A/N: Hello my lovely readers. An update for anyone who cares: I made it into the final round of the science competition. I feel super happy and am hard at work toward creating the perfect poster. A little bit of my depression is also gone, though I still think about the confession from time to time. I don't let that stop me from trying to enjoy life to its fullest! ^_^
Ten chapters ago, a wayward Ashton attacked. Now, it's time for the master to strut her stuff. Let's see what happens as the second phase of the guardian conflict comes to a close. I hope everyone will enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
"I am tired of people saying that poor character is the only reason people do wrong things. Actually, circumstances cause people to act a certain way. It's from those circumstances that a person's attitude is affected followed by the weakening of character. Not the reverse." - Shannon L. Alder
Chapter 18: Guardian Conflict: All vs. One
Aru began to immerse in a harsh dark yellow aura. Her fists were clenched tightly and trembling slightly. She had her back turned to them as the atmosphere grew uncomfortable. All of her Poke Balls from her belt trembled as all six of her partners released themselves at once. They moved to be right in front of Ash and his companions, ready to fight. From their expression, Ash knew exactly what was going on. After all, he'd been through it himself.
She turned around and looked at them with a huge grin on her face. She raised her arms openly. "My lovely adversaries, I'm thankful you decided to take my advice and go along the forest path. There were no unnecessary pains and that's always a good thing." She looked around, noticed a tree of apples, and took one from its branch. She sat on the branch and ate one of them. She gestured her arms to the scenery, "Route 4 is always beautiful around this time of year, isn't it?"
"Bonnie, stay close to me," Clemont told his sister while simultaneously glaring at the lady. Aru jumped off of the tree and sauntered toward the siblings.
"A regular boy like you can't stop me." Aru's eyes narrowed.
She snapped her fingers and trapped Bonnie in her aura grip. Bonnie tried to move, but couldn't. Chi-Chi and Rio both summoned a ball of energy from their claws and shot it at the raven haired woman. The guardian's eyes glowed yellow as she stopped the two aura spheres in their tracks. With a wave of her arm, she threw them back at their respectful senders. Chi-Chi teleported a couple of feet away from her attack while Rio summoned his Bone Rush attack to slice his sphere in two. Aru did this while maintaining the trapped Bonnie in the air. Bonnie started to scream on stop of her lungs.
"Stop it!" Serena called out. The older female merely shrugged her shoulders. When Serena got close enough, the dark haired woman grabbed Serena's hand and threw her on the ground. Aru had a bone club pointed a few inches from her face. Serena sat there, petrified. Aru's eyes looked unforgiving.
"This is my main advice: Don't approach an opponent who outmatches you." Aru flashed an amused smirk at the honey-blond teen. She snapped her fingers and gently forced Serena to be beside Ash.
"Serena! Are you all right?" Ash tended to his loved one.
"I'm fine," Serena muttered. She was surprised at how simple she moved her and even more surprised that she had actually felt comfortable in Aru's aura grip. Meanwhile, Bonnie was squirming about in Aru's aura. The blond child felt weird being in the air without any support and fought Aru's influence to get down. The raven haired lady was impressed with the girl's spunk.
"Let go of me!" Bonnie demanded. Aru's grin grew wider.
"Why don't you make me?" With a gesture of her fingers, Bonnie's body slowly moved towards Aru. Aru caressed Bonnie's cheek and her hand grew warmer and warmer until it felt extremely hot to touch. It felt like a hot piece of coal was being pressed against her face and she couldn't do anything about it. The blond girl was forced to endure the agonizing torture. "Oh wait… you can't. Tell me, Bonnie. In your screams, do you feel pain?"
"Yes!"
"Do you feel the pungent sting of anguish?"
"Yes! Stop it!"
"I will stop when I want to stop." Aru lowered her voice to a much darker tone. It made Bonnie scared to the bone. She tried her best to muffle her cries more. Aru continued once Bonnie was quiet, "One more question. Can you feel how I feel?"
Bonnie was confused by the question, but was in too much pain to care. She answered in the way that she thought would appease her burning cheek, "Yes! Yes! I feel your pain! Please let me go…"
"Do you really?" Aru grabbed Bonnie by the throat and tossed her aside like a rag doll. She smiled evilly as she approached the fallen girl. Bonnie was scrambling to get up, but couldn't balance herself. She flinched when she felt Aru's hand on her back. Her eyes widened with fear when she looked up at the conflicted guardian. Her smile was really starting to creep her out.
"Leave her alone!" Clemont rushed to where Bonnie was. Aru looked very amused. Before he could properly reach Bonnie, Aru elbowed him in the stomach and pushed him back on the ground. Clemont grunted with agony, but refused to stay down. He needed to fight for his sister's sake. He got back on his feet almost immediately and charged at Aru.
"You really wanna try that, boy?" Aru shook her head sadly, grabbed his shoulder and force pressure at very specific spots on his body. Clemont's body twitched as he fell to the ground. His entire body didn't listen to a single of his commands. Aru viciously kicked him over and over. Although his body was numb, her kicks were so hard that it still was able to hurt. Her assault was stopped when she was trapped in psychic energy. She merely scoffed at the effort done by Rio and Chi-Chi.
"Big brother!" Bonnie cried out with agony. She tried to help get him up, but even though the psychic attack, Aru had her trapped in her aura grip. It made everyone wonder if she was just toying with them.
Aru's body relaxed as her body slowly began immersed in a dark purple aura. Rio's and Chi-Chi's concentration immediately broke. She smirked malevolently. Her wolf-like eyes looked scarier, her grin grew creepier, and the dark aura made her appear even more daunting. Her aura stretched out as it had a life of its own. With her eyes glowing and the aura becoming wilder, she looked reminiscent of something demonic.
Aurora's partners decided to act on the frightening display. Happy shot a Moonblast. Kairyu shot a Dragon Pulse. From her claws, Suzie summoned a shockwave of dark energy. Rio created an aura sphere. Chi-Chi shot a Thunderbolt. Finally, Chari added her own Fire Blast in the mix. Aru looked indifferent as she widened her hands. She got rid of the dark aura to summon a large yellow force field around Bonnie, Clemont and herself. All the attacks did nothing to pierce through.
In the effort to defend herself, Aru's grip on Bonnie subsided. Bonnie was surprised to see Aru shield both her and Clemont and wondered why. She decided not to worry about it and tend to her brother. She dragged Clemont's body away from the distracted guardian. She was only able to move him at the edge of the shield. Chari roared with rage as she slammed her tail into the shield. It did nothing to destroy her defense.
"Honestly, Chari, do you seriously expect that to work? I'm like an impregnable wall." Aru said, keeping her defense up.
"We will get through eventually. Even you can't keep up a field of this strength forever," Chari snarled as she continued to punch through Aru's resistance. Aru smiled as she looked at Bonnie again. The young girl stopped in her tracks and shivered. Clemont looked up at her, frustrated. The way Aru looked at Bonnie was just like Ashton did with Serena initially.
"Aru! Stop scaring her! She's done nothing wrong!" Ash said with conviction.
Aru ignored him and focused her attention on Bonnie. In her hands, she created a shockwave of energy and shot it at Chari to push her back away from her. This provided Aru the leverage she needed to give her undivided attention to the frightened little girl.
Bonnie couldn't take it. Bonnie had tears in her eyes as she tried not to see Aru, but she couldn't unsee the image she saw with Aru's dark aura. She's never seen anything so horrifying in her life. She curled up into a ball and cried quietly beside her brother. Aru flashed a toothless grin as she snapped her fingers and formed a ring of fire around Bonnie and Clemont. Bonnie wrapped her hands around her knees as she sat petrified in the trapping circle. She could see a silhouette of Aru approaching her. She closed her eyes and looked away. Aru walked through the fire and forced Bonnie's chin upward. The minute her hand started to heat up again, Bonnie willed herself to look into Aru's eyes. The heat dissipated from Aru's hands.
"Did I do a good job frightening you, dear?" Aru asked in a mockingly soothing tone.
"Why are you doing this?" Bonnie screamed on the top of her lungs.
"I think the better question is why didn't I do this earlier?" Aru cackled without emotion.
"You are a sick, twisted woman," Bonnie said simply. Aru's smile increased in size.
"Not twisted, my young darling. I'm just a little vindictive." Aru purred.
She was shaking in fear. She was trying to be brave, but Aru was too erratic. Aru chortled as she responded to her thoughts, "Your supposed bravado is not having much effect on me, is it? Such a smart little girl to figure that out during all of this. Stick and stones make break your bones, but words may never hurt me. Bones may break when lives are at stake, but no one will ever stop me. Bonnie, have you heard of that last part?"
"Bonnie, whatever you do, don't answer that! It's a trick question!" Happy warned. She knew Aru said things to throw people off what she really wanted to convey.
"Oh my adorable little cutie, she's forced to answer. Otherwise, I'll burn her face off." Aru said casually. Aru noticed the morbid expression from Bonnie and added, "No pressure or anything."
"N…no… I…I… don't know what you want from me..."
She made the ring of fire disappear around them, but grabbed Bonnie roughly by the shirt. Her feet were dangling into space as Aru looked at her maliciously. Clemont wanted to get up and help, but he could only helplessly lie on the floor. Bonnie struggled to force Aru to let go of her. Aru made the dangling girl be a few inches away from her mouth.
"I want to make you feel how I felt when I nearly completely faded from existence. Since you don't know how much pain I've endured while suppressed in Aurora's body, I want to make everyone else suffer. I was literally in a prison in my own mind, disappearing from existence as Aurora accepted the lies her so called partners, parents and friends told her about Ash." Aru's eyes glowed red more and more as she continued. Bonnie was shaking uncontrollably, petrified with fear. The older female threw Bonnie down on the ground and she landed on her behind. She was surprised the deranged guardian didn't do more to her.
"We only lied to try to protect Aurora! We thought Ash had died when we didn't see him with her... especially since we found Aurora in a near-death state. We didn't want her to grieve like we did! We had no idea you were fading!" Chari tried to defend hers and her partner's actions, but Aru was getting angrier.
"Why does that seem so familiar... I almost died...? I remember being... so afraid... and helpless. And Aurora... she..." His head began to hurt as he tried to remember something. He saw broken images of an orange eyed Aurora struggling to get up and glowering at someone. He remembered he was urging her to keep fighting while also looking up fearfully at the same person. Everywhere around them looked blurry to him. He couldn't remember anyone else's faces. He felt so close to remembering, but couldn't. He needed to hear more. "She... nearly died to protect me, but I don't remember how. I need to hear more."
"Aurora, Aurora, Aurora. That's all I heard from you. I may not be the side you prefer, but I am Aurora. You weren't trying to protect me!" She hissed.
"Aru, we were..." Chari tried to speak, but one look from Aru stopped her cold. Her eyes were now completely red with anger. Chari wasn't sure which side of her trainer was scarier when angered, but Aru was making a case for herself.
"You were only thinking about yourselves!" Aru screeched. She created a surge of electrical aura at her fingertips and shot it at her oldest partner. Chari roared in pain and she struggled to take the attack from her enraged trainer. Aru's eyes grew redder. She yelled, "Didn't you think it was a bit weird that Aurora couldn't create her marks or that you didn't hear from me for years after Aurora's separation from Ash?"
"..." Chari suddenly felt so guilty. She didn't know what to say. Aru's cheeks began to glow until two 'z' shaped marks appeared.
"A Ketchum without their marks is a broken Ketchum... one without their counterbalance. You didn't care. You never cared!" Aru was so furious that she was shaking.
Aru increased the intensity of the electricity. Chari screamed louder. All of Aurora's other partners tried to help out the Charizard, but Aru anticipated their approach. She became immersed in a dark yellow aura that slowly grew more purple and brought out her hands. All of her Pokemon screamed in pain as each of them struggled to take in the dark aura Aru was emitting. Even Suzie couldn't take all the negative energy at once. They all were ensnared in the dark aura. Ash and his friends were horrified.
"I thought Aurora would fully believe you one day and would stop having doubts as to why she felt empty. I felt eternal torture would my fate until I would completely fade from existence. No one could hear my cries. No one could see my pain. And nobody cared. It's always the balance they care about." Aru spat bitterly.
"Aru... we care... about you." Chari summoned enough strength to speak through getting shocked.
"Good luck trying to prove that to me. There was a time I cared for you. That's long since changed." Aru looked away and made her voice sound exactly like Aurora's. Chari had a shiver down her spine. She felt as though Aurora herself was condemning her.
Ash and Serena were about to throw out their Poke Balls to help out the trapped Pokemon, but Aru anticipated this as well. Since there were living beings inside the capsules, Aru took full advantage. Aru opened her free hand and propelled everyone's Poke Balls to her. As she twiddled her fingers, the capsules levitated around her. She placed them all in her bag.
Aru's eyes became redder as she focused her energy on Chari. Chari's screams grew louder and louder and her will to remain standing wavered. Ash's eyes ghosted to Chari's flame. It grew smaller and smaller. He had a shiver seeing this and didn't want to see it any longer. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. They glowed a dark blue.
"Enough of this, Aruru!" Ash's eyes turned red and he jerked his hands skyward. Aru yelped in surprised as her hands were abruptly brought up in the air. Aru's lightning was redirected to the sky and she eyed the younger Ketchum in awe. Chari fell on her knees, panting. Her flame began to stabilize again.
"Ashton, do not interfere!" Aru growled.
"I'm not letting you hurt your best pal anymore. I don't want you to make the same mistake I made," Ashton frowned. Pikachu was surprised by the statement. Despite the situation, he smiled and nuzzled the red-eyed Ash against his cheek. Ashton smiled at the electric type's touch. Aru eyed the two of them curiously.
Aru looked back at her weakened Charizard. She felt a swell of guilt swirling inside her, but the feeling quickly passed when she remembered how she nearly faded. Aru sneered and snidely replied in Aurora's voice, "Unlike you and Pikachu, Chari is not my friend. None of my so called partners are. I'm going to make sure they all pay... starting with my oldest."
Ashton narrowed his eyes when he observed Aru shifted her body slightly. It went unnoticed to everyone but him. The second she moved, they both made a mad dash toward the same target: Chari. Aru was slightly faster than the boy and was determined to put out Chari's flame. Ashton knew he couldn't reach the lizard in time, so he brought his hand out. Aru threw out a punch toward the lizard. Chari closed her eyes and flinched at the incoming strike, but was surprised when she didn't feel the impact.
When she opened her eyes, she was shocked to see a dark blue forcefield surrounding her. The defensive maneuver vanished immediately upon receiving the blow, but it was enough to push Aru back slightly. Aru was surprised at the field and made a begrudgingly impressed smirk. When she tried to strike Chari twice more, Ashton swiftly stood in front of her and blocked both of his mother's punches with his hands. Chari looked at the younger counterbalance gratefully while Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont watched the interaction in awe.
Since Aru was focusing her energy on Ashton, the dark aura she used to ensnare her partners disappeared. They all gasped at the feeling of despair being washed away from their shoulders, but cringed at what might have happened if Ashton wasn't here. They noted her aura had gotten more potent since the last time she was in a spiritual conflict with Aurora.
Aru could easily knock Ashton down or subdue him, but hesitated. Aru was internally terrified at the situation, but kept an outward neutral expression. She had an indescribable fear when she looked at the intensity in his eyes. He looked too much like the version of Ash she'd fought in her nightmares. She had to remind herself that this was the real Ashton and that he wouldn't try to kill her. The elder Ketchum decided to distract herself with speech.
"Since when are you able to make forcefields...?" Aru murmured.
"Since just now. Thanks for showing me, fellow counterbalance." Ashton replied derisively. Aru made a prideful smirk.
"I'm impressed you're abusing that perk we have already. Not gonna lie... this is really making me want to spar with you to see what you are really made of," Aru admitted. She began to push him back more and more. Ashton tried to dig in his heels, but Aru wasn't messing around anymore. "A pity we are in a similar situation to when you first released your anger..."
Aru suddenly made a solemn smile and closed her eyes. Aru clutched the younger Ketchum's hands strongly. As gently as she could, she flipped him over her head. However, she made no attempt in restraining him afterward. Ashton grunted when he landed on the ground. Aru opened her eyes and continued to look sad.
"I'm so sorry to have flipped you," Aru said with softened eyes. She huffed with a determined voice, "However, not even you will stop me from fulfilling my duty."
"Is your duty really so important that you feel the need to attack innocent people?" Ashton's eyes shifted back to brown as he questioned her. Aru seemed to expect the confronting tone and sighed sadly. She seemed to give him a hidden message he couldn't fully discern.
"There are forces at work that you don't understand, Ash. You may not like the approach I'm taking with this, but trust me, I'm helping us both out in the long run." Aru explained. Ash wondered how attacking everyone would help them out. It didn't make sense to him.
"Is it your duty to hurt me as well?" Ash questioned her. Aru shifted uncomfortably and glared at him. Though her wolf-like eyes could often make a person quake in their boots, it had no effect on Ash. Ash glared back and had the same intimidating gaze. Despite how unfair the question was to her, she didn't hesitate to answer.
"No. It's my duty to protect you... and I am in more ways than one." Aru addressed his question with a sigh. Ash was skeptical of the answer. She continued in a somber voice, "Ash... I could never forgive myself if I hurt you. Please don't twist my words around..."
"Will you really let your anger control you just to carry out your so called duty? Is it really worth it?" He continued. Aru looked down and appeared unresponsive.
"…" Aru remained silent.
"I see it from both sides. I could understand a little about how Ashton feels because he nearly faded. You have every right to be angry. I could also understand how your partners felt if they thought I was dead. They did what they felt was right. I'll admit they were a bit selfish in only thinking about Aurora, but didn't they try to mend their mistakes when you were able to come back out?" Ash asked.
"After I attacked them and forced them to acknowledge me," Aru answered with a snort and glared at her Pokemon. They all looked down guiltily.
"They still tried to help you, didn't they?" Ash assumed. Aru confirmed this with a nod. "You can't only look at the bad side of things. What about the good?"
"I'm... looking at it right now," Aru grumbled with a sideways smile. Ash beamed at his progress. He noticed that she was no longer tense and her eyes were still soft.
"If you can see the good, then there's no point of this. Aru… please stop attacking. Will you atone for your mistakes? Forgive, but not forget?" He offered a small smile.
Aru closed her eyes and contemplated to herself. She noticed all the anxious expressions towards her. She looked down at her hands. She closed her eyes and shook her head in regret. Then, she gave a guilty smile, "You know, maybe you're right."
"After everything she'd done, do you really expect her to be so easily convinced, Ash?" Kairyu asked. Ash widened his eyes and gestured the dragon type to stop talking. "I'm not buying it. Counterbalances will never change. They are always vicious. What use is there to try to be civil to one?"
It took a bit for Aru to fully process what he said. Then, visible smoke came from all over her body. All of her partners knew what that meant. They gulped. Ash's eyes turned red and stepped back from Aru and in front of Serena. She was surprised at the gesture. Aru looked at Kairyu with a malevolent expression.
"You just reminded me that not all things are good. Apparently, I will never change and if that's what you want, that's how I'll be. If you truly want to see me drag this out, well, I do have amazing endurance," Aru growled. His statement reminded her how much she despised her Pokemon and she was determined to make them pay. Kairyu realized how badly he screwed up. He focused too much on how Aru was in the past, not considering that Ash was with them now.
She squeezed her fists and looked around. Aru eyed Bonnie and she immediately looked away in fear. Clemont was still trapped to the ground. So that only left…
"Serena…" Serena perked up to Aru calling her name and stood defensively. Aru noticed this change and raised her eyebrow in amusement. Aru cracked her fists as she approached the honey blond teen.
"If you do anything to her…" Ash growled at the threat with a low voice. He stood in front of his love, ready to protect her. He was annoyed that he almost had gotten through to Aru, only for it to get taken away.
"You'll what?" Aru responded, devoid of emotion. Aru summoned another ring of fire around the three of them. Ash and Serena stood in the middle while Aru slowly approached them. Ash narrowed his eyes the closer she got. He felt a cold quiver when she whispered in his ear. "I could destroy you in a second, you know."
"You could, but we both know you wouldn't. We've reached a bit of an impasse." Ash frowned. Aru shook her head.
"Not quite. I have many ways of getting to my targets..." Aru smirked as she looked at Serena deviously. Before Ash could properly respond, Aru seemingly disappeared into thin air.
Ash thought, bewildered. "Since when could she do that?"
"Surprise!" Aru reappeared right beside Serena. She yelped as Aru wrapped her arm around her neck. Ash tried to help her, but Aru used her free hand to create a small flame near Serena's face. She looked at him with narrowed eyes. Serena was shaking in terror while looking at Ash. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he backed away slightly from them. Immediately, Aru made the flame disappear.
"Ash…" Serena choked out. Aru made her grip even tighter around the blond's neck.
"Serena! Let her go!" Ash screamed as loudly as he could. Ash couldn't take much more of it. He hated to see Serena in so much pain.
"I've been impressed this entire time. Can you impress me further?" Aru said with a twinkle in her eyes. Ash furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion. Aru smiled dastardly as the distressed female. Aru kept the same hold on Serena while glaring at Ash. It was like she was looking for him to do something.
Ash knew he wasn't that skilled with his aura, but he had to try for Serena's sake. He yelled with all of his might as his hands started to glow a dark blue. Aru raised an eyebrow in surprise. Before she could read on what he was doing, Ash trapped Aru with his own aura grip. Aru gasped in surprise as Ash forced her to let go of Serena's neck. Serena crawled away from the enraged female and stayed beside Ash.
The raven haired woman tried to fight off Ash's influence, but seemed to be in pain while trying. Ash could feel all the pent up anger Aru had. It took him all his willpower not to succumb to the rage. It made him shiver down to the bone as their aura warred on.
"You never cease to amaze me, boy…" Aru looked at Ash with slight admiration. She surrounded herself with her own yellow aura. The outline on Aru alternated between yellow and blue. Ash was increasingly finding it more difficult to detain her. His face was beaded with sweat. His hands were out in front of him as he slowly walked up to Aru. He could feel his influence increase the closer he got. Her body was rejecting Ash's aura to the best of its ability, but because it was so potent, it was impossible to escape.
Aru took a deep breath as she tried to compose herself. She closed her eyes as her breathing slowed down. Her body visibly relaxed. Much to Ash's surprise, he could feel her calming down. Ash's surprise was all that she need to break away. Aru disappeared once again, breaking Ash's concentration. She reappeared right beside him and snapped her fingers. Now, he was trapped in her aura grip. A yellow light shrouded around him. Ash wanted to fight against it, but realized he used up too much aura trying to trap Aru.
"You can teleport?" Ash asked in disbelief.
"No. I morphed into aura. Aura is invisible to the naked eye unless a person makes it visible." She looked at him with a bit of pride and a little sadness. "I have to admit, I'm proud of you. Who knew Aurora showing you the aura grip would be useful to you so soon? I knew she was right about your endurance being bad. Now… where was I…" Aru smirked towards Serena once again. She whimpered in terror.
"Ash forced her to use a lot of her aura! Everybody, now!" Chari roared. The rest of Aurora's partners complied. Chari used Flamethrower. Suzie used Dark Pulse. Kairyu used Dragon Pulse. Chi-Chi used Thunderbolt. Rio used Aura Sphere. Happy used Moonblast. All their attacks were aimed at Aru. Aru tried to erect a barrier, but was too weak to put up enough resistance. Using some quick thinking, she created a thin aura barrier around herself to try to lessen the blow. She wailed in agony all six attacks struck her at once. All the attacks caused a large explosion when they made contact. Aru's focus broke and Ash was no longer dangling from her aura grip. Ash landed on his feet and opened his mouth wide in surprise.
"Whoa! Are you nuts?" Ash said in distress. Even though she posed a danger to everyone, he didn't want to see her hurt.
"No. Watch," Chari said, looking at the smoke. She'd know if Aurora or Aru was hurt. All of her partners would know.
Through the smoke, an eerie red light glowed in the distance. The smoke immediately dispersed due to a strong wind. Aru's jaw clenched and looked at her Pokémon with a vehement hatred. Her eyes were burning with a lust for revenge. Aru made a barrage of steps too rapid for any regular human to process. Aru moved so quickly that Chari was shocked to see her right behind her. Aru jumped on Chari's back and wrapped her elbow around her neck. The draconian could feel her strength fading away the longer Aru had her. She tried to move erratically to shake her partner off, but Aru held on tightly.
"What wrong, Chari? Can't take the punishment of pissing me off?" Aru jeered with a smile. Chi-Chi and Rio growled. Happy looked concerned for her older friend. Kairyu looked angry and Suzie, although normally bashful, looked ready to pounce on her. "Ah, ah ah… I dare all of you to come near me. You know what will happen to a Charizard when someone holds them like I am right now... right? Please, do come closer so I can show you."
Aru looked at Chari tauntingly, then gave an icy glare to the rest of her partners. The rest of the Pokémon stood down. Chari forced herself to be still so things couldn't get worse. Aru smirked at their submission.
"You…" Rio started.
"I really don't give a hoot what you call- Ah… Aurora!" Aru screamed in pain. Aru's grasp on Chari's neck slipped as she fell off. Chari grabbed her to contain her, but found it arduous to keep her still.
"You… will not harm my sister!" Aru's eyes shifted back into amber.
"Aurora!" Chari said with relief. Aurora was shaking violently trying to keep control. Chari didn't know what to do to comfort her. She knew that Aru can come back out at any time, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be close to her trainer.
"Chari… I'm… so… sorry…" Aurora strained to say.
"Don't worry about it, bud. I've taken worse from her." Chari said reassuringly. Chari knew she wasn't acting on her own will, so the lizard didn't take it personally.
"Knock… me… out… please…" Aurora said weakly. Aurora's neck turned at a weird angle as she struggled to continue fighting. Aurora closed her eyes and clenched her teeth together in an effort to keep fighting Aru's influence.
"What?! Aurora, are you sure?" Rio and the rest of her partners approached her, alarmed. Her body was struggling to be free of Chari's hold, but at the same time, struggling not to fight her. Her Aspects attacked her, not to knock her out, but to weaken her. Despite the severity of the situation, Aurora found herself smiling with acceptance. It wasn't like any of the smiles Aru had. It looked completely genuine.
"Positive. You… don't have much time left, guys…." Aurora gritted her teeth in agony.
Happy grabbed Aurora's hand with her feelers. "I don't want to hurt someone I consider family…"
"It's… all right. I… want you to. When Aru takes control again… do whatever it takes to knock me out." Aurora felt a sharp headache just as she finished her statement. "Heh… can't hold… out much longer. Stay… away…"
"No way! Whatever burdens you face, we'll face together." Chi-Chi said with fervor.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but you must… distance yourselves… from me…" Aurora's eyes were shifting between yellow and red. She withered uncontrollably. She kicked herself off of Chari. All of her partners looked at her with concern. With a deep breath, Aurora's eyes glowed yellow. She surrounded all her partners in a yellow outline and forced them to move away from her. She was only able to move them about ten meters from her. Her concentration broke and they landed perfectly on their feet. She clutched her head in pain. Her aura grew intense around her in a wondrous yellow light. Her eyes kept on shifting between yellow and red as she started to visibly argue with herself.
Aurora screeched, "I'm not letting you do any more damage to these innocent kids. Don't you see what you're doing?! You're completely immoral for even laying a finger on them and just out of petty anger?!"
"I've always been immoral when pushed far enough." Aru countered.
"Don't you think you're taking this too far?" Aurora answered back. "I don't want us to keep fighting like this! Can't you see you can just calm down? Please stop harming these kids. They've done nothing wrong! You really are just like the Zurui if you think this is OK!"
"…" Aurora's eyes changed into red once again as she looked down. Ash and his friends were surprised to see a tear drop on the ground. Her bang covered her eyes, but they could all see that she was trembling. They couldn't tell if Aurora or Aru was in control through her eyes, but only through her voice. When they heard a higher pitched tone, they knew it was Aru. She growled, "How hypocritical to say that about your flawed self. That's all I am to you, right? A flawed copy? Am I just a curse to you?!"
"You aren't a curse. You are a wonderful blessing. I… I wouldn't know what to do with myself without you. Without you, I feel lost… like a part of me is gone, literally. You know this… I felt it in my memory loss… but why won't you accept that?" Aru shifted back into Aurora and said in a soft voice.
"I am you. I'm just a carbon copy in your eyes. That's how you truly feel." Aru snarled.
"You may think you are me, but you're not everything I am! You're more than that. You can never be truly me. You must not know how I really feel about you if you think you're just a carbon copy. You may be from me, but you are always your own person." Aurora said as gently as she could. Her words had no effect. She could feel Aru's rage rising. Aru slowly laughed bitterly. Everyone could feel the daggers coming from her next statement.
"It doesn't matter what you say; I know how you feel deep down. If I'm the part of you that's like the Zurui, what does that make you, Little Miss Perfect? Huh?! What does that make you?!" Aru rose her voice. Ash held Serena protectively and Bonnie was struggling to lift Clemont from the ground. She grabbed him by the arm and held him on her shoulders. Clemont looked appreciatively at his sister.
"Aru, I'm not perfect! I have flaws. Why are you so angry at me all of a sudden? Please! I want to help you, not hurt you!" Aurora pleaded.
"You want to help me? Girl, I'm beyond help. Just like I can't truly change your individuality, you won't change mine. I never fully forgave you for trapping me and I'm seeing red just like the first time we were conflicted," Aru bellowed.
"That's not my fault! I..." Aurora started.
"You believed your partners' lies and... by forgetting Ash, you also forgot me. Do you know how it feels to want to come out, but can't because someone's mind prevents you to? You think losing Ash and almost getting killed is bad? You did find him again and you lived! Losing your sense of consciousness is a worse punishment than losing a measly memory… that you eventually recovered back!" Aru roared.
"I swear I didn't suppress you intentionally. I can't help what happened and all I can say is sorry. Besides, that was nine years ago. You didn't fade and could come back out by the time he was twelve. You're still stuck about what happened in the past. Please try to move on, Aru…" Aurora implored. She could feel Aru getting even angrier, but she didn't know why. She wanted to help her counterbalance the best way she could, but Aru wouldn't listen to reason. Once Aru was mad, she had to ride out her anger the best way she could.
"You're… sorry? After all of what I endured, you're just sorry?! You know what? Screw you. I'm done talking." Aru growled in a small voice.
"I've never wanted to make you fade, but you won't listen. Do your worst. I will fight you to the bitter end! May the better half be victorious…" Aurora growled.
"I look forward to it," Aru said sarcastically.
For a few moments, nothing happened. She just stood there, with her body fidgeting heavily. The aura around her grew stronger. The darker and the lighter yellows clashed. Eventually, the aura ceased to be made from the woman. Her normally spiky hair looked oddly smoother while her bang was still covering her eyes. The raven haired woman moved her bang away from her eyes and revealed she had red eyes.
"By the way, I've always been the better half," Aru smirked. Ash and his friends visibly cringed at Aru beating Aurora at being the one in control.
"Aurora, keep fighting her!" Ash called out. He could tell she wouldn't allow Aru control for long if she could help it. Aurora seemed receptive to his voice as her body began to shake at the sound of it.
"I'm not giving up that easily Aru! You don't have to keep doing this!" Aurora indeed came back. The two sides once again began to switch between each other unwittingly through their arguing.
"You may not agree with my methods, but the ends justify the means. You're way too compassionate, Aurora!" Aru noted harshly.
"I don't want to continue this way, though. You've always been too cold for my tastes, Aru!" Aurora opposed.
"I guess that's why we balance each other out. However… that balance shall be toppled!" Aru shouted as her amber aura once again exploded around her. It began to grow intensity as the two personalities clashed on. One side of the aura looked visibly darker than the other. One tried to overtake the other. The darker yellow started to spread more and more.
"K-k-knock… me… out… now…" Aurora's voice sound significantly weaker than it did a few moments ago. All of her Pokémon looked at her with concern.
"But…" Suzie whimpered.
"Do... it… " Aurora had her hands and knees on the ground. She was shaking vigorously. She didn't have enough strength to keep talking. Chari and Rio got the message loud and clear. They looked at each other with understanding. Rio created an aura sphere from his paws, but held it. Chari readied a line of fire in her mouth. With an unspoken message, they shot their attacks at the same time. The fire started to surround the aura sphere as if it was an atom. Aurora closed her eyes to brace herself for the attack. However, her eyes turned red while closed. At the last second, she knocked the attack back and destroyed it with a single swing. Her arm was partially hurt, but she looked visibly annoyed.
"Give Aurora back control, Aru!" Chari snarled at her trainer's counterbalance. Aru suddenly vanished and reappeared right beside Chari. All traces of the emotion she'd shown was gone and she was back to making her creepy smile. Clemont and Bonnie yelped in surprise while Ash and Serena looked guarded.
"Will you burn me down to a crisp? We both know that because Aurora's bond with you is the strongest, I'm resistant to your fire and air." Aru fiddled her nails as she leaned on Chari. She inspected them in mock boredom. Chari roared as she attempted to swipe Aru down with her claws. Aru was much too fast for her. She dematerialized into aura and rematerialized right in front of the draconian. She poked the Charizard's snout mockingly. Chari tried to bite her finger, but Aru retracted it.
"We both also know that Aurora trained me to be very versatile. I don't need any stinkin' fire!" Chari puffed out some smoke.
"Maybe… If you like to be crippled of your favorite type, yes. That will serve as your downfall, friend." Aru sneered.
"You have no right to call me 'friend'. Only Aurora. Bring her back!" Chari roared. Aru giggled slightly and started to drift lazily around the draconian. Chari tried to grab her, but she was much too fast. She laughed mockingly.
"Eh? And what if I say no?" Aru gave an amused smirk.
"We... knock you out. There's a good chance you'll both be unconscious for days, but if Aurora accepts that..., so can we." Chari frowned.
"And when you try that, I will end each and every one of you." Aru darkened her tone considerably. Her smile was gone. Her fists were clenched as she looked at her oldest partner with pure animosity. It took all of Chari's resolve not to shiver with terror. "Your lies… will be paid in full soon enough."
"Um… I guess this conversation is over." Suzie said with finality. "We… won't allow you to hurt another soul!"
"Let's dance, then." Aru cracked her knuckles and slammed it into the earth, creating a minor earthquake. It was enough to catch everyone off guard, except for Chari and Rio. Rio jumped up in the air in time while Chari hovered above the ground. Rio landed on Chari's back while the other four fell on the ground.
From the air, Rio formed a barrage of aura spheres around himself and Chari. Because Aru had weakened her through her touch, Chari settled for a simple attack. She spread out her wings wide as she flapped them to cut a torrent of air. She condensed it into a ball-like shape that ripped through the air. With a joint grunt, they both shot their attacks at Aru and kept shooting more. Aru surrounded herself with yellow aura as she flew up into the air. She dodged the barrage of attacks with relative ease and headed straight for them.
Rio stood up on Chari's back, formed a bone club of aura and lunged towards Aru. A shockwave rippled through the air. Rio barred his fangs as he pushed his trainer back and knocked her down on the ground. Aru landed roughly on the ground and held her head slightly. Waiting for her not to recover, Chi-Chi shifted her body into lightning and directed herself towards Aru. However, Aru recovered in time, electrified her hands and grabbed the lightning bolt that was Chi-Chi. She twirled around a few times before throwing her back roughly towards the rest of her partners.
Kairyu flew up into the air while Happy and Suzie had to jump out of the way. Chi-Chi rematerialized into her regular form, dazed from the impact. Aru gave a sadist smirk as she formed her own bone club of aura and reappeared near Chi-Chi. She was about to strike the cat down her modified version of Bone Rush, but Happy rushed in front of her and used Protect. Chi-Chi looked up in appreciation and Happy gave her a slight nod.
Happy had a single tear down her face. Aru looked at her emotionlessly. It shook the Intertwining Pokémon to see a side of her trainer act this way. Granted, they weren't exactly the same, but that didn't help the hurt she felt. Happy yearned for Aurora to come back and show some emotion.
Suzie lunged towards Aru with a ferocity she did not expect. Aru blocked her strike with an emulated Bone Rush attack. She narrowed her eyes in challenge and surprise. Suzie's claws began to magnify until there was a shadowy outline. They clashed attacks, aura versus claw. The Zoroark was determined to subdue the raven haired woman.
Aru looked slightly uninterested in the direct fight, but decided to humor the fox. Aru gracefully dodged every one of Suzie's attempt to scratch her. The dark type made a low swipe. Aru raised an eyebrow, used the base of her bone club to intercept the attack, and used the momentum to knock Suzie off balance. Aru would have continued her assault, but Suzie shot a nasty point-blank Flamethrower to Aru's face. Although not seriously burned, it was enough to get Aru distracted.
Suzie quickly got up to slash at her trainer. Aru took a more defensive stance by blocking the shadowy claw with her bone club and retaliated with her own swing. Suzie had forgotten how devastating any blow from Aru could be and struggled to keep her composure. She shook off the hit to continue fighting. They soon got into a rhythmic style of blocking each other's strikes.
Aru appeared to be gaining the upper hand after each clash, pushing Suzie back further and further. Suzie was getting fatigued trying to match Aru's strength directly and knew she couldn't last much longer. Suzie made a decisive move. Red aura surrounding her, she flipped away from Aru and slammed her paws into the ground. A shockwave of dark aura was heading towards her. With some of her strength, Aru created a temporary forcefield to take the blast, but the combination of auras caused an explosion.
Suzie observed this and decided to use the smoke to her advantage. The fox's eyes started to glow purple. Aru's mind became hazy as Suzie's shape changed during the confusion. Her paws shifted into hands. She started to shrink in size and her red hair also became shorter and darker. Her blue eyes turned brown and her fur disappeared. The image started to gain a simple sleeveless tan shirt, shorts, and a cap as she looked at Aru with a distraught look. She distorted the area around them to resemble them both being right about a cave.
"No... stay away from me..." Aru stepped back from the image before her. She immediately made her Bone Rush attack disappear as she rubbed her eyes together to make sure she was seeing things right. Ash looked like he was when he was seven years old. Aru said in a befuddled voice, "Is this just another calm point before the actual nightmare? Are... are... you going to try to kill me again?"
"Why do you want to hurt me, Aruru?" Suzie ignored her questions and asked in Ash's innocent child voice. Ash himself watched the sight with wonder. He decided to hide so he wouldn't ruin the illusion. She got his voice and look exactly right. He knew Zoroarks were good with illusions, but it scared him how precise she was. He wondered how often Aru and Aurora had nightmares if it caused her to immediately ask if he would kill her. He had never seen Aru so afraid before... and of him.
"That's... not what I want," Aru said in a spooked voice.
"You… you were going to harm me. I thought you always wanted to protect me?" 'Ash' said with tears in his eyes, looking away.
"I swore I would always protect you. I love you with all my heart." Aru slowly approached him to try to comfort him. She gave him a big hug. It took Suzie all of her willpower not to cringe at her touch. She forced herself to return it.
"Why are you harming my friends, then? That's still hurting me, Aruru." 'Ash' said with Aru rubbing his back.
"Your… friends?" Aru narrowed her eyes. 'Ash' gulped and winced at the mistake. Aru's eyes turned yellow as she looked down at 'Ash'. She could see an aquamarine aura instead of a deep blue hue. She smiled deviously. Aru's hug grew tighter. Eventually, it started to become unbearable as the illusionist tried to move away from the embrace.
"Aruru… can't breathe…" 'Ash' could barely say.
"I want to make sure of it, Suzie," Aru said darkly. Aru made a toothless grin as she hummed a melody. It sounded like a lullaby of some sort. Her hands started to glow slightly as Suzie felt her strength draining away. Once she stole as much energy as she needed to, she threw Suzie on the floor and grinned. Suzie, too weak to maintain the illusion, shifted back into her original shape. She looked terrified of the guardian standing before her.
"I actually thought... I was dreaming again. Clever fox. I commend you for your illusions getting stronger. However, don't ever toy with my emotions!" Aru barked. She couldn't believe she fell for Suzie's illusion. The back of her mind told her that something was wrong, but she was too overwhelmed at the image in front of her. Suzie tried to stand up, but couldn't. She looked up at Aru in fear.
Aru kicked the Zoroark a few times. Suzie wailed in pain as she collapsed on the ground with swirly marks in her eyes. Once again, Chari looked at the scene puzzled. She knows Aru could have killed Suzie, but chose not to. Why didn't she then?
Aru erected another barrier around herself. No one noticed except for Rio picked up on the aura barrier and he growled at what he picked up. Aru eyed the Charizard and Dragonair in the sky, the pixie-eyed Pokémon, and the jackal Pokémon. Chi-Chi was still dazed.
Aru laughed maliciously and looked directly at Rio. She knew he would more affected by Suzie fainting than anyone else in the party. Rio roared as he rushed towards Aru. The rest of her partners were shocked. He never lost his temper. Aru made a sly smile. Kairyu noticed it and gasped.
"Rio, stop! She's baiting you!" Kairyu called out.
His speed was out the charts as punched Aru in the stomach. She hissed in pain as Rio continued his assault. Once she adapted, Aru began to block all of his strikes with her hands. So, he decided to break through her defense. He touched her arm as he released all the tension he had pent up in his paw. However, she anticipated this. She grabbed his paw before the attack could finish and flipped him over her side. She twisted his arm at an angle that made him unable to retaliate. He grunted with annoyance at how easily she managed to disarm him.
Kairyu decided to aid the fighting and steel type. He made his body get surrounded by an intense dark blue aura. The aura shifted into a dragon-like shape as he crashed his body towards Aru. Aru turned to the serpentine-shaped Pokémon. From her free hand, Aru converted some of the aura into dragon-like energy at Kairyu. Kairyu went through the attack and struck Aru directly. Aru fell on her back. She seethed with rage as she attempted to grab Kairyu once she recovered. The dragon type's tail glowed a steely glow as he slammed his tail in the same place Rio punched her. Aru winced in pain as she held her stomach. It was enough for Rio to get out of Aru's reach.
Meanwhile, Ash was watching the scuffle in awe and revulsion. Never had he seen anyone hold their own against an entire party of Pokémon at once. Ash wanted to help out her Pokémon, but he felt very weak. He didn't realize that the aura grip sucked up so much of his energy until he tried to move toward the Pokemon. He wheezed at the effort and gritted his teeth in frustration. Serena knew with his current condition, he couldn't directly interrupt Aru's fight with her partners, but Ash didn't care.
"Aru, stop!" Ash spoke in a loud voice. She turned her head to acknowledge him for a split moment. This allowed Chari to swoop down toward Aru with dragon aura infused claws. Aru nimbly jumped over her. Happy, Kairyu, Chi-Chi and Chari all attacked Aru at the same time. Aru once again jumped out of the way, but everyone could see she was getting fatigued. Her jumps were shorter and her reaction time was getting longer. Chari gestured her head at Rio towards Ash. Rio noticed this and the four attacking Pokémon as a distraction. The fighting type walked towards the teen.
He smirked with excitement, "Ash! Think you can hold her down again?"
"I don't have much strength left," Ash said while panting faintly. He had a faint burning sensation in his stomach and knew it would only get worse the more aura he used. Still, he wanted to help out in any way he could.
"I'll transfer some of my aura to you for you to use. I need you hold her down with your aura grip while the other Aspects deliver the final blow. It takes the effort a party of six Pokémon, both directly and indirectly, to take her down. Six guardian partners for this guardian." Rio instructed.
"I don't think I can hold her down for long. My endurance is bad. She'll just break out. Besides, we have only five Pokémon." Ash doubted and noted the other Aspects.
"You're the only one who can." Rio persisted. He turned to face Serena, "I can sense that the aura guardian and psychic child could help, but she doesn't know how to use the aura or the psychic grip. She would become a liability if she tried either technique for the first time against a hostile target, especially against Aru."
"Is there nothing I could do? I don't want to just stand here and watch you struggle!" Serena asked and looked defiantly at the jackal. Rio seemed pensive and pondered of several possibilities. He shook his head anyway.
"You are more likely to hurt yourself… and I don't want to worry about a second person overextending themselves. I already don't want to ask Ash because I know he's most likely feeling a burning sensation." Rio said. Ash wondered how much the jackal knew of his condition. Serena started to look at Ash concerned.
"Ash..." Serena's hands began to glow when she touched Ash. Aru noticed this and growled. She jumped away from the four attacking Aspects and set her sights on the girl. From the air, Aru created an aura sphere in her hand and shot it towards Serena. Rio formed his Bone Rush attack and sliced it into two. Aru's attention was once more preoccupied when Kairyu and Happy teamed up with a Dragon Pulse and Moonblast combination. Aru disappeared and reemerged right between them and resumed fighting them. Happy saluted Rio to continue. The jackal nodded in appreciation. The attack from Aru was enough to distract Serena.
"Serena, are you OK?"
Serena laughed despite the situation, "I just asked you that, silly. I'm alright. I feel so useless."
"Are you sure she can't do anything more?" Ash asked.
Rio noticed the pinkish glow in her hand before Aru tried to retaliate. He smiled and nodded, "This hybrid… is an exceptional healer for her level. Perhaps she could help restore some of your aura? The hybrid and I can work together for that."
"That sounds great! Ash, are you sure you can handle it?" Serena looked at her boyfriend earnestly. Ash still looked unsure.
"Ash… I need you willing to try. This is a lot to ask of you, but you've already had experience using the grip against Aru earlier and managed to hold her down. I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't feel we had much choice. All we need is for her to be immobilized for a few seconds. The other Aspects and I can do the rest." Rio explained.
"We have to do it, Ash. She's not up for talking again. I just hope she'll be alright afterward." Ashton echoed gloomily in their mind. Ash agreed with him, but wondered who the sixth Pokémon would be.
"(Six guardian partners…. Ash… I'll think I can help you hold her down, too. Since I'm a guardian partner, maybe I can fill in Suzie's place.)" Pikachu said. Ash smiled. He rubbed Pikachu's head in confirmation.
"I don't see why not." Rio agreed. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder.
"Then let's attack together!" Chi-Chi spoke up while using Thunderbolt on Aru. The raven haired woman easily cartwheeled out of the way, but sweat beaded down from her face. The other Aspects were mindful of getting touched by Aru so she couldn't recover her strength. "Dual Thunderbolt action?"
"Try triple Thunderbolt takedown!" Kairyu chimed in as he tried to use Iron Tail against Aru. Aru caught it in her hands. Kairyu was caught off-guard. Aru started to swing him around. Draining some of his energy, she threw the serpentine towards Happy. Happy jumped out of the way. Aru still was panting, but she wasn't as tired.
"I'll strengthen your attacks with my Helping Hand," Happy clasped her feelers together with a determined smile.
"And I'll deliver the final blow while she's stunned," Chari added. They were all in silent agreement over what needed to be done.
"Ahem." Aru cleared her throat. She tried to keep her stance against the scheming Aspects. She stretched her body and covered herself with an aura barrier. "I know that is a super marvelous plan. Thank you for mentioning it within earshot, mind you. You did a good job keeping me away. It seems you don't need Aurora's guidance as much as I thought, but if you think I'm going to let myself be contained, you've got another thing coming. "
"We don't want to hurt you, Aru. That doesn't mean to say we aren't willing to get back our friend." Chari growled.
"If you still have a fire left in you, Aurora, I need your help fight against yourself," Ash said. Aru's eyes had a bit of a yellow gleam.
"I'll try, young one… " Ash heard Aurora's voice in his mind, but noticed Aru didn't say anything. He gave a small smile. Aurora was still in there somewhere, but she sounded weak.
Aru shook her head. Pain roared in her ears. Aru could tell Aurora was fighting her hard internally. Aru growled, "Aurora, don't butt in…"
Her words were spoken in vain. Her eyes shifted back to yellow as her body started to shake violently. She forced herself to be as still as she could in the situation. Aurora looked at everyone with pained eyes.
"Guys… Ash… Serena…" Aurora pleaded. Aurora gasped in pain as she clenched her teeth together. She closed her eyes as she continued to fight herself. "Go…"
"Rio! Serena! Transfer your energy to Ash!" Chari commanded. Rio and Serena nodded as they closed their eyes and touched Ash's chest. The four black appendages attached to his head rose slightly to signal the beginning of the transfer. Serena's hand began to glow pink once again. Ash's hands started to glow bluer the longer they transferred their aura. Eventually, Rio fell on one knee as his energy completely drained out of him. Serena would have fallen too, but Ash caught her. She looked drained, but happy. Ash sat her down against a tree to allow her to rest. Ash clenched his fists as he felt his strength come back to him. The burning sensation within him subsided. Aurora's body started to shake even more vigorously.
Ash's eyes became blue as he trapped Aurora within his aura. He found to have a harder time holding her down than before. Aru took back control and looked at Ash with a mix of emotions. Ash couldn't tell what they were because of how much he was concentrating, but he could feel the pride and fury seething in her eyes. Aru's anger was just like poison. He figured he didn't have much time before he felt just as angry as she was since they were sharing aura.
Aurora's Aspects didn't waste any time. Happy raised her feelers in the air as she made them clap as if they were hands. The bodies of Kairyu, Pikachu and Chi-Chi gave off a faint white glow. They all were emitting electricity at their respect parts. A horn for Kairyu, cheek pouches for Pikachu and claws for Chi-Chi. With a joint grunt, they unleashed all of their pent up electricity and shot at the eldest female. Aru wailed in pain as her body fought off against both the electricity and Ash's aura.
Aru looked like she was in extricating pain, but was still too defiant to give in. Bonnie covered her eyes with her hands and looked away. Aru's hair grew wild as it expanded due to the electricity. Her red eyes grew smaller, but her eyelids grew wide. Even with an aura barrier, it was impossible to fight off every attack. The aura barrier was the only reason she was still conscious. She wasn't sure how much more damage she could take.
Chari spread her wings out wide as she flew up into the air. She expanded her claws as he induced them with dragon-like aura. With a single tear falling from her face, she roared ferociously at her trainer. She flew claw first at Aru and swiped her claws down at her head. Aru was blown back by the force of the attack. She landed on the ground roughly, rolling over slightly. She was shaking slightly with her eyes semi-closed. She slowly stood back up, trembling slightly. Her 'z' shaped marks appeared, glowing slightly. Bonnie, Clemont, and Serena looked slightly surprised to see her marks. All the other Pokémon stopped their electric attacks. Ash's hands stopped glowing as he fell on one knee and looked up wearily.
Serena stood over him and rubbed his back to comfort him. "Ash…"
"I'm… fine. Will she be…?" Ash huffed, weakly pointing at the older guardian.
"What... have I done? Those kids... are gonna... hate me now. I hope... everyone... will be alright." Aru felt herself conceding to unconsciousness.
"I know you didn't want to, but I'm glad you listened to me. In the long haul, the spiritual conflict will aid all of you. Once you slip into your dreams, try your hardest to rest, alright? You'll need it." Mew's voice echoed in her head. The confirmation was enough to feel a little better about what she did, but she still felt guilty.
"I feel... so dumb... for letting my... anger... take over again." She coughed.
"It's always good to let everything out. With this out of the way, you will gradually get stronger, along with Ash. I'll make sure the third stage of the conflict will be easier for both of you to handle." Mew stated with a serious tone.
"Thank you... my lady," Aru breathed.
Despite the situation, Aru found herself laughing hoarsely. She felt a huge weight lifted from her shoulders now that she's released her anger. Her eyes grew soft and she nodded with acceptance. Aurora's Pokemon knew Aru was back to normal and was thankful for it. Aru winced in pain as the world became lost to her. Chari caught her before she could hit the ground and carried her bridal style.
Ash's eyes immediately shifted to red. They looked completely distraught and disgusted. He hobbled over to where the unconscious Aurora was as fast as he could and held her head.
"Ruru…" Ashton placed his ear near her nose to see if she was still breathing. He could feel faint breaths. He gave a sigh of relief. Chari walked up behind him and nuzzled his cheek. Her red eyes seemed just as distraught as his, but they were also relieved.
"(Your… relative... is a tough nut to crack, Ashton. She'll be fine.)" Chari told the distraught teen.
"Really? Oh, thank Arceus. I don't want myself or Ash to ever be a part of hurting her again, even if that was what she wanted." Ashton said, squeezing Aurora's hand.
"(Neither do I.)" Chari looked down in slight remorse at the comatose Aurora. She nuzzled her slightly.
"And now the third phase will start…" Ashton sighed.
"(Exactly. Aurora did prepare for this. The granola bars will help on the road.)" Happy chimed in.
"Ruru…" Ashton said in a low voice. He closed his eyes and reopened them to reveal chestnut ones. They looked just as concerned as before. "I think… I have some idea who she is now, but… I need more time to think about it…"
"So… you know…" Serena asked.
"No… not yet. It's only a guess, but I think she's my aunt. I think it's odd she's hiding that from me, but Ashton won't confirm anything." Ash breathed in deeply. He didn't know why he was feeling so overcome with emotion. He knew what he needed to do, though. He threw up a Poké Ball and out came an orange lizard with a bright reddish-white flame on its tail.
"Charizard? Think you can fly me and my friends to Prism Tower?"
"(Why there of all places?)" Charizard questioned.
"We need to drop off Clemont and Bonnie home." Ash gripped Aurora's hand tighter. Aurora reacted slightly to the teen's touch. "I need to go to Viridian Forest to learn about my past. I have to learn why I care so much about her and to be rid of the nagging feeling of something not being right with my life. I need to learn how she nearly died trying to protect me and why everything seems fuzzy."
"(Right. Hop on my back and I'll sail you through the air.)" Charizard nodded.
"Blond kid. Let's see what I can do…" Chi-Chi approached the fallen inventor. She pressed around on his body looking for a specific spot. On the nape of his neck, she forced electrical pressure on it. Clemont's body perked up almost instantly. Clemont felt a jolt of energy as he stood up. Clemont rubbed the back of his neck as he could now feel pain all over his body, specifically his back. He could feel the full force of pain now that the numbness subsided.
"Thanks…" Clemont said, rubbing his back. Chi-Chi shrugged her shoulders.
"Bonnie…" Clemont went over to his little sister. She flinched at his touch at first, not looking at who touched her. When she looked up, she visibly relaxed when she saw Clemont. She gave him the tightest hug she could muster and Clemont happily returned it. She started to sob quietly on him. He rubbed her back in support.
"Big brother… I wanna go home. Guardians are scary…" Bonnie said in a quiet voice.
"Aru isn't really like this. She was acting in the nature of the conflict. This isn't the worse she's been... not by a longshot." Chi-Chi, having a keen sense of hearing, heard her.
"I don't care! I just don't want her anywhere near me!" Bonnie screamed off the top of her lungs.
"Bonnie…" Clemont tried to soothe.
"I don't care! Big brother, how come you're so calm about this?! She hurt you and numbed you. She scared me to death. Never in my life have I have been so horrified of one woman. She attacked her own Pokémon! The worse part about it was that smile… That creepy smile has been burned into my head and I can't get it out. That terrible smile… How you stand this?!" Bonnie didn't back down. Clemont looked at her sadly.
"To be honest, I can't stand it," Clemont said. He grunted slightly. His back was hurting badly, but he tried to ignore the pain. He continued in a tired voice, "However, I can accept it a bit more now that I've seen Ashton attack me. I'm terrified too, but don't let your fear consume you. Aurora warned us about this before it happened."
"Consume me?" Bonnie said, fuming.
Clemont sighed. "If you let fear into your head, you'll make more rash choices. Are you really going to consider all guardians scary when you've seen only one attack like this even though that one was trying to fight herself?"
"I'm not sure what I think now. I still don't want Aurora near me. I don't want her to go all crazy again." Bonnie turned away from them.
"(I'll grant you that wish.)" Chari growled with narrowed eyes. The elder Charizard started to flap her wings as her feet hovered in the air. She held Aurora even more tightly in her arms. She looked at Bonnie with disgust. Bonnie backed away slightly from the fire type. If Bonnie could understand her, she would give her an earful.
"The blond boy is wise for his age, but I don't understand how one can be related to such a closed mind." Rio voiced Chari's opinion using telepathy.
"I'm not closed off. I know exactly what I'm saying and thinking." Bonnie defended.
"I see otherwise. We bid your group farewell. We know when we aren't wanted." Rio shook his head in disappointment. Chari was about to fly off with Rio, but Ash stopped them.
"Wait! We need to stay together because Aurora and I are still linked. I know everyone isn't in the best of moods, but we have to make it work until we leave Kalos." Ash tried to reason with the annoyed Lucario and Charizard. The two partners looked at each other, then conceded to Ash's words. Rio gestured Chari to give Ash something.
The Charizard landed on ground so Ash could go into Aurora's pouch. He understood what they wanted to do. He rummaged through the surprisingly deep pouch to take out Aurora's Aspects' Poke Balls. He then returned Suzie, Kairyu, Happy and Chi-Chi back into their Poké Balls. Rio nodded as he returned himself back into his capsule. Chari stayed outside her Poké Ball to hold her fallen trainer. Ash also took back his Poké Balls and gave Serena back hers.
"(Ash. We still need you to come with us.)" Chari told him.
"I can't leave my friends. I'm going to Lumiose City first. Then, we can go to Kanto." Ash decided. The edges of Chari's mouth curled downward for a split second, but it was indistinguishable to the naked eye. She continued to look neutral afterward.
"(Fine. Clemont… are you fit to walk?)" Chari turned to the blond teen.
"I can't understand you," Clemont said. Chari sighed as she lied down her back for Clemont. He was confused at the gesture.
"(Get on my back. I don't need another unconscious person. Ash, can you translate?)" Chari said, pointing to her back.
"She says she wants you on her back. She doesn't want you to collapse." Ash told Clemont what the lizard said.
"You can speak Pokémon?" Clemont asked in wonder.
"I can only understand bits and pieces, but I understood most of what she said. Ashton is fluent, though." Ash replied.
"How can part of you understand Pokémon, but another part doesn't as well?" Clemont inquired further.
"The same can be said about my aura. I don't know. He does…" Ash said. He closed his eyes and they turned red. Clemont looked somewhat alarmed. Ashton chuckled slightly.
"It's a perk of being a counterbalance. I can do things a lot quicker, but with practice, Ash will be better at it." Ashton gave a weak smile. Bonnie looked scared to go on Chari. Chari sighed. She lowered her head to Bonnie. With a shaky hand, Bonnie looked away as she petted the Charizard's head. She quickly retracted it back anxiously. Seeing that Chari wasn't going to do anything, she petted her head a little more. Chari smiled. A ghost of a smile appeared on her face as she grew more comfortable with the fire type.
"(I know you're scared, but try to accept what's happened.)" Chari said to Bonnie.
"Ashton?" Bonnie looked at him for a translation.
"She said she knows you're scared, but try to accept what happened," Ashton told her. He added the statement with a question. "If you had seen me harm your brother, would you want to be friends with Ash still?"
"I'd always be Ash's friend. You're the one who did it!" Bonnie growled at the red eyed teen. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at her with an amused grin. Ashton looked a lot like Aru with that grin. Bonnie grew slightly uncomfortable again and shifted her body nervously.
"Would you, really? I am the other side to Ash. We have similar thoughts, similar desires, similar urges…" Ashton stole a glance at Serena. Serena's cheeks made a faint tint of red before she raised her nose up. Ashton laughed bitterly and narrowed his eyes. "You know, if Ash wanted to, he could be just as destructive in his ire. How would your positive bias hold up... if I hurt you?"
Ashton slowly approached the light blond girl. Bonnie felt a shiver down her spine and backed away. Ashton matched each step she made until she felt a tree behind her. Bonnie looked up and whimpered at the counterbalance. She wasn't sure what he would do to her. Ashton's expression was pensive. His eyes were piercing and seemed to study her.
Clemont looked at him in warning and was about to go over there to separate them, but Chari stopped him with one of her wings. She shook her head and gestured him to watch. Clemont gasped in surprise when he saw Ashton place a hand on Bonnie's shoulder and give her a hug. Bonnie didn't know how to react. She neither rejected nor accepted it. Bonnie looked down guiltily.
Ashton's eyes morphed to warm chestnut ones. He said with a mix of his voice and Ashton's, "It's alright if you are afraid, Bonnie."
"I'm sorry, Ash…" Bonnie moved away and ran toward her brother. Clemont immediately held her, but looked at Ash with guilt. She was a bit freaked out at hearing both of them at once. Ash nodded expectantly. He seemed reflective.
"If you take some time to accept what happened, I totally understand. People... never really accept things they don't understand at first." Ash said with a reassuring smile. He limped over to his Charizard and climbed on his back. He looked at her sadly. Bonnie seemed despondent.
Serena looked at Ash with surprise. He wasn't known to say things with deep thought or high maturity. She wondered if Ashton was influencing him in some way. She walked over to him and his Charizard and looked at him proudly. He looked pretty cool like this, but blushed slightly at the thought. She shook her head slightly. "I shouldn't be thinking like that. Ash is really dreamy and cool when he's like this and…oh. Why am I thinking like this?"
Ash chuckled slightly and blushed at Serena's thought. He wondered why he could hear her so clearly. He decided to test something Aurora said earlier. He pressed his fingers against his temples as he concentrated. His voice echoed in her mind. "Hey, Serena… Can you hear me?"
"Ash?" Serena looked at Ash with surprise. She could have sworn she heard him saying something, but his lips didn't move.
"Heh. It worked. Am I even dreamier now?" He made a toothless grin. Serena widened her eyes. She heard a bit of a seductiveness in his voice. She found herself smiling.
"Dreamy…? Wait… how did you get in my thoughts?" Serena giggled in his mind. That was definitely Ash's voice.
"We are a couple now and I guess I wanted to see your reaction. I know it's a weird time, but you made me smile. I didn't know you thought of me that way," Ash told his girlfriend.
"You are full of surprises, Ashy." Serena giggled.
"Yep. Mind reading is a bonus," Ash chuckled. Despite what happened earlier, Serena found herself giggling to her boyfriend's charm. He was never one to have bad things hold him down for long. That was one of the many things she loved about him.
"Uh… earth to Ash and Serena!" Bonnie broke their concentration. "Why are you two laughing so suddenly?"
"No reason. Come on. It's time for you to go home." Ash decided. He held his hand out for Serena as he helped her up onto his Charizard. Serena wrapped her arms around his waist. Even though they were a couple now, it still caused them to blush slightly. Bonnie shook her head at the two. Bonnie decided she felt safer with Clemont, so she decided to ride on Chari. He let Bonnie climb on first and he soon followed suit. A little bit of her enthusiasm sprung back as Bonnie remembered how well she had been able to ride a Skiddo.
"Everybody ready?" Ash asked. They all nodded. Both Charizards started to hover as they set out towards Lumiose City. With large flaps, they cruised towards the largest city in Kalos. They made sure to fly slower than normally to account for everyone's fatigue and injury. Chari flew a little bit ahead of Charizard.
Chari looked down at her trainer with tears in her eyes. Neither Clemont nor Bonnie could see this. She nuzzled against her comatose trainer. She thought, "Aurora… Aru… I'm so sorry to have done that to you two. I promise I will make things right..."
A/N: Both counterbalances have finally struck. Seems like Aru cared enough about Ash and his friends not to seriously try to kill them, but is loyal enough to Mew to follow through with the attack. I wonder if the duty vs. safety thing will come up again at some point...
Going to tell you right now: next four chapters are entirely dream sequence based (except for the next chapter, where it will mostly be dream based). The first two focuses on Aurora. The second two focuses on Ash. I won't elaborate further, so I'll leave you to muse on what may happen.
Next Chapter: You're Your Own Worst Enemy
~SPG123~