Ash just nodded slowly.

"Yeah..... yeah, sure...." he said.

"Let's... let's check out the basement." he agreed.

"Might... might as well." he reasoned.

It was clear that his mind was blown right now, and he was a tad on the overwhelmed side, to put it lightly.

But he hadn't reacted negatively... yet.

"Right." Ash responded.

He then looked inside the room that Rowena had unlocked.

It was a room, all right. A nice, big room. There was nothing in it, but a lot of space. It was almost as big as his entire bachelor apartment.

"Lotta space here." he said.

"Good to see there's a window as well. Let a little light shine in down here." he commented further.

"I assume the other rooms are the same?" he asked. "Like... I mean, just unused rooms waiting to be filled?" he asked further.

"And also, it's just the one kid." he informed her.

"She's not mine yet, though."

Ash nodded along with what she said, before looking at her.

"Yeah." he said.

"Adoption." he confirmed.

He then bit his lip, and sighed.

"She's... had a very rough life so far." he told her, giving her a brief explanation of the situation he'd found Desiree in, and the injuries she had sustained.

"If there's anyone that can relate to her, and help her move on, it's me." he said.

"I'd never forgive myself if I just let her go."

"Mm." Ash muttered.

"But yeah, I just have a bachelor apartment right now." he told her. "NOT something to raise a kid in, and the suits won't look too kindly on it." he said.

"So I need a place with more space." he shrugged.

He was then silent, and looked at her.

"So." he said.

"You've been keeping tabs on me?" he asked her. "For how long?"

".......I see." he said.

"Guess it's true what they say." he mumbled. "There's no secrets in this world." he said.

"...you know, I always thought I'd be angry when I met you." he then told her, out of nowhere. "Or, I wouldn't care." he said further.

"I never thought I would feel... THIS way..." he admitted.

"I feel... sad... but also... a little bit... you know..." he mumbled further, trailing off near the end.

".....happy...."

"....you know, I was always told you were a monster." Ash told her. "That you abandoned myself and my brother to rampage all over Europe." he said.

"Aunt Rocky always said that we were essentially kidnapped, and your rampage was brought on by... well... excessive and massive emotional trauma." he then muttered further.

"I don't know if I ever really truly believed her, but now... I think I can." he said.

"Plus... looking back on it... considering where the first bit of information came from, I really shouldn't be surprised that it's more than likely a lie." he then sighed.

"I guess I just... hung onto that belief because... I dunno, young and stupid, and then it got set in there?" he said, seeming to be not really sure.

"I just know my mind is a mess of conflicting messages right now, but I'm pretty sure everything I've ever 'known' about you has been proven to be a lie."

"............hm." Ash mumbled, as he looked at the hat and the chain.

"I see." he said.

"Well... hm." he merely repeated.

"I'll say it now, my mind is at war with itself over what I should do." he told her frankly.

"That being said... I'm going to do something different with my life." he went on.

"When can I move in?" he asked.

"How soon?"

"Hmmm... I see." Ash responded.

"And I can just teleport into the rooms, as the barriers will let me pass?" he asked her.

Rowena just nodded.

"Cool." he said.

"I've got stuff to move, then." he told her. "Just stuff from my own apartment, but I need to grab some furniture for the den area, and stuff for Desiree's bedroom." he went on.

"And I need to tell Emma that I have a proper place to raise a child." he then said, pausing for another moment.

"Though odds are she already knows it..." he then mumbled quietly.

"Hm, some help would be appreciated." Ash said.

"It'd make things go a lot quicker at any r-" he started to say further, before pausing.

"Wait." he said.

"Presentations? Orders?" he asked, looking at Rowena.

"What... what do you do, that requires those things?" he asked her.

"Almost sounds like some kinda desk job."

Ash was silent as he heard that, and thought for a moment.

"I... yeah." he said.

"I have, actually." he told her.

"I've used one of their rockets before. The Crimson Jet, MK II, I believe it was." he went on, before pausing a moment, processing the information.

"Wait..." he muttered.

"You work for Fyreworks?" he asked her.