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.

40. Separation and Explaination

A/N: Hello my lovely readers. Welcome to the latest chapter of this book! You've started to smell some of the pie... time to eat the rest of it. The final part of the separation and reactions afterward are here. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Important, but unfortunate note: I'm having trouble charging my computer to be able to work on this consistently. If need be, I'll have to begin going to the library, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish the next chapter in two weeks. It's frustrating because this halted all momentum I had toward the last three chapters. I'll try the best I can to get it done (or mostly done.) I'll let everyone know by February 2nd. I'm sorry I wasn't able to upload this yesterday, but I managed to get my computer back for a limited time.

For now, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

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In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future. -Alex Haley

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Chapter 40: Separation and Explanation

It was barely morning in the forest when Aurora woke up. She saw the sun rising in the horizon and thought this would be an excellent time to try to break away from the forest. Aurora looked down at her child sleeping. She was sad that she needed to wake him up, but she knew they needed to move. Aurora lightly nudged the sleeping boy. Ash seemed a bit reluctant to wake up. He snuggled his head against her chest a bit more. He seemed so comfortable at how soft it was.

Aurora chuckled and shook her head. She nudged him and whispered in his ear, "Ashton, we have to go."

"Hggh…" Ash groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He woke up to seeing Aurora's bright yellow eyes studying him. He sat up and stretched himself out. Normally, he would make more of a struggle when getting up, but he knew that Aurora and himself were still endangered, so he decided not to make too much of a fuss. Ash noticed that he was sitting on top of her and thought Aurora was uncomfortable, but she didn't mind it. He said happily, "Good morning, Ruru!"

"Haha." Aurora had to chuckle at his enthusiasm. She always saw him as a light that helps her get through the day and that hadn't change despite the traumatic experience yesterday. Aurora was thankful for that. She said, "Good morning, dear. Had a good rest?"

"Yes. Thank you for letting me use you like a mattress. Will you be alright, though? Sleeping on a tree branch is awful." Ash said, somewhat concerned.

"I may need to stretch myself out, but I'll manage." Aurora suddenly grabbed Ash in a carriage like position, stood up on the branch, and jumped down. She landed perfectly on her feet, but bounced slightly from the recoil of falling. Ash giggled slightly. He loved falling from soaring heights with his mother. It was always fun to feel the wind in his face.

Aurora put her son down and stretched herself out. Her back was feeling a bit sore from sleeping on a branch and having Ash sleep on top of her made her feel a bit constricted. She had to adjust to the freedom of moving again. While Aurora was stretching, Ash looked at his surroundings more closely.

The young boy looked up at the trees. It was hard for him to believe that he was in any real danger. His mother was the strongest person he knew and he never saw her lose before. Even still, he recognized that even the strongest people can get taken down by too many people. He wanted to help in the best way he could and get even stronger than his mother. He didn't want to become dead weight like yesterday. Ash knew that he was only seven and the things he could do was limited. Still, he wanted to try his hardest for his mother's sake.

Ash believed they would get out of the forest alive and well and would see to that happening.

Once Aurora was finished stretching herself, she was instantly better. She used her aura slightly to ease her soreness, but knew that she would become a beacon to the rest of the psychics soon enough. She gestured her son to climb on their back so they could try to get out of the forest. Ash obliged. Once out, Aurora would let her parents know of Delia's defection and everything she learned from Xander. With the sun finally beginning to peer into the sky, Aurora started to move as quickly as she could to take out the four remaining psychics holding up the barrier.

Aurora felt like for the first time since they were trapped in the forest, they had an advantage. She knew that their best chance of escape came from ambushing each remaining psychic as they were snoozing. She didn't like that Ash would have to see her more dangerous side, but she felt it necessary for both their safeties.

Aurora immediately sensed one of the remaining barrier psychics near, sleeping at the edge of the barrier. In her sleep, her cloak was taken off and she was in a tree. The woman had long twin red braids and pale skin. Aurora sighed to herself. Then, her eyes turned completely red. She encased herself, Ash and the lady in a soundproof bubble. Then, with a flick of her hand, she slapped the sleeping woman's neck and cracked it.

Ash covered his mouth in horror. The woman wasn't moving anymore.

Aurora's eyes once again turned yellow when the deed was done. Aurora looked back at her son in sadness. Aurora decided to continue moving along the forest to find the nearest target. She felt the urge to hold on to Ash a bit more tightly to help comfort him from what he saw. It was her closest was to hugging the boy while moving efficiently.

"Eventually, I'll need to teach you this and more, young one. All those fighting techniques can be lethal if you strike a person at the right area. I'm showing this in case you need to do the same one day. The world and a legendary friend will teach you how cold life can be." Aurora explained without looking at Ash's eyes. She continued to move from tree to tree.

"Ruru…" Ash didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this, young one. Know that I'm doing this to protect you. We both are." Aurora said her last sentence simultaneously with Aru.

"Mom, it's not right to kill these people. They have families, too." Ash argued. Aurora sighed.

"I agree with you. However, you're too important to me. I know this is selfish of me, but I wouldn't know what to do without you, little one. I decrease the chances of losing you with losses like this one. I'm sorry, Ashton, but these people will kill us before we kill them." Aurora told him.

".." Ash decided not to say anything else and held on to her neck tighter in response to show her his distress. Aurora got the message loud and clear and decided not to show him something like that again… at least until he was older.

Aurora and Ash moved for the next couple of hours, finding psychics before they awoken. For each of the remaining sleeping psychics, Aurora requested that Ash closed his eyes so he didn't have to see her kill again. Ash, though against his mother's actions, decided to watch every subsequent killing. He would support his mother's choices to protect him and he trusted her completely. By the time she killed the last psychic as Aru, Aurora noticed that Ash's eyes were getting colder. He no longer was showing any emotion. He was simply observing his mother's technique.

Aurora was amazed at how quickly he became numb. Mew wasn't kidding when she had told her that Ketchums have an innate will to survive and will learn faster if put through a tough spot. It scarred her because she knew that Ash would have an affinity for killing himself one day. She dreaded when that day happened.

"Well, that's the last of them. Even though only the leader is keeping up the barrier, we should be able to leave the forest now. I should be able to break through it. I'm so sorry you had to see all that." Aurora sighed in sadness.

"It's alright, Ruru. I know you wouldn't be doing this if you didn't think you had to. Maybe I can help next time." Ash responded.

Aurora was unnerved at how quickly he adapted to the situation. It was clear that he was still against killing, but he was more willing to now. She never imagined that this would the way she would introduce this subject to him. She couldn't help but feel proud at how he was taking it. Most kids would be crying by now. Aurora also couldn't help but feel worried. This child was the most powerful guardian of this generation. Aurora was afraid that he would get corrupted.

"Ashton, I don't want there to be a next time. Killing should be done as a last resort. Promise me that you will only kill if the situation demands it." Aurora requested.

"I promise." Ash brought his hand out to pinky-swear with his mom. Aurora chuckled and interlocked her pinky with his pinky the best she could considering he was still on her back.

"Good." Aurora began to move toward exiting the forest. She said after a few minutes of walking, "Young one, you noticed how I would change into Aru before committing the act?"

"Yeah…" Ash said.

"Depending on your personality, your counterbalance will take charge of something morally against your character unless your character shifts. I am morally against killing. To compensate, Aru will come out and do it for me, much to my dismay. Your counterbalance, Ash, may do the same for you some day, but time will tell." Aurora explained.

Ash's eyes suddenly turned red. The counterbalance murmured, "Ruru…?"

"Yes, Ash?" Aurora asked.

"Can you show me more once we leave? I want… to learn." Ashton said with a low voice. Aurora made a sad smile.

"You're a bit too young for this type of stuff right now, but I commend your thirst for knowledge. I'll humor you by the time you're a teen… maybe around sixteenish?" Aurora said. Ashton nodded and relinquished control to his balance. Ash seemed a bit distant when he came out. Ash held on to her neck a bit tighter than before. Aurora could see that he was thinking heavily and decided not to say anything else about the subject.

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After a bit of walking, Aurora reached the end of the forest. However, Aurora and Ash were once again blocked off by the barrier. Growling and surrounding herself in aura, Aurora decided the best option was to punch through with all her might. She figured the barrier must be weak because she took down nine of ten psychics. Ash hung on as tightly as he could as his mother began to punch the invisible barrier.

Aurora growled and her eyes turned yellow. She tried twice as hard to punch through. Aurora could feel the barrier weakening, but she also felt weak herself. Aurora calmed down enough to begin analyzing the situation. She closed her eyes in thought.

"Hmm… I don't get it. Why…?" Aurora gulped and immediately knew the answer. She said to herself, "I thought if I can knock out or kill enough psychics, we could leave. It seems the boss psychic is too strong on his lonesome for the barrier to be taken down."

"Ruru?" Ash looked at his mother, concerned. Aurora looked at Ash grimly.

"We're gonna have to fight again, but this time, the psychic we're fighting is much dangerous than the three you helped me with yesterday." Aurora told him.

"I'm up for the challenge! You can beat anyone!" Ash said in his usual enthusiasm. Aurora didn't seem too sure about her son's statement.

"You're right. I haven't lost in over 200 battles and I've never lost in a serious guardian fight to the finish, but I get this sense that… I'm outmatched… based at the strength of this barrier." Aurora explained in a sullen tone.

"Ruru! Don't say that!" Ash got off her back to look at his mother in the eyes. Aurora could see the conviction in his eyes. "I believe in you. We managed to fight at a disadvantage all this time. You inspired me to stay positive even when the mean people had us. I know you can beat the boss dude or chick. You're the strongest person I know."

"Oh, you naïve child. I appreciate the talk, but…." Aurora started, but Ash interrupted her.

"Ruru, you're not one to give so easily." Ash said.

"I haven't given up. I'm just thinking of a safer option than to find the Zurui boss. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Ruru…"

"Ashton, this is dangerous. Those people want to kill me. They want to take you. I can't let that happen. I can't lose you, too." Aurora said with tears in her eyes. She then said with fire burning in her eyes, "I will fight for you until my final breath, but I would rather avoid that situation, if possible."

"Seems like you might need to face that situation sooner than you expected." Aurora and Ash were suddenly hoisted into the air by an invisible force. Aurora looked terrified and shocked. She recognized the voice from somewhere, but didn't know who it was. All she knew was that Ash and she were in danger if they stayed like this.

"You won't take us…" Aurora said as her body became surrounded in dark aura. She started to move on her own accord and immediately grabbed Ash from his confinement as well. She held him like a baby. She growled, "… not easily at least." `

Aurora immediately began to run away as fast as she could with Ash in her arms. She needed more time to think up of a plan. Ash noticed the scared look in her eyes. He didn't know his mother to run away from anything. He instantly became more nervous.

"No matter where you run…" A mysterious man echoed in the forest. He began to teleport to where Aurora would run to. Aurora gasped and run in the opposite direction.

No matter where you hide…" The man continued as he teleported right in front of her again. The man was wearing a hood to cover his face, but he was significantly shorter than all the other psychics the Ketchums had encountered. Aurora noticed the white beard poking through the hood. Aurora sweatdropped in distress and backed up. She was steeling herself for a fight and dreading it.

"I will find you…" The man started to match her steps until Aurora cornered herself against a tree.

"And I will kill you." He floated to whisper in her ear. Aurora whimpered at his hot breath at first, then sharpened her gaze. Holding Ash in one hand, she slapped the teleporting old man. Ash gasped in surprise. The man recoiled from the force of the blow. Then he chuckled, "I admire your spunk, girl. I see you aren't easy to break down."

"…" Aurora merely growled at the man and stared him down.

"If I was any other person, I might actually be terrified of those beautiful eyes of yours. Instead, I'm highly amused. I see the apple didn't fall too far from the tree in terms of yellow striking eyes..." The man continued.

"What do you know about my father?!" Aurora hissed.

"Don't you know? Your father has been a thorn on my side for decades. He is my mortal enemy." The man said.

"Mortal… enemy? Oh no…" Aurora suddenly looked horrified. Ash was confused, He noticed the old man smiling from under his hood. "You're… Charles Malladus, leader of the Zurui itself?"

"Not only that, my dear. Recognize me?" Charles took off his hood and showed his face to her. Aurora and Ash gasped in shock. He had amicable blue eyes and his cap was put on backward. The man had a long white beard. He smirked at them both.

"Mr. Goodshow?!" Aurora and Ash exclaimed.

"It feels nice not needing to disguise my real face from you two. I can finally be myself without worrying about my image." Charles laughed.

"You are the facilitator of the Pokémon League. Why? Why are you after us? I left Hokori to stay away from your team! Your team took my husband from me! I've constantly tried to keep my distance because I don't want to fight!" Aurora yelled. Charles seemed indifferent at first. Then, his eyes turned cold.

"Your father started a fight with me. I'm going to finish it by going after his precious little angel. After all, he took away mine." Charles said in a low tone.

"There is no way Dad killed your biological child. He would never do something like that. He isn't spiteful like you!" Aurora hissed. Charles chuckled and looked at Aurora as if she was naïve. He narrowed his eyes.

"It seems like you don't know your father as much as you thought you did. Gordon has caused me much suffering in the family department… by taking away my wife and my biological son. Not like anything that's being said matters. You're about to die anyway." Charles created a sword of pure white energy and looked into Aurora's eyes. Aurora refused to show him any emotion.

"Leave Ruru alone! I won't let you trick her with your lies. Pop Pop isn't cruel!" Ash growled at the man.

"I must say that I'm impressed with you, young tyke. You're showing a will of steel in this situation, but I can tell you don't quite understand what's happening. Let me give you a glimpse of your mother's fate." Charles smirked and took the boy away from Aurora using his power. Ash dangled helplessly in the air.

"Ashton!" Aurora tried to go after him, but Charles trapped her in his psychic grip. She said with seething eyes, "Let him go!"

The Zurui boss ignored her. Charles explained with the sword right under Ash's chin, "Your mother is about to die. I am going to make sure that you will aid me someday, boy. Taking away your memories of your real family should be enough to convince you to be at my side when you're older. With your mother gone, your grandfather will assume you died with her and not find you, especially if we distort your aura."

Ash merely glared at the man with the same eyes as Aurora. He would not show any weakness. The boy could hear his grandfather screaming to him not to show weakness. Charles found himself even more motivated to enact his plan now. He could see the boy being a major thorn in his side if nothing was done, just like his grandfather.

Aurora started to shake despite being trapped in Charles's grip. She said with a growl, "I said… LET HIM GO!"

Aurora closed both fists. Charles wailed in pain as he was engulfed in negative energy. It forced him to let go of Ash and Aurora. Ash immediately scurried to be right behind Aurora. He held on to her slightly. When Aurora landed on the ground, her yellow eyes looked downright demonic. Charles grew a bit nervous, but stood his ground.

"I don't want to fight… but if your vindictiveness led you to orchestrate all this, then I'll need to put an end to it. En garde!" Aurora suddenly created a sword of pure aura and pointed it to the elderly man. Charles scoffed and responded in kind. The two adversaries pointed their swords at each other.

Ash tried to stay as close as he could to his mother, but not too close to where she would need to worry about hitting him. He was weary of other people appearing because he sensed something off. He didn't know what he sensed and he saw that his mother didn't notice this either.

Aurora was fierce with her swings and focused on pressuring her opponent. Charles remained passive, merely parring every slice. However, he couldn't help but be impressed. He didn't expect Gordon's daughter to be this fluid with her moments. He knew that she would be very good, as it is the nature of Ketchums to be proficient in anything combat related. Their patron made them to be the best survivors of all humans, after. Charles hated knowing that because on his end, the Malladus was made to be the best adaptors of the human race. He felt the need to outcompete them to show who is better.

Ash paid attention to Aurora's and Charles's movements. He was wondering why the old man wasn't trying harder, especially when Aurora mentioned how she felt outmatched. He expected Aurora to be struggling more. Ash wasn't sure how he was picking up on all this, but he was certain something was wrong. He knew Mr. Goodshow was holding back when Aurora was trying her hardest.

Ash called out, "Ruru! Be careful! Mr. Goodshow is being weird!"

"What... are you talking about, Ashton?" Aurora said as she swung at the old man. The sword missed his beard by a hair. Charles widened his eyes. He certainly didn't think that Aurora herself would attempt to kill him.

"He's acting really weird. He isn't trying to actually hit you, but I don't know why!" Ash tried to explain.

"He isn't… trying to hit me?" Aurora said in confusion at first, but then it hit her.

"Perceptive boy…" Charles growled under his breath.

She immediately focused her attention on Ash instead of Charles. She kicked Charles in the face to daze him to try to grab Ash and attempt to run away again. By the time she got to Ash, she was too late. Four other people had Ash and her surrounded. Aurora got Ash on her back again and looked guarded. Every person was in a hood, but she could tell she fought these people yesterday with Ash.

"The Malladus siblings and one insignificant fool. Should have known you wouldn't leave yourself exposed to me alone, Goodshow." Aurora growled. The lone lady was about the strike her, but Aurora blocked her and pushed her back with a couple of fingers. The woman gasped in pain. Ash looked at the sight in horror.

"Please, call me Charles. Goodshow is my stage name. It'll be ingrained into your memory until the day you die." Charles said in a deadly tone.

"Goodshow sounds perfect to me." Aurora said as tauntingly as possible. Charles scoffed at the minor form of rebellion and took it as a challenge. She said with a harsh voice, "Even if you do manage to kill me, I'll never give you the satisfaction."

"Spoken like a true stubborn brat." Charles said.

"I can be whatever I choose, Goodshow. Go ahead and try to silence me." Aurora continued tauntingly. Ash looked at his mother, worried. The other four seemed to be surprised by her response.

"Bold, too. Your father isn't this audacious." Charles commented.

"I'm not my father." Aurora replied. Her eyes started to glow yellow as she surrounded Ash in a yellow aura and put him in the highest possible tree. Ash gasped at the sudden aura grip, but understood why. He wished his mother the best of luck. Aurora had to force herself not to show any signs that she was afraid. She had to, for her son's sake. Aurora continued, "I have an offer to make for you."

"You are in no position to make deals, Aurora Ketchum." Charles pointed out.

"I may not be in a position to make a deal, but I know that you are similar to me if you are a Malladus. After all, Mew made us with the intention on being the most powerful aura guardian and psychic family respectively. You love challenges." Aurora surmised.

"I do love challenges. What's your point?" Charles asked.

"My point is you're also just as prideful as me. You want to kick my head to the dirt, but is swallowing your hubris so you can have the best chances of winning. That's why you contained my son and I. You aren't completely confident your plan will work. What's a leader without confidence?" Aurora continued.

"Sir, she's baiting you! Don't listen to her!" The lady immediately said. Ash tilted his head to the side. He could have sworn he heard that voice somewhere before, but he couldn't figure out who it was.

"I'm fully aware of this, Delia. However, I still want to see what she's up to. What do you want?" Charles asked Aurora. Ash blinked his eyes in confusion. He knew he had an aunt named Delia, but didn't think one of the hooded people was his aunt. It sounded too preposterous.

"I want us to fight. One on one with no help from your team. I want to settle once and for all that Ketchums are better… and I want to prove to myself how strong I've become. If I win, you let us leave and you never come after us again. I'll try my hardest to find out if what you said about Dad is true and if it is, I'll try my hardest to help you with all the emotions you've been experiencing. I believe in forgiveness." Aurora said.

"…" Charles thought about what she said. His team was surprised that he was actually considering her words.

"Sir, you can't be actually considering this wrench's deal?" Delia asked.

"Quiet." Charles said in a cold voice. Delia immediately stiffened up. He seemed to be weighing her words heavily. Then he said, "What do I get if I win?"

"… You get to kill me however you see fit… and if I die, I can't do anything about Ashton being with you. You'd have essentially no one to oppose you in whatever you're trying to accomplish, but I can't guarantee that my father won't be revenge driven by that point. If he is as cold as you say, I can assure you that he will try to kill you next." Aurora explained.

"Hmm… I know I have no reason to listen to you, Ketchum…" Charles took a moment to pause and gather his thoughts, "However, something about you makes you so compelling to me. I know you would keep true to your word."

Aurora was banking on him to accept. If she could beat down the leader, she knew she could take out the other four with Aru's help. Aurora knew was stretching herself thin with this and knew there was a good chance Charles would go back on his word, but she figured this was her's and Ash's best bet. She knew she would have to dig deep to win, but she knew would find a way. After all, the young mother was doing this for Ash's sake.

"Alright, Ketchum. I'll accept your terms." Charles said while having his hand out. Aurora maintained a neutral expression as she returned the gesture.

"Father, what are you doing?" Xander asked.

"I'm giving in to my primal urges for once. I want to annihilate Gordon's daughter to show that the Malladus family means business. Besides, I shouldn't have too much trouble in this fight. Do not intervene." Charles told them. Although reluctant, the rest of the psychics complied.

Aurora suggested, "This space is much too small for a proper fight to happen. Shall we head to a more suitable clearing for a duel?"

"That's a fair assessment. Lead the way." Charles said.

Aurora's eyes began to glow amber as she got Ash out of the tree with her aura grip and placed him on her back. The child immediately held on to her tightly, showing how nervous he was for her. She wanted to say some reassuring words, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. Aurora wasn't sure if her plan would work, but she could at least buy some time.

Charles and his crew kept close watch on both of them as they all began walking. Thy wanted to make sure they weren't going to try any funny business. Aurora made sure to stay ahead of them, but constantly sense their aura for any deception. The walk was tense, despite nothing being said. Still, the only person who was relaxed in the situation was Charles. He strolled along the forest, casually whistling to himself. The sound unnerved Aurora. Just how confident was the old man?

Eventually, everyone made it to a clearing in the forest wide enough to where Aurora and Charles could fight.

Aurora and Charles stood on opposite sides and glared at one another. Aurora gently gestured Ash to get off her back and to stand behind her. She then gave the child the largest hug she could muster. Ash, though surprised at the contact, happily returned it. He could feel his mother shaking slightly as she was hugging him and wanted to make her feel as good as she could. Aurora was hugging him, both to comfort him and to comfort herself. When she broke of the embrace, seeing Ash stare into her confidently was enough for her to try her hardest.

Charles and his team simply stood there and watched. Aurora was surprised that he didn't try to hit her while her back was turned and realized he was serious about this being a fair duel. The rest of the Zurui stood behind Charles.

Aurora stood at position and faced Charles Malladus. The two stared at each other, making sure the other side was ready to begin. Then, they both created their respective family sword out of their own respective energy. The two slowly approached each other with weapons primed for murder. Then, without warning, they both attempted to strike the other first. Everyone could feel a collision of power coming from the strike.

Charles and Aurora fought each other ferociously, not giving each other an inch. Charles had much better form with his sword and he swung assuredly, despite Aurora being significantly taller. He swung with a confidence Aurora didn't expect and it was throwing her for a loop.

Charles suddenly grew much more aggressive than before, but still as methodical. Aurora began to get pushed back by the older man bit by bit. Aurora sweatdropped. She never imagined a psychic to have so much force. It almost felt like she was fighting another guardian. Soon, Charles began to bypass her offense outright. Aurora was getting scared. She had no idea what to do about the master psychic.

Charles smirked as he slashed the young guardian on her arm. Aurora winced in pain, held her arm and glared at the man.

Ash covered his mouth with his hands and said, "Ruru!"

Aurora started to ignore her pain and continued to attack Charles. Charles still smirked at her confidently, but instead of swinging his sword to retaliate, he started to disrupt her movements with his psychic power. Every time she attempted to slash him, Charles's eyes glowed white slightly and forced her to miss. Aurora grew frustrated and disoriented the more she tried to mount an offense. Eventually, she got tired of the Zurui boss toying with her.

When Aurora went in for another swing, Charles's eyes once again glowed white to disorient her movements. In anticipation of that, Aurora's eyes glowed yellow for a millisecond. Suddenly, Charles's legs were engulfed in flames. Charles groaned in agony at the sudden burst of aura from the woman. Aurora took advantage of his surprise and thrust her sword forward. Charles hissed at being stabbed at his shoulder. The rest of the Zurui looked at Aurora surprised. So did Ash.

Charles started to growl at Aurora, took out the sword, and prompted healed the wound. Aurora lost some of the color in her face upon seeing the regenerative quality of a Malladus at work. She knew that Mew had given psychics enhanced healing and pain resistance to offset the fact that they weren't strong as aura guardians. To see it at work was horrible to say the least. Charles was no longer smirking at her. Aurora gulped. Charles was now looking at her with hatred.

Charles made his sword disappear and raised his arm up. Aurora gasped as she was flung into the sky in an X shape. Aurora tried her hardest to move, but she couldn't. Then, she tried to surround herself in dark aura, but Charles snuffed out her attempt to escape by shocking her. Aurora screamed in agony. Ash watched in horror as his mother was shocked in front of him. For the first time, he was scared for her. Aurora could see him about to cry and sharpened her gaze. She would make sure that he would be alright. She could feel Aru agreeing with her.

Clenching her teeth and glaring down the man shocking her, Aurora's left eye turned red. Charles and the rest of his team gasped in surprise.

Aurora yelled loudly as she surrounded herself in a yellow aura as her body began to shake. Charles stepped back in shock, but intensified his grip. Aurora's eyes glowed completely red in response. A torrent of flames engulfed the Zurui boss in searing blaze. Charles screamed in intense pain and released her from his grip. Aurora snarled at the old man and immediately lunged at Charles. Charles was caught off guard by her speed and struggled to defend against her.

Aurora threw several punches at Charles. Charles grunted as he got hit with each one and struggled to keep his footing. Xander and the rest of his team started to get a bit concerned for their boss. Aurora was relentless with her attack, making sure they hurt as much as possible so she could win. She no longer cared about being chivalrous with Charles, but that came mostly from Aru. Aurora finished her assault by punching Charles in the face and knocking him against a tree.

Charles hissed in pain as he slid down the tree's bark and landed with a thud. He trembled slightly as he struggled to get up. Then, his body began to glow white as it restored itself. Charles suddenly sharply gazed at Aurora as he showed no sign of fatigue. Aurora sweatdropped at seeing his healing at work, but refused to give in. She knew she needed to figure out a way to bypass his healing before she grew too tired.

Aurora growled at the old man and created two spears made of pure aura. They both looked primed to impale the Zurui boss. Ash was getting concerned. He never saw his mother create two spears before and he never saw both her and Aru out at once. He wasn't sure if she was going to do the thing to Mr. Goodshow. Heck, he wasn't even sure if Mr. Goodshow was taking this seriously. The child noticed that he was still allowing himself to get hit, but he didn't understand why.

Aurora roared as she once again lunged at the old man. Charles prepared himself for her onslaught and created his sword again. The old man found himself surprised at the young guardian's speed and power. To be honest, he underestimated the buff Aurora would experience under the aura allegiance and was paying for it. Aurora started to overwhelm him, but Charles remained passive. He took many cuts and bruises from Aurora's twin spears and constantly healed all of them.

Eventually, Aurora began to bypass Charles's defenses with her aggression. Charles wasn't healing as quickly as before and he started to visibly pant. Aurora was beginning to pant as well due to attacking constantly. It didn't help that the aura allegiance drained her stamina faster.

Aurora was beginning to get frustrated that nothing seemed to bypass Charles's defenses. At this point, she knew Charles was trying to wear her down, but she didn't have too many options. She needed him to break down further. With her eyes glowing yellow, Aurora surrounded the two combatants were surrounded in a fiery circle. Aurora pushed Charles toward the fire, but Charles teleported away before he could get hit by the fames.

Charles narrowed his eyes. From his fingertips, he created a powerful surge of lightning. The old man was determined to end this fight. Ash's heart began to pound. Even he could feel the power behind the energy. With a growl, Charles teleported right behind Aurora and struck her with his electricity infused fingers. Aurora screamed in excruciating pain and collapsed on the ground. Aru couldn't take the strain of Charles's electricity and Aurora's left eye became yellow again.

Charles waited about thirty seconds for Aurora to get up because that was the time allotted in a duel for a fallen person to stand. Aurora tried her hardest to move, but she found that she was both too tired to get up and slightly paralyzed from Charles's sting. She glared at the old man, but sighed in defeat. The Zurui cheered for their boss but Ash looked heartbroken. He immediately ran toward her.

"Well, it seems that I've won this exchange. Unfortunate for you. An eye or an eye, Ketchum. My son for you. Now your father will know real pain of losing his precious child." Charles said with narrowed eyes.

"You are a petty old fool, Goodshow. This isn't the way you should be going about this. You will never heal your mind completely." Aurora said.

"You will regard to me as Charles, insolent whelp. I want to hear you say it before you perish." Charles demanded. Aurora snorted and shook her head the best she could.

"Never! You will never get the satisfaction! If you have to end me, then so be it…." Aurora said with closed eyes.

"Humph… despite everything, you have a strong will and you said that in front of your son. How unsettling to see. I have to put you down." Charles opened the palm of his hand as he shot another blast of electricity at Aurora. Aurora hissed in pain and struggled to take the hit.

"Ruru!" Ash immediately yelled in anguish. He could see that his mother was still fighting hard, but she was barely conscious.

"Hggh…" Aurora was shaking on the ground, but still wasn't knocked out. However, her breathing was slowing down.

"Ruru! Get up! Please!" Ash nudged Aurora in hopes of spurring her up. Ash didn't know any healing techniques with his aura, so he was at a loss for what to do. Aurora, while shaking, tried her hardest to smile at the boy, but her smile was empty. She wished she could say everything would alright, but she wasn't sure. She couldn't do much at this point.

"What do we do about the child? He'll clearly be an impedance if nothing is done." Daniel asked.

"We could wipe his memories of all this…" Christa offered.

"How about I raise him as my own? We can still wipe his memories of this and the rest of his family." Delia suggested. Aurora scowled at the suggestion while Ash looked at the woman in shock. At this point, he could tell that this really was his aunt, but he had to question her motives. He never wanted her near him. The rest of the team looked at her with hesitance.

"What? Delia, that doesn't sound like a good idea." Daniel said.

"What else are we going to do? We can't kill him because he's going to be important for baiting Mew to act on this. We need to prophecy to start, remember?" Delia reminded him.

"Heh. Allow Ashton to be raised by his wayward aunt without getting noticed by his grandparents? It would feel so risky… if Gordon ever cared enough to visit you. This might get interesting. You told me that you completely cut ties with your old family, right?" Charles asked with narrowed eyes. Delia nodded.

"Yes. I haven't seen them in years. Aurora occasionally visits, but I usually drive her away. With Aurora dead, there will be no more Ketchums coming to see me." Delia confirmed.

"And you have no ties with anyone Aurora is close to?" Charles continued to question.

"I don't talk with her friends anymore, either. If they ever do show up, it would be impossible to find Ashton." Delia replied. Charles nodded, when grinned.

"Hmm… harboring the boy with you seems to be a solid choice, but you'd have to be prepared to keep the burden of harboring the most powerful guardian of this generation. You need to make sure he has no ties to his guardian status until he turns sixteen. He must be raised as a regular boy to prevent suspicion from other guardians and psychics. Disable his aura if need be. Are you sure you're up to this task?" Charles asked seriously.

Delia internally felt giddy that Charles was trusting her to do something like this. This would be the perfect way to show her loyalty. Besides, she always was jealous that Aurora had a child, but she didn't. Raising Ash might just fill a void she'd been carrying about not having a real family. She saluted to her boss.

"Of course. I'll even distort his aura with my psychic energy to make it harder to track him. Trust me, no one will ever be able to find him." Delia said.

"As you raise him, make sure he gets interested in the Pokémon League. I want to keep a close watch on him, too, and I don't want him to be too weak by the time he comes of age." Chares instructed.

"Of course, sir." Delia nodded.

"I will never do the Pokémon League! You're a bad man!" Ash hissed. Charles shrugged his shoulders.

"You don't have much of a choice. You're under our whim now. Heck, you won't even remember this conversation," Charles snickered. Ash's eyes suddenly grew intense as he was surrounded in a blue aura. Charles looked at the child, somewhat intrigued.

Ash stood in front of his fallen mother with sparks crackling all over his body and tried his hardest to block her from the bad people. He made the scariest face a seven-year-old had ever made. The Malladus siblings backed up for a moment. Delia merely smirked and walked toward the distraught child. Ash immediately stuck her with his aura sparks. Delia was blown back by the child's power and was surprised. Once her surprise faded, she grew annoyed and slapped him.

Ash held his cheek to tried his hardest not to cry. He merely glared at his newfound hated aunt. Aurora looked distraught and tried to get up again, but her body was failing her. She hated she couldn't do anything to stop Delia.

"Sorry, kid, but Ruru won't ever see you again. I'll make sure of that." Delia giggled.

"Why Auntie? Why? Why are you with these awful people?" Ash questioned.

"You're too young to understand. Your mommy won't be here to protect you anymore. Don't worry. I'll care good care of you, Ashton… or should I call you Ash now? You'll love to hate your old name, that's for sure." Delia crouched down toward Aurora and held her chin. Aurora growled at her sister. Delia asked in a taunting voice, "How does it feel for me to take the most important thing to you, Aurora?"

"You know, I thought you were amazing growing up, but now I know I was wrong. You are everything our parents said. Lying. Cold. Deceitful. To see you succumb to petty jealousy is unbecoming of you, Delilah. Do your worse. I will find my son one day and when I do, you will pay for your sins." Aurora growled at her and shook herself away. Aurora tried to get up from the ground with the last of her strength, but Delia wasn't going to allow that to happen.

"Can't find your son if you're dead, now can you?" Delia relished in her words as she shot her sister with the strongest burst of electricity she could. Aurora screamed on top of her lungs as she struggled to take the electricity. Delia's eyes grew wide as she enjoyed what she was doing. Ash looked horrified.

"Ahhh!" Aurora shrieked as she could do nothing to stop what was happening to her.

"Ruru!" Ash screamed in anguish. He roughly tugged on Delia. Delia hissed and knocked him back. Ash landed on the ground, but quickly got up to try to stop Delia again. Ash said with tears in his eyes, "Auntie, stop it!"

Delia ignored him and continued to blast her sister as hard as she could. Aurora screamed until she couldn't scream any longer. Aurora looked at Ash with tears in her eyes. The image of her son became blurrier and blurrier to her. She made one last wistful smile at the boy. Aurora's vision grew blurrier and blurrier until she had no more energy left. Aurora succumbed to the shock and closed her eyes. She no longer was moving.

"Ain't nobody going to survive a blast like that." Delia snorted. She turned to Ash and said. "This is for your own good. Sleepy time, young one. The next time you wake, you'll be under my spell. You won't remember a thing about your old life. You'll think I'm your mommy. Take one last look at Ruru because you won't ever see her again."

"No! Ruru is my real mommy!" Ash yelled as loud as he could. Delia merely snorted as she forced the boy to fall asleep. Ash tried his hardest to resist. He shouted, "NOOOOOO!"

Struggle as he did, Ash was no match for Delia's influence. His vision grew blurry as he fell asleep next to his unmoving mother. Delia's eyes turned tender at first seeing what she did to Ash, but then her eyes grew hardened again. She nodded to herself and forced herself not to look back on her decision. Delia felt like she was doing what was right.

"We're done here. With Ashton under Delia's wing, he will grow weak and ignorant of his heritage. He will never become a threat to us like his grandfather or mother. Once he comes of age, he will trust us enough to follow us, especially if he thinks our cause is for good. We will use his power for our own use when the time comes. Ah… I love it when a plan comes together." Charles said triumphantly.

With that, the Zurui teleported out of Viridian Forest with the snoozing Ash in Delia's arms. A few minutes later, a Charizard and a Dragonair and an aging man came to see if what they sensed was true. They all grew distraught upon seeing Aurora unmoving on the ground. They immediately carried Aurora out of the forest to help her.

---

As the time flower closed for the second time, Ash and Serena noticed Aurora was clutching her chest as if she was in pain. She looked away from the two of them and covered her eyes. Her teeth were clenched together and she was sweating heavily. Aurora was holding the same part of her chest where she had been struck by Delia's electricity. She seemingly was in a trance. Aurora looked at the time flower with a blank stare.

Although she remembered what happened, to see it again was a different story. As she had been the recipient to use her aura to showcase what had happened, she felt as if she lived through it again. She had to keep telling herself that it was only a vision of the past and that none of it was actually happening. Deep in her heart she knew none of this was real, but her body told her otherwise.

Ash thought about how cold he was when he was seeing Aurora kill to help them escape. He didn't seem too surprise at the sight, but was unnerved at how well he took seeing everything. Heck, he was unnerved that he wasn't showing too much emotion in reaction to seeing Aru kill those psychics a second time. He wondered what was wrong with him. Had Mew made him that numb to horrific things?

Ash also couldn't think straight from the last part of the memory. His eyes darted back and forward from what he had seen. He didn't know how to process it. He had seen his younger self desperately clinging onto the last shred of normalcy he had in that point in his short existence. He struggled to keep his precious memories, but ended up losing it anyway. He completely gave in to Delia due to his fatigue. It frustrated him that he couldn't do anything back then. Instead of feeling the empty, but confused feeling he'd have from the first two visions, he felt his anger rising. He started to accept what had happened and his previous emptiness gave way to anger.

Seeing who Charles really was made all respect for him melt away. Charles was a man he had looked up to. He couldn't believe the proprietor of the Pokémon League was also the leader of the Zurui. It didn't feel or sound right. Ash didn't expect Goodshow to be directly involved in brainwashing him as a small child. "How has the Pokémon League been under the radar this long?"

He thought about his lifetime goal of being a Pokémon Master. He didn't know what to do with his life now that he knew the truth. Since Goodshow was the leader of the Zurui and the Pokémon League, it didn't seem right to continue his dream. He'd be playing right into his hands. He still had a passion for battling, but wondered if his energy was misplaced. Now that he knew the truth, he didn't really know what to do with himself. Of course, he'd continue to battle, but he could only do that for so long. He also saw a future for himself in being Serena's mate, so he knew things weren't all bad. Still, he was incredibly infuriated.

He started to wonder about Aurora. It was clear she was against the League seeing how she acted against the Officer Jenny in Santalune City. It was also clear that she knew Charles was Goodshow. It made him wonder why she decided to be Champion if the League was corrupted. It didn't make too much sense to him.

"Ugh! What's the point?! What's the point of trying to be a Pokémon Master if the way to do it is messed up?" Ash screamed on the top of his lungs. His fists compressed as tightly as humanly possible and started to emit electrical sparks. Serena jerked her hand away from being stung by the shock. Hearing Ash was also enough to snap Aurora out of the memory. They both looked concerned for him. Aurora sweat dropped at the sight of seeing Ash's hands. She knew exactly how the young man felt, but knew that words wouldn't do too much. She looked at him sadly. Aurora wanted to tell him that everything would be alright, but she truly didn't know if it would be.

"Ash…" Serena softly called out to him. Serena once again attempted to hold his hand, but she was immediately shocked upon contact. She winced slightly in pain, but refused to back down. She ignored the dull pain in her hand. The brazen girl grabbed the angry Ash's hand. In response, he made a low growl and just looked away from her. Serena could tell he was still angry, but he wasn't angry at her. She noticed that he didn't jerk his hand away, but there were still minor sparks coming from it.

Serena closed her eyes and grasped both of his hands. Ash was about to voice his confusion until Serena's hands started to glow pink. Serena's grip grew tighter as she poured all of her feelings into her love. The honey blonde's pink aura began to consume Ash. She wanted him to feel better about the situation. She wanted to let him know that while the memory was bad, he needed to look towards the future. Serena could feel Ash calm down and she wasn't getting shocked anymore. The boy relaxed under her touch. When she opened her eyes, Ash was looking at her goofily and with a blush. Serena also started to blush as well.

"I…" Serena mumbled nervously. Ash kissed her on the top on her forehead and smiled. Serena began to relax.

"Thanks… I… needed to cool off there." Ash chimed with appreciation. Serena was happy that he was feeling better, but noticed that he had a blank look on his features. Now that the anger was gone, he was back to feeling emptiness. He didn't know exactly what to feel about himself. He just felt numb. In this time, Aurora approached Ash and touched his shoulder. This prompted him to look up at his mother. She made a small smile and tilted her head slightly.

"Hey… no need to be so glum, young one…" Aurora said with a nurturing tone.

"H-how did you take it… when you first saw the truth?" Ash asked her in a quiet voice. Aurora gestured Ash and Serena to sit down in a pretzel-shape and in a circle. Aurora placed the time flower in the middle of the three of them. A gentle breeze blew from behind them and the flower shimmered a little more than it did before. Aurora looked up at the navy blue sky, deep in thought. After that, Aurora looked at Ash with a sad smile.

"Instead of feeling empty, I… was in complete shock. I kept on wondering if what I had seen was even real or if this was a sick dream I couldn't wake up from. I couldn't believe that I didn't know I had a son. When the initial shock left me, I was mad at myself and I was worried about what had happened to you. I guess my motherly instincts kicked in afterwards because I began to track you down. I did indeed find you, but my partners held me back from seeing you."

"Where were they when it happened? We could have been able to escape if you kept your partners with you. What happened to you after I was kidnapped?" Ash felt his annoyance beginning to rise. Aurora's partners were known to leave their Poke Balls at random. It puzzled him that she didn't have them with her. Aurora nodded as if she expected these questions.

"Back then, I preferred to divide my time between you and my partners. When I wanted to be alone with you, I usually would leave them with my parents. They were in Hokori at the time, but luckily for me, they were out of their Poke Balls and sensed I was in danger. Being guardian partners, they couldn't enter the barrier those Zurui goons put up so they couldn't do anything to help. When Chari and Kairyu later found me, they took me to where my parents were and nursed me back to health. However, I wasn't the same. I couldn't form the marks on my face. I was delirious and I kept on mumbling incoherently in my sleep. I struggled to keep my memory of you in my dreams. Mom, Dad and my companions kept on telling me that I was hallucinating and… eventually I accepted it." Aurora explained.

She made a deep sigh. She started to look up at the clouds to collect her thoughts. The couple was drinking in all the information they heard from the master guardian. They could tell that she never told anyone else this. Chari was frowning as she remembered how she had seen Aurora.

"This is the period where I didn't know what I should do with myself. Remember that little story I told you after our first match?" Aurora asked earnestly. Ash nodded upon hearing the question. Serena looked puzzled. Ash gave her a small briefing over what Aurora had told him after he lost to her the first time. Serena now understood what Aurora was asking. "I was a coordinator for less than two years in an effort to find myself. I knew in my heart something was gone. I tried to fill that void. Performing in front of an audience filled me with excitement. With Happy and Kairyu at the lead, we trounced most of the competition. Even when I got all the ribbons, I still had an empty feeling in my heart."

"How did you become a Breeder?" Ash asked.

"I decided to refocus myself and energy towards something else. I became inspired after seeing an experienced Pokémon Breeder saved Suzie from being poisoned in the middle of a contest battle. At the time, Happy didn't know Heal Bell, and I didn't have any antidotes, Pecha, Lum or any other poison healing item on me. I had left my pouch in the dressing room. I was especially panicking because I still couldn't use my aura properly. That Pokémon Breeder… she was amazing. She patched Suzie up in a flash and without using any poison healing items. After that, Suzie and I ended up losing the contest, but we were indebted to that Breeder." Aurora continued.

"What happened to you after that?" Ash pressed forward.

"Well, after the contest, I decided I wanted to be a Pokémon Breeder. I learned how to make different kinds of Pokémon food recipes and meals for myself. I learned to heal Pokémon without using my powers, but rather, by using the environment around me. It was also in this time I started to try to become more in tune with myself and my aura. I traveled to different regions and learned a little of each region's customs. I didn't stay in a region for more than two months because I was very nomadic. I kept on wondering around endlessly trying to search for myself, but… I couldn't find it. I probably would still be doing this if my partners hadn't of gotten fed up with it. This is where they told me to focus my energy onto something more positive. They encouraged to try a Gym Leader Challenge like when I was ten. I decided to go with Hokori because that was the region I was born in. I got in the Top Four in the Indigo League as a kid so I decided why not?"

"Top Four? Man, that's not fair! When I did it, I got sixteenth and for a very stupid reason!" Ash widened his eyes in shock upon hearing Aurora say how well she did so casually. He found and crossed him arms, a little annoyed. Aurora made a small smile and chuckled slightly.

"Oh, young one, Top Sixteen isn't that bad. If I remember the Indigo League, it has one hundred twenty-eight competitors. You did really well, especially if that was your first time." Aurora praised.

"Yeah, I guess. I lost only because Charizard wouldn't listen to me. We were going against another Pikachu, but Charizard thought the Pikachu wasn't worth his time. I ended up being disqualified because of that." Ash said in recollection. "Thinking about it now, I would have gone a lot farther if it wasn't for Charizard."

"Well, it happens. Wanna know the reason why I lost in the Top Four?" Aurora asked him. Ash nodded. "I lost to someone using moves with a high chance to inflict another status. I don't know if my luck was bad or his luck was good, but it ended up working in his favor. Moves like Scald, Lava Plume, Air Slash and Discharge did me in. Because of all the status conditions, he was able to win 3-0."

"Who was he?"

"I forgot."

"You… forgot?" Ash said in disbelief.

"I think his name was Toby or something. I was so mad that I lost that I literally didn't care to remember his name. I normally don't mind if I lose, but I do mind when it comes to luck. If you win by luck, that doesn't show your skill. I do know that since then he acquired different Legendary Pokémon like Darkrai, so he's still just as cheap as ever," Aurora shrugged her shoulders, "The next time we battle, I'll beat him. My partners are top-notch when they're at their best."

Ash, Pikachu and Serena could see that she was fired up upon thinking about battling. Pikachu nudged him and made a coy smile. At first, he was confused, but then he realized where he was getting at. Ash maintained a neutral expression while Pikachu snickered. He couldn't deny the similarities between himself and his mother, but he wasn't in the mood to get teased about it.

"It seems we got a bit off topic. Ash, is there anything else you want to know?" Aurora said to him earnestly. She was eager to get out everything from her chest now that he'd seen everything. Ash took a moment to think. Then, he snapped his fingers and frowned.

"My dad… I was always told that he was a Pokémon Trainer who constantly travels when I thought Mo- Delia was my mother. I don't even remember who he is. Who's my father and what happened to him?" Ash asked her.

Aurora nodded her head as if expecting the question. She became forlorn with memory. "How unfortunate Delilah decided to cloud your memory of him. Your father is the former Indigo League Champion Redrick Ketchum."

"W-what? Him? I'm Red's son?!" Ash exclaimed in shock.

"The funny thing is you are the son of two Champions. One former one and one current one." Aurora confirmed with a chuckle. Her eyes darted back and forward in deeper observation of the younger Ketchum. She stopped laughing and grew melancholy. "You know, every time I look at you, I look at him. I see his red hot flame in you."

Aurora's eyes turned cloudy as tears began to form. Her body was shaking. "Red was such a loving father to you when he was with us. I've been searching for him ever since you were a toddler and I still can't find him. Unlike with you, I can't sense his aura properly to track him down. The aura I think I'm sensing from Red is ambiguously missing. Every time I find the aura I'm sensing, it ends up being a red herring... like… someone is sending me on some sort of wild goose chase."

"What happened to him?" Ash repeated in a gentle voice.

Aurora looked down and said with a voice both filled with grief and regret. "He sacrificed his own safety so you could stay with me. After that sacrifice, he's been gone since…" Aurora kept shaking her head in shame. She blinked her tears away and stopped herself from saying something else. When she recovered her bearings, she continued, "I would love to tell you what happened, but I think you should allow your mind to digest everything you've seen in the vision. You been through too much in one day to hear sadder news. Take some time to accept what you've seen and gain back your memory. Then, we can talk more about Red. Who knows? Maybe as you train your aura, you'll be able to sense him even better than I can."

Ash was still deep in thought about his father. He didn't like how cryptic she was being even though she made a fair point. He knew he shouldn't overload himself with information, but he couldn't help but be curious. He wanted to find out why Aurora was acting depressed about Red and what the 'sadder news' was. He wanted to press her further, but decided against it. He'd seen Aurora sad before, but this was a different kind of sadness. When Aurora was willing to talk more about it, he would know when to ask.

Serena also had been thinking about what Aurora had said earlier. She wanted to diverge the conversation into something that would make Aurora more receptive. She wondered, "When Aru attacked, she said your partners lied and you believed them. How angry were you when you found out they had been lying about Ash?"

"Seeing how easily my Aspects found Ash when I asked about him, my… short temper really got the best of me. I was really pissed off that they would hide you from me and they lied to me when I thought I was hallucinating. In my anger, I… well, it was the first time I had a pretty nasty fight with them… as myself. No conflicted spirit, no Aru or her influence."

"I'd never seen Aurora so angry at us." Chari entered the conversation from the first time. In this time, Ash was shocked that she was even in a fight with her Pokémon. She seemed so close to all of them. "It… really… wasn't pretty. She was so disappointed in us."

"Disappointed…?" Ash echoed.

"I stopped talking with them altogether. I stopped using them in Champion battles and public appearances in Hokori. I… just had to collect my thoughts for a while." Aurora admitted.

"I would fly out of my way just to see her so we could work things out. She rejected me for a good while. We had kept you from her in an effort to help her adjust. After I had found her nearly lifelessly body nine years ago, I couldn't stand it. I was upset that Kairyu and I couldn't… save her in time. " Chari choked up slightly as she became forlorn with the memory. She shook her head in an effort to prevent tears from coming down.

"We started to be able to sense you again when you were eleven. When you were on your journey, you had stayed away from Delilah long enough so she couldn't distort your aura. The other members and I were elated when Happy started to pick up your scent again. With her on my back, I remember secretly flying out one night just to see where you were. We saw you out sleeping outside right near Violet City with a couple of other humans." Chari remembered fondly.

Chari started to frown again. "Sadly, with the knowledge that you were alive, we had to keep that from Aurora. She had just adjusted to being the new Champion of the Hokori Region and was actively working towards ending the Zurui. We didn't want her to start worrying about you again. Since you had been on a Pokémon journey, we thought you had been adopted by a nice family and left you be. We didn't know Delilah had taken you because she had hidden her scent from us. We didn't know she was involved with Aurora's memory loss as we had not been there. We found out what happened as Aurora saw it through the time flower the first time."

"Chari, you gotta understand. I didn't care if I started to worry about Ash again." Aurora interrupted. She crossed her arms and began to frown. Ash blushed slightly upon hearing that. He was a bit embarrassed to hear she cares about him a lot even though he knew it.

Chari looked away from her trainer in shame. Aurora stood up from the ground and rubbed Chari's snout. Chari sighed with content.

"Aurora… how did you first remember me, anyway?" Ash asked. Aurora was caught a bit off guard by the question and made a small smile.

"I came to the Hokori region to visit my parents. While visiting, I stumbled across watching you in the Johto League while going through different channels. I got interested in your battling style because yours is quite unorthodox. I made it to the part where you used Charizard's Flamethrower to immobilize another trainer's partner. That was genius!" Aurora complemented.

"You saw my battle with Gary!" Ash realized. He regarded that battle to be a stepping stone in his training career. It was the first time he defeated his snobby rival and they ended up being good friends after that.

"Yep. Mom didn't know exactly what I had been watching until she saw your face. She immediately turned off the TV when she saw you. At the time, I didn't know why she did that. I heard the announcer say your name and it sounded familiar to me. You looked familiar to me, too. When I asked Mom who you were, she denied she knew anything about you. I thought she was acting suspicious, so I decided to look you up in the league profile. I realized you had the same last name as me and I wondered why. It was also in this time that Aru started to come out again. I hadn't heard from her for five years. She was frustrated that I didn't remember you." Aurora continued.

"Thinking that my aura wasn't in tune with nature, I sought to fix myself. I realized I wasn't in tune with my partners either. So, I went to the different places I met them in order to see if we could fix ourselves. Since Chari was my first partner, we went to Pallet Town." Aurora went on.

"My parents also came with me. I didn't know exactly what to do, so I thought them coming was the best option. When I arrived, I had a vision of the past at random. It was kind of similar to the vision we saw when you first left the Kalos Pokémon League. In the vision, I recognized you as the kid I saw on TV, but I was baffled as to why I was holding on to you protectively. When I pressed my parents further and later my friends as to who you were, they once again denied they knew you. I knew everyone was lying at this point."

"Why did your parents and friends lie to you?" Serena chimed in.

"Same reason as my partners. They thought they were protecting me. In retrospect, I understand why they did it, but it made matters worse." Aurora answered. Aurora's eyes suddenly turned red as her fists started to glow bluish-white once again. They knew they were in the presence of Aru.

"It made me really pissed off! At the time, I had been trapped inside her for far too long. I was stuck for five years because Aurora no longer had her marks. I nearly faded as my parents and partners lied to Aurora. I hung on by a shred because deep inside of her, Aurora remained skeptical of her hallucinations. My parents, friends and partners thought they were protecting Aurora, but they paid no attention to me. It's part of the reason why I didn't like my partners, but that dislike has grown to indifference since then. I still had a soft spot for my friends and parents because they weren't as insistent with keeping Aurora oblivious." Aru explained.

"Before Aurora first became in tune with me again, Aurora, under the influence of Aru, challenged me to an all-out brawl. She had already knocked both of her parents out and I was her next target. I thought this was a test of my strength, but… she absolutely annihilated me." Chari told them.

"If it wasn't for Aurora's love for Chari, I probably would have killed her. Aurora immobilized me and knocked us both out. While unconscious, Aurora and I fought against each other and she won." Aru recalled.

"That's when I realized we shouldn't keep you from her anymore. Aru constantly showed her anger towards us for lying to Aurora." Chari turned to look at the increasingly disturbed Ash. She knew that this was starting to make him uncomfortable, but she knew this was the best thing for him to hear now rather than later. "If keeping you from Aurora caused the conflict, we figured telling Aurora about you would end it. Both Aurora's parents and my fellow partners realized our mistakes and told Aurora everything we knew about you."

Aru's eyes changed back into amber. She sat back down in the same pretzel shape as she did before. "Sadly, I didn't believe them at first. Being told I had a son out of the clear blue sky? That's hard to believe. I decided to become better in tune with my remaining five partners before I thought about you again. The more I strengthened my bonds with my partners, the more I started to realize that you could actually be my son. I could understand why Aru was angry by that point."

"I ended up being retuned with each of my partners, but not before Aru attacked on multiple occasions. Each attack grew more vicious the more frustrated she got. She kept chastising me as to why I didn't go see you. It culminated when I retuned my spirit with the final Aspect I met in my travels. I took my stance, stayed firm and ended up surpassing Aru." She looked up into the sky and closed her eyes.

Aurora's eyes once again turned red. She looked at Ash. "I'll admit, Aurora put up a great fight. I must commend her for that. Aurora finally stopped doubting the fact that she had a son, so I guess she's not as hardheaded as I thought."

"Haha. Very funny." Aurora said sarcastically in their mind. Aru ignored her.

"Now that she had her marks again and retuned spirits with her partners, she set out to see you once again. This time, she observed you entering the Mossdeep City gym and witnessed your battle against Liza and Tate. Even I was impressed when you used Pikachu's Thunder as a sort of auric armor. When she saw you battling, you seemed so happy. Despite Aurora being hidden from your view, I can't tell you how proud she was. As you left the city, she decided against properly meeting you again. That really pissed me off. As most of my strength was sapped away from the multiple attacks I caused earlier, I couldn't directly say it. I decided to wait and gather my strength instead. We weren't exactly in conflict and we respected each other more, but we definitely didn't have as good as a relationship as we have now." Aru continued.

"Our conflict started again upon seeing another vision a second time with you. I hated that she didn't take you directly to Viridian Forest right then and there. I… was too impatient. I wasn't really thinking about you or your feelings like Aurora was. I was wrong for attacking your friends. All I can say is that I'm sorry. I wish I could have said this sooner to you." Aru finished.

"Aru… I'm not one to hold grudges. I already forgave you when you stopped attacking." Ash answered immediately. Aru laughed happily, wrapped Ash's neck around her arms and started to give him a nuggie. Serena struggled to contain her giggles. She thought of it as being cute. Ash, however, did not enjoy that at all. He struggled to force Aru to let go.

"H-hey!" Ash struggled to say. Aru noticed how uncomfortable he was and stopped. Ash took a moment to regain his composure and breath. Aru looked a bit remorseful, but still happy.

"Sorry. Father Dearest does that to us a lot." Aru said with a hint of a giggle in her tone. Ash still did not look amused. She cleared her throat and her tone became more serious, "Well… now you've learned Aurora's life story in the years she didn't remember you, the next four years were boring. All she did was kept training on and on and on. She trained her skills and techniques so when she found you, she could protect you. She sensed that you had went to the Kalos region by the time you were sixteen and took it from there. Aurora flew from town to town getting the badges needed to qualify."

Aru's eyes changed back her to dominate side's color. "I had only two weeks until the Kalos League started when I started to get my badges. When we met in the Kalos League, I didn't want to be the one who defeated you, but I wanted a good excuse to meet you again. Besides, if I hadn't of competed in the Kalos League, Charles probably would have killed me. Kalos is a region not many people know me in so he would have had an easier time writing off my death as just an accident. I have a feeling Charles matched us together in the final round specifically so we could fight and the loss would hurt you that much deeply. I'm really sorry it had to happen that way, but I also couldn't show weakness."

"That's not really your fault, though. I'm glad we battled. Still, if you know that the Pokémon League is corrupted, why did you decide to become Champion?" Ash asked.

"Have you ever heard of the statement: 'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?'" Aurora questioned him. Ash nodded. "Well, I decided to stay Champion so I can keep a closer watch on them. When I became Champion, I didn't know that the League was corrupted. When the Zurui took my memory of you, they also took my memory of them. I learned about the Zurui again through the Poison Toxx Company and that they worked jointly together. When I looked into the team a little more, I found out their real intentions a second time. They want to restore the Legendary Pokémon Nyxcipher to his full form." Aurora explained.

"Nyxcipher?" Ash and Serena echoed back simultaneously.

"The Reptile Reaper is a Pokémon with the power of suggestion. With his poisonous gas, he can trick you into doing whatever he wants… unless you have a strong will. However, no one has ever seen Nyxcipher except in dreams. Many people think he's just a myth as a result."

"Nyxcipher…? He manipulated my dreams… I don't know how to feel about him." Ash thought deeply. He remembered the dream vividly. The dragon said that Ash would be the one to bring ruin to the world. He thought it was only a dream, but it made him wonder if that would happen. He got a shiver down his spine.

"Ash, are you alright?" Aurora asked with concern.

"I… I'm not sure." Ash answered. She decided to change the subject to make Ash a little more comfortable.

"If you don't want to talk about your encounter, I won't push you. Still, I'm glad I got to compete in the Renaissance Conference. I got to see you. You've grown quite a bit from the feisty seven year-old I remember. You've matured quite nicely, young man. A fitting gentleman for a lovely lady."

Ash and Serena began to blush at the complement. Aurora looked up at the sky and started to fly upwards. Her head and torso poked slightly above the trees. She cupped her hands near her mouth to project her voice, "Hey guys! You can stop the barrier! Come to me!"

Immediately when she said that, the air surrounding the forest became normal again. The forest stayed quiet for a moment. Within a few minutes, all of her partners scurried over to Aurora. Aurora greeted all of them and thanked them for all of their help before returning all of them into their capsules. Ash had a thoughtful expression.

"There's one thing I just don't get." Ash blurted out.

"What is it?" Aurora asked.

"Well, I've seen the past and I know that was definitely me and you running away from the Zurui. I don't understand why I don't remember any of it. It's a bit frustrating because I can see what happened, but don't actually remember it for myself."

"The best answer to that is to be patient."

"Be patient?"

"Yep. I didn't remember any of this immediately when I first saw it. Something probably needs to happen to make you realize your past fully. Until then, our aura will continue to drain slightly, but that's alright." Aurora smiled at Ash. "You've got me. You've got Serena. Most importantly, you have all the Pokémon you've bonded with in your journey. I'm not sure what the catalyst will be or how you gain back your memories, but… try not to stress over it too much."

Aurora grasped Ash's hand and made his hand touch his heart. Aurora took her hand away and made it touch her heart. She continued to smile as she spoke, "In the end, you need to follow your heart. That's the best advice anyone can give you."

"Right…" Ash said in a small voice. He wasn't sure when or if he'd get his memory back, but not remembering what happened for himself really bothered him. All of what he found out today was bothering him. He still felt empty, but mostly he felt confused. He could tell Aurora cared a lot about him and he cared about her as well. At the same time, he still cared about Delia. It made him feel weird.

"Mom's right, Ash. You know she is," Ashton said from their mind.

"I know, but it feels kinda weird calling Aurora 'Mom'." Ash admitted to Ashton.

"Do you know how weird it was hearing you call Aunt Delilah 'Mom'? Trust me, the feeling is mutual." Ashton countered his balance. Ash started to laugh to himself, but then started to frown when he heard Ashton continue, "Now that you know the truth, what will you do?"

"I'm not sure, but eventually, I'll figure it out." Ash responded.

"I'm really glad you're not in complete denial, Ash. We'll figure it out… together." Ashton replied as comfortably as he could. Ash nodded in appreciation.

Aurora went into her bag and took out a few spicy Poké Bars. She began to eat them to regain her strength. She sensed something off with the area and knew she would need the boost. It felt eerily similar to the feeling she had nine years ago. Aurora started to look around the forest. She walked away from the couple and looked towards the trees. Ash and Serena didn't suspect something amiss. Aurora closed her eyes, touched the ground and started to sense the aura around her. Her hair started to flow in the air around her, similar to how a Lucario's four back appendages would be. She snapped her head up and growled in the direction south from Ash and Serena. Aurora immediately stood in front of Ash and Serena with protectively, blocking them from walking forward.

"I knew you'd be here as soon as the barrier went down. You're quite timely… and a little bit too prompt for my liking." Aurora talked towards the same direction she was facing. Ash and Serena was confused as to who Aurora was talking to. They looked around the area to see who she was talking to, but they couldn't find a thing. Suddenly, a flash blinding light illuminated the area. It was enough to blind everyone. Pikachu started to form electricity from his cheeks. Aurora and Serena both grabbed onto one of Ash's hands. Aurora grabbed his hand to make sure he didn't leave her sight while Serena held his hand because she was starting to get nervous. The blinding light ended just as quickly as it started.

Within a few moments, they could see a woman with mahogany hair tied up in a ponytail running towards them. She had brown eyes and she looked concerned. Aurora's free fist was set ablaze upon seeing the person. The woman stopped in surprise, but slowly resumed walking towards Ash once her shock vanished.

"Ash! I'm so glad you're safe. I had heard the Viridian Forest had become inaccessible. I knew you were coming home soon, so I had to check to see if you were alright." She asked the teen.

"Stay away… from my son…" Aurora said in a low voice, devoid of any emotion other than loathing. The middle-aged woman was surprised by the sudden statement and stopped in her place once again. Annoyance became plastered in her features.

"What are you talking about? He's my son, Aurora. He's always been my son." She told her, slightly irritated.

"That's a load of bullcrap and we both know it. Delilah, you won't continue to trick him any longer. He knows the truth." Aurora said in a serious voice.

"I still don't know what you're talking about. I wish we could have a better relationship, but it's hard to do that when you lie like this. Ash, what did she tell you? Do you honestly expect to believe someone you barely know?" Delia asked the young teen.

Ash felt his anger rising when she said that. After all of what he'd seen and heard, it pissed him off that she would continue to try to trick him. All of the emptiness that he felt became replaced with anger, "How long were you going to continue to lie to me?"

"What? Ash, I'm not lying. I would never lie to you." Delia continued to approach Ash. Seeing Ash's anger, Aurora decided to move away from him. Delia tried to caress Ash's cheek, Ash slapped her hand away. Delia was shocked and flinched back in reflex. Ash folded his arms.

"I saw everything. I saw you took me away as though nothing happened. Do you really expect me to believe you after what I've seen?!" Ash growled at older female.

"Well…" Delia took a deep breath. Delia took off some contact lenses and revealed that her brown eyes really were like a kaleidoscope. They didn't really have a true color, but instead shifted between hazel, brown and yellow. She rose her hand in the air. The rubber band keeping her hair back exploded without warning. Delia's hair cascaded around her shoulders and she started to laugh like she was in a craze. Ash, Aurora, Serena and Pikachu immediately felt paralyzed. With a flick of her wrist, she forced all four of them onto different trees and had a malicious gaze in her eyes.

Delia's eyes held no remorse for her now frightened nephew. She looked significantly different from how she normally looked with her hair out and her ever changing eyes. She said with a malevolent grin, "I guess this makes it easier. I no longer have to act like a nice mom to a child I can't stand. You absolutely don't know how relieved I am to hear you say I'm a liar. I can't wait to finally kill your mother and make you forget she ever even existed. Permanently."

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A/N: And so the plot thickens. A lot of stuff when down in this chapter and it will only get better the next chapter. See ya around.

Next Chapter: Family Reunion

~SPG123~