Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Pokemon, its characters, locations, or names. All of them, with the exception of the original characters, belong to Nintendo

Credits: The original fan fiction Shadow League was based off, Pokemon Master, was written by Acey. I retrieved permission before starting this the first time. Kiall and Elizabeth belong to me. "Paran" is the property of Elemental Sorceress, who had requested that I include her in my fanfiction.

A/N: Ahhh boy, I am so unorganized right now. I don't know what I'm doing. XD Anyway, I actually don't care for this chapter as much as I should. I like the battle, I like the part with Paran near the end, but overall, it could be better. But meh. It works. : And they are mostly in character I think.

Warnings: The pairing in this is RivalSibling. This fanfiction has a lot of violence and gore, not to mention some language, and implied rape/sex. Not for kids, that's for sure.

- Chapter 6: The Battle of Cerulean City -

Hiding amongst the thickets of bushes, Ash surveyed the area, watching the town that was several feet away from him. There was a tension in it, as the people went about their business; he could see the suspicion in their eyes, and could see that they knew something was coming at them. He looked to the side, when there was the sound of another body dropping down and crawling to be next to him. The brunette pushed some of the leaves out of the way, to look at the tower that had Ash narrowing his eyes.

"What's that?" she asked, as Ash smiled ruefully. He was actually amazed May didn't know about the Towers.

"You already know the first Gate was opened when Kiall was let out? Well, that Tower is at the spot were the second one would open, if its allowed to," he replied, looking over to see the confused expression on her face. "Forbidden Pokemon," he clarified.

"Why are you watching it though? There's nothing interesting there." Ash shook his head, pointing toward different people, all of which wore either shades of blue, or red, or brown, and even a few with purple or green. "What about them? They're part of the Rebellion."

"Exactly." Ash turned over onto his back, folding his hands behind his head and staring into the foliage. "There are too many Rebellion people here, and too much activity several miles away. The League is going to be attacking soon, I'm afraid."

"What? You can sense them, that far away?" she asked. Frowning, Ash picked at the blades of grass, taking his time to reply.

"I only can if there is a lot of strong elemental power coming off of them." the Shadow Master said, "A lot of Masters, in other words." May shook her head.

"Fool. If there is a lot of 'strong elemental power' coming from there, its only common sense that means there are a lot of Masters." Ash rolled his eyes, rolling back over to peer at the army that was cresting a hill in the distance. Pushing himself off of the ground, he brushed off quickly, putting a hand out to help the Ice Mistress up.

She seemed to think over whether she wanted the help or not, eyeing him warily, before taking the offered hand and pulling herself up. They walked in silence for most of the way back to the camp, until they first spotted the group. "It'll most likely be a few hours before anything happens at the town. At least there won't be a hurry," he said, letting May pass him to enter the camp first. Misty and Sora looked up at them from their positions on the ground.

"What are you on about?" the green-haired woman asked. Once again, Ash stretched, making a noise that sounded to be a strange mix of a groan and a 'mmph,' before taking a seat next to the child that was using a makeshift doll to act out a scene.

"The League is getting close to Cerulean. I am under the impression they are aiming to bring it down this time." Misty's eyes widened, flashing in anger.

"On Cerulean again? We have to stop them, they can't survive another attack!" Ash shook his head, looking at Misty, his features darkening with a deep seriousness.

"Suicide. If you prefer to die, go right on ahead, go 'stop' them. You would being doing the equivalent of jumping out in front of an army of Forbidden and attacking them though." Misty went stiff, her mouth forming a thin line as what Ash said sank in. She let out a sigh, nodding in agreement.

"The smart thing to do would to wait until they get to Cerulean, then go in to attack, since we'd have the Masters of the Rebellion to back us up. Three against…however many the League has does not seem like my idea of a walk in a summer park," May remarked.

"Agreed," Ash said, getting strange looks from Misty, Sora, and May. "What?"

"I had been in the belief that you two hated each other with a passion?" Sora asked, as Ash and May looked at each other, then at her. Ash rose an eyebrow, having to hold back a laugh that was threatening to bubble up.

"So? I wasn't aware I had to love someone to agree with them. I wasn't aware I had to like them to agree with them." A tense silence fell over the campsite. Misty looked around curiously at them.

"What are you three going on about? I was lost at 'I had been.'" Running a hand through his slightly mussed up hair, Ash stared at the locks that persisted on falling into his eyes gloomily, and pushed them out of the way. With a snarl, he started smoothing down his hair, tightening the ponytail.

"Before this mess with the League and the Masters, I had this mansion thing in the mountains west of Mount Moon. You remember the incident when the stadium collapsed from an explosion some years back?" he asked. Misty nodded, noting the looks Sora and May had – one of idle interest, the other of boredom – and waited for Ash to continue. "That was my doing, honestly. Blew it up. Well, at the time…"

Ash turned to stare at May, who had, quite suddenly, poked him in the side, smirking. He scowled, the giggles grating on his nerves. "What in hell was that for? Brat."

May narrowed her eyes menacingly, looking at him, before springing, pouncing at him. Angel had to fall to the side to dodge them, as they bounded off of the log they had been seated on and rolled a few feet, thrashing the whole way to both get untangled and to annoy the other. Ash turned out to be the victor of their unannounced game; he had her securely pinned down, getting a polite, if not mischievous, smile.

Misty and Sora watched with interest, before glancing at each other and grinning. "Hatred, eh?" Misty whispered, eyeing the two Masters, "I wouldn't be so sure about what they have as being hatred."

With a snicker, Sora shrugged. Ash looked at them briefly, before tilting his head to speak right into May's ear. "You have changed quite a bit in many ways, haven't you?" he asked.

It took a moment for May to realize what was being meant by the question, and she looked away for a split moment. She was starting to feel an unease at the situation she was digging herself into… "Uh, yeah, if you say so." she mumbled, carefully bending her knees and hoping the Shadow Master wouldn't take notice, "As have yourself. Now, get off."

"We are not finished yet." The growled statement almost made her laugh, but not quite. However, she did smile sweetly.

"I believe we are." Ash's eyes went wide then, as May brought her knees up so that her boot heels was in just the right position that she could hit him below the belt with ease. He had gone extremely still – and that had her wondering if he was afraid to move – as he stared at her.

"You wouldn't?" May laughed then, as Ash gave a great yelp when she pressed up with her boots, applying enough pressure to cause a jolt of pain, but to not cause any actual damage. She grinned evilly, as he scampered to get away from her wrath.

"Oh, yes I would. And now I know what I can do if you start getting out of line!" she sang, as Ash cringed at the thought. He went quiet and still again, as he peered back toward the town. They watched him, all of them wondering why there had been the sudden shift in emotion and concentration.

Ash let out a cry. "They're attacking early!" he said, prodding Pikachu awake, "We need to get to Cerulean, now!"

- - -

The army had came on, and several hours earlier then expected by any of the townspeople. The black-haired Master jumped back, panting, her eyes glowing a bright green. She had one of the League Masters dueling against her, and it seemed to be tilted in their favor, as she was a Grass Master, and they a Fire Master.

The Master murmured under their breath, fire shooting from her open palms at Erika. Dodging to the side, she was hit in the side with the blazing beam, and she had to hold back a scream from the pain she was put through. However, the stream of fire stopped, something coming to shield her.

Looking up, Erika saw that a black-cloaked man had came to stand in front of her, taking the full blunt of the attack without a whimper or a wince. She could see that his cloak was getting charred from the fire, the cloth smoking slightly were it was being hit. The Master stopped her attack, stuttering, when she took notice of who was the one that was taking on the damage.

He started glowing a translucent black, as his cloak's burned cloth healed and became new again, and the burns that were on his skin disappearing slowly, leaving pink skin. "Oh, oh, M-Master Ashura!" the girl gasped, "I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't meant to get you with that!"

Brightly, Ash smiled, the Fire Master returning the gesture. "Hello, Paran. It's been a while."

He looked at the beaming Paran curiously, taking in her overall appearance: she wore a long, red cape for her Fire element, a red tube top and baggy black pants. Her boots were black, and looked like they needed to be cleaned because of the grass and blood that was splattered on them

Looking at the pair, Erika stealthily sneaked away from them. She found Misty finishing off one of the League's trainers, and whispered to her. With a nod, the Water Master followed her back, scowling at the sight of Paran. One blast of water had her on the ground with her arms up over her face to protect herself, and Ash turning on Misty. "You idiot! Leave her alone, she wasn't doing anything to you!" he yelled, glaring at them.

"If you didn't notice, she's part of the League! We're here to stop them, not become friends with them!" Misty snapped, folding her arms across her chest and tilting her chin up. Ash scoffed, and the two started bickering over it, both of them ignoring Erika as she tried to intervene. The battle over, trainers were running about collecting the League's trainers and Masters that were not killed and taking them to their camp for questioning.

Neither Ash nor Misty noticed Paran was hauled away, as they stood glaring at each other.

- - -

At the outskirts of the small, battered town, the Rebellion had their camp set up. There were giant tents scattered around, all of them bigger then a normal tent, and there were campfires in different areas. Ash walked amongst the tents, nodding politely to the people that greeted him – stiffly, he noticed, which came as no surprise with him being a 'traitor' and a 'rogue' to them – and he smiled humorlessly. The only reason they even took notice of his presence was because of the power he held over them.

There was a loud shriek from one of the nearby tents. Frowning, Ash's slow, leisurely pace went into a run to find the offending tent. Pulling back the flap of it to look in, he frowned. The League captives were all inside, each one shackled or tied up; most were still unconscious. A Water trainer and an Electric trainer were also inside, taking turns on each captive to question them.

"You little lying slut," the Water trainer sneered, giving Paran a strong kick in the side, knocking her over from her unbalanced seat on the ground. She whimpered. Ash snarled, stepping into the tent with his bright eyes blazing.

"You!" he barked, "You are to apologize to that woman, and then leave this tent!" With the same sneer on his face, the Water trainer turned to look arrogantly at the older man. The sneer disappeared, and he went a sickly pale color.

"Oh, it's you, Master Ashura! I hadn't recognized your voice!" he said, his voice trembling, "You look good! You've been working out, haven't-"

"I said, apologize to her! Stop stalling and wasting my time, boy!" Cringing, the trainer nodded and muttered a quick apology to Paran, before bolting out of the tent. The girl that had been his companion curtsied, staring at the Shadow Master, before following suit. With a sigh, Ash turned to Paran, untying the binds that held her. "How badly are you hurt?"

Paran stood up shakily, using Ash as a support as she gained her grounding and assessed the damage done. "A few broken ribs, at most," she replied, looking up at the scowling man.

Ash shook his head to clear his thoughts, and gently put his hands against the area her ribs were at. Paran felt the pain in her chest ebb away, as his eyes started to glow gold. "That's new, I take it. When did you learn that trick?"

Shrugging, Ash let go and leaned back against the thin support beams of the tent. "I really don't know. I found out I could when I had to help this one girl whose stomach had been torn open during a battle." He shuddered, the mental image of the incident returning. "It was not pleasant looking, I can tell you that."

"Um, well, thanks, Master-" Ash shook his head, putting his hand up to silence her.

"If you called me 'Master Ashura' one more time," he said, "I will have to hurt you, painfully and severely." Paran laughed, earning a few glares from the trainers and Masters sitting around them. She smirked when some of them started complaining, making snide remarks about her talking to the 'enemy' and the 'evil, turncoat assassin.'

"I'm sure you would, Ash." she commented, flipping off her fellow League Masters. Ash snickered, the looks on their faces at the gesture enough to amuse him for a while. Paran looked around at them. "I'm going to be leaving them though."

Ash's eyes widened, surprise showing. "Leaving? Why? You seem quite content with the League."

Paran shrugged, smiling in response. "It's not right. This nonsense with the Gates…it just isn't right. That, and it hasn't been any fun since you left us!"

"And what about Gary?" Ash couldn't help but ask, grinning at the blushing woman.

"You still think I like him?" she asked, blanching when Ash nodded at her. "Why? It's been years since that…"

"I just never stopped. You two ever get together after I left the League?" Paran shook her head, her unspoken question lingering in the air. He grinned, looking away from her. "You want to know why I ask, I take it."

The Fire Master nodded. Ash pulled his hood forward, edging to the side to get out of Paran's striking range. "You are surely going to want to murder me for this one. I had tried to get him to ask you out. I suppose that failed…" Her eyes went wide.

"You did! When was that?" Ash shrugged, thinking over the space of time that happened between then and when he left.

"About a month or two before I left. He had gone red when I told him he'd do well to. I wished I had had a camera at the time, it was hilarious." Ash winced, when Paran came forward and punched him in the chest before he could block it. "What's that for?"

"You should have had a camera on you!" They had to support each other, as they laughed over the memory. With a snicker, Ash rubbed his eyes with a gloved hand, wiping away the tears that had formed. The light aired atmosphere changed, when there was a cough near the tent's open flap. Paran and Ash looked over at the blue-cloaked woman standing there, her green eyes narrowed.

"Pleasant. I'm sorry to intervene on such a…nice conversation," May said, not at all sounding it, "but there is supposed to be a Master's Meeting called, and…" She looked at Paran suspiciously, before continuing. "…Misty had said that you are to attend it. She actually said she'd, 'beat the Shadows' out of you if you ran away."

Ash winced and scowled again, kicking at the ground with the toe of his boot, startling one of the trainers near him. Misty would go through with her threat, and he knew it. With a nod, he frowned. "You are to be attending it also, am I right, Paran?"

"Sure thing. I do have to announce my new position in the world," Paran said, as May turned to regard her with glaring eyes.

"Just don't be late. It's to be at sundown tonight." May looked at them once more, before exiting. Paran shivered.

"Chilly person, ain't she?" she said, frowning, "Bitter, too." Ash closed his eyes, nodding solemnly. "You're hurting."

He stared at her. "No, I'm not. Any wounds I received in the battle were-"

Paran shook her head, placing her hands on the sides of his face gently, her eyes sympathetic. "No. You are hurting on the inside, not the outside," she clarified, "I can see it in your eyes. It's the same look you had when we met in Indigo. Haunted. Pained."

"I'm not hurt," Ash said flatly, backing and turning away, pulling his cloak tighter around him, "not now."

"Regretting something, then." Ash looked at her. Paran shrugged, walking over and patting him on the shoulder. "I'll stop. So, how's the weather been?"

He couldn't help but smile. It was always like Paran to switch to a new topic that was strange for the situation. "Fine. After this meeting, would you like to come with the others and me? I really don't trust the Rebellion with you," he asked.

Paran beamed, nodding. "That's fine by me. Things'll be more fun that way."

Ash wondered if Paran really knew what she was in store for…

- - -

A/N: The only part here that had a manage revamping plot-wise was the scene with Ash and Paran in the tent, especially after May announces the meeting, and in the scene when Ash and May are rolling around.