After the revelations in Ash's previous memory, Shauna has set about fulfilling Ash's wish of going to the moon... at all costs. Calem, realising that the path Shauna was taking was wrong, has followed Shauna into Ash's memories.

We join Calem as he finds himself in the same school hallway that Ash and Serena met for the first time, for the second time.

No One's POV

Calem looked around the hallway and saw Shauna standing at the end, right next to the set of stairs were Serena was originally sat. Calem walked over to her and started speaking.

"Shauna, what're you doing here?" he asked her even though he had a vague idea of what she was planning to do.

"Minding my own business." she replied nonchalantly while looking at Serena, who was still sat there reading that same book.

Calem sighed, however, another thought immediately crossed his mind.

"What about... everything else?" he asked her warily.

"Huh?" asked Shauna, not quite sure what he meant.

"I mean, you want to get him to the moon,right? Have you... changed anything?" he asked hesitantly. Calem wasn't sure if he was ready for whatever her reply was going to be.

"Yes, I have." she replied calmly.

A cold sweat broke out on Calem's forehead. He knew that any form on change was going to have a major impact on Ash's memories. It was essential that any change performed was done properly.

"What have you done?" he asked her softly, hoping she hadn't done anything too rash or anything that crossed the line.

"Well, first, I made sure Red is still alive. That way, Ash doesn't have to take those Beta Blockers, so he won't forget Serena. Secondly, I made sure Ash and Serena haven't met yet." she replied.

Calem sighed a breath of relief. Everything seemed to be fine, if not, better.

"Alright, I thought yo-" Calem started, however, was immediately cut off by Shauna.

"Calem, I'm not going to let them meet." she spoke coldly.

Calem's eyes widened at Shauna's words.

"Wh-What?" asked Calem.

"Look, I know what you're trying to do, but our contract is to send him to the moon. You and I both know that the only way for that to happen is to... motivate him to do so." Shauna spoke sternly.

Calem's eyes widened. 'She is going to do it after all' he thought to himself. Soon, his eyebrows furrowed as he scowled at Shauna.

"But if that means removing Serena, then what's the point?" he asked her with anger and frustration evident in his voice.

"The reason why he even wants to go to the moon is to meet Serena..." Calem spoke, his voice getting softer and weaker at the thought of Ash and Serena not meeting.

"I know. But we are legally bound by the contract to specifically-" Shauna started again, however was cut off by Calem.

"Forget the contract!! I didn't take this job to make his life miserable, Shauna!" yelled Calem. He was strongly against the thought of Ash not meeting Serena.

"I don't know about you, but I signed up to help people die happily... not pull stunts like these..." he spoke as he broke eye contact with Shauna. He was bitterly disappointed in her.

Shauna had started tearing up a little. Calem had never yelled at her like that before. It sort of... hurt her. However, that wasn't enough to put her off. She had a job to do... and she was going to do it no matter what.

"Calem, if we go against our contract, we'll be in for court hearings." Shauna tried to explain to Calem, her voice sounding fragile.

"We'll appeal. We know Ash would be happier to not go to the moon... if it means losing Serena." Calem replied harshly.

"Ash would be happier with a lot of different things, Calem. Our job is not to play god. We have to give him what he singed for." Shauna argued back.

Calem sighed and shook his head.

"But don't you understand? We happen to know what he wants better than he, himself, does." Calem replied.

"Calem, we don't have much time to argue. I'm just hoping everything will go to plan. I'll make up for it. Just trust me." Shauna spoke as she started walking towards Serena.

Calem was about to argue against her, however, he realised that Shauna had temporarity deactivated all of Calem's input sources, so he couldn't even move, let alone try to stop her.

Calem sighed in defeat. All he could do was stand there and watch everything unfold in front of him.

Calem watched as Shauna approached Serena and made herself  visible to her.

"Serena?" Shauna spoke softly.

Serena's head shot up as she stared at the woman in front of her.

"Y-Yes?" she spoke shyly.

"You know it's dangerous sitting on these starts. Someone might trip over you. Why don't you go to the library and read?" Shauna asked her.

Serena looked uncomfortable for a moment, however, she soon nodded. She reluctantly got up and picked up the stuffed platypus that was sat next to her. She then made her way up the stairs and walked towards the library.

After Serena was long gone, Shauna re-enabled Calem's input which allowed Calem to immediately voice his opinions.

"Shauna, this was... wrong. I'm extremely disappointed...." he spoke as he accepted defeat.

"I'm sorry Calem... but I'm asking you to trust me..." Shauna replied.

"I need to do a couple more things..." she spoke without ever maintaining eye contact with Calem. She then moved to another one of Ash's memories leaving Calem all alone in that corridor. He was about to follow Shauna into another memory, howeverm, stopped himslef when he heard another voice.

"Everything will be alright man. Just turn around." it was Gary.

Calem immediately faced the source of the voice and saw Gary standing there... with Ash.

"Okay... Okay." replied Ash as he started slowly and nervously making his way towards the set of stairs.

He started speaking as soon as he made it to the set of stairs.

"Ahem. Hello-" Ash started, however, stopped himself as soon as he saw that there was no one sitting there.

Ash just stood there and stared at the empty staircase and sighed as a frown grew on his face.

Calem walked and stood beside Ash.

"Sorry kid... it's already started." he spoke softly,  even though he was well aware that Ash couldn't hear him.

Ash sighed once more and walked away. Calem stood there and watched Ash, however, his attention was caught by movement behind him. Calem turned around to find Shauna over there.

"Oh, it's you." Calem spoke blandly.

Shauna was about to reply, however, they both stopped as they heard someone yell.

"Ash! Gary! Let's go already! We need to get the good tables." they heard from the other end of the corridor.

The two young doctors looked towards the source of the voice, only to find someone who looked a lot like Ash, but definitely wasn't.

"Red..." Calem whispered out as his eyes widened upon realisation.

Shauna smiled and nodded, hoping it was enough to cheer Calem up.

Calem, however, immediately faced Shauna ans started speaking.

"You know, saving Red doesn't compensate for removing Serena..." Calem stated.

Shauna developed a frown before replying.

"He can always find another 'Serena', Calem... but he'll only have one brother." she spoke softly as they watched Ash, Gary and Red make their way to the cafeteria.

"Come one, we're in the way..." Shauna spoke signalling that they needed to leave the memory they currently were in.

Calem frowned and nodded. There was sense in Shauna's explanation, however, he wasn't sure if Ash was ever going to be able to find another Serena.

The two young doctors then decided to move through Ash's memories by fast forwarding through them.

In another one of his memories, Ash was in a classroom with a couple dozen other people. A teacher stood in front of the class and asked the students what they wanted to be when they grew older.

Some replied they wanted to be a footballer. Some wanted to be a doctor while others an engineer. When it was Red's turn, he replied by saying that he wanted to be a writer.

The teacher smiled and approved of Red's dreams. He then then faced Ash.

"And you Ash?" the teacher asked.

Ash looked up from the book he was reading and replied with a smile plastered on his face.

"An Astronaut."

After that, Calem and Shauna watched on as everything... changed. Ash's life became completely different from the one the two of them had come to know. No Serena meant that there were no... specific memories in Ash's life that properly stood out. Now, instead of going to the movies with Serena, Ash went there with Red and Gary. Ash and Serena didn't have their moments... they never visited the doctor to find that Serena had Asperger's. They never had their little dates or never had nights where they visited Lara and sat by the cliff edge to watch the sun sink below the watery horizon. Ash and Serena had nothing together. They didn't have that engagement... They didn't get to dance the night away in the lighthouse... They didn't get to marry each other and dedicate their lives to each other in front of Lara...

As Ash grew older, he concentrated more and more on his studies. While Red went out and enjoyed life, Ash would often lock himself in his room and read books. Ash had become obsessed with understand every single theory stated in those books. He wanted to remember and properly understand every single equation and formula in those books.

Not only that, Ash had been taking very good care of his own health. He would go to the gym around 3 times a week and work on various aspects, however, his main focus was always cardio. He always wanted to be in the best shape possible. This was all for a very specific reason.

One day, Ash had just finished writing a very important letter. That letter was the reason Ash had worked so hard all his life. He went out and posted the letter with a heart full of hope. A couple of months later, he received a letter from Cape Mossdeep. It was a reply to the letter that Ash had sent months earlier.

Cape Mossdeep was a rocket launch site. Almost all rockets from the planet had been launched from Cape Mossdeep in Mossdeep City in the Hoenn region. The facility was operated by the HSA, the Hoenn Space Agency. 

Ash opened the letter and his eyes widened and a large smile grew on his face as he read though it... he had been called over to Hoenn for some tests and some training... before being put in a rocket destined for the Moon. Without a moment of hesitation, Ash informed his family and close friends and set out for Mossdeep City in the Hoenn Region.

Without a care in the world, Ash left Kanto. He left behind his friends and his family. He left behind all the wonderful memories tied with the place. He left behind all the special moments associated with aspects of that region. He left behind the place he was brought up in. He left a lot of things behind in Kanto when he decided to go to Hoenn, however, the most important thing of all was...

...he left Serena behind.

https://youtu.be/WG9zlui8wfE

End of Chapter.

I'm sorry that the chapter was so short. Well, it needed to be. I'm not sure how clear I was with this chapter, however, I just hope it was clear enough that you understand what sacrifices were made and what decisions Ash has had to take in order to get where he is.

Anyway, this book is coming to a close sooner that you might think. I've enjoyed writing this book. I'm going to enjoy writing whatever is left.

Thank you so much for reading this chapter. I hope you have enjoyed this.

I'll see you in the next one!