Ash's Realization

by SuperPokeGal123

AU. After the Kalos League, Ash learns things about himself and his abilities after finding out he is linked with someone of his past. Strangely, he doesn't remember her and aspires to figure out what's wrong with his life. Over time, his power increases and... so does his problems. Deviates from anime as lore is revealed. Read and you'll understand. Amourshipping. Aura Ash.

39. The Beginning of the Separation

A/N: Hello my lovely readers. After seeing goodbye to Kalos and the Lumiose siblings, Ash, Aurora and Serena finally made it to Kanto! However, everyone is not taking the scenery well as this was the place where everything changed. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon and yadda yadda yadda. I do own this story's concept, though.

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There is an endearing tenderness in the love of a mother to a son that transcends all other affections of the heart. -Washington Irving

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Chapter 39: The Beginning of the Separation

"Ruru is my real mommy…"

He kept repeating it to himself as everything around him became lost. Ash's head was spinning around the revelation. He thought, "It doesn't make sense and yet it does. I mean, how could I have been so blind? Mom has always been so nice… so thoughtful and so considerate. But…, but when I'm with Aurora, I feel more adventurous and powerful. I feel more… safe. It's different from the safe feeling I thought I felt with Mom. I knew she cared about me a lot, but I didn't expect this. I don't know who I am anymore…"

Then, he heard the statement again. "Ruru is my real mommy..."

He didn't remember everything and he was terribly confused. He didn't know what to think. When Aurora told him his life would be a lie, she wasn't kidding. He wasn't expecting it like this. He kept on hearing that one sentence in his mind. He kept hearing his younger self chanting it to himself, trying to preserve his memory. Chanting it to Ash. He kept hearing it. It wouldn't stop. He was breathing it. The teenage boy started to mumble the same sentence himself. It felt right. It felt safe. It felt secure. He looked up and got out of the maze that was his head. That still didn't stop him from speaking the sentence aloud.

"Ruru is my real mommy…"

"W-w-what? What did you just say?" Aurora widened her eyes in surprise. Aurora thought she had misheard him initially. She looked concerned for the boy, but he could hear a little bit of happiness in her voice. It didn't override her true emotion of anxiety, but there was a certain tone to her voice. Was that disbelief?

"Ruru is my real mommy…" The despondent teen continued to echo aloud. It didn't even sound like him. It sounded dead and lifeless. It was much different from Ash's normally more vibrant voice. He felt like he was hypnotized. Aurora's eyes grew as big as flying pans.

Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder, but stayed right beside him. He wanted to stay by his trainer's side. Despite finding out abruptly yesterday due to Serena's detection skills, he wanted to make sure Ash was alright. He looked at Aurora, and then at Ash. He wouldn't have ever imagined his old friend being the mother of his best friend. It was a weird thought to wrap his head around. He tugged on Ash's leg to try to get him out of the labyrinth that was his head. It did nothing. The boy kept mumbling.

Pikachu, Aurora and Serena looked at Ash, highly nervous. Ash didn't want them to be so worried, but he was worrying himself. He had no control over his mouth. He still kept mumbling on. He thought he was losing his mind. He couldn't say anything other than that one sentence. He couldn't think anything but that one comforting statement. It protected him. He had no other way of just dealing with the situation. He reverted to being seven again.

"Ash…" Aurora said soothingly. He recognized that voice. It stood out from all the different whispers in his head. It pulled him away from the depths of his mind.

"Please… tell me. You… you're… my… real… mommy?" Ash rasped with a shaky voice. He looked at Aurora with unsteady eyes. She smiled warmly, nodded her head and caressed his cheek. She couldn't stand to see him this way. Then, she gave him a hug. The hug was more than enough to tell him the truth. He instantly started to connect more dots.

Ash thought, "It was her all along. No wonder why she calls me 'young one'. No wonder why she called me 'Ashton' at first. Ashton is my birth name. No wonder why Happy and Delia seemed so hostile to each other. Why did she help out the Zurui though?"

Finding this out and acknowledging his real mother hug him for the first time in nine years really put him over the edge. The youngster returned the hug as much as he could. He could sense her initial surprise, but she quickly started to hug back just as much. It was the type of hug where nothing else mattered in the world. They both felt the same. Whole.

He felt her tears on his shoulder and her head snuggling up against him. Ash wanted to stay safe in her arms. He felt vulnerable and exposed. He felt the reality of the situation run him over like a truck. For what seemed like hours, Aurora broke off the hug. She still had tears in her eyes, but she was holding onto his shoulders. That forced him to look directly in her eyes.

"I… I'm so happy you know the truth. You have no idea… Ashton. I can tell you prefer your new name more, so I'll continue to call you Ash." Aurora was overcome with emotion. How she was able to hold it in for this long, he was not sure. "How much do you remember, dear?"

"All I can remember are different voices… I heard mine, yours and Mom's… er- Delia's. They're all jumbled up and it's made me all confused. I was able to piece together who you really were based on the voices," He told her. Aurora was somewhat surprised at what she heard. Then, she started to growl in anger.

"You shouldn't feel that way. I don't want you to feel this confused. I still need to show you what happened." Aurora said with her fists clenched tightly. Blue flames erupted from her hands. Aurora was angry that she wasn't able to save him all those many years ago.

Serena looked at Aurora, then at Ash. Serena looked like she didn't know what to say. She didn't want to tell him that she knew Aurora's secret, especially with how he reacted when he found out. She also didn't want to distract Ash while he was so low. Serena wanted to comfort her love, but didn't know the best way. So, she settled for holding his hand.

Ash treasured her hand for it was some of the last bit of normalcy in his life. He appreciated the gesture from her and promptly squeezed her hand a little. He made sure it didn't hurt, but he wanted to let her know he wanted her comfort. Serena got the message and made a glimmer of a smile.

Aurora took a few moments to calm herself down. Her hands were no longer on fire, but they were steaming. She dug into her pouch and took out something peculiar. It was a small multi-colored bud that looked like it was stuck in that state. It looked incredibly ornate and old. Aurora's hands stopped smoking once she took it out. She was still angry, but she needed to calm down to use the flower properly. She was careful not to touch it directly, but instead put it in her aura grip. Serena looked mystified and Ash looked at it with understanding.

"It's so pretty…" Serena drawled absently. Aurora couldn't help but have a small smile in her face.

"This is a time flower, Serena. Psychics can view the past, present and future, while guardians can only see into the past. This will allow us to view the past of the area surrounding it so long as the guardian using it determines a time frame." Aurora explained.

"So… this is how you'll show me the past…" Ash said.

"Yes… A time flower is the only means for a guardian to view into the past without sharing aura. All right, you two, we need to go in the air. Though this may be the place where we both lost our memories, this isn't where it started. We were pursued all over the forest. We managed to outsmart the Zurui at multiple points, but… they eventually got us. I… I want to show you… everything. The first place to go to is… well, you'll find out. Come on out, Chari!" Aurora threw her blue flame stickered Poke Ball into the air. Within seconds, Aurora's oldest partner came out with an eager roar. When she looked down, she saw three dismal faces and realized they were in Viridian Forest.

"I'm assuming the young master knows the truth." Chari guessed. Ash looked up at her with somewhat broken eyes and that was all the confirmation that she needed.

"I want to show him everything. We need your help to fly throughout the forest to be able to see everything." Aurora explained. "I'll also need the help of everyone else. Come on out, gang!"

Aurora threw out the five remaining Pokémon in her party. Kairyu, Chi-Chi, Suzie, Rio and Happy came out with serious expressions on their faces. They knew they would have to help out their trainer; they could tell in her face. Aurora regarded all of them, "My dear friends, I need your help to make sure no one interrupts us. This is the most important thing I've asked you guys yet. Can you guys create a barrier preventing psychics from entering? Being aura guardian partners, you naturally counteract a psychic's. Can you do it?"

"Ash is finding out what happened?" Kairyu asked. Aurora nodded grimly. The dragon type turned to face the other Aspects, "All right. Rio and I will take charge. Everyone OK with this?"

The way Kairyu talked made it almost impossible for anyone to go against him. No one objected with this. This was really important to Aurora and they didn't want to mess up by arguing. Rio smiled at the serpentine's assertiveness. It was a nice change in pace from what he was used to. Deciding not to waste any more time, Kairyu and Rio led the three other partners to other edges of the forest. Chari stayed with Ash, Pikachu, Serena and Aurora to allow them to mount her.

Ash was about to take out Charizard, but Aurora shook her head. She touched his hand to prevent him from acting any further. Aurora said barely above a whisper. "Chari is large enough to carry all of us."

Ash nodded. Pikachu jumped on his shoulder. The couple and Aurora boarded on Chari's back. With loud flaps, Chari started to hover into the air. She grazed through the air slowly. Aurora was at the lead. Ash was right in the middle and Serena was in the back. Aurora held the time flower in her aura grip, breathing deeply.

Eventually, Chari reached a denser part of the forest and landed. It was another clearing, though this one was smaller than before. Ash and Serena thought that this was where they needed to get off. Without looking at them, Aurora prevented them from leaving using her aura grip.

"Aurora, what're you-" Ash started.

"Shh…" Aurora quieted her confused relative. Ash instantly felt the urge to be quiet. He didn't know if this came from Ashton, but he abided by her wishes. Serena was just as confused as Ash was, but didn't say anything. Aurora released them from her grip and got off of Chari. She sat down in a pretzel shape. Chari sat down and emulated her trainer. Aurora closed her eyes and stayed in a meditative state. With her eyes closed, Aurora said with a serene voice, "Sit tight and enjoy the fresh air. We need to wait for everyone to finish scoping out the area. Take this opportunity to try to get in tune with the aura around you in the meantime. May the aura be with you…"

Aurora wasn't budging from her spot. After a few minutes, Aurora's hair began to flow wildly to the wind as everything became aura to her. She felt as peaceful as she could be at the moment. The couple looked at each other, then at Aurora. It was clear that she was in her own little world. Ash and Serena decided they really couldn't do anything, but waited. They mimicked the adult female by sitting on the ground and tried to sense the area around them. However, both of them were restless. Ash was too busy thinking about what he had recently learned and Serena was too worried about Ash.

After a few hours, Kairyu flew from above and landed right in front of Aurora. Aurora lazily opened one of her eyes and slowly rose up from the ground. She was levitating with her legs in a pretzel shape. The dragon regarded his trainer, "All of the new trainers have safely left the forest and is heading towards Viridian City. We thoroughly checked the entire forest and sensed for anything special. We couldn't find any psychics or aura guardians other than you three."

While floating, Aurora caressed Kairyu's muzzle. Kairyu sighed with happiness. Aurora hummed with delight, "Good work. That means they haven't got here yet. I know you guys don't have as much experience in creating barriers as Mew does, but can you guys try to keep any psychic at bay for as long as you can? Stay in the perimeter of the forest and combine your powers into creating a temporary barrier keeping psychics out. It probably will last quite a bit of time, but please pull through. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but are you guys willing?"

"While you were in your coma, Raven helped us with strengthening our endurance. It was like she knew we would need to do this soon." Kairyu noted. Aurora smiled and laughed.

"Classic Mira Mira and Rave. I'm so blessed to have good friends. I have to thank them soon. Please, try your best." Aurora insisted.

"We won't let you down." Kairyu smiled. With a flap of his wings, Kairyu flew back up into the sky at a supersonic speed. He left a swirl of wind at his wake. Ash and Serena coughed from the dust while Aurora laughed proudly. She got out of her meditative pose and stopped levitating. She landed on her feet and looked up at the sky. She waited until she started to sense a change in the air. Looking up, she saw nothing different. Turning her eyes completely yellow, she saw a blue dome-shaped barrier surrounding the entire forest. She instantly felt a lot safer. She knew it was time.

"Alright, Ash. I'm ready to show you what happened. Are… you alright with Serena seeing this?" Aurora eyed Serena with a slight frown. She felt a bit awkward having someone else here, but she wasn't completely against it. She wanted Ash to stay as comfortable as he possibly could.

"I'm only OK with it if she feels comfortable." Ash responded.

"I really feel like this isn't any of my business, but I will stay with Ash until the bitter end. I'll stay for his support." Serena held Ash's hand. Ash smiled with appreciation.

"Alright then. Time to open the flower. This will show you what we were doing before the Zurui arrived and will go from there." Aurora nodded in response. She directly touched the time flower and it responded to her aura immediately. A ball of bright multicolored light emerged from the opening of the flower and expanded. Soon, the light expanded to engulf the entire area around them.

An image of past of Aurora and Ash appeared right in front of them. Ash looked very similar to his older counterpart. He had short black spiky hair and lightly tanned skin. His chestnut eyes were burning with intensity and he had two 'z' shaped marks on either side of his cheek. He wore a simple sleeveless orange tee-shirt and black shorts.

Young Aurora looked exactly the same as the current Aurora except her hair was a lot shorter and she didn't look as tired. The younger Aurora had her hair reach her elbows, but it was trimmed and even. She had a short-sleeved red tee shirt and white shorts. Young Aurora had her hands out as if she was intercepting something. Young Ash was running towards Aurora with sparks in his hands. Present Aurora happened to be right in front the younger Ash. He ran right through the present Aurora. Serena covered her mouth and looked slightly disturbed.

"Wha…?" Serena tried to touch the younger Aurora, but her hand when right through her. She looked a bit spooked. Ash clarified to Aurora that Serena was a bit afraid of the supernatural from time to time. Hearing this baffled Aurora considering hers and Ash's powers were definitely not normal. Serena herself wasn't that normal, being both a psychic and a guardian. Aurora dismissed it as being selectively fearful depending on her perception of the supernatural.

"Don't be alarmed. It's not real. We can see them, but they can't see us. This is merely showing us what happened in the past. Just sit back, relax … and learn the truth. When Ash and my past self starts moving… we have to keep pace with them using Chari. I'll tell you when." Aurora ushered Ash and Serena to climb on Chari. They sat in the same order as before. Ash and Serena leaned on opposite sides to be able to see the past Ash and Aurora.

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Nine years ago…

"HIYAH!" Ash yelled as loud as he could as he clashed into his mother with sparks in his hands.

Aurora was surprised at the amount of strength her little one had. Aurora was pushed back slightly, but she clutched the youngster's hands with her own. Not wanting to be rough with him, Aurora gingerly knocked Ash over on the ground. Ash frowned at the carefulness of the elder Ketchum and tried again to push her again. This time, Aurora was prepared and blocked his head with one hand. Ash began to roll his arms in frustration as he doubled his efforts. Aurora giggled a little at the boy's determination. She stopped her son by grabbing him under his shoulders and throwing him up lightly in the air.

Ash laughed as he was tossed in the air and was caught softly by Aurora. Seeing Ash laugh made Aurora smile. She put him back on the ground. Ash was prepared to try to knock Aurora down again, but she stopped him from moving by standing on one knee and placing a hand on his shoulder. This prompted the young boy to look down at his mother.

"Ashton… we should start to do some real training. As much as I'm curious to see how much strength you have, we should do something else." Aurora told him. Ash nodded eagerly. He loved to train with Aurora. She always showed him new things and wondered what she planned to show him today.

Aurora stood up and cupped her hands together. In between her hands, pure aura started to spark. It looked highly unorganized and random. Then, the sparks began to organize into a spherical shape. Soon, Aurora had in her hands one of the most basic, yet difficult attacks to master: the aura sphere.

"Ruru, I'm gonna make that?!" Ash said with widened eyes.

"You're going to make this eventually." Aurora corrected him and crushed the sphere immediately afterwards. Ash's eyes were glistening with excitement. Aurora chuckled at the young Ketchum's enthusiasm. "Ashton, I'm going to teach you how to make the stuff before the sphere: the aura spark. It's pretty easy."

"Ruru, what's an aura spark?" Ash exclaimed with sparkles in his eyes.

"An aura spark is what makes up an aura sphere. If you try to create the sphere without any foundation, it may fail. Like so…" Aurora once again cupped her hands together. Instead of seeing aura sparks, Ash noticed that Aurora made an aura sphere, but he didn't see any of the weird sparks like before. Within a few moments, the aura sphere began to fall apart. The ball became bigger and bigger. Before long, Ash got a bit nervous, wondering if it would explode. Aurora threw the large ball of energy in the air and it exploded. It formed tiny blue sparkles upon bursting. Ash's eyes were wide and he was once again eager.

"That is what would happen. Of course, once you're a master guardian, you can make aura spheres pretty easily. It's pretty hard to master at first, when you do, the reward is awesome." Aurora snapped her fingers and four aura spheres surrounded her. They surrounded her in a circle around her torso. The curious young boy tried to touch one. Aurora noticed this stopped the spheres all together. Three of them exploded without warning. She took the final one and placed it into her hand. Aurora made an inviting smile, giving him permission. Squealing happily, Ash touched the lone aura sphere. When he did, he felt a weird sensation he never felt before.

He felt powered up and safe. It was a feeling he couldn't describe, and yet he wanted more. Ash tried to grasp the aura sphere in his hands like he was looking at a mountain of treats. Instead, his hand went through it. He felt like he was touching water, but it felt better than water. He was surprised that his hand went through it, but didn't question it. Ash's marks started to glow faintly. Aurora noticed the look in his eyes and shook her head. With a wink of one of her eyes, the aura sphere exploded. Ash looked disappointed.

"Ashton, an aura sphere may be a valuable tool, but don't take it for granted. You may feel empowered when you use it, but don't let that power get to you. Alright? Always try to stay calm." Aurora told him seriously. He nodded his head, but wondered if he'd ever feel that way again. Aurora smiled, "You have the strongest will I've ever known in that little body. It's only going to get bigger. Come to the middle of this clearing please."

Ash did as he was instructed. He waited for his mother's further instructions. Aurora regarded the youngster, "Once I show you how to properly make aura sparks, our next stop is between Pewter City and Mt. Moon, at this huge tree. I know you'll have a blast once we get there."

"Ruru, what's at the place?" Ash asked.

"A very sweet, but annoying mythical Pokémon. She's gonna help me teach you many cool new things as you grow up." Aurora said with a small smirk. Her words had the desired effect. Ash began to jump up and down in excitement. Aurora giggled slightly at the display. Ash stopped what he was doing when he noticed his mother cup her hands together again. She created the same tiny sparks as she did before and showed them to the youngster. Before Ash could touch it, she retracted her hand back.

"Careful, young one! Foreign aura sparks will sting if you touch them directly. They are very unstable." Aurora warned. Ash immediately reacted his hand nervously. Aurora chuckled and made her sparks disappear. "I know you're only seven, but you definitely have the potential to make aura spheres if you focus for a couple of years. That's why we're headed to where that Pokémon is. I can get your grandparents to come, too. They can teach you a lot better than I could. Before we can do that, you have to learn how to make the aura sparks, OK?"

"OK. Will I be able to see Daddy there, … or is he still missing?" He asked with a small frown. Aurora made a sullen sigh, got on one knee and looked at Ash with dejected eyes. She looked morosely at her son and he could see the scorn she had for herself. Ash immediately noticed this and gave her a big hug. She felt a little silly letting her emotions get the better of her, but she couldn't help herself. She was appreciative of her son's efforts to make her feel better, though. She thanked him under her breath.

"I wish I knew where he was, Ashton. Even I can't sense his aura… but I have that nagging feeling that he's still out there." Aurora said softly.

"Think I'll ever get to meet him?" Ash asked with a hesitant voice. Aurora closed her eyes and seemed deep in thought. Then, she opened them with a smile.

"As long as I keep searching for him, I'll definitely try my hardest for you to meet him. There's a shred of hope that he's still out there." Aurora had a determined gaze. She stood up on her two feet and shook her head, "No… I know he's out there. For now, let's just focus on making you a lot stronger, alright? I want you to be the best guardian you can be. He would want that, too."

"Alright."

"First, bring out your hands and cup them together." Aurora instructed. Ash did as he was told. He cupped his hands together and waited for the next step.

"You did a little of this when you tried to knock me over, so I want you to do it again. Just… go with your gut. Try to make the same stuff I made." Aurora encouraged.

Ash nodded. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Energy began to crackle in his hands and his entire body began to feel warm. Channeling more of that warm feeling to his hands, released a surge of sparks. The energy moved through the air in reckless abandon and swiftly hit Aurora. Aurora gasped as she was knocked on the ground by the youngster's aura. Her hair was standing up and spikier than normal. Aurora had her eyes widened while Ash was jumping up and down with glee. Aurora was shocked, both literally and figuratively. Then, she began to laugh with the little boy. Ash's face lit up even more with happiness.

"I knocked you down! I knocked you down!" Ash sang with delight.

"Well, you certainly did, little one," Aurora chuckled. She got herself off from the floor once she properly processed what had just happened to her. "A bit overdone, but yes, those were aura sparks. Nice work."

"Thanks, Ruru." Ash rubbed behind his head with a slight bashful blush.

"Let's try that again, alright? It's good that you can make them, but it's better to have control over how much you make." Aurora suggested. Ash nodded eagerly.

For the next hour, Ash tried to mimic his mother and her movements with his hands. He found that this was the best way to learn something new and aura sparks were no different. The next several attempts he tried, he created an explosion of aura sparks that Aurora was prepared to deal with. She created a small force-field each time she was about to get hit. Ash huffed in sadness because although he could make the sparks, he didn't want to hurt Aurora. He was worried that she would be mad or disappointed. That clearly wasn't the case. Aurora had an easy-going and patient smile.

Aurora tried to go a little slower. She created the aura sparks from one hand instead of two. She gestured Ash to try it from his right hand, more specifically, his right index finger. Aurora created the tiniest of sparks from her index finger. Ash tried to emulate her the best way he could. At first, his index finger was chaotic; he created a slew of sparks without trying to. Aurora had to shield herself every time his sparks nearly touched her. Then, after another hour of practice, the sparks began to die down and the youngster began to exude a bit more control over his energy. He still was creating too much. He found this to be a lot harder than he anticipated.

Aurora chuckled a little bit. She could see his frustration. She started to create even tinier sparks. She said in a calm voice, "Focus, young one. Breathe a little deeper so your aura stops flaring."

Ash closed his eyes and took deep breaths. He felt his body relaxing and his mind clearing. With slightly slumped shoulders, the sparks on his finger began to settle down and he was making them at a much smaller rate. Aurora beamed at him proudly. Ash slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was making the same number of sparks as his mother. Ash smiled excitedly.

"Good. Now I need to test your ability to control them. Try creating around the same amount of sparks as me." Aurora's index finger began to create a moderate amount of sparks. It was nowhere near as high as Ash's when he initially tried it. Ash nodded and began to focus on his finger. His hand shuddered slightly as the number of sparks began to increase from his fingertip. Eventually, he managed to make approximately how much Aurora was making.

His mother nodded in approval. She expanded her hand and started to create aura sparks from her entire hand. Ash got the general idea and began to exude the same amount on his hand as his protector. Aurora smiled at the quickness this youngster had. She decided to fluctuate the amount of aura she was creating to see if Ash could do the same. With a challenging smirk, she gazed at her young one to try to emulate her. Ash made a small smile in acceptance. Both of her bands began to fluctuate with sparks and Ash began to emulate her actions.

Since Ash typically traveled with his nomadic mother, they always turn a lesson into a mini game. Aurora found this to be the best way for Ash to learn and to gauge at his child-like tendencies. Whenever Aurora taught him anything combat related, she'd turn it into a challenge to see how he would react. Ash, being the eager little boy he was, would try to push himself through the challenge. Ever since he could walk, Aurora taught him how to fight and defend himself. She taught him different forms of martial arts, but encouraged him to discover his own style. He'd gotten pretty good at it, even catching Aurora off guard from time to time.

He also didn't mind traveling that much. He'd gotten used to being on the road. He knew his mother had a lot of money, but she never really used it, except for supplies that they might need. The only time he was actually in a house is when they visited his grandparents. He always wondered why Aurora chose not to be in her house.

"You see, young one, I love being outside in the open so much that I never really go there and I don't necessarily need a house to raise you." Aurora winked in response to his thought. Ash didn't look too surprised by the answer.

"Staying in a home is boring. I usually get bored super-fast when we see Gran Gran and Pop Pop because I feel so contained. I just wanna run around and enjoy the fresh air." Ash admitted. Ash didn't notice what he was doing, but Aurora smiled that he was subconsciously controlling his aura sparks a lot better than he did earlier in the day. He was creating the same amount of sparks as she was without realizing it. She decided to keep him distracted through conversation.

"You probably got that from me, then. I hated being in a house when I was your age." Aurora chuckled. "I think it comes from the fact that our ancestors lived in this huge tree for a really long time."

"That sounds pretty cool. Are we like superheroes or something? I don't really see other people doing the same things that we can and you always tell me to keep my powers hidden." Ash noted.

Aurora chuckled at the inquiry. She supposed he would begin to get a little curious and she liked that. She responded, "Well, we really aren't superheroes, but I think we certainly have the capability to act like one. I think the word you're looking for is 'superhuman'."

"Superhuman?" Ash reiterated with a questioning tone.

"We aren't like the people we walk past every day. We get our power from a Pokémon who helped shaped the world. It's a blessing, but a burden that we have to accept and have been accepting for a really long time." Aurora explained herself further.

"Why is it such a burden?" Ash asked with a frown. He definitely didn't feel any kind of burden. He always felt happy with his powers. Aurora made a sad smile.

"People don't like to see weird things. They tend to act really mean or stupid when they see something they don't understand. It doesn't help that we have a little bit of extra spirit, in the form of our other sides." Aurora continued.

Ash widened his eyes, "Aruru and Ash…"

"Yep. Our counterbalances make things a bit more interesting when it comes to people's perceptions of us. Your Pop Pop can definitely tell you more about it since he has one." Aurora said with a smile.

"Why does Gran Gran not have a counterbalance?" The youngster asked. Aurora was surprised by the question, but nevertheless answered it.

"She may be a Ketchum in name, but not by blood. Same thing with your father and myself. I have a counterbalance, but he doesn't. You literally have to be born a Ketchum to have a counterbalance." Aurora explained. Her hands stopped creating energy. Ash did the same. She went into her pouch and took out two Poké Bars. She threw one to her son and he ate his happily. Aurora nibbled on hers contentedly. "I think you have the technique down to perfection. That's excellent for what's to come. I'd say it's time we move-"

Aurora would have continued speaking, but she felt something off. She gasped as she suddenly grabbed Ash and threw him high in the air. Ash was surprised that she would do that so suddenly, but then saw why. A long black wire of odd material abruptly came from the sky and almost hit Aurora. The raven haired guardian narrowed her eyes as she created a force field around herself, blocking the attack. Before she could properly analyze what happened to her, Ash squeaked when gravity began to bring him down to the ground. Aurora jumped up and caught the boy in her arms.

Ash immediately climbed onto her back and his mother got into a fighting stance. Aurora's guard was on an all-time high. Neither Ketchum knew what was going on, but both of them was determined to figure out the source of the ambush. Multiple black wires shot towards the duo, but neither of them looked concerned at all. With Ash on her back, Aurora jumped up high and onto a tree branch.

Now that she had a better vantage point, she could see precisely where the attacks were coming from. From her left, another black wire approached her. Aurora barely dodged it, but as the weapon was retracting back, Aurora grabbed and yanked the cable. A surprised yelp was heard as Aurora pulled the wire closer and closer to her. However, before the person could be made known to both aura guardians, another wire came from Aurora's right. Using some quick wits, Aurora tightly gripped the wire she was holding and used her strength to throw the other end at her new assailant.

She could finally see one of her attackers, but her face was concealed. She could tell she was a 'she' due to her being top heavy. The masked lady screamed as she was knocked into another person. Judging by the subsequent scream from the impact, she could tell the other person was a male. They both appeared to be knocked unconscious from the collision. Multiple black wires started to spring towards Aurora and Ash. Ash was beginning to get worried while Aurora was beginning to get annoyed.

"Hold on tight, little one. Things are about to get bumpy." Aurora murmured to her son. Ash held onto Aurora even tighter. Seeing that she had a clear disadvantage at whoever was organizing these attacks, Aurora began to flee as fast as she could. She quickly jumped from branch to branch moving away from all the black wires. Ash wasn't used to seeing his mom run away from anything. He knew something bad was happening, but wasn't that worried. He had faith in his mom trying her hardest to reach safety.

---

"Now! We've got to move! Chari, keep pace with my past self!" Aurora commanded suddenly. Aurora had the time flower in one hand and was holding onto Chari with the other hand. Ash and Serena did not expect the abrupt movement of the lizard. She stayed low, but kept pace with the fleeing past Aurora.

Ash observed the situation before anything happened. He looked so excited to learn more about his aura. He looked at his hands and started to make small sparks. He abruptly stopped afterwards and looked distant from the other two females. He thought about some of his own inclinations like always wanting to travel and thought about his younger self. Some of his younger tendencies made it subconsciously.

Ash noticed how his younger self looked while on Aurora's back. He looked concerned, but not as scared as he thought he might be. Ash also wondered why those cloaked individuals came so suddenly. He was glad that Aurora had amazing reflexes, otherwise they would have been captured from the start. His mind was struggling to accept what he saw, however. That was clearly the past, but he didn't remember any of it.

Aurora looked back at him grimly, sighed, then continued to look ahead. Serena noticed the gloom disposition that her boyfriend had and wished she could say some comforting words. She knew how fruitless they would be and decided to keep her mouth shut.

---

Aurora continued to jump from branch to branch, narrowly avoiding the weird black wires while having her son on her back. As much as she wanted to figure out who was attacking her, Ash's safety was her top priority. With her quickened pace, Aurora managed to reach the end of the forest with relative ease while losing whoever was pursuing them. However, when she tried to walk out of the normally tranquil forest, she noticed that she was blocked by some sort of invisible barrier.

Tilting her head in slight bemusement, she poked at what she assumed to be nothing. Her finger was met with resistance. Then, becoming slightly irritated, she began to punch whatever was blocking her. Ash could feel the shockwaves of opposition the more she punched the field and struggled to stay on her back. It did nothing to help their situation.

Aurora decided to give it up before she got too flustered and wild. She decided to take an analytical approach. She closed her eyes and placed her hands against the barrier. Her hands began to glow yellow. The barrier began to resonate with bright neon colors in response. Aurora did this for a few moments. Then, she narrowed her eyes and nodded to herself. Ash hugged her neck a little tighter, letting her know what he wanted. She nodded with permission. Ash jumped off her back and demanded an explanation.

Aurora looked slightly hesitant, but decided to answer anyway. "Seems like we're stuck here."

"How come we're stuck? We've never been stuck anywhere before." Ash questioned.

"True. Someone... is trying to trap aura guardians inside this forest." Aurora punched the barrier again, but this time in frustration. Ash shuddered from the feeling of the impact. "For whatever reason, we have to take out the people who has this barrier up. The power is split between ten people. Each time I punch this invisible wall, I'm damaging all ten of them, but not enough to keep trying from here."

"What are you saying?" Ash said with a hesitant voice.

Aurora sighed, got on one knee and looked her son directly in the eyes. He could tell by just how piercing they were being that the situation was more serious than she originally thought. His face grew serious, too. She said with a somber voice, "It's time we put our training into practice."

"You always say to never to use our training unless for self-defense." Ash recounted to her. Aurora nodded with acceptance.

"I know what I said and I still stand by that. However, I don't think we have much of a choice. You saw two of those bad people provoked us first. We have to do something… otherwise those bad people are gonna get us. We need to go for it." Aurora told him. The youngster nodded. Although he had no idea what was happening, he would do whatever he can to get out of the forest. If he had permission to use his powers, he would certainly do it.

"Let's do this! I can't wait to see what I can do!" Ash said eagerly.

"You certainly have more fighting aptitude than I did when I was your age." Aurora chuckled. Her face once again turned into a parlous grimace. "We have to knock them out or weaken them in order to server their connection to the barrier. This way, the barrier can go away and we could leave. I already knocked out two of them, so we have eight more to go. I don't know who we're going against, but I can sense that they're psychics."

"Psychics?" Ash echoed.

"Yep. People who have special powers like us, but they aren't as strong as us physically. We can use that to our advantage. I've got a plan, but I'll need your help. Can you do it?" Aurora asked him pleadingly.

"What do you want me to do?" Ash asked. Ash was taking this better than she hoped and she was loving it.

"Mother-son aura spark combinations. This was going be the next lesson after we left, but I'll make an exception. It would have been your first combat lesson incorporating aura, too. I wanted it to be extra special." Aurora expressed disappointment. "But that's alright. When we see the next few psychics, we can test it on them. I'm pretty sure you have some ideas of the things we can combine, right?" Aurora formed an aura sphere in her hand and Ash's eyes sparkled in admiration.

"Do I?" Ash chuckled. He began to list of some of the possibilities in his head, "We can make aura spheres, fire pillars and lightning bolts. Even when you turn invisible, we can fake them out with a real attack: the sparks." Ash said freely while creating aura sparks in his hands. Aurora blinked in surprise, then laughed.

"My, my. My little one is already thinking strategically. Very impressive. Before we move out, here's a little something." Aurora threw to her son his favorite flavor of granola bar. He ate it happily. Aurora took out another spicy granola bar and ate hers as well. They both felt energized. Aurora lowered herself and gestured the young lad to hop on. Ash happily obliged. Aurora once again began to jump from branch to branch, seeking out those who had ambushed her.

As soon as she got deeper in the forest again, she was assaulted with a weird black wire. Ash was quicker on the draw than she was. With a low growl, he grabbed the wire when it grew too close. He began to pull it back, but was met with some resistance. He yelled, "Stop messing with my Ruru!"

Aurora was immediately fretful for Ash and was about to tell him to let go, but she noticed how strong the young Ketchum really was. With a grunt, Ash pulled the person who had been attacking them into view. Though she couldn't hide how impressed she was with the child, she didn't want him to get hurt. Aurora grabbed the wire from the boy and continued to pull.

Like the other two psychics from before, this one was hooded, but this time she was able to notice that the black wire was attached to his wrist. He seemed reluctant to let it go and she wondered why. Eventually, Aurora pulled the man to be right under her, grabbed him from under his armpits and lifted him up into the air. Before she could do anything else, she was trapped in his energy.

The man forced her to let go and yanked Aurora's body from him. He sent her body to get hit by a tree, but she was mindful that Ash was still on her back. She growled and jumped off from a tree trunk just as she when she made contact with one. Her body was glowing with a dark purple energy and her expression grew deadly.

She moved freely with her own fruition and retaliated with a kick to the masked man's face. The impact was enough to make him stumble, but not fall. Ash was starting to get scared for the man. There were three things that could make Aurora snap: someone messing with her mind, someone messing with her partners or someone messing with her family. If she felt like he was messing with Ash, Ash was afraid of what she could do especially since the young boy handicapped her while being on her back. She had a reason to defend at her best. Aurora approached the man with a quickness that he had never seen before and slapped him at a specific artery on the back of his neck. He crumpled to the ground instantly.

Aurora began to pant and she made the dark aura surrounding her subside. Ash noticed her fatigue and decided to get off of her back. Aurora looked at the young boy in protest, but Ash shook his head and stated, "You may want to hide it, but I know you can't continue to hold me forever. I can feel your aura is still pretty high, but your actual body is getting tired from carrying me throughout the forest, Mom."

Aurora widened her eyes at first. He never called her 'Mom' unless he was serious. Aurora chuckled at Ash's consideration, but shook her head. "You make a fair point. If you want to walk, that's fine. You have to be prepared to walk for a good while and we would be going at a much slower pace."

"Can't you let me swing on trees? We both are pretty good at it." Ash tried to persuade her. Aurora immediately frowned.

"In a much more tranquil time, maybe, but I don't want to take any chances if they attack us. I could stop the wires, but you won't be able to... at least not while in a tree." Aurora told him. She started to look down at the unconscious man. She once again picked him up and began to inspect him. Aurora took off his hood. The man had long ginger hair and somewhat tan skin with freckles. Just in case someone else tried to attack them both, Aurora closed her eyes and created a barrier around the three of them. Aurora took off the cloak and donned it herself. She noticed something very peculiar about the man's actual clothing.

He wore a purple uniform with the symbol of a long purple dragon as its insignia. He also wore a belt filled with gadgets. Aurora narrowed her eyes upon seeing the symbol and knew exactly who she was dealing with. She wondered why they were after her and Ash specifically. She moved away from Hokori to get away from them. Ash noticed the recognizing look from Aurora, but decided not to say anything.

Wordlessly, Aurora gestured him to follow her to find seven more psychics. They both kept their senses on high alert the more they moved. For the next several hours, Aurora and Ash found no psychics. They just saw the same trees over and over again. Ash was beginning to get tired after a while, so Aurora opted to let him ride on her back again. Despite Ash's protests, Aurora still decided to go through with it. Aurora wasn't tired from walking, but was getting tired of just walking, not getting any results.

So, Aurora stopped at a clearing, touched the ground and began to sense her surroundings. She sensed for seven other signatures not similar to her own. Fortunately for her, there were three signatures right near the vicinity. In fact, they weren't moving. Aurora placed Ash on the ground again and got into a fighting stance. Ash, noticing her distress, tried to mimic her. She whispered under her breath, "These psychics aren't like the other psychics that we've seen before. Stay close."

"Right." Ash nodded.

They both stood back to back against each other. Ash was fortunate to have learned some martial arts when he was smaller. She taught him way before he had even started to use his aura. In fact, his first proper lesson with aura didn't start until he was six when his grandmother began to show him how to emulate non-attacking Pokémon moves. He wasn't that good at that, especially since he wanted to move straightaway into attacking. Although he still wasn't that great at emulating Pokémon moves, he felt a natural affinity towards creating aura sparks and physical combat. He was excited to incorporate the sparks into his style.

Aurora initiated first strike. Aurora created three aura spheres around her and shot them at each of the signatures. They heard three confused grunts upon impact. Aurora could feel their annoyance. Three of the same black wires emerged from the shadows. Aurora smirked and laughed. She dodged each and every wire and grabbed them. Instead of pulling them closer to her, she decided to play the range game. With a devious smirk, she spread her aura onto each of the wires in the form of fire. She saw three shadows jump up and land in front of them before the fire could reach their hands.

"Now I see why the boss wants to kill you. You're way too much of a nuisance to keep alive." The tallest hooded person spoke. He had a deep base for a voice.

"I may have two or perhaps twenty questions, so I'll just ask this one. Who are you and why are you after me and my son?" Aurora growled.

"Ah, ah, ah. I heard two questions in that compound sentence, love. And we don't have to answer either." The second male taunted. He gestured to his right. "End them, if you will."

"Got it." The shortest person spoke with a cold voice. She swiftly approached Aurora and began to strike her with two fingers. The elder Ketchum immediately knew what the hooded lady was going for and blocked each strike with two fingers herself. They got into a dance of strikes and counterstrikes, but neither hit the other. Ash, getting concerned for his mother, created sparks from his hands and shot them at the assailing lady. She screamed as she was knocked back from Aurora and fell on the ground. Upon falling on the ground, her hood fell off.

Aurora gasped in recognition. "Christa Malladus? You used to be a part of a famous trio of dancers…."

It was in this moment that Aurora instantly put two and two together. Before she could call out what she knew, her body became suspended in the air by the other two people. She tried to break out of it, but found that her aura was blocked. One man trapped her while the other blocked her aura. Christa also took the time to strike Ash with a weak lightning attack in retaliation for what he did to her earlier.

Ash grunted in pain and appeared to be knocked out. Aurora looked distraught, especially since she couldn't move to help him. Christa laughed triumphantly and focused her efforts on the elder Ketchum once again. Aurora was seething in rage.

Christa stood up and prepared herself to kill Aurora once and for all. While Aurora's aura was being blocked off from her, she could not take what was coming to her. She created lightning in her fingers and shot the guardian a sadistic smirk. Aurora glared at her. While the psychics were distracted with Aurora, Ash decided to take action into his own hands.

The youngster felt weak from the electricity, but wouldn't let that stop him. He slowly crept under the tallest man, stuck out two fingers and jabbed him right in the kidneys. The tallest male doubled over in agony and this caused Aurora to be free from his grasp. Before the other man could properly respond to his partner's collapse, Ash did the same thing to the shorter man. They both doubled over in agony.

Christa hissed in surprise, then aimed the lightning bolt at the boy. She berated herself for not taking the child seriously enough. Much to her dismay and surprise, Ash quickly dodged the attack by rolling. He looked angry at her for attacking him earlier. Christa lunged for the boy, aiming to hit him at multiple pressure points.

Ash flinched slightly in fear, staying at his spot. He was fortunate to be protected by Aurora from afar. Aurora created an aura sphere from her palm and shot it at the blond woman. Christa grunted upon impact. Once she was distracted, Ash followed it up with a kick to her solar plexus. Christa doubled over in pain, but also rapt at the young one's skill. She'd never seen a child with so much knowledge on the body's vulnerable points.

Ash ran to be in front of his mother. They both had a twinkle in their eyes. Aurora created multiple aura spheres surrounding her and attacked all three of them. Ash supplemented this by shooting aura sparks at them. The aura spark/sphere combination caused an explosion of energy to hit Christa and her hooded compatriots. They were struggling to recover.

"That's my boy." Aurora rubbed the small child's head affectionately. When they blocked her from her power, she had never felt so disconnected from her aura before and it left her with a slight unnerving feeling. Still, she was grateful for Ash to coming to her aid. Ash had some static emitting from him from the weak attack Christa inflicted on him earlier. It hadn't designed to damage, but to ensnare its opponent into being paralyzed. Ash felt weak and nearly collapsed if it wasn't for Aurora catching him. Ash felt himself succumbing to the paralysis.

"The ultimate glass cannon. I'm so proud of you, Ashton." Aurora said, kissed him on the cheek. She noticed the fallen members beginning to slowly recover their ground. Aurora came to decision and frowned solemnly. She said with a clouded and lighter voice. "You deserve a good rest."

Ash noticed the change in her voice and instantly recognized it, "Aruru, what are you-"

"Shh… Sleep and rest your energy. I've got a special plan for these shrubs." Aurora's eyes turned red and her hand began to glow purple. Ash's vision became blurry until the world became lost to him. The young boy fell asleep in his caretaker's arms. He silently snored to himself. Aru removed the excess electricity from his body as best as she could. She would find a way to help him… after she dealt with the three goons standing before her. She then jumped up to the nearest tree with the boy in her arms and laid him down on a cluster of branches. Once she made sure he was secure, she jumped down and regarded her adversaries.

It was in this time Christa and her two partners began to stir. They still looked like they were in pain, but they shrugged it off the best they could. Aru whistled, "Seems like my young one has a powerful punch to him. Never judge a book by its cover."

None of them noticed that her eyes turned red, but one of them growled with pure hatred, "You…"

Aru's eyes glistened, then darkened considerably. She curled up her fists tightly as dark aura began to radiate from her. She laughed wickedly, "I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Ashton. He doesn't need to be awake to hear your tortured cries."

The two hooded men rose their hands. Aru continued to look at them with a wicked grin, looking highly amused at the effort. Nothing happened.

Aru chuckled and cracked her knuckles. Her eyes began to glow a dark yellow. All three psychics gasped as they lost control over their bodies. As Aru raised her hand high in the air, so did the psychics. They struggled to be rid of her grip. With a flick of two fingers, she created a small gust of wind to blow away the two men's hoods. She smirked as she could make out their identities.

"Like I suspected. Christiana, Xanthros and Daniel Malladus. Orphan siblings who are remarkable dancers. Your adoptive father took you in when you were small, if I recall correctly. You used to be famous in the Hokori region, but you decided to quit your passion and go into villainy under the Zurui. What are the odds I'm seeing you here?" Aru said with a sarcastic tone. "Malladus is a name we Ketchums despise, but try to avoid direct conflict with. Why are you here?"

None of them responded, but instead tried to daze and confuse her. Aru started to feel dizzy from their combined effort, so she decided to pick up the pace. Her hands widened and her eyes became a darker yellow. Xander, Christa and Dan began to scream in agony as their body was surrounded in purple aura. They quickly found their strength depleting and their psychic energy blocked. Aru had unforgiving eyes.

Aru then created a bone club of aura and prepared herself. She then made the tip of the club into a spear shape and sauntered over by Christa with her weapon in hand. She stated with a grin, "I'm impartial to ways of getting what I want. You best tell me sooner rather than later; the stakes will get higher the longer you hold out and the more negative aura we both take in." Aru finished with a deeper and slightly creepier voice. All three of them were beginning to become frightened, but refused to visibly show it.

"We don't have to tell you anything." Christa jeered. Aru nodded as if she expected this type of response.

"That's quite alright." Aru made a smile and immediately squeezed a specific cluster of nerves near her shoulder. Christa yelped as she immediately fell asleep. Aru then placed the tip of her spear under Dan's neck. She looked at him for an answer to her earlier question. When he didn't respond fast enough, she slapped at a specific spot right behind his neck and he was knocked out instantly. Xander grew visibly alarmed. Aru released the now unconscious Christa and Dave as their bodies crumpled to the ground.

Her grin grew greater, but the dark aura surrounding her subsided. She said with a bit of a giggle, "Forgive me there. I couldn't control myself. I would have given him more time, but… the dark aura… compelled me to follow my instincts. I do acknowledge that I should act a bit more civil towards you."

"You... are a complete monster. You're much worse than I heard." Xander spat out, appalled at what she did to Christa and Dave. She looked like she had no remorse and if she did, she was certainly hiding it well. He had heard from his dad how Ketchums were the cruelest guardians they could face. He had been skeptical, but now he believed every word. He wanted to do something about it, but as he was trapped, he was forced to endure what the raven haired woman planned for him.

"That's a shame to hear. I'm most likely corrupting your thoughts of Aurora when you aren't even facing the right Aurora." Xander scrunched his eyebrows in confusion upon hearing the statement. Aru pointed her spear at the rainbow haired man's neck and slightly grazed his skin. The young psychic gulped at the guardian while simultaneously glaring at her. It was in this time, he noticed her eyes had changed color. "I'm a much different Aurora. I'm the one who kills."

"You… are a counterbalance?" Xander said in disbelief.

"Seems like Daddy didn't elucidate you on the fact that Ketchums also have counterbalances. Don't tell me you actually didn't know." Aru asked, somewhat amused. Seeing Xander contort his face was confirmation enough. Aru tonelessly chuckled. It was one of those types of laughs that got under your skin and you couldn't do a single thing about it. "That's hilarious. Makes me wonder how much you actually know about your father and your family's heritage."

"Shut up!" Xander said, flustered.

Aru's smile grew wider. She impaled her spear a little further into Xander's neck. Blood trickled down her spear and into her hands. The sticky liquid easily settled on the palm of her right hand and matched her bright red eyes. The psychic groaned in agony and made sure he was as loud as possible.

"Wanna see the Distortion World right now?" Aru said in an enticing way. Xander looked at her, alarmed. "'Cause I definitely want to show you if you don't be quiet."

Xander chose to stay silent after that. He was beginning to feel light headed. The way Aru stabbed into him made him stay conscious, but at the same time, it made him lose a good amount of blood each time he spoke. It was torture just to groan because he spat out blood. Aru knew the lesion she inflicted was non-lethal and savored every moment of his pain. It only took one more inch to breach the bones protecting Xander's spinal cord and disconnect him from his brain.

Aru looked up at the sleeping Ash and sighed. Ash slept so soundly, so blissfully unaware of the act his mother was performing. She knew that she would have to eventually teach him this and similar techniques, but she dreaded the day that would happen. She wondered how disgusted he would be when he found out Mew made Ketchums to be like this.

She could feel Aurora tugging inside her, begging her to stop. The only reason why she didn't come out because she couldn't stand to see someone in pain like this. Yet, she was forced to view it all, like a sick show you can't close your eyes to. Aru's eyes were her eyes and Aru's actions were her actions.

Aru forced herself to ignore the wave of sickness Aurora had. This wasn't the first time this happened when Aru came close to or actually did kill someone. Aru never did understand having two conflicting views of the mortality of human lives, but knew her views won out most of the time. Aru decided that morality wasn't important. The most important thing to her was to keep Ash safe. If she needed to kill a few people to save her son, she didn't mind her actions. Life is a bit of give and take, after all.

Aru's wolf-like eyes glared into Xander's kaleidoscope eyes. They seeming changed color every time he shifted his head. Aru had a bit of disbelief etched onto her face when she read Xander's aura and hoped she was wrong.

She hid her anxiety by saying, "Seems like things are going to be interesting when I encounter your father. I have more important matters to attend to… like the reason why the Zurui are after me and my son. I've done nothing to your team."

"Ketchums… do everything to us while they still stand!" Xander spat.

"I doubt that's the main reason. True, aura guardians and psychics hate each other, but I'm pretty sure you're looking for something Ketchums have in particular. We have something you want, but we don't have anything to give." Aru guessed. Xander kept up a neutral expression.

"You're beginning to convince me you are better dead than alive." Aru's eyes narrowed and glowed faintly yellow. Xander shivered and felt like he was exposed to a Foresight attack, but stayed silent. "A shame your brother and sister will awake to seeing your corpse. It's super unfortunate, considering how poor you were while growing up and how much they look up to you. Maybe once you're dead, your siblings will join you. It wouldn't be fair to discriminate."

Xander's eyes widened and he began to silently weep. He knew his aura was very readable while trapped and Aru knew how to use it against him. He didn't want to betray his team, but Christa's and Dan's lives mattered more to him. He didn't care if he died for them.

"I'll… tell you what you want. Please, just don't hurt Christiana and Daniel." Xander begged. Aru's eyes seemed unremorseful and weighed her options. She decided to keep her spear in his neck, but pulled it out slightly to lessen the pain. Aru raised her hands and lifted Christa and Dan's bodies. She gently placed them sitting up against a couple of trees. Xander was surprised at the gesture and was secretly thankful.

"I'm a woman of my word. Now… why are you after Ashton and myself?" Aru demanded.

"Ketchums… have a power similar to Dad's and he wants to use that power to revive the Reptile Reaper. We want to capture the runt, since it would be easier to take his power. Though how he will extract that power is unknown to everyone, even the elites." Xander admitted. Aru seemed pensive. Her entire expression darkened.

"Do you know what exactly he's looking for? We may be the primordial guardians, but the last time I checked, we don't have this super-secret power." Aru replied.

"He always answers so nebulously. He tells us the Reaper gives him instructions on what to do while he sleeps and torments the Ketchums' dreams. Maybe the power is something you haven't unlocked, yet. I'm not sure." Xander answered as candidly as he could. "That's all I know, I swear."

"I don't get nightmares and neither does my son. I think your father is lying to you." Aru told him. She was telling the truth, but she didn't tell the complete truth. At this point in her life, Aurora didn't really get nightmares from Nyxcipher. Her father constantly got terrifying nightmares regarding the poison type, but he never liked to talk about them. She didn't want Xander to tell his team so they could go after her dad.

"Then again… all parents lie to their children. What kind of lie will you conjure up once your son wakes?" Xander smirked and gestured to the sleeping Ash.

"He'll have to know about the nature of counterbalances soon enough." Aru growled.

"I'd say you best get your mitts of Xander, before I make you do it." A foreign voice entered herself in the conversation. She sounded sweet, yet spiteful. Aru immediately recognized the voice and disbelief spread across her face. Then, hurt. And then, disgust.

"You?" Aru called, hoping that she would be wrong.

Aru's response back was her nerves tightening to point of it being nigh unbearable. Once again, Aru looked hurt, but her face quickly hardened. She closed her eyes and imagined the cold hearth of the ground sweeping from underneath her. The ground responded from her actions and she felt its aura embrace her. She began to brave through the minor paralysis and toward the source of her body's woe. She heard a sharp gasp, then a determined grunt.

Aru made her spear disappear from Xander's neck and knocked him on the ground. Xander hissed with slight pain and realized the only thing keeping him conscious was Aru's aura grip. Now that the grip was gone, his wound could heal on its own. He looked up at Aru with hatred. The prolonged stab took its toll. Xander lost too much blood from his wound and the lack of blood drove into unconsciousness. Aru now heard a distressed gasp and smirked.

Then, a ruffling of the trees.

Aru's eyes narrowed. Aru wasted no time recreating her bone club shaped aura and jumping up the tree's barks to meet up with her assailant. Her prize was near and the objective was clear: fight to the very end and protect her son. That objective didn't have to have honor.

Aru was faster in reaching Ash. Aru jumped on a higher branch of Ash's tree. A single leaf tumbled its way down and perched itself on Ash's nose. The sleeping boy's nose wrinkled at the contact and sneezed the small foliage away. The small boy continued to snooze.

Now that Aru was at a higher point, she could see the cloaked woman quite clearly, but the woman could not see how high she climbed. Aru made herself as visible as air and quickly levitated toward her attacker. The covered neck of the female was no longer safe from Aru's arm nor was it safe from Aru's constriction. The hooded lady wheezed at how tightly Aru held on. With a neck in hand, Aru jumped off of the trees and landed perfectly on the ground.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't pop your skull out of your socket, Delia." Aru said with unadorned rage.

While falling, the hooded woman's hood had fallen from her head, revealing her identity. The mahogany haired woman had hardened eyes that stared into her sister with little remorse. Once again, Aru could feel a wave of sickness and grief coming from Aurora. Internally, Aurora kept spitting out words like: 'Why?" or "How could this be?"

Aru refused to respond. She could figure out the 'why' quite easily.

Aurora distracted Aru too long with her pangs of confusion. Delia stuck two fingers out and shocked her from the inside out. Aru roared in pain and looked at her sister with a more intense hatred. Aru held her neck even tighter. Delia could barely mutter out words as her life was literally getting sucked out of her. Aru forced her body to bend and her eyes were completely red. Delia wailed for her to stop, but her cries were ignored by Aru. Aurora, on the other hand, heard them loud and clear. Aurora took back control abruptly and immediately let go. Delia's body crumpled to the ground.

Aurora looked horrified with herself and had to fight the pangs of guilt she felt. She had so many questions in her head regarding her sister, but knew she couldn't stay in this area for long. She could sense the psychic barrier was much weaker than before, only having three psychics supporting it. At the same time, holding Delia down and resisting her electricity stripped her of much of her own energy. She wasn't sure if she could keep going for a long distance, but she had to try for her son's sake.

Aurora could hear more footsteps approaching her. This person's psychic signature was more potent than any of the psychics she'd sensed, even overtaking Delia's. She scrambled to collect herself. She knew she couldn't fight any more psychics, especially who she presumed to be the boss of all of them.

She quickly climbed Ash's tree and knelt on his branch. She gently shook the young boy out of his slumber. The lad looked as though he had been interrupted from a good dream and pouted slightly. Aurora made a solemn smile and winced slightly. Ash immediately grew concerned. Aurora tried making a reassuring smile, but Ash was skeptical. He noticed how troubled her eyes were and some dry red liquid on her palm.

He asked, "Ruru… what's wrong? Why are your hands red? And what did Aruru…?"

"Aru did her usual… thing… to the mean psychics, but we need to go. Now." Ash was about to protest, but Aurora lifted him up and placed him on her back. She jumped off the tree and started to run as fast as she could. Ash seemed to be in deep thought about his mother's bloodied hands, but he could sense that the bad people on the ground was still alive. He was thankful because he knew how malicious the other side of his mother could get.

The approaching psychic saw her leave and would have chased her if he didn't notice four of his teammates lying on the ground, three of them unconscious. He was tempted to just leave them on the ground and was about to, but Delia noticed him and called for help. He growled to himself and observed his fleeting prize go. Without making a sound, he began to heal the fallen psychics, but was inwardly scowling. He couldn't help but feel so close and yet so far.

By the time he was done healing Delia, Xander, Dan, and Christa, Aurora was nowhere close.

---

For several hours, Aurora ran swiftly in the forest to get away from the impending doom. The sun began to go down and both sides were relentless. Aurora was determined to get away and the Zurui was determined to capture her. No matter how close she was to getting out of the forest, she felt a sense of doom. She couldn't find the remaining three psychics since they were constantly teleporting away when she grew close to them. The raven haired woman knew this was done on purpose. Her energy was fleeting for every step she shook, but she trudged on.

She could feel Ash holding on to her shoulders tightly, terribly confused as to what was going on. Aurora's eyes were hardened, thinking about what she had seen and heard all day. She weighed out her next move while she was running with Ash. Ash wanted to ask her what was wrong, but every time he did, the only answer he got was silence. He knew that if she got this reflective, something was troubling her. In times like this, he decided the best thing to do was to wait to ask again.

By dusk, Aurora reached a large clearing of trees and decided the best thing she could do was rest. She needed some way to calm Ash down and to regain her aura. So, she decided to climb on the highest tree she could soundlessly. When they reached the highest stable branch on the tree, Ash was shivering in fear. Aurora wanted to comfort him, but she needed to make sure they were safe. A few minutes later, Aurora looked down and saw the group she loathed.

There were exactly five people, all of them in purple cloaks. She couldn't see who they were as they had covered their faces, but she could tell there were three males and two females. One of the males raised his hands and it glowed white. Aurora made sure to hide hers and Ash's aura from the suspicious people. She felt weak doing this, but she knew it had to be done.

Aurora knew she needed some sort of diversion to drive them away. Closing her eyes and concentrating, she used one of her best attributes: wind. A howling wind blew from south of where they were. When Ash noticed this, he was about to say something. Aurora panicked. Aurora covered Ash's mouth to make sure they couldn't pick up on where they really were. Thankfully, they thought Aurora had continued southward.

"Aurora Alexandra Ketchum! You cannot hide from us forever!" The eldest male barked. He pointed south, "This way!"

"Dad? How about we rest? I think we all are starting to feel tired from this chase." One of the females said, speaking for all of them. Aurora recognized the voice to be Christa's. Aurora scrunched her eyebrows when she heard 'Dad'. She could see a hint of a graying beard from the eldest male, but it was hard to tell from the trees. Everyone but the oldest man looked incredibly fatigued. Aurora was surprised to see the leader not be as fatigued as earlier and wondered what he did in the past few hours.

"You guys are a bunch of lazy fools. Aurora has to be getting tired. We're so close to catching them." He countered.

"She's not going to know that we're tired though. She must be quaking in her boots, limited in what she can do with her son here, but terrified of what we will do them." The tallest male, whom Aurora recognized as Dan, said. Aurora had to hide a snort and the urge to prove them wrong. She held onto Ash tighter and narrowed her eyes. Ash looked up at her, concerned.

"I remember having our butts handed to us by her and the young tyke. Who knew he knew how to fight?" Christa sighed. "And who knew Aurora could change her eyes and be downright evil? I had shivers when her eyes turned red. If it wasn't for Dad, we probably would have died."

"Ketchum traits. They are born combat efficient. You shouldn't have expected anything less when their lives are on the line. The mother and son combo has been proving deadly to our plans. I don't know what she taught him, but it's amazing they've kept us at bay for this long. It makes wiping the young boy's memories of everything he's learned that much important. I don't need a combat ready prodigy to come after me. I don't want to lose them while we have the pressure and the numbers." The leader explained.

"If we all are weakened, she will take us all out. I understand you hate Ashton and Aurora, but you need to think about it from more than one angle. If we're well rested, we can try again tomorrow. We know how she moves and that will help us in the long run." Aurora recognized the voice to be Delia's. Aurora narrowed her eyes. She was still shaken by her encounter with her sister. Ash seemed a bit confused that he would hear his aunt and thought his mind was playing a joke on him. The leader seemed deep in thought, contemplating on her words. Then, he nodded.

"I suppose you make a good point." He said in a softer voice. The other three looked shocked at how easily he conceded to her. "I need everyone at their best tomorrow. They've proven deadly so far together, so perhaps we should adopt the same strategy. Still, let's head south since I felt her aura's presence in that direction. The closer the better."

The other four saluted him, "Yes, sir!"

The old man gestured the other four to follow him south. Aurora's eyes followed them anxiously as they left the area. After about ten minutes, she started to relax a bit. Her eyes glowing yellow, she tried to take out more of the electricity Christa struck in Ash. She took a bit of a risk, but her aura wasn't too noticeable for anyone to detect. Ash began to feel much better and his body relaxed. Aurora smiled and slumped her body more into the branch. Ash was afraid she was going to fall. Aurora waved him off and told him she was going to be alright… at least aura wise. Her body was sore, but she could manage through it. It was getting late, so she figured this would be a good place to rest. She knew those people had to rest soon, too.

"Ruru…? W-w-who are those mean people?" Ash started to cry in fear. Aurora put a finger against his mouth and looked at him with a deadly gaze. The younger boy knew what that meant and shut his mouth. He stared to wipe away his tears and regain his composure.

"Be a bit quieter, young one. I know you're scared. I'm scared, too, but a Ketchum doesn't show weakness. You will stay strong." Aurora started to help him wipe away the water glistening from his face. He had a look of acceptance and took her words to heart. She hated to be harsh with him, but she needed him to stay calm. "Those people are very bad, Ashton. They are called the Zurui."

"The Zurui…? What do they want with us?" Ash asked.

"It seems we have a power that they want. I don't know what they are looking for exactly… but try not to worry about it." She answered.

"And why were your hands red? Did Aruru really do the thing?" Ash questioned her. Aurora breathed slightly. She didn't want to lie to him, so she decided to tell it like it is.

"Aru did do the thing…" Aurora replied with a frown.

"Oh." Ash looked down and away from his mother. He hated when Aru did 'the thing'. He didn't like seeing people get hurt. He understood why she made him fall asleep earlier. Aurora lifted his face so he looked at her directly. Aurora's eyes were soft.

"She did it because she loves you a lot, but she didn't hurt anyone too badly. All of those creepy psychics down there were from earlier, so please don't worry." Aurora felt the urge to defend Aru. She didn't exactly agree with the methods of her trying to get what she wanted, but she could respect them because her reasons were noble at heart. She could feel Aru's surprise when she defended her. Ash made an accepting smile. Aurora pleaded, "Please sleep. We're gonna need the rest."

"But…"

"No buts. I'll lie down so you can use me as a mattress." Aurora did exactly what she said she would do and adjusted her positioning so she could feel more comfortable. She did feel mildly uncomfortable, but she would try her hardest to make her kin felt as cozy as possible. Ash started to lay down against his mother. Aurora wrapped her arms around Ash like a blanket. They used each other's warmth to heat themselves up. Ash started to snuggle against Aurora contentedly. Aurora noticed him relaxing and giggled, "See? What did I tell you? I'll be the best bed you'll ever sleep on."

Ash began to chortle a bit. He was appreciative of his mother's efforts to keep him happy. Ash yawned, "Ruru…?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you. Good night…"

"Sleep tight…" Aurora continued. A small smile started to form on Ash's face as he realized how Aurora was going to continue. He couldn't resist going along with it.

"Don't let the bed Scatterbugs bite." They both finished together. Aurora poked Ash's nose and he started to giggle. Aurora looked elated to see him laughing. When Ash feel asleep in her arms, Aurora looked up at the sky and started to wonder to herself. They may have been safe at the moment, but they couldn't hide forever. The first thing she decided to do was head to civilization. Aurora decided the best thing to do was avoid direct confrontation and to keep hers aura and Ash's aura hidden. They would need to get up before the sun rose to stand a chance of evasion. Aurora yawned quietly and lulled herself to sleep.

---

The time flower closed. It was getting dark in the present world because Chari had followed the past Aurora just like her present trainer wanted. Aurora fed her Charizard a Sitrus Berry and thanked her.

Ash didn't know what to think. He could see the love Aurora had for him then through the vision. All he could do was incoherently stare into nothing and take in what he saw. Serena felt like she shouldn't be there, but stayed on Ash's behalf. She felt like an intruder in all of this. This was an intimate terrible memory both Ash and Aurora shared and yet she was being allowed to see it. It didn't feel right. Serena was glad Ash and Aurora managed to get away from their pursuers for one night.

"Was I learning aura sparks?" Ash asked. He was surprised at how nimble his younger counterpart was. His strikes were much more deliberate than anything he thought he could do. Aurora nodded.

"What you saw earlier was your first test making aura that was not based off a Pokémon emulation." Aurora told him.

Ash's thoughts began to wonder to something else he noticed from the vision. He began to frown, "So… Delia is a psychic? If she's your sister, how she can be a psychic? I thought both your parents… er… my… grandparents are guardians." Ash asked. He wasn't used to referring to Delia as her name. It felt odd. Aurora smiled sadly.

"You're right. Mom and Dad are guardians. Delilah is my adoptive sister. Mom and Dad didn't know she was a psychic at first." Aurora explained. "They got her when she was just a newborn. They thought they couldn't have any children. I ended proving doctors wrong by coming around five years later. I wasn't even supposed to be born." Aurora sighed. Ash, Serena and Pikachu all widened their eyes. The elder ebony haired guardian expected this response.

"What?!" Ash blinked his eyes.

"Mom was infertile before she had me. Dad and her settled for having an adoptive child, but Mew wanted the actual Ketchum bloodline to continue. She wanted Dad to stay happy with Mom, but couldn't stand to see the biological Ketchums end. So… Mew brought back Mom's fertility for one time and I was the product of it." Aurora explained.

"Don't you feel… used? Like you're just a piece in a game?" Ash asked her. Aurora looked down and sighed.

"Absolutely. The entire conflict… my conception… just everything. I've always been a pawn, especially to Mew." Aurora growled.

"Doesn't that get you mad, though?" Ash asked further. He noticed Aurora's hands were steaming and her eyes were seething. He was getting more and more uncomfortable talking about this and so was his mother. At this point, Aurora didn't mind saying exactly how she felt.

"When I think about it too much, yes. I try thinking about having free will, but in the end, everything that's happening now happens for a reason. No one truly has a free will; it's just an illusion conjured up by Mew and Arceus. The Great Prophecy is especially indicative of this. Some people happened to have less of a free will than others, like me. I've learned to take life for what it is and not stress too much." Aurora's hands stopped steaming.

Ash was reflective about what she said. If Aurora was a pawn, what did that make him? A bigger or a smaller pawn? He wondered if Mew just thought of Ketchums as little chess pieces on a board and Nyxcipher was her opponent. He wondered how many of those pieces were tipped over from both sides.

He hated exposing his mother like this, but he wanted to find out more. Ash was glad she was no longer being as secretive, just like the Aurora he'd seen in the vision. He could feel a fluffy warmth swelling in his heart thinking about it. She trusted him completely despite him not remember everything. He could feel how trusting Aurora is and wondered if his trusting nature came from her. Ash also thought a little bit about his dad. Where does his chess piece fit in this… if it fits at all?

Ash also thought about how he always used to refer to Aru hurting or killing people as 'the thing'. He wondered if his younger self had subconsciously accepted that humans were made to hurt. If so, then Ash decided to try to follow his younger self in that regard. Still, he did feel mildly uncomfortable watching Aru's interaction with the Dastardly Dashing Dancers and Delia. Aurora seemed uncomfortable herself. After his trials with Mew, he could understand Aru's reasons back then: him.

Ash shook away all of his thoughts and decided to delve a little bit more into Aurora's trust.

"H-how was Mo… Delia when she was growing up?" Ash looked down and asked with a small voice. Aurora widened her eyes and looked up at the nightly sky. She could see the stars twinkling brightly and it brought a smile to her face. She sat down on the ground. Her legs were wide apart and her hands were right behind her, keeping her balance. Ash and Serena sat on either side of the woman. Aurora looked at the couple.

"Oh boy… where can I start? Delilah… she was an awesome big sister growing up. When we were smaller, she always used to show me neat tricks with her psychic powers. It was amazing what she could do at a young age. She could levitate when she was seven and fly fluidly by the time she was ten. She was a psychic star through and through. Every day before I started my Pokémon journey, I strived to be like her. When I was thirteen and she was eighteen, things started to change." Aurora looked down sadly.

"As the years went on, our parents started to separate us. Mom and Dad seemed to show more distaste toward Delilah due to being a psychic. I noticed they got harsher with her… sometimes even unreasonable. I strived to be a master guardian while Delia strived to be a master psychic. Mom and Dad showed me some of the incredible things aura guardians could do. Deliah developed her powers independently. I got to see her less the more she developed her psychic abilities. I felt like we were separating more and more and it broke my heart. Every time I tried to reach out to her, she would coldly toss me to the side. Literally." Aurora's eyes glistened with the bright stars.

"Why? What happened between you two?" Ash asked.

"That's something I'm still trying to figure out. I'm not sure what happened to her. I've always wanted to talk to her, but she would always drive me away. It seems whatever hatred of me she had stemmed from when we were young and grew over time. I think she hates me because she sees me like our parents. I'm much more tolerant of psychics than Mom and Dad and I think Mom and Dad showing me more attention put her over the edge. I'm not sure, though. I still tolerate her, but Aru hates her guts." Aurora clenched the grass near her hands.

"That hatred transcends any compassion I may have had for her when I was younger." Aurora said in Aru's voice, but her eyes stayed yellow. Aurora had the same red gleam in her eyes as when Aru did the subtle influence trick on her, but this time, Aurora did not stop her.

Ash and Serena could smell smoke and then realized Aurora's hands were on fire again. She burned the grassy spot where her hands were. Ash had to tap her shoulder for her to realize what she was doing. Immediately, her hands went back to normal, but the grass around them was burnt. She sat up completely and looked at her hands. She sighed and shook her head. Aurora once again stood up and held the time flower.

"It is getting pretty late. Do you want to see the rest now or tomorrow morning? My partners have a lot of endurance." Aurora noted the darkness around them.

"I want to find out now." Ash said strongly. He wasn't any surer of anything in his life.

"Very well. I'll accelerate the time to the next day. It may be dark presently, but you will see the past as if it's a new day." Aurora told them. She shook her head. As it started to open up, Aurora said, "I really hope you'll be OK, Ash."

Aurora noticed how lifeless he was being. It was clear he believed it, yet he didn't believe it. He was acting just like she was acting when she first remembered this, but he wasn't as angry as she was. She wanted to do more, but knew this was something Ash had to accept. Aurora would give all that she had for him, but she couldn't give him that acceptance. It was almost as if she had never separated from him.

Taking a few minutes to calm herself, Aurora said, "OK. This should be the last of the vision. I had tried my hardest to prevent what's to come, but… sometimes your best just isn't enough."

Ash couldn't help but struggle to take in all of what he'd seen. There was still a side of him that was telling him that all of this was a lie. That side also told him that all of this was a dream and that he would wake up from this. However, his gut was telling him that this was the complete truth. It was chastising him for not accepting it immediately.

His brain and his heart battled each other to win Ash's decision. He knew what he would need to believe in one side after this vision. The time flower continued to open up more and more until the ball of light appeared for the third time. The light expanded more and more to engulf the entire area. Aurora and Ash were still up in the tree with Aurora starting to stir. Based on the sky, there were barely any sun out and the past Aurora noticed this.

---

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was very fun to write, especially about the young Ash's training and Aurora's backstory about Delia. Just four more chapters is left in the book after this one. Hang in there! I'll see you all in two weeks with the conclusion of the separation and the aftermath.

Next Chapter: Separation and Explanation!

~SPG123~