Tale of the Forsaken

by silentplayermc03

Ash Ketchum vanished after losing everything he held dear. A group of people he once called friends decided to find him, learn the whole story, seek his forgiveness and bring him back home. But will they be able to get through to him after learning the whole story? Or is he too far gone in his anger and despair?

2. Prologue

TALE OF THE FORSAKEN

PROLOGUE

The echoes of determined steps sounded out in the empty hallway as a woman made her way through it. Green eyes narrowed onto the last door at the end of the hallway, her heart was beating slightly faster than usual. For she was anxious to find out some information that she desperately needed. Important information that would allow her and her group to finally find the one they had been searching for. And they had been searching for a very long time until they stumbled into some luck. She soon reached the room she was told her target would be in. She looked through the door window and saw a tall, fit and good looking male with mahogany colored hair dressed in black jeans and a green shirt with a white lab coat over it leaning back in his chair as he stretched. Finding the one she was seeking, she grasped the doorknob, turned it and entered the room while hearing him speak...

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A man was sitting at his desk in his classroom waiting for the bell to ring while getting some documents ready for his students to fill out. The school year was finishing up and it was the last couple of weeks. Then they would graduate from the academy and would receive their trainer's licenses. With licenses in hand, they would be able to go out into the world and go on their own journeys. Just like he did when he was younger but things were a little different now. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes while he leaned back in his chair and stretched after getting the papers stacked neatly on his desk. "Man, I can't wait for this to be over. Maybe I shouldn't do this anymore."

"Too bad. You look like you belong here Gary."

The startled man snapped his eyes open and shot forward in his chair. After turning his attention onto his surprise guest, he had a bewildered look appear on his face. "Alexa?!"

She allowed a small smile to appear on her face as she placed her hand on her hip and nodded. "The one and only," she replied back.

He chuckled as he stood up while taking in her looks. Dressed in her trademark outfight of tight grey jeans along with a black and red collared shirt, her outfit accentuated her still athletic and curvy figure with her long brunette hair tied into an elegant bun. She had gotten older over the years, sure, but he couldn't help but give her a once over as he got closer to her. "Talk about dropping in without letting someone know. It's been a while. Still look beautiful as always. But what are you doing here?" he asked her while getting closer and the two shared a hug.

"It has been and you flatter me. Can't keep those eyes from roaming, can you?" she replied and teased back as they separated, with both of them chuckling a bit. "Anyway, I came to Kanto a few days ago to take care of some things." Gary was about to say something when she cut him off. "I'm sorry but I don't have much time as I gotta be somewhere soon. I came to talk to you about something," she said seriously.

Hearing the tone in her voice, he understood that this wasn't just a friendly visit. "I see. Well, what is it?" he asked her with a curious look.

Alexa thought about how to say what she needed to say. She needed to get him to give up the information she knew he had but needed to be careful with him or he won't give it up. Unable to come up with a subtle way of asking for it, she decided to just be straight forward with him. "I need to know how to find…him."

Gary's curiosity vanished and his eyes widened. Intense fear completely filled him and his heart beat increased rapidly as a cold shiver went down his spine. "No." He turned away from her and he took a couple steps towards his desk before he felt a hand grab his arm. "I said no!" he repeated with some anger in his voice now.

Alexa noticed his anger but she wouldn't give up that easily. "Please Gary! You're the only one who knows the full story and where he is! I need to find him!" she pleaded with him. Wrenching his arm free from her with such force, he pulled her towards him. She stumbled and was about to fall when she caught herself. She stood up straight and locked eyes with him. "Gary, I need to know! Please tell…"

"I CAN'T!" he shouted as he whirled around to look at her and she took a step back from his outburst. "I swore I wouldn't tell anyone! He'll be pissed and come after me to break every bone in my body if he doesn't kill me! After everything I've done…and haven't done…everything that's happened to him…to her…it's the least I can do! I cannot go back on my word!" Gary glared at the Kalos reporter as he finished up. He couldn't believe what she was asking him to do. He couldn't. It was suicide.

Alexa's eyes became watery after hearing that but still wouldn't give up. "You're not the only one who feels horrible for what they did and didn't do!" she yelled back. Gary shook his head and went back to his desk and sat down on his chair. He turned his back to her and faced his computer screen. The Kalos native however ignored the obvious showing of dismissal. She began shaking with her emotions starting to go over the edge but she controlled herself. Taking some steps towards him, she placed her hands on the desk and leaned forward a bit. She started speaking but with a forced calm tone of voice. "Please Gary…I need to tell him how sorry I am. I want to do anything and everything I can to make it up to him. And so do many others." Gary glanced at her from the corner of his eyes when she said that last sentence. "I'm not bull shitting you. Even though most of the population doesn't know the whole story, they still want to ask for forgiveness. Especially his old friends. The stuff that I know is proof enough; he needs them and they need him. Please tell me how to find him," she said, finishing her plea.

Gary could feel the sadness in her voice and saw how her eyes were shining because of the water filling them. A lone tear escaped from one of her eyes and flowed down her cheek. A sudden thought came to his mind. "How did you find out that I'm the only one who knows?" he asked her in a low tone of voice. Alexa didn't answer but maintained her gaze on his. The professor hung his head and took in a deep breath. "He doesn't want to be found Alexa. There are reasons behind telling only me and I cannot tell you them. Those reasons are why I'm still alive. If I tell you, he'll know if I do and I'd be as good as dead. But I will tell you this; do you know what else he told me?" She stayed quiet and didn't say anything. He raised his head and looked at the ceiling. "These are the words he said after he told me everything and made me swear to keep it a secret before he left; [The world that I grew up in that was alive and lit up with color, friendship, hope, dreams and love…was taken from me and was replaced with darkness, loneliness, despair and hate. My world and who I was…died…when she died]." He turned his head to look at Alexa and found she was crying silently. He couldn't help himself and his eyes became watery as well. "Do you understand now? There's nothing you can do for him and he won't be happy seeing you or anyone else. And he won't be happy with me either if I tell you where he is. As soon as you show up, he'll know and come for me. And you know there is no running or hiding from him," he explained to her sullenly.

Alexa took in a ragged breath and was quiet for a moment. She thought about what he said and even though he had a point, she couldn't back down. Gathering her nerve, she spoke. "I never knew that. I only know part of the story…but even so, we can't let him be on his own. We need to bring him back. We need to show him that there are those he can trust once more. That he can live life again once more. And the people should know what he's been through. The sacrifices, the pain and agony, the horrible and terrible things he went through. They should know it all," she told him in a quiet voice.

Gary shook his head again before looking at her. "And who's going to tell them? You?" asked Gary sarcastically and Alexa gave him a look. Understanding dawned on him and Gary took in a sharp breath. "Have you gone fuckin mad?! He would sooner break you in half than to tell you the full story!" He thought that would deter her from pursuing it. Yet Alexa was still adamant about it and kept her serious gaze on his. Gary looked at her for a moment before facing his computer screen again. He closed his eyes and an internal debate went around in his head. Alexa patiently waited in silence for him to make up his mind, knowing he was struggling in making the right choice. After a couple minutes that felt like an eternity to her, he opened his eyes and looked at her. "There is much that you don't know that I can't tell you. But fine. I'll tell you how to find him but whatever happens is on you. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Alexa nodded and allowed herself to smile a little. "Thank you Gary."

"I'd wipe that smile off if I were you and don't thank me because if you fail, and you probably will, he's going to come after me," he replied back while taking out a notepad and pen. He began writing down how to find him. When he finished, he pulled the piece of paper out of the pad and folded it before handing it to her. She grasped the other end but he didn't let go. Narrowing her eyes at him, she was about to ask what his deal was when he began speaking again. "I'm telling you how to find him against my better judgment. Don't make me regret this." She nodded and he let go of the paper. She took it and placed it into her pants front pocket. "Two more things," he started and he waited to continue until she looked at him so he can make sure that she heard him. "First, don't go alone. It's a dangerous area where he is. And so is he. He won't take kindly to anyone bothering him now. The second is whatever you do…no matter what happens…do not, I repeat, DO NOT…say anything about her. He's become very protective of her and her memory. You don't want to see what happens if you do," he warned her.

Wiping away the dried tear streaks on her face, Alexa nodded at him. "Alright. Thanks Gary."

And with that, the journalist from Kalos exited the class room as he watched her go. Gary stared at the door for a moment before he too got up and went to the windows. He dried his eyes with the back of his hands. He looked out of the windows and saw the town he had grown up in. He thought about the one Alexa was looking for and everything he had gone through. How a single event demolished many lives before it brought about the day where all hell broke loose. On that faithful day, when the truth came out, everything changed. It was the beginning of the end for many things. The end of the historic Indigo Plateau stadium that was now a broken down monument. The end for criminal organizations. The end of old laws and policies. The end of many dreams. The end of several relationships. The end of old traditions. The end of sending kids who were far too young out into the dangerous world they lived in. But it was also the end for the one who lived his life with wonder, enthusiasm and was about to take the next steps towards his dream. And in life. It was the end of his childhood friend as he knew him…

The bell rang all of a sudden and he jumped because of being lost in his thoughts. He swore at himself quietly for getting wrapped up in the past again and started mentally preparing himself to be himself for his class. He couldn't let anyone see him in this state. Shortly after, the professor's classroom door opened and two dozen teenagers entered while conversing with one another.

Gary turned around and watched them walk to their seats as they talked and joked with one another. "Alright, alright, simmer down," he told them. His students quieted down and gave him their attention. "Good. Now, as you all know, you only have two more weeks of school until you graduate." The students let out cheers and several high fived one another. "Yea, I know you're all excited. These last few days are going to be very simple for you. We don't have much to do today other than go over some things but first we need to do this." He picked up the stack of papers on his desk and walked towards his students. After handing them out, he stood in front of them again and spoke. "I need each of you to fill that out in order to get your Poke Dex at the end of this week, which will have the information you put in those packets." The group groaned out at that. "What a bunch of whiners," he joked and a few of his students glared at him.

But one of them spoke up after flipping through the first few pages. "Hey Professor, why do we have to fill this out again? We already did this when we first got into the academy years ago. This stuff should already be on file," remarked a young man with squinty eyes, pale skin and dark gray hair.

The professor moved back to his desk, sat down and faced the computer. "You're right Mr. Harrison," he started. "We do have much of this information already. But, it's been some time since then," he remarked as he opened up a file on his computer. "Some things change. And do you really want what your mom filled out for you to be in your PokeDex? To be on the trainer's public server?" he asked. He glanced at him with a slight smirk on his face. "Cause I think it's pretty rad that your mom, the Pike Queen, has your middle name on here which is…"

"Alright, alright! I got it!" interrupted his student in alarm. The rest of the class howled with laughter as he crossed his arms and glared at everyone. "Jerks."

The professor chuckled before standing up again and the class quieted down. "Now you know why we have you do it again. Because this is the only chance you have to change things easily before it gets registered on the server and on your device," he repeated to make sure it got through to them. "If you don't do this now, it just becomes a pain in the ass to do so later."

The students listened to what he said and most agreed to it. And they were used to the way he spoke so they weren't surprised by his choice of words. The young man looked at his packet. "That makes sense but I still don't know the reason as to why this needs to be done," remarked the teenager. "I mean, during your day, it was only your picture, name, age and home town." He flipped through the rest of the pages. "But now blood type? Emergency contact? Relatives? Allergies? Disabilities? Favorite pokémon? Favorite sports? And so much more. Why do you need all this?" he asked him.

Before the professor could answer, one of his other students spoke up. "You know the reasons why Robert!" shot a dark haired girl with blue eyes making them all look at her now. "Some of that stuff is for private uses like when you use a pokémon center if and when you're hurt! And the other stuff is to help build relationships with others across the different regions by finding people with similar interests!" chastised the blue eyed girl.

Becoming embarrassed over what she said, Robert reddened a bit. "I didn't ask you Beth!" snapped Robert.

Beth and Robert started bickering back and forth and the rest of the class shook their heads. They knew how the two would get at it in their arguments. The professor smiled a little to himself because the scene was reminding him of the old days. When he would run into his childhood friend sometimes and see him argue in the same way with the different girls he traveled around with. His smile turned into a frown as he started thinking about what had happened to him…

Seeing her professor become sullen and not do anything instead of stopping the two who were arguing like he usually did, a red haired girl spoke up over the pair. "Professor Oak?" she shouted out to him, which silenced the two who were arguing.

He snapped out of it and faced her with a kind expression. "Yes Rose?"

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

He smiled at her and nodded. "Yes, I am. Thank you. I was just thinking about something." He then faced the two who were arguing. "If I hear one more word out of either of you about this argument, both of your parents will be receiving calls from me tonight. And you don't want to piss off your mother do you Robert?" Robert shook his head frantically. Even though he was pretty big for his age, his mom Lucy could be very intimidating when she wanted to be. He was pretty sure she could kick his ass if she wanted too. Hell, she was the only one who can control his father Brock. The professor turned to Beth. "And I'm pretty sure that my niece wouldn't want her parents Daisy and Tracey to know about this either. Am I right?" he asked her. Beth's eyes widened before she gulped. "That's what I thought. Now get started all of you. Just think of it as one step closer to get your licenses and starting pokémon."

The class murmured in excitement before they all started filling out the packet. The professor went back to his desk, sat down on his chair and took in a breather. He watched his students for a couple minutes before his mind went back to what he just went through with Alexa. Unable to help himself, he reached down towards his desk's right bottom drawer, opened it and took out a photograph. It was an old one and was starting to crease at the edges. In the picture, standing together in a group, was himself and all of his friends. But two of his friends were the ones his eyes were on. He looked at them with an intense gaze, thinking about what had happened in the past. What his closest friend and biggest rival went through. What his friend's love went through. I'm so sorry. Neither of you should have ever gone through all that bullshit. I should've believed the both of you. He then locked his sight onto the male of the two. My oldest and closest friend…my one true rival…I should've known you weren't capable of all that. I should've helped you. Maybe then you wouldn't have lost everything… Scared that he might lose it in front of his students, the professor hurriedly put the photo away. He then focused his mind onto another task he had to do on the computer for his grandfather while his students worked on their packets.

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After Alexa left the academy, she headed towards the hotel where she had a booked a room to stay at for a couple nights. As she made her way there, she thought about everything that she found out from Gary. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that she had reached her hotel room until she was standing in front of her suite's door. Snapping out of her thoughts, she took out her card key and swiped it through the lock and the lock opened. Closing the door after going through it, she went to her lap top and turned it on. While waiting for it to turn on, she took out the paper from her pocket and looked at what was written. Her eyes widened and she took in a sharp breath. Mount Silver?! She couldn't believe it. It was suicide to stay there for long periods of time. Especially if you were on your own. But he's been there since the day he vanished?

Getting over her shock, she remembered when Gary told her not to go alone. She wasn't planning on it anyways but now she knew the reason why he said that. Glancing at her laptop's screen, she saw it was ready to go. Quickly opening up her email account, she composed a new email for her friends that were waiting for her update. Writing several names into the 'Send to' list and some others in the 'BCC' list that she didn't want the others to know about, she then wrote out a short email that read;

Mission accomplished.

I have found where he is and know how to get to him. Meet me at the following location this Wednesday morning at 8am; Indigo Plateau Victory Road Gates.

That gives you enough time to get there and prepare for the trek. It will be dangerous and extremely cold. If you can't make it or are too scared, let me know or don't even bother showing up.

Alexa Paquet

Once finished with her email, she went over it to make sure she didn't miss anything. An old habit from when she used to be the top Journalist in Kalos until she decided to become a blogger instead. Seeing that everything was good and to the point, she sent out the email. Letting out a sigh to calm her nerves, she looked at the paper again. Some thoughts entered her mind of what she would do or say when she finally saw him. She wondered how he would react in seeing her after writing all those terrible exposes and reports about him. I'm so sorry. I never should have done that. I should've known better. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she decided to prepare herself for her journey to one of the most dangerous locations in the world. She began researching online on what she would need and the types of dangers she would most likely come across. As she did that, her inbox started receiving replies back to her email with some saying they would come and others saying that they couldn't for various reasons or that they didn't want to. But she didn't notice. She was too focused on preparing for what she was going to do…

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It was Wednesday morning and Alexa was standing in front of the gates that she told the others to meet her at. Dressed in a full body hiking outfit with her traveling pack on the ground beside her feet, she was ready to traverse through the dangerous path towards Mount Silver. She hoped that the others took this serious and prepared as she did. Checking her watch, she saw that it was 7:30am. She had been there for an hour already and nobody had shown up yet even though several that she emailed said that they would come while the rest couldn't. She leaned against the gates and crossed her arms over her chest. Just where the hell is everyone?

As soon as that thought entered her head, the sounds of multiple wings flapping got her attention. She looked up towards the sky and noticed several figures moving towards her. A small group of flying types with their trainers riding on their backs was flying closer and closer to her. Soon enough, they landed on the ground in front of her. "About time," remarked Alexa when they landed and noticed that they were wearing traveling clothes like herself, ready to embark on their mission.

"You said 8am. We still have plenty of time," said one of the three arrivals who had blue hair as she slid off her pokémon and returned it to its poke ball. Alexa looked towards her, who was the second eldest of the Sensational Sisters, the beautiful gym leaders and show runners of Cerulean Gym. The reporter noticed how the blunette had grown even more as time went on, developing into a woman with an hourglass figure. Violet went up to the journalist and hugged her as the others got off their pokémon and returned them as well. "It's been too long. It's good to see you again."

Alexa smiled while in the hug. "And it's good to see you too Violet," she replied back. After they separated, she turned to the other two. "I'm glad you came as well."

"Of course and don't worry about it. And thank you for finding out where he is for us," said the one with yellow hair, making Alexa face her fully and saw how she changed over the years. Her name was Daisy, the eldest of the sisters but wasn't as curvaceous as Violet. She had kept her athletic figure with her slightly larger than average curves complimenting her body well. Alexa understood her and said no more about that.

Lily, the pink haired youngest sister out of the three, set her traveling bag down and looked at the reporter. "How were you able to get it out of him?" she asked,

Alexa turned to her and realized that even though she had grown a little taller, Lily was still the petite one out of the three. Probably doesn't matter though, thought Alexa since she believed that with her small frame, exotic hair color and proportionate body, she probably still made heads turn. Moving on from her thoughts, the reporter smirked at them. "I have my ways," she said. The new arrivals gave her a 'come on' look and she let out a sigh. "Alright fine; I just told him the truth. Well, part of it."

Daisy moved towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That was the right move. We cannot afford to have our pride or anything else keep us from trying to fix things. We're doing this to right our wrongs and hopefully make things better."

Hearing and understanding her words, Alexa nodded. "You're right. But can I ask you something? How did you find out that Gary would know where he is?"

The three girls glanced at one another before facing her. "She told us," they said together.

Alexa titled her head in confusion. "Who?" Seeing their expressionless faces without them answering her, it slowly dawned on her who they were talking about. "What?!" she asked them.

Violet was the one who answered her. "She came to us in a dream and told us who knows where he is so we can find him."

Alexa's eyes widened, astonished over what she heard. "Are you serious?" They nodded. She shook her head in disbelief. So it wasn't just me who was visited… She then looked at her watch and saw that it was 8am. "Well, its time. I don't think anyone else is coming. I guess we should..."

Before she could say anything else however, the four of them heard the cries of pokémon and they looked up at the sky together. Four more trainers flying on their pokémon were moving towards them. When they got close enough, they were able to see who was on the flying types. The three sisters snapped their gaze onto Alexa. "You told them?!" they asked together in anger at once.

Though she saw the angry gazes on her, Alexa didn't back down. "They needed to know as well and I have my reasons," she said calmly. Moving past them while they glared at her, she walked over to the new arrivals, who were four girls and noticed how they had changed as well. The one with brunette hair, May, had developed into quite a curvaceous woman. The second girl, Dawn, had blue colored hair with a slender yet curvy figure. Their third companion with purple hair, Iris, was the petite yet athletically toned one of the group. And last but not least of their group with honey blonde hair, Serena, was almost as curvy as May but was the tallest of the group. "We were about to leave. What took you so long?" she asked them as they returned their pokémon.

The five of them greeted and hugged one another while the brunette answered for the group with an annoyed tone of voice. "We had some last minute issues to deal with."

"You can say that again May," added Dawn with a frown.

Alexa shook her head before letting out a sigh. "Well, what matters is you're here and I appreciate it. We're going to need all the help we can get. And we need to get going." She turned around and moved towards the gate. Feeling that they didn't move, she glanced back at them and saw that the four new arrivals had locked their eyes with the three who were already there.

Iris crossed her arms and glared at the three sisters in front of her. "What are they doing here?"

"We should be asking you that," commented Daisy as her hands clenched into fists while her sisters glared right back at the four.

Seeing and feeling the hostility between them, Serena spoke up. "Maybe we should go on our own," she suggested.

"NO!" shouted Alexa all of a sudden catching their attention. The two groups of girls snapped their attention onto her and she spoke. "That would be a bad idea Serena. We're all here for the same reason and we will need each other to get to him. The road we're going to travel on is a dangerous one. And what's worse is he's not going to be happy to see us. So whatever issues you have with one another, whatever the reason is behind it, you all need to get over it! Save your energy for when we face him. We're going to need it then." The girls turned their gazes towards each other and their eyes narrowed. A couple of them snarled while the rest clenched their hands into fists. Seeing that they were not listening to her, Alexa became frustrated and started shouting. "ENOUGH!" The seven girls jumped over her outburst and looked at the furious Alexa. "We're going to have to work together to get to him so whatever issues you have with one another you need to get past it and forget about it right now!" When Alexa finished chastising them, the girls exchanged looks with one another while they thought.

Coming to a decision, the blonde gym leader from the first group spoke up. "Fine. I'm willing to work together if you are." Her sisters nodded to show their agreement.

The four girls in the second group nodded back. "Then it's settled," said May.

"Good," remarked Alexa and she headed towards the gate. She picked up her traveling backpack and swung it onto her back while putting her arms through the straps. "Let's get going. It's a long journey and our destination is Mount Silver." Startled over what Alexa just said, the girls had their eyes widen and felt some fear fill them. But they didn't go back on their words. Picking up their bags, the girls followed after the Kalos journalist. Alexa pushed open the gate and took a step inside the gated area. "Well, there's no turning back now," she said to herself but she looked back at her companions who had heard her and nodded at her. As the eight females began their mission, each of them were thinking the exact same thing; that they hoped to find him, get through to him and bring him back home.

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It was no joke or exaggeration when it's said that Mount Silver is one of the most dangerous places in the world. If the powerful wild pokémon didn't get you, the extremely cold, almost never ending blizzard would. During the start of their journey towards the mountain, the eight companions were having trouble. Even though they had agreed in the beginning to travel and work together, the two groups of girls were soon at each other's throats over the most trivial things. The journalist did her best to keep the peace between them as a mediator but was having a hard time in doing so. She wondered if she had done the right thing by telling them to go with her to find him. But then she remembered the promise she had made and she couldn't go back on it. And that's what kept her going. Every time things got rough, Alexa would remember the promise that she made and that would help her keep her mind on what she had to do.

Things weren't getting better as they continued on however. From their petty insults, repeated arguments and just plain trying to kill each other, Alexa wondered just how in the hell these seven girls were ever friends. It also made her realize just how much everything was messed up because of what happened and how everything was changed for better or worse.

Fortunately, that all changed though and the Kalos native took that as a silver lining.

The thing that caused their unification was their first life threatening challenge that they faced, which was battling against an extremely powerful Tyranitar. It was too powerful for a regular wild pokémon but they found no trainer. It took their combined might to finally beat it and make it retreat back into the dark and cold forest that surrounded the imposing mountain.

It was because of that battle with that pokémon that they soon realized that their fighting would not help them at all and would only hinder them. It was then that they made a pact to completely let go of the past and work together to move on. Once in a while their path was obstructed by another unusually powerful pokémon and several of them were ones that weren't native to the area. Some of them even looked familiar but couldn't tell for certain because of the constant blizzard obscuring their vision. Again it took their combined might to push each one back. But each one was becoming increasingly more difficult to defeat the closer they reached the mountain.

But that wasn't the only things they faced. They also stumbled into many strong wild pokémon whose territory they had unknowingly entered into. From large bruisers like Ursaring that could crush weaker pokémon with ease to sneaky speedsters like Sneasal that were hard to pin down, the girls were forced to enter into battles in order to protect themselves and move on. Even the roaring icy winds that bombarded them the whole time seemed like it wanted to take them down permanently.

But they wouldn't give up for they were on a mission. No matter what trials they faced, they overcame it by working together. They huddled together for warmth in caves or underneath large trees that had fallen whenever they could find something like that to rest. They shared their food and water with one another. They shared the restorative potions that they had brought for their pokémon. They shared stories of the good times they used to have with one another and with the one they sought out. Little by little, without them realizing it, the bonds between them were being repaired and becoming stronger as they faced the trails together.

Seeing that happen and realizing how they once again were becoming friends like they used to be, Alexa started to fully believe that they could accomplish what they had planned to do. She thought back to what Gary told her; don't go alone. It was then that she realized just how right he was. Had she ignored what she dreamt and what he said, had she gone on alone, then she most definitely would've died in the attempt to reach him. Many times she was saved by one of the girls in the group and she returned the favor several times over for them. Seeing and feeling the energy between them all being much better than before, Alexa was filling up with hope. I have a good feeling about this. I think we can do it.

They went on for a little while longer before stopping to take a rest under the cover of some trees. As they huddled near one another once again for warmth, the purple haired girl spoke up. "I really fuckin hate the cold. How much farther do we have to go?" asked Iris with her voice muffled slightly. Each of them was wearing thick snow cloaks, pants, boots and face masks to help protect the cold.

Alexa took out the map she had purchased for their excursion from one of her pockets. Though no one was able to fully map out the mountain or the surrounding areas, they were able to find the best path towards the mountain and had it marked on the map. She studied it with her and the other girls' heads leaned in towards it. "Okay, according to this and the notes that were given to me by Gary, I think that we're about one more day from reaching the mountain," she informed them.

"One more day in this freakin blizzard?!" exclaimed Lily. "Damn it!"

"Will you stop that? Complaining about everything won't help," remarked Violet. The pink haired girl glared at her but said nothing.

"Let's take a rest and then we'll continue," suggested Serena.

The girls agreed with that and two of them decided to take watch while the rest got some food ready. After getting their meal ready, the two who were on watch joined in and the group ate in silence. They had to take their gloves and face masks off in order to eat and if they conversed while eating, it would extend the amount of time their faces and hands were exposed to the harsh weather. They quickly finished their meals and put on their gloves and masks. Midway through cleaning up their waste, they heard something that caused them to go on alert immediately. "What was that?" asked May fearfully, looking around the area.

The other girls looked around too while keeping close to one another with their backs touching. Each of them gripped a poke ball in their gloved hands while focusing their eyesight. Attempting to peer through the blizzard to see who or what was around them, they waited with their hearts hammering in their ears. A blue blur raced past in front of one of them suddenly. "I see it! It's a blue figure!" shouted Daisy.

She was about to toss out her poke ball when one of the girls shouted back as something went passed her field of vision now. "No, it's here and its green!" remarked Dawn.

"I see red!" screamed Alexa as a red shape quickly moved in front of her before disappearing into the storm. The group was starting to become very scared, wondering what these…things…were doing and whether or not they were friendly. Glancing around at her friends, she saw them sticking close to one another and could tell that they were shaking from fear. "Stay calm! We need to be focused! We're here on a mission! Send out your pokémon!" she shouted, encouraging them and tossed out a poke ball. Her friends copied her actions and each of them tossed out a poke ball. Multiple flashes of white light before their pokémon appeared and got into fighting stances.

Trainers and pokémon waited silently with their nerves on edge for their opponents to show themselves or to make a move. They waited for a long time but nothing happened. Starting to second guess themselves, the girls were about to recall their pokémon. But then the three differently colored blurs appeared around them and three differently colored energy beams were launched from them. The three elemental attacks connected against three of their pokémon who let out agonizing cries before they dropped to the floor unconscious.

"No fuckin way!" shouted Iris, seeing her Excadrill out for the count with burned marks on him.

"What are these things?!" yelped Violet, seeing her Dewgong battered and beaten on top of the snow.

"We need to get out of here!" screamed Alexa, her Noviern out cold and covered in an icy layer.

The three blurs reappeared, moving in front of them all. The remaining pokémon fired attacks all over the place as they tried to hit them. But none of their attacks were successful. Another set of elemental beams shot through the endless blizzard and connected against three more of the girls' pokémon and knocked them out. "We can't win!" shouted Dawn in fear.

"They're too powerful!" cried Serena as she shook in her spot.

"They've trapped us!" remarked Lily after noticing that the three blurs were racing around them all. The other girls noticed that and each of them was filled with fear, not knowing what to do.

"We can't lose focus now!" shouted Alexa, catching their attention. "Send out all of your pokémon! We can't give up!" she said, trying to push them and herself to overcome their fear. They were about to send out all of their pokémon when something happened that made them freeze in their spots. A purple barrier appeared around them and the blizzard that was roaring around them was silenced and no snow or ice was pelting them anymore. The differently colored blurs raced around the purple barrier a few times before they turned away and vanished into the blizzard. They couldn't believe it; they had been saved from their attackers.

But then they began thinking of who was responsible for this protective shield around them. Before any of them could say anything however, a blue glowing sphere appeared within the barrier that made them yelp and back away from it. The sphere faded away to reveal a bipedal purple humanoid and feline looking being that had two horns on its head with a long tail and three digit hands at the end of its long thin arms. The purple being stared at them without making a sound while levitating in the air.

Seeing that it wasn't attacking them, the girls relaxed a bit but kept their guard up. "Who are you?" asked the youngest Sensational Sister. No response came from it.

"Are you friend or foe?" asked the younger brunette. Again no answer.

Glancing at one another while becoming increasingly more uncomfortable, they didn't know what to do. Alexa took a step forward and the purple feline had his eyes move onto her. "Look, we mean you no harm. We came seeking a friend who we haven't seen for so long. Do you know where he is? Can you help us?" she asked. They waited for a few seconds until they got their answer. The being raised his arm and pointed his three digit hand towards them. Their remaining pokémon got ready to attack if needed but they never got the chance to even move because the purple feline had his eyes glow blue. Each of the pokemon was outlined in a purple glow before they immediately lost consciousness. The girls screamed in fright and backed away from the frightening creature until they bumped against purple barrier. Immediately afterwards, they too were outlined in purple glows and forced to kneel. Screams and shouts of fear were heard from them all as they were being drained of their energy. "What are you doing?!" asked a frightened Alexa. She barely noticed that her companions had fainted around her as her vision was slowly fading away.

Floating through the air as it closed in on them, she heard it speak but it didn't move its mouth. "Doing what needs to be done to save my friend." That was all she heard before she fainted and collapsed onto the snow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When the journalist from Kalos finally regained consciousness, the first thing she felt was grogginess. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to remember what had happened to her. After thinking for a bit, she remembered what had happened and shot up in bed quickly all of a sudden. "Ugh," she groaned out as she held her face in her hands.

"Easy there. It'll take a few minutes to recover some."

She lifted her head and turned to where the male voice came from and her eyes widened. She saw the purple feline standing nearby. "You!" she exclaimed and tried to move away from it but couldn't since she backed into the head board of the bed. She started firing off questions while yelling in her hysterical state. "What do you want?! Who are you?! Why did you attack me?! What are you trying to…"

"Calm down," he said, cutting her off.

She stopped instantly. Not because of what he said but how he said it. She heard him speak but his mouth didn't move. "How…" she started.

He answered her while cutting her off again since he knew what the question was that she was going to ask. "I'm speaking to you through telepathy."

She understood and slowly nodded to show that. "I see," she said. She studied him while remembering what had happened. "The purple barrier…that was you, wasn't it?" she asked him and the being nodded. "I don't mean to be rude but…"

Once again he cut her off. "I am a psychic type legendary pokémon. My name is Mewtwo. Your companions are alright. They're already awake and eating. Since you were the last to faint, you were also the last to wake up," he explained to her.

"Okay, so they're fine and…wait, that's right! You attacked us! Why?!" she asked him angrily.

"I did it to save your lives against those blurs," he answered her.

Alexa gasped over that, remembering how the three blurs had decimated her and her friends' pokémon with ease. "That's right. They were attacking us and then you…" She narrowed her eyes on him, not believing him since she remembered something else. "Wait…that's not what you said before." Mewtwo tilted his head at that, a confused look on his face. "Don't give me that! You said you did that to save your friend, not us!" she snapped.

"That is also true," replied the legendary without missing a beat. Utterly confused, she didn't know what to say. "Come. You'll understand soon enough. For now, follow me." Mewtwo turned around and left the room they were in while levitating. Not having any choice and wanting to know what happened to her friends, Alexa followed after him. As she followed him, she soon realized that she was in the mountain. The hallway that she followed the pokémon through was actually a tunnel. Taking in as much as she could as they walked, they soon reached another room that was much larger and had a long table.

The moment she entered it, she saw her friends. They were sitting at the table and enjoying a decent meal after a couple days of having nothing but rations to go on. "HEY!" shouted Alexa, making them turned their heads to her. The second they saw her, they shouted out in happiness. The seated girls got up and went to the new arrival. "Thank Mew you all are alright!" said Alexa while in the group hug.

"Right back at you," said May with a small smile.

Alexa smiled before her face grew serious and they separated from one another. "Do you guys know where we are? And what exactly is going on here?" she asked them.

Daisy spoke for the girls this time. "We don't know," she answered. She faced the purple feline. "Mewtwo here said he'll explain everything to us once we were all awake and together."

The girls faced him and the legendary spoke. "That is true and now that you're all here and awake, it's time to tell you the reason as to why I brought you here," he said, catching their attention. The group of girls straightened out and gave him their utmost attention. Seeing them listening, he continued. "I know the mission you are on and I commend you for taking it. I know the reasons why behind it." They glanced at one another, wondering how he knew as well but said nothing. They returned their eyes onto him. "But I must warn you that you may have come for nothing." Feeling tremors straight to their core, the girls felt alarmed at what they were just told. "It has been a long time since he has seen anyone from the old days. And he will not be happy to see you here because he still has anger and hate in his heart. He's still feeling the sting of your betrayals and he has been in grief since that faithful day." The girls felt their hearts skip a beat and each of them was filling up with sadness. "But I know you will not give up just yet. Just be prepared if things do not go as you wish it to go. If you are ready to face whatever comes, then follow me."

Mewtwo began leaving the area towards another tunnel. The girls glanced at one another, wondering what they should do. Each of them was thinking if they were ready to face him now until each of them had an image appear in their minds. Gathering their courage, the girls followed after the legendary psychic. They traveled through another tunnel that was gradually becoming steeper as it rose upwards. The girls started panting but the legendary was not bothered by the steepness since he was levitating. Reaching the end of the tunnel, they all moved into an enormous cavern clearing. What they saw made the girls widen their eyes and their jaws dropped.

A waterfall was flowing down the cave wall opposite them that led into a stream that flowed through the middle of the circular area. The stream split in two around a miniature island in the middle of the cavern. Against the edges of the area were several trees with brightly green colored leaves and differently colored berries. In the center of the clearing, where the small island was, there was something on it. The girls slowly moved closer and they were able to see what was on it.

On that small island, a rectangular stone structure about ten feet in length, three feet wide and five feet tall was placed in the middle of it. On top of that stone slab was a transparent crystal that was shaped in half an oval. Many bloomed red flowers were placed around it on the ground. It was the most beautiful thing any of them had ever seen. But that wasn't all there was there.

It took the group of girls some time to take in the sight for them to notice something else. A lone figure with long black hair was sitting on his legs on the island in front of the tomb with his head hung. Taking in sharp breaths at the sight of him, they couldn't believe it. After such a long time, after many tough battles and horrible experiences, they had finally found him and were so close to him. With their hearts beginning to hammer, they began moving towards him with hope guiding them.

After taking a few steps closer, the kneeling man stood up all of a sudden and they stopped moving closer to him. They could see a blue glow outline him as he whirled around, causing his black hair to flail around a bit. What they saw made all the girls to flinch and had their hearts skip a beat; his face was twisted in fury and it was frightening to see him like that. "HOW DARE YOU COME HERE AND SHOW YOUR FACES!" he roared at them as his eyes glowed blue, startling them all. Blue flame like energy flared out from within his body and danced around him that made the group of girls take a couple steps back subconsciously. "HOW DARE YOU DEFILE THIS SACRED PLACE WITH YOUR PRESENCE!" A blue sphere of energy appeared in his right hand and he hurled it at the intruders.

Not able to even scream over what was happening, the girls were frozen in their spots and just watched the blue sphere of energy racing through the air towards them. At the last second a purple barrier appeared in front of them that saved them from it. The sphere of energy collided against it and a powerful blast shook the area. Stumbling in their spots and unable to hold their balance, some of the girls fell to their hands and knees.

Knowing who protected them, the man snarled. "MEWTWO!" he shouted out into the room.

The purple feline appeared out of thin air in front of the frozen and scared group of girls. "Yes? Did you call?" he replied back calmly.

Clenching his fists, the man grew even angrier over what he just said. "DON'T PLAY GAMES WITH ME! I KNOW YOU WERE THE ONE WHO HELPED THEM ESCAPE THE BLIZZARD!" At that moment, three differently colored blurs raced in front of them before standing in front of the man. It was then that the girls finally knew what the blurs were since they stopped moving. The green one was the Hoenn grass lizard Sceptile. The red one was the Sinnoh fire monkey Infernape. And the blue one was the Kalos water frog Greninja. But the three pokémon were giving such furious looks at the girls that they felt themselves filling up with fear. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! YOU KNOW WHAT THEY'VE DONE! WHAT THEY DIDN'T DO! YET YOU HELP THEM AND SHOW THEM THIS PLACE?!" He was fuming, his anger steadily rising and the blue flames around him grew larger.

"Yes I did because it is the only way," he answered with a saddened tone.

"ONLY WAY FOR WHAT?!"

The girls behind the legendary were frozen in fear but were also in awe at the power the one they were searching for possessed. They couldn't believe it even though they had seen it once before a long time ago. Back when the truth was first revealed. Moving forward a bit, the purple feline answered him. "To help you find your way back. You have been cut away from everyone and everything while mourning here for many years. What is the point to this? Why are you still here? Even after getting your revenge. It is time you move on and leave what happened in the past. It's time you go back to the ones you left behind. Especially your…"

"DON'T SAY ANOTHER WORD!" interrupted the man as a blue wall like energy wave was launched from him towards the legendary and the girls. It came with such speed that Mewtwo was barely able to summon a shield in time to defend against it. "YOU KNOW I CAN'T DO THAT! MY PLACE IS HERE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! AND YOU KNOW THIS PLACE IS SPECIAL AND I WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO BE TAINTED WITH THESE UNWORTHY SOULS!" He placed his wrists together with his palms open while facing them. A small blue energy sphere appeared in front of his hands. It began cackling as he channeled more energy into it, making it larger and getting it ready to fire with streaks of white electricity arcing around it. The three starters quickly moved out of the way and repositioned themselves around the edges of the clearing.

Seeing that he was not going to listen, Mewtwo got into a fighting stance to ready himself for battle. He was about to make his move when several figures moved passed him all of a sudden and flung themselves onto their ground with their heads bowed. "Please forgive us Ash!" they yelled together.

Absolutely astonished over what they just did, both pokémon and man stopped what they were doing. Mewtwo straightened out and the man stopped his attack. The energy sphere faded away and he lowered his arms but the glow and aura in his eyes and around him remained. "You dare ask for forgiveness?! After everything you did to us?! After turning your backs on us?! Why should I ever forgive you?!" he asked them coldly with his voice booming with power. The girls shivered in their spots as they felt his power wash over them. Slowly raising their heads with teary eyes, they locked their eyes onto him but were unable to reply back. "You…" he started with a cold tone of voice, raising his hand and pointing at four of them. "…have one chance to state your case. Speak."

"We're so sorry for what we've done and didn't do," said the brunette at once.

"We want you to know that we will never again do anything to hurt you," continued the blunette.

"We know that we fucked up colossally," added the purple haired girl.

"We came to find you to show that we'll do anything and everything to fix our mistakes," finished the honey blonde haired girl.

After the four of them spoke, they began to quietly cry with fast tears running down their cheeks. Seeing them so saddened did not move him or cause his hardened heart to soften. Instead, he moved his gaze onto the other three. He then moved his hand towards three of them. "What about you?" he growled at them.

The pink haired girl spoke at once. "We're so sorry for not helping," she replied sadly.

"We shouldn't have believed any of it and we should have believed her," stated the taller blunette.

"We were complete fools and we're ashamed over how we acted," concluded the blonde.

He lowered his hand and then locked eyes with the last of the eight. "And you…" he said with venom.

Alexa took in a sharp breath. "I never should have written those exposes or those reports. I didn't know all the things that you or she has been through. I didn't know the true story. None of us do. But we want to know. We want to do whatever we can for you. We want to let the world know what really happened. We're here to do anything and everything you want us to do. No matter what it is Ash. Please, give us a chance. We won't let you down. We want to be able to sleep again without seeing nightmares of the mistakes we made. We want…"

"I understand now," he said, interrupting her. "You just came here to say you're sorry to ease your guilt." All of the girls shook their heads frantically and began talking back at once, trying to make him understand that wasn't the reason behind them trying to find him. "SILENCE!" he yelled at them, making the girls go quiet at once as they cowered on the ground in front of him. "NONE OF YOU KNOW OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH! OF THE SACRIFICES THAT WERE MADE! THE DREAMS THAT WERE DESTROYED! NOT ONCE DID ANY OF YOU COME TO HELP WHEN WE NEEDED IT!"

"Calm down!" snapped Mewtwo, growing angry himself yet he stayed in control of himself. It wouldn't do good to lose it himself and then things would really go chaotic. "This isn't what Misty would have wanted for you!"

Ash had his eyes bulge over that as his anger engulfed him. "YOU DARE MENTION HER IN FRONT OF THEM?!" he asked as his blue glow brightened.

The clearing began shaking as tremors rocked the area and rays of aura shot out from the man. The girls stayed on their hands and knees, unable to stand up from that but also because of the multiple different emotions that were whirling around inside them. They were astonished over how much power he had and how he was making the earth itself tremble in his wake. Even the three starters were trying to keep their balance. But the legendary psychic type held his. "Yes I do because she was my friend as well!" yelled Mewtwo, trying to get his words heard. "She never wanted this for you! Do you honestly believe that she is happy or proud that you are here wasting away your life?! That you have left behind your…"

"ENOUGH!" he shouted at the legendary before a wave of aura energy exploded from him. Mewtwo quickly brought up a shield around himself and the girls once more. Barely able to prevent them from getting hurt, the legendary glared at the man. Closing his eyes and wrestling with what he should do, Ash turned his back on them all. His gaze landed onto the crystal tomb and he began to fill up with sadness. The glow around him and in his eyes faded away and the tremors stopped. "Get out," he told them after a moment.

The girls glanced at one another but didn't move. They then faced the man whose back was still turned to them. Each of them slowly raised to their feet but instead of leaving the cavern, they cautiously moved closer to him. Mewtwo watched with waited breath over what was happening and hoped for things to work out alright in the end. As they moved towards him, the girls began speaking. "Please listen to us Ash," started May softly.

"Don't push us away," continued Iris.

"Let us help you like you used to help us," added Dawn.

"We should've known that you would never do those things," stated Serena.

"We're very sorry for what we did and didn't do," said Daisy.

"Just give us a chance to prove ourselves to you," pleaded Violet.

"We miss you so much," revealed Lily.

"Come back home Ash and reveal the truth to everyone. Make them know the whole story so the truth can be known. Don't you want that?" asked Alexa.

The girls reached the water that surrounded the island. They could've stepped over it and go right up next to him but decided against it. They knew that they were pushing their luck right now but didn't want to go overboard. So far, he was not lashing out and they took that as a good sign. They waited patiently and silently for him to talk back.

After several long and tense minutes, the black haired man took in a deep breath through his nose before exhaling out through his mouth. "Give me one good reason as to why I should listen to you and not blast you off this mountain," he told them without even looking at them, his sight locked onto the crystal tomb in front of him.

The girls glanced at one another, not knowing what to say. That is until they were sent a mental message by the psychic feline; "Tell him what you truly feel and what you truly want to do." Taking in deep breaths, the girls readied themselves for what they were about to say. And then they said three different things together at once.

"Because I love you Ash and want to be with you," said May, Dawn, Iris and Serena together.

"Because we want to honor Misty's memory," revealed Daisy, Violet and Lily together.

"Because I want to fix my mistakes and show the world the truth," admitted Alexa.

Ash heard what the girls said and the words washed over him. But it didn't have the desired feeling that the girls were hoping for. Instead of getting through to him, it maddened him even more. "Love?! Honor?! Truth?!" He repeated those words out loud before the blue glow outlined him once more followed by his aura flaring out from his body. He whirled around to face them and an Aura Pulse was let loose from him. The wall of aura energy knocked the girls off their feet and they fell onto the ground hard, making them cry out in pain. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HONOR AND YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!" he roared at them. Raising his right hand over his head, a blue energy sphere appeared in his hand. It kept growing and growing until the Aura Sphere was as large as a Gyarados.

Mewtwo saw things going south and was just about to teleport in front of the girls to defend them when said girls began talking and what they said made both him and Ash freeze in their spots.

"You're right Ash," stated Alexa sadly.

"We don't deserve to be alive while she's dead," continued Daisy as tears escaped her eyes.

"If this will make you feel better, then go ahead and do it. Take our lives as payment for our sins," requested May without hesitation while dried tear streaks were left on her face since she was all cried out.

Ash looked at the sullen and scared girls that were on the ground in front of him, waiting to be killed to pay for the sins that they had committed against him…against her. He didn't react for a moment, until he decided to follow through with his attack. He was about to launch the sphere at them to vaporize them but then an image appeared in his mind and he froze in his spot.

A sudden different feeling sprung up inside him that made him take in a ragged breath. He stopped powering the sphere and it faded away. He dropped to his hands and knees, panting heavily while his aura died down. The girls stayed motionless and silent, wondering what just happened. "Just leave," he told them in a monotone voice. The girls didn't move when he said that but inside each of them, their hearts were beating madly and were filling with many different emotions. He stood back up and faced the crystal on the island again. "GET OUT!" he roared all of a sudden. Startled, the girls quickly got to their feet and ran back into the tunnel but Mewtwo remained behind. The aura user took in a few breaths as he tried to calm down before looking at the purple feline. "Many years you helped me and you never pulled a stunt like this before," remarked the man. "Why now? And why help them of all people?" he asked, wanting to know why.

Mewtwo didn't move nor did he answer him for a short moment until he decided on how to answer him. "Because torturing yourself is not the same as grieving. And she would not want you to live your life in exile. She wanted you to be free and happy. That is why she risked everything for you. She would want you to make amends. And you have another important…"

"I KNOW!" cut off the man, making the feline stop. "I know," he repeated quietly. "But I can't. How could I? How could I face it all and what would I say? Even though I got my revenge, she's still gone…"

"You have a point," remarked Mewtwo sadly as he moved in closer to his friend. "Her body is gone. But her spirit is with us. And you were able to avenge her. And save others in the process. But that will mean nothing if you just waste away here. And it pales in comparison to the one good thing that will come out of it." The black haired man glanced back at the purple psychic who was now only a short distance away from him. "You are worried that your past will haunt you forever. That you have ultimately failed and don't deserve what you could have now. That many have forgotten about you and her or have left you and her behind. That you are unworthy of living, of pursing happiness because of what happened. But that is far from the truth," informed the legendary.

The aura user shook his head. "You are wrong. I was forgotten. I was abandoned. I was betrayed. I've lost everything. Even when the truth came out, nobody came back. Nobody came to help. It was only me and her. She has gone through all that as well. And for what? Me? This?" He gestured to the cavern clearing as he roamed his sight over it before he shook his head again. Mewtwo didn't know how to respond to that and so kept quiet. "No; Misty Waterflower deserved so much more than this. She deserved more than me, more than the bullshit that happened to us. This is all I have now. And I don't deserve anything more than this or anything at all for that matter. Misty deserved everything and anything good that life had to offer her." He locked his eyes onto the crystal tomb. "I should be the one lying there. Not her. Not my Mystic Mermaid who was my Guardian Angel and savior. It shouldn't be her lying here but me. But instead, she is gone and I'm here." The man dropped to his knees and hung his head with his eyes filling up with tears. "I am unworthy of everything and anything because I failed her. After everything she had done for me, I couldn't save her that one time that I needed to save her. The only thing I can do is be by her side until my time ends. And hopefully, Arceus willing, I can see her again on the other side. If I do, I hope she forgives me for failing her." Mewtwo looked at the ground and slowly shook his head as a sad expression formed on his face. The black haired man glanced back at the legendary. "Do me a favor. Leave the forsaken alone," he requested quietly as tears began falling down his cheeks. He slowly turned his gaze back towards the crystal tomb. He raised his hand and placed it on the middle of the crystal. "Leave us be." Knowing that it would be pointless now to argue or even continue the conversation, Mewtwo left the area while in a sullen state and went after the girls.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mewtwo found the girls huddled together in one of the rooms made into the mountain cavern. He could sense the fear in them and he let out a sigh. When he entered the room, the eight girls looked at him. "Follow me," he told them. The girls followed after the legendary, not having any choice in the matter. As they moved in silence, each of the girls was thinking about how much he had changed. How much anger and sadness he was filled with. How he was so lost in his despair that he would just attack them like that. And how they had failed in their promise to bring him back. After a short walk, they entered the room with the long table again. Wondering why they were there again, they looked at the legendary with confused gazes. "I told you this would most likely happen. You won't be able to get through to him," he stated and the group of girls looked down at their feet as sadness took hold. He thought of something for a moment. "But perhaps if you knew whole story, you might be able to bring him back."

They raised their gazes up at him. "Maybe. But how can we know if he won't tell us?" asked Lily.

"I will show you," revealed Mewtwo.

That surprised them greatly. They didn't think that he would be the one to tell them. "Why? Why would you tell us and betray him? And how are you going to show us?" asked Serena.

"I am not betraying him," stated Mewtwo. "And I have my own reasons for telling you. You will come to understand why in time. And I am the most powerful psychic in the world. I have abilities that other pokémon, even other legendaries, can only dream of." His eyes glowed blue and a large blue sphere appeared in front of them. "You will see what has happened in this. But first I must start from the beginning."

"But how do you know all of it?" asked Alexa for them all since they were curious how he could know everything.

He thought for a moment about how to best answer that. "Because I've experienced much of it with him and her. And I have read the minds of everyone involved, including yours, your families, him, her and the ones responsible for what happened. I have seen all of their and your memories and pulled the story together from different angles and perspectives. Of how, when and why things happened. It took a while to get the entire story right with all the different bits fitting into their correct places. After I did that, I have told and shown him of it. And the only ones who know of the full story are his childhood friend and his mother who have sworn to keep it a secret." The girls were shocked to hear that his mother knew the full story as well. When they asked her if she knew anything, she had told them that she doesn't. Knowing what they were thinking, he shook his head. "Don't hold it against her. She had promised her son to not tell anyone and you would have done the same for your own children," reasoned Mewtwo and they nodded in understanding. "Good. And I hope after showing you this that you may find what can help you get through to him because everything that I have tried has not worked. And be warned; you will be exposed to everything regarding everyone. Nothing will be safe and nothing will be pushed aside. Whether it is your thoughts and feelings, brutal tortures or adult situations, you will be exposed to it all. That very well may be the only way to find out what can help us."

The girls became nervous over that after hearing how nothing will be placed aside and that they will see everything and anything that has to do with what happened. Even their own personal things will be shown. Taking in a deep breath and looking at one another once more, the girls nodded and then faced the blue sphere. "We're ready," they told the purple feline together.

Nodding his head, his eyes glowed blue once more and an image began forming in the sphere. The image was sharp, clear and then began to move. It looked like a movie being played but it looked so real. As if they were watching what was occurring in it through a window. The girls were awed over what they were already seeing until the legendary spoke and brought them back into focus. "This is their story. The story of how Ash Ketchum was broken into a thousand pieces. Of how Misty Waterflower saw through the illusions and did everything she could to help him. Of how I became involved. Of how they learned of their feelings for one another. Of how the whole world was against them as they sought the truth. Of how they brought about the change that was needed to happen for a long time now. This is the true story of what the two went through since that fateful day…one that I have come to call the Tale of the Forsaken."