Consequences 2...

(Warning Mature Content Ahead)

Chapter 44.5 - Consequences 2...

Ash faced the girls again and started walking backwards with his hands up in front of him, waving them like a white flag but the girls didn't stop. They advanced and the guardian bolted into the living room towards his room with the girls after him, their friends and family howling with laughter at the hilarious situation. There were a few who were bummed out in not being part of the group but didn't show it. Delia decided to tell Ash about the call later, not wanting to ruin the girls' fun.

"Is everyone finished with breakfast?" asked Caroline after they left. Nobody said otherwise. "Okay, let's clean up then. Chop chop!" She started to clean up and so did the others. After they piled the dirty dishes into the sink, put the leftover food into the fridge and pantry, they split up into smaller groups to take care of some things after while some of them volunteered to do the dishes who were Chili, Cress, Violet and Lily.

Liza was about to go check on Sabrina when Clair caught up to her. "Hey, what's wrong with her?" asked the blunette. Liza tried to ignore the question. She wanted to check on her before saying anything but Clair gave her a look. "Really? The silent treatment? Don't try that with me. I know her just as well as you do," she reminded.

Liza sighed. "Alright fine. But wait till Cynthia comes back from torturing Ash with the other girls. Then we'll go together so you two can ask her," she advised and Clair reluctantly agreed. The two went to the large balcony to find Giselle there, staring at the horizon over the railings. "Hey you alright?" asked Liza as the two drew nearer to her.

Giselle turned around and saw her two new friends in front of her. "Yes, thank you. Just thinking about some things."

"Like what? If you don't mind us asking," asked Clair and she went to stand on her right side and leaned against the railings with Liza doing the same on her left side.

The black haired girl copied them and let out a sigh. "Just about what's happened in the past few days. I mean, so much has happened and it all seems to revolve around Ash." Liza and Clair nodded, agreeing with that and commenting on it as well. "I mean, he's an Aura Guardian. My school has almost no information about them except that that they were Arceus's chosen Knights to keep balance, peace and deal justice. And what he told us about this coming war…this darkness…this Ragnarok…it's scaring me." Again the two older females nodded, understanding her. "But that's not the only thing that's scaring me…"

"What else is?" asked Liza, curious while Clair remained silent.

Giselle glanced at her, then at the blunette before looking at her hands on the railings. "I'm afraid…that all my studying, being valedictorian and few smaller tournament wins was a waste. I thought I was strong but Ash completely sweeped me like I was nothing. But he had trouble fighting against the stadium attackers who he said were corrupted by this Ragnarok. If he has trouble, how can I fight against this evil? I'm scared that I won't be able to protect my parents. They're well off but they have no idea about this at all. They weren't the best of parents, shipping me off to school immediately but they still were there for me. Sort of. Even though they put so much pressure on me to succeed, I'm scared that I'll lose them." Giselle's eyes began to water, unable to hold back the sadness from filling her. Liza and Clair both felt bad for their young friend. "And I'm scared for…Ash…he has so much on his shoulders. How could anyone possibly be able to function let alone laugh, go out on dates, live with killing people even though they were evil, worry about other people's small problems, help us train, take care of eight girlfriends and so much more? How is he able to do all this and not crack from so much pressure?!" she asked them. Liza and Clair looked at one another, frowning.

Liza spoke up first while Clair remained quiet. She was better at this kind of stuff. "That's normal to feel this stuff Giselle," said the caretaker of the valley and the younger girl glanced at her. "You suffered a bad defeat and that opened your eyes. And you found out that there are other things happening in the world that made you realize that there are more important things. And all of this happened in just a few days. It seems overwhelming, and it is. And you have every right to feel scared." Giselle hung her head, her eyes letting out a few tears but hurriedly wiped them away. "But you need to look on the bright side of things…"

"What bright side?" asked Giselle suddenly, catching the two off guard. "I'm nowhere near Ash's strength. I can't protect my parents from this coming evil. My friends from school aren't really my friends. They only contact me when they need something. And even though I finally saw the guy I fell in love with a long time ago, he barley interacts with me, is taken and I can't move on. And…."

Clair and Liza gasped. "Whoa, hold up!" exclaimed Clair. Giselle realized what she let slip, clapping her hands to her mouth while turning beet red. "What do you mean by that?!" asked the blunette.

"Nothing! Just forget I said it!" snapped Giselle and made to run but was prevented from doing so since both girls grabbed her by her upper arms and whirled her around. "Let me go! Please!" she cried.

"We'll let you go Giselle but just think about what I say next," said Clair and Giselle stopped struggling to get free to listen. "You can keep running from your problems, forever in fear or you can face them and try to overcome them." Liza looked at Clair from the corner of her eye, wondering how she was able to say that to someone else when she had her own particular issue but didn't comment on it. It would be no good to their friend right now if they got into it. Clair glanced at her and both of them let the black haired girl go.

Giselle took a step back automatically before turning to leave. She took another step before freezing, hearing the gym leader's words. Images flashed in front of her mind's eye of all the things she went through ever since that one day she met Ash and how he completely shook up her life in less than a few hours. She couldn't keep doing this to herself anymore. She faced the two older girls. "You're right. I have to face them." The two nodded, asking what happened. "I'll tell you, but only after I can tell the person I love about it first." She began walking away.

"Is that person Ash?" asked Liza, surprising Clair that she asked that.

Giselle froze before slowly facing them again, doing her absolute best to stay calm. "Why…would you think…its him?"

"Hmm, let's see," started Liza holding up her fist and extended out a finger after each statement she made next. "You asked him out after your battle in the tournament." Giselle gasped, wondering how she knew about that. "You spent time with him at the club, talking, drinking and dancing together." Giselle's cheeks reddened. "You decided to stay with us even though you didn't really know any of us except for Ash. You were worried about him fighting the Skull Brothers and were on the verge of crying when he was being healed after his fight with them. And you just said you're scared for him. Am I missing anything?" she asked her.

Giselle was speechless for a moment. She was filled with embarrassment at being found out so easily and her slip up. She snapped out of it, anger at being found out rising to her defense. "Well, what about you?! You like him too!"

"What?! No I don't!" snapped Liza, pink circles appearing on her cheeks.

"Oh really? Then why were you trying so hard to have him do something to you after losing your drinking match?!" shot Giselle.

"I was just owning up to losing my end of the bet like a mature adult!" Liza replied back heatedly but her crimson face completely betrayed her.

"Right. And who were you fantasizing being with when you decided to have some personal time while we were sleeping and didn't clean up after yourself?" jumped in Clair, seizing the opportunity to make Liza come clean since she knew she liked him.

Liza burned up at the double team against her, seeing the two smirking at her. "Oh shut up! It's not like either of you haven't ever masturbated while fantasizing!" The two girls went quiet, turning scarlet. "That's what I thought!" She turned to Clair, pointing at her with her right hand. "And at least I didn't have an expression of wanting to be fucked by him after being pinned to a wall by him for all to see Clair!" she shot.

Clair gasped at that but then quickly narrowed her eyes at her, both angry and embarrassed. "That's not true! I was surprised that he was able to do that to me of all people! That's all!" defended Clair though her reddened face gave it away just like it did to Liza.

"If that's your surprised face, you should change it cause it looked to me like you wanted to be fucked right then and there," jabbed Liza with a dirty smirk.

"Screw you! Don't make me kick your ass Liza!" warned Clair.

"For what? For telling the truth? I thought you had a weird expression on your face too!" remarked Giselle and Liza crossed her arms with a triumphant look on her face.

Clair shot the younger girl a dirty look, making her become frightened. "Look who's talking! It's the little scared friendless girl who thinks she's important just because she went to some expensive school for conceited brats until she got a taste of how the real world is!" snapped Clair.

Giselle's head hung, shaking, completely demoralized and Liza became angry. "What the fuck is your problem Clair?!" The green haired girl hugged the younger girl and tried to comfort her. She locked her eyes with her best friend who was about to apologize for what she said but Liza cut her off. "At least she wasn't the one who thought about letting some low life douche bag trainer that she just met learn all of her training secrets and almost get into her pants just because he was considered a prodigy dragon trainer!" shot Liza heatedly, her nostrils flaring in anger. Giselle looked up in shock at hearing that. She wanted to ask if that was true. But she never did do that because her gaze become stuck on the blunette and the green haired girl realized she had crossed the line immediately after seeing how Clair took it….

The gym leader was trembling in her spot, her confident demeanor completely vanishing and instead filled up with fear, regret and shame. "I…I can't believe…you went there," she said quietly, her eyes watering.

"Clair I…" stammered Liza but was unable to continue. Giselle was completely lost, not knowing what to do as the sudden comment war just stopped abruptly with both girls staring at one another with sullen gazes. Clair made to leave but Liza quickly stopped her and hugged her. "I'm so sorry Clair," apologized the green haired girl as Clair started to cry. "I never should have gone there. Please forgive me."

"You're…such a…bitch Liza," sobbed the gym leader while in the hug. "Of all the…things to say…why bring that up?"

"I know, I know. I'm a bitch. I'm sorry Clair. I really am," she apologized again. Clair let it out some more sobs but started recomposing herself slowly after a little bit of time passed. Liza turned to Giselle who was beyond confused. "Don't ask and I'm sorry for putting you on the spot Giselle."

The black haired girl was taken aback by the sudden apology but quickly recovered. "I'm sorry as well for saying those things," replied the younger girl.

Clair stopped her sobbing finally and took a step back, wiping away her tear streaks. "I'm sorry too for what I said to you two." Giselle nodded and hugged Clair who was momentarily taken aback but then reciprocated the hug. Liza hugged the two as well.

The three stayed like that quietly for about a few seconds until the caretaker spoke up. "You know, if we were at the club right now, we probably would've had some drunk guys telling us to make out for some money. We could've made a fortune," she said. The other two separated from her with disbelieving looks on their faces. Liza started laughing and the two followed after her.

"Thanks. I needed that," remarked Clair after they finished laughing and Giselle agreed. "So," started Clair and the two looked at her. "You two like Ash huh?" she asked them. Giselle merely looked down at her feet, shifting around a bit. Her behavior indicated a most definite yes. "Okay Giselle, we get it. You do but we won't ask again or make you spill the reasons why until you're ready," said Clair. The younger girl looked up at the two. She saw them being serious about it and she thanked them before looking at Liza waiting for her answer.

"I do like him but I don't know what to do about it for several reasons," replied Liza after a moment, deciding she should just let it be known between them since they wouldn't go blabbering it out. She still had to say it though. "Please don't tell anyone. And do you?" asked the green haired girl to the blunette.

The two agreed not to say anything and Clair sighed. Should I come clean? Am I ready to let them know? She sighed before speaking, thinking that she couldn't be afraid of it. She was a dragon trainer after all and dragon trainers shouldn't be so timid. "I do like him too," she said. The two nodded but said nothing more, making the gym leader feel relieved. "But you tell anyone and I'll kick both of your asses," she warned them.

Liza started chuckling but Giselle looked afraid. "Right…is that before or after Cynthia shoves her foot up your ass?" asked the green haired girl.

"You're afraid of Cynthia?" asked an astonished Giselle.

Clair sweat dropped. "Yea but only her so you better watch it." Giselle gulped and nodded her head while Liza just scoffed. "And hey, she'll kick your asses too!"

Giselle had her eyes widened and Liza sighed. "Shit, I forgot to include myself in that," remarked Liza.

"But what do we do about this very unusual situation?" asked Giselle.

"Eh, who knows?" remarked Liza, shrugging. "We'll figure something out." The two sighed in response. Thinking they shouldn't dwell on that right now, Liza glanced over at the foosball table and grinned. "Bet I can take both of you on by myself though," declared Liza, moving to it. Giselle and Clair glanced at one another and then back at their friend.

"You're on," said Giselle.

"Prepare for defeat!" added Clair. The three girls began playing a surprisingly even game of foosball while two of them waited for Cynthia to get out so they could go check on Sabrina.

Iris, Cilan, Bonnie, Max, Joy, Richie, Norman, Caroline, Johanna and Grace were in the living room watching a movie together. Delia was with them at first but had gone to check on Natasha. It was about four adoptive brothers who had gone separate ways coming back together to avenge their mother's murder. The movie was entertaining and one of the scenes involving a laundry machine made Norman and Caroline covertly glance at one another, thinking if they should try it next time they were back home alone. Johanna and Grace would comment on the movie every now about the more violent or funny scenes. Iris was leaning against Cilan, watching it earnestly since she never saw the movie before and liked action movies. Cilan was mildly interested in it but thought it was a little too vulgar for his taste. Bonnie and Max had their eyes glued to it, loving the action and the badass brothers working together to find out who their mother's murderer was. Joy was cuddled up against Richie who had an arm around her. He had fallen asleep though, having seen the movie many times before but Joy didn't mind. She watched the movie silently but would let out a gasp or squeak at some of the more exciting scenes but didn't wake him up. A few minutes later, Delia came back and took her seat again next to Grace and Johanna. They asked how she was doing and she replied back saying that she was fine.

Clemont and Professor Oak were once again speaking with one another about new discoveries in the dining room. A couple of the topics that they talked about involved a new electronic device that would help trainers on their journeys and a brand new way to travel involving teleportation between the main cities. That's if they could get it approved by the league because it involved draining psychic pokémon's energies to use as the fuel for it even though it was done harmlessly and wasn't permanent. Afterwards, they talked about a possible new pokémon discovered but the lack of information on it was disheartening.

Daisy Oak and Riley were also in the dining room but they were at the other end of the large table playing Battleship. Riley had three of his ships already blown up but only managed to bring down one of Daisy's. "B-9," said Riley.

"Miss," announced Daisy with a grin. "F-7." Riley sighed, commenting that she hit his ship. "Don't be such a sore loser," she taunted.

Riley shook his head. "I'm not!" he defended. "I just can't believe how you get so lucky!"

"It's not luck, its skill," countered Daisy. He rolled his eyes and she glared at him playfully for a second before announcing her next coordinates. Once again, he said that she hit him and she smirked before it went away. "Riley…"

Her soft tone of voice surprised him. He looked up at her from his ships on the game. "Yes Daisy?"

"Do you think my brother and the queen will get back together?" she asked him.

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Honestly? I have no idea," he answered.

"Yea, me neither. But if they don't…" She stopped, too scared to continue.

"You know you can tell me anything," encouraged Riley.

Daisy looked into his serious yet caring eyes. "If they don't, does that mean we won't work out too?" she asked him.

Riley grasped her hand gently and looked into her fear filled pupils. "I hope it works out for them. But if it doesn't, that won't mean that we aren't meant to be either. I've never felt this way about anyone else before and I've kept no secrets from you. I truly believe you're the one for me. I only hope you feel the same way," he told her softly, ending it with a smile.

Daisy let a large smile form on her face and gripped his hand tightly. "I do too. Thanks for understanding and helping me not lose myself to my fears." He nodded at her with a smile before they continued their game. She won in the end and he requested for a rematch and so they played again.

Chili, Cress, Violet and Lily had finished up washing, drying and putting away the dishes before moving together to the living room. They chatted up many different things while they did the chore, such as how their restaurant and water plays were both very stressful but also rewarding since they loved making people happy in their respective professions. The two sisters told their boyfriends that they had to see their plays and they promised to see it while telling them they had to see their restaurant in turn and they agreed. They reached the living room and joined the others in watching the movie.

Brock and Lucy had gone to their room after helping clean up the dining table. The male plopped down face first onto the soft bed. He was still tired and sore from the workout yesterday. Lucy giggled a bit but then got an idea. She went to her luggage in the closet and rummaged through it before pulling something out. She went into the attached bathroom that they luckily had and was in there for a few minutes while Brock just relaxed on the bed. Lucy opened the bathroom door and looked at the tired form of her boyfriend while leaning against the door frame. "You alright Brock?"

"I'm so sore Lucy. I don't want to move at all," he answered.

Lucy frowned but he didn't see that, his gaze towards the other side of the room. "That sucks. What can I do to help?"

"I'll be fine babe. Just give me some time to relax please before Ash's match," he requested.

"Are you sure? Because I really can help," asked Lucy in a sultry tone.

Brock turned his face while not getting up to look at her and respond back that he was sure but then stopped with his mouth left open and his squinty eyes widened. Lucy was dressed in a very sexy nurse's outfit. She had white stockings that went all the way up to reach the middle of her thighs. A very short white skirt that barely concealed her rear and womanhood and her small blouse showed off her toned stomach and it was just tight enough to show off her bust with some buttons opened to show a good amount of cleavage. She had a white nurse's hat on as well. Lucy slowly moved to the bedroom door, swaying her hips and walking in high heels with Brock watching her every move, unable to look away. She reached the door and placed the two locking mechanisms towards the 'locked' positions. The Frontier Brain then turned her head back towards her love. "I think you need…a different kind of medical treatment." She said before slowly moving to him. Brock stayed quiet but turned to lie on his back when she reached the bed. He made to sit up but was prevented from doing so when she climbed on top of him. "This is a very…heart exciting procedure. Can you handle it?" asked Lucy. Brock nodded vigorously and Lucy smirked. "Good. Now let's get started." She leaned in and kissed him while unbuckling his pants and he clamped his hands onto her waist at the top of her short skirt.

While those two went at it in their room with no one knowing about it, in one of the other rooms, sitting at the top of her bed with her knees drawn up to her chest and staring at a Squirtle doll was the oldest Sensational Sister. Daisy Waterflower was lost in thought. She was thinking about the special situation between Ash, her baby sister Misty, the other girls, how everyone accepted it and what she felt seeing him and the girls in a group embrace. She was astounded about what she just witnessed. But then again, it didn't really surprise her. Ash was an amazing man and he never did hide anything or try to do anything to anyone that would hurt them. It kind of made sense that he would have many girls fall in love with him and he in turn with them.

As she thought about him some more, she started thinking about how she viewed him and of some of the things he did or said when he interacted with her that made her feel something inside. How she felt so happy when he gave her the doll. She thought of how she felt so worried for him when he went to fight against the horrible men when he was in a vulnerable state and also when he was being healed. How she felt proud when he praised her during their training. She thought of how he brushed up against her chest accidentally when he was trying to catch May through the 'wall' of girls. How he apologized immediately after feeling embarrassed and how that made her become embarrassed but also feel something stir inside her. Their quick conversation and hug the other night that made her feel that same stirring feeling inside her again.

She thought about all those things and wondered why Ash of all people, would make her feel so many different things. Was there something wrong with her? Could she just be imagining things? What could be causing her to feel all this? At that moment, she remembered how her heart yearned to be with him when he announced that he had feelings for eight different girls, one of whom was her baby sister and they had feelings for him too. A whirlwind of emotions erupted inside of her, twisting her stomach into knots. She gasped, realizing what it meant but couldn't believe it. "How could this have happened?!" she asked out loud to no one. "How could I have fallen for him? This can't be true!" snapped Daisy, throwing the Squirtle doll across the room. It hit the wall before bouncing off slightly and dropped to the floor. She stood up from her bed and paced around the room, thinking furiously with her heart beating madly.

"It's just my imagination!" she said to herself, while pacing back and forth. "I cannot have feelings for him!" She kept pacing, making her walk longer and longer before turning around, eventually reaching the doll she flung and stopped at the sight of it. Seeing it again made all the memories that involved the raven haired young man flow through her mind quickly. From the very first time she met him to the present. She sunk to her knees, picked up the Squirtle doll and then hugged it tightly with her eyes closed. "I can't believe this. I'm fooling myself," she whispered. "I have feelings for him. I have feelings for Ash." She started letting out tears after admitting it to herself. She got up and went back to her bed before lying down on her side and faced the wall with the doll in her tight embrace. "I'm such a horrible sister. I fell for the same man my sister has loved for years. What kind of shallow bitch am I?" She sniffed, sobbing as she thought of how horrible she was. After some time, she came to a conclusion. It doesn't matter whether I have feelings for him or not. I will not betray Misty. I will not hurt her! Even if I stay miserable and single for the rest of my life, I will not betray Misty. She remembered her vow, her promise to Arceus about her sisters being happy for the rest of their lives. "I still mean that promise Arceus," she said out loud. "My love life and happiness in exchange for my sisters to be happy and fortunate," she repeated again. She went quiet afterwards but kept thinking about how she couldn't betray her sister and she would just have to deal with her feelings by hiding them.

Shauna and Lizabeth were heading towards their room. As they were walking down the hall towards it, Ilene stepped out of one of the bathrooms quickly and bumped into them. "I'm sorry. I should be more careful," apologized the queen.

"No worries," replied back Shauna and she made to continue…

"Are you okay Ilene?" asked Lizabeth, making Shauna stop and look at the blonde again. That's when she noticed that her eyes were red.

The young queen began feeling nervous and embarrassed. She didn't want anyone to know she was sad and had been crying just now. She was overcome with emotions after Ash and the girls left and she was thinking about whether or not she and Gary could ever be together again and have what they have. "Y-yes. I'm f-fine," she stammered. They gave her a disbelieving look. "Really, I am," she said more confidently.

The two blunettes glanced at one another and sighed. "Alright. But if you need to talk, we'll be in our room," offered Lizabeth and the two left the queen in the hallway, watching them enter their room.

"She's lying. Something's up," said Lizabeth after they entered their room and closed the door.

"Without a doubt. But about what?" asked Shauna. The two sat on their own beds and thought a bit before one of them gasped suddenly. "You don't think this has something to do with Ash do you?!"

Lizabeth's eyes widened. "I bet it does. It makes sense."

"You think she likes him?" asked Shauna in a whisper.

Lizabeth was quiet for a moment. "I don't know about that but I think after Ash spilled Gary's secret, Ilene has become conflicted about Gary." Shauna gave a look of understanding. "She's probably trying to figure out if she still has feelings for him, whether or not if things could work out with him and whether or not it should. And she probably still feels horrible for what she did to Ash even though she apologized to him and he forgave her."

Shauna nodded. "That does make sense. I mean, as a Queen, she would have to think of more than just herself. That must be a lot of weight on her shoulders."

"Yea, just like Ash," agreed her friend and the two sighed and went silent for a moment. "Is it wrong or sad that I'm happy for him though?" she asked suddenly.

"You mean that we're not with him as well but we're glad that he's doing alright and happy?" clarified the fighter and she was answered with a nod. "It might be. But does it matter what others say? Some might agree and some may not. The only thing that we should ask ourselves is this; will we be truly happy with things staying the way they are?" asked Shauna.

Lizabeth allowed herself to fall backwards onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. Shauna sat at the top of her bed and leaned against the head board. "I don't know how much longer I can hold it in Shauna," admitted Lizabeth and her friend looked at her. "We need to figure out a way because neither of us will be able to stay content much longer by just staying on the sidelines." Shauna agreed with that. Both of them were silent for a long time. They started brainstorming together on how to reveal their feelings for him but each thing they came up with was lamer than the last.

After Ilene bumped into the two blunettes, she walked towards the living room, seeing some of them watching the movie. She didn't feel like watching a movie and headed to her room. On the way, one of the bathroom doors opened and just like she did before, the one exiting it bumped into her now. "My bad. Should've watched where I…" The person stopped talking after realizing who he bumped in to. Ilene turned to move away but was stopped suddenly when she felt her wrist grasped. It was Gary. "Ilene, please give me a chance to talk," he requested, seizing the unexpected opportunity and hoping she would allow him to do so.

Ilene's heart was beating madly, wondering what she should do. One side of her was saying to give him a chance but the other was telling her not to do so. "Let go." He did so and she turned around to face him. Her emotions were all over the place but she was able to control them for the moment. "Fine. Explain," she replied.

"Can we go somewhere private to talk first?" asked Gary. She thought about it for a moment but then agreed. "Thank you. My room is right here," he said and opened a nearby bedroom door and held it for her. Ilene walked in and Gary followed after her before closing the door behind him. The two faced each other with some distance between them. "Ilene, first off, I want to apologize," started Gary. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have hid anything from you. Even though I told you a general idea of the things I've done, I didn't tell you about the worst thing I've ever done and that was cheating on Sabrina." Ilene stood there, crossing her arms in front her chest and gave a cold look at him. Gary looked down at his feet, shame filling him. He raised his head to continue. "I don't know why I even asked her out. I knew she wouldn't give me what I wanted but that's not important. That's in the past. But I also told you that I've changed. All that stuff that I did and the consequences of my actions, have allowed me to realize that's not what I want in my life. I don't want to be known as a player, a womanizer. I want to be known as your boyfriend. As your man, your love. I want to be everything that you need, that I could be for you." Ilene took in a sharp breath at what he just said, her heart skipping a beat. "Please give me a chance to prove it all to you." He slowly moved closer to her.

Ilene's feelings that were already on edge started going haywire but she forced herself to not become lost in it. "Gary, I don't know..." He stopped in front of her. "After everything that's happened…" He gently grasped her hand after she uncrossed her arms. She felt something stir inside her from his touch, different from her whirlwind of emotions but didn't withdraw from him. "How can I trust you after hearing about what you did? That you won't do that to me? That you've really changed?" she asked him.

Gary looked down at their feet, still holding her hand. He took a step closer to her and raised his head to look into her eyes. "Because I swear on my pride of being an Oak that I will never do anything to hurt you again." Ilene's lips quivered and her eyes watered a bit. He thought a bit before leaning in forward and placed his lips onto hers.

He felt happy that she didn't reject it. Ilene fell into the kiss, unable to help herself. While they kissed, she felt her heart thumping loudly as she felt his hands slide up the sides of her body before they rested against her back. The feeling stirred more powerfully in her stomach. She thought that things could work out between the two. That they could push past it. She felt that everything would be alright as she raised her hands and placed them onto his chest, enjoying being in the embrace, continuing their kiss.

At first. The powerful feeling in her stomach wasn't a feeling of happiness that she thought it was. No, it was something else entirely as it brought her back into focus. Several images flashed in her mind's eye consisting of many disturbing scenarios. Each one made the powerful feeling in her stomach strengthen even more until finally she couldn't take it anymore. Using her hands that were already on his chest, she pushed him off of her all of sudden, breaking the kiss.

Gary stumbled back some before catching himself. "Ilene?!" he asked worryingly, seeing her face in her hands, shaking. He took a couple steps to her.

"Stop!" snapped Ilene and he stopped moving. He opened his mouth to talk but didn't when she raised her head and looked at him with a sorrow filled expression. "This will never work out between us Gary. Not anymore," she said sadly and quietly.

Gary felt his heart leap to his throat. "Why?" he asked hoarsely, his eyes beginning to water.

Ilene took in a couple breaths before explaining. "I'm going to be honest with you Gary. I thought perhaps we could work this out the last couple days. But then I learned something important just now. When…when you kissed me just now, I thought I was thrilled. I thought I was happy. But then I felt something inside and started seeing images in my head. Do you know what they were off?" she asked him. Gary slowly shook his head, not wanting to know but knew he needed to know. "The feeling inside was that of…I don't know how else to say this…it was of disgust." Gary felt like he was stabbed. "Disgust of you kissing me, touching me and of the images in my head…it was of you being with many other girls at the same time without them knowing of it. Of you lying to me. Of you insulting others, hurting others. It was of you believing you're better than anyone and everyone else. It was of you fighting with Ash, trying to prevent him from telling me. Of you cheating on Sabrina and not even caring about it. And you never did apologize to her have you? Even after I found out did you even bother trying to apologize to her?" she asked him. He shook his head sadly. He never did. Gary started shivering in his spot, her words cutting into him. "I'm sorry Gary. For what we had, it was good even though it was short lived. You helped me open my eyes a bit and to see how the world is. And for that I thank you. But we will never work out because I've realized I can never fully trust you again as a life partner and I cannot hide what I'm feeling. And I cannot pretend anything just to stay together. I'm not like that and I cannot be like that even if I wanted to because of who I am and the responsibilities I have. I'm sorry. Hopefully we can overcome this in the future and at least be friends once more. But right now, I think it'll be for the best if we give each other some space." She stood there for a moment, waiting for his reply but Gary didn't move or make a sound.

Ilene began moving towards the door after seeing him not respond. She almost reached the door when Gary spoke. "Is it because of Ash that things won't work out between us?" She stopped in her tracks. Gary turned to speak to her back. "Do you have feelings for him? Is that why?" he asked her. She didn't noticeably react at all. "What does he have that I don't? How could you choose him over me? Did our time together mean nothing?" he asked her. She remained quiet. "I need to know. You owe me that much."

Ilene turned around slowly and looked him in the eye. "Our time together was special. But you lied and kept secrets from me. And you did horrible things in the past." Gary shook his head about to say something but was cut off from doing so. "Because of that, I can't. And I don't owe you anything Gary. The only thing Ash has to do with this is that it was because of him that I was made aware of what you did. Whether or not I have developed feelings for him or someone else, choose him or someone else, it's none of your business anymore. It's not the issue either because that has nothing to do with what you hid from me. Did you really believe that everything that you've done in your life will be easily overlooked by a potential love if you try to hide it and not own up to it?" she asked him, barely containing her emotions.

Gary frowned but didn't feel sadness. Instead some anger filled him up since his pride and ego was hurt that he wasn't good enough for her and that she was trying to hide what she's feeling from him. "That's real mature. Bringing up someone's past that they're trying to forget and leave behind. You're doing the same bullshit as Ash did to Leaf." Ilene's cheeks flushed with color. "And now you're trying to hide something too. You do have feelings for him don't you?!" Ilene stayed quiet, not saying anything but her heart was hammering. "You may not say it. You may not even want to admit it. But I get it. I understand. Did you always have feelings for him? Were you just using me to try to make him jealous? To notice you? Is that why you came here in the first place? Is that what this was? Was the honorable Queen of Rota just using me to get into her Knight's pants that she was secretly lusting after?!" Ilene didn't reply, staying silent but her face turned dark red and her eyes watered so much that some tears fell over how he was speaking with her. "You don't need to say anything. I saw the way you hugged him before he found Leaf and your interactions when we trained. I'm surprised you two haven't fucked yet. Or have you and just keeping it a secret? You probably are; you're probably just his booty call." Ilene felt insulted that he would think of her as someone who would play games like that, who would just mess around like that and opened her mouth to say something but Gary cut her off. "You know what? I don't care anymore. I should've known not to mess with royalty since they're always crazy and don't care about people who they deem inferior to them. Go and be with him, fuck him or a dozen other guys. I don't care. I hope you're happy being one of the rooster's hens," he finished angrily.

A sharp slap connected against Gary's cheek, making him yelp and move back a bit. "How dare you!" snapped Ilene, angry tears flowing down her cheeks. Gary straightened out, his hand on his stinging cheek, seeing her crying which made him feel much regret over his statements. He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off. "I don't want to hear another word Gary! We are absolutely done and we'll never get back together because you just proved it yet again! You're nowhere near mature enough to handle being in a relationship!" Gary felt like he was stabbed again, his stomach twisting into knots at what she just said. "And so much for your swearing on your pride of being an Oak that you'll never hurt me again because you just did so again! And I didn't bring up the past! You hid it from me! There's a difference! All you care about is getting what you want!" Gary was shaking badly. Each thing that Ilene was saying and continued to say was a like a deep cut that slashed into him. "You know I'm not like that! Just because you are doesn't mean others are! You want to just mess around? To not deal with responsibilities and not deal with the emotions?! Go find some hookers! And just so you know, Ash was trying to help you while training! He apologized to me for causing our break up and told me that you had changed and that I should give you a chance if I really wanted it. Even Sabrina told me that you changed and to give it a shot! You're ex tried to help you out even though you treated her horribly because she moved on and your rival tried to help you because he's mature!" Gary took in a sharp breath, feeling horrible and unable to reply back to that because those revelations made him realize he had just messed up colossally again. "And I do care about Ash because he's my Knight and my friend! And the reason why I was with you was because I did like you, thinking you were someone special! I chose to overlook all the things you did and do, like making fun of others, boasting about yourself and the things you did tell me that you did before because of my feelings for you! But now I see who you truly are! You are an egotistical, insensitive and conceited prick! I don't have even the smallest bit of feelings for you anymore!"

Ilene took a few breathers and that's when the researcher finally found his voice and spoke up. He had to try to fix things because he realized he was wrong. "Ilene, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I was just angry! But that's no excuse! I know I have problems and I'm willing to own up to them and fix them. I'm just not used to all this. I've never felt this way that it just made me go insane! Please, just give me a chance!" pleaded Gary, taking a step closer to her.

Ilene raised her hand and signaled him to stop while shaking her head and he did. "No Gary. We're done. We had our chance and I cannot change the facts. We tried it out, it was good for a bit but as soon as shit hit the fan, we saw that we aren't that compatible. I will never be able to look over what you did and how you just acted now. Call me shallow. Call me a bitch. It doesn't matter. I can't change that part about me. I need to be able to fully trust the person who I love. And I can't do that with you. Look at how you just acted over me explaining things calmly to you. My mind and my heart have made their choice. You may have changed but it's not enough and it's too late for us," she explained with her voice cracking throughout it all because of her emotions so on edge.

Gary hung his head, shaking it while speaking. "This can't be it. It can't just end like this." He went quiet but something was still bothering him. He had to know. He looked back up at her. "Can you at least tell me if you have feelings for him and whether or not that had anything to do with this?" he asked her.

Ilene felt her heart beat increase a bit from his question. "After all I said, that's the only thing that worries you?! That stayed on your mind?!" Ilene shook her head as Gary stayed silent. "I won't lie to you Gary but I won't tell you either. It's not your business at all anymore." Gary tried to swallow the lump that formed in his throat but couldn't. Ilene grasped the knob with Gary looking on with sullen eyes, unable to move from his spot. Before she opened the door, Ilene turned her tear streaked gaze to him. "I really hope you do change for the better. I truly do. Maybe you'll find that right girl who's meant for you who makes you change or perhaps you may find that special girl who could actually give you what you want and need without changing. I wish you luck either way." After that, the blonde Queen of Rota turned the door knob, opened the door and walked out of the room. She hurriedly went to her room and locked the door behind her before dropping onto her bed face first and sobbed for a long time. Gary watched her go silently, rooted to his spot before collapsing onto a nearby chair and thought of how everything just turned out while slow tears escaped from his eyes.

When the girls chased after Ash to his bedroom, they tackled him to the ground, making him shout. Pikachu woke up startled and was about to fry everyone but then stopped when he saw what was going on. The girls were torturing the young guardian by tickling him all over. Pikachu grinned deviously and decided to let them punish Ash and left the room to go sleep in the balcony. No sooner had he done so, that he bumped into Glaceon and Buneary who were giving him very happy looks. Pikachu let out a sigh as the two female pokémon once again dragged him away into an empty place.

Back in the bedroom, the girls were still tickle torturing Ash. Sarah was holding his right hand down while Anabel held his left. Dawn was holding his left leg down with Serena holding the right with Misty and May tickling his feet. Leaf and Cynthia had straddled him, the brunette sitting on his thighs and tickling his sides. The blonde Champion was sitting on his stomach who was tickling under his armpits. "HAHAHAHA! PLEASE STOP! HAHAHAHAHA! I'LL DO ANYTHING! HAHAHAHAHA!" Ash was laughing so hard that he was having difficulty breathing but the girls didn't stop until he turned purple from the lack of air. They stopped their tickling and he slowly calmed down enough to gulp down some much needed oxygen.

"Anything?" asked Cynthia in a sultry tone of voice, leaning over and teasing him with her face hovering an inch over his.

"Anything," he whispered back, making her smile.

"Good. Then you'll take us shopping," said May immediately.

"Anything but that!" yelped out Ash. The girls started tickling him again, making him cry out. He tried to wiggle out of their grasp but was unable to get free without hurting them in the process. "OKAY! OKAY! HAHAHAHAHA! YOU WIN! HAHAHAHA!"

They stopped the tickling and Ash was able to calm down a bit. He and Cynthia looked into one another's eyes before the Champion of Sinnoh leaned in closer and placed her lips against his. When she withdrew she saw him smiling at her, making her blush but also smile.

"HEY!" Both Ash and Cynthia looked at Sarah. "Stop hogging him!"

"Sorry," replied Cynthia. "Can't help it. You should act quicker," she teased and Sarah narrowed her eyes at her while the rest had amused looks on their faces.

"Hey, don't I get a say here?" asked Ash.

"No," said the girls together at once, smirking.

"Is that so? Alright then." He vanished from sight, making Leaf and Cynthia drop some inches onto the floor.

"Get back here Ash!" shot Cynthia into the air.

"Or what will you do?" whispered a voice into her ear, making her shiver from his voice and touch. Ash had reappeared behind her but in front of Leaf who became startled. He wrapped his arms around her stomach, holding her closely to him. Before she could respond or reply, he gave her a chaste kiss against her neck. His actions made her tremble and heat up from it. The other girls gulped and their hearts raced at seeing him do that. Cynthia titled her head back towards him but before she could speak, he vanished again and reappeared beside Sarah, his arm wrapped around her waist and holding her close to him. "What do you think she'll do Sarah?" he asked the blonde Johto native. She couldn't speak, her face scarlet at having him hold her so intimately. "Sarah? Are you alright?" She didn't move. He waved his hand in front of her face but got nothing. He glanced at the other girls. "Any ideas how to break her out of the trance?"

"With a kiss, duh!" answered Leaf like it was so simple.

He rolled his eyes, the girls giggling. "Right." He grasped her chin with his hand and gently made her look at him before giving her a kiss. The second his lips connected with hers, Sarah snapped out of it and kissed him back while pushing him onto the floor and got on top of him.

"Whoa, someone's eager," giggled Serena and so did her sisters, watching the blonde kiss him passionately and take control.

After a few more seconds, Ash vanished in mid kiss, leaving a confused and half satisfied Sarah with a stunned look on her face. "That's a cute look for you Sarah." Sarah turned her head to see Ash sitting on the floor with a very red Anabel sitting on his lap with his arms around her waist.

"HEY! That's not fair! I wasn't done!" she whined.

"Don't worry Sarah. We'll never be done," he replied cheekily, winking at her, and Sarah went quiet immediately but her eyes widened and the other girls laughed. He then glanced at Anabel. "So, Anabel, anything you want to say?" he asked her and Anabel immediately smashed her lips against his, kissing him furiously. After a short while, he teleported again but this time reappeared between Dawn and May with Serena sitting on his lap.

"ASH!" cried Anabel, annoyed that he left mid kiss.

"Hey, I'm doing the best I can you know," he said, defending his action. "Gotta keep you girls entertained right?" he asked. Anabel pouted making May, Dawn and Serena smack him, two against his head and one against his chest.

"ASH!" said the three together.

"Okay, okay…" He vanished and reappeared by Anabel's side again. "Sorry, just joking around. Feel better?" he asked her. Anabel hit his shoulder and he rubbed it. "Damn, you hit hard."

"Tell me about it," remarked Leaf. "Try getting slapped by her. Man that hurt." She massaged her cheek and Anabel gave a devious grin while the other girls laughed.

"Feisty huh? I like it," said Ash, making Anabel go red again before he kissed her. They sunk into it for a while before separating and he once again teleported to Sarah's side. He wasn't even able to get a word in before she kissed him again. When they separated, he was transported to be beside Leaf. "So, my childhood crush…" He wasn't allowed to finish since Leaf started kissing him, preventing him from speaking. When they finished their kiss, he teleported back to May, Dawn and Serena. Serena gave him a heated kiss followed by May and then Dawn. He vanished again for the final time and reappeared next to Misty, sitting on the floor beside her. "Well my Mystic Mermaid, did you ever think life would turn out this way after pulling me out of the river?" he asked her with a grin and the girls laughed.

"Oh shut up Ash and kiss me," she said. She grabbed his shirts collar and pulled him in close to her. As they kissed, she pushed him down onto the floor and climbed on top of him. Ash's hands started rubbing her sides and she shivered in delight. Both of them were becoming turned on, from all the kissing he just did and with her missing being in his embrace since she went first.

"HEY! HEY!" Both Ash and Misty stopped and turned to look at Leaf. "Remember the rules!" she reminded them. The raven haired man and the red head looked at one another before nodding and got up. "Good. Now I don't have to beat you up."

Ash and the girls burst out laughing. "Right," they said together after calming down, making Leaf glare at them all after puffing out her cheeks.

"Jerks," she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Ash stood up, went to her, pulled her up and wrapped an arm around her waist before drawing her in closer to him. Leaf became quite red at feeling his body against hers. "Maybe…but we're your jerks right?" he asked her with his trademark goofy smile.

She couldn't help it and smiled too. "Yea," she admitted, bumping him with the side of her body. She then looked at the girls around them and saw each of them smiling and happy. Not one of them had any jealous or hateful look on their faces or in their eyes. Leaf suddenly became teary eyed.

"Leaf, what's wrong?" asked Ash, the girls standing up and gathering closer around them.

She didn't bother wiping away her tears that were flowing down now, not ashamed of it. She looked up and gazed into his eyes, smiling. "I'm just so happy. I finally found a family who cares for me and I care for them. And my childhood friend turned out to be the man of my dreams. I couldn't ask for anything else," admitted Leaf. She hugged Ash tightly, her face resting against his chest with a large smile.

The girls smiled and had their eyes became watery too. "Damn it Leaf. Why'd you have to make us start too?" complained Anabel but she and the girls joined in on the group hug.

While in the hug, Ash said something he's wanted to say for a while now. "I've come to understand my feelings and emotions more and more with you girls around me and giving me a chance. Thank you for that. I want to let you know that I care greatly for each and every one of you with all my heart. I will do everything within my power to keep you safe and happy. I will never betray any of you and wish the best for each of you. I will never ask any of you to leave. But I must let you know that you are free to leave and choose a different path if the time ever comes that you ever feel this isn't for you or you find that your feelings for me just isn't what you thought it was," he told them. The girls drew back from him and looked at him with half smiles and tear streaked faces.

"That's one thing you don't have to worry about Champion of my heart," remarked Cynthia.

"I don't believe any one of us will ever leave you," added Sarah.

"How could we with you always in our minds and hearts?" asked Anabel rhetorically.

"You are my childhood friend who's done everything for me and became the love of my life. What more could I ask for?" asked Leaf.

"You are my Protector who always did his best to prevent bad things from happening to me," said Serena.

"You are my Guardian who always encouraged me to believe in myself," said Dawn.

"You are my Knight who helped me find my calling," said May.

"You are my Pokémon Master who supported me in following my dreams and showed me how to never give up," said Misty.

Ash listened to each girl's words as they washed over him, resonating with him. He felt so much love from them that he couldn't help it and his eyes watered. He pulled the girls into a group hug again and let out his tears with no shame. "Thank you all for caring about me so much," he told them.

"You're welcome Ash," said the girls together.

Ash was about to say something else when his room door was opened and his mother walked in. She wanted to tell him about the phone call and decided she had to whether or not it was a good time now. "Ash…" They all looked at her with concerned expressions because she spoke his name in a serious tone of voice. He went up to her, asking what's wrong, drying his eyes with the back of his hands. "When the phone rang, that was Doctor Swanson who called. She got the results and found out that Natasha won't be contracting any diseases and won't become pregnant."

"That's great news!" he exclaimed and the girls felt happy about it too. Delia still had a sullen expression though on her face. "But why are you so sad?" he asked her. Delia's lips quivered a bit.

"The reason why she won't become pregnant is because when they violated and abused her, they damaged her reproductive organs. They'll heal enough to not cause her discomfort but they will never function again. She will never be able to have children." Everyone took in a sharp breath at that. The joyful atmosphere suddenly went sour as sadness filled each and every one of them. "And her voice? It'll never return either. Her vocal cords have been severed. The only way how they think that could have happened was she had screamed so much and with such a high pitch that it caused them to tear apart." Several people in the room had let out gasps with a few of the girls even letting out tears.

Ash was shaking his head, grief filling him. "This can't happen to her. She's barely holding on. How am I supposed to tell her all that?" He shook his head, grabbing onto his hair as he did so. "This is all my fault. If only I had gotten rid of them before…" Delia tried to comfort him but he stopped her and took a step back. "No Mom. No matter what you say, this is my fault. Arceus was right. I have to deal with what comes, whether I caused it to happen directly or not." He went towards the door to leave the room while speaking. "I'll tell Natasha myself. I just need a moment." Watching him leave the room with yet another heavy burden on his shoulders made his mom and girlfriends frown and become sullen. Delia sobbed a bit, feeling so bad over how he was feeling and what the poor girl was going to soon find out.

The four original girls went up to her and hugged her. "It's okay Delia. He'll push past it, just like everything else. It's Ash we're talking about here and he won't want us to feel bad so don't cry. It won't help him," said Misty, trying to cheer her up.

Delia hugged them back tightly. She glanced at her and nodded slightly, drying her eyes with her hands. "Thank you Misty." The red head let a small smile form on her face. The newer four girls also joined in on the hug, telling Delia that they'll be there for her son and for her if and when they need something. Delia thanked them all for their kindness before separating.

They stayed in his room for a bit before Delia decided to go get some soup ready for Natasha since it was near her time to eat and take her medicine. The girls left the room and while making their way into the living room, they noticed Ash was in the balcony. They went up to him to see if they could help him out in some way. "Ash?" he turned around and looked at the girls. It was Dawn who spoke. "Want to talk about it?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No. There's not much to talk about. I communicated with Mewtwo mentally just now to ask Lucario if aura can heal her but it's a no go. Lucario said that even aura cannot undo some things. Mewtwo even asked Mew for me. She can't either and she is the greatest healer in the world. No point in asking Arceus either since he doesn't get involved at all unless it's world threatening. I'm just trying to not let it affect me so much. But thank you," he told her.

Dawn nodded and hugged him. "Anytime." The other girls also joined in, hugging him.

"Thank you all for being here for me and understanding me. I promise I'll do my best to not let things affect me so much. And I promise to do everything and anything for you all." The girls said nothing more and just enjoyed the group hug for a bit before they separated. He then said that he's going to go see Natasha.

"Want us to come with you?" asked Serena.

"I think it'll be better if there's no one else in the room with her while I tell her this. But thanks my Angel," he replied back and she nodded. He and the girls made their way back inside together. They entered the living room and he head down the hall to Natasha's room and entered it. The eight girls looked at one another and then decided to go do some things they had to do, splitting up.

The raven haired guardian entered the red head's room and found her awake. She glanced at the door when it opened and when she saw him, a smile spread on her face. Hey there. Ash smiled back, trying to stay upbeat for her. "Hey Natasha. How are you feeling?" he asked as he moved towards her and sat down on the bed after closing the door behind him. Doing alright. Though better now that you're here. "Hey, quit teasing me," he whined a bit, rubbing the back of his head while reddening slightly.

Natasha just smiled back a bit but also felt a little embarrassed. That sudden feeling threw her off a bit. She never would get embarrassed before. What made her feel that way now? She pushed it to the back of her mind, not wanting to worry about it. She could think about that later when he wasn't there.

"So, looks like it'll be time for your meal soon and then to take your medicine again. Have you been taking it regularly like you've been told to?" he asked and she nodded. Of course. Your Mom has been making sure of that. Can you thank her for me? "Good and sure. I'll make sure to thank her for you. I have some news too." She tilted her head. "We got the results from Doctor Swanson." Her eyes widened and she used her hands to sit up a bit. She had recovered some, the food, medicine and rest giving her some energy. What did they say? Ash could sense the worrying tone even in her mind. "She said that the results confirmed that you won't contract any diseases and you won't become pregnant." Natasha leaned her head back, looked up towards the ceiling and let out a long sigh, her eyes closed. She felt so relieved hearing that, feeling a great weight practically being lifted off of her shoulders. Thank Arceus.

Ash watched her become so soothed in finding out the results, hearing her thank the Alpha Pokémon that she won't have to deal with that. He felt a little good seeing her react that way before it went away. How could he tell her the rest? Natasha lowered her gaze back to his, smiling at first but then it faded as she noticed him worried. What's wrong? He sighed. "Natasha, there are two more things I need to tell you." She nodded and waited for him to speak. "The doctor said that the results also showed that your voice won't return because your vocal cords have been completely torn and they are unable to fix it." Natasha's eyes filled up with water and her breathing became heavier. And…and what of…the second thing? She was doing all she could to not break down. "The second thing is…." Ash sighed again before continuing. "The reason why you didn't become pregnant was because during that…hell…that you went through, your reproductive organs were damaged beyond full recovery. That means even though they'll heal enough to not cause you any pain or discomfort, you'll never be able to…to have…children." It was hard for him to say that and Natasha couldn't hold back anymore and just let it out, crying heavily.

She never thought this would happen to her. She never thought that she would be raped, beaten, abused, violated and humiliated. But to lose the ability to speak and the capability to have children as well? She would never again be able to speak normally again with another, to tell her thoughts, how she felt, what she believed in. And she would never have children of her own. She didn't want any right now, barely in her twenties. But she had thought about it from time to time. She used to have a dream that after her days in the organization, she would marry a man who was rich and handsome so that she could enjoy the finer things in life while raising beautiful and well off children. But no, that would never happen. It was then that she realized that all of her dreams were just that; dreams. Even if she could get over her fear of men, no man would truly want a raped woman, a broken shell of her former self who couldn't even bare him offspring. She cried and she cried as the truth crushed her.

Ash couldn't bare seeing Natasha so sullen. He wished he had the power of a god to turn back time and prevent this from ever happening. Or at least be able to restore her voice and ability to have children again. Even with him being an Aura Guardian and more powerful than all before him, he was defeated in his attempt to help someone who needed him. He grasped her hand to show her some sort of support but wasn't expecting what happened next. She slipped her hand out of his and turned away from him, having her back to him while she continued to bawl. "Natasha?"

Leave me alone! I don't want your pity! Ash had great sadness fill him and his expression was that of shock of what she just told him. I don't need you to pretend that you care about me! Nobody can care about me! How could they?! I'm a worthless girl who's been used, broken, can't talk and can't have children! I have no purpose, nothing to give you or anyone else in return and nothing in life to look forward to! You saw the word on my back! What did it say?! It said 'WHORE' right? That's what I am! A whore with nothing to lose, with nothing to gain, no family, no friends and with nothing to look forward to! I have no value and deserve no one and nothing! So just leave me alone or end my suffering and kill me! She finished saying through her mind and continued bawling. It was too much for the raven haired guardian.

Ash grasped her shoulder, whirled her around and took her up into his embrace in one swift motion. She struggled to get out of it but he wouldn't let her get free. After struggling for a bit, trying to pull away and even hitting him against his chest a few times, she stopped. She placed her hands onto his chest, while crying her eyes out, her face buried into his chest. "Natasha…I'm so sorry…" said Ash softly, rubbing her back, freely letting himself cry as well over her situation. "I'm so sorry for what has happened to you. And I'm so sorry that you feel that way…I promise you, that's not how I see you and I never will. I will never ask or tell you to leave, to go. And I will never hurt you or leave you." Natasha kept bawling away into his shirt, wetting it with her tears. After some time, she communicated with him again. Why…why are you…sorry? You don't need to deal with this…with me. I have no worth. You have eight girlfriends who are beautiful, pure and can give you everything you could possibly ask for. So why…why waste your time…with me? Why do you care? You don't know me at all. Why waste time with me? "Helping a friend will never be a waste of time and you are my friend. I care about my friends. I'll do anything and everything that I can do to help my friends. You're stronger than this Natasha. I believe in you. And I keep my promises." She didn't reply back, not making any sounds except for her sobbing. Ash re-positioned himself with Natasha still in his embrace. He sat up at the top of the bed, leaning against the headboard with his back. She wrapped her arm around his stomach now tightly but kept crying into his chest. He rubbed her back tenderly with one hand and placed his chin on top of her head gently. The door opened and Misty walked in, holding a bowl of soup in her hands. Ash glanced at her but Natasha didn't even bother to look, lost in her sorrow. Both Ash and Misty exchanged sullen looks before she placed the bowl on the bedside dresser. He thanked her quietly and she replied back that he was welcome. She gestured towards the crying girl in his arms.

I don't know. She took it very hard. Misty's eyes widened at hearing Ash's voice in her head.

Did you just speak with me mentally?

So you did hear me and I can hear you…good. Yes and I don't know what more to do. I told her I'll help her out as much as I can and that I'll never make her leave.

Misty smiled. You did fine Ash. I don't think you can do much else except be patient. Let her cry it out. When she calms down enough, have her eat the soup if you can. If you need anything, let me or the girls know okay?

Ash smiled at her. What would I do without my Mystic Mermaid?

Probably be lost, as usual, she teased while stepping out of the room.

Ash smiled a bit before forming a serious face once more. He waited for Natasha to calm down a bit before speaking again. It took some time but she finally stopped her crying at least. "Natasha…" She slowly looked at him. "I promise I will always be your friend and do as much as I can for you." She felt her heart beat a little faster over his words but her expression was still one of sadness. "I know I can never fully feel or understand what you're going through but please remember that I'm here for you, no matter what." She looked into his eyes and saw that he wasn't kidding or just saying it to calm her. He truly meant every word. "But can you promise me that you'll at least try to not let it overwhelm you and if it does, to let me know and I'll help however I can?" It took a moment but she nodded before leaning her head against his chest again. She was still letting out tears but wasn't sobbing anymore but would let out stuttering breaths. "Thank you Natasha."

Some time past with them both silent in that position. "Hey, I almost forgot that Misty brought you some soup. You should eat it before it gets cold and then take your medicine. Okay?" She let out a sigh before looking up at him, her eyes bloodshot and her face marked with tear streaks. Ash gently wiped them off with his thumb, making her feel something from his caring touch. Alright…and…thank you. He gave her a smile and a nod. She got off of him and sat up straight against the headboard. Ash got off the bed, took the bowl of soup and sat back down beside her. He stirred it a bit with the utensil before raising a spoonful. "You know the drill. Let me know if it's too hot…"

After Ash entered Natasha's room, Cynthia went up to Clair and Liza who were lounging about in the balcony. Giselle had gone to use the restroom. They talked a bit before the blonde of the three asked about their other close friend. The three decided to check on Sabrina and entered the room she was sleeping in. The two knew something was up with how Liza told such a blatant lie. She was a morning person but the others didn't know that. They gathered round her and Cynthia gently shook her awake. Sabrina opened her eyes a bit and saw it was her friend who woke her up. "Sabrina? Are you okay? You didn't join us for breakfast. What's wrong?" she asked.

The psychic's eyes widened, remembering what had happened earlier that morning. She felt a little pain do to the medicine she took still working. She sat up in her bed but kept the blanket over her hands. "Oh, sorry. I guess I was just tired from yesterday's training," looking at her three friends who were standing beside her bed.

They weren't buying it though. "We know you better than that Sabrina," commented Cynthia. "Please don't think of us as imbeciles since that's not how we view you."

The dark haired girl sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. But I'm fine so don't worry."

"You can't lie for shit either," said Clair, making her redden. "What's wrong? And we're not leaving until you tell us." Sabrina glared at them, seeing them not back down. They weren't going to drop it and she couldn't just blast them out of the room with her powers. That would cause more problems. She let out a deep sigh and glanced at Liza before nodding at her. Liza grabbed the blanket covering her friend and pulled it down some. Cynthia and Clair both yelped seeing her hands wrapped in thick bandages. "What the fuck happened?!" asked Clair as both she and Cynthia drew closer to look at her hands.

"Smart ass here was trying to copy Ash and punch a hole into the wall," explained Liza, shocking them.

"Sabrina! Why?! What were you thinking?!" asked Cynthia. She was confused and worried over what was going on with her friend and so were the other two.

Sabrina shook her head, her eyes filling up with tears. "I can't tell you. It's just something I have to do."

"Hurting yourself is something you have to do?!" asked Liza, outraged.

"Yes. No. I don't know," admitted Sabrina, looking away.

For a long time, no matter what they said or asked her, Sabrina stayed quiet. Seeing them not able to get another word out of her, two of them shook their heads but the third was getting angrier with every passing second. "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this, mark my words Sabrina. And I'm going to start with Ash because I bet he's the one who put this nonsense into your head!" Before the three could stop her, the fourth left the room angrily, going after the raven haired man. She entered the living room and looked around but only saw the others. "Where's Ash?!" she asked them angrily.

"Whoa, what's your beef?" asked Daisy Waterflower, standing up. She had calmed down enough to wash up and join the others in the living room. She didn't want anyone to have any suspicions and start thinking as to why she wasn't around. She didn't like the way Clair said that so angrily towards someone who was kind to everyone and who she had feelings for but would never pursue it. The others were looking at the gym leader with worried looks. "What did he do?"

"I don't have the time or the patience to explain. Just tell me where he is!" she shot. Daisy narrowed her eyes at Clair, getting annoyed with her but before she could say anything, someone else spoke up.

"Hey, relax Clair. What happened?" Clair turned towards Sarah. "He's with Natasha. I think he's feeding her now since Misty took some soup and...wait, where you going?!"

Clair had stormed off towards Natasha's room but before she could get there, Liza and Cynthia appeared in front of her, blocking her path. "Clair! Relax! We can figure this out without causing a scene or making things worse alright?" advised Liza but Clair was beyond that. She knew that Liza was right but she also knew that Sabrina liked Ash and that's why she was hurting herself for him. She knew how Sabrina is and knew she was trying to prove herself to him in her own way. But the others didn't know that she liked him and she couldn't tell them. And she was frustrated herself that she couldn't reveal to him how she felt about him, how Liza and Giselle admitted that they like Ash as well and it all just became too much. She wanted Ash to get something in return for making them feel this way, making them all go crazy over him. She was about to tell them to get out of her way when a door opened in front of them. Ash stepped out and closed the door behind him with an empty bowl in his hands, making his way to the kitchen.

"ASH!" He stopped near the kitchen entrance and glanced over to Clair who called out to him before looking at Cynthia and Liza. Two of them were worried and the third looked angry. He was about to ask what's wrong when Clair marched right up to him and slapped him hard.

"Mew that stings!" He yelped, stumbling backwards. He stood back up straight, both confused and angry. "What the hell was that for Clair?!" he yelled at her.

Not answering him, Clair went to raise her hand again but was held back by Cynthia and Liza. Many from the group surrounded them, wanting to know what the commotion was about. Seeing Clair being held up made them become both concerned and frightened. "It's all your fault Ash!" screamed out Clair. Ash gave a confused look, rubbing his cheek and everyone was looking at him and then at the blunette, alternating their gazes. "You made Sabrina hurt herself!" she yelled out and some let out gasps. She freed herself out of her friends' grip and was about to deliver another slap when he caught her hand, the bowl dropping to the floor but didn't break.

"I would never do such a thing. How dare you insult me like that Clair!" he growled at her and some others even felt pissed over her accusation, especially his girlfriends.

"Maybe you didn't mean to, but you still caused Sabrina to hurt herself because she was trying to copy you!" she explained. Ash let go of her hand, worry filling him. She took advantage of him lowering his guard and grabbed him by his shirt with both hands and pushed him against the hallway wall, startling the others. "She hurt her hands by trying to copy you by punching a freakin hole in the damn wall!" shot Clair while looking into his eyes. Everyone was shocked in hearing that, wondering why she would try to do that. "What the hell did you do to her?!"

Ash was beyond stunned but also confused. "Why would she do that? I told you all not to kill yourselves. I never meant for her to take it that way. And I never said to copy me. Why is she doing this?" he asked, his heart starting to beat madly while looking into her eyes.

She could see the worry and concern in his eyes. She didn't want to hurt him. It was killing her, what she was doing but she knew he had to know and had to take responsibility for it. Why do this to her? To us? Why are you making us behave like this? Ash heard her thoughts since he was focusing on her, making him feel confused over her choice of words. Before he could think on it more, Clair spoke out loud, catching his attention. "You think just by saying 'don't do this or that' and that means you're off the hook? That's not how it goes! You need to watch what you say and do especially to people like Sabrina who take everything to heart! I heard you tell her she traded her physical ability for mental; didn't you?" Ash felt like he was slapped again and many people shook their heads at his lack of tact. "Did you know that she's been living a sheltered life mostly?! That she takes everything literally?! No you didn't and just said things without thinking, making her think she needs to do this so she can become strong!" Realization dawned on Ash. He remembered how she pushed herself in the run, not giving up after what he told her. Clair was right. How could he be so inattentive and so blind? Why was he still not noticing things?

"That's enough!" shouted Misty, May, Dawn and Serena. The four girls grabbed hold of Clair and pulled her away from their love but Ash remained motionless. They were angry and so were several others over how Clair acted. "Apologize Clair!" they said to the gym leader.

"No. She's right." They glanced at Ash, seeing him bend down to pick up the bowl and face the Blackthorn City gym leader. "I'll go talk to her and find out what happened. If I am at fault for anything, I request that you do not hold back your fury when you unleash it on me." Ash went to the kitchen to place the bowl in the sink, leaving a stunned Clair and a shocked group behind. After that he walked past them and entered the room where Sabrina was.

Clair didn't move, rooted to her spot until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked behind her and saw it was Liza giving her a concerned look. Clair shook her head before walking towards the door Ash disappeared through. She stood next to it, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and her gaze on the floor. The four girls were looking at her with mixed expressions. They were angry at Clair for yelling and blaming Ash but also understood her side since she was concerned and mad about her friend getting hurt. Ash's other four girlfriends made the group disband and scatter, except for Liza. His eight girlfriends, Clair and Liza waited silently by the room.

The dark haired psychic prodigy had heard some shouting and talking but didn't want to 'see' what they were talking about with her powers. She was hoping it wasn't about her situation. But that didn't go her way either when she glanced at the door when it opened and saw the raven haired guardian enter her room. Her heart beat increased in speed and she felt very nervous. Ash had one side of his mouth curl upwards into half a smile while walking towards her bed and then sat beside her. "Hey Sabrina."

"Hey." That was all she could say. Her hands were once again underneath the blanket.

"So, something interesting just happened," started Ash. Sabrina was looking into his eyes, her chest rising and falling rapidly due to her rapid breathing from her nervousness. Even though it was refreshing, she hated that she couldn't read his mind at certain times and this was one of them. "Clair came up to me and slapped the crap out of me. Now why would she do that?" he asked her.

Sabrina gasped in shock but also felt angry a bit for her hurting him. "I…I don't know. Maybe she's angry or confused…about something?" she said while trying to control her emotions.

Ash smiled a bit, sensing her emotions spike. "Then why are you angry? And you can't lie worth a damn Sabrina." Her cheeks went red. "Now tell me why she would do that and say it's my fault that you hurt yourself trying to copy me?"

"I…I don't know…" He gave her an unbelieving look. "I…I can't tell you."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

"Then show me." Sabrina looked into Ash's eyes for a full minute before revealing her heavily bandaged hands from underneath the blanket. He became extremely worried. He reached over and was about to unwrap the bandages but she moved them away. "Sabrina…" She lowered her gaze for a moment before looking back up into his eyes. She moved her hands towards him. He gently unwrapped the bandages and when done, he looked at her hands carefully.

They were bruised, bloodied and parts of the skin were torn. Her right hand was swollen like crazy. He knew broken and fractured bones when he saw one. His three years of training had him see many different types of injuries. He raised his gaze and looked into Sabrina's tear filled eyes. He shook his head while maintaining eye contact with her, making her cry loudly.

The door opened and ten girls walked in with worried looks, having heard Sabrina crying. With the exception of Liza who had already seen her hands, the girls all gasped and clapped their hands to their mouths, unable to look away at the wrecked hands of the psychic prodigy. She glanced at them but Ash didn't, keeping his gaze onto hers. When she turned back to face him, he spoke. "Do you know…how much…it hurts me…to see you like this…because of me?" he asked her. Her heart leaped to her throat at what he said.

He clasped her hands within his, making her wince from the pain she felt but didn't withdraw from it. Ash had his hands glow a bright blue before channeling healing aura over her hands. The blue glow became brighter and brighter before stopping and slowly faded away. When he finished, Ash unclasped their hands and held one in each of his, panting a bit. Her hands were completely healed. No broken bones, no blood stains, no bruises, no swelling and no torn skin. Everyone there besides the guardian was impressed at what he just did.

Ash raised her hands a bit, holding them tenderly. "These hands…these soft and delicate hands…will get stronger…and so will you. But I don't ever want to see them in such a condition again. Don't ever do something like this again. I won't be able to bear it again. Especially if it was because of me. Did I make myself clear Sabrina?" he asked her. His brown eyes locked with her pink wet ones. Untold emotions passed through them before she flung herself onto him who took her up into an embrace. "You'll be alright but don't ever scare me like this again," he told her. Sabrina couldn't help it and she just let go. She let out heavy and fast tears as she began to sob. He wrapped one arm around her back and placed his other hand on her head before gently stroking it over her hair. "You are Sabrina Natsume, the psychic prodigy. You will get stronger but not like this. What I said, I didn't mean for you to hurt yourself over it. Promise me that you won't push yourself so hard again when it's not needed. Promise me Sabrina," he pleaded. The girls in the room had become sullen over what they were seeing themselves.

The Saffron gym leader spoke while sobbing uncontrollably into his chest. "I'm…I'm so sorry…for causing you pain…for worrying you!" she cried. "I…I wanted to prove I can…be strong…that I'm worthy…but I failed! I…I'm not…good enough…for anyone…not for Gary...even though I didn't really care about him at all…not for my parents…who loved me even though I was a monster…not for my friends…who are embarrassed of my sheltered life...and…and I'm…definitely...not good enough…not worthy enough…for the one person…who I never stopped thinking about…who I realized I have feelings for since the day I met him…the person who saved me, changed me…the person who I ended up hurting after not seeing him for years…I can never be good enough for you Ash!" she cried out. Sabrina's confession shocked everyone in the room. Ash was blindsided, frozen in place and so were the girls in the room. Even though Clair knew, she didn't think she would confess and especially in front of so many like that. Ash's girlfriends were so shocked they didn't even comment, with their jaws dropped and eyes widened.

It was silent in the room except for some sobbing. Nobody moved or made a sound until the dark haired girl spoke again. "I'm so sorry Ash," cried Sabrina. She withdrew from him and made eye contact. She took in a breath, composing herself before speaking again. "I never meant to hurt you. Not when I helped bring out your memories and not now. I'm so sorry. And I'm sorry for not being good enough for you." Ash was feeling crestfallen over her words, unable to speak. She glanced at the girls. "I'm sorry for revealing my feelings like that. I hope you don't hate me." Seeing them not react she turned back to Ash. "You don't need to worry though. I won't try to get into your life, to mess things up between you, the girls and the love you have for one another. I won't force myself into the group or try to take you away from the girls you love so dearly. I wish you good luck and the best with everything. Goodbye Ash." Before anyone could say or do anything, the Saffron gym leader teleported away, leaving behind a motionless raven haired guardian who was staring at the spot the psychic prodigy was just at a second ago.