"Yes, free..." Ash responded.

"..." he was then silent, unsure as to what to say.

"Um... do you want to come with me?" he asked.

"You seem like you don't have anywhere else to go." he told her.

"And you'll be safe at my home, I promise." he then assured her.

".........right." Ash replied.

"Uh, hm." he muttered.

"Yeah, I'll take you back." he told her.

"Here, take my hand again." he then said. When she did, they disappeared in a burst of black fire once more, and then appeared in the front door to the Fyrane manor.

"We're here." he told her, before pressing the doorbell.

"Two reasons." Ash responded, as the two of them entered.

"1, I don't have my keys." he said.

"2, I have a strange mana signature with me." he told her further. "So teleporting in was NOT an option." he said further, before turning around.

"Sammy, this is Hazel. She's... someone from my past." he told the girl.

"Hazel, this is Samantha. She's my niece... and Lindsay's daughter." he then said to Hazel, introducing them properly.

"I have my reasons." Ash responded.

"And you go ahead. Have fun." he told her.

With that, they parted ways, with Sammy heading out the door and the other two heading further in, as Ash looked around.

"Hmmm." he mumbled, taking out his phone. He sent a text to both his brother and Ashley, the text saying the same thing.

Where you at? Got someone here at home that you're gonna want to meet. it read.

'Now... let's see how this goes...' he thought, as he awaited either an answer to the text, or for one or both to show up.

Ash watched what happened, before sighing deeply.

"....I was afraid of that." he muttered.

"As you guessed, this is Ashley. Vanessa's sister. And... well... my wife, now." Ash told Hazel.

"I found Hazel while I was on my info-gathering hunt." Ash then explained to Ashley, launching into how he'd found her, the state of the place she'd been in, and how they got out before things went from bad to worse.

"I couldn't think of any other place to take her." he went on.

"She's... well... like us. She doesn't seem to have a place now, much like we were when we all escaped the lab." he told her further, before pausing.

"Well, arguably, Lindsay kinda did when he escaped Gentech, same with Casey, kinda, but that's not the point." he then said, shaking his head.

"I think she really needs help."

"I'm not sure, either." Ash admitted.

"It's why I brought her here. I couldn't think of anywhere else." he told her, as Lindsay showed up from upstairs.

"All right, who's her-" he started to ask, before pausing.

"...I... I..." he stammered.

"I don't believe it..." he said.

"Miss Hazel?" he asked, stepped up closer towards her.

Lindsay scratched at his chin, examining Hazel a little.

"Perhaps..." he said.

"She might need mana help as well, but I might be able to help her in terms of uprooting what Vanessa has placed in there, mentally and emotionally." he went on.

"Should we enlist the help of Anna and Rene?" Ash asked.

"Probably." Lindsay replied.

"She'll probably need some serious cleansing and detox."

Ash and Lindsay were silent and taken aback by what had just transpired, but Ash knew something serious was up when Ashley staggered back from Hazel.

"....Ashley?" he asked.

"Something serious is going on, isn't it?" he asked.

"Huh?" Lindsay muttered.

"Ashley doesn't react like that unless something BIG is outta whack." Ash reasoned.

"You're blind!?" Ash exclaimed, as Lindsay dialled his phone.

"Rene, get over to the manor, please. Ashley needs your help." he said into it.

"Yes, ASAP." he said further, before hanging up after a moment or two.

"He's on his way." he told them.

"I'll go downstairs as well." Ash commented. "See if I can't do anything to help." he said.

"Meanwhile, I'll chat with Miss Hazel." Lindsay said.

"Hm?" Lindsay muttered, looking at Hazel.

"Lower?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"From what I remember, you were one that she spent the most time on." he commented.

"How did you rank lower?" he asked her.

"And was that something that Vanessa said to you directly?" he then inquired.