I had other things to worry about. Sorry to keep you all waiting, though.

Leon found Sarah on the roof, just as he had expected. "I thought that I would find you here," he said. Sarah didn't answer, instead looking up to the night sky. "Stargazing, huh?" He walked to a spot beside her. "This is just like old times. I remember when you, me, and Master Averill would just lie on a random field somewhere, and he would point out the Ursaring, the Tauros, the Kingler, even the Arcanine."

"I thought that you didn't care for the past, seeing as how you forget things so easily," Sarah said, hostility in her voice.

"There are things in the past that one never forgets, not just the good, but also the bad. I just wish sometimes to forget the bad, but then I wouldn't be what I am today," Leon said.

"Is that why you forgot about me when we met just a few days ago? Did you consider me a bad thing?" Sarah asked.

Leon looked at her in shock. "Sarah, why would you ever think that?" he asked.

Sarah looked at him. "If you're trying to fool me, it won't work that easily. Tell me the truth now, Leontus Firesect! The truth hurts sometimes, but it's better than a pack of lies! Look at me in the eye, and tell me for sure that you never considered me to have a negative impact in your life!" she demanded.

She did not expect Leon to take her in his arms and hug her. "Sarah Isecolt, why would you ever think that? Sure, we had some arguments, but I always considered you a friend, Sarah. Our time together as apprentices were the best four years of my life. I enjoyed working with you a lot. Did you think that I was lying to you when I said that you were beautiful? You are, Sarah. I wasn't playing. You are very beautiful, and your presence was a driving force, no matter how I tried to push you out of my mind," he said.

"Why would you do that?" Sarah asked, angry again.

"Agents of Aura Psychicorum have little to no emotion, and therefore no ties to each other or external beings. Freelance agents are not necessarily bound by these regulations, although we act as such. I had almost succeeded in forgetting you completely, for as you recall, that reunion we had did not go well," Leon explained. "Before I met you, I knew that somewhere in my mind was a collection of memories of my time with a best friend, whose name I could not recall. Meeting you again unlocked them." Leon ended the embrace, but kept his hands on her shoulders. "You were my best friend, Sarah Isecolt. You still are. I never considered you to be a negative impact on my life. And I wholeheartedly apologize for my earlier behavior."

Sarah digested these words before she laughed and hugged Leon again. "You're the same…maybe a little different, but still you. I'm so happy…you're still Leontus Firesect," she said.

"Yes. I am. However, I have a question for you," Leon asked.

"Yeah?" Sarah asked.

"Is Anabel still…disturbed by what happened to her?" Leon asked.

Sarah immediately broke contact. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I know, Sarah. I know what happened to her. She nearly lost her chances of being a pure, untouched bride. You and I both know exactly what I mean," Leon said.

"H-how did you…?" Sarah asked.

"Ash did not tell you the whole truth. It is true that during our assignment to watch Anabel, I went back to tell headquarters about the minority of your powers. What he didn't tell you was that I came back to retrieve him. And both he and I were present that day when Anabel was nearly deflowered," Leon said.

"Why didn't you help her?" Sarah demanded.

"I didn't have to. Ash had already taken care of the bastards by the time I showed up," Leon said.

"So then why didn't you do more to help her? Both of you just left her like that?!" Sarah asked.

"Who do you think kidnapped you from your house and brought you to hers that night?" Leon asked with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. There was a moment of silence before Sarah screamed in frustration.

Meanwhile…

Considering the bombshell that Ash had just dropped on her, the face that Anabel was making at the moment was actually quite understandable. It was one of both shock and hurt. "What are you…are you saying that…?" She couldn't finish the thought, but she didn't have to.

Ash nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, Anabel," he said.

Anabel began to cry. "So this is what you meant when you said that you left me behind. It was hovering on the edge of my mind, but I was still wondering ever since you returned…why would you, someone who should have become as cold as ice, and someone who's only really known me for a short two days risk your life for me?"

"And now you have your answer. Ever since that day, I've regretted leaving you behind when you needed me the most. Raichu argued against it, but I never listened, always pushing you to the back of my mind," Ash said. He was about to continue when Raichu itself opened the door. Ash smiled. "Good morning, Raichu. Did you hear all that?"

Raichu simply turned its face away, as if still annoyed at Ash for not listening to it. Ash shook his head. "I get it, Raichu. I should never have left her behind. I realize that now," he said. Raichu nodded, and settled next to Ash.

"Where were you when it happened? Did it never occur to you that would need help?" Anabel asked.

"You remember that day in your perspective, but not from those of others. You never knew, Anabel? Haven't you ever wondered how you ended up in your room?" Ash asked.

Anabel's memories of the day, or rather the night, were hazy, and besides, she tried not to remember it, anyway. Still, for a few minutes during the event, she recalled seeing a bright blue light. During those few minutes, she had assumed that she was dying, and for a few days after, the blackness had served to encourage that. There were instances where Sarah's voice told her to sleep and eat, and though she could do those, she had thought that some divine being had decided to grant her a few more days of half-life before dying completely. But then, the same bright blue light appeared in her vision, and a strong, encouraging male voice told her to keep on living. Then she had woken up with Sarah by her bedside. She was told that while she was unconscious for a few hours, she had been through some sort of mental trauma for the past ten days. Even then, her grip on the real world had been tentative at best. Still, she recovered almost completely, although she still had nightmares.

Now, she recalled that bright blue light, and came to a realization that Ash confirmed with his next statement. "I was the one who brought you to your room and got you away from that bastard. Even now, the rage that I was feeling still haunts me. Do you want to know what happened to him?"

Anabel had a feeling, but she took a chance with the least violent path. "Did…did he go to prison?" she asked.

Her heart sunk at Ash's response. "No. I killed him. My Pokémon and I snuffed out their pathetic lives." He said this with such cold anger that Anabel began to quaver, remembering those events.

Flashback…

Anabel and her then boyfriend, Jace, were walking back to Anabel's house. The night was young, but terrible; a huge thunderstorm had broken out in the area, and Jace and Anabel huddled under a large purple umbrella.

Anabel liked Jace; he was nice and funny, and although his Pokémon skills left something to wish for, he cared deeply about her, and she him, or so she thought.

"I know a shortcut back, Anabel," Jace said, leading her into the entrance of a dark alleyway. Anabel, however, was unsure.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it. I've taken this way a whole bunch of times before. Besides, even if we run into something, I'll protect you, I promise," Jace said. Anabel tried to allow herself to take comfort in his presence, but she still couldn't help a feeling of trepidation.

The walk through the alleyway was uneventful at first, but Anabel still felt like there were eyes watching them from the shadows. She clung closer to Jace's arm, seeking his protection.

She soon found out that the feeling of being watched was well founded. Within moments, a group of five rough-looking men melted out from the shadows. They had unkempt appearances, but the evil look in their eyes was unmistakable.

"Well, well, well, look who's stumbled into our alleyway, boys," one of them said.

"Hee-hee-heee! How absolutely fun! That girl is so irresistibly hot!" another one said in a high-pitched voice, licking his lips.

"Shall we take her?" a third one asked. A fourth one grunted questioningly at who seemed to be the leader as well.

"Let me have her first," the leader said. He glared at the now trembling Jace. "Get out of here, wimp!"

Jace glanced at the entrance, which was open. Quickly, he pulled Anabel towards it. The guys seemed to let him go, but the first one that spoke pulled Anabel back by her coat and into his odorous body. "Nuh-uh-uh. You're staying here."

"Jace, help!" she screamed. Jace, however, did not do so. Instead, he turned tail and ran, shattering Anabel's hopes.

The one who held her passed her to the leader, who hugged her to his body and licked her ear, making her tremble in disgust and fear. "Delicious," he rasped. He then turned to the one who grunted, the biggest one of all. "That sniveling wimp who ran probably isn't going to tell, but deal with him." The man simply nodded and ran off. "Now, then…let's see what's under here…" He pinned Anabel to the ground and ripped off all of her upper clothes with a single yank. "So beautifully pert," he laughed, giving her breasts a small squeeze.

"Let me go…please…" Anabel tried. But they paid her no heed; the leader pulled off her pants, leaving her in a bra and underwear. The gang's eyes grew more feral, and they began to blush at the sight of her body. Then, they heard a male voice scream.

"That'd be your little boyfriend, I'm afraid," the leader taunted. The others laughed, and Anabel struggled even more. This sent them into even greater mirth.

"We have a live one here…hee-hee-heee!" the whiny one said.

The leader said nothing, and hooked his fingers onto the waistband of her underwear. Anabel screamed one last time, but had given up all hope of rescue. She would lose her virginity tonight, and in the worst possible way. She began to lose consciousness as her underwear slid down her thighs.

Suddenly, there was a dazzling blue light, and the next moment, the three men behind the leader screamed, seemingly in excruciating pain. It was as if fire suddenly enveloped their bodies; in her last conscious moments, she saw the three literally turn to ash, and the leader was turning towards a figure, hidden in the darkness.

Then she blacked out.

End flashback…

"That's how I remember it. I thought that the blue light was a sign that I was dreaming or dying," Anabel said.

"Everyone who goes through something like that usually wishes to die, but it was no dream. Still, it might as well have been. I showed up in the nick of time. That blue light you saw was me blasting the three guys with aura. Don't worry, I kept it under control. I didn't destroy any buildings," he quickly added when he saw her horrified look.

"In any case, this is what happened after you fell unconscious…"

Flashback…

"Who the hell are you?" the leader asked, stumbling to his feet.

"Your worst nightmare, you son of a bitch," Ash hissed. Raichu was gritting its teeth while sitting on his shoulder.

"This is between her and me! Get the hell out of here!" the leader demanded. Still, he looked deathly terrified. There was nothing left of his friends; they were literally gone with the wind. Then he remembered the guy he sent away. "Gip! Gip, get your ass back here! Hurry!"

"Is Gip that big retarded guy? He met the same fate as the fools that were just here," Ash said.

"Y-you…killed them! You murderer!" the leader quavered. Ash would hear no more of this. He had been trying to keep his rage under control, but he gave up. In less than two seconds, the man's right arm was on the ground, and his right ear as well. Blood gushed out of the two holes. The man screamed, seemingly unable to decide which hole to try to plug.

"You are no man. You are an insect. Not a Bug Pokémon, but an insect. I suggest that you try to run," Ash said. The man stumbled away as fast as he could, his blood staining the flowing streams of rainwater red. Just as he thought that he would get away, he was met with three other figures, all of them bathed in shadow. One looked like a giant lizard, another looked like a soldier of some sort, and the third looked like a bipedal crocodile with fins. They all had cold, hard looks in their eyes, and the glow of their weapons shined even in the dark. "You should never listen to the advice your murderer gives you. It only gets you killed," Ash said. Raichu jumped down from Ash's shoulder, its tail already prepared to lash with Iron Tail. "Now, how do you wish to die? A thousand lashes with Raichu's Iron Tail? Getting all your limbs hacked off by Sceptile or Gallade before they finally cut your head off? Your throat crushed by Feraligatr after a slow suffocation? Burnt to a crisp by my Charizard or frozen to the bone by my Glalie?"

"No…no…no…" the man gasped, realizing he was trapped. The blood flowed freely now, but he felt no pain in the face of his fear.

"And how many times have you heard those very words? Forget it. There's only one way for you to die rightfully," Ash said, before returning all his Pokémon to their Poke Balls. The man had no time to sigh in relief; Ash lifted him up by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Unfortunately for the man, he did not lose consciousness, although he came close to. A few minutes later, he would find that losing consciousness would have been the best thing to happen to him that night; with what Ash had in store for him, he would curse his bad luck to have the mood for crime on him tonight. "This won't take long; Anabel needs help. Still, you will die slowly." Ash created a sharp, claw-like extension of one of his right index fingernail out of aura. He plunged it into the man's left arm, and when he pulled it out, blood flowed out again, but the claw was gone. Ash let him fall to the ground and walked back to where Anabel was. "Enjoy your pain."

That was the last thing the man heard before a small stinging pain began to erupt throughout his entire body. He tried to scratch, but the pain simply got worse and worse until it was entirely unbearable. By the end of the minute, the man was writhing in agony on the ground, screaming and screaming until his throat was raw. His screams got more high pitched as he turned from relief to terror once more.

Ash paid this no mind, blocking the screams from his ears. Instead, he knelt down beside Anabel, who was still conscious, but quavering. She shrank away from his touch, whimpering. "Anabel?" he asked, getting worried.

"Get away…please help…get away from me…" she quavered. Ash gasped. Mental trauma. He was afraid this might happen, and soon he was angry at himself for not knowing a slower way than he used for the man to die in agony. Speaking of which, he was still screaming, and Ash knew that it would attract attention soon.

"It's going to be all right…just trust me, Anabel," Ash tried, attempting to bring comfort by hugging her. However, she violently flailed around when his arms almost went around her.

"Stop! Stop it!" Anabel cried. Ash had no choice. He touched a glowing blue finger to her forehead and released some of his energy around it. It bathed her entire forehead, and she began to calm down.

"Sssh…just sleep right now, Anabel. It's going to be all right. I promise. Just believe in me, all right?" Ash soothed. Anabel finally closed her eyes as Ash wrapped his coat around her body and lifted her. She seemed to weakly clutch at his front, even she was unconscious. Ash carried her towards the entrance, where the man, who had screamed himself raw, was lying. A blue fire was burning his body despite the rain, and through the fire's glow, a vaguely humanoid black husk of a man was all that was left.

"H-help…ple…please…" the husk whispered, feebly reaching out with what looked like a hand at Ash. However, neither the boy nor the rodent paid him any attention, walking by without a glance. The husk opened his mouth in a silent scream before finally dying, fading into ash.

As Ash carried Anabel into view of the street, a loud whistle was heard from above. "I thought that you had left," Ash said, not looking up, although he stopped.

"Aura Psychicorum is getting impatient. I was sent to bring you back," Leon said. He swung down from the rooftop, landing right next to Ash. "I never expected you to kill him like that. I'm quite surprised; injecting a small volume of aura particles that multiplied exponentially within the victim's body, and then detonating them when they spread throughout, slowly burning the victim's heart, lungs, stomach, veins, everything, until the body itself is little more than a husk—you certainly are a lot more brutal than I realized. Your reputation does you justice, at least," Leon said.

"I have to help her. I hate to leave her like this," Ash said.

"I'll notify her friend and bring her to the girl's house. Of course, I'll do it by kidnapping her from her house. After that, we'll take our leave. I'll give you about twenty minutes," Leon said, before running off.

Ash ran in the opposite direction—Anabel's house was not all that far away if he went at top speed. He would make it there in five minutes. As he entered Anabel's front door by picking the lock, he thought about when he had seen her last. He was just a kid back then. Now, even though he didn't like it, he had to leave her like this. Still, he might as well leave a note. He was in a lot of trouble as it was, anyway.

However, he left only three words on a small slip of paper that Anabel would eventually find during her hour of awakening.

"I'm sorry. –A.N.K." the note read.

End flashback…

"It was you…" Anabel whispered.

"I really was sorry, Anabel. Ever since then, I pushed myself to get more powerful, in an attempt to forget my regret. However, it has always been there. It was part of the reason why I chose to go freelance. Don't you see? I took this job because I wanted to be there when you needed again. I failed once. I will not fail again," Ash said.

"Why didn't you try? Was Aura Psychicorum that powerful? Were you so afraid of it back then?" Anabel asked.

"Believe it or not, it's even stronger now. But so am I, and with strength comes confidence. I promise you, I won't fail this time," Ash said.

Anabel was overcome with emotion. Fear, anger, sorrow, and love. This torrent had only one release at the moment. She slapped him as hard as he could. Ash's face whipped to the side, and he turned back, his face ashen, when Anabel simply broke down into his arms. "You dummy…I never once put the blame on you ever since you told me just now. It wasn't your fault, it was mine," she sobbed.

"It wasn't yours, Anabel. It was simply you being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Speaking of which, what happened to that Jace guy you were dating?" Ash asked.

"I broke up with him. I said that if he truly cared about me, then he would try to help me. But all he did was run. I just didn't trust him," Anabel said.

"You shouldn't have. A coward is a coward," Ash said. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "In any case, you've got to know…even though Vigo is dead, there will be others. I'm going to have to train you. Do you trust me, Anabel?"

"Yes." Anabel's response was rather muffled, since her face was buried in his shoulder.

"Look into my eyes. Stand up to this piercing glare, and tell me the truth. Do you trust me wholeheartedly?" Ash said.

Anabel did as he said, and his glare was as piercing as he said. Still, she fixed calmly on the reflection of dim light that proved his existence, and she felt no nervousness. "I trust you, Ash Ketchum," she said.

"I suppose if we're working together from now on, you should know my full name," Ash sighed. He stood up and bowed dramatically. "My name is Ashvier Nova Ketchum. Pleased to meet you fully, Lady Anabel Crystallium," he said.

Anabel started giggling, although tears still leaked out. "Ashvier? That's such a…strange name. It sounds strangely powerful, though," she said. "Ashvier. Very well then." She stood up and curtsied. "I place my full trust in you, Mister Ashvier Nova Ketchum," she said, mirth in her voice.

The two stood there for a moment before laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of their situation. "Ash…I'm really glad that you're here, you know," Anabel said, looking down at her feet.

"So am I. Now, what do you say we get an explanation out of Leon?" Ash asked.

"We?" Anabel asked.

"This might involve you. When Leon got here, he said that returning to headquarters was no longer an option. I want to know what he meant by that," Ash said. Anabel just remembered that fact, and admittedly, she was rather curious about that as well.

"No need for that. I'll tell you, anyway," Leon's voice said. Ash and Anabel looked towards the entrance where Leon and Sarah were just returning.

"Did something happen at HQ, Leon?" Ash asked.

"Nothing good. It turns out that the job sent from above was a lie. Protecting them was just a cover for the real job," Leon said.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"They asked us to bring them back to HQ for training, right?" Ash nodded. "I was wondering about that, so I asked them. They said that they wanted to induct Anabel and Sarah into the ranks of the psychics with training almost immediately after arrival, and leaving us out of it," Leon said.

"What?! I thought that we would train them!" Ash said.

"What's the difference?" Sarah asked.

"The trainers at HQ are drill instructors that treat newbies no different from the veterans! You would never be able to handle that level immediately! Training at the level that they have may very well kill you, and they wouldn't care at all!" Ash exclaimed.

"That's not the worst of it," Leon said. "That was a lie, too. I overheard some of the top brass plotting behind a door. Apparently, they think Anabel is part of some prophecy that refers to something called the Maiden of the White Moon, also shortened to the White Maiden. In the prophecy, she's described as a dormant telepath at a comparatively late age. She starts out rather weak, but within contact with danger and someone called the Azure Knight, she would gain almost unmatched power. They think that you're the Azure Knight, Ash," Leon said.

"That's…weird. So what happens in this prophecy? Are they planning to use her for something?" Ash asked.

Leon nodded, and his face grew even more grim. "Yes. The Maiden of the White Moon is…eventually sacrificed. They plan on killing Anabel," he said.

And that's another cliffhanger…leave a comment below if you so wish.

By the way, there have been some hateful guest reviews in my other stories, and here's my response to them: get a life. If you use a guest review to leave a flame, then you're nothing but a coward. I have nothing against guest reviews, but I really hate it when people flame me with them. I only leave those flames up so people can realize how stupid you anonymous haters are. I have no problem with those who flame under an account, at least then I can flame you back. Positive guest reviews are fine, too. However, to those anonymous haters: get the hell off the site. I have no interest in your idiocy.

In any case, again, leave a comment below if you so wish. Except for you anonymous haters. Go do something with yourself.