Precious Doll in This Ugly World [Pokemon Fanfic, 2015 PKMNWatties]

What Comes Around

Ash breathed in the smell of the sea, enjoying the gentle (if swift) sway of the water underneath her.

She felt reborn again. A bit older, a bit wiser and experienced...but like she could still reclaim the Ash she had been and always was. She didn't feel like she was drowning anymore.

A warm, calloused hand was placed on her stomach, rubbing it slightly. She opened her eyes to see Archie grinning down at her and blocking the sun.

"Thinking again?" he asked.

"But not sad thoughts," she smiled slightly at him.

He sat back to make room for her to sit up and she leaned into him, placing her forehead against his damp shoulder. Under them, Kyogre continued to keep pace with the S.S. Aqua, which was making the last leg of its journey to Johto.

"I'm sorry we can't take you to Kanto, but the region's locked up like a cage," Archie told her. "No one in or out without permission and careful observation, and you know," he gestured to himself and his ship. "We're not going to be the type to pass inspection."

Ash giggled a little, but she understood. She wouldn't want Archie and the others to get arrested, especially when they were just trying to get her home. Archie smiled slightly to himself, watching her be in better cheer than she had been. He pulled her into a kiss.

"You pick yourself up," he told her. "You keep picking yourself up, you hear me? Don't you ever let anything or anyone drag you down to that level ever again."

"I promise," she swore, because she could remember everyone this time and hold onto them and her cherished memories.

"Good girl," he approved with a fond grin, and moved himself so that he could sit side by side with her. They looked out to the setting sun. "This is still really, really cool, you know that?" he patted Kyogre.

Ash smiled widely. "It is!"

Kyogre made an amused sound from underneath them.

~*~*~

Cyrus washed his hands, barely looking over to the unconscious trafficker on the floor.

"Another, Cyrus?" Saturn asked, though Cyrus couldn't tell if he was exasperated at another trafficker to clean up after or if he was asking Cyrus if he wanted another trafficker be brought in.

"Another," he stoically answered, choosing to think he'd meant the latter. Before Saturn could leave though, "Has all the bases of the traffickers been located in Sinnoh?"

Here, Saturn grinned darkly. "Yes, sir. All the information we've received from our Rocket allies indicated where every single one of them has been located. We just finished extraction for the victims yesterday, and are currently placing the explosives in place."

Satisfied, Cyrus dismissed him. He glanced at the pool of blood left behind, and thought back to when -of all people -Giovanni Rocketto had stormed into his office -his Galactic office -and had snapped him out of it. He was grateful for it, because now he was able to focus and get his aggression out.

If he couldn't show up those traffickers, he'd get the information and smoke them out afterwards.

His phone rang then and he frowned. Seeing who it was, however, he answered it quickly.

"Giovanni," he greeted his fellow boss, which was still a surprise.

"Cyrus," Giovanni greeted back irritably. Cyrus stiffened up, but knew that tone wasn't furious so Ash was hopefully still okay. "Steven Stone contacted me recently. Apparently, his uncle was a buyer for some traffickers and was arrested when Stone found out, however his uncle escaped police custody. That's not really important."