Chapter 40 : Illusions
It was late at night on route 14 and the group was caught in a thunderstorm.
"Well this is just great, we're still another 2 days walk from Laverre city and we can''t even set up camp because of this rain" Red said.
"Brother I thought you said the weather would be clear" Bonnie said trying to cover her head.
"The weather radar that I build said it would" Clemont said looking at his radar. Red walked over to him, snatched the radar from his hand and hurled it into the trees.
"Hey!" Clemont said moments before there was a small explosion where the device was thrown.
" I figured that might happen" Red said.
"Oh, thanks I guess" Clemont said sweat dropping.
"We've got to get out of this storm!" Serena almost shouted.
"Oh come on guys, it's just a little wind and a little rain. It's not that bad" Korrina said moments before Serena slipped on some mud and fell into the swampy water.
"Serena!" Ash shouted as he sprinted over and dove in.
"Did he just dive in?" Clemont said.
"Yup" Korrina said.
"Oh come on , I would have done the same thing if it were you" Red said turning to Korrina . Moments later Pikachu saw Ash coming out of the water with Serena in his arms.
"Pika!". Ash and Serena were now covered in mud.
"The wind and rain aren't so bad, well that was" Serena said glaring at Korrina who gave a sweat drop. Moments later a lightning bolt struck a tree a few yards in front of them, causing it to fall.
"Look out!" Red screamed. The group dispersed as the tree fell close to them. Luckily none of them were hit.
"Alright this is getting dangerous" Ash said as Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder.
"We need to find shelter now" Serena said.
"Hey what about that house!" Bonnie said.
"What house?" Clemont said as he and everyone else turned to where Bonnie was pointing. They could just make out a large manor without any light on in the distance.
"Is that a mansion?" Serena said.
"I think so" Clemont said.
"What's a mansion doing in the middle of route 14?" Red said.
"Who cares , it's shelter" Ash said.
"Good point" Red said as they approached the house. As they reached the gate they could see the mansion more clearly. The mansion looked like the prime kind of mansion from ten years prior, it did seem to be a bit out of repair. Not only that , but the yard was untrimmed and unmowed.
"Do you think anyone lives here?" Clemont said.
"I don't know but a mansion in the middle of no where , looking abandoned, and to top it off a group of people find it in a thunderstorm. That sounds like the beginning to a dozen horror movies" Serena said.
"Calm down, there's no such thing as ghosts" Ash said.
"Except Ghost types, but those aren't the spirits of dead pokemon or anything" Korrina said. When they got to the doorway Serena tried to squeeze some of the water out of her hair as Red knocked on the door.
"The lights are off, which means either no one's home or we're waking them up" Ash said.
"Well we have to get out of the storm" Red said. They waited for almost 5 minutes and started to think there was no one there.
"If no one lives here then maybe we could just" Red said as he reached for the door. Not a moment later the door opened and an elderly looking man wearing old fashioned pajamas stood before them.
"Oh sorry sir, my name is Red and these are my friends. You see we've been caught in this storm and we've been looking for shelter. However, your house seems to be the only one for miles" Red said. As Red spoke with the man Ash noticed something strange about the man's aura. He couldn't describe it ,but there was something off about him.
"So I know this is asking for a lot , especially since we are strangers to you. But would it be ok if we stayed here until the storm passes?" Red said. The man didn't say a word, he just kept staring at Red hardly moving at all. A few moments later the man simply gave a nod.
"Alright thank you very much" Red said. The man stepped aside and let the group inside. The interior of the mansion looked very upscaled and expensive. Yet it did seem like it hadn't been dusted or cleaned well for some time.
"You have a nice house" Serena said. The man didn't seem to acknowledge her, he simply walked up the staircase and motioned them to follow him. The group followed him up the stars and down a hallway.
"So what is your name sir?" Korrina said. The man didn't respond, he simply kept walking down the hallway. He lead them to a door on the right side of the hallway and opened the door, revealing a guest room with a single bed.
"Oh guest rooms. Thank you" Clemont said as he and Bonnie walked inside. The man walked over to another door across the hallway and opened , revealing another guest room.
"Thank you" Red said as he and Korrina walked in. The man lead Ash and Serena to another door and revealed it to be a third guest room. Pikachu, like Ash, could easily tell there was something very strange about the man beyond what a normal person could tell.
After opening the door , the man turned and walked back down the hallway and shut the lights off.
"He's a bit strange. But at least he's letting us spend the night here" Serena said.
"I don't know, there's something about his aura that I don't" Ash started.
"Ash, we've had a long day. We spend the last few hours going through a storm and falling into the swamp. Can we hold of on that until morning" Serena said. Ash sighed but agreed. When they went inside Serena was relieved to see the guest room had a bathroom with a shower.
"Oh thank goodness" She said as she shut the door. Thirty minutes later she was laying in the bed with Pikachu already sound asleep on top of the other pillow. She heard the bathroom door open and saw Ash walking out wearing his usual black gym shorts.
"That's better" He said as he climbed in and laid down next to Serena. Ash had set his other cloths and wrist blades on the nightstand next to the bed.
"So what's the gym type for Laverra city ?" Serena said as she rest her head against Ash's chest and put her arms around his shoulders.
" According to Korrina it's a fairy type" Ash said.
"Fairy type, interesting. It will be nice to see the different types of fairy pokemon there" Serena said.
"Well neither Red or I have had much experience facing fairy types before" Ash said.
"Well I'm sure if you just do some practicing you can do it without a problem. Just remember that dragon type moves have no effect on fairy pokemon" Serena said.
"Right. So are you excited for your next tournament?".
"Is that even a question. Of course I am, this is my first tournament as a countess. Which means my first time facing other countesses and above. Though it will be a lot harder, I'm going to need plenty of training before then" Serena said.
"Don't worry, I'm always here to help you".
"Thanks Ash" Serena said before moving her head closer and giving him a short kiss. A few minutes later they were both fast asleep. As the storm continued to rage on , everyone in the group was fast asleep. In Clemont and Bonnie's room, a large figure moved closer to the bed. Bonnie felt something touch her shoulder and slowly opened her eyes.
"Is it morning already brother?" She said before seeing a large Hydreigon with glowing eyes, growling over her.
"Ahh! Brother!" She screamed shaking Clemont's arm. Clemont's eyes shot open and turned over to his sister.
"Bonnie what's wrong?".
"Monster!" Bonnie said hiding her head under a pillow and pointing above the bed. Clemont looked over and saw nothing.
"Bonnie there's nothing here" Clemont said.
"What?" Bonnie said as she looked back and saw nothing.
"But I saw a three headed dragon over the bed, I swear".
"Bonnie you were clearly having a nightmare. There's nothing here, now go back to bed" Clemont said as he laid back down. Bonnie slowly laid back down and held onto her brother's arm.
Elsewhere in Red and Korrina's room, the two were fast asleep with Korrina resting her head against Red's chest and her arms around his chest. A large figure floated over the bed and the two teenagers. Red felt something ranking against the side of his arm and opened his eyes to see a large Dusknoirf loating over them with his eye glowing.
"Ahh!" Red shouted as he gathered his aura and blasted the Dusknoir with an aura blast.
"Korrina get up!" Red shouted as he shook her. Korrina opened her eyes and slowly looked up at Red.
"What's wrong?" She said a tired manner.
"What's wrong!? There's a" Red started before he looked back and saw the Dusknoir was gone.
"A what?" Korrina said.
"I swear , there was just a Dusknoirover us".
"Maybe you were just having a bad dream?" Korrina said.
"But it seems so real, I used aura against it, I , I".
"Red you've had a long day, you're clearly just tired. Go back to bed".
"Maybe you're right" Red said as he laid back down. In Ash and Serena's room, a large figure moved over to Serena and Ash. Serena felt something touching her arm and opened her eyes too see a massive Garchomp standing over her with glowing eyes.
"Ahh! Ash!" She screamed as she shook his shoulders. Ash and Pikachu were awoken by this and quickly got up.
"Huh, what's happening?" Ash said.
"Ash there's a Garchomp here and it's" Serena said before she turned around and saw the Garchomp had vanished.
"What?" Serena said as she looked around.
"Serena there's nothing here".
"Pika" Pikachu said with a tired nod.
"But I saw it , there was a Garchomp right over us" Serena said.
"Serena you were probably just having a nightmare or something".
"No, no , no. I know what I saw and I saw a Garchomp standing right over us". Ash and Pikachu were both very tired and wanted badly to go back to sleep. Before Serena could say another word, Ash put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her.
"Mmm" She said still trying to talk before her eyes slowly closed and she laid down with Ash. Pikachu let out a relief breath before closing his eyes and falling back asleep.
Another two hours passed and the thunderstorm was still raging on. Inside the mansion there was a large crashing sound that woke up all six in the group.
"Huh?" Ash said.
"Did you hear that too?" Serena said.
"Yeah , I did. It came from downstairs, I wonder if the others heard it". Pikachu climbed up onto Ash's shoulder as he and Serena got up and went into the hallway. Once they were out there, they saw the rest of the group outside their rooms.
"Did you guys hear that too?" Ash said.
"Yeah" Clemont said.
"Man first I see a Dusknoir over me now this" Red said. That quickly caught Serena's attention.
"What did you just say?" Serena said.
"Red had a bad dream that a Dusknoir with glowing eyes came at us" Korrina said.
"Well I had a dream that a Garchomp with glowing eyes came at Ash and I" Serena said.
"Hey I had a dream that a Hydreigon Came at Clemont and I" Bonnie said.
"I'm starting to think those weren't dreams" Ash said.
"Yes thank you" Red said.
"Something is going on here" Korrina said.
"You don't think this mansion is .. Haunted do you?" Serena said with a terrified expression and wobbly legs.
"Everything's alright Serena, I'm not going to let anything happen to you" Ash said as he put his arms around her shoulders to comfort her.
"Alright I say we split up, Ash and Serena should go check out that crashing sound. Clemont and Bonnie should look for the man who let us stay here. Korrina and I will go looking for those pokemon" Red said.
"We're going to split up? Isn't that the last thing you want to do in a situation like this" Clemont said sounding scared.
"I'm with Clemont" Serena said.
"Guys calm down, the worst thing it could be is some ghost pokemon playing tricks on us or something. Just ghost pokemon" Red said.
"He's right, now come on" Korrina said before the group split up. Clemont and Bonnie were slowly walking down the dark hallway with Clemont's portable light on his backpack allowing them to see what was ahead of them.
Bonnie was holding onto her brother's arm and staying close behind him as they walked.
"Hello, mister" Clemont said in a scared tone.
"Come on brother, we just need to remember what Red said. There's nothing to be afraid of" Bonnie said in a scared tone. It was then that a door ahead of them opened by itself.
"DDDid that ddddoor just open?" Clemont said shaking.
"Mmmaybe the man is in there" Bonnie said also shaking. They slowly walked inside and saw it was a bedroom. Clemont moved his light towards the bed , but it was empty. He slowly looked around the room and found a set of drawers with several picture frames on them.
He looked closer at the first picture and saw a young man and woman with three young pokemon in their arms. A Gabite, a Duskull, and a Deino. They looked very happy together. The next picture was of the same couple only they looked a but older. Not only that but each of the pokemon was in their evolved form and the woman had a baby in her arms.
The next picture was of the the man and woman looking even older with a young man ,who looked much like the man when he was younger , wearing a Kalos navy officer uniform holding a diploma from the Kalos navy officer academy and the three pokemon in their final evolution states behind him.
"Hydreigon, Garchomp, Dusknior. They lived here with this family " Clemont said as he realized the man in the picture was the one who let them in.
"We saw them all with glowing eyes. That means" Clemont said shaking.
"Bbbrother" Bonnie said shaking. Clemont turned to see the Hydreigon standing directly behind them with glowing eyes.
"Ghosts!" Clemont screamed.
"Do something!" Bonnie shouted.
"Ok , Chespin get him!" Clemont shouted as he threw his pokeball forward. When Chespin came out he saw the massive three headed dragon with glowing eyes.
"Le ma" Chespin said shaking.
"Chespin use Pin Missile!". Chespin unleashed a furry of green pins at The Hydreigon. Just before the pins could reach their mark, the Hydreigon vanished and reappeared moments later in front of Chespin.
"What?" Clemont said.
The Hydreigon gave him another terrifying glare before Chespin dead sprinted away and jumped back into his pokeball.
"Aww Chespin" Clemont said sweat dropping.
"Graaa!" The Hydreigon roared. Clemont and Bonnie both sprinted out of the room screaming. Elsewhere in the manner, Ash and Serena were looking around in the main floor.
"So Ash? If there were ghosts , or even ghost pokemon here you'd be able to tell right?" Serena said shaking as she held onto his arm.
" Yes Serena, for the third time I've use my aura vision and found no ghost pokemon".
"No ghost type, what about strange aura?" Serena said.
"Well, there is this weird Aura I felt before" Ash said.
"Weird" Serena said in another scared tone.
"Weird as in a strange pokemon way, not in a ghost way".
"What if it's the ghost of a pokemon?" Serena said.
" Serena we just need to find out what made that crash" . They looked around the dinning room and saw the table was smashed in half by a chandelier that had fallen down.
"So that's what made the crash, the chandelier just fell" Ash said.
"But what made it fall?".
"It was probably just old or something" Ash said. Serena's eyes widened.
"Or that did it!" Serena said pointing to a massive Garchomp with glowing eyes standing just beyond the table.
"Graa!" It roared.
"Pikachu Thunderbolt!". Pikachu leapt down from Ash's shoulder.
"Pika Chu!" He shouted as he unleashed a massive bolt of electricity, Just before the electricity could hit the Garchomp , he vanished.
"What?" Ash said.
"Pika?" Pikachu said with an equally confused expression.
"Where did he go?" Serena said very scared as she backed up. She then heard heavy breathing behind her and turned around to see the Garchomp standing there.
"Ahh! Ash!" She screamed as she ran over to him..
"There he is ! Pikachu Iron tail!". Pikachu turned his tail metal and sprinted over towards the Garchomp. Once he was close enough, he leapt up and hurled his tail at him. Unfortunately, just like last time, the Garchomp vanished just before the attack could land.
"Ok What's going on?" Ash said.
"He's a Ghost!" Serena screamed as she ran out of the room.
"Serena come back!" Ash shouted as he and Pikachu ran after her. Elsewhere in the house, Red and Korrina were searching a room filled with expensive looking furniture, paintings, and a piano.
"You know if they all had glowing eyes, could they have been illusions made by Haunter?" Korrina said.
"I doubt it, I was in a Haunter illusion during my test, this seems different. Besides I already used my aura vision, there are no Haunter in this house" Red said.
"Then those had to be real pokemon" Korrina said.
"It's the only logical explanation, maybe they belong to the man" Red said. A few moments later Korrina heard movement behind her. She turned around but saw nothing. That was when they heard notes being played on the piano. Both slowly turned to the piano and saw the Dusknoir with a glowing eye floating over the piano.
"It's the Dusknoir!" Korrina yelled. Red unclipped one of his poke balls and sent out his Charizard.
"Charizard use Dragon claw!" Red shouted. Charizard charged forward and tried to slash the Dusknoir with his now glowing claws. However, just before he could make contact, the Dusknoir vanished.
"What?" Red said.
"Behind you!" Korrina shouted. Red and Charizard turned around to see the Dusknoirhad appeared behind them.
"Charizard Flamethrower!". Charizard opened his mouth and unleashed a jet of fire towards the Dusknoir. Unfortunately, just as before, the Dusknoir vanished just before the fire could hit him. The Dusknoir reappeared in front of the three.
"Attacks aren't working? Maybe aura will work" Red said.
"It's worth a try" Korrina said. Both gathered their aura and unleashed a burst of aura at the Dusknoir. Just as before, the Dusknoir vanished and reappeared elsewhere.
"Ok we can't hurt this thing, here says we regroup with the others" Red said.
"Agreed" Korrina said. Red returned his Charizard and sprinted out of the room with Korrina beside him. In the main atrium all three groups ran into each other.
"Ghosts!" Clemont and Bonnie screamed.
"Ghosts!" Serena screamed. When Ash finally got to her he took her by the shoulders.
"Serena calm down, it's gone". Red and Korrina walked up.
"I'm guessing you encountered the pokemon as well" Red said.
"Chespin's attacks did nothing, the Hydreigon just vanished and reappeared" Clemont said.
"The same thing happened to us" Ash said,
"Us too" Korrina said.
" So what are we dealing with?" Ash said.
"Ghosts!" Bonnie shouted.
"Bonnie they aren't ghosts" Red said.
"She's right! We found the man's room and found a bunch of old pictures. Pictures of him, his family and those three pokemon. Don't you see , the man didn't talk because he was also a ghost! This place is haunted!"" Clemont shouted.
"That's it let's just get out of here!" Serena said.
"Maybe we should just leave" Red said as he walked over to the door. As soon as he opened it they saw a lighting bolt strike right in front of the house. Red shut the door and turned around.
"Well leaving isn't an option anymore".
"I think I have an idea" Ash said.
"What is it?" Serena asked.
"If those things really are ghosts, then Psychic energy should have an effect on them right".
"I suppose" Korrina said.
"Well what if we lured them here and had Delphox used her Psychic attacks on them" Ash said.
"But won't she be weak against ghosts?" Serena said.
"Ghost types, not ghosts themselves" Red said.
"Good point".
"That, or we could use this!" Clemont said taking out what looked like a high tech vacuum cleaner that was attached to his backpack.
"What is that?" Ash said.
"It's my anti ghost device, it sucks up spirits and keeps them contained".
"Why didn't you use it earlier?" Bonnie said with her arms crossed.
"I just uh, forgot" Clemont said sweat dropping.
"Alright you can try it" Red said.
"Ok now we just need bait" Ash said.
"Who would be crazy enough to do that?" Serena said.
"I don't believe in ghosts , I'm not afraid of these things so I'll do it" Red said. A few minutes later Red was walking down a hallway alone.
"Here ghosts, here ghosts. Why am I saying that?" He said to himself. As he continued walking he heard moment behind him and turned around. There was nothing behind him , but when he turned around he saw the Dusknoir with his eye glowing, floating right in front of him.
"There you are, Oh I'm so scared please don't chase me" Red said as he ran back towards the group. The Dusknoir followed in close pursuit. When they reached the main atrium Clemont jumped out and held his anti ghost device out.
"Ha I've got you now specter from beyond. Prepare to meet your final end" Clemont said as he activated his machine and aimed it at the Duskonior. Nothing happened for a few moments before the device exploded.
"Ouch" Clemont said covered in soot. Upon seeing this the Dusknoir laughed.
"Nice distraction Clemont, we've got him now!" Serena shouted as she and Delphox came out. The Dusknoir turned and saw the tall fire fox pokemon.
"Delphox use Psybeam and Psychic to surround him" Serena said.
"Phox!" Delphox shouted as her eyes glowed and she waved her stick wand. A beam of Psychic energy shot out from the wand but stopped just before it could reach Dusknoir. The Psychic changed the shape of the Psybeam into a slowly shrinking ring of Psychic energy surrounding Dusknoir.
"Daa!" The Dusknoir said with a scared expression on it's face. It tried floating out of it, but when he hit the psychic wall he was knocked back on the ground.
"We've got him!" Serena shouted as the others came out of their hiding places. When the Dusknoir got up he was no longer a Dusknoir but the Hydreigon.
"Wait wasn't that the Dusknoir ghost?" Korrina said. As the ring of Psychic energy continued to close in on the Hydreigon, he tried once again to breach the wall. But when he made contact he was hurled back onto the ground.
"He can't get out!" Bonnie said excited.
"It's working!" Clemont said. When the Hydreigon got up, it had turned into the Garchomp.
"It changed into the Garchomop? What's going on?" Korrina said. Now the Garchomp desperately tried to break through the ring, but once again was knocked to the group.
"Finnish him Delphox!" .
"Phox!" She said as she closed the ring around him. The Garchomp got up just in time to see the ring of Psychic energy close in around him and.
"Graa!" It shouted in pain. When the Psychic energy dissipated the group looked closer to see what had become of the ghost.
To everyone's complete surprise, laying on the ground was a small black and red furred fox like pokemon , with swirly eyes.
"Za" it said.
"What is that?" Ash said opening his pokedex.
"Zorua, the Tricky Fox Pokémon. Zorua hides its true form by changing its shape into people and Pokémon, and loves to surprise people.".
"Changing its shape?" Korrina said.
"Now I get it, guys there was never any ghosts. It was this Zorua playing tricks on us" Ash said.
"Right it just changed into those pokemon and that man" Red said.
"But how did it vanish when we attacked it?" Serena said.
"It probably turned back into it's normal form, I mean it's pretty small and we were in dark rooms. With his black fur it probably seemed like he did vanish" Ash said.
"Good point" Serena said.
"So this place isn't haunted?" Bonnie said.
"No Bonnie, it was just this Zorua" Clemont said giving a relief breath. Bonnie looked closer at the Zorua.
"I know he scared us, but he really is a cute little pokemon" She said with stars in her eyes.
"He actually is" Serena said. That was when the Zorua regained consciousness and saw the group staring at him.
"Zor!" he said in shock. He tried to run, but the group had surrounded him.
"Zor" Zorua said sweat dropping. Pikachu leapt down from Ash's shoulder with an angry expression and stepped up to Zorua.
"Pika Pikachu!".
"Zor" Zorua said sweat dropping again.
"Pika!".
"Zor".
"Pika" Pikachu said sweat dropping and shaking his head, before turning back to Ash.
"Pika Pikachu" He said as Ash heard what he said through their aura connection.
"Ok so apparently the Zoura use to live near this house and the woman who lived here would sometimes fed him. Then a few years ago they moved away. So he started living in the mansion alone. Then a pair of travelers came inside when a storm hit. So Zorua had the idea of pretending he was the ghosts of the people and pokemon to scare the people. Apparently it worked and he had the time of his life scaring them, so he kept doing it over and over again to anyone who entered the mansion".
"Zorua, that isn't a nice thing to do!" Clemont said.
"Zor" Zorua said sweat dropping.
"You know, I think you'd be a lot happier if you weren't alone all the time" Serena said as she knelt down in front of the Zorua.
"Zor" Zorua said with a bit of a sad expression.
" You know you don't have to be alone, if you want you can come with us" Serena said.
"Zor!" Zorua said in shock.
"What!? You want to catch him!" Clemont said.
"Do it Serena! He's adorable!" Bonnie shouted.
"I think you'd like a pokemon like him Serena, besides I'm sure this little guy could use a proper family" Ash said.
"I agree" Red said.
"Me too" Korrina said.
"Well Zorua, do you want to come with us?" Serena said.
"Zor" Zorua said trying to think about it.
"Pika Pikachu" Pikachu said to Zorua as he turned to him.
"Phox" Delphox said to Zorua. When Zorua saw Delphox again and heard what she said, he blushed a little.
"Zor!" Zorua said nodding.
"Welcome to the family Serena said as Zorua jumped into her arms. Serena lifted him up before touched a pokeball to his head. Zorua was sent inside the pokeball as it shook and rattled a little before it stopped and sparkled.
"Alright I caught a Zorua!" Serena said. Moments later the pokeball turned white and vanished.
"Huh?" Serena said.
"Remember , you have six pokemon on you. He's with the professor" Ash said.
"Oh right, I should send him one of my other pokemon when we get to Laverre city".
"Aww , I wanted him to be with us now" Bonnie said.
"Great now that little troublemaker will be traveling with us" Clemont said sweat dropping.
"Hey guys listen" Red said. Everyone listened and didn't hear anything.
"Red I don't hear anything" Serena said.
"Exactly" Red said as he walked over to the door and opened it, revealing it was morning and the storm had passed.
"Hey the storm is over, we can continue on" Korrina said.
"Alright let's get moving" Ash said. The group went back to their rooms and got their stuff before getting back on route 14 towards Laverre city.
Elsewhere in Lumiose city Delia was preparing to head out and meet Alexa for breakfast. It was her day off, but they were going to talk more about the finalizations on their story about Daniel Rian's match.
She was about to head out the door when she heard a knock.
"I wonder who that is?" She said. She opened the door and saw none other than Felix standing in front of her.
"Hello Delia" Felix said trying not to stutter. Almost a minute of silence passed before it looked like Delia was going to say something. Instead she raised her arm and smacked Felix across the face.
"You son of a! How dare you come here!" Delia screamed.
"Delia wait" Felix said as Delia tried to slam the door. Felix managed to stop the door just before it was shut.
"Get out of here now!" Delia screamed.
" I just want to talk".
"Leave now or I call the police".
"Really the police, do you think they could remove me if I really wanted to stay" Felix said. Delia already had the phone in her hand and got the image of a dozen unconscious police officers at Felix's feet.
"Dam it" She said as she set the phone down.
"Delia please just listen to me".
"Why? Why should I listen to anything you have to say!?".
"Because Ash and Red know the truth".
"What are you talking about?" Delia said.
"I told them everything, that's not all. I've been training them as aura guardians" Felix said as he told her everything he had done with Ash and Red since they were boys. Delia's right eye twitched a little before she slapped Felix across the face again.
"You mean to tell me for almost 10 years, behind my back, you've been training my sons to be one of you Aura guardians!".
"Yes".
"How dare you! ".
"I couldn't stay away from them Delia. I had to be with my sons, give them the same guidance that my father gave me. I wanted to come back years ago, but I could never find the strength to face you or the boys".
Hearing everything Felix had done didn't end Delia's rage, though it did lessen it. Knowing that Felix still had been a part of Ash and Red's lives, given them guidance, care, and a role model was better than if he had never paid them a mind.
"So Ash and Red know that you're they're father now".
"Yes, I told them yesterday just before they became full guardians".
"Felix I will admit, hearing that you have kept yourself a part of their lives for most of their lives has helped your case. But you can't except me to just open my arms and take you back. You just up and left me alone with our children so you could be an aura Guardian 24/7. Do you realize how that felt, knowing that the love of your live, and the father of your children valued his other commitments more than you and your children" Delia said.
Felix felt as much pain as he had the previous day when he confronted Ash and Red. However, doing so made him more prepared for his current situation.
"No , I don't expect you too" Felix said.
"What?" Delia said.
"I don't expect you to forgive me, I didn't think you would even when I came here".
"Then why did you come?".
"Because I had to make things right between us. I had to make it clear to you that I'm sorry for what I did. I know what I did was a mistake, one that still haunts me to this day. I know that nothing I do will ever make up for walking out on you and the boys. But I want it clear that I will still spend the rest of my life as a part of my sons' lives. I don't except you to ever forgive me for what I did. I just want you to know, I'm sorry".
Felix turned towards the door when Delia grabbed his hand.
"That's it, you're not going to beg me to take you back. Or plead that you're changed".
"There's no point, like I said I know why you'll never forgive me. I don't deserve another chance with you. Just know that I will stay a part of Ash and Felix's life. I will be a father to them". As Felix walked forward the glove on his hand came off in Delia's hand and she saw it. Sitting on his finger was his wedding ring.
"You , you never took it off" Delia said.
"I never stopped loving you". Delia felt her own hand and Felix noticed that the wedding ring he gave her all those years ago was still on her finger. Delia put her arms around Felix's shoulders and kissed him.
Almost an hour later Alexa was sitting at a breakfast diner alone.
"Geeze where the hell is Delia".
Author's note
I had a long car ride home, 19 hours. So I figured I'd get one more chapter in before the semester starts. I know a lot of you are worried the story will just stop when I go back to school. Just because studying will be my top priority, it doesn't mean this story won't get updated. Last year I did almost the entire story of Return to Hoenn during my first semester of College, and that was when I had to drive 45 minutes to campus every day. Now I love on campus.
So if you're scared about this story stopping don't be, I will always find time to work on this story.
So until next time, please review, comment, suggest, or ask.