BP: I know it has been a long while since I updated, but I recently started working (to kill time, since my graduation ceremony isn't until May and I finished my Final Semester already). Hence, I won't have so much time to devote to the Fanfiction Project. I would have posted this last week, but I was sick for almost a week so I had to rest in bed.

Of course, I would not want to see my classmates during the holidays to hang out. No way am I sitting through the humiliation of them bringing up the past that almost always involved me in the pretence of going out. It's to rest and relax, they said. Only the meeting place is always so far from my house (as usual). As if they never considered where I live and then I already get tired from travelling there and back home. Besides, every time they go out they always do the exact same thing, which really bores me.

Thanks, but I rather go to work. Speaking of work, they are even asking me about my work and my working hours. As if they are concerned, which they are not. I know they just want ammunition to bring up once we meet again in graduation or something (because I certainly don't want to see them during the holidays). With their previous antics I mentioned (that's only a fraction), they still wonder why I don't want to hang out with them outside of school. Really? Anyway I kept leaving a group that consisted of those ppl and me, and when I left too many times without saying a word due to not wanting any contact, (I don't have anything to say to them actually) one finally added me back, said, "No wonder you have no friends" and removed me just like that.

I have not abandoned the project, since I was behind the scenes making new concepts for the PAL Series. Also, I have cleaned up my Wikia page somewhat, putting the characters' info in a tab style so the information is better sorted out. Do check it out and edit if you can, since I have been doing it all by myself. Maybe one day my stories would appear in the TV Tropes page, who knows?

Ash was getting frustrated. It's been more than half an hour and he only managed to eliminate like a hundred of Pakuras, and that was only because he noticed the extremely slight differences from the actual hairstyle, accessories and outfit. Also, as it was from memory, Ash had to rely on his luck as well, though it seemed to be running out, since his eyes can't focus and remember the minute details. Shiki was walking alongside him, watching his movements and nibbling on the chocolates one of the Pakuras had made for him.

'This is not good.' Ash thought, starting to feel the hopelessness of the situation he is currently in. 'I'm this close to being beaten to a pulp by Shiki, and at this rate, Paku will...but I've come so far...I can't lose here…can I?'

"Consider yourself schooled, Prince Ash." Shiki shook his head. "No way can you find the real one among all the clones within an hour! The person who loves her always has been and it always will be me."

"Damn it...Just wait a minute!" Ash gritted his teeth.

"Poor Paku-chan." Shiki gave a small smile. "She must seriously regret having fallen for you, considering you pinned for Cynthia. Sure, she's beautiful, strong and have a good heart, but seriously misguided when it comes to your innocence and never even heard you out for the sake of her public image. How painful it must be for Paku, if her Scarlet Anger is any indication."

"Ugh…" Ash glared at Shiki, as some of the Pakuras looked up from whatever they are doing.

"Not only did you fail to see what is right in front of you with your psychic powers, you also almost killed the one that would believe in you until the very end. You have no right to call yourself PAL's Champion." Shiki's eyes turned cold. Ash swore some of their eyes held disappointment in them.

"Shut up!" Ash shouted repeatedly, as he held his head, trying to shake that disappointment he saw in their eyes. 'Don't tell me I've failed once again…failed to save someone near and dear to me...I've worked so hard to be who I am now, and even became a Hunter to help upkeep the law and protect the region. Has it all been for naught? Am I just doomed to relive that all over again?' He had flashes of his betrayal, which froze him.

"That expression doesn't suit you." A familiar voice rang in his head.

'Paku?' Ash thought, but no one had spoken.

"It's not over yet, Ash. So stop your bleating this instant. Do you know you look like an utter fool?" Ash saw an image of an irritated Pakura with her arms folded in his mind.

"There is someone who awaits you, someone who you want to win over, is there not? That is the reason you have trained and studied so hard. Are you prepared to give up on all you have worked for thus far? No way would you win Cynthia's heart with how you look currently."

Ash looked up at an emotionless Shiki, and he could almost see Shiki's supporting partner next to him, musing silently to herself as she watches certain developments unfold, hiding her true thoughts and feelings behind her dazzling smile.

"Listen here Ash, all you have to do is calm down, take a deep breath and look back over what you know so far. If there's answers to be found, which there always is, you're sure to find it and use it against your opponents. Now, let me see you pull the trump card!"

'Thank you, Paku…' Ash thought. "I am psyched and ready to play. Prepare for your utter defeat, Prince Shiki!" With that, he closed his eyes, and began to look over what he knew about Paku via his memories of her, both the good times and the bad.

As he went through them thoroughly however, he realized he was blinded by his past, and his love for Cynthia. After all, Pakura was always there, a constant in his life that he could never lose, not Cynthia. All he saw was darkness when he tried to imagine a future without her by his side. In that moment, he just knew how much Pakura meant to him and how much he can love her. Because she deserved it.

A tug at his heart, and Ash knew he actually had the method to beat the game. As Ash opened his eyes, he grinned at Shiki, who frowned.

"You should be happy, Ash." One of the Pakuras spoke up, looking up from making chocolates. "I don't really want you to fight for something you never wanted."

"Thank you, but I know what I want." Ash announced.

Something flickering caught Ash's eye, and he realized that a thin golden string was tied to his wrist. It was extremely faint, and it was just becoming even fainter. Ash knew that the bond they had was on the verge of crumbling, and he was determined to save it, restore it and improve it.

"Ten minutes left, Prince Ash." Shiki reminded.

Ash started running like someone with a new crush and who knows? Maybe he was. The barely perceptible golden string was the very trump card he needed to beat Shiki at his own game. His eyes traced the path of the golden string, and knew that the real Pakura must be on the other end. He ignored the other Pakuras, and it lead him to a corner of the room, though it was when the golden string disappeared. However, due to the distance he covered, he wasted half his remaining time.

'No…I can't lose here!' Ash thought, looking at the countdown clock, which said he had only five minutes left, as there were a few other Pakuras there, doing various activities as usual, chatting to each other. Ash felt a stab of pity. It's almost as if she was talking to herself. Perhaps she even did so when she had Scarlet Anger. As some of them walked past him, he noticed one of them holding a pink box, and as if on instinct, stopped her.

"Yes?" The Pakura whom Ash stopped said, her tone rather flat. Ash thought she sounded sad. She was wearing a skinny headband along with a short light blue satiny dress, complete with a frilly cravat on her neck.

"May I see the box?" Ash requested.

"Alright…" She reluctantly handed him the box, and Ash noted that it was indeed a very beautiful box. It was heart-shaped and pink in colour, with a teddy bear that was wearing a pink sewn dress and a glued on tiara in the middle and decorated with fake pink and red roses and lace adorning it. When Ash opened it, it was revealed to have a mirror on the inside of the lid. It was clear that it was handmade, as Ash noticed a note hidden behind a mini heart-shaped cushion held by the teddy bear. When he took it out, he read:

-actually possesses this charm that attracts Pokémon to her. They are all really friendly towards her, it's like she's born to do this. Personally, I think their minds are going when they said she's cursed.

Lots of love,

Shiki.

"Ok, I don't need to search any further." Ash declared, pointing the remote at the miserable-looking Pakura in front of him and pressing the green button, just as the timer ran out. "You are the real Pakura."

Pakura's expression turned to horror, as Shiki was stunned. Before he knew it, Pakura ran over to Shiki as she started crying, and Shiki embraced her with a grim expression on his face.

"I tried, Shi-chan!" Pakura sobbed. "I tried so hard to hide! I don't want to go!"

'Of course.' Ash thought, hanging his head, trying hard to hold back his tears at Pakura's heartbroken voice. 'I was too late.'

"A promise is a promise." Shiki muttered to her. "You have to go."

"I want to stay here…with you." Pakura shook her head. "No one needs me over there."

Ash wanted to shout, "No, that's not true, I need you!" but he knew that Pakura would dismiss it as a joke. Ash felt disgusted with himself at that thought, and angered that Shiki had a special place in her heart, judging by the tender moment they are exchanging now. It was so clear that Shiki loved her very much to the point that he would sacrifice himself again if it meant her happiness.

"I underestimated you." Shiki said, smiling sadly as he led Pakura to him. "You do love her. I knew the moment I saw the gold thread I would lose the game."

Ash stayed silent, as Shiki went on, "While I'll let you out of her mind and let you take her back with you, I forgot to mention it depends on her willpower if you truly want her to be by your side."

"What?" Ash was shocked at the implication. "You lied to me?"

"I only said I would give you a chance to save her. I never said that I would help you bring her back to you. There's a difference you know." Shiki smirked. "Also, time is running out for her. You'll have to find a way to save her from that terrible power yourself. As a reward though, I'll allow you three questions."

"Is there another way to find out the properties of Scarlet Anger?" Ash asked.

"Yes. There is this fairy tale about the Red-Eyed Warriors in the PAL Region." Shiki said. "While it is considered a myth and legend, there is some truth to it. After all, Giratina, the so-called creator of it is like what? A few hundred years old? Scarlet Anger is not its original name after all. You should read up about it sometime. Alright, next question."

"What was Paku's special ability before she got corrupted?" Ash enquired.

"Let's just say that the people were not really wrong to call her cursed from her special ability." Shiki frowned. "She brings misfortune wherever she goes as part of it. Unlike most special abilities, hers is always active and uncontrollable. It always led to incidents of varying direness."

"Like my Accident Causation?" Ash said quietly.

"No. You cause accidents to your chosen targets. Her special ability does not discriminate whom it affects. It'll just target whomever is near her at that time. Also, her misfortune doesn't always scar, unlike yours where all accidents will scar." Shiki explained. "It's good in a fight, but only if she fights her opponents alone. She didn't activate it until my death though. Last question."

"How are you here?" Ash asked.

"I transferred my life force to her as I transferred my powers. I'm the one keeping her real memories and this is how I get to be here. Also, had I not transferred my life force, she would have died a long time ago. So you can tell how much Scarlet Anger had eaten away at her life." Shiki muttered. "Alright, you win this time, Prince Ash. Only the price you guys pay for that would be that she knows all of your secrets, including Phillip and Jude. Also, that nightmares would go to all of you instead of her."

"Small price to pay." Ash said dismissively. "I'm sure they would agree."

"Mark my words, if you don't save her from that dangerous power…let's just say you better treasure the little time you have with her." Shiki sighed. "I just want her to be happy."

"Thank you. For telling us everything." Ash bowed.

"You're welcome." Shiki smiled. "Goodbye, Prince Ashura."

"Farewell, Dragon Prince Shiki." Ash smiled back.

When Ash woke up, he decided to return Pakura her powers, hoping her Regenerative Healing Factor can save her, while telling his Pikachu and Lucario to watch over his other members, since he can handle this himself. For good measure, he carried Pakura and took her to the hospital to see if she can be helped.

However, just as he was about to take her out the door, Pakura's eyes opened, and looked around, bewildered. Her face registered disbelief and something more intense that Ash couldn't name. Was it desire? Desperation?

Ash's lips was just forming her name when her fingers locked around his throat.

They thought it would be a fairy tale

(Ash quietly watching from the top of the hills as the traitors hypocritically walking through the forest like they had did nothing wrong)

No, it seems they were just delusional

(Ash's eyes was projected at the background and the said eyes opened)

They'd fix their lives

(The traitors happily talking to Cynthia in a café, not knowing that Jude was in the corner, making a call to someone as he watched the traitors)

Then be on their way to their happy ending

(Akeno watching the traitors from the shadows with spirits around her)

They shall realize life

(The traitors being summoned to court, with Ash sitting in the Judge's seat with a gavel, Pakura standing at his side, using her illusions to manipulate the traitors to admit their deed.)

Was never like a bedtime story

(Ash slamming the gavel on the traitors before they can react, as the scene shatters to reveal the five people standing on stones of various height, looking down at the traitors)

And then they will learn

(The camera focuses on the order of the height of the stones they are standing on. Jude, who is smirking at them, Akeno, who playfully smiles, Phillip, who narrowed his eyes, Pakura, who opened her red eyes that turned back to amethyst and looked away, holding her left arm and Ash who glared at them hatefully)

That PAL is no place for backstabbers

(Ash fires a gun at the screen)

And it seems we weren't prepared

(Pakura practicing her sword skills, but suddenly sees Shiki and a happier version of herself clinging to his arm. A distressed Pakura falls to her knees in Ash's room as her telekinesis started levitating everything around her.)

To Pay the Ultimate Price

(Pakura falls into a black pit with a silhouette in the background, while various demoniac creatures appear, as they were engulfed by blue fire.)

Can We Persevere?

(Ash stands on the bowsprit of a ship, as the other Elite members stand behind him)

Actually move on?

(Diantha placing her hand on Phillip's, smiling at him)

When all hope is gone

(Ash walking over to a depressed Pakura sitting on his bed and tenderly cupped her cheek as she looked up. The camera focuses on her eyes as she narrowed them slightly in contemplation)

There is one thing we can do

(Shiki walking away from a gravestone that is placed with a bouquet of flowers)

Let's fight on!

(Ash's Decidueye battling Lance's Dragonite)

Day by day and not be consumed by our sorrows

(Pakura and Cynthia about to face off, and throwing Pokéballs to reveal their Pokémon)

Our past won't hold us down

(Pakura activating her new Pactum Card and donning a pink fairy-like armour and a pair of dual swords that comes with it to fight a silhouetted opponent holding a katana)

We will break free

(Phillip practicing his abilities with the help of his machete and making all metal objects fly around him)

Though our hearts are torn

(Ash and his Elites being surrounded by a new threat, five giant head silhouettes smirking down at them as they prepared their abilities)

But Love and Time will help

(Ash walking in the forest with Pikachu and Lucario, and turns around)

Move onward, don't give up

(Pakura, Phillip, Akeno and Jude standing behind him, as Pakura offers him a hand)

So let's fight on!

(Five of them standing together on a tundra with their respective weapons and walking Pokémon, backs turned and looking forward. Ash and Pakura were holding hands.)

(Sung in the tune of Let's Just Live by Casey Williams)

Ash opened his eyes, finding himself in a hospital room. He realized he was wearing a collar, and the cold collar chafed his neck, making the shivering even harder to control. Akira was sitting next to him, looking grim.

Ash widened his eyes as he registered the situation, and tried to remove his collar, wanting the assurance that he still can breathe, but Akira stopped him. "No, Prince Red." Akira said, grabbing Ash's hands gently. "No, you're swollen. Don't touch."

That made Ash panic even more, as he struggled to get out of Akira's grip. "No, no, no. Calm down." Akira said soothingly. "Calm down. You're okay."

"Paku…" Ash rasped.

"Don't try to talk." Akira replied. "The Princess is okay. I promise. We just had to get her off you." It turned out to be Akira who knocked her out with one blow before any damage could be done by pressing the right pressure point on her neck. Apparently, Ran saw something was going to happen, causing them to go up the Tower, only to see Pakura strangling Ash, prompting Akira's action and bringing them to the hospital.

"Our team's concerns of damage to your spinal cord, veins and arteries have all been allayed. No permanent damage, though the bruising, the sore larynx and your cough is not something big to worry about. We've seen a lot more injuries among the Hunters-in-training when they teach choke holds, anyway." Akira shrugged. "Chairman William have already arranged to postpone the Top 16, until all of you recover, so don't worry about that."

Ash rasped a few times first before saying hoarsely, "Please…tell…me, how's Paku?"

"She'll be fine…physically, at least. We did try to talk to her, but…" Akira frowned, as he thought back.

"Princess?" Ran said tentatively when she woke up, looking around to register her surroundings. She waited for a moment, but when she received no response from Pakura, she shot her a sad look as she got up.

"Ran." Pakura said curtly. Ran sat back down, and Pakura turned her head to look at Ran, expression unreadable. Ran hugged her, as she said, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

Pakura pushed her away with telekinesis, disgust evident in her face. It's evident she hated the optimism Ran was displaying. "I'm not. I lost everything the moment…" She cut herself off as she looked at the pendant Shiki gave her on the bedside. "No, he isn't gone. He said he'd come back for me."

"What are you talking about?" Ran asked.

"It's none of your business." Pakura snapped. "Just leave me alone." Ran slowly left the room, but she paused in the doorway and telling her one last thing. "We'll be here to help if you need it."

As she left, he swore she heard Pakura say, "I don't need your pity."

"Would you like to see her?" Akira asked.

Ash nodded.

Pakura sat alone in one of the Class S wards, staring out a window. Her pendant was resting on the nightstand next to the bed. For a long time now, she didn't really do anything but sit propped up on her hospital bed, or more often, huddled under the blankets on the bed, eyes fixed on some point in the distance out the window. She didn't seem to want to do anything or talk to anyone at all, and according to Akira, took only mere bites of her served meals. Her Sylveon and Espeon tried to talk to her but to no avail.

Ash stood outside her room, pressing his hand against the glass, knowing Pakura did not wish to see him, and let the tears freely flow down his face as he can't even go in to see her since she requested the doctor not to let him or anyone else in.

"It's subtle, but we have noticed her deterioration in terms of her mental health. Obviously, she had been through a lot of trauma, and we originally put her psychological state down to that, and diagnosed her with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depression Disorder and even Schizophrenia. However, we believe something more was going on. That something called Scarlet Anger was worsening and messing with her mind even further. I am pretty afraid she is might develop Psychosis at the rate this is going." Akira explained.

When Ash stayed silent, Akira went on, "We don't know how long the Scarlet Anger has been changing and distorting her memories. But it's likely it subjected her to some fear conditioning. Stripping down her identity and then all of that suffering and fear she had is redirected or even amplified. Recall is made more difficult because memories can actually be changed." He tapped his forehead. "It can be brought to the forefront of someone's mind, altered, and saved again in the revised form. I am sure Scarlet Anger made it enough to infuse all her good and happy memories with fear and doubt. Furthermore, it amplified her negative memories and even distorted them so that she would only have solace in that Scarlet Anger. Her brain likely put in a long-term storage of that, and at that point, I don't think she can tell what is real and what is not. It's likely it had changed some memories of you to make you seem life threatening and it's especially effective if you have fought with her before."

Ash started to feel sick, as he asked, "Is that what Giratina did to her? Taken her memories, distorted and altered them through Scarlet Anger so it can control her as a weapon or something?"

"Yes, that's our current theory." Akira nodded.

Ash's head was cradled in his hands, trying to supress a scream because this wasn't happening. For this to make Pakura forget the fact that she loves him…no one could do that. Or so he thought.

"You can reverse it, right?" Ash pleaded, not caring about the condition of his throat.

"There's very little data on that." Akira admitted. "None, really. I mean, you seen all those Scarlet Anger users. They all died before they turn thirty and none of them had a known lover or spouse. Not even Princess Pakura Goldstein made it through, though she did live to be in her fifties. If the rehabilitation had been attempted on any of them, we have no access to those records."

"Well, you're going to try, aren't you?" Ash persisted. "You can't just lock her in some luxurious padded room and leave her to suffer like this!"

"Of course we'll try, Prince Red." Akira replied. "It's just that we don't know to what degree we'll succeed. If any. My guess is that fearful events and amplified bad memories are the hardest to root out. But in order to help her, we need to know how far Scarlet Anger has affected her and which memories had not been tampered. Even if she recovers, she might not be the same again…"

As Ash looked away, Akira said, "If possible, we should also find out more about the history of it. There are some ancient writings on stone slabs that Mika and Ken have found from various archaeological sites that may have said something about Scarlet Anger, but we can't even read it as it's in an ancient language."

Ash opened his mouth to say something, but Akira cut him off. "I'll advice you to rest your throat and only speak if you need to. You'll only make it worse. Don't worry about anything else now."

Later, Ash was discharged with instructions to try not to speak too much as his throat was still sore and it might be painful if he swallows. He headed straight to Pakura's new room with the card key. The new room was connected to his, and he knew Pakura mentioned that she kept most of the books and notes belonging to Pakura Goldstein, which was probably where he should look for more clues as to what Scarlet Anger really entails, seeing Pakura Goldstein was a former user herself. Perhaps the First Princess knew how it came about and how it can be controlled or disposed of as a power.

'Fairy-tale books?' Ash was incredulous, as he noticed that the books Pakura kept had some illustrations on them and they were rather thin as well. 'I didn't know Paku was into fairy…wait…'

"We have fairy tales that are different from other regions and uniquely our own. Although they are generally regarded as mere myths and legends, some of them actually have a factual basis on our history. Some of them were once common knowledge, but the truth was eventually kept secret for safety's sake, and it passed into legend and obscurity over time." Pakura said.

Ash started to read all the fairy-tales that she had, but was somewhat disappointed as they were all the stories Pakura had told him during bedtime, to comfort him, when they were travelling together and reading them in detail did not help him in his investigation. Until he read the book which talked about the Red-Eyed Warriors which Shiki had mentioned to him.

Apparently, they are legendary warriors that existed even before the regions discovery. It is said that they are able to strike down evil creatures, no matter the power they have just by looking at them and that evil actually feared them. The Devil's Eyes, which was the term coined for the red eyes, was said to be a gift from Giratina who would pass it down from person to person in hopes that the warriors could protect the Pokémon World and maintain peace. Furthermore, the Red-Eyed Warriors are special in the sense that they can even read the ancient languages currently write on the stone slabs, making them good informants.

'No way…if Giratina really created it that means it can change its properties before gifting it. It must have tampered with the gift before Pakura Goldstein's time, and looked for someone who felt hopeless so that it can control the person through the gift it bestowed!' Ash gritted his teeth. 'Looks like the only person left in the world who can read those slabs Akira mentioned is Paku.'

Also, there was the Maga Chest Shiki talked about, the key to restore Caldia City's dormant magical power and its former glory to add the manpower to their region. It looked like it would be difficult, considering where Pakura Goldstein hid it and those creatures were no joke. Furthermore, it was clear only Pakura herself would be able to find it and open it, and someone else knew it all too well. Wait a minute…

'Shiki can hold his own briefly and they're not immune to psychic powers…' Ash thought. 'Vergil may possess demonic powers, but it's because of that demonic powers or at least his evil heart that brings with it a crippling weakness: The power of the Red-Eyed Warriors. Giratina was said to be created by them before escaping and being taken in as a Pokémon. The Devil's Eyes was likely originally a symbol of power, but when Giratina became a Pokémon…he bestowed it to the humans. But Giratina must have lost its faith of them not abusing it and made it so that they would suffer from the great power and allowing it to control them. It looks like Paku is the key to retrieving that Maga Chest successfully…'

Ash looked out the window, as he shook his head. 'The Chest can wait. My first priority is to make sure everyone recovers first….especially Paku. What's this?' At that moment, Ash discovered a file among her fairy tale books. To his surprise, it was the paperwork Pakura was supposed to submit to the Hunter's Association to validate so that Rosaline can be an official member of the Elite.

'Knowing her, she must have mocked the application by putting it among fairy tale books for a laugh and probably forgot to submit them altogether. It's likely she would only submit it if Rosaline proved to her that she was worthy of the position. This means Rosaline wasn't an official member all along. Then again, she had no claim to the position in the first place.' He decided to keep the paperwork with him as evidence and made a decision to visit the other members to see how they are doing. But first, a nap would reenergize him nicely.

"Paku, we have a lot to talk about." Shiki said, as he returned to the cave, looking somewhat disappointed in himself. Pakura, who was reading a book came running up to him like a wife would do to her husband and helped him take off his coat. On the table was already prepared tea for the both of them to enjoy.

"What's going on?" Pakura asked Shiki, worry creased in her face.

"Come on, we'll sit down and talk." Shiki answered. When they did, he asked, "Paku, what is your favourite fairy tale from the ones I told you?"

"Erm….let me think." Pakura said, thinking back. "Well, there's Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Caldia Princess…"

"What about The Story of the Balance?" Shiki prompted.

"I love that most of all." Pakura gushed.

"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?" Shiki said, as Pakura and her Eevee looked at each other.

"I beg your pardon, Shi-chan?" Pakura tilted her head.

"What if I told you that there were really two people holding this title that existed in this world that could wield such tremendous power, something that exceeds other aura users and that there are two substitutes called the Dragon's Champion and the Season Maiden waiting to receive those powers should anything happen to them?"

"Dragon's Champion?" Pakura was puzzled. "Why are they called that?"

"Well, the Dragon is actually originally a term for a person or monster a hero has to get past to get at the boss, you know. Most of the time, they are the evil leader's top enforcer." Shiki explained. "Only the Dragon's Champion is the so-called Dragon to the Chosen One, as the Dragon's Champion is the substitute for the Chosen One. Of course, the title can be changed, depending on the Pokémon type the person holding the title is most affiliated to."

"But why are bring it up now?" Pakura asked.

"Because I believe you are next in line to receive the Phoenix's powers. You are the Season Maiden after all." Shiki said grimly. "Come with me, Paku."

"Where are we going?" Pakura asked, as Shiki took her to the Hunter Association's elevator, where he typed in a password and they descended downwards.

"The vault located under this building." Shiki replied. The elevator continued downward towards the vertical tunnel of dark blue lights until the door opened. Both of them stepped out, as Pakura and Eevee looked around the large, sparsely-lit hallway she was now being lead through.

"I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the power of the Phoenix. What do you mean by that?" Pakura asked, as she walked next to Shiki.

"As you know, those two roles, or four if you count the substitutes, have existed for thousands of years. But much like in nature, the hosts change. When the Chosen One or the Phoenix dies, the power leaves their body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the balance is never lost."

"So, how are those two chosen? Or the four of them?" Pakura was curious.

"The selection process was quite complicated. All I know is that the Chosen One is usually the one representing the light side, or so Arceus said. That is why the Phoenix represented the Dark Side, despite it being grey. So for Chosen Ones, they have to have a pure heart while for the Phoenix, it's the resolve to never give up, with a few dark personality traits but at the end of the day having good intentions."

"What about their substitutes?" Pakura asked.

"The same goes for the Dragon Champion and the Season Maiden, though their roles of being light and dark are not fixed as it depends on the criteria the person with the title will be able to fulfil should they become the Chosen One or the Phoenix." Shiki explained.

"I see." Pakura nodded.

"As we understand it now, when either the Chosen One or the Phoenix dies, the one with the title of the Dragon Champion or Season Maiden would inherit the power depending on the side they represent, and their title would go to someone random that fits the criteria I had mentioned earlier. The thing is due to the criteria it's actually much harder to choose a Chosen One than the Phoenix, and there can be a circumstance where the substitutes are deemed unfit to receive the powers of the Chosen One due to the fact that it required a pure heart which is something very few people have. In this case, Arceus would look into the babies going to be born and into their future and bestow the power to someone who would have a pure heart. That is why some people are born into the title of Chosen One." Shiki went on.

"Does it mean the Chosen Ones are more powerful than the Phoenixes?" Pakura frowned.

"Essentially, since the Chosen One have the ability to actually keep the balance for a while should the Phoenix be indisposed, barely long enough for the new Phoenix to be selected. So both of them do still need the other to keep the balance indefinitely, as it's better to work together, just like you and I." Shiki said.

"So why tell me all of this now?" Pakura was confused.

"Because the current host of the Phoenix has been attacked and for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen." Shiki said grimly, as both of them reached the end of the hallway. A large machine with lit screens hooked up to a rectangular pod with a glass window to show a young girl with red hair dressed in a hospital gown, eyes closed as if she was sleeping.

"Is that..." Pakura started.

"The current Phoenix. Flamma." Shiki answered.

"She's...still alive." Pakura commented. "Do you think I could-?"

"For now. But using your healing power won't work. It's because of the fact that her power is split that she is like this. We're using state of the art PAL technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about the current situation that is...unprecedented."

"No one's seen the power split like this before, right? You're afraid it might seek out its other half, which would go to her assailant." Pakura realized.

"Yes. That would not bode well for any of us." Shiki smiled a little at his Pakura's intelligence, before his expression turned serious. "But this would not do if the balance of the world if it's affected. Arceus told me that it would cause panic on a huge scale. Which is why I would like to..."

He was cut off as Pakura said, "I'll do it. If you believe that this will help save the Pokémon World then I will become the new Phoenix. I love this region, I love Pokémon and I love you! I don't want to lose all of these because of some stupid scheme this attacker hatched."

Shiki looked at her in surprise, before smiling. "And I love you. But, given her condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. But I believe I have a solution."

"Your Power Transference Ability." Pakura whispered.

"I never used it for anything as big as this. After all, I only transferred my own powers before." Shiki admitted. "But, do you trust me?"

"Yes." Pakura nodded. "Do it, Shiki. I know you won't hurt me."

Shiki gave her a somewhat regretful smile, as if remembering something, before asking, "Are you ready?"

"I'm as ready as I can ever be." Pakura's eyes showed determination.

"Thank you, Paku-chan." Shiki closed his eyes, as he went over to the pod to start using his ability.

Ash opened his eyes, as he registered the dream he just had. 'So that was what happened to the previous Phoenix. No wonder the balance seemed so…off. Because there was no Phoenix, and there are two people with two halves of the power.' He sat up, as he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Shiki was the Dragon's Champion and Pakura might be both the Dragon's Champion and Season Maiden right now since he did give his aura to her, which was what all his abilities and powers were bound to.

'Though if she really becomes the Phoenix, she loses both the roles, that is assuming she got the role of the Dragon Champion as well. Since they are the titles for substitutes, I can safely assume that it's possible for one person to have both roles…' He frowned as something just occurred to him. 'Now I think of it, Rosaline's aura seemed to be to diminished when I checked on her even when her aura has been regained…but could it be her coma was caused by two things? She has always been sort of hungry for power, like she had some empty feeling within her…'

Ash jumped up, as he realized something. Rosaline could have been the one who stole half the powers of the Phoenix from Flamma, which meant her powerful fire-based abilities were not entirely because of her aura, making her a fraud in more ways than one.

Making a decision, he decided to make his way to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Pakura sat at the bedside, thoughts running rampant in her head. What was she doing here? Pakura gasped as she had yet another flashback when she saw a flash of lightning.

Pakura was sent flying by the flurry of Judgement Cuts, and got kicked down to the ground, but she merely got up again, head bowed as her attacker was about to slice her again, she jumped onto his katana briefly, using the momentum to send a drop kick, which was blocked.

As she looked up, her eyes were revealed be have a fiery glow, proving her status as the Season Maiden, and when they clashed with their respective weapons, she was only able deflect each hit, but managed to kick her opponent away in the ensuring brawl.

Pakura panted, as she knew her aura was running out. She charged towards her opponent, and was about to aim her throwing knife, when she gasped in pain. Looking down, she realized she had been impaled with what looked like blue energy swords.

'It was a long range attack?' Pakura thought as she collapsed forward, the swords sticking out from her back while the attacker got up, smirking. Pakura used telekinesis to push them out of her back and healed herself with Regenerative Healing Factor, fear coursing through her veins. She realized her body was trembling but it was too late as he was in front of her, and gave her the decisive final blow to her stomach with his katana, sending her flying towards a building, which shattered the moment she hit it.

Pakura shook her head, as she panted, out of breath due to fright. 'Who was that? Was that a nightmare? Am I having day nightmares now?'

Pakura tried to compose herself, and kept her eyes open, darting from side to side from time to time, as if some monster was going to pop out from under the bed and creep up either side to get her. She sighed as she calmed down, knowing there was no way she can return as the Leader of the Elite, and to become the PAL's Princess again after all that happened.

While it was true she was the leader…well, co-leader, the voice, the face, and the very embodiment of the PAL Region alongside Ash. Perhaps they wanted her to become the Princess that everyone can count on, the Elite Leader that can efficiently cover for others and fix their mistakes and keep things in pace once more.

Sometimes Pakura did listen to them but dropped out distractedly, sometimes she just intensely watched Shiki frowning, making others wonder what she saw in the empty air. Other times, she simply used her powers, forcing them to flee.

At this point, Pakura wasn't sure if she had enough sanity to even perform well enough to keep her positions. From what she knew, Akira was assessing her mental condition most likely to tell Ash if she still can be saved or it was too late for her. Pakura inwardly scoffed at that. With one year left in her life and no known ways of getting out of Scarlet Anger, the answer was already obvious.

Really, was there any point in returning to her duties? The region would be fine, she made sure of it once Ash assumed the role of Prince. They don't need her. As for the threat known as Benzene, he was already long dead, disposed and probably eaten by Sharpedo and Carvanha, which is of course, irreversible.

Then there's Shiki, whom she felt was getting distant because she cheated on him with Ash. How could she face him now, knowing she cheated on her handsome, talented, brilliant, noble, smart, sweet, lovely and caring fiancé? He was nothing but nice to her, and even took her in when no one else wanted her. Pakura didn't really blame him for being disappointed in her.

"I was at fault too." Shiki spoke up. "I wasn't there for you when you needed me. Also, you are extremely attractive with that supernatural beauty of yours. People are bound to want you. After all that talk of marrying you, I still did not go on with the wedding. You're bound to be tired."

"I wasn't tired of you." Pakura replied. "I would never get tired of you. You're the first person I ever had feelings for, and you know how I feel for you even now."

"So much for our roles in the world, huh? As the Dragon Champion and Season Maiden?" Shiki smiled sadly. He knew that the Chosen One and the Phoenix, the ones keeping the balance in the Pokémon World, always had substitutes, who receive the titles Dragon Champion and Season Maiden respectively to denote that they are next in line to receive the powers of the Chosen One/the Phoenix should anything happen to either one of those two.

It so happens both of them were the substitutes to the Chosen One and the Phoenix respectively. That way, their powers would not fall into the wrong hands should the Chosen One or the Phoenix be attacked for their gifts.

"Yes, the Pokémon World has no need for the both of us. I mean, I am pretty tired of the makeup and fancy clothing. Not to mention going to social events and making connection for the region, which I don't even like. As for putting up those wonderful performances during battle and in Pokémon Contests or Showcases, it loses its glamour after a while." Pakura grumbled. "I don't feel too right though. I feel an emptiness. It burns. I don't even know why." Pakura gasped as her hand had a fireball on it, before quickly dissipating it with her mind.

"Since when do you manipulate fire?" Shiki frowned.

"I never did…I wasn't even holding Fire Dust." Pakura tried to calm herself down, her mind in turmoil as to what was going on. "I can't stay here anymore."

"Then find somewhere we can go together, and quit moping." Shiki gave a proud smile. "The world's a really big place. One day you're definitely going to meet people who would treat you the way you deserve to be treated, even with the red eyes of yours. But…" Here, Shiki narrowed his eyes. "We cannot come back here once we go. Depending on the situation, you may have to leave your Pokémon behind."

"They will be fine with the others." Pakura muttered. "I don't think they liked putting up with me when you started leaving for long missions and stuff…"

"Then when we leave, let's not look back and let's not turn back." Shiki advised. "Perhaps after we leave we can have a small, private ceremony and our honeymoon."

"That sounds…lovely." Pakura replied, not having the energy or mood to even muster a smile. "Although I wish I could express it."

"I understand. You're broken. I love you no matter what happens. Do you still believe that?" Shiki asked.

"Yes." Pakura whispered.

"I'm still here. I will put you back together." Shiki placed a hand over his heart. "You're just tired, rest until you get well. I'll wait for you…always."

Unknown to them, Ash had overheard the conversation. He was able to use his ability to see things from Pakura's perspective, allowing him to see that hallucination and what it had told her.

'Of course…Shiki was her first love. How can I ever compete with someone like him, even if he was dead?' Ash pressed his hand against the glass window, the only thing separating him from Pakura. 'I don't know if you can hear me, Paku. I'm sorry.'

Ash slid down the wall to the floor, secretly crying once more. 'I think a drink would calm me down.' With that thought, he made his way to the soda machine, but was waylaid by Akira on the way. "Come on." Akira said. "We need you back at Princess Pakura's ward."

"What for?" Ash asked.

"We're going to try something on Princess Pakura." Akira answered. "Send in the most innocuous person from her life that they can come up with. Find someone Princess Pakura might share some good memories with and know her on a somewhat personal level, but nothing too close to you. They're screening people now."

Ash knew that it would be a difficult task because the only person who shared good memories with and know her on a somewhat personal level that is not resting in the hospital would be Shiki and he's already dead. Furthermore, Jude and Phillip have some connection with him, so they are also out.

Even without good memories shared, there are very little people who know her on a personal level since not even the members know basic things such as her likes and dislikes. But when they reached the room that had been turned into a workspace for the medical team, a sweet-looking girl with an innocent beauty wearing what looked like a pink Japanese girls' uniform with matching white boots sat talking to one of the members of the medical team. When she turned around, he just knew who she was even before Akira introduced her. There was no mistaking that emerald green eyes which he saw once before.

"Prince Red, this is Akeno Calfuray Cheveyo. Akeno, meet Prince Red, our regional ruler." Akira said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Akeno gave a genuine smile, holding her hand out.

"Hello." Ash nodded, as he took her hand. He noted that it felt smooth and cool, like an adult's. "I thought you were abroad."

"I was." Akeno replied. "But the spirits told me to come back, so I did."

'She's a little…eccentric.' Ash thought. "Are you the one they've picked to see Paku?"

"I guess so." Akeno shrugged. "Poor Pakura. Poor you. I'll never really understand why the power of Scarlet Anger harms the users."

'Ok, now how did she know that?' Ash was somewhat unnerved. It's like the spirits report back to her or something. Which made him wonder, how many spirits are listening to them right now as they stand in this room?

"Akeno's known Princess Pakura for quite a while." Akira said.

"Oh yes!" Akeno's face brightened. "We used to have tea together from years ago, talking about a lot of stuff. I really love the snacks and sweet treats she would make for us to eat. She was no slouch at Valentine's Day too." As she said it, she laughed, and Ash noted even her laugh sounded refined.

"I'm sure your years of pleasant memories with her can help us find out how much Scarlet Anger can affect her, especially with such as pleasant companion like you and your spiritual powers." Akira remarked. "Let's give it a shot."

Ash and Akira made their way to the observation room next to where Pakura has been placed temporarily for the purpose of finding out how much Scarlet Anger had affected her. It's already filled with some people in white coats armed with pens and clipboards. The one-way glass and audio setup allowed them to watch Pakura secretly.

She sat upright on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her expression seemed more lucid than when she tried to strangle Ash, but it's still not one that really belonged to her. When the door quietly opened, her eyes narrowed in alarm as she turned towards the door, then became confused. Akeno crossed the room tentatively, but as she neared her she broke into a smile. "Pakura? It's Akeno. Remember me?"

"Akeno?" Pakura frowned, as to think about whether she remembered the name. Some of the clouds seemed to clear because the next thing she said was, "Akeno. It's you."

"Yes." Akeno said with obvious relief. "How do you feel?"

"Awful. Where are we? What happened?" Pakura sounded genuinely confused.

"Well…we're in the PAL General Hospital." Akeno replied.

"But why was I sent here? I wasn't injured. I never really needed any medical help." Pakura shook her head. "I don't even know what is going on with me, and I wish Shiki was here to tell me, but he said something about going out for groceries." Pakura looked away.

"I told her to steer clear of any mention of you, just in case." Akira informed him. "Let's see how much of home she can conjure up through all the confusion of Scarlet Anger."

"Why don't you tell me what you remember?" Akeno said gently.

"I'm not sure, really. All I know that I keep having flashbacks that seem real. But they are terrifying, and I don't want to remember them. The latest thing I remember was cold, blue eyes as the owner of them swung down his katana on me and I hit a building, which shattered. But it makes no sense. I never fought a guy with blue eyes who wields a katana. Why didn't Shiki rescue me? What happened?" Pakura was holding her head.

"Shh, it's alright, it's alright. You're safe here." Akeno assured her. "You know, I was just thinking about the times we used to have tea together. Your cakes were so wonderful. Remember how you used to decorate each cake differently?"

"I thought I usually make smores for tea…and since when did we go for tea together?" Pakura frowned.

"How did you remember me then?" Akeno gasped.

"Er…didn't we meet at the Proelium Arena as competitors and saw each other as worthy opponents after an intense rivalry? Your spiritual powers almost got me." Pakura tilted her head.

"Er…we…" Akeno stuttered, as Pakura went on, "You really used your umbrella well. Who knew it contained a blade in it?"

'This is my signature weapon, but I never even fought her in combat before.' Akeno thought. 'And as far as I knew, she only trained there and never fought any other competitors before.'

"So tell me…why am I here?" Pakura asked. "I'm not sick, am I?"

Ash could see the sheen of sweat on Akeno's forehead as she tried to work around the question. "Something did happen, and they believed they need you here for observation."

"Hang in there, girl." Akira encouraged, while Ash watched silently.

"No…Shiki won't condone this." Pakura denied. "He knows how I feel about being watched when in a room awaiting more punishment, more torture. Where is he, Akeno?"

"I'm not sure." Akeno said haltingly. "But I'm sure they'll let you out soon once they know you're ok. Do you remember how you used to show me what swordplay was?"

"Champion Red stabbed me, didn't he?" Pakura said suddenly.

"Yes," Akeno whispered.

"I got in here because of him!" Pakura exclaimed angrily, as objects began levitating around her and an ice storm was about to form. "He probably told you that Shiki didn't even exist. Shiki said he was always there for me, and he never lied."

"Oh, no, Pakura. It wasn't Prince Red's fault." Akeno tried to calm her down.

"Did he tell you that?" Pakura hissed at her.

"Get her out of there," Akira ordered. The door opened immediately and Akeno began backing toward it slowly.

"He didn't have to. I was just-" Akeno began.

"He's lying. Well, I know Shiki is alive! I saw him, I talked to him! He's real, Akeno." Surprisingly, although Pakura was angry, she didn't raise her voice.

"No, Pakura. He's-" Akeno tried again.

"Don't trust him, Akeno." Pakura sounded slightly frantic. "He has good-looking yes, but he uses it. It worked against me once and I cheated on Shiki because of it. He made me cheat against such a perfect fiancé that I should have appreciated. Red tried to kill me when I couldn't let go of my fiancé. He's out to make my life a living hell, and he might be after Shiki's life. I have to protect my fiancé."

A hand reached through the doorway, pulled Akeno out and the door swung shut.

Ash watched in silence as the people scribbled like crazy, taking down every word. Akira frowned as he said, "Meeting during the Hearthome Collection, where Akeno was the sponsor and Pakura the competitor and at the Proelium Arena as fighters are two completely different things. It also seemed to me that the Scarlet Anger implanted false memories from the 'intense rivalry' remark."

'And not only does she hate me and want to kill me, she apparently thinks I'm a huge threat to her well-being and love life.' Ash thought sorrowfully, as he walked out of the hospital room without another word and made his way to the other wards his Elites reside in.

Unknown to him, Pakura had made a decision as to what her next move should be, a plan already forming in her head as she looked out the window overseeing the garden.

'I can tell Ash had thought about trying to help but…he has this region to take care of along with his other Hunter duties. I'll just be holding him back, just like the traitors did to him in his journey and he won't be able to show them what he can do. I won't be any better than them.' Pakura thought.

As Ash walked past two nurses, they were apparently gossiping about the Pokémon Beauty Contest Brock was to be participating in, which he had forgotten. Apparently, he had registered Crobat as his Pokémon, but his female friends were caught trying to sabotage the competition itself.

Furthermore, Brock had apparently fed Pokéblocks to Crobat, something which was not allowed in PAL as it helped enhance a Pokémon's condition for Pokémon Contests and it would certainly help in this contest as well. Brock had protested his innocence as he was taken away for investigation.

'It was clear one of the girls placed them in Crobat's meal…probably May.' Ash thought. What interested him however, was that the girls collapsed after being caught and was rushed to the hospital. It turned out that something was affecting their physical and mental state, which made Ash suspect Pakura used Scarlet Anger on them. One thing is for sure, they would be in the hospital for quite a while, as Pakura is known to deal lethal damage.

'But how can I help her get rid of Scarlet Anger with her being practically irretrievable?' Ash thought.

"Red?" A voice said. Ash turned to see Cynthia.

Ash narrowed his eyes. He almost wanted to say, "Don't talk to me ever again! You may have beauty that is almost comparable to Paku but you're nowhere close to her. You only care about your own image as Champion! You may be perceived as strong but you'll never have her spirit and beliefs!" Then again, it'll be unprovoked, so he wisely kept his mouth shut and merely said in a neutral voice, "Hello, Cynthia. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Misty, May, Dawn and Iris. They were hospitalized." Cynthia said quietly. "Why weren't you at the Pokémon Beauty Contest?"

"I couldn't make it. I had an appointment." Ash answered smoothly, giving her a subtle look of disgust. "I'm sorry, I got to go. I'm busy."

"Wait!" Cynthia grabbed his arm. "Could you save them? Like using your aura for instance? I heard to be a ruler, you need to be able to use some sort of supernatural powers and it's usually manifested by something called Aura."

'Looks like she has done her homework. Then again, I didn't expect any less, considering she's a scholar.' Ash thought, before saying, "I cannot, considering I didn't develop any healing abilities with my aura." That was a tiny lie, since he did have some healing abilities in the form of his Chain Manipulation, but why should he help them?

"Is that all you need?" Ash asked Cynthia. "I already have my problems to deal with."

"What problems can you have?" Cynthia asked him.

"Like the fact that all my Elites are in the hospital?" Ash said sarcastically. "I don't have the obligation to help your friends, since I'm already trying to save my own."

"How're your friends any more important than mine?" Cynthia frowned.

"Simple. My Elites are the main protectors of the region, so they have a sense of duty to this region. Your friends on the other hand just show themselves off to television and play with their Pokémon when they're in this region. So excuse me if I value them more than I value your friends." Ash rolled his eyes. "Look, I shouldn't be talking to you. My wife won't be happy about it."

"Wait, you're married? I see no ring." Cynthia was confused.

'Ack, I said that on a whim…' Ash thought. "Yeah, but it was a paper marriage. We didn't do the ceremony yet because of this tournament. Besides, we agreed to keep it a secret." As he said it however, he made a mental note to think of a plan where he can make this statement the truth and at the same time make sure Pakura doesn't stray to other guys such as Steven, though he doubted Pakura would be too receptive about it. Then again, she'd say no if he proposed the idea.

"Oh. I was hoping we could go out for dinner together but…" Cynthia trailed off, looking somewhat disappointed, as she fiddled with something in her coat pocket, which did not go unnoticed by Ash, making him wonder if she had stolen something while he slipped away without being noticed.

'Nah, it can't be.' Ash thought to himself, dismissing the idea that Cynthia might have stolen something. He narrowed his eyes as he sensed that Pakura was on the move, and changed directions, towards her. However, he saw no one and the aura signature suddenly disappeared.

'She did have the ability to turn invisible and conceal her aura.' Ash thought, running straight in the direction he had chosen to head. 'I have to catch her before it's too late. Here goes nothing.' Ash concentrated his aura, forming it in a perfect circle. He sense movement and threw a knife, but it was being slowed down with telekinesis and caught. The knife disappeared, and Ash knew that Pakura was there.

"Paku, I know you're there. Don't make me force you to come out." Ash sighed.

Silence, and Pakura walked towards him, already dressed in travelling clothes. The way she dressed indicated she had no intention of fighting. "Hello, Ash." She said in a monotonous tone.

"Paku, what are you doing?" Ash folded his arms.

"A girl can't just go out by herself?" Pakura sounded humourless.

"She can, but you're sick, you need to rest." Ash frowned, but he saw her carrying a suitcase. "What is that?"

"A sub-space suitcase. I figured this life I'm living isn't suited for me. I'll go to Los Angeles or something and be a Defense Attorney, travel the world and live my remaining life to the best of my abilities."

That statement shocked Ash. What was Pakura talking about?

"No please don't! I'm begging you Paku." Ash pleaded.

"I wish I care but you already made your independence clear. I don't need to be here anymore." Pakura sighed desolately. "Besides, I already have three approval signatures for me to leave the Elite."

"How?" Ash whispered, tears threatening to fall down his face.

"You underestimate Akeno's spiritual power. I made a deal with Jude and Phillip that I would heal them in exchange for those signatures and as for Rosaline, I just had to mind control her. They won't be too sorry to see me go, considering what I did. You made your decision, Ash. I made mine." Pakura said quietly.

"That's one decision I'll regret for the rest of my life." Ash told her. "Even I can't believe I fell for a hypocritical bitch who told on me. Paku, I was ignorant and blind to the one who loved me from the bottom of her heart...and now because of my stupid mistake she's..." Ash started crying, unable to finish his sentence.

Pakura doesn't reply. Instead, she turned and started walking away from Ash. Only Ash somehow managed to construct a barrier, preventing her from leaving.

"Let me out, Ash." Pakura said coldly.

"No…not until you hear me out." Ash attempted to wipe his tears.

Pakura took out a katana Ash never saw before. "Do it, or else I'll just create a portal to go to the airport."

"Paku, please, I'm such a terrible person for ditching you for that two faced witch called Cynthia. Even mentioning her name gives me a stab to the heart. I never realised how much you loved me...and how much I actually loved you..." Ash looked away, as Pakura looked at him impassively.

'You're such a liar, Ash.' Pakura thought.

"I'll never forgive myself if I let you go just like that. I can't let true love slip away just like that. I'll…I'll forget about that manipulative witch Cynthia. I can't forgive someone who nearly sold me out and sent me to the gallows. I swear with my life and powers, even if I have to go across the cosmos...even if I have to go through the deep dimensions of space, I'll make every moment we share the happiest moments of our lives! Just give me a chance for us to start over!" Ash practically begged her.

"You'll be fine." Pakura rolled her eyes.

"No I won't be! I will mourn every day and every night for you...I'll be in the most unimaginable pain possible without you! Please…you have the chance now...don't live a life of regret!" Ash knew he was going to suffocate from the intense ache in his heart.

"Ash, we both know that's a lie." Pakura pointed out mildly. "Besides, you have a whole life ahead of you. I only have a little over a year. We have a large disparity in our lifespans, so I will probably be long dead before you are. No need to lie to yourself that you love me."

"I may have made mistakes in the past...and I have broken your heart, but even though mistakes of the past don't disappear...we can take them and beautify the present and future together!" Ash knew it was useless to hide his tears at this point.

"Save it, Ash." Pakura cut him off. "We all know my place was gone the moment Shiki died."

"But what about your role as the Phoenix?" Ash was desperate to get her to stay.

"Ashura." Ash looked up, shocked at her using the full version of his first name. "You should know by now I only hold half the powers of the Phoenix. The other half is held by someone else. Once I die, the half I'm holding would seek out the person holding the other half. That someone would be the new Phoenix. I'm not exactly receptive to being your counterpart and keeping the balance in this world. Of course, you already knew I never deserved more than half my abilities in the first place and I even got this from you-know-where. I guess sometimes bad things just happen." Pakura showed Ash a fireball, and he stumbled back, horrified. Since when did Pakura control fire?

"You on the other hand got your aura abilities and powers by your own merit, and became the Chosen One because they elected you to, not because it was granted to you through science or even because of being given to you as part of some plan to help prevent the powers from falling into the wrong hands. I knew the moment I met you that you are no failure, and that you could be better than anyone else, which was why I wanted you as Champion of our region, so that it would be in good hands." Pakura went on. "I knew I wouldn't last the moment I received the Scarlet Anger. I admit, some of my actions were partly of my own free will. Even without that terrible power, I would still do whatever it takes to keep my secrets, even if it means killing all of you."

Ash stayed silent, as Pakura tilted her head down and looked at him with a grim expression on her face. "Ashura, you can't help me anymore. You have your own commitments that is far more important than saving a lost cause. Both of us are already on opposite sides from the beginning, and we have nothing left to say to each other." Without even a farewell, she slashed open a portal with her katana and began walking towards it.

However, she did not notice Ash concentrating a considerable amount of aura into just the finger-tips of a single hand and then performing a thrusting motion to the certain part of the back of her neck. Pakura widened her eyes, before collapsing. The last thing she saw was Shiki shushing her, and saying, "Don't worry, Paku. Just go to sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up."

"I'm sorry, Paku." Ash whispered, as he caught her before she fell to the ground, smiling sadly through his tears. He hugged her unconscious form to himself. "But I can't let you go like that. I would never have forgiven myself." For some reason, he knew that there was a way to get rid of Scarlet Anger. It's just that no one discovered it yet.

"Ugh…" Pakura opened her eyes to find herself in some hospital bed. Much to her confusion, she was wearing an oxygen mask and even having a heart monitor next to her. They weren't with her when she was in the hospital room earlier. Did Ash take her back to the hospital or something when he knocked her out? Why would Ash even do that to her, when she saw nothing wrong with leaving when she knew PAL would be fine even without her?

"Paku-chan! Thank goodness!" A familiar voice engulfed her in a hug. Pakura looked at the person, and gasped.

"Shiki?" Pakura was shocked. What was he doing here? Wasn't he mad at her for cheating or something?

"Who else?" Shiki chuckled.

Pakura frowned at Shiki. He looked exactly the same alright, though she thought he looked younger. Pakura looked down at her hands, turning them, examining their presence. Much to her confusion, she was wearing ribbons on both her wrists, and her hair was tied in low bunches, something she never wore for six years.

She pushed Shiki aside as she rushed towards the mirror at the other side, and gasped when she realized she was staring at amethyst eyes, and she did not even have to employ an illusion to do that. No, scratch that. She didn't even feel the power of the Phoenix in her now, or even Shiki's abilities. It was all her own.

"Feeling alright there?" Shiki looked concerned.

"How long was I…asleep?" Pakura said carefully.

"A month." Shiki sighed. "I stayed here for the entire time, and mind controlled the doctors a little to allow me to stay with you. You didn't show any signs of waking up at all…until now." As if on cue, her Eevee yipped in happiness, and Pakura widened her eyes as her Sylveon was now an Eevee again.

"It can't be!" Pakura started to panic. Did her Accidental Magic activate again? It can't be, otherwise she'd look like a mature, grown and beautiful woman rather than an innocently adorable pre-teen. "No, no, no…this isn't happening!"

"What isn't happening?" Shiki sounded confused. "Wait, do you even remember what landed you in hospital?"

Pakura frowned as she tried to think back, but all she got was a blank. She shook her head, and she swore she saw Shiki looking slightly relieved at that, though he frowned again. "Something wrong?" Shiki's brows furrowed.

"I don't know….is this real?" Pakura shook her head.

"Of course it's real!" Shiki smiled. "Why would you think otherwise?"

"How can I be sure?" Pakura looked at herself in the mirror once more. "I'm losing it, aren't I?"

"Well I'm here." Shiki gently petted her head. "How can you lose it when you are with me? You must have had a long dream."

"I don't get it." Pakura turned to Shiki. "One moment I was 21, and the next I'm back to 11 again."

"Silly you, I said before, it's just a crazy dream." Shiki laughed. "Look, why don't you tell me everything from the beginning. What you remember."

'Of course, he always offers anything that would be a convenience to me.' Pakura thought sadly. 'How could my loyalty to him waver and make me cheat on him like this? He's nothing short of perfect.' She closed her eyes and said, "Alright, I will, but I can't guarantee a happy story. Also, there are some lapses in my memory I can't explain."

"I'm ready to hear it." Shiki walked up to her and took her hands.

Pakura took a deep breath, and poured out every single last thing to him: the sudden realization that she had his powers, the stuff about them starting to be distant since their engagement and him often disappearing somewhere only leaving a short note behind, the struggle to cope with the duties that came with her positions and defending her titles after becoming the Elite Leader, and it wasn't helping with their self-proclaimed manager who only cared about his fame and reputation and using her to help boost them by selling her, causing her to be addicted to antidepressants and liquor in general.

Along the way, Pakura mentioned her anger at the fact that a girl with a normal background and no single idea of what being an Elite in the PAL Region entails applying for the position and having the gall to beg for another chance despite failing two times, not being a Hunter in the first place and acting like she was above the rules where she even said she will keep applying even if they rejected her, and even suspected her of stealing powers.

She even told Shiki about a boy she had taken in against her better judgement and raising him to be a ruthless Champion for reasons unknown despite her having him, and finally, the admission that she fell for him at one point even though he was pining for another and her having him and even cheated on him by doing it with him and her being stabbed by him later on when they fought for their ideals.

"They all seem so real." Pakura shook her head. "Especially the memory where he tried to kill me, Shiki. I loved him and he just stabbed me like I was nothing. Where have I gone wrong?"

Shiki listened to her with a grave look on his face, and as Pakura finished telling him what she remembered, he said, "You know what I think you need?"

"What?" Pakura asked.

"A vacation." Shiki replied simply. "Once you recover, why don't we go somewhere together? Just the two of us."

"Where?" Pakura sounded excited.

"It's a surprise." Shiki grinned. "I'll need to make preparations though, so be patient."

"Alright…" Pakura sighed, as Shiki made her settle on the bed, and put the blanket over her. Pakura wondered if all that happened was real or it was all in her head. If it was the latter, she certainly had a very long dream. With that thought, she decided to take a nap.

Pakura pouted in an adorable way as she looked at the strewn clothing all over the hospital bed. It would not bode well if Shiki ever saw the mess. However, she was faced with a crisis: She couldn't decide what to wear for the date…or at least, she hoped it was one.

'I need something that would take Shiki's mind off the fact that I cheated, and something that would make him attracted to me again.' Pakura thought, looking at all the clothes strewn on the hospital floor. 'Hmm…all of them are cute which matches my appearance, but I probably need to mix and match.' With that thought, Pakura decided to try and mix up her clothes and hold it up in front of her. Eventually, she decided on a light pink plain tank top that goes along with a small and thin white cardigan. Her tank top also included strings that went around her neck. She decided to wear her ribbons on top of the end of the sleeves of her cardigan. She also wore a dark brown skirt along with white thigh highs and black boots.

'That's as good as I can get.' Pakura sighed sadly, using her telekinesis to fold and pack her clothing, noting the fact that the telekinesis was rather weak and she could only fold and pack one set at a time. 'Hopefully it's enough. Should I practice my puppy eyes look? After all, I can freely feel emotions now that Scarlet Anger is apparently not planted in me.' Just as she was contemplating this, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Pakura said, slamming her suitcase shut.

The door opened to reveal Shiki wearing a suit. "Paku-chan." He called out.

"Eep!" Pakura squeaked. 'Is he wearing a formal suit? Oh no…'

"Here." Pakura looked down to see a beautiful handmade heart box. When she opened it, it turned out to have a mirror inside. "W-What's all this?"

"Don't you like it?" Shiki looked somewhat surprised.

"No, it's just that…it's such a surprise you'd do all this for me, after all I did to you…" Pakura trailed off. 'Furthermore, I'm not dressed in the same level as him.'

"Now, now, it's just a crazy dream. The Paku-chan I know would never do that. You're too sweet, kind, gentle and caring to do that." Shiki shook his head.

Hearing this, Pakura almost cried tears of happiness that someone believed in her. "Thank you. I'm so happy!"

"Good." Shiki grinned. "So, there's somewhere I want to take you…"

"Alright. Let's go!" Pakura said enthusiastically, as Shiki took her hand and led the way. It turned out the place he wanted to take her to was a fancy boutique, full of branded clothing and accessories.

"Are you going to buy something from here?" Pakura asked him.

"Your dress." Shiki replied simply. "For our date. After all, a special girl like you deserves a present. Go ahead and pick whatever you like."

"I feel so bad about this…" Pakura muttered.

"Don't. I want you to wear the dress I am going to buy for you." Shiki assured her, pushing her towards the dresses. Pakura frowned, but decided to see what dress she liked. She finally found a beautiful dark blue one that was filled with diamonds and black lace covered the front part of the bottom half. She smiled, as she instantly knew which dress she wanted to wear for the date.

Pakura gasped at the huge luxury ship in front of her. "Is this?" She asked, pointing to the ship.

"Yeah, it's a luxury cruise." Shiki replied. "That's where our date would be. It's three days and three nights. Don't worry about the sea, though. I'll be there to save you."

"But the reservations…and the money…" Pakura started to splutter, but Shiki held up a hand, indicating that she should not worry.

"The most important thing is for you to forget everything you seen in your dreams, and see you smile." Shiki stated, as he took her by the hand and pulled her inside.

"Wow…there's a pool, a casino, and the dining room is so luxurious!" Pakura admired. "Not that I can enter the casino, though."

"When you're older." Shiki said firmly. "Pretty."

"The view? Yeah, it's beautiful." Pakura nodded.

"No, I'm talking about you." Shiki corrected her. "The dress looks really great on you. So dark colours do suit you as well."

'If only you knew what my style was after I grew up…' Pakura thought, just as she heard a faint sound of the piano. "Oh, there's a piano performance?"

"Violins too." Shiki added.

"Amazing…" Pakura was awed. "Someday I want to learn those pieces."

"You will." Shiki smiled, as everyone stood up and headed towards the center of the room.

"Are we supposed to dance?" Pakura said nervously. Even when she was a Princess, she avoided dancing. After all, whenever she did it with another man, they'd try to feel her, which she would retaliate by crushing their foot with her high heels.

Shiki knelt down in front of her and said, "May I have this dance?"

'I forgot Shiki came from an aristocrat family.' Pakura groaned, though she offered her hand to Shiki as a non-verbal consent. 'Of course he would know how to act like a gentleman and dance at social parties.' Shiki then led her to the center of the restaurant.

"I'm bad at this…" Pakura muttered.

"It's fine. I can teach you. Just follow my lead." Shiki gave her a wink, as he put one of his hands into her hand, and another on her hip. They then began dancing to the music.

'I can't believe it.' Ash thought, sitting next to Pakura, who was lying on his bed in a comatose state. Her things were all unpacked and arranged in his room already. 'She didn't even show any sign of emotion in her eyes when talking to me. That Scarlet Anger…it consumed her, corrupted her, and took away what she held dear to her heart: Her memories.'

Ash clenched his fists, narrowing his eyes. Anger was clearly seen in them. 'No, I can't let her go this time and I have to make sure she can't get away. She is all I got after all.'

He frowned at her still form, knowing she should have woken up by now, as it had been a few days already. 'But then again, she didn't have the courage to move on. After everything that was thrown at her, I'm not surprised if she wasn't emotionally scarred. Could it be her mental illness, along with her psychic power, is causing her to be stuck in a dream? After all, it's not unusual for psychic powers to spin out of control against the user due to the mental well-being.'

As he looked at her comatose form, Ash thought, 'Sure, everyone keeps talking about her getting back to normal, but this is normal. It's just taking her a while to get used to it. Besides, we were never meant to be normal. What do they know? Do they want her to just pretend like nothing happened? Shiki was a huge part of her, and she lost it. A piece of her is gone, and it's never coming back.'

"But that doesn't have to stop her from becoming who she wants to be." Pikachu interrupted, apparently having read his last thoughts through telepathy or aura. "She's Pakura Ameyuri, Regional Princess, PAL Duchess, Elite Leader, Top Coordinator, and other things I am too lazy to name. She can do whatever she puts her mind to, ill or not. All you need to do is to be there for her."

"Her mental illness is likely fuelled by fear. She apparently didn't handle it too well, considering her current state." Lucario added quietly.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what to do. My work would probably double for one, since she is now incapacitated. She had made so many plans and I'll have to see that they are completed. Especially now that she has been caring for the residents in my old home and I would have to take care of the necessities now."

"Have you thought about going after her in her head? Trying to bring her back?" Pikachu nodded towards Pakura.

"I did…but I also have my own plans to take care of." Ash said hesitatingly.

"Like what?" Lucario asked.

"The decision on who would be Rota's Crown Princess." Ash replied. "I've already decided who I want to have that title, but I'm not sure how to make her accept." He looked over to Pakura.

"Pakura certainly doesn't lack any traits needed and even have skills outside of her duties that can be useful and what's more, you love her, so you can marry for love! Although, the mental illnesses she has can pose a problem." Pikachu replied.

"You're right." Ash sighed. "If only she taught me more in my prince lessons, like how to convince someone to approve to your request. I mean, all she taught me so far was how to sit, how to dress for different occasions, how to use a fish fork, how to address senior members of the royal household staff, how to say some basic conversation lines in seven languages, and some Rota facts."

"You don't really have to." Lucario shrugged. "I mean, you did see how she works, right? Why not take a leaf out of her book?"

"I don't have Mind Control or Persuasion to help me. Besides, she's immune to psychic powers." Ash deadpanned.

"I hope you didn't forget to bring your brain, Ash." Pikachu folded his arms. "Remember what she said?"

"Recall what you know about the person. Review the information you can remember to reach a decisive conclusion that can allow you to find out something else about the person, usually a personality trait or even a weakness. No matter how much they try to hide it, if you're observant enough, you can dig it out from the evidence of your memories. If possible, you can even exploit it, so that they would have no choice but to comply."

Ash opened his eyes, as he nodded, a smile creeping to his face. He knew what trait of hers he can exploit for her to comply. But first, he needed to wake her up.

"Here." Ash tossed a card key to Pikachu and Lucario. "From now on, you two would share the room connected to mine along with Paku's walking Pokémon. They are already in there."

"Any reason on the sudden arrangement?" Pikachu asked curiously.

"No, it's just that I want some alone time with her. I'm going to try and wake her up like the Prince did with Snow White." Ash smiled. 'Since the room is soundproof, that just makes it even better. After all she did, it's the least she deserves.'

"Ok, if you say so." Lucario replied, not really knowing what the fairy tale Snow White is. Perhaps he could ask Pakura's Sylveon when they get to the connecting room. With that thought, they made their way to the room, and closed the door behind them.

Ash used telekinesis to lock his door to prevent the Pokémon from entering, and looked at Pakura thoughtfully. He took out a couple's bracelet that was made out of beautiful coloured diamonds sewn together on a velvet ribbon bracelet with their names on it. What was more, the velvet ribbon and their names written on it was in their favourite colours. He pressed a hand to her forehead and concentrated his psychic power, hoping to be able to save Pakura from whatever dream she was trapped in. It was time for her to face reality head-on.

After Pakura and Shiki were done dancing and having their food, they decided to go outside for a bit. Though Pakura hated the water, she had to admit the view of the pool from where she was standing was actually quite surreal. "Shi-chan, thanks for the date. I really had fun."

"No problem." Shiki grinned. "You looked very nice when you dance."

"Thanks." Pakura blushed, as their hands intertwined. 'Every moment with him was magical. There is no way I would let go of him for the world. If this was a dream, I would never want to wake up.'

"So, want to go back to our room?" Shiki asked as he held a card key.

"You booked a room? How long?" Pakura gasped.

"The whole three days and three nights. So we have lots more time to enjoy the facilities of the ship." Shiki smiled. Just then, there was a splash, and Pakura gasped as the person flew out of the pool.

"Seriously, of all places, I find you here?" Ash asked, approaching the duo.

"Ash? What are you-?" Pakura looked fearful. What is going on?

"Wait, you know this guy?" Shiki narrowed his eyes at the new arrival.

"He's PAL's Regional Champion." Pakura whimpered.

"I thought I told you he wasn't real!" Shiki turned to her.

"But...how is he here, then?" Pakura stuttered.

"That's because Shiki, you are not real." Ash said bluntly.

"Are you mocking me?" Shiki whirled around to face Ash.

"No I'm not, Mr Kurobane." Ash sighed. "The mental illnesses got you good, didn't it Paku?"

"How dare you say she's ill? To me, she's perfect!" Shiki hissed angrily. "How dare you call her Paku like you are familiar with her?"

"I won't deny that she's perfect." Ash shrugged. "But I am familiar with her, so I can call her that too. Do you think you're the only one who would call her that?"

"What do you want?" Shiki glared at him.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way: hand Paku over and you won't get hurt Shiki, or I fight you until I get her." Ash went straight to the point.

"Well, what if she doesn't want to go with you?" Shiki asked, boredom creeping into his voice.

"She's coming, whether you like it or not." Ash answered, as he activated a saber blade that had a revolver like chamber for a hilt. He switched the hilt to a light pink colour and pressed a button, causing the saber blade to be covered with a pink light.

"Stay back, Paku-chan." Shiki responded, as he took out his own sword. He nodded, signalling for her to run. However, Ash anticipated it as he shot aura chains that tied her up and pinned her down. Furthermore, it prevented her from using her aura or psychic abilities.

"Paku!" Shiki shouted. "What are you doing?"

"I'm coming for her, so I can't let her escape." Ash replied.

"You are so going to regret this." Shiki his Ash with his sword, knocking Ash back as he backflipped to stop his momentum and his weapon to support himself. Ash summoned several crystal projectiles before firing them at Shiki, but he easily slashed them out of the air with superhuman speed. Ash and Shiki clashed in a sword battle, managing to knock Ash back with a kick. However, Ash looked up, his eyes having a bright white glow around it and it looked to be silver.

Shiki stumbled back as he recognized the power. "You're holding the power of the Chosen One."

"Yes, I am the current Chosen One." Ash smiled.

"Well, Chosen One or not, I won't give up." Shiki warned, as he slammed his foot, causing an earthquake, which Ash dodged by jumping up, and he fired a powerful lava-based attack at Shiki, who deflected it with telekinesis to the sea below. As he charged towards Ash however, the entire surroundings glowed in a very bright white light, likely from the Fairy Dust Ash had combined with his aura.

"Don't worry, Sylveon is still out there." Ash assured a distraught Pakura at her fallen Eevee, whom she sent after him to attack when Shiki was defeated before her eyes and thrown into the sea, traumatizing her.

"I like my Eevee just the way it is." Pakura glared at him. "It never evolved."

"Don't be silly! Anyway we're going now, keep your mouth quiet." Ash brushed her off, as he carried her bridal style to look for an exit, leaving her Eevee behind. "We are not going to make it anyway, this dream world you speak of."

Ash was nodding absent-mindedly, waving her comments off.

"Get me back to Shiki and my Eevee!" Pakura demanded. "This is kidnapping!"

"Kidnapping? You have been unconscious for a few days in the hospital!" Ash looked at her incredulously.

"I am conscious! I woke up a few days ago. Shiki said so!" Pakura argued.

"I can't hear you..." Ash said in a sing-song voice.

"Now let go of me and go to your girlfriend. If I remember you were pining after Cynthia." Pakura folded her arms, though it was hard to do so when she was still tied up in chains.

"Cynthia? Who the hell is that woman? It sounds like a cheap and smelly perfume brand." Ash feigned ignorance, and not really feeling remorse for what he said about the woman he loves- or once loved- because of the fact that she didn't believe in him when he tried to tell her that he was innocent of his mother's murder. She certainly didn't go through the trouble of keeping his residents safe to help testify for him and even keeping tabs on their well-being. He highly doubted that she would go out of her way to make meals for them or do their grocery shopping for them if needed. Pakura did it all by herself, and Ash admired her for it.

"Just let go of me." Pakura concealed her amusement at the fact that Ash said that Cynthia's name sounded like a cheap and smelly perfume brand, though it is somewhat true, since there is a brand of perfume called Cynthia Rowley if she remembered correctly. Smelly and cheap? She's not sure, since she never tried any perfume, let alone that brand.

"I am not going to." Ash deadpanned.

"Don't tell me you want a bride. Are you a paedophile? I'm way younger than you are!" Pakura protested.

"If I was a paedophile, then Benzene is a serial child rapist." Ash rolled his eyes in a good-natured way. Child Pakura is seriously whimsical.

"Even if this is a dream, I won't want to return to the world where you exist." Pakura muttered. "You may be handsome, but you're a bastard."

"I'm not a bastard." Ash gave her an incredulous look.

"I swear, I'll kill the dream me for loving you. Wonder what was dream me thinking. If I loved a guy like you, I'll kill myself." Pakura looked at him with disgust.

"I'll just take you back and love you." Ash claimed. "There is no way I'm letting you go again."

"You mean you let go of me once?" Pakura remarked sarcastically.

"Ok, that's not the best way to say it, but you know what I mean." Ash gave her a look, and brightened up. "I think I know where the exit is…" He grinned, as he knew that was the one place she loved the most out of all other places.

Ash could never tell her the power she had held over him, or that he genuinely wished for her presence, or that he now wished to be near her. All because he wasted his time pining after Cynthia, whom he thought of as beautiful, strong and independent, and was always up for a good challenge. She even helped other trainers grow and expand bonds with their own Pokémon if needed. True, Pakura would never do that for other trainers, but she'd risk everything, even her own titles and reputation for something she believed in. Ash knew despite her mentality, she was the type to exchange all she had, including her powers, just for another chance to be with someone she loved.

But what exactly had he done for Pakura to show that he loved her? Nothing, and he even viciously stabbed her when they fought, which would likely scar her mentally, adding to the many emotional scars she had over the years, not to mention they were being amplified thanks to the side effects of Scarlet Anger. He could already tell from her talk with Akeno to access how much Scarlet Anger had affected her.

Ash frowned again when he saw her expression.

'She looked really sad. By releasing her, she gets the chance to live her remaining life and join her fiancé. But I can't do it. Even if it hurts her, I don't want to let her go. With you currently not listening to reason, I knew there was no way but to use force. Forgive me, Paku.' Ash thought. 'But I don't want to lose any more chance. As long as you're here with me, I know I have a chance to prove to you how much I finally realized I love you.'

"What are you trying to do?" Pakura clenched her fists, as both her teleportation and resurrection abilities were taken by Ash. She sat on the bed, glaring at him.

"It's for your own good, Paku." Ash replied, locking the connecting door to prevent the Pokémon from interfering. "First of all, you are ill and I don't really trust the doctors to help. Since you won't listen to reason, that is why you will remain by my side from now on as I try to help you myself. Of course, I will be making sure you don't have the idea of escaping."

"What about Cynthia?" Pakura tried not to show fear of what Ash could do to her, as they were alone.

"What about her?" Ash sounded amused. "Why would I care about her, when I can have someone like you at my arm?" Pakura unconsciously tried to conceal the size of her chest, but to limited success. "Of course, as long as you listen to me and don't step out of line…"

"What happens if I do? Would I be punished?" Pakura looked away, not liking what Ash had in mind.

"Punish you?" Ash sounded surprised. "No, that's something I would never do to you. If you do step out of line or resist…" He hooked a finger under her chin. "The other Elite members would get it."

"I may not care about Rosaline, but you can't do this to them!" Pakura protested. "I am the one who crossed the line, they can't be punished for something they didn't do."

"That's why I punish them rather than you." Ash shook his head. "Besides, I can't bear to hurt you anymore. After all, I want to make up for what I did, and help you lose this Scarlet Anger. Besides, we have lots to do to fix the mistakes we made."

'The fortune in that chocolate was right. He's now my captor and my freedom is cut.' Pakura thought. 'This is not going to bode well for me.'

"Besides, when I say the Elites, I'm not talking about Rosaline." Ash added.

"Who are you talking about, then?" Pakura turned to him.

"I have decided that you've found the right candidate. Ever since the day I met her, I had the feeling she would be the one. She's intelligent, powerful, talented and have a determination about her...but most importantly, she's ready. I can tell by her aura she had trained a lot abroad. We will push through your plan, and let Akeno take over Rosaline as Elite member." Ash announced. "So when I say the other Elites, I mean Akeno, Jude and Phillip. They'll be fine as long as you do what I say. Remember, I require absolute obedience."

Ash forced his defeated Leader to her feet, as he whispered something in her ear. Her pupils contracted as her eyes widened, the only sign of surprise she showed. "Please don't..." She pleaded in a whisper, though she was silenced when Ash crushed his lips against hers.

'Who knew Ash could be so…direct and forward with his advances?' Pakura thought, fiddling with the couple's bracelet Ash had fixed onto her wrist.

Her current outfit consisted of a sleeveless, knee-length black dress with a pleated skirt. The chest is adorned by a large, white bow, and similarly colored trimmings frame the sweetheart neckline, acting as straps, and circle around the waist. At the left side, there was another white ribbon similar to the one on her chest. 'Well, considering the way I trained and influenced him for six years, I guess this shouldn't be a surprise.'

"You look beautiful, Paku. Shall we go?" Ash smiled, dressed in white dress shirt and black tie under a black jacket with matching pants. It was clear that they planned to go out after overseeing Akeno's challenge. He cuffed Pakura's right hand with aura handcuffs that is tied to his left hand and they left for the Battle Arena together, which Ash had pulled some strings to book before the Top 16.

"Why are we all gathered here?" Jude was puzzled, when they all met up, except Rosaline. Both Jude and Phillip wisely did not comment on their choice of clothing, considering Pakura had a look that clearly told them not to ask any questions.

'Are those two going out?' Jude thought to Phillip.

'I think so. But if that was what we wanted, why do I not feel happy?' Phillip replied, but was interrupted by Ash saying, "PAL Elites earn their own place. I simply believe that Rosaline is not right for it. Furthermore, I found some more information that would prove my point through my precognition." Beside him, Pakura bit her lip, but did not say anything.

Phillip narrowed his eyes as he could see the aura handcuffs between their hands. What is Ash's intention, keeping her chained to him like that? What had happened between them between the time he met Shiki and before they met again?

"So, what is the information that you acquired?" Jude turned to Ash. "She certainly did improve over those years."

"Yeah, but she ain't got nothing on any of us." Ash countered. "Even with that power that enhances her abilities, and given the fact that it was not rightfully hers…I believe it's time to replace her, now that she is back. Ever since the day I met that girl, I had the feeling she would be the one. Paku, as always, has a sharp intuition. She is here to challenge Rosaline for her title, and also to battle all of you to see what rank she'll get." Ash gave a smile at Pakura, who stayed silent. Jude and Phillip looked at each other, knowing who Ash was referring to.

As if on cue, Akeno entered with Rosaline's soul. Rosaline was looking around curiously, as if to register the out-of-body experience that she is currently facing. Jude and Phillip were stunned at her ability, as not many can separate the spirit from the body without killing the body itself, which meant it required a great amount of aura control and precision.

"Well, it comes as no surprise that Paku had been interested for you to be an Elite member." Ash gestured towards Rosaline's spirit. "The performance of your abilities are clearly exemplary."

"Thank you, Champion Ashura." Akeno replied humbly. "But I would have never made it this far without my Pokémon and my friends." She seemed somewhat horrified when she saw Pakura next to Ash.

"What is going on?" Rosaline asked.

"Essentially, you are being challenged for your spot, Rosaline. Which is why I got her to extract your spirit so that both of you can battle. It'll be a hassle to wait for you to wake up, and I want it over and done with." Ash answered. "Take it as an opportunity to show us how much you have grown from that spoilt little girl that thought herself to be above our rules. If you win, I'll submit this to the Hunter's Association, and you'll become an official member of the Elite." He waved the paperwork he had retrieved.

"You never submitted it?" Rosaline rounded on Pakura, disbelief clear in her face.

"You didn't give me a good reason to do so." Pakura retorted. "But it will be if you win. Deal?"

"Deal. But how can I use Mega Evolution like this?" Rosaline gestured towards her body. "And what about my Espeon?"

"One of us can do it for you. As for your Espeon, you can always use other Pokémon. Why would you just depend on your Espeon anyway?" Pakura waved her hand dismissively, looking at her in slight disdain. "So, what types would you be using, Akeno?"

"Grass and Ghost." Akeno said promptly, as she took her place across Rosaline in the battlefield. "I've been affiliated with them for a while now. To make things fair to Rosaline, I would not use Rotom for this battle. After all, Rotom is my signature Pokémon."

Ash nodded. "That's fair."

"Rosaline may have the advantage over her, but Akeno's Ghost types evens the playing field." Phillip commented. "Rosaline can't complain about the type advantages or whatever now."

"I had the distinct disadvantage and she lost." Pakura added dryly.

"Paku's right. It's all about the power and the strategies, not the type matchup." Ash agreed. "Whether or not Rosaline stays with us would depend on this match. Jude, would you do the honour of refereeing the match?" Jude nodded, as he proceeded to the center of the battlefield.

"The six-on-six battle between Challenger Akeno and Elite Rosaline for the PAL Elite Four title will now begin! The battle will end when either side runs out of usable Pokémon." Jude announced.

"Let's do it, Gothitelle!" Rosaline sent out the Astral Body Pokémon.

"Decidueye, battle stance!" Akeno decided to send out the Arrow Quill Pokémon. Rosaline widened her eyes, as she never really interacted with this Pokémon before.

'It's clear she raised her Pokémon really well. I better set time aside to spend with all those new Pokémon I caught recently instead of allowing my other Pokémon to take care of their training regime now that the mysteries have been solved. After all, I can just bring Paku with me.' Ash thought.

"I wonder who's going to win." Phillip remarked.

"As if we didn't already know." Pakura rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come now. Even if you know how the story is going to end, that doesn't make it any less fun to watch." Ash added. "We would just be seeing how the story would achieve the ending." Just then, his Pokéball opened and out came Manaphy, who seemed delighted when he saw that both Ash and Pakura were dressed nicely, as if they were planning to go on a date afterwards. Manaphy sat between the two of them like a small child to his parents.

"Let the battle begin!" Jude announced.

BP: If you guys are wondering, no, the date with Shiki is actually not real. It's all in Pakura's head when Ash knocked her out. Her strong psychic powers combined with her mental illnesses caused that to happen. It is because she has Psychic Shields (which is permanently active and she didn't actually need to concentrate to keep it active as it's a passive ability) that Ash was able to save her somewhat easily. Otherwise, he would be trapped in with her as well with no way out.

However, even if Ash did realize his love for her, there are still a lot of struggles Pakura have to deal with, especially with her waning lifespan and Ash still had lots to do in relation to his status as Crown Prince (such as selecting a Crown Princess and fully claiming his status and the arrangement for his trial to prove his innocence once and for all. Oh, and of course, his revenge. No way is he done with them. There is also finishing the work Pakura Goldstein had set out to do to restore one of the cities of his region.

It'll be hard to juggle this alongside his training for Top 16 (I'm not too sure who he should battle. Any ideas?) and taking care of Pakura, who is mentally ill and is still not over her fiancé, whom she perceived as perfect and is clearly struggling with trauma from all that happened to her and the fact that more than half the powers were never hers to begin with (including half the Phoenix power transferred by Shiki that is lying dormant inside her).

Whether he can deal with all these and help Pakura with her emotional issues at the same time and whether his love for Pakura can pull through remains to be seen. Then again, she'll be by his side all the time, as I don't think he'll let her out of his sight for one moment after what she tried to do.

So next chapter would be a decisive battle as to whether Rosaline leaves or stays in the Elite. I might pit her against Pakura later to see who gets to receive the full powers of the Phoenix, since both of them received only half the powers. Anyway, whether or not either of them is meant to receive the full powers of the Phoenix remains to be seen. While it is true Pakura held both the substitutes' titles, someone else can be chosen over her if she was deemed unfit to receive those powers, meaning it can be given to anyone. After all, it's a no brainer who had the powers of the Chosen One.

Of course, as a price Pakura would lose her powers granted to her when she had the titles (although her powers as Dragon Champion would remain to be seen since the powers belonged to Shiki). So what do you think? Is Pakura the next in line for the Phoenix title?

I have another story idea I might implement based on Liar! Uncover the truth as part of my side stories…with Ash as the main character who walked away with ten gorgeous women in a matchmaking party after being cheated on by his girlfriend (probably Misty or some other Pokémon girl I don't like), but like in the game, nine of them are liars.

Which ten, you ask? Well, I'll just leave it to you readers to suggest and I'll select from there, since there are so many pretty girls in the world of Pokémon! Of course, the members of the PAL Pokémon League can be selected as well, just tell me who you want and I'll consider.

Also, Core AI and I would be collaborating on a story. We have been discussing ideas through PM, and we'll be starting on it once we finish our respective stories. It'll be posted on Core AI's profile though, so when the first chapter is posted, go to his profile to read it!

While you are at it, do review the latest chapter of Heartsong Symphony as well! It is quite tiring to write those chapters in Heartsong Symphony after all, I probably put more effort in that story than the others (since I had to watch and write a whole episode in addition to imagining how it would go) combined from the number of words and I lack reviews compared to even the likes of PAL Academy.

Just one more curious question: What song or music do you think would fit each PAL Elite member at the moment?

Anyway, do favourite, follow and review!