The Blue Spirit

by silentplayermc03

A vision has been seen by Arceus; a world covered in darkness, corrupting both humans & pokemon alike but it also showed two heroes fighting against it. Plans are formed, old & new friends meet, relationships are made, emotions run high, secrets are revealed & an inevitable world war engulfs them all against the darkness…

43. Chapter 42 - Realizations

THE BLUE SPIRIT

CHAPTER 42 – REALIZATIONS

"What a massacre…"

"You can say that again Steve," replied Alder.

"He wasn't kidding about making them feel his wrath."

"No. No he wasn't Diantha," stated Lance.

It was evening and the Champions Lance, Diantha, Alder and Steven had gone to the cabin in the deep part of the Indigo Plateau woods to see the battlegrounds. They wanted to see what happened with their own eyes and to find any evidence, if any remained, of who the Skull Brothers worked for. They were joined by Officer Jenny, along with Kanto reporter Britney Snow and her camera man Richard. All seven of them had flashlights in their hands, the light shining over the area with looks of horror on their faces at the carnage. They grimaced seeing the mangled bodies of three of the Skull Brothers and didn't even want to picture just how Ash was able to do that to them. They had yet to go inside the cabin to see the fourth one.

The Unova Champion knelt down beside the charred remains of a Rhyperior and studied the corpse. The others walked around the many lifeless bodies of the pokémon and men, with Britney and Richard recording everything. He saw the scorch marks, how the area around the marks were blackened and the actual injury itself was like something punched a hole straight through its tough hide. He knew an electrical attack when he saw one but this both confused him and made him shudder in his place.

"Guys…" called out Alder as he kept his gaze on it. Soon enough, the other six gathered round, Richard rolling away on the camera. "What do you see here?" The six looked at the indicated area and after a moment of silence, the Champions becoming wide eyed and the other two just shrugged. "That is a mark left by an electric based attack."

"That's impossible!" said Britney. "Ground types are immune to electrical attacks!"

"That may be Ms. Snow," started Steven and Britney looked at him, slightly blushing that the elegant and handsome Champion was speaking with her. Richard shifted in his spot a bit. "But if an electric type is at a very high level and has learned how to condense or focus the energy in the attack, it can even harm ground types. Like an armor piercing round going through thick steel. Remember what we saw from the hotel balcony? Those incredible lightning strikes from the clouds? It has to be from that."

"And all the other bodies show signs of the same type of scorch marks. And there are craters all over the place too with darkened centers. From what Alder says and what we saw, then that's what caused it. It has to be," stated Diantha.

"All we know is that it was a very dangerous attack and one that only a very powerful and skillful pokémon would be able to pull off. It might have been Raikou or even Zapdos. Who else could penetrate Rhyperior's armor, let alone fry a ground type pokémon with electric attacks and cause the clouds to strike thunder as if it was a toy?" asked Lance and everyone shook their heads. "Officer Jenny, would you please contact the cleanup crew and have them come here?"

"On it sir!" replied back the blue haired officer after snapping out of her stupor. She was thinking about how strong Ash is, remembering what he did back at Indigo Lake and the carnage that was left on the ground in front of her. She didn't like that so many lives were taken, but she was a realist and knew sometimes things don't go the way you want them too. She also knew that the raven haired guardian wouldn't just kill for no reason, seeing him restrain himself before. Remembering him at the lake made her redden slightly but she immediately pushed past it and called the required people for the job. She started explaining the directions once she got someone on the other line.

"Thank Arceus Ash is on our side," remarked Alder after standing up.

"Too right." The Hoenn Champion turned to the frozen reporter. "Ms. Snow?" Britney turned to Steven. "Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm okay. It's not the first time I've been around a horrific scene but it still got to me. Thank you," she replied, smiling at him, slightly red and Steven nodded his head. Once again, Richard shifted in his spot slightly.

"We should check out the cabin," said Diantha.

"Alright. But keep your eyes open and your guard up. This was their hideout and there may be leftover traps or other hidden dangers," remarked Lance. "Britney, Richard and Officer Jenny, please wait outside. We'll let you know if it's safe to enter." The three agreed and the four Champions cautiously made their way towards the cabin. They each brought out their lead pokémon and explained the situation to them before heading inside. While the Champions and their pokémon searched in the cabin, the other three stayed outside, making small conversations here and there. They were talking about what could've happened as they waited for the Champions to come back out and for the cleanup crew to get there.

Around the same time the Champions had reached the battlegrounds, something was happening at the Indigo Hotel's penthouse suite. Many figures were gathered around in the master bedroom, some sitting, some standing, near a king sized bed that had a young man lying unconscious on it. Two blue and black canine pokémon were next to him with their glowing blue paws on the man's chest. Another being, this one human, had his glowing blue hands on his stomach. The three were pulsing healing aura onto him, trying to undo the damages he had received in his battle against the Skull Brothers and the self-inflicted harm he caused onto himself when he forced his aura out. The minor wounds he had sustained, such as the stomach cut was healed with no leftover scar and the stab wounds were partly healed from before and scarred over. But what was really worrying Lucario was that his Master had used his aura before his body had recovered from his alcohol poisoning. That had severely taxed his body and he hoped that it wouldn't be permanent. He had already suffered through a mental breakdown just a few days before, was emotionally broken last night and if he had to go through his body becoming fragile as well, Lucario didn't know if he would be able to handle it.

While the three were trying to heal the gravely injured and weakened raven haired guardian, the ones in the bedroom were silently watching them as they did so. Gardevoir was standing beside Pikachu's bed, watching over the electric mouse, the aura canine and her trainer. Norman and Professor Oak were leaning against the wall near the bathroom door, each with their arms crossed over their chest. Delia was looking at her son's expressionless face, standing near the top of the bed next to Riley. She was gently stroking the top part of his head while silently letting out tears, praying that he would recover and soon. The four girls, Misty, May, Dawn and Serena, were standing at the foot of his bed with their mothers hugging them, though in Misty's case, her oldest sister was hugging her. The girls' eyes were glued onto him, not making a sound but not crying either. He wouldn't want them to and were doing their absolute best to do so. Daisy was also looking at Ash, hoping he would be alright for Misty's sake. She also felt something stirring within her as she kept her gaze on him but after a couple moments, she pushed it aside. What mattered now was her baby sister, not trying to understand what she was feeling.

Leaf was holding his hand while her tear streaked gaze was on his, standing on the opposite side of Riley. Cynthia was standing behind Leaf with Clair, Liza and Sabrina standing next to her. Each of them had sullen expressions on their faces and thinking many different things. Cynthia hoped he would recover but was wondering how long it would take and whether or not he would be alright when he woke up. Clair and Liza, especially the latter, were deathly quiet, which was surprising. Neither could make a sound, both of them completely lost in worry over the young man. Sabrina was the worst one off out of the four. She was thinking how she shouldn't have agreed with what he said and she should've gone with him. She could've helped him out and prevented him from getting so hurt. She kept insulting herself in her mind for that, beating herself up over it but nobody noticed, not even psychic frontier Brain.

Sarah, Anabel, Giselle, Shauna and Lizabeth were standing behind the two Lucarios watching them heal the man they had feelings for. Sarah was saying prayers in her mind and Anabel was thinking about the first time she met him. Giselle was leaning onto the bed post, unable to keep upright by herself, hugging herself. She was shaken to her core seeing him like this since she had believed that he was so strong after their battle together in the tournament. Shauna and Lizabeth were hugging one another with both sets of watery eyes on the young guardian. They were filled with sadness seeing him so vulnerable and weak. Never before had they seen him in such a state and would never have believed it so had they not seen it with their own eyes.

Brock and Lucy were sitting on the chairs against the wall with the Frontier Brain resting her head against his shoulder. Cilan and Iris were sitting next to them, with the dragon trainer hugging her boyfriend. Chili, Violet, Lily and Cress were sitting on the couch against the adjacent wall. The eight of them were quiet, waiting patiently for the raven haired guardian to be healed, many different thoughts going through their heads. Violet and Lily were of course worried about him but were also worried about Misty, wondering how their sister was handling this since she was so quiet. Clemont, Bonnie and Max were sitting on the window ledge near the balcony door with the two young teenagers sitting next to one another. Bonnie was leaning against Max, who would've been embarrassed but was too busy worrying about his friend who he looks up to. Joy and Richie were also in the room but were standing near the room door, crestfallen. Richie was leaning against the wall and Joy was leaning against him with his arms wrapped around her stomach. Joy was feeling useless that all of her medical training and learning was of no benefit right now. Richie was feeling a mixture of emotions. He was happy that his girlfriend and the love of his life was safe and in his embrace. But he was also scared that his close friend was in big trouble. He was also feeling a little relieved that he had prevented him from battling against the Skull Brothers at the forest because he saw the incredible phenomenon in the distance from the hotel balcony.

Gary and Daisy Oak were half sitting, half leaning against the dresser that was placed in front of the opposite wall of where the eight were sitting. Daisy Oak was alternating her gaze from her boyfriend Riley to the young man on the bed. She was worried for both of them. She saw the injuries he had sustained from rescuing the girls and fighting the evil group. She had also noticed the strain Riley was going through with him sweating and his brow furrowed.

Gary was silent with his arms crossed in front of him, having many different thoughts whirl around in his head while his neutral expression was on the bed and the people around it. He was hoping his childhood rival would be alright. He didn't want things to end this way with him. Not after becoming friends after years of competing against one another when they should've been buddies from the beginning. He couldn't just have a half assed understanding and apology between the two as their final one. He may have fought with him, traded insults with him, treated him like shit, let his pride and ego get the better of himself and his rival may have caused the break up between him and his girlfriend by exposing his dirty secret, but he still didn't want this to happen to him. And he couldn't blame him for that though. He was fooling himself. She would've found out one day, sooner or later. Even though he wanted nothing more than to have her in his life, he understood that it wouldn't happen if she didn't trust him.

And there was one more thing as well that he needed to know and it involved him, his rival and the Queen. He wanted to know if he had any feelings for her, if she had any feelings for him and whether or not she felt anything for him anymore. He glanced at the blonde Queen of Rota before moving his gaze so no one would see. Queen Ilene was standing next to Misty and Daisy, her hands clasped together in front of her. She was filled with fear and sorrow over seeing her Knight so injured and weak. And she still felt so horrible and guilty over what she did to him. She hoped he would recover without much issue so she could make it up to him somehow. Whether or not he took up the title of Knight of the Kingdom of Rota, she would always view him as one.

Seeing the process was still going, Delia got up to go check on Natasha. She had promised her son she would take care of her when he wasn't around or able to and would keep that promise. Oak, Norman, Caroline, Grace and Johanna decided to go with her. They didn't want her to be alone and thought that they should get some tea ready for everyone since it would help calm them down and warm them up. They wanted to do something to try and help and that was the best they could at the moment. Riley, his Lucario and Ash's Lucario continued their healing for a while longer but then Riley couldn't go on and stopped abruptly, panting heavily. Daisy Oak appeared by his side immediately, holding him up before he lost balance. "Are you okay?!" she asked him with a worried tone of voice. The others in the room glanced at him besides the two Lucarios and were about to move to him but he stopped them by waving his hand.

"I'm…fine. Just…exhausted," he panted. He looked at the four girls. "I'm sorry…I can't continue."

The girls merely shook their head slightly. "No need to apologize. I'm sure you did your best," replied Serena.

Before Riley could comment back, his Lucario also couldn't continue. He stopped his healing and took a step back, panting heavily. He looked up at his partner and friend with a sorrow filled gaze. "It's alright friend. I know you did your best," praised Riley and his Lucario bowed his head. "Take a good rest." His Lucario nodded and was soon returned to his poke ball. Riley then turned to Ash's Lucario who was still going. "You should take a break Lucario and continue after you rest," advised Riley but Lucario shook his head and kept going. "We've been healing him for a while now. I think he'll be alright. You can take a break and we can continue afterwards," suggested Riley.

Once again, Lucario shook his head and continued pulsing out healing aura. They could see him sweating and straining to keep it up. "I cannot."

"But why?" asked Daisy Oak.

Lucario thought for a moment, debating whether he should tell them or not before he decided that he should tell them. "Because Master isn't just suffering because of his battle wounds. He is suffering through alcohol poisoning and he forced his aura out before his body recovered, before the alcohol left naturally. That has damaged him greatly. He wasn't able to sleep at all last night either, both from the pain from his liver and thinking about what happened the night before. I cannot stop until I have healed him enough to prevent permanent damage," revealed the aura canine. Everyone gasped with the girls clapping their hands to their mouths, letting out whimpers.

"This is all my fault. I'm so sorry," apologized Leaf. Her lips quivered and her eyes filled up with water.

She was about to break down when her arm was grabbed all of a sudden and pulled towards the youngest Sensational Sister and wrapped up into a tight embrace. That action surprised many in the room, not expecting it all.

"Don't even think that Leaf. He would've done that for any of us. And there's no point in crying anymore. That won't help anyone and Ash wouldn't want us to. So chin up alright? And…and I'm sorry for being so mean and cruel to you. I really am. It's just…when it comes to Ash…I'll do anything for him. Please forgive me," said Misty sadly as the two girls hugged each other. Leaf couldn't take it and she let out some tears.

"You have nothing to be sorry about Misty. In your shoes, I would've acted and done the same. I don't hold anything against you, Dawn, Serena or May. I just hope you and everyone else can forgive me for what I did," pleaded Leaf through her sobbing.

"We already have." Leaf withdrew from the hug and looked at the blunette who spoke in disbelief. "It's true. We have. What you went through with the Skull Brothers, we wouldn't wish that on anyone. And like we said before; we didn't know about your past. We didn't know that your feelings for him are so great and pure. So what happened is in the past," said Dawn.

"But what we spoke about last night is still true. So if that's all good with you, if you still want it and Ash wants it too, then you'll become one of us, become our sister and be with him," finished up May with a smile. Leaf looked at her and then at the other girls. They were all looking at her with smiles on their faces and Leaf smiled back at them. Some of the others in the room were astounded but also happy in hearing that. The other girls who have feelings for Ash though were lost in thought about what they just witnessed.

"I've come to realize that's all I want. Thank you all," said Leaf. The five girls entered into a group hug that made the others in the room smile that they were able to bury the hatchet and move on from the ugly things that happened before.

When they finally withdrew from one another, Brock spoke up. "So that's out of the way, I have something to ask you girls," started Brock and the five girls turned to face him. "So now that Leaf has been accepted along with Cynthia, who's going to tell the families that the group consists of six girls now instead of just you four? And will they be alright with that?" Brock's questions made the girls' eyes widened and some of the people who didn't know about Cynthia being involved as well had their jaws dropped, who were Clemont, Max, Bonnie and Daisy Waterflower. Three of them was astonished and unable to comment or even form a thought about that. The fourth however was thinking how her baby sister could be alright with all this…

The six girls looked at one another and then at their friends around them. They had forgotten about that. How would their families take it? Would they still support them? Would they try to break them up? What would they say? They thought about it in silence for a bit. "I don't care what they say or think." Everyone turned to the one who said it. "If my parents don't like it or don't support us, I don't care. My best friends and sisters have been there for me and so has Ash. They are my family now as well and we are adults. What we decide to do with our lives is up to us and us only," answered the brunette from Hoenn without hesitation.

"Couldn't have said it better myself May," said Serena, making everyone feel that things would be alright though the oldest Sensational Sister thought she would have to speak with her baby sister later. A sudden blue glow caught everyone's attention and they all looked towards the source; it was coming from Ash. Lucario took a couple steps back, his eyes wide.

"What's happening?!" asked Bonnie out of fear, grabbing onto Max, who went red.

Before Lucario could answer, the blue glow brightened and expanded until it filled the room, washing over everyone. It stayed like that for a moment before it retreated back to its host. The blue glow faded away but left behind a faint blue outline around him. "What was that all about?" whispered Giselle. Nobody spoke but they all turned their attention to Lucario and found him to have a very happy expression on his face.

"This is great news. Master will be alright. His aura was checking to see if his current position was in a safe place and if the people around him are trustworthy before beginning the healing process by itself. If it deemed the area unsafe, it would have lashed out against everyone," explained Lucario.

"So he'll be alright?" asked Sarah, not moving her gaze from Ash.

"Yes, Lady Sarah. Master will be alright. The healing process will take some hours but everything is fine now. We have nothing to worry about anymore," answered Lucario.

"No, we still need to worry about something," piped up Gardevoir and everyone looked at her. "You need to rest now too Lucario." Lucario looked at her and saw she was not going to let him argue about it, one of her rare stern gazes shot at him. He sighed and nodded his head. Gardevoir took his paw and lead him out of the room towards the balcony since she knows he likes nice views.

"So whipped. Just like his trainer," chuckled Gary.

"You shouldn't talk Gare-Bear," said Leaf and they all laughed at him, but he just shrugged.

"Eh, you're probably right, but you know me. Can't stop with the jokes," replied the young researcher, stealing a quick glance at Ilene but she wasn't looking in his direction. Instead she was looking at the guardian on the bed. He had hoped for her to look at him, even if it was for a second but got nothing.

"Too bad they're not funny otherwise we wouldn't mind so much," jabbed Leaf back, making most everyone in the room laugh again, making Gary feel embarrassed.

"Damn it Leaf!"

"Hey, keep it down!" shot May and they all went silent. "Since we know now he'll be fine, we shouldn't have everyone here while he rests."

"She's right. All of you except his girlfriends need to get out," said Brock as he and Lucy began ushering everyone out. As they did that, Leaf grabbed hold of two girls who were near the end of the group and pulled them towards her and the other girls. When they gave her confused looks, she shushed them and told them to wait. Clair, Liza, Shauna, Lizabeth, Giselle, Sabrina and Daisy Waterflower glanced back to look at Ash before they left. After everyone else left, Brock closed the door after he too left. Leaf turned to Misty, May, Dawn, Serena and Cynthia with Anabel and Sarah standing behind her.

"There's something you should know," started Leaf and the five girls looked at her with curious expressions, though four of them had an idea what it could be about. The two behind the brunette were looking at her with curious worried gazes. "Anabel and Sarah are good people. They were there for me, putting my needs before theirs when they could've kicked me to the curb to get closer to what they want but they didn't. I cannot make you do anything or agree with me, but please just hear me out; Anabel and Sarah both like Ash too and I believe they will be great for him and be great sisters to us as well. They should be given a chance too if Ash likes them, even a little bit." Cynthia was surprised at Leaf's little speech. She didn't think she would do something like that. She then realized that she was changing and for the better. She looked at the two girls and found them to have embarrassed faces at being found out. She then turned her gaze to the four girls who didn't have any look of surprise on their faces and that made her tilt her head.

"Yea, we know they like him," said Dawn after a moment, making the other four girls become flabbergasted. "I caught you talking with Lucy about it all Anabel."

"Damn. Really?" asked Anabel, embarrassed at being caught so long ago.

"Yea. And even if Dawn hadn't stumbled onto that, it was kind of obvious what you four were doing," said May, making the four flush crimson. "It wasn't that hard to notice. You guys would blush ever so slightly sometimes whenever you and Ash would talk and we saw the way you were looking at him in the past. Just because we didn't say anything, doesn't mean we didn't notice."

"That's right. And we didn't say anything because we thought it was just a crush and nothing more until we found out differently," added Serena, making them become confused.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sarah.

"After Ash told us everything about his mission, Lucario explained some things to him and us about what happened with him going crazy after talking to Arceus," said Misty. "He told us that…" The four girls then explained everything to them that they were told of, the reasons why they could enter the Guardian's Shield and the rest couldn't.

"So you knew before. Then when he asked you what he should do about us after finding out why we could enter the Guardian's Shield, you told him to give it a shot if he felt there was something, even when you could've not let him?" asked Cynthia in surprise, the other three shocked at what they heard.

"That's right," answered Serena. They looked at the four girls with disbelieving eyes.

"Wow. You girls are something else," commented Anabel and the four girls went pink slightly, thanking her for her kind words but told her to not think of them as special or perfect or whatever else. "But you are! No wonder he loves you!" repeated Anabel and the four blushed heavily.

"Wait…is that what he was talking about when he told me that night how he found out some stuff that made him understand how he feels about me?" asked Cynthia, figuring out what he was talking about that night.

"Yup," replied Dawn instantly.

"Hold on a second!" said Leaf as she, Anabel and Sarah looked at Cynthia. "Are you saying that you told Ash how you feel about him before your kiss with him last night?!"

"Hehe…ah yea…and he kissed me then too," said Cynthia with a grin.

"Damn…and you were alright with that?" Sarah asked the four girls.

"Yes because like we said; Ash didn't hide it once he realized what was going on after what Lucario explained and what we decided together," said Misty.

"I see…so, I take it this means there's a chance things could work out between us?" asked Anabel, hope filling her.

"It means that since Ash does feel something for you and you him, you can try it out and we won't try to stop it. However, you must follow the rules we have agreed on and because of our families being here, we must ask for you to wait to show your affections to him in front of everyone until after my date with him," clarified May.

"Sounds reasonable. I'm in," replied Sarah, feeling absolutely joyful.

"Me too," said Anabel with a large smile on her face.

"Good. I guess that's settled then," said Misty and the eight girls nodded. She turned to look at the love of her life and saw him fast asleep, the faint blue glow still outlining him. Pikachu was still curled up in his basket bed, resting as well since he was exhausted. She smiled a bit and then turned to the girls again. She was starting to feel tired. She rubbed her eyes a bit and seeing her do that, made the other girls realize how tired out they were as well. "You guys too huh?" asked Misty, noticing them becoming tired all of a sudden and the seven girls mumbled their agreement.

"Yea. I wouldn't mind sleeping but I also don't want to leave his side," said Leaf, looking at her childhood friend on the bed and they all agreed.

"Well, unfortunately the bed is too small for us all to fit and I don't think it would've been a good idea right now even if it was big enough," quipped Sarah, slightly chuckling and they agreed.

"May, you and Leaf should stay with him," said Serena and the two brunettes tilted their heads.

"Yea. It's your date up next and Leaf should be here too because she and Ash have to talk when he wakes up," added Anabel, the other girls agreeing.

While May and Leaf told them goodnight and the six girls left the room afterwards to go to their own beds, several conversations were going on from before in the living room, dining room and balcony of the suite. Delia, Oak, Norman, Caroline, Johanna and Grace were speaking with one another in the dining room. Gary, Daisy Oak, Riley, Ilene, Daisy Waterflower, Violet, Lily, Cress, Chili, Cilan, Iris, Richie, Joy, Max, Bonnie, Clemont, Brock and Lucy were speaking in the living room. In the balcony were Clair, Liza, Sabrina, Giselle, Shauna, Lizabeth, Lucario and Gardevoir.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Gardevoir while she snuggled up against the aura canine on the lounge chair. They were both looking over the horizon from their seat.

"Yes. I'll be alright. I have you by my side," he replied back and Gardevoir reddened a bit and smiled in response. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in closer, making the psychic fairy feel much comfort in his embrace. They stayed silent as they watched the darkening night sky become decorated with bright dot like stars all over the place.

"Thanks for letting me borrow some clothes until I go home tomorrow to get some extra ones," said Giselle to Liza. She was wearing red sweats along with a red sweater. She was standing next to the green haired girl while the six of them were near the railings.

"Not a problem. Bring them back whenever. I have extras with me," replied Liza. Giselle thanked her again and Liza turned to Sabrina. "You're too quiet again. Is everything alright?" Her question made their small group turn their attention to the psychic prodigy.

"I…I'm not sure," admitted Sabrina. She was thinking about a certain raven haired young man. She placed her delicate hands onto the railings and took in a deep breath. "I never thought I would be so…lost in what to do." Seeing him so vulnerable made her realize that she couldn't wait forever to tell him how she felt because who knew what the future held. She wanted to tell Ash but didn't know how or when.

"About what?" asked Clair but she just shook her head. "Well, if you need to talk, we're here for you," offered Clair, not pressing the issue. She wondered what it could be about, having slight suspicions about it but didn't pursue it because she knew that if she became angry, she could decimate them all. And she had her own issues to deal with right now. Sabrina gave her an appreciative look.

"Do you think Ash will be alright?" asked Shauna with concern, breaking the silence over them.

"You heard Lucario. I'm sure he'll be fine," answered Lizabeth and the other girls agreed. "Even though he looked like he could take on the world, I just hope never to see him so angry again," she sighed. That statement made them all think about that. Sabrina had a look of concern and so did Lizabeth and Giselle. Shauna, Clair and Liza were also a bit worried about him but then they remembered how he completely decimated the Skull Brother in front of them. To say they were impressed that he could do that to someone twice his size was the least of it.

"I'm sure he doesn't like doing that but being an Aura Guardian, he has no choice in the matter," reasoned Sabrina and they all agreed before moving on and began talking about the tournament and who's left in it. They then began talking about what this 'war' that Ilene mentioned could be about.

In the living room, the others were discussing about everything that had happened for several minutes before quieting down. "Why is it that at this one tournament, so much crap has happened?" asked Gary suddenly. The group with him gave him looks that clearly said that they had no clue.

"You got that right but who can answer that?" remarked Iris.

"Maybe it's…no never mind."

"What? C'mon. You know you can speak freely around us Clemont," encouraged Daisy Oak. The rest gave him their full attention and he became embarrassed since everyone had locked their gaze onto him. He decided to say what was on his mind.

"Well…this darkness that is coming that Ash told us about…maybe it's causing all this to happen. Maybe the ones who are going to unleash it are trying to get rid of as much of their opposition as they can before letting it loose. To give them a better chance to take over the world," said Clemont and the group had scared looks on their faces.

"But why attack a tournament?" asked Lily in a whisper.

"Think about it sis," said Violet. "This tournament is for the strongest in the world. So if they're able to take out even a few of them, it'll make it that much easier for them in the long run." The second oldest Sensational Sister's words made them understand, several letting out 'oh'.

"Sadly, that makes sense," expressed Joy. "But it's a good thing we have Ash here. He stopped them from causing too much damage."

"Except for what happened to that poor girl. But he did get her away from those disgusting pieces of shit and made sure they can never hurt anyone ever again," remarked Richie. The others shook their heads in sadness.

"I just hope it doesn't change him," said Bonnie and they all looked at her. "What he did; he killed. He killed five men. The reasons were valid and he did what he had to do. But I just hope it doesn't change him." Her words made them all think and each of them silently prayed that their friend wouldn't change because of going through that.

"I don't think he will Bonnie. It's Ash we're talking about here," he said kindly and Bonnie half smiled at him but was still unsure.

"I hope that this awful experience doesn't weigh on our friend too much. I don't even think I can understand what he'll go through or even that poor girl either," added Cilan.

"What do you mean bro?" asked Chili but Cress answered him.

"Think about it Chili. We all know how Ash wants to help and protect all of us right?" They murmured their agreement. "He saved the girls from the Skull Brothers at first but then he let them go to give them a chance. And what happened next? They hurt Richie, kidnapped Leaf and Joy, almost getting the chance to rape and abuse them. But they already did that to this poor girl who's with us now. Even though he dished out justice, imagine how awful Ash must be feeling or if he's not, how badly he'll feel once he figures out it was his fault that she got raped. Or how she'll feel about it."

"Shit…I didn't think about that," muttered Chili and Violet grasped his hand.

"It's alright. Nobody was expecting something like that to happen," she said.

"But is it really his fault?" asked Daisy Waterflower, playing devil's advocate. "How was he supposed to know what they would do? How would he know that they would rape her or beat her? Or kidnap Leaf and Joy?" Even though she was trying to look at both sides, she still didn't believe he deserved to be blamed at all, doing her best to defend him.

Brock shook his head. "It's not his fault. Just because he can, doesn't mean he should wipe out every single person that we 'think' is bad. Of course, those we know for sure without a doubt should be imprisoned for all their lives at least." There were some agreements mumbled while they rest stayed quiet. "Anyway, enough about that as we have something else to think about. We need to change things," said Brock, changing the topic of the conversation and they gave him their utmost attention, curious as to where he was going with this. "No more relying on Ash. No more just sitting on the sidelines. We need to prepare. We need to train. We need to be proactive. We need to become strong like him. Especially if we are to help fight against the coming darkness. I don't want him to feel that everything is on his shoulders like it's been pretty much in the past."

"You're right Brock. And I gotta say…I love it when you get all assertive," said Lucy, giving him a devious yet sensual grin that made Brock go red and the others to chuckle a bit.

"The only way to become strong like him is to train like him. Remember what he said? That he'll teach us what he knows and how to defend ourselves," said Bonnie, chiming in.

"Bonnie's right. We should have Ash teach us and then we can take care of things ourselves," said Max, backing up Bonnie who appreciated it and there were words of agreement said by everyone.

The Queen of Rota glanced at her advisor and guardian. "Riley, you'll help too won't you?" asked Ilene.

"Of course my Queen. I'll do what I can. But in all honesty, Ash has reached a level I can't even dream about. I can assist him in teaching some things, probably the basics in self-defense but that's about it. I myself need to learn some new techniques from him," admitted Riley.

"Then it's settled. When Ash wakes up, we'll speak with him about all this and we'll go from there," said Daisy Waterflower and they voiced their agreement to it. They all got up and went to do their own thing for the time being until soon enough they went to bed, the day's events tiring them out more than they thought it would. Many of them however stayed up long into the night with many thoughts floating around in their minds, preventing them from falling asleep.

The six elders of the group were conversing while they sat on one end of one of the dining tables. Brock had informed them that Ash would be alright and his own aura was healing himself. To say the parents, especially Delia, were happy to hear it was an understatement. They relaxed and drank their tea. "This tea is really refreshing," said Oak after taking a sip. The mothers had made the tea earlier and handed out a cup to everyone before rejoining Oak and Norman in the dining room.

"You said it. So, what are we going to do now?" asked Grace after taking a sip herself. They looked at her with questioning looks. "About Ash, the girls and Leaf…"

"Oh. Well, I already told you. Just let them handle it," said Delia kindly.

"I know…but we didn't say anything then because we needed Ash to be focused, to save the three girls. Now that's over with, we need to address this. We need to find a solution," said Caroline.

"And what do you propose that solution to be? And to what problem?" asked Oak in a serious yet kind tone of voice.

"Well, we were alright with our daughters being with him after seeing his memories and worst fear and how they love him and he loves them. But Leaf? She betrayed them. She did apologize though but still. I don't know if it'd be a good idea allowing it to happen," expressed Johanna honestly.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," said Delia, setting her cup of tea down onto the table, locking eyes with Johanna. "Leaf may seem like trouble and I know how it looks, believe me. But I've known her since she was a child. She's a good girl with a good heart. She's just easily scared because of what happened in her past when she was young. And remember, her parents divorced and her mother…" Delia stopped, shaking with fury a bit, startling the others. She took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing. "Her good for nothing mother never cared about her and always left her on her own. It didn't help either that she brought home a different man every now and then. Because of that, she feels the need to do things on her own or without others knowing but I've noticed that she has changed greatly since coming here. And I did as much as I could for Leaf in the past. Trust me, she may have her faults but she is a good girl." Delia revealing and reminding them about Leaf's past to the other parents made them shake their heads, disappointed that someone like that would even dare call themselves a parent.

"That's depressing. No child should ever feel that their parents don't care about them," expressed Norman and the others concurred with him. Silence followed after for a couple minutes.

"You know what, you're right Delia. Let's not get involved. She did apologize from what we were told and they seem to have gotten past it from what we saw between them while waiting for Ash to return from his battle. Let them handle it since they're adults," said Caroline with a small smile.

"I'm sorry Delia. I didn't know. I just want my Dawn to be happy. And Caroline is right. I said before I'll be supportive of them and I still will be no matter what. I promise," said Johanna and Grace nodded, showing her support too.

"I'm glad to hear we're all on the same page," said Oak happily. "With what is coming in the future, we cannot afford to be divided. Look at what a petty fight between two young adults made happen because they let their emotions and rash judgments cloud their minds." They sighed, nodding solemnly. "We cannot allow our ego, our pride or our old ways to control us. As elders, we need to be unbiased in our decisions and be strong for them, to council them when they need it and provide help when they ask for it." The others glanced at one another and promised that they will do that. Oak smiled before he spoke again. "Good, but speaking about help…how is our newest guest Natasha doing?"

"She hasn't made a sound yet and still has fear in her eyes," sighed Caroline.

"Not really surprising don't you think after what she went through? And it's barely a few hours she's with us," remarked Delia.

"Sadly, no. She was whimpering when we came into the room and made to move away from us, but couldn't. She was so hurt and weak. Still is I think. It took her almost until the end of cleaning her wounds for her to understand that we were trying to help. When we dressed her, she was shaking. From the cold or out of fear, I have no idea. Heck it could even be from both," said Grace with a frown.

"It's so horrible what those bastards did to her," commented Johanna and they agreed. They were all furious over it. Nobody should ever be raped. And nobody should be beaten for the sheer amusement of another.

However, Serena's mother let a small smile form on her face, making the others tilt their heads. "I think she'll be alright though and do you know why?" They all shook their heads. "The second Ash stepped into the room, you could see her relax and feel safe. The fear in her eyes went away and she was looking at him like he was her knight in shining armor, her guardian angel." The five parents had understanding dawn on them.

Dawn's mother chuckled before commenting. "I would too if I was in her place, being rescued by him. Imagine being around so many people that you don't know. You'd feel overwhelmed and scared until you see the person who saved you from before from such a terrible place," remarked Johanna.

"Very true," commented Norman. "I bet something will happen though." The mothers and professor looked at him. "I bet she's going to fall in love with him," said Norman chuckling and his statement made the others widen their eyes in realization.

"Damn. How did we not think of that? And how many more hearts is Ash going to capture?" asked Delia while Grace and Johanna just shook their head but were chuckling.

"You know what? I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to make half the girls he met on his travels fall in love with him. I mean look at him and the type of man he is. Doesn't hurt either that he's an Aura Guardian, handsome, strong and a celebrity," complimented Caroline with a smile.

"I am right here! That's the second time you did that! Damn it woman!" said Norman, crossing his arms and glaring at his wife. A second later, everyone besides the gym leader burst out laughing.

"You're too easy to mess with honey," said Caroline as she hugged him and kissed him. Norman grumbled a bit while she did that, trying to stay furious. Yet again, he failed though, unable to stay angry with her. He reciprocated the hug and kissed her back. Oak and the three mothers smiled at the two.

"Have fun you two. Just make sure to get a private place if you go at it," teased Delia as she got up and the two went crimson as they broke apart and the others chuckled. "I'm gonna go check on Natasha," she informed them while heading towards the infirmary they made in one of the empty rooms.

Delia used the excuse of checking on Natasha to not let them see her become sullen. She went to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. Her eyes had become watery. Even though it's been years, she still missed her husband and had no idea where he was. Being surrounded now with so many couples around her throughout the day now had made her miss being in a relationship. She hadn't thought of her love for over almost fifteen years now, not letting herself think about him so she could stay strong for her son. But it was starting to get to her. Seeing Caroline with Norman, Ash with the girls and the other couples made her think of him after so long. She missed him and wanted him to come back home.

But she knew that was a hopeless dream. She had a feeling he wasn't dead but it's been too long and odds are that he's with another woman. Her lips quivered a bit, thinking that he left her and their son for another woman. She shook her head suddenly. "I will not cry. He left me and my Ashy. He doesn't deserve my tears." She washed her face before drying it and exited the bathroom. Only to run into Johanna and Grace who were giving her sympathetic looks. "Hey. Need something?" she asked them, hoping they didn't hear her in the bathroom. Johanna grasped Delia's hand and dragged her to their room, followed by Grace. "What's going on?!" They didn't answer her until they entered their room and shut the door behind them.

"We know how you feel," said Johanna, making Delia's eyes widen. She glanced at Grace who gave an understanding look. "I miss my husband too. He was a firefighter and he died saving our daughter from a wildfire that threatened our town when she was just a child. I think about him every day. I miss being in his embrace. I do my best for Dawn, to make sure she's happy. His last words to me were 'I love you and Dawn. Make sure she's never sad' and I promised him I'll do everything I can to keep that promise before the burns took him." Delia felt saddened to hear that, her eyes filling up with tears again and the same happened to Grace. Before Delia could say anything Grace spoke up.

"I lost my husband as well but it was due to do him being murdered in cold blood," said Grace and that made Delia and Johanna gasp before she continued. "I was a few months pregnant with Serena when we had decided to watch a movie together at the theater. After the movie ended, we were walking home when a drug addicted fool with a gun stopped us and demanded our money. He…he shielded me while handing him the money but he still shot him before running away but they caught him eventually. I'll never forget his face as he died in my arms, trying to speak but couldn't. That's why I moved away to start fresh so I can be strong for my Serena. I taught myself Rhyhorn Racing because that was his favorite sport and always said I could be great at it. I taught it to Serena as well because I wanted her to have something in connection with him. Even though she kept saying she hated it in the beginning until teaching Ash. I haven't told her the reason why I wanted her to learn yet. I don't know how or when to do it," said Grace sadly with tears trailing down her cheeks.

Grace's story was too much and the three started crying heavily. "Come here you two," cried Delia and the three mothers shared a hug together, letting out feelings they had kept bottled up for a long time. They kept crying for a good amount of time before slowly pulling themselves together. "Thanks you two. I needed that. And looks like both of you did too," remarked Delia and the two nodded. Delia wiped away her tears, sniffing and so did Grace and Johanna. "I'm going to go check on Natasha now. You two can go sleep or whatever." The two smiled at her and let her go. They knew that she felt better now having let it out and so did they.

Delia washed up first in the bathroom again before heading towards the infirmary. She opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. She glanced at the Blissey who was by Natasha's side who turned to look at her and gave her a soft greeting so as to not wake up the red head. Delia whispered it back and moved to the bedside before looking at Natasha. Her eye was closed and her breathing was somewhat even. Her hair had been tied back into a pony tail to keep it out of her face. Her other eye was still swollen shut and her nose was still broken. She wouldn't let them touch her nose, constantly moving her head, fearing what they would do and they left it alone for the time being, not wanting to force her. There were some bruises on her face and some cuts visible near her collar bones.

She frowned at the sight of her, worried about all of her injuries. She also noticed that the covers had slipped down a bit. She took hold of it and raised it towards her neck to cover her up. As she reached her neck, Natasha opened her good eye, her vision blurry. The moment she saw a figure next to her, she started shaking and whimpering while attempting to move away as she threw up her arms, using up the very little energy she had recovered. Blissey wanted to help keep her down but Delia quickly told the caring pokémon to not get involved.

"It's okay! It's alright! It's just me!" said Delia gently as she attempted to calm the traumatized girl. She grabbed hold of her wrists, forgetting that they were bruised and cut, making Natasha feel stinging pain and she started crying and whimpering loudly. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" yelped Delia, letting go of her wrists. She immediately took the girl into a hug and kept repeating that she was sorry and that everything will be alright while the scared girl just sobbed against her bosom. "Sshh, its okay. You're safe. It's alright. And I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. We won't hurt you and we won't let anyone hurt you. I won't allow it and neither will my son Ash." The second she said her son's name, Natasha began to calm down and her whimpering gradually went away. Delia noticed this and let a small smile form on her face. Damn, Norman and Caroline were right. She started stroking her head a bit before she gently lowered her back onto the bed. Natasha looked at her while she raised the blanket to the bottom of her neck and then she spoke again. "I know you're scared. I know you don't trust me yet and that's alright. But you're safe here. My Ash will come see you soon alright? He's resting now after his battle with those disgusting men. They will never hurt you again. He has seen to it. So please, try to relax. Okay?" Natasha looked at her for a moment, then moved her tear stained gaze to the wall in front of her. "I'll leave you alone and I'll make sure no one bothers you. I'll come by to check on you every now and then. Blissey will stay by your side if you need anything while I'm not here okay?" Natasha merely tilted her gaze to the kind woman as Blissey gave a soft cry of agreement. Delia stood up, giving a small smile at the girl before leaving the room. I hope those bastards are rotting in Hell right now, thought Delia as she headed towards the living room to see what the others were up to.

Blissey took up a watchful position from the corner of the room, sitting on a chair. The plump pink pokémon took out a soft clean cloth out of nowhere and then took the egg out of her pouch and started polishing it. Natasha watched Delia leave the room and kept her gaze on the door. Before she was startled awake, she was having a nightmare that she was running for her life from the Skull Brothers. She thought that the kind woman was Ed and was trying to grab her and violate her again. She couldn't get over it as her mind kept flashing their images in her head. She kept seeing them standing in front of her and she didn't believe she was out of that nightmare. She started crying again as she realized that they still had their 'hands' on her, not letting her move forward, forget them or leave them behind. That was when she remembered Edmond's words to her; That's right bitch! You'll never forget us or the happy times we had together! Consider them farewell gifts! She trembled as she heard his voice in her head and she let out more tears. Blissey stopped her egg polishing when she saw the girl cry and went up to her. She grasped the girls' hand gently and patted it while the red head just kept crying.

Clair, Liza, Sabrina, Giselle, Lizabeth and Shauna headed back inside and were heading towards the door. They said goodnight to the others that were still awake on their way when Delia walked into the living room. They went up to her to bid her a good night as well. "Thank you for everything Mrs. Ketchum. We'll be on our way and have a goodnight. If you don't mind, we would like to know of Ash's condition when it changes," said Sabrina and the five other girls voiced the same.

"Nonsense!" said Delia and the six gave her confused looks. "For one, just call me Delia. I feel old when you say that. And two, we have enough rooms here and you're more than welcome to stay with us," she offered.

"That's very kind of you Mrs. Ketchum but we'd rather not impose. We're going to stay in our hotel room that's just a few floors down. We'll be alright," explained Clair but Delia shook her head.

"Okay, next time any of you call me Mrs. Ketchum, I will slap you," threatened Delia, making the six girls gulp but then she smiled making them confused. "You're not imposing and I'm sure Ash and everyone else will be delighted for you to stay with us. We really do have the space and there's no need to go back and forth between floors if you're going to be here anyway most of the time," she explained.

"Good point Mrs….ah…I mean…Delia." Liza changed gears quickly as she saw Delia's eyes narrow for a split second. "If it really won't be a bother and if it is alright then I guess we'll be happy to stay. But allow us to go pack our stuff and then we'll come back tomorrow."

"Okay then," said Delia and four of the six girls thanked her before they left to head down to their hotel room. She then turned to Shauna and Lizabeth. "So you're staying the night?" she asked them.

"Thank you for the offer Delia but no, we shouldn't. Not tonight at least. We need to go home and pack some clothes since it's not too late yet. We also need to call our work place and see if we can get a few days off," explained Lizabeth.

"Understandable but it's getting dark out and after what happened with those…monsters…I don't think you should leave the hotel after dark. So please, just stay the night and you can call your work place from here tomorrow and then you can go from there," suggested Delia and the two blunettes glanced at one another and then back at Delia.

"You have a point and you really are too kind Delia but alright, we'll stay," said Shauna and Delia smiled at the two. She then showed them to their room that they could use. She opened the door for them and gestured them to go inside.

"If you need anything, just let me know," she offered kindly as they walked inside.

"Thank you but I think we're just going to call it a night already," said Lizabeth and Shauna nodded before both blunettes wished her a goodnight and Delia said it back to them. She exited the room and closed the door. Both Shauna and Lizabeth climbed into separate beds without even changing their clothes, since they had none extra with them and didn't feel like borrowing again like last night. They bade each other a goodnight and lied down to sleep. Yet, both of them were unable to. After about ten minutes of just lying there, Lizabeth turned to face Shauna and saw her awake still. "Can't sleep either huh?" she asked her best friend and she nodded. "I've figured it out," she revealed all of a sudden.

Shauna sat up and Lizabeth copied her. "You mean about how you feel about him?" she asked.

Lizabeth nodded. "I do. After seeing him risk it all again for Leaf, becoming injured and how I was beyond worried about him, I know for sure now. It's just like what he did in the past in front of me, risking it all for May and Manaphy. I've realized now why no other guy has held my interest even though I haven't seen him for so long. It's because he's held my heart since then. I know how I feel about him now. I just wonder how and when I could tell him and how the girls will take it. Especially May since I know her better than the others. And I wonder if I could ever tell him," confessed Lizabeth. She placed her head into her hands and sighed.

Shauna was surprised that she came clean so easily. But then again, they were best friends and should feel comfortable about telling her at least. She had to do that same too. She couldn't keep it from her either. "Lizabeth…" started Shauna and waited for her to raise her head to look at her before continuing. "I've come to realize I'm in the same boat too. I've never met anyone like him. Even when I had a crush on Brawly, Ash was able to connect with me. After he left and nothing ever happened between me and Brawly, I haven't stopped thinking about him every now and then. What you said is true for me as well and I have no clue what to do either," admitted Shauna sadly.

Lizabeth half smiled. "We'll come up with something together then. And Arceus willing, perhaps things can work out for the both of us. I wouldn't mind sharing him with you. Would you?" she asked her.

Shauna was quiet for a moment. "Surprisingly, no, I wouldn't. Cause I'd be sharing him with my best friend. Anyone else and it would've been a no holds barred cage match between me and them," joked Shauna truthfully and Lizabeth laughed.

"Good. But I think you forgot about his girlfriends," she replied back with a smirk.

"Oh right. Shit," responded Shauna. She thought about it for a moment. "I think I can do it. I mean, I know May and the other girls seem to be cool. I guess I'll be fine with it as long as they don't turn out to be bitches."

Lizabeth laughed and Shauna chuckled. "I highly doubt that they are otherwise Ash wouldn't be with them let alone have feelings for them. But I'm happy to hear you say that because I think I can too," she said before lying back down and drew the covers up to her shoulders. "Goodnight Shauna."

Her friend copied her. "Goodnight Lizabeth." Soon enough, both blunettes fell asleep feeling a little better after expressing their desires.

"All clear!" Steven had come back out of the cabin and told the three waiting outside that they can go inside if they wanted to but not to touch anything. The three were watching the cleanup crew, who were wearing biohazard suites, do their job as they waited. The crew would take a picture of each of the lifeless bodies of the way they rested and then carried them to the large biohazard trucks they came in and placed them in the back of them. Jenny, Britney and Richard turned around when they heard Steven and headed inside the cabin. "There's mangled body of one of the Skull Brothers inside with his head smashed in but other than that, there's nothing to be disgusted about. Just don't look if you have a weak stomach. Careful now," said Steven as he assisted Britney over the broken down front porch. Richard shifted in his spot again but said nothing.

"Thank you Mr. Stone," replied Britney with a smile.

"You're welcome. And just call me Steven." The two led Richard and Jenny inside the cabin. Jenny asked him if they found anything that could help them find out who the Skull Brothers were working for while Richard was recording as he followed behind them, videoing them and the place. "Unfortunately, no. All of their gear or belongings have no way of being traceable. No serial numbers on their weapons, the lock boxes or anything. They had no personal items either." The Champion of Hoenn led them towards the hall way and stopped near the basement door and stairway that led upstairs.

"Why'd you stop?" asked Jenny.

Steven sighed a bit. "We found some things. In the basement, we found dried blood and torn clothes. In the upstairs bedrooms, we found both of them to have ropes tied to the bed posts, with one of the rooms having torn clothes as well," he said and the other three gasped.

"What kind of disgusting animals were they?!" shot Britney, unable to control herself and at that moment, the basement door opened and Alder appeared. He took a couple steps forward, not noticing them, placing a small item into a large clear zip lock bag. He took off his rubber gloves and placed them into his pants pocket.

Steven moved to his fellow champion. "You found something?" asked Steven. Jenny, Britney and Richard followed from behind.

"Yes," said Alder after a moment, raising his head and realizing he wasn't alone. "I found a smart phone in the basement in one of the shelves. It's been slightly damaged and there were some interesting things in it. Very few contact numbers, some notes on trivial matters. But there are some pictures and two videos on it. The images are a little blurry and the video has choppy sound. But you could still make some of it out. And some of it is very disturbing to say the least."

"Disturbing?" repeated Steven and Alder gave him a significant look, one that he got to mean that they'll talk later without the press there. "Alright. Where are Diantha and Lance?" he asked changing the subject. Alder was about to say that they went upstairs when footsteps were heard coming down. "Find anything up there?" asked the silver haired Champion, turning towards the stairs to see the two he mentioned.

"Nothing that can tell us anything about the Skull Brothers beside the little we know of them or who they were working for," said Diantha and Lance said the same. Diantha turned to the other three. "We haven't found any hidden dangers. Britney and Richard; you are free to look around and record but please don't touch anything. Officer Jenny; please have the crime unit come and do a full sweep here," she requested and the three nodded. The two news workers moved to the basement as Jenny called the crime scene unit.

"Lance, I found something but we should wait until we're back at headquarters to talk about it," said Alder and Lance did not object.

Lance sighed, running a hand through his spiky red hair. "It's going to be a long night." Alder, Steven and Diantha nodded, agreeing with him. They decided to take one last look around the place before the crime scene unit came, in case they missed anything. They each searched in a place they haven't yet while Jenny went back outside to wait for the CSU while the news duo were recording around the cabin.

A raven haired young man was walking down a very bright road, alone and confused. He had no idea how he got there or where he was going. But his gut was telling him to keep going, to not stop. He walked on and on for what seemed like hours. Right when he began to feel like he was too tired to continue, something caught his eye in the distance. He couldn't make it out but kept continuing forward, increasing his pace. He was beginning to make out a shape but couldn't tell what exactly. That should have worried him but for some strange reason, it didn't. The closer he got to it, the safer and more comfortable he became. He was just about able to make out what the shape was when a bright white light erupted from it that blinded him. He raised his hands to shield his eyes and waited for the light to dim down but it never did.

"Guardian…" The voice that said the word was so soft, so soothing, so angel like that for a second he thought he imagined it. "Guardian…" Hearing it again made him realize that he wasn't imagining things and the voice was coming from the bright being.

"Who are you?" asked Ash, his eyes still shut and his arms covering his face.

"Guardian…"

"What do you want from me?"

"Guardian…"

"Where am I?"

"Guardian…"

"WHAT DAMN IT?!" shouted Ash, losing his patience and becoming angry. The bright light vanished and the voice stopped repeating the word. The young man gulped, knowing he crossed some unknown line that he shouldn't have. He slowly lowered his arms and cracked open his eyes. He couldn't make out anything so he opened them fully and looked around. The road had become dark and the outlined being was gone. Ash looked around frantically and didn't know what to do. He felt something behind him and turned around and he saw…nothing. He shook his head, trying to clear the doubt in his mind and turned back to face forward.

He took a few steps in front of him when he heard it again. "Guardian…you will have to make a choice soon." It was the same voice that spoke before but it seemed like it was coming from everywhere. The young man snapped his gaze all over the place, trying to find the source. "Guardian…you will have to make a choice soon."

"I heard you the first time!" shouted Ash, looking around, moving forward and picking up his pace.

"Your choice…" Ash began running. "Your choice…" His heart was beating like mad and it had nothing to do with him running. "Your choice…" Ash saw a large structure in the distance and sprinted towards it. "Your choice…"

"ENOUGH!" yelled Ash, getting closer to the structure. He saw it was a pyramid like building with steps made into it that ran all the way to the top. He climbed the steps and when he reached the top, he saw two large golden mirrors. He slowed down to a jog before stopping in front of them, panting. Both mirrors were exactly the same in every aspect, from size, to shape, to design and everything else. He was marveled by how well made they were. The voice spoke again.

"Your loved ones…" The left mirror began glowing before it faded away and revealed an image. Ash peered into it. The picture showed him with everyone he loves and cares about gathered around him at his home in Pallet Town. His friends and mother, his pokémon and his girlfriends were all around him, every one of them smiling or laughing along with some other people in the background that he couldn't make out. Some of them looked familiar while others weren't. "Everyone else…" The right mirror glowed before an image showed on that one. Ash moved towards it and peered inside. He saw many different people who he didn't know. He saw young couples holding hands walking down the sidewalk, families with young children playing in the playground, elder people sitting on a bench and several small and cute baby pokémon playing with one another in the grass. "Your choice…" The voice repeated.

"I don't understand. What do you mean by my choice?" asked Ash, alternating his gaze on the two images.

"Your choice…" replied the soft voice.

"That doesn't help!"

"Can't save everyone...must choose…"

"I will save them all!" countered Ash.

"Impossible. You must choose."

"Nothing's impossible! I can do it!"

"You…MUST…choose!"

"I WILL NOT!"

"THEN YOU DOOM THEM ALL!" shouted the soft voice and a bright light erupted from in front of him, engulfing him. That was all he saw for a split second before he blacked out.

A raven haired young man's eyes snapped open and all he saw was darkness. He closed his eyes and opened them again several times and each time his vision became a little better. After doing that, he could see a faint outline of some lamps. He furrowed his brow, confused for a second, until he realized he was looking up at a ceiling. When he made to move his limbs, he found that there was weight on him. He looked down. He could make out a few outlines but couldn't really tell what was putting pressure on him. His pupils turned slightly blue as he used his Aura Vision and that's when he realized what the shapes were. It was Leaf and May. They were sleeping on the bed with him, their auras lighting up the dark room, heads resting on his chest, hugging his arms and their legs were on top of his lower body. He smiled at the sight of the two. He was very glad he wasn't alone. He turned his head a bit to the side and saw the digital clock on the night stand that said 245am. He gazed back at the brunettes on top of him. He could feel their curvy bodies on his and it heated him up but he controlled it. He then felt another sensation that made him widen his eyes.

Shit! I gotta go!

He slowly pulled his arms out of the girls bear hugs, rubbing against both of their chests in the process, making the girls let out slight moans in response. He froze and felt his heart beat madly. He waited a few seconds and seeing them still fast asleep, he continued. He was able to get his arms free with them still asleep. He tenderly lifted Leaf off of him and onto the bed and did the same to May. He shimmied down the bed and the moment his feet hit the floor, he silently bolted to the bathroom to relieve himself. "Ahh…man that feels good…" he sighed. He washed up afterwards and looked into the mirror while drying his hands. The images he saw in his dream flashed across his mind's eye and he stopped.

Your choice…you must choose…

He shook his head and put the towel back. He turned off the bathroom light and exited, closing the door behind him softly to not make noise and turned around. Before he knew what was happening, a set of lips was on his. Getting caught up in the moment, Ash returned the kiss. A little bit later, with him knowing who the kisser was from the beginning, the two separated and he looked into the blue eyes of the Hoenn native. "Hey. You feeling better?" she whispered.

"Much," he answered, before pulling her into a hug. He held onto her until he sensed something move towards them.

Ash let go of May only for him to end up in a bear hug by Leaf. "ASH! I'm so happy you're alright!" she said as she buried her face into his chest. Ash was about to comment when Leaf continued, preventing him from speaking. "You said we'll talk after but I need you to know this first; I'm sorry for everything! Absolutely everything! Please forgive me! Please give me a chance as I'll do anything! Anything you want me to do, I'll do it to earn your love back! Just don't give up on me! I've done wrong, I know! I messed up many times! But I promise you, if you give me a chance to prove myself to you, I won't let you down and I'll do whatever it takes. You are the best thing in my life. You mean everything to me. I cannot lose you because…I love you Ash," she finished up with some silent tears going down her cheeks. Ash was quiet, listening to her words while reciprocating the hug. When he caught May's concerned gaze on him, he smiled at her to show things are alright and she got it as one spread on her face too. Leaf calmed down after a moment of just being in the embrace but didn't move or make a sound.

"Leaf Green…" She slowly raised her green eyes to lock with Ash's brown eyes. He gently wiped away the tear streaks from her face. She felt her heart race with her loving his tender touch on her. "My childhood friend…my childhood crush…" Leaf blushed but maintained her gaze. "I should be the one who is asking for your forgiveness. All the things I said to you, the way I behaved towards you, I apologize with all my heart. I never should have done that and I never should have allowed myself to act like that towards you. I hope you can one day forgive me for it. And don't even worry about what happened as I forgive you but if you don't forgive me, I understand. I'll do anything to make it up to you. But I only ask this one thing from you; please apologize to the girls. And as much as I would want things to work out between us if you do forgive me, they need to forgive you first before anything else happens."

"Ash, we already forgave her and we already talked to her about everything. We're all good with her and she is with us," informed May.

"Well, thanks for keeping me updated," deadpanned Ash and the two brunettes giggled a bit before calming down.

Leaf looked into his eyes. "I do forgive you Ash. I don't blame you for getting angry. I just hope you can move past it and love me as much as you love them," she requested. Ash smiled at her.

"I promise Leaf to treat you the same as I do to them because…I do love you. With all my heart Leaf." Leaf let out a happy sound and she hugged him tightly as she buried her face into his firm chest once more, letting out joyful tears and May was smiling at the two. She loved happy events as it made her all joyful inside. "With me, there is no measure when it comes to me loving you so you shouldn't worry about if it's less or more. And you said you'll do anything?"

"Anything." Leaf responded immediately, raising her head and giving him a fierce look that said she wasn't kidding.

"Okay. Then can you please wait until after May's date? And then we'll tell everyone, alright?"

"It's a deal Ashy. But…can I have one small thing until then?" she asked and he nodded with a smile, responding with anything. Leaf leaned in and placed her lips onto his and he returned the kiss passionately, running his hand through her long hair and the other was on her cheek while Leaf's hands were cupping his face. The kiss sent a jolt through them both and soon after they separated. She looked breathless and Ash was a bit dazed.

A giggle made them both turn to look at May who went red. "Sorry. It's just the looks on your faces was too funny," commented May, now making Leaf and Ash go red though they smiled a bit. Leaf withdrew from Ash and then walked over to May. "Leaf what…"

"Quiet!" snapped Leaf and both May and Ash were startled by her sudden remark. The green eyed brunette grasped the blue eyed brunette's hand and then led her to the brown eyed raven haired guardian before pushing her onto him, who caught her in his embrace. "Enjoy your time alone together you two," she said, grinning at them who returned the smile, understanding what she was doing. Leaf turned to the door, talking as she walked. "Now don't be up too late you two as I'll still wake you up early. Oh and Ashy…" She turned her head to look at him with her back still to the two. "We may both be brunettes, but don't be thinking about me when you're with May now." She gave a playful smirk and wink before exiting the room, leaving behind a chuckling Ash and a slightly annoyed May.

"Ouch!" yelped Ash all of a sudden.

May had punched his shoulder. "Even though we're alright with it, you better not be thinking of her when you're with me!" she said, her eyes blazing. Ash looked her in the eyes with his caring and warm brown eyes and May felt her anger and annoyance melt away. She hugged him immediately. "I'm sorry Ash…I just…I've been waiting so long to be with you…I don't want you thinking of anyone else but me right now…I know it's selfish but I…" May was interrupted when Ash gently raised her head by her chin and kissed her. She felt her body temperature shoot up and her heart beat madly, feeling one of his hands rub her back while the other went up and down her side. Ash felt himself become enflamed and soon he inserted his tongue into her mouth and May reciprocated. They kissed for quite a while until they stopped and both were looking into each other's eyes.

"No need to worry May," said Ash softly as the two looked into one another's eyes. "I'll never do that. And how could I?" he asked rhetorically and May let a radiant smile form on her face. "There's the smile I know and love." Her smile grew and she kissed him again, making them go out it again until they separated a few minutes later. Ash was smiling at the beautiful brunette in his arms and May was feeling happier than she ever did in his embrace.

She suddenly remembered something and her eyes widened, taking a step back and looked at him with his attention on her. "Ash, there's some stuff you need to know about that happened after you knocked out..." She explained what happened afterwards. The healing, how the girls forgave Leaf and they were on the same page, the others leaving, about Lucario and Gardevoir and finally about Sarah and Anabel knowing about the shield event, his feelings and so does Cynthia and Leaf. "I thought you should know so there aren't any surprises."

He nodded at her after a moment's pause with a smile. "Thanks for letting me know what happened." She smiled and replied back saying it was no problem. "May…I'm gonna go get some water and then I'll be back. Do you want some?" he asked her and she said she would. Ash left the room with a blanket. He went to the balcony, found Gardevoir and Lucario fast asleep, snuggled together and covered them with it. He then went to the kitchen. He didn't run into anyone since it was late at night until he stepped into the kitchen and saw that his mother was still up. She looked to be a little tired. "Mom?"

Delia turned around at once from the sound of his voice. "ASH!" She hugged her son and he felt like he was going to be snapped in two. "I'm so happy to see you up on your feet again!" She let him go finally after he tried to get some words out but was only able to mumble. "Sorry."

"It's alright. But what's up Mom? Why are you still awake?" he asked her, getting two bottles of water from the fridge after he stretched his back from her tight hug. She just shook her head saying it can wait till morning. "C'mon Mom, you can tell me."

Delia looked at Ash for a moment before sighing and began speaking. "Well, it's about the girls' parents…" She explained everything to him and Ash understood. "I just want you to know. They're happy and content with everything but they were at first hesitant about Leaf until I explained some things to them. They're okay with it and won't get involved as long as the girls are happy. I know you'll do everything you can to make sure they are happy and safe but if you need anything, just let me know. It's okay to ask for help, especially from your mother and especially when it comes to six girlfriends. Okay sweetie?"

Ash nodded and hugged his Mom. "Thanks Mom. I will never make any of them sad ever again or allow anyone to hurt them either. I can't and won't let it happen. I promise." He hugged her tightly and she returned it. He then withdrew quickly and gave his mom a stunned look. "Wait, what do you mean by 'six' girls?!" he asked her and his mom laughed.

"Well, Leaf is a given. And the others might have missed it, but you can't hide anything from me. I know Cynthia likes you and you like her too," she answered and Ash's jaw dropped. He was about to ask her how but then she raised her hand. "After you came inside from talking to her in the hallway and said your reason why, the girls backed you up instantly. That was a red flag and then when she came to spend the night here? And how worried she was after you showed your memories? C'mon, you can't fool me sweetie."

Ash shook his head while chuckling. "Should've known. I'm sorry Mom. But you should know about something." His mom tilted her head, giving an intrigued look. He sighed before speaking again. "It's actually eight," he said quietly.

Delia's eyes widened and she gasped. "Eight girlfriends?!" she repeated back in a whisper. She knew better than to yell it out. "How? When? Who?"

"I'll explain everything later Mom. I promise. I will say that the other two are Sarah and Anabel though." Delia nodded and also thought that they two weren't bad girls. They were beautiful and also behaved properly. But she also thought how could she have missed it? "I just…didn't want to make a scene. And I just found out about that recently. The girls know about it of course and I don't want all the extra attention it would bring," he admitted.

Delia cleared her head from her thoughts. "I understand but you can tell me okay? And tell the girls they can be open with me as well. Just don't try to hide things from me anymore. That's all I ask. Alright?" she requested and Ash agreed. He again promised that he'll explain everything to her later since he was tired right now. He said goodnight to his mom, grabbed the two water bottles and began heading out of the kitchen. "Oh and one more thing I need to tell you." Ash stopped and turned around to face his mom. "Natasha isn't doing well. We need to have her go to the hospital but she won't go. And she's very afraid of everyone, barely allowing us to clean her up a bit and make her wear some clothes. Her nose and eye should be checked and her bruises too. She may have bones broken or fractured or even internal bleeding. She's been crying nonstop, hasn't slept properly and she's still awake." Ash sighed heavily, commenting that he could heal her but not yet. He may be back on his feet and had some use of his aura, but he was nowhere strong enough to heal someone right now who was heavily injured. And he doubted Natasha would allow Lucario to heal her either even if said pokémon wasn't resting himself after healing him. "I see. Well, she only relaxes for a moment when I mention your name. You think you can give her some of that Ketchum charm to help her relax and understand that we're here to help and that she needs to go to the hospital?" requested Delia.

"Really? Why's that?" he said confused. His mom gave him a look of disbelief before connecting the dots for him. "Oh…I didn't realize that could happen but that makes sense. Okay Mom. I'll give it a shot."

"Thanks sweetie. And it's alright. You help people without expecting anything in return, which is why you probably miss these kinds of things sometimes. You think you can go talk to her now since she's probably still up? I just checked on her a little while ago."

"Yeah, I haven't really been noticing it in the past but I'm starting to now, like Leaf, Sarah, Anabel and Cynthia but I still miss it sometimes. I guess but I have to...AH SHIT! May's been waiting for me," exclaimed Ash, looking at the two water bottles in his hand before dashing to his room. Delia stayed behind, waiting patiently with a smile, knowing he'll come back. She occupied her thoughts while waiting with the possibilities the future may hold for them all.

Ash entered his room and began uttering out an apology. "May, I'm so sorry for taking so long!" He looked around and saw no one in the room and the bathroom door was open with no light on. "May?" A pair of hands covered his eyes from behind.

"Guess who?" asked a soft voice in his ear, making him gulp and his heart to beat faster.

"Hmmm…beautiful voice…soft hands…great rack pressed against my back…" That last comment earned him a knee to his leg but she didn't stop pressing against him. He winced but continued. "Short temper if you know how to push her buttons…" A growl was made into his ear. "Can make very cute growls that make you want to just kiss her nonstop…" The growl turned into a purr in his ear. "And when she purrs, you just want to keep making her purr so you never stop hearing it." The purr turned into a slight moan. "And the slightest moan from her can turn you on and make you want to just be with her all night. Has to be the Princess of Hoenn; May Maple." The soft hands were lowered and then Ash was made to turn around and felt a pair of lips smash onto his. Their kiss erupted with passion, the water bottles dropping to the floor as Ash moved his hands down her body, making May shiver in delight before he rested them against her round butt. He squeezed them, making her moan again before picking her up from her ass, causing her to squeal into his mouth. They continued their kiss for a bit until they stopped, their faces barely an inch apart. "I love you May."

May's lips curled up into a smile before she spoke. "I love you Ash." She leaned in slowly and gave him a simple kiss filled with all her feelings for him. When they withdrew again, he looked into her sparkling blue eyes to have her see how much he cares for her. He lowered her back down. She smiled again before hugging him and resting her head against his chest.

"I'm sorry I took a while. My Mom was in the kitchen and we ended up talking a bit."

"So that's why. I was starting to wonder what happened to you. But it's alright. Just try not to have that happen again without at least giving me an update," she joked.

"I'll try." They chuckled a bit. "May, there's also one more thing…"

He explained to her what he and his mom talked about them, the girls and how Natasha needed some help. When he finished May looked up at him with sadness in her eyes. She never liked seeing anyone being hurt or sad. "Understandable about our parents but we'll deal with that if need be. About Natasha, that's depressing. It's going to take a while for her to open up to us. I understand her though. I would probably feel the same way in her shoes," she said and Ash nodded solemnly. "Go. Go and convince her to go to the hospital tomorrow and see if you can make her sleep too. I understand if it takes a while. I'll be right here waiting for you. I can't be childish about this. She's hurt, frightened and traumatized. That's more important than cuddling up next to you, no matter how much I want it," she said, her voice completely serious and with no trace of hesitation.

Ash gave her a respectful and admiring look. "You truly are one of a kind May and when you get an idea in your head, you don't let anyone stand in your way. That and your motherly personality are two of the many things I love about you. You are my Passionate Princess," he told her and May gasped at his pet name for her. She kissed him lovingly.

"Thank you my Knight. Now go and take care of Natasha. And come back as soon as you can," she told him and he nodded, saying he'll come back for sure to spend the night with his princess. May gave a radiant smile again that made Ash's heart skip a beat before he left the room. He went back to his mother who was waiting for him in the kitchen still, slightly out of it. "Sorry Mom. Had to explain to May."

Delia shook out of her imagination of all the possible grandchildren she could have if everything went well in the future. "No problem sweetie. Anyway, c'mon. Let's take care of things," she said and he nodded. Delia led the way and Ash followed his Mom to where Natasha was. She made him wait outside the room until she called for him, saying she wanted to check something first. She stepped inside and found the red head still awake like last time she checked. "Hey Natasha, how are you doing?" she asked but she didn't get a reply back except for a tired and fearful look plastered all over a tear streaked face. "Are you feeling any differently? Any new pain?" she asked, choosing to not 'see' the tears as she thought it may embarrass her or make her cry again but again no answer. Delia sat down on the edge of the bed but yet again Natasha didn't react. Her good eye, which was bloodshot from all her crying, was open part way and it was filled with fear and pain. "It's okay sweetie. You can tell me. I want to help." All she got was a slight shake of the head. Delia sighed but let a small smile form on her that made Natasha become both confused but also became more afraid, with the latter showing on her face. "Oh no, don't be scared. I'm smiling because I have a surprise for you." She kept her gaze on the red head, trying to see if her expression will change after what she says next. "Come in please!" she said.

The room door opened and Natasha moved her gaze to it and Delia witnessed the sudden transformation in her. The fear in her eye was instantly replaced with security and her body visibly relaxed. She could see the way the traumatized girl was looking at her son; a look of admiration, respect, gratitude and something else that she couldn't quite put a word on. She didn't think it was love because she could usually see that a mile away if she looked for it. But then again, she missed it with Sarah and Anabel. That made her wonder suddenly if she may have missed it with anyone else? She focused back at what was happening in front of her. Natasha's gaze was close to it but what was the word for it? She also noticed how he was able to calm her just be being in the same room with her. She smiled in remembering how the other parents were right about her becoming smitten with Ash. Was that it? Was that the word? Maybe. When he came up to the bed, Delia got up to make room for Ash and he sat down beside her. She then said goodnight to them both before leaving them alone.

Before the kind mother entered her room again, Natasha was crying a bit. She had fallen asleep for a few minutes and had woken up abruptly after seeing another nightmare. She couldn't stop seeing the Skull Brothers in her head and couldn't stop hearing their horrible voices either. Please Arceus! Make them stop! I don't want to see them! I don't want to hear them! Please make it stop! Despite her pleading and prayers, the images and voices continued in her head. She couldn't make them stop their haunting. She kept feeling the pain they inflicted on her, the humiliation they made her suffer through. No matter what she tried to do to overcome it, she failed. It was so bad that she wanted to just die right there. She looked around for something to use to help her take her own life in her hysterical state but found nothing. She then noticed the Blissey right beside her, who was gazing at her sadly. She thought maybe the pokémon can put her out of her misery…

Before she could dwell on it, the room door opened and she saw Delia enter again. She was checking in on her almost every half hour or so. She saw the woman give her a kind expression and then she talked a bit to her but she kept quiet mostly, shaking her head once to something while she was feeling fear fill her. Natasha knew she was just trying to be kind and help but she was just too scared to let anyone in close. Please just leave me be or help me end this suffering, she thought until she saw the woman smile. Why is she smiling? What could she be happy about? Wait…I knew it! She's going to hurt me! Why?! What have I done to you?! Her fear was shown through her face and the woman started talking again but she didn't hear her until she said 'surprise for you' and she felt herself start trembling. She had enough surprises for the rest of her life. I don't want any surprises from you! Please just leave me alone or end my suffering by…Her thoughts was interrupted when she glanced towards the door when it opened again. She felt her fear evaporate and felt herself stop shaking. She opened her eye fully and gazed at the person who entered. It was her savoir, her hero. The one who rescued her from the horrible clutches of those sadistic and lust filled bastards. She watched him walk closer and closer to her, the older woman of no concern to her anymore. She saw her guardian angel come to her bedside before taking his mother's spot on the bed, sitting beside her. She didn't notice his mother leaving the room after wishing them a good night since her gaze was fixed onto the raven haired young man.

"Hey Natasha." His voice soothed her again just like it did the first time she heard it. The concern in it, the strength in it, the soft way it reached her ears. "How are you feeling?" he asked her.

Natasha could feel the compassion in his words and it made her react. She opened her mouth to respond, to talk to him but no words came out. Her vocal cords were shot and she just now realized that she couldn't speak. She thought she was just tired. But no, her voice was actually gone. She whimpered and her lips quivered before her reddened eye began to overfill with water. Ash grasped her hand gently after seeing her reaction and she squeezed it as tightly as she could. I can't talk! I can't talk! Arceus! My voice is gone! Why is this all happening to me?! She closed her eye and sobbed, her mouth open, taking in shuddered breaths with only her whimpering and crying the only sounds she could make. It was very disheartening to see for Ash.

"It's okay Natasha. Let it out. All of it," he told her and she seemed to be heeding his words as her crying became more intense. Ash, without ever letting go of her hand, got up and repositioned himself to sit at the top of the bed, leaning against the headboard. Natasha leaned her head against him, moving her arm across his stomach and sobbed into his chest, her tears staining his shirt but he didn't care. He wrapped his free arm around her and gently stroked the top half of her arm. He waited for her to just cry it out for a bit until he decided to speak. "No one will hurt you ever again Natasha. I promise. You have nothing to fear while I'm around and nothing to fear from my family and friends. They just want to help. Okay?" Natasha's sobbing continued for a while before they eased up a bit, attempting to pull herself together. Ash sensed she was trying to overcome it and he smiled a bit. "That's it. Don't let it keep you down. I know you can do it," he said, encouraging her.

When she hugged him and he her, she couldn't help but feel safe. The voices and images in her head had become less pronounced, fading away more and more as time passed with her in his embrace. Thank you! Thank you for saving me! Thank you for getting me out of there! Thank you for making the bad things in my head go away! She tightened her grip on him as much as she could, afraid that she was imagining him beside her or that he was going to vanish from sight. She heard his encouraging words but she didn't believe she could do it, especially not on her own. Please don't ever leave me! You're the only one who can protect me from the bad stuff! I can't do it by myself anymore! Please never leave me! Ash felt her grip tightening on him and figured it was because of two reasons; first was that she was scared and the second was that she didn't want him to leave her. And he was right on both counts.

"Natasha," he said softly and waited for her to react in some way. Her sobbing finally ended after a long time. She slowly raised her head to look at him. Ash saw that her eye was very red and her cheek had many tear streaks on it. He slowly raised his hand, making sure she could see what he was doing. "I'm not going to hurt you. Will you trust me?" he asked her. After gazing into his eyes for a moment, she nodded. He moved his hand slowly closer to her and gently wiped away her tear streaks. His tenderness towards her was something she had never received from anyone and she felt so much emotion from that single action she didn't know how to process it. When he finished, she lowered her face, resting her head against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her again. "I won't ever leave you. You can stay with me for as long as you want. I'll do anything and everything within my power to help you, to keep you safe. But you need to let me in okay? I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do but if you allow my mom and me to help you, we can make things better little by little. We want to take you to a hospital so you can get checked out and make sure you're alright. We can't do that here. Okay? Will you let us take you?" he asked her.

Once again, Natasha was stunned at how he was waiting for her answer, for her permission, for her acceptance. He wasn't forcing her to do anything she didn't want to do, even though he was right. She was in so much pain from all her injuries but she was too afraid to go to the hospital right now. He doesn't want anything from me but is offering everything to me. He can't be serious. Is he? She looked up into his eyes again and what she saw before was still there. The concern, the worry, the kindness and the compassion in them for her; she never, ever, had anyone look at her like that in her life and nothing even came close from all the objectifying looks she had received in the past, even from her own partners in the organization. He is…he is being serious. He truly does care. She nodded her head ever so slightly but enough for him to see. She then rested her head against his chest again. Her extreme tiredness was beginning to overwhelm her, her eyelid beginning to fall. She let it happen since he was here with her. Ash noticed this and smiled a bit.

"Thank you for trusting me Natasha," said Ash softly. "I'll wait by your side until you fall asleep before I go back to my room."

Natasha's eye snapped open and she hugged him tightly again, indicating that she didn't want him to leave. She didn't want her source of safety and comfort to leave her. And once again, Ash was stunned. NO! Don't leave me! Don't let the bad things come back! Please! She started whimpering again and he quickly took control. He raised his hand to her head and gently stroked her head through her hair.

"It's okay Natasha. You're safe here. I know you don't want me to go and I'm not. I'm just going to my room okay? Someone is waiting for me and that way you can sleep more comfortably. And you're not alone. My Blissey is here. She'll take good care of you," he told her but Natasha just shook her head.

She forced herself to whimper more loudly to make him understand that she didn't want him to go. It hurt her throat to do that but she didn't care. Please don't go! Don't leave me unprotected! She may be your pokémon but she's not a fighter like you! Only you can protect me! Please! Fear was starting to fill her again at finding out he was leaving. Even if he was just going to his own room, she didn't want him to go. Ash didn't want to leave her like this but also didn't know if he really should stay. He was worried that it may cause more harm than good. He then got an idea that may work.

"How about you do this for me and I'll be the one who takes you to the hospital and I'll stay by your side throughout the whole process. Okay?" he offered. She stopped whimpering after hearing him say that and she thought about it. Knowing she was thinking about it, he decided to sweeten the deal a bit. "I'll do all that and I'll have one of my most powerful pokémon stay with you. He was the one who found the cabin in the woods. He has even taken down Legendary pokémon all by himself and he is very protective and proper. Would you like him to stay by your side as you sleep?" he asked her. She didn't believe Blissey could protect her, another reason she wanted him to stay. But hearing him speak about another one made her think about it. She had seen how powerful his pokémon are from the stadium attack and he said this one was one of his most powerful and protective. She nodded her head, agreeing to it. "Okay Natasha. Allow me to introduce the master of stealth." He held out his hand and a blue glowing orb appeared that made the red head gasp silently before it faded away to reveal a poke ball. It opened and the powerful water and dark type pokémon appeared. Greninja stood up straight immediately before bowing to both. "Greninja, this is Natasha. Would you kindly please watch over her as she sleeps?" Greninja nodded without hesitation. "And would you protect her from any and all threats?" Again Greninja agreed.

He gave a kind look to the red head and saw she was scared. He wanted to help her or do something to show he would help her and he got an idea. The water starter then brought his hands together to form a sphere and a bluish white glow appeared in between them. Natasha tightened her grip on Ash, afraid of what he was doing. The glow faded away and the ninja frog lowered his hand for them to see what was in it. A bloomed ice flower is what they saw and Natasha gasped again, thinking that it was beautiful. He slowly extended it to the red head to not scare her anymore and he stopped when he was close to her hand. Natasha looked up at Ash who gave her an encouraging smile. She looked back at the ice flower. She had to concentrate to raise her hand as she was so weak and tired. She had used up most of her energy before when she thought Delia was Ed. It was much harder to do than to slide it across Ash's stomach. Her hand was shaky and she felt like she was trying to raise a ton but kept going. She almost reached it before she couldn't continue anymore and her hand dropped down onto the soft bed. I failed. I can't even do that. What have they done to me?! Natasha whimpered and Greninja had a sad look appear on his face and Ash was feeling horrible. She had almost got it. The water starter placed the ice flower on the bedside dresser.

"It's okay Natasha. You were very close. You'll get your strength back and you'll be stronger than ever," he reassured her but she just shook her head. He didn't know what to say until he got an idea. "You will Natasha. I believe in you and because I'll tell you a secret that proves you can. A secret that almost no one knows about me. Do you want to hear it?" Natasha went silent and looked at him, unable to believe that he was willing to tell her something so personal so soon. "I'll take that as a yes. Now, I was nowhere close to being this 'good' at pokémon in the beginning. When I first started my pokémon journey, I tried to catch a Pidgey using my jacket. It…didn't turn out the way I wanted it to." Natasha's eye widened. Unable to control herself at hearing such a ludicrous story, her lips spread into a small smile before the unmistakable sounds of laughter were heard, though they were barely audible. She couldn't believe she was laughing right now after everything she had gone through just recently. Even Greninja had a smirk form on his face before chuckling and his trainer noticed. "Yea, yea, laugh it up Greninja." Natasha continued on for a little while longer before calming down. "Feel better?" he asked her and she nodded. "Glad I could be of service. But now, it's time for you to rest." He made to get off the bed but she held him back down. "Hey, we had a deal remember?" he reminded her gently but the way she was looking at him was too much. He could almost never refuse the puppy dog look or anything similar to it when he wasn't angry. "Alright, I'll stay with you until you fall asleep. But then I have to go to my room as I have someone waiting for me and so you can be more comfortable but Greninja will still watch over you. And I'll take you to the hospital myself. Deal?" He told her and she nodded.

He repositioned himself on the bed and Natasha rested against him, holding onto him like he was her lifeline. Greninja quietly moved to the corner of the room to watch over them. It didn't take too long, since she was so tired out and she was feeling safe, sleep came to her but not before she thought of one last thing; thank you…for saving me…Ash Ketchum. She fell asleep and after waiting about fifteen minutes, seeing that she was alright, Ash tenderly moved her onto the bed and raised the covers to her shoulders. He looked at her for a few minutes, waiting to see if she would continue sleeping peacefully. He then faced his pokémon who nodded at him from the corner. Ash smiled and thanked Greninja quietly before leaving the room.

He bumped into Daisy Waterflower when he entered the hallway. She had gotten up to get some water, her thirst having woken her up, holding a water bottle. "Oops, sorry Daisy," apologized Ash, helping her get her footing again.

"No problem Ash. I should've been careful too," she replied back, balancing out. "I'm glad to see you on your feet again," she said with a smile and he thanked her. "Everything okay?" she asked him, seeing the worried expression on his face.

He took a breath before answering. "I hope so. I was just checking on Natasha and convinced her to go to the hospital in the morning," he said.

Daisy smiled at that. She always saw him as a caring person and this proved it again, just like his other actions. "That's good Ash. I knew about that from what your mom was saying before. I'm guessing she told you huh?" she asked him. He confirmed that, explaining how he bumped into his mother in the kitchen earlier. "Anyway, well done. No wonder my baby sister loves you. You're one of a kind and I'm glad you're the one she chose," she said sweetly.

Ash hugged her all of a sudden, catching her off guard but she returned it. "Thank you Daisy for your kind words and approval. And you know, I'll do anything for Misty," admitted Ash, relaxing a bit in her embrace. He wondered about that but then decided that it was just because he was comfortable around her and knew her a bit.

Daisy was starting to feel something strongly inside her too. For some strange reason, she didn't want to get out of the hug but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she replied back. "You're welcome and I do." The two separated and the two happened to look into one another's eyes for a split second that made her heart beat faster. "Have a good night Ash," she said all of a sudden and began walking to her room.

He tilted his head a bit at that but then thought she was probably tired. "Good night Daisy and thanks for listening to me," he told her. She glanced back at him and nodded with a smile. She faced forward and headed to her room with Ash turning around and headed to his own where May was waiting for him and entered it. He saw her in bed already, the cover drawn up to her shoulder, her eyes closed. He smiled seeing her so peaceful and calm. He went to use the bathroom, washed, brushed his teeth, changed into his sweats only pajamas and then climbed into bed. He decided not to wake her, letting her rest and just being able to look at her was enough for him for the moment, both facing each other while lying down on their sides.

"You gonna make a move or what?"

"I should've known you were just pretending."

May opened her eyes and saw Ash smirking at her and she grinned back. "Yea, you should've. Took a while. I'm guessing it was pretty bad huh?" she asked him and his smirk went away and a frown replaced it.

"Very. I had no idea how scared she is. It took me a long time to just get her to agree to let us take her to the hospital tomorrow and again to go to sleep. I promised to take her myself and to have my Greninja watch over her as she slept. And I bumped into Misty's sister Daisy and she asked me if I was doing alright. We talked a bit and I thanked her when she said she was glad that Misty chose me," he explained to her.

"Oh I see. And how did you thank her?" she asked with a grin and he just chuckled before saying he just hugged her and said thank you. May giggled. "I trust you my Knight. I was just messing with you." Ash commented back that he knows and has no problem saying what he did. May smiled at him, feeling her heart flutter that he wouldn't hide anything important from her anymore. "What was she doing up so late though?" asked May. Ash said she was most likely thirsty since she had a water bottle in her hand. "Makes sense. Well, you did what you had to do regarding Natasha and I'm very proud of you. You were able to get a traumatized and scared girl to open up a bit to you. I bet she could feel that you were being genuine and that you weren't just playing a game, that you actually care," she told him. She stretched out her arm and caressed the scar on his chest. "No one can doubt that you care and if they do, this is proof." Ash felt himself shiver at her touch but enjoyed it.

"Thank you May," he said, giving her an appreciative look. She could see that he was tired out and decided that he should rest but also wanted to tease him just a little bit more before letting him sleep. She smiled at him before grasping his hand, interlocking their fingers together. She then turned to lie on her other side while also bringing Ash closer to her body. She backed up into him, her firm round ass up against him and she moved their interlocked hands towards her chest, having his finger tips graze against her breasts over her thin semitransparent red night gown. "May…"

"Yes? What is it?" she asked, feigning innocence while turning her head slightly. Ash didn't say anything but snuggled in closer, pressing against her back and butt, making her tremble in delight, feeling him up against her. He raised his head towards her face and gave her a loving kiss. Blue and brown eyes found one another after and they smiled. "Sweat dreams my Knight," said May.

"Goodnight my Passionate Princess," said Ash. They both placed their heads back onto the pillows and snuggled up against one another even more before closing their eyes. And soon enough, both of them were fast asleep, feeling content and comfortable in their close embrace.

When Daisy Waterflower entered her room, she quickly got into bed. She faced the wall since her bed was next to it. She was feeling and thinking many different things. Why did I feel that way? When he hugged me, why did I not want to get out of it? She was lost, not knowing what she was feeling. She glanced at the Squirtle doll that was sitting on her bedside dresser. She smiled, reached for it and pulled it into a hug. Why did my heart beat faster when I we made eye contact? That's never happened to me before. She looked at the doll in her embrace, seeing its goofy and adorable smile. It reminded her of Ash's trademark goofy grin and that made her chuckle a bit. I'm probably just over analyzing this. It's probably nothing and most likely I'm just tired. And I just felt good to know someone cares. That's probably why I felt that way. She decided that's what it was and hugged her doll tightly until she fell asleep a couple minutes later.

A couple hours ago, in one of the other hotel rooms on a different floor below the pent house suite, there were three girls sleeping in their beds, each of them seeing dreams. The fourth was taking a shower, having been in there for a bit already. Her hair would always take some time to shampoo and rinse out. She had just begun to wash her body when her thoughts drifted onto the raven haired guardian. She froze in her place as her mind pictured him, his charming smile on his face that sent shivers down her body. She shook her head, pushing the image out. She continued her shower and when she started on her lower body, she froze again as the picture formed in her mind once more. This time though she was picturing him from the club, without his shirt on, the scar on his chest. She became so heated all of a sudden and it wasn't from the hot water.

She couldn't help herself and her hand began sliding down her lower body until it reached her womanhood and begun rubbing over it. She imagined being in his embrace in her home, with him kissing her. He picked her up suddenly and then placed her onto a bed as they continued to kiss. Both of them assisting the other in taking off their clothes and when finally in the nude, he pushed himself into her. Slowly, intimately, teasingly, making her go crazy from it. She started panting and moaning, diving two of her fingers into her opening, pumping in and out without care. She pictured them becoming one, with him picking up the pace and turning the slow love making into an animalistic fuck.

"You're mine. Now and forever." He said while growling into her ear, making her tremble from his husky tone of voice, her heart beating wildly. After some time, he climaxed into her, making her squeal out in joy in imagining how it would feel. She felt herself go in real life. She leaned against the shower wall, sliding down it as her legs became jelly like, unable to support her for the time being. She was panting, out of breath while her mind was working to catch up with what she was feeling, the hot shower water still falling onto her. After a few minutes, her mind having caught up, she thought of what this could mean.

Why did I imagine this? What is going on with me? Why can't I get him out of my mind?! She thought about that a bit more, seeing him appear in her mind's eye periodically. "Damn it…what have you done to me Ash?" She went quiet and saw him in her mind again, giving her his trademark goofy grin. "Damn it…why don't you like me? We danced in the club…and I felt your body against mine that night…what do those girls have that I don't? Why won't you look at me the way you look at them?" Her outspoken thoughts saddened her and it took her a moment to gather enough energy and stood back up. With many thoughts rushing through her mind, she quickly finished her shower, dried herself, wore her undergarments, then pajamas and got into bed. She glanced at the other girls who were fast asleep.

Giselle was sleeping peacefully and silently, not making a single sound. Liza was also fast asleep but was also making low moaning noises. She stared at the green head, wondering who on earth she could be dreaming about. She heard her mumble a bit. "Oh…oh…" She went quiet until she heard her say 'faster' a bit later. But what really shocked her was what she said next a little later. "Make me yours Ash." Her eyes widened at hearing her close friend say that in her sleep. That she was dreaming about being with him.

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the sudden feelings of jealousy out of her and was about to draw the covers over her when she saw the happy expression on Sabrina's face. The psychic prodigy had the largest smile she had ever seen on her and that made her very surprised and very curious. Before she could snap out of her state, she saw her lips move ever so slightly, saying a single word very quietly but she heard it in the dead silence of the room. "Ash…"

Clair couldn't believe it. Liza and Sabrina were both dreaming about Ash, one of whom was picturing herself having sex with him and the other, who knew what was going on her head. She glanced at Giselle again, wanting to see if she would say anything or show any emotion on her face, remembering that she had asked him out after their battle and tried to get with him in the club. She didn't notice anything but got up and went closer to her to be sure. She peered over her and saw the dark haired beauty's hand under her pillow. She noticed the bulge on the pillow, indicating that it was her hand but wondered why she would have her hand in a fist as she slept. She knew it was a fist because of her doing it as well sometimes. She slowly raised the pillow end a bit and looked underneath it. She focused her vision in the night, being aided by the moonlight through the window and what she saw made her eyes widen. It was a cut out picture of Ash waving in the stadium from a newspaper, clutched in her fist.

The blunette dragon trainer was at a loss for words, not believing that all three of her closest friends, her new friend and herself had all fallen for the same guy. She lowered the pillow gently, went back to her bed, got in, drew the covers up and faced the wall, her back towards the other three. She stared at the wall in front of her and thought of what she had just learned. Her best friends Liza, Cynthia and Sabrina all have feelings for Ash, with Cynthia actually being with him. Their new friend Giselle has feelings for him too. What's more is that she did too but also realized that it wasn't just some lust filled fantasy that she had for him. She felt herself becoming jealous and envious when she thought of him being with his current girlfriends and her friends having feelings for him too. She had fallen for him and all it took was just a few good interactions between them and a bad one that he apologized for, after years of not seeing one another.

She had fallen for the aura guardian. She had fallen for someone, something she swore that she would never let happen to herself again after what happened to her in the past. She had always wanted someone who would be strong, who could beat her in a fight, who could protect her if she couldn't herself. Who wasn't afraid of her either but also wanted someone who respected her and actually cared for her. She had decided long ago that when she did find that person, she was supposed to make him obsessed with her. She was supposed to make him fall for her, dream about her and think about her. Not the other way around. She had broken her own promise to herself. And what was worse…she had fallen for this particular man, one who was already taken, by five girls nonetheless. Hell it might even be six girls if she counted Leaf and if he accepted her. And there were three other girls who were also head over heels for him, that she knew of and that she was sharing a room with.

How? How could this happen? Why did this happen? Why him? Of all the men in the world, why did I develop feelings for him? And why have so many other girls fallen for him too? What makes him so special? He is handsome but he's also one who could be so dangerous and volatile….and yet could be the most protective, the most caring and the most trustworthy...Is that what made us fall for him? Fall for someone who we cannot be with, someone who is out of our reach? Out of my reach? Why?

That's when she realized that the chances of her feelings being returned were pretty much zero. She felt her heart ache and her stomach twist into knots as she realized that her next love, possibly the one who could've been right for her, was doomed before it even began. The image of Ash's charming smile flashed in her mind, making her lips quiver and tears to escape from her eyes as sadness filled her. She soon realized that when she imagined him saying just five words earlier in her fantasy was true. There was no going back, no chance of being freed, no chance of finding another, as she heard his words over and over until she cried herself to sleep; "You're mine. Now and forever."

Champions Lance, Diantha, Steven and Alder were at the Pokémon League Headquarters along with President Goodshow having a late night meeting. They had just finished going over what was on the smart phone that Alder found. The pictures they found were few but all of them were of the raven haired guardian and that worried them as they thought they could have been following him for a time. They only found two videos on the device. One was of the stadium attack and what Ash did to defend everyone. The other was of the group rape of the poor girl they found. Some of the audio was choppy and they were unable to make out some of the words spoken by the red head. They were disgusted from seeing the video, with Alder turning his gaze away from it as he had already seen it. The Champions were furious but also horrified of what she went through.

After seeing that video of what they did, they had no more doubts that they deserved to be killed. As for the contacts, they had no idea who they were as they didn't have full names, only general ones, like 'Boss' and 'J'. They couldn't call them but they thought that they could track their numbers. But when they attempted that, all they got back was an error from their systems. The trace wouldn't go through. They were stumped and didn't know what to do or who to have look at it. They didn't want this to fall in the wrong hands and based on what's been happening so far during this single tournament, they had no idea who to trust to look at it. They decided to sleep on it and inform the guardian and their other fellow Champion when they had some more information. The five of them told each other goodnight and left the headquarters to head home and go to sleep.

In an office building near the Indigo Plateau, most of the lights were off except for a corner office where two people were working very late into the night to try and make the deadline. Britney Snow and Richard were finalizing their report on what happened, editing the visuals and going over everything they had recorded. He clicked the mouse button once more and the report was saved. Richard glanced at Britney with tired eyes. "We won't be able to finish this in time for the next airing. Not if we want it to be the best it can be," he said and Britney sighed.

"Well, next day news then. Are you sure you want to go down this route though?" she asked him.

Richard nodded. "Yes. People need to know what he's capable of," he responded.

Britney was hesitant. She thought for a moment. "Alright. You have a point. Let's get some sleep," she said. He agreed and copied the report onto a flash drive to have a back up before turning off the computer. They made plans to meet up tomorrow around mid day and left the office. When they reached outside, the two bade one another a good night and left. Richard watched Britney get into her car and leave before he too left the area.