A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! Apologies for the long hiatus, but I am back with a new chapter for you all. I hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer as always: Don't own Pokemon, but this story is my idea.
"When you believe in someone you profoundly increase their ability to have faith in themselves and achieve. When you love someone you imprint on their heart something so powerful that it changes the trajectory of their life. When you do both, you set into motion, a gift to the world…because those who are believed in and loved understand the beauty of a legacy and the absolute duty of paying it forward. -Jason Versey
Chapter 18: A Fool's Quest
Aurora and Raven were teleported to an abandoned long rectangular building. It looked as though no one entered it for several years and its yellowish paint was beginning to show signs of wear. Ever since the Poison Toxx Company got more influential, there was no need to use the power plant anymore. People could use the energy created in Doki Doki City instead. Despite the sad state of the building, the Pokémon in the area loved it.
Aurora know electric types loved the excess electricity and ghost types liked that it was abandoned. She remembered this place being quite attraction to visit when she was younger. She was happier that the Pokémon was in a better state with the building in disarray, but sad that this place had to be in the Death Zone of Hokori.
Both Raven and Aurora had thin aura barriers to protect themselves from the influence of the poison gas that surrounded this area. Though the gas had a distinct effect on humans, the gas had no effect on Pokémon. Aurora was always baffled by this, but thankful. Humans were already a handful to deal with. If every Pokémon was also under the control of the Zurui, Aurora would have more of a large headache than she already did.
Aurora slowly pushed open the entrance to the abandoned sight. The inside was just as she remembered it last: unrestrained.
There were several broken down conveyor belts and an unpowered generator straight in the middle. It looked like a shell of its former self. The only light in the building came from the purple light reflecting from the sky. Raven had never been here before so to see this power plant be this decrepit made her made her feel a sense of unease. Aurora looked oddly comfortable.
A few of the electric and ghost types in the area crowded around Aurora curiously. A Magnemite slowly levitated to Aurora, with sparks forming from its sides. Aurora made a disarming smile and touched the Pokémon's head. The steel and electric looked like it was on guard, but was hesitating to make a move. Aurora closed her eyes and began to hum a soothing melody similar to Meloetta's Relic Song. She lowered her head slightly as she spread her aura throughout the aura. Raven looked at the sight in awe. The Magnemite appeared much more relaxed than before. Sparks stopped forming. Aurora made a tranquil expression.
"Can you find a Rotom for me, little one?" Aurora requested. Magnemite was about to do what she requested, but was interrupted when they heard buzzing.
"(No need! Zzzt!)" A voice called out. It seemed overjoyed. Raven was confused by the voice as it was hard to see. Aurora raised her palm up and formed a small fire. She could see a small shadow looming over them. Aurora's eyes glazed over contentedly.
"Roto Roto!" Aurora brought out her free hand and had her Rotom land on it. Since Roto Roto was made of plasma, she had to be careful not to directly touch him, but her aura was shielding her. The Rotom looked at his trainer with excited but impish eyes. He gave her a bit of an affectionate shock. Aurora's hair fizzled up upon being shocked, but she laughed it off.
"(Mistress, it's been a few months! I'm glad you came to visit!)" Roto Roto said happily. He shocked her a few more times, but to Aurora it felt like the shocks were tickling her. She knew her Rotom had the ability to adjust how the nerves inside a person interacted with electricity. Aurora could not stop laughing from the shocks as a result.
"Hahahaha… stop tickling me!" Aurora pleaded. Roto Roto obliged, but not before chuckling mischievously. Aurora said, "It's always a pleasure to see my friends, Roto Roto."
"(Zzzt! Might I ask why you're here so soon? You always visit your partners once a year if they aren't in the Tree because of how far apart we are. Is there something wrong?)" Roto Roto asked. He appeared much more serious than before.
Aurora nodded sadly. She gave him a quick overview of what Raven told her. Roto Roto nodded. He got off Aurora's hand and began floating on his own.
"(Where's the grunt's device?)" The Rotom asked. Aurora took the phone from Raven and presented it to Roto Roto.
"Right here. Think you can delete her most recent message?" Aurora requested. Roto Roto nodded eagerly.
"(Consider it done. Gimme a sec.)" Roto Roto made a high pitch squeal as he transferred himself into the phone. The transfer zapped Aurora and in her surprise, caused her to drop the phone on the ground.
For several moments, Aurora and Raven could only watch and wait anxiously as the phone on the cold floor buzzed softly. Aurora had full confidence that Roto Roto could fulfill their request. As they were waiting, Raven's thoughts wandered to Grace. She had to know that Serena was training with Aurora's family. Serena was the type of girl not to let her mother worry for too long. However, if that was the case, she wondered if Grace would take the opportunity to meet with their old team discreetly.
Raven narrowed her eyes. She suddenly had a bad sense coming and she never ignored her sixth sense.
Regardless of what happened with Roto Roto and the phone, the dusk guardian decided it was best to check in on Grace. Raven glanced at Aurora. She seemed confident when she mentioned Kovan would go after Grace. Aurora was apt at finding out information from people from their body language. Raven wondered if she talked to Grace recently. She decided to find out if she remembered Grace from when she ambushed Aurora as a teen.
Roto Roto eventually transferred himself out of the phone with a grin on his face. Aurora looked happy. Raven seemed distressed still.
"(The message has been deleted from the computer and from his email. I was able to infiltrate his computer because it is currently in sleep mode. Even still, the deed had been done.)" Roto Roto announced happily.
"Nice! Thank you for helping us, friend!" Aurora said with a smile.
"(Anything for the person who saved me from being poached all those years ago. I'm always indebted to you." Roto Roto said while bowing slightly in respect. He then asked, "(Is there anything else you need of me?)"
"Not at all. Thank you for everything. I'll see you around, Roto Roto." Aurora said happily. Roto Roto nodded as he floated up in the air and disappeared into the gas. Aurora could hear mischievous laughter from the distance. Aurora laughed and shook her head. She said while fondly smiling, "I'm glad to see Roto Roto still in great spirits."
"I owe you and that Rotom a lot. You've done so much for me… I really don't feel deserving of it." Raven said in a heavy voice. Aurora was the reason she could live a normal life away from crime. Aurora had no idea how grateful Raven was.
"You shouldn't feel that way. It's no sweat. I like helping people out." Aurora said happily. She started to frown as she noticed Raven's unease. She said, "You're worried still, aren't you?"
"Were you able to talk to Grace recently regarding Serena?" Raven suddenly asked. Aurora blinked her eyes at this.
"Huh? How would you know-?" Aurora started, but Raven interrupted her.
"Answer me, please." Raven requested.
"Yes. I called her when trying to make sure it was alright for Serena to train with me. I didn't want her to worry about Serena being gone for too long." Aurora responded. Raven had her head down, taking in the information. She closed her eyes in thought.
"Noticed anything strange with her?" Raven asked.
"Where are you getting at, Raven?" Aurora questioned, slightly confused at her friend's intent.
"How was she acting toward you? Nervous? Secretive?" Raven continued prying. She was increasingly getting a horrible knot in her stomach. She hadn't had a feeling this intense in a while, but she wanted to make sure she wasn't overreacting internally. Fortunately for her, Aurora was willing to answer anything she asked.
"Well, both. She… seemed scared about what I may find out about her. She definitely talks to the Zurui from the conversation I had, but I'm unsure if she's in their team as a spy." Aurora elaborated. Raven opened her eyes sharply, but she seemed uneasy.
"Interesting… Aurora doesn't seem to know that she met Grace several years before her recent call. That's unlike her… unless she doesn't want to tell me that. In any case, I need to seek out Grace." Raven thought to herself. She said aloud, "I knew it. She's still interacting with those scumbags. She's such a fool."
Raven gave a respectful bow to Aurora before going toward the entrance of the power plant. Confused, Aurora followed her until they were both outside. Raven took out her trusty Hydreigon and mounted him. The Hydreigon greeted Aurora by licking her on the cheek gently. Aurora laughed at the contact, but then her expression grew serious once Drei stopped licking her. Aurora eyed her friend suspiciously.
"Raven, where are you going?" Aurora asked.
"… Can you tell Helia that I will be back by nightfall if I don't come back by the afternoon?" Raven suddenly requested. Aurora knew what Raven wanted to and wanted to stop her.
"Wait a second." Aurora was about to protest, but Raven knew Aurora would want to help. She raised her hand up to stop Aurora from talking. Aurora decided to cross her arms to hear what she wanted to say.
"Don't come with me. You don't need to go to Kalos when you were recently there causing a ruckus and we don't need Donnivan to do something to you if he does something to Grace. If Roto Roto successfully deleted the message in time, I should know by visiting her." Raven told her. Aurora shook her head at this. If Raven felt like going to Kalos, Aurora knew her sixth sense was going off. She knew not to underestimate the danger of the situation like she did when Raven went to check on Serena.
"Raven, let me come with you just in case-" Aurora argued, but was silenced when Raven's hand started to glow grey. The grey eyed women stopped her friend from speaking with her aura. She seemed absolute in her plans and didn't want to hear anything to change her mind. Aurora glared at Raven.
"No." Raven said in a firm tone. She made her hand stop glowing as she continued, "When it comes down to it, I'm better at stealth than you and your power is way easier to detect. Besides, I have the upper hand in being a dusk guardian. If I see him with her, I can stop his power outright if necessary. I won't go out of control when I'm near someone who what to say to snap me out."
Aurora knew how serious Raven was if she had been willing to shut her up. She would expect Mirabelle to do that to her, not Raven. Aurora looked into Raven's eyes and saw determination that she'd never seen from her before. Raven eyed her in challenge and Aurora acknowledged that. Aurora made a sad smile and then sighed. She wanted to help, but decided against it. She felt like she was abandoning a friend, but her willingness to respect a friend's wishes surpassed that feeling.
"… I don't like that you want to go alone when Kovan is a threat. I also don't like the thought of your true marks being out." Aurora expressed her concerns. Raven could hear Aurora backing down in her tone and was grateful for it. Raven decided to take this chance before Aurora changed her mind and meddled further.
"I don't need help with this. I appreciate all that you've done for me, but I can handle this from here. I promise to let you know what happened, alright?" Raven said as soothingly as she could. Aurora looked away, slightly upset. She still didn't like the feeling of knowingly allowing her friend to possibly get hurt.
"…"
"Aurora…"
"Fine. If I find out you got yourself hurt, I will come as soon as I can, but I wouldn't forgive you, you know." Aurora said while turning away from Raven. She had her arms crossed in annoyance. Raven felt like that if she allowed Aurora to face her again, she'd change her mind, so she decided to go before that happened.
"Thank you. I'll be back as soon as possible. Take care, alright?" Raven said as Drei and her flew north toward Kalos.
"Wait! At least let me-" When Aurora felt the wind from Drei's ascent, Aurora gasped and quickly turned back around. Aurora tried to stop Raven to give her something, but she was too late. Raven was no longer visible in the sky. Aurora shook her head at herself as she commented, "She's gone. She could have let me have her borrow Chi-Chi to get there faster."
"Is it a bad thing that I wouldn't mind having Grace get hurt by her psycho lover?" Aru suddenly asked in her mind. Aurora was appalled by the question.
"Yes! That's horrible!" Aurora hissed at her counterbalance.
"Oops. Can't help how I feel." Aru said in a sarcastic tone. She could feel Aurora's annoyance at her seemingly detached mindset. Aru said in a relenting tone, "I'm sorry, Aurora. I can't forgive people as easily as you. I can't forgive Grace for attacking and trying to kill us all those years ago. I still hold resentment against Raven for that incident, too."
"I mean… I don't blame you. I feel the same way, but I can look past it and see Raven has changed." Aurora said.
"I know Raven has changed, but we don't really know Grace at all. Grace was acting way too shifty for my tastes when you called her. I'm not sure if she changed like Raven did. Be wary." Aru warned. Aurora agreed with Aru, but wanted to give Grace the benefit of the doubt.
"Come on, Aru. Serena managed to grow up well despite her parents not being the best. Hell, it seemed like Grace moved to Kalos for Serena's sake from how she was talking about her." Aurora noted.
"Just because Serena is a gem, that doesn't mean her parents are the same quality. I can say the same for Delilah raising Ash. You can have some twisted version of care for someone and still be an awful person." Aru argued.
"…" Aurora couldn't respond to her because she acknowledged how true her statement was.
"Keep an eye on her. That's all I'm saying." Aru reiterated. Aurora nodded, but frowned.
"Noted, but I do have my duty to my people to fulfill here. Raven had a point about me spending way too much time in Kalos. A lot of people in Hokori was concerned about me and asked if I abandoned them yesterday. I can't snoop around to find out more about Grace and her history." Aurora said.
"Perhaps when we come back to check on Ash, we can try to look into Grace further? Raven should tell us what happened when she comes back." Aru offered. Aurora felt that was the best step going forward and agreed.
"True. For now, let's head back to the Midnight City Gym. I thought I'd be back in the Mystic Plateau for more challengers by now, but I don't want to leave Helia disappointed if Raven doesn't come back in time." Aurora decided.
Aurora decided to take Chi-Chi back out and request her to go back to Midnight City. Her request was immediately fulfilled as her Aspect of Loyalty nodded and teleported away from the Erudite Power Plant. As she was teleporting back, Aurora had to wonder if she had made the right choice letting Raven go on her own.
Alice and Serena continued to look through all the eggs in the sanctuary. Serena found herself amazed at the sheer variety and quantity of the shelves. She saw at least one hundred different species of Pokémon. She noticed there were a lot of brown eggs with creamy brown tips on top that resembled Eevee. The girl began to wonder who Marge's guardian partners were and if she just happened to like Eevees and have so many Eevee eggs.
The girl also kept a close watch on Alice. She didn't know this woman too well and although she was being nicer now, she kept thinking about how vicious Lupa was. Serena looked down and held the same place on her arm where Lupa first drew blood. Though the wound no longer was there, the damage Lupa did was still there. Serena looked up at the elderly guardian with a bit of a resentful glare. Their eyes crossed paths for what seemed like several moments. Serena wanted to forgive this woman, but she couldn't.
Alice noticed the sudden animosity from the girl, but didn't change her expression. They both knew Serena didn't trust Alice despite her attempt at lightening up the atmosphere. Serena showing her true feelings now that no one else was there was of little surprise to the elder guardian. Alice didn't know what to say and decided not to acknowledge it nor show any signs of antagonism toward Serena. If her actions caused Serena to look at her with a contemptible stare, her actions may cause the opposite effect.
Serena forced herself to stay calm in the situation she was in. She knew that she was powerless to stop Alice if she suddenly snapped to how she had been acting before seeing Ash again or had decided to fight her in the same degree she had fought Gordo earlier. She knew that she was in a disadvantage without Marge being there. Serena decided to focus on what Alice was trying to do now.
Although she was stuck with Alice until Marge was back, Serena had been surprised that Alice hadn't done anything fishy to her. Still, Marge not being here was causing Serena to be anxious. Marge seemed like she was more like Ash and Aurora when talking to her and she wanted to hold on to that feeling of safety. She decided to try to convince Alice to look for her. She had an idea of how to lead the conversation into what she wanted.
Serena decided to look around curiously again, gawking at the sheer volume of eggs Marge possessed. The girl figured that was a good place to start the conversation.
'How do I know which one will be for me? There's just so many…" Serena said with awe. Alice raised an eyebrow at the inquiry. It was like a switch had went off in Serena to where she no longer was regarding Alice with hints of hatred. Alice narrowed her eyes. She wondered of the girl's intent and rose her guard.
"The best way to know is have someone experienced look at how compatible a Pokémon is to your aura. Unfortunately, the best person who could do that is still gone." Alice said carefully.
Serena made a hidden smirk. Alice was now observing Serena's body language critically like she would against an enemy. However, it was more from caution than animosity. She saw the girl's facial expression showing signs of excitement when Marge was mentioned, despite her best attempts at hiding it. She wondered what she was excited for, though. Was she excited about seeking Marge or the fact that Marge was gone? She decided to go along with Serena to see what she wanted from Marge.
"Do you think something happened to Marge? I feel like we've been browsing for a while now. Is Mufasa Fields that big to where her rounds take a long time?" Serena asked.
"I don't sense anything wrong with her, but I do think she'd be back from her rounds by now. Perhaps something held her up?" Alice said in a way where she would find out Serena's intent with Marge. Meanwhile, Serena was ecstatic that Alice had said this.
"Can we check on her? Please?" Serena asked immediately, almost as if she was in a rush.
Alice tilted her head slightly at the response, then concluded that if Serena really wanted to do some harm to the facility, she wouldn't want to see Marge. Alice sighed as she figured the girl out. Her pangs of guilt intensified at the feeling of being regarded as a monster to someone else. Of course the girl would want someone else near her in case Alice did something. Alice would want someone strong close if she felt endangered, too.
"Of course." Alice said with an easy-going smile, trying to ease Serena, but failing to.
Alice decided to gesture Serena to follow her from behind to encourage the girl to trust her a bit more. Serena followed Alice's lead, but eyed her wearily. As soon as they went outside, they were greeted by Marge herself. She appeared to have just came back in a bit of a hurry as she was slightly out of breath. Alice immediately went to her to check if she was alright. Serena followed suit.
"Marge… are you alright?" Alice asked.
"Yeah… I got held up a little, but I took care of it. I'm only huffing like this because I figured you two would wonder what was taking me so long." Marge explained.
"Alice, I need to talk to you alone. Expect me to separate from Serena for a little bit." Marge suddenly said in Alice's head. Alice blinked at the sudden invasion of her mind, then nodded.
"So… did you like my selection of eggs?" Marge said to Serena. The hybrid nodded.
"How did you get so many of these?" Serena wondered. Marge made a small smile as she shook her head.
"Heh… now's that's a secret. Wouldn't want you to steal my technique…" Marge teased with a wink. She started to walk toward her house's backyard and gestured the two ladies to follow her. As they were walking back, Marge said, "You know, you two did interrupt something that I make sure I do every morning."
"I'm sorry. Was it feeding those Pikachu?" Serena asked. Marge nodded, but then shrugged.
"Well… that and feeding most of the other little ones in the field." Marge responded.
Serena looked at the old lady, somewhat impressed that she had the energy to do this every morning. Considering Marge's age, Serena would think the old lady would take things easy. Perhaps this was her way of taking things easy. That made Serena wonder what Marge had done when she was younger. They eventually walked back to where they first saw Marge.
Her backyard looked peaceful, but barren without all the Pikachu from the field. They noticed the large stump Marge had sat in still had a large hoard of Oran Berries right beside it. Since the backyard wasn't fenced from the rest of the field, Serena was surprised no Pokémon came over and took some berries while she was gone.
Marge suddenly planted her staff on the ground in front of Serena. Serena looked at Marge, unsure of what she wanted. She requested, "Serena, can you be a dear and call back the Pokémon with your aura?"
"Wh-wha? I'm a…" Serena started, but Marge rose her hand to interrupt.
"Hybrid, not a pure psychic." Marge suddenly interrupted her with a deadly stare. Though Marge couldn't see her, she could feel the girl's surprise and fear at the openness of her statement. Her cloudy eyes showed passion that Serena didn't see before, as if she was challenging Serena to deny her. The girl couldn't. Alice was watching the interaction with internal fascination. Marge said intensely, "I don't care how well Mew hid your aura. I remember your true signature from the first time I saw you in the Tree. I never forget unique signatures. Don't worry… your secret is safe with me."
"…" Serena didn't know what to say.
"You will need to learn how to mask your hybrid quirks depending on where you are, but that will come in due time. For now, I want to tap into your guardian side a little. Focus your aura on my staff. Let the Pokémon in this area know you're harmless. Once you can do that, can you feed them the berries I have leftover?" Marge asked. She closed her eyes and made an inviting smile. Serena still had shivers from her expression moments before.
"Um… I don't know how to." Serena said timidly. Marge raised an eyebrow, then chuckled.
"Confidence issues, huh? I wonder…" Marge thought critically. She decided to try something with Serena to gauge at how she learned best. All signs of her observational thinking were masked under a mischievous grin.
"You'll be fine… probably. Well, good luck! Come along, Alison." Marge said cheerily as if she didn't hear Serena. She abruptly walked back to her back door and forced Alice to follow her with her aura grip. Alice was surprised at the sudden turn, then shrugged. She wished Serena luck as well and told her to holler if she needed them. They were leaving Serena alone outside.
"Wait… I…" Serena said, but it was no use. They were already inside. She sighed to herself, "Oh jeez… how am I supposed to attract Pokémon?"
Serena stared into Marge's staff as she pondered on the old lady's request.
Marge immediately let Alice out of her grip once she went inside. She led Alice into the living room. Alice noticed that Marge could walk without her cane without much difficulty. The raven-haired woman wondered if her cane was for show or if Marge was appearing strong in front of her. Either way, she wondered what Marge wanted to tell her. She braced herself for anything.
Marge's living room was simplistic in design, but showed a bit of her chaotic nature. She had several vines as the border of her otherwise creamy wall. The old lady also had a small coffee table situated in the middle of the room. She didn't have a TV, but she had a couple of couches and a wooden rocking chair for her to sit in. She also had a small hole in the wall beside her chair for small Pokémon to wander in through. The old lady had a bowl of Pokémon food beside the wall.
On the wall opposite to her rocking chair, Marge had pictures of herself in her younger days, as well as pictures of Oak, Gordo, Alice, Aurora, Raven and Red and Ash when they all were young. Marge didn't have any biological children, but she loved taking pictures of those she cared about. Alice walked up to Ash's picture. It depicted Ash when he had been five when Marge had whacked him on the head affectionately. The child was knocked back from contact. Alice herself had appeared in the picture, worried, alongside Aurora. She thumbed Ash and chuckled to herself. Times were simpler then.
There was a cream colored Pokémon that seemed incredibly withered that was sleeping right beside the rocking chair. Its ears molded into brown leaves, chipped from age. Its brown leafy tail was curled around it neatly. Marge was tempted to pet her partner on the head, but decided against it. She figured her Leafeon could keep sleeping considering how early it was.
Marge watched Alice as she did this and sat down in her chair patiently. Alice stopped browsing Marge's pictures to give the old lady her undivided attention. Marge's face grew grim.
"Alice, I need to let you know what happened on my rounds today." Marge told the younger guardian.
Marge went into detail about her encounter with Raven and what Raven had told her. She didn't leave anything out, including the gruesome deaths of the two grunts and her battle with a mark influenced Raven. Alice looked horrified listening to all of this. Alice was thankful Marge was able to snap Raven out of her trance, but started to think about the Zurui spies. She looked down in thought. She then looked annoyed at herself and clenched her fist.
"I knew I sensed something off…" Alice hissed. She hated that there had been an enemy right under her nose and she had been none the wiser. Marge made a pacifying look to the younger lady and told her it was alright. She decided to continue.
"I'm not sure if Raven was successful in stopping Kovan from getting the grunts' message, but I want you to keep on guard for anything fishy in the upcoming days. If Kovan finds his daughter, I know he'll try to sway her from our side." Marge said. Alice looked down, frustrated at herself. She then started to look away from Marge's direction.
"… I… I'm not sure if Serena is going to stay on our side after how Gordo and I have been treating her." Alice admitted.
"Don't dwell on that." Marge said immediately. Alice shook her head and interrupted her.
"You didn't see the way she was looking at me when you were gone. I saw her true emotion towards me. Serena… had the look of someone both afraid and resentful, trying to find a way out of a bad situation. She thinks I'm a bad person… and she has every right to! I'm afraid she'll be more likely to follow her father's side because of what me and Gordo did to her. I wouldn't blame her, either. Ugh… I'm such an idiot." Alice said while holding her head, exasperated.
"Alison…" Marge didn't know what to say to that. Though she only could sense awkwardness between Serena and Alice, she had no idea what the elderly couple actually did to the young teen. She looked at her adoptive daughter, somewhat saddened. Alice took a few moments to try to lighten herself up.
"Thank you for telling me this, Marge. I'll definitely help increase the Tree's defense... and I'll keep a closer watch on Serena." Alice said with determination. Marge showed no emotion on her face. Marge decided to go behind her rocking chair and reveal she had an exact replica of the cane she left outside. Alice gasped as she knew what that meant. She backed up slightly from the older woman. Marge made a wide, mischievous grin.
"You know you sound foolish, so you backed up from me. Good girl." Marge decided to put away her spare cane and sit back down. She was rocking on her chair lightly as she said, "Despite your concerns about Serena's allegiances, I do believe she wouldn't go over to the Zurui willingly."
"What makes you say that?" Alice said, confused by Marge's confidence.
"She has a strong bond with Ash. That much I know from her aura. Their auras are not only compatible with each other, but also partially combined at some point. That's the purest form of love I can sense." Marge said with a gentle smile.
"…" Alice didn't know that her grandson was close enough to where his aura resonated slightly with Serena. Alice looked awed at her teacher's aura sense at work, but also noted Ash and Serena took a nap near each other at some point if their aura partially combined. Alice winced at the reaction Aurora would have at this and decided to keep it a secret for Serena's sake.
"I do not know Serena enough to make a proper judge of her, but from reading the aura not covered by Mew and remembering the aura I had read when I visited the tree almost two weeks ago, I sense a girl devoted to who she cares about and loves. That devotion is both a strength and a weakness, but in this case, it's a strength. If Ash is on the right path, so is Serena. I don't think your actions will cause her to be swayed by Kovan or his cronies." Marge said honestly. Alice made a sigh of relief.
"That's reassuring to hear your analysis in this." Alice said. Marge started to frown again. She seemed concerned about something.
"Do keep in mind that mind control can happen and is more likely to affect a hybrid than a guardian. Just make sure she doesn't get brainwashed by someone from the Zurui and I'm sure everything will be fine." Marge said in a light tone. Alice could hear signs of anxiety in her voice. She decided to call out her adoptive mother.
"You didn't sound too sure there. You sensed her latent power, too, didn't you?" Alice pointed out. Marge nodded.
"The ability to detach yourself fully from your emotions is a hallmark for a strong future psychic. Kovan is known for his skill and lack of emotion when dealing with foes and she inherited his power. Naturally, I'd be slightly concerned about another person potentially becoming like that. You must have been frightened when part of it manifested in her eyes and that caused you to take drastic actions, right?" Marge guessed.
"Yeah. I…" Alice looked sad again, but Marge forced her to stop talking.
"I already know how sorry you feel about your actions, so don't say it. All you can do is try to atone." Marge said in a stern tone. She then said, "In any case, we have to make sure this girl is brought up right and encourage her relationship with Ash to stay pure. Try and slowly build trust with her… and make sure you let your husband know of this."
"Got it." Alice nodded.
"Now let's check up on her. I want to see how she decided to do my request…" Marge chuckled as she got up and headed back outside. Alice followed suit.
A/N: A bit of a transitory chapter, yes? It sets up future interactions and all the like. I hope you all enjoyed it.
Next Chapter: A New Beginning
~SPG123~