The Skull Brothers Strike 2...

Chapter 39.5 - The Skull Brothers Strike 2...

"ENOUGH!" shouted Riley getting angry, letting his aura flare out and that stunned everyone into silence before anyone else can add fuel to the fire. "There are more important things going on right now than your petty squabbles! The only other person who was truly hurt last night other than Leaf isn't even here! You two may have been hurt too but not to the degree of them two! Who knows where he's gone or when he'll return even though he promised! And yet your fighting and arguing changes nothing that's happened!" fumed Riley. They were looking at him with fear on their faces that he had let loose like that since he almost always had an aura of calmness around him. "What happened in the past is important and we should learn from it. Yet you're dwelling in the past, just like Ash is, letting it control you instead of trying to find a way to fix things, to learn from it or at least move on damn it! All of you are acting like spoiled children who didn't get their daily new toy! You're all adults so start fucking acting like it!"

Riley glared at them all with his glowing blue eyes that made them all flinch before the glow and aura went away and he moved to the large balcony patio and leaned against the rails as he looked out into the distance. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. He didn't like doing that at all but sometimes enough was enough. He could only take so much. He was beginning to understand how Ash felt, how he couldn't take it anymore. That's when Riley realized that Ash had a point and that his patience had more of a limit than his since he didn't even last a week with them before blowing his top. A few minutes later, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. He glanced back and saw it was Daisy Oak with a sullen expression on her face.

"You're right Riley. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have acted like that especially when my brother is at fault. We've been blaming and pointing fingers at one another instead of owing up to what we did wrong ourselves. I'm sorry. Please forgive me," she said in a sullen tone of voice, making Riley turn around and pull her into a hug.

"I'm sorry too Daisy for getting angry and losing my patience. And I do forgive you. Do you forgive me?" asked Riley and she nodded while her face was buried into his chest. "Thank you."

The ones in the kitchen were left standing in shock over what Riley just did, watching him go to the balcony. They watched in silence as Daisy Oak went up to him and they apologized to one another. Gary glanced at Ilene and she looked at him but then turned away. She walked up to Leaf and stood in front of her. "I'm sorry Leaf for being so cruel to you. You didn't deserve that."

"I'm sorry too Leaf. I shouldn't have said what I said to you. Please forgive me," added Gary. Ilene was surprised he apologized. She wanted to glance back at him but prevented herself from doing that.

Leaf sniffed and shook her head. "No, you're both right. I'm bad luck. I fuck up everything. And all this happened because of my mistakes and foolishness. I'm so sorry!" apologized Leaf. She burst into tears and then ran out of the kitchen. Her friends calling out to her to wait and stop but she didn't listen to them. They heard the suite door open and slam shut. Joy turned to the others.

"I'm gonna go with Richie to find her and talk to her," she told them and several offered to go with her but she shook her head. "I think it'll be better if it's less people. That way she won't feel overwhelmed. Anabel, Sarah; I know you're her friends but she needs to know that we're here for her too." The others agreed and they watched the couple leave the suite. Right when they left, they set to work on slowly setting the table for everyone. They didn't talk and Gary and Ilene didn't say another word though they did glance at one another every so often but never caught the other looking. Riley and Daisy Oak stayed in the balcony until their remaining friends and family trickled in. With most of them there, they started filing in around the dining tables with their usual morning greetings with the table finally set. Everyone who was there sat down and began grabbing their share of food.

While they ate, four girls had just finished getting dressed in the master bedroom. They were about to leave the room when the door was opened and three other girls stepped into the room. Misty, May, Dawn and Serena greeted Cynthia, Shauna and Lizabeth who just entered.

"Thanks for the pajamas," said Lizabeth, handing the girls their clothes.

"No problem," replied Dawn with a slight smile.

"Did you guys get any sleep?" asked Cynthia and the four shook their heads.

"No, not really. We kept waking up throughout the night," replied May with the blonde Champion saying she went through that as well.

"You ready to leave?" asked Dawn.

Cynthia nodded. "Pretty much. I don't really have anything important to take with me other than my pokémon of course. Are you?" she asked them and they nodded.

"I can't believe you all love him, he loves you and are going to leave with him," commented Lizabeth.

"Not an everyday thing huh?" asked Serena with a slight smile making them all chuckle a bit.

"No, it's not," agreed Shauna. Her smile went away before she continued. "I never thought he felt that way. Hearing what he said last night was a brutal eye opener." She was thinking about everything he said last night, how he was always doing everything for everyone but was never truly appreciated.

They all sighed but the red head spoke up before the rest. "He's always doing everything for everyone and never expecting anything in return except perhaps for some respect at the very least. After everything other people did to him, what Leaf did to him in the past and what she did to him now, he just couldn't take it anymore," stated Misty.

"Speaking about Leaf, she went through some crap too. What about her?" asked May.

"We'll try to make him see how sorry she is but first let's see how he is. It won't do her, us or him any good if we try to reason with him if he hasn't cooled down yet," advised Cynthia.

"Good point," remarked Dawn.

"I just hope he hasn't hurt himself while out wherever he went," said Serena quietly and the other girls nodded solemnly.

"C'mon. Let's go get some breakfast. It won't do us any good staying here and just hoping for things to happen or not happen," advised Lizabeth.

"She's right. Let's go eat and wait for Ash to come back and get you five," added Shauna and the girls agreed with her. The seven of them left the room and went to the dining room with the four girls leading the way.

Both blunettes followed after them with neutral expressions but inside they were conflicted. They had woken up before Cynthia and talked together privately in the bathroom. They wanted to go with them too. But, they didn't know if they should. They didn't want Ash to leave. But they didn't know if they should ask him if they could go with them. They wanted to find out if what they were feeling for him was true or not. But how could they ask that? How could they let him know? And how could they do that to their friends, especially May who they know better than the rest? And what if they hated them for that? Or caused something else to happen? Not knowing what to do, the two blunettes just decided to not say anything unless some sort of sign showed otherwise. When they joined the others and they saw Shauna, Lizabeth and Cynthia, their group was at first surprised that they were there. After a quick explanation and introductions for the two blunettes, leaving out certain details in the process, the others shrugged it off and they quickly told them to join them for breakfast.

"I'm surprised Ash isn't here. I'll go get him," said Delia as she made to get out of her seat until May stopped her.

"Oh Ash isn't here. He spent the night with his pokémon and said he'll come back in the morning so he'll come a little later," lied May and Delia thanked her for updating them and continued on with her food. May felt guilty for the lie but the ones who knew the real story didn't blame her at all and they merely glanced at one another before eating. It was mostly silent, with few conversations here and there to not raise too much suspicion until the blonde Champion of Sinnoh got a call.

"Hello? Oh morning Clair. No, not yet. Oh, you wanted to see me before I left? Well, I'm having breakfast with them though at their suite," commented Cynthia.

"Friend of yours? You can invite her over if you want," offered Delia and Cynthia relayed the message to Clair.

"Ok sounds good. See you in a bit," said Cynthia before hanging up and facing Delia. "She said thank you for the invitation and she'll be coming soon. She has a few friends coming with her if that's alright."

"No problem. The more the merrier and I'm sure they're good people like you. I'll get some more food ready for them," said Delia but then Brock offered to do it so she can eat peacefully and she thanked him for that. Lucy got up to help out her boyfriend and because she couldn't just sit idly and have her thoughts annoy her as she had finished her food.

While they were enjoying their breakfast, Joy and Richie were running through the woods near the hotel as they chased after Leaf. They hoped that they could find her before something else happened cause they really couldn't take anything else at the moment. She had a decent head start on them but they soon caught up to her and found her leaning against a tree sitting on the dirt in a small clearing. Her legs were pulled into her chest, her arms were wrapped around her legs and her head was hung with the unmistakable sounds of crying coming from her. Joy and Richie took seats beside her on the ground and stayed quiet for a bit. Leaf raised her head and glanced at the two beside her after she stopped crying.

"You should go back and enjoy your breakfast," said Leaf quietly.

"Nah, I'm not hungry. I'll just send Richie to get me some food later," replied back Joy.

"What am I, your slave?" he asked her and she confirmed it, making him scoff but also chuckle. That also made Leaf smile, though it was a very small one. "Leaf, remember what I told you?" he asked the brunette and she faced him with a confused look. "Before your match with Ash, how we talked a bit and I asked if you there was something you wanted to talk about? And you told me you're not sure. Remember?" She nodded. "That's why Joy and I are here. We're here for you Leaf and so are your other friends. We decided to just have us two be here because we're cooler than them," he said with a cocky smirk that made her and Joy laugh a bit.

"He's right though Leaf," said Joy and Leaf glanced at her. "We're here because we care and to let you know that everything isn't your fault. We understand your reasons. So please, don't be sad."

"Thanks you guys," said Leaf quietly, sniffling a bit as she hugged both of them and they hugged her. "I'm just so sad that things turned out so badly. It's not what I had wanted at all. I never even dreamed or thought that it could go like that. I'm such a fool. And you didn't have to come after me but thanks and I appreciate it."

"Oh they definitely shouldn't have come after you since you led them to their anguish," said Ed as he and Eddie stepped out from behind a few trees across from them as they took off their disguises.

"Who are you?!" asked Richie, standing up and moved to be in front of Leaf and Joy. The brunette started cowering at the sight of them, remembering her dream and her previous encounter with them.

"Ah I'm touched darling that you remember me," remarked Ed with an evil smile and Eddie sniggered, both of them seeing Leaf's reaction. Joy glanced at Leaf but Richie kept his attention on the two bald men.

"Leaf, who are these…"

"They're the Skull Brothers!" Leaf interrupted the pink haired nurse, making Joy and Richie's eyes widened. He immediately tossed out all of his pokémon's poke balls that he had with him and his Charizard, Raichu, Swellow, Butterfree and Tyranitar appeared.

"Zippo, Sparky, Rose, Happy and Cruise; on guard!" ordered Richie and his five pokémon took up defensive positions in front of them. "Joy…Leaf…get back to the hotel right now as we hold them off!" he told them but before the two girls even registered what he said, Eddie reacted.

"We didn't say you can go!" he shouted as he and Ed tossed out all of their pokémon who quickly surrounded them. There were two each of Machamp, Weavile, Aggron, Shiftry, Crawdaunt and Ursaring.

The dozen pokémon around them were smirking and grinning at them evilly while taunting their prey. Richie's pokémon were baring their teeth and snarling at them. Richie motioned for Leaf and Joy to get closer and stand behind him. The three of them were looking all around them, hoping to find a way out.

"Hey," said Richie very quietly so only Joy and Leaf could hear him. "We won't win unless you have some pokémon with you Leaf." Leaf shook her head. She had run out of the hotel without any pokémon, realizing right then that she made another stupid mistake. "Shit. Okay, I'm going to force an opening and when I do, run. Run back to the hotel. Get help. I'll hold them off as long as I can."

"Richie, don't…" started Joy but Richie silenced her with a look as he turned his gaze to her and she understood; he wasn't asking them.

"Be ready…" he said quietly as he faced forward again. He narrowed his eyes at the two sneering Skull Brothers who were enjoying what they were doing.

"As fun as this is, it's time for you to-" began Ed.

"FIRE BLAST AND THUNDER!" shouted Richie, interrupting the bald man and his Charizard and Raichu let out powerful attacks at their pokémon who didn't react in time to dodge the sudden attacks. Crawdaunt and Shiftry cried out in pain at the full power attacks and dropped to the floor. "RUN!" shouted Richie right when his pokémon launched themselves at the remaining ten. Leaf and Joy sprinted away from the spot through the hole in the circle.

"AFTER THEM WEAVILE! CATCH THEM!" shouted Eddie once he saw the two girls making a break for it.

"COVER THEM SPARKY!" roared Richie, seeing the night pokémon dash after his girlfriend and friend. His Raichu ducked under Ursaring's Slash attack before he tore after the two Weavile.

Joy and Leaf were running as fast as they could through the forest in a zigzag pattern as they used the trees for cover so the pokémon chasing after them wouldn't get a clear shot. They were already beginning to lose their breath but kept going. Their legs were screaming in protest as they felt them becoming heavier and their panting became worse. Joy tripped on a tree's root, landing onto the ground with a shout of surprise and pain. Leaf skidded to a stop before running back to help her.

"C'mon Joy we gotta go!" encouraged Leaf as she helped her back up to her feet but before they could take another step, two Weavile appeared in front of them with nasty sneers while flexing their claws at them.

"RAI…CHUUU!" A powerful bolt of lightning struck one of the Weavile who shrieked out in pain before dropping to his knees and panted heavily. Sparky appeared, jumping through the bush and took up a defensive position in front of the girls. Sparks were shooting out of his cheeks as he growled at them. The two Weavile narrowed their eyes at the electric mouse and attacked with Raichu charging forward. The three pokémon fought fiercely and brutally with Leaf and Joy trying to get away. Both Weavile struck Raichu at once sending him flying back into a tree before dropping down. He got back up and fired another Thunderbolt that took down one of them for the count. Raichu fell to the ground after, breathing hard, unable to get back up.

"Sparky!" cried out Joy as she went to him and Weavile took this opportunity to launch himself at the pink haired girl.

"Look out Joy!" shouted Leaf. She pushed the pink haired girl out of the way but then Weavile struck her instead, sending her flying into a tree before slumping down unconscious. Her hat fell off her head and dropped to the ground in front of her.

"LEAF!" shouted Joy as she saw her not getting up. Her attention then focused on the advancing Weavile before glancing back at Raichu who was still unable to get up but conscious. Weavile vanished from sight as he used Agility before reappearing behind Joy and struck her on the head, knocking her out in addition. The claw pokémon noticed Raichu slowly getting back up and quickly fired an Ice Beam at the yellow mouse that encased him in a large block of ice. The dark and ice type pokémon smirked at his doing before he went to his brethren and shook him awake. The second Weavile woke up and shook his head before standing up. He saw Raichu frozen in solid ice and the two knocked out girls and grinned in approval. The two Weavile picked up one girl each, threw them over their shoulders and then dashed away into the forest to get back to where their trainers were.

Richie and his pokémon were doing their absolute best to hold them off as long as they could but they were quickly becoming over powered. His Butterfree and Swellow were out cold and his Charizard and Tyranitar were on their last legs. Ed and Eddie had lost a couple of their pokémon during the fight but still had the upper hand. They enjoyed the sight of them crushing this insolent little pest as they were nearing victory.

"Wea weavile!" Ed and Eddie turned to see their pokémon coming back with both of the girls over their shoulders.

"Good Weavile. We might as well finish this and leave," said Ed and Eddie agreed. "Aggron and Ursaring; Hyper Beam!" ordered the two. Their pokémon quickly charged up the attacks, drawing Richie's attention at their sudden orders as they had remained mostly quiet from the beginning. What he saw made his heart drop to his stomach; they had captured Joy and Leaf.

"Protect!" shouted Richie after seeing his Charizard Zippo drop to the ground from a Water Pulse sent by the Crawdaunt and hearing their order. His Tyranitar, Cruise, brought out a protective shield in front of them all even though he was barely standing in time to meet the two beams of white energy that exploded on contact and brought up smoke. When the smoke finally cleared, he saw that the Skull Brothers and their pokémon were gone with the girls and that his Tyranitar was on his knees, gasping for air before dropping to the ground.

"Cruise!" Richie limped to his fallen pokémon. He was hurt by one of the Skull Brother's pokémon landing a sneak attack on him. Though they only grazed him since he was able to move out the way mostly, the cuts were still deep, they hurt like crazy and it was bleeding. When he reached his pokémon, he was relieved that he was only unconscious after using up all of his energy to protect them from the two Hyper Beams. He let out a sigh before he remembered that he saw they had captured Joy and Leaf. "FUCK! SHIT! FUCK!" Richie swore loudly, hitting the ground with his fist. That made him cry out in pain again, putting pressure on his side in the act. He swore again, returned his pokémon and limped back through the woods towards the hotel while holding his left side with his right arm. "I need to get back as fast as I can. I need help and I need to find out what happened to Sparky. I'm so sorry Joy. I couldn't protect you…some boyfriend I turned out to be…and Leaf…I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you either…" Richie kept moving with his eyes watering from thinking about how he might never see them again and how he had let them down until he entered the area where his Raichu was frozen solid.

"SPARKY!" cried out Richie, moving to his pokémon. He saw the look of shame that was plastered on his pokémon's face when he realized that he was going to lose and fail his trainer and friend in protecting the girls. "Sparky…don't worry buddy. I'm gonna get you healed up soon." Richie returned his pokémon while he was still encased in the block of ice and was about to hurry back to the hotel when he noticed something on the ground. He went towards it and saw it was a blue baseball cap. He recognized it as Leaf's and picked it up and then left the area. "I need to hurry and get back before they're gone for good…and before they do something to them…" Richie shuddered at the thought of them hurting them or violating them. Unable to push the dark thoughts out of his head, he quickened his pace, not letting his injury slow him down even though he was in awful pain from it.

A raven haired young man was walking down a brightly light hallway with Lucario and Gardevoir beside him. While he moved, he looked at all the pictures that were hanging on the walls. Some of them were of trainers in mid battle, others were of just pokémon and some others were of trainers playing with their pokémon. He smiled a bit but then it faded away when he saw the next several photos. They consisted of different trainers with their pokémon holding up a trophy.

Lucario noticed the look on his face. "Are you sure you want to do this Master?"

Ash turned to look at him while they kept walking. "Yes. I have more important things to worry about instead of a trophy." Lucario said no more but glanced at Gardevoir who had a sullen look on her face.

The three continued down the hall until they reached two large doors and went through them. The first thing they noticed was a pink haired female league official slouched in her chair reading a magazine with a bored look on her face. She was dressed in her black and white league uniform of a skirt, blouse and blazer. She looked up behind the counter and her eyes widened in surprise. "OH MY GOD!" Even though he looked pretty exhausted and in bad shape, he still looked pretty good to her and she knew who he was. She hurriedly sat up straight, tossed the magazine aside and fixed herself up as best she could. "Good morning Aura Guardian! How may I assist you?" she asked with a soft voice before a pretty smile appeared on her face. Ash rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment. Lucario and Gardevoir, even though they kept their expressions stoic, were amused at her reaction.

"Good morning to you too. I'm here to see Mr. Goodshow," replied Ash.

"No problem. It will be my pleasure Mr. Ketchum to let him know you're here," she said.

"Please, just Ash is fine. I'm definitely no old guy and I'm not a father yet," he joked.

"You can be my children's father," she said suddenly before clapping her hands to her mouth, turning beet red. She couldn't believe she said that out loud. Ash turned red as well and his pokémon had stunned looks appear on their faces. "I'll go get Mr. Goodshow. Please have a seat while you wait," said the girl, standing up before bolting through the door behind the counter, not even giving him a chance to reply back. Ash shook his head while chuckling, not believing what just happened before going to sit on the couch with his two pokémon.

"I'm going to miss this," remarked Gardevoir.

"Miss what?" asked Lucario with both him and Ash looking at her.

"I'm going to miss how Ash just makes girls go crazy without even trying," she said, making the two laugh a bit. "You said you're bringing the five girls, but what about the other ones who have feelings for you?" she asked Ash when they stopped.

Ash sighed. "You mean Sarah and Anabel?" he asked.

Gardevoir nodded. "Yes but also the ones besides them."

"I don't know what to do about Sarah and Anabel. Should I ask them to come too? And what others? Are you talking about Leaf?" asked Ash, getting a little angry and Gardevoir gave him a look of disbelief.

"I'm not talking about Leaf even though I think you're blowing it out of proportion. And do I really have to go into it?" Ash relaxed a bit but also gave her a confused look. "Mewtwo showed us what happened with your memory so you didn't have to explain but we noticed some things." Ash was still a little lost. Gardevoir let out a sigh. "Giselle? Liza? You even got pretty close with Sabrina and told Shauna and Lizabeth that they are beautiful. You didn't do much with Clair but we still noticed her facial expressions. Like how she looked after you pinned her to the wall," reminded Gardevoir.

"Oh that's what you're talking about," replied Ash, feeling disappointed with himself for doing that. Him with alcohol and his emotions on edge was not a good combination. "You know I'm sorry I did that. But before, I was just being friendly and I was a little drunk." She glared at him. "Fine, very drunk and mostly friendly until shit hit the fan."

"I'm not talking about your arguments and fights!" snapped the psychic fairy. "Don't you realize how you're making girls just fall for you? Whether it's you being famous, being handsome or just being who you are, girls are tripping over themselves to just talk to you! This was a perfect example! Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them have already have feelings for you before all this happened! Do you even try to be attentive, to notice what's going on around you? Do you like any of them?" she asked him.

Ash shook his head. "You got it wrong Gardevoir. I'm not trying to make any other girl fall for me and that's not what's happening around me." Gardevoir was glaring at him now. "Look, just because we had some fun and spent some time together, doesn't mean feelings are involved. It was just friendly interactions before the fighting. And I do pay attention around me," explained Ash but the white and green pokémon gave him a look that clearly said he was wrong and crazy. "Will you just drop it please?" pleaded Ash.

Gardevoir crossed her arms and turned her face to the side, her nose in the air. "Fine. I will. For now." Ash glanced at Lucario with a disbelieving look but Lucario told him not to get him involved. Ash huffed out some air before leaning back against couch. They waited for a little while longer before the female official came back, still with a flushed face. The three got up and went up to the counter.

"I'm sorry Ash but Mr. Goodshow is in a board meeting right now to address some new things that came up. One of which is how to repair the stadium after the last match. That's why the tournament has been placed on hold now," informed the girl acting like nothing happened.

"I didn't know the tournament was on hold...I guess I'll just come back another time then to talk to him. And what happened to the stadium?" asked Ash.

"It was just announced. After your match yesterday, it was between the Dragon Master and another trainer whose name I can't remember. Anyway, during the match, the Dragon Master had his pokémon completely pulverize their opponents and in the middle of it all, wrecked the stadium pretty badly on one side." Ash had his eyes widen and the two pokémon glanced at one another. "That's why there hasn't been any match updates since the tournament's been on hold for repairs. Goodshow and the board members are trying to figure out a way to keep this from happening again and also come up with something to reward the fans for being so patient," she explained.

"Damn. That trainer must be strong," commented Ash. He was about to re-think his decision to leave the tournament but stopped himself. He couldn't go back on it; he did too much already last night. "Do you know what they might do for the fans?" asked Ash.

"No idea yet. But…if you do face him…I'll be cheering for you," she said, her face going dark red.

He couldn't tell her he's not competing anymore so all he did was smile. "Thank you…" He looked at her name tag that was pinned onto her jacket. "Natalie. Have a good day," he told her. He barely turned around when…

"Wouldyougooutwithme?" she blurted out hurriedly but Ash understood what she said. He turned back around, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced at Gardevoir who was giving him a 'I told you' look. He narrowed his eyes at her but the official didn't notice it. He looked at her again.

"Natalie…I'm honored that you asked me out. But I have to say I cannot. I'm sorry. I am already in a relationship and…it's complicated." The official looked down, crestfallen. "Hey…" She raised her head slightly. "Don't be down. You did a brave thing just now. So chin up alright?" She smiled a bit and nodded. "That's the spirit. Take care of yourself Natalie." Ash, Lucario and Gardevoir disappeared in blue glows and the official gasped at what she just saw happen right in front of her. She sat back down, placed her elbows on the desk and rested her head on her hands. She let out a sigh before allowing herself to day dream to past the time since she had nothing to do except greet visitors.

Back at the Indigo Hotel the others were having breakfast with no clue what was happening in the woods whatsoever. When Clair, Liza, Sabrina and Giselle arrived and joined them, they talked with the group as they calmly ate their meal. The four newly arrived guests didn't bring up anything since there were others who weren't there last night and didn't know if they were told of it or not. Gary glanced at Sabrina when she came in, some thoughts going through his head.

Why is she here again? Is she here to gloat at me? To make me feel worse? Or does she want an apology from me for what I did to her? Is she going to cause more problems between me and Ilene? Seeing that his ex-girlfriend barely paid any attention to him, only saying hello to him among the group in passing when she came in, he pushed those thoughts aside as that couldn't be it. She didn't strike him as the type of girl who would want an apology from someone. She had moved on and had gotten her revenge already so to speak. Seeing her talking with the others comfortably made him feel uneasy. Something's up. Why would she be here again, being so talkative, even with her friends here for the moment? Is she here to say goodbye to Cynthia before she leaves with Ash? That doesn't sound like her. Then again I never really knew her. What or who is she after…

Gary was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that Ilene had turned her gaze at him a couple times. She was wondering why he was so quiet and why he was looking at Sabrina when she came in. Could he be feeling bad for what he's done to her? She stole another glance at him and saw him staring at his plate now. Does he miss her? Does he want her back? Does he want to apologize? Wait, why do I care? He cheated on her and lied to me. There's no way she'll get back with him. And there's no way I'll…I'll… She couldn't finish that sentence in her head. Ilene felt a little angry at herself, wondering why she would still feel something for the young pokémon researcher.

You don't need to worry about me or worry about him wanting me back. Ilene's eyes widened as she looked around slowly, doing her absolute best to not freak out or draw attention. It's me Sabrina. Ilene snapped her gaze at her and saw her talking with Cynthia, surprised. Yes, I can speak with you mentally while talking with her. Like I said, you don't need to worry. I have no interest in him at all and he's only worried that I'm here to make him feel worse but that is not the case. I've moved on and I'm here to be with my friends.

How can I believe what you say? I don't know you. And who said anything about me worrying about him?

True, but what else do you have to go on? And did you really forget who you're talking to? I shouldn't be telling you this by the way but he feels awful and misses you. Ilene hurriedly looked down unto her plate so no one would see her reddened face. It's true. He's wondering right now if me being here will cause more problems between you and him. He wants to fix things and make it better between you too.

Why are you telling me this? Wouldn't you want him to suffer for what he's done to you?

I'm not a grudge holder. Mostly. I punished him by giving him nightmares for a month. But because of what he did to me, I've learned a lesson to be more careful in who I let in my life. But he has changed. I know because he's never tried to get me back and honestly, I never wanted him too. He has feelings for you and you him. He's never had feelings for me and that's fine as I didn't have any feelings for him either. He has done wrong in the past but perhaps you can have him earn you back if you still like him.

I see…please don't tell anyone. And if you're not here for Gary, why are you here then? Is it really to say goodbye to Cynthia? Or is there something else? Or someone else?

You're a clever queen I'll give you that but I will not tell you. But if you do figure it out, I request you keep it to yourself. Queen or not, I won't hesitate to give you a splitting headache at the very least. Ilene gulped and agreed mentally before their covert conversation ended. She felt a little afraid that the psychic prodigy had so much power and could easily tell whether she was lying or not. But, she also felt a little better as well. Her conscious felt a little less burdened in thinking about Gary instead of Ash. She didn't dwell on it though and finished her meal.

As the group of family and friends finished up their breakfast, some of them kept glancing at the clock, wondering when Ash was going to come as he promised he would. The door was opened and then slammed shut unexpectedly with loud shouting heard making everyone jump in their seats before getting up and moving towards the door hurriedly. When they arrived they saw Richie leaning against one of the couches for support with cuts and scratches on him with his side bleeding.

"Oh my Mew! What happened?!" asked Delia as Brock and Cilan hurried forward to help Richie to one of the couches and made him sit down. Brock inspected his wounds as Lucy went to get the first aid kit while the others crowded around him.

"We were attacked by the Skull Brothers," groaned Richie, causing them to gasp after hearing that. Lucy returned and handed the first aid to Brock.

"Wait, where's Leaf and Joy? Where are they?" asked Sarah, noticing that they were missing.

Richie shook his head as he stared at the floor. Brock was about to administer first aid and Richie was about to explain what happened when three glowing blue spheres appeared in the balcony that caught their attention. Next second, Ash, Gardevoir and Lucario appeared. Pikachu jumped off of Misty's shoulder and scrambled to Ash. Richie got up and made his way to him as well, ignoring Brock's advice to stay seated with everyone else following after the two.

"Pikapi!" cried out Pikachu as he jumped into his best friend's arms with a concerned expression.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" asked Ash with a tired voice but before Pikachu could say anything, the others appeared in the balcony and he looked at them. "Hey, what's going on?" he asked them as he saw that they had frightened and worried expressions with Richie looking like he had just seen a ghost.

Seeing him there made some of the group feel a bit relieved and slightly chipper than before. Even with just hearing about something terrible happen to their friends. Clair and Liza however, went instantly red at the sight of him, remembering their erotic fantasies and dreams with him in it. They stayed in the middle of the group to not attract so much attention as they became embarrassed from that and hoped no one would notice. Ilene had a pained expression form on her face. She wanted to talk to Ash, to apologize but didn't know if she could since she felt so bad about what she did, it wasn't the right time and she was conflicted over what to do and who to choose.

Gary however, was becoming increasingly angrier seeing Ash in front of him again. He wanted to rage at him, to hit him and shout at him for causing his break up with Ilene. He knew it was his own fault for not telling her the whole truth, for trying to hide his past from her but he thought by raging at his old rival, he might feel better at least. With that in mind, Gary took a step forward towards Ash but a sudden image appeared in his mind that made him stop.

It was Ilene's disappointed gaze from last night. That's when it hit him. She wouldn't get back with him at all if he fought with Ash again. He remembered what she told him when they first revealed how they felt about each other. That she doesn't have time for games and as a Queen, she had an image to uphold. He realized that if he truly wanted to be with her, he would have to own up to his mistakes and not blame Ash or anyone else for them. He would have to grow up, become mature and wise. He would have to change into the man that she deserves, that he can be. He would have to prove himself worthy enough for her…for Queen Ilene.

"Ash, are you okay?" asked Serena suddenly, snapping Gary and everyone else out of whatever funk they were in. The honey blonde girl noticed the dark bags under his eyes and his pale face. The others then noticed it as well after her question. Several of them became worried about him too, especially his girlfriends and mom.

"I'll be fine Serena. What happened here?" he asked them. His tired tone of voice didn't convince them but no one replied.

"It's about time you got here Ash," said Richie seriously as he limped forward holding his side.

"Richie! What the hell happened to you?!" asked Ash as he moved to his friend, having just noticed the state he's in.

"Oh now you notice?!" asked Richie angrily and Ash was taken aback. He looked at everyone else and they were stunned as well. He glanced back at Richie when all of a sudden his friend grabbed his shirt's collar with both hands and started screaming at him. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT ASH! WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU WHEN I NEEDED HELP?!"

"Whoa, hold up! I don't know what's going on! What the hell happened?!" asked Ash, completely lost and startled by his friend who started shaking. Richie looked down at the floor while still holding onto Ash's shirt. Everyone else was completely taken aback from Richie's sudden outburst. He was almost always calm even in the middle of trouble. He kept his gaze down while speaking, his voice on the verge of breaking from all the emotions he was feeling.

"Joy…Joy and I were…in the woods with…with Leaf and…"

"I don't want to know what Leaf's been up to Richie," interrupted Ash. He didn't want anyone to try and force him to talk to her right now as he was trying to overcome it all. He had a long, slow and painful night. Unable to sleep because of the pain from his liver and his mind replaying everything that happened last night. He just wanted to let it all go and not think about it anymore. His statement made many, both knowing and not knowing of the situation, stare at him. Richie raised his gaze back at him; anger etched onto his face but kept his voice calm.

"Yes you do Ash and you want to know what happened," shot Richie hurriedly as he tried to keep his cool, though his patience was wearing out by his friend's childish behavior. "We're wasting time. I needed help. I needed your help. Joy and Leaf have been…"

"You're right! We are wasting time with this as I don't care what Leaf's doing, who she's with or where she is! After all she did, I don't care about her anymore! And this just proves that you and everyone else only want me around when you need something!" shot Ash angrily. Everyone gasped at that and it also made the ones who don't know what happened became startled over what he just said. Ash was suddenly punched hard in the stomach by Richie with all the strength he could gather, making everyone yelp in surprise. His strike made Ash take a step back and drop to a knee with Richie stumbling forward and falling to his hands and knees. The punch had knocked the wind out of Ash and made Richie hurt his side even more. The young guardian was not expecting it at all. "What was that for?!" groaned out Ash from the floor.

"Because you wouldn't listen to me damn it!" snapped Richie making everyone stare at him. He slowly got back up to his feet, holding his side. "Joy and Leaf have been kidnapped by the Skull Brothers! They attacked us when we were in the woods trying to cheer Leaf up! She was sad over what happened last night! She's a complete mess, crying her eyes out because she believes herself to be worthless! She believes it's her fault that everything went bad last night! We wouldn't have even been there if you hadn't blown things out of proportion Ash and making her feel so terribly about all of it damn it!"

Everyone who wasn't with them at Club Indigo last night had no idea what Richie was talking about but kept looking from Ash to Richie and to the others, expecting someone to explain but nobody did. Ash looked at his friend, seeing him furious but with a worried expression too. He understood now that he wasn't playing a game or trying to get him to just talk to her. Joy and Leaf had truly been taken. He shook his head as realization hit him and his heart began beating like a jackhammer.

"No…this can't be…I…I drove them away…"

"Not for long. Because of you, because of what you told her, she ran away into the woods crying, broken, thinking she is worthless and not important after some stupid words were said in the kitchen earlier on in the morning today. Words that wouldn't have been spoken if you hadn't opened up a can of worms last night! Joy and I followed after her to make sure she was alright, to let her know it's alright, that we forgive her and we'll help her because that's what FRIENDS and MATURE people do Ash," remarked Richie in such a way that Ash winced, feeling like he was just hit by him again. "But that's not all. When we were trying to cheer her up, the Skull Brothers attacked us. I tried to hold them off so Joy and Leaf could at least get away and be safe and maybe get some help…BUT THEN THEY HAD THEIR WEAVILE CHASE AFTER THEM, KNOCK THEM OUT AND THEN THEY DISAPPEARED WITH THEM ASH!" roared Richie, causing everyone to gasp when they heard how they were taken.

Ash hung his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. Lucario and Gardevoir exchanged worried looks. Pikachu had his ears lowered and his eyes were filled with sadness as he liked both Joy and Leaf. Even though the brunette had hurt his best friend, he knew that she didn't deserve this to happen to her. Ash's mind was racing with everything he was told and he felt like he was going to throw up.

"This can't be happening…" whispered Ash to no one but they all heard him. "No…it can't be…"

"But it is happening Ash," replied Richie. "They kidnapped Leaf…they kidnapped Joy…do you know how badly it hurts to see your loved one taken away from you right in front of your eyes Ash with you unable to do anything about it?" asked Richie and Ash raised his gaze to his friend and saw that his eyes were filled with water but he was holding them back. Nobody could answer him. "I know you witnessed your loved ones taken from you in your nightmare…but this happened to me in real life. As bad as you felt in your nightmare, I can say that it's ten times worse in real life. I had promised her that I would always protect her and wouldn't let anything happen to her after the incident at the lake. You were there to help me. You remember that?" asked Richie and Ash nodded slightly as he closed his eyes.

"I do remember…I'm…I'm sorry Richie. I truly am…" began Ash but then Richie exploded.

"SCREW YOUR APOLOGIES!" yelled Richie, making everyone jump in their skin. "WHERE WERE YOU HUH ASH?! WHY DID YOU DO THAT SHIT LAST NIGHT? WHY DID YOU THROW SUCH A FUCKING TANTRUM? WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU? TOO BUSY MOPING AROUND OVER WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?! I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE IF LEAF STOLE YOUR POKÉMON! I DON'T CARE IF SHE WAS YOUR GIRLFRIEND AND SLEPT WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND AND LIED TO YOU ABOUT IT! I DON'T CARE IF SHE TOOK HALF YOUR MONEY AND RAN AWAY WITH IT! BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT SHE DID ASH!" Ash's eyes started to water and he was doing all he could to keep his tears at bay. "ALL SHE DID WAS CONFESS THAT SHE HAS FEELINGS FOR YOU AND THAT SHE KISSED YOU WHILE YOU SLEPT!" Richie telling the truth, revealing what had happened, made everyone in their group that didn't know about that widen their eyes and took in sharp breaths at the revelation. The families of the girls had their jaws drop and they were unable to recover from their slightly humorous states while they continued to listen to Richie. "WHY TURN THAT INTO SUCH A BIG DEAL THAT SHE DID THAT?! YOU SAY SHE BROKE YOUR TRUST, THE GIRLS' TRUST AND TOOK ADVANTAGE OF YOU? FINE! SHE DID THAT! BUT HER REASONS WERE VALID AS SHE WAS SCARED ASH!" Ash closed his eyes and slowly shook his head while Richie continued. His friend's words were slamming into him and each one felt like a wake up slap that was opening his eyes. "SHE APOLOGIZED AND SAID SHE'LL DO ANYTHING TO MAKE IT UP TO YOU! TO MAKE IT UP TO THE GIRLS! BUT INSTEAD YOU THREW A TANTRUM LIKE A FUCKING PRICK! BUT RIGHT NOW I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT! RIGHT NOW WE NEED TO FIND THEM AND SAVE THEM BEFORE SOMETHING HAPPENS TO THEM! BECAUSE ALL I CARE ABOUT IS MY GIRLFRIEND! JOY HAS BEEN TAKEN! THE LOVE OF MY LIFE! THE GIRL OF MY DREAMS! YOU SAY WE ONLY WANT YOU AROUND WHEN WE NEED YOU FOR SOMETHING?! THAT'S BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT BECAUSE YOU ALWAYS USED TO SAY THAT YOU'RE HERE FOR US NO MATTER WHAT! SO WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU DAMN IT WHEN I NEEDED YOUR HELP?!"

Richie finished up his long and loud rant, taking deep breaths and Ash hung his head in shame, going on his hands and knees. His almost twin was right. His rant had shown how he had blown things out of proportion. That he had acted like a damn asshole. He knew that Leaf had issues since they were kids. That she wasn't like him. That she couldn't handle what was going on between her parents. That she wasn't able to hang on like him. He knew that she had trouble with expressing herself when it came to feelings and emotions, kind of like him. Yet he let his anger, his sadness and his disappointment control him, control his actions and control his thoughts. It didn't help that he was completely drunk like a damn alcoholic either and lashed out at everyone. But that was no excuse either. He has to make things right, to own up to it. He shook his head in shame, his breathing uneven, trying to get his mind to focus.

Delia wanted to go to her son to speak with him and to find out what happened. Misty, May, Dawn, Serena and Cynthia understood Richie and wanted to help Ash understand and to take action. But they were held back by something. They didn't know what, but they felt that they should wait and be silent for the time being. Many were beyond shocked at what they just learned had happened. That Leaf had kissed Ash while he slept and how he was angry with her taking advantage of him so much that he had caused her to become a crying broken shell of her former self.

It was quiet in the balcony. Nobody made a sound or moved, all of them trying to process what they just found out. A ragged breath was heard and they all locked their gazes onto the raven haired guardian on the floor. Ash let out a few sputtering breaths. He punched the floor suddenly, starling the group. "What have I done?!" he cried. Joy's image appeared in his mind and then Leaf's appeared. His heart hammered and he felt like he was going to throw up. He thought about Leaf…the brunette next door…his childhood friend...his childhood crush… He gathered himself and stood back up after several long minutes, finally pulling himself a little back together. He decided that he has to find her, save her and when he did he was going to do whatever it took to make it up to her. "Richie…you are absolutely right. My actions were uncalled for and I behaved like a damn fool. I'm sorry for everything. I swear I'll find them. I swear they'll be fine. I swear to make things right. And I swear that the Skull Brothers will pay dearly for this. You have my word," promised Ash.

"You better Ash. If anything happens to either of them…especially to Joy…you can consider our friendship over and I'll never forgive you," replied Richie in a serious tone. That statement made everyone look at Richie with astonishment that he would even say that. Richie hesitated for a second, not knowing if he should give it to him or not but in the end he decided he should. He held out his hand that was holding a blue cap and Ash reached over with a shaky hand and took it.

Ash looked at the blue cap as he held it in his hands. The red stains on the hat. The three claw marks on the side of it that shredded the fabric. There was some dirt on the bill. As he took in every inch of the cap, he realized who it belonged to. He looked up at Richie, and then glanced at everyone around him with tears in his eyes before looking at the hat again. He clutched it tightly in his hands, letting his head hang, his heart aching. He let out a single word in a whisper that was coated with great sadness as he could no longer hold back the tears in his eyes, letting them fall.

"Leaf…"