The Sound of Falling Rain

IV

…the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult…
Alden Nowlan

"You tackled him…" Misty said flatly.

"Well what would you do if you suddenly found out the guy you were travelling with was your father that you hadn't seen since you were five?" Ash said.

"You tackled him?" Misty repeated, massaging the bridge of her nose. "Ooh…boy."

"So I got a little hotheaded!" Ash said, suddenly embarrassed

"A little?" Misty said. "You tackled him!"

"Oh are you really that surprised?" Ash said. "Can you really blame me?"

"Well…I guess not…but did you have to tackle him?"

"Fine! I lost my temper. Boo me." Ash threw his hands up. "Do you want me to finish or is this going to bug you all night?"

"Yeah yeah, go ahead…"

"Ash, wait a minute…"

Ash wasn't listening. Without thinking, he slung his pack on his shoulder and started walking away as fast as he could without running. He was vaguely aware of Pikachu tugging at his shirt and saying something unintelligible but he wasn't paying anything except the tunnel ahead any mind.

"Ash! Ooh…damnit, my ribs….Ash, just hold on for a second…"

Ash ignored the labored footsteps following him. Just keep on walking, he told himself. He could sort all of this…this out in a minute. If he stopped now, he reasoned, he'd have to turn around and talk to the man behind him. And right now, Ash wasn't sure he could do that without tackling him again.

"Ash!"

"Stop following me." Ash called back without turning around. "If you found your way in, you can find your way out again. Just…just leave."

"That's not it-" Roy said

"You know, Roy, right now I really don't care what it is." Ash said. "Right now, I just want to get out of this cave and as far away from you as I can."

"Now come on…don't walk out on me before-"

"Oh!" Ash cried, stopping in his tracks and causing Pikachu to slip off his shoulder. "Oh irony of ironies! Sweet, sweet hypocrisy thy name is Roy. You hear that, Pikachu? He doesn't want me to walk out on him. Gee whiz, what d'you think we should do, hmmm?"

"Pikapi…Pikachu…" Pikachu said, a little worried at Ash's sudden mood shift.

"You make a gooood point." Ash said. "But on the other hand…" Without finishing, he turned around and started walking faster

"At least let me explain!" Roy shouted back.

"Explain?" Ash turned around to face Roy and Ampharos, twenty feet behind him. "What…what…what could you possibly have to explain to me?"

"Look…I know you're angry at me." Roy said.

"Oh yeah; understatement of the year. Why don't you tell me that Gyarados tends to be a little irritable or that Snorlax is kinda big."

"I know I haven't…well, I haven't been a great f-father."

"Great? I would have settled for good. Hell, I would have settled for present." Ash said. "Oh, while we're on the topic, when were you planning on telling me? Were you just hoping we'd make it through Victory Road without it ever coming up?"

"I was going to say something but…"

"But what?" Ash demanded.

Roy nervously scratched the back of his head. "I mean…I didn't know what to say…I never thought something like this would happen."

"Small world, huh?" Ash said. "Let's just make this easy; don't say anything. Just…go."

"Whatever you may think about me, I'm not the kind of man who leaves his debts unpaid!" Roy said

"You don't owe me anything." Ash said. "Look at me; grew up fine without you! Thanks to Mom, I never grew up wanting anything. I grew up and got all the way to Victory Road in Sinnoh without your help!"

"And without my help, this is as far as you'll get!" Roy said. His words echoed around the cavern and until they stopped they were both silent, glaring at each other. Beside them, Ampharos and Pikachu cast worried glances at each other and their trainers. Finally, Roy spoke again

"Look, I know you grew up fine and all that. Hell, you may be better off for me being gone…but the fact remains; you saved our lives yesterday. Mine and Ampharos and the rest of my team."

"Thought you said you had it…" Ash muttered.

"Even so, if someone helps me I think it's only right I help them out in return." Roy said. "Now I've seen what you're capable of. You took down an angry Steelix and her brood in under a minute with three different Pokèmon coordinated at the same time. That's no cheap dimestore trick; that takes a sharp mind to pull off. And honestly, you're going to totally wipe the Elite Four."

Ash shifted uncomfortably, not expecting this total vote of confidence. "What…why do you say that?"

"Well…let's see…you'll beat Aaron easily of course. He's the only man over thirty that I know uses Bug type and your Charizard can deal with them…Flint and that new Electric trainer should go down to Garchomp and Torterra…Lucian may be a bit tricky but I think you can just overpower him with physical moves."

"I could have told you that." Ash said, somewhat childishly. "So if I can beat the Elite Four, why do I need your help?"

Roy took a deep breath, locking eyes with his son. "Because even if you defeat the Elite Four, you're still not going to beat Cynthia."

"Why the hell not? I've met Cynthia before. She's just another elite trainer; may as well be the Elite Five as far as I'm con-"

Roy interrupted Ash with a sharp laugh that brought a flash of recognition. "You really don't get it, do you? Cynthia isn't just your run of the mill trainer; she's in a league all her own. You say you've met Cynthia, but have you ever fought her?" Ash shook his head. "Exactly. You have no idea what her Pokèmon are capable of. Her Garchomp can wipe your entire team by itself and still have enough energy to burn."

"You know a lot about Cynthia…you fought her before, haven't you?" Ash said.

Roy nodded slowly. "I fought her a lot. There was a time when I was young before I met your mother that I travelled with friends from around the world. Everywhere I went, I'd always pick up new travelling companions and when I came to Sinnoh, I fell in with a new Pokèmon trainer named Cynthia."

"You travelled with Cynthia?" Ash said, fighting to keep the surprise out of his voice.

"Yeah…me and Norman chased off a flock of Spearow that were trying to pick off her Riolu. Long story short, she ended up following us and we watched her grow into the dervish she is today." Roy smiled a lopsided smile. "Norman always said she'd get far. Always had an eye for talent, that man."

"Good eye." Ash said, trying to remember where that name sounded familiar. "So if she's this unbeatable behemoth-"

"I never said she was unbeatable. She's damn good but she's mortal and she can be stopped." Roy said. "Of course, if you don't know how…"

"You want me to cheat?" Ash said, accusingly.

"You won't be cheating. All I'm going to do is point out what anyone with experience can see. You've got talent but you don't have my experience." Roy shifted uncomfortably. "I know…you probably hate me. I can't say I really blame you. But if you want to beat the league…you're going to need my help. I…I know I left you before but now, I feel like I need to help you with this. Please…Ash let me help you." He extended a hand. "What do you say?"

Ash groaned, rubbing his eyes. Part of him wanted tell Roy to get bent and storm off. On the other hand he had, on several occasions, seen Cynthia's Pokèmon plowing through a swath of Galactic grunts without so much as batting an eyelash. Still, he was so close to his adolescent goal of becoming League Champion without his father's aid. On the other hand…seeing his father here of all places and now of all times peaked his curiosity. It certainly wouldn't be the first time the universe had come together in a series of contrived events that somehow always centered on him. And as much as he was completely furious at Roy, he couldn't bring himself to hate the man. When he was younger, he it would be easy to despise his deadbeat dad but now that he was here, he couldn't muster up the energy for hate. Part of it was just total shock but something told him that this may be the last time he saw his father. The man was an enigma and would he regret passing up the opportunity to get to know him? Did he even want that? Dammit, this was confusing!

Ash looked down at Pikachu for help who offered a shrug in return as if to say Hey, it's up to you. Ash felt his eyes wander to Ampharos who was nervously looking between him and her trainer. Something in the old Pokèmon's eye pleaded with him to accept his father's offer.

Finally Ash sighed in defeat. "All right. I'm in."

"Just like that?" Misty said, filling the lull in conversation.

Ash stared blankly into his third cup of tea. "Yeah…I mean, why not? The guy was offering me Cynthia's championship ring on a platter; how could I refuse? Besides I-" Ash trailed off, looking down uncomfortably.

"You…" Misty said before realization struck her. Ash would never admit it, especially not now, but Misty suspected that there was still a little bit of the young Ash left; the Ash who wanted to bring his father home again. He never really gave up on his father; it's just the kind of person he was. Before he could go on, she gently reached over and squeezed his hand. "I understand…so what kind of stuff did he teach you?"

Ash shrugged. "Really specialized battle strategies for the most part; nuanced little details that forced this Pokèmon into a corner or that Pokèmon to open itself up to attack. We trained for four days, all the while with him spouting advice. "Remember, Ash don't stop for a second." He told me. "Earthquake Garchomp, Thunderbolt Togekiss, Flamethrower Lucario. Above all, attack, attack, attack. Never let her gain the advantage…"

Two Days Earlier

"Never give her the opportunity to regroup." Roy said, watching as his Blaziken executed a series of Lucario-esque palm strikes at Charizard who nimbly ducked, dove and dodged. The frosty air on top of the Spear Pillar swirled and eddied around them but the heat the two gave off from their fight melted the snow and created a small circle of green. "Cynthia's got a level head most of the time, but when the chips are down she gets desperate and is more prone to make mistakes."

"So all I have to do is force her hand?" Ash said, sidestepping to avoid gravel dislodged from the ceiling with the force of the battle.

"More than that; make her play defense." Roy said, recalling the fainted Blaziken and deploying his Mamoswine. "Cynthia wins because her tactics focus on quickly overwhelming her opponents with special attacks. I could always beat her because I forced her out of her comfort zone and on the defense."

"Tactics? Comfort zone? You sure place a lot of faith in the trainer's hands, huh?" Ash said as Charizard dodged Mamoswine's Stone Edge effortlessly.

"Of course I do." Roy said, ordering another Stone Edge that knocked Charizard to the side. "You have to learn to be more analytical. With the right skills, you can pick apart an enemy defense and break it down into a series of necessary maneuvers. People often make the chess analogy when dealing with Pokèmon battling and I really can't think of a better way to put it besides telling you to look at each attack, each defense as a series of moves on a game board."

"Chess pieces don't think for themselves." Ash said, pleased to see Charizard dodging and countering without more than a word from him. "Micromanaging every move stifles the Pokèmon's natural urges. After all, who knows how to better use their bodies in battle? Pokèmon battles have a thousand unchartable factors that can't be analyzed or simplified into a stream of data."

Roy chuckled at this, recalling his fainted Mamoswine. "I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree. But mark my words; you'll have an easier time of things if you take the time to study your opponent."

Ash couldn't help but shoot his father a rough, lopsided smirk. "I'll keep that in mind." He said, reaching into his pocket and wiping his forehead with a well used handkerchief."

Roy noted the pink color with a grin. "A touch too feminine, don't you think?"

Ash looked confused until Roy gestured to the handkerchief. "Oh this? It's not mine, or it wasn't originally. A friend of mine gave it to me a long time ago and I can never bring myself to get rid of it."

Roy suddenly looked interested. "This friend wouldn't happen to be a member of the fairer sex, would they?"

"Huh?" Ash looked blankly at Roy.

"You know…a girl." Roy said

"Oh! Well, yeah; of course she is." Ash said. "It's not like a guy would've given me such a frilly thing, right?"

Roy held his hands up. "Hey, I don't know that; for all I know you could be…not that there's anything wrong that but…"

"What are you blabbering about?" Ash said.

"Nothing." Roy said quickly. "I just wasn't aware that my son was such a heartbreaker, that's all."

"What're you…oh!" As thick as Ash could be, he had his fleeting moments of savvy that, in this case, caused him to blush red. "Oh, no, no, no! You've got wrong! Misty and I aren't…well…you know…"

"Heartbreaker indeed." Roy said with a raised brow. "Girl tells you how she feels and you shoot her down, huh?"

"I…huh?" Ash said

"Well, she gave you her handkerchief…and you two aren't an item…" Roy said like it was supposed to mean something to his romantically thick son.

"Yeah, so? She had to go back home to take care of her gym so I went off to Hoenn on my own! The handkerchief was just a present!"

"A present that happens to be the universal signifier of affection." Roy said. "You didn't think all those maidens in fairy tales tossed their hankies so that the handsome knights could blow their noses, did you?"

"Y-you don't know Misty!" Ash said. "She didn't mean it as a "signifier of affection" or whatever! I mean the only reason she followed me for so long is because I trashed her bike! She went home as soon as it was fixed!"

"Uh-huh." Roy said. "Tell me, how long did you two travel together?"

"Huh? Well…about a year and a half." Ash replied after a few seconds

"Uh-huh. And in that year and a half, how often did she pester you about her bike?"

"All the time!" Ash said to Roy's raised brow. "Okay…now and again…okay, once and a while…okay, one or two times."

"Right. Final question. When said bike was fixed and you pointed out that she could go home, what was her reaction?"

"Well…she ran off. I guess she was kind of distraught but…" Ash shook his head. "Y-you're imagining things!"

"Oh am I?" Roy shot a look at Pikachu who rolled his eyes in an exasperated way he learned over the years.

"Alright, alright! Enough of this!" Ash said, trying to will the color out of his face. "Back to training old man; what other pearls of wisdom do you have for me?"

"I'm afraid that's it. I've got nothing more to teach you." Roy sighed. "You're as ready as you'll ever be; it's time to head to the Indigo Plateau."

Ash blinked in confusion a few times before repeating his favorite "Huh?"

"Well, even if the Sinnoh Cup wasn't tomorrow I'm not sure how much more I could teach you. You've shown impressive skill and intuitions I've haven't seen in trainers twice your age." Roy said. "And that's the truth; there's nothing more I can do for you."

"Oh…okay…" To tell the truth, it all felt a bit anti-climactic to Ash who was expecting some kind of profound epiphany or dangerous secret technique that would assure him a victory. Actually, the whole experience was kind of a letdown save for the fact that Roy at least gave him someone to spar with. "I mean, if you're sure…"

"I am." Roy said. "I absolutely am. I'm not sure where you've been or what you've been doing for the last eighteen years-"

"Twenty." Ash corrected.

"Right, twenty. But you're stronger for it; stronger than I could have ever imagined. You don't need any more of my help that much is certain." Roy said, casually shouldering his bag. "Well, let's be going then. You've got a hell of a fight in store for you tomorrow and you'll need your sleep."

"So that was it?" Misty asked. "He said you were done and the two of you set off for the Pokèmon league and-"

"We…we didn't get as far as that." Ash said. "We had another fight."

"Oh god, what was it about-"

"He wanted to leave then. He was never planning to come to the League with me." Ash said quickly.

"He…wait, so he just trained you for the battle of your life and just decided to up and leave because…" Misty said, thoroughly confused

"He started in with his whole spiel about how if he went with me to the league, I'd try and convince him to come home with me and he didn't want to send any false signals because he was just going to leave again and blah blah blah, duty, blah blah, wandering and blah blah blah rolling stone blah blah moss…" Ash said bitterly.

"I can see how you would get pissed off at that." Misty said. "Just don't tell me you hit him again."

"No I just…I just yelled at him for about twenty minutes straight." Ash said, biting his lip. "Just…everything I wanted to say to him since he left. About how hard it was on mom, about how I never had a family growing up…just petulant kid stuff but I felt like it had to be said…anyway, all this led up to me yelling…

"I…I don't get it! I just do not freaking get it! I mean…what could be so great…so god damn special that you would just give up your home and walk the Earth! Ash yelled.

Roy stared at his son for a moment, processing his lengthy diatribe. Then he jerked his chin up sharply. "Take a look above you." An impudent part of Ash wanted to refuse but he complied in spite of it, tilting his head back and letting his jaw slacken a little bit. Above the ruins of the Spear Pillar the aurora blazed in whirling eddies and streams of blue, green and purple. The stars shone brighter away from the city lights, providing a backdrop on which the aurora twisted and turned.

"Now look down." Roy said, pointing off the mountain and towards the open ocean. Across the sea the light in the sky heralded the sun's imminent arrival. A flock of Wingull roused from their sleep, skimming low over the waters to catch their breakfast and barely missing the flippers of a Wailord pod that cut a steady path through the water.

"I…I love this world." Roy said softly. "People and Pokèmon have been living her for thousands of years and we still haven't seen it all. No matter how far we come, there's always another adventure; always another rock to peek under and strange things discover. A man could spend his whole life exploring and still never understand everything. That's why-"

"You walked out on Mom…" Ash whispered, still looking out over the sea.

Roy gritted his jaw. "Your mother is an amazing woman and that's putting it mildly. And yes, I did love her. I loved her for a long time before you were born and a long time since. But…I'm a rambler, that's who I am. No matter how happy I was with your mother I always felt the pull of the open road. I need wild, raw, untamed space to live in and thrive in."

"So we tied you down?" Ash asked softly. "Cut in on your adventure time?"

Roy shook his head in agitation. By this point, his voice had taken an edge of reverence akin to religious fervor. "I'm not meant for domestic living and neither are you! This may be the first time we've met like this but this sure as hell isn't the first time I've heard your name. Your name is being whispered everywhere, always tied to some damn fool crusade or unbelievable story. Your name is getting away from you, taking on a story of its own and mingling with legends!" Roy stuck his hands in his pockets, now grinning wildly. "Let me ask you something. Say you win this thing and become a Pokèmon Master; then what?"

Ash remained quiet so Roy went on. "Are you going to stop? Are you telling Settle down and start a family like I tried to do…and make no mistake, I tried Ash. I tried to make it work for you and your mom but there's something about me that just ain't cut out for the day to day. You just can't compare the people you know to the raw beauty of this world we live in! And that's why you're out here today. Look at you, twenty years old and still trucking. Everyone else fell in line, didn't they? Everybody wants to be a "Master" but how many people actually get it? No one. Oh sure, they had their fun for a while. Putted around a few years when they were kids, maybe won a few badges, maybe entered a few tournaments but they all fell down. Went home, got jobs and got busy dying. But not us! We're still kicking, you and me and I guarantee we'll be kicking long after everyone we know has kicked off." Roy moved closer to Ash. "Not you…even if you win tomorrow it won't be enough. I know the feeling. You'll always look for higher mountains to climb and you'll never find that at home. Come with me." Roy repeated. "We can go off alone, father and son. I've never been one to believe in fate but…I don't know, I feel like I was meant to find you in that tunnel. Think of what we could do together; the places we'd go and the things we'd see. There's so many amazing things out there…like the Soleceon Ruins! Entire ancient structures built to honor Pokèmon protected by an unsolvable labyrinth. Or…or how about the Echoing Caverns? Frightening noises that no one's found the source of! Or the Shimmering Izu Reefs; the coral sparkles in the sunlight because of some…ah, I forget why it does that but-"

"Silicon." Ash said suddenly.

"Sorry?"

"The Corsola there…they chew up this rock that's full of silicon and spit it out to build the reefs." Ash said, still not meeting Roy's eye. "I went snorkeling there with Misty and Tracey last summer; she said the light reflects off the silicon and blinds predators that might attack their nests."

"Oh…I didn't know that-"

"And the Echoing Cavern? The noises come from a bunch of Chansey grinding rocks together and moaning to scare away trainers. Me, Gary, Misty and your friend Norman's daughter May discovered them there and saved them from some poachers. We even got Happiny eggs out of thanks."

"Really…well, you'll have to show me when-"

"And I bet you didn't know about the secret chambers in the Soleceon Ruins." Ash said, chuckling in spite of himself. "Brock got us lost in the middle of the ruins chasing the cute archeologist and we found ourselves in a chamber no one has seen in hundreds of years." Ash lifted his head again to look at the sky. "And the aurora? Hell, those are just solar winds distorting our magnetic field. Space dust and radiation screwing with our atmosphere; that's what Volkner said the last time we were up all up here together." Ash glanced over the tattered ruins, suddenly struck by the image of all his friends posing for a victorious photo shoot on the rubble.

"Wow…smart guy…" Roy said, shooting a glance at the colorful space wind.

"What about the River Races of Alto Mare? Ever competed on the backs of legendary Pokèmon?" Ash said.

"No but-"

"Have you seen World Tree? Set foot where no human ever walked before?"

"Now that's just a fairy tale." Roy insisted, shifting uncomfortably.

"Tell that to the guy who's been there." Ash said. "I've seen stranger things than you've imagined. Before I was thirteen, I clashed with Pokèmon that were more forces of nature than living beings. I've explored undersea temples. I've battled legendary beasts. I once visited a nightmarish dreamscape where the laws of nature were upended. Hell, I've even clashed with a Pokèmon some people have called God. I've seen the world for what it is and you're right; you can't compare it to the people you leave behind. Against my friends…your wonders hold glamour. They're just shiny Corsola vomit and space wind."

"Well, when you put it like that-"

"Doesn't matter how I put it." Ash said. "Even mountains of diamonds are just sparkly rocks. I could care less about dead mountains and silent forests. I'm only really happy when I'm travelling with someone and I get joy out of sharing these beautiful places with my friends!"

"Mm hmm." Roy said, sighing to himself. "These are the same friends you left to further your training?"

"Well-I…" The pretty speech Ash had planned out died in his throat. "No, that's different."

"Oh, so they left you?" Roy went on.

"Well…they had things to do and I-"

"Wanted to go on." Roy finished. "You wanted to farther than your friends were willing to go with you."

"It's not like I wanted to leave them behind!" Ash snapped. "I just…I just…"

"Couldn't stop." Roy said. "You couldn't just give up because your party broke up. Why should you? It's not your fault they quit on you."

"They didn't quit on me!" Ash yelled, voice echoing across the hills.

"Then what is it?" Roy demanded. "Convince me that your friends mean more to you than your freedom."

"It's not as simple as that! I…I still see them."

"From time to time." Roy said. "But how long have you ever stayed in one place, hm? Two days? A week tops? How long can you stay put before you get restless? And you get restless, don't you?"

"I do not…" Ash said, looking away but Roy pressed his advantage.

"You get all…tingly when you stay too long. Like you're supposed to be long gone but you can't tell why."

"Don't talk like you know me, old man." Ash growled defensively.

"Then tell me how long you can sleep in the same bed without losing sleep. Tell me you just relax in the league offseason instead of training in the mountains." Ash was silently grinding his teeth so Roy foolishly blundered forward. "Tell me you would give up all training, all the travelling, all the fun you've had over the years to shack up with that girl who gave you her hand-"

Roy tried to finish his sentence but he soon discovered that it was very difficult to get his point across while he was struggling to breathe. Ash snapped out, driving the heel of his palm straight into the older trainer's stomach. Roy made a strange gagging sound as all the air left his lungs and he was sent sprawling and spluttering on the stone tiles.

Ash clenched and unclenched his hands in impulsive, impotent anger. "Don't….don't talk about my friends. You don't know anything, anything about my friends." Ash grabbed his bag, rousing Pikachu from his surprisingly deep nap. "And you sure as hell don't know me."

Roy struggled to his feet, uneasily grabbing his own bag uneasily. He looked as if he might try to apologize and he started a couple times before just trailing off awkwardly. "You'll do well tomorrow…I still believe in you; you are my son after all…"

"Just go." Ash said without anger.

Roy nodded silently and Ash turned his back as his father left. He waited until his footsteps were out of earshot before turning back to the Pokèmon League.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu asked worried that he had napped through his trainer's scuff with his father.

"Nothing." Ash muttered. "Let's go."

"Attention! Attention! All trainers check in with their respective judges in two hours!"

Ash was only distantly aware of the announcer's words as he made his way down the hallway towards his assigned room. His steps were heavy and there was a slouch in his walk that he hadn't shook since he came down from the mountain. His team was getting healed, he was poised for the fight of his life and…

Roy's words bounced around in his head, jostling any other thoughts out of the way. Ash stood, hand on the doorknob to his hotel room but for some reason he couldn't turn it. He stood there for a few minutes, getting strange looks from the trainers that passed him but his father's words froze him in his spot. He couldn't move; he couldn't turn the damn handle.

Ash stepped back, suddenly confused as to what he should do. In that confusion, he started to panic as he suddenly found himself unable to proceed.

"ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ALL TRAINERS CHECK IN WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE JUDGES IN TWO HOURS!"

What the hell is wrong with me? Ash thought. Pull yourself together, Ash. That old bastard was just talking crap. He doesn't know you…he doesn't know you…right?

Ash suddenly found himself bolting towards the Pokèmon Center without thinking about it. Maybe a good fly on Staraptor would clear his mind…maybe…

He didn't know where he was going; all he knew was that there was that feeling telling him to go. And that scared him more than anything.

"…and I just took off." Ash finished. "I flew around for a while, not really paying attention to where I was going. Finally, I decided to come here…I didn't know where else to go."

Misty nodded, calmly dealing with a conflicting mess of emotions. On one hand, seeing Ash look so defeated was heartbreaking and half of her wanted to just grab him and hold him. The other half of her was pissed as hell at Ash's father for screwing him up like he did. More than anything though, Misty wanted to know "Ash…why did you come to me?"

Ash bit his lip. "I guess you've always made things clear for me. You know me…really well. Right now, you probably know me better than I do…I'm just so…confused. So…what do I do now, Misty?"

AN: Yes, what do you do now Ash? Are you going to spend another four THOUSAND words on this, hmm?

I swear to Arceus I thought this was going to be the last one but this way, I'll finish my Alden Nowlan quote…stay tuned and see where this is headed. I SWEAR this is going to be the finale! Things are going to get good (and pretty steamy now that i think about it...)

Reviewing makes me very happy and when I'm happy I tend to write better!

DOTMW