Repairing Broken Bonds (Collab with Ray Chiu)

Chapter 19: Lillie's Birthday.

(UltimateGoomba: Believe it or not, Fanfiction.net broke down, while I only had roughly 5% of this chapter done. You also could consider this chapter to be in four separate acts.)

While Ash was saying goodbye to his and Lillie's alternate-world selves, Mark was thinking about how complicated their situation had become in a matter of days. Sure, they needed to bring the traitors to justice, but due to Lillie's Violet Depression condition, they not only had to be extremely careful about how they handled her family, but they also needed to find time to get the Infinity Gems outside of Sevestar to cure it. Trenor felt very guilty about how Lillie was in pain because of him; he may not know the name, but—

"H-Hey Lillie, how are you holding up?" Trenor sighed while kneeling down to pet her, only for Lillie to turn away. "Lillie..." Minami put a hand on Trenor's shoulder and shook her head.

"She's been through enough, and while I hate to admit it, you're probably the last person she wants to talk to, Trenor." Minami sighed in sorrow and worry as Ash returned to the group. "Welcome back, brother."

"Hey, guys." Ash sighed before kneeling down to Lillie's level. "Hey Lillie, sorry we didn't say it sooner, no hard feelings, right?"

"No hard feelings..." Lillie sighed, giving a fake smile, but Ash could tell it was fake.

"Okay, so here's the plan," Goh stated. "We're going to take turns spending time with her, right?" The group nodded as Goh continued. "Okay, in that case, my family will spend time with her while you guys, uh, do your thing, I guess." The Ketchum family nodded and left the Mobile family to, uh, Poke-sit Lillie and Snowy.

"Yay, we get to play!" Susanna giggled and immediately picked up Lillie in her arms, comforting her.

"Now, now, let's make sure she's willing first, sweetie," Chloe reminded Susanna as she looked at Lillie, who gave a thumbs-up with her paw. Snowy followed them to the park.

"Alrighty, what do you want to do, Lillie?" Susanna asked as Lillie turned to the Mobile family. "It's your birthday, so it's only fair we do something you want to do!"

"I...I don't know what to say..." Lillie gasped while giving a big smile. "Thank you, hmm..." Lillie looked around and saw a hill that would be good for a picnic. "How about a pretend picnic?"

"I love that idea! I'll go get some supplies for that!" Chloe exclaimed. "Goh honey, go help them find a spot on the hill that would be good to set it up, okay?"

"Understood." Goh chuckled as Chloe rushed off. He took Susanna's hand and walked with the three girls up the hill. They then sat down with Susanna on Goh's lap, and Lillie and Snowy sitting next to each other. "So Lillie, guess things have been eventful, huh? ...Yeah, I know that was a stupid way to put it..."

"It's accurate, though..." Snowy sighed, and Lillie nodded. Susanna frowned at Lillie's semi-blank expression.

"The creepy purple lady says that she's very sick, but she doesn't seem sick!" Susanna exclaimed. "What does she mean by that?"

"It's not a regular sickness, Susanna," Goh sighed. "What Lillie has, to put it lightly, affects her feelings." Goh petted Lillie on the head and continued, "Just know we're always here for you, Lillie. Despite being married, Ash is still a bit dense, but I know he never stopped caring for you. He just makes mistakes sometimes, but he does cherish you a lot, his whole family does. To be honest, me, Chloe, Susanna, and our Pokémon pals do too. I'm pretty sure Snowy here especially cares for you."

"Of course." Snowy slightly smiled as she agreed with Goh and nuzzled Lillie under the chin.

Meanwhile, at the suite apartment, Ash, Ash's Pikachu, Golly, Minami, and Minami's Sylveon were setting up decorations for the party. Delia, Insey, Serena, and Serena's Pokémon were preparing dinner and treats. As for Mark and Trenor, they were focused more on the diagram/map that Voidlie had given them. According to it, they need all 18 Infinity Gems to cure Lillie, but it will most likely come at the cost of someone's life if they aren't careful. Acquiring them is an entirely different story, however.