Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

"Dawn you have to believe me, I did not have anything to do with it!" Ash begged her to listen. The two stood in the hallway just outside of the cafeteria; far enough away that no one could hear. Dawn stared at the black-haired boy who stood in front of her, fire present in her eyes.

"You and your father killed my dad Ash. You took away everything from my mom and me." Silent tears fell from her eyes, but it did not stop her. "You are the reason that I have nightmares. You are the reason that I will always feel like a piece of me is missing. You are the reason why I had to deal with loss for the first time; losing both my father, and hope in humanity." It was Ash's time to let tears fall, as he looked at the ground instead of her.

"I didn't know what I was doing, I promise you." He lifted his head to look into her deep blue eyes and continued, "We moved because my mom and I could not stand to bear the hurt that we had suffered from my dad." He took a deep breath. "We didn't know he was working for Team Rocket, okay? Of course we didn't."

Dawn started to back up just the slightest bit. "I can't hear this. It doesn't change anything."

Ash reached out for her, to which she immediately jerked away. "Yes it changes everything. I thought he worked at a factory, so did my mom. You know why Dawn? Because he was just a man to us; a husband and father. He didn't revolve his life around killing people; we had good times together. I lost my father too."

The anger that had a settled over the past few minutes found its way back up in Dawn. "I was the one who lost a father. You lost a murderer. Don't speak to me again." With that, the bluenette turned and ran as fast as she could out of the school. She just needed to get home, away from the nightmare that was quickly becoming reality.

The table was silent after Gary, Leaf, and Ash left. No one dared to speak. The bell rang, letting the students know that in five minutes class would be starting. However, this group of friends continued to sit, not moving a muscle.

It was finally May that broke that silence. "Wow." Everyone just nodded their heads, trying to comprehend what had just happened. "This just can't be happening."

"I feel so bad for Dawn. She always wanted closure... just not like this." Drew said.

Misty nodded, "First she lost her dad, and then finds out his murderer was none other than her boyfriend."

"Ash isn't the murderer. His father was." May snapped. Everyone's head turned to the brunette, clearly surprised by the outburst.

"Yeah, but he just stood there and watched. He was a witness to what happened; basically the same thing." Tracey defended.

This time Drew spoke up, "No it's not the same thing. Do murderers and witnesses get the same charge in court? No they don't.. and whys that? Oh right, because there's a massive difference."

"Are you seriously defending this monster?" The ginger of the group screeched. She looked absolutely disgusted, like she had just drank from a toilet.

Drew shook his head, "No I'm not. But there's more to the story than any of us know... Come to think of it, I don't think he even got pressed charges for being a witness." He grabbed the newspaper that sat on the middle of their cafeteria table. He skimmed over the writing, looking for some more information of the crime that took place. "Nope, all it says here is that Ash's dad was killed by the Rangers who Mr. Berlitz worked for.. Ash was never charged for anything."

Tracey snorted, "And that makes a difference, how?"

"Because Tracey, this case went to court. That means the jury found him not guilty. Like I said, there is more to the story than any of us are aware of."

"Doesn't make it right, Drew." Misty replied.

"You're right; it doesn't make it right. But it's a start."

Gary sat in the driver's seat with his eyes closed. Leaf sat beside him, her hand in his. They sat there for a few minutes saying nothing.

"What are we going to do Gary?"

The brunette hesitated, then looked over at his girlfriend who was so patient with him. "I honestly don't know Leaf. I thought that by telling Dawn it would be the right thing... but now I'm not too sure."

She shook her head, "It was the right thing, okay? Gary Oak it took a lot of courage for you to tell Dawn, someone who has been your best friend since forever. You sat with her at her own father's funeral. You were the one who helped her move past it, and see that she was still alive. You made the right choice for her."

Gary shut his eyes again, and gave her hand a squeeze. "Maybe I did, but I still can't shake this feeling that there's more to the story."

The brunette gave a small smile, "Then we'll just uncover it all, won't we?"

Dawn stormed into her house, slamming the front door shut behind her. Tears were still streaming down her face; they had been since she found out the truth.

She made eye contact with her mother that was in the kitchen cooking. Once she saw her daughter she immediately dropped everything and ran to her. Her soft hands graced the side of Dawn's face, wiping the tears. "Oh my Arceus... what happened?"

The bluenette whispered through her tears. "It was Ash's father that killed daddy. I'm so sorry mom. I'm so sorry." She rushed upstairs to her room, not waiting for her mom to reply.

Mrs. Berlitz stood there, frozen. She was trying to register the news that her daughter had just gave her.

"Oh my Arceus.." She looked up at her ceiling. "When will this universe stop hurting my daughter?"

Ash walked into his house normally, trying to act as brave as he could for his mother. When she saw him, she immediately began her lecture. "Why are you not in school young man? Do you know what happens to people who don't complete school? They work from paycheck to paycheck, just passing by life. That is not the life I want for my son. Do you hear me? If you skip school one more time-"

Ash interrupted his mom's rant with two words, "They know." This was enough to make his mom stop dead in her tracks. "They know." He repeated.

Mrs. Ketchum's now shaky hands covered her mouth, that dropped open. She tried several times to speak, but all her attempts failed. She continued to stand there in shock, as her son made his way upstairs to his bedroom.

It was happening all over again.

Drew turned his key, turning off his car. Him and May sat in the driveway to her house after an unusually quiet ride.

"It just doesn't feel right to call him a monster Drew. I know that you said earlier that he was, but then you were defending him in the cafeteria." She looked to the left to look at him. "I know you did it for me." When he didn't say anything she continued, "You know I think he's innocent, and that's why you said what you did after Gary left."

"I just don't know how I feel about all of this. I mean.. if he was standing right there, how could he not tell what his dad was up to? But then again.. Did he even know what his dad was doing leading up to it?" He turned his head to make eye contact with May. "None of us really know, except for him."

The brunette laid her hand over his, gently caressing his hand with her thumb. "We are all in shock right now... we just all need some time."

Dawn finally lifted her head from her drenched pillow. She slowly got out of bed and made her way down her wooden stairs. She looked around for her mom, but was only met with a note on the kitchen counter. It read:

I had some stuff to take care of, I'll be back in a couple of hours.

xoxo mom

The bluenette gave a sigh, "I really hope she's okay." She grabbed a glass from the upper cabinet, and opened the fridge to pour some milk for herself. Following that, she opened a drawer that held Oreo cookies. "Perfect comfort food."

Before she had the chance to enjoy a milk-dipped Oreo, the doorbell rang. When she turned the knob of her front door, she was met face-to-face with Ash. Before she could slam it in his face, he caught it.

"Three minutes. That's all that I am asking from you." He pleaded. She gave a shot nod, but did not move, blocking him from entering her house.

"Look, I am so very sorry for all that I have caused you. I know that I have hurt you, I know." His hand moved over his heart, as tears streamed down his face. "No apology in the world will make up for what happened. I was young. I didn't know what he was doing until it was too late. By the time my screaming for him to stop the control he had on Moltres, it was already done." He paused slightly, trying to recover. "For heaven's sake I thought he worked at a Pokeball Factory." Ash looked at Dawn, who was biting her lip as she stared at the ground. He gently touched her chin, and tilted her head upwards so she could look at him. "I am sorry for everything I have done. For all the pain that I have ever caused you."

She cleared her throat from the lump that was growing. "I don't think I can ever forgive you."

The young boy nodded his head, and dropped his hand from her face. His eyes met the ground, not being able to bare the hurt in her eyes. "I know you can't. I'm not expecting your forgiveness Dawn." He forced himself to be a man and look her in the eye. "I just want you to know that I have lived with the guilt every single day since it has happened. I didn't fully understand at the time, but I know that I still have blood on my hands. I'm the reason you will never get the chance you walk down the aisle with your father on your wedding day. I know that I'm the reason your mom had to play both parental roles. I know I'm the reason for the emptiness you feel every single damn day. And I have never hated myself more than I do now... Now that I know you."

Dawn's attempt to hold back tears failed miserably, as she just managed to choke out, "Then why come to me? Why did you have to come into my life? Why couldn't you just avoid me at school?"

"I just couldn't. When I saw you for the first time I had no idea who you were. I just knew that there was something about you. I was attracted to you as soon I laid eyes on you."

"When did you know.. know who I was?"

Ash dropped his head slightly, "It was when you were in the hospital after our fight with Paul. You were sleeping and I heard the nurses talk about what happened to you. It clicked then." Dawn just gave a small nod of the head, but kept silent. "I'll leave you alone now. I just wanted you to know that I am sorry." He turned around to walk away, but then turned back to face her. "One more thing.. I know that I have no right to ask you this.. But I would really appreciate it if this didn't get out. As much as you think I'm a monster, my mom is involved in this too.. I don't want her to hurt the way that she did before. It broke her last time, and we had to move. She wasn't involved in this. She doesn't deserve to constantly be punished for something she didn't do."

Dawn watched closely as he turned on his heels, and drove off. It was then that she finally closed the door, and then sank to the floor in tears.

She didn't deserve to constantly be punished either.

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