont.

"Hi- hi. My n-name is Clemont and . . ." It looked like he was looking at something, as though reading, on his hand. Serena saw him sigh before putting something away.

"To be honest, today was the first time I've learned about Ash's progression from the beginning and how he became such a great person. Everyone nearly pointed out everything about him and even though everyone knew him longer, I'd like to think that Serena, my sister Bonnie, and I were just as close. He always gave it his all in every challenge he faced; it was inspirational to watch. It made us all want to become better than we were yesterday. Moments like those shouldn't be forgotten; they should be treasured."

Serena turned around and noticed the atmosphere was lighter than before. She wasn't sure if it was because of Clemont's speech or everyone's overall.

"Serena?"

She turned to the little girl who called her, Bonnie.

"Why are you outside?" the little girl asked.

Serena sat on the stairs of the porch while Bonnie stood by the open door.

"I was thinking to myself," replied Serena.

"You couldn't do it inside with everyone?"

"I needed it to be quieter. The fresh air helped too." Serena cared deeply about Bonnie, but there's no way that she would understand, right?

"I'll be in there shortly. I just need more time."

Bonnie said, "Okay," before going back in and closing the door.

She wasn't sure how long she was out there for. For Serena, it was still hard to take in everything. The memory of Ash's death kept replaying in her mind as she wondered what she could have done to prevent it, throughout the funeral. She didn't want to break down crying surrounded by his friends.

Suddenly, the door opened again.

"Bonnie—oh!"

The person standing by the door was not Bonnie but Dawn. Her blue hair was currently dangled down and her hat was to her side.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Dawn asked. "You wouldn't be in Pallet Town if you weren't." Serena nodded. She watched this blue-haired girl sit down with her on the stairs.

"Serena, right?"

"Yeah. You must be Dawn." There was a pause between them before Dawn spoke again.

"I don't blame you for missing him. He's truly one of a kind."

Serena hesitated. "He showed me what it meant to courageous. And to reach for my goal."

"He's always supported his friends . . . and his Pokémon."

"Always training and working hard."

"And coming back with an empty stomach."

"As if there was ever a bottom to it." Their memories of Ash made Serena smile and Dawn chuckle. Seeing her so happy at a time like this made Serena wonder.

"What?" asked Dawn.

"How are you so . . ."

Dawn looked as clueless as Ash for a brief second before getting it. "Well, it's not like I was never sad. I cried for him too.

"But! A talk with my mom helped me realize something," Dawn wanted what her next words to be right. "He was always there and wanted his friends, like you, to follow their dreams. Even now, that hasn't changed at all. He always made sure that you would stand back up on your feet. I believe that Ash still wants to make sure that we will stand up from this."

Serena looked in awe of Dawn. For the first time since his death, Serena was able to hear his name without pain in her chest. Her eyes filled with the confidence that she claimed to be taught by him and she stood up.

"Thank you, Dawn," Serena said. The coordinator smiled.

"What are friends for?"

Serena went inside—Dawn was going to follow but something red caught her attention. She walked up to it to see that it was a piece of a clothing. It looked like it was left behind. As she picked it up to examine it, she realized that Serena accidently forgot what was left of Ash's most recent hat.

"Oh Ash," Dawn painfully said as tears rolled down her face. She looked up to see, in the distance, a silhouette of a man on top of a hill with forest behind him. What was once a sunset was now borderline nighttime, making it hard to see anything. To her, it felt like the unknown man was looking at her before he walked away into the forest.

Dawn wiped the tears off of her face before walking back in, with the hat piece still in her hand.

Thanks for reading! Maybe the next update won't take as long ;)