Hey Nuggies! Well I really shouldn't be doing this, but here I am writing another fanfiction since I have writers block on a few of my other ones, and because this won't leave me alone. Here is your warning this will be SLASH! I have decided though that this will not have M!Preg.

Main Pairing: AshxPaul

Rating: M (to be safe)

Chapter Warning(s): Implications of sexual assault (If you don't want to read it or get triggered by it then please skip from "Now sit tight, darling." down to "Ash had never felt so relieved in his life when - finally left.") Also mentions of child neglect.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon it belongs to Game Freak, Nintendo, Creatures, The Pokemon Company, etc, nor do I write this for profit. This is for entertainment use only!

Please don't forget to head over to A03 for the discord link! You don't need an A03 account to do it.

Enjoy!

Ash let out a groan as he started to become aware of the world. First was the pain in his head and neck, then the dizziness he felt as he opened his eyes, lastly was the churning on his belly. He had to go through the motions of swallowing something to make sure that he wasn't going to throw up. Ash must have gotten a concussion between the alley and wherever he was.

The room, being illuminated by the fading sunlight shinning through the window, was a basic bedroom with a bed, the one he was currently laying on, with a side table, dresser, a mirror, and a desk on the other side of the room from the bed. Ash was on the bed and as comfortable as it was he didn't want to be on it. He forced himself to sit up and only to just notice that his left wrist was handcuffed to the headboard. Upon a closer look Ash saw that they were police grade handcuffs and he wondered how the hell his captor had gotten them. Ash was about to try and get out of them when he heard footsteps and someone speaking coming closer to where he was.

"I know," the male voice said, "I'll have him ready to go tomorrow. High noon at the pier."

Ash, now wide awake and aware, laid back and acted like he was still asleep as the knob turned and the door opened with a slight creak. He heard the door close and footsteps coming closer to the bed and felt a presence beside him before feeling someone breathing on his cheek. He did his best not to twitch and to keep his breathing even. He heard male mumbling on the other side of the phone his kidnapper was using, and it sounded odd. Like it was very techy and heavily modded like in those police shows when a kidnapper would call for ransom.

Somehow Ash knew that his kidnapper wouldn't be calling someone for his ransom.

"No, he's still asleep," the guy said as he stood up and moved to sit at the desk, "and yes I got the bleach, dye, and new clothes to dress him in before transport. Yes. Yes. No. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Ash heard the man rustle around and assumed that he had put his phone away. He waited a few minutes, but he supposed those few minutes were too long for him as a quick slap to his cheek had him gasping in surprise and staring up at the man who captured him.

"Look who's awake now," Zeke said with a large grin on his face, "I was almost afraid that I had left my hands around that pretty throat of yours for too long, darling."

Ash didn't say anything, but glared at Zeke as he tried to put as much distance between them as he could. Ash pressed his back against the headboard and even had put his arm in an awkward angle, not caring that it hurt, just to get as far away as he could from his kidnapper. He painfully swallowed as he heard Zeke chuckle and flinched slightly as Zeke reached out and drug him back to the center of the bed.

"Now sit tight darling," Zeke said as the man put a hand on his cheek and Ash has to fight the urge to not turn his head and bite down on the flesh, "We got a boat to catch tomorrow. Don't worry about anything. I won't touch you right now. I'd prefer taking your sweet tight ass in my bed, not in this hovel. Would you like to know what I'll do with you? No? Too bad. I'm going to tell you anyway."

Ash shuddered as Zeke began to very vividly tell him about how he was going to rape Ash. The details wanted Ash to close his eyes and not look at Zeke, but he knew that with his overactive imagination that he would end up picturing everything Zeke was describing. He didn't want to picture being chained to his bed, face down, and being taken by Zeke. Instead he zoned out as much as he could and turned his thoughts to Paul, his pokémon, and his mother.

"Then after I fucked your tight hole and fill you up with my cum, I'll give you to my pokémon to enjoy," Zeke said and let out a soft sigh as he got up from his position, "But I'll leave the surprise about who I have as pokémon till later my darling. I will tell you that my sweet Tepig has fully evolved. For now, my darling, I must leave you to prepare for our departure."

Ash had never felt so relieved in his life when Zeke finally left and had to rapidly blink his eyes to keep the tears that gathered in them from falling down his cheeks. He wouldn't shed a single tear for this man. Taking a deep breath, Ash sat up taller and took a look around the room once more. The side table didn't hold anything that he could use to get free, it was just a simple table without a drawer, and he was too far from the desk to look through it.

He turned his attention to the other side of the room and saw the chair Zeke had sat in, the one from the desk that the man had pulled closer to the bed, and saw something reflecting beside it. Being careful to not cause the bed to creak he peered down to the floor and felt a huge amount of relief.

The phone he had thought Zeke had put away earlier was sitting on the floor near the chair.

'I could use it!' Ash thought and at first he stretched out with his free hand to try and grab it, but fell about a foot and a half short to get it. He tried using his foot and even reached for the chair with his foot to use it to get the phone closer, but he was just out of reach of it. Ash cursed softly under his breath as he moved to sit back up against the headboard. He turned to look at the handcuffs again and saw that his wrist was getting very red from the amount of pressure and tugging he had done trying to get to the phone. Thankfully he hadn't broken skin in his attempts.

'Calm down Ash,' he told himself, 'take a deep breath. You're smart. You can get out of this and get back to Paul.' Ash turned his head to look at his wrist again and reached up to fiddle with the handcuff. It was really tight around his wrist, but with enough effort he might be able to pull his hand through. Ash fiddled with the positions of his fingers and pulled lightly to see how each position would do against the handcuffs.

'I'll have to break or dislocate my thumb just to get out of them,' Ash concluded and sat back with a heavy sigh. He didn't really want to do that. There was no telling what was outside the bedroom door. He closed his eyes for a moment and just listened. He could hear Wingull outside, waves crashing against something, like a wall perhaps, and fading footsteps. Focusing on using his Aura, Ash focused on his kidnapper and could see a darkly warped outline of Zekes' Aura walking to the front door. He watched the outline appear to open a door and walk out.

Ash waited with quickened breaths as it appeared that Zeke had gotten into a car and drove off. He was finally alone. There was no one in the house as far as he could 'see', but nonetheless he kept looking around just in case. He turned his head as if his eyes were actually open and saw something that made his heart skip a beat in the room next to him. A small figure was curled up on something, like a bed. It was too small to be someone his age, and too big to be around Leons' age.

"A fucking kid?!" Ash cursed, feeling incredulous at the thought and slightly sick since Zeke had taken him for his own need. So what was he doing with a kid? Feeling determined, Ash reached up and grabbed his thumb with his right hand. He took a deep breath and pulled as hard as he could until his thumb let out a loud pop and a flash of pain raced through his hand and up his arm a bit.

"Fuck!" Ash yelled and hit the wall with his free hand as if that would help the pain somehow. He didn't waste any time pulling his hand free, ignoring the pain, and moved to grab the phone. He didn't know how long Zeke would be gone and he didn't want to waste any more time. Ash fiddled with the phone, but it just wouldn't turn on. Cursing again he threw the device against the wall after realizing that it was dead and went over to the door. Thankfully the door was unlocked, Zeke probably thought that he wouldn't be able to free himself.

He opened it slowly and peered out just to make sure the coast was clear, and to just be sure there weren't any cameras in the hall, before stepping out of the room fully. The house was filled with the bare necessities and a lot of old and newer take out containers. Ash wrinkled his nose from the smell, but ignored it all to turn to the door leading to the room beside his own. Ash took a deep breath and opened the door.

The smell that greeted his nose was horrific. Urine and feces were the most prominent smells, but there were undertones of mold, musk, and infection that filled the room. Ash stepped around piles of things he didn't want to identify as he walked closer to the small form on the bed. Coming closer, Ash could see just how bad the kid was.

Emaciated, covered in infected cuts, dried fecal matter, and other substances. Thankfully the kid wasn't handcuffed to the bed like he had been and wore only a tattered, dirty shirt that ended at their knees. The kid had silver hair that hung to their shoulders and was matted heavily. Ash walked closer, trying his best to not startle the kid, and reached out with a hand to wake them up. He wouldn't leave this kid here.

"Hey there," Ash said softly as he put a hand on their bony shoulder and did his best to ignore what stain he was touching, "Can you wake up for me?" Ash just barely managed to get his sentence out when the kid opened their eyes with a loud gasp. He held his hands up in a peaceful gesture. Bright blue eyes shone through the matted silver hair and Ash swore he felt something in the air. Ash studied the kid for a moment and his eyes widened.

"You can use Aura," Ash said softly as his eyes followed the familiar blue wisps that covered the kid in a weak shield. The kid flinched and the shield solidified, but Ash gave them a small smile. "It's okay," Ash said as he lowered his hands to cup in front of him, "I can use it too." Ash let his Aura form into a small ball in his hands and he could see the instant relief in the kid as their shield fell and they crawled closer.

"What's your name?" Ash asked and shivered as the kid reached out to touch the orb of his Aura, "I'm Ash."

"Papa named me Aster."

"It's nice to meet you, Aster," He said as he did his best to not flinch as he heard the sentence in his head, "We don't have much time before the mean man comes back. I can get us out of here, but I need you to be really good, okay? I'm gonna pick you up and we'll go."

Ash waited until Aster nodded before he gently picked up the underweight boy, confirmed by Aster himself. He quickly, but carefully, made his way out of the room and back to the main area of the house. Taking a quick glance, to make sure there wasn't another phone he could use, he miraculously spotted his bag near the front door. Making his way over he picked it up and saw his watch and pokéballs under it.

"Zeke must be really dumb," Ash said causing Aster to let out a giggle. Ash had to set the kid down for a moment so he could put his bag and belt on. His watch was sadly dead like the phone he found so he was unable to use it at the moment. He made sure everyone was accounted for, and feeling relief and hope, he picked Aster up once more.

"When we get outside I'm going to let out one of my pokémon. They might look a little scary, but they're friendly," Ash said as he reached forward to open the door, "They're going to fly us away from here and to help." He felt Aster nod against his shoulder as he opened the door. Ash looked around and saw that it was clear to step out. He noticed Aster burying his face into his shoulder and Ash assumed that the sun was a bit too bright for the kid.

Ash reached for Zoroarks' ball and released his Illusionist. He would have taken out Charizard, but he didn't want the roar Charizard lets out when he's released to catch anyones' attention. Zoroark let out a snarl and bark, but calmed down when he saw his trainer and new addition. Ash reached out and ran a hand through Zoroarks' fur.

"Hey Zoroark," Ash said as he blinked away a few tears at seeing one of his pokémon, "we need to get out of here. Can you fly us?" Zoroark let out another bark before creating his solid illusion of a large Corviknight, his illusionist must had seen one in one of the league battles since he hadn't seen one before now. Ash crawled up onto Zoroarks' back, after placing Aster on him, and made sure that they were both secure before telling Zoroark to fly.

Ash peered around them as they flew and grew angrier as he realized that they were still in the Indigo Plateau. They were far from the stadium, near the water, but they were still there. As they flew Ash did see Officers, Rangers, and League Agents on nearly every street hopefully looking for him. He saw dog-like pokémon sniffing around and psychic types teleporting here and there. There were a few patrolling flying types as well and it wasn't too long before they were joined in the air by a Ranger.

"Mr. Ketchum!" the Ranger exclaimed as she got closer to them on her Staraptor, "Thank Arceus! I'm Ranger Odelia, please land!"

Ash, too tired and in pain to argue, nodded and led Zoroark to land in an open area with plenty of people of authority around. He carefully climbed down from Zoroarks' back and grabbed Aster before Zoroark released his illusion. By the time Zoroark was done and was standing near his trainer, a few people approached him, including Odelia.

"Mr. Ketchum, it's a huge relief to see you," Odelia said, "let's get you to the hospital to get checked out before anything."

"I want Paul," Ash said as he followed the Ranger with a League Agent at his back and Zoroark at his side, "and my kidnapper is still here somewhere."

Odelia nodded and spoke into a walkie talkie that she had attached to her belt. The world seemed to blur a bit for Ash as he moved through the motions of getting into Odelias' jeep after reluctantly recalling Zoroark. Aster still clung to him and Ash didn't have the heart to put the smaller Aura user down, even if it into the seat right beside him. The jeep followed a police cruiser along with a dark vehicle trailing behind them all the way to the hospital.

Once in the large building, Odelia was called away and Ash was ushered into a room by a nurse. He let out a soft sigh as a League Agent walked into the room while a police officer stood outside of the room. The door closed with a soft click and the nurse, a kind portly woman with curly brown hair and eyes, pulled a curtain closed to act like a barrier between them and the Agent. Ash watched as the nurse walked over to a cabinet after softly greeting them and pulled out a couple of hospital gowns from within.

"Could you two please change into these? I'll be right on the other side of the curtain getting a few things to check you both over with," the nurse asked kindly and Ash was relieved that she didn't take Aster. He felt better that the little Aura user wasn't going to be separated from him. Normally he would have been fine if they had been, but Aster was an Aura User, and so far he only knew that there were three of them in the world. Himself, Riley, and Aster. With as much Corruption he had encountered in the last year, and hearing about them from Redferns' ghost when he was in Rota, he wasn't comfortable with leaving little Aster alone.

Ash waited until the nurse was behind the curtain with the Agent before setting Aster down on the ground and kneeling in front of the smaller child. Ash slowly and calmly pulled off the ragged dirty shirt Aster was wearing and did his best to hide the wince on his face as more infected wounds and bruises were revealed. He helped Aster put on the hospital gown and tie it up in the back before he changed into his own. Ash wasn't fully comfortable with taking off his boxer briefs in front of a kid so he left them on under his own gown. Aster didn't have any undergarments.

"We're ready," Ash called out after picking Aster up to place on the bed on their side of the room. He stayed standing, having not really been wounded like Aster, as the nurse came back over to this side of the curtain. Ash eyed the items in her hands, but he wasn't concerned with anything she held. The clipboard with papers, a few sterile syringes along with a long tourniquet, she also held a little basket with bandages and ointments in it, and Ash was sure there was more stuff she held that he didn't see in that instance.

"Mr. Ketchum, could you please fill these out?" she asked and held out the clipboard that held an empty intake form for the hospital, "and what's your name little guy?"

Ash took the clipboard, and the offered pen, and began to fill out the forms while keeping an ear out as the nurse spoke to Aster in kind soft tones. He filled out his own first, having known all the information on the top of his head, before getting to Asters. He wasn't sure what to put down for him, having only known the kid for an hour.

"I can't fill his out," Ash said as he handed her the clipboard back, "Aster was there before I was. All I know about him is his name."

The nurse nodded and set the board down after looking over what she did have. She stated that she would start with their examinations and asked Aster if he was comfortable with Ash staying with him. It was answered with a quick nod and with Aster reaching out to grab the sleeve of Ashs' gown as if he were terrified of Ash leaving.

Ash waited patiently as the nurse started examining him and explained everything she was doing to Aster, who watched with rapt attention. Ash sat through it calmly to show Aster that it was nothing to be scared of and when she was done looking over Ash, he reached over and held one of Asters' hands tightly in his own hand. Ash smiled as the nurse gave Aster a sucker after she was done with the exam. She marked a few things on the clipboard before telling them that a doctor was going to come see them soon and that she would be back soon with some water and food for them both.

Now it was just the waiting game.

"I told you! I'm fine to battle," Ash argued with a League Official who had come into the room a few minutes into the time that the doctor had come in to speak with them and to treat Asters' wounds, "I don't have a concussion, no broken bones, I wasn't drugged. I'm just fine."

"And the doctor agrees with this?" the woman asked and turned to the doctor, who had a look of irritation that this woman barged into the room as he worked on his patients. It was as if HIPAA didn't apply to this woman at all. He had just gotten done with setting and splinting a thumb when she barged in. A moment earlier and he could have accidentally twisted the thumb and made the injury worse.

"Yes," the doctor said as he cleaned a wound on Aster, "Mr. Ketchum has a bit of bruising in and around the outside of his throat, but other than that he is perfectly fine. The headache he has will fade with a bit of pain medication, water, and some rest. He'll be perfectly fine to keep battling tomorrow."

"Alright," she said with a small sigh, but gave Ash a smile, "we really are glad you have been found, Mr. Ketchum. When you are finished here you'll be escorted back to the hotel you are staying in. There will be a few Ace Trainers and other Agents guarding the hotel and an Agent will escort you back and forth from the hotel. They won't be there long. Just until this Zeke Ugliano is caught."

Ash nodded and watched her as she turned and walked out of the room. The next person he was waiting for was actually a Social Service worker for Aster. He wasn't sure if there was any family out there for the kid, and if there wasn't he was sure Rota would take him in just on the principle of Aster being an Aura User.

Aster would also be safe in Rota, he hoped at least.

They told him that Paul wouldn't be able to visit him while he was there in the hospital, as he did have to stay for a few more hours, but he was given a charger for his watch and was eagerly waiting until he was able to call his boyfriend. He couldn't wait until he was discharged. Ash could really use one of Pauls' hugs right now.

Until then it was still a waiting game.

Ash sighed softly as he walked out of the hospital with an Agent by his side. He was finally discharged, but Aster had to stay there and he wasn't allowed to stay with the kid since he wasn't family. It was hard to leave Aster when he had broken down in tears and held onto him so tightly, and as much as he wanted to stay, he couldn't, according to the hospital. He did promise to come back tomorrow after his battle to check up on him since the nurse said it was fine and that he was on the approved list. The social worker wasn't able to get there until tomorrow afternoon and the results from Asters' DNA testing wouldn't get finished until early morning.

At least he knew that Aster was going to be safe in the hospital.

He did send a message to Lance about needing to speak with him before the social worker got there because Aster was able to use Aura. Aster couldn't go back to where he was before just in case anyone decided to take him again. For all Ash knew the kid was taken because he was able to use Aura, and not for anything else nefarious. Or at least that was what he deluded himself to think. Thankfully Aster didn't seem to have any Corruption in him from the scan Ash did on the flight after their escape.

Ash had been so tied up with his thoughts that he didn't realize that the Agent had lead them into the hotel he was staying in until he was already in the elevator. Thankfully the Agent was silent and didn't ask anything while he was stuck in his head. Ash looked up at the floor numbers as the light slowly went up as they passed each floor. His heart began to beat faster when they neared his floor, and he couldn't help that he practically ran from the elevator and down the hall until he was at their door.

His hand shook as he pressed the key card against the lock and let out a relieved chuckle as it unlocked. Ash practically threw the door open and rushed inside with the Agent right behind him. He ignored the Agent, as the man started to look in different areas of the room just in case there was someone that wasn't supposed to be in there, and ran to Paul. His boyfriend caught him as he jumped at him and Ash clutched at his broad shoulders. He did his best to hold it together until the Agent was done and gone from their room, but as soon as the Agent was gone Ash was breaking down in Pauls' arms.

He felt Paul move them to one of the large armchairs they had in the room and sit down with Ash in his lap. The arms around his waist tightened, and Ash couldn't help the keening that left him as he sobbed in Pauls' arms. He barely heard the soft words Paul was telling him as he tightened his own arms around Paul.

"I-I was so afraid," Ash confessed through his crying, "I thought I wasn't going to see you again. Or my mom. Or my pokémon. Z-Zeke said he was going to-." Ash couldn't continue speaking and did his best to not gag at the thought as Paul nearly crushed his waist with how tight he was holding him. Ash didn't mind though. It was grounding in a sense.

"You're okay now baby," Paul said as he lightened up on his grip so Ash could get a proper breath in, "you got out of there. You're so strong, and brave baby. You saved a little boy from what I hear." Ash nodded and took several deep breaths to feed his hungry lungs. They were hurting, along with his throat, but that was mostly from crying since the pain medication they gave him was still in his system. Pikachu, who had been on the bed, came closer and hopped onto the arm of the chair they sat in.

Ash reached out and ran his fingers through static filled fur as he apologized to Pikachu for leaving him behind. His starter let out a soft squeak and burrowed his way between Paul and Ash to join in the cuddle. Now that all the adrenaline he had pumping throughout his body was fading he could really feel how tired he was. He couldn't help it as his eyes began to fall closed, it was almost a relief seeing as they hurt from how much he had cried, and grumbled out a protest as he felt Paul move them again but this time to the bed.

He didn't have time to freak out about being on the bed as in a blink of a moment he was unconscious to the world.