Ash blearily opened her eyes, waking up slowly. She felt tired -not really physically, but just drained. It didn't feel like she'd ever get home. And when she found times she could be happy, those times were snatched away from her. And the fact is, after everything she'd gone through...

It just all made her feel tired. Just tired and weary of everything.

That was like her default setting these days. She noted it so much because, in whatever part of her that still cared, she was realizing that she was losing bits of herself every day, and that she no longer seemed capable of happiness or of being the same carefree girl she used to be. Even in the days with Cyrus, she could see it all ebbing away from her.

She hadn't wanted to change so much, to not lose herself in the face of these people, but it seemed she failed and she didn't even care enough.

"Ash?"

Blinking back tears, she turned and found that Steven was still there, and also just waking up. She smiled slightly, noting the makeshift pillow bed they'd made on the floor and had camped out together on. She remembered the night before and how she hadn't wanted to talk, so instead he talked to her and spoke about himself, his own worries, and whatever came to mind.

"Ash, your back is red..." he noted in worry, and she winced.

Her back had scabbed over and hadn't fully healed as much as she wished it would, so likely sleeping on her back the night before had aggravated them and opened up a few of her wounds.

"I-it's nothing," she'd stuttered, but he'd already reached over and lightly touched her back, the blood seeping through the fabric to stain his fingers.

His eyes widened. "Ash, your back is bleeding really bad! We have to tell Uncle. He'll get you help -"

"You can't!" she stopped him, feeling panicked.

"Why not?" he demanded, but then he looked into her eyes. He got a sinking feeling in his gut. All that talk from the League, and that meeting..."Is my uncle a trafficker?!"

"No," she immediately said, because even though Howard bought her, he wasn't that low of a person. She thought so at least. "He...he bought me. One of the traffickers drove me here from Sinnoh, and your uncle was a buyer. He hasn't been mean to me or anything."

Howard hadn't been cruel to her. Worked her hard and sometimes made her uncomfortable, mostly with the way he'd stare at her or let his touch linger too long -but he hadn't done anything.

That didn't seem to make things any better for Steven, who looked infuriated. He stood up from the floor, looking ready to storm downstairs to confront his uncle, when who appeared but Howard himself. The door opened, and Howard walked through it, looking at Steven in surprise.

"Oh, Steven, you're still here?"

"'Still here?' Is that all you have to say for yourself?" Steven yelled at him. "Did you do that?"

Howard glanced at her, noticing the blood that was soaking through the dress she still wore. She uncomfortably sat there.

"No," Howard said. "Those were from the brutes back in Sinnoh I bought her from. They haven't fully healed yet, have they?"

"You're not going to even deny it?" Steven reeled back from his uncle's careless admittance.

Howard raised an eyebrow at him. "Why should I? I own her. She's my property. Hadn't you enjoyed her last night? She was my gift to you for defending your title once more, while a reward for her for her hard work."

Steven moved back as if he'd been struck, before looking at her horrified. Her hands clenched on her knees, but she didn't look at either of them.

"She's not staying here," Steven recovered as much as he could, saying that firmly.

"And you're going to take her from me?" Howard demanded skeptically.

"Yes," Steven growled, taking a threatening step towards his uncle. "By force, if necessary."

"She's not going anywhere."

Just as Howard headed Ash's way, Steven cut him off and delivered a punch to his uncle's jaw. Howard didn't go down however, retaliating easily with his own fist.

"Ash, get out of here!" Steven yelled at her, grappling with his uncle. "I'll keep him busy, just go!"

Ash hesitated for only a moment, before she shot up onto her feet and ran out of the room. She didn't stop until she'd pushed her legs to get her out of the manor and far away from it as possible. However, the more and more she ran closer and further into the city, she noted how much she was surrounded by water. She didn't know where in Hoenn she was, and she hated how lost she was again.

Feeling woozy, she stopped and swayed on her feet for a moment. Head pounding and her back screaming in pain and feeling sticky, Ash passed out right then and there.

~*~*~

Steven wiped his mouth, glaring down at his unconscious uncle. He called the police as he ran downstairs, but looking around he found no sign of Ash anywhere. Seeing the door opened, he guessed that she had run out of the manor and he worriedly hoped she was okay. He'd just been about to go after her when he was waylaid by the police having arrived. Frustrated, he led them to his uncle and explained what had happened.

While his uncle was arrested and was taken away, he was attesting to his uncle having purchased Ash and giving Officer Jenny his statement. She stopped when she mentioned Ash's name though.

"You said her name was Ash?" Officer Jenny looked tired. Nodding at her, she then took out a photo and held it up to him. "She look like this?"

The photo was exactly her, albeit younger and happier looking.

"Yes, that's her," he confirmed.

She sighed. "That's Ash Ketchum."

And suddenly it clicked just who he had been comforting. The girl Giovanni Rocketto had vehemently claimed to be looking for, that one faithful League meeting.

He swallowed heavily. "She might still be around here. I don't think she got far, especially with her back as damaged as it was. You should look out for her. I'll do the same, but I'm going to try to contact Giovanni first. Let him know."

Officer Jenny nodded and left him to it, and Steven sat down on Ash's former bed, putting his head in his hands.

~*~*~

She felt the droplets before she opened her eyes, to know rain was falling onto her. The sensation felt cool and soothing against her, and it almost felt like the skies were crying for her.

Why did she feel so alone?

When she felt a hand grasp her thigh, her eyes rapidly opened to find a man leaning over her. He squeezed her thigh.

"Why are yer on the floor, honey?" he slurred.

Alarmed, Ash shoved at the man and tried to get on her feet to run, but he'd grabbed her ankles and yanked, causing her to slam back onto the concrete. Her head and back hurting from the impact, it had taken her a bit to refocus, only for the man to have grabbed at her front, ripping her dress downwards, and slightly exposing herself to him. She screamed and struggled, but his weight was heavy on her and she was still disoriented and distracted by the pain she was in.

All of a sudden she saw a shadow over both of them, and the man over her was hit over the head with an umbrella swung by a lean man in burgundy and black, his glasses glinting slightly from a light reflecting against it.

"How brutish," the man said primly. "You don't treat a woman that way."

He looked over at her and his red eyebrows furrowed. "Are you alright, Miss?"

Ash trembled and tried to sit up, but she cried out in pain. Alerted to that, the man straightened up and called out to someone.

"Tabitha! Bring around the car."

He then bent down and gently tried to grab her, careful not to jostle her as he held her in his arms. Already, he could feel the blood seeping from her and into his clothes, and he wondered what had happened.

Ash, meanwhile, breathed in his scent as she heaved in heavy breaths -the smell of smoke and ash coating him.

She was so unfocused, she didn't realize that she'd been carried to a car and then driven to an unknown location, or even as she was brought to some sort of medical facility and had her dirty and bloodstained dress removed from her body.

If the man hissed at the sight of her back, then she said nothing and didn't notice. And if, when she was taken away, did he fully absorbed the fact -as he looked down and observed his blood and rain soaked clothes -she couldn't tell anyone that she had caught on to his rather horrified reaction. In fact, she'd become so numb to anything that she basically blocked it all out.

But he couldn't.

"Sir?"

He was no stranger to violence and blood, but even as the boss of Team Magma, he'd never seen anything like this. It disturbed him deeply, but he wasn't prepared to let anyone see him in this manner.

"Tabitha," he heard himself faintly. "Go make sure that a room is prepared for her stay, if she wishes to after her recovery. I also highly doubt she'd like to stay and recover fully in the medical bay anyway."

"...Yes, Maxie. Right away."

"And make sure that scum back on the street is delivered straight to the police station, with a note on what he did. I'm not sure if they can hold him without evidence, but at least he'll be off the streets."

Maxie wasn't happy about that solution, but he could see no other way for now. Sootopolis City may not be as easily connected with the other cities, but at least because of it's hard to navigate area, it would be hard for any criminals to run away. Not that that applied to himself or his Team of course.

Sighing, Maxie turned to go remove his soiled clothes and take a shower, trying to take his mind off of the newest happening.

But he couldn't stop thinking about the girl, what was her story, and what could she mean to him and his Team in the future.

And (to his bewilderment), he couldn't help note that her eyes were a most peculiar feature on her, and that a part of him found her liken to a pretty but delicate flower.

The shock of it all must be getting to him.

~*~*~

When Ash awoke, she knew she was on pain medication because she felt groggy and not fully clear of the fog in her head. She also quickly noted the man sitting by her side, and the same man who had helped her that rainy moment.

"Good afternoon," he spoke politely. "I am Maximilian Matsubusa, leader of Team Magma. You may call me Maxie."

She almost was tempted to laugh at her luck. Yet another regional Team! Ironically, she kept running into them and they also kept becoming her saviors of sorts. More and more the irony of the situation that was her life, made her want to hysterically laugh and cry.

The Teams were the bad guys. They had always been the villains of the story, where everyone called on them to face justice for their crimes. And yet, every time, Ash found herself feeling more and more grateful to them.

If none of them had been there and had helped her, she wondered what would have happened to her. Would she have already been killed by then?

She wet her lips. "M-my," her throat was parched and still not that usable, and so made it hard to speak. "My name is Ash," she tried again, her voice quiet as it had been lately.

'Maxie' took a container from the side and poured her some water. She accepted it thankfully.

"Do you have anywhere to go, or anyone to go to?" he asked her.

Ash thought about that. Where could she go? Miranda was still out there, she was still in pain and scared of the world, and airports had been drilled as a bad idea into her head. Traffickers practically scoured that place as a hunting ground. And the police? She wasn't deaf and had heard that any one of them could be accomplices or working with the traffickers, and even higher ups in the world could be guilty.

She felt essentially trapped.

That's why she shook her head, answering Maxie in the negative. The red headed man gave a thoughtful hum.

"If you wish, you may stay with us. I will take you in, so long as you join my Team," he offered her, and she nodded tiredly.

What other choice did she have anyway?

~*~*~

She healed a little more fully after a month, though her back was still tender. He had noted the medical advice for her not to strain herself, though she did insist on getting to work somehow (and being useful). He gave her light, menial tasks (mostly tailing him around and organizing papers and data, etc.), though to make her feel better about the small tasks, he made sure to give her plenty and make her feel busy.

But he couldn't shake the thought of how beautiful and oddly haunting she was. Perhaps it was the haunted look in her eyes, accompanied by the tired air she walked around with, but a part of him felt as if she was older than her years, and somehow more experienced of the world than she should be of her age.

What was her age anyway? Or what was even her favorite color? Nothing about her had been revealed yet, and she wouldn't talk too much about herself. Maxie hardly knew a thing about her. He just found her beautiful, even with all that. Or even because of.

He was tempted to seduce her, and had been steadily working his way into a seduction truthfully. He'd been careful not to overdo it though, remembering how they first met in the first place -what with that bastard of a man tainting her views of the world and men. However, he wasn't one to simply give up or to not try, or look for whatever best method he could that would work things in his favor. This endeavor was definitely worth it, and he would be determined to see it through.

And hopefully earn his way to her, and get her into his arms and bed.

"We'll be heading to the Cave of Origin," he informed her on one of her better days. "There, some of the others have been working on something you might be interested in. It'll be a treat for you," he smiled thinly.

She nodded distractedly, though she did look at him and gave a grateful smile. She said nothing though, but he didn't push her. He was aware that there had been some damage to her vocal cords that were still healing, and that she wasn't to strain her voice anyhow. Still, part of him knew that she didn't speak for more reasons than the physical damage done to her throat, and also understood it was something she didn't feel like 'talking' about, even without use of her voice.

He had his burgundy Magma coat on, and led the way to a car that he would drive personally. As she traveled beside him, he admitted he saw and liked the way the rouge female Magma uniform fit her and looked good on her. It made a possessive thrum run through him.

"What do you know of the Legendaries Groudon and Kyogre?" he asked her suddenly.

She looked at him in surprise. "Um, I know that Groudon is an ancient pokémon that created the land mass of the world and formed the continents. Kyogre likewise, but with expanding the ocean."

"Correct," he gave her another smile. They reached the car, and he gentlemanly opened her side and helped her in. Then he went to the driver's side and got in, starting the car quickly before he went to address her again. "The goal of Team Magma is to awaken Groudon and create more landmass, specifically to create more habitats for land pokémon by lowering the sea level. Oppositely, our rivals of Team Aqua wish to do the reverse with Kyogre for aquatic pokémon."

She was listening attentively, if looking a bit hesitant and slightly confused.

"That's nice of you," she said sincerely, and he almost looked at her in amusement, right until she continued though. "What happens to all the sea pokémon though? They'll be okay, right?"

Maxie stared at her, hiding his surprise and uneasiness. He didn't actually have an answer for her, and thankfully didn't have to since they'd finally arrived.

"We're here," he announced.

He parked the car and got her out, before leading into the Cave of Origin, and right where the group of Magma grunts were overseeing Kyogre's containment.

"Amazing, yes?" Maxie looked upon it with smug superiority. "Such a powerful being. And we managed to awaken and then catch it. We'll end up with Groudon soon for sure."

Hearing no reply, his smug smirk faded as he turned to look at her, only to see her gazing at the Legendary with sorrowful eyes.

"He looks sad," she murmured.

He turned and glanced at it. "How do you know that?"

'Because I always am,' she wanted to say but didn't, and he could only continue to speculate.

Hearing nothing once more, he glanced back at her before looking at it -he -more closely, and frowned deeply.

"Yes...yes, he does look sad, doesn't he?"

The uneasiness grew and inwardly he felt a twinge of remorse for caging such a wondrous and ancient being. He had never...thought too much about his plans affecting others, and he couldn't but feel uncomfortable doing so now.

At that moment, Kyogre began to thrash a bit and Maxie pulled her farther away, retreating from the ancient pokémon.

"Get the Blue Orb!" Maxie snapped at someone. "Calm it down!"

As he did so though, he only barely noticed Ash slipping away from him, and didn't notice until she was well on her way to Kyogre how far away she was from him and how too close she was to the upset pokémon. He rushed after her, but she'd already reached it, laying her hands on the pokémon's head gently.

"Shh," she hummed at him. "It's okay. I'll be sad with you."

Slowly, to Maxie's amazement (and unknowingly, to everyone else watching as well), Kyogre began to calm under her touch and murmurs.

"'Cause you and I, we were born to die~" she sung quietly to Kyogre. She caressed his head. "We are born to die, aren't we?" she asked the pokémon sadly. "Maybe this is why things have happened this way."

She felt hands gently grip her arms and lead her away from the now calm Kyogre, but she continued to look back at the contained pokémon with sad eyes.

When they were at the car, Maxie brought her into his arms and let her just rest there, knowing she didn't want to see anything else or talk to anyone.

~*~*~

Ash had worked hard for Team Magma. Not only because she was a hard worker, but she felt indebted to Maxie for helping her and taking her in. So when she finds him at his desk, sleeping sometimes and with his glasses still perched on his nose (she liked him wearing them; they made him look less stern and even a little dorky), she would do her best to make him comfortable, take off his glasses, and put a blanket around him.

And when he had her working with him, she always made sure to do her best and work hard for him. Even at the times when he assigned her to work with Tabitha and Courtney in the Cave of Origin with Kyogre, she still did her best, even though she really wanted to help Kyogre instead.

"Thinking too much, little girl," a metal can was lightly thumped onto her head, and she pouted as she looked up as the can was moved away.

Tabitha grinned at her as he held two cans of soda, one of which he handed to her.

"Was I?" she asked curiously.

She knew she could be transparent, but she had never really taken note of it before. She supposed that was just how she was though. Everyone else tended to make mention of it, and she realized that she really didn't hide how she felt about anything usually.

Ash shrugged at him with a small grin. "Thanks for the soda," she said instead. "Do you know when Courtney is coming? I want to be gone before she is -she said something about being bored around here and wanting to paint nails. And you know -we're in a cave."

Tabitha barked out a laugh and shook his head. "Nah, kid. She comes as she goes. Flitters around without a care, that woman."

"I do not!" Courtney suddenly appeared on them, slapping Tabitha's head and glaring at him. She turned to Ash. "Raincheck on that nail paint though. Maxie wanted to see you. Here, take the car."

The older female tossed the keys at Ash, who sat up straight and fumbled to catch them. Once secure in her hands, Ash felt trepidation and excitement. She'd never driven a car before. She didn't really even have a license, though she was now at the age where she could have tested for her permit at least.

"Okay," she answered Courtney and gripped the keys in her hands tightly.

Her first driving experience...

In the car, Ash tried to remember how she usually saw Maxie, Tabitha, or Courtney started. After buckling in, Ash pressed down on the brake, and put the keys in and turned it on. She shifted into drive and removed the emergency brake, and then she started.

Only to almost go forward and hit a wall.

Sheepishly reminded that she had to back out first, she shifted gear to reverse and slowly backed out. After which, she shifted back to drive and cautiously drove back to base.

She reached the base happily, and having felt accomplished. She was so proud of it, that she practically ran to where Maxie's office was to tell him. Bursting through his door and startling him, she practically blabbed it out.

"You've never driven before?" he asked when she was done. Shaking her head, he looked at her in bemusement after her answer.

"Good job then," he told her, though inwardly glad she hadn't wrecked the car, and even more glad she didn't get hurt.

She then fidgeted shyly under his gaze. "Courtney said you wanted to see me?"

Maxie hesitated, but nodded. "Yes, there was something I wanted to ask you..."

She straightened up and waited for him patiently, wondering what was wrong.

"Do you like me, Ash?" he asked suddenly, slowly reaching over and brushing a strand of Ash's hair behind her ear.

She looked at him in shock, before biting her lip. She still didn't speak much, but she thought this deserved a long, thought-out answer. And she remembered all the others -Giovanni, who in her dreams always came to save her, Cyrus who had been so kind and sweet to her despite how he was...

There was Maximus and Pikachu, who she missed dearly, and Malva and Lysandre who had promised to make everything beautiful for her. She thought of Siebold who had taken care of her, of Colress who she now knew had been infatuated with her. There was Serena, who she hadn't managed to reassure that none of it was her fault. And there was everyone else.

There was even Sammy and her mother, who she felt fading from her memory day after day...

So she ended up with no words to answer Maxie, only feeling as if who knew how long this lasted, and when she could be safe and happy again -and she ended up answering him by leaning on her toes and pressing her lips to his.

The one thing she had learned above all was to treasure every moment and make the best of what she had, because she knew nothing lasted forever and she had to take whatever happiness she could get, for however fleeting it would be.

Afterwards, he wondered at the girl panting and shivering in his arms, clutching him as tightly as he clutched onto her.

~*~*~

She breathed in and out, mostly breathing in through her nostrils as she was busy panting through her mouth, unable to really breathe that way. She felt herself grip the edge of his desk and dig her nails into the wood, the nail paint that Courtney did on them chipping a bit at the action.

"No good waste."

The words from Miranda came back to bother her. She had repeatedly taunted Ash, and she admitted that it had left their own marks on her, as much as Miranda's lashes did. Like now...

Did Maxie really care for her? Was this all just sex? Did he see her?

"You're such trash now, princess! Who'd want you like this?"

Ash closed her eyes and refused to cry.

She had felt like this almost immediately after the first time. Even though Maxie had held her gently, she hadn't been sure and she had started to have creeping doubts about her own worth and what he saw her as. Her insecurities came out full force in the weeks in which they began their relationship, and nothing said or done by anyone was making them go away.

"My, my, princess. I don't think anyone would even want to buy you at this rate."

Ash bit her lip enough to draw blood, and she buried her face against the desk in an effort to not cry.

She couldn't not feel shame. It felt like it had crawled under her skin and was determinedly staying there. Every time she looked in her mirror, she hated looking at herself. Every time Maxie whispered things into her ear, she wanted to block them out because she didn't believe them or him.

She was becoming more and more miserable, and she just couldn't make herself stop.

"Ash? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said shakily, still against the desk even though he'd stopped. "I'm fine," she muffled her voice against the wood.

He tentatively started to move again, and she tried to block Miranda's voice from her head.

~*~*~

Ash settled her chin on her folded arms, watching Maxie as he slept in what was now their bed. She blinked tiredly, watching the harsh lines on his face softened as he rested. The warmth of his body was easily accessible, but she kept her distance.

If she left, would he miss her? Would it make any difference if she were to up and leave?

She felt deluded every time she entertained the thought that he would care, that he would come chasing after her like she mattered. But she doubted it. If she left, nothing would really change.

She slipped out of the bed and sat on a chair nearby, folding her knees and holding her legs to herself. She hid her face against her thighs.

Maybe it was time for her to go.

Sniffling slightly, she rubbed at her eyes and then got up to put on some clothes. She slowly packed some things into a bag, and wrote a quick note to Maxie, feeling he deserved that much. Hell, he probably deserved a lot more than her at least.

She left and headed out of the base, only to head to the Cave of Origin first. There, she gazed at the sad pokémon with her own sad eyes, and caressed his head.

After this, Maxie wouldn't want to keep her anyway.

She moved away, only to hear a cautious voice behind her.

"Ash, what are you doing here?" Tabitha called out, and Ash turned halfway to face him.

He didn't know what was wrong, but Ash had steadily gone from a cheerful, if slightly morose, girl -to someone who looked ready to cry at any moment but was determined not to. She always smiled at everyone, but these days it was tinged with even more sadness. She seemed to be in a daze as she worked through the day, and her relationship with Maxie -quiet and not obvious enough for everyone to know, but enough for he and Courtney to deduce -seemed rocky.

Despite Courtney's personal concerns over it, he could tell Maxie really did care for her. And he could see that Ash cared back, but for some reason was distancing herself.

"I'm going away," Ash suddenly answered him, her voice scarily hollow.

Panicked, Tabitha walked quickly from the controls to her. "What do you mean 'going away?'" he demanded from her.

Tears then poured from her eyes, sliding down her cheeks and making him freeze in place.

"Please let me go," she whispered, and she looked at him like that and he felt unable to say or do anything.

She slipped away from him like a ghost, and headed to where the controls were. She looked at him and he realized what she was going to do. He gave her a nod.

For a while now, none of them had felt certain or right keeping Kyogre locked up there.

She pressed a few buttons, and the great pokémon was released, immediately escaping into the waters that led out of the cave.

And just as quick as the pokémon, so had she disappeared.