Chapter 12

A/N: Once again I apologise for the long wait but I had trouble with one part of tthis chapter. I'm still not entirely happy with it but hopefully you will all find it ok. Anyway hope you enjoy the chapter.

Ash backed away, dragging Dawn with him. Togoros seemed to be enjoying having physical form again: he was holding his hand in front of his face and experimentally furling and unfurling his fingers.

'It's over, we are so screwed', Ash thought to himself. He was hoping that by staying silent and creeping backwards slowly, they could get away without drawing Togoros' attention. He hated running from a fight but Ash knew that against Togoros, he was hopelessly outmatched and even he knew when to retreat. It was better to avoid this battle now and live to find a way to stop Togoros in the future than to act the hero and get himself killed over nothing.

A dark, evil chuckle halted him in his tracks.

'You didn't think that I'd forgotten about you, did you boy?' Togoros smirked. Ash said nothing and Togoros chuckled again and slowly turned to face Ash and Dawn.

'Let us go Togoros', Ash demanded, thankful that his voice didn't waver. 'Misty too'.

'Aw, and here's me looking forward to getting better aqauinted with you', Togoros said

'You know what? I think that we're good, so...' Ash began, pushing Dawn backwards again. Togoros advanced towards them.

'Until I can get off this cursed island, I'm afraid that you can't leave either. So what do you say Dawn? Ready to play your part? Or do I have to get creative', Togoros purred.

Ash turned to look at Dawn. 'Dawn, what's he talking about?' he asked, confused.

Dawn found that she wasn't quite able to meet his gaze. 'He...um...I', she stammered.

'She agreed to perform the last part of the ritual that will free me', Togoros gleefully informed him.

Ash stared at Dawn, aghast. 'How could you do that?' he demanded.

'I did it for you', Dawn replied, barely audibly.

'What do you mean you did it for me?'

'He threatened to torture you'.

Ash's gaze softened. 'Dawn, I'm really not worth the deaths of millions of people. Deep down you must know that'. Dawn shook her head, tears springing up in her eyes. 'Why?' Ash asked almost pleadingly.

'I imagine that she thinks that because she's in love with you', Togoros said happily.

Ash's mouth fell open. 'He's lying right?' he asked Dawn.

Dawn shook her head again.

'Well this is awkward', Togoros laughed. 'Poor Dawn is in love with someone who will never love her back. Oh he thought that he might have done when he first met you, but the second he saw Misty again, those feelings flew away like dust in the wind. Doesn't that make you mad Dawn? Don't you hate the way he cast you aside like yesterday's trash for Misty?'

'Shut up Togoros', Ash growled.

Dawn stayed silent. What Togoros said had struck a nerve; way deep down she was jealous of Misty. She was in love with Ash. Maybe, although it was horribly cliche, since he had saved her from that Shifter. Dawn wanted Ash Ketchum and she yearned for him to want her back. She had thought, maybe, there was the slimmest chance that he would, but then Misty came into the picture and that small spark of hope immediately spluttered and died.

'Dawn', Ash called to her, noticing her expression. 'Dawn look at me. Dawn'. Slowly, Dawn turned to look at him. 'You know that he's messing with your head right? You know that he's trying to distract you, don't you?'

Dawn shook her head to clear it. 'Uh...I... Yeah', she said dazedly.

Ash turned back to look at Togoros, a small, triumphant smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. Togoros however, was unperterbed.

'And what about you Ashy?' Ash growled softly at the name that only Misty occasionally called him. 'She's in here you know, she can see and hear everything, including what I'm thinking'. He chuckled darkly. 'She doesn't much like what I'm planning to do to you boy'.

Ash tensed, readying himself for Togoros' next move.

Black aura surrounded Ash, swirling around him almost teasingly. Ash watched it warily, already feeling the debilitating effects that he had felt the previous times he had been near it. The darkness stopped swirling and descended upon him, forcing itself into his body.

Ash's whole body erupted in excruciating pain. It was beyond anything that he had ever felt before. He felt his knees buckle and he slumped to the ground. His world shrank until there was nothing but the pain and he wondered just how much more he could possibly endure. He screamed mentally, even now refusing to give Togoros the satisfaction of producing a verbal scream.

Dimly, as if from very far away, Ash heard Togoros chuckle. 'Aw', he crooned. 'My little vessel is trying to stop me hurting you. Isn't that sweet ', he sneered. He paused as if listening to something. 'And now she's screaming at me to stop it; she doesn't think that you can take much more. What do you think boy?'

Ash gritted his teeth against the pain, unable to reply.

'You know what boy? I think that she's right'. The pain left Ash's body and he was left on his knees, panting. 'Pathetic', Togoros snorted.

Ash didn't know what it was exactly, maybe it was the way that Togoros had said pathetic in the exact same way that Paul always did, but suddenly he was angry. Forcing himself to his feet, he glared with pure hatred at Togoros.

'I'm pathetic? I'm not the one who can't even get off this island by myself. You know what Togoros? You may be ancient and powerful, but deep down, you're just a coward and a bully and if I'm so pathetic, then why don't you just finish me off?' Ash challenged, not noticing the dangerous gleam in Togoros' eyes.

'I'll give you this much boy, you have guts', Togoros said. 'Want to see what they look like?'

In a flash, Ash found himself flat on his back. He struggled but was unable to break the invisible hold on his body. His stomach was abruptly ripped open and he could see (although instantly wished that he hadn't), his intestines glistening wetly inside his abdomen.

Togoros gave a shrill, high pitched, cab-halting whistle and a creature skulked through the trees. It looked like a panther, except that it was a deep purple colour and wherever it stepped, the grass beneath it's paws turned black and died.

It prowled elegantly up to Ash's side and stopped there as if considering him. It glanced at Togoros, who gave the smallest of nods. With a low rumble, the panther's head darted forward and it snatched up Ash's small intestine. Ash screamed as the creature pulled his intestines out of him, dragging it up a tree to eat undisturbed.

'Look at that', Togoros mused. 'I guess that it's true about how long a person's small intestine is. Interesting'.

The cruel smile on Togoros' face faltered and Ash was suddenly back in one piece, the panther nowhere in sight. Togoros looked as confused as Ash felt and then he chuckled humourlessly.

'Well, well, it looks as if my little vessel is stronger than I thought', he said. Ash thought that he detected the slightest hint of pride in Togoros' voice. 'Hmm'.

Whilst all of this had been going on, nobody noticed that Dawn had disappeared. She knew that Togoros wouldn't stop torturing Ash over and over again unless she upheld her end of the bargain, and so she began making her way towards the volcano. She almost wished that something or someone would pop up in her path to stop her but the way forward was clear. Dawn thought that it was more than likely that Togoros knew what she was doing and keeping the way monster free for her and obviously neither Ash nor Misty would be turning up to stop her.

She reached the base of the volcano all to easily and, biting back a sob, she began the ascent. Dawn didn't want to die of course but she could think of no other way to help. She also wasn't thinking about the consequences of her actions for the rest of the world. To some, Dawn's actions might have been considered selfish but Ash had saved Dawn from that Shifter back what felt like a lifetime ago, and Dawn had always had a strong drive to pay back somebody who had helped her.

So she would do this for Ash. If she couldn't help anyone else, at least she could help him. And besides, she had faith that he, May and Brock could find a way to save the world. As she climbed, Dawn even hoped that somehow, they could un-possess Misty and that she and Ash would be happy together.

During the pause in Togoros' assault, Ash noticed that Dawn was no longer there. He looked around and a bad feeling settled in his gut when he couldn't find her anywhere. He didn't have long to dwell on it however, as a huge blast of energy hurtled his way and slammed into him.

Ash felt as if he had been hit by a truck. He rolled over from where he lay on his back and coughed once, feeling a sharp, stabbing pain in his side as he did so.

'Oh, did that hurt boy?' Togoros mocked, firmly back in control again. 'Come on, I didn't hit you that hard did I?'

Ash got to his feet and watched Togoros warily, considering his options. He didn't have any weapons to attack with, the makeshift spear was long gone, and even if he did still have it, Ash doubted that he would actually be able to use it. It was Misty's body after all and she was still trapped inside there somewhere. To hurt Togoros he would have to hurt her on some level and he knew that that was one thing he could never bring himself to do. Running wasn't an option either; he would never be able to truly get away from Togoros on this island. And then there was Dawn to consider. Where was she? What could have happened to her?

His only real option was to try to appeal to Misty. She had taken back control once, if she could keep it up for long enough, then maybe she could kick Togoros out. It was worth a shot.

'Hey Mist', he began.

He was rewarded with another blast, this one to the chest.

'I'm sorry', Togoros smirked. 'Please leave a message after the scream'.

Ash felt his stomach being twisted, the pain was intense and he couldn't hold back a scream. Once the pain had stopped, he noticed that the soil beneath him was loose. He hatched a plan.

He keeled over onto his side, wrapping his arms around his stomach and brought his knees up into the fetal position. He made sure to keep his face hidden from Togoros and lay there, whimpering quietly.

'Really?' Togoros sneered. 'One little twist of the stomach and you're done? Even horses handle it better than you. Pathetic. I guess that they don't make Hunters like they used to. Come on, get up. Unless you really are done, then I'll just end you here and now. Dawn will complete the ritual for me either way. Humans. So predictable'.

Ash mumbled something too quiet for Togoros to hear.

'What was that?' he asked.

Ash repeated it, again too quietly.

'Speak up boy'. Ash didn't respond and, sighing, Togoros bent down and half dragged Ash up by the scruff of his neck. 'Didn't your mother teach you that it's rude to ignore people when they're speaking to you? Maybe I'll have to beat some manners into you before I kill you'.

Ash looked up into Togoros' eyes, a small smile playing around his lips. 'I said that you're the pathetic one', he replied.

Before Togoros could work out what he meant, Ash threw the handful of soil he had been holding into Togoros' eyes. Togoros reflectively released Ash and jerked back, giving Ash time to scramble to his feet and make a getaway.

He had to find Dawn, he had a bad feeling that she would do something stupid. He spotted a path that had been forged through the vegetation and followed it, reasoning that it was his best bet to find Dawn. He ran at top speed, not knowing how long he would have until either Togoros showed up again or Dawn carried out whatever she was planning. If he had had a clear head, he would have found the lack of monsters suspicious, but as it was, his mind was focused solely on what might be ahead.

The path ended at the base of the volcano and glancing around frantically, Ash could just make out the small figure of Dawn nearing the top.

'Dawn', he called, cupping his hands around his mouth. 'Daaaawn!'

He wasn't sure if she couldn't hear him or if she was just ignoring him, but either way she didn't stop her climb. Cursing, Ash began his own climb.

When he was a little more than halfway up, a black sphere of crackling energy crashed into the ground right in front of him. Ash suspected that it's castor had missed him on purpose. Turning around, Ash saw that Togoros stood just below him, smiling coldly up at him.

'You didn't think that you would get away that easily did you boy?'

'No, I didn't', Ash replied simply, not expanding on his statement.

'Ah, trying to rescue Dawn?'

Ash said nothing.

The confrontation hadn't gone unnoticed by Dawn. She paused almost at the top of the volcano and watched the scene below unfold, not without a sense of relief that she had an excuse not to carry through with her plan right this instant.

'Dawn', Togoros called. 'Be a good girl and carry on with what you were doing'. Dawn didn't move and Togoros snorted disdainfully. 'I see that you need some persuasion'.

Togoros raised a hand and Ash could sense the energy gathering there. The beginnings of a black sphere formed just in front of Togoros' outstretched hand and Ash tensed up.

His body felt slightly weird; it felt almost like an adreniline rush but his whole body was tingling along with it. The feeling grew more persistant as more energy gathered in Togoros' palm.

Togoros fired the sphere. It shot towards Ash but before it could make contact with him, it collided with a glowing, light blue wall of energy that Ash saw with a shock, completely surrounded him. The black sphere broke against the shield, expelling the shield in the process.

Ash's legs shook in exhaustion and he felt ready to curl up on the ground and sleep. He panted heavily, hunched over, trying to get his breath back.

'Ash, what the hell was that?' Dawn demanded, wide eyed.

'I. Don't. Know', Ash huffed, although he thought that he might have an idea what had happened.

Togoros was regarding Ash with a thoughtful expression. 'Interesting', he murmured, although it was unclear whether or not he was talking to himself. 'I knew that you had the potential of course but I didn't think that you would actually use it'.

'What are you talking about?' Dawn asked curiously. 'Use what?'

Togoros looked up at her. 'Remember what I said about the woman I loved running off with an Aura Guardian?'

'But, that guy can't be Ash!' Dawn exclaimed.

Togoros chuckled in slight amusement. 'Having a dense moment are we? That guardian was his ancestor', he nodded at Ash. 'Get it now?'

'So, Ash is a Guardian?'

'Clever girl. Have a cookie', Togoros mocked.

'Ash why didn't you tell me?' Dawn asked.

'Honestly Dawn, I kind of forgot about it', Ash laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

Dawn sweat dropped. 'You just forgot that you have super powers?'

'Well, I've only ever used aura once and a lot has happened since then. Besides, they're not super powers exactly'.

'Close enough', Dawn shook her head; only Ash would forget something like that.

Two black spheres crashed into them, knocking them both down.

'If you two are done with your conversation', Togoros said dryly. 'I do believe that we were in the middle of something. Dawn, carry on'.

'I don't know what you're planning but whatever it is, don't do it Dawn', Ash said firmly.

'But-'.

'Don't worry, I've got this', Ash assured her confidently, stepping in front of her and preparing himself.

He could feel it now. He could feel his own energy building inside him, ready and waiting to be unleashed. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on chanelling that energy into his hands. Even with his eyes closed, he could see Togoros standing in front of him.

Well maybe see wasn't the right word. It was more like infrared vision, except that instead of seeing heat, Ash could see Togoros' aura with what he knew to be Misty's mixed in.

His eyes snapped open and he fired his sphere a split second after Togoros. The two attacks collided, battling it out for a moment before Togoros' one won and continued on towards Ash, who was just able to dodge it at the last second.

'Not bad boy', Togoros commented. 'Although you wouldn't have stood a chance if Misty hadn't been doing everything in her power to hold me back. Let's see how long she can keep it up for'.

Togoros began firing off sphere after sphere whilst Ash did his best to either counter attack, avoid or protect himself against them. Before long, he found himself growing very tired whilst Togoros wasn't even breaking a sweat. It made sense of course, since this was the first time that Ash had really used his aura whilst Togoros had had centuries to practice. Ash consoled himself with the fact that he had at least managed to land some hits on Togoros, even if he didn't seem paticularly affected.

A safe distance away from the fighting, Dawn watched with growing worry. It was becoming apparent to her that Ash would not win this fight. Already she could see that he was slowing down and that his attacks weren't as powerful. He was now also looking exhausted. She had to do something to help him, but what? Even if she did throw herself into the volcano now, she had a feeling that Togoros would still kill Ash out of pricipal for him now being a Guardian.

She realised that she still had half of her makeshift spear; it had snapped in half when she had gotten it caught in a bush when she had been running from a monster, making it more of a dagger than a spear really. What she was planning would most likely break Ash's heart, but she had no idea how else they were going to get out of this.

Steeling her resolve, Dawn began to slowly take a wide circle around the dueling pair, trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible. Ash was definately almost out of stamina by this point and Dawn guessed that she had a couple of minutes left at the most.

She was in position now and Togoros hadn't noticed her. Dawn gripped her dagger tightly, desperately trying to work up the courage to strike.

'Don't think of it as stabbing Misty. Think of it being Togoros; the guy that wants to kill everyone. You have no choice. Just do it. Now!'. She told herself mentally.

Still neither Ash nor Togoros had appeared to notice what Dawn was doing. Gritting her teeth, she raised the dagger in a shaking hand and plunged it towards Togoros' lower back, aiming for the spinal cord.

It stopped just short of its target, scraping instead against a plate of black energy, like armour.

Togoros turned to face her. 'You didn't really believe that I didnt know what you were doing did you? Dawn, I'm disappointed in you', he tutted.

Icy fear flooded Dawn's stomach as she gazed into his cold, hard blue eyes. Maintaining eye contact with her, Togoros formed a stygian black dagger of energy in his right hand and gripped her wrist in his left. With a sharp, painful twist, he made her drop her blade.

'You had to make this difficult', he said softly. 'Keep out of this boy', he added when Ash made to tackle Togoros. A tendril of energy wrapped around his neck and half lifted him up, cutting off his airway. He instinctively tried to free himself but it was impossible. His lungs began to burn from lack of oxygen and he fought desperately to breath. Togoros strolled leisurely over to him and positioned the dark blade directly over Ash's frantically beating heart.

'Now Dawn', he said, turning back to look at the girl. 'Why don't you be a good girl and pick up that knife and stick it into your chest before I do it to him first'.

'Don't do it Dawn', Ash said immediately after. 'Don't give him what he wants'.

Poor Dawn looked torn, caught between wanting to save Ash and not wanting to release Togoros. Her hands were sweaty, how could she possibly choose?

'Dawn, time's ticking', Togoros pressed.

'Dawn don't', Ash said determindly. 'I'm not worth it'.

'You're beginning to annoy me boy, let's make you shut up', Togoros growled, pressing the tip of the dagger into Ash's chest, drawing blood. 'Do it. Now', he snapped at Dawn.

'Don't', Ash called again and was rewarded with the blade being pushed further in.

Dawn made her decision. 'I'm sorry', she told Ash.

Her eyes widened and she gasped as the blade punctured the wall of her stomach. Ash shouted out in grief and horror, hating that he could do nothing to save Dawn; just as Togoros had intended. Dawn crumpled to the ground and lay still.

As soon as Togoros released him, Ash ran over to Dawn and threw himself down beside her. Gently he turned her over and pulled her upper body onto his lap. She gazed up at him, her eyes already glazing over.

'It'll be alright Dawn', Ash reassured her, fighting to keep his voice steady for her sake. He didn't believe his own words for one second; he had been a Hunter for long enough to know that she had already lost too much blood and that the internal damage must be severe, but he had to at least try and comfort her.

'You're going to be fine', he lied.

'No she won't', Togoros interrupted, enjoying himself.

'Shut up Togoros', Ash snapped with a surprising amount of vehemence.

'Ooh, touchy', Togoros mocked but did fall silent.

'Ash', Dawn said barely audibly, drawing Ash's attention back to her.

'Yes Dawn?'

'Save Misty', she murmured before her eyes went blank and her body went limp.

Misty

Misty felt like a complete and utter failure. Guilt threatened to crush her over Dawn's meaningless death; it was still her body after all, she should have been able to stop it. But she had been too weak and now poor Dawn had paid the price.

She was filled with a fierce determination to take back control of her own body. Not that having all of this power running through her wasn't exhilarating. Misty had never felt so good; she felt strong, like she could do anything.

She could see so much more than a normal human. Every living thing had its own aura and Misty could see everything. Like when she looked at Ash; she could see his own, golden aura surrounding him, weaker than it had been earlier, now that he had used so much of it up fighting Togoros. Dawn's on the other hand, Misty had watched fade and then disappear completely.

She could also feel everything; Dawn's pain, fear and finally acceptance as she had died and Ash's own grief and anger at himself that he had been unable to stop it. Misty could even feel Togoros' amusement and how much he was enjoying toying with Ash.

That angered Misty; since she had been possessed, she had been forced to stand by as her own body was used to hurt the people that she cared about. Well enough was enough. It was time to take back control.

Ash

Ash gently lay Dawn's body down on the ground and closed her eyes. 'I'm sorry Dawn', he murmured. Hearing cold laughter, he jerked his head up and glared at Togoros furiously. 'What are you laughing at?' he demanded.

'Oh nothing. Just the fact that the last seal was just broken', Togoros replied cheerfully.

'What?'

'The last seal that held me on this island needed to be broken by an innocent sacrificing themselves. And little Dawny did just that'.

Fear flooded Ash. 'So that means...', he murmured to himself.

'That you lose', Togoros finished for him. 'Game over boy'.

Black aura pooled around Togoros, gathering into a small, dense, pitch black ball about the size of a golf ball. Ash could sense that there was a huge amount of energy contained within that small sphere.

'When I hit you with this, it will rip a hole straight through you', Togoros informed him. 'It's one of my favourite inventions'.

He fired the sphere at Ash, who threw up a shield. This time however, when the sphere collided with the shield, it easily broke through it and kept going, forcing Ash to throw himself to the ground to avoid it. The sphere hit a tree trunk, tearing a hole straight through the middle of it.

Ash gulped and turned his attention back to Togoros, who was preparing to attack again. Ash knew that this time, he wouldn't be able to avoid it. He had one option left.

'Misty', he called desperately as Togoros finished forming his next sphere. 'Mist listen to me, you have to kick him out'.

'She can't hear you', Togoros said in a sing-song voice.

'Mist, please. Help me out here, don't let him win'.

Togoros hadn't attacked him yet, although Ash had a feeling that it was down to the fact that he was enjoying watching Ash pleading rather than it was Misty winning the battle.

'Misty come on, you're stronger than him'.

'I'm getting bored now', Togoros yawned. 'Time for you to die', he prepared to launch his attack.

'I think that you're stupid for liking water pokemon so much', Ash shouted, not entirely sure what had compelled him to say that.

Togoros paused. Ash wasn't sure whether or not it was just due to confusion at Ash's choice of what would probably be his last words or if he had actually broken through to Misty, but he pressed his advantage regardless.

'Yeah. You know, I bet that Pikachu could take all of your pokemon on one after the other and not even break a sweat. And another thing; tentacruel are horrible, ugly pokemon', he continued, recalling what had always angered Misty the most during their fights, back when they had been travelling together. 'Plus, your still scrawny!'

'At least I don't have a giant head Ketchum. And there is no way in hell that you could take on all of my pokemon. I'm better than you give me credit for, you egotistical prick!'

Ash smiled. 'Hey Mist. And egotistical? I think that you're getting me confused with Gary'.

'No, I think I have the right person. Hi Ash', Misty replied.

'Right, Mist, you need to force Togoros out of you right now. Man that sounded wrong to me', he added, slightly embarrased.

Misty rolled her eyes. 'Boys. Alright, I'll try'.

Misty closed her eyes in concentration.

Misty

Trying to force Togoros to leave her body was like trying to wake up a Snorlax without a poke flute. Fighting him was a weird sensation; it kind of felt like splitting her very soul in two.

'Misty, you don't really want me to leave do you?' Togoros whispered in her mind.

'Yes', Misty told him.

'But if I leave, then all of this power leaves with me and you go back to being a regular, boring human being. I know how much you like having this power'.

Misty's resolve weakened. She did like having this power; it was exhilarating and deep down, she had to admit that she didn't want to give it up. Togoros smirked to himself; his manipulation was working. He had always been brilliant at manipulating even the most strong-willed of people.

'Misty', a third voice pierced Misty's mind, although this one was echoey and sounded far away.

'Ash?' Misty thought.

'Mist, if you can hear me, don't give up. Get rid of him, I know that you can do it. I believe in you'.

'Oh Ash', Misty thought to herself. 'You've always known what to say to motivate people'.

Giving herself a mental shake, Misty once again focused on pushing Togoros out of her mind.

'Leave Togoros'. She said determinedly.

'You don't mean that'.

'Yes I do. I won't let you hurt anyone else, especially Ash. NOW LEAVE!'

With a huge effort, Misty forced Togoros out of her mind. She felt his shock as he was ejected from her body and felt a huge sense of relief that she was once again the sole inhabitant of it. She opened her eyes and saw Ash standing in front of her.

'Hey Mist, you did it. I'm proud of you', he beamed.

Misty only managed to give him a small smile in return before her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped to the ground.

So it was actually Dawn's death that I was having problems with. I wanted to avoid being too cliche but my first ideas didn't really work out either. Let me know what you think if you like and I might change it in the future. I'm considering writing a sequal to this if anyone is intetested. Lastly the next chapter of this and the second part of Ash's confession should be posted by the end of this week.