"You get two choices," Giovanni said, tone doing a remarkable mimicry of reasonable even as he stood before her, idly watching the blood trail down her wrists from where the iron shackles hoisted them above her head. "You can join Team Rocket, a clean slate, no punishment for all the trouble you've caused me… or you and every single one of your Pokemon can die. It's really quite simple."

Her head was pounding, heartbeat unsteady in her ears, and she wanted more than anything to have enough strength to spit at this monster. But she couldn't even muster up enough energy to raise her head. There was blood in her eyes, stinging and warm, coating her skin in sluggish waves even as blinding agony drifted through her body in similar motions. Her wrist was probably broken from how hard she'd been tugging at the metal binding it earlier, in a frantic fit after being dosed with something that made her so twitchy and paranoid it was a wonder she wasn't seeing double at minimum.

"I'll let you think on it for a night," the leader of Team Rocket said, the subtle lilt of mockery almost flying over her head completely.

Soon enough he was gone, and she licked her lips, dry and cracked and swollen from the punch Giovanni had landed earlier. Every part of her ached, burned, bruises from the battle and being captured making it all but impossible to concentrate. She had to get free. There was no way she would ever join Team Rocket, and Giovanni knew it; he was just dragging things out until he killed her. For some reason, the thought of being murdered wasn't what sent her heart seizing in her chest. It was the thought of what he would do to her Pokemon, her team, they were still trapped－

Ash jerked upright, panting and gaze taking far too long to focus on her surroundings. The phantom pain in her shoulders only eased slightly as she realized that it was only a dream－only a memory. Giovanni was dead, by Mewtwo's hand, and she and her Pokemon were no longer held captive. Taking a few slow, shaky breaths, she glanced around the darkened hotel room she shared with Delia, Grace, Serena, Daisy, and Misty. The others were still asleep.

Rubbing at her eyes, she slipped out of the bed, shivering as the cool air met sweaty skin. She hadn't had a nightmare about her time spent in that Rocket base in a couple of weeks, and the sudden return of them was more jarring than she had expected. With only slight fumbling, she managed to get her day bag and drag it out onto the balcony with her, digging through it until her hands hit her target.

Lance picked up on the third ring, not a video call only because she hadn't wanted him to see how mess up she probably looked right now－her voice would be bad enough, she was sure, throat feeling raw.

"Ash?" The sleepy mumble calmed her with weird ease. Relaxing against the wall, she closed her eyes.

"Sorry for waking you. I just… needed someone to talk to me. Just for a few minutes," she added softly.

"Nightmares again, huh? You sure you don't want me to send you the list of League-clearance therapists?"

"No, not really. Not yet."

A sigh, but it was fond rather than exasperated, and that helped with the flicker of guilt that had been gnawing at her for the secrets.

"Just remember you have people who want to help you, Ashka," Lance gently scolded, his voice low and soothing. "I'll be here either way, okay? So is there anything you want to talk about, or should I just start waxing poetic about my Dragonite's newest mid-air technique and not tell you any real details?"

"... You're so mean to me, Lance," she mock whined, settling down onto the smooth cement of the balcony and letting his voice wash over her, not paying attention to the words so much as the fact that he was there, speaking to her, anchoring her to reality. She'd only gotten lost in the nightmares twice before, each time requiring Oberon to do some serious digging into her mind to pull her back, and she wasn't in any way eager to try that again.

The sun had risen over the tops of the surrounding buildings by the time she was dubbed good enough to allow to be left unsupervised, and while she apologized for keeping the Champion up so late, he denied it firmly and made her promise－again－to call whenever she needed to. Intensely grateful for her redheaded friend, Ash listened to the dial tone for a moment before shaking her head and hanging up, stretching before heading back inside the hotel. Today was the day she would enter Rota's Hero Tournament and hopefully be granted an audience with the queen; she really wanted access to the many journals and texts written by the Aura Guardians of old that were kept in the palace.

XxXxX

Okay, so he wasn't supposed to be spying on his pseudo-sister, but he was worried, dammit, and Vera was very sneaky when she wanted to be and had excellent hearing. A little translating from Alakazam and Gary now knew that Ash was having nightmares on a regular basis, enough to warrant Lance offering a list of therapists that would undoubtedly have the security clearance to talk Ash through what was likely PTSD from when that bastard Rocket leader had her captive.

Gary slunk back into the hotel room the boys were sharing, having thanked Vera and Alakazam for their help and returning them before opening the door again, and scowled. While he'd already figured he'd have to keep a close eye on her, it hadn't occurred to him－though it should have－to be on the lookout for the aftereffects of everything she'd gone through. With a small, grumpy sound, he sank back onto his bed, ignoring the slow shuffling from somewhere behind him on one of the others.

"Where'd you go, Gary?"

Glancing over at Brock, he shrugged. "… Checking on Ash. She's having nightmares, apparently."

There was a soft swear, and more rustling that Gary ignored in favor of flopping back onto the mattress.

"And of course she says nothing. That girl… And today's the tournament. At least that should keep her focused on that, rather than the nightmares. I'll get on breakfast, it's on you to convince her to eat enough for the day."

"Will do." If aggressively mothering Ash was what it took to keep her stable, then that's what they'd do. Gary had noticed the dark shadows beneath her eyes, and wished he'd said something about it sooner, but at least he knew she was strong enough to bounce back, though he'd definitely be there to help. It was more comforting to know that both Brock and Misty would be traveling with her going forward, and that Serena and Calem would be tagging along for a while. The Maple munchkins helped too, but they'd be going back home sooner than the Kalosians.

Speaking of, Calem groaned as he woke up fully. "Arceus, that girl needs therapy and a lot of hugs."

"She'd probably fistfight you for suggesting it."

The muffled sound of fear had the other boys laughing, and soon enough they were getting ready for the day. Gay and Calem would also be entering the tournament, though the former had yet to decide which of his Pokemon he was registering with. He was leaning towards Arcanine, but Umbreon was still a possibility.

XxXxX

Ash shifted her weight, Pikachu easily balancing on her shoulder as she waited for her turn to register. While it was possibly overkill, using him for this, she really wanted that audience with the queen, and Titania and Oberon were busy with the two Eevee kits that hadn't been chosen by the Maple siblings, so she didn't want to disturb them any more than she had to. Greninja was major overkill in an arena like this, and given the size of both Alto and Houndoom, it was just easier to use her official starter.

All around her were more casual trainers, though everybody had gotten really into the medieval theme and some costumes were almost excessively elaborate. What she wore now was a slightly adjusted replica of Sir Aron's uniform, with a longer tunic that fell to mid-thigh and leggings instead of the stiff jacket and pants. It was still somewhat uncomfortable, given the primly starched fabric, and hopefully she would only have to wear it for a few hours. She had to admit that swirling the cape dramatically was pretty fun, though.

"Chu." Her little partner's ears were held straight up, twitching as he inspected their surroundings. It wasn't as big or noisy as the League Conference, so this time he actually had the chance to seek out individual sources of sound and scent.

"We'll be able to explore more after we win," she murmured, confident in their chances. In all honesty Ash was very motivated－to be able to read through even a small number of the texts on aura the kingdom boasted would no doubt help her significantly. Then again, with Zapdos having recommended it she would have been an idiot not to go for it for that alone.

If Mewtwo was willing, he and Oberon could help her puzzle through some of the theory she had the feeling would fly over her head; rumor had it that old-school aura training was complicated. Shaking her head to clear it, she refocused and stepped forwards in line, until she was able to sign up and then move over to the waiting area, sidling up next to Brock.

The older boy threw an arm around her shoulder, careful not to startle Pikachu.

"Ready?"

"You bet," she grinned back, eyes trailing over the rest of the competitors, lingering over the girl with the Snorlax and the man with the Leafeon. The way the Pokemon moved spoke of experience, and she hoped she got to face them in the latter portions of the tournament.

"I should have guessed," Brock said lightly. "You really want access to those books."

"Its possibly the only way I'll be able to get any solid training for my aura, I kind of have to aim to win this. I really need some help with learning to control my senses better, its getting ridiculous－its not just aura now, its sight, hearing, and smell."

Brock winced at the last one, correctly realizing that that wasn't always a good thing. "Oof, is everything alright now? Need to find somewhere with less people?"

"Nah, I'm fine right now. Definitely will later, though."

"Let me know if I can help."

Nodding at the offer, Ash returned to surveying the competition, feeling anticipation well up. It hadn't been that long since the end of the Conference, but she was still antsy to get more battles in－it was just how she was. Her partner shared her feelings, clawed grip on her shoulder shifting as he waiting for the battles to start.

Threads of cold running down her spine, leftovers of the morning's nightmares, were easily ignored, like always. At least that was over with now. It wasn't like she'd have to go up against criminal teams over and over again, right?

XxXxX

So sorry for the long wait, it has been one hell of a new year. Work has been running me ragged, so I barely have time to eat, much less write, but bit by bit we're getting there.