Wow, so here we are. The final chapter. Aren't you excited?! I know I am! Sitting here during my College Prep class, finally having a bit of free time for me to sit down and write.

Our school, however, has blocked my final chapter. I think it's because the title has the f-bomb in it. I can see everything else, but I cannot see this.

Hmmm…interesting…

Well, I'm sure you all want me to get on with it. So I'll get started, with my last disclaimer for this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Freak on a Leash, nor do I Pokemon. However, I do own this plot, which, I must admit, is pretty awesome. Final chapter is told mostly in Gary's POV.

Gary's POV

What a coward. That bastard went and shot himself. When I heard that gun go off, my heart stopped, and when I didn't feel anything, I actually wondered if that's what it felt like. No pain, emptiness, so scared that you feel as if you'll die of fright.

But that wasn't it. What a sight. Blood everywhere, his body falling to the ground. His selfish, miserable existence coming to an end. After all he had done, all of the suffering he'd caused, he chose to take the easy way out. I almost laugh to myself when I tell him that he's damn lucky I didn't get a hold of him. I would have done much worse.

Another life was lost that day. Something that brings me to tears just of the mere thought of it. We were so close, and just like that, it was all gone.

Ash.

Jesse, James, and my grandfather had landed. They were just as shocked as I was. No one expected this outcome. My luck just seemed to get worse. Later I find out that Brock, Misty, and my own mother were murdered by that sick bastard. He'd left such a trail of blood behind him, and it had all come to an end. But for what? I was still alive.

Turns out, Ash's mother lived near my grandfather. It was really ironic—how we had been so close to her and yet we hadn't even known. I got a chance to talk to her a little bit before the ceremony in which we'd say out final goodbyes to that raven-haired boy.

"I never knew all this time he was alive," she told me, tears in her eyes. "It's all my fault. I always knew that there was something disturbing and wrong with Giovanni. If only…if only…"

"No one knew the whole truth, Mrs. Ketchum."

"But oh God…after all of that happened…hell, that monster raped my little boy! I threw him out; I was so mad at him!"

"You believed Ash over him…that's what amazes me."

"Of course!" she screamed at me. "Ash was my only family! I would never, ever, take anyone else's word over his. He could tell me that my husband was alive, that everything was going to be okay in our tough times, and I'd believe him!"

It was silent between the two of us, her breath penetrating the air from her unexpected shouting. I was taken aback myself, but I could understand what she was going through. Her child, who she had feared the worst, was now confirmed dead. Her face flushed as she looked down, the color that had risen from her anger dissipating.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to yell," she was starting to sob. Her face was in her hands as her tears coated her skin, slinking down her fingers and into her palm.

"Don't be," I said back. She wiped her tears from her eyes and continued.

"After all of that that happened, I was going to take him to court. He had hurt my child, and I couldn't let him get away with that. Then…one day…Ash disappeared."

She was silent again, choking back the tears, trying to continue on with her story. "I knew it was him. I knew all along that he was the one who had done it. I went up to him, I called him every word in the book, I screamed and shouted to his face, 'What did you do with him'? In the end, there was nothing I could do to prove he had taken Ash. So I did the only thing I could do. I went to look for him."

"Ash was living in the circus when I found him."

"I checked there. I checked so many times."

"But…how could you have been there so many times and not find him? They were advertising him like crazy when I was there!"

"I got thrown out and banned. For awhile, they had the police there guarding the entrance so that I couldn't get in. So I searched elsewhere. And I had so much hope that one day, I'd find him alive, and we'd have that happy fairy tale ending where we embrace and he tells me 'let's go home'. I never wanted to give up hope. But now…" she paused, looking down once more. "Now…I have to…"

End Gary's POV

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He had no clue what had drawn him to this cliff. He had just wanted to get away from it all. This small opening surrounded by ocean seemed to bring him comfort in his mourning.

He looked up into the sky, the reds, oranges, and yellows swirling together to make the most wonderful sunset. He knew Ash would have loved it.

"Oh Ash…" he whispered under his breath. He curled up into a ball, his head buried in his knees as a small tear fell from his eyes. He let himself openly cry. At the ceremony, he wanted to be strong. But now, he could cry all he wanted to without consequences. No holding back. The tears falling from his face splattered onto his clothes, his jeans being stained with the salty liquid, his moans of agony piercing the air.

When suddenly, a voice called to him.

"Please don't cry."

He looked up, searching the air for whoever had spoken. There was nothing, and he looked around more, startled and perplexed from the intrusion. He couldn't find the voice to ask who was there—all he could do was let out a sigh.

Until a bright light appeared in front of him. He quickly shut his eyes, shielding himself from the blinding beacon that had so suddenly materialized before him. The light was fading a bit, a small ray circling itself around the figure, but Gary could now open his eyes without the burning that had surged through the only seconds earlier. He gasped when he saw what was before him.

"A….a mew…" he whispered. The great Pokemon Mew floated before him, encased inside her shiny bubble as she balanced herself in thin air.

"Why are you crying?"

"That's right," Gary thought. "Ash somehow transferred his power to me. I can talk to Pokemon."

"Dry your tears, please. Surely, what has come to bring you sorrow will pass."

"I can't stop crying."

Now it was the Mew who gasped. "You can understand me! And you can speak back to me as well!"

The Mew pondered for a bit before realizing what was going on. "I see. So that boy…he died…and he's passed it on to you."

Gary's eyes met the Mew's, searching for some sort of answer. "You…you know about Ash?"

"Indeed. I'm the one who gave him the power."

Flashback

Mew was floating through the forest, taking her time to check on all of the Pokemon and wishing them well. The protector of the forest, she also kept an eye out for trouble, scouting the area for anything that could seem threatening. She had noticed the strange man come into the forest every now and then, and ever since had remained alert, preparing for anything that could disrupt the peace in her quiet home.

She came upon a clearing and looked down, surprised to find a small boy lying on the ground. His body was covered in dirt, his raven-colored hair tasseled and messy, his clothes torn and tattered. She felt pity on the poor boy and while children had gotten lost in the forest, she was sure that he was not like the rest.

He stirred, and she waited patiently for him to come to. The boy was so broken and beaten, but what astonished her next was how he reacted. She knew he was different from the lost boys by his reaction to the surroundings.

"Where am I?" he asked aloud. He looked down at his hands, another confused look displaying itself across his features. The question remained in his head, afraid to ask himself, until he glanced up and saw the Mew floating overhead.

"Excuse me!" he called, and she was about to flee, not wanting to be seen by humans before he called back to her. "No, please! Don't go!"

She stopped, floating in mid-air, as she was about to take off, saddened by his lost plea.

"Do you…do you know who I am?"

She didn't know whether to be disgusted or confuse. Was the boy being pompous, or was he really uncertain of who he was.

"I…I don't remember anything…it's just…I kind of woke up here, and that's all I know."

Automatically, she was saddened. This poor boy was only half like the others—he was lost in body, but also in mind. She floated back down to him, reaching her small paw out to him. The boy didn't know if he should step back, instead he walked closer toward her until they met in the middle.

"I…I don't understand…"

She touched his cheek gently, her bubble dissipating momentarily to make the contact on his skin. The boy felt a warm, tingling sensation seer through his body as she kept her paw connected to his skin. His throat burning for a minute as he winced from the pain, his foot stepping backward, but the rest of his body did not falter. When she was done, she removed herself from him and her guard was put back up. The boy felt something new inside of him as a voice echoed from the depths of his throat.

"What have you done?"

Mew smiled in return. "You are a friend of the forest. I am sorry, but I do not know who you are or why you are here. But I simply cannot leave you here to fend for yourself and die. I have given you the power to speak to the creatures of the forest so that you may live a new life."

"So…I'm…"

"You are given the chance to start over. I see that your heart is pure and clean, and you are welcome to live among us in the jungle as a friend—as one of us."

"But…what about…"

"It is not safe to make yourself remember what has happened. In time, I'm sure your memories will return, and you will have to leave us. But for now, you shall stay. You are weak, and need to become stronger. Now come," she beckoned, leading him deeper into the forest.

The boy didn't know exactly what to do. The only thing he could do was follow her, so he hesitantly stepped forward, one foot in front of the other until his strides were no longer uncertain. He trailed behind his new friends into the wilderness, while on the other side a voice called out frantically.

"Ash! Ash!" the woman screamed, tears streaking down her face.

But he could not hear her. And so, his story began.

End Flashback

"A year later, the strange man who I had noticed found him. We knew his intentions were not good, and the one he always traveled with warned him not to go."

"But Ash went anyway."

Mew bowed her head in respect. "Sadly, he did. And now he is gone. And he has chosen you as his heir."

"Heir? Heir to what?"

"Nothing, really, except he has handed down his powers to you. Although," Mew sighed, shaking her head, "I am very sorrowful I gave him the power in the first place."

"Why?"

"Pokemon and humans have a very thin line of understanding between them. A thin line that if crossed could cause dangerous consequences. I crossed that line when I gave him those powers. But it wasn't himself that caused the problems. I knew he was pure and good from the start. It was the evil that lies in the heart of many men in the world. The point in which humans cannot understand us is that fine balance between the good and evil."

Gary sat silently in her presence, glancing downward at the ground. There was just too much clouding his head right now, and he couldn't think clearly. "Could you give me some time alone?" he finally asked. "I…I just…I don't…"

"I understand."

Mew drifted away, disappearing as quickly as she had come. Gary sat in silence at the edge of the cliff, not moving from where he had sat down. There was so much running through his head—so much plaguing his thoughts and causing him so much pain.

He stood up. He reached his arms across so that they were parallel to his body, letting the wind flow through his fingertips and across his clothes, his hair ruffling as the breeze moved the locks back and forth. Looking at the sky and it's bright array of colors as the sun glided across the sky, setting, signaling night was upon him, he saw them all, their faces smiling down upon him.

Brock.

Misty.

His mother.

He smiled back at the final face he saw, the mirage in front of him of the smiling raven-haired boy he had grown to love so much. A tear came to his eye as he took in a deep breath, grinning back at him.

"Something takes a part of me," he whispered to himself, to the boy in the sky.

"But now I'm taking it back."

He closed his eyes, leaned forward, and let gravity do the rest.

END

Well here I am, sitting here at the station. Guess what time it is?

No, it's not absurdly late at night. In fact, it's almost afternoon! About ten minutes to eleven, to be exact! Yeah, I'm working on this in school. I'm finishing the story just like how I had started it—sitting on a chair in class during my free time. Only now, I'm a senior in high school sitting in physics instead of a junior in geometry. I dislike science, but not as much as I hate math!

And it looks like we've reached the end of the story. It's just like a Shakespeare tragedy! Everyone ends up dying!

Yes, you heard me. Everyone is dead. Gary did not survive the fall. I'm telling you straight out so you're not like me and imagine something else happening at the end where Gary does survive.

I really hope that you guys enjoyed it and that it was as good as you wanted it to be. Most of my stories are happier, so I wanted to try my hand at tragedy. So lets see…you got plot AND smut and drama and all the good stuff in between packed with grammar errors, crossovers (if anyone did notice, I designed the blond and the red-head to be like Axel and Roxas from Kingdom Hearts. I just hinted it slightly. I never gave names), and all the other stuff that comes with an amateur writer who had never been published.

For all the flaws, I still hope you enjoyed this story. It's my pride and joy of ff . net, so be nice!

And so, for the final time of this story, I leave you with these words.

Read and review, over and out! -Nibzo