The Search 2...

(Warning Mature Content Ahead)

Chapter 40.5 - The Search 2...

"LET ME GO! STOP!" shouted Leaf but Edward ignored her. He moved through the cabin towards the second floor. Leaf saw something from the corner of her eyes and glanced in that direction, becoming frozen in horror as a result.

She saw one of them with a bulletproof vest on, looking over some bombs. She knew what they were, having played enough video games to know how they looked and what they are. She then saw another one placing bullets into a magazine. The sight of them preparing their weapons and equipment made Leaf widen her eyes and become deathly silent, startled from the shock of seeing them with dangerous things. Edward continued upstairs and entered one of the bedrooms. He flung Leaf onto the bed, who let out a cry of pain as her head hit the headboard. Edward quickly took out some rope and his switchblade. He cut the binds on her hands and while she was dazed from her head injury, he tied one end of the rope around her wrist and the other he tied to the bed post in the corner. He repeated this three more times with her other hand and feet. He then gagged her mouth with a cloth and tightly tied it behind her head. Leaf felt like her mouth was being stretched from the tight binding. He also blindfolded her and tied that tightly behind her head as well.

"That ought to keep you from causing trouble," commented Edward when he finished. He looked at the defenseless girl in front of him and smirked, taking in her looks. He grabbed her breasts, making Leaf scream out against the unwanted touching but the gag kept her from making any loud sounds. Edward slapped her to shut her up and laughed. He then pulled out a knife and applied it against her right cheek. Leaf stopped moving immediately the instant she felt the cold metal against her face. He slowly grazed the knife against her soft cheek and a small cut was made, bleeding a bit. Leaf kept silent and still, even though it hurt, scared that if she did anything he might do something worse. "That's a good slut. Don't worry my pet. You'll get much more soon enough. After we kill your boyfriend who's looking for you as we speak. Hehehe. He'll never see it coming. But perhaps we should get you a little ready for the party later on," said Edward. He lowered his knife and began cutting straight down her top and skirt, before tearing them off, revealing her black undergarments. He licked his lips and caressed her body again, making the brunette girl whimper and struggle a bit more. He snickered and slapped her again. "I know you want it, but you must be patient bitch." This time he punched her in the stomach, making her take in a sharp breath. He then left the room to deal with the nurse as well.

Leaf was completely lost in fear and hopelessness. When he mentioned that they were going to kill Ash when he came for her, it made her mind race a mile a minute. Her heart began beating like mad, worried about her situation but also at the fact that her nightmare might come true. The nightmare she saw where the Skull Brothers killed the love of her life right in front of her. She couldn't do anything about it and didn't know what to do. But then she thought that Ash doesn't know where she is and how could he even find her? Or was the evil man just toying with her? And they were going to abuse her and violate her. She didn't know what to think or believe. She felt extremely cold all of sudden, both inside from all she was dreading that might happen to them all and outside since he had torn most of her clothes off. All of her anxiety, hopelessness and fear led her to do the only thing she could do; she cried.

Back at the hotel, when the raven haired guardian finished his sky message, Mewtwo's eyes stopped glowing blue and Ash stumbled backwards a bit before finding his balance. He took several deep breaths before facing his friends who were looking at him with awe. "I need your help," he told them and they quickly gathered around him.

"Anything you need buddy," said Brock and the others agreed.

Ash nodded and stood up straight. "Brock, Lucy, Cilan, Iris, Cress, Lily, Chili and Violet; I need you in the lobby to check who comes and who knows what. Gardevoir will go with you to bring up anyone who seems to have information and also to let me know if you need back up if people get rowdy." His friends agreed and they quickly got their pokémon before the psychic fairy teleported them to the lobby of the hotel. He then turned to his mother. "Mom, can you set up one of the empty rooms to be ready in case there are injuries? I don't want anyone at the infirmary downstairs or at the hospital if they need help and if it's not too severe. I'd rather they be here where they'll have people around all the time just in case," he told her.

"I think I can. I'll need some help though, some supplies and equipment," said Delia and Ash turned to his Blissey.

"Blissey, help my mom here with whatever she needs alright?" he told his pokémon who agreed with a cry of her name. "Mewtwo, can you teleport the medical supplies and equipment I have from back home to the room she chooses?" Mewtwo nodded and Caroline, Joana and Grace offered to help her with that as well since they had some experience in that area too. The four mothers, Blissey and Mewtwo moved to one of the empty rooms. He then turned to face two of his friends.

"Richie, Gary; Lucario may have healed your injuries but you're probably not back to a hundred percent. Please go sit or lie down and relax a bit," he requested but Richie and Gary glared at him. "Gary, just do it. And Richie, I won't leave without you so just try to relax until we find them." The two of them were about to argue back when they got glares from the others, they reluctantly agreed. Richie returned his pokémon after telling them to be ready to dish out some payback before heading into the living room with Gary so they could try to rest a little. Ash then turned to the rest. "I know you can take care of yourselves but I want you to stay here no matter what unless you wish to go home." His request made them scowl at him. "Please do this for me. I cannot focus on the task at hand if I'm worrying if you are alright while searching. And I cannot guarantee your safety when I cannot use my aura for the time being and I have no idea what the Skull Brothers have planned," he admitted and the group became worried.

"Wait, what do you mean?" asked Shauna.

"Why can't you use your aura?" asked Lizabeth.

Ash sighed. "Remember how I drank so much last night? Well, alcohol and poisons in great amounts can overwhelm aura and suppress it until my body expels it out naturally. That's why I had Mewtwo teleport my pokémon here instead of calling them with my aura," explained Ash.

"But this would mean that you would be vulnerable and unable to fight," remarked Max, making Bonnie have a fearful look on her face.

"That's right. You can't go in that condition," said Clemont and several people agreed with him.

"No, I have to. And I can still fight and defend myself. I just won't be able to use aura to make a shield or anything like that," clarified Ash.

"I don't know Ash. Even when you could use your aura to do incredible things, I still worried about you. But now that you can't use it for who knows how long, it's just going to make me worry even more," said May with a fearful tone in her voice with the girls voicing the same thing.

Ash shook his head. "I get it. I really do, But please understand and there's no need to worry. I am still an accomplished fighter and I have my pokémon with me. I'll be fine. I just won't be able to both watch out for you and fight them at the same time," he said. Some of his friends understood what he was saying but the rest didn't want him to go alone, especially when unable to use his aura. They didn't want him to go in such a weakened state. The four girls hugged him, fearing for him.

"Please don't go alone Ash," pleaded Daisy Waterflower but Ash just shook his head while in the hug after looking at her.

"Let me at least come with you," stated Sabrina making everyone look at her. "My pokémon may not be Champion level," she started, glancing at Cynthia who also looked at her. "But they're strong and I can take care of myself with my psychic powers. I can help," she told Ash after looking at him again.

Before he could reply back, Cynthia spoke up. "She's right Ash," making him look at her. "No one can touch her if she doesn't want them to. She can help."

Ash sighed but again shook his head. "No." He and the four girls separated and they were giving him looks that said he should let her go with him. "I understand what they're saying," he told them. "But I still wouldn't be able to." He faced the psychic prodigy. "I would still worry about you Sabrina. As I said before, I don't want anyone in the cross fire. Even you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to the people I care about, especially if it was because of me." The dark haired girl had her heart beat quickly at what he just said.

The girls started talking at once. Telling him to rethink his decision before the Petalburg Gym Leader intervened. "Stop." The girls turned to him and he locked eyes with the brunette. "Didn't you use to tell me that if there's ever one person to believe in, it would be Ash?" asked Norman to his daughter. May nodded, red in the face at what her father just revealed in front of everyone. Ash smiled a bit when she turned to look at him. "Then believe in him now."

Riley stepped forward. "Your father is right. And this is what he has decided to do and if he says that's what needs to be done, then we need to trust him," stated Riley, backing up Norman. Ash gave him a respectful look and Riley returned it. Some in the group were still unconvinced though.

"They're both right and all of you should listen to them," said Clair suddenly and they all turned to her who had a serious look on her face even though her cheeks were slightly pink. "No one has ever been able to surprise me and dismiss me as a challenge in a physical confrontation. I'm a black belt in several forms of hand to hand combat and Ash just completely dominated me in just a few seconds. No one, not even Bruno, was able to do that to me. I don't think you need to worry about him." Hearing Clair admit that Ash is better than her in martial arts made several people gasp who knew her and heard her tournament wins in hand to hand combat. That was one thing that she prided herself on. That almost none could match or actually beat her in a fist fight. Liza, Sabrina and Cynthia were the ones who knew her best and that admittance showed that the gym leader had much respect towards the raven haired guardian. The others nodded once they understood that she was right.

"Thank you Clair. And again I'm truly sorry for what I did last night. I promise to make it up to you. Anything you want after this ordeal and you got it," promised Ash.

Clair went pink, her imagination about to go into overdrive but then she stopped it and took back control, not allowing her mind to start daydreaming. She smiled a bit and just waved her hand. "It's alright. I should've known better than to try and reason with a drunk and angry person who was also a strong fighter. I mean that was kind of foolish of me, especially after seeing what you did at the stadium attack. Just teach me some of your stuff and we'll call it even," replied Clair, keeping cool even though she was feeling hot all of a sudden.

Ash agreed saying he'll show her what he knows before he faced them all. "I'll show all of you too. You need to learn to defend yourselves." His group of friends agreed and Ash smiled a bit before it went away. "If any of you want to go home, you're more than free to do so and I will have Mewtwo teleport you there. But if you go please stay there until I say it's alright and bring you back if you want to come back." He was mostly directing this towards Shauna, Lizabeth, Giselle, Sabrina, Clair and Liza since they weren't really staying with them. However, they and everyone else shook their heads and said that they were staying. A large Dragonite landed on the balcony suddenly. Lance and Diantha jumped down from his pokémon.

"What the hell is going on Ash?" asked Lance, while he and Diantha approached them.

"We would like to know what's going on as well." Everyone turned to the people entering the balcony. It was Alder and Steven who spoke. His friends met them in the lobby and had Gardevoir teleport them to the living room.

"Just like you heard," started Ash. "Leaf and Joy have been kidnapped by a group called the Skull Brothers and my pokémon are out searching for her."

Lance's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe it. He wanted to do something, like call the G-Men and the local police. But then he stopped himself when he saw Diantha looking at him. The way she was looking at him made him rethink what he wanted to do. After a moment, he made up his mind. He looked at Ash, seeing him give him a serious look. "I see. Alright. What do you need from us?" asked Lance without hesitation.

Ash was momentarily stunned and so was everyone else. Lance was asking him what he wanted to do. That was a first. Cynthia gave Lance a look of disbelief while Diantha was smiling at her fellow Champion She thought that he was beginning to realize that he doesn't have all the answers all the time and should follow instead of leading sometimes. She saw a hint of his past self in that instant and she also noticed how he was struggling within himself. Ash thought about what they could to do help. At that moment, Mewtwo teleported beside him after helping the mothers get the room ready in case it was required. He barely acknowledged the new arrivals. "Alright. Lance could you…"

"ASH!" shouted Gardevoir as she teleported to him and they faced her. "There's a news reporter by the name of Britney Snow along with an Officer Jenny here wanting to talk to you."

"Damn it…I don't want to deal with that now…" sighed Ash.

"We'll handle it," said Diantha, stepping forward and looked at Lance who caught her gaze. He agreed.

"Thanks you two. Gardevoir, can you take them with you please?" he asked her and the three of them vanished after Lance returned Dragonite. "Alder, Steven; could one of you check the stadium and the other check the club?" asked Ash. The two Champions answered by bringing out their pokémon. Steven brought out his Metagross and Alder brought out his Braviary and the two climbed onto their pokémon before flying to their destinations.

"What should we do?" asked Giselle, wanting to help Ash in some way and so did everyone else who stepped forward to show that.

"I don't know…I can't think of anything else that we should do at the moment…And I only had the Champions help in the search because I don't need to worry about them," replied Ash and they understood.

"I do Master," remarked Lucario and they turned to him. He moved away from Pikachu who was still absorbing the electricity from the air. He had a faint glowing yellow outline around him right now. "I can try expelling out the alcohol from your body so you can have use of your aura."

"No Lucario. That would leave both of us at less than hundred percent. I'd rather you be at full strength," replied Ash but then Riley cut in saying he'll do it but again Ash denied the offer. "No Riley; you can't do that. Your priority is to protect Queen Ilene at all times and in case something happens."

Riley sighed but nodded and Ilene felt guilty at that moment. She had insulted him last night, calling him many names, saying he was immature but he was still making sure that she was protected. He had admitted in front of everyone what he did and apologized for it. She felt like such an idiot. She didn't think she deserved to be a Queen at that moment since she felt sullen over what she did. She wanted to apologize for her actions so badly that she didn't even realize what she was moving. The raven haired guardian turned to face the Queen of Rota in time for her to wrap him up into a deep hug. "I'm so sorry Ash!" cried Ilene, with everyone watching. "You don't have to do anything to make it up to me! I forgive you even though you're not fully at fault! I'm so sorry for insulting you and slapping you last night! I'm sorry for taking your title away! Please forgive me but if you don't, I understand! You just wanted the best for me and I ended up hurting you! I'm so sorry! I should've listened to you! I shouldn't have said the things I said! Please be my Knight of my kingdom again!" she cried, letting tears out.

Ilene's admittance made all the ones there stare open mouthed at her, not believing what just happened. Some smiled a bit, including the four girls. They were glad to see that she was owning up to her own mistakes too and forgiving Ash as well. Others were neutral while a handful was a little ticked off. Some of the girls who had feelings for Ash were pissed at Ilene suddenly, remembering how she hurt him. Daisy Waterflower however, was behind angry. Ash told everyone what he did and said, but he had his reasons and he was drunk. She couldn't believe how a queen of all people could've done something like that and could hurt him like that at all. She narrowed her eyes on the young queen. They kept silent though, not saying anything.

Ash was stunned at her apology and grief. After her words, he reciprocated her hug and rubbed her back a bit before separating. He looked at her and gave a small smile. "It's alright Queen Ilene. Don't worry about it. I will be your Knight again, but only if I'm able to do what I need to do now first," he told her.

Ilene didn't say a word but nodded slightly with tears going down her cheeks. Riley went up to her. "Come my Queen. You should sit down and relax a bit," he suggested and she allowed him to move her to one of the lounge chairs before sitting down. Ash went to the rails while the group waited patiently and quietly for Mewtwo to tell them of any update. The raven haired guardian kept his gaze over the horizon, the blue cap still in his hands.

A lone person went back inside but went to his bedroom. He plopped down onto his bed. He placed his head into his hands and let out a sigh, trying to calm down since he was shivering. Gary had seen the entire event occur between Ilene and Ash. He felt his heart beating like crazy, fear engulfing him. He saw the way she hugged him, they way she spoke to him, how she was crying and revealing her emotions to him. At that moment he had realized that she might be harboring feelings for him. He let out some involuntary tears. He raised his head, surprised at himself, seeing the tear marks on his palms. I'm…I'm crying? He couldn't believe it. More tears escaped from his eyes and slid down his cheeks. That's when he understood. He was upset and afraid that he may lose the only girl he had ever fallen in love with. He hung his head, slouching over while sitting on his bed and just allowed the tears to come out. Please Ilene, don't pick him. Don't pick Ash. Please give me a chance. Please…pick me.

Ash's pokémon were all over the place, doing their absolute best to not let down their trainer and best friend. Two of those pokémon, Charizard and Garchomp, were flying through the air over the edge of the forest that was next to the mountainous areas. There were some small cabins along that area since people liked the fresh air, views and closeness to different habits for training and to actually live there. Both of them flew down and landed on the ground. They spotted a few trainers who were in the middle of their training sessions. Ignoring their interested looks, Charizard and Garchomp moved through the area as they checked every single inch of the place. They peered through the windows of the cabins and saw either nothing or a few people watching TV or having breakfast.

"Charizard! Garchomp! I challenge you to a battle!" said one of the trainers who was a young male in his teens dressed like a traveler while his pokémon, a Dewgong and Bastiodon, took up battle positions in front of them. Charizard and Garchomp ignored the challenge as they kept up their search, angering the young trainer. "Don't ignore me! Ice Beam and Ancient Power!"

Dewgong fired a bluish white beam of icy energy at Garchomp while Bastiodon had boulders materialize out of nowhere and launched them at Charizard. Both attacks hit the two dragons and brought up smoke from the attacks making contact. The smoke soon cleared to show two very pissed off dragons who were now snarling at the young trainer and his two pokémon who took a couple steps back in fear.

"Ah…hehe. Sorry?" said the teenaged trainer timidly. Both Charizard and Garchomp stomped towards the two pokémon and right when they were in front of them, they each let out a point blank roar that was so loud and terrifying that it caused the Dewgong and Bastiodon to faint from fright and the young trainer to back away. Seeing how the three acted, the two dragons scoffed and shook their heads before going back to their search. They looked around a bit more before deciding that the area had nothing and took off into the sky again. Both Charizard and Garchomp sent a mental message to the legendary purple pokémon to update Ash on what they've been doing.

Jolteon, Espeon and Leafeon were sprinting through the main paved roads around the Indigo Plateau. They were looking for any weird behavior or out of place things. They passed several travelers on the road and they quickly checked on them but saw that they were nothing at all similar to the images they were shown from their Ash's memories. Even if they were in disguise, Espeon was quickly scanning their minds to see if they knew anything or were hiding something. The three pokémon kept going, following the modern path.

"Hey!" The three stopped, turning their gaze to the right and saw a boy and girl with blue hair. A Typhlosion and Feraligatr were standing beside the two. "Are you Ash's pokémon?" asked the girl. The three glanced at one another before they looked at the two again. Espeon nodded. The girl turned to the boy. "See, I told you," said the blunette and the boy just shrugged before he spoke.

"You guys need any help?" asked the boy. Espeon shook her head before glancing at Jolteon and Leafeon beside her. The three Eevee evolutions nodded at one another before they continued down the path. "Good luck!" called out the two. The boy turned to the girl. "We should hurry to the hotel."

The blunette nodded. "You're right. The hotel is still far away but hopefully we'll get there in time to be able to help out," she said. The two trainers and their pokémon hurried down the paved road towards the hotel.

Steelix and Serperior were slithering through a mostly open path that was in between the forest and the river that flowed from the top of the nearby mountain down all the way through Victory Road. Gyarados was swimming through the river next to them. The three of them were looking around as they made their way down their chosen direction. They kept their eyes peeled for anything that could give them a clue. Steelix was feeling the vibrations through the ground as he made his way. He had come to recognize his comrades each individual vibration causing frequencies as they moved over and under land and knew that they were searching a little away from them. He used their known frequencies to check if there were any differences in the vibrations he felt in the ground. No two pokémon had the same ones even if from the same species as every single one moved differently in way or another, no matter how slight it was. Serperior was using her incredibly flexible body to curl around and underneath all the trees and bushes in case something was hidden. Gyarados was looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary in the river and along the banks. The three of them saw smoke in the distance and quickened their pace to it.

They came across a small camp that consisted of two female trainers and two male trainers who were lounging around with a couple of their pokémon out among them. Seeing the three powerful snake like pokémon appear made the four trainers and their pokémon jump to their feet, expecting a fight. However what happened next made them furrow their brows in confusion and stay rooted to their spots. Gyarados stopped in the river right in front of them, glaring at them. Steelix encircled their camp with his long steel hard body. They thought that they would be attacked but then they saw Serperior slither closer and peer into their tents, making them tilt their heads. They saw her check both of their tents before facing the other two pokémon and shook her head. Steelix moved back to the path between the forest and river. Gyarados lined up with the river, ready to go while Serperior moved closer to the four trainers and their pokémon. She raised her head a bit and then nodded at them before heading towards the tree line.

"Wait!" shouted one of the girls and the three pokémon glanced back at her. "You're Ash Ketchum's pokémon right and you're looking for his friends?" she asked them and the three pokémon nodded their heads. "How can we help?" she asked them. Serperior raised her tail and shook it before pointing at herself, her comrades, then at their pokémon before drawing it across her neck and then slamming her tail against the ground hard. The four trainers and their pokémon gulped, understanding the grass snake. "I see. An ugly fight will most likely happen. I wish you luck in finding them." The three pokémon didn't reply but continued on their search. Serperior disappeared into the edge of the tree line, Steelix continued down the open path and Gyarados swam through the river. The three pokémon sent mental messages to Mewtwo of their status and what they encountered so far.

"How did you know they belonged to the Guardian?" asked one of the guys as the four of them sat back down. "They could have been wild."

"No way," she commented back. "Who else would have such powerful pokémon working together so effectively? Did you see how they each knew their place and how they should act? Gyarados kept our attention on it, Steelix trapped us, preventing us from fleeing or help reaching us easily and Serperior quickly checked through our stuff."

"It's a good thing we didn't over react and they left after checking for his friends," commented the second girl. Three of them nodded in agreement but the fourth, the second guy didn't agree.

"I don't feel right about it. I mean who is he to just send his pokémon out like that and check on us? We've done nothing wrong and isn't that just irresponsible and disrespectful of him to just do that? I don't care what happened, he has no right to intrude on our privacy like that," stated the fourth guy. His comments made the other three think a bit.

"You have a point but to a certain degree," said the first girl and he gave her a look that said she was crazy. "He is an Aura Guardian. They have every right and he's doing everything he can to find the people he cares about. I'm sure you would do the same. And we're kind of in a public place, out in the forest. Not much privacy guaranteed here. And his pokémon acted professionally and effectively. They didn't attack nor did they damage any of our belongings. All they did was check. Nothing wrong with that. I think you're just jealous that his pokémon are well trained and gave off a powerful vibe."

The first girl's explanation and subtle jab at the fourth guy made three of them chuckle and the fourth guy grudgingly agreed that she had a good point too but that he wasn't jealous, but that just made them laugh. They continued what they were doing before the three pokémon arrived. They decided that since they were let in that a huge battle might take place that they would just stay out of the way since that would be the best thing for them to do. They were nowhere close to the Aura Guardian's level of strength and that they had no information or way to help them anyway,

A large blue bird who was with a small red and orange rabbit looking pokémon were soaring through the sky. Articuno and Victini were flying over the forest at the western edge and soon came upon a small town. The flying titan of ice enjoyed spending time with the small fire and psychic pokémon. He was very energetic and enthusiastic about almost everything and was much more fun to hang around with than her fellow winged elemental titans. Victini also enjoyed her company since she was very relaxed, calm and could explain things to him without getting annoyed. He had a slight attention problem at times and a little trouble understanding some things. Right now however, both of them were focused on the task at hand. When it came to battles, training and other situations that required their entire full attention, they were just like their comrades. Focused. Strong. Patient. And they never quit.

The two legendary pokémon landed in the middle of a small town and looked around. Victini sat on top of Articuno's head, who didn't mind. They made their way quickly and quietly through the area. Articuno was walking along the town's paths. Though she was taking up the entire path because of her size, there was no awkwardness in her movements with her wings closed. Ash had taught all of his flying pokémon to be able to move on the ground in case they were ever grounded. The people in the town were amazed at seeing two legendary pokémon just appear out of nowhere and go through town like it was an ordinary thing for them to do. It froze them in their spots but the two legends ignored them as they searched. Articuno was keeping an eye out for anything suspicious or noteworthy while Victini was using his psychic powers to check inside every building they went past for the girls.

"Articuno! I challenge you to a battle!" shouted out a female trainer who had her Magmar and Arcanine out in battle stances. The large ice titan barely glanced at her before letting out an annoyed chirp and looked away, which clearly meant she wasn't interested. When Victini signaled that he was done checking the house, the blue bird made to continue down the path but a large stream of flames was shot out that blocked her path. The ice titan snapped her gaze to the female trainer. "It's rude to ignore a challenge!"

"FOOL!" said Articuno with her telepathic powers, startling the female trainer and the others who were around them. They didn't know that all legendary pokémon could speak with telepathy. "I am on an important mission for the Aura Guardian! I don't have time for your arrogance! But I will make this quick as you will learn to show respect for the Legendaries of the world!" Articuno opened her mighty and beautiful blue wings and with just a single flap of them, she rose high into the sky. Her gaze was twisted with fury over the disrespect and that this random nobody was preventing her from helping the Chosen One in his mission. The girl's Arcanine and Magmar gulped as they saw the blue legendary bird getting ready to strike.

"Flamethrower!" ordered the female trainer, having recovered from being startled and both of her fire pokémon spewed out large flames at the ice titan.

"Is that it?" asked Articuno, seeing the flames travel up to her. She shook her head and quickly let out a full power Aqua Pulse. The pulse of water was so powerful that it completely overwhelmed both streams of flames. The attack kept going and struck both fire pokémon, sending them flying back. The female trainer saw that her pokémon were out for the count by a single attack and it shook her to the core. She felt a large being land behind her and she slowly turned around to see Articuno behind her. "I hope you learned a valuable lesson. When someone is not interested in a battle and is busy with something else, do not force them to," lectured the ice titan and the girl nodded slowly. Victini appeared out of nowhere and sat on the blue bird's head again. "We still have a few more areas to check," remarked the blue bird and the small psychic nodded. The duo checked around the town with ease now that they others saw just how powerful Articuno is and nobody dared interrupt their search now. After coming up with nothing, they left the area by flying up into the sky before continuing on in their search.

"I wonder if the others have had any luck," thought Victini out loud with telepathy as they flew and looked for other places to search. "We should check in with Mewtwo and Ash and let them know of what's been going on," advised Victini and Articuno agreed. Both of them sent a mental message to the psychic feline with a report on what's been happening.

Back at the hotel, the purple psychic turned to the guardian. "Ash, we have a problem," said Mewtwo suddenly making Ash snap his attention to his friend. Mewtwo was getting updated reports from all of the pokémon on what they've been encountering. "Some of the pokémon are being slowed down in their search as many trainers are attempting to battle and perhaps catch them not knowing that they are with you. They easily beat them all but it's slowing them down and may complicate things. Also, the legendary pokémon are being hunted by several trainers as they each want to capture them."

"One problem after another…damn it," said Ash. "Mewtwo, time for another message." Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue after placing his hand on his shoulder again and Ash's voice was once again heard booming from the heavens above.

"MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO CAPTURE POWERFUL POKÉMON. THEY ARE WITH ME. DO NOT HINDER THEIR SEARCH. ANY POKÉMON THAT YOU SEE THAT IS NOT INTERESTED IN A BATTLE, LEAVE THEM ALONE. ESPECIALLY IF YOU SEE A GLOWING BLUE OUTLINE AROUND THEM AS THOSE POKÉMON ARE WITH ME. DO NOT MAKE ME GET INVOLVED PERSONALLY."

After making his speech, Ash turned to his legendary friend and nodded. Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue once more but now there was a blue outline around him. He was connecting with each of Ash's pokémon using his incredible psychic powers.

"What's he doing?" asked Clair.

"Mewtwo is connecting with Ash's pokémon with his powers so they can be marked by him so others will leave them alone," explained Sabrina and they understood.

"Is it working?" asked Liza.

"Yes," replied Mewtwo in an echoing voice, surprising them. "I have connected with all of his pokémon but must stay like this until we find them. Ash would've been able to do it but cannot use his Aura for now." The remaining people looked at him for a few minutes before they decided they should do something productive at least. Ash's group of friends quickly went inside and prepared themselves in case they were needed. They clipped their pokémon's poke balls to their belts and some of them even changed the clothing they were wearing. After that, some of them looked at the maps they had with them as they tried to figure out where they could be hiding. The others looked at some of their equipment, checking them and seeing if any would be of use.

Absol, Reuniclus and Krookodile were searching near the base of a nearby mountain. They had already checked inside the nearby cave that they had exited from a few minutes ago. They found nothing in there except for a hiker who interrupted their search and wouldn't let them go without battling him. Instead of battling him, Reuniclus used his psychic powers to make the hiker go to sleep and then teleported him to the closest pokémon center. The disaster pokémon was jumping from one jagged rock on the mountain's side to another. The red crocodile was following after the green floating pokémon, covering his back while also looking around. The three came across a narrow river with a man fishing.

The man sensed that he was being watched and turned his gaze to the right and found three powerful pokémon looking at him. "Hey there," he said, standing up and unclipping a poke ball. "Do you want to battle?" he asked them. Right when he finished asking that, a loud booming voice was heard through the sky. "Again?" he asked, looking up towards the sky, listening to it. When he looked back down at the three pokémon, he saw they had blue glowing outlines appear on them. "Should've known," he said, clipping his poke ball back onto his belt. He sat down and went back to fishing. "I have no quarrel with you and I don't have that which you seek. Sorry I'm not much help," he said.

Reuniclus, Absol and Krookodile didn't reply but continued forward, leaving the fisherman alone. He watched the three pokémon continue down that way. He sighed. "Hope they find those girls. I've heard about the Skull Brothers. One of the most wanted criminal groups in the world." He thought a bit more, wondering if he should try to help. He shook his head. "No. I'd get in the way. And I'm too old to get caught up in things like this again." He looked up at the sky again. "Good luck Aura Guardian. And please…make sure they're never able to hurt anyone again." The man focused onto his fishing after saying his prayer out loud.

The trainers who were trying to capture some of Ash's powerful pokémon, especially the legendaries, didn't know that they were already owned until Ash's message was heard from the sky and the pokémon they were after started having glowing blue outlines around them courtesy of Mewtwo. That made them stop dead in their tracks. They didn't want to anger the Aura Guardian who could talk through the sky like a god, especially since they had heard and seen of his power from the news.

Free from interference, Ash's pokémon were able to focus entirely on finding Leaf and Joy. They were pushed on to keep searching for them through their fury that someone would dare hurt their friend, their trainer and that they were trying to hurt his friends that he cares for. Ash had helped many of them when nobody would and it was that kindness, that compassion that made them pledge their unwavering loyalty to him and him alone. They also wanted to protect their family and friends as well from the coming darkness and all evils in the world. They would not fail each other. As they traveled in groups of three on the ground and two in the air, they made sure to scan every inch that they traveled through, worrying only about their own specific path as the others did the same. None of them would stop until they found them. They would keep going even if their bodies screamed for them to stop until they were completely overwhelmed like how some of them did already during the stadium attack.

Three speedy pokémon were quickly moving through the woods. Sceptile and Greninja were dashing down a certain path while Infernape swung from tree branch to tree branch above them as their eyes and senses scanned everything, not missing even a pebble underneath a bush. They were held up once earlier on in their search by an over eager trainer who wanted to capture them but was left in the dust. They just sped past him after completely annihilating his pokémon with ease while giving him menacing glares. After Mewtwo connected with them and the blue glowing outlines around them marking them as Ash's pokemon, they shouldn't have to worry about that anymore. And it worked as they moved past several other trainers who at first wanted to catch them but when they noticed their blue glowing outlines, they sighed and moved away as they had heard the last message.

The three pokémon continued their search through the forest for quite a while until they stopped in a clearing as Greninja picked up something and signaled for the others to wait. He was looking at a small branch that hung lowly from its parent tree. It seemed to have been broken not too long ago and there were some marks on it. He looked at it carefully before slowly running his hand over it allowing his acute senses to take over. He was trying to distinguish what could leave behind such marks. As he did so, Infernape walked around the perimeter after dropping down from a tree, quietly triple checking everything. While Infernape did that, Sceptile stood silently in the middle of the clearing with the twig in his mouth being moved from side to side with his eyes darting everywhere as he too checked. Greninja felt something all of a sudden and his eyes widened. He sent a mental message immediately to Mewtwo.

"Ash, Greninja just sent word saying he picked up on something. He, Infernape and Sceptile are going to follow it and see what comes of it. He also requested to have the blue glows around them to be gone in case they need to sneak in closer," explained the purple feline.

"Good. Tell him it will be done, to continue and to update ASAP," replied Ash. Mewtwo relayed the reply back while Ash thought that they were onto something. Please hang on. Please be alright Joy…Leaf…we're getting close…I hope…

Greninja got the reply back and motioned for his comrades to follow him after their blue glows went away. They quickly went down the path that the water starter felt they should go. They kept going with their eyes scanning everything. After a little bit of time, they noticed the density of the trees began getting thinner. They slowed down and hid behind the trees when they reached the edge of the woods. Peering out from behind their cover, they saw a cabin and lake in the large clearing in front of them. The lights were on and shining through the boarded up windows in the cabin even though it was daylight. They could make out a few figures that were moving around inside through some of the openings between the wood that was nailed over the windows. They looked around and saw that the cabin was closer to the woods from the other side and would be ideal to sneak up to it from there. Greninja glanced at Infernape and Sceptile who glanced back at him. The three nodded at one another before they quickly but silently moved around in the cover of the trees to the other side.

When they reached the other side under the cover of the trees, they again peered out and looked around the cabin and its surrounding area. Since Greninja had experience in stealth missions like this and Ash had trained him and several others for it specifically, he was the one who broke out of the cover of the trees. Nobody saw him as he vanished from his spot before reappearing suddenly with him pressed against the cabins outside wall. He used his webbed hands and feet to quietly move and saw a small window near the ground that was also boarded up but left a small space of window open on the top. He carefully and silently moved towards it before peering through the small crack.

Using his incredible eyesight, he saw that it was a basement with a wooden table, some shelves along the walls, some metal cages, a staircase in the corner and there were some torn clothes that were thrown onto the floor along with some dried red marks here and there. What he saw next made him widen his eyes. He saw a red headed female tied up on the floor. He noticed the bruises and cuts on her and that she was not clothed. Greninja felt bad for the woman, becoming angry and knew she needed to be helped. But first he had to complete his reconnaissance. It wouldn't do anyone any good to burst right in with no plan or information.

He moved away from the small window near the ground. He heard noises that felt like they came from upstairs. He looked up and saw two windows that had wooden boards over them as well. He placed his hands on the cabin wall and lifted himself up. His palms and soles of his webbed hands and feet could secrete a special substance that allowed him to cling to most surfaces. He slowly and quietly climbed up to the boarded windows and peered through a space underneath the board on the right window. He saw a pink haired girl struggling against her binds that were tied from her wrists to the bedposts. She was gagged and blindfolded. Greninja's eyes lit up as he found one of the girls. He quickly scanned the room and saw she was in a bedroom alone and the noises were coming from the squeaky springs from the bed as she struggled to get free. The door opened and the frog pokémon saw one of the Skull Brothers come into the room and slapped the girl hard.

"Stop making so much noise you slut! It's damn annoying! Keep this up and you'll experience pain as you never did before!" promised the bald man, leaving the now quietly sobbing girl in the room, closing the door behind him.

Greninja felt himself becoming angrier. How dare he strike her! He wanted to burst in there when he saw the strike but knew better. He controlled his temper for the time being and moved to the window on the left. He peered through the space between the boards and found another similar bedroom. In this one however there was a brunette girl who was tied up in the same manner as the pink haired girl. He found the second girl! He noticed that she was mostly exposed except for two pieces of clothing and she had a cut on her cheek. That made his blood boil. He looked around and saw nothing much different to the other room. He moved back down towards the ground without a sound and the instant he touched the ground, he vanished from sight and reappeared next to his brothers. Sceptile and Infernape saw the furious look on his face and knew they had found the girls…

As Ash waited for an update from Greninja and his other pokémon if they found anything, his friends slowly came back into the balcony and soon everyone was there except for the ones who stayed in the lobby. Alder and Steven had returned with nothing to report. A couple minutes after their arrival, Lance, Diantha, Officer Jenny, Britney Snow and her camera man appeared along with Gardevoir.

"Why did you bring them here?" asked Bonnie.

"Because they should be here," replied Diantha. "They can help quiet down the rumors the media has spread."

"What rumors?" asked Max.

"About what happened at Club Indigo last night," stated Lance and the ones who were there groaned. "It's on the news because several people called and told the local news stations and papers."

"Ah we don't need this headache right now," grumbled Cynthia as she massaged her temple with her hands.

"No we don't, but we can start doing some damage control early," advised Lance as he pointed at Officer Jenny and Britney Snow. "Britney can show the world how much Ash cares by broadcasting the attack on the Skull Brothers hide out when we find it. That will show he cares and will fight for everyone. Officer Jenny can take in the Skull Brothers and credit the arrest to Ash."

"That's if there is anything left of them to arrest," commented Mewtwo even through his trance making them all look at him. Britney, her cameraman and Jenny gasped at seeing the legendary pokémon as they just noticed him at the edge of the balcony.

"We cannot just kill them. We have laws Mewtwo," replied Lance.

"I know of your human laws. They are corrupt, leave loopholes, are bent to allow certain things to pass and sometimes are completely ignored before they are finally followed when it makes sense to follow it," shot Mewtwo and Lance scowled as the psychic legendary had a point but didn't want to admit it.

"Even so, we must give a good example. One's to follow," remarked Diantha and several people agreed with her.

"That's right! As officer of the law, I cannot just let you do as you please so there will be no killing. I will not allow it," stated Officer Jenny.

"Your laws mean little to me human and you cannot control me," stated Mewtwo in a cold voice, installing fear in her and several others. Ash stayed out of the discussion. It didn't matter to him what they talked about. He knew what he was going to do. "The ancient laws of nature, life and balance are what matters even in this modern world. As Aura Guardian, it is Ash's duty to smite the darkness. A duty given to him by the Alpha Pokémon Arceus. Evil cannot be allowed to live, to spread. Or are you saying your laws have higher power or mean more than those of a God? What of all those who would be saved by such an act?" asked Mewtwo and the people there were silenced, unable to respond. "Your so called justice system is broken and not capable of dealing with the problems of today. You are too focused on being politically correct than actually doing something to fix problems, even when you have irrefutable proof on them." Nobody could argue with him on that either, knowing it was true. But before anyone could even think of commenting back with something reasonable, Mewtwo's eyes widened, losing the blue glow and snapped his gaze onto Ash. "They found them!"

"Finally!" exclaimed Ash, everyone feeling relieved and hopeful. "Where are they?!"

"They found Leaf and Joy along with another girl being held in a cabin in the deep part of the woods next to a small lake. They are tied up and gagged in separate rooms of the cabin. Greninja also said he saw Joy get slapped and Leaf barely has any clothes on. And the other woman has been beaten and left naked," informed Mewtwo sadly, making many become worried but also angry.

"THOSE FUCKING BASTARDS!" cursed out Ash suddenly. He whirled around and struck the stone patio wall hard, making cracks form from his strength, startling everyone. Before anyone could calm him down, the raven haired guardian let loose a flurry of rapid punches against the stone wall, losing himself to his anger. "AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He launched one more strike at the stone wall and punched clear through it. His arm had gone through the wall and he pulled it out afterwards. Most of his friends and family became frightened, thinking he had gone mad and could have hurt himself. Clair had her heart skip a beat too but she also became turned on by his show of strength. When she realized what she felt, she became embarrassed, her cheeks flushing with color and did her best to not show it. She moved to stand behind Liza and Shauna, who were also in the same state as her. Ash's face was contorting with fury as his hands clenched into fists, shaking with pure rage. He tried to force his aura out but was unsuccessful in the attempt. His anger was not enough and he hadn't recovered yet. His back was to the group, breathing heavily. "Damn them! Damn them to hell! They're going to pay for this! Send word to everyone Mewtwo! Get them prepared to be teleported! We are getting them out right now!" commanded Ash and Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue, communicating with his comrades and teleporting them to positions surrounding the cabin. Richie came running outside after hearing Ash's shouting.

"What happened?!" asked Richie with a worried look. Ash turned around and locked eyes with him.

"We found them Richie," said Ash, his face still covered in anger. "They're in a cabin hidden in the woods and have been left tied up. There's also another girl who looks to have been beaten. We are going to leave immediately as soon as my pokémon are in position. Are you coming?" he asked him and Richie nodded after checking to make sure his poke balls were clipped to his belt. Ash turned his furious gaze to Officer Jenny, Lance, Britney and her camera man who took a step back automatically out of fear. "You will stay here. Only Richie is going to come with me. I don't want you in the cross fire and you will not stop me from giving them their judgment! Understand?!" The four of them gulped, looking at everyone around them but nobody said a word. Seeing him taking command and being so assertive made many in the group to look at him with mesmerized gazes. Misty, May, Dawn and Serena went to Ash and hugged him, to try to calm him down.

"Please be careful Ash," pleaded Misty.

"Don't be ashamed to call for help if you need it," advised Serena.

"I know you'll bring them back safely," said Dawn.

"Give them hell. Make sure they will never hurt anyone ever again," requested May.

He took a deep breath to calm down, hugging the girls back. "I promise. I will bring Leaf and Joy back along with that poor girl safe and sound. And the Skull Brothers will feel my wrath before I send them to Hell," swore Ash.

The four let go of him and Ash glanced at Cynthia, who gave him an encouraging look. Even though she was part of the group now, she didn't want to cause more trouble for him right now with the girls' families. She thought that Delia could only keep them at bay for so long. He moved his gaze over everyone, each one giving him a supportive and concerned look. He sent a mental message to Gardevoir that they found the girls and to bring them back up. They soon teleported to the balcony and his friends were happy that they found them but were a little peeved that he wasn't allowing them to go with him. They wanted to go with him but they understood.

"They're in position Ash," informed the psychic legendary.

"Good. Let's go," replied Ash. Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue and he, Ash, Richie, Pikachu, Lucario and Gardevoir vanished in blue glows.