Race against time

I do not own Pokémon

Ash, May, Max and Brock were eating at an ice cream parlor. They were licking their ice cream peacefully when May suddenly groaned in pain and placed her head over her head

"What happened?" asked Ash

"Brain freeze" she said softly and Ash smiled.

"Here, have some water" he said and pushed over his glass of water

"Thank you" she said and drank up. Once done she sighed with content

"That feels better"

"That's good"

She nodded and then got up

"I need some air" she said and left the parlor with her ice cream cone in hand. She paced outside in silence and looked at the dark sky above

"I wish I wasn't so sensitive to ice cream…" she thought and sighed. Suddenly she felt a cold hand place on her mouth and the mysterious figure starting dragging her away. She struggled to pull free but he was too strong. She bit down on his fingers and he screamed in pain and retracted his hand.

"Ash! Help!" she screamed. Fearing his cover may have been blown the man banged May on the head and she blacked out. Hearing her cry for help the trio ran out of the parlor and saw that May was gone. All they saw was her ice cream cone lying on the ground, a few drops of blood and her bandana.

"Where's May?' asked Max and looked around. Ash knelt down and picked up May bandana and clasped it in his hand

"She's been kidnapped" said Ash and got up

"What? Who could have done such a thing?" asked the boy.

"I don't know. But we sure as hell better find out. We'll split up. He couldn't have gone far" said the boy and his friends nodded and they all darted in different directions. They would spend the next few hours searching for their friend. But without success…

Meanwhile someplace else…

May opened her eyes groggily. Her head was throbbing and it was dark. She found herself sitting in a dark room and tied to a chair. She tried to scream but her mouth was gagged. She tried wriggling out of the chair but it was nailed to the floor. She tried screaming again this time a little harder but it didn't help. She sighed hopelessly, accepting the fact that she was trapped here

"What am I gonna do? How Ash and the rest are are going to find me? If only I had my Pokémon with me… why did I have to leave them at the Pokémon center?" she thought and started to cry…

Time: 2:00 AM

The three friends met back at the entrance to the ice cream parlor.

"No sign of her" said Ash, struggling to catch his breath.

"Maybe we should notify the police" said Max. Ash lifted his hand.

"I'm for it"

"No wait a second Ash. I've got an idea" said Brock

"What?"

"Do you still have May's bandana?"

"Yeah"

"Give it to me" said Brock and he obeyed. Brock approached Pikachu who was sitting on Ash's shoulder

"Pikachu, get a whiff of this" the little mouse sniffed the red piece of fabric. Suddenly he perked up and leapt of Ash's back and with the others following suite into the forest.

May was still crying in her seat and all of a sudden the lights went on. In front of her stood a pain with smooth dark hair and an orange tuxedo.

"There's no point in resisting you know" he pointed out and May glared at him.

"I know what you're thinking" he said and started pacing back and forth around the room.

"They are coming to save you. It's only a matter of time. Since those two dim wits constantly failed at obtaining your friend's Pikachu I'll have to do it for them. And you're the bait. And to make sure he will surrender I'll have to put him in danger too…" he said and headed for a dark corner.

"With this" he said and presented a shotgun and loaded it and chuckled cruelly as May paled…

The gang was running up the mountain in pursuit of Pikachu. Before long they reached the top and saw a two story wooden shack. Pikachu stopped in his tracks and pointed at the building.

"Pika" he said with his mouth partially full of May's bandana.

"Good work Pikachu" said Ash and took the bandanna from him. They approached the building and opened the door quietly. The first floor was pitch dark but there was a faint light coming from the floor above.

"Listen closely Pikachu. As soon as we reach the top of the stairs, get ready to strike at once. You got that?" he whispered to his friend.

Pikachu saluted

"Pika!' he said softly and Ash nodded. The three climbed up the creaking steps slowly. When they reached the top they saw the door was slightly open and they could hear soft sobbing from behind the door.

"Hang in there May… I'm coming for you…" thought Ash. He sighed softly and kicked the door open and barged in. The first thing he saw was a barrel of a shotgun pointed at his head. He gulped. He traced his eyes from the gun, to the hand holding to the gun, to the man owning the hands.

"Giovani!" Brock blurted out

"Yes. Now listen closely. If you do exactly what I say we can solve this without bloodshed"

"Okay" ash said softly. Hand over your Pikachu and I'll let your friend go. And don't even think about trying to unleash him on me or I'll blow your brains out and take him by force. Ash gulped

"Pikachu?" he said and looked at him nervously. The little mouse became sad and looked at him.

"I'm sorry buddy. But I don't have no choice. I'll come for you though. I promise" he said and picked up his friend and hugged him goodbye. And then handed him over to the man he hated the most. Giovani was wearing rubber gloves as a precaution. He then stepped backwards towards the window, about to make his escape. When he looked backwards for a second to see where he was going, Ash seized the moment and strafed over to the side ready to charge but Giovani saw him and unloaded a round from his shotgun, striking Ash in his left shoulder. The boy screamed in pain and fell to the floor. May screamed in panic through her gag and his friends rushed to his aid. Taking advantage of the distraction Pikachu bit Giovani's hands and he screamed in pain and dropped the rifle. On the verge of losing consciousness Ash noticed this and darted for the gun. Before Giovani could recover Ash stood in front of him with the shotgun in his hands while his shoulder was dripping blood. The man lifted his hands up in surrender.

"No please! I beg you. Have mercy"

"How dare you ask me for mercy? After shooting me? After abducting my best friend?"

"Please I'll do anything just don't shoot me" begged the man. Ash weighed his options for a few seconds and said

"Walk over to the window" he said

"W…what?"

Furious, Ash unloaded a round which stroke the wall.

"NOW!" the man did as he was told and stood with his back to the open window as everyone looked in horror. Ash cocked the rife and unloaded two rounds which struck Giovani right in the chest. Within seconds his entire torso was full of blood and he fell out the window and onto the ground below with a bloody thud. He sighed and dropped the gun gripping his shoulder, struggling to breath. He walked over to May and untied her and removed her gag. The first thing she did was embrace him in a hug and cried hysterically.

"I was so scared… I was so scared…" she sobbed

"It's okay May… it's okay… it's over… he's gone…" said Ash and started to feel dizzy. He started coughing and realized he was coughing blood. Frightened at his condition May let go of him

"We need to get you to a hospital" Ash nodded as he struggled to stay awake. He was very pale and he was losing a lot of blood. Without giving it a second thought she ripped the sleeve of her shirt and placed it against the wound

"Hang in there Ash. You're gonna be okay" she said and he nodded

She turned to the rest.

"Does anyone have a flying Pokémon?"

"I have a pidgeot. We could fly on his back" said Brock

"Then let's go!" said the girl and they took Ash outside and flew him to the city. While they were in the air Ash was barely conscious. May was working hard to keep him awake. She kept shaking him

"Come on Ash, stay with me, stay with me…" she kept saying but its effectiveness was running out. In a frantic attempt at making him stay awake she did something she saw only in her dreams. She kissed him squarely on the mouth which got him to open his eyes. He coughed and his cheeks turned slightly red with the little blood he had left in his body.

"May?" he said incoherently, trying to comprehend what happened.

"Hang on just a little more Ash. We're almost there" she said as they began a sharp decent. Within seconds they stopped in front of the emergency room and carried him inside. Ash was placed on a stretcher and was rushed into intensive care. May sighed with relief, glad they were able to bring him in alive. She sat down on the chair in the waiting room and let everything sink in. Before long she started to cry. Max gave her a hug in an attempt to console her as the trio stood there in a horrifying silence.

Hours pass…

Brock fell asleep sitting down and Max fell asleep with his head in May's lap. May herself was wide awake. She couldn't keep her eyes off the doors to the trauma section. It was five in the morning and outside, dawn was kissing the horizon. Despite being up all night, she never felt more awake in her life. She looked down sadly

"What if he never makes it? He worked so hard to try and save me. Even when he was bleeding his first concern was me… he can't die… I love him… I just wish I deserved a friend as good as him…" she thought sadly as tears built up in her eyes. Suddenly a door opened and everyone jumped.

"How is he?" asked May

"Alive" began the doctor as everyone sighed with relief, especially May.

"However…" said the doctor and everyone was silenced.

"Due to the fact that he lost so much blood he's still in danger. His blood type is AB- and unfortunately we have a shortage of that type in blood bank. If we don't find a donor soon, he will die" said the doctor. May knew what to do.

"I'll do it" she said

"You're willing to donate?" asked the doctor slightly surprised by her eagerness to help

"Yes. I'll donate as much as I can"

"Very well. But please note that given his immense blood lose we'll need to extract a little more blood than usual this time. After the process you will feel fatigue for a few days"

"I don't care. Just do it" snapped May.

"Okay. Follow me" he said and she did. She sat down on a table and winced as he inserted the needle in her arm. Within the hour Ash was receiving his new blood and May was sitting down beside his bed, waiting for him to wake up. Max and Brock decided the two could use privacy so they slept in the waiting room. May sat there with her hand placed on his. She rubbed it gently as the blood entered his vein through an IV tube. After a long silence she opened her mouth to speak softly

"I don't know how to thank you Ash. Not just for saving my life but for being such a hero. After you were shot I didn't expect you to shoot Giovani and then help me out. Yet holding you in my arms at the time was all I needed. I don't deserve a friend as good as you. But for some reason you find me worthy of your friendship. So I'd like to thank you for being the best friend I could every wish for. I'll never forget this…" she said and leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his lips as he slept. Only this time it was out of love and not out of panic. She then whispered in his ears

"I love you Ash. Remember that…" she said and pecked his cheek slightly and rested her head in his chest as sleep took her away…

By the time she woke up it was evening. She lifted her head and rubbed her eyes. She then felt something on her hand. She looked up and saw Ash's hand on hers. She looked at him and he she saw him give her a week smile. She could swear she saw small blushes on his cheeks. She sighed with relief and embraced him into a hug

"Thank God…" she said and hugged him tightly never wanting to let go. Before long she started to sob. Ash tightened the embraced around her and rubbed her back.

"It's okay May… it's okay…"

She cried uncontrollably.

"I was so scared. I thought you were gonna die… I thought you were gonna die…" she sobbed as Ash let her rest her head on his good shoulder. He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek in an attempt to console her which seemed to help a little bit but she was still very hysterical.

"Shhh…" he said softly and continued to rub her back

"Shhh…" he soothed her softly as she finally began to relax. Her breathing slowly steadied itself and she calmed down.

"I love you Ash. Don't you ever scare me like that again…"

Ash blushed at her words. After a few seconds he replied

"I love you too. And I promise you, I'm here to stay…"

"Promise?"

"Promise" he assured her. May sighed happily and let go of him and rubbed her eyes and gazed into his. They were both lost in each other's gaze, as if they were staring into a deep endless ocean. They placed their hands on each's other cheeks as their lips drew near until they touched. The kiss made the, feel an endless euphoria; as if the kiss helped wash away all the pain, fear and sorrow from the events of last night. They deepened into the kiss and wrapped their arms around each other's necks as their tongues danced in each other's mouths. They kissed like there's no tomorrow. Like their life depended on it. But alas, when their lungs contracted they had to pull away. Their lips detached by an inch and they peered into each other's eyes. Those deep endless eyes. Ash wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and she rested her head on his chest.

"Now we can be together forever…" said Ash

"Promise?"

"I guarantee it" said Ash as she smiled warmly and fell asleep in his embrace…

Eight years later…

Ash and May were eighteen now. It has been eight years since they found their love for each other and it has only grown. The two have long since fulfilled their dreams of becoming top coordinator and Pokémon master. But there was one dream left they have yet to fulfill…

The young couple was alongside the beach on a Saturday afternoon. It was sunset and the sea never looked prettier. The horizon was bathed in a deep orange color as the small orb that was the sun was setting below it. The young couple sat down to enjoy it. After a while Ash spoke.

"May?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you believe in fate?"

May seemed slightly surprised by his question

"Yeah, a little…"

"I believe in fate. I believe it was fate that I met you when we were ten, I believe it was fate that we fell in love and I believe it is fate that we should stay together forever…" said Ash

"What are you saying Ash?"

Ash took out a small box from his pocket and opened it.

"May. Will you marry me?" he asked as May placed her hands over her mouth in shock as tears of joy built up in her eyes.

"Of course my love. Of course…" she said and he smiled. He slipped the ring onto her finger as it glittered in the sun light.

"It's beautiful" she said

"You're beautiful…." He said happily as she sighed with joy and embraced him into a hug….

Several months later…

"Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today, to witness the union of these two fine people in holy matrimony. If for any reason anyone thinks these two should not be wed, let him speak now or forever hold his peace" said the man. Nobody answered so he pressed on.

"Do you, Ashton Ketchum take this women to be your lawful wedded wife?"

Ash smiled broadly

"Of course"

"And do you May Maple take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?"

"I do" said May smiling cheerfully.

"I pronounce this couple, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride now…" said the man as Ash and May sucked face as everyone in the crowd cheered and applauded. The young couple walked down the aisle as everyone through rice at them and exchanged hugs, kisses and congratulations. The happy couple exited the church and climbed into the limo that would take them home. They sat in the back seat and kissed lightly as the limo departed…

Several months later…

Ash and May were sitting at the kitchen table during breakfast. Ash was drinking his morning coffee while May had a strange little smile on her face.

"Ash?" she said

"Yeah hon?"

"I need to tell you something…"

"What is it?" said Ash feeling a little concerned

"I… I…" she said as Ash listened

"I'm pregnant…" she said shyly and blushed.

Ash's eyes widened in shock.

"Are you sure?" he asked and she nodded and he smiled from ear to ear

"Sweetie that's wonderful…" he said and got up and swooped her into a hug.

"I know Ash… I know…" she said and rested in his embrace.

Several months later…

"Well congratulations Ash. You're a daddy…" said a tired yet very happy women. She kissed her husband softly as he sat beside her on the bed. In her lap was a little baby girl who was sleeping peacefully.

"Would you look at that…" said Ash softly

"Beautiful isn't she?" asked May

"Yeah. She has your eyes…" said Ash

"And my hair…"

"Yeah…" he agreed.

"She needs a name though…"

"Yeah she does. Any ideas?"

May thought for a moment

"Why don't we call her Lily? That's a pretty name"

"Lily's great. I love it" said Ash

"I love you" said the girl and she rubbed his nose against his. They kissed slightly

"I love you too. So much…" said the boy and they embraced into a hug only to taken away by a peaceful, happy sleep…

They had the best and happiest lives they could ever wish for…

And they lived happily ever after…

The end…

Well there was a cute touching one. At least the second half was. And it looks like I broke my record for the longest one shot yet again. Anyway I hope you guys liked it. Don't forgot to review =)

Peace out