A/N: Regular updates are slowly returning. Which kind of helps since I'm now focusing all of my attention onto this story and with the fact it's almost done. I think I might get it done on chapter 24 or 25, I don't really know. But I'm really doing my best! Also, good news, vacation for me! Which means more time to write!

Sapphiria: When has it not? Well, regarding it on Fanfiction, not sure. Regarding it on other websites... ;) Don't worry, Bonnie and Ash will make it through this horrible night. You sure he's mind is not already broken? :) Hope you enjoy the chapter!

writergirl142: I guess you will have to read the chapter and find out. ;)

Alex Ho: Don't worry, it's going to come up in a couple of chapters.

The moment she saw the possessed Ash hesitate from stabbing a tied up and sobbing Bonnie in the eye, Serena took this as her chance to run into the room with her weapon in hand. She didn't care even if this was Ash's body and that the boy she loves may be in control right now, she couldn't hold back anymore; Ash might be in control for now, who knows how long that last? She almost reconsiders hitting him when she saw the absolute strain on his face as he tried so hard the forces that were controlling - add that to all the emotional pain he's been through tonight, this was a very tough battle.

But she had to save Bonnie. Angry at her or not, she knew Ash would want her to save their friend over trying to ease his own pain.

Which was why she was building up the momentum in her arms when she reached the possessed boy's side.

"Hey!"

When Ash's dull eyes met hers she knew what she had to do.

Smack!

The way the aluminum shovel sounded when it made contact with Ash's skull made Serena wince slightly as the boy fell to the ground with a heavy thud. She prayed that she didn't accidently break his head and his neck with the shovel but she didn't have time to focus on Ash right now because Bonnie was still sobbing and tied up next to her.

"Bonnie!" She threw the shovel to the ground near Ash and immediately began to work on the ropes. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Apparently Bonnie was in her own little world after her near-death experience since she didn't seem to notice the older girl until she was talking to her. The young girl's blue eyes slowly focus on her honey blonde above her. "S-Serena?" The older girl's heart broke at how tired Bonnie sounded, not to mention the way her hair looks now that it was cut off made Bonnie look like she's been through the Underworld and back. It made Serena sick to the bone.

"B...Bon...Bonnie..."

Serena winced once she hears Clemont's exhausted voice coming from the door - in her desperate attempt to find Bonnie after hearing her screams echo off the walls, Serena had forgotten that Clemont was not a very good runner so she must have left him behind with the Pokémon. Good thing she had already tied the ropes off of Bonnie's limbs when she saw his heaving figure walking right into the room - the Pokémon trailing behind in case he might collapse - because Serena did not want Clemont to hyperventilate now out of all times.

"Clemont, over here!" Serena calls him over while she helps a sobbing Bonnie sit up. The moment his eyes landed on his sister's shivering form, Clemont forgot all about being tired and immediately goes over to his sister's side.

It only took just one hand to her back that Bonnie launch herself into her brothers and sob heart out into his chest. This was far from the sassy girl who would make a witty remark to bad guys that they know so well. Then again, to think that their best friend would even consider killing them - even though they know it was completely against his will - was enough to send a chill down their spines. Maybe Bonnie just has a different reaction to all of this than they originally thought.

Clemont took a side glance towards the unconscious Ash besides them. "Is he...?"

"He's alright," Serena said quickly, even though she wasn't entirely sure herself. "Just knocked out."

He looked a little relieved at that and Serena could finally feel the same when she took a closer at the unconscious boy and saw that his neck wasn't at an odd angle. Which was good, because of some part of her mind - that rare, spur of the moment type of mind - believed that if Ash were to die, Tommy would be forced out of his body and probably kill them all by using those weird ghost powers. Having him unconscious was probably for their survival since it seems like Tommy becomes unconscious as well. That was good, for now.

"H-He saved me," hearing Bonnie's stuttering draws the older children's attention to her. "A-Ash, he saved me. He was fighting Tommy and he stopped it."

"Tommy? As in, 'Thomas Lewis?' One of the first victims of the Lewis Manor?" Oh, right - Serena didn't get the chance to tell Clemont that the spirit possessing Ash was not only the murderer of the Lewis Manor but was also, technically, one of the first victims since this whole mess started.

Before she could explain things to the blonde genius, a cough from below them caught their attention. They all turn their gazes to the ground where Ash laid unconscious - Pikachu was at his trainer's side to keep an eye on him while trying to find some comfort in his own way from seeing Ash like this - but they thought it wouldn't be that case for long since Ash was hacking up a storm. Worried, Serena quickly picked up the shovel and held it out in case that Ash wakes up and he's not Ash.

He turned his head to the side unexpectedly, expelling a murky black bile from his mouth. Then he became silent.

The three children stared at the strange bile in horror; Bonnie was worried that if that liquid was Ash's blood since that internal battle was possibly too much for him. Meanwhile, Clemont was staring wide-eyed at the liquid because he recognized it as the same substance on the pillow in Ash's room right when the raven-haired disappeared. For Serena, it made her think about to one of the pages that she found a while back on how physical beings were able to possess other physical beings by changing their form of matter and she knew that the substance in front of her wasn't Ash's blood.

It was a piece of the physical being Tommy must have used to possessed Ash.

They tied him after that.

It wasn't like they had any other choice; Ash wasn't alone in his body, they had no idea that when he wakes up it would be the boy that they know wouldn't harm a Pokémon in his life or a sadistic murderer ready to kill them on the spot with his own bare hands. It was safer for them if they bind their unconscious friend.

They just hoped that Ash would understand this whole situation when he wakes up.

After tying him up, they brought him back to his room in the upper floors - it was bad enough they had to tie him up, but leaving him on the floor while keeping a rope tied to a pole to prevent him from moving like one of those caged creatures from the Continents would just be downright cruel since he's already going through a horrible night - where they laid him down on his now-cleaned bed.

He almost looks a little peaceful. However, they knew he was anything but peaceful right now because of the killer in his head.

Serena decided to take the first watch - she gave the siblings the journal and the pages to understand the whole situation so they were in the Living Room to process all that new information regarding the Lewis Manor and the Lewis siblings, Pikachu was also there to keep things in order. As the honey blonde watched the boy she loves sleep away, she thought about everything that he went through this entire night.

Honestly, she was actually a little surprised that Ash even had the will fight after everything he's experienced. Serena figured that if it were her, she would have given up a while ago. It was easier that way. But then again, Ash never did anything easy, even when he's upset. She was secretly glad that Ash wasn't gone because she didn't like the idea of what remained of Ash would be a sadistic killer in his body.

But then a nagging part of her mind wondered; was he fighting for me back at the elevator?

When Serena had asked Clemont once again on what Ash did to him, the genius had told her that Ash had tried to hang him - just like how they found him in that closet - but he stopped and freed him before Clemont could suffocate. "You should have seen him, Serena," he told her gently. "It was like he was being torn into two, from the inside. Try to be gentle with him when he wakes up."

She promised she would - especially considering everything that happened - but some part of her wanted to know why he didn't rescue her when she was trapped in the elevator. Sure, he tried to warn her moments before but if it weren't for Pikachu she probably would have been dead. If Ash was able to save Clemont and Bonnie's lives, why didn't he try to do the same for her?

She already knew why; he was still angry at her.

Movements from the bed caught her attention. She looked up to see Ash turning his head slightly with eyebrows furrowed like he was going to wake up. The shovel was only a few feet away from her, maybe she should grab it just in case.

But when she caught sight of that familiar spark within his eyes, she knew that the person lying before her wasn't a sadistic child who doesn't blink when he kills a person.

"Ash?" She took a few steps closer to the bed, not entirely trusting her eyes but she remained hopeful. "Ash, is that you?"

His tired eyes drifted towards her and Serena finally let go of any doubt when she saw how exhausted they were. "S-Serena...?" Even his voice sounded like he was dying. It made Serena bit her lip as she sat down on the bed, wondering what she should say since she figured Ash wouldn't be in the best of moods - and she wasn't just talking about being possessed by a lunatic kid.

Apparently, he already found a way to start a conversation since he looked like he wanted to move his arms but he quickly realized that they were tied to his sides. His expression change from tiredness to acceptance as he slumps against the pillow. "You guys tied me up?"

"Sorry, Ash," her words had more than one meaning but she decided to stick with one. "We didn't know if it was going to be you when you woke up. We just had to make sure-"

"I get it, Serena," he interrupts her before she could finish. "Really, I do. I probably would have done the same."

Even though you wouldn't like it, Serena adds in mentally but she didn't dare say them out loud. She decided to get into a certain topic that she thought it would be best to address now instead of later. "Ash, listen... About what happened in the hallway before this whole mess started, I just wanted to-"

"Shut up, Serena."

The honey blonde stopped short and stared at the raven-haired boy, only now she noticed he wasn't only exhausted but looking annoyed as well. "What...?"

"I know what you're trying to say," Ash cut her off once again. "And I don't want to hear it. This place already messed me up and I'm not ready to talk about that. So please, just don't say anything about that."

Serena bit her lip; on one hand, she wanted to make things right with Ash before things could get any worse, but then she should have realized that she was probably the last person he would want to see after waking up from his nightmare. Not to mention she was actually the one who caused his nightmare in the first place by driving him over the edge. Maybe it should be for the best that she saves her apology for later.

"Okay..."

Things between them became silent after that. Well, not entirely silent since Ash was breathing deeply every now and then which made her wonder what was going on with him on the inside. She was slightly worried that Ash was secretly trying to fight off the entities inside him. But she then thought about how painful it usually was for him to do that so she decided to drop it. For a moment, at least.

"Have are you feeling?" She decided to ask after a moment of silence.

Ash shrugged his shoulders lazily. "Tired," he admits. "Wish I could fall back to sleep so I can rest for a while, but I think we can already imagine what that would be like for all of you if I wake up and I'm not me."

Despite the grim reality of his words, Serena did feel sort of better that Ash was trying to attempt a joke with her. It may be a good sign for her that Ash was slowly starting to forgive her. It was slow, but it's progress. Probably better how he would have reacted to seeing her moments after that incident.

"Where's everyone else?" Ash asked after noticing they were the only ones in the room. He would at least suspect Pikachu to be by his side.

"They're downstairs," she tells him. "I gave them Maya's diary to know what was happening. You do know who's-?"

"Yeah, I know who the murderer is," Ash interrupted. "Kind of figured that out when he and his wacky puppet possessed me a while ago."

Serena winced slightly at his sarcastic remark. "So, I guess you know why he's doing all of this?"

Ash's face softens at that. "Yeah, he wants to bring his sister back to life," he turns his head to the side. "I think he blames himself for what happened to her."

"Do you know how she died?" Her curiosity for what caused the older sibling's death has resurfaced.

Her mood deteriorates when she saw Ash shrugging helplessly. "I have no idea. But, I think Tommy may have accidently killed her. I don't know how, but he does feel guilty about it. That counts for something, right?"

Serena nods. "Yeah, I guess so," suddenly, an idea popped into her head like a light bulb flickering on. "Wait, that diary that I found was written by Maya Lewis," upon seeing Ash's confused expression, Serena continues. "Maya Lewis is dead, Ash, how would she be able to write in it so recently if she wasn't a ghost herself?"

A look of realization dawned on Ash's face. "So, does that mean she's in the house like all the other spirits?"

"Maybe if we find her, we can have her convince Tommy to let you go!" Serena's eyes shone with excitement. "We just need to find out where she is."

Ash, however, looked doubtful. "Serena, we don't even know where to look. This house is like a maze, even Tommy can't remember where everything is. What if we end up in a place where one of those ghosts attacks us?"

Serena was going to admit that it was a problem if they don't know where to look.

"Not only that, how do we even know Maya would want to help? I mean, I don't know what happened to her but all of the spirits that I've seen wanted to kill me. If Maya's spirit really did write that diary, how will we know she hasn't been corrupted since then?"

Now Serena was speechless; she'll admit, Maya did write in her journal that she wanted Tommy to stop all of this madness so that they can be together again. But that was a while ago and it looked like Maya hasn't touched that diary since then. Granted, she didn't know how long it took for those Murdered Victims to become corrupted for their lust for vengeance. That still didn't change the possibility of Maya having the bloodlust as of right now.

Serena shook her head. "I don't know what's happening to Maya right now, but that doesn't mean we can't try!" She shifted closer to him on the bed. "Ash, this whole mess started because I didn't believe you and I didn't handle you breaking down well because I didn't know what was going on. It's my fault that this is happening to you and I'm going to fix it! Even if I have to convince some crazy spirit to do it!"

For the first time since their encounter in the hallway, Ash actually looked at her like she was his friend again. She remembered how Ash couldn't even look at her after she yelled at him. Guess this was a good sign that Ash really was trying to forgive her.

However, the moment was ruined when Ash suddenly blanched. "S-Serena..."

"Ash?" He began to tremble with his eyes wide-open with panic. "Ash, what is it? Tell me what's wrong!"

His dulling eyes move to meet hers. "T-They're awake..."

Serena's own eyes widen in horror. Oh no...

"What do you want me to do?" She asked when Ash began to convulse, her own panic reaching her mind and she was now desperate to do anything for him.

"J-Just leave" upon seeing her surprised expression, Ash continued with a strained voice. "P-Please, I-I can't fight them off and worry about you at the same time. P-Please just go!"

Despite every instinct telling her to stay and comfort him, Serena felt her own feet move out of the room and into the hallway while shutting the door behind her. She told herself not to look back when she heard him crying out from behind the door and kept moving her legs forward.

After all, if she did look back she would have barged into the room to find some way to help Ash.