Summery: It didn't take much to crush his spirit; one single death did it. His best friend, now gone, sent him spiraling so far down, there was no way out. This is his story; Ash's story. WARNING: DARK. Advanceshipping.

***

So Far Down, No Way Out

By Shadow

Chapter One: Bones Shatter

"No matter where you've been or who you are
If it doesn't kill you it's sure to leave a horrible scar."

***

Two figures walked through the night silently, barely making a sound as they trekked through deep snow. All that mattered to them right now was putting one foot in front of the other, and continuing to move. If they didn't, well, lets just say that they would freeze to death.

"Ash!" the girl shouted, hoping to catch his attention. Unfortunately, she wasn't heard over the howling of the blizzard… or she was being blatantly ignored. Either was possible. In any case, the girl wasn't about to let Ash get too far ahead of her. She'd been following him for hours now, and all that was happening was that they were getting more lost, and closer to their downfall. She wasn't too keen on dying young, and so, she knew it was time to stop. The snowstorm was just getting more powerful with every step.

"Ash!" she tried again, this time picking up the pace so she could grab his shoulder and turn him around. The boy known as Ash allowed himself to be pulled back so that his eyes were locked with the girl… no, it wasn't just a girl; it was May. His very best friend. May who had stuck with him through his entire downward spiral, journey, and even supported him in the most reckless choice of his lifetime.

And that was where they were now. On their way towards Sinnoh for a mission that even Ash had trouble wrapping his mind around… but he would do anything, go to any lengths, to complete it.

"Ash we should stop before the storm gets worse," May yelled over the roar of the wind. Ash said nothing, but he nodded, agreeing that now was as good a time as ever to camp out for the night. May sighed, letting go of his shoulders, "You had me worried again. Don't ignore me okay? I'm just trying to help."

"You have been helping," Ash said kindly, but May didn't seem to hear him. The wind was too loud. Cursing his luck, Ash looked around for a place they could take shelter. His eyes eventually landed on a snow cave about ten feet ahead of them. With a gesture of his hand, Ash lead the way towards the grotto. Both of them slipped inside a few moments later, huddling towards the back to escape the wind.

"I hate c-cold," May stuttered, blowing hot air into her hands.

Ash let out a muffled agreement as he closed himself into a tight ball beside her, mimicking her methods of keeping warm. Unfortunately, they didn't have anything heavier to wear, and no firewood, not to mention that the storm was only getting worse.

"I wish we had a f-fire," Ash said quietly. May agreed, hugging herself tighter as the temperatures continued to drop slowly. The night still had a long way to go.

Suddenly, May had an idea, and picked a Pokeball off her belt, "B-Blaziken, come out and keep us warm!"

The Pokeball exploded into a beam of white energy, forming into May's very well trained Blaziken. Sure, they didn't have wood, but Blaziken could still keep them warm by building up body heat. May assumed that it would have to let out some flames eventually so it wouldn't build up too much energy, but at least it would help them for the moment. Soon enough, the cave started to become warm enough to shed some layers of wet clothing, leaving both May and Ash in their normal outfits again.

The night continued on painfully slowly, neither Ash nor May uttering a sound aside from the occasional sigh. It was Ash who finally broke the wall, and ventured to say something; it had been lingering on his mind for some time now, and he would have to ask eventually:

"May? Do you remember how we first met?" he started. He then cringed upon remembering it himself. The image was so clear to him… and probably to May as well; the horror that they'd witnessed….

***

The day was peaceful, sunny, and beautiful. Nothing that was out of the ordinary in a town like Littleroot. Perhaps the only thing that stood out about that particular day was the three new Pokemon waiting to be picked up at the Lab, and the child about to get them.

That child, was none other than May Maple, a young trainer to be, who really didn't have too much interest in Pokemon. In truth, May just wanted to go out on her journey so she could travel the world….

But her parents expected her to one day come back home to take over the gym, a job May knew she would relish from day one, all the way until she could retire.

May sighed at the thought, pulling the breaks on her bicycle to look out over the horizon. It really was a beautiful day, she thought as she watched a ship pull up to the dock. Most likely it was bringing in trainers from other places… other places that May would someday visit.

"Then I have no time to waste," she said to herself as she peddled away from the Cliffside. She continued on determinedly, barely making a sound aside from deep breaths. Soon enough, the Lab came into clear view, however, something seemed amiss.

"Hello?" May called as she pulled her bike over. Several moments passed, and no one answered her, and so, May tried again: "Hello? Professor Birch?"

This time, noise could be heard coming from the inside of the lab. Breaking glass, shuffling feet, and some muffled screaming. May rose her eyebrows curiously, wondering what was going on. A moment later, a Lab assistant burst through the front door, his eyes wide with panic. It took him a few moments to register just what was going on, but he seemed to calm somewhat when he realized it was May standing in front of the door, and not an Aggron.

"You must be May," he sighed. "The Professor is out at the moment. I suggest you wait--"

"I'll go look for him," May interrupted before the man could finish. The poor assistant had no time to tell her to stay, because May peddled away towards the surrounding forest, hoping to find Professor Birch and get on the road.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, May stumbled upon someone else on her way into the forest, and by stumbled, I mean crashed into. She, her bike, and the person she'd hit landed in a heap in the grass rather painfully, after rolling down a hill like a giant snowball.

"Watch where you're going!" a muffled voice cried out. It took May a few moments to realize that the voice was indeed, coming from underneath her, and she quickly scurried off her poor victim.

"Sorry!" May exclaimed. The kid she'd knocked over didn't seem to be too much older than herself, and clearly a Pokemon fan by the hat he wore on his head. The boy groaned, and pushed May's bike off his body, rubbing his head. May smiled nervously, offering a hand to the young man; it was the least she could do after crashing into him like that.

The boy accepted it graciously, hoisting himself up, and dusting off his jeans. At least he didn't seem to be mad anymore, May thought. However, he did seem distracted, and worried. He looked around his feet in a panicky sort of way before staring back up at May, "Have you seen a Pikachu around here?"

"Um, no?" May responded. "Have you seen a Professor Birch?"

Except the boy didn't answer, instead going back to searching for this "Pikachu" of his. May, who was growing rather irritated, tried to asked him again, but to no avail.

"Kid!" she finally yelled, grabbing the boy's shoulder and turning him around.

"My name's not 'kid,' it's Ash," the boy responded. "And I need to find Pikachu. He's really sick. He could--"

But before Ash could finish explaining, a flash of light and the cracking of thunder cut him off. Without missing a heartbeat, Ash turned away from May, running towards the source of the lightning at top speed.

"Wait! What are you doing? You're supposed to run away from things like that not towards them!" May shouted as Ash retreated into the forest. She stared for a moment, contemplating if she should follow the boy or not. Common sense told her not to go… but…

"Augh!" Ash's voice screamed a moment later. Another crack of lightning shot through May's ears like a needle, making them ache with pain. Something terrible was going on, that much was clear.

After hesitating for a few more moments, May ran after Ash, leaving her bike in the dirt. Her heart was pounding in her ears almost louder then the thunder that had just sounded as she tore through the bushes.

May stopped, her eyes widening in horror at the sight before her. Ash lay on the ground smoking, and a Pikachu, probably the one he had been looking for, lay a few feet away from him, also smoking.

"Kid!" she cried, running up to Ash and crouching over him. He groaned as she turned him on his back to make sure he was okay. May tried calling out to him again; Ash's eyes scrunched, and then snapped open. May let out a yelp of surprise, leaping backwards as the boy sat up straight, his eyes once again in a panic.

"Pikachu!" he shouted.

"It's over there," May said quietly.

Ash turned around, his eyes following where May was pointing in the grass. Pikachu lay there, motionless and smoking like Ash had been moments before. The boy ran up to the electric mouse, picking it up and holding it close, "Pikachu. Come on, let's get you better."

"What's wrong with it?" May asked, walking up behind Ash.

"It's been exposed to an electro-magnet. Pikachu might… might explode if I don't do something fast," Ash explained, his eyes wincing at the last part.

So that's why he hasn't been answering me. I should help him out, May thought. She looked at the Pikachu in Ash's arms, her mind racing as its cheeks sparked again. Several moments later, May's eyes lit up with an idea, "I have my bike over there! It will help you get it to the lab faster. Come on!"

Ash blinked, and then followed May through the forest, back to her downed bicycle.

"Okay," May started as she propped the bike back up. Unfortunately, as soon as she had it on its kickstand, the poor thing's peddle fell off. "Oh… crap."

"Forget it!" Ash shouted, pushing past May and running up a hill. "I'll just have to get there myself!"

"Wait! Do you even know where you're going?" May asked, running up after him. The two of them climbed to the top, only to stop short of falling off a cliff. May crouched down, breathing heavily. "I was trying to warn you… the lab is up the other side of the hill."

Ash was about to respond, however, Pikachu's eyes snapped open. The mouse let out a wail of terror, biting down on Ash's arm violently. Ash let go of his Pikachu, and it went running down the hillside.

"No!" Ash shouted, running after it once again. May tried to call out in an exasperated voice for him to stop, but he was already gone before she could say anything. Letting out a groan of frustration, May ran down the hill after them.

Another bolt of lightning struck the ground not too far off.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted in horror. May picked up her speed, hoping to catch up before something terrible happened.

Unfortunately, it was too late….

May appeared before the scene as Ash fell to his knees, blood splattered all over his horrified face. May held back her own shriek of terror as she scanned the scene even closer.

Whose blood? she asked herself as she extended her gaze a bit farther down the path. Upon seeing what lay ahead, May nearly gagged. It was Pikachu… well, the remains of Pikachu. It was smoking as if it had been put in an oven, and bleeding all over its body. It was almost as if the poor Pokemon had popped like a water balloon, blood spilling onto the grass and staining it crimson.

"Pikachu," Ash called out helplessly, causing May to snap out of her trance. She watched the poor boy crawl forward towards the electric mouse, only to stop when his hands touched the puddle of blood that surrounded the Pokemon.

"P-Pikachu," he stuttered, picking up his hand and watching the blood drip down his arm and onto his shirt.

Pikachu did not respond.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried suddenly, his voice echoing so loudly, the Tailow in the trees flew away, frightened. May watched, pity gripping her heart as Ash continued to cry out his Pokemon's name. It was no use, but he continued to try, even prodding its bloody body several times in a useless attempt to get Pikachu to move.

Finally, Ash started to grow weary, and his cries became softer as his voice got horse from overuse. May hesitantly walked forward as Ash turned away from the dead Pokemon in the dirt. He didn't even notice as May gently lead him away from the scene.

It was only when they were about halfway to the lab did Ash realize the full weight of what had happened.

"Pikachu's not coming back is he?" he asked aloud, though not to May particularly. May wasn't sure how, or even if she should answer the poor boy. She resolved to instead prod him towards Professor Birch's laboratory once again. There was no use in going back now. Ash, unsurprisingly, went without a fight, instead staring idly at his bloody hands. Once in awhile, he let out a small cry, but said nothing as May lead him along silently.

Finally, they reached the lab, where Professor Birch and his Assistant were speaking to each other. Though May couldn't make out what they were saying, she was sure by their tone of voice that neither knew what had happened.

Finally, the two researchers looked up to see May and Ash.

"Professor Birch!" May called, relieved that they'd finally made it.

"May! Ash!" he called, running up to them. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the blood on Ash's face, hands, and clothing, but he did not question it. May stole a glance at the older man, only to confirm that he knew exactly what had happened. "Let's bring him inside and clean him up. May, your first Pokemon will have to wait for a bit."

"Yeah, that's okay," May replied breathlessly as the Professor took over leading Ash.

May stood stopped in front of the lab, speechless. She was also in quite a bit of shock, though she couldn't even imagine how Ash was feeling, or if he was feeling anything at all. He must have been more shocked then she was.

I have to help him, May resolved. At least, right now.

With that thought in mind, May walked into the lab.

***

A/N: Okay, okay, OKAY! I should be shot for making this fic. Like, multiple times. I'm sure you're all thinking, "SHADOW, HOW COULD YOU!?"

I assure you, everything turns out okay in the end.

But the end is certainly a loooong way off.

So if you want to see that nice happy ending, you'd do yourself well to review. Neh?