Bad Dream by WyldClaw

Plot: Animeverse one shot. After a terrifying nightmare DJ finds out what happened between her dad and Hunter J and dr. yung... well sort of. I own diddly squat asides from the OCs. Warning: spoilers for A Blast from Dad's Past and Names fanfics. Italics Are thoughts. Takes place a few days after Derek, Jaden, Aki, Storm, Ash and Sami escape from Hunter J.

XxX XxX

{Dream begins}

DJ Noelle Miracle Waterflower-Ketchum was having a terrifying dream thought it had started out as a good dream.

she had been dreaming of being in a warm sunny meadow playing with lots of various friendly Pokémon- some she recognized from her parents or school but some like a snowy white Alolan Vulpix and Ninetails she recognized from her schoolbooks. Among the Pokémon were ones who appeared on her favorite TV show 'My Little Ponyta: Friendship is Forever' - like Diamund, a winged light blue Ponyta with a purple mane, a blue tail and three jewels on her side. DJ was in total bliss- having grown up around them all her five and a half years of life she loved Pokemon. She was small for her age-her parents said it was a result of her being a month overdue- and with her brown hair and brown eyes she looked like a miniature young version of her grandmother. She wore a tan tee shirt and jeans.

she gently pet a young Litleo-a quadruped, feline looking Pokémon that was mostly dark brown with pale brown paws, ears, tail tip, and face. it had a short rounded muzzle with an orange-reddish nose and small rounded ears. it had a reddish orange tuft of fur between its ears and a tear drop shape tip at the end of its tail, it purred in delight at her touch which made the little girl giggle. it tried to paw at a passing leaf with a small brown front paw but the light breeze blew it out of reach. "Silly kitty." she chuckled. " You'll have another chance to get it. " The Fire/Normal type licked her face.

Suddenly its ears perked up and a cold breeze made her shiver. But out of the blue a dark cold fog overtook her surroundings and all the Pokémon had cried out as they panicked and they started vanishing. "Wh-what's h-happening?" She asked Diamund,

(I don't know my dear. It's not good whatever it is. Run while you still can) she replied.

The little girl fled but tripped over something on the ground right as the dark cold eerie mist engulfed her and her surroundings. And she'd felt a variety of things at once- a cold feeling similar to a Froslass griping her tightly, great immense pain and an agonizing burning sensation. She also thought she heard a both a woman and a man's cold laugh and her brother's name being yelled. She squeezed her eyes shut for about ten minutes and felt a cold mist touch her.

But as suddenly as it began the coldness seemed to vanish. She re-opened her eyes and saw she was in a clearing in a dark foggy forest. There was thick covering of trees with thorny vines covering the top. That's weird. Super thin beams of sunlight poked through the treetops leaving very little light in the fog . There was none of the usual forest sounds- no birds twittering or even sounds of forest dwelling Pokemon . Wh-what happened to all the Pokémon? "H-hello?" The five-year-old asked into the air. "Anyone there? Where am I? "

All she head in response was a ghostly echo. The little girl gulped as she walked. She thought she heard her brother's voice in the distance saying "Mom. Dad ...help"

"D-Derek? Where are you?" She called out as she blundered about. She shivered as she called out his name again. "D-D-Derek?" But she didn't hear anything but a creepy echo. She felt chilled and didn't like whatever her good dream had turned into into this. I don't like this new dream.

As she tried to find her older brother she felt the temperature drop at least twenty degrees and the fog increased. She looked for the source of the temperature change and backed away as something with short stubby legs emerged from the shadows. As the short roundish grey ghost pokemon with the single red eye in the middle of its head formed, her heart thumped against her throat - It was one of the few Pokémon that utterly terrified her. Dusclops. It just had to b-be a Dusclops. Soon the Dusclops, which glowed an eerie white-fully, emerged. She had always thought Dusclops were terrifying and been scared of them but didn't know where the fear came from from. Her mother had a slight fear of them but she didn't think a fear could be passed down from mother to daughter.

(Hello little girl…) it looked down at DJ, who could see sweat sticking to her tan tee shirt. (You're a little too young to be out here) It sneered. (What are you doing out here... all alone?)

"T-trying to find m-my br-someone."

It stepped forward and she edged away. (He's not here.)

"Wh-who?"

The Ghost type got closer. (The boy.)

"B-But I heard him s-say h- help loud and clear."

It wagged a ghostly hand at her. (The wonders of voice manipulation or at least having a Chattot nearby. It was meant to bring someone here to dreamland but ... you'll do quite nicely...)

"Y-you d-dragged me here? But Wh-why?" Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Don't just stand there- run! Her brain yelled at her but her legs had turned to Grepa berry jelly.

(Look into my eye and I can see if you are one of his.) It rumbled as it walked forward as the eye glowed.

She forced herself to stare down at the ghost's belly away from the single eye as she backed away. "N-no. Wh-what d-do you mean one of his? Why are you glowing like that?"

It threw a Shadow Ball at her as it but she ducked as she tried to get away. (Don't fight me little girl. I can sense him on you, all over you actually. It's almost like you are wearing a sign saying you're related to… him. We know the boy is his and he did mention siblings.)

Fear gripped her like an ice-cold Weavile claw. Her mother had told her very few details about the person who'd kidnapped her dad and majorly injured her brother, Related to him? Does it mean-?

She tripped over a big rock that had appeared out of nowhere and skidded on the ground, feeling her right jeans leg rip and a pain in her right knee. Her tan shirt was covered in dirt. She got slowly up and looked down. She winced as she saw a line of red coming from her skinned knee and bit her lip but a tear came down. "G-g-go away you– m-meanie g-ghost!"

The ghost laughed as it used Disable to stop her in her tracks and then Confusion to lift her a few feet off the ground. (I don't think I will. I like seeing you scared.)

"L-l-lemme go!" she cried out as the arrack stopped her from moving but it was no use. She knew from hearing stories about when her mom's dimwitted Psyduck actually used those two attacks- and seeing her father's Noctowl use her Confusion attack there was no way of escaping the combination attack's power.

The ghost simply lifted her higher almost to the tops to the trees. (Why would I do that little girl?) It waved a finger in a circle and she went around in a fast circle. (I want to make you scream.)

She shook her head. It waved its finger high into the air and moved it up and down, causing DJ to move up and down in the air like a yo-yo. "Wh-why are y-you doing this to me?"

(Seeing you this terrified is amusing.)

She bit her lip. It growled as she dropped down to three feet above the ground. (Tough little mite aren't you? but I know a sure fire way to make you scream.) It clenched its right hand into a fist and turned it in the air.

As it did DJ felt her own right arm twist not if its own accord. Tears streamed down her face. She felt an enormous amount of agonizing pain. "Oww! D-d-daddddy! Mommy h-help!" she cried. But there was no answer.

(Just as I suspected. You're one of his feisty brats) The Ghost Type smirked as it let go of DJ who dropped to the ground on her injured knee.

"Wh-what do you want w-with my Daddy?"

(That's only for me to know and you to never find out. you're going to be bait so start acting like bait!)

She shook her head.

( This should get you to stay still,) it said as it became outlined in white energy and raised its head. Multiple large sharp gray rocks outlined in white energy formed around its head in the shape of a ring. The glow around the ghost then faded causing the rocks to fall on either side of her- citing off any escape paths. It moved toward her, freezing the Rock Tomb. DJ felt herself back up against a nearby tree and knew she was trapped. It lazily pinned her tan sweat stained shirt and pants to the tree with a powerful Icicle Spear attack.

"H-how c-can you know Icicle S-Spear? A-an' R-Rock Tomb? It's n-not possible-" she struggled as she tried to get loose but no luck.

(Why should I tell you?)

"Lemme go!" she cried out again trying to get free but the Dusclops simply waved a glowing arm and a blue jolt of electricity hit her arms and legs. She screamed as the Thunder Wave pinned her limbs to her side - paralyzing them. She couldn't move as her shirt ripped from where the Icicle Spear was holding it in place and she fell to the ground.

(You won't get free now little girl) it snickered as its eye glowed. it psychically lifted up a long rope by its feet and tightly tied her up. Then it tied a tighter piece of rope around her hands binding them behind her back and put a gag around her mouth.

"W-Watch m-," she started to say through the gag but the paralysis stopped her from completing the sentence.

She heard footsteps approach them in the fog and saw a pair of black leather shoes and pants with burnt patches come out of the fog and stop a few inches away. She heard a woman's cold voice say . "Well done my pet, you sucessfufly used your powers to drag a squirming brat here." the little girl saw a ghostly pale finger reach down and stroke her chin. The touch chilled her. "hello .. little girl."

DJ said nothing . The hand stroked her as the hand's owner seemed to study her. the strange voice stayed silent for a few minutes. " This has to be one of his kids."

DJ tried to say something but she failed. (She admitted to it.)

"Remarkable how she doesn't even look like him one bit as opposed to the other one." The stranger's voice sent a chill down her spine. other one?

"but then again the other one looked nothing like him either." the cold voice said .

O-other one?

"And yet ..." the stranger continued. "The maroon haired kid with the Seviper had kind of the same personality as the boy and .. him. Stubborn, heroic, determined .."

DJ gasped through the gag- she knew who the ' maroon haired kid with the Seviper' was : her brother's best friend Jaden Smyth. why does this person think he's my brother? "Let me go!Let me go!" she cried out through the gag.

"Loud little squirt isn't she? " the cold voice asked the Ghost Type. "Make her pass out -it will be much easier that way. Then she'll be easier to control."

The ghost put one cold hand around her throat. She tried to move away but couldn't. the gag fell off and she yelled. "D-Daddy! Mommy! H-help..somebody, anybody..."

a burst of white light shocked the ghost and it removed it's hand from DJ's throat- she saw it looked burned. she felt a warm tingle in her hands and she felt like she could move them again. . the ropes started to snap apart . ( you little Aura using filthy brat) the ghost yelled.

I-I did that with Aura?

"NO!" the cold voiced woman cried. "The brat's stronger than I thought! Dusclops-knock her out before she wakes up!"

help.She couldn't take it anymore. Wake up. Wake up.

Her surroundings started to blur as The little girl closed her eyes and willed herself to wake up.

{Dream ends}

…

DJ gasped as she sat up in her bed- her throat felt cold- like that Dusclops was still clutching it and blinked, finding herself back in her room. She felt like a combination of terrified and pain. Her brown eyes were wide with terror and her heart raced. She noticed that sweat clung to her matching 'My Little Ponyta: Friendship is Forever' pajama top and bottoms.

"Th-that was really scary." She said under her breath. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her illuminated Pokéball clock next to her bed and groaned-it was just past one in the morning. This wasn't a rare occurrence that she'd woken up like this- She'd inherited a bit of her parent's Aura. However, it wasn't that strong but the littlest things could set it off and the dream really creped her out. " she hugged her favorite 'My Little Ponyta: Friendship is Forever ' doll- an orange Ponyta doll with a light yellow mane and tail and apple symbols on its side – with one hand and wiped sweat off her forehead with the other. "Just a dream. It was only a dream." She repeated to herself and brushed a lone strand of brown hair out of her eyes. The dream- though it felt more like nightmare- scared the little girl. "Huh?" she saw scars along her arms- scars that matched the scars the rope made in the dreams. "That's weird."

suddenly she felt hit with an immense agonizing feeling. the emotion felt painful-like whoever it was coming from was being badly hurt . her heart beat against her chest and she bit her lip in pain. a few tears leaked out of her eyes. it seemed to go on for a few minutes. "Make it stop.. Make it stop." she whispered

Suddenly it stopped. She stopped bitting her lip and her heartbeat returned to normal . . Once her heartbeat was back to normal she cast around in the dark room- her Vivillon nightlight was the only real light. She heard her two and half year-old brother Aiden sleeping. She felt a warm glow radiating from him, which meant he was happy with his dream. She hugged the doll again. "Th-that was a scary feeling AppleJacks. Where did it come from? "She made the Ponyta shrug. 'you don't know either? That's strange. "

She bit her lip and tried to pinpoint the source. Her parents told her that when Aura kicked in to stop what she was doing, look around, and try finding the source. "It's not coming from Aiden. Mom, dad, Aki Storm, Pikachu and Taran are downstairs". That leaves one person in the house, "It'scoming from Derek. Should we check it out?" She made AppleJacks nod. "Okay. Let's go,"

Quietly she got out of the bed- still clutching AppleJacks, slipped into her soft pink slippers by her bed and opened the squeaky door. The sound woke her brother up and she heard his voice from the other side of the room. "Deejay? What g going on? " He yawned.

"N-nothing. I couldn't sleep because I had a bad dream."

"Bad dweam?" he echoed.

"Yeah. I think it had to do with a … feeling."

"Like fwom your Aury?"

"Yeah. From my Aury err Aura." She agreed. "I think. It's coming from Derek's room. go backs to sleep."

"Oh. O-okay." Within minutes he was fast asleep. She sighed- she was so envious of her two brothers' inability to see/have Aura. It was such a pain at time. But she supposed once she got older it probably wouldn't bug her as much. Then again her dad hadn't known he even had Aura abilities until he was traveling in Sinnoh. It was extremely rare but a guy named Riley who was able to help him out.

..

She silently closed the door and went out into the carpeted hallway, AppleJacks in hand. She turned left and started walking the ten feet to her older brother's room. Suddenly she was overcome by such an immense feeling of agony that she dropped the doll and fell to the carpeted floor. "Ugh!" The five-and-a-half-year-old clutched her head as she moaned in pain. She tried to get up but found she couldn't move- the strong emotional feeling. She lay there for ten minutes or perhaps longer - she didn't know- she was only aware of the pain. Tears leaked out of her eyes. "D-d-daddy...m-mommy. Pikachu... S-Storm... please… help.. pain hurts. "

Yet again the pain vanished a few minutes later. She saw the hallway light turn on, heard two sets of footsteps run up the stairs then her father's voice. "DJ! Are you all right?"

She looked up and nodded as she saw her dad's black eyes filled with concern. He knelt down and clumsily lifted her to her knees. His right arm was in a sling and his dark nightshirt and gray nightwear bottoms hung loosely to his body. His untidy black hair- so much like Derek's -flopped around his face.

His Pikachu-who was next to his feet looked worried as well. (Are you okay DJ) the mouse asked.

"I-I think so." She wiped her tears from her face with her pajama top. .

"are you hurt?" Her dad asked and and she shook her head.

"n-no."

"Sweetie... what happened to your arm?" He frowned as he took in the scars on her arms.

"I... I don't know. I woke up an' Th-they were like that,"

"Oh pumpkin... let me get those wounds cleaned with a damp rag out of the bath-." Her father's sentence was cut off as he groaned.

Pikachu looked up concerned at his trainer. (are you okay Ash?)

He nodded. "Yeah... just my shoulder wound."

The mouse looked up at his trainer. (I'll get it for you.)

he nodded, "Thanks bud."

"There should be a damp washcloth on the towel rack from last night." DJ told the yellow electric type Pokémon, who nodded. Within a few minutes he had run into the bathroom and gotten the washcloth using his Agility and run back out. He put the small damp blue washcloth into her hands and she pressed it against the wound for a few minutes, "thanks Pikachu."

(Anytime.)

Her father frowned at the wound and she saw his worried expression. "I'm fine daddy. They don't hurt much. " DJ told him as she put the rag on the other arm for a few minutes. He sighed with relief.

(Why were you moaning in pain?) Pikachu asked as he took the washcloth from her arm, dashed to the bathroom to put it back and returned to them. She knew the mouse; his mate Storm and her parents didn't like to use their Aura powers unless they needed to.

"Aura. an-and I had a very b-bad d-dream." She described her dream- and how it changed into more of a nightmare . He dad hugged her as best as he could with his one good arm and Pikachu licked her face.

"No wonder you were scared, peanut."

(That sounds terrifying) Pikachu added.

"Th-then … I felt pain coming from Derek's room."

Her dad looked sad as he glanced to his oldest son's room then back to DJ. "Oh sweettheart,"

"Daddy, why is he feeling like that?"

He sighed. "It's ...complicated. You're only five and a-"

She fixed her brown eyes onto his dark brown ones. "I can handle it. I'm a big girl now. I got to know why he's in pain. Please? " She begged.

The mouse looked from me to Dad. (You may look like your grandma but you've got your dad's determination.) He looked up at his trainer.

He chuckled. "All right peanut-you win. I know when I'm beat. Your mom is going to kill me for telling you this. "

"Mommy's not really gonna kill you is she?"

"It's just an expression . She might just pound me or have Aurora, Gyarados or one of her other Pokémon do it for her. Let's sit on the bottom step and. I'll tell you. It's not a story for Aiden's ears. "

DJ picked up her doll from the floor and followed her dad downstairs. He groaned in pain and Pikachu and the girl looked at him. "Daddy? What's wrong?"

He managed a weak smile. 'N-nothing. Just my shoulder wound acting up/"

They reached the bottom step and sat down. (You know that you don't have to do this) the mouse told his friend.

"Yes, I do pal. " He looked at the little girl. "Sweetheart ... what you were feeling was your brother's feeling from his bad dreams . he's still in a lot of pain from what happened to him and it haunts him ."

"What did happ daddy? All Mommy t-told me was the person who took you and Storm hurt Derek. She couldn't 'member until-"

"I could send her something when I had a chance. It took a while since she still had that stupid Aura halting barrier around her hideout so I had to wait until Storm made a hole in it with her Hidden Power. "He muttered.

She nodded and went on. "An' she gots her 'memories back. She said Sami s-said the woman hurt you an' him with this strange Pokeymon -" she tried to remember the name.

His face went pale as if remembering the details. "It was this horrendous blend of an Ariados- that's that big spider Pokémon from johto and a Drapion." He saw the confused look on her face. "A Drapion is this threatening horrible Poison and Dark type from Sinnoh. It's this huge purple scorpion with powerful stingers and claws so strong they can rip a car apart and turn it into scrap metal quite easily. She called it a… ariapion."

She shuddered when she heard the description and tried sounding it out. "A-a-ari-uh-pee- yon. It sounds creepy."

"It was Creepy, dangerous and deadly. She made it almost too brutal."

"Why did she do that?"

Ash opened his mouth to say something, closed it and looked at Pikachu. "You start pal."

The mouse took a deep breath. (You have to know something first DJ. Not all the people your dad and I met were good. Though many of the villains we stopped were part of organizations there were many that weren't. In Sinnoh we ran in this bounty hunter called.. ) he paused ( Hunter K)

"What's a bounty hunter?"

"A cruel person that is paid to steal rare Pokémon for other people." Ash explained

She remembered what Derek's friend Jaden's parents were a part of before they had mysteriously quit and moved to Pallet City a few years ago. "Like Mr. and Mrs. Smyth did when they were after you'?"

Her dad looked a bit blankly at the name. "Smyth. Smyth?"

His yellow partner Pokémon rolled his eyes and poked him with his tail. (Jaden and Jordan's parents. You know- Jessie and James.)

"Oh... right. No. Not like them, sweetheart. They bungled things up and never succeeded… much. Even when they did get away with their plan your mom , your godmother, Iris, Dawn and I would stop them. Bounty hunters have no honor and will do ….whatever it takes to get their prize. And this one… nearly killed me with her Drapion. "

The little girl's heart pounded in her chest and her brown eyes bugged out. "H-H-how?"

"I was trying to save a special Pokémon that she took. It knocked them aside and wrapped its claws tightly around my stomach and began to squeeze me. ". He saw the look of shock on her face." Don't worry I got free but after that Hunter K held a deep grudge. After I faced her near the end of my Sinnoh journey I thought she was gone forever. "He looked at his injured shoulder." 'But I was wrong. She … wanted to hurt me and Pikachu and … Mommy t-tried to stop her as her Ariados hurt Storm. "

The little girl remembered how worried she and her grandmother had been during the few days her they had been missing. Then she recalled that cold female voice from her nightmare. "Daddy … d-d-does Hunter K have a cold v-voice? "She asked in a whisper as she hugged her plush Ponyta.

He gulped. "Y-yes." He saw the scared look in her face. "I think that woman's voice you heard in your scary dream w-was hers."

"I- I didn't like the sound of her. S-sounded very mean an-an' the d-Dusclops r-really scared me. "He hugged her as much as he could."W-was that why she wanted to hurt me me in Th-the dream?"

Her dad nodded. "I think so..."

"Sh-she w-wanted to k-knock me out to make it easier t-to c-c-control."

He hugged her again. "Oh peanut... It's not your fault she made it into your dream."

"I -" a few tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her face. - "I w-wanted m-my good dream back."

"I know baby girl. I know." Ash said as he wiped the tears off her cheek.

(If we had a feather from Cresselia handy we'd give it to you to keep away the bad dreams) Pikachu told her.

"What's a Creeselluh? And why would its feathers help keep away bad dreams?" DJ asked them.

"It's pronounced cre-sell-ee-a," her dad kindly corrected her. "She's a Psychic type Sinnoh Legendary that can dispel nightmares. People say holding one of her feathers can bring happy dreams. You know that blue, swan-like Pokémon with the yellow, crescent-shaped things and pink wings in Aden's learning the Legendaries book?" She nodded. "That's her."

"She's pretty. Did you ever meet her, daddy?"

"Just once and that was very briefly. She defeated this other Pokémon called Darkrai who was causing nightmares from a distance when Pikachu, Dawn and I were in Canalave City. I didn't actually meet her face to face like I did with lots of the other Legendaries. "

She wiped her nose on her pyjama shirt. "She sounds really neat. I'd love to meet a Pokémon like that. "

Her father smiled and felt his daughter's worriedness fade. "I'm sure one day you will peanut. You never know... I would have liked to meet her up close."

"But you met lotsa L-Legendaries." The little girl pointed out.

(but she was a different type of Legendary than we'd ever met and her tale is so different.) Pikachu pointed out. (see she's a female only Legendary species and she and Darkrai each live on an Island: Cresselia on Fullmoon Island, and Darkrai on Newmoon Island which directly facing each other and have no Pokémon can be found aside from the duo. When Darkrai casts nightmares on the people, Cresselia arrives and replaces them with pleasant dreams. She's also mainly a defensive Pokémon.)

"Oh… I-I-is H-Hunter K… going to come back? "

"No DJ. She's not going to come back… ever " he said with absolute certainty but she noticed he briefly looked away when he said it.

Pikachu nudged his trainer's hand. (Be glad her employer wasn't there)

He shuddered as he stroked his partner's fur with his shaking good hand. "I'm glad he wasn't. If he'd been there that situation would have been much worse. W-we may not have even made it out..." He trailed of not wanting to say the last word: Alive.

"Who's that?"

(Another foe your parents and I faced before) the mouse said. (A very deranged man who only cared about himself... Let's call him ...Dr. Y. He created this system called the mirage system that unleashed these vicious holographic Pokémon called Mirage Pokémon that could do any attack)

He sounds horrible. She shuddered and gulped. "A-any attack?" Ash slowly nodded. "B-but how?

(We'll never know. He wanted to create the 'perfect Pokémon' in order to get revenge on members of the Pokémon Institute who expelled him. He tricked your parents, your godmother May and Sami's great- grandfather and I. Your mom battled with him and badly lost. He kidnapped Sami's great-grandfather. When He wouldn't do what he said. Dr. Y had a Mirage Pokémon track us down, p-pokenap me and ... torture me. he-.) He stopped speaking. His trainer stroked him gently for a few minutes, making soothing sounds.

It must have been really bad if he still won't talk about it. "What happened Daddy?" She was really into the story

"W-With some help we got them free. We escaped but there was a fire. We thought Dr. Y was gone but-"

"But what?" She hugged AppleJacks tightly.

"Like w-with Hunter K I was wrong,. He reappeared when your brother was about three. He attacked your mom, Aki and Derek-whom he knocked out- w-with Mirage Pokémon when they were on a walk, Dr. Y paralyzed your mom and plucked him from her arms." The girl gasped

(Want me to finish it for you?) The yellow mouse Pokémon asked his trainer.

He shook his head. "I think I've got it but thanks," He took a few breaths and continued. " H-he told her if she wanted to see him again she had to bring me into the Virid- I mean the Overgrown Forest in three hours or- or..." Ash stopped mid-sentence and paused figuring how to describe it without terrifying her. "Pidgeot was nearby so she got your mother back here and we healed her. When she told me who took him I was beyond horrified. "

(We wanted to keep my kids and Storm safe just in case he decided to go after them next. But no matter how hard we tried Aki was firm about going with us) Pikachu sighed. (I think she felt bad about being unable to stop his kidnapping and wanted to make up for it.)

"D-Did he use that Mirage Pokémon on you 'gain? How did you get him back? wh-what happened Was this when she lost her tail? How did-"

The mouse suddenly looked distracted (I. have to go check on something. I'll see you in the morning.)

"Pika-. "DJ started but he jumped off the stair and went over to the living room. She looked up at her father. "Daddy, d-did I say something wrong to upset him? "

He shook his head. "No sweetie. it's just He's very sensitive these days after what occurred w-with Hunter K. It's not your fault- I'll tell him you didn't know. I don't blame him at all. If he'd been there..." his eyes darkened for a few seconds, then lowered his voice. "He doesn't like to talk about it but that's how she got her tail like that."

"S-s-sorry if I upset him." she rubbed her eyes. "How d-d-did it happen? An' what hap-happened for her to lose h-her tail ?"

He looked pained for a second and she felt a bit of his sadness, which made her sad. Stupid Aura...

"S-she saved his l " ." He saw her struggling to stay awake and yawning . " as to how.. …let's save that story and the answer to your other questions for another time. mommy wouldn't be happy if she knew you were up this late. You look like you're about to fall back asleep. Come on, pumpkin… let's get you and AppleJacks back to bed."

He stood up and she did the same. as they headed back up the stairs and he clumsily tucked her back into her bed with his uninjured arm she asked, "Daddy?"

"Hmm?"

"H-how do you deal with painful Auras feelings like that?"

he sighed. "I know it's hard but when you feel a painful Aura like that, you have to tell yourself it's not coming from you. unless you can pinpoint the source and know how to deal with it you have to block it out by concentrating on happy things. "

"Like you an' mommy and Aiden and Derek and Grammy?"

He nodded. "And all my Pokémon that love you. and your friends? "

"Wh-what if I get another bad dream like..th-that ?"

"Tell yourself that it's not real and you alone control your dreams. Think of something that makes you happy…. like Pignite and Quilava's babies that are gonna hatch soon"

She grinned as she thought about them. They were such a sweet couple and she loved them both. A warm glow radiated from her dad as he mentioned the two Fire Types. "Daddy, I can feel you glowing."

He smiled. "I'm happy for them."

"Me too. Can we g-go see them t-tomorrow "she fought to keep her eyes open.

"Of course DJ." he kissed her forehead. "Now off to dreamland. Goof night peanut."

She yawned. "Night daddy." She closed her eyes and was fast asleep within a few minutes.

XXX

Ash stood there for a few minutes, staring down at the sleeping girl in the thin beam of light coming in from the open door from the hallway light for a while. He felt sorry for his little girl. He didn't know how she would react once she found out the truth-all of it. "My poor baby girl. I don't blame her for being terrified of that dream after what happened. How did J's evil ghost manage to drag her into that horrible dream? "

He'd heard that she had been extremely fraught with worry while Hunter J tortured the utter hell out of Storm and him. Out of his three kids she seemed too seemed to be the most like his mom: she was bubbly but could be could be quiet and reserved but when the two of them got angered or worried it wasn't a pretty sight. The Aura thing didn't help her worriedness at all. He sighed. Poor DJ. It wasn't her fault Derek's emotions got into her dreams and ruined them. I'll have to call Riley in the morning to see if he has any suggestions on helping her out. It's not fair for her to have to deal with this burden alone.

In the thin beam of light he saw something yellow and doll shaped at the foot of Aiden's bed so he walked over to it. He bent down and smiled as he clumsily picked it up. "Of course." It was Aiden's favorite Psyduck toy- he carried it around so much that Leavanny had to reattach its left arm with his sewing abilities. Daisy gave it to him for his birthday and it was almost as much of a headache to Misty as her own real Psyduck. He put the doll carefully next to the boy who wore a blue-footed onesie sleeping outfit and was sucking his thumb. He brushed his red-brown hair with his good hand. "There you go sport. Duckie's back." Aiden took his thumb out of his mouth and curled his hand around the doll.

He quietly left the room, leaving a small crack in the door open. He went into Derek's room and opened the door enough to see the outline of his oldest son fast asleep in his bed. His heart melted taking his brave near teenager in in addition to the snoozing Growlithe at the foot of the bed. The Fire type whimpered as she slept- no doubt dreaming about what she'd been through. If Jaden hadn't brought her Pokéball or shown up when he did…. He still couldn't believe how much danger the younger boy- whom J believed to be his kid- had put himself in to save her best friend nor how his parents' had reacted."

He gulped – he didn't even want to even guess at what evil punishments and abuse Hunter J had in mind for DJ and Aiden. Asides from the simple pleasant thought of having Snorlax Body Slam Hunter J, the thought of making it back safely to his wife and kids had been what got him through those times of torture. It wasn't easy, between the whippings, watching Storm get bashed around and the beating up by some of her Pokémon she'd totally taunted him by saying his wife and kids would be the next one to feel her wrath, how he'd become weak, how she and her boss would finally get him back and worse insults. It really hurt when her Dark Dragonite and Ariapion were beating up his oldest son in front of him. He'd been utterly petrified.

He gulped again recalling Derek take that Acidic Strike for Flamie, the Growlithe he'd secretly trained. He shook his head like an Eevee shaking raindrops off its fur – shaking off the bad memories. "Stop thinking about that. " he told himself. He heard Pikachu come up the stairs and nudge open the door so he could slip through. "Hey pal."

He jumped up to his trainer's good shoulder. (Hey. Sorry about earlier. It's just…)

"I know, bud. It's hard when one of your kids gets hurt by something a-and you get reminded of it. L-the mouse nodded. "Beside DJ didn't know."

(I'm not blaming her. It's like with Aki and Dodgy Dirk's Carnivine. Even though Mewtwo wiped her memories of Dirk remember how frozen she was when she faced one in the school's tournament?) Ash nodded. The mouse paused then continued (what happened with J really upset the kids - all five of them. Aki and Derek ... no wonder why they are having nightmares and it's only been a few days.)

"Yeah. Even with Bayleef and Bulbasaur's Sweet Scent and Sleep Powder that can't keep the nightmares really away. DJ's caught in the emotional crossfire due to Aura and Aiden is too little to comprehend what happened... Taran knows that his sister and mom went through a horrible experience- I think Aki and Storm are-are still scarred b-by what we had to do to escape from ... Hunter J."

His face went as pale as a Seel as the recent choice came back. "We didn't a choice." He shuddered and felt sick as he remembered Hunter J's final taunt before they'd killed her, "I'll chase you to the ends of the earth if I have to. I'll continue to follow you everywhere and attack your loved ones until I either kill or capture you. You shall be hunted like foxes in a never-ending fox- hunt, you're dead meat as soon as I get to you! "Arceus, I hope Sami's not having the same kind of guilt plagued nightmares Storm and Aki are having. Gary would skin me alive if anything happened to her. If she hadn't arrived when she did…

(Ash? I can sense what you're feeling. It will get better in time) The Pokémon licked his cheek as if reassuring him things will get better. (I know how much that guilt can eat you up from the inside.) He'd had the same guilt plague him after he and Swoobat killed that terrifying monstrous hybrid beast of Giovanni's when Derek was just over a year old. (You went through kind of the same thing After Yung's ... attack nine years ago remember? When you were deciding whether or not to let Mewtwo erase their memories?)

The Frontier brain's face went back to normal. "That's right… And he said… that it would be painful at first but soon the memory would fade. He managed to put his past behind him. Thanks buddy- I needed that."

They stood there for a few minutes thinking about their respective kids. (Why h-haven't you c-come back to bed?) The mouse yawned. (Y-you still looks exhausted)

"I just got ... distracted."

(I thought Misty said a few days ago when you and Storm came back she wasn't gonna let you out of her sight.

"After w-what happened I'm surprised she didn't slap a tracking device on me."

(If you didn't have the bond I'm sure she would h-have done Th-that in a heartbeat) the mouse yawned again.

"Come on pal. Let's go downstairs before she really has my head."

They headed downstairs into his bedroom, wincing at the pain from his shoulder. He turned off the stairway light and made his way to his room. Next he opened the door as quietly as possible- leaving a small beam of air and light from the hallway. Even in the darkened room the thin beam of light lit up the face of his redheaded angel. She was sleeping in the bed and Taran, Storm and Aki were asleep on his side of the bed.

(Would you look at that?) Pikachu pointed lovingly at his son and daughter. Taran had put one paw over his littlest sister's back- evidently she'd had a nightmare and he had comforted her. (It's just like when they were newly hatched pups,)

"Yeah… " His trainer agreed.

Pikachu yawned. (I'm g-g-gonna crash, night.)

"Night buddy."

.

The mouse jumped off his shoulder, landed on the bed, sat down and fell asleep near his mate and pups "Come on you three... I'm upstairs for maybe half an hour and you take my spot."

He clumsily tried to move them with his left hand without waking his wife up but failed. mJust as he bent down to pick up Taran with his strong hand -the one in the sling- she sleepily opened her eyes. "You know I can hear you shuffling around n the dark even if they are fast asleep."

"Oops. Sorry, Mist. I didn't want to wake you up as I moved them."

She sighed. "Riiiight. You were going to move them with your bad arm. "

"But-but... I'm right handed."

"Tell me you heard the doctor Ashy. You have to let it heal on its own."

"I heard him all right. But how am I supposed to-"

"Don't even try to argue your way out of this one. Mr. Hero" she used the nickname she called him during the Shamuti Island Prophecy fiasco when they were on Fire Island and he blushed. "I'll move over and you can take my spot after I get the pillows set up for you." He walked over to her side as she expertly moved to his side of the bed without waking the four mice Pokémon up.

He got into the bed. "How'd you do that without waking them up?"

She propped up some pillows for him, "I've had lots of practice. All those times Derek got scared of the thunderstorms when he was little and when DJ and Aiden had bad dreams. You didn't hear them that much since you're such a sound sleeper."

"Oh ...right."

She leaned over and kissed him. "You are so dense but I love you anyways. What was wrong with DJ?"

He told her about her nightmare. She shivered at the mention of the Mirage Dusclops- ever since Christyana's Dusclops had kidnapped her right before DJ was born those Ghost type Pokemon scared her –and gulped at mention of Hunter J. her eyes flashed when he recalled the last part of her dream. "…. And Mist. D-don't be mad at me but… I only scratched the surface with wh-what Hunter K and Dr, Y- that's what I called them d-did. "Her eyes went back to normal and she breathed with relief." I didn't even get to t-tell her what Yung did the second time- she asked questions about Aki and I stopped the story there. G-good thing she did or..."

She kissed his cheek. "I agree. My two poor babies…" She had noticed his eyes dropping during the story. "Ashy?"

"H-huh?" he yawned as he leaned against the pillows.

"You're wiped out, Get some sleep. I'll go to the Battle Park around 9:30 for you tomorrow. You stay here and rest. - You look like a single Absorb attack could take you out. You don't look like you're back to normal yet."

He nodded. I still feel and probably look like Tauros dung so that's a good idea. "That's f-fine with me. Night sweetheart. See you in -" he fell asleep in the middle of the sentence.

The end.