Ash Ketchum: Battle of the Ampere

Ch. 46 Revelations and Reunions

   For several minutes Raihan just stared at the burning wreckage of the Ampere, as if he were in a trance. Our speedboat started to rock more as the waves from the explosion's shock waves caught up to us. The first streaks of dawn had begun to brighten the indigo sky. Set against the gradient horizon, the Ampere's orange-red flames and sparkling cinders looked oddly beautiful.

   Then Raihan said, "You did it, hermanos." He turned back to us. "We now must go before the guardacostas arrives."

  "Dodds is about a mile up the coast," Brock said. "It looks safe."

  "You know Dodds?" I asked.

  "How do you think we got here?" Brock replied.

  "Everyone hold on," Raihan said, and he hit the throttle again. The boat lunged forward, gaining speed until we were bouncing from crest to crest. I looked over at Zeus. He was wearing a hoodie and wrapped completely in towels, sitting on the floor in the center near the front of the boat. For Zeus, even the refreshing ocean spray was dangerous to him. We might as well have been floating on a sea of ​​acid. I couldn't help but think how courageous he was.

  "What happened to the Watt?" I asked.

  "Zeus did that," Iris said. "From the deck of the Ampere."

  "It was a fluke," Zeus said. "They were loading torpedoes on top and I couldn't resist. I didn't think it would go up like that. Ka-boom."

  "Ka-boom is right," Serena said.

  "You rock, dude," Calem said. Calem went to high-five Zeus, but Zeus quickly pulled back.

  "Sorry, man," he said. "Your hands are wet."

  "My bad," Calem said. He wiped his hands on his shirt, then they high-fived.

   Ten minutes later Raihan careened the boat toward shore, which was now visible in the early light. As we approached the dock, I could see a white van in the distance with two figures leaning against it.

  "Who's that with Dodds?" I asked.

  "It's Sha," Brock said.

  "Sha came back?"

  "It was her idea her to come back," Brock said. "But we were all thinking it. None of us could stand the idea of ​​you guys doing this alone. We tried to radio you the same day we landed, but there was a communication problem."

  "That's because we were compromised," Clemont said. "We lost radio contact."

  "So you touched the States," I said.

  "For a day," Brock said.

  "More like a few hours," Iris said.

  "Did you meet the voice?" I asked.

  "No. But I saw your mother," Brock said.

  "You did?"

   He nodded. "She gave me a hug. She looked good. Probably because she was eating something better than rat biscuits. She asked me to tell you that she loves you and to be careful." He grinned. "I didn't tell her that you were planning on blowing up the Galactic's main boat."

  "Probably for the best," I said.

  "I thought so," he replied. He turned to Clemont. "I met your parents too."

   Clemont's eyes opened wide. "You saw my mom and dad?"

  "Yes. They were very proud of you. Your mom said something like, 'I always knew he would make a difference in this world.'"