Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. One day, however, I will find a way to cross-breed electric eels and mice, and genetically engineer a Pikachu. And then I will own a Pokémon.

Movement 08- Hello Hello…and Goodbye

Main Theme: Life is Like a Boat by Rie Fu

Ash's Theme: Trainer Red Theme (Epic Orchestral Remix)

Delia's Theme: Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) by Nancy Sinatra

Cyrus' Theme: Akatsuki Theme by Takanashi Yasuharu [Naruto Shippuden OST]

-Iron Island, Sinnoh Region-

Riley squinted as the light of the setting sun blazed into his eyes; spending days in the stygian darkness of the deep caves of Iron Island was wonderful for training his Aura senses, but it was awful when he finally emerged. It was why he tried to come up at night. But when that massive pulse of Aura had resonated through the island, he had immediately started towards the surface.

Returning to his house near the dock, Riley booted up his computer.

"Huh. A message from Cynthia? Isn't she busy with the Tournament on Sennichi?"

He clicked on the message. It was short, no more than two minutes, but the moment it ended, the Aura user was out of his chair and running out the door, pokéballs in hand. Reaching the edge of the cliff near his house, he threw one of the pokéballs out into open air.

"Skarmory!"

He landed nimbly on the metal bird, and placed his hand on its neck to steady himself.

"South, girl. And hurry."

-Island off the Coast of Sennichi no Shima-

"Let me get this straight," Misty began, her voice quietly lethal, "You appear out of nowhere, kidnap Ash, leave Dialga and Palkia to fight his pokémon, create copies of yourself to delay us, then fling Ash's soul into the timestream in order to retrieve the part of his soul that got stuck there six years ago, risking the total destruction of the part that was Satoshi in the process, and you think it turned out fine?"

Ash and his pokémon all watched with awe as Arceus, the Original One, Prime Mover, and Creator of All cowered before Misty Waterflower. Hirumanai's face was blank, but his eyes betrayed his amazement. Tayuminai, Sorahime and Taifuu were gaping. Ash and Pikachu were trying not to laugh. Yugana was taking notes.

"In my defense," Arceus replied, "I had no idea if you would believe me, and–"

"LIKE HELL YOU DIDN'T! YOU'RE ARCEUS, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE OMNISCIENT!"

Misty's Aura flared, and Ash's eyebrows arched. "Whoa."

"I AM THIS CLOSE TO HAVING PIKACHU MEGAVOLT YOU UNTIL YOU CAN'T MOVE, THEN TEACHING A ROCKSLIDE OF GOLEMS TO RIVERDANCE ON YOUR TWITCHING BODY! THEN I'LL CHAIN YOU TO MOUNT SILVER AND PRACTICE ACUPUNCTURE WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER, YOU STUPID WHITE-HAIRED PRETTY BOY EXCUSE FOR A DEITY!"

The redhead's hand drew backward, Aura wisping off her bare skin like steam. There was a pause, and then the hand rocketed forward like a Bullet Punch, wrapped in a sheath of furious blue.

Arceus took the punch directly in the face without flinching, which would have been admirable if the blow wasn't strong enough to lift the white-haired avatar and hurl him into the nearest rock.

"…Ow…"

Pikachu snickered. Hirumanai looked horrified.

Did Waterflower-san just punch out Arceus-dono?

"Zel. Zelfloatzel." (Yes. Yes she did.)

Yugana's eyes took on an admiring gleam, even as the redhead stalked over to the dazed deity, and yanked him to his feet by the front of his shirt, her arm already drawn back to deliver another punishing blow.

Ash took a single step, and blurred to Misty's side, gently catching the Cerulean native's wrist, ignoring the blue flames that sprang up around the point of contact.

"Misty…I think once was enough."

Her glare snapped over to meet his eyes, staring at him for a long moment before nodding tightly, and releasing the deity. Arceus caught himself before he fell, and pressed a hand to his bleeding lip.

"I suppose I deserved that."

Misty looked as if she wanted to punch him again, but Ash stepped forward, and offered a bow to the god.

"My thanks, Arceus-sama. I owe you a debt."

Arceus shook his head firmly. "It is I who owes you a debt I cannot so easily repay, Ash. You were willing to give your own life – indeed your very existence – to save this world."

Ash scratched the back of his head, a sheepish smile on his face. "It…was nothing."

Misty slapped him lightly on the head. There was a flash of blue flame with the impact. "Your soul was ripped in two, idiot. That's not nothing."

Arceus chuckled lightly, even as Ash apologized to Misty. "You two are the most amusing couple I have seen in many years."

"We're not a – " Misty cut herself off when Ash raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, maybe we are."

Finally! Chimed a childish voice from behind them. And it only took his death, your seclusion, and six years of separation for you to admit it!

Misty and Ash spun to see a mile-wide grin attached to a large pair of bright, baby-blue eyes.

Hiya! Giggled Mew, as she bounced in midair only inches from their faces. Glad to see you're all back together again, Ashy!

Both humans took a step back from the energetic Legendary. Mew only floated forward again, this time darting around Ash, poking at him with one of her forelimbs.

I've only seen two others who ended up in the timestream and came back. And they didn't have their souls split in two. Hmmm…interesting. Six thousand years on one side, and six on the other, so the two halves were able to harmonize again.

Misty's eyes narrowed. "Wait, so you could have done this only a year after Ash…went away?"

Arceus answered for Mew, who was now tugging at Ash's cheeks, much to the displeasure of the Pallet Town native. "You have to understand something about us, Misty. Even gods must play by the rules they create. Not physical laws, but the laws that dictate the fabric of reality. To violate those laws that we created is not only hypocrisy of the highest nature, it is anathema to our very being."

The redhead was quiet, absorbing and turning over what Arceus was telling her. The Legendary continued.

"When Ash was propelled into space-time, he was surrounded and shot through with Dialga and Palkia's energies. We managed to retrieve part of his soul and his body, but the larger portion of his soul, and most of the memories, were out of our reach by then. In fact, we wouldn't have been able to retrieve the rest of him now, if not for every other member of the Hall holding his dimension in place long enough for Satoshi to get there. By the way, you owe Mewtwo a thank you. He worked hardest of all. I'm fairly certain he collapsed from exhaustion the moment you came back here."

Yep! Otouto-kun's sleeping right now. He got reeeeeal tired from holding that dimension in place.

Ash blinked. "O-otouto-kun?"

Well, yeah. Two-kun and I share genes, but calling me his mother makes me feel oooooold. He's a partial clone, so he's my little brother!

Ash and Misty stared at the Legendary, who was wearing a grin a mile wide. Arceus shook his head.

"Sometimes even I don't understand you, Mew…"

Mew stuck her tongue out at the Alpha pokémon. Being understood is booooooooring. Unless you're Arcy, that is. No one gets him, and he's still boring.

"Mew…"

What? You are! The only ones who are worse are the Regis! And that's just 'cause they talk reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally slow.

Arceus' face fell, and he faced away from them, a black cloud hanging over his head.

"I'm not boring…am I?"

Mew floated over and cheerfully patted the depressed deity on the back.

It's okay, Arcy! We still love you!

"You know," Ash whispered to Misty, "Every moment I spend in conversation with these Legendaries, the more my image of them is tarnished."

Misty laughed, for what felt like the first time in eons, and hugged Ash's arm.

Master? Hirumanai sounded equal parts unnerved and awed.

"Ah?"

Your Auras are showing.

"What do you – oh."

It was absolutely true. Ash and Misty were enveloped in a pillar of blue fire that surged upwards. Startled, Misty released her grip on Ash's arm. With a dull fwump, the flames almost instantly died. Ash's eyebrows furrowed.

"Hmmm…Misty, take my hand."

The redhead took the proffered hand. The moment they touched, blue flames sprang up around them. The blue glow reflected in Ash's eyes, as he considered Misty's hand clasped in his.

"Aura Resonance…"

I can't say I'm surprised. Yugana sounded wryly amused. You two just seem to fit.

Both trainers blushed, much to the enjoyment of their pokémon.

"Oh, quiet you two." His cheeks still red, Ash returned the laughing Taifuu and Sorahime to their pokéballs.

So childish… Yugana scolded her trainer, a humorous glint in her eyes.

Ash stuck out his tongue. Misty giggled.

"The more things change…"

Ash's head whipped around to give the redhead a look of the utmost betrayal. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Mew and Pikachu both snickered, and Misty gave Ash a tight hug, valiantly ignoring the pillar of flame that once again burst into existence around them.

"Nothing…I'm just glad you're back."

The two humans shared a smile.

"Pika Pikachupi…pi pika chu pichu…"

Now it was Misty's turn to bristle defensively. "I am not being clingy!"

Mew giggled. Misty, you've hardly let go of Ash since he came back.

The redhead thought about it for a second, then nodded firmly. "And I'm not letting him go anytime soon."

The pillar of azure fire doubled in height and width. Mew stared at the conflagration for a moment.

You know, that really is a moment-killer.

Yugana nodded sagely.

Yes, just imagine how awkward it would be if they held hands or kissed in a restaurant. The fire department would probably kick them out of town after a day or two of reports of people spontaneously combusting.

Pikachu and Tayuminai snickered. Misty gave Ash an inquisitive look.

"What's Aura Resonance?"

Hirumanai answered.

"Everyone's Aura has a unique signature, a 'frequency', if you will. Each signature is essentially the definition of you, from your transient thoughts to the slightest vibration in your body's base matter. Does that make sense?"

Misty nodded, and the pokémon continued.

"Sometimes, two people have Auras that complement each other perfectly. Their Auras harmonize, and build strength from each other. That's what seems to be happening with you two."

The redheaded trainer spoke up. "Like yin and yang?"

Precisely. Yugana smiled brightly at her.

"So how do we keep…" Misty gestured at the vibrant blue flames that surrounded both her and Ash, "This from happening, then?"

Mew scrunched her face in thought. Hmmmmm… No idea!

All present except for Arceus facefaulted.

"What do you mean, you don't know!?" Misty exclaimed, picking herself up off the ground.

Mew giggled at the redhead's expression. Exactly that. The last time I saw Aura Resonance between humans was, ooooh, eight hundred years ago, and neither of them was even remotely as strong as Ash is. Or you, for that matter. They only showed resonance when they were…ahem…making love.

Misty and Ash both flushed a deep red, and Tayuminai cocked her head.

Papa-san? What is making love?

The black-haired trainer's eyes widened. "W-well, you see, Tayu-chan, making love is…um…when…" He threw a glance to Yugana, both his eyes and his Aura carrying his unspoken message.

Help!

The Gardevoir came to her trainer's rescue. You'll find out when you're older, Tayu-chan.

Awww. The blue-eyed Eevee pouted, her wings drooping slightly. I want to know now.

No. Hirumanai's voice was completely flat.

"Anywaaaay," Misty changed the subject, "If Mew doesn't know how to fix it, what are we supposed to do?"

Ash thought for a moment, then turned to Misty, his face serious. "Misty, I want to try something. Can you close your eyes for a second?"

The Cerulean native obeyed, and felt Ash place his hands on her shoulders. All at once, an incredible feeling of relaxation flowed into her, like she was stepping into a hot spring.

"Breathe deeply," his voice was calm and restrained, sounding more like Satoshi than Ash. "Focus inward. I want you to find your Aura for me. Feel for the light, way, way down in your soul."

Misty stilled her breathing, as she had many times before when she and Sabrina had tried to unlock her Psychic potential. As before, she felt herself falling inwards, into the warm waters of her soul. Relaxing even further, she let herself sink deeper, until, just a little farther down, she felt…something. It wasn't quite heat, but that was the closest thing that she could relate it to.

'This must be it.'

The redhead moved closer to the non-heat, and then recoiled as the water around her became bitterly cold. With the cold came a hollow loneliness that was achingly familiar. It was the same loneliness and despair that she had wrapped around herself on Mount Silver.

Then, from far away, she heard Ash's voice.

"It's okay, Misty. I'm here."

With the voice came a great sensation. It was, all at once, brilliant, deafening, and blazing hot with passion.

It was so…Ash.

And Misty felt herself smile fondly, even as the cold water fled, to be replaced by water that was so warm it was like bathing in a sun-soaked tide pool.

And then she was there.

Now that she was right next to it, Misty could see the not-heat clearly. It seemed no bigger than a clenched fist, and looked (as much as a sensation could look like something) like an ever-crashing tsunami trapped within a glass ball. There was a single crack in the ball, and from it, a geyser of water-heat-light spewed outward.

"I figured as much." Ash sounded both pleased and amused. "Water alignment,through and through."

Then, the sensation that was Ash reached toward the ball…and then shattered it. All at once, the tsunami rushed out in every direction.

Misty's eyes snapped open, and a wave of Aura erupted from her.

Ash stumbled backward at the rush of energy, which felt like a wave of warm water splashing against his skin. Unlike his own Aura, which arced across his body like the electricity he favored, Misty's flowed off her shoulders and pooled on the ground around her, swirling and eddying in midair.

"Whoa…" The redhead looked down at the sea-blue Aura swirling around her arms. Then she glanced over at Ash, and caught her breath.

She could see. Not just with her eyes, although everything she looked at was a thousand times sharper, but with her heart. She could see Ash's emotions in exquisite detail – a humility-tempered inward confidence, mixed with a steely determination and the lightning-bright passion that she had recognized before. Strands of light branched outward from the black-haired trainer, wrapping around the others there. Pale gold lines of respect wound towards Mew and Arceus, while multicolored lines of affection-loyalty-fondness-belonging branched out to the other pokémon. Most obvious to her, though, was the vibrant red strand that wound from Ash's chest to hers, laden with surprise and pride laced through a staggering amount of commitment-attraction-devotion-love.

Overwhelmed by the sheer emotion that she perceived, Misty closed her eyes. Instead of hiding the brilliant display of light, though, it expanded it. The lines she could see extended out in every direction, converging at bright spots of light in the distance that had to be other people. It was like a thousand Ariados had woven a decade's worth of collective web-spinning together, then set it on fire.

It was almost blinding…and it was beautiful beyond words.

"-sty? Misty? Are you in there?"

Misty's eyes opened again to Ash's mildly concerned face.

"You okay, Mist? You looked like you zoned out for a bit."

The Cerulean native caught her breath. "Y-yeah. It's just…how do you deal with seeing everyone's emotions all the time?"

Recognition bloomed in Ash's eyes. "Ah. I can't see them. My Aura is a bit too…aggressive to sense emotions. According to Sensei, even when someone fully masters their Aura, there will always be one skill that they cannot fully master. They can improve it, push their own limits further, but they'll never reach the potential of someone whose weakness is not in that skill. Mine is the ability to clearly see emotions. I can get a general idea of a person's most dominant emotion, but besides that…" He shrugged. "Now, we've released your Aura, so the next step is for you to consciously limit it yourself. This should keep it from leaking out and causing Resonance with mine."

She nodded. "How do I do that?"

Ash was quiet for a moment, silently regarding the energy that flowed and dripped off of the former Gym Leader.

"Your Aura is like water, so maybe…it feels like a spring, right?"

Misty focused inward, and regarded the sea blue-green not-water that flowed from the middle of her being.

"Yeah."

"When you let it flow down, it leaves your body, right? Imagine that underneath the spring is a great black void. All the water is flowing down into that void, and you can't use it once it's gone. Fix that in your mind, okay? Down is escaping."

Misty nodded.

"Now, instead of allowing all that water to flow down into the black, make it flow upwards."

She took a deep breath, and then, gently, began guiding one of the rivulets of Aura upward, until it flowed skyward like an impossible waterfall in miniature. Then, she turned her attention to another stream of not-water, only for the first one to collapse back down into the rest of the escaping Aura.

Again and again she tried to hold up the Aura, but the moment she lost focus on any stream of it, that stream would immediately start to escape again.

'What am I doing wrong?'

Misty stopped her attempts for a moment, and simply regarded the wellspring of her power with exasperation. Then, rolling up her metaphorical sleeves, she seized all the not-water at once, and then forced it upward. Even as it reached vertical, small rivulets began to escape.

'Not this time!'

With a forceful exertion of will, Misty took hold of the upward waterfall, and twisted it, until it formed a vortex of spiraling energy.

Hesitantly, she released her hold on the energy, expecting it to start escaping again. Instead, it simply continued to gyrate upwards in the waterspout she had created.

Misty's eyes opened again, even though she wasn't sure when she had closed them. The world was once again devoid of the web of light.

Ash was grinning from ear to ear.

"Not bad, Misty. Not bad at all."

She looked down at herself, watching the last of the Aura drain away into her skin. Her vision began to swim, and she felt lightheaded.

"Oh, good…it…stopped." She managed, before her legs buckled, and she collapsed.

She felt Ash's arms catch her, and managed to give her boyfriend a weak grin, before she finally surrendered to unconsciousness.

-Elsewhere-

As night fell over Sennichi no Shima, the late evening Nincada buzz gave way to Kricketunes serenading each other in the deep brush, and the thick forests of the island filled with the sound of the musical Bug types.

There was part of the forest, however, that was quiet. All the pokémon that had lived there had fled, or been captured.

The last light of the sun slipped below the horizon, and a low rumbling filled the oppressive silence. In the side of one of the cliffs that dotted the forest, a section of rock slowly slid back into the cliff, leaving a gaping black void.

There was a dull whining sound, and then a black shape shot out of the gap, before diving to skim just above the treetops. Within minutes, the sleek jet was over the dark ocean.

Within the jet, Giovanni sat quietly, his brow furrowed in thought. One of the pilots turned to look at his boss.

"Destination, sir?"

Giovanni was quiet for a moment.

"Set course for southwestern Kanto."

-The Next Morning, Lance's Residence, Sennichi no Shima-

"So, what do we know?" Lance laced his fingers together and rested his chin on them, his mouth a thin, serious line.

Roxanne cleared her throat, and passed out thin files to everyone at the table.

"This is all the pertinent information we have on Satoshi, last name unknown."

Steven opened the folder, and quirked an eyebrow. "These are mostly pictures."

The Rustboro Leader flushed slightly. "W-well, yes, there is a distinct lack of information, mostly due to the reclusive nature of the subject and his fairly recent emergence into competition. The majority of these pictures have been obtained by… female enthusiasts."

Brawly rolled his eyes. "Fangirls, you mean."

"Er…yes."

Wattson and Surge both snickered.

"Anyway," Cynthia brought them back on topic, and received a grateful look from the scholar. "We know from what Gary Oak and Brock of Pewter told us that Satoshi comes from the Kami-Kyoku no Yama. This, of course, could be false, but it is the only piece of information we have about his origins. Satoshi has also stated that his master who tutored him in using Aura lives in those mountains as well."

Wallace frowned. "To have a home in such a place…small wonder that Satoshi is so incredibly strong."

Lance grunted in agreement. "We know that he and his pokémon are incredibly skilled combatants, and they have demonstrated skills that we have never seen before."

The Dragon Master clicked a button on a remote, and screen on one of the walls clicked on.

"His Lucario, which goes by the name of Hirumanai, has extremely high power, to the point where he was able to counter Flint's student with relative ease."

The afro-haired redhead winced. "Yeah, he got really cocky once he figured out that attack. I kept telling him it was a desperation move, but…" he shrugged apologetically.

"He has demonstrated the ability to float in midair, beyond the ability of Magnet Rise, and also use the air as a solid surface. He, like his master, is also incredibly fast."

The images and battle video of the Lucario were replaced with the image of a blue and white Gardevoir.

"His Gardevoir, Yugana, is of comparable strength. She isstrong enough to overwhelm type disadvantage, and has a strange set of abilities, which include the ability to remove all light from an area, and the ability to project the Reverse World into this world. Somewhat unusually for a Gardevoir, she also possesses the ability to fight hand-to-hand, using Focus Blast stored in her hands."

Another click, and the screen was shared by images of a massive Charizard and an apparently normal Floatzel.

"His Charizard Sorahime and his Floatzel Taifuu are also both enormously powerful, and skilled in their own fields of combat. Of note are the Charizard's incredible airborne agility despite her size, and the Floatzel's ability to pull massive amounts of water up from underneath solid rock."

The images changed again, this time displaying a small, blue-eyed Eevee.

"Tayuminai, Satoshi's newest pokémon and the last member of his team, was apparently hatched only a few days ago at most. Despite this, she is an incredibly powerful battler, and was able to overcome the type advantage of a vastly more experienced and powerful opponent. According to Satoshi, she is actually capable of using Aura, which he attributes to him hatching her.

"There is information that lends this theory credence. Eevees are known to have unstable genetic structures. It is why they are able to evolve into forms for virtually every environment. It is possible that Satoshi's powerful ability with Aura influenced her development even before she hatched. However, lacking information on Aura, this is still just a theory, and is dependent, once again, on Satoshi's word only."

Finally, the screen changed to a recording Koga had made of the battle between Satoshi and Mewtwo. The master of the Koga ninja clan took over from his superior.

"For those of you who have not been briefed on Mewtwo, please remember that everything being spoken in this room is classified." Koga cast a glance at Maylene, Flannery, and Whitney.

"Mewtwo is an artificial pokémon who was created by Team Rocket, and subsequently escaped their control. Aside from his involvement in the Mount Quena Incident, Mewtwo has only been sighted a few times, all of them near places that were subsequently revealed to be Team Rocket bases after mysterious explosions. We believe he still nurses a grudge against Team Rocket. Earlier today, Mewtwo attacked Satoshi, apparently without provocation. The two battled, both of them exhibiting advanced abilities, well beyond anything we have seen before. This also provided us with further information as to the extent of Satoshi's combat skills, which surpass anything any one of us are capable of."

Several Leaders, including all of the Fighting specialists, whistled appreciatively at the attacks that Satoshi and Mewtwo flung at each other.

"The battle between the two only ended with the appearance of these three figures, which are, according to accounts from both Brock and Gary, apparently avatars of Arceus, Palkia, and Dialga."

Whitney frowned. "I know who Arceus is, but Dialga and Palkia?"

Cynthia opened her mouth to answer, but was beaten to the punch by Pryce. "Palkia, the God of Space. Dialga, the Master of Time. They are, at least in the legends of Sinnoh, believed to be the of the first generation of Arceus' children. They are of a far higher level of power than even most of their brethren, and are not only believed to ensure the stability of their domains, as other Legendaries do, but have absolute control over them."

Cynthia stared at the Mahogany Leader, who shrugged. "I was…quite obsessed with the manipulation of space and time when I was younger. It was a difficult time for me, and if it hadn't been for Samuel and Agatha..." He sighed, and shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. I've moved past it."

Agatha gave her old friend a sympathetic look.

"Regardless of whether or not these three were indeed avatars, what we do have are the facts. The white-haired one, who was able to stop both Satoshi and Mewtwo with his bare hands disappeared with Satoshi, and Miss Waterflower took off on her Dragonite in pursuit. Following that, Satoshi's Gardevoir and Lucario engaged the other two in combat and apparently defeated them. Then…" Koga looked unsure. "That beam appeared out to the west. After reviewing the Vs. Recorder footage from Max Maple, we concluded that the two supposed avatars of Dialga and Palkia actually forced their opponents to deliver the finishing blows, but then vanished in a flash of light. We," Koga gestured to the Champions and Cynthia's subordinates, "confronted the pokémon, believing at the time that they were attacking humans. We were, fortunately, stopped by Silph Hikaru, along with the other three. I do not relish the idea of battling pokémon as strong as those two are. Shortly thereafter, both of Satoshi's pokémon teleported away."

Erika frowned. "And that's it."

Cynthia nodded. "So, our current goal is to gather more information on Satoshi, but I doubt he'll be willing to share, especially considering our attitude towards his pokémon." She gave Lance an annoyed look.

The Johto champion looked uncomfortable. "Sorry."

"So, we need to gather information on him…without him being suspicious of it…" Janine frowned. "Father and I could both continue to watch him…"

Her father shook his head. "That's only useful when we want to observe him. We need more solid information. There's also no guarantee that we wouldn't be detected, especially with one Psychic and three Aura users. The only way I see is to get the information Satoshi himself."

Morty frowned. "Sabrina, maybe you could try to pull information from his mind?"

The Saffron Leader shook her head. "I could, but his Gardevoir would notice almost immediately, even if he didn't."

"So, what you're saying," summarized Bruno, his face concerned, "Is that we need to speak to Satoshi to find out anything of further use."

Koga nodded. "Yes, that's correct."

Flannery pounded her fist in excitement. "I've got it! We'll disguise ourselves and ask him questions then! He won't have any idea that it's us!"

Volkner gave her a deadpan stare. "No."

Wallace sighed. "The idea does have some merit, but I doubt that even the dumbest trainer would trust a complete stranger who shows up and starts asking questions. Especially if that stranger looks familiar."

Across the world, several people sneezed.

Fantina, who had been looking more and more annoyed as the conversation carried on, finally threw up her hands.

"Mon Dieu! It is like none of you have a brain in your heads! If we cannot approach him in disguise, we shall approach him while he is disguise!"

Maylene cocked her head in confusion. She wasn't alone. "Isn't he in disguise already? With the dark cloak and all?"

Fantina shook her head. "You still do not comprendre! If you need to hide a tree, you use a forest; if you wish to hide a disguise…"

Erika's eyes widened in comprehension. "You put everyone in disguise!"

The Ghost Leader from Hearthome beamed. "Exactement!"

Brawly rubbed his forehead. "Can you please just tell us what it is you're talking about?"

Fantina's smile only grew. "We shall have…un bal masque!"

The impassioned declaration was met with blank stares from most of the male Leaders, and several of the younger females. Cynthia looked pensive for a moment.

"A masquerade ball…that might work, actually."

Surge's jaw dropped. He wasn't alone, either.

Candice nodded, eyes closed in thought. "Yes, Satoshi would be much less suspicious of disguise if everyone is wearing one."

Erika smiled brightly, and, ignoring the protests of most of the males in the room, spoke up. "I second this motion."

Cynthia's smile matched the Celadon Leader's. "The motion has been moved and seconded, are there any objections?"

There was a few seconds of flabbergasted stammering, which Cynthia cut off with a raised hand.

"The motion passes. I recommend that the ball be made mandatory for all competitors, and be held in two weeks' time, which should be sufficient for Fantina to finish preparations. Will that be sufficient?"

The Hearthome leader nodded. "Naturellement, ma cherie!"

"Then we are adjourned. Lance, would you be so kind as to notify Mr. Goodshow of our plans?"

The Johto Champion sighed, and patted a shell-shocked Bruno on the shoulder. "Sure."

Gradually, the room emptied, with Surge leading the charge to the nearest bar, until only Lance was left. He punched a button on the room's control panel, and made the call to the head of the Pokémon League. After a few minutes, the bearded man appeared on the screen.

"Lance! How are you, my boy?"

The Dragon Master nodded respectfully. "Sir. I thought I should give you a briefing on the Satoshi situation."

The man's face turned serious. "Go on."

Lance spent the next several minutes giving the President all the information that had been reviewed during the briefing.

"We agreed on a method to possibly obtain more information on Satoshi. I have forwarded you the relevant information."

Mr. Goodshow reached offscreen to retrieve a sheet of paper. "Yes, I just received it."

His eyes skimmed over the paper, and a confused expression appeared on his face. He looked from the paper to Lance, then back at the paper, then back at Lance.

"So, let me get this straight," he began awkwardly, "You, Lance of Blackthorn City, want me to throw a...?"

"Masquerade Ball, yes," answered the Dragon Master, his face completely deadpan.

"Erm…was this your…"

Lance shook his head. "It was Fantina's idea. She'll also be in charge of organizing it."

The President nodded, his expression sympathetic. "Please pass my condolences to the boys."

Lance's mouth quirked up in a half-grin. "Yes sir."

Mr. Goodshow shut off the transmission, leaving Lance with a screen bearing the League symbol. The Dragon Master sighed, and left the room.

"I need a drink."

-Kanto Region-

The black jet set down in the woods, and Giovanni stepped out, his Persian following closely behind. The pilots made to follow, but stopped when the Rocket Boss held up a hand.

"I'm going alone. I have some unfinished business here."

The dark-haired man strode through the woods until he came to a road, and then followed the road for several minutes. Finally, he crested a rise, and stopped.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Persian?"

The cat mrowled in agreement, and followed his master down the hill, leaving the sign for Pallet Town behind.

It was a very peaceful place; the hill was gentle and grassy, overlooking the meadows and lake of the Oak Ranch. A few trees provided roost and shelter for tired Pidgey, and shade for the lone visitor who sat quietly in the grass. She did not look up at the sound of quiet footsteps in the grass, nor did she turn when a shadow fell on the ground beside her. Instead, she quietly traced her fingers over the inscription on the grave.

Her son's empty grave.

"This was his favorite place when he was a child," she began, her voice soft and calm, "He would sit up in the branches of the tree and watch the pokémon at the lake. Sometimes, one or another of the older pokémon would come and sit with him, and he'd fall asleep next to them. I never worried, though. I always knew where he was, and how to find him. But now…he is beyond where I can ever find him to call him home for dinner. He's never going to come bursting in the door covered in dirt and mud and talking about the adventures he had with pokémon."

Delia took a deep, steadying breath. "I cannot begrudge him that. Ash always was headstrong, and so committed to doing what he thought was right. When he was young, he would bring injured pokémon he found in the woods to Professor Oak, even if he got scratched up while he was carrying them. I can remember the last time I said goodbye to him, a few days before…well. If I had known then what he was going to be getting into when he said he was going up Mount Coronet for a while, I might have tried to stop him. But, I didn't, and I couldn't. So, instead, I come here. Even if I know he's not actually here…I feel like he's a little bit closer."

She stood up, brushing a few blades of grass from her skirt. "I'm sorry, I've been a rather rude host, haven't I? Would you like some tea, Giovanni?"

Saying nothing, the Rocket Boss nodded, and followed her down the hill.

The Ketchum house was quiet, the only sound being the ticking of the Hoothoot clock in the living room.

Delia Ketchum was as quiet as her house, as she met his stare evenly, with no visible emotion in her eyes. Giovanni suppressed the urge to fidget – this woman was the only female besides his mother that could inspire such a reaction in him. For entirely different reasons.

The kettle whistled, and Delia gracefully picked it off the stove and poured the hot water into the cups, then offered one to him. He accepted it with a grateful half-bow; there was no sense in being rude, especially with this person.

The brown-haired woman poured herself a cup, then sat back on the couch.

"So…why are you here, Giovanni? After all these years, you finally find me?"

"I knew six years ago. Your picture appeared on television after the…incident on Mount Coronet. I recognized you right away. You've barely changed since I last saw you." A note of what might have been nostalgia tinged his voice.

"You know very well why that is." Delia's voice was still soft, but there was admonishment in it as well.

Giovanni inclined his head. "Yes. One of our few successful experiments in human enhancement. We never were able to replicate it, though."

Delia was silent for a moment. "It became hereditary."

"Your son?"

"He hit ten years, and the aging almost stopped. He probably would have hit another period of rapid maturing within a few years. At least, I think he would have. You were always the better scientist between us."

Giovanni chuckled slightly. "And you the better Trainer."

"Oh my, it's been so long since I've had a decent battle. I'm afraid I've fallen out of practice."

"Don't fib. A Trainer of your level never truly loses their skill."

"Nor a scientist their knowledge. You knew it would be hereditary."

"I suspected."

"Was that why we began seeing each other?"

The air chilled slightly. "Was that why you left?"

"Giovanni…we are not good people. You know that. We have both done terrible things in life. I could not bring myself to force that wickedness on an innocent child, no matter his lineage. I sought sanctuary with Oak, and he granted it without a second thought. I met Charles a week after I came here to Pallet. We were married within a few months, and then Ash was born."

"Samuel Oak…the Pillar of the East. No wonder I wasn't able to find you." The Rocket Boss chuckled humorlessly, then gave her another stare. "Did you ever tell him?"

"That Charles was not his father? No. How could I ever explain to him that his real father was one of the greatest criminals Kanto has ever known? I dreaded the day that he went on his journey, when I heard that you had become Viridian Gym Leader."

A pained expression flashed across Giovanni's face. "Delia…I did love you. It…it wasn't because of…of that."

She smiled fondly. "And I loved you as well, Giovanni. But I knew that once you knew about him, you would claim him. And I didn't want that for him."

"But look where that ended!" Giovanni exploded, "He died on Mount Coronet because of Team Galactic's schemes! At least…at least if you had stayed, he would have been safe."

Delia's eyes narrowed. "Safe? Constantly scheming to earn more money, always having to watch his back so no one stuck a knife in it? That's no sort of life at all."

"Better an unforgiving life than a soft one being coddled. You and I were both products of that life, and we are all the stronger for it."

"No one deserves such a life, Giovanni. When we have it thrust on us it is one thing, but to force it on others is a monstrosity of the highest order."

"One of Team Rocket's best field agents preaching on right and wrong; how hypocritical!"

"I think it is the hypocrites who know the truth more than any other."

"Hmph."

The tension in the room grew to a breaking point, and the two of them locked eyes.

"Persian, use Quick Attack!"

The tan cat blurred forward, claws extended toward Delia. Just as quickly, the brunette spun away, her left hand snatching up the still-hot teakettle and flinging the boiling water at the pokémon. A pained yowl was the answer, and the enraged cat turned nimbly and leapt for her throat, claws glowing in preparation for a Slash.

Delia's response was a graceful duck, and then an impossibly fast grab that caught the startled cat by the throat, and then hurled the cat through the glass center of the low table. The sound of shattering glass covered up the light thuds of Delia's feet as she darted at Giovanni, her hand spearing towards his neck.

The Rocket Boss's left hand came up, intercepting and deflecting the lethally fast spear hand strike, and was followed by a straight punch that Delia's free hand deflected and caught. With a grunt of effort, Giovanni hurled her through the thin wall into the kitchen, scattering drywall and wood onto the floor. Delia was on her feet in moments, her hand finding a knife lying on the counter. A split second later, and she was again on the attack, the knife whirling and slashing in a barely-visible blur. A flash of dull steel, and a line of blood traced across Giovanni's face. He backpedaled, and snatched up a wooden chair to use as a defense. The brunette's knife buried itself deeply into the wood of the chair, and the Rocket Boss twisted the chair, tearing the knife out of Delia's grip, then swung the chair like a great bludgeon.

Delia dove underneath the blow, then pivoted to kick Giovanni's legs out from underneath him. The larger man suppressed a groan of pain from landing on the broken glass, but didn't get a chance to get up before Delia was behind him, twining her arm around his throat. The lack of oxygen made Giovanni's vision swim, but he was rescued a moment later by the timely reappearance of his bleeding Persian, who pounced on Delia with an enraged yowl. She released her grip around his throat, and instead grabbed at the cat's throat, ignoring the razor sharp claws that bit into her arms.

The kick from Giovanni hit her in the ribs, and hurled her into the couch. She kept her grip on the pokémon, though, and with a quick twist and a dull snap¸ the Persian slumped bonelessly in her grip. A crunch of glass, and Delia rolled away from the knife-like shard of glass that tore into the upholstery. Seizing the table lamp next to the couch, she deflected the next shard of glass that the Rocket Boss hurled, then responded by slinging the lamp at him. The porcelain base shattered against Giovanni's arm, but it gave her enough time to dart over to the chair and snatch up the knife. She whirled to face the Rocket Boss, to see him yanking an ugly-looking combat knife from beneath his jacket.

The two of them inched close to each other, knives at the ready. Their eyes locked.

Giovanni broke eye contact, sighing, and set the empty teacup down on the table. "So, you will not come back with me."

It wasn't a question. Delia smiled in response, her expression just slightly tinged with sadness.

"I'm sorry."

The Rocket Boss shook his head, standing. "I understand, Delia. I truly didn't expect you to. But at least…now I can move forward without hesitation."

He opened the door, his Persian slinking out before him. "I hope we see each other again."

"Goodbye, Giovanni."

There was nothing more said, as the Rocket Boss quietly shut the door behind him, leaving Delia alone once again in her empty house.

I'm baaaaa-aaaaaaaaaaack!~

Finally! For the longest time, my Muse turned her nose up at this chapter, and it sat on my computer, with a measly 1000 words. Then, just as I worked up steam: AP exam prep and the exams. It murdered my free time. Murdered.

Okay, enough with the excuses. I'm sorry, everyone. Please forgive this author his faults.

The year's almost done, and I managed to get the chapter written in a matter of a couple weeks. Wow. Truthfully, I'm not happy with the first part of this chapter. Lots of dialogue, not enough action. But it was necessary for the plot. Next chapter might have some events in the intervening two weeks, but will probably move on straight into the ball. I've been planning to bring in this plot element since movement two, so I'm very pleased that it will finally happen.

There are a couple easter eggs in this chapter, especially from the Manga. See if you can spot 'em.

Delia's backstory is based heavily on two of my favorite movies. It should be fairly obvious to those who've seen it. But yes, I did make her an absolute badass. A retired badass, much like we know Oak is, but a badass. And the revelation of the chapter is a much-beloved fanon favorite: Ash's father. Honestly, I probably hinted at it too much in previous chapters, but if you were surprised, please let me know in a review. (See what I did there?)

Many thanks to Wolverinejoe, who was understanding of my Muse's fickle nature, and got me working on the chapter again. Hopefully it won't take…Oh, Arceus above, six months for me to update again. If I do, know that Baroness-chan has probably killed me.

"You're damn right, nii-san!"

My blood type is Review-positive. I need donations, please.

Ja ne!