Hey everybody! Sorry if I've been gone for a while, but I think we can all agree that writer's block sucks. Anyways, I'm finally ready to show you the third chapter in my story. This part of the story is going to mainly be covering Ash's crash-course combat training, but we also begin to see what the other characters are like and how he fits into the group, with May in particular. In case any of you will wonder about the change in May's attitude towards Ash as it was in the previous chapter, it's because at this point in the story it's difficult for her to trust people, after a traumatic event that will be revealed in the next chapter or two, 'cause I don't want to spoil anything for you. Like I've said before, if any of you have any ideas that could make the story better, I'm all ears. Otherwise, enjoy the story and post your comments!

Chapter 3

"Alright, listen up, because I'm only going to say this once," Lance began in a stern, serious tone, "People that have been fighting in this war, Resistance and Guardian, or Imperial and Knight, have had either months of training or years of combat experience to better ensure that they live to fight another day. At best we have one week to get you ready for what's coming."

After Ash had made his decision to join up with May and her friends and was able to get a decent night's sleep, they had all left before the sun had come up and had moved to an abandoned part of the city so that his training wouldn't draw any unnecessary attention. Although he didn't regret his decision, he could tell that although that they respected his reasons for joining them, he could tell that they thought he was naïve and they didn't trust him either, May in particular which came as a surprising change from the day before. Even still, Ash understood their reasons; hell, he had been the one saying all that and even he had a hard time believing it.

"Every single one of my former apprentices has had previous encounters with both Imperial soldiers and Knights," Lance continued, motioning to the rest of the group, "and in my humble opinion they are the best at what they do. They will be your instructors, your teachers, and you will commit everything they say and do to memory, and you will do exactly as they say and without question. As I've stated before, we will not be going at your pace, so if you fall behind, you will not be given a chance to catch up and you will have no one to blame but yourself. Is that understood?"

Ash thought about it for a moment; he knew what doing this could mean. If he ended up getting killed, then any chance of getting his memories back would be gone. Even though he had already said he wouldn't fall behind, Ash knew that words were not enough; the only thing that could convince these people was results. Looking Lance dead in the eye, he simply nodded.

Lance glanced over at the purpled-haired guy named Paul. "He's all yours." With that he stepped off to the side, now being nothing more than an observer. For the moment there was a long, awkward silence. "So, when do we start?" Ash asked, scratching his head absentmindedly.

"We just did," Paul replied.

A few hours later...

Something tells me I should've rested for another day or two, Ash thought, his still-stiff muscles screaming in protest as he finished his pull-ups. So far they had been conducting a series of strenuous physical training exercises that gauged his muscular and cardiovascular endurance. Although he had managed to keep up with Brock, even outdoing him a few times, given the fact that he hadn't given his body a chance to fully recover, his body ached all over and he was gasping for air by the time Brock gave him the go-ahead to let go of the pull-up bar.

Despite noticing all this, Brock still looked pleasantly surprised as he dropped to the dirt as well. "I must admit, I'm impressed," he said, tossing Ash a towel, "For most of the others, it took everything they had just to pull out even two of those, one in Barry's case. Yet you managed to keep up with me, even surpass me on some of the exercises. Not only that, but you did all that with your muscles still being as sore as hell more than likely. I can only imagine how well you'll be able to do when you've completely recovered."

"Nah, you'll probably still be better," Ash replied, wiping the sweat off his face, "I'm just stubborn as shit."

Neither of them said anything for a brief moment. "So, you really don't remember anything about who you are, do you?" Brock asked. Ash had known this would come up again sooner or later. Not wanting to say anything about it though, he only nodded. "Do you have any idea on what might've caused it?" he asked.

"Honestly, it could've been any number of things that occurred," Brock replied, like he was analyzing a patient, "the most common of which could be that you hit your head, but there's no sign of that kind of trauma. I think the most likely one could be that your memories aren't lost, your mind is just subconsciously suppressing them, that being because you witnessed something that was so intensely traumatic, your mind just shut down, like a computer rebooting after detecting a virus. I honestly believe that your memories aren't lost, they're just locked away; all you need to do is find the key. Although, that's easier said than done, but I don't believe it's impossible."

"Why not?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow, "I mean, it'd be easier if I knew where to start, but I don't even know that. It's like someone's telling me to put a puzzle together when I don't even have any of the pieces."

Brock just stood there, pondering for a moment. "Because of you," he said simply.

"Because of me?" Ash replied, feeling confused, "I don't understand."

At that moment, Brock looked him right in the eye. "When I first saw you after you collapsed into May's arms, I honestly believed that you weren't going to survive the night. I was going to do everything in my power to save you, but after seeing so many other good people die, I didn't have much hope. As I watched you on that makeshift hospital bed, I saw you struggling, fighting just for a breath of air, and honestly, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I saw that against any and every medical standard I had ever studied and believed in, you defied all that, you fought against that to stay alive, and when I saw you wake up, it was like I was waking up from a bad dream. That was the first time I had ever seen someone do what I considered impossible. That's what I meant; if you can survive something like that, then there's no doubt in my mind that you'll get your memories and your life back."

Ash didn't know what to say; all he do was look down at the ground, smiling in spite of himself. "I meant to say this yesterday, after I got the bandages off, but thanks for saving my life. I owe you big time."

"No need to thank me," Brock said with a grin, extending his hand, "most of it was from you being stubborn as shit like you said. But if you feel like you owe me, just buy me a cold one and we'll call it even."

"You got yourself a deal," Ash said, shaking his hand, "but I think we should head back before they start to worry."

Three days later...

Even though May was loath to admit it, she had to admit she was impressed. Ash had been soaking up everything that they had been teaching him like a sponge soaking up water. In just three days time, with a little help from Jimmy, Mirian, and Dawn he had gone from struggling to aim a gun to pulling off headshots from fifty yards away with just a handgun. He could even match Paul and Barry when it came to strategy from time to time. Sometimes, she'd see him in the kitchen pouring over the books or she'd look out a window and find him firing the handgun they had given him using paintball rounds. He was a workhorse, and she could definitely respect that. Even still, May couldn't wrap her head around the fact that he had chosen to join them and she was angry at him for it. If he or any one of them messed up and he got killed, there would go whatever chance he had of getting his life back. That meant everything they had done to keep him alive would be for nothing.

However, since he was going to be doing hand-to-hand combat training today (and that was her specialty), she shoved all that to the back of her mind; it was time to get to work. As Ash stood in the center of the abandoned basketball court they were using as a training field, his hands in his pockets, patiently waiting for the lesson to start. "So, just out of curiosity, who's going to be teaching me for today?"

Looks like that's my cue, May thought, hopping off the bench on the sidelines where Master Lance and everyone else in the group was sitting. "That would be me," she replied in a deceptively sweet tone, "Will that be a problem?"

Ash crossed his arms with a confident smirk on his face. "Not at all."

"Good, but let me make a few things completely clear to you," May said as she stepped into the center of the court with him, her tone now deadly serious, "In my personal opinion, this training will save your life more than what you've been introduced to so far, so you do as I say and you'll do as I do, got it?"

His expression became as serious as her tone. "I got it, but shouldn't you have started doing that three days ago?"

May glanced over as she saw her friends(with the exception of Master Lance) cringe from dread. That was your first mistake, she thought, keeping her calm composure. "Well then, if you're so confident, then go ahead and assume your fighting stance."

May had never seen anyone who pull off a look that was confused yet not surprised, but Ash seemed to pull it off rather nicely. Yet in spite of this confusion, he assumed what was supposed to be a fighting stance, placing his right leg forward and his left back, although they were still too close together to give him proper balance, and he extended his right arm with a closed fist and kept his left arm close to his chest with an open palm. "So, what am I supposed to do now?" he asked.

"Try and hit me, that is, if you think you can," she replied, casually crossing her arms.

May instantly felt a wave of uncertainty sweep over him, just as she expected; however, in the next instant, it was replaced by something stronger, something much more intense, but she couldn't identify what it was, since she had never felt an emotion like this before. She had been so focused on this unknown emotion that she almost didn't see his fist flying towards her face, but only almost. All she had to do was simply sidestep to the left to avoid Ash's punch. Then, she grabbed his extended arm by the wrist, and put all of her strength into a simple twist that sent him sprawling face-first into the concrete. While Ash was still struggling, May pinned his arm behind his back, then knelt down next to him. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention this," she said casually, like keeping him pinned to the ground while he was still fighting was nothing(which to her, it was), "if you decide to make anymore smartass comments like that, this and much worse will happen to you. And one other thing, if I have to go over a lesson or technique three times, I'm just going to push harder and faster. Am I clear?"

After a brief moment, Ash stopped struggling. "Crystal," he grunted reluctantly, "And I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but could you please let go of my arm?"

Satisfied that she had gotten her point across, May relinquished her grip on his arm, stood up and moved out of the way so that he could get back up on his feet. "I don't get it," Ash said after he was back on his feet, "How did you get the drop on me like that?"

"It was more than likely because you underestimated my fighting skills," May replied nonchalantly, "It's a common mistake others have made in the past."

"No, it wasn't that, I knew you'd probably kick my ass," he insisted, slowly rotating his shoulder, "It's like you knew what move I was going to make before I even made it. Can you read minds like Dawn can?"

During this part of the conversation, May had her head facing away from him; however, the instant those words left his mouth, she whipped her head around to face him. If he knew I could beat him so easily, then why did he just blindly charge in? she thought.

However, she decided to put that question aside for now, since he had raised a pretty decent point; he at least got some points for observation, and getting to know your opponent was half the battle. "Aside from the obvious stuff, did you notice anything unusual when she was reading your mind?"

Ash nodded in response. "When Dawn was reading my mind, it felt like she was probing around in my head, like she was digging for something; with you it was different though. Whatever it was you were doing, it wasn't as obvious, it was more like a gentle nudge than anything else. Is the sensation just different for the two of you, or were you doing something else entirely?"

May raised her eyebrows in surprise; she could understand Ash feeling Dawn's presence inside his head, even ordinary people noticed it when they were paying attention. What concerned her, though, was that he could feel May's presence inside of him. Not even some of the Guardian Masters were capable of doing something like that. How was he able to do that without any sort of training at all?

However, she was always good at keeping her feelings from creeping up to the surface, so the only reaction she showed him was a raised eyebrow. "You're right on the second account, I can't read minds like Dawn can; I can read people's emotions. Knowing how a person feels is completely different from how a person thinks, so it's given me the edge when I needed it."

The look of confusion vanished and his face lit up so suddenly that she almost didn't see the change. "Oh, I get it! Knowing where to push someone is all good in of itself, but knowing how hard to push them is an even bigger advantage. Knowing your enemy's weaknesses doesn't always guarantee victory, because a person can change their mind much more easily than their feelings. Is that sort of how it works?"

"Now that you mention it, yes, that's how it works," May replied, allowing just the slightest bit of surprise to creep into her tone, "I'm impressed that you were able to figure it out that quickly; however, I do have one question for you before we get started, and I don't want you telling me what you think I want to hear, got it?"

"Yeah, sure," Ash said, nodding in understanding, "What is it?"

May's expression became dead serious once again. "Just after your little debacle, you said you knew I was going to kick your ass; yet, in spite of this, you chose to charge at me blindly. Why did you decide to try and fight me knowing you would lose, when common sense would've dictated that the fight should never have taken place at all?"

Ash thought about it for a long moment, his brow furrowed in concentration. "I don't know," he said finally with a shrug, "I guess it really didn't matter to me how skilled you were; now that I think about it, I don't really care how strong, fast, or skilled my opponent is. I'm not the kind of person to run away from a fight, no matter hopeless it might seem; if I lose, then I'm going to do my level best to go down swinging."

"I see," May responded with a frown, "I guess I can't fault you for honesty. Although an attitude and mentality like that is admirable to have, it's more than likely going to get you killed; try and remember that."

Although Ash hid it well, she could feel the slightest tinge of disappointment just beneath the surface. "Anyways, I think that's enough of a philosophy lesson for one day," she said, rubbing her hands together, "Let's get to work. First, we're going to have to work on your fighting stance."

Without words, the expression on his face said simply Ah, fuck me...

Later that evening...

After that, the rest of Ash's training that day went off with little incident; a couple hours before the sun went down, they decided to call it quits, and went back to the house. After they all got back, Ash plopped down on the couch and fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. When Master Lance was sure that he was asleep, he took May and the rest of the group into the kitchen for a more private conversation. "All right everyone, I want to hear your honest opinions about how Ash has done so far with his training; after I've heard you all out, I'll put my two cents in. Does that sound fair?"

Everyone in the group nodded in agreement. Glancing over to Brock, Lance asked, "Well, since you were the first one with him, how did he do?"

"Well I'll have to admit, I had my doubts at first," Brock replied, crossing his arms, "I didn't think he'd be able to hold up physically, especially since he hadn't given his body a chance to fully recover. In spite of that, though, he blew my expectations out of the water; not only was he able to keep up with me, he was actually able to surpass me in some of the exercises. Physically, I believe he's more than capable of holding his own."

The only response Brock got out of Master Lance was a nod, and that was about what May expected; in all the years she and the rest of her friends had trained with him, Master Lance wasn't easy to please. That is, unless you were squeezing out every ounce of potential you had.

Turning to face Jimmy, Marina and Dawn, he asked, "How did he do with firearms training?"

The two blunettes weren't sure how to respond at first, so Jimmy spoke up first. "I have to admit, he's quite a natural at it. Sure, he was a little lost at first, but that was just because he was new to the whole thing."

"That's true," Mirian agreed, finding her voice, "but he wasn't excellent with every weapon we gave him. Jimmy, why must you always exaggerate?"

"I didn't mean to," Jimmy replied defensively, "Geez, would you get off my back?"

"Anyways," Dawn interrupted, stopping the argument before it started, "We noticed that Ash worked best with handguns, submachine guns, and assault rifles; he didn't do that well with the sniper rifle, considering he only hit two out of five targets. Like Jimmy said, he struggled at first because he wasn't familiar with any of it, but once he got going, he excelled with the close- and medium-range weapons; if we were to put him in a combat position, he'd more than likely be a part of the infantry."

"I see; at least we figured out what his strengths and weaknesses when it came to firearms," Lance said, glancing in Barry and Paul's direction, "Speaking of which, how did he fare when it came to strategy and tactics?"

"More often than not, he was pretty clueless when it came to strategy; every time I threw a scenario at him, he always chose the riskiest and most dangerous course of action without hesitation, more often losing more than he gained. He was so slow in catching up that it took us three hours just to cover the basics."

"Well sorry, not everyone's a master strategist like you," Barry retorted sarcastically, "As far as tactics go, he caught on well enough to at least know the basics; he worked with squad-sized units the best, however, I didn't see him being in charge of anything bigger than a platoon, maybe a company if he plays his cards right; he's also proven himself to be a master of silent infiltration, he was in and out of the building a full half-hour before I was. I also wanted to see if he had any sort of leadership qualities, so I brought over a few people from a nearby local Resistance cell to test that theory. From what they told me, the more difficult the situation he was in, the better he performed; it's apparent that he's the type of guy that thrives under pressure. I also noticed the way he was able to inspire them in the most difficult moments in combat, and he didn't ask them to do anything that he wouldn't do himself. That means he's the type of leader that leads from the front, by example."

This last bit of information worried May; from the way it sounded, it seemed that the only place that suited Ash was the frontlines, where the peril was greatest, where his chances of survival were slimmest. Not only that, if he wasn't going to be in the heat of battle, he could end up conducting secret missions behind enemy lines, where the dangers to his life would increase exponentially. It was like Arceus himself was putting him in a position where the only real escape for him was a quick and painless death, and even this seemed unlikely. I'm beginning to wonder if he knows any of this, or if he even cares, May thought bitterly, What kind of idiot would be willing to throw his life away without so much as a complaint or worry?

May had been so lost in thought that she didn't notice Master Lance had already gotten all the information he needed out of Misty and Gary and had now turned his attention on her. "May, how has Ash fared with his hand-to-hand combat training so far?"

May was snapped out of her train of thought so suddenly that the words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "He doesn't need to be out on the battlefield at all."

On the faces of her friends there was nothing but confusion; even Master Lance raised an eyebrow. "Really? Did his training go that bad in your opinion?"

If May could kick herself, she'd be doing it right now; she spent the whole walk back to the house trying to think of a way to say Ash didn't need to be fighting without openly slamming him. Now her sudden outburst had rendered that impossible. "No, of course not, it's not that at all! He's actually doing so well, he's actually starting to come up with his own fighting style. That's what worries me though; maybe Ash is progressing too fast for his own good."

"Isn't that kind of the point, though, to get Ash ready to fight in the shortest possible amount of time?" Misty asked, "We don't exactly have an unlimited amount of time to kill, letting him go at his own pace."

"You're right, we don't have much time to train Ash," May agreed, "but we've all seen what happens someone progresses anywhere near this quickly; they become overconfident. It's like Paul said; Ash doesn't think his decisions through, he only reacts. Also, when we started, Ash flat out said that he'd rather go down fighting, even if it meant fighting someone stronger than him, rather than living to fight another day. That kind of stubborn and reckless attitude could very likely get himself or any one of us killed. On top of that, as far as we know, and as far as he knows, he's never been in the middle of a firefight or in a situation that could very well cost him his life. I really hate to say it, but the battlefield is the last place Ash needs to be."

If their looks didn't say it, May could feel that her friends agreed with her in one way or another; they had probably formed similar opinions themselves, but had been worried about whether or not they should say anything. At least we got this mess out of the way, she thought, feeling a small sense of relief.

"What if you're looking at it the wrong way?" Lance asked, "From what you've told me so far, May, you view the way he behaves as a weakness; did it ever cross your mind that this could be considered a strength?"

If May hadn't been paying attention, her jaw would've dropped so fast that it would've been dislocated. Was she really hearing this? Master Lance was always considered to be a careful person, who planned everything out beforehand, who thought his decisions through. There was not a chance in hell that he was actually condoning reckless behavior.

"Think about it," Lance continued, "Yes, it looks like Ash's progressing too fast for his own good, but from what I've observed, no amount of sheer talent could've accomplished what he has. If you had focused on his behavior as much as his progress, you would've noticed his focus, his tenacity. Yes, he excelled at some things better than others, but when he first started, he was floundering all over the place. From the start of his training, Ash has been dead set and determined to prove that he'll be able to help us, and maybe in his mind, despite what he's told us. Also, what you considered to be Ash's habit of recklessness, I saw it as an ability to think on his feet and trust his instincts. And who knows, maybe that knack for leaping into a situation without thinking, without having all the answers, might end up being exactly what we need."

As she watched her friends, even Dawn, nod in agreement, May was seething on the inside; now there was no way Ash could be kept away from the group, and more importantly, away from her. There was absolutely no chance in hell that she could let something like that happen again.

"However," Master Lance concluded, "I cannot and will not make the decision for you; whether he stays or goes will be up to each and every one of you. Everyone has to come to an agreement, so if there is even one of that thinks that Ash doesn't need to be here, then we'll send him on his way."

As quickly as her bad mood had risen up, it vanished; if she was that one person that disagreed about Ash's place in the group. So what if it meant she had to put up with him for a few more days? In the end, it would be worth it; not only that, but there was absolutely no way that Ash could change her mind in the short time he had left.

Without another word, May spun on her heel and walked out of the kitchen. On her way through the living room, she walked past Ash who looked like he had just woken up. "What are you so excited about?" he asked curiously.

"Oh nothing," May replied cheerfully, stopping at the foot of the stairs, "I've just heard the best news that I've heard all week."

The poor bastard couldn't have looked more confused if he tried. "Okay? Good for you, I suppose?"

Without replying, she practically skipped up the stairs, about to enjoy some of the best sleep she'd had in a long time.

Unbeknownst to May, Ash had never fallen asleep; he had only been pretending to, listening to the whole debate that they had been having about letting him join the group. In all honesty, he hadn't been expecting them to all to praise his progress, mainly because he knew he wasn't going to be perfect at everything they threw at him. What concerned him was the fact that May seemed to be to the only one that was flat out against him joining the group; she had all but said it to their faces. This only seemed to confirm his suspicion that she was hiding something; not only that, but from what he had been able to gather, her mind would be the most difficult to change.

It wasn't like he was solely focused on her, however. Throughout his training, while he had been trying to absorb everything he was taught, he had tried to become friends with each of them. To a degree, Ash had succeeded; in the short amount of time he had been with them, he had already developed a strong bond with many of them. He now considered Brock to be like an older brother, willing to offer advice and help out in any way he could. Gary was a person that could get him to focus on what needed to get done. Misty was like an older sister, at times driving him up the wall, others she was a big help emotionally. Barry was wild and full of energy, yet cool and collected, and he was honest with himself and others. Paul was like a sharpening stone, always driving him to improve, to do better, and was clearly the one who was the leader of the group. Mirian was like a gentle, soothing presence able to put his mind at ease, but was by no means a pushover. Jimmy was a comedian, able to break the tension in a room and lighten up the atmosphere with a well timed quip or joke, and he and Ash had become best friends almost overnight, and Ash knew without a doubt that Jimmy would always have his back no matter what.

The one person that he was most concerned at reaching besides May was Dawn. In the short amount of time they had been in contact with each other, their relationship had become like one between an older brother and little sister, getting on each other's nerves from time to time, yet always looking out for each other; he also assumed that she was reading his mind the whole time their conversation was going on. Also, from what he had observed, Dawn and May were best friends, almost as close as siblings.

Because of this, Ash believed that the best way to figure out what was wrong with May, or at least get her on his side, it was with Dawn's help. However, Ash was sure that whatever caused May to treat Ash like a dick, Dawn wasn't going to talk about, at least not willingly, so he would have to be patient. But that was the problem; he only had a few more days to wait. As he sat on the couch, pondering his situation, Ash believed that some opportunity would present itself; the only questions were when and in what form?

Thank goodness I finally got this chapter done. I'm sorry if this is not entertaining, but I just ask you to bear with me for just a little while longer. I'm one of those guys that gradually builds up the exciting and interesting parts, and I promise one such part is coming in the next chapter. There will be a humorous (or weird, depending on how you view it) moment, some dark secrets revealed, and a fight scene. I promise that the next chapter will not take me as long as the previous three. If there are any improvements you think I need to make or any ideas that could make the upcoming chapters better, I'd be happy to hear it. Otherwise, like, subscribe, and comment! Oh, and if May seems a bit out of character, I thought it would be better if she was a bit of a badass, but at her core, she's still the same character. I'm just hoping this little change would make the story a little more interesting.